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The continual progress pace of the development of the Wi-Fi generations may not fulfill the expected tremendous data growth of future smart-home network devices and applications. Throughout this article, we show a comprehensive design of the futuristic smart-home network that distributes massive data for indoor devices while fully supporting intelligent functions. We start by drawing a vision for various application scenarios of information and communication technologies in smart-home networks beyond the 2030s. Then, we appraise the technical specifications of the candidate intelligent home network. To achieve these technological speculations, we propose a novel holistic networking solution that is efficient and intelligent from service and operation perspectives. Specifically, we detail the proposed network architecture, elements, and enabling technologies. To accelerate the research progress and implementation, we further point out the future research directions. Finally, we discuss the non-technological factors that could affect the future deployment of the proposed network solution.

Abstract Background High-mobility group B1 (HMGB1) is both a DNA binding nuclear factor modulating transcription and a crucial cytokine that mediates the response to both infectious and noninfectious inflammation such as autoimmunity, cancer, trauma, and ischemia reperfusion injury. HMGB1 has been proposed to control ribosome biogenesis, similar as the other members of a class of HMGB proteins. Results Here, we report that HMGB1 selectively promotes transcription of genes involved in the regulation of transcription, osteoclast differentiation and apoptotic process. Improved RNA immunoprecipitation by UV cross-linking and deep sequencing (iRIP-seq) experiment revealed that HMGB1 selectively bound to mRNAs functioning not only in signal transduction and gene expression, but also in axon guidance, focal adhesion, and extracellular matrix organization. Importantly, HMGB1-bound reads were strongly enriched in specific structured RNAs, including the domain II of 28S rRNA, H/ACA box snoRNAs including snoRNA63 and scaRNAs. RTL-P experiment showed that overexpression of HMGB1 led to a decreased methylation modification of 28S rRNA at position Am2388, Cm2409, and Gm2411. We further showed that HMGB1 overexpression increased ribosome RNA expression levels and enhanced protein synthesis. Conclusion Taken together, our results support a model in which HMGB1 binds to multiple RNA species in human cancer cells, which could at least partially contribute to HMGB1-modulated rRNA modification, protein synthesis function of ribosomes, and differential gene expression including rRNA genes. These findings provide additional mechanistic clues to HMGB1 functions in cancers and cell differentiation.

CDT1, a gene that shows excessive expression in various malignancies, functions as a pivotal regulator of replication licensing. In this study, we observed a positive correlation in expression between CDT1 and E2F2 among patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Our findings substantiated that E2F2 directly interacted with the promoter region of CDT1, as confirmed by ChIP-qPCR assays, and depletion of E2F2 resulted in a downregulation of CDT1 expression in LUAD cell lines by gene interference technology. Furthermore, we identified an upregulation of CDT1 mRNA level in Chinese LUAD samples. Notably, in the loss-of-function assays, depletion of CDT1 in LUAD cell lines inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Concurrently, it promoted cell apoptosis and induced G0/G1 phase arrest using MTT, flow cytometry, and Transwell assays, reinforcing its role as an oncogene.Furthermore, enhanced tumor ablation was determined in a CDT1-downregulated LUAD tumor-bearing nude mouse model. Collectively, our results strongly suggest that E2F2 positively regulates CDT1 expression and actively participates in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma, thereby providing valuable insights into identifying novel therapeutic targets for LUAD treatment.

Abstract Reconfigurable metasurfaces have exhibited significant potential in wireless communication owing to their capacity to transmit information without relying on traditional complex radio frequency (RF) chain transmitters. Nonetheless, the majority of metasurface‐based wireless communication systems modulate signals only in the time domain. Here, an amplitude‐phase reconfigurable metasurface is proposed to establish a wireless communication system that can simultaneously transmit different messages to users by encoding digital signals within the spatial domain. By changing the bias voltages of varactors integrated in the meta‐atom, the reconfigurable metasurface can achieve independent 3‐bit phase and 1‐bit amplitude coding. Through a beamforming methodology, the proposed metasurface generates diverse scattering beams with suppressed sidelobe levels, which not only enables multiple channels through space coding but also reduces signal leakage in undesired directions. Numerical simulations and experiments are carried out to verify the beamforming scheme, and a dual‐channel wireless communication system is established. The results show that two distinct images can be simultaneously retrieved by two separate users, which demonstrates the dual‐channel transmission capability of the wireless communication system. The proposed strategy opens up an avenue for implementing multi‐channel wireless communication systems, which indicates its great potential in multiple‐user collaborative wireless communication and radar systems.

