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The article introduces MCRPL, a paradigm combining pretraining, prompt, and fine-tuning, to address the challenge of non-overlapping many-to-one cross-domain recommendation. Topics include the integration of domain-agnostic and domain-dependent prompts, updating prompts for knowledge transfer, and experimental validation against recent baselines, demonstrating superior performance.

Recycling flexible polyurethane foam (F-PUF) scraps is difficult due to the material's high cross-linking structure. In this work, a wedge-block-reinforced extruder with a considerable enhanced shear extrusion and stretching area between the rotating screw and the stationary wedge blocks was utilized to recycle F-PUF scraps into powder containing surface-active hydroxyl groups. The powder was then utilized for the quantitative replacement of polyol in the foaming process. Characterizations showed that the continuous shear extrusion and stretching during the extrusion process reduced the volume mean diameter (VMD) of the F-PUF powder obtained by extruding it three times at room temperature to reach 54 μm. The -OH number (OHN) of the powder prepared by extruding it three times reached 19.51 mgKOH/g due to the mechanochemical effect of the powdering method. The F-PUF containing recycled powder used to quantitively replace 10 wt.% polyol was similar in microstructure and chemical structure to the original F-PUF, with a compression set of 2%, indentation load deflection of 21.3 lbf, resilience of 43.4%, air permeability of 815.7 L/m2·s, tensile strength of 73.0 Kpa, and tear strength of 2.3 N/cm, indicating that the recycling method has potential for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) caused by the abuse of antibiotics is becoming serious. The development of antibacterial materials with synergistic efficiency and treatment of deep tissue/organ infections is imminent. Herein, synergistic antibacterial nanoparticles (MPH NPs) are prepared by loading antibacterial peptide polymyxin B (PMB) on Fe‐based MOF (MIL‐100) with hyaluronic acid (HA) modification. MPH NPs exerts antibacterial effects by chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and the release of PMB. MPH NPs have broad‐spectrum antibacterial properties on Gram‐negative bacteria (E. coli, 100%), Gram‐positive bacteria (S. aureus, 98.5 %), and MRSA (98.4%). Importantly, MPH NPs not only promote the healing of infected wounds but also target lungs to accomplish organ infection therapy. Therefore, this study provides a new strategy for designing a synergetic anti‐AMR bacteria system and the function for deep tissue/organ infection therapy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the challenges and solutions for managing data within the Whole Health System (WHS), which operates as a Learning Health System and a patient‐centered healthcare approach that combines conventional and complementary approaches. Addressing these challenges is critical for enhancing patient care and improving outcomes within WHS. The proposed solutions include prioritizing interoperability for seamless data exchange, incorporating patient‐centered comparative clinical effectiveness research and real‐world data to personalize treatment plans and validate integrative approaches, and leveraging advanced data analytics tools to incorporate patient‐reported outcomes, objective metrics, robust data platforms. Implementing these measures will enable WHS to fulfill its mission as a holistic and patient‐centered healthcare model, promoting greater collaboration among providers, boosting the well‐being of patients and providers, and improving patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency and heat utilization of modern large‐scale blast furnace in China are close to limits. The potential for energy saving and consumption reduction by continuing to improve blast furnace operation is limited, so there is a need to develop nonblast furnace ironmaking technologies to solve the problems of high energy consumption and pollution. The emerging flash ironmaking technology, which is highly efficient and has low pollutant emissions, has become an option. This article uses CFD software to simulate the 3D steady‐state hydrogen‐based flash ironmaking process at a pilot scale. It is a complex system involving gas‐particle two‐phase flow, heat transfer, and chemical reactions. The article mainly studies the effects of the feeding mode and hydrogen concentration in the reducing gas on the reduction of ore particles. The results show that the residence time of the particles in the furnace is very sensitive to the feeding method, and the maximum residence time of the particles reaches about 2.8 s under the optimal feeding method. In addition, increasing the hydrogen concentration in the reducing gas decreases the particles' residence time. However, the minimum residence time is more than 2.2 s, and the ore powder can still obtain a high reduction degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adjustable ring mode laser beam welding (ARMLBW) has become a promising welding method due to its stable weld quality. In this study, the equation for the distribution of heat flux density of the ring beam was derived, and a combined volumetric heat source model for simulating ARMLBW was proposed. The evolution of the weld pool and keyhole during the welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy using ARMLBW and conventional single laser beam welding (SLBW) laser was compared and analyzed. The results showed that the maximum error in size between the simulated and experimental weld cross-sections did not exceed 10%. Compared to SLBW, the duration of "bubbles" in the weld pool decreased by at least 75% in ARMLBW. The oscillation amplitude of the weld pool and keyhole volume increased by 100%, and the oscillation period was also extended by at least 64%. This is consistent with the experimental reduction in the number of porosity defects (65%), validating the effectiveness of the simulation results. Reducing the oscillation frequency of the weld pool and keyhole, as well as increasing the oscillation amplitude, can result in high-quality welds with fewer porosity defects. Additionally, long and narrow keyholes are more prone to porosity defects in smaller weld pool. The impact of the flowing liquid metal in the weld pool on the keyhole surface is an important factor in the formation of "bubbles," not all of which ultimately become porosity defects. Generally, porosity defects are formed by "bubbles" that have not completely merged with the keyhole and "bubbles" that have not overflowed from the weld pool. The combined action of positive and negative pressure is more likely to cause the formation of porosity defects in smaller weld pool. The formation of humps and depressions on the inner surface of the keyhole is related to the static pressure of the weld pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tear trough filling is a popular facial rejuvenation procedure, and hyaluronic acid is typically used as the filler of choice. However, Tyndall's phenomenon, a common complication following hyaluronic acid injection, can occur, leading to skin discoloration of the lower eyelid. Aims: This single‐center, prospective, comparative clinical study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of collagen and hyaluronic acid injections in treating tear trough deformity. Methods: Sixty patients were enrolled between June 2022 and January 2023. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups: Group A received hyaluronic acid, Group B received hyaluronic acid combined with collagen, and Group C received collagen alone. Baseline characteristics, including age, sex, and tear trough deformity grade were considered before therapy. Changes in tear trough deformity scores, Global Aesthetic Improvement Scores, and the presence of the Tyndall effect were analyzed at 1 and 3 months postinjection to determine differences among the three groups. Results: Baseline profiles of the three groups were similar. In the first month postinjection, there was no difference in the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scores and tear trough deformity between the three groups. However, in the third‐month postinjection, there was a significant difference in scores between patients in Group C and those in Groups A or B. The Tyndall effect manifested in three patients in Group A, which was significantly different from that in Groups B and C. Conclusion: The combined use of hyaluronic acid with collagen in injectable fillers corrected tear trough deformities and reduced the occurrence of the Tyndall phenomenon, which can be problematic with hyaluronic acid alone. Additionally, this combination may help overcome the disadvantage of a shorter retention period when using collagen alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaming disorder (GD) and hazardous gaming (HG) have a high incidence among adolescents and young adults and have caused various negative consequences. Interpersonal interaction deficits are closely related to GD and HG, however, the underlying brain mechanisms are still unclear. The current study recruited 46 healthy subjects and 32 subjects with GD/HG. Gaming time and frequency, gaming disorder risks, life events, strengths, and difficulties were measured with scales. Subjects were randomly paired into 12 HC-HC dyads, 15 GD/HG-HC dyads, and 7 GD/HG-GD/HG