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Abstract Understanding divergent perceptions of ethnic groups to climate change in mountainous regions home to multi-ethnic cultures and the factors influencing these perceptions is crucial for policymakers to predict the trending impacts of climate change and make long-term decisions. Based on the case of Southwest China, 1216 households were interviewed by questionnaire surveys to gain insight into the perceptions of local people on the dynamic evolution characteristics of climate events in the uplands of Yunnan, China, which is an area home to rich ethnic diversity, and also to determine the factors that influence these perceptions. Results indicated that climate events have now become important events for farmers’ livelihoods, ranking only after family diseases and livestock diseases. Drought, long-term drought, and erratic rainfall are the three kinds of climatic events with the most significant increase in frequency and severity in mountainous areas. Farmers’ perceptions on whether drought, long-term drought, and erratic rainfall occurred 10 years ago as well as changes in frequency and severity are significantly influenced by characteristics of respondents, ethnic culture, geographical environment of farmer residences, farmland characteristics, and sources of livelihood. Ultimately, taking ethnic differences into consideration for long-term planning will be an important part of the local response to climate change in the future.

Four new compounds (1–4) along with twelve known compounds (5–16) were isolated from the fermentation broth of two desert endophytic fungi Neocamarosporum sp. HM 175 and Alternaria sp. HM 213. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by ESI-MS and NMR data. The PTP1B inhibitory activity results showed that compounds 2, 5, 11, 12, and 13 exhibited certain inhibitory activity on PTP1B. The activity test of these compounds provided potential drug lead compounds for the research and development of new PTP1B inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a prognostic model to predict metastasis and prognosis in colorectal cancer liver metastases by identifying distinct macrophage subsets. Using scRNA-seq data from primary colorectal cancer and liver metastases, we dissected the cellular landscape to find unique macrophage subpopulations, particularly EEF1G + macrophages, which were prevalent in liver metastases. The study leveraged data from GSE231559, TCGA, and GEO databases to construct an 8-gene risk model named EMGS, based on the EEF1G + macrophage gene signature. Patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups using the median EMGS score, with the high-risk group showing significantly worse survival. This group also demonstrated upregulated pathways associated with tumor progression, such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis, and downregulated metabolic pathways. Moreover, the high-risk group presented an immunosuppressive microenvironment, with a higher TIDE score indicating lower effectiveness of immunotherapy. The study identifies potential drugs targeting the high-risk group, suggesting therapeutic avenues to improve survival. Conclusively, the EMGS score identifies colorectal cancer patients at high risk of liver metastases, highlighting the role of specific macrophage subsets in tumor progression and providing a basis for personalized treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been widely acknowledged that ultraviolet (UV) light is an environment risk factor that can lead to cancer, particularly skin cancer. However, it is worth noting that UV radiation holds potential for cancer treatment as a relatively high-energy electromagnetic wave. With the help of nanomaterials, the role of UV radiation has caught increasing attention in cancer treatment. In this review, we briefly summarized types of UV-induced cancers, including malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, Merkel cell carcinoma. Importantly, we discussed the primary mechanisms underlying UV carcinogenesis, including mutations by DNA damage, immunosuppression, inflammation and epigenetic alterations. Historically limited by its shallow penetration depth, the introduction of nanomaterials has dramatically transformed the utilization of UV light in cancer treatment. The direct effect of UV light itself generally leads to the suppression of cancer cell growth and the initiation of apoptosis and ferroptosis. It can also be utilized to activate photosensitizers for reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, sensitize radiotherapy and achieve controlled drug release. Finally, we comprehensively weigh the significant risks and limitations associated with the therapeutic use of UV radiation. And the contradictory effect of UV exposure in promoting and inhibiting tumor has been discussed. This review provides clues for potential clinical therapy as well as future study directions in the UV radiation field. The precise delivery and control of UV light or nanomaterials and the wavelength as well as dose effects of UV light are needed for a thorough understanding of UV radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Emerging research has identified ferroptosis as a novel form of programmed cell death, and Arachidonic acid 15-lipoxygenase-1 (ALOX15) stands out as a pivotal gene in mediating this process. Nonetheless, the role of ALOX15 in human tumors remains elusive. Methods. We utilized TIMER 2.0 to investigate the differential expression profiles of ALOX15 between pan-cancer and normal tissues. Further data from the TCGA, GEPIA, UALCAN, HPA, and CPTAC databases were analyzed to verify the levels of mRNA, protein expression, and promoter methylation across various cancer types. The survival prognosis, clinical features, and genetic alterations of ALOX15 were also evaluated. GO/KEGG enrichment analyses and single-cell transcriptome sequencing were employed for functional enrichment analysis. The gene mutation of ALOX15 and its prognostic value were analyzed using the cBioPortal platform. Finally, the relationship between ALOX15 and immune cell infiltration, Immune Checkpoints (ICKs), genomic instability, and drug sensitivity was further explored using GSCA. Results. Our findings revealed that the transcription and protein expression of ALOX15 were significantly reduced in HNSC, LUAD, LUSC, SKCM, KICH, and THCA, while they were up-regulated in ESCA, LIHC, PRAD, and UCEC. Notably, the expression of ALOX15 had prognostic value for certain cancers, including LUAD, LUSC, LIHC, KIRC, HNSC, THCA, and LGG. Additionally, ALOX15 expression was markedly correlated with clinical characteristics, immune cell infiltration, ICKs, genomic instability, and antitumor drug sensitivity in various tumors. Gene mutations of ALOX15 and their prognostic value were discovered in pan-cancers. Furthermore, GO/KEGG analysis and single-cell transcriptome sequencing indicated that ALOX15 was significantly associated with cancer-related pathways. Conclusion. Our comprehensive pan-cancer analysis shed light on the role and significance of ALOX15, suggesting its potential as a prognostic and immunotherapeutic marker for pan-cancer. These findings may provide new directions and evidence for cancer therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to establish the existence of traveling wave solutions connecting different equilibria for a spatial eco-epidemiological predator–prey system in advective environments. After applying the traveling wave coordinates, these solutions correspond to heteroclinic orbits in phase space. We investigate the existence of the traveling wave solution connecting from a boundary equilibrium to a co-existence equilibrium by using a shooting method. Different from the techniques introduced by Huang, we directly prove the convergence of the solution to a co-existence equilibrium by constructing a special bounded set. Furthermore, the Lyapunov-type function we constructed does not need the condition of bounded below. Our approach provides a different way to study the existence of traveling wave solutions about the co-existence equilibrium. The existence of traveling wave solutions between co-existence equilibria are proved by utilizing the qualitative theory and the geometric singular perturbation theory. Some other open questions of interest are also discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seabream is one of most important candidates for aquaculture in China. However, in recent years, streptococcosis has posed a