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Aims/Introduction Materials and Methods Results Conclusions We investigated the relationship of circulating TSP‐1 mRNA and miR‐194 with diabetic kidney disease’s degree.We enrolled 167 hospitalized type 2 diabetes patients in the endocrinology department. Patients were split into three groups according to urinary microalbumin: A, B and C. The control group comprised healthy outpatients (n = 163). The quantities of microribonucleic acid (miR)‐194 and thrombospondin‐1 (TSP‐1) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in the participants’ circulation were measured using a quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction.Circulating TSP‐1 mRNA (P = 0.024) and miR‐194 (P = 0.029) expressions significantly increased in type 2 diabetes patients. Circulating TSP‐1 mRNA (P = 0.040) and miR‐194 (P = 0.007) expression levels differed significantly among the three groups; circulating TSP‐1 mRNA expression increased with urinary microalbumin. However, miR‐194 declined in group B and increased in group C. Circulating TSP‐1 mRNA was positively correlated with cystatin‐c (r = 0.281; P = 0.021) and microalbumin/creatinine ratio (UmALB/Cr; r = 0.317; P = 0.009); miR‐194 was positively correlated with UmALB/Cr (r = 0.405; P = 0.003). Stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis showed cystatin‐c (β = 0.578; P = 0.021) and UmALB/Cr (β = 0.001; P = 0.009) as independent factors for TSP‐1 mRNA; UmALB/Cr (β = 0.005; P = 0.028) as an independent factor for miR194. Areas under the curve for circulating TSP‐1 mRNA and miR194 were 0.756 (95% confidence interval 0.620–0.893; sensitivity 0.69 and specificity 0.71, P < 0.01) and 0.584 (95% confidence interval 0.421–0.748; sensitivity 0.54 and specificity 0.52, P < 0.01), respectively.Circulating TSP‐1 mRNA and miR‐194 expressions significantly increased in type 2 diabetes patients. The microalbumin group had lower levels of miR‐194 (a risk factor that is valuable for type 2 diabetes kidney disease evaluation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY In the field, necrosis area induced by pathogens is usually surrounded by a red circle in apple fruits. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that accumulated salicylic acid (SA) induced by fungal infection promoted anthocyanin biosynthesis through MdNPR1‐MdTGA2.2 module in apple (Malus domestica). Inoculating apple fruits with Valsa mali or Botryosphaeria dothidea induced a red circle surrounding the necrosis area, which mimicked the phenotype observed in the field. The red circle accumulated a high level of anthocyanins, which was positively correlated with SA accumulation stimulated by fungal invasion. Further analysis showed that SA promoted anthocyanin biosynthesis in a dose‐dependent manner in both apple calli and fruits. We next demonstrated that MdNPR1, a master regulator of SA signaling, positively regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis in both apple and Arabidopsis. Moreover, MdNPR1 functioned as a co‐activator to interact with and enhance the transactivation activity of MdTGA2.2, which could directly bind to the promoters of anthocyanin biosynthetic and regulatory genes to promote their transcription. Suppressing expression of either MdNPR1 or MdTGA2.2 inhibited coloration of apple fruits, while overexpressing either of them significantly promoted fruit coloration. Finally, we revealed that silencing either MdNPR1 or MdTGA2.2 in apple fruits repressed SA‐induced fruit coloration. Therefore, our data determined that fungal‐induced SA promoted anthocyanin biosynthesis through MdNPR1‐MdTGA2.2 module, resulting in a red circle surrounding the necrosis area in apple fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health disorder is highly prevalent worldwide, and factors attributable to its development have not been fully understood. We aimed to explore the association of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with mental health disorder using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). CHARLS is an ongoing nationwide survey enrolling 17,708 residents aged ≥45 years in China. Total 20 ACE indicators were extracted. Unmeasured confounding and potential mediation were assessed, and effect-size estimates are expressed as odds ratio (OR) with 95 % confidence interval (CI). Of 10,961 assessable participants with complete information, 3652 were reported to have mental health disorder. The risk for mental health disorder was increased by 20.7 % for participants with one to less than four events of ACEs (OR: 1.207, 95 % CI: 0.711 to 2.049), and this number reached 102.7 % for participants with four or more events (OR: 2.027, 95 % CI: 1.196 to 3.436) relative to those with no ACE. In subgroup analyses, between-group risk estimates differed significantly for residence, marital status, personal asset, life satisfaction, and living standard. The E -value of 2.35 for ACEs of 4 or more events indicated the low likelihood of unmeasured confounders. In mediation analyses, the proportion eliminated was 5.1 % for continuous ACEs and 6.1 % for categorical ACEs (both P < 0.001). Our findings indicate that ACEs, especially with four or more events, can predict the significant risk of mental health disorder, underscoring the necessity of screening mental illness based on ACEs to reduce the resultant morbidity and mortality in China. • Mental health disorder is prevalent and represents a global public health challenge. • Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are implicated in mental illness development. • Mental illness screening based on ACEs should be prioritized in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum‐based efficient and broadly applicable catalytic system is presented for the dehydrogenative coupling of γ‐/β‐amino alcohols with ketones. In particular, complex Mo(CO)6 in combination with Xantphos and t‐BuOK as base provides direct synthesis of structurally diverse quinoline, pyridine, and pyrrole compounds (total 55 examples) with isolated yields up to 92%. Low catalyst loading, cost‐effective, and high catalytic activities with high tolerance to stand with diverse functional groups are additional features of these molybdenum catalysts exhibiting high efficacy to replace the precious metal catalysts such as ruthenium and iridium. Furthermore, the DFT and experimental studies were explored for the reaction mechanism which can assist in broadening the scope of the molybdenum catalysts for different transformation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of the new energy industry, supercapacitors have become key devices in the field of energy storage. To forecast the remaining useful life (RUL) of supercapacitors, we introduce a new technology that integrates variational mode decomposition (VMD) with a bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) neural network. Firstly, the aging experiments of supercapacitors under various temperatures and voltages were carried out to obtain aging data. Then, VMD was implemented to decompose the aging data, which helped to eliminate disturbances, including capacity recovery and test errors. Then, the hyperparameters of BiLSTM were adjusted, employing the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) to improve the consistency between the input data and the network structure. After obtaining the optimal hyperparameters of BiLSTM, the decomposed aging data were input into BiLSTM for prediction. The experimental results showed that the VMD-SSA-BiLSTM model proposed in this paper has high prediction accuracy and high robustness under different temperatures and voltages, with an average RMSE of 0.112519, a decrease of 44.3% compared to BiLSTM, and a minimum of 0.031426. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a diabatic compressed air energy storage system fueled by a natural gas/hydrogen mixture that integrates heating and power generation is proposed. A comprehensive thermodynamic analysis has been conducted to identify the key factors influencing system performance and elucidate the detailed formation and distribution patterns of irreversible losses when utilizing a hydrogen-natural gas blend as fuel in the proposed system. The research results indicate that increasing the hydrogen blending ratio from 0.5 to 1 lead to greater enhancements in roundtrip efficiency (∼1.08% vs. ∼0.33%), exergy efficiency (∼3.88% vs. ∼1.15%), and energy density (∼1.24% vs. ∼0.42%) compared to an increase from 0 to 0.5. The combustor suffers the largest exergy destruction proportion, with a notable reduction in exergy destruction achieved through increased hydrogen blending. System performance benefits significantly from higher combustor outlet temperatures and expansion ratios at various hydrogen blending ratios. The rate of change in exergy efficiency (∼42.76% vs. ∼83.17%) and energy density (∼58.83%) demonstrates an inverse correlation with the varied parameters (1100–1500K, 4–8), except for the rate of change in energy density (∼6.76%), which displays a positive relationship with the combustor outlet temperature. Notably, a significant decrease in the rate of change in roundtrip efficiency (∼1.87% vs. ∼6.64%) is observed within a specific parameter range (1400–1500K, 5–6). Sensitivity analysis identifies the combustor outlet temperature as the most influential factor in enhancing system performance, consistently showing positive effects of the hydrogen blending ratio. [Display omitted] • A natural gas/hydrogen-fueled CAES system combined heating and power is proposed. • Increasing the hydrogen contents significantly reduces combustor exergy destruction. • Higher hydrogen content (>0.5) yields notable performance boosts, especially in EXE. • The ROC s infected by ER display a remarkable correlation compared to the COT. • The COT is the crucial parameter on system performance via sensitivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to rapidly screen seven mycotoxins in feed using Captiva EMR-Lipid solid phase extraction technology combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The prepared feed samples were extracted by ultrasonic (combined with shaking) in 84% acetonitrile aqueous solution for 10 min, centrifuged and purified by one-step pass-through degreasing on a Captiva EMR-Lipid solid-phase extraction column. Then UPLC-MS/MS Electrospray Ionization (ESI), positive and negative ion scanning, multi-reflection monitoring mode (MRM), and matrix-matched external standard quantification were carried out. The results showed that the extraction, purification and detection of seven mycotoxins in a single feed sample could be completed within 30 min, the correlation coefficient (r) of the matrix matching standard curve was greater than 0.994, the detection limit was 2~10 µg/kg, the average recovery rate was 61.9%~123.5%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was =9.2% (n=5). The study indicated that the method had few pretreatment steps, was easy to operate, the screening was qualitatively accurate, and the detection and analysis throughput was relatively high, which met the screening and analysis of seven mycotoxins in feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a chronic neurodegenerative disorder, is the leading cause of dementia. Over-activated microglia is related to amyloid-beta (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (phospho-tau) accumulation in the AD brain. Taurine is an amino acid with multiple physiological functions including anti-inflammatory effects, and has been reported to be neuroprotective in AD. However, the role of taurine in microglia-mediated AD remains unclear. Here, we examined the effects of taurine on the brains of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice by comparing those administered 1% taurine water with those administered distilled water (DW). We observed increased levels of taurine and taurine transporter (TAUT) in the brains of the taurine-treated mice compared with those of control