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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a formidable cancer to treat due to the lack of effective drugs that can also efficiently cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Herein, a novel strategy involving the synthesis of p28 peptide‐conjugated, lexiscan (LEX)‐loaded, bardoxolone methyl (BM) self‐assembled nanoparticles, designated as p28‐LBM NPs, is introduced. These NPs are designed to overcome the dual challenges of effectively killing GBM cells and efficiently penetrating the brain. The p28 peptide is chosen for targeted delivery to brain tumors, and LEX is employed to enhance drug penetration across the BBB. The successful penetration of brain tumors by the p28‐LBM NPs after intravenous administration is demonstrated, with BM delivered as part of the NPs significantly inhibiting GBM tumor growth and extending the survival of mice with tumors. In conclusion, the p28‐LBM NPs present a promising approach for GBM treatment, with potential for effective and safe clinical applications in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding soil moisture variability and estimating high‐resolution soil moisture at subfield to field scales is critical for agricultural research and applications. However, systematic investigation of subfield scale soil moisture variability over cropland is still lacking from both measurement and satellite remote sensing. In this study, we aim to investigate (1) the characteristics of within‐field soil moisture distribution over typical cropland in the US Midwest and (2) the capabilities of satellite remote sensing in capturing the spatiotemporal variabilities of soil moisture at subfield scale. Specifically, we conducted soil moisture field experiments in three typical commercial agricultural fields (∼85 acres per field) in central Illinois, representing typical commercial farmlands in the US Midwest, and compared the soil moisture measurements with satellite remote sensing data from optical and active microwave sensors. In each field, dense soil moisture samples (spaced at 50–60 m) were obtained for two dry down events in May and July 2021, and multiple long‐term soil moisture stations were installed. We found prominent time‐invariant spatial structures of soil moisture at within‐field scales both during the dry down period and over longer time scales, and the stability is minimally affected by plant water use during the growing season. Comparing the field campaign measurements with satellite remote sensing data, we found that surface reflectance of shortwave infrared bands, such as SWIR1 (1610 nm) from Sentinel‐2, can capture relative surface soil moisture patterns at within‐field scales, but their relationships with soil moisture are field specific. These findings and the improved understanding of within‐field soil moisture dynamics could potentially help future research on high‐resolution soil moisture estimation with multi‐source remote sensing data. Core Ideas: High‐density soil moisture sampling was conducted in agricultural fields.Time‐invariant spatial structures of within‐field soil moisture were evaluated.Strong but field‐specific relationships between soil moisture and optical remote sensing were found.A pathway for remote sensing based high‐resolution soil moisture estimation was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancements in wearable electronics and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors have catalyzed the need for effective micro‐energy harvesting. Piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) are ideal due to their high conversion efficiency and durability. However, the contrast between the high piezoelectric coefficients of brittle inorganic ceramics and the lower coefficients of superior flexibility and biocompatibility of organic polymers poses a significant challenge. This work introduces a novel multilayer composite PENG, integrating a single‐crystal BaTiO3 (BTO) film between poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) (PVDF‐TrFE) layers. The PVDF‐TrFE/BTO/PVDF‐TrFE PENGs demonstrate substantially improved energy harvesting performance, with outputs reaching up to 15.1 V, 2.39 µA, and power density of 17.33 µW cm−2 during bending deformation. This power density represents a significant increase compared to pure PVDF‐TrFE and nanoparticle BTO‐doped PVDF‐TrFE PENGs. Durability tests show consistent performance, with a stable ∼15.0 V output across 2000 bending cycles. Additionally, when attached to the human body, these PENGs efficiently convert body motions into electrical responses. This work demonstrates a significant enhancement in the performance of PENGs using sandwich‐structured composite of PVDF‐TrFE and freestanding single‐crystal BTO films, showing its potential to address the power requirements of wearable and flexible electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effects of iRoot BP Plus on receptor activator of nuclear factor‐κB ligand (RANKL)‐induced osteoclastogenesis in vitro and inflammation‐mediated bone resorption in vivo and investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methodology: CCK‐8 was performed to test cell viability in RANKL‐induced RAW 264.7 cells and BMDMs in response to iRoot BP Plus. The effect of iRoot BP Plus on osteoclastogenesis was determined using TRAP staining and phalloidin staining, respectively. Pit formation assay was conducted to measure osteoclast resorptive capacity. Western blot and qPCR were performed to examine osteoclast‐related proteins and gene expression, respectively. Western blot was also used to investigate the signalling pathways involved. For in vivo experiments, an LPS‐induced mouse calvarial bone resorption model was established to analyse the effect of iRoot BP Plus on bone resorption (n = 6 per group). At 7 days, mouse calvaria were collected and prepared for histological analysis. Results: We identified that iRoot BP Plus extracts significantly attenuated RANKL‐induced osteoclastogenesis, reduced sealing zone formation, restrained osteolytic capacity and decreased osteoclast‐specific gene expression (p <.01). Mechanistically, iRoot BP Plus extracts reduced TRAF6 via proteasomal degradation, then suppressed the phosphorylation of mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs), blocked the nuclear translocation of c‐Fos and diminished nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) p65 and NFATc1 accumulation. Consistent with the in vitro results, iRoot BP Plus extracts attenuated osteoclast activity thus protecting against inflammatory bone resorption in vivo (p <.05), which was accompanied by a suppression of TRAF6, c‐Fos, NFATc1 and cathepsin K expression. Conclusion: These findings provide valuable insights into the signalling mechanisms underlying nanoparticulate bioceramic putty‐mediated bone homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric dryness (i.e., high vapor pressure deficit, VPD), together with soil moisture stress, limits plant photosynthesis and threatens ecosystem functioning. Regions where rainfall and soil moisture are relatively sufficient, such as the rainfed part of the U.S. Corn Belt, are especially prone to high VPD stress. With globally projected rising VPD under climate change, it is crucial to understand, simulate, and manage its negative impacts on agricultural ecosystems. However, most existing models simulating crop response to VPD are highly empirical and insufficient in capturing plant response to high VPD, and improved modeling approaches are urgently required. In this study, by leveraging recent advances in plant hydraulic theory, we demonstrate that the VPD constraints in the widely used coupled photosynthesis‐stomatal conductance models alone are inadequate to fully capture VPD stress effects. Incorporating plant xylem hydraulic transport significantly improves the simulation of transpiration under high VPD, even when soil moisture is sufficient. Our results indicate that the limited water transport capability from the plant root to the leaf stoma could be a major mechanism of plant response to high VPD stress. We then introduce a Demand‐side Hydraulic Limitation Factor (DHLF) that simplifies the xylem and the leaf segments of the plant hydraulic model to only one parameter yet captures the effect of plant hydraulic transport on transpiration response to high VPD with similar accuracy. We expect the improved understanding and modeling of crop response to high VPD to help contribute to better management and adaptation of agricultural systems in a changing climate. Key Points: Coupled photosynthesis‐stomatal conductance models alone underestimate vapor pressure deficit (VPD) stress effects on crop