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This article applies the conflict-amplification model to the development of Falun Gong. Falun Gong emerged in the early 1990s as a health-enhancing practice and part of the state-sanctioned qigong movement in China. Faced with increasing state suspicion of qigong and fierce competition from other groups, it metamorphosed into a new religious movement in the mid-1990s. State efforts to keep Falun Gong out of the political realm had the effect of releasing the group's political potential and led to its campaign of “truth clarification,” which further alerted the state to its ideological challenge and capacity to mobilize. Through a process of mutual feedback, the antagonism between the two parties culminated in religious violence and in Falun Gong's transformation into a political movement. The organizational evolution of Falun Gong is an illustration of the religion of the nonreligious and the politics of the apolitical in an authoritarian state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead (Pb) pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems in recent decades. However, there are few remediation technologies for insoluble cerussite (PbCO 3), which are common in the environment and have high bioavailability. In this study, the immobilisation of Pb(II) released from PbCO 3 by Pseudomonas rhodesiae HP-7 isolated from Pb-contaminated soil was studied. The results showed that hydroxyapatite and PbCO 3 were dissolved by the organic acids secreted by the HP-7 strain, and then the dissolved Pb2+ and H 2 PO 4 − reacted to form low bioavailable Pb 5 (PO 4) 3 Cl precipitate. XRD and mass conservation calculations showed that 85.7% of PbCO 3 was transformed to Pb 5 (PO 4) 3 Cl when P:Pb was 9:5. Our research showed that the HP-7 strain and hydroxyapatite could reduce the bioavailability of Pb(II) in PbCO 3 , which could be used for the remediation of Pb-polluted environments. [Display omitted] • Pseudomonas rhodesiae dissolved PbCO 3 by secreting organic acids. • High bioavailable PbCO 3 was transformed into low bioavailable Pb 5 (PO 4) 3 Cl. • Insoluble Pb pollutants were immobilised via microbial-phosphorous mineral interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the rise and consequences of the Computer TakeBack Campaign in the USA, and argues that the campaign's achievements can be attributed to its active engagement with the economic, political, and discursive opportunity structures. First, the campaign changed the political opportunity structure and built political legitimacy for itself. Second, the campaign took advantage of the economic opportunity structure, created the leader/laggard frame, embarrassed its target, and utilized forces of market competition to push the Dell Corporation to change its policy. Third, the campaign created a favourable discursive opportunity structure by mobilizing college students and framing the e-waste crisis as a moral issue. Traditional political process theory has been criticized for being overly structuralist and for focusing solely on political movements. This case study shows that a modified understanding of opportunities can enhance the explanatory power of the traditional approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molten iron quality (MIQ) in the blast furnace (BF) needs on-site sampling and laboratory tests, which is very unfavorable to the control. To estimate multiple molten iron quality indicators (MIQIs) such as molten iron temperature (MIT), silicon content ([Si]), phosphorus content ([P]) and sulfur content ([S]) in real-time, some data-driven multi-input multi-output (MIMO) modeling methods have lately been developed. However, those modeling methods ignore the inter-indicator correlation. Moreover, the above modeling methods do not consider the processing strategy for the samples with missing indicators. To conquer the above two problems in the process of modeling, this paper proposed an output space transfer based MIMO Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy modeling method for the four MIQIs. Through sparse learning of the correlation matrix, the inter-indicator correlation is specifically modeled. Due to the full use of inter-indicator correlation, the impact of missing indicators on modeling accuracy is greatly reduced. An effective alternative optimization algorithm is also provided for the corresponding intractable optimization problem. The actual data test shows that the proposed method can greatly improve the accuracy of multiple MIQIs estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system with insidious onset and chronic progression. The pathogenesis of AD is complex, which is currently considered to be the result of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The APOE ɛ4 is the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic AD and a risk factor for progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD. So far, no effective drugs have been found for the progression of MCI. However, the effects of nonpharmacological interventions such as nutrition, cognitive, and physical exercises on early AD have received increasing attention. We followed up cognitive assessment scales, Aβ-PET and MRI examination of a patient with MCI for 4 years, who carried APOE ɛ4 homozygous with a clear family history. After 4 years of multi-domain lifestyle interventions including nutrition, socialization, and physical exercises, the patient's cognitive function, especially memory function, improved significantly. Intracerebral amyloid deposition was decreased, and hippocampal atrophy improved. Based on this case, this study reviewed and discussed the interaction of APOE ɛ4 with the environment in AD research in recent years, as well as the impact and mechanisms of non-pharmaceutical multi-domain lifestyle interventions on MCI or early AD. Both the literature review and this case showed that multi-domain lifestyle interventions may reduce the risk of disease progression by reducing Aβ deposition in the brain and other different pathologic mechanisms, which offers promise in brain amyloid-positivity or APOE ɛ4 carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The layered transition‐metal‐oxide materials are one type of promising cathode materials for sodium‐ion batteries, which typically include P2, P3, and O3 phases, and each has its own advantages and challenges. Taking into account the complementarity of each single‐phase structure, constructing the composite structures is an efficient pathway to stabilize the structure and improve the electrochemical performance. Herein, three composite cathode materials owning the phase structures of P3/P2, P2/O3, and P3/P2/O3 are prepared by changing the calcinating conditions without introducing any doping element. Among them, the composite of P3/P2/O3 shows the best capacity retention of 80 mAh g–1 after 200 cycles and the highest rate performance of 100 mAh g–1 at a current density of 750 mA g–1. The improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to the staggered arrangement of different phase structures and the gradient Na‐extraction/intercalation voltages of different phases. The slip of the transition metal layer is subjected to the constraint of the adjacent phase structure, thus inhibiting the phase transformation for capacity fading. This work provides an easy way for the preparation of composite cathode structures and brings a clear case for understanding the advantage of composite structures on electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks have shown promise in various fields including image processing, natural language processing and speech processing. Despite their proven usefulness in both theory and empirical studies, significant difficulties in their application still persist. More specifically, enabling deep neural networks to reason over data for knowledge acquisition is arguably challenging. Neural networks have the ability to learn patterns and generalize over data but often lack model interpretability, i.e., it is not always clear how they reason over data. Enabling neural networks to symbolically reason is one way to bring explainability and improve knowledge acquisition. In this paper, we introduce a Deduction-Preserved Embedding (DPE) model designed to learn a distributed representation