serious challenge. Galectin-8 has been proven to play an important role in the antibacterial immunity of teleost. In this study, Acanthopagrus latus Galectin-8 (AlGal-8) was characterized for the first time consisting of 8 exons and 7 introns. AlGal-8 protein was considered to dock with N-Acetylglucosamine in the CRD region. In healthy tissues, AlGal-8 was found to be expressed highest in the gills, followed by brain, kidney and liver. After infection with Streptococcus iniae, the expression of AlGal-8 in the brain, kidney, and liver increased to varying degrees, but there was no significant change in the spleen. We also analyzed SNPs present in the genomic region of AlGal-8, and a total of 8 SNPs were found. One SNPs in exon (G2264C) and two in introns (T4799G and C4892T) were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with resistance to S. iniae. This study not only provides a reference for the role of Galectin-8 in the antibacterial immunity of teleost but also provides fundamental information for the disease-resistant molecular breeding of A. latus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freezing is a common method to maintain pork quality. However, prolonged frozen storage can cause oxidation reactions of metmyoglobin in pork, resulting in meat quality deterioration. Therefore, it is significant to detect frozen pork quality rapidly and non-destructively for public health and food safety. Metmyoglobin content is considered a critical indicator for evaluating the quality of frozen pork. In this paper, a rapid non-destructive method combining visible and near-infrared (VIS–NIR) spectroscopy technology with chemometrics was applied for the high accuracy ion of metmyoglobin content. First, VIS–NIR spectral data were collected on the pork samples with different freezing times. The raw spectral data were pre-processed using six methods: 1st derivative, 2nd derivative, Savitzky-Golay convolutional smoothing, vector normalization, standard normal variate, and multiple scattering corrections. Then, partial least squares (PLS) and random forest (RF) algorithms were applied to establish the prediction models of metmyoglobin content respectively, while the characteristic wavelengths were extracted by combining with the successive projections algorithm (SPA). The results showed significant effects on the prediction accuracy by using different modeling combinations. The MSC-RF-SPA model performed best in prediction, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.901 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0216, which confirmed the ability to evaluate metmyoglobin content in frozen pork with high accuracy. The results of this study indicated that Vis–NIR spectroscopy technology coupled with MSC-RF-SPA modeling is a promising method, which provided a new way to accurately detect metmyoglobin content in frozen pork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Golden pompano is an important aquaculture product in the coastal regions of southern China, which is highly dependent on insulin-like growth factor (IGF) for various biological processes. The cDNAs of ToIGF1, ToIGF2, and ToIGF3 are 1718 bp, 1658 bp, and 2272 bp in length, respectively, with corresponding amino acid sequences of 185 aa, 215 aa, and 194 aa. These sequences consist of 5 parts, including the signal peptide, the B domain, the C domain, the A domain, the D domain, and the E domain, which are also found in other species. While ToIGF1 has no SSR polymorphism, ToIGF2 and ToIGF3 have 3 and 1 SSR polymorphism sites, respectively. In terms of tissue expression, ToIGF1 is predominantly expressed in the liver, ToIGF2 shows its highest expression in the gills, and ToIGF3 also shows its highest expression in the gills, but no expression in the liver and spleen. These tissue distribution results suggest that ToIGFs are not only present in growth-related tissues such as the brain, muscle, and liver, but also in reproductive tissues, tissues that regulate osmotic pressure, and tissues related to food intake. This observation is consistent with other bony fish species and highlights the extensive biological functions of ToIGFs that need to be further explored and exploited. In addition, the expression levels of ToIGFs were found to be different in the different dietary groups, including the pelleted food group, the frozen squid group, and the frozen fish group. In the pelleted diet group, ToIGF1 and ToIGF2 were highly expressed in the liver and intestinal tissues, followed by the frozen fish group. These results suggest that the type of diet can affect the body's energy metabolism by influencing tissue expression of growth-related genes, which in turn affects individual growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the existence and nonexistence of normalized solutions (u a , λ a) ∈ H 1 (R N) × R to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with mixed nonlocal nonlinearities: - Δ u = λ u + (I α ∗ | u | p ) | u | p - 2 u + μ (I α ∗ | u | q ) | u | q - 2 u in R N , ∫ R N | u | 2 d x = a 2 > 0 , where N ≥ 3 , α ∈ (0 , N) , μ ∈ R , N + α N < q < p ≤ N + α N - 2 , and I α is the Riesz potential. This study can be viewed as a counterpart of the Brezis-Nirenberg problem in the context of normalized solutions to nonlocal Schrödiger equations with a fixed L 2 -norm ‖ u ‖ 2 = a > 0 . The leading term is L 2 -supercritical, that is, p ∈ (N + α + 2 N , N + α N - 2 ] , where the Hardy–Littlewood–Sobolev critical exponent p = N + α N - 2 appears. We first prove that there exist two normalized solutions if q ∈ (N + α N , N + α + 2 N) with μ > 0 small, that is, one is at the negative energy level while the other one is at the positive energy level. For q = N + α + 2 N , we show that there is a normalized ground state for 0 < μ < μ ~ and there exist no ground states for μ > μ ~ , where μ ~ is a sharp positive constant. If q ∈ (N + α + 2 N , N + α N - 2) , we deduce that there exists a normalized ground state for any μ > 0 . We also obtain some existence and nonexistence results for the case μ < 0 and q ∈ (N + α N , N + α + 2 N ] . Besides, we analyze the asymptotic behavior of normalized ground states as μ → 0 + . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the nonrelativistic limit of normalized solutions to a nonlinear Dirac equation as given below: - i c ∑ k = 1 3 α k ∂ k u + m c 2 β u - Γ ∗ (K | u | κ ) K | u | κ - 2 u - P | u | s - 2 u = ω u , ∫ R 3 | u | 2 d x = 1. Here, c > 0 represents the speed of light, m > 0 is the mass of the Dirac particle, ω ∈ R emerges as an indeterminate Lagrange multiplier, Γ , K, P are real-valued function defined on R 3 , also known as potential functions. Our research first confirms the presence of normalized solutions to the Dirac equation under high-speed light conditions. We then illustrate that these solutions converge to normalized ground states of nonlinear Schrödinger equations, and we also show uniform boundedness and exponential decay of these solutions. Our results form the first discussion on nonrelativistic limit of normalized solutions to nonlinear Dirac equations. This not only aids in the study of normalized solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equations, but also physically explains that the normalized ground states of high-speed particles and low-speed motion particles are consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An organic photovoltaic bulk heterojunction comprises of a mixture of donor and acceptor materials, forming a semi-crystalline thin film with both crystalline and amorphous domains. Domain sizes critically impact the device performance; however, conventional X-ray scattering techniques cannot detect the contrast between donor and acceptor materials within the amorphous intermixing regions. In this study, we employ neutron scattering and targeted deuteration of acceptor materials to enhance the scattering contrast by nearly one order of magnitude. Remarkably, the PM6:deuterated Y6 system reveals a new length scale, indicating short-range aggregation of Y6 molecules in the amorphous intermixing regions. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations confirm that this short-range aggregation is an inherent morphological advantage of Y6 which effectively assists charge extraction and suppresses charge recombination as shown by capacitance spectroscopy. Our findings uncover the amorphous nanomorphology of organic photovoltaic thin films, providing crucial insights into the morphology-driven device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prediction of micro milling forces in difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium alloys, which have small dimensions and arc-thin-walled features, has become a major challenge due to coupling effects of multi-physics fields. This problem has become a key bottleneck in the development of aerospace, biomedical, and other fields. This study focuses on titanium alloy arc-thin-walled parts and develops a micro milling force prediction model that considers the dual flexible coupling deformation and geometric features of arc-thin-walled parts in the process of micro milling. Firstly, a micro milling force theoretical model is established based on the instantaneous cutter position angle and instantaneous uncut chip thickness. Secondly, the detailed geometric analysis is conducted to calculate the entry and exit angles and instantaneous uncut chip thickness considering the micro milling path characteristics. Subsequently, the Euler beam and Timoshenko beam are assumed based on the characteristics of the cutter and workpiece structure, as well as the force situations. The deflection deformation values are calculated by solving unit stiffness matrix. The coupling deflection deformation is introduced into the micro milling force prediction model by an iterative algorithm, and this improves the instantaneous uncut chip thickness model. Finally, the micro milling force data is obtained through arc micro milling experiments, and the coefficient of micro milling force is identified. The reliability and accuracy of the micro milling force prediction model are verified through experiments, of which the prediction error range is 9.005~12.427%. The proposed model and methodology have practical significance and provide a basis for optimizing micro milling processes and promoting the development of related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of the wake flow downstream of a near-wall circular cylinder at different gap ratios and boundary layer thicknesses are carried out by using the iterative immersed boundary method. The non-dimensional gap between the cylinder and the wall, G/D = 0.2, 0.6 and 1.0, the non-dimensional boundary layer thickness, δ/D = 0.0, 0.7 and 1.6, the Reynolds number, Re=350, and the aspect ratio of the cylinder, L/D = 25 are adopted. High-resolution visualizations of the complex vortex structures at different δ/D and G/D are presented. The transition of the streamwise vortex mode, the combined effects of δ/D and G/D on the flow statistics, the pressure and shear stress distribution and the hydrodynamic forces are analyzed. Results show that with decreasing G/D and increasing δ/D, the gap flow and its vortex-shedding are significantly weakened, together with an elongated wake and an enlarged low-velocity area near the wall, leading to the wake mode transition from the two-sided to one-sided vortex-shedding. Different relative positions of the cylinder regarding the boundary layer alter the flow features of the shear layers. With an increase in δ/D, the front stagnation point shifts to the upper surface, and the distance between the flow divergence point and the maximum pressure position increases. The mean drag coefficient and r.m. s. values of drag and lift coefficients decrease with a decrease in G/D and an increase in δ/D, while the mean lift coefficient increases with decreasing G/D but decreases with increasing δ/D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mg-6Zn alloy with different contents of Ce was prepared by the gravity casting method, and then the Mg-6Zn-xCe (x=0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, wt.%) alloys were extruded at 300 °C and 350 °C after solution treatment. The phase constitution and microstructure evolution of Mg-Zn-xCe alloys were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD). Meanwhile, the mechanical properties of the alloy were tested at room temperature. For as-cast alloys, the results show that the main compound in Mg-6Zn alloy is Mg4Zn7 phase, and the main compound is T-(MgZn)12Ce phase after the addition of different amounts of Ce. The microstructure and distribution of second phases are greatly improved after extrusion at 300 °C and 350 °C. Compared with initial mechanical properties, the strength and elongation increase obviously by means of extrusion at different temperatures. In addition, the microstructure after extrusion at 350 °C is further analyzed according to EBSD data. The results show that rare earth element Ce probably promotes the activation of non-basal slip during the deformation process with the increase of Ce, which reduces the strength of basal texture and thus improves the plasticity of the alloy. Meanwhile, the increase of grain boundary migration ability leads to the gradual increase of recrystallization grain size and decreases the strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral perovskites with exceptional structural flexibility and optoelectrical properties are regarded as promising materials for optoelectronic and spintronic devices. However, the effects of achiral organic ligands on the chiroptical activity of chiral perovskites have been rarely explored. Here, we present four one-dimensional lead bromide perovskites R-/S-(AMP)2Pb3Br10 (1-R and 1-S) with mono-cation and R-/S-AMP(DMA)PbBr5 (2-R and 2-S) with mixed-cation templated by chiral R-/S-2-aminomethylpyrrolidine (R-/S-AMP) and achiral dimethylammonium (DMA). All four compounds demonstrate broadband emissions from self-trapped excitons (STEs). Derived from the stronger chirality transfer synergistically induced by achiral DMA, amplified bathochromically-shifted circular dichroism signals and strong warm-white circularly polarized emissions have been observed in 2-R and 2-S. This mixed-cation structural engineering provides a new route toward developing chiral perovskites for optoelectronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus Houttuyn 1782) is a commercially and ecologically important Sparidae species in the northern South China Sea. However, environmental pollution and overfishing result in serious decline of seabream natural population and germplasm degradation in recent years. In the present study, to promote the molecular-assisted selection (MAS), population selection, and enhancement and releasing of A. latus, the 112 novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were isolated by restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing, and then the polymorphism of these SNP markers were verified in 36 wild individuals. The results showed that the observed heterozygosity (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (HE) varied from 0.0278 to 0.6389 and 0.0540 to 0.4996, respectively. The PIC value and minor allele frequency (MAF) were between 0.0526 and 0.3748 and 0.0278–0.4861, respectively. Moreover, the FIS value ranged from − 0.2941 to 0.9449. Thirty-seven loci revealed noteworthy deviations from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) after Bonferroni correction (p < 0.05), but no prominent linkage disequilibrium was detected. These novel developed SNPs will be useful for breeding, genetic diversity analysis, enhancement and releasing studies of seabream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease resulting from dysregulated lipid metabolism is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) plays a critical role in cholesterol metabolism. Knockouts in lipid-metabolizing proteins including ApoE in multiple model organisms such as mice and rats exhibiting elevated levels of cholesterol have been widely used for dissecting the pathology of atherosclerosis, but few of these animal models exhibit advanced atherosclerotic plaques leading to ischemia-induced clinical symptoms, limiting their use for translational studies. Here we report hypercholesterolemia and severe atherosclerosis characterized by stenosis and occlusion of arteries, together with clinical manifestations of stroke and gangrene, in ApoE knockout dogs generated by CRISPR/Cas9 and cloned by somatic cell nuclear transfer technologies. Importantly, the hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerotic complications in F0 mutants are recapitulated in their offspring. As the ApoE-associated atherosclerosis and clinical manifestations in mutant dogs are more similar to that in human patients compared with those in other animal models, these mutant dogs will be invaluable in developing and evaluating new therapies, including endovascular procedures, against atherosclerosis and related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The