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The restacking and oxidizable nature of vanadium‐based carbon/nitride (V2C‐MXene) poses a significant challenge. Herein, tellurium (Te)‐doped V2C/V2O3 electrocatalyst is constructed via mild H2O2 oxidation and calcination treatments. Especially, this work rationally exploits the inherent easy oxidation characteristic associated with MXene to alter the interfacial information, thereby obtaining stable self‐generated vanadium‐based heterointerfaces. Meanwhile, the microetching effect of H2O2 creates numerous pores to address the restacking issues. Besides, Te element doping settles the issue of awkward levels of absorption/desorption ability of intermediates. The electrocatalyst obtains an unparalleled hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction with the overpotential of 83.5 and 279.8 mV at −10 and 10 mA cm−2, respectively. In addition, the overall water‐splitting device demonstrates a low cell voltage of 1.41 V to obtain 10 mA cm−2. Overall, the inherent drawbacks of MXene can be turned into benefits based on the planning strategy to create these electrocatalysts with desirable reaction kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a novel liquid nitrogen quenching strategy is engineered to fulfill iron active center coordination reconstruction within iron carbide (Fe3C) modified on biomass‐derived nitrogen‐doped porous carbon (NC) for initiating rapid hydrogen and oxygen evolution, where the chrysanthemum tea (elm seeds, corn leaves, and shaddock peel, etc.) is treated as biomass carbon source within Fe3C and NC. Moreover, the original thermodynamic stability is changed through the corresponding force generated by liquid nitrogen quenching and the phase transformation is induced with rich carbon vacancies with the increasing instantaneous temperature drop amplitude. Noteworthy, the optimizing intermediate absorption/desorption is achieved by new phases, Fe coordination, and carbon vacancies. The Fe3C/NC‐550 (550 refers to quenching temperature) demonstrates outstanding overpotential for hydrogen evolution reaction (26.3 mV at −10 mA cm−2) and oxygen evolution reaction (281.4 mV at 10 mA cm−2), favorable overall water splitting activity (1.57 V at 10 mA cm−2). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further confirm that liquid nitrogen quenching treatment can enhance the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity efficiently by optimizing the adsorption free energy of reaction intermediates. Overall, the above results authenticate that liquid nitrogen quenching strategy open up new possibilities for obtaining highly active electrocatalysts for the new generation of green energy conversion systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strain engineering is a novel method that can achieve superior performance for different applications. The lattice strain can affect the performance of electrochemical catalysts by changing the binding energy between the surface‐active sites and intermediates and can be affected by the thickness, surface defects and composition of the materials. In this review, we summarized the basic principle, characterization method, introduction strategy and application direction of lattice strain. The reactions on hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are focused. Finally, the present challenges are summarized, and suggestions for the future development of lattice strain in electrocatalytic overall water splitting are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Eradicating Helicobacter pylori infection by bismuth quadruple therapy (BQT) is effective. However, the effect of BQT and subsequent fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) on the gut microbiota is less known. Materials and Methods: This prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted at a tertiary hospital in China from January 2019 to October 2020, with the primary endpoints the effect of BQT on the gut microbiota and the effect of FMT on the gut microbiota after bismuth quadruple therapy eradication therapy. A 14‐day BQT with amoxicillin and clarithromycin was administered to H. pylori‐positive subjects, and after eradication therapy, patients received a one‐time FMT or placebo treatment. We then collected stool samples to assess the effects of 14‐day BQT and FMT on the gut microbiota. 16 s rDNA and metagenomic sequencing were used to analyze the structure and function of intestinal flora. We also used Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) to evaluate gastrointestinal symptom during treatment. Results: A total of 30 patients were recruited and 15 were assigned to either FMT or placebo groups. After eradication therapy, alpha‐diversity was decreased in both groups. At the phylum level, the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes decreased, while Proteobacteria increased. At the genus level, the abundance of beneficial bacteria decreased, while pathogenic bacteria increased. Eradication therapy reduced some resistance genes abundance while increased the resistance genes abundance linked to Escherichia coli. While they all returned to baseline by Week 10. Besides, the difference was observed in Week 10 by the diarrhea score between two groups. Compared to Week 2, the GSRS total score and diarrhea score decreased in Week 3 only in FMT group. Conclusions: The balance of intestinal flora in patients can be considerably impacted by BQT in the short term, but it has reverted back to baseline by Week 10. FMT can alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms even if there was no evidence it promoted restoration of intestinal flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost‐effective non‐noble metal‐based catalysts for selective hydrogenation with excellent activity, selectivity, and durability are still the holy grail. Herein, an oxygen‐doped carbon (OC) chainmail encapsulated dilute Cu–Ni alloy is developed by simple pyrolysis of Cu/Ni‐metal–organic framework. The CuNi0.05@OC catalyst displays superior performance for atmospheric pressure transfer hydrogenation of p‐chloronitrobenzene and p‐nitrophenol, and for hydrogenation of furfural, all in water and with exceptional durability. Comprehensive characterizations confirm the close interactions between the diluted Ni sites, the base Cu, and optimized three‐layered graphene chainmail. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the properly tuned lattice strain and Schottky junction can adjust electron density to facilitate specific adsorption on the active centers, thus enhancing the catalytic activity and selectivity, while the OC shell also offers robust protection. This work provides a simple and environmentally friendly strategy for developing practical heterogeneous catalysts that bring the synergistic effect into play between dilute alloy and functional carbon wrapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteria capable of direct ammonia oxidation (Dirammox) play important roles in global nitrogen cycling and nutrient removal from wastewater. Dirammox process, NH3 → NH2OH → N2, first defined in Alcaligenes ammonioxydans HO‐1 and encoded by dnf gene cluster, has been found to widely exist in aquatic environments. However, because of multidrug resistance in Alcaligenes species, the key genes involved in the Dirammox pathway and the interaction between Dirammox process and the physiological state of Alcaligenes species remain unclear. In this work, ammonia removal via the redistribution of nitrogen between Dirammox and microbial growth in A. ammonioxydans HO‐1, a model organism of Alcaligenes species, was investigated. The dnfA, dnfB, dnfC, and dnfR genes were found to play important roles in the Dirammox process in A. ammonioxydans HO‐1, while dnfH, dnfG, and dnfD were not essential genes. Furthermore, an unexpected redistribution phenomenon for nitrogen between Dirammox and cell growth for ammonia removal in HO‐1 was revealed. After the disruption of the Dirammox in HO‐1, more consumed NH4+ was recovered as biomass‐N via rapid metabolic response and upregulated expression of genes associated with ammonia transport and assimilation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, sulfur metabolism, ribosome synthesis, and other molecular functions. These findings deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanisms for Dirammox process in the genus Alcaligenes and provide useful information about the application of Alcaligenes species for ammonia‐rich wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geobacter species, exhibiting exceptional extracellular electron transfer aptitude, hold great potential for applications in pollution remediation, bioenergy production, and natural elemental cycles. Nonetheless, a scarcity of well‐characterized genetic elements and gene expression tools constrains the effective and precise fine‐tuning of gene expression in Geobacter species, thereby limiting their applications. Here, we examined a suite of genetic elements and developed a new genetic editing tool in Geobacter sulfurreducens to enhance their pollutant conversion capacity. First, the performances of the widely used inducible promoters, constitutive promoters, and ribosomal binding sites (RBSs) elements in G. sulfurreducens were quantitatively evaluated. Also, six native promoters with superior expression levels than constitutive promoters were identified on the genome of G. sulfurreducens. Employing the characterized genetic elements, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference (CRISPRi) system was constructed in G. sulfurreducens to achieve the repression of an essential gene‐aroK and morphogenic genes‐ftsZ and mreB. Finally, applying the engineered strain to the reduction of tungsten trioxide (WO3), methyl orange (MO), and Cr(VI), We found that morphological elongation through ftsZ repression amplified the extracellular electron transfer proficiency of G. sulfurreducens and facilitated its contaminant transformation efficiency. These new systems provide rapid, versatile, and scalable tools poised to expedite advancements in Geobacter genomic engineering to favor environmental and other biotechnological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sintilimab combined with IBI305 treatment regimen had potential clinical benefits than sorafenib in the first‐line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatic cell carcinoma (HCC). However, whether sintilimab plus IBI305 has economic benefits in China remains unclear. Methods: From the perspective of Chinese payers, we used the Markov model to simulate patients with HCC receiving treatment with sintilimab plus IBI305 and sorafenib. The transition probability between health states was estimated using the parametric survival model, and the cumulative medical costs and utility of the two treatment methods were estimated. Considering the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as the evaluation index, sensitivity analyses were performed to explore the impact of uncertainty on the results. Results: Compared to sorafenib, sintilimab plus IBI305 generated an additional $17552.17 and 0.33 quality‐adjusted life years, resulting in an ICER of $52817.89. The analysis outcomes were most sensitive to the total cost of sintilimab plus IBI305. With a willingness‐to‐pay threshold of $38,334, sintilimab plus IBI305 showed a 1.28% probability of being cost‐effective. The total cost of sintilimab plus IBI305 should be reduced by at least 31.9% to be accepted by Chinese payers. Conclusions: Regardless of whether the price of sintilimab plus IBI305 and sorafenib is covered by Medicare, sintilimab plus IBI305 is unlikely to be cost‐effective for first‐line treatment of patients with unresectable HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisms often acquire physiological and morphological modifications to conquer ecological challenges when colonizing new environments which lead to their adaptive evolution. However, deciphering the genomic mechanism of ecological adaptation is difficult because ecological environments are often too complex for straightforward interpretation. Thus, we examined the adaptation of a widespread songbird—the rufous‐capped babbler (Cyanoderma ruficeps)—to a relatively simple system: distinct environments across elevational gradients on the mountainous island of Taiwan. We focused on the genomic sequences of 43 birds from five populations to show that the Taiwan group split from its sister group in mainland China around 1–2 million years ago (Ma) and colonized the montane habitats of Taiwan at least twice around 0.03–0.22 Ma. The montane and lowland Taiwan populations diverged with gene flow between them, suggesting strong selection associated with different elevations. We found that the montane babblers had smaller beaks than the lowland ones, consistent with Allen's rule, and identified candidate genes—COL9A1 and SOX11—underlying the beak size changes. We also found that altitudinally divergent mutations were mostly located in noncoding regions and tended to accumulate in chromosomal inversions and autosomes. The altitudinally divergent mutations might regulate genes related to haematopoietic, metabolic, immune, auditory and vision functions, as well as cerebrum morphology and plumage development. The results reveal the genomic bases of morphological and physiological adaptation in this species to the low temperature, hypoxia and high UV light environment at high elevation. These findings improve our understanding of how ecological adaptation drives population divergence from the perspective of genomic architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated that dieckol (DKL), a natural drug, inhibits colon cancer cell proliferation and migration by inhibiting phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylation in HCT‐116 cells. The cells were treated with DKL in various concentrations (32 and 50 μM) for 24 h and then analyzed for various experiments. MTT (tetrazolium bromide) and crystal violet assay investigated DKL‐mediated cytotoxicity. Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate staining was used to assess the reactive oxygen species (ROS) measurement, and apoptotic changes were studied by dual acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining. Protein expression of cell survival, cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis protein was evaluated by western blot analysis. Results indicated that DKL produces significant cytotoxicity in HCT‐116, and the half‐maximal inhibitory concentration was found to be 32 μM for 24‐h incubation. Moreover, effective production of ROS and enhanced apoptotic signs were observed upon DKL treatment in HCT‐116. DKL induces the expression of phosphorylated PI3K, AKT, and mToR‐associated enhanced expression of cyclin‐D1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK)‐4, CDK‐6, and Bcl‐2 in HCT‐116. In addition, proapoptotic proteins such as Bax, caspase‐9, and caspase‐3 were significantly enhanced by DKL treatment in HCT‐116. Hence, DKL has been considered a chemotherapeutic drug by impeding the expression of PI3K‐, AKT‐, and mTOR‐mediated inhibition of proliferation and cell cycle‐regulating proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissimilatory metal‐reducing bacteria (DMRB) can transfer electrons to extracellular insoluble electron acceptors and play important roles in geochemical cycling, biocorrosion, environmental remediation, and bioenergy generation. c‐type cytochromes (c‐Cyts) are synthesized by DMRB and usually transported to the cell surface to form modularized electron transport conduits through protein assembly, while some of them are released as extracellularly free‐moving electron carriers in growth to promote electron transport. However, the type of these released c‐Cyts, the timing of their release, and the functions they perform have not been unrevealed yet. In this work, after characterizing the types of c‐Cyts released by Geobacter sulfurreducens under a variety of cultivation conditions, we found that these c‐Cyts accumulated up to micromolar concentrations in the surrounding medium and conserved their chemical activities. Further studies demonstrated that the presence of c‐Cyts accelerated the process of microbial extracellular electron transfer and mediated long‐distance electron transfer. In particular, the presence of c‐Cyts promoted the microbial respiration and affected the physiological state of the microbial community. In addition, c‐Cyts were observed to be adsorbed on the surface of insoluble electron acceptors and modify electron acceptors. These results reveal the overlooked multiple roles of the released c‐Cyts in acting as public goods, delivering electrons, modifying electron acceptors, and even regulating bacterial community structure in natural and artificial environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese formulation‐based medicinal food has been widely used in clinical trials, but its safety is not well studied. In this research, the edible safety assessment of Balanced Health Care Dan—a formulation containing traditional edible ingredients that were initially formulated to reduce side effects for lung cancer patients—was studied in mice based on biochemical and gut microbial analyses. The experimental mice were subcutaneously loaded with lung tumor A549 cells and then administrated with Balanced Health Care Dan (200 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg b.w. in gavage feeding) for 4 weeks. The body weight, blood parameters, and pathogenic phenotype in tissues were examined. No toxicological symptom was found in experimental mice compared with the normal control. Comprehensive analyses were also conducted to evaluate intestinal microbiota that are associated with many diseases. Balanced Health Care Dan modified the gut microbiota structure in a positive way. In conclusion, the Chinese formulation‐based medicinal food has shown no toxicological effect in mice within 4 weeks of feeding experiment and has the potential to be used in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) in cirrhotic patients in China and its risk factors. Methods: A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted from January 2021 to March 2022 at 16 medical centers across China to investigate the risk factors of CHE and establish a prediction model for CHE episodes. Results: A total of 528 patients were enrolled in the study. Based on both the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score and Stroop test results, the prevalence of CHE was 50.4% (266/528), and the consistency between these two tests was 68.9%. Multivariate analysis showed that age (odds ratio [OR] 1.043, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.022–1.063, P < 0.001), duration of education (OR 0.891, 95% CI 0.832–0.954, P = 0.001), comorbidities of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, cerebral apoplexy or diabetes mellitus (OR 2.072, 95% CI 1.370–3.133, P < 0.001), Child–Pugh score (OR 1.142, 95% CI 1.029–1.465, P = 0.025), and blood urea nitrogen concentration (OR 1.126, 95% CI 1.038–1.221, P = 0.004) were associated with CHE episodes. According to the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire, CHE patients had lower scores for abdominal symptoms and systemic symptoms (P < 0.001), indicating a poor health‐related quality of life. Based on a stepwise Cox regression hazard model, we established a nomogram for determining the probabilities of CHE episodes, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.733 (95% CI 0.679–0.788) and 0.713 (95% CI 0.628–0.797) in the training and validation cohorts. Conclusions: CHE is a common complication of cirrhosis in China. Large‐scale studies with long‐term follow‐up are needed to determine the natural history of Chinese CHE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chemotherapy without radiation therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) has attracted increasing attention, but the optimal schema remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy and toxicity of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) of two regimens for patients with mid‐low baseline resectable LARC. Methods: A retrospective study was performed in 131 patients with baseline resectable LARC in a single center between April 2016 and August 2020. All patients received four cycles of neoadjuvant CapeOX or mFOLFOX6 before surgery. Clinical characteristics, pathological response, and survival status were then assessed. Results: After a 1:1 propensity score matching, 96 patients were enrolled, including 48 receiving CapeOX and 48 receiving mFOLFOX6. The objective regression rates were 50.00% and 58.33%, and the pathological complete response rates were 6.25% and 8.33%, respectively, in the CapeOX and mFOLFOX6 groups. Patients who received mFOLFOX6 had a better tumor regression grade (TRG) than those who received CapeOX (P = 0.005). Patients in both groups had similar survival outcomes. Conclusions: The nCT has shown promising tumor response and survival outcomes, which can be a treatment option for baseline resectable LARC. For the two regimens, mFOLFOX6 provided better TRG than CapeOX, although no differences were observed in disease‐free survival and OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting observational records demonstrate human‐caused faunal decline in recent decades, while accumulating archaeological evidence suggests an early biodiversity impact of human activities during the Holocene. A fundamental question arises concerning whether modern wildlife population declines began during early human disturbance. Here, we performed a population genomic analysis of six common forest birds in East Asia to address this question. For five of them, demographic history inference based on 25–33 genomes of each species revealed dramatic population declines by 4‐ to 48‐fold over millennia (e.g. 2000–5000 thousand years ago). Nevertheless, summary statistics detected nonsignificant correlations between these population size trajectories and Holocene temperature variations, and ecological niche models explicitly predicted extensive range persistence during the Holocene, implying limited demographic consequence of Holocene climate change. Further analyses suggest high negative correlations between the reconstructed population declines and human disturbance intensities and indicate a potential driver