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Tianjin is one of the inland cities with the most severe cases of subsidence hazard in China. The majority of the existing studies have mainly focused on Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and little attention has been given to Tianjin. In addition, these existing studies are short-term investigations, lacking long-term monitoring of surface subsidence. In the present study, we use the Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) technique to monitor the subsidence process in Tianjin between 2015 and 2020 and reveal its spatial and temporal variation. We divided the 44-view Sentinel-1A image data into three periods to avoid the effect of temporal and spatial decoherence by extracting the surface deformation field in Tianjin. We finally verified the accuracy and reliability of the inversion results using second-order leveling data. Results showed that the correlation coefficient r between the two reached 0.89, and the root mean square error was 4.84mm/y. Obvious subsidence funnels exist in Tianjin, mainly in the towns of Wangqingtuo and Shengfang. These subsidence funnels have a subsidence deformation rate of -136.2mm/y and a maximum cumulative settlement of -346.3mm within the study period. The subsidence area tends to extend to the southwest. The analysis of annual rainfall, groundwater resource extraction, spatial location distribution of industrial areas combined with SBAS-InSAR inversion results indicates that overextraction of groundwater resources is the main cause of land subsidence in the area. Therefore, strict control of groundwater extraction is the main approach to mitigate land subsidence effectively.

The intensity of air leakage not only increases the risk of spontaneous combustion of coal, but also is the cause of coal fire disasters caused by spontaneous combustion of coal left in the goaf. Aim to find the influence of the air leakage intensity on the spontaneous combustion characteristics of the remaining coal when the fire zone is opened, the coal spontaneous combustion characteristics measuring device is used to conduct a temperature-programming experiment on the coal samples, and then Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) is used for analysis to obtain different gas environments. The relative content of functional groups changes at each characteristic temperature point. The results show that in the oxygen-containing groups, the content of -COOH increases as the temperature rises. Although the change range of -C-O- is not obvious with the rise of the temperature point, its content is relatively high; in the functional groups of -OH, it is present at all temperature stages. It exists and the peak intensity is obvious; among the aliphatic hydrocarbons, the peak areas of -CH3 and -CH2 are both large, and both dry air and nitrogen atmosphere participate in the reaction at various temperature points, and the activity is high. Through structural parameter value analysis, T120 is the key active point temperature. In the coal sample that is naturally cooled under dry air or nitrogen atmosphere, the functional groups of the raw coal react more violently in T120, and the functional groups change more. As a whole, the increasing and decreasing trend of functional group changes in nitrogen atmosphere is smaller than that in dry air atmosphere, and the risk of coal re-ignition is also reduced.

The extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) optical fiber ultrasonic sensor can be used for the detection and pattern recognition of the partial discharge ultrasonic signal inside the gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). Compared with the traditional piezoelectric sensor, it has many advantages such as high sensitivity and strong anti-interference ability. Based on this, four typical partial discharge models of tip, metal particles, suspension and quay are set in the GIS cavity filled with 0.4 MPa SF6 gas. The EFPI sensor is used to detect the discharge ultrasonic signal. The waveform characteristics of a single ultrasonic pulse signal are extracted to form a characteristic parameter database, and the probabilistic neural network (PNN) algorithm and the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm are respectively used for pattern recognition. The recognition results of the two algorithms are compared and analyzed. The ultrasonic signals detected by the EFPI sensor have outstanding features. Based on the extraction of feature parameters, the two pattern recognition algorithms can achieve an average recognition rate of over 85%, and the recognition rate of SVM is higher than that of PNN.

Bo-Wen Jiang,1,2,* Xue Ji,1,2,* Zhong-Qing Lyu,3 Bing Liang,1,2 Jian-Hang Li,3 Ling-Wei Zhu,1,2 Xue-Jun Guo,1,2 Jun Liu,1,2 Yang Sun,1,2 Yan-Jing Liu3 1Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Changchun, Jilin, People’s Republic of China; 3Third Affiliated Clinical Hospital to Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, Jilin, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yang Sun; Yan-Jing Liu, Tel +86 431-86986933, Email sunyang10@hotmail.com; 214953156@qq.comPurpose: To elucidate the contribution of a transferable plasmid harboring the blaNDM-1 gene in an Escherichia coli clinical isolate to the spread of resistance determinants.Methods: Nine extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing E. coli were collected from diarrhea samples from a pediatric patient and genetic linkage was investigated through enterobacteriaceae repetitive intragenic consensus polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Bacterial species were identified by 16s rRNA sequencing, susceptibility testing with the use of a BD PhoenixTM-100 Automated Microbiology System, and assessment of virulence genes by PCR. The transferability of blaNDM-1 in E. coli strain TCM3e1 was confirmed by conjugation experiments. Complete sequencing of E. coli strain TCM3e1 was determined with the PacBio and Illumina NovaSeq platforms and the characteristics were analyzed with bioinformatics software.Results: The results showed that all nine E. coli strains were the same clone. E. coli strain TCM3e1 was resistant to 12 antimicrobial agents and carried the virulence gene EAST-1. Conjugation transfer analysis showed that blaNDM-1 was carried on a self-transmissible plasmid. Two copies of the blaNDM-1 gene were present on an IncC plasmid and some resistance genes with two or three copies were located downstream of the blaNDM-1 gene and formed a tandem repeat fragment (blaDNM-1-bleo-sul1- aadA17- dfrA12).Conclusion: A transmissible plasmid harboring two copies of the blaNDM-1 gene, including clonal dispersions of the blaNDM-1 gene, was identified in clinical isolates. These findings emphasized the necessity of surveillance of the plasmid-borne blaNDM-1 to prevent dissemination.Keywords: diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, multi-drug-resistant, New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase, blaDNM-1 gene

Non-precious metal single-atom catalysts (NPM-SACs) with unique electronic structures and coordination environments have gained much attention in electrocatalysis owing to their low cost, high atomic utilization, and high performance. NPM-SACs on carbon support (NPM-SACs/CS) are promising because of the carbon substrate with a large surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and high chemical stability. This review provides an overview of recent developments in NPM-SACs/CS for the electrocatalytic field. First, the state-of-the-art synthesis methods and advanced characterization techniques of NPM-SACs/CS are discussed in detail. Then, the structural adjustment strategy of NPM-SACs/CS for optimizing electrocatalytic performance is introduced concisely. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive summary of recent advances in developing NPM-SACs/CS for important electrochemical reactions, including carbon dioxide reduction reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, and nitrogen reduction reaction. In the end, the existing challenges and future opportunities of NPM-SACs/CS in the electrocatalytic field are highlighted.

