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An 8-order polynomial motion has been proposed which optimizes the heald frame's dynamical performances. Compared to tile simple harmonic and 7-order polynomial motion regulations, this motion regulation is proved to be more advantageous. The motion regulation improves the dynamic performance of heald frame. It is found to be suitable for high speed looms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing soil contamination with nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) is a growing environmental concern, adversely affecting ecosystems and the survival of both plants and animals. This study investigated the morphological and physiological responses of Euphorbia marginata Pursh seedlings to varying concentrations of Ni and Cu over a 45-day period. The findings revealed that low concentrations of Ni and Cu enhanced morphological indexes, root indexes, biomass, and photosynthetic pigment content of E. marginata, while high concentrations inhibited these parameters. Compared to the control, Ni and Cu stresses induced membrane peroxidation, increased cell membrane permeability, and inhibited the synthesis of soluble proteins and proline in the leaves. The seedlings demonstrated an ability to mitigate Ni and Cu toxicity by increasing soluble sugar content and enhancing the activities of peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Notably, E. marginata exhibited a higher capacity for Cu2+ enrichment and translocation compared to Ni2+. Combined Ni and Cu treatments reduced the maximum enrichment and translocation levels of both metals in E. marginata. This study highlights the superior tolerance of E. marginata to Ni and Cu stresses and elucidates the mechanisms underlying its response, providing a theoretical basis for the use of landscape plants in the remediation of heavy-metal-contaminated soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of Markov decision processes (MDPs) with uncertain observation noise has rarely been studied. This paper proposes a Robust Quadratic Programming (RQP) approach to approximate Bellman equation solution. Besides efficiency, the proposed algorithm exhibits great robustness against uncertain observation noise, which is essential in real world applications. We further represent the solution into kernel forms, which implicitly expands the state-encoded feature space to higher or even infinite dimensions. Experimental results well justify its efficiency and robustness. The comparison with different kernels demonstrates its flexibility of kernel selection for different application scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymatic hydrolysis is an essential step in the lignocellulosic biorefining process. In this paper, Box-Behnken was used to optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis process of corn stalk, and the promotion effect of three typical surfactants on the enzymatic hydrolysis process was investigated. The experimental results showed that the total reducing sugar yield reached 67.6% under the best-predicted conditions. When the concentration of Tween 80 is 0.1%, it could be increased to 80.2%. In addition, the Impeded Michaels Model (IMM) is introduced in this study to describe the enzymatic hydrolysis process of corn stalks. Finally, the initial contact coefficient between the enzyme and cellulose (K obs,0) and the gradual loss coefficient of enzyme activity (k i) caused by reaction obstruction were obtained by fitting data, which successfully verified the rationality of the model. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfuric acid modifies the biochar derived from corn cobs, stalks, and reeds. Amongst the modified biochar, corn cobs-biochar has the highest BET (101.6 m2 g−1), followed by reeds-biochars (96.1 m2 g−1). The Na+ adsorption capacities for pristine biochars are corn cobs-pristine biochar: 24.2 mg g−1, corn stalks-pristine biochar: 7.6 mg g−1, and reeds-pristine biochar: 6.3 mg g−1, relatively low for field applications. The acid-modified corn cobs biochar has a superior Na+ adsorption capacity of up to 221.1 mg g−1, much higher than literature reports and the other two tested biochars. This corn cobs-modified biochar has also a satisfactory Na+ adsorption capacity (193.1 mg g−1) from actual water collected from a sodium-contaminated city, Daqing, China. The FT-IR spectroscopy and XPS spectrum reveal that the embedded surface –SO 3 H groups onto the biochar correlate with its superior Na + adsorption, attributable to the ion exchange mechanisms. The biochar surface accessible to sulfonic group grafting can generate a superior Na+ adsorbing surface, which is for the first time reported and has great application potential for the remediation of sodium-contaminated water. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altered mitochondrial function contributes greatly to pathogenesis and progression of colorectal cancer. In this study, we report a functional pool of Src homology 2 domain-containing F (SHF) in mitochondria controlling the response of colorectal cancer cells to radiation therapy. We found that elevated expression of SHF in cancer cells is essential for promoting mitochondrial function by increasing mitochondrial DNA copy number, thus reducing the sensitivity of colorectal cancer cells to radiation. Mechanistically, SHF binds to mitochondrial DNA and promotes POLG/SSBP1-mediated mitochondrial DNA synthesis. Importantly, SHF loss-mediated radiosensitization was phenocopied by depletion of mitochondrial DNA. Thus, our data demonstrate that mitochondrial SHF is an important regulator of radioresistance in colorectal cancer cells, identifying SHF as a promising therapeutic target to enhance radiotherapy efficacy in colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser wireless power transfer (LWPT) technology holds significant promise for wireless power transmission in space, necessitating that high-efficiency GaAs laser power convertors (LPCs) have strong tolerance to high-energy particle radiation. Therefore, the degradation characteristics of GaAs LPCs with different architectures under 1 MeV electron irradiation were investigated. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate that LPCs with thicker bottom cells suffer from significantly more electrical degradation. The degradation is primarily due to a reduction in electron concentrations in the base of the bottom cells, which is considerably less pronounced as the thickness of the bottom cells decreases. Based on these analyses, thinning the thickness and optimizing the doping profile for the bottom cells are proposed to improve the radiation resistance of the LPCs. Simulations show that the electrical degradation of the optimized four-junction LPCs is notably less than that of the original four-junction LPCs under the same irradiation conditions, indicating that the proposed strategies effectively enhance the radiation resistance of the LPCs. • Electron irradiation-induced degradation characteristics of GaAs LPCs with different architectures are studied. • Damage coefficients of the minority carrier lifetimes of the LPCs at 808 nm are derived by the tested EQE data. • Degradation of the LPCs is mainly caused by a reduction in electron concentrations in the base of the bottom cells. • Optimizing the thickness and doping profile for the bottom cells are proposed to improve the LPCs' radiation resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Synergistic, neutral, and antagonistic effects in simultaneous adsorption were illustrated. • Co(II) causes a transition in the adsorption form of TC on TNP. • n -hexane hinders the ion transport route for TNP adsorption of Co(II). • The adsorption of Co(II) and NH 4 + completely differentiate in antagonistic adsorption. In the adsorption treatment of multi-component wastewater, complex simultaneous adsorption effects occur due to the various interactions among the adsorbent and adsorbates. However, these effects haven't been comprehensively analyzed. In this study, using cobalt-containing multi-component wastewater as a model, the simultaneous adsorption behavior was deconvoluted and analyzed in terms of synergistic, neutral, and antagonistic effects. For the synergistic effect, the coexisting Co(II) enhanced the adsorption of tetracycline by modulating adsorption state according to the number of adsorbates captured per site. For the neutral effect, the trade-off between narrowed transport routes and accelerated internal diffusion causes almost no change in the adsorption capacity and energy of Co(II). Finally, for the antagonistic effect, the coexisting NH 4 + have intrinsic competition with Co(II), and the adsorption-preferable Co(II) occupy the new adsorption sites created by the increased concentration of NH 4 +. This study contributes to the understanding of the interactions in adsorption engineering for coexisting adsorbates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the covering layer of flexible solar cells, Pseudomorphic Glass (PMG) needs brilliant optical, mechanical and radiation protection properties to ensure the long-term stable operation of cells. In this paper, the evolution law and mechanism analysis of PMG optical and mechanical properties under 170 keV proton irradiation were studied systematically. The surface morphology and the occurrence of cracks before and after irradiation were observed by OLYMPUS optical microscope and SEM. The degradation characteristics of PMG optical performance were researched by comparing the changes of RTV sheet and PMG transmittance. FT-IR and XPS were used to study the vicissitudes of surface composition and chemical bonds, and based on this, the degradation and crosslinking mechanism of silicon rubber molecular chains after proton irradiation was given. In addition, the stress-strain test was selected to characterize the mechanical properties of PMG. ∙ The optical and mechanical properties of PMG before and after proton irradiation were studied systematically. ∙Cracks were formed on the surface of PMG after irradiation. When the fluence reached 1 × 1016 cm−2, a convex structure appeared and the cracks connected into a network. ∙The transmittance absorption peak intensity of the irradiated PMG showed about 10% lower than that of the RTV counter-part, implying better anti-darkening behavior for the composite PMG. ∙The E b decreased while TS b increased with the increase of proton irradiation fluence, which is due to the enhancement of bonding force between the glass beads and adhesive interface caused by irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed tumors among human worldwide. Angiogenesis and tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) recruitment are closely associated with CRC development. Nevertheless, the mechanisms revealing CRC progression are still not fully understood. 5′-Nucleotidase domain containing 2 (NT5DC2), a member of the NT5DC family, modulates various cellular events to mediate tumor growth, and thus serves as a disgnostic biomarker. Here, we explored the potential of NT5DC2 on tumor progression in CRC. We first found that NT5DC2 expression was significantly up-regulated in CRC tissues and cell lines. CRC patients with higher NT5DC2 expression showed poor overall survival. Furthermore, CRC cell lines stably transfected with shNT5DC2 lentivirus plasmids exhibited markedly reduced cell proliferation, migration and invasion compared with the negative control group. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) expression levels were remarkably reduced in CRC cells with NT5DC2 deletion, along with evidently reduced tube formation in the HUVECs cultured in the collected conditional medium. The expression levels of CC chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and its receptor CCR2 were found to be greatly down-regulated in CRC cells transfected with shNT5DC2. Moreover, NT5DC2 knockdown markedly suppressed the activation of protein kinase-B/nuclear transcription factor κB (AKT/NF-κB) signaling in CRC cells. Furthermore, we found that NT5DC2 deletion obviously reduced the TAM recruitments through suppressing CCL2/CCR2 and AKT/NF-κB signaling pathways. Intriguingly, our in vitro experiments demonstrated that VEGF reduction was necessary for shNT5DC2-inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and TAM recruitment. In vivo studies also confirmed that NT5DC2 knockdown effectively reduced the tumor growth and VEGF expression in a xonegraft mouse model with CRC. Lung metastasis of CRC cells was also hindered by NT5DC2 deletion in vivo. Collectively, our results indicated a previously unrecognized NT5DC2/VEGF/CCL2 axis involved in CRC development and metastasis. • 1 NT5DC2 knockdown suppresses cell proliferation of CRC cells. • 2 Reducing NT5DC2 expression restrains migration and invasion in CRC cells. • 3 NT5DC2 knockdown inhibits angiogenesis in CRC. • 4 NT5DC2 deletion reduces CCL2 and AKT/NF-κB signaling in CRC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a robust co-state predictive model for Pontryagin's Minimum Principle (PMP)-based energy management of plug-in hybrid electric bus (PHEB). The main innovation is that the robust co-state predictive model is only expressed by a simplified formula. Moreover, it is exclusively designed by the Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) method in consideration of noises of driving cycles and stochastic vehicle mass. Because the DFSS strives to minimize the weighted sum of mean and standard deviation of fuel consumption, the proposed strategy can simultaneously improve the fuel economy of the PHEB and its robustness. The DFSS results show that the coefficients of the robust co-state predictive model can be found; the simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy has similar fuel economy to dynamic programming (DP); the hardware-in-loop (HIL) results demonstrate that the proposed strategy has good real-time control performance, and can averagely improve the fuel economy by 35.19% compared to a rule-based control strategy. Image 1052 • A robust co-state predictive model is designed by the Design For Six Sigma method. • The predictive model can counter the noises of driving cycles and stochastic vehicle mass. • The predictive model can simultaneously minimize the mean and standard deviation of the fuel consumption. • The robust and real-time control performances of the strategy are verified by hardware-in-loop test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative electrical analysis of sub-cells is crucial for the designing of high-efficiency GaAs multi-junction laser power converters (MJLPCs). However, finding suitable bias lights to separate the electrical performance of sub-cells is an enormous challenge, due to GaAs MJLPCs being assembled by GaAs p-n junctions. Therefore, this study proposes a novel and general method of determining