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An ingenious polypyrrole encapsulation followed by pyrolysis strategy can be used to produce Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC, which realizes uniform encapsulation by NC, design of quantum–dot sized heterojunction and effective N doping in NC, thereby displaying excellent lithium storage performance. [Display omitted] • A polypyrrole encapsulation followed by pyrolysis method is used to make Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC. • Selection of precursor is crucial to successful preparation of Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC. • Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC realizes uniform encapsulation by NC. • Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC achieves design of quantum–dot heterojunction and effective N doping. • Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC displays excellent lithium storage performance. Owing to high theoretical capacity, low cost and abundant availability, manganese oxides are widely viewed as promising anodes for lithium–ion batteries (LIBs). Nonetheless, their practical application is significantly hindered by poor electrical conductivity, sluggish reaction kinetics and substantial volume change. In this work, an ingenious polypyrrole encapsulation followed by pyrolysis strategy is proposed to produce N–doped carbon encapsulated Mn 2 O 3 /MnO heterojunction (Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC) by using mechanically ground Mn 3 O 4 /C 3 N 4 mixture as the precursor. The results show that the selection of precursor plays a pivotal role in the successful preparation of Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC hybrid. It is revealed that the uniform encapsulation by N–doped carbon significantly enhances the conductivity and structural stability of the final product. Concurrently, the Mn 2 O 3 /MnO heterojunction within the resultant hybrid exhibits a unique quantum–dot size, which effectively shortens ion transport pathways and exposes the active sites for lithium storage. Additionally, experimental observations and theoretical calculations demonstrate that the built–in electric fields generated at the interfaces of Mn 2 O 3 /MnO heterojunction accelerate the charge transfer and ion diffusion, thereby enhancing the electrochemical reaction kinetics. As a result, the Mn 2 O 3 /MnO@NC hybrid displays much enhanced lithium storage performance. Evidently, our work offers a good guidance for the design and synthesis of advanced transition metal oxide/carbon anodes for LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between serum copper and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) lacks definitive conclusions, and the intricate interactions with in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle characteristics in infertility remain insufficiently explored. This retrospective study included 560 patients with tubal infertility (no‐PCOS) and 266 patients with PCOS undergoing IVF at the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to December 2022. Patients' basic characteristics, hormonal and metabolic parameters, essential trace elements, and IVF cycle characteristics were measured and analyzed. The results revealed a significantly elevated serum copper level in the PCOS group compared to the control group [17.27 (15.54, 19.67) vs 15.4 (13.87, 17.35), μmol/L; p < .001]. Spearman correlation analyses revealed a significant positive correlation between serum copper concentration and body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose (FG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) in the no‐PCOS group. Additionally, a notable negative correlation with high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) was observed (r = −.184, p < .001). Within the PCOS group, serum copper concentration correlated significantly with BMI (r = .198, p = .004) and TG (r = .214, p = .002). The linear trend analysis indicated no significant relationship between serum copper concentration and ovarian response as well as preimplantation outcomes in both groups after adjusting for confounding factors. Our study provided evidence of elevated serum copper concentration in PCOS patients, closely associated with lipid metabolism but showing no correlation with IVF outcomes. These findings provide valuable real‐world data, enriching our nuanced understanding of the role of copper in female fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging brings challenges for masculinity construction affecting older men in the countryside. The investigation of what and how rural older men negotiate their gendered identities in contemporary fast-changing societies contributes to the knowledge of aging masculinities. Taking a life-course perspective, this study explores how a group of rural Chinese older men negotiate masculinities and make sense of their aging lives. Twelve older men in a village located in southwest China participated in this study. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with the participants and collected their life stories which were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded following a thematic analysis approach. Analysis of the data suggests that rural Chinese older men created a having/being masculine plot while describing their transitions of family roles from providers to becoming helpers across their life courses. They struggled to maintain a sense of control when facing loss and vulnerability in later life and gendered norms in rural China contributed to their masculinity images. We discussed how the findings of this study, particularly intergenerational relations and narrative temporality in the construction of masculinities in later adulthood, contribute to both the research and practices regarding aging masculinities in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To evaluate the bioequivalence of two different tofacitinib citrate tablets formulations among healthy Chinese subjects under fasting and fed conditions and to observe the safety of test preparation and reference preparation in healthy subjects. Method. This randomized, open-label, 2-period, crossover, bioequivalence study included 64 healthy Chinese subjects (fasting: n = 32, fed: n = 32). The subjects were assigned to receive a single 5-mg dose of the test or a reference tofacitinib citrate tablets. Blood samples were collected at predose and up to 24 hours after dosing. Area under the plasma concentration time curve from zero to the last measurable concentration (AUC0-t), the area from time zero to infinite (AUC0-∞), and maximum plasma concentration ( C max ) were used for bioequivalence assessment. Safety assessment was conducted by vital signs, physical examination, laboratory examination, and 12-lead electrocardiogram during the study, from the time the subject receiving the test drug to the end of the last visit. Results. Under fed condition, the 90% CIs of the geometric mean ratios of the test/reference for tofacitinib citrate tablets were 98.40–104.16% for AUC0-t, 89.96–116.70% for C max , and 98.50–104.15% for AUC0-∞. Under fasting condition, the 90% CIs of the geometric mean ratios of the test/reference for tofacitinib citrate tablets were 93.65–101.60% for AUC0-t, 90.06–109.15% for C max , and 93.88–101.51% for AUC0-∞. There were no serious events. Conclusion. The 90% CI for the geometric mean ratio (test/reference) of C max , AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞ were within the range of 80.00%–125.00%, indicating that the test formulation was equivalent to the reference formulation in healthy Chinese subjects under both fasting and fed conditions. They are similar in terms of safety. This trial is registered with CTR20190366. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: D‐limonene is an important flavouring ingredient with a wide range of applications. However, its high volatility and low stability have severely impacted its application in the food industry. To address these limitations, temperature‐flavour release control system is expected to be established to reduce the loss of D‐limonene during processing and storage, as well as to control its release by temperature. The aim of the current study is to construct an oleogel system to encapsulate D‐limonene using carnauba wax as a gelling agent and palm oils (POs) as the base oil. POs with 24 °C, 38 °C, 42 °C, 48 °C, and 52 °C melting points were selected to systematically investigate the effects of the base oil melting point on the crystal morphology, interactions, physicochemical properties, microstructure, and D‐limonene release of the oleogels. The enthalpy of melting, enthalpy of crystallisation, hardness, stickiness, and gel strength increased in oleogels prepared using POs with a higher melting point. In addition, the oil‐binding capacity (OBC) (>95%) of the oleogels increased with the base oil melting point, while the fat crystal distribution became more homogeneous and denser. Based on the influence that extraction temperature has on the concentration of released D‐limonene (a lower concentration of aroma was released from high‐melting‐point POs oleogels at low temperatures (<1.9 mg mL−1), whereas the control group released >2.5 mg mL−1), suitable POs can be selected to achieve the release or retention of the aroma. These results demonstrate that a temperature‐responsive flavour delivery system can be prepared with different PO melting points. The molecular dynamics of flavour release revealed that storage temperature and fat crystalline state impact the cumulative release rate of D‐limonene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As infectious diseases have a severe impact on the individual survival and competitive ability of host species in grassland communities, competition between relevant species may have different consequences, potentially influencing the species composition of grassland communities and the functioning of grassland ecosystems. Understanding the impact of infectious diseases on competition is thus crucial for the health management of grassland ecosystems. How do infectious diseases affect the competitive coexistence of grassland plant species? In this study, by drawing on Tilman's multispecies competition model and incorporating the spread characteristics of grassland plant diseases, we built three spatial competition models of two grass species subject to infectious diseases, and we analyzed the invasion conditions of infectious diseases and how they impact the population dynamics and competitive consequences of the species. Our model revealed the following: (1) Diseases with high transmission rates and low virulence are more likely to invade populations, while the presence of non-host species is detrimental to disease invasion. (2) Disease promotes the coexistence of competing species, breaking down the original competition–compromise trade-off mechanism for species coexistence and greatly expanding the range of parameters within which the two species can coexist. (3) Pathogen infections indirectly weaken the suppression of inferior species by dominant species, which is similar to the cascade effect seen in trophic interactions. Our findings highlight the importance of disease in species coexistence and grassland biodiversity maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a point cloud extraction method based on the template grid was proposed for deformation analysis. Firstly, coordinate alignment was carried out by a coarse-to-fine strategy to ensure that the point clouds are in a unified coordinate system. Then, the points in the grid are subsequently converted into a universal grid system and the center according to the grid border is carried out to serve as the feature points for deflection detection. The deformation was determined by analyzing the deviation under different working conditions, and the maximum deformation under different earthquake magnitudes was verified in the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recognition of steel microstructure images plays a crucial role in the metallographic analysis process. Although some progress has been made through the application of artificial intelligence algorithms, several challenges remain. First, existing algorithms exhibit weak nonlinear feature extraction capabilities and noticeable limitations. Second, they overlook the intrinsic noise and redundant interference present in microscopic images. To address these issues, this paper investigates the automatic recognition of metallographic tissues by leveraging residual structures in deep neural networks. An enhanced residual network model based on transfer learning is proposed, which utilizes the pre-trained weights from the ImageNet dataset to facilitate learning with small sample data. This network offers higher classification accuracy and higher F1 scores. In addition, a deep residual shrinkage network model based on an attention mechanism is proposed. This model incorporates an attention sub-network into the original residual module and employs a soft threshold function to eliminate redundant features, including noise. The proposed algorithms are evaluated against various convolutional neural networks using 20 types of metallographic test sets. The experimental results showed that both methods have high accuracy rates of 95% and 94.44%, respectively, and F1 scores of 0.9464 and 0.9419. While maintaining the complexity of the model, there has been a significant improvement in accuracy, and the models exhibit strong generalization capabilities. Our research contributes to enhancing production efficiency, strengthening quality control, and improving material performance through computer vision technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell migration is crucial for numerous physiological and pathological processes. A cell adapts its morphology, including the overall and nuclear morphology, in response to various cues in complex microenvironments, such as topotaxis and chemotaxis during migration. Thus, the dynamics of cellular morphology can encode migration strategies, from which diverse migration mechanisms can be inferred. However, deciphering the mechanisms behind cell migration encoded in morphology dynamics remains a challenging problem. Here, we present a powerful universal metric, the Cell Morphological Entropy (CME), developed by combining parametric morphological analysis with Shannon entropy. The utility of CME, which accurately quantifies the complex cellular morphology at multiple length scales through the deviation from a perfectly circular shape, is illustrated using a variety of normal and tumor cell lines in different in vitro microenvironments. Our results show how geometric constraints affect the MDA-MB-231 cell nucleus, the emerging interactions of MCF-10A cells migrating on collagen gel, and the critical transition from proliferation to invasion in tumor spheroids. The analysis demonstrates that the CME-based approach provides an effective and physically interpretable tool to measure morphology in real-time across multiple length scales. It provides deeper insight into cell migration and contributes to the understanding of different behavioral modes and collective cell motility in more complex microenvironments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is highly attractive to develop a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing platform based on a non-noble-metal nano array architecture. In this paper, a PEC hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) biosensor based on Ni/WS2/WC heterostructures was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal synthesis method and melamine carbonization process. The morphology, structural and composition and light absorption properties of the Ni/WS2/WC catalyst were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV–visible spectrophotometer. The average size of the Ni/WS2/WC nanosheets was about 200 nm. Additionally, the electrochemical properties toward H2O2 were studied using an electrochemical workstation. Benefiting from the Ni and C atoms, the optimized Ni/WS2/WC catalyst showed superior H2O2 sensing performance and a large photocurrent response. It was found that the detection sensitivity of the Ni/WS2/WC catalyst was 25.7 μA/cm2/mM, and the detection limit was 0.3 mmol/L in the linear range of 1−10 mM. Simultaneously, the synthesized Ni/WS2/WC electrode displayed excellent electrocatalytic properties in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), with a relatively small overpotential of 126 mV at 10 mA/cm2 in 0.5 M H2SO4. This novel Ni/WS2/WC electrode may provide new insights into preparing other efficient hybrid photoelectrodes for PEC applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recognition of steel microstructure images plays a crucial role in the metallographic analysis process. Although some progress has been made through the application of artificial intelligence algorithms, several challenges remain. First, existing algorithms exhibit weak