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In various countries worldwide, the incidence of colon cancer-related deaths has been on the rise in recent years. Early detection of symptoms and identification of intestinal polyps are crucial for improving the cure rate of colon cancer patients. Automated computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has emerged as a solution to the low efficiency of traditional methods relying on manual diagnosis by physicians. Deep learning is the latest direction of CAD development and has shown promise for colonoscopic polyp segmentation. In this paper, we present a multi-level encoder-decoder architecture for polyp segmentation based on the Transformer architecture, termed NA-SegFormer. To improve the performance of existing Transformer-based segmentation algorithms for edge segmentation on colon polyps, we propose a patch merging module with a neighbor attention mechanism based on overlap patch merging. Since colon tract polyps vary greatly in size and different datasets have different sample sizes, we used a unified focal loss to solve the problem of category imbalance in colon tract polyp data. To assess the effectiveness of our proposed method, we utilized video capsule endoscopy and typical colonoscopy polyp datasets, as well as a dataset containing surgical equipment. On the datasets Kvasir-SEG, Kvasir-Instrument and KvasirCapsule-SEG, the Dice score of our proposed model reached 94.30%, 94.59% and 82.73%, with an accuracy of 98.26%, 99.02% and 81.84% respectively. The proposed method achieved inference speed with an Frame-per-second (FPS) of 125.01. The results demonstrated that our suggested model effectively segmented polyps better than several well-known and latest models. In addition, the proposed method has advantages in trade-off between inference speed and accuracy, and it will be of great significance to real-time colonoscopic polyp segmentation. The code is available at https://github.com/promisedong/NAFormer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dysregulated lipid oxidation occurs in several pathological processes characterized by cell proliferation and migration. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanism of lipid oxidation is not well appreciated in liver fibrosis, which is accompanied by enhanced fibroblast proliferation and migration. Methods: We investigated the causes and consequences of lipid oxidation in liver fibrosis using cultured cells, animal models, and clinical samples. Results: Increased ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (ENPP1) expression caused increased lipid oxidation, resulting in the proliferation and migration of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) that lead to liver fibrosis, whereas fibroblast-specific ENPP1 knockout reversing these results. Elevated ENPP1 and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) levels were associated with high expression of Wilms tumor 1 associated protein (WTAP). Mechanistically, WTAP-mediated m6A methylation of the 3'UTR of ENPP1 mRNA and induces its translation dependent of YTH domain family proteins 1 (YTHDF1). Additionally, ENPP1 could interact with hypoxia inducible lipid droplet associated (HILPDA) directly; overexpression of ENPP1 further recruits HILPDA-mediated lipid oxidation, thereby promotes HSCs proliferation and migration, while inhibition of ENPP1 expression produced the opposite effect. Clinically, increased expression of WTAP, YTHDF1, ENPP1, and HILPDA, and increased m6A mRNA content, enhanced lipid oxidation, and increased collagen deposition in human liver fibrosis tissues. Conclusions: We describe a novel mechanism in which WTAP catalyzes m6A methylation of ENPP1 in a YTHDF1-dependent manner to enhance lipid oxidation, promoting HSCs proliferation and migration and liver fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure, precipitates, fracture morphology, and mechanical properties of both the Ti microalloyed rebars during the rolling process and the final product were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and a universal tensile testing machine. The results indicated that the precipitation of Ti in deformed austenite can inhibit the recrystallization of austenite and refine its grains. The stability of undercooled austenite improves with an increase in Ti content, leading to a reduction in the transformation temperature of ferrite (F) and pearlite (P), refinement of the microstructure, and promotion of bainite (B) transformation. The reduction in F grain size and increase in B are advantageous for improving the strength and tensile/yield of rebars. However, the elongation at maximum force and elongation after fracture decrease. When the Ti content exceeds 0.06%, the strength change of the rebar is primarily governed by the B. A continuous increase in stress during the tensile process, the disappearance of the yield plateau, and a decrease in ductility are caused by the increase in dislocation density and precipitates in the rebar. Better mechanical properties are exhibited by the rebar when the Ti content is 0.028%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muscle invasive bladder cancers (BCs) can be divided into 2 major subgroups-basal/squamous (BASQ) tumors and luminal tumors. Since Pparg has low or undetectable expression in BASQ tumors, we tested the effects of rosiglitazone, Pparg agonist, in a mouse model of BASQ BC. We find that rosiglitazone reduces proliferation while treatment with rosiglitazone plus trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, induces apoptosis and reduces tumor volume by 91% after 1 month. Rosiglitazone and trametinib also induce a shift from BASQ to luminal differentiation in tumors, which our analysis suggests is mediated by retinoid signaling, a pathway known to drive the luminal differentiation program. Our data suggest that rosiglitazone, trametinib, and retinoids, which are all FDA approved, may be clinically active in BASQ tumors in patients. New treatments are needed for muscle invasive bladder cancers. Here, the authors show that combined Pparg activation and MEK inhibition using FDA approved drugs shrinks tumor volume and induces a Basal/Squamous-to-Luminal shift in the urothelium as well as in invading tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the rapid antidepressant potential and the underlying mechanism of Chaihu Shugan San (CSS) in female mice. Methods: Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS was used to determine the content of main components in CSS to determine its stability. Female C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, including control (saline), vehicle (saline), CSS (4 g/kg) and ketamine (30 mg/kg) groups. Mice were subjected to irregular stress stimulation for 4 weeks to establish the chronic mild stress (CMS) model, then received a single administration of drugs. Two hours later, the behavioral tests were performed, including open field test, tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST), novelty suppression feeding test (NSF), and sucrose preference test (SPT). Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression levels of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA) subtypes [N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 1 (NR1), NR2A, NR2B], synaptic proteins [synapsin1 and post synaptic density protein 95 (PSD95)], and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Moreover, the rapid antidepressant effect of CSS was tested by pharmacological technologies and optogenetic interventions that activated glutamate receptors, NMDA. Results: Compared with the vehicle group, a single administration of CSS (4 g/kg) reversed all behavioral defects in TST, FST, SPT and NSF caused by CMS (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CSS also significantly decreased the expressions of NMDA subtypes (NR1, NR2A, NR2B) at 2 h in hippocampus of mice (all P<0.01). In addition, similar to ketamine, CSS increased levels of synaptic proteins and BDNF (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Furthermore, the rapid antidepressant effects of CSS were blocked by transient activation of NMDA receptors in the hippocampus (all P<0.01). Conclusion: Rapid antidepressant effects of CSS by improving behavioral deficits in female CMS mice depended on rapid suppression of NMDA receptors and activation of synaptic proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adversarial attacks pose a significant threat to real-world applications based on deep neural networks (DNNs), especially in security-critical applications. Research has shown that adversarial examples (AEs) generated on a surrogate model can also succeed on a target model, which is known as transferability. Feature-level transfer-based attacks improve the transferability of AEs by disrupting intermediate features. They target the intermediate layer of the model and use feature importance metrics to find these features. However, current methods overfit feature importance metrics to surrogate models, which results in poor sharing of the importance metrics across models and insufficient destruction of deep features. This work demonstrates the trade-off between feature importance metrics and feature corruption generalization, and categorizes feature destructive causes of misclassification. This work proposes a generative framework named PTNAA to guide the destruction of deep features across models, thus improving the transferability of AEs. Specifically, the method introduces path methods into integrated gradients. It selects path functions using only a priori knowledge and approximates neuron attribution using nonuniform sampling. In addition, it measures neurons based on the attribution results and performs feature-level attacks to remove inherent features of the image. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The code is available at https://github.com/lounwb/PTNAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machining configurations, as well as machine tools and coolant conditions, have a significant impact on the selection of cutting parameters. Cutting parameter selection varies with the dynamics of the machining configuration. However, most of the existing approaches carry out cutting parameter optimization under the fixed machining configuration and cannot have the capability to dynamically optimize cutting parameters according to the machining configuration. To this end, a data and mechanism hybrid-driven cutting parameter optimization method is proposed considering machine tool and coolant condition flexibility. Specifically, the effect of various machining configurations and cutting parameters on energy consumption is analyzed, and the cutting parameter optimization model is proposed considering the machine tool and coolant condition flexibility. Secondly, the proximal policy optimization-based cutting parameter energy-efficiency optimization method is developed to select cutting parameters based on the dynamic change of machining configurations. Finally, a case study is conducted to validate the proposed cutting parameter optimization method, and the results show that (1) the proposed data-mechanism hybrid-driven modeling approach can integrate the advantage of data-driven and mechanism-driven models, improving its prediction accuracy compared with other methods; (2) the energy consumption characteristics varies with the dynamic change of machining configurations, and the proposed cutting parameter optimization method can efficiently select cutting parameters adapted to the dynamic change of machining configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluid dynamics and structural enhancements of a novel industrial jet loop reactor (JLR) were investigated through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The arc-shaped trajectory of W-shaped baffle facilitated the continued circulation of a substantial portion of the fluid, resulting in increased total gas holdup, axial liquid velocity, and overall liquid circulation volume. Compared to similar reactors with a round baffle, the JLR increased gas holdup from 13.01% to 14.04% and liquid circulation volume from 4.67 m3/s to 4.94 m3/s; the W-shaped baffles increased gas holdup and liquid circulation volume by approximately 8% and 7%, respectively. Additionally, the study explored the influence of various structural parameters such as nozzle diameter, nozzle quantity, draft tube length and shape. Optimal structural parameters were determined based on this analysis. The insights and design proposed in this work will provide valuable perspectives and further understanding for reactor scale-up in industrial applications, serving as a guide for geometric and flow pattern functionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study utilized the stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) to thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) ratio to predict the long-term efficacy of 131I therapy in patients with moderate-to-high-risk differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 960 DTC patients with a median follow-up time of 30 months (6–92 months). The median age was 44 years. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy, lymph node dissection, and at least one 131I therapy. Patients were subjected to a final efficacy evaluation according to American Thyroid Association's 2015 guidelines. Patients were grouped according to their TSH levels before the initial 131I therapy and the final efficacy evaluation, and factors influencing TSH levels and final efficacy were analyzed. Construction of nomograms using independent risk factors affecting long-term outcomes. The cut-offs of sTg and sTg/TSH ratios were calculated for different long-term outcomes. Progression-free survival (PFS) of patients was analyzed by making Kaplan-Meier survival according to the cut-offs of sTg and sTg/TSH ratio. Results: TSH (mU/L) levels were more concentrated at 60–90 in females (71.5%) and 30–60 in males (39.0%), while patients with younger age, more lymph node metastases, shorter time interval between surgery and the first 131I therapy, and lower dose of levothyroxine sodium taken prior to the first 131I therapy would have higher TSH levels (All P < 0.05).Patients who are male, have primary tumor involvement of the strap muscles, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and higher sTg and sTg/TSH are more likely to have poor long-term outcomes (All P < 0.05).The cut-offs of sTg and sTg/TSH for long-term efficacy were 7.515 and 0.095. STg, sTg/TSH, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis were shown to be independent risk factors for long-term efficacy. The mean PFSs were longer for patients who had sTg/TSH ≤ 0.095 and/or sTg≤7.515 ug/L. Conclusions: For patients with moderate-to-high-risk DTC, when sTg>7.515 ug/L and/or sTg/TSH > 0.095 before the first 131I therapy, patients are more likely to have a poor long-term efficacy after full 131I therapy. This means that this group of patients may require further surgical treatment or targeted drug therapy after 131I therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the structural stability, elastic properties, structural transformation, and critical concentration of Ni3Al and Ni3M (M = Ti, Ta, Nb) using L12, D024, and DO22 structures, along with three-dimensional supercells featuring stacking faults along [ 10 1 ¯ ] , [ 01 1 ¯ ] , [111] directions. First-principles calculations revealed that the most stable structures for Ni3Al, Ni3Ti, Ni3Ta, and Ni3Nb are L12, D024, DO22, and DO22, respectively. Notably, the bulk modulus, Young′s modulus, shear modulus, and isotropy of Ni3Ti, Ni3Ta, and Ni3Nb surpassed those of Ni3Al, with increased ductility, except for Ni3Ti. By substituting Al atoms with 0–8 Ti, Ta, and Nb atoms in a 32-atom Ni3Al structure, the critical concentration for the transformation from L12 to D024 or DO22 ranged between 18.75 at. % and 21.88 at. %, and between 15.63 at. % and 18.75 at. %, respectively. This critical concentration was influenced by the dynamic interplay among Ti, Ta, Nb, and Al atoms interacting with Ni atoms. The structural transformation from L12 to D024 or DO22 can be attributed to the reduction in the superlattice extrinsic stacking fault energies or the anti-phase boundary energies, respectively, a consequence of the redistribution of charge density between Ti, Ta, Nb atoms and Ni atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the partial linear regression model yi = xiβ* + g(ti) + εi, i = 1, 2, ..., n, where (xi, ti) are known fixed design points, g(·) is an unknown function, and β* is an unknown parameter to be estimated, random errors εi are (α, β)-mixing random variables. The p-th (p > 1) mean consistency, strong consistency and complete consistency for least squares estimators of β* and g(·) are investigated under some mild conditions. In addition, a numerical simulation is carried out to study the finite sample performance of the theoretical results. Finally, a real data analysis is provided to further verify the effect of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of poor image quality, susceptibility to interference from the external environment and difficulties in recognition due to high similarity between real defects and fruit stalks in citrus surface defect recognition, we proposed a citrus surface defect recognition method based on a combination of PCSA-2D-Otsu and CGWO-DT-SVM. Firstly, a partial differential equations (PDE) based variational model is used to denoise the captured citrus images, which reduces the blurring of the images while retaining the edge details and important texture information. Then, a 2D-Otsu threshold segmentation algorithm optimized by the plant cell swarm algorithm (PCSA) is used to segment the citrus surface defects and extract the image features to separate the citrus from the background, making full use of the relevant information and reducing the influence of complex backgrounds. Finally, the images are input to the chaos gray wolf optimizer (CGWO) algorithm optimized DT-SVM classifier for true defects and fruit stalks to identify the citrus into healthy and defective classes. We selected 2000 collected citrus images for the experiments and the application results showed an overall recognition accuracy of 96.71%. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed model, we compared it with advanced deep learning methods and machine learning methods, among others. The experimental results show that the method is more accurate and less time consuming for the recognition of citrus surface defects, and can be effective for the recognition of citrus surface defects. It provides a solution and reference for the application of machine vision methods in the accurate and rapid diagnosis of fruit surface defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present-day globalized economy and diverse market demands have compelled an increasing number of manufacturing enterprises to move toward the distributed manufacturing pattern and the model of multi-variety and small-lot. Taking these two factors into account, this study investigates an extension of the distributed hybrid flowshop scheduling problem (DHFSP), called the distributed hybrid flowshop scheduling problem with consistent sublots (DHFSP_CS). To tackle this problem, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed as a preliminary step. The NP-hard nature of the problem necessitates the use of the iterated F-Race (I/F-Race) as the automated algorithm design (AAD) to compose a metaheuristic that requires minimal user intervention. The I/F-Race enables identifying the ideal values of numerical and categorical parameters within a promising algorithm framework. An extension of the collaborative variable neighborhood descent algorithm (ECVND) is utilized as the algorithm framework, which is modified by intensifying efforts on the critical factories. In consideration of the problem-specific characteristics and the solution encoding, the configurable solution initializations, configurable solution decoding strategies, and configurable collaborative operators are designed. Additionally, several neighborhood structures are specially designed. Extensive computational results on simulation instances and a real-world instance demonstrate that the automated algorithm conceived by the AAD outperforms the CPLEX and other state-of-the-art metaheuristics in addressing the DHFSP_CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ALKBH5 is a master regulator of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification, which plays a crucial role in many biological processes. Here, we show that ALKBH5 is required for breast tumor growth. Interestingly, PRMT6 directly methylates ALKBH5 at R283, which subsequently promotes breast tumor growth. Furthermore, arginine methylation of ALKBH5 by PRMT6 increases LDHA RNA stability via m6A demethylation, leading to increased aerobic glycolysis. Moreover, PRMT6-mediated ALKBH5 arginine methylation is confirmed in PRMT6-knockout mice. Collectively, these findings identify a PRMT6-ALKBH5-LDHA signaling axis as a novel target for the treatment of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postoperative pancreatic fistulas (POPFs) are prevalent and major postoperative complications of distal pancreatectomy (DP). There are numerous ways to manage the pancreatic stump. However, no single approach has been shown to be consistently superior. Moreover, the potential role of robotic systems in reducing POPFs has received little attention. Methods: The clinical data of 119 patients who had consecutively received robotic distal pancreatectomy between January 2019 and December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the method of handling the pancreatic stump. The attributes of the patients and the variables during the perioperative period were compared. Results: The analysis included 72 manual sutures and 47 stapler procedures. The manual suture group had a shorter operative time (removing installation time) than the stapler group (125.25 ± 63.04 min vs 153.30 ± 62.03 min, p = 0.019). Additionally, the manual suture group had lower estimated blood loss (50 mL vs 100 mL, p = 0.009) and a shorter postoperative hospital stay. There were no significant differences in the incidence of clinically relevant POPFs between the two groups (18.1% vs 23.4%, P > 0.05). No perioperative death occurred in either group. Conclusion: The manual suturing technique was shown to have an incidence of POPFs similar to the stapler technique in robotic distal pancreatectomy and to be safe and feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discriminative dictionary learning (DDL) has attracted significant attention in the field of image classification. To enhance the classification performance, most existing discriminative dictionary learning methods introduce supervision information on the dictionary to project raw training samples into a coefficient subspace. However, the strict constraint on coefficient features may not conducive to the separation of the training samples from different classes for dictionary learning. In this paper, we propose Relaxed Support Vector based Dictionary Learning (RSVDL) for image recognition, which can efficiently learn coefficient features with powerful discrimination and representation capabilities. By constructing a relaxed coefficient subspace that is closely associated with label information, the discriminative of the learned dictionary is also improved. Experimental results on several benchmark datasets show that the proposed RSVDL method is very effective for various image classification tasks. Moreover, the experiments on more challenging datasets further reveal the state-of-art performance of our method by using with the CNN features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is a by-product of mushroom production, which can be used as an organic fertilizer. However, studies on the effect of SMS as a substitute for chemical fertilizer on soil N2O emissions and relative mechanisms are scarce. A laboratory incubation experiment was conducted to examine the effects of SMSs derived from Pleurotus eryngii (SMS-PE) and Agaricus bisporus (SMS-AB) production on N2O emissions from a sandy loam and a clay loam soil. Six treatments for each soil were established: no fertilization (CK); chemical N fertilizer (U); two types of SMSs alone (SMS-PE and SMS-AB); and their half substitution with chemical N fertilizer (SMS-PEU and SMS-ABU). The recalcitrance and aliphaticity indices of SMS-PE determined by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra were lower than those of SMS-AB. N2O emissions from the SMS-PEU and SMS-ABU decreased by 21.5–58.5% compared to the urea alone treatment. The emission of N2O was controlled by soil NH4+-N and AOB, indicating that nitrification is primarily responsible for N2O production. The increased NH4+-N concentration in the SMS-PEU treatment increased N2O emissions by 32.4% compared to the SMS-ABU treatment of the sandy loam soil. The N2O emissions from the clay loam soil treated with SMS-PEU depended on NO3−-N concentration and absolute abundance of nirS, nirK, and the nir/nos ratio, suggesting the presence of the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. Thus, the application of SMS-PE with a higher proportion of available organic C increased denitrification gene abundance and likely enhanced denitrification-associated N2O emissions (by 72.6%) in the clay loam soil compared to SMS-ABU. Overall, our results reveal that substituting chemical N with SMSs, particularly SMS-AB with lower NH4+-N and available C concentrations, is a promising strategy to mitigate N2O emissions while reducing chemical N consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionogel electrolytes are critical to