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Abstract The desire for lightweight, carbon-negative materials has been increasing in recent years, particularly as the transportation sector reduces its global carbon footprint. Natural fibers, such as flax fiber and their composites, offer a compelling combination of properties including low density, high specific strength, and carbon negativity. However, because of the low modulus and high variability in performance, natural fibers can’t compete with glass fibers as structural reinforcements in polymer composites. In this study, flax technical fibers were treated in supercritical CO2 (scCO2), and the effects of this treatment on the morphology and properties of flax fibers are reported. Treatment in scCO2 successfully resulted in higher fiber modulus and strength by 33% and 40%, respectively. Fiber porosity was reduced by 50% and morphological changes to the fibers were observed. Specifically, fiber lumen collapsed during treatment and micro/mesoporosity was reduced by 27%. Treated flax fibers were used to create 30 vol% unidirectional flax-epoxy composites. ScCO2 treatment raised composite modulus and strength by 33% and 25%, respectively. Because of the dependence between technical fiber size and mechanical properties, the relationship between fiber modulus and fiber size were created and applied to the rule-of-mixtures. This relationship were found to be viable representations of the fiber performance within each composite. Overall, the treatment developed in this study has the potential to significantly improve natural fiber properties, enabling their consideration for use in lightweight, semi-structural composites.

Abstract Objective In the surgery-focused field of obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN), the development of residents’ skills is paramount. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an enhanced Peyton Four-Step Teaching Model on the foundational skill training of first-year OB-GYN residents. Methods Utilizing a cohort study design, we assessed 116 first-year residents from the OB-GYN residency program at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from June 2021 to June 2023. The 57 residents beginning their training in 2022 were part of the Refined Peyton (RP) group, introduced to the RP method; the 59 residents from 2021 served as the Traditional Teaching-mode (TTM) group, receiving conventional simulation-based instruction. Teaching effectiveness was assessed by comparing theoretical knowledge and skill performance assessments, National Medical Licensing Examination (NMLE) pass rates, direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) one year post-training, and survey feedback. Results The theoretical knowledge scores for both groups were comparable at 78.78 ± 4.08 and 78.70 ± 3.83, with no significant difference (P = 0.76). However, the experimental group demonstrated superior performance in skill operation assessments, first-time NMLE pass rates, and DOPS evaluations one year after training [(77.05 ± 5.39) vs. (84.60 ± 5.65), 100.0% (57/57) vs. 86.4% (51/59), and (75.22 ± 3.56) vs. (82.54 ± 3.43)], as well as higher teaching satisfaction scores [(4.63 ± 0.46) vs. (3.92 ± 0.62)], with all differences being statistically significant (P

Abstract Axillary bud is an important aspect of plant morphology, contributing to the final tobacco yield. However, the mechanisms of axillary bud development in tobacco remain largely unknown. To investigate this aspect of tobacco biology, the metabolome and proteome of the axillary buds before and after topping were compared. A total of 569 metabolites were differentially abundant before and 1, 3, and 5 days after topping. KEGG analyses further revealed that the axillary bud was characterized by a striking enrichment of metabolites involved in flavonoid metabolism, suggesting a strong flavonoid biosynthesis activity in the tobacco axillary bud after topping. Additionally, 9035 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified before and 1, 3, and 5 days after topping. Subsequent GO and KEGG analyses revealed that the DEPs in the axillary bud were enriched in oxidative stress, hormone signal transduction, MAPK signaling pathway, and starch and sucrose metabolism. The integrated proteome and metabolome analysis revealed that the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) alteration in buds control dormancy release and sustained growth of axillary bud by regulating proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Notably, the proteins related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and flavonoid biosynthesis were strongly negatively correlated with IAA content. These findings shed light on a critical role of IAA alteration in regulating axillary bud outgrowth, and implied a potential crosstalk among IAA alteration, ROS homeostasis, and flavonoid biosynthesis in tobacco axillary bud under topping stress, which could improve our understanding of the IAA alteration in axillary bud as an important regulator of axillary bud development.

Abstract Background Some recent studies have shown that female subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is associated with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether serum-free thyroxine (fT4) concentrations within the reference range are associated with ovarian reserve in women. Methods This cross-sectional study included 4933 infertile women with normal-range fT4 concentrations who received assisted reproductive technology treatment in our clinic. The data of women in different fT4 concentration tertiles (namely 12–15.33, 15.34–18.67, and 18.68–22 pmol/L) were compared with ovarian reserve markers, namely the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration, the antral follicle count (AFC), and the number of aspirated oocytes. The primary outcomes were the AMH concentration and the risk of DOR, diagnosed as an AMH concentration

With the rapid development of the social economy, the importance of water resources is becoming increasingly prominent. Urban water demand in Beijing has been growing rapidly. Accurate water consumption forecasting is of utmost importance for reasonable allocation and optimization of water supply systems. In this study, an innovative multi-variable grey prediction model with adjacent accumulation (AOGM(1,N)) is proposed to predict Beijing's annual water consumption for four different water usage scenarios (domestic water, agricultural water, industrial water, and environmental water) by incorporating the adjacent accumulation into the optimized grey model. Grey relational analysis is used to select the key influence factors. The adjustable parameter of the prediction model is chosen by using the particle swarm optimization algorithm. By comparing with other models in the existing literature, the proposed AOGM(1,N) model has evidently superior prediction performance based on the error indicators, which supports the novel method's merits and validity. This study could help us better understand water usage and be applied to the planning and management problems of urban water supply systems. HIGHLIGHTS An improved multi-variable grey model is proposed for water consumption prediction.; Adjacent accumulation is introduced into the proposed prediction model.; The effects of different external factors on water consumption are quantified.; The optimization method of adjustable parameter in the model is proposed.;

Abstract Efficient milk production in mammals confers evolutionary advantages by facilitating the transmission of energy from mother to offspring. However, the regulatory mechanism responsible for the gradual establishment of milk production efficiency in mammals, from marsupials to eutherians, remains elusive. Here, we find that mammary gland of the marsupial sugar glider contained milk components during adolescence, and that mammary gland development is less dynamically cyclic compared to that in placental mammals. Furthermore, fused in sarcoma (FUS) is found to be partially responsible for this establishment of low efficiency. In mouse model, FUS inhibit mammary epithelial cell differentiation through the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p57Kip2, leading to lactation failure and pup starvation. Clinically, FUS levels are negatively correlated with milk production in lactating women. Overall, our results shed light on FUS as a negative regulator of milk production, providing a potential mechanism for the establishment of milk production from marsupial to eutherian mammals.

AbstractCamellia tetracocca H.T. Chang 1981 is an important wild relative of cultivated tea plants. Its leaves are widely used by local people to make tea, showing great economic and breeding values. We here report the complete chloroplast genome of C. tetracocca using Illumina sequencing technology. The complete chloroplast genome of C. tetracocca is 157,026 bp in length, and structurally contains a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb, 26,052 bp) separated by a large single-copy region (LSC, 86,669 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC, 18,253 bp). It is composed of 131 predicted genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 transfer RNA genes, and eight ribosomal RNA genes. The overall GC content is 37.31%. Phylogenetic analysis among four Camellia species and 11 other close species reveals a close relationship between C. tetracocca and C. gymnogyna.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to compare the efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) to dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in treating acute herpetic neuralgia (AHN) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in the thoracic segment.MethodsA total of 243 patients with thoracic herpes zoster-related pain (AHN or PHN) from January 2020 to September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups based on the timing of PRF after herpes zoster onset: an acute herpetic neuralgia group (within 90 days) and a postherpetic neuralgia group (more than 90 days). All patients were treated with PRF at the thoracic DRG. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 items (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9) scores were assessed before and at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery, and the results were then compared between the two groups.ResultsPostoperative scores of VAS, AIS, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 in both groups were significantly lower than preoperative scores (P < 0.001). From 1 month to 12 months after surgery, the AHN group showed significantly lower VAS, AIS, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 scores compared to the PHN group (P < 0.001). In the AHN group, there was a gradual improvement in these scores from 1 week to 12 months post-surgery. Conversely, the PHN group's scores began to worsen slowly from 1 week to 12 months post-surgery. Over time, the difference in scores between the two groups also increased gradually.ConclusionPRF to the DRG is an effective treatment for patients with AHN or PHN who do not respond well to conventional treatments. For AHN patients, PRF to the DRG significantly enhances early pain control, improves sleep and psychological status, and may even prevent the development of PHN.

