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A nano‐immunomodulator (R‐NPT NP) comprising a tumor microenvironment (TME) activable resiquimod (R848) and a π‐extended NIR‐absorbing naphthophenanthrolinetetraone (NPT) has been engineered for spatiotemporal controlled photothermal immunotherapy. R‐NPT NP demonstrated excellent photostability, while R848 promoted synergistic immunity as a toll‐like receptor 7/8 (TLR7/8) agonist. Upon accumulation at the tumor site, R‐NPT NP released R848 in response to redox metabolite glutathione (GSH), triggering dendritic cell (DC) activation. The photothermal effect endowed by R‐NPT NP can ablate tumors directly and trigger immunogenic cell death to augment immunity after photoirradiation. The synergistic effect of GSH‐liable TLR7/8 agonist and released immunogenic factors leads to a robust evocation of systematic immunity through promoted DC maturation and T cell infiltration. Thus, R‐NPT NP with photoirradiation achieved 99.3 % and 98.2 % growth inhibition against primary and distal tumors, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cauliflower, a globally cultivated and nutritionally rich crop, confronts significant challenges in quality and yield due to the rising prevalence of diseases. Traditional manual detection methods, suitable for empiricists or plant pathologists, prove inefficient. Furthermore, existing automated disease identification methods in cauliflower often neglect crucial computational performance metrics within computer vision algorithms, such as complexity, inference speed and training time. This study introduces LiteMixer, a novel lightweight model designed to address these challenges. The Lightweight Mixed-Domain Feature Extraction module (LMFE) meticulously captures global image features, followed by a maximum pooling layer that downscales the resulting multidimensional feature matrix. The Plug-and-Play Multi-Scale Lightweight Convolutional Attention Fusion module (MLCAF) integrates multichannel spatial features, connecting to fully connected layers for the final classification. Ablation experiments highlight the effectiveness of the LMFE module coupled with the MLCAF module. Comparative analyses against state-of-the-art and other lightweight models demonstrate LiteMixer achieving the highest accuracy in identifying cauliflower diseases at 99.86%. Notably, LiteMixer exhibits optimal computational performance, featuring minimal storage costs (4.02M) and the lowest parameter count, resulting in cost-effective computational expenses (16.78M). LiteMixer also boasts the fastest inference time (4.69 ms) and the shortest training time (865 s). This study positions LiteMixer as an advanced solution for diagnosing cauliflower leaf diseases in agricultural settings, underscoring its efficacy and practicality in overcoming the unique challenges associated with cauliflower disease detection within the realm of computer vision algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene plays essential roles in plant growth, development and stress responses. The ethylene signaling pathway and molecular mechanism have been studied extensively in Arabidopsis and rice but limited in peanuts. Here, we established a sand-culture method to screen pingyangmycin mutagenized peanut lines based on their specific response to ethylene (‘‘triple response‘‘). An ethylene-insensitive mutant, inhibition of peanut hypocotyl elongation 1 (iph1), was identified that showed reduced sensitivity to ethylene in both hypocotyl elongation and root growth. Through bulked segregant analysis sequencing, a major gene related to iph1, named AhIPH1, was preliminarily mapped at the chromosome Arahy.01, and further narrowed to a 450-kb genomic region through substitution mapping strategy. A total of 7014 genes were differentially expressed among the ACC treatment through RNA-seq analysis, of which only the Arahy.5BLU0Q gene in the candidate mapping interval was differentially expressed between WT and mutant iph1. Integrating sequence variations, functional annotation and transcriptome analysis revealed that a predicated gene, Arahy.5BLU0Q, encoding SNF1 protein kinase, may be the candidate gene for AhIPH1. This gene contained two single-nucleotide polymorphisms at promoter region and was more highly expressed in iph1 than WT. Our findings reveal a novel ethylene-responsive gene, which provides a theoretical foundation and new genetic resources for the mechanism of ethylene signaling in peanuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the production, the fluid in the vicinity of the directional well enters the wellbore with different rates, leading to non-uniform flux distribution along the directional well. However, in all existing studies, it is oversimplified to a uniform flux distribution, which can result in inaccurate results for field applications. Therefore, this paper proposes a semi-analytical model of a directional well based on the assumption of non-uniform flux distribution. Specifically, the direction well is discretized into a carefully chosen series of linear sources, such that the complex well trajectory can be captured and the nonuniform flux distribution along the wellbore can be considered to model the three-dimensional flow behavior. By using the finite difference method, we can obtain the numerical solutions of the transient flow within the wellbore. With the aid of Green's function method, we can obtain the analytical solutions of the transient flow from the matrix to the wellbore. The complete flow behavior of a directional well is perfectly represented by coupling the above two types of transient flow. Subsequently, on the basis of the proposed model, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the pressure transient behavior of a directional well. The computation results show that the flux variation along the direction well has a significant effect on pressure responses. In addition, the directional well in an infinite reservoir may exhibit the following flow regimes: wellbore afterflow, transition flow, inclined radial flow, elliptical flow, horizontal linear flow, and horizontal radial flow. The horizontal linear flow can be observed only if the formation thickness is much smaller than the well length. Furthermore, a dip region that appears on the pressure derivative curve indicates the three-dimensional flow behavior near the wellbore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feldspar alteration is among the most important processes in clastic rocks during diagenesis, but uncertainty remains about the factors that control feldspar diagenesis under subsurface conditions. Hence, the Upper Triassic Xujiahe formation of the Western Sichuan Basin were examined by an integrated petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical approach to unravel the causes and effects of feldspar diagenesis, with implication for mass transfer and openness of the geochemical system. The sandstones at various depths demonstrate three distinct, separate diagenetic behaviors of detrital feldspar within a single formation including (1) the complete dissolution of both plagioclase and K-feldspar in the upper member; (2) conservation of abundant detrital feldspar grains with minor albitization or overgrowths within the lower member of depths greater than 5 km; and (3) complete disappearance of K-feldspar within the uppermost horizons of the lower member, while plagioclase have survived in significant amounts. The exceptional disappearance of K-feldspar is the result of selective dissolution of K-feldspar during burial, accompanied by illite cementation and substantial K transfer at a scale of tens of meters. It is apparent that the clay diagenesis in the overlying mudstones, rather than porewater chemistry, is the major control of the reactivity of K-feldspar in adjacent deeply buried sandstones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ordovician thick dolostone in Shuntogol area of the Tarim Basin has the potential to form a large-scale reservoir, but its genesis and reservoir development model are still unclear. Starting from a sedimentary sequence, this study takes a batch of dolostone samples obtained from new drilling cores in recent years as the research object. On the basis of core observation and thin section identification, trace elements, cathodoluminescence, carbon and oxygen isotopes, rare earth elements, and X-ray diffraction order degree tests were carried out to discuss the origin of the dolomite and summarize the development model of the dolostone reservoir. The analysis results show that the Ordovician dolomite in the study area had a good crystalline shape, large thickness, high Fe and Mn values, and mostly showed bright red light or bright orange–red light under cathode rays. The ratio of δ18O values to seawater values at the same time showed a negative bias; the δCe values were negative anomalies, the δEu values were positive anomalies, and the order degree was high. This indicates that the dolomitization process occurred in a relatively closed diagenetic environment. The Ordovician carbonate rocks in the study area were low-lying during the sedimentary period, and with the rise of sea level, the open platform facies continued to develop. When the Middle and Lower Ordovician series entered the burial stage, the main hydrocarbon source rocks of the lower Cambrian Series entered the oil generation peak, and the resulting formation overpressure provided the dynamic source for the upward migration of the lower magnesium-rich fluid, and the dolomitization fluid entered the karst pore system in the target layer to produce all the dolomitization. This set of dolostone reservoirs is large in scale and can be used as a favorable substitute area for deep carbonate exploration for continuous study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a multifractal least squares support vector machine detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-LSSVM-DFA) model. The system is an extension of the traditional MF-DFA model. To address potential overfitting or underfitting caused by the fixed-order polynomial fitting in MF-DFA, LSSVM is employed as a superior alternative for fitting. This approach enhances model accuracy and adaptability, ensuring more reliable analysis