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Purpose: To investigate the ability of extracellular vesicles (EVs) to deliver oxaliplatin to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR+) colorectal cancer cells and increase oxaliplatin's cytotoxicity. Method: Oxaliplatin was passively loaded into a stable cell line expressing cetuximab in membranes. EVs were collected and characterized for size, and their ability to target EGFR+ cells was tested. Cytotoxicity experiments were performed, and a xenograft cancer animal model was used to confirm the specific accumulation of oxaliplatin-loaded EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes in EGFR+ cells. Results: EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes were successfully produced and used to encapsulate oxaliplatin, resulting in consistently sized oxaliplatin-loaded EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes. The oxaliplatin-loaded EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes were specifically accumulated by EGFR+ cells, leading to significant cytotoxic effects on these cells. In the animal model, the oxaliplatin-loaded EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes accumulated specifically in EGFR+ cells and significantly enhanced oxaliplatin's therapeutic efficacy against EGFR+ cancer cells. Conclusion: EVs with membrane-expressed bioactive molecules are a promising strategy for delivering therapeutic agents to EGFR+ colorectal cancer cells. Highlights: EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes were used to encapsulate oxaliplatin and target EGFR+ cells. Oxaliplatin-loaded EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on EGFR+ cells. In a xenograft cancer animal model, oxaliplatin-loaded EVs with cetuximab-expressing membranes accumulated specifically in EGFR+ cells and significantly enhanced oxaliplatin's therapeutic efficacy against EGFR+ cancer cells. EVs with targeted membrane expression of drugs are a promising strategy for delivering therapeutic agents to specific cell populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Evaluation of tumor microvascular morphology is of great significance in tumor diagnosis, therapeutic effect prediction, and surgical planning. Recently, two-dimensional ultrasound localization microscopy (2DULM) has demonstrated its superiority in the field of microvascular imaging. However, it suffers from planar dependence and is unintuitive. We propose a novel three-dimensional ultrasound localization microscopy (3DULM) to avoid these limitations. Methods: We investigated 3DULM based on a 2D array for tumor microvascular imaging. After intravenous injection of contrast agents, all elements of the 2D array transmit and receive signals to ensure a high and stable frame rate. Microbubble signal extraction, filtering, positioning, tracking, and other processing were used to obtain a 3D vascular map, flow velocity, and flow direction. To verify the effectiveness of 3DULM, it was validated on double helix tubes and rabbit VX2 tumors. Cisplatin was used to verify the ability of 3DULM to detect microvascular changes during tumor treatment. Results: In vitro, the sizes measured by 3DULM at 3 mm and 13 mm were 178 μ m and 182 μ m , respectively. In the rabbit tumors, we acquired 9000 volumes to reveal vessels about 30 μ m in diameter, which surpasses the diffraction limit of ultrasound in traditional ultrasound imaging, and the results matched with micro-angiography. In addition, there were significant changes in vascular density and curvature between the treatment and control groups. Conclusions: The effectiveness of 3DULM was verified in vitro and in vivo. Hence, 3DULM may have potential applications in tumor diagnosis, tumor treatment evaluation, surgical protocol guidance, and cardiovascular disease. Clinical relevance statement: 3D ultrasound localization microscopy is highly sensitive to microvascular changes; thus, it has clinical potential for tumor diagnosis and treatment evaluation. Key Points: • 3D ultrasound localization microscopy is demonstrated on double helix tubes and rabbit VX2 tumors. • 3D ultrasound localization microscopy can reveal vessels about 30 μ m in diameter—far smaller than traditional ultrasound. • This form of imaging has potential applications in tumor diagnosis, tumor treatment evaluation, surgical protocol guidance, and cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A population is regarded as the main non-economic driver of carbon emissions, causing the climatic crisis, especially in China experiencing a dramatic demographic transition. In contrast to aging, low fertility, the most remarkable feature of the Chinese population transition, has always been ignored when evaluating carbon emissions, due to the lack of long-run data. To narrow this gap, an integrated framework combining the continuous input–output tables from 1997 to 2018 with the Mann–Kendall test and vector auto-regression was presented to clarify the fluctuating trend of household embedded carbon emissions and the driving pattern of low fertility, aging, and urbanization. Our main findings showed that changes in household embedded carbon emissions have increased sharply in the last two decades. The growth of Chinese household embedded carbon emissions began to accelerate in 2001, which lagged 1 year behind the demographic indicators. Low fertility has a positive impact on households' embedded carbon emissions. More importantly, the impact of low fertility is more significant and far-reaching than that of aging. These suggest that aggressive policies for stimulating fertility and low-carbon lifestyles should be considered by policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hollow star-shaped chiral metamaterial (SCM) is proposed by incorporating chiral structural properties into the standard hollow star-shaped metamaterial, exhibiting a wide band gap over 1 500 Hz. To broaden the band gap, solid single-phase and two-phase SCMs are designed and simulated, which produce two ultra-wide band gaps (approximately 5 116 Hz and 6 027 Hz, respectively). The main reason for the formation of the ultra-wide band gap is that the rotational vibration of the concave star of two novel SCMs drains the energy of an elastic wave. The impacts of the concave angle of a single-phase SCM and the resonator radius of a two-phase SCM on the band gaps are studied. Decreasing the concave angle leads to an increase in the width of the widest band gap, and the width of the widest band gap increases as the resonator radius of the two-phase SCM increases. Additionally, the study on elastic wave propagation characteristics involves analyzing frequency dispersion surfaces, wave propagation directions, group velocities, and phase velocities. Ultimately, the analysis focuses on the transmission properties of finite periodic structures. The solid single-phase SCM achieves a maximum vibration attenuation over 800, while the width of the band gap is smaller than that of the two-phase SCM. Both metamaterials exhibit high vibration attenuation capabilities, which can be used in wideband vibration reduction to satisfy the requirement of ultra-wide frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial internet traffic prediction is not only an academic problem, but also a concern of industry and network performance department. Efficient prediction of industrial internet traffic is helpful for protocol design, traffic scheduling, detection of network attacks, etc. This paper proposes an industrial internet traffic prediction method based on the Echo State Network. In the first place this paper proves that the industrial internet traffic data are self-similar by means of the calculation of Hurst exponent of each traffic time series. It indicates that industrial internet traffic can be predicted utilizing nonlinear time series models. Then Echo State Network is applied for industrial internet traffic forecasting. Furthermore, to avoid the weak-conditioned problem, grid search algorithm is used to optimize the reservoir parameters and coefficients. The dataset this paper perform experiments on are large-scale industrial internet traffic data at different time scale. They come from Industrial Internet in three regions and are provided by ZTE Corporation. The result shows that our approach can predict industrial internet traffic efficiently, which is also a verification of the self-similarity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modification is widely used to enhance