that integrates symbolic deductive reasoning. Our approach effectively incorporates symbolic rules, resulting in enhanced link prediction performance for knowledge graph completion. Our experimental results highlight that the proposed model consistently outperforms baseline methods, demonstrating superior overall performance despite having a relatively small number of parameters. Notably, the version of the model that incorporates symbolic rules surpasses the majority of compared models, particularly in scenarios characterized by data sparsity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Chiral two-dimensional (2D) conductive polymers, encompassing chiral, 2D, flexible, and conductive properties, constitute a novel class of material that remains largely unexplored. The infusion of chirality into 2D conductive polymers taps into the unique characteristics associated with chirality, presenting opportunities to enhance or tailor the electronic, optical, and structural properties of materials for specific technological applications. In this study, we synthesized a chiral 2D PEDOT:PMo 11 V nanofilm through interfacial polymerization, effectively integrating a chiral monolayer, conductive polymer, and inorganic cluster. The inclusion of inorganic cluster serves to enhance the conductivity of the resulting chiral nanofilm. Furthermore, we demonstrated the chiral nanofilm as a capable electrochemical sensor for detecting drug enantiomers. The inherent flexibility of the chiral nanofilm also lays the groundwork for the development of chiral flexible/wearable devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the high-risk factors for rectal cancer No.253 lymph node metastasis (LNM) and to construct a risk nomogram for the individualized prediction of No.253 LNM. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 425 patients with rectal cancer who underwent laparoscopic-assisted radical surgery. Independent risk factors for rectal cancer No.253 LNM was identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis, and a risk prediction nomogram was constructed based on the independent risk factors. In addition, the performance of the model was evaluated by discrimination, calibration, and clinical benefit. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that No.253 lymphadenectasis on CT (OR 10.697, P < 0.001), preoperative T4-stage (OR 4.431, P = 0.001), undifferentiation (OR 3.753, P = 0.004), and preoperative Ca199 level > 27 U/ml (OR 2.628, P = 0.037) were independent risk factors for No.253 LNM. A nomogram was constructed based on the above four factors. The calibration curve of the nomogram was closer to the ideal diagonal, indicating that the nomogram had a better fitting ability. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.865, which indicated that the nomogram had high discriminative ability. In addition, decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the model could show better clinical benefit when the threshold probability was between 1% and 50%. Conclusion: Preoperative No.253 lymphadenectasis on CT, preoperative T4-stage, undifferentiation, and elevated preoperative Ca199 level were found to be independent risk factors for the No.253 LNM. A predictive model based on these risk factors can help surgeons make rational clinical decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Amyloid deposition is considered the initial pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Personalized management requires investigation of amyloid pathology and the risk factors for both amyloid pathology and cognitive decline in the Chinese population. We aimed to investigate amyloid positivity and deposition in AD patients, as well as factors related to amyloid pathology in Chinese cities. Methods: This cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted in Shanghai and Zhengzhou, China. All participants were recruited from urban communities and memory clinics. Amyloid positivity and deposition were analyzed based on amyloid positron emission tomography (PET). We used partial least squares (PLS) models to investigate how related factors contributed to amyloid deposition and cognitive decline. Results: In total, 1026 participants were included: 768 participants from the community-based cohort (COMC) and 258 participants from the clinic-based cohort (CLIC). The overall amyloid-positive rates in individuals with clinically diagnosed AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal cognition (NC) were 85.8%, 44.5%, and 26.9%, respectively. The global amyloid deposition standardized uptake value ratios (SUVr) (reference: cerebellar crus) were 1.44 ± 0.24, 1.30 ± 0.22, and 1.24 ± 0.14, respectively. CLIC status, apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4, and older age were strongly associated with amyloid pathology by PLS modeling. Conclusion: The overall amyloid-positive rates accompanying AD, MCI, and NC in the Chinese population were similar to those in published cohorts of other populations. ApoE ε4 and CLIC status were risk factors for amyloid pathology across the AD continuum. Education was a risk factor for amyloid pathology in MCI. Female sex and age were risk factors for amyloid pathology in NC. Clinical relevance statement: This study provides new details about amyloid pathology in the Chinese population. Factors related to amyloid deposition and cognitive decline can help to assess patients' AD risk. Key Points: • We studied amyloid pathology and related risk factors in the Chinese population. •·The overall amyloid-positive rates in individuals with clinically diagnosed AD, MCI, and NC were 85.8%, 44.5%, and 26.9%, respectively. • These overall amyloid-positive rates were in close agreement with the corresponding prevalence for other populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the symmetrical mixture model and mixture test area, the lattice point set is used to partition, and then the corresponding test statistics can be constructed. In this paper, we first propose the partition methods under the lattice point sets and obtain several sub-simplexes without common interior points. Furthermore, we present a method for constructing a uniform design on the simplex using the center points of these sub-simplexes. The designs satisfy the uniformity of maximum distance deviation and provide good results for the mean square error deviation. Finally, the uniformity test on the mixture region is considered and illustrated by examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel polyoxometalate-based liquid redox process for H 2 S removal is proposed. • Electrolytic cells are used for polyoxometalate regeneration and H 2 production. • Desulphurisation product was proved to be sulphur. • The proposed process proves itself to be practically feasible and efficient. This study proposed a novel electrolytic cell–assisted redox system based on lacunary-type polyoxometalate, which can simultaneously remove hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S), recover elemental sulphur, and produce hydrogen. In this redox system, H 2 S is oxidised into elemental sulphur by using polyoxometalate ([Sm(PMo(VI) 11 O 39) 2 ]−11), which is reduced to corresponding heteropoly blue (reduced polyoxometalates [Sm(PMo(IV) 11 O 39) 2 ]−55). Furthermore, heteropoly blue is electrochemically oxidised back into polyoxometalate on the anode surface, and hydrogen is produced on the surface of the cathode in an electrolytic cell. The experimental results indicated that a 94.8% H 2 S removal efficiency, and 77.9% sulphur recovery efficiency were achieved under optimum conditions. H 2 S was effectively converted to elemental sulphur in the proposed system. Moreover, Optical and electrochemical characterisations demonstrated that the structures of the lacunary-type polyoxometalate could be well-maintained at pH 5, which was most favourable for H 2 S removal. Notably, clean energy hydrogen could be produced in polyoxometalate regeneration process. This innovative system—combining H 2 S waste conversion to elemental sulphur, electrochemical regeneration of redox mediators, and hydrogen production and thus providing environmental benefits and significant economic value—may have future applications in commercial technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Honeycomb-like N-doped carbon nanosheets were prepared via a facile template method. • The as-prepared cellular N-C has been applied as anode for K-ion batteries. • The cellular N-C exhibits excellent rate capability and outstanding cycling stability. • The superior performances are mainly ascribed to the expanded interlayer distance. Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) have caused great concern owing to their low cost and the reserve-abundance of potassium, but a critical limitation in PIBs anodes is the low capacity for efficient intercalation/de-intercalation of K ions with a larger size. Herein, we successfully synthesize a nitrogen-doped carbon with a honeycomb architecture (cellular N-C) via directed growth of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) on the surfaces of LDHs nanosheets followed by the pyrolysis and acid-etching processes. The resulting cellular N-C material exhibits promising PIBs anode activity, which is superior to the N-doped carbon (N-C) derived directly from MOFs. Through the structure design, compared with the N-C, the cellular N-C has the characteristics of finely controlled honeycomb-like morphology with higher specific surface area, well-distributed hierarchical micro/meso/macro-pores, and expanded interlayer distance. These features can greatly facilitate the K+ diffusion kinetics and make the electrode materials accommodate more K ions. Therefore, the cellular N-C electrode can deliver outstanding rate capability up to 10 A g−1 and great cycling performance at 1 A g−1 over 2000 cycles (143 mAh g−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verticillium dahliae is a soil-borne hemibiotrophic fungus that can lead to plant vascular disease and significant economic loss worldwide. Its hosts include over 400 dicotyledon plant species, such as annual herbs, perennials, and woody plants. The average yield loss of cotton crop caused by Verticillium wilt is approximately 10–35%. As the control of this disease is an urgent task for many countries, further understanding of the interaction between plants and V. dahliae is essential. Fungi can promote or inhibit plant growth, which is important; however, the most important relationship between plants and fungi is the host–pathogen relationship. Plants can become resistant to V. dahliae through diverse mechanisms such as cell wall modifications, extracellular enzymes, pattern recognition receptors, transcription factors, and salicylic acid (SA)/jasmonic acid (JA)/ethylene (ET)-related signal transduction pathways. Over the last decade, several studies on the physiological and molecular mechanisms of plant resistance to V. dahliae have been undertaken. In this review, many resistance-related genes are summarised to provide a theoretical basis for better understanding of the molecular genetic mechanisms of plant resistance to V. dahliae. Moreover, it is intended to serve as a resource for research focused on the development of genetic resistance mechanisms to combat Verticillium wilt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses diversity of its coverage and authorship and mentions expressions of interest in reviewing book and writing review essay from social scientists. Topics discussed include catalogues of books from publishers asking review copies and writing email inviting contributions, contact publishers and sociologists working in different language and forum for global sociology.

The chloroplast genome plays an important role in exploring the origin and evolution of grapes. In this study, the chloroplast genomes of eight grape germplasms were analyzed. The results show that the sequence arrangement was highly conserved and has a typical annular quadripartite structure. At the same time, GC content, gene sequence, repeat type and codon bias pattern are highly conserved. Whereas, 19 mutation hotspot regions were identified by the comparative analysis, including 9 protein-coding genes (atpF, rpoC2, rps18, psbC, atpB, rbcL, rps20, ycf1 and ycf15) and 10 non-coding regions (trnK – rps16, rps16 – trnQ, trnE – trnT, psbZ - trnG, ndhC – trnV, accD – psaI, ycf2 – trnL, ndhF – rpl32, ccsA - ndhD, trnL - ycf2). Most of these highly variable genes were involved in the physiological process of photosynthesis. Further examination of photosynthetic fluorescence showed an obvious difference among those species under high-temperature conditions. In addition, maximum likelihood (ML) evolutionary trees depend on the chloroplast genome and CDS sequences suggest that heat tolerance may be related to the phylogeny of grapevine. In the future, the highly variable sequences and SSR loci were also identified by the chloroplast genome comparison, and those results may be used for the DNA molecular marker in taxonomic studies and contribute to the heat stress resistance breeding of grapevine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Dy3+-doped tellurooxyphosphate-based phosphors: Na 3 Ca 4- x (TeO 3)(PO 4) 3 : x Dy3+ and Na 3 Ca 3.91- y Gd y (TeO 3)(PO 4) 3 :0.09Dy3+ were obtained by a microwave-assisted synthesis, aiming to develop photoluminescent materials suitable for phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes (pc-wLED). The effect of Gd3+ partial substitution on the luminescent enhancement of Na 3 Ca 3.91- y Gd y (TeO 3)(PO 4) 3 :0.09Dy3+ phosphor was investigated in detail. When the substitution amount of Gd3+ is 0.06, the luminescence intensity is significantly enhanced. Simultaneously, the partial substitution of Gd3+ induces the increase of the structural rigidity, leading to higher thermostability and better resistance to chromaticity shifting. The study provides a potential yellow-emitting material for pc-wLED. [Display omitted] • The partial substitution of Gd3+ enhances the luminescent performance of Na 3 Ca 4 (TeO 3)(PO 4) 3 :Dy3+. • The title phosphor displays the excellent luminescence stability. • The assembled pc-wLED produces white light with R a = 83.6 and CCT = 4272 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: STAT3 plays an important role in cervical cancer. LC3B, the most potential molecular biomarker of autophagy that may promote or inhibit cancer progression, can be downregulated by STAT3. However the role of STAT3 in the autophagy of cervical cancer remains unclear. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between STAT3 and LC3B in protein level, and verify whether STAT3 promotes proliferation, migration and plate colony formation by inhibiting autophagy of cervical cancer cells through bcl2-beclin1 axis. Results: STAT3 was overexpressed in cervical cancer tissues, and negatively correlated with the expression level of LC3B. STAT3 knockout or knockdown significantly increased the autophagy level and decreased proliferation, migration, plate colony formation and subcutaneous tumorigenesis of cervical cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. STAT3 is known to mediate autophagy through Bcl2-Beclin1 complex. Bcl2 was positively whereas Beclin1 negatively correlated with STAT3 expression, indicating that Bcl2-Beclin1 complex involved in this transition. Conclusion: STAT3 may upregulate the autophagy level of cervical cancer cells through the Bcl2-Beclin1 axis. This indicates that STAT3 may be an important prognostic and therapeutic target for cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zn metal anode has emerged as a promising contender for aqueous batteries. However, challenges such as H2 evolution and Zn dendrite formation have hindered the attainment of satisfactory cycling longevity. In this context, a hydrophobic and zincophilic interfacial nanofilm (HZF) is successfully developed and demonstrated as a protective layer for stabilizing Zn anodes. The HZF nanofilm, characterized by its uniformly distributed zincophilic groups, actively participates in the interfacial solvated structure of Zn2+ ions, thereby modulating the uniform deposition of Zn2+ flux onto Zn anodes and curtailing the deprotonation of solvated water molecules. Concurrently, the exposed hydrophobic surfactant within the nanofilm effectively acts as a barrier, preventing direct contact between water and the Zn anode. As a result, the Zn anode coated with the HZF nanofilm achieves stable and reversible Zn plating/stripping behavior. This is evidenced by the extended cycling lifespan of over 300 h at a discharge