BackgroundMalignant tumors of the digestive system pose a serious threat to human health due to their highly malignant nature. Depression, as the most common psychiatric symptom of digestive system tumors, has attracted much attention regarding its potential relationship with these tumors. A thorough investigation into the connection between digestive system tumors and depression is extremely important for strengthening patients’ quality of life and treatment outcomes.MethodsFrom 2014 to 2023, we conducted a literature search using specific keywords in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and performed visual analysis of the selected literature using Microsoft Excel, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer software. In this study, we analyzed countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords.ResultsA total of 384 research articles on the relationship between digestive system tumors and depression were identified. The number of publications showed a gradual increase over time. In terms of disciplinary distribution, Oncology, Health Care Sciences Services, and Medicine General Internal ranked top in terms of publication volume. In terms of geographical distribution, China and the United States were the countries contributing the most publications. Additionally, Maastricht University contributed the most publications. Regarding authors, Beekman, Aartjan T.F. and Dekker, Joost had the highest number of publications, while Zigmond, A.S. had the most citations. It is worth mentioning that Supportive Care in Cancer was the journal with the most publications in this field. In terms of keyword analysis, research mainly focused on mechanisms and treatment strategies related to the relationship between digestive system tumors and depression.ConclusionThe relationship between digestive system tumors and depression has become a new research hotspot in recent years, offering new directions for future research. This research reveals novel perspectives on comprehending the connection between the two, which can guide future research and practice.

This paper explores the potential near-field beamforming (NFBF) in integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems with extremely large-scale arrays (XL-arrays). The large-scale antenna arrays increase the possibility of having communication users and targets of interest in the near field of the base station (BS). The paper first establishes the models of near-field spherical waves and far-field plane waves. With the models, we analyze the near-field beam focusing ability and the far-field beam steering ability by finding the gain-loss mathematical expression caused by the far-field steering vector mismatch in the near-field case. Subsequently, we analyzed the performance degradation caused by traditional far-field beamforming in the near field for both communication and sensing. We formulate the transceiver NFBF design problem as maximizing the sensing signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) while ensuring the required communication quality-of-service (QoS) and total power constraint. We decompose it into two subproblems and solve them using the generalized Rayleigh entropy theory and the Semi-Definite Relaxation (SDR) technique. Additionally, we prove the attainability of the optimal solution for SDR. Additionally, a low-complexity design scheme is proposed as an alternative to the SDR approach for obtaining transmit beamforming. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed NFBF scheme, demonstrating its capability to manage co-angle interference and enhance both communication and sensing performance.

With the advantages of large electro-optical coefficient, wide transparency window, and strong optical confinement, thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) technique has enabled the development of various high-performance optoelectronics devices, ranging from the ultra-wideband electro-optic modulators to the high-efficient quantum sources. However, the TFLN platform does not natively promise lasers and photodiodes. This study presents an InP/InGaAs modified uni-traveling carrier (MUTC) photodiodes heterogeneously integrated on the TFLN platform with a record-high 3-dB bandwidth of 110 GHz and a responsivity of 0.4 A/W at a 1,550-nm wavelength. It is implemented in a wafer-level TFLN-InP heterogeneous integration platform and is suitable for the large-scale, multi-function, and high-performance TFLN photonic integrated circuits.

Abstract Ligusticum chuanxiong (LC) has been widely used for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. LC Hort extraction (LCE) can regulate high‐fat‐diet (HFD)‐induced lipid metabolic disorders (LMDs). However, the potential mechanism of LCE alleviates LMDs has not been entirely determined. This study aimed to investigate the potential effect of LCE in regulating LMDs and reveal its intervention mechanism. LCE was used as the alternative constituent to intervene in HFD‐induced LMDs. LCE antioxidant activity, toxicity, and the effects on serum lipid metabolism index were also determined. The potential intervention mechanism was investigated using the transcriptome analysis. Results confirmed that LCE administration remarkably decreased mice body weight, serum lipid indexes (total cholesterol [TC], triglyceride, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, nonesterified fatty acid, and total bile acid), and liver malondialdehyde levels. LCE intervention increased the serum high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration and LPS enzyme activities, and LCE was nontoxic. The liver antioxidantive enzymes, such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione, lipoprotein lipase, and hepatic lipase, were enhanced. RNA‐seq Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis confirmed that LCE was mainly involved in the lipid metabolism–related signaling pathways, especially for cholesterol biogenesis and metabolic signaling pathways. Besides, genes, such as Cyp51, Msoml, Apof, Pmvk, Nsdh1, ApoA‐1, ApoC‐1, and Lcat, might have been upregulated, thus further inhibiting cholesterol synthesis. By upregulating genes related to the bile acid signaling pathway, such as CYP7A1, CYP27A1, and ABCG5/8, the conversion of TC into bile acid was accelerated, and cholesterol levels decreased. LCE could serve as an alternative Chinese medicine for alleviating HFD‐induced LMDs symptoms through multichannel interactions. This study provides a reference for exploring new functions of LC, especially for regulating LMDs.

