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BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment (CI) is a significant public health concern, and bioactive peptides have shown potential as therapeutic agents. However, information about their synergistic effects on cognitive function is still limited. Here, we investigated the synergistic effects of tilapia head protein hydrolysate (THPH) and walnut protein hydrolysate (WPH) in mitigating CI induced by scopolamine in mice. RESULTS: The results showed that the combined supplementation of THPH and WPH (mass ratio, 1:1) was superior to either individual supplement in enhancing spatial memory and object recognition abilities in CI mice, and significantly lessened brain injury in CI mice by alleviating neuronal damage, reducing oxidative stress and stabilizing the cholinergic system. In addition, the combined supplementation was found to be more conducive to remodeling the gut microbiota structure in CI mice by not only remarkably reducing the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidota, but also specifically enriching the genus Roseburia. On the other hand, the combined supplementation regulated the disorders of sphingolipid and amino acid metabolism in CI mice, particularly upregulating glutathione and histidine metabolism, and displayed a stronger ability to increase the expression of genes and proteins related to the brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/TrkB/CrEB signaling pathway in the brain. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that tilapia head and walnut‐derived protein hydrolysates exerted synergistic effects in ameliorating CI, which was achieved through modulation of gut microbiota, serum metabolic pathways and BDNF signaling pathways. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon (Si) is considered to be the promising candidate anode for the next generation of high‐energy‐density batteries. However, the poor initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) and rate performance severely hinder its commercial development. Here, fully exploits the 2D structure of photovoltaic silicon waste (PV‐WSi), combining with the advantage of controllable depositing layers offered by fluidized bed atomic layer deposition (FBALD), to simultaneously achieve high ICE and highrate performance of Si‐based anodes. The characteristic of Li+ embedding vertically into the plane direction of the 2D sheet‐like structure of PV‐WSi helps shorten the diffusion distance, alleviating the pulverization problem caused by volume expansion. FBALD is utilized to controllably deposit Li2O (≈1 nm) and TiO2 (≈4 nm) layers to compensate for the loss of Li sources, further suppressing the volume expansion of Si and isolating the side reactions between Si and electrolyte. The prepared Si@Li2O@TiO2 demonstrates ultrahigh ICE (90.9%) and outstanding rate performance (>900 mAh g−1 at a rate of 20 A g−1). Full cells with the Si@Li2O@TiO2 anode and LiFePO4 cathode deliver a stable capacity of 100 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at 0.5 C. This work provides new ideas for the development of high ICE, high‐rate Si‐based anodes based on low‐cost photovoltaic waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frog genus Odorrana is distributed across east and southeastern Asia. Based on morphological differences and molecular phylogenetics, a new species of the genus occurring from Leigong Mountain in Guizhou Province, China is described. Phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and ND2 genes supported the new species as an independent lineage. The uncorrected genetic distances between the 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and ND2 genes between the new species and its closest congener were 5.0%, 4.9%, and 16.3%, respectively. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: body size moderate (SVL 39.1–49.4 mm in males, 49.7 mm in female); head width larger than head length; tympanum distinctly visible; small rounded granules scattered all over dorsal body and limbs; dorsolateral folds absent; heels overlapping when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body; tibiotarsal articulation reaching the level between eye to nostril when leg stretched forward; vocal sacs absent in male and nuptial pads present on the base of finger I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient approaches to perfluoroalkyl/alkenyl aryl sulfides were accomplished by a C−S coupling reaction under mild conditions. Hexafluoropropylene dimer was employed as a versatile building block for the perfluoroalkylation and perfluoroalkenylation of thiophenol. The application of the synthetic strategy was demonstrated by the high‐yield transformation of a broad range of aryl derivatives. A plausible mechanistic explanation was proposed to elaborate the differences between the two reaction pathways. The methodology provides straightforward and convenient access to aryl sulfides constituting C6 perfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkenyl substituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphine is a widely used opioid analgesic. However, standard morphine dosages and administration methods exhibit a short half-life and pose a risk of respiratory depression. Sustained-release microspheres can deliver prolonged efficacy and reduce side effects. We present a new controlled-release morphine gelatine microsphere (MGM) prepared using an emulsification-crosslinking strategy. The gelatine microsphere design improves the bioavailability of morphine. And it not only increases the clinical analgesic efficacy but also the safety of clinical medication through a gradual, sustained release. Besides, we describe MGMs' preparation, release, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics. And the drug metabolism pathway. We calculate the release rate of morphine by measuring plasma morphine concentration over time and pharmacokinetic parameters. It optimized the manufacturing process of MGMs, which makes the analgesic effect have a longer duration. MGMs analgesic effect shows dose dependence. After they were administrated, MGMs were released more slowly. Peak concentration was reduced, and the relative bioavailability improved. It even reached 88.84%. Its pharmacokinetic process was consistent with the two-component first-order absorption model. MGMs deliver sustained-release and long-action pharmacokinetics. It shows design goals of improving drug bioavailability, prolonging drug residence time in vivo, and maintaining stable blood drug concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Converting CO 2 to highly demanded fuels or chemicals is able to achieve substantial economic and environmental benefits. Herein, a series of Pd/P–CeO 2 –Al 2 O 3 coatings on foam ceramics with particular morphologies including mesh, rod, plate, as well as mixed mesh and plate, are successfully prepared. The mesh Pd/P–CeO 2 –Al 2 O 3 coatings (MC) supported on ceramic displayed much higher catalytic activity and better selectivity than those of catalysts with other morphological Pd/P–CeO 2 –Al 2 O 3 coatings. The CO 2 conversion and CH 4 selectivity of MC were up to 85.9% and 100%, respectively. The superior catalytic performance was ascribed to the strong MSI effect, high hydrogen storage capacity, abundant oxygen vacancies, and metal sites, as well as moderately basic sites, which were characterized by TEM, XPS, CO 2 -TPD, and H 2 -TPD. More importantly, the intermediates and possible reaction pathways were systematically investigated by in situ FTIR. And the high performance of MC mainly comes from the accelerated conversion of carbonate and the hydrogenation of the generated monodentate formate. Overall, the catalytic performance of Pd/P–CeO 2 –Al 2 O 3 coatings supported on ceramic can be facilely regulated and optimized by accurately devising the morphology of the Pd/P–CeO 2 –Al 2 O 3 coatings, which offers a novel perspective for high-performance CO 2 methanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bond film on the surface of the CO2 sodium silicate used sands is not easy to decompose, therefore, it is difficult to reclaim used sands. A new reclamation method of CO2 sodium silicate used sands was developed by steam leaching, which can reduce the water consumption of reclamation and improve the removal effect of sodium silicate bond film. Firstly, the leaching effect of the sodium silicate sands after 20/200/400/600/800/1,000 °C heat preservation treatment was simulated. Furthermore, the influence of the leaching time on the removal effect of the sodium silicate bond film was studied. Finally, the casting properties of the reclaimed sands after the leaching reclamation treatment were tested. The results show for simulated used sands after 30 min of steam leaching, the removal ratio of the alkali exceeds 84.1%, the removal ratio of silicate is 86.2%, and the removal ratio of carbonate is 93.6%. The removal rate of alkali, silicate and carbonate is relatively low in the leaching time of 30-50 min. Considering the reclamation effect and cost, the leaching time is controlled in 30 min. Water consumption is only 60% of the mass of used sands for 30 min steam leaching, while it is 200% for wet reclamation. Morphological analysis shows that most of the hazardous substances in the used sands are removed in 30 min steam leaching, and the reclaimed sands surface after steam leaching in 50 min is as smooth as new sands. After 30 min of steam leaching, the alkali removal effect of the factory used sands can reach 81.5%, the water consumption by the steam leaching reclamation is 58% of the mass of the used sand, which is similar to the result of simulated used sands. The performance of reclaimed sands obtained after 30 min steam leaching is better than that of new sands when the amount of sodium silicate added is 6% of the mass of the reclaimed sands and the CO2 blowing time is 15 s: the 24 h ultimate compressive strength of reclaimed sands is 5.6 MPa (equated with new sands), and the collapsibility compressive strength is 5.2 MPa, which is lower than the collapsibility compressive strength of new sands (7.7 MPa). This indicates that the reclamation of CO2 sodium silicate used sands by steam leaching is a feasible method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in metamaterial research have shown promising progress in overcoming the fundamental physical limitations of acoustics. While the majority of this research is curiosity‐driven and focused on fundamental physics, there has been a scarcity of acoustic metamaterials research that can have a direct and immediate impact on real‐world applications. In this study, an acoustic metamaterial inside a head‐mounted audio module is incorporate to achieve a 3–7 dB broadband sound pressure level (SPL) improvement in the bass range (50–700 Hz), which is the most challenging frequency range for radiation enhancement. The adoption of the acoustic metamaterial not only enhances voltage sensitivity near the intrinsic metamaterial resonance frequency, but also extends the broadband enhancement to a lower transducer resonance frequency by carefully engineering the metamaterial‐transducer resonant coupling. The improvement of the audio module is demonstrated through fully coupled electrical‐mechanical‐acoustical numerical simulations using finite element analysis, which are validated against comprehensive measurements including electrical impedance analysis, speaker diaphragm displacement analysis, voltage sensitivity and power sensitivity analysis, and spectrogram. This study not only offers a promising path to improve the audio module quality without increasing the size, but also represents an important milestone toward using acoustic metamaterial research to solve audio industry challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ce–P/γ-Al 2 O 3 coatings applied with the freeze-drying technique were deposited on foam ceramics before being further prepared as Pd catalysts. According to the research, phosphoric acid replaced the hydroxyl on the surface of γ-Al 2 O 3 to produce polyhydroxy P-containing sites that readily attracted cerium oxide. The palladium oxide was then embedded into the cerium oxide vacancy. The impacts of the drying technique on the catalysts were investigated, and the results indicated that freeze drying created a special coating with a large specific surface area and uniform mesoporous structure by inhibiting nanoparticle agglomeration. H 3 PO 4 's altering action was augmented to boost the number of active sites and the percentage of weakly acidic sites. Due to better P–Ce interactions, more Ce3+ was added into CeO 2 , which created numerous oxygen vacancies. By adjusting the P-containing sites, the dispersion of cerium oxide and the active phase could be controlled, which aided the activation and spillover of hydrogen. Furthermore, the capacity for oxygen adsorption and desorption was enhanced, and the amount of adsorbed oxygen species increased. As a result, the freeze-drying technique improved the advantages of the Ce–P/γ-Al 2 O 3 coating, increasing the conversion and selectivity of CO 2 methanation to 81% and 94%, respectively, and lowering the complete conversion temperature of CO oxidation to 116 °C. This research has a guiding influence on the development of foam ceramic-loaded palladium catalysts in the fields of energy and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease is a high incidence and mortality rate disease worldwide. Exercise training has become an established evidence-based treatment strategy that is beneficial for many cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effects of exercise on hyperlipidemia-induced cardiac damage in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice. Male ApoE−/− mice were randomly divided into the following four groups: normal diet (ND), normal diet + exercise training (ND + E), high-fat diet (HFD), and high-fat diet + exercise training (HFD + E). Exercise training consisted of swimming for 40 min, 5 days/week for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, histopathological alterations in cardiac tissue and the serum were measured. Furthermore, the NOX4, NRF2, SIRT1, TGF-β, HO-1, collagen III, Smad3, Bax, Bak, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18 expression levels were evaluated using immunohistochemistry and western blotting; Results: the serum levels of SIRT1, GSH-Px, and SOD were lower in ApoE−/− HFD mice compared with those in ApoE−/− HFD + E mice. Significant pathological changes were observed in the ApoE−/− HFD + E group compared with those in the ApoE−/− HFD group. Increased levels of oxidative stress, fibrosis, and apoptosis, and decreased antioxidant expression in the ApoE−/− HFD group compared with those in ApoE−/− HFD + E mice. Exercise exerts protective effects against cardiac damage caused by hyperlipidemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has one of the highest mortality rates among solid cancers. Late diagnosis and a lack of efficacious treatment options contribute to the dismal prognosis of HCC. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based immunotherapy has presented a new milestone in the treatment of cancer. Immunotherapy has yielded remarkable treatment responses in a range of cancer types including HCC. Based on the therapeutic effect of ICI alone (programmed cell death (PD)-1/programmed death-ligand1 (PD-L)1 antibody), investigators have developed combined ICI therapies including ICI + ICI, ICI + tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), and ICI + locoregional treatment or novel immunotherapy. Although these regimens have demonstrated increasing treatment efficacy with the addition of novel drugs, the development of biomarkers to predict toxicity and treatment response in patients receiving ICI is in urgent need. PD-L1 expression in tumor cells received the most attention in early studies among various predictive biomarkers. However, PD-L1 expression alone has limited utility as a predictive biomarker in HCC. Accordingly, subsequent studies have evaluated the utility of tumor mutational burden (TMB), gene signatures, and multiplex immunohistochemistry (IHC) as predictive biomarkers. In this review, we aim to discuss the current state of immunotherapy for HCC, the results of the predictive biomarker studies, and future direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, regular Sturm-Liouville problems with distributional potentials and eigenparameter-dependent boundary conditions are investigated. We obtain that the eigenvalues of the problems depend not only continuously but also smoothly on the parameters of the problem: the coefficients, the boundary conditions, and the endpoints, in particular, the eigenparameter-dependent boundary condition matrix. Moreover, we find the differential expressions for each parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cachavirus (CachaV) infection was first reported in the USA in 2019. This virus has been previously detected in pet dogs and cats in