dyads and in pairs completed a real-world cooperating video game — "Tied Together" with functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning recording in the prefrontal cortex. The inter-brain synchronization in each region of the PFC between dyads was calculated by wavelet to transform coherence to measure brain-to-brain synchronization. We found subjects with GD/HG reported higher risks of gaming. The highest IBS in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex significantly decreased in the GD/HG-HC and GD/HG-GD/HG dyads compared with healthy controls. A decreasing highest IBS of the left dlPFC was related to a decreasing level of peer problems. We declare limitations of age gaps of samples, undistinguishing GD from HG, use of sub-samples, and the broad concept of interpersonal interaction. The current study found a decreased highest IBS in the left dlPFC among adolescents and young adults with gaming diseases. It may provide new prevention and treatment insights into gaming disorders targeting disrupted interpersonal interaction. • Higher risks of gaming among subjects with gaming disorder/ hazardous gaming • Decreased highest IBS in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the HC-GD/HG and GD/HG-GD/HG dyads • A decreasing highest IBS of the left dlPFC was related to decreasing peer problems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Ni was introduced into the matrix of carbon fiber reinforced SiOC (C/SiOC) composites by the precursor infiltration and pyrolysis method to catalyze the generation of in situ formed nanostructures including carbon nanotubes (CNTs), turbostratic carbon, and SiC. The effect of in situ formed nanostructures catalyzed by Ni on the properties of the C/SiOC composites was investigated. The results demonstrated that the presence of in situ formed nanostructures in the matrix improved the densification and mechanical properties of C/SiOC composites. In addition, the incorporation of in situ formed nanostructures facilitated the formation of thermal conductivity pathways within the composites, thereby enhancing the thermal conductivity of C/SiOC composites. Furthermore, in situ formed nanostructures‐containing C/SiOC composites developed a carbon friction layer comprising CNTs and turbostratic carbon, which significantly enhanced the abrasion resistance, endowing C/SiOC composites stable friction coefficients, and lower levels of wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Risk assessment for triple-vessel disease (TVD) remain challenging. Stress hyperglycemia represents the regulation of glucose metabolism in response to stress, and stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) is recently found to reflect true acute hyperglycemic status. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of SHR and its role in risk stratification in TVD patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: A total of 3812 TVD patients with ACS with available baseline SHR measurement were enrolled from two independent centers. The endpoint was cardiovascular mortality. Cox regression was used to evaluate the association between SHR and cardiovascular mortality. The SYNTAX (Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) II (SSII) was used as the reference model in the model improvement analysis. Results: During a median follow-up of 5.1 years, 219 (5.8%) TVD patients with ACS suffered cardiovascular mortality. TVD patients with ACS with high SHR had an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality after robust adjustment for confounding (high vs. median SHR: adjusted hazard ratio 1.809, 95% confidence interval 1.160–2.822, P = 0.009), which was fitted as a J-shaped pattern. The prognostic value of the SHR was found exclusively among patients with diabetes instead of those without diabetes. Moreover, addition of SHR improved the reclassification abilities of the SSII model for predicting cardiovascular mortality in TVD patients with ACS. Conclusions: The high level of SHR is associated with the long-term risk of cardiovascular mortality in TVD patients with ACS, and is confirmed to have incremental prediction value beyond standard SSII. Assessment of SHR may help to improve the risk stratification strategy in TVD patients who are under acute stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the learning time and space occupation, this study presents a novel model‐free algorithm for obtaining the Nash equilibrium solution of continuous‐time nonlinear non‐zero‐sum games. Based on the integral reinforcement learning method, a new integral HJ equation that can quickly and cooperatively determine the Nash equilibrium strategies of all players is proposed. By leveraging the neural network approximation and gradient descent method, simultaneous continuous‐time adaptive tuning laws are provided for both critic and actor neural network weights. These laws facilitate the estimation of the optimal value function and optimal policy without requiring knowledge or identification of the system's dynamics. The closed‐loop system stability and convergence of weights are guaranteed through the Lyapunov analysis. Additionally, the algorithm is enhanced to reduce the number of auxiliary NNs used in the critic. The simulation results for a two‐player non‐zero‐sum game validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For circulating pumps in large power plant boilers, tip leakage flow is the main cause of blade fatigue. To investigate the correlation between tip leakage vortex and blade fatigue, in this paper, the bidirectional fluid structure coupling method is used to simulate the full flow field of the boiler circulating pump under different tip clearance sizes. The accuracy of the delayed detached vortex simulation method is verified by combining the external characteristics and vibration characteristics of the pump. It is obtained that tip leakage vortex is the main cause of blade tip vibration and deformation. Under deep stall conditions, the increase in tip clearance size suppresses the vibration displacement of the blade leading edge, while the opposite is true under optimal conditions. After decomposing tip leakage vortex, it is found that the compression–expansion term played a major role in the deformation of the blade tip, while the viscous dissipation term and the stretching term mainly affected the vibration frequency. At optimal working conditions, the main frequency of blade vibration is basically consistent with the main frequency of vortex generation. In deep stall condition, as the tip clearance size increases, the amplitude of the vibration main frequency decreases and the number of harmonic frequencies decreases, while the optimal condition is the opposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Laparoscopic isolated caudate lobectomy is still a challenging operation for surgeons. The access route of the operation plays a vital role during laparoscopic caudate lobectomy. There are few references regarding this technique. Here, we introduce a preferred inferior vena cava (IVC) approach in laparoscopic caudate lobectomy. Methods: Twenty-one consecutive patients with caudate hepatic tumours between June 2016 and December 2021 were included in this study. All of them received laparoscopic caudate lobectomy involving an IVC priority approach. The IVC priority approach refers to prioritizing the dissection of the IVC from the liver parenchyma before proceeding with the conventional left or right approach. It emphasizes the importance of the IVC dissection during process. Clinical data, intraoperative parameters and postoperative results were evaluated. Sixteen patients were performed pure IVC priority approach, while 5 patients underwent a combined approach. We subsequently compared the intraoperative and postoperative between the two groups. Results: All 21 patients were treated with laparoscopic technology. The operative time was 190.95 ± 92.65 min. The average estimated blood loss was 251.43 ± 247.45 ml, and four patients needed blood transfusions during the perioperative period. The average duration of hospital stay was 8.43 ± 2.64 (range from 6.0 to 16.0) days. Patients who underwent the pure inferior vena cava (IVC) approach required a shorter hepatic pedicle clamping time (26 vs. 55 min, respectively; P < 0.001) and operation time (150 vs. 380 min, respectively; P = 0.002) than those who underwent the combined approach. Hospitalization (7.0 vs. 9.0 days, respectively; P = 0.006) was shorter in the pure IVC group than in the combined group. Conclusions: Laparoscopic caudate lobectomy with an IVC priority approach is safe and feasible for patients with caudate hepatic tumours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The freeze–thaw cycle test, uniaxial compressive strength test, dynamic elastic modulus test, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanning test were carried out to study the freeze–thaw resistance of cemented sand and gravel materials in cold areas. The compressive strength, relative dynamic elastic modulus, porosity, and the most probable pore size of macroscopic degradation indexes before and after freezing and thawing were analyzed. The results show that: (1) both the compressive strength and relative elastic modulus gradually decrease with the increase of the number of freeze–thaw cycles, the porosity increases with the rise of the number of processes, and the growth rate gradually accelerates; (2) with