Orthopedic delayed and late infections are devastating afflictions for patients who have undergone implantation. Even though versatile antibacterial modification on medical devices brought the hope of eradicating pathogenic bacteria. The synthesis of late-term antibacterial properties with total morphosynthesis on medical devices nonetheless remains an elusive goal. Herein, we utilize a mineralized strategy coupled with ion exchange to generate lamellar-type magnesium calcium phosphate thin films with a three-step pathway: Construction of nanofiber porous structure on the substrate as ions reservoir, incorporation of magnesium substitutional transition sodium titanate layer, and mineralization of a lamellar calcium phosphate coating. Synthetic lamellar coatings exhibit excellent osteointegration effects in infectious scenarios. More importantly, the underlying transition layer can blow up the possible delayed infection like a landmine after the upper calcium phosphate coating is degraded under the physiological environment. This work highlights the pivotal role of the magnesium ions in mediating the growth of the total morphosynthesis of calcium phosphate coating and the underlying magnesium titanate layer in ensuring the possibility to eliminate delayed infections under time-dependent degradation.

BackgroundDevelopmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) is a condition characterized by severe seizures and a range of developmental impairments. Pathogenic variants in KCNQ2, encoding for potassium channel subunit, cause KCNQ2-related DEE. This study aimed to examine the relationships between genotype and phenotype in KCNQ2-related DEE.MethodsIn total, 12 patients were enrolled in this study for genetic testing, clinical analysis, and developmental evaluation. Pathogenic variants of KCNQ2 were characterized through a whole-cell electrophysiological recording expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The expression levels of the KCNQ2 subunit and its localization at the plasma membrane were determined using Western blot analysis.ResultsSeizures were detected in all patients. All DEE patients showed evidence of developmental delay. In total, 11 de novo KCNQ2 variants were identified, including 10 missense variants from DEE patients and one truncating variant from a patient with self-limited neonatal epilepsy (SeLNE). All variants were found to be loss of function through analysis of M-currents using patch-clamp recordings. The functional impact of variants on M-current in heteromericKCNQ2/3 channels may be associated with the severity of developmental disorders in DEE. The variants with dominant-negative effects in heteromeric channels may be responsible for the profound developmental phenotype.ConclusionThe mechanism underlying KCNQ2-related DEE involves a reduction of the M-current through dominant-negative effects, and the severity of developmental disorders in DEE may be predicted by the impact of variants on the M-current of heteromericKCNQ2/3 channels.

Taking cold-press Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge oil as material, the effects of antioxidants on the oxidation stability were studied by Schaal oven test according to peroxide value(POV), acid value(AV) and carbonyl value. The oxidation kinetic model were established with the POV determination, the effects of four antioxidants on the fatty acid compositions of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge oil at 180 ℃ were studied. The results showed that the antioxidant effects of rosemary extract(RE), ascorbal palmitate(AP) and tert butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) were in the order of TBHQ>RE>AP, and antioxidant effect of vitamin E(VE) was not significant. The fitted kinetic equation model showed that the oxidation of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge oil with blank and VE group accorded with the first-order kinetic reaction, and the addition of RE, AP and TBHQ accorded with the zero order kinetic reaction. According to the fitting equation, the shelf life of blank Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge oil was 177 d, and that of antioxidants VE, RE, AP and TBHQ were 178, 346, 341 and 425 d respectively. When Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge oil was treated at 180 ℃, RE, AP and TBHQ inhibited the increasing of low carbon chain fatty acids, saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids in the initial stage. However, the inhibitory effect disappeared after 30 hours, and there was no significant difference compared with the blank group. Unsaturated fatty acid, especially linoleic were enriched in Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge oil, it was easy to be oxidized. This study would provide certain data support for the storage and utilization of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge oil.

This paper investigates multiple parallel federated learning in cellular networks, where a base station schedules several FL tasks in parallel and each task has a group of devices involved. To reduce the communication overhead, over-the-air computation is introduced by utilizing the superposition property of multiple access channels (MAC) to accomplish the aggregation step. Since all devices use the same radio resource to transfer their local updates to the BS, in order to separate the received signals of different tasks, we use the zero-forcing receiver combiner to mitigate the mutual interference across different groups. Besides, we analyze the impact of receiver combiner and device selection on the convergence of our multiple parallel FL framework. Also, we formulate an optimization problem that jointly considers receiver combiner vector design and device selection for improving FL performance. We address the problem by decoupling it into two sub-problems and solve them alternatively, adopting successive convex approximation (SCA) to derive the receiver combiner vector, and then solve the device scheduling problem with a greedy algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed framework can effectively solve the straggler issue in FL and achieve a near-optimal performance on all tasks.

Non-local effect is an important issue for a pulse-coded Brillouin optical time domain analyzer. Segmental frequency modulated probe, with a dedicated frequency step of half the natural Brillouin linewidth of the sensing fiber, is proposed to solve this issue. It can provide a wideband Brillouin gain as well as loss in the frequency band of the pump to alleviate pump distortions and thus non-local effects. This method can narrow the bit interval towards a level limited by the time of the Brillouin gain transition due to frequency switching, resulting in a bit interval as short as 900 ns for a 225 MHz frequency scanning range. A hot spot at the far fiber end is successfully detected even the probe power reaches −3 dBm under a cumulated Brillouin gain of 267.4%.