the adsorption performance of pristine hydrochar (HBC) and pyrochar (BC). However, comparisons between modified HBC and BC toward pollutant removal have rarely been reported. In this study, pristine HBC and BC derived from rice straw were first produced, and then citric acid (CA) was used as a modifier to synthesize CA-modified HBC (CAHBC) and CA-modified BC (CABC). Furthermore, the adsorption performance of biochars toward methylene blue (MB) was investigated. The results showed that BC exhibits relatively rough surfaces and contains more minerals (ash), whereas HBC has plentiful O-containing functional groups and fewer minerals. CA modification partially removed minerals from the surface of BC, which weakened the ion exchange, surface complexation, and n–π interaction, resulting in a lower adsorption ability toward MB. By contrast, CA produced more O-containing functional groups on the surface of HBC, which strengthened the hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction, thus increasing the adsorption capacity toward MB. The two-compartment model showed a good fit to the adsorption process of MB on CAHBC, and the isotherm data for MB adsorption by HBC and CAHBC are suitable for the Freundlich model. The highest adsorption amount of MB using CAHBC was 80.13 mg·g–1, which was 27.66% higher than that for CABC. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the carboxyl groups in the surface functional groups of CAHBC played a crucial role in the MB adsorption process. In addition, CAHBC showed a good performance for a wide range of pH values (4.0–10.0) and under the interference of coexisting ions, and also presented a recycling ability. Furthermore, the adsorption of MB on CAHBC biochar was a spontaneous, exothermic, degree-of-randomness-increasing process. Consequently, CA modification of HBC is a promising strategy and could be used for MB removal from aquatic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychotic major depression (PMD) is characterized by major depressive disorder (MDD) accompanied by delusions or hallucinations. While the prevalence of PMD and its association with anxiety have been studied, gender-specific differences and the role of thyroid hormones in PMD-related anxiety remain less explored. Methods: A total of 1718 first-episode and drug-naïve MDD patients was assessed for the presence of PMD and severe anxiety. Clinical assessments, including Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) scale, were conducted to assess depression, anxiety, psychotic symptoms, and clinical severity, respectively. Blood samples were collected to measure thyroid function parameters. Results: The prevalence of severe anxiety was higher in PMD patients compared to non-psychotic MDD patients (71.3% vs. 5.3%). No significant gender differences were observed in the prevalence of severe anxiety among PMD patients. However, elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and increased depression severity (HAMD scores) were identified as independent risk factors for severe anxiety in female PMD patients. In contrast, no significant risk factors were found in male PMD patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUCROC) analysis revealed that the HAMD score and TSH level showed acceptable discriminatory capacity for distinguishing between female PMD patients with and without severe anxiety. Conclusion: This study highlights the heightened prevalence of severe anxiety in PMD patients, with TSH levels and depression severity emerging as gender-specific risk factors for anxiety in females. These findings suggest the importance of thyroid hormone assessment and tailored interventions for managing anxiety in female PMD patients. Highlights: Severe anxiety is more prevalent in individuals with psychotic major depression compared to non-psychotic major depression. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels emerge as an independent risk factor for severe anxiety, specifically in female PMD patients. Depression severity, as measured by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) scores, significantly influences severe anxiety in female PMD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has emerged as a valuable diagnostic tool for cardiac diseases. However, a significant drawback of CMR is its slow imaging speed, resulting in low patient throughput and compromised clinical diagnostic quality. The limited temporal resolution also causes patient discomfort and introduces artifacts in the images, further diminishing their overall quality and diagnostic value. There has been growing interest in deep learning-based CMR imaging algorithms that can reconstruct high-quality images from highly under-sampled k-space data. However, the development of deep learning methods requires large training datasets, which have so far not been made publicly available for CMR. To address this gap, we released a dataset that includes multi-contrast, multi-view, multi-slice and multi-coil CMR imaging data from 300 subjects. Imaging studies include cardiac cine and mapping sequences. The 'CMRxRecon' dataset contains raw k-space data and auto-calibration lines. Our aim is to facilitate the advancement of state-of-the-art CMR image reconstruction by introducing standardized evaluation criteria and making the dataset freely accessible to the research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite limited research on refractory and/or endocrine therapy failure in elderly metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients, a prior study showed that low-dose oral cyclophosphamide (CY) can improve the overall survival rate of MBC patients, possibly through the immunoregulation of regulatory T cells (Tregs). We preliminarily investigated the combination of endocrine therapy (ET) with oral low-dose CY as salvage therapy in elderly patients via peripheral blood regulatory T-cell analyses. In addition, we evaluated the associations of tumor tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) with therapeutic outcomes. HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer patients who received low-dose CY combined with ET or ET only from April 2015 to August 2021 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The primary outcome was the clinical control rate (CCR), and the secondary outcome was progression-free survival (PFS). Circulating T lymphocyte subpopulations represented by Tregs were monitored during treatment by flow cytometry methods. TLSs wereconfirmed by hematoxylin–eosin staining of pretreatment specimens, and CD3, CD4, and Foxp3 were detected using Opal multicolor immunofluorescence. A total of 85 patients who received CY + ET and 50 patients who received ET only were enrolled, the percentage of patients who received CCR was 73% (62/85) vs. 70% (45/50), and the objective response rate (ORR) was 28% (24/85) vs. 24% (12/50). No deaths occurred during the study period. The mean PFS time was 13 vs. 11 months (P = 0.03). In the CY + ET group, decreases in CD4+/CD25+/Foxp3+ T cells (P < 0.001) were favorable for both clinical control and prolonged PFS (P < 0.001). Compared with patients without TLSs, those with TLSs were more likely to have better clinical control and PFS (mean time = 6 months), and a greater number of Treg cells during TLS pretreatment correlated with longer PFS (P = 0.043). Oral low-dose CY combined with standard ET exerts immunological effects by decreasing Treg levels to achieve improved clinical responses. Moreover, patients with TLSs might benefit more from such therapy than those without TLSs, and a high Treg cell count in TLSs before treatment predicts better therapeutic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid economic and energy growth in Asia has led to change in the loadings of black carbon (BC) in the last two decades. This work uses remotely sensed column absorbing aerosol optical depth to quantify BC loading day-by-day and grid-to-grid. Variance maximization is used to uniquely compute an unbiased set of observations of remotely sensed NO2 in space and time of urban and suburban sources, including regions with changing energy and industry. An inversely applied probabilistic MIE algorithm constrains the size, mixing state, and number of BC using four spectral observations. Significant differences in the particle size and mixing state are identified and attributed including: a drop around 2012 when China's national air pollution policies were adopted, a drop ahead of the 2008 Olympics, and flattening from 2015 