electrochemical devices owing to mechanical and electrical properties. Here, graphene-enhanced double-network ionogel electrolytes have been developed with superior properties for energy storage and strain sensing. The uniformly dispersed graphene nanosheets enhance mechanical properties of double-network ionogels and then, provide fluent channels for ion transport. The electrolytes display high ionic conductivity of 0.186 mS cm−1, tensile modulus of 3.64 MPa, and breaking elongation of 217%. The as-prepared electrochemical devices give a high energy capacity of 213 F g−1 at current density of 2 A g−1, and excellent cycling stability beyond 30,000 charge–discharge cycles. In addition, the devices with piezoionic effect present superior sensing properties and have been utilized for real-time monitoring of breath status, which is very important to detection of breath-related disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are expected to be comparable to silicon-based solar cells. However, the high efficiency of PSCs relies on expensive and unstable organics as a hole transport layer (HTL). Here, inorganic layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are chosen as the HTL. LDHs can be better dispersed in organic solvents due to rich hydroxyl groups, conducive to improving PSC quality. Importantly, the LDH layer can perform energy level matching between the perovskite layer and the carbon electrode to improve the hole extraction efficiency and reduce the recombination of electrons and holes. The above synergistic effect of LDHs makes the efficiency of the all-air treated carbon-based PSCs prepared using LDH as HTL achieve champion efficiency of 10.7%. Although the value is not so high, the simple preparation process and low cost confirm LDH as a potential alternative to expensive organic HTLs in the commercialization of PSC. We introduced layered double hydroxides as a hole transport layer into carbon-based perovskite solar cells, which have improved power conversion efficiency and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum key distribution (QKD) holds the potential to establish secure keys over long distances. The distance of point-to-point QKD secure key distribution is primarily impeded by the transmission loss inherent to the channel. In the quest to realize a large-scale quantum network, increasing the QKD distance under current technology is of great research interest. Here we adopt the 3-intensity sending-or-not-sending twin-field QKD (TF-QKD) protocol with the actively-odd-parity-pairing method. The experiment demonstrates the feasibility of secure QKD over a 1002 km fibre channel considering the finite size effect. The secure key rate is 3.11 × 10 − 12 per pulse at this distance. Furthermore, by optimizing parameters for shorter fiber distances, we conducted performance tests on key distribution for fiber lengths ranging from 202 km to 505 km. Notably, the secure key rate for the 202 km, the normal distance between major cities, reached 111.74 kbps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In eukaryotes, repetitive DNA sequences are transcriptionally silenced through histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3). Loss of silencing of the repeat elements leads to genome instability and human diseases, including cancer and ageing1–3. Although the role of H3K9me3 in the establishment and maintenance of heterochromatin silencing has been extensively studied4–6, the pattern and mechanism that underlie the partitioning of parental H3K9me3 at replicating DNA strands are unknown. Here we report that H3K9me3 is preferentially transferred onto the leading strands of replication forks, which occurs predominantly at long interspersed nuclear element (LINE) retrotransposons (also known as LINE-1s or L1s) that are theoretically transcribed in the head-on direction with replication fork movement. Mechanistically, the human silencing hub (HUSH) complex interacts with the leading-strand DNA polymerase Pol ε and contributes to the asymmetric segregation of H3K9me3. Cells deficient in Pol ε subunits (POLE3 and POLE4) or the HUSH complex (MPP8 and TASOR) show compromised H3K9me3 asymmetry and increased LINE expression. Similar results were obtained in cells expressing a MPP8 mutant defective in H3K9me3 binding and in TASOR mutants with reduced interactions with Pol ε. These results reveal an unexpected mechanism whereby the HUSH complex functions with Pol ε to promote asymmetric H3K9me3 distribution at head-on LINEs to suppress their expression in S phase.The epigenetic modification H3K9me3 is asymmetrically partitioned at long interspersed nuclear element retrotransposons for their silencing in S phase, a newly discovered mechanism that is mediated by the HUSH complex and the DNA polymerase Pol ε. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary China, sexual minorities (SMs) are still a marginalized community. Prior studies have accorded SMs a great deal of attention, but little research has been conducted on the representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people in Chinese English-language news media. This article uses corpus linguistic tools to examine popular views on SMs in a larger corpus of 354 news articles, filling the gap in research. Based on data collected from four English-language newspapers in mainland China and informed by discursive strategies, the article concludes that Chinese SMs are prominently represented as unhealthy individuals, but also victims and progressionists. The findings also indicate that conservative and liberal perspectives on SMs co-exist in the English-language newspapers. In addition, potential contributing factors to these representations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to develop a clinical-radiomics nomogram that could predict the cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) using clinical characteristics as well as radiomics features of dual energy computed tomography (DECT). Method: Patients from our hospital with suspected PTC who underwent DECT for preoperative assessment between January 2021 and February 2022 were retrospectively recruited. Clinical characteristics were obtained from the medical record system. Clinical characteristics and rad-scores were examined by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. All features were incorporated into the LASSO regression model, with penalty parameter tuning performed using tenfold cross-validation, to screen risk factors for CLNM. An easily accessible radiomics nomogram was constructed. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve together with Area Under the Curve (AUC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the discrimination performance of the model. Calibration curves were employed to assess the calibration performance of the clinical-radiomics nomogram, followed by goodness-of-fit testing. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to determine the clinical utility of the established models by estimating net benefits at varying threshold probabilities for training and testing groups. Results: A total of 461 patients were retrospectively recruited. The rates of CLNM were 49.3% (70 /142) in the training cohort and 53.3% (32/60) in the testing cohort. Out of the 960 extracted radiomics features, 192 were significantly different in positive and negative groups (p < 0.05). On the basis of the training cohort, 12 stable features with nonzero coefficients were selected using LASSO regression. LASSO regression identified 7 risk factors for CLNM, including male gender, maximum tumor size > 10 mm, multifocality, CT-reported central CLN status, US-reported central CLN status, rad-score, and TGAb. A nomogram was developed using these factors to predict the risk of CLNM. The AUC values in each cohort were 0.850 and 0.797, respectively. The calibration curve together with the Hosmer–Lemeshow test for the nomogram indicated good agreement between predicted and pathological CLN statuses in the training and testing cohorts. Results of DCA proved that the nomogram offers a superior net benefit for predicting CLNM compared to the "treat all or none" strategy across the majority of risk thresholds. Conclusion: A nomogram comprising the clinical characteristics as well as radiomics features of DECT and US was constructed for the prediction of CLNM for patients with PTC, which in determining whether lateral compartment neck dissection is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational techniques can speed up the identification of hits and accelerate the development of candidate molecules for drug discovery. Among techniques