bias lights for the SR measurement of GaAs MJLPCs based on the variation rules of simulated short-circuit current densities with wavelengths in the sub-cells of GaAs MJLPCs. By the method of determining bias lights, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) curves of a GaAs four-junction LPC have been successfully measured for the first time, which confirms the validity of the method. A novel and general method of determining bias lights for the SR measurement of GaAs multi-junction laser power converters (MJLPCs) was proposed, based on the variation of the short-circuit current densities with wavelengths in the sub-cells of GaAs MJLPCs. [Display omitted] • A novel method of determining bias lights for SR measurement of GaAs MJLPCs was proposed. • The method provides a theoretical reference for SR measurement of GaAs MJLPCs at high temperatures or after high-energy particle irradiation. • The EQE curves of a GaAs four-junction LPC were successfully measured by the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, memristors have attracted considerable attention because of their potential applications in artificial neural networks which will promote the future development of artificial intelligence. In this work, the analogue memristive and related synaptic behavior of memristors based on single crystalline LiNbO 3 thin films have been studied. Low energy Ar+ ions irradiation was applied to locally dope the LiNbO 3 thin films by controllably introducing oxygen vacancies acting as donors. The resistive switching performance and synaptic plasticity can be tuned by changing the size or the number of the irradiated regions below the top electrode. Linear regression, an important fundamental function belonging to the machine learning in artificial intelligence, was emulated using memristors with different synaptic plasticity. It has been shown that the local doping method significantly influences the linear regression process. • Single crystalline LiNbO 3 thin films were used to exclude negative influence of co-existence of grains and grain boundaries • Resistive switching behaviors of Ar+-irradiated LiNbO 3 thin film were systematically studied and analyzed. • Properties of memristors for neuromorphic computing were tuned by changing the number of local Ar+-irradiated-zones • Performances of basic artificial neural networks realized by memristor with different properties were compared [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Resistive switching behavior of a ca. 600 nm thick single-crystalline LiNbO 3 (LNO) film has been investigated after vacuum-annealing. Oxygen vacancies (OVs) were generated in the LNO thin film during the annealing process. After electro-forming, filamentary resistive switching has been observed, and the performance of switching can be tuned by the compliance current level. Multi-level resistance states including four different low resistance states, were realized by setting different compliance currents, revealing that both concentration of OVs within the conductive filament and the geometry of the conductive filament influence the switching behavior. The conduction mechanisms of the charge transport during switching is discussed based on the current-voltage curves. Highlights • Using single-crystalline LiNbO 3 thin film to exclude the negative effects of co-existence of grains and grain boundaries. • Uniform resistive switching behaviours of cells on same thin film were observed with setting the compliance current • Resistive switching behaviours with different compliance current and its conductance mechaism were systematically studied • Multi-level resistance states can be realized by setting different compliance current [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous hand gesture recognition is an important area of HCI and challenged by various writing habits and unconstrained hand movement. In this paper, we propose a Structured Dynamic Time Warping (SDTW) approach for continuous hand trajectory recognition. We first propose an automatic continuous trajectory segmentation approach which combines templates and velocity information to spot the beginning and ending points in hand gesture trajectories. Then we assign different weights to feature sequences based on the structured information, from the positions of corner points in the arbitrary trajectories. Finally, we evaluate the SDTW on the Continuous Letter Trajectory (CLT) database. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is robust to the diversity of same handwritten letter, and significantly outperforms state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore an effective, environmental, rapid operating method to repair black and odor water bodies, water samples and sediment samples collected from a polluted municipal lake in Daqing, China, were directly tested in transparent barrels (10 L). Seven groups of optimizing parameters obtained the optimal operating method, and the max removal rate of COD, NH 4 +-N, NO 3 −-N, and TP were achieved (89.18%, 59.65%, 69.50%, and 75.61%) by using aquatic plants with plant growth-promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). To further verify the method's effectiveness, lager scale tests were conducted based on a water tank (216 L), and similar removal rates were obtained within 48 h. The water quality index and microbial community structure analysis revealed the mechanisms of the interaction among plants, microorganisms, and pollutants and the main biological processes during water body remediation. Finally, the cost of water body remediation by using this method was estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexibility, light weight and high reliability are the development themes of space solar cells. Pseudomorphic Glass (PMG) is considered as a novel feasible flexible encapsulation solution for solar cells. In this paper, the degeneration and damage mechanism of PMG morphology, optical and mechanical properties under 170 keV electron irradiation were studied. The change of PMG surface wrinkles structure under the fluence of 1 × 1013 cm−2 to 1 × 1016 cm−2 was observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). After electron irradiation, the defect optical absorption peak intensity of PMG was significantly lower than that of room-temperature-vulcanized silicon rubber (RTV) sheet, showing obviously excellent electron irradiation stability. The transmittance of PMG at the wavelength greater than 500 nm increased significantly while the RTV sheet remained unchanged when the fluence reached 1 × 1016 cm−2, which was mainly caused by the decrease of scattering loss at the bead-adhesive interface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that "organic silicon" was transformed into "inorganic silicon" and Si–OH groups were formed during electron irradiation. Furthermore, the stress-strain test showed that the elongation at break (E b) decreased from 113% to 9% and the modulus of elasticity increased from 2.5 MPa to 9 MPa. • The optical and mechanical properties of PMG before and after electron irradiation were studied systematically. • The decrease of scattering loss at bead-adhesive interface leads to the increase of PMG transmittance. • The adhesive was transformed from "organic silicon" to "inorganic silicon". • The elongation at break (E b) decreased from 113% to 9% and the modulus of elasticity increased from 2.5 MPa to 9 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• the