Small data sets make the statistical information in Bayesian network parameter learning inaccurate, which makes it difficult to get accurate Bayesian network parameters based on data. Qualitative maximum a posteriori estimation (QMAP) is the most accurate algorithm for Bayesian network parameter learning under the condition of small data sets. However, when the number of parameter constraints is large or the parameter feasible region is small, the rejection-acceptance sampling process in QMAP algorithm will become extremely time-consuming. In order to improve the learning efficiency of QMAP algorithm and not affect its learning accuracy as much as possible, a new analytical calculation method of the center point of constrained region is designed to replace the original rejection-acceptance sampling calculation method. Firstly, a new objective function is designed, and a constrained objective optimization problem for solving the boundary points of the constrained region is constructed. Secondly, a new optimization engine is used to solve the objective optimization problem, and the boundary points and center points of the constrained region are obtained. Finally, the existing QMAP algorithm is improved by the obtained center points. The simulation results show that the CMAP algorithm proposed in this paper has a slightly worse parameter learning accuracy than the QMAP algorithm, but its computational efficiency is 2-5 times higher than that of the QMAP algorithm.

The application of materials with special wettability is a hot research topic in recent years. It is reported that Bi2O3 coating with hydrophobic modification could achieve the reversible conversion of superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity under UV-visible light irradiation and dark storage. Based on this finding, the application of Bi2O3 coating in antibacterial and oil-water separation under different wettability was studied. The results show that superhydrophobic surface exhibits good bacterial anti-adhesion effect against E.coli and S.aureus, while superhydrophilic surface shows selectively antibacterial activity. In terms of oil-water separation, the superhydrophobic surface can block water and allow oil pass through the filter with the separation efficiency more than 93%, while the superhydrophilic surface can block oil and allow water pass through the filter after pre-wetting treatment. Therefore, Bi2O3 coating with reversible wettability can be used as an intelligent antibacterial membrane material for oil-water separation, which has potential application in the field of oil-water separation.

The existing researches do not consider that coal of different particle sizes in the goaf is affected by the axial stress generated by the collapsed coal rock and the residual coal pillars, which will cause major changes in the coal permeability, fracture structure and other parameters, thereby affecting the temperature rise process of coal spontaneous combustion and oxidation. In order to study the temperature rise characteristics of spontaneous combustion and oxidation of coal with different particle sizes under the effect of thermal-stress coupling, the change law of the temperature rise rate, oxygen consumption rate and heat production rate of coal with different particle sizes is measured by using load-and-pressure coal spontaneous combustion characteristic parameter measuring device and a gas chromatograph. The experiment show the results as follows. ① The temperature rise rate of coal samples of different particle sizes under different uniaxial stresses has a consistent trend with the increase of temperature, and the overall trend is to increase first and then decrease. When the uniaxial stress is 2, 4, 6, 8 MPa, as the particle size of the coal sample increases, the maximum temperature rise rate first increases and then decreases. When the uniaxial stress is 10 MPa, the maximum temperature rise rate increases with the increase of particle size. ② The oxygen consumption rate of coal samples with different particle sizes increases rapidly and then increases slowly during the temperature rise process. The oxygen consumption rate of coal samples with different particle sizes generally tends to increase with the increase of uniaxial stress. ③ The overall heat production rate of coal samples with different particle sizes tends to remain stable first and then increase and then decrease during the temperature rise process. As the particle size of coal samples increases, the maximum heat production rate of coal samples under appropriate uniaxial stress is greater than that without uniaxial stress.

Objective To investigate the effect of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) overexpression in MLO-Y4 osteocytes on osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stromal ST2 cells through Notch signaling. Methods Ad-GFP or Ad-BMP4 infected MLO-Y4 cells were co-cultured with ST2 cells, and designated as GFP and BMP4 group respectively. Western blotting was used to detect the BMP4 protein level in MLO-Y4 cells. Real-time fluorescence quantitative analysis (qPCR) was applied to determine the mRNA expression of BMP4 and Notch ligands genes as well as osteoblast genes in the MLO-Y4 cells, and Notch target genes and angiogenesis factors in the co-cultured systems. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was determined by ALP staining and biochemical quantification. Notch signal inhibitor DAPT was added to the co-culture system to detect the above indexes again. Results Overexpression of BMP4 upregulated the expression of Notch ligands Jag1, Jag2 and Dll4 in MLO-Y4 cells. ALP staining and biochemical quantitative results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in ALP activity at day 1 between the GFP and BMP4 groups, and stronger ALP activity was seen in the latter group at day 3 and 5 (P < 0.05). In the BMP4 group, at day 1 among the osteoblast genes, only runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) was obviously expressed (P < 0.05), and the levels of Alp, Runx2, osteocalcin (Ocn), and collagen Ⅰ were all highly expressed in the BMP4 group (P < 0.05). At day 3, Notch signaling target genes Hey1 and Hey2, angiogenesis factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1α) were also highly expressed in the BMP4 group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). After addition of DAPT to inhibit Notch signaling, the activity of ALP and expression of osteoblast genes and angiogenesis genes were all decreased (P < 0.05). Conclusion Overexpression of BMP4 in MLO-Y4 cells promotes osteogenic differentiation of ST2 cells, which may be related to the enhancement of Notch signaling.

