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The invasive golden apple snail Pomacea canaliculata has a strong reproductive capacity and has rapidly spread in Asian countries. Current control methods include physical, chemical, and biological approaches, but there has been limited research on the control of P. canaliculata in its different life stages. This study assessed the effectiveness of using giant river prawns Macrobrachium rosenbergii in controlling juveniles of P. canaliculata through a controlled indoor experiment. The density, size, and dispersal range of recently hatched juvenile snails were significantly lower among those kept with prawns than those kept without prawns, indicating a control effect of M. rosenbergii at least on P. canaliculata juveniles. Furthermore, the study speculates on the potential application of M. rosenbergii in the context of a rice–prawn symbiotic system of ecological farming to control invasive P. canaliculata. In terms of effectiveness and safety, its application might lead to a win-win situation for both rice-farm profits and the ecological benefits of invasive species control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality-related prediction in the continuous-casting process is important for the quality and process control of casting slabs. As intelligent manufacturing technologies continue to evolve, numerous data-driven techniques have been available for industrial applications. This case study was aimed at developing a machine-learning algorithm, capable of predicting slag inclusion defects in continuous-casting slabs, based on process condition sensor data. A large dataset consisting of sensor data from nearly 7300 casting samples has been analyzed, with the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm utilized to process the multi-modal time series. The following machine-learning algorithms have been examined: K-Nearest neighbors, support vector classifier (linear and nonlinear kernels), decision trees, random forests, AdaBoost, and Artificial Neural Networks. Four over-sampling or under-sampling algorithms have been adopted to solve imbalanced data distribution. In the experiment, the optimized random forest outperformed other machine-learning algorithms in terms of recall and ROC AUC, which could provide valuable insights for quality control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the change of climate issues and the needs of economic development, the idea of practicing green and low-carbon behaviors sinks deeper and deeper into people's hearts. This paper based on the social cost of carbon (SCC) model, this paper constructs a new carbon social cost model by adding the impact of green low-carbon behavior. Classify climate states, based on Bayesian statistical knowledge, study the posterior probability distribution of climate state transitions, and discuss the optimal carbon policy for different climate states by balancing emission utility costs and utility weighted carbon marginal products. This article also discusses the damage caused by rising temperatures and explores their impact on carbon price policies. then, the paper calculates SCC under four kinds of climate states, which will be visually displayed with graphs. Finally, we compare SCC obtained in this paper with that in other researches. The results show that: (1) Climate status has a significant impact on carbon policy, and carbon price predictions will dynamically change with climate status. (2) Green low-carbon behavior has a positive impact on climate status. (3) There are differences in the impact of the three types of damage caused by rising temperatures on carbon price policies. (4) Green development is conducive to stabilizing the value of SCC. (5) Close monitoring of the climate state helps to update the probability of damage in time so that we can precisely adjust the corresponding policies on SCC. This study provides theoretical and empirical reference for the government to formulate carbon price policies and promote the development of social green behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: The I3− additive promoted in situ formation of zincophilic Cu nanoclusters on commercial Cu foil, which achieves uniform Zn deposition with ultralow nucleation overpotential and high reversibility. The Zn-rich ZnI2 cathode confined by graphene/polyvinyl pyrrolidone heterostructure shows enhanced conductivity and shuttle effect suppression, providing sufficient Zn2+ for the anode stably. The assembled anode-free Zn-iodine battery exhibits attractive features for commercialization: low cost, fast production, significantly increased energy density and durable cycle stability under practical application conditions.The anode-free design is a promising strategy to increase the energy density of aqueous Zn metal batteries (AZMBs). However, the scarcity of Zn-rich cathodes and the rapid loss of limited Zn greatly hinder their commercial applications. To address these issues, a novel anode-free Zn-iodine battery (AFZIB) was designed via a simple, low-cost and scalable approach. Iodine plays bifunctional roles in improving the AFZIB overall performance: enabling high-performance Zn-rich cathode and modulating Zn deposition behavior. On the cathode side, the ZnI2 serves as Zn-rich cathode material. The graphene/polyvinyl pyrrolidone heterostructure was employed as an efficient host for ZnI2 to enhance electron conductivity and suppress the shuttle effect of iodine species. On the anode side, trace I3− additive in the electrolyte creates surface reconstruction on the commercial Cu foil. The in situ formed zincophilic Cu nanocluster allows ultralow-overpotential and uniform Zn deposition and superior reversibility (average coulombic efficiency > 99.91% over 7,000 cycles). Based on such a configuration, AFZIB exhibits significantly increased energy density (162 Wh kg−1) and durable cycle stability (63.8% capacity retention after 200 cycles) under practical application conditions. Considering the low cost and simple preparation methods of the electrode materials, this work paves the way for the practical application of AZMBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza A viruses (IAV) exhibit vast genetic mutability and have great zoonotic potential to infect avian and mammalian hosts and are known to be responsible for a number of pandemics. A key computational issue in influenza prevention and control is the identification of molecular signatures with cross-species transmission potential. We propose an adjusted entropy-based host-specific signature identification method that uses a similarity coefficient to incorporate the amino acid substitution information and improve the identification performance. Mutations in the polymerase genes (e.g., PB2) are known to play a major role in avian influenza virus adaptation to mammalian hosts. We thus focus on the analysis of PB2 protein sequences and identify host specific PB2 amino acid signatures. Results: Validation with a set of H5N1 PB2 sequences from 1996 to 2006 results in adjusted entropy having a 40% false negative discovery rate compared to a 60% false negative rate using unadjusted entropy. Simulations across different levels of sequence divergence show a false negative rate of no higher than 10% while unadjusted entropy ranged from 9 to 100%. In addition, under all levels of divergence adjusted entropy never had a false positive rate higher than 9%. Adjusted entropy also identifies important mutations in H1N1pdm PB2 previously identified in the literature that explain changes in divergence between 2008 and 2009 which unadjusted entropy could not identify. Conclusions: Based on these results, adjusted entropy provides a reliable and widely applicable host signature identification approach useful for IAV monitoring and vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coal ash and AAEMs have a significant promoting effect on the NH 3 oxidation. • AAEMs promote the decomposition of N 2 O at 800 °C. • Alkali metals (K and Na) only promote the reduction of NO at 600–800 °C. • AAEMs enhance the adsorption capacity of NH 3 on the active site of the coal ash. • A appropriate O 2 concentration should be selected for the power plant. Ammonia as an eco-friendly and carbon-free energy has been greatly concerned at home and abroad. It has been utilized in the ammonia and coal co-firing process, demonstrating robust market viability. Nonetheless, due to the element N within ammonia causing the production of NO x , the catalytic effect and reaction mechanics of AAEMs in coal ash on the NH 3 oxidation remain elusive. In this study, the catalytic effects of AAEMs (K, Ca, Na and Mg) on NH 3 oxidation were investigated through experiments, and the reaction mechanism was elucidated from a microscopic perspective by density functional theory (DFT). The experimental results show that the addition of AAEMs does enhance the oxidation potential of NH 3 during coal and ammonia co-firing process, and promote the transformation of NH 3 to NO, N 2 O and N 2. However, the promotion effect of different AAEMs is different, consequently influencing the selectivity of NH 3 oxidation