graph matching problem is formulated as an Ergodic Markov chain, and the process of matching is addressed to reach the steady-state of the Markov chain. • our algorithm solves the matching problem in O (n 2) space complexity by taking the decomposition of probability transition matrix, and the property leads the algorithm to the matching of super-large graphs (for example, graphs with the number of points over 1000) in limited computing resource and RAM. • our algorithm is evaluated on both the synthetic and the real datasets, and demonstrate that the proposed approach and algorithm is significantly faster and smaller memory than SM, RRWM and FaSM with no loss of accuracy. In theory, graph matching is a combinatorial problem. One state-of-the-art technique in graph matching, called spectral matching, relaxes the matching problem for consistent correspondence into spectral decomposition of the affinity matrix of graphs, but the most variations of spectral based algorithms suffer from their O (n 4) memory requirement. In this paper we propose a probabilistic spectral matching approach, in which the graph matching problem is formulated as an ergodic Markov chain, and the process of matching is addressed to reach the steady-state of the Markov chain. The approach decomposes the probability transition matrix, and solves the matching problem in O (n 2) space complexity using limited computing resource and RAM. This property makes the approach suitable for super-large graphs matching (for example, graphs with the number of points over 1000). We evaluate our algorithm on both the synthetic and the real datasets, and demonstrate that the proposed approach is significantly faster, and consumes smaller memory than SM, RRWM and FaSM with no loss of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study constructed five laboratory-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) using different ratios of biochar and pyrite as substrates to treat wastewater with a low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio. Biochar can release organic carbon to enhance heterotrophic denitrification and serve as an electron shuttle for denitrification, but it can also release phosphate, negatively impacting total phosphorus removal efficiency. Pyrite releases Fe 2+ and S 2- to promote autotrophic denitrification, with Fe 3+ reacting with phosphate to form FePO 4 precipitates that deposit on and passivate the pyrite's surface. At a biochar-to-pyrite volume ratio of 1:1, total nitrogen removal efficiency peaked at 86.0 ± 2.5 %. However, due to the complex interactions between biochar, pyrite, and functional cells in the VFCWs, no optimal ratio for total phosphorus removal was identified. The atypical removal characteristics of TN and TP in the mixed biochar-pyrite VFCWs suggest the potential for manipulating TN and TP removals at low C/N ratios., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This article studies the multirobot efficient search (MuRES) for a nonadversarial moving target problem, whose objective is usually defined as either minimizing the target's expected capture time or maximizing the target's capture probability within a given time budget. Different from canonical MuRES algorithms, which target only one specific objective, our proposed algorithm, named distributional reinforcement learning-based searcher (DRL-Searcher), serves as a unified solution to both MuRES objectives. DRL-Searcher employs distributional reinforcement learning (DRL) to evaluate the full distribution of a given search policy's return, that is, the target's capture time, and thereafter makes improvements with respect to the particularly specified objective. We further adapt DRL-Searcher to the use case without the target's real-time location information, where only the probabilistic target belief (PTB) information is provided. Lastly, the recency reward is designed for implicit coordination among multiple robots. Comparative simulation results in a range of MuRES test environments show the superior performance of DRL-Searcher to state of the arts. Additionally, we deploy DRL-Searcher to a real multirobot system for moving target search in a self-constructed indoor environment with satisfying results.

Breast cancer poses a significant risk to women's health, and it is essential to provide proper diagnostic support. Medical image processing technology is a key component of all supporting diagnostic techniques, with Image Segmentation (IS) being one of its primary steps. Among various methods, Multilevel Image Segmentation (MIS) is considered one of the most effective and straightforward approaches. Many researchers have attempted to improve the quality of image segmentation by combining different metaheuristic algorithms with MIS. However, these methods often suffer from issues such as low convergence accuracy and a proclivity for converging towards Local Optima (LO). To overcome these challenges, this study introduces an integrated approach that combines the Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA), Slime Mould Algorithm (SMA) and Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm. In this manuscript, we introduce an innovative hybrid MIS model termed SDSSA, which leverages elements from the SSA, SMA and DE algorithms. The SDSSA model fundamentally relies on non-local means 2D histogram and 2D Kapur's entropy. To evaluate the proposed method effectively, we compare it initially with similar algorithms using the IEEE CEC2014 benchmark functions. The SDSSA showcases enhanced convergence velocity and precision relative to similar algorithms. Furthermore, this paper proposes an excellent MIS method. Subsequently, IS experiments were conducted separately at both low and high threshold levels. The test results demonstrate that the segmentation outcomes of MIS, at both low and high threshold levels, outperform other methods. This validates SDSSA as a superior segmentation technique that provides practical assistance for future research in breast cancer pathology image processing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Glioblastoma is a primary brain tumor with high incidence and mortality rates, posing a significant threat to human health. It is crucial to provide necessary diagnostic assistance for its management. Among them, Multi-threshold Image Segmentation (MIS) is considered the most efficient and intuitive method in image processing. In recent years, many scholars have combined different metaheuristic algorithms with MIS to improve the quality of Image Segmentation (IS). Slime Mould Algorithm (SMA) is a metaheuristic approach inspired by the foraging behavior of slime mould populations in nature. In this investigation, we introduce a hybridized variant named BDSMA, aimed at overcoming the inherent limitations of the original algorithm. These limitations encompass inadequate exploitation capacity and a tendency to converge prematurely towards local optima when dealing with complex multidimensional problems. To bolster the algorithm's optimization prowess, we integrate the original algorithm with a robust exploitative operator called Differential Evolution (DE). Additionally, we introduce a strategy for handling solutions that surpass boundaries. The incorporation of an advanced cooperative mixing model accelerates the convergence of BDSMA, refining its precision and preventing it from becoming trapped in local optima. To substantiate the