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Background: AGEs accumulate in the skin as a result of a high‐sugar diet and play an important role in the skin aging process. Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize the mechanism underlying the effect of a high‐sugar diet on skin aging damage at a holistic level. Methods: We established a high‐sugar diet mouse model to compare and analyze differences in physiological indexes. The effect of a high‐sugar diet on skin aging damage was analyzed by means of a transcriptome study and staining of pathological sections. Furthermore, the differences in the protein expression of AGEs and ECM components between the HSD and control groups were further verified by immunohistochemistry. Results: The skin in the HSD group mice tended toward a red, yellow, dark, and deep color. In addition, the epidermis was irregular with anomalous phenomena, the epidermis was thinned, and the dermis lost its normal structure and showed vacuolated changes. Transcriptomics results revealed significant downregulation of the ECM–receptor interaction pathway, significant upregulation of the expression of AGEs and significant downregulation of the expression levels of COLI, FN1, LM5, and TNC, among others ECM proteins and ECM receptors. Conclusions: High‐sugar diets cause skin aging damage by inducing the accumulation of AGEs, disrupting the expression of ECM proteins and their receptors, and downregulating the ECM–receptor interaction pathway, which affects cellular behavioral functions such as cell proliferation, migration, and adhesion, as well as normal skin tissue structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determine the spreading speed of an epidemic model with nonlocal diffusion and free boundary. The model is evolved from a degenerate reaction-diffusion model of Capasso and Maddalena (J Math Biol 13:173–184, 1981), and was studied in Zhao et al. (Commun Pure Appl Anal 19:4599–4620, 2020) recently, where it was shown that as time goes to infinity, the population of the infective agents either vanishes or spreads successfully. In this paper, we show that when spreading is successful, the asymptotic spreading speed is finite or infinite depending on whether a threshold condition is satisfied by the kernel function governing the spatial dispersal of the agents. The proof relies on a rather complete understanding of the associated semi-wave problem and traveling wave problem. For free boundary models, the case of infinite spreading speed, also known as accelerated spreading, is only recently shown to happen in Du et al. (J Math Pure Appl 154:30–66, 2021) for a single species Fisher-KPP model; this paper is the first to show that it happens to a very different two species model with free boundary. This suggests that accelerated spreading is a rather common phenomenon for free boundary problems with nonlocal diffusion. In contrast, for the corresponding models with local diffusion, the spreading can only proceed with finite speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seismic attributes of water‐rich sandstone contain much information about the rock's physical properties and seismic wave parameters. They are commonly used to predict the rock's physical properties (e.g. porosity). However, the seismic attributes of water‐rich sandstone are affected by porosity, water saturation and thickness. To eliminate the influence of thickness on the porosity prediction of water‐rich sandstone and improve the accuracy of the porosity prediction, the authors propose a Lambert W–R transform method to isolate the contribution of thickness and porosity from seismic attributes. First, a rock physical model is used to calculate the equivalent elastic parameters of water‐rich sandstones with different porosity values and water saturation levels. Second, the seismic attribute dataset of water‐rich sandstone is established by forward modelling the seismic response of the wedge‐shaped water‐rich sandstone model, and the selection of sensitive physical properties is completed. Then, the transformation parameters (ζAhRs and ηAhRs) are obtained by Lambert W–R transformation, which is exponentially related to instantaneous amplitude. ζAhRs and ηAhRs are sensitive to thickness and porosity, respectively. Finally, an interpretative template for porosity prediction of water‐rich sandstone is established by cross‐plot analysis (ζAhRs and ηAhRs) and verified by a practical case. The verification results show that the porosity predicted by the interpretation template is consistent with drilling fluid consumption. However, it is lower than the porosity of logging constrained P‐wave impedance inversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational drug-repositioning technology is an effective tool for speeding up drug development. As biological data resources continue to grow, it becomes more important to find effective methods to identify potential therapeutic drugs for diseases. The effective use of valuable data has become a more rational and efficient approach to drug repositioning. The disease–drug correlation method (DDCM) proposed in this study is a novel approach that integrates data from multiple sources and different levels to predict potential treatments for diseases, utilizing support-vector regression (SVR). The DDCM approach resulted in potential therapeutic drugs for neoplasms and cardiovascular diseases by constructing a correlation hybrid matrix containing the respective similarities of drugs and diseases, implementing the SVR algorithm to predict the correlation scores, and undergoing a randomized perturbation and stepwise screening pipeline. Some potential therapeutic drugs were predicted by this approach. The potential therapeutic ability of these drugs has been well-validated in terms of the literature, function, drug target, and survival-essential genes. The method's feasibility was confirmed by comparing the predicted results with the classical method and conducting a co-drug analysis of the sub-branch. Our method challenges the conventional approach to studying disease–drug correlations and presents a fresh perspective for understanding the pathogenesis of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Schwannoma arising from cervical sympathetic chain (CSC) is a rare clinical entity. CSC is hard to preserve in CSC schwannoma (CSCS) surgeries, resulting in Horner's syndrome (HS) and first bite syndrome (FBS). This article aims to explore our experience in successful preservation of CSC in CSCS surgeries. Methods: This is a retrospective review of CSCS cases treated at our tertiary medical institution between Apr 2018 and March 2022. Only cases with successful intraoperative preservation of CSC were included. Results: In total, 3 cases were included. There were 2 male patients and 1 female patient. Their age was between 38 years old and 66 years old (average and median age was 52 and 51 years old, respectively). Presenting symptom was neck mass for all them, 2 of which were on the left side, while 1 was on the right. Intracapsular enucleation of the CSCS was attempted and achieved in all 3 cases. Hemorrhage from the inner surface of capsules was diffuse and heavy. Constant saline irrigation, suction, and bipolar coagulation were needed to achieve hemostasis. Postoperative HS presented between 4 hours and 14 hours after surgery for all 3 patients, which took 1 month to 3 months to recover, whereas FBS did not occur in any patient. Median duration of follow-up was 6 months. No recurrence was observed. Conclusions: Intracapsular enucleation should be attempted in CSCS surgeries, although hemorrhage might be diffuse and hard to control. When intracapsular enucleation was achieved, postoperative FBS can be avoided, while postoperative HS could occur, but its recovery was satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose the Rescaled Matching Pursuit (RMP) algorithm to recover sparse signals in high-dimensional Euclidean spaces. The RMP algorithm has less computational complexity than other greedy-type algorithms, such as Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP). We show that if the restricted isometry property is satisfied, then the upper bound of the error between the original signal and its approximation can be derived. Furthermore, we prove that the RMP algorithm can find the correct support of sparse signals from random measurements with a high probability. Our numerical experiments also verify this conclusion and show that RMP is stable with the noise. So, the RMP algorithm is a suitable method for recovering sparse signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is aimed at exploring the effects of obstacle opening structure on premixed