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Abstract Background Understanding factors associated with antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence is crucial for ART success among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the “test and treat” era. Multiple psychosocial factors tend to coexist and have a syndemic effect on ART adherence. We aimed to explore factors associated with ART adherence and the syndemic effect of multiple psychosocial factors on ART adherence among PLHIV newly starting ART in Guangdong Province, China. Methods Newly diagnosed PLHIV from six cities in Guangdong Province were recruited between May 2018 and June 2019, and then followed up from May 2019 to August 2020. Baseline and follow-up data were collected from a questionnaire and the national HIV surveillance system, the follow-up data of which were analyzed in this study. A Center for Adherence Support Evaluation (CASE) index > 10 points was defined as optimal ART adherence, which was measured via participants’ self-reported adherence during follow-up survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with ART adherence. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multi-order latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) were performed to explore the syndemic effect of multiple psychosocial factors on ART adherence. Results A total of 734 (68.53%) follow-up participants were finally included in this study among the 1071 baseline participants, of whom 91.28% (670/734) had self-reported optimal ART adherence. Unemployment (aOR = 1.75, 95%CI: 1.01–3.02), no medication reminder (aOR = 2.28, 95%CI: 1.09–4.74), low medication self-efficacy (aOR = 2.28, 95%CI: 1.27–4.10), low social cohesion (aOR = 1.82, 95%CI: 1.03–3.19), no social participation (aOR = 5.65, 95%CI: 1.71–18.63), and ART side effects (aOR = 0.46, 95%CI: 0.26–0.81) were barriers to optimal ART adherence. The EFA and second-order latent variable SEM showed a linear relationship (standardized coefficient = 0.43, P

Abstract Background Among people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART), the mortality of immunological non-responders (INRs) is higher than that of immunological responders (IRs). However, factors associated with immunological non-response following ART are not well documented. Methods We obtained data for HIV patients from the National Free Antiretroviral Treatment Program database in China. Patients were grouped into IRs (CD4 cell count ≥ 350 cells/μl after 24 months’ treatment), immunological incomplete responders (ICRs) (200–350 cells/μl) and INRs (

Sodium ion storage remains relatively unexplored in comparison with well-understood lithium ion storage mechanisms. Here, the authors systematically investigate the surface-redox sodium ion storage properties of anatase titanium dioxide, which delivers excellent rate capability, cycling stability and low overpotentials.

Peritoneal fibrosis (PF) is the main reason leading to declining efficiency and ultrafiltration failure of peritoneum, which restricts the application of peritoneal dialysis (PD). We aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of miR-122-5p on the PF. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were infused with glucose-based standard PD fluid to establish PF model. HE staining was performed to evaluate the extent of PF. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed to measure the expression level of miR-122-5p. Western blot was used to test the expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-A, Fibronectin 1 (FN1), extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1), Smad5, α-smooth muscle actin (SMA), collagen type 1(COL-1), Vimentin, E-Cadherin, Wnt1, β-catenin, p-β-catenin, c-Myc, c-Jun, and Cyclin D1. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was used to detect type I collagen alpha 1 (Col1α1), α-SMA, and E-Cadherin expression. We found PF was glucose concentration-dependently enhanced in peritoneum of PD rat. The PD rats showed increased miR-122-5p and decreased Smad5 expression. MiR-122-5p silencing improved PF and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in PD rats. MiR-122-5p silencing attenuated the activity of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Importantly, dual-luciferase reporter assay showed Smad5 was a target gene of miR-122-5p. Smad5 overexpression significantly reversed the increases of PF and EMT progression induced by miR-122-5p overexpression. Moreover, miR-122-5p mimic activated Wnt/β-catenin activity, which was blocked by Smad5 overexpression. Overall, present results demonstrated that miR-122-5p overexpression showed a deterioration effect on PD-related PF by targeting Smad5 to activate Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Pseudocapacitive materials with surface‐redox reactions are capable of realizing high capacities at ultrahigh rates; however, it remains a challenge in the synthesis of active components with high surface area to boost surface‐redox sodiation but restrain side reactions. Herein, a two‐step, topochemical synthesis of 2D mesoporous TiN (2D‐meso‐TiN) with high surface area and rich mesoporosities is presented. It is demonstrated that the sodium‐ion storage mechanism of TiN anode is based on the existence of surficial titanium oxides via redox reactions between Ti4+ and Ti3+. The interconnected, highly conductive 2D‐meso‐TiN with high surface area largely increases the pseudocapacitive capacities, leading to a high capacity of 160/93 mAh g−1 at 0.1/10 A g−1, which is much higher than 2D‐TiN (120/72 mAh g−1) and commercial TiN nanoparticles (57/30 mAh g−1). The surface‐redox (de)sodiation undergoes no destruction of crystalline TiN, which enables high initial coulombic efficiency and long‐term cycles. Furthermore, a novel hybrid sodium‐ion capacitor consisting of 2D‐meso‐TiN anode and Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode is assembled without any presodiation treatments. The hybrid capacitor delivers both high energy density (94 Wh kg−1 at 64 W kg−1) and high power density (38 Wh kg−1 at 4.4 kW kg−1), as well as long cycling stability.