onward. A case of simultaneous reduction in BC mass and increase in BC number demonstrates PM2.5 controls may not fully control BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Administration of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) at early stage after surgery for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) may increase the risk of postoperative intracranial bleeding (PIB), because of potential inhibition of platelet function. This study aimed to investigate whether early ASA administration after surgery was related to increased risk of PIB. This retrospective study enrolled SICH patients receiving surgery from September 2019 to December 2022 in seven medical institution. Based on postoperative ASA administration, patients who continuously received ASA more than three days within seven days post-surgery were identified as ASA users, otherwise as non-ASA users. The primary outcome was symptomatic PIB events within seven days after surgery. Incidence of PIB was compared between ASA users and non-ASA users using survival analysis. This study included 744 appropriate patients from 794 SICH patients. PIB occurred in 42 patients. Survival analysis showed no statistical difference between ASA users and non-ASA users in incidence of PIB (P = 0.900). Multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated current smoker (hazard ratio [HR], 2.50, 95%CI, 1.33–4.71, P = 0.005), dyslipidemia (HR = 3.03; 95%CI, 1.31–6.99; P = 0.010) and pre-hemorrhagic antiplatelet therapy (HR = 3.05; 95% CI, 1.64–5.68; P < 0.001) were associated with PIB. Subgroup analysis manifested no significant difference in incidence of PIB between ASA users and non-ASA users after controlling the effect from factors of PIB (i.e., sex, age, current smoker, regular drinker, dyslipidemia, pre-hemorrhagic antiplatelet therapy and hematoma location). This study revealed that early ASA administration to SICH patients after surgery was not related to increased risk of PIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuproptosis is a novel programmed cell death pathway that is initiated by direct binding of copper to lipoylated tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle proteins. Recent studies have demonstrated that cuproptosis-related genes regulate tumorigenesis. However, the potential role and clinical significance of cuproptosis-related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been established. We performed a bioinformatics analyses of RNA-sequencing data of HCC patients extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset to identify and validate a cuproptosis-related lncRNA prognostic signature. Furthermore, we analyzed the clinical significance of the prognostic signature of cuproptosis-related lncRNA in predicting the immunotherapeutic efficacy and the status of the tumor immune microenvironment. The RNA-sequencing data, genomic mutations, and clinical information were downloaded for 374 HCC samples and 50 normal liver samples from TCGA-Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) dataset. Co-expression analysis of Gene-lncRNA pairs with 49 known cuproptosis-related prognostic genes was used to define cuproptosis-related prognostic lncRNAs. We performed the LASSO algorithm and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, respectively, to gradually identify the prognostic risk models of cuproptosis-related lncRNA based on the TCGA-LIHC dataset. Subsequently, the predictive performance of the model was evaluated using receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curves, Kaplan–Meier survival curves, and prognostic nomogram. The analysis of gene-lncRNA co-expression with 49 known cuproptosis-related genes identified 1359 cuproptosis-related lncRNAs in the TCGA-LIHC data set. A prognostic model was constructed with nine cuproptosis-related prognostic lncRNAs (AC007998.3, AC003086.1, AC009974.2, IQCH-AS1, LINC0256 1, AC105345.1, ZFPM2-AS1, AL353708.1 and WAC-AS1) using LASSO regression and Cox regression analyses. Risk scores were calculated for all HCC patient samples based on the four cuproptosis-related lncRNA prognostic models. All HCC patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk subgroups according to a 1:1 ratio column. The Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis showed that the overall survival rate (OS) of the high-risk group patients was significantly lower than that of the low-risk group. The principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed that the prognostic lncRNA model accurately distinguished between high- and low-risk HCC patients. Furthermore, regression analysis as well as ROC curves confirmed the prognostic value of the risk score. A nomogram with risk scores and other clinicopathological characteristics was constructed. The nomogram accurately predicted the probability of 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS in HCC patients. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) scores were higher for high-risk patients than for low-risk patients. HCC patients in the low-risk group showed lower TIDE scores and greater sensitivity to antitumor drugs than those in the high-risk group. Tumor immune responses and tumor immune cell infiltration were significantly different between the high-risk and low-risk groups of patients with HCC. Our study identified a 9-cuproptosis-related lncRNA signature that accurately predicted prognosis, immunotherapeutic efficacy, and the status of the tumor immune microenvironment in HCC patients. Therefore, this cuproptosis-related lncRNA risk model is a potential prognostic biometric feature in HCC and shows high clinical value in identifying HCC patients who are potentially responsive to immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image composition is a challenging image editing operation that targets the compositing of a new image by combining cropped regions from different images. A common application is background replacement of portrait images. Existing composition methods usually result in undesirable artifacts along the boundaries of pasted regions due to imprecise extraction. To address this problem, we propose a refined-mask guided multi-stream blending network (MGMB-Net), which consists of a multi-stream block (MSB), reconstructing the foreground boundary of composited image, mask-refine blocks (MRBs), providing better location information and refined-mask guided blocks (MGBs), guiding the reconstruction of composited image to eliminate boundary artifacts. MGMB-Net can generate more harmonious and realistic images by fusing multi-stream features and refining input coarse masks. We propose two data-generation methods to construct new datasets on image blending, and two evaluation metrics, PSNR (Peak signal-to-noise ratio)-Sobel and PSNR-Boundary, to decouple the performance of blending and harmonization. Compared with state-of-the-art methods, our method achieves the best performance on portrait images without additional refinements or prior information. Our code and model are available at https://github.com/Wekect/MGMB-Net. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferrograph-based wear debris analysis (WDA) provides significant information for wear fault analysis of mechanical equipment. After decades of offline application, this conventional technology is being driven by the online ferrograph sensor for real-time wear state monitoring. However, online ferrography has been greatly limited by the low imaging quality and segmentation accuracy of particle chains when analyzing degraded lubricant oils in practical applications. To address this issue, an integrated optimization method is developed that focuses on two aspects: the structural re-design of the online ferrograph sensor and the intelligent segmentation of particle chains. For enhancing the imaging quality of wear particles, the magnetic pole of the online ferrograph sensor is optimized to enable the imaging system directly observe wear particles without penetrating oils. Furthermore, a light source simulation model is established based on the light intensity distribution theory, and the LED installation parameters are determined for particle illumination uniformity in the online ferrograph sensor. On this basis, a Mask-RCNN-based segmentation model of particle chains is constructed by specifically establishing the region of interest (ROI) generation layer and the ROI align layer for the irregular particle morphology. With these measures, a new online ferrograph sensor is designed to enhance the image acquisition and information extraction of wear particles. For verification, the developed sensor is tested to collect particle images from different degraded oils, and the images are further handled with the Mask-RCNN-based model for particle feature extraction. Experimental results reveal that the optimized online ferrography can capture clear particle images even in highly-degraded lubricant oils, and the illumination uniformity reaches 90% in its imaging field. Most importantly, the statistical accuracy of wear particles has been improved from 67.2% to 94.