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Background: Omental metastasis is the major cause of ovarian cancer recurrence and shortens patient survival, which can be largely attributed to the dynamic evolution of the fertile metastatic microenvironment driven by cancer cells. Previously, we found that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) undergoing a phenotype shift toward cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) participated in the orchestrated omental premetastatic niche for ovarian cancer. Here, we aim to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Small extracellular vesicles were isolated from ovarian cancer cell lines (ES-2 and its highly metastatic subline, ES-2-HM) and patient ascites using ultracentrifugation. Functional experiments, including Transwell and EdU assays, and molecular detection, including Western blot, immunofluorescence, and RT–qPCR, were performed to investigate the activation of ADSCs in vitro. High-throughput transcriptional sequencing and functional assays were employed to identify the crucial functional molecules inducing CAF-like activation of ADSCs and the downstream effector of miR-320a. The impact of extracellular vesicles and miR-320a-activated ADSCs on tumor growth and metastasis was assessed in subcutaneous and orthotopic ovarian cancer xenograft mouse models. The expression of miR-320a in human samples was evaluated using in situ hybridization staining. Results: Primary human ADSCs cocultured with small extracellular vesicles, especially those derived from ES-2-HM, exhibited boosted migration, invasion, and proliferation capacities and elevated α-SMA and FAP levels. Tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles increased α-SMA-positive stromal cells, fostered omental metastasis, and shortened the survival of mice harboring orthotopic ovarian cancer xenografts. miR-320a was abundant in highly metastatic cell-derived extracellular vesicles, evoked dramatic CAF-like transition of ADSCs, targeted the 3′-untranslated region of integrin subunit alpha 7 and attenuated its expression. miR-320a overexpression in ovarian cancer was associated with omental metastasis and shorter survival. miR-320a-activated ADSCs facilitated tumor cell growth and omental metastasis. Depletion of integrin alpha 7 triggered CAF-like activation of ADSCs in vitro. 8TP37CR9mn1qNp5Xi3wswY Video Abstract Conclusions: miR-320a in small extracellular vesicles secreted by tumor cells targets integrin subunit alpha 7 in ADSCs and drives CAF-like activation, which in turn facilitates omental metastasis of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae is an important fungal pathogen associated with die-back, canker and shoot blight in many plant hosts with a wide geographic distribution. The aim of our study was to provide high-quality genome assemblies and sequence annotation resources of L. pseudotheobromae, to facilitate future studies on the systematics, population genetics and genomics of the fungal pathogen L. pseudotheobromae. Data description: High-quality genomes of five L. pseudotheobromae isolates were sequenced based on Oxford Nanopore technology (ONT) and Illumina HiSeq sequencing platform. The total size of each assembly ranged from 43 Mb to 43.86 Mb and over 11,000 protein-coding genes were predicted from each genome. The proteins of predicted genes were annotated using multiple public databases, among the annotated protein-coding genes, more than 4,300 genes were predicted as potential virulence genes by the Pathogen Host Interactions (PHI) database. Moreover, the genome comparative analysis among L. pseudotheobromae and other closely related species revealed that 7,408 gene clusters were shared among them and 152 gene clusters unique to L. pseudotheobromae. This genome and associated datasets provided here will serve as a useful resource for further analyses of this fungal pathogen species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The backfill mining method is adopted in many mines around the world because it can reliably handle underground mine tailings and eliminate dangers in goafs. It is necessary to improve backfilling resource allocation and efficiency, thereby eliminating safety hazards and providing reliable support for the next stage of mining as quickly as possible. In this paper, we propose a backfill-scheduling optimization model that considers multiple processes, resource constraints, and operating capabilities. The purpose of this model is to minimize the exposure time of goafs. This NP-hard (Nondeterministic Polynomial-time hard) problem has a non-inferior implemented solution through multiple iterations of genetic, crossover, and mutation operations of the genetic algorithm. The results show that the model significantly reduces the backfilling-delay time and backfilling-operation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Denitrifying bacteria in epiphytic biofilms play a crucial role in nitrogen cycle in aquatic habitats. However, little is known about the connection between algae and denitrifying bacteria and their assembly processes in epiphytic biofilms. Epiphytic biofilms were collected from submerged macrophytes (Patamogeton lucens and Najas marina L.) in the Caohai Lake, Guizhou, SW China, from July to November 2020 to: (1) investigate the impact of abiotic and biotic variables on denitrifying bacterial communities; (2) investigate the temporal variation of the algae-denitrifying bacteria co-occurrence networks; and (3) determine the contribution of deterministic and stochastic processes to the formation of denitrifying bacterial communities. Abiotic and biotic factors influenced the variation in the denitrifying bacterial community, as shown in the Mantel test. The co-occurrence network analysis unveiled intricate interactions among algae to denitrifying bacteria. Denitrifying bacterial community co-occurrence network complexity (larger average degrees representing stronger network complexity) increased continuously from July to September and decreased in October before increasing in November. The co-occurrence network complexity of the algae and nirS-encoding denitrifying bacteria tended to increase from July to November. The co-occurrence network complexity of the algal and denitrifying bacterial communities was modified by ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and total phosphorus (TP), pH, and water temperature (WT), according to the ordinary least-squares (OLS) model. The modified stochasticity ratio (MST) results reveal that deterministic selection dominated the assembly of denitrifying bacterial communities. The influence of environmental variables to denitrifying bacterial communities, as well as characteristics of algal-bacterial co-occurrence networks and the assembly process of denitrifying bacterial communities, were discovered in epiphytic biofilms in this study. The findings could aid in the appropriate understanding and use of epiphytic biofilms denitrification function, as well as the enhancement of water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the optimal reinsurance and investment problem of the insurance company. During the optimization phase, the existence of capital deposit requires that the insurer's wealth should be above the given minimum value. The aim is to minimize the distance between the wealth and the given target at the terminal time. We first convert the value function's domain to a rectangle and then derive the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation via the dynamic programming principle. By solving the explicit solutions for the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation, we obtain the expression of the optimal reinsurance and investment policy. In the last, several examples are presented to illustrate the sensitivity analysis of different parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conversion of solar energy into heat for water evaporation is of great significance to provide clean and sustainable technology for water purification by using inexhaustible sunlight. In this field, one of the challenges comes from the design of high‐performance photothermal materials powerful in light harvesting, light‐to‐heat conversion, and water activation. Herein, it is demonstrated that rationalization of the ionic covalent organic framework (iCOF) can simultaneously satisfy these multiple requirements and a new iCOF STTP is constructed through the Schiff base chemistry in a rapid microwave‐assisted solvothermal route by using a hydrophilic dye molecule safranineT as the ionic building block. The integrated dye‐related ionic moieties greatly strengthen the light absorbance (>97%) throughout the entire solar spectrum from UV–vis to the infrared region. The framework ionic moieties provide strong polarization to reduce the exciton dissociation energy for enhanced photothermal effect, and in addition, promote sufficient water activation to decrease the water evaporation enthalpy. As an outcome, the STTP driven solar water evaporator affords a fast water evaporation rate of 3.55 kg h−1 m−2 and high solar‐to‐vapor efficiency of 95.8%. This study highlights the potential of