the increase in freeze–thaw cycles, the spectral peak shifts to the larger aperture, the harmful aperture accounts for the most significant proportion, and the most probable pore size and minimum aperture increase; and (3) according to the gray entropy correlation method, the deterioration index that significantly influences the compressive strength and elastic modulus of cemented sand and gravel materials is the total porosity, and the most influential pore size range is 50–200 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porphyrins have been widely used in designing photocatalyst systems. However, finding an effective strategy to improve the intrinsic photocatalytic activity of porphyrin molecules remains a challenge. Here, two new porphyrins, meso-tetra(5-carboxyfuryl)porphyrin (H2TCFP) and meso-tetra(5-carboxythienyl)porphyrin (H2TCTP), were successfully synthesized and compared with meso-tetra(m-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (H2TmCPP), to clarify the influence of the organic unit bridging the carboxyl acid group with the porphine ring on the photocatalytic activity of porphyrin for H2 evolution from water splitting. The H2 evolution rates of 10.8 mmol g−1 h−1 observed for H2TCFP and 9.7 mmol g−1 h−1 for H2TCTP are both larger than 8.0 mmol g−1 h−1 observed for H2TmCTP under optimal conditions. The best photocatalytic activity observed for H2TCFP was investigated through experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations and was interpreted in terms of the combined effect of several key factors of the entire photocatalytic process, including the high absorptivity of UV light, high separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers, and low Gibbs energy required for associated water splitting. Meanwhile, the concentration-dependent performance of photocatalytic activity was analyzed and attributed to the aggregation and light-bleaching effect exerted on porphyrins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green metal-electrode batteries call for the clean production of s-block metals. Herein, we developed an electrolysis–displacement–distillation (EDD) approach for producing s-block metals with low-carbon emissions and no chlorine gas evolution. The clean production stems from the choice of a molten NaCl–Na2CO3 electrolyte to prevent chlorine gas evolution, an inert nickel-based anode to produce oxygen, and a liquid metal cathode to make the cathodic product (e.g., Na–Sn) sit at the bottom of the electrolytic cell. Later, M–Sn (M = Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) alloys were successfully prepared by a displacement reaction between the Na–Sn alloy and molten NaCl–LiCl, NaCl–MgCl2, NaCl–CaCl2, NaCl–SrCl2, or NaCl–BaCl2 with a displacement efficiency of >96.0%. Furthermore, Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba metals were separated from M–Sn alloys using vacuum distillation with a separation rate of >95.0%. We achieved a current efficiency of 81.0% for the electrolytic production of 100 kg of a liquid Na–Sn alloy, which holds promise to produce s-block metals at a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Q-matrix, which specifies the relationship between items and attributes, is a crucial component of cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs). A precisely specified Q-matrix allows for valid cognitive diagnostic assessments. In practice, a Q-matrix is usually developed by domain experts, and noted as being subjective and potentially containing misspecifications which can decrease the classification accuracy of examinees. To overcome this, some promising validation methods have been proposed, such as the general discrimination index (GDI) method and the Hull method. In this article, we propose four new methods for Q-matrix validation based on random forest and feed-forward neural network techniques. Proportion of variance accounted for (PVAF) and coefficient of determination (i.e., the McFadden pseudo-R2) are used as input features for developing the machine learning models. Two simulation studies are carried out to examine the feasibility of the proposed methods. Finally, a sub-dataset of the PISA 2000 reading assessment is analyzed as illustration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive emission of carbon dioxide is the leading cause of global warming. Hydrogen has the advantages of high calorific value and zero carbon emissions. It is considered an ideal energy to solve the problem of global warming, so the demand for hydrogen is increasing yearly. Due to economic considerations, methane is the main raw material for hydrogen production. Currently, 48% of the world's hydrogen comes from steam methane reforming. However, this process needs to burn some methane for heating, generating carbon dioxide emissions simultaneously. In order to avoid carbon emissions from hydrogen production, there is an urgent need to develop new methods to produce hydrogen from methane. Because the carbon generated from direct methane cracking exists in solid form while not as carbon dioxide, the direct methane cracking process for hydrogen production has become a hot research topic in recent years. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the research related to catalytic methane cracking for hydrogen production is presented, especially the research on catalytic cracking of methane using solid materials or molten metal media as catalytic media is summarized in detail. Next, a brief overview of the mechanism of catalytic methane cracking for hydrogen production and the characteristics of the generated carbon as a by-product are presented. Finally, the catalytic cracking of methane in molten media or solid materials and the research trend were prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Venous malformations (VMs) are the most common vascular malformations, which can be classified as focal, multifocal, or diffuse types. But the risk of focal venous malformations with muscle involvement is not well defined. Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective review of patients treated for focal VMs between February 2021 and February 2022. Results: We assessed 26 patients focal VMs with 47 lesions; 18 (69%) were unifocal, 3 (12%) were dual-focal, and 5 (19%) were multifocal type VMs, and 29 (62%) were intramuscular VMs. The lower limbs intramuscular VMs had a significantly elevated risk of focal VMs (relative risk [RR],1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.148–2.394). Conclusion: Intramuscular involvement of the body should be considered in focal VMs. The lower limbs intramuscular VMs had a significantly elevated risk of focal VMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-temperature mechanical chemical devulcanization is a process that can produce reclaimed rubber with exceptional mechanical properties. However, the inadequacy and low efficiency of the devulcanization have significantly restricted its application. To address the issues, alcoholic amines, including hydroxyethyl ethylenediamine (AEEA), ethanolamine (ETA), and diethanol amine (DEA), are utilized as devulcanizing agents to promote the devulcanization process. Careful characterizations are conducted to reveal the devulcanizing mechanism and to depict the performances of reclaimed rubbers. Results show that the amine groups in the devulcanizing agents can react with sulfur after the crosslink bonds are broken by mechanical shear force, thus blocking the activity of sulfur and introducing hydroxyl groups into the rubber chains. The incorporation of alcoholic amines can enhance the devulcanizing degree and devulcanizing efficiency, reduce the Mooney viscosity, and improve the mechanical and anti-aging performance. When using DEA as the devulcanizing agent, the sol content of reclaimed rubber increases from 13.1% to 22.4%, the devulcanization ratio increases from 82.1% to 89.0%, the Mooney viscosity decreases from 135.5 to 83.6, the tensile strength improves from 14.7 MPa to 16.3 MPa, the retention rate of tensile strength raises from 55.2% to 82.6% after aging for 72 h, while the devulcanization time is shortened from 21 min to 9.5 min, compared with that without using alcoholic amines. Therefore, alcoholic amines exhibit remarkable advantages in the devulcanization of waste rubber, thus indicating a promising direction for the advancement of research in the area of waste rubber reclamation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the image quality and utility of virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) of dual-layer spectrum computed tomography (DLSCT) in assessing preoperative T-stage for early rectal adenocarcinoma (ERA). Methods: This retrospective study included 67 ERA patients (mean age 62 ± 11.1 years) who underwent DLSCT and MR examination. VMI 40–200 keV and poly energetic image (PEI) were reconstructed. The image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and tumor contrast of different energy levels were calculated and compared, respectively. Two radiologists independently assess the image quality of the VMIs and PEI using 5-point scales. The diagnostic accuracies of DLSCT and HR-MRI for ERA T-staging were evaluated and compared. Results: The maximum noise was observed at VMI 40 keV, and noise at VMI 40–200 keV in the arterial and venous phases showed no significant difference (all p > 0.05). The highest SNR and CNR were obtained at VMI 40 keV, significantly greater than