of human activities. These findings provide a deep‐time and large‐scale insight into the recently recognized avifaunal decline and support an early origin hypothesis of human effects on biodiversity. Overall, our study sheds light on the current biodiversity crisis in the context of long‐term human–environment interactions and offers a multi‐evidential framework for quantitatively assessing the ecological consequences of human disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Exoelectrogenic bacteria (EEB) are capable of anaerobic respiration with diverse extracellular electron acceptors including insoluble minerals, electrodes and flavins, but the detailed electron transfer pathways and reaction mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we discover that CymA, which is usually considered to solely serve as an inner‐membrane electron transfer hub in Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 (a model EEB), might also function as a reductase for direct reducing diverse nitroaromatic compounds (e.g. 2,4‐dichloronitrobenzene) and azo dyes. Such a process can be accelerated by dosing anthraquinone‐2,6‐disulfonate. The CymA‐based reduction pathways in S. oneidensis MR‐1 for different contaminants could be functionally reconstructed and strengthened in Escherichia coli. The direct reduction of lowly polar contaminants by quinol oxidases like CymA homologues might be universal in diverse microbes. This work offers new insights into the pollutant reduction mechanisms of EEB and unveils a new function of CymA to act as a terminal reductase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Whether the antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are simply due to the release of silver ions (Ag+) or, additionally, nanoparticle‐specific effects, is not clear. We used experimental evolution of the model environmental bacterium Pseudomonas putida to ask whether bacteria respond differently to Ag+ or AgNP treatment. We pre‐evolved five cultures of strain KT2440 for 70 days without Ag to reduce confounding adaptations before dividing the fittest pre‐evolved culture into five cultures each, evolving in the presence of low concentrations of Ag+, well‐defined AgNPs or Ag‐free controls for a further 75 days. The mutations in the Ag+ or AgNP evolved populations displayed different patterns that were statistically significant. The non‐synonymous mutations in AgNP‐treated populations were mostly associated with cell surface proteins, including cytoskeletal membrane protein (FtsZ), membrane sensor and regulator (EnvZ and GacS) and periplasmic protein (PP_2758). In contrast, Ag+ treatment was selected for mutations linked to cytoplasmic proteins, including metal ion transporter (TauB) and those with metal‐binding domains (ThiL and PP_2397). These results suggest the existence of AgNP‐specific effects, either caused by sustained delivery of Ag+ from AgNP dissolution, more proximate delivery from cell‐surface bound AgNPs, or by direct AgNP action on the cell's outer membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manipulation of ferroelectric polarization and associated domain is at the heart of ferroelectric‐based applications. Polarization switching is typically achieved by a static or pulsed electric field, which however suffers from limitations associated with the requirement of circuitry access and the sluggish switching time. To circumvent abovementioned challenges, significant effort has been devoted to optical control of ferroelectric polarization, which can provide tremendous potential to develop ferroelectric devices with more freedom and to extend transient operation down to picosecond time scale. In this review, both the phenomena and the mechanism of optical control over polarization and associated domain evolution are explored in various kinds of ferroelectrics, including oxide perovskites, van der Waals ferroelectrics, and ferroelectric heterostructures, etc. All‐optical fabrication of 3D nonlinear photonic crystals based on femtosecond laser‐induced ferroelectric domain inversion is presented. In particular, some intriguing examples of terahertz field‐induced polarization reversal and paraelectric‐to‐ferroelectric phase transition are highlighted. The review concludes with a brief summary of the related branches, and discusses the challenges as well as the potential directions of this emerging field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Antimicrobial‐resistant pathogens in the environment and wastewater treatment systems, many of which are also important pollutant degraders and are difficult to control by traditional disinfection approaches, have become an unprecedented treat to ecological security and human health. Here, we propose the adoption of genetic editing techniques as a highly targeted, efficient and simple tool to control the risks of environmental pathogens at the source. An 'all‐in‐one' plasmid system was constructed in Aeromonas hydrophila to accurately identify and selectively inactivate multiple key virulence factor genes and antibiotic resistance genes via base editing, enabling significantly suppressed bacterial virulence and resistance without impairing their normal phenotype and pollutant‐degradation functions. Its safe application for bioaugmented treatment of synthetic textile wastewater was also demonstrated. This genetic‐editing technique may offer a promising solution to control the health risks of environmental microorganisms via targeted gene inactivation, thereby facilitating safer application of water treatment biotechnologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of the genus Aeromonas prevail in aquatic habitats and have a great potential in biological wastewater treatment because of their unique extracellular electron transfer (EET) capabilities. However, the mediated EET mechanisms of Aeromonas have not been fully understood yet, hindering their applications in biological wastewater treatment processes. In this study, the electron shuttles in Aeromonas hydrophila, a model and widespread strain in aquatic environments and wastewater treatment plants, were explored. A. hydrophila was found to produce both flavins and 2‐amino‐3‐carboxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinone (ACNQ) as electron shuttles and utilize them to accelerate its EET for the bioreduction of various pollutants. The Mtr‐like respiratory pathway was essential for the reduction of flavins, but not involved in the ACNQ reduction. The electron shuttle activity of ACNQ for pollutant bioreduction involved the redox reactions that occurred inside the cell. These findings deepen our understanding about the underlying EET mechanisms in dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria and provide new insights into the roles of the genus Aeromonas in biological wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial infarction (MI) is caused by the formation of plaques in the arterial walls, leading to a decrease of blood flow to the heart and myocardium injury as a result of hypoxia. Ferroptosis is a crucial event in myocardial injury, and icariin (ICA) exerts protective effects against myocardial injury. Here, we investigated the protective mechanism of ICA in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)‐induced ferroptosis of cardiomyocytes. H9C2 cells were subjected to H/R induction. The content of lactate dehydrogenase and the levels of oxidative stress and intracellular ferrous ion Fe2+ were measured. The