【Objective】 The objective is to clarify the soil nutrient supply capacity in wheat planting area of Shanxi Province and further provide theoretical basis for local wheat production with higher quality and efficiency. 【Method】 Three counties, including Hongtong, Xiangfen and Wenxi, were selected as the representative wheat planting areas in the study based on the data of Shanxi Statistical Yearbook 2018, and the soil samples of plough layer (0～20 cm) were collected according to the soil type, topographic feature and distribution of wheat area. The soil nitrate nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, organic matter and six trace elements (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni and Se) were analyzed. 【Result】 The content of soil nitrate nitrogen in typical wheat planting area was 1.9~115.2 mg/kg, with an average value of 35.14 mg/kg; the content of available phosphorus was 2.4~88 mg/kg, with an average value of 26.9 mg/kg; The content of available potassium was 97.1~579.2 mg/kg, with an average value of 297.9 mg/kg, the content of organic matter was 5.61~64.28 g/kg, with an average value of 21.65 g/kg In general, the soil nutrient content in this study were 1.26%~109.4% higher than that of the second soil survey of Shanxi Province. The content of Cu ranges from 16.09 to 59.71 mg/kg, with an average of 30.40 mg/kg; the content of Zn ranges from 57.88~198 mg/kg, with an average of 90.04 mg/kg; The content of Fe ranges from 2.30%~6.66%, with an average of 3.76%; the content of Mn ranges from 426 to 926.1 mg/kg, with an average of 660.24 mg/kg; the content of Ni ranges from 23.1 to 47.75 mg/kg, with an average of 34.80 mg/kg; the content of Se ranges from 0.017 to 1.354 mg/kg, with an average of 0.434 mg/kg. The contents of 6 trace elements increased by 10.82%~141.11% compared with the background values of soil elements in Shanxi Province, and the sequence of 6 trace element contents was Fe>Mn>Zn>Ni>Cu>Se. There was extremely significant correlation between the organic matter and available phosphorus and total Se in local soil. The spatial distribution of soil nutrients in wheat planting area showed the content of soil nitrate nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium of Xiangfen County were the highest, and the content of 6 trace elements of Wenxi County were the lowest. 【Conclusion】 After more than 30 years of soil evolution and fertilization management, the soil nutrient content in wheat planting area of Shanxi Province was significantly higher than that of second soil survey of Shanxi Province.

To address the problem of drug-resistant bacterial infections, a photodynamic broad-spectrum antibacterial cellulose acetate/protoporphyrin (CA/PpIX) porous microfibre membrane was prepared by electrospinning. The surface morphology of the fibrous membrane was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the distribution of PpIX on CA membrane was observed by laser confocal scanning microscope (CLSM). The change of the basic chemical structure of membrane before and after loading PpIX was analyzed by Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman spectrometer. Through the DPBF substrate oxidation experiment and the antibacterial ability against S. aureus and E. coli, the photodynamic performance of the material was explored, and the gradient experiment of inorganic salt solution (KI, NaNO2, MgCl2) was designed to explore the effect of its interaction with 1O2 on the antibacterial performance. The results show that the loading of PpIX does not change the basic morphology of the fibrous membrane, but it gives the membrane good substrate oxidation and antibacterial properties (illumination 30 min, the antibacterial efficiency against S. aureus achieves 99.537%). KI, MgCl2and NaNO2solutions all have certain enhancement effects on photodynamic antibacterial mediated by CA/PpIX, among which KI solution has the most obvious enhancement effect. The interaction between the inorganic salt KI and 1O2 produces more free radicals, which can significantly potentiate the photodynamic antibacterial effect. The 100 mmol/L KI solution can potentiate the antibacterial efficiency of the composite fibrous membrane against S. aureus and E. coli to 99.9999%.

Biliary tract cancer is a group of epithelial cancers associated with the biliary tract. They are anatomically divided into intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar (pCCA) and distal (dCCA) subgroups. Up to now, surgical treatment is still the main treatment for malignant biliary tumors, but many patients are in advanced stage when they were diagnosed, the opportunity for surgery was lost, and there is still no effective chemotherapy program. Therefore, it is urgent to find an effective targeted drug. In this paper, we discuss some new ideas and molecular research of malignant biliary tumors in recent years. These molecules may be the promising targets for future treatment of malignant biliary tumors.

Abstract Radiative cooling is an emerging cooling technology that can passively release heat to the environment. To obtain a subambient cooling effect during the daytime, chemically engineered structural materials are widely explored to simultaneously reject sunlight and preserve strong thermal emission. However, many previously reported fabrication processes involve hazardous chemicals, which can hinder a material's ability to be mass produced. In order to eliminate the hazardous chemicals used in the fabrication of previous works, this article reports a white polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponge fabricated by a sustainable process using microsugar templates. By substituting the chemicals for sugar, the manufacturing procedure produces zero toxic waste and can also be endlessly recycled via methods widely used in the sugar industry. The obtained porous PDMS exhibits strong visible scattering and thermal emission, resulting in an efficient temperature reduction of 4.6 °C and cooling power of 43 W m−2 under direct solar irradiation. In addition, due to the air‐filled voids within the PDMS sponge, its thermal conductivity remains low at 0.06 W (m K)−1. This unique combination of radiative cooling and thermal insulation properties can efficiently suppress the heat exchange with the solar‐heated rooftop or the environment, representing a promising future for new energy‐efficient building envelope material.