Steel embedded parts welded on the surface of steel-concrete-steel tunnel elements serve as thermal bridges in tunnel fires. Their influence on temperature field and macroscopic thermal damage of steel-concrete-steel structure were investigated through fire tests, and their heat transfer forms were analyzed. Then, a thermal bridge disposal scheme was proposed and examined. The results show that steel embedded parts significantly cause an increase and an uneven distribution of steel shell temperature in tunnel fires. As time exposed to fire increases, the extent and range of these influences grow. Thermal bridges raise the average temperature by 45.2 % inside the steel-concrete-steel structure, worsen the unevenness of temperature distribution in horizontal and vertical directions. Thermal bridges worsen surface macroscopic damage, lengthening cracks by more than 32.5 % and widening them by more than 22.6 times. Within a distance of 30 cm from the embedded part, heat provided by embedded parts accounts for over 79.9 % of the steel shell's total heat, and heat conveyed along the steel shell through thermal conduction accounts for over 53.7 %. GX-3 high-temperature adhesive is an effective method for thermal bridge treatment. These detailed findings offer new insights into the design of fire insulation schemes for the steel-concrete-steel structure.

Abstract Mangrove sediments host a diverse array of microbial populations and are characterized by high heterogeneity along their vertical depths. However, the genetic diversity within these populations is largely unknown, hindering our understanding of their adaptive evolution across the sediment depths. To elucidate their genetic diversity, we utilized metagenome sequencing to identify 16 high‐frequency microbial populations comprised of two archaea and 14 bacteria from mangrove sediment cores (0–100 cm, with 10 depths) in Qi'ao Island, China. Our analysis of the genome‐wide genetic variation revealed extensive nucleotide diversity in the microbial populations. The genes involved in the transport and the energy metabolism displayed a high nucleotide diversity (HND; 0.0045–0.0195; an indicator of shared minor alleles with the microbial populations). By tracking the processes of homologous recombination, we found that each microbial population was subjected to different purification selection levels at different depths (44.12% genes). This selection resulted in significant differences in synonymous/non‐synonymous mutation ratio between 0–20 and 20–100 cm layers, indicating the adaptive evolutionary process of microbial populations. Furthermore, our assessment of differentiation in the allele frequencies between these two layers showed that the functional genes involved in the metabolic processes of amino acids or cofactors were highly differential in more than half of them. Together, we showed that the nucleotide diversity of microbial populations was shaped by homologous recombination and gene‐specific selection, finally resulting in the stratified differentiation occurring between 0–20 and 20–100 cm. These results enhance our cognition of the microbial adaptation mechanisms to vertical environmental changes during the sedimentation process of coastal blue carbon ecosystems.

Background Our previous studies have successfully reported the reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced mammary epithelial cells (iMECs). However, the regulatory relationships and functional roles of MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in the progression of fibroblasts achieving the cell fate of iMECs are insufficiently understood. Methods First, we performed pre-and post-induction miRNAs sequencing analysis by using high-throughput sequencing. Following that, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment studies were used to determine the primary roles of the significantly distinct miRNAs and targeted genes. Finally, the effect of miR-222-3p on iMECs fate reprogramming in vitro by transfecting. Results As a result goat ear fibroblasts (GEFs) reprogramming into iMECs activates a regulatory program, involving 79 differentially expressed miRNAs. Besides, the programming process involved changes in multiple signaling pathways such as adherens junction, TGF-β signaling pathway, GnRH secretion and the prolactin signaling pathway, etc. Furthermore, it was discovered that the expression of miR-222-3p downregulation by miR-222-3p inhibitor significantly increase the reprogramming efficiency and promoted lipid accumulation of iMECs.

Gut barrier is not only part of the digestive organ but also an important immunological organ for the hosts. The disruption of gut barrier can lead to various diseases such as obesity and colitis. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has gained much attention for its rich clinical experiences enriched in thousands of years. After orally taken, TCM can interplay with gut microbiota. On one hand, TCM can modulate the composition and function of gut microbiota. On the other hand, gut microbiota can transform TCM compounds. The gut microbiota metabolites produced during the actions of these interplays exert noticeable pharmacological effects on the host especially gut barrier. Recently, a large number of studies have investigated the repairing and fortifying effects of TCM on gut barriers from the perspective of gut microbiota and its metabolites. However, no review has summarized the mechanism behand this beneficiary effects of TCM. In this review, we first briefly introduce the unique structure and specific function of gut barrier. Then, we summarize the interactions and relationship amidst gut microbiota, gut microbiota metabolites and TCM. Further, we summarize the regulative effects and mechanisms of TCM on gut barrier including physical barrier, chemical barrier, immunological barrier, and microbial barrier. At last, we discuss the effects of TCM on diseases that are associated gut barrier destruction such as ulcerative colitis and type 2 diabetes. Our review can provide insights into TCM, gut barrier and gut microbiota.

Wuzi Yanzong Pill (WZYZP), a classic traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been widely used to alleviate spermatogenesis dysfunction for hundreds of years. However, the molecular mechanisms of WZYZP treatment for spermatogenesis dysfunction remain limited. Here, our results showed that WZYZP significantly improved spermatogenesis and testicular energy metabolism. The 16S rDNA sequencing showed that WZYZP improved gut microbiota dysbiosis, including increased relative abundances of Lactobacillus with the capability of metabolizing Trp. The depletion of gut microbiota by antibiotics suppressed the ability of WZYZP to improve spermatogenesis dysfunction. The untargeted and targeted metabolomics results showed that WZYZP increased Trp metabolites especially aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands. Moreover, WZYZP modulated the AhR/AMPK pathway to improve the expression of spermatogenesis-related genes. The correlation analysis showed that gut microbiota was significantly correlated with Trp metabolites, and Trp metabolites were closely related to spermatogenesis. Overall, the results demonstrated that WZYZP could regulate gut microbiota, and the gut microbial Trp metabolites further act on testicular energy metabolism, thereby indirectly improving spermatogenic dysfunction. Our study provides a novel research strategy for complementary and alternative medicine in male infertility from the perspective of gut microbial metabolites.