This paper aims to make a comparison between decode-and-forward (DF) relays and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) in the case where only one relay or RIS is selected based on the maximization of the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). Our study accounts for the spatial distribution of RISs and relays, which is assumed to follow a Poisson point process (PPP). It considers two different path loss models corresponding to RIS/relays randomly located in the near-field and the far-field of the transmitter. Based on the Gamma distribution moment matching method and tools from stochastic geometry, we derive approximations for the outage probability (OP) as well as the energy efficiency (EE) of the RISs-assisted system in the near-field and the far-field scenarios separately. Under the same conditions as RIS, the expressions for OP and EE of the half-duplex and the full-duplex DF relays-assisted systems are also derived. Simulation results are presented to corroborate the proposed analysis and compare between the three technologies. Our results show that RIS is the best choice in the near-field case, regardless of the OP or EE criterion. Compared to half-duplex relays and full-duplex relays, the RIS based system is the most energy-efficient solution to assist communication. Moreover, RIS allows for an improvement in both OP and EE when equipped with more reflecting elements or more densely deployed.

Nowadays, China has developed over 38,000-km high-speed railways (HSR). As one of the key elements in the HSR system, continuous welded rail (CWR) enables higher transportation efficiency, while demands for more robust inspection and maintenance techniques. The discrimination between longitudinal temperature force and longitudinal additional force is one of the main challenges in the rail health status evaluations. In this paper, the high-birefringence fiber Bragg grating (HB-FBG) is applied to reach the rail force discriminative measurement. By inscribing the Bragg grating on a high-birefringence fiber, two kinds of sensing modes can be generated and adopted to realize the discriminative measurement of longitudinal temperature force and longitudinal additional force. In the verification experiments, the longitudinal temperature and additional force are accurately measured with the error less than 1 kN. The accurate-measurement and easy-manufacture of the HB-fiber and HB-FBG make it possible to connect massive sensors in series to reach long-range monitoring of the rails on the land or cross-sea bridges.

Abstract Background The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene family plays a key role in the immune response and thus is crucial in many biomedical and clinical settings. Utilizing Sanger sequencing, the golden standard technology for HLA typing enables accurate identification of HLA alleles in high-resolution. However, only the commercial software, such as uTYPE, SBT-Assign, and SBTEngine, and very few open-source tools could be applied to perform HLA typing based on Sanger sequencing. Results We developed a user-friendly, cross-platform and open-source desktop application, known as SOAPTyping, for Sanger-based typing in HLA class I and II alleles. SOAPTyping can produce accurate results with a comprehensible protocol and featured functions. Moreover, SOAPTyping supports a more advanced group-specific sequencing primers (GSSP) module to solve the ambiguous typing results. We used SOAPTyping to analyze 36 samples with known HLA typing from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) International HLA DNA Exchange platform and 100 anonymous clinical samples, and the HLA typing results from SOAPTyping are identical to the golden results and 5.5 times faster than commercial software uTYPE, which shows the usability of SOAPTyping. Conclusions We introduce the SOAPTyping as the first open-source and cross-platform HLA typing software with the capability of producing high-resolution HLA typing predictions from Sanger sequence data.

Abstract Background Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Chlamydia psittaci. Diagnostic tools, including culture, serologic test and PCR-based methods, are available but prone to false negative results. Case presentation This report included five cases of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia. Symptoms and signs common to all 5 cases included fever, coughing, generalized muscle ache, and most notably, inflammatory infiltration of the lungs upon chest CT and X-ray. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) revealed the presence of Chlamydia psittaci in biopsy lung tissue in 3 cases and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in the remaining 2 cases. Three patients responded to doxycycline plus moxifloxacin; two patients responded to moxifloxacin alone. Conclusions mNGS could be used to diagnose Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia.

GNSS carrier-phase-based double-difference positioning has been widely used in various precision positioning systems. This paper proposes a cost-effective scheme for an extensive multi-antenna remote multi-baseline network using a single GNSS-over-fiber system. First, GNSS signals are acquired by multiple remote antennas and transmitted to the local station through long microwave photonic links. Second, the GNSS receivers are reused in time division multiplexing mode via fast multi-port optical switches, providing enhanced temporal resolution and low cost for supporting massive monitoring antennas. Finally, compared with a single baseline, the standard deviation of the three-dimensional coordinate in the multi-baseline network is significantly reduced from millimeter to sub-millimeter level (from 2.9 mm to 0.5 mm). It demonstrates that a smaller number of receivers can support more synchronous observation loops, as well as an asynchronous group of them by fast switching, in this proposed scheme. The main contributions are twofold. First, the GNSS-over-fiber architecture is exploited and extended from single to multiple baselines, extending the spatial coverage. Second, the GNSS receivers are reused via optical switches in a fast surveying campaign, providing enhanced temporal resolution cost-effectively. This work will find applications in the large-scale GNSS baseline network, such as civil engineering and natural environment measurement.

A photonic method to generate hybrid binary digitally modulated radio frequency (RF) signals (i.e. ASK, PSK, and FSK) by using a polarization-division-multiplexed Mach-Zehnder modulator (PDM-MZM) is proposed. The PDM-MZM is driven by two RF signals with different carrier frequencies and two multiplied digital signals. By properly controlling the offsets and the amplitudes of the digital signals, ASK, PSK, and FSK signals can be generated and switched fastly. RF signals at 4/6 GHz and 10/15 GHz with switchable modulation formats are experimentally generated. Moreover, the performances of the generated signals are evaluated in a wireless transmission system and corresponding bit error rate (BER) curves of the signals are presented.

The mitochondrial genome structure of a teleostean group is generally considered to be conservative. However, two types of gene arrangements have been identified in the mitogenomes of Anguilliformes. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Ariosoma meeki (Anguilliformes (Congridae)). For this research, first, the mitochondrial genome structure and composition were analyzed. As opposed to the typical gene arrangement pattern in other Anguilliformes species, the mitogenome of A. meeki has undergone gene rearrangement. The ND6 and the conjoint tRNA-Glu genes were translocated to the location between the tRNA-Thr and tRNA-Pro genes, and a duplicated D-loop region was translocated to move upstream of the ND6 gene. Second, comparative genomic analysis was carried out between the mitogenomes of A. meeki and Ariosoma shiroanago. The gene arrangement between them was found to be highly consistent, against the published A. meeki mitogenomes. Third, we reproduced the possible evolutionary process of gene rearrangement in Ariosoma mitogenomes and attributed such an occurrence to tandem repeat and random loss events. Fourth, a phylogenetic analysis of Anguilliformes was conducted, and the clustering results supported the non-monophyly hypothesis regarding the Congridae. This study is expected to provide a new perspective on the A. meeki mitogenome and lay the foundation for the further exploration of gene rearrangement mechanisms.

As the air interface standard of 5G confirms the millimeter wave as one important frequency band for the signal carrier,millimeter-wave communication is considered as the key technique to improve the transmission performance of the mobile communication system.Firstly,the digital radio over fiber (DRoF) link in 5G application was introduced.Then,the different quantization coding algorithms applied in DRoF system were compared and summarized.In order to provide reference for the construction of millimeter-wave radio access network,the important performance indexes such as the error vector amplitude (EVM),system complexity and spectrum utilization were analyzed.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), as a class of endogenous RNAs, are implicated in osteosarcoma (OS) progression. However, the functional properties of circDOCK1 in OS have been largely unexplored. The present study demonstrated the regulatory mechanism of circDOCK1 in OS. Methods: QRT-PCR and Western blots were used to determine the abundances of circDOCK1, miR-186, and DNMT3A. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-Ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU), colony formation, Transwell, and wound healing assays were used to examine cellular multiplication, motility, and invasion. Luciferase reporter analysis, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), and pull-down assays were used to verify target relationships. Xenograft models were used to analyze in vivo function. Results: OS tissues and cells showed high levels of circDOCK1. By knocking down circDOCK1, cellular multiplication, motility, and invasion were suppressed. Furthermore, silencing circDOCK1 suppressed the growth of tumor xenografts. According to mechanistic studies, miR-186 targets DNA methyltransferases 3A (DNMT3A) directly and acts as a circDOCK1 target. Furthermore, circDOCK1 upregulated DNMT3A expression through sponging miR-186 to regulate the progression of OS. Conclusions: CircDOCK1 promotes OS progression by interacting with miR-186/DNMT3ADNMT3A, representing a novel therapeutic approach.

Metasurface-based terahertz (THz) modulators, which carry information by changing the spatial pattern of the metasurface at every symbol time, are an important component to establish low-cost low-energy–consuming THz communication systems. This paper proposes a differential spatial THz modulation (DSTM) scheme for metasurface-assisted THz communications. In DSTM, the metasurface pattern activation orders are employed to carry information, instead of the metasurface patterns themselves. In this way, the DSTM receiver can perform differential detection without knowing the metasurface response to incident THz signals and the channel state information. The proposed DSTM scheme is applicable to all kinds of metasurfaces enabling THz communications, including transmissive metasurfaces and reflective metasurfaces. For high-rate DSTM systems, we propose an efficient bits-to-activation-order mapping method and a low-complexity detection method. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed scheme. It is shown that the proposed scheme pays acceptable penalty compared to the non-differential modulation scheme with coherent detection, which needs to know the metasurface response to the incident signals as well as all the channel state information.

In this paper, a two-dimensional (2-D) vector quantization with vector linear prediction (VLP-VQ) is proposed to improve the transmission performance of the digital mobile fronthaul (MFH). Compared with the conventional vector quantization based on k-means clustering algorithm, the VLP technique can decrease the mean square error of the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) samples by around 5-50% and thereby greatly reduce the quantization noise at the transmitter. In the proof-of-concept experiment, the proposed scheme is demonstrated in a 25-km 10 Gbaud/λ four-level pulse amplitude modulation intensity modulation and direct detection system. In the 5G new radio environment, the experimental results proved the ability of the proposed digital MFH to support 27, 20, 16, and 13 100-MHz OFDM with 4, 16, 64, and 256 quadrature amplitude modulation based antenna-carrier containers at quantization bits per sample of 3, 4, 5, and 6. Compared with the conventional 2-D vector quantization, the error vector magnitude performance of the proposed scheme is significantly improved with the same number of quantization bits.

