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This is an article in the field of mineral processing engineering. Through single mineral flotation test, solution chemistry calculation, Zeta potential detection, XPS detection, the influence and regulation mechanism of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on the flotation of pyrite at different slurry temperatures was studied. The results showed that the low temperature could significantly inhibit the flotation of pyrite, and also could weaken the inhibitory effect of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on the flotation of pyrite. When the slurry temperature dropped from 20 ℃ to 5 ℃, the speed of movement of the charged particles slowed down, the Zeta potential and the critical pH value for the formation of calcium and magnesium hydroxide increased , and the proportion of FeO/OH on the pyrite surface in pyrite pulp decreased , decreasing the reduction rate of FeO/OH content on the pyrite surface in Ca2+ and Mg2+ pulp, reducing the oxidation sites on the pyrite surface, reducing the adsorption of Ca2+, Ca(OH)+, Mg2+and Mg(OH)+on the pyrite surface. However, the low temperature did not change the existence form and adsorption state of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on the pyrite surface. When the pH value was 9, the calcium and magnesium were adsorbed on the pyrite surface in the form of Ca2+, Ca(OH)+, Mg2+and Mg(OH)+.

Abstract Exciton–polaritons (polaritons) resulting from the strong exciton–photon interaction stimulates the development of novel low-threshold coherent light sources to circumvent the ever-increasing energy demands of optical communications1–3. Polaritons from bound states in the continuum (BICs) are promising for Bose–Einstein condensation owing to their theoretically infinite quality factors, which provide prolonged lifetimes and benefit the polariton accumulations4–7. However, BIC polariton condensation remains limited to cryogenic temperatures ascribed to the small exciton binding energies of conventional material platforms. Herein, we demonstrated room-temperature BIC polariton condensation in perovskite photonic crystal lattices. BIC polariton condensation was demonstrated at the vicinity of the saddle point of polariton dispersion that generates directional vortex beam emission with long-range coherence. We also explore the peculiar switching effect among the miniaturized BIC polariton modes through effective polariton−polariton scattering. Our work paves the way for the practical implementation of BIC polariton condensates for integrated photonic and topological circuits.

This is an article in the field of mineral processing engineering. Chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite are usually associated with each other. In order to find out the influence of Pb2+ and Zn2+ on the flotation behavior and surface characteristics of chalcopyrite, the difference of the influence of Pb2+ and Zn2+ on the floatability of chalcopyrite was studied by single mineral flotation test, solution chemical calculation, Zeta potential and XPS detection. The results show that Pb2+ and Zn2+ are adsorbed on the surface of chalcopyrite, which changes the Zeta potential of chalcopyrite surface and inhibits the floatability of chalcopyrite, and the inhibition increases with the increase of pH value. According to the flotation test results, zinc is mainly adsorbed on the surface of chalcopyrite in the form of Zn(OH)2 precipitation in the range of pulp pH, which has an inhibitory effect on the flotation of chalcopyrite. Therefore, the inhibitory effect of Zn2+ on the flotation of chalcopyrite is more significant than that of Pb2+ and XPS results show that Pb2+ and Zn2+ can precipitate on the surface of chalcopyrite and exist on the surface of chalcopyrite in the form of chemical adsorption, thus inhibiting the floatability of chalcopyrite.

Abstract Lanthanide-doped fluoride nanoparticles (NPs) showcase adjustable X-ray-excited persistent luminescence (XEPL), holding significant promise for applications in three-dimensional (3D) imaging through the creation of flexible X-ray detectors. However, a dangerous high X-ray irradiation dose rate and complicated heating procedure are required to generate efficient XEPL for high-resolution 3D imaging, which is attributed to a lack of strategies to significantly enhance the XEPL intensity. Here we report that the XEPL intensity of a series of lanthanide activators (Dy, Pr, Er, Tm, Gd, Tb) is greatly improved by constructing dual heterogeneous interfaces in a double-shell nanostructure. Mechanistic studies indicate that the employed core@shell@shell structure could not only passivate the surface quenchers to lower the non-radiative relaxation possibility, but also reduce the interfacial Frenkel defect formation energy leading to increase the trap concentration. By employing a NPs containing flexible film as the scintillation screen, the inside 3D electrical structure of a watch was clearly achieved based on the delayed XEPL imaging and 3D reconstruction procedure. We foresee that these findings will promote the development of advanced X-ray activated persistent fluoride NPs and offer opportunities for safer and more efficient X-ray imaging techniques in a number of scientific and practical areas.

Adipose tissue is an important factor that influences porcine quality, and adipose tissue is also an important endocrine regulator of metabolic homeostasis. Adipose tissue development involves a series of highly synergistic processes, including clone amplification, proliferation arrest and terminal differentiation. In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding endogenous RNA molecules that have been considered as a class of novel regulators of adipogenesis. In this study, we used the dorsal subcutaneous adipose tissue of Guangxi Bama mini-pigs and Landrace pigs as experimental materials to study the molecular mechanism of adipogenic differentiation of preadipocytes, and the regulatory mechanism of miRNA-455-5p and its target gene IGF-1R involved in the development of adipose tissue. These findings may improve our understanding of mechanism of the molecular regulation of miRNA-455-5p and IGF-1R in pigs, and provide a theoretical basis for increasing pork production.TEASER TEXT The miRNA-455-5p was involved in the negative regulation of adipose tissue development by inhibiting the expression of its target gene IGF-1R.ABSTRACT Adipose tissue is an organ with metabolic, endocrine and immune functions, affecting the life span of animals and their susceptibility to diseases. Previous studies have reported the relationship between many miRNAs and the development of adipose tissue. However, the regulation of miR-455-5p on the development of porcine adipose has not been reported. In this study, we used the dorsal subcutaneous adipose tissue of Guangxi Bama mini-pigs and Landrace pigs as experimental materials to study the regulatory mechanism of miRNA-455-5p and its target gene IGF-1R involved in the development of adipose tissue. Bioinformatic analysis with Targetscan predicted that IGF-1R might be a target gene of miRNA-455-5p. Moreover, mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were transfected with chemically modified mimics and inhibitors to observe the expression of miR-455-5p and IGF-1R genes from 0 to 8 days after transfection. And the expression of adipogenic marker genes PPARγ and C/EBPα was examined. Additionally, the miRNA-455-5p may be involved in the negative regulation of adipose tissue development by inhibiting the expression of its target gene IGF-1R. These results provide a theoretical basis for increasing pork production and provide a new potential target for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes in humans.

IntroductionSalt stress is a major environmental factor that constrains soybean growth, development, and productivity. Flavonoids are key secondary metabolites that play a crucial role in enhancing plant resistance to both biotic and abiotic stress. However, a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying flavonoid biosynthesis under salt stress in soybean is lacking.MethodsIn this study, an integrative analysis of soybean metabolome and transcriptome was conducted using two soybean lines, FQ03 (salt-sensitive, SS) and FQ07 (salt-tolerant, ST).ResultsA total of 650 significantly changed metabolites were identified in SS and ST after salt stress treatment. Among them, 151 flavonoids were categorized into nine classes, with flavones and flavonols being the predominant flavonoid types in soybean. Heatmap analysis showed higher contents of most flavonoid metabolites in ST than in SS under salt stress, and the total flavonoid content in ST was significantly higher than that in SS. In addition, transcriptome analysis revealed a higher number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ST than in SS under salt stress. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly enriched in pathways related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, isoflavonoid biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, as well as flavone and flavonol biosynthesis. Notably, 55 DEGs that were mapped to the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway were identified, with most showing higher expression levels in ST than in SS. Weighted gene correlation network analysis identified eight structural genes and six transcription factor genes as key regulators of flavonoid biosynthesis within the blue module. Furthermore, qRT-PCR results confirmed the accuracy of the transcriptomic data and reliability of the identified candidate genes.DiscussionThis study provides insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying salt stress responses in soybean and highlights hub genes as potential targets for developing salt-tolerant soybean varieties.

