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Abstract To study the stress characteristics of existing prestressed bolts and slope stability during secondary excavation in a slope reconstruction and expansion project, five slope centrifugal tests were conducted. Tests focused on prestressed bolt-reinforced bedding slope with anchoring angles of 10°, 20°, 30°, 45°, and 60° during the excavation phase. The test results showed that the horizontal displacement at slope top increased slightly during the excavation of rock and soil masses in the upper slope part, while during the excavation of slope foot, such displacement increased rapidly. The bolt axial force in the anchorage section decreased along the anchoring depth. The peak axial force in the free section decreased significantly with the progress of excavation, and the axial force distribution in the free section presented a monotonically decreasing pattern. The anchoring angle significantly impacted the attenuation amplitude of axial forces in the anchorage section, while having insignificant effect on the distribution of axial forces. With the increase of anchoring angle, the cumulative horizontal displacement at slope top first decreased and then increased, while the earth pressure in slope first increased and then decreased, suggesting the presence of an optimal anchoring angle for the prestressed bolt.It is suggested that graded excavation should be adopted for the secondary excavation of slope engineering. Moreover, it is recommended to appropriately reduce the rate of excavation when working on the top and foot of the slope. Additionally, the design of the anchoring angle should consider various factors, including slope slope, rock formation, and the dip angle of the weak surface.

Abstract The secondary ozone layer is a global peak in ozone abundance in the upper mesosphere-lower thermosphere (UMLT) around 90-95 km. The effect of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) from geomagnetic processes on this UMLT ozone remains largely unexplored. In this research we investigated how the secondary ozone responds to EPP using satellite observations. In addition, the residual Mean Meridional Circulation (MMC) derived from model simulations and the atomic oxygen [O], atomic hydrogen [H], temperature measurements from satellite observations were used to characterise the residual circulation changes during EPP events. We report regions of secondary ozone enhancement or deficit across low, mid and high latitudes as a result of global circulation and transport changes induced by EPP. The results are supported by a sensitivity test using an empirical model.

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system plays a key regulatory role in biological processes, such as growth, reproduction, early development, cell differentiation, and proliferation, in fish and other vertebrates. The IGF family system consists of two IGFs (IGF1 and IGF2), two IGF receptors (IGF-1R and IGF-2R), and six IGF-binding proteins (IGF-binding proteins IGFBP1–6) in mammals. By binding to the cell surface-specific receptor (IGF-Rs), IGFs activate the activity of related protein kinases, initiate the signaling cascade in the cell, and participate in the regulation of various biological reaction processes. The research on fish IGFs mainly focuses on IGF1 and IGF2, and several studies have confirmed that they are widely involved in multiple biological processes, such as growth regulation, immune response, gonadal development, and maturation. IGF3 is a fish-specific sub-type; it was first detected in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in 2008 and plays an important role in gender differentiation in many reports. However, it is unclear whether it affects ovarian development.Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is an economically valuable flatfish species that is widely farmed in Europe and China. It cannot spawn eggs naturally in captivity and needs to be hand-stripped and artificially fertilized. The IGF system plays an important role during turbot ovary maturation. In this study, the full-length turbot IGF3 sequence was obtained via RACE cloning technology, its bioinformatics characteristics were analyzed, and the tertiary structure and docking situation were predicted. The relative expression levels during the whole tissue and ovarian development were detected using qRT-PCR. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to determine the gonadal development stage. The results showed that the full-length cDNA sequence of turbot IGF3 was 1 255 bp, encoding 259 amino acids, and displayed the highest homology with halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis). A total of 33 amino acid signal peptides and 59 amino acid IGF-specific domains were found. It was a hydrophilic protein with a molecular mass of 26.39 kDa and a hydrophobic isoelectric point of 8.13. The turbot IGF3 is highly homologous with other fish. Turbot IGF3 is a hydrophobic protein, and its tertiary structure consists of three α spirals connected in series, closely integrated with IGF-1R and IGF-2R. igf3 is expressed differently between female and male turbot. In the liver, kidney, stomach, gonads, and brain, the male IGF3 expression was significantly higher than in females. In the heart, intestines, and pituitary gland, female IGF3 expression was significantly higher than males; however, the difference was not significant in the spleen. In male turbot, igf3 is mostly expressed in the brain, while in female turbot, igf3 is mostly expressed in the brain and intestine. During the five stages of development of turbot ovaries (previtellogenesis, early vitellogenesis, late vitellogenesis, migratory nucleus, and atresia), igf3 expression increased significantly in late vitellogenesis and maintained high expression in the migratory nucleus stage and decreased in the atresia stage. The results showed that turbot IGF3 has typical IGF family structure characteristics: local endocrine factors, widely distributed in tissues, significant sex dimorphism, and participates in regulating the growth and maturation of oocytes. Therefore, these findings lay a foundation for an in-depth research on the effects of IGF3 on ovarian development and oocyte maturation in turbot and provides crucial ideas for exploring the novel functions of IGF3 in fish.

Abstract Most clinical PARP inhibitors (PARPis) trap PARP1 in a chromatin‐bound state, leading to PARPi‐mediated cytotoxicity. PARPi resistance impedes the treatment of ovarian cancer in clinical practice. However, the mechanism by which cancer cells overcome PARP1 trapping to develop PARPi resistance remains unclear. Here, it is shown that high levels of KAT6A promote PARPi resistance in ovarian cancer, regardless of its catalytic activity. Mechanistically, the liquid‐liquid phase separation (LLPS) of KAT6A, facilitated by APEX1, inhibits the cytotoxic effects of PARP1 trapping during PARPi treatment. The stable KAT6A‐PARP1‐APEX1 complex reduces the amount of PARP1 trapped at the DNA break sites. In addition, inhibition of KAT6A LLPS, rather than its catalytic activity, impairs DNA damage repair and restores PARPi sensitivity in ovarian cancer both in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate the role of KAT6A LLPS in fostering PARPi resistance and suggest that repressing KAT6A LLPS can be a potential therapeutic strategy for PARPi‐resistant ovarian cancer.

Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) has become the leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. Studies have indicated that Transforming Growth Factor beta1 (TGFβ1) is the most potent factor contributing to renal fibrosis, and understanding the exact pathogenic mechanism of renal fibrosis is crucial for alleviating the condition. Previous research has identified Yin Yang 1 (YY1) as an effective inhibitor of TGF-β1. Our study, through dual-luciferase reporter gene assays and Western blot experiments, screened and obtained the small molecule compound PdⅡ. Subsequently, validation in a high-glucose-induced renal mesangial cell injury model showed that PdⅡ treatment significantly increased the expression of YY1 protein and mRNA, while correspondingly reducing the expression of TGFβ1 protein and mRNA. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay results revealed that, compared to the control group, the luciferase transcription activity of YY1 molecules increased in the PdⅡ treatment group, and the luciferase transcription activity of TGFβ1 decreased. By further designing mutations in the binding sites between TGFβ1 and YY1 on the promoter, transfecting fluorescent enzyme reporter gene plasmids with TGFβ1 mutant promoter into mesangial cells damaged by high glucose, and then treating the cells with PdⅡ, it was observed that the luciferase transcription activity of TGFβ1 did not decrease. Therefore, these results suggest that PdⅡ may inhibit TGFβ1 transcriptional activity by activating YY1, thereby slowing down the progression of diabetic nephropathy.

The rapid spread of invasive plants presents significant challenges for the management of grasslands. Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer a promising solution for fast and efficient monitoring, although the optimal methodologies require further refinement. The objective of this research was to establish a rapid, repeatable, and cost-effective computer-assisted method for extracting Pedicularis kansuensis (P. kansuensis), an invasive plant species. To achieve this goal, an investigation was conducted into how different backgrounds (swamp meadow, alpine steppe, land cover) impact the detection of plant invaders in the Bayanbuluk grassland in Xinjiang using Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) with three feature combinations: spectral band, vegetation index (VI), and spectral band + VI. The results indicate that all three feature combinations achieved an overall accuracy ranging from 0.77 to 0.95. Among the three models, XGBoost demonstrates the highest accuracy, followed by Random Forest (RF), while Support Vector Machine (SVM) exhibits the lowest accuracy. The most significant feature bands for the three field plots, as well as the invasive species and land cover, were concentrated at 750 nm, 550 nm, and 660 nm. It was found that the green band proved to be the most influential for improving invasive plant extraction while the red edge 750 nm band ranked highest for overall classification accuracy among these feature combinations. The results demonstrate that P. kansuensis is highly distinguishable from co-occurring native grass species, with accuracies ranging from 0.9 to 1, except for SVM with six spectral bands, indicating high spectral variability between its flowers and those of co-occurring native background species.

Abstract Objective Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), especially Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has been disseminated across communities and hospitals, associated with severe infections and organ failure. In order to understand the clinical epidemiological characteristics of S. aureus stains in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in 2018, the prevalence and the drug resistance of S. aureus stains were investigated, for improving the clinical effective prevention and control of S. aureus infection. Methods A total of 105 S. aureus isolates were separated from wound infection of inpatients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in 2018, and the department distributions and drug resistance of the isolates were analyzed. The genotyping homology analysis was conducted through the random amplified polymorphic DNA typing (RAPD-PCR) coupled with NTSYS cluster analysis. Results Among the 105 strains of S. aureus, 31 isolates were MRSA. The prevalence of MRSA among inpatients in the Departments of Burn, Trauma, Orthopedics, Nephrology and Neurosurgery were 35.48%, 19.35%, 9.68%, 6.45%, and 29.03%, respectively. Among the 105 strains, 35.24% strains were the hospital-acquired infections (HAI) and 64.76% strains were community-acquired infections (CAI). DNA genotyping of the 105 S. aureus strains showed seventeen different groups, most of which were type I, type VII, type IX, and type VII, the others were scattered. Conclusion This study highlights the prevalence of S. aureus strains in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in 2018. The emergence and mutation of the strains should be closely monitored for the prevention and control of the S. aureus infection and transmission in the nosocomial settings.

The aromatic compounds, including o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene, and ethylbenzene, primarily originate from the catalytic reforming of crude oil, and have a wide variety of applications. However, because of similar physical and chemical properties, these compounds are difficult to be identified by gas chromatography (GC) without standard samples. With the development of modern nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, NMR has emerged as a powerful and efficient tool for the rapid analysis of complex and crude mixtures without purification. In this study, the parameters of one-dimensional (1D) total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY) NMR techniques, including 1D selective gradient TOCSY and 1D chemical-shift-selective filtration (CSSF) with TOCSY, were optimized to obtain comprehensive molecular structure information. The results indicate that the overlapped signals in NMR spectra of nonpolar aromatic compounds (including o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene and ethylbenzene), polar aromatic compounds (benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, benzoic acid), and aromatic compounds with additional conjugated bonds (styrene) can be resolved in 1D TOCSY. More importantly, full molecular structures can be clearly distinguished by setting appropriate mixing time in 1D TOCSY. This approach simplifies the NMR spectra, provides structural information of entire molecules, and can be applied for the analysis of other structural isomers.