designing iCOF materials for photothermal applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid direct carbon fuel cells (HDCFCs) are promising to achieve high power density, good fuel-electrode contact, and high carbon-fuel conversion efficiency due to increased reaction sites and hybrid routines of carbon utilization. However, the performance of HDCFC is greatly restricted by mass transfer and detrimental carbon deposition. The so-called CO–CO 2 shuttle process, i. e., the coupling of the electrochemical reaction of CO to CO 2 and subsequent discharge of CO 2 towards the C fuel surface for gasification, is the key mass transfer process needed to be optimized. This study demonstrates a novel high-performance HDCFCs anode by integrating C-gasification tandem catalysis in dendritic channel anode support (t -HDCFCs), which greatly enhances the CO–CO 2 shuttle and mitigates carbon deposition. As a result, the t -HDCFC delivers a comparable or even higher electrochemical performance than the other HDCFCs under the same operation conditions, such as a peak power density of 556 mW cm−2 at 750 °C. • Dendritic channels enhance the mass transfer of the hybrid direct carbon fuel cell. • Forming the novel tandem catalysis improves CO–CO 2 shuttle mechanism. • The cell demonstrates high electrochemical performance and rich flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with monolayer graphene, few-layer graphene (FLG) also has a broader application prospect in the fields of composite materials, conductive coatings, metal corrosion prevention and electronic devices requiring tunable electronic structures. Herein, FLG is grown on Cu foil by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and the merging of graphene domain boundary (GDB) network is directly observed by optical microscope (OM). Raman spectra and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) results show that the defect degree of graphene at GDBs is lower than that at domain interior. Raman mapping results indicate that the structure of FLG grown at 980 °C is inhomogeneous and there exist a terraced structure at the GDBs. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) results show that the FLG grown at 980 °C has about ∼7 layers at the GDBs and ∼13 layers at domain interior, respectively. In addition, the Raman spectra results also disclose an unusual phenomenon that graphene at GDBs grown at 980 °C has lower I D /I G ratios than that grown at 1000 °C. A competitive growth mechanism of the top and bottom layers of FLG is proposed to shed light on the synergistic effect of catalysis of Cu and temperature on the late growth stage of FLG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has been successfully adopted for the improvement of medical quality and efficacy in many diseases, but the effect thereof for ankle fracture patients can vary. The aim of the present study was to explore the short‐term postoperative outcomes of ERAS among ankle fracture patients. Methods: The present study was a retrospective cohort study conducted between January 2019 and May 2019. One hundred and sixty ankle fracture participations (58 males and 102 females, aged 41.71 ± 14.51 years) were included. The participants treated with open reduction and internal fixation were divided into two groups (non‐ERAS vs. ERAS) depending on whether ERAS was applied. Postoperative outcomes included American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, length of stay (LOS), hospital cost, complications, and consumption of opioids. To assess the association between the groups and outcomes, generalized estimating equation (GEE) modeling and multivariable linear regression analysis were performed. Results: The average follow‐up periods of the participations were 24 months postoperatively. No significant differences were detected between the non‐ERAS group and ERAS group with respect to the demographic of patients in terms of gender, age, Danis‐Weber classification of fracture, dislocation of ankle joint, and comorbidity (P > 0.05). Significant differences in terms of a higher AOFAS score were found in the ERAS group compared with the non‐ERAS group (6.73, 95% CI, 5.10–8.37, p < 0.001) at 3 months postoperatively (PO3M) and (4.73, 95% CI, 3.02–6.45, p < 0.001) at 6 months postoperatively (PO6M). However, similar AOFAS scores were found at 12 months postoperatively (PO12M) (0.28, 95% CI, −0.32 to 0.89, P > 0.05) and at 24 months postoperatively (PO24M) (0.56, 95% CI, −0.07 to 1.19, P > 0.05). Additionally, the GEE analysis and group‐by‐time interaction of AOFAS score revealed that the ERAS protocol could facilitate faster recovery for ankle fracture patients, with higher PO3M and PO6M (both P < 0.05). At the same time, significant differences in terms of a shorter length of stay (−3.19, 95% CI, −4.33 to −2.04, P < 0.01) and less hospital cost (−6501.81, 95% CI, −10955.21 to −2048.42, P < 0.01) were found in the ERAS group compared with the non‐ERAS group. Conclusion: By reducing LOS and hospital cost, the ERAS protocol might improve the medical quality and efficacy. The present study can provide a realistic evaluation and comparison of the ERAS protocol among ankle fracture patients, and ultimately guide clinical decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the limitation of optical images that their waves cannot penetrate clouds, such images always suffer from cloud contamination, which causes missing information and limitations for subsequent agricultural applications, among others. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is able to provide surface information for all times and all weather. Therefore, translating SAR or fusing SAR and optical images to obtain cloud-free optical-like images are ideal ways to solve the cloud contamination issue. In this paper, we investigate the existing literature and provides two kinds of taxonomies, one based on the type of input and the other on the method used. Meanwhile, in this paper, we analyze the advantages and disadvantages while using different data as input. In the last section, we discuss the limitations of these current methods and propose several possible directions for future studies in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) and N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) play important roles in ovarian cancer (OvCa). However, the mechanisms by which miRNAs regulate m6A in OvCa have not been elucidated so far. Methods: To screen m6A‐related miRNAs, Pearson's correlation analysis of miRNAs and m6A regulators was implemented using The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). To determine the level of m6A, RNA m6A quantitative assays were used. Then, colony formation assays, EdU assays, wound healing assays, and Transwell assays were performed. The dual‐luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the miRNA target genes. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis of the target genes was performed, and hub genes were discovered using the cytoHubba/Cytoscape software. The underlying molecular mechanisms were explored by bioinformatics and RNA stability assays. Results: A total of 126 miRNAs were identified as m6A‐related miRNAs by Pearson's correlation analysis. Among them, the high level of miR‐30c‐5p was associated with good prognosis in OvCa patients. In vitro, the miR‐30c‐5p agomir lowered the m6A level and inhibited OvCa cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The hub target genes of miR‐30c‐5p were identified as (i) XPO1, (ii) AGO1, (iii) HNRNPA2B1, of which m6A reader HNRNPA2B1 was highly expressed in OvCa tissues and related with poor prognosis. In vitro, knockdown of HNRNPA2B1 significantly reduced m6A level and hampered the proliferation and migration of OvCa cells. The inhibition of m6A reader HNRNPA2B1 attenuated the suppression of proliferation and migration and the low m6A level induced by the miR‐30c‐5p downregulation. Mechanistically, m6A reader HNRNPA2B1 might regulate CDK19 mRNA stability to alter m6A level. Conclusions: miR‐30c‐5p inhibits OvCa progression and reduces the m6A level by inhibiting m6A reader HNRNPA2B1, thus providing new insights into the m6A regulatory mechanism in OvCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a successful treatment for many hip diseases. Length of stay (LOS) and hospital cost are crucial parameters to quantify the medical efficacy and quality of unilateral primary THA patients. Clinical variables associated with LOS and hospital costs haven't been investigated thoroughly. Methods: The present study retrospectively explored the contributors of LOS and hospital costs among a total of 452 unilateral primary THA patients from January 2019 to January 2020. All patients received conventional in-house rehabilitation services within our institute prior to discharge. Outcome parameters included LOS and hospital cost while clinical variables included patient characteristics and procedural variables. Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to assess the association between outcome parameters and clinical variables by controlling confounding factors. Moreover, we analyzed patients in two groups according to their diagnosis with femur neck fracture (FNF) (confine THA) or non-FNF (elective THA) separately. Results: Among all 452 eligible participants (266 females and 186 males; age 57.05 ± 15.99 year-old), 145 (32.08%) patients diagnosed with FNF and 307 (67.92%) diagnosed with non-FNF were analyzed separately. Multivariable linear regression analysis revealed that clinical variables including surgery duration, transfusion, and comorbidity (stroke) among the elective THA patients while the approach and comorbidities (stoke, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease) among the confine THA patients were associated with a prolonged LOS (P < 0.05). Variables including the American Society of Anesthesiologists classification (ASA), duration, blood loss, and transfusion among the elective THA while the approach, duration, blood loss, transfusion, catheter, and comorbidities (stoke and coronary heart disease) among the confine THA were associated with higher hospital cost (P < 0.05). The results revealed that variables were associated with LOS and hospital cost at different degrees among both elective and confine THA. Conclusions: Specific clinical variables of the patient characteristics and procedural variables are associated the LOS and hospital cost, which may be different between the elective and confine THA patients. The findings may indicate that evaluation and identification of detailed perioperative factors are beneficial in managing perioperative preparation, adjusting patients' anticipation, decreasing LOS, and reducing hospital cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve these problems of poor supporting effect and serious deformation and failure of surrounding rock of mining roadway under deep mining stress, a FLAC-3D numerical calculation model is established with −800 m level no. 2424 upper roadway in the Suncun Coal Mine as the background to compare the stress, deformation, and failure law of surrounding rock of mining roadway under once support and multi-level support with the same support strength. It is found that the multi-level support technology has obvious advantages in the surrounding rock of the horizontal roadway on the 2424 working face. From this, the key parameters of multi-level support are determined, and the field industrial test is carried out. The results show that the overall deformation of the surrounding rock is obviously reduced after multi-level support. The displacement of the two sides is reduced by about 40%, the displacement of the roof and floor is reduced by about 30%, and the plastic zone of the roadway is reduced by about 75%. The peak value of concentrated stress decreases from 98.7 MPa to 95.8 MPa, which decreases slightly. The integrity and stability of the surrounding rock are excellent, and the support effect is satisfactory. The research can provide reference and technical support for surrounding rock control of deep high-stress mining roadways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of rural construction, landscape design is the basic content of rural revitalization. Ideological and political education and labor education are both important contents of the education system in the new era, which are of great significance to the cultivation of outstanding college students. The integration of ideological and political education and labor education (hereafter referred to as "ideological, political and labor education") in landscape design courses has not yet formed a complete education path. Based on the ideological, political and labor education research of landscape design courses under the background of rural revitalization, the study aims to cultivate first-class talent team for rural construction to help rural revitalization by improving the teaching quality of landscape design courses, and enhancing students' comprehensive quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal laccases play important roles in the degradation of lignocellulose. In this study, the laccase producing cotton straw medium for Pleurotus ostreatus was optimized by single-factor and orthogonal experiments, and to investigate the role of Lacc1 gene, one of the laccase-encoding genes, in the degradation of cotton straw lignin, an overexpression strain of Lacc1 gene was constructed, which was analyzed for the characteristics of lignin degradation. The results demonstrated that the culture conditions with the highest lignin degradation efficiency of the P. ostreatus were the cotton straw particle size of 0.75 mm, a solid–liquid ratio of 1:3 and containing 0.25 g/L of Tween in the medium, as well as an incubation temperature of 26 °C. Two overexpression strains (OE L1-1 and OE L1-4) of Lacc1 gene were obtained, and the gene expression increased 12.08- and 33.04-fold, respectively. The results of 1H-NMR and FTIR analyses of significant changes in lignin structure revealed that Lacc1 gene accelerated the degradation of lignin G-units and involved in the cleavage of β-O-4 linkages and the demethylation of lignin units. These findings will help to improve the efficiency of biodelignification and expand our understanding of its mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common subtype of nonsmall cell lung cancer. Cytochrome c (Cyt c), which is produced from mitochondria, interacts with a protein called Apaf-1 to form the heptameric apoptosome. This heptameric apoptosome then activates the caspase cascade, which ultimately results in the execution of apoptosis. The purpose of our research was to discover a new prognostic model that is based on cytochrome c-related genes (CCRGs) for LUAD patients. Through LASSO regression analysis conducted on the LUAD datasets included in the TCGA datasets, a CCRGs signature was created. The diagnostic accuracy of the multigene signature was verified by an independent source using the GSE31210 and GSE72094 datasets. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed. In this study, there were 159 differentially expressed CCRGs in the TCGA dataset, while there were 68 differentially expressed CCRGs in the GSE31210 dataset. Additionally, there were 57 genes that overlapped across the two datasets. Using LASSO and Cox regression analysis, a signature consisting of 12 differentially expressed CCRGs was developed from the total of 57 such genes. On the basis of their risk ratings, patients were categorized into high-risk and low-risk categories, with low-risk patients having lower risk scores and a greater likelihood of surviving the disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses both concluded that this signature is an independent risk factor for LUAD. ROC curves demonstrated that this risk signature is capable of accurately predicting the 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival rates of patients who have LUAD. The infiltration of antigen-presenting cells was higher in the low-risk group, such as aDCs, DCs, pDCs, and iDCs. The expression of multiple immune checkpoints was significantly higher in the low-risk group, such as BTLA, CD28, and CD86. Finally, we showed that the signature can be used to predict the drug sensitivity of already available or under investigational drugs. Overall, patient classification and individualized therapy options may benefit from this study's development of a powerful gene signature with high value for prognostic prediction in LUAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of tight natural resources and complex as well as volatile environments, and in order to meet the pressure brought by population growth, we need to overcome a series of challenges. As a new data management paradigm, the Earth Observation Data Cube simplifies the way that users manage and use earth observation data, and provides an analysis-ready form to access big spatiotemporal data, so as to realize the greater potential of earth observation data. Based on the Open Data Cube (ODC) framework, combined with analysis-ready data (ARD) generation technology, the design and implementation of CDC_DLTool, extending the support for data loading and the processing of international and Chinese imagery data covering China, this study eventually constructs the China Data Cube (CDC) framework. In the framework of this CDC grid, this study carried out case studies of water change monitoring based on international satellite imagery data of Landsat 8 in addition to vegetation change monitoring based on Chinese satellite imagery data of GF-1. The experimental results show that, compared with traditional scene-based data organization, the minimum management unit of this framework is a pixel, which makes the unified organization and management of multisource heterogeneous satellite imagery data more convenient and faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RNPZ is closely related to hydrodynamic characteristics. • Inhibiting the strength of RNPZ in stage Ⅲ can improve the sealing performance. • The regional evaluation of the groove helps reveal the evolution mechanism of RNPZ. • The strength of RNPZ can be suppressed by the configuration of the groove. As an advanced sealing technology, spiral groove gas face seal has excellent sealing performance. However, it is rarely used in