nonlinear feature extraction capabilities and noticeable limitations. Second, they overlook the intrinsic noise and redundant interference present in microscopic images. To address these issues, this paper investigates the automatic recognition of metallographic tissues by leveraging residual structures in deep neural networks. An enhanced residual network model based on transfer learning is proposed, which utilizes the pre-trained weights from the ImageNet dataset to facilitate learning with small sample data. This network offers higher classification accuracy and higher F1 scores. In addition, a deep residual shrinkage network model based on an attention mechanism is proposed. This model incorporates an attention sub-network into the original residual module and employs a soft threshold function to eliminate redundant features, including noise. The proposed algorithms are evaluated against various convolutional neural networks using 20 types of metallographic test sets. The experimental results showed that both methods have high accuracy rates of 95% and 94.44%, respectively, and F1 scores of 0.9464 and 0.9419. While maintaining the complexity of the model, there has been a significant improvement in accuracy, and the models exhibit strong generalization capabilities. Our research contributes to enhancing production efficiency, strengthening quality control, and improving material performance through computer vision technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Cognitive dysfunction associated with chronic pain may be caused by impaired synaptic plasticity. Considering the impact of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) on synaptic plasticity, we explored the exact role of SIRT1 in cognitive impairment caused by chronic pain. Methods: We evaluated the memory ability of mice with the fear conditioning test (FCT) after spared nerve injury (SNI) model. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to analyze the expression levels of SIRT1. Hippocampal synaptic plasticity was detected with Golgi staining, transmission electron microscopy, and long‐term potentiation (LTP). In the intervention study, AAV9‐CaMKIIα‐Cre‐EGFP was injected to SIRT1flox/flox mice to knockdown the expression levels of SIRT1. Besides, SNI mice were injected with AAV2/9‐CaMKIIα‐SIRT1‐3*Flag‐GFP or SRT1720 to increase the expression levels or enzymatic activity of SIRT1. Results: Our current results indicated that cognitive function in SNI mice was impaired, SIRT1 expression in glutaminergic neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area was downregulated, and synaptic plasticity was altered. Selective knockdown of SIRT1 in hippocampus damaged synaptic plasticity and cognitive function of healthy mice. In addition, the impaired synaptic plasticity and cognitive dysfunction of SNI mice could be improved by the upregulation of SIRT1 expression or enzyme activity. Conclusions: Reduced SIRT1 expression in hippocampus of SNI mice may induce cognitive impairment associated with chronic pain by mediating the impaired synaptic plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene, as a highly promising electrode material, has garnered significant attentions due to its remarkable properties. Nevertheless, challenges persist in its commercial application in the field of energy storage and conversion, including easy stacking, inert surface and limited yield. Rational regulation of the morphology, structure and composition of graphene is demonstrated as an effective way to conquer these challenges. Herein, we adopt a facile spray pyrolysis method to achieve large–scale synthesis of 3D crumpled N, O co–doped graphene nanosheets (NO–GNs). By comprehensive characterization and analysis, it is witnessed that our prepared NO–GNs possess unique 3D crumpled morphology as well as abundant structure defects, and achieve successful co–doping of N and O atoms. These optimized morphology, structure and composition effectively increase the specific surface area and substantially enhance the hydrophilicity and reactive activity of NO–GNs, thus leading to markedly improved electrochemical performance towards supercapacitor and oxygen reduction reaction. Evidently, the preparation of NO–GNs not only offers a promising material for advanced energy storage and conversion systems, but also presents a novel but versatile strategy for manufacturing high–performance carbon–based electrodes. Spray pyrolysis guided synthesis of NO–GNs possess unique 3D crumpled shape and abundant structure defects, and effective N and O co–doping, displaying excellent electrochemical performance for supercapacitor and oxygen reduction reaction. [Display omitted] • A facile spray pyrolysis method was proposed to synthesize NO–GNs. • NO–GNs possess optimized morphology, structure and composition. • NO–GNs show enhanced SSA, hydrophilicity and reactive activity. • NO–GNs exhibit excellent performance towards supercapacitor and ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study describes the development of a highly effective approach for determining the residue distribution and dissipation of trifloxystrobin and tebuconazole, and their risk assessment in brown rice, husk, straw, and grain using high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The current study provides considerable novel information regarding the safe utilization of a mixture of trifloxystrobin and tebuconazole in paddy production. The samples demonstrated a range of mean recoveries between 72% and 86%, with a 1.1–9.2% relative standard deviation (RSD). The limits of quantification (LOQ) and half-lives (t1/2) for brown rice, husk, straw, and grain were, respectively, established to be 0.001–0.01 mg/kg and 4.1–7.7 days. The concentrations of terminal residues in the brown rice, husk, straw, and grain were, respectively, found to be 0.02–0.05, 0.03–0.11, 0.02–0.07, and 0.02–0.05 mg/kg after being treated twice at 168.75 g a.i./ha with 21 and 28 days of pre-harvest intervals (PHIs). Trifloxystrobin and tebuconazole presented a non-negligible chronic risk to human subjects, as evidenced by a risk quotient (RQ) value of less than 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report presents the development of a highly effective method employing high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) to investigate chlorantraniliprole's dissipation, risk assessment, and residue distribution in whole lychee fruit and its pulp. Mean recoveries of the samples ranged from 80 to 105%, exhibiting a relative standard deviation (RSD) of below 8%. The limits of quantification (LOQ) for lychee and pulp were determined as 0.001 mg/kg, and half-lives (t1/2) ranged from 8.0 to 12.2 days. Terminal residue concentrations in whole litchi and pulp were determined as 0.008–0.45 mg/kg and ≤0.001 mg/kg. These residues were treated twice and thrice at two different dosage levels with pre-harvest intervals (PHIs) of 7, 14, and 21 days. The potential chronic risk posed by chlorantraniliprole to humans was non-negligible, as indicated by the risk quotient (RQ) value not exceeding 1. Therefore, this study provides significant fresh data about the safe application of chlorantraniliprole in the production of lychee, which will help China develop maximum residual limits (MRLs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partially linear regression smoothing is a useful technique for modeling time series. Using polynomial splines and a weighted least squares method, this study investigates a class of partially linear regression models of time series with correlated errors. n -consistency of parametric estimators and the convergence rate of the nonparametric estimator are derived under some suitable conditions. Simulations reveal that the proposed approach is more valid than that of ignoring correlated errors. Moreover, the importance of considering autoregressive errors is illustrated by making multi-step-ahead forecasts for Australian blow-fly data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that intergenerational narratives impact young people's sense of self. Little knowledge, however, has been accumulated regarding what and how Chinese youth experience identity development in intergenerational storytelling. This qualitative study presented 149 Chinese college students' experiences of identity development who collected their grandparents' life stories. Findings suggest that the student participants reproduced their interviewees' grand narratives about Chinese history and social changes, and embraced values such as endurance, diligence, and family cohesion which are transmitted across generations. Some students were burdened when hearing about their grandparents' traumatic past and experienced negative feelings such as anger and guilt, while most of them elaborated gratitude toward people in the previous generations, and expressed a willingness to pay back and contribute to society. Drawing on existing theories, a preliminary model was constructed to capture the dynamic of intergenerational narrative identity among Chinese college students. We discussed how these findings contribute to research on intergenerational narratives and college students' development. Recommendations for future research and practices for educators and policymakers to enhance family welfare were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A derivatization method combined with high-performance liquid chromatography–fluorescence detection (HPLC–FLD) was used to evaluate the dissipation, residue distribution and risk assessment of emamectin benzoate in whole longan and pulp. The average recoveries were 82–111% with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 11%. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.001 mg/kg in longan and pulp. The half-lives were 3.3–4.2 days. The terminal residues in whole longan were <0.001–0.025 mg/kg applied two and three times at two levels of dosage with PHIs of 10, 14, and 21 days. The residues in whole longan had a higher quantity than those in the pulp, and the terminal residues of pulp were all lower than LOQ (0.001 mg/kg). The chronic risk of emamectin benzoate was not negligible to humans depending on ADI% value, which was higher than 1; and the acute risk was acceptable to the consumer. This study could provide guidance for the safe use of emamectin benzoate in longan and serve as a reference for the establishment of maximum residue limits (MRLs) in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertain demand information increases the difficulty of decision-making in supply chains, especially in the light of inventory costs. This article researches a two-echelon dual-channel fresh agricultural product (FAP) supply chain, and discusses optimal decision-making and the value of information sharing using the Stackelberg game. To eliminate the double marginalization effect between supply chain parties, a two-part linear tariff contract is introduced for coordination. The results show that information sharing is always profitable for the manufacturer, but not for the retailer. The inventory and shortage costs will reduce the manufacturer's optimal pricing and fresh-keeping effort level. When the manufacturer overestimates the market demand predicted by the retailer, asymmetric information will increase the manufacturer's inventory. The results provide important managerial implications for effective supply chain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel S-scheme heterojunction of Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S nanodots/OVs-rich BiOCl microspheres was designed for highly improved visible-light photo-degradation of pharmaceuticals. [Display omitted] • A brand-new Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S/OV-rich BiOCl S-scheme heterojunction was designed. • Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S/OV-rich BiOCl demonstrates highly upgraded photocatalytic activity and stability. • The norfloxacin degradation routes and the bio-toxicity evolution were unclosed. • The S-scheme charge transfer mechanism and OVs boosts the improved charge separation and strengthened redox power. S-scheme heterojunction structure can endow the photocatalysts with high-performance photo-degradation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) since it can remain the photogenerated electrons/holes with stronger redox ability. Herein, an integrative S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst building from Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S nanoparticles and BiOCl microflowers with oxygen vacancies (OVs) was developed. Moreover, the in-situ grown process ensures the firm contact and intense electron coupling between BiOCl and Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S. As a result, Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S/BiOCl exhibited a significant reinforcement of photo-activity and stability for the abatement of antibiotic norfloxacin, manifesting a 2.8-fold or 9.6-fold enhancement compared to pristine Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S or BiOCl. Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S/BiOCl also shows good resistance to alkaline, sodium salts and humic acid. The performance of Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S/BiOCl to photocatalytically degrade other PPCPs with different molecular structures was further confirmed. At last, the ability of Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 S/BiOCl for PPCPs de-toxicity was verified by evaluating the toxicity of norfloxacin and its degradation intermediate. This study demonstrates a new S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyt for efficient removal of PPCPs as well as provides some insights into developing high-performance metal sulfide solid-solution-based S-scheme heterojunctions for water decontamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) is a novel topological insulator that is promising for broad optical absorption materials on the basis of its large bulk band and well-defined single Dirac cone. Herein, few-layer Bi2Se3 nanoplates of different sizes have been successfully synthesized via the solvothermal method. We present our discovery of optical properties on homojunction Bi2Se3 nanoplates with FTIR measurements. The interface of homojunction Bi2Se3 nanoplates demonstrates an interesting optical modulation in the near-infrared region in contrast to individual bulk Bi2Se3 and other reported 2D hetero-structure materials. It was validated that the unexpected behavior was attributed to the interface between variously stacked nanoplates and its unique zero-wave anti-reflection properties. Our experimental results provide evidence of the Bi2Se3 nanoplate possess high optical absorption in the near-infrared range, promising for photothermal and optical diagnostic therapy application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural and creative product design of sports events is an important part of sports industry, which can improve the economic benefits of sports industry. Based on this background, this paper puts forward a regression analysis method to deeply analyze the design of cultural and creative products in sports events, aiming at driving the healthy development of residents and improving their health levels. First of all, 620 residents were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group to compare natural characteristics, historical characteristics, folk crafts, regional culture, and other indicators. Then, find out the factors with significant differences, and carry out regression analysis to provide corresponding measures for the design of cultural and creative products in sports events. The results show that the main influencing factors of creative product design are natural characteristics, historical characteristics, folk crafts, regional culture, and promotion effect, and each index has a significant impact on residents' fitness, and there are significant differences. Therefore, all regions should improve the design level of sports events, bring through the development of residents' fitness industry, and effectively guide residents' fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic islet cell development is regulated by transcription factors (TFs) that mediate embryonic progenitor differentiation toward mature endocrine cells. Prior studies from our lab and others showed that the islet‐enriched TF, Islet‐1 (Isl1), interacts with the broadly‐expressed transcriptional co‐regulator, Ldb1, to regulate islet cell maturation and postnatal function (by embryonic day (E)18.5). However, Ldb1 is expressed in the developing pancreas prior to Isl1 expression, notably in multipotent progenitor cells (MPCs) marked by Pdx1 and endocrine progenitors (EPs) expressing Neurogenin‐3 (Ngn3). MPCs give rise to the endocrine and exocrine pancreas, while Ngn3+ EPs specify pancreatic islet endocrine cells. We hypothesized that Ldb1 is required for progenitor identity in MPC and EP populations during development to impact islet appearance and function. To test this, we generated a whole‐pancreas Ldb1 knockout, termed Ldb1ΔPanc, and observed severe developmental and postnatal pancreas defects including disorganized progenitor pools, a significant reduction of Ngn3‐expressing EPs, Pdx1HI β‐cells, and early hormone+ cells. Ldb1ΔPanc neonates presented with severe hyperglycemia, hypoinsulinemia, and drastically reduced hormone expression in islets, yet no change in total pancreas mass. This supports the endocrine‐specific actions of Ldb1. Considering this, we also developed an endocrine‐enriched model of Ldb1 loss, termed Ldb1ΔEndo. We observed similar dysglycemia in this model, as well as a loss of islet identity markers. Through in vitro and in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments, we found that Ldb1 occupies key Pdx1 and Ngn3 promoter domains. Our findings provide insight into novel regulation of endocrine cell differentiation that may be vital toward improving cell‐based diabetes therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent joint degenerative disease, resulting in a significant societal burden. However, there is currently a lack of effective treatment option available. Previous studies have suggested that Botulinum toxin A (BONT/A), a macromolecular protein extracted from Clostridium Botulinum , may improve the pain and joint function in OA patients, but the mechanism remains elusive. This study was to investigate the impact and potential mechanism of BONT/A on OA in vivo and in vitro experiment. LPS increased the levels of ROS, Fe2+and Fe3+, as well as decreased GSH levels, the ratio of GSH / GSSH and mitochondrial membrane potential. It also enhanced the degeneration of extracellular matrix (ECM) and altered the ferroptosis-related protein expression in chondrocytes. BONT/A rescued LPS-induced decrease in collagen type II (Collagen II) expression and increase in matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13), mitigated LPS-induced cytotoxicity in chondrocytes, abolished the accumulation of ROS and iron, upregulated GSH and the ratio of GSH/ GSSH, improved mitochondrial function, and promoted SLC7A11/GPX4 anti-ferroptosis system activation. Additionally, intra-articular injection of BONT/A inhibited the degradation of cartilage in OA model rats. This chondroprotective effect of BONT/A was reversed by erastin (a classical ferroptosis agonist) and enhanced by liproxstatin-1 (a classic ferroptosis inhibitor). Our research confirms that BONT/A alleviates the OA development by inhibiting the ferroptosis of chondrocytes, which revealed to be a potential therapeutic mechanism for BONT/A treating the OA. Schematic diagram of BONT/A alleviate LPS-induced the ferroptosis of chondrocytes in knee OA. [Display omitted] • BONT/A attenuated chondrocyte death and ECM degradation induced by LPS in vitro. • BONT/A alleviated the pain and cartilage degeneration induced by MIA in vivo. • BONT/A mitigated chondrocyte injury in OA dependent on inhibiting ferroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractionation of essential oils is technically challenging due to enormous scaffold diversities and structural complexities as well as difficulties in the implementation of the fractionation in the gas phase. Packing beads with multi-dimensional hierarchical nanostructures have been developed herein to pack fractional columns for atmospheric distillations. Activated alumina beads were coated with a porous TiO2 thin film. Growth of Cu-BTC (benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) crystals in resultant porous surfaces leads to the generation of new nanopores and increased metal centers for differential coordination with diverse components of essential oils. The TiO2 thin film is not only an integral part of the composites but also induces the oriented growth of Cu-BTC metal organic framework (MOF) crystals through coordinative interactions. These Al2O3@TiO2@Cu-BTC MOF beads show very strong absorptive capability for major components of essential oils, except for a single cyclic ether eucalyptol with steric hindrances. The eucalyptol was fractionated by using the column packed with those modified alumina beads from raw materials of Artemisia argyi, and Rosmarinus officinalis with high purities up to 96% and 93%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A supply chain financing model that the core supplier provides credit guarantee for the capital-constrained retailer to bank loans is concerned. The model takes the credit guarantee, bankruptcy cost, and salvage value of products into account, and analyzes the decision-making behaviors of supply chain participants, including the bank. The optimal decisions of order quantity, wholesale price, loan interest rate and bankruptcy threshold are obtained, as well as the relationship between these decisions and other factors. Results show that the supplier can adjust the credit guarantee coefficient to increase its profit and lower the profit of the retailer, which will cause instability in the supply chain. Then the joint contract of revenue-sharing and fixed payment is designed. Under this contract, the profit of each supply chain member can be improved, but the revenue-sharing contract and the fixed payment contract alone cannot achieve this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu and Co have shown superior catalytic performance to other transitional elements, and layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have presented advantages over other heterogeneous Fenton catalysts. However, there have been few studies about Co–Cu LDHs as catalysts for organic degradation via the Fenton reaction. Here, we prepared a series of Co–Cu LDH catalysts by a co-precipitation method under different synthesis temperatures and set Rhodamine B (RhB) as the target compound. The structure-performance relationship and the influence of reaction parameters were explored. A study of the Fenton-like reaction was conducted over Co–Cu layered hydroxide catalysts, and the variation of synthesis temperature greatly influenced their Fenton-like catalytic performance. The Co–Cut=65°C catalyst with the strongest LDH structure showed the highest RhB removal efficiency (99.3% within 30 min). The change of synthesis temperature induced bulk-phase transformation, structural distortion, and metal–oxygen (M–O) modification. An appropriate temperature improved LDH formation with defect sites and lengthened M–O bonds. Co–Cu LDH catalysts with a higher concentration of defect sites promoted surface hydroxide formation for H2O2 adsorption. These oxygen vacancies (Ovs) promoted electron transfer and H2O2 dissociation. Thus, the Co–Cu LDH catalyst is an attractive alternative organic pollutants treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of low‐cost, high‐activity bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for rechargeable zinc–air batteries is highly desired. Herein, N‐doped carbon nanoflower embedded Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared using a simple and scalable method. The obtained electrocatalyst exhibits excellent activity and stability toward both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as well as a small potential gap of 0.72 V between the half‐wave potential of ORR and the onset potential of OER potential, which is superior to the most previously reported bifunctional ORR/OER catalysts. The corresponding zinc–air battery exhibits good charged/discharge cycle performance as well as excellent discharge property, with a power density of 136.8 mW cm−2 at 200 mA cm−2 outperforming commercial Pt/C (96.5mW cm−2). Experiment results and density functional theory demonstrate that the high catalysis activity is mainly caused by the surface oxygen vacancy of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. This study sheds new light on the ORR/OER bifunctional electrocatalyst design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A g–C 3 N 4 –assisted pyrolysis strategy was used to prepare Mn 2 O 3 @NC hybrids. • The feed of Mn source greatly affects the synthesis of Mn 2 O 3 @NC hybrids. • Mn 2 O 3 @NC–M reaches a good balance on the proportion of Mn 2 O 3 and NC. • Mn 2 O 3 @NC–M possesses optimized morphology, structure and composition. • Mn 2 O 3 @NC–M exhibits outstanding lithium storage performance. The construction of advanced transition metal oxide (TMO)/carbon anodes to substitute graphite is always being an enormous challenge for the evolution of lithium–ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, a g–C 3 N 4 –assisted pyrolysis strategy is exploited to