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SUMMARY: With global climate change, the high‐temperature environment has severely impacted the community structure and phenotype of marine diatoms. Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a model species of marine diatom, is sensitive to high temperature, which grow slowly under high temperature. However, the regulatory mechanism of P. tricornutum in response to high‐temperature is still unclear. In this study, we found that the expression level of the HSP70A in the wild type (WT) increased 28 times when exposed to high temperature (26°C) for 1 h, indicating that HSP70A plays a role in high temperature in P. tricornutum. Furthermore, overexpression and interference of HSP70A have great impact on the exponential growth phase of P. tricornutum under 26°C. Moreover, the results of Co‐immunoprecipitation (Co‐IP) suggested that HSP70A potentially involved in the correct folding of the photosynthetic system‐related proteins (D1/D2), preventing aggregation. The photosynthetic activity results demonstrated that overexpression of HSP70A improves non‐photochemical quenching (NPQ) activity under high‐temperature stress. These results reveal that HSP70A regulates the photosynthetic activity of P. tricornutum under high temperatures. This study not only helps us to understand the photosynthetic activity of marine diatoms to high temperature but also provides a molecular mechanism for HSP70A in P. tricornutum under high‐temperature stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of meta‐analyses investigating the role of folate on depression are conflicting. The aim of this umbrella meta‐analysis was to obtain an overall effect and give a concise and resolving conclusion. International scientific databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched up to Oct 2023. All observational and interventional meta‐analyses investigating the role of folate in depression were included in the study. Random‐effects model was employed to obtain pooled results. I2 statistics and Cochrane Q test were used to assess the between‐study heterogeneity. The quality of included meta‐analyses was evaluated using the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR2) questionnaire. Overall 11 studies were included, of which 8 studies went under quantitative evaluation. The results indicated that folate supplementation significantly relieved depression symptoms [(SMD: −0.42; 95% CI: −0.57, −0.27, p <.001; I2 = 0.0%, p‐heterogeneity = 0.554) (WMD: −3.20; 95% CI: −4.00, −2.41, p <.001, I2 = 14.8%, p‐heterogeneity = 0.318)] with low levels of heterogeneity. Also, based on observational studies, folate insufficiency significantly increased the odds ratio of depression by 35% (OR:1.35; 95% CI: 1.27, 1.42, p <.001, I2 = 8.7%, p‐heterogeneity = 0.350). The findings support the fact that folate supplementation could be suggested as an efficacious and adjuvant agent in the alleviation of depression symptoms along with routine medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to their excellent biocompatibility and capability of large deformation, hydrogels have attracted extensive attention for promising applications. When subjected to cyclic loads, hydrogels are susceptible to fatigue. To ensure their durability, it is crucial to have a deeper understanding on the fatigue mechanisms of hydrogels. However, there is a lack of study in the literature for predicting the fatigue damage of hydrogels under the coupling of large deformation and water diffusion. This work aims to formulate a fatigue life predictor for characterizing the crack nucleation of single-network hydrogels and unveil the effects of water diffusion on fatigue. Borrowing the concept of fatigue crack nucleation for rubber-like materials, the fatigue life predictor is developed within the framework of configurational mechanics. With the proposed predictor, the contributions of stretching and mixing to the fatigue damage of hydrogels are identified. Case studies with different swelling conditions are conducted to further distinguish various effects, including chemical potential, loading rate, and cyclic stretching amplitude, on both stretching and mixing induced damage. It is concluded that the fatigue damage accumulation in hydrogels under cyclic loading is the competing result of stretching and water diffusion. As the proposed predictor is capable of predicting the spatial fatigue damage of hydrogels, the current research can provide guidance on designing loading profiles to improve the fatigue life of hydrogels. In addition, by incorporating self-healing mechanism and multiphysics coupling, the proposed modeling framework can be further expanded to investigate the fatigue of other hydrogels, like double-network and stimuli-sensitive hydrogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor early shrinkage and cracking performances of manufactured sand concrete, waste powder concrete, and recycled aggregate concrete are the main difficulties in engineering applications. To solve these problems, early shrinkage and cracking, strength, and impermeability tests were performed on high-volume stone powder manufactured sand concrete mixed with fly ash and slag powder (FS), a shrinkage-reducing agent (SRA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers, and a superabsorbent polymer (SAP). Furthermore, the microstructures and pore structures of these concretes were revealed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the mixture of FS, SRA, PVA fibers, and SAP could effectively inhibit the shrinkage strain and cracking area of the concrete. The effect of the SAP on reducing the early shrinkage of the concrete is the greatest, and the shrinkage strain can be reduced by 76.49%. The PVA fibers had the most obvious effect on inhibiting the early cracking of the concrete, and the total cracking area was reduced by 66.91%. Significantly, the incorporation of the FS can improve the particle gradation and the pore structure and improve its compactness. The PVA fibers not only provide good carriers for cement-based materials but also enhance the bonding force between the particles inside the concrete, filling the pores inside the concrete, inhibiting the loss of water, and reducing the generation of internal microcracks. The FS and PVA can reduce the shrinkage and cracking risk and improve the strength and impermeability of the concrete. Although the SRA and SAP can reduce the shrinkage and cracking risks, it will lead to a significant decrease in the later strength and impermeability. The main reason is that the SRA leads to an increase in micropores in the matrix and microcracks near the aggregate, which are not conducive to the development of the strength and penetration resistance of the MS. Similarly, the SAP can promote the rapid formation of ettringite (Aft) at an early age and improve the early shrinkage, early cracking, and early strength of the concrete. However, with an increase in age, the residual pores, after SAP dehydration, will cause the deterioration of the concrete pore structure, resulting in the deterioration of the strength and impermeability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SF6/N2 gas mixture as a preliminary alternative to SF6 is used in the power industry gas insulation medium. At present, the application of the 30% SF6/70% N2 gas mixture has made some progress, but the influence law of microwater content on its discharge decomposition characteristics is still unclear. In this paper, we simulate the defects of metal protrusions in the equipment through needle-plate electrodes, carry out SF6/N2 96hPD and its decomposition characteristic test under different microwater contents, and find that the increase of the microwater content in the SF6/N2 gas mixture will exacerbate the phenomenon of PD, resulting in the enhancement of the average discharge, and under the action of prolonged PD, more characteristic decomposition products will be generated, of which the SOF2 content is the highest, which can be as one of the characteristic components for fault severity judgment. This study provides a certain reference for the specific requirements of the microwater content of the SF6/N2 gas mixture in power equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common genetic variants and susceptibility loci associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been discovered through large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS), GWAS by proxy (GWAX) and meta-analysis of GWAS and GWAX (GWAS+GWAX). However, due to the very low repeatability of AD susceptibility loci and the low heritability of AD, these AD genetic findings have been questioned. We summarize AD genetic findings from the past 10 years and provide a new interpretation of these