hydrogen-air flame propagation characteristics using experimental and numerical method. The flame shape evolution, flame front speed, and overpressure are obtained. The velocity distribution is further analyzed. The experimental results show that under the given equivalence ratio, the peak flame front speed generated by circular opening obstacle is 16% and 27% higher than that of triangular opening obstacle and square opening obstacle at most. When the equivalence ratio is 1.5, the peak overpressure of circular opening is 5% and 10% higher than that of triangular opening obstacle and square opening obstacle. The established numerical model is able to reproduce the premixed hydrogen-air flame propagation characteristics under different obstacle opening structures. The decreasing order of vortex intensity is circle, triangle and square opening. The flame-vortex interaction directly results in the difference of flame shape, flame front speed and overpressure under different obstacle opening structures. The results of this study are helpful for the prevention of hydrogen related risks. • Effects of obstacle opening structure on hydrogen-air flame front dynamics are obtained. • LES method of predicting hydrogen-air flame front dynamics is proposed. • Hydrogen-air flame front dynamics are analyzed using velocity vector and vorticity distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated Andreev reflection of graphene-based normal/superconductor single and double junctions under the modulation of non-resonant circularly polarized light, staggered potential, and exchange field. In the graphene-based normal/superconductor single junction, we discovered that the circularly polarized light can adjust the bandgap of retro Andreev reflection and specular Andreev reflection. The exchange field can change the position of the transition point between retro Andreev reflection and specular Andreev reflection. In the graphene-based normal/superconductor/normal double junction, when the light field is modulated from left circularly polarized light to right circularly polarized light, the valley-spin switching effect between pure elastic co-tunneling and pure crossed Andreev reflection can be realized. By changing the exchange field, we achieved the conversion of non-local transport between pure elastic co-tunneling and pure crossed Andreev reflection. In addition, the energy location and range of crossed Andreev reflection and elastic co-tunneling can be controlled by the staggered potential and the exchange field. Our results suggest that the device can implement light and exchange field control of the Andreev reflection process and the spin-valley switch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the propagation phenomena for a nonlocal dispersal Lotka–Volterra competition model with shifting habitats. It is assumed that the growth rate of each species is nondecreasing along the x-axis, positive near ∞ and nonpositive near - ∞ , and shifting rightward with a speed c > 0 . In the case where both species coexist near ∞ , we established three types of forced waves connecting the origin, respectively to the coexistence state with any forced speed c; to itself with forced speed c > c ∗ (∞) ; and to a semi-trivial steady state with forced speed c > c ¯ (∞) , where c ∗ (∞) and c ¯ (∞) are two positive numbers. In the case where one species is competitively stronger near ∞ , we also obtain the existence and nonexistence of forced waves connecting the origin to the semi-trivial steady state. Our results show the existence of multiple types of forced waves with the same forced speed. The mathematical proofs involve integral equations and Schauder's fixed point theorem, and heavily rely on the construction of various upper-lower solutions, which adds new techniques to deal with the "shifting environments" problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oysters contain significant amounts of the zinc element, which may also be found in their proteins. In this study, a novel zinc-binding protein was purified from the mantle of the oyster Magallana hongkongensis using two kinds of gel filtration chromatograms. Sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed that its molecular weight was approximately 36 kDa. The protein identified by the Q-Exactive mass spectrometer shared the highest sequence identity with carbonic anhydrase derived from Crassostrea gigas concerning amino acid sequence similarity. Based on homologous cloning and RACE PCR, the full-length cDNA of carbonic anhydrase from Magallana hongkongensis (designated as MhCA) was cloned and sequenced. The cDNA of MhCA encodes a 315-amino-acid protein with 89.74% homology to carbonic anhydrase derived from Crassostrea gigas. Molecular docking revealed that the two zinc ions primarily form coordination bonds with histidine residues in the MhCA protein. These results strongly suggest that MhCA is a novel zinc-binding protein in Magallana hongkongensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing ambient‐air fabrication strategy is desirable for lowering down the fabrication cost of perovskite light emitting diodes (LEDs) and further promoting their broad applications. However, ambient humidity usually leads to undesirable interface and perovskite film quality, causing severe nonradiative losses and unsatisfactory device performance. In this work, an effective strategy to solve this problem and remarkably enhance the performance of perovskite LEDs is reported. The study reveals that the humidity‐induced aggregation of self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) in humid air can be eliminated by introducing a poly[(9,9‐bis(3′‐((N,N‐dimethyl)‐N‐ethylammonium)‐ propyl)‐2,7‐fluorene)‐alt‐2,7‐(9,9‐dioctylfluorene)] dibromide (PFNBr) as an interface modifier, which reduces the interfacial defects and improves the perovskite crystallinity. The interaction between PFNBr and perovskite can further passivate the defects and suppress trap‐assisted nonradiative processes, which significantly enhances the photoluminescence efficiency of the ambient‐processed perovskite films. Furthermore, the energy level alignment is optimized and the hole injection is improved, thus resulting in more efficient and balanced charge injection. As a result, the green perovskite LEDs achieve a high external quantum efficiency of 12.06% and luminance of 22121 cd m−2, representing the record values for the perovskite LEDs processed under such ambient‐air condition, in accompany with an improved device stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common brain tumor with the worst prognosis. Temozolomide is the only first-line drug for GBM. Unfortunately, the resistance issue is a classic problem. Therefore, it is essential to develop new drugs to treat GBM. As an oncogene, Skp2 is involved in the pathogenesis of various cancers including GBM. In this study, we investigated the anticancer effect of AAA237 on human glioblastoma cells and its underlying mechanism. Methods: CCK-8 assay was conducted to evaluate IC50 values of AAA237 at 48, and 72 h, respectively. The Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) was employed to ascertain the status of Skp2 as an intrinsic target of AAA237 inside the cellular milieu. The EdU-DNA synthesis test, Soft-Agar assay and Matrigel assay were performed to check the suppressive effects of AAA237 on cell growth. To identify the migration and invasion ability of GBM cells, transwell assay was conducted. RT-qPCR and Western Blot were employed to verify the level of BNIP3. The mRFP-GFP-LC3 indicator system was utilized to assess alterations in autophagy flux and investigate the impact of AAA237 on the dynamic fusion process between autophagosomes and lysosomes. To investigate the effect of compound AAA237 on tumor growth in vivo, LN229 cells were injected into the brains of mice in an orthotopic model. Results: AAA237 could inhibit the growth of GBM cells in vitro. AAA237 could bind to Skp2 and inhibit Skp2 expression and the degradation of p21 and p27. In a dose-dependent manner, AAA237 demonstrated the ability to inhibit colony formation, migration, and invasion of GBM cells. AAA237 treatment could upregulate BNIP3 as the hub gene and therefore induce BNIP3-dependent autophagy through the mTOR pathway whereas 3-MA can somewhat reverse this process. In vivo, the administration of AAA237 effectively suppressed the development of glioma tumors with no side effects. Conclusion: Compound AAA237, a novel Skp2 inhibitor, inhibited colony formation, migration and invasion of GBM cells in a dose-dependent manner and time-dependent manner through upregulating BNIP3 as the hub gene and induced BNIP3-dependent autophagy through the mTOR pathway therefore