Abstract Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) have been associated with favorable immunotherapy responses and prognosis in various cancers. Despite their significance, their quantification using multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) staining of T and B lymphocytes remains labor-intensive, limiting its clinical utility. To address this challenge, we curated a dataset from matched mIHC and H&E whole-slide images (WSIs) and developed a deep learning model for automated segmentation of TLSs. The model achieved Dice coefficients of 0.91 on the internal test set and 0.866 on the external validation set, along with intersection over union (IoU) scores of 0.819 and 0.787, respectively. The TLS ratio, defined as the segmented TLS area over the total tissue area, correlated with B lymphocyte levels and the expression of CXCL13, a chemokine associated with TLS formation, in 6140 patients spanning 16 tumor types from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The prognostic models for overall survival indicated that the inclusion of the TLS ratio with TNM staging significantly enhanced the models’ discriminative ability, outperforming the traditional models that solely incorporated TNM staging, in 10 out of 15 TCGA tumor types. Furthermore, when applied to biopsied treatment-naïve tumor samples, higher TLS ratios predicted a positive immunotherapy response across multiple cohorts, including specific therapies for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and stomach adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, our deep learning-based approach offers an automated and reproducible method for TLS segmentation and quantification, highlighting its potential in predicting immunotherapy response and informing cancer prognosis.

Abstract Background Knowledge regarding the health impacts of daily eating frequency (DEF) and nighttime fasting duration (NFD) on mortality is very limited. Objective This study aimed to examine whether DEF and NFD are associated with CVD and all-cause mortality. Methods This was a prospective cohort study of a nationally representative sample from the United States, including 30,464 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2014. Using 24-h dietary recall, DEF was assessed by the number of eating episodes, and NFD was calculated by the first and last eating time across a day. Death information was obtained from the National Death Index up to 2019. Weighted Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess survival relationships of DEF and NFD with mortality. Results During 307,686 person-years of follow-up, 4560 deaths occurred, including 1824 CVD cases. After adjustment for confounders, compared to DEF at 4–6 times, participants whose DEF was less than 3 times had greater CVD [hazard-ratio (HR) = 1.33, 95% confidence-interval (CI): 1.06–1.67] and all-cause (HR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01–1.33) mortality risks. Furthermore, compared to NFD of 10 to 11 h, participants whose NFD was shorter than 10 h had HRs of 1.30 (95% CI: 1.08–1.55) for CVD mortality and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.08–1.39) for all-cause mortality. NFD longer than 14 h was also related to CVD mortality (HR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.12–1.67) and all-cause mortality (HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.19–1.54). Similar results for the association of NFD and DEF with heart-specific and stroke-specific mortality were observed. Conclusion This study found that DEF less than 3 times and NFD shorter than 10 h or longer than 14 h were independently associated with greater cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

Abstract Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) exploiting simple binary emissive layers (EMLs) blending only emitters and hosts have natural advantages in low-cost commercialization. However, previously reported OLEDs based on binary EMLs hardly simultaneously achieved desired comprehensive performances, e.g., high efficiency, low efficiency roll-off, narrow emission bands, and high operation stability. Here, we report a molecular-design strategy. Such a strategy leads to a fast reverse intersystem crossing rate in our designed emitter h-BNCO-1 of 1.79×105 s−1. An OLED exploiting a binary EML with h-BNCO-1 achieves ultrapure emission, a maximum external quantum efficiency of over 40% and a mild roll-off of 14% at 1000 cd·m−2. Moreover, h-BNCO-1 also exhibits promising operational stability in an alternative OLED exploiting a compact binary EML (the lifetime reaching 95% of the initial luminance at 1000 cd m−2 is ~ 137 h). Here, our work has thus provided a molecular-design strategy for OLEDs with promising comprehensive performance.

The acceleration of global urbanization has intensified land use activities, which threaten the ecological environment and hinder the achievement of sustainable socioeconomic development goals. With the background of continuous land use expansion, the reasonable management of land use and ecological protection has increasingly become an important issue. This study constructs an ecological security (ES) index to evaluate the ES pattern, and employs the Future Land-Use Simulation (FLUS) model for multi-scenario simulation of land use patterns in mountainous areas. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, cultivated land and grassland showed a sharp decrease, with areas of −128.64 and −228.18 km² respectively, while forest land, urban land, and other construction land increased, with areas of 116.12, 31.21, and 120.69 km² respectively. Over time, the mountainous areas mainly exhibited low and moderate ES patterns. Furthermore, for 2020–2030, under the natural development scenario, cultivated land, forest land, and grassland will show a decrease, while urban and other construction land will show a sharp increase. In contrast, under the ecological protection scenario, ecological land will show significant increase, and the patch expansion of urban construction land will be smaller. These results confirm the positive contribution of ES protection effects to improving the land use development, and support insightful guidance for formulating policies on ecological management in mountainous areas.

AbstractBackground Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice (RCDP) has gained prominence in recent years as an innovative teaching method in simulation-based training for adult and pediatric emergency medical skills. However, its application in the training of forceps delivery skills among obstetrics and gynecology residents remains unexplored. This study aimed to assess the impact of RCDP in this domain.Methods Conducted in March 2021, this randomized controlled study involved 60 second-year obstetrics and gynecology residents undergoing standardized training. Participants were randomly assigned to the RCDP group or the traditional teaching method (TTM) group, each comprising 30 residents. The RCDP group followed the RCDP practice mode, while the TTM group adhered to conventional simulation teaching. Post-training assessment of operational proficiency was conducted immediately and after one year. Independent operational confidence and training satisfaction were evaluated through questionnaire surveys and the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience (SSE) scale. Data analysis utilized SPSS 23.0.Results The RCDP group displayed significantly higher immediate post-training forceps operation scores compared to the TTM group (92.00 [range: 90.00–94.00] vs. 88.00 [range: 86.75–92.00]; z = 3.79; p .05). Importantly, the RCDP group reported higher satisfaction scores, particularly in the Debriefing and Reflection subscale (44.00 [range: 43.00–45.00] vs. 41.00 [range: 41.50–43.00]; z = 5.24; p

Bacterial-based antitumor immunity has become a promising strategy to activate the immune system for fighting cancer. However, the potential application of bacterial therapy is hindered by the presence of instability and susceptibility to infections within bacterial populations. Furthermore, monotherapy is ineffective in completely eliminating complex cancer with multiple contributing factors. In this study, based on our discovery that spore shell (SS) of Bacillus coagulans exhibits excellent tumor-targeting ability and adjuvant activity, we develop a biomimetic spore nanoplatform to boost bacteria-mediated antitumor therapy, chemodynamic therapy and antitumor immunity for synergistic cancer treatment. In detail, SS is separated from probiotic spores and then attached to the surface of liposome (Lipo) that was loaded with hemoglobin (Hb), glucose oxidase (GOx) and JQ1 to construct SS@Lipo/Hb/GOx/JQ1. In tumor tissue, highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH) are generated via sequential catalytic reactions: GOx catalyzing glucose into H2O2 and Fe2+ in Hb decomposing H2O2 into •OH. The combination of •OH and SS adjuvant can improve tumor immunogenicity and activate immune system. Meanwhile, JQ1-mediated down-regulation of PD-L1 and Hb-induced hypoxia alleviation synergistically reshape immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and potentiate immune response. In this manner, SS@Lipo/Hb/GOx/JQ1 significantly suppresses tumor growth and metastasis. To summarize, the nanoplatform represents an optimum strategy to potentiate bacteria-based cancer immunotherapy.

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV), characterized as a prominent feature of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a primary contributor to visual impairment and severe vision loss globally, while the prevailing treatments are often unsatisfactory. The development of conventional treatment strategies has largely been based on the understanding that the angiogenic switch of endothelial cells is dictated by angiogenic growth factors alone. Even though treatments targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), like Ranibizumab, are widely administered, more than half of the patients still exhibit inadequate or null responses, emphasizing the imperative need for solutions to this problem. Here, aiming to explore therapeutic strategies from a novel perspective of endothelial cell metabolism, a biocompatible nanomedicine delivery system is constructed by loading RGD peptide-modified liposomes with 2-deoxy-D-glucose (RGD@LP-2-DG). RGD@LP-2-DG displayed good targeting performance towards endothelial cells and excellent in vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects on neovascularization were demonstrated. Moreover, our mechanistic studies revealed that 2-DG interfered with N-glycosylation, leading to the inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and its downstream signaling. Notably, the remarkable inhibitory effect on neovascularization and biocompatibility of RGD@LP-2-DG render it a highly promising and clinically translatable therapeutic candidate for the treatment of wet AMD and other angiogenic diseases, particularly in patients who are unresponsive to currently available treatments.

