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Abstract Purpose The clinical outcomes of using a tubular microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation were evaluated by comparison with conventional microdiscectomy. Methods All of the comparative studies published in the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Medline, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases as of 1 May 2023 were included. All outcomes were analysed using Review Manager 5.4. Results This meta-analysis included four randomized controlled studies with a total of 523 patients. The results showed that using tubular microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation was more effective than conventional microdiscectomy in improving the Oswestry Disability Index (P 0.05) between the tubular microdiscectomy and conventional microdiscectomy groups. Conclusions Based on our meta-analysis, it was found that the tubular microdiscectomy group had better outcomes than the conventional microdiscectomy group in terms of Oswestry Disability Index. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of operating time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, Visual Analogue Scale, reoperation rate, postoperative recurrence rate, dural tear incidence, and complications rate. Current research suggests that tubular microdiscectomy can achieve clinical results similar to those of conventional microdiscectomy. PROSPERO registration number is: CRD42023407995.

Abstract The abscopal is a hypothesis for treating of non-irradiated tumors after localized radiation therapy. It is associated with the products of tumor-associated gene as autoantibodies (aTAAs) in reaction to the tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), with increasing of anti-MAGEA3 and an relationship between the abscopal effect and immune response. The hapten enhanced local chemotherapy (HELC) was studied to kills tumor and release tumor TAAs, then hapten modify the TAAs to neu-TAAs, to produce tumor autologous antibodies, called induced tumor-associated autoantibodies (iTAAs) that is different from natural TAAs. Since the iTAAs and complement (C) are associated with cancer therapy Immunofluorescence (IF) was applied to evaluate the expression of the iTAAs and C3, C5, C9. Traces resulted in a partial staining of the nucleus in C3’s perinuclear reaction. The iTTAs of Survivin, C-MYC, and IMP1 increased significantly in the tumor cells' intranuclear regions (P = 0.02, P = 0.00, P

【Objective】The interaction and expression of 7 upstream transcription proteins (IbERF1, IbPDC, IbPGP19, IbSCF, IbWRKY1, IbJOX4 and IbEIN3-2) of purple-fleshed sweet potato IbMYB1 were analyzed to further elucidate the regulatory network of anthocyanin synthesis and accumulation in specific time and space.【Method】Yeast two-hybrid and BiFC experiment were used to detect the interactions between the 7 upstream transcription regulators. RT-qPCR was used to analyze the gene expression traits of an thocyanin synthesis regulation and upstream regulators in purple-fleshed sweet potato and white-fleshed sweet potato at roots different developmental stages.【Result】IbERF1 interacted with IbSCF and IbWRKY1. BiFC experiment confirmed the results of yeast two-hybrid experiment. The expression level of IbERF1 gene in purple-fleshed sweet potato roots was lower than that in white-fleshed sweet potato at different periods, and the expression level decreased gradually with the accumulation of anthocyanin in root. The expression levels of IbWRKY1 and IbSCF genes in the roots of purple-fleshed sweet potato and white-fleshed sweet potato at different developmental stages showed no significant positive or negative correlation with anthocyanin accumulation.【Conclusion】The upstream regulatory proteins IbERF1 can form a complex with IbSCF and IbWRKY1, respectively to co-regulate the expression of IbMYB1 in the form of a transcription complex. It is speculated that IbERF1 may negatively regulate anthocyanin synthesis, and IbSCF and IbWRKY1 may be involved in the synthesis and regulation of anthocyanin in purple-fleshed sweet potato.

Abstract The recent development of perovskite light emitting diodes (PeLEDs) has the potential to revolutionize the fields of optical communication and lighting devices, due to their simplicity of fabrication and outstanding optical properties. Here we demonstrate that PeLEDs can also be used in the field of quantum technologies by implementing a highly-secure quantum random number generator (QRNG). Modern QRNGs that certify their privacy are posed to replace classical random number generators in applications such as encryption and gambling, and therefore need to be cheap, fast and with integration capabilities. Using a compact metal-halide PeLED source, we generate random numbers, which are certified to be secure against an eavesdropper, following the quantum measurement-device-independent scenario. The obtained generation rate of more than 10 Mbit s−1, which is already comparable to commercial devices, shows that PeLEDs can work as high-quality light sources for quantum information tasks, thus opening up future applications in quantum technologies.

The current targeting drug delivery mainly relies on cancer cell surface receptors. However, in many cases, binding affinities between protein receptors and homing ligands is relatively low and the expression level between cancer and normal cells is not significant. Distinct from conventional targeting strategies, we have developed a general cancer targeting platform by building artificial receptor on cancer cell surface via a chemical remodeling of cell surface glycans. A new tetrazine (Tz) functionalized chemical receptor has been designed and efficiently installed on cancer cell surface as “overexpressed” biomarker through a metabolic glycan engineering. Different from the reported bioconjugation for drug targeting, the tetrazine labeled cancer cells not only locally activate TCO-caged prodrugs but also release active drugs via the unique bioorthogonal Tz-TCO click-release reaction. The studies have demonstrated that the new drug targeting strategy enables local activation of prodrug, which ultimately leads to effective and safe cancer therapy.

In high-altitude cold areas, freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles induced by day-night and seasonal temperature changes cause numerous rock mass slope engineering disasters. To investigate the dynamic properties of rock in the natural environment of a high-altitude cold area, standard specimens were drilled from the slope of the Jiama copper mine in Tibet, and dynamic compression tests were performed on water-saturated and frozen sandstone with different numbers of F-T cycles (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40) by the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system with a cryogenic control system. The influence of water-saturated and frozen conditions on the dynamic performance of sandstone was investigated. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) With increasing strain rate, the attenuation factor (λa) of water-saturated sandstone and the intensifying factor (λi) of frozen sandstone linearly increase. As the number of F-T cycles increases, the dependence factor (λd) of water-saturated sandstone linearly decreases, whereas the λd of frozen sandstone linearly increases. (2) The prediction equation of the dynamic compressive strength of water-saturated and frozen sandstone is obtained, which can be used to predict the dynamic compressive strength of sandstone after various F-T cycles based on the strain rate. (3) The mesoscopic mechanism of water-saturated and frozen sandstone's dynamic compressive strength evolution is investigated. The water softening effect causes the dynamic compressive strength of water-saturated sandstone to decrease, whereas the strengthening effect of pore ice causes it to increase. (4) The decrease in the relative dynamic compressive strength of water-saturated sandstone and the increase in the relative dynamic compressive strength of frozen sandstone can be attributed to the increased porosity.

