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PurposeWhile strengthening exercises are recommended for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) treatment, the optimal type of muscle contraction remains unclear, with current research showing conflicting results. This network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to evaluate the efficacy of lower limb strengthening exercises based on different muscle contraction characteristics for KOA patients and provide clinical references.MethodsWe conducted the NMA following the PRISMA-NMA. A comprehensive search of five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, CENTRAL, Embase, and SPORTDiscus) up to August 2024 identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating lower limb strengthening exercises in KOA patients. Control groups included receiving usual care, only providing health education, or no intervention at all. Outcomes analyzed included pain, physical function, quality of life, and muscle strength.ResultsForty-one studies (2,251 participants) were included. Twenty-eight studies used rigorous randomization; eighteen reported allocation concealment. All had high performance bias risk due to exercise interventions. Regarding efficacy, isokinetic exercise ranked highest in pain relief (SMD = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.50–0.91, SUCRA = 82.6%), function improvement (SMD = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57–0.92, SUCRA = 96.1%), and enhancement in muscle strength (SMD = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.34–0.78, SUCRA = 90.1%). Isometric exercise ranked highest in improving quality of life (SMD = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.28–1.31, SUCRA = 90.5%). Mixed strengthening exercise ranked lowest across all outcomes. High-frequency interventions (≥5 times/week) showed superior pain relief compared with low-frequency (≤3 times/week) for isotonic, isometric, and isokinetic exercise.ConclusionThis NMA suggests isokinetic exercise may be most effective for pain, function, and muscle strength in KOA patients, while isometric exercise benefits quality of life most. Mixed strengthening exercise ranked lowest across all outcomes. High-frequency interventions appear more effective than low-frequency ones. These findings support personalized KOA treatment, considering efficacy, accessibility, and patient-specific factors. Study biases, heterogeneity, and other limitations may affect result reliability. Future research should focus on high-quality studies with standardized protocols and analyze dose–response relationships to refine KOA treatment strategies.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42024582525, identifier: CRD42024582525.

When a transformer is in a long-term heavy load operation state, the oil temperature reaches the alarm temperature; if a slight fault occurs inside the transformer, traditional inverse time current protection and other protections that react to phase current may not operate due to insufficient sensitivity or they may operate for too long. Based on this, this article proposes a new principle of accelerating inverse time overcurrent protection based on transformer oil temperature. The proposed method uses transformer oil temperature to accelerate the action time of traditional inverse-time overcurrent protection, then introduces the transformer oil temperature factor and acceleration index to optimize the inverse time characteristic curve, and establishes a mathematical model to optimize the adjustment for the complexity of adjustment of the protection action equation and the risk of mismatch of the protection after the acceleration of oil temperature. The existing theoretical analysis and simulation verification results show that the proposed new overcurrent protection scheme based on the transformer oil temperature acceleration inverse time can effectively improve the protection of the rapidity and sensitivity, providing a new research idea for the combination of non-electrical and electrical quantity protection.

Abstract A risk association between membranous nephropathy (MN) and lung cancer is reported, but traditional observational studies cannot provide strong evidence of its causality. This study aimed to assess genome-wide association studies data for a causal relationship between MN and lung cancer using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Inverse-variance weighted, and MR Egger regression techniques were used to determine the association of genetic variants from cohorts of MN and lung cancer patients. Independent genetic variants with genome-wide significance (P

Abstract Background Biofilm-immobilized continuous fermentation has the potential to enhance cellular environmental tolerance, maintain cell activity and improve production efficiency. Results In this study, different biofilm-forming genes (FLO5, FLO8 and FLO10) were integrated into the genome of S. cerevisiae for overexpression, while FLO5 and FLO10 gave the best results. The biofilm formation of the engineered strains 1308-FLO5 and 1308-FLO10 was improved by 31.3% and 58.7% compared to that of the WT strain, respectively. The counts of cells adhering onto the biofilm carrier were increased. Compared to free-cell fermentation, the average ethanol production of 1308, 1308-FLO5 and 1308-FLO10 was increased by 17.4%, 20.8% and 19.1% in the biofilm-immobilized continuous fermentation, respectively. Due to good adhering ability, the fermentation broth turbidity of 1308-FLO5 and 1308-FLO10 was decreased by 22.3% and 59.1% in the biofilm-immobilized fermentation, respectively. Subsequently, for biofilm-immobilized fermentation coupled with membrane separation, the engineered strain significantly reduced the pollution of cells onto the membrane and the membrane separation flux was increased by 36.3%. Conclusions In conclusion, enhanced biofilm-forming capability of S. cerevisiae could offer multiple benefits in ethanol fermentation. Graphical Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has an insidious onset and lacks clear early diagnostic markers, and by the time overt dementia symptoms appear, the disease is already in the mid-to-late stages. The search for early diagnostic markers of AD may open a critical window for Alzheimer’s treatment and facilitate early intervention to slow the progression of AD. In this study, we aimed to explore the imaging markers for early diagnosis of AD through the combined application of structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), and 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques at the animal experimental level, with the aim to provide a certain reference for early clinical diagnosis of AD. First, sMRI scans were performed on 4-month-old amyloid beta precursor protein/presenilin 1 (APP/PS1) transgenic AD model mice and wild type mice of the same litter using a 7.0 T animal MRI scanner to analyze the differential brain regions with structural changes in the gray matter of the brain by voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Next, rs-fMRI scans were performed to analyze the differential brain regions between groups for local spontaneous brain activity and functional connectivity (FC) between brain regions. Finally, 1H-MRS scans were performed to quantify and analyze intergroup differences in the relative concentrations of different metabolites within regions of interest (cortex and hippocampus). Compared with wild type mice, the volume of the left hippocampus, and right olfactory bulb of APP/PS1 transgenic AD model mice were reduced, the functional activity of the bilateral hippocampus, right piriform cortex and right caudate putamen was reduced, the functional network connectivity of the hippocampus was impaired, and the relative content of N-acetylaspartate (NAA)in the hippocampus was decreased. In addition, this study found that imaging changes in olfactory-related brain regions were closely associated with AD diagnosis, and these findings may provide some reference for the early diagnosis of AD.