Summary: Muscle contraction is vital for animal survival, and the sarcomere is the fundamental unit for this process. However, the functions of many conserved sarcomere proteins remain unknown, as their mutants do not exhibit obvious defects. To address this, Caenorhabditis elegans was utilized as a model organism to investigate RSU-1 function in the body wall muscle. RSU-1 is found to colocalize with UNC-97 at the dense body and M-line, and it is particularly crucial for regulating locomotion in aging worms, rather than in young worms. This suggests that RSU-1 has a specific function in maintaining muscle function during aging. Furthermore, the interaction between RSU-1 and UNC-97/PINCH is essential for RSU-1 to modulate locomotion, preserve filament structure, and sustain the M-line and dense body throughout aging. Overall, these findings highlight the significant contribution of RSU-1, through its interaction with UNC-97, in maintaining proper muscle cell function in aging worms.

According to previous studies, the quality and fertilization rate of fresh sperm from boars of different ages were significantly different. However, the difference of freeze–thaw sperm quality and fertility in boars of different ages is unclear. In this study, boars of a Chinese native breed were assigned into two groups. Each group consisted of five boars aged aged either 2–3 years (young boars = YB) or 5–6 years (aging boars = AB) A total of 60 ejaculates for each group were collected and cryopreserved. Semen quality and in vitro fertility of post-thaw sperm was evaluated. The results showed that the concentration and motility of fresh sperm collected from AB were similar to YB, but their semen volume was higher than that in YB (p

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is currently the most important treatment method for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study aimed to enhance prediction accuracy by incorporating dose information into a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) using a multichannel input method. Methods: A target conformal plan (TCP) was created based on the maximum planning target volume (PTV). Input data included TCP dose distribution, images, target structures, and organ-at-risk (OAR) information. The role of target conformal plan dose (TCPD) was assessed by comparing the TCPD–CNN (with dose information) and NonTCPD–CNN models (without dose information) using statistical analyses with the ranked Wilcoxon test ( P

BackgroundEarly neurological deterioration (END) is a frequent complication in patients with perforating artery territory infarction (PAI), leading to poorer outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to apply machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict the occurrence of END in PAI and investigate related risk factors.MethodsThis retrospective study analyzed a cohort of PAI patients, excluding those with severe stenosis of the parent artery. We included demographic characteristics, clinical features, laboratory data, and imaging variables. Recursive feature elimination with cross-validation (RFECV) was performed to identify critical features. Seven ML algorithms, namely logistic regression, random forest, adaptive boosting, gradient boosting decision tree, histogram-based gradient boosting, extreme gradient boosting, and category boosting, were developed to predict END in PAI patients using these critical features. We compared the accuracy of these models in predicting outcomes. Additionally, SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values were introduced to interpret the optimal model and assess the significance of input features.ResultsThe study enrolled 1,020 PAI patients with a mean age of 60.46 (range 49.11–71.81) years. Of these, 30.39% were women, and 129 (12.65%) experienced END. RFECV selected 13 critical features, including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total cholesterol (TC), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein B (apoB), atrial fibrillation, loading dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT), argatroban, the basal ganglia, the thalamus, the posterior choroidal arteries, maximal axial infarct diameter (measured at < 15 mm), and stroke subtype. The gradient-boosting decision tree had the highest area under the curve (0.914) among the seven ML algorithms. The SHAP analysis identified apoB as the most significant variable for END.ConclusionOur results suggest that ML algorithms, especially the gradient-boosting decision tree, are effective in predicting the occurrence of END in PAI patients.

The efficient generation of monodispersed droplets holds great promise for micro‐/nanoparticle synthesis and biochemical analysis. However, it remains a challenge to achieve high‐throughput generation of monodispersed droplets in a portable and/or parallel manner in nonexpert biomedical laboratories. Herein, a versatile microchannel array (μCA) device is reported that is portable, multifaceted, reliable, and mass‐manufacturable, supporting the high‐throughput generation of monodispersed droplets in different ways. This device consists of a silicon‐based μCA chip based on the step emulsification principle, as well as two matching plastic containers, both of which can be mass‐manufactured by traditional microfabrication methods at low material costs. With the μCA device, aqueous solution can be dispersed into emulsion droplets by various modes, such as mechanical pump‐based large‐scale, handheld syringe‐based portable, and gas pump‐based highly parallel droplet generation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that our cost‐effective device can be applied for digital polymerase chain reaction analysis, supporting the need for more accessible microfluidic systems. Thus, the present device is expected to have a significant impact on both benchside and bedside applications.

BackgroundWe aim to evaluate the global, regional, and national burden of Uterine Cancer (UC) from 1990 to 2019.MethodsWe gathered UC data across 204 countries and regions for the period 1990-2019, utilizing the Global Burden of Disease Database (GBD) 2019 public dataset. Joinpoint regression analysis was employed to pinpoint the year of the most significant changes in global trends. To project the UC trajectory from 2020 to 2044, we applied the Nordpred analysis, extrapolating based on the average trend observed in the data. Furthermore, the Bayesian Age-Period-Cohort (BAPC) model with integrated nested Laplace approximations was implemented to confirm the stability of the Nordpred analysis predictions.ResultsGlobally, the age-standardized rate (ASR) of incidence for UC has increased from 1990 to 2019 with an Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC) of 0.50%. The ASR for death has declined within the same period (AAPC: -0.8%). An increase in the ASR of incidence was observed across all Socio-demographic Index (SDI) regions, particularly in High SDI regions (AAPC: 1.12%), while the ASR for death decreased in all but the Low SDI regions. Over the past 30 years, the highest incidence rate was observed in individuals aged 55-59 (AAPC: 0.76%). Among 204 countries and regions, there was an increase in the ASR of incidence in 165 countries and an increase in the ASR of deaths in 77 countries. Our projections suggest that both the incidence and death rates for UC are likely to continue their decline from 2020 to 2044.ConclusionsUC has significantly impacted global health negatively, with its influence stemming from a range of factors including geographical location, age-related and racial disparities, and SDI.

Changes of intestinal microbiota have been shown to be involved in the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We performed a meta-analysis to systematically evaluate the potential role of probiotics for the prevention of GDM. Systematic literature search was performed in electronic databases including PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to obtain relevant randomized controlled studies. A random-effects model was used to pool the results by incorporating the impact of the potential heterogeneity. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate the source of heterogeneity. Fourteen studies involving 3527 pregnant women were included. Results showed that probiotics significantly reduced the incidence of GDM as compared to control (risk ratio [RR]: 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52–0.96, P = 0.03) with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 73%). The meta-regression showed that body mass index (BMI) of females was positively associated with the RR for the effect of probiotics on GDM (coefficient = 0.084, P = 0.01). The results of subgroup analyses also suggested that probiotics significantly reduced the risk of GDM in women with BMI < 26 kg/m2, but not in those with BMI ≥ 26 kg/m2 (P for subgroup difference = 0.001). In addition, the preventative efficacy of probiotics on GDM was remarkable in women < 30 years, but not in those ≥ 30 years (P for subgroup difference < 0.001). In conclusion, probiotics may be effective in reducing the risk of GDM, particularly for females with lower BMI and younger age.