capacity of 10 mAh cm−2, with a deep discharge of 67% Zn utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bifunctional electrocatalyst with high efficiency and low costs for overall water splitting is critical to achieving a green hydrogen economy and coping with the energy crisis. However, developing robust electrocatalysts still faces huge challenges, owing to unsatisfactory electron transfer and inherent activity. Herein, NiFe LDH/NiS2/VS2 heterojunctions have been designed as freestanding bifunctional electrocatalysts to split water, exhibiting enhanced electron transfer and abundant catalytic sites. The optimum NiFe LDH/NiS2/VS2 electrocatalyst exhibits a small overpotential of 380 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for overall water splitting and superior electrocatalytic performance in both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER). Specifically, the electrocatalyst requires overpotentials of 76 and 286 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for HER and OER, respectively, in alkaline electrolytes, which originate from the synergistic interaction among the facilitated electron transfer and increasingly exposed active sites due to the modulation of interfaces and construction of heterojunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MiR399 plays an important role in plant growth and development. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the evolutionary characteristics of the MIR399 gene family in grapevine and investigate its role in stress response. To comprehensively investigate the functions of miR399 in grapevine, nine members of the Vvi-MIR399 family were identified based on the genome, using a miRBase database search, located on four chromosomes (Chr 2, Chr 10, Chr 15, and Chr 16). The lengths of the Vvi-miR399 precursor sequences ranged from 82 to 122 nt and they formed stable stem–loop structures, indicating that they could produce microRNAs (miRNAs). Furthermore, our results suggested that the 2 to 20 nt region of miR399 mature sequences were relatively conserved among family members. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Vvi-MIR399 members of dicots (Arabidopsis, tomato, and sweet orange) and monocots (rice and grapevine) could be divided into three clades, and most of the Vvi-MIR399s were closely related to sweet orange in dicots. Promoter analysis of Vvi-MIR399s showed that the majority of the predicted cis-elements were related to stress response. A total of 66.7% (6/9) of the Vvi-MIR399 promoters harbored drought, GA, and SA response elements, and 44.4% (4/9) of the Vvi-MIRR399 promoters also presented elements involved in ABA and MeJA response. The expression trend of Vvi-MIR399s was consistent in different tissues, with the lowest expression level in mature and young fruits and the highest expression level in stems and young leaves. However, nine Vvi-MIR399s and four target genes showed different expression patterns when exposed to low light, high light, heat, cold, drought, and salt stress. Interestingly, a putative target of Vvi-MIR399 targeted multiple genes; for example, seven Vvi-MIR399s simultaneously targeted VIT_213s0067g03280.1. Furthermore, overexpression of Vvi_MIR399e and Vvi_MIR399f in Arabidopsis enhanced tolerance to drought compared with wild-type (WT). In contrast, the survival rate of Vvi_MIR399d-overexpressed plants were zero after drought stress. In conclusion, Vvi-MIR399e and Vvi-MIR399f, which are related to drought tolerance in grapevine, provide candidate genes for future drought resistance breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposed a new fixed-time output tracking control scheme for a class of high-order MIMO nonlinear systems with unknown nonlinearities, parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. Firstly, a novel nonsingular recursive integral terminal sliding mode (ITSM) surface is designed by employing appropriate integral function and integer orders. Then the lumped system matched and mismatched uncertainties are estimated by developing a new adaptive fixed-time disturbance observer (AFTDO) based on super-twisting technique. The chattering problem existed in traditional disturbance observer (DO) can be reduced with the proposed AFTDO allowing the gains to adapt the changed derivative of lumped disturbances, effectively. Furthermore, semi-global fixed-time stability analysis is presented by means of Lyapunov stability theorem and it is proved that the system convergence time is independent of the system initial states and allowed to be arbitrarily adjusted based on practical demands. Finally, theoretical results are supported by numerical simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melatonin, an indoleamine widely found in animals and plants, is considered as a candidate phytohormone that affects responses to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. In plants, melatonin has a similar action to that of the auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and IAA and melatonin have the same biosynthetic precursor, tryptophan. Salt stress results in the rapid accumulation of melatonin in plants. Melatonin enhances plant resistance to salt stress in two ways: one is via direct pathways, such as the direct clearance of reactive oxygen species; the other is via an indirect pathway by enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity, photosynthetic efficiency, and metabolite content, and by regulating transcription factors associated with stress. In addition, melatonin can affect the performance of plants by affecting the expression of genes. Interestingly, other precursors and metabolite molecules associated with melatonin can also increase the tolerance of plants to salt stress. This paper explores the mechanisms by which melatonin alleviates salt stress by its actions on antioxidants, photosynthesis, ion regulation, and stress signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver powder, as the primary component of solar silver paste, significantly influences various aspects of the paste's performance, including printing, sintering, and conductivity. This study reveals that, beyond the shape and size of the silver powders, their microstructure is a critical factor influencing the performance of both silver powders and silver pastes in solar cell applications. The growth process leads to the formation of either polycrystalline aggregated silver powder or crystal growth silver powder. Analyzing the performance characteristics of these different microstructures provides guidance for selecting silver powders for silver pastes at different sintering temperatures. Polycrystalline aggregated silver powder exhibits higher sintering activity, with a sintering initiation temperature around 450 °C. The resulting silver paste, sintered at 750 °C, demonstrates a low sheet resistance of 2.92 mΩ/sq and high adhesion of 2.13 N. This silver powder is suitable for formulating silver pastes with lower sintering temperatures. The solar cell electrode grid lines have a high aspect ratio of 0.37, showing poor uniformity. However, due to the high sintering activity of the silver powder, the glass layer dissolves and deposits more silver, resulting in excellent conductivity, a low contact resistance of the silver electrode, a low series resistance of the solar cell of 1.23 mΩ, and a high photoelectric conversion efficiency of 23.16%. Crystal growth silver powder exhibits the highest tap density of 5.52 g/cm3. The corresponding silver paste shows improved densification upon sintering, especially at 840 °C, yielding a sheet resistance of 2.56 mΩ/sq and adhesion of 3.05 N. This silver powder is suitable for formulating silver pastes with higher sintering temperatures. The solar cell electrode grid lines are uniform with the highest aspect ratio of 0.40, resulting in a smaller shading area, a high fill factor of 81.59%, and a slightly higher photoelectric conversion efficiency of 23.17% compared to the polycrystalline aggregated silver powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) is involved in regulating integrative brain function and synaptic transmission. Aberrant mGluR5 signaling and relevant synaptic failure play a key role in the initial pathophysiological mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study aims to investigate the