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Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites have emerged as a primary tool for global geomagnetic field detection and model refinement, owing to their wide coverage, high resolution, and absence of geographical limitations. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the history, key characteristics, measurement accuracy, and future trends in LEO satellite magnetic field measurements. The first part of the paper outlines the evolution of LEO satellites, highlighting their unique advantages. The focus then shifts to the calibration methodology for in-orbit LEO satellite magnetic measurements, with a specific emphasis on vector magnetic field intrinsic calibration and alignment algorithms. Calibration results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of these methodologies. In the third section, the paper introduces the theory behind global geomagnetic field modeling. An overview of current global geomagnetic field models is provided, encompassing their sources, spatial resolutions, and other relevant attributes. The paper concludes by presenting the global morphology and features of the main field, lithospheric field, magnetospheric, and ionospheric field. Despite the significant progress enabled by LEO satellite technology, global geomagnetic field modeling faces challenges such as limited spatio-temporal resolution. To address this, incorporating near-surface observation data and continuously optimizing modeling technology are deemed essential solutions.

Abstract The quest to understand the molecular mechanisms of tumour metastasis and identify pivotal biomarkers for cancer therapy is increasing in importance. Single-omics analyses, constrained by their focus on a single biological layer, cannot fully elucidate the complexities of tumour molecular profiles and can thus overlook crucial molecular targets. In response to this limitation, we developed a multiobjective recommendation system (RJH-Metastasis 1.0) anchored in a multiomics knowledge graph to integrate genome, transcriptome, and proteome data and corroborative literature evidence and then conducted comprehensive analyses of colorectal cancer with liver metastasis (CRCLM). A total of 25 key genes significantly associated with CRCLM were recommended by our system, and GNB1, GATAD2A, GBP2, MACROD1, and EIF5B were further highlighted. Specifically, GNB1 presented fewer mutations but elevated RNA transcription and protein expression in CRCLM patients. The role of GNB1 in promoting the malignant behaviours of colon cancer cells was demonstrated via in vitro and in vivo studies. Aberrant expression of GNB1 could be regulated by METTL1-driven m7G modification. METTL1 knockdown decreased m7G modification in the 3’ UTR of GNB1, increasing its mRNA transcription and translation during liver metastasis. Furthermore, GNB1 induced the formation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment by promoting the CLEC2C-KLRB1 interaction between memory B cells and KLRB1+PD-1+CD8+ cells. GNB1 expression and the efficacy of PD-1 antibody-based treatment in CRCLM patients were significantly correlated. In summary, our recommendation system can be used for effective exploration of key molecules in colorectal cancer, among which GNB1 was identified as a critical CRCLM promoter and immunotherapy biomarker in colorectal cancer patients.

Abstract Background Catheter ablation has evolved as a safe treatment for atrial flutter (AFL) in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), and the recurrence of AFL may accelerate clinical decompensation. The aim of this study was to determine the recurrence rate and risk factors for recurrent AFL in PH patients after ablation. Methods All PH patients who underwent AFL ablation at Fuwai Hospital between May 2015 and December 2020 were followed up. The recurrence rate and risk factors for recurrence were analyzed. Results A total of 68 PH patients (mean age 44.0 ± 13.0 years, 36.8% male) were enrolled. The majority patients diagnosed PH had congenital heart disease-associated PH (63.2%), and 30.9% had idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. At baseline, most patients (80.9%) had only cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI)-related AFL; the occurrence of non-CTI-related AFL among patients was 8.8%, and 10.3% of the patients had both types of AFL. During a median follow-up of 17.5 months, 22 patients developed at least one recurrent AFL episode (AFL-free survival: 76.5% at 1 year). The immediate success of ablation (HR 0.061, 95% CI 0.009 to 0.438; P = 0.005) and the right atrial volume index (RAVi, per 10 ml/m2; HR 1.064, 95% CI 1.011 to 1.120; P = 0.018) were associated with long-term ablation outcomes in PH patients. With 166.64 ml/m2 as a cutoff value, AFL-free survival was significantly greater in patients whose RAVi was < 166.64 ml/m2 (log-rank P = 0.024). Conclusion The immediate success of ablation and the RAVi are associated with recurrent AFL. Patients with a RAVi ≥ 166.64 ml/m2 are likely experience recurrence.

Abstract Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic anxiety condition characterized by persistent excessive worry, anxiety, and fear. Current diagnostic practices primarily rely on clinicians’ subjective assessments and experience, highlighting a need for more objective and reliable methods. This study collected 10-minute resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) from 45 GAD patients and 36 healthy controls (HC), focusing on six frontal EEG channels for preprocessing, data segmentation, and frequency band division. Innovatively, this study introduced the “Differential Channel” method, which enhances classification performance by enhancing the information related to anxiety from the data, thereby highlighting signal differences. Utilizing the preprocessed EEG signals, undirected functional connectivity features (Phase Lag Index, Pearson Correlation Coefficient, and Mutual Information) and directed functional connectivity features (Partial Directed Coherence) were extracted. Multiple machine learning models were applied to distinguish between GAD patients and HC. The results show that the Deep Forest classifier achieves excellent performance with a 12-second time window of DiffFeature. In particular, the classification of GAD and HC was successfully obtained by combining OriFeature and DiffFeature on Mutual Information with a maximum accuracy of 98.08%. Furthermore, it was observed that undirected functional connectivity features significantly outperformed directed functional connectivity when fewer frontal channels were used. Overall, the methodologies developed in this study offer accurate and practical identification strategies for the early screening and clinical diagnosis of GAD, offering the necessary theoretical and technical support for further enhancing the portability of EEG devices.

Abstract The process of printing defect detection usually suffers from challenges such as inaccurate defect extraction and localization, caused by uneven illumination and complex textures. Moreover, image difference-based defect detection methods often result in numerous small-scale pseudo defects. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a comprehensive defect detection approach that integrates brightness correction and a two-stage defect detection strategy for self-adhesive printed materials. Concretely, a joint bilateral filter coupled with brightness correction corrects uneven brightness properly, meanwhile smoothing the grid-like texture in complex printed material images. Then, in the first detection stage, an image difference method based on a bright–dark difference template group is designed to effectively locate printing defects despite slight brightness fluctuations. Afterward, a discriminative method based on feature similarity is employed to filter out small-scale pseudo-defects in the second detection stage. The experimental results show that the improved difference method achieves an average precision of 99.1% in defect localization on five different printing pattern samples. Furthermore, the second stage reduces the false detection rate to under 0.5% while maintaining the low missed rate.

ABSTRACTThe decline in air quality is thought to be due to rapid land use/land cover (LULC) changes near metropolitan areas that are undergoing rapid urbanisation. Here, we quantify the characteristics and relationship between the aerosol optical depth (AOD) index and LULC changes in Hangzhou, China, since the 21st century using multispectral satellite remote sensing data. The regional study results show that the correlation between the operational AOD observations (MOD04_3K) at 3 km resolution and the in situ AOD measurements available in Hangzhou ranges from 0.48 to 0.80, and their root mean square error (RMSE) < 0.30. During the past two decades, Hangzhou has been in the stage of rapid urbanisation, and the area of construction land has increased significantly, mainly converted from cultivated land and forests. The correlation coefficients between the AOD and the changes of cultivated land, forest land, grassland and construction land in Hangzhou were 0.36, 0.86, 0.61 and 0.63, respectively, indicating a strong correlation except for the cultivated land. Finally, the temporal evolution of the correlation coefficients between the cultivated land and building land are positively correlated with AOD, while from the trend of the correlation curve, grassland, woodland and AOD show negative correlations.

