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Objectives: To compare oral adhesive bandages with the classic compression method and evaluate the clinical efficacy of this wound dressing material in improving postoperative comfort, wound healing, and hemostasis in tooth extraction. Materials and methods: The study was designed as a randomized controlled clinical trial. A total of 120 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to the study group and the control group. In the study group, oral adhesive bandages were used as wound dressing. In the control group, patients bit on cotton balls and gauze, as usual. Hemorrhage, comfort, and healing levels were evaluated at postoperative 1 h, 24 h, and 7 days. The adhesion time of the oral adhesive bandages was also recorded. Results: The average adhesion time of the oral adhesive bandages was 26.6 h. At postoperative 1 and 24 h, the hemostatic levels of the oral adhesive bandage group were significantly higher than those of the control group. The oral adhesive bandage group also reported significantly higher comfort scores than the control group. Both groups had similar healing levels and side effects. But the mean score for wound healing was slightly higher in the oral adhesive bandage group. Conclusions: Oral adhesive bandages were more effective than cotton balls and gauze in providing hemostatic and comfort effects on extraction wounds. Clinical relevance: Oral adhesive bandages possess clinical value in the management of extraction wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the mechanical deformation of the hydrate-bearing layer during hydrate exploitation requires the establishment of a robust model for the isotropic compression behavior of methane hydrate-bearing sediment (MHBS), which is of utmost importance. However, few research involves developing the isotropic compression model. In this paper, a novel simplified isotropic compression model of MHBS is developed according to the isotropic compression characteristics of MHBS. To address the effect of temperature and pore pressure condition (P-T condition) on the isotropic compression curve (ICC) of MHBS, the phase state parameter, as a representative for P-T condition, is used to characterize the ICC of MHBS with varying P-T condition. The fact that the predicted and measured ICCs display a strong agreement indicates that the simplified compression model developed in this study can effectively capture the isotropic compression behavior of MHBS under various hydrate saturation, temperature, and pore pressure conditions. • A novel simplified isotropic compression model is developed for MHBS. • The influences of hydrate saturation on ICCs are addressed. • The effects of temperature and pore pressure on ICCs are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conspiracy theories tend to be prevalent, particularly in societies with high economic inequality. However, few studies have examined the relationship between economic inequality and belief in conspiracy theories. We propose that economic inequality leads people to believe conspiracy theories about economically advantaged groups (i.e., upwards conspiracy theories) and that moral evaluations of those groups mediate this relationship. Study 1 (N = 300) found support for these ideas in a survey among Chinese residents. Study 2 (N = 160) manipulated participants' perceptions of economic inequality in a virtual society. The manipulation shaped moral evaluations of economically advantaged groups, and conspiracy beliefs, in the predicted manner. In Study 3 (N = 191) and Study 4 (N = 210), we experimentally manipulated participants' perceptions of economic inequality in real Chinese society and replicated the results of Study 2. In addition, in Study 4, we find that economic inequality predicts belief in conspiracy theories about economically disadvantaged groups (i.e., downward conspiracy theories), which was mediated by anomie. We conclude that perceived economic inequality predicts conspiracy theories about economically advantaged groups and that moral evaluations account for this effect. Also, upward and downward conspiracy theory beliefs are associated with different psychological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A comprehensive overview of artificial intelligence (AI) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prediction and a screening tool of AI models (AI-Ms) for independent external validation are lacking. This systematic review aims to identify, describe, and appraise AI-Ms of CVD prediction in the general and special populations and develop a new independent validation score (IVS) for AI-Ms replicability evaluation. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and IEEE library were searched up to July 2021. Data extraction and analysis were performed for the populations, distribution, predictors, algorithms, etc. The risk of bias was evaluated with the prediction risk of bias assessment tool (PROBAST). Subsequently, we designed IVS for model replicability evaluation with five steps in five items, including transparency of algorithms, performance of models, feasibility of reproduction, risk of reproduction, and clinical implication, respectively. The review is registered in PROSPERO (No. CRD42021271789). Results: In 20,887 screened references, 79 articles (82.5% in 2017–2021) were included, which contained 114 datasets (67 in Europe and North America, but 0 in Africa). We identified 486 AI-Ms, of which the majority were in development (n = 380), but none of them had undergone independent external validation. A total of 66 idiographic algorithms were found; however, 36.4% were used only once and only 39.4% over three times. A large number of different predictors (range 5–52,000, median 21) and large-span sample size (range 80–3,660,000, median 4466) were observed. All models were at high risk of bias according to PROBAST, primarily due to the incorrect use of statistical methods. IVS analysis confirmed only 10 models as "recommended"; however, 281 and 187 were "not recommended" and "warning," respectively. Conclusion: AI has led the digital revolution in the field of CVD prediction, but is still in the early stage of development as the defects of research design, report, and evaluation systems. The IVS we developed may contribute to independent external validation and the development of this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A comprehensive overview of artificial intelligence (AI) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prediction and a screening tool of AI models (AI-Ms) for independent external validation are lacking. This systematic review aims to identify, describe, and appraise AI-Ms of CVD prediction in the general and special populations and develop a new independent validation score (IVS) for AI-Ms replicability evaluation. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and IEEE library were searched up to July 2021. Data extraction and analysis were performed for the populations, distribution, predictors, algorithms, etc. The risk of bias was evaluated with the prediction risk of bias assessment tool (PROBAST). Subsequently, we designed IVS for model replicability evaluation with five steps in five items, including transparency of algorithms, performance of models, feasibility of reproduction, risk of reproduction, and clinical implication, respectively. The review is registered in PROSPERO (No. CRD42021271789). Results: In 20,887 screened references, 79 articles (82.5% in 2017–2021) were included, which contained 114 datasets (67 in Europe and North America, but 0 in Africa). We identified 486 AI-Ms, of which the majority were in development (n = 380), but none of them had undergone independent external validation. A total of 66 idiographic algorithms were found; however, 36.4% were used only once and only 39.4% over three times. A large number of different predictors (range 5–52,000, median 21) and large-span sample size (range 80–3,660,000, median 4466) were observed. All models were at high risk of bias according to PROBAST, primarily due to the incorrect use of statistical methods. IVS analysis confirmed only 10 models as "recommended"; however, 281 and 187 were "not recommended" and "warning," respectively. Conclusion: AI has led the digital revolution in the field of CVD prediction, but is still in the early stage of development as the defects of research design, report, and evaluation systems. The IVS we developed may contribute to independent external validation and the development of this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a deep network architecture to improve nuclei detection performance and achieve the high localization accuracy of nuclei in breast cancer histopathology images. The proposed model consists of two parts, generating nuclear candidate module and refining nuclear localization module. We first design a novel patch learning method to obtain high-quality nuclear candidates, where in addition to categories, location representations are also added to the patch information to implement the multi-task learning process of nuclear classification and localization; meanwhile, the deep supervision mechanism is introduced to obtain the coherent contributions from each scale layer. In order to refine nuclear localization, we propose an iterative correction strategy to make the prediction progressively closer to the ground truth, which significantly improves the accuracy of nuclear localization and facilitates neighbor size selection in the nonmaximum suppression step. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of our method for nuclei detection on the H&E stained histopathological image dataset as compared to previous state-of-the-art methods, especially in multiple cluttered nuclei detection, can achieve better results than existing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain metastasis is a common outcome in non-small cell lung cancer, and despite aggressive treatment, its clinical outcome is still frustrating. In recent years, immunotherapy has been developing rapidly, however, its therapeutic outcomes for primary lung cancer and brain metastases are not the same, suggesting that there may be differences in the immune microenvironment of primary lung cancer and brain metastases, however, we currently know little about these differences. Methods: Seventeen paired samples of NSCLC and their brain metastases and 45 other unpaired brain metastases samples were collected for the current study. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on all samples for the following markers: immune checkpoints CTLA-4, PD-1, PD-L1, B7-H3, B7-H4, IDO1, and EphA2; tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD20; tumor-associated microglia/macrophages (TAMs) CD68 and CD163; and tumor proliferation index Ki-67. The differences in expression of these markers were compared in 17 paired samples, and the effect of the expression level of these markers on the prognosis of patients was analyzed in lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases samples. Subsequently, multiplex immunofluorescence staining was performed in a typical lung-brain paired sample based on the aforementioned results. The multiplex immunofluorescence staining results revealed the difference in tumor immune microenvironment between primary NSCLC and brain metastases. Results: In 17 paired lesions, the infiltration of CTLA-4+ (P = 0.461), PD-1+ (P = 0.106), CD3+ (P = 0.045), CD4+ (P = 0.037), CD8+ (P = 0.008), and CD20+ (P = 0.029) TILs in brain metastases were significantly decreased compared with primary tumors. No statistically significant difference was observed in the CD68 (P = 0.954) and CD163 (P = 0.654) TAM infiltration between primary NSCLC and paired brain metastases. In all the brain metastases lesions, the expression of PD-L1 is related to the time interval of brain metastases in NSCLC. In addition, the Cox proportional hazards regression models showed high expression of B7-H4 (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.276, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.335–8.041, P = 0.010) and CD68 TAM infiltration (HR = 3.775, 95% CI 1.419–10.044, P = 0.008) were independent prognosis factors for lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases patients. Conclusions: Both temporal and spatial heterogeneity is present between the primary tumor and brain metastases of NCSLC. Brain metastases lesions exhibit a more immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment. B7-H4 and CD68+ TAMs may have potential therapeutic value for lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intra-abdominal adhesions have consistently posed a challenge for surgeons during procedures. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of utilizing indocyanine green (ICG) in conjunction with near-infrared imaging for the detection of intra-abdominal adhesions. In vitro, we analyzed factors affecting ICG fluorescence. We divided SD rats into groups to study ICG excretion in different digestive tract regions. Additionally, we reviewed surgical videos from previous cholecystectomy cases, categorizing them by ICG injection timing and assessing fluorescence imaging in various digestive tract regions. Finally, we preoperatively injected ICG into two cholecystectomized patients with abdominal adhesions, guiding intraoperative adhesiolysis with near-infrared fluorescence imaging. In vitro, we observed a significant influence of protein and ICG concentrations on ICG fluorescence intensity. Our rat experiments unveiled a strong and highly significant correlation (Kendall's tau-b = 1, P < 0.001) between the timing of ICG injection and the farthest point of intestinal fluorescence. A retrospective case analysis further validated this finding (Kendall's tau-b = 0.967, P < 0.001). Under the guidance of fluorescence navigation, two cholecystectomized patients with intra-abdominal adhesions successfully underwent adhesiolysis, and no postoperative complications occurred. The intraoperative combination of ICG with near-infrared fluorescence imaging effectively enhances the visibility of the liver, bile ducts, and various segments of the gastrointestinal tract while providing real-time navigation. This real-time fluorescence guidance has the potential to aid surgeons in the dissection of intra-abdominal adhesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intra-abdominal adhesions have consistently posed a challenge for surgeons during procedures. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of utilizing indocyanine green (ICG) in conjunction with near-infrared imaging for the detection of intra-abdominal adhesions. In vitro, we analyzed factors affecting ICG fluorescence. We divided SD rats into groups to study ICG excretion in different digestive tract regions. Additionally, we reviewed surgical videos from previous cholecystectomy cases, categorizing them by ICG injection timing and assessing fluorescence imaging in various digestive tract regions. Finally, we preoperatively injected ICG into two cholecystectomized patients with abdominal adhesions, guiding intraoperative adhesiolysis with near-infrared fluorescence imaging. In vitro, we observed a significant influence of protein and ICG concentrations on ICG fluorescence intensity. Our rat experiments unveiled a strong and highly significant correlation (Kendall's tau-b = 1, P < 0.001) between the timing of ICG injection and the farthest point of intestinal fluorescence. A retrospective case analysis further validated this finding (Kendall's tau-b = 0.967, P < 0.001). Under the guidance of fluorescence navigation, two cholecystectomized patients with intra-abdominal adhesions successfully underwent adhesiolysis, and no postoperative complications occurred. The intraoperative combination of ICG with near-infrared fluorescence imaging effectively enhances the visibility of the liver, bile ducts, and various segments of the gastrointestinal tract while providing real-time navigation. This real-time fluorescence guidance has the potential to aid surgeons in the dissection of intra-abdominal adhesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pituitary is a vital endocrine organ for synthesis and secretion of gonadotropic hormones (FSH and LH), and the gonadotropin showed fluctuations in animals with different fecundity. Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as regulatory factors for the reproductive process. However, the profiles of lncRNAs and their roles involved in sheep fecundity remains unclear. In this study, we performed RNA‐sequencing for the sheep pituitary gland associated with different fecundity, and identified a novel candidate lncRNA LOC105613571 targeting BDNF related to gonadotropin secretion. Our results showed that expression of lncRNA LOC105613571 and BDNF could be significantly upregulated by GnRH stimulation in sheep pituitary cells in vitro. Notably, either lncRNA LOC105613571 or BDNF silencing inhibited cell proliferation while promoted cell apoptosis. Moreover, lncRNA LOC105613571 knockdown could also downregulate gonadotropin secretion via inactivation AKT, ERK and mTOR pathway. In addition, co‐treatment with GnRH stimulation and lncRNA LOC105613571 or BDNF knockdown showed the opposite effect on sheep pituitary cells in vitro. In summary, BDNF‐binding lncRNA LOC105613571 in sheep regulates pituitary cell proliferation and gonadotropin secretion via the AKT/ERK‐mTOR pathway, providing new ideas for the molecular mechanisms of pituitary functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels have broad application prospects in drug delivery due to their biocompatibility, high water content and three-dimensional structure. However, the regulation of drug release from hydrogels is an important issue in medical applications. At the same time, water also has an important impact on drug release. In this study, a hydrogel with hydrogen bond and ion dipole interaction (PAHDP) was prepared by introducing catechol group into polymer to regulate drug release. Ten model drugs were selected to explore the relationship and mechanism of action among polymer, drug and water. The results showed that PAHDP had excellent adhesion and safety. Drug release test showed that 10 kinds of drugs had different drug release trends, and the release amount was negatively correlated with drug polarizability and LogP. In addition, in vitro transdermal test and pharmacokinetic results showed that the hydrogel based on PAHDP achieved increased or decreased blood drug concentration, and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of >1.5 times showed its potential to regulate drug release. The mechanism study showed that the hydrogen bond and ion dipole interaction between polymer and drug were affected by drug polarizability and LogP, and the distribution of water in different states was changed. Hydrogen bond and ion dipole interactions synergistically control drug release. Therefore, the mussel inspired PAHDP hydrogel has the potential to become a controllable drug delivery system. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Cross‐electrophile coupling of triazine esters with aryl bromides could be facilely accomplished by employing nickel as catalyst, magnesium as metal mediator, and lithium chloride as additive. The reactions proceeded efficiently in THF at room temperature through C—O bond activation to afford an array of structurally different diaryl ketones in moderate to good yields with wide functional group tolerance. Control experiments showed that nickel, magnesium, lithium chloride, and THF are all indispensable for the good performance of the coupling reaction. Preliminary mechanistic exploration indicated that in situ formed arylmagnesium reagent by the insertion of magnesium into aryl bromide might serve as the key intermediate of the cross‐coupling. The method which avoids the utilization of moisture‐labile and relatively difficult‐to‐obtain organometallics is step‐economical, cost‐efficient, and operationally simple, potentially serving as an attractive alternative to documented methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) has emerged as a promising strategy for the targeted delivery of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to the ischemic myocardium. However, the limited migration capacity and poor survival of MSCs remains a major therapeutic barrier. The present study was performed to investigate the synergistic effect of UTMD with platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) on the homing of MSCs for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: MSCs from male donor rats were treated with PDGF-BB, and a novel microbubble formulation was prepared using a thin-film hydration method. In vivo, MSCs with or without PDGF-BB pretreatment were transplanted by UTMD after inducing AMI in experimental rats. The therapeutic efficacy of PDGF-BB-primed MSCs on myocardial apoptosis, angiogenesis, cardiac function and scar repair was estimated. The effects and molecular mechanisms of PDGF-BB on MSC migration and survival were explored in vitro. Results: The results showed that the biological effects of UTMD increased the local levels of stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), which promoted the migration of transplanted MSCs to the ischemic region. Compared with UTMD alone, UTMD combined with PDGF-BB pretreatment significantly increased the cardiac homing of MSCs, which subsequently reduced myocardial apoptosis, promoted neovascularization and tissue repair, and increased cardiac function 30 days after MI. The vitro results demonstrated that PDGF-BB enhanced MSC migration and protected these cells from H2O2-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, PDGF-BB pretreatment promoted MSC migration and inhibited H2O2-induced MSC apoptosis via activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase (PI3K/Akt) pathway. Furthermore, crosstalk between PDGF-BB and stromal-derived factor-1/chemokine receptor 4 (SDF-1/CXCR4) is involved in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that UTMD combined with PDGF-BB treatment could enhance the homing ability of MSCs, thus alleviating AMI in rats. Therefore, UTMD combined with PDGF-BB pretreatment may offer exciting therapeutic opportunities for strengthening MSC therapy in ischemic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifteen 1,2,4-triazole derivatives were synthesised in this study and their MIC values against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) ranged from 2 to 32 μg/mL. Furthermore, their antimycobacterial activity was positively correlated with the KatG enzyme docking score. Among the 15 compounds, compound 4 showed the strongest bactericidal activity with an MIC of 2 μg/mL. The selectivity index of compound 4 is more than 10, indicating that the compound has low toxicity to animal cells and has the potential to become a drug. Molecular docking indicates that compound 4 can bind firmly to the Mtb KatG active site. The experimental results showed that compound 4 inhibited Mtb KatG and caused the accumulation of ROS in Mtb cells. We speculate that compound 4 causes the accumulation of ROS by inhibiting KatG, and ROS produces oxidative destruction, leading to the death of Mtb. This study provides a new idea for the development of novel anti-Mtb drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the long-term atmospheric transport and deposition of 210Pb in the Northern Hemisphere by using the atmospheric transport model HIRAT. The calculation for the four-year (2012–2015) period showed an average deposition flux of 13.0 Bq m−2 month−1 with significant seasonal variations characterized by higher deposition rates during summer and lower during winter. High deposition was found in the Northern Bay of Bengal and Bangladesh regions, Southern China, the Western Philippine Sea, the Eastern Japan Sea, the Northwestern Pacific region, the Eastern and Western coasts of North America, the Caribbean Sea, the Eastern Pacific region off of Central America, the Central Atlantic region between Central America and Africa, and the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Deposition patterns varied across latitudinal zones, with tropical areas experiencing the highest deposition and polar/subpolar zones the lowest. This study emphasized the impact of monsoons on the significantly large 210Pb deposition in the Japan Sea region. Furthermore, this study showed that the lower troposphere (0 to 3 km) dominates with about 53%, and the middle troposphere (3 to 6 km) and upper troposphere (above 6 km) also contribute significantly to the total 210Pb inventory with 37% and 10%, respectively. These findings provide essential insights into the characteristics of atmospheric transport and deposition of 210Pb, and their mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of osteoarthritis (OA) correlates with the expansion of senescent cells in cartilage, which contributes to an inflammatory microenvironment that accelerates matrix degradation and hampers cartilage generation. To address OA, we synthesized small copper sulfide nanoparticles functionalized with anti-beta-2-microglobulin antibodies (B2M-CuS NPs) that catalyze the formation of toxic •OH from H2O2 via peroxidase-like activity. These B2M-CuS NPs are specifically targeted to induce apoptosis in senescent chondrocytes while showing no toxicity toward normal chondrocytes. Furthermore, B2M-CuS NPs enhance the chondrogenesis of normal chondrocytes. Thus, B2M-CuS NPs can effectively treat OA by clearing senescent chondrocytes and promoting cartilage regeneration after intra-articular injection into the knee joints of surgery-induced OA mice. This study uses smart nanomaterials to treat OA with a synergistic strategy that both remodels senescent cartilage and creates a pro-chondrogenic microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) has wide application prospects in the electronics industry because of its rapid, reversible, and multi-stimulus response phase transition behavior. The development of flexible VO2 films and devices can further promote the development of flexible electronic materials and may play an important role in the next generation of wearable electronics. Here, we directly fabricated flexible VO2 films on mica via a pulsed-laser deposition system. By selection and optimization of the deposited condition, a high-quality flexible VO2 film with excellent metal to insulator (MI) transition properties of about a 3 order resistance variation in magnitude is successfully prepared. The growth competitions with different phases and different epitaxial orientations in the selection of deposited conditions verify the van der Waals (vdW) epitaxial growth mechanism of VO2 films on mica substrates. The invariable sheet resistance of VO2 films under different bending radii and bending cycles indicate their excellent mechanical flexibility and bending stability. Moreover, benefiting from the vdW epitaxy, a millimeter-scale, totally free-standing and transferable VO2 film is further obtained by a simple wet method and it is expected to be integrated into conventional silicon electronics and other systems. The high-quality, flexible, and peelable VO2 film prepared in our work lays a solid foundation for the application of VO2 films in wearable and integrated electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pituitary gonadotropins perform essential functions in mammalian reproduction by stimulating gametogenesis and steroidogenesis in the ovaries and testicles. EZH2 is a histone methyltransferase that inhibits proliferation and aggravates apoptosis in stem cells subjected to pathological stimuli. However, the expression and molecular mechanisms of EZH2 in pituitary cells in vitro have not been extensively studied. In this study, the relative abundances of EZH2 mRNA (p < 0.01) and protein (p < 0.05) expression were larger in the pituitary cells of Hu sheep with relatively greater fecundity (GF) compared to those with lesser fecundity (LF). Loss-of-function examinations demonstrated that EZH2 gene knockdown led to an earlier induction of apoptosis in sheep pituitary cells (PCs). The relative abundance of CASP3, CASP9, and BAX was increased (p < 0.01), while BCL2's abundance was less decreased (p < 0.01) in PCs where there was EZH2 gene knockdown. Additionally, cell proliferation (p < 0.01) and viability (p < 0.01) were decreased in EZH2-knockdown sheep PCs, and the cell cycle was blocked compared to a negative control (NC). Notably, EZH2 gene knockdown led to reduced abundances of gonadotropin subunit gene transcripts (FSHβ, p < 0.05) and reduced FSH release (p < 0.01) from PCs. EZH2 gene knockdown led to reduced phosphorylation of AKT, ERK, and mTOR (p < 0.01). The results suggest that EZH2 regulates pituitary cell proliferation, apoptosis, and FSH secretion through modulation of the AKT/ERK signaling pathway, providing a foundation for further study of pituitary cell functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of polyethylene (PE) pipe with significantly enhanced hoop strength and burst pressure is essential necessary for high transportation requirements. In this work, biaxially oriented PE/ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (PE/UHMWPE) blend pipes were fabricated on self-made pipe solid-phase die drawing apparatus. Due to formation of chain entanglement network and enhanced viscoelasticity, incorporation of UHMWPE chains improved stretchability and biaxial orientation degree of blend pipe. During die drawing, formation of more miscible blend system make long UHMWPE chains be sufficiently stretched