aero-engine. Previous investigation proposed that the relative negative pressure zone (RNPZ) in the spiral groove gas face seal can regulate the sealing performance. In this paper, further numerical simulation work is carried out. By quantifying the obstruction effect, viscous pumping effect and shear effect, the evolution mechanism of RNPZ under different film thicknesses and groove depths is revealed. Then, the parametric analysis of spiral groove configuration and groove number is carried out. Through the sub-regional quantitative analysis of the groove, the influence mechanism of structural configuration on RNPZ is revealed. Finally, combined with the hydrodynamic performance analysis, the spiral groove seal structure under optimal conditions is obtained. It is found that under the condition of high speed and low inlet pressure of aero-engine, RNPZ is suppressed by adjusting the structure of the spiral groove to enhance the shear effect, the pumping effect at the top of the groove and reduce the pumping effect at the bottom of the groove. When the number of grooves is 20 and the groove depth is 3 μm, the stiffness-leakage ratio of structure B and C can be increased by 10.15 % and 12.68 %, and the sealing performance is the strongest. This work can provide a theoretical and data basis for the subsequent optimization design of aero-engine gas face seals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study makes a significant contribution to advancing smart energy management systems, crucial for effective control of energy supply and demand. Traditional methods for optimal energy management in power grids often encounter computational challenges due to the nonline ar and discrete nature of the optimization problem. In response, our research introduces a novel two-step Optimal Day-Ahead Scheduling approach for an Advanced Distribution System. This system incorporates Renewable Energy Sources, Distributed Generation units, Electric Vehicles, and Energy Storage Systems, while also facilitating surplus electricity sales to electricity markets. The proposed optimal day-ahead scheduling involves both central and local controllers collaborating to optimize a unified program. The Active Distribution System engages in electricity transactions with multiple descending energy hubs, including Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power plants. Each energy hub (EH) operator optimizes day-ahead scheduling problems, submitting bids to the distribution system operator. This unique approach integrates Demand Load Curtailment and Time-of-Use schemes as demand response programs in descending energy hubs. Addressing the inherent complexity of this optimization challenge, the study introduces a novel path-finding algorithm leveraging an improved local search operator. The application of this proposed method to a 33-bus system demonstrates significant advantages. Results showcase a notable increase of up to 193% in the benefit of selling electricity, coupled with an impressive 84% reduction in distribution system operating costs, considering base values. This contribution highlights the effectiveness of the proposed approach in optimizing energy transactions and enhancing the overall efficiency of distribution system operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the inlet temperature of gas turbine continuously increases, film cooling is commonly used to protect the blades. However, the kidney vortex generated by the mixing between mainstream and film injection is negative to the film attachment, which deteriorates the film cooling characteristics. To solve the problem, a kind of contracted double-jet hole is introduced to form an anti-kidney vortex to balance the adverse effect of the kidney vortex. By studying the flow mechanism of the contracted double jet hole in a flat plate model under different geometric parameters, the foundation for the application of contracted double jet hole on blades is established. Different injection angles including the inclination angle and compound angle were considered to improve the film cooling effectiveness and aerodynamic loss in a flat plate. The Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) method of the SST k - ω turbulence model is chosen to solve the above arrangement. The results show that a merging process happens before the anti-kidney vortex is formed and three vortices remain, causing an asymmetric distribution of film coolant. Changes of injection angle affect the flow field mainly through Vortex 3. As for different inclination angles at different blowing ratios, a best inclination angle at 30° when blowing ratio equals to 1.5. The laterally averaged cooling effectiveness reaches 0.36. After changing the compound angle, the cooling effectiveness can be improved. Film Cooling Uniformity Coefficient (CUC) is introduced to evaluate whether the distribution of coolant is symmetric. Other than the factors mentioned above, rate of entropy creation per unit volume is affected by the distance between the two legs of the anti-kidney vortex. Analysis of the entropy increase per unit in combination with a Q-criterion analysis reveals the interaction mechanism of coolant and mainstream. The region of entropy increase caused by viscous work per unit volume over 500 W/(m3·K) reveals the entropy increase cause by mainstream and coolant is mainly because of the velocity difference between mainstream and coolant and the rate of the entropy increase caused by temperature per unit volume indicates that the mainstream will be enrolled into the anti-kidney vortex pair. The analysis of the entropy increase per unit also reveals the loss mechanism of Vortex 3 on anti-kidney vortex pair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social recommendation systems leverage user–item interaction and user–user social network data to model user preferences and provide recommendations. Previous research has shown that capturing the influence of high-order neighbors and social groups in social networks can help model user preferences. However, challenges still exist in identifying important high-order neighbors from many candidates and modeling social group influence without direct information on social groups. This paper proposes a Multi-view Contrastive Learning with Social Group Influence (MCLSGI) method to address these challenges. Our approach uses a graph walk method to identify users' virtual social groups and a GNN-based framework to model user preferences in different views, capturing the influence of direct and high-order neighbors as well as social groups. We also adopt multi-view contrastive learning to fuse users' preferences in different views. We conducted experiments on two real-world datasets (Ciao and Epinions) to validate our method's effectiveness. Compared to the best baseline, we improved by 1.39% and 1.21% with MAE, and 1.79% and 0.96% with RMSE. • We highlight the importance of high-order neighbors and social group influence in social recommendation. • We propose Relation Walk to obtain virtual social groups and identify important high-order neighbors. • We propose MCLSGI to learn user preferences from different views for social recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depthwise separable convolutions (DSC) have been widely deployed in lightweight convolutional neural networks due to high efficiency. But the acceleration performance of the Graphics Processing Unit for DSC was not as well as in theory. In this paper, some approaches were proposed for accelerating DSC based on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). For the preceding layers, S2C (spatial to channel) was proposed to accelerate computing and improve the utilization rate of computational resources and bandwidth. An efficient SharePE was proposed to accelerate the DSC, which can improve the efficiency of the computing resource. The regulable parallelism approach was proposed to compute efficiently the different pointwise convolutional layers. P2D&D2P approach is proposed to reduce the external memory access. For the entire accelerating system, the pre-load workflow was proposed to reduce the waiting time of the accelerator between two images. We demonstrated our approaches on the SkyNet using the Ultra96V2 development board. Results indicated that our proposed accelerator obtained 80.030 frames per second and 0.072 Joule per image for UAV object detection, which achieved the state-of-the-art results for SkyNet. Besides, the MobileNetV2 model was implemented on a larger XC7Z100 FPGA, and the results showed our accelerator classified each picture from ImageNet in 2.69 ms. Code is available at https://github.com/AILearnerLi/DAC-SDC-2020-SEUer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Denitrifying bacteria are a crucial component of aquatic ecosystem in nitrogen cycle. However, the denitrifying bacterial community dynamics and structure in epiphytic biofilms remain unexplored. The abundance of denitrification gene (nir) and structure of nirS-denitrifying bacterial community in the epiphytic biofilms collected in July and November of 2018 from a typical plateau lake (Caohai Wetland, Guizhou, China) were studied by