stomatal conductance and transpirationLimited plant hydraulic transport capability could play a role in plant response to high VPDA simplified representation of plant hydraulic model for capturing VPD stress on plants is proposed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible pressure sensors have attracted intensive interest for promising applications in healthcare monitoring and flexible electronic devices. Nonetheless, designing flexible pressure sensors to achieve both ultrahigh sensitivity (>1000 kPa−1) and an extensive linear range (>50 kPa) poses a significant challenge. In this study, a facile magnetic‐facilitated self‐assembly parallel circuit strategy to prepare high‐performance flexible pressure sensors in Nickel particles/polydimethylsiloxane (Ni/PDMS) matrices is proposed. The optimized magnetic‐induced Ni/PDMS piezoresistive sensor (MANPS) exhibits an ultrahigh sensitivity of 3707 kPa−1 over a wide broad linear range (0–80 kPa), and excellent durability with the capability of withstanding 2000 pressure cycles. The MANPS is able to detect a broad range of pressures from pulse to plantar pressures (≈60 kPa), demonstrating great potential for whole‐body healthcare monitoring. Additionally, the sensor is further assembled into an array configuration (2 × 5 pixels) for the assessment of plantar pressure distribution. Importantly, the sensitivity and linear range of the MANPS can be readily adjusted by modifying the mixing ratio of the curing agent, thereby significantly broadening its potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible electronics strongly demand the integration of flexible and large‐scale multifunctional oxides. BiFeO3 is one of the most essential multifunctional oxides that could be used in memories, logics, sensors, and actuators. Recently, freestanding single‐crystalline BiFeO3 membranes exhibited superior elasticity and flexibility. However, fabrication and integration of large‐scale freestanding BiFeO3 membranes into flexible electronics remain elusive. In this study, inch‐scale freestanding single‐crystalline BiFeO3 membranes are fabricated with assistance from a water‐soluble sacrificial layer. To transfer flat and crack‐free membranes, all the existing methods are first followed but fail. Then the study introduces a temporary supporting Cu layer on the surface of the as‐grown SiTiO3/Sr3Al2O6/(SrRuO3/)BiFeO3 heterostructure and successfully obtains full and crack‐free 5 mm × 5 mm freestanding membranes on various substrates. The residual strain within the heterostructure releases gradually under the protection of the Cu layer. The freestanding BiFeO3 membranes are relatively uniform among different regions and exhibit good dielectric, ferroelectric, and ferromagnetic properties. Finally, flexible ferroelectric photovoltaic devices are patterned based on those BiFeO3 membranes, and they have open circuit voltage and short circuit current density up to −0.25 ± 0.03 V and 0.82 ± 0.09 µA cm−2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barley is one of the world's earliest domesticated crops, which is widely used for beer production, animal feeding, and health care. Barley seed germination, particularly in increasingly saline soils, is key to ensure the safety of crop production. However, the mechanism of salt‐affected seed germination in barley remains elusive. Here, two different colored barley varieties were used to independently study the regulation mechanism of salt tolerance during barley seed germination. High salinity delays barley seed germination by slowing down starch mobilization efficiency in seeds. The starch plate test revealed that salinity had a significant inhibitory effect on α‐amylase activity in barley seeds. Further, NaCl treatment down‐regulated the expression of Amy1, Amy2 and Amy3 genes in germinated seeds, thereby inhibiting α‐amylase activity. In addition, the result of embryogenic culture system in vitro showed that the shoot elongation of barley was significantly inhibited by salt stress. These findings indicate that it is a feasible idea to study the regulation mechanism of salinity on barley seed germination and embryo growth from the aspect of starch‐related source‐sink communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of magnetic materials into bio‐integrated flexible electronics will bring multi‐functionality, such as magnetoception and wireless communication. In practical application, the performance of magnetic materials and devices should remain stable during cyclic bending–unbending and they can be degradable within a designated lifetime. However, direct integration of magnetic materials with flexible and biocompatible materials and maintaining mechanically stable microwave performance have not been achieved yet. Here, ultrathin (5–50 nm) permalloy (NiFe) films deposited on biocompatible silk fibroin (SF) films are shown to be bending stable, and dissolvable. The ferromagnetic properties of NiFe films deposited on SF, Kapton, and silicon are studied and compared by ferromagnetic resonance. Benefiting from the low surface roughness of fibroin, which is only ≈0.8 nm, SF/NiFe films exhibit comparable ferromagnetic properties to Si/NiFe, better than that of Kapton/NiFe films. Moreover, the ferromagnetic resonance field of SF/NiFe films remains highly stable during cyclic bending that is exposed to both compressive and tensile strain/stress, and its temperature stability is very close to that of Si/NiFe. Finally, the whole SF/NiFe films are demonstrated to be dissolvable and biocompatible. Therefore, SF/NiFe films can be a useful and stable platform for flexible and biocompatible microwave applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezoelectric response of the ferroelectric/piezoelectric thin films is crucial for actuation of micro‐electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices as well as strain‐mediated electronic devices. Among many piezoelectric modes, longitudinal and transverse piezostrain is the most widely used. Various methods have been well established for quantitative characterization of the longitudinal piezostrain, such as laser interferometer and piezoelectric force microscopy. However, it is still a great challenge to characterize transverse piezostrain. Herein, a new method is established to characterize the transverse (in‐plane) piezostrain of ferroelectric/piezoelectric thin films by the inverse magnetoelectric (ME) coupling effect. A ferromagnetic thin film is patterned onto the ferroelectric thin film to form an artificial multiferroic heterostructure. The transverse piezostrain can transfer from the ferroelectric layer to the ferromagnetic layer and shift its ferromagnetic resonance field through the ME coupling effect. By comparing with a control sample of "bulk piezoceramic/ferromagnetic thin film" whose in‐plane piezostrain can be easily measured, the in‐plane piezostrain and piezoelectric coefficient of the ferroelectric thin films are then estimated. The in‐plane piezoelectric coefficient d31 and piezoelectric strain S31 of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films are measured by this method. This new method will promote to fully understand the piezoelectric properties of the ferroelectric/piezoelectric thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Novel and effective therapies for ischemic stroke are urgently needed. Here, we report that melatonin receptor 1A (MT1) agonist ramelteon is a neuroprotective drug candidate as demonstrated by comprehensive experimental models of ischemic stroke, including a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mouse model of cerebral ischemia in vivo, organotypic hippocampal slice cultures ex vivo, and cultured neurons in vitro; the neuroprotective effects of ramelteon are diminished in MT1‐knockout (KO) mice and MT1‐KO cultured neurons. For the first time, we report that the MT1 receptor is significantly depleted in the brain of MCAO mice, and ramelteon treatment significantly recovers the brain MT1 losses in MCAO mice, which is further explained by the Connectivity Map L1000 bioinformatic analysis that shows gene‐expression signatures of MCAO mice are negatively connected to melatonin receptor agonist like Ramelteon. We demonstrate that ramelteon improves the cerebral blood flow signals in ischemic stroke that is potentially mediated, at least, partly by mechanisms of activating endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Our results also show that the neuroprotection of ramelteon counteracts reactive oxygen species‐induced oxidative stress and activates the nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2/heme oxygenase‐1 pathway. Ramelteon inhibits the mitochondrial and autophagic death