Accurately predicting and estimating the squeezing and ground response to tunneling remains challenging. Moreover, tunnel-squeezing hazards are much more likely to occur in deeply buried long tunnels with complex engineering-geological environments. Therefore, a high-performance predictive model for tunnel squeezing is necessary. A superior ensemble classifier is put forward in this study, which is composed of four individual classifiers (gradient boosting classifier, extra-trees classifier, AdaBoost classifier, and Logistic regression classifier) and two optimization algorithms (Bayesian optimization (BO) and sparrow search algorithm (SSA)). The training database covers five parameters: tunnel depth (H), rock tunneling quality index (Q), tunnel diameter (D), support stiffness (K), and strength stress ratio (SSR), about which the basic information is accessible at the early design phases. However, the dataset compiled from the literature is insufficient. Thus, the ten proposed methods are used to replace the missing values. During the model training process, BO shows its strong ability to optimize seventeen hyperparameters. When applied to tune the classifiers' weights, SSA achieves a fast and efficient performance. The novel Shapley Additive Explanations–LightGBM method indicates that the K is the most important input feature, followed by SSR, Q, H, and D, respectively. The ensemble classifier is then validated using the test set and additional historical case projects. The validation shows that the model can achieve an accuracy of 98% (i.e., the error rate is 2%) on the test set, higher than those achieved by previous prediction models. Moreover, the predicted probability could provide warning information for timely support measures. Finally, the application results are illustrated through tests on the tunnel sections that have not yet been excavated in the line of the Sichuan–Tibet railway project. The applied predictive tendencies and laws are in line with the practical experience. In summary, the proposed model's prediction results are reasonable, and its prediction will be more accurate as more data is collected and trained for prewarning the tunnel squeezing hazard.

Single-shot dual-wavelength interferometry offers a promising avenue for surface profile measurement of dynamic objects. However, current techniques employing pixel multiplexing or color cameras encounter challenges such as complex optical alignment, limited measurement range, and difficulty in measuring rough surfaces. To address these issues, this study presents a novel approach to single-shot dual-wavelength interferometry. By utilizing separated polarization illumination and detection, along with a monochromatic polarization camera and two slightly different wavelengths, this method enables the simultaneous recording of two frames of separated interferometric patterns. This approach facilitates straightforward optical alignment, expands measurement ranges, accelerates data acquisition, and simplifies data processing for dual-wavelength interferometry. Consequently, it enables online shape measurement of large dynamic samples with rough surfaces.

With the rapid development of terahertz radar technology, the electromagnetic device for terahertz radar cross-section (RCS) reduction is worth investigating. However, the existing research concentrates on the RCS reduction metasurface with fixed performance working in the microwave band. This paper proposes a terahertz dynamic coding metasurface integrated with vanadium dioxide (VO2) for dual-polarized, dual-band, and wide-angle RCS reduction. The simulation result indicates that by switching the state of the VO2 between insulator and metal, the metasurface can realize the effective RCS reduction at 0.18 THz to 0.24 THz and 0.21 THz to 0.39 THz under the left-handed and right-handed circularly polarized incident waves. When the polar and azimuth angles of the incident wave vary from 0° to 40° and 0° to 360° respectively, this metasurface can maintain a 10 dB RCS reduction. This work has potential value in the terahertz stealth field.

Strong soil erosion and increasing human activities have made Loess Plateau areas ecologically fragile regions. Constructing the ecological security pattern (ESP) is imperative to maintain their ecosystem functions and sustainable development. However, it is still challenging to establish the ESP in such an unstable and scattered ecological environment. In this study, we take Shanxi Province, which suffers severe ecological problems in Loess Plateau areas, as an example to construct the ESP in a pattern of “source-resistance-corridor”. The proposed methods include the following steps: (1) potential ecological sources are selected with important ecosystem functions based on contributions of soil and water conservation, habitat quality, and carbon storage; (2) ecological sources are determined by considering core areas at the landscape scale based on morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) along with stability based on dynamic assessment on previous sources; (3) the comprehensive resistance surface is constructed by multiple resistance factors and remotely sensed nighttime light data; (4) ecological corridors are simulated and extracted based on circuit theory. As a result, the proposed ESP in our study area mainly includes 13,592 km2 of ecological sources, 8519.64 km of ecological corridors, and 277 ecological nodes. Meanwhile, an ecological framework of “two axes, three belts, and three zones” was proposed based on the optimization and reorganization of ecological components within the ESP. Our research lays a methodological and practical foundation for regional ESP construction and sustainable development in Loess Plateau areas.

Traditional data-driven tool wear state recognition methods rely on complete data under targeted working conditions. However, in actual cutting operations, working conditions vary, and data for many conditions lack labels, with data distribution characteristics differing between conditions. To address these issues, this article proposes a method for recognizing the wear state of milling cutters under varying working conditions based on an optimized symmetrized dot pattern (SDP). This method utilizes complete data from source working conditions for representation learning, transferring a generalized milling cutter wear state recognition model to varying working condition scenarios. By leveraging computer image processing features, the vibration signals produced by milling are converted into desymmetrization dot pattern images. Clustering analysis is used to extract template images of different wear states, and differential evolution algorithms are employed to adaptively optimize parameters using the maximization of Euclidean distance as an indicator. Transfer learning with a residual network incorporating an attention mechanism is used to recognize the wear state of milling cutters under varying working conditions. The experimental results indicate that the method proposed in this paper reduces the impact of working condition changes on the mapping relationship of milling cutter wear states. In the wear state identification experiment under varying conditions, the accuracy reached 97.39%, demonstrating good recognition precision and generalization ability.

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are regarded as the most important public facility after fire extinguishers due to their importance to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) victims. Previous studies focused on the location optimization of the AED, with little attention to inequity among different social groups. To comprehensively investigate the spatial heterogeneity of the AED inequity, we first collected AED data from a WeChat applet. Then, we used the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to quantify the inequity level and identify the socio-economic status group that faced the worst inequity in each neighborhood. Results showed that immigrants of all ages suffer a more severe AED inequity than residents after controlling population and road density. Immigrants face more severe inequity in downtown, while residents face more severe inequity in the peripheral and outer suburbs. AED inequity among youngsters tends to be concentrated in the center of each district, while inequity among the elderly tends to be distributed at the edge of each district. This study provides a new perspective for investigating the inequity in public facilities, puts forward scientific suggestions for future AED allocation planning, and emphasizes the importance of the equitable access to AED.

In this work, two types of 590 MPa grade steels, composed of NiCrMo steel and Cu-bearing steel, were processed using traditional offline quenching and tempering and direct quenching (DQ) and tempering. The influence of DQ on microstructural evolution and strengthening mechanisms of these two types of steel was investigated. Grain refinement and dislocation density increase were determined by controlled rolling and following the DQ process in both two types of steel. In Cu-bearing steels, the refined grains and high-density dislocation further promoted the precipitation behavior of Cu-rich particles and alloyed carbides during the tempering treatment. Compared with traditionally quenched and tempered steels, NiCrMo steels after the direct quenching and tempering (DQT) process achieved 106 MPa higher yield strength through grain refinement strengthening and dislocation strengthening, while the Cu-bearing steels after the DQT process achieved 159 MPa higher yield strength through grain refinement strengthening, dislocation strengthening, and precipitation strengthening. The contribution degree of different strengthening mechanisms was quantitatively analyzed. Grain refinement also compensated for the toughness loss caused by the increase in dislocation, leading to an impact energy of 237 J and 248 J at −84 °C for NiCrMo and Cu-bearing steels after DQT, respectively.