Abstract We propose a scheme for generating highly indistinguishable single photons from an active quantum Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain composed of a collection of noisy quantum emitters. Strikingly, the single photon emission spectrum of the active quantum chain is exceedingly narrow relative to that of a single emitter or a topologically trivial chain. Furthermore, this effect is amplified dramatically in proximity to the non-trivial-to-trivial phase transition point. Exploiting this effect, we demonstrate that the single-photon linewidth of a long topological quantum chain can be arbitrarily reduced, rendering it an ideal source of indistinguishable single photons. Finally, by analyzing the most critical parameters concerning experimental realization and providing a microscopic and quantitative analysis of our model, we take concrete examples of actual quantum emitters to establish the viability of our proposal.

Abstract Background As a key regulatory enzyme in the glycolysis pathway, pyruvate kinase (PK) plays crucial roles in multiple physiological processes during plant growth and is also involved in the abiotic stress response. However, little information is known about PKs in soybean. Results In this study, we identified 27 PK family genes against the genome of soybean cultivar Zhonghuang13. They were classified into 2 subfamilies including PKc and PKp. 22 segmental duplicated gene pairs and 1 tandem duplicated gene pair were identified and all of them experienced a strong purifying selective pressure during evolution. Furthermore, the abiotic stresses (especially salt stress) and hormone responsive cis-elements were present in the promoters of GmPK genes, suggesting their potential roles in abiotic stress tolerance. By performing the qRT-PCR, 6 GmPK genes that continuously respond to both NaCl and ABA were identified. Subsequently, GmPK21, which represented the most significant change under NaCl treatment was chosen for further study. Its encoded protein GmPK21 was localized in the cytoplasm and plasma membrane. The transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing GmPK21 exhibited weakened salinity tolerance. Conclusions This study provides genomic information of soybean PK genes and a molecular basis for mining salt tolerance function of PKs in the future.

The double stator high-temperature superconducting field modulated (DS-HTS-FM) machine with a dual-stator configuration and high-temperature superconducting materials includes numerous cryogenic components that establish the required operating temperature for superconducting magnets. This abundance of cryogenic elements introduces complexity to the process of conducting a modal analysis of the entire machine. However, the conventional trial-and-error approach employed to achieve precise modal analysis results for the entire-machine suffers from the drawback of lacking a clear direction for adjustment elastic modulus which has a great influence on the modal analysis results. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain accurate modal analysis results of the entire-machine. In response to this challenge, this study focuses on a 10 kW DS-HTS-FM machine as its subject and presents an elastic modulus adjustment method based on the entire-machine modal analysis, aiming to obtain accurate finite element (FE) modal analysis results of the entire-machine. Initially, the FE method is used to find the components that have a great influence on the outer stator modals while the components that have less influence on the outer stator modal are equivalent to the front and rear end cover in the form of additional mass, thus establishing an entire-machine equivalent model for elastic modulus adjustment. Subsequently, an examination is conducted to ascertain the relative impact proportions of the elastic modulus associated with the outer stator, casing, end cover, and armature windings on the natural frequencies of the outer stator, which can lead to a precise determination of the optimal direction for adjusting the elastic modulus parameters. Lastly, based on the entire-machine modal experiment, the elastic modulus of the equivalent model is modified in a definite direction. Consequently, the elastic modulus values for various components of the DS-HTS-FM machine can be accurately identified. Experimental outcomes affirm the efficacy of this approach in attaining precise FE modal results for the DS-HTS-FM machine and reducing the computational time required for FE analysis.

Abstract Our laboratory has shown that calpain‐2 activation in the brain following acute injury is directly related to neuronal damage and the long‐term functional consequences of the injury, while calpain‐1 activation is generally neuroprotective and calpain‐1 deletion exacerbates neuronal injury. We have also shown that a relatively selective calpain‐2 inhibitor, referred to as C2I, enhanced long‐term potentiation and learning and memory, and provided neuroprotection in the controlled cortical impact (CCI) model of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice. Using molecular dynamic simulation and Site Identification by Ligand Competitive Saturation (SILCS) software, we generated about 130 analogs of C2I and tested them in a number of in vitro and in vivo assays. These led to the identification of two interesting compounds, NA‐112 and NA‐184. Further analyses indicated that NA‐184, (S)‐2‐(3‐benzylureido)‐N‐((R,S)‐1‐((3‐chloro‐2‐methoxybenzyl)amino)‐1,2‐dioxopentan‐3‐yl)‐4‐methylpentanamide, selectively and dose‐dependent inhibited calpain‐2 activity without evident inhibition of calpain‐1 at the tested concentrations in mouse brain tissues and human cell lines. Like NA‐112, NA‐184 inhibited TBI‐induced calpain‐2 activation and cell death in mice and rats, both male and females. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses indicated that NA‐184 exhibited properties, including stability in plasma and liver and blood–brain barrier permeability, that make it a good clinical candidate for the treatment of TBI.

Abstract Background Whether cytochrome P450 24A1 (CYP24A1) polymorphism is associated with cancer susceptibility, the individual study results are still controversial. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive study to identify the association of CYP24A1 polymorphisms (rs4809960, rs6068816, rs2296241, rs4809957, rs2762939) with cancer susceptibility. Methods Electronic databases including Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase were systematically retrieved for relevant publications. Fixed or random-effect model was selected to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results Eighteen published articles were identified. The results indicated that rs4809960 polymorphism was associated with a decreased cancer risk in Caucasian (TT vs. TC+CC: P=0.035; C vs. T: P=0.016) and Asian population (CC vs. TC+TT: OR P=0.044; TT vs. TC+CC: P=0.021; CC vs. TT: P=0.020; C vs. T: P=0.008) and breast cancer risk (TT vs. TC+CC: P = 0.007; TC vs. TT: P=0.004; C vs. T: P=0.033). A significant association was found between rs2296241 polymorphism and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk (AA vs. GG+AG: P = 0.023) and prostate cancer susceptibility (A vs. G: P=0.022). Furthermore, rs4809957 polymorphism was associated with prostate cancer susceptibility in Caucasian (GG vs. GA+AA: P=0.029; GA vs. GG: P=0.022) and breast cancer susceptibility (AA vs. GG+GA: P=0.012; AA vs. GG, P=0.010; A vs. G: P=0.024). Additionally, rs6068816 polymorphism significantly decreased the lung cancer (CC vs. CT+TT: P = 0.016; TT vs. CC: P = 0.044; CT vs. CC: P = 0.036; T vs. C: P = 0.016) and breast cancer risk (TT vs. CC+CT: P = 0.043; TT vs. CC: P = 0.039). No association was found for rs2762939 polymorphism with overall cancer risk. However, for rs2296241, rs4809957, and rs6068816 polymorphisms, there were no significant differences after the Bonferroni correction. Conclusion The meta-analysis suggested that rs4809960 was associated with cancer risk and might be a genetic marker for predicting cancer risk. More large-scale and large-sample studies are necessary to further confirm these results.