pathway. At 600–800 °C, alkaline earth metals (Ca and Mg) facilitate the oxidation of NH 3 while alkali metals (K and Na) have the opposite effect. Mg has the highest promoting effect on the conversion of NH 3 to NO at 600–800 °C, but the catalytic effect of K and Na is more dominant from 800 °C to 900 °C. The transformation from NH 3 to N 2 O remains the same, but the catalytic impact of Ca is mostly pronounced. AAEMs can reduce thermal decomposition activation energy of N 2 O, and the decomposition of N 2 O can be promoted at 800 °C. The DFT results indicate that AAEMs can enhance the adsorption capacity of NH 3 on the active site of the coal ash surface, and reduce the activation energy of NH 3 oxidation, thereby accelerating the transformation of NH 3 to other nitrogen-containing species. This study provides new insight into the evidence for the enhanced catalytic effect of AAEMs on NH 3 oxidation during ammonia and coal co-firing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intensive aquaculture farming has caused significant degradation of coastal wetlands and has been proposed as a reservoir for pathogenic Vibrio spp. Results: Gut pathogens including Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp., and Klebsiella spp. were isolated from bird feces, shrimp and wetland water in two typical coastal regions of China in 2015 and 2017 and were subsequently subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Meanwhile, local patient isolates were also selected to confirm the epidemiological links. Bacterial community composition analyses of the sediments that were sampled in 2015 and 2017 were conducted by the hypervariable region 4 of the 16S rRNA gene. Together with the local clinical isolates, we observed highly related Vibrio isolates from waterbirds, wetlands and shrimp. Phylogenetic genome comparisons also demonstrated that sequence types ST3 and ST2414 Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates obtained from aquatic animals were clonally related to patient isolates. Likewise, three Salmonella typhimurium isolates were also genomically related to one clinical strain. The results showed that farming activities significantly altered the community composition and resulted in the emergence of several pathogens, including Acinetobacter, Mycobacterium and Legionella. Conclusions: In conclusion, our results demonstrated that intensive shrimp farming in wetlands has two devastating impacts: pathogen dissemination from aquatic animals into migratory birds and transmission of foodborne pathogens into local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase-4 (ACSL4) is involved in fatty acid metabolism, and aberrant ACSL4 expression could be either tumorigenic or tumor-suppressive in different tumor types. However, the function and clinical significance of ACSL4 in lung adenocarcinoma remain elusive. Results: ACSL4 was frequently downregulated in lung adenocarcinoma when analyzing both the TCGA database and the validation samples, and the lower ACSL4 expression was correlated with a worse prognosis. Using gene set enrichment analysis, we found that high ACSL4 expression was frequently associated with the oxidative stress pathway, especially ferroptosis-related proteins. In vitro functional studies showed that knockdown of ACSL4 increased tumor survival/invasiveness and inhibited ferroptosis, while ACSL4 overexpression exhibited the opposite effects. Moreover, high-fat treatment could also inhibit erastin-induced ferroptosis by affecting ACSL4 expression. The anti-tumor effects of ferroptosis inducers and the anti-ferroptosis effects of the high-fat diet were further validated using the mouse xenograft model. Conclusions: ACSL4 plays a tumor-suppressive role in lung adenocarcinoma by suppressing tumor survival/invasiveness and promoting ferroptosis. Our study provided a theoretical reference for the application of ferroptotic inducers and dietary guidance for lung adenocarcinoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The co-agglomeration accentuates haze pollution. • Co-agglomeration has obvious spatial effects on haze pollution. • The pollution effect of co-agglomeration is weakened with the improvement of the economic level. • Technological innovation has an inhibitory effect on the pollution effect of co-agglomeration. The issue of haze in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration has significant implications for China. Concurrently, co-agglomeration and technological innovation are key factors influencing haze pollution. Using the panel data composed of PM2.5 concentration and other data from 27cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration between 2010 and 2020, this paper empirically investigates the impact of co-agglomeration and technological innovation on haze pollution. From this rigorous analysis, several conclusions crystallize: (1)the co-agglomeration of productive services and manufacturing accentuates haze pollution, showcasing notable regional variances;(2)the haze pollution has a significant positive correlation with the co-agglomeration levels in local and neighboring regions;(3)the negative consequences of co-agglomeration on environments reduce as the agglomeration of productive services and economic development increases;(4)technological innovation significantly moderates the pollution effects of co-agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the presence of waterborne pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is crucial for managing the environmental quality of drinking water sources. However, detecting low abundance pathogens in such settings is challenging. In this study, a workflow was developed to enrich for broad spectrum pathogens from drinking water samples. A mock community was used to evaluate the effectiveness of various enrichment broths in detecting low-abundance pathogens. Monthly metagenomic surveillance was conducted in a drinking water source from May to September 2021, and water samples were subjected to five enrichment procedures for 6 h to recover the majority of waterborne bacterial pathogens. Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) was used for metagenomic sequencing of enriched samples to obtain high-quality pathogen genomes. The results showed that selective enrichment significantly increased the proportions of targeted bacterial pathogens. Compared to direct metagenomic sequencing of untreated water samples, targeted enrichment followed by ONT sequencing significantly improved the detection of waterborne pathogens and the quality of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). Eighty-six high-quality MAGs, including 70 pathogen MAGs, were obtained from ONT sequencing, while only 12 MAGs representing 10 species were obtained from direct metagenomic sequencing of untreated water samples. In addition, ONT sequencing improved the recovery of mobile genetic elements and the accuracy of phylogenetic analysis. This study highlights the urgent need for efficient methodologies to detect and manage microbial risks in drinking water sources. The developed workflow provides a cost-effective approach for environmental management of drinking water sources with microbial risks. The study also uncovered pathogens that were not detected by traditional methods, thereby advancing microbial risk management of drinking water sources. [Display omitted] • An enrichment workflow targeted on enteric pathogens was developewd for uncovering pathogen genomes from drinking water. • Targeted enrichment followed ONT sequencing significantly improved the detection of waterborne pathogens. • This workflow also improved the recovery of mobile genetic elements and assessed the transferability of majority of ARGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aspirin is a classic anti‐inflammatory drug and its anticancer effect has been previously explored in many types of cancer including colorectal cancer therapy. Programmed cell death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) is widely expressed in tumor cells and displays an inhibitory role in antitumor immunity. This study aimed to clarify the role of PD‐L1 in aspirin‐suppressed lung cancer. Methods: The inhibitory effect of aspirin on lung cancer cell proliferation was assessed using an MTT cell viability assay. The role of aspirin in the modulation of PD‐L1 expression was analyzed by western blot or RT‐PCR assays. In lung cancer cells, the influence of aspirin on PD‐L1 promoter activity was detected using a luciferase reporter assay. The interaction of TAZ with PD‐L1 promoter in the cells, with or without aspirin administration, was tested via chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis. The function of PD‐L1 in aspirin‐mediated growth inhibition of lung cancer was examined using a cell viability assay. Results: Following treatment with aspirin, lung cancer cell growth was markedly suppressed. Aspirin was able to markedly decrease the expression of PD‐L1 at the mRNA and protein levels in lung cancer cells. For the mechanism study, we found that the promoter of PD‐L1 was inactivated by aspirin via TAZ transcriptional coactivator in the