other energy levels and PEI (all p < 0.05). Tumor contrast was more evident than PEI at 40–100 keV in the arterial phase and at 40 keV in the venous phase (all p < 0.05). When compared with PEI, VMI 40 keV yielded the highest scores for overall image quality, tumor visibility, and tumor margin delineation, especially in the venous phase (p < 0.05). The overall diagnostic accuracy of DLSCT and HR-MRI for T-stage was 65.67 and 71.64% and showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Conclusions: VMI 40 keV improves image quality and accuracy in identifying lesions, providing better diagnostic information for ERA staging. Critical relevance statement: Low-keV VMI from DLSCT can improve tumor staging accuracy for early rectal carcinoma, helping guide surgical intervention decisions, and has shed new light on the potential breakthroughs of assessing preoperative T-stage in RC. Keypoints: • Compared with PEI, low-keV VIM derived from DLSCT, particularly at the 40 keV, significantly enhanced the objective and subjective image quality of ERA. • Using VMI 40 keV helped increase lesion detectability, leading to improved diagnostic accuracy for ERA. • Low-keV VMI from DLSCT has shed new light on the potential breakthroughs of assessing preoperative T-stage in RC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-containing SiOC bulk ceramics have been prepared by spark plasma sintering at 1300 °C from polysiloxane at Ar atmosphere in the present work. The microstructure and properties of SiOC ceramics with different Ni content were studied. The resultant Ni-containing SiOC ceramics consists of in situ formed turbostractic layer carbon, CNTs (C nanotubes) and SiC crystals which dispersed in the SiOC matrix. With increasing content of Ni, the Ni-containing SiOC ceramics displayed less porosity. And the increasing Ni improved the mechanical, thermal and friction properties of SiOC ceramics. Ni-containing SiOC ceramics developed a carbon friction layer, which enhanced abrasion resistance to provide friction materials with stable friction coefficients and low abrasion values. A decrease in wear mass, from 2.06 to 0.18 mg was observed as the Ni content increasing from 0 to 2 wt%. The primary wear mechanisms of SiOC ceramics were recognized as abrasive wear, fatigue wear, and adhesion wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital publishing is the process of informatizing the content of traditional publishing. It not only involves the processing of information, but also includes the whole process of digital publishing enterprise management and operation. Compared with traditional publishing, digital publishing has a wider distribution channel with the advantages of more diverse forms and marketing aspects, the transition from traditional digital publishing to digital publishing has become an inevitable trend. But there are still many problems in digital publishing in our country. Including the transformation of digital copyright awareness and maintenance of digital copyright, the source and maintenance of digital publishing technology, and the scarcity of compound talent resources. In order to solve these problems, we must combine the digital publishing industry with modern information technology. This paper builds a digital market preference prediction model based on big data and fuzzy control algorithms. By analyzing and predicting each consumer's usage information, the digital consumer market preference is obtained. This research uses big data and fuzzy control algorithms to build a consumer market preference estimation model for digital publishing transformation. Through the observation of the consumer market, it can promote digital companies to make effective decisions and conduct reasonable organizational analysis, which can further improve The development process of digital publishing transformation promotes the overall development of the enterprise. Through verification, this model has high accuracy and reliability, can support the operation of actual enterprises, and plays an important role in the development of enterprises. Finally, based on the content of the article research, we put forward the following suggestions for the transformation and development of digital enterprises (1) conduct market analysis through big data and fuzzy control technology, and clarify market positioning (2) promote traditional publishing and digital publishing through big data and fuzzy control technology Integrated Development of Publishing (3) Cultivate Excellent Composite Talents for Digital Publishing Transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-containing SiOC bulk ceramics have been prepared by spark plasma sintering at 1300 °C from polysiloxane at Ar atmosphere in the present work. The microstructure and properties of SiOC ceramics with different Ni content were studied. The resultant Ni-containing SiOC ceramics consists of in situ formed turbostractic layer carbon, CNTs (C nanotubes) and SiC crystals which dispersed in the SiOC matrix. With increasing content of Ni, the Ni-containing SiOC ceramics displayed less porosity. And the increasing Ni improved the mechanical, thermal and friction properties of SiOC ceramics. Ni-containing SiOC ceramics developed a carbon friction layer, which enhanced abrasion resistance to provide friction materials with stable friction coefficients and low abrasion values. A decrease in wear mass, from 2.06 to 0.18 mg was observed as the Ni content increasing from 0 to 2 wt%. The primary wear mechanisms of SiOC ceramics were recognized as abrasive wear, fatigue wear, and adhesion wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of superficial temporal artery-to-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is contentious, with no evidence in patients with AIS and large vessel occlusion (AIS-LVO). We conducted a cohort study to assess emergency STA-MCA outcomes in AIS-LVO and a meta-analysis to evaluate STA-MCA outcomes in early AIS treatment. From January 2018 to March 2021, we consecutively recruited newly diagnosed AIS-LVO patients, dividing them into STA-MCA and non-STA-MCA groups. To evaluate the neurological status and outcomes, we employed the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) during the acute phase and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) during the follow-up period. Additionally, we conducted a meta-analysis encompassing all available clinical studies to assess the impact of STA-MCA on patients with AIS. In the cohort study (56 patients), we observed more significant neurological improvement in the STA-MCA group at two weeks (p = 0.030). However, there was no difference in the clinical outcomes between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression identified the NIHSS at two weeks (OR: 0.840; 95% CI: 0.754–0.936, p = 0.002) as the most critical predictor of a good outcome. Our meta-analysis of seven studies indicated a 67% rate for achieving a good outcome (mRS < 3) at follow-up points (95% CI: 57%–77%, I2 = 44.1%). In summary, while the meta-analysis suggested the potential role of STA-MCA bypass in mild to moderate AIS, our single-center cohort study indicated that STA-MCA bypass does not seem to improve the prognosis of patients who suffer from AIS-LVO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multiblock copolymers, which exhibit more complex block composition and sequences than those of di- or tri-block copolymers, have attracted more and more scientific interest and attention in the past years. The ABCBA linear pentablock terpolymer with block number of 5 is a representative model and starting point for investigating the self-assembly of multiblock copolymers, which is helpful for understanding the assembled structures and solution properties of biomacromolecules with complex sequence structures. Compared with AB diblock copolymers and ABC triblock terpolymers, the ABCBA pentablock terpolymers have more intricate morphologies and have better mechanical properties with similar morphologies. This review will mainly focus on ABCBA linear pentablock terpolymers and systematically summary the recent research progress in self-assembly of ABCBA linear pentablock terpolymers in bulk and solution as well as their potential applications in various technical fields including drug carriers, surface coatings, inorganic material templates, battery materials, and polymer gel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Pathologists are currently supposed to be aware of both domestic and international guidelines for breast cancer diagnosis, but it is unclear how successfully these guidelines have been integrated into routine clinical practice in China. Thus, this national proficiency testing (PT) scheme for breast pathology was set up to conduct a baseline assessment of the diagnostic capability of pathologists in China. Methods: This national PT plan is designed and implemented according to the "Conformity assessment—General requirements for proficiency testing" (GB/T27043—2012/ISO/IEC 17043:2010). Five cases of breast cancer with six key items, including histologic type, grade, ER, PR, HER2, and Ki67, were selected for testing among 96 participants. The final PT results were published on the website of the National Quality Control Center for Cancer (http://117.133.40.88:3927/cn/col22/362). Results: Our study demonstrated that the median PT score was 89.5 (54–100). Two institutions with scores < 67 were deemed unacceptable. The accuracy