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It has been well-known that the Ingard-Myers impedance condition, while simple to apply, is subject to the hydrodynamic Kelvin-Helmholtz-type instability due to its use of a vortex sheet in modeling the flow at the liner boundary. Recently, in the development of a time domain boundary element method for acoustic scattering by treated surfaces, it was found that by neglecting a certain second-order spatial derivative term in the Ingard-Myers formulation, the hydrodynamic instability can be avoided. The present paper aims to provide further analysis of this modified condition, hereby referred to as the Truncated Ingard-Myers Impedance Boundary Condition (TIMIBC). It will be shown, based on the dispersion relations of linear waves, that the instability intrinsic to the Ingard-Myers condition is eliminated in the proposed new formulation. Quantitative assessments on the accuracy of the TIMIBC for scattering of acoustic waves by lined surfaces are carried out, and its effectiveness is demonstrated by a numerical example. It is found that the TIMIBC provides a good approximation to the original Ingard-Myers condition for flows of low to mid subsonic Mach numbers. As such, the proposed TIMIBC can offer a practical solution for overcoming the intrinsic instability associated with the Ingard-Myers condition. Moreover, time domain implementation of the TIMIBC is also discussed and illustrated with a numerical example using a finite difference scheme. In particular, a minimization procedure for finding the poles and coefficients of a broadband multipole expansion for the impedance function is formulated by which, unlike the commonly used vector-fitting method, passivity of the model is ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Polyaniline (PANI) has been widely used as a cathode in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) because of its attractive conductivity and energy storage capability. However, the extensive application of PANI is limited by spontaneous deprotonation and slow diffusion kinetics. Herein, an 18-crown-6-functionalised PANI pseudorotaxane (18C6@PANI) cathode is successfully developed through a facile template-directed polymerisation reaction. The 18C6@PANI cathode exhibits a high specific capacity of 256 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A/g, excellent rate performance of 134 mAh g−1 at 6 A/g and outstanding cycle stability at a high current density of 3 A/g over 10,000 cycles. Experimental and theoretical analyses demonstrate the formation of the –N–Zn–O– structure. The abundant supramolecular channels in pseudorotaxane, induced by crown ether functional groups, are beneficial for achieving superior cyclability and rate capability. These encouraging results highlight the potential for designing more efficient PANI-based cathodes for high-performance AZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic molecules bearing chiral sulfur stereocenters exert a great impact on asymmetric catalysis and synthesis, chiral drugs, and chiral materials. Compared with acyclic ones, the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of thio‐heterocycles has largely lagged behind due to the lack of efficient synthetic strategies. Here we establish the first modular platform to access chiral thio‐oxazolidinones via Pd‐catalyzed asymmetric [3+2] annulations of vinylethylene carbonates with sulfinylanilines. This protocol is featured by readily available starting materials, and high enantio‐ and diastereoselectivity. In particular, an unusual effect of a non‐chiral supporting ligand on the diastereoselectivity was observed. Possible reaction mechanisms and stereocontrol models were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic molecules bearing chiral sulfur stereocenters exert a great impact on asymmetric catalysis and synthesis, chiral drugs, and chiral materials. Compared with acyclic ones, the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of thio‐heterocycles has largely lagged behind due to the lack of efficient synthetic strategies. Here we establish the first modular platform to access chiral thio‐oxazolidinones via Pd‐catalyzed asymmetric [3+2] annulations of vinylethylene carbonates with sulfinylanilines. This protocol is featured by readily available starting materials, and high enantio‐ and diastereoselectivity. In particular, an unusual effect of a non‐chiral supporting ligand on the diastereoselectivity was observed. Possible reaction mechanisms and stereocontrol models were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the causal relationship between age-related hearing loss and Alzheimer's disease through two-sample Mendelian randomized analysis. Methods Inverse variance weighted, MR-Egger regression, weighted median, simple model, and weighted model were used to evaluate the relationship between age-related hearing loss and the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Sensitivity analysis (pleiotropy, heterogeneity, and leave-one-out test) was used to evaluate the robust¬ness of the results. Results Statistical results showed that there was no causal association between age-related hearing loss and Alzheimer's disease (inverse variance weighting method: OR=1.0526, 95%CI: 0.7155-1.5485; MR-Egger: OR=1.1347, 95%CI: 0.2123-6.0660; weighted median method: OR=0.8908, 95%CI: 0.5281-1.5025; simple model method: OR=0.7157, 95%CI: 0.2505-2.0445; weighted model method: OR =0.7470, 95%CI: 0.3153-1.7698). These results were consistent with that of Alzheimer's disease proxy cases (inverse variance weighting method: 0R=0.9560, 95%CI: 0.9008-1.0146; MR-Egger: OR =0.9887, 95%CI: 0.7729-1.2647; weighted median method: OR =0.9487, 95%CI: 0.8752-1.0283; simple model method: OR =0.9597, 95% CI: 0.8147-1.1305; Weighted model method: OR =0.9632, 95% CI: 0.8298-1.1179). Sensitivity analysis showed that there was no significant heterogeneity or pleiotropy, indicating that the results were robust. Conclusion There is no evidence that age-related hearing loss is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Uterine leiomyosarcoma is a rare gynecological malignancy, the limited literature indicated that doxorubicin alone or gemcitabine/docetaxel combination is the preferred chemotherapy regimen. Given the rarity of the disease and the lack of high-level clinical evidence, there is no consensus on the best treatment. Case report: We report a case of a patient with uterine leiomyosarcoma who recurred after adjustment treatment with doxorubicin, gemcitabine, docetaxel, and anlotinib; and required a new chemotherapy regimen. Management and outcomes: The follow-up chemotherapy regimen was doxorubicin-liposome 40 mg/m2 on one day in combination with dacarbazine 250 mg/m2 on one to five days of intravenous infusion every 21 days. We monitored adverse effects during chemotherapy and the process was smooth. Discussion: It is important to comprehensively consider the patient's condition, and fully consider the efficacy, dosage, and adverse reactions of the chemotherapy regimen to determine the appropriate plan, in order to achieve the best therapeutic benefits for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The relationship among physiologic reserve, intrinsic capacity, and physical resilience has not been examined, and a conceptual model that includes these key determinants of healthy ageing is needed. This study aimed to test a conceptual model using real-world data to determine the relationships among physiologic reserve, intrinsic capacity, physical resilience, and clinical outcomes. Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted at a 1,343-bed tertiary-care medical centre. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were 65 years of age or older and able to communicate independently. Demographic factors, cumulative illness rating scale for geriatrics [CIRS-G] (assessing physiologic reserve), intrinsic capacity, physical resilience instrument for older adults [PRIFOR] (assessing physical resilience), and clinical frailty scale [CFS] were collected at admission. The CFS and EuroQoL 5-dimension 3-level questionnaire [EQ5D] were administered at discharge. Results: The mean age of the 413 patients was 76.34 ± 6.72 (52.5% female). Two conceptual models were identified and supported. Specifically, the path coefficients in the two models showed that the CIRS-G had diverse associations with each intrinsic capacity domain, and that all intrinsic capacity domains (except vitality) were significantly associated with PRIFOR. Moreover, PRIFOR was significantly associated with follow-up CFS, baseline control, and EQ5D scores. Conclusion: Physiologic reserve positively correlated with the cognitive and locomotive domains of intrinsic capacity. Moreover, older patients with better intrinsic capacity may have improved physical resilience, which may lead to better clinical outcomes. Efforts to improve the intrinsic capacity and physical resilience of older patients are necessary to promote healthy ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest soil and leaf litter support diverse arthropod mesofauna for which diversity dynamics is challenging to study due to the high number of species and specimens, small body size and limited taxonomic knowledge.Immature stages (larvae) are even harder to identify than adults, as their morphology is largely unknown. Therefore, larvae are often ignored, even though they may form a substantial proportion of specimens collected, are less mobile than adults and their exclusion may provide an incomplete diversity profile.Here, we use Oxford Nanopore DNA barcoding to investigate whether the inclusion of larvae provides a more complete taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity profiles in leaf litter beetles (Coleoptera) from a subtropical forest in Taiwan.Our results indicate that larvae represent up to 38% of beetle specimens per sample, but most of them belong to 2–3 common species. Larvae of most beetle species are rarely collected repeatedly or in multiple specimens, possibly due to special habitat requirements or high seasonality.Taxonomic, phylogenetic and incidence‐based functional diversity measures were not affected by the exclusion of larvae in the Staphylinidae dataset but were strongly biased in all‐beetle dataset, especially when only common or abundant species were considered. Taxonomic beta diversity was not affected by the omission of larvae.Our results indicate that immature stages may be omitted in ecological studies of arthropods in case both adults and larvae co‐occur in the same habitat, and the sites are sampled repeatedly. Caution is needed (1) in groups in which larvae and adults do not inhabit the same environment or strongly differ in biology, (2) when rare species are omitted or (3) when functional diversity is calculated from abundance data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a lack of domestic and foreign research on the evaluation and improvement strategies of business performance of performing arts enterprises, especially in the context of the "restructuring" of cultural groups in China. Most of the existing studies are distributed in bulk, not only lacking in theoretical depth, but also lacking in systematization to a certain extent, which shows that the existing studies have not fully formed a mature and valuable theoretical system. The business performance evaluation of performing arts enterprises is a multiple attributes group decision making (MAGDM). This paper constructs a novel probabilistic hesitant fuzzy Multi-Objective Optimization Simple Ratio Analysis (PHF-MOOSRA) model based on the integrated determination of objective criteria weights (IDOCRIW) under the probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets (PHFSs) for this issue. The PHFSs provides an evaluation circumstance containing more information which make the final decision-making results more accurately. Additionally, the IDOCRIW method separately and the MOOSRA method based on the MOORA method is proposed in PHFSs circumstance in this model. In the end, this model is then applied in a numerical case study for business performance evaluation of performing arts enterprises and compare this model with other existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipoxygenase (LOX) gene plays an essential role in plant growth, development, and stress response. 15 LOX genes were identified, which were unevenly distributed on chromosomes and divided into three subclasses in this study. In promoter region analysis, many cis-elements were identified in growth and development, abiotic stress response, hormonal response, and light response. qRT-PCR showed that the LOX gene showed tissue specificity in seven tissues, especially XsLOX1, 3, and 7 were relatively highly expressed in roots, stems, and axillary buds. The different expression patterns of LOX genes in response to abiotic stress and hormone treatment indicate that different XsLOX genes have different reactions to these stresses and play diversified roles. This study improves our understanding of the mechanism of LOX regulation in plant growth, development, and stress and lays a foundation for further analysis of biological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Lung cancer with extrathoracic metastases is classified as M1c. However, extrathoracic metastases can be further classified into different patterns. The purpose of this study was to analyze the survival differences between different patterns of extrathoracic metastases in patients with stage M1c lung adenocarcinoma after receiving immunotherapy. Materials and methods: This study included 160 stage M1c lung adenocarcinoma patients and treated with immunotherapy. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups: those with multiple extrathoracic metastases alone (EM group) and those with simultaneous multiple extrathoracic and intrathoracic metastases (EIM group). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Results: The median PFS and OS in the whole group were 7.7 months and 25.4 months, respectively. The patients in the EM group show better PFS (13.0 months vs. 5.0 months; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.462, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.317–0.673, P < 0.0001) and OS (35.0 months vs. 18.9 months; HR 0.592, 95% CI 0.380–0.922, P = 0.019) compared with the EIM group. Furthermore, in patients with lung adenocarcinoma with simultaneous extrathoracic and intrathoracic metastases who received immunotherapy, immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has better PFS and OS than immunotherapy alone. There was no difference between immunotherapy alone or combined with chemotherapy in patients with lung adenocarcinoma with extrathoracic metastasis alone. Conclusion: The different patterns of extrathoracic metastasis were related to the efficacy and prognosis of immunotherapy in M1c cohort. In addition, patients with simultaneous extrathoracic and intrathoracic metastases were more recommended to choose immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy rather than immunotherapy alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research which evaluated the completeness of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in relation to care outcomes among hospitalized older patients in Indonesia. The study assessed readmission rates, medical records of patients after hospital discharge, in-hospital mortality and predictors of length of hospital stay. Results show care outcomes in relation to ward type and the implications of CGA completeness for nurse leaders.

Key message: The pepper S locus, which controls the deciduous character of ripe fruit, was first fine mapped into an interval with a physical length of ~ 38.03 kb on chromosome P10. Capana10g002229, encoding a polygalacturonase, was proposed as a strong candidate gene based on sequence comparison, expression pattern analysis and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). The deciduous character of ripe fruit, which is controlled by the dominant S locus, is a domesticated trait with potential value in the pepper processing industry (Capsicum spp.). However, the gene associated with the S locus has not been identified. Here, one major QTL designated S10.1 was detected by using the F2 population (n = 155) derived from BA3 (Capsicum annuum) × YNXML (Capsicum frutescens) and was further verified in an intraspecific backcross population (n = 254) derived from the cross between BB3 (C. annuum) and its wild relative Chiltepin (C. annuum var. glabriusculum) with BB3 as the recurrent parent. Then, a large BC1F2 population derived from the self-pollination of BB3 × (BB3 × Chiltepin) individuals and comprising 4217 individuals was used to screen the recombinants, and the S locus was ultimately delimited into a 38.03-kb region on chromosome P10 harbouring four annotated genes. Capana10g002229, encoding a polygalacturonase (PG), was proposed as the best candidate gene for S based on sequence comparison and expression pattern analyses. Downregulation of Capana10g002229 in fruits through VIGS significantly delayed fruit softening and abscission from the fruit-receptacle junction. Taken together, the results show that Capana10g002229 could be regarded as a strong candidate gene associated with the S locus in pepper. These findings not only lay a foundation for deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying pepper domestication but also provide a strategy for genetic improvement of the deciduous character of ripe fruit using a marker-assisted