effectiveness of our proposed approach, we conduct a comprehensive series of comparative experiments involving 30 benchmark functions. The results of these experiments demonstrate the superiority of our method in terms of both convergence speed and precision. Moreover, within this study, we propose a MIS technique. This technique is subsequently employed to conduct experiments on IS at both low and high threshold levels. The effectiveness of the BDSMA-based MIS technique is further showcased through its successful application to the medical image of brain glioblastoma. The evaluation of these experimental outcomes, utilizing image quality metrics, conclusively underscores the exceptional efficacy of the algorithm we have put forth., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, pumps have become critical components in agriculture, industry, and the military, necessitating extensive development and implementation of the fault diagnosis method. In the majority of existing fault classification models, the connection between performance improvement and the amount of training data remains high, yet real-world samples are difficult to obtain. Combining domain migration theory and sample expansion method, this paper introduces a few-shot learning fault diagnosis method. Employing the T-SNE visualization algorithm, we examine the validity of the self-calibration attention mechanism (SCAM) and distribution edge prediction strategy (DEPS). The accomplishment demonstrated that the proposed algorithm could effectively map the expanded sample space within a separate interval, thereby avoiding the problem of feature aliasing caused by the overlap of sample features among similar categories and significantly enhancing the quality and quantity of training samples. The experimental analysis indicates that the proposed methodology can effectively increase the accuracy of few-shot tasks, especially in the 9way-15shot task, where it maintains a performance of 72 %, which leading the mean accuracy calculated from the others of about 30%. It is believed that much of the work has superior applicability to other few-shot diagnosis cases., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Heart failure (HF) often leads to kidney injury and increased morbidity and mortality. Factors contributing to kidney injury in HF patients had not been elucidated completely. This study sought to comprehensively evaluate the risk factors and clinical features of kidney injury in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and to provide more evidence for the management of these patients., Methods: Adult patients with CHF admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2022 to May 2022 were included in this study. The primary endpoints were the independent risk factors for the development of kidney injury. A multivariate logistic regression model was used for the exploration of the risk factors., Results: A total of 193 patients were included in this study, of whom 86 (44.5%) developed kidney injury. The independent risk factors for kidney injury in patients with CHF included sex (male) [odds ratio (OR): 4.30, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.72-10.7, P=0.001], hypertension (OR: 3.68, 95% CI: 1.64-8.29, P=0.001), and stroke (OR: 3.82, 95% CI: 1.25-11.6, P=0.01). Kidney injury was significantly positively correlated with age (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.008-1.06, P=0.01) and potassium (OR: 3.70, 95% CI: 1.58-8.67, P=0.002), and significantly negatively correlated with angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) application (OR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.11-0.61, P=0.001), serum albumin concentration (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81-0.96, P=0.005), hemoglobin concentration (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95-0.99, P=0.006), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98, P=0.01)., Conclusions: Kidney injury occurred in more than half of the patients with CHF during hospitalization. The independent risk factors for kidney injury in the CHF patients included sex (male), hypertension, and stroke. Kidney injury was positively correlated with age and serum potassium, and negatively correlated with serum albumin, hemoglobin concentration, LVEF, and ARB application., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-23-1016/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.)

Colon cancer cells rely on mitochondrial respiration as major source of energy for supporting their proliferation and invasion, thus promoting colon cancer malignancy and progression. In this study, we comprehensively investigated the prognostic significance of mitochondria-related genes in colon cancer and identified the hub genes that control colon cancer cell mitochondrial respiration and proliferation. We first systematically evaluated the prognostic significance of differentially expressed mitochondria-related genes in colon cancer specimens. Furthermore, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed to explore the hub genes. Eventually, five hub genes were identified, namely, POLG, FASTK, MRPS5, AARS2, and VARS2. Functional analyses showed that all these five hub genes are essential for maintaining mitochondrial respiration and proliferation of colon cancer cells. Mechanistic studies revealed the roles of these five hub genes in modulating mitochondrial DNA expression, that in turn influence mitochondrial respiration. In summary, our study demonstrated that POLG, FASTK, MRPS5, AARS2, and VARS2 may potentially serve as prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for colon cancer., (© 2022. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Japan Human Cell Society.)

Microplastics (MPs) in terrestrial ecosystems have attracted increasing attention all over the world. The adsorption-desorption behavior and bioavailability of metals in soil would affect its toxicity to organisms. However, the influences of MPs on adsorption-desorption behavior between metals and soil as well as bioavailability of metals in soils are scarcely investigated. Herein, different percentage (0, 0.1%, 1%, 10%) of polyethylene-microplastic (PE-MP) were thoroughly mixed into the soil to investigate the impacts of PE-MP on adsorption-desorption and bioavailability of metals (Zn 2+ , Pb 2+ ) in the soil. A series of characterization were carried out to determine the change of PE-MP before and after adsorption to investigate the mechanisms. When MP100 (average size: 129 μm) content in soil increased to 10%, the adsorption capacities of soil with Pb 2+ and Zn 2+ were 3.73 and 4.56 mg/g, respectively, which were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of pure soil. When MP300 (average size: 293 μm) content in soil increased to 10%, the extraction fraction of Zn 2+ and Pb 2+ from soil by diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid reached 12.35% and 23.96%, respectively, which were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of pure soil, indicating high concentration (10%) of MPs in soil would decrease the adsorption capability of soil to metals and increase the mobility of metals in terrestrial environment. However, when MPs content in soil was 0.1%, the extraction fraction of Zn 2+ and Pb 2+ showed no significant difference with that of pure soil, indicating that actual MPs in soil is unlikely to bring significant influence on metal bioavailability.

