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Rising oil spills from contemporary industrial activities pose threats to local ecosystems. This study presents a novel approach, fabricating superhydrophobic polycaprolactone (PCL) 3D porous foam for oil–water separation using thermally induced nonsolvent‐induced phase separation (TINIPS) and silica modification, achieving an impressive water contact angle of 151.56°. PCL foam exhibits remarkable versatility, proving effective in oil absorption on water surfaces and underwater, with an adsorption capacity reaching 9.32 times its weight. Additionally, film‐like PCL foam emerges as a valuable tool for oil–water separation through filtration, maintaining a flux of 13.63 m3 m−2 h−1 even after 10 cycles. This research advances superhydrophobic materials, demonstrating practical applications in mitigating environmental challenges posed by oil spills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ostwald ripening (OR), a classic solution theory describing molecular transfer from metastable crystal to stable one, is applied to design time‐dependent crystal hydrogels that can automatically change their mechanical properties. Using a system made from crosslinked polyacrylamide (PAM) and sodium acetate (NaAc), we demonstrate that metastable fibrous crystal networks of NaAc preferably form in PAM hydrogels via a polymer‐involving mismatch nucleation. These fibrous crystals would undergo OR and evolve into isolated bulk crystals, leading to a significant reduction in material rigidity (179 folds) and interfacial adhesion (20 folds). This transformation can be applied to program time‐dependent self‐recovery in shape and self‐delamination. Since OR is a ubiquitous, robust feature of various crystals, the approach reported here represents a new direction for designing advanced transient soft materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ostwald ripening (OR), a classic solution theory describing molecular transfer from metastable crystal to stable one, is applied to design time‐dependent crystal hydrogels that can automatically change their mechanical properties. Using a system made from crosslinked polyacrylamide (PAM) and sodium acetate (NaAc), we demonstrate that metastable fibrous crystal networks of NaAc preferably form in PAM hydrogels via a polymer‐involving mismatch nucleation. These fibrous crystals would undergo OR and evolve into isolated bulk crystals, leading to a significant reduction in material rigidity (179 folds) and interfacial adhesion (20 folds). This transformation can be applied to program time‐dependent self‐recovery in shape and self‐delamination. Since OR is a ubiquitous, robust feature of various crystals, the approach reported here represents a new direction for designing advanced transient soft materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The psychological toll on parents of a child receiving a cancer diagnosis is known to be high, but there is a knowledge gap regarding suicidal behavior among these parents. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of suicide attempt and death by suicide in relation to having a child with cancer. Methods and findings: We performed a binational population-based and sibling-controlled cohort study, including all parents with a child diagnosed with cancer in Denmark (1978 to 2016) or Sweden (1973 to 2014), 10 matched unexposed parents per exposed parent (population comparison), and unaffected full siblings of the exposed parents (sibling comparison). Suicide attempt was identified through the Patient Register and the Psychiatric Central Register in Denmark and the Patient Register in Sweden, whereas death by suicide was identified through the Danish Causes of Death Register and the Swedish Causes of Death Register. In population comparison, we used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of suicide attempt and death by suicide associated with cancer diagnosis of a child, adjusting for sex, age, country of residence, calendar year, marital status, highest attained educational level, household income, history of cancer, history of psychiatric disorder, and family history of psychiatric disorder. The sibling comparison was performed to assess the role of familial confounding in the studied associations. The population comparison consisted of 106,005 exposed parents and 1,060,050 matched unexposed parents, with a median age of 56 at cohort entry and 46.9% male. During the median follow-up of 7.3 and 7.2 years, we observed 613 (incidence rate [IR], 58.8 per 100,000 person-years) and 5,888 (IR, 57.1 per 100,000 person-years) cases of first-onset suicide attempt among the exposed and unexposed parents, respectively. There was an increased risk of parental suicide attempt during the first years after a child's cancer diagnosis (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, [1.03, 1.28]; p = 0.01), particularly when the child was 18 or younger at diagnosis (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, [1.08, 1.46]; p = 0.004), when the child was diagnosed with a highly aggressive cancer (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, [1.05, 2.43]; p = 0.03), or when the child died due to cancer (HR, 1.63; 95% CI, [1.29, 2.06]; p < 0.001). The increased risk did not, however, maintain thereafter (HR, 0.86; 95% CI: [0.75, 0.98]; p = 0.03), and there was no altered risk of parental death by suicide any time after the child's cancer diagnosis. Sibling comparison corroborated these findings. The main limitation of the study is the potential residual confounding by factors not shared between full siblings. Conclusions: In this study, we observed an increased risk of parental suicide attempt during the first years after a child's cancer diagnosis, especially when the child was diagnosed during childhood, or with an aggressive or fatal form of cancer. There was, however, no altered risk of parental death by suicide at any time after a child's cancer diagnosis. Our findings suggest extended clinical awareness of suicide attempt among parents of children with cancer, especially during the first few years after cancer diagnosis. In this large population based cohort study, Qianwei Liu and co-workers explore how a diagnosis of cancer in children influences suicide risk in parents. Author summary: Why was this study done?: Having a child with a cancer diagnosis is highly stressful for parents. Little