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Objective Methods Results Conclusion Although the advantages of postoperative braces have been verified in many fields, it is not clear whether postoperative braces can help reduce patients' adverse psychological emotions such as kinesiophobia, anxiety, and depression. This study aims to analyze whether the use of a postoperative brace helps reduce adverse psychological emotions in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients undergoing spinal deformity surgeries.All consecutive patients who underwent spinal corrective surgeries at our institution between April 2023 and July 2023 formed the prospective cohort. Outcome measures were collected in the preoperative period, 3 months after surgery, and 6 months after surgery. All patients were assessed using the Tampa scale for kinesiophobia (TSK), the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), and the numerical rating scale (NRS). A statistical model of propensity score matching was used to eliminate potential selection bias and maintain comparability. Multivariate linear regression models were used to determine the relationship between postoperative brace and adverse psychological emotions.After propensity score matching, this study ultimately enrolled 150 patients. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of demographic and perioperative variables. The fully adjusted model showed that the TSK scores of the non‐brace group at the 3‐month (ꞵ = 2.50, 95% CI 0.80–4.20, p = 0.005) and 6‐month follow‐up (ꞵ = 2.75, 95% CI 0.75–4.74, p = 0.007) were significantly higher than those of the brace group. The HADS score of the non‐brace group at the 3‐month follow‐up was significantly higher than that of the brace group (ꞵ = 1.75, 95% CI 0.28–3.22, p = 0.019). The NRS score of the non‐brace group at the 3‐month follow‐up was significantly higher than that of the brace group (ꞵ = 0.69, 95% CI 0.05–1.33, p = 0.034). At the 6‐month follow‐up, there were no significant difference for HADS score or NRS score between the two groups.In the early postoperative period, the postoperative brace could provide AIS patients with psychological supports and help them reduce the frequency of adverse psychological emotions. The postoperative brace could continuously improve the fear of movement within 6 months after surgery, and help reduce anxiety, depression, and pain within 3 months after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Exploring highly efficient ultrasound-triggered catalysts is pivotal for various areas. Herein, we presented that Ba2+ doped brookite TiO 2 nanorod (TiO 2 : Ba) with polarization-induced charge separation is a candidate. The replacement of Ba2+ for Ti4+ not only induced significant lattice distortion to induce polarization but also created oxygen vacancy defects for facilitating the charge separation, leading to high-efficiency reactive oxygen species (ROS) evolution in the piezo-catalytic processes. Furthermore, the piezocatalytic ability to degrade dye wastewater demonstrates a rate constant of 0.172 min-1 and achieves a 100 % antibacterial rate at a low dose for eliminating E. coli. This study advances that doping can induce piezoelectricity and reveals that lattice distortion-induced polarization and vacancy defects engineering can improve ROS production, which might impact applications such as water disinfection and sonodynamic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circadian clocks drive a large array of physiological and behavioral activities. At the molecular level, circadian clocks are composed of positive and negative elements that form core oscillators generating the basic circadian rhythms. Over the course of the circadian period, circadian negative proteins undergo progressive hyperphosphorylation and eventually degrade, and their stability is finely controlled by complex post-translational pathways, including protein modifications, genetic codon preference, protein–protein interactions, chaperon-dependent conformation maintenance, degradation, etc. The effects of phosphorylation on the stability of circadian clock proteins are crucial for precisely determining protein function and turnover, and it has been proposed that the phosphorylation of core circadian clock proteins is tightly correlated with the circadian period. Nonetheless, recent studies have challenged this view. In this review, we summarize the research progress regarding the function, regulation, and mechanism of protein stability in the circadian clock systems of multiple model organisms, with an emphasis on Neurospora crassa, in which circadian mechanisms have been extensively investigated. Elucidation of the highly complex and dynamic regulation of protein stability in circadian clock networks would greatly benefit the integrated understanding of the function, regulation, and mechanism of protein stability in a wide spectrum of other biological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) are characterized by hyperinflammation. Calprotectin (S100A8/S100A9) is a calcium‐ and zinc‐binding protein mainly secreted by neutrophilic granulocytes or macrophages and has been suggested to be correlated with the severity and prognosis of COVID‐19. Aim: To thoroughly evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of calprotectin in patients with COVID‐19 by analyzing relevant studies. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were comprehensively searched from inception to August 1, 2023 to retrieve studies about the application of calprotectin in COVID‐19. Useful data such as the level of calprotectin in different groups and the diagnostic efficacy of this biomarker for severe COVID‐19 were extracted and aggregated by using Stata 16.0 software. Results: Fifteen studies were brought into this meta‐analysis. First, the pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) were used to estimate the differences in the levels of circulating calprotectin between patients with severe and non‐severe COVID‐19. The results showed an overall estimate of 1.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–2.60). Diagnostic information was extracted from 11 studies, and the pooled sensitivity and specificity of calprotectin for diagnosing severe COVID‐19 were 0.75 (95% CI: 0.64–0.84) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.79–0.94), respectively. The AUC was 0.89 and the pooled DOR was 18.44 (95% CI: 9.07–37.51). Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between elevated levels of circulating calprotectin and a higher risk of mortality outcomes in COVID‐19 patients (odds ratio: 8.60, 95% CI: 2.17–34.12; p < 0.1). Conclusion: This meta‐analysis showed that calprotectin was elevated in patients with severe COVID‐19, and this atypical inflammatory cytokine might serve as a useful biomarker to distinguish the severity of COVID‐19 and predict the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 -based relaxor ferroelectric ceramics have attracted widespread attention due to their potential applications in energy storage capacitors for pulse power system. We herein propose a synergistic strategy of introduction of 6s2 lone pair electrons, breaking the long-range ferroelectric order, and band structure engineering for high performance energy storage by introducing Bi(Mg 0.5 Sn 0.5)O 3 (BMS) with weak ferroelectric active cations into 0.7Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 -0.3SrTiO 3 (BNT-ST) to form BNT-ST-BMS ceramics. The doped ceramics display the excellent dielectric stability versus temperature and frequency. The suitable BMS doping can increase the band gap of the BNT-ST ceramic and effectively avoids early dielectric breakdown and polarization saturation. The BNT-ST-BMS ceramic in the composition of x = 0.08 exhibits an outstanding recoverable energy storage density (W rec) of 5.99 J/cm3, together with a good efficiency (ƞ) of 76% as well as an excellent dielectric stability versus temperature (Δε r /ε r(150°C) ≤ ±15%) and frequency. The findings in this work demonstrate that the BNT-ST-BMS ceramics have exceptional potential as candidate materials for pulse power and high voltage capacitors applications, and provide a path for the development of the other lead-free energy storage materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 -based relaxor ferroelectric ceramics have attracted widespread attention due to their potential applications in energy storage capacitors for pulse power system. We herein propose a synergistic strategy of introduction of 6s2 lone pair electrons, breaking the long-range ferroelectric order, and band structure engineering for high performance energy storage by introducing Bi(Mg 0.5 Sn 0.5)O 3 (BMS) with weak ferroelectric active cations into 0.7Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 -0.3SrTiO 3 (BNT-ST) to form BNT-ST-BMS ceramics. The doped ceramics display the excellent dielectric stability versus temperature and frequency. The suitable BMS doping can increase the band gap of the BNT-ST ceramic and effectively avoids early dielectric breakdown and polarization saturation. The BNT-ST-BMS ceramic in the composition of x = 0.08 exhibits an outstanding recoverable energy storage density (W rec) of 5.99 J/cm3, together with a good efficiency (ƞ) of 76% as well as an excellent dielectric stability versus temperature (Δε r /ε r(150°C) ≤ ±15%) and frequency. The findings in this work demonstrate that the BNT-ST-BMS ceramics have exceptional potential as candidate materials for pulse power and high voltage capacitors applications, and provide a path for the development of the other lead-free energy storage materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe chain graph model admits both undirected and directed edges in one graph, where symmetric conditional dependencies are encoded via undirected edges and asymmetric causal relations are encoded via directed edges. Though frequently encountered in practice, the chain graph model has been largely under investigated in the literature, possibly due to the lack of identifiability conditions between undirected and directed edges. In this article, we first establish a set of novel identifiability conditions for the Gaussian chain graph model, exploiting a low rank plus sparse decomposition of the precision matrix. Further, an efficient learning algorithm is built upon the identifiability conditions to fully recover the chain graph structure. Theoretical analysis on the proposed method is conducted, assuring its asymptotic consistency in recovering the exact chain graph structure. The advantage of the proposed method is also supported by numerical experiments on both simulated examples and a real application on the Standard & Poor 500 index data. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveillance is an intricate challenge worldwide especially in those complicated environments such as nuclear plants, banks, crowded areas, barns, etc. Deploying self‐powered wireless sensor nodes can increase the system's event detection capabilities by collecting environmental changes, while the incompatibility among components (energy harvesters, sensors, and wireless modules) limits their application. Here, a broadly compatible self‐powered visualized platform (SPVP) is reported to construct a passive internet of events (IoE) network for surveillance systems. By encoding electric signals into reference and working LEDs, SPVP can visualize resistance change generated by commercial resistive sensors with a broad working range (<107 Ω) and the transmission distance is up to 30 meters. Visible light signals are captured by surveillance cameras and processed by the cloud to achieve real‐time event monitoring and identification, which forms the passive IoE network. It is demonstrated that the passive‐IoE‐based surveillance system can detect intrusion, theft, fire alarm, and distress signals quickly (30 ms) for 106 cycles. Moreover, the confidential information can be encrypted by SPVPs and accessed through a phone application. This universal scheme may have huge potential for the construction of safe and smart cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization is a crucial type in the degradation of coastal land, but its spatial distribution and drivers have not been sufficiently explored especially at the depth scale owing to its multidimensional nature. In this study, we proposed a multi-depth soil salinity prediction model (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm) fully using the advantages of satellite image data and field sampling to rapidly estimate the multi-depth soil salinity in the Yellow River Delta, China. Firstly, a multi-depth soil salinity predictive factor system was developed through correlation analysis of soil sample electrical conductivity with a series of remote-sensing parameters containing heat, moisture, salinity, vegetation indices, spectral value, and spatial location. Then, three machine learning methods including back propagation neural network (BPNN), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF) were adopted to construct a coastal soil salinity inversion model. By using the best inversion model, we obtain the spatial distribution of soil salinity in the Yellow River Delta. The results show the following: (1) Environmental variables in this study are all effective variables for soil salinity prediction. The most sensitive indicators to multi-depth soil salinity are GDVI, ENDVI, SI-T, NDWI, and LST. (2) The RF model was chosen as the optimal approach for predicting and mapping soil salinity based on performance at four soil depths. (3) The soil salinity profiles exhibited intricate coexistence of two distinct types: surface aggregated and homogeneous. The former was dominant in the east, where salinity was higher. The central and southwestern parts were mostly homogeneous, with lower soil salinity. (4) The soil salinity throughout the four depths examined was found to be most elevated in saltern and bare land and lowest in wetland vegetation and farmland, according to land-cover type. This study proposed a remote sensing prediction method for salinization in multiple soil layers in the coastal plain, which could provide decision support for spatial monitoring of land salinization and achieving land degradation neutrality targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of using Ponte osteotomy combined with posterior lumbar interbody fusion in the treatment of patients with degenerative scoliosis. Method: The medical records and imaging data of degenerative scoliosis patients in our department from 2013 to 2022 were retrospectively collected. A total of 47 patients were included, including 16 male patients and 31 female patients. The mean follow-up was 47.8 months. Whole spine X-rays in the standing position were performed on all patients preoperatively, postoperatively, and at the latest follow-up. The length of hospital stay, complications, operative duration, estimated blood loss, instrumented segment, fused segment, clinical scores, and various radiological indicators were recorded. Results: The coronal vertical axis improved from 3.1 ± 1.9 cm preoperatively to 1.2 ± 1.0 cm postoperatively with an average reduction of 1.9 ± 1.7 cm. The preoperative coronal Cobb angle was 18.1 ± 10.6°, the immediate postoperative Cobb angle was 6.6 ± 3.9°, and the Cobb angle at the last follow-up was 5.8 ± 3.7°. The sagittal vertical axis decreased from 5.6 ± 3.7 cm preoperatively to 2.7 ± 1.9 cm immediately after the operation and was well maintained at the last follow-up (3.1 ± 2.5 cm). Lumbar lordosis increased from 22.2 ± 10.2° preoperatively to 40.4 ± 8.3° postoperatively and 36.0 ± 8.8° at the last follow-up. The ODI score, VAS low back pain score, and VAS leg pain score were also improved to varying degrees. Conclusion: Ponte osteotomy combined with posterior lumbar interbody fusion can significantly improve coronal and sagittal plane deformities and postoperative functional scores in patients with adult degenerative scoliosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the learning curve of total operative time, bone cutting accuracy, and limb alignment in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using a Chinese image-based knee surgery robot known as HURWA. Additionally, a comparison was conducted with conventional TKA to ascertain the benefits of robotic-assisted TKA. Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed a series of patients (n = 90) who underwent robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty using the HURWA robot between December 2021 and October 2022. The procedures were performed by one of three orthopedic surgeons with varying levels of experience. As a control group, we selected the last 30 conventional TKA cases performed by each of these three surgeons. To determine the learning curve, we recorded the operative time, bone cutting error, and pre- and post-surgery radiographs. Results: The study found no significant differences in total operative time, bone cutting accuracy, or limb alignment among the three surgeons. Of the three surgeons, surgeon 1, who had the most experience in joint arthroplasty, reached the learning curve in case 8, with the shortest bone cutting time and robot time. Surgeon 2 reached the learning curve in case 16, while surgeon 3 reached the learning curve in case 9. There was no observable learning curve effect for bone cutting accuracy and limb alignment. However, the percentage of cases where limb alignment differed from preoperative planning by 3° or less was higher in robotic-assisted TKA (77.97%) than in conventional TKA (47.19%). Conclusion: The study determined that the learning curve for robotic-assisted TKA using the HURWA knee surgery robot ranged from 8 to 20 cases. No observable learning curve effect was detected for bone cutting accuracy or limb alignment. Experienced surgeons using the HURWA robot for bone cutting took less time and reached the learning curve earlier. The HURWA robot achieved better limb alignment without depending on the experience of conventional TKA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: DNA damage response (DDR) pathways are essential to sustain genomic stability and play a critical role in cancer development and progression. Here, we investigated the profile of DDR gene mutations in early‐stage non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their prognostic values. Methods: We first examined 74 DDR genes involved in seven DDR pathways and then focused on six specific genes: ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK1, BARD1, and BRIP1. A total of 179 stage I and IIIa NSCLC patients who received curative resection in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and their corresponding samples were collected for DNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry and survival analysis. Results: A total of 167 eligible patients were finally analyzed. Mutation frequencies were 82% and 26.3% for the selected 74 genes and six genes, respectively. Mismatch repair (MMR) and nucleotide excision repair (NER) alterations were observed more frequently in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and smokers were more likely to develop the selected six DDR gene mutations than those who never