levels of ferroptosis markers (ACSL4 and GPX4) were detected. H/R‐induced H9C2 cells were cultured with ICA in the presence or absence of ferroptosis inducer (erastin). Znpp (an HO‐1 inhibitor) was added to ICA‐treated H/R cells to verify the role of the Nrf2/HO‐1 pathway. H/R‐induced H9C2 cells showed reduced viability, enhanced oxidative stress and lactate dehydrogenase content, increased levels of Fe2+ and ACSL4, and decreased levels of GPX4. ICA inhibited H/R‐induced ferroptosis and oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes. Erastin treatment reversed the inhibitory effect of ICA on ferroptosis in H/R cells. The expression of Nrf2 and HO‐1 in H/R‐induced H9C2 cells was reduced, whereas ICA treatment reversed this trend. Inhibition of the Nrf2/HO‐1 pathway reversed the protective effect of ICA on H/R‐induced ferroptosis. Collectively, our results suggest that ICA attenuates H/R‐induced ferroptosis of cardiomyocytes by activating the Nrf2/HO‐1 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ca2+ participates in many important cellular processes, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood, especially during oocyte maturation. First, we confirmed that calcium in the culture medium was essential for oocyte maturation. Next, various inhibitors of Ca2+ channels were applied to investigate their roles in mitochondrial Ca2+ changes and oocyte maturation. Our results showed that Trmp7, Orai, T‐type Ca2+ channels and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger complex (NCLX) were important for oocyte maturation. Trmp7 inhibition delayed germinal vesicle breakdown. Orai and NCLX inhibition significantly weakened the distribution of mitochondrial Ca2+ around the nucleus compared to the Ctrl group. Interestingly, even T‐type Ca2+ channels‐specific inhibitor Mibefradil blocked germinal vesicle breakdown; mitochondrial Ca2+ surrounding the nucleus still was maintained at a high level without spindle formation. Two calcium transporter inhibitors, Thapsigargin and Ruthenium Red, which have been confirmed to inhibit oocyte activation, did not significantly affect oocyte maturation. Increasing the knowledge of calcium transport may provide a basis to build on for improving oocyte in vitro maturation in human assisted reproduction clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mammalian cyclin A1 is prominently expressed in testis and essential for meiosis in the male mouse, however, it shows weak expression in ovary, especially during oocyte maturation. To understand why cyclin A1 behaves in this way in the oocyte, we investigated the effect of cyclin A1 overexpression on mouse oocyte meiotic maturation. Our results revealed that cyclin A1 overexpression triggered meiotic resumption even in the presence of germinal vesicle breakdown inhibitor, milrinone. Nevertheless, the cyclin A1‐overexpressed oocytes failed to extrude the first polar body but were completely arrested at metaphase I. Consequently, cyclin A1 overexpression destroyed the spindle morphology and chromosome alignment by inducing premature separation of chromosomes and sister chromatids. Therefore, cyclin A1 overexpression will prevent oocyte maturation although it can promote meiotic resumption. All these results show that decreased expression of cyclin A1 in oocytes may have an evolutional significance to keep long‐lasting prophase arrest and orderly chromosome separation during oocyte meiotic maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) is a novel epitranscriptomic marker that contributes to regulating diverse biological processes through controlling messenger RNA metabolism. However, it is unknown if m6A RNA methylation affects uveal melanoma (UM) development. To address this question, we probed its function and molecular mechanism in UM. Initially, we demonstrated that global RNA m6A methylation levels were dramatically elevated in both UM cell lines and clinical specimens. Meanwhile, we found that METTL3, a main m6A regulatory enzyme, was significantly increased in UM cells and specimens. Subsequently, cycloleucine (Cyc) or METTL3 targeted small interfering RNA was used to block m6A methylation in UM cells. We found that Cyc or silencing METTL3 significantly suppressed UM cell proliferation and colony formation through cell cycle G1 arrest, as well as migration and invasion by functional analysis. On the other hand, overexpression of METTL3 had the opposite effects. Furthermore, bioinformatics and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction identified c‐Met as a direct target of m6A methylation in UM cells. In addition, western blot analysis showed that Cyc or knockdown of METTL3 downregulated c‐Met, p‐Akt, and cell cycle‐related protein levels in UM cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate that METTL3‐mediated m6A RNA methylation modulates UM cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by targeting c‐Met. Such a modification acts as a critical oncogenic regulator in UM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Fentanyl and its analogues play important roles in the hospital and clinic setting as anesthetics. However, illicitly manufactured fentanyl as well as the new psychoactive substances (NPS) account for 30% of all deaths in the United States. Since fentanyl derivatives and NPS are designed to produce similar effects, their related substances are similar or even have the same active groups. A comprehensive analysis of the related substances of alfentanil hydrochloride can provide a basis for the identification and supervision of fentanyl derivatives and NPS. Methods: A liquid chromatography/quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry (LC/QTOF‐MS/MS) method was developed for the separation and characterization of related substances in alfentanil hydrochloride. Degradation studies were conducted according to the ICH‐prescribed stress conditions. The compounds were identified mainly through positive electrospray ionization QTOF high‐resolution mass spectrometric measurements of the accurate masses of the precursor and product ions and their calculated elemental compositions. Their formation mechanisms were also discussed. Results: Seventeen related substances were detected in alfentanil hydrochloride and its stressed samples. Among them, nine were process‐related substances and the other eight were degradation products. The stress study results demonstrated that alfentanil hydrochloride was unstable under acid, alkaline, and oxidative stress conditions, while relatively stable under dry photolytic and thermal stress conditions. Alfentanil hydrochloride was most susceptible for degradation at the N‐phenylpropanamide and piperidine sites. Conclusions: Process‐related alfentanil hydrochloride compounds are useful for determination of synthetic routes and entangling of fentanyl analogues. The stress study results can provide a sound scientific basis for the waste water monitoring of alfentanil. These results are important for routine quality control in the manufacturing and storage of alfentanil hydrochloride, as well as for drug enforcement of fentanyl and its analogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1, a model strain of exoelectrogenic bacteria (EEB), plays a key role in environmental bioremediation and bioelectrochemical systems because of its unique respiration capacity. However, only a narrow range of substrates can be utilized by S. oneidensis MR‐1 as carbon sources, resulting in its limited applications. In