selection approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To interact with humans more precisely and naturally, social robots need to "perceive" human engagement intention, especially need to recognize the main interaction person in multi-person interaction scenarios. By analyzing the intensity of human engagement intention (IHEI), social robots can distinguish the intention of different persons. Most existing research in this field mainly focus on analyzing whether a person has the intention to interact with the robot while lack of analysis of IHEI. In this regard, this paper proposes an approach for recognizing the engagement intention intensity. Four categories of visual features, including line of sight, head pose, distance and expression of human, are captured, and a CatBoost-based machine learning model is applied to train an optimal classifier for predicting the IHEI on the dataset. The experimental results show that this classifier can effectively predict the IHEI that can be applied into real human–robot interaction scenarios. Moreover, the proposed model is an interpretable machine learning model, where interpretability analysis on the trained classifier has been done to explore the deep associations between input features and engagement intention, thereby providing robust and effective robot social decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Male sterility provides an efficient approach for commercial exploitation of heterosis. Despite more than 20 genic male sterile (GMS) mutants documented in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), only two causal genes have been successfully identified. Here, a novel spontaneous recessive GMS mutant, designated msc‐3, is identified and characterized at both phenotypic and histological levels. Pollen abortion of msc‐3 mutant may be due to the delayed tapetum degradation, leading to the non‐degeneration of tetrads callosic wall. Then, a modified MutMap method and molecular marker linkage analysis were employed to fine mapping the msc‐3 locus, which was delimited to the ~139.91‐kb region harboring 10 annotated genes. Gene expression and structure variation analyses indicate the Capana10g000198, encoding a R2R3‐MYB transcription factor, is the best candidate gene for the msc‐3 locus. Expression profiling analysis shows the Capana10g000198 is an anther‐specific gene, and a 163‐bp insertion in the Capana10g000198 is highly correlated with the male sterile (MS) phenotype. Additionally, downregulation of Capana10g000198 in male fertile plants through virus‐induced gene silencing resulted in male sterility. Finally, possible regulatory relationships of the msc‐3 gene with the other two reported pepper GMS genes, msc‐1 and msc‐2, have been studied, and comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the expression of 16 GMS homologs are significantly downregulated in the MS anthers. Overall, our results reveal that Capana10g000198 is the causal gene underlying the msc‐3 locus, providing important theoretical clues and basis for further in‐depth study on the regulatory mechanisms of pollen development in pepper. Significance Statement: In this study, a novel pepper genic male sterile mutant and the causal gene were identified, and the regulatory mechanism for complex fertility development was preliminarily studied. Our findings provide important theoretical clues and basis for further in‐depth study on the regulatory mechanisms of pollen development in pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease. Most colorectal cancers are classical adenocarcinoma, and mucinous adenocarcinoma is a unique histological subtype that is known to respond poorly to chemoradiotherapy. The difference in prognosis between mucinous adenocarcinoma and classical adenocarcinoma is controversial. Here, to gain insight into the differences between classical adenocarcinoma and mucinous adenocarcinoma, we analyse 7 surgical tumour samples from 4 classical adenocarcinoma and 3 mucinous adenocarcinoma patients by single-cell RNA sequencing. Our results indicate that mucinous adenocarcinoma cancer cells have goblet cell-like properties, and express high levels of goblet cell markers (REG4, SPINK4, FCGBP and MUC2) compared to classical adenocarcinoma cancer cells. TFF3 is essential for the transcriptional regulation of these molecules, and may cooperate with RPS4X to eventually lead to the mucinous adenocarcinoma mucus phenotype. The observed molecular characteristics may be critical in the specific biological behavior of mucinous adenocarcinoma. A scRNA-seq analysis of human mucinous adenocarcinoma vs. classical adenocarcinoma provides insight into the molecular differences between these two subtypes of colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The paper corrects a mistake in the identification of Formosozoros newi Chao & Chen, 2000, described in Zoraptera. F. newi is characterized by extremely long cerci and tarsi with a long first tarsomere; the latter character has not been recognized in any other extant or fossil Zoraptera. Based on the morphological comparisons of diagnostic characters, we here identified Formosozoros newi as the 1st-instar nymph of an earwig (Dermaptera). Zoraptera shows extreme uniformity in general body morphology, with the exception of Formosozoros (=Zorotypus) newi Chao & Chen, 2000, which stands out in terms of the shape and arrangement of its legs, the cerci, and several other morphological characters. After critical evaluation, we found that this species is not a zorapteran but is instead a nymph (1st instar) of an earwig; i.e., F. newi is a dermapteran. Because of the lack of morphological descriptions of Dermaptera nymphs that would allow species identification, and because the type material of F. newi is lost, a more detailed classification is not possible. We therefore propose that the genus name Formosozoros Chao & Chen, 2000 and the species name Formosozoros newi Chao & Chen, 2000 are nomina dubia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness, recurrence, and adverse reaction rates of isotope phosphorus‐32 dressings combined with diprospan and mucopolysaccharide polysulphate cream in the treatment of keloids. Methods: A total of 80 patients with keloids admitted to the Dermatology Clinic of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University between June 2019 and June 2021 were included in the present study and randomly divided into three groups: Control Group 1 (n = 27), Control Group 2 (n = 25), and the treatment group (n = 28). Patients in Control Group 1 were treated with diprospan combined with mucopolysaccharide polysulphate cream, patients in Control Group 2 were treated with an isotopic phosphorus‐32 dressing combined with mucopolysaccharide polysulphate cream, and patients in the treatment group were treated with an isotopic phosphorus‐32 dressing combined with diprospan and mucopolysaccharide polysulphate cream. The effectiveness, recurrence, and adverse reaction rates were observed in all three groups. Results: The treatment group had the most significant decrease in the itching scores. The respective effectiveness, recurrence, and adverse reaction rates were 81.4%, 43.6%, and 74.1% in Control Group 1; 56%, 38.7%, and 64% in Control Group 2; and 96.7%, 11.2%, and 41% in the treatment group. The differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: An isotope phosphorus‐32 dressing combined with diprospan and mucopolysaccharide polysulphate cream keloid treatment delivers a fast onset, good effectiveness, and low recurrence and adverse effect rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The AP2/ERF gene family involves numerous plant processes, including growth, development, metabolism, and various plant stress responses. However, several studies have been conducted on the AP2/ERF gene family in yellow horn, a new type of oil woody crop and an essential oil crop in China. According to sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses, one hundred and forty-five AP2/ERF genes were detected from the yellow horn genome. They were divided into four relatively conserved subfamilies, including 21 AP2 genes, 119 ERBP genes, 4 RAV genes, and 1 Soloist gene. Gene analysis of XsAP2/ERF TFs showed 87 XsAP2/ERF TFs lacked introns. There were 75 pairs of collinearity relationships between X. sorbifolium and Arabidopsis, indicating a close similarity. In addition, the expression patterns of XsAP2/ERF TFs under cold treatments confirmed that the XsAP2/ERF TFs play essential roles in abiotic stress response. The expression of eight XsAP2/ERF transcription factors was verified in different tissues and under various stress treatments using RT-qPCR. This study establishes a starting point for further research to explore the potential mechanisms of