it might be a viable therapeutic drug for the management of GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the propagation dynamics of the time periodic Lotka-Volterra competition systems with nonlocal dispersal in a shifting habitat. We first obtain three types of time-periodic forced waves connecting the extinction state to the co-existence state, itself and the semi-trivial state, which describe the conversion from the state of two aboriginal co-existent competing species, two invading alien competitors, and a saturated aboriginal competitor with another invading alien competitor to the extinction state, respectively. This provides a comprehensive explanation of the point-wise extinction dynamics of these two competing species under such a time-periodic worsening habitat. Then, we establish the spreading properties of the associated Cauchy problem depending on the range of the shifting speed. More specifically, we give a complete description on the threshold values for the extinction as well as persistence (by moving with asymptotic speed). Our results reveal the possibility that a competitively weaker species with a much faster spreading speed can drive a competitively stronger species with a slower spreading speed to extinction. The discussion in this paper applies to both cases of weak competition and strong-weak competition. In particular, we need to point out that some combined effects of nonlocal dispersal, two-variable coupling and time-periodic shifting heterogeneity in this system pose extra difficulties in mathematical treatment, which are dealt with by introducing new approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The study aimed to explore the association of sarcopenia and vitamin D deficiency with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Method: Skeletal muscle mass, serum 25(OH)D levels, and bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed. Results: The prevalence of OP, sarcopenia, and vitamin D deficiency in RA patients was significantly higher than in controls (all P < 0.001). The percentage of GC use was 56.9%, and the prevalence of GIOP was 38.1% in 480 RA patients. The prevalence of OP in RA patients without sarcopenia was lower than that in RA patients with sarcopenia (P < 0.05). In RA patients with and without GC, the prevalence of OP in patients without sarcopenia was significantly lower than that in patients with sarcopenia (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05). Female sex (OR = 54.737; 95% CI: 7.103–421.809; P < 0.0001), age (OR = 1.078; 95% CI: 1.048–1.110; P < 0.0001), sarcopenia, and vitamin D deficiency (OR = 2.250; 95% CI: 1.246–64.065; P = 0.007) were risk factors for GIOP in RA patients. Conclusions: GIOP is associated with sarcopenia and vitamin D deficiency and is widespread among Chinese patients with RA. Key points ·Percentage of using GC and the prevalence of OP were all high in Chinese patients with RA. ·GIOP was widely existed in Chinese RA patients, which was associated with sarcoprnia and vitamin D deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low temperatures during flowering severely affect crop growth and yield. Methods: This experiment was conducted under potted conditions with LXD 4 and TJH as test materials and pre-sprayed with exogenous ABA at a concentration of 20 mg·L-1 at flowering stage, respectively and then with an average of 15℃ condition for 5 days. Result: The results showed that foliar spraying exogenous ABA effectively inhibited the increase of MDA content and relatively significantly improved the photosynthetic parameters such as Gs and Tr and alleviated the loss of yield factors caused by chilling stress. Compared with spraying water, spraying exogenous ABA can significantly increase the yield per pot of LXD 4 by 6.72~17.77% and TJH by 6.41~37.04% under low temperature conditions. In summary, foliar spraying exogenous ABA ameliorated the effects of chilling stress on the physiological characteristics of adzuki bean leaves and improved yield as a result of improved antioxidant defense mechanisms which impeded lipid peroxidation. Thus, we conclude that foliar spraying exogenous ABA could decelerate the damages caused by chilling stress to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road transport has been one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions. In the Philippines, one such measure is the introduction of a relatively new public transport mode called the “Premium Point-to-Point (P2P) Bus Service”, which features shorter travel time and lower emission intensity than conventional buses. In light of the significant deficiency in transport emission studies for Philippine cities, this paper presents a scenario-based method for quantifying the potential emission reduction benefits of the P2P bus in Metropolitan Manila. Based on a pro rata mode shift assumption, it is estimated that a 1% mode shift of passengers from existing motor modes to P2P buses would lead to 0.64% reduction of total emissions over selected travel routes in Metro Manila. The analytical method addresses the acute emission data scarcity in the Philippines, and provides early evidence on the aggregate environmental benefits of P2P buses. Extensive sensitivity tests are conducted to verify the simulation results and identify key determinants of emission reduction. The tests confirm the robustness of research findings and further uncover the great potential of increasing vehicle occupancy levels to mitigate vehicle emissions in Metro Manila. Policy implications for enhancing the environmental benefits of P2P buses are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to purify and characterize immunoregulatory peptides from Sipunculus nudus L. and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Ultrafiltration, gel filtration chromatography, and reverse phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC) were used to purify the peptide following enzymatic hydrolysis. Rates of lymphocyte proliferation and phagocytosis as well as nitric oxide (NO) production levels were used as indicators of immunoregulatory activity to screen the fractions. The amino acid sequence of the peptide, designated as SNLP, was identified as Arg–Val–Lys–Gly–Lys–Ile–Leu–Ala–Lys–Arg–Leu–Asn (RVKGKILAKRLN) by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Treatment with the synthetic SNLP increased the proliferation and phagocytosis of RAW 264.7 macrophages and promoted the secretion of tumor necrosis factor‐ɑ (TNF‐α), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), and NO levels. The mRNA levels of these cytokines and iNOS were also increased by SNLP. Our results provide preliminary evidence suggesting that SNLP acts as a dual immunomodulatory peptide with immunostimulatory and anti‐inflammatory activities. In summary, SNLP derived from Sipunculus nudus L. is a potent immunoregulatory peptide and represents a potential functional food or immunoregulatory drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Fifteen new meroterpenoids, littoreanoids A—O (1—15), including three rearranged skeleton meroterpenoids (1—3), were isolated from the mangrove‐derived fungus Penicillium sp. HLLG‐122. Compound 1 was a novel berkeleyacetal‐derived meroterpenoid featuring an unusual spirocyclic 2‐oxaspiro[5.5]undeca‐4,7‐dien‐3‐one moiety. Compound 2 possessed an unusual 6/6/6/6/6 pentacyclic system with a novel 1‐hydroxy‐7,7‐dimethyl‐2‐oxabicyclo[2.2.2]octan‐5‐yl acetate moiety. Compound 3 was an unusual 6/7/6/5/6/5/4 polycyclic systems containing a β‐lactone ring. The structures and absolute configurations of new compounds were elucidated by HRESIMS, NMR spectroscopy, single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis, and electronic circular dichroism calculations. The plausible biosynthetic pathways of 1—3 were also proposed. Compounds 6 and 11 exhibited anti‐inflammatory effects with IC50 values of 30.41 and 19.02 μmol/L, respectively. The bioactive compound 11 was selected for the investigation of preliminary mechanism using molecular docking and Western blotting experiments. Compound 11 could suppress the levels of TNF‐α and IL‐6, and down‐regulate the protein expression of iNOS and COX‐2 in RAW 264.7 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light-degradable hydrogels have a wide range of application prospects in the field of biomedicine. However, the provision of a facile synthetic approach to light-degradable hydrogels under mild conditions remains a challenge for researchers. To surmount this challenge, a facile synthetic approach to UV-degradable hydrogels is demonstrated in this manuscript. Initially, an UV-degradable crosslinker (UVDC) having o-nitrobenzyl ester groups was synthesized in a single step