of histologic type, ER, PR, HER2, and Ki67 was satisfactory (all > 86%). However, the histologic grade showed low accuracy (74.0%). The unacceptable results mainly included incorrect evaluation of histologic grade (36.7%), inaccurate evaluation of ER/PR/HER2/Ki67 (28.2%), incorrect identification of C-AD as IBC-NST (15.7%), inappropriate use of 1+/2+/3+ rather than staining percentage for ER/PR (6.1%), misclassification of ER/PR < 1% weak expression as positive staining (1.4%), and no evaluation of histologic grade in ILC, MC, and IMC (5.8%). Conclusions: our nationwide PT program exhibited a satisfactory baseline assessment of the diagnostic capability of pathologists in China. More importantly, we identify some areas for further improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To translate the Academic Goals Orientation Questionnaire (AGOQ) into Chinese and to determine the validity and reliability of the (AGOQ) in Chinese nursing students based on SEM and IRT multidimensional models. Methods: The participants were 654 nursing students with an age range of 17–26 years (mean age 21.61 ± 1.73 years). The psychometric properties of AGOQ were investigated based on a dual analytical perspective of structural equation modeling (SEM) and item response theory (IRT). Results: The Cronbach's α value of the questionnaire is 0.895. A four-factor model was obtained by exploratory factor analysis, which explained the variance of 71.892%. With confirmatory factor analysis, a new four-factors model was built and showed an acceptable goodness-of-fit, chi-square/degree of freedom (CMIN/DF) = 4.008, goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.932, adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) = 0.905, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.952, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.952, Tucker Lewis index (TLI) = 0.941. In the analysis part of IRT, according to the comparison between Akek's information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC), we choose the Graded Response Model (GRM) for analysis. The results show that the difficulty value is monotonically increasing, and the discrimination of all items is greater than 0.19, which shows that 16 items can be retained. Conclusions: This study tested the psychometric characteristics of AGOQ of nursing students in China. The results confirmed that the Chinese version of AGOQ has good psychometric characteristics and can be used to measure the academic goal orientation of nursing students in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) is a natural IL-18 inhibitor in vivo, which can effectively neutralize IL-18 and inhibit the inflammatory signaling pathway induced by IL-18, thus playing an anti-inflammatory role. Traditional production methods primarily rely on eukaryotic animal cell expression systems, which often entail complex processes, lower yields, and increase production costs. In this study, we present a novel approach for expressing IL-18BP fusion protein using the Escherichia coli (E. coli) system. The N-terminal segment of IL-18BP was fused with the small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) tag, enabling soluble expression, while the C-terminal segment was fused with the human IgG1 Fc fragment to prolong its in vivo lifespan. Through screening, we obtained a high-expression engineering strain from a single colony and developed optimized protocols for fermentation and purification of the recombinant SUMO-IL-18BP-Fc protein. The SUMO tag was subsequently cleaved using SUMO protease, and the purified recombinant human IL-18BP-Fc (rhIL-18BP-Fc) exhibited a purity exceeding 90% with a yield of 1 g per liter of bacterial solution. The biological activities and underlying mechanisms of rhIL-18BP-Fc were evaluated using cell lines and a mouse model. Our results demonstrated that rhIL-18BP-Fc effectively inhibited IL-18-stimulated IFN-γ production in KG-1a cells in vitro and ameliorated DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in mice. In conclusion, we successfully employed the SUMO fusion system to achieve high-level production, soluble expression, and prolonged activity of rhIL-18BP-Fc in E. coli. These findings lay the groundwork for future large-scale industrial production and pharmaceutical development of rhIL-18BP-Fc protein. Key points: • Effective expression, fermentation, and purification of bioactive rhIL-18BP-Fc protein in E. coli. • The rhIL-18BP-Fc protein has a great potential for the therapy of ulcerative colitis by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pickling industry, corrosion can deteriorate the quality of equipment and supplies, causing financial losses and safety threats. Therefore, it has become crucial to develop novel corrosion inhibitors that are bioactive, efficient, affordable, medium-acid soluble, and ecologically safe to protect mild steel during industrial cleaning. In this work, three newly synthesized imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. The studied compounds were evaluated as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 1 M HCl medium using weight-loss, potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The imidazopyridine derivatives showed excellent anticorrosion performance, their inhibitory efficiencies increased with the increase of inhibitors concentration and evolved in the following order: Imd2 (98.1%) >Imd1 (96.5%) >Imd3 (95.3%). This order was justified by the presence of two chlorine atoms in the ortho position of the Imd2 structure. The three Imd derivatives obeyed to the Langmuir isotherm, this explained the formation of an organic monolayer on the steel surface indicated by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM). In addition, density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to reveal the anticorrosion mechanism. The present study illustrates at the microscopic level how mild steel resists corrosion and ensures the safety of pickling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helico-conical vortex (HCV) beams are a kind of orbital angular momentum-carrying beam whose phase profile has a non-separable azimuthal and radial dependence. In this Letter, we introduce a lens phase into the helico-conical phase to measure the topological charge carried by the helico-conical beam. The focal-field intensity distributions of the beam obtained from the superimposition of the helico-conical phase and the lens phase are analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The experimental findings are in good agreement with the simulation results. The results demonstrate that a certain number of elliptical dark regions are embedded in the intensity patterns and the number of dark regions is equal to the amount of topological charge carried by the HCV beam. Meanwhile, the tilt direction of the elliptical dark regions can determine the sign of the topological charges. This method will have potential applications in the field of light field modulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen recovery from wastewater represents a sustainable route to recycle reactive nitrogen (Nr). It can reduce the demand of producing Nr from the energy‐extensive Haber‐Bosch process and lower the risk of causing eutrophication simultaneously. In this aspect, source‐separated fresh urine is an ideal source for nitrogen recovery given its ubiquity and high nitrogen contents. However, current techniques for nitrogen recovery from fresh urine require high energy input and are of low efficiencies because the recovery target, urea, is a challenge to separate. In this work, we developed a novel fresh urine nitrogen recovery treatment process based on modular functionalized metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Specifically, we employed three distinct modification methods to MOF‐808 and developed robust functional materials for urea hydrolysis, ammonium adsorption, and ammonia monitoring. By integrating these functional materials into our newly developed nitrogen recovery treatment process, we achieved an average of 75 % total nitrogen reduction and 45 % nitrogen recovery with a 30‐minute treatment of synthetic fresh urine. The nitrogen recovery process developed in this work can serve as a sustainable and efficient nutrient management that is suitable for decentralized wastewater treatment. This work also provides a new perspective of implementing versatile advanced materials for water and wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen recovery from wastewater represents a sustainable route to recycle reactive nitrogen (Nr). It can reduce the demand of producing Nr from the energy‐extensive Haber‐Bosch process and lower the risk of causing eutrophication simultaneously. In this aspect, source‐separated fresh urine is an ideal source for nitrogen recovery given its ubiquity and high nitrogen contents. However, current techniques for nitrogen recovery from fresh urine require high energy input and are of low efficiencies because the recovery target, urea, is a challenge to separate. In this work, we developed a novel fresh urine nitrogen recovery treatment process based on modular functionalized metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Specifically, we employed three distinct modification methods to MOF‐808 and developed robust functional materials for urea hydrolysis, ammonium adsorption, and ammonia monitoring. By integrating these functional materials into our