Four new norditerpenoid heterodimers with different dimerization patterns—namely, trigofragiloids A–C (denoted as compounds 1–3) and (+)- and (−)-trigofragiloid D (compound 4)—and three new phenanthrenone norditerpenoids—namely, trigofragiloids E–G (compounds 5–7)—were isolated from Trigonostemon fragilis. Compounds 1 and 2 feature a novel heterodimeric carbon skeleton formed by the conjugation of a tetra-norditerpenoid and an ennea-norditerpenoid; they have been identified as class 2 atropisomers by means of quantum chemical calculations. Compound 3 is an unprecedented phenylpropanoid–norditerpenoid adduct with a new dimerization pattern. Compounds (+)- and (−)-4 are the first example of S-shaped 1,4-dioxane-fused norditerpenoid dimers. Inspired by the structure elucidation of compound 4, two co-occurring analogues, actephilol A and epiactephilol A, were structurally revised as a pair of geometrical isomers and were identified as two pairs of enantiomers, (+)- and (−)-8 and (+)- and (−)-9, respectively. Their structures were characterized using a combined method. Notably, compound 7 exhibits remarkable adenosine triphosphate-citrate lyase (ACLY) inhibition with a half-maximal inhibition concentration (IC50) value of (0.46 ± 0.11) μmol∙L−1, as active as the positive control BMS-303141, and a molecular docking study offers deep insight into the interaction between compound 7 and ACLY.

Abstract Quasi-two-dimensional (Q-2D) perovskite exhibits exceptional photoelectric properties and demonstrates reduced ion migration compared to 3D perovskite, making it a promising material for the fabrication of highly sensitive and stable X-ray detectors. However, achieving high-quality perovskite films with sufficient thickness for efficient X-ray absorption remains challenging. Herein, we present a novel approach to regulate the growth of Q-2D perovskite crystals in a mixed atmosphere comprising methylamine (CH3NH2, MA) and ammonia (NH3), resulting in the successful fabrication of high-quality films with a thickness of hundreds of micrometers. Subsequently, we build a heterojunction X-ray detector by incorporating the perovskite layer with titanium dioxide (TiO2). The precise regulation of perovskite crystal growth and the meticulous design of the device structure synergistically enhance the resistivity and carrier transport properties of the X-ray detector, resulting in an ultrahigh sensitivity (29721.4 μC Gyair −1 cm−2) for low-dimensional perovskite X-ray detectors and a low detection limit of 20.9 nGyair s−1. We have further demonstrated a flat panel X-ray imager (FPXI) showing a high spatial resolution of 3.6 lp mm−1 and outstanding X-ray imaging capability under low X-ray doses. This work presents an effective methodology for achieving high-performance Q-2D perovskite FPXIs that holds great promise for various applications in imaging technology.

Abstract To explore the static pressure dynamic disaster mechanism of coal-and-gas outburst (CGO) fluid, the self-developed multi-field coupling large-scale physical simulation test system of coal mine dynamic disaster was used to carry out gas outburst and CGO physical simulation tests in straight, L-shaped and T-shaped roadways. The influence of roadway shape on the evolution of static pressure was explored, and the role of pulverized coal in the process of static pressure dynamic disaster was clarified. The results indicated that the static pressure showed a fluctuating downward trend during the outburst process. When gas outburst, the middle and front parts of the roadway in the straight section roadway were the most serious areas of static pressure disasters in the three shapes of roadways. The duration and range of high static pressure disaster in L-shaped roadway were larger than those in T-shaped and straight roadways in turn. When CGO, the most serious area of static pressure disaster in L-shaped and T-shaped roadways moved backward to the middle of the straight section roadway, and there was a rebound phenomenon in the process of static pressure fluctuation decline, which showed the pulse characteristics of CGO. During the outburst, the static pressure dynamic disaster hazard of L-shaped roadway was higher than that of T-shaped roadway, and the static pressure at the bifurcation structure decayed faster than that at the turning structure, which indicated that T-shaped roadway was more conducive to the release of static pressure in roadway, thus reduced the risk of static pressure disaster. When gas outburst, the static pressure attenuation of the fluid in the roadway before and after the turning and bifurcation structure was greater than that of CGO. The peak static pressure and impulse of the fluid during gas outburst were 2 times and 4–5 times that of CGO respectively. The presence of pulverized coal reduced the attenuation of static pressure and the hazard of dynamic disaster, prolonged the release time of energy, and led to the change of the maximum static pressure disaster area.

In this study, the prepared dish Kung Pao Chicken with soy protein artificial meat (SPAM-KPC) was developed to satisfy the higher demand for nutritious healthy and diversified convence food, and the changes in storage quality of SPAM-KPC at different storage temperatures (4, 25 and 37 ℃) were compared. The shelf life prediction model of the SPAM-KPC was established based on the total number of bacteria as the key quality factor affecting the shelf life of the product. The results showed that the total colony count of SPAM-KPC samples stored at three temperatures for 15 days increased from 0.67 lg(CFU/g) to 2.73, 3.37 and 4.33 lg(CFU/g), respectively. While pH (from 6.22 to 5.88, 5.87, 5.69) and sensory scores (from 25.12 to 22.67, 19.52, 16.84) gradually decreased, as well as hardness and springiness decreased. The shelf life of SPAM-KPC products at three storage temperatures was 28, 20 and 17 days, respectively. According to the findings, low-temperature storage at 4 ℃ was the best storage temperature for SPAM-KPC products. This work could provide a theoretical reference for the application of plant-based protein meat in the field of prepared dishes processing.

Global warming is causing glaciers to retreat and glacial lakes to expand in the Himalayas, which amplifies the risk of glacial lake outburst debris flows (GLODFs) and poses a significant threat to downstream lives and infrastructures. However, the complex interplay between GLODF occurrences and associated indicators, coupled with the lack of a comprehensive susceptibility indicator system that considers the entire GLODF process, presents a substantial challenge in assessing GLODF susceptibility in the Himalayas. This study proposes a process-driven GLODF susceptibility assessment indicator system responding to climate change that considers the complete process of GLODF formation, incorporating relevant parameters about upstream, themselves, and downstream of glacial lakes. Furthermore, to mitigate subjective factors associated with traditional evaluation methods, we developed three novel hybrid machine-learning models by integrating classic machine-learning algorithms with the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) to delineate the distribution of GLODF susceptibility in the Himalayas. All the hybrid models effectively predicted the GLODFs occurrence, with the WOA-SVC model demonstrating the highest prediction accuracy. Approximately 34% of the catchments exhibit high and very high susceptibility levels, primarily concentrated along the north and south sides of the Himalayan ridge, particularly in the eastern and central Himalayas. Indicators capturing the physical formation process of hazards, such as topographic potential (highest relative importance value of 40%), can precisely identify GLODF. A total of 128 catchments pose potential transboundary threats, with 24 classified as having a very high susceptibility level and 25 as having a high susceptibility level. Notably, the border region between China and Nepal is a prominent hotspot for transboundary threats of GLODF. These findings can provide valuable clues for disaster prevention, mitigation, and cross-border coordination in the Himalayas.

Abstract Thermosensation is vital for the survival, propagation, and adaption of all organisms, but its mechanism is not fully understood yet. Here, we find that TMC6, a membrane protein of unknown function, is highly expressed in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and functions as a Gαq-coupled G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-like receptor to sense noxious heat. TMC6-deficient mice display a substantial impairment in noxious heat sensation while maintaining normal perception of cold, warmth, touch, and mechanical pain. Further studies show that TMC6 interacts with Gαq via its intracellular C-terminal region spanning Ser780 to Pro810. Specifically disrupting such interaction using polypeptide in DRG neurons, genetically ablating Gαq, or pharmacologically blocking Gαq-coupled GPCR signaling can replicate the phenotype of TMC6 deficient mice regarding noxious heat sensation. Noxious heat stimulation triggers intracellular calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of TMC6- but not control vector-transfected HEK293T cell, which can be significantly inhibited by blocking PLC or IP3R. Consistently, noxious heat-induced intracellular Ca2+ release from ER and action potentials of DRG neurons largely reduced when ablating TMC6 or blocking Gαq/PLC/IP3R signaling pathway as well. In summary, our findings indicate that TMC6 can directly function as a Gαq-coupled GPCR-like receptor sensing noxious heat.

Abstract Background Research into the acute kidney disease (AKD) after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is rare, and how clinical features influence its prognosis remain unknown. We aim to employ interpretable machine learning (ML) models to study AIS and clarify its decision-making process in identifying the risk of mortality. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving AIS patients from January 2020 to June 2021. Patient data were randomly divided into training and test sets. Eight ML algorithms were employed to construct predictive models for mortality. The performance of the best model was evaluated using various metrics. Furthermore, we created an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven web application that leveraged the top ten most crucial features for mortality prediction. Results The study cohort consisted of 1633 AIS patients, among whom 257 (15.74%) developed subacute AKD, 173 (10.59%) experienced AKI recovery, and 65 (3.98%) met criteria for both AKI and AKD. The mortality rate stood at 4.84%. The LightGBM model displayed superior performance, boasting an AUROC of 0.96 for mortality prediction. The top five features linked to mortality were ACEI/ARE, renal function trajectories, neutrophil count, diuretics, and serum creatinine. Moreover, we designed a web application using the LightGBM model to estimate mortality risk. Conclusions Complete renal function trajectories, including AKI and AKD, are vital for fitting mortality in AIS patients. An interpretable ML model effectively clarified its decision-making process for identifying AIS patients at risk of mortality. The AI-driven web application has the potential to contribute to the development of personalized early mortality prevention.

Abstract Background Incomplete radiofrequency ablation (iRFA) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) often leads to local recurrence and distant metastasis of the residual tumor. This is closely linked to the development of a tumor immunosuppressive environment (TIME). In this study, underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets involved in the formation of TIME in residual tumors following iRFA were explored. Then, TAK-981-loaded nanocomposite hydrogel was constructed, and its therapeutic effects on residual tumors were investigated. Results This study reveals that the upregulation of small ubiquitin-like modifier 2 (Sumo2) and activated SUMOylation is intricately tied to immunosuppression in residual tumors post-iRFA. Both knockdown of Sumo2 and inhibiting SUMOylation with TAK-981 activate IFN-1 signaling in HCC cells, thereby promoting dendritic cell maturation. Herein, we propose an injectable PDLLA-PEG-PDLLA (PLEL) nanocomposite hydrogel which incorporates self-assembled TAK-981 and BSA nanoparticles for complementary localized treatment of residual tumor after iRFA. The sustained release of TAK-981 from this hydrogel curbs the expansion of residual tumors and notably stimulates the dendritic cell and cytotoxic lymphocyte-mediated antitumor immune response in residual tumors while maintaining biosafety. Furthermore, the treatment with TAK-981 nanocomposite hydrogel resulted in a widespread elevation in PD-L1 levels. Combining TAK-981 nanocomposite hydrogel with PD-L1 blockade therapy synergistically eradicates residual tumors and suppresses distant tumors. Conclusions These findings underscore the potential of the TAK-981-based strategy as an effective therapy to enhance RFA therapy for HCC. Graphic Abstract

In order to study the impact of desalted duck egg white/gelatin (DDG) obtained by gelatin gel assisted desalting on the quality of bread, the bread was prepared by direct fermentation, and the baking loss rate, specific volume, moisture content and texture of fresh bread were determined. The changes of bread color, aging rate, moisture distribution, retrogradation enthalpy and starch digestibility in vitro were compared and analyzed after storage at 4 ℃ for 1 and 7 days. The results showed that the addition of DDG increased the moisture content and specific volume of bread, and reduced the baking loss rate of bread. The addition of DDG could delay the aging of bread during storage and weaken the hardness of bread during storage. The addition of DDG-0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% could reduce the enthalpy of regeneration of bread core stored at 4 ℃ for 7 days from (4.67±0.26) J/g to (4.28±0.07), (4.14±0.10), (4.04±0.08) and (4.14±0.05) J/g, and the relative crystallinity from 21.04% to 18.41%, 14.54%, 11.21% and 12.77%, respectively, thus delaying the aging rate of bread. The addition of DDG reduced the content of fast digestible starch and increased the content of resistant starch, thus reducing the digestibility of starch. Therefore, adding appropriate DDG would improve the quality of bread and provide a direction for the comprehensive utilization of salted egg white.

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to investigate the occupational epidemiological characteristics of hearing loss among noise-exposed workers through a cross-sectional study and to explore the impact of combined noise and dust exposure on workers’ hearing loss through a longitudinal study.ResultsThis cross-sectional study revealed that the risk of speech-frequency hearing loss increases with age (OR = 1.096, 95%CI = 1.081–1.111). Independent factors influencing high-frequency hearing loss include sex, age, hazardous factors, industry category, and enterprise size. Scientific research and technical services (OR = 1.607, 95%CI = 1.111–2.324), wholesale and retail (OR = 2.144, 95%CI = 1.479–3.107), manufacturing (OR = 1.907, 95%CI = 1.429–2.545), and other industries (OR = 1.583, 95%CI = 1.002–2.502) are risk factors for high-frequency hearing loss, whereas being female (OR = 0.297, 95%CI = 0.236–0.373) is a protective factor against high-frequency hearing loss. Independent factors influencing occupational noise-induced hearing loss include sex, working age, hazardous factors, industry category, smoking, and drinking, with the risk of occupational noise-induced hearing loss increasing with working age (OR = 1.045, 95%CI = 1.031–1.058). Noise and dust work (OR = 1.271, 95%CI = 1.011–1.597), other work (OR = 0.619, 95%CI = 0.479–0.800), manufacturing (OR = 2.085, 95%CI = 1.336–3.254), other industries (OR = 2.063, 95%CI = 1.060–4.012), occasional smokers (OR = 0.863, 95%CI = 0.652–1.142), regular smokers (OR = 1.216, 95% CI = 0.987–1.497), and excessive drinkers (OR = 2.171, 95%CI = 1.476–3.193) are risk factors for occupational noise-induced hearing loss, whereas being female (OR = 0.496, 95%CI = 0.347–0.709) is a protective factor against occupational noise-induced hearing loss. The longitudinal study revealed differences in pure-tone hearing threshold test results at 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, 3,000 Hz, 4,000 Hz, and 6,000 Hz in both ears before and after enrollment among noise-exposed workers (p