this study, a rapid, highly efficient, and easily manipulated base‐editing system pCBEso was developed by fusing a Cas9 nickase (Cas9n (D10A)) with the cytidine deaminase rAPOBEC1 in S. oneidensis MR‐1. The C‐to‐T conversion of suitable C within the base‐editing window could be readily and efficiently achieved by the pCBEso system without requiring double‐strand break or repair templates. Moreover, double‐locus simultaneous editing was successfully accomplished with an efficiency of 87.5%. With this tool, the key genes involving in N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) or glucose metabolism in S. oneidensis MR‐1 were identified. Furthermore, an engineered strain with expanded carbon source utilization spectra was constructed and exhibited a higher degradation rate for multiple organic pollutants (i.e., azo dyes and organoarsenic compounds) than the wild‐type when glucose or GlcNAc was used as the sole carbon source. Such a base‐editing system could be readily applied to other EEB. This study not only enhances the substrate utilization and pollutant degradation capacities of S. oneidensis MR‐1 but also accelerates the robust construction of engineered strains for environmental bioremediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Au‐incorporation is a promising strategy to retard composition‐loss in Pt‐based catalyst. However, the unclear mechanism limits guided catalyst design and the performance optimization. Here, direct evidence is provided to validate the outward diffusion of Au atoms in Au‐core/Pt‐based‐shell structures. A Co interlayer is built between the Au‐core and PtCo‐based shell to exclude the possibility of atomic diffusion caused by interfacial alloying. In conjunction with the improved catalytic durability of the Au‐core@Pt‐based‐shell structure, it is reasonable to conclude that it is the subsurface segregated Au atoms rather than interfacial interaction that boosts the catalytic durability of Au‐core/Pt‐based‐shell structured catalysts towards oxygen reduction reaction. More importantly, by constructing Au‐core@Co‐interlayer@PtCoAu‐shell multilayer structure, the specific (1.730 mA cm−2) and mass (0.692 A mg−1Pt) activities are enhanced 7‐ and 4‐ fold relative to the commercial Pt/C. After 10 000 cycles of accelerated durability test, the mass activity loss for the multilayered catalyst is as low as 6.14% while the loss exceeds 35% for the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The improved catalytic performance of the Au@Co@PtCoAu multilayer structure can be ascribed to the finely modulated electronic structure and the compensated composition loss owing to the delicate structure and composition profile design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In birds, widespread species complexes often exhibit dramatic plumage differences across their distribution, which can give rise to discordance between morphotypes and phylogroups. Accurate identification of species diversity may require an integrated approach in which multilocus genetic data are used for inference and further corroborated by ecological, morphometric or behavioural data. Pomatorhinus gravivox and P. swinhoei, which were formerly considered component races of P. erythrogenys, were recently split using a delimitation system that mainly relied on the quantification of differences in phenotypic traits. We therefore carried out a reassessment of this taxonomic recommendation by conducting phylogenetic and population genetic analyses with multilocus genetic data. A deep mitochondrial split with a Kimura 2‐parameter distance of 0.061 was observed, mainly corresponding to the two morphologically defined species. However, one individual from P. swinhoei harboured a haplotype of P. gravivox. Individual‐based analyses of nuclear loci identified two distinct clusters that were exactly congruent with the two species. BPP delimitation also provided support for the separation. These congruencies support the notion that these two taxa are best regarded as two separate species. The presence of the P. gravivox mitochondrial haplotype in P. swinhoei was most likely a result of hybridization, due to the clear separation of nuclear loci. The speciation might be attributed to paleoclimatic changes but requires further evaluation due to the likelihood of ecological speciation. This study was in accordance with the results inferred from the quantitative system but highlighted the importance of sampling various data, especially in contact zones, in the study of taxonomy and speciation history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioreduction capacity of Cr(VI) by Shewanella is mainly governed by its bidirectional extracellular electron transfer (EET). However, the low bidirectional EET efficiency restricts its wider applications in remediation of the environments contaminated by Cr(VI). Cyclic adenosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate (cAMP) commonly exists in Shewanella strains and cAMP–cyclic adenosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate receptor protein (CRP) system regulates multiple bidirectional EET‐related pathways. This inspires us to strengthen the bidirectional EET through elevating the intracellular cAMP level in Shewanella strains. In this study, an exogenous gene encoding adenylate cyclase from the soil bacterium Beggiatoa sp. PS is functionally expressed in Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 (the strain MR‐1/pbPAC) and a MR‐1 mutant lacking all endogenous adenylate cyclase encoding genes (the strain Δca/pbPAC). The engineered strains exhibit the enhanced bidirectional EET capacities in microbial electrochemical systems compared with their counterparts. Meanwhile, a three times more rapid reduction rate of Cr(VI) is achieved by the strain MR‐1/pbPAC than the control in batch experiments. Furthermore, a higher Cr(VI) reduction efficiency is also achieved by the strain MR‐1/pbPAC in the Cr(VI)‐reducing biocathode experiments. Such a bidirectional enhancement is attributed to the improved production of cAMP–CRP complex, which upregulates the expression levels of the genes encoding the c‐type cytochromes and flavins synthetic pathways. Specially, this strategy could be used as a broad‐spectrum approach for the other Shewanella strains. Our results demonstrate that elevating the intracellular cAMP levels could be an efficient strategy to enhance the bidirectional EET of Shewanella strains and improve their pollutant transformation capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliability has been a dominant factor in the performance of power converters. In this study, an enhanced k‐out‐of‐n:G model is presented to predict and analyse the reliability of typical asymmetric half‐bridge power converter in switched reluctance motor drive. First, the reliability estimation procedure is introduced including electrothermal model, failure rate model, and reliability model, during which the electrothermal model is critical to accelerate the process of reliability prediction. Next, the enhanced k‐out‐of‐n:G model can be built, and corresponding solving process is derived. Meanwhile, the reliability comparison is quantitatively illustrated between conventional k‐out‐of‐n:G models, generally accepted Markov model, and enhanced k‐out‐of‐n:G model, indicating the result with the proposed model is consistent with Markov model. Moreover, the modelling and solving processes are simpler. Then, the reliability is optimised in respect to turn‐on angle, turn‐off angle, and fault‐tolerance strategies with the enhanced k‐out‐of‐n:G model, providing a guideline to select the most effective control parameters and strategies for reliability improvement. Finally, the fault experiments and thermal stress measurement are carried out to indirectly validate the reliability analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does fund management skill allow managers to identify mispriced securities more accurately and thereby make better portfolio choices resulting in superior fund performance when noise trading – a natural setting to detect skill – is more prevalent? We find skilled fund managers with superior past performance to generate persistent excess risk‐adjusted returns and experience significant capital inflows, especially in high sentiment times, high stock dispersion, and economic expansion states when price signals are noisier. This pattern persists after we control for lucky bias, using the 'false discovery rate' approach, which permits disentangling manager 'skill' from 'luck.