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wear topography is a significant indicator of tribological behavior for the inspection of machine health conditions. An intelligent in-suit wear assessment method for random topography is here proposed. Three-dimension (3D) topography is employed to address the uncertainties in wear evaluation. Initially, 3D topography reconstruction from a worn surface is accomplished with photometric stereo vision (PSV). Then, the wear features are identified by a contrastive learning-based extraction network (WSFE-Net) including the relative and temporal prior knowledge of wear mechanisms. Furthermore, the typical wear degrees including mild, moderate, and severe are evaluated by a wear severity assessment network (WSA-Net) for the probability and its associated uncertainty based on subjective logic. By integrating the evidence information from 2D and 3D-damage surfaces with Dempster–Shafer (D–S) evidence, the uncertainty of severity assessment results is further reduced. The proposed model could constrain the uncertainty below 0.066 in the wear degree evaluation of a continuous wear experiment, which reflects the high credibility of the evaluation result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a new electrochemical sensor for the detection of the doping agent metoprolol (MTP) in food samples and bodily fluids is presented. The sensor's foundation is a nanocomposite made of polypyrrole (PPy) and nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Pyrole was electropolymerized to create the nanocomposite, and then NiO NPs were electrodedeposited on the GCE surface (NiO NPs/PPy/GCE). By combining the benefits of PPy with NiO NPs, this technique offers good electrocatalytic activity and a large surface area for analyte interaction. The nanocomposite was characterized using structural analyses such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These analyses revealed a network-like structure that improved the accessibility of the electrolyte ions and showed that the nanocomposite had been successfully deposited on the GCE surface. The electrochemical MTP sensor was examined using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) tests. The sensor's sensitivity was 0.03074 μA/μM, and it demonstrated a linear connection between the peak currents and the MTP concentrations (5–1600μM). The suggested sensor's limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) were determined to be 0.581 μM and 0.018 μM, respectively. The prepared urine sample produced acceptable recovery rates in the range of 98.40–99.86% in the real sample analyses, together with low relative standard deviation values (below 4.16%). In a similar vein, the prepared apple juice sample analysis revealed low relative standard deviation values (less than 4.28%) and respectable recovery rates ranging from 97.20 to 99.66%. The results showed low relative standard deviation values and good recovery rates, demonstrating the high precision and dependability of the suggested approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prenatal diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) has improved over time, and previous studies have identified CCHD subtype and socioeconomic status as factors influencing rates of prenatal diagnosis. Our objective of this single-center study was to compare prenatal diagnosis rates of newborns with CCHD admitted for cardiac intervention from the COVID-19 pandemic period (March 2020 to March 2021) to the pre-pandemic period and identify factors associated with the lack of CCHD prenatal diagnosis. The overall rate of CCHD and rates of the various CCHD diagnoses were calculated and compared with historical data collection periods (2009–2012 and 2013–2016). Compared with the 2009–2012 pre-pandemic period, patients had 2.17 times higher odds of having a prenatal diagnosis of CCHD during the pandemic period controlling for lesion type (aOR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.36–3.48, p = 0.001). Single ventricle lesions (aOR 6.74 [4.64–9.80], p < 0.001) and outflow tract anomalies (aOR 2.20 [1.56–3.12], p < 0.001) had the highest odds of prenatal diagnosis compared with the remaining lesions. Patients with outflow tract anomalies had higher odds for prenatal detection in the pandemic period compared with during the 2009–2012 pre-pandemic period (aOR 2.01 [1.06–3.78], p = 0.031). In conclusion, prenatal detection of CCHD among newborns presenting for cardiac intervention appeared to have improved during the pandemic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, rhodamine 6G and carborane were used as raw materials, and four fluorescent polymers were prepared by one-pot method, namely L100-55 fluorescent polymer (L100-55-B), EPO polymer (EPO-B), RS polymer (RS) and RL polymer (RL). The problem of poor water solubility of carborane was solved and the biocompatibility of rhodamine 6G-nido-carborane was improved. By simulating the release of polymers in different gastrointestinal environments, it was found that the release rate of drugs in the four coating materials was slow and controllable, with good bioavailability. Affected by the properties of the resin, L100-55 and EPO coating had the best release effect in the gastrointestinal tract. In the zeta potential test, the absolute potential values of L100-55-B and EPO-B are stable, both up to 30 mV. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the drug was uniformly dispersed in the drug carrier material and wrapped into nanospheres with particle sizes below 500 nm. Hela cells were imaged in different acidic environments, and the results showed that the polymer had good affinity with target cells and was closely connected to target cells, indicating good biocompatibility and targeting of the polymer. This design not only solves the bioavailability problem of rhodamine 6G-nido-carborane, but also has a good fluorescence targeting effect. Rhodamine 6G-nido-carborane coated by four eudragits, L100-55, EPO, RS, and RL, are released in the gastrointestinal environment. Cell imaging under a microscope shows that L100-55-B and EPO-B have a strong affinity for Hela cells. Four coating pathways, the released rhodamine 6G-nido-carborane targets tumor cells and exerts inhibitory effects. 1. The bioavailability and water solubility of carborane derivatives have been improved. 2. Rhodamine 6G is used to make the complex visible in vivo, which is convenient for monitoring the drug distribution. 3. Acrylic resin coating can change drug release performance. 4. Hela cell imaging experiments display excellent cellular permeability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the bioavailability of carborane as a potential pharmacophore for BNCT, we labeled the modified o-carborane with the near-infrared dye IR775 and encapsulated it using two types of Eudragit® (pH-sensitive and osmotic). Consequently, four separate fluorescent complexes containing carborane were acquired. To confirm the nido-carborane presence within these complexes, the distinct peak at 2510 cm−1 was detected using infrared spectroscopy as a first step. The photophysical properties were observed in phosphate buffer with different pH. The UV and fluorescence spectra of the four fluorescent complexes were very similar, with the maximum absorption wavelengths centered in the range of 773–789 nm and the emission wavelengths centered in the range of 796–811 nm. Subsequently, a stable and releasing complex L100-C-IR775 was screened through zeta potential testing and simulated release experiments in the gastrointestinal environment, and spherical shape was observed by transmission electron microscopy. AFM imaging showed a relatively smooth surface with a uniform distribution of protrusions. The L100-C-IR775 was then applied to tumor cell imaging, and it was observed that it could enter into three kinds of tumor cells, A549, HCT116 and HeLa, and distribute