Objective To explore the effect of karyopherina 2 (KPNA2) knockdown on osteosarcoma cell proliferation and angiogenesis and the possible molecular mechanism. Methods We transfected Saos-2 cells with a Sh-KPNA2 lentiviral vector or a control vector (Sh-Control) to observe the effect of KPNA2 knockdown on the cell proliferation. We further observed tumor angiogenesis in nude mice bearing xenografts derived from Saos-2 cells transfected with Sh-KPNA2 or Sh-Control vector using a fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) system. qRT-PCR and Western blotting were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression of KPNA2 and SRY-related HMG box-2 (Sox2) in the xenografts. Results Saos-2 cells transfected with Sh-KPNA2 vector showed significantly lowered proliferation capacity as compared with the cells transfected with Sh-Control vector (P < 0.05). In the tumor-bearing nude mice, the tumor volume and weight were both significantly lower in Sh-KPNA2 group than in Sh-Control group (P < 0.05). The results of FMT scan and immunohistochemistry both showed weakened angiogenesis in the xenografts in Sh-KPNA2 group in comparison with Sh-Control group (P < 0.05). Sox2 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels in the xenografts was significantly lower in Sh-KPNA2 group than in Sh-Control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion KPNA2 knockdown inhibits the proliferation and angiogenesis of osteosarcoma cells possibly as a result of lowered expression of Sox2.

In addition to target echoes, high frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR) receives sea and ionospheric clutter. Among these clutters, the ionospheric clutter is dominant and significantly affects the detection performance of HFSWR, particularly when the targets are located 100 kilometers away from the radar, rendering it an unsolved problem for HFSWR. Existing studies concerning HFSWR ionospheric clutter lack empirical research on the nonlinear dynamical characteristics of the ionosphere of HFSWR as existing ionospheric suppression methods are still insufficient to adapt the project application. Therefore, the present study utilized the threshold segmentation method to eliminate the sea clutter in HFSWR Range-Doppler spectrum and extracted ionospheric signals from this spectrum by edge feature extraction. Subsequently, the chaotic invariants, such as correlation dimension and the largest Lyapunov exponent of HFSWR ionospheric clutter, were calculated by phase space reconstruction, whilst the chaotic dynamical characteristics of HFSWR ionospheric clutter were determined by the 0-1 test for chaos and other algorithms. Furthermore, the present study demonstrated, for the first time, the chaotic dynamics of the ionospheric clutter of HFSWR with a low-dimensional attractor by processing and analyzing the experimental data from the Weihai High Frequency Radar Station. The conclusion redefines HFSWR ionospheric clutter based on chaotic dynamics rather than regarding it as a stochastic process, which is conducive to efforts to explore the formation mechanism of ionospheric clutter in essence, which can ultimately improve the detection capability of HFSWR, particularly for long-distance targets.

The synthesis of heterostructures with branched morphology is of great importance for exploiting novel physical and chemical properties in nanoscience and nanotechnology fields. In this study, by combining the extended vapor-liquid-solid (EVLS) and vapor-solid (VS) growth methods, we successfully fabricate three-dimensional (3D) AlN-Si3N4 branched heterostructures with the core of Si3N4 nanostructures and branched AlN nanocones with adjustable diameter and length. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the AlN-Si3N4 branched heterostructures display new emission bands besides those of the as-synthesized Si3N4 nanostructures, which may be ascribed to the emission bands of AlN in the deep- or trap-level state. From these results we propose a general strategy for designing and preparing 3D branched heterostructures for novel optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-cooked adzuki beans (Vigna angularis), which looks like dried adzuki bean, is easily cooked and preserved. This study aimed to optimize the microwave pre-cooked conditions on adzuki beans by applying the response surface methodology. The results showed that soaking time has a significant effect on the gelatinization degree of adzuki beans according to microwave time. The most suitable gelatinization and the sensory scores were obtained with a soaking time of 7.8 h, a microwave power of 830 W, and microwave time of 92 s. The pre-cooked treatment had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the protein, free amino acid, fat and starch content of adzuki bean products. The results of SEM and polarized light microscopy showed that the surface and center of starch were damaged after microwave treatment. XRD showed that microwave pre-cooking did not change the crystal structure of starch and maintained the original order of type A structure while reducing the relative starch crystallinity. FT-IR showed that the pre-cooked treatment did not produce new structure in adzuki bean starch, but the ratio of 1047/1022 cm−1 was slightly decreased, indicating that the starch crystallization area decreased relative to the amorphous area and the relative crystallinity decreased. The results of FTIR were consistent with X-ray diffraction results. Therefore, microwaves improved the gelatinization of adzuki beans and made the pre-cooked adzuki beans more suitable.

Fatigue crack propagation behaviors at high temperature are important preconditions for damage tolerance design in aircraft and engine structures.Therefore, fatigue tests were carried out on titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V/ELI subjected to constant amplitude loading at two temperatures of 25 ℃ and 250 ℃ and three stress radios of 0.06, 0.5, -1 to determine fatigue crack propagation behaviors. Fatigue crack propagation da/dN-ΔK curves and da/dN-ΔK-R surfaces were obtained from experimental data by secant method. Those behaviors at different temperatures were compared and analyzed, and the interaction mechanism between high-temperature and fatigue load was deduced from fractographical study by SEM analysis.The results show that the larger the stress ratio R, the faster the rate of crack propagation of Ti-6Al-4V/ELI under the same temperature and stress intensity factors rangeΔK. Oxidation products and large numbers of secondary cracks are found on the fatigue fracture surfaces at high temperature and the destruction mode of crack propagation is gradually changed form cleavage to quasi-cleavage. Acceleration effect of oxidation and deceleration effect of secondary cracks combine affecting the crack propagation rate; when R is 0.5 or 0.06, those two seem equal and the effect of temperature is not obvious, while R is -1, more and deeper secondary cracks caused by fully interaction of high temperature and fatigue load make crack propagation rate at high temperature lower than that at room temperature.