results. We utilize the p model to construct a multiplicative cascade time series to evaluate the performance of MF-LSSVM-DFA, MF-DFA, and two other models that improve upon MF-DFA from recent studies. The results demonstrate that our proposed modified model yields generalized Hurst exponents h (q) and scaling exponents τ (q) that align more closely with the analytical solutions, indicating superior correction effectiveness. In addition, we explore the sensitivity of MF-LSSVM-DFA to the overlapping window size s. We find that the sensitivity of our proposed model is less than that of MF-DFA. We find that when s exceeds the limited range of the traditional MF-DFA, h (q) and τ (q) are closer than those obtained in MF-DFA when s is in a limited range. Meanwhile, we analyze the performances of the fitting of the two models and the results imply that MF-LSSVM-DFA achieves a better outstanding performance. In addition, we put the proposed MF-LSSVM-DFA into practice for applications in the medical field, and we found that MF-LSSVM-DFA improves the accuracy of ECG signal classification and the stability and robustness of the algorithm compared with MF-DFA. Finally, numerous image segmentation experiments are adopted to verify the effectiveness and robustness of our proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-known that exponential attractor is an important concept to study the exponentially attracting rate of a compact set for dynamical systems. But recently, Zhao (Appl Math Lett, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aml.2021.107791) studied the polynomially attracting sets for a class of wave equations: u tt - Δ u + k ‖ u t ‖ p u t + f (u) = ∫ Ω K (x , y) u t (t , y) d y + h (x). Clearly, exponential attracting can imply the polynomial attracting. While the converse is unknown. In this note, we give an example which illustrates the existence of a polynomially attracting set but nonexistence of any exponential attractor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports a CFD-DEM study on the segregation and mixing of binary mixtures of particles in a bubbling fluidized bed. A simplified mixing index was applied to determine the instantaneous mixing state in the bed, with which the effects of superficial gas velocity and initial packing state on the fluidization behavior were further discussed. For the well-mixed initial conditions, the mixing index decreases with fluidization time until a dynamic equilibrium between segregation and mixing is achieved. In contrast, the mixing index first increases and then decreases with fluidization time for completely-segregated initial conditions. However, the final equilibrium between segregation and mixing will not be affected by initial packing states for a given superficial gas velocity. Moreover, the bubbling behavior shows a marked impact on segregation and mixing, i.e., mixing is enhanced during the formation and grow-up of bubbles, while segregation is strengthened during the eruption of bubbles. This makes it possible to improve the fluidization of binary mixtures of particles based on the bubbling behaviors in the fluidized bed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to investigate the patterns and risk factors for recurrence in patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma with a pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). METHODS Between January 2008 and December 2018, a total of 96 patients with pCR were enrolled in this study. Lymph nodes with a pCR [LN-ypCR response (+)] were defined as those lymph nodes without residual tumour but with the presence of treatment response to nCRT. Prognostic factors for recurrence-free survival (RFS) were analysed with Cox proportional hazards models and Fine-Gray competing risk models. Lymph node (LN) stations were counted according to the Japan Esophageal Society classification. RESULTS The median follow-up time was 51.5 months. Recurrence occurred in 15 cases (15.6%) with a 9.9-month median time to recurrence and a 15.6-month median survival after recurrence. The majority of recurrent diseases developed within the first 2 years postoperatively. Distant recurrences were detected in 14 cases (14.6%), in which the most common recurrence sites were no.104 LN and the lung, followed by no.16 LN. The mean RFS in the whole cohort was 116.6 months. The LN-ypCR response (+) was identified as the independent prognostic factor for worse RFS in both the multivariate Cox model and the Fine–Gray competing risk model (P  =   0.001 and P  =   0.002, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Relapse is not rare in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases with pCR after nCRT. Distant recurrences, the predominant pattern of relapse, occur primarily within the first 2 years after oesophagectomy. Patients with pCR with an LN-ypCR response (+) have a higher risk for postoperative recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective species conservation necessitates the ability to accurately differentiate among species, a challenge compounded by taxonomic uncertainties in freshwater mussels due to substantial intraspecific variation and pronounced phenotypic plasticity in shell morphology. The taxonomic status and species validity of Scabies longata and S. chinensis, two species endemic in China, have been under continuous debate since establishment. The lack of essential molecular data required for a comprehensive systematic study has resulted in the unresolved taxonomic status of these two species. This study presents molecular data, including COI barcoding, COI + 28S rRNA, and mitogenomic data combined with morphological characteristics to assess the validity of S. longata and S. chinensis. Both morphological and COI barcoding data support the conclusion that S. longata and S. chinensis are junior synonyms of Nodularia douglasiae and N. nuxpersicae respectively. Our findings suggest the absence of Scabies species in China. Mitochondrial phylogenetic analyses were used to further elucidate intrageneric relationships within the genus Nodularia, revealing the following relationships: (N. breviconcha (Nodularia sp. 1 (N. douglasiae (N. nuxpersicae, N. nipponensis)))). We underscore the significance of employing an integrated taxonomic approach for species identification, especially given the considerable morphological disparities between larvae and adult freshwater mussels. Proper morphological identification of adult specimens is essential for extracting meaningful taxonomic characters. Furthermore, our findings suggest a notable resemblance between the freshwater bivalve fauna in southern China and those east of the Mekong River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Functional interpretation of biological entities such as differentially expressed genes is one of the fundamental analyses in bioinformatics. The task can be addressed by using biological pathway databases with enrichment analysis (EA). However, textual description of biological entities in public databases is less explored and integrated in existing tools and it has a potential to reveal new mechanisms. Here, we present a new R package biotextgraph for graphical summarization of omics' textual description data which enables assessment of functional similarities of the lists of biological entities. We illustrate application examples of annotating gene identifiers in addition to EA. The results suggest that the visualization based on words and inspection of biological entities with text can reveal a set of biologically meaningful terms that could not be obtained by using biological pathway databases alone. The results suggest the usefulness of the package in the routine analysis of omics-related data. The package also offers a web-based application for convenient querying. Availability and implementation The package, documentation, and web server are available at: https://github.com/noriakis/biotextgraph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron isotope compositions, along with the partial extraction of iron in its various forms, can be utilized to investigate the complex interplay of iron migration and transformation with respect to iron isotope patterns. This study investigated the iron composition of a typical loess-paleosol sequence in Northeast China and aimed to understand the influence of iron migration and transformation of the typical loess-paleosol sequence on iron isotopes and environmental and climatic changes that occurred in the region over time by analyzing the distribution and characteristics of iron compositions in sedimentary layers. Samples were collected from Chaoyang in Northeast China, and the iron isotopic composition was analyzed using the multi-receiver inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS). The findings revealed depth-dependent variations in the content of different iron forms, reflecting paleoclimatic shifts primarily through pedogenic transformation processes. Notably, iron migration within the section was observed to be limited. The variations in the reddening index and magnetic susceptibility of the loess-paleosol were primarily influenced by the presence of free iron (Fed), exhibiting a range of colors from yellow to red-yellow and red. The δ56Fe values for loess and paleosols ranged from 0.097 ± 0.035‰ to 0.167 ± 0.010‰, with an average of 0.133 ± 0.024‰ and a coefficient of variation (CV) of 15.66% at the stratum scale. These values indicated a systematic enrichment of heavy iron isotopes and a significant negative correlation with the slightly fluctuating total iron content. Specifically, our analysis highlighted distinct differences in δ56Fe values between paleosol (0.126 ± 0.024‰) and loess (0.146 ± 0.021‰). The δ56Fe in Fed was negative, averaging −0.101 ± 0.022‰, while the δ56Fe in silicate-bound iron was positive, averaging 0.156 ± 0.032‰. Intense pedogenesis, driven by warm and wet climates, facilitated iron transformations and migrations, resulting in the accumulation of light iron isotopes in the paleosols. These transformations and migrations were predominantly observed in microdomains characterized by iron depletions and concentrations, as reflected in the profile morphologies. However, the limited iron transformations and migrations did not result in significant Fe redistribution within the soil section, as evidenced by the limited variations in δ56Fe with soil depth at the stratum scale. Sampling from the stratum or pedogenic horizon could potentially create the illusion of the minimal fractionation of iron isotopes within the sequence. Therefore, a detailed examination of the iron isotope composition in the micro-domains of the loess-paleosol sequence is crucial to elucidate the fractionation processes and mechanisms of iron isotopes during the formation of these sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are still great uncertainties about effects of climate warming and no-tillage on soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents and pH in alpine farmlands. A warming (control; daytime warming, DW; nighttime warming, NW; all-day warming, DW + NW) and no-tillage (no-tillage vs. tillage) experiment was conducted in an alpine farmland of the Lhasa, Xizang since 2015. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium (TK), available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), active organic carbon, particulate organic carbon (POC), light fraction organic carbon, and heavy fraction organic carbon contents and pH at four depths (0–5, 5–15, 15–25, and 25–35 cm) were measured. Warming effects on concerned soil variables differed with warming time, soil depth, and no-tillage. No-tillage effects on concerned soil variables differed with warming-time (daytime, nighttime, and all-day warming) and soil depths. Therefore, daytime warming and nighttime warming have different effects on soil variables, although the effects of nighttime warming on soil variables are not always greater than those of daytime warming. Effects of daytime warming and nighttime warming on soil variables are not simple addition or subtraction effects. There are interactions between diurnal asymmetrical warming and no-tillage on soil variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spodoptera frugiperda was used to investigate its role as a trehalase inhibitor of three new thiothiazolidone compounds—6d, 6e, and 6f. The development and reproduction of S. frugiperda were investigated to evaluate the potential of these compounds as a novel pesticide for pest control. Compounds 6d, 6e, and 6f were injected into larvae and female pupae. Molecular changes in trehalose and chitin metabolism genes were monitored. Pupal trehalase activity, the female pupal emergence rate, ovarian development, and SfVg and SfVgR gene expression levels were assessed. The results revealed that all three compounds significantly inhibited trehalase activity in the larvae. The expression of TRE was significantly downregulated, and compounds 6d and 6f significantly downregulated the expression of TRE2. Treated larvae exhibited significantly decreased survival rates and a higher incidence of abnormalities. The egg production and hatching rates were markedly diminished by the inhibitors, and the ovaries displayed blackening and clumping. These compounds exhibit promise as eco-friendly insecticides, but further experiments are required to test their multifaceted capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiently obtaining leaf nitrogen content (LNC) in rice to monitor the nutritional health status is crucial in achieving precision fertilization on demand. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based hyperspectral technology is an important tool for determining LNC. However, the intricate coupling between spectral information and nitrogen remains elusive. To address this, this study proposed an estimation method for LNC that integrates hybrid preferred features with deep learning modeling algorithms based on UAV hyperspectral imagery. The proposed approach leverages XGBoost, Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC), and a synergistic combination of both to identify the characteristic variables for LNC estimation. We then construct estimation models of LNC using statistical regression methods (partial least-squares regression (PLSR)) and machine learning algorithms (random forest (RF); deep neural networks (DNN)). The optimal model is utilized to map the spatial distribution of LNC at the field scale. The study was conducted at the National Agricultural Science and Technology Park, Guangzhou, located in Baiyun District of Guangdong, China. The results reveal that the combined PCC-XGBoost algorithm significantly enhances the accuracy of rice nitrogen inversion compared to the standalone screening approach. Notably, the model built with the DNN algorithm exhibits the highest predictive performance and demonstrates great potential in mapping the spatial distribution of LNC. This indicates the potential role of the proposed model in precision fertilization and the enhancement of nitrogen utilization efficiency in rice cultivation. The outcomes of this study offer a valuable reference for enhancing agricultural practices and sustainable crop management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress can impact the physiological and biochemical properties of crops. However, selenium (Se) can effectively alleviate the abiotic stress experienced by plants. This study aims to investigate how applying selenium to tomato leaves affects their antioxidant system and photosynthetic traits when subjected to drought conditions. The experiment used four different foliar selenium concentrations and three different irrigation levels. The investigation scrutinized the effects of foliar spraying employing different selenium concentrations on the antioxidant system, osmotic adjustment substances, photosynthetic performance, and growth indices of tomatoes under drought stress. The findings indicated that drought stress led to cellular oxidative damage, significantly elevating peroxide, MDA, proline, and soluble sugar content (p < 0.001). Under severe drought stress, malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline levels increased by 21.2% and 110.0% respectively, compared to well-watered conditions. Concurrently, the net photosynthetic rate exhibited a reduction of 26.0% and dry matter accumulation decreased by 35.5%. However, after spraying with a low concentration of selenium, selenium reduced oxidative damage and malondialdehyde content by reducing the content of peroxide in leaves, restoring photosynthesis, and promoting the normal growth of tomato. Compared to the control group, spraying with 2.5 mg·L−1 selenium resulted in a 21.5% reduction in MDA content, a 111.8% increase in net photosynthetic rate, and a 29.0% increase in dry matter accumulation. When subjected to drought stress conditions, foliar spraying of low concentrations of selenium (2.5 mg·L−1) can effectively reduce oxidative damage caused by drought stress and alleviate growth constraints in tomatoes. In addition, treatments with high selenium concentrations exhibited specific toxic effects. These findings offer valuable insights into the mechanisms governing selenium-induced drought tolerance in tomatoes, thus advancing our comprehension of standard tomato production practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geometric machining errors in the blade profile and variable operating conditions in the extreme operating environment are primary factors leading to the uncertainties in pump performance. This paper presents an analysis of uncertainties of fuel centrifugal pumps by modeling the geometry uncertainty in blade machining based on the Karhunen–Loève (KL) expansion and using a polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) model. First, the geometric uncertainty in the blade machining is described by the KL expansion in three sections and a stochastic simulation of the blade geometry is performed. Then, a PCE surrogate model is trained based on the least angle regression method and validated by the bootstrap method to quantify the uncertainties of performance indices. Finally, the influence mechanism and relative importance of each input uncertainty parameter are investigated using a quasi-Monte Carlo simulation method. The results show that the KL expansion of the blade profile uses the random vector perturbation superposition of three stream surface, achieving the dimensional reduction in the blade machining error. The PCE surrogate model, trained with a dataset of 3 × 106 sample points, exhibits excellent fit, and the R-squared and adjusted R-squared for head coefficient and efficiency are both above 80%. The variance of parameter control points of the reconstructed flow field is less than 0.002. The uncertainties in both operating conditions and parameters have an influence on the distribution of the global flow field, while the influence of the uncertainty in machining error on the global flow field mainly concentrates on the power-generating positions of the blade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the role of periodic information, the mechanism of influence, stochastic resonance, and its controllable analysis in complex corporate financial systems. A stochastic predator–prey complex corporate financial system model driven by periodic information is proposed. Additionally, we introduce signal power amplification to quantify the stochastic resonance phenomenon and develop a method for analyzing stochastic resonance in financial predator–prey dynamics within complex corporate financial systems. We optimize a simplified integral calculation method to enhance the proposed model's performance, which demonstrates superiority over benchmark models based on empirical evidence. Based on stochastic simulations and numerical calculations, we can observe multiple stochastic and multiple inverse stochastic resonances. Furthermore, variations in initial financial information, periodic information frequency, and corporate growth capacity induced stochastic resonance and inverse stochastic resonance. These variations also led to state transitions between the two resonance behaviors, indicating transition phenomena. These findings suggest the potential for regulating and controlling stochastic and inverse stochastic resonance in complex corporate finance, enabling controllable stochastic resonance behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between a single laser-induced cavitation