Lateral overturns are the most frequent fatal accidents involving tractors. A tractor being able to travel safely on uneven or sloped terrain is still an open field of investigation. The design concept of a four-wheel-drive tractor that can traverse hilly and mountainous areas is described. The tractor’s locomotion system can actively adjust its roll angle by using the attitude adjustment mechanisms equipped on the rear wheels. With double quadrangle mechanisms, the front axle can cooperate with the rear axle to adjust this tractor’s attitude. This tractor can also level its body, steer, and transmit power. The principles and configurations of the two axles are presented. A mathematics/mechanical model of a tractor on lateral slopes was developed. This model considers the relationships of the ground supporting forces when the tractor adjusts its roll angle. Combining the model of specific attitude adjustment mechanisms and the above mechanics model, the lateral stability analysis associated with the active input of the attitude adjustment mechanism is conducted. The reliability of the proposed model is discussed based on a comparison of slope traversing experiments and numerical simulations. This designed tractor has potential application in the fields of hilly and mountainous terrains. The results show that posture/configuration adjustment is a positive way to enhance tractor lateral overturn stability.

Resonator-enhanced electro-optical (EO) combs could generate a series of comb lines with high coherence and stability. Recently, EO comb based on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) has begun to show great potential thanks to the high second-order nonlinearity coefficient of lithium niobate crystal. Here we demonstrate that EO comb envelope engineering based on mode crossing induced a quality factor reduction in the TFLN racetrack microcavity both in the numerical simulation and experiment. Our method paves the way for the generation of EO combs with an arbitrary envelope.

To study the physical properties and dynamic mechanical response characteristics of rock materials in seasonally frozen regions, density, P-wave velocity, nuclear magnetic resonance, and dynamics Brazilian disc tests were carried out on sandstones treated with different numbers of freeze-thaw cycles. The experimental results show that the water-saturated density and P-wave velocity of sandstone decrease and the Nuclear magnetic resonance porosity increases as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases. Under a certain loading rate, the dynamic tensile strength of water-saturated sandstone gradually decreases and that of frozen sandstone gradually increases as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases; at the same time, the dynamic tensile strength of both water-saturated and frozen sandstone increases as the loading rate increases under the same number of freeze-thaw cycles. The reason for the variability of dynamic tensile strength between water-saturated and frozen sandstones with the increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles can be attributed to the change in porosity. On this basis, the concept of relative dynamic tensile strength of sandstones was introduced and regression analysis was carried out with the increase ratio of porosity, and it was found that the correlation between the relative dynamic tensile strength and the increase ratio of porosity was strong. The relative dynamic tensile strength of water-saturated sandstone decreases exponentially with the increase ratio of porosity; the relative dynamic tensile strength of frozen sandstone increases exponentially with the increase ratio of porosity.

Abstract With the power conversion efficiency of binary polymer solar cells dramatically improved, the thermal stability of the small-molecule acceptors raised the main concerns on the device operating stability. Here, to address this issue, thiophene-dicarboxylate spacer tethered small-molecule acceptors are designed, and their molecular geometries are further regulated via the thiophene-core isomerism engineering, affording dimeric TDY-α with a 2, 5-substitution and TDY-β with 3, 4-substitution on the core. It shows that TDY-α processes a higher glass transition temperature, better crystallinity relative to its individual small-molecule acceptor segment and isomeric counterpart of TDY-β, and a more stable morphology with the polymer donor. As a result, the TDY-α based device delivers a higher device efficiency of 18.1%, and most important, achieves an extrapolated lifetime of about 35000 hours that retaining 80% of their initial efficiency. Our result suggests that with proper geometry design, the tethered small-molecule acceptors can achieve both high device efficiency and operating stability.

Abstract Objective The co‐morbidity of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP)/autoimmune nodopathies with nephropathy has been gradually known in recent years. This study was intended to explore the clinical, serological and neuropathological features of seven patients with CIDP/autoimmune nodopathies and nephropathy. Methods Among 83 CIDP patients, seven were identified with nephropathy. Their clinical, electrophysiological and laboratory examination data were collected. The nodal/paranodal antibodies were tested. The sural biopsies were performed in all the patients, and renal biopsies were operated in 6 patients. Results Six patients had chronic onsets and one had an acute onset. Four patients exhibited peripheral neuropathy preceding nephropathy while two showed concurrent onset of neuropathy and nephropathy, and one started with nephropathy. All the patients showed demyelination in electrophysiological examination. Nerve biopsies showed mild to moderate mixed neuropathies including demyelinating and axonal changes in all patients. Renal biopsies showed membranous nephropathy in all 6 patients. Immunotherapy was effective in all patients, with two patients showing good response to corticosteroid treatment alone. Four of the patients were positive to anti‐CNTN1 antibody. Compared with anti‐CNTN1 antibody‐negative patients, antibody‐positive patients had a higher proportion of ataxia (3/4 vs. 1/3), autonomic dysfunction (3/4 vs. 1/3), less frequent antecedent infections (1/4 vs. 2/3), higher cerebrospinal fluid proteins (3.2 g/L vs. 1.69 g/L), more frequent conduction block on electrophysiological examination (3/4 vs. 1/3), higher myelinated nerve fiber density, and positive CNTN1 expression in the glomeruli of kidney tissues. Conclusion Anti‐CNTN1 antibody was the most frequent antibody in this group of patients with CIDP/autoimmune nodopathies and nephropathy. Our study suggested that there might be some clinical and pathological differences between the antibody positive and negative patients.

Abstract Background Apatinib, a highly selective VEGFR2 inhibitor, significantly improved efficacy versus placebo as a third- and later-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer in phase 2 and 3 trials. This prospective, single-arm, multicenter phase IV AHEAD study was conducted to verify the safety and efficacy of apatinib in patients with advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma after at least two lines of systematic therapy in clinical practice settings. Methods Patients with advanced gastric cancer who had previously failed at least two lines of chemotherapy received oral apatinib until disease progression, death or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was safety. The secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Adverse events were summarized by the incidence rate. Median OS and PFS were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. ORR, DCR, OS at 3 and 6 months, and PFS at 3 and 6 months were calculated, and their 95% CIs were estimated according to the Clopper-Pearson method. Results Between May 2015 and November 2019, a total of 2004 patients were enrolled, and 1999 patients who received at least one dose of apatinib were assessed for safety. In the safety population, 87.9% of patients experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), with the most common hypertension (45.2%), proteinuria (26.5%), and white blood cell count decreased (25.3%). Additionally, 51% of patients experienced grade ≥ 3 TRAEs. Fatal TRAEs occurred in 57 (2.9%) patients. No new safety concerns were reported. Among the 2004 patients included in the intention-to-treat population, the ORR was 4.4% (95% CI, 3.6–5.4%), and DCR was 35.8% (95% CI, 33.7–38.0%). The median PFS was 2.7 months (95% CI 2.2–2.8), and the median OS was 5.8 months (95% CI 5.4–6.1). Conclusions The findings in the AHEAD study confirmed the acceptable and manageable safety profile and clinical benefit of apatinib in patients with advanced gastric cancer as a third- or later-line of treatment. Trial registration This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02426034. Registration date was April 24, 2015.