Objective To investigate the important role of deduplication method in next generation sequencing(NGS) data analysis by comparing the difference of indicators obtained from deduplication and duplication methods. Methods Tumor samples of a cohort of 58 NSCLC patients were collected. A panel of 286 genes was tested by NGS. The NGS data were analyzed by de-duplication method and common duplication method, respectively. Indicators of "Mapped Reads, On Target, Mean Depth and Uniformity" were compared. Results The differences of Mapped Reads, On Target, Mean Depth and Uniformity were statistically significant between two methods, respectively(P < 0.001). Mapped Reads and On Target and Mean Depth analyzed by de-duplication method were found significantly different between plasma sample and other three types of samples, ie., formalin fixed and paraffin embedded(FFPE) sample and puncture biopsy and surgical tissue sample; while Uniformity was generated without significant difference between the four types of samples. The results by duplication analysis were opposite. Conclusion Deduplication step plays an important role in NGS data analysis, which could improve the Uniformity and reflect the real DNA template amount and allele frequency of genomic alterations. Deduplication result is helpful for clinical decision.

Different faults of oil-immersed power transformers were classified with three-layer structure of 'parts-fault causes-temperature rising phenomeno' and the fault causes were summarized, impacts of the different faults on outer surface temperature of transformer were briefly analyzed. The results show that fault will lead to outer surface temperature rising which including iron core and clamping pieces, winding and leading wires, tapping switch, insulation system, tank and base of the transformer; the faults of cooling system inevitably lead to outer surface temperature rising; part of bushing failures of outlet and inlet line will cause outer surface temperature rising of the transformer; most of failures of protection and measurement device will cause temperature rising of the transformer. Thus the preliminary relations between faults and its outer surface temperatures of the oil-immersed power transformer were obtained, namely most faults of the transformer will lead to outer surface temperature rising.

Background: Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder, the major histologic subtype of bladder cancer, is increasing in incidence and mortality, which requires the identification of effective biomarkers. Actin-regulating proteins have recently been proposed as important antitumor druggable targets. As a gelsolin-family actin-modulating protein, CAPG (gelsolin-like actin-capping protein) generated great interest due to its crucial effects in various biological and physiological processes; however, the role and mechanism of CAPG in TCCs remain unknown. Materials and methods: Bioinformatic analysis and immunohistochemistry of clinical specimens were performed to detect the expression level of CAPG. Both in vitro and in vivo assays were used to determine the oncogenic effect of CAPG in TCCs. Male 4–5-week-old BALB/c nude mice were used for in vivo tumorigenesis assays, while SCID mice were used for in vivo metastatic assays. Affymetrix microarray was used to identify the underlying molecular mechanism. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to validate the expression and localization of proteins. Results: CAPG was frequently upregulated in TCCs and associated with clinical aggressiveness and worse prognosis. Functional assays demonstrated that CAPG could contribute to the tumorigenesis, metastasis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of TCCs both in vitro and in vivo . A novel mechanism that CAPG promoted TCC development via inactivating the Hippo pathway, leading to a nucleus translocation of Yes-associated protein was suggested. Conclusions: The current study identified CAPG as a novel and critical oncogene in TCCs, supporting the pursuit of CAPG as a potential target for TCC intervention.

Minimum volume of straw should be retained in collecting wheat straw in order to obtain sustainable agricultural biomass energy and measure the energy utilization potential of wheat straw when considering ecological balance. Based on relevant literature, this paper calculates the minimum, medium, and maximum volume of wheat straw retention in various types of soil and designs three different scenarios of minimum, medium, and maximum wheat straw retention. Taking Henan province in China as a case, this paper calculates the potential of wheat straw for energy utilization using linear regression method and scenario analysis, with consideration of influencing factors such as the harvest coefficient and combustion ratio of wheat straw. The results show that the energy utilization potential of wheat straw in Henan province in 2020, 2030, 2050 are 13.77, 16.48, 22.54 million tons of coal equivalent (TCEs), respectively, in the minimum retention scenario, assuming that wheat straw is not directly used for combustion. Excessive straw left in the field causes resource waste and produces CH4 and other greenhouse gases. This paper finds that energy potential of wheat straw for energy utilization is limited when ecological balance is considered, however, it is beneficial to the sustainable development of crop biomass energy.

Pregnant women are often prescribed or abuse opioid drugs. The placenta is likely the key to understanding how opioids cause adverse pregnancy outcomes. Maternal oxycodone (OXY) exposure of pregnant mice leads to disturbances in the layer of invasive parietal trophoblast giant cells (pTGC) that forms the interface between the placenta and uterus. These cells are analogous to extravillous trophoblasts of the human placenta. They are crucial to coordinating the metabolic needs of the conceptus with those of the mother and are primary participants in the placenta-brain axis. Their large nuclear size, however, has precluded both single-cell (sc) and single-nucleus (sn) RNA-seq analyses beyond embryonic day (E) 8.5. Here, we compared the transcriptomes of placentas from pregnant mice exposed to OXY with unexposed controls at E12.5, with particular emphasis on the pTGC. The nonfluidic Parse snRNA-seq approach permitted characterization of the nuclear transcriptomes of all the major placental cell lineages and their presumed progenitors at E12.5. OXY exposure had a negligible effect on components of the placental labyrinth, including the two syncytial cell layers, but caused transcriptomic changes consistent with metabolic stress throughout the spongiotrophoblast. Most notably, there was loss of the majority of pTGC, whose normal gene expression is consistent with elevated energy demand relating to biosynthesis of multiple secretory products, especially hormones, and endoduplication of DNA. This unusual sensitivity of pTGC presumably puts the pregnancy and future health of the offspring at particular risk to OXY exposure., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Background: Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system. This study aimed to assess the global distribution of TC incidence and mortality in 2022, as well as to predict the burden for the year 2050., Methods: Data from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database were used to analyze the age-standardized incidence and mortality rates of TC by sex, age group (<55 years and ≥55 years), country, world region, and level of Human Development Index (HDI) for 185 countries. The predicted incidence and mortality burden for 2050 was calculated based on demographic projections., Results: In 2022, an estimated 821,214 new TC cases and 47,507 TC-related deaths occurred worldwide. The age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) and age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) were higher in women (ASIR: 13.60 per 100,000; ASMR: 0.53 per 100,000) than in men (ASIR: 4.60 per 100,000; ASMR: 0.35 per 100,000). The ASIR in high HDI countries was approximately ten times higher than that in low HDI countries for both sexes, with relatively similar ASMR across regions. Among 185 countries, China had the largest number of TC cases (accounting for 56.77% of total cases) and TC-related deaths (accounting for 24.35% of global TC-related deaths), with the highest ASIR in men (13.30 per 100,000). Worldwide, approximately 64.63% of TC cases occurred in populations under 55 years old, while nearly 82.99% of TC-related deaths occurred in populations aged 55 years and above. If the rates stay the same as in 2022, it is projected that approximately 1,100,000 new TC cases and 91,000 TC-related deaths will occur in 2050, indicating a 34.15% and 89.58% increase, respectively., Conclusions: TC is a highly frequent cancer worldwide with disparities across regions, genders, and age groups. Our results provide light on the worldwide TC disease burden and facilitate regionally customized prevention measures., (Copyright © 2024 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