pathways in MCAO mice and cultured neurons, consistent with gene set enrichment analysis from a bioinformatics perspective angle. Our data suggest that Ramelteon is a potential neuroprotective drug candidate, and MT1 is the neuroprotective target for ischemic stroke, which provides new insights into stroke therapy. MT1‐KO mice and cultured neurons may provide animal and cellular models of accelerated ischemic damage and neuronal cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insufficient immune cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment (TME) greatly compromises the clinical application of immune‐checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)‐based immunotherapy. Recent findings have shown that activation of the cyclic GMP‐AMP synthase‐stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS‐STING) pathway can enhance natural immunity and increase lymphocyte infiltration into the TME, which presents a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we constructed hydroxyapatite nanoparticles co‐loaded with curcumin and L‐oxaliplatin (Cur/L‐OHP@HAP NPs). We analyzed the particle‐size distribution, zeta potential, spectral characteristics (Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy), and drug‐release properties of the Cur/L‐OHP@HAP NPs. The cellular uptake of the Cur/L‐OHP@HAP NPs detected by flow cytometry and confocal laser‐scanning microscopy. We comprehensively evaluated the anti‐tumor properties and immune‐activating effects of the NPs, both in vitro and in vivo. Physicochemical characterizations demonstrated that the Cur/L‐OHP@HAP NPs were successfully synthesized and were capable of pH‐dependent drug release. Notably, the Cur/L‐OHP@HAP NPs efficiently entered cancer cells, after which the released L‐OHP induced nuclear DNA (nDNA) damage to some extent. HAP promoted the release of intracellular Ca2+ stores in cancer cells, and curcumin inhibited Ca2+ efflux, resulting in intracellular Ca2+ overload and the release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Damage to both nDNA and mtDNA greatly stimulated the cGAS‐STING pathway, thereby activating natural immunity, accompanied by immune cell recruitment to the TME. In summary, the Cur/L‐OHP@HAP NPs show good prospects for improving cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) is a major cause of ischemic stroke in China, but the prevalence and prognosis of asymptomatic ICAD detected using high‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR‐MRI) is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and prognosis in order to guide neurologists in interpreting ICAD detected on HR‐MRI. Methods: We included stroke‐free participants from a community‐based prospective cohort (Shunyi study participants) who underwent HR‐MRI between July 2014 and April 2016. The participants were divided into two groups: those with or without ICAD (ICAD+ and ICAD−, respectively). ICAD included intracranial artery stenosis and non‐stenotic plaque. The primary outcome was ischemic stroke. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between ICAD and event outcomes. Results: A total of 1060 stroke‐free participants evaluated by HR‐MRI were included from the Shunyi study. The median age at HR‐MRI was 56 years and 64.7% were female. The ICAD prevalence was 36.3% (n = 385). The ICAD+ group was older and had more cerebrovascular risk factors. The rates of ischemic stroke in the ICAD− and ICAD+ groups were 1.3% (n = 9) and 5.2% (n = 20), respectively, with a median follow‐up time of 54 months. ICAD was associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke in the unadjusted and adjusted Cox models, with hazard ratios of 4.12 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.87–9.05) and 2.50 (95% CI 1.05–5.94), respectively. The greatest risk of an event outcome was observed in participants with ≥70% stenosis or occlusion. The features of high‐risk plaques were also identified. Conclusions: We found that ICAD detected using HR‐MRI increases the long‐term risk of a first‐ever ischemic stroke in a stroke‐free population, suggesting that the current primary prevention protocol of stroke awaits further optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic/organic dielectric composites are very attractive for high energy density electrostatic capacitors. Usually, linear dielectric and ferroelectric materials are chosen as inorganic fillers to improve energy storage performance. Antiferroelectric (AFE) materials, especially single‐crystalline AFE oxides, have relatively high efficiency and higher density than linear dielectrics or ferroelectrics. However, adding single‐crystalline AFE oxides into polymers to construct composite with improved energy storage performance remains elusive. In this study, high‐quality freestanding single‐crystalline PbZrO3 membranes are obtained by a water‐soluble sacrificial layer method. They exhibit classic AFE behavior and then 2D–2D type PbZrO3/PVDF composites with the different film thicknesses of PbZrO3 (0.1‐0.4 µm) is constructed. Their dielectric properties and polarization response improve significantly as compared to pure PVDF and are optimized in the PbZrO3(0.3 µm)/PVDF composite. Consequently, a record‐high energy density of 43.3 J cm−3 is achieved at a large breakdown strength of 750 MV m−1. Phase‐field simulation indicates that inserting PbZrO3 membranes effectively reduces the breakdown path. Single‐crystalline AFE oxide membranes will be useful fillers for composite‐based high‐power capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron‐phonon interaction is known as one of the major mechanisms determining electrical and thermal properties. In particular, it alters the carrier transport behaviors and sets fundamental limits to carrier mobility. Establishing how electrons interact with phonons and the resulting impact on the carrier transport property is significant for the development of high‐efficiency electronic devices. Here, carrier transport behavior mediated by the electron‐phonon coupling in BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films is directly observed. Acoustic phonons are generated by the inverse piezoelectric effect and coupled with photocarriers. Via the electron‐phonon coupling, doughnut shape carrier distribution has been observed due to the coupling between hot carriers and phonons. The hot carrier quasi‐ballistic transport length can reach 340 nm within 1 ps. The results suggest an effective approach to investigating the effects of electron‐phonon interactions with temporal and spatial resolutions, which is of great importance for designing and improving electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron‐phonon interaction is known as one of the major mechanisms determining electrical and thermal properties. In particular, it alters the carrier transport behaviors and sets fundamental limits to carrier mobility. Establishing how electrons interact with phonons and the resulting impact on the carrier transport property is significant for the development of high‐efficiency electronic devices. Here, carrier transport behavior mediated by the electron‐phonon coupling in BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films is directly observed. Acoustic phonons are generated by the inverse piezoelectric effect and coupled with photocarriers. Via the electron‐phonon coupling, doughnut shape carrier distribution has been observed due to the coupling between hot carriers and phonons. The hot carrier quasi‐ballistic transport length can reach 340 nm within 1 ps. The results suggest an effective approach to investigating the effects of electron‐phonon interactions with temporal and spatial resolutions, which is of great importance for designing and improving electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA silencing, a core part of plants' antiviral defence, requires the ARGONAUTE, DICER‐like, and RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase proteins. However, how these proteins contribute to watermelon's RNA interference (RNAi) pathway response to cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) has not been characterized. Here, we identify seven ClAGO, four ClDCL, and 11 ClRDR genes in watermelon and analyse their expression profiles when infected with CGMMV. ClAGO1 and ClAGO5 expression levels were highly induced by CGMMV infection. The results of ClAGO1 and ClAGO5 overexpression and silencing experiments suggest that these genes play central roles in watermelon's antiviral defence. Furthermore, co‐immunoprecipitation and bimolecular fluorescence complementation experiments showed that ClAGO1 interacts with ClAGO5 in vivo, suggesting that ClAGO1 and ClAGO5 co‐regulate watermelon defence against