Abstract Low-temperature standard NH3-SCR over copper-exchanged zeolite catalysts occurs on NH3-solvated Cu-ion active sites in a quasi-homogeneous manner. As key kinetically relevant reaction steps, the reaction intermediate CuII(NH3)4 ion hydrolyzes to CuII(OH)(NH3)3 ion to gain redox activity. The CuII(OH)(NH3)3 ion also transfers between neighboring zeolite cages to form highly reactive reaction intermediates. Via operando electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and SCR kinetic measurements and density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate here that such kinetically relevant steps become energetically more difficult with lower support Brønsted acid strength and density. Consequently, Cu/LTA displays lower Cu atomic efficiency than Cu/CHA and Cu/AEI, which can also be rationalized by considering differences in their support topology. By carrying out hydrothermal aging to eliminate support Brønsted acid sites, both CuII(NH3)4 ion hydrolysis and CuII(OH)(NH3)3 ion migration are hindered, leading to a marked decrease in Cu atomic efficiency for all catalysts.

Abstract Background Debates exist on the treatment decision of the stage II/III colorectal cancer (CRC) due to the insufficiency of the current TNM stage‐based risk stratification system. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor microenvironment (TME) have both been linked to CRC progression in recent studies. We propose to improve the prognosis prediction of CRC by integrating TME and EMT. Methods In total, 2382 CRC patients from seven datasets and one in‐house cohort were collected, and 1640 stage II/III CRC patients with complete survival information and gene expression profiles were retained and divided into a training cohort and three independent validation cohorts. Integrated analysis of 398 immune, stroma, and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (ISE)‐related genes identified an ISE signature independently associated with the recurrence of CRC. The underlying biological mechanism of the ISE signature and its influence on adjuvant chemotherapy was further explored. Results We constructed a 26‐gene signature which was significantly associated with poor outcome in Training cohort (p

Abstract With an increasing frequency of natural disasters and security attacks, the safe and stable operation of smart grid has been challenged unprecedently. To reduce the economic loss and social impact caused by power outage accidents, it is urgent to develop and improve the smart grid technology, and strengthen the disaster resistance and recovery capability of smart grids when faced with extreme events. As an efficient and flexible secondary energy source, hydrogen is crucial in improving the resilience of smart grid and supporting energy security. To further promote the deep integration of hydrogen systems and smart grid and improve the energy system resilience, the resilience of smart grids supported by hydrogen is assessed in this study. First, a technical framework of hydrogen‐powered smart grid resilience is established, and the value of hydrogen‐powered smart grid resilience is analysed considering different time frames (before, during and after an extreme event) of smart grids facing extreme events. Then, hydrogen‐powered smart grid resilience is investigated from perspectives of pre‐prevention regulation, in‐process correction regulation, and post‐recovery regulation. Finally, future direction for hydrogen‐powered smart grid resilience is investigated and related policy suggestions are provided.

To systematically study the effects of seven common polysaccharide hydrocolloids （kappa-carrageenan (KC), Konjac glucomannan (KGM), sodium alginate (SA), arabic gum (GA), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), xanthan gum (XG), guar gum (GG)）on the properties of doughs in the production of quick-frozen dough sticks and the quality of deep-fried dough sticks before and after raw-dough quick-freezing, OPLS-DA cluster analysis, Pearson correlation were adopted to perform comprehensive analysis for physical, physicochemical and sensory properties. The research results revealed that polysaccharide hydrocolloids had significant effects on the hardness of kneaded dough (r=0.62, P=0.0200.05). Adding GA presented the greatest effect on the elasticity of fermented dough (P

Abstract Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are a relatively rare type of thoracic tumor, accounting for less than 1% of all tumors. The incidence of TETs is about 3.93/10000 in China, slightly higher than that of European and American countries. For resectable TETs, complete surgical resection is recommended. Radiotherapy or chemotherapy may be used as postoperative adjuvant treatment. Treatment for advanced, unresectable TETs consist mainly of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but there is a lack of standard first‐ and second‐line treatment regimens. Recently, targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown promising outcomes in TETs. Based on the currently available clinical evidences and the opinions of the national experts, the Thymic Oncology Group of Yangtze River Delta Lung Cancer Cooperation Group (East China LUng caNcer Group, ECLUNG; Youth Committee) established this Chinese expert consensus on the clinical diagnosis and treatment of TETs, covering the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and follow‐up of TETs.

Introduction: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) accounts for the majority of deaths caused by coronary artery disease (CAD). Early warning of AMI, especially for patients with stable coronary artery disease (sCAD), is urgently needed. Our previous study showed that alterations in the gut microbiota were correlated with CAD severity. Objectives: Herein, we tried to discover accurate and convenient biomarkers for AMI by combination of gut microbiota and fecal/blood/urinary metabolomics. Methods: We recruited 190 volunteers including 93 sCAD patients, 49 AMI patients, and 48 subjects with normal coronary artery (NCA), and measured their blood biochemical parameters, 16S rRNA-based gut microbiota and NMR-based fecal/blood/urinary metabolites. We further selected 20 subjects from each group and analyzed their gut microbiota by whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing. Results: Multi-omic analyses revealed that AMI patients exhibited specific changes in gut microbiota and serum/urinary/fecal metabolites as compared to subjects with sCAD or NCA. Fourteen bacterial genera and 30 metabolites (11 in feces, 10 in blood, 9 in urine) were closely related to AMI phenotypes and could accurately distinguish AMI patients from sCAD patients. Some species belonging to Alistipes, Streptococcus, Ruminococcus, Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium were effective to distinguish AMI from sCAD and their predictive ability was confirmed in an independent cohort of CAD patients. We further selected nine indicators including 4 bacterial genera, 3 fecal and 2 urinary metabolites as a noninvasive biomarker set which can distinguish AMI from sCAD with an AUC of 0.932. Conclusion: Combination of gut microbiota and fecal/urinary metabolites provided a set of potential useful and noninvasive predictive biomarker for AMI from sCAD.

Abstract Supply‐demand coordination optimization of hydrogen‐based multi‐energy system provides an effective way to improve the overall energy utilization efficiency and mitigate the challenges of energy and environmental crisis for industrial park. However, the uncertainties of energy supply and demand and the time coupling caused by storage system bring great challenges for energy efficiency and feasibility of strategy. To address the supply‐demand coordination problem, a scenario‐based operation optimization model of hydrogen‐based multi‐energy system is formulated. In this model, grey hydrogen, green hydrogen, and renewable energy are coordinated. Furthermore, in order to formulate the hard constraints of the gas storage, the robust constraints with adjustable robust parameters are added to make a trade‐off between feasibility and economy of operation strategy. The robust constraints are non‐linear, time‐coupled, dynamic and infinite dimensional and bring high computational complexity. Thus, the analytical solutions of the worst case are developed under the polyhedral budget constraints to transform the model into a mixed integer linear programming which can be efficiently solved. Finally, numerical test based on a real case is analysed and the results show that supply‐demand coordination can reduce the energy cost about 11.29% and energy storage system can significantly improve the flexibility of system.

The heart requires high levels of mitochondria to sustain function, and mitochondrial stressors can be transmitted to the nucleus and reprogram metabolism. Here, the authors show that a mitochondrial ribosomal protein is important for heart development in mice by increasing nuclear Klf15 expression.

Abstract Background CSF-soluble platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (sPDGFRβ) is closely associated with pericyte damage. However, the changes in CSF sPDGFRβ levels and their role in blood–brain barrier (BBB) leakage at different stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with or without cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) burden, remain unclear. Methods A total of 158 individuals from the China Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorder Initiative cohort were selected, including 27, 48, and 83 individuals with a clinical dementia rating (CDR) score of 0, 0.5, and 1–2, respectively. CSF total tau, phosphorylated tau181 (p-tau181), Aβ40, and Aβ42 were measured using the Simoa assay. Albumin and CSF sPDGFRβ were measured by commercial assay kits. CSVD burden was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Results CSF sPDGFRβ was the highest level in the CDR 0.5 group. CSF sPDGFRβ was significantly correlated with the CSF/serum albumin ratio (Q-alb) in the CDR 0–0.5 group (β = 0.314, p = 0.008) but not in the CDR 1–2 group (β = − 0.117, p = 0.317). In the CDR 0–0.5 group, CSF sPDGFRβ exhibited a significant mediating effect between Aβ42/Aβ40 levels and Q-alb (p = 0.038). Q-alb, rather than CSF sPDGFRβ, showed a significant difference between individuals with or without CSVD burden. Furthermore, in the CDR 0.5 group, CSF sPDGFRβ was higher in subjects with progressive mild cognitive impairment than in those with stable mild cognitive impairment subjects (p < 0.001). Meanwhile, CSF sPDGFRβ was significantly associated with yearly changes in MMSE scores in the CDR 0.5 group (β = − 0.400, p = 0.020) and CDR 0.5 (A+) subgroup (β = − 0.542, p = 0.019). Conclusions We provide evidence that increased CSF sPDGFRβ is associated with BBB leakage in the early cognitive impairment stage of AD, which may contribute to cognitive impairment in AD progression.

Abstract Background Understanding the relationship between human evolution and environmental changes is the key to lifting the veil on human origin. The hypothesis that environmental changes triggered the divergence of humans from apes (ca. 9.3–6.5 million years ago, Ma) has been poorly tested because of limited continuous environmental data from fossil localities. Lufengpithecus (12.5-6.0 Ma) found on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (SEMTP) across the ape–human split provides a good chance for testing this hypothesis. Results Here, we reconstructed the habitats of L. keiyuanensis (12.5–11.6 Ma) with comprehensive vegetation, climate, and potential food web data by palaeobotanical evidence, together with other multidisciplinary data and partly tested the environment-driven hypothesis by revealing the living conditions of Lufengpithecus. Conclusion A detailed comparison of hominoids on different continents reveals their behaviour and fate divergence across the ape–human split against the background of global climate change, i.e., the stable living conditions of SEMTP not only provided a so-called ‘refuge’ for arboreal Lufengpithecus but also acted as a ‘double-edged sword’, preventing their further evolution while vegetation shifts in East Africa probably stimulated the emergence of human bipedalism, and the intense climatic changes in Europe possibly prevented those hominoids from surviving that time interval. Our findings provide interesting insight into the environmental impacts on the behavioural evolution of hominoids.

Abstract This study aimed to develop a nomogram for predicting the progression-free survival (PFS) of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) patients based on DNA methylation signature and clinicopathological characteristics. The DNA methylation profiles, transcriptome data, and clinical information of TGCT patients were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Univariate Cox, lasso Cox, and stepwise multivariate Cox regression were applied to identify a prognostic CpG sites-derived risk signature. Differential expression analysis, functional enrichment analysis, immunoinfiltration analysis, chemotherapy sensitivity analysis, and clinical feature correlation analysis were performed to elucidate the differences among risk groups. A prognostic nomogram integrating CpG sites-derived risk signature and clinicopathological features was further established and evaluated likewise. A risk score model based on 7 CpG sites was developed and found to exhibit significant differences among different survival, staging, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy subgroups. There were 1452 differentially expressed genes between the high- and low-risk groups, with 666 being higher expressed and 786 being lower expressed. Genes highly expressed were significantly enriched in immune-related biological processes and related to T-cell differentiation pathways; meanwhile, down-regulated genes were significantly enriched in extracellular matrix tissue organization-related biological processes and involved in multiple signaling pathways such as PI3K-AKT. As compared with the low-risk group, patients in the high-risk group had decreased lymphocyte infiltration (including T-cell and B-cell) and increased macrophage infiltration (M2 macrophages). They also showed decreased sensitivity to etoposide and bleomycin chemotherapy. Three clusters were obtained by consensus clustering analysis based on the 7 CpG sites and showed distinct prognostic features, and the risk scores in each cluster were significantly different. Multivariate Cox regression analysis found that the risk scores, age, chemotherapy, and staging were independent prognostic factors of PFS of TGCT, and the results were used to formulate a nomogram model that was validated to have a C-index of 0.812. Decision curve analysis showed that the nomogram model was superior to other strategies in the prediction of PFS of TGCT. In this study, we successfully established CpG sites-derived risk signature, which might serve as a useful tool in the prediction of PFS, immunoinfiltration, and chemotherapy sensitivity for TGCT patients.

Reducing energy loss of sub-cells is critical for high performance tandem organic solar cells. Here, the authors design and synthesize an ultra-narrow bandgap acceptor through replacement of terminal thiophene by selenophene in the central fused ring, achieving efficiency of 19% for tandem cells.