optimal surgical procedure, whether total gastrectomy (TG) or proximal gastrectomy (PG), for Siewert type II/III adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG) has not been standardised, primarily because the optimal extent of lymph node (LN) dissection for AEG based on the metastatic rate of perigastric LNs remains under debate. The aim of this study was to investigate the metastatic incidence and prognostic significance of lower perigastric lymph nodes (LPLN), including No.4d, 5, 6 and 12a LN stations, in Siewert type II/III AEG. Methods: A total of 701 patients with Siewert type II/III AEG who received transabdominal open gastrectomy (425 patients with TG and 276 patients with PG) from 2010 to 2015 in West China Hospital were retrospectively included. Based on the clinicopathological information of TG patients, the risk factors of LPLN-positive patients were evaluated, and the metastatic incidence as well as the therapeutic value (TV) index of each LN station was assessed. Moreover, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rates between LPLN-positive and LPLN-negative groups were compared in TG patients, and the postoperative survival difference between TG and PG patients was also compared, using propensity score matching (PSM) method. Results: Tumour size (≥ 5 cm, OR = 1.481, p = 0.002) and pT stage (pT4, OR = 2.755, p = 0.024) were significant risk factors for patients with LPLN metastasis. For patients with tumour size more than 5 cm or pT4 stage, the metastatic rates of LPLN for Siewert type II, III and II/III AEG were 31.67%, 34.69% and 33.03%, whereas the TV indexes of LPLN for them were 5.76, 5.62 and 5.38, respectively. LPLN was a significant independent prognostic factor (HR = 1.422, p = 0.028), and positive LPLN was related to worse prognosis (p < 0.05). For patients with tumour size more than 5 cm or pT4 stage, TG patients were illustrated to have a better prognosis than PG patients, with 5-year OS rates of 58.9% vs 38.2% for Siewert type II AEG (χ2 = 4.159, p = 0.041), 68.9% vs 50.2% for Siewert type III AEG (χ2 = 5.630, p = 0.018) and 65.1% vs 40.3% for Siewert type II/III AEG (χ2 = 12.604, p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusions: LPLN metastasis is a poor prognostic factor for patients with Siewert II/III AEG. LPLN dissection may improve the long-term survival of patients with tumour size more than 5 cm or pT4 stage, and TG might be more suitable for this kind of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable and efficient guided waves are essential for information transmission and processing. Recently, topological valley-contrasting materials in condensed matter systems have been revealed as promising infrastructures for guiding classical waves, for they can provide broadband, non-dispersive and reflection-free electromagnetic/mechanical wave transport with a high degree of freedom. In this work, by designing and manufacturing miniaturized phononic crystals on a semi-infinite substrate, we experimentally realized a valley-locked edge transport for surface acoustic waves (SAWs). Critically, original one-dimensional edge transports could be extended to quasi-two-dimensional ones by doping SAW Dirac "semimetal" layers at the boundaries. We demonstrate that SAWs in the extended topological valley-locked edges are robust against bending and wavelength-scaled defects. Also, this mechanism is configurable and robust depending on the doping, offering various on-chip acoustic manipulation, e.g., SAW routing, focusing, splitting, and converging, all flexible and high-flow. This work may promote future hybrid phononic circuits for acoustic information processing, sensing, and manipulation. Here the authors provide experimental evidence of extended topological valley-locked states. By splicing together Dirac semimetals and topological insulators, they demonstrate reduced backscattering and enhanced matching of SAW with interdigital transducers proposing this system for topological acoustics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, indocyanine green fluorescence lymphography has been introduced for lymphatic mapping in gastric cancer surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of ICGFL in lymph node dissection during minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer. Methods: A systematic review of electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure was performed from the inception to January 2021 for all studies comparing ICGFL with non-ICGFL in GC patients undergoing minimal access gastrectomy. The primary outcome was the total number of harvested lymph nodes. The secondary endpoints were the number of metastatic LNs, operative time, estimated blood loss, and postoperative complications. The registration number of this protocol is PROSPERO CRD42020203443. Results: A total of 13 studies including 1882 participants were included. In this meta-analysis, the use of ICGFL was associated with a higher number of harvested LNs (40.33 vs. 33.40; MD = 6.93; 95%CI: 4.28 to 9.58; P < 0.0001; I2 = 86%). No significant difference was found between the ICGFL and control groups in terms of metastatic LNs (2.63 vs. 2.42; MD = 0.21; 95%CI: −0.46 to 0.87; P = 0.54; I2 = 0%). In addition, the use of ICGFL could be safely performed without increasing the operative time (P = 0.49), estimated blood loss (P = 0.26) and postoperative complications (P = 0.54). Conclusion: The use of ICGFL may be a useful tool facilitating complete lymph node dissection during minimally invasive GC resection. However, more high-quality RCTs with large sample size are needed to validate this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two-dimensional (2D) structure often leads to unusual phenomena for the impact of confined mean free path of carrier scattering. As a quasi-2D layered material, AgCrSe2 has a liquid-like phonon behavior for its unstable Ag atoms at service temperature, leading to the promising candidate for thermoelectricity and fast ionic conductor. However, the inferior electronic performance constrains its application prospects as a functional semiconductor, which provides broad opportunity to tune its electric behaviors by defect chemistry. In this work, we revealed abundant electric transport behaviors of AgCrSe2 with different types of intrinsic defects. For example, the AgCrSe2 changes from Anderson insulator to metal when Se defects become prevailing and the magnetoresistance alters its sign depending on the relative ratio of Ag and Cr defects. Our results reported here can give salutary boosting on regulating the electric properties of ternary transition metal selenide by defect chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Data about whether laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) is applicable in serosa-positive (pT4a) gastric cancer patients remain rare. The purpose of this study is to compare the perioperative and long-term outcomes between the laparoscopic and open gastrectomy (OG) in pT4a gastric cancer patients who underwent curative resection. Methods: A total of 1086 consecutive pT4a patients (101 patients with LG and 985 with OG) who underwent curative gastrectomy in a high-volume center between 2006 and 2016 were evaluated. Demographics, surgical, and oncologic outcomes were analyzed. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to balance baseline confounders, and COX regression analysis was performed to identify independent prognostic factors. Results: After PSM adjustment, a well-balanced cohort comprising 101 patients who underwent LG and 201 who underwent OG was analyzed. Operative time (288.7 vs. 234.2 min; P < 0.001) was significantly longer, while estimated blood loss (172.8 vs. 220.7 ml; P < 0.001) was significantly less in the LG group compared with the OG group. There were no significant differences between groups in total number of harvested lymph nodes, postoperative stays, readmission rate, and postoperative complication rate. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was not significant different in the LG and OG groups (66.7% vs. 62.8%, P = 0.668), and the subsequent multivariate analysis revealed that the surgical approach was not an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR = 1.123; 95%CI: 0.803–1.570; P = 0.499). In sensitivity analysis including 78 pairs well-matched patients operated by an experienced surgeon, the results were similar to these for the matched entire cohort. Conclusion: LG can be a safe and feasible approach for pT4a gastric cancer treatment. However, well-designed high-quality RCTs are expected to draw a definitive conclusion on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CKLF-like MARVEL transmembrane domain-containing 6 (CMTM6) is a critical regulator of tumor immunology among various cancers. However, the role and underlying molecular mechanism of CMTM6 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) progression remains unclear. Methods: The expression of CMTM6, PD-L1 and CD163 in OSCC tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray. The effect of CMTM6 knockdown on OSCC cells and macrophage polarization were analyzed by CCK-8 assay, apoptotic assay, would-healing assay, transwell assay and qPCR. OSCC cell derived exosomes were obtained by ultracentrifugation and the mechanistic studies were conducted by qPCR and Western Blot. 4-Nitroquinoline N-oxide (4NQO) induced OSCC mice were used for verifying the effect of CMTM6 downregulation on M2 macrophage infiltration and tumor growth. Results: In OSCC samples, higher CMTM6 expression has been obviously associated with higher pathological stage of OSCC patients, CD163 + macrophages infiltration and PD-L1 expression. CMTM6 knockdown of OSCC cells inhibited proliferative, migrative and invasive abilities of OSCC cells, as well as inhibited M2 macrophage polarization in vitro with downregulating PD-L1 expression. Importantly, exosomes from OSCC cells shuttled CMTM6 to macrophages and promoted M2-like macrophage polarization through activating ERK1/2 signaling. In addition, in 4NQO-induced OSCC mice, CMTM6 level was positively associated with CD163, CD206 and PD-L1 as well as M2-like macrophage infiltration. Conclusion: OSCC cell-secreted exosomal CMTM6 induces M2-like macrophages polarization to promote malignant progression via ERK1/2 signaling pathway, revealing a novel crosstalk between cancer cells and immune cells in OSCC microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) have been well-established as two effective treatment modalities for carotid artery stenosis, while their clinical outcomes in real-world China are still unknown due to lack of nationwide trials. We aimed to evaluate the safety outcome profile of CEA and CAS in Chinese patients with carotid artery stenosis. The Revascularization of Extracranial Carotid Artery Stenosis trial was a multicentre, prospective cohort study of CEA or CAS in treating patients with carotid artery stenosis. We included symptomatic or asymptomatic patients with carotid artery stenosis (≥ 50%). The primary endpoint was any stroke, myocardial infarction and/or death within 1 month post-procedure. Overall, 2719 cases (1543 CAS-treated patients and 1176 CEA-treated patients) were enrolled from 36 centres. The primary outcome was 4.3% (95% CI 3.2–5.6%) and 4.7% (95%CI 3.5–6.3%) in the symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, respectively. No significant difference in the primary outcome was found between CAS and CEA in both symptomatic (p = 0.338) and asymptomatic (p = 0.890) patients. High- versus low-volume centre significantly related to lower rate of primary outcome in CEA-treated patients (OR 2.54; 95%CI 1.19–5.44; p = 0.017) and asymptomatic patients (OR 2.54; 95%CI 1.42–4.54; p = 0.002). CEA and CAS decided by surgeons' discretion have comparable risks among patients with carotid artery stenosis in China. Both CEA and CAS should be avoided in asymptomatic patients until a consistently low complication rate is showed with centre-level audits. Medical treatment for patients with carotid stenosis in China needs to be improved. Trial registration: NCT01994187 (ClinicalTrials.gov). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate state of charge (SOC) estimation in battery management systems (BMS) is of crucial importance to guarantee the safe and effective operation of automotive batteries. However, the BMS consistently suffers from inaccuracy of SOC estimation. Herein, we propose a SOC estimation approach with both high accuracy and robustness based on an improved extended Kalman filter (IEKF). An equivalent circuit model is established, and the simulated annealing-particle swarm optimization (SA-PSO) algorithm is used for offline parameter identification. Furthermore, improvements have been made with noise adaptation, a fading filter and a linear-nonlinear filtering based on the traditional EKF method, and rigorous mathematical proof has been carried out accordingly. To deal with model mismatch, online parameter identification is achieved by a dual Kalman filter. Finally, various experiments are performed to validate the proposed IEKF. Experimental results show that the IEKF algorithm can reduce the error to 2.94% under dynamic stress test conditions, and robustness analysis is verified with noise interference, hence demonstrating its practicability for extending to state estimation of battery packs applied in real-world operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of intraoperative use of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence angiography (ICGFA) to prevent anastomotic leakage (AL) in rectal cancer surgery remains controversial. Methods: The systematic review for studies evaluating ICGFA in patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library was performed up to April 30, 2020. The primary outcome was the incidence of AL. The analysis was performed using RevMan v5.3 and Stata v12.0 software. Results: Eighteen studies comprising 4038 patients were included. In the present meta-analysis, intraoperative use of ICGFA markedly reduced AL rate (OR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.24–0.45; P < 0.0001; I2 = 0%) in rectal cancer surgery, which was still significant in surgeries limited to symptomatic AL (OR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.31–0.64; P < 0.0001; I2 = 22%). This intervention was also associated with shorter postoperative stays (MD = − 1.27; 95% CI: − 2.42 to − 0.13; P = 0.04; I2 = 60%). However, reoperation rate (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.34–1.10; P = 0.10; I2 = 6%), ileus rate (OR = 1.30; 95% CI: 0.60–2.82; P = 0.51; I2 = 56%), and surgical site infection rate (OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 0.62–3.20; P = 0.42; I2 = 0%) were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: The use of ICGFA was associated with a lower AL rate after rectal cancer resection. However, more multi-center RCTs with large sample size are required to further verify the value of ICGFA in rectal cancer surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban with warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and diabetes mellitus. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched from the establishment of databases up to 15 October 2019. Studies on efficacy and safety outcomes of rivaroxaban and warfarin were included. Efficacy and safety outcomes, including stroke, ischemic stroke, stroke or systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, major adverse cardiac events, major bleeding, intracranial hemorrhage, and major gastrointestinal bleeding were collected for meta-analysis. Results: Compared with warfarin, rivaroxaban could significantly reduce stroke (risk ratio [RR] 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63–0.95; P = 0.01), ischemic stroke (RR 0.74; 95% CI 0.63–0.87; P = 0.0004), stroke or systemic embolism (RR 0.73; 95% CI 0.60–0.89; P = 0.002), myocardial infarction (RR 0.68; 95% CI 0.56–0.82; P < 0.0001), and major adverse cardiac events (RR 0.71; 95% CI 0.53–0.94; P = 0.02) in patients with AF and diabetes. Moreover, rivaroxaban was associated with a lower risk of major bleeding (RR 0.79; 95% CI 0.65–0.96; P = 0.02), intracranial hemorrhage (RR 0.52; 95% CI 0.39–0.69; P < 0.00001), and major gastrointestinal bleeding (RR 0.74; 95% CI 0.56–0.98; P = 0.04). Similar results were obtained in stratified meta-analysis of cohort studies. Conclusion: Our study suggests a favorable risk–benefit profile of rivaroxaban, with superior efficacy and safety over warfarin in patients with AF and diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical features and outcome of interstitial lung disease (ILD)-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive ILD-only patients. Arthritis-onset and ILD-onset RA-ILD and ACPA-positive ILD-only patients consecutively admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2008 to December 2017 were enrolled and followed-up. Their demographic, clinical, and laboratory features as well as outcome were collected and analyzed. Compared with arthritis-onset RA-ILD (n = 