association between mGluR5 availability and AD's biomarkers and cognitive function. Methods: We examined 35 individuals with mGluR5 tracer [18F]PSS232 to assess mGluR5 availability, and with [18F]Florbetapir PET to assess global amyloid deposition, and [18F]FDG PET to assess glucose metabolism. The plasma neurofilament light (NfL) and p-tau181 levels in a subset of individuals were measured (n = 27). The difference in mGluR5 availability between the AD and normal control (NC) groups was explored. The associations of mGluR5 availability with amyloid deposition, glucose metabolism, gray matter volume (GMV), neuropsychological assessment scores, and plasma biomarkers were analyzed. Results: The mGluR5 availability was significantly reduced in AD patients' hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus compared to NCs. Global amyloid deposition was positively associated with mGluR5 availability in the AD group and reversely associated in the NC group. The mGluR5 availability was positively correlated with regional glucose metabolism in the overall and stratified analyses. The availability of mGluR5 in the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus demonstrated a strong relationship with the GMV of the medial temporal lobe, plasma p-tau181 or NfL levels, and global cognitive performance. Conclusions: [18F]PSS232 PET can quantify the changes of mGluR5 availability in the progression of AD. mGluR5 availability correlated not only with neuropathological biomarkers of AD but also with neurodegenerative biomarkers and cognitive performance. mGluR5 may be a novel neurodegenerative biomarker, and whether mGluR5 could be a potential therapeutic target for AD needs to be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) constitutes a malignant cutaneous neoplasm characterized by an exceedingly unfavorable prognosis. Over the past years, necroptosis, a manifestation of inflammatory programmed cell demise, has gained substantial traction in its application. However, a conclusive correlation between the expression of necroptosis-related genes (NRGs) and SKCM patient's prognosis remains elusive. In this endeavor, we have undertaken an integrative analysis of genomic data, aiming to provide an exhaustive evaluation of the intricate interplay between melanoma necroptosis and immune-infiltration nuances within the tumor microenvironment. Through meticulous scrutiny, we have endeavored to discern the prognostic potency harbored by individual necroptosis-associated genes. Our efforts culminated in the establishment of a risk stratification framework, allowing for the appraisal of necroptosis irregularities within each afflicted cutaneous melanoma patient. Notably, those SKCM patients classified within the low-risk cohort exhibited a markedly elevated survival quotient, in stark contrast to their high-risk counterparts (p < 0.001). Remarkably, the low-risk cohort not only displayed a more favorable survival rate but also exhibited an enhanced responsiveness to immunotherapeutic interventions, relative to their high-risk counterparts. The outcomes of this investigation proffer insights into a conceivable mechanistic underpinning linking necroptosis-related attributes to the intricacies of the tumor microenvironment. This prompts a conjecture regarding the plausible association between necroptosis characteristics and the broader tumor microenvironmental milieu. However, it is imperative to emphasize that the pursuit of discerning whether the expression profiles of NRG genes can indeed be regarded as viable therapeutic targets necessitates further comprehensive exploration and scrutiny. In conclusion, our study sheds light on the intricate interrelationship between necroptosis-related factors and the tumor microenvironment, potentially opening avenues for therapeutic interventions. However, the prospect of translating these findings into clinical applications mandates rigorous investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiosarcomas are rare highly aggressive tumours of vascular or lymphatic endothelial origin, which account for 1-2% of all soft tissue sarcomas.1 Due to the difficulty of timely and accurate diagnosis, primary angiosarcoma of the gastrointestinal system is extremely rare. Computed tomography showed that a bulky mass in the horizontal segment of the duodenum and no distant metastasis (Fig. After the tumour resection, the remaining duodenum anastomosis was performed (b). gl Haematoxylin and eosin staining (HE) section showed that the tumour is composed of irregular vascular spaces filled with atypical endothelial cells (Fig. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: Condyloma acuminatum are the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide, and they are closely associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Urethral meatus is one of the places that warts occur. Many treatments for uretheral warts have limitations. In this study, we performed 5-aminolevulinic acid-photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) on patients and investigated the effectiveness of reducing HPV viral loads. Materials and Methods: In our study, 21 patients diagnosed with urethral condyloma acuminatum were included. After 4 h treatment of ALA, patients received PDT. Each patient received HPV test before every PDT cycle. The frequency of PDT was dependent on viral load changes. Results: All patients achieved complete clinical remission after the last session of ALA-PDT. There were significant differences in HPV viral loads between pretherapy and after one or three rounds of PDT treatment. Conclusions: ALA-PDT is a safe and effective method for treatment of condyloma acuminatum in urethra meatus. Dynamic monitoring of HPV viral loads can more objectively demonstrate the effectiveness and guide the treatment of PDT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the pure powder Ba 2 Y 2 Ge 4 O 13 (BYGO) is constructed using the lanthanide substitution of Y for Gd based on Ba 2 Gd 2 Ge 4 O 13 (BGGO). The activator Dy3+ ions are solidly dissolved into the BYGO and BGGO hosts via occupying the Y3+ and Gd3+ sites, respectively. Under 352 nm excitation, the similarity and difference of the yellowish-white-emitting behaviors of Dy3+ in the two host materials are discussed systematically. When Dy3+ concentration is greater than 0.07 mol, concentration quenching occurs due to the dipole–dipole interaction. Moreover, the luminescent temperature quenching investigation discloses that the BYGO/BGGO:0.07Dy3+ phosphors have favorable thermostability and resistance to chromaticity shifting. Therefore, the Ba 2 Ln 2 Ge 4 O 13 -based phosphors would be prospective yellowish-white-emitting fluorescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly malignant solid tumor that lacks early diagnostic methods. Recently, targeted immunotherapy and radiotherapy have been integrated with radionuclide-antibody conjugate drugs, which can be used for targeted diagnosis and dynamic imaging of tumors. CEACAM6 is overexpressed in pancreatic tumors and is a potential theranostic target for PDAC. We aimed to develop a novel targeted carrier for theranostics of PDAC and other solid tumors. Methods: Based on camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies, we developed a CEACAM6-targeting recombinant antibody NY004, and evaluated it as a novel antibody-carrier for imaging and therapy of cancer in tumor models. We labeled NY004 with theranostic nuclides and applied this self-developed antibody platform in diagnostic imaging and antitumor assessment in PDAC models. Results: Through microPET, IHC, and biodistribution assays, targeting and biodistribution of [89Zr]-NY004 in solid tumors including PDAC was examined, and the investigated tumors were all CEACAM6-positive malignancies. We found that NY004 was suitable for use as a drug carrier for radioimmunotheranostics. Our study showed that NY004 was characterized by high targeted uptake and a long retention time in PANC-1 tumors (up to 6 days post-injection), with good specificity and high imaging efficiency. Therapeutic evaluation of the radionuclide-labeled antibody drug [177Lu]-NY004 in PDAC tumor-bearing model revealed that NY004 had high and prolonged uptake in tumors, relatively low non-target organ uptake, and good anti-tumor efficacy. Conclusion: As a drug