identifying candidate AP2/ERF TFs that could respond to the abiotic stress of yellow horn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is a life‐threatening vascular disease. We report a case of ATAAD treated with interventional therapy using 3D‐printing assisted pre‐windowing coated stent combined with in situ window‐opening technology. There were few complications and the patient experienced an uneventful recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is a common neuropsychiatric complication of liver cirrhosis. Both EncephalApp Stroop test (EncephalApp) and electronic number connection test-A (eNCT-A) are novel computerised psychometric tests for MHE screening. We aimed to compare the efficiency, convenience, accessibility, and acceptability of EncephalApp with that of eNCT-A for MHE screening in cirrhotic patients. Ninety-five patients with hepatitis B-induced liver cirrhosis were included and respectively tested by the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES), EncephalApp, and eNCT-A. Using PHES as the gold standard for MHE diagnosis, the efficiency of EncephalApp and eNCT-A for MHE screening were respectively analysed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the areas under the ROC curve (AUROC) were compared. The convenience, accessibility, and acceptability of PHES, EncephalApp and eNCT-A were respectively evaluated by the 5-point Likert scale. Fifty-two (55%) of included cirrhotic patients were diagnosed with MHE. The EncephalApp had a sensitivity of 84.6%, a specificity of 74.4%, and an AUROC of 0.836. Meanwhile, the eNCT-A had a sensitivity of 78.8%, a specificity of 83.7%, and an AUROC of 0.845. No significant difference in AUROC was detected between the EncephalApp and eNCT-A (p =.453). Compared with the EncephalApp, the eNCT-A presented better convenience and higher acceptability in cirrhotic patients undergoing MHE screening (p =.019 and p <.001, respectively). As with the EncephalApp, the eNCT-A will be a potential home monitoring and point-of-care tool for cirrhotic patients at high risk of MHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of tourists and the absence of scientific evidence exacerbate the silence of alarming destructions at China's minority tourist attractions. The yearly tourist arrival to resident ratio reaches 26.5 at minority attractions—the Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture in China, which is higher than 16.3 in Venice, Italy. Overtourism motivates us to develop a low-carbon transition evaluation system at three Dong culture attractions. Based on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework (DPSIR), we develop a low-carbon transition evaluation system and then, evaluate low-carbon transitions at three minority tourist attractions in 2010, 2012, and 2017. Our three-dimensional visualization reveals the changes (Liping and Tongdao upgrade from fair to average and good ratings over time) or the lack thereof (Sanjiang shows no improvement) in low-carbon transitions. This study provides a foundation and a step-by-step process to design, develop, and apply a tailor-made low-carbon transition evaluation system for minority tourist attractions in China. Our rigorous research methodology verifies the actual situations and demonstrates the first evidence of its validity. Visualization offers profound practical implications to scholars and practitioners in tourism research. Future scientists in socio-economic planning sciences may follow our approach, incorporate local rich characteristics, and replicate our visualization of low-carbon transitions in other locations, globally. Our methodology helps decision-makers identify and mitigate the most vulnerable sectors in the ecological and environmental niche and optimize sustainable tourism. We nudge government organizations and business enterprises in the tourism industry to strengthen environmental awareness, engage in systematic socio-economic planning and construction, and promote green tourism. • We employ the DPSIR framework to construct a low-carbon evaluation system. • Liping and Tongdao upgraded from fair in 2010 and 2012 to good ratings in 2017. • Sanjiang has not changed during the same period. • Our visualization provides the low-carbon transitions, or the lack thereof, over time. • We nudge governments and organizations to improve sustainable tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Serum AIM2 levels are significantly elevated in patients after severe traumatic brain injury. • Serum AIM2 levels independently predict long-term poor prognosis of such patients. • Serum AIM2 levels may possess high prognostic predictive efficiency in those patients. Absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) participates in neuroinflammation. Here, the prognostic significance of serum AIM2 was explored in severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). A total of 135 sTBI patients and 80 healthy controls were recruited in this prospective cohort study. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and AIM2 levels were measured. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Rotterdam computed tomography (CT) classification were recorded as the severity indicators. Prognostic parameters were posttraumatic six-month extended Glasgow outcome scale (GOSE) scores and poor outcome (GOSE scores of 1–4). As opposed to controls, there were significantly elevated serum AIM2 levels after sTBI. Serum AIM2 levels were independently correlated with serum CRP levels, GCS scores, Rotterdam CT scores, GOSE scores and poor outcome. Also, serum AIM2 levels were efficiently predictive of poor outcome under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Under the restricted cubic spline, serum AIM2 levels were linearly correlated with risk of poor outcome. Using subgroup analysis, serum AIM2 levels did not significantly interact with other indices, such as age, gender, alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, etc. Also, combination model, in which serum AIM2, GCS scores and Rotterdam CT scores were merged, was outlined using nomogram and performed well under calibration curve, ROC curve and decision curve. Raised serum AIM2 levels after sTBI, in intimate correlation with systemic inflammation and trauma severity, are independently discriminative of posttraumatic six-month neurological outcome, substantializing serum AIM2 as an inflammatory prognostic biomarker of sTBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allen Chun's book, "From Social Visibility to Political Invisibility: The School in Nationalist Taiwan as a Fulcrum for an Evolving World Ethos," explores the role of schools in the creation of nation-states in East Asia. Chun argues that the Chinese Nationalist government used schools as a means to anchor moral education and promote a Chinese cultural identity in Taiwan. The book examines the political context of postwar Taiwan and the ways in which schools were used to culturalize, socialize, and militarize individuals into following moral discipline. It also discusses the decline of the Sinicization program in Taiwan and the emergence of a Taiwanese identity. While the book focuses on education in Taiwan, it may be seen as China-centric by some Taiwan specialists. However, it provides valuable insights into the formation of the Taiwanese identity and the cultural and social policies that influenced the political process. [Extracted from the article]

How a developing China can meet the challenges of the post-Kyoto era in the process of rapid industrialization is a hot issue in current academic research. Facing the pressure of the international community to reduce emissions and the energy and resource constraints under the development trend of the heavy chemical industry, China can only turn the pressure into a driving force and seek a low-carbon development path. This paper proposes a prediction model for China's low-carbon economic development based on the combined model of genetic algorithm (GA) and long short-term memory neural network (LSTM). The data are encoded with one-hot, embedding is used to reduce the dimension, and the genetic algorithm is used to obtain the optimal hyperparameters of the LSTM model to improve the accuracy of the model. The results show that the model accuracy remains above 90%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic liners are an effective tool for noise reduction and are characterized by a frequency-dependent impedance value. In this paper, a time-domain boundary element method for acoustic scattering coupled with a broadband impedance boundary condition is studied for the case of no mean flow. A Burton-Miller reformulation of the time domain boundary element method for acoustic scattering is carried out with both the pressure and its surface normal