findings in the context of statistical heterogeneity. We discovered that only 17% of AD risk loci demonstrated reproducibility with a genome-wide significance of P  < 5.00E-08 across all AD GWAS and GWAS+GWAX datasets. We highlighted that the AD GWAS+GWAX with the largest sample size failed to identify the most significant signals, the maximum number of genome-wide significant genetic variants or maximum heritability. Additionally, we identified widespread statistical heterogeneity in AD GWAS+GWAX datasets, but not in AD GWAS datasets. We consider that statistical heterogeneity may have attenuated the statistical power in AD GWAS+GWAX and may contribute to explaining the low repeatability (17%) of genome-wide significant AD susceptibility loci and the decreased AD heritability (40–2%) as the sample size increased. Importantly, evidence supports the idea that a decrease in statistical heterogeneity facilitates the identification of genome-wide significant genetic loci and contributes to an increase in AD heritability. Collectively, current AD GWAX and GWAS+GWAX findings should be meticulously assessed and warrant additional investigation, and AD GWAS+GWAX should employ multiple meta-analysis methods, such as random-effects inverse variance-weighted meta-analysis, which is designed specifically for statistical heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-atomic sulfur bonded with carbon atoms (C S C), functioning as main active redox sites to achieve high reversible capacity and rate performance. [Display omitted] Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) as an emerging battery technology have garnered significant research interest. However, the development of high-performance PIBs critically hinges on reliable anode materials with comprehensive electrochemical performance and low cost. Herein, low-cost N -doped biomass-derived carbon-sulfur hybrids (NBCSHs) were prepared through a simple co-carbonization of the mixture of a biomass precursor (coffee grounds) and sulfur powder. The sulfur in NBCSHs predominantly exists in the form of single-atomic sulfur bonded with carbon atoms (C S C), functioning as main active redox sites to achieve high reversible capacity. Electrochemical evaluations reveal that the NBCSH 1–3 with moderate sulfur content shows significantly improved potassium storage performance, such as a high reversible capacity of 484.7 mAh g−1 and rate performance of 119.4 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1, 4.5 and 14.7 times higher than that of S-free biomass-derived carbon, respectively. Furthermore, NBCSH 1–3 exhibits stable cyclability (no obvious capacity fading even after 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g−1) and excellent electrochemical kinetics (low overpotentials and apparent diffusion coefficients). The improved performance of NBCSHs is primarily attributed to pseudocapacitance-dominated behavior with fast charge transfer capability. Density functional theory calculations also reveal that co-doping with S, N favors for achieving a stronger potassium adsorbing capability. Assemble K-ion capacitors with NBCS 1–3 as anodes demonstrate stable cyclability and commendable rate performance. Our research envisions the potential of NBCSHs as efficient and sustainable materials for advanced potassium-ion energy storage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize (Zea mays subspecies mays) is an important commercial crop across the world, and its flowering time is closely related to grain yield, plant cycle and latitude adaptation. FKF1 is an essential clock‐regulated blue‐light receptor with distinct functions on flowering time in plants, and its function in maize remains unclear. In this study, we identified two FKF1 homologs in the maize genome, named ZmFKF1a and ZmFKF1b, and indicated that ZmFKF1a and ZmFKF1b independently regulate reproductive transition through interacting with ZmCONZ1 and ZmGI1 to increase the transcription levels of ZmCONZ1 and ZCN8. We demonstrated that ZmFKF1b underwent artificial selection during modern breeding in China probably due to its role in geographical adaptation. Furthermore, our data suggested that ZmFKF1bHap_C7 may be an elite allele, which increases the abundance of ZmCONZ1 mRNA more efficiently and adapt to a wider range of temperature zone than that of ZmFKF1bHap_Z58 to promote maize floral transition. It extends our understanding of the genetic diversity of maize flowering. This allele is expected to be introduced into tropical maize germplasm to enrich breeding resources and may improve the adaptability of maize at different climate zones, especially at temperate region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SrTiO 3 (STO) is considered a promising high-temperature N-type thermoelectric material. However, its intrinsic insulating properties and high thermal conductivity limit the dimensionless quality factor (zT) due to its simple crystal structure and the existence of light elements. Along these lines, in this work, the optimization of the thermoelectric properties of STO-based materials was achieved by using the high temperature and high pressure (HPHT) method and adjusting the doping ratios of the La and Nb heavy elements. To enhance the doping effect, oxygen vacancies need to be formed within the sample. For this reason, titanium powder was added to the sample. Due to the confined environment induced by the high pressure, which can be attributed to the application of the HPHT method and the strong oxygen trapping ability of Ti at high temperatures, a reducing environment was attained for the samples, the latter, promoted the formation of oxygen vacancies in the synthesized samples, and semiconducting properties were achieved. The thermoelectric properties and microscopic morphology of the synthesized samples with different doping ratios of La and Nb were also thoroughly investigated. Finally, the maximum zT value obtained for the samples was 0.28@973 K. A fast, simple, and effective method for the preparation of oxygen-deficient packet-crystalline oxide materials was developed in this work, which paves the way for significantly improving their thermoelectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SrTiO 3 (STO)-based perovskite oxide is regarded as a promising high-temperature n-type thermoelectric material. However, its intrinsic high thermal conductivity leads to poor thermoelectric properties. Using entropy engineering, lower thermal conductivity can be obtained. However, the high configuration entropy can also lead to poor carrier mobility, which inhibits electron transport and consequently reduces the electrical conductivity. Along these lines, in this work, an ultra-low thermal conductivity was obtained, which is significantly lower than the majority of the values reported in the literature, and the concept of phononic glass electronic crystal was attained at the same time. The enhanced effective scattering of phonons through the multi-scale defects gives rise to a low thermal conductivity of 1.8 W m−1 K−1 at 973K. Optimization of electrical properties due to in situ reduction at high temperature and pressure，the high-entropy ceramics possess the maximum power factor of 7.03 μW cm−1 K−2 at 973K. The application of high pressure is considered an important approach for the development of new materials with special properties. A new strategy for the composition design and in-situ reduction of oxide thermoelectric materials was provided in this work, which paves the way for the optimization and application of both the electrical and thermal properties of perovskite-based materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of big data, with the continuous popularization of social media, various text data are growing in the network and in life. It is of great significance to analyze and manage text data using text classification technology. Text classification is a basic research field in the field of artificial intelligence natural language processing. Under the given criteria, it classifies text according to content. The application scenarios of text classification are very extensive, such as sentiment analysis, topic classification, relationship classification, etc. Deep learning is a method of representation learning based on data in machine learning, and it shows good classification effect in text data processing. Chinese text and English text have differences in form, sound, and image. Focusing on the uniqueness of Chinese text classification, this paper analyzes and expounds the deep learning methods used for Chinese text classification, and finally sorts out commonly used datasets for Chinese text classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I present a new analysis of the meaning of the phase in quantum mechanics. First, I