CGMMV infection. We also identified the ethylene response factor (ERF) binding site in the promoters of the ClAGO1 and ClAGO5 genes, and ethylene (ETH) treatment significantly increased ClAGO5 expression. Two ERF genes (Cla97C08G147180 and Cla97C06G122830) closely related to ClAGO5 expression were identified using co‐expression analysis. Subcellular localization revealed that two ERFs and ClAGO5 predominantly localize at the nucleus, suggesting that enhancement of resistance to CGMMV by ETH is probably achieved through ClAGO5 but not ClAGO1. Our findings reveal aspects of the mechanisms underlying RNA silencing in watermelon against CGMMV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate aquaporin‐4 antibody (AQP4‐IgG) dynamics and relapse risk in patients with seropositive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder treated with immunosuppressants. Methods: This observational cohort study with prospectively collected data included 400 neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients seropositive for AQP4‐IgG and treated with immunosuppressants. Serum AQP4‐IgG was detected by fixed cell‐based assay every 6 months. Results: After treatment with immunosuppressants, 128 patients became AQP4‐IgG seronegative. The median time to become seronegative for 400 patients was 76.4 months (61.4 months, NA). Among those patients with negative change of AQP4‐IgG, the mean annualized relapse rate significantly decreased after patients became seronegative (0.20 vs 0.77, p < 0.001), and a positive correlation was observed between time to become seronegative and relapse (OR 1.018, 95% CI 1.001–1.035, p < 0.05). Independent risk factors for AQP4‐IgG becoming seronegative were older age at onset, initiation of immunosuppressants at onset, and shorter disease duration before maintenance therapy. Independent risk factors for relapse included younger age (≤46.4 years) at onset, poly‐system involvement in the first attack, and unchanged or increased AQP4‐IgG titer. The relapse risk was not associated with sex, combination with connective tissue disease, seropositivity for systemic autoimmune antibodies, or incomplete recovery from the first attack. Interpretation: Patients with younger age at onset, poly‐system involvement in the first attack, and unchanged or increased titer of AQP4‐IgG are most likely to experience relapse under treatment with immunosuppressants. Time to AQP4‐IgG becoming seronegative and change of AQP4‐IgG titer may become the surrogate efficacy biomarkers in clinical trials. ANN NEUROL 2023;93:1069–1081 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric memory is one of the most attractive emerging nonvolatile memory. Conventional methods to increase storage density in ferroelectrics include reducing the storage bit size or fabricating 3D stacks. However, the former will face a physical limit finally, and the integration of single‐crystalline ferroelectric oxide following the latter still remains a great challenge. Here, a new method is introduced to construct a scroll‐like 3D memory structure by self‐rolling‐up single‐crystalline ferroelectric oxides. PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3 single‐crystalline thin film is chosen as a prototype and epitaxially grown on another oxide stressor layer with a few lattice‐mismatch. Releasing such "Pb(Zr, Ti)O3/stressor" bilayered structure from the substrate induces self‐rolling‐up due to the internal stress from the lattice‐mismatch. High‐density information can be written in the form of switched ferroelectric domains on those flat "Pb(Zr, Ti)O3/stressor" membranes via piezoelectric force microscopy. In self‐rolling‐up membranes, information density can be experimentally enhanced up to 45 times. Theoretically, the freestanding "Pb(Zr, Ti)O3/stressor" membranes have a strongly driven force to self‐rolling‐up, and the area ratio can enhance 100–450 times, corresponding to an ultra‐high density information storage of 102 Tbit In−2. This study provides a new and general method to develop compact, high‐density, and 3D memories from oxide materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High active Pd‐based catalyst with low loading capacity for CO oxidative coupling with methyl nitrite (MN) to dimethyl oxalate (DMO) has aroused great interest in the large‐scale production of DMO for the next hydrogenation to bring forth ethylene glycol (EG). Here, spinel composite oxide support, namely MgAl2O4, had been prepared through three different methods: solid combustion method (MAO‐SC), hydrothermal method (MAO‐HT) and co‐precipitation method (MAO‐CP), and further Pd nanoparticles were anchored to the surface of MgAl2O4 through a simple wetness impregnation method. In the CO direct esterification to DMO reaction, the Pd/MAO‐SC catalyst, which used MgAl2O4 support prepared by solid combustion method, exhibited the highest intrinsic activity with Turnover frequency (TOF) value of 2.39 s−1 and DMO weight space‐time yield (956.8 g⋅kgcat−1⋅h−1) with 44.1 % CO conversion and 97.8 % DMO selectivity, and showed negligible attenuation of activity during the process of continuous reaction for 100 h. The characterization results confirmed that abundant oxygen defect sites occurred in MAO‐SC synthesized by combustion method not only can help to anchor the Pd nanoparticles with appropriate size and dispersion, but also can promote the interfacial electron transfer from MgAl2O4 support to Pd nanoparticles, thus significantly enhancing the metal‐support interaction (MSI) and providing more CO bridge‐adsorption sites that is favorable for the CO oxidative coupling with MN to DMO reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cover crops have been reported as one of the most effective practices to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) for agroecosystems. Impacts of cover crops on SOC change vary depending on soil properties, climate, and management practices, but it remains unclear how these control factors affect SOC benefits from cover crops, as well as which management practices can maximize SOC benefits. To address these questions, we used an advanced process‐based agroecosystem model, ecosys, to assess the impacts of winter cover cropping on SOC accumulation under different environmental and management conditions. We aimed to answer the following questions: (1) To what extent do cover crops benefit SOC accumulation, and how do SOC benefits from cover crops vary with different factors (i.e., initial soil properties, cover crop types, climate during the cover crop growth period, and cover crop planting and terminating time)? (2) How can we enhance SOC benefits from cover crops under different cover crop management options? Specifically, we first calibrated and validated the ecosys model at two long‐term field experiment sites with SOC measurements in Illinois. We then applied the ecosys model to six cover crop field experiment sites spanning across Illinois to assess the impacts of different factors on SOC accumulation. Our modeling results revealed the following findings: (1) Growing cover crops can bring SOC benefits by 0.33 ± 0.06 MgC ha−1 year−1 in six cover crop field experiment sites across Illinois, and the SOC benefits are species specific to legume and non‐legume cover crops. (2) Initial SOC stocks and clay contents had overall small influences on SOC benefits from cover crops. During the cover crop growth period (i.e., winter and spring in the US Midwest), high temperature increased SOC benefits from cover crops, while the impacts from larger precipitation on SOC benefits varied field by field. (3) The SOC benefits from cover crops can be maximized by optimizing cover crop management practices (e.g., selecting cover crop types and controlling cover crop growth period) for the US Midwestern maize–soybean rotation system. Finally, we discussed the economic and policy implications of adopting cover crops in the US Midwest, including that current economic incentives to grow cover crops may not be sufficient to cover costs. This study systematically assessed cover crop impacts for SOC change in the US Midwest context, while also demonstrating that the ecosys model, with rigorous validation using field experiment data, can be an effective tool to guide the adaptive management of cover crops and quantify SOC benefits from cover crops. The study thus provides practical tools and insights for practitioners and policy‐makers to design cover crop related government agricultural policies and incentive programs for farmers and agri‐food related industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroquinone (HQ) is one of the most effective drugs to treat hyperpigmentary disorders, but often causes skin irritation in clinic. Mast