smoked. Deleterious mutations in the six genes were independent prognostic indicators of significantly longer disease‐free survival and overall survival. No association was found between DDR gene status and PD‐L1 expression, CD8 positive lymphocyte and tumor‐associated macrophage infiltration in tumor area. However, numbers of mutations were significantly increased among patients with DDR alterations. Conclusions: Deleterious mutations of these six genes were common in resected NSCLC and could serve as prognostic biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Primary liver cancer (PLC) is a common cancer of the digestive system. Patients with PLC often experience a heavy symptom burden and along with a significant levels of anxiety and depression after liver resection. High levels of symptom burden can lead to increased anxiety and depression, whereas high levels of resilience can alleviate these conditions. Therefore, we aimed to explore the relationships among symptom burden, resilience, and anxiety/depression in Chinese patients with PLC after liver resection and to determine whether resilience mediates the relationship between symptom burden and anxiety/depression.Patients and Methods: A total of 223 postoperative PLC patients were recruited from two public hospitals in Anhui Province, China. All participants completed the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The mediating effect of resilience was estimated using the bootstrap method via IBM SPSS AMOS 26.0.Results: The mean HADS score was 12.37 ±  6.03 points in postoperative PLC patients. Among these patients, 78 (34.98%) had anxiety, and 64 (28.70%) had depression, as indicated by a subscale score ≥  8. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that anxiety/depression was positively associated with symptom burden (p <  0.05) and negatively associated with resilience (p <  0.05). Furthermore, resilience partially mediated the relationship between symptom burden and anxiety/depression (β =  0.04; 95% confidence interval: 0.01– 0.08).Conclusion: The levels of anxiety and depression in postoperative PLC patients should be decreased. Resilience partially mediated the relationship between symptom burden and anxiety/depression, but the indirect effect was much weaker than the direct effect of symptom burden on anxiety/depression. Consequently, rather than focusing primarily on resilience interventions, joint symptom-psychological interventions focusing on symptoms should be considered for patients with PLC after hepatectomy to reduce the levels of anxiety/depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holmes Rolston, III examined the significance of Asian thought for Western evaluations of nature and questioned if Asian Romanticism can inform the realistic decision making required for practice. However, Rolston's general evaluation of Asian thought ignored Confucianism. This study launches a dialogue between Rolston and contemporary Confucianism on environmental philosophy and highlights the following points in response to Rolston: First, Confucianism is grounded on an "anthropocosmic" worldview and bases its environmental ethics on its affirmation of the "virtue of life and growth" and the related vision of "unity of heaven and human beings"; it is thus an objective environmental virtue ethics with the characteristics of sacred humanism that avoids anthropocentrism. Second, Confucian ethics is built on the premise of "one principle with various manifestations" and advocates for practicing benevolence through "love with gradations", which avoids an excessively idealistic ecocentrism. Furthermore, Confucianism may adopt Rolston's recommendation for Asian thought concerning the incorporation of evolutionary biology into Asian traditions to facilitate their own transformation and thus contribute to environmental philosophy. Upon an exploration of the compatibility and possible reciprocal illumination between Confucianism and Rolston, this paper points out the implications of the above dialogue for theology in the planetary climate crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Focus on the information loss problem in tracking technologies for surgical navigation systems. • Survey the existing solutions to information loss in tracking surgical instruments. • Information fusion technology to improve accuracy, precision, and stability. • Future research trends on information fusion during surgical navigation. Surgical navigation technology provides minimally invasive surgery (MIS) with the relative pose relationships amongst medical images, surgical instruments, and lesions. On the other hand, traditional operation procedures depend heavily on direct surgical field exposure. Consequently, introducing surgical navigation can enable surgeons to operate more accurately and efficiently. A tracking system is a core enabling technology of a surgical navigation system. In this paper, after reviewing the tracking technologies, we compare and analyze their pros and cons, and find that information loss is a common challenge. The information loss problem is an inherent drawback in mono-modality surgical navigation systems. It is characterized by physical constraints, attenuation, breakdown of signal, and accuracy instability of the tracking algorithms. This review focuses on the information loss problem in tracking technologies for surgical navigation systems. Furthermore, we survey the existing solutions that aim at tackling the information loss problem, especially in the information fusion of surgical tracking technologies, and we also summarize their key improvements and limitations. Particular attention has been given to the modalities, approaches, objectives, and surgical application scenarios, which can improve the accuracy, precision, and stability of surgical navigation systems. Finally, future research trends directed at improving the information loss problem are discussed, i.e., tight integration of sensing technology, augmented reality for visualization in surgical tracking, stable high-speed 5G networks for telesurgery, strong intelligence and affordable service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various deep learning‐based video frame interpolation methods have been proposed in the past few years, but how to generate high quality interpolated frames in videos with large motions, complex backgrounds and rich textures is still a challenging issue. To deal with this limitation, a frame interpolation method based on residual blocks and feature pyramids is proposed. U‐Net is the main architecture of our method, which can capture multi‐layer information, segment objects from the background and obtain parameters with motion information to guide frame interpolation. However, the upsampling and subsampled of U‐Net will lose important information. In order to acquire more detailed contextual information, shortcut connection is used in the encoder basic module. At the same time, feature pyramid network is employed to capture features at different scales of the decoder to improve the representation of inter‐frame spatial‐temporal features. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperform the baseline methods in both of objective and subjective evaluations on different datasets. In particular, the method has obvious advantages on datasets which contain complex background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) classification is a molecular classification established based on the tissues of gastric cancer (GC) patients in Asia. Patients with different ACRG subtypes differ significantly with regard to treatment response and prognosis, which indicates that the ACRG molecular classification is more valuable than the traditional pathological classification. However, the specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the value of the ACRG molecular subtypes of GC have not been studied in depth. Methods: Through the analysis of the GEO database, the DEGs in GC tissues of different ACRG molecular subtypes were investigated. The expression and mechanism of the screened angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AGTR1) gene were bioinformatically analyzed and experimentally verified. The role of AGTR1 in GC cells was mainly investigated using CCK-8, wound-healing, transwell invasion assays, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting. Results: The bioinformatics results showed the presence of multiple DEGs in GC tissues with different ACRG molecular subtypes. Certain DEGs in GC tissues of different ACRG molecular subtypes have prognostic significance. AGTR1 levels in tumor tissues were significantly higher than in paired paracancerous tissues. The prognosis of GC patients with high expression of AGTR1 was poor (p < 0.05). The AGTR1 gene in GC samples was associated with the expression of immune pathways and immune checkpoint genes. After modifying AGTR1 expression in cell lines, cells' proliferation, invasion, and migration abilities and the expression of related genes changed. Conclusions: There were significant DEGs in GC tissues with different ACGR molecular types, among which the increased expression of AGTR1 was a molecular feature of MSS/EMT type gastric cancer. Further study found that AGTR1 was closely related to tumor immune infiltration and invasion and may be a new therapeutic target gene for gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a design of solar thermal propulsion (STP) system for microsatellite with liquid ammonia as propellant. The system was equipped with two concentrators, which were respectively placed in the tank and thrust chamber for propellant supply and heating. A platelet