around the nucleus. Finally, it was shown by a cell proliferation toxicity assay (CCK8) that the compound inhibited HeLa and PC-3 cells by 50 and 51% at concentrations up to 10 µg/mL. In conclusion, the carborane fluorescent complexes prepared in this paper have good biocompatibility and demonstrate toxicity toward tumor cell proliferation. Furthermore, they have the potential to serve as a carbon borane anti-tumor prodrug. An acrylic encapsulated ionic polymer IR775@nido-carborane simulates release in the gastrointestinal environment, tumor cells imaging, and schematics of therapeutic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph neural networks (GNNs) have indeed shown significant potential in the field of personalized recommendation. The core approach is to reorganize interaction data into a user–item bipartite graph, leveraging high-order connectivity between user and item nodes to enhance their representations. However, most existing methods only deploy graph neural networks on parallel interaction graphs and treat the information propagated from all neighbors as equivalent, failing to adaptively capture user preferences. Therefore, the representations obtained may contain redundant or even noisy information, leading to non-robustness and suboptimal performance. The recently proposed Multimodal Graph Attention Network (MGAT) disentangles personal interests at the granularity of modality, operating on individual modal interaction graphs while utilizing a gated attention mechanism to differentiate the impacts of different modalities on user preferences. However, MGAT merely uses averaging to fuse multimodal features, which might overlook unique or critical information within each modality. To address this issue, this paper proposes a multimodal preference-based graph attention network. Firstly, for each individual modality, a single-modality graph network is constructed by integrating the user–item interaction bipartite graph, enabling it to learn user preferences for that modality. GNNs are used to aggregate neighborhood information and enhance the representation of each node. Additionally, a GRU module is utilized to determine whether to aggregate neighborhood information, thereby achieving noise reduction. In addition, a lightweight complementary attention mechanism is proposed to fuse user and item representations learned from different modal graphs. The complementary attention mechanism can not only avoid information redundancy, but also alleviate the problem of modal loss to a certain extent, and ultimately input the fusion results into the prediction module. Experimental results on the MovieLens and TikTok datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the multimodal information and attention fusion mechanism in improving recommendation accuracy. Compared to baseline state-of-the-art algorithms, the proposed model achieves significant improvements in the Precision@K, Recall@K, NDCG@K and AUC metrics. Our code is publicly available on GitHub: [https://github.com/Oasisway624/mgpat]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the development of leukemia, the overgrowth of leukemia cells in the bone marrow transforms the normal hematopoietic microenvironment into the leukemia microenvironment which favors its growth and inhibits normal hematopoietic stem cells. The leukemia microenvironment exhibits abnormalities in redox substances, metabolism, immune response, mesenchymal cells, extracellular matrix, stromal cells, hypoxia, and more. These factors collectively provide a shelter for the malignant proliferation of leukemia cells. Recently, as the understanding of the leukemia microenvironment deepens, targeting or remodeling the abnormal leukemia microenvironment is becoming an effective strategy for leukemia treatment. Nanomedicine technology can effectively change pharmacokinetic profiles, thus demonstrating many advantages in modulating the leukemia microenvironment and improving therapeutic selectivity. In this review, we outline the characteristics of abnormal leukemia bone marrow microenvironment, focusing on the abnormal changes in the redox, metabolic and immune microenvironment. We also summarize emerging nanotechnology strategies in remodeling or targeting the aforementioned abnormal microenvironment. In addition, the unique advantages and bright prospects of nanotechnology in remodeling and targeting the leukemia microenvironment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neurological syndrome resulting from thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. It has been recognized increasingly in non-alcoholic patients, such as in the condition of malnutrition. Recent literature has shed light on uncommon symptoms and neuroimaging findings. Case report: We reported a case of a 44-year-old male who initially presented with bilateral hearing loss, and exhibited abnormality in the splenium of the corpus callosum on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diffusion-weighted imaging sequence. On the following day the patient developed new symptoms, including unstable walking, double vision and hallucination. The subsequent brain MRI demonstrated lesions involving periaqueductal grey matter and bilateral medial thalamus, indicating the diagnosis of WE. Empirical treatment with intravenous thiamine resulted in complete clinical and radiological resolution. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, the current case is the first report of WE in literature with uncommon but reversible manifestations. This case warns us to maintain a heightened level of suspicion for WE in malnourished patients with neurological deficits, despite the possibility of atypical presentations encompassing bilateral hearing disturbances and unusual neuroradiological results. Early diagnosis and timely administration of thiamine in WE are likely to lead to a favorable outcome and full recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) steering is commonly shared among multiple observers by utilizing unsharp measurements. Nevertheless, their usage is restricted to local measurements and does not encompass all nonlocal measurement-based cases. In this work, a method for finding beneficial local measurement settings has been expanded to include nonlocal measurement cases. This method is applicable for any bipartite state and offers benefits even in scenarios with a high number of measurement settings. Using the Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state as an illustration, we show that employing unsharp nonlocal measurements can activate the phenomenon of steering sharing in contrast to using local measurements. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that nonlocal measurements with unequal strength possess a greater activation capability compared to those with equal strength. Our activation method generates fresh concepts for conservation and recycling quantum resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tendon adhesion is a common complication after tendon injury with the development of accumulated fibrotic tissues without effective anti-fibrotic therapies, resulting in severe disability. Macrophages are widely recognized as a fibrotic trigger during peritendinous adhesion formation. However, different clusters of macrophages have various functions and receive multiple regulation, which are both still unknown. In our current study, multi-omics analysis including single-cell RNA sequencing and proteomics was performed on both human and mouse tendon adhesion tissue at different stages after tendon injury. The transcriptomes of over 74 000 human single cells were profiled. As results, we found that SPP1+ macrophages, RGCC+ endothelial cells, ACKR1+ endothelial cells and ADAM12+ fibroblasts participated in tendon adhesion formation. Interestingly, despite specific fibrotic clusters in tendon adhesion, FOLR2+ macrophages were identified as an antifibrotic cluster by in vitro experiments using human cells. Furthermore, ACKR1 was verified to regulate FOLR2+ macrophages migration at the injured peritendinous site by transplantation of bone marrow from Lysm-Cre;R26RtdTomato mice to lethally irradiated Ackr1−/− mice (Ackr1−/− chimeras; deficient in ACKR1) and control mice (WT chimeras). Compared with WT chimeras, the decline of FOLR2+ macrophages was also observed, indicating that ACKR1 was specifically involved in FOLR2+ macrophages migration. Taken together, our study not only characterized the fibrosis microenvironment landscape of tendon