Abstract. Background. With the high prevalence of pre-treatment drug resistance (PDR) and the potential impact to the virological inhibition, the detection of PDR was particularly necessary. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PDR in Guangdong, China, and its impact on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in treatment-naive HIV patients. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted. A total of 1936 HIV-1–infected treatment-naive patients in the clinic of the infectious department, Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital, between August 2018 and December 2019 were assayed for PDR mutations before initiating ART. Patients with PDR mutations (PDR arm) were screened and compared with those without drug-resistant mutations (non-PDR arm). The rate of HIV-1 virologic failure (VF) and CD4+ T-cell counts of the 2 arms were compared at the 96th week after ART to evaluate the impact of PDR on the efficacy of ART. Results. Pretreatment drug resistance was detected in 125 cases (6.46%) from the 1936 enrolled participants, most of which were resistant to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (64.00%, 80/125). One hundred and eight of 125 completed the follow-up of 96 weeks (PDR arm). In this cohort, 52 patients whose ART regimen containing the resistant drug were grouped as con-PDR arm, and the remaining 56 patients whose ART regimen did not contain the resistant drug were grouped as non- con-PDR arm. A total of 125 patients without PDR were randomly selected as the control group (non-PDR arm), 112 of whom had completed the 96-week follow-up. At the 96th week after ART initiation, 7 patients (6.5%, 7/108) in the PDR arm and 1 patient (0.9%, 1/112) in the non-PDR arm developed VF, exhibiting a significant difference (χ2 = 4.901, P = 0.029). Meanwhile, 3 patients (5.8%, 3/52) in the con-PDR arm developed VF; the rate was also higher than that in the non-PDR arm, but without a significant difference (χ2 = 3.549, P = 0.095). The CD4+ T-cell count in the non-PDR arm increased more than the PDR arm (386.6 vs. 319.1 cells/μL, t = 2.448, P = 0.015) or the con-PDR arm (386.6 vs. 325.1 cells/μL, t = 1.821, P = 0.070) at 12 weeks after ART. However, no significant differences were observed in the CD4+ T-cell count from the 24th week after ART onward. Conclusions. Pretreatment drug resistance was moderately prevalent in Guangdong, China, and could affect the antiretroviral efficacy during a 96-week observation period, indicating the need to closely monitor PDR before ART initiation.

Abstract Background Coinfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is common in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients due to shared routes of transmission. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of HCV subgenotypes among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients in Guangdong and explore the molecular transmission networks and related risk factors for HCV strains. Methods Plasma samples were obtained from 356 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients for HCV NS5B region sequencing. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed to affirm HCV subgenotypes. The transmission networks based on maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree were determined by Cluster Picker, and visualized using Cytoscape 3.2.1. Results A total of 302 HCV NS5B sequences were successfully amplified and sequenced from the 356 plasma samples. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree based on the 302 NS5B sequences revealed the profile of HCV subgenotypes circulating among HIV/HCV coinfection patients in Guangdong. Two predominant strains were found to be 6a (58.28%, 176/302) and 1b (18.54%, 56/302), followed by 3a (10.93%, 33/302), 3b (6.95%, 21/302), 1a (3.64%, 11/302), 2a (0.99%, 3/302) and 6n (0.66%, 2/302). A molecular transmission network of five major HCV genotypes was constructed, with a clustering rate of 44.04%. The clustering rates of subgenotypes 1a, 3a, 3b, 1b, and 6a were 18.18% (2/11), 42.42%, 52.38%, 48.21%, and 44.89%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed no significant effects from sex, age, transmission route, geographical region, baseline CD4 + T cell count or subgenotype (P > 0.05), except marital status. Married or cohabiting people (compared with unmarried people) had more difficulty forming transmission networks. Conclusions In summary, this study, based on HCV NS5B subgenotypes, revealed the HCV subtype diversity and distribution among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients in Guangdong. Marital status inclined to be the factor influencing HCV transmission networks formation.