Background: Most previous risk-prediction models for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) were based on Western populations. In the current study, we collected data from 23 hospitals in Shandong Province, China, and used the data to examine prognostic factors in Chinese patients and establish a new recurrence-free survival (RFS) prediction model., Methods: Records were analyzed for 5285 GIST patients. Independent prognostic factors were identified using Cox models. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to compare a novel RFS prediction model with current risk-prediction models., Results: Overall, 4216 patients met the inclusion criteria and 3363 completed follow-up. One-, 3-, and 5-year RFS was 94.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 93.8-95.4), 85.9% (95% CI 84.7-87.1), and 78.8% (95% CI 77.0-80.6), respectively. Sex, tumor location, size, mitotic count, and rupture were independent prognostic factors. A new prognostic index (PI) was developed: PI = 0.000 (if female) + 0.270 (if male) + 0.000 (if gastric GIST) + 0.350 (if non-gastric GIST) + 0.000 (if no tumor rupture) + 1.259 (if tumor rupture) + 0.000 (tumor mitotic count < 6 per 50 high-power fields [HPFs]) + 1.442 (tumor mitotic count between 6 and 10 per 50 HPFs) + 2.026 (tumor mitotic count > 10 per 50 HPFs) + 0.096 × tumor size (cm). Model-predicted 1-, 3-, and 5-year RFS was S(12, X) = 0.9926 exp(PI) , S(36, X) = 0.9739 exp(PI) and S(60, X) = 0.9471 exp(PI) , respectively., Conclusions: Sex, tumor location, size, mitotic count, and rupture were independently prognostic for GIST recurrence. Our RFS prediction model is effective for Chinese GIST patients.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to participate in cancer progression. In the present study, we explored the potential roles of lncRNA-PVT1 in the development process of colorectal cancer (CRC) via miR-455. We found that PVT1 is up-regulated in human CRC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. A functional study showed that the silencing of PVT1 expression by siRNAs inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas the overexpression of PVT1 accelerated cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro . A mechanistic study indicated PVT1 regulated the growth of CRC tumors by acting as a competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) and negatively regulated miR-455. Furthermore, we discovered that RUNX2, a functional transcription factor in CRC, up-regulated PVT1 expression. Therefore, our study suggested that the RUNX2/PVT1/miR-455 regulatory axis plays an important role in CRC tumorigenesis and may be a therapeutic target for the treatment of CRC., Competing Interests: None.

Objective: To summarize the treatment status of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in Shandong province,by analyzing the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors., Methods: Clinicopathological and follow-up data of 1 165 patients with gastric GIST between January 2000 and December 2013 from 23 tertiary referral hospitals in Shandong Province were collected to establish a database. The risk stratification of all cases was performed according to the National Institutes of Health(NIH) criteria proposed in 2008. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the survival rate. Log-rank test and Cox regression model were used for univariate and multivariate prognostic analyses., Results: Among 1 165 cases of gastric GIST, 557 were male and 608 were female. The median age of onset was 60 (range 15-89) years. Primary tumors were located in the gastric fundus and cardia in 623 cases(53.5%), gastric body in 346 cases(29.7%), gastric antrum in 196 cases(16.8%). All the cases underwent resection of tumors, including endoscopic resection (n=106), local resection (n=589), subtotal gastrectomy(n=399), and total gastrectomy(n=72). Based on the NIH risk stratification, there were 256 cases (22.0%) at very low risk, 435 (37.3%) at low risk, 251 cases (21.5%) at intermediate risk, and 223 cases (19.1%) at high risk. A total of 1 116 cases(95.8%) were followed up and the median follow-up period was 40 (range, 1-60) months. During the period, 337 patients relapsed and the median time to recurrence was 34 (range 1-60) months. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 98.6%, 86.1% and 73.4%, respectively. The 5-year survival rates of patients at very low, low, intermediate, and high risk were 93.1%, 85.8%, 63.0% and 42.3% respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.000). Multivariate analysis showed that primary tumor site (RR=0.580, 95%CI:0.402-0.835), tumor size (RR=0.450, 95%CI:0.266-0.760), intraoperative tumor rupture(RR=0.557, 95%CI:0.336-0.924), risk classification (RR=0.309, 95%CI:0.164-0.580) and the use of imatinib after surgery (RR=1.993, 95%CI:1.350-2.922) were independent prognostic factors., Conclusions: The choice of surgical procedure for gastric GIST patients should be based on tumor size. All the routine procedures including endoscopic resection, local excision, subtotal gastrectomy and total gastrectomy can obtain satisfactory curative outcomes. NIH classification has a high value for the prediction of prognosis. Primary tumor site, tumor size, intraoperative tumor rupture, risk stratification and postoperative use of imatinib are independent prognostic factors in gastric GIST patients.