is known about risk of parental suicidal behavior in relation to cancer diagnosis of a child. What did the researchers do and find?: We performed a binational population-based and sibling-controlled cohort study to investigate the association between cancer diagnosis of a child and the subsequent risk of suicide attempt or death by suicide among the parents. We observed an increased risk of parental suicide attempt during the first years after a child's cancer diagnosis, especially when the child was diagnosed during childhood, or with an aggressive or fatal form of cancer, in both the population-based comparison and the sibling comparison. What do these findings mean?: Our findings call for clinical awareness of the risk of suicide attempt among parents of children with cancer, primarily within the first years after cancer diagnosis of the child. Future studies are needed to examine the generalizability of our findings to other countries with different healthcare system, sociocultural context, and prevalence of cancer and suicidal behavior as Denmark and Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front Cover: In article 2300436, Yamin Pan, Xianhu Liu, and co‐workers fabricate a superhydrophobic PCL 3D porous foam via thermally induced nonsolvent induced phase separation with additional extra water. After modification with silica nanoparticles, the foam achieves a water contact angle of 151.56°. Based on the invasion pressure theory, the foam could selectively adsorb or filter oil from water with high efficiency and flux..By Xiaolong Wang; Qianwei Liu; Yamin Pan; Yongqiang Tu and Xianhu LiuReported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

Background: A knowledge gap exists about the risk of cancer in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). The primary aim of this study was to estimate the cancer risk among individuals with ID compared to individuals without ID.Methods and Findings: We conducted a population-based cohort study of all children live-born in Sweden between 1974 and 2013 and whose mothers were born in a Nordic country. All individuals were followed from birth until cancer diagnosis, emigration, death, or 31 December 2016 (up to age 43 years), whichever came first. Incident cancers were identified from the Swedish Cancer Register. We fitted Cox regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as measures of cancer risk in relation to ID after adjusting for several potential confounders. We analyzed ID by severity, as well as idiopathic ID and syndromic ID separately. We performed a sibling comparison to investigate familial confounding. The study cohort included a total of 3,531,305 individuals, including 27,956 (0.8%) individuals diagnosed with ID. Compared with the reference group (individuals without ID and without a full sibling with ID), individuals with ID were in general more likely to be male. The median follow-up time was 8.9 and 23.0 years for individuals with ID and individuals without ID, respectively. A total of 188 cancer cases were identified among individuals with ID (incidence rate [IR], 62 per 1,000 person-years), and 24,960 among individuals in the reference group (IR, 31 per 1,000 person-years). A statistically significantly increased risk was observed for any cancer (HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.35-1.82; P < 0.001), as well as for several cancer types, including cancers of the esophagus (HR 28.4, 95% CI 6.2-130.6; P < 0.001), stomach (HR 6.1, 95% CI 1.5-24.9; P = 0.013), small intestine (HR 12.0, 95% CI 2.9-50.1; P < 0.001), colon (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0-4.1; P = 0.045), pancreas (HR 6.0, 95% CI 1.5-24.8; P = 0.013), uterus (HR 11.7, 95% CI 1.5-90.7; P = 0.019), kidney (HR 4.4, 95% CI 2.0-9.8; P < 0.001), central nervous system (HR 2.7, 95% CI 2.0-3.7; P < 0.001), and other or unspecified sites (HR 4.8, 95% CI 1.8-12.9; P = 0.002), as well as acute lymphoid leukemia (HR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3-4.4; P = 0.003) and acute myeloid leukemia (HR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4-6.4; P = 0.004). Cancer risk was not modified by ID severity or sex but was higher for syndromic ID. The sibling comparison showed little support for familial confounding. The main study limitations were the limited statistical power for the analyses of specific cancer types, and the potential for underestimation of the studied associations (e.g., due to potential underdetection or delayed diagnosis of cancer among individuals with ID).Conclusions: In this study, we found that individuals with ID showed an increased risk of any cancer, as well as of several specific cancer types. These findings suggest that extended surveillance and early intervention for cancer among individuals with ID are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A FRET based ratiometric fluorescent probe was developed for the detection of HClO. • Probe 1 displayed a short response time, a low detection limit and a large Stokes shift. • Probe 1 was an effective fluorescent tool to image HClO in living cells and zebrafish. Hypochlorous acid (HClO) is a reactive oxygen species and a relatively strong antibacterial substance in the immune defense system. The normal concentration of HClO in the human body is approximately 200 μM, and its high concentration can cause tissue damage and some diseases. Herein, a chromenoquinoline-based ratiometric fluorescent probe was developed to detect and quantify HClO. The developed Probe 1 exhibited the advantages of large Stokes shift (137 nm), high synthetic yield (84.7 %), simple synthesis method, short response time (<4 min), low detection limit (5.1 nM), and low toxicity. The probe was successfully validated in live cells and zebrafish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 2,3,4,5‐Tetraphenyl‐1H‐pyrrole (TePP) was synthesized by a simple one‐step reaction. The compound showed a balanced emission in both the solution and solid state with the absolute quantum yield of ΦF/THF=65.6 % and ΦF/solid=74.3 %, respectively. Temperature and viscosity variation measurements demonstrated that the phenyl group at the 1‐position (N‐position) of the pyrrole core can act as a rotor in pyrrole‐based molecules, which can consume the excited energy and reduce the molecular emission in solution. TePP without the phenyl group at the 1‐position can effectively enhance the emission in