Due to the gradual depletion of shallow mineral resources at present, mines are now gradually entering the deep mining stage. To promote the safe and efficient green mining of deep coal resources and sustainable energy development, and to improve the production efficiency of paste filling mining, the research group has performed this study on the green filling mining technology and application of the working face. Taking working face 1241 (3) of the Xieqiao coal mine as the engineering background, the selection and experiment of filling materials were carried out, and the gangue, fly ash and cement produced by the Xieqiao coal mine were used as the filling aggregate. Next, the strength changes before and after paste filling was obtained by theoretical calculation. The strength at the early stage of filling was no less than 0.13 MPa, and that at the late stage of filling was no less than 2 MPa. Based on previous experimental research and theoretical calculation, the mixing pumping process of paste material ratio and the gangue crushing process were determined, and the filling pipeline system was designed. Then, based on the traditional coal mining technology, a filling mining technology of working face was designed and optimized. The field application of the research results shows that after the goaf of the working face had been filled, the ground pressure behavior of the coal wall of the working face was significantly weakened, and the stability of the surrounding rock of the working face was effectively controlled. Therefore, the method achieved good results, effectively controlled the stability of surrounding rock in goaf, and provided a theoretical basis and data support for realizing safe, efficient and green mining of deep coal resources. The results of this study bear important significance and application value.

Abstract Background Transmitted drug resistance (TDR) that affects the effectiveness of the first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen is becoming prevalent worldwide. However, its prevalence and transmission among HIV-1 treatment-naïve patients in Guangdong, China are rarely reported. We aimed to comprehensively analyze the prevalence of TDR and the transmission clusters of HIV-1 infected persons before ART in Guangdong. Methods The HIV-1 treatment-naïve patients were recruited between January 2018 and December 2018. The HIV-1 pol region was amplified by reverse transcriptional PCR and sequenced by sanger sequencing. Genotypes, surveillance drug resistance mutations (SDRMs) and TDR were analyzed. Genetic transmission clusters among patients were identified by pairwise Tamura-Nei 93 genetic distance, with a threshold of 0.015. Results A total of 2368 (97.17%) HIV-1 pol sequences were successfully amplified and sequenced from the enrolled 2437 patients. CRF07_BC (35.90%, 850/2368), CRF01_AE (35.56%, 842/2368) and CRF55_01B (10.30%, 244/2368) were the main HIV-1 genotypes circulating in Guangdong. Twenty-one SDRMs were identified among fifty-two drug-resistant sequences. The overall prevalence of TDR was 2.20% (52/2368). Among the 2368 patients who underwent sequencing, 8 (0.34%) had TDR to protease inhibitors (PIs), 22 (0.93%) to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), and 23 (0.97%) to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Two (0.08%) sequences showed dual-class resistance to both NRTIs and NNRTIs, and no sequences showed triple-class resistance. A total of 1066 (45.02%) sequences were segregated into 194 clusters, ranging from 2 to 414 sequences. In total, 15 (28.85%) of patients with TDR were included in 9 clusters; one cluster contained two TDR sequences with the K103N mutation was observed. Conclusions There is high HIV-1 genetic heterogeneity among patients in Guangdong. Although the overall prevalence of TDR is low, it is still necessary to remain vigilant regarding some important SDRMs.