under load, and such extended-chain conformation of UHMWPE acted as shish structure and induced short PE chains to array orderly and form kebab crystals. With increasing axial draw ratio, the lamellae remarkably deviated from hoop to axial direction, while the blend pipe exhibited higher crystallinity and orientation degree than that of PE pipe, presenting a more uniform and dense biaxial orientation structure with shish-kebab crystals. As a result, the blend pipe showed roughly 99% increase in tensile strength along hoop direction and 25% increase in burst pressure, respectively. Such biaxial self-reinforced PE/UHMWPE blend pipes exhibit promising application prospect as high-pressure transportation pipelines in civil engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to observe the effects of puerarin on glycolysis and cisplatin sensitivity in oral squamous cell carcinoma (oSCC) cells and to explore the underlying mechanisms. CAL27 cells over- or under-expressing FBXW7 were treated with cisplatin or puerarin, and the levels of proteins involved in glycolysis as well as the activity of the respective enzymes were assessed. Glucose uptake and lactate production were also evaluated, and the IC50 value of cisplatin in CAL27 cells was determined. FBXW7 overexpression significantly downregulated HK2, PKM2, and LDH; suppressed the activity of the corresponding enzymes hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase; as well as reduced glucose uptake and lactate production. FBXW7 overexpression was also associated with decreased mTOR phosphorylation and increased cisplatin sensitivity. These effects were partially antagonized by lactate or the mTOR agonist MHY1485. Puerarin suppressed glycolysis by reducing glucose uptake and lactate production, while it promoted cisplatin sensitivity and activated the FBXW7/mTOR signal pathway in a concentration-dependent manner. These effects were antagonized by FBXW7 downregulation or treatment with MHY1485. Our results suggest that FBXW7 improves cisplatin chemosensitivity and suppresses glycolysis in oSCC cells, indicating its promising potential as a target for puerarin to regulate the cisplatin sensitivity of oSCC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical diagram illustrating the function and mechanism of Nrf2 in Pb-induced kidney injury. [Display omitted] • Lead (Pb)-induced persistent Nrf2 activation contributes to kidney injury. • Persistent Nrf2 activation promotes apoptosis and autophagic blockage. • Nrf2 is persistently activated in a p62-dependent non-canonical manner. Lead (Pb) is an environmental toxicant that poses severe health risks to humans and animals, especially renal disorders. Pb-induced nephrotoxicity has been attributed to oxidative stress, in which apoptosis and autophagy are core events. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) acts as a major contributor to counteract oxidative damage, while hyperactivation or depletion of Nrf2 pathway can cause the redox imbalance to induce tissue injury. This study was performed to clarify the function and mechanism of Nrf2 in Pb-triggered kidney injury. First, data showed that Pb exposure activates Nrf2 pathway in primary rat proximal tubular cells. Next, Pb-induced Nrf2 activation was effectively regulated by pharmacological modulation or siRNA-mediated knockdown in vitro and in vivo assays. Notably, Pb-triggered cytotoxicity, renal injury and concomitant apoptosis were improved by Nrf2 downregulation, confirming that Pb-induced persistent Nrf2 activation contributes to nephrotoxicity. Additionally, Pb-triggered autophagy blockage was relieved by Nrf2 downregulation. Mechanistically, we found that Pb-induced persistent Nrf2 activation is attributed to reduced Nrf2 ubiquitination and nuclear-cytoplasmic loss of Keap1 in a p62-dependent manner. In conclusion, these findings highlight the dark side of persistent Nrf2 activation and potential crosstalk among Pb-induced persistent Nrf2 activation, apoptosis and autophagy blockage in Pb-triggered nephrotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Candidatus Methanoperedens-like archaea, which can use multiple electron acceptors (nitrate, iron, manganese, and sulfate) for anaerobic methane oxidation, could play an important role in reducing methane emissions from freshwater wetlands. Currently, very little is known about the distribution and community composition of Methanoperedens-like archaea in freshwater wetlands, particularly based on their alpha subunit of methyl-coenzyme M reductase (mcrA) genes. Here, the community composition, diversity, and abundance of Methanoperedens-like archaea were investigated in a freshwater wetland through high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR on their mcrA genes. A large number of Methanoperedens-like mcrA gene sequences (119,250) were recovered, and a total of 31 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were generated based on 95% sequence similarity cut-off. The majority of Methanoperedens-like sequences can be grouped into three distinct clusters that were closely associated with the known Methanoperedens species which can couple anaerobic methane oxidation to nitrate or iron reduction. The community composition of Methanoperedens-like archaea differed significantly among different sampling sites, and their mcrA gene abundance was 1.49 × 106 ~ 4.62 × 106 copies g−1 dry soil in the examined wetland. In addition, the community composition of Methanoperedens-like archaea was significantly affected by the soil water content, and the archaeal abundance was significantly positively correlated with the water content. Our results suggest that the mcrA gene is a good biomarker for detection and quantification of Methanoperedens-like archaea, and provide new insights into the distribution and environmental regulation of these archaea in freshwater wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of donor age on the immune reconstitution of patients with hematological malignancies who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is unclear. Method: We retrospectively compared the outcomes of 381 patients who underwent allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) from 308 donors under 50 years of age and 73 donors over 50 years of age. IVIG was regularly supplemented for patients in the first 3 months post‐HCT. Results: The counts of CD8+CD45RA+ naïve T cells were significantly lower in patients of the older donor group than in the younger donor group in the first year after PBSCT (190.6 cells/μl vs. 239.6 cells/μl, p =.018). Patients in the older donor group had significantly fewer CD19+ B cells on day +270 (123.4 cells/μl vs. 183.5 cells/μl, p =.021) and day +365 (169 cells/μl vs. 271.1 cells/μl, p =.01) after PBSCT. Serum IgA (.76 g/L vs..97 g/L, p <.001) and IgM levels (.75 g/L vs. 1.04 g/L, p <.001) were significantly lower in patients in the older donor group from day +60 to +365 after PBSCT. The EBV reactivation rate within the first 3 months after PBSCT was significantly higher in patients in the older donor group (48.6% vs. 38.3%, p =.034). However, the incidences of CMV reactivation, II‐IV acute graft‐versus‐host disease (aGvHD), chronic GvHD (cGvHD), 3‐year relapse rate, 3‐year transplant‐related mortality (TRM) and 3‐year overall survival (OS) were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: In conclusion, donors ≥50 years old were associated with inferior immune reconstitution and higher EBV reactivation in patients after PBSCT, but no change in OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and challenging joint disease that mainly affects the diarthrodial joints. Traditionally, except for surgery for severe cases, treatments for OA mainly focus on relieving pain and improving joint function. However, these treatments are not effective for cartilage repair and induce only symptomatic relief. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB, a member of the PDGF cytokine family, has been proved to have effects on protecting the chondrocytes via multiple mechanisms. In this study, we further focused on the effects of PDGF-BB on OA and found that PDGF-BB could attenuate OA development by inhibiting inflammation and enhancing cell proliferation via JAK2/STAT3, PI3K/AKT, and p38 signaling pathways and PKA-mediated regulation of SOX-9/RunX-2. This article demonstrates the feasibility of PDGF-BB application as a treatment for OA. This is the first article that reports that PDGF-BB attenuates OA development via PKA-mediated regulation of SOX-9 and RunX-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrated fan-out (InFO) wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP) is introduced for modern system-in-package designs with larger I/O counts, higher interconnection density, and small form factors. A redistribution layer (RDL) in an InFO package is an extra metal layer for interchip connections, and RDL routing is crucial for achieving desired interchip connections. In a high-density InFO package, multiple RDLs with flexible vias are often adopted. To integrate chips of different technology nodes into one package, irregular pad structures need to be considered; however, no published RDL routing work considers flexible vias or irregular pad structures. This article formulates a new RDL routing problem with unified-assigned pad pairs on a via-based multilayer multichip InFO package with irregular pad structures and presents the first algorithm for this problem. The algorithm consists of a preprocessing stage, three routing stages, and a layout optimization stage. The preprocessing stage analyzes routing resources and potential routing congestion. The first routing stage performs layer assignment based on a weighted maximum planar subset of chords algorithm to route interchip nets concurrently. The second routing stage constructs a 3-D routing graph based on partitioned octagonal tiles to handle the irregular layout structure and applies A*-search to route remaining interchip nets. The third routing stage transforms a routing graph into a network-flow model to perform concurrent routing for chip-to-board nets by applying the minimum-cost maximum-flow algorithm. Finally, we develop an efficient linear-programming-based layout optimization algorithm to find desired solutions. Experimental results show that our router can achieve 100% routablility for all benchmarks under limited RDLs, while the previous state-of-the-art work cannot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The I eIF4E i has become a major target for engineering viral resistance using the CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9) genome-editing technology. Keywords: wheat (Triticum aestivum); barley (Hordeum vulgare); eIF4E; host factor; genetic resistance; genome editing EN wheat (Triticum aestivum) barley (Hordeum vulgare) eIF4E host factor genetic resistance genome editing 893 895 3 04/19/23 20230501 NES 230501 Viruses, one of the most agriculturally important groups of plant pathogens, account for 47% of all emerging plant infectious diseases (Anderson I et al i ., [1]). CRISPR/Cas9-guided knockout of eIF4E improves Wheat yellow mosaic virus resistance without yield penalty This study reported CRISPR/Cas9-guided genome editing of wheat orthologous of the barley susceptibility factor gene I HveIF4E i . [Extracted from the article]

When using a classic lumboperitoneal shunt, laparotomy is inevitable for peritoneal catheter implantation, which is time consuming and difficult for unskilled neurosurgeons. A minimally invasive technique of percutaneous abdominal puncture for catheterization with the assistance of guidewire is introduced in this paper. Ten patients with communicating hydrocephalus received a lumboperitoneal shunt through percutaneous abdominal puncture for catheterization. The safety and effectiveness of percutaneous abdominal puncture for catheterization were followed up for more than 6 months. The surgery was successfully completed in 10 patients. The average operation time was nearly 30 minutes. No patients reported abdominal organ damage. None of the 10 patients had other complications such as peritonitis and obstruction of abdominal catheters caused by the percutaneous peritoneal puncture technique. One patient presented with intracranial aseptic inflammation postoperatively, which was controlled after repeated lumbar puncture. Another patient confirmed that the lumbar catheter was folded in 6 months postoperatively. The technique of percutaneous abdominal puncture for catheterization with the assistance of a guidewire is a simple, safe, and effective way to treat communicating hydrocephalus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) arrays are considered promising thermal interface materials (TIM) due to their superior vertical thermal conductivity. However, the weak interaction between adjacent carbon nanotubes (CNT) leads to the change in orientation of the CNT during polymer infiltration. Therefore, the thermal conductivity of a CNT array/polymer composite does not reach the expected value. Simultaneously, the air gap between adjacent CNT hinders the in-plane heat transfer, and both of the above aspects significantly reduce the thermal conductivities of VACNT-based TIM. In this study, we proposed a novel three-dimensional CNT (3DCNT) network structure comprising VACNT crosslinked by randomly-oriented secondary CNT to provide several in-plane phonon paths and maintain the structural stability of the CNT arrays during polymer infiltration. The network structures formed by the secondary CNT were compared for two different growth times: 10 and 20 min. The 3DCNT network that grew for 20 min exhibited a denser network structure compared to the network that grew for 10 min. The vertical thermal conductivity and horizontal thermal conductivity of the 3DCNT20/Polydimethylsiloxane (3DCNT20/P) composite was 544.77% and 56.06% higher than those of the IVACNT/P composites, respectively. A novel three-dimensional CNT (3DCNT) network structure comprising VACNT crosslinked by randomly-oriented secondary CNT to provide several in-plane phonon paths and maintain the structural stability of the CNT arrays. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oracle bone inscriptions (OBIs) are ancient Chinese scripts originated in the Shang Dynasty of China, and now less than half of the existing OBIs are well deciphered. To date, interpreting OBIs mainly relies on professional historians using the rules of OBIs evolution, and the remaining part of the oracle's deciphering work is stuck in a bottleneck period. Here, we systematically analyze the evolution process of oracle characters by using the Siamese network in Few-shot learning (FSL). We first establish a dataset containing Chinese characters which have finished a relatively complete evolution, including images in five periods: oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, seal inscriptions, official script, and regular script. Then, we compare the performance of three typical algorithms, VGG16, ResNet, and AlexNet respectively, as the backbone feature extraction network of the Siamese network. The results show that the highest F1 value of 83.3% and the highest recognition accuracy of 82.67% are obtained by the combination of VGG16 and Siamese network. Based on the analysis, the typical structural performance of each period is evaluated and we identified that the optimized Siamese network is feasible to study the evolution of the OBIs. Our findings provide a new approach for oracle's deciphering further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development and application of information and communication technology in distribution networks (DNs) brings new and abundant measurement data, and this has inspired many solutions for the monitoring, protection and control application of DNs. Against this background, a novel fault location method based on structure‐preserving state estimation (SPSE) is proposed to enhance the fault location performance of DNs. A SPSE model that reflects the change in the network topology during fault incidents is constructed by combining classical measurement equations with newly introduced topology equations. Then, a unified faulted structure‐preserving topology model that eliminates the influence of uncertain fault location point is presented. According to the calculated measurement residual indices and the equivalent fault current for each state estimation (SE) section, the location of the fault is determined. Considering different fault scenarios in a distribution network, the performance of the proposed method is tested by using MATLAB software. Moreover, the factors of sensor accuracy, the bad data and data missing issues are considered. The test results demonstrate that the method can precisely determine the real location of fault and has good robustness to possible data anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Traumatic spondylolisthesis of the axis (TSA) with bilateral pars interarticularis fracture (a pattern also known as Hangman's fractures) accounts for 4–5% of all cervical fractures. Various classification systems have been described to assist therapeutic decision-making. The goal is to reassess the utility of these classifications for treatment strategy and evaluate additional imaging associations. Methods: This is an IRB approved, retrospective analysis of patients with imaging diagnosis of TSA from 2016 to 2019. Consensus reads were performed classifying TSA into various Levine and Edwards subtypes and typical vs. atypical fractures. Other imaging findings such as additional cervical fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and vertebral artery injury were recorded. Treatment strategy and outcome were reviewed from clinical charts. Fisher exact test was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 58 patients were included, with a mean age of 62.7 ± 25 years, and male to female ratio of 1:1.2. Motor vehicle collision was the most common cause of TSA. Type I and III injuries were the most and the least common injuries, respectively. Patients with type I injuries were found to have good healing rates with conservative management (p < 0.001) while type IIa and III injuries were managed with surgical stabilization (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively). No statistical difference was observed in the treatment strategy for type II fractures (p = 0.12) and its prediction of the associated injuries. Atypical fractures were not found to have a higher incidence of SCI (p = 0.31). A further analysis revealed significantly higher-grade vertebral artery injuries (grades III and IV according to Biffl grading) in patients with type IIa and III injuries (p = 0.001) and an 11-fold increased risk of TBI compared to type I and type II fractures (p = 0.013). Conclusion: TSA fracture types were not associated with any clinical outcome. Levine and Edwards type II classification itself is not enough to guide the treatment plan and does not account for associated injuries. Additional imaging markers may be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Candidate proposal model provides detailed mitotic candidates, reducing missed detections. • Joint training of classification and clustering capture representative RBF centers. • RBF subcategorization scheme guides feature learning, making members in each subcategory closer in feature space. • RBF subcategorization scheme handles the intra-class diversity and inter-class similarity. Due to the intra-class diversity of mitotic cells and the morphological overlap with similarly looking imposters, automatic mitosis detection in histopathology slides is still a challenging task. In this paper, we propose a novel mitosis detection model in a weakly supervised way, which