Abstract. Asthma is characterized by chronic airway inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness. However, the differences in pathophysiology and phenotypic symptomology make a diagnosis of “asthma” too broad hindering individualized treatment. Four asthmatic inflammatory phenotypes have been identified based on inflammatory cell profiles in sputum: eosinophilic, neutrophilic, paucigranulocytic, and mixed-granulocytic. Paucigranulocytic asthma may be one of the most common phenotypes in stable asthmatic patients, yet it remains much less studied than the other inflammatory phenotypes. Understanding of paucigranulocytic asthma in terms of phenotypic discrimination, distribution, stability, surrogate biomarkers, underlying pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, and current therapies is fragmented, which impedes clinical management of patients. This review brings together existing knowledge and ongoing research about asthma phenotypes, with a focus on paucigranulocytic asthma, in order to present a comprehensive picture that may clarify specific inflammatory phenotypes and thus improve clinical diagnoses and disease management.

Due to the different composition of cutting fluid will affect the failure stress of the material in the shear deformation area, so the rational use of cutting fluid can optimize the cutting force and the surface integrity of parts. Four kinds of hat-shaped samples with shear band widths were designed. The effects of different cutting fluids on mechanical properties of ultrahigh strength steel at different shear strain rates were studied in this paper by SHPB, and verified by cutting experiments. The stress–strain curve, shear failure stress, fracture morphology and cutting force were studied systematically. Experimental results show that the stress remains stable for a period of time with the increases of strain after strain hardening at γs= 10.03 × 104 1/s. All shear fracture is ductile fracture and at γs

Abstract Background Auxin plays a crucial role in nitrate (NO3 –)-mediated root architecture, and it is still unclear that if NO3 – supply modulates auxin reallocation for regulating root formation in maize (Zea mays L.). This study was conducted to investigate the role of auxin efflux carrier ZmPIN1a in the root formation in response to NO3 – supply. Results Low NO3 – (LN) promoted primary root (PR) elongation, while repressed the development of lateral root primordia (LRP) and total root length. LN modulated auxin levels and polar transport and regulated the expression of auxin-responsive and -signaling genes in roots. Moreover, LN up-regulated the expression level of ZmPIN1a, and overexpression of ZmPIN1a enhanced IAA efflux and accumulation in PR tip, while repressed IAA accumulation in LRP initiation zone, which consequently induced LN-mediated PR elongation and LR inhibition. The inhibition rate of PR length, LRP density and number of ZmPIN1a-OE plants was higher than that of wild-type plants after auxin transport inhibitor NPA treatment under NN and LN conditions, and the degree of inhibition of root growth in ZmPIN1a-OE plants was more obvious under LN condition. Conclusion These findings suggest that ZmPIN1a was involved in modulating auxin levels and transport to alter NO3 –-mediated root formation in maize.

Abstract. Background:. The study aimed to describe the aortic valve morphology in Chinese patients underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS), and the impact of sizing strategies and related procedural outcomes. Methods:. Patients with severe AS who underwent TAVR were consecutively enrolled from 2012 to 2019. The anatomy and morphology of the aortic root were assessed. “Downsize” strategy was preformed when patients had complex morphology. The clinical outcomes of patients who performed downsize strategy were compared with those received annular sizing strategy. The primary outcome was device success rate, and secondary outcomes included Valve Academic Research Consortium-3 clinical outcomes variables based on 1-year follow-up. Results:. A total of 293 patients were enrolled. Among them, 95 patients (32.4%) had bicuspid aortic valve. The calcium volume (Hounsfield Unit-850) of aortic root was 449.90 (243.15–782.15) mm3. Calcium is distributed mostly on the leaflet level. Downsize strategy was performed in 204 patients (69.6%). Compared with the patients who performed annular sizing strategy, those received downsize strategy achieved a similar device success rate (82.0% [73] vs. 83.3% [170], P = 0.79). Aortic valve gradients (downsize strategy group vs. annular sizing group, 11.28 mmHg vs. 11.88 mmHg, P = 0.64) and percentages of patients with moderate or severe paravalvular regurgitation 2.0% (4/204) vs. 4.5% (4/89), P = 0.21) were similar in the two groups at 30 days after TAVR. These echocardiographic results were sustainable for one year. Conclusions:. Chinese TAVR patients have more prevalent bicuspid morphology and large calcium volume of aortic root. Calcium is distributed mostly on the leaflet level. Compare with annular sizing strategy, downsize strategy provided a non-inferior device success rate and transcatheter heart valve hemodynamic performance in self-expanding TAVR procedure.

The SOH (State of Health) of lithium-ion batteries is an important feature that characterizes the reliable operation of energy storage systems. In this study, according to the IC (Incremental Capacity) curve and data-driven method, an SOH estimation method based on WPCA (Weight Principal Component Analysis) data dimensionality reduction and SW-TSVR (Structural Weighted Twin Support Vector Regression) was proposed to address the problem of model over-fitting due to redundant information present in the extraction of aging features of lithium-ion batteries. In addition, this study attempted to address issues in model underfitting caused by the small number of aging samples for small sample data as well as the difficulty in extracting effective aging features. Accordingly, WPCA was able to fully excavate aging characteristics from a limited battery aging sample and greatly reduce the interference of redundant information on the accuracy of the model, thereby improving the accuracy of SOH estimation. Using SW-TSVR, the structural and weight information of battery aging samples were shown to be fully integrated into TSVR, for which a strong model generalization ability was constructed for small samples. Finally, 750 aging cycles were conducted with 0.5C–1C current to verify the above method. This study’s findings demonstrated that the proposed method was able to achieve accurate SOH estimation in cases of small data samples.

X-ray activated afterglow nanomaterials are desirable components for advanced optoelectronic applications. Here, the authors present pathways to modulate the stimulus-responsive color emissions in lanthanide-doped fluoride core-shell nanoparticles.

Abstract Background Bama miniature pigs aged between six (6 M) and twelve months (12 M) are usually used in human medical research as laboratory pigs. However, the difference in serum metabolic profiles from 6 to 12 M-old pigs remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the metabolic and physiological profiles present in the blood to further explain changes in Bama miniature pig growth. We collected blood samples from 6 M-, eight-month- (8 M-), ten-month- (10 M-), and 12 M-old healthy Guangxi Bama miniature pigs. A total of 20 blood physiological indices (BPIs) were measured: seven for white blood cells, eight for red blood cells, and five for platelet indices. Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry-based non-targeted metabolomic approaches were used to analyze the difference in metabolites. The associations between the differences were calculated using Spearman correlations with Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment. The 100 most abundant differential metabolites were selected for analysis of their metabolic profiles. Results There were no significant differences in BPIs at different ages, but the mid cell ratio and red blood cell number increased with age. Seven BPIs in Bama miniature pigs were closer to human BPIs than to mouse BPIs. A total of 14 and 25 significant differential metabolites were identified in 6 M vs. 12 M and 8 M vs. 12 M, respectively. In total, 9 and 18 amino acids and their derivatives showed significantly lower concentrations in 6 M- and 8 M-old pigs than in 12 M-old pigs. They were identified as the core significantly different metabolites between the age groups 6 M vs. 12 M and 8 M vs. 12 M. Half of the enriched pathways were the amino acids metabolism pathways. The concentration of six amino acids (dl-tryptophan, phenylacetylglycine, muramic acid, N-acetylornithine, l(−)-pipecolinic acid, and creatine) and their derivatives increased with age. A total of 61 of the top 100 most abundant metabolites were annotated. The metabolic profiles contained 14 amino acids and derivatives, six bile acids and derivatives, 19 fatty acids and derivatives, and 22 others. The concentrations of fatty acids and derivatives were found to be inversely proportional to those of amino acids and derivatives. Conclusion These findings suggest high levels of MID cell ratio, red blood count, and amino acids in 12 M-old pigs as indicators for improved body function over time in Bama miniature pigs, similar to those in human development. This makes the pig a more suitable medical model organism than the mouse. The results of this study are limited to the characteristics of blood metabolism in the inbred Bama miniature pigs, and the effects of impacting factors such as breed, age, sex, health status and nutritional level should be considered when studying other pig populations.