cell plays an important role in contact dermatitis and triggering pseudo‐allergic reactions via MRGPRX2. Whether HQ‐induced skin irritant reaction through activating mast cells via MRGPRX2 remains unknown. To investigate the role of mast cells in HQ‐induced skin irritant reaction and verify whether MRGPRX2 participated in the HQ effect on mast cells which contributed to the pathogenesis of skin irritant reaction, a mouse model of HQ‐induced skin irritation was established to observe the local and systemic inflammation associated with mast cell receptor MrgprB2. Human mast cell LAD2 was used to verify the effect of HQ on mast cells via MRGPRX2 by knocking down with siRNA. As a result, mast cells were involved in the development of HQ‐induced irritant reaction, and local inflammation is closely related to mast cell receptor MrgprB2. HQ could activate mast cells via MRGPRX2, causing changes in calcium concentration, degranulation and release of inflammatory cytokines which lead to skin irritant reaction. In conclusion, HQ‐induced skin irritant reaction could be skin pseudo‐allergic reactions achieved by activating mast cells via MRGPRX2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the Bridge estimator for a high‐dimensional panel data model with heterogeneous varying coefficients, where the random errors are assumed to be serially correlated and cross‐sectionally dependent. We establish oracle efficiency and the asymptotic distribution of the Bridge estimator, when the number of covariates increases to infinity with the sample size in both dimensions. A BIC‐type criterion is also provided for tuning parameter selection. We further generalise the marginal Bridge estimator for our model to asymptotically correctly identify the covariates with zero coefficients even when the number of covariates is greater than the sample size under a partial orthogonality condition. The finite sample performance of the proposed estimator is demonstrated by simulated data examples, and an empirical application with the US stock dataset is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil and gas pipeline accidents not only caused personnel casualties, environmental pollution, and economic losses but also brought great panic to the public. In order to prevent accidents, consequence assessment (CA) has been widely used in the oil and gas pipeline industry. It aims to quantify the potential damage or loss due to unexpected eventualities. However, the current CA methods mainly pay attention to tangible loss, that is, human loss, production loss, asset loss, and environmental loss; the intangible loss such as reputation loss is often neglected. This leads to the deterioration of the quality of CA for the oil and gas industry. To settle existing research limitations, this article proposes to compile the reputation loss scale for the oil and gas pipeline industry to measure the intangible loss of oil and gas pipeline accidents. The compilation methodology mainly involves three stages, namely, the selection of reputation loss indicators, a compilation of reputation loss scale based on the Likert scale, and validation of reputation loss scale. The most important innovation is to quantify reputation loss based on the existing research. Therefore, this study can improve the limitations of current CA methodologies for the oil and gas pipeline Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating irrigation water use accurately is critical for sustainable irrigation and studying terrestrial water cycle in irrigated croplands. However, irrigation is not monitored in most places, and current estimations of irrigation water use has coarse spatial and/or temporal resolutions. This study aims to estimate irrigation water use at the daily and field scale through the proposed model‐data fusion framework, which is achieved by particle filtering with two configurations (concurrent, CON, and sequential, SEQ) by assimilating satellite‐based evapotranspiration (ET) observations into an advanced agroecosystem model, ecosys. Two types of experiments using synthetic and real ET observations were conducted to study the efficacy of the proposed framework for estimating irrigation water use at the irrigated fields in eastern and western Nebraska, United States. The experiments using synthetic ET observations indicated that, for two major sources of uncertainties of ET difference between observations and model simulations, which are bias and noise, noise had larger impacts on degrading the estimation performance of irrigation water use than bias. For the experiments using real ET observations, monthly and annual estimations of irrigation water use matched well with farmer irrigation records, with Pearson correlation coefficient (r) around 0.80 and 0.50, respectively. Although detecting daily irrigation records was very challenging, our method still gave a good performance with RMSE, BIAS, and r around 2.90, 0.03, and 0.4 mm/d, respectively. Our proposed model‐data fusion framework for estimating irrigation water use at high spatio‐temporal resolution could contribute to regional water management, sustainable irrigation, and better tracking terrestrial water cycle. Key Points: Combining remotely sensed evapotranspiration (ET) and an agroecosystem model is effective to estimate irrigation water use at daily and field scaleFor two sources of ET uncertainties, noise has larger impacts on degrading the estimation performance of irrigation water use than biasRemotely sensed ET observations and ET simulations from ecosys with high accuracy can improve the estimations of irrigation water use [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous carbon nanospheres have attracted extensive attention due to their excellent advantages in specific surface area, pore distribution, and electronic conductivity. Herein, boron‐doped hollow carbon nanospheres with mesoporous walls have been successfully synthesized via a combination of hard/soft templating and boronic acid/sugar ligation. Surface‐initiated Cu(0) mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization was used to initiate the polymerization of 2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate from the surface of silica. 4‐carboxy‐3‐fluorophenylboronic acid was introduced as a boron precursor by N‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)‐N′‐ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride coupling and fructose was introduced as a carbon precursor by boronic esters. After carbonization and template etching, boron‐doped porous carbon spheres could be obtained. We believe such in‐situ heteroatom‐doped method has great potential in preparing hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres with excellent properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a cytokine‐responsive transcription factor, is known to play a role in immunity and bone remodeling. However, whether and how STAT3 impacts macrophage NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation associated with inflammatory bone loss remains unknown. Here, STAT3 signaling is hyperactivated in macrophages in the context of both non‐sterile and sterile inflammatory osteolysis, and this was highly correlated with the cleaved interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) expression pattern. Strikingly, pharmacological inhibition of STAT3 markedly blocks macrophage NLRP3 inflammasome activation in vitro, thereby relieving inflammatory macrophage‐amplified osteoclast formation and bone‐resorptive activity. Mechanistically, STAT3 inhibition in macrophages triggers PTEN‐induced kinase 1 (PINK1)‐dependent mitophagy that eliminates dysfunctional mitochondria, reverses mitochondrial membrane potential collapse, and inhibits mitochondrial reactive oxygen species release, thus inactivating the NLRP3 inflammasome. In vivo, STAT3 inhibition effectively protects mice from both infection‐induced periapical lesions and aseptic titanium particle‐mediated calvarial bone erosion with potent induction of PINK1 and downregulation of inflammasome activation, macrophage infiltration, and osteoclast formation. This study reveals the regulatory role of the STAT3/mitophagy axis at the osteo‐immune interface and highlights a potential therapeutic intervention to prevent inflammatory bone loss. © 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cover crops have critical significance for agroecosystem sustainability and have long been promoted in the U.S. Midwest. Knowledge of cover cropping variations and impacts of government policies remains very limited. We developed an accurate and cost‐effective approach utilizing satellite fusion data, environmental variables, and machine learning to quantify cover cropping in