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glomerular diseases are leading causes of end‐stage renal disease in children. Tacrolimus is frequently used off‐label in the treatment of glomerular diseases. The effectiveness, safety and pharmacokinetic data of tacrolimus in the treatment of glomerular diseases in children are reviewed in this paper to provide evidence to support its rational use in clinical practice. The remission rates in previously published studies were different. In 19 clinical trials on children with nephrotic syndrome, the overall remission rate was 52.6‐97.6%. In four clinical trials on children with lupus nephritis, the overall remission rate was 81.8‐89.5%. In a pilot study with paediatric Henoch‐Schönlein purpura nephritis patients, the overall remission rate was 100.0%. Infection, nephrotoxicity, gastrointestinal symptoms and hypertension are the most common adverse events. Body weight, age, CYP3A5 genotype, cystatin‐C and daily dose of tacrolimus may have significant effects on the pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus in children with glomerular disease. More prospective controlled trials with long follow‐up are needed to demonstrate definitely the effectiveness, safety and pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus in children with glomerular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost‐effective phase current sensing is critical for the performance improvement of switched reluctance motor drive (SRD). In this study, a new two‐sensor phase current sensing method is proposed and comparatively investigated with conventional m‐sensor and one‐sensor methods. First, the operation principles of the m‐sensor, one‐sensor, and proposed two‐sensor methods are illustrated in detail on a four‐phase SRD. Compared with the one‐sensor method, the topology can be maintained without splitting the lower bus into freewheeling bus and excitation bus under the two‐sensor method. Next, an advanced decoupling strategy is presented to obtain the complete phase current information and shorten the region of switch signals injection. With the simulation model in Matlab/Simulink environment, the steady and transient performance of SRD in the proposed method are not inferior to m‐sensor and one‐sensor methods. Meanwhile, the proposed two‐sensor method is demonstrated to own superior thermal stress distribution by the finite‐element model in ANSYS software. Eventually, the dynamic reliability is proved to be not enhanced as the number of current sensors decreases. Finally, an experimental setup with double‐core TMS320F28377D is built to validate the proposed method and evaluation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The effects of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) have been controversial. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of LMWH on prognosis of SAP by systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods: We searched relevant studies published up to March 2019 in five databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Chinese Journal of Science and Technology of VIP database). Results: Sixteen randomized controlled trials with 1625 patients were included in the final analysis. Most studies were from China. In analysis of laboratory parameters and clinical scores, SAP patients receiving LMWH treatment had lower white blood cell counts, C‐reactive protein level, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, and computed tomography severity index. In clinical outcomes, SAP patients who received LMWH treatment had shorter hospital stay (pooled mean difference [95% confidence interval; CI] −8.79 [−11.18, −6.40], P < .01), lower mortality (pooled risk ratio [RR] [95% CI] 0.33 [0.24‐0.44], P < .01), lower incidences of multiple organ failure (pooled RR [95% CI] 0.34 [0.23‐0.52], P < .01), pancreatic pseudocyst (pooled RR [95% CI] 0.49 [0.27‐0.90], P =.02), and operation rate (pooled RR [95% CI] 0.39 [0.31‐0.50], P < .01). Conclusions: LMWH could improve the prognosis of SAP, and has a potential role in reducing hospital stay, mortality, incidences of multiple organ failure, pancreatic pseudocyst, and operation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of artificial neural networks (ANN) in predicting intra‐abdominal infection in moderately severe (MASP) and severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) compared with that of a logistic regression model (LRM). Methods: Patients suffering from MSAP or SAP from July 2014 to June 2017 in three affiliated hospitals of the Army Medical University in Chongqing, China, were enrolled in this study. A univariate analysis was used to determine the different parameters between patients with and without intra‐abdominal infection. Subsequently, these parameters were used to build LRM and ANN. Results: Altogether 263 patients with MSAP or SAP were enrolled in this retrospective study. A total of 16 parameters that differed between patients with and without intra‐abdominal infection were used to construct both models. The sensitivity of ANN and LRM was 80.99% (95% confidence interval [CI] 72.63‐87.33) and 70.25% (95% CI 61.15‐78.04), respectively (P > 0.05), whereas the specificity was 89.44% (95% CI 82.89‐93.77) and 77.46% (95% CI 69.54‐83.87), respectively (P < 0.05). ANN predicted the risk of intra‐abdominal infection better than LRM (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.923 [0.883‐0.952] vs 0.802 [0.749‐0.849], P < 0.001). Conclusions: ANN accurately predicted intra‐abdominal infection in MSAP and SAP and is an ideal tool for predicting intra‐abdominal infection in such patients. Coagulation parameters played an important role in such prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing evidence has highlighted the effect of ultraviolet light radiation leading to corneal epithelium impairment. During this study, we aim to investigate the effect of microRNA‐129‐5p (miR‐129‐5p) on the wound healing process of corneal epithelial cells (CECs) induced by ultraviolet rays in mice by targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). First, mouse models of ultraviolet ray‐induced CEC injury were established and intrastromally injected with different mimic, inhibitor, and short interfering RNA (siRNA) to detect the effect of miR‐129‐5p on CEC injury. Subsequently, the corneal tissues were obtained to detect the antioxidant ability and EGFR‐positive expression