Late testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) prevailed among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and impacted the benefit of immediate ART. This study aimed to identify the benefit of the test-and-immediate-treat policy in China, the effect of immediate ART, and the influence of late testing and ART on the whole PLHIV in Guangdong Province, China. We designed two tendency analyses in aggregative form and two cohorts (surveillance and ART cohort) in individuals' perspectives based on the HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Response Information Management System. Two interrupted time series models were conducted for tendency analysis from 2009 to 2018 to explore the all-cause and short-term mortality decrease after the test-and-immediate-treat policy. A time-dependent Cox model was performed for the surveillance cohort from 1992 to 2018 and a joint model was utilized for the ART cohort to identify the effect of immediate ART and the influence of late testing and ART on death. The tendency analysis included 324,914 and 68,679 person-year for all-cause/short-term mortality. A total of 49,289 and 26,287 PLHIV were recruited in the surveillance and ART cohort with 5,557 and 459 deaths, respectively. The short-term mortality dropped from 4.69 cases/100 person-year in January 2009 to 0.35 cases/100 person-year in December 2018 (standardized rate). The all-cause mortality saw a decreasing trend from 1.46 cases/100 person-year in January 2009 to 0.14 cases/100 person-year in December 2018 (standardized rate). The tendency analysis showed a significant short-term mortality slope decrease after the test-and-immediate-treat policy (P = 0.024). From the surveillance cohort, late testing, in general, was a risk factor for all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.330, 95% CI, 1.250, 1.416]. ART cohort showed higher hazards of all-cause mortality among PLHIV with no late testing, but late ART (HR = 1.690, 95% CI, 1.166, 2.451) and both the late testing and late ART (HR = 1.335, 95% CI, 1.042, 1.710). Immediate ART might decrease the hazard of all-cause death though it is insignificant (HR = 0.923, 95% CI: 0.755, 1.129) in the ART cohort. The test-and-immediate-test policy brought benefit to PLHIV. We should enlarge HIV testing using comprehensive approaches to decrease late testing and ART and increase the benefit of immediate ART.

Background: Integrase strand-transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-containing regimens have gradually been administered in Guangdong Province, China beginning in 2016, and INSTI-related drug resistance (DR) may occur and should be monitored among HIV-1-infected patients. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of INSTI-related resistance among HIV-1-infected individuals in Guangdong and provide evidence for the optimal administration of INSTIs. Methods: This study recruited 1208 HIV-1-infected patients (including 404 ART-naive and 804 ART-experienced patients) between June 2021 and April 2022. The entire integrase gene was amplified from blood plasma. Demographic and epidemiological information were collected. INSTI mutations and susceptibility were interpreted using the Stanford HIV Drug Resistance Database HIVdb program. Results: Of the 1208 enrolled individuals, 2.65% (32/1208) carried at least one INSTI major or accessory drug resistance mutation (DRM), with 1.49% (6/404) being from ART-naive individuals and 3.23% (26/804) from ART-experienced individuals. Among them, seven polymorphic major mutations were detected. Although no INSTI drug resistance was found among treatment-naive patients, seven ART-experienced patients (0.87%, 7/804) carried mutations conferring resistance to INSTIs. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of INSTI DRMs and DR was comparatively low among ART-naive and ART-treated populations in Guangdong; however, INSTI-related polymorphic mutations were observed. Surveillance should be reinforced before transfer to INSTI-containing regimens.

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate factors linked to the degree of disability among older adults and explore the relationship between the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and the degree of disability among older adults in southern China.MethodsConducted in two districts of Guangzhou, China, this cross-sectional study included 262 older adults with mild-to-severe disabilities. Disability levels were assessed using the “Assessment Standard for Long-term Care Disability” from the Medical Insurance Bureau, including Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Cognitive Ability, and Sensory Perception and Communication Skills (SPCS). Dietary data were collected via Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and used to calculate the DII and intake of nutrients (e.g., Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat). A multivariable ordinal logistic regression model was employed to analyze the influence of various factors and the DII on the degree of disability among older adults. Restricted cubic spline and sensitivity analyses were used to assess the association between DII and the degree of disability of the older adult population.ResultsInactivity (never exercising, OR = 8.48, 95% CI = 2.30–31.31) and reduced activity (formerly exercising, OR = 4.85, 95% CI = 1.39–16.96), stroke (OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.61–4.80), and dementia (OR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.26–5.78) were significantly associated with increased disability. After adjusting for confounding factors, a higher DII was linked to a greater degree of disability, with the highest DII quartile showing a notably higher risk (OR = 2.61, 95% CI = 1.21–5.61) compared to the lowest quartile.ConclusionLack of exercise, previous exercise, stroke, and dementia are correlated with increased disability among older adults. Additionally, a higher DII is associated with a more severe degree of disability.