Fatty acids have great prospects for application in alleviating the energy crisis for buildings owing to their low corrosiveness, nonseparation of supercooled phases, and low costs. Capric acid–palmitic acid/urea-formaldehyde (CA–PA/UF) phase-change microcapsules were prepared using binary eutectic blends of CA and PA as the core materials and UF as the shell material. Subsequently, gypsum matrix composites were fabricated by mixing the prepared phase-change microcapsules in a gypsum matrix. The results show that the phase-change temperature and latent heat values of the binary eutectic fatty acid mixture in the optimal ratio of 0.85:0.15 were 26.7 °C and 189.7 J/g, respectively. The CA–PA/UF phase-change microcapsules were physically bound; that is, they were not chemically bound. Furthermore, the microcapsules did not react chemically with the gypsum matrix after incorporation and did not affect the crystal structures of the gypsum. The optimal content of the CA–PA/UF phase-change microcapsules was 10 wt%, at which the compressive strength, flexural strength, and thermal conductivity of the gypsum matrix composites were 4.90 MPa, 2.09 MPa, and 0.1854 W/(m·K), respectively.

BackgroundLegionella pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis, and acute kidney injury are called the Legionella triad, which is rare and associated with a poor outcome and even death. Early diagnosis and timely treatment are essential for these patients.Case presentationA 63-year-old man with cough, fever, and fatigue was initially misdiagnosed with common bacterial infection and given beta-lactam monotherapy but failed to respond to it. Conventional methods, including the first Legionella antibody test, sputum smear, and culture of sputum, blood, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were negative. He was ultimately diagnosed with a severe infection of Legionella pneumophila by metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS). This patient, who had multisystem involvement and manifested with the rare triad of Legionella pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis, and acute kidney injury, finally improved after combined treatment with moxifloxacin, continuous renal replacement therapy, and liver protection therapy.ConclusionOur results showed the necessity of early diagnosis of pathogens in severe patients, especially in Legionnaires' disease, who manifested with the triad of Legionella pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis, and acute kidney injury. mNGS may be a useful tool for Legionnaires' disease in limited resource areas where urine antigen tests are not available.

Stable internal reference genes are crucial for quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses in lung cancer studies. Widely used reference genes are mostly chosen by intuition or from pan-cancer transcriptome data and lack experimental validation by qRT-PCR in the context of lung cancer. This study evaluated the stability of candidate reference genes in lung cancer cell lines under normal homeostasis, hypoxia, and serum deprivation to screen for robust reference genes for qRT-PCR in lung cancer studies. The stability of reference gene combinations was also assessed. We found that most of the stably expressed genes from pan-cancer transcriptome analyses were not sufficiently stable under some of the tested conditions. CIAO1, CNOT4, and SNW1 were found to be the most stable reference genes under various conditions. Greater stability was achieved by combining more reference genes. We further used the hypoxia biomarker hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α to demonstrate that choosing inappropriate reference genes can lead to incorrect qRT-PCR results. We also found that the stable reference genes were irrelevant to malignancy, which may explain their stability under various conditions that cancer cells often encounter. This study provides a list of validated and stable qRT-PCR reference genes and reference gene combinations for lung cancer that may standardize qRT-PCR experiments in future lung cancer studies.

Chronic metabolic disease is a serious global health issue, which is accompanied by impaired insulin resistance. Tomato pectin (TP) is a naturally soluble complex hetero-polysaccharide with various biological functions. However, the impact of TP on hepatic insulin resistance in a high-fat diet (HFD) and its potential mechanism remains largely unknown. The results revealed that TP treatment significantly decreased the liver weight, hepatic fat accumulation and hepatic injury in HFD-fed mice. TP also improved fasting blood glucose levels and glucose tolerance in HFD-fed mice. The underlying mechanisms involved in the inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin signaling in the liver were also investigated by RT-qPCR and western blot, which indicated that TP ameliorated hepatic insulin resistance by regulating the PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway, increasing the expression of GLUT4, decreasing the expression of PECK and G6P as well as restoring antioxidant activities and suppressing the inflammation statues in HFD-fed mice. Our data showed that dietary TP has profound effects on hepatic insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress, demonstrating that TP might be a promising therapeutic agent against insulin resistance and related chronic metabolic disease.

Dwarfing and the selection of optimal plant types constitute the primary focus of sorghum breeding. However, the lack of clarity regarding the gene types associated with plant height genes Dw1-Dw4 in the primary breeding materials has led to increased plant heights in improved offspring of the same plant height type, resulting in unsatisfactory morphological traits. This study aimed to elucidate the gene types related to plant height in breeding materials, validate the regulatory mechanisms, and establish a material improvement system. The goal was to achieve molecular-marker-assisted dwarf breeding through the detection of plant height genes and the test cross verification of main Chinese sorghum materials. Using 38 main male sterile lines and 57 main restorer lines of grain sorghum as materials, three plant height genes were detected and classified. Ninety-five F1 generation hybrids of these materials, along with typical materials, were measured at the wax maturity stage. Test cross results demonstrated that the variation in dw1-dw3 genes in the breeding materials significantly influenced the plant height of hybrid offspring. The main male sterile lines in Chinese sorghum predominantly exhibited the “three-dwarf” type of Kafir and its improved lines, characterized by the genotype (Dw1-Dw2-dw3-dw4). On the other hand, restorer lines mainly showcased the improved “two-dwarf” (Dw1-Dw2-dw3-dw4) genotype of the Kaoliang/Caudatum subspecies, along with the “three-dwarf” type of some Kafir and its improved lines. The test materials predominantly contained dw3 genes, with relatively fewer dw1 genes in the restorer lines. The primary restorer materials lacked the dw2 gene, and dw2 significantly influenced plant type. The increased plant height in improved offspring of the same plant height type material was attributed to differences in gene types. Therefore, the enhancement of plant height in breeding materials should prioritize the use of different methods in conjunction with Dw1 and Dw2 classification.

As one of the most critical economic traits, the litter performance of sows is influenced by their parity. Some studies have indicated a connection between the gut microbiota and the litter performance of animals. In this study, we examined litter performance in 1363 records of different parities of Large White sows. We observed a marked decline in TNB (Total Number Born) and NBH (Number of Healthy Born) We observed a marked decline in TNB (Total Number Born) and NBH (Number of Healthy Born) among sows with parity 7 or higher. To gain a deeper understanding of the potential role of gut microbiota in this phenomenon, we conducted 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of fecal DNA from 263 Large White sows at different parities and compared the changes in their gut microbiota with increasing parity. The results revealed that in comparison to sows with a parity from one to six, sows with a parity of seven or higher exhibited decreased alpha diversity in their gut microbiota. There was an increased proportion of pathogenic bacteria (such as Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus, and Escherichia–Shigella) and a reduced proportion of SCFA-producing families (such as Ruminococcaceae), indicating signs of inflammatory aging. The decline in sow function may be one of the primary reasons for the reduction in their litter performance.

The Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis, an economically important species in China, exhibits significant sexual dimorphism. Males are more valuable than females owing to their wider calipash and faster growth. Estradiol (E2)-induced sex reversal is used to achieve all-male breeding of turtles; however, the mechanism of this sex reversal remains unclear. In this study, we characterized the Sox3 gene, whose expression level was high in the gonads and brain and exhibited significant sexual dimorphism in the ovary. During embryonic development, Sox3 was highly expressed at the initiation of ovarian differentiation. E2 and Sox3-RNAi treatment before sexual differentiation led to 1352, 908, 990, 1011, and 975 differentially expressed genes in five developmental stages, respectively, compared with only E2 treatment. The differentially expressed genes were clustered into 20 classes. The continuously downregulated and upregulated genes during gonadal differentiation were categorized into Class 0 (n = 271) and Class 19 (n = 606), respectively. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that Sox3 significantly affected sexual differentiation via the Wnt, TGF-β, and TNF signaling pathways and mRNA surveillance pathway. The expression of genes involved in these signaling pathways, such as Dkk4, Nog, Msi1, and Krt14, changed significantly during gonadal differentiation. In conclusion, the deletion of Sox3 may lead to significant upregulation of the mRNA surveillance pathway and TNF and Ras signaling pathways and downregulation of the Wnt and TGF-β signaling pathways, inhibiting E2-induced sex reversal. These findings suggest that Sox3 may play a certain promoting effect during E2-induced sex reversal in P. sinensis.

In alcohol-containing systems, the association of polar molecules significantly influences the calculation of water activity, leading to substantial deviations from ideal solution behavior. This makes it challenging for traditional hydrate formation condition models to accurately predict hydrate formation temperatures and pressures. To address this issue, we propose a novel unified thermodynamic framework based on the Parrish-Prausnitz (P-P) model and the Cubic-Plus-Association (CPA) equation of state (EoS) for calculating the hydrate formation condition in systems containing gas/water/alcohol, by using the advantages of the CPA EoS to characterize the association interaction of polar molecules. In addition, we utilize experimental data to model the molecular association in alcohol-containing systems and conduct regression analysis for binary interaction coefficients among alcohol, water, and gas. Multiple sets of experimental data on component fractions and hydrate formation conditions for methane-alcohol-water systems are used for validation. The proposed model shows an average relative error of 1.17–6.42% for predicting alcohol/methane component fractions in the liquid phase and 1.93–4.78% for predicting hydrate formation conditions in alcohol-containing systems. Compared to traditional models, this model demonstrates a significant improvement in accuracy and performs well in predicting hydrate formation conditions in alcohol-containing systems.

Cutting fluids are essential for the machining of difficult-to-cut materials in production. In addition to four basic functions including cooling, lubrication, cleaning, and antirust, cutting fluids also have an effect on the reduction of hardness and ductility of materials. Focused on the effect of cutting fluid composition in the material deformation processes, the influence of two universal cutting fluids (denoted as Blasocut and E709) on high strain rate dynamic mechanical properties of Ni-based superalloy was experimentally investigated and verified by cutting process. The shear stress-shear strain curve, maximum shear stress and shear failure stress, milling force as well as chip formation were systematically investigated. It is indicated that the results from Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar tests are consistent with those from cutting experiments. The Rehbinder effect for the samples under E709 conditions is more significant and the stress fluctuation is the largest, which is up to 14%. Brittle fracture exists under a narrow shear bandwidth 100 μm with high strain rate 10 × 104 s−1, while ductile fracture occurs under a wide shear bandwidth 400 μm with low strain rate 3 × 104 s−1. The cutting force amplitude under E709 is larger than that of Blasocut. The chip burrs under E709 and water are more severe than those under Blasocut. This research reveal significant connection between the cutting fluids and the dynamic mechanical properties or the cutting performance of the metal, which is also helpful to the control of mechanical properties and fatigue resistance of the machined surface.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroid hormones that function in plant growth and development and response to environmental stresses and nutrient supplies. However, few studies have investigated the effect of BRs in modulating the physiological response to nitrogen (N) supply in maize. In the present study, BR signaling-deficient mutant zmbri1-RNAi lines and exogenous application of 2,4-epibrassinolide (eBL) were used to study the role of BRs in the regulation of physiological response in maize seedlings supplied with N. Exogenous application of eBL increased primary root length and plant biomass, but zmbri1 plants showed shorter primary roots and less plant biomass than wild-type plants under low N (LN) and normal N (NN) conditions. LN induced the expression of the BR signaling-associated genes ZmDWF4, ZmCPD, ZmDET2, and ZmBZR1 and the production of longer primary roots than NN. Knockdown of ZmBRI1 weakened the biological effects of LN-induced primary root elongation. eBL treatment increased N accumulation in shoots and roots of maize seedlings exposed to LN or NN treatment. Correspondingly, zmbri1 plants showed lower N accumulation in shoots and roots than wild-type plants. Along with reduced N accumulation, zmbri1 plants showed lower NO3− fluxes and 15NO3− uptake. The expression of nitrate transporter (NRT) genes (ZmNPF6.4, ZmNPF6.6, ZmNRT2.1, ZmNRT2.2) was lower in zmbri1 than in wild-type roots, but eBL treatments up-regulated the transcript expression of NRT genes. Thus, BRs modulated N physiological response and regulated the transcript expression of NRT genes to promote N uptake in maize.

Product quality problems are becoming increasingly complex with the increasing richness of product types and functions, making it challenging to solve quality problems with only personal knowledge effectively. Thus, we propose an approach to extract solution knowledge from quality problem-solving data to improve the efficiency of quality problem-solving. Specifically, by analyzing the characteristics of the data, a method for calculating the membership degree of quality knowledge nodes is first designed. The corresponding quality knowledge triads are constructed based on the relationship between the data structures. Subsequently, we build a double-layer knowledge coordination network (DL-KCN) composed of a problem layer and a solution layer. Finally, using the quality problem-solving data generated during the stamping production process of the body-in-white of an automobile manufacturing enterprise, a DL-KCN with practical application significance is constructed. The DL-KCN is beneficial for problem-solvers to address product quality problems.

Model predictive control (MPC) is widely used in modular multilevel converter (MMC) control because of its strong robustness, fast dynamic response, and strong stability. Traditional MPC must traverse several switch combinations to accurately regulate the output current and circulating current of the MMC. Therefore, as the number of sub-module (SM) grows, the controller’s computational complexity grows. This paper proposes a compensatory model predictive current control (CMPCC) for inner loop current control. It immediately estimates the number of SMs required by the bridge arm without scrolling optimization, reducing the amount of calculation of the system and improving the output current and circulating current tracking accuracy to the references. The objective function is established based on the system output current and internal circulation current by developing the discretization mathematical model of MMC. On the basis of minimizing the optimization scope, the compensation prediction is achieved through the volt-second balance, to achieve effective current control. Subsequently, an uneven bucket sorting algorithm is proposed to drastically eliminate the unnecessary sorting process. Finally, both a MATLAB/Simulink model and an experimental platform of MMC are built. To verify the practicality of the proposed control strategy, simulation and hardware experiments are provided.