Social pain, a multifaceted emotional response triggered by interpersonal rejection or criticism, profoundly impacts mental well-being and social interactions. While prior research has implicated the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) in mitigating social pain, the precise neural mechanisms and downstream effects on subsequent social attitudes remain elusive. This study employed transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) integrated with fMRI recordings during a social pain task to elucidate these aspects. Eighty participants underwent either active TMS targeting the rVLPFC (n = 41) or control stimulation at the vertex (n = 39). Our results revealed that TMS-induced rVLPFC facilitation significantly reduced self-reported social pain, confirming the causal role of the rVLPFC in social pain relief. Functional connectivity analyses demonstrated enhanced interactions between the rVLPFC and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, emphasizing the collaborative engagement of prefrontal regions in emotion regulation. Significantly, we observed that negative social feedback led to negative social attitudes, whereas rVLPFC activation countered this detrimental effect, showcasing the potential of the rVLPFC as a protective buffer against adverse social interactions. Moreover, our study uncovered the impact role of the hippocampus in subsequent social attitudes, a relationship particularly pronounced during excitatory TMS over the rVLPFC. These findings offer promising avenues for improving mental health within the intricate dynamics of social interactions. By advancing our comprehension of the neural mechanisms underlying social pain relief, this research introduces novel intervention strategies for individuals grappling with social distress. Empowering individuals to modulate rVLPFC activation may facilitate reshaping social attitudes and successful reintegration into communal life.

Abstract Introduction Liver X Receptor (LXR) agonists could attenuate the development of atherosclerosis but bring excess lipid accumulation in the liver. Danlou Recipe was believed to be a benefit for improving the lipid profile. Thus, it is unclear whether Danlou Recipe could attenuate hyperlipidemia without excess lipid accumulated in the liver of mice. This study aimed to clarify if Danlou Recipe could alleviate the progression of hyperlipidemia in mice without extra lipids accumulated in the liver. Methods Male murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells and murine peritoneal macrophages were used for the in vitro experiments. Cellular cholesterol efflux was determined using the fluorescent cholesterol labeling method. Those genes involved in lipid metabolism were evaluated by qRT‐PCR and western blotting respectively. In vivo, a mouse model of hyperlipidemia induced by P407 was used to figure out the effect of Danlou Recipe on reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) and hyperlipidemia. Ethanol extract of Danlou tablet (EEDL) was prepared by extracting the whole powder of Danlou Prescription from ethanol, and the chemical composition was analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Results EEDL inhibits the formation of RAW264.7 macrophage-derived foam cells, and promotes ABCA1/apoA1 conducted cholesterol efflux in RAW264.7 macrophages and mouse peritoneal macrophages. In the P407-induced hyperlipidemia mouse model, oral administration of EEDL can promote RCT in vivo and improve fatty liver induced by a high-fat diet. Consistent with the findings in vitro, EEDL promotes RCT by upregulating the LXR activities. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that EEDL has the potential for targeting RCT/LXR in the treatment of lipid metabolism disorders to be developed as a safe and effective therapy.

For a majority of remote sensing applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the data need to be downloaded to ground devices for processing, but this procedure cannot satisfy the demands of real-time target detection. Our objective in this study is to develop a real-time system based on an embedded technology for image acquisition, target detection, the transmission and display of the results, and user interaction while providing support for the interactions between multiple UAVs and users. This work is divided into three parts: (1) We design the technical procedure and the framework for the implementation of a real-time target detection system according to application requirements. (2) We develop an efficient and reliable data transmission module to realize real-time cross-platform communication between airborne embedded devices and ground-side servers. (3) We optimize the YOLOv4 algorithm by using the K-Means algorithm and TensorRT inference to improve the accuracy and speed of the NVIDIA Jetson TX2. In experiments involving static detection, it had an overall confidence of 89.6% and a rate of missed detection of 3.8%; in experiments involving dynamic detection, it had an overall confidence and a rate of missed detection of 88.2% and 4.6%, respectively.

Abstract Human rhinovirus B (HRV-B) is a major human viral pathogen that can be responsible for various kinds of infections. Due to the health risks associated with HRV-B, it is therefore crucial to explore a rapid, specific, and sensitive method for surveillance. Herein, we exploited a novel detection method for HRV-B by combining reverse-transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) of nucleic acids isothermal amplification and the trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a. Our RT-RPA-Cas12a-based fluorescent assay can be completed within 35–45 min and obtain a lower detection threshold to 0.5 copies/µL of target RNA. Meanwhile, crRNA sequences without a specific protospacer adjacent motif can effectively activate the trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a. Moreover, our RT-RPA-Cas12a-based fluorescent method was examined using 30 clinical samples, and exhibited high accuracy with positive and negative predictive agreement of 90% and 100%, respectively. Taken together, a novel promising, rapid and effective RT-RPA-Cas12a-based detection method was explored and shows promising potential for on-site HRV-B infection in resource-limited settings.

Abstract As China’s economy transitions, environmental issues have become a major concern. This study examines the impact of Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) on urban air quality using panel data from 284 cities in China from 2006 to 2019. The study utilizes DID (Difference-in-Difference) models to analyze the regulatory effects of AAQS and its spatial spillover. Additionally, the serial multiple mediation models are constructed to investigate the role of green innovation. The findings reveal that the AAQS positively affects urban air quality, albeit with a notable “hysteresis effect.” Local implementation of AAQS worsens air quality in neighboring cities within a distance of 400 km, but beyond 400 km, the effect is reversed. Heterogeneity analysis shows that AAQS improves air quality in central cities, large-sized and medium-sized cities, cities with weak environmental governance, and resource-based cities. Mechanism tests suggest that AAQS may enhance urban air quality by promoting green innovation and optimizing industrial structure. Especially, either the energy-use effect or industrial-structure effect triggered by green innovation can contribute to the improvement of urban air quality.

Abstract Aims To investigate the expression of polo-like kinase 1 protein (PLK1) and its phosphorylation level (p-PLK1) in extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (NKTCL) and their correlation with clinical characteristics and prognosis. Methods We collected 40 cases of NKTCL (referred to as the experimental group), which received diagnoses at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between January 2018 and October 2022. Concurrently, we assembled a control group, including 20 cases afflicted with nasopharyngeal mucosal lymphoid hyperplasia diseases during the same timeframe. We utilized immunohistochemical techniques to evaluate the levels of PLK1 and p-PLK1 expression in both the experimental and control groups. Subsequently, we conducted an analysis to identify disparities in their expression and explore their relationships with clinical characteristics and patient prognosis. Results Among the 40 NKTCL patients, there were 27 males and 11 females, with a median age of 51 years (range 12–80 years). Compared to the control group, the tissue samples of NKTCL patients exhibited significantly elevated expression levels and active phosphorylation levels of PLK1 (P 0.05). Grouping based on PLK1 and p-PLK1 immunohistochemical H-scores revealed that the high expression of PLK1 and p-PLK1 was associated with poor prognosis. Conclusions The expression levels and active phosphorylation levels of PLK1 were significantly increased in NK/T cell lymphoma, and patients with overexpression of PLK1 and p-PLK1 had a poorer prognosis.