solution. Single‐crystal analysis showed that the phenyl groups at the 2,5‐positions of pyrrole extend the molecular conjugation and lock the conformation. The phenyl groups at the 3,4‐positions with a twisted conformation prevent their molecules from close packing and are helpful for aggregated emission. A delicate balance between the twisting conformation and rigid conjugation takes advantage of both ACQ and AIE luminogens. The strategy can tune the AIE, ACQ, or solution and solid dual‐state emission properties of pyrrole‐based molecules by simply altering the position of phenyl groups, which provides a great opportunity to explore the luminescent mechanism in greater detail and to facilitate practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine wavefront aberrations induced by biomechanical effects after Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE) surgery. The three-dimensional (3D) finite element models of the human eye were established. By loading the intraocular pressure (IOP), the displacement of the anterior and posterior surface of the cornea was calculated. Then the displacement was converted into the wavefront aberrations by wave-surface fitting. The results showed that the induced wavefront aberrations were noticeable from biomechanical effects after SMILE surgery. The induced higher-order aberrations from the anterior corneal surface included spherical aberration, y-Trefoil, and x-Tetrafoil. Spherical aberration was positively correlated with corrected diopter (D), but x-Tetrafoil and y-Trefoil remained stable. The induced wavefront aberrations from the posterior corneal surface were smaller than those from the anterior corneal surface, and some of the aberrations compensated each other. With IOP increased, defocus and x-Tetrafoil from the anterior corneal surface increased, while y-Trefoil and spherical aberration decreased. The IOP only affected defocus from the posterior corneal surface. In addition, the incision size also had a distinct impact on primary x-astigmatism and x-Trefoil from the anterior corneal surface, and it had a smaller effect on the aberrations from the posterior corneal surface. Therefore, the biomechanical effects increased residual wavefront aberrations after SMILE refractive surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a target-free rough registration method for TLS-ULS point cloud data. • We propose a fast fine registration method to improve the result. • We explore the influence of the change of search window on the final accuracy. Modern laser scanning techniques have been commonly used for forest land studies. Complementary scanning capabilities can be particularly obtained using unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (ULS) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technologies. The registration of the ULS and TLS data can thus lead to more comprehensive data acquisition and information extraction in forest lands. However, this registration process is typically hindered by problems of data density and inconsistency of the scanned forest canopy shape. In this paper, we propose a tree-height registration (TR) method for ULS-TLS point-cloud registration, and apply this method to the alpine forest land of the Shangri-La City of the Northwestern Yunnan Province in China. The tree height points are obtained from a digital surface model (DSM), which contains isosurface points of the forest structures. Rotation and translation matrices are then calculated through singular value decomposition (SVD), and rough registration is completed. Finally, fine registration is achieved through nearest-neighbor iterative SVD. The results show that the proposed method can effectively register ULS and TLS forest data samples, with an average accuracy of 0.43 m. The method has an average running time of less than 21 s through 3m-by-3m window size to search tree height point for registration, and also shows good applicability in forest lands with slopes in the range of 2-18°. Moreover, the best outcomes were obtained for a 3m-by-3m window size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhao, Y.; Liu, Q.-W.; Hu F.-H.; Lu, G., and Zhang, T., 2019. Synonym extraction in shipping industry with distant supervision and deep neural network. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 455–459. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Current synonym extraction methods, including lexical pattern based methods, distributional similarity-based methods, and search engine based methods, usually need a lot of manual work, either in rule editing or in training corpus labeling. This paper tries to find synonyms in a "self-supervised" way and presents a synonym extraction framework based on distant supervision. The model used here is LSTM and CRF. We first analyze the nature of the synonym representations of the Nautical Navigation in text; then automatically generate labeled training samples by using structured knowledge (a domain dictionary) and some generic heuristic rules. Finally, we train some "LSTM + CRF" models and use them to extract synonyms in the shipping industry corpus. More than 100 thousand facts are successfully extracted, which contain 3,629 distinct pairs of synonyms; and the precision is 0.967. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is associated with the risk of several human malignancies, including Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, as EBV infection is widely spread across human populations, whereas only a small proportion of the infected individuals eventually develop such malignancies, additional component causes are likely needed in the development of EBV-related malignancies. We performed a national register-based study in Sweden to examine the role of infections that required hospital treatment on the subsequent risk of HL and NPC. We found that previous hospital-treated infections were associated with a higher risk of HL and NPC and that a positive association was observed for both bacterial and viral infections, especially for respiratory and skin infections. A dose-response relationship was also noted between the number of infections and the risk of HL. These findings suggest that infectious events might contribute to the carcinogenesis of malignancies potentially related to EBV. Background: To assess the association of hospital-treated infections with the subsequent risk of two Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related malignancies, namely Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: We performed a nested case-control study based on several national registers in Sweden. Cases were individuals newly diagnosed with HL or NPC during 1994–2016 in Sweden, according to the Swedish Cancer Register. For each case, we randomly selected five controls individually matched to the case on sex and year of birth from the general Swedish population. Hospital-treated infections (i.e., infections requiring either inpatient or outpatient hospital care) were identified from the Swedish Patient Register. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of HL and NPC, in relation to hospital-treated infections, after adjustment for age, sex, calendar period, educational achievement, and region of residence. Results: The study included a total of 890 cases of HL and 306 cases of NPC. A hospital-treated infection three years ago or earlier was associated with a higher risk of HL (OR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.26–1.75) as well as NPC (OR = 1.36; 95%CI: 1.01–1.83). The positive association was noted for both bacterial and viral infections and primarily for respiratory and skin infections. A monotonous dose-response relationship was found between a number of hospital-treated infections and the risk of HL (p = 0.02) but less compelling for NPC (p = 0.06). Using a 5-year lag time rendered similar results (OR = 1.43, 95%CI: 1.21–1.70 for HL; OR = 1.43, 95%CI: 1.05–1.95 for NPC). Conclusions: These findings suggest that infections requiring hospital treatment might contribute to the carcinogenesis of malignancies potentially related to EBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitrimers are reprocessing and recycling thermosetting plastics. They possess reconfigurable polymer networks that allow for unlimited transformation in shape in principle. However, current strategies to reshape the vitrimers typically involve heat or light, which often induces undesirable oxidation and decomposition. To address this issue, here a water‐assisted approach is proposed for programming epoxy vitrimers’ shapes. In this design, water molecules are utilized to reversibly dissociate the hydrogen bonds in epoxy vitrimers to enable the polymer segments to move flexibly. The hydrated epoxy vitrimers can then be reprogrammed and retained into different temporary shapes by removing the water. Such samples would be recovered to their original shapes by rehydration, exhibiting water‐induced shape memory property. More than temporary deformation, the permanent figures of the hydrated vitrimers can also be permanently changed at room temperature (rt) or elevated temperatures in the presence of transesterification catalysts. Combing the shape memory and high temperature plasticity or utilizing rt plasticity, sophisticated shapes such as spiral shapes are demonstrated. It is envisioned that this water‐assisted methodology can be useful in programming cross‐linked polymers into diverse 3D structures, which has wide practical applications in soft robots, deployable devices, aerospace materials, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical soft–hard transition of hydrogels is desired in conditions‐adaptive deformation and mechanics reconfiguration applications. However, highly efficient, stimuli‐responsive, and reversible transition strategies are hard to achieve. Inspired by the supercooling of salt‐aqueous solutions, solid and supersaturated hydrogels are prepared based on a hydrophilic polymer network and salt‐aqueous solution. The inner crystallization‐ or melting‐induced reversible phase‐change realizes the switch between the soft hydrogel (modulus: 0.1 MPa) and rigid composite (modulus: 24.0 MPa). The soft and supersaturated hydrogels easily deform to achieve diverse new 3D models and the unfamiliar soft–hard transition makes temporary shapes be efficiently fixed (hardening). Interestingly, the initial hydrogel's shapes can be regenerated relying on the resilience of the polyacrylamide network when the crystal is melted (softening). Shape memory, complex surface morphology replication, rapid mold application, and self‐supporting laminated glass are accomplished by this unique crystallization‐melting introduced soft–hard transition. This phase change soft‐hard switching strategy will broaden the functionalities of hydrogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Incorporate the ecological security pattern into the constraints of future land use simulation. • Integrate future building land expansion with the ecological security pattern to identify ecological early warning areas. • Considering land use types, propose ecological restoration strategies for ecological restoration and early warning areas. The scientific determination of crucial regions for ecological land restoration and reasonable early warnings for ecologically weak areas are vital for implementing land ecological restoration. Five major plateau lake basins in central Yunnan (China) are selected as the study area in this research. An ecological security pattern (ESP) is constructed using the source-resistance surface-corridor-pinch point framework to effectively identify crucial areas for ecological restoration. Finally, the land use/cover change (LUCC) in the study region in 2030 is simulated in terms of the natural development prospect (NDP), with priority given to urban development (PUD) and priority given to ecological protection (PEP) scenarios, and identify areas where future urban expansion poses a threat to current ecological source areas and corridors as early warning regions. The results indicate the following: (1) There are 15 ecological source regions in the Five Lakes Basin, mainly forestland and waters, with a total area of 787.54 km2. The ecological corridor spans 245.72 km, with a total area of 439.90 km2. (2) The key ecological restoration areas include 72.87 km2 of ecological pinch points, 70.46 km2 of barrier points of ecological, and 71 breakpoints. (3) The ecological land under the NDP scenario and the PUD scenario were damaged to varying degrees. The ecological land dominated by forestland and water area under the PEP scenario is effectively protected. (4) The seven ecological protection space early warning points are mainly distributed in the eastern part of Dianchi Lake and the northern part of Fuxian Lake, which have good economic development and better habitat quality. The comprehensive analysis identified key ecological restoration areas and identified future ecological stresses due to land use change in the Five-Lakes Basin. Restoration strategies are proposed based on current land use and future scenarios to enhance the ESP in central Yunnan's Five Lakes Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: As the immobility of inorganic phosphorus (P) in soil, the acquisition of P by sessile plants is limited. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a signal molecule and a metabolite can regulate plants to cope with various stresses. However, whether GABA could contribute to the adaption to low P stress in apple plants remains unclear. Methods: This study combined different methods to detect the induction of auxin (IAA) synthesis by GABA to improve the tolerance of apple seedlings to low P stress (including growth and development analysis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) clearance effect, root structure analysis, multiple factorial analysis (MFA), gene expression analysis). Results: Exogenous GABA improved the growth of apple seedlings under low P conditions, reduced the ROS accumulation, and promoted the photosynthetic capacity. GABA contributed to the root system architecture and the development of mature area of root tips. In addition, the intervention of exogenous GABA interfered with the homeostasis of endogenous IAA and activated the expression of P starvation induction (PSI) gene, leading to the significantly increase of the P uptake in apple plants. Meanwhile, transgenic roots with overexpressing MdGAD1 enhanced the tolerance of apple seedlings to low P stress, improved the root development through regulating IAA signaling pathway, and significantly improved the P uptake of apple seedlings under low P conditions. Conclusion: All results suggested that GABA could contribute to the adaption of apple seedlings to low P conditions, by decreasing ROS accumulation, maintaining photosynthetic capacity, and increasing IAA level to improve the root development and the P absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adhesion strategies of the gecko's toe through surface adaptation of spatulas to increase contact area and the snail's epiphragm via dehydration‐induced solidification to lock interfaces are combined to design a class of adhesion‐switchable hydrogels. The hydrogels are made via incorporating CH3COONa·3H2O salt (SA) into polyacrylamide (PAM) aqueous networks to construct supersaturated and stimuli‐responsive phase change materials (PAM‐SA). The crystallization dramatically strengthens the mechanical properties, and tensile Young's moduli are 340.7 and 0.1 MPa for crystalline C‐PAM‐SA‐120% and soft PAM hydrogel. As a result, PAM‐SA‐120% shows excellent adhesive performance (adhesion strength, 348 kPa) compared with PAM hydrogel adhesive (adhesion strength, 7 kPa). The stimuli‐induced crystallization from H‐PAM‐SA‐120% phase change hydrogels releases thermal controllably, which can be utilized for thermochromic materials and thermotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self‐assembly morphologies of subunits are largely governed by thermodynamics, which plays a less important role in dimensional control. Particularly for one‐dimensional assemblies from block copolymers (BCPs), the negligible energy difference between short and long ones imposes great challenges in length control. Herein, we report that by incorporating additional polymers to induce in situ nucleation and trigger the subsequent growth, controllable supramolecular polymerization driven by mesogenic ordering effect could be realized from liquid crystalline BCPs. The length of the resultant fibrillar supramolecular polymers (SP) is controlled by tuning the ratio between nucleating and growing components. Depending on the choice of BCPs, the SPs can be homopolymer‐like, heterogeneous triblock, and even pentablock copolymer‐like. More interestingly, with insoluble BCP as a nucleating component, amphiphilic SPs are fabricated, which can undergo spontaneous hierarchical assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self‐assembly morphologies of subunits are largely governed by thermodynamics, which plays a less important role in dimensional control. Particularly for one‐dimensional assemblies from block copolymers (BCPs), the negligible energy difference between short and long ones imposes great challenges in length control. Herein, we report that by incorporating additional polymers to induce in situ nucleation and trigger the subsequent growth, controllable supramolecular polymerization driven by mesogenic ordering effect could be realized from liquid crystalline BCPs. The length of the resultant fibrillar supramolecular polymers (SP) is controlled by tuning the ratio between nucleating and growing components. Depending on the choice of BCPs, the SPs can be homopolymer‐like, heterogeneous triblock, and even pentablock copolymer‐like. More interestingly, with insoluble BCP as a nucleating component, amphiphilic SPs are fabricated, which can undergo spontaneous hierarchical assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panax ginseng and Fructus mume (Renshen Wumei in Chinese, RW) are natural medicines with high nutritional and pharmacological value. They have been widely used together in China to treat gastrointestinal diseases, especially persistent diarrhea, but the potential mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, a diarrhea model was established in rats using a 30% aqueous extract of senna. The therapeutic effects of RW were evaluated by recording the prevalence of loose stools, the diarrhea index, and histopathological changes in colon tissue. The levels of mucins, tight junction (TJ) proteins, inflammatory cytokines, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt/nuclear factor-κB (PI3K/Akt/NF-κB) signaling pathway proteins were measured. Metagenomic sequencing was used to analyze the gut microbiota. Treatment with RW alleviated injury to the intestinal barrier in rats with diarrhea and also upregulated levels of Muc2 and TJ proteins, such as occludin, zonula occludens-1, and claudin-1. Administration of RW regulated the structure of the gut microbiota in diarrheal rats. Furthermore, RW suppressed levels of interleukin (IL), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-1, PI3K, Akt, and p-NF-κB