Gravity exploration method is one of the important methods for deep mineral resource exploration, but gravity data inversion has limited resolution ability in the vertical direction. In order to improve the vertical resolution of gravity data inversion, we propose a binary structure constrained gravity inversion method based on seismic first arrival travel time data. This method effectively reconstructs a density model with high vertical resolution by transferring the structural information of a high-resolution velocity model reconstructed by seismic data inversion to gravity data inversion through the binary structure constrained technique. This strategy eliminates the need to integrate both gravity and seismic methods into a single inversion framework, avoiding both the difference in convergence speeds between the two methods, as well as getting rid of the complexity associated with calculating structural coupling terms. Theoretical simulations show that the fuzzy c-means cluster analysis technique can accurately extract the target region of the velocity model reconstructed by seismic data inversion. Under the constraint of seismic structural information, the resolution of reconstructed density model is much higher than that of separate gravity data inversion, which proves that high resolution seismic information can improve the vertical resolution of gravity data inversion. Compared with the traditional cross-gradient joint inversion, the binary structure constrained gravity inversion method can further improve the resolution of the density model, especially in the reconstruction of the anomaly interface, which verifies that the method has certain effectiveness.

Two novel energetic compounds, 3-nitroxymethyl-5-(4-nitro-furazan-3-yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole (4) and 3-nitroxymethyl-5-(4-azido-furazan-3-yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole (5), were synthesized. Both of them were fully characterized, and the structure of 4 was further confirmed by X-ray single crystal diffraction. The thermal behaviors, detonation performances and the sensitivities of 4 and 5 were also investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), EXPLO5 program and BAM standard techniques. In addition, the electrostatic potential energy surface (ESP) was studied by Multiwfn program and density functional theory at B3LPY/6-31G (d, p). Both compounds have low melt-point, good energetic performance and mechanical sensitivity, which endow them with promising properties as plasticizing ingredients in propellant formulations.

Abstract The atmospheric response to Arctic sea ice loss remains a subject of much debate. Most studies have focused on the sea ice retreat in the Barents-Kara Seas and its troposphere-stratosphere influence. Here, we investigate the impact of large sea ice loss over the Chukchi-Bering Seas on the sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) phenomenon during the easterly phase of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation through idealized large-ensemble experiments based on a global atmospheric model with a well-resolved stratosphere. Although culminating in autumn, the prescribed sea ice loss induces near-surface warming that persists into winter and deepens as the SSW develops. The resulting temperature contrasts foster a deep cyclonic circulation over the North Pacific, which elicits a strong upward wavenumber-2 activity into the stratosphere, reinforcing the climatological planetary wave pattern. While not affecting the SSW occurrence frequency, the amplified wave forcing in the stratosphere significantly increases the SSW duration and intensity, enhancing cold air outbreaks over the continents afterward.

ObjectiveAs one of the cancers that seriously threatens women’s health, ovarian cancer has a high morbidity and mortality rate. Surgery and chemotherapy are the basic treatment strategies for ovarian cancer, and chemotherapy resistance is a significant factor in affecting the prognosis, survival cycle, and recurrence of ovarian cancer. This article aims to analyze articles about ovarian cancer and drug resistance via bibliometric software, offering new ideas and directions for researchers in this field.MethodsBoth Citespace and Vosviewer are bibliometric software on the Java platform. Articles were collected on ovarian cancer and drug resistance in the Web of Science Core Collection database from 2013 to 2022. The countries, institutions, journals, authors, keywords, and references were analyzed, and the development status of this field was indicated from multiple perspectives.ResultsStudies on ovarian cancer and drug resistance generally showed an increasing trend from 2013 to 2022. The People’s Republic of China and Chinese institutions contributed more to this field. Gynecologic Oncology published the most articles, and the journal with the most citations was Cancer Research. Li Li was the author with the most publications, and Siegel RL was the author with the most citations. Through burst detection, it can be found that the research hotspots in this field mainly focused on the in-depth exploration of the drug resistance mechanism of ovarian cancer and the progress of PARP inhibitors and bevacizumab in the treatment of ovarian cancer.ConclusionsMany studies on the mechanism of drug resistance in ovarian cancer have been discovered; however, the deeper mechanism remains to be explored. Compared with traditional chemotherapy drugs, PARP inhibitors and bevacizumab have shown better efficacy, but PARP inhibitors have initially shown drug resistance. The future direction of this field should be to overcome the resistance of existing drugs and actively develop new ones.

Abstract Purpose This study aimed to compare the value of a modified chest tube drainage strategy to a traditional drainage strategy in single‐port thoracoscopic pulmonary wedge resection. Methods From January 2019 to July 2021, we collected clinical data on 405 patients who underwent single‐port thoracoscopic pulmonary wedge resection in the No.1 Department of Thoracic Surgery at Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, with 121 (29.9%) cases in the modified drainage strategy group and 284 (70.1%) cases in the traditional drainage strategy group. The propensity score matching method (Match Ratio = 1:1) was used to reduce differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups. Results Following 1:1 propensity score matching, 120 matched pairs (240 patients) were included in the study. There was no significant difference in general clinical characteristics between the two groups. There was no statistical difference in intraoperative factors except for operative times (71.42 ± 22.98 min vs. 86.80 ± 36.75 min, p

The automatic extraction of key entities in mechanics problems is an important means to automatically solve mechanics problems. Nevertheless, for standard Chinese, compared with the open domain, mechanics problems have a large number of specialized terms and composite entities, which leads to a low recognition capability. Although recent research demonstrates that external information and pre-trained language models can improve the performance of Chinese Named Entity Recognition (CNER), few efforts have been made to combine the two to explore high-performance algorithms for extracting mechanics entities. Therefore, this article proposes a Multi-Meta Information Embedding Enhanced Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (MMIEE-BERT) for recognizing entities in mechanics problems. The proposed method integrates lexical information and radical information into BERT layers directly by employing an information adapter layer (IAL). Firstly, according to the characteristics of Chinese, a Multi-Meta Information Embedding (MMIE) including character embedding, lexical embedding, and radical embedding is proposed to enhance Chinese sentence representation. Secondly, an information adapter layer (IAL) is proposed to fuse the above three embeddings into the lower layers of the BERT. Thirdly, a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) network and a Conditional Random Field (CRF) model are applied to semantically encode the output of MMIEE-BERT and obtain each character’s label. Finally, extensive experiments were carried out on the dataset built by our team and widely used datasets. The results demonstrate that the proposed method has more advantages than the existing models in the entity recognition of mechanics problems, and the precision, recall, and F1 score were improved. The proposed method is expected to provide an automatic means for extracting key information from mechanics problems.

