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Abstract. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global epidemic whose prevention and control among children warrant significant attention. Despite the availability of effective vaccines, the disease continues to affect millions of children worldwide, underscoring the need for a comprehensive understanding of its epidemiology and natural history in this vulnerable population. While research on HBV in adults has advanced considerably, the natural history of HBV infection in children remains less well-defined and may differ from adult studies due to unique immunological and physiological characteristics. This article reviews the epidemiological characteristics of HBV infection in children worldwide and summarizes the research progress on the natural outcomes of children with chronic HBV infection. Furthermore, the necessity of this review stems from the critical role that early detection, monitoring, and timely intervention play in mitigating the long-term consequences of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in children. By synthesizing current evidence and identifying knowledge gaps, we hope to inform clinical practice, guide future research directions, and ultimately improve the health outcomes of children living with HBV. In doing so, this review article offers a valuable reference for healthcare providers, researchers, and policymakers working to combat the global challenge of HBV infection among children. The aim is to provide a relevant reference for the monitoring, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of children with CHB.

Abstract It is known that physical activity is beneficial for the prevention of osteoarthritis (OA), but specific discussions on which types and levels of physical activity are more effective in reducing the incidence of OA are restricted. This study is aimed at exploring the correlation concerning the types of physical activity, levels of physical activity, and the incidence of OA by assessing the participation in five typical forms of physical activity (vigorous work activity, vigorous recreational activity, moderate work activity, moderate recreational activity, and walking or bicycling). Cross-sectional study was conducted. Self-reported data on specific types of physical activity were obtained from individuals in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2020 with the use of the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ). The incidence of OA was assessed through the "Health Conditions" questionnaire section of NHANES. Weighted logistic regression analysis was employed to study the correlation between physical activity types and levels, and the incidence of OA. Different kinds of physical activity and physical activity levels have varying impacts on the incidence of OA. Among the types of physical activity, vigorous recreational activity and moderate recreational activity are found to have a preventive effect on OA. In terms of physical activity levels, low physical activity levels of moderate work activity are associated with an increased risk of OA, while moderate physical activity levels are confirmed to have a protective effect against OA in the age groups of 20–44 and 45–64. However, gender-stratified analyses reveal that both low and moderate physical activity levels provide protection against OA in males, with moderate physical activity levels showing a more significant protective effect.

Real-time non-line-of-sight imaging is crucial for practical applications. Among existing methods, transient methods present the best visual reconstruction ability. However, most transient methods require a long acquisition time, thus failing to deal with real-time imaging tasks. Here, we provide a dual optical coupling model to describe the spatiotemporal propagation of photons in free space, then propose an efficient non-confocal transformation algorithm and establish a non-confocal time-to-space boundary migration model. Based on these, a scan-free boundary migration method is proposed. The data acquisition speed of the method can reach 151 fps, which is ∼7 times faster than the current fastest data acquisition method, while the overall imaging speed can also reach 19 fps. The background stability brought by fast scan-free acquisition makes the method suitable for dynamic scenes. In addition, the high robustness of the model to noise makes the method have the capability of non-line-of-sight imaging in outdoor environments during the daytime. To further enhance the practicality of this method in real-world scenarios, we exploit the statistical prior and propose a plug-in-and-play super-resolution method to extract higher spatial resolution signals, reducing the detector array requirement from 32 × 32 to 8 × 8 without compromising imaging quality, thus reducing the device expense of detectors.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether the ABC/2 can be used as an infarct volume measurement tool for Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Scores (ASPECTS)

Abstract Background The objective of this research was to elucidate the association between the length of infertility and the outcomes of intrauterine insemination (IUI) in women of varying ages - a topic that has been the subject of investigation for numerous years, yet lacks a definitive consensus. Methods A retrospective cohort investigation involving 5268 IUI cycles was undertaken at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from 2016 to 2022. Utilizing the smooth fitting curve along with threshold and saturation effect analysis, the correlation between infertility duration and IUI clinical pregnancy rates was discerned. Moreover, patients were bifurcated into two cohorts based on their respective infertility durations. A secondary examination was also performed employing propensity-score matching to mitigate the impact of confounding variables. Subsequent threshold and saturation effect analysis was carried out across various subgroups, segmented on the basis of age differentiation. Results When the duration of infertility was more than 5 years, the clinical pregnancy rate decreased with the increase of infertility duration (aOR: 0.894, 95%CI: 0.817–0.991, p = 0.043). The multivariate regression analysis suggested that longer duration of infertility (≥ 5 years) was significantly correlated with the lower clinical pregnancy rate (aOR: 0.782, 95% CI: 0.643–0.950, p = 0.01). After the propensity-score matching, the clinical pregnancy rate of women with longer infertility duration were also higher. When the duration of infertility was more than 5 years, the clinical pregnancy rate of women younger than 35 years old decreased with the increase of infertility duration (aOR: 0.906, 95%CI: 0.800–0.998, p = 0.043). Conclusions The clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate of IUI in young women (

Pleurotus tuoliensis is a precious edible mushroom with a long cultivation cycle. Despite being cultivated in China for nearly 30 years, research on the molecular mechanisms underlying its primordium formation remains limited. In this study, the molecular mechanisms by which incubation time affects the primordium formation of P. tuoliensis were investigated using RNA-seq technology and lipid content detection. Our research revealed that the transcription of genes involved in lipid metabolism and lipid levels changed significantly during different incubation periods. Distinct differences were observed in gene transcription associated with signaling pathways, sphingolipid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis in mycelia cultured for varying days and then stimulated by low temperature and light. These findings indicate that lipid accumulation and alterations in mycelial cell membrane components during incubation may affect the mycelial response to environmental signals, subsequently regulating primordium formation. This study revealed the crucial role of lipid metabolism during incubation in the primordium formation of P. tuoliensis, providing a novel perspective for investigating the molecular mechanism underlying fruiting body development.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in children presents a significant global health challenge, with liver inflammation and fibrosis being critical concerns for disease progression and long-term outcomes. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 1629 pediatric CHB patients from the Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, spanning from January 2000 to December 2021. Liver biopsies were performed to assess the severity of liver inflammation and fibrosis, which were graded using the Scheuer scoring system. Key clinical indicators, including age, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), were evaluated for their predictive value in determining disease severity using restricted cubic spline regression models. Results: Significant nonlinear associations were found between the clinical indicators and liver pathology. Older age was strongly associated with increased risks of moderate to severe inflammation (OR 2.21, 95% CI: 1.34–3.63, p = 0.002) and significant fibrosis (OR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.31–3.77, p = 0.003). Elevated ALT levels (≥80 U/L) were correlated with a higher likelihood of moderate to severe inflammation (OR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.05–3.15, p = 0.033), while higher GGT levels (≥50 U/L) were significantly associated with advanced fibrosis (OR 2.62, 95% CI: 1.72–3.99, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Regular monitoring of clinical indicators such as ALT, AST, and GGT levels plays a critical role in identifying pediatric CHB patients at higher risk of moderate to severe inflammation and significant fibrosis. Our findings highlight the value of integrating age and key biochemical markers into non-invasive diagnostic algorithms for the early detection and management of liver pathology in children.