Abstract Orf virus (ORFV) is the causative agent of contagious ecthyma, which is an important zoonotic pathogen with a widespread distribution affecting sheep, goats and humans. Our previous research showed that autophagy can be induced in host cells by ORFV infection. However, the exact mechanism of ORFV-induced autophagy remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of autophagy induced by ORFV in OFTu cells and the impact of autophagy on ORFV replication. By using specific autophagy inhibitors and activators, Western blotting, immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy imaging, we confirmed that ORFV infection triggered intracellular autophagosome accumulation and the activation of autophagic flux. Moreover, ORFV-induced autophagic activity was found to rely on an increase in the phosphorylation of tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2) and a decrease in the phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which is mediated by the suppression of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway and activation of the ERK1/2/mTOR signalling pathway. Furthermore, we investigated the role of mTOR-mediated autophagy during ORFV replication using pharmacological agents and demonstrated that ORFV-induced autophagy correlated positively with viral replication. Taken together, our data reveal the pathways of ORFV-induced autophagy and the impact of autophagy on ORFV replication, providing new insights into ORFV pathogenesis.

Abstract Regulation of perovskite growth plays a critical role in the development of high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, judicious control of the grain growth for perovskite light emitting diodes is elusive due to its multiple requirements in terms of morphology, composition, and defect. Herein, we demonstrate a supramolecular dynamic coordination strategy to regulate perovskite crystallization. The combined use of crown ether and sodium trifluoroacetate can coordinate with A site and B site cations in ABX3 perovskite, respectively. The formation of supramolecular structure retard perovskite nucleation, while the transformation of supramolecular intermediate structure enables the release of components for slow perovskite growth. This judicious control enables a segmented growth, inducing the growth of insular nanocrystal consist of low-dimensional structure. Light emitting diode based on this perovskite film eventually brings a peak external quantum efficiency up to 23.9%, ranking among the highest efficiency achieved. The homogeneous nano-island structure also enables high-efficiency large area (1 cm2) device up to 21.6%, and a record high value of 13.6% for highly semi-transparent ones.

Abstract The geographic origin of agri-food products contributes greatly to their quality and market value. Here, we developed a robust method combining metabolomics and machine learning (ML) to authenticate the geographic origin of Wuyi rock tea, a premium oolong tea. The volatiles of 333 tea samples (174 from the core region and 159 from the non-core region) were profiled using gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry and a series of ML algorithms were tested. Wuyi rock tea from the two regions featured distinct aroma profiles. Multilayer Perceptron achieved the best performance with an average accuracy of 92.7% on the training data using 176 volatile features. The model was benchmarked with two independent test sets, showing over 90% accuracy. Gradient Boosting algorithm yielded the best accuracy (89.6%) when using only 30 volatile features. The proposed methodology holds great promise for its broader applications in identifying the geographic origins of other valuable agri-food products.

Introduction: Both low bone mineral density (BMD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) commonly co_occur in the older adult. Until now, the association between AD and BMD has been widely reported by observational studies. However, Mendelian randomization (MR) studies did not support the causal association between BMD and AD. We think that the lack of significant causal association between AD and BMD identified by recent MR studies may be caused by small number of potential instrumental variables.Methods: We conduct a MR study to evaluate the causal effect of heel BMD on the risk of AD using 1,362 genome-wide significant and independent (p < 5.00E-08) heel BMD genetic variants as the potential instrumental variables, which are identified by a large-scale genome wide association study (GWAS) of heel BMD in 394,929 UK Biobank individuals. Using these 1,362 genome-wide significant and independent heel BMD genetic variants, we extracted their corresponding AD GWAS summary results in IGAP AD GWAS dataset (n = 63,926) and FinnGen AD GWAS dataset (n = 377,277). Five methods including inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis (IVW), weighted median, MR-Egger, MR-PRESSO, and MRlap were selected to perform the MR analysis. 951 of these 1,362 genetic variants are available in AD GWAS dataset.Results: We observed statistically significant causal effect of heel BMD on the risk of AD using IVW in IGAP AD GWAS dataset (OR = 1.048, 95%CI: 1.002–1.095, p = 0.04) and FinnGen AD GWAS dataset (OR = 1.053, 95% CI:1.011–1.098, p = 0.011). Importantly, meta-analysis of IVW estimates from IGAP and FinnGen further supported the causal effect of heel BMD on the risk of AD (OR = 1.051, 95% CI: 1.02–1.083, p = 0.0013).Discussion: Collectively, our current MR study supports heel BMD to be a risk factor of AD by analyzing the large-scale heel BMD and AD GWAS datasets. The potential mechanisms underlying the association between heel BMD and AD should be further evaluated in future.

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of docetaxel + trastuzumab + pertuzumab and docetaxel + carboplatin + trastuzumab + pertuzumab for treating HER2-positive breast cancer. Method: HER2-positive breast cancer from patients diagnosed between January 2020 and September 2022 were included in this retrospective study. Docetaxel + trastuzumab + pertuzumab or docetaxel + carboplatin + trastuzumab + pertuzumab was selected as the neoadjuvant regimen. The primary endpoint was a complete pathological remission rate. Secondary endpoints were toxicity during neoadjuvant treatment, adjustment of the neoadjuvant therapy scheme, and adjuvant medication. Result: A total of 81 patients were included in this study (38 in the docetaxel + carboplatin + trastuzumab + pertuzumab treatment group and 43 in the docetaxel + trastuzumab + pertuzumab group). The complete pathological remission rates in the docetaxel + carboplatin + trastuzumab + pertuzumab and docetaxel + trastuzumab + pertuzumab groups were 44.7% (95% confidence interval: 30.2%-60.3%) and 51.2% (95% confidence interval: 36.8%-65.4%), respectively. The incidence of grade 3 or higher toxicity in the docetaxel + carboplatin + trastuzumab + pertuzumab group was significantly higher than that in the docetaxel + trastuzumab + pertuzumab group (68.4% vs 39.5%, P = .009). Neutropenia and asthenia were the most common grade 3 or higher toxicities. The incidence of neoadjuvant scheme adjustment was significantly higher in the docetaxel + carboplatin + trastuzumab + pertuzumab group than in the docetaxel + trastuzumab + pertuzumab group (26.3% vs 7.0%, P = .039). The proportion of patients who received

Abstract Organic polymers are promising candidates as cathode materials for lithium storage, however, suffer from low theoretical capacity due to the presence of multiple inactive components in the polymers. Herein, a novel hexaazatriphenylene‐based polyimide with high theoretical capacity (436 mAh g−1) is developed via the precise design of monomers and controllable synthesis of corresponding polymers. The as‐prepared polymers possess rich edge pyrazine nitrogen (C═N) and carbonyl groups (C═O), well‐defined porosity, and conjugated structure, benefiting for high capacity, rapid ion and charge transport. The resultant polymers electrode achieves a high specific capacity of 303 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, high‐rate capability (171 mAh g−1 even at 8 C, 1 C = 400 mA g−1), and stable cycle performance with a high capacity retention of 93.8% at 500 mA g−1 over 200 cycles. Combined experimental and theoretical calculations reveal that both C═O and C═N sites in the polyimide are served as redox sites for lithium storage, providing high specific capacity. This work offers a novel approach for the development of polymeric cathode materials with dense redox sites for next‐generation energy‐dense batteries.

BackgroundCerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal band (CSF-OCB) is an established biomarker in diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), however, there are no nationwide data on CSF-OCB prevalence and its diagnostic performance in Chinese MS patients, especially in the virtue of common standard operation procedure (SOP).MethodsWith a consensus SOP and the same isoelectric focusing system, we conducted a nationwide multi-center study on OCB status in consecutively, and recruited 483 MS patients and 880 non-MS patients, including neuro-inflammatory diseases (NID, n = 595) and non-inflammatory neurological diseases (NIND, n=285). Using a standardized case report form (CRF) to collect the clinical, radiological, immunological, and CSF data, we explored the association of CSF-OCB positivity with patient characters and the diagnostic performance of CSF-OCB in Chinese MS patients. Prospective source data collection, and retrospective data acquisition and statistical data analysis were used.Findings369 (76.4%) MS patients were OCB-positive, while 109 NID patients (18.3%) and 6 NIND patients (2.1%) were OCB-positive, respectively. Time from symptom onset to diagnosis was significantly shorter in OCB-positive than that in OCB-negative MS patients (13.2 vs 23.7 months, P=0.020). The prevalence of CSF-OCB in Chinese MS patients was significantly higher in high-latitude regions (41°-50°N)(P=0.016), and at high altitudes (>1000m)(P=0.025). The diagnostic performance of CSF-OCB differentiating MS from non-MS patients yielded a sensitivity of 76%, a specificity of 87%.InterpretationThe nationwide prevalence of CSF-OCB was 76.4% in Chinese MS patients, and demonstrated a good diagnostic performance in differentiating MS from other CNS diseases. The CSF-OCB prevalence showed a correlation with high latitude and altitude in Chinese MS patients.

Introdution: One crucial method to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) involves timely adjustment of development policies, promoting the realization of SDGs through a time-series assessment of the degree of accomplishment. In practical applications, data acquisition is a significant constraint in evaluating the SDGs, not only in China but across the globe. Hence, expanding data channels and exploring the feasibility of various data sources for sustainable development assessment are effective strategies to tackle the challenge of data acquisition.Methods: In light of this issue, this study selected Nighttime Light Data, a remote sensing data source closely linked to human social activities, as an alternative data source. Using Yunnan Province as an example, 16 localized indicators of social, economic, and environmental types were chosen. These indicators were then subjected to a correlation analysis with the Total Nighttime Light Index (TNLI). The relationships between different types of indicators and TNLI were analyzed at both temporal and spatial scales, thus identifying the indicators for which TNLI could serve as a suitable substitute measure.Results: The study indicates that when the SDG indicators are classified into economic, social and environmental categories, the total value of nighttime light presents a significant correlation and substitutability with economic indicators; significantly correlated with some social indicators, it can reveal the weak links in the development of underdeveloped areas; it is not significantly correlated with environmental indicators, while a trend correlation exists, which can provide some reference values.Discussion: This study has demonstrated the feasibility of using Nighttime Light Data for sustainable development assessment. It provides a novel evaluation method for countries that, despite a lack of resources for conducting sustainable development assessments, have a greater need for such assessments due to their lower economic development. Furthermore, a multitude of assessment methods can be developed based on Nighttime Light Data.

It is well known that the hippocampus is a vital brain region playing a key role in both episodic and spatial memory. Insulin receptors (InsRs) are densely distributed in the hippocampus and are important for its function. However, the effects of InsRs on the function of the specific hippocampal cell types remain elusive. In this study, hippocampal InsRs knockout mice had impaired episodic and spatial memory. GABAergic neurons and glutamatergic neurons in the hippocampus are involved in the balance between excitatory and inhibitory (E/I) states and participate in the processes of episodic and spatial memory. InsRs are located mainly at excitatory neurons in the hippocampus, whereas 8.5% of InsRs are glutamic acid decarboxylase 2 (GAD2)::Ai9-positive (GABAergic) neurons. Next, we constructed a transgenic mouse system in which InsR expression was deleted from GABAergic (glutamate decarboxylase 2::InsR fl/fl , GAD2 Cre ::InsR fl/fl ) or glutamatergic neurons (vesicular glutamate transporter 2::InsR fl/fl ,Vglut2 Cre ::InsR fl/fl ). Our results showed that in comparison to the InsR fl/fl mice, both episodic and spatial memory were lower in GAD2 Cre ::InsR fl/fl and Vglut2 Cre ::InsR fl/fl . In addition, both GAD2 Cre ::InsR fl/fl and Vglut2 Cre ::InsR fl/fl were associated with more anxiety and lower glucose tolerance. These findings reveal that hippocampal InsRs might be crucial for episodic and spatial memory through E/I balance hippocampal regulation.

Aim of study: Understanding the carbon budget and meteorological factor impacts of farmland ecosystems is helpful for scientific assessment of carbon budget and low-carbon agricultural production practices. Area of study: The Songnen Plain, NE China, in 2019. Material and methods: Based on eddy-related flux and soil heterotrophic respiration observations from a typical maize farmland ecosystem, using mathematical statistics and carbon balance equation methods, were analyzed. Main results: Soil respiration rate (Rs) and composition were influenced and controlled by the synergistic effect of surface soil temperature (Ts) and water content (Wcs). Ts played a leading role, while Wcs played an important role. Ts and Wcs had the greatest influence on the heterotrophic respiration rate (Rh), followed by Rs and autotrophic respiration rate (Ra). Daily variations of net ecosystem productivity were correlated with daily mean air temperature, latent heat flux, and sensible heat flux. Annual carbon revenue was 1139.67 g C m-2, annual carbon expenditure was 456.14 g C m-2, and annual carbon budget was -683.53 g C m-2 in 2019. While considering that maize grain yield (-353.44 g C m-2) was moved out of the field at harvest, the net ecosystem carbon balance was -330.09 g C m-2; then it was carbon sink in 2019. By fully utilizing climate resources and improving agricultural managements, carbon sink is increased in farmland ecosystems. Research highlights: Soil respiration rate and composition were influenced and controlled by the synergistic effect of soil temperature and water content; the maize farmland ecosystem is carbon sink.