bubble and an oil layer–water interface is experimentally studied through high-speed photography technology. When oscillating near an oil layer–water interface, the bubble always migrates away from the interface with a jet pointing at the same direction. Three different motions of the interface are observed: interface experiencing subtle disturbance (case 1), interface presenting a deformation resembling an inverted hill (case 2), and interface developing a jet piercing the bubble (case 3). The effect of oil layer thickness on the bubble centroid migration and the inverted hill-shaped interface deformation are investigated as well. With a decreasing dimensionless bubble-interface distance, the effect of the oil layer on the bubble oscillation becomes more significant. In case 2 and case 3, the presence of the oil layer always weakens the migration distance of the bubble centroid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass xylan consists of a linear chain of β-1,4-linked xylosyl residues that often form domains substituted only with either arabinofuranose (Ara f) or glucuronic acid (GlcA)/methylglucuronic acid (MeGlcA) residues, and it lacks the unique reducing end tetrasaccharide sequence found in dicot xylan. The mechanism of how grass xylan backbone elongation is initiated and how its distinctive substitution pattern is determined remains elusive. Here, we performed biochemical characterization of rice xylan biosynthetic enzymes, including xylan synthases, glucuronyltransferases and methyltransferases. Activity assays of rice xylan synthases demonstrated that they required short xylooligomers as acceptors for their activities. While rice xylan glucuronyltransferases effectively glucuronidated unsubstituted xylohexaose acceptors, they transferred little GlcA residues onto (Ara f)-substituted xylohexaoses and rice xylan 3- O -arabinosyltransferase could not arabinosylate GlcA-substituted xylohexaoses, indicating that their intrinsic biochemical properties may contribute to the distinctive substitution patterns of rice xylan. In addition, we found that rice xylan methyltransferase exhibited a low substrate binding affinity, which may explain the partial GlcA methylation in rice xylan. Furthermore, immunolocalization of xylan in xylem cells of both rice and Arabidopsis showed that it was deposited together with cellulose in secondary walls without forming xylan-rich nanodomains. Together, our findings provide new insights into the biochemical mechanisms underlying xylan backbone elongation and substitutions in grass species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of neuroimaging in patients with primary headaches and the clinician‐based rationale for requesting neuroimaging in China. Data sources and study setting: This study included patients with primary headaches admitted to hospitals and clinicians in China. We identified whether neuroimaging was requested and the types of neuroimaging conducted. Study design: This was a cross‐sectional study, and convenience sampling was used to recruit patients with primary headaches. Clinicians were interviewed using a combination of personal in‐depth and topic‐selection group interviews to explore why doctors requested neuroimaging. Data collection: We searched for the diagnosis of primary headache in the outpatient and inpatient systems according to the International Classification of Diseases‐10 code of patients admitted to six hospitals in three provincial capitals by 2022.We selected three public and three private hospitals with neurology specialties that treated a corresponding number of patients. Principle findings: Among the 2263 patients recruited for this study, 1942 (89.75%) underwent neuroimaging. Of the patients, 1157 (51.13%) underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 246 (10.87%) underwent both head computed tomography (CT) and MRI, and 628 (27.75%) underwent CT. Fifteen of the 16 interviewed clinicians did not issue a neuroimaging request for patients with primary headaches. Furthermore, we found that doctors issued a neuroimaging request for patients with primary headaches mostly, to exclude the risk of misdiagnosis, reduce uncertainty, avoid medical disputes, meet patients' medical needs, and complete hospital assessment indicators. Conclusions: For primary headaches, the probability of clinicians requesting neuroimaging was higher in China than in other countries. There is considerable room for improvement in determining appropriate strategies to reduce the use of low‐value care for doctors and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

F‐box protein is a subunit of the SCF (SKP1‐CUL1‐F‐box protein) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, which plays a critical role in regulating different pathways in plant immunity. In this study, we identified the rice (Oryza sativa) F‐box protein OsFBX156, which targets the heat shock protein 70 (OsHSP71.1) to regulate resistance to the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Overexpression of OsFBX156 or knockout of OsHSP71.1 in rice resulted in the elevation of pathogenesis‐related (PR) genes and an induction burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after flg22 and chitin treatments, thereby enhancing resistance to M. oryzae. Furthermore, OsFBX156 can promote the degradation of OsHSP71.1 through the 26S proteasome pathway. This study sheds lights on a novel mechanism wherein the F‐box protein OsFBX156 targets OsHSP71.1 for degradation to promote ROS production and PR gene expression, thereby positively regulating rice innate immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants have evolved complex mechanisms to adapt to harsh environmental conditions. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a staple food crop that is sensitive to low temperatures. However, its cold stress responses remain poorly understood, thus limiting possibilities for crop engineering to achieve greater cold tolerance. In this study, we constructed a rice pan-transcriptome and characterized its transcriptional regulatory landscape in response to cold stress. We performed Iso-Seq and RNA-Seq of 11 rice cultivars subjected to a time-course cold treatment. Our analyses revealed that alternative splicing-regulated gene expression plays a significant role in the cold stress response. Moreover, we identified CATALASE C (OsCATC) and Os03g0701200 as candidate genes for engineering enhanced cold tolerance. Importantly, we uncovered central roles for the 2 serine-arginine-rich proteins OsRS33 and OsRS2Z38 in cold tolerance. Our analysis of cold tolerance and resequencing data from a diverse collection of 165 rice cultivars suggested that OsRS2Z38 may be a key selection gene in japonica domestication for cold adaptation, associated with the adaptive evolution of rice. This study systematically investigated the distribution, dynamic changes, and regulatory mechanisms of alternative splicing in rice under cold stress. Overall, our work generates a rich resource with broad implications for understanding the genetic basis of cold response mechanisms in plants. Pan-transcriptomic analysis of rice under cold stress reveals alternative splicing control of cold tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of 234Th–238U disequilibrium has been widely employed to estimate the sinking flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) from the upper sea and ocean. Here, the deficits of 234Th relative to 238U in the water column and the carbon isotope signature (δ13C) of POC in the East China Sea (ECS) Shelf were measured, which was used to distinguish the fraction of marine and terrestrial POC export fluxes. In the ECS Shelf, very strong deficits of 234Th relative to 238U were observed throughout the water column, with 234Th/238U activity ratios ranging from 0.158 ± 0.045 to 0.904 ± 0.068 (averaging 0.426 ± 0.159). The residence times of particle reactive radionuclide 234Th (τTh–T) in the ECS shelf water varied between 9 and 44 days, which is significantly shorter than that in the continental slope area or the basin area. This phenomenon indicates that there is a more rapid particle scavenging process in the ECS shelf water compared to the continental slope and basin upper water. By applying a two-end-member mixing model based on the δ13C, the fraction of terrestrial POC was estimated to be 0 to 74% (mean: 30 ± 22%) and the fraction of marine POC was in the range of 25% to 100% (mean: 70 ± 22%). Fluxes of marine and terrestrial POC settling to the seafloor exhibited significant spatial differences among different stations, ranging from 11 to 129 mmol C/m2/day and from 2.6 to 38 mmol C/m2/day, respectively. The averaged terrestrial POC fluxes in the southern and northern ECS Shelf were similar (~ 21 to 24 mmol C/m2/day), while the marine POC fluxes in the north (86 ± 37 mmol C/m2/day) were approximately four times higher than those in the south (26 ± 20 mmol C/m2/day). Interestingly, the estimated export flux of both marine and terrestrial POC were approximately one order of magnitude higher than the previously reported burial fluxes of POC (ranging from 1.1 ± 0.1 to 11.4 ± 1.1 mmol C/m2/day) in the underlying bottom sediments, indicating that the majority (> 90%) of both terrestrial and marine POC exported from the upper water column are degraded in the sediments of the ECS Shelf. This "carbon missing" phenomenon can greatly be attributed to rapid decomposition by other processes (including microbial reworking, cross-shelf transport, and possible consumption by benthic organisms). Our findings highlight the dynamic nature of carbon cycling in the continental shelf and the need for further research to understand these processes and improve carbon budget assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageing is an inevitable biological process characterized by progressive decline in physiological functions. It is a complex natural phenomenon that will cause structural and functional decline. Despite substantial progress in understanding the mechanism of ageing, both predictive biomarkers and preventive therapies remain limited. Using Weighted Gene Co‐expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) and machine learning techniques, we identified Carboxypeptidase E (CPE) as a pivotal marker of skin ageing, based on ageing‐related bulk transcriptome and single‐cell transcriptome data. Next, our investigation reveals downregulation of CPE in replicative, UVA‐induced, and H2O2‐induced senescent human dermal fibroblast cells (HDFs). Furthermore, shRNA‐mediated CPE knockdown induced HDFs senescence, and overexpression of CPE delayed HDFs senescence. Moreover, downregulated CPE inhibits collagen synthesis and induces inflammation, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for skin ageing. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that CPE functions as a predictor and optional target for therapeutic intervention of skin ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated how relocation patterns affect disaster survivors' psychological stress on the diverse durations and spaces of relocation. It analyzed a 10-year data set of 1,236 families affected by 2009's Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan, identifying six relocation patterns through dynamic time warping (DTW). A hierarchical linear model was utilized, revealing the discernible impacts of environmental factors, sociocultural factors, and family-level socioeconomic factors on psychological stress. The study revealed that survivors who quickly found stable residences after the disaster initially experienced lower stress levels, but in the long term, their stress increased. Conversely, those with unstable residences experienced higher initial stress but lower long-term stress. Comparing similar patterns, we found that survivors who had more time for preparation and who sought opportunities, coped, or adapted to secondary stressors before long-distance relocation faced lower stress levels. These findings suggest that relocation patterns have a greater impact on the psychosocial stress of disaster survivors than time or relocation distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fibroblast-activated protein (FAP) is highly expressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) of many solid cancers, but low or absent in normal tissues. Our study aimed to develop a novel FAP-specific tracer, namely [18F]FAP-2286, and evaluated its performance in comparison with well-established agents such as [18F]FAPI-42 and [68Ga]Ga-FAP-2286 in preclinical research, as well as 2-[18F]FDG in pilot clinical study. Methods: [18F]FAP-2286 was manually synthesized in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Subsequent investigations encompassed cell uptake, competitive binding affinity, internalization and efflux assays using HT-1080hFAP cell lines. PET imaging and biodistribution studies were conducted in HEK-293ThFAP, A549hFAP, HT-1080hFAP tumor-bearing mice as well as HEK-293T, A549 and HT-1080 control groups. Furthermore, clinical evaluation of [18F]FAP-2286 was performed in fifteen patients with various cancers compared to 2-[18F]FDG PET. Results: The radiolabeling yield of [18F]FAP-2286 was 30.53 ± 5.20%, with a radiochemical purity exceeding 97%. In cell assays, [18F]FAP-2286 showed specific uptake, high internalization fraction and low cellular efflux. Rapid tumor uptake and satisfactory tumor retention was observed on micro-PET imaging and cancer patients. Meanwhile, the clinical research demonstrated that [18F]FAP-2286 may represent an alternative for low glucose-metabolism malignant tumors PET imaging such as gastric cancers. Conclusion: [18F]FAP-2286 showed superior imaging quality including rapid and high target uptake and satisfactory retention in both tumor-bearing mice and cancer patients. It may emerge as a promising candidate for early or delayed phase imaging and 2-[18F]FDG non-avid cancers PET scan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A beam angle optimization (BAO) algorithm was developed to evaluate its clinical feasibility and investigate the impact of varying BAO constraints on breast cancer treatment plans. A two-part study was designed. In part 1, we retrospectively selected 20 patients treated with radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery. For each patient, BAO plans were designed using beam angles optimized by the BAO algorithm and the same optimization constraints as manual plans. Dosimetric indices were compared between BAO and manual plans. In part 2, fifteen patients with left breast cancer were included. For each patient, three distinct cardiac constraints (mean heart dose < 5 Gy, 3 Gy or 1 Gy) were established during the BAO process to obtain three optimized beam sets which were marked as BAO_H1, BAO_H3, BAO_H5, respectively. These sets of beams were then utilized under identical IMRT constraints for planning. Comparative analysis was conducted among the three groups of plans. For part 1, no significant differences were observed between BAO plans and manual plans in all dosimetric indices, except for ipsilateral lung V5, where BAO plans performed slightly better than manual plans (35.5% ± 5.6% vs 36.9% ± 4.3%, p = 0.034). For part 2, Stricter BAO heart constraints resulted in more perpendicular beams. However, there was no significant difference between BAO_H1, BAO_H3 and BAO_H5 with the same IMRT constraint in the heart dose. Meanwhile, the left lung dose was increased while the right breast and lung doses were decreased with stricter heart constraints in BAO. When mean heart dose < 5 Gy in IMRT constraint, the mean dose to the right lung was decreased from 0.46 Gy for BAO_H5 to 0.33 Gy for BAO_H1 (p = 0.027). The BAO algorithm can achieve quality plans comparable to manual plans. IMRT constraints dominate the final plan dose, while varying BAO constraints alter the trade-off among structures, providing an additional degree of freedom in planning design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular pathways that detect DNA damage are useful for identifying genes that suppress DNA damage, which can cause genome instability and cancer predisposition syndromes when mutated. We identified 199 high-confidence and 530 low-confidence DNA damage-suppressing (DDS) genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae through a whole-genome screen for mutations inducing Hug1 expression, a focused screen for mutations inducing Ddc2 foci, and data from previous screens for mutations causing Rad52 foci accumulation and Rnr3 induction. We also identified 286 high-confidence and 394 low-confidence diverse genome instability-suppressing (DGIS) genes through a whole-genome screen for mutations resulting in increased gross chromosomal rearrangements and data from previous screens for mutations causing increased genome instability as assessed in a diversity of genome instability assays. Genes that suppress both pathways (DDS+ DGIS+) prevent or repair DNA replication damage and likely include genes preventing collisions between the replication and transcription machineries. DDS+ DGIS− genes, including many transcription-related genes, likely suppress damage that is normally repaired properly or prevent inappropriate signaling, whereas DDS− DGIS+ genes, like PIF1 , do not suppress damage but likely promote its proper, nonmutagenic repair. Thus, induction of DNA damage markers is not a reliable indicator of increased genome instability, and the DDS and DGIS categories define mechanistically distinct groups of genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the possibility of retreated lithium slag (RTLS) with a high content of alkali, sulfate and fluoride as a partial replacement for fly ash (FA) to produce autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) was investigated. The influence of the RTLS dosage on the AAC performance were examined. The composition and microstructure of hydrates as well as the microstructure of the RTLS-FA-based AAC compositions were determined by XRD, FTIR, TG-DSC and SEM. The results illustrated that the incorporation of RTLS changed the crystal structure and the microstructure of the tobermorite. With increased RTLS contents, the morphology of tobermorite was changed, and the grass-like tobermorite gradually transformed into network-like tobermorite. The newly formed tobermorite improved the mechanical performance of the AAC. Compared with the RTLS10, the content of tobermorite in the RTLS30 increased by 8.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) with TFCP2 rearrangement has been identified recently. This entity has a distinctive clinicopathologic features: a rapidly aggressive clinical course, a preference for the craniofacial bones, a spindle and epithelioid histomorphology, and positive immunohistochemistry for epithelial markers, ALK, and myogenic markers. RMS with TFCP2 rearrangement is rare and may be misdiagnosed as other spindle cell tumors. Here, we report a case of this entity arising in the mandible, which was initially diagnosed as ossifying fibroma in primary tumor in another hospital. A 26-year-old man presented with a recurred mass in the mandible for 1 month after the operation of mandibular tumor. The first excisional specimen was initially diagnosed as ossifying fibroma in another hospital. Histopathologic examination revealed the tumor with a hybrid spindle cell and epithelioid cytomorphology, spindle cells and spindle-to-epithelioid cells with eosinophilic and rich cytoplasm, with high-grade features, prominent nucleoli and some atypical mitosis. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed positivity for desmin, MYOD1, pan-keratin, ALK (5A4), ALK (D5F3). Based on the morphology and immunophenotype, molecular studies were performed, which revealed a FUS::TFCP2 fusion transcript, confirming the diagnosis of Rhabdomyosarcoma with FUS::TFCP2 fusion. Making a correct diagnosis is primarily dependent on awareness by the pathologist of this rare subtype of RMS and careful histopathological evaluation, supported by immunohistochemical and molecular analysis, to avoid potential diagnostic pitfalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study objective was to investigate the relations between serum endothelin-1 and in-stent restenosis in vertebral artery stenting. Sixty-eight patients undergoing re-examination of vertebral artery stenting in the Department of Cerebrovascular Disease, Hangzhou Third People's Hospital, between April 2019 and October 2022, were invited to participate. According to the presence of vertebral artery stenting, patients were divided into the restenosis (n = 19) or non-restenosis (n = 49) groups. General clinical data and endothelin-1 levels were compared between the groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relations between endothelin-1 level and risk for in-stent restenosis. Receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn to test the diagnostic value of serum endothelin-1 level for in-stent restenosis. Compared with the non-restenosis group, restenosis group levels of low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and endothelin-1 were significantly higher (p < 0.05) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that endothelin-1, stent length, and low-density lipoprotein were independently associated with in-stent restenosis (odds ratio = 1.502, 95% confidence interval: 0.042 ~ 0.212, p = 0.000; odds ratio = 1.899, 95% confidence interval: 1.116 ~ 2.237, p = 0.000; odds ratio = 1.899, 95% confidence interval: 1.228 ~ 3.337, p = 0.001, respectively). Area under the curve for serum endothelin-1 in the diagnosis of vertebral artery in-stent restenosis was 0.938. The best diagnostic cut-off value was 11.94 ng/L. Sensitivity was 89.5%. Specificity was 85.7%. These cumulative data indicate that endothelin-1 level is independently associated with in-stent restenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipartite graph representation learning aims to obtain node embeddings by compressing sparse vectorized representations of interactions between two types of nodes, e.g., users and items. Incorporating structural attributes among homogeneous nodes, such as user communities, improves the identification of similar interaction preferences, namely, user/item embeddings, for downstream tasks. However, existing methods often fail to proactively discover and fully utilize these latent structural attributes. Moreover, the manual collection and labeling of structural attributes is always costly. In this article, we propose a novel approach called Dirichlet Max-margin Matrix Factorization (DM3F), which adopts a self-supervised strategy to discover latent structural attributes and model discriminative node representations. Specifically, in self-supervised learning, our approach generates pseudo group labels (i.e., structural attributes) as a supervised signal using the Dirichlet process without relying on manual collection and labeling, and employs them in a max-margin classification. Additionally, we introduce a Variational Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm (Variational MCMC) to effectively update the parameters. The experimental results on six real datasets demonstrate that, in the majority of cases, the proposed method outperforms existing approaches based on matrix factorization and neural networks. Furthermore, the modularity analysis confirms the effectiveness of our model in capturing structural attributes to produce high-quality user embeddings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cropland non-agriculturalization (CNA) refers to the conversion of cropland into construction land, woodland/garden/grassland, water body, or other non-agricultural land, which ultimately disrupts local agroecosystems and the cultivation and production of crops. Remote sensing technology is an important tool for large-area CNA detection, and remote sensing based methods that can be used for this task include the time-series analysis method and change detection from bi-temporal images. In particular, change detection methods using high-resolution remote sensing imagery have great potential for CNA detection, but enormous challenges do still remain. The large intra-class variance of cropland with different phenological stages and planting patterns leads to cropland areas being difficult to identify effectively, while certain features can be misidentified because they are similar to cropland, resulting in false alarms and missed detections in the results. There is also a lack of large-scale CNA datasets covering multiple change scenarios as data support. To address these problems, a lightweight model focused on CNA detection (CNANet) is proposed in this paper. Specifically, the uniquely crafted represent-consist-enhance (RCE) module is seamlessly integrated between the encoder and decoder components of CNANet to perform a contrast operation on the deep features extracted by the feature extractor. The RCE module is specifically designed to aggregate multiple cropland representations and extend the cropland representations from the confusing background, to achieve the purpose of reducing the intra-class reflectance differences and enhancing the model's perception of cropland. In addition, a large-scale high-resolution cropland non-agriculturalization (Hi-CNA) dataset was built for the CNA identification task, with a total of 6797 pairs of 512 × 512 images with semantic annotations. Compared to the existing datasets, the Hi-CNA dataset has the advantages of multiple phenological stages, multiple change scenarios, and multiple annotation types, in addition to the large data volume. The experimental results obtained in this study show that the benchmark methods tested on the Hi-CNA dataset can all achieve a good accuracy, proving the high-quality annotation of the dataset. The overall accuracy and F1-score of CNANet with the default settings reach 93.81 % and 78.9 %, respectively, achieving a superior accuracy, compared to the other benchmark methods, and demonstrating stronger perception of cropland changes. In addition, in two selected verification regions within the large-scale real-world CNA mapping results, the F1-score is 83.61 % and 50.87 %. The Hi-CNA can be downloaded from http://rsidea.whu.edu.cn/Hi-CNA_dataset.htm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-synuclein, a member of the synuclein family, is frequently co-expressed with α-synuclein in the neural system, where it serves to inhibit abnormal aggregation of α-synuclein in neurodegenerative diseases. Beyond its role in pathological conditions, β-synuclein plays various functions independently of α-synuclein. In our investigation, we discovered a broader expression of β-synuclein in the mouse retina compared to α-synuclein. This widespread pattern implies its potential significance in the retina. Through detailed examination via light- and electron-microscopic immunocytochemistry, we identified β-synuclein expression from the inner segment (IS) and outer segment (OS) of photoreceptor cells to the ganglion cell layer (GCL). Our findings unveiled unique features, including β-synuclein immunoreactive IS and OS of cones, higher expression in cone pedicles than in rod spherules, absence in horizontal cells, limited expression in cone bipolar dendrites and somas, higher expression in cone bipolar terminals, presence in most amacrine cells, and expression in almost majority of somas in GCL with an absence in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell (ipRGCs) processes. Notably, all cholinergic amacrine cells express high β- but not α-synuclein, while dopaminergic amacrine cells express α-synuclein exclusively. These distinctive expression patterns offer valuable insights for further exploration into the functions of β-synuclein and its potential role in synuclein pathology within the retina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A smart city is regarded as a new form of urban development proposed by humans to cope with urban problems. Smart cities are of great interest to theoretical circles and are favored by city governments. However, in China, research on common problems and solution strategies in the process of smart city construction is still insufficient. To address this insufficiency, we utilized Python language and the Selenium library to realize a web crawler and construct a smart city corpus background library. Then, the word2vec model was used for word vectorization to divide policy texts into phrases, and 132 policies from 85 cities above the prefecture level in China were analyzed using the Gaussian mixture model (GMM). The results showed many problems in the smart city construction process in China, including the homogenization of content, the wide topic coverage, the influence of higher-level governments, the mismatch with the local situation, and the neglect of relationship governance. Moreover, an efficiency-governance model was designed, and it held certain theoretical and practical guiding significance for further promoting the healthy and sustainable development of smart city construction in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hua‐ju‐hong (HJH) is a Chinese medicinal material obtained from Citrus grandis 'Tomentosa' (CGT) and Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck (CG) with various commercial specifications. It is known for relieving cough and dispelling phlegm. To reveal the quality marker for distinguishing the various HJH, 215 batches of commercial HJH were studied systematically using multidimensional chemical analysis. Ten major components were identified by high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry and quantified via high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection. In this study, a rapid, efficient, and low‐cost chromatographic method was established. Total coumarin‐hemiterpene and total coumarin‐monoterpene were first classified and analyzed in HJH. The result indicated that the main component, naringin, was not the quality marker for differentiating CGT from CG. For reflecting the unique medicinal and food value of HJH, coumarins should be the more potential quality markers. Flavonoids were the possible quality markers for distinguishing two growth stages of fruit‐exocarp and young fruit. For the first time, two chemotypes of HJH were identified in CG. This study provides a convenient yet reliant chromatographic method and novel yet systematic strategies for overall quality control of commercial HJH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current asthma treatments have been discovered to decrease the risk of disease progression. Herein, we aimed to characterize novel potential therapeutic targets for asthma. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for GSE64913 and GSE137268 datasets were characterized. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify trait-related module genes within the GSE67472 dataset. The intersection of the module genes of interest, as well as the DEGs, comprised the key module genes that underwent additional candidate gene screening using machine learning. In addition, a bioinformatics-based approach was used to analyze the relative expression levels, diagnostic values, and reverently enriched pathways of the screened candidate genes. Furthermore, the candidate genes were silenced in asthmatic mice, and the inflammation and lung injury in the mice were validated. A total of 1710 DEGs were characterized in GSE64913 and GSE137268 for asthma patients. WGCNA identified 2367 asthma module genes, of which 285 overlapped with 1710 DEGs. Four candidate genes, CDC167, POSTN, SEC14L1, and SERPINB2, were validated using the intersection genes of three machine learning algorithms, including Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine. All the candidate genes were significantly upregulated in asthma patients and demonstrated diagnostic utility for asthma. Furthermore, silencing CDC167 reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines significantly and alleviated lung injury in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthmatic mice. Our study demonstrated that CDC167 exhibits potential as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for asthma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anticyclonic eddies (ACEs) shed from the Kuroshio intrusion often interact with internal waves (IWs). Those interactions are complex but play an important role in the biogeochemical effects in the northern South China Sea (SCS). However, previous studies on these interactions have mainly focused on physical processes, while biological responses to their interactions have been unclear. In this study, results of two field cruises with focus on two sets of high-frequency time-series observations over the continental slope of the SCS during the summers of 2016 and 2017 revealed that phytoplankton in the euphotic zone were affected by both IWs and ACEs shed from the Kuroshio Current. Distinct surface distributions of phytoplankton were attributable to different sources of the water, Kuroshio intrusions and the plume from the Pearl River. However, similarities of phytoplankton biomass and community composition in the subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer in both years could be explained by the similar upward transport of nutrients induced by combinations of small-amplitude IWs and mature ACEs in 2016 and large-amplitude IWs in 2017. The distinct vertical distributions of the phytoplankton community in both years were attributable to the different responses of phytoplankton groups to the direct effects of isopycnal uplifting, bottom-up controls, and top-down controls. Our results showed that the ecological effects of the interactions between IWs and ACEs shed from the Kuroshio water were complex, and those complex effects further influenced the structure of this marginal sea ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms but is also highly toxic in excess. Cellular homoeostasis of Cu is maintained by various transporters and metallochaperones. Here, we investigated the biological function of OsCOPT7, a member of the copper transporters (COPT) family, in Cu homoeostasis in rice. OsCOPT7 was mainly expressed in the roots and the expression was upregulated by Cu deficiency. OsCOPT7 was localized at the tonoplast and the endoplasmic reticulum. Knockout of OsCOPT7 increased Cu accumulation in the roots but decreased Cu concentrations in the shoots and grain. The knockout mutants contained higher concentrations of Cu in the roots cell sap but markedly lower concentrations of Cu in the xylem sap than wild‐type plants. Seed setting and grain yield were reduced significantly in the knockout mutants grown in a low Cu soil. Knockout mutants were more tolerant to Cu toxicity. Yeast two‐hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays showed that OsCOPT7 interacts physically with the rice Cu chaperone antioxidant protein 1 (OsATX1). Taken together, our results indicate that OsCOPT7 is a specific Cu transporter functioning to export Cu from the vacuoles and the ER and plays an important role in controlling the root‐to‐shoot Cu translocation in rice. Summary statement: Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms but is also highly toxic in excess. Cellular homoeostasis of Cu is maintained by various transporters and metallochaperones. We show that OsCOPT7 is a Cu transporter functioning to export Cu from the vacuoles and the endoplasmic reticulum and plays an important role in controlling the root‐to‐shoot Cu translocation in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The honey bee is a typical social insect, and a colony is composed of a queen, workers, and drones. The queen is responsible for reproduction and is essential for the development of the colony. When the queen dies or is injured, workers raise closely related larvae to develop into a queen. Without nepotism, how do colonies choose queen candidates during emergency queen rearing? Are there criteria for queen candidates? Is the colony's criterion for candidate selection "ongoing" or "one-shot"? Our investigation focused on the emergency queen-rearing process in a natural colony (without nepotism), where we observed and documented the selection of queen candidates from different stages (the larval stage, capping stage, and emerging stage). We examined the physiological indicators and the expression of ovarian development-related genes (vg, hex110, and Jh), and found that the colony would eliminate queens of low reproductive quality and prefer queens with higher reproductive ability. While the exact mechanism by which workers assess queen candidates' quality is unknown, the result of this layered filtering of investments in queen candidates may be to maximize colony growth. In the absence of nepotism, the selection of queen candidates is not final but is gradually optimized. In the honey bee, the queen's death severely threatens the survival of the colony. In an emergency, new queens are reared from young worker larvae, where nepotism is thought to influence the choice of queen candidates by the workers. This article simulates the emergency queen-rearing process in a colony under natural conditions and records the results of colony selection (without nepotism). In queenless colonies, worker larvae aged three days or younger were preferred for queen rearing, and 1-day-old larvae were the first to be selected for the queen-cell cups. In the capping stage, the number of capped queen cells selected from the 1-day-old larvae was much higher than the 3-day-old larvae. On the first day, the number of emerging queens reared from 1-day-old larvae was significantly higher than the queens reared from 2-day-old and 3-day-old larvae. However, there was no significant difference in the birth weights of queens reared from 1-day-old, 2-day-old, or 3-day-old larvae. When the newly emerged queens were introduced into the original queenless colony, 1-day-old larval queens triggered more worker followers than 2-day-old larval queens. The expression of ovarian development-related genes (vg, hex110, and Jh) was higher in queens reared from 1-day-old larvae than those reared from 2-day-old and 3-day-old larvae, indicating that the quality of the queens reared from 1-day-old larvae is superior. This study shows that in the absence of nepotism, the colony selection of queen candidates at the larval stage, capping stage, and emerging stage is not final, but is gradually optimized to maximize colony development through a "quality control" process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-doped single-atom Fe in graphene (Fe–N4–C) is known to have excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs); however, it still has lower activity than Pt-based electrocatalyst. Here the ORR catalytic performance of Fe–N4–C is investigated at the quantum level. Increasing the number of N atoms, by replacing C, near the Fe-N4 moiety, increases the ORR activity. The substitution of C with N causes a local redistribution of charge, and if near to the Fe atom, this induces charge modification of the Fe atom; specifically, electrons transfer from the dxz and dyz orbitals to the dz2 orbital. Due to its geometry, the change in the dz2 orbital occupation directly impacts the bonding interaction between Fe and oxygen-containing intermediates, thus impacting the ORR catalytic performance. The use of the Fe dz2 occupancy as a reliable indicator of catalytic performance is demonstrated and potential improvements to the activity are computed. We demonstrate that the Fe dz2 occupancy as a reliable indicator of catalytic performance and can be used to predict the activity of N-doped Fe-N4 single atom electrocatalytic moieties. We predict single atom electrocatalysts with potentials equivalent to that of Pt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the growth of forecast errors stemming from initial conditions (ICs), lateral boundary conditions (LBCs), and model (MO) perturbations, as well as their interactions, by conducting seven 36 h convectionallowing ensemble forecast (CAEF) experiments. Two cases, one with strong-forcing (SF) and the other with weak-forcing (WF), occurred over the Yangtze-Huai River basin (YHRB) in East China, were selected to examine the sources of uncertainties associated with perturbation growth under varying forcing backgrounds and the influence of these backgrounds on growth. The perturbations exhibited distinct characteristics in terms of temporal evolution, spatial propagation, and vertical distribution under different forcing backgrounds, indicating a dependence between perturbation growth and forcing background. A comparison of the perturbation growth in different precipitation areas revealed that IC and LBC perturbations were significantly influenced by the location of precipitation in the SF case, while MO perturbations were more responsive to convection triggering and dominated in the WF case. The vertical distribution of perturbations showed that the sources of uncertainties and the