consists of a candidate proposal network and a verification network. The candidate proposal network based on patch learning aims to separate both mitotic cells and their mimics from the background as candidate objects, which substantially reduces missed detections in the screening process of candidates. These obtained candidate results are then fed into the verification network for mitosis refinement. The verification network adopts an RBF-based subcategorization scheme to deal with the problems of high intra-class variability of mitosis and the mimics with similar appearance. We utilize the RBF centers to define subcategories containing mitotic cells with similar properties and capture representative RBF center locations through joint training of classification and clustering. Due to the lower intra-class variation within a subcategory, the localized feature space at subcategory level can better characterize a certain type of mitotic figures and can provide a better similarity measurement for distinguishing mitotic cells from nonmitotic cells. Our experiments manifest that this subcategorization scheme helps improve the performance of mitosis detection and achieves state-of-the-art results on the publicly available mitosis datasets using only weak labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anterior pituitary plays a critical role in the endocrine system, contains gonadotrophs, which regulate reproductive efficiency by secreting follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). PPP2R2A is a serine-threonine phosphatase that regulates reproductive functions in both females and males, its function in pituitary cells remain unclear. Hu sheep is a highly prolific breed, which makes it suitable for studying reproductive mechanisms. In this study, the relative abundances of PPP2R2A mRNA expression were higher in the pituitary of high-prolificacy (HF) Hu sheep compared to those of low-prolificacy (LF) Hu sheep. Additionally, we demonstrated that PPP2R2A promotes pituitary cell proliferation and gonadotropin secretion using the EdU assay and ELISA, respectively. Moreover, it inhibits pituitary cell apoptosis using flow cytometry. Furthermore, PPP2R2A may affect pituitary cell function by regulating the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In summary, our findings suggest that PPP2R2A may play a role in regulating pituitary function and influencing the secretion of gonadotropins. • The expression of PPP2R2A is higher in the pituitary of high-prolificacy Hu sheep compared to low-prolificacy. • PPP2R2A promotes the proliferation and secretion of gonadotropins, while inhibiting pituitary cell apoptosis. • PPP2R2A may affect the function of pituitary cell by regulating AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar has demonstrated the potential in mitigating pollutant gaseous emission during composting. However, little is known about the difference among biochars derived from different plant feedstocks on the critical genes' expression and microbial communities' succession for gaseous emissions. In this study, the effects of biochar (from wood chips, cornstalks, and rice husks) on gaseous emissions during chicken manure composting were investigated. Environmental factors, bacterial communities, and functional genes related to CH 4 , N 2 O, NH 3 , and H 2 S emissions were analyzed to reveal the reduction pathways of different biochar amendments during composting. Results showed that all biochar treatments improved the seed germination index of the compost from unmature (55.74%) to mature (70.28–75.23%). The CH 4 , N 2 O, NH 3 , and H 2 S emissions from all biochar-treated composts were reduced by 18.93–27.47%, 35.74–52.82%, 1.26–36.38%, and 8.57–24.14%, respectively, and the cornstalk biochar had the highest emission reduction performance. Temperature, pH, and NH 4 + were the major environmental factors that affected Lactobacillus and Bacillus activities, which critically influenced the CH 4 , N 2 O, NH 3 , and H 2 S emissions during composting. Furthermore, cornstalk biochar mainly improved pmoA for CH 4 reduction, whereas wood chip biochar increased amoA for NH 3 oxidation. Rice husk biochar mostly decreased nirS and nirK and increased norB , narG , and nosZ during N 2 O reduction. Cornstalk biochar also increased dsrB and decreased aprA during H 2 S reduction. Overall, cornstalk biochar was determined to be an optimal additive for simultaneously improving compost maturity and reducing gaseous pollutant emissions during chicken manure composting. This study verified the mechanisms of three plant derived biochars in pollutant gas control in composting, and thus provided evidence for facilitating the sustainable development of composting technologies. [Display omitted] • Cornstalk biochar emitted the lowest CH 4 , N 2 O, NH 3 , and H 2 S in composting. • Temperature, pH, and NH 4 + regulated Lactobacillus and Bacillus to reduce emissions. • Cornstalk biochar increased pmoA and decreased mcrA abundances for lower CH 4 emissions. • Rice husk biochar reduced nirS and nirK and increased norB , narG , and nosZ to lower N 2 O. • Cornstalk biochar increased dsrB and decreased aprA abundances for lower H 2 S emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases because of their rich molecular contents involved in intercellular communication, regulation, and other functions. With increasing efforts to move the field of EVs to clinical applications, the lack of a practical EV isolation method from circulating biofluids with high throughput and good reproducibility has become one of the biggest barriers. Here, we introduce a magnetic bead-based EV enrichment approach (EVrich) for automated and high-throughput processing of urine samples. Parallel enrichments can be performed in 96-well plates for downstream cargo analysis, including EV characterization, miRNA, proteomics, and phosphoproteomics analysis. We applied the instrument to a cohort of clinical urine samples to achieve reproducible identification of an average of 17,000 unique EV peptides and an average of 2800 EV proteins in each 1 mL urine sample. Quantitative phosphoproteomics revealed 186 unique phosphopeptides corresponding to 48 proteins that were significantly elevated in prostate cancer patients. Among them, multiple phosphoproteins were previously reported to associate with prostate cancer. Together, EVrich represents a universal, scalable, and simple platform for EV isolation, enabling downstream EV cargo analyses for a broad range of research and clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal ice cover is one of the important attributes of lakes in middle- and high-latitude regions. The annual freeze-up and breakup dates as well as the duration of ice cover (i.e., lake ice phenology) are sensitive to the weather and climate; hence, they can be used as an indicator of climate variability and change. In addition to optical, active microwave, and raw passive microwave data that can provide daily observations, the Calibrated Enhanced-Resolution Brightness Temperature (CETB) dataset available from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) provides an alternate source of passive microwave brightness temperature (TB) measurements for the determination of lake ice phenology on a 3.125 km grid. This study used Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I), and Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) data from the CETB dataset to extract the ice phenology for 56 lakes across the Northern Hemisphere from 1979 to 2019. According to the differences in TB between lake ice and open water, a threshold algorithm based on the moving t test method was applied to determine the lake ice status for grids located at least 6.25 km away from the lake shore, and the ice phenology dates for each lake were then extracted. When ice phenology could be extracted from more than one satellite over overlapping periods, results from the satellite offering the largest number of observations were prioritized. The lake ice phenology results showed strong agreement with an existing product derived from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) data (2002 to 2015), with mean absolute errors of ice dates ranging from 2 to 4 d. Compared with near-shore in situ observations, the lake ice results, while different in terms of spatial coverage, still showed overall consistency. The produced lake ice record also displayed significant consistency when compared to a historical record of annual maximum ice cover of the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. From 1979 to 2019, the average complete freezing duration and ice cover duration for lakes forming a complete ice cover on an annual basis were 153 and 161 d, respectively. The lake ice phenology dataset – a new climate data record (CDR) – will provide valuable information to the user community about the changing ice cover of lakes over the last 4 decades. The dataset is available at 10.1594/PANGAEA.937904 (Cai et al., 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supervised dictionary learning methods have made considerable achievements in the field of pattern recognition. In order to make the learned coefficients have intraclass similarity and interclass incoherence, many dictionary learning methods have been proposed using different structured constraints. However, these constraints often have the disadvantages of complexity, time-consuming, and poor interpretability. More importantly, the existing dictionary learning often ignores the inherent structure of the label matrix. In this paper, we propose a dictionary pair learning based on the structured classifier and perform classifier learning and structured coefficients learning simultaneously. Our main idea is to use the extended label matrix and the invertible constraints on the classification transformation matrix to utilize the structure of the label matrix to impose structured constraints on coefficients. Moreover, the l 21 -norm is added to force the analysis dictionary to focus on more important features. Experimental results on multiple databases prove that our proposed method has better classification performance than several state-of-the-art dictionary learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a rare case of multiple giant coronary artery aneurysms combined with anomalous aortic origin of left coronary artery in a 30‐years old man precisely diagnosed by multimodality imaging, including echocardiography, coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), and selective coronary angiography. The imaging results were finally confirmed by surgery. We present the clinical value of multimodality imaging in diagnosing coronary artery aneurysm and anomalous origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The standard 5 years of endocrine therapy has demonstrated additional benefits compared with short‐term (2‐3 years) treatment in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)‐positive breast cancer; however, data specific to ER‐low positive breast cancer (1%‐10% by immunohistochemistry) are limited, and it is unclear whether long‐term treatment is still necessary for this subgroup. Methods: The authors used the prospectively maintained Breast Surgery Database of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center for this propensity‐matched analysis. The primary end point was disease‐free survival. Multivariate Cox regression analysis and propensity score‐matching methods were used to minimize bias. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. All statistics were 2‐sided. Results: From 2012 to 2017, 22,768 consecutive women had pathologically confirmed, early stage breast cancer, and 1013 (4.45%) were identified with ER‐low positive disease. Among these, 634 patients met the inclusion criteria and were divided into 3 groups: those who received no endocrine therapy (n = 89), those who received 2 to 3 years of endocrine therapy (n = 185), and those who received approximately 5 years of endocrine therapy (n = 360). At a median follow‐up of 65 months, there was no significant difference in disease‐free survival between patients who received 2 to 3 years and 5 years of endocrine therapy (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.51‐1.33; P =.43). The findings were consistent after multivariate Cox analysis of the propensity score‐matched samples (5 vs 2‐3 years of treatment: HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.41‐1.31; P =.30). Conclusions: Short‐term endocrine therapy for 2 to 3 years might be an alternative for patients who have ER‐low positive breast cancer instead of the standard 5 years of treatment. Short‐term endocrine therapy for 2 to 3 years might be an alternative for patients who have estrogen receptor‐low positive breast cancer instead of the standard 5 years. More extensive studies and translational research on identifying endocrine‐sensitive cases within this population are still needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the complexity of information tasks, the bipartite and tripartite entanglement can no longer meet our needs, and we need more entangled particles to process relativistic quantum information. In this paper, we study the genuine N-partite entanglement and distributed relationships for Dirac fields in the background of dilaton black holes. We present the general analytical expression including all physically accessible and inaccessible entanglement in curved spacetime. We find that the accessible N-partite entanglement exhibits irreversible decoherence as the increase of black hole's dilaton, and on the other hand the inaccessible N-partite entanglement increases from zero monotonically or non-monotonically, depending on the relative numbers of the accessible to the inaccessible modes, which forms a sharp contrast with the cases of bipartite and tripartite entanglement where the inaccessible entanglement increase only monotonically. We also find two distributed relationships between accessible and inaccessible N-partite entanglement in curved spacetime. The results give us a new understanding of the Hawking radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: barley; genome editing; host factor; recessive resistance; soil-borne viruses; virus resistance; wheat EN barley genome editing host factor recessive resistance soil-borne viruses virus resistance wheat 340 344 5 03/22/22 20220415 NES 220415 Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Federal I Ex situ i Gene Bank (IPK Gatersleben) for providing the seeds of wild relatives, Dr Xingguo Ye and Dr Ke Wang (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences) for assistance on wheat transformation, Zhentian He and Shiqiang Chen (Agricultural Sciences Institute in Jiangsu Lixiahe Area) for help on field trials of wheat relatives, and Simon G. Krattinger (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) for critical comments. Simultaneous editing of host factor gene TaPDIL5-1 homoeoalleles confers wheat yellow mosaic virus resistance in hexaploid wheat Furthermore, this study demonstrates a strategy to recover recessive resistance genes against viruses in an allopolyploid species by identifying the susceptibility genes in its diploid progenitors (e.g. I T. urartu i , I A. speltoides i , and I A. tauschii i ) or relatives (e.g. I Triticum monococcum i and I H. vulgare i ), followed by manipulation of their homoeologues in transformable varieties via genome editing. More than 90% of genes in the wheat genome generally have two or three homoeologues with an average of 97.2% identity in their coding sequences (International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium, 2018), showing high levels of functional redundancy (i.e. wheat powdery mildew resistance gene I MLO i ) (Wang I et al i ., 2014). [Extracted from the article]

The existing view-based 3D object classification and recognition methods ignore the inherent hierarchical correlation and distinguishability of views, making it difficult to further improve the classification accuracy. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes an end-to-end multi-view dual attention network framework for high-precision recognition of 3D objects. On one hand, we obtain three feature layers of query, key, and value through the convolution layer. The spatial attention matrix is generated by the key-value pairs of query and key, and each feature in the value of the original feature space branch is assigned different importance, which clearly captures the prominent detail features in the view, generates the view space shape descriptor, and focuses on the detail part of the view with the feature of category discrimination. On the other hand, a channel attention vector is obtained by compressing the channel information in different views, and the attention weight of each view feature is scaled to find the correlation between the target views and focus on the view with important features in all views. Integrating the two feature descriptors together to generate global shape descriptors of the 3D model, which has a stronger response to the distinguishing features of the object model and can be used for high-precision 3D object recognition. The proposed method achieves an overall accuracy of 96.6% and an average accuracy of 95.5% on the open-source ModelNet40 dataset, compiled by Princeton University when using Resnet50 as the basic CNN model. Compared with the existing deep learning methods, the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance in the 3D object classification accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal ice cover is one of the important attributes of lakes at middle and high latitude regions. The annual freeze-up and break-up dates and the durations of ice cover (i.e., lake ice phenology) are sensitive to the weather and climate, and hence can be used as an indicator of climate variability and change. The Calibrated Enhanced Resolution Brightness Temperature (CETB) dataset available from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) provides an alternate source of passive microwave brightness temperature (TB) measurements for the determination of lake ice phenology on a 3.125 km grid. This study used Scanning Multi-channel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), Special Sensor Microwave Image (SSM/I) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) data from the CETB dataset to extract the ice phenology for 56 lakes across the Northern Hemisphere from 1979 to 2019. According to the differences in TB between lake ice and open water, a threshold algorithm based on the moving t test method was applied to determine the lake ice status for grids located at least 6.25 km away from the lake shore, and the ice phenology dates for each lake were then extracted. When ice phenology could be extracted from more than one satellite over overlapping periods, results from the satellite offering the largest number of observations were prioritized. The lake ice phenology results showed strong agreement with an existing product derived from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR-2) data (2002 to 2015), with mean absolute errors of ice dates ranging from 2 to 4 days. Compared to near-shore in-situ observations, the lake ice results, while different in terms of spatial coverage, still showed overall consistencies. The produced lake ice record also displayed significant consistencies when compared to a historical record of annual maximum ice cover of the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. From 1979 to 2019, the average complete freezing duration and ice cover duration for lakes forming a complete ice cover on an annual basis were 153 and 161 days, respectively. The lake ice phenology dataset - a new climate data record (CDR) - will provide valuable information to the user community about the changing ice cover of lakes in the last four decades. The dataset is available at https://www.pangaea.de/tok/c8fc0eab3d30777fc38979ad514217b6b7e86a65 (Cai et al., 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To evaluate the correlation between macular integrity assessment (MAIA) and standard automated perimetry (SAP) in detecting macular function damage in glaucoma and to explore the relationship between macular structure and functional damage by using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Seventy patients with glaucoma, with hemifield defects verified by Humphrey 24-2 examination, and 60 normal subjects underwent Humphrey 10-2 and MAIA expert 10-2 examinations. Patients with glaucoma with normal hemifields, as detected by SAP, were divided into a normal hemifield group and a visual field (VF) defect group. The difference in the retina and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thicknesses was analyzed between the abnormal and normal hemifields. Results: Among the 70 glaucoma eyes, the results of MAIA and SAP were consistent for 66 (66/70, 94.3%). The others showed SAP hemifield defects, while MAIA was normal (4/70, 5.7%). There was a good correlation of the mean sensitivity between MAIA and SAP (P < 0.001). There also was a good correlation between the mean threshold of MAIA and the mean deviation (MD) of SAP (P = 0.008, r = 0.507). Among the patients with glaucoma with a normal hemifield, MAIA showed abnormal results in 50 eyes (50/66, 75.8%), which was consistent with the changes in the inner retina and GCC thicknesses. Meanwhile, MAIA showed normal results; there were no significant differences between patients with glaucoma and the normal group in the thicknesses of the inner retina and GCC. Conclusion: MAIA and SAP have good consistency in detecting macular dysfunction. MAIA can also identify abnormal VFs in the macular regions that may not be detected by SAP, which is consistent with the changes in the GCC thicknesses, suggesting that there may be central VF damage in patients with glaucoma that has not been previously identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "glymphatic" emerged roughly a decade ago, marking a pivotal point in neuroscience research. The glymphatic system, a glial-dependent perivascular network distributed throughout the brain, has since become a focal point of investigation. There is increasing evidence suggesting that impairment of the glymphatic system appears to be a common feature of neurodegenerative disorders, and this impairment exacerbates as disease progression. Nevertheless, the common factors contributing to glymphatic system dysfunction across most neurodegenerative disorders remain unclear. Inflammation, however, is suspected to play a pivotal role. Dysfunction of the glymphatic system can lead to a significant accumulation of protein and waste products, which can trigger inflammation. The interaction between the glymphatic system and inflammation appears to be cyclical and potentially synergistic. Yet, current research is limited, and there is a lack of comprehensive models explaining this association. In this perspective review, we propose a novel model suggesting that inflammation, impaired glymphatic function, and neurodegenerative disorders interconnected in a vicious cycle. By presenting experimental evidence from the existing literature, we aim to demonstrate that: (1) inflammation aggravates glymphatic system dysfunction, (2) the impaired glymphatic system exacerbated neurodegenerative disorders progression, (3) neurodegenerative disorders progression promotes inflammation. Finally, the implication of proposed model is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-phase ejection fraction (EF1) is a novel measure of early changes in left ventricular systolic function. This study was to investigate the prognostic value of EF1 in heart transplant recipients. Heart transplant recipients were prospectively recruited at the Union Hospital, Wuhan, China between January 2015 and December 2019. All patients underwent clinical examination, biochemistry measures [brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and creatinine] and transthoracic echocardiography. The primary endpoint was a combined event of all-cause mortality and graft rejection. In 277 patients (aged 48.6 ± 12.5 years) followed for a median of 38.7 [26.8–45.0] months, there were 35 (12.6%) patients had adverse events including 20 deaths and 15 rejections. EF1 was negatively associated with BNP (β = −0.220, p < 0.001) and was significantly lower in patients with events compared to those without. EF1 had the largest area under the curve in ROC analysis compared to other measures. An optimal cut-off value of 25.8% for EF1 had a sensitivity of 96.3% and a specificity of 97.1% for prediction of events. EF1 was the most powerful predictor of events with hazard ratio per 1% change in EF1: 0.628 (95%CI: 0.555–0.710, p < 0.001) after adjustment for left ventricular ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain. Early left ventricular systolic function as measured by EF1 is a powerful predictor of adverse outcomes after heart transplant. EF1 may be useful in risk stratification and management of heart transplant recipients. • EF1 is a novel measure of early LV systolic function, our study found a strong association between EF1 and adverse outcomes in patients post HT. • EF1 is a powerful predictor of adverse outcomes post HT, which is superior to LVGLS and other measures of systolic function. • EF1 is a novel but simple marker of early left ventricular systolic function, which can be easily measured in clinical routine examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of recycled oceanic crust to the mantle source of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) remains a subject of debate, as radiogenic isotopes alone yield ambiguous insights. Here, we present comprehensive data on whole-rock major element, trace element, and Mo–Nd–Hf isotopic compositions for MORB samples from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 349 sites U1431E and U1433B in the eastern (ESB) and southwestern (SWB) subbasins, respectively, of the South China Sea (SCS). The δ98/95Mo values of the SCS MORBs exhibit a significant range (from −0.80‰ to +0.05‰), in contrast to the restricted composition observed in MORBs (δ98/95Mo = −0.19‰ ± 0.01‰). The ESB MORBs display extremely light Mo isotopic compositions (δ98/95Mo = −0.80‰ to −0.24‰) with Nd Hf isotopic compositions similar to those of Pacific MORB, whereas the SWB MORBs show higher δ98/95Mo values (−0.44‰ to +0.05‰) and depleted Nd Hf isotopic compositions. The δ98/95Mo values of the SCS MORBs are negatively correlated with Ce/Mo ratios and positively correlated with ε Hf values, suggesting the incorporation of dehydrated slab components into the source of the SCS MORBs. The subbasin-scale mantle heterogeneity in the SCS can be best explained by varying degrees of interaction between a mantle plume and stagnant slabs in the mantle transition zone, as suggested by mantle tomography. The rigid stagnant slab in the mantle transition zone beneath the SWB largely impeded the upwelling of the mantle plume, whereas the slab beneath the ESB was disrupted by the plume and subsequently transported into the upper mantle. This study, therefore, provides compelling evidence for the involvement of recycled oceanic slabs in generating MORB and the influence of an ascending mantle plume on seafloor spreading in a continental marginal sea. Mantle recycling processes in marginal sea basins exhibit distinct characteristics compared to those occurring in open oceans. • The SCS MORBs mainly show much lower δ98/95Mo values than global MORB. • Extremely light Mo isotopes in the SCS MORBs result from abundant ROC in the source. • The Mo isotopic compositions of the SCS MORBs exhibit subbasin-scale variations. • Plume-stagnant slab interaction leads to large-scale mantle heterogeneity in the SCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is essential for many bioprocesses in many species, but its role in goat testis development remains elusive, especially alkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5), one of the m6A demethylases. To this end, nine healthy Haimen goats of different ages were chosen randomly to provide testes. The results showed that the expression level of ALKBH5 was increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the 9-month group compared with the 0-day and 3-month groups, and ALKBH5 was located in goat spermatocytes with the highest expression level compared with Leydig cells and Sertoli cells. Thus, pcDNA3.1-ALKBH5 was constructed to explore the influences of the ALKBH5 increase in goat spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) in vitro. The results showed that the expression level of ALKBH5 in SSC transfected with pcDNA3.1-ALKBH5 (OE_ALKBH5) was significantly increased (P < 0.001) compared with that in SSC transfected with pcDNA3.1-EGFP (EGFP). With ALKBH5 overexpression in SSC, flow cytometry analysis showed that cells at G1 phase were significantly reduced (P < 0.01), while cells at S phase significantly increased (P < 0.01), and cell apoptosis was inhibited. Accordingly, the mRNA degradation of CCND1, CCNE1, and BCL2 was suppressed with ALKBH5 overexpression in SSC after treatment with actinomycin D. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of pluripotency maintenance- and cell differentiation-associated genes were changed between the two groups. Overall, the results indicated the crucial role of ALKBH5 during Haimen goat testis development. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis and technical means for RNA methylation participating in goat testis development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]