for predicting relative binding affinities, the most consistently accurate is free energy perturbation (FEP), a class of rigorous physics-based methods. However, uncertainty remains about how accurate FEP is and can ever be. Here, we present what we believe to be the largest publicly available dataset of proteins and congeneric series of small molecules, and assess the accuracy of the leading FEP workflow. To ascertain the limit of achievable accuracy, we also survey the reproducibility of experimental relative affinity measurements. We find a wide variability in experimental accuracy and a correspondence between binding and functional assays. When careful preparation of protein and ligand structures is undertaken, FEP can achieve accuracy comparable to experimental reproducibility. Throughout, we highlight reliable protocols that can help maximize the accuracy of FEP in prospective studies. Free energy perturbation (FEP) is a well-recognized computational technique to predict the relative affinities of protein-ligand interactions, however, the exact accuracy of FEP prediction remains uncertain. Here, the authors assess the current accuracy of the leading FEP workflow by assembling a benchmark dataset, and highlight reliable protocols to maximize the accuracy of FEP in prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The segmentation of quasi-periodic time series (QTS) is crucial for modeling analysis in industrial and medical fields. However, it is challenging to automatically and effectively split different types of QTSs under the same settings. To address this issue, we propose an enhanced graph-based QTS automatic segmentation (EGQAS) framework that integrates an enhanced graph structure and hybrid clustering. The enhanced graph structure improves the stability of QTS segmentation, especially for a large number of QTS, by using edge weight filtering and aggregation. Hybrid clustering, which consists of hierarchical clustering and a modified k-means algorithm, removes clusters with outliers and incomplete divisions to improve the integrity of the final QTS split points. For four different types of public datasets, EGQAS outperforms the current state-of-the-art baselines, demonstrating its better adaptability. In tests with the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database (MITDB), EGQAS proves itself to be effective and stable with a large number of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It remains a great challenge to engineer materials with strong and stable interactions for the simultaneously mechanical-robust and room temperature phosphorescence-efficient materials. In this work, we demonstrate a covalent cross-linking strategy to engineer mechanical-robust room temperature phosphorescence materials through the B–O click reaction between chromophores, polyvinyl alcohol matrix and inorganic layered double hydroxide nanosheets. Through the covalent cross-linkage between the organic polyvinyl alcohol and inorganic layered double hydroxide, a polymeric composite with ultralong lifetime up to 1.45 s is acquired based on the inhibited non-radiative transition of chromophores. Simultaneously, decent mechanical strength of 97.9 MPa can be realized for the composite materials due to the dissipated loading stress through the covalent-bond-accommodated interfacial interaction. These cross-linked composites also exhibit flexibility, processability, scalability and phosphorescence responses towards the mechanical deformation. It is anticipated that the proposed covalent click reaction could provide a platform for the design and modulation of composites with multi-functionality and long-term durability. Materials with room temperature phosphorescence that are mechanically robust are desirable, but can be challenging to obtain. Here, the authors report the combination of poly(vinyl alcohol) and chromophore molecules with layered double hydroxides for room temperature phosphorescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuproptosis is a new form of programmed cell death, which is associated with the mitochondrial TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle. But the functions of cuproptosis in endometriosis progression are still unknown. Here, we find that cuproptosis suppresses the growth of endometriosis cells and the growth of ectopic endometrial tissues in a mouse model. FDX1 as a key regulator in cuproptosis pathway could promote cuproptosis in endometriosis cells. Interestingly, FDX1 interacts with G6PD, and reduces its protein stability, which predominantly affects the cellular redox-regulating systems. Then, the reduced G6PD activity enhances cuproptosis via down-regulating NADPH and GSH levels. Collectively, our study demonstrates that FDX1 mediates cuproptosis in endometriosis via G6PD pathway, resulting in repression of endometriosis cell proliferation and metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interplay between chromatin-associated complexes and modifications critically contribute to the partitioning of epigenome into stable and functionally distinct domains. Yet there is a lack of systematic identification of chromatin crosstalk mechanisms, limiting our understanding of the dynamic transition between chromatin states during development and disease. Here we perform co-dependency mapping of genes using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated fitness screens in pan-cancer cell lines to quantify gene-gene functional relationships. We identify 145 co-dependency modules and further define the molecular context underlying the essentiality of these modules by incorporating mutational, epigenome, gene expression and drug sensitivity profiles of cell lines. These analyses assign new protein complex composition and function, and predict new functional interactions, including an unexpected co-dependency between two transcriptionally counteracting chromatin complexes - polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and MLL-MEN1 complex. We show that PRC2-mediated H3K27 tri-methylation regulates the genome-wide distribution of MLL1 and MEN1. In lymphoma cells with EZH2 gain-of-function mutations, the re-localization of MLL-MEN1 complex drives oncogenic gene expression and results in a hypersensitivity to pharmacologic inhibition of MEN1. Together, our findings provide a resource for discovery of trans-regulatory interactions as mechanisms of chromatin regulation and potential targets of synthetic lethality. Co-dependency mapping assays have revealed genetic dependencies in cancer and could shed light on chromatin crosstalk mechanisms. Here, the authors establish a pipeline to integrate co-dependency mapping screens with molecular information in pan-cancer cell lines in order to reveal chromatin complexes and potential drug targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart failure (HF) is associated with multiple organ dysfunction and many comorbidities. Its incidence is high among the elderly and is a major health burden worldwide. Cognitive impairment (CI) is highly prevalent in older patients with HF, which is an abnormality in one or more of the items of cognition, attention, memory, language, psychomotor function, and visual spatial acuity. Studies have shown that the incidence of CI in HF patients is between 13 and 54%, and patients with both conditions have poor self-care ability and prognosis, as well as increased mortality rates. However, the mechanisms of CI development in HF patients are still unclear. In this review, we describe the epidemiology and risk factors as well as measures of improving CI in HF patients. We update the latest pathophysiological mechanisms related to the neurocognitive changes in HF patients, expounding on the mechanisms associated with the development of CI in HF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: 3,4-Bisnitrofurazanfuroxan (DNTF) is a typical high energy density compound (HEDC), it has high crystal density and detonation parameters, but also high mechanical sensitivity. To decrease its mechanical sensitivity, the DNTF based polymer bonded explosives (PBXs) was designed. The pure DNTF crystal and PBXs models were established. The stability, sensitivity, detonation performance and mechanical properties of DNTF crystal and PBXs models were predicted. Results show that PBXs models containing fluorine rubber (F2311) and fluorine resin (F2314) have higher binding energy, meaning that DNTF/F2311 and DNTF/F2314 is relatively more stable. PBXs models have higher value of cohesive energy density (CED) than pure DNTF crystal, DNTF/F2311 and DNTF/F2314 have the highest value of CED, implying