heat exchanger was adopted to heat the propellant in the chamber, and the fluid–solid coupling effect between the wall and the gas was considered. Meanwhile, the effects of satellite mass, initial orbit, nozzle size and target temperature on the performance of STP system were analyzed. The results show that for microsatellites with a total mass of 100 kg, the STP system can fully heat the propellant to more than 2050 K, generate an intermittent thrust of about 26 N, and enable the satellite to obtain a velocity increment of more than 1470 m/s within 19 days, consuming only 42 kg of propellant, which can directly meet the transfer mission from the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) to the geostationary orbit (GEO). The maximum velocity increment could reach more than 1950 m/s when the propellant was completely consumed; Changing the mass and initial orbit of the satellite will not affect the thrust and specific impulse. Satellites with smaller mass will spend less time and propellant during orbit transfer. The lower is the perigee height of the initial orbit, the greater is the propellant consumption, while the shorter is the time of orbit transfer; The reduction of nozzle throat size and target temperature will lead to the increase of specific impulse and the decrease of orbital transfer time, but the reduction of thrust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) for the treatment of patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). Materials and methods: A meta‐analysis was conducted, and the efficacy and safety of CPI were assessed. Results: A total of 13 studies with 980 patients were included. The pooled objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate were 47.2% and 64.4%, separately. In addition, patients with primary tumor located in head and neck (odds ratio [OR]: 0.374, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.219–0.640, p < 0.001) and positive expression of programmed death ligand 1 (OR: 0.364, 95% CI: 0.158–0.842, P = 0.018) had superior ORR during CPI treatment. The incidence of progression free survival at 6 and 12 months was 59.3% and 52.8%, and 80.6% and 76.4% for overall survival. As for safety, the overall incidence of adverse events with all grades and 3–4 grade was 76.9% and 20.2%. Conclusions: Our systematic review confirmed the satisfying efficacy and acceptable toxicity of CPI for advanced CSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer progression is associated with the evolutionary accumulation of genetic mutations that are biologically significant. Mutations of the androgen receptor (AR) are associated with the development of prostate cancer (PCa) by responding to non-androgenic hormones, and the lack of annotations in their responsiveness to hormone ligands remains a daunting challenge. Here, we have used a yeast reporter system to quickly evaluate the responsiveness of all fifty clinical AR mutations to a variety of steroidal ligands including dihydrotestosterone (DHT), 17β-estradiol (E2), progesterone (PROG), and cyproterone acetate (CPA). Based on an AR-driven reporter that synthesizes histidine, a basic amino acid required for yeast survival and propagation, the yeast reporter system enabling clonal selection was further empowered by combining with a random DNA mutagenesis library to simulate the natural evolution of AR gene under the selective pressures of steroidal ligands. In a time-frame of 1–2 weeks, 19 AR mutants were identified, in which 11 AR mutants were validated for activation by tested steroidal compounds. The high efficiency of our artificial evolution strategy was further evidenced by a sequential selection that enabled the discovery of multipoint AR mutations and evolution directions under the pressure of steroidal ligands. In summary, our designer yeast is a portable reporter module that can be readily adapted to streamline high-throughput AR-compound screening, used as a PCa clinical reference, and combined with additional bioassay systems to further extend its potential. Author summary: Androgens are a group of steroid-type sex hormones that regulate secondary sexual characteristics through interacting with the androgen receptor. Androgen-activated androgen receptor has been linked to prostate cancer progression, thus steroid drugs structurally similar to but different from androgens are clinically used to block androgen activation and to treat prostate cancers. However, mutations of the androgen receptor occur in clinics. As a result of some of these mutants, the steroidal hormone drugs become inactive and even by themselves can activate the androgen receptor exacerbating the disease conditions. Due to lack of an efficient screening method, how other clinical mutants respond to various steroidal hormone drugs remain unknown. Here, we developed a yeast-based system that allows high throughput study of the interaction between each hormone drug and androgen receptor mutant by eye-ball observation of yeast colony formation. Using this method, we thoroughly investigated all 50 clinically relevant mutants of the androgen receptor and how they individually respond to each of a variety of hormone drugs. Furthermore, the capacity of this system allowed us to perform random mutagenesis and quickly accumulate high volume of data regarding a large number of mutants, informative in guiding future precision medicine to treat prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of rapid evolution under changing environments are important for understanding the evolutionary fate of populations and the future of biodiversity. We used experimental evolution to test whether the presence of toxic cyanobacteria and its subsequent removal could lead to rapid forward and reverse genetic changes in multiple traits of the zooplankter Ceriodaphnia cornuta. In the forward selection experiment, the covariant pattern in multivariate trait space provided strong evidence of adaptive evolution in multiple traits at two selection levels, in the presence of toxic cyanobacteria. The C. cornuta population under high selection pressure showed higher tolerance than those under low selection pressure. The total trait change generated through evolutionary responses (constitutive evolution and evolution of plasticity) ranged from 0.2% to 32.2%, depending on the trait and selection level. After the relaxation of selection, almost all evolved traits were restored to their original state when the C. cornuta population were fed pure green algae. That is, the toxin‐tolerant phenotypes were culled off from the population in the absence of the selection pressure, suggesting a heavy cost of maintaining tolerance. The genotype dynamics indicated that asymmetric intraspecific competition may be the main force driving the rapid reverse evolution. These results suggest that the change in cyanobacteria biomass, from proliferation to decline, resulted in rapid forward and reverse evolution of multivariate phenotypic responses in the freshwater zooplankton grazer C. cornuta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently circulating SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 is rampaging the world with elevated transmissibility compared to the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. Immune escape of BA.5 was observed after treatment with many monoclonal antibodies, calling for broad-spectrum, immune-escape-evading therapeutics. In retrospect, we previously reported Kansetin as an ACE2 mimetic and a protein antagonist against SARS-CoV-2, which proved potent neutralization bioactivity on the Reference, Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron strains of SARS-CoV-2. Since BA.5 is expected to rely on the interaction of the Spike complex with human ACE2 for cell entry, we reasonably assumed the lasting efficacy of the ACE2-mimicking Kansetin for neutralizing the new SARS-CoV-2 variant. The investigation was accordingly performed on in vitro Kansetin-Spike binding affinity by SPR and cell infection inhibition ability with pseudovirus and live virus assays. As a result, Kansetin showed dissociation constant KD and half inhibition concentration IC50 at the nanomolar to picomolar level, featuring a competent inhibition effect against the BA.5 sublineage. Conclusively, Kansetin is expected to be a promising therapeutic option against BA.5 and future SARS-CoV-2 sublineages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical properties of quasi-brittle materials, which are widely used in engineering applications, are often affected by the thermal condition of their service environment. Moreover, the materials appear brittle when subjected to tensile loading and show plastic characteristics under high pressure. These two phenomena manifest under different circumstances as completely different mechanical behaviors in the material. To accurately describe the mechanical response, the material behavior, and the failure mechanism of quasi-brittle materials with the thermo-mechanical coupling effect, the influence of the thermal condition is considered in calculating bond forces in the stretching and compression stages, based on a new bond-based Peridynamic (BB-PD) model. In this study, a novel bond-based Peridynamic, fully coupled, thermo-mechanical model is proposed for quasi-brittle materials, with a heat conduction component to account for the effect of the thermo-mechanical coupling. Numerical simulations are carried out to demonstrate the validity and capability of the proposed model. The results reveal that agreement could be found between our model and the experimental data, which show good reliability and promise in