Introduction: Radiotherapy-related damage of normal tissue inevitably influences the treatment outcomes in the context of high-grade gliomas (HGGs) treatment. We reported the survival outcomes and toxicities of patients with HGG treated with helical tomotherapy (HT) and the prognostic factors were analyzed., Materials and Methods: A total of 67 patients (29 had grade III and 38 had grade IV HGGs) who received HT between January 2016 and June 2020 were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) from the beginning of HT and OS from surgery were assessed, and toxicity and disease control were described briefly., Results: For patients with grade III HGGs, median OS (mOS) and median PFS (mPFS) from the beginning of HT were 68.933 and 62.967 months, respectively. For patients with grade IV HGGs, mOS and mPFS from the beginning of HT were 19.667 and 7.23 months, respectively. No grade ≥3 acute or late nonhematologic toxicities were observed. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) methylated status, age, number of lesions, WHO grade, and monocyte count for PFS were significant. Age, monocyte count, and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status for OS., Conclusion: Treatment of HGGs with HT appears to be potentially effective and safe. HT is promising for glioblastomas (GBM), especially complex cases with infratentorial involvement or multiple lesions. This study highlighted the potential clinical significance of systemic inflammation indicators in predicting survival and disease progression.

Background: There has been a concerning rise in the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) following noncardiac surgeries (NCS), significantly impacting surgical outcomes and patient prognosis. Glucose metabolism abnormalities induced by stress response under acute medical conditions may be a risk factor for postoperative MACCE. This study aims to explore the association between stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) and postoperative MACCE in patients undergoing general anesthesia for NCS., Methods: There were 12,899 patients in this perioperative cohort study. The primary outcome was MACCE within 30 days postoperatively, defined as angina, acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, arrhythmia, heart failure, stroke, or in-hospital all-cause mortality. Kaplan-Meier curves visualized the cumulative incidence of MACCE. Cox proportional hazard models were utilized to assess the association between the risk of MACCE and different SHR groups. Restricted cubic spline analyses were conducted to explore potential nonlinear relationships. Additionally, exploratory subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were performed., Results: A total of 592 (4.59%) participants experienced MACCE within 30 days after surgery, and 1,045 (8.10%) within 90 days. After adjusting for confounding factors, compared to the SHR T2 group, the risk of MACCE within 30 days after surgery increased by 1.34 times (95% CI 1.08-1.66) in the T3 group and by 1.35 times (95% CI 1.08-1.68) in the T1 group respectively. In the non-diabetes group, the risk of MACCE within 30 days after surgery increased by 1.60 times (95% CI 1.21-2.12) in the T3 group and by 1.61 times (95% CI 1.21-2.14) in the T1 group respectively, while no statistically significant increase in risk was observed in the diabetes group. Similar results were observed within 90 days after surgery in the non-diabetes group. Additionally, a statistically significant U-shaped nonlinear relationship was observed in the non-diabetes group (30 days: P for nonlinear = 0.010; 90 days: P for nonlinear = 0.008)., Conclusion: In this large perioperative cohort study, we observed that both higher and lower SHR were associated with an increased risk of MACCE within 30 and 90 days after NCS, especially in patients without diabetes. These findings suggest that SHR potentially plays a key role in stratifying cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk after NCS., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: Hip subluxation is a common complication in children with spinal cord injury. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and influencing factors of hip subluxation and discuss prevention strategies. Methods: Medical records of children with spinal cord injury were reviewed. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) the patient was younger than 18 years old when injured; (2) absence of traumatic or congenital pathological changes of the hip at the time of injury. The migration percentage and acetabular index were selected to evaluate hip stability and acetabulum development. Influencing factors of sex, age, injury duration, severity, level, and spasticity were analyzed. Results: A total of 146 children were enrolled. Twenty-eight children presented with hip subluxation and were significantly younger at the time of injury than those with normal hips (P = 0.002). The incidence of hip subluxation increased with the prolonged injury duration. Injury before age 6, complete injury, and flaccid lower extremities were significant influencing factors (P = 0.003, 0.004, and 0.015, respectively). The risk of hip subluxation decreased by 18% for every year older in injury age (P = 0.031) and decreased by 85% in children with spasticity (P = 0.018) than those without. However, the risk of hip subluxation in children with injury duration longer than 1 year was 7.1 times higher than those with shorter injury duration (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The incidence of hip subluxation in children with spinal cord injury increased with the injury duration. Younger children had immature hip development. Due to complete injury and flaccid muscle, lack of protection around the hip may lead to subluxation. Follow-up and prevention of hip subluxation need the joint effort of medical staff and families.