166, median arthritis-to-ILD interval: 60 months), the ILD-onset RA-ILD (n = 75, median ILD-to-arthritis interval: 2 months) had less rheumatoid nodules and higher titer of ACPA, and manifested more stable ILD (median estimated progression-free survival: 120 vs. 100 months, p = 0.019). Elder age (≥ 65 years) at ILD diagnosis and UIP pattern were associated with ILD progression by both univariate and Cox hazards modeling analysis (p < 0.05). In ACPA-positive ILD-only patients (n = 41), arthritis developed in 7 (17.1%) female patients after a median interval of 24 months. ACPA-positive ILD who subsequently developed arthritis exhibited higher frequency of rheumatoid factor (RF), higher titer of ACPA, and higher levels of ESR and CRP (p < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that positive RF (OR 12.55, 95% CI 1.31 to 120.48) was the independent risk factor for arthritis development in ACPA-positive ILD-only patients. ILD-onset RA-ILD had more stable ILD compared with arthritis-onset RA-ILD. ACPA-positive ILD patients with positive RF are at increased risk of developing RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasonic energy can promote the dislocation motion in ultrasonic-assisted machining. The phase redistribution of Ti-6Al-4V alloy will occur in ultrasonic-assisted machining with appropriate ultrasonic powers. The variations of the volume fractions of β-Ti and α-Ti influence the microhardness on the processed surface. In the present paper, various rotary ultrasonic roller burnishing experiments were conducted to investigate the ultrasonic-induced phase redistribution of Ti-6Al-4V at different ultrasonic powers. The volume fractions of β-Ti and α-Ti were measured by X-ray diffraction. SEM images of the processed surfaces were used to analyze the microstructure evolution and grain refinement of Ti-6Al-4V at various ultrasonic powers. Then, the distributions of local misorientation, texture and grain boundary were observed by EBSD. The results indicated that the microhardness approached the maximum value on the processed surface while the volume fraction of β-Ti reached its maximum value. Finally, the modified phenomenological model was applied to elucidate the relationship among the microhardness, the phase volume fractions and the grain refinement. The fitting degree for microhardness between the modified phenomenological model prediction and experimental measurement was 92.2 pct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) is a commercially important marine fish and is widely cultured in the coastal area of South China. Salinity is one of the most important environmental factors influencing the growth and survival of fish. The aims of this study are to investigate the growth, physiological, and molecular responses of juvenile golden pompano reared at different salinities. Juveniles reared at 15 and 25‰ salinity grew significantly faster than those reared at the other salinities. According to the final body weights, weight gain rate, and feed conversion ratio, the suitable culture salinity range was 15–25‰ salinity. The levels of branchial NKA activity showed a typical "U-shaped" pattern with the lowest level at 15‰ salinity, which suggested a lower energy expenditure on osmoregulation at this level of salinity. The results of this study showed that the alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and cortisol of juveniles at 5‰ were higher than those of other salinity groups. Our results showed that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase significantly increased at 5‰ and 35‰ salinity. Our study showed that osmolality had significant differences in each salinity group. GH, GHR1, and GHR2 had a wide range of tissue expression including the liver, intestine, kidneys, muscle, gills and brain. The expression levels of GH, GHR1 and GHR2 in the intestine, kidneys, and muscle at 15‰ salinity were significantly higher than those in other three salinity groups. Based on the growth parameters and physiological and molecular responses, the results of the present study indicated that the optimal salinity for rearing golden pompano was 21.36‰ salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-cylinder pressure fluctuations caused by intake valve closure (IVC) event were first investigated experimentally based on a single cylinder diesel engine with different cams. The experimental results show that the occurrence of the in-cylinder pressure fluctuation during the compression stroke has a close correlation with the IVC event. The start time of the pressure oscillation advances as the IVC timing advances. With a fixed IVC timing, higher engine speed results in a larger fluctuation amplitude and a longer fluctuation duration. To explain these phenomena, a numerical simulation model has been adopted. Results show that the IVC event causes pressure oscillations in both the cylinder and intake runner. At the same engine speed, the amplitude of the pressure oscillation decreases first and then increases as the IVC retards due to the change of gas flow direction. With the same intake temperature, the absolute time delay keeps constant at different engine speeds and IVC timings. The absolute time delay decreases as the intake temperature decreases. Based on the conclusions above, the potential methods to use the pressure oscillation are also discussed. An innovative engine valve timing detection method on the basis of in-cylinder pressure oscillation is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutant KRas is a significant driver of human oncogenesis and confers resistance to therapy, underscoring the need to develop approaches that disable mutant KRas-driven tumors. Because targeting KRas directly has proven difficult, identifying vulnerabilities specific for mutant KRas tumors is an important alternative approach. Here we show that glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) is required for the in vitro and in vivo growth and survival of human mutant KRas-dependent tumors but is dispensable for mutant KRas-independent tumors. Further, inhibiting phosphorylation of GSK3 substrates c-Myc on T58 and β-catenin on S33/S37/T41 and their subsequent upregulation contribute to the antitumor activity of GSK3 inhibition. Importantly, GSK3 blockade inhibits the in vivo growth of G12D, G12V, and G12C mutant KRas primary and metastatic patient-derived xenografts from pancreatic cancer patients who progressed on chemo- and radiation therapies. This discovery opens new avenues to target mutant KRas-dependent cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Golden pompano, Trachinotus ovatus, belongs to the family Carangidae. Within one decade, this species has rapidly become one of the most important cultured marine fish species in South China. However, the lack of a comprehensive genetic diversity assessment hinders the conservation of natural resources and management of cultured populations. Thus, we sampled one wild population and six cultured populations of golden pompano, which represented the whole cultured population, to assess the genetic diversity and population structure. The level of genetic diversity was low compared with those of other cultured fish, as the values of allelic richness, number of effective alleles and expected heterozygosity in the combined whole sample were 3.709, 2.592, and 0.591, respectively. These populations were little differentiated (Fst = 0.02091, p value = 0.00), and the whole sample did not show an explicit population structure at the individual level. The effective population size in each cultured population was small and in the whole sample was acceptable for a closed selection system. The pedigree reconstruction showed no evidence of artificial disturbance in mating. This general survey of cultured golden pompano populations showed the common characteristics of domestication with wild inputs. However, the low level of and potential decrease in genetic diversity should receive close attention in future breeding programs. In addition, we recommend wide surveys of natural resources and the establishment of closed breeding systems to increase genetic gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the response of the rice photosynthetic-fluorescence characteristics to the application of different nitrogen forms with water-saving irrigation, by using LI-6400XT-type photosynthetic apparatus and other equipment, the fluorescence parameters, stomatal resistance and photosynthetic-CO2 response curves of rice were measured at the critical stages under water-saving