Tetracycline has received a great deal of interest for the harmful effects of substance abuse on ecosystems and humanity. The effects of different processes on the degradation of tetracycline were compared, with dual-frequency ultrasound (DFUS) in combination with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) being the most effective for the tetracycline degradation. Free radical scavenging experiments showed that O2∙-, SO4∙- and •OH were the main reactive radicals in the degradation of tetracycline. According to the major intermediates of tetracycline degradation identified, three possible degradation pathways were proposed, which are of significance for translational studies of tetracycline degradation. Notably, these intermediates were found to be significantly less toxicity. The number of active bubbles in the degradation vessel was calculated using a semi-empirical formula, and a higher value of 1.44 × 108 L-1s−1 of bubbles was obtained when using dual-frequency ultrasound at 20 kHz (210 W/L) and 80 kHz (85.4 W/L). Therefore, compared to 20 kHz, although the yield of strong oxidizing substances from individual active bubbles decreased slightly, a significant increment of the number of active bubbles still resulted in a higher synergistic effect, and the combination of DFUS and PMS should be effective in promoting the generation of reactive free radicals and mass transfer processes within the degradation vessel, which provides a method for efficient removal of tetracycline from wastewater.

This paper proposes a cross-scale simulation approach for evaluating the steady-state electrothermal performance of power MOSFETs at the device–package–heatsink–board (DPHB) level. A co-simulation framework is designed by employing the iterative process of power loss and chip temperature to bridge the device and package–heatsink–board (PHB) level simulators. As a result, the cross-scale electrothermal coupling effect within multilevel settings is considered. Correspondingly, variation values in chip temperature and temperature-dependent drain current can be obtained at various voltage biases, level settings, and DPHB structural parameters, incorporating cross-level physical insights. The simulation results are compared with existing methods, and their features and limitations are discussed. Additionally, this paper also derives an empirical equation from the co-simulations to characterize the relationship between the drain current and the chip temperature under different operations exactly. A commercial MOSFET with TO-220F packaging is implemented in experiments to extract the chip temperature and drain current in electrothermal equilibrium. The method comparisons and fair agreement among simulations, equations, and measurements presents the proposed approach as generalized and powerful for describing variations in chip temperature and drain current considering from micrometer devices to millimeter packages–heatsinks–PCB boards, thus providing effective support for DPHB-level co-design.

The integration of RNA metabolic labelling by nucleoside analogues with high-throughput RNA sequencing has been harnessed to study RNA dynamics. The immunoprecipitation purification or chemical pulldown technique is generally required to enrich the analogue-labelled RNAs. Here we developed an a6A-seq method, which takes advantage of N6-allyladenosine (a6A) metabolic labelling on cellular mRNAs and profiles them in an immunoprecipitation-free and mutation-based manner. a6A plays a role as a chemical sequencing tag in that the iodination of a6A in mRNAs results in 1,N6-cyclized adenosine (cyc-A), which induces base misincorporation during RNA reverse transcription, thus making a6A-labelled mRNAs detectable by sequencing. A nucleic acid melting assay was utilized to investigate why cyc-A prefers to be paired with guanine. a6A-seq was utilized to study cellular gene expression changes under a methionine-free stress condition. Compared with regular RNA-seq, a6A-seq could more sensitively detect the change of mRNA production over a time scale. The experiment of a6A-containing mRNA immunoprecipitation followed by qPCR successfully validated the high-throughput a6A-seq data. Together, our results show a6A-seq is an effective tool to study RNA dynamics.

Catheters navigating through complex vessels, such as sharp turns or multiple U-turns, remain challenging for vascular embolization. Here, we propose a novel multistage vascular embolization strategy for hard-to-reach vessels that releases untethered swimming shape-memory magnetic microrobots (SMMs) from the prior catheter to the vessel bifurcation. SMMs, made of organo-gel with magnetic particles, ensure biocompatibility, radiopacity, thrombosis, and fast thermal and magnetic responses. An SMM is initially a linear shape with a 0.5-mm diameter at 20 °C inserted in a catheter. It transforms into a predetermined helix within 2 s at 38 °C blood temperature after being pushed out of the catheter into the blood. SMMs enable agile swimming in confined and tortuous vessels and can swim upstream using helical propulsion with rotating magnetic fields. Moreover, we validated this multistage vascular embolization in living rabbits, completing 100-cm travel and renal artery embolization in 2 min. After 4 weeks, the SMMs maintained the embolic position, and the kidney volume decreased by 36%.

BackgroundThe global burden of cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases due to hepatitis B (collectively referred to as hepatitis B-associated cirrhosis in this paper) in children and adolescents must be understood and investigated.MethodsData were extracted from the GBD database, and calculations were performed at global, regional, and national level. We calculate the incidence, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and annual average percentage changes (AAPCs).FindingsGlobally, the prevalent cases of children and adolescents with hepatitis B-associated cirrhosis decreased from 125,053.98 × 10^3 in 1990 to 46,400.33 × 10^3 in 2019. Compared with 1990, the incidence rate of cirrhosis increased in low (95.51%) and low-middle SDI areas (26.47%), whereas it decreased in other SDI areas. The AAPC of incidence has increased in low-middle SDI areas (AAPC 0.12 [95% CI: 0.04–0.20]). At the regional level, the East Asia region has experienced the largest reduction. Conversely, Western Sub-Saharan Africa was the most serious region. Notably, South Asia was the only region where the AAPC of cirrhosis incidence (AAPC 0.77 [95% CI, 0.68–0.86]) increased.ConclusionGlobally, the overall burden of hepatitis B-associated cirrhosis in children and adolescents has declined significantly, but the number of cirrhosis incidence cases in low-middle and low-SDI areas has increased. The incidence in South Asia is rising, and the burden on Africa remains serious. Prevention and treatment of hepatitis B-associated cirrhosis in children and adolescents should not be ignored.

Magnetically manipulated interventional robotic systems offer outstanding advantages for improving vascular interventions, including minimizing radiation exposure to physicians and increasing the controllability of magnetic interventional devices in hard‐to‐reach vessels. However, automatic control of magnetic guidewires (MGs) is still challenging in terms of modeling of guidewires and trajectory planning. Herein, a magnetically controlled guidewire robotic system (MCGRS) with steering and propulsion capabilities is proposed based on adequate modeling and trajectory planning methods. The steering kinematics of MG is first modeled by constant curvature theory. Then, a continuum mechanics model is built to predict the deformation of the magnetic tip by combining the dipole model and the Cosserat‐rod model. Moreover, a trajectory planning algorithm is developed to navigate the MG through vessels. Furthermore, trajectory following experiments within three vascular phantoms confirm that the proposed model and algorithm are reliable and capable of navigating the MG through the desired trajectory. Finally, two extra navigation experiments are implemented in 3D vascular phantom, which show that the MCGRS can be remotely controlled to manipulate the MG to actively steer and reach the target site. The system and methods will build the foundation for automatic control of MG and help to improve the autonomy.