produce Mn 2 O 3 nanoparticles embedded into N–doped carbon (Mn 2 O 3 @NC) hybrids. The results confirm that g–C 3 N 4 plays three critical roles (dispersing agent, pore–forming agent and doping agent) in producing Mn 2 O 3 @NC hybrids. In the meantime, it is verified that the feed of Mn source greatly affects the synthesis of Mn 2 O 3 @NC hybrids. As a consequence, the resultant Mn 2 O 3 @NC–M (M means medium loading of Mn source) reaches a balanced proportion of Mn 2 O 3 and NC, and contemporaneously displays a series of intriguing features, including ultrafine Mn 2 O 3 nanoparticles, large specific surface area, rich mesopores and much high N doping amount. Benefitting from these advantages, the obtained Mn 2 O 3 @NC–M shows much enhanced cycling stability and rate performance when engaged as an battery anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • This study developed flexible encapsulated Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors for airfield pavement reflective cracking surveillance. • The 2D virtual bending tests model quantified crack proliferation and investigated cracking mechanisms. • Flexible encapsulated FBG sensors, coupled with DEM simulation, effectively explored asphalt overlay reflective cracking on concrete airfield pavement. This study evaluated the propagation mechanisms and dynamic meso-mechanical responses of reflective cracking on the asphalt overlays on concrete airfield pavement based on flexible Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. The encapsulated FBG sensors were efficiently calibrated, possessing outstanding capability for the measurement of transverse expansion of lateral reflective cracking propagation. Virtual three-point bending test model was proposed and validated by macroscopic indoor experiments. The DEM model facilitated quantifying the proliferation of reflective cracks, unraveling the trajectory from micro-crack inception to visible macroscopic manifestation. Results indicated that the emergence and elongation of the composite structure experienced three phases: the initiation and accumulation of microcracks, the extension of reflective cracking, and the ultimate penetration. The DEM simulation and FBG sensors were recommended to establish a mutually reinforcing mechanism for nuanced validation of reflective crack formation on the composite structures of asphalt overlays on concrete airfield pavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid pressurization (RP) induced crystallization of polybutene-1 (PB-1) is performed at different temperatures of 90 °C, 125 °C and 180 °C under various pressures. The mechanical properties of RP PB-1 are investigated with a tensile device and in situ wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) is used to record the structural evolution during deformation. Using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and WAXD, it is found that RP in the melt state produces forms I/I′, while stable form I with a high melting point is generated by RP at 90 °C. All three RP PB-1 samples at 180 °C have lower melting temperature of form I crystals, and their fracture strain is nearly three times that of normal form I. P1T90 shows a small fracture strain equivalent to that of normal form I, because RP at 90 °C only accelerates the phase transition from form II to I. Form I′ that directly crystallized from the melt state and the thinner lamellae of form I contribute to excellent toughness, which are conducive to the molecular orientation along the stretching direction. The optimization of toughness caused by rapid pressurization provides a new idea for the regulation of the mechanical properties of PB-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous improvement and economic development of China's coal mining industry, research on the characteristics of wastewater discharge has gained attraction in recent years. Ballasted flocculation technology, has been widely used in recent years. However, its effect on the settling velocity of the flocs in wastewater has not been quantified. This study aimed to screen optimal reaction condition for ballasted flocculation and to derive the settling velocity of the ballasted flocs under these conditions. The results showed that, the size of the ballasted material had no significant effect on the turbidity and suspended solids removal rate; however, the settling time was effectively shortened, and the turbidity removal rate could reach more than 95% within 15 s. Owing to the optimization of the reaction conditions, 90% of the flocs sizes were distributed in the 80–200 µm range. Moreover, the difference between the theoretical and the measured value of the ballasted flocculation was small, indicating that the derived formula could effectively quantify the settling velocity of the ballasted flocs under optimal conditions. These findings may serve as a critical reference for the treatment of high-suspended solids in coal mining water and have significant potential for engineering application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the relative derived categories with respect to X -Gorenstein projective modules and Y -Gorenstein injective modules are introduced to unify Gorestein derived categories and Ding derived categories in certain sense. A triangle-equivalence and description of morphisms in such relative derived categories are given. We also discuss a generalized Tate cohomology and obtain Avramov–Martsinkovsky exact sequences. Finally, some applications are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little attention has been paid to the process of Chinese fathers in the countryside representing themselves as men while encountering rapid social changes. This qualitative study explored how rural Chinese men construct masculinities through stories about their fathering experiences. Fifteen farmers from southwest China were interviewed about their involvement in childrearing. The fathers were identified to have constructed configurations of masculinity fitting their social context, which were negotiated using various personal, interpersonal, and contextual resources. The participants presented themselves as family supporters, collaborative husbands, and strict but caring fathers who envisioned relying on their children near death. Gender inequalities were revealed, and participants legitimized these by emphasizing the instrumentality of such gender relations in childrearing and family development. Study limitations and implications for future research and practices related to rural Chinese fathers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To develop a new method for quantitatively analyzing six tyrosine kinase inhibitors (gefitinib, erlotinib, icotinib, afatinib, osimertinib, and crizotinib) used in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Methods. The analytes were detected in the selected reaction monitoring mode on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with the positive ionization mode. Carbamazepine was utilized as the internal standard. The pretreatment of the plasma sample was completed based on protein precipitation with acetonitrile, and the analytes were separated on an Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 reversed-phase column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 3.5 μm, Agilent, USA) using gradient elution. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid in water (phase A) and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (phase B). The flow rate was 0.3 mL/min, and the injection volume was 5 μL. The column temperature was set and maintained at 35°C. Results. The calibration curves were linear over the range from 5.0 to 1000.0 ng/mL for gefitinib, crizotinib, and osimertinib; from 50.0 to 4000.0 ng/mL for icotinib and erlotinib; and from 5.0 to 400.0 ng/mL for afatinib. Linear correlation coefficients were >0.990 for all regression curves. The intra- and interday accuracy and precision of the method were within ±15.0% and not more than 15.0%, respectively. The mean recovery of all the analytes ranged from 70.18% to 110.76%, the matrix effect was from 88.85% to 127.58%, and stability was within ±15.0%. Conclusion. This newly developed method was sensitive, simple, and robust and could be used in therapeutic drug monitoring of six tyrosine kinase inhibitors in NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To develop a new method for quantitatively analyzing six tyrosine kinase inhibitors (gefitinib, erlotinib, icotinib, afatinib, osimertinib, and crizotinib) used in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Methods. The analytes were detected in the selected reaction monitoring mode on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with the positive ionization mode. Carbamazepine was utilized as the internal standard. The pretreatment of the plasma sample was completed based on protein precipitation with acetonitrile, and the analytes were separated on an Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 reversed-phase column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 3.5 μm, Agilent, USA) using gradient elution. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid in water (phase A) and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (phase B). The flow rate was 0.3 mL/min, and the injection volume was 5 μL. The column temperature was set and maintained at 35°C. Results. The calibration curves were linear over the range from 5.0 to 1000.0 ng/mL for gefitinib, crizotinib, and osimertinib; from 50.0 to 4000.0 ng/mL for icotinib and erlotinib; and from 5.0 to 400.0 ng/mL for afatinib. Linear correlation coefficients were >0.990 for all regression curves. The intra- and interday accuracy and precision of the method were within ±15.0% and not more than 15.0%, respectively. The mean recovery of all the analytes ranged from 70.18% to 110.76%, the matrix effect was from 88.85% to 127.58%, and stability was within ±15.0%. Conclusion. This newly developed method was sensitive, simple, and robust and could be used in therapeutic drug monitoring of six tyrosine kinase inhibitors in NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell migration in anisotropic microenvironment plays an important role in the development of normal tissues and organs as well as neoplasm progression, e.g., osteogenic differentiation of embryonic stem cells was facilitated on stiffer substrates, indicating that the mechanical signals greatly affect both early and terminal differentiation of embryonic stem cells. However, the effect of anisotropy on cell migration dynamics, in particular, in terms of acceleration profiles which is important for recognizing dynamics modes of cell migration and analyzing the regulation mechanisms of microenvironment in mechanical signal transmission, has not been systematically investigated. In this work, we firstly rigorously investigate and quantify the differences between persistent random walk and anisotropic persistent random walk models based on the analysis of cell migration trajectories and velocity auto-covariance function, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Secondly, we introduce the concepts of positive and negative anisotropy based on the motility parameters to study the effect of anisotropy on acceleration profiles, especially the nonlinear decrease and non-monotonic behaviors. We particularly elaborate and discuss the mechanisms, and physical insights of non-monotonic behaviors in the case of positive anisotropy, focusing on the force exerted on migrating cells. Finally, we analyze two types of in vitro cell migration experiments and verify the universality of nonlinear decrease and the consistence of non-monotonic behaviors with numerical results. We conclude that the anisotropy of microenvironment is the cause of the non-monotonic and nonlinear dynamics, and the anisotropic persistent random walk can be as a suitable tool to analyze in vitro cell migration with different combinations of motility parameters. Our analysis provides new insights into the dynamics of cell migration in complex microenvironment, which also has implications in tissue engineering and cancer research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of adequate numbers of people working with older adults in an aging society implies the potential of attracting students from other disciplines to the field. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 52 Chinese psychology students who took a gerontological psychology course designed to prepare them for aging-related careers. As younger students having conversations with older people benefits their learning of gerontology, to accomplish the course tasks, each student had to interview an older person, analyze the data, and write a report with reflectivity. Thematic analysis of the students' written reports indicated that intergenerational interviewing is rewarding in preparing them for aging-related work in that the students gained both concrete knowledge about aging and experiences of doing gerontological qualitative research, realized that intergenerational interviewing benefits both themselves and their interviewees, and went through a process of personal development that is necessary for a gerontological career. Implications for future research and practice in cultivating psychology students' interest in aging-related work were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study investigated how rural Chinese older people construct identity crises in their life-story telling. Challenging life experiences of 20 older adults from a village in southwest China were collected through in-depth interviews. The older adults were identified to have gone through crises brought on by both social upheavals and destructive interpersonal interactions. Adaption to the challenges contributes to their identity development. Identity crisis for the participants represents a process of disconnecting the bonds with significant others that transfer from parents to spouses and then to children across their lifespan. Study limitations and contributions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in moiré superlattices and moiré excitons, such as quantum emission arrays, low-energy flat bands, and Mott insulators, have rapidly attracted attention in the fields of optoelectronics, materials, and energy research. The interlayer twist turns into a degree of freedom that alters the properties of the systems of materials, and the realization of moiré excitons also offers the feasibility of making artificial exciton crystals. Moreover, moiré excitons exhibit many exciting properties under the regulation of various external conditions, including spatial polarisation, alternating dipolar to alternating dipolar moments and gate-dependence to gate voltage dependence; all are pertinent to their applications in nano-photonics and quantum information. But the lag in theoretical development and the low-efficiency of processing technologies significantly limit the potential of moiré superlattice applications. In this review, we systematically summarise and discuss the recent progress in moiré superlattices and moiré excitons, and analyze the current challenges, and put forward relevant recommendations. There is no doubt that further research will lead to breakthroughs in their application and promote reforms and innovations in traditional solid-state physics and materials science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holding beliefs such as elder respect seems to make Chinese older adults vulnerable to feel abused. This study investigated how Chinese older people in the countryside perceive abuse and make sense of their abusive experiences while telling their life stories. Following a narrative approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 older persons living in a rural village, Yunnan province, China, collected their life stories, and paid special attention to their telling of abuses. Thematic analysis of the data suggests that elder abuse for the participants is a betrayal of trust that is established within Chinese cultural values. Four themes were identified in explaining the participants’ experiences of abuse: disrespect, dependency and the down-valued self, disconnection and rejection, and social comparisons in the construction of abuse. We discuss implications for future research and practices in stopping elder abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reminiscing contributes to the formulation of identity in later adulthood through integrating individuals' recomposed past, perceived present and envisioned future. Aiming to understand rural Chinese elders' identity construction through reminiscing, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 elders living in ShiGo, a village located in the south-west of China. Data analysis suggests the rural elders in this study constructed a hero–victim identity through telling stories about the hardships they went through and the sacrifices they made. The participants narrated suffering from lack of basic living needs in the past, in particular