p65 and also increased IL-4 levels. Our study indicates that P. ginseng and Fructus mume help improve the symptoms of diarrhea, possibly by alleviating the intestinal barrier injury, regulating intestinal flora composition, and inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: We performed a cohort study based on the Swedish Apolipoprotein-Related Mortality Risk (AMORIS) Cohort, including 561,388 individuals and with a follow-up of >30 years, to assess the associations of nine blood biomarkers of carbohydrate, lipid, and apolipoprotein metabolism with the subsequent risk of thyroid cancer. In brief, we found that increased blood levels of total cholesterol and HDL-C were associated with a lower risk of thyroid cancer and, as a group, patients with thyroid cancer had constantly lower levels of total cholesterol and HDL-C during the decades before diagnosis, compared to controls. We also found that, during the 10 years before diagnosis, patients with thyroid cancer demonstrated declining levels of lipid and apolipoprotein biomarkers, whereas controls demonstrated stable or increasing levels likely because of aging. Background: Previous studies have examined the link between blood metabolic biomarkers and risk of thyroid cancer, with inconclusive results. We performed a cohort study based on the Swedish Apolipoprotein-Related Mortality Risk (AMORIS) Cohort, including 561,388 individuals undergoing health examinations during 1985–1996 with a follow-up of >30 years. Methods: Newly diagnosed cases of thyroid cancer were identified from the Swedish Cancer Register. We assessed the associations of nine blood biomarkers of carbohydrate, lipid, and apolipoprotein metabolism measured at the time of health examinations with the subsequent risk of thyroid cancer and demonstrated the temporal trend of these biomarkers during the 30 years before diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Results: After multivariable adjustment, there was a lower risk of thyroid cancer, per standard deviation increase in total cholesterol (TC; HR 0.91; 95%CI 0.82–0.99) and HDL-C (HR 0.86; 95%CI 0.75–0.99). During the 20 to 30 years before diagnosis, patients with thyroid cancer, as a group, demonstrated constantly lower levels of TC and HDL-C, compared to controls. Further, patients with thyroid cancer demonstrated declining levels of these biomarkers during the ten years before diagnosis, whereas controls demonstrated stable or increasing levels. Conclusions: Taken together, we found blood levels of TC and HDL-C to be associated with the risk of thyroid cancer and that there was a declining level of metabolic biomarkers during the 10 years before diagnosis of thyroid cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest ecosystems can be regarded as huge carbon sinks. In order to effectively assess carbon balance in such ecosystems, rapid and accurate estimation of the aboveground biomass of a forest is critically needed. However, the current methods for biomass estimation and mapping are of limited spatial resolution and mostly depend on large numbers of measurements. In order to obtain better biomass estimation outcomes with higher spatial resolution, a rapid method is introduced for region-scale biomass estimation in alpine and canyon areas using space-borne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and optical remote-sensing images. Specifically, we explored alpine and canyon areas in Shangri-La City in China using space-borne LiDAR data from ICESAT-2 and optical remote-sensing images from Landsat8 OLI, Sentinel-2, and Microwave remote sensing Sentinel-1. An extrapolation model of the forest canopy heights in these areas was constructed with a 30-m resolution of continuous canopy height outputs. For continuously estimating the diameter at breast height (DBH) in Shangri-La City, a tree height-DBH growth model was constructed based on the LiDAR and remote-sensing measurements. Finally, based on the average DBH of the explored forests, a model was constructed for estimating and mapping the aboveground biomass and carbon storage in Shangri-La with a spatial resolution of 30 m. The results show that the forest canopy height in Shangri-La City is mainly in the range of 2.82–30.96 m, and that the estimation accuracy is verified by the LiDAR-based canopy height model (CHM) with a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.7143. The inversion results were still largely affected by geospatial location factors (longitude, latitude), terrain factors (slope, elevation), and vegetation indices (NBR, NDGI, NDVI). Based on the relationship between the tree height and the DBH, the DBH of trees in Shangri-La City was estimated to be mainly in the range of 20 cm to 30 cm, and this estimate was verified by actual measurements with R2 greater than 0.7 all. Finally, the established model estimated the aboveground forest biomass and carbon storage of the study area of Shangri-La City in 2020 to be 1.28 × 108 t and 6.41 × 107 t, respectively. These estimates correspond to total accuracies of 92.28%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, psychological stress was particularly pronounced in the student population due to prolonged home isolation, online study, closed management, graduation, and employment pressures. The objective of this study is to identify the incidence of psychological stress reactions in student populations following a global outbreak and the associated influencing factors. Four English databases (Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science) and four Chinese biomedical databases (Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang) were searched in this study. We also retrieved other search engines manually. The search period was from the time of database creation to 10 March 2022. This study included cross-sectional studies related to psychological stress reactions in student populations during the COVID-19 epidemic. Three groups of researchers screened the retrieved studies and assessed the quality of the included studies using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Cross-Sectional Study Quality Assessment Checklist. A random-effects model was used to analyze the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and fear symptoms in the student population during the COVID-19 epidemic. Of the 146,330 records retrieved, we included 104 studies (n = 2,088,032). The quality of included