Using a meshless method, a simulation of steel billets in a pusher-type reheating furnace is carried out for the first time. The simulation represents an affordable way to replace the measurements. The heat transfer from the billets with convection and radiation is considered. Inside each of the billets, the heat diffusion equation is solved on a two-dimensional central slice of the billet. The diffusion equation is solved in a strong form by the Local Radial Basis Function Collocation Method (LRBFCM) with explicit time-stepping. The ray tracing procedure solves the radiation, where the view factors are computed with the Monte Carlo method. The changing number of billets in the furnace at the start and the end of the loading and unloading of the furnace is considered. A sensitivity study on billets’ temperature evolution is performed as a function of a different number of rays used in the Monte Carlo method, different stopping times of the billets in the furnace, and different spacing between the billets. The temperature field simulation is also essential for automatically optimizing the furnace’s productivity, energy consumption, and the billet’s quality. For the first time, the LRBFCM is successfully demonstrated for solving such a complex industrial problem.

Objective: To investigate a hippocampal anti-hypertensive mechanism induced by twirling reinforcing-reducing manipulation (TRRM) using proteomics in rats. Methods: Forty-two male spontaneously hypertensive rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, and 14 Wistar-Kyoto rats were served as control group. In the twirling reinforcing (TRF) group, needles were directly inserted into the Taichong (LR 3) point, then thumbs were moved heavily forward and lightly backward for 3 min, while needles remained inserted for 17 min. In the twirling reduction (TRD) group, the same treatment was applied as in the TRF group except that the thumb moved lightly forward and heavily backward. In the model and control groups, only the corresponding grasping and fixation were applied. All interventions were conducted for 14 days. The blood pressure (BP) of all rats was measured one day before intervention and every other day after. Then hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, label-free and parallel reaction monitoring proteomic techniques were used to assess hippocampal samples from each group. Results: Systolic BPs showed a significant decrease in the TRF and TRD groups compared with the model group (P

BackgroundThe efficacy of induction chemotherapy (IC) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has improved significantly with the application of targeting drugs. Our previous study showed that a 4-day IC regimen of cyclophosphamide (CTX) and Ara-C [CA (4 + 3)] achieved similar complete remission (CR) rate (80%) compared with the traditional 7-day regimen, and the survival rate appeared to be better.MethodsIn this pilot study, we further shortened the CA regimen to 3 days, added low-dose venetoclax (VEN, 200 mg/day) (VCA), and reported the efficacy and safety here.ResultsTwenty-five newly diagnosed adult AML patients were enrolled in this study and evaluated for the remission rate after one cycle of the VCA regimen. The CR/Cri was 92%, and all these patients had undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD−). The estimated overall survival at 12 months was 79.3%. The median time for both platelet recovery and absolute neutrophil count recovery was 16 days, faster than that of traditional IC. Compared with the previous CA (4 + 3) regimen, a higher CR rate (92% vs. 80%, P < 0.01) and a deeper degree of remission (CRMRD− rate, 92% vs. 45%, P < 0.01) were found in the VCA group.ConclusionsThis study showed that the 3-day CTX and Ara-C regimen is highly effective in newly diagnosed AML patients, and the addition of VEN to the CA regimen achieves higher and deeper one-course remission.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a contemporary hazard to people. It has been known that COVID-19 can both induce heart failure (HF) and raise the risk of patient mortality. However, the mechanism underlying the association between COVID-19 and HF remains unclear. The common molecular pathways between COVID-19 and HF were identified using bioinformatic and systems biology techniques. Transcriptome analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). To identify gene ontology terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, common DEGs were used for enrichment analysis. The results showed that COVID-19 and HF have several common immune mechanisms, including differentiation of T helper (Th) 1, Th 2, Th 17 cells; activation of lymphocytes; and binding of major histocompatibility complex class I and II protein complexes. Furthermore, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed to identify hub genes, and immune cell infiltration analysis was performed. Six hub genes (FCGR3A, CD69, IFNG, CCR7, CCL5, and CCL4) were closely associated with COVID-19 and HF. These targets were associated with immune cells (central memory CD8 T cells, T follicular helper cells, regulatory T cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, macrophages, eosinophils, and neutrophils). Additionally, transcription factors, microRNAs, drugs, and chemicals that are closely associated with COVID-19 and HF were identified through the interaction network.