Prior studies have shown that computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations help assess patient-specific hemodynamics in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs); patient-specific hemodynamic stressors are frequently used to predict an AAA's growth. Previous studies have utilized both laminar and turbulent simulation models to simulate hemodynamics. However, the impact of different CFD simulation models on the predictive modeling of AAA growth remains unknown and is thus the knowledge gap that motivates this study. Specifically, CFD simulations were performed for 70 AAA models derived from 70 patients' computed tomography angiography (CTA) data with known growth status (i.e., fast-growing [> 5 mm/yr] or slowly growing [< 5 mm/yr]). We used laminar and large eddy simulation (LES) models to obtain hemodynamic parameters to predict AAAs' growth status. Predicting the growth status of AAAs was based on morphological, hemodynamic, and patient health parameters in conjunction with three classical machine learning (ML) classifiers, namely, support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and generalized linear model (GLM). Our preliminary results estimated aneurysmal flow stability and wall shear stress (WSS) were comparable in both laminar and LES flow simulations. Moreover, computed WSS and velocity-related hemodynamic variables obtained from the laminar and LES simulations showed comparable abilities in differentiating the growth status of AAAs. More importantly, the predictive modeling performance of the three ML classifiers mentioned above was similar, with less than a 2% difference observed (p-value > 0.05). In closing, our findings suggest that two different flow simulations investigated did not significantly affect outcomes of computational hemodynamics and predictive modeling of AAAs' growth status, given the data investigated., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Biomedical Engineering Society.)

Traditional lighting methods have environmental and efficiency drawbacks. These methods are gradually being overshadowed by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) because of their superior color rendering and energy efficiency. In this study, color-tunable NaBa 2 (Ba/Sr/Ca)Si 2 O 7 F:Eu 2+ phosphors are successfully designed by modulating the local crystal field environment through homodominant-group cation substitution, thereby allowing for a spectral shift from blue to bright cyan. Detailed structural analysis of the samples demonstrated the synthesis of high-quality solid-solution materials. A comprehensive examination of the phosphor crystal structure, photoluminescence properties, and fluorescence lifetime reveal that the cyan phosphor possesses a remarkable internal quantum efficiency (IQE = 93%) and low thermal quenching characteristics (I 423 K /I 303 K = 84%). The results illustrate the critical role of Eu 2+ -activated cyan phosphors in reducing the spectral gap to attain a natural white-light spectrum, which is indispensable for achieving high color fidelity. The practical application of cyan phosphors in the fabrication of high-performance white LED (WLED) (Ra = 96.8) and fingerprint detection is validated, demonstrating their extensive utility in enhancing visual accuracy and identification., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Energy efficiency plays an important role in intelligent networking for 5G networks, which concerns environmental, financial, and performance aspects of intelligent networking for 5G networks. To this end, network designers propose energy-efficient approaches to reduce energy consumption of networks and to raise network performance by switching off the links/nodes with low loads or at idle status. The existing energy-efficient approaches can be formulated as a max-min optimal problem, namely maximizing network/node/port throughput via minimum energy consumption. The max-min planning investigates energy efficiency only from the links/nodes perspective. The max-min planning for energy-efficient networking, if not carefully designed from the network-wide standpoint, can lead to lower energy efficiency for the whole network due to lack of global planning, which in turn results in the degraded performance due to network un-connectivity after closing the nodes/links. In this paper we rethink the max-min planning framework on energy-efficient software-defined networking for intelligent networking of 5G networks, which takes in account combining network connectivity and maximum network flow with minimum energy consumption. Our framework aims at how to deliver dynamic end-to-end traffic demands with the appropriate network topology by building data forwarding plane with maximum network flow and control plane with network connectivity. We discuss the associated challenges and implementation issues. A dynamic max-min planning framework depending on dynamic end-to-end traffic demands is presented to achieve network-wide energy efficiency. Numerical results show the improved energy efficiency performance for the whole network., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Backgrounds: Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is widely used for screening ovarian cancer (OC), yet its effectiveness remains debated. Potential factors may include ineffective cut-off value for CA125 in screening, as well as a lack of consideration for CA125 trajectories and trajectory-specific progression., Methods: Based on data from multiple rounds of CA125 tests and transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) examinations conducted on 28,456 women in the PLCO Trial, time-dependent receiver-operating-characteristic curves (ROCs) and area-under-the-curves (tdAUCs) analyses were employed to identify the optimal CA125 cut-off values for OC screening. Participants were categorized into four CA125 trajectories: stable negative CA125 (CA125 SN ), loss of positive CA125 (CA125 LP ), stable positive CA125 (CA125 SP ), and gain of positive CA125 (CA125 GP ). The associations between different CA125 trajectories, trajectory-specific progression indicators, and OC risk were explored. The effectiveness of risk-stratified CA125 screening, incorporating CA125 trajectories, trajectory-specific progression, and TVU, was evaluated using hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals [HR (95%CIs)], with adjustments for potential confounders., Results: After a median follow-up of 14.8 years for OC incidence and 23.8 years for OC mortality, 250 OC cases and 218 OC deaths were identified. The tdAUC for 10-year OC incidence with CA125 was 0.663, with an optimal cut-off value of 13.00 U/ml. Trajectory analyses showed that both CA125 SP and CA125 GP were significantly associated with increased risks of OC incidence [HRs (95%CIs): 2.00(1.47-2.73) and 3.06(2.25-4.16)] and mortality [HRs (95%CIs):1.58(1.13-2.21) and 2.60(1.87-3.62)] compared to CA125 SN . Trajectory-specific progression analyses identified relative velocity as the optimal progression indicators for both CA125 SP and CA125 GP (tdAUCs: 0.712 and 0.767), with optimal cut-off values of 9% and 32% per year, respectively. Positive progression was associated with significantly increased risks of OC incidence [HRs (95%CI): 7.26(4.00-13.17) and 3.83(1.96-7.51) CA125 GP and CA125 SP ] and mortality [HRs (95%CI): 8.03(4.15-15.56) and 6.04(2.78-13.14)] compared to negative progression. Optimized risk-stratified CA125 screening, which integrated CA125 trajectories, trajectory-specific progression, and TVU, reduced missed OC by 3.6% and improved accuracy compared to traditional screening methods., Conclusions: Incorporating CA125 trajectories and trajectory-specific progression into screening protocols enhances the identification of the population at high-risk of OC. An optimized screening strategy, which includes these factors along with TVU, is recommended to improve the effectiveness of OC screening., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Glaucoma stands as the leading irreversible cause of blindness worldwide. Regular visual field examinations play a crucial role in both diagnosing and treating glaucoma. Predicting future visual field changes can assist clinicians in making timely interventions to manage the progression of this disease. To integrate temporal and spatial features from past visual field examination results and enhance visual field prediction, a convolutional long short-term memory (ConvLSTM) network was employed to construct a predictive model. The predictive performance of the ConvLSTM model was validated and compared with other methods using a dataset of perimetry tests from the Humphrey field analyzer at the University of Washington (UWHVF). Compared to traditional methods, the ConvLSTM model demonstrated higher prediction accuracy. Additionally, the relationship between visual field series length and prediction performance was investigated. In predicting the visual field using the previous three visual field results of past 1.5~6.0 years, it was found that the ConvLSTM model performed better, achieving a mean absolute error of 2.255 dB, a root mean squared error of 3.457 dB, and a coefficient of determination of 0.960. The experimental results show that the proposed method effectively utilizes existing visual field examination results to achieve more accurate visual field prediction for the next 0.5~2.0 years. This approach holds promise in assisting clinicians in diagnosing and treating visual field progression in glaucoma patients.