that the sensitivity of PBXs is effectively decreased, DNTF/F2311 and DNTF/F2314 is more insensitive. PBXs have lower crystal density and detonation parameters than DNTF, the energy density is declined, DNTF/F2314 has higher energetic performance than other PBXs. Compared with pure DNTF crystal, engineering moduli (tensile modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus) of PBXs models are obviously decreased, but Cauchy pressure is increased, implying that the mechanical properties of PBXs is superior to pure DNTF component, the PBXs containing F2311 or F2314 have more preferable mechanical properties. Consequently, DNTF/F2311 and DNTF/F2314 have the best comprehensive properties and is more attractive among the designed PBXs, indicating that F2311 and F2314 are more advantageous and promising in ameliorating properties of DNTF. Methods: The properties of DNTF crystal and PBXs models were predicted through molecular dynamics (MD) method under Materials Studio 7.0 package. The MD simulation was performed with isothermal-constant volume (NVT) ensemble, and the force field was chosen as COMPASS force field. The temperature was set as 295 K, the time step was 1 fs and the total MD simulation time was 2 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No samples from the Moon's far side have been returned to Earth. Thus, lunar meteorite study can deepen the understanding of the Moon's far side (if we can identify which lunar meteorites came from the Moon's far side). The Northwest Africa (NWA) 15528 meteorite is a lunar feldspathic regolith breccia meteorite and we speculated it might originate from the Feldspathic Highlands Terrane (FHT) on the far side of the Moon. Here, we report detailed petrography, major and trace elements, and noble gas (He, Ne, and Ar) isotopes for the clasts and matrix, respectively. The results show that the NWA 15528 lunar meteorite contains diverse clasts, including anorthosite, granulite, basalt, and impact melt clasts. The coarse, well-crystallized, uniform chemical composition minerals may come from intrusive plutonic rocks. Among the anorthosite clasts, the norite/olivine clasts originate from the deep lunar crust, whereas the other anorthosite clasts are from lunar highlands. The Sm concentrations in NWA 15528 were similar to those in the fourth group of Apollo 16 melt samples, demonstrating that NWA 15528 has a typical plagioclase highland meteorite composition. Compared with the Apollo sample data and remote sensing results, the chemical composition of NWA 15528 indicated strong affinities with the FHT area and ferroan anorthosite (FAN) material from the far side of the Moon. The noble gas isotopic composition of NWA 15528 is consistent with a binary mixture of solar wind and cosmogenic components; during stepwise pyrolytic extractions, we observed that the abundance of cosmogenic components decreased, whereas that of solar wind components increased with increasing temperature. The average cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) age of the matrix and granulite is 42±6 Ma, with a shielding depth in the same range of 10–20 g cm−2. The gas retention age of NWA 15528 is 2.14 Ga, and the antiquity age of NWA 15528 is (0.69–0.74)±0.2 Ga (considering 50% 40Arm is 40Artrap) which indicates the different clasts of NWA 15528 are assembled after 0.69–0.74 Ga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) combined with warm acupuncture in treating breast cancer associated with upper limb lymphedema (BCRL). Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using a paired control design. Fifty-two BCRL patients were assigned to the control group (27 cases) and the treatment group (25 cases). The patients in the control group were treated with lymphedema comprehensive detumescence treatment (CDT) for 4 weeks, including systematic therapy composed of manual lymphatic drainage, compression bandage, skincare, and functional exercise. The patients in the treatment group were treated with TEAS combined with warm acupuncture based on the control group methods. Each treatment lasted for 30 min and was applied twice a week for 4 weeks. The arm circumference (AC) of different positions of the affected limb and the degree of swelling of the affected limb were evaluated before the first treatment and after the last treatment. The clinical efficacy was evaluated according to the degree of edema before and after treatment. All adverse events during treatment were recorded. Results: The patients' AC and the swelling feeling of the affected limb in the treatment group and the control group were both reduced compared with those before treatment. Compared with the control group, AC of the wrist joint transverse stria, the midpoint between the wrist joint transverse stria and the elbow joint transverse stria in the treatment group were significantly reduced (P<0.05). The decrease in AC diameter at the midpoint between the elbow joint transverse stria and the axillary transverse stria was the most significant (P<0.01). The swelling degree of the affected limbs in the treatment group was significantly lower than before treatment, and was significantly lower compared with the control group after treatment (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 72% in the treatment group, significantly higher than that in the control group (55.56%, P<0.05). No serious adverse events occured in either group. Conclusions: TEAS combined with warm acupuncture can effectively reduce AC and swelling feeling of the affected limb in patients with BCRL. The effect is better than that of CDT therapy alone. (Registration No. ChiCTR2200062075) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-nickel cathode material has high specific capacity, but the rapid capacity decay restricts its application. Hereby, three conductive oxides including nano-antimony tin oxide (Sb2SnO5, ATO), zinc stannate (Zn2SnO4, ZTO), and antimony-doped zinc stannate (Sb-doped ZTO, AZTO) with high mobility and low resistivity were used as coating materials separately to improve the rate capability and cycling stability of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811). The conductive oxide was uniformly coated on the surface of NCM811 with the thickness of about 4 nm. The AZTO-coated NCM811 shows the superior rate capability with the initial discharge capacities of 201.35, 197.86, 190.80, and 182.31 mAh g−1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, and 1 C, respectively. The ZTO-coated NCM811 has the best cycling stability with the capacity retention of 85.93% after 100 cycles, while that of the pristine NCM811 is 66.75%. The conductive oxides improve the electronic/ionic conductivity and block the reaction between cathode material and electrolyte, reduce the electrochemical impedance and the side reaction, and further increase the rate capability and the reversibility of the materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pq3-O-UGT2 is a key UDP-glycosyltransferase gene in the ginsenoside biosynthesis pathway of Panax quinquefolium L. Functional analysis of promoter sequences plays an important role in understanding the regulation of functional gene expression. In this study, chromosome walking technology was used to isolate the 1399 bp sequence upstream of the ATG initiation codon of Pq3-O-UGT2. Bioinformatics analysis shows that the promoter sequence contains a large number of putative cis-acting elements responsive to exogenous and endogenous factors. The full-length promoter and six 5′ terminal truncations were fused with the GUS reporter gene to test their activities. The results of histochemical staining showed that a strong GUS activity were observed in flowers, siliques, leaves, stems and roots of transgenic Arabidopsis containing the full length Pq3-O-UGT2 promoter. Fluorometric assays showed that the highest enzyme activity is the full-length promoter with 4370 pmol 4-MU/min/mg protein, and the shortest promoter containing P-198::GUS with 45 pmol 4-MU/min/mg protein was sufficient to activate GUS expression. In addition, extended light, low temperatures, MeJA, ABA, NAA and GA3 were selected to investigate the Pq3-O-UGT2 promoter in response to abiotic stress and hormone treatment. The GUS activity of Pq3-O-UGT2 full-length promoter (P-1399) was 2.12 times that of the control plant after MeJA treatment, suggesting that P-1399 is a MeJA-inducible promoter. Furthermore, the assay results showed that ABA could extensively induce GUS expression in five 5′ truncated promoter transgenic plants, except P-198. These experimental results will help us to better explore the regulatory mechanisms in the