give a simple but rigorous proof that the global phase is not real in ψ -ontic quantum theories. Next, I argue that a similar strategy cannot be used to prove the reality of the global phase due to the existence of the tails of the wave function. Finally, I argue that the relative phase is not a nonlocal property of two regions together, and adding a relative phase to one local branch of a superposition only changes the local properties at the boundary of the region of the branch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with perception capability for military targets will become increasingly essential for strategic reconnaissance and stationary patrols in the future. To respond to challenges such as complex terrain and weather variations, as well as the deception and camouflage of military targets, this paper proposes a hybrid detection model that combines Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Transformer architecture in a decoupled manner. The proposed detector consists of the C-branch and the T-branch. In the C-branch, Multi-gradient Path Network (MgpNet) is introduced, inspired by the multi-gradient flow strategy, excelling in capturing the local feature information of an image. In the T-branch, RPFormer, a Region–Pixel two-stage attention mechanism, is proposed to aggregate the global feature information of the whole image. A feature fusion strategy is proposed to merge the feature layers of the two branches, further improving the detection accuracy. Furthermore, to better simulate real UAVs' reconnaissance environments, we construct a dataset of military targets in complex environments captured from an oblique perspective to evaluate the proposed detector. In ablation experiments, different fusion methods are validated, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed fusion strategy. In comparative experiments, the proposed detector outperforms most advanced general detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) is responsible for the emergence of intracellular membrane‐less organelles and the development of coacervate protocells. Benefitting from the advantages of simplicity, precision, programmability, and noninvasiveness, light has become an effective tool to regulate the assembly dynamics of LLPS, and mediate various biochemical processes associated with LLPS. In this review, recent advances in optically controlling membrane‐less organelles within living organisms are summarized, thereby modulating a series of biological processes including irreversible protein aggregation pathologies, transcription activation, metabolic flux, genomic rearrangements, and enzymatic reactions. Among these, the intracellular systems (i.e., optoDroplet, Corelet, PixELL, CasDrop, and other optogenetic systems) that enable the photo‐mediated control over biomolecular condensation are highlighted. The design of photoactive complex coacervate protocells in laboratory settings by utilizing photochromic molecules such as azobenzene and diarylethene is further discussed. This review is expected to provide in‐depth insights into phase separation‐associated biochemical processes, bio‐metabolism, and diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Improving the production performance and egg quality of laying hens in the late-laying period has become an urgent problem. This study confirmed that dietary supplementation of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OHD3) instead of vitamin D3 (VD3) improved production performance and egg quality, maintained the jejunal morphology, and enhanced tibia quality by increasing the concentration of circulating 25-OHD3 and Ca absorption in late-laying-period hens. The superiority of 25-OHD3 over VD3 indicates that it has the potential to prevent an age-induced decrease in production performance and osteoporosis in laying hens, thereby contributing to extending the feeding cycle of laying hens. This study aimed to investigate whether a dietary 25-OHD3 addition improved the performance, egg quality, blood indexes, antioxidant status, jejunal morphology, and tibia quality of aged laying hens compared to a dietary VD3 addition. A total of 270 Hy-Line Brown laying hens at 55 wk of age were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments with six replicates (15 birds per replicate with 3 birds per cage). Chickens were fed a corn–soybean meal diet supplementation of 4000 IU/kg VD3 (control group), 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 and 2000 IU/kg VD3 (experimental group 1), or 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 and 4000 IU/kg VD3 (experimental group 2) for 12 weeks. The results demonstrated that 25-OHD3 caused a significant increase in the laying rate, especially in the 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 + 2000 IU/kg VD3 group; the laying rate reached the maximum compared with other groups after 12 weeks (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant effects on the average egg weight, average daily feed intake, or feed-to-egg ratio (p > 0.05). A dietary supplementation of 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 and 2000 IU/kg VD3 provided an improved eggshell strength, thick albumen height, and Haugh unit after 12 weeks (p < 0.05). Further analysis of the blood indexes showed that alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphorus were enhanced significantly in the 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 + 2000 IU/kg VD3 group, while the content of total bilirubin decreased significantly (p < 0.05). In addition, the 25-OHD3 addition in diets improved the calcium and phosphorus contents in the serum (p < 0.05). The concentrations of 25-OHD3, parathyroid hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone, and progesterone were increased in the 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 + 2000 IU/kg VD3 group, and the levels of cortisol, calcitonin, bone gla protein, and endotoxin in the serum reached a minimum in the 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 + 4000 IU/kg VD3 group (p < 0.05), which constitutes an advantage for the aged laying hens. The antioxidant enzyme activities and free radical scavenging abilities in the 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 + 2000 IU/kg VD3 group increased markedly, and the MDA level decreased significantly in the 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 + 4000 IU/kg VD3 group (p < 0.05). Improvements in jejunal morphology and intestinal integrity resulted in an increased villi-length-to-crypt-depth ratio in the 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 + 2000 IU/kg VD3 group (p < 0.05). Dietary 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 and 2000 IU/kg VD3 additions improved the tibia quality, including fresh tibia weight, strength, mineral content (Ca), and trabeculae area (p < 0.05). Taken together, compared with the dietary VD3 addition, dietary supplementation of 25-OHD3 supported a stable physiological status for sustained egg production, egg quality, and bone quality in late-phase laying hens, and the addition levels of 50 μg/kg 25-OHD3 and 2000 IU/kg VD3 had the best effect. Therefore, this could provide a theoretical basis for the use of 25-OHD3 as a substitute forVD3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel coumarin-derived Schiff base fluorescent probe was reported to detect Cu2+ ions in human cells. It was synthesized by the reaction between 7-(diethylamino)coumarin-3-carbohydrazide and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate. The probe has good stability and it exhibited obviously decreasing fluorescent response at λ 490 nm upon addition of Cu(II) ions. The fluorescent probe showed high selectivity for Cu(II) ions compared to other metal ions. The probe has been successfully applied to detect Cu(II) ions in human cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees living in subfreezing environments for extended periods are susceptible to brittle fracture and freezing injury, which limits wood quality and final utilization. This study investigates the effects of temperature and cooling rate on the freezing of water in wood using dielectric spectroscopy. Dielectric parameters such as dielectric constant, loss factor, and relaxation strength were observed during cooling process of wood. The effects of subzero temperature and cooling rate on the dielectric parameters were found significant. The dielectric parameters at a slow-cooling rate were generally higher 12%∼143% than those at a fast-cooling rate. During the cooling process from 20°C dropped to − 80°C, the freezing process of water in wood was divided into four stages based on the dielectric parameter change and its impact on wood cell wall was characterized using SEM and DSC methods. The findings of this study provide the basis to explore the freezing behavior of water in wood and further to determine the cause of freezing injury in trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number and proportion of the elderly population have been continuously increasing in China, leading to the elevated prevalence of chronic diseases and multimorbidity, which ultimately brings heavy burden to society and families. Meanwhile, the status of multimorbidity tends to be more complex in elderly inpatients than community population. In view of the above concerns, this study was designed to investigate the health status of elderly inpatients by analyzing clinical data in Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital from 2008 to 2019, including the constitution of common diseases, comorbidities, the status of multimorbidity, in-hospital death and polypharmacy among elderly inpatients, so as to better understand the diseases spectrum and multimorbidity of elderly inpatients and also to provide supporting evidence for targeted management of chronic diseases in the elderly. Methods: A clinical inpatients database was set up by collecting medical records of elderly inpatients from 2008 to 2019 in Chinese PLA General Hospital, focusing on diseases spectrum and characteristics of elderly inpatients. In this study, we collected data of inpatients aged ≥ 65 years old, and further analyzed the constitution of diseases, multimorbidity rates and mortality causes in the past decade. In addition, the prescriptions were also analyzed to investigate the status of polypharmacy in elderly inpatients. Results: A total of 210,169 elderly patients were hospitalized from January 1st, 2008 to December 31st, 2019. The corresponding number of hospitalizations was 290,833. The average age of the study population was 72.67 years old. Of the total population, 73,493 elderly patients were re-admitted within one year, with the re-hospitalization rate of 25.27%. Malignant tumor, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus and cerebrovascular disease were the top 5 diseases. Among the study population, the number of patients with two or more long-term health conditions was 267,259, accounting for 91.89%, with an average of 4.68 diseases. In addition, the average number of medications taken by the study population was 5.4, among which, the proportion of patients taking more than 5 types of medications accounted for 55.42%. Conclusions: By analyzing the constitution of diseases and multimorbidity, we found that multimorbidity has turned out to be a prominent problem in elderly inpatients, greatly affecting the process of healthy aging and increasing the burden on families and society. Therefore, multidisciplinary treatment should be strengthened to make reasonable preventive and therapeutic strategies to improve the life quality of the elderly. Meanwhile, more attention should be paid to reasonable medications for elderly patients with multimorbidity to avoid preventable side effects caused by irrational medication therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano‐sized contrast agents (NCAs) hold potential for highly specific tumor contrast enhancement during magnetic resonance imaging. Given the quantity of contrast agents loaded into a single nano‐carrier and the anticipated relaxation effects, the current molecular design approaches its limits. In this study, a novel molecular mechanism to augment the relaxation of NCAs is introduced and demonstrated. NCA formation is driven by the intramolecular self‐folding of a single polymer chain that possesses systematically arranged hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments in water. Utilizing this self‐folding molecular design, the relaxivity value can be elevated with minimal loading of gadolinium complexes, enabling sharp tumor imaging. Furthermore, the study reveals that this NCA can selectively accumulate into tumor tissues, offering effective anti‐tumor results through gadolinium neutron capture therapy. The efficacy and versatility of this self‐folding molecular design underscore its promise for cancer diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a country with a high incidence of esophageal cancer. The pathological type is mainly squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous intraepithelial neoplasia is the most recognized precancerous lesion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and its monitoring and intervention is an effective method to reduce the incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and improve the quality of life of patients. Understanding the etiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma plays a crucial role in the prevention and early diagnosis and treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. At present, the clinical research related to esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia is still insufficient, and there are some differences in clinical treatment. This review summarizes the risk factors, clinical features, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia, hoping to provide ideas for the clinical management of esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum mechanics with a fundamental density matrix has been proposed and discussed recently. Moreover, it has been conjectured that the universe is not in a pure state but in a mixed state in this theory. In this paper, I argue that this mixed state conjecture has two main problems: the redundancy problem and the underdetermination problem, which are lacking in quantum mechanics with a definite initial wave function of the universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inulin, as a prebiotic, could modulate the gut microbiota. Burn injury leads to gut microbiota disorders and skeletal muscle catabolism. Therefore, whether inulin can improve burn-induced muscle atrophy by regulating microbiota disorders remains unknown. This study aimed to clarify that inulin intake alleviates gut microbiota disorders and skeletal muscle atrophy in burned rats. Rats were divided into the sham group, burn group, prebiotic inulin intervention group, and pseudo-aseptic validation group. A 30% total body surface area (TBSA) third-degree burn wound on dorsal skin was evaluated in all groups except the sham group. Animals in the intervention group received 7 g/L inulin. Animals in the validation group received antibiotic cocktail and inulin treatment. In our study inulin intervention could significantly alleviate the burn-induced skeletal muscle mass decrease and skeletal myoblast cell apoptosis. Inulin intake increased the abundances of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria but decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria. The biosynthesis of amino acids was the most meaningful metabolic pathway distinguishing the inulin intervention group from the burn group, and further mechanistic studies have shown that inulin can promote the phosphorylation of the myogenesis-related proteins PI3K, AKT and P70S6K and activate PI3K/AKT signaling for protein synthesis. In conclusion, inulin alleviated burn induced muscle atrophy through PI3K/AKT signaling and regulated gut microbiota dysbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractCrew-reducing exhibits promise for various benefits in the aviation industry. However, there is limited understanding regarding public acceptance. Using an experimental design deployed with a vignette-based online study, we investigated individuals’ negative emotion, trust, risk acceptance, and willingness to ride toward Single Pilot Operations (SPO) and Dual Pilot Operations (DPO). Results established that people preferred DPO flights, relying on affect heuristic. Specifically, people’s negative emotion associated with SPO decreases their trust, which subsequently results in lower levels of willingness to ride and risk acceptance. Furthermore, we observed that people are less likely to accept risk evoked by intelligent autonomous system in DPO flights, which likely due to their psychological model about two pilots in the cockpit. Findings from this research highlight the importance of users’ initially positive affects about intelligent equipment in the cockpit. Other theoretical and practical implications for narrowing the acceptable gap between SPO and DPO are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meaning of the wave function is an important unresolved issue in Bohmian mechanics. On the one hand, according to the nomological view, the wave function of the universe or the universal wave function is nomological, like a law of nature. On the other hand, the PBR theorem proves that the wave function in quantum mechanics or the effective wave function in Bohmian mechanics is ontic, representing the ontic state