Ethylene-Responsive Factor (ERF) is a key element found in the middle and lower reaches of the ethylene signal transduction pathway. It is widely distributed in plants and plays important roles in plant growth and development, hormone signal transduction, and various stress processes. Although there is research on AP/ERF family members, research on AP2/ERF in Osmanthus fragrans is lacking. Thus, in this work, AP2/ERF in O. fragrans was extensively and comprehensively analyzed. A total of 298 genes encoding OfAP2/ERF proteins with complete AP2/ERF domains were identified. Based on the number of AP2/ERF domains and the similarity among amino acid sequences between AP2/ERF proteins from A. thaliana and O. fragrans, the 298 putative OfAP2/ERF proteins were divided into four different families, including AP2 (45), ERF (247), RAV (5), and SOLOIST (1). In addition, the exon–intron structure characteristics of these putative OfAP2/ERF genes and the conserved protein motifs of their encoded OfAP2/ERF proteins were analyzed, and the results were found to be consistent with those of the population classification. A tissue-specific analysis showed the spatiotemporal expression of OfAP2/ERF in the stems and leaves of O. fragrans at different developmental stages. Specifically, 21 genes were not expressed in any tissue, while high levels of expression were found for 25 OfAP2/ERF genes in several tissues, 60 genes in the roots, 34 genes in the stems, 37 genes in young leaves, 34 genes in old leaves, 32 genes in the early flowering stage, 18 genes in the full flowering stage, and 37 genes in the late flowering stage. Quantitative RT-PCR experiments showed that OfERF110a and OfERF110b had the highest expression levels at the full-bloom stage (S4), and this gradually decreased with the senescence of petals. The expression of OfERF119c decreased first and then increased, while the expression levels of OfERF4c and OfERF5a increased constantly. This indicated that these genes may play roles in flower senescence and the ethylene response. In the subsequent subcellular localization experiments, we found that ERF1-4 was localized in the nucleus, indicating that it was expressed in the nucleus. In yeast self-activation experiments, we found that OfERF112, OfERF228, and OfERF23 had self-activation activity. Overall, these results suggest that OfERFs may have the function of regulating petal senescence in O. fragrans.

Tactile sensing has become indispensable for contact-rich dynamic robotic manipulation tasks. It provides robots with a better understanding of the physical environment, which is a vital supplement to robotic vision perception. Compared with other existing tactile sensors, vision-based tactile sensors (VBTSs) stand out for augmenting the tactile perception capabilities of robotic systems, owing to superior spatial resolution and cost-effectiveness. Despite their advantages, VBTS production faces challenges due to the lack of standardised manufacturing techniques and heavy reliance on manual labour. This limitation impedes scalability and widespread adoption. This paper introduces a rapid monolithic manufacturing technique and evaluates its performance quantitatively. We further develop and assess C-Sight, a novel VBTS sensor manufactured using this technique, focusing on its tactile reconstruction capabilities. Experimental results demonstrate that the monolithic manufacturing technique enhances VBTS production efficiency significantly. Also, the fabricated C-Sight sensor exhibits its reliable tactile perception and reconstruction capabilities, proofing the validity and feasibility of the monolithic manufacturing method.

Objective:This study aimed to explore the signal detection method for allergic reactions induced by inpatient iodixanol injection.Methods:A database of 3,719,217 hospitalized patients from 20 large Chinese general hospitals was processed and analyzed using the prescription sequence symmetry analysis (PSSA) method.Results:126,680 inpatients who used iodixanol and were concurrently treated with anti-allergic drugs were analyzed. In the medical records of these patients, only 32 had documented iodixanol allergies. Statistical analysis identified 22 drugs in 4 categories—calcium preparations, adrenergic/dopaminergic agents, glucocorticoids, and antihistamines—as marker drugs. With time intervals of 3, 7, and 28 days, the adjusted sequence ratios (aSRs) for all anti-allergics and the 4 categories were greater than 1. The 7-day aSRs were 2.12 (95% CI: 2.08–2.15), 1.70 (95% CI: 1.68–1.73), 3.85 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.75–2.30), 2.30 (95% CI: 2.26–2.35), and 1.95 (95% CI: 1.89–2.02), respectively. The proportions of adverse drug events indicated by each signal were as follows: all anti-allergics (2.92%–3%), calcium gluconate (0.19%–0.52%), adrenergic/dopaminergic agents (2.20%–3.37%), glucocorticoids (3.13%–3.76%), and antihistamines (1.05%–1.32%).Conclusion:This first multi-center Chinese inpatient database study detected iodixanol-induced allergy signals, revealing that reactions may be much higher than those in collected spontaneous reports. Iodixanol risk exposure was closer to actual pharmaceutical care findings. PSSA application with ≤7-day intervals appears better suited for monitoring late allergic reaction signals with these drugs.

Identifying polyphenotype genes that simultaneously regulate important agronomic traits (e.g., plant height, yield, and disease resistance) is critical for developing novel high-quality crop varieties. Predicting the associations between genes and traits requires the organization and analysis of multi-dimensional scientific data. The existing methods for establishing the relationships between genomic data and phenotypic data can only elucidate the associations between genes and individual traits. However, there are relatively few methods for detecting elite polyphenotype genes. In this study, a knowledge graph for traits regulating-genes was constructed by collecting data from the PubMed database and eight other databases related to the staple food crops rice, maize, and wheat as well as the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. On the basis of the knowledge graph, a model for predicting traits regulating-genes was constructed by combining the data attributes of the gene nodes and the topological relationship attributes of the gene nodes. Additionally, a scoring method for predicting the genes regulating specific traits was developed to screen for elite polyphenotype genes. A total of 125,591 nodes and 547,224 semantic relationships were included in the knowledge graph. The accuracy of the knowledge graph-based model for predicting traits regulating-genes was 0.89, the precision rate was 0.91, the recall rate was 0.96, and the F1 value was 0.94. Moreover, 4,447 polyphenotype genes for 31 trait combinations were identified, among which the rice polyphenotype gene IPA1 and the A. thaliana polyphenotype gene CUC2 were verified via a literature search. Furthermore, the wheat gene TraesCS5A02G275900 was revealed as a potential polyphenotype gene that will need to be further characterized. Meanwhile, the result of venn diagram analysis between the polyphenotype gene datasets (consists of genes that are predicted by our model) and the transcriptome gene datasets (consists of genes that were differential expression in response to disease, drought or salt) showed approximately 70% and 54% polyphenotype genes were identified in the transcriptome datasets of Arabidopsis and rice, respectively. The application of the model driven by knowledge graph for predicting traits regulating-genes represents a novel method for detecting elite polyphenotype genes.

Organic fertilization and deep ploughing are expected to contribute to carbon (C) sequestration in arable soils. This hypothesis was evaluated over 11 years of chemical and organic fertilization under conventional tillage (20 cm) and deep ploughing (40 cm) in a rainfed sorghum-maize rotation system on the Loess Plateau. Soil was collected and analysed to determine the soil organic C (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in the soil profiles (0–60 cm) or in the macroaggregates, microaggregates and silt and clay fractions (0–20 cm only). The SOC and TN stocks at the 0–60 cm depth displayed a net decrease in the unfertilized control, a marginal increase with chemical fertilizer, a significant increase of 23–45 % and 19–42 %, respectively, with organic amendments and a significant increase of 54 % and 48 %, respectively, when combined with deep ploughing. A critical input amount of 2064 kg C ha−1 yr−1 or 162 kg N ha−1 yr−1 was found to be required to maintain the initial SOC or TN stock. The annual N input was positively correlated with the C sequestration efficiency (P

AimThis research aimed to explore the causal impact of blood metabolites on oral cancer using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. The study endeavored to identify potential biomarkers for oral cancer’s clinical management.Materials and methodsBased on the large individual-level datasets from UK Biobank as well as GWAS summary datasets, we first constructed genetic risk scores (GRSs) of 486 human blood metabolites and evaluated the effect on oral cancer. Various statistical methods, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, and weighted median, among others, were employed to analyze the potential causal relationship between blood metabolites and oral cancer. The sensitivity analyses were conducted using Cochran’s Q tests, funnel plots, leave-one-out analyses, and MR-Egger intercept tests.Results29 metabolites met the stringent selection criteria. Out of these, 14 metabolites demonstrated a positive association with oral cancer risk, while 15 metabolites indicated a protective effect against oral cancer. The IVW-derived estimates were significant, and the results were consistent across different statistical methodologies. Both the Cochran Q test and the MR-Egger intercept test indicated no heterogeneity and pleiotropy.ConclusionThis MR study offers evidence of the role specific blood metabolites play in oral cancer, pinpointing several with potential risk or protective effects. These findings could be helpful for new diagnostic tools and treatments for oral cancer. While the results are promising, additional research is necessary to fully validate and refine these conclusions. This study serves as a foundational step towards more comprehensive understandings in the future.