Abstract Background Abnormal maternal lipid concentrations are associated with increased risk of preeclampsia. However, previous studies mainly focused on fasting lipid concentrations, scarce data have been published on the relationship between postprandial triglyceride (TG) concentrations in the second trimester and the risk of preeclampsia. Our aim is to evaluate the potential of triglyceride (TG) concentrations at the time of oral lipid tolerance test (OLTT) measurement in the second trimester to predict preeclampsia and to elucidate the lipid metabolic changes related to these diseases. Methods This is a prospective cohort study of Pregnant women at 12–24 weeks of gestation undergone an OLTT in a university affiliated hospital between May 2019 and January 2020. Data were stratified into binaries according to the OLTT results. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to determine the optimal cut-off points of TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, sd-LDL, FFA, and BG for predicting preeclampsia. Results 438 pregnant women were recruited to undergo an OLTT at 12–24 weeks of gestation. Among these, 24 women developed preeclampsia and 414 women remained normotensive. Women who subsequently developed preeclampsia had higher concentrations of 4-h postprandial TG than those who remained normotensive. In the linear logistic regression analyses of potential confounding factors, mid-trimester 4-h postprandial TG concentrations at the time of OLTT measurement were significantly higher in preeclamptic cases than in controls. Conclusions Dyslipidemia in the second trimester of pregnancy, particularly postprandial hypertriglyceridemia, appears to be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia. Mid-trimester 4-h postprandial TG concentration at the time of OLTT measurement may be a potential predictive marker of preeclampsia. Trial registration Data of registration: 2018/10/15. Date of initial participant enrollment: 2019/05/01. Clinical trial identification number: chiCTR1800018884. URL of the registration site: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=25526 . Data sharing information: The data including individual participant data, detailed study protocols, statistical analysis plans will be shared upon request to the corresponding author.

As an indispensable technology of intelligent education, intelligent tutorial algorithms for solving mathematical or physical problems have attracted much attention in recent years. Nevertheless, since solving mechanics problems requires complex force analysis and motion analysis, current researches are mainly focus on solving geometry proof problems and direct circuit problems. There are some inherent challenges on developing such algorithms, including the low intelligence, mobility and interpretability of the comprehension algorithm. Therefore, this article develops a novel algorithm for solving mechanics problems. First, we propose a comprehension model for mechanics problems and convert problem understanding into relation extraction. Furthermore, a novel neural model combining pretrained model BERT and graph attention network (GAT) is proposed to extract the direct conditions of input mechanics problems. Second, a hidden information mining method is proposed for supplementing the conditions of the input problem. Third, a predicate logic based algorithm is proposed for force analysis. Finally, a solving algorithm is presented for choosing equations to acquire the solutions. Solving experiments and sensitivity analysis are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

High-quality eggs are essential for the sustainability of commercial aquaculture production. Melatonin is a potent candidate for regulating the growth and maturation of oocytes. Therefore, research on the effect of melatonin on marine fish oocytes in vitro has been conducted. The present study successfully established a culture system of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) oocytes in vitro and investigated the effect of melatonin on oocyte meiotic maturation, antioxidant capacity, and the expression of apoptosis-related genes. The cultures showed that turbot Scophthalmus maximus late-vitellogenic denuded oocytes, with diameters of 0.5–0.7 mm, had a low spontaneous maturation rate and exhibited a sensitive response to 17α, 20β-dihydroxyprogesterone (DHP) treatment in vitro. Melatonin increased by four times the rate of oocyte germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The mRNA of melatonin receptor 1 (mtnr1) was significantly upregulated in the oocyte and follicle after treatment with melatonin (4.3 × 10−9 M) for 24 h in vitro, whereas melatonin receptor 2 (mtnr2) and melatonin receptor 3 (mtnr3) remained unchanged. In addition, melatonin significantly increased the activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase, as well as the levels of glutathione, while decreasing the levels of malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in turbot oocytes and follicles cultures in vitro. p53, caspase3, and bax mRNAs were significantly downregulated in oocytes and follicles, whereas bcl2 mRNAs were significantly upregulated. In conclusion, the use of turbot late-vitellogenesis oocytes (0.5–0.7 mm) is suitable for establishing a culture system in vitro. Melatonin promotes oocyte meiotic maturation and antioxidative capacity and inhibits apoptosis via the p53-bax-bcl2 and caspase-dependent pathways, which have important potential to improve the maturation and quality of oocytes.

Abstract Background Human Ectopic Pregnancy (hEP) is the second most common cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the first trimester. Without timely detection, EPs can lead to an increased rate of infertility and an elevated risk for future tubal EPs. In addition, most studies in the field focus on the effect of the fallopian tube (maternal factors) and ignore epigenetic changes in genes and proteins of the embryo, which may also cause EPs. Therefore, the present study hypothesized that embryos also play an important role in the development of EP. The study also speculated that DNA methylation is associated with ectopic pregnancy. Consequently, the effects of DNA methylation on the occurrence and development of ectopic pregnancy were investigated. Moreover, genome-wide DNA methylation of chorionic tissue from ectopic and intrauterine pregnancies was detected using Illumina HumanMethylation450 arrays. Results Forty-three hypermethylated genes involved in the regulation of adhesion as well as gene transcription and translation were identified. Furthermore, the PPI network showed that AMOTL1, SDR42E1, CAMTA1, PIP5K1C, KIAA1614, TSTD1 and DNER may play important roles in the occurrence and development of ectopic pregnancy. In addition, SDR42E1, CAMTA1 and TSTD1 displayed higher levels of methylation in ectopic pregnancy while PIP5K1C and DNER showed low degrees of methylation. Conclusions The study reveals that abnormal increase in methylation may be an early indicator or an inducer of ectopic pregnancy. In addition, AMOTL1, SDR42E1, CAMTA1, PIP5K1C, KIAA1614, TSTD1 and DNER might play important roles in the occurrence and development of ectopic pregnancy. However, the specific molecular mechanisms are still unclear and require further studies.