Real-time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing. Results show that the gene abundance of nirK was higher than that of nirS (P<0.05), and it was significantly different during the growth period (July) than the decline period (November). The denitrifying bacterial species was similar in the two months and shared 76.18% of OTUs. Proteobacteria (56.55%±22.15%) was the dominant phylum in all the samples. Epiphytic biofilms between growth period and decline period displayed significantly different microbial community structures due to differences in species abundance. Water temperature was the crucial factor that affected the denitrifying microbial community structure in our study. Environmental factors explain only partially the dynamic characteristics of denitrifying microbial communities, implying that the stochastic processes affected the construction of denitrifying microbial communities. As the null model analysis results show, dispersal limitation (stochastic) and undominated processes significantly influenced the assembly of denitrifying microbial communities. This study broadened our understanding of the denitrifying bacterial community structure and its function on epiphytic biofilms in freshwater ecosystems with new information provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignite has great potential for use as one of the major sources for both energy and chemical feedstock. However, its high moisture content extremely restricts its use. The moisture re-adsorption of the dehydrated lignite has been studied increasingly in recent years. This review focuses on the issue of the high moisture re-adsorption capacity of lignite dehydrated using various drying techniques. Experimental and simulative studies on the effects of oxygen-containing functional groups, pores, and other factors on the moisture re-adsorption of the dehydrated lignites from different countries or districts and exploratory work on inhibiting the moisture re-adsorption of the dehydrated lignite are reviewed in detail. Of particular interest is a proposal for a mechanism of moisture re-adsorption on the dehydrated lignite. Additionally, future investigations on inhibiting the moisture re-adsorption of the dehydrated lignite are advised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bottom-hinged flap breakwater is proposed for the wave attenuation and coastal protection. A series of laboratory experiments and a CFD numerical model were conducted to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics in regular waves. The hydrodynamic coefficients, dimensionless maximum point pressure and average pitching amplitude of flap were examined with the parameters of incident waves and flap property. As the incident wave steepness increased, the wave reflection coefficient K r , wave transmission coefficient K t , dimensionless maximum point pressure p max / ρ w gh , and average pitching amplitude of flap θ a increased for a given wave period; however, the wave dissipation coefficient K d decreased. As the flap relative height increased, K r and θ a increased for a given wave period; whereas, K t decreased. Furthermore, as the flap density ratio increased, K r , p max / ρ w gh , and fitted K d increased; however, K t and θ a decreased. As the equivalent damping coefficient ratio increased, K r and p max / ρ w gh increased; however, K t and θ a decreased. Additionally, a series of dimensionless parameters of incident waves and flap property were used to derive formulas for K r , K t and K d , which were validated using the related data. • A bottom-hinged pitching flap breakwater is proposed for the wave attenuation and coastal protection. • Laboratory experiments are conducted to study the hydrodynamic characteristics of the device in regular waves. • A numerical model is used to simulate the pitching motion of the bottom-hinged flap. • The hydrodynamic coefficients and flap average pitching amplitude are examined with the wave and flap parameters. • The prediction formulas are conducted to assess the hydrodynamic coefficients of the flap with an acceptable accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cardiac Drd5 leads to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and heart failure through ROS, NADPH oxidase, and mitochondrial dysfunction. • Drd5 myh6 fl/fl -creERT2 mice mirror human heart failure, filling a gap in oxidative stress-induced HF models. • Targeting Drd5 -related pathways offers potential therapeutic avenues for heart failure treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research on the discrete global grid systems (DGGSs) has become an essential issue in the era of big earth data, there is still a gap between the efficiency of current encoding and operation schemes for hexagonal DGGSs and the needs of practical applications. This paper proposes a novel and efficient encoding and operation scheme of an optimized hexagonal quadtree structure (OHQS) based on aperture 4 hexagonal discrete global grid systems by translation transformation. A vector model is established to describe and calculate the aperture 4 hexagonal grid system. This paper also provides two different grid code addition algorithms based on induction and i j k coordinate transformation. We implement the transformation between OHQS codes and geographic coordinates through the i j , i j k and I J K coordinate systems. Compared with existing schemes, the scheme in this paper greatly improves the efficiency of the addition operation, neighborhood retrieval and coordinate transformation, and the coding is more concise than other aperture 4 hexagonal DGGSs. The encoding operation based on the i j k coordinate system is faster than the encoding operation based on the induction and addition table. Spatial modeling based OHQS DGGSs are also provided. A case study with rainstorms demonstrated the availability of this scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of percutaneous anterior screw fixation for odontoid fractures has been widely reported. Because the anatomical characteristics of the odontoid and the screw occupy three‐dimensional space, it is challenging to establish the screw trajectory quickly and correctly during the operation. Objective: The purpose of this study was to introduce a multi‐holed biplane drill guide that can be used to optimize the guide needle trajectory in percutaneous anterior odontoid screw fixation. Methods: Twenty‐one patients with type II or rostral type III odontoid fractures were treated with percutaneous anterior single screw fixation. Of these, 12 patients had an unsatisfactory initial guide needle position. A drill guide was used to provide a variety of guide needle tracks. Result: All 12 patients successfully underwent guided screw placement without vascular or neurological complications. Postoperative X‐ray and/or CT scans showed that the internal fixation position was satisfactory. At the end of the follow‐up period, all patients exhibited bony union without loosening or fractures of the internal fixation. Conclusion: With the imperfect initial position of the guide needle as a reference, the multi‐holed biplane drill guide can provide a variety of needle trajectory options in the sagittal and coronal planes for percutaneous anterior odontoid screw fixation. The operator can quickly obtain the ideal guide needle trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, emergent luminescent fibers have attracted extensive attention due to their intriguing applications. However, developments of the luminescent fibers are severely limited by their high‐cost and low efficient manufacturing protocols including in situ growth, dry‐wet spinning, co‐electrospinning, and multistep dip‐coating. Herein, a cost‐efficient and large‐scalable approach (namely, one‐step dip‐coating) is proposed. In this work, the photoluminescent fibers/yarns are fabricated by one‐step dipping of pristine fibers/yarns in dispersions of hybrid dots (silicon/carbon). Subsequently, Janus fabrics with striking photoluminescent patterns are developed by weaving, knitting, and braiding, respectively. An innovative anticounterfeiting technique is further developed by combing the merits of the photoluminescent fibers/yarns with textile weaving methods. The designed photoluminescent patterns can endow the weaving fabrics with excellent concealment performance. As far as it is well known, it is the first time to achieve asymmetric photoluminescent patterns on two sides of the woven fabrics by this innovative technology. Additionally, the fabrics treated with hybrid dots exhibit excellent antibacterial ability against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These findings can not only provide an unprecedented insight for realizing high‐level anticounterfeiting applications, but also guide to exploit versatile applications in medical care, fashion design, stage performances, trademark, and confidential documents in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pelvic lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a crucial independent prognostic factor in cervical cancer (CCa) and serves as an indicator for radiation therapy as the primary or an adjuvant treatment option. However, preoperative