China. In the present study, we retrospectively examined this virus in 413 dogs and 127 cats. Swab samples obtained from these animals were collected during 2015–2017. Notably, CachaV was detected in four samples from dogs with diarrhea but not in cats; however, the correlation between healthy dogs and those with enteritis was not statistically significant. Furthermore, we amplified early complete genomic sequences of the four strains detected in our study dogs (CHN1601, CHN1602, CHN1703, and CHN1704). Among these strains, the sequence identity of the NS1 protein and the seven previously reported strains in China were 97.44%–99.7%, whereas that of VP1 protein was 98.02%–99.6%. Interestingly, in the NS1 coding region, CHN1704 demonstrated 99.7% (highest) similarity with the CachaV strain NWT-W88 detected from a wolf and 64.5% similarity with the NS1 of a bat parvovirus (BtPV) strain. Conversely, in the VP1 coding region, CHN1703 demonstrated 99.7% (highest) similarity with the prototype CachaV strain IDEXX1 detected from dogs and 63.3% similarity with BtPV strain. For the phylogenetic analysis of NS1 and VP1, the four strains detected during 2016-2017 were merged with other Chinese and foreign CachaV strains to form the major branch. We believe that these results helped improve the understanding of how CachaV evolved and suggest that the virus has been circulating in China since at least March 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five new monoterpenoids including three 1-hydroxymethyl-2-methyl cantharimide-type derivatives (1, 2, and 5) and two 1,2-dimethyl cantharimide-type derivatives (3 and 4), together with three known compounds (6–8) were isolated from the insect Mylabris cichorii Linnaeus. The structures of these new compounds, including their absolute configurations, were characterized by detailed analysis of NMR, chemical derivatization, and quantum chemical ECD calculations. All of the compounds were tested for their biological activity against kidney fibrosis. The results revealed that compounds 2, 4, and 7 could inhibit kidney fibrosis in vitro at 40 μM by inhibiting the expression of fibronectin and collagen I in TGF-β1-induced NRK-52e cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of parvovirus known as feline chaphamaparvovirus (FeChPV) was discovered in the feces of shelter cats in Canada in 2019, and >50% of cats were reported to be infected with this virus. In this study, two FeChPV-positive samples were identified from the rectal swabs of 285 dogs with diarrhea but none in 50 healthy dogs. Whole genome sequences of these two FeChPV strains (OQ162042 and OQ162043) were amplified and compared with those of the two viruses originally discovered in Canada (IDEXX-1 and VRI849). The whole genome, NS1, and VP1 of the two FeChPV strains shared a high identity of 95.0%–97.8% nucleotide, 96.9%–98.6% amino acid (aa), and 97.2%–98.8% aa with the reported FeChPV strains, respectively. The phylogenetic tree of NS1 and VP1 revealed that two FeChPV strains, namely, CHN20201025 and CHN20201226, were closely clustered with the two FeChPV prototypes detected in Canada in a group. Moreover, CHN20201025 and CHN20201226 were obviously different from Carnivore chaphamaparvovirus 1 and were classified as Carnivore chaphamaparvovirus 2. This is the first study to report the identification of FeChPV in fecal samples from dogs in China, and the genetic analysis of the FeChPV, which was previously detected in Canadian cats, would improve our understanding of its host spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti 3 SiC 2 /Al 2 O 3 composites attract attention because Ti 3 SiC 2 and Al 2 O 3 have complementary advantages in mechanical properties. However, the high temperatures (≥1400 °C) required for densification of the Al 2 O 3 lead to the decomposition of Ti 3 SiC 2. To address this issue, Ti 3 (Al 1-x Si x)C 2 /Al 2 O 3 composites were fabricated via current-assisted sintering of Ti 3 AlC 2 /SiO (TM sample) and Ti 3 AlC 2 /SiO 2 (TD sample) at 1100–1300 °C. After sintering, most Al atoms in Ti 3 AlC 2 were substituted by Si atoms, forming Ti 3 (Al 1-x Si x)C 2 with values of x greater than 0.85. However, the morphologies of Al 2 O 3 produced from Ti 3 AlC 2 /SiO and Ti 3 AlC 2 /SiO 2 were different. Spherical Al 2 O 3 produced by Al–Si substitution in SiO 2 was difficult to densify at low temperatures, whereas the reaction between Ti 3 AlC 2 and SiO disintegrated the matrix of SiO and produced dense Al 2 O 3. As a result, the relative densities and mechanical properties of TM samples were less affected by a reduction in sintering temperature than those of TD samples. As sintering temperature declined from 1300 °C to 1100 °C, flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness of TM samples decreased by 35.9% (from 546.2 MPa to 350.0 MPa), 27.4% (from 4.56 GPa to 3.31 GPa), and 33.4% (from 7.45 MPa m0.5–4.96 MPa m0.5), respectively. Meanwhile, the flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness of TD samples were reduced by 81.2% (from 466.1 MPa to 87.6 MPa), 85.4% (from 6.50 GPa to 0.95 GPa), and 68.6% (from 6.94 MPa m0.5–2.18 MPa m0.5), respectively. Therefore, Ti 3 AlC 2 /SiO is more suitable for fabricating Ti 3 (Al 1-x Si x)C 2 /Al 2 O 3 composites at low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to explore the pharmacokinetics of danofloxacin in non‐laying hens after a single oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) dose, both at 5 mg/kg body weight (BW). Eighteen 13‐week‐old healthy hens were equally and randomly divided into two groups. After both doses, blood samples (approximately 1 ml) were collected at different time points. Danofloxacin concentrations were quantified by a validated high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method followed by a non‐compartmental analysis using the software of WinNonLin. The elimination half‐lives (t1/2λzs) after PO and IV routes were determined as 8.15 ± 3.37 and 7.69 ± 3.40 h, respectively. After IV administration, danofloxacin had an initial concentration (C0) of 3.62 μg/ml, a volume of distribution at steady state (VSS) of 3579.72 ± 454.29 ml/kg, and a total body clearance (Cl) of 0.49 ml/h/g. After PO administration, the absolute bioavailability and absorption half‐life (t1/2ka) were calculated as 100.99% ± 23.10% and 0.82 ± 0.58 h, respectively. Based on the calculated ratio values of AUC/MIC and Cmax/MIC, an oral dose of 5 mg/kg danofloxacin would be expected to successfully treat hens infected with strains with MIC values ≤0.1 μg/ml. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are often dysregulated in cancers and closely related to cancer progression, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). However, the role and mechanism of circ_0068631 in CSCC progression have not been reported. Methods: The expression of circ_0068631, microRNA‐139‐5p (miR‐139‐5p), and homeobox B7 (HOXB7) was measured by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). Cell counting kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay, 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, and colony formation assay were used to measure cell proliferation. Cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. Cell migration was detected by transwell assay. The interaction between miR‐139‐5p and circ_0068631 or HOXB7 was confirmed by dual‐luciferase reporter assay. A xenograft tumor model was established to confirm the function of circ_0068631 in vivo. Results: Circ_0068631 was upregulated in CSCC tissues and cells, and its silencing could inhibit CSCC cell proliferation and metastasis while promoting apoptosis in vitro, as well as restrain CSCC tumor growth in vivo. Circ_0068631 acted as a sponge of miR‐139‐5p, and miR‐139‐5p inhibition reversed the repressive effect of circ_0068631 knockdown on CSCC cell progression. Furthermore, HOXB7 was a target of miR‐139‐5p, and miR‐139‐5p inhibited the malignant behaviors by downregulating HOXB7 expression in CSCC cells. Further, circ_0068631 sponged miR‐139‐5p to regulate HOXB7 expression. Conclusion: Circ_0068631 functioned as a novel oncogene in CSCC progression by regulating miR‐139‐5p/HOXB7 axis, suggesting that circ_0068631 may be a potential target for CSCC treatment. Highlights: Circ_0068631 was overexpressed in CSCC tissues and cells.Circ_0068631 downregulation suppressed CSCC progression via miR‐139‐5p.Circ_0068631 regulated HOXB7 via sponging miR‐139‐5p. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we mainly study the finite spectrum of Sturm–Liouville problems with transmission conditions dependent on the spectral parameter. By analyzing on the characteristic function, we prove that this kind of Sturm–Liouville problems consist of finite number of eigenvalue and these finite eigenvalues can be located anywhere in the complex plane. It is illustrated that the number of eigenvalues not only depends on the partition of the domain interval, but also depends on the transmission conditions dependent on the spectral parameter and the boundary conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finite tight frames are used widely for many applications. An important problem is to construct finite frames containing specified elements as needed in real world applications. In this paper we provide a stable method for that purpose. We establish an identity for constructing equi-norm tight frames from the specified elements and present a method for generating equi-norm tight frames explicitly from the outcome of the singular value decomposition of the matrix of the given elements. Under certain conditions, the number of columns of the unit-norm tight frames generated by our method reaches the minimum bound, improving a result in the literature. Finally, we illustrate our method through a numerical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimum femtosecond laser direct writing of Bragg gratings on silica optical waveguides has been investigated. The silica waveguide has a 6.5 × 6.5 µm2 cross-sectional profile with a 20-µm-thick silicon dioxide cladding layer. Compared with conventional grating inscribed on fiber platforms, the silica planar waveguide circuit can realize a stable performance as well as a high-efficiency coupling with the fiber. A thin waveguide cladding layer also facilitates laser focusing with an improved spherical aberration. Different from the circular fiber core matching with the Gaussian beam profile, a 1030-nm, 400-fs, and 190-nJ laser is optimized to focus on the top surface of the square silica waveguide, and the 3rd-order Bragg gratings are inscribed successfully. A 1.5-mm long uniform Bragg gratings structure with a reflectivity of 90% at a 1548.36-nm wavelength can be obtained. Cascaded Bragg gratings with different periods are also inscribed in the planar waveguide. Different reflection wavelengths can be realized, which shows great potential for wavelength multiplexing-related applications such as optical communications or sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Ti,Ta) 3 SiC 2 /Al 2 O 3 composite ceramics were prepared by hot-pressing sintering using TaC as Ta source. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the maximum of solid solubility of Ta in Ti 3 SiC 2 were determined to be from 7.5 to 10 at%. With the increase of TaC contents, the grain size of Ti 3 SiC 2 reduced obviously. Combined Wulff theorem and first-principle calculations, the probable mechanism of this refinement phenomenon was revealed. When Ta atoms substitute Ti in surface atomic layers, the surface energy of (001) plane increased significantly compared to those of (100) plane, which restricted the growth of (001) facets. As it is the largest exposed surface, the lower growth rate of (001) facets lead to the grains refinement. The results will provide theoretical guidance for surface modification and morphological transformation of Ti 3 SiC 2 -based ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Ti,Nb) 3 SiC 2 /60 vol%-Al 2 O 3 composite ceramic samples with different Ti/Nb atomic ratios were prepared by hot-pressing sintering using Ti/Si/Al/TiC/NbC/Al 2 O 3 powders as starting materials. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the solid solubility of Nb is approximately 7.5 at%. Excessive NbC powder addition can lead to the generation of an impurity phase. Scanning transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy images reveal that most of the Nb-doped atoms aggregate at 2a -sites, as this configuration exhibits the lowest system energy. The optimized hardness, flexural strength and fracture toughness of (Ti,Nb) 3 SiC 2 /Al 2 O 3 were determined to be 16.0 GPa, 672 MPa and 6.9 MPa m1/2, which corresponds to an increase of 15.9%, 18.7% and 25.4% respectively, compared with Ti 3 SiC 2 /Al 2 O 3 composite ceramics. By means of first-principle calculations, the strengthening mechanism is derived from both intragranular improvement in (Ti,Nb) 3 SiC 2 solid solutions and intergranular enhancement of (Ti,Nb) 3 SiC 2 /Al 2 O 3 grains interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image is based on the Research Article Synergistic effects of tilapia head protein hydrolysate and walnut protein hydrolysate on the amelioration of cognitive impairment in mice by Jun Ji et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.13369. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation in transcripts has been suggested to influence tumorigenesis in liver tumors caused by the avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J). However, m6A modifications during ALV-J infection in vitro remain unclear. Herein, we performed m6A and RNA sequencing in ALV-J-infected chicken fibroblasts (DF-1). A total of 51 differentially expressed genes containing differentially methylated peaks were identified, which were markedly enriched in microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer cells as well as apoptosis, mitophagy and autophagy, RNA degradation, and Hippo and MAPK signaling pathways. Correlation analysis indicated that YTHDC1 (m6A-reader gene) plays a key role in m6A modulation during ALV-J infection. The env gene of ALV-J harbored the strongest peak, and untranslated regions and long terminal repeats also contained peaks of different degrees. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first thorough analysis of m6A patterns in ALV-J-infected DF-1 cells. Combined with miRNA profiles, this study provides a useful basis for future research into the key pathways of ALV-J infection associated with m6A alteration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Re-suspended road dust is one of the main urban atmospheric pollutants. Thus, systematic management of polluted roads is essential, which requires precise measurement of re-suspended road dust emission factors. A mobile laboratory (ML) and a flux tower (FT) were used to measure re-suspended road dust. Re-suspended road dust concentration was measured while driving the ML at speeds of 40, 50, and 60 km/h along straight sections of five different roads in Incheon City, Korea. The correlation between measurements using the ML and the FT was anlyzed according to the ML speed. The results revealed a linear relationship between the mass concentration measured by the ML and the emission factor obtained from the FT. At faster ML speeds, the same emission factor was associated with higher concentrations measured by the ML. Thus, if the ML measurements are adjusted for the ML speed by employing the methods of this study, re-suspended road dust emission factors can be measured more accurately. Based on these findings, it is expected that the use of the MLs will contribute to reducing re-suspended road dust by enabling more effective management of road pollution levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we demonstrate the enhanced intrinsic electric field (IEF) within the CuMTZ/BiVO 4 photoanode through a ligand doping engineering strategy. The results reveal that the incorporating thiophene-containing electron-rich ligand enhances the IEF by 1.75 times compared to CuTZ/BVO. This leads to a significant improvement in photogenerated hole transfer and effectively suppresses interfacial recombination, resulting in highly enhanced PEC performance. [Display omitted] • Electron-rich ligand doping strategy is employed to construct CuMTZ/BiVO 4 photoanode. • A robust intrinsic electric field is created for CuMTZ/BiVO 4 compared to CuTZ/BiVO 4. • A significantly improved separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers is achieved. • The water oxidation kinetics is enhanced by cocatalytic effect of CuMTZ. A robust internal electric field (IEF) within heterojunctions is essential for enhancing the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers during photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this contribution, a ligand doping engineering approach is innovatively proposed to design 3,5-Th 2 -TzH = 3,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole (CuMTZ)/BiVO 4 photoanodes, in which thiophene-containing electron-rich ligands (3,5-Th 2 -TzH) strengthen the interactions between CuMTZ and BiVO 4. This results in the formation of a robust IEF, which serves as a strong driving force for efficient charge carrier transfer and separation, leading to an enhanced photovoltage. Furthermore, the uniform CuMTZ nanolayers act as a cocatalyst that not only increases the number of active reaction sites but also boosts photogenerated holes injection into the electrolyte to participate directly in the water oxidation process. Consequently, CuMTZ/BiVO 4 photoanode exhibits a significant 4.26-fold improvement in photocurrent for water oxidation compared to BiVO 4. This work highlights the significance of ligand doping engineering in the design of metal-organic framework (MOF)/semiconductor photoanodes for enhancing PEC efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been demonstrated to be vulnerable to adversarial samples and many powerful defense methods have been proposed to enhance the adversarial robustness of DNNs. However, these defenses often require adding regularization terms to the loss function or augmenting the training data, which often involves modification of the target model and increases computational consumption. In this paper, we propose a novel adversarial defense approach that leverages the diffusion model with a large purification space to purify potential adversarial samples, and introduce two training strategies termed PSPG and PDPG to defend against different attacks. Our method preprocesses adversarial examples before they are inputted into the target model, and thus can provide protection for DNNs in the inference phase. It does not require modifications to the target model and can protect even deployed models. Extensive experiments on CIFAR-10 and ImageNet demonstrate that our method has good accuracy and transferability, it can provide protection effectively for different models in various defense scenarios. Our code is available at: https://github.com/YNU-JI/PDPG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cremastra appendiculata is a rare terrestrial orchid with a high market value as an ornamental and medicinal plant. However, the species depends entirely on fungi for seed germination under natural conditions. In a previous study, we have successfully isolated and identified the mycorrhizal fungus Coprinellus disseminatus which was able to induce the germination of C. appendiculata seeds. We then speculated that C. disseminatus may do so by breaking the testa imposed dormancy of the seeds. In this study, biochemical and transcriptomic analyses were used to characterize the germination of C. appendiculata seeds, collected at different stages of germination, as affected by C. disseminatus. Results: The lignocellulose in the seeds coat of C. appendiculata was degraded by the mycorrhizal fungus resulting in facilitated absorption of water. The rate of decline in lignin content was 67 and 73% at 6 and 12 days after sowing, respectively. The water content increased from 13 to 90% during symbiosis. A total of 15,382 genes showing significantly different levels of expression (log2 FPKM≥2.0, Qvalue≤0.05) were successfully identified among all libraries, where the highest number of DEGs was shared between 6 days versus 0 day after symbiotic germination. Gene annotation results suggested that 15 key genes related water-status, such as DHN gene family and Xero 1 were down-regulated. The genes zeaxanthin epoxidase ZEP, 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase NCED3 and β-carotene hydroxylase involved in the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA) were significantly down-regulated in 6 days as compared to 0 day after symbiotic germination. Conclusions: This work demonstrates that mycorrhizal fungus C. disseminatus can stimulate C. appendiculata seeds germination through a mechanism of breaking the testa imposed dormancy and inducing water absorption of the embryo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: The EtOAc fraction of Alpinia katsumadai seeds showed significant inhibition on glycogen phosphorylase a (GPa) with inhibitory ratios of 97.9% and 64.6% at concentrations of 200 and 100 μg/mL, respectively. Bioactivity‐guided isolation afforded 15 new diarylheptanoid‐flavanone hybrids, katsumadainols B1—B15 (1—15), together with eight known ones (16—23). Compounds 4—10 and 12—21 exhibited activity against GPa with IC50 values of 10.1—95.4 μmol/L; compounds 4, 5, 16, and 17 displayed inhibitory effects on α‐glucosidase with IC50 values of 7.1, 12.4, 7.2, and 8.3 μmol/L, obviously higher than acarbose (IC50, 209.1 μmol/L); compounds 4—6, 14, 16—20, 22, and 23 were PTP1B/TCPTP selective inhibitors with IC50 values of 40.7—95.8 μmol/L; compounds 4, 5, 16, and 17 showed DPP4 inhibitory effects with inhibitory ratios of 50.0%—54.2% (200 μmol/L). Diarylheptanoid‐flavanone hybrids (4, 5, 16, and 17) with a p‐hydroxybenzyl at C‐6 position represent a promising class of multiple‐target antidiabetic agents inhibiting GPa, α‐glucosidase, PTP1B, and DPP4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A class of fourth-order boundary value problems with general self-adjoint boundary and transmission conditions is investigated. It is shown that such boundary value problems with a finite number of eigenvalues are equivalent to certain types of matrix eigenvalue problems. Moreover, the results are given under the general self-adjoint transmission conditions and the self-adjoint canonical forms of the fourth-order problems which are classified as separated, mixed and coupled, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects and underlying mechanisms of pinocembrin-7-methylether (PME), a natural bioflavonoid, in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced models of Parkinson's disease in vivo and in vitro. First, we found that PME decreased apoptosis in 6-OHDA-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cells. PME also blocked several 6-OHDA-induced mitochondrial apoptotic cascades, including loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, caspase 3 and PARP activation, and a decrease in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Also, PME suppressed 6-OHDA-induced oxidative stress while increasing antioxidant enzymatic activity. Further investigations indicated that PME significantly enhanced nuclear accumulation of Nrf2, improved ARE promoter activity, and upregulated HO-1 and NQO1 expression levels. In addition, siRNA-mediated Nrf2 knockdown abolished PME-induced anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic effects. Interestingly, we found that PME promoted phosphorylation of AKT and ERK, whereas pharmacological inhibition of AKT or ERK pathways diminished PME-induced Nrf2 activation and protective actions. Moreover, PME attenuated 6-OHDA-induced loss of dopaminergic neurons and ameliorated locomotor deficiency in zebrafish, supporting the neuroprotective actions of PME in vivo. In summary, we found that PME conferred neuroprotection against 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity in PD models in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, our findings suggest that activation of Nrf2/ARE/HO-1 signaling cascades contributes to PME-induced anti-oxidative and neuroprotective actions, which are at least partially mediated by AKT and ERK pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentration of road dust re-suspended by passing vehicles can be measured using fine-dust measuring devices installed at various heights of a flux tower. In this study, simulations were performed to analyze the distribution of dust plumes along the height of a flux tower according to its distance from the center of the road, the vehicle speed, wind direction, and wind speed. Simulation results were compared with field measurements of re-suspended road dust collected by a flux tower during the passage of a van-type mobile laboratory vehicle to confirm the accuracy of the simulation. A parametric study was then conducted using the simulation of the mobile lab vehicle to evaluate the effects of vehicle speed, wind direction, and wind speed. To accurately capture re-suspended road dust concentrations, the flux tower must be at least 4.5, 5.1, 5.8, and 6.2 m high when located 2, 4, 6, and 8 m, respectively, from the road center. The results of this study are expected to serve as guidelines in determining the location and height of flux towers when measuring re-suspended road dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of the study was to detect the