Uniform pore size is essential for molecular sieving in separation membranes. Traditional nanofiltration (NF) polymer membranes struggle with precise structure control due to random chain packing and rapid cross-linking, leading to varied pore sizes and poor molecular discrimination. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) offer ordered porous structures for enhanced molecular selectivity. We synthesized composite COFs membranes with triphenylamine derivatives through interfacial polymerization, adjusting pore channel functional groups to achieve high water permeance and size-selective molecule retention. The TFB-OMe-TAPA COFs membrane demonstrated sharp rejection profiles, separating solutes of different molecular sizes. A three-stage cascade process was used to fractionate binary molecules with varying charges, achieving a separation factor of 26.7 for heterogeneous charge molecules. This work reveals the selectivity of COF membranes in near-molecular-weight systems, expanding their potential in molecular separations.

Background: Long non-coding RNA taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) is involved in various cellular processes, but its role in cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury remains unclear. This study investigated TUG1’s role in regulating the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of human antigen R (HuR), a key apoptosis regulator under ischemic conditions. Methods: CRISPR-Cas9 technology was used to generate TUG1 knockout Sprague Dawley rats to assess TUG1’s impact on ischemic injury. The infarct area and neuronal apoptosis were evaluated using TUNEL, hematoxylin and eosin (HE), and TTC staining, while behavioral functions were assessed. Immunofluorescence staining with confocal microscopy was employed to examine TUG1-mediated HuR translocation and expression changes in the apoptosis-related proteins COX-2 and Bax. Results: TUG1 knockout rats showed significantly reduced cerebral infarct areas, decreased neuronal apoptosis, and improved neurological functions compared to controls. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that HuR translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm was inhibited, leading to decreased COX-2 and Bax expression levels. Conclusions: TUG1 knockout reduces ischemic damage and neuronal apoptosis by inhibiting HuR nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, making TUG1 a potential therapeutic target for ischemic stroke.

Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) are essential transcription factors in eukaryotes, particularly the extensively studied C2H2 family, which is known for its involvement in various biological processes. This research provides a thorough examination and analysis of the C2H2-ZFP gene family in Flammulina filiformis. Using bioinformatics tools, 58 FfC2H2-ZFP genes spread across 11 chromosomes were identified and scrutinized in detail for their gene structures, protein characteristics, and phylogenetic relationships. The study of phylogenetics and synteny sheds light on the evolutionary relationships among C2H2-ZFPs in F. filiformis and other fungi, revealing a complex evolutionary past. The identification of conserved cis-regulatory elements in the gene promoter regions suggests intricate functionalities, particularly in the developmental and stress response pathways. By utilizing RNA-seq and qRT-PCR techniques, the expression patterns of these genes were explored across different developmental stages and tissues of F. filiformis, unveiling distinct expression profiles. Notably, significant expression variations were observed in the stipe elongation region and pilei of various sizes, indicating potential roles in fruiting body morphogenesis. This study enhances our knowledge of the C2H2-ZFP gene family in F. filiformis and lays the groundwork for future investigations into their regulatory mechanisms and applications in fungal biology and biotechnology.

Trust systems have been widely studied in Internet of Things (IoT). However, there is a little work done on trust management in cross-domain Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Many of these models focus mainly or only on trust management in a single administrative domain where trust is evaluated based on the same criteria. In general, different administrative domains adopt different trust models and trust evaluation standards. Due to different trust evaluation standards, trust values from different administrative domain cannot be compared, directly. Therefore, there is a need for a well-defined trust computing scheme for such multi-domain IIoT environment. This paper focuses on the research of cross-domain trust and proposes a cross-domain trust computing scheme “CDTCS”, where trust recommendation value for an IIoT device in a domain can be transferred to a corresponding value in another domain. We analyze CDTCS performance in terms of trust accuracy and resiliency against attacks.