studies was moderate. The prevalence of depressive symptoms in the student population during the epidemic was 32.0% (95% CI [28.0–37.0%]); anxiety symptoms was 28.0% (95% CI [24.0–32.0%]); stress symptoms was 31.0% (95% CI [23.0–39.0%]); and fear symptoms was 33.0% (95% CI [20.0–49.0%]). The prevalence differed by gender, epidemic stage, region, education stage, student major and assessment tool. The prevalence of psychological stress in the student population during the COVID-19 epidemic may be higher compared to the global prevalence of psychological stress. We need to alleviate psychological stress in the student population in a targeted manner to provide mental health services to safeguard the student population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS), caused by Colletotrichum fructicola (Cf), has been one of the main fungal diseases afflicting apple-producing areas across the world for many years, and it has led to substantial reductions in apple output and quality. HD-Zip transcription factors have been identified in several species, and they are involved in the immune response of plants to various types of biotic stress. In this study, inoculation of MdHB-7 overexpressing (MdHB-7- OE) and interference (MdHB-7- RNAi) transgenic plants with Cf revealed that MdHB-7 , which encodes an HD-Zip transcription factor, adversely affects GLS resistance. The SA content and the expression of SA pathway-related genes were lower in MdHB-7- OE plants than in 'GL-3' plants; the content of ABA and the expression of ABA biosynthesis genes were higher in MdHB-7- OE plants than in 'GL-3' plants. Further analysis indicated that the content of phenolics and chitinase and β-1, 3 glucanase activities were lower and H 2 O 2 accumulation was higher in MdHB-7- OE plants than in 'GL-3' plants. The opposite patterns were observed in MdHB-7- RNAi apple plants. Overall, our results indicate that MdHB-7 plays a negative role in regulating defense against GLS in apple, which is likely achieved by altering the content of SA, ABA, polyphenols, the activities of defense-related enzymes, and the content of H 2 O 2. • Colletotrichum fructicola can induce the expression of MdHB-7. • MdHB-7 plays a negative role in regulating apple GLS resistance. • MdHB-7 may function by controlling SA and ABA levels. • MdHB- 7 might affect the polyphenol, H 2 O 2 content, and defense enzyme activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water shortage is one of the main limiting factors in apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) production. Although dopamine is produced in plants and has been linked with response to abiotic stress, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In this study, physiological analyses revealed that pretreatment with 100 μM dopamine alleviated drought stress in apple seedlings. Dopamine inhibited the degradation of photosynthetic pigments and increased net photosynthetic rate under drought stress. Dopamine also reduced H 2 O 2 content, possibly through direct scavenging and by mediating the antioxidant enzyme activity. Seedlings pretreated with dopamine had higher sucrose and malic acid contents but lower starch accumulation in their leaves. RNA-Seq analysis identified 1052 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between non-treated and dopamine-pretreated plants under drought. An in-depth analysis of these DEGs revealed that dopamine regulated the expression of genes related to metabolism of nitrogen, secondary compounds, and amino acids under drought stress. In addition, dopamine may improve apple drought tolerance by activating Ca2+ signaling pathways through increased expression of CNGC and CAM/CML family genes. Moreover, analysis of transcription factor expression suggested that dopamine affected drought tolerance mainly through the regulation of WRKY, ERF, and NAC transcription factors. • Dopamine alleviated the drought-induced damages in apple. • Dopamine mediated photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activity, and carbohydrate metabolism under drought. • Dopamine regulated the expression of genes related to the metabolism of nitrogen, secondary compounds, and amino acids. • Dopamine improved apple drought tolerance by activating Ca2+ signaling pathways. • Dopamine regulated the expression of WRKY, ERF, and NAC transcription factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Sialon powder containing nanofibers was synthesized at 1300–1450 °C for 5 h in nitrogen by using transition metals (Fe, Co and Ni) as catalysts. Such synthesis conditions obviously reduced the nitriding temperature (~100 °C) of β-Sialon and increased the degree of nitridation. Observations from the weight gain rates of specimens relative to the content of catalysts suggest that the nitridation process was accelerated sharply via the addition of 0–2.5 wt% metallic catalysts. In addition, the amount of nanofibers of β-Sialon found in the specimens increased with the amount of transition metals, which was governed by the VLS formation mechanism with the help of transition metals. It could be concluded that transition metals not only greatly accelerated the nitridation of Si but also facilitated the formation of β-Sialon nanofibers in the specimens, as the formed metal-containing liquid greatly enhanced the amount of vapor generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exogenous DA delays leaf senescence of apple. • DA reduces phytohormone levels and inhibits signal pathways. • DA reduces the degradation rate of soluble sugar. Leaf senescence is the ultimate stage in leaf development, accompanied by the degradation and redistribution of nutrients and biological macromolecules. Dopamine (DA), a type of catecholamine, plays a role in responding to various plant stresses through its strong antioxidant capacity. However, the relationship between DA and leaf senescence is poorly understood. Thus, leaves isolated from Malus hupehensis were treated with DA, and a dark-induced senescence experiment was conducted. We first found that 100 μmol L−1 DA was the optimal treatment for delaying leaf senescence. The leaves treated with 100 μmol L−1 DA showed higher chlorophyll content and F v /F m , and lower relative electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content during dark-induced senescence. DA was able to markedly decrease the expression of senescence associated genes (MdSAG12, MdSAG13 , and