expression of Kita-Kyushu lung cancer antigen-1 (KK-LC-1) in gastric cancer (GC) specimens and analyse the associations between KK-LC-1 expression and clinicopathological parameters and clinical prognosis.Methods: All of the 94 patients in this study were GC patients who underwent surgical resection. KK-LC-1 protein expression in GC tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. This report applies the histological score (H-score) to evaluate KK-LC-1 expression. To calculate this indicator, the number of positive cells in each section and their staining intensity were converted to corresponding values. The expression of KK-LC-1 in the cytoplasm of cancer and normal tissues was scored to obtain their respective H values. The chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were used to analyse the linear association between KK-LC-1 expression and clinicopathological data and prognosis.Results: In the cytoplasm, KK-LC-1 expression in tumour tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (P < 0.001). Using the median H-score as the cut-off value, we discovered that GC patients with high levels of KK-LC-1 expression in the cytoplasm had favourable overall survival (OS) (P = 0.016), and this result was statistically significant in the Cox regression analysis. Additionally, a negative correlation was found between KK-LC-1 protein expression and the pathological grade of the tumour (P = 0.036), with significantly more KK-LC-1 protein expression observed in the intestinal type of GC than in the diffuse type (P = 0.008).Conclusions: Our research data showed that KK-LC-1 expression was greater in GC tissues than in normal tissues, and higher KK-LC-1 expression was associated with longer OS of GC patients. KK-LC-1 can be used as a biomarker for a good prognosis in GC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis, characterization, and first-principles calculations of Ti 3 SiC 2 /Al 2 O 3 ceramics were reported. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that the composite ceramics were highly pure. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the interface information for Ti 3 SiC 2 and Al 2 O 3 crystals. Surface energies and interface properties were calculated using the first-principles method. The results suggested that Ti 3 SiC 2 with Ti terminations and Al 2 O 3 with O terminations are more stable than other terminations crystals. Thus powerful attraction between the coordinatively unsaturated Ti and O atoms on the Ti 3 SiC 2 ∥Al 2 O 3 interface would result in higher work of adhesion (Wad) and shorter boundary distance, demonstrating the intercrystalline strengthening of Ti 3 SiC 2 /Al 2 O 3 composite ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finite tight frames are used widely for many applications. An important problem is to construct finite tight frames containing specified elements as needed in real world applications. The question was first studied in details by D. Feng, L. Wang, and Y. Wang in 2007. P. G. Casazza, M. Ficus, D. G. Mixon, J. Peterson, and I. Smalyanau gave a method for constructing a tight frame containing specified elements in 2013. A simple and stable method for constructing equi-norm tight frames from the specified elements was derived by J. Ji and L. Wang in 2022. As the main result, an algorithm based on the QR factorization for completing a Mercedes-Benz frame containing specified elements is presented in this paper and two examples of Mercedes-Benz frames in R 4 are constructed to illustrate our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The research progress of flexible composite phase change materials in BTMS applications is integrated. • The methods of PCM to enhance heat transfer performance and safety performance are summarized. • The flexible mechanism of FCPCM in BTMS is discussed in terms of molecular structure, interactions and mechanistic aspects. • The challenges of FCPCM in inorganic material development, recyclability and protection performance are presented. The trend for electric vehicles to replace traditional fuel vehicles is becoming increasingly apparent with the global tendency towards carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. As the core of electric vehicles, the working safety of lithium-ion batteries is becoming more and more important. This review presents an overview of the battery thermal management system (BTMS) based on flexible composite phase change materials (FCPCM), which discusses the flexibility generation mechanism of FCPCM for BTMS in terms of molecular structure, interactions and mechanistic aspects. Before introducing FCPCM, this review summarizes the approaches of phase change materials (PCM) in enhancing thermal conductivity, anti-leakage performance and safety performance. However, there are still defects such as strong rigidity and poor mechanical strength. The inclusion of flexible matrix could effectively improve the flexibility. Microscopically, flexibility is enhanced by the creation of the flexible structure. At the contact interface, the enhanced flexibility increases the interfacial wettability, thus reducing the contact thermal resistance between the PCM and the cell, and enabling the heat transfer performance to be improved. Due to the different flexible materials added, the microscopic mechanisms vary, including flexible structural support, physical cross-linking of microscopic molecular chains and chemical bonding cross-linking between molecules. Thermal induced flexibility enhances the packaging performance of FCPCM. Furthermore, FCPCM offers considerable improvement in mechanical and shape memory properties due to inter-molecular interactions. This review provides a timely introduction to the emerging advantages of FCPCM over traditional composite PCMs for BTMS applications. Finally, the challenges and difficulties encountered in the application of FCPCM in batteries are pointed out, and an outlook on future research directions is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The research progress of flexible composite phase change materials in BTMS applications is integrated. • The methods of PCM to enhance heat transfer performance and safety performance are summarized. • The flexible mechanism of FCPCM in BTMS is discussed in terms of molecular structure, interactions and mechanistic aspects. • The challenges of FCPCM in inorganic material development, recyclability and protection performance are presented. The trend for electric vehicles to replace traditional fuel vehicles is becoming increasingly apparent with the global tendency towards carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. As the core of electric vehicles, the working safety of lithium-ion batteries is becoming more and more important. This review presents an overview of the battery thermal management system (BTMS) based on flexible composite phase change materials (FCPCM), which discusses the flexibility generation mechanism of FCPCM for BTMS in terms of molecular structure, interactions and mechanistic aspects. Before introducing FCPCM, this review summarizes the approaches of phase change materials (PCM) in enhancing thermal conductivity, anti-leakage performance and safety performance. However, there are still defects such as strong rigidity and poor mechanical strength. The inclusion of flexible matrix could effectively improve the flexibility. Microscopically, flexibility is enhanced by the creation of the flexible structure. At the contact interface, the enhanced flexibility increases the interfacial wettability, thus reducing the contact thermal resistance between the PCM and the cell, and enabling the heat transfer performance to be improved. Due to the different flexible materials added, the microscopic mechanisms vary, including flexible structural support, physical cross-linking of microscopic molecular chains and chemical bonding cross-linking between molecules. Thermal induced flexibility enhances the packaging performance of FCPCM. Furthermore, FCPCM offers considerable improvement in mechanical and shape memory properties due to inter-molecular interactions. This review provides a timely introduction to the emerging advantages of FCPCM over traditional composite PCMs for BTMS applications. Finally, the challenges and difficulties encountered in the application of FCPCM in batteries are pointed out, and an outlook on future research directions is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new Cd(II)-bearing coordination polymer with the chemical formula of {[Cd4(meda)3(dpe)4(H2O)4]·(NO3)2·2(H2O)}n (1, H2meda = 3,3′-methylenedibenzoic acid, dpe = 1,2-di(pyridin-4-yl)ethane) has been successfully prepared by reaction of Cd(NO3)·4H2O with a V-shape carboxyl ligand H2meda along with the linear dipyridine ligand dpe under the hydrothermal conditions. Due to its intensive luminescence, complex 1 could be utilized as the sensor of detecting Al3+ ion, and its detection limit is 4 × 10−6 M. Firstly, the toxicity of the compound on the normal liver cells was determined with Cell Counting Kit-8 detection kit. The triglyceride in liver cells was detected by detection kit after compound treatment and the relative expression of 15-lox and 12-lox in L02 cells was also measured by RT-PCR after compound treatment. In addition, multiple functional groups that provided by the synthesized Cd(II) complex have been studied by using molecular docking simulation for the confirmation of possible binding modes that formed between ligand and receptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Bernese periacetabular osteotomy (PAO), an effective treatment for patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), is characterized by wide exposure, cancellous bone surgery, and difficult techniques. In addition, the hip joint is deep and of rich muscles and neurovascular supply, which significantly increases bleeding. For patients who had combined proximal femoral osteotomy (PFO), the blood loss may be tremendous. The blood management for PAO is still challenging. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of multi‐modal blood management for PAO and PAO combined with PFO. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients who had PAO with or without combined procedures from June 2010 to December 2018 in our department. The multi‐modal blood management protocol included three parts: (i) pre‐operation – autologous component blood donation and iron supplement/erythropoietin; (ii) during operation – controlled hypotension anesthesia, intraoperative auto‐blood transfusion, tranexamic acid (20 mg/kg, IV / 0.5 g local), and standardized surgical procedure to shorten surgical time; and (iii) post‐operation – no drainage used, selective allo‐blood transfusion, and ice packing technique. As the lacking of the above standard blood management protocol during PAO or PAO + PFO initially, we divided all the patients into three groups: Group A (PAO) – before protocol started, 74 hips; Group B (PAO) – after protocol finalized, 178 hips; Group C (PAO + PFO) – after protocol finalized, 55 hips. The intraoperative blood loss, surgical time, allo‐transfusion rate, pre‐ and postoperative hemoglobin were compared among groups. Results: Both the general characteristics and preoperative hemoglobin were comparable among the three groups (P < 0.001). The intraoperative blood loss was 797.1 ± 312.2, 381.7 ± 144.0 and 544.1 ± 249.1 mL, respectively. The surgical time was 109.6 ± 18.5, 80.2 ± 20.0 and 154.3 ± 44.7 min, respectively. The allo‐transfusion rate was 86.5%, 0%, and 2%, respectively. The mean decreased value of hemoglobin on the first postoperative day of group B and group C was greater than that of group A, which was associated with the higher allo‐transfusion rate of group A. However, on the third postoperative day, the mean decreased value of hemoglobin of group B was less than that of group A and group C. Conclusion: Perioperative multi‐modal blood management for PAO or PAO + PFO can significantly decrease intraoperative blood loss, reduce allo‐transfusion rate from over 80% to 0%, and ensure the rapid recovery of postoperative hemoglobin level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antipsychotic drugs are the most commonly used treatment for schizophrenia. How antipsychotics affect brain function so as to improve clinical symptoms is still poorly understood. How brain works at rest reflects the inherent activity pattern of the brain in the resting state which is a foundation of all cognitive activities. To learn how antipsychotics affect brain function is helpful to understand the pathogenesis of mental illness and to seek better therapeutic targets. In this article, the changes of resting state brain area activities, brain network functional connectivities and the topology characteristics of whole brain functional network in the patients with schizophrenia before and after antipsychotic treatment are reviewed, and the future prospect is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore genetic variations in duck circovirus (DuCV) and the molecular epidemiology of its infection, tissue samples were collected from 219 dead ducks from 20 farms in the central and eastern regions of China. All farms tested positive for DuCV, with duck‐origin goose parvovirus, reovirus and Tembusu virus having co‐infection rates of 100%, 0% and 0%, respectively. A total of 20 strains from the DuCV‐positive flock were sequenced. The total sequence length was 1987–1996 nt, and the sequences shared 82% (JX499186, DuCV2 from Sichuan province, China) to 99.7% (KY328304, DuCV1 from Shandong Province, China) sequence identity with DuCV sequences available in GenBank. Hyper‐variable regions were mainly located in open reading frame (ORF)2, ORF3 and intergenic regions. The tertiary structure of ORF2 from four provinces (Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang and Fujian) in China showed a canonical viral jelly roll and the antigenic epitope of ORF2 located in the bulge of the protein surface. Overall, 15 of the 20 DuCV strains are possibly derived through inter‐genotypic and intragenotypic recombination. Based on sequence and phylogenetic analyses, six strains from Fujian Province clustered into a novel genotype—DuCV‐1d. These findings may enrich our understanding of DuCV evolution and circulation and lay the foundation for vaccine strain selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and fabrication of conductive hydrogels with high stretchability, compressibility, self-healing properties and good adhesion remains a significant challenge. We have fabricated composite hydrogels by random polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and dopamine (DA) in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The π-π interaction between DA and MWCNTs makes MWCNTs stably and homogenously dispersed in water. The fabricated PAA-PDA/CNT composite hydrogels possess relatively high mechanical strength (maximum Young's modulus: 800 kPa) and can be stretched to 1280% strain and compressed to 80% strain. The multiple hydrogen bonding formed between functional groups of PAA-PDA and MWCNTs can effectively dissipate energy and quickly achieve self-healing. The composite hydrogels also show good adhesion and can easily adhere to various inorganic or organic surfaces. In addition, the hydrogel reveals stable strain sensitivity and can be used as skin sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the port rate of the mainstream high-performance interconnection network reaches 100~400 Gbps, and the single channel rate reaches 25~50 Gbps. For the data transmission at this rate, Forward Error Correction (FEC) coding is a necessary technology to improve the reliability. The Ethernet international standard IEEE 802. 3 uses Forward Error Correction codes RS(528,514) and RS(544,514), but these two code types are difficult to meet the performance requirements of high-performance interconnect networks in terms of low latency. Firstly, this paper analyzes the encoding and decoding structures of RS code and quantitatively studies the relationship between RS code type parameters and encoding and decoding delays. Secondly, a new coding type RS(271,257) for low-latency high-performance interconnection network is proposed, and its advantages and disadvantages in bandwidth consumption and error correction capability are compared. Finally, based on RS(271,257), this paper implements the network coding sub-layer and performs the resource consumption evaluation and delay performance simulation. Considering the factors of resource consumption, error correction ability and delay performance, RS (271, 257) is an ideal low-latency forward error correction coding type, which can meet the design requirements of the current HPC-oriented low-latency high-performance interconnection network coding sub-layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transmembrane protein channels are an important inspiration for the design of artificial ion channels. Their dipolar structure helps overcome the high energy barrier to selectively translocate water and