cells. With regard to the functional investigation, aspirin was capable of resisting cell proliferation and PD‐L1 overexpression abolished aspirin‐depressed cell proliferation in lung cancer. Conclusions: Aspirin suppressed the growth of lung cancer cells via targeting the TAZ/PD‐L1 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparing to the water fracturing fluid regularly used in the hydraulic fracturing operation, supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) as a promising nonaqueous fracturing fluid has the great potential for the improvement of production and protection of shale reservoir. This paper presents an experimental study of the mechanical response and fracture propagation of shale fractured using water and SC-CO2 under the different stress status and injection rate. According to the experimental results, SC-CO2 fracturing is more time-consuming due to its compressibility which takes about 20 times more time than hydraulic fracturing using water under the same preset conditions. The breakdown pressure of shale can be affected by not only the anisotropy of itself but also the external factors like injection rate and deviator stress. Similar tendency of the breakdown pressure with the variation of bedding orientation can be observed in both of the fracturing using water and SC-CO2. However, all of the shale specimens fractured using SC-CO2 show smaller breakdown pressure if compared with the shale specimens fractured using water. According to the results of fracture width evolution monitored by circumference during the fracturing, the fracture propping and proper size of the proppant are really important for the hydraulic fracturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradable protective articles made of thermoplastic polyvinyl alcohol (TPVA) are widely used in nuclear power plants, and they are thermally decomposed after use to reduce solid waste. However, in the real decomposition of TPVA, the temperature in the oxidation reactor is not self-sustaining; as a result, the degradation products contain a lot of CO, resulting in more pollution and energy waste. In this paper, jet stirred reactor (JSR) and Chemkin software were used to study the reaction kinetics characteristics of the oxidation process of degradation products from TPVA in the range of 550 °C–700 °C. Both experiments and kinetic simulation show that a higher average temperature of the oxidation reactor is needed to achieve lower CO emissions. When using 5% or 10% TPVA degradation solution, the average temperature should not befall below 625 °C or 675 °C. The corresponding residence time should be greater than 6 s and 5 s respectively. The combination of research findings and engineering practice provides great help to the optimization of the actual work process. • The temperature and residence time required for the complete degradation of thermoplastic polyvinyl alcohol after preliminary oxidation with the Fenton method were studied in a jet stirred reactor. • Ketones, the main products of TPVA initial degradation, are used as combustible materials after solution gasification to simulate the oxidation process simulation. • The simulated data are in good agreement with the experimental data. • This article produces cloud maps of operating conditions corresponding to different CO and CH 4 emission standards to guide similar engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic fracturing using freshwater is difficult for the commercial exploitation of a shale oil reservoir in Jianghan Basin with a continental saline lake basin sedimentary background. Supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) is a promising fracturing fluid under consideration for the reservoir stimulation, especially in the case of the presence of water sensible salt layers. In this study, SC-CO2 fracturing experiments on the inter-salt-shale and salt specimens, which were obtained from the drilling well, were carried out in the laboratory. The characteristics of fracture propagation, including morphology and width variation, were analyzed based on the observations of a stereoscopic microscope, X-ray micro-CT scanner, and 3D scanner. The existing weak planes in the shale can really impact the fracture propagation in SC-CO2 fracturing. Deflection, branching, and approaching can occur during the process of fracture propagation. The average width value of the reactivated natural fracture is bigger than that of a newly created fracture. In addition, the fracturing results indicate the greater breakdown pressure of rock salt if compared with the inter-salt-shale. The induced fractures in the salt specimen are compact and smaller in average width than those in the shale specimen. The higher breakdown pressure and relatively smaller fracture width of rock salt are real challenges for the fracturing of an inter-salt-shale oil reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: It is clinically challenging to infer the phylogenetic relationship between different tumor lesions of patients with multiple synchronous lung cancers (MSLC), whether these lesions are the result of independently evolved tumor or intrapulmonary metastases. Methods: We used the Illumina X10 platform to sequence 128 stage I lung cancer samples collected from 64 patients with MSLC. All samples were analyzed for mutation spectra and phylogenetic inference. Results: We detected genetic aberrations within genes previously reported to be recurrently altered in lung adenocarcinoma including, EGFR, ERBB2, TP53, BRAF, and KRAS. Other putative driver mutations identified were enriched in RTK‐RAS signaling, TP53 signaling, and cell cycle. Also, we found some interesting cases, two cases that carried EGFR L858R and T790M co‐mutation in one tumor and another tumor with only EGFR 19del, and 1 case with two KRAS hotspots in the same tumor. Due to the short follow‐up time and early stage, further investigation is needed to determine whether this unique mutation profile will affect their progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Regarding genetic evolution analysis among 64 tumor samples, 50 of them display distinct mutational profiles, suggesting these are independently evolved tumors, which is consistent with histopathological assessment. On the other hand, six patients were identified to be intrapulmonary metastasis as the mutations harbored in different lesions are clonally related. Conclusion: In summary, unlike intrapulmonary metastases, patients with MSLC harbor distinct genomic profiles in different tumor lesions, and we could distinguish MSLC from intrapulmonary metastases via clonality estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is the third most frequent human malignant tumour and the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Emerging lines of evidence have demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are upregulated or downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and this phenomenon is involved in the regulation of various processes during tumorigenesis and progression, including tumour groWTh, apoptosis, cell invasion, and tumour metastasis. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanism that associates abnormally expressed miRNAs with NSCLC formation and development may lead to the identification of novel diagnostic, and therapeutic targets for patients with NSCLC. miRNA-584 (miR-584) functions as a tumour suppressor in several types of cancer. However, the expression pattern, detailed biological function and underlying molecular mechanism of miR-584 in NSCLC remain unclear. Therefore, the present study detected the expression of miR-584 in NSCLC, investigated its role in NSCLC cells and determined its underlying molecular mechanism. In the current study, it was demonstrated that miR-584 was downregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Low miR-584 expression was correlated with tumour size, tumour node metastasis stage and distant metastasis. Overexpression of miR-584 inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in NSCLC. Additionally, metadherin was identified as a direct target gene of miR-584 in NSCLC as confirmed by a series of experiments. Moreover, upregulation of miR-584 was involved in the regulation of the phosphatase and tensin homolog/Akt serine/threonine kinase signalling pathway in NSCLC. Thus, miR-584 may serve as a tumor-suppressor, and the results of the present study provide a reference for future research into the potential mechanisms underlying NSCLC progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring carbon footprint and controlling carbon emissions across a supply chain have gained considerable attention. This study investigates the effects of carbon emissions within the framework of air freight integrator shipment planning, with integration and consolidation. A mixed 0–1 Linear Programming (LP) model is formulated to examine the effects of operational adjustments on carbon emissions and cost performance, as well as the effects of carbon emissions regulations on operational decisions. Sensitivity analysis is performed to examine different carbon emissions policies and operational environments. Reducing carbon emissions through operational adjustments is feasible at the expense of some increase in cost. Thus, reducing carbon emissions may be considered an alternative or a supplement to more costly carbon-reducing technologies. Policies implemented to control carbon emissions can affect operational decisions when carbon tax/price is high enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federated learning has attracted much attention in fault diagnosis since it can effectively protect data privacy. However, efficient fault diagnosis performance relies on the uninterrupted training of model parameters with massive amounts of perfect data. To solve the problems of model training difficulty and parameter negative transfer caused by data corruption, a novel cross-device fault diagnosis method based on repaired data is proposed. Specifically, the local model training link in each source client performs random forest regression fitting on the fault samples with missing fragments, and then the repaired data is used for network training. To avoid inpainting fragments to produce the wrong characteristics of faulty samples, joint domain discrepancy loss is introduced to correct the phenomenon of parameter bias during local model training. Considering the randomness of the overall performance change brought about by the local model update, an adaptive update is proposed for each round of global model download and local model update. Finally, the experimental verification was carried out in various industrial scenarios established by three sets of bearing data sets, and the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of fault diagnosis performance and data privacy protection was verified by comparison with various currently popular federated transfer learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China's speedy economic development, the problems of energy consumption and environmental pollution have become increasingly prominent. A question worth in-depth study is whether ecological civilization (EC) construction, one of the main policies to solve China's severe environmental and ecological problems, affects carbon dioxide emissions (CDE). In this study, we use a novel method proposed by Hsiao et al. (2012) to estimate the average treatment effect by using panel data to study the impact of establishing the EC pilot zones of China on CDE. The results show that, although EC construction is effective in reducing CDE, the impact varies from region to region. The study findings can provide a scientific basis to promote the experience of EC construction better and improve its CDE effect. • Impact of ecological civilization pilot zones on carbon emissions is studied. • An empirical analysis is conducted based on the HCW method. • Effects of ecological civilization on reducing carbon emissions vary by area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does energy-saving have a positive effect on the long-term development of enterprises? To answer this question, this study uses the propensity score matching (PSM) method to determine the impact of enterprises completing energy-saving objectives on their financial performance based on data from an industrial enterprise database in China. The results show that industrial enterprises that have completed the energy-saving target have advantages in profitability, operational and financial indicators but have deficiencies in debt indicators, and there is no significant difference in the ratio of profits to cost and expense. The research results of high energy-consuming industry are the same as the overall sample of industrial enterprises in terms of operational and financial indicators, and debt ratio indicators. Nevertheless, energy saving has no significant impact on profit and ratio of profits to cost of high energy-consuming industry. • Impact of energy saving on financial performance of industrial enterprises in China was studied. • An empirical analysis was conducted based on propensity score matching method. • Energy saving positively influences profitability, operational and financial indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: China is one of the major energy-consuming and carbon-emitting countries. Promotion of efficient energy use is crucial in reducing energy consumption and carbon emission. Under external pressure and realizing the importance of energy conservation, many firms have adopted measures to save energy. Such measures entail active employee participation. However, employees often lack motivation and thus do not actively participate in energy saving activities. Studies on factors that drive employee energy saving remain scarce. To fill this gap in research, drawing on theory of planned behavior and taking office workers as example, we develop a model for studying the antecedents of employee electricity saving behavior in organizations. The model was empirically examined using survey data collected from office workers in Beijing, China. Results show that employee attitude toward electricity saving and perceived behavioral control positively influence employee intention to save electricity. Environmental benefit, organizational benefit, enjoyment, and organizational electricity saving climate positively influence employee attitude toward electricity saving, whereas the effect of anticipated extrinsic benefit is found insignificant. This study contributes to research on energy saving by presenting the energy saving behaviors of employees, which remains largely ignored in the current literature despite its importance. The implications of promoting employee electricity saving are discussed in accordance with the study findings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] We study determinants of employee electricity saving habit in organization. [•] The model was tested using survey data collected from office workers in China. [•] Enjoyment, image, personal norm and perceived harm positively influence habit. [•] Anticipated extrinsic benefit and perceived threat didn’t have significant effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption has caused major crises and severe global challenges, such as environmental problems and climate change. Household appliances are highly utilized products that consume considerable electricity. The wide adoption of energy-saving appliances saves power resources and promotes the development of low-carbon economy. However, energy-saving appliances are usually more expensive than ordinary household appliances, thereby hindering their widespread adoption. Therefore, the factors influencing consumers' willingness to pay a price premium for energy-saving appliances should be explored. A comprehensive model was constructed based on the theory of planned behavior and consumer perceived value literature. The influencing factors were identified in terms of product, consumer, and regulation and publicity. Data were collected through questionnaire survey method, as it is suitable for collecting data on human beliefs and perceptions. 327 valid responses were obtained from the survey, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares. Results show that consumers' attitude toward purchasing energy-saving appliances positively impacts willingness to pay a price premium. Consumer perceived quality, price, emotional, and environmental values significantly and positively impact consumers' purchasing attitude. Furthermore, the perceived effectiveness of energy efficiency labeling institutional mechanism and personal norm significantly and positively influences consumers' purchasing attitude. Nevertheless, social value, environmental awareness, and media publicity do not significantly affect consumers' purchasing attitude. Finally, suggestions on how to promote energy-saving appliances were proposed. • Determinates of willingness to pay a price premium for energy-saving appliances are identified. • The concept of perceived effectiveness of energy label institutional mechanism is proposed. • Dimensions of perceived value of energy-saving appliances are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, a new green behavior mobile application named Ant Forest was lunched, in which users can plant trees to protect the environment. Ant Forest offers an information technology based way that enables people to engage in green behavior. The application has attracted a large number of users, and millions of trees have been planted. However, the users' participation in this new kind of green behavior has been rarely studied in current literature. To fill this gap, we built a research model to study antecedents of user's continue intention to use Ant Forest. Survey data were collected from Ant Forest users and 278 valid questionnaires were received. Partial least squares path modeling method was used to analyze the data. Results show that satisfaction influence users' intention to continue using Ant Forest. Environmental concern, perceived enjoyment, and game interaction have positive influence on satisfaction, while perceived cost has negative influence on satisfaction. This paper contributes to researchers' understanding