platform for radiotheranostics, CEACAM6-specific antibody NY004 met the requirements of easy-labeling, targeting specificity, and effective persistence in pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues. Key Points: • [89Zr]-NY004 has good specificity and high imaging efficiency, and is characterized by high tumor-targeting uptake and a long tumor retention time as a PET molecular imaging tracer. • Therapeutic radionuclide-conjugated antibody drug [177Lu]-NY004 has high uptake and prolonged uptake duration in tumors, low non-target organ uptake, and significant tumor-inhibiting efficacy in PDAC model. • The self-developed antibody structure NY004 is a promising drug platform for radioimmunotheranostics of CEACAM6-positive tumors including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the critical global crises curbing world development and sustainability, air quality degradation has been a long-lasting and increasingly urgent one and it has been sufficiently proven to pose severe threats to human health and social welfare. A higher level of model prediction accuracy can play a fundamental role in air quality assessment and enhancing human well-being. In this paper, four types of machine learning models—random forest model, ridge regression model, support vector machine model, extremely randomized trees model—were adopted to predict PM2.5 concentration in ten cities in the Jing-Jin-Ji region of north China based on multi-sources spatiotemporal data including air quality and meteorological data in time series. Data were fed into the model by using the rolling prediction method which is proven to improve prediction accuracy in our experiments. Lastly, the comparative experiments show that at the city level, RF and ExtraTrees models have better predictive results with lower mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and higher index of agreement (IA) compared to other selected models. For seasonality, level four models all have the best prediction performances in winter time and the worst in summer time, and RF models have the best prediction performance with the IA ranging from 0.93 to 0.98 with an MAE of 5.91 to 11.68 μg/m3. Consequently, the demonstration of how each model performs differently in each city and each season is expected to shed light on environmental policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concise asymmetric total synthesis of goniothalesdiol A was accomplished using protecting-group-free strategy, in which silyl-Prins cyclization was used as the key step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gender, APOE ɛ4 status and age have different effects on brain amyloid deposition in patients with mild cognitively impaired (MCI). Objective: To investigate the effect of gender×APOE ɛ4 status interaction on Aβ deposition in the brains of individuals with MCI in different age groups by PET scanning. Methods: 204 individuals with MCI were classified into younger or older groups based on whether they were under or over 65 years of age. APOE genotyping, structural MRI, amyloid PET scans, and neuropsychological tests were performed. The effect of gender×APOE ɛ4 status interaction on Aβ deposition was assessed in different age groups. Results: APOE ɛ4 carriers had higher amyloid deposition than noncarriers in the whole group. Females with MCI had more amyloid deposition in the medial temporal lobe than males in the whole cohort and younger group. Older individuals with MCI had higher amyloid deposition than younger individuals. In stratified analysis by age, female APOE ɛ4 carriers had significantly increased amyloid deposition compared to their male counterparts only in the medial temporal lobe in the younger group. Amyloid deposition was increased in female APOE ɛ4 carriers compared to noncarriers in the younger group, whereas higher amyloid deposition was observed in male APOE ɛ4 carriers in the older group. Conclusion: Women in the younger group with MCI who were APOE ɛ4 carriers had more amyloid deposition in the brain, while men in the older group with MCI who were APOE ɛ4 carriers had higher amyloid deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Retrospectively analyzed the short- and long-term efficacy between laparoscopic D2 lymphadenectomy plus regional complete mesogastrium excision (D2 + rCME) and traditional laparoscopic D2 in the treatment of patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC), in order to obtain more evidence for D2 + rCME gastrectomy. Methods: A total of 599 LAGC patients who underwent laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy from January 2014 to December 2019, including 367 cases in the D2 + rCME group and 232 cases in the D2 group. Intraoperative and postoperative clinicopathological parameters, postoperative complications and long-term survival in the two groups were statistically analyzed. Results: No significant differences in the positive rate of mesogastric tumor deposits, the number of positive lymph nodes and postoperative length of stay were found between the two groups (P > 0.05). In the D2 + rCME group, intraoperative blood loss was significantly reduced (84.20 ± 57.64 ml vs. 148.47 ± 76.97 ml, P < 0.001), the time to first postoperative flatus and first liquid diet intake were significantly shortened (3[2–3] days vs. 3[3–3] days, P < 0.001; 7[7–8] days vs. 8[7–8] days, P < 0.001), and the number of lymph nodes dissected was greater (43.57 ± 16.52 pieces vs. 36.72 ± 13.83 pieces, P < 0.001). The incidence of complications did not significantly differ between the D2 + rCME group (20.7%) and D2 group (19.4%) (P > 0.05). Although there was no statistically difference in 3-year OS and DFS between the two groups. However, the trend was better in D2 + rCME group. In subgroup analysis, patients with positive tumor deposits (TDs) in the D2 + rCME group had significantly better 3-year DFS compared With D2 group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Laparoscopic D2 + rCME is safe and feasible for the treatment of LAGC and is characterized by less bleeding, greater lymph node dissection and rapid recovery, without increasing postoperative complications. D2 + rCME group showed a better trend of long-term efficacy, especially significant beneficial for LAGC patients who with positive TDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The genetic locus responsible for duck body size has been fully explained before, but the growth trait-related genetic basis is still waiting to be explored. For example, the genetic site related to growth rate, an important economic trait affecting marketing weight and feeding cost, is still unclear. Here, we performed genome wide association study (GWAS) to identify growth rate-associated genes and mutations. Result: In the current study, the body weight data of 358 ducks were recorded every 10 days from hatching to 120 days of age. According to the growth curve, we evaluated the relative and absolute growth rates (RGR and AGR) of 5 stages during the early rapid growth period. GWAS results for RGRs identified 31 significant SNPs on autosomes, and these SNPs were annotated by 24 protein-coding genes. Fourteen autosomal SNPs were significantly associated with AGRs. In addition, 4 shared significant SNPs were identified as having an association with both AGR and RGR, which were Chr2: 11483045 C>T, Chr2: 13750217 G>A, Chr2: 42508231 G>A and Chr2: 43644612 C>T. Among them, Chr2: 11483045 C>T, Chr2: 42508231 G>A, and Chr2: 43644612 C>T were annotated by ASAP1, LYN and CABYR, respectively. ASAP1 and LYN have already been proven to play roles in the growth and development of other species. In addition, we genotyped every duck using the most significant SNP (Chr2: 42508231 G>A) and compared the growth rate difference among each genotype population. The results showed that the growth rates of individuals carrying the Chr2: 42508231 A allele were significantly lower than those without this allele. Moreover, the results of the Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis supported the idea that the growth rate and birth weight had a causal effect on the adult body weight, with the growth rate having a greater effect size. Conclusion: In this study, 41 SNPs significantly related to growth rate were identified. In addition, we considered that the ASAP1 and LYN genes are essential