This paper mainly analyzes the iron loss of a double stator high-temperature superconducting (HTS) machine with stationary seal and calculates its efficiency. Firstly, according to the field-modulation theory, the air-gap flux density harmonic components of the excitation magnetic field and armature-reaction magnetic field are derived. Secondly, the air-gap flux density harmonic components corresponding to the flux density harmonic components of iron core are derived, and the main iron core flux density harmonic components are confirmed and verified by finite element analysis (FEA). When using the semi-FEA method to calculate the iron loss, according to the analysis results of main core flux density harmonic components, the appropriate step-interval of the FEA is selected. In addition, according to the characteristics of the iron core flux density, this paper proposes an alternative method of iron core flux density, which greatly shortens the calculation time of semi-FEA method of iron loss calculation. Then, iron loss model with variable coefficients is used to calculate the iron loss of the machine, and the calculation results are compared with those of the FEA iron loss calculation method. Finally, other losses and efficiency of the machine are calculated.

Given fault false alarm and fault control failure caused by the decrease of fault identification accuracy and fault delay of Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) power converter in complex working conditions, a method based on the Interactive Multi-Model (IMM) algorithm was proposed in this paper. Besides, the corresponding equivalent circuit models were established according to the different working states of the SRM power converter. The Kalman filter was employed to estimate the state of the model, and the fault detection and location were realized depending on the residual signal. Additionally, a transition probability correction function of the IMM was constructed using the difference of the n-th order to suppress the influence of external disturbance on the fault diagnosis accuracy. Concurrently, a model jump threshold was introduced to reduce delay when the matched model was switched, so as to realize the rapid separation of faults and effective fault control. The simulation and experiment results demonstrate that the IMM algorithm based on low delay anti-interference can effectively reduce the influence of complex working conditions, improve the anti-interference ability of SRM power converter fault diagnosis, and identify fault information accurately and quickly.

Linfen mining area is one of the main coalbed methane industrial bases in the eastern margin of Ordos Basin, China. However, there are few studies on the hydrogeochemical characteristics of coalbed-produced water in the area. This article collected water samples from 14 coalbed methane drainage wells and analyzed the ionic concentrations, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, dissolved inorganic carbon isotopes (δ13CDIC) and trace elements. The results showed that the water of Nos. Five and eight coal seams are both Cl-Na type. The total dissolved solids content was high, ranging from 5011.45 mg/L to 23405.39 mg/L. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope data indicated that the coalbed-produced water in the study area is recharged from atmospheric precipitation. In addition, the HCO3− in the produced water of No. Five coal seam and No. Eight coal seam was negatively correlated with δ13CDIC. The value δ13CDIC in the produced water of No. Five coal seam was heavier than that of No. Eight coal seam. These indicate that microbial degradation occurred more strongly in No. Five coal seam than in No. Eight coal seam. The water-rock interaction in the study area was found to be dominated by cation exchange and dissolution filtration through the relationships between anion and cation.

BackgroundDue to the lack of strong evidence-based medical evidence, the relationship between autologous breast reconstruction (ABR) after mastectomy and long-term prognosis is unclear. This study aims to explore if ABR after mastectomy is associated with the prognosis of breast cancer (BC) patients based on the data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.MethodsWe collected data for all cases diagnosed with BC who underwent or did not undergo ABR after mastectomy from 2010-2015 in the SEER database. The primary outcome of our study was overall survival (OS) and cancer specific survival (CSS). The Propensity Score-Matched (PSM) analysis was used to eliminate the effects of non-random statistics, setting the caliper as 0.0001 to balance the baseline variables within the groups. Chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier method, univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis were used to analyze the data and subgroup analysis was performed to find the subgroups of people who might benefit from ABR.ResultOf 27893 eligible patients, 11038 patients were matched. The cohort consisted of 5519 (50%) ABR patients and 5519 (50%) non-ABR patients after PSM. After PSM, on multivariate cox regression analysis, ABR still exerted a significant influence on the OS (hazard ratio (HR), 0.83, P< 0.05). However, no statistical difference was shown on CSS (HR, 0.93, P = 0.31). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed ABR group had better OS (P = 0.001), but similar CSS (P = 0.174) between ARB and mastectomy groups. Subgroup analysis showed that after matching, those with 50-59 years old, earlier stages of disease, without a marital partner and living in urban areas had better OS after ABR.ConclusionsABR after mastectomy was associated with better OS, but not affect CSS.

Thermal treatment usually leads to the flavor deterioration of melon juice. This study was initiated to evaluate the retention effect of ultrasonic (US) and ultra-high pressure (UHP) on volatile components of melon juice by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC–MS) and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS). The electronic nose, electronic tongue, and GC-IMS analysis showed that US was much better way to contain the flavor of melon juice than UHP was does. The correlation coefficient between the US and the control was as high as 0.99. The concentration of characteristic aroma components in melon juice after ultrasonic treatment was 2.77 times and 3.02 times higher than that in the control and UHP, respectively. Moreover, the US treatment gave no significant difference in the total soluble solids, pH, and color of the juice. And it dramatically enhanced the flavor profile of melon juice.

Abstract When traditional finite‐set predictive power control is applied to Vienna rectifier, the input current will produce a large number of third harmonics under unbalanced power network, which will seriously affect the normal operation of Vienna rectifier. This paper proposes a compound control strategy for three‐phase Vienna rectifier based on grid imbalance. And the new finite control set‐model predictive direct power control (N‐FCS‐MPDPC) is used in the inner current loop. By introducing a redefined reactive power, this method can effectively control the second harmonic of instantaneous active power and the second harmonic of instantaneous reactive power at the same time, and realizes the normal operation of Vienna rectifier under the condition of unbalanced power grid. Linear auto disturbance rejection control (LADRC) is adopted in the outer voltage loop, which overcomes the problem of voltage overshoot and slow dynamic response in PI control. Furthermore, in order to solve the difficulty of grid‐side voltage acquisition when the grid is unbalanced, a virtual flux based no‐grid voltage sensor is introduced to measure the grid voltage. Simulation, along with experimental results, is presented to show that the proposed control strategy has good robustness and fast tracking performance under the condition of power grid imbalance.

IntroductionThe flavor deterioration blocks the development of melon juice.MethodsThe effects of ultra-high temperature (UHT) and high pressure (HP) treatments on the aromatic compound concentrations of melon juice and their mechanisms were explored with fresh juice as the control.ResultsA total of 57 volatile compounds were identified by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. β-ionone was shown to be the major aromatic component of melon juice for the first time. The HP at 200 MPa for 20 min increased the total volatile concentration of melon juice by 1.54 and 3.77 times the control and UHT, respectively. Moreover, the sum concentration of a major aromatic component in the HP treatment was 1.49 and 5.94 times higher than that of the control and UHT, respectively.DiscussionThe HP treatment raised the concentration of volatile and aromatic components of melon juice by reducing their surface tension.

Netted melons are welcomed for their soft and sweet pulp and strong aroma during the best-tasting period. The best-tasting period was highly correlated with its soluble solid content (SSC). However, the SSC of the intact melon was difficult to determine due to the low relationship between the hardness, color, or appearance of fruit peel and its SSC. Consequently, a rapid, accurate, and non-destructive method to determine the SSC of netted melons was the key to determining the best-tasting period. A hyperspectral model was constructed to estimate the SSC of intact netted melons. The combination of continuous wavelet transform and partial least squares or random forest algorithm was employed to improve the estimation accuracy of the hyperspectral model. Specifically, the hyperspectra of the diffuse reflection and SSC of 261 fruit samples were collected. The sensitivity band was screened based on the correlation analysis and continuous wavelet transform decomposition. The correlation coefficient and RMSE of the random forest regression model decomposed by the continuous wavelet transform were 0.72 and 0.98%, respectively. The decomposition of the continuous wavelet transform improved the correlation coefficient by 5 and 1.178 times at 754 and 880 nm, respectively. The random forest regression model enhanced the determination coefficient by at least 56.5% than the partial least squares regression model, and the continuous wavelet transform decomposition further enhanced the determination coefficient of the random forest regression model by 4.34%. Meanwhile, the RMSE of the random forest regression model was reduced. Therefore, the decomposition of the continuous wavelet transform improved the stability and prediction ability of the random forest regression model.