through the employment of the Passerini three-component reaction (P-3CR). Both 1H NMR and MS spectra indicated the successful synthesis of high-purity UVDC, and it was experimentally demonstrated that the synthesized UVDC was capable of degradation under 368 nm light. Furthermore, this UVDC was mixed with 8-arm PEG-thiol (sPEG20k-(SH)8) to promptly yield an UV-degradable hydrogel through a click reaction. The SEM image of the fabricated hydrogel exhibits the favorable crosslinking network of the hydrogel, proving the successful synthesis of the hydrogel. After continuous 368 nm irradiation, the hydrogel showed an obvious gel-sol transition, which demonstrates that the hydrogel possesses a desirable UV-degradable property. In summary, by utilizing solely a two-step reaction devoid of catalysts and hazardous raw materials, UV-degradable hydrogels can be obtained under ambient conditions, which greatly reduces the difficulty of synthesizing light-degradable hydrogels. This work extends the synthetic toolbox for light-degradable hydrogels, enabling their accelerated development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the propagation dynamics of nonlocal dispersal monostable equations in time-space periodic habitats. We first show that such an equation admits a single spreading speed in every direction under certain conditions and then give several spreading properties in terms of spreading speeds such as asymptotic spreading ray speeds and asymptotic spreading sets. Furthermore, we consider the dependence of the spreading speed on the dispersal rate and reaction term and prove that taking the temporal average or spatial average can decrease the spreading speed. Finally, we employ the viscosity vanishing method to establish the existence of time-space periodic traveling fronts with the critical speed in every direction under the partially temporally homogeneous case and partially nearly flat case, which solves partially the open problem raised by Rawal, Shen, and Zhang (Discrete Contin. Dyn. Syst. 35 (2015) 1609–1640). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wing polymorphism is an evolutionary trait that is widely present in various insects and provides a model system for studying the evolutionary significance of insect dispersal. The brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) can alter its wing morphs under biotic and abiotic stress. However, whether differential signaling pathways are induced by the 2 types of stress remain largely unknown. Here, we screened a number of candidate genes through weighted gene co‐expression network analysis (WGCNA) and found that ornithine decarboxylase (NlODC), a key enzyme in the synthesis of polyamines, was associated with wing differentiation in BPH and mainly responded to abiotic stress stimuli. We analyzed the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment pathways of differentially expressed genes under the 2 stresses by transcriptomic comparison, and found that biotic stress mainly influenced insulin‐related signaling pathways while abiotic stress mainly influenced hormone‐related pathways. Moreover, we found that insulin receptor 1 (NlInR1) may regulate wing differentiation of BPH by responding to both biotic and abiotic stress, but NlInR2 only responded to biotic stress. Similarly, the juvenile hormone epoxide hydrolase associated with juvenile hormone degradation and NlODC may regulate wing differentiation mainly through abiotic stress. A model based on the genes and stresses to modulate the wing dimorphism of BPH was proposed. These findings present a comprehensive molecular mechanism for wing polymorphism in BPH induced by biotic and abiotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct transition-metal-catalyzed addition of C–H bonds to unsaturated C=X (X=C, O, and N) bonds via C–H bond activation has been recognized as a powerful tool for the construction of C–C bonds (in terms of atom and step economy). Herein, the direct rhodium-catalyzed C–H bond addition of aromatic ketones to allylic alcohols and α,β-unsaturated ketones that affords β-aryl carbonyl compounds is described, in which a ketone carbonyl acts as a weakly coordinating directing group. It was found that the type of alkyl in aromatic ketones is crucial for the success of the reaction. This transformation provides a convenient and efficient methodology for the synthesis of 2-alkyl aromatic ketones in moderate-to-excellent yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first study the eigenvalue problem for a system of coupled integral operators and investigate existence and monotonicity of the principal eigenvalue and asymptotic behavior of the principal eigenpair. As applications of the spectral theory, we investigate a single genotype stem cell regeneration model with epigenetic transitions, and multiple genotype stem cell regeneration models with epigenetic transitions, with or without gene mutations. These models give rise to three classes of nonlinear integro-differential evolution equations. We consider existence, uniqueness and multiplicity of positive steady states to these equations, as well as the long time behavior of time-dependent solutions. Various explicit formulae for threshold values for tissue development, degeneration and abnormal growth are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular eukaryotic replication initiation helicases are first loaded as head-to- head double hexamers on double-stranded (ds) DNA origins and then initiate S-phase DNA melting during licensed (once per cell cycle) replication. Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) large T (LT) helicase oncoprotein similarly binds and melts its own 98-bp origin but replicates multiple times in a single cell cycle. To examine the actions of this unlicensed viral helicase, we quantitated multimerization of MCV LT molecules as they assembled on MCV DNA origins using real-time single-molecule microscopy. MCV LT formed highly stable double hexamers having 17-fold longer mean lifetime (τ, >1,500 s) on DNA than single hexamers. Unexpectedly, partial MCV LT assembly without double-hexamer formation was sufficient to melt origin dsDNA as measured by RAD51, RPA70, or S1 nuclease cobinding. DNA melting also occurred with truncated MCV LT proteins lacking the helicase domain, but was lost from a protein without the multimerization domain that could bind only as a monomer to DNA. SV40 polyomavirus LT also multimerized to the MCV origin without forming a functional hexamer but still melted origin DNA. MCV origin melting did not require ATP hydrolysis and occurred for both MCV and SV40 LT proteins using the nonhydrolyzable ATP analog, adenylyl-imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP). LT double hexamers formed in AMP-PNP, and melted DNA, consistent with direct LT hexamer assembly around single-stranded (ss) DNA without the energy-dependent dsDNA-to- ssDNA melting and remodeling steps used by cellular helicases. These results indicate that LT multimerization rather than helicase activity is required for origin DNA melting during unlicensed virus replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Larynx preservation surgery (LPS) combined with multimodal adjuvant therapy (MAT) is re-emerging as treatment option for hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC). This study aims to explore the survival and functional outcome of this combined approach. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. Selected patients with primary HPC treated by LPS and MAT at two large Beijing medical centers between 2005 and 2019 were included. In addition to LPS, patients received one or more of the following treatments: preoperative induction chemotherapy, postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy. Results: In total, 64 patients were included (62 were men, and median age was 57.5 years). The disease in most patients was in stage III (28.1%) or IV (56.3%), or in stage T2 (34.4%) or T3 (45.3%), based on the TNM scale. Across all patients, the rate of overall survival (OS) was 60.7% at 3 yr and 47.3% at 5 yr. OS was significantly higher for patients with stage I or II disease than for those with stage III or IV disease (HR 8.64, 95% CI 3.69–20.2, log-rank P =.010). Decannulation was successful in 55 patients (85.9%), and swallowing function was satisfactory (stage 0–III, on Functional Outcome Swallowing Scale) for 50 (78.1%). Median Voice Handicap Index-10 score on voice performance was 19 (range 4–40), and median Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Questionnaire score for QoL was 75 (range 16–105). Conclusions: LPS and MAT can provide satisfactory oncologic control and good functional outcomes for selected patients with HPC, especially