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Background: No data are available on the prevalence of mortality in neonates after major surgery such as laparotomy in China. Methods: In a tertiary general hospital, 142 newborns who underwent laparotomy for a variety of surgical conditions in the past 6 years were included in this study in Beijing, China. Pre‐, intra‐, and postoperative variables potentially predictive of postoperative 30 day mortality were collected and compared between the surviving and deceased newborns. Results: Death ≤30 days after laparotomy occurred in 19 of 142 newborns (13.4%) during the study period. Newborns diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) had the worst outcome (OR, 11.4). Significantly more neonates in the 30 day death group were intubated preoperatively (52.6%) compared with the survival group (19.5%; OR, 10.0). Base excess ≤−10 mmol/L immediately after laparotomy was associated with negative prognosis in the early postoperative period (OR, 11.2). Conclusion: The mortality rate of newborns ≤30 days after laparotomy was 13.4% in a Chinese tertiary general hospital in the past 6 years. The factors associated with early death were NEC, preoperative intubation with mechanical ventilation, and postoperative immediate base excess ≤−10 mmol/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Valsa mali is the causal agent of apple Valsa canker, a destructive disease in East Asia. Effector proteins play important roles in the virulence of phytopathogenic fungi, and we identified five Hce2 domain‐containing effectors (VmHEP1, VmHEP2, VmHEP3, VmHEP4 and VmHEP5) from the V.mali genome. Amongst these, VmHEP1 and VmHEP2 were found to be up‐regulated during the early infection stage and VmHEP1 was also identified as a cell death inducer through its transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. Although the deletion of each single VmHEP gene did not lead to a reduction in virulence, the double‐deletion of VmHEP1 and VmHEP2 notably attenuated V. mali virulence in both apple twigs and leaves. An evolutionary analysis revealed that VmHEP1 and VmHEP2 are two paralogues, under purifying selection. VmHEP1 and VmHEP2 are located next to each other on chromosome 11 as tandem genes with only a 604 bp physical distance. Interestingly, the deletion of VmHEP1 promoted the expression of VmHEP2 and, vice versa, the deletion of VmHEP2 promoted the expression of VmHEP1. The present results provide insights into the functions of Hce2 domain‐containing effectors acting as virulence factors of V. mali, and provide a new perspective regarding the contribution of tandem genes to the virulence of phytopathogenic fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Self-piercing riveted (SPR) connections are gradually being used in cold-formed steel structures due to higher tensile strength, shear strength and connection efficiency compared to those of self- drilling connections. With the purpose of investigating the flexural behavior of truss beams with SPR connections and studying the effects of height and span, as well as diagonal web arrangement, on their flexural stiffness and ultimate bearing capacity, the symmetric vertical static load test was conducted for 5 cold-formed thin-walled truss beam specimens with SPR connections. The finite element software was adopted to simulate the test models, and the more parameters were additionally analyzed. The research indicated that the failure modes of the specimens can be divided into two types: the local strength failure mode occurred when the upper chord flange plate was cracked, the other one occurred when the rivets at joints of truss beams were stripped from the plate. The span-height ratio, spacing of web members, chord thickness and number of rivets had great influence on the flexural stiffness and ultimate bearing capacity of truss beams with SPR connections, while the thickness of web members and the arrangement of diagonal web members had less influence. The truss beam was a simply supported beam with a weak web. A theoretical formula was proposed to calculate the equivalent flexural stiffness of the truss beam with SPR connections based on parametric analysis, and it agreed with the experiment results, so the proposed theoretical formula is valid and can be applied to practical engineering. Highlights • Pilot research on self-piercing rivet connections in cold-formed steel truss beams. • The failure mechanism and failure modes of truss beams using self-piercing rivets are analyzed. • The influence of various factors on the flexural behavior of truss beams with SPRs is investigated and design suggestions are developed. • A theoretical formula calculated the equivalent flexural stiffness of truss beam based on test results and parametric analysis is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The earth has abundant water resources, and efficient harvesting of energy from waves is always a research hotspot. In this paper, we fabricate a box-like triboelectric-electromagnetic hybrid nanogenerator for harvesting water wave energy, which is composed of the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and the electromagnetic generator (EMG). In the