adhesion by multi-omics analysis, but also uncovered a novel antifibrotic cluster of macrophages and their origin. These results provide potential therapeutic targets against human tendon adhesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the structure and properties of extractants is of great significance for developing new extractants. For uranium extraction and recovery requirements in spent fuel reprocessing, three kinds of extractants with different ether-oxygen chains, N,N,N'N'-tetraoctyl-3-oxapentanediamide (TODGA), N,N,N'N'-tetraoctyl-3,6-dioxaoctanediamide (TODOODA) and N,N,N'N'-tetraoctyl-3,6,9-trioxaundecanediamide (TOUDA) were synthesized to study the influence of the ether-oxygen chain skeleton on the extraction of uranium from nitrate media. TODOODA shows a good extraction ability for uranyl ions at high nitric acid concentrations. Equimolar series method, FT–IR spectrum and MALDI–TOF–MS spectra indicated that the extracted structure was formed as [UO2NO3·TODGA]NO3, [UO2NO3·TODOODA]NO3 and [UO2NO3·TOUDA]NO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate a comprehensive segmentation of chest X-ray (CXR) in promoting deep learning–based World Health Organization's (WHO) radiologically confirmed pneumonia diagnosis in children. Methods: A total of 4400 participants between January 2016 and June 2021were identified for a cross-sectional study and divided into primary endpoint pneumonia (PEP), other infiltrates, and normal groups according to WHO's diagnostic criteria. The CXR was divided into six segments of left lung, right lung, mediastinum, diaphragm, ext-left lung, and ext-right lung by adopting the RA-UNet. To demonstrate the benefits of lung field segmentation in pneumonia diagnosis, the segmented images and images that were not segmented, which constituted seven segmentation combinations, were fed into the CBAM-ResNet under a three-category classification comparison. The interpretability of the CBAM-ResNet for pneumonia diagnosis was also performed by adopting a Grad-CAM module. Results: The RA-UNet achieved a high spatial overlap between manual and automatic segmentation (averaged DSC = 0.9639). The CBAM-ResNet when fed with the six segments achieved superior three-category diagnosis performance (accuracy = 0.8243) over other segmentation combinations and deep learning models under comparison, which was increased by around 6% in accuracy, precision, specificity, sensitivity, F1-score, and around 3% in AUC. The Grad-CAM could capture the pneumonia lesions more accurately, generating a more interpretable visualization and enhancing the superiority and reliability of our study in assisting pediatric pneumonia diagnosis. Conclusions: The comprehensive segmentation of CXR could improve deep learning–based pneumonia diagnosis in childhood with a more reasonable WHO's radiological standardized pneumonia classification instead of conventional dichotomous bacterial pneumonia and viral pneumonia. Clinical relevance statement: The comprehensive segmentation of chest X-ray improves deep learning–based WHO confirmed pneumonia diagnosis in children, laying a strong foundation for the potential inclusion of computer-aided pediatric CXR readings in precise classification of pneumonia and PCV vaccine trials efficacy in children. Key Points: • The chest X-ray was comprehensively segmented into six anatomical structures of left lung, right lung, mediastinum, diaphragm, ext-left lung, and ext-right lung. • The comprehensive segmentation improved the three-category classification of primary endpoint pneumonia, other infiltrates, and normal with an increase by around 6% in accuracy, precision, specificity, sensitivity, F1-score, and around 3% in AUC. • The comprehensive segmentation gave rise to a more accurate and interpretable visualization results in capturing the pneumonia lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1998 to 2017, neutron monitors located at an altitude of 4300 m on the Tibetan plateau detected 127 long-duration bursts of high-energy radiation in association with thunderclouds. These bursts typically lasted for 10–40 min, and 89% of them occurred between 10:00 and 24:00 local time. They were also found to be more likely to occur at night, especially during 18:00–06:00 local time period. The observed diurnal and seasonal variations in burst frequency were consistent with the frequencies of lightning and precipitation on the Tibetan plateau. Based on 19 years of data, the present study suggests that an annual variation in burst frequency has a periodicity of ∼ 16 years and a lag of ∼ 3 years relative to solar activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphiphilic cationic peptide (ACP) is a widely studied biofilm-active peptide that has great potential in cancer treatment. However, poor stability, a short half-life, and complex preparation pose significant challenges for practical therapeutic applications. In the current investigation, the amphiphilic peptide Melittin (Mel), recognized for its powerful anticancer properties, was chosen from natural and synthetic ACP, and integrated into a nanostructure by utilizing polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) microspheres as carriers to produce Mel-loaded PHA microspheres (Mel@PHA-PhaC). Mel@PHA-PhaC nanostructure was self-assembled in Escherichia coli, simplifying its preparation and making it more convenient and high-yield. Mel@PHA-PhaC were spherical, with a particle size of approximately 300 nm, as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The concentration of Mel in Mel@PHA-PhaC was 4 μg/mg. Mel@PHA-PhaC still maintained good stability after being treated with pancreatic enzymes. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that Mel@PHA-PhaC enhanced the inhibitory effect on cancer cells compared to free Mel. This study provides insights and guidelines for the development and utilization of peptide delivery systems using PHA microspheres to create stable and improved peptides for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although great progress has been made in improving hydrogen production, highly efficient catalysts, which are able to produce hydrogen in a fast and steady way at ambient temperature and pressure, are still in large demand. Here, we report a [NiCo]-based hydrogenase mimic, NiCo2O4 nanozyme, that can catalyze robust hydrogen evolution spontaneously in water without external energy input at room temperature. This hydrogenase nanozyme facilitates water splitting reaction by forming a three-center Ni–OH–Co bond analogous to the [NiFe]-hydrogenase reaction by using aluminum as electron donor, and realizes hydrogen evolution with a high production rate of 915 L·h−1 per gram of nanozymes, which is hundreds of times higher than most of the natural hydrogenase or hydrogenase mimics. Furthermore, the NiCo2O4 nanozyme can robustly disrupt the adhesive oxidized layer of aluminum and enable the full consumption of electrons from aluminum. In contrast to the often-expensive synthetic catalysts that rely on rare elements and consume high energy, we envision that this NiCo2O4 nanozyme can potentially provide an upgrade for current hydrogen evolution, accelerate the development of scale-up hydrogen production, and generate a clean energy future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) show promise as a cancer treatment by selectively replicating in tumor cells and promoting antitumor immunity. However, the current immunogenicity induced by OVs for tumor treatment is relatively weak, necessitating a thorough investigation of the mechanisms underlying its induction of antitumor immunity. Here, we show that HSV-1-based OVs (oHSVs) trigger ZBP1-mediated PANoptosis (a unique innate immune inflammatory cell death modality), resulting in augmented antitumor immune effects. Mechanistically, oHSV enhances the expression of interferon-stimulated genes, leading to the accumulation of endogenous Z-RNA and subsequent activation of ZBP1. To further enhance the antitumor potential of oHSV, we conduct a screening and identify Fusobacterium nucleatum outer membrane vesicle (Fn-OMV) that can increase the expression of PANoptosis execution proteins. The combination of Fn-OMV and oHSV demonstrates potent antitumor immunogenicity. Taken together, our study provides a deeper understanding of oHSV-induced antitumor immunity, and demonstrates a promising strategy that combines oHSV with Fn-OMV. The potential of oncolytic virus (OV) for cancer therapy is limited by the efficiency of immune