those with stage I or II disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersal limitation and environmental filtering were recognized as the main dispersal‐based and niche‐based processes responsible for community assembly. These interactions usually leave more spatial signatures in sapling communities and create detectable spatial patterns in different functional types of species. We investigated saplings of pioneer and non‐pioneer species, which facilitated an understanding of species co‐existence and biodiversity recovery. Based upon mapped tree data in the subtropical evergreen broad‐leaved forest dynamics plot in Taiwan, we endeavored to: (1) determine the different spatial scales contributing to distribution patterns of pioneer and non‐pioneer saplings; (2) understand how dispersal limitation affects distribution of pioneer and non‐pioneer saplings; and (3) evaluate the degree to which the different environmental factors explain variation in species composition in pioneer and non‐pioneer saplings. We used the principal coordinates of neighbor matrices (PCNM) method, and variation partitioning to disentangle the contributions of these processes. Fine‐scale spatial patterns were more important for pioneer than for non‐pioneer saplings. Dispersal limitation was the main process influencing the spatial distribution of the non‐pioneer saplings. Environmental filtering was also an important process regulating the spatial distribution of saplings for both functional types, especially for pioneer saplings. Disturbance effects contributed to fine‐scale spatial variation in pioneer saplings, whereas topographic and soil effects contributed to broad and medium scale spatial variation in non‐pioneer saplings. It was evident that different spatial patterns of saplings of different functional types served to facilitate tree regeneration and maintain species co‐existence in this subtropical broad‐leaved forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the spatial propagation of bistable nonlocal dispersal equations in exterior domains. We first obtain the existence and uniqueness of an entire solution which behaves like a planar traveling wave front for large negative time. Then, when the entire solution comes to the interior domain, the profile of the front will be disturbed. However, the disturbance is local in space for finite time, which means the disturbance disappears as its location is far away from the interior domain. Furthermore, we prove that the solution can gradually recover its planar wave profile uniformly in space and continue to propagate in the same direction for large positive time provided that the interior domain is compact and convex. Our work generalizes the local (Laplace) diffusion results obtained by Berestycki et al. (2009) to the nonlocal dispersal setting by using new known Liouville results and Lipschitz continuity of entire solutions due to Li et al. (2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoresponsive polymers hold vast potential in the realm of drug delivery. Currently, most photoresponsive polymers use ultraviolet (UV) light as the excitation source. However, the limited penetration ability of UV light within biological tissues serves as a significant hindrance to their practical applications. Given the strong penetration ability of red light in biological tissues, the design and preparation of a novel red-light-responsive polymer with high water stability, incorporating the reversible photoswitching compound and donor-acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASA) for controlled drug release is demonstrated. In aqueous solutions, this polymer exhibits self-assembly into micellar nanovectors (~33 nm hydrodynamic diameter), facilitating the encapsulation of the hydrophobic model drug Nile red (NR) within the micellar core. Upon irradiation by a 660 nm LED light source, photons are absorbed by DASA, leading to the disruption of the hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance of the nanovector and thereby resulting in the release of NR. This newly designed nanovector incorporates red light as a responsive switch, successfully avoiding the problems of photodamage and limited penetration of UV light within biological tissues, thereby further promoting the practical applications of photoresponsive polymer nanomedicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY QUESTION Does YAP1 inhibition alleviate progesterone resistance in endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER YAP1 inhibition reduces progesterone resistance in vitro and in vivo. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Progesterone resistance not only causes treatment failure for endometriosis but also inhibits eutopic endometrial cell proliferation, dysregulates decidualization, and reduces the success rates of pregnancy. Hippo/yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) signaling pathway plays an important role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Paraffin-embedded tissues containing paired endometriotic and endometrial specimens (n = 42) and serum samples isolated from normal controls (n = 15) or endometriotic patients with (n = 25) or without (n = 21) prior dienogest treatment were analyzed. A mouse model of endometriosis was also used to evaluate the effects of YAP1 inhibition on progesterone resistance. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Primary endometriotic and endometrial stromal cells treated with YAP1 inhibitor or miR-21 mimic/inhibitor were used for the in vitro studies including decidualization induction, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and RNA immunoprecipitation. Tissue specimens and serum from human and mouse were used for immunohistochemistry staining, exosome isolation, and microRNA (miRNA) quantification, respectively. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Herein, we report, by using ChIP-PCR and RNA-IP, that YAP1 inhibits progesterone receptor (PGR) expression through upregulation of miR-21-5p. Upregulation of miR-21-5p not only reduces PGR expression but also inhibits endometrial stromal cell decidualization. Indeed, levels of YAP1 and miR-21-5p are inversely correlated with the level of PGR in human endometrial samples. In contrast, knockdown of YAP1 or treatment with verteporfin (VP), a YAP1 inhibitor, reduces miR-21-5p expression, thus leading to an increase in PGR expression in ectopic endometriotic stromal cells. In the mouse model of endometriosis, treatment with VP increases PGR expression and enhances decidualization. More importantly, VP synergistically increases the treatment effect of progestin in causing the regression of endometriotic lesions and improves the decidualization capability of the endometrium. Interestingly, treatment with dienogest, a synthetic progestin, reduces YAP1 and miR-21-5p expression in human cells and in the mouse model of endometriosis. Patients who received dienogest treatment for 6 months show a significant decrease in serum extracellular vesicle-associated miR-21-5p level. LARGE SCALE DATA A public dataset (GSE51981) containing a large cohort of endometriotic tissues is available from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION A large cohort of clinical samples is needed to verify the current diagnostic value of miR-21-5p in future studies. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The reciprocal regulation of YAP1 and PGR suggests that combined YAP1 inhibitor and progestin may be a better therapeutic approach for treating endometriosis. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST-111-2636-B-006-012, MOST-111-2314-B-006-075-MY3, and MOST-106-2320-B-006-072-MY3). The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, there is no generally approved surgical treatment for patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) and co-existing cataracts. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of phacoemulsification and phacotrabeculectomy in PACG patients with cataract. Methods: Diverse databases were searched, including PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Chinese Journal Full-text Database (CNKI), Wanfang database, and China Science and Technology Journal Database, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on phacoemulsification and phacotrabeculectomy for the treatment of PACG published up to 30 June 2021. ReviewManager (RevMan) version 5.4 software was used for the meta-analysis, and the effective quantity of measurement data was measured by the mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The effect of counting data was measured by odds ratio (OR). Results: Our search of the databases identified 14 RCTs that satisfied the search criteria. Meta-analysis of these 14 RCTs showed that at the 1 month postoperative follow-up, intraocular pressure (IOP) of patients in the phacoemulsification group was higher than that of patients in the phacotrabeculectomy group (MD 2.04, 95% CI 1.42–2.65; P < 0.00001). However, the postoperative IOP was not significantly different between the two groups at the 3, 6, and 12 months postoperative follow-ups (P = 0.52, P = 0.51, and P = 0.05, respectively). More medications for IOP reduction were required by patients in the phacoemulsification group compared with those in the phacotrabeculectomy group at 3 months postoperation (MD 0.76, 95% CI 0.33–1.18; P = 0.0005), 6 months postoperation (MD 0.66, 95% CI 0.15–1.18; P = 0.01), and 12 months postoperation (MD 0.76, 95% CI 0.22–1.30; P = 0.006). Patients in the phacoemulsification group obtained better best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) than those in the phacotrabeculectomy group (MD − 0.17, 95% CI − 0.34 to − 0.01; P = 0.04) at 3 months postoperation, but there was no significant difference in BCVA between the two groups at 6 and 12 months postoperation (P = 0.33 and P = 0.56, respectively). The deepened anterior chamber was more obvious in patients in the phacoemulsification group versus those in the phacotrabeculectomy group (MD 0.61, 95% CI 0.03–1.18; P = 0.04). Patients in the phacoemulsification group experienced fewer postoperative complications than those in the phacotrabeculectomy group (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.17–0.42; P < 0.00001). Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that phacotrabeculectomy has advantages over phacoemulsification for the treatment of PACG in terms of better IOP and reduced medication need during the early stage post surgery. However, in terms of the complication risk, phacoemulsification is the more secure treatment option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the mitigating effects of trees on shallow landslide occurrence are well recognised, the impact of landslides on tree community structure and treetree interactions have received much less research attention. The structures of tree communities before and after landslides were compared in a 25-ha subtropical forest plot. Tree-tree interactions were examined by analysing the pre- and post-landslide spatial point patterns of large (DBH = 20 cm) and small (1 cm = DBH < 20 cm) tree cohorts. In landslide scarps, 35 (34%) of 104 large trees and 467 (13%) of 3,072 small trees survived. Large (L) and small (S) tree cohorts were paired together for spatial analyses, including pre-landslide (PL) (LPL-SPL), surviving (S) (LS-SS), and miSSing (M) large-small tree paired cohorts (LMSM). We randomly selected trees from the pre-landslide tree cohorts to create two virtual paired cohorts, the L34%-S13% and L66%-S87% paired cohorts, whose population sizes were identical to the field-observed LS-SS and LM-SM paired cohorts respectively, but with random spatial patterns. Post-landslide survival rates of trees increased monotonically with DBH. Large trees dislodged by landslides scarcely reduced small-tree survival. Evidence for this included: (i) the distance from small trees to the nearest large trees of the LM-SM paired cohort did not differ significantly from that of the virtual L66%-S87% paired cohort; (ii) survival rates of small trees near LM individuaLS did not differ significantly from those without large trees nearby. Surviving large trees had positive effects on the survival of small trees, indicated by: (i) the distance from small trees to the nearest large trees of the LS-SS paired cohort was significantly lower than that of the virtual L34%-S13% paired cohort; (ii) SS individuaLS clumped around LS individuaLS, whereas the virtual L34%-S13% spatial relationship was random. Large trees prevent landslide dislodgement of adjacent small trees through the nurse-plant effect. Our study suggests that landslide damage in sloping forests may be reduced simply by constantly maintaining a critical density of large trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of probiotics, acidifiers and enzyme preparations on performance, meat quality, serum biochemical indexes and antioxidant capacity of Dagu chickens. A total of 1 200 Dagu chickens were randomly divided into five groups, with four replicates in each group and 60 chickens in each replicate. The group A (control group) was basal diet, group B was basal diet + 0.3% probiotics, group C was basal diet + 0.3% probiotics + 0.2% acidifier, group D was basal diet + 0.3% probiotics + 100 g/t enzyme preparation, and group E was basal diet + 0.3% probiotics + 0.2% acidifier + 100 g/t enzyme preparation. The experiment lasted for 63 d. The results showed that the weight gain of Dagu chickens in group C, group D and group E was significantly higher than that in control group ( P<0.05), and feed to gain radio of Dagu chickens in group C, group D and group E was significantly lower than that in control group ( P<0.05). The breast muscle shear force of Dagu chickens in group C, group D, and group E was significantly lower than that in control group ( P<0.05), the leg muscle cooking loss of large-bone chickens in group E was significantly lower than that in control group ( P<0.05), and the leg muscle shear force of large-bone chickens in group D and group E was significantly lower than that in control group ( P<0.05). The serum total cholesterol and triglyceride content of Dagu chickens in group B, group C, group D and group E were significantly lower than those in control group ( P<0.05), the serum total protein content of Dagu chickens in group D and group E were significantly higher than those in control group ( P<0.05), and the serum alanine aminotransferase activity of Dagu chickens in group E was significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.05). Serum aspartate aminotransferase of Dagu chickens in group D and group E was significantly lower than that in control group ( P<0.05). The serum MDA content of large-bone chickens in group B, group C, group D and E was significantly lower than that in control group ( P<0.05), and the T-SOD activity and T-AOC were significantly higher than those in control group ( P<0.05). The serum GSH-Px activity of large-bone chickens in group C, group D and group E was significantly higher than that in control group ( P<0.05). The experiment indicates taht probiotics, acidifiers and enzyme preparations can improve growth performance, improve meat quality, reduce blood lipid, enhance liver function and enhance antioxidant capacity of Dagu chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug repositioning aims to discover novel clinical benefits of existing drugs, is an effective way to develop drugs for complex diseases such as cancer and may facilitate the process of traditional drug development. Meanwhile, network-based computational biology approaches, which allow the integration of information from different aspects to understand the relationships between biomolecules, has been successfully applied to drug repurposing. In this work, we developed a new strategy for network-based drug repositioning against cancer. Combining the mechanism of action and clinical efficacy of the drugs, a cancer-related drug similarity network was constructed, and the correlation score of each drug with a specific cancer was quantified. The top 5% of scoring drugs were reviewed for stability and druggable potential to identify potential repositionable drugs. Of the 11 potentially repurposable drugs for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 10 were confirmed by clinical trial articles and databases. The targets of these drugs were significantly enriched in cancer-related pathways and significantly associated with the prognosis of NSCLC. In light of the successful application of our approach to colorectal cancer as well, it provides an effective clue and valuable perspective for drug repurposing in cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholic hepatitis (AH), a worldwide public health issue with high morbidity and mortality. Here, we identified apolipoprotein A-IV (APOA4) as a biomarker and potential therapeutic target for AH. APOA4 expression was detected by Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, Immunohistochemistry, and qRT-PCR in AH. Bioinformatics Methods (protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were used to show down-stream gene and pathways of APOA4 in AH. AML-12 cells were used to evaluate the biological function of APOA4 using an ELISA kit (AST, ALT, and IL-1β) and flow cytometry (ROS activity). Both in vivo and in vitro, APOA4 expression was significantly elevated in the AH model induced by alcohol (ETOH). AML-12 cell damage was specifically repaired by APOA4 deficiency, while AST, ALT, and IL-1β activity that was increased by ETOH (200 µmol, 12 h) were suppressed. APOA4 inhibition increased intracellular ROS induced by ETOH, which was detected by flow cytometry. Functional and PPI network analyses showed Fcgamma receptor (FCGR) and platelet activation signaling were potential downstream pathways. We identified CIDEC as a downstream gene of APOA4. The CIDEC AUC values for the ROC curves were 0.861. At the same time, APOA4 silencing downregulated the expression of CIDEC, whereas the knockdown of CIDEC did not influence the expression of APOA4 in AML-12 cells. Collectively, APOA4 regulates CIDEC expression and immune cell infiltration and may hold great potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target for AH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is the second most common primary bone malignancy of childhood, whereas extraosseous ES (EES) is more common in older patients. EES of the small intestine is an extremely rare disease. We present a case of ES of the small intestine with liver metastasis mimicking a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. The diagnosis of ES requires a combination of histological, immunohistochemical, and molecular techniques. Further studies to investigate whether multimodality treatments can improve the survival of metastatic EES are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to considering entire solutions of the following two-species Lotka–Volterra strong competition system with nonlocal dispersals 0.1 u t = ∫ R k (x - y) u (y , t) d y - u + u 1 - u - a v , x ∈ R , t ∈ R , v t = d ∫ R k (x - y) v (y , t) d y - d v + r v 1 - v - b u , x ∈ R , t ∈ R , where a > 1 , b > 1 , d, and r are positive constants. By constructing appropriate super- and sub-solutions, and with the aid of corresponding comparison principle, we established the existence and related qualitative properties of entire solutions originating from three and four traveling wave solutions. Meanwhile, we considered the non-existence of entire solutions originating from more than seven traveling fronts by introducing the definition of non-extendable (terminated) sequence. Compared to the known works for Lotka–Volterra competition system with classical diffusions, we have to overcome many difficulties due to the appearance of nonlocal dispersal operators in current paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antiviral defense directed by the RNAi pathway employs distinct specificity and effector mechanisms compared with other immune responses. The specificity of antiviral RNAi is programmed by siRNAs processed from virus-derived double-stranded RNA by Dicer endonuclease. Argonaute-containing RNA-induced silencing complex loaded with the viral siRNAs acts as the effector to mediate specific virus clearance by RNAi. Recent studies have provided evidence for the production and antiviral function of virus-derived siRNAs in both undifferentiated and differentiated mammalian cells infected with a range of RNA viruses when the cognate virus-encoded suppressor of RNAi (VSR) is rendered nonfunctional. In this review, we discuss the function, mechanism, and evolutionary origin of the validated mammalian VSRs and cell culture assays for their identification. RNA viruses from the Flaviviridae , Nodaviridae , Orthomyxoviridae , and Picornaviridae encode functionally validated viral suppressors of RNAi (VSRs) to promote mammalian cell infection in the presence or absence of the interferon signaling. Therapeutic targeting of closely related human enteroviral VSRs confers protection in mice against lethal challenges, revealing VSRs as a novel class of antiviral drug targets. Validated VSRs from different virus families show no sequence similarity, but all suppress Dicer-dependent production of virus-derived siRNAs by sequestering long dsRNA likely as a homodimer with a similar fold of two antiparallel α-helices, suggesting convergent evolution. Additional families of human RNA viruses, including Ebola virus and SARS-CoV-1 and 2, encode unrelated VSRs awaiting further functional validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with a nonlocal (convolution) dispersal susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic model with bilinear incidence and Neumann boundary conditions. First we establish the existence and uniqueness of stationary solutions by reducing the system to a single equation. Then we study the asymptotic profiles of the endemic steady states for large and small diffusion rates to illustrate the persistence or extinction of the infectious disease. The lack of regularity of the endemic steady state makes it more difficult to obtain the limit function of the sequence of endemic steady states. We also observe the concentration phenomenon which occurs when the diffusion rate of the infected individuals tends to zero. Our analytical results demonstrate that limiting the movement of susceptible individuals is not effective in eliminating the infectious disease unless the total population size is relatively small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on the propagation phenomena of a bistable man–environment epidemic model with nonlocal dispersals, where there exists a positive feedback interaction between the concentration of infectious agent and infectious human population. The monostable and bistable traveling wave solutions and three-wave entire solutions are studied. First, by applying and developing the known results for monostable case, we give a summary of the existence and asymptotic behavior of all monostable traveling wave solutions in two different monostable intervals and further find some relationship between them. The existence of bistable traveling wave solutions is obtained by introducing the results about monotone semiflows with weak compactness. Second, we give twelve types of three-wave entire solutions, which contain all possibilities of three-wave entire solutions originating from three traveling wave solutions with different nonzero wave speeds, by constructing new auxiliary functions and super- and sub-solutions for every type. We also show that these entire solutions are globally Lipschitz continuous with respect to spatial variable. In addition, the nonexistence result of entire solutions originating from more than four traveling wave solutions is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent molecular research has revealed the significance of hybridization and reticulate evolution in the evolution of temperate woody bamboos at both intergeneric and intrageneric levels. Although the monophyly of Fargesia s.l. is debated, species of Fargesia s.l. with the spathe-like leaf sheath syndrome form a clade as the Fargesia spathacea complex. A previous study showed varying degrees of genetic diversity and an excess of heterozygotes across the F. spathacea complex, but phylogenetic relationships within this complex remain unclear. Here, we sampled 24 populations and 72 individuals of the F. spathacea complex and three outgroups: Yushania confusa, Fargesia setosa, and Bashania fargesii. Using phylogenomic data, we generated a robust phylogeny and explored the implications of the phylogeny for previous hybridization and introgression hypotheses. The phylogenetic analyses suggested that the 72 individuals were clustered into four major clades consistent with the genetic structure but different from the statistical results of vegetative traits. Our phylogenetic and biographical evidence demonstrate that the species in the F. spathacea complex originated outside the Hengduan Mountains region and spread to heterogeneous mountain habitats in the Daba and Qinling Mountains. In addition, adaptive radiation to cold climates and reticulate evolution may have driven species diversification within the F. spathacea complex, making it difficult to classify at the population level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Pediatric oral and maxillofacial surgeons have faced severe challenges in ward management due to their high risk of exposure during the COVID‐19 epidemic. The aim of this study was to analyze and summarize the treatment methods and infection prevention and control measures applied in emergency cases in the Department of Pediatric Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, during the COVID‐19 epidemic. Methods: In this retrospective study, information was collected from 256 pediatric emergency patients who were treated from January 23, 2020 to August 9, 2021. The patients' data were statistically analyzed according to age, gender, disease and pathogenesis, operation time, and the main treatment applied in pediatric