MdSAG29) and a chlorophyll degradation gene (MdPAO). Compared with untreated leaves, the activity of antioxidant enzymes of leaves under DA treatment was significantly higher, and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly lower. Moreover, DA significantly reduced the content of phytohormones (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate acid, abscisic acid, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid) that accelerate senescence during dark treatment and changed the expression of genes involved in phytohormone pathways to inhibit the transmission of signals. In addition, DA treatment significantly reduced the expression of genes related to the degradation of soluble sugar (fructose, glucose, sucrose, and sorbitol), thus significantly increasing the soluble sugar content relative to untreated leaves. Overall, our findings revealed that exogenous dopamine could decrease the expression of SAG s, improve the activity of antioxidant enzymes, reduce ROS levels, and the content of phytohormones that accelerate senescence and their signalling pathways, and decrease the degradation rate of soluble sugar to delay the senescence of apple leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) is an element that is not only unnecessary for plant growth, but can also induce irreversible damage to plants. Dopamine (DA) and tyrosine decarboxylase (TyDC), a key protein in its synthesis, play important roles in responses to biotic and abiotic stress in plants. To explore the role of dopamine in apple under Cd stress, Malus hupehensis seedlings and TyDC transgenic plants were treated with 0 and 300 μmol L−1 CdCl 2 solutions. We demonstrated that the application of dopamine alleviated Cd stress-induced growth retardation, and the chlorophyll content increased by 22.5%. The root vigor and photosynthesis increased by 1.10 and 1.01 times, respectively. Dopamine significantly increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes to reduce the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. The accumulation of Cd2+ in the roots and shoots of apple plants was decreased by 33.7% and 28.6% under dopamine treatment, and the phytohormone levels were noticeably increased. Dopamine and MdTyDC alleviated Cd stress by markedly increasing the content of free amino acids and phenolic compounds following Cd exposure. In addition, exogenous dopamine and MdTyDC overexpression alleviated Cd stress by regulating the expression of genes involved in Cd uptake, transport, and detoxification, including HA7 , NRAMP1 , NRAMP3, HMA4 , PCR2 , ABCC1 , MHX , NAS1 , and MT2. Overall, our findings indicate that dopamine can eliminate ROS by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and reducing Cd accumulation. In addition, dopamine also increased the levels of phytohormones, amino acids, and phenols under Cd stress and regulated the transcription of Cd transporters to enhance Cd tolerance in apple. • DA and MdTyDC alleviate Cd stress and reduce Cd concentration in apple. • DA and MdTyDC remove ROS induced by Cd stress. • DA and MdTyDC increase free amino acids and phenols level. • DA and MdTyDC regulate expression level of Cd transportation genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple studies have investigated the role of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism on the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC), with however conflicting results. We performed a study of 561,388 individuals of the Swedish AMORIS Cohort with blood test results on nine biomarkers for carbohydrate, lipid, and apolipoprotein metabolism during 1985–1996. We examined the associations of these biomarkers with the future risk of HNC through 2020 and demonstrated the temporal changes of these biomarkers during the decades before cancer diagnosis. We found that there was a positive association between blood level of glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and Apoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) and the risk of HNC. Per standard deviation increase, the hazard ratio (HR) was 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02–1.09) for glucose, 1.09 (95% CI 1.05–1.13) for TC, 1.13 (95% CI 1.08–1.17) for TG, and 1.11 (95% CI 1.04–1.19) for ApoA-I. The associations were primarily noted for squamous cell carcinoma but not adenocarcinoma. Compared to controls, patients with HNC, primarily squamous cell carcinoma, showed constantly higher levels of glucose, TC, TG, and ApoA-I during the 30 years before diagnosis. In conclusion, findings of the study add new and high-quality evidence to the early involvement of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in the oncogenesis of human cancer. • It is based on a prospective cohort study of 561,388 individuals with a follow-up of >30 years. • We demonstrated a positive association of blood glucose, TC, TG, and ApoA-I with the subsequent risk of head and neck cancer. • HNSC patients showed persistently higher levels of glucose, TC, TG, and ApoA-I during the decades before cancer diagnosis. • We found that these results were mainly attributable to squamous cell carcinoma but not adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon source precursors for high-grade, clean, and low-carbon refractories were obtained by in situ exfoliation of flake graphite (FG) and phenol–formaldehyde resin (PF) composites with three-roll milling (TRM) for the fabrication of graphite nanoplatelets. In addition, by using Ni(NO3)2·6H2O as a catalyst in the pyrolysis process, multidimensional carbon nanostructures were obtained with coexisting graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs), glassy carbon (GC), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The resulting GNPs (exfoliated 16 times) had sizes of 10–30 μm, thicknesses of 30–50 nm, and could be uniformly dispersed in GC from the PF pyrolysis. Moreover, Ni(NO3)2·6H2O played a key role in the formation and growth of CNTs from a catalytic pyrolysis of partial PF with the V–S/tip growth mechanisms. The resulting multidimensional carbon nanostructures with GNPs/GC/CNTs are attributed to the shear force of the TRM process, pyrolysis, and catalytic action of nitrates. This method reduced the production costs of carbon source precursors for low-carbon refractories, and the precursors exhibited excellent performances when fabricated on large scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]