ions sharing one pathway, across the cell membrane. Herein, we report that the amino‐imidazole (Imu) amphiphiles self‐assemble via multiple H‐bonding to form stable artificial Cl−‐channels within lipid bilayers. The alignment of water/Cl− wires influences the conduction of ions, envisioned to diffuse along the hydrophilic pathways; at acidic pH, Cl−/H+ symport conducts along a partly protonated channel, while at basic pH, higher Cl−/OH− antiport translocate through a neutral channel configuration, which can be greatly activated by applying strong electric field. This voltage/pH regulated channel system represents an unexplored alternative for ion‐pumping along artificial ion‐channels, parallel to that of biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Surgical resection and adjunct chemotherapy or radio-therapy has been applied for the therapy of superficial malignant tumor in clinics. Whereas, there are still some problems limit its clinical use, such as severe pains and side effect. Thus, it is urgent need to develop effective, minimally invasive and low toxicity therapy stagey for superficial malignant tumor. Topical drug administration such as microneedle patches shows the advantages of reduced systemic toxicity and nimble application and, as a result, a great potential to treat superficial tumors. Methods: In this study, microneedle (MN) patches were fabricated to deliver photosensitizer IR820 and chemotherapy agent cisplatin (CDDP) for synergistic chemo-photodynamic therapy against breast cancer. Results: The MN could be completely inserted into the skin and the compounds carrying tips could be embedded within the target issue for locoregional cancer treatment. The photodynamic therapeutic effects can be precisely controlled and switched on and off on demand simply by adjusting laser. The used base material vinylpyrrolidone—vinyl acetate copolymer (PVPVA) is soluble in both ethanol and water, facilitating the load of both water-soluble and water-insoluble drugs. Conclusions: Thus, the developed MN patch offers an effective, user-friendly, controllable and low-toxicity option for patients requiring long-term and repeated cancer treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transmembrane protein channels are an important inspiration for the design of artificial ion channels. Their dipolar structure helps overcome the high energy barrier to selectively translocate water and ions sharing one pathway, across the cell membrane. Herein, we report that the amino‐imidazole (Imu) amphiphiles self‐assemble via multiple H‐bonding to form stable artificial Cl−‐channels within lipid bilayers. The alignment of water/Cl− wires influences the conduction of ions, envisioned to diffuse along the hydrophilic pathways; at acidic pH, Cl−/H+ symport conducts along a partly protonated channel, while at basic pH, higher Cl−/OH− antiport translocate through a neutral channel configuration, which can be greatly activated by applying strong electric field. This voltage/pH regulated channel system represents an unexplored alternative for ion‐pumping along artificial ion‐channels, parallel to that of biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In Orchidaceae, pollination is mostly animal‐mediated, and one‐third of species have evolved a deceptive pollination mechanism without rewards. Cypripedium is a representative lineage of nonrewarding orchids restricted to temperate regions. Cypripedium subtropicum flowers are pollinated by hoverflies and have hairy tufts that visually resemble an aphid colony covered with honey dew.We recorded the behavior of hoverflies on the flowers, determined the breeding system of the species and the structure of hairy tufts, and investigated the roles of hairy tufts and floral volatiles in this specialized pollination by using pollination experiments, scanning electron microscopy, bioassays and chemical analyses.The white hairy tufts covering the sidelobes of the labellum provide edible rewards and serve as crucial visual lures for hoverflies. The flowers emit primarily (E)‐β‐farnesene and a smaller amount of β‐pinene that were found to attract hoverflies.Our results suggest that C. subtropicum uses both visual mimicry of an aphid‐colonized labellum with a reward and chemical mimicry of aphid alarm pheromones to attract hoverflies for pollination. This is the first described example of a rewarding mimicry system in plants, where the models are animals with their secretions and the reward is similar in nutrients to that of the model mimicked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Due to the unexpected side effects of the iodinated contrast agents, novel contrast agents for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging are urgently needed. Nanoparticles made by heavy metal elements are often employed, such as gold and bismuth. These nanoparticles have the advantages of long in vivo circulation time and tumor targeted ability. However, due to the long residence time in vivo, these nanoparticles may bring unexpected toxicity and, the preparation methods of these nanoparticles are complicated and time—consuming. Methods: In this investigation, a small molecular bismuth chelate using diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DPTA) as the chelating agent was proposed to be an ideal CT contrast agent. Results: The preparation method is easy and cost—effective. Moreover, the bismuth agent show better CT imaging for kidney than iohexol in the aspect of improved CT values. Up to 500 µM, the bismuth agent show negligible toxicity to L02 cells and negligible hemolysis. And, the bismuth agent did not induce detectable morphology changes to the main organs of the mice after intravenously repeated administration at a high dose of 250 mg/kg. The pharmacokinetics of the bismuth agent follows the first—order elimination kinetics and, it has a short half—life time of 0.602 h. The rapid clearance from the body promised its excellent biocompatibility. Conclusions: This bismuth agent may serve as a potential candidate for developing novel contrast agent for CT imaging in clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate intestinal toxicity in rats and the effects of Nano-cerium dioxide on intestinal flora in rats after oral sub-chronic exposure. Method: Forty healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: a control group (deionized water) and three groups treated with different doses of Nano-ceria (e.g., 20 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 500 mg/kg), with 10 rats in each group. The rats were given intragastric administrations (every other day) for 90 days. After the last intragastric administration, fresh fecal samples were collected by pressing the abdomen, and the animals were sacrificed. Jejunum, ileum and cecum tissues were retained for pathological analysis by Hematoxylin-eosin staining. The stool samples of rats were sequenced by the Illumina NovaSeq sequencing platform, and the sequencing results were further analyzed by QIIME2 software. Results: The histopathology results show that compared with the control group, in the middle- and high-dose groups, epithelial tissue was shed, lamina propria glandular structures were damaged or disappeared, and large numbers of inflammatory cells were distributed in the mucosa. The intestinal flora results show that there were no significant differences in the α-/β-diversities in each Nano-ceria-treated group compared with the control group (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the intestinal pathogenic bacteria, Mucispirillum and Streptococcus increased significantly after Nano-cerium dioxide ingestion, while Weissella decreased. The abundances of Akkermansia in all Nano-ceria-treated groups were higher than those in the control group, but the abundances decreased with increasing dose. MetagenomesSeq analysis show that, compared with the control group, the abundances of S24-7, Lactobacillus and Clostridiales in all experimental groups significantly decreased. Conclusions: The sub-chronic toxicity of Nano-cerium dioxide to rats can affect the structure and abundance of intestinal microflora, long-term exposure to high doses (>100 mg/kg) causes enteritis, but there was no significant difference in the diversity of gut microbiota. Therefore, we infer that the enteritis in rats may be associated with the relative ratios of the pathogenic bacteria and intestinal probiotics, and increased of the intestinal pathogenic bacteria can disrupted intestinal homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]