corn and soybean fields from 2000 to 2021 in the U.S. Midwest. We found that cover crop adoption in most counties was stagnant from 2000 to 2011, but has significantly increased from 2011 to 2021. The adoption of 2021 is four times that of 2011, which was highly correlated to the funding for conservation programs. However, the percentage of cover crop adoption in the U.S. Midwest is still low (7.2%). Our work fills a critical gap in quantifying long‐term field‐level cover crop adoption at large regions and highlights the potential importance of incentive programs to promote sustainable agricultural practices. Plain Language Summary: Cover crops typically grow after cash crop harvesting and before the following season's planting of cash crops, and can bring benefits to agricultural sustainability. To stimulate cover crop adoption in the U.S. Midwest, the U.S. government has made significant financial and technical support to farmers for cover cropping (e.g., USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program invested over $14 billion in conservation practices from 2010 to 2020). However, large‐scale and long‐term cover cropping information in the U.S. Midwest is largely missing. Timely and cost‐effective monitoring and verification of cover crop adoption are urgently needed. We utilized multi‐source remote sensing data and large amounts of ground truth data to develop effective approaches to detect cover crop adoption from 2000 to 2021 in a cost‐effective manner. We found that cover cropping acreage has significantly increased four times from 2011 to 2021. We also found the increase in cover crop adoption is highly correlated to the funding from federal and state conservation programs. The incentive programs could play an important role in promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Key Points: We developed a scalable remote sensing framework to detect field‐level cover cropping in the U.S. Midwest from 2000 to 2021Cover cropping adoption rate in the U.S. Midwest has significantly increased by four‐fold from 1.8% in 2011% to 7.2% in 2021Cover cropping rate is highly correlated to the incentives of federal and state conservation programs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: PTEN‐induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) and Parkin E3 ubiquitin‐protein ligase (Parkin) are critical for immune and inflammatory regulation in health and disease. PINK1 and Parkin have been confirmed to be involved in the progression of apical periodontitis by affecting mitophagy‐related osteoblast apoptosis; however, the expression of PINK1 and Parkin in macrophages, one of the most important cells in apical periodontitis, remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the expression of PINK1 and Parkin in human apical periodontitis lesions, as well as their possible localization in macrophages. Methodology: Thirty‐seven human periapical tissues, including periapical granulomas (PGs, n = 12), radicular cysts (RCs, n = 11) and healthy gingival tissues (n = 14) were examined. The inflammatory infiltrates of lesions were evaluated by haematoxylin staining, and the expression of PINK1 and Parkin was detected by immunohistochemistry. Double immunofluorescence was used to explore the colocalization of microtubule‐associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and TOMM20, as well as the localization of PINK1 and Parkin, in macrophages of human apical periodontitis lesions. The ultrastructural morphology of mitochondria in human apical periodontitis lesions was visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Data were analysed by one‐way anova with Student–Newman‐Keul's test and the Mann–Whitney test. p <.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Immunohistochemistry demonstrated a significantly higher expression of PINK1 and Parkin proteins in human apical periodontitis lesions than in healthy gingival tissues (p <.0001), but no significant difference was demonstrated between PGs and RCs (p >.05). The higher expression of LC3 and the presence of more LC3‐TOMM20 double‐positive cells were also observed in human apical periodontitis. Double‐labelling analysis of PINK1, Parkin and LC3 with CD68 indicated that macrophage mitophagy might be present in the progression of human apical periodontitis. Finally, the results of TEM morphological analysis revealed the appearance of double‐membraned mitophagosomes and vacuolated mitochondria in macrophage‐like cells of apical periodontitis lesions. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that PINK1 and Parkin proteins were highly expressed in clinical apical periodontitis lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing efficient and inexpensive oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is crucial to address the ever‐increasing energy crisis and environment pollution. In this work, bimetallic nickel‐iron carbonate hydroxide arrays were strongly grown on a conductive carbon cloth (NiFeCH/CC) through a facile one‐step hydrothermal method, which were used as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. Ni0.8Fe0.2CH/CC requires overpotential of just 246 mV at 10 mA cm−2, Tafel slope of 43 mV dec−1, and charge transfer resistance of 3.1 Ω for OER in 1 M KOH. The catalyst also shows excellent durability by a long‐term operation for 10 h. A post‐OER study of Ni0.8Fe0.2CH/CC reveals that the NiFeOOH species form on the surface during OER and the carbonate ions still intercalate between the cationic layers. Benefiting from a three‐dimensional structure and Fe doping strategy, the performance of Ni0.8Fe0.2CH/CC has been improved. This work provides an effective strategy to design efficient OER electrocatalysts in alkaline media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how R&D has contributed to income inequality in the Group of Seven countries from 1870 to 2016. Using newly developed panel data models that incorporate interactive fixed effects, we find that R&D is negatively associated with income inequality. Non‐parametric models that allow us to capture the time‐varying effect of R&D suggest that this average effect has been negative for most of this period. We find that economic growth and trade are important mechanisms through which R&D transmits to income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc titanate (ZnTiO3) has recently been applied in various areas for its unique properties. Herein, through tuning the phase structures of ZnTiO3 support, we synthesized two different Pd‐based catalysts for CO oxidative coupling to DMO and further investigated their structure‐activity relationships for the first time. The results indicated that the strong metal‐support interaction between the cubic phase ZnTiO3 and Pd species leads to an enriched Pd electronic density and promotes the bridged CO adsorption. As a result, the as‐synthesized catalyst with cubic phase ZnTiO3 performed a turnover frequency (TOF) of 339.3 min−1, which was much higher than the hexagonal one (226.3 min−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key concepts in flexible/freestanding spintronics is the effective control of ultra‐thin film magnetism, and at the same time assures that the functional properties will not be compromised when gating methods are applied. Traditionally, strain application is through magnetoelectric effect while using the gate voltage to transfer the strain to the magnetism layer, which can lead the noise in the heterostructure. On the other hand, the knowledge of freestanding magnetism changes largely lacks quantitative analysis. Coupling the freestanding characteristic such as large strain with important magnetic properties can further expand the freestanding spintronics storage area. In this work, the high‐quality freestanding multiferroic heterostructures of SrTiO3(001)/Sr3Al2O6/BaTiO3/Ta/(Co/Pt)5 with different Co thicknesses have been successfully prepared with both pulsed laser deposition and magnetism sputtering processes. The ultra‐flexible freestanding structure shows a strong strain gating effect with bending, that the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) shifts around 440 Oe at room temperature with tensile strain. Upon decreasing the temperature to BaTiO3 phase transition range from T‐phase to O‐phase and O‐phase to R‐phase, respectively, a sharp FMR shift can be observed for both in‐plane and out‐of‐plane measurements. This work suggests that the tunable flexible spintronics are achievable through freestanding mechanisms and shows the promising future of freestanding spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional gas exchange measurements are cumbersome, which makes it difficult to capture variation in biochemical parameters, namely