The biofilm (BF) provides favorable growth conditions to cells, which has been exploited in the field of industrial biotechnology. Based on our previous research works on type I fimbriae for the biosynthesis of L-threonine (LT) in Escherichia coli, in this study, a fimA-overexpressing strain was engineered, which improved BF formation under industrial fermentation conditions. The morphological observation and characterization of BF formation were conducted to verify the function of the subunit FimA. However, it was not suitable for repeated-batch immobilized fermentation as the LT titer was not elevated significantly. The underlying molecular mechanisms of BF formation and the LT carbon flux were explored by transcriptomic analysis. The results showed that fimA regulated E. coli BF formation but affected LT carbon distribution. This study will stimulate thoughts about how the fimbriae gene regulated biofilms and amino acid excretion and will bring some consideration and provide a reference for the development of BF-based biomanufacturing processes in E. coli.

The oil reserves of global basement reservoirs are 248 × 108 t and natural gas reserves are 2681 × 108 m3; they are crucial links in the future oil and natural gas exploration field and play an irreplaceable role in increasing oil and natural gas reserves and production. Based on research on the definition and classification of basement reservoirs, this study dissected three major basement reservoirs in China (i.e., the Dongping region located in the Qaidam Basin, the Bozhong 19-6 gas field located the Bohai Bay Basin, and the Central Uplift area of the Songliao Basin). The geological conditions and controlling factors of oil and natural gas accumulation in basement reservoirs in China are summarized. The results of this study are as follows: (1) Basement reservoirs can be classified into three distinct types, namely, the weathered carapace type, weathered inner type, and weathered composite type. They are characterized by a large burial depth, strong concealment, and huge reserves and are mostly distributed at the margins of continental plates and in zones with stratum intensive tectonic activity; (2) Basement reservoirs in different basins have different controlling factors. The basement reservoir in the Dongping region, located in the Qaidam Basin, has favorable geological conditions with laterally connected sources and reservoirs. In this reservoir, oil and natural gas have transferred along faults and unconformities to accumulate in uplifted areas, forming a weathered carapace-type basement reservoir controlled by structures. The Bozhong 19-6 gas field, which is situated in the Bohai Bay Basin, has favorable multiple hydrocarbon supplies of source rocks. Under the communication of faults and cracks, oil resources form a weathered inner type basement reservoir. In the Central Uplift area of the Songliao Basin, the basement reservoir exhibits a dual-sided hydrocarbon supply condition from the uplift. In this reservoir, oil and natural gas have transferred to traps through the fault and inner fracture system and have been properly preserved thanks to the extensive overlying cap rocks. It can be concluded that, after being attenuated by millions of years of weathering and leaching, basement rocks can form large-scale and medium-scale basement reservoirs with reserves of more than 100 million barrels in the presence of favorable geological conditions, such as a multi-directional hydrocarbon supply, a high brittle mineral content in the reservoirs, diverse reservoir spaces, and high-quality cap rocks.

At present, many methods are used to determine the lower limits of physical properties (PPLLs) of tight sandstone reservoirs, such as empirical statistics, oil occurrence, and logging parameter crossplots, but the accuracy with which these methods obtain the lower limit of physical properties depends entirely on the number of test production data, and they are not suitable for tight sandstone reservoirs with a low degree of exploration and a lack of prediction. Compared to these mature methods, it can be concluded that the water-film-thickness-based method, which integrates factors such as formation temperature, formation pressure, mineral wettability, and formation water salinity, can characterize PPLLs using the minimum pore throat radius for hydrocarbon migration, which has a better theoretical basis and technical advantages. However, the water-film thickness is not a fixed value and cannot be directly measured in the laboratory. The molecular simulation method, known as a computational microscope, has become an effective means of investigating nano effects. By accurately investigating the interactions between rock minerals and the formation of water on atomic and molecular scales based on increasingly improved studies of the molecular force field, this method can overcome the deficiencies of the laboratory study of water films and precisely characterize the water films’ thickness. The intersection of molecular simulation and geology can bring about new methods and new research ideas for determining the lower limit of the physical properties of tight sandstone reservoirs and has broad application prospects.

Objective: To analyze the effects of twirling reinforcing and reducing manipulations on protein expression in parietal cortex of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and elucidate the main mechanisms and differences between two manipulations in hypertension treatment. Methods: Rats were randomly divided into the control, model, twirling reinforcing manipulation (TRFM), and twirling reducing manipulation (TRDM) groups. The control and model groups received catch and fixation stimulations once a day for 14 days. The TRFM and TRDM groups were intervened once a day for 20 min for 14 days. On days 0, 2, 6, 10, and 14 after acupuncture, rat systolic blood pressures (SBPs) were measured. Differential protein (DP) expression in the rat parietal cortices was detected. Thereafter, GO functional significance and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Results: Compared with the model group, SBP of rats in the TRDM and TRFM groups decreased on days 6 and 10 of acupuncture, respectively (P = .009; P

ABSTRACT Biofilm-immobilized continuous fermentation is a novel fermentation strategy that has been utilized in ethanol fermentation. Continuous fermentation contributes to the self-proliferation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae biofilms. Previously, we successfully described the cell cycle differences between biofilm-immobilized fermentation and calcium alginate-immobilized fermentation. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between biofilm formation and the cell cycle. We knocked down CLN3, SIC1, and ACE2 and found that Δcln3 and Δsic1 exhibited a predominance of G2/M phase cells, increased biofilm formation, and significantly increased extracellular polysaccharide formation and expression of genes in the FLO gene family during immobilisation fermentation. Δace2 exhibited a contrasting performance. These findings suggest that the increase in the proportion of cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle facilitates biofilm formation and that the cell cycle influences biofilm formation by regulating cell adhesion and polysaccharide formation. This opens new avenues for basic research and may also help to provide new ideas for biofilm prevention and optimization. IMPORTANCE Immobilised fermentation can be achieved using biofilm resistance, resulting in improved fermentation efficiency and yield. The link between the cell cycle and biofilms deserves further study since reports are lacking in this area. This study showed that the ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce biofilm differed when cell cycle progression was altered. Further studies suggested that cell cycle regulatory genes influenced biofilm formation by regulating cell adhesion and polysaccharide formation. Findings related to cell cycle regulation of biofilm formation set the stage for biofilm in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and provide a theoretical basis for the development of a new method to improve biofilm-based industrial fermentation.

Abstract Objective Single cell methodology enables detection and quantification of transcriptional changes and unravelling dynamic aspects of the transcriptional heterogeneity not accessible using bulk sequencing approaches. We have applied single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) to fresh human bone marrow CD34+ cells and profiled 391 single hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) from healthy donors to characterize lineage- and stage-specific transcription during hematopoiesis. Results Cells clustered into six distinct groups, which could be assigned to known HSPC subpopulations based on lineage specific genes. Reconstruction of differentiation trajectories in single cells revealed four committed lineages derived from HSCs, as well as dynamic expression changes underlying cell fate during early erythroid-megakaryocytic, lymphoid, and granulocyte-monocyte differentiation. A similar non-hierarchical pattern of hematopoiesis could be derived from analysis of published single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (scATAC-seq), consistent with a sequential relationship between chromatin dynamics and regulation of gene expression during lineage commitment (first, altered chromatin conformation, then mRNA transcription). Computationally, we have reconstructed molecular trajectories connecting HSCs directly to four hematopoietic lineages. Integration of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression from the same cells demonstrated mRNA transcriptome, lncRNA, and the epigenome were highly homologous in their pattern of gene activation and suppression during hematopoietic cell differentiation.

Abstract Optimizing the induction therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may improve the remission rate and reduce the risk of relapse, thereby extend survival. Cyclophosphamide (CTX) shows benefit in treating relapsed and refractory AML patients, but it has not been reported in first‐line induction regimens. To assess the efficacy and safety of CTX and moderate‐dosage cytarabine (Ara‐C) as induction chemotherapy in newly diagnosed adult AML, 40 patients were enrolled to receive CTX (20 mg/kg/d) for 4 consecutive days and Ara‐C for 3 (1 g/m2 q12h, CA4+3) or 5 (1 g/m2 qd, CA4+5) days. With one course of induction chemotherapy, the overall response rate and the complete remission rate (CR) was 82.5% (33/40) and 77.5% (31/40), respectively. The expected 5 years overall survival and relapse‐free survival was 64% in patients experienced CR and fulfilled consolidation therapy. The neutrophil and platelet recovery time were 17 (range, 10–20) days and 16.5 (range, 12–30) days in the CA4+3 group, faster than that of 20 (16‐36) days and 20 (14‐36) days in the CA4+5 group (P = .006 and P = .006). The cyclophosphamide and cytarabine (CA) regimen was generally safe and had reversible adverse effects. The patients who failed to respond to the CA regimen did not benefit from a second course of other traditional induction chemotherapy either. In conclusion, the combined regimen of CTX and Ara‐C represents a promising therapeutic approach to induce the first CR of newly diagnosed adult AML.