oral and maxillofacial emergency cases during the COVID‐19 epidemic. Results: During the epidemic period, 256 pediatric emergency patients were successfully treated. Among them, there were 170 boys and 86 girls. In all, 182 patients were diagnosed with oral or facial lacerations; 43 had jaw fractures; 26 had maxillofacial infections; and five had dento‐alveolar fractures. A total of 246 patients underwent surgery under negative pressure with level 3 protection standards. No doctors or patients infected with COVID‐19 were found throughout the stury period. Conclusions: Pediatric oral and maxillofacial emergency in‐patients mainly experienced maxillofacial trauma during the COVID‐19 epidemic, followed by infection. Effective diagnosis and treatment, and avoidance of COVID‐19 infection can be achieved by strictly following epidemic prevention and treatment procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problem that the accuracy of the SVM algorithm is affected by random parameters at the input end, a financial crisis early warning model (FCEWM) based on PSO-SVM is constructed based on the nonequilibrium sample characteristics of different financial conditions of listed companies in China's gem. The model uses the PSO algorithm to optimize the parameters of SVM and selects 24 financial risk evaluation indexes as the input to predict the financial crisis. The results show that the proposed model is superior to other models in prediction accuracy and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we first consider two scalar nonlocal diffusion problems with a free boundary and a fixed boundary. We obtain global existence, uniqueness and longtime behavior of solution of these two problems. The spreading-vanishing dichotomy is established, and some sufficient conditions for spreading and vanishing are also derived. For scalar models, we prove that accelerated spreading could happen if and only if a threshold condition is violated by kernel function. Then we discuss a classical Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model with nonlocal diffusions and a free boundary which can be seen as nonlocal diffusion counterpart of the model in the work of Wang (2014) [24]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Under current standards of treating highly aggressive hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC), oncological control and functional outcome are still unsatisfactory worldwide. This study explored the surgery-oriented comprehensive treatment approach based on 15 years of practice. Methods: A retrospective cohort of HPC patients treated by the senior author at Chinese PLA General Hospital between Nov 2005 and Aug 2012 and Capital Medical University Beijing Friendship Hospital between May 2014 and Nov 2019 was studied. Oncological control, swallowing function, and quality of life (QoL) were assessed. Results: In total, 122 patients were included in this study, with 11 (9.0%) cases in the early stage and 111 (91.0%) cases in the advanced stage. Five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were 40.0% and 36.1%, respectively. The swallowing outcome was satisfactory in 90 (73.8%) patients. Tracheostomy-free survival was achieved in 55 (45.1%) patients. Multivariate cox regression analysis showed that the size of the surgical defect, local-regional recurrence, and distant metastasis were independent impact factors for OS and DFS (P <.05). Multivariate analysis showed that the logistic regression coefficients (standard error) of pharyngo-cutaneous fistula and local-regional recurrence on swallowing function were 1.274 (.532) and 1.283 (.496), respectively (P <.05). In addition, the logistic regression coefficients (standard error) of the clinical stage, local-regional recurrence, decannulation, and feeding tube on QoL were −7.803 (3.593), −7.699 (3.151), 13.853 (3.494), and −20.243 (3.696), respectively (P <.05). Conclusions: Surgery-oriented comprehensive treatment can give rise to good swallowing function without jeopardizing oncological control. The size of the surgical defect, local-regional recurrence, and distant metastasis were independent factors impacting OS and DFS. Pharyngo-cutaneous fistula and local-regional recurrence were independent factors impacting swallowing function. Clinical stage, local-regional recurrence, decannulation, and feeding tube were independent factors impacting QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The aim of this research is to improve the isolation performance and energy dissipation characteristics of the widely used passive isolation (PI) system with wire‐rope isolators (WRIs) under the excitation of various blast‐induced vibration loads through the use of a semi‐active control system. A hybrid isolation (HI) system composed of WRIs and an innovative magnetorheological (MR) damper equipped with a motion controller is proposed, which can protect sensitive equipment and nonstructural elements by attenuating their dynamic response. The designs of the MR damper's magnetic circuit and control system were validated by establishing an electromagnetic field finite element model and a motion controller simulation model, respectively. A series of quasi‐static and shock table tests were conducted on models using three types of isolation: (1) a PI with WRIs, (2) an HI without a motion controller, and (3) an HI alone. The results show that the proposed MR damper can effectively restrain the tensile vibration of WRIs, significantly increase the isolation rate, and provide greater energy dissipation in HI systems with different weights of static loading subjected to various blast‐induced vibration loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of high-speed rail in China, addressing the issue of safety assurance during the operation of the train is very important. A very important part of a train's power supply system is the pantograph and catenary system, which consists of a pantograph and a catenary. Failure of the pantograph-catenary system can cause significant damage to the normal operation of the train. The dynamic performance of the pantograph-catheter system must be detected in real time during the operation of the train. This paper is based on the study and analysis of pantograph-catheter dynamic performance parameters and developed a system for real-time detection of pantograph-catheter dynamic performance parameters based on a car visual system. The results are as follows: based on this detection method, the visual error is low and the accuracy is high. The machine-based directional height detection module developed in this paper has a good detection effect and high test accuracy; the arcing detection module designed in this paper can effectively detect the arcing and store the arcing pictures and can display the duration of single arcing and the arcing rate of the section in real-time. The practical application effect is good. The results show that the focal length of the camera lens is 16 mm, and the error of the machine vision system is low. The system designed in this paper may make a great contribution to the operation condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of the pantograph-catenary system of a high-speed train in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the asymptotic propagations for a nonlocal dispersal population model with shifting habitats. In particular, we verify that the invading speed of the species is determined by the speed c of the shifting habitat edge and the behaviours near infinity of the species' growth rate which is nondecreasing along the positive spatial direction. In the case where the species declines near the negative infinity, we conclude that extinction occurs if c > c*(∞), while c < c*(∞), spreading happens with a leftward speed min{−c, c*(∞)} and a rightward speed c*(∞), where c*(∞) is the minimum KPP travelling wave speed associated with the species' growth rate at the positive infinity. The same scenario will play out for the case where the species' growth rate is zero at negative infinity. In the case where the species still grows near negative infinity, we show that the species always survives 'by moving' with the rightward spreading speed being either c*(∞) or c*(−∞) and the leftward spreading speed being one of c*(∞), c*(−∞) and −c, where c*(−∞) is the minimum KPP travelling wave speed corresponding to the growth rate at the negative infinity. Finally, we give some numeric simulations and discussions to present and explain the theoretical results. Our results indicate that there may exists a solution like a two-layer wave with the propagation speeds analytically determined for such type of nonlocal dispersal equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]