performance of perturbations varied between SF and WF cases, with LBC perturbations displaying notable case dependence. Furthermore, the interactions between perturbations were considered by exploring the added values of different source perturbations. For the SF case, the added values of IC, LBC, and MO perturbations were reflected in different forecast periods and different source uncertainties, suggesting that the combination of multi-source perturbations can yield positive interactions. In the WF case, MO perturbations provided a more accurate estimation of uncertainties downstream of the Dabie Mountain and need to be prioritized in the research on perturbation development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoplankton are the foundation of marine ecosystems and play a crucial role in determining the optical properties of seawater, which are critical for remote sensing applications. However, passive remote sensing techniques are limited to obtaining data from the near surface, and cannot provide information on the vertical distribution of the subsurface phytoplankton. In contrast, active LiDAR technology can provide detailed profiles of the subsurface phytoplankton layer (SPL). Nevertheless, the large amount of data generated by LiDAR brought a challenge, as traditional methods for SPL detection often require manual inspection. In this study, we investigated the application of supervised machine learning algorithms for the automatic recognition of SPL, with the aim of reducing the workload of manual detection. We evaluated five machine learning models—support vector machine (SVM), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), a neural network, decision trees, and RUSBoost—and measured their performance using metrics such as precision, recall, and F3 score. The study results suggest that RUSBoost outperforms the other algorithms, consistently achieving the highest F3 score in most of the test cases, with the neural network coming in second. To improve accuracy, RUSBoost is preferred, while the neural network is more advantageous due to its faster processing time. Additionally, we explored the spatial patterns and diurnal fluctuations of SPL captured by LiDAR. This study revealed a more pronounced presence of SPL at night during this experiment, thereby demonstrating the efficacy of LiDAR technology in the monitoring of the daily dynamics of subsurface phytoplankton layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmenting small infrared targets presents a significant challenge for traditional image processing architectures due to the inherent lack of texture, minimal shape information, and their sparse pixel representation within images. The conventional UNet architecture, while proficient in general segmentation tasks, inadequately addresses the nuances of small infrared target segmentation due to its reliance on downsampling operations, such as pooling, which often results in the loss of critical target information. This paper introduces the Channel Spatial Attention Nested UNet (CSAN-UNet), an innovative architecture designed specifically to enhance the detection and segmentation of small infrared targets. Central to CSAN-UNet's design is the Cascaded Channel and Spatial Convolutional Attention Module (CSCAM), a novel component that adaptively enhances multi-level features and mitigates the loss of target information attributable to downsampling processes. Additionally, the Channel-priority and Spatial Attention Cascade Module (CPSAM) represents another pivotal advancement within CSAN-UNet, prioritizing channel-level adjustments alongside spatial attention mechanisms to efficiently extract deep semantic information pertinent to small infrared targets. Empirical validation conducted on two public datasets confirms that CSAN-UNet surpasses existing state-of-the-art algorithms in segmentation performance, while simultaneously reducing computational overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive RFID has the advantages of rapid identification of multi-target objects and low implementation cost. It is the most critical technology in the Industrial Internet of Things information-gathering layer and is extensively applied in various industries, such as smart production, asset management, and monitoring. The signal collision caused by the communication between the reader/writer and tags sharing the same wireless channel has caused a series of problems, such as the reduction of the identification efficiency of the reader/writer and the increment of the missed reading rate, thus restricting the further development of RFID. At present, many hybrid anti-collision algorithms integrate the advantages of Aloha and TS algorithms to optimize RFID system performance, but these solutions also suffer from performance bottlenecks. In order to break through such performance bottleneck, based on the ISE-BS algorithm, we combined the sub-frame observation mechanism and the Q value adjustment strategy and proposed two hybrid anti-collision algorithms. The experimental results show that the two algorithms proposed in this paper have obvious advantages in system throughput, time efficiency and other metrics, surpassing existing UHF RFID anti-collision algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The streamflow process is an crucial information resource for the joint optimal operation of reservoirs. As the length and representativeness of historical streamflow samples are insufficient for practice projects, streamflow stochastic generation approaches are usually used to expand the streamflow series. For the joint operation and management of the multi-reservoir system, the multisite streamflow stochastic generation (MSSG) with high-dimensional temporal-spatial correlation poses a challenge. This paper develops the generative adversarial network as a novel MSSG model. In contrast to the existing literature on MSSG, which solely focuses on a specific case study and provides a comparatively one-sided assessment, this paper evaluates multiple characteristics of streamflow at various time scales from three MSSG models in two instances. Specifically, three MSSG models, namely the seasonal autoregression (SAR) model coupled with the master station method, the Copula model coupled with the master station method, and the deep convolutions generative adversarial network (DCGAN) model, are employed to generate monthly, ten-daily, and daily streamflow series of the two-reservoir and eight-reservoir systems. This study aims to examine the performance of three models and provide recommendations for implementing MSSG approaches in practice. Results show that: (1) the priority should be given to the maximum iterations on the DCGAN model at a large time scale, while at a smaller time scale, the training of the model is directly linked to the setting of batch size; (2) the Copula model is capable for better retaining statistical characteristics of streamflow series for similarity; (3) the SAR model excels in simulating the extremes of streamflow; and (4) the DCGAN model possesses a significant advantage in capturing the temporal-spatial higher-order correlation, especially in systems comprising more than two reservoirs and with small time scales (e.g., daily streamflow). Furthermore, this study presents comprehensive and multi-scale recommendations for selecting MSSG approaches, thereby providing a theoretical foundation and practical value for MSSG in diverse scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Saltpond Basin, situated within the South Atlantic margin of Ghana, is a significant area for petroleum exploration but has received relatively limited research attention. Previous studies have examined source rock composition, but data on crude oil organic chemistry are lacking, hindering understanding of the basin's petroleum system and evolution. To address this gap, we analyzed biomarkers and stable carbon-isotope ratios in Saltpond Basin crude oil using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry to elucidate organic matter source, depositional environment, and thermal maturity. Findings were compared with oils from the West African segment of the South Atlantic margin, namely the Tano Basin and the Niger Delta Basin, to identify potential correlations and gain insights into regional variations. Molecular and isotopic results unveiled a significant prevalence of organic matter derived from lower marine organisms. Patterns of organic matter deposition and preservation in Saltpond oil samples suggested a suboxic marine transitional environment, contradicting conventional understanding of terrestrial dominance in such settings. Moreover, the potential for degradation processes to obscure differentiation between terrestrial and marine organic matter origins underscores the complex nature of organic matter dynamics in transitional marine environments. Analysis of molecular thermal maturity indices suggested Saltpond oils were expelled from source rocks exhibiting thermal maturity at the early maturity stage. Correlation analysis unveiled genetic disparities among crude oils sourced from the Saltpond Basin and those from the Tano and Niger Delta Basin, primarily due to variations in source input and depositional environment conditions. Saltpond oil exhibits lower terrestrial organic input than Tano Basin's crude oils, which also have less terrestrial input than Niger Delta Basin crude oils. Additionally, its paleodepositional environment notably differs from oils in the Tano Basin (anoxic transitional marine-lacustrine settings) and the Niger Delta Basin (suboxic–oxic terrigenous deltaic or marine or lacustrine environments). Thermal maturity range of Saltpond oil is comparable to oils in the Tano Basin but lower than oils in the Niger Delta Basin. These findings provide valuable insights into petroleum generation history and unique organic geochemical characteristics within the Saltpond Basin, essential for exploration, production, and environmental management efforts in the region. Furthermore, correlation studies provide evidence that distinct biological, geological, and paleoenvironmental conditions shaped various oil types in the West African segment of the South Atlantic margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]