Objective: To observe the impacts of eye acupuncture on neurological deficit and Barthel index in the patients of infarction hemiplegia and explore its function mechanism., Methods: Ninety-six patients of infarction hemiplegia were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 48 cases in each one. In the control group, the routine western medicines such as thrombolysis and antiplatelet aggregation were used. In the observation group, on the basis of the treatment as the control group, eye acupuncture was added at Shangjiao and Xiajiao areas bilaterally, once a day, 5 times a week. Separately, before treatment and after 2 weeks' treatment the score changes of the modified Edinburgh Scandinavia stroke scale (MESSS) and the activity of daily life scale (ADL, Barthel index, BI) were observed and the efficacy was compared between the two groups. The plasma endothelin was determined and compared before and after treatment in the two groups., Results: After treatment, the effective rate was 93.8% (45/48) in the observation group and was 79.2% (38/48) in the control group. The effective rate in the observation group was higher apparently than that in the control group ( P <0.05). The scores of neurological deficit were (13.29±1.45) and (18.24±1.33) in the observation group and control group respectively after treatment, which all lower apparently than (28.44±1.45) and (28.14±1.89) before treatment (both P <0.05). Additionally, the difference was significant between the two groups after treatment ( P <0.05). The scores of Barthel index were (82.33±1.56) and (63.34±2.14) in the observation group and control group respectively, which all higher apparently than (38.53±1.54) and (38.14±2.56) before treatment (both P <0.05), and the difference was significant between the two groups after treatment ( P <0.05). The levels of plasma endothelin were (54.55±11.48)ng/L and (62.44±9.88)ng/L in the observation group and the control group after treatment respectively, which were all lower apparently than (78.24±9.25)ng/L and (78.14±10.78)ng/L before treatment (both P <0.05). Additionally, the difference was significant between the two groups after treatment ( P <0.05)., Conclusions: Eye acupuncture effectively improves the neurological deficit and Brathel index in the patients of infarction hemiplegia and comprehensively improves the efficacy. The effect mechanism is possibly relevant with reducing plasma endothelin.

Objective: To study the correlation between the phosphorylation of keratin 18 (K18) and the autophagy and apoptosis of HCT116 cells under the effect of oxaliplatin (OXA) and investigate its possible mechanism., Methods: HCT116 cells were transfected with empty plasmid, wild-type K18 expression plasmid and 33, 52 phosphorylation site mutated K18 (Ser33/52A) expression plasmid separately, and all cells were then treated with 60 μmol/L OXA, followed by supplementation of autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or autophagy inducer rapamycin. FITC-conjugated annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) double staining combined with flow cytometry, calcein-AM/PI staining were used to analyze the effects of K18 and its mutants on cell apoptosis; Western blotting was performed to detect the expressions of K18 phosphorylation, autophagy related proteins microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and beclin-1., Results: Transfection of Ser33/52A plasmid significantly reduced the level of K18 phosphorylation. After treated with OXA, the apoptosis rate of K18 plasmid transfected group was significantly higher than that of empty plasmid transfected group, while the apoptosis rate of Ser33/52A plasmid transfected HCT116 cells was significantly lower than that of empty plasmid or K18 plasmid transfected group. Compared with empty plasmid group, the autophagy of K18 plasmid transfected group was significantly promoted, while the autophagy in Ser33/52A plasmid transfected group was significantly inhibited., Conclusion: K18 overexpression enhanced the autophagy in HCT116 cells and increased its sensitivity to OXA. The decrease of K18 ser33 and ser52 phosphorylation inhibited autophagy and decreased apoptosis of HCT116 cells.

Objective: To investigate the role of apoptosis stimulating p53 binding protein 2 (ASPP2)-induced p53-dependent and p53-independent autophagy inhibition in apoptosis-promoting function of oxaliplatin (OXA)., Methods: According to different treatments, HCT116(p53(-/-)) cells were divided into 6 groups: rapamycin combined with ASPP2 group, ASPP2 group, p53 group, ASPP2 combined with p53 group, OXA combined with 3-methyladenine (3-MA) group, control group (OXA treatment or starvation without OXA treatment). When the level of apoptosis was detected, green fluorescent protein-advirus (GFP-Ad) group and rapamycin group were supplemented as controls. Cells were transfected with GFP-microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (GFP-LC3) plasmid, and LC3-expressing cells were calculated under a fluorescent microscope. Expressions of autophagy-related molecules were detected by Western blotting. Cells were subjected to annexin V-FITC/PI staining and apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry., Results: The 3-MA group showed the same inhibitory ability on autophagy with the ASPP2 group, and both of them were able to promote OXA or starvation-induced apoptosis, but the cell apoptosis rate in the 3-MA group was lower than that of the ASPP2 group. Rapamycin combined with ASPP2 still promoted OXA or starvation-induced apoptosis, and the apoptosis rate was also lower than that of the ASPP2 group. However, rapamycin counteracted effectively the inhibitory effect of ASPP2 on autophagy., Conclusion: OXA can induce autophagy of colorectal cancer cells, while ASPP2 over-expression can suppress the OXA-induced autophagy. ASPP2 can promote apoptosis through p53-dependent and p53-independent pathways. The function of ASPP2 promoting cell apoptosis through p53-dependent and p53-independent pathways is not entirely achieved by inhibiting cell autophagy.

Objective: To investigate the role of apoptosis stimulating protein 2 of p53 (ASPP2) phosphorylation status in the regulation of ASPP2-p53 apoptotic pathway activity., Methods: Cells were individually transfected with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-encoding vector, constitutively non-phosphorylatable ASPP2 mutant-ASPP2 (Am)-encoding vector, and wild type ASPP2 (Aw)-encoding vector) plasmids, respectively, to make them overexpressing phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated ASPP2 proteins, respectively. Cell apoptosis was induced by oxaliplatin. The apoptosis rate of cells was determined by flow cytometry after staining with FITC-conjugated annexin V and PI. ASPP2 protein level and its phosphorylation status were observed by Western blot. The interaction between ASPP2 and p53 was observed by immunoprecipitation assay., Results: Oxaliplatin induced cell apoptosis and caused phosphorylation of ASPP2 at ser92/ser361 in the HCT116 cells. The apoptosis rate of Aw and Am plasmids-transfected cells were (3.8 ± 1.0)% and (3.9 ± 1.2)% respectively, statistically with a non-significant difference (P > 0.05) in comparison with that of the GFP plasmid-transfected cells [(4.0 ± 0.8)%]. After oxaliplatin treatment, the apoptosis rate of Aw plasmid-transfected cells was (46.7 ± 3.9)%, significantly higher than that of the Am and GFP plasmid-transfected cells [(40.1 ± 10.2)% and (37.1 ± 6.9)%, respectively, P < 0.05], however, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) between Am and GFP plasmid-transfected cells. These results indicate that phosphorylated ASPP2 promoted the oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis of HCT116 cells through a p53-dependent pathway. Phosphorylation status of ASPP2 influenced its binding activity to p53., Conclusion: Phosphorylation status of ASPP2 modulates p53 apoptotic function in oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis of colorectal cancer HCT116 cells.