The research investigated the nutritional physiology effect of ginseng saponins on Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei) under low-fishmeal diets. In total, five experimental groups were arranged, with 21% fishmeal (high-fishmeal) serving as the positive control (PC), 11% fishmeal (low-fishmeal) serving as the negative control (NC), and 11% fishmeal serving as the addition in all three other groups. Similarly, ginseng saponins (GSP, purity of 2%) were added in the order of 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% (GSP0.1, GSP0.3, and GSP0.5), with an 8-week growth cycle. Both GSP0.1 and GSP0.3 showed significantly higher growth performance (final body weight, FBW; weight gain rate, WGR; specific growth rate, SGR) than the NC group, but significantly lower growth performance than the PC group (P0.05). Whereas, in terms of the relative expression levels of the corresponding genes, in shrimp of the GSP0.3 group, the relative expression of antioxidant-related genes sod, cat, and gsh-px were significantly higher than that of the PC group (P

Throughout history, various odors have been harnessed to invigorate or relax the mind. The mechanisms underlying odors’ diverse arousal effects remain poorly understood. We conducted five experiments (184 participants) to investigate this issue, using pupillometry, electroencephalography, and the attentional blink paradigm, which exemplifies the limit in attentional capacity. Results demonstrated that exposure to citral, compared to vanillin, enlarged pupil size, reduced resting-state alpha oscillations and alpha network efficiency, augmented beta-gamma oscillations, and enhanced the coordination between parietal alpha and frontal beta-gamma activities. In parallel, it attenuated the attentional blink effect. These effects were observed despite citral and vanillin being comparable in perceived odor intensity, pleasantness, and nasal pungency, and were unlikely driven by semantic biases. Our findings reveal that odors differentially alter the small-worldness of brain network architecture, and thereby brain state and arousal. Furthermore, they establish arousal as a unique dimension in olfactory space, distinct from intensity and pleasantness.

BackgroundAcute kidney injury (AKI) is a common adverse outcome following nephrectomy. The progression from AKI to acute kidney disease (AKD) and subsequently to chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains a concern; yet, the predictive mechanisms for these transitions are not fully understood. Interpretable machine learning (ML) models offer insights into how clinical features influence long-term renal function outcomes after nephrectomy, providing a more precise framework for identifying patients at risk and supporting improved clinical decision-making processes. ObjectiveThis study aimed to (1) evaluate postnephrectomy rates of AKI, AKD, and CKD, analyzing long-term renal outcomes along different trajectories; (2) interpret AKD and CKD models using Shapley Additive Explanations values and Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations algorithm; and (3) develop a web-based tool for estimating AKD or CKD risk after nephrectomy. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study involving patients who underwent nephrectomy between July 2012 and June 2019. Patient data were randomly split into training, validation, and test sets, maintaining a ratio of 76.5:8.5:15. Eight ML algorithms were used to construct predictive models for postoperative AKD and CKD. The performance of the best-performing models was assessed using various metrics. We used various Shapley Additive Explanations plots and Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations bar plots to interpret the model and generated directed acyclic graphs to explore the potential causal relationships between features. Additionally, we developed a web-based prediction tool using the top 10 features for AKD prediction and the top 5 features for CKD prediction. ResultsThe study cohort comprised 1559 patients. Incidence rates for AKI, AKD, and CKD were 21.7% (n=330), 15.3% (n=238), and 10.6% (n=165), respectively. Among the evaluated ML models, the Light Gradient-Boosting Machine (LightGBM) model demonstrated superior performance, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.97 for AKD prediction and 0.96 for CKD prediction. Performance metrics and plots highlighted the model’s competence in discrimination, calibration, and clinical applicability. Operative duration, hemoglobin, blood loss, urine protein, and hematocrit were identified as the top 5 features associated with predicted AKD. Baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, pathology, trajectories of renal function, age, and total bilirubin were the top 5 features associated with predicted CKD. Additionally, we developed a web application using the LightGBM model to estimate AKD and CKD risks. ConclusionsAn interpretable ML model effectively elucidated its decision-making process in identifying patients at risk of AKD and CKD following nephrectomy by enumerating critical features. The web-based calculator, found on the LightGBM model, can assist in formulating more personalized and evidence-based clinical strategies.

The iron‐based pyrophosphate Na2FeP2O7 (NFP) is considered as one of the most promising cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) due to its low‐cost and superior structure stability, yet it usually suffers from poor intrinsic electronic conductivity. Herein, a two‐step carbon‐coating technique has been developed to synthesize high‐performance NFP@C cathode materials by controlling the NFP particle size and the coating layer uniformity. The first step of in‐situ carbon coating greatly restrains the excessive growth of NFP crystals with a shortened Na‐ion diffusion path. Meantime, the extra secondary carbon‐coating is adopted to repair some exposed areas, guaranteeing the full coverage of NFP particles for rapid electronic transfer. As a consequence, the as‐obtained NFP@C cathode delivers a high discharge capacity of 95.2 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C (theoretical value: 97 mAh g−1) and with high‐rate capability (75.2 mAh g−1 at 5 C) within 2.0–4.0 V. A capacity retention of 95.3% can be achieved even after 500 cycles at 5 C in coin‐type cells. Such superior electrochemical performances are expected to quickly promote the applications of NFP in SIBs.

Background: The utilization of Tuina as a therapeutic intervention for the management of chronic pain has experienced a gradually increase in its popularity, and the purpose of this bibliometric analysis is to offer a comprehensive understanding of the current state and frontier trends, as well as to provide recommendations for future research directions. Methods: Publications on Tuina for chronic pain published between 2004 and 2023 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Microsoft Excel, CiteSpace, VOSViewer, and the R package “bibliometrix” were used to quantitatively analyse the annual publication volume, countries/regions, journals, institutions, cited references, authors, and keywords. Results: A total of 287 publications were retrieved. The number of annual publications on the use of Tuina for treating chronic pain has gradually increased. Most publications were published in China and the United States. Notably, the most productive institution and author were identified as Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Min Fang, respectively. Medicine ranked first as the most influential affiliate and most productive journal. These publications came from 1650 authors, among whom Edzard Ernst had the most co-citations. Keyword analysis revealed that the new research frontier was low back pain. Conclusion: The utilization of Tuina for the treatment of chronic pain has been gaining increasing recognition. Acupuncture, randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, etc. were the main research subjects. Furthermore, low back pain is the new research frontier. This study provides an in-depth perspective on Tuina for chronic pain, which provides valuable reference material for clinicians with insights of therapeutic strategy, educators with valuable topics, and researchers with new research directions.

Sperm head morphology is crucial for male factor infertility diagnosis and assessment of male reproductive potential. Several criteria are available to analyze sperm head morphology, but they are limited by poor methodology comparability and population applicability. This study aimed to explore comprehensive and new normal morphometric reference values for spermatozoa heads in fertile Asian males. An automated sperm morphology analysis system captured 23 152 stained spermatozoa from confirmed fertile males. Of these samples, 1856 sperm head images were annotated by three experienced laboratory technicians as “normal”. We employed 14 novel morphometric features to describe sperm head size (head length, head width, length/width ratio, and girth), shape (ellipse intersection over union, girth intersection over union, short-axis symmetry, and long-axis symmetry), area (head, acrosome, postacrosomal areas, and acrosome area ratio), and degrees of acrosome and nuclear uniformity. This straight-forward method for the morphometric analysis of sperm by accurate visual measurements is clinically applicable. The measured parameters present valuable information to establish morphometric reference intervals for normal sperm heads in fertile Asian males. The presented detailed measurement data will be valuable for interlaboratory comparisons and technician training. In vitro fertilization and andrology laboratory technicians can use these parameters to perform objective morphology evaluation when assessing male fertilization potential.

Aiming at the problem of changing the distribution of overburden fissures in the overhead mining area due to the cutting and retaining roadway process, the stress distribution, overburden transport and mining fissure distribution law in the mining zone under the roof cutting and retaining roadway process were analyzed by means of a combination of physical similarity simulation and numerical simulation. On this basis, based on the key strata theory and the cumulative effect of unloading and expansion of mining overburden, the changes in the height of overburden fissure development and the width of fissure zones on the roof cutting and un-cutting sides were investigated, the extraction effect of the directional unloading gas extraction boreholes in different strata was analyzed, and the overburden fissure distribution law under the roof cutting and retaining roadway process was verified and inverted. The results shown that, the roof cutting and retaining roadway process can effectively reduce the stress concentration of the top and bottom plates on the roof cutting side, but the stress will still be transferred to the deeper part of coal. Roof cutting caused changes in the thickness of the collapsed rock layer and the form of roof breakage, which led to the changes in the height of the fissure zone development, and the width of the off-strata fissure zones within the sub-critical strata control range. The height of the collapsed zone on the roof cutting side was twice as much as that on the un-cutting side, and the height of the fissure zone was 0.87 times as much as that on the un-cutting side. In the middle and lower part of the fissure zone, the amount of off- strata and the number of penetrating fissures on the cut top side are larger than those on the uncut top side; the amount of fissure development on the roof cutting side were larger than those on the un-cutting side. The amount of fissure development on the coal seam roof of roof cutting side increased with the increasing distance in the range of 8−30 m, and decreased with the increasing distance in the range of 30−48 m, The fissures were mainly distributed in the middle and lower part of the fissure zone. The “staggered” gas concentration and flow rate of the extraction boreholes in different layers validated the above conclusions. The study results have certain reference value for the decompression gas management in high gas mines under the process of roof cutting and retaining roadway.

Ultrasonic shot peening (USP) is widely used for materials surface strengthening and metal sheet forming as a novel mechanical surface treatment technology. The USP-caused surface roughness is usually viewed as an unfavorable factor influencing the service performance of the mechanical components treated by USP. Taking advantages of the experimental investigation, analytical calculation and finite element simulation, the correlation between the USP-caused surface roughness and the USP-induced metal sheet forming deformation is studied comprehensively. Firstly, the USP intensity was experimentally tested by USP of Almen strips. In accordance with the USP intensity, the experimental investigations on the evolutions of surface roughness caused by USP of 2024 aluminum alloy sheets with the thicknesses of 1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm were carried out, respectively. An analytical calculation model (ACM) was then proposed to account for the effects of the USP-induced metal sheet forming deformation on the USP-caused surface roughness. The analytically-calculated results are in good agreement with the experimentally-measured surface roughness caused by USP of 2024 aluminum alloy sheets. Lastly, linking the finite element simulation of the USP-induced metal sheet forming with the analytical calculation model, an innovative FEM-ACM coupling approach was presented for predicting the evolutions of surface roughness caused by USP of metal sheets. It has been experimentally validated with USP of 2024 aluminum alloy sheets, and would be of great significance for the development and industrial application of USP technology.

Abstract Maintaining food safety and quality is critical for public health and food security. Conventional food preservation methods, such as pasteurization and dehydration, often change the overall organoleptic quality of the food products. Herein, we demonstrate a method that affects only a thin surface layer of the food, using beef as a model. In this method, Joule heating is generated by applying high electric power to a carbon substrate in ~2000 K. The beef surface in direct contact with the heating substrate is subjected to ultra-high temperature flash heating, leading to the formation of a microbe-inactivated, dehydrated layer of ~100 µm in thickness. Aerobic mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast and mold on the treated samples are inactivated to a level below the detection limit and remained low during room temperature storage of 5 days. Meanwhile, the product quality, including visual appearance, texture, and nutrient level of the beef, remains mostly unchanged. In contrast, microorganisms grow rapidly on the untreated control samples, along with a rapid deterioration of the meat quality. This method might serve as a promising preservation technology for securing food safety and quality.

In order to meet consumers’ demand for low sugar baked goods with slow digestion properties, corn starch-ovalbumin complex (CSOVA) was used to replaced 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% (w/w) of wheat flour and zero calorie sugar was added instead of traditional cane sugar for the cupcake recipe. The texture, sensory properties and digestion rate of the cupcakes were evaluated. Results showed that, the specific volume of cupcakes increased from 2.69 cm3/g to 3.79 cm3/g while the hardness decreased from 63.35 g to 39.56 g, and the cupcakes made with CSOVA were softer and fluffier. Meanwhile, the results suggested the addition of CSOVA could delay the ageing of the cupcakes, reducing the moisture loss. As the wheat flour was replaced with CSOVA, the content of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) decreased and the content of resistant starch (RS) increased. Moreover, the addition of CSOVA strengthened the protein content of the cupcakes and broadens the industry application of CSOVA.

The rapid development of Chinese potato processing industry can be attributed to the implementation of the potato staple food industrialization strategy. Potato protein, known for its high nutritional value and functionality, exhibits exceptional solubility and contains a significant amount of tyrosines that are scarce in other plant proteins. Consequently, potato protein holds immense potential for various market applications. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the composition, functional properties, modification methods, and modification applications of potato protein. Potato protein exhibits good solubility, foaming and emulsifying properties, gelation, and antioxidant activity. Currently, enzyme treatment and microbial fermentation are the focus of potato protein modification research. Additionally, this article provides an overview of the main issues commonly found in potato protein and proposes future development prospects based on current research progress. In the future, it is necessary to further investigate the relationship between the molecular structure of potato protein and its functional activities. Enhancing the utilization of potato protein and plant proteins, enzymatic methods and microbial fermentation shows promise as a future direction for modification. By harnessing microbial resources, the cost of modification can be effectively reduced.

The incidence rate of pancreatic tuberculosis (PT) is low, and it is difficult to distinguish from pancreatic malignant tumor before operation. We present 3 patients diagnosed after surgical treatment. All 3 cases involved female patients who were admitted due to primary manifestation of abdominal pain. These patients did not exhibit symptoms such as jaundice or back pain, and their tumor markers were within normal range. The surgical interventions employed included partial resection of the tumor in 1 case, mass resection in another, and pancreaticoduodenectomy in the third. Preoperative puncture biopsy is essential for diagnosing PT, and it should be actively conducted on patients with suspected cases. We summarize several common manifestations of PT to find the possibility of tuberculosis during preoperative evaluation and avoid misdiagnosis and unnecessary surgery.