case of TENG, the contact and separation between the aluminum film-coated PMMA cylinder and the silicone film covered interdigitated Ag electrodes is formed by ocean waves. In the case of EMG, a rolling magnetic ball is placed on the four coils to generate magnetic flux changes, thus generating electricity. Several experiments are conducted to validate the availability. Experimental results show that the instantaneous maximum output power of TENG is 0.08 mW at a load of 100 MΩ, and the instantaneous maximum output power of EMG is 14.9 mW at a load of 1 kΩ. The hybrid nanogenerator can light up 60 LEDs at the same time. After storing energy in the capacitor, the output DC signal can provide a continuous energy supply with the temperature sensor. More important, the nanogenerator can power the wireless acoustic sensing system. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • Combined with TENG and EMG, it can harvest more energy at wider frequencies. • A new rolling structure to harvest two-dimensional direction random wave energy. • It has potential applications in self-powered wireless acoustic sensing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As an extension of Gabor frames, nonstationary Gabor (NSG) frames were recently introduced in adaptive signal analysis. They allow for efficient reconstruction with flexible sampling and varying window functions. In this paper we generalize the notion of NSG frames from L 2 (R) to the vector-valued Hilbert space L 2 (R , C L) , and investigate the resulting vector-valued NSG frames. We derive a Walnut's representation of the mixed frame operator, and provide some necessary/sufficient conditions for a vector-valued NSG system to be a frame for L 2 (R , C L). Furthermore, we show the existence of painless vector-valued NSG frames, and of vector-valued NSG frames with fast decaying window functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amblyopia risk factors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are usually hard to detect in early childhood due to poor cooperation and has not been reported in the Chinese population. We screened 168 Chinese children with ASD, aged between 3 and 8 years, and 264 age-matched neurotypical children with Spot photoscreener and basic ophthalmologic examinations. Children with ASD were found to have normal refractive status but significantly higher incidence of strabismus (16.1%), compared with control children (1.5%) (p < 0.01). Most of the cases of strabismus found in children with ASD were classified as esodeviation. Strabismus in children with ASD should be considered more seriously as an amblyopia risk factor by ophthalmologists and other healthcare professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK), p38 MAPK (p38) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), have an important effect on lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) during lung transplantation (LT). However, the way in which combined MAPK inhibition exerts optimal protective effects on lung IRI remains to be elucidated. Therefore, the present study evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of the inhibition of MAPKs in rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) in an IRI model of LT. The rat PMVECs were transfected with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) against JNK, p38 or ERK1/2. Cotransfection was performed with siRNAs against JNK and p38 in the J+p group, JNK and ERK1/2 in the J+E group, p38 and ERK1/2 in the p+E group, or all three in the J+p+E group. Non-targeting (NT) siRNA was used as a control. The PMVECs were then treated to induce IRI, and the levels of inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress were detected. Differences between compared groups were determined using Tukey's honest significant difference test. In all groups, silencing of the MAPKs was shown to attenuate inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress to differing extents, compared with the NT group. The J+p and J+p+E groups showed lower levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6 and malondialdehyde, a lower percentage of early-apoptotic cells, and higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, compared with the other groups. No significant differences were observed in the inflammatory response, SOD activity or early apoptosis between the J+p and J+p+E groups. These findings suggested that the dual inhibition of JNK and p38 led to maximal amelioration of lung IRI in the PMVECs of the IRI model of LT, which occurred through anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common covalent organic frameworks (COFs) cannot achieve high luminescence signal because they are usually connected by imine bonds and rotationally labile imine linkages with the tendency of nonradiative relaxation-mediated self-quenching. Herein, we demonstrate the construction of an aminal-linked COF-based electrochemiluminescent sensor for enantioselective sensing phenylalanine. The aminal-linked COF is constructed via the condensation of emission monomers tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivative (4′,4″,4′,4′-(1,2-ethenediylidene)tetrakis [1,1′-biphenyl]-4-carboxaldehyde (ETBC) and