the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor surface quality is one of the main problems for the forming and application of magnesium alloys. In this study, electric pulse and ultrasonic vibration were simultaneously applied to the incremental sheet forming (ISF) process of magnesium alloys, and the effect of electric pulse–ultrasonic composite energy field on the surface quality was investigated. Compared with electric pulse–assisted forming, a composite energy field could reduce the forming force under any condition and improve the surface quality at the condition of higher current frequency (≥ 350 HZ), lower step depth (0.1 mm), and keep the effective current density less than 30 A/mm2. The maximum percentage decrease in forming force and surface roughness is about 20 and 50%, respectively. Moreover, although the surface quality can be improved by ultrasonic energy in both directions, the effect is more significantly in direction perpendicular to the feed direction than that in the direction parallel to the feed direction. The repeated rolling caused by ultrasonic vibration is benefit to the rearrangement of the surface gully and makes the surface profile height distribution relatively uniform. The surface quality also would be aggravated due to the dynamic impact of the ultrasonic vibration and serious surface oxidative, which caused by excessive temperature increasing at the condition of high current density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cyanobacterial blooms caused by eutrophication exert strong selection on zooplankton grazers. Resurrection ecology, coupled with multivariate reaction norm analysis, can be used to parse the relative contributions of plasticity and evolution to mediating adaptation to environmental changes in natural populations. Here, we tested whether increasing levels of toxic cyanobacteria result in multivariate reaction norm changes in a natural zooplankton population. We resurrected dormant eggs of Ceriodaphnia cornuta (Cladocera) from three sediment layers in Dianshan Lake from 1988 to 2018, a period during which the abundances of cyanobacteria continuously increased, and conducted a common garden experiment to quantify the multivariate reaction norms of nine morphological, life history, and behavioral traits involved in the response to the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. The youngest subpopulation coinciding with the high‐eutrophic period was characterized by smaller size at birth and maturity and fewer offspring in their second broods compared with the oldest subpopulation coinciding with the low‐eutrophic period. Patterns of covariance in multivariate trait space provided strong evidence of adaptive evolution in multiple traits over time. The total trait change generated through both constitutive evolution and evolution of plasticity ranged from 1% to 64% depending on the trait and subpopulations being compared. These results suggest that multivariate phenotypic shifts in response to environmental changes in the study population are achieved by integrating plasticity, evolution of trait means, and evolution of plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracellular fatty acid-binding proteins are evolutionarily highly conserved proteins. The major functions and responsibilities of this family are the regulation of FA uptake and intracellular transport. The structure of the H-FABP ortholog from mouse (Mus musculus) had not been revealed at the time this study was completed. Thus, further exploration of the structural properties of mouse H-FABP is expected to extend our knowledge of the model animal's molecular mechanism of H-FABP function. Here, we report the high-resolution crystal structure and the NMR characterization of mouse H-FABP. Our work discloses the unique structural features of mouse H-FABP, offering a structural basis for the further development of small-molecule inhibitors for H-FABP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper designed a platelet heat exchanger in the solar thermal thruster and analyzed the unsteady-state conjugate heat transfer characteristics between heat exchanger and propellant. The conjugate heat transfer (CHT) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the 3D model of the platelet under steady-state conditions was carried out with different mass flow rates to find the empirical correlation between the average Nusselt number and the average Reynolds number. The unsteady-state 1D simplified model of the heat exchanger was established using a loose coupling algorithm based on quasi-steady flow domain and finally verified by experiments. The results show that the platelet structure could heat the working medium to more than 2380 K with the heat transfer efficiency of 87% and produce a peak thrust of 0.57 N and specific impulse of 2200 m/s; in steady state, the outlet temperature and heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger were stable at 1950 K and 69%. Moreover, 1D model could accurately reflect the real heat exchange situation to a certain extent, the simulation error was less than 5% compared with the 3D model, and the calculation time was greatly shortened, making it more convenient to adjust the heat exchange strategy. The experimental results were consistent with the simulation results at the initial stage of heat exchange, and the difference was mainly reflected in the steady-state stage, which might be caused by the lack of precision of the experimental equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A framework of distributed interval observers is introduced for fractional-order multiagent systems in the presence of nonlinearity. First, a frame was designed to construct the upper and lower bounds of the system state. By using monotone system theory, the positivity of the error dynamics could be ensured, which implies that the bounds could trap the original state. Second, a sufficient condition was applied to guarantee the boundedness of distributed interval observers. Then, an extension of Lyapunov function in the fractional calculus field was the basis of the sufficient condition. An algorithm associated with the procedure of the observer design is also provided. Lastly, a numerical simulation is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the distributed interval observer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four members of the miR-200 family in Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) have sex-biased expression patterns, but their target genes and how they work in the development of the gonads are rarely known. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) can inhibit the development of Muller's duct in female mammals and regulate the formation of gametes after sexual maturity. There is no Muller's duct in teleosts, but the amh gene still exists. Knockout of amh results in sex reversal from male to female. Therefore, it is essential to explore the relationship between the miR-200 family and amh to clarify what role miR-200 plays in the development of the gonads. In Japanese flounder, the two binding sites for the miR-200 family in the 3′UTR of amh were found through bioinformatic prediction. Double luciferase and green fluorescent protein reporter experiments demonstrated amh to be directly targeted by miR-200a and miR-200b. Moreover, miR-200a and miR-200b reduced the expression of amh through site 1 rather than site 2. To explore the regulatory role of miR-200a in gonadal development, we further overexpressed miR-200a in the primary Sertoli cells of the testis. With the overexpression of miR-200a, the expression of amh decreased, while the expression of the other two male sex-related genes, dmrt1 (doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1) and gsdf (diagonal soma driven factor), increased significantly. This result indicates that the miR-200 family regulates the gonadal differentiation and development by targeting amh in Japanese flounder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human adenylate kinase 1 (hAK1) plays a vital role in the energetic and metabolic regulation of cell life, and impaired functions of hAK1 are closely associated with many diseases. In the presence of Mg2+ ions, hAK1 in vivo can catalyze two ADP molecules into one ATP and one AMP molecule, activating the downstream AMP signaling. The ADP-binding also initiates AK1 transition from an open conformation to a closed conformation. However, how substrate binding triggers the conformational transition of hAK1 is still unclear, and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Herein, we determined the solution structure of apo-hAK1 and its key residues for catalyzing ADP, and characterized backbone dynamics characteristics of apo-hAK1 and hAK1-Mg2+-ADP complex (holo-hAK1) using NMR relaxation experiments. We found that ADP was primarily bound to a cavity surrounded by the LID, NMP, and CORE domains of hAK1, and identified several critical residues for hAK1 catalyzing ADP including G16, G18, G20, G22, T39, G40, R44, V67, D93, G94, D140, and D141. Furthermore, we found that apo-hAK1 adopts an open conformation with significant ps-ns internal mobility, and Mg2+-ADP binding triggered conformational transition of hAK1 by suppressing the ps-ns internal motions of α3α4 in the NMP domain and α7α8 in the LID domain. Both α3α4 and α7α8 fragments became more rigid so as to fix the substrate, while the catalyzing center of hAK1 experiences promoted µs-ms conformational exchange, potentially facilitating catalysis reaction and conformational transition. Our results provide the structural basis of hAK1 catalyzing ADP into ATP and AMP, and disclose the