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The optical surface of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines is highly vulnerable to contamination by hydrocarbons, resulting in the formation of carbon deposits that significantly degrade the quality and efficiency of lithography. The dynamic gas lock (DGL) has been proven as an effective approach to alleviate carbon deposition. However, the majority of existing studies on carbon deposition neglect the influence of the DGL. This paper is dedicated to investigating the phenomena of hydrocarbon adsorption, desorption, and cleavage with considering the effects of the DGL. A comprehensive mathematical model of the carbon deposition process is established, and the impact of radiation intensity, temperature, and hydrocarbon types on the depositing rate is considered. The results suggest that the primary cause of carbon deposition is the direct cracking of hydrocarbons induced by photons with a wavelength range between 12.5 and 14.5 nm. Additionally, it has been observed that the carbon deposition rate decreases exponentially as clean gas flow increases when EUV radiation intensity exceeds 50 mW/mm2. Conversely, at low EUV radiation intensity, clean gas flow has little effect on the carbon deposition rate. An effective approach to mitigate carbon deposition is to elevate the temperature of the optical surface and employ light hydrocarbon materials in the EUV process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To aim of this study is to assess the mechanism through which Desertliving Cistanche modulates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the treatment of hyperlipidemic osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. Methods: We randomly assigned specific-pathogen-free (SPF) rats into five groups (n = 10 per group). The normal control group received a standard diet, while the model group, atorvastatin group, diethylstilbestrol group, and treatment group were fed a high-fat diet. Four weeks later, bilateral ovariectomies were conducted, followed by drug interventions. After six weeks of treatment, relevant indicators were compared and analyzed. Results: Compared to the normal control group, rats in the model group exhibited blurred trabecular morphology, disorganized osteocytes, significantly elevated levels of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), bone Gla-protein (BGP), total cholesterol (TC), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). Also, the model group revealed significantly reduced levels of ultimate load, fracture load, estradiol (E2), bone mineral density (BMD), osteoprotegerin (OPG), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt) in femoral tissue. The atorvastatin group presented with higher TC and TNF-α levels compared to the normal control group. Conversely, the treatment group demonstrated enhanced trabecular morphology, denser structure, smaller bone marrow cavities, and reduced BALP, BGP, TC, TNF-α, and RANKL levels. Furthermore, the treatment group exhibited higher levels of E2, BMD, OPG, and PI3K and Akt in bone tissue compared to the model group. The treatment group also had lower TC and TNF-α levels than the atorvastatin group. Biomechanical analysis indicated that after administration of Desertliving Cistanche, the treatment group had reduced body mass, increased ultimate and fracture load of the femur, denser bone structure, smaller bone marrow cavities, and altered periosteal arrangement compared to the model group. Conclusion: Our study revealed that Desertliving Cistanche demonstrated significant efficacy in preventing and treating postmenopausal hyperlipidemic osteoporosis in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic tomography has shown that the shear wave velocities (Vs) under continents, especially under cratons, are extremely fast at 100–200 km depth, which is difficult to explain by low temperatures or high Mg#. Alternatively, delaminated eclogitic lower continental crust has been proposed to account for these fast seismic anomalies. However, the thermoelastic properties of jadeite which constitutes up to 60–80 mol% of clinopyroxene in the potentially delaminated lower continental crust are not well constrained. In this study, we measured the single‐crystal elasticity of jadeite by Brillouin spectroscopy under simultaneous high pressure and temperature conditions for the first time. We found that the temperature dependence of Vs of jadeite is extremely small if not negligible. The seismic velocities of the potentially delaminated lower continental crusts were subsequently modeled and found to match the widely observed fast seismic anomalies under cratons between 100 and 200 km depth. Plain Language Summary: The seismic wave velocity variation images show the potential composition and temperature heterogeneities inside the Earth. Fast shear wave velocities (∼7% higher than the global average) have been observed under continents at 100–200 km depths. A candidate explanation of this fast shear wave velocity anomaly is the existence of delaminated eclogitic lower continental crust. However, due to the lack of knowledge of the thermoelastic properties of clinopyroxene, which is the dominant mineral phase (up to 60 vol%) in delaminated eclogitic lower continental crust, evaluation of this hypothesis is difficult. Clinopyroxene in the potentially delaminated lower continental crust is jadeite‐rich (up to 60–80 mol%) due to its high Na content (2.5–3.5 wt%). In this study, we report single‐crystal elasticity of jadeite at high pressure‐temperature conditions. We found the Vs of jadeite is much higher than all the other major upper mantle minerals under upper mantle conditions. The calculated seismic velocities of the potentially delaminated lower continental crusts could easily account for the fast shear wave anomalies observed under cratons. Key Points: High pressure‐temperature single‐crystal elasticity measurements of jadeite are conducted by Brillouin spectroscopyJadeite is among the seismically fastest phases in the Earth's upper mantleDelaminated lower crust can help explain the fast seismic anomalies under cratons [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the basic principle of PVC stripping process, the subspace modeling method, the decoupling method of muti-variable coupling system and PID controller parameter setting method, a decoupling control method of PVC stripping process based on subspace modeling is proposed. Then the subspace modeling method was used to model top temperature-slurry flow and bottom temperature-steam flow in the PVC stripping process. The diagonal matrix decoupling and feed-forward compensation decoupling methods are used to decouple the TITO system to obtain two SISO systems, which are controlled by two PID controllers respectively. PID parameters are tuned by using four engineering tuning methods to obtain the step response curves. For different controlled objects, four PID controller parameter adjustment methods will show different effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metasomatized mantle xenoliths containing hydrous minerals, such as amphiboles, serpentine, and phlogopite, likely represent the potential mineralogical compositions of the metasomatized upper mantle, where low seismic velocities are commonly observed. This study presents the first experimentally determined single‐crystal elasticity model of an Fe‐free near Ca, Mg‐endmember amphibole tremolite at high pressure and/or temperature conditions (maximum pressure 7.3(1) GPa, maximum temperature 700 K) using Brillouin spectroscopy. We found that sound velocities of amphiboles strongly depend on the Fe content. We then calculated the sound velocities of 441 hydrous‐mineral‐bearing mantle xenoliths collected around the globe, and quantitatively evaluated the roles that amphiboles, phlogopite and serpentine played in producing the low velocity anomalies in the metasomatized upper mantle. Plain Language Summary: Amphiboles are the most widely distributed hydrous minerals resulting from metasomatism in the upper most mantle. We measured sound velocities of tremolite (Ca, Mg endmember of the amphibole series) at high pressures and high temperatures by Brillouin spectroscopy. Based on global hydrous‐mineral‐bearing mantle xenoliths record, we quantitively evaluated the contributions of amphiboles, serpentine, and phlogopite to low velocity anomalies and water storage in the upper most mantle. We found the existence of hydrous minerals (amphiboles, serpentine, and phlogopite) remains a viable explanation for the low velocity anomalies in the upper most mantle (e.g., mid‐lithosphere discontinuity). Compared to serpentine and phlogopite, although the amount of velocity reduction caused by amphibolization is moderate, the formation of amphiboles does not require K, Al, Si‐rich environments like phlogopite, or exceedingly water‐rich environments like serpentine. Key Points: The single‐crystal elasticity of tremolite is determined by Brillouin spectroscopy up to 7.3 GPa and 700 KSound velocities of uppermost mantle amphiboles mainly depend on Fe contentHydrous minerals (amphiboles, serpentine, phlogopite) are plausible causes of the low velocity anomalies in the uppermost mantle [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver fibrosis scores have been demonstrated to be associated with poor prognosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, no studies have compared the prognostic value of these scores in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients with and without diabetes. We retrospectively enrolled 1576 AMI patients who underwent PCI. There were 177 all-cause deaths and 111 cardiac deaths during follow-up (median 3.8 years). The non-alcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score (NFS) showed a better prognostic value than the fibrosis-8 (FIB-8) score (Harrell's C-index: 0.703 vs 0.671, P =.014) and the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score (Harrell's C-index: 0.703 vs 0.648, P <.001) in the overall population. In the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analysis, the NFS also had the highest area under the curve across all time points. Consistent results were observed in diabetic and non-diabetic populations. Adding the NFS to traditional cardiovascular risk factors significantly improved the prediction both for all-cause mortality (Harrell's C-index: 0.806 vs 0.771, P <.001) and cardiac death (Harrell's C-index: 0.800 vs 0.771, P =.014). The NFS showed a better prognostic value than the FIB-8 score and the FIB-4 score in patients with AMI undergoing PCI, which might be preferable for estimating the risk of mortality regardless of the presence or absence of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Robot-assisted surgical systems for performing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have gained significant attention. This study was designed to compare the surgical outcomes in primary TKA surgery between the recently developed "SkyWalker" robot system and the more commonly used MAKO robot. Methods: A total of 75 patients undergoing primary TKA surgery by the same surgical team were included in this study, with 30 patients in the "SkyWalker" group and 45 patients in the "MAKO" group. We documented the osteotomy plan for both robotic systems. The lower limb alignment angles were evaluated by postoperative radiographic assessment. The operation time, estimated blood loss, postoperative hospital stays, and changes in laboratory indexes were collected during hospitalization. In addition, a comparative evaluation of knee functional assessments and complications was conducted during six month and one year follow-ups. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the accuracy of restoring lower limb alignment, estimated blood loss, or operation time. The knee function assessments at six months and one year postoperatively were similar in both groups. Except for day three after surgery, the level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the change in IL-6 (∆IL-6) from preoperative baseline were higher in the "SkyWalker" group than in the MAKO group (median: 20.53 vs. 14.17, P=0.050 and median: 17.30 vs. 10.09, P=0.042, respectively). Additionally, one patient from the MAKO group underwent revision surgery at nine months postoperatively due to ongoing periprosthetic discomfort. Conclusions: The newly developed "SkyWalker" robot showed comparable efficacy to the MAKO robot in terms of lower limb alignment accuracy and postoperative six month and one year follow-up of clinically assessed resumption of knee function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stress hyperglycemia and glycemic variability (GV) can reflect dramatic increases and acute fluctuations in blood glucose, which are associated with adverse cardiovascular events. This study aimed to explore whether the combined assessment of the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) and GV provides additional information for prognostic prediction in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: Patients diagnosed with CAD from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV database (version 2.2) between 2008 and 2019 were retrospectively included in the analysis. The primary endpoint was 1-year mortality, and the secondary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Levels of SHR and GV were stratified into tertiles, with the highest tertile classified as high and the lower two tertiles classified as low. The associations of SHR, GV, and their combination with mortality were determined by logistic and Cox regression analyses. Results: A total of 2789 patients were included, with a mean age of 69.6 years, and 30.1% were female. Overall, 138 (4.9%) patients died in the hospital, and 404 (14.5%) patients died at 1 year. The combination of SHR and GV was superior to SHR (in-hospital mortality: 0.710 vs. 0.689, p = 0.012; 1-year mortality: 0.644 vs. 0.615, p = 0.007) and GV (in-hospital mortality: 0.710 vs. 0.632, p = 0.004; 1-year mortality: 0.644 vs. 0.603, p < 0.001) alone for predicting mortality in the receiver operating characteristic analysis. In addition, nondiabetic patients with high SHR levels and high GV were associated with the greatest risk of both in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 10.831, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.494–26.105) and 1-year mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.830, 95% CI 3.175–10.702). However, in the diabetic population, the highest risk of in-hospital mortality (OR = 4.221, 95% CI 1.542–11.558) and 1-year mortality (HR = 2.013, 95% CI 1.224–3.311) was observed in patients with high SHR levels but low GV. Conclusions: The simultaneous evaluation of SHR and GV provides more information for risk stratification and prognostic prediction than SHR and GV alone, contributing to developing individualized strategies for glucose management in patients with CAD admitted to the ICU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, easy, convenient, and sensitive sensing strategies are still critical for organophosphorus pesticides in environmental water samples. Herein, a novel organophosphorus pesticide (OP) assay based on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and a MnO2 nanosheet-mediated CRISPR/Cas12a reaction is reported. The single-strand DNA (ssDNA) activator of CRISPR/Cas12a was simply adsorbed on the MnO2 nanosheets as the nanoswitches of the assay. In the absence of target OPs, AChE hydrolyzed acetylcholine (ATCh) to thiocholine (TCh), which reduced the MnO2 nanosheets to Mn2+, resulting in the release of the activator followed by activation of the CRISPR/Cas12a system. The activated Cas12a thereafter nonspecifically cleaved the FAM/BHQ1-labeled ssDNA (FQ-reporter), producing a fluorescence signal. Upon the addition of target OPs, the hydrolysis of ATCh by AChE was inhibited owing to OPs combining with AChE, and thus effective quantification of OPs could be achieved by measuring the fluorescence changes of the system. As a proof of concept, dichlorvos (DDVP) was chosen as a model OP analyte to address the feasibility of the proposed method. Attributed to the excellent trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a, the fluorescent biosensor exhibits a satisfactory limit of detection (LOD) for DDVP at 0.135 ng mL−1. In addition, the excellent recoveries for the detection of DDVP in environmental water samples demonstrate the applicability of the proposed assay in real sample research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV protease, reverse transcriptase, and integrase are targets of current drugs to treat the disease. However, anti-viral drug-resistant strains have emerged quickly due to the high mutation rate of the virus, leading to the demand for the development of new drugs. One attractive target is Gag-Pol polyprotein, which plays a key role in the life cycle of HIV. Recently, we found that a combination of M50I and V151I mutations in HIV-1 integrase can suppress virus release and inhibit the initiation of Gag-Pol autoprocessing and maturation without interfering with the dimerization of Gag-Pol. Additional mutations in integrase or RNase H domain in reverse transcriptase can compensate for the defect. However, the molecular mechanism is unknown. There is no tertiary structure of the full-length HIV-1 Pol protein available for further study. Therefore, we developed a workflow to predict the tertiary structure of HIV-1 NL4.3 Pol polyprotein. The modeled structure has comparable quality compared with the recently published partial HIV-1 Pol structure (PDB ID: 7SJX). Our HIV-1 NL4.3 Pol dimer model is the first full-length Pol tertiary structure. It can provide a structural platform for studying the autoprocessing mechanism of HIV-1 Pol and for developing new potent drugs. Moreover, the workflow can be used to predict other large protein structures that cannot be resolved via conventional experimental methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huaduoshan Cu–Mo prospect is in the Duobaoshan orefield, northeast China. The Cu–Mo mineralization occurs in the granodiorites as veinlet-disseminated. The ore-forming process can be divided into four mineralization stages: (I) quartz–pyrite–magnetite; (II) quartz–pyrite–chalcopyrite ± molybdenite; (III) quartz–pyrite–molybdenite–chalcopyrite–sphalerite; and (IV) quartz–calcite–minor pyrite. Liquid-rich two-phase aqueous (L-type), vapour-rich aqueous (V-type) and daughter-minerals three-phase (S-type) fluid inclusions (FIs) were identified at Huaduoshan. The last two types of FIs are absent in stages III and IV. The homogenization temperatures of FIs from stages I to IV are 375–438, 335–378, 283–335, and 223–267 ℃, with corresponding salinities of 2.4–50.4, 2.1–44.9, 2.7–10.1, and 1.7–7.3 wt. % NaCl eqv., respectively. The H–O isotope data of quartz in stages I (δ18OH2O = 6.1–8.0‰, δDH2O = −102.4–−94.6‰) show a magmatic origin of ore-forming fluid; the decreasing δ18OH2O (−6.8–3.2‰) and δDH2O (−117.1–−98.5‰) values of quartz in stage II–IV show the fluid mixing with meteoric water. The S–Pb isotopic values (δ34S = −2.7–0.8; 206Pb/204Pb = 18.236–18.599; 207Pb/204 Pb = 15.504–15.557; 208Pb/204Pb = 37.816–38.629) of pyrites indicate that the ore-forming materials are of magmatic origin. Fluid boiling and mixing may be the major mechanisms of ore precipitation. Zircon U–Pb age (172.1 ± 0.5 Ma) and geochemical data indicate that the ore-related granodiorites are I-type rocks formed in the subduction setting of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean Plate in the Early–Middle Jurassic. In conclusion, we propose that the Huaduoshan Cu–Mo prospect is a porphyry deposit and has potential for further exploration of porphyry Cu–Mo prospecting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new strains of dissimilatory perchlorate-reducing bacteria (DPRB), QD19-16, QD1-5, and P3-1, were isolated from an active sludge. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA genes indicated that QD19-16, QD1-5, and P3-1 belonged to Brucella, Acidovorax, and Citrobacter, respectively, expanding the distribution of DPRB in the Proteobacteria. The three strains were gram-negative and facultative anaerobes with rod-shaped cells without flagella, which were 1.0–1.6 μm long and 0.5–0.6 μm wide. The three DPRB strains utilized similar broad spectrum of electron donors and acceptors and demonstrated a similar capability to reduce perchlorate within 6 days. The enzyme activity of perchlorate reductase in QD19-16 toward chlorate was higher than that toward perchlorate. The high sequence similarity of the perchlorate reductase operon and chlorite dismutase genes in the perchlorate reduction genomic islands (PRI) of the three strains implied that they were monophyletic origin from a common ancestral PRI. Two transposase genes (tnp1 and tnp2) were found in the PRIs of strain QD19-16 and QD1-5, but were absent in the strain P3-1 PRI. The presence of fragments of IR sequences in the P3-1 PRI suggested that P3-1 PRI had previously contained these two tnp genes. Therefore, it is plausible to suggest that a common ancestral PRI transferred across the strains Brucella sp. QD19-16, Acidovorax sp. QD1-5, and Citrobacter sp. P3-1 through horizontal gene transfer, facilitated by transposases. These results provided a direct evidence of horizontal gene transfer of PRI that could jump across phylogenetically unrelated bacteria through transposase. Key points: • Three new DPRB strains can effectively remove high concentration of perchlorate. • The PRIs of three DPRB strains are acquired from a single ancestral PRI. • PRIs are incorporated into different bacteria genome through HGT by transposase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new strains of dissimilatory perchlorate-reducing bacteria (DPRB), QD19-16, QD1-5, and P3-1, were isolated from an active sludge. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA genes indicated that QD19-16, QD1-5, and P3-1 belonged to Brucella, Acidovorax, and Citrobacter, respectively, expanding the distribution of DPRB in the Proteobacteria. The three strains were gram-negative and facultative anaerobes with rod-shaped cells without flagella, which were 1.0–1.6 μm long and 0.5–0.6 μm wide. The three DPRB strains utilized similar broad spectrum of electron donors and acceptors and demonstrated a similar capability to reduce perchlorate within 6 days. The enzyme activity of perchlorate reductase in QD19-16 toward chlorate was higher than that toward perchlorate. The high sequence similarity of the perchlorate reductase operon and chlorite dismutase genes in the perchlorate reduction genomic islands (PRI) of the three strains implied that they were monophyletic origin from a common ancestral PRI. Two transposase genes (tnp1 and tnp2) were found in the PRIs of strain QD19-16 and QD1-5, but were absent in the strain P3-1 PRI. The presence of fragments of IR sequences in the P3-1 PRI suggested that P3-1 PRI had previously contained these two tnp genes. Therefore, it is plausible to suggest that a common ancestral PRI transferred across the strains Brucella sp. QD19-16, Acidovorax sp. QD1-5, and Citrobacter sp. P3-1 through horizontal gene transfer, facilitated by transposases. These results provided a direct evidence of horizontal gene transfer of PRI that could jump across phylogenetically unrelated bacteria through transposase. Key points: • Three new DPRB strains can effectively remove high concentration of perchlorate. • The PRIs of three DPRB strains are acquired from a single ancestral PRI. • PRIs are incorporated into different bacteria genome through HGT by transposase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) infects humans and causes a variety of clinical manifestations. Many HSV-1 genomes have been sequenced with high-throughput sequencing technologies and the annotation of these genome sequences heavily relies on the known genes in reference strains. Consequently, the accuracy of reference strain annotation is critical for future research and treatment of HSV-1 infection. In this study, we analyzed RNA-Seq data of HSV-1 from NCBI databases and discovered a novel intron in the overlapping coding sequence (CDS) of US10 and US11, and the 3′ UTR of US12 in strain 17, a commonly used HSV-1 reference strain. To comprehensively understand the shared US10/US11/US12 intron structure, we used US11 as a representative and surveyed all US11 gene sequences from the NCBI nt/nr database. A total of 193 high-quality US11 sequences were obtained, of which 186 sequences have a domain of uninterrupted tandemly repeated RXP (Arg-X-Pro) in the C-terminus half of the protein. In total, 97 of the 186 sequences encode US11 protein with the same length of the mature US11 in strain 17:26 of them have the same structure of US11 and can be spliced as in strain 17; 71 of them have transcripts that are the same as mature US11 mRNA in strain 17. In total, 76 US11 gene sequences have either canonical or known noncanonical intron border sequences and may be spliced like strain 17 and obtain mature US11 CDS with the same length. If not spliced, they will have extra RXP repeats. A tandemly repeated RXP domain was proposed to be essential for US11 to bind with RNA and other host factors. US10 protein sequences from the same strains have also been studied. The results of this study show that even a frequently used reference organism may have errors in widely used databases. This study provides accurate annotation of the US10, US11, and US12 gene structure, which will build a more solid foundation to study expression regulation of the function of these genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, obesity in early adulthood has become an urgent global public health concern. Body dissatisfaction may have adverse effects on lifestyle habits, leading to obesity. However, research on nutritional status and body dissatisfaction among Chinese young adults is still insufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between body dissatisfaction, dietary habits, physical activity, and nutritional status among university students. In addition, we explored the feasibility of improving university students' nutritional status by improving the levels of body dissatisfaction. Methods: This study was conducted in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China, at a randomly selected university. All 1900 undergraduate students volunteered to participate and signed the consent form. Students were required to completed anthropometric measurements and three questionnaires, which included the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3), Chinese version of the Dutch Dietary Behavior Questionnaire (C-DEBQ), and Body Dissatisfaction. Of these, 1714 students (age: 18–24 years; men: 933, women: 781) with complete and valid data were included. Results: Higher obesity levels were observed in men compared to women (p<0.01). Meanwhile, body dissatisfaction was higher in women compared to men (p<0.01). Overeating and insufficient physical activity were more problematic in women compared to in men (p<0.01). Multiple regression analyses were conducted separately, with BMI and body dissatisfaction as the dependent variables. Body dissatisfaction (β=0.72, p<0.01), muscle mass (β=0.33, p<0.01), emotional eating score (β=0.05, p<0.01), sex (β=-0.05, p<0.05) and physical activity (β=-0.04, p<0.05) score were significant predictors of obesity. Furthermore, Muscle mass (β=0.61, p<0.01), sex (β=0.54, p<0.01), restrained eating score (β=0.25, p<0.01), physical activity score (β=-0.20, p<0.01) and emotional eating score (β=0.08, p<0.01) were significant predictors of body dissatisfaction. Conclusion: The data presented in this study highlight the impact of university students' body dissatisfaction in China on physical activity deficiency and overeating, discovering that reducing body dissatisfaction has great potential for preventing obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sagittal alignment determines the extension and flexion of knee prostheses in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The definition of the sagittal axes may be different between the Mako TKA system (Stryker) and the conventional manual intramedullary approach. Whether there is any discrepancy between the 2 approaches has not been well studied. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 60 full-length computed tomographic (CT) scans of the lower extremities of 54 patients. The femur and tibia were modeled by using Mimics (Materialise). The Mako mechanical axes were determined according to the Mako TKA Surgical Guide. The manual intramedullary axes were determined according to the central axis of the tibial proximal and femoral distal medullary cavities. The femoral, tibial, and combined angular discrepancies were measured in the sagittal plane. Results: On the femoral side, the Mako mechanical axis was more likely to be located in an extended position relative to the manual intramedullary axis (56 of 60 knees). The median angular discrepancy was 2.46° (interquartile range [IQR], 1.56° to 3.43° [range, -1.06° to 5.24°]). On the tibial side, the Mako mechanical axis was likely to be located in a flexed position relative to the manual intramedullary axis (57 of 60 knees). The median angular discrepancy was 2.40° (IQR, 1.87° to 2.84° [range, -0.79° to 4.20°]). The angular discrepancy of the femoral-tibial sagittal angle was 4.63° (IQR, 3.71° to 5.64° [range, 1.20° to 9.02°]). Conclusions: Compared with manual TKA, the Mako system is more likely to result in a decreased posterior tibial slope and extension of the femoral prosthesis. It may also influence the evaluation of lower-extremity extension and flexion. When using the Mako system, special attention should be given to these discrepancies. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last century, a blue–green colored gemstone known as Larimar with a special sea-wave pattern was discovered in the Dominican Republic. Larimar is composed of the mineral pectolite, which has a chemical composition of NaCa2Si3O8(OH) and is usually white in color. Cu2+ has always been considered to be the primary genesis of the blue color shown in Larimar, because native copper often grows together with Larimar. To clarify whether copper is the main reason for the origin of blue–green pectolite, we utilized laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques to analyze trace elements in the pectolite samples and compared the relationship between elements and colors. The results show that vanadium and iron are the main origins of the sky-blue and green color of Larimar. We also discovered that it is not only the chemical elements that affect the color shades of the mineral, but the orientation of the radial fiber crystals also plays a critical role. The sea-wave pattern and the changes in the color saturation of radial pectolite are due to the transmittance of visible light through different viewed angles under changing crystal orientations. Our results reveal the chemical and physical factors behind the color and sea-wave pattern of Larimar. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first time that the formation age of Larimar has been proven to be approximately equal to or younger than 40 ka, using the U-Th dating of calcite growth together with pectolite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stroke patients cannot use their hands as freely as usual. However, recovery after a stroke is a long road for many patients. If artificial intelligence can assist human arm movement, it is believed that the possibility of stroke patients returning to normal hand movement can be significantly increased. In this study, the artificial neuromolecular system (ANM system) developed by our laboratory is used as the core motion control system to learn to control the mechanical arm, produce similar human rehabilitation actions, and assist patients in transiting between different activities. The strength of the ANM system lies in its ability to capture and process spatiotemporal information by exploiting the dynamic information processing inside neurons. Five experiments are conducted in this research: continuous learning, dimensionality reduction, moving problem domains, transfer learning, and fault tolerance. The results show that the ANM system can find out the arm movement trajectory when people perform different rehabilitation actions through the ability of continuous learning and reduce the activation of multiple muscle groups in stroke patients through the learning method of reducing dimensions. Finally, using the ANM system can reduce the learning time and performance required to switch between different actions through transfer learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PDENs) have been paid great attention in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). As a proof of concept, we isolated and identified Portulaca oleracea L-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PELNs) from edible Portulaca oleracea L, which exhibited desirable nano-size (~ 160 nm) and a negative zeta potential value (-31.4 mV). Oral administration of PELNs effectively suppressed the expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12, and IL-1β) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), increased levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10), and alleviated acute colitis in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced C57 mice and IL-10−/− mice. Notably, PELNs exhibited excellent stability and safety within the gastrointestinal tract and displayed specific targeting to inflamed sites in the colons of mice. Mechanistically, oral administration of PELNs played a crucial role in maintaining the diversity and balance of gut microbiota. Furthermore, PELNs treatment enhanced Lactobacillus reuteri growth and elevated indole derivative levels, which might activate the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in conventional CD4+ T cells. This activation downregulated Zbtb7b expression, leading to the reprogramming of conventional CD4+ T cells into double-positive CD4+CD8+T cells (DP CD4+CD8+ T cells). In conclusion, our findings highlighted the potential of orally administered PELNs as a novel, natural, and colon-targeted agent, offering a promising therapeutic approach for managing UC. Schematic illustration of therapeutic effects of oral Portulaca oleracea L -derived natural exosome-like nanoparticles (PELNs) on UC. PELNs treatment enhanced Lactobacillus reuteri growth and elevated indole derivative levels, which activate the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in conventional CD4+ T cells leading to downregulate the expression of Zbtb7b, reprogram of conventional CD4+ T cells into double-positive CD4+CD8+T cells (DP CD4+CD8+ T cells), and decrease the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pelican optimization algorithm (POA) is a new heuristic algorithm that simulates the pelican's natural behavior in the hunting process. In order to improve the convergence speed and accuracy of the original algorithm and to solve the problem that the original algorithm is easy to fall into local optimization, an improved POA based on chaotic interference factor and elementary mathematical function is proposed. In this paper, ten different chaotic interference factors are introduced in the exploration stage of POA. After selecting an improved POA with the best performance, six different elementary mathematical functions are introduced in the exploitation stage of POA to improve its optimization performance. Then 30 benchmark functions in CEC-BC-2017 were used to test the performance of different improved algorithms. The experimental results showed that the performance of the improved algorithms have been improved effectively compared with the original POA, and the accuracy and optimization ability to balance exploration and exploitation were significantly improved. Compared with seven different algorithms, the feasibility of the improved POA proposed in this paper is proved. Finally, four engineering design problems are optimized, and the simulation results show that among four different engineering design problems, the improved POA proposed in this paper is obviously superior to the original POA, which proves that the improved POA based on chaotic interference factor and elementary function is competitive in optimization performance on function optimization and practical engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, enhanced antiferromagnetic characteristics and room temperature magnetoelectric coupling are achieved by Fe-substitution for Mn in h-ScMnO3. The antiferromagnetic Néel temperature (TN) increases from 131 K for ScMnO3 up to 140 K for ScMn0.8Fe0.2O3. Electric field controlled magnetism is confirmed for ScMn0.8Fe0.2O3 at room temperature, combining with the short-range magnetic spin ordering. The Rietveld structural refinement and selected area electron diffraction confirm the noncentrosymmetric P63cm structure for the present ceramics. The ferroelectric domain walls at the atomic scale are determined by the aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy; meanwhile, the spontaneous polarization of 5.6 μC/cm2 is determined. The noticeable magnetoelectric coefficient αME ∼ 0.78 mV/cm Oe (measured under a magnetic field up to 3000 Oe) is obtained in ScMn0.8Fe0.2O3, which is quite stable with the applied magnetic field, reflecting coupling of the short-range spin ordering with the ferroelectric ordering. The enhanced antiferromagnetic behaviors are discussed with the effect of Fe-substitution, which reduce the magnetic frustration and enhance the exchange interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Weeds are not only economically important but also fascinating models for studying the adaptation of species in human-mediated environments. Aegilops tauschii is the D-genome donor species of common wheat but is also a weed that influences wheat production. How shading stress caused by adjacent wheat plants affects Ae. tauschii growth is a fundamental scientific question but is also important in agriculture, such as for weed control and wheat breeding. Result: The present study indicated that shade avoidance is a strategy of Ae. tauschii in response to shading stress. Ae. tauschii plants exhibited growth increases in specific organs, such as stem and leaf elongation, to avoid shading. However, these changes were accompanied by sacrificing the growth of other parts of the plants, such as a reduction in tiller number. The two reverse phenotype responses seem to be formed by systemically regulating the expression of different genes. Fifty-six genes involved in the regulation of cell division and cell expansion were found to be downregulated, and one key upstream negative regulator (RPK2) of cell division was upregulated under shading stress. On the other hand, the upregulated genes under shading stress were mainly enriched in protein serine/threonine kinase activity and carbon metabolism, which are associated with cell enlargement, signal transduction and energy supply. The transcription factor WRKY72 may be important in regulating genes in response to shading stress, which can be used as a prior candidate gene for further study on the genetic regulation of shade avoidance. Conclusions: This study sheds new light on the gene expression changes and molecular processes involved in the response and avoidance of Ae. tauschii to shading stress, which may aid more effective development of shading stress avoidance or cultivars in wheat and other crops in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcoholism is a worldwide health problem, and diseases caused by alcoholism are killing people every year. Amomum kravanh is a traditional Chinese medicine used to relieve hangovers. However, whether its bioactive components improve alcohol metabolism is not clear. In this study, ten new (amomumols A-J, 1–10) and thirty-five known (11–45) compounds were isolated from the fruits of Amomum kravanh by an activity-guided separation. Ten novel compounds were identified as four sesquiterpenoids (1–4), three monoterpene derivatives (5–7), two neolignans (8, 9), and a novel norsesquiterpenoid (10) with a new C14 nor-bisabolane skeleton. Their structures were determined by the comprehensive analysis of high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. The effects of all isolated compounds on the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase were evaluated in vitro, and it was found that eight compounds (11, 12, 15, 18, 26, and 36–38) exhibited significant activation effects on the alcohol dehydrogenase at 50 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the differences between chiral pesticide enantiomers have caused widespread concern in the last decade. In the current work, the selective behaviors and different biological activities of paclobutrazol enantiomers during Chinese cabbage pickling process were evaluated. Results of degradation kinetics indicated that when paclobutrazol reside in raw material (Chinese cabbage) and was introduced into the pickling process, the degradation rates of the two paclobutrazol enantiomers were significantly different, the half‐lives of (2R, 3R)‐paclobutrazol (R‐paclobutrazol) and (2S, 3S)‐paclobutrazol (S‐paclobutrazol) were 18.24 and 6.19 d, respectively. Besides, the conversion between the two enantiomers could also be observed, and the conversion rate of R‐paclobutrazol to S‐paclobutrazol was slower than that of reverse process. In addition, from the analysis of 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing, we inferred that the degradation of paclobutrazol was probably due to the presence of Pseudomonas and Serratia. Moreover, there has a significant difference in biological activity between R‐paclobutrazol and S‐paclobutrazol and shown an obviously enantiomeric effects on microbial community composition of pickling system. Besides, the analysis of microbial community displayed R‐paclobutrazol might inhibit the growth of Erwinia (a sort of plant pathogens). Results from this study served to enhance our understanding of chiral pesticide residues on food safety and the potential risks to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal changes usually exist and cause false alarms in the bi-temporal change detection from high-resolution remote sensing images. It is difficult to remove these false alarms only using bi-temporal images for traditional change detection methods. A change detection method is proposed to remove seasonal false alarms in bi-temporal change detection by introducing time series information of medium-resolution remote sensing images. First, the mid-resolution time series results are mapped to the ground objects obtained by multiscale segmentation of high-resolution remote sensing images. Second, set the thresholds for the proportion of each category of pixels in the object to obtain high-resolution time series results. Finally, the high-resolution change detection results are optimized by the improved high-resolution time series results. Experimental results show that this method can optimize the results of high-resolution change detection, and the accuracy of this method was improved by at least 0.23 than that of traditional change detection by reducing seasonal errors. The proposed method was an effective change detection approach for high-resolution images to reduce detection errors due to seasonal differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) represents a promising sustainable approach for NH3 synthesis. However, the poor NRR performance of electrocatalysts is a great challenge at this stage, mainly owing to their low activity and the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, 2D ferric covalent organic framework/MXene (COF‐Fe/MXene) nanosheets with controllable hydrophobic behaviors are successfully prepared via a multiple‐in‐one synthetic strategy. The boosting hydrophobicity of COF‐Fe/MXene can effectively repel water molecules to inhibit the HER for enhanced NRR performances. By virtue of the ultrathin nanostructure, well‐defined single Fe sites, nitrogen enrichment effect, and high hydrophobicity, the 1H,1H,2H,2H‐perfluorodecanethiol modified COF‐Fe/MXene hybrid shows a NH3 yield of 41.8 µg h−1 mgcat.−1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 43.1% at −0.5 V versus RHE in a 0.1 m Na2SO4 water solution, which are vastly superior to the known Fe‐based catalysts and even to the noble metal catalysts. This work provides a universal strategy to design and synthesis of non‐precious metal electrocatalysts for high‐efficiency N2 reduction to NH3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abbreviations CT Computed tomography ED Emergency Department MRI Magnetic resonance imaging NHI National Health Insurance OECD Organisation for Economics Co-operation and Development Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. We also found increasing trends of uncoded CT scans in emergency patients and self-pay CT scans in outpatients. This could lead to confusion that Taiwan had a low CT utilization rate in ED setting compared to other countries. For instance, in the emergency department (ED) setting, the reported rates of CT use in Taiwan ranged from 116 to 177 per 1000 ED visits during 2005-2013 [[2]-[4]], compared to rates reported in other countries ranging from 34 to 245 per 1000 ED visits (as summarized in Table 1) [[5]-[11]]. [Extracted from the article]

Previous studies have demonstrated that non-invasive liver fibrosis scores (LFSs) are associated with kidney function deterioration. This study aimed to assess the predictive performance of LFSs in contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This retrospective study involved 5627 patients. The frequency of CA-AKI was 6.3% (n = 353). In a multivariate logistic analysis after adjustment, non-invasive LFSs, including fibrosis-5 score (FIB-5), fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4), aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), and aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index were independent risk factors for CA-AKI (all P <.05), whereas the Forns score was not (P >.05). The highest predictive performance was observed for FIB-5 (area under the curve [AUC] =.644) compared to other LFSs. A restricted cubic spline analysis confirmed approximately linear relationships between LFSs and risks of CA-AKI. Furthermore, adding FIB-5 (AUC =.747; net reclassification improvement [NRI] =.441, P <.001; integrated discrimination improvement [IDI] =.008, P <.001) or AAR (AUC =.747; NRI =.419, P <.001; IDI =.006, P =.010) to an established clinical risk model could significantly improve the prediction of CA-AKI. The LFSs were significantly associated with CA-AKI, possibly serving as predictive tools for early identification of CAD patients undergoing elective PCI that are at high risk of CA-AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, which can reflect liver and renal function, is associated with poor prognosis. However, the prognostic performance of the modified MELD score in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been fully evaluated and compared. This study retrospectively enrolled 5324 patients. During a median follow-up of 2.85 years, 412 patients died. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves at 3 years indicated that the MELD including albumin (MELD-Albumin) score had the highest prognostic performance (AUC =.721) than the MELD score (AUC =.630), the MELD excluding the international normalized ratio (MELD-XI) score (AUC =.606), and the MELD including sodium (MELD-Na) score (AUC =.656) (all P <.001). The MELD-Albumin score, the MELD score, and the MELD-Na score were independent predictors of long-term mortality; however, the MELD-XI score was not when treated as a categorical variable (P =.254). Adding the MELD-Albumin score to the model of clinical risk factors could improve the prognostic performance. For the subgroup analysis, the association between the MELD-Albumin score and long-term mortality was more pronounced in patients ≤75 years (interaction P value =.005). The MELD-Albumin score showed the strongest prognostic performance than the other versions of the MELD score in patients undergoing elective PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP) is well known for its large strike–slip faults with high slip rates and a high potential for seismic hazards. However, little is known about its thrust faults and associated seismic hazards, even though they can produce devastating earthquakes despite their relatively low slip rate. Here we investigated the thrust faults and the recent tectonic uplift pattern in the SETP on a regional scale by combining geomorphic analysis and geodetic data. We quantify the potential differential uplift in the SETP recorded in the long-term landscape evolution with geomorphic indices and compare them with differential uplift derived from decadal leveling data and millennial-scale fluvial terrace incision rates. The results show that the northwest of the SETP underwent higher uplift rates compared to its southeast areas, which is in agreement with the GPS-based leveling. Essentially, the geomorphic indices build two value ranges that are spatially clustered and separated by the Muli thrust fault system, a transverse fault system, which is orientated oblique/perpendicular to the large strike–slip fault. The geomorphic indices indicating rapid uplift rates spatially correspond with high rates derived from leveling data on the northwest side of the Muli thrust fault. The Muli thrust fault, therefore, acted as an important topographic and tectonic boundary absorbing partial southeast crustal movement. Hence, further detailed studies, such as seismological investigations, are suggested to be conducted on the Muli fault for seismic hazards evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ENCD (http://www.bio-server.cn/ENCD/) is a manually curated database that provides comprehensive experimentally supported associations among endocrine system diseases (ESDs) and long non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNAs). The incidence of ESDs has increased in recent years, often accompanying other chronic diseases, and can lead to disability. A growing body of research suggests that lncRNA plays an important role in the progression and metastasis of ESDs. However, there are no resources focused on collecting and integrating the latest and experimentally supported lncRNA–ESD associations. Hence, we developed an ENCD database that consists of 1379 associations between 35 ESDs and 501 lncRNAs in 12 human tissues curated from literature. By using ENCD, users can explore the genetic data for diseases corresponding to the body parts of interest as well as study the lncRNA regulating mechanism for ESDs. ENCD also provides a flexible tool to visualize a disease- or gene-centric regulatory network. In addition, ENCD offers a submission page for researchers to submit their newly discovered endocrine disorders-genetic data entries online. Collectively, ENCD will provide comprehensive insights for investigating the ESDs associated with lncRNAs. Database URLhttp://www.bio-server.cn/ENCD [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, human hair keratin has been widely studied and applied in clinical fields due to its good histocompatibility, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. However, the regenerated keratin from human hair cannot be electrospun alone because of its low molecular weight. Herein, gamma polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) was first selected to fabricate smooth and uniform γ-PGA/keratin composite scaffolds with excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability by electrospinning technology and a chemical cross-linking method in this study. The effect of electrospinning parameters on the structure and morphology, the mechanism of chemical cross-linking, biocompatibility in vitro cell culture experiments, and biodegradability in phosphate-buffered saline buffer solution and trypsin solution of the γ-PGA/keratin electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds (ENS) was studied. The results show that the cross-linked γ-PGA/keratin ENSs had excellent water stability and biodegradability. The γ-PGA/keratin ENSs showed better biocompatibility in promoting cell adhesion and cell growth compared with the γ-PGA ENSs. It is expected that γ-PGA/keratin ENSs will be easily and significantly used in tissue engineering to repair or regenerate materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With an increasing incidence of obesity, the relationship between obesity and body image has become a hot research topic worldwide. From high school to university, young people experience changes in their social environment. University students have a high incidence of eating disorders and insufficient physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between body dissatisfaction, insufficient physical activity, and disordered eating behaviors among university students in southern China.Methods: In total, 1296 university students aged 18-23 years were recruited for this study. The participants completed anthropometric measurements, the Physical Activity Rating scale-3 (PARS-3), and the Chinese-Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (C-DEBQ). The ideal weight and silhouette were reported by university students using a questionnaire.Results: Compared with men, young women had a higher level of body dissatisfaction. For men, body mass index (BMI; β = 0.76, P <  0.01), physical activity score (β = - 0.11, P <  0.01), and restrained eating score (β = 0.10, P <  0.01) were the significant factors predictive of body dissatisfaction. For women, BMI (β = 0.57, P <  0.01), muscle mass (β = 0.12, P <  0.01), physical activity score (β = - 0.11, P <  0.01), and restrained eating score (β = 0.09, P <  0.01) were the significant factors predictive of body dissatisfaction.Conclusions: University students with high body dissatisfaction had lower physical activity scores and higher restrained eating scores. The data presented here highlight