of green and low-carbon behaviors. In addition, suggestions on promoting new forms of green and low-carbon behavior were proposed for policy makers, and management suggestions on how to promote Ant Forest were also proposed which may benefit Ant Forest managers. • We studied a new kind of green behavior—planting trees in Ant Forest. • Satisfaction with Ant Forest positively influence intention to continue using. • Environmental concern, enjoyment, and game interaction positively influence satisfaction. • Perceived cost negatively influences satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Quantitative determination of protein thermodynamic stability is a critical step in protein and drug design. Reliable prediction of protein stability changes caused by point variations contributes to developing-related fields. Over the past decades, dozens of structure-based and sequence-based methods have been proposed, showing good prediction performance. Despite the impressive progress, it is necessary to explore wild-type and variant protein representations to address the problem of how to represent the protein stability change in view of global sequence. With the development of structure prediction using learning-based methods, protein language models (PLMs) have shown accurate and high-quality predictions of protein structure. Because PLM captures the atomic-level structural information, it can help to understand how single-point variations cause functional changes. Results Here, we proposed THPLM, a sequence-based deep learning model for stability change prediction using Meta's ESM-2. With ESM-2 and a simple convolutional neural network, THPLM achieved comparable or even better performance than most methods, including sequence-based and structure-based methods. Furthermore, the experimental results indicate that the PLM's ability to generate representations of sequence can effectively improve the ability of protein function prediction. Availability and implementation The source code of THPLM and the testing data can be accessible through the following links: https://github.com/FPPGroup/THPLM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct combustion of solid biomass fuel is one of the most common energy sources in developing countries. Evaluation of technology for household biomass pellet fuel combustion is critical, since promoting poorly designed devices may have risks due to exposure to high levels of emissions. This study evaluated the effects of various testing conditions on a top-lit forced-up-draft semi-gasifier cooking stove. An orthogonal test was designed with different fuel masses, chamber heights, air supply rates, and ending points. The investigation showed that using forced secondary air and more fuel tended to improve both thermal and gas emissions performance. The ending points did not have significant effects on thermal efficiency or the carbon dioxide emission factor, but did affect particulate matter emission. A relatively lower chamber height demonstrated better performance on thermal metrics. However, a taller flame had better performance on particulate matter emission factors. The results of the indicators reported by different bases, such as fuel mass-based or useful energy-based were also quite different. The study showed that different testing conditions had significant effects on combustion performances. Testing sequences and emission factors should be reviewed and defined clearly when forming testing methods and standards for biomass pellet fuel combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High content of organic matter in the downstream of watersheds underscored the severity of non-point source (NPS) pollution. The major objectives of this study were to characterize and quantify dissolved organic matter (DOM) in watersheds affected by NPS pollution, and to apply self-organizing map (SOM) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) to assess fluorescence properties as proxy indicators for NPS pollution and labor-intensive routine water quality indicators. Water from upstreams and downstreams was sampled to measure dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and excitation-emission matrix (EEM). Five fluorescence components were modeled with PARAFAC. The regression analysis between PARAFAC intensities (Fmax) and raw EEM measurements indicated that several raw fluorescence measurements at target excitation-emission wavelength region could provide similar DOM information to massive EEM measurements combined with PARAFAC. Regression analysis between DOC concentration and raw EEM measurements suggested that some regions in raw EEM could be used as surrogates for labor-intensive routine indicators. SOM can be used to visualize the occurrence of pollution. Relationship between DOC concentration and PARAFAC components analyzed with SOM suggested that PARAFAC component 2 might be the major part of bulk DOC and could be recognized as a proxy indicator to predict the DOC concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of the spotted fever group rickettsia express four large, surface-exposed autotransporters, at least one of which is a known virulence determinant. Autotransporter translocation to the bacterial outer surface, also known as type V secretion, involves formation of a β-barrel autotransporter domain in the periplasm that inserts into the outer membrane to form a pore through which the N-terminal passenger domain is passed and exposed on the outer surface. Two major surface antigens of Rickettsia rickettsii, are known to be surface exposed and the passenger domain cleaved from the autotransporter domain. A highly passaged strain of R. rickettsii, Iowa, fails to cleave these autotransporters and is avirulent. We have identified a putative peptidase, truncated in the Iowa strain, that when reconstituted into Iowa restores appropriate processing of the autotransporters as well as restoring a modest degree of virulence. Author summary: Strains of R. rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, differ greatly in the severity of the disease caused. The genetic differences responsible for this disparity are only now being uncovered. An avirulent, laboratory adapted strain of R. rickettsii fails to proteolytically process several large surface protein antigens. We have identified a protease that cleaves the protein precursors to their mature form. The gene encoding this protease is mutated in the avirulent strain. Complementation of the active form of the gene identifies proteolytic processing of surface antigens as important to virulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes an approach to minimize the maximum makespan of the integrated scheduling problem in flexible job-shop environments, taking into account conflict-free routing problems. A hybrid genetic algorithm is developed for production scheduling, and the optimal ranges of crossover and mutation probabilities are also discussed. The study applies the proposed algorithm to 82 test problems and demonstrates its superior performance over the Sliding Time Window (STW) heuristic proposed by Bilge and the Genetic Algorithm proposed by Ulusoy (UGA). For conflict-free routing problems of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), the genetic algorithm based on AGV coding is used to study the AGV scheduling problem, and specific solutions are proposed to solve different conflicts. In addition, sensors on the AGVs provide real-time data to ensure that the AGVs can navigate through the environment safely and efficiently without causing any conflicts or collisions with other AGVs or objects in the environment. The Dijkstra algorithm based on a time window is used to calculate the shortest paths for all AGVs. Empirical evidence on the feasibility of the proposed approach is presented in a study of a real flexible job-shop. This approach can provide a highly efficient and accurate scheduling method for manufacturing enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inventory analysis of greenhouse gas emission for large-scale biogas plants using carbon footprint method still needs to be improved. Based on the life cycle theory, the application of carbon footprint on four large-scale biogas plants was analyzed in this paper, which comprehensively considered project progresses of civil engineering construction, operation and comprehensive utilization of residues and slurry. Also the greenhouse gas emissions during the construction and waste removal stages were analyzed and estimated. The carbon footprint of those plants was analyzed in different types and scales. The results showed that the larger scale plant will produce relatively lower carbon footprint. The greenhouse gas emission of energy production, utilization during the period of anaerobic digestion accounted for more than 96% of the entire life cycle emission. The proportion of greenhouse gas emissions on equipment, demolition recycling and transportation phases was smaller, which was less than 1.5% and should be simplified in calculation. The greenhouse gas emission of building materials production can be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence and removal of 38 antibiotics from nine classes in two drinking water treatment plants (WTPs) were monitored monthly over one year to evaluate the efficiency of typical treatment processes, track the source of antibiotics in tap water and assess their potential risks to ecosystem and human health. In both source waters, 18 antibiotics were detected at least once, with average total antibiotic concentrations of 538.5 ng/L in WTP1 and 569.3 ng/L in WTP2. The coagulation/flocculation and sedimentation, sand filtration and granular activated carbon processes demonstrated limited removal efficiencies. Chlorination, on the other hand, effectively eliminated antibiotics by 48.7 ± 11.9%. Interestingly, negative removal was observed along the distribution system, resulting in a significant antibiotic presence in tap water, with average concentrations of 131.5 ng/L in WTP1 and 362.8 ng/L in WTP2. Source tracking analysis indicates that most antibiotics in tap water may originate from distribution system. The presence of antibiotics in raw water and tap water posed risks to the aquatic ecosystem. Untreated or partially treated raw water could pose a medium risk to infants under six months. Water parameters, for example, temperature, total nitrogen and total organic carbon, can serve as indicators to estimate antibiotic occurrence and associated risks. Furthermore, machine learning models were developed that successfully predicted risk levels using water quality parameters. Our study provides valuable insights into the occurrence, removal and risk of antibiotics in urban WTPs, contributing to the broader understanding of antibiotic pollution in water treatment systems. [Display omitted] • 18 antibiotics were detected in raw water from two drinking water systems. • Temperature, TN and TOC could be used to estimate antibiotic occurrence. • A majority of antibiotics in tap water could originate from the distribution systems. • Antibiotics in raw water and tap water posed medium to high level of risks. • Machine learning models were developed successfully to predict the antibiotics risk levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xinjiazui gold deposit, a newly discovered deposit, is situated in the northwestern margin of the Yangtze Block, China. The source and genesis of gold mineralization are poorly understood. It is urgent to use the H–O isotopic composition of quartz and geochemistry of pyrite to evaluate the origins of the Au and ore-forming fluids of this deposit. Three types of pyrite were identified, including synsedimentary framboidal pyrites (Py0), the directional arrangement of pyrites in pre-mineralization stage (Py1), and euhedral coarse-grain pyrites in the quartz–sulfide veins of the mineralization stage (Py2). The As content in Py2 is relatively higher than Py0 and Py1, indicating that the ore-forming fluids are strongly enriched in As. The δ34S values of Py2 (+5.50–+13.34‰) overlap with the S1–2M phyllite (+7.25‰–+8.70‰). This result is consistent with the Pb isotopic composition of Py2, showing that the source of ore-forming materials was derived from the S1–2M phyllite. Meanwhile, the variations in quartz's H and O isotopic composition suggest that the ore-forming fluids were derived originally from metamorphic fluid. Additionally, the Au mineralization is strictly controlled by the shear zone. Above all, we would like to classify the Xinjiazui deposit as an orogenic gold deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we analyze the energy efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions reduction of China's regional thermal electricity generation from 2004 to 2010 on a regional grid level. China has seven regional grids. By using Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) analysis, we determine that the intensity and energy mix effects have positive effects on CO 2 emissions reduction, but the effects of structural and CO 2 emissions factor are insignificant. The accumulated intensity and energy mix effects account for −10.70% and −10.41% of the CO 2 emissions reduction, respectively. Such improvements are brought about the policy that encourages large power plants, discourages small energy-inefficient power plants, and promotes large-capacity high-parameter units. This policy has contributed to electricity conservation in thermal electricity generation. However, regional results show that the North grid of China performed poorly. Hockey stick effects were also observed in the intensity effect of the Central and North grids. Thus, regional moving average targets are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been approved as predictive biomarker for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with PD-(L)1 blockade therapy. The clinical/genomic features associated with PD-L1 are not well studied. Genomic profiling of tumor biopsies from 883 Chinese NSCLC patients was performed by targeted next-generation sequencing. Immunohistochemical analysis was conducted to evaluate PD-L1 expression levels using antibodies Dako 22C3 and 28-8, respectively. Our study showed distinct correlation between PD-L1 expression and clinical/genomic characteristics when using different PD-L1 antibodies and in different histological subtypes including adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), respectively. PD-L1 high expression (22C3) was associated with male and lymph node metastasis only in ADC patients. Furthermore, mutations of TP53 and KRAS, KIF5B-RET fusion, copy number gains of PD-L1 and PD-L2, and arm-level amplifications of chr.12p were significantly associated with PD-L1 positive status in ADC patients. For SCC patients, the gain of EGFR and MDM2 and loss of PTPRD were negatively associated with PD-L1 expression. We also compared our results with other studies and found conflicting results presumably because of the multiplicity of antibody clones and platforms, the difference of cutoffs for assigning PD-L1 expression levels, and the variation in study populations. Our study can help to understand the utility and validity of PD-L1 as biomarker of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Eastern area generally performed better than the Central area. [•] Central area was better than the Western area, except in 2008. [•] Financial crisis affected the performance of Eastern area in 2008. [•] Potential energy saving was around 2.75% of the total transport energy use. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Transcription initiation has long been considered a primary regulatory step in gene expression. Recent work, however, shows that downstream events, such as transcription elongation, can also play important roles. 1–3 A well-characterized example from animals is promoter-proximal pausing, where transcriptionally engaged Pol II accumulates 30–50 bp downstream of the transcription start site (TSS) and is thought to enable rapid gene activation. 2 Plants do not make widespread use of promoter-proximal pausing; however, in a phenomenon known as 3′ pausing, a significant increase in Pol II is observed near the transcript end site (TES) of many genes. 4–6 Previous work has shown that 3′ pausing is promoted by the BORDER (BDR) family of negative transcription elongation factors. Here we show that BDR proteins play key roles in gene repression. Consistent with BDR proteins acting to slow or pause elongating Pol II, BDR-repressed genes are characterized by high levels of Pol II occupancy, yet low levels of mRNA. The BDR proteins physically interact with FPA, 7 one of approximately two dozen genes collectively referred to as the autonomous floral-promotion pathway, 8 which are necessary for the repression of the flowering time gene FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). 9–11 In early-flowering strains, FLC expression is repressed by repressive histone modifications, such as histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), thereby allowing the plants to flower early. These results suggest that the repression of transcription elongation by BDR proteins may allow for the temporary pausing of transcription or facilitate the long-term repression of genes by repressive histone modifications. • BDR proteins repress expression of the floral repressor, FLC • BDR proteins physically interact with the autonomous pathway protein FPA • BDR-repressed genes have high levels of Pol II occupancy, despite low mRNA levels • Gene repression by BDR may involve the inhibition of transcription elongation Yu et al. show that genes repressed by the BDR family of negative transcription elongation factors have high levels of Pol II occupancy, despite relatively low steady-state RNA levels. In this way, BDR proteins may allow for the later resumption of transcription or facilitate the long-term repression of genes by repressive histone modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A submerged combustion vaporizer (SCV) is a popular vaporizer that is utilized for the peak regulation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in cities or as the main vaporizer in cold regions. Due to the different genesis of reservoirs, LNGs from different production places