The additional carbon centers in 1,3-diazinane and 1,3-oxazinane enable them to covalently bonded geminal-explosophoric groups, leading to unique energetic properties when compared with their homologous energetic structure like RDX. In this paper, a concise synthesis and comparative studies towards 1,3,5-(trinitro1,3-diazinane-5-yl) methyl nitrate and (3,5-dinitro-1,3-oxazinan-5-yl) methyl nitrate (TNOP), two energetic 1,3-diazinane/1,3-oxazinane based promising explosive molecules, are reported. The new germinal nitro/nitroxy explosophoric moieties in the 1,3-diazinane and 1,3-oxazinane frameworks lead to novel structural and energetic properties, which have been investigated through both experimental and computational methods. Densities of the obtained compounds are 1.83 g·cm−3 and 1.72 g·cm−3, respectively, along with the detonation velocities of 8714 m·s−1 and 8112 m·s−1. The energetic properties of TNNP are comparable to those of RDX. Meanwhile, the low melting point (105 °C) and excellent insensitivity (IS﹥60 J, FS﹥360 N) of TNOP make it an ideal material for the preparation of melt-cast explosives.

Introduction The role of low-dose aspirin combined with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in the treatment of preeclampsia (PE) remains unclear. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of low-dose aspirin combined with LMWH in PE treatment, to provide evidence for clinical PE management. Material and methods We searched PubMed and other databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects and safety of low-dose aspirin and LMWH in the treatment of PE up to January 31, 2021. Two researchers strictly followed the inclusion and exclusion criteria to independently conduct the literature screening, data extraction and quality evaluation. We used RevMan 5.3 statistical software for synthesized analysis. Results A total of 8 RCTs involving 861 patients were included. The synthesized outcome indicated that the differences in systolic blood pressure (MD = –10.61, 95% CI: –13.19 – –8.02), diastolic blood pressure (MD = –9.24, 95% CI: –14.49– –4.00), 24-hour urinary protein (MD = –2.24, 95% CI: –3.97– –0.50), prothrombin time (MD = 1.42, 95% CI: 0.53–2.32), activated partial thromboplastin time (MD = 2.91, 95% CI: 2.06–3.75), FIB (MD = –1.24, 95% CI: –1.32– –1.15), and adverse perinatal outcomes (MD = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.20–0.85) between the two groups were statistically significant (all p 0.05). Conclusions Low-dose aspirin combined with LMWH treatment of PE may be advantageous to improve blood pressure, 24-hour proteinuria and coagulation function, and it may reduce the adverse reactions in pregnant women without increasing adverse perinatal outcomes.

Abstract X-chromosome short tandem repeat (X-STR) markers are a powerful complementary system used for paternity and forensic casework. This study presents the development and validation of a new highly efficient multiplex-fluorescent-labeled 19 X-STR typing system, including DXS10079, DXS101, DXS10135, DXS10162, DXS6795, DXS6800, DXS6803, DXS6807, DXS6809, DXS6810, DXS7133, DXS7423, DXS981, DXS9902, DXS9907, GATA165B12, GATA172D05, GATA31E08 and HPRTB along with sex-typing locus, amelogenin. The system was validated according to guidelines issued by the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods. Allele frequency and forensic parameters were investigated from 1085 (494 males and 591 females) unrelated Beijing Han individuals, the combined power of discrimination by the 19 X-STR loci in females and males, as well as the combined mean exclusion chance in trios and duos, were 0.999999999999999995, 0.99999999995, 0.9999999995, and 0.9999996, respectively. The results demonstrate that this multiplex system is robust and reliable, and considered to be a powerful tool for forensic application.

Despite its prominent therapeutic efficacy, chemotherapy has raised serious concerns due to the severe adverse effects and multidrug resistance evoked, which propels the search for safe and green therapeutic agents. BAMLET (bovine α-lactalbumin made lethal against tumor cell) is a well-known protein-based anticancer agent of selective tumoricidal activity. Here, we prepared oleic acid-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (OA-MSNs) conjugated with bovine α-lactalbumin, a lipoprotein complex resembling BAMLET formed on the surface of MSNs (MSN-BAMLET) to load the anticancer drug of docetaxel (DTX). Compared to that of OA-MSNs/DTX, the obtained MSN-BAMLET/DTX with a sustained and pH-responsive drug release behaviors exhibited good biocompatibility and enhanced cytotoxic effect against cancer cells. Moreover, the presence of lipoprotein complex in MSN-BAMLET contributed to the improved dispersion of the composite in solution and the inhibitory effect on the migration of cancer cells. Furthermore, the adsorption profiles of protein corona on the obtained nanoparticles were analyzed. It was found that the marked low amount and abundance of plasma proteins were adsorbed on the α-lactalbumin coated siliceous composite demonstrated its long circulation property. Finally, in vivo study showed that MSN-BAMLET/DTX contributed to the effective cancer ablation and the prolonged survival. Therefore, the constructed MSN-BAMLET of the mesoregular structure and peculiar tumoricidal effect provides a manipulable nanoplatform as drug nanocarrier for therapeutic applications.