of a physical system in the universe. It is usually thought that the nomological view of the universal wave function is compatible with the ontic view of the effective wave function, and thus the PBR theorem has no implications for the nomological view. In this paper, I argue that this is not the case, and these two views are in fact incompatible. This means that if the effective wave function is ontic as the PBR theorem proves, then the universal wave function cannot be nomological, and the ontology of Bohmian mechanics cannot consist only in particles. This incompatibility result holds true not only for Humeanism and dispositionalism but also for primitivism about laws of nature, which attributes a fundamental ontic role to the universal wave function. Moreover, I argue that although the nomological view can be held by rejecting one key assumption of the PBR theorem, the rejection will lead to serious problems, such as that the results of measurements and their probabilities cannot be explained in ontology in Bohmian mechanics. Finally, I briefly discuss three ψ -ontologies, namely a physical field in a fundamental high-dimensional space, a multi-field in three-dimensional space, and RDMP (Random Discontinuous Motion of Particles) in three-dimensional space, and argue that the RDMP ontology can answer the objections to the ψ -ontology raised by the proponents of the nomological view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Drug resistance remains a major challenge in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our objective was to investigate the genetic mechanisms involved in the development of Sorafenib-associated drug resistance in HCC cells. To achieve this, transposon insertional mutagenesis was utilized as a forward genetic tool to generate Sorafenib-resistant HCC cell lines and identify potential drug resistant genes. Our studies identified two genes, interleukin 7 (IL7) and mal, T cell differentiation protein 2 (MAL2), which conferred resistance to Sorafenib by activating the pro-survival JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Additionally, autophagy inducing stapled peptides exhibited an anti-proliferative effect on both wild-type and drug-resistant HCC cells. When combined with Sorafenib, these peptides demonstrated efficacy against drug-resistant cells. Therefore, targeting autophagy could present a novel approach for overcoming Sorafenib-associated drug resistance in HCC induced by IL7- and MAL2-overexpression. Drug resistance poses a great challenge in systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms associated with resistance to anti-cancer drugs, such as Sorafenib, remain unclear. In this study, we use transposon insertional mutagenesis to generate Sorafenib-resistant HCC cell lines in order to identify potential drug resistant causative genes. Interleukin 7 (IL7) and mal, T cell differentiation protein 2 (MAL2) were identified as candidate genes that promote survival by activating JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Sorafenib-resistant cells exhibited higher clonogenic survival and lower drug sensitivity due to IL7 and MAL2 upregulation. Higher anti-apoptotic effect, clonogenic survival and increased PI3K/AKT/STAT3 activities were observed in IL7 and MAL2 co-overexpressing cells compared with controls or cells overexpressing IL7 or MAL2 individually. Given the critical role of MAL2 in endocytosis, we propose that MAL2 might facilitate the endocytic trafficking of IL7 and its cognate receptors to the plasma membrane, which leads to upregulated JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways and Sorafenib resistance. Additionally, our previous studies showed that an autophagy-inducing stapled peptide promoted the endolysosomal degradation of c-MET oncogene and overcame adaptive Sorafenib resistance in c-MET+ HCC cells. In this study, we demonstrate that these stapled peptides readily induced autophagy and inhibited the proliferation of both wild-type and Sorafenib-resistant HCC cells co-overexpressing both IL7 and MAL2. Furthermore, these peptides showed synergistic cytotoxicity with Sorafenib in drug-resistant HCC cells co-overexpressing both IL7 and MAL2. Our studies suggest that targeting autophagy may be a novel strategy to overcome IL7/MAL2-mediated Sorafenib resistance in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a received view that superluminal signaling is prohibited in collapse theories of quantum mechanics. In this paper, I argue that this may be not the case. I propose two possible mechanisms of superluminal signaling in collapse theories. The first one is based on the well-accepted solution to the tails problem, and the second one is based on certain assumptions about the minds of observers. Finally, I also discuss how collapse theories can avoid such superluminal signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical challenge that impedes the application of photocatalytic techniques for organic dye degradation from polluted industrial effluents is that traditional powdery photocatalysts exposed limited photo-absorption sites and exhibited inefficient recyclability. To overcome these challenges, this study designed a one-step process to synthesize a monolithic copper selenide (CuSe)-based photocatalyst. The characterization results fully supported that the maintenance of the copper foam during the selenization process was the prerequisite for the monolithic photocatalyst to keep its structural integrity in photocatalytic reactions. The surface of the monolithic photocatalyst fully covered by active CuSe is crucial for the exposure of photocatalytically active sites and the efficient degradation of methylene blue (MB). It was found that the CuSe-based monolithic photocatalyst exhibited excellent MB degradation performances under harsh pH conditions and high MB concentrations. From these perspectives, it is reasonable to conclude that the CuSe-based monolithic photocatalyst as prepared is a promising alternative to traditional powdery photocatalysts for organic dye degradation and industrial effluent cleaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential Code Bias (DCB) is a crucially systematic error in satellite positioning and ionospheric modeling. This study aims to estimate the BeiDou-3 global navigation satellite system (BDS-3) satellite DCBs by using the single-frequency (SF) uncombined Precise Point Positioning (PPP) model. The experiment utilized BDS-3 B1 observations collected from 25 International GNSS Service (IGS) stations located at various latitudes during March 2023. The results reveal that the accuracy of estimating B1I-B3I DCBs derived from single receiver exhibits latitude dependence. Stations in low-latitude regions show considerable variability in the root mean square (RMS) of absolute offsets for satellite DCBs estimation, covering a wide range of values. In contrast, mid- to high-latitude stations demonstrate a more consistent pattern with relatively stable RMS values. Moreover, it has been observed that the stations situated in the Northern Hemisphere display a higher level of consistency in the RMS values when compared to those in the Southern Hemisphere. When incorporating estimates from all 25 stations, the RMS of the absolute offsets in satellite DCBs estimation consistently remained below 0.8 ns. Notably, after excluding 8 low-latitude stations and utilizing data from the remaining 17 stations, the RMS of absolute offsets in satellite DCBs estimation decreased to below 0.63 ns. These enhancements underscore the importance of incorporating a sufficient number of mid- and high-latitude stations to mitigate the effects of ionospheric variability when utilizing SF observations for satellite DCBs estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very rich scholarly works have been produced to perform a comparative study between Emerson and Zhuang Zi. Many scholars in their comparative research have tried to find how Emerson and the transcendentalists such as Thoreau borrow ideas from Daoism. In this article, I will take a different approach. I aim to find how Emerson and Zhuang Zi's pursuit of spirituality in nature shapes different types of sense of place. The concept of spirituality is related to the pursuit of meaning in life and self-transcendence. This concept has gradually gained attention from the branches of religion, philosophy, geography, and psychology since, currently, due to the fast urbanization process, more people are separated from their land and move into cities. I will make a comparison between Emerson and Zhuang Zi from the concepts of spirituality, nature, and place. This perspective will shed light on the question of the conservation of various places due to their value and meaning, although I will not discuss conservation