piperazine. The obtained aminal-linked COF generates a higher ECL signal than the individual components (i.e. , ETBC and piperazine), single pore imine-linked COFs (SP-COF), and dual-pore imine-linked COFs (DP-COF). Notably, the ECL signal generated by the aminal-linked COF with higher crystallinity exhibits 4.5-fold enhancement compared with that generated by amorphous-conjugated microporous polymer (CMP), suggesting that crystalline framework can function as an efficient ECL emitter. Moreover, the aminal-linked COF can be employed for the construction of a novel ECL sensor for selective discrimination of enantiomer L -phenylalanine (L -Phe) from D -phenylalanine (D -Phe), providing a new avenue for chiral recognition. • We construct an aminal-linked covalent organic frameworks (COF)-based electrochemiluminescent sensor. • This ECL sensor can selectively discriminate enantiomer L -phenylalanine (L -Phe) from D -phenylalanine (D -Phe). • The crystalline framework can function as an efficient ECL emitter. • This research provides a new avenue for chiral recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric PM 2.5 poses a variety of health and environmental risks to urban environments. Ammonium is one of the main components of PM 2.5 , and its role in PM 2.5 pollution will likely increase in the coming years as NH 3 emissions are still unregulated and rising in many cities worldwide. However, partitioning urban NH 4 + sources remains challenging. Although the 15N natural abundance (δ15N) analysis is a promising approach for this purpose, it has seldom been applied across multiple cities within a given region. This limits our understanding of the regional patterns and controls of NH 4 + sources in urban environments. Here, we collected PM 2.5 samples using an active sampling technique during winter at six cities in the North China Plain to characterize the concentrations, δ15N and sources of NH 4 + in PM 2.5. We found substantial variations in both the concentrations and δ15N of NH 4 + among the sites. The mean NH 4 + concentrations across the six cities ranged from 3.6 to 12.1 μg m−3 on polluted days and from 0.9 to 10.6 μg m−3 on non-polluted days. The δ15N ranged from 6.5‰ to 13.9‰ on polluted days and from 8.7‰ to 13.5‰ on non-polluted days. The δ15N decreased with increasing NH 4 + concentrations at all six sites. We found that non-agricultural sources (vehicle exhaust, ammonia slip and urban wastes) contributed 72%–94% and 56%–86% of the NH 4 + on polluted and non-polluted days, respectively, and that during polluted days, combustion-related emissions (vehicle exhaust and ammonia slip) were positively associated with the proportion of urban area, population density and number of vehicles, highlighting the importance of local sources of particulate pollution. This study suggests that the analysis of 15N in aerosol NH 4 + is a promising approach for apportioning atmospheric NH 3 sources over a large region, and this approach has potential for mapping rapidly and precisely the sources of NH 3 emissions. [Display omitted] • Non-agricultural and agricultural sources contributed 82% and 18% to NH 4 + in PM 2.5. • Aerosol NH 4 + on polluted winter days in six cities was mainly of local origin. • Combustion-derived NH 4 + positively related to urban area size and vehicle numbers. • Agricultural contribution to NH 4 + increased with increasing agricultural coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy is a compatible regimen for synergizing immune checkpoint blockade therapy by promoting immunogenic cell death. To improve the efficiency of irradiation-induced neoantigen generation, we designed and developed an ozone-carrying liposome perfluorodecalin (PFD) nano-system (O 3 _PFD@Liposome) which promoted ozone solubility by 18.4-fold compared to that in water solution. The O 3 _PFD@Liposome particle remarkably improved the irradiation-induced hydroxyl radical generation. Evaluation of sub-cellular biodistribution indicated that the nano-system could be efficiently internalized by tumor cells. Upon released inside tumor cells, ozone generated reactive oxygen species under the stimulation of X-ray irradiation. Notably, O 3 _PFD@Liposome significantly prompted anti-tumor efficacy of radiotherapy without inducing severe adverse effects. The combo regimen with radiotherapy and ozone potently enhanced the infiltration of lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment by inducing immunogenic cell death, releasing neoantigens, and relieving hypoxia symptom. Consequently, the combination of ozone-fueled irradiation and PD-1 blockade synergistically inhibited the growth of primary and abscopal tumors. [Display omitted] • Ozone may serve as an efficient donor of ROS and oxygen under the agitation of irradiation. • Ozone-loaded perfluorodecalin liposome sensitizes radiotherapy by enhancing ROS productivity and attenuating hypoxia. • Combination of O 3 _PFD@Liposome and irradiation promotes tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte by augmenting immunogenic cell death. • On top of ozone-fueled irradiation, PD-1 blockade further enhances growth inhibition of primary and abscopal tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]