derivative terms retained. A multipole impedance model is converted into the time domain and used for enforcing an impedance boundary condition over a wide range of frequencies. Discretization of the coupled system is described. In particular, the time-domain impedance boundary condition is discretized by the third-order implicit backward difference scheme. Stability of the coupling is assessed by an eigenvalue analysis. Scattering solutions that demonstrate the validity and stability of the numerical method are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in ferroelectric lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is investigated theoretically by solving the semi-conductor Bloch equations. Because of the spontaneous polarization, even-order harmonics are produced in the HHG spectra of the LiNbO3 crystal driven by a monochromatic multi-cycle 3300 nm laser. Our numerical calculation shows that they are originated from the suppression of one half-optical cycle HHG process in each cycle of the driving field due to the spontaneous polarization. We also illustrate that the spontaneous polarization will increase the harmonic yield and extend the maximally attainable cutoff energy at the same time. We further report that the carrier-envelope phase dependence of HHG spectra changes from a minimum period of π rad to 2 π rad when the laser polarization direction is parallel/anti-parallel to the spontaneous polarization direction in LiNbO3 crystal. This is promising to be utilized as an isolated attosecond pulse gating mechanism. Moreover, the two-color relative phase dependence of HHG in LiNbO3 is also investigated and shows broken inversion-symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we have developed a rhodium-catalyzed C–H functionalization and subsequent intramolecular ring-opening/cyclization of vinylene carbonate with 2-pyrrolyl/indolylanilines, which leads to oxazolidinones in moderate to good yields. In this transformation, vinylene carbonate only eliminates one oxygen atom rather than –CO3 or CO2. Furthermore, some control experiments are conducted to elucidate the reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on deficiency of replication-independent DNA mismatch repair drives a 5-methylcytosine deamination mutational signature in cancer. Topics include the multiple mutational signatures have been associated with DNA mismatch repair (MMR)–deficient cancers, but the mechanisms underlying their origin remain unclear, and the unknown function of MMR that is able to protect genomes from 5-methylcytosine (5mC) deamination–induced somatic mutations in a replication-independent manner.

BACKGROUND: EC (esophageal cancer) is a common cancer among people in the world. The molecular mechanism of FAM196B (family with sequence similarity 196 member B) in EC is still unclear. This article aimed to clarify the role of FAM196B in EC. METHODS: The expression of FAM196B in EC tissues was detected using qRT-PCR. The prognosis of FAM196B in EC patients was determined by log-rank kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis. Furthermore, shRNA was used to knockdown the expression of FAM196B in EC cell lines. MTT, wound healing assays and western blot were used to determine the role of FAM196B in EC cells. RESULTS: In our research, we found that the expression of FAM196B was up-regulated in EC tissues. The increased expression of FAM196B was significantly correlated with differentiation, lymph node metastasis, stage, and poor survival. The proliferation and migration of EC cells were inhibited after FAM196B-shRNA transfection in vitro and vivo. The western blot result showed that FAM196B could regulate EMT. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that FAM196B severs as an oncogene and promotes cell proliferation and migration in EC. In addition, FAM196B may be a potential therapeutic target for EC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Some studies have associated frailty and prognostic outcomes in geriatric hip fracture patients, but whether frailty can predict postoperative outcomes remains controversial. This review aims to assess the relationship between frailty and adverse postoperative outcomes in geriatric patients with hip fracture. Methods: Based on electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang Data, we systematically searched for studies that investigated the association between frailty and adverse outcomes among patients aged 60 or over after hip fracture surgery. Stata 17.0 and Trial Sequential Analysis viewer software were used to obtain pooled estimates and verify whether the sample size was sufficient and the evidence robust. Results: Twenty-one studies involving 49,196 patients were included for quantitative analysis. Compared with nonfrail patients, frail patients had a higher risk of inpatient mortality (risk ratio [RR] = 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.66–2.23), 30-day mortality (RR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.23–3.70), and 1-year mortality (RR = 2.44, 95% CI: 1.47–4.04). Frailty can significantly predict postoperative complications (RR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.38–2.23), including delirium, pneumonia, cardiac complications, urinary tract infection, and surgical site infection; the association between frailty and deep venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolism and acute kidney injury needs further analysis. Trial sequential analysis showed that the findings regarding mortality were reliable and robust. Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides detailed information indicating that frailty is a substantial predictor of mortality and selected postoperative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cucujiformia, with remarkable morphological, ecological, and behavioral diversity, is the most evolutionarily successful group within Coleoptera. However, the phylogenetic relationships among superfamilies within Cucujiformia remain elusive. To address the issues, we conducted a transcriptome‐based macro‐evolutionary study of this lineage. We sequenced the genomes and transcriptomes of three species from the superfamily Curculionoidea (two from Curculionidae and one from Brentidae), and obtained a data set of more than 569 990 amino acid alignments from 143 species of Cucujiformia. With the most complete collection of whole genomes and transcriptomes so far, we compared the performance of different data matrices with universal‐single‐copy orthologs (USCO). The resultant trees based on different data sets were consistent for the majority of deep nodes. Two USCO amino acid matrices (i.e., USCO75 and USCO750‐abs80) provided well‐resolved topology. The analyses confirm that Cucujoidea sensu Robertson et al. 2015 is a nonmonophyletic group, consisting of Erotyloidea, Nitiduloidea, and Cucujoidea sensu Cai et al. 2022. Moreover, Erotyloidea is the early‐diverging group, followed by the clade Nitiduloidea. The preferred topologies supported a “basal” split of Coccinelloidea from the remaining superfamilies, and Cleroidea formed the second splitting group. The following phylogeny was supported at the superfamily level in Cucujiformia: (Coccinelloidea, (Cleroidea, ((Lymexyloidea, Tenebrionoidea), (Erotyloidea, (Nitiduloidea, (Cucujoidea, (Chrysomeloidea, Curculionoidea))))))). Our comprehensive analyses recovered well‐resolved higher‐level phylogenetic relationships within the Cucujiformia, providing a stable framework for comprehending its evolutionary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The up locus determining fruit orientation was fine-mapped into a region with a physical length of ~169.51 kb on chromosome P12 in pepper. Capana12g000958, encoding a developmentally regulated G protein 2, was proposed as the strongest candidate via sequence comparison and expression analysis. Fruit orientation is an important horticultural and domesticated trait, which is controlled by a single semi-dominant gene (up) in pepper. However, the gene underlying up locus has not yet been identified. In this study, the previously detected major QTL UP12.1 was firstly verified using a backcross population (n = 225) stem from the cross of BB3 (C. annuum) and its wild relative Chiltepin (C. annuum var. glabriusculum) using BB3 as the recurrent parent. Then, a large BC1F2 population (n = 1827) was used for recombinant screening to delimit the up locus into an interval with ~ 169.51 kb in length. Sequence comparison and expression analysis suggested that Capana12g000958, encoding a developmentally regulated G protein 2, was the most likely candidate gene for the up locus. There is no difference within the coding sequences of Capana12g000958 between BB3 and Chiltepin, while a SNP in the upstream of Capana12g000958 showed a