the maximum rate of carboxylation measured at a reference temperature (Vcmax25) and the maximum electron transport at a reference temperature (Jmax25), in response to growth temperature over time from days to weeks. Hyperspectral reflectance provides reliable measures of Vcmax25 and Jmax25; however, the capability of this method to capture biochemical acclimations of the two parameters to high growth temperature over time has not been demonstrated. In this study, Vcmax25 and Jmax25 were measured over multiple growth stages during two growing seasons for field‐grown soybeans using both gas exchange techniques and leaf spectral reflectance under ambient and four elevated canopy temperature treatments (ambient+1.5, +3, +4.5, and +6°C). Spectral vegetation indices and machine learning methods were used to build predictive models for Vcmax25 and Jmax25, based on the leaf reflectance. Results showed that these models yielded an R2 of 0.57–0.65 and 0.48–0.58 for Vcmax25 and Jmax25, respectively. Hyperspectral reflectance captured biochemical acclimation of leaf photosynthesis to high temperature in the field, improving spatial and temporal resolution in the ability to assess the impact of future warming on crop productivity. Seasonally dependent acclimation of leaf photosynthetic biochemistry was found in field‐grown soybean under full season warming. Hyperspectral reflectance measurements coupled with machine learning regressions can be used to predict photosynthetic biochemical acclimation to high temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new empirical evidence on the effect of population aging on economic growth in China. Aging is widely assumed to impact economic growth by shaping the labor market performance and human capital. Using an interactive fixed effects model and a provincial panel data set during 1990–2015, and also exploiting the predicted province‐by‐year variation in population aging fraction as an instrument, we examine the impact of population aging on the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, labor force ratio, and labor productivity. The results show that a 10% increase in the fraction of the population aged 65+ decreases the growth rate of GDP per capita by approximately 2%. Furthermore, channel decomposition shows that half of the decrease is due to slower growth of the labor force ratio, whereas the rest may be due to slower productivity growth. In addition, the negative effect of aging on GDP growth is more substantial after the year 2000, and the effect of aging on the labor force ratio and productivity shows different patterns during different periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oil/water (O/W) emulsions are spontaneously formed during the process of aqueous extraction of camellia oil which indicates that there are natural emulsifiers with excellent emulsifying capacity exist in Camellia oleifera Abel. seeds. To explore the formation mechanism of these emulsions, a strongly emulsifiable component, a tea saponin‐carbohydrate‐protein complex (TCPC), is separated and purified by means of chromatography. Its physicochemical properties are characterized by the fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The emulsifying properties of O/W emulsions prepared with TCPC (pH 7.0) are investigated systematically. The results show that the emulsions are remarkably stable over a wide range of pH values (5–11), ionic strength (0–200 mm NaCl), thermal treatment (60–90 °C; 30 min), and even after 14 days storage at room temperature (10–25 °C). Moreover, the rheological properties reveal that all determined emulsions show typical pseudoplastic fluid characteristics and shear‐thinning flow behavior. However, the emulsions are unstable during freeze‐thaw cycle. These results imply that TCPC may be one key emulsifiable compound during aqueous extraction of camellia oil. Practical Applications: Aqueous extraction is a promising technique for edible oil extraction from Camellia oleifera Abel. seeds because of its nutrition, safety and economy. However, the oil/water emulsions formed during the process of aqueous extraction of camellia oil, which makes oil hard to be separated. TCPC with excellent emulsifying activity and emulsion stability was separated and characterized, which could be regarded as a potential target to obtain free oil by frozen/thawed method. Thus, it could be contributing to the industrial application of aqueous extraction of camellia oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mutations in the progranulin gene on chromosome 17(GRN) is considered as one of most common causes of frontotemporal lobe degeneration. However, the phenotype and genotype correlation of GRN varies among different cohorts and ethnicities. In Chinese people, the genotype of GRN has not been fully elucidated. Method: 1945 patients with dementia at Peking Union Medical College Hospital underwent next‐generation sequencing (NGS) analysis. GRN variations classified as likely pathogenic and of uncertain significance were identified. Demographic information, clinical presentations, and neuroimaging were collected. The clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging characters were investigated. Result: Three patients with four likely pathogenic mutation: p.P50fs & p.W49_P50delinsX, p.P439fs, p.R110X, and thirteen patients with uncertain significance mutations were enrolled. Cognitive dysfunction, behavior, and personality changes as well as aphasia were the most common presentations. Asymmetrical atrophy of the frontal lobe and temporal lobe appeared in 64% GRN mutation carriers. Parietal lobe dysfunction or parietal lobe atrophy existed in all patients. White matter lesions existed in 79% patients. The majority of clinical phenotype was frontotemporal lobe degeneration, though cerebral vascular lesions were obvious in some of them especially among old onset patients. The proportion of ApoE e4 carriers were higher in old onset patients than those in young onset ones. Conclusion: GRN mutation is rare in Chinese dementia patients. The phenotype and genotype correlation is specific and overlaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding plant water stress (PWS) in the soil‐plant‐atmosphere‐continuum (SPAC) that connects water supply from soil, water demand from atmosphere, and plant self‐regulation is a prerequisite for efficient irrigation in response to water scarcity. Currently, PWS can be defined in various ways, for example, based on environmental factors and/or plant‐centric metrics. The environment‐based metrics usually do not take plants into consideration. Regarding the existing plant‐centric metrics, their interconnections and abilities to capture the physical water constraints from both soil water supply and atmospheric water demand are still unclear. This research investigates the theoretical foundations behind different PWS metrics, and assesses their efficacy and potentials for irrigation scheduling. This study first investigated the interconnections among different PWS metrics and the co‐regulation of soil moisture and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) on the plant‐centric metrics through an advanced process‐based model, ecosys. We then use ecosys to test different PWS metrics' performance in guiding irrigation in terms of water use, maize yield, and economic profits. The case study was conducted at sites across a dramatic rainfall gradient in Nebraska, the largest irrigation state in the United States Corn Belt. The ecosys simulation indicates that canopy water potential and stomatal conductance (gs) are the most effective plant‐centric metrics in the SPAC system in indicating PWS. In addition, our findings show that using the plant‐centric metrics‐based irrigation schemes, which capture the co‐regulation of soil moisture and VPD, can improve producers' economic profits through water savings. Key Points: We conducted a systematic study to interpret six plant water stress (PWS) metrics and to assess their efficacy for guiding irrigationCanopy water potential and stomatal conductance are the most effective PWS metrics to characterize co‐regulation of soil moisture and vapor pressure deficitThe plant‐centric irrigation schemes could save irrigation water use compared with soil‐moisture‐only metrics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperature and accompanying high vapor pressure deficit often stress plants without causing distinctive changes in plant canopy structure and consequential spectral signatures. Sun‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), because of its mechanistic link with photosynthesis, may better detect such stress than remote sensing techniques relying on spectral reflectance