The majority of the sonic frequency bands used in active sonar detection and identification are within the resonance region of the target. The poles of target are very important characteristics of the resonance region. This paper analyzes and studies the method of extracting poles by using the matrix Pencil Method. A method which can determine the number of poles of underwater target automatically is proposed. It can average the poles that are gathered to synthesize a point as an alternative pole. Then by setting up a reasonable threshold. The poles with the higher energy in the target echo is extracted as the main pole. Aiming at the problem that the main poles of the target are missing or there are false poles in some directions, the main poles extracted from multiple directions of the target are integrated to obtain the final poles of the target. Finally, to prove the feasibility of proposed novel method echo pole extraction, the experiment was conducted in underwater spherical shell and thin rod in a silencing pool.

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen, with relatively low incidence but high case-fatality. Phytochemicals have been recognized as a promising antimicrobial agent as an alternative to synthetic chemicals due to their safety and high efficacy with multi-target sites. This study identified and characterized a novel antibacterial agent, dehydrocorydaline, in the Corydalis turschaninovii rhizome using HPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-HRMS, and its antibacterial effect with lowest MIC (1 mg/mL) and MBC (2 mg/mL) values. In addition, an in vitro growth kinetic assay, cytoplasmic nucleic acid and protein leakage assay, and observation of morphological changes in bacterial cells supported the strong antibacterial activity. Dehydrocorydaline also displayed effective inhibitory effects on biofilm formation and bacterial motility. In order to investigate the potential antibacterial mechanism of action of dehydrocorydaline against L. monocytogenes, label-free quantitative proteomics was used, demonstrating that dehydrocorydaline has multiple targets for combating L. monocytogenes including dysregulation of carbohydrate metabolism, suppression of cell wall synthesis, and inhibition of bacterial motility. Overall, this study demonstrated that dehydrocorydaline has potential as a natural and effective antibacterial agent with multi-target sites in pathogenic bacteria, and provides the basis for development of a new class of antibacterial agent.

IntroductionWe evaluated the therapeutic role of retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy in patients with ovarian clear cell cancer (OCCC).Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 170 OCCC patients diagnosed at two hospitals in China between April 2010 and August 2020. Clinical data were abstracted, and patients were followed until February 2021. Patients were divided into retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy and no lymphadenectomy groups. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to compare progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between the two groups. Statistical differences were determined by the log-rank test. The COX proportional hazards regression model was applied to identify predictors of tumor recurrence.ResultsThe median age was 52 years; 90 (52.9%) and 80 (47.1%) patients were diagnosed as early and advanced stage, respectively. Clinically positive and negative nodes was found in 40 (23.5%) and 119 (70.0%) patients, respectively. Of all the 170 patients, 124 (72.9%) patients underwent retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy, while 46 (27.1%) did not. The estimated 2-year PFS and 5-year OS rates were 71.4% and 65.9% in the lymphadenectomy group, and 72.0% and 73.7% in no lymphadenectomy group (p = 0.566 and 0.669, respectively). There was also no difference in survival between the two groups when subgroup analysis was performed stratified by early and advanced stage, or in patients with clinically negative nodes. Multivariate analysis showed that retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy were not an independent predictor of tumor recurrence.ConclusionRetroperitoneal lymphadenectomy provided no survival benefit in patients diagnosed with OCCC. A prospective clinical trial is needed to confirm the present results.

Coffee cascara is the first and most significant by-product of the coffee processing industry, whose valorization has become an urgent priority to reduce harmful environmental impacts. This work aimed to provide an improved understanding of phytochemicals and polysaccharides in coffee cascara in order to offer information for the better evaluation of potential applications. Phytochemicals in 20 different coffee cascara samples were ultrasonically extracted and analyzed by HPLC-UV and HPLC-MS/MS. Four novel compounds were isolated for the first time from coffee cascara, including two still unknown tautomers (337 Da), and two dihydroflavonol glycosides (dihydromyricetin glycoside and dihydromyricetin rhamnosylglycoside). Their presence can contribute to the design of new value-added applications of coffee cascara. Chemical characterization of two polysaccharides from two of the coffee cascara pulp samples showed that they were mainly composed of homogalacturonan, with rhamnose and arabinose as minor neutral sugars. In addition, principal component analysis results indicated that coffee cultivar and/or country significantly impacted the phytochemical composition of coffee cascara, although differences may be reduced by the external environment and processing method. It is suggested that processing method should be carefully designed when generating coffee cascara from the same cultivar and country/farm.

Background. Whether elevated triglyceride (TG) levels during pregnancy were a biomarker for postpartum abnormal glucose metabolism (AGM) in women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remained unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between TG levels during the second trimester and postpartum AGM in GDM women. Methods. This was a retrospective cohort study including 513 GDM women. A 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed, and lipid levels were determined during pregnancy and the postpartum period. GDM patients were categorized into tertiles according to their TG levels at 24–28 weeks of gestation (TG2.89 mmol/L). A logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. During pregnancy, women in the high TG tertile showed higher HbA1c levels (5.47±0.58% versus 5.28±0.49%, p=0.006), higher total cholesterol (TC) levels (5.85±1.23 mmol/L versus 5.15±0.97 mmol/L, p=0.026), and higher HOMA-IR (2.36 (1.62-3.45) versus 1.49 (0.97-2.33), p