complete correlation with the fruit orientation among a panel of 40 diverse pepper inbred lines. These findings will form a basis for gene isolation and reveal of genetic mechanism underlying the fruit orientation domestication in pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the complicated relationships underlying the clinical information is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Currently, few approaches are mature enough to show operational impact. Based on electronic medical records (EMRs) of 570 COVID-19 inpatients, we proposed an analysis model of diagnosis and treatment for COVID-19 based on the machine learning algorithms and complex networks. Introducing the medical information fusion, we constructed the heterogeneous information network to discover the complex relationships among the syndromes, symptoms, and medicines. We generated the numerical symptom (medicine) embeddings and divided them into seven communities (syndromes) using the combination of Skip-Gram model and Spectral Clustering (SC) algorithm. After analyzing the symptoms and medicine networks, we identified the key factors using six evaluation metrics of node centrality. The experimental results indicate that the proposed analysis model is capable of discovering the critical symptoms and symptom distribution for diagnosis; the key medicines and medicine combinations for treatment. Based on the latest COVID-19 clinical guidelines, this model could result in the higher accuracy results than the other representative clustering algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed model is able to provide tremendously valuable guidance and help the physicians to combat the COVID-19. • This study proposes an analysis model of diagnosis and treatment for COVID-19. • The key symptoms and medicines for different syndromes can be identified effectively. • The common symptom groups and medicine combinations can be discovered accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Lewis-acid-promoted cyclization reaction of benzoyl chlorides with 2-(4,5-dihydrooxazol-2-yl)anilines, which can offer a series of N3-chloroethyl quinazolinones, is disclosed. The reaction is compatible with the functional groups of the substrates; environment-friendly AlCl3 is probably the chloride source. Moreover, the addition of NH4SCN can also produce a range of N3-thiocyanatoethyl quinazolinones in moderate-to-good yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Hyperuricemia has attracted increasing attention. However, limited concern has been paid to the potential dangers of lowering serum uric acid (SUA). We observed lower levels of SUA in patients with COVID-19. Therefore, we aim to explore whether patients with COVID-19 had SUA lower than normal and the relationship of SUA and the severity of COVID-19. Methods: This was a case–control study based on 91 cases with COVID-19 and 273 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. We first compared SUA levels and uric acid/creatinine (UA/Cr) ratio between patients with COVID-19 and the healthy controls. Then, we examined the association of SUA levels and UA/Cr ratios with COVID-19 severity in COVID-19 cases only, defined according to the fifth edition of China's Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines of COVID-19. Results: SUA levels in patients with COVID-19 were 2.59% lower, UA/Cr ratios 6.06% lower at admission compared with healthy controls. In sex stratified analysis, levels of SUA and UA/Cr were lower in male patients with COVID-19 while only level of SUA was lower in female patients with COVID-19. Moreover, SUA and UA/Cr values were 4.27 and 8.23% lower in the severe group than that in the moderate group among male COVID-19 patients. Bivariate and partial correlations analysis showed negative correlations between SUA or UA/Cr ratio and COVID-19 after adjusting for age, sex, BMI and eGFR. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection and male sex were independent risk factors associated with lower SUA levels. Male patients with COVID-19 accompanied by low SUA levels had higher risk of developing severe symptoms than those with high SUA levels (incidence rate ratio: 4.05; 95% CI:1.11, 14.72) at admission. Comparing SUA and UA/Cr ratio at three time points (admission, discharge, and follow-up), we found that male patients experienced severe symptoms had lower SUA and UA/Cr ratio levels comparing to moderate patients, but no significant difference between three time points. On the contrary, female patients had lower SUA and UA/Cr ratio at discharge than those at admission, but no significant difference of SUA and UA/Cr ratio between moderate and severe group. Conclusion: Patients with COVID-19 had SUA and UA/Cr values lower than normal at admission. Male COVID-19 patients with low SUA levels had a significantly higher crude risk of developing severe symptoms than those with high SUA levels. During disease aggravation, the level of SUA gradually decreased until discharge. At the follow-up exam, the level of SUA was similar to the levels at admission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Increasing evidence has indicated that the nuclear receptor subfamily 3 group C member 2 (NR3C2) may be associated with tumorigenesis and patient prognosis for certain types of tumors. However, the clinical significance of NR3C2 is unclear in invasive breast carcinoma (BRCA). Methods. We used bioinformatics to broadly investigate and obtain a deeper understanding of the prognostic significance between NR3C2 and BRCA. RNA-sequencing data and clinical information of patients with BRCA from the Cancer Genome Atlas database were collected for subsequent analysis. The diagnostic efficacy of NR3C2 was evaluated by calculating the receiver operating characteristic curve. The prognostic value of NR3C2 was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis for patients with BRCA. Moreover, the OSbrca database was used to validate NR3C2 as a prognostic biomarker for BRCA. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and tumor immune infiltration analysis were conducted to explore the molecular mechanism of NR3C2 in BRCA. Results. The expression level of NR3C2 in BRCA tissues decreased compared to that in normal breast tissues (P < 0.001). NR3C2 presented good diagnostic efficacy (AUC = 0.908). Moreover, the expression of NR3C2 was verified using the Oncomine database. High expression of NR3C2 was statistically associated with prolonged overall survival (HR = 0.65 , 95% CI: 0.47-0.91, and P = 0.012), progression-free interval (HR = 0.68 , 95% CI: 0.49-0.95, and P = 0.024), and disease-specific survival (HR = 0.57 , 95% CI: 0.36-0.89, and P = 0.015) for patients with BRCA. Besides, the prognostic value of NR3C2 was verified by the OSbrca database. GSEA results suggested that enriched pathways included neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, and ECM-receptor interaction. NR3C2 expression was moderately correlated with mast cells and some T cell subsets in BRCA. Conclusion. NR3C2 is a potential prognostic biomarker that could help clinicians develop more appropriate treatment plans for individual patients with BRCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: A single-atom catalyst of A–Co–NG is explored for electrochemical uric acid (UA) detection for the first time and realize practical UA monitoring in serum samples. The A–Co–NG sensor demonstrates high performance for UA detection with a wide detection range from 0.4 to 41950 μM and an extremely low detection limit of 33.3 nM. Combination of experimental and theoretical calculation discovers mechanism for the UA oxidation on the single-atom catalyst. Uric acid (UA) detection is essential in diagnosis of arthritis, preeclampsia, renal disorder, and cardiovascular diseases, but it is very challenging to realize the required wide detection range and low detection limit. We present here a single-atom catalyst consisting of Co(II) atoms coordinated by an average of 3.4 N atoms on an N-doped graphene matrix (A–Co–NG) to build an electrochemical biomimetic sensor for UA detection. The A–Co–NG sensor achieves a wide detection range over 0.4–41,950 μM and an extremely low detection limit of 33.3 ± 0.024 nM, which are much better than previously reported sensors based on various nanostructured materials. Besides, the A–Co–NG sensor also demonstrates its accurate serum diagnosis for UA for its practical application. Combination of experimental and theoretical calculation discovers that the catalytic process of the A–Co–NG toward UA starts from the oxidation of Co species to form a Co3+–OH–UA*, followed by the generation of Co3+–OH + *UA_H, eventually leading to N–H bond dissociation for the formation of oxidized UA molecule and reduction of oxidized Co3+ to Co2+ for the