Atmospheric and room-temperature plasma (ARTP) is an efficient microbial mutagenesis method with broad application prospects. Compared to traditional methods, ARTP technology can more effectively induce DNA damage and generate stable mutant strains. It is characterized by its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and avoidance of hazardous chemicals, presenting a vast potential for application. The ARTP technology is widely used in bacterial, fungal, and microalgal mutagenesis for increasing productivity and improving characteristics. In conclusion, ARTP technology holds significant promise in the field of microbial breeding. Through ARTP technology, we can create mutant strains with specific genetic traits and improved performance, thereby increasing yield, improving quality, and meeting market demands. The field of microbial breeding will witness further innovation and progress with continuous refinement and optimization of ARTP technology.

Trust-based service management in IoT systems, a promising research direction provides an intelligent solution for the identification of appropriate and trustworthy service providers from a huge of number smart nodes providing similar services. An efficient trust-based service ranking scheme (TBSRS) is proposed. The novelty of our design lies in providing accurate trust evaluation and service ranking in the absence of assessment data or presence of untrustworthiness recommendations. TBSRS also addresses the issue about the trustworthiness evaluation of a new service. Service providers are ranking based on the binary fruit fly optimization algorithm in TBSRS. The experimental results demonstrate desirable convergence, accuracy, and resiliency properties of TBSRS, and also demonstrate that TBSRS outperforms Adaptive IoT Trust and IoT-HiTrust in terms of the precision of service selection and other a few performance metrics.

Morels (Morchella spp.) are a kind of rare and precious edible fungus and have been successfully cultivated in many places. Currently, the widespread cultivation of morels poses a significant challenge owing to their demanding environmental requirements. Soil properties and the soil microbiome are thought to play pivotal roles in morel growth. However, it remains unknown what factors exert a decisive influence on morel growth. In this study, soils with different morel yields were studied in nine sites from four locations. The basic soil physical and chemical properties were measured. In addition, the soil microbiome was analyzed using high-throughput metagenomic sequencing. We found that soil pH, nitrogen, carbon and conductivity were key indicators for the impact on microbial communities in soil for cultivating morels. Among these, nitrate was more positively associated with morel yield. The soil microbial diversity was more abundant in the soil with a high morel yield. Moreover, certain unknown archaea might be unfavorable to morel growth. The microbes that perform incomplete denitrification (no step of N2O reduction to N2) and nitrogen fixation were positively and negatively correlated with morel growth, respectively. In summary, morels prefer to live in nutrient-rich soils with a variety of microbes and are supported by nitrate and microbiome components involved in denitrification. The findings elucidate a pivotal mechanism in eliciting morel fructification and provide valuable insights for guiding production practices.

Since the work of detection network (DetNet) by Samuel, Diskin and Wiesel in 2017, deep unfolding for MIMO detection has become a popular topic. We have witnessed significant growth of this topic, wherein various forms of deep unfolding were attempted in the empirical way. DetNet takes insight from the proximal gradient method in terms of the use of the network structure. In this paper, we endeavor to give an explanation of DetNet—in a fundamental way—by drawing connection to a homotopy optimization approach. The intuitive idea of homotopy optimization is to gradually change the optimization landscape, from an easy convex problem to the difficult MIMO detection problem, such that we may follow the solution path to find the optimal MIMO detection solution. We illustrate that DetNet can be interpreted as a homotopy method realized by the proximal gradient method. We also illustrate how this interpretation can be extended to the Frank-Wolfe and ADMM variants of realizing the homotopy optimization approach, which result in new DetNet structures. Numerical results are provided to give insights into how these homotopy-inspired DetNets and their respective non-deep homotopy methods perform.

Lentinula edodes (L. edodes), one of the most popular edible mushrooms in China, is adversely affected by high temperature. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) play a crucial role in regulating the defense responses against the abiotic stresses in L. edodes. Some HSPs in L. edodes have been described previously, but a genome-wide analysis of these proteins is still lacking. Here, the HSP genes across the entire genome of the L. edodes mushroom were identified. The 34 LeHSP genes were subsequently classified into six subfamilies according to their molecular weights and the phylogenetic analysis. Sequence analysis showed that LeHSP proteins from the same subfamily have conserved domains and one to five similar motifs. Except for Chr 5 and 9, 34 LeHSPs genes were distributed on the other eight chromosomes. Three pairs of paralogs were identified because of sequence alignment and were confirmed as arising from segmental duplication. In LeHSPs’ promoters, different numbers of heat shock elements (HSEs) were predicted. The expression profiles of LeHSPs in 18N44 and 18 suggested that the thermo-tolerance of strain 18N44 might be related to high levels of LeHSPs transcript in response to heat stress. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of the 16 LeHSP genes in strains Le015 and Le027 verified their stress-inducible expression patterns under heat stress. Therefore, these comprehensive findings provide useful in-depth information on the evolution and function of LeHSPs and lay a theoretical foundation in breeding thermotolerant L. edodes varieties.