the impact of university students' body dissatisfaction on physical activity deficiency and disordered eating behaviors in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although deep neural network technology brings high recognition accuracy to the field of synthetic aperture radar image‐based automatic target recognition, it also produces the catastrophic forgetting problem. Here, a new incremental learning method that can extract more information about old data is proposed. Based on the rehearsal method, the authors' method adds extra linear layers after the feature extractor of the network before training on new incremental data and uses the network to generate distilled labels for incremental training. Through experiments on the moving and stationary target acquisition and recognition data set, we conclude that, when the old model has good performance, our method has better performance than other typical incremental learning methods on small data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This could lead to confusion that Taiwan had a low CT utilization rate in ED setting compared to other countries. We also found increasing trends of uncoded CT scans in emergency patients and self-pay CT scans in outpatients. For instance, in the emergency department (ED) setting, the reported rates of CT use in Taiwan ranged from 116 to 177 per 1000 ED visits during 2005-2013 [[2]-[4]], compared to rates reported in other countries ranging from 34 to 245 per 1000 ED visits (as summarized in Table 1) [[5]-[11]]. Abbreviations CT Computed tomography ED Emergency Department MRI Magnetic resonance imaging NHI National Health Insurance OECD Organisation for Economics Co-operation and Development Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Objective. In order to verify the safety and effectiveness of tirofiban combined with statins in the perioperative period of intracranial aneurysms, this study adopts systematic review and meta-analysis, so as to comprehensively understand the situation of intracranial aneurysms in the perioperative period, and tirofiban combined with statins was finally determined as an effective treatment drug. Methods. This study used systematic retrospective analysis and selected 80 patients with intracranial aneurysms treated in our hospital from June 2021 to June 2022 as the research objects. Through conventional drugs and tirofiban combined with statins used in this study, the intracranial levels, the probability of aneurysm rupture, and postoperative complications of the two groups were observed and recorded. Results. The analysis of 80 patients with intracranial aneurysms showed that the influence of intracranial levels in the observation group was better than that in the reference group, the rupture of aneurysms in the observation group was lower than that in the reference group, and the incidence of postoperative complications in the observation group was lower than that in the reference group. Conclusion. Through simulation verification, it is concluded that tirofiban combined with statins is safe and effective in the perioperative application of intracranial aneurysms. This drug can improve vascular recanalization, reduce the incidence of cerebrovascular disease events, and reduce the incidence of rebleeding. Its therapeutic effect is worthy of wide clinical application and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Film-cooling hole-geometry research needs a better understanding in the mechanism of film cooling effectiveness, which was recently shown to depend rather strongly on the counter-rotating vortex pair (CRVP); in this work, a mechanism of the film-cooling heat transfer is proposed. Its mainstream entrainment was aimed to be eliminated by developing a new scheme named comb scheme, which was intended to move CRVP away from mainstream-coolant interface, rather than suppressing CRVP itself. It is investigated experimentally and numerically in this work. The transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique was used in the experimental work, while the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a realizable κ-ε turbulence model was used to simulate the flow numerically. The results were assessed against open published results hence demonstrating the so called 'ideal' performance (film cooling effectiveness = 1) of the new scheme, but with practical structural integrity. The geometric parameter analysis showed that the visualized strong CRVP, where intensity is more than 20, is trapped in the blind slot, hence its impact on mainstream-coolant interface is dropped to approximately 3, and mainstream entrainment is eliminated. It confirms the success of the comb scheme in achieving the high performance of the film-cooling heat transfer mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Automatic crack detection on concrete surfaces has become increasingly important for the health diagnosis of concrete structures to prevent possible malfunctions or accidents. In this paper, a concrete crack segmentation network based on convolution–deconvolution feature fusion with holistically nested networks is proposed. The proposed network adopts an encoder–decoder structure and uses VGG‐16 as the basic feature extraction network. First, considering the problem that the VGG‐16 network can extract redundant features in the encoding stage, based on the channel attention mechanism, the channel spatial correlation and global information are used to emphasize crack features to remove redundant features. Second, through the convolution–deconvolution feature fusion module, the deep semantic information of the deconvolution is effectively fused with the shallow features of convolution, which effectively improves the semantic crack feature information extracted at each stage of the VGG‐16 network. Finally, based on a multiscale supervised learning mechanism, holistically nested networks are used to fuse the prediction results from different scales, which enhances the network's ability to express linear topological structures and improves the accuracy of crack segmentation. Through a large number of experiments on the Bridge_Crack_Image_Data dataset and CFD dataset, we demonstrate that compared with other deep networks, the proposed network not only achieves better segmentation results for cracks of different widths but is also more robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The spatial variation of sediment connectivity in small watershed was quantified by IC. • Significant spatial variation and autocorrelation were detected in IC in black soil region. • Topographic and anthropogenic factors were main determinants of sediment connectivity spatial variation. Connectivity has become an important indicator of the sediment transfer potential through sediment sources to catchment sinks. Connectivity plays a vital role in investigating the rate of soil erosion caused by runoff and sediment output across the watershed landscape. However, there have been few quantitative studies on the spatial variations in sediment connectivity in the black soil region of Northeast China. Seven classic watersheds in the northeast black soil region were selected to discover spatial variations in sediment connectivity and their influencing factors. The connectivity index (IC) was used to study the spatial variation of sediment connectivity, and the weight of IC was calculated using the vegetation cover management factor (C), which reflected the influence of human activities on the soil erosion process caused by cultivated land expansion and encroachment of forest grassland. The redundancy analysis method (RDA) was used to determine the main factors affecting the spatial variation of IC. The results showed that IC decreased from north (0.45) to south (0.12). The spatial variations of watersheds in sediment connectivity showed significant spatial heterogeneity. IC was correlated with topographic, climatic, and artificial management characteristics at 0.01 or 0.05 levels except soil structural index; RDA results showed that topography and human activities were the main factors affecting sediment connectivity. Topographic and climatic factors explained more sediment connectivity changes in the southern watersheds than in the northern watersheds, while the human activities factor explanation was the opposite of topographic factors. Human activities refer to changes in vegetation cover and soil structure and properties resulting from human logging and farming that affect sediment connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: An increase number of studies suggests that more diverse communities of native plants more strongly resist invasion by introduced plants. Here we tested whether biotic plant-soil feedbacks can explain this relationship independently of other factors, via either soil richness, as based on the number of different plant species conditioning the soil; or soil heterogeneity, the degree to which plant-soil feedbacks involving different plant species are spatially separated. No previous study appears to have tested both soil richness and heterogeneity as components of biotic plant-soil feedbacks that might explain why more diverse native plant communities are less invasible.We conditioned soils with monocultures of six native plant species and grew five introduced plant species individually in sterilized soil inoculated with one, two, or four of the conditioned soils, keeping the conditioned soils separate or mixing them.Soil richness had little effect on the final dry mass of any introduced species. Higher soil heterogeneity did not decrease final mass in any introduced species and instead increased it in one.Results suggest that biotic plant-soil feedbacks are not in themselves an important mechanism by which diversity limits invasibility but do not rule out the possibility that such feedbacks play a role in combination with other mechanisms such as abiotic feedbacks or plant competition.Methods: An increase number of studies suggests that more diverse communities of native plants more strongly resist invasion by introduced plants. Here we tested whether biotic plant-soil feedbacks can explain this relationship independently of other factors, via either soil richness, as based on the number of different plant species conditioning the soil; or soil heterogeneity, the degree to which plant-soil feedbacks involving different plant species are spatially separated. No previous study appears to have tested both soil richness and heterogeneity as components of biotic plant-soil feedbacks that might explain why more diverse native plant communities are less invasible.We conditioned soils with monocultures of six native plant species and grew five introduced plant species individually in sterilized soil inoculated with one, two, or four of the conditioned soils, keeping the conditioned soils separate