issues in this paper. In this article, I will first give a brief introduction to the meaning of spirituality by focusing on the three dimensions of this concept, which include meaning, self-transcendence, and spiritual practices. Then, I will discuss how the concept of nature in Emerson and Zhuang Zi's works is related to these three dimensions. Finally, I will examine why Emerson and Zhuang Zi treat wilderness and agricultural land, respectively, as a place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEMs) in the inherent metallic minerals of biomass have a crucial effect on the pyrolysis process. In our previous work, the experiments mainly investigated the effects of Fe–Co catalysts on pine needle (PN) pyrolysis. This work further explored the synergistic effect of AAEMs (K, Ca, Na, and Mg) with Fe–Co-catalyzed biomass pyrolysis. The results showed that AAEMs in biomass could improve the gas yield by promoting decarbonization, decarboxylation, and hydrocarbon conversion. Adding Co to Fe enhanced the stability and anti-coking properties of the catalyst, which facilitated the breakage of C –H/C–C bonds and the conversion of oxygenated compounds to hydrocarbons, increasing the H2 yield (13.99 mL/g → 92.50 mL/g). AAEMs enhanced the catalytic activity of Fe–Co catalysts with high selectivity for H 2 (92.50 mL/g→104.81 mL/g) and CO (65.00 mL/g→73.65 mL/g). The characterization results showed that AAEMs promoted the reduction of Fe–Co catalyst and the dispersion of metal active sites, which facilitated the transition from disordered to ordered carbon and the removal of oxygen functional groups such as O –H, thus increasing the CO yield, while the effective cleavage of CH 4 and C 2 compounds and the dehydrogenation of organic components promoted the increase of H 2 yield, and the activity followed Na > Ca > Mg > K. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the cavitation vortex dynamics and load characteristics of projectiles launched underwater at different angles of attack. The results show that as the velocity of the projectile decreases during the underwater cruising stage and the cavitation number continuously increases, the cavity begins to shed. This phenomenon occurs because of the development of a re-entrant jet at the end of the cavity. As the angle of attack (0°–8°) increases, the cavity asymmetry is strengthened and the scale of the cavity shedding increases. The cavity prevents the generation of hairpin vortex packages. This phenomenon is more pronounced in cavities with a larger angle of attack. As the angle of attack increases (4°–8°), the turbulent vortex structures of the wall and free wake are further developed and enriched. The vortex legs of wall hairpin vortices are significantly elongated at large angles of attack, which may be the result of the combined effect of the cavity and transition area. During the water-exiting stage, the collapse of isolated vacuoles generated by the cavitation flow generates a significant collapse load. The collapse position undergoes at least two pressure pulsation peaks or increases, with the first peak or increase occurring during the initial underwater cruising stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete with light weight and pervious performance has been widely recognized as an effective and sustainable solution for reducing the negative impacts of urbanization on the environment, as it plays a positive role in urban road drainage, alleviating the urban heat island effect and thermal insulation, as well as seismic performance, etc. This research paper presents a feasibility study of pervious concrete preparation with ceramsite as aggregate. First, pervious concrete specimens with different types of aggregates at various water–cement ratios were prepared, and the mechanical properties of pervious concrete specimens were evaluated based on the compressive strength test. Then, the permeability properties of the pervious concrete specimens with different types of aggregates at various water–cement ratios were characterized. Meanwhile, statistical analysis and regression fitting were conducted. Finally, the analysis of the freeze–thaw durability of pervious concrete specimens with ceramsite as aggregate according to indexes including quality loss rate and strength loss rate was performed. The results show that as the water–cement ratio increased, the compressive strength and permeability coefficient of pervious concrete generally decreased. Compressive strength and permeability coefficient showed a great correlation with the water–cement ratio; the R2 values of the models were around 0.94 and 0.9, showing good regression. Compressive strength was mainly provided by the strength of the aggregates, with high-strength clay ceramsite having the highest 28-day compressive strength value, followed by ordinary crushed-stone aggregates and lightweight ceramsite. Porosity was mainly influenced by the particle size and shape of the aggregates. Lightweight ceramsite had the highest permeability coefficient among different types of cement-bound aggregates, followed by high-strength clay ceramsite and ordinary crushed-stone aggregates. The quality and compressive strength of pervious concrete specimens decreased with the increase in freeze–thaw cycles; the quality loss was 1.52%, and the compressive strength loss rate was 6.84% after 25 freeze–thaw cycles. Quadratic polynomial regression analysis was used to quantify the relationship of durability and freeze–thaw cycles, with R2 of around 0.98. The results provide valuable insights into the potential applications and benefits of using ceramsite as an aggregate material in pervious concrete for more sustainable and durable infrastructure projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to mitigate the negative impact brought by the large‐scale grid connection of EVs, it is highly significant to study the optimal charging scheduling strategy of EVs. In this paper, a multiobjective optimization model of ordered charging and discharging with the participation of distribution network operator (DNO), charging station operator (CSO) and EV users is established, which maximize the interest of three parties. At the same time, the real‐time price (RTP) based on the change in load rate is designed and compared with the time‐of‐use (TOU) price model to analyze the impact of both on the interests of all parties. At last, the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) is introduced and three improvements are made. The results demonstrate that different charging modes of EVs and charging price models will affect the balance of interests of the three parties, while the improved SSA performs better under different users' response rates. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the ability of the ratio of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) to serum albumin ratio (BAR) in patients with sepsis in intensive care units (ICUs) to predict the prognosis of short-and long-term death. Data are from the Marketplace for Intensive Care Medical Information IV (MIMIC-IV v2.0) database for patients with sepsis as defined by SEPSIS-3. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality and the secondary outcome was 360-day mortality. Kaplan–Meier (KM) survival curves were plotted to describe differences in BAR mortality in different subgroups and area under the curve (AUC) analysis was performed to compare the predictive value of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), BAR, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and albumin. Multivariate Cox regression models and subgroup analysis were used to determine the correlation between BAR and 30-day mortality and 360-day mortality. A total of 7656 eligible patients were enrolled in the study with a median BAR of 8.0 mg/g, including 3837 in the ≤ 8.0 group and 3819 in the BAR > 8.0 group, with 30-day mortality rates of 19.1% and 38.2% (P < 0.001) and 360-day mortality rates of 31.1% and 55.6% (P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression models showed an increased risk of death for 30-day mortality (HR = 1.219, 95% CI 1.095–1.357; P < 0.001) and 360-day mortality (HR = 1.263, 95% CI 1.159–1.376; P < 0.001) in the high BAR group compared to the low BAR group. For the 30-day outcome, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.661 for BAR and 0.668 for 360-day BAR. In the subgroup analysis, BAR remained an isolated risk factor for patient death. As a clinically inexpensive and readily available parameter, BAR can be a valuable forecaster of prognosis in patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury and ferrous iron commonly co-exist in anaerobic environments, the hotspots of microbial mercury methylation that leads to formation of neurotoxic methylmercury. However, the