response induced. Here the authors show that HSV-1-based OV is capable of triggering ZBP1-mediated PANoptosis resulting in effective tumor growth inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum interleukin-1 (IL-1) are possibly indicative of the inflammation in the intracranial aneurysm (IA) wall. This study aimed to investigate whether IL-1 could discriminate the unstable IAs (ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIAs) and symptomatic unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs)) from stable, asymptomatic UIAs. IA tissues and blood samples from 35 RIA patients and 35 UIA patients were collected between January 2017 and June 2020 as the derivation cohort. Blood samples from 211 patients with UIAs were collected between January 2021 and June 2022 as the validation cohort (including 63 symptomatic UIAs). Blood samples from 35 non-cerebral-edema meningioma patients (non-inflammatory control) and 19 patients with unknown-cause subarachnoid hemorrhage (hemorrhagic control) were also collected. IL-1β and IL-1.ra (IL-1 receptor antagonist) were measured in serum and IA tissues, and the IL-1 ratio was calculated as log10 (IL-1.ra/IL-1β). Based on the derivation cohort, multivariate logistic analysis showed that IL-1β (odds ratio, 1.48, P = 0.001) and IL-1.ra (odds ratio, 0.74, P = 0.005) were associated with RIAs. The IL-1 ratio showed an excellent diagnostic accuracy for RIAs (c-statistic, 0.91). Histological analysis confirmed the significant correlation of IL-1 between serum and aneurysm tissues. IL-1 ratio could discriminate UIAs from non-inflammatory controls (c-statistic, 0.84), and RIAs from hemorrhagic controls (c-statistic, 0.95). Based on the validation cohort, the combination of IL-1 ratio and PHASES score had better diagnostic accuracy for symptomatic UIAs than PHASES score alone (c-statistic, 0.88 vs 0.80, P < 0.001). Serum IL-1 levels correlate with aneurysm tissue IL-1 levels and unstable aneurysm status, and could serve as a potential biomarker for IA instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidation and spontaneous combustion of water immersion coal threatens the mine safety production after experiencing water evacuation in the underground goaf. The weathering effect creates disparate water content in coal that results in the distinct oxidation process. This paper investigates the immersion coal pore evolution and oxygen adsorption behavior at different water contents from the molecular dynamics perspective. Proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, 13C NMR spectrum research, and XPS spectrum were used to construct the macromolecular coal model. There is a double-peak behavior for the water immersion coal porosity and specific surface area. The maximum porosity of water immersion coal was 25.7% and 28.9% arising at 5.9% and 10.2% water content, respectively. The adsorption loading and average oxygen adsorption density both exhibited the rise-decline-rise-decline trend with two remarkable peaks presented at the same site. The two peaks possessed the lowest oxygen adsorption total energy level of − 23.37 and − 21.73 kcal/mol. Temperature rise trial was conducted to evaluate and verify the double-peak characterization of the water immersion coal at the low-temperature oxidation stage. The temperature rising rate versus the heating time of higher water content slowed down at an elevated water bath temperature. There were two maximum immersion coal temperatures, 85.52 and 85.66 °C, with optimum water content of 6.0% and 12.0%, respectively, at the stabilization stage. The obtained achievement of the crucial optimum water content has important theoretical guiding significance for the scientific prevention of the water immersion coal oxidation spontaneous combustion disaster in an underground goaf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innate lymphoid cell precursors (ILCPs) develop into distinct subsets of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) with specific functions. The epigenetic program underlying the differentiation of ILCPs into ILC subsets remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal the genome-wide distribution and dynamics of the DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation in ILC subsets and their respective precursors. Additionally, we find that the DNA hydroxymethyltransferase TET1 suppresses ILC1 but not ILC2 or ILC3 differentiation. TET1 deficiency promotes ILC1 differentiation by inhibiting TGF-β signaling. Throughout ILCP differentiation at postnatal stage, gut microbiota contributes to the downregulation of TET1 level. Microbiota decreases the level of cholic acid in the gut, impairs TET1 expression and suppresses DNA hydroxymethylation, ultimately resulting in an expansion of ILC1s. In adult mice, TET1 suppresses the hyperactivation of ILC1s to maintain intestinal homeostasis. Our findings provide insights into the microbiota-mediated epigenetic programming of ILCs, which links microbiota-DNA methylation crosstalk to ILC differentiation.The epigenetic program underlying the differentiation of innate lymphoid cell precursors (ILCPs) into innate lymphoid cell (ILC) subsets remains poorly understood. Here the authors show genome-wide distribution of the DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation in murine ILC subsets and at postnatal stage, gut microbiota contributes to the downregulation of TET1 level, resulting in an expansion of ILC1s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate depolymerization of cellulose into fermentable sugars, a novel deep eutectic solvent (DES)–mediated Fenton-like system was developed for efficient removal of hemicellulose and lignin components from lignocellulosic biomass. Water hyacinth (WH) was treated with the newly synthesized DES (choline chloride-ethylene glycol-FeCl3; ChCl-EG-FeCl3) at 140 °C for 2 h and then subjected to treatment with 32 mL 30 wt% H2O2 (Fe3+: H2O2 = 1:50 mol·mol–1) for 1 h in a Fenton-like reaction system (DES/H2O2). Hydrolysate containing 28 g·L–1 glucose was obtained, which was 19.6- and 1.6-fold of raw WH and WH pretreated by DES, respectively. The DES/H2O2-WH hydrolysate was further evaluated for butanol fermentation; no significant inhibition was observed on butanol production, giving butanol titer of 8.3 g·L–1, along with a yield of 0.18 g·g–1 glucose and a productivity of 0.12 g·L–1·h–1. Remarkably, DES could be recovered and recycled for five consecutive batches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-compassion could safeguard well-being under challenging circumstances. Nevertheless, limited literature explored self-compassion and the general well-being of COVID-19 patients in the Chinese context. Based on the perceived control theory and the protective model, this study analyzed the connection between self-compassion and the general well-being of infected patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it explored a moderated mediation model that involved perceived control and positive coping as underlying mechanisms in this association. A number of 312 COVID-19 patients (182 females; Mage = 38.99, SD = 12.58) completed the General Well-Being Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, Psychological Security Questionnaire, and Coping Scale. Results indicated that self-compassion may contribute to improved general well-being. Additionally, perceived control played a partial mediating role in this relationship. Specifically, self-compassion exhibited a positive correlation with perceived control, which subsequently positively impacts well-being. Notably, this link between self-compassion and perceived control was solid among individuals with limited positive coping strategies. These findings emphasize the significance of self-compassion in enhancing the psychological health of COVID-19 patients in China, with perceived control playing a crucial role, especially for those with fewer coping resources. Highlights: Self-compassion may enhance the general well-being of COVID-19 patients in China. Self-compassion may contribute to a greater perceived control, which could positively impact general well-being. Particularly for individuals with limited positive coping skills, self-compassion might offer a notable boost to their perceived control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the association between serum prolactin levels and psychiatric symptoms and cognitive function in drug-naïve schizophrenia patients. The study recruited 91 drug-naïve schizophrenia patients and 67 healthy controls. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected, and cognitive function was assessed using the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Serum prolactin levels were measured, and statistical analyses were performed to examine the relationship between prolactin levels, clinical symptoms, and cognitive function. The study found that drug-naïve schizophrenia patients had severe cognitive deficits compared to healthy controls across all seven domains of the MCCB. However, no correlation was found between these patients' serum prolactin levels and clinical severity or cognitive function. The drug-naïve schizophrenia patients had significant cognitive deficits compared to healthy controls. However, there was no significant relationship between prolactin levels and symptomatology and cognition in drug-naïve schizophrenia patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurotypical (NT) individuals and individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make different judgments of social traits from others' faces; they also exhibit different social emotional responses in social interactions. A common hypothesis is that the differences in face perception in ASD compared with NT is related to distinct social behaviors. To test this hypothesis, we combined a face trait judgment task with a novel interpersonal transgression task that induces measures social emotions and behaviors. ASD and neurotypical participants viewed a large set of naturalistic facial stimuli while judging them on a comprehensive set of social traits (e.g., warm, charismatic, critical). They also completed an interpersonal transgression task where their responsibility in causing an unpleasant outcome to a social partner was manipulated. The purpose of the latter task was to measure participants' emotional (e.g., guilt) and behavioral (e.g., compensation) responses to interpersonal transgression. We found that, compared with neurotypical participants, ASD participants' self-reported guilt and compensation tendency was less sensitive to our responsibility manipulation. Importantly, ASD participants and neurotypical participants showed distinct associations between self-reported guilt and judgments of criticalness from others' faces. These findings reveal a novel link between perception of social traits and social emotional responses in ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tripartite motif–containing 29 (TRIM29), also known as the ataxia telangiectasia group D-complementing (ATDC) gene, has been reported to play an oncogenic or tumor suppressive role in developing different tumors. So far, its expression and biological functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. We investigated TRIM29 expression pattern in human HCC samples using quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Relationships between TRIM29 expression level, clinical prognostic indicators, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated by Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards model. A series of in vitro experiments and a xenograft tumor model were conducted to detect the functions of TRIM29 in HCC cells. RNA sequencing, western blotting, and immunochemical staining were performed to assess the molecular regulation of TRIM29 in HCC. We found that the mRNA and protein levels of TRIM29 were significantly reduced in HCC samples, compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues, and were negatively correlated with poor differentiation of HCC tissues. Survival analysis confirmed that lower TRIM29 expression significantly correlated with shorter OS and DFS of HCC patients. TRIM29 overexpression remarkably inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and EMT in HCC cells, whereas knockdown of TRIM29 reversed these effects. Moreover, deactivation of the PTEN/AKT/mTOR and JAK2/STAT3 pathways might be involved in the tumor suppressive role of TRIM29 in HCC. Our findings indicate that TRIM29 in HCC exerts its tumor suppressive effects through inhibition of the PTEN/AKT/mTOR and JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathways and may be used as a potential biomarker for survival in patients with HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preserving the functionality of hepatocytes in vitro poses a significant challenge in liver tissue engineering and bioartificial liver, as these cells rapidly lose their metabolic and functional characteristics after isolation. Inspired by the macroporous structures found in native liver tissues, here we develop synthetic hydrogel scaffolds that closely mimic the liver's structural organization through the phase separation between polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polysaccharides. Our hydrogels exhibit interconnected macroporous structures and appropriate mechanical properties, providing an optimal microenvironment conducive to hepatocyte adhesion and the formation of sizable aggregates. Compared to two-dimensional hepatocyte cultures, enhanced functionalities of hepatocytes cultured in our macroporous hydrogels were observed for 14 days, as evidenced by quantitative reverse-transcription–polymerase chain reactions (qRT-PCR), immunofluorescence, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses. Protein sequencing data further confirmed the establishment of cell-cell interactions among hepatocytes when cultured in our hydrogels. Notably, these hepatocytes maintained a protein expression lineage that closely resembled freshly isolated hepatocytes, particularly in the Notch and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathways. These results suggest that the macroporous hydrogels are attractive scaffolds for liver tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Bladder tumors are among the most prevalent malignancies in the urinary system, and RAC3 has been linked to various types of cancer. This article seeks to explore the potential of RAC3 as both an early diagnostic marker for bladder tumors and a novel therapeutic target. Methods/patients: The expression of RAC3 in bladder tissue was detected using immunohistochemical staining. Additionally, the protein expression of RAC3 was measured and quantified through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Subsequently, the correlation between the expression level of RAC3 and bladder tumors was investigated through multifactorial analysis and survival analysis. Results: Our findings revealed that RAC3 expression was upregulated in bladder tumor tissues. Moreover, we observed higher levels of RAC3 expression in the serum and urine of patients with bladder tumors compared to those with non-bladder tumors. Additionally, we identified a significant positive correlation between RAC3 expression levels and the stage, degree of differentiation, and infiltration of bladder tumors. Importantly, high RAC3 expression emerged as an influential factor in the poor prognosis of bladder tumors, as patients with high RAC3 expression exhibited a lower overall survival rate than those with low RAC3 expression. Conclusion: Based on our results, RAC3 shows promise as both a marker for early diagnosis of bladder tumors and a potential therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile edge computing is an energy-efficient paradigm which has great support for resource-limited user devices performing compute-intensive programs and applications. However, limited edge resources, mobility of user equipment, growth of service requirements, and dynamic nature of service types make it a challenging task to configure computing and storage resources for executing various services on edge servers. Therefore, an adaptive joint service placement framework in the edge system with various devices of user and mobile edge servers is proposed in this paper. The proposed framework takes into account the mobility of user devices, the dynamic changes in various types of services, the cost of service placement and service usage, and optimizes the service placement scheme from the perspective of different target groups. Simultaneously, we design a deep deterministic policy gradient based service placement tuning approach in which centralized critic networks and actor networks are jointly used to improve the service placement performance. The relative evaluation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework and approach in improving the performance of the edge system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]