promoter region of the Pq3-O-UGT2 gene and contribute to further studies of the molecular mechanisms of glycosylation in ginseng plants. Key message: The Pq3-O-UGT2 promoter was successfully cloned. Seven 5′ truncations could drive the expression of GUS gene in transgenic Arabidopsis plants and the full-length promoter is a MeJA-inducible promoter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Context: Cocrystallization technology can effectively regulate crystal structure, alter packing mode, and improve physicochemical performances of energetic materials at molecule level. CL-20/HMX cocrystal explosive has high energy density than HMX, but it also exhibits high mechanical sensitivity. To decrease the sensitivity and improve the properties of CL-20/HMX energetic cocrystal, the three-component energetic cocrystal CL-20/HMX/TNAD was designed. The properties of CL-20, CL-20/HMX, and CL-20/HMX/TNAD cocrystal models were predicted. The results show that CL-20/HMX/TNAD cocrystal models have better mechanical properties than CL-20/HMX cocrystal model, implying that the mechanical properties can be effectively improved. The binding energy of CL-20/HMX/TNAD cocrystal models is higher than CL-20/HMX cocrystal model, indicating that the three-component energetic cocrystal is more stable, and the cocrystal model with the ratio 3:4:1 is predicted to be the most stable phase. CL-20/HMX/TNAD cocrystal models have higher value of trigger bond energy than pure CL-20 and CL-20/HMX cocrystal models, meaning that the three-component energetic cocrystal is more insensitive. The crystal density and detonation parameters of CL-20/HMX and CL-20/HMX/TNAD cocrystal models are lower than CL-20, illustrating that the energy density is declined. The CL-20/HMX/TNAD cocrystal has higher energy density than RDX and can be regarded as a potential high energy explosive. Methods: This paper was performed with molecular dynamics (MD) method with the software of Materials Studio 7.0 under COMPASS force field. The MD simulation was performed under isothermal-isobaric (NPT) ensemble, the temperature and pressure was 295 K and 0.0001 GPa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling the heat released from a burning wildfire is essential to support an accurate representation of the heat flux of wildfire. At present, the commonly used heat model is combustion heat modeling in the wildfire spread model of DEVS-FIRE. DEVS-FIRE employs Rothermel's model to calculate the rate of fire spread, but it is poorly suitable for the actual situation in China. Forest fire spreading is a dynamic and complex system. In the process of spreading, the heat released by forest fire will affect the weather conditions in the current fire area, and the weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction are the important factors affecting the spread of forest fire in turn. Therefore, the interaction between heat and weather conditions must be considered in order to accurately predict the spread of forest fires. This paper proposes heat model based on Zhengfei Wang's wildfire spread model. The heat model was used to fuse with the weather model, and the information was fused based on the hybrid orthogonal genetic algorithm (HOGA) and support vector machine (SVM). The fused data was input into DEVS-Fire to simulate the spread of wildfire. Experiment results demonstrate that this method improves the precision of wildfire spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: Patatin-related phospholipase A genes were involved in the response of Gossypium hirsutum to drought and salt tolerance. pPLA (patatin-related phospholipase A) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the initial step of lipid hydrolysis, which is involved in biological processes, such as drought, salt stress, and freezing injury. However, a comprehensive analysis of the pPLA gene family in cotton, especially the role of pPLA in the response to drought and salt tolerance, has not been reported so far. A total of 33 pPLA genes were identified in this study using a genome-wide search approach, and phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into three groups. These genes are unevenly distributed on the 26 chromosomes of cotton, and most of them contain a few introns. The results of the collinear analysis showed that G. hirsutum contained 1–5 copies of each pPLA gene found in G. arboreum and G. raimondii. The subcellular localization analysis of Gh_D08G061200 showed that the protein was localized in the nucleus. In addition, analysis of published upland cotton transcriptome data revealed that six GhPLA genes were expressed in various tissues and organs. Two genes (Gh_A04G142100.1 and Gh_D04G181000.1) were highly expressed in all tissues under normal conditions, showing the expression characteristics of housekeeping genes. Under different drought and salt tolerance stresses, we detected four genes with different expression levels. This study helps to clarify the role of pPLA in the response to drought and salt tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid evolution of multidrug resistance in bacterial pathogens is outpacing the development of new antibiotics, and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) provides an excellent alternative. However, achieving highly efficient CDT is still a great challenge, since the pH in the infection site is close to neutral and the supply of H2O2 is inadequate. We herein constructed the antibacterial nanoreactors. Indocyanine green (ICG) and glucose oxidase (GOx) were incorporated into homologous zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanoparticles coating with metal polyphenol network (MPN) composed by Fe3+ and tannic acid (TA). The well-designed nanoreactors could simultaneously break the pH and H2O2 limitations, and generate hyperthermia under irradiation, thus realizing a triple-enhanced CDT for high-efficiency sterilization. Furthermore, the nanoreactors could combine CDT with photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT), which not only improved the bactericidal efficiency and broadened the antibacterial spectrum, but also alleviated the antibiotics resistance issues. Remarkably, the proposed nanoreactors achieved a robust in vitro bacterial killing against Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The nanoreactors achieved an 99.7% MRSA reduction in an MRSA-induced murine abscess model accompanied with negligible toxicity. Overall, this study provides a promising strategy for multiple-enhanced CDT and multimodal combined therapy for pathogenic infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, (Bi, Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconducting nano-network was successfully synthesized based on liquid-phase method via electrospinning and followed calcinations. The effect of plumbum (Pb) replacing bismuth (Bi) and the superconductivity of Bi2-xPbxSr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.45) nano-networks were studied. With the increase of the ratio of Pb, it was found that the relative volume fraction of the Bi-2223 phase increased from 53.50 to 93.98%, the pinning force increased from 0.66 × 108 N m−3 to 3.22 × 108 N m−3, and the critical current density increased from 0.98 × 108 A m−2 to 4.71 × 108 A m−2. By fitting the dominant magnetic flux pinning mechanism, it was also found that the addition of Pb can improve the pinning center of Bi-2223 phase. These results indicate that the addition of Pb is beneficial to improve the fraction of superconducting Bi-2223 phase. The optimal superconductor pinning structure has been obtained because the pinning centers are created by substituting Pb for Bi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Mountains have unique microclimates and rich plant diversity, resulting in different patterns and dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) across plant communities and elevations. Nevertheless, few studies have systematically reviewed the drivers of the dynamics of global SOC in mountainous regions. Materials and method: Here, we collected relevant published literature to analyze the main drivers of the dynamics of global SOC at different elevations and plant communities. Specifically, we analyzed the impact of natural variability and human activity on SOC. Results and discussion: We found that natural factors mainly included climate change, plant succession, and wildfires. Anthropogenic factors mainly included land use changes and grazing practices. SOC stocks at low elevations were more susceptible to grazing, precipitation, and land use changes. Conversely, higher elevations were more