Abstract Overlapping radio signals recognition is attracting more attention as the development and ubiquitous application of radio technologies. The traditional blind signal separation (BSS) method is mostly not effective when both radio propagation effects and low signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) scenarios are taken into consideration. In this letter, joint conformer and CNN model (JCCM) is proposed to separate and recognize the overlapping radio signals which are also unknown by the monitor node. JCCM utilizes the attention mechanism of conformer to encode signal spectrum into feature maps and decodes the feature maps into signal component proportions by perceiving the global and local features through convolutional neural networks (CNN). In addition, a signal preprocessing module is designed including MinPool and AvgPool layers for signal denoising. JCCM is evaluated in terms of signal separation, scaling preservation and principal signal classification experiments. The results show that JCCM has better performance especially in low SNR conditions.

Stroke is an acute cerebrovascular disease that can lead to disability and death. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and stroke. SES was evaluated by two variables: poverty to income ratio (PIR) and education level. In this multi-subject study, we collected data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database between 2009 and 2018, and finally 22,792 adults (≥20 years old) were included in the study. We proceeded with weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis as well as subgroup analysis. When analyzing the effect of PIR on stroke alone, the results showed that an increase in PIR levels was associated with a decrease in stroke incidence (OR = 0.764 95% CI: (0.711, 0.820), p

Abstract Constructing a functional layer on the surface of commercial membrane (as a substrate) to inhibit the formation of biofilms is an efficient strategy to prepare an antibacterial anion exchange membrane (AEM). Herein, a rechargeable multifunctional anti‐biological system is reported by utilizing the mussel‐inspired L‐dopa connection function on commercial AEMs. Cobalt nanoparticles (Co NPs) and N‐chloramine compounds are deposited on the AEM surface by a two‐step modification procedure. The anti‐biofouling abilities of the membranes are qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by adopting common Gram‐negative (E. coli) and Gram‐positive (S. aureus & Bacillus) bacteria as model biofouling organisms. The optimized membrane exhibits a high stability concerning the NaCl solution separation performance within 240 min. Meantime, the mechanism of the anti‐adhesion is un‐veiled at an atomic level and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation are conducted to measure the interaction, adsorption energy and average loading by using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of E. coli. In view of the superior performance of antibacterial surfaces, it is believed that this work could provide a valuable guideline for the design of membrane materials with resistance to biological contamination.

This study focuses on optimizing the mutagenesis process for Morchella eximia (Mel-7) mycelia through atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) mutation and explores the resultant thermal adaptability and physiological responses of mutant strains. This research demonstrated a clear relationship between ARTP mutagenesis exposure duration and lethality rate, indicating that an exposure time of 40 s resulted in the optimal balance of inducing mutations without causing excessive mortality. Additionally, this study established 43 °C as the ideal screening temperature for identifying mutant strains with enhanced heat resistance, as this temperature significantly challenges the mycelia while allowing thermotolerant strains to be distinguishable. Among the screened mutants, strains L21, L23, L44, and L47 exhibited superior growth and high-temperature tolerance, with notable resilience at 30 °C, highlighting their enhanced adaptability to above-optimal temperatures. Furthermore, this research delved into biochemical responses, including lipid peroxidation and non-enzymatic antioxidant content, highlighting the diverse mechanisms, such as enhanced lipid peroxidation resistance and increased antioxidant content, employed by mutant strains to adapt to temperature fluctuations. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, including peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), were shown to be significantly influenced by temperature elevations, illustrating their critical roles in the thermal adaptation of mutant strains. These findings shed light on the importance of considering mutation duration and temperature screening in the development of thermotolerant fungal strains with potential applications in various industries. This study’s breakthrough lies in its comprehensive understanding of the thermal adaptability of Mel-7 mycelia and the identification of promising mutant strains, offering valuable insights for both academic and industrial purposes.