Abstract Using the Haken model to explore the synergistic evolutionary characteristics and competition trends of agricultural resilience and eco‐efficiency can establish a theoretical foundation for achieving high‐quality and sustainable agricultural development. The traditional Haken model cannot address the issue of the lack of directionality in synergy values, but incorporating the tendency theory of the coupling coordination model into the Haken model can solve this problem, thus establishing propensity synergistic Haken model to give values directionality. Established a more comprehensive evaluation system for China's agricultural resilience. Measuring agricultural system resilience in China's 31 provinces and cities from 2001 to 2021. The synergistic values between agricultural resilience and eco‐efficiency were measured by the improved Haken model. Results show that: (1) Agricultural resilience exhibits a stable upward trend, but the overall level is low. Regional differences have been increasing over time. (2) Eco‐efficiency is the sequential covariate of synergistic evolution by the two systems. The overall synergy level between agricultural system resilience and eco‐efficiency is higher. (3) Considering the “propensity synergistic,” the overall change from low‐level benign synergy to high‐level benign synergy between agricultural resilience and eco‐efficiency in China. (4) The propensity synergy Haken model can compensate for the directionality‐lack problem of the traditional Haken model synergy value.

For tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors using magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ), the sensor output linearization is of great importance for practical applications. The current study employs a three-step magnetic annealing procedure for linearizing the double-pinned MTJs, setting the magnetization of the free layer to be orthogonal to that of the reference layer. Compared to the traditional two-step annealing procedure, the three-step annealing procedure benefits from a lower annealing temperature and excellent linearity performance. Utilizing the three-step annealing procedure, the sensitivity and the detectivity of 1.57 mV/V/Oe and 29.3 nT Hz0.5 @ 10 Hz, respectively, was achieved in a full Wheatstone bridge TMR sensor. Our results reveal a new pathway for linearization of the TMR sensors through three-step annealing process.

BackgroundSarcopenia, a progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, needs to initially prevent in the twenties. Meanwhile, there is a lack of research on the effects of fat consumption on skeletal muscle mass and strength in adults aged 20–59. We aimed to assess associations between dietary fat intake and skeletal muscle mass, as measured by appendicular lean mass adjusted for body mass index (ALMBMI), and muscle strength, as represented by handgrip strength adjusted for body mass index (GSMAXBMI), among adults aged 20–59.MethodsDietary fat intake per kilogram of actual body weight was assessed using two 24h recalls, while ALM and GSMAX were measured using DXA and a handgrip dynamometer, respectively. A weighted multiple linear regression model was employed to analyze the association between dietary fat intake and skeletal muscle mass, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning from 2011 to 2014. To assess the non-linear relationship and saturation value between dietary fat intake and skeletal muscle mass, a smooth curve fitting approach and a saturation effect analysis model were utilized.ResultsThe study comprised a total of 5356 subjects. After adjusting for confounding factors, there was a positive association observed between dietary fat intake and ALMBMI as well as GSMAXBMI. The relationship between dietary fat intake and ALMBMI showed an inverted U-shaped curve, as did the association with GSMAXBMI. Turning points were observed at 1.88 g/kg/d for total fat intake and ALMBMI, as well as at 1.64 g/kg/d for total fat intake and GSMAXBMI. Furthermore, turning points were still evident when stratifying by gender, age, protein intake, and physical activity. The turning points were lower in individuals with low protein intake(

Abstract Developing practical quantum technologies will require the exquisite manipulation of fragile systems in a robust and repeatable way. As quantum technologies move toward real world applications, from biological sensing to communication in space, increasing experimental complexity introduces constraints that can be alleviated by the introduction of new technologies. Robotics has shown tremendous progress in realizing increasingly smart, autonomous, and highly dexterous machines. Here, a robotic arm equipped with a magnet is demonstrated to sensitize an NV center quantum magnetometer in challenging conditions unachievable with standard techniques. Vector magnetic fields are generated with 1° angular and 0.1 mT amplitude accuracy and determine the orientation of a single stochastically‐aligned spin‐based sensor in a constrained physical environment. This work opens up the prospect of integrating robotics across many quantum degrees of freedom in constrained settings, allowing for increased prototyping speed, control, and robustness in quantum technology applications.

For iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm, the initial position and the number of iterations are needed in registration. At the same time, the ICP algorithm is easy to fall into local convergence and convergence speed is slow. By constructing K-D tree to search neighborhood points and artificially set threshold, plane fitting is carried out, the on-time point cloud to be deployed is separated from the complex background, and statistical analysis is used to calculate the distance between the point cloud and the neighborhood point to quickly remove the invalid point cloud. The surface equation is set to calculate the tangent plane of point cloud normal vector and each normal vector, and the local coordinate system is constructed. The angle between adjacent vectors and the local coordinate system is calculated to determine the feature point set of edge contour. According to the covariance matrix of the feature points set, the principal feature component is obtained, the principal axis direction of the two sets of point clouds is found, and the rotation matrix and the displacement vector are obtained. Finally, GICP precise registration of point cloud is carried out according to initial pose parameters and rigid body transformation matrix obtained by maximum likelihood estimation method. The results show that the optimized algorithm can effectively avoid local convergence. Compared with the traditional ICP algorithm, when the algorithm achieves the same registration accuracy in the public dataset experiment, the registration speed is on average 44.82% faster and the overlap rate is on average 15.26% higher. In the real dataset experiment, the registration speed is on average 59.04% faster, the registration accuracy is on average 30.24% higher and the overlap rate is on average 10.61% higher. This shows that the optimization algorithm is superior to the traditional ICP algorithm in registration accuracy and convergence speed.

Abstract Emotion regulation (ER) refers to the process through which people influence the occurrence, experience, and expression of emotions. It can be established in an explicit (voluntary) or implicit (automatic) way, both of which are essential for mental and physical well-being. Recent evidence has highlighted the potential of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the prefrontal cortex (PFC) to modulate ER. However, previous studies have only evaluated the effects of TMS and tDCS on explicit ER, leaving implicit ER relatively unexplored. In this review and meta-analysis, we systematically evaluated the effects of TMS and tDCS over the PFC on the two forms of ER, using both subjective and physiological response as outcome indicators. Twenty-seven studies were included in our study. Both subjective (Hedges’ g = − 0.20) and physiological (Hedges’ g = − 0.65) results indicated a significant effect of TMS and tDCS targeting PFC on down-regulation of explicit ER, but not implicit ER (Hedges’ g = − 0.04). Moreover, moderation analysis indicated that the effect of TMS and tDCS on the down-regulating of subjective experience was moderated by several factors, including stimulation method, target area, target hemisphere, and stimulation timing. Specifically, our results showed that applying TMS or targeting the right PFC, particularly the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, or using offline TMS and tDCS produced a larger stimulation effect on ER. In summary, these findings suggest that TMS and tDCS has a positive effect on explicit, but not implicit ER. The distinct TMS and tDCS effect on the two forms of ER help deepen our understanding of TMS and tDCS use and provide valuable insights for the development of tailored TMS and tDCS protocols for explicit and implicit regulation.