BackgroundThe incidence of acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion is relatively infrequent in the young adult population. We sought to evaluate their clinical outcomes after endovascular treatment (EVT) and stroke etiology compared with older patients.MethodsWe examined data from the ANGEL-ACT registry, a nationwide study in China focusing on EVT for acute ischemic stroke. We compared two age groups:

IntroductionMoyamoya disease (MMD) is associated with a risk of postoperative cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) after revascularization surgery. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of using three-dimensional pulsed arterial spin labeling (3D PASL) and phase contrast (PC) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for predicting CHS occurrence in patients with MMD before revascularization surgery.MethodsOverall, 191 adult patients (207 hemispheres) with MMD who underwent combined revascularization surgery were included in this study. Preoperative 3D PASL-MRI and PC-MRI were performed before surgery. The PASL-MRI data were analyzed using SPM12. Patient clinical information, average flow, and preoperative cerebral blood flow (CBF) were compared between the non-CHS and CHS groups.ResultsAmong the patients, 45 (21.74%) developed CHS after revascularization surgery. No significant differences were noted in age, sex, clinical symptoms, hypertension, diabetes, surgical side, or history of revascularization surgery between the non-CHS and CHS groups. However, the average flow in the superficial temporal artery was significantly lower in the CHS group than in the non-CHS group (p

Background and purposeThe efficacy and safety of endovascular treatment (EVT) in acute basilar artery occlusion (ABAO) has been confirmed by four randomized clinical trials. Nevertheless, the predictors of a 90-day favorable outcome after EVT have not been elucidated. We attempted to establish a nomogram for the prediction of a 90-day favorable outcome in ABAO patients with EVT.MethodsClinical data of ABAO patients with EVT were obtained from two nationwide clinical trial registries in China. Factors associated with a 90-day favorable outcome were screened by multivariable step-wise regression on the basis of univariable analysis. A nomogram was established to predict 90-day favorable outcome after EVT.ResultsThe proportion of ABAO patients with a favorable outcome was 41.53% (157/378). Seven variables, including baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS)

Ciliated protists are highly differentiated unicellular eukaryotes that possess special sexual processes (conjugation and autogamy) that rely on their unique nuclear dimorphism, i.e., the presence of both a germline micronucleus (MIC) and a somatic macronucleus (MAC) in a single cell. The sexual processes show a high diversity in different ciliates. To better understand the differentiation and evolution of sexual processes in closely related species, we investigated the nuclear events during conjugation in Paramecium jenningsi strain GZ, a poorly studied close relative of the well-known P. aurelia complex. The main results include: (1) the conjugation process takes about 48 ​h, including three prezygotic divisions (meiosis I, II, and mitosis) and three postzygotic divisions; (2) the MICs are dominated by the “parachute” phase at the prophase of meiosis I; (3) after meiosis II, a variable number of nuclei undergo the third prezygotic division, and the two products near the paroral cone become the genetically identical migratory and stationary pronuclei; (4) the synkaryon divides three times to form the MIC and the MAC anlagen, but only one nuclear product of the first postzygotic division completes the next two divisions; and (5) an extra cell division is required to complete the last step of conjugation, during which two MIC anlagen undergo mitotic division while two MAC anlagen are distributed between the daughter cells without division. The comparison of the nuclear events during conjugation in representatives of the class Oligohymenophorea reveals that usually there are three prezygotic divisions and a variable number of postzygotic divisions. However, the number of selected and differentiated nuclei after each division differs among species. This study provided a new model ciliate for further investigations of nuclear selection and differentiation as well as nuclear morphology during meiosis.

ATP-binding cassette subfamily B (ABCB) has been implicated in various essential functions such as multidrug resistance, auxin transport and heavy metal tolerance in animals and plants. However, the functions, the genomic distribution and the evolutionary history have not been characterized systematically in lower eukaryotes. As a lineage of highly specialized unicellular eukaryotes, ciliates have extremely diverse genomic features including nuclear dimorphism. To further understand the genomic structure and evolutionary history of this gene family, we investigated the ABCB gene subfamily in 11 ciliates. The results demonstrate that there is evidence of substantial gene duplication, which has occurred by different mechanisms in different species. These gene duplicates show consistent purifying selection, suggesting functional constraint, in all but one species, where positive selection may be acting to generate novel function. We also compare the gene structures in the micronuclear and macronuclear genomes and find no gene scrambling during genome rearrangement, despite the abundance of such scrambling in two of our focal species. These results lay the foundation for future analyses of the function of these genes and the mechanisms responsible for their evolution across diverse eukaryotic lineages.

Summary: Histopathological images of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) contain rich morphometric information that may predict patients’ outcomes. However, to our knowledge, no study has reported any practical deep learning framework based on the histology images of CRLM, and their direct association with prognosis remains largely unknown. In this study, we developed a deep learning-based framework for fully automated tissue classification and quantification of clinically relevant spatial organization features (SOFs) in H&E-stained images of CRLM. The SOFs based risk-scoring system demonstrated a strong and robust prognostic value that is independent of the current clinical risk score (CRS) system in independent clinical cohorts. Our framework enables fully automated tissue classification of H&E images of CRLM, which could significantly reduce assessment subjectivity and the workload of pathologists. The risk-scoring system provides a time- and cost-efficient tool to assist clinical decision-making for patients with CRLM, which could potentially be implemented in clinical practice.

Study region: The Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGR), China Study focus: Soil erosion on purple soil hillslope and its negative effects are deleterious to the ecological environment of the TGR. Sheet erosion is the initial form of the slope erosion, which is notably impacted by land degradation, polyacrylamide (PAM) is commonly applied for soil and water conservation purpose, while the sheet erosion on purple soil hillslope treated with PAM remains unclear. New hydrological insights for the region: The findings suggested that the sheet erosion and runoff rate increased as the rainfall intensity was increased and the slope gradient was decreased with increasing PAM application rate until reaching minimum values at 0.80 g m−2, and these quantities increased afterward. The single and combined impacts of the PAM application rate, rainfall intensity and slope gradient on erosion and runoff were significant. The slope gradient, rainfall intensity and PAM application rate also influenced the hydrodynamic parameters, and the stream power was the optimal parameter for describing the sheet erosion. An equation encompassing the rainfall intensity, slope gradient and PAM application rate was used for sheet erosion rate prediction with high accuracy relative to the stream power and PAM application rate. These results could be helpful to better understand sheet erosion on purple soil slopes treated with PAM and offer fundamental guidelines for soil and water conservation in the TGR.

Some cancer cells migration and metastasis are characterized by the outgrowth of lamellipodia protrusions in which the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Evidence has confirmed that lamellipodia formation could be regulated by various adhesion molecules, such as CD44, and we previously reported that lamellipodia at the leading edge of luminal type breast cancer (BrCa) were enriched with high expression of CD44. In this study, we found that the overexpression of CD44s could promote lamellipodia formation in BrCa cells through inducing tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) upregulation, which was achieved by PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activation. Moreover, we revealed that tPA could interact with LDL receptor related protein 1 (LRP1) to activate the downstream NFκB signaling pathway, which in turn facilitate lamellipodia formation. Notably, inhibition of the tPA/LRP1-NFkB signaling cascade could attenuate the CD44s-induced lamellipodia formation. Thus, our findings uncover a novel role of CD44s in driving lamellipodia outgrowth through tPA/LRP1-NFkB axis in luminal BrCa cells that may be helpful for seeking potential therapeutic targets.