Highlights The innovation of this work mainly lies in the auto-regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) balance effective by combination of ROS antibacterial and ROS scavenging anti-inflammatory functions with a core–shell nanoplatform (CeO2@ZIF-8/Au), which can not only achieve high antibacterial efficiency, but also promote wound healing, and provide a new idea for the nano-catalytic system in the field of wound healing of bacterial infection.

Objectives Constitutive activation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway is central to the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate diverse biological processes. However, the role of lncRNAs in MPN pathogenesis is not well studied.Methods The expression of lnc-AC004893 in MPN patients was measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Gene-specific short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) were designed to inhibit the expression of lnc-AC004893, and western blot was performed to explore the role of lnc-AC004893 via regulating the JAK2/STAT5 signaling pathway. Furthermore, co-IP was performed to determine the binding ability of lnc-AC004893 and STAT5 protein. Finally, the BaF3-JAK2V617F-transplanted mouse model was used to assess the biological role of lnc-ac004893 in vivo.Results We report that lnc-AC004893, a poorly conserved pseudogene-209, is substantially upregulated in MPN cells compared with normal controls (NCs). Knockdown of lnc-AC004893 by specific shRNAs suppressed cell proliferation and decreased colony formation. Furthermore, the knockdown of lnc-AC004893 reduced the expression of p-STAT5 but not total STAT5 in HEL and murine IL-3-dependent Ba/F3 cells, which present constitutive and inducible activation of JAK2/STAT5 signaling. In addition, inhibition of murine lnc-ac004893 attenuated BaF3-JAK2V617F-transplanted phenotypes and extended the overall survival. Mechanistically, knockdown of lnc-AC004893 enhanced the binding ability of STAT5 and protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP1. Furthermore, knockdown of lnc-AC004893 decreased STAT5-lnc-AC004893 interaction but not SHP1-lnc-AC004893 interaction.Conclusion Lnc-AC004893 regulates STAT5 phosphorylation by affecting the interaction of STAT5 and SHP1. Lnc-AC004893 might be a potential therapeutic target for MPN patients.

AbstractRainfall is an excitation factor for rainfall-type debris flows, and high-frequency rainfall commonly does not directly trigger large-scale catastrophic debris flows. A low-frequency, large-scale catastrophic debris flow occurred in Heishui Gully (HSG), Pingwu County, Sichuan Province, southwestern China on 12 July 2022. In this study, the HSG debris flow was used as a case study to reveal the formation mechanisms of low-frequency and large-scale catastrophic debris flow triggered by high-frequency gentle rainfall by calculating and analysing a total of five indicators, including the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), the Freeze-Thaw Index (FTI), the empirical relationship between earthquakes and landslides, the hypsometric integral (HI) and human activities. The study results indicate that high-frequency gentle rainfall is a direct factor in the debris flow outbreak in HSG. Long-duration extreme drought conditions and extreme freeze-thaw erosion provided sufficient soil conditions for debris flow formation. Frequent earthquakes and mature erosional geomorphologic evolution have indirectly contributed to the debris flow formation. Simultaneously, human activities downstream of HSG amplified the risk of debris flow disaster. The results reveal the contribution of extreme climates and human activities to low-frequency, large-scale catastrophic debris flows initiated by high-frequency gentle rainfall, which is significant for accurately assessing and predicting debris flow occurrence.

Abstract City size is a primary determinant of the urban heat island (UHI) intensity, with its effects further nuanced by the urban form. But how to factor in the urban form into the UHI assessment remains unresolved. We propose an every‐pair‐interaction model that meaningfully incorporates urban size and fractal dimension to characterize the UHI intensity. Regression on the summertime surface UHI intensity of 5,000 European cities shows that the model outperforms the simple linear combination of logarithmic size and fractal dimension. Subject to the interplay between the range of the every‐pair interaction and the urban fractal shape, the model also represents a generalization as it includes power‐law, logarithmic, and saturating size dependence of UHI—all three possibilities have been reported empirically in the literature. Our theoretical framework indicates that the surface UHI intensity saturates with urban size, opening up new research perspectives around UHI intensity.

Abstract Background Gastric cancer (GC), particularly for advanced stage of GC, commonly undergoes peritoneal metastasis (PM), which is the leading cause of GC‐related death. However, there currently has no reliable biomarker to predict the onset of GCPM. It is well known that the imbalance of gut microbiota contributes to the development and metastasis of gastrointestinal tumors. Unfortunately, little is known about how the alternation in gut microbiota is associated with the onset of GCPM. Methods Our current study analyzed structural characteristics and functional prediction of gut microbiota in GC patients with PM (PM group) and without PM (non‐PM group). Fresh fecal samples were collected from a discovery cohort (PM = 38, non‐PM = 54) and a validation cohort (PM = 15, non‐PM = 21) of GC patients and their 16S ribosomal RNA (16s rRNA) gene amplicons were sequenced, followed by bioinformatics. Results The results indicated an increase in the biodiversity of gut microbiota in the non‐PM group of the discovery cohort, compared with the PM group. Moreover, LEfSe analysis found 31 significantly different microorganisms, of which the Roseburia ranked the fifth in the random forest (RF) model. The characteristics of intestinal microbiota in GCPM patients were changed, and the abundance of Roseburia in gut microbiota from the GCPM patients was reduced and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that the reduced abundance of gut Roseburia effectively predicted the onset of GCPM. Conclusion This signature was also observed in the validation cohort. Therefore, Roseburia is a protective microbial marker and the reduced abundance of Roseburia in gut microbiota may help early diagnosis of GCPM.

Background: The growing consensus links exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) with an increased risk of respiratory diseases. However, little is known about the additional effects of particulate matter on brainstem function in allergic rhinitis (AR). Furthermore, it is unknown to what extent the PM2.5-induced effects in the brainstem affect the inflammatory response in AR. This study aimed to determine the effects, mechanisms and consequences of brainstem neural activity altered by allergenic stimulation and PM2.5 exposure. Methods: Using an AR model of ovalbumin (OVA) elicitation and whole-body PM2.5 exposure, the metabolic profile of the brainstem post-allergen stimulation was characterized through in vivo proton magnetic resonance imaging (1H-MRS). Then, the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) neuronal expression and sensitivity in the trigeminal nerve in AR were investigated. The link between TRPV1 expression and brainstem differential metabolites was also determined. Finally, we evaluated the mediating effects of brainstem metabolites and the consequences in the brain-spleen axis in the inflammatory response of AR. Results: Exposure to allergens and PM2.5 led to changes in the metabolic profiles of the brainstem, particularly affecting levels of glutamine (Gln) and glutamate (Glu). This exposure also increased the expression and sensitivity of TRPV1+ neurons in the trigeminal nerve, with the levels of TRPV1 expression closely linked to the brainstem metabolism of Glu and Gln. Moreover, allergens increased the activity of p38, while PM2.5 led to the phosphorylation of p38 and ERK, resulting in the upregulation of TRPV1 expression. The brainstem metabolites Glu and Gln were found to partially mediate the impact of TRPV1 on AR inflammation, which was supported by the presence of pro-inflammatory changes in the brain-spleen axis. Conclusion: Brainstem metabolites are altered under allergen stimulation and additional PM2.5 exposure in AR via sensitization of the trigeminal nerve, which exacerbates the inflammatory response via the brain-splenic axis.