irrigation methods. Results showed that the change trend of ETR and photochemical fluorescence quenching coefficient (Qp) with different nitrogen forms were declining-rising-declining. Compared with CK (control treatment), ETR and Qp with NO3− treatment were better than the others, which indicated that this treatment was most advantageous to increasing ETR. The electron flow from PSII oxidation-lateral to PSII was enhanced. The potential quantum efficiency (Fv/Fm) was the lowest at tillering stage and the highest at heading stage. Compared with CK, at heading stage, Fv/Fm with NO3−, NH4+ NO3− and NH4+ treatments was increased by 1.68, 0.61 and 1.81%, respectively, while NO3− and NH4+ played a more important role in promoting the ability to capture light. The change trend of non-photochemical fluorescence quenching coefficient with different treatments was not obvious. During the growth period, the stomatal resistance (Rs) was changed dynamically, reaching the second peak at the jointing stage and the highest peak at the milk-ripe stage, and both were higher than CK. The Rs of different nitrogen forms was as NH4+ > NH4+NO3− > NO3−, which showed that with different nitrogen forms, Rs of NO3− treatment was low, stomatal opening was correspondingly greater than the other nitrogen forms, and under the same moisture conditions, this treatment of stomatal opening was more beneficial for gas exchange and external CO2 flowing into the leaf cells, which could increase photosynthetic physiological response. By fitting the parameters of photosynthetic-CO2 response curve, it was concluded that the photorespiration rate (RP) was greater than CK, but it was different for three nitrogen treatments during different periods. Rice light saturation point and apparent carboxylation efficiency (α) of NO3− treatment during three growth periods were more uniform, indicating that this treatment had a higher utilization rate for low concentration of CO2. Maximum photosynthetic rate (Pmax) with NO3− and NH4+ treatments of the three growth periods was 29.396-31.208 and 28.969-31.371, respectively. The CO2 compensation point and curve angle (θ) had no stable trend during the whole growth period. Therefore, the nitrogen forms could influence the photosynthetic characteristics of the rice leaves, and the result can provide theoretical guidance and scientific basis for increasing the efficiency of nitrogen utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a leading cause of ischemic stroke. Plaque stabilization is a major management approach. Information about the ultrasonographical and clinical features associated with the progression of moderate internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis (50-69%) could assist with prognostication and risk factor modifications. We evaluated 287 patients with moderate ICA stenosis (50-69%) and subsequently evaluated them at follow-up points at 12, 24, and 36 months. Patients were divided into three groups according to the degree of ICA stenosis: progression (70-99%, n = 48), stable (50-69%, n = 210), and regression (< 50%, n = 29). Responsible plaque thickness (RPT) across groups during follow-up was compared using a repeated measure ANOVA test. An ordinal regression was subsequently applied to identify risk factors for atherosclerosis progression. Male (P = 0.04), hypoechoic plaque (P < 0.01), smoking (P = 0.02), plaque ulceration (P = 0.05), and contralateral severe CAS or occlusions (P = 0.04) on ultrasound was more frequent in the progression group vs. other two groups. The ordinal regression revealed that only hypoechoic plaque (OR, 7.03; 95% CI, 3.34-14.81; P < 0.01) and contralateral ICA severe stenosis or occlusion (OR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.41-5.80; P < 0.01) were independently associated with stenosis progression, while statin use was inversely associated with stenosis progression (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.13-0.54; P < 0.01). Of note, symptomatic vs. asymptomatic moderate CAS at baseline was not associated with progression. For patients with moderate CAS, hypoechoic plaque, contralateral severe stenosis or occlusion on ultrasonography, and statin use are independently related to stenosis progression. Statin use may delay the progression of carotid stenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of a machined part is significantly influenced by its various surface integrity characteristics. However, the surface integrity of a machined part depends on the material and the cutting conditions employed. The present work investigates the effects of the cutting speed, the feed rate, and the tool nose radius on machined surface roughness, microhardness, and degree of work hardening of Inconel 718. Dry turning tests are performed using three different cutting speeds, three different feed rates, and two cutting tools with different nose radius. The results indicate that the feed rate and the tool nose radius have dominant effect on the machined surface roughness, whereas no clear tendency between the cutting speed and the surface roughness can be found. The results also indicate that the degree of work hardening is strengthened as the cutting speed and the feed rate increase. However, the degree of work hardening tends to be reduced significantly when larger tool nose radius is employed. Through the analysis of the results in the present work, the mechanism of the machined surface roughness and the degree of work hardening of dry turning Inconel 718 can be better understood. This can be contributed to investigate the effect of surface integrity on fatigue life of a machined part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological niches and species abundance distributions of chigger mites were studied on small mammal hosts captured from 34 sites in Yunnan Province of southwest China between 2001 and 2015. Levins' niche breadth and Colwell-Futuyma's method were used to quantitatively evaluate host-specificity and similarity of host selection. Hierarchical analysis was used to illustrate niche overlap among mite species. Most mite species had a wide range of hosts with low host specificity. The niche overlaps between different mite species did not correlate with their taxonomic positions. Some mite species from different genera showed high niche overlaps and some others within the same genus showed low niche overlaps. Preston's lognormal distribution model was used to fit the theoretical curve of species abundance distribution of mite community on Rattus tanezumi, the most dominant host species. The total expected mite species were then estimated roughly based on Preston's method. The theoretical curve tendency of species abundance distribution indicated that the majority of mite species were rare species and that there were few dominant species with abundant individuals. The total expected number of mite species on R. tanezumi was estimated to be 224 species, and 92 species were likely missed in the sampling investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deformation mechanism of engineered municipal construction waste (EMCW) is complicated and different from that of the traditional soil. A series of field tests and field measurements were performed on the piled mountain project to investigate the deformation characteristics of EMCW during the construction waste accumulation. Experimental studies revealed that EMCW was defined as a kind of heterogeneous soil with well-graded soil. The coefficients of uniformity were all greater than 10, while the coefficients of curvature were between 1 and 3. The permeability had approximately the same performance as the sandy gravel did. The field test results showed EMCW had the characteristics of small deformation and the time effect of loading. The p-s curves indicated that the bearing capacity of construction waste improved after 1 year's filling. These phenomena were mostly caused by the complexity, diversity, and inhomogeneity of EMCW. According to the proposed control standards of settlement and lateral deformation, as a method of foundation treatment, EMCW was an effective way to build a large piled mountain on soft soil foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigated the involvement of pulmonary function impairment in ulcerative colitis (UC), to explore a scientific basis for the Chinese medicine (CM) theory of exterior-interior correlation between Lung (Fei) and Large intestine (Dachang). Methods: Totally 120 patients with a diagnosis of UC were recruited and the demographics, clinical data, and blood samples were collected. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) concentrations were measured. Every patient accepted pulmonary function test and took chest radiograph (CXR).> Results: Pulmonary function abnormalities were present in 72 of 120 patients. The median (interquartile range) vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV), carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (DL) of lung, total lung capacity (TLC) and functional residual volume (FRV) were decreased in distal UC and pancolitis compared with ulcerative prochitis ( P <0.0005). Male patients had increased VC, FEV/FVC, and residual volume (RV)/TLC compared with female ( P <0.0005), but decreased DL and carbon monoxide iffusion capacity (K) of lung/alveolar ventilation ( P <0.0005). Age was strongly correlated with RV (Spearman rank correlation coefficient (rs)=−0.57, P <0.0001), and RV/TLC (rs=0.48, P<0.0001). Age was also correlated with FEV/FVC (rs=−0.29, P=0.001), forced expiratory flow in 75% vital capacity (FEF75%, rs=−0.20, P=0.03), DL (rs=−0.21, P=0.02), TLC (rs=−0.25, P=0.006), and FRV (rs=−0.28, P=0.002). The course of disease was correlated with FEF75% (rs=−0.18, P=0.049) and K (rs=−0.19, P=0.036). Chest radiograph abnormalities were presented in 38 of 120. Pulmonary symptoms were presented in 10 of 120. Other extraintestinal complications were presented in 21 of 120. Conclusions: Pulmonary function impairment was more frequently than other extraintestinal complications in UC patients, which may be affected by sex, age, extent and course of disease. These results may be a scientific basis for the theory of exterior-interior correlation between Lung and Large intestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underconsolidated soils in reclaimed land have low strength and high compressibility, resulting in susceptibility to excessive settlement and associated negative effects, which can be controlled by grouting. However, there is little research on the mechanism of grouting in underconsolidated soil, compared with the normally consolidated or overconsolidated soil. In this study, we present a series of laboratory grouting tests to investigate the grouting mechanism and the effect of degree of consolidation, soil type, load increment ratio and initial overlying load on the grouting performance. The results showed that the influence of grouting on primary consolidation settlement for underconsolidated soil included the heave effect, the additional settlement due to the dissipation of excess pore water pressure induced by grouting and the reduced settlement due to the increased modulus induced by grouting. However, grouting in underconsolidated soil had no influence on the secondary consolidation settlement. Grouting in underconsolidated soil with low degree of consolidation could obtain a shorter time of primary consolidation and a higher final grouting efficiency in primary consolidation stage. The final grouting efficiency in primary consolidation stage increased linearly with increasing load increment ratio, but decreased with increasing initial overlying load. As the overconsolidation ratio increased, the final grouting efficiency in primary consolidation stage decreased for underconsolidated soil, dropping to the lowest value for normally consolidated soil and then increased for the overconsolidated soil, reaching a limit. Moreover, the peak grouting pressure was proportional to the vertical effective stress at the beginning of grouting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction to: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy (2021) 70:1015-1029 https://doi.org/10.1007/s... In the original version of this published article, the authors mistakenly used the wrong Transwell image of "si-CMTM6 for Cal-27" in Fig. Correction to: OSCC cell-secreted exosomal CMTM6 induced M2-like macrophages polarization via ERK1/2 signaling pathway The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-020-02741-2. [Extracted from the article]

Twenty-five single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were developed and characterized from the expressed sequence tags of the pearl oyster Pinctada martensii in this study. The SNP genotyping of the wild population and an artificially bred population was analyzed using unlabeled probe high resolution melting. All the loci contained two alleles, and the minor allele frequency ranged from 0.117 to 0.494. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.234 to 0.767 and from 0.207 to 0.726 respectively. Three loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and significant linkage dis-equilibrate was detected in two pairs of markers. Two loci deviated significantly from the Mendelian ratios ( P < 0.05), suggesting that these two sites may be subject to selection pressure. Markers developed in this study can be used for population evaluation, parentage analysis and genetic improvement in P. martensii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammasome is an intracellular signaling complex of the innate immune system. Activation of inflammasomes promotes the secretion of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 and triggers pyroptosis. Caspase-1 and -11 (or -4/5 in human) in the canonical and non-canonical inflammasome pathways, respectively, are crucial for inflammasome-mediated inflammatory responses. Here we report that gasdermin D (GSDMD) is another crucial component of inflammasomes. We discovered the presence of GSDMD protein in nigericin-induced NLRP3 inflammasomes by a quantitative mass spectrometry-based analysis. Gene deletion of GSDMD demonstrated that GSDMD is required for pyroptosis and for the secretion but not proteolytic maturation of IL-1β in both canonical and non-canonical inflammasome responses. It was known that GSDMD is a substrate of caspase-1 and we showed its cleavage at the predicted site during inflammasome activation and that this cleavage was required for pyroptosis and IL-1β secretion. Expression of the N-terminal proteolytic fragment of GSDMD can trigger cell death and N-terminal modification such as tagging with Flag sequence disrupted the function of GSDMD. We also found that pro-caspase-1 is capable of processing GSDMD and ASC is not essential for GSDMD to function. Further analyses of LPS plus nigericin- or Salmonella typhimurium-treated macrophage cell lines and primary cells showed that apoptosis became apparent in Gsdmd−/− cells, indicating a suppression of apoptosis by pyroptosis. The induction of apoptosis required NLRP3 or other inflammasome receptors and ASC, and caspase-1 may partially contribute to the activation of apoptotic caspases in Gsdmd−/− cells. These data provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of pyroptosis and reveal an unexpected interplay between apoptosis and pyroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by using multi-temporal and high resolution Landsat data and geographic information system techniques, the land use/land cover (LULC) in the 2-km buffer zone of 52 meteorological stations in the Anhui province of China is retrieved and categorized into three types: vegetation (including farmland, forest and grass land), water (including lakes, rivers and pools), and construction (including buildings and roads). Besides, the land surface temperature (LST) in the buffer zone of these stations is also obtained from thermal infrared data. The normalized LST index (NLI) and the heat effect contribution index (HECI) of different LULC types are calculated. Via case studies and statistical analysis, the LULC and thermal environment's temporal-spatial variance in the 2-km buffer zone of these stations are surveyed, and their impacts on the observational environment are investigated. The study shows that the observational environments of the meteorological stations in Anhui province have been greatly influenced by rapid urbanization. The study proposes two new methods to classify the stations' observational environment into three types (urban, sub-urban, and rural). One uses the NLI and the other uses the HECI. The NLI method needs only LST information. The HECI method combines both LULC and LST information and, hence, is considered more reliable. The evaluation methods and criteria can be used conveniently, effectively, and quantitatively, and are especially useful when analyzing observational data from meteorological stations in weather and climate research and when choosing a location for a new meteorological station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]