diagnosis of LNM remains challenging. Thus, we aimed to identify biomarkers of LNM in patients with presumed early-stage CCa. Methods: The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between tumours with different lymph node statuses were identified by using The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Then, univariate Cox regression analysis and Kaplan–Meier analyses were utilized to screen overall survival (OS)-associated genes. Multivariate Cox analysis and logistical analysis were utilized to evaluate independent risk factors for OS and LNM, respectively. Subsequently, the protein level of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) was detected in normal cervical and CCa tissues by immunohistochemistry assays. EdU assays were performed to determine whether FABP4 altered the proliferation of cervical cancer cells. Wound healing and Transwell assays were conducted to explore the effects of FABP4 depletion on migratory and invasive abilities of cervical cancer cells. F-actin fluorescence staining were performed to investigate morphological change and Western blotting analyses were performed to determine epithelial mesenchymal transition-related marker expression and downstream signalling pathways. Results: A total of 243 DEGs, including 55 upregulated and 188 downregulated DEGs, were found in CCa patients with LNM versus those without LNM. Among these, FABP4 was found to be closely associated with poor OS. Multivariate analysis uncovered that FABP4 was an independent risk factor for OS and LNM in patients with CCa. The immunohistochemical results verified dramatically increased FABP4 expression in CCa tissues compared to normal cervical epithelia and its association with poor OS and LNM. In vitro, The proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells were significantly inhibited after knocking down of FABP4, which was accompanied by elevated expression of E-cadherin and downregulated expression of N-cadherin, Vimentin and p-AKT. Conclusions: FABP4 might be a promising biomarker of LNM and survival in patients with early-stage CCa and therefore could significantly contribute to the development of personalized prognosis prediction and therapy optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liquid crystal alignments in the liquid crystal cell composed of the bare glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) regions are investigated based on birefringence. The experimental results by the proposed methods of circularly and linearly polarized light agree with the observation through the polarized optical microscope. The results show that the liquid crystal in the region of the bare glass is optical anisotropic and the liquid crystal director is almost parallel to the long side of the liquid crystal cell, while the liquid crystal in the region of ITO is isotropic. No other chemical components were found on the bare glass and ITO surfaces by the x-ray energy dispersive spectrometer, and the numerous random scratches on the bare glass were observed through the atomic force microscope. The self-consistent explanations for the different approaches and characteristic results are obtained. It is concluded that the bulk stress on the bare glass, rather than the local stress accompanied with the scratches, resulted in the liquid crystal alignment. Compared with the anisotropy of the bulk stress on the full bare glass, which formed during the preparation, the local stress on the scribed bare glass of the liquid crystal cell is isotropic. The scratch orientations are random, which cause the averaged local stress isotropic. The bulk stress on the long side is more significant than that on the short side of the cell. As a result, the liquid crystal director is almost parallel to the long side of the liquid crystal cell. The direction of the liquid crystal in the region of ITO is random, and the liquid crystal in that region is not birefringent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method of rapidly demarcating the critical commutation failure (CF) region of a multi-infeed high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) system is proposed. Based on the nodal impedance matrix and nodal voltage interaction factor, for different AC fault conditions—both balanced and unbalanced—a method of calculating the extinction angles of converters in multi-infeed HVDC systems is deduced in detail. First, the extinction angles of convertor stations under single-phase, double-phase, and three-phase ground faults and line-to-line faults occurring at any bus in an AC system are calculated. The minimum extinction angle serves as a CF criterion. If the calculated extinction angle for a certain bus is smaller than the minimum extinction angle, then a fault at that bus will cause CF of the HVDC system and put that bus into a failed bus set. The critical failure impedance boundaries of the topology diagram can therefore be demarcated by examining every bus in the AC system. The validity and accuracy of the proposed index and the method were verified by calculation results based on the three-infeed HVDC system model of the IEEE 39-bus system. Finally, the critical failure impedance boundary was demarcated in the IEEE 118-bus system to demonstrate the application in a wider range of systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a regret-based risk-averse stochastic production task and energy management (PTEM) model for industrial microgrid is proposed, which is applied to a battery manufacturing plant (BMP) microgrid. We incorporate production task scheduling with production constraints in the energy management of industrial microgrid. The general PTEM of industrial microgrids is analyzed and the production processes and energy requirements of a BMP multi-energy microgrid prosumer are presented, in which thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) in buildings are considered. Then, the regret-based risk-averse PTEM model is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem based on stochastic programming considering uncertainties of day-ahead electricity market price and photovoltaic (PV) power output. Conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) is introduced for risk control and utilized for minimizing the expected regret. Numerical studies are carried out to validate the proposed model by comparing with risk-neutral approach and deterministic model based on real market prices from PJM electricity market. The results show that the proposed PTEM approach is effectively risk-averse. In addition, the impacts of total target production task and risk-control parameter on expected cost and regret are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Single-stage revision has gained significant attention as a major surgical approach for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). However, the 90-day mortality and complication profile of single-stage revision is poorly characterized. The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence rates of and identify the risk factors for 90-day postoperative mortality and complications of single-stage revision for chronic PJI. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on patients who underwent single-stage revision for PJI between August 2000 and May 2022. Patient demographics, 90-day mortality, and postoperative complications were recorded. Complications were categorized into systemic and local complications. Patients in this study were further categorized into knee and hip revision groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify significant independent predictors of the outcome measures. Results: 348 patients (144 knees and 204 hips) were included in this study. The 90-day mortality rate was 0.9%. The incidence rates of postoperative complications in knee and hip surgeries were 31.3% and 19.6%, respectively. The most common complication was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was the independent predictor of mortality. In the knee revision group, fungal infection was identified as the independent predictor of recurrent PJI; regular alcohol use was predictive of wound dehiscence. Among hip PJI patients, age ≥ 80 years was independently associated with DVT; RA was found to be a predictor of dislocation and wound dehiscence. Conclusion: For continuous and unselected patients with chronic PJI, single-stage revision demonstrated a satisfactory 90-day mortality. Nevertheless, the 90-day postoperative complication rates after single-stage revision in both knee and hip groups were relatively high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of transportation dispatching in underground mines is to achieve efficient connection and operation cycles between different stopes while ensuring efficient ore transportation from stopes to a mill. The transportation system of large underground mines is a typical complex transportation network with large-scale transportation equipment, which involves both continuous and batch transportation succession and the blending of ore with different grades. The equipment dispatching has an important impact on the ore flow rate, grade, and transportation costs. Therefore, the