candidate genes affecting the duck growth rate. The growth rate also showed the potential to be used as a reliable predictor of adult weight, providing a theoretical reference for preselection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addiction to morphine is a chronic brain disease leading to compulsive abuse. Drug addiction animal models with and without conditioned place preference (CPP) training have been used to investigate cue‐elicited drug craving. We used 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose (18F‐FDG) and 11C‐2‐β‐carbomethoxy‐3‐β‐(4‐fluorophenyl)tropane (11C‐CFT) micro‐PET/CT scans to examine the regional changes in brain glucose metabolism and dopamine transporter (DAT) availability to study their relationship underlying drug memory in morphine‐treated rat models with and without CPP. Standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr) of 18F‐FDG significantly decreased in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and cingulate with short‐term morphine administration compared with the baseline condition. Voxelwise analysis indicated glucose metabolism alterations in the somatosensory cortex, hippocampus and cingulate in morphine‐treated rats and in the striatum, thalamus, medial prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex and many regions in the cortex in the CPP group compared with the baseline condition. Alterative glucose metabolism was also observed in the striatum, primary somatosensory cortex and some cortical regions in the CPP group compared with morphine alone group. DAT expression alterations were only observed in the long‐term morphine compared with the short‐term morphine group. This study shows that cerebral glucose metabolism significantly altered during morphine administration and CPP process mainly in the mPFC, striatum and hippocampus, which indicates that the function of these brain regions is involved in cue‐induced craving and memory retrieval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To tackle the low conductivity, unstable contact resistance, poor impact strength of conductive adhesive, this paper studies dendritic silver powders as conductive filler on the properties of conductive adhesive. The results show that compared with flake silver powder preparation of conductive adhesive, doping dendritic conductive silver glue show better electrical conductivity, whose volume resistivity decreased 0.8 X 10-3 Ω ⋅ cm. On this basis, the effects of surface treatments such as oleic acid and KI on the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of the conductive adhesive were explored, and the mechanism of improving the conductive property of the conductive adhesive was analyzed. The results showed that the types of surface treatment agents had a selective effect on the properties of conductive adhesives. The conductive adhesives treated with KI had better conductive properties, and the conductive adhesives with dendritic silver powder as filler showed the lowest resistance (0.9 Ω). The conductive adhesive treated with oleic acid showed better mechanical properties, and the conductive adhesive with flake silver powder as filler had better shear force (570 N), which provided technical support for the research and development of conductive adhesive products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The future of electronics is expected to include healable and wearable devices and systems. To realize this futuristic perspective, several smart conductive materials possessing the characteristics of being healable, flexible, and/or stretchable, are introduced. Silver nanowire (AgNW) healable polymer composite is one of the more promising candidates for this class of material. This ability of AgNW polymer composite to be healable under practical operating conditions is demonstrated. Specifically cracks induced by both mechanical and electrical loading are demonstrated to be healed by thermal treatment. Furthermore, a fatigue test of the AgNW healable conductor is conducted to investigate its mechanical behavior, an important prerequisite for the deployment of new materials. As a proof of concept, a healable touch panel is fabricated to demonstrate its feasibility, laying a stepping stone for future healable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gefitinib is a targeted anticancer drug that was developed as an effective clinical therapy for lung cancer. Numerous patients develop gefitinib resistance in response to treatment. Sulforaphane (SFN) is present in cruciferous vegetables, and has been demonstrated to inhibit the malignant growth of various types of cancer cells. To investigate the role of SFN in gefitinib resistance, a gefitinib-tolerant PC9 (PC9GT) cell model was established by continually exposing PC9 cells to gefitinib. Cell viability was measured using a cell proliferation assay. Components of the sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway and markers of lung cancer stem cells were detected via western blotting. SFN markedly inhibited the proliferation of PC9GT and PC9 cells in a dose-dependent manner; combination SFN/gefitinib treatment also markedly decreased PC9GT cell proliferation, compared with SFN or gefitinib administered alone (P<0.05). Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of SHH, Smoothened (SMO), zinc finger protein GLI1 (GLI1), GLI2, CD133 and CD44 were upregulated in PC9GT cells, as compared with in PC9 cells. Furthermore, SFN markedly inhibited the expression of SHH, SMO and GLI1 in PC9GT and PC9 cells in a dose dependent manner, and SFN combined with gefitinib markedly inhibited the expression of SHH, SMO, GLI1, CD133 and CD44 in PC9GT cells when compared with SFN or gefitinib monotherapy. The results of the present study demonstrated that SFN inhibits the proliferation of gefitinib-tolerant lung cancer cells via modulation of the SHH signaling pathway. Therefore, combined SFN and gefitinib therapy may be an effective approach for the treatment of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon content prediction is quite significant for supervising the state of blast furnace and is usually selected as the indicator to represent the thermal state. In practical industry, the fluctuation exists in the operation of blast furnace all the time. What's worse, it is inaccurate to build the predictive model with many outliers. To solve these problems, this paper has developed a model to predict the silicon content using support vector regression (SVR) combined with clustering algorithms, including hard C-means (HCM) clustering and fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering. Through data processing, the data points are clustered based on the similarity, and then different SVR models are established. In order to make full use of FCM, a new method using multiple SVRs and FCM based on membership degree (MFCM-SVRs) is proposed where the membership degree is applied to eliminate the outliers. Simulation results verify that the multiple SVRs based on HCM (HCM-SVRs) and MFCM-SVRs possess superiority in terms of accuracy and speed, which makes the method serve better for practical production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a solution to the robust adaptive uniform exact tracking control for uncertain nonlinear Euler–Lagrange (EL) system. An adaptive finite-time tracking control algorithm is designed by proposing a novel nonsingular integral terminal sliding-mode surface. Moreover, a new adaptive parameter tuning law is also developed by making good use of the system tracking errors and the adaptive parameter estimation errors. Thus, both the trajectory tracking and the parameter estimation can be achieved in a guaranteed time adjusted arbitrarily based on practical demands, simultaneously. Additionally, the control result for the EL system proposed in this paper can be extended to high-order nonlinear systems easily. Finally, a test-bed 2-DOF robot arm is set-up to demonstrate the performance of the new control algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a chronic disorder of the spinal cord. ROI-based features on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provide additional information about spinal cord status, which would benefit the diagnosis and prognosis of CSM. However, the manual extraction of the DTI-related features on multiple ROIs is time-consuming and laborious. In total, 1159 slices at cervical levels from 89 CSM patients were analyzed, and corresponding fractional anisotropy (FA) maps were calculated. Eight ROIs were drawn, covering both sides of lateral, dorsal, ventral, and gray matter. The UNet model was trained with the proposed heatmap distance loss for auto-segmentation. Mean Dice coefficients on the test dataset for dorsal, lateral, and ventral column and gray matter were 0.69, 0.67, 0.57, 0.54 on the left side and 0.68, 0.67, 0.59, 0.55 on the right side. The ROI-based mean FA value based on segmentation model strongly correlated with the value based on manual drawing. The percentages of the mean absolute error between the two values of multiple ROIs were 0.07, 0.07, 0.11, and 0.08 on the left side and 0.07, 0.1, 0.1, 0.11, and 0.07 on the right side. The proposed segmentation model has the potential to offer a more detailed spinal cord segmentation and would be beneficial for quantifying a more detailed status of the cervical spinal cord. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the short- and long-term effect of laparoscopic total gastrectomy in D2 radical treatment combined with spleno-pancreatectomy under membrane anatomy. Methods: From June 2013 to June 2018, 70 patients with gastric cancer underwent total gastrectomy combined with spleno-pancreatectomy involving 37 cases in laparoscopy group and 33 cases in laparotomy group. The intraoperative and postoperative conditions of patients in the two groups were compared and analyzed. Results: In the laparoscopy group, the operation time and the number of positive lymph node dissection was similar to the laparotomy group. Statistical difference was found in intraoperative bleeding [(79.19 ± 39.63)ml vs (214.39 ± 152.47)m1], the number of lymph node dissection [(47.27 ± 13.94) vs (35.45 ± 9.81)], the first time of aerofluxus [(2.92 ± 0.76)d vs (3.76 ± 1.09)d], the first fluid intake time [(7.49 ± 0.96)d vs (8.27 ± 1.91)d] and the postoperative hospital stay [(11.95 ± 1.90)d vs (15.39 ± 4.07)d] (P < 0.05), So the laparoscopy group was significantly superior to the laparotomy group. The incidences of postoperative complications in laparoscopy group and the laparotomy group were 35.13% and 27.27%, and the difference was not statistically significant. (P > 0.05). No stark difference in postoperative complications of Clavien-Dindo Classification (P > 0.05). The K-M survival curve showed no significant difference in 3-year overall survival (OS) and 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The laparoscopic total gastrectomy in D2 radical treatment combined with spleno-pancreatectomy under membrane anatomy is feasible and safe, which can remove more perigastric lymph nodes. With advantages of less intraoperative blood loss and fast postoperative recovery, it cannot increase postoperative complications and long-term survival are comparable to open surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of aging and thermomechanical treatments on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of a nanoprecipitates strengthened ferritic steel. The toughness of steel at various temperatures was measured carefully and correlated with microstructural features. Tensile tests show that aging can improve the mechanical strength without scarifying the ductility. With high yield strength of ~1000 MPa, excellent low temperature Charpy impact energy more than 300 J at −80 °C can be obtained. The ductile brittle transition temperature (DBTT) is lower than −80 °C. The high strength can be contributed by the nanocluster precipitation as determined by small angle neutron scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The excellent low temperature toughness is attributed to the delamination structure of the steel, which blunts the cracks and restrains the crack propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Subjects with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are proposed as a potential population to screen for Alzheimer's disease (AD).Objective: Investigating brain topologies would help to mine the neuromechanisms of SCD and provide new insights into the pathogenesis of AD.Methods: Objectively cognitively unimpaired subjects from communities who underwent resting-state BOLD-fMRI and clinical assessments were included. The subjects were categorized into SCD and normal control (NC) groups according to whether they exhibited self-perceived cognitive decline and were worried about it. The minimum spanning tree (MST) of the functional brain network was calculated for each subject, based on which the efficiency and centrality of the brain network organization were explored. Hippocampal/parahippocampal volumes were also detected to reveal whether the early neurodegeneration of AD could be seen in SCD.Results: A total of 49 subjects in NC and 95 subjects in SCD group were included in this study. We found the efficiency and centrality of brain network organization, as well as the hippocampal/parahippocampal volume were preserved in SCD. Besides, SCD exhibited normal cognitions, including memory, language, and execution, but increased depressive and anxious levels. Interestingly, language and execution, instead of memory, showed a significant positive correlation with the maximum betweenness centrality of the functional brain organization and hippocampal/parahippocampal volume. Neither depressive nor anxious scales exhibited correlations with the brain functional topologies or hippocampal/parahippocampal volume.Conclusion: SCD exhibited preserved efficiency and centrality of brain organization. In clinical practice, language and execution as well as depression and anxiety should be paid attention in SCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eggs are a major animal protein source for humans. Egg formation is a complex process involved in coordinating various tissues and organs, while blood is necessary for gonad differentiation and egg formation. In this study, non-targeted metabolomics technology was employed to determine the serum metabolites at the time point of 70 days (before laying period, T0), 130 days (pre-laying period, T1), 300 days (peak laying period, T2), and 340 days (post laying period, T3) in female ducks, to provide comprehensive metabolic profiling in reflecting the overall temporal changes. The results showed significant differences in the metabolites of different comparison groups (T0 vs. T1, T2 vs. T3, and T0 & T1 vs. T2& T3), supporting the main physiological responses in ducks are differential among laying periods. L-Aspartic Acid, Biotin, and Thyroxine can be considered the potential biomarkers related to sexual maturity. L-Lysine, Lumichrome, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Pyridoxine may be biomarkers related to egg formation. Sorbitol, Isorhamnetin, Naringenin, and Hydroxykynurenine were the biomarkers associated with the decline of egg production. In addition, the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that sexual maturity was mainly involved in the biosynthesis of secondary plant metabolites, Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle, Mineral absorption, pentose phosphate pathway, and Oxocarboxylic acid metabolism. Egg formation disturbed amino acid metabolism, vitamin metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism. The neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway may affect egg production. These findings can detect the different physiological statuses in female ducks and provide a theoretical basis for increasing egg production, and ensuring sustainable farming. The main physiological responses in ducks are differential among laying periods. 3, 6, and 4 biomarkers related to sexual maturity, the formation of the egg, and the decline of egg production, respectively. Sexual maturity was mainly involved in the biosynthesis of secondary plant metabolites, Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle, Mineral absorption, pentose phosphate pathway, and Oxocarboxylic acid metabolism, and egg formation disturbed amino acid metabolism, vitamin metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism. while the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway may affect egg production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]