have different components and ratios, leading to a different gasification state in the heating tube, difficultly in predicting the SCV thermal performance, and difficulty in controlling the water bath temperature and gas consumption to combust during SCV operation. Therefore, in this study, a numerical model of the heating tube in SCV is established and the flow and heat transfer features of three types of LNGs with different components are compared with those of pure methane. Moreover, the heat transfer and thermal performances of supercritical LNG in a serpentine tube are analyzed under various operating pressures and thermophysical properties. The results indicate that higher the ratio of methane, larger the heat transfer capacity, closer the comprehensive pseudo-critical temperature of LNG is to that of pure methane, and the more similar is the thermal performance. Furthermore, the SCV thermal performance decreases with the ratio of pure methane. The smallest Euler number is observed for LNG from ChangYi (C.Y.) because of its smallest dynamic viscosity and highest specific heat among the observed LNGs; thus, its Nu / Eu and η are better than those of pure methane and it has a higher outlet temperature for the gasification rate. • The thermophysical properties of S-LNG from various production places are compared. • The effect of component of S-LNGs on flow and heat transfer is studied numerically. • The effect of operation pressure of S-LNGs on flow and heat transfer is explored. • The thermal performance of SCV is studied under effect of pressure and component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen blending into natural gas is a feasible approach to realize the low-carbon energy structure. The impact of the hydrogen blending ratio on the leakage characteristics of buried gas pipelines determines the safety of pipeline operations. In this study, we investigated the influence of the hydrogen blending ratio on the soil temperature field after the buried gas pipeline leak and the detection range of fiber optic sensors through a field test and numerical simulation. A critical flow model based on the Peng-Robinson (PR) equation and a soil diffusion model based on simplified throttling were established for the microleakage and diffusion stages of the buried pipeline. Furthermore, the soil temperature variation after the buried pipeline leak and the prediction model of cooling capacity caused by gas leakage were obtained. In addition, the leakage experiments were performed to evaluate the impact of hydrogen blending ratio, pipeline operation pressure, and leak direction, as well as to achieve the soil temperature field distribution near the leak point. The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) Soil temperature decreases as the hydrogen blending ratio increases; (2) The detection range of the fiber optic sensors increases as the hydrogen blending ratio increases, ensuring the applicability of the existing fiber optic detection system for detecting hydrogen blending pipeline leaks. The findings provide a valuable research topic for hydrogen pipeline leak detection. • An experiment on the leakage of hydrogen - doped natural gas from buried pipeline is carried out. • A flow model based on PR equation of state is established for leakage prediction. • Calculation method of cooling capacity caused by gas injection based on soil temperature distribution. • The distribution of soil temperature and temperature change rate near the leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Carbonized biomass as a self-standing electrode promotes electro-demulsification. • Carbonized biomass as self-standing electrode also promotes oil removal. • Electrode capacity reached 1180 mg g−1 (97.97 %) toluene removal at 5.0 V for 3.4 h. • The electric field compressed and ruptured emulsion droplets in porous electrodes. • Electrostatic adsorption caused small molecule adherence to graphitic pore walls. Emulsion wastewater contain substantial amounts of oil and various additives, which pose threats to the environment and human health. Demulsification is a crucial pretreatment stage for wastewater. This study aims to identify a novel electro-demulsification method with high oil removal efficiency and low energy consumption. Modified carbonized birch wood with a unique isotropic multiscale pore structure is used as a self-standing electrode to treat a toluene oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion. The electrode must have a highly porous structure to facilitate efficient water diffusion and oil adsorption. It must also have high electronic conductivity to expedite polarized molecular electrophoresis to realize penetration into the pores and, subsequently, demulsification. Guided by an applied electric field force, polarized O/W droplets are drawn toward the electrode, revealing electrical characteristics distinct from those of polarized organic molecules. This electric field force augments the capture and adhesion of droplets by the electric double layer at the electrode interface. Consequently, adsorbed droplets in close proximity to the electrode rupture due to the combined influence of the electric field force and the electrostatic effects stemming from the electrode's multiscale porous structure. This synergistic action enables demulsification to occur efficiently at low energy consumption levels. This study has revealed that electro-demulsification can effectively treat toluene emulsions stabilized by various surfactants and microemulsion containing toluene. Therefore, this electro-demulsification technology can be further developed for various types of water pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morbidity and mortality rates of endometrial cancer (EC) are increasing yearly. Early-stage EC can be effectively treated through surgery or surgery combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Advanced and recurrent EC is treated with chemotherapy and comprehensive treatment; however, the prognosis for patients at this disease stage is poor. Consequently, novel and effective treatment strategies are urgently required for these patients. Breakthrough progress has been made with the use of immunosuppressants in the treatment of EC, which have been included in treatment guidelines. In the present review, the etiology and classification of EC was outlined and the relevant scientific basis for the application of immunosuppressants in advanced and recurrent EC was discussed. The relevant published and ongoing clinical trials are also summarized. As such, the present review aimed to provide a scientific summary of immunotherapy of EC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is one of the most common and severe genetic diseases. SMA carrier screening is an effective way to identify couples at risk of having affected children. Next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based expanded carrier screening could detect SMN1 gene copy number without extra experiment and with high cost performance. However, its performance has not been fully evaluated. Here we conducted a systematic comparative study to evaluate the performance of three common methods. 478 samples were analyzed with multiplex ligation probe amplification (MLPA), real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and NGS, simultaneously. Taking MLPA-based results as the reference, for 0 copy, 1 copy and ≥ 2 copy SMN1 analysis with NGS, the sensitivity, specificity and precision were all 100%. Using qPCR method, the sensitivity was 100%, 97.52% and 94.30%, respectively; 98.63%, 95.48% and 100% for specificity; and 72.72%, 88.72% and 100% for precision. NGS repeatability was higher than that of qPCR. Moreover, among three methods, NGS had the lowest retest rate. Thus, NGS is a relatively more reliable method for SMN1 gene copy number detection. In expanded carrier screening, compared with the combination of multiple methods, NGS method could reduce the test cost and simplify the screening process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In order to further study the realization of carbon intensity target, find the key influencing factors of CO2 emissions, and explore the path of developing low-carbon economy, this paper empirically studied the influences of urbanization level, economic level, industry proportion, tertiary industry proportion, energy intensity and R&D output on CO2 emissions in Beijing using improved STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence and technology) model. The model is examined using partial least square regression. Results show that urbanization level, economic level and industry proportion positively influence the CO2 emissions, while tertiary industry proportion, energy intensity and R&D output negatively do. Urbanization level is the main driving factor of CO2 emissions, and tertiary industry proportion is the main inhibiting factor. In addition, along with the growth of per capita GDP, the increase of CO2 emissions does not follow the Environmental Kuznets Curve model. Based on these empirical findings and the specific circumstances of Beijing, we provide some policy recommendations on how to reduce carbon intensity. Beijing should pay more attention to tertiary industry and residential energy consumption for carbon emission reduction. It is necessary to establish a comprehensive evaluation index of social development. Investing more capital on carbon emission reduction science and technology, and promoting R&D output is also an efficient way to reduce CO2 emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Tiered electricity price (TEP) reform is a planning policy for household electricity conservation in China. Based on TEP, several price hierarchies are provided, and additional payment will be charged if the electricity consumptions exceed the upper bound of each hierarchy. Yet, the optimal level of each price tier and the institutions for implementing TEP need further research, which are set on the basis of considering residents’ affordability and willingness to pay. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring determinants of public willingness to accept TEP and finding out the acceptable range of premium. A questionnaire survey in four urban cities of China is conducted to collect data, and an ordinary regression model is adopted in our analysis to identify the drivers and barriers to general public’s acceptance of TEP. The results show that middle income earners are the groups that are mostly opposed to TEP. Rather than just focusing on economic factors, public environmental awareness should be highlighted during the implementation of TEP, because cost is not a statistically significant determinant in this study. Moreover, the public acceptable rate of premium of TEP in the urban cities, according to our research results, may be below .05RMB/kWh. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Pseudomonas syringae effector protein AvrRpm1 activates the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) intracellular innate immune receptor protein RESISTANCE TO PSEUDOMONAS MACULICOLA1 (RPM1) via modification of a second Arabidopsis protein, RPM1-INTERACTING PROTEIN4 (At RIN4). Prior work has shown that AvrRpm1 induces phosphorylation of At RIN4, but homology modeling indicated that AvrRpm1 may be an ADP-ribosyl transferase. Here, we show that AvrRpm1 induces ADP-ribosylation of RIN4 proteins from both Arabidopsis and soybean (Glycine max) within two highly conserved nitrate-induced (NOI) domains. It also ADP ribosylates at least 10 additional Arabidopsis NOI domain-containing proteins. The ADP-ribosylation activity of AvrRpm1 is required for subsequent phosphorylation on Thr-166 of At RIN4, an event that is necessary and sufficient for RPM1 activation. We also show that the C-terminal NOI domain of AtRIN4 interacts with the exocyst subunits EXO70B1, EXO70E1, EXO70E2, and EXO70F1. Mutation of either EXO70B1 or EXO70E2 inhibited secretion of callose induced by the bacterial flagellin-derived peptide flg22. Substitution of RIN4 Thr-166 with Asp enhanced the association of At RIN4 with EXO70E2, which we posit inhibits its callose deposition function. Collectively, these data indicate that AvrRpm1 ADP-ribosyl transferase activity contributes to virulence by promoting phosphorylation of RIN4 Thr-166, which inhibits the secretion of defense compounds by promoting the inhibitory association of RIN4 with EXO70 proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficacy comparison of icotinib and pemetrexed in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma and the effects on the prognostic survival rate of patients were investigated. A retrospective analysis was performed in 132 lung adenocarcinoma patients who were treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University from July 2010 to July 2015. Among them, 69 patients were treated with icotinib (icotinib group), and 63 patients were treated with pemetrexed (pemetrexed group). In the icotinib group, 125 mg icotinib was orally administered continuously, 3 times a day, until progressive disease or intolerable adverse reactions occurred. In the pemetrexed group, 500 mg/m2 pemetrexed was intravenously dripped for a total of 4 cycles, 21 days for 1 cycle, until progressive disease or intolerable adverse reactions occurred. The efficacy, toxic and side effects, and survival rate of the two groups were evaluated. There was a statistically significant difference in toxic and side effects between the two groups of drugs after the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma (P<0.05). The median survival time of patients was 16 months in the icotinib group and 10 months in the pemetrexed group, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The 1-year survival rate was higher in the icotinib group than that in the pemetrexed group (P<0.05). There was no difference in 2- and 3-year survival rates between the two groups (P>0.05). In conclusion, the clinical efficacy of icotinib is similar to that of pemetrexed in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma, but icotinib has less adverse reactions, with better improvement in disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Chemically expanded graphite and Zn foil are co-rolled at room temperature. • Ultrathin Zn-carbon composite anodes (down to 6 μm) are constructed. • These anodes exhibit an island distribution and a 3D-interpenetrating structure. • The unique structure inhibits dendrites and shields the internal Zn from corrosion. • Long cycle life of the symmetric cell is achieved at high discharge depth of 23.3% Zinc (Zn) anodes in aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) suffer from severe dendritic growth and corrosion reactions, and the resulting Zn loss prevents the batteries from stable cycling during the deep discharging process. Satisfactory performance can be achieved using over-thick Zn foils (>100 μm), but at the expense of full-cell energy density. Here, a facile strategy of co-rolling Zn foil and chemically expanded graphite (CEG) at room temperature is proposed to prepare an ultrathin Zn-carbon composite anode (Zn@CEG) with an adjustable thickness (6–40 μm). In Zn@CEG, Zn is uniformly embedded into the laterally arranged graphite spacing, forming a unique three-dimensional (3D) interpenetrating structure. The hydrophobic microregions of CEG accelerate the desolvation and conduction of Zn2+, promote uniform current density distribution, and suppress dendrites. Moreover, the transverse graphite sheets restrict the deep corrosion caused by electrolyte penetration. Thus, the symmetric cell assembled with ultrathin Zn@CEG stably cycles over 350 h at a discharge depth of 23.3%. When the Zn@CEG is matched with the high-loading MnO 2 cathode (16 mg cm−2), the full cells achieve 500 and 800 cycles at low negative/positive capacity ratios of 6.9 and 10.7, respectively. This scalable strategy for constructing ultrathin Zn anodes provides new ideas for commercializing AZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Understanding the mechanisms of metal toxicity to organisms farmed for food may suggest mitigation strategies. We determined the 24-, 48-, 72-, and 96-h median lethal concentrations of lead in juvenile oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense). The prawns were then exposed to sub-lethal concentrations (13.13 and 26.26 μg/L) of lead for 60 days and growth, antioxidant enzyme activity, intestinal morphology, and metabolite profiles were assessed. Prawns exposed to 26.26 μg/L but not to 13.13 μg/L lead exhibited lower weight gain than controls. The lead burden in muscle was 0.067 and 0.25 μg/g of dry weight exposed to 13.13 and 26.26 μg/L, respectively. Levels of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase were not altered following exposure. Exposure increased malondialdehyde activity in the hepatopancreas and decreased superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities. Catalase activity first increased and then decreased as lead concentrations increased. Some intestinal epithelial cells disassociated from the basement membrane in prawns exposed to 13.13 μg/L lead. Intestinal epithelial cells in prawns exposed to 26.26 μg/L lead separated completely from the basement membrane. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics assays showed the 13.13-μg/L exposure did not elicit significant metabolic alterations. Exposure to 26.26 μg/L lead differentially up-regulated 58 metabolites and down-regulated 21 metabolites. The metabolites identified were involved in galactose, purine, glutathione, and carbon metabolism, biosynthesis of amino acids and steroids, and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. These data indicate that chronic lead exposure can adversely affect growth, increase accumulation in muscle, impair intestinal morphology, and induce oxidant stress or neurotoxicity-related effects in M. nipponense. Highlights • We assessed the effects of lead in the juvenile prawn Macrobrachium nipponense. • Median lethal concentrations were 646 μg/L (24 h) and 131 μg/L (96 h). • Chronic lead exposure affected growth and impaired intestinal morphology. • Lead accumulated in muscle tissue and induced oxidant stress and neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]