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The type VI secretion system 2 (T6SS2) gene cluster of Vibrio parahaemolyticus comprises three operons: VPA1027-1024, VPA1043-1028, and VPA1044-1046. AcsS is a LysR-like transcriptional regulator that play a role in activating flagella-driven motility in V. parahaemolyticus. However, its potential roles in other cellular pathways remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments to investigate the regulatory effects of AcsS on the transcription of VPA1027 (hcp2), VPA1043, and VPA1044. The findings revealed that AcsS indirectly inhibits the transcription of these genes. Additionally, deletion of acsS resulted in enhanced adhesion of V. parahaemolyticus to HeLa cells. However, disruption of T6SS2 alone or in conjunction with AcsS significantly diminished the adhesion capacity of V. parahaemolyticus to HeLa cells. Therefore, it is suggested that AcsS suppresses cell adhesion in V. parahaemolyticus by downregulating the transcription of T6SS2 genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of laser-induced graphene (LIG) technology has streamlined the fabrications of flexible graphene devices. However, the ultrafast kinetics triggered by laser irradiation generates intrinsic amorphous characteristics, leading to high resistivity and compromised performance in electronic devices. Healing graphene defects in specific patterns is technologically challenging by conventional methods. Herein, we report the rapid rectification of LIG's topological defects by flash Joule heating in milliseconds (referred to as F-LIG), whilst preserving its overall structure and porosity. The F-LIG exhibits a decreased ID/IG ratio from 0.84 – 0.33 and increased crystalline domain from Raman analysis, coupled with a 5-fold surge in conductivity. Pair distribution function and atomic-resolution imaging delineate a broader-range order of F-LIG with a shorter C-C bond of 1.425 Å. The improved crystallinity and conductivity of F-LIG with excellent flexibility enables its utilization in high-performance soft electronics and low-voltage disinfections. Notably, our F-LIG/polydimethylsiloxane strain sensor exhibits a gauge factor of 129.3 within 10% strain, which outperforms pristine LIG by 800%, showcasing significant potential for human-machine interfaces. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) can be obtained via a practically convenient approach, but its amorphous characteristics limit its applications. Here, the authors report a flash Joule heating strategy to improve the crystalline quality and conductivity of LIG, leading to strain sensors with enhanced sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been implicated in the mechanisms underlying the fibrotic process in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and results in disease exacerbation; however, the molecular details of this mechanism remain unclear. Through microarray and bioinformatic analyses, we explored genetic alterations in myocardial fibrosis (MF) and identified potential biomarkers related to ER stress. We integrated two public microarray datasets, including 19 DCM and 16 control samples, and comprehensively analyzed differential expression, biological functions, molecular interactions, and immune infiltration levels. The immune cell signatures suggest that inflammatory immune imbalance may promote MF progression. Both innate and adaptive immunity are involved in MF development, and T-cell subsets account for a considerable proportion of immune infiltration. The immune subtypes were further compared, and 103 differentially expressed ER stress-related genes were identified. These genes were mainly enriched in neuronal apoptosis, protein modification, oxidative stress reaction, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, and NOD-like receptor signaling pathways. Furthermore, the 15 highest-scoring core genes were identified. Seven hub genes (AK1, ARPC3, GSN, KPNA2, PARP1, PFKL, and PRKC) might participate in immune-related mechanisms. Our results offer a new integrative view of the pathways and interaction networks of ER stress-related genes and provide guidance for developing novel therapeutic strategies for MF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deployment of cloud services enables users to outsource their data to cloud servers and retrieve the target data efficiently. However, the application of quantum computers in clouds would be realized from the recent breakthrough results of quantum computers. Existing authentication schemes based on conventional hardness assumptions will be confronted with quantum attackers in the near future. A lattice-based authentication scheme resolves this tension. Although, existing lattice-based authentication schemes employing identity-based signcryption (IBS), the security against misbehaved private key generators (mPKG) is not well-considered, which may cause privacy issues in some application scenarios since the mPKG can generate the secret key for any given identity. This paper proposes an IBS-based authentication scheme for cloud storage dubbed LAMA that thwarts adversaries who have quantum computing power. We integrate the IBS scheme with the lattice-based cryptography, which is the variant of existing IBS-based authentication schemes and is post-quantum secure. We integrate identity certifying authority (ICA) with private key generator (PKG) to ensure security against mPKG. Our comprehensive security proof demonstrates that LAMA is indistinguishable against chosen plaintext attacks and secure against mPKG. We conduct a comprehensive performance evaluation of LAMA, which demonstrates the high efficiency of LAMA in terms of computation and communication overhead and proves that it can be easily deployed on low configured user devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical bonds, including covalent and ionic bonds, endow semiconductors with stable electronic configurations but also impose constraints on their synthesis and lattice-mismatched heteroepitaxy. Here, the unique multi-scale van der Waals (vdWs) interactions are explored in one-dimensional tellurium (Te) systems to overcome these restrictions, enabled by the vdWs bonds between Te atomic chains and the spontaneous misfit relaxation at quasi-vdWs interfaces. Wafer-scale Te vdWs nanomeshes composed of self-welding Te nanowires are laterally vapor grown on arbitrary surfaces at a low temperature of 100 °C, bringing greater integration freedoms for enhanced device functionality and broad applicability. The prepared Te vdWs nanomeshes can be patterned at the microscale and exhibit high field-effect hole mobility of 145 cm2/Vs, ultrafast photoresponse below 3 μs in paper-based infrared photodetectors, as well as controllable electronic structure in mixed-dimensional heterojunctions. All these device metrics of Te vdWs nanomesh electronics are promising to meet emerging technological demands. The limited scalability of 1D semiconductors has restricted their large-area optoelectronic applications so far. Here, the authors report the low-temperature synthesis of wafer-scale van der Waals nanomeshes composed of self-welding Te nanowires on various substrates, showing improved transport and photoelectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional approaches for improving corrosion resistance of alloys typically lead to the sacrifice of mechanical properties because the microstructures needed for improving corrosion resistance often contradict those for high strength. Here we demonstrate that selected laser melting (SLM), a net-shape additive manufacture technique, can maintain good mechanical properties while double the corrosion-resistance of a N-doped CoCrFeNi HEA. The SLM processed sample possesses a heterogeneous microstructure with 3D dislocation cells inside each grain. The SLM-induced 3D dislocation cell structure can provide effective diffusion paths to significantly promote Cr outward segregation, forming a thick protective Cr oxide layer, which renders excellent corrosion resistance. Furthermore, Cr segregation along cell boundaries provides numerous sites for nucleation of oxides, and stabilizes the cell structure for good mechanical properties. The strategy discovered here may also be applied to other HEAs with multiple strengthening mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The self-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (scHA) and steroids are considered as efficient factors for postoperative management after chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) nasal surgery. This randomized clinical trial is designed to investigate the efficacy and potential of scHA gel as a topical drug sustained release carrier for steroid of budesonide. Methods: The study is performed with 30 patients of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). The single application of scHA was assessed in the control patient group for postoperative recovery. In the treatment patient group, the combination of scHA/budesonide was applied for postoperative management. The patients are followed up in 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 12 weeks after surgery. Results: The combination of scHA/budesonide results in better endoscopic scoring and mucus evaluation than the single scHA application. Conclusion: The results indicate that the combination of scHA/budesonide is a valuable treatment for the FESS postoperative management and implies the potential of scHA gel as a topical drug sustained release scaffold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the demographics, multimodality therapeutic outcomes*** and prognostic factors in sinonasal rhabdomyosarcoma (SNRMS). Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 40 patients who underwent treatment of SNRMS from March 2007 to March 2018. The Kaplan–Meier method and the log-rank test were used to assess survival rates. The Cox regression model was used for multivariate survival analysis. Results: In total, 25 males and 15 females were included in the study; the median age was 33 years (range, 2–67 years). All patients underwent surgical resection, and surgery prior to or after adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy and radiotherapy) was performed in 91.4% of the patients. The overall 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 77.0%, 46.5% and 46.5%, respectively, during a mean follow-up time of 27.9 (range, 2–128) months in all patients. The log-rank test showed Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (IRS) group and infiltration of the skull base influenced overall survival (p = 0.001; p = 0.022). Advanced IRS stage, lymph node metastasis and tumor size ≥ 5 cm were also associated with an unfavorable outcome on overall survival (p = 0.01; p = 0.035; p = 0.02). The results of multivariate regression analysis showed patients with IRS group I were associated with better prognosis outcome on overall survival. Conclusion: Patients with SNRMS have poor 5-year overall survival, and IRS group is the independent prognostic factor for overall survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Department of Geriatrics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, P.R China The original article has been corrected. The online version of the original article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-023-01871-z B Apoptosis b https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-023-01871-z Unfortunately, In the original version of this article, the author names were listed incorrectly as Wanpeng Li SP 1 sp - Peiling Liu SP 2 sp - Huilin Liu SP 3 sp - Fuchun Zhang SP 4 sp - Fu Yicheng SP 4 sp - Yicheng Fu SP 4 sp But, it should have been, Wanpeng Li SP 1 sp , Peiling Liu SP 2 sp , Huilin Liu SP 3 sp ,Fuchun Zhang SP 3 sp , Yicheng Fu SP 3 sp In addition, the correct affiliation of authors will be as follows: 1. [Extracted from the article]

Threshold public key encryption allows a set of servers to decrypt a ciphertext if a given threshold of authorized servers cooperate. In the setting of threshold public key encryption, we consider the question of how to correctly decrypt a ciphertext where all servers continually leak information about their secret keys to an external attacker. Dodis et al. and Akavia et al. show two concrete schemes on how to store secrets on continually leaky servers. However, their constructions are only interactive between two servers. To achieve continual leakage security among more than two servers, we give the first threshold public key encryption scheme against adaptively chosen ciphertext attack in the continual leakage model under three static assumptions. In our model, the servers update their keys individually and asynchronously, without any communication between two servers. Moreover, the update procedure is re-randomized and the randomness can leak as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present two forward-secure signature schemes (FSS) with untrusted update. Our constructions use ideas from the work of Abdalla et al. [1] and Kozlov and Reyzin [2] in their forward-secure digital signature schemes. Our schemes are proven to be forward-secure based on the hardness of factoring in the random oraclemodel. Both schemes use the same method to encrypt the private key and are more efficient than Libert scheme [3] without adding any burden to the original forward-secure schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the proportion of natural gas consumption of the manufacturing industry would make significant contributions to the low-carbon and sustainable development of China, which is one of the largest manufacturers in the world. However, it is very difficult to catch the trend of natural gas consumption of the concerning manufacturing industry as not enough trustable data can be collected. To fill this gap, a novel time-delayed fractional grey model is developed to forecast the natural gas consumption concerning time-delayed effect. Theoretical analysis shows it has more general formulation, unbiasedness and higher flexibility than the existing similar model. Being optimized by the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm, the proposed model presents higher accuracy in four validation cases. Finally, it is used to forecast the natural gas consumption of the manufacturing industry of China, and the results show that the proposed model significantly outperforms the other seven existing grey models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]