driving force that triggers the conformational transition of hAK1, which will deepen understanding of the molecular mechanisms of hAK1 functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is a perennial legume usually consumed directly or processed into pigeon pea milk. Pigeon pea okara (PPO) contains 15.5 – 28.8% protein, 56% carbohydrate, as well as vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, making it a valuable food material or other applications. This study examines co‐fermentation of PPO by Rhizopus oligosporus and Yarrowia lipolytica to maximize its nutritional value. Methods: The response surface methodology (RSM) with Four variables and five levels central composite design was used to optimize the co‐fermentation conditions including fermentation temperature, R. oligosporus and Y. lipolytica inoculum concentrations, and fermentation time. Results: Solid‐state co‐fermentation significantly increased the total phenolic, total flavonoid, and protein contents, with SDS‐PAGE revealing protein molecular weights generally < 10 kDa. The optimal fermentation condition was using 5.05 × 105 spores/g R. oligosporus and 5.05 × 105 CFU/g Y. lipolytica at 39°C for 48 hrs. Sensory analysis and shelf‐life testing were then performed on vegetable pastes prepared using optimally fermented PPO. Vegetable paste prepared with 35% fermented PPO content had comparable overall acceptability to paste made with 35% unfermented PPO, and a 14‐day shelf‐life at 4°C. Conclusion: In summary, RSM‐optimized, solid‐state co‐fermentation is an effective method to improve the nutritional value of PPO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictive models for clinical outcomes that are accurate on average in a patient population may underperform drastically for some subpopulations, potentially introducing or reinforcing inequities in care access and quality. Model training approaches that aim to maximize worst-case model performance across subpopulations, such as distributionally robust optimization (DRO), attempt to address this problem without introducing additional harms. We conduct a large-scale empirical study of DRO and several variations of standard learning procedures to identify approaches for model development and selection that consistently improve disaggregated and worst-case performance over subpopulations compared to standard approaches for learning predictive models from electronic health records data. In the course of our evaluation, we introduce an extension to DRO approaches that allows for specification of the metric used to assess worst-case performance. We conduct the analysis for models that predict in-hospital mortality, prolonged length of stay, and 30-day readmission for inpatient admissions, and predict in-hospital mortality using intensive care data. We find that, with relatively few exceptions, no approach performs better, for each patient subpopulation examined, than standard learning procedures using the entire training dataset. These results imply that when it is of interest to improve model performance for patient subpopulations beyond what can be achieved with standard practices, it may be necessary to do so via data collection techniques that increase the effective sample size or reduce the level of noise in the prediction problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural fiber reinforced plastics (NFRPs) represent a promising category of emerging materials for sustainable industrial development owing to their renewability, degradability, and lightweight. However, the polarity mismatch between the fibers and polymer matrices weakens the mechanical properties of NFRPs. To address this issue, a novel hierarchical interface design was proposed here through the co-modification of silane coupling agents (SCAs) and zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs), which exhibits not only high efficiency but also low energy consumption and environmental friendliness. Specifically, the hierarchical interface design was demonstrated on jute fibers (JFs)/polypropylene (PP) composites, where the JFs/ZnO interfaces were chemically bonded through complexation, chelation, or coordination using various SCAs; meanwhile, the ZnO/PP interfaces were physically bonded by interlocking effect. The experimental testing results indicated the exceptional mechanical properties of modified JFs and their composites. The JFs modified with 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH560) and ZnO NRs exhibited an increase of 34.3% and 55.8% in single-fiber tensile strength and tensile modulus, respectively, compared to sololy ZnO coated JFs, and also showed an augment of 30.8% in the interfacial shear strength with PP resin. Thus, the transverse and longitudinal tensile strength of JFs/PP composites with combined modification of KH560 and ZnO NRs were 19.2% and 46.5% higher than untreated ones. The interfacial enhancement mechanism was ascribed to the synergistic effect of chemical bonding and physical interlocking, as revealed by molecular dynamics simulation and observation of fracture morphologies. The findings offer a cost-effective solution for developing JFs/PP composites with superior interfacial and mechanical properties, thereby promoting the practical applications and value of NFRPs. • Eco-friendly new method: synergistic enhancement of PP with jute fiber treated by SCAs and ZnO. • Process simulation using Molecular dynamics and conducting a comprehensive interfacial study. • The strategy can significantly decrease the energy consumption and improve the mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A porous self-supporting titanium sheet electrode embedded with Cu sites was constructed by anodic oxidation combined with hydrothermal/pyrolysis strategy, and high ammonia yield rate and near 100 % Faradaic efficiency were achieved in the electrocatalytic conversion of nitrate. [Display omitted] • Anodic oxidation tandem hydrothermal/pyrolysis embed Cu sites in porous titanium sheets. • Ammonia yield rate and FE as high as 7292.43 μg h−1 cm−2 and 97.34 %, respectively. • Cu/PTS can efficiently catalyze eNitRR in complex water environments. • Operando ATR-FTIRAS measurements reveal the evolution of NO 3 − to NH 3. • Nitrate hazard concentration can be reduced below the limit value of WHO and US EPA. Electrochemical nitrate reduction synthesis of ammonia can use clean energy to convert low-value nitrate pollutants into high value-added ammonia yield. The development of eNitRR catalyst with high activity, high selectivity and stability is the key to achieve distributed small-scale production of nitrate. In this study, a self-supported catalyst (Cu/PTS) with high catalytic activity (for eNitRR) was constructed by anodic oxidation combined with hydrothermal/pyrolysis strategy to realize the embedding of Cu species on the substrate of porous titanium sheet. The ammonia production rate of Cu/PTS catalyzed eNitRR is as high as 7292.43 μg h−1 cm−2 (−1.0 V vs. RHE), the Faradaic efficiency is close to 100 %, reaching 97.34 %, and isotope labeling and Operando ATR-FTIRAS verified and revealed the fact that NO 3 − to NH 3 , respectively. Density functional theory calculations well reveal the roles of various components in Cu/PTS and reveal the factors for the enhancement of eNitRR performance. Thanks to the self-supporting characteristics of porous titanium sheet and the surface embedding of copper species, Cu/PTS not only have good electrochemical stability when catalyzing eNitRR, but also can drive eNitRR to operate efficiently in complex water environment. While realizing the purification of nitrate wastewater and the synthesis of ammonia, Cu/PTS can be used as a positive electrode to construct a nitrate–zinc battery to realize the dual functions of self-driven ammonia production and external power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The influence of surface functional groups with varying grafting ratios on the interfacial thermal conductivities between h-BN and epoxy was studied by MD simulation. • KH550 showed better interfacial thermal enhancement than dopamine and hydroxyl. • The thermal conductivities of h-BN/epoxy composites were investigated via effective medium theory and experimental verification. Electronic equipment generates a significant amount of heat during operation with the trend of integrated circuit chips and electronic components towards miniaturization and multi-functionality. Consequently, guaranteeing safe and dependable functioning while appropriately dispersing heat has become a critical challenge in the development of the microelectronics sector. The emergence of thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high thermal conductivity can effectively address this issue. In this study, simulations and experiments were used to investigate the effects of functional groups, including hydroxyl (-OH), dopamine (DA) and silane coupling agent (KH550), and their grafting ratios on the thermal conductivity of hexagonal boron nitride/epoxy (h-BN/EP) composites. The interface thermal conduction results demonstrated that the modification of functional groups with a higher grafting ratio exhibited a larger enhancement, and KH550 outperformed DA and -OH in terms of the enhancing effect. Moreover, according to the effective medium theory (EMT), the simulated thermal conductivity of BN-KH550/EP composite (2 % grafting ratio of KH550, 10 vol% filling ratio of BN) was 0.692 W·m−1·K−1, 224.9% higher than that of pure epoxy resin. Additionally, the experimentally measured thermal conductivity was 0.703 W·m−1·K−1, showing good agreement with the simulation result and indicating EMT's