or mixing them.Soil richness had little effect on the final dry mass of any introduced species. Higher soil heterogeneity did not decrease final mass in any introduced species and instead increased it in one.Results suggest that biotic plant-soil feedbacks are not in themselves an important mechanism by which diversity limits invasibility but do not rule out the possibility that such feedbacks play a role in combination with other mechanisms such as abiotic feedbacks or plant competition.Results: An increase number of studies suggests that more diverse communities of native plants more strongly resist invasion by introduced plants. Here we tested whether biotic plant-soil feedbacks can explain this relationship independently of other factors, via either soil richness, as based on the number of different plant species conditioning the soil; or soil heterogeneity, the degree to which plant-soil feedbacks involving different plant species are spatially separated. No previous study appears to have tested both soil richness and heterogeneity as components of biotic plant-soil feedbacks that might explain why more diverse native plant communities are less invasible.We conditioned soils with monocultures of six native plant species and grew five introduced plant species individually in sterilized soil inoculated with one, two, or four of the conditioned soils, keeping the conditioned soils separate or mixing them.Soil richness had little effect on the final dry mass of any introduced species. Higher soil heterogeneity did not decrease final mass in any introduced species and instead increased it in one.Results suggest that biotic plant-soil feedbacks are not in themselves an important mechanism by which diversity limits invasibility but do not rule out the possibility that such feedbacks play a role in combination with other mechanisms such as abiotic feedbacks or plant competition.Conclusion: An increase number of studies suggests that more diverse communities of native plants more strongly resist invasion by introduced plants. Here we tested whether biotic plant-soil feedbacks can explain this relationship independently of other factors, via either soil richness, as based on the number of different plant species conditioning the soil; or soil heterogeneity, the degree to which plant-soil feedbacks involving different plant species are spatially separated. No previous study appears to have tested both soil richness and heterogeneity as components of biotic plant-soil feedbacks that might explain why more diverse native plant communities are less invasible.We conditioned soils with monocultures of six native plant species and grew five introduced plant species individually in sterilized soil inoculated with one, two, or four of the conditioned soils, keeping the conditioned soils separate or mixing them.Soil richness had little effect on the final dry mass of any introduced species. Higher soil heterogeneity did not decrease final mass in any introduced species and instead increased it in one.Results suggest that biotic plant-soil feedbacks are not in themselves an important mechanism by which diversity limits invasibility but do not rule out the possibility that such feedbacks play a role in combination with other mechanisms such as abiotic feedbacks or plant competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a key role in many renewable energy conversion and storage technologies. As the state-of-the-art ORR and OER electrocatalysts, noble-metal-based electrocatalysts suffer from high price, low earth abundance, single functionality, and poor stability. Developing high performance noble-metal-free ORR and OER bifunctional electrocatalysts as alternatives is highly desirable but remains a significant challenge. In this work, we reported a metal-organic-framework-engaged strategy for the fabrication of central radiative cobalt-tipped N-doped carbon nanotube/hollow Ti 3 C 2 T x sphere composites (h-Ti 3 C 2 T x @Co-NCNT), in which ZIF-67 particles were in situ grown on spherical structure composed of Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets constructed with hard template PMMA and then were converted to cobalt-tipped N-doped carbon nanotubes through a pyrolysis process. The hollow Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets sphere not only served as conductive scaffolds for the growth of Co-NCNT but also balanced the tradeoff between graphitization of carbon and the surface area. Benefiting from the abundant Co-N/C active sites, reasonably high graphitization of carbon and suitable surface areas, the optimized h-Ti 3 C 2 T x @Co-NCNT manifested comparable ORR (half-wave potential of 0.843 V) and OER (overpotential of 323 mV) activities. In addition, the h-Ti 3 C 2 T x @Co-NCNT assembled zinc-air battery exhibits superior performance beyond commercial Pt/C+RuO 2. Certificating this strategy can provide great opportunity for its application in renewable conversion and storage technologies. [Display omitted] • Hollow Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene sphere-based ZIF-67 derived central radiative cobalt-tipped carbon nanotubes is fabricated. • The combination of MXene and MOF enables the optimization of electrical conductivity and stability. • The h-Ti 3 C 2 T x @Co-NCNT possesses remarkable activities towards ORR and OER. • The feasibility of h-Ti 3 C 2 Tx@Co-NCNT-2 for the assembly of zinc-air batteries with superior performance was validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cisplatin (CDDP) was considered as the milestone anticancer agent for the cancer treatment, however, the side effects were also a huge threat to human health. Pt(IV) prodrug with functional axial decoration has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy to minor the side effect. In this work, we have developed a dual mitochondrial and DNA‐targeting Pt(IV) prodrug with coumarin‐derivative decoration, and the experiment has illustrated that the prodrug Pt‐CMN could dramatically enhance the anticancer performance compared to CDDP. Prodrug Pt‐CMN could be activated in vitro by reducing reagent ascorbic acid in the periods of 6 h. Control prodrug Pt‐CM without the diethylamino group, showed much less cytotoxicity to cancer cells, which partially resulted from the hard reduction of prodrug Pt‐CM. Furthermore, prodrug Pt‐CMN could increase the Pt cellular uptake in MCF‐7 cells and destroy the functionality of mitochondria, including inducing the ROS generation, losing the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and decreasing the ATP production. Moreover, prodrug Pt‐CMN could induce the intracellular DNA damage of MCF‐7 cells to activate apoptosis and arrest the cell cycle in the G2/M phase. This work not only demonstrated that prodrug Pt‐CMN could be a promising anticancer agent, but also provided a new strategy to enhance the anticancer performance through the subcellular organelle targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a heterogeneous disorder with complex pathogenesis. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to assess genome-wide DNA methylation changes associated explicitly with the pathogenesis of UC.Methods: DNA methylation changes were identified by comparing UC tissues with healthy controls (HCs) from the GEO databases. The candidate genes were obtained and verified in clinical samples. Moreover, the underlying molecular mechanism related to Zbtb7b in the pathogenesis of UC was explored using the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis model.Results: Bioinformatic analysis from GEO databases confirmed that Zbtb7b, known as Th-inducing POZ-Kruppel factor (ThPOK), was demethylated in UC tissues. Then, we demonstrated that Zbtb7b was in a hypo-methylation pattern through the DSS-induced colitis model (P = 0.0357), whereas the expression of Zbtb7b at the mRNA and protein levels was significantly up-regulated in the inflamed colonic tissues of UC patients (qRT-PCR, WB, IHC: P < 0.0001, P = 0.0079, P < 0.0001) and DSS-induced colitis model (qRT-PCR, WB, IHC: P < 0.0001, P = 0.0045, P = 0.0004). Moreover, the expression of Zbtb7b was positively associated with the degree of UC activity. Mechanically, over-expression of Zbtb7b might activate the maturation of CD4+T cells (FCM, IF: P = 0.0240, P = 0.0003) and repress the differentiation of double-positive CD4+CD8+T (DP CD4+CD8+T) cells (FCM, IF: P = 0.0247, P = 0.0118), contributing to the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α (P = 0.0005, P = 0.0005), IL-17 (P = 0.0014, P = 0.0381), and IFN-γ (P = 0.0016, P = 0.0042), in the serum and colonic tissue of DSS-induced colitis model.Conclusions: Epigenetic DNA hypo-methylation of Zbtb7b activated the maturation of CD4+T cells and repressed the differentiation of DP CD4+CD8+ T cells, resulting in the production of inflammatory cytokines and colonic inflammation in UC. Therefore, Zbtb7b might be a diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker for UC, and hypo-methylation might affect the biological function of Zbtb7b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, treatment of diabetes and associated obesity involves Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy to reduce the absorption of nutrients from the intestine to achieve blood glucose control. However, the surgical procedure and subsequent recovery are physically and psychologically burdensome for patients, with possible side effects, so alternative treatments are being developed. In this study, two methods, solution casting and machine direction orientation (MDO), were used to prepare intestinal implants made of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) film and implant them into the duodenum of type 2 diabetic rats for the treatment of obesity and blood glucose control. The PVDF film obtained by the MDO process was characterized by FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD and piezoelectricity tests, which showed higher composition of β crystalline phase and better elongation and mechanical strength in specific directions. Therefore, the material was finally tested on rats after it was proven to be non-toxic by biological toxicity tests. The PVDF was implanted into alloxan-induced diabetic rats, which were used as a model of impaired insulin secretion due to pancreatic beta cell destruction rather than obesity-induced diabetes, and rats were tracked for 24 days, showing significantly improved body weight and blood glucose levels. As an alternative therapeutic option, intestinal sleeve implant showed future potential for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by hyperglycemia, which can induce the development of atherosclerosis (AS). Calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) exerts an important role in the process of AS. In this study, the effects of liraglutide (LIRA) on VSMC under high-glucose condition and its mechanism were explored. Method. After VSMC was treated by high glucose with or without LIRA in vitro, the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was measured by the detection kit, osteogenic marker protein expression was detected by Western blotting, and calcification was determined by alizarin red staining. Subsequently, the DM rat model was established and the ALP activity, calcification, and osteogenic marker proteins were determined in vivo. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and hematoxylin-eosin staining were performed on the thoracic aorta of DM rats. Result. The positive rate of SMα-actin expression in the DM + AS group was significantly lower than that in control rats, but LIRA administration increased the positive rate in the model. The expression of Cbfα-1 and OPN in the DM + AS group was significantly higher than that in the control group, while it was decreased after treatment of LIRA. The ALP activity and calcium content were increased in DM + AS rats, and the treatment of LIRA decreased the phenotypes in the rats, so as to delay the progression of AS in DM rats. Meanwhile, LIRA inhibited the ALP activity, upregulated SM-α expression, and downregulated expression of OPN and Cbfα-1 in VSMC under high-glucose (HG) conditions. Mechanically, HG-enhanced ALP activity, AKT, and ERK phosphorylation were inhibited by LIRA, PI3K antagonist LY294002, or ERK1/2 antagonist PD98059, in which cotreatment of LIRA with LY294002 and PD98059 could further enhance the effect of LIRA on VSMC, and GLP-1R antagonists reversed the phenotypes in the model. LIRA blocked the osteogenic transformation of VSMC through PI3K and ERK1/2 signaling pathways, which can be reversed by GLP-1R antagonists. Conclusion. LIRA inhibited the abnormalities in VSMC calcification mediated by the GLP-1R, which was related to PI3K/Akt and ERK1/2 MAPK pathways. Therefore, the prospect and significance of LIRA in the treatment of DM complicated with AS were clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current film-cooling hole-geometry research is attempting to clarify the mechanism of film cooling effectiveness and its relation to the counter-rotating vortex pair (CRVP), in this paper a mechanism of film cooling heat transfer has been proposed. The coolant expansion in this mechanism is likely to improve film cooling effectiveness. It was characterized by developing a high aspect ratio (AR), hence named high-aspect-ratio (HAR) scheme. Typical AR values investigated experimentally and numerically in this work were 17.5 and 35. The transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique and the steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulation with realizable κ-epsilon turbulence model were used. The results were assessed against available data hence demonstrating the high performance of the new scheme. The film cooling effectiveness of the full expansion cases is close to 1, achieved the so call "ideal" performance. Meanwhile, CRVP was still very strong, demonstrating that the CRVP did not result in decaying performance in the new scheme. Consequently, the HAR scheme achieved successfully the high performance of the proposed film cooling heat transfer mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies investigating the changes in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have yielded inconsistent results. We performed a meta-analysis of studies that investigated the alterations in different SCFAs among UC patients to assess their role in the development of UC.Methods: Three databases were searched for relevant studies published as of April 2021. Results are presented as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI).Results: Eleven studies were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to healthy subjects, UC patients had significantly lower concentrations of total SCFAs (SMD = - 0.88, 95%CI - 1.44, - 0.33; P < 0.001), acetate (SMD = - 0.54, 95% CI - 0.91, - 0.17; P = 0.004), propionate, (SMD = - 0.37, 95% CI - 0.66, - 0.07; P = 0.016), and valerate (SMD = - 0.91, 95% CI - 1.45, - 0.38; P < 0.001). On subgroup analysis based on disease status, patients with active UC had reduced concentrations of acetate (SMD = - 1.83, 95% CI - 3.32, - 0.35; P = 0.015), propionate (SMD = - 2.51, 95% CI - 4.41, - 0.61; P = 0.009), and valerate (SMD = - 0.91, 95% CI - 1.45, - 0.38; P < 0.001), while UC patients in remission had similar concentrations with healthy subjects. Patients with active UC had lower butyrate level (SMD = - 2.09, 95% CI - 3.56, - 0.62; P = 0.005) while UC patients in remission had higher butyrate level (SMD = 0.71, 95% CI 0.33, 1.10; P < 0.001) compared with healthy subjects.Conclusion: UC patients had significantly decreased concentrations of total SCFAs, acetate, propionate, and valerate compared with healthy subjects. In addition, inconsistent changes of certain special SCFAs were observed in UC patients with different disease status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In treatment of chronic acromioclavicular (AC) joint dislocations, both the Weaver–Dunn procedure (WD) and CC ligament reconstruction (CCR) are recommended options due to the low possibility of healing of the coracoclavicular (CC) ligaments. The aim of this review was to determine whether CCR will yield favorable clinical and radiographic outcomes in the treatment of chronic AC dislocations. Method: The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed databases were searched for literature on chronic AC dislocations from data inception to June 30, 2021. Patient data were pooled using standard meta-analytic approaches. The Cochrane-Mantel–Haenszel method and variance-weighted means were used to analyze the outcomes. The Review Manager version 5.3 software (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark) was used to calculate the heterogenicity, mean difference, and relative risk (RR) for all outcomes in the meta-analysis. Results: The current analysis included four trials on this topic, and all AC joint dislocations were classified as Rockwood types III to VI. The pooled data showed that the CCR group had significantly better post-operative American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Shoulder (ASES) scores, Oxford Shoulder Scores (OSSs), and Nottingham Clavicle Scores (NCSs) than the WD group, with a significant difference (p < 0.001, p = 0.020, and p < 0.001, respectively). In terms of the post-operative Constant-Murley Scores (CMSs), there were no significant differences between the CCR group and the WD group (p = 0.100). The CCR group had significantly better post-operative abduction and flexion of the index shoulder than the WD group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In terms of radiological outcomes, the post-operative coracoclavicular distance (CCD) with a 10 kg load was smaller in the CCR group compared to that in the WD group (p < 0.001). The overall surgical wound infection rate was 11.6% in the WD group and 12.9% in the CCR, respectively (p = 0.82). Conclusion: The CCR group had better clinical outcome scores in the ASES, OOS, NCS, abduction, flexion, and external rotation than the WD group. In terms of radiological outcomes, the CCR group showed less displacement in weight-loaded post-CCD than the WD group, which indicated that the CCR provided more stability and resistance to deformation forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We measured viscosity of hydrous mantle incipient melts (1.8–4.0 wt.% water) up to 6 GPa and 2100 K. • Viscosity of mantle incipient melts decreases with increasing water content. • Viscosity of mantle incipient melts initially decreases with pressure and reaches a minimum at ∼5 GPa. • Mantle incipient melts can easily migrate from the deeper asthenosphere toward the shallower part, but likely accumulate at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. The Earth's oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is marked by a notable decrease in seismic wave velocities and an increase in attenuation. This phenomenon is likely attributed to the accumulation of partial melt at the top of the asthenosphere. Nevertheless, the process involving the upward migration and aggregation of low-degree partial melts, highly likely to be mantle incipient melts in the asthenosphere, remains underexplored. Viscosity is a key factor controlling the flow of melts, thus in this study, we used In-situ X-ray falling sphere viscometry experiments to determine the viscosity of the mantle incipient melt containing 1.8–4.0 wt.% water at 1.5–6 GPa and 2100 K. We found that water and pressure can effectively decrease the viscosity of the mantle incipient melt. Therefore, the mantle incipient melts are highly mobile with a high segregation velocity in the deeper part of the asthenosphere. However, during ascent, their mobility diminishes due to an increase in viscosity and a decrease in water content. These mechanisms potentially contribute to the accumulation of partial melt at the top of the asthenosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variability scoring system and mortality. [Display omitted] • Whether GV and SBPV have additive effects on mortality in ICU patients is unclear. • High GV and high SBPV were associated with an increased risk of mortality. • The effects of GV and SBPV on in-hospital mortality were partially mediated by ventricular arrhythmias. • The risk of mortality increases with the number of high-variability parameters. • The risk of mortality increases with increasing variability scores. Variability of metabolic parameters, such as glycemic variability (GV) and systolic blood pressure variability (SBPV), are associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, whether these parameters have additive effects on mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) remains unclear. We retrospectively enrolled patients with CAD from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV database. The highest tertile of variability was defined as high variability. A variability scoring system was established, which assigned 0 points to tertile 1, 1 point to tertile 2, and 2 points to tertile 3 for GV and SBPV. Among 4237 patients with CAD, 400 patients died in hospital, and 967 patients died during 1-year follow-up. High GV and high SBPV were associated with an increased risk of mortality. The effects of GV and SBPV on in-hospital mortality were partially mediated by ventricular arrhythmias (18.0 % and 6.6 %, respectively). The risk of mortality gradually increased with the number of high-variability parameters and increasing variability scores. GV and SBPV have additive effects on the risk of mortality in patients with CAD hospitalized in the ICU. Ventricular arrhythmias partially mediate the effects of GV and SBPV on in-hospital mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]