regenerated A–Co–NG. This work provides a promising material to realize UA detection with wide detection range and low detection limit to meet the practical diagnosis requirements, and the proposed sensing mechanism sheds light on fundamental insights for guiding exploration of other biosensing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: People can make pointing gestures and tracing actions with the index finger with little or no conscious effort. From the perspective of cognitive load theory, such "biologically primary" gestures and actions might help people learn "biologically secondary" concepts and skills requiring extended cognitive effort, such as reading, science, or mathematics. Studies on tracing or tracing and pointing have yielded mixed findings regarding hypothesized effects on intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load. The present study investigated whether computer‐based instructions to trace elements of worked examples on angle relationships would affect school students' (N = 106) self‐reports of intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load, as well as problem‐solving transfer test performance. The tracing effect on transfer posttests seen in prior studies was replicated, but cognitive load hypotheses were not supported. Implications for educational practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning‐based image registration (DLIR) has been widely developed, but it remains challenging in perceiving small and large deformations. Besides, the effectiveness of the DLIR methods was also rarely validated on the downstream tasks. In the study, a multi‐scale complexity‐aware registration network (MSCAReg‐Net) was proposed by devising a complexity‐aware technique to facilitate DLIR under a single‐resolution framework. Specifically, the complexity‐aware technique devised a multi‐scale complexity‐aware module (MSCA‐Module) to perceive deformations with distinct complexities, and employed a feature calibration module (FC‐Module) and a feature aggregation module (FA‐Module) to facilitate the MSCA‐Module by generating more distinguishable deformation features. Experimental results demonstrated the superiority of the proposed MSCAReg‐Net over the existing methods in terms of registration accuracy. Besides, other than the indices of Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and percentage of voxels with non‐positive Jacobian determinant (|Jϕ|≤0$| {{J_\phi }} | \le 0$), a comprehensive evaluation of the registration performance was performed by applying this method on a downstream task of multi‐atlas hippocampus segmentation (MAHS). Experimental results demonstrated that this method contributed to a better hippocampus segmentation over other DLIR methods, and a comparable segmentation performance with the leading SyN method. The comprehensive assessment including DSC, |Jϕ|≤0$| {{J_\phi }} | \le 0$, and the downstream application on MAHS demonstrated the advances of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. This study was aimed to investigate the application of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies in diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Method. This study enrolled a total of 178 patients at Huangshi Central Hospital from January to February 2020. Among them, 68 patients were SARS-CoV-2 infected, confirmed with nucleic acid test (NAT) and CT imaging. Nine patients were in the suspected group (NAT negative) with fever and other respiratory symptoms. 101 patients were in the control group with other diseases and negative to SARS-CoV-2 infection. After serum samples were collected, SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies were tested by chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) for all patients. Results. The specificity of serum IgM and IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was 99.01% (100/101) and 96.04% (97/101), respectively, and the sensitivity was 88.24% (60/68) and 97.06% (66/68), respectively. The combined detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies was 98.53% (67/68). Conclusion. Combined detection of serum SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies had better sensitivity compared with single IgM or IgG antibody testing, which can be used as an important diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2 infection and a screening tool of potential SARS-CoV-2 carriers in clinics, hospitals, and accredited scientific laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recognition and inactivation of specific pathogenic bacteria remain an enormous scientific challenge and an important therapeutic goal. Therefore, materials that can selectively target and kill specific pathogenic bacteria, without harming beneficial strains are highly desirable. Here, a material platform is reported that exploits bacteria as a template to synthesize polymers with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristic by copper‐catalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization for self‐selective killing of the bacteria that templates them with no antimicrobial resistance. The bacteria‐templated polymers show very weak fluorescence in aqueous media, however, the fluorescence is turned on upon recognition of the bacteria used as the template to synthesize the polymer even at a low concentration of 600 ng mL−1. Moreover, the incorporated AIE fluorogens (AIEgens) can act as an efficient photosensitizer for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation after bacteria surface binding, which endows the templated polymers with the capability for selective bacterial killing. The bacterium‐templated synthesis is generally applicable to a wide range of bacteria, including clinically isolated multidrug‐resistant bacterial strains. It is envisioned that the bacterium‐templated method provides a new strategy for bacteria‐specific diagnostic and therapeutic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ruthenium-catalyzed [5+1] annulation of 1-(2-aminophenyl)pyrroles with α-carbonyl sulfoxonium ylides is reported. This reaction provides a one-step method for synthesizing pyrrolo[1,2- a ]quinoxaline derivatives under ambient conditions. The system proceeds with a short reaction time and a high functional-group tolerance. Notably, this divergent protocol tolerates β-keto sulfoxonium ylides and can be applied to α-ester sulfoxonium ylides. A preliminary study was made of the mechanism of the reaction, and a reaction pathway is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected by the host cells, the hidden intracellular bacteria are typically difficult to kill by common antibiotics and cannot be visualized without complex cellular pretreatments. Herein, we successfully developed a bacteria‐metabolizable dual‐functional probe TPEPy‐d‐Ala, which is based on d‐alanine and a photosensitizer with aggregation‐induced emission for fluorescence turn‐on imaging of intracellular bacteria in living host cells and photodynamic ablation in situ. Once metabolically incorporated into bacterial peptidoglycan, the intramolecular motions of TPEPy‐d‐Ala are inhibited, leading to an enhanced fluorescent signal, which allows the clear visualization of the intracellular bacteria. Moreover, TPEPy‐d‐Ala can effectively ablate the labeled intracellular bacteria in situ owing to covalent ligation to peptidoglycan, yielding a low intracellular minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 20±0.5 μg mL−1, much more efficient than that of a commonly used antibiotic, vancomycin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected by the host cells, the hidden intracellular bacteria are typically difficult to kill by common antibiotics and cannot be visualized without complex cellular pretreatments. Herein, we successfully developed a bacteria‐metabolizable dual‐functional probe TPEPy‐d‐Ala, which is based on d‐alanine and a photosensitizer with aggregation‐induced emission for fluorescence turn‐on imaging of intracellular bacteria in living host cells and photodynamic ablation in situ. Once metabolically incorporated into bacterial peptidoglycan, the intramolecular motions of TPEPy‐d‐Ala are inhibited, leading to an enhanced fluorescent signal, which allows the clear visualization of the intracellular bacteria. Moreover, TPEPy‐d‐Ala can effectively ablate the labeled intracellular bacteria in situ owing to covalent ligation to peptidoglycan, yielding a low intracellular minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 20±0.5 μg mL−1, much more efficient than that of a commonly used antibiotic, vancomycin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. To eliminate mother-to-child transmission of syphilis, the Chinese government recommends a treatment regimen that slightly differs from the World Health