Abstract Background Although repeated cryopreservation is an occasional occurrence, the effect on perinatal outcomes is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the perinatal outcomes of singletons after embryo re-cryopreservation. Methods In this retrospective study, a total of 647 singleton live births after blastocyst freeze-thaw embryo transfer cycles were investigated. They were divided into two groups: vitrified-warmed blastocysts (once-vitrified group) and vitrified-warmed blastocysts derived from thawed cleaved embryos (re-vitrified group). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to control for potential confounding factors. Results A total of 592 infants were included in the once-vitrified group, and 55 infants were included in the re-vitrified group. After PSM, 108 cases were generated for comparison. The median gestational age was 38 weeks for both groups, and the birthweights were comparable (3390.6 ± 601.5 g vs. 3412.8 ± 672.6 g, P > 0.05). The incidence of preterm birth (PTB) (20.4% vs. 16.7%), low birthweight (LBW) (3.7% vs. 7.4%), macrosomia (11.1% vs. 16.7%) and large for gestational age (LGA) (29.6% vs. 22.2%) were not significantly different between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis indicated that double vitrification-warming procedures did not affect the occurrence of PTB (OR, 2.58 [95% CI, 0.77, 8.63]), LBW (OR, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.08, 8.29]), macrosomia (OR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.13, 2.69]), or LGA (OR, 1.51 [95% CI, 0.53, 4.27]) (P > 0.05, for all). Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that double vitrification-warming procedures do not increase the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes compared with those of once-vitrified embryos.

Objectives: Influenza vaccination is an effective method for preventing influenza virus infection. Herein, we performed a meta-analysis to quantify global influenza vaccination rates (IVRs) and the factors influencing its uptake in the general population, individuals with chronic diseases, pregnant women, and healthcare workers. Methods: Related articles were obtained from online databases and screened according to the inclusion criteria. The pooled IVRs were calculated using the random effects model. Subgroup analyses and multivariate meta-regression were performed to determine the factors associated with influenza vaccine uptake. Results: We included 522 studies from 68 countries/regions. Most studies were conducted in the European region (247 studies), followed by the Western Pacific (135 studies) and American regions (100 studies). The IVRs with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in the general population were lower (24.96%, 23.45%-26.50%) than in individuals with chronic diseases (41.65%, 40.08%-43.23%), healthcare workers (36.57%, 33.74%-39.44%), and pregnant women (25.92%, 23.18%-28.75%). The IVRs in high-income countries/regions were significantly higher than that in middle-income countries/regions. A free national or regional vaccination policy, perception of influenza vaccine efficacy and disease severity, a recommendation from healthcare workers, and having a history of influenza vaccination were positive factors for vaccine uptake (P

We studied the layer structure of bubbles just below water/air and water/EPE (Expand aple poly ephylene) interfaces using high-speed photography. The layer structure was generated by floating spherical clusters, the source bubbles of which were identified to come from the attachment of bubble nuclei at the interface, the floating of bubbles in the bulk liquid, or bubbles generated on the surface of the ultrasonic transducer. The boundary shape affected the layer structure, which assumed a similar profile below the water/EPE interface. We developed a simplified model composed of a bubble column and bubble chain to describe interface impacts and the interaction of bubbles in a typical branching structure. We found that the resonant frequency of the bubbles is smaller than that of an isolated single bubble. Moreover, the primary acoustic field plays an important role in the generation of the structure. A higher acoustic frequency and pressure were found to shorten the distance between the structure and the interface. A hat-like layer structure of bubbles was more likely to exist in the low-frequency (28 and 40 kHz) intense inertial cavitation field, in which bubbles oscillate violently. By contrast, structures composed of discrete spherical clusters were more likely to form in the relatively weak cavitation field at 80 kHz, in which stable and inertial cavitation coexisted. The theoretical predictions were in good agreement with the experimental observations.

Abstract Background Timely and moderate luteinizing hormone (LH) supplementation plays positive roles in in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) cycles with long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) pituitary downregulation. However, the appropriate timing of LH supplementation remains unclear. Methods We carried out a retrospective cohort study of 2226 cycles at our reproductive medicine centre from 2018 to 2020. We mainly conducted smooth curve fitting to analyse the relationship between the dominant follicle diameter when recombinant LH (rLH) was added and the clinical pregnancy outcomes (clinical pregnancy rate or early miscarriage rate). In addition, total cycles were divided into groups according to different LH levels after GnRHa and dominant follicle diameters for further analysis. Results Smooth curve fitting showed that with the increase in the dominant follicle diameter when rLH was added, the clinical pregnancy rate gradually increased, and the early miscarriage rate gradually decreased. Conclusions In long-acting GnRHa downregulated IVF/ICSI-ET cycles, the appropriate timing of rLH supplementation has a beneficial impact on the clinical pregnancy outcome. Delaying rLH addition is conducive to the clinical pregnancy rate and reduces the risk of early miscarriage.

Research questionHormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one of the most used endometrial preparation protocols for frozen embryo transfer (FET) due to the convenience of its administration and stability of pregnancy outcomes. There are several HRT cycles accompanied by the development of dominant follicles. However, the relationship between dominant follicle development and clinical outcomes in HRT-FET cycles remains unclear.DesignWe carried out a retrospective cohort study of 13251 cycles at our reproductive medicine center from 2012 to 2019. Total cycles were divided into two groups according to whether there was dominant follicular development. In addition, we conducted a secondary analysis that used propensity-score matching to reduce confounding variables. A univariate and multivariable logistic regression model was further employed to analyze the effect of dominant follicle development in HRT cycles on clinical pregnancy outcomes.ResultsThere was no significant correlation between dominant follicle development in HRT-FET cycles and the clinical pregnancy rate (adjusted OR = 1.162, 95% CI: 0.737-1.832, P = 0.52). In addition, there was a positive correlation between the basic follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level and the development of dominant follicles, while there was a negative correlation between antral follicle count (AFC), menstrual cycle length and the development of dominant follicles in HRT cycles.ConclusionsThe development of dominant follicles in HRT-FET cycles does not affect the clinical pregnancy rate, early miscarriage rate and live birth rate. Therefore, it is not necessary to immediately cancel the FET cycle immediately when dominant follicle development is monitored in the HRT-FET cycle.

The mechanism underlying the development of fruit bodies in edible mushroom is a widely studied topic. In this study, the role of milRNAs in the development of fruit bodies of Pleurotus cornucopiae was studied by comparative analyses of the mRNAs and milRNAs at different stages of development. The genes that play a crucial role in the expression and function of milRNAs were identified and subsequently expressed and silenced at different stages of development. The total number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed milRNAs (DEMs) at different stages of development was determined to be 7,934 and 20, respectively. Comparison of the DEGs and DEMs across the different development stages revealed that DEMs and its target DEGs involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, endocytosis, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, RNA transport, and other metabolism pathways, which may play important roles in the development of the fruit bodies of P. cornucopiae. The function of milR20, which targeted pheromone A receptor g8971 and was involved in the MAPK signaling pathway, was further verified by overexpression and silencing in P. cornucopiae. The results demonstrated that the overexpression of milR20 reduced the growth rate of mycelia and prolonged the development of the fruit bodies, while milR20 silencing had an opposite effect. These findings indicated that milR20 plays a negative role in the development of P. cornucopiae. This study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the development of fruit bodies in P. cornucopiae.

Abstract Effectively killing pathogenic bacteria is key for the treatment of sepsis. Although various anti-infective drugs have been used for the treatment of sepsis, the therapeutic effect is largely limited by the lack of a specific bacterium-targeting delivery system. This study aimed to develop antibacterial peptides that specifically target pathogenic bacteria for the treatment of sepsis. The lethal bacterial strain Escherichia coli MSI001 was isolated from mice of a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model and was used as a target to screen bacterial binding heptapeptides through an integrative bioinformatics approach based on phage display technology and high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Heptapeptides binding to E. coli MSI001 with high affinity were acquired after normalization by the heptapeptide frequency of the library. A representative heptapeptide VTKLGSL (VTK) was selected for fusion with the antibacterial peptide LL-37 to construct the specific-targeting antibacterial peptide VTK-LL37. We found that, in comparison with LL37, VTK-LL37 showed prominent bacteriostatic activity and an inhibitive effect on biofilm formation in vitro. In vivo experiments demonstrated that VTK-LL37 significantly inhibited bacterial growth, reduced HMGB1 expression, alleviated lesions of vital organs and improved the survival of mice subjected to CLP modeling. Furthermore, membrane DEGP and DEGQ were identified as VTK-binding proteins by proteomic methods. This study provides a novel strategy for targeted pathogen killing, which is helpful for the treatment of sepsis in the era of precise medicine.

Introduction: Sepsis is an infection-induced severe inflammatory disorder leading to multiple organ dysfunction. It remains a highly lethal condition for which early diagnosis and therapy achieve unsatisfactory results. Circulating exosomes containing biomarkers and mediators of sepsis have recently received attention, but the progress has been far from optimal. Objectives: The present study focuses on the profiles of molecular dynamics in serum exosomes and explores the potential molecular mechanisms on serum exosomes during the process of sepsis. Methods: We used high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and RNA-seq to detect the dynamic profiles of exosome proteins and RNAs (including mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs) in serum exosomes from 3 healthy individuals and 9 septic patients at the different stages. Then integrative multiomics analyses were performed and the results were validated by qRT-PCR, LiquiChip assay and metabolomics analysis on mice subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) modeling. Results: A total of 354 proteins, 195 mRNAs, 82 lncRNAs and 55 miRNAs were identified as differentially expressed molecules in serum exosomes from septic patients. Integrative multiomics analysis showed that exosome components were associated with cytokine storm, complement and clotting cascades, the endothelial barrier, 20S proteasome-dependent protein degradation and vitamin metabolism. Importantly, pretreatment with serum exosomes derived from mice subjected to CLP significantly restrained proinflammatory cytokine expression and alleviated tissue injury in septic mice. Further metabolomics analysis demonstrated that pretreatment with septic serum exosomes significantly affected the metabolites associated with vitamin digestion and absorption in CLP mice. Conclusion: Our study for the first time describes the landscape of the molecular dynamics of serum exosomes during the development of sepsis and proposes some hypothetical molecular mechanisms by integrative multiomics analysis, which may provide helpful diagnostic and therapeutic insights for the ongoing battle against sepsis.

Abstract Background Poor decidualization and abnormal autophagy conditions in the endometria of adenomyosis patients have been reported previously. However, the specific regulatory mechanism of decidualization in adenomyosis and its relationship with autophagy levels have not been clarified. Methods Endometrial tissues from adenomyosis patients and uteri from an adenomyosis mouse model were collected for the detection of different expression patterns of KLF4 and autophagy markers (LC3-B/LC3-A and Beclin-1) compared with control groups. Human endometrial stromal cells (hESCs) isolated from adenomyosis and control endometrial tissues were employed to elucidate the biological functions of KLF4 in autophagy and decidualization. Gene expression regulation was examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting and luciferase reporter assays. In addition, DNA promoter-protein interactions were examined by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)/PCR assay and avidin–biotin conjugate DNA precipitation (ABCD) assay. Results KLF4 expression was decreased in endometrial tissues from adenomyosis patients compared with those from fertile controls, especially in stromal compartments. The opposite results were observed for autophagy marker (LC3-B/LC3-A and Beclin-1) expression. At the same time, KLF4 reversed the poor decidualization of hESCs from adenomyosis patients. In addition, KLF4 could induce hESC decidualization by promoting the autophagy level. Mechanistically, KLF4 bound to a conserved site in the autophagy-related 5 (ATG5) promoter region and promoted ATG5 expression. Similar expression patterns of KLF4 and autophagy markers were detected in adenomyotic mice. Conclusions KLF4 overexpression increases the autophagy level of hESCs by transcriptionally promoting ATG5 expression, and abnormally decreased KLF4 in adenomyosis impairs hESC decidualization by repressing autophagy.

Pleurotus cornucopiae cap color is an important commercial trait. The roles of non-coding RNA molecules (ncRNAs) in fungal fruiting body color formation are unclear. Whole-transcriptome analyses were performed, identifying messenger RNA (mRNA) and ncRNA (including long stranded non-coding RNA (lncRNA), micro RNA-like (milRNA), and circular RNA (circRNA)) molecules in three P. cornucopiae strains with different cap colors (grayish-black, grayish-white, and white), to investigate their roles in cap color formation. Differentially expressed mRNAs (n = 3604), lncRNAs (n = 520), milRNAs (n = 56), and circRNAs (n = 20) were identified among the three different color strains. Differentially expressed mRNAs and ncRNAs target genes were mainly involved in tyrosine, arachidonic acid, and histidine metabolism, plus other pathways potentially important in color formation. A competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and three mRNA and ncRNA co-expression networks were constructed, revealing relationships contributing to cap color formation, involving genes with roles in protein phosphorylation, and phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis. qRT-PCR analysis confirmed that mRNA and ncRNA levels were related to P. cornucopiae color. These regulatory networks may be crucial in P. cornucopiae color formation. Our data provide a new perspective to support further study of the mechanisms underlying P. cornucopiae color formation.

The rotational mass loss has been realized to be a prevalent mechanism to produce low-speed debris near the asteroid, and the size composition of the asteroid’s surface regolith has been closely measured by in situ explorations. However, the full-scale evolution of the shedding debris has not been examined using the observed particle sizes, which may hold vital clues to the initial growth of an asteroid moonlet and help us to understand the general mechanisms that dominate the formation of asteroid systems. This paper presents our study on the cumulative evolution of the debris cloud formed by a rotationally unstable asteroid. A semianalytical model is developed to characterize the spatiotemporal evolution of the debris cloud posterior to a shedding event. Large-scale discrete element method (DEM) simulations are performed to quantify the clustering behavior of the debris particles in the mechanical environment near the asteroid. As a result, we found that the cumulation of a steady debris cloud is dominated by large pieces of debris, and the shedding particles follow a common migration trend, which fundamentally determines the mass distribution of the debris cloud. For the accretion analysis, we sketched the life cycle of a debris cluster and showed its dependency on particle size. The DEM simulations adopt physical parameters estimated from observations and asteroid missions. The results confirm that porous fluffy cluster structures can form shortly after a shedding event with magnitudes the same as the observed shedding activities. Measurements of these structures show that they themselves possess a certain strength and have the capacity to collisions to absorb dissociative particles that collide with them.