A new multicylinder microchamber reactor is designed on autothermal reforming of methane for hydrogen production, and its performance and thermal behavior, that is, based on the reaction mechanism, is numerically investigated by varying the cylinder radius, cylinder spacing, and cylinder layout. The results show that larger cylinder radius can promote reforming reaction; the mass fraction of methane decreased from 26% to 21% with cylinder radius from 0.25 mm to 0.75 mm; compact cylinder spacing corresponds to more catalytic surface and the time to steady state is decreased from 40 s to 20 s; alteration of staggered and aligned cylinder layout at constant inlet flow rates does not result in significant difference in reactor performance and it can be neglected. The results provide an indication and optimize performance of reactor; it achieves higher conversion compared with other reforming reactors.

The processes and mechanisms underlying brain injuries due to ischemia and anoxia have yet to be determined. Additionally, few clinical treatements are currently available. Activins have a protective role in the restoration, differentiation, and survival of injured cells, including Activin A (ActA), which acts as a neuroprotectant. However, its exact mechanism of action remains to be determined. ActA has been shown to protect neurons following ischemic brain injury. In this study, PC12 cells were differentiated into neuron-like cells after stimulation with nerve growth factor to prepare an oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD) model in neurons. The differentiated PC12 cells, subjected to the OGD model, were exposed to ActA. Results showed that the PC12 survival rate decreased after OGD, leading to an increase in caspase-3 expression in these cells. Pretreatment with ActA was able to partially prevent OGD-induced apoptosis, likely through the downregulation of caspase-3. Futhermore, ActA pretreatment increased the expression of key proteins in the ActA/Smads signal transduction pathway, which may promote neuroprotection after OGD. Therefore, exogenous ActA may function as a neuroprotectant and provide a novel therapeutic treatment for ischemic brain injury.

Ionizing irradiation damage to the lung is associated with an acute inflammatory reaction, followed by a latent period and then late effects including predominantly pulmonary fibrosis. The cells mediating fibrosis have recently been shown to derive from the bone marrow hematopoietic microenvironment. Initiation of late pulmonary irradiation lung damage has been correlated with up-regulation of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 in pulmonary endothelial cells, followed by infiltration of macrophages and bone marrow-derived fibroblasts forming the fibrotic lesions of organizing alveolitis/fibrosis. To determine whether the absence of expression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, or other adhesion molecules known to be relevant to inflammatory cell attachment to lung endothelial cells was associated with a decrease in irradiation-induced lung fibrosis, homozygous deletion recombinant knockout mice lacking each of several adhesion molecules were tested compared to littermates for survival and development of organizing alveolitis following 20 Gy irradiation to both lungs. Bone marrow culture longevity has been shown to be a parameter, which correlates with both hematopoietic stem cell reserve and the integrity of fibroblast progenitors of the supportive hematopoietic microenvironment; radiation lung survival data were correlated to longevity of hematopoiesis in long-term bone marrow cultures established from tibia and femur bone marrow of the same mice. Homozygous deletion recombinant negative mice including VCAM-1-/-, ICAM-1-/-, E-Selectin-/-, or L-Selectin-/- were irradiated to 20 Gy to both lungs and followed for survival and percent organizing alveolitis at time of death compared to each normal littermate. A significant increase in survival (median 190 days) was detected with L-Selectin-/- compared to littermate control mice (median 140 days) or other groups. Long-term bone marrow cultures from L-Selectin-/- mice showed no detectable difference in marrow fibroblasts or hematopoietic cell biology compared to normal littermates; however, E-Selectin-/- mouse long-term bone marrow cultures showed an increase in total cumulative cell production (1.7 x 10(8) cells per flask) compared to bone marrow cultures from normal littermates (1.8 x 10(6) cells per flask) or other groups. As additional controls, transgenic Sod2 mouse long-term bone marrow cultures and those from HPV16, E6 and E7 cytokeratin 14 transgenic mice were also tested. No detectable difference in hematopoiesis was noted in these cultures compared to littermates. The results suggest a complex pattern of involvement of endothelial specific adhesion molecules and marrow fibroblasts in the cell biologic events associated with late irradiation pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Intratracheal injection of manganese superoxide dismutase-plasmid/liposome (MnSOD-PL) prior to single fraction or fractionated irradiation of C57BL/6J mouse lung has been demonstrated to protect the lung from irradiation-induced damage., Materials and Methods: To determine whether irradiation-induced inflammatory cytokine levels influenced the recovery of tumors following single fraction irradiation, mice with orthotopic Lewis Lung Carcinoma (3LL) tumors received MnSOD-PL treatment 24 hours after tumor implantation and 24 hours prior to irradiation. Subgroups were implanted with Alzet pumps continuously replacing levels of inflammatory cytokines over 7 days., Results: In cytokine-treated mice, there was no detectable significant alteration in radiotherapy-mediated improved survival (tumor regrowth delay) compared to irradiated control mice. Each group of mice that received MnSOD-PL had increased survival compared to irradiated controls., Conclusion: These results support the anticipated safety of intrapulmonary MnSOD-PL gene therapy in lung cancer patients for protection of normal lung tissue from irradiation while allowing effective irradiation-mediated tumor control.