rate. The dual‐luciferase reporter gene assay was used to test whether EGFR could directly target miR‐129‐5p. To further investigate the specific mechanism of miR‐129‐5p and EGFR in CEC injury, CECs were cultured and transfected with miR‐129‐5p mimic, miR‐129‐5p inhibitor, siRNA‐EGFR, and miR‐129‐5p inhibitor + siRNA‐EGFR. miR‐129‐5p has been proven to directly target EGFR. Inhibition of miR‐129‐5p is able to increase the antioxidant capacity, EGFR‐positive rate and the expressions of EGFR, B‐cell lymphoma‐2, zonula occluden‐1, occludin, and keratinocyte growth factor‐2, but decrease the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, BCL2‐associated X protein, interleukin (IL)‐1β, and IL‐4. Inhibition of miR‐129‐5p arrests cells at the S and G2 phases and decreases apoptosis. Our study provides evidence stating that inhibiting miR‐129‐5p and upregulating EGFR could aid in the repair of mice CEC injury induced by ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, inhibition of miR‐129‐5p might provide a basic theory in the repair of CEC injury caused by ultraviolet rays. Our study provides evidence stating that inhibiting miR‐129‐5p and upregulating EGFR could aid in the repair of mice CEC injury induced by ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, inhibition of miR‐129‐5p might provide a basic theory in the repair of CEC injury caused by ultraviolet rays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic segmentation of remote sensing ship targets is one of the most challenging works in image processing, especially for small and multi‐scale ship target detection. To solve these problems, an efficient method based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) to detect ship targets is proposed. This method introduces the attention model to the network to enhance the characteristics of small targets and combines atrous convolution with traditional CNN to increase the receptive field. To preserve the information lost by pooling, the proposed method uses the passthrough layer method to retain more features and concatenate the high‐ and low‐resolution features. To verify the effectiveness of the method proposed in this study, the performance was evaluated by using precision, recall, F1‐Score, mean intersection‐over‐union (IoU), and pixel accuracy measurements. These performances are all higher than the traditional semantic segmentation network SegNet. Mean IoU increases to 0.783 and pixel accuracy increases to 0.935. This method can conclusively identify ship targets in remote sensing images and has a certain reference value for remote sensing target detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissimilatory metal reducer Geobacter sulfurreducens can mediate redox processes through extracellular electron transfer and exhibit potential‐dependent electrochemical activity in biofilm. Understanding the microbial acclimation to potential is of critical importance for developing robust electrochemically active biofilms and facilitating their environmental, geochemical, and energy applications. In this study, the metabolism and redox conduction behaviors of G. sulfurreducens biofilms developed at different potentials were explored. We found that electrochemical acclimation occurred at the initial hours of polarizing G. sulfurreducens cells to the potentials. Two mechanisms of acclimation were found, depending on the polarizing potential. In the mature biofilms, a low level of biosynthesis and a high level of catabolism were maintained at +0.2 V versus standard hydrogen electrode (SHE). The opposite results were observed at potentials higher than or equal to +0.4 V versus SHE. The potential also regulated the constitution of the electron transfer network by synthesizing more extracellular cytochrome c such as OmcS at 0.0 and +0.2 V and exhibited a better conductivity. These findings provide reasonable explanations for the mechanism governing the electrochemical respiration and activity in G. sulfurreducens biofilms. Acclimation of the electrochemically active microbe, Geobacter sulfurreducens, to potential level on microbial metabolism and electron transfer was described in this work. During biofilm formation on inert electrodes, optimized catabolism activity and cytochrome secretion are realized at +0.2 V than higher potentials. The observations and analysis uncovered findings on key factors for more efficient electron output by the electrochemically active biofilms, and suggested their values for engineering bioelectrochemical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is common that a pinhole camera captures object images through a transparent plate with two parallel planar faces. In this case, the refraction leads to a non-linear error using the simple pinhole model. To address this issue, a modified pinhole camera model, which is called flat refractive camera model, is established based on the analysis of light refraction in the transparent plate placed between the scene and the camera. Then, an effective backward-projection algorithm is proposed to realise plane dimension detection and eliminate the plate refraction effect. Unlike other models, this proposed model has a form similar to the pinhole camera model. Therefore, it is easy to employ conventional vision techniques in the plate imaging system. At the same time, experiments are designed to demonstrate the plane dimension detection based on the proposed method. Experimental results show that the proposed method can obtain higher accuracy than the traditional method without considering the plate refraction effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological niche evolution can promote or hinder the differentiation of taxa and determine their distribution. Niche‐mediated evolution may differ among climatic regimes, and thus, species that occur across a wide latitudinal range offer a chance to test these heterogeneous evolutionary processes. In this study, we examine (a) how many lineages have evolved across the continent‐wide range of the Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea), (b) whether the lineages' niches are significantly divergent or conserved and (c) how their niche evolution explains their geographic distribution. Phylogenetic reconstruction and ecological niche models (ENMs) showed that the Eurasian nuthatch contained six parapatric lineages that diverged within 2 Myr and did not share identical climatic niches. However, the niche discrepancy between these distinct lineages was relatively conserved compared with the environmental differences between their ranges and thus was unlikely to drive lineage divergence. The ENMs of southern lineages tended to cross‐predict with their neighbouring lineages whereas those of northern lineages generally matched with their abutting ranges. The coalescence‐based analyses revealed more stable populations for the southern lineages than the northern ones during the last glaciation cycle. In contrast to the overlapping ENMs, the smaller parapatric distribution suggests that the southern lineages might have experienced competitive exclusion to prevent them from becoming sympatric. On the other hand, the northern lineages have expanded their ranges and their current abutting distribution might have resulted from lineages adapting to different climatic conditions in allopatry. This study suggests that niche evolution may affect lineage distribution in different ways across latitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]