Background: The gut microbiota is a key regulator of bone metabolism. Investigating the relationship between the gut microbiota and bone remodeling has revealed new avenues for the treatment of bone-related disorders. Despite significant progress in understanding gut microbiota-bone interactions in mammals, research on avian species remains limited. Birds have unique bone anatomy and physiology to support egg-laying. However, whether and how the gut microbiota affects bone physiology in birds is still unknown. In this study, we utilized laying hens as a research model to analyze bone development patterns, elucidate the relationships between bone and the gut microbiota, and mine probiotics with osteomodulatory effects., Results: Aging led to a continuous increase in bone mineral density in the femur of laying hens. The continuous deposition of medullary bone in the bone marrow cavity of aged laying hens led to significant trabecular bone loss and weakened bone metabolism. The cecal microbial composition significantly shifted before and after sexual maturity, with some genera within the class Clostridia potentially linked to postnatal bone development in laying hens. Four bacterial strains associated with bone development, namely Blautia coccoides CML164, Fournierella sp002159185 CML151, Anaerostipes caccae CML199 (ANA), and Romboutsia lituseburensis CML137, were identified and assessed in chicks with low bacterial loads and chicken primary osteoblasts. Among these, ANA demonstrated the most significant promotion of bone formation both in vivo and in vitro, primarily attributed to butyrate in its fermentation products. A long-term feeding experiment of up to 72 weeks confirmed that ANA enhanced bone development during sexual maturity by improving the immune microenvironment of the bone marrow in laying hens. Dietary supplementation of ANA for 50 weeks prevented excessive medullary bone deposition and mitigated aging-induced trabecular bone loss., Conclusions: These findings highlight the beneficial effects of ANA on bone physiology, offering new perspectives for microbial-based interventions for bone-related disorders in both poultry and possibly extending to human health. Video Abstract., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Edge states in topological systems have attracted great interest due to their robustness and linear dispersions. Here a superconducting-proximitized edge interferometer is engineered on a topological insulator Ta 2 Pd 3 Te 5 with asymmetric edges to realize the interfering Josephson diode effect (JDE), which hosts many advantages, such as the high efficiency as much as 73% at tiny applied magnetic fields with an ultra-low switching power around picowatt. As an important element to induce such JDE, the second-order harmonic in the current-phase relation is also experimentally confirmed by half-integer Shapiro steps. The interfering JDE is also accompanied by the antisymmetric second harmonic transport, which indicates the corresponding asymmetry in the interferometer, as well as the polarity of JDE. This edge interferometer offers an effective method to enhance the performance of JDE, and boosts great potential applications for future superconducting quantum devices., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The impact of breast carcinoma and genital tract malignancy on the physical and mental health, especially reproductive function, of women aged 15-39 years in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) group is significant. This research aims to analyze the burden of AYA female cancer in various regions and countries globally from 1990 to 2021., Materials and Methods: Epidemiological data were sourced from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2021. The study analyzed data on female cancers (breast, ovarian, uterine, and cervical) to assess disease burden across different ages, years, and locations, encompassing 21 GBD regions, 195 countries, and five sociodemographic index (SDI) regions., Results: In 2021, AYA female cancer saw 383 241 new cases and 81 679 deaths globally, with 2 975 183 prevalent cases and 4 855 780 disability-adjusted life years. In 2021, Central Latin America recorded the highest age-standardized incidence (ASIR) and prevalence rates (ASPR), whereas South sub-Saharan Africa had the highest age-standardized mortality (ASMR) and disability rates (ASDR). Nations with high SDI typically exhibited elevated ASIR and ASPR, whereas ASMR and ASDR demonstrated inverse patterns. Over the past three decades, ASIR and ASPR of female cancers among AYA women have increased globally. In contrast, the ASMR and ASDR have demonstrated a declining trend. Notably, breast cancer emerged as the most prevalent malignancy among AYA women., Conclusions: Over the past three decades, the ASIR and ASPR of AYA female cancers have consistently increased, significantly burdening this demographic. Additionally, pronounced disparities are evident across different regions and countries, with AYA women in low SDI environments experiencing poorer prognoses compared to their counterparts in high SDI environments. Consequently, it is imperative to enhance interregional collaboration and communication to optimize the overall prognosis of AYA female cancers., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)