influence of ferrous iron on mercury bioavailability and methylation remains unclear. Here, we discover that microbial methylmercury production is inhibited by iron addition in a non-monotonical manner, reaching the minimal level at the initial molar ratio of dissolved Fe/Hg as 1/3, when highly aggregated Hg–S–Fe nanoparticles occur and prevent the nanoparticle–bacteria interactions. The dominant mercury species formed upon Hg–S–Fe co-precipitation is iron-incorporated nano-metacinnabar with short-range structural disorder. The methylation potential of this mercury species is inversely correlated with the aggregation state of nanoparticles. The non-monotonical trends of the aggregation state and subsequent methylation of nano-metacinnabar are due to the opposite effects of ferrous iron on the nucleation and particle attachment that determine the formation of nanoparticle aggregates. Increased Fe/Hg ratio hinders particle nucleation and thus decreases the density of particle monomers for aggregation. However, Fe substitution of sub-surface Hg weakens the inner-sphere coordination of surface Hg with natural thiol ligands and consequently enhances nano-metacinnabar aggregation. This new mechanistic insight is important for assessing and minimizing the risks of mercury methylation, and informs how intertwined iron and sulfur cycling may influence metal bioavailability in the changing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exact variational integrators were exposed in the context of Lagrangian mechanics in Marsden and West (2001). These integrators sample the trajectories of holonomic mechanical systems and are useful for developing practical mechanical integrators. This paper introduces an exact variational integrator for Hamel’s equations, which are interpreted as a noncanonical form of Hamilton’s equations. This exact Hamel integrator is then adopted for a systematic construction of low-order constraint-preserving integrators for nonholonomic mechanical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shan Gao has served at Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine (JOPM) for 20 years, and currently as Associate Editor of JOMP, Beijing, China. After he finished his 8 year education in Stomatology for both bachelor and master degrees, he started 10 years of clinic practice in Endodontics and Oral Medicine in China, followed by 12 years basic research work in Molecular Biology, including 3 years for a PhD degree in Denmark and 10 years industry experience in a leading RNAi therapeutic company in China. During those years of experience, he built up a close relationship with Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine. It is great opportunity to introduce his story together with JOPM, accompanying with his personal research experience, at the moment of the 50th Anniversary of JOPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncontrolled diabetes causes a catabolic state with multi‐organic complications, of which impairment on skeletal muscle contributes to the damaged mobility. Kcnma1 gene encodes the pore‐forming α‐subunit of Ca2+‐ and voltage‐gated K+ channels of large conductance (BK channels), and loss‐of‐function mutations in Kcnma1 are in regards to impaired myogenesis. Herein, we observed a time‐course reduction of Kcnma1 expression in the tibialis anterior muscles of leptin receptor‐deficient (db/db) diabetic mice. To investigate the role of Kcnma1 in diabetic muscle atrophy, muscle‐specific knockdown of Kcnma1 was achieved by mice receiving intravenous injection of adeno‐associated virus‐9 (AAV9)‐encoding shRNA against Kcnma1 under the muscle creatine kinase (MCK) promoter. Impairment on muscle mass and myogenesis were observed in m/m mice with AAV9‐shKcnma1 intervention, while this impairment was more obvious in diabetic db/db mice. Simultaneously, damaged mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis showed much severer in db/db mice with AAV9‐shKcnma1 intervention. RNA sequencing revealed the large transcriptomic changes resulted by Kcnma1 knockdown, and changes in mitochondrial homeostasis‐related genes were validated. Besides, the artificial alteration of Kcnma1 in mouse C2C12 myoblasts was achieved with an adenovirus vector. Consistent results were demonstrated by Kcnma1 knockdown in palmitate‐treated cells, whereas opposite results were exhibited by Kcnma1 overexpression. Collectively, we document Kcnma1 as a potential keeper of mitochondrial homeostasis, and the loss of Kcnma1 is a critical event in priming skeletal muscle loss in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of train transportation in the port environment directly restricts the production efficiency of the entire port. In order to coordinate the productivity of the entire port and further improve the loading and unloading efficiency of the train automation system, this paper proposes a material segmentation and data statistics algorithm for the problem of material identification in the train compartment. The terrestrial laser scanning system was established under the experimental scenario of CHN ENERGY Tianjin Port. By fusing the laser point cloud data, and then performing pre-processing operations such as box filtering, down-sampling, and radius filtering, the pre-processed point cloud data is projected onto a two-dimensional plane as a two-dimensional image, and the canny operator is used to extract the contour of the carriage on the image. Further fitting to the plane of the point cloud of the carriage wall, and the point cloud of materials in the carriage is segmented. Through the method of slicing the compartment, completing the statistical analysis of the data in the compartment from the whole to the part. The database fields of the main carriage types are established to realize the information interaction between the database and the recognition algorithm. The final experimental results show that the error rate of the carriage length recognition is 5.89%, and the width error rate is 7.25%, which verifies that the algorithm has good recognition accuracy which fully meets engineering needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with availability and reliability characteristics for a repairable fault-tolerant system with warm standbys and second optional repair service. The failure times of primary components and warm standby ones are assumed to be exponentially distributed, and the failed components can be repaired by a repairman. For each failed component, the repairman provides two phases of repair service. All the failed components need the first essential repair, whereas only part of them demand the second optional repair. By using Markov theory and solving Matrix equation satisfied by the steady-state probabilities of the system, we present the steady-state availability of the system. By using Laplace transform method, we obtain the reliability function and the mean time to first failure of the system. Numerical examples are given to make research of the effect of the system parameters on the reliability function, steady-state availability and MTTF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the influence of sand impingements on cathodic protection (CP) of marine carbon steel in natural sea water was studied in comparison with the CP performances in static and flowing sea water without sand particles. Results show that the propagation of local active anodic dissolution at the steel inclusions could be totally inhibited by providing sufficient cathodic current in the sea water free of sand particles. However, the local 'CP shielding', potential fluctuation and sand impingements would enhance the anodic dissolution at inclusions, thus leading to the occurrence of erosion-corrosion under CP. The negative shift of the CP potential could not retard the propagation of erosion-corrosion pits under sand impingements. The synergy of erosion and corrosion might result in long-term failure of local CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Healey’s pragmatist quantum realism, the only physical properties of quantum systems are those to which the Born rule assigns probabilities. In this paper, I argue that this approach to quantum theory fails to explain the results of protective measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA replication stress threatens genome stability and affects plant growth and development. How plants resolve replication stress is poorly understood. The protein kinase WEE1-mediated cell cycle arrest is required for replication stress responses. The E3 ubiquitin ligases anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and Skp1/Cullin 1/F-box (SCF) are essential regulators of the cell cycle. Here, we show that APC/CCDC20 mediates the degradation of SCFFBL17 during replication stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Biochemically, WEE1 interacts with and phosphorylates the APC/C co-activator APC10, which enhances the interaction between F-BOX-LIKE17 (FBL17) and CELL DIVISION CYCLE 20 (CDC20), an activator of APC/C. Both APC10 and CDC20 are required for the polyubiquitination and degradation of FBL17. Genetically, silencing CDC20 or APC10 confers plant hypersensitivity to replication stress, which is suppressed by loss of FBL17. Collectively, our study suggests that WEE1 activates APC/C to inhibit FBL17, providing insight into replication stress responses in plants. The checkpoint kinase WEE1 phosphorylates APC10 and promotes APC/CCDC20-mediated polyubiquitination and degradation of FBL17 during replication stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a repairable K -out-of- N + W : G system with warm standby components and R repairmen, where common cause failure (CCF), random inspection, and a repair pressure coefficient are involved. Due to the typical non-self-announcement of the standby component's failure, performing a random inspection on warm standby components is necessary to find whether there are failed standby components. When the number of failed components is larger than R (heavy loading occurs), all the repairmen increase their repair rates under a repair pressure coefficient to reduce the waiting queue and enhance the reliability and availability of the system. By adopting a matrix-analytic method and Markov renewal theory, this study provides the steady-state distribution and some reliability indices mean time to first failure time (MTTFF) and reliability function from the arbitrary initial state. By some numerical experiments, sensitivity analysis is finally given to show the effect of the system parameters on some performance measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hull‐less barley grass polysaccharide extracts (HBP) are prepared, and the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of agar films with different HBP contents (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% w/w of agar mass) are investigated. Infrared spectroscopy shows that HBP interacts with the agar matrix via intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The incorporation of HBP causes rougher surface morphology with increased film thickness (p < 0.05). The films with HBP exhibit decreased brightness with a greenish and yellowish hue. The flexibility of the films is improved gradually as HBP contents increase from 0 to 1.5% w/w (p < 0.05), however, a slight reduction is observed with 2% w/w HBP addition (p > 0.05). The water resistance and surface hydrophobicity of the films are enhanced by adding HBP (p < 0.05). The antioxidant test reveals the strong antioxidant capacity of the HBP‐loaded films, which is positively correlated with the HBP contents (p < 0.05), with 2% w/w HBP leading to 59.28% DPPH radical scavenging and 69.00% ABTS radical scavenging. Results suggest that HBP is a promising functional agent for developing antioxidant biopolymer films, and the agar/HBP edible films prepared in this study have potential in food packaging fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four kinds of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) with imine structures were synthesized by a Sonogashira coupling reaction followed by a postreaction between aldehydes and amines. Palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) were successfully supported on the CMPs to prepare Pd/CMP heterogeneous catalysts and were used to catalyze the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction. The number of aromatic nuclei and nitrogen atoms in the CMPs highly affects Pd loading. In the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction, the Pd/CMP with good Pd NPs dispersibility and appropriate Pd content (Pd/CMP-NA) exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency with 100% conversion and 95.4% yield which can be used for many substrates. The Pd/CMP-NA heterogeneous catalyst was easy to recover and still exhibited good catalytic efficiency after 5 cycles. To further understand the catalytic mechanism of Pd/CMP-NA on the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction, we proposed a rational catalytic cycle. This paper provides an idea for the structural design of CMPs used for Suzuki–Miyaura catalytic reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical resection is the most effective curative management of benign rib tumors and carries an excellent prognosis. Due to complex anatomy and narrow field, higher rib resection is technically demanding and requires extensive dissection. Case presentation: We report a case of second rib tumor resection performed transthoracic under Da Vinci robot assistance. A 32-year-old male complained about increasing pain in the left anterior chest wall. After 3D reconstruction of CT, it showed a well-circumscribed fusiform lesion with a multi-component structure. Measured 17 × 6 × 4 cm and extended into the chest cavity to the depth below the pectoralis minor muscle. The patient underwent robotic-assisted trans-thoracic second rib resection. At four weeks of outpatient follow-up, the patient reported no pain and uncomplicated wound healing. Conclusion: This minimally invasive approach offers optimal visualization and tissue manipulation while dramatically decreasing the possibility of collateral damage, hence ensuring fast function recovery. To the best of our knowledge, these kinds of procedures are rarely reported in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated potential gene targets and metabolite markers associated with colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Materials & Methods: Gene expression data (GSE110224) related with CRC were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus, including 17 tumor tissues and 17 normal colon ones. The gene differential analysis, functional analysis, protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and metabolite network construction were performed to identify key genes related to CRC. Moreover, an external dataset was used to validate genes of interest in CRC, and corresponding survival analysis was also conducted. Results: The authors extracted 197 differentially expressed genes (75 upregulated and 122 downregulated genes). Moreover, upregulated genes were closely associated with rheumatoid arthritis and amoebiasis pathways. The downregulated genes were mainly related to bile secretion and proximal tubule bicarbonate reclamation pathway. Combined with PPI network and metabolite prediction, the overlapped nine genes (CXCL1, CXCL8, CXCL10, HDS1782, IL18, PCK1, PTGS2, SERPINB2, TMP1) were found to be critical in CRC. Similar gene expression profiles of nine critical genes were validated by an external dataset, except for SERPINB2. In addition, the expressions of TIMP1, IL1B, and PTGS2 were closely related with prognosis. Finally, the metabolite network analysis revealed that there were close associations between prostaglandin E2 and three pathways (rheumatoid arthritis, amoebiasis, and leishmaniasis). Conclusion:CXCL1/CXCL8/IL1B/PTGS2-prostaglandin E2 axes were the potential signatures involved in CRC progression, which could provide new insights to understand the molecular mechanisms of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes cavitating flow structure and load characteristics of vehicles launched underwater for different cavitation numbers and different angles of attack. The improved delayed detached-eddy simulation model and volume of fluid, as well as overlapping mesh technique, are adopted. Additionally, a verification of the underwater launch simulation method and cavitation model is presented. Cavitating flow structure, wall vortex structures, and load characteristics are studied with a focus on the evolution mechanism of the cavitation flow field during the water-exit process. The results show that the attached cavitation rapidly collapses from top to bottom under the combined effect of large–medium density difference and reentry jet. Due to the presence of attachment cavitation, the development of the wall vortex structure represented by the hairpin vortex is inhibited. Considering the compressibility of the vapor phase, the peak of the synchronous collapse pressure is much larger than the collapse pressure with incompressibility. The pressure appears to be characterized by short widths and high peaks during the collapse of the water-exit. As the vehicle exits the water with a certain angle of attack, the range and peak of the cavitation collapse pressure rapidly reduce. In particular, the pressure side cavitation shedding and collapse behavior at the initial moment may lead to a larger pressure peak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]