newly developed nitrogen recovery treatment process, we achieved an average of 75 % total nitrogen reduction and 45 % nitrogen recovery with a 30‐minute treatment of synthetic fresh urine. The nitrogen recovery process developed in this work can serve as a sustainable and efficient nutrient management that is suitable for decentralized wastewater treatment. This work also provides a new perspective of implementing versatile advanced materials for water and wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triphenylphosphine acetylacetone carbonyl rhodium (ROPAC) is an important catalyst in the petrochemical industry, and its deactivated waste catalyst holds significant value for recovery. This study focuses on the existing forms of rhodium (Rh) in waste catalysts and the current status of traditional processes. A green, efficient, and continuous recovery technique was developed using a sealed stainless steel microchannel reactor. The influence of reaction temperature, reaction time, and phase ratio on the Rh recovery rate was investigated, and the process parameters were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The results indicate that the magnitude of the impact on the Rh recovery rate follows the order: reaction temperature > reaction time > phase ratio. The optimized process parameters were determined as follows: a reaction time of 29 min, a reaction temperature of 110 °C, and a phase ratio of 1:1, with a corresponding maximum recovery rate of Rh of 66.06%. Furthermore, secondary treatment was performed on the organic phase after primary recovery using the same process conditions, resulting in an overall Rh recovery rate of 95.6%, indicating satisfactory recovery efficiency. Moreover, the application of FTIR and ICP-OES analysis provided definitive evidence that the oxidative dissociation of the rhodium-phosphine chemical bond by H2O2 within ROPAC leads to the conversion of Rh+ into Rh3+. Subsequently, Rh forms chloroaquorhodium (III) complexes that enter the aqueous phase, enabling effective recovery of Rh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shale in the third member of the Jiufotang Formation at the Lujiapu Rift Basin is a new potential target for shale oil exploration and has rarely been studied before. In order to study pore structure and its controlling factors, shale compositions are mainly analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and the characterization of full-scale pore structures is studied by the field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), low-temperature N2 adsorption, and high-pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry (high-pressure MIP). According to composition and micro-texture, shale samples in the third member of the Jiufotang Formation are classified into three types: laminated organic matter-lean shale (TOC < 2%), unlaminated organic matter-intermediate shale (2% < TOC < 4%) and laminated organic matter-rich shale (TOC > 4%). Most shale samples are dominated by interparticle pores, with many of them filled by diagenetic minerals. All the shale samples are most developed in mesopores, whose development is mainly controlled by quartz content. And macropores with a diameter of 10,000 nm~100,000 nm are the secondary developed pores, which are influenced by both the paleoenvironment and diagenesis (especially clay transformation). Full-scale pore variations in laminated organic matter-lean shale, unlaminated organic matter-intermediate shale, and laminated organic matter-rich shale are ultimately related to their paleoenvironments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation and control problems with binary-valued observations exist widely in practical systems. However, most of the related works are devoted to finite impulse response (FIR for short) systems, and the theoretical problem of infinite impulse response (IIR for short) systems has been less explored. To study the estimation problems of IIR systems with binary-valued observations, the authors introduce a projected recursive estimation algorithm and analyse its global convergence properties, by using the stochastic Lyapunov function methods and the limit theory on double array martingales. It is shown that the estimation algorithm has similar convergence results as those for FIR systems under a weakest possible non-persistent excitation condition. Moreover, the upper bound for the accumulated regret of adaptive prediction is also established without resorting to any excitation condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments of two nozzle diameters at three ignition positions under three initial pressure conditions were carried out. The dynamic leakage characteristics and the stagnation parameters of flame propagation under normal temperature and high pressure conditions were studied. Based on van der Waal's equation, a model for predicting stagnation parameters, jet velocity and flow rate of hydrogen leakage was proposed. Compared with the experimental results, it was found that the maximum error occurred when the initial pressure was 200 bar. Theoretical leakage time was 1.66 s, experiment leakage time was 1.84 s, the error was 9.8%. Background-Oriented Schlieren image technology was used to record the flame development and propagation process after ignition. For the same nozzle diameter and ignition location, the higher pressure caused the flame to propagate faster upstream and downstream. For the same initial pressure and ignition position, a flame with a large nozzle diameter propagated faster upstream and downstream. For the same initial pressure and nozzle diameter, the farther the ignition point was, the greater the slope of flame attenuation when propagating upstream. Due to the attenuation of hydrogen concentration and jet velocity, the flame propagation velocity to the downstream decreased linearly with the increase of distance from the ignition location. • Dynamic leakage and combustion of hydrogen were studied experimentally. • The changing law of stagnation pressure and temperature was measured. • A mathematical model that could predict stagnation parameters was proposed. • The calculation error of theoretical model was in the range of ±9.8%. • Pressure, nozzle diameter and ignition position affect flame propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the efficacy of modified bone-disc-bone osteotomy to treat spinal kyphosis. Between January 2018 and December 2022, 20 patients underwent modified bone-disc-bone osteotomy surgery for spinal kyphosis. Radiologic parameters pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt, sagittal vertical axis, and kyphotic Cobb angle were measured and compared. Oswestry Disability Index, visual analog scale, and general complications were recorded to evaluate clinical outcomes. All 20 patients completed 24 months of postoperative follow-up. Mean kyphotic Cobb angle correction was from 40.2 ± 6.8° to 8.9 ± 4.1° immediately after surgery to 9.8 ± 4.8° at 24 months postoperatively. Average surgical time was 277 minutes (range, 180–490 minutes). Mean intraoperative blood loss was 1215 mL (range, 800–2500 mL). Sagittal vertical axis was improved from 4.2 cm (range, 1–5.8 cm) preoperatively to 1.1 cm (range, 0–2 cm) at final follow-up (P < 0.05). Pelvic tilt was reduced from 27.6 ± 4.1 preoperatively to 14.9 ± 4.4 postoperatively (P < 0.05). Visual analog scale decreased from 5.8 ± 1.1 preoperatively to 1 ± 0.6 at final follow-up (P < 0.05). Oswestry Disability Index changed from 28.7 ± 2.7% preoperatively to 9.4 ± 1.8% at final follow-up. Bony fusion was achieved at 12 months postoperatively in all patients. All patients experienced significant improvement in clinical symptoms and neurological function at final follow-up. Modified bone-disc-bone osteotomy surgery is an effective and safe method for treatment of spinal kyphosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of modern computer storage technology, the spin-transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) has become one of the most promising candidates to replace the static random-access memory and dynamic random-access memory. However, its large power consumption and long relaxation time before the magnetic moments switch are important factors restricting its commercial application. In this work, gradient-current pulses are proposed to replace the conventional constant-current pulses in the injection method. A 70-nm classical CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was simulated and measured at pulse widths of 20, 30, and 40 ns using the proposed and conventional injection pulses. The comparison results show that adopting gradient pulses can significantly reduce the relaxation time and switching power consumption of the MTJ. A power consumption reduction of 8%–40% is obtained at different pulse amplitudes and widths. Our method paves an avenue for overcoming the issues affecting the STT-MRAM and could help to promote its commercial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of surgical treatment for multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) between the hybrid procedure, posterior endoscopic decompression (PED) combined with anterior cervical discectomy fusion (ACDF), and posterior cervical laminectomy and fusion (PCLF). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 38 patients who received surgical treatment for MCSM from January 2018 to December 2021, including 19 cases in hybrid procedure group (13 males and 6 females), followed up for 10 to 22 (12.8 ± 10.3) months, and 19 cases in PCLF group (15 males and 4 females), followed up for 10 to 21 (11.7 ± 8.9) months. Perioperative information, including operation time, intraoperative blood loss, length of hospitalization, and complications, were compared between two groups. Visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain, neck disability index (NDI) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score were recorded to evaluate clinical efficacy. Cervical lordosis was calculated by radiographic examination. Results: Intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay were less in hybrid group than PCLF group, while operation time is longer in hybrid group, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Increased lordosis was better in hybrid group. There was no significant difference in preoperative VAS, JOA and NDI at pre-operation and final follow-up between two groups. But at post-operation and final follow-up, VAS was less in hybrid group than PCLF group (p < 0.05). There were 2 cases of neurostimulation symptoms in hybrid group, 2 cases of C5 nerve root palsy, 2 cases of subcutaneous fat necrosis and 1 case of dural tear in PCLF group, and all patients relieved with symptomatic treatment. Conclusion: The hybrid procedure of PED combined with ACDF showed satisfied clinical outcome, with less intraoperative blood loss, shorter length of hospitalization and lower post-operative neck pain than PCLF. It is an effective surgical treatment for MCSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been widely used in determining molecular profiling of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, low-quality sequencing data may be generated with formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples that have passed pre-sequencing quality control (QC). Therefore, quality evaluation of sequencing data is also critical for accurate tissue genotyping. Herein, we aimed to developed a grading QC algorithm, and provide a recommendation to refine and optimize NGS-based molecular diagnostic strategies. Methods: We interrogated 1260 NSCLC samples using hybrid capture-based targeted DNA NGS, and quantified the sequencing data as high, medium and low quality, according to a grading QC algorithm. Then, we explored the relationship between sequencing quality and sample characteristics, and compared the concordance rates of results between NGS and conventional molecular tests for FFPE samples with variable characteristics. Results: We found that high-quality data were associated with samples with shorter storage time and lower DNA degradation in resection samples, and were associated with intra-hospital samples, adequate DNA quantity, and lower DNA degradation in biopsy samples. Moreover, accurate NGS results can be achieved in samples with high-quality data, but not samples with medium-quality data, especially for rearrangements detection. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the real-world clinical adoption of an effective QC strategy for NGS is necessary to ensure accurate results from FFPE samples of NSCLC with variable characteristics. Validation of actionable alterations by additional methods is highly recommended in cases with low QC score, particularly for the detection of rearrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have reported single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VRK serine/threonine kinase 2 gene (VRK2) showing genome-wide significant associations with major depression, but the regulation effect of the risk SNPs on VRK2 as well as their roles in the illness are yet to be elucidated. Methods: Based on the summary statistics of major depression GWAS, we conducted population genetic analyses, epigenome bioinformatics analyses, dual luciferase reporter assays, and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analyses to identify the functional SNPs regulating VRK2; we also carried out behavioral assessments, dendritic spine morphological analyses, and phosphorylated 4D-label-free quantitative proteomics analyses in mice with Vrk2 repression. Results: We identified a SNP rs2678907 located in the 5' upstream of VRK2 gene exhibiting large spatial overlap with enhancer regulatory marks in human neural cells and brain tissues. Using luciferase reporter gene assays and eQTL analyses, the depression risk allele of rs2678907 decreased enhancer activities and predicted lower VRK2 mRNA expression, which is consistent with the observations of reduced VRK2 level in the patients with major depression compared with controls. Notably, Vrk2−/− mice exhibited depressive-like behaviors compared to Vrk2+/+ mice and specifically repressing Vrk2 in the ventral hippocampus using adeno-associated virus (AAV) lead to consistent and even stronger depressive-like behaviors in mice. Compared with Vrk2+/+ mice, the density of mushroom and thin spines in the ventral hippocampus was significantly altered in Vrk2−/− mice, which is in line with the phosphoproteomic analyses showing dysregulated synapse-associated proteins and pathways in Vrk2−/− mice. Conclusions: Vrk2 deficiency mice showed behavioral abnormalities that mimic human depressive phenotypes, which may serve as a useful murine model for studying the pathophysiology of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE) is a life-threatening and severe complication in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The prevalence of NPE varies significantly across studies due to differences in case definitions, study populations, and methodologies. Therefore, a precise estimation of the prevalence and risk factors related to NPE in patients with spontaneous SAH is important for clinical decision-makers, policy providers, and researchers. We conducted a systematic search of the PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases from their inception to January 2023. Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis, with a total of 3,429 SAH patients. The pooled global prevalence of NPE was estimated to be 13%. Out of the eight studies (n = 1095, 56%) that reported the number of in-hospital mortalities of NPE among patients with SAH, the pooled proportion of in-hospital deaths was 47%. Risk factors associated with NPE after spontaneous SAH included female gender, WFNS class, APACHE II score ≥ 20, IL-6 > 40 pg/mL, Hunt and Hess grade ≥ 3, elevated troponin I, elevated white blood cell count, and electrocardiographic abnormalities. Multiple studies showed a strong positive correlation between the WFNS class and NPE. In conclusion, NPE has a moderate prevalence but a high in-hospital mortality rate in patients with SAH. We identified multiple risk factors that can help identify high-risk groups of NPE in individuals with SAH. Early prediction of the onset of NPE is crucial for timely prevention and early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glacier surging is an unusual instability of ice flow, and inventories of surging glaciers are important for regional glacier mass balance studies and glacier dynamic studies. Glacier surges in High Mountain Asia (HMA) have been widely reported. However, the completeness of available inventories of HMA surging glaciers is hampered by the insufficient spatial and temporal coverage of glacier change observations or by the limitations of the identification methods. In this study, we established a new inventory of HMA surging glaciers based on glacier surface elevation changes and morphological changes over 4 decades. Three elevation change datasets based on four elevation sources (the KH-9 DEM, NASA DEM, COP30 DEM, and HMA DEM) and long-term Landsat satellite image series were utilized to assess the presence of typical surge features over two time periods (1970s–2000 and 2000–2020). A total of 890 surging and 336 probably or possibly surging glaciers were identified in HMA. Compared to the most recent inventory of surging glaciers in HMA, our inventory incorporated 253 previously unidentified surging glaciers. The number and area of surging glaciers accounted for ∼2.49 % (excluding glaciers smaller than 0.4 km 2) and ∼16.59 % of the total glacier number and glacier area in HMA, respectively. Glacier surges were found in 21 of the 22 subregions of HMA (except for the Dzhungarsky Alatau); however, the density of surging glaciers is highly uneven. Glacier surges occur frequently in the northwestern subregions (e.g., Pamir and Karakoram) but less often in the peripheral subregions. The inventory further shows that surge activity is more likely to occur for glaciers with a larger area, longer length, and wider elevation range. Among glaciers with similar areas, the surging ones usually have steeper slopes than non-surging ones. The inventory and elevation change products of identified surging glaciers are available at 10.5281/zenodo.7961207 (Guo et al., 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mathematical program with switching constraints (MPSC), which has been introduced recently, is a difficult class of optimization problems since standard constraint qualifications are very likely to fail at local minimizers. Due to the failure of standard constraint qualifications, it is reasonable to propose some constraint qualifications for local minimizers to satisfy some stationarity conditions that are generally weaker than Karush-Kuhn-Tucker stationarity such as Mordukhovich (M-) stationarity. First, we propose the weakest constraint qualification for M-stationarity of MPSC to hold at local minimizers. Then we extend some weak verifiable constraint qualifications for nonlinear programming to allow the existence of switching constraints, which are all strictly weaker than MPSC linear independence constraint qualification and/or MPSC Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification used in the literature. We show that most of the newly introduced constraint qualifications are sufficient for local minimizers to be M-stationary. Finally, the relations among MPSC tailored constraint qualifications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and age-associated neurodegenerative disorder that affects women disproportionally. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly characterized. Moreover, while the interplay between sex and ApoE genotype in AD has been investigated, multi-omics studies to understand this interaction are limited. Therefore, we applied systems biology approaches to investigate sex-specific molecular networks of AD. Methods: We integrated large-scale human postmortem brain transcriptomic data of AD from two cohorts (MSBB and ROSMAP) via multiscale network analysis and identified key drivers with sexually dimorphic expression patterns and/or different responses to APOE genotypes between sexes. The expression patterns and functional relevance of the top sex-specific network driver of AD were further investigated using postmortem human brain samples and gene perturbation experiments in AD mouse models. Results: Gene expression changes in AD versus control were identified for each sex. Gene co-expression networks were constructed for each sex to identify AD-associated co-expressed gene modules shared by males and females or specific to each sex. Key network regulators were further identified as potential drivers of sex differences in AD development. LRP10 was identified as a top driver of the sex differences in AD pathogenesis and manifestation. Changes of LRP10 expression at the mRNA and protein levels were further validated in human AD brain samples. Gene perturbation experiments in EFAD mouse models demonstrated that LRP10 differentially affected cognitive function and AD pathology in sex- and APOE genotype-specific manners. A comprehensive mapping of brain cells in LRP10 over-expressed (OE) female E4FAD mice suggested neurons and microglia as the most affected cell populations. The female-specific targets of LRP10 identified from the single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of the LRP10 OE E4FAD mouse brains were significantly enriched in the LRP10-centered subnetworks in female AD subjects, validating LRP10 as a key network regulator of AD in females. Eight LRP10 binding partners were identified by the yeast two-hybrid system screening, and LRP10 over-expression reduced the association of LRP10 with one binding partner CD34. Conclusions: These findings provide insights into key mechanisms mediating sex differences in AD pathogenesis and will facilitate the development of sex- and APOE genotype-specific therapies for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scrophularia ningpoensis, a perennial medicinal plant from the Scrophulariaceae family, is the original species of Scrophulariae Radix (SR) in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. This medicine is usually deliberately substituted or accidentally contaminated with other closely related species including S. kakudensis, S. buergeriana, and S. yoshimurae. Given the ambiguous identification of germplasm and complex evolutionary relationships within the genus, the complete chloroplast genomes of the four mentioned Scrophularia species were sequenced and characterized. Comparative genomic studies revealed a high degree of conservation in genomic structure, gene arrangement, and content within the species, with the entire chloroplast genome spanning 153,016–153,631 bp in full length, encoding 132 genes, including 80 protein-coding genes, 4 rRNA genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 18 duplicated genes. We identified 8 highly variable plastid regions and 39–44 SSRs as potential molecular markers for further species identification in the genus. The consistent and robust phylogenetic relationships of S. ningpoensis and its common adulterants were firstly established using a total of 28 plastid genomes from the Scrophulariaceae family. In the monophyletic group, S. kakudensis was determined to be the earliest diverging species, succeeded by S. ningpoensis. Meanwhile, S. yoshimurae and S. buergeriana were clustered together as sister clades. Our research manifestly illustrates the efficacy of plastid genomes in identifying S. ningpoensis and its counterfeits and will also contribute to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary processes within Scrophularia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The axial distribution of initial velocity and direction angle of double-layer prefabricated fragments after an explosion were investigated via an explosion detonation test. A three-stage detonation driving model of double-layer prefabricated fragments was proposed. In the three-stage driving model, the acceleration process of double-layer prefabricated fragments is divided into three stages: "detonation wave acceleration stage", "metal–medium interaction stage" and "detonation products acceleration stage". The initial parameters of each layer of prefabricated fragments calculated by the three-stage detonation driving model of double-layer prefabricated fragments fit well with the test results. It was shown that the energy utilization rate of detonation products acting on the inner-layer and outer-layer fragments were 69% and 56%, respectively. The deceleration effect of sparse waves on the outer layer of fragments was weaker than that on the inner layer. The maximum initial velocity of fragments was located near the center of the warhead where the sparse waves intersected, located at around 0.66 times of the full length of warhead. This model can provide theoretical support and a design scheme for the initial parameter design of double-layer prefabricated fragment warheads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al–air battery has been regarded as a promising new energy source. However, the self-corrosion of aluminum anode leads to a loss of battery capacity and a decrease in battery longevity, limiting its commercial applications. Herein, indole-2-carboxylic acid (ICA) has been added to 4 M NaOH as a corrosion inhibitor. Its impact on the self-corrosion of aluminum alloy and the enhancement of the functionality of Al–air batteries at various concentrations have been investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques have been used to examine the compositional and morphological alterations of aluminum alloy surfaces. Electrochemical and hydrogen evolution tests showed that indole-2-carboxylic acid is an efficient corrosion inhibitor in alkaline solutions, and its impact grows with concentration. Our findings demonstrated that when the inhibitor concentration is 0.07 M, the inhibition efficiency is 54.0%, the anode utilization rises from 40.2% to 79.9%, the capacity density increases from 1197.6 to 2380.9 mAh g−1, and the energy density increases from 1469.9 to 2951.8 Wh kg−1. In addition, theoretical calculations have been performed to support the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a widespread mental disorder and has thrust a heavy burden on the health system all over the world. Social cognition and function are reported to be impaired in AUD, but its neural mechanism is rarely investigated. The current study attempts to fill this gap. 28 subjects with AUD and 36 healthy controls (HC) were recruited in this study and were paired into 14 AUD dyads and 18 HC dyads. The drinking problems, depression, anxiety, and impulsivity of subjects were measured. Each dyad completed cooperation and competition tasks with simultaneous frontal functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning recording. The inter-brain synchronization (IBS) in the frontal cortex was calculated for each dyad and compared between AUD and HC. The significantly altered IBS in AUD was correlated with clinical measures to explore possible influencing factors. The IBS in the right middle frontal cortex was significantly decreased in AUD under both cooperation (t = −2.257, P = 0.028) and competition (t = −2.488, P = 0.016) task. The IBS during the cooperation task in the right middle frontal cortex in AUD was negatively correlated with non-planning impulsivity (r = −0.673, P = 0.006). This study used cross-sectional data, which limited the causal inference. The synchronization between other brain regions besides the frontal cortex should be further explored in patients with AUD. The current study could provide new insights into the neural mechanism of social dysfunction in AUD and facilitate clinical intervention in future practice. • fNIRS hyperscanning was used to investigate the neural mechanism of social dysfunction in subjects with AUD. • The synchronization in the right middle frontal cortex between subjects with AUD was significantly decreased. • The decreased brain synchronization was significantly correlated with impulsivity. • The right middle frontal cortex may serve as an intervention target for social dysfunction in AUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]