For realizing high-accuracy short-term wind power prediction, a hybrid model considering physical features of data is proposed in this paper, with consideration of chaotic analysis and granular computing. First, considering the chaotic features of wind power time series physically, data reconstruction in chaotic phase space is studied to provide a low-dimensional input with more information in modeling. Second, considering that meteorological scenarios of wind development are various, complicated, and uncertain, typical chaotic time series prediction models and wind scenarios are analyzed correspondingly via granular computing (GrC). Finally, through granular rule-based modeling, a hybrid model combining reconstructed wind power data and different models is constructed for short-term wind power prediction. Data from real wind farms is taken for experiments, validating the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed wind power prediction model.

The agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China (AENC) is a significant ecological barrier, where the topographical features play basic roles in land-use change. In order to reveal the influence of topographical factors on land-use changes in the AENC, we used land-use transfer matrix, geo-information graphics, terrain niche, distribution index and geographical detector to explore the topographic gradient effect of land-use changes during 2000–2020 in the AENC based on remote-sensing image data from 2000, 2010, and 2020. The findings indicate that: (1) The total areas of land-use changes were 121,744 km2, accounting for 17.41% between 2000–2020. This was characterized by increasing amounts of land-use changes in the AENC. The changes in land-use were dominated by the conversions among farmland, forestland, and grassland, which were distributed widely in the mountainous regions of northern, western, and eastern margins. The expansion of construction land was derived mainly from farmland and grassland occurred in river valleys. (2) The pattern of land-use changes was divided into five types including stable type, prophase change, anaphase change, continuous change, and repeated change. Stable type accounted for 559,868.86 km2 and 80.09% of the total area. It was dominant in high altitude and complex terrain areas with terrain niches of more than 1.61. Prophase and anaphase changes accounted for 3.95% and 13.03%, respectively, which occupied to dominant positions in the 0.69–1.17 and 0.04–0.69, 1.17–1.61 terrain niches topographic gradient, respectively. Continuous and repeated changes occupied dominant positions in low altitude and flat complex areas with terrain niches of 0.04–1.17. (3) The topographic gradient effect of land-use changes in the AENC was influenced comprehensively by natural, geographical location, socioeconomic, and policy factors. Natural environmental factors and geographical location determined the topographic gradient pattern of land-use structure, while the direction of the topographical gradient pattern of land-use changes in the AENC is influenced by socioeconomic and policy factors. This research can provide a scientific reference for the development and protection of territorial space and optimal allocation of land resources in the AENC.

Primary education services are a key component of public infrastructure. These services exert significant impacts on public activity, sustainability, and healthy socio-economic development. This research applies the concept of a ‘living circle’ in order to evaluate the spatial equilibrium of education services in existing primary schools. This has enabled equilibrium planning schemes to be proposed for primary schools as well as the promotion and construction of livable and defensible living spaces. This area remains a key issue, however, one that urgently needs to be addressed in terms of the layout of public infrastructural services to facilitate livable living space construction. Thus, from the perspective of livable and defensible living space construction, the aim of this study was to construct a primary education equalization assessment method based on the walking living circle method. An equilibrium index was also designed based on the number of primary school students; this was then combined with the standard construction of new primary schools to optimize the spatial equilibrium of these education services. The city of Zhangjiakou City was then used as a case study; the spatial equilibrium of primary education services was evaluated across four living circle scenarios (i.e., 15 min, 20 min, 25 min, and 30 min). Results reveal that the city of Zhangjiakou currently offers dramatically spatially negative non-equilibrium primary education services (i.e., supply < demand) across four living circle scenarios, but most notably in rural areas away from urban areas and towns, especially in the counties of Shangyi, Chicheng, Chongli, Kangbao, and Guyuan. It is interesting to note that all living circle scenarios could enable positive non-equilibrium primary education services (i.e., supply > demand), mainly within the urban districts of Qiaodong, Xuanhua, Qiaoxi, Wanquan, and Xiahuayuan. It is also clear that equilibrium living circles are distributed across all counties. A spatial optimization proposal for primary school services should therefore be presented that alleviates the issues inherent to non-equilibrium primary education services. The results of this study offer a number of suggestions for education service optimization across the city of Zhangjiakou as well as for other cities in China. We also provide further scientific foundations for research on livable space and defensible unit construction as well as the spatial equilibrium evaluation of other public infrastructural service facilities