before the 1980s while they were involved in turmoil brought on by wars and national movements, from destructive relationships, from making sacrifices for the country and their families, and from adapting to challenges brought on by the hardships. The rural elders shared life experiences with other villagers in daily life through bitter-sweet telling and wanted their suffering and sacrifices to be witnessed. Witnessing connects suffering, sacrifice, hero and victim into a self-enforcing system that helps the elders maintain interdependence and defence against existential concerns like death anxiety. A hero–victim dialectic model was presented to capture the self-enforcing attribute of the hero–victim identity. Findings of this study could be used to make sense of rural ageing in China and benefit clinical professionals working with rural Chinese elders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reviewing major theories on pregnant hypertension & focusing on endothelial dysfunction. • Endothelial NO is weak & exogenous NO makes "big dent" on placental vessel tension curve. • New views on placental endothelial dysfunction contributing to pregnant hypertension. The placenta has vital roles in metabolite exchange, fetal growth, and pre-eclampsia (PE). In this review, we discuss the pathogenesis of hypertension in pregnancy, focusing on four major theories to explain PE, discussing endothelial roles in those theories. We focus in particular on the roles of nitric oxide (NO) and prostacyclin (PGI 2) in placental endothelium, and propose new hypotheses for the influence and mechanisms of endothelial NO and PGI 2 signaling pathways in PE. We discuss new hypotheses regarding why exogenous nitric oxide could induce particular patterns of placental vascular responses and why placental endothelial functions might contribute poorly to microvessel regulation and hypertension during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary In this study, we investigated whether matched and mismatched multidrug resistance gene (MDR1) genotypes (G2677TA, C1236T and C3435T) were associated with prognosis in patients after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT). One hundred patients after transplantation and their donors were enrolled. Matched MDR1 G2677TA donor–recipient was associated with an increased risk of non‐relapse mortality (NRM) (29.5% vs. 6.2%, p = 0.002), poor overall survival (OS) (51.7% vs. 63.8%, p = 0.024) and disease‐free survival (DFS) (38.6% vs. 67%, p = 0.005). There were no differences in OS, DFS or NRM between MDR1 C1236T‐ and C3435T‐matched and ‐mismatched groups. Subgroup analysis suggested that within the matched MDR1 G2677TA group, male gender, haematopoietic cell transplantation‐specific comorbidity index ≥1, serum creatinine >137.2 μmol/L and post‐transplantation thrombocytopenia were associated with poor survival. Our results demonstrated that patients receiving matched MDR1 G2677TA allo‐HSCT experienced a poorer prognosis compared with the mismatched group. The potential mechanism may involve increased expression of P‐glycoprotein, leading to decreased accumulation of antimicrobial agents and ultimately contributing to the progression of inflammation. This identification of MDR1 G2677TA genotype compatibility holds promise as a valuable molecular tool for selecting donors for allo‐HSCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine whether binocular vision plays a facilitating or impeding role in lexical processing during sentence reading in Chinese. Adopting the revised boundary paradigm, we orthogonally manipulated the parafoveal and foveal viewing conditions (monocular vs. binocular) of target words (high- vs. low-frequency) within sentences. Forty participants (30 females, mean age = 19.9 years) were recruited to read these sentences and their eye movements were monitored. Through directly comparing the eye movement measures in different viewing conditions, the results indicated that compared with monocular viewing, binocular viewing resulted in shorter fixation durations, thereby facilitating lexical processing. Critically, in addition to the higher information encoding speed toward the currently fixated word in the fovea, the more efficient preprocessing of the upcoming text to the right of fixation in the parafovea may also contribute to the superiority of binocular vision over monocular. Our findings provide the first evidence to support the binocular advantages in Chinese reading, which reveals that high-quality visual input from binocular vision plays a vital role in fluent and efficient written text reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that plays an important role in glucose homeostasis. However, it remains unknown whether the plasma concentration of taurine affects the risk of later gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) development. We recruited 398 singleton-pregnancy women and followed up them during the course of pregnancy. We measured the plasma concentrations of taurine based on blood samples collected at nine-week gestation on average and obtained the data regarding both mothers and their infants from medical records. There was a significant increment in the mean value of HOMA-β across the tertiles of plasma taurine in multiparous women rather than in primiparous women. After adjustment for confounders, an increase of plasma taurine was nominally and significantly associated with a decrease risk of GDM; moreover, women with plasma taurine concentrations in the lowest tertile and in the second tertile had a higher risk of GDM than did those with plasma taurine in the top tertile in multiparous women other than primiparous women. Plasma taurine level seems to be associated with insulin secretion in early pregnancy and be more closely associated with β-cell function and the risk of GDM development in multiparas in comparison to primiparas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation of poly(ε -caprolactone)/poly(l-lactic acid) (PCL/PLLA) electrospun membrane was carried out in the phosphate buffer of esterase and water, respectively. A three-dimensional (3D) porous morphology was cultivated during esterase degradation, which was confirmed by scanning electronic microscope (SEM), while the structural evolution was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) combining with wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Compared with hydrolysis, the degradation rate of enzymolysis was significantly faster. With the rapid decline in PCL crystallinity, the crystallinity of PLLA increased slightly after enzymolysis. The formation of porous morphology should be attributed to the relatively rapid degradation of PCL crystal and PLLA amorphous region attacked by esterase. Also, the number of micropores on the fiber surface increased with degradation time, which provides new ideas for preparing porous materials with higher porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen vacancies-engineered graphitic carbon nitride (Nv-GCN) could improve light absorbance, narrow bandgap as well as accelerate carries' transfer and separation, exhibiting boosted photocatalytic performance for H 2 production. [Display omitted] • Porous N v -GCN with N 3C vacancies is engineered. • N vacancies (N v) broaden the light absorbance range and narrow the bandgap. • N v also improves charge transfer and separation due to the defect levels. • The as-engineered N v -GCN shows boosted photocatalytic hydrogen production. Defect engineering can be considered a powerful strategy for enhancing photocatalytic performance. Here, we successfully synthesized tri-coordinated nitrogen vacancies-modified graphitic carbon nitride (N v -GCN) by employing a simple sintering process. The optimized N v -GCN shows boosted photocatalytic H 2 production (5.45 mmol g−1 h−1) in comparison with that of the pristine GCN (0.69 mmol g−1 h−1) under visible light irradiation. It is found that the nitrogen vacancies provide more active sites in photocatalytic reactions. Meanwhile, the electronic structure of N v -GCN can be modulated by nitrogen vacancies, and defect levels are formed in the intrinsic bandgap. The introduced nitrogen vacancies not only broaden the range of visible-light absorption and narrow the band gap of GCN but also accelerate the separation and transfer of the photogenerated charges. This study provides an effective route for designing high-performance photocatalysts for highly efficient conversion of solar energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]