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. The specific functions of circRNAs in ovarian cancer are yet to be established. Previous sequencing analyses have revealed an abnormal expression of hsa_circ_0061140 in ovarian cancer. The main aim of the present study is to establish the specific role of hsa_circ_0061140 in ovarian cancer. circRNA expression in ovarian cancer cells was detected via real-time qPCR. The effects on specific cellular characteristics (proliferation, migration, and the EMT) and subcellular localization of hsa_circ_0061140 were assessed via RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, knockdown, and luciferase reporter assays in the SKOV3 and A2780 cell lines. Tumorigenesis was induced in nude mice to assess the effects of hsa_circ_0061140 on ovarian cancer growth in vivo. Our results showed that hsa_circ_0061140 was upregulated in ovarian cancer cell lines. Knockdown of hsa_circ_0061140 suppressed cell proliferation and migration, both in vivo and in vitro, by inhibiting FOXM1 expression through sponging miR-370. Overexpression of FOXM1 or suppression of miR-370 rescued hsa_circ_0061140 silencing-induced inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and the EMT. The associations among hsa_circ_0061140, miR-370, and FOXM1 were confirmed via bioinformatic prediction and fluorescein reporter experiments. Thus, hsa_circ_0061140 appeared to function as a competing endogenous RNA of miR-370 that promoted cell growth and metastasis in ovarian cancer through regulation of the miR-370/FOXM1 pathway mediating EMT. Keywords: Ovarian cancer, hsa_circ_0061140, miR-370, FOXM1, cell proliferation and metastasis

A new structural type for melt cast materials was designed by linking nitrotetrazole ring with 1,2,4-oxadiazole through a N-CH2-C bridge for the first time. Three N-CH2-C linkage bridged energetic compounds, including 3-((5-nitro-2H-tetrazol-2-yl) methyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole (NTOM), 3-((5-nitro-2H-tetrazol-2-yl)methyl)-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,4 -oxadiazole (NTOF) and 3-((5-nitro-2H-tetrazol-2-yl)methyl)-5-amine-1,2,4-oxadiazole (NTOA), were designed and synthesized through a two-step reaction by using 2-(5-nitro-2H-tetrazole -2-yl)acetonitrile as the starting material. The synthesized compounds were fully characterized by NMR (1H, 13C), IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The single crystals of NTOM, NTOF and NTOA were successfully obtained and investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The thermal stabilities of these compounds were evaluated by DSC-TG measurements, and their apparent activation energies were calculated by Kissinger and Ozawa methods. The crystal densities of the three compounds were between 1.66 g/cm3 (NTOA) and 1.87 g/cm3 (NTOF). The impact and friction sensitivities were measured by standard BAM fall-hammer techniques, and their detonation performances were computed using the EXPLO 5 (v. 6.04) program. The detonation velocities of the three compounds are between 7271 m/s (NTOF) and 7909 m/s (NTOM). The impact sensitivities are >40 J, and the friction sensitivities are >360 N. NTOM, NTOF and NTOA are thermally stable, with decomposition points > 240 °C. The melting points of NTOM and NTOF are 82.6 °C and 71.7 °C, respectively. Hence, they possess potential to be used as melt cast materials with good thermal stabilities and better detonation performances than TNT.

Medium access control (MAC) protocol is an important link for achieving networks function in any wireless networks; an efficient and reliable MAC protocol is crucial for an effective underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs). Significant differences between UASNs and terrestrial sensor networks (TSNs) render the traditional MAC protocols applied on land inapplicable underwater. Existing MAC protocols for UASNs use the omnidirectional antenna, which wastes energy, restricts the network’s coverage range, and brings about unnecessary interferences in neighbor nodes. This paper proposes a dual channel MAC protocol for UASNs based on directional antenna (DADC-MAC), which increases the network coverage range, efficiently utilizes space, and reduces node interference compared to the omnidirectional antenna. The DADC-MAC protocol divides the channel into a data transmission channel and busy prompt message channel; the node uses the former to transmit the control frame and DATA package while the sending node and receiving node use the latter channel to inform the neighbor nodes of on-going communications to prevent DATA package collision. A neighbor discovery mechanism and directional network allocation vector are applied to resolve hidden terminal and deafness problems. Simulation results show that the DADC-MAC protocol could improve network throughput and reduce end-to-end delay, is efficient, performs well, and is well suited to both symmetrical and asymmetrical UASNs topology.

In this paper, we synergistically combine electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing and replica molding for the fabrication of microlenses. Glycerol solution microdroplets was sprayed onto the ITO glass to form liquid mold by an EHD printing process. The liquid mold is used as a master to fabricate a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold. Finally, the desired micro-optical device can be fabricated on any substrate using a PDMS soft lithography mold. We demonstrate our strategy by generating microlenses of photocurable polymers and by characterizing their optical properties. It is a new method to rapidly and cost-effectively fabricate molds with small diameters by exploiting the advantages of EHD printing, while maintaining the parallel nature of soft-lithography.

To mass-volume fabricate micro- and nano-scales aligned pattern, multi-nozzle near-field electrospinning (NFES) direct-writing technology is well proposed as a high-efficiency method in electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing process. However, the interference effect among adjacent nozzles and coupling effect of various parameters have restricted to investigate deposition characteristic of multi-nozzle NFES and control EHD multi-jet deposition accuracy. In order to improve the accuracy of EHD multi-jet deposition with high-efficiency printing process, the experimental result compared with theoretical method were discussed. In this work, the influence of multi-nozzle geometry distribution and electrospinning parameters on deposition characteristic was studied with multi-nozzle NFES setup, and nozzles were in linear array. The deposition distance and homogeneity of aligned nanofibers were measured and explained with coefficient of dispersion on electric field among nozzles by simulation. Moreover, deposition distance of multi-nozzle NFES process was evaluated by modified theoretical derivation based on our previous studies. The modified theoretical derivation showed a good agreement with experiment results, and indicated that multi-nozzle NFES could accurately and efficiently direct-write aligned array pattern in future.