Abstract Secernin-1 (SCRN1) is a regulator of exocytosis in mast cells. Recently, SCRN1 was reported to be correlated with the prognosis of colorectal cancer and gastric cancer, but its functional effects on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unclear. Our aim was to explore the expression pattern and the migration and invasion effects of the newly identified SCRN1 in OSCC. Western blotting (WB) was performed to measure SCRN1 expression in human OSCC tissue samples and OSCC cell lines. The effects of SCRN1 on OSCC cell proliferation, invasion and migration were analyzed by cell counting kit-8 and Transwell assays. The expression levels of TGF-β, Smad3 and phosphorylated Smad3 (p-Smad3) were measured by WB. The secretion of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 was determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of SCRN1 was significantly elevated in OSCC tissues and cell lines. SCRN1 knockdown reduced the expression of TGF-β and p-Smad3 in OSCC cells. TGF-β stimulation promoted proliferation, invasion and migration and enhanced the expression of p-Smad3 and the secretion of MMP9 in SCRN1-knockdown OSCC cell lines. Our study demonstrated that SCRN1 is upregulated in OSCC. Further analyses demonstrated that SCRN1 promotes the proliferation, invasion and migration of OSCC cells via TGF-β/Smad3 signaling.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Naples Prognostic Score (NPS), Systemic Inflammation Score (SIS), and Controlling Nutritional Status Score (COUNT) in distinguishing benign from malignant ovarian neoplasms. Additionally, a nomogram is developed utilizing these nutritional and inflammatory indicators to enhance preoperative assessment of ovarian neoplasms. Methods: Patients with ovarian neoplasms who underwent surgery at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University between June 2017 and June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Benign ovarian disease or epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) was diagnosed postoperatively by pathology. Patients were randomly divided into training and test cohorts. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify significant clinical and imaging risk factors, along with NPS, SIS, and COUNT. Nomograms were constructed to predict EOC and externally validated. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Results: A total of 2226 patients (1788 benign and 438 EOC) were included. Factors such as age, multilocular tumors, solid nodules, larger tumor diameter, ascites, and higher tumor marker levels were associated with an increased risk of EOC. The AUC values for models incorporating NPS, SIS, and COUNT were 0.907, 0.897, and 0.883, respectively, indicating superior diagnostic ability compared to models without nutritional/inflammatory indicators. The nomogram with NPS demonstrated the highest diagnostic value and clinical utility based on DCA (p < 0.001). External validation confirmed good agreement between the predicted and observed values. Conclusions: The model including NPS exhibited superior diagnostic value for preoperative diagnosis of EOC compared to models with SIS or COUNT. The nomogram combining NPS with clinical and imaging indicators displayed the highest diagnostic value and efficacy.

Magnetic microrobots, with their small size and agile maneuverability, are well-suited for navigating the intricate and confined spaces within the human body. In vivo cargo delivery within the context of microrobotics involves the use of microrobots to transport and administer drugs and cells directly to the targeted regions within a living organism. The principal aim is to enhance the precision, efficiency, and safety of therapeutic interventions. Despite their potential, there is a shortage of comprehensive reviews on the use of magnetic microrobots for in vivo cargo delivery from both research and engineering perspectives, particularly those published after 2019. This review addresses this gap by disentangling recent advancements in magnetic microrobots for in vivo cargo delivery. It summarizes their actuation platforms, structural designs, cargo loading and release methods, tracking methods, navigation algorithms, and degradation and retrieval methods. Finally, it highlights potential research directions. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the current landscape of magnetic microrobot technologies for in vivo cargo delivery. It highlights their present implementation methods, capabilities, and prospective research directions. The review also examines significant innovations and inherent challenges in biomedical applications.

In robot-assisted microsurgery (RAMS), surgeons often face the challenge of operating with minimal feedback, particularly lacking in haptic feedback. However, most traditional desktop haptic devices have restricted operational areas and limited dexterity. This report describes a novel, lightweight, and low-budget wearable haptic controller for teleoperated microsurgical robotic systems. We designed a wearable haptic interface entirely made using off-the-shelf material-PolyJet Photopolymer, fabricated using liquid and solid hybrid 3D co-printing technology. This interface was designed to resemble human soft tissues and can be wrapped around the fingertips, offering direct contact feedback to the operator. We also demonstrated that the device can be easily integrated with our motion tracking system for remote microsurgery. Two motion tracking methods, marker-based and marker-less, were compared in trajectory-tracking experiments at different depths to find the most effective motion tracking method for our RAMS system. The results indicate that within the 4 to 8 cm tracking range, the marker-based method achieved exceptional detection rates. Furthermore, the performance of three fusion algorithms was compared to establish the unscented Kalman filter as the most accurate and reliable. The effectiveness of the wearable haptic controller was evaluated through user studies focusing on the usefulness of haptic feedback. The results revealed that haptic feedback significantly enhances depth perception for operators during teleoperated RAMS.

BackgroundThe contradiction between science and operability has always existed in the model of classified occupational health supervision and management. Comprehensive risk assessment method for occupational disease hazards of employers provides risk grading and classification for occupational health management, and it's a new attempt to explore classification supervision and law enforcement. ObjectiveTo apply a comprehensive risk assessment method for occupational disease hazards of employers to estimate health risk level of wood furniture enterprises, discuss its advantages and disadvantages, and provide a basis for improving the classified management of occupational health. MethodsSeven typical factories were selected in counties with highly concentrated wooden furniture manufacturing. Occupational health field investigation and testing were carried out to estimate occupational disease hazard risk level (Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ). A self-rated checklist was applied to score occupational health management status by interviewing employers, one by one, and to determine occupational health management status grade (A, B, and C) by the score. Thus, a comprehensive risk level (Class A, Class B, and Class C) of a specific factory was obtained from a matrix of occupational disease hazard risk level and management status grade. Risk verification was carried out based on any abnormality reported by regular occupational physical examination in past 3 years. ResultsDefects in occupational health management were identified in all 7 factories, among which 6 were grade C with key nonconformities (poor), and 1 was grade B (medium). Disqualified occupational disease hazards were found in 6 of 7 factories, and the workstation-specific disqualified rates were 26.09% (12/46) for noise, 14.71% (5/34) for wood dust (hard), and 12.50% (1/8) for xylene. Level Ⅱ (medium) of occupational disease hazard risk was estimated in 5 of 7 factories, while level Ⅲ (high) in 2 factories. All 7 factories were class C (high risk) accessed by the comprehensive risk assessment method for occupational disease hazards. The occupational health surveillance documents showed 636 batches of regular occupational physical examination were ordered by the 7 employers, and a total of 37 workers from 5 factories reported abnormalities in physical examination, among which 3 workers reported dust exposure and 34 workers reported noise exposure. ConclusionThe comprehensive risk assessment method for occupational disease hazards of employers is not able to perform with satisfaction in occupational health classification of wooden furniture manufacturing factories yet. It is necessary to expand the pilot to improve this assessment method and develop an efficient supervision mechanism to ensure the authenticity of the data before it is popularized and applied in classified occupational health management.