Previous studies have suggested that Hestia criteria could effectively identifying patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) who were at low risk of mortality for outpatient treatment or early discharge. But the performance of Hestia criteria in stratifying patients at different risk class is still unknown. We sought to comprehensively evaluate the prognostic impact of Hestia criteria for PE. The literatures search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE from 1 August 2011 to 31 October 2021. Finally, Eight studies with 4110 patients were included in our meta-analysis. Overall, the pool percentage of patients classified as low-risk group and high-risk group were 41.4%% and 58.6% respectively, and the all-course mortality rates of each group were 2.3% and 10.6%, respectively. The pooled rate of PE-related composite adverse outcomes in high-risk group was increasingly higher than in low-risk group (15.7% vs 4.4%). High risk group was also markedly associated with overall mortality (OR: 7.21, 95%CI: 4.96-10.46, p

Plant leaves, as one of the main organs of plants, have a crucial impact on plant development. In the hybrid F1 variety, one clone “1601” from the hybridization of Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr. × Fraxinus sogdiana Bunge was showed significant differences in leaf development with its female control “M8”. The leaf phenotypic differences of leaflets and fronds, photosynthesis parameters, rate of leaf water loss and leaf cell size were investigated between 1601 and M8. The leaf phenotypic details showed that the leaflets of 1601 were significantly smaller (leaflet size was 53.78% that of M8) and rounder (leaflet aspect ratio was 66.97% that of M8). Its leaflet margins were more serrated (the serrate number was 33.74% that of M8). The fronds of 1601 had more leaflets (1.17-fold that of M8) and shorter leaflet distance (73.44% that of M8). The photosynthetic heterosis was also significant (the net photosynthetic rate in 1601 was 1.43 times that of M8) and the rate of leaf water loss in 1601 was lower than M8. Meanwhile, the results of the leaf microstructure showed that the mesophyll cell area of M8 was smaller than 1601, indicating that the difference in leaf size was caused by the number of cells. To analyze the reasons for these differences in leaf phenotype and explore the important regulatory genes potentially involved in leaf development, the comparative transcriptome analysis of M8 and 1601 and weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) were completed. The results showed that hormones, such as auxins and brassinolides (BRs), along with the transcription factors (TFs), such as the growth-regulating factors (GRFs) and TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATION CELL FACTOR (TCPs), play essential roles in the difference of leaf size between 1601 and M8 by regulating cell proliferation. These data further shed light on the developmental mechanisms of the leaves of F. mandshurica.

Hybrid latex particles combine the unique properties of inorganic nano/micro particles with the inherent properties of polymers, exhibiting tremendous potential for a variety of applications. Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in the design and preparation of hybrid latex particles with well-defined size, structure and morphology. Due to its simplicity, versatility and environmental friendliness, the in situ (Pickering) emulsion polymerization has been demonstrated to be a powerful approach for the large-scale preparation of hybrid latex particles. In this review, the strategies and applications of in situ (Pickering) emulsion polymerization for the preparation of hybrid latex particles are systematically summarized. A particular focus is placed on the strategies for the preparation of hybrid latex particles with enhanced properties and well-defined core–shell, yolk–shell, multinuclear, raspberry-like, dumbbell-shaped, multipod-like or armored morphologies. We hope that the considerable advances, examples and principles presented in this review can motivate future contributions to provide a deeper understanding of current preparation technologies, develop new processes, and enable further exploitation of hybrid latex particles with outstanding characteristics and properties.

Sorghum with longer mesocotyls is beneficialfor improving its deep tolerance, which is important for the seedling rates. Here, we perform transcriptome analysis between four different sorghum lines, with the aim of identifying the key genes regulating sorghum mesocotyl elongation. According to the mesocotyl length (ML) data, we constructed four comparison groups for the transcriptome analysis and detected 2705 common DEGs. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the most common category of DEGs were involved in cell wall, microtubule, cell cycle, phytohormone, and energy metabolism-related pathways. In the cell wall biological processes, the expression of SbEXPA9-1, SbEXPA9-2, SbXTH25, SbXTH8-1, and SbXTH27 are increased in the sorghum lines with long ML. In the plant hormone signaling pathway, five auxin-responsive genes and eight cytokinin/zeatin/abscisic acid/salicylic acid-related genes showed a higher expression level in the long ML sorghum lines. In addition, five ERF genes showed a higher expression level in the sorghum lines with long ML, whereas two ERF genes showed a lower expression level in these lines. Furthermore, the expression levels of these genes were further analyzed using real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), which showed similar results. This work identified the candidate gene regulating ML, which may provide additional evidence to understand the regulatory molecular mechanisms of sorghum mesocotyl elongation.

Pest and disease control outsourcing has become an effective means to restore damaged arable land and guarantee agroecological benefits. However, it is adopted at a relatively low rate in China. The purpose of this study is to explore, from the perspective of government intervention, behavioral logic, and the game relationship among farmers, service organizations and the government in the pest and disease control outsourcing system as well as the endogenous motivation of each subject. The results indicate that when the degree of policy implementation is low, the government’s policy is ineffective, but, after reaching a certain level, the higher the degree of policy implementation is, the stronger the farmers’ willingness to choose outsourcing control and the service organizations’ willingness to provide positive control services are, and the faster the stable state of tripartite joint pest and disease control is formed. In the case of implementing a single policy tool, the convergence rate of each party that implements the regulatory policy alone is fast but may be unstable, while the rate is slow but more stable when a guidance- or incentive-based policy is solely applied. The effect of a combination of policy tools being applied is much better than that of a single policy tool being applied. The simultaneous implementation of the three types of policy tools can form a policy system with both positive and negative mechanisms, which can maximize the complementary and superposition effects.

The surface integrity of ultra-high-strength steel has a significant influence on service performance, and cutting fluid plays an important role in maintaining surface integrity in production. In this paper, the surface integrity of ultra-high-strength steel 45CrNiMoVA was investigated under three cutting fluids: HY-103 (micro-emulsion), TRIM E709 (emulsion), and Vasco 7000 (micro-emulsion) from the aspects of cutting force, surface morphology, residual stress, micro hardness, microstructure, etc. The results showed that the changing trend of the cutting forces in three directions is HY-103 > Vasco 7000 > TRIM E709. The TRIM E709 contains the maximum lubricants, which reduce cutting force and Sa roughness, while the Vasco 7000 contains the minimum corrosive elements, which results in the least pitting. Both tangential and axial stresses under cutting fluid are tensile stresses. TRIM E709 and Vasco 7000 are reduced axially by 4.45% and 7.60% relative to HY-103, respectively. The grain refinement layer depths of HY-103, TRIM E709, and Vasco 7000 are 9 μm, 4 μm, and 8 μm, respectively, and TRIM E709 can induce recrystallized grains to grow along {001} of the sample cross section, which results from the lowest cooling rate. This work may provide an innovative control strategy for cutting fluid to improve surface integrity and service performance.