signatures of canopy structural changes. However, our understanding about physiological mechanisms of SIF and its unique potential for physiological stress detection remains less clear. In this study, we measured SIF at a high‐temperature experiment, Temperature Free‐Air Controlled Enhancement, to explore the potential of SIF for physiological investigations. The experiment provided a gradient of soybean canopy temperature with 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0°C above the ambient canopy temperature in the open field environments. SIF yield, which is normalized by incident radiation and the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation, showed a high correlation with photosynthetic light use efficiency (r = 0.89) and captured dynamic plant responses to high‐temperature conditions. SIF yield was affected by canopy structural and plant physiological changes associated with high‐temperature stress (partial correlation r = 0.60 and −0.23). Near‐infrared reflectance of vegetation, only affected by canopy structural changes, was used to minimize the canopy structural impact on SIF yield and to retrieve physiological SIF yield (ΦF) signals. ΦF further excludes the canopy structural impact than SIF yield and indicates plant physiological variability, and we found that ΦF outperformed SIF yield in responding to physiological stress (r = −0.37). Our findings highlight that ΦF sensitively responded to the physiological downregulation of soybean gross primary productivity under high temperature. ΦF, if reliably derived from satellite SIF, can support monitoring regional crop growth and different ecosystems' vegetation productivity under environmental stress and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We propose a panel data model for nonstationary variables with interactive fixed effects and coefficients that may vary over time and use it to examine time variation in the income elasticity of health expenditures in the OECD and the Eurozone. Our empirical analysis shows that the income elasticity of healthcare expenditure slightly increased in the OECD and the Eurozone during 1995–2004 but remained below one. This finding suggests that healthcare is not a luxury good in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Keratin 18 (KRT18) is a cytoskeleton protein that plays a key role in multiple cancers. The present study aims to further investigate the roles of KRT18 in gastric cancer (GC) tissues and cells. Methods: The KRT18 protein expression levels of GC tissues and cells were detected using immunohistochemistry and western blot. The relationship between KRT18 expression levels and the prognosis of GC patients was further analyzed. To explore this relationship, small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to inhibit the endogenous expression of KRT18 in GC cells. Furthermore, the effects of KRT18 on the proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis of GC cells were analyzed in vitro. In addition, the role of KRT18 in GC‐specific processes was investigated. Results: Keratin 18 expression was shown to be up‐regulated in GC tissues and associated with poor prognosis. Following KRT18 silencing with siRNA, the proliferation, invasion, and migration ability of GC cells were significantly inhibited, while the apoptotic process was promoted. Furthermore, the activation of the MAPK signalling pathway was identified as the potential mechanism through which KRT18 influenced GC processes. Conclusions: Keratin 18 plays a cancer‐promoting role and might be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Computational models of plants have identified gaps in our understanding of biological systems, and have revealed ways to optimize cellular processes or organ‐level architecture to increase productivity. Thus, computational models are learning tools that help direct experimentation and measurements. Models are simplifications of complex systems, and often simulate specific processes at single scales (e.g. temporal, spatial, organizational, etc.). Consequently, single‐scale models are unable to capture the critical cross‐scale interactions that result in emergent properties of the system. In this perspective article, we contend that to accurately predict how a plant will respond in an untested environment, it is necessary to integrate mathematical models across biological scales. Computationally mimicking the flow of biological information from the genome to the phenome is an important step in discovering new experimental strategies to improve crops. A key challenge is to connect models across biological, temporal and computational (e.g. CPU versus GPU) scales, and then to visualize and interpret integrated model outputs. We address this challenge by describing the efforts of the international Crops in silico consortium. Significance Statement: Computational plant models increase our comprehension of biological processes and reveal gaps in knowledge. Integrated, multiscale models have the potential to increase our predictive capability for crop response to future environments. This perspective article highlights the need for multiscale modeling for the development of crop ideotypes, and contends that advanced visualization of multiscale model simulations will guide future efforts for experimental measurement and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building semiconductor‐based van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) based on 2D materials can integrate the excellent properties of single materials to promote the development of an application for optoelectronics. In general, semiconductor‐based vdWHs have different types of band alignments related to the performance of equipment. However, it is greatly challenging to achieve controllable types of band alignment for a single heterojunction. Herein, the electronic and optical properties of the lead iodide/tungsten disulfide (PbI2/WS2) heterostructure are investigated systematically by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. A Type‐I–Type‐II transition of band alignments in PbI2/WS2 vdWHs is achieved by partly replacing the S atom in WS2 monolayer with Se atom. The reason lies in the change of band structure which can be attributed to a transformation in the conduction band minimum (CBM) from the W 5d and S 3p states to Pb 6p orbital in PbI2/WS2 vdWHs. Moreover, the averaged hole carrier effective mass of the PbI2/WSe2 vdWH has a minimum. The results may provide a direction to explore the transformation in band alignment in semiconductor‐based vdWHs for potential photoelectric applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Epimedium herb, Yinyanghuo in Chinese, is a famous Chinese herbal medicine. In this study, an efficient extraction method was developed for the extraction of major bioactive constituent epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C and icariin from E. pubescens Maxim. using deep eutectic solvents (DESs). Methodology: A series of choline chloride‐based DESs were synthesised for the extraction of four target compounds. DES composed of lactic acid and choline chloride with the ratio of 2:1 was selected as the most promising. Three vital factors affecting the extraction yields including water content, volume of DES aqueous solution and extraction time were optimised systematically by Box–Behnken experimental design in combination with response surface methodology. A high‐performance liquid chromatography ultraviolet (HPLC‐UV) method was developed for the sensitive and accurate quantification. Results: The optimal extraction conditions were obtained as follows: water content of 17.5% (v/v), volume of DES aqueous solution 3.14 ml, and extraction time of 21 min. Under the optimal extraction conditions, the developed DES method could supply almost the same extraction yield as 50% ethanol, which were 98%, 99%, 97%, 96% for epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C and icariin, respectively. Conclusion: The present study exhibited high efficiency in extraction of prenylflavonol glycosides in E. pubescens Maxim. Thus, DESs could be used as an alternative for efficient extraction and quantification of biologically active components from natural medical plants. This study presented an efficient and green method for extraction and detection of four bioactive prenylflavonol glycosides from Epimedium pubescens Maxim using deep eutectic solvents. Box‐Behnken design combined with response surface methodology was used to optimize the extract condition. This work indicated that DES could be used as an alternative for extraction and quantification of biologically active components from natural medical plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]