susceptible to warming and plant community succession. Notably, montane forests and permafrost, which are important terrestrial carbon sinks, were more easily regulated by wildfires and climate change. However, grazing had different effects on SOC in montane grasslands. Conclusions: This review highlights the synergy of multiple drivers that should be fully considered when investigating mechanisms underlying montane SOC. We recommend that future work explore the impact of extreme weather events on montane SOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bladder cancer (BCa) is the most common cancer in the urinary system with high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel subclass of noncoding-RNA which participate in progression of BCa. Here, we identified a novel circRNA–circ3323 and aimed to investigate the role of circ3323 in progression of BCa. Public data of RNA sequencing was used to identify significant circRNA related to BCa. The role of circRNAs in progression of BCa was assessed in cytotoxicity assay, transwell assay and flow cytometry. Biotin-coupled RNA pull-down and fluorescence in situ hybridization were performed to evaluate the interaction between circRNAs and miRNAs. The expression of circ3323 was higher in BCa tissues and cells than in normal samples. Experiments in vitro showed that the knockdown of circ3323 inhibited cell proliferation and impeded the metastasis of BCa cells. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that circ3323 acts as a sponge for miR-186-5p and promotes host gene APP's expression. Clinically, circ3323 predicts worse overall survival of BCa patients, indicating its prognostic value. Our study identified that circ3323 modulates metastasis of BCa through miR-186-5p/APP axis and may serve as a promising prognostic biomarker for BCa, which provides novel insights into treatment of BCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Removal of trivalent actinides is of great important for the safe treatment of radioactive wastewater. Herein, amino-functionalized SBA-15 materials were prepared and their simulated trivalent actinides (Nd3+) adsorption behaviors were investigated. The Nd3+ adsorption capacity was found up to 77.8 mg/g mainly due to the protonation of amino groups. The removal rate retained as high as 99.02% in the presence of interfering ions, indicating their good selective. The adsorption can be better fitted with Langmuir and pseudo-second-order model. The main adsorption mechanism was found to be OH− generated from the protonation of –NH2 combined with Nd3+ to produce Nd(OH)3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of WO3–Mo–Al catalysts with various tungsten species uniformly incorporation into the Mo–Al catalyst were prepared by a facile one-pot synthesis strategy denoted as evaporation-induced self-assembly assisted by combined assembly by soft and hard chemistry (CASH) method. The prepared catalysts were applied into the extractive catalytic oxidative desulfurization (ECODS) technology when using dibenzothiophene (DBT) as the sulfur substrate, acetonitrile as the extractant and H2O2 as the oxidant. Based on the physical and chemical properties characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, H2-TPR, and XPS techniques, the interaction effect between molybdenum species and other components resulting in the promotion of the electron cloud density for the Mo=O bond by the uniformly incorporated tungsten species. The 3WO3–25Mo–Al catalyst showed the highest catalytic performance when the DBT removal rate can reach up to 100.0%, and it can also be kept as 99.9% after repeated used for 10 times. The results can provide a valuable reference to prepare a catalyst with potential application prospect for the industrial desulfurization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Laparoscopic duodenum–preserving pancreatic head resection (L-DPPHR) is technically demanding with extreme difficulty in biliary preservation. Only a few reports of L-DPPHR are available with alarming bile leakage, and none of them revealed the long-term metabolic outcomes. For the first time, our study explored the different dosage and timing of indocyanine green (ICG) for guiding L-DPPHR and described the long-term metabolic results. Methods: Between October 2015 and January 2021, different dosage and timing of ICG were administrated preoperatively and evaluated intra-operatively using Image J software to calculate the relative fluorescence intensity ratio of signal-to-noise contrast between bile duct and pancreas. Short-term complications and long-term metabolic disorder were collected in a prospectively maintained database and analyzed retrospectively. Results: Twenty-five patients were enrolled without conversion to laparotomy or pancreaticoduodenectomy. Administrating a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg 24 h before the operation had the highest relative fluorescence intensity ratio of 19.3, and it proved to guide the biliary tract the best. Fifty-six percent of patients suffered from postoperative complications with 48% experiencing pancreatic fistula and 4% having bile leakage. No one suffered from the duodenal necrosis, and there was no mortality. When compared with the non-ICG group, the ICG group had a comparable diameter of tumor and similar safety distance from lesions to common bile duct; however, it decreased the incidence of bile leakage from 10% to none. The median length of hospital stay was 16 days. After a median follow-up of 26.6 months, no one had tumor recurrence or refractory cholangitis. No postoperative new onset of diabetes mellitus (pNODM) was observed, while pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (pPEI) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were seen in 4% of patients 12 months after the L-DPPHR. Conclusion: L-DPPHR is feasible and safe in selected patients, and real-time ICG imaging with proper dosage and timing may greatly facilitate the identification and the prevention of biliary injury. And it seemed to be oncological equivalent to PD with preservation of metabolic function without refractory cholangitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deterioration of cement-basted materials serviced in leaching environments is strongly dependent on the decalcification behavior of calcium silicate hydrates after complete dissolution of calcium hydroxide. This paper examines the deteriorating condition of calcium silicate hydrates (hereinafter referred to C–S–H(I)) samples with the decalcification degree which is controlled by immersing samples into leaching solutions with different NH4Cl concentrations. The composition, chemical structure, micromorphology and pore structure of un-leached and leached C–S–H(I) samples were determined using XRD, TG, FTIR, 29Si NMR, SEM, TEM and N2 adsorption–desorption measurements. Results reveal that the decalcification degree of C–S–H(I) samples increases with the increasing NH4Cl concentration with the Ca/Si atomic ratio decreasing from 0.91 to 0.02. The area of flocculent micromorphology of C–S–H(I) samples increases with the decalcification degree due to the continuous generation of cross-linking C–S–H(I) and amorphous silica gel. In addition, the decalcification behavior damages the crystallinity, coarsens the pore structure and decreases the chemically-bound water content of C–S–H(I) samples. Molecular dynamics simulations prove that increasing NH4Cl content results in weaker connectivity stability and more breakage of Ca–O bond in C–S–H(I) molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small modular reactors (SMR) have an exceptionally wide range of applications due to their flexibility. But the reactivity of SMR is more susceptible to disturbance than that of large commercial reactors, which may cause the core power to deviate from the set value, and the limited internal space makes it difficult for SMR to compensate or adjust for reactivity disturbance by setting a sufficient number of control rods as in large commercial reactors. Therefore, in order to improve the operational stability of SMR, a method is proposed to indirectly change the nuclear fuel temperature by adjusting the coolant flow rate and thus compensate the reactivity disturbance by the Doppler effect of nuclear fuel resonance absorption. Simulation experiments show that the method can effectively eliminate reactive disturbances that cannot be completely eliminated by control rods under the conditions of restricted SMR space and limited number of control rod sets, thus providing operational stability of SMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]