The calculation of friction power consumption and the performance of nano-magnetic fluids in sealed water turbines have proved to be hurdles in studies on nano-magnetic fluidic device designs and applications. In this article, we investigate the imbalanced rotation Ω ≠ 1/2 ( rot υ ) of a nano-magnetic fluid suspended in a paramagnetic carrier liquid. Through Langevin and Navier–Stokes equations, the formula for the theoretical friction power consumption can be calculated for the magnetic particles in the nano-magnetic fluid. The calculated value shows a well agreement with the test result. Further simulation indicates that the magnetic field gradient Δ B sum between the tooth space (wave trough) and the pole tooth (wave crest) has the most influence on the imbalanced rotation in a sealed nano-magnetic fluid device in a water turbine. Specifically, the larger the Δ B sum , the more obviously imbalanced the nano-magnetic fluid rotation will be at that location; and the imbalanced torque will be larger, so the seal differential pressure will be as well. As a result, the sealing capacity will be better and the frictional power consumption will be larger; and the reverse is also true. This study result can serve as a reference for designs for sealed nano-magnetic fluidic devices for water turbines, which is significant, especially given the heat from friction power consumption in the water turbine and its cooling equipment.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a key factor limiting plant growth and crop production on acid soils. Increasing the plant Al-detoxification capacity and/or breeding Al-resistant cultivars are a cost-effective strategy to support crop growth on acidic soils. The plasma membrane H+-ATPase plays a central role in all plant physiological processes. Changes in the activity of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase through regulating the expression and phosphorylation of this enzyme are also involved in many plant responses to Al toxicity. The plasma membrane H+-ATPase mediated H+ influx may be associated with the maintenance of cytosolic pH and the plasma membrane gradients as well as Al-induced citrate efflux mediated by a H+-ATPase-coupled MATE co-transport system. In particular, modulating the activity of plasma membrane H+-ATPase through application of its activators (e.g., magnesium or IAA) or using transgenics has effectively enhanced plant resistance to Al stress in several species. In this review, we critically assess the available knowledge on the role of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase in plant responses to Al stress, incorporating physiological and molecular aspects.

Infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cancer. Down-regulation of E6 and E7 expression may be responsible for the positive clinical outcomes observed with IFN treatment, but the molecular basis has not been well determined. As miRNAs play an important role in HPV induced cervical carcinogenesis, we hypothesize that IFN-β can regulate the expressions of specific miRNAs in cervical cancer cells, and that these miRNAs can mediate E6 and E7 expression, thus modulate their oncogenic potential. In this study, we found that miR-129-5p to be a candidate IFN-β inducible miRNA. MiR-129-5p levels gradually decrease with the development of cervical intraepithelial lesions. Manipulation of miR-129-5p expression in Hela cells modulates HPV-18 E6 and E7 viral gene expression. Exogenous miR-129-5p inhibits cell proliferation in Hela cells, promotes apoptosis and blocks cell cycle progression in Hela cells. SP1 is a direct target of miR-129-5p in Hela cells. This study is the first report of a cellular miRNA with anti-HPV activity and provides new insights into regulatory mechanisms between the HPV and the IFN system in host cells at the miRNA level.

BACKGROUND: It has long been proposed that early embryos and reproductive organs exhibit similar gene expression profiles. However, whether this similarity is propagated to the protein level remains largely unknown. We have previously characterised the promiscuous expression pattern of cell surface proteins on mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells. As cell surface proteins also play critical functions in human embryonic stem (hES) cells and germ cells, it is important to reveal whether a promiscuous pattern of cell surface proteins also exists for these cells. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Surface proteins of hES cells and human mature sperms (hSperms) were purified by biotin labelling and subjected to proteomic analyses. More than 1000 transmembrane or secreted cell surface proteins were identified on the two cell types, respectively. Proteins from both cell types covered a large variety of functional categories including signal transduction, adhesion and transporting. Moreover, both cell types promiscuously expressed a wide variety of tissue specific surface proteins, and some surface proteins were heterogeneously expressed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings indicate that the promiscuous expression of functional and tissue specific cell surface proteins may be a common pattern in embryonic stem cells and germ cells. The conservation of gene expression patterns between early embryonic cells and reproductive cells is propagated to the protein level. These results have deep implications for the cell surface signature characterisation of pluripotent stem cells and germ cells and may lead the way to a new area of study, i.e., the functional significance of promiscuous gene expression in pluripotent and germ cells.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that embryonic stem (ES) cells globally express most genes in the genome at the mRNA level; however, it is unclear whether this global expression is propagated to the protein level. Cell surface proteins could perform critical functions in ES cells, so determining whether ES cells globally express cell surface proteins would have significant implications for ES cell biology. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The surface proteins of mouse ES cells were purified by biotin labeling and subjected to proteomics analysis. About 1000 transmembrane or secreted cell surface proteins were identified. These proteins covered a large variety if functional categories including signal transduction, adhesion and transporting. More over, mES cells promiscuously expressed a wide variety of tissue specific surface proteins. And many surface proteins were expressed heterogeneously on mES cells. We also find that human ES cells express a wide variety of tissue specific surface proteins. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that global gene expression is not simply a result of leaky gene expression, which could be attributed to the loose chromatin structure of ES cells; it is also propagated to the functional level. ES cells may use diverse surface proteins to receive signals from the diverse extracellular stimuli that initiate differentiation. Moreover, the promiscuous expression of tissue specific surface proteins illuminate new insights into the strategies of cell surface marker screening.

This article discusses the observation of vertical coupling during a major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event in 2020/2021. The study focuses on the response of the thermospheric winds and temperature to the SSW using observations from NASA's ICON and GOLD satellites. The results show significant changes in winds and temperature during the SSW, with enhanced northward and westward winds in the thermosphere and a drop in temperature around 150 km. These changes are likely caused by the SSW-induced changes in atmospheric wave propagation and dissipation conditions. The study highlights the manifestation of long-range vertical coupling in the atmosphere during major SSW events. [Extracted from the article]