Cap color is one of the most crucial commercial traits for oyster mushrooms, and dark-colored varieties are highly favored by consumers, yet they are relatively scarce on the market. There is an urgent need for the selection and breeding of dark oyster mushrooms. Previous studies identified PcTYR, a key gene that controls the cap color of Pleurotus cornucopiae, and four SNPs were identified based on a genome-level sequence comparison of the black and white gene pools for extreme traits in the segregating populations. In this study, we verified whether these SNPs were color-specific sites via specific primer design, PCR amplification, and enzyme digestion of the entire isolated population strains and developed CAPS/dCAPS markers for the early visual identification of cap color to assist material screening in cap color breeding. One CAPS marker, TYR-CAPS-3-2, was developed for identifying the cap color of oyster mushrooms. After digestion with the restriction endonuclease Mse I, the marker generated polymorphic bands that accurately and visually distinguished dark-colored (non-white) and white strains from the cap color-segregating population. Consequently, the application of this marker during the early growth stage of oyster mushrooms can facilitate molecular-marker-assisted selection, expediting the breeding process for dark-colored varieties.

Abstract Background This study aimed to explore the relationship between serum oestrogen (E2) levels before endometrial transformation and pregnancy outcomes of hormone replacement therapy-frozen embryo transfer (HRT-FET) cycles, which has been investigated for years without any consensus. Methods A retrospective cohort study of 10,209 cycles HRT-FET cycles was conducted at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from March 2017 to December 2020. A smooth fitting curve was constructed to identify the relationship between serum E2 levels before endometrial transformation and the clinical pregnancy rate. Then, threshold and saturation effect analysis was employed to explore the cut-off value of serum E2 levels. In addition, patients were divided into 2 groups based on their levels of serum E2 measured before progesterone-induced endometrial transformation: Group 1, < 300 pg/mL (n = 6251) and Group 2, ≥ 300 pg/mL (n = 3958). The clinical pregnancy and miscarriage rates of all groups were compared. Further smooth fitting curve analysis was employed by different subgroups segmented according to different endometrial thicknesses. Results When the serum E2 level was greater than 300 pg/mL, the clinical pregnancy rate decreased significantly (62.9% vs. 59.8%, p

Abstract Background Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) usually affects young women of childbearing age. After treatment for GTD, 86% of women wish to achieve pregnancy. On account of the impacts of GTD and treatments as well as patient anxiety, large numbers of couples turn to assisted reproductive technology (ART), especially in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI). But few studies have investigated whether a history of GTD affects the outcomes of IVF/ICSI in secondary infertile patients and how it occurs. We investigate whether a history of GTD affects the IVF/ICSI outcomes and the live birth rates in women with secondary infertility. Methods This retrospective cohort study enrolled 176 women with secondary infertility who underwent IVF/ICSI treatment at the reproductive medical center of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020. Participants were divided into the GTD group (44 women with GTD history) and control group (132 women without GTD history matched from 8318 secondary infertile women). The control group and the study group were matched at a ratio of 3:1 according to patient age, infertility duration, number of cycles and body mass index (BMI). We assessed retrieved oocytes and high-grade embryos, biochemical pregnancy, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, gestational age at delivery, delivery mode and live birth rates. Result(s) We found a significantly reduced live-birth rate (34.1% vs 66.7%) associated with IVF/ICSI cycles in patients with a GTD history compared to those without a GTD history. The biochemical pregnancy and miscarriage rates of the GTD group were slightly higher than those of the control group. In addition, there was a difference in gestational age at delivery between the GTD and control groups (p < 0.001) but no differences in the mode of delivery (p = 0.267). Furthermore, the number of abandoned embryos in the GTD group was greater than that in the control group (p = 0.018), and the number of good-quality embryos was less than that in the control group (p = 0.019). The endometrial thickness was thinner (p < 0.001) in the GTD group. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) showed abnormal endometrial receptivity in the GTD group. Conclusion(s) The GTD history of patients undergoing IVF/ICSI cycles had an impact on the live-birth rate and gestational age at delivery, which might result from the thinner endometrium and abnormal endometrial receptivity before embryo transfer.

Research questionTo investigate the effects of two protocols (hormone replacement therapy (HRT) alone or in combination with tamoxifen) on the endometrium and pregnancy outcome of patients with thin endometrium in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles.DesignA total of 465 infertile patients with thin endometrium who underwent FET between January 2020 to June 2021 at the Drum Tower Hospital affiliated with Nanjing University Medical School were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 187 patients were given tamoxifen in addition to HRT (TMXF-HRT group), whereas 278 patients were given only HRT (HRT group). Clinical data were compared between the two groups, including general characteristics, endometrial thickness, and clinical pregnancy outcomes.ResultsThere were no significant differences in baseline characteristics of all enrolled patients between two groups. Serum progesterone (P) was higher in HRT group than in the TMXF-HRT group (0.28 ± 0.53 ng/mL vs. 0.15 ± 0.25 ng/mL, P = 0.002). There was a significant increase in endometrial thickness in the TMXF-HRT group compared with the HRT group (OR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.32-1.75, P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the clinical pregnancy rate, embryo implantation rate, early miscarriage rate, or live birth rate between these two groups.ConclusionAlthough tamoxifen when used in combination with hormone replacement therapy can significantly increase endometrial thickness, it may not have a role in improving the pregnancy outcomes of patients with thin endometrium undergoing FET cycles.

Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (HIRI) is a serious complication that occurs following shock and/or liver surgery. Gut microbiota and their metabolites are key upstream modulators of development of liver injury. Herein, we investigated the potential contribution of gut microbes to HIRI. Ischemia/reperfusion surgery was performed to establish a murine model of HIRI. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics were used for microbial analysis. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis were employed to study the host cell responses. Our results establish HIRI was significantly increased when surgery occurred in the evening (ZT12, 20:00) when compared with the morning (ZT0, 08:00); however, antibiotic pretreatment reduced this diurnal variation. The abundance of a microbial metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid was significantly higher in ZT0 when compared with ZT12 in the gut and this compound significantly protected mice against HIRI. Furthermore, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid suppressed the macrophage pro-inflammatory response in vivo and in vitro. This metabolite inhibits histone deacetylase activity by reducing its phosphorylation. Histone deacetylase inhibition suppressed macrophage pro-inflammatory activation and diminished the diurnal variation of HIRI. Our findings revealed a novel protective microbial metabolite against HIRI in mice. The potential underlying mechanism was at least in part, via 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid-dependent immune regulation and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition in macrophages.