accurate prediction for the h-BN/EP composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most difficult problems that hinder the development and application of herbal medicine is how to illuminate the global effects of herbs on the human body. Currently, the chemo-centric network pharmacology methodology regards herbs as a mixture of chemical ingredients and constructs the 'herb-compound-target-disease' connections based on bioinformatics methods, to explore the pharmacological effects of herbal medicine. However, this approach is severely affected by the complexity of the herbal composition. Alternatively, gene-expression profiles induced by herbal treatment reflect the overall biological effects of herbs and are suitable for studying the global effects of herbal medicine. Here, we develop an online transcriptome-based multi-scale network pharmacology platform (TMNP) for exploring the global effects of herbal medicine. Firstly, we build specific functional gene signatures for different biological scales from molecular to higher tissue levels. Then, specific algorithms are designed to measure the correlations of transcriptional profiles and types of gene signatures. Finally, TMNP uses pharmacotranscriptomics of herbal medicine as input and builds associations between herbs and different biological scales to explore the multi-scale effects of herb medicine. We applied TMNP to a single herb Astragalus membranaceus and Xuesaitong injection to demonstrate the power to reveal the multi-scale effects of herbal medicine. TMNP integrating herbal medicine and multiple biological scales into the same framework, will greatly extend the conventional network pharmacology model centering on the chemical components, and provide a window for systematically observing the complex interactions between herbal medicine and the human body. TMNP is available at http://www.bcxnfz.top/TMNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complete separation of water and solute is the ultimate goal of water treatment, for maximized resource recycling. However, commercialized approaches such as evaporative crystallizers consume a large amount of electricity with a significant carbon footprint, leading to calls for alternative energy-efficient and eco-friendly strategies. Here, inspired by schooling fish, we demonstrate a collective system self-assembled by expanded polystyrene (EPS)-core/graphene oxide (GO)-shell particles, which enables autonomous, efficient and complete water-solute separation powered by sunlight. By taking advantage of surface tension, these tailored particles school together naturally and are bonded as a system to function collectively and coordinatively, to nucleate, grow and output salt crystals continuously and automatically out of even saturated brine, to complete water-solute separation. Solar-vapor conversion efficiency over 90% and salt production rate as high as 0.39 kg m–2 h–1 are achieved under 1-sun illumination for this system. It reduces the carbon footprint of ∼50 kg for treating 1-ton saturated brine compared with the commercialized approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robust, simple, and flexible quantum key distribution (QKD) is vital for realizing practical applications of this technique. Contrary to typical phase-coded QKD schemes, the plug-and-play QKD design requires only one arm-length-insensitive interferometer without active feedback, in which the noise is automatically compensated by the two-way structure. However, there are certain possible loopholes in the typical plug-and-play designs, which require consideration and strict monitoring. This study proposes a new design of theoretically loophole-free plug-and-play QKD scheme with two-way protocol and presents an experimental demonstration of said scheme. The security is analyzed under a collective attack scenario assisted by the decoy state method. The scheme was implemented in a 50.4 km commercial fibre without active feedback. The system showed highly robust performance with an ultra-low error rate and maintained an ultra-high visibility of 0.9947 ± 0.0002 through significant environmental changes over 24 hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cross-species co-cultures can be used to activate cryptic genes' expression for biosynthesis of novel natural products. • A variety of co-cultivation methods have been established for cross-species microbial co-cultures. • Identification of co-culture-activated cryptic genes and the associated biosynthesis pathways is challenging. Discovery of new natural products, especially those with high biological activities and application values, is of great research significance. However, conventional methods based on the cultivation of microbial mono-cultures can hardly satisfy the increasing need of novel natural product generation. Recently, the development of co-cultures composed of different species has emerged as an effective approach for mining novel natural products. Inspired by microbial communities in nature, these co-culture systems create favorable environmental conditions to promote interactions between co-culture members for activating the natural product biosynthesis that is hard to induce otherwise. A large variety of novel natural products have been identified using this robust approach. This review summarizes the recent achievements of using cross-species co-cultures for natural products discovery and discusses the existing challenges and future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scheme to generate coherent terahertz (THz) radiation carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) through down-frequency conversion of optical lasers and higher order mode coupling is proposed and analyzed. Based on the laser–electron interaction in the undulator under a linear regime, the scheme utilizes dual-frequency lasers resonating at the harmonics of two consecutive undulators and a dispersion section to impose a THz helical microbunching in the electron beam. By choosing appropriate parameters of lasers and dispersion section, the density modulation can be down-converted to a THz spectral-domain and the central frequency can be extensively tuned together with the helical mode number. Then, the helically microbunched beam can be used as a source of THz OAM radiation in a downstream radiator. We expect that the intense vortex beam in the terahertz band will bring new opportunities for the research of quantum topological materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the inverse problem of the two-dimensional wave equation source term, which arises from the Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) data on the boundary. We construct a new integral operator that maps the interior sources to the DAS-type data at the boundary. Due to the noninjectivity and instability of the integral operator, which violates the well posedness of the inverse problem, a minimization problem on a compact convex subset is formulated, and the existence and uniqueness of the minimizer are obtained. Numerical examples for different cases are illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a super‐resolution reconstruction model, SRPGANto improve the visual quality of images based on generative adversarial networks (GANs) by improving the network structures of the generator and the discriminator. In the generator, a dual branch residual block is designed instead of the residual block, including a branch with an attention mechanism and a branch without an attention mechanism, to extract more differentiated features. Normalization methods are explored to avoid unstable training and bath normalization artifacts and use a half instance normalization layer that is more suitable for underlying visual problems compared with traditional batch normalization. In the discriminator, PatchGAN is applied instead of typical GAN to improve the generation of local texture by discriminating each patch rather than the global image. The experimental results on the public datasets demonstrate that the proposed SRPGAN can achieve excellent quantitative evaluation while improving the visual quality of reconstructed images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of emission trading system (ETS) will explore how to control the total emission amount while minimizing the economic cost. Most related studies employ the difference-in-differences (DID) and multi-period DID models. However, this research highlights the superiority of construction technique and estimation results in the synthetic DID model, and applies it to a new scenario for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of China's pilot ETS. From the construction technique, the synthetic DID model synthesizes more desirable control groups and allows more flexibility in matching treatment units with extreme values by setting weight combinations and intercept terms. From the estimation results, the treatment effects are considered more reliable because ideally satisfy the parallel trend assumption. Specifically, the synthetic DID model indicated that the pilot ETS effectively reduced the marginal abatement cost (MAC) by 24.39%, whereas the traditional DID and multi-period DID models may have overestimated the policy effects by 98.48% and 71.09%. The main reason was the MAC has shown a downward trend before the policy implementation. Moreover, the estimation results of heterogeneity analysis and mechanism test in different models were also different. The synthetic DID model integrates the strengths of the DID model and synthetic control method (SCM), making a methodologically grounded contribution to the existing policy