ore flow needs to be optimally controlled from the perspective of multistage dynamic ore blending. A new model is presented to optimise the ore transportation process considering the ore flow rate, grade, equipment, and transportation network constraints, which aims at minimising transportation costs. The model is verified through a case study of the Sanshandao gold mine in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomorphic wood-derived titanium carbides produced using physical vapor infiltration-reaction synthesis (PVI-R) with a homemade setup were reported for the first time. Effects of the temperature (1700–2100 °C) and duration time (15–90min) on the microstructures (i.e. weight gain, infiltration depth and surface condition) of titanium carbides were investigated in details during the PVI-R process. The lower temperature (1700 °C) contributed to retain the pore structure of wood, while the increased temperatures (1800–2100 °C) induced the TiC coating to block the pores on the surface of sample, resulting in preventing the infiltration of Ti gas. The increased duration time from 15 to 90 min at 1700 °C contributed to the infiltration of Ti gas into the sample, by moderately increasing the TiC depth from 814 to 905 μm. The mechanism of forming TiC in the wood-derived biocarbon structure during PVI-R process was proposed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Bomidin is a new recombinant antimicrobial peptide AMP derived from BMAP-27. • Bomidin mediates Keap1 protein degradation, enhancing Nrf2 nuclear translocation. • Bomidin can suppress ferroptosis, further relieving periodontitis. • Bomidin is a promising medicine for periodontitis. Periodontitis is a prevalent oral immunoinflammatory condition that is distinguished by the compromised functionality of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs). Bomidin, a new recombinant antimicrobial peptide (AMP), exhibits antibacterial properties and modulates immune responses. Nevertheless, the precise anti-inflammatory impact of bomidin in periodontitis has yet to be fully elucidated. Thus, the study aimed to clarified the role of bomidin in modulating inflammation and its underlying mechanisms. TNF-α was applied to treating PDLSCs for establishing a cell model of periodontitis. Bomidin, RSL3, ML385 and cycloheximide were also used to treat PDLSCs. Transcriptome sequencing, RT-qPCR, western blot, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, Fe2+ detection probe, molecular docking, Co-IP assay, ubiquitination assay and murine models of periodontitis were used. Our study demonstrated that bomidin effectively suppressed inflammation in PDLSCs stimulated by TNF-α, through down-regulating the MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways. Furthermore, bomidin exerted inhibitory effects on ferroptosis and activated the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway in the TNF-α group. There is a strong likelihood of bonding bomidin with Keap1 protein, which facilitated the degradation of Keap1 protein via the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, leading to an enhanced translocation of Nrf2 protein to the nucleus. Bomidin can directly bond to Keap1 protein, resulting in the degradation of Keap1 through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, thereby further activating the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway. The upregulation of the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway was found to contribute to the suppression of ferroptosis, ultimately alleviating inflammation in treatment of periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical superoscillation technologies have been successfully used to realize far-field sub-diffraction focusing, super-resolution imaging and nano metrology. A transmission-mode super-oscillatory super-resolution optical microscope has been built, in which both the best focal plane of super-oscillatory lens (SOL) and the sample to be imaged can be accurately positioned by the laser confocal detection method. The sub-diffraction focusing and super-resolution imaging experiments have been carried out based on a SOL with a diameter of 3 mm and a focal length of 0.8 mm. The developed super-oscillatory super-resolution optical microscope can be practically used in high-resolution scanning imaging of 2D thin subwavelength microstructures. • A super-oscillatory super-resolution optical microscope, which is far-field, and label-free, has been built based on self-designed, large-scale super-oscillatory lenses. • The confocal detection method was particularly used for positioning the best focal plane of the super-oscillatory lens with the accuracy in tens of nanometers. • Sub-diffraction focusing and super-resolution imaging experiments have been implemented. The developed system can be practically used for the imaging inspection of two-dimensional ultra-thin microstructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flash Joule heating technique as an innovative and promising strategy has been extensively utilized to synthesize various functionalized nanomaterials within a very short time. This work describes a facile synthesis of an oxidized carbon overlayer-mediated hematite photoanode through a simple NaH 2 PO 2 -immersion followed by a flash Joule heating treatment. It discloses that on account of the high conductivity and abundant oxygen-functionalized carbon groups of carbon overlayer, the surface charge transfer of as-resulted photoanode is greatly facilitated and meanwhile the adsorption strength of water oxidation intermediates on Fe sites is improved. Moreover, the oxidized carbon overlayer could confine sufficient P atoms into the hematite nanostructure to realize P-doping to dramatically promote the bulk charge behaviors. Consequently, benefiting from these multiple effects, an enhanced photocurrent density of 2.07 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE is achieved for the as-resulted photoanode. Further, a comparable photocurrent density of 2.37 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE is yielded after the loading of FeNiOOH cocatalyst. This study, for the first time, demonstrates the flash Joule heating strategy for the post-treatment of hematite photoanode, which opens up a novel and facile avenue for the development of efficient photoelectrodes. [Display omitted] • A novel flash Joule heating strategy for the post-treatment of hematite photoanode is developed. • The resulting photoanode exhibits an improved photocurrent density of 2.07 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE. • The improvement can be attributed to the multiple effects of oxidized carbon overlayer. • This work opens a novel and facile avenue for fabricating efficient hematite photoanodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an automatic RGBD object segmentation method is described. The method integrates depth feature with the cues from RGB images and then uses maximal similarity based region merging (MSRM) method to obtain the segmentation results. Firstly, the depth information is fused to the simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) method so as to produce superpixels whose boundaries are well adhered to the edges of the natural image. Meanwhile, the depth prior is also incorporated into the saliency estimation, which helps a more accurate localization of representative object and background seeds. By introducing the depth cue into the region merging rule, the maximal geometry weighted similarity (MGWS) is considered, and the resulting segmentation framework has the ability to handle the complex image with similar colour appearance between object and background. Extensive experiments on public RGBD image datasets show that our proposed approach can reliably and automatically provide very promising segmentation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid cancer is a frequently happened malignancy in human endocrine system. Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) presents 70–80% of all thyroid cancer cases. Herein, we probed the possible oncogenic function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) highly up-regulated in liver cancer (HULC) in PTC. First, the HULC and microRNA-106a (miR-106a) expressions in PTC tissues and cells were tested. Plasmids or miRNAs transfections were done for altering HULC and miR-106a expressions. Then, cells viability and apoptosis, along with cell proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities, were tested, respectively. The PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin pathways activities were measured. Finally, the animal model of PTC was constructed and the tumour volumes and weights were gauged. We discovered that HULC and miR-106a had relative high expression levels in PTC tissues and cells. HULC overexpression enhanced TPC-1 cells viability and cell proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities. Silencing HULC induced TPC-1 cell apoptosis. miR-106a engaged in the oncogenic impacts of HULC. Moreover, HULC overexpression boosted PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin pathways activities via raising miR-106a expression. Besides, HULC overexpression enhanced the volumes and weights of PTC tumours. To sum up, HULC exhibited oncogenic function on PTC in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synonymous codon usage bias (SCUB) of both nuclear and organellar genes can mirror the evolutionary specialization of plants. The polyploidization process exposes the nucleus to genomic shock, a syndrome which promotes, among other genetic variants, SCUB. Its effect on organellar genes has not, however, been widely addressed. The present analysis targeted the chloroplast genomes of two leading polyploid crop species, namely cotton and bread wheat. The frequency of codons in the chloroplast genomes ending in either adenosine (NNA) or thymine (NNT) proved to be higher than those ending in either guanidine or cytosine (NNG or NNC), and this difference was conserved when comparisons were made between polyploid and diploid forms in both the cotton and wheat taxa. Preference for NNA/T codons was heterogeneous among genes with various numbers of introns and was also differential among the exons. SCUB patterns distinguished tetraploid cotton from its diploid progenitor species, as well as bread wheat from its diploid/tetraploid progenitor species, indicating that SCUB in the chloroplast genome partially mirrors the formation of polyploidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesenchymal stem cell‐based therapy is a reliable treatment for periodontal tissue regeneration, while ideal regeneration rate is still a facing problem. In previous study, we found SFRP2 a promising gene in modulating mesenchymal stem cells potential. We further investigated its role on periodontal tissue regeneration. We created periodontitis model in miniature pigs and locally injected with stem cells from apical papilla (SCAP). The periodontitis models were classed into three groups, SFRP2‐SCAP group (injected with SCAP overexpressing with SFRP2), SCAP group (injected with SCAP transduced with vector backbone) and saline group (vehicle group injected with saline). Clinical assignment, CT scanning, histopathological assessment and quantitative analysis were applied to evaluate the regeneration effect. Twelve weeks after the injection, we found healthier gingival status in SFRP2‐SCAP group than the other two groups. Clinical assignment results showed values of probing depth, gingival recession and attachment loss were improved in SFRP2‐SCAP group than that of SCAP group and saline group. The volume of newborn bone was also enhanced in SFRP2‐SCAP group than SCAP group and saline group. The difference of clinical assignments and newborn bone between each group was significant relevant. HE staining demonstrated increased tissue regeneration in SFRP2‐SCAP group than SCAP group and saline group. Our findings revealed that SFRP2 could enhance SCAP‐mediated periodontal tissue regeneration and provide a potential target for improving the regeneration of periodontal tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Botryosphaeriaceae accommodates many important pathogens of woody plants, including Eucalyptus. Recently, Botryosphaeriaceae were isolated from diseased plant parts from surveys of Eucalyptus plantations in the YunNan Province, China. The aims of this study were to identify these Botryosphaeriaceae isolates and to evaluate their pathogenicity to Eucalyptus. A total of 166 isolates of Botryosphaeriaceae were obtained from six regions in the YunNan Province, of which 76 were from Eucalyptus urophylla × E. grandis hybrids, 49 from E. globulus trees, and 41 isolates were from other unknown Eucalyptus species or hybrids. Isolates were identified by comparing DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer ribosomal RNA locus (ITS), partial translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1), β-tubulin 2 (tub2) and DNA-directed RNA polymerase II subunit (rpb2) genes, and combined with their morphological characteristics. Eleven species were identified, including Botryosphaeria fusispora, B. wangensis, Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae, Neofusicoccum kwambonambiense, N. parvum, and six novel species described as B. puerensis, N. dianense, N. magniconidium, N. ningerense, N. parviconidium and N. yunnanense. The dominant species across the regions were N. yunnanense, N. parvum and B. wangensis, representing 31.3, 25.3 and 19.9% of the total isolates, respectively. Species diversity and composition changed across the different climatic zones, despite their relatively close geographic proximity and the fact that some of the species have a global distribution. All the Botryosphaeriaceae species were pathogenic to one-year-old plants of an E. urophylla × E. grandis clone and E. globulus seed-derived plants, but showed significant inter- and intra-species variation in aggressiveness amongst isolates. The study provides a foundation for monitoring and management of Botryosphaeriaceae through selection and breeding of Eucalyptus in the YunNan Province of southwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LncRNA PlncRNA-1(PlncRNA-1) participates in breast cancer by upregulating TGF-β1. It is known that TGF-β1 plays an inhibitory role in the inflammatory responses in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Therefore, PlncRNA-1 may also participate in RA. Serum and synovial fibroblasts were obtained from 34 patients with active RA (persistent symptoms), 36 patients with inactive RA (long term of no or few symptoms after active RA) and 40 healthy controls. Expression levels of PlncRNA-1 and TGF-β1 in active RA patients, inactive RA patients and healthy controls were measured by RT-qPCR and ELISA, respectively. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the correlation between the expression levels of PlncRNA-1 and TGF-β1. Diagnostic value of PlncRNA-1 for active RA was detected by ROC curve analysis. PlncRNA-1 and TGF-β1 were downregulated in serum of active RA patients but not in inactive RA patients compared to the healthy controls. Expression of PlncRNA-1 and TGF-β1 were positively correlated only in RA patients, and altered expression levels of PlncRNA-1 distinguished the active RA patients from inactive RA patients and healthy controls. PlncRNA-1 and TGF-β1 were also downregulated in synovial fibroblasts derived from RA patients in comparison to inactive RA patients and healthy controls. Overexpression of PlncRNA-1 mediated upregulation of TGF-β1 in synovial fibroblasts derived from RA patients, while exogenous TGF-β1 treatment showed no significant effect on the expression of PlncRNA-1. Therefore, PlncRNA-1 participated in RA possibly by regulating TGF-β1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main issue in short-term planning optimisation for underground mining is organising the mining process with limited resources in the form of equipment and materials to satisfy production targets and stable feed grade requirements. In this paper, an integrated optimisation model is proposed based on an individual generation algorithm and an improved Genetic Algorithm to simultaneously optimise stope extraction sequencing and timing, extracted ore grade and equipment dispatching. The model objectives are to shorten the time gap between the stope mining processes and the overall working time. When the uncertainty of equipment working time is taken into account in a short-term scheduling model, the Monte Carlo simulation is applied to evaluate the risk of not meeting the production target. A modification strategy is defined to evaluate equipment failure. Consequently, any available equipment is automatically reassigned to the mining site to replace the broken-down equipment. A case study is used to validate the model in the Sanshandao gold mine of China to formulate an optimal monthly schedule. Compared with the conventional approach, the new model could reduce the variance of ore tonnage and feed grade and improve the equipment allocation efficiency. Discussions are presented to address the uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of general optimization studies that have been proposed for underground mining shows that previous works lack flexibility, operability and practicality in relation to cut-and-fill mining production scheduling. This paper presents a robust mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for underground cut-and-fill mining. The objective function of the model is to maximize the net present value (NPV) of the operation while meeting all mining and processing operational and technical constraints. The MILP model features stope development and extraction sequencing constraints, mining and processing tonnage fluctuation constraints, and extraction duration and active levels control constraints. These features make the model more practical and expandable. The MILP model is verified and validated with two case studies from an existing mine and the results are compared with the actual mining strategy. The comparison shows a 9% to 17% improved NPV in both case studies resulting from mining higher grades and processing less tonnes thereby generating a better cash flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]