Abstract Background Adenomyosis is a chronic gynecological disease characterized by invasion of the uterine endometrium into the muscle layer. In assisted reproductive technology (ART), gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) is often used to improve pregnancy rates in patients with adenomyosis, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Methods Eutopic endometrial specimens were collected from patients with adenomyosis before and after GnRHa treatment in the midsecretory phase. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of these specimens was performed for transcriptome analysis. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of interest were confirmed by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results A total of 132 DEGs were identified in the endometrium of patients with adenomyosis after GnRHa treatment compared with the control group. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that immune system-associated signal transduction changed significantly after GnRHa treatment. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 21 (CCL21) was found to be highly expressed in the eutopic endometrium after GnRHa treatment, which may be involved in the improvement of endometrial receptivity in adenomyosis. Conclusion This study suggests that molecular regulation related to immune system-associated signal transduction is an important mechanism of GnRHa treatment in adenomyosis. Immunoreactive CCL21 is thought to regulate inflammatory events and participate in endometrial receptivity in adenomyosis.

The breakdown performance of the AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is limited by the high electric field peaks in the device. To obtain a more uniform electric field distribution, the drift region width modulation (DWM) technique is proposed to reshape the charge distribution between the gate and drain electrodes. By applying the Gaussian box method, an effective designing guidance for the structure optimization of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT with adaptive-width drift region pillars (AWD-HEMT) is obtained. The fabricated AWD-HEMT demonstrated a significant improvement in breakdown performance. The Baliga’s figure of merit (BFOM) of AWD-HEMT improved 65.3% compared with the conventional HEMT, without introducing complicated processes. In addition, the mechanism of the AWD-HEMT is explored by numerical methods. The simulations indicate that a more uniform electric field distribution at AlGaN/GaN interfaces could be obtained, and the increased varying rate of the adaptive-width drift region (AWD) pillars results in a more obvious electric field modulation effect.

Research questionThe relationship between serum progesterone (P) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels on the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) trigger day and the clinical pregnancy outcomes in modified natural frozen-thawed embryo transfer (mNC-FET) cycles are controversial.DesignThis was a retrospective study of 788 mNC-FET cycles. A smooth fitting curve and threshold effect analysis was performed to identify the effect of serum P and LH levels measured on the hCG day on the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR) of mNC-FET cycles.ResultsThe CPR and LBR decreased significantly when the LH level on the hCG day was greater than or equal to 32 IU/L. Further subgroup analysis showed that the CPR decreased significantly when the P level on the hCG day was equal to or greater than 1 ng/mL. When the P level was lower (< 1 ng/mL), the patients with an LH level greater than or equal to 32 IU/L had reduced CPR and LBR in mNC-FET cycles.ConclusionApplying the hCG trigger on a day with a higher P level (≥ 1 ng/mL) leads to a decreased CPR and LBR. hCG administration with a higher LH level (≥ 32 IU/L) also leads to a decreased CPR and LBR in mNC-FET cycles when the P level is less than 1 ng/mL.

BackgroundWith the increasing incidence and prevalence of alcoholic liver disease, alcohol-related hepatocellular carcinoma has become a serious public health problem worthy of attention in China. However, there is currently no prognostic prediction model for alcohol-related hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodsThe retrospective analysis research of alcohol related hepatocellular carcinoma patients was conducted from January 2010 to December 2014. Independent prognostic factors of alcohol related hepatocellular carcinoma were identified by Lasso regression and multivariate COX proportional model analysis, and the nomogram model was constructed. The reliability and accuracy of the model were assessed using the concordance index(C-Index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve. Evaluate the clinical benefit and application value of the model through clinical decision curve analysis (DCA). The prognosis was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival curve.ResultsIn sum, 383 patients were included in our study. Patients were stochastically assigned to training cohort (n=271) and validation cohort (n=112) according to 7:3 ratio. The predictors included in the nomogram were splenectomy, platelet count (PLT), creatinine (CRE), Prealbumin (PA), mean erythrocyte hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and TNM. Our nomogram demonstrated excellent discriminatory power (C-index) and good calibration at 1-year, 3-year and 5- year overall survival (OS). Compared to TNM and Child-Pugh model, the nomogram had better discriminative ability and higher accuracy. DCA showed high clinical benefit and application value of the model.ConclusionThe nomogram model we established can precisely forcasting the prognosis of alcohol related hepatocellular carcinoma patients, which would be helpful for the early warning of alcohol related hepatocellular carcinoma and predict prognosis in patients with alcoholic hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract Background Although visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was largely brought under control in most regions of China during the previous century, VL cases have rebounded in western and central China in recent decades. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological features and spatial–temporal distribution of VL in mainland China from 2004 to 2019. Methods Incidence and mortality data for VL during the period 2004–2019 were collected from the Public Health Sciences Data Center of China and annual national epidemic reports of VL, whose data source was the National Diseases Reporting Information System. Joinpoint regression analysis was performed to explore the trends of VL. Spatial autocorrelation and spatial–temporal clustering analysis were conducted to identify the distribution and risk areas of VL transmission. Results A total of 4877 VL cases were reported in mainland China during 2004–2019, with mean annual incidence of 0.0228/100,000. VL incidence showed a decreasing trend in general during our study period (annual percentage change [APC] = −4.2564, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −8.0856 to −0.2677). Among mainly endemic provinces, VL was initially heavily epidemic in Gansu, Sichuan, and especially Xinjiang, but subsequently decreased considerably. In contrast, Shaanxi and Shanxi witnessed significantly increasing trends, especially in 2017–2019. The first-level spatial–temporal aggregation area covered two endemic provinces in northwestern China, including Gansu and Xinjiang, with the gathering time from 2004 to 2011 (relative risk [RR] = 13.91, log-likelihood ratio [LLR] = 3308.87, P

Abstract Background In China, during the cultivation process of Pleurotus ostreatus, the yield and quality of fruiting bodies are easily affected by high temperatures in summer. Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important regulatory role in the response to abiotic stress, and previous studies have found that NO can induce alternative oxidase (aox) experssion in response to heat stress (HS) by regulating aconitase. However, the regulatory pathway of NO is complex, and the function and regulation of the aox gene in the response to HS remain unclear. Results In this study, we found that NO affected nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, reduced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2 −) contents, and slowed O2 − production. Further RNA-Seq results showed that NO regulated the oxidation-reduction process and oxidoreductase activity, affected the cellular respiration pathway and activated aox gene expression. The function of aox was determined by constructing overexpression (OE) and RNA interference (RNAi) strains. The results showed that the OE-aox strains exhibited obviously improved growth recovery after exposure to HS. During exposure to HS, the OE-aox strains exhibited reduced levels of NADH, the product of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and decreased synthesis of ATP, which reduced the production and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), whereas the RNAi-aox strains exhibited the opposite result. In addition, aox mediated the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes in the mycelia of P. ostreatus under HS through the retrograde signaling pathway. Conclusions This study shows that the expression of the aox gene in P. ostreatus mycelia can be induced by NO under HS, that it regulates the TCA cycle and cell respiration to reduce the production of ROS, and that it can mediate the retrograde signaling pathway involved in the mycelial response to HS. Graphical abstract