Interior permanent magnet synchronous machine with air-gap eccentricity (AGE-IPMSM) has the advantages of low torque ripple and low noise. However, air-gap eccentricity will lower the power density of the machine to a certain extent. In this paper, an 18-slot/8-pole interior permanent magnet synchronous machine with air-gap eccentricity is taken as the research object. According to the magnetic circuit method, the no-load and load air-gap magnetic field analytical models are calculated, respectively. Then, by Maxwell’s tensor method, the variation law of radial and tangential air-gap magnetic density harmonic amplitudes and phase angle difference cosine values are analyzed, and it is concluded that the electromagnetic torque can be improved by increasing phase angle difference cosine values of the magnetic density harmonic, which produces the driving torque after eccentricity. On this basis, in order to improve the output characteristics of the machine, the eccentricity and the angle between the V-type permanent magnets are optimized with the total harmonic distortion (THD), electromagnetic torque, and torque ripple as the optimization goals, and then the optimal structure size parameters of the machine are finally determined. Finally, a prototype is manufactured on the basis of the optimal parameters, and the experimental results of the prototype verify the validity and correctness of the theoretical analysis and finite element analysis (FEA).

With the development of unconventional oil and gas exploration “from sea to land,” lacustrine fine-grained sedimentary rocks (FSR) have gradually attracted the attention of scholars and become an important topic in the field of unconventional oil and gas, but the research is still in its initial stage. In this study, lacustrine FSR in the Dongying Depression of the Bohai Bay Basin are used as the research object, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and quantitative image characterization are used to characterize the pore structure of the reservoir in the study area on multiple scales, analyze the reservoir characteristics control factors, and classify and evaluate the reservoir. The results show that: 1) the favorable petrographic phases of the FSR reservoir can be classified into six types of organic-rich lime mudstone, organic-rich laminoid lime clay rock, organic-rich laminoid clay micritic limestone, organic-bearing banding clay micritic limestone, organic-rich banding lime clay rock, and organic-bearing lumpy clay micritic limestone. With an average porosity of 12.3% and an average permeability of 10.58 mD, the overall reservoir is a typical low-porosity-low-permeability type; 2) the reservoir space types are diverse, with strong microscopic inhomogeneity; pores with a pore size of less than 2 nm almost have no contribution to the reservoir space; the pore volume and pore area are mainly provided by organic matter pores at the 100 nm level, mineral intergranular pores, and clay mineral shrinkage pores/slits. The FSR reservoirs in the study area are classified into three categories, and the pore structure of the reservoirs from categories I to III deteriorates in turn. This study provides a basis for the microscopic characterization, classification, and evaluation of lacustrine FSR reservoirs and their exploration.

Sex dimorphism is a key feature of Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis). The males (M) have higher econosmic value than females (F) due to wider calipash and faster growth. Exogenous hormones like estradiol and methyltestosterone can induce sexual reversal to form new phenotypes (pseudo-female, PF; pseudo-male, PM) without changing the genotype. The possibility of inducing sexual reversal is particularly important in aquaculture breeding, but the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Here we applied a direct RNA sequencing method with ultralong reads using Oxford Nanopore Technologies to study the transcriptome complexity in P. sinensis. Nanopore sequencing of the four gender types (M, F, PF, and PM) showed that the distribution of read length and gene expression was more similar between same-sex phenotypes than same-sex genotypes. Compared to turtles with an M phenotype, alternative splicing was more pronounced in F turtles, especially at alternative 3′ splice sites, alternative 5′ splice sites, and alternative first exons. Furthermore, the two RNA methylation modifications m5C and m6A were differentially distributed across gender phenotypes, with the M type having more modification sites in coding sequence regions, but fewer modification sites in 3′UTR regions. Quantitative analysis of enriched m6A RNAs revealed that the N6-methylated levels of Odf2, Pacs2, and Ak1 were significantly higher in M phenotype individuals, while the N6-methylated levels of Ube2o were reduced after sexual reversal from both M and F phenotypes. Taken together, these findings reveal an important role of epigenetics during sexual reversal in Chinese soft-shelled turtles.

Virtual simulation (VS) as an emerging interactive pedagogical strategy has been paid more and more attentions in the undergraduate medical education. Because of the fast development of modern computer simulation technologies, more and more advanced and emerging VS-based instructional practices are constantly increasing to promote medical education in diverse forms. In order to describe an overview of the current trends in VS-based medical teaching and learning, this scoping review presented a worldwide analysis of 92 recently published articles of VS in the undergraduate medical teaching and learning. The results indicated that 98% of included articles were from Europe, North America, and Asia, suggesting a possible inequity in digital medical education. Half (52%) studies reported the immersive virtual reality (VR) application. Evidence for educational effectiveness of VS in medical students’ knowledge or skills was sufficient as per Kirkpatrick’s model of outcome evaluation. Recently, VS has been widely integrated in surgical procedural training, emergency and pediatric emergency medicine training, teaching of basic medical sciences, medical radiation and imaging, puncture or catheterization training, interprofessional medical education, and other case-based learning experiences. Some challenges, such as accessibility of VS instructional resources, lack of infrastructure, “decoupling” users from reality, as well as how to increase students’ motivation and engagement, should be addressed.

In view of the large pipeline diameter and high pressure of China-Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline, as well as the location of the northern section in cold region, the high pressure and low temperature conditions at the initial stage of pipeline commissioning and operation may raise the risk of hydrate formation. Based on the multiphase flow theory and CSMHyK hydrate formation dynamics model, research was carried out on hydrate formatting area, amount of hydrate formation, degree of hydrate accumulation in the pipeline and hydrate control methods under winter operation conditions in the first year of commissioning of the pipeline. The results show that when the water content of the pipeline gas is more than 150 mg/kg, the pipeline is at a risk of hydrate formation. Hydrate formatted in the pipeline mainly accumulates in downstream of the low-lying pipeline section. The higher the elevation difference of the pipeline section, the more hydrate accumulates. The degree of hydrate accumulation in the pipeline is related to both the elevation difference of the upslope pipelines and the elevation difference and slope of the downslope pipelines in the low-lying pipeline section. When ethylene glycol is used as hydrate inhibitor with the injection mass fraction up to 50%, hydrate formation in China-Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline can be effectively prevented.

Abstract Background During interprofessional clinical practice, compared to understanding of one’s own professional role and function, it might be more difficult to clarify the roles and contributions of the other health-care team members because of the inter-professional barrier. In order to provide students the opportunity for real experience with other professions in team environments and enhance their perceptions of other professions’ roles, this study developed a comprehensive and multi-dimension extracurricular interprofessional education (IPE) model through designing and integrating a profession-role exchange component, that was medical students as pharmacists or nurses, pharmacy students as physicians or nurses, and nursing students as physicians or pharmacists in the interprofessional health-care student team, into the service learning experience in a real community setting. Methods In this pre/post-intervention study, the effect of integrated profession-role exchange experiences on the students’ attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration and their role clarification was evaluated among 60 student volunteers (20 medical students, 20 pharmacy students and 20 nursing students). All involved students were divided into the profession-role exchange intervention group and the control group. Subjects in the control group did not participate the profession-role exchange experiences, the other IPE procedures were the same for both groups. Three survey instruments for attitudes toward interprofessional clinical collaboration were respectively used to measure the students’ attitudes toward physician-pharmacist, physician-nurse and nurse-pharmacist collaborations. “Roles and responsibilities” subscale of Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was used to evaluate the overall role clarification during IPE. Results Compared to the control IPE activity, the addition of profession-role exchange component resulted in the significant increase in students’ positive attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration, and the enhancement of students’ role awareness. Conclusions The profession-role exchange might be more effective and better initiate students to the practice of interprofessional collaboration, and could be used as an effective IPE tool for improving the role awareness of health-care students.