A photonic scheme to generate a 4-level frequency hopping (FH) microwave signal is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The frequency of the generated signal can be fast and flexibly switched by shifting the combinations of two binary signals (i.e., 00, 01, 11, 10). Moreover, the carrier frequencies of the signal can be tuned in a large range. In the experiments, 2/4/6/12, 4/6/8/12, and 6/9/12/18 GHz FH signals are generated with the FH speed up to gigahertz.

Background: Nav1.2 encoded by the SCN2A gene is a brain-expressed voltage-gated sodium channel known to be associated with neurodevelopment disorders ranging from benign familial neonatal infantile seizures (BFIS) to developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) and autism spectrum disorder. Interestingly, status epilepticus during slow sleep (ESES), which aggravates cognitive impairment, has been found in SCN2A-related epilepsy. However, the functional features and the relationship between SCN2A and ESES have not been researched.Method: We herein investigated the functional consequences of an unpublished de novo V911A and the other two published variants in patients with SCN2A-related disorder and ESES by whole-cell patch-clamp studies in transfected HEK293T cells.Results: The unpublished V911A and published K1933M variants detected in patients with DEE exhibited a profound gain-of-functional (GOF) change. Another published BFIS variant S863F significantly reduced current density as a loss-of-functional (LOF) change. The refractory epilepsy in the patient with V911A was controlled by using the precise treatment of oxcarbazepine (OXC) since the age of 3 months. ESES was found at 18 months during the seizure-free period. We finally chose an aggressive treatment for eliminating ESES by using methylprednisolone combined with levetiracetam and nitrazepam instead of the precise treatment of OXC.Conclusion: Both GOF and LOF variants in the SCN2A gene can lead to ESES among the phenotypes of DEE and BFIS. We should monitor the electroencephalogram regularly in the patients with SCN2A-related epilepsy even during their seizure-free period.

The olfactory system of insects is important for behavioral activities as it recognizes internal and external volatile stimuli in the environment. Insect odorant degrading enzymes (ODEs), including antennal-specific carboxylesterases (CXEs), are known to degrade redundant odorant molecules or to hydrolyze important olfactory sex pheromone components and plant volatiles. Compared to many well-studied Type-I sex pheromone-producing lepidopteran species, the molecular mechanisms of the olfactory system of Type-II sex pheromone-producing Hyphantria cunea (Drury) remain poorly understood. In the current study, we first identified a total of ten CXE genes based on our previous H. unea antennal transcriptomic data. We constructed a phylogenetic tree to evaluate the relationship of HcunCXEs with other insects’ CXEs, and used quantitative PCR to investigate the gene expression of H. cunea CXEs (HcunCXEs). Our results indicate that HcunCXEs are highly expressed in antennae, legs and wings, suggesting a potential function in degrading sex pheromone components, host plant volatiles, and other xenobiotics. This study not only provides a theoretical basis for subsequent olfactory mechanism studies on H. cunea, but also offers some new insights into functions and evolutionary characteristics of CXEs in lepidopteran insects. From a practical point of view, these HcunCXEs might represent meaningful targets for developing behavioral interference control strategies against H. cunea.

Insects’ olfactory receptor plays a central role in detecting chemosensory information from the environment. Odorant receptors (ORs) and ionotropic receptors (IRs) are two types of olfactory receptors, and they are essential for the recognition of ligands at peripheral neurons. Apriona germari (Hope) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is one of the most serious insect pests that cause damage to economic trees and landscaping trees, resulting in massive environmental damages and economic losses. Olfactory-based management strategy has been suggested as a promising strategy to control this wood-boring beetle. However, the olfactory perception mechanism in A. germari is now almost unknown. In the present study, RNA sequencing analysis was used to determine the transcriptomes of adult A. germari antennae. Among 36,834 unigenes derived from the antennal assembly, we identified 42 AgerORs and three AgerIRs. Based on the tissue expression pattern analysis, 27 AgerORs displayed a female-biased expression. Notably, AgerOR3, 5, 13, 33, and 40 showed a significant female-biased expression and were clustered with the pheromone receptors of Megacyllene caryae in the phylogenetic tree, suggesting that these AgerORs could be potential pheromone receptors for sensing male-produced sex pheromones in A. germari. The AgerIRs expression profile demonstrated that AgerIR2 had high expression levels in male labial palps, suggesting that this receptor may function to detect female-deposited trail-sex pheromone blend of A. germari. In addition, the phylogenetic tree showed that the Orco gene of five cerambycidae species was highly conservative. These results provide a foundation for further studies on the molecular mechanisms of olfactory chemoreception in A. germari apart from suggesting novel targets for the control of this pest in the future.

Abstract Background To investigate the relationships among phenotypes, genotypes, and funotypes of SCN2A‐related developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). Methods We enrolled five DEE patients with five de novo variants of the SCN2A. Functional analysis and pharmacological features of Nav1.2 channel protein expressed in HEK293T cells were characterized by whole‐cell patch‐clamp recording. Results The phenotypes of c.4712T>C(p. I1571T), c.2995G>A(p.E999K), and c.4015A>G(p. N1339D) variants showed similar characteristics, including early seizure onset with severe to profound intellectual disability. Electrophysiological recordings revealed a hyperpolarizing shift in the voltage dependence of the activation curve and smaller recovery time constants of fast‐inactivation than in wild type, indicating a prominent gain of function (GOF). Moreover, pharmacological electrophysiology showed that phenytoin inhibited over a 70% peak current and was more effective than oxcarbazepine and carbamazepine. In contrast, c.4972C>T (p.P1658S) and c.5317G>A (p.A1773T) led to loss of function (LOF) changes, showing reduced current density and enhanced fast inactivation. Both showed seizure onset after 3 months of age with moderate development delay. Interestingly, we discovered that choreoathetosis was a specific phenotype feature. Conclusion These findings provided the insights into the phenotype–genotype–funotype relationships of SCN2A‐related DEE. The preliminary evaluation using the distinct hints of GOF and LOF helped plan the treatment, and the next precise step should be electrophysiological study.

The red-necked longicorn beetle, Aromia bungii (Faldermann) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is a major destructive, wood-boring pest, which is widespread throughout the world. The sex pheromone of A. bungii was reported earlier; however, the chemosensory mechanism of the beetle remains almost unknown. In this study, 45 AbunORs, 6 AbunGRs and 2 AbunIRs were identified among 42,197 unigenes derived from the antennal transcriptome bioinformatic analysis of A. bungii adults. The sequence of putative Orco (AbunOR25) found in this study is highly conserved with the known Orcos from other Coleoptera species, and these Orco genes might be potentially used as target genes for the future development of novel and effective control strategies. Tissue expression analysis showed that 29 AbunOR genes were highly expressed in antennae, especially in the antennae of females, which was consistent with the idea that females might express more pheromone receptors for sensing pheromones, especially the sex pheromones produced by males. AbunOR5, 29, 31 and 37 were clustered with the pheromone receptors of the cerambycid Megacyllene caryae, suggesting that they might be putative pheromone receptors of A. bungii. All six AbunGRs were highly expressed in the mouthparts, indicating that these GRs may be involved in the taste perception process. Both AbunIRs were shown to be female-mouthparts-biased, suggesting that they might also be related to the tasting processes. Our study provides some basic information towards a deeper understanding of the chemosensing mechanism of A. bungii at a molecular level.

Summary: How we sense touch is fundamental for many physiological processes. However, the underlying mechanism and molecular identity for touch sensation are largely unknown. Here, we report on defective gentle-touch behavioral responses in brv1 loss-of-function Drosophila larvae. RNAi and Ca2+ imaging confirmed the involvement of Brv1 in sensing touch and demonstrated that Brv1 mediates the mechanotransduction of class III dendritic arborization neurons. Electrophysiological recordings further revealed that the expression of Brv1 protein in HEK293T cells gives rise to stretch-activated cation channels. Purified Brv1 protein reconstituted into liposomes were found to sense stretch stimuli. In addition, co-expression studies suggested that Brv1 amplifies the response of mechanosensitive ion channel NOMPC (no mechanoreceptor potential C) to touch stimuli. Altogether, these findings demonstrate a molecular entity that mediates the gentle-touch response in Drosophila larvae, providing insights into the molecular mechanisms of touch sensation. : Zhang et al. demonstrate that Brv1 is required for Drosophila larvae to sense gentle touch and mediates the mechanotransduction of class III dendritic arborization neurons. Electrophysiological analysis reveals that Brv1 forms a stretch-activated cation channel. Keywords: touch sensation, mechanosensitive channel, stretch-activated channel, mechanotransduction, Brv1, NOMPC, touch, ion channel

A photonic generation of microwave frequency shift keying signal (FSK) with large frequency tunability is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. A polarization modulator combined with a polarization maintaining fiber Bragg grating is used to transform a carrier-suppressed double sideband signal to a wavelength-shift-keying one, which is subsequently mixed with a tunable optical source to achieve frequency modulation. A proof-of-concept experiment is demonstrated to obtain an FSK signal at 9.5/12.5 GHz. The carrier frequency has been tuned from 7.2 to 14.8 GHz by adjusting the laser wavelength. Moreover, a radio over fiber transmission link is established to investigate the transmission performance of the generated FSK signal. The bit-error-rate curve of the received FSK signal at 9.5/12.5 GHz for a 5-km single mode fiber and 2-m wireless transmission is presented.