Organ development, regeneration and cancer initiation are typically influenced by the proliferation and lineage plasticity of tissue-specific stem cells. Prostate intermediate cells, which exhibit characteristics of both basal and luminal cells, are prevalent in pathological states and during organ development. However, the identity, fate and function of these intermediate cells in prostate development are not well understood. Through single-cell RNA-seq analysis on neonatal urogenital sinus tissue, we identified intermediate cells exhibiting stem cell potential. A notable decline in the population of intermediate cells was observed during prostate development. Prostate intermediate cells were specifically labeled in early and late postnatal development by the enhanced dual-recombinase-mediated genetic tracing systems. Our findings revealed that these cells possess significant stem cell capabilities as demonstrated in organoid formation and cell fate mapping assays. These intermediate cells also exhibited intrinsic bipotential properties, enabling them to differentiate into both basal and luminal cells. Additionally, we discovered a novel transition from intermediate cell expressing neuroendocrine markers to neuroendocrine cell during prostate development. This study highlights intermediate cells as a crucial stem cell population and enhances our understanding of their role in prostate development and the plasticity of prostate cancer lineage.

BackgroundThe Da Vinci Surgical System (DVSS) has the advantages of minimal invasion, rapid recovery, safety, and reliability. Although the DVSS has been widely used in various abdominal surgeries, descriptions of its use in robot-assisted retroperitoneal tumor resection (RRTR) are limited to case reports; large-sample systematic studies are lacking. The present study was performed to analyze the data of RRTR in our center, summarize our experience, and provide a reference for other retroperitoneal tumor centers.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 105 patients who underwent RRTR at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2015 to December 2022. Logistic univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors affecting RRTR. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to find the cut-off value, which was then included in the logistic multivariate analysis for verification.ResultsAmong the 105 patients, 87 successfully underwent RRTR (DVSS group) and 18 underwent conversion to open surgery (conversion group). There was no significant difference in sex, age, body mass index, history of abdominal surgery, or tumor location between the two groups (P > 0.05). The maximum tumor diameter [odds ratio (OR), 1.041; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.015-1.067; P = 0.002] and pathological property (OR, 8.646; 95% CI, 2.370-31.544; P = 0.001) were independent risk factors for conversion to open surgery. Further analysis confirmed that the success rate of RRTR was higher for tumors with a maximum diameter of ≤64 mm and benign tumors. Based on our experience and statistical results, we believe that retroperitoneal tumors that meet the following criteria have a higher success rate of DVSS resection: maximum tumor diameter of ≤64 mm, benign tumors, the tumor has relatively clear boundary, no obvious invasion of surrounding tissues and organs, and no need for combined organ resection.ConclusionsRRTR is safe and effective in the treatment of RPT, and the clinical prognosis is similar to that of open surgery. The success rate of RRTR in patients with appropriate surgical indications for this procedure is higher.

IntroductionDifficulty falling asleep place an increasing burden on society. EEG-based sleep staging is fundamental to the diagnosis of sleep disorder, and the selection of features for each sleep stage is a key step in the sleep analysis. However, the differences of sleep EEG features in gender and age are not clear enough.MethodsThis study aimed to investigate the effects of age and gender on sleep EEG functional connectivity through statistical analysis of brain functional connectivity and machine learning validation. The two-overnight sleep EEG data of 78 subjects with mild difficulty falling asleep were categorized into five sleep stages using markers and segments from the "sleep-EDF" public database. First, the 78 subjects were finely grouped, and the mutual information of the six sleep EEG rhythms of δ, θ, α, β, spindle, and sawtooth wave was extracted as a functional connectivity measure. Then, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to extract significant differences in functional connectivity of sleep rhythm waves across sleep stages with respect to age and gender. Finally, machine learning algorithms were used to investigate the effects of fine grouping of age and gender on sleep staging. Results and discussionThe results showed that: (1) The functional connectivity of each sleep rhythm wave differed significantly across sleep stages, with delta and beta functional connectivity differing significantly across sleep stages. (2) Significant differences in functional connections among young and middle-aged groups, and among young and elderly groups, but no significant difference between middle-aged and elderly groups. (3) Female functional connectivity strength is generally higher than male at the high-frequency band of EEG, but no significant difference in the low-frequency. (4) Finer group divisions based on gender and age can indeed improve the accuracy of sleep staging, with an increase of about 3.58% by using the random forest algorithm. Our results further reveal the electrophysiological neural mechanisms of each sleep stage, and find that sleep functional connectivity differs significantly in both gender and age, providing valuable theoretical guidance for the establishment of automated sleep stage models.

α-Glucosidase is associated with the enhancement in postprandial blood glucose. Therefore, inhibition of α-glucosidase activity could be considered as a potential strategy to control type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Tepotinib (TPT) as an enzyme inhibitor with a molecular formula of C29H28N6O2 has a distinct structure that may make it useful for interacting with α-glucosidase, causing conformational changes and inhibiting enzyme activity. In this study, the interaction mechanism of TPT and α-glucosidase was explored. The enzyme activity assay showed that TPT could inhibit α-glucosidase activity with the IC50 value of 0.071 ± 0.007 mg/mL (164 ± 16.5 µM), which was comparable with that of acarbose (IC50 = 0.045 ± 0.006 mg/mL = 255 ± 38.25 µM) as a clinical drug. It was further determined that Ser 241 and His 280 amino acid residues in the active site assist in the formation of the TPT-α-glucosidase complex mediated by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces, which might lead to the conformational folding of α-glucosidase to some extent. Additionally, the interaction of TPT and α-glucosidase reduced the surface hydrophobicity of the enzyme and altered the microenvironment around Tyr 158 amino acid residue in the active site. These findings suggested that TPT might be employed as a potential inhibitor of α-glucosidase activity, suggesting that it should be further explored in future studies to develop a TPT-based system for application in the amelioration of DM.

Compared with lowlander migrants, native Tibetans have a higher reproductive success at high altitude though the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we compared the transcriptome and histology of full-term placentas between native Tibetans and Han migrants. We found that the placental trophoblast shows the largest expression divergence between Tibetans and Han, and Tibetans show decreased immune response and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Remarkably, we detected a sex-biased expression divergence, where the male-infant placentas show a greater between-population difference than the female-infant placentas. The umbilical cord plays a key role in the sex-biased expression divergence, which is associated with the higher birth weight of the male newborns of Tibetans. We also identified adaptive histological changes in the male-infant placentas of Tibetans, including larger umbilical artery wall and umbilical artery intima and media, and fewer syncytial knots. These findings provide valuable insights into the sex-biased adaptation of human populations, with significant implications for medical and genetic studies of human reproduction.

The American healthcare system allocates considerable resources compared to peer-developed nations. However, outcomes significantly trail behind, particularly in life expectancy. This study addresses questions about the enduring trends in healthcare spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), notable factors contributing to this concerning trend, and the timing to apply an emergency brake to curb this accelerating trajectory. Advanced machine learning algorithms, such as Random Forest and Support Vector Regression (SVR), in conjunction with traditional statistical forecasting methods, are used to forecast future patterns. The research underscores the importance of healthcare analytics in unraveling the intricacies of the healthcare system. The findings highlight the pressing need for effective policies to confront this mounting challenge.