The postharvest deterioration of mango fruits is a critical issue limiting mango storage and preservation due to its climacteric nature. This study evaluated the storage behavior of two mango cultivars and their response to exogenous melatonin (MT, 1000 μmol L−1) treatment in attenuating fruit decay and enhancing fruits’ physiological and metabolic processes and gene relative expression subjected to cold storage. MT treatment in both mango cultivars significantly delayed weight loss, firmness, respiration rate, and decay incidence. However, MT did not influence the TSS, TA, and TSS:TA ratio regardless of the cultivar. Moreover, MT inhibited the decrease in total phenol and flavonoid content and AsA content while delaying the increase in the MDA content of mango during storage in both cultivars. In addition, MT dramatically inhibited the enzyme activity of PPO. In contrast, an increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD and APX) and PAL and their genes’ relative expression was noticed in MT-treated fruits versus control in both cultivars. However, MT treatment was cultivar dependent in most parameters under study. These results demonstrated that MT treatment could be an essential postharvest treatment in minimizing decay, maintaining fruit quality, and extending mango fruits’ postharvest shelf life by enhancing the physiological and metabolic processes during cold storage.

The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm III (NSGA-III) has recently been proposed to solve many-objective optimization problems (MaOPs). While this algorithm achieves good diversity, its convergence is unsatisfactory. In order to improve the convergence, we propose an improved NSGA-III using a genetic K-means clustering algorithm (NSGA-III-GKM), which can also ensure diversity and automatically provide the number and direction vector of the subspaces. Compared with the NSGA-III, the proposed NSGA-III-GKM has two key features. First, the initial reference points are clustered using a GKM clustering algorithm, which realizes automatic learning of the number of clusters. Second, as the reference points are replaced by cluster centers, a penalty-based boundary intersection (PBI) aggregation function is introduced to replace the perpendicular distance. The proposed NSGA-III-GKM and other similar optimization algorithms (NSGA-III, MOEA/D, U-NSGA-III, DC-NSGA-III and B-NSGA-III) are tested on DTLZ test problems and UF test problems. The simulation results demonstrate that the NSGA-III-GKM exhibits better diversity and convergence performance than the other algorithms.

On the basis that satellites given fixed count and orbit elements can be served in bounded time when an on-orbit serving mission order is set at any uncertain time in a given time interval, the deployment of on-orbit service vehicle (OSV) serving satellites becomes a complex multiple nested optimization problem, and the essence of deployment is to determine the count and orbit elements of OSVs. In consideration of the characteristics of this deployment problem, we propose a fuzzy adaptive particle swarm optimization (FAPSO) algorithm to solve this problem. First, on the basis of double pulse rendezvous hypothesis, a transfer optimization model of a single OSV serving multiple satellites is established based on genetic algorithm (GA), and this is used to compute the indexes of the subsequent two optimization models. Second, an assignment optimization model of OSVs is established based on the discrete particle swarm optimization (DPSO) algorithm, laying the foundation of the next optimization model. Finally, the FAPSO algorithm, which improves the performance of PSO algorithm by adjusting the inertia weight, is proposed to solve the deployment problem of multiple OSVs. The simulation results demonstrate that all optimization models in this study are feasible, and the FAPSO algorithm, which has a better convergence result than that obtained using the other optimization algorithms, can effectively solve the deployment problem of OSVs.

Objective: To explore the protective effect of acupuncture against myocardial injury in rats with stress-induced prehypertension (SIPH) by observing the genetic expression of myocardial endothelin-1 (ET-1) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP). Methods: Thirty-six Wistar rats were randomized into three groups: the control group, model group, and model + acupuncture (AP) group (n = 12 rats per group). During the 11-day modeling period, the model group and the model + AP group experienced plantar electric stimulation in combination with noise exposure, and daily acupuncture intervention was applied simultaneously in the model + AP group; the control group did not experience modeling or acupuncture. Systolic pressure (SP) was measured the day before modeling began, and on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th day after modeling initiation. On the 12th day, histopathological observation of the left ventricle was made with hematoxylin-eosin staining and quantitative genetic expression of myocardial ET-1, and ANP was tested by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: SP was higher in the model group than the control group on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th days (all P

Bacterial cellulose (BC) can be used to improve the physical properties of paper. However, previous studies have showed that the effectiveness of this improvement is impaired by the agglomeration of the disintegrated BC fibers. Effective dispersion of BC fibers is important to their reinforcing effects to paper products, especially those made of recycled fibers. In this study, carboxymethyl cellulose, xylan, glucomannan, cationized starch, and polyethylene oxide were used to improve the dispersion of BC fibers. With dispersed BC fibers, the paper made of recycled fiber showed improved dry tensile strength. The best improvement in dry tensile index was 4.2 N·m/g or 12.7% up, which was obtained by adding BC fibers dispersed with glucomannan. Glucomannan had the highest adsorption onto BC fibers, i.e., 750 mg/g at 1000 mg/L concentration, leading to the best colloidal stability of BC fiber suspension that had no aggregation in 50 min at 0.1 weight ratio of glucomannan to BC. TEMPO-mediated oxidation of BC was effective in improving its colloidal stability, but not effective in improving the ability of BC fiber to enhance paper dry tensile index while the wet tensile index was improved from 0.89 N·m/g to 1.59 N·m/g, i.e., ~80% improvement.