evaluation system. • The frontier synthetic DID model is applied in a new scenario. • Reveal the technical superiority and accurate results of the synthetic DID model. • The traditional DID and multi-period DID models may overestimate the policy effects. • The synthetic DID model integrates the strengths of the DID model and SCM method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power-to-gas (P2G) is a promising solution to the issue of non-dispatchable renewable power generation. However, the high investment costs and low energy efficiency of P2G systems pose challenges. This study designs a green hydrogen-based Energy Storage as a Service (ESaaS) mode to improve the economic efficiency of P2G systems. In this ESaaS mode, the P2G system acts as an energy trading hub. The ESaaS operator manages the system and enables microgrids to access energy storage services. In return, the ESaaS operator generates revenue through electricity and hydrogen trading. To characterize stakeholders' behaviors, we develop a cost-minimizing model for multi-energy microgrid operation and a revenue-maximizing model for P2G investment and operation. To coordinate stakeholders involved in cooperation, we employ Nash bargaining-based model reformulation to determine investment and operation decisions and benefit distribution. Then, logarithm transformation and trading price discretization are introduced to efficiently solve the non-convex and nonlinear reformulated model. Simulation experiments using Shanghai's electricity market and meteorological data demonstrate that the ESaaS mode achieves 100% recovery of surplus renewable electricity and increases the proportion of renewable energy in microgrids from 59% to 83%. The results suggest that green hydrogen-based ESaaS is a feasible solution to increase the utilization rate of renewable energy and bring considerable economic and environmental benefits to all stakeholders. • A novel storage service mode is proposed combining P2G technology with microgrids. • Optimization models are tailored for distributed energy system management. • Nash bargaining based-model reformulation is used for fair benefit distribution. • The performance is investigated focusing on the full recovery of solar power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bartonella T4SS effector BepC was reported to mediate internalization of big Bartonella aggregates into host cells by modulating F-actin polymerization. After that, BepC was indicated to induce host cell fragmentation, an interesting cell phenotype that is characterized by failure of rear-end retraction during cell migration, and subsequent dragging and fragmentation of cells. Here, we found that expression of BepC resulted in significant stress fiber formation and contractile cell morphology, which depended on combination of the N-terminus FIC (filamentation induced by c-AMP) domain and C-terminus BID (Bartonellaintracellular delivery) domain of BepC. The FIC domain played a key role in BepC-induced stress fiber formation and cell fragmentation because deletion of FIC signature motif or mutation of two conserved amino acid residues abolished BepC-induced cell fragmentation. Immunoprecipitation confirmed the interaction of BepC with GEF-H1 (a microtubule-associated RhoA guanosine exchange factor), and siRNA-mediated depletion of GEF-H1 prevented BepC-induced stress fiber formation. Interaction with BepC caused the dissociation of GEF-H1 from microtubules and activation of RhoA to induce formation of stress fibers. The ROCK (Rho-associated protein kinase) inhibitor Y27632 completely blocked BepC effects on stress fiber formation and cell contractility. Moreover, stress fiber formation by BepC increased the stability of focal adhesions, which consequently impeded rear-edge detachment. Overall, our study revealed that BepC-induced stress fiber formation was achieved through the GEF-H1/RhoA/ROCK pathway. Author summary: Intracellular pathogens modulate host cell actin cytoskeleton by secreting an array of effector molecules to ensure their cell invasion and intracellular survival. The zoonotic pathogen Bartonella spp trigger massive F-actin polymerization of host cells resulting the internalization of large bacterial aggregates (called "invasome" structure), which is dependent on a functional VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system (T4SS) and its translocated Bep effector proteins. Here, we have used cell infection and ectopic expression assay to identify that Bartonella T4SS effector BepC induces stress fiber formation in infected host cells. However, BepC also disrupts the balance of stress fiber formation and focal adhesion maturation, and eventually causes cell fragmentation. Using immunoprecipitation and RNAi approaches, we identify GEF-H1 is the host factor targeted by BepC. Interaction with BepC induces the release of GEF-H1 from microtubules to plasma membrane and subsequently activates RhoA-ROCK to induce stress fiber formation. These findings shed light on our understanding of how Bartonella invade host cell and establish infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electro-mechanical brake booster (EMBB) is a kind of mechatronic actuator, which is developed to suit the brake assist requirement of electric vehicles. In this paper, we report on the design of an EMBB system consisting of a dc motor, a two-state reduction of a gear and ball screw, a servo body, and a reaction disk. Considering the inconvenience of installation and high price of the pedal force sensor, we translate the control problem of brake power assist control to position tracking control. Meanwhile, a nonlinear control method for position tracking is presented to solve the problem of power assist braking, which is formalized as three parts: the steady-state control, feed-forward control based on reference dynamics, and state-dependent feedback control. The benefit of the nonlinear control method is that it offers a concise control law and performs well in engineering implementations. In addition, a second-order filter was designed to do the signal processing and obtain a higher-order derivative. Finally, the bench tests based on rapid control prototyping environment were designed and implemented to verify the performance of the controller. Test results show that both the position tracking performance and response time of the EMBB system performed well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antenna-on-chip (AoC) presents an excellent solution for applications requiring higher integration levels and lower cost; however, its radiation performance is poor due to the inherent lossy Si substrate in conventional complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) processes. It is well known that every chip requires a package to protect it from the environment; however, this package does not provide any functionality, despite adding to the cost and required space. In this article, we propose a functional package that has been designed to enhance the gain of the AoC. A 71 GHz coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed on-chip monopole antenna, driven by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and frequency doubler, was realized in the standard 0.18 $\mu \text{m}$ CMOS technology. As a first step to enhance its gain, the AoC was designed on top of an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) surface. Further gain enhancement was achieved by transforming the chip package into a combination of a superstrate layer and a Fresnel lens, qualifying this as a system-on-package (SoP). The package has been realized through additive manufacturing to maintain the low-cost aspect. Overall, the measured gain of the packaged AoC is 6.8 dBi, which has been enhanced by ~20 dBs compared to the unpackaged antenna without an AMC layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dynamically changed levels of serum cytokines might predict the development of active TB from latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and monitor preventive treatment effectiveness. The aim of the study was to identify potential serum cytokines associated with LTBI treatment which might predict active disease development in a Chinese population.Methods: Based on a randomized controlled trial aiming to explore short-course regimens for LTBI treatment, the dynamic changes of serum cytokines determined by bead-based multiplex assays were investigated for the participants who developed active TB during follow-up and age and gender matched controls stayed healthy.Results: Totally, 21 patients diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) during the 2-year follow-up (12 from treated groups and 9 from untreated controls) and 42 age and gender matched healthy controls (24 from treated groups and 18 from untreated controls) were included in the study. Before treatment, serum IL-1ra was statistically higher among those who developed active disease during follow-up as compared with those stayed healthy. As for treated participants, the levels of IL-1ra were significantly lower after treatment in comparison with those before treatment both in active TB group (p = 0.002) and non-TB group (p = 0.009). For untreated participants, the levels of IL-1ra were not statistically different between different time points both in active TB group (p = 0.078) and non-TB group (p = 0.265).Conclusion: Our results suggested that declined serum level of IL-1ra was associated with LTBI treatment. Further studies are needed to verify whether it could be used to evaluate LTBI treatment and to predict active disease development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]