Objectives: The role of asymptomatic infections in the transmission of COVID-19 have drawn considerable attention. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to summarize the epidemiological and radiographical characteristics of asymptomatic infections associated with COVID-19. Methods: Data on the epidemiological and radiographical characteristics of asymptomatic infections were extracted from the existing literature. Pooled proportions with 95% confidence intervals were then calculated using a random effects model. Results: A total of 104 studies involving 20,152 cases were included. The proportion of asymptomatic individuals among those with COVID-19 was 13.34% (10.86%–16.29%), among which presymptomatic and covert infections accounted for 7.64% (4.02%–14.04%) and 8.44% (5.12%–13.62%), respectively. The proportions of asymptomatic infections among infected children and healthcare workers were 32.24% (23.08%–42.13%) and 36.96% (18.51%–60.21%), respectively. The proportion of asymptomatic infections was significantly higher after 2020/02/29 than before (33.53% vs 10.19%) and in non-Asian regions than in Asia (28.76% vs 11.54%). The median viral shedding duration of asymptomatic infections was 14.14 days (11.25–17.04). A total of 47.62% (31.13%–72.87%) of asymptomatic infections showed lung abnormalities, especially ground-glass opacity (41.11% 19.7%–85.79%). Conclusions: Asymptomatic infections were more commonly found in infected children and healthcare workers and increased after 2020/02/29 and in non-Asian regions. Chest radiographical imaging could be conducive to the early identification of asymptomatic infections.

As one indispensable part of power systems, the reliable-operated power transformers are vital for energy transmission, whereas they are remarkably threatened by potential fault events. To achieve the satisfying and valid operation of power transformers, any fault events that may impact their health ought to be evaluated and early warned. With such motivations, this paper presents original insights on the assessment of power transmission health states via their internal dissolved gas, and an enhanced Association Rule Mining (ARM) model incorporating the analysis of High-Impact-Low-Probability (HILP) components, as well as a dynamic fault event risk evaluation approach, is proposed. The first step is to differentiate the risky components. Unlike the standard ARM, the rarely occurred components in each feature can also be assessed explicitly as the common components to explore the underlying HILP components in the proposed model, rather than just being viewed as trivial data and directly omitted. The second step is to rate the risk level of each risky component. A component importance measure-based evaluation approach is deployed to assess the corresponding risk weights of distinguished risky components. In this approach, the risk weight is determined straightforwardly via the impacts of each component on the variation level of total risks in the system, rather than simply by its frequency of occurrence or data share. Finally, the parameters of the risk weight evaluation approach can be dynamically adapted in an adjustment framework as well. This model is testified through an empirical case study, and the leading results can demonstrate its flexibility and robustness during real applications.

Objectives To determine knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) and antiviral therapy’s acceptance during pregnancy of pregnant women with hepatitis B and influencing factors.Design Case-comparison study.Setting The study was conducted in Zhejiang province, China, from September 2019 to December 2020.Participants Pregnant and postpartum women with chronic hepatitis B.Primary and secondary outcome measures The stress scores, self-assessed health score, KAP, antiviral therapy’s acceptance rate during pregnancy and influencing factors were analysed. The Perceived Stress Scale-10 was used to assess stress. Logistic regression was used to analyse influencing factors on antiviral therapy.Results The self-assessed health score of pregnant women without liver diseases (82.4±9.3) was significantly higher than that of pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B (75.5±9.5) and postpartum (75.1±14.1). Psychological stress of pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B was significantly high with a 14.9±3.6 score, but there was no significant difference between hepatitis B postpartum and non-liver disease women (12.7±3.5 vs 12.9±3.5, p=0.75). The acceptance rate of pregnant women with hepatitis B for antiviral therapy was 84.2%, while that of postpartum women was even higher. Logistic regression analysis showed that patients with positive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) (OR, 3.35; 95% CI, 1.21 to 9.26) and higher scores on hepatitis B-related knowledge (OR, 3.52, 95% CI, 2.18 to 5.69) were more likely to accept antiviral therapy during pregnancy.Conclusions Pregnant women with hepatitis B in Zhejiang have heavy psychological stress and a high antiviral therapy acceptance rate during pregnancy. Acceptance is related to HBeAg status and level of understanding of hepatitis B during pregnancy. It is necessary to provide education on hepatitis B to reduce psychological stress and increase acceptance of antiviral therapy during pregnancy.

In this work, an electrical stability model based on surface potential is presented for amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) under positive-gate-bias stress (PBS) and light stress. In this model, the sub-gap density of states (DOSs) are depicted by exponential band tails and Gaussian deep states within the band gap of a-IGZO. Meanwhile, the surface potential solution is developed with the stretched exponential distribution relationship between the created defects and PBS time, and the Boltzmann distribution relationship between the generated traps and incident photon energy, respectively. The proposed model is verified using both the calculation results and experimental data of a-IGZO TFTs with various distribution of DOSs, and a consistent and accurate expression of the evolution of transfer curves is achieved under PBS and light illumination.

Planet formation begins with the collision and growth of dust in protoplanetary disks. Concerning the basic cognition of the early stage of planet formation, a long-standing weakness of the research is a comprehensive physical model describing the collisional evolution of dust particles. Microgravity experiments providing original data are crucial in developing related theories. In this work, we propose an experimental scheme for observing the collisional growth of dust analogues under a unidirectional and continuous shearing process, aiming at a future implementation in space experiments. The experimental process is simulated using the discrete element method, and the atlas of the design parameter versus the evolutionary path is depicted. We notice fractal structures and growth stalling as remarkable outcomes in the process of collisional growth, which is analogous to the evolutionary mechanism in the ancient protoplanetary disks. Based on these phenomena, we determine the sensitive design parameters, i.e., the shear velocity and the filling factor, which serve as the recommended parameters in future space experiments. The validation using numerical experiments shows that the experimental scheme with proper design parameters is feasible, which promises to generate constructive data that will facilitate the development of planet formation theory.

Titanium-clad (TC) bimetallic steel is an advanced composite steel consisting of metallurgically bonded titanium alloy and structural steel. This paper compared the high-cycle fatigue properties of three types of TC bimetallic steels, including two hot-rolled bonding types with different bonding strengths and an explosion-bonded type. The three types of TC bimetallic steels were all manufactured from TA2 titanium alloy as the cladding metal and Q355B structural steel as the substrate metal, of which the thicknesses are 2 mm and 8 mm, respectively. Based on the comparison results, the qualitative relationship between the bonding interface strength and the manufacturing methods with the basic mechanical and high-cycle fatigue properties was obtained. It was found that the different manufacturing methods and the bonding degree of the two component metals resulted in the different nonlinear yield plateau in the TC bimetallic steel. The high bonding strength seems to affect the failure mode of the tensile coupons. The bonding interface shear strength only slightly affects the tensile performance, which exhibits visible effects only when the test strain reaches the fractured state. In addition, three failure modes in total were found in the high-cycle fatigue tests for the three types of TC bimetallic steel. The manufacturing methods and the bonding interface strength significantly affect the fatigue phenomena of the TC bimetallic steel. The hot-rolled bonding TC bimetallic steel with high bonding strength has a 10% improvement in fatigue performance than the one with low bonding strength. Despite this, the manufacturing methods significantly affect the fatigue ratio, while the influence of the bonding strength on the high cycle fatigue performance is limited. The research outcomes can provide reference for the selection of different manufacturing methods and interfacial conditions for the use of TC bimetallic steel in structural engineering.