A ternary nanocomposite consisting of N-doped graphene (NGR)/TiO2/activated carbon (NGRT@AC) was prepared, and the components’ synergetic effect on dye degradation was investigated after deposition on the surface of a polysulfone membrane (PSF). As far as we know, this ternary composite catalyst has never previously been used to degrade dyes nor been used as a functional layer for separation membranes. The surface morphology and structure of the as-prepared membranes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The NGRT@AC-modified PSF membrane (NGRT@AC-PSF) presents excellent photodegradation efficiency to methyl orange (MO) under both UV (95.2%) and sunlight (78.1%) irradiation, much higher than those values of PSF, TiO2- modified PSF (TiO2-PSF), and N-doped graphene/TiO2 (NGRT)-modified PSF membranes (NGRT-PSF) under the same conditions. The high flux recovery ratio (95.5%) demonstrates that the NGRT@AC-PSF membrane shows improved antifouling performance. The photocatalytic results prove that surface deposition method (95.2%) was better than the blending method (31.1%) for forming high-performance membranes. Therefore, the NGRT@AC-PSF membrane has the potential for broad applications in dye degradation to treat waste water from textile industries.

A part of digitalization efforts in the steel industry concerns the numerical optimization of the steel production chain for increased quality, productivity and sustainable production. We present the computational modelling of the steel processing route in Štore-Steel company, composed of continuous casting, controlled cooling, annealing, reheating, reverse and continuous hot rolling, cooling bed, and heat treatment. The modelling concept is based on the Hybrid Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) approach, composed of a combination of Horizontal ICME, where the simulation codes for different processing or product usage steps are connected with their associated multiscale structures and material properties, and Vertical ICME, where the simulation codes at multiple length scales are involved in describing the product properties. The scales we cope with range from the grain size to several tenths of meters. We present the novel solution methods for describing the related multiscale and multiphysics thermomechanical problems. The microstructure is formulated with the phase-field method, the meso-structure with the cellular automaton method and the macroscopic electromagnetic, fluid mechanics and solid mechanics fields with the continuum mechanics concept. We elaborate on a space-time adaptive meshless solution based on collocation with radial basis functions for solving the microscopic and macroscopic scales and the point automata concept for solving the mesoscopic scale. The phenomena tackled by this novel meshless technique range from the large-eddy simulation of continuous casting to the elastoplastic deformation of the products on the cooling bed. The validation of the models, based on plant and laboratory measurements, is shown. A coupling of the physical models with artificial intelligence for quality, energy and productivity optimisation is presented. The presented research was funded by the Slovenian Grant and Innovation Agency within Program Group P2-0162 Multiphase Systems, and project L2-3173 Advanced Simulation and Optimization of the Entire Process Route for Production of Topmost Steel, co-financed by the Štore-Steel company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiattribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problems are characterized by the large number, uneven levels, and bounded rationality of decision-makers; multiple attributes and fuzziness of decision problems; and complex group behaviours. Considering these characteristics, we propose a MAGDM method using a genetic K-means clustering algorithm. First, we briefly review the traditional multiattribute decision-making method based on prospect theory (PT) and trapezoidal intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (TrIFNs) under the premise of human bounded rationality and uncertain decision environment. Then, the aggregation model of decision information given by decision-makers is established using the genetic K-means algorithm in order to determine optimal clustering results. Each clustering center represents decision information given by decision-makers in each cluster, and the weight of each clustering center is determined by considering the tightness of decision information within a cluster and the count of decision-makers in each cluster. Finally, the ranking of schemes is obtained according to the comparison rules of TrIFNs. We design comparison simulation experiments to test the proposed method and the simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method is apprehensible and feasible to solve MAGDM problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the limited fuel capacity of an on-orbit service vehicle (OSV), proper OSV allocation to satellites during each service mission is critical for economic fuel consumption. This allocation problem can be formulated as an optimization problem with many continuous and discrete design variables of wide domains. This problem can be effectively handled through the proposed approach that combines the tabu search with the discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm (DPSO-TS). First of all, Pontryagin's minimum principle and genetic algorithm (GA) are exploited to find the most fuel-efficient transfer trajectory. This fuel efficiency maximization can then serve as the performance index of the OSV allocation optimization model problem. In particular, the maximization of the minimum residual fuel over individual OSVs is proposed as a performance index for OSV allocation optimization. The optimization problem is numerically solved through the proposed DPSO-TS algorithm. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate that the DPSO-TS algorithm has a higher accuracy compared to the DPSO, the DPSO-PDM and the DPSO-CSA algorithms in the premise that these four algorithms have the basically same computational time. The DPSO-TS algorithm can effectively solve the OSV allocation optimization problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To explore the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on gene expression in the hypothalamus of rats with stress-induced prehypertension and try to reveal its biological mechanism with gene chip technology. Methods. The stress-induced hypertensive rat model was prepared by combining electric foot-shocks with generated noise. Molding cycle lasted for 14 days and EA intervention was applied on model + EA group during model preparation. Rat Gene 2.0 Array technology was used for the determination of gene expression profiles and the screened key genes were verified by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR method. Results. Compared with the blank group, 234 genes were upregulated and 73 were downregulated in the model group. Compared with the model group, 110 genes were upregulated and 273 genes were downregulated in model + EA group. The PCR results of the key genes including HSPB1, P2RX4, PPP1R14A, and TH are consistent with that of gene chip test. Conclusion. EA could significantly lower blood pressure of stress-induced prehypertension rats and affect its gene expression profile in hypothalamus. Genes and their signal transduction pathway that related to the contraction of vascular smooth muscle, concentration of Ca2+, and excitability of sympathetic nerve may be involved in EA's antihypertensive mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 64-kb subnanosecond Josephson-CMOS hybrid random-access memory (RAM) has been developed with ultrafast hybrid interface circuits. The hybrid memory is designed and fabricated using a commercial 0.18-μm CMOS process and NEC-SRL's 2.5-kA/cm2 Nb process for Josephson circuits. The millivolt-level Josephson signals are amplified to volt-level CMOS digital signals by a hybrid interface amplifier, which is the most challenging part of the memory system. The performance of this amplifier is optimized by minimizing its parasitic capacitance loading. The 4-K operation of short-channel CMOS devices and circuits is reviewed, and a complete 4-K CMOS BSIM3 model, which has been verified by experiments, is discussed. The memory bit-line output currents are detected by ultralow-power high-speed Josephson devices. Here, we report the first high-frequency accesstime measurements on the full critical path showing 600 ps for a single bit. We discuss future designs made to reduce the crosstalk and improve margins, as well as plans to reduce power dissipation and latency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer cells frequently exhibit chromosomal abnormalities. Specific cytogenetic aberrations often are predictors of outcome, especially in hematologic neoplasms, such as monosomy 7 in myeloid malignancies. The functional consequences of aneuploidy at the cellular level are difficult to assess because of a lack of convenient markers to distinguish abnormal from diploid cells. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to study hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from the bone marrow of 4 healthy donors and5 patients with bonemarrow failure and chromosomegainor loss. In total, transcriptome sequences were obtained from 391 control cells and 588 cells from patients. We characterized normal hematopoiesis as binary differentiation from stem cells to erythroid and myeloid-lymphoid pathways. Aneuploid cells were distinguished fromdiploid cells in patient samples by computational analyses of read fractions and gene expression of individual chromosomes. We confirmed assignment of aneuploidy to individual cells quantitatively, by copy-number variation, and qualitatively, by loss of heterozygosity. When we projected patients'singlecellsonto themapofnormalhematopoiesis, diversepatternswere observed, broadly reflecting clinical phenotypes. Patients' monosomy 7 cells showed downregulation of genes involved in immune response and DNA damage checkpoint and apoptosis pathways, whichmay contribute to the clonal expansion of monosomy 7 cells with accumulated gene mutations. scRNA-seq is a powerful technique through which to infer the functional consequences of chromosome gain and loss and explore gene targets for directed therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background aims. Autologous transplantation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor--mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells (M-PBMNCs) has been shown to be effective in treating critical limb ischemia (CO); however, the studies of the possible prognosis predictors after autologous M-PBMNC transplantation are inadequate. The objective of the study was to assess the possible factors affecting the results of M-PBMNC transplantation for CLI. Methods. We reviewed the clinical profiles of 87 patients with CLI who were treated with M-PBMNC implantation in the Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, between December 2002 and December 2011, and we followed these patients. The patients were divided into a good prognosis group and a poor prognosis group on the basis of whether amputation was performed. The significant differences of clinical variables between two groups were analyzed by means of the Mann-Whitney test and X² test, and logistic regression analysis was used to study the variables representing the possible prognostic factors for amputation. Results. Of the 87 patients, three patients died and one patient was lost during the follow-up period. We analyzed 83 patients. The diseases included CLI complicated by diabetes mellitus gangrene (35 cases, 42.2%), arteriosclerosis obliterans (31 cases, 37.3%) and thromboangiitis (17 cases, 20.5%). The mean age was 62 years (range, 3 0 - 8 7 ) . The median follow-up time for the surviving patients was 5 years. The 5-year amputation-free rate was 72.2%, and no adverse effects related to MPBMNC transplantation were observed. Conclusions. The significant prognostic factors associated with poor angiogenesis were fibrinogen >4 g/L and fasting blood glucose >6 mmol/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]