This is an article in the field of earth sciences and mining processing engineering. Potash ore occurs in the salt layer of Cambrian Hormuz Formation, The ore body is in dancing band with great thickness variation. The ore type is chloride-type sylvite ore, the main ore mineral is sylvite, with KCl content of 2.5%～35.20%. The Cambrian is a lagoon facies deposit. The continuous evaporation of potassium-bearing brine in the Persian Gulf formed a series of marine evaporite sequence containing potassium salt.Affected by the early Alpine structureactivity, the salt layer was compressed to form a salt diapir structure.Using the test flow of one roughing, one scavenger, two concentrating and Coarse ore washing, good test indexes have been achieved, and potassium chloride products containing 87.44% KCl (wet basis) (91.14% dry basis) or 88.97% KCl (wet basis) (93.69% dry basis) can be obtained, with KCl recovery rates of 85.93% and 81.70% , respectively.

Abstract Many machine learning applications in bioinformatics currently rely on matching gene identities when analyzing input gene signatures and fail to take advantage of preexisting knowledge about gene functions. To further enable comparative analysis of OMICS datasets, including target deconvolution and mechanism of action studies, we develop an approach that represents gene signatures projected onto their biological functions, instead of their identities, similar to how the word2vec technique works in natural language processing. We develop the Functional Representation of Gene Signatures (FRoGS) approach by training a deep learning model and demonstrate that its application to the Broad Institute’s L1000 datasets results in more effective compound-target predictions than models based on gene identities alone. By integrating additional pharmacological activity data sources, FRoGS significantly increases the number of high-quality compound-target predictions relative to existing approaches, many of which are supported by in silico and/or experimental evidence. These results underscore the general utility of FRoGS in machine learning-based bioinformatics applications. Prediction networks pre-equipped with the knowledge of gene functions may help uncover new relationships among gene signatures acquired by large-scale OMICs studies on compounds, cell types, disease models, and patient cohorts.

Segmentation-based tracking is currently a promising tracking paradigm with pixel-wise information. However, the lack of structural constraints makes it difficult to maintain excellent performance in the presence of background interference. Therefore, we propose a Segmentation tracker with mask-guided background suppression strategy. Firstly, a mask-aware module is designed to generate more accurate target masks. With the guidance of regression loss, features were selected that are sensitive only to the target region among shallow features that contain more spatial information. Structural information is introduced and background clutter in the backbone feature is suppressed, which enhances the reliability of the target segmentation. Secondly, a mask-guided template suppression module is constructed to improve feature representation. The generated mask with clear target contours can be used to filter the background noise, which increases the distinction between foreground and background of which. Therefore, the module highlights the target area and improves the interference resistance of the template. Finally, an adaptive spatiotemporal context constraint strategy is proposed to aid the target location. The strategy learns a region probability matrix by the object mask of the previous frame, which is used to constrain the contextual information in the search region of the current frame. Benefiting from this strategy, our method effectively suppresses similar distractors in the search region and achieves robust tracking. Broad experiments on five challenge benchmarks including VOT2016, VOT2018, VOT2019, OTB100, and TC128 indicate that the proposed tracker performs stably under complex tracking backgrounds.

Walking is one of the most common daily movements of the human body. Therefore, quantitative evaluation of human walking has been commonly used to assist doctors in grasping the disease degree and rehabilitation process of patients in the clinic. Compared with the kinematic characteristics, the ground reaction force (GRF) during walking can directly reflect the dynamic characteristics of human walking. It can further help doctors understand the degree of muscle recovery and joint coordination of patients. This paper proposes a GRF estimation method based on the elastic elements and Newton-Euler equation hybrid driving GRF estimation method. Compared with the existing research, the innovations are as follows. 1) The hardware system consists of only two inertial measurement units (IMUs) placed on shanks. The acquisition of the overall motion characteristics of human walking is realized through the simplified four-link walking model and the thigh prediction method. 2) The method was validated not only on 10 healthy subjects but also on 11 Parkinson’s patients and 10 stroke patients with normalized mean absolute errors (NMAEs) of 5.95%±1.32%, 6.09%±2.00%, 5.87%±1.59%. 3) This paper proposes a dynamic balance assessment method based on the acquired motion data and the estimated GRF. It evaluates the overall balance ability and fall risk at four key time points for all subjects recruited. Because of the low-cost system, ease of use, low motion interference and environmental constraints, and high estimation accuracy, the proposed GRF estimation method and walking balance automatic assessment have broad clinical value.

Abstract In the known field of topological photonics, what remains less so is the breakdown effect of topological phases deteriorated by perturbation. In this study, the authors investigate the variance on topological invariants for a periodic Kekulé medium perturbed in unit cells, which was a gyromagnetic photonic crystal holding topological phases induced by synchronised rotation of unit cells. Two parameters for geometric and material perturbation are respectively benchmarked to characterise the topological degradation. Our calculation demonstrates that such a periodic perturbation easily destructs the topological phase and thus calls for further checkups on robustness under such unit‐cell‐perturbation in realisation.

The Qinzhou fold belt, situated at the contact zone between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks in South China, was affected by the 1936 Lingshan M6¾ earthquake and the 1958 Lingshan M5¾ earthquake, both of which occurred within the conjugate structure. Understanding the deep seismogenic setting and causal mechanism of the Lingshan conjugate earthquake is of great significance for assessing the seismic disaster risk in the region. In this study, we utilized 237 magnetotelluric datasets and employed three-dimensional electromagnetic inversion to characterize the deep-seated three-dimensional resistivity structure of the Qinzhou fold belt and the Lingshan seismic zone. The results reveal that: (1) The NE-trending faults within the Qinzhou fold belt and adjacent areas are classified as trans-crustal faults. The faults exhibit crust-mantle ductile shear zones in their deeper sections, which are essential in governing regional tectonic deformation and seismic activity; (2) The electrical structure of the Qinzhou fold belt is in line with the tectonic characteristics of a composite orogenic belt, having experienced several phases of tectonic modification. The southeastern region is being influenced by mantle-derived magmatic activities originating from the Leiqiong area over a significant distance; (3) In the Lingshan seismic zone, the NE-trending Fangcheng-Lingshan fault is a trans-crustal fault and the NW-trending Zhaixu fault is an intra-crustal fault. The electrical structure pattern “two low, one high” in the zone has a significant impact on the deep tectonic framework of the area and influences the deformation behavior of shallow faults; and (4) The seismogenic structure of the 1936 Lingshan M6¾ earthquake was the Fangcheng-Lingshan fault. The earthquake’s genesis was influenced by the coupling effect of tectonic stress and deep thermal dynamics. The seismogenic structure of the 1958 Lingshan M5¾ earthquake was the Zhaixu fault. The earthquake’s genesis was influenced by tectonic stress and static stress triggering from the 1936 Lingshan M6¾ earthquake. The conjugate rupture mode in the Lingshan seismic zone is influenced by various factors, including differences in physical properties, rheology of deep materials, and the scale and depth of fault development.