Because of the promising corrosion resistance and load-bearing capacity, titanium-clad (TC) bimetallic steel has gained increasing attention in ocean/coastal civil and structural engineering. Due to the double-layer nature of TC bimetallic steel, the characteristics of the structural member’s geometry and weld details are considerably different from that of conventional steel members. Even though previous studies have conducted systematical clarifications on parent material of TC bimetallic steels, the mechanical behaviors of weld joints are still vague. This paper firstly describes the manufacture features of TC bimetallic steel welded joints and welded members. Subsequently, the type II and type III butt-welded joints provided by GB/T 13149-2009 are selected to study the corresponding tensile mechanical behavior. Two butt-welded TC bimetallic steel plates were fabricated from hot-rolled bonding TA2 + Q355B TC bimetallic steel and welding wire of ER55-Ni1 and ERTA2ELI. Eight tensile coupons were then extracted from the two welded plates and loaded to failure monotonically. The failure mechanism, stress–strain curves and key mechanical properties are studied and compared with that of parent material. It is found that both types of welded joints possess two fracture points. The first one refers to the fracture of weld joint between the clad layer and titanium cover plate, whilst the second one is the eventual fracture of substrate metal. When the first fracture point is reached, the stress–strain relation exhibits a sharp drop in stress value. Thereafter, a strain-hardening behavior can still be observed prior to the ultimate strength point. The first fracture-induced stress drop of type II joint is less than that of type III joint, whilst the strain-hardening amount of type II joint is more outstanding than that of type III joint. The fracture elongations of type II joint and type III joint are respectively 37% and 57% that of the parent material, whilst the proportions between the ultimate strengths of welded joints and parent material are, respectively, 90% and 93%. In general, the two types of TC bimetallic steel weld joints investigated herein exhibit favorable load-bearing capacity but unfavorable ductility and deformability. Based upon the experimental results, the structural design methodology of welded TC bimetallic steel structure is discussed. The investigations conducted in this paper can provide reference for development of structural design theory of welded TC bimetallic steel structure.

Untethered microrobots have attracted extensive attention due to their potential for biomedical applications and micromanipulation at the small scale. Soft microrobots are of great research importance because of their highly deformable ability to achieve not only multiple locomotion mechanisms but also minimal invasion to the environment. However, the existing microrobots are still limited in their ability to locomote and cross obstacles in unstructured environments compared to conventional legged robots. Nature provides much inspiration for developing miniature robots. Here, we propose a bionic quadruped soft thin-film microrobot with a nonmagnetic soft body and 4 magnetic flexible legs. The quadruped soft microrobot can achieve multiple controllable locomotion modes in the external magnetic field. The experiment demonstrated the robot’s excellent obstacle-crossing ability by walking on the surface with steps and moving in the bottom of a stomach model with gullies. In particular, by controlling the conical angle of the external conical magnetic field, microbeads gripping, transportation, and release of the microrobot were demonstrated. In the future, the quadruped microrobot with excellent obstacle-crossing and gripping capabilities will be relevant for biomedical applications and micromanipulation.

In dental implantology, the guided bone regeneration (GBR) membrane plays an active role in increasing alveolar bone volume. However, there are some drawbacks to the current commercial membranes, such as non-degradability for non-absorbable membranes and low mechanical strength for absorbable membranes. Recently, magnesium (Mg) alloys have been proposed as potential barrier membrane candidates. As a result, the purpose of this research is to assess the feasibility of Mg alloys as GBR membranes in terms of physicochemical properties and biological performance. Mg alloys were identified as potential membrane materials due to their adjustable degradation, adequate mechanical support, sound osteogenic property, good bacteriostatic activity, and favorable wound-healing ability. Nonetheless, rapid degradation and stress corrosion cracking (SCC)/corrosion fatigue (CF) are major concerns for the use of Mg-based membranes, which can be mitigated through alloying, heat treatment, thermomechanical deformation, and other methods. Finally, the prospects for the design and manufacture of Mg-based membranes in the future were put forth.

The breakdown voltage model of Si-substrated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with gate and drain field plates is proposed in this work. The silicon substrate and GaN buffer are considered as the depletion region in the modeling process. The analytical model shows great simplicity and veracity. It gives physical insights into the breakdown characteristics of the AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. The avalanche breakdown occurs at the field plate's edge in lateral structure or at the interface in vertical structure. According to the analytical model, the relationship between the lateral breakdown and the vertical breakdown is demonstrated in this work. The breakdown location is affected by the variation of the structure parameters, including gate-to-drain distance, buffer thickness and field plates' lengths. With the aid of the analytical model, effective guidance for device optimization to achieve high performance can be obtained.

We explore the importance of global relation reasoning in Human Pose Estimation (HPE). Global relation reasoning aims to globally learn relations among regions of images or videos. For HPE, if we can globally model the relations among different body joints, we may mitigate some challenges such as occlusion. Most existing human pose estimation methods rely on building Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Because convolution operations can only model local relations, in order to capture global relations, they must inefficiently stack multiple convolution layers to enlarge the receptive fields to cover all the body joints in the image. In this paper, we propose to utilize Global Relation Reasoning Graph Convolutional Networks (GRR-GCN) to efficiently capture the global relations among different body joints. GRR-GCN projects all the features in the original coordinate space to a graph space. In the graph space, these features are represented by a set of nodes to form a fully-connected graph, on which global relation reasoning is performed by graph convolution. After reasoning, node features are projected back to the coordinate space for further processing. GRR-GCN is a plug-and-play module, and can be integrated into current state-of-the-art networks. Experiments on human pose estimation benchmark, MPII and COCO keypoint detection dataset, show that GRR-GCN can boost the performance of state-of-the-art human pose estimation networks including SimpleBaseline and HRNet (High-Resolution Net).

Abstract Background Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.24) is the first key enzyme in the phenylpropanoid pathway. The pal gene has been widely studied in plants and participates in plant growth, development and defense systems. However, in Pleurotus ostreatus, the biological functions of pal during organismal development and exposure to abiotic stress have not been reported. Results In this study, we cloned and characterized the pal1 (2232 bp) and pal2 (2244 bp) genes from the basidiomycete P. ostreatus CCMSSC 00389. The pal1 and pal2 genes are interrupted by 6 and 10 introns, respectively, and encode proteins of 743 and 747 amino acids, respectively. Furthermore, prokaryotic expression experiments showed that PAL enzymes catalyzed the conversion of L-phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid. The function of pal1 and pal2 was determined by constructing overexpression (OE) and RNA interference (RNAi) strains. The results showed that the two pal genes had similar expression patterns during different developmental stages. The expression of pal genes was higher in the reproductive growth stage than in the vegetative growth stage. And the interference of pal1 and pal2 delayed the formation of primordia. The results of heat stress assays showed that the RNAi-pal1 strains had enhanced mycelial tolerance to high temperature, while the RNAi-pal2 strains had enhanced mycelial resistance to H2O2. Conclusions These results indicate that two pal genes may play a similar role in the development of P. ostreatus fruiting bodies, but may alleviate stress through different regulatory pathways under heat stress.