A method to generate a multicarrier phase-coded (MCPC) microwave signal is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By optimizing the angle between the transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic modes in a phase modulator (PM), an MCPC microwave signal can be generated. Compared with the other reported schemes, the proposed one has an extremely simple structure, since only a PM is required. A proof-of-concept experiment is demonstrated to generate radio frequency signals with the carrier frequency of 5 and 10 GHz simultaneously and the coding rate of 1.25 Gb/s.

The mainly subject of this study was a common Ba Duan Jin (BDJ) practitioner. The plantar pressure distribution of nine distinct regions was analyzed during the execution of the one typical BDJ movements and Normal Walking (NK). The result of the experiment demonstrated that in BDJ movements, the pressure-time integral (PTI) of the 1st MTH was the maximum and greater than other parts in BDJ movements. The peak pressure (PP) of the 1st 2nd 3rd MTH and the GT were markedly greater than in other regions (p < 0.05). The center of pressure (COP) focused on the 1st 2nd 3rd MTH, and movement displacement is little. The result indicated that the 1st MTH plantar pressure of the second type of BDJ movement relative to NK a larger, to strengthen the 1st MTH and the GT region skin sensation, improving balance control. The plantar pressure distribution characteristics of BDJ movements found in this study may be one of the important factors that BDJ exercise improves elderly balance control.

In this paper, an underlay cognitive radio system, which consists of a primary-user (PU) transmitter (TX), a PU receiver (RX), a secondary-user (SU) TX, and a SU_RX, is considered. Benefitting from the underlay mode, SU_TX can deliver its information to SU_RX by sharing the spectrum resource authorized to PU. It is assumed that SUs are equipped with a single transmitting antenna and a single receiving antenna, which are isolated, and work in full-duplex (FD) mode. By considering that the information signal transmitted from PU_TX to PU_RX may be eavesdropped by SU_TX if SU_TX is malicious, we investigate the secrecy outage performance of the PU system. The approximated closed-form expression for secrecy outage probability (SOP) and the lower boundary of the asymptotic SOP have been derived and verified by simulation results. Our results reveal the impact of the eavesdropping of the SU and the FD mode adopted at the SU transmitter on the secrecy performance of the PU system in underlay spectrum sharing mode.

Background/Aims: Nogo-B, a member of the reticulon family of proteins, is mainly located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we investigate the function and mechanism of Nogo-B in the regulation of TLR4-associated immune responses in the macrophage cell line of RAW264.7. Methods: Nogo-B was up- and down-regulated through the use of appropriate adenoviral vectors or siRNA, and the effects of Nogo-B on macrophages under liposaccharide (LPS) stimulation were evaluated via western blotting, immunofluorescence, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), flow cytometric analysis, and transwell assay. Results: Our data indicates that the protein of Nogo-B was down-regulated in a time- and dose-dependent manner following LPS administration in the macrophage. Nogo-B overexpression increased the production of inflammatory cytokines (MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-1β, and TGF-β), enhanced macrophage migration activities, activated major histocompatibility complex II (MHC II), and elevated the expression of macrophage scavenger receptor 1(MSR1), all of which suggest that Nogo-B is necessary for immune responses and plays an important role in regulating macrophage recruitment. Mechanistically, Nogo-B may enhance TLR4 expression in macrophage surfaces, activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, and initiate inflammatory responses. Conclusion: These findings illustrate the key regulatory functions of Nogo-B in facilitating LPS-mediated immune responses through promoting the phosphorylation of MAP kinase.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an effective and highly flexible polarization demultiplexing scheme based on a Stokes analyzer, which could be also applied to the nonorthogonal polarization division multiplexing (NPDM) schemes. Compared with the conventional direct detection, the proposed method has better tolerance to the polarization-dependent loss. Furthermore, such an approach can significantly enhance system flexibility without increasing cost and complexity since the transmitted signals are not required to maintain strict orthogonality, and no additional polarization-tracking feedback circuit is needed. Experimental results show that any polarization multiplexing degree that is larger than 23° can be adaptively demultiplexed after 10-km transmission using optical orthogonality monitoring and digital-signal-processing (DSP) algorithms.

Immobilization is an effective way to solve the problem associated with the application of cold-active cellulase in industrial processes. In this study, a cold-active cellulase from the Antarctic psychrophilic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. NJ64 was obtained, immobilized, and analyzed for optimal immobilization conditions. Then it was used in kelp cellulose ethanol fermentation, achieving a higher purity level of kelp cellulose ethanol. The enzymatic activity of this cold-active cellulase was 49.7 U/mL. The optimal immobilization process conditions were as follows: sodium alginate, 30 g/L; calcium chloride, 5 g/L; glutaraldehyde, 0.4%; and cross-linking time, 5 h. Under these conditions, the activity recovery rate was 51.58%. The optimum reaction temperature was at 40 °C, the optimum initial pH was 9.0, and the relative enzyme activity was 58.37% after being recovered seven times. A higher purity level of kelp cellulose ethanol has reached (37.37%). Immobilized cold-active cellulase can effectively hydrolyze the cellulose of kelp residue, which is a valuable component of cellulose bio-ethanol production and will have broad implications in the development of the ethanol industry in China.