Organization- (WHO-) recommended treatment. However, little is known about their difference in efficacy. This study is aimed at comparing the effect of China-recommended and WHO-recommend treatment regimens on adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) and at examining associated risk factors of APOs among syphilis-seropositive women. Methods. Using the syphilis registry data, we retrospectively collected data from 4488 syphilis-infected pregnant women in Guangzhou during 2011-2018. Multivariate analyses were used to investigate the association between treatment regimens and APOs (ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth or low birth weight, newborn smaller than gestational age, congenital syphilis, and infant death) and the association between risk factors and APOs. Results. Of 3474 participants, 27.3% had at least one APO. Compared to those receiving WHO-recommended treatment, women who received China-recommended treatment were less likely to have APOs (odds ratio (OR) 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38-0.57), whereas those who received no treatment had 1.6 times higher odds of experiencing APOs. One common risk factor across different APOs was high levels of log2-transformed toluidine red unheated serum test (TRUST) titers before treatment (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.10-1.19). China-recommended treatment was effective in reducing APOs for those with TRUST ≥ 1 : 8 (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.14-0.29) and those with TRUST < 1 : 8 (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.50-0.77). Conclusions. Syphilis-seropositive women receiving China-recommended treatment had lower odds of APOs, especially when TRUST titers before treatment were high. Findings can be used to guide health professionals to reduce APOs among syphilis-infected mothers and promote nationwide use of China-recommended treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the effects of a simplified reablement program on physical function and quality of life in hospitalized older patients. Methods: The randomized controlled trial enrolled 114 older patients aged ≥65 years who, 2 weeks before admission, had been able to walk independently. Patients randomized to the reablement group received supervision and assistance to carry out the simplified reablement program 30 min daily during their hospital stay. Patients in the reminding group received only oral encouragement to continue the reablement program for 30 min daily. The control group received only usual care that included medical intervention consistent with the patient's diagnosis. The main outcome was improvement in physical function, including the modified version of the Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score, Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and Hand Grip Strength (HGS). Secondary outcomes included the EuroQoL 5 Dimension (EQ‐5D) Questionnaire and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results: The intervention had no significant effect on the Katz ADL score. However, a significant within‐group improvement in TUG occurred in the reminding group and reablement group. In addition, a significant time‐dependent improvement in HGS occurred only in the reablement group. With respect to secondary outcomes, the EQ5D score improved significantly only in the reablement group at 3 months after discharge. Conclusions: The simplified reablement program may be beneficial to optimize physical function and improve quality of life in hospitalized older patients. It is recommended that health professionals should assist or encourage older patients to do simplified reablement during their hospital stay. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 436–442. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are crucial during the early diagnosis of a given disease as well as in evaluating their response to certain drugs. Thus, this study sought the development of ferrocene (Fc)-labeled electrochemical biosensor for SNP detection. This proposed system involves the ligation of four short probes (e.g., A, B, A′, and B′, where B′ is labeled with an Fc-tag) in the presence of target DNA via ligase chain reaction (LCR), resulting in the formation of Fc-tagged duplex AB-A′B′ in 2n. Subsequently, immobilization of the Fc-tagged duplex AB-A′B′ on a single-stranded DNA capture probe (SC-DNA)-carboxyl multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT-COOH) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was accomplished through hybridization. Owing to the specificity of hybridization, and the use of Fc as electrochemical probe for detection of duplex AB-A′B′, such strategy realized directly analysis of LCR products without the need for purification. By taking advantage of the thermal stability and high-discrimination ability of HiFi Taq DNA ligase for single-base differences, the specificity of hybridization, the EGFR T790 M mutant DNA (MT-DNA) biosensor was developed to offer a low limit of detection (0.75 aM), a high discrimination of single-base mismatches [as low as 0.01% (molar fraction)], a wide linear range of more than 7 orders of magnitude (1 aM–10 pM), and the recovery rates (95.3%–107.8%) from human serum samples. Thus, the biosensor under development was found to be economical, highly-sensitive, and exceptionally selective for detection of SNPs, and as well as extending the versatile applications of LCR to offer great potential for diagnosis and individual clinical regimens. In this work, an economical, purification-free, and universal SNP electrochemical biosensor for EGFR T790 M MT-DNA detection was developed with high sensitivity and excellent specificity. It depends on the amplification of target DNA via ligase chain reaction (LCR), the development of ferrocene (Fc)-labeled electrochemical biosensor, and hybridization reaction. Image 1 • An Fc-labeled electrochemical biosensor was developed for SNP detection based on LCR and hybridization. • The MT-DNA is recycled and duplicated exponentially through LCR to achieve dramatic signal amplification. • The biosensor offers a low limit of detection (0.75 aM) and detects the allele frequency as low as 0.01%. • The biosensor is economical, purification-free, highly-sensitive, and selective for SNPs detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of aquaculture industry, high-carbohydrate diet is used to stimulate protein-sparing effect and reduce feed cost. However, fish utilize carbohydrates poorly in general, and instead, high level of carbohydrates in the diet influence the growth condition of fish. How to alleviate the side effects of high carbohydrate diet on fish health has attracted more and more attentions. In the present study, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were fed with 25% and 45% of carbohydrate diet for eight weeks. Higher body weight but lower resistance to pathogen was found in 45% carbohydrate diet group. Higher expression level of inflammation cytokines, increased expression of total NF-κB protein and phosphorylated NF-κB protein (p-NF-κB) were detected in higher carbohydrate group. Concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) was measured and the results indicated that high-carbohydrate diet decreased acetate content in the intestine. In order to detect the relationship between the decreased concentration of acetate and lower resistance to pathogen in high-carbohydrate group, 45% of carbohydrate diets (HC) supplemented with different concentrations of sodium acetate (HC + LA, 100 mmol/L; HC + MA, 200 mmol/L; HC + HA, 400 mmol/L) were used to raise Nile Tilapia for eight weeks. The results indicated that addition of 200 mmol/L sodium acetate (HC + MA) reduced the mortality when fish were challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila. Furthermore, we also found that addition of 200 mmol/L sodium acetate mainly inhibited p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and NF-κB phosphorylation to decrease the expression level of inflammation cytokines (IL-8, IL-12, TNF-α and IL-1β) in the intestine. The present study indicated that certain concentration of sodium acetate could alleviate high-carbohydrate induced intestinal inflammation mainly by suppressing MAPK activation and NF-κB phosphorylation. Image 1 • High-carbohydrate diet increased weight while decreased resistance to pathogen. • High-carbohydrate diet reduced acetate content and induced intestinal inflammation. • Addition of sodium acetate in high-carbohydrate increased resistance to pathogen. • Addition of sodium acetate in high-carbohydrate alleviated intestinal inflammation. • Sodium acetate suppressed MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways of intestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]