mice. Immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses revealed that taurine significantly reduced the number of activated microglia, levels of phospho-tau and Aβ deposit in the hippocampus and cortex. Triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2) are known to protect against AD pathogenesis. Taurine upregulated TREM2 expression in the hippocampus and cortex. In conclusion, the present study suggests that taurine treatment may upregulate TREM2 to protect against microglia over-activation by decreasing the accumulation of phospho-tau and Aβ; providing an insight into a novel preventive strategy in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants possess the remarkable ability to sense detrimental environmental stimuli and launch sophisticated signal cascades that culminate in tailored responses to facilitate their survival, and transcription factors (TFs) are closely involved in these processes. Phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs) are among these TFs and belong to the basic helix–loop–helix family. PIFs are initially identified and have now been well established as core regulators of phytochrome-associated pathways in response to the light signal in plants. However, a growing body of evidence has unraveled that PIFs also play a crucial role in adapting plants to various biological and environmental pressures. In this review, we summarize and highlight that PIFs function as a signal hub that integrates multiple environmental cues, including abiotic (i.e., drought, temperature, and salinity) and biotic stresses to optimize plant growth and development. PIFs not only function as transcription factors to reprogram the expression of related genes, but also interact with various factors to adapt plants to harsh environments. This review will contribute to understanding the multifaceted functions of PIFs in response to different stress conditions, which will shed light on efforts to further dissect the novel functions of PIFs, especially in adaption to detrimental environments for a better survival of plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspirin eugenol ester (AEE) is a novel medicinal compound synthesized by esterifying aspirin with eugenol using the pro-drug principle. Pharmacological and pharmacodynamic experiments showed that AEE had excellent thromboprophylaxis and inhibition of platelet aggregation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of AEE on the liver of thrombosed rats to reveal its mechanism of thromboprophylaxis. Therefore, a multi-omics approach was used to analyze the liver. Transcriptome results showed 132 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the AEE group compared to the model group. Proteome results showed that 159 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in the AEE group compared to the model group. Six proteins including fibrinogen alpha chain (Fga), fibrinogen gamma chain (Fgg), fibrinogen beta chain (Fgb), orosomucoid 1 (Orm1), hemopexin (Hpx), and kininogen-2 (Kng2) were selected for parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) analysis. The results showed that the expression of all six proteins was upregulated in the model group compared with the control group. In turn, AEE reversed the upregulation trend of these proteins to some degree. Metabolome results showed that 17 metabolites were upregulated and 38 were downregulated in the model group compared to the control group. AEE could reverse the expression of these metabolites to some degree and make them back to normal levels. The metabolites were mainly involved in metabolic pathways, including linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Comprehensive analyses showed that AEE could prevent thrombosis by inhibiting platelet activation, decreasing inflammation, and regulating amino acid and energy metabolism. In conclusion, AEE can have a positive effect on thrombosis-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-segregation of Cu and Mg solutes at grain boundaries (GBs) in Al alloys is widely observed in experiments, but this segregation pattern is much less understood. Herein, the Cu, Mg co-segregation behaviors and their effects on Al Σ5 (210) GB properties were systematically studied via first-principles calculations. The segregation order of Cu and Mg atoms was firstly determined wherein the segregation tendency of Cu is comparatively stronger than Mg. Calculations demonstrate that Cu and Mg atoms exhibit attractive interaction, which would promote synergistic co-segregation of both dopants at the GB. It is revealed that Cu, Mg co-segregation not only improves GB thermodynamic stability, but also enhances the GB fracture strength. Detailed analysis of charge density, bonding characteristics, etc., suggests that the newly formed Al–Cu bonds upon Cu segregation are the primary contribution to the increased GB cohesion. The further Mg doping at the Al GB with Cu segregation results in charge depletion and meanwhile decreases Al–Cu bonding length, the net results of which increase GB cohesion, suggesting a synergistically enhanced GB strength with Mg and Cu co-segregation. This work is supposed to provide fundamental insights into the effect of Cu, Mg co-segregation on the strength of Al GBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silica hollow tube (SHT) nanofillers were fine distributed in poly(ether ketone ketone) (PEKK) to serve decently as sixth generation (6G) substrate films. Distinctly lower dielectric and thermal expansion characteristics were detected for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence filled with proper amounts of SHT nanofillers. The dielectric characteristics detected for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence diminished to a minimum, as SHT loads came near an optimal value of 8wt%. The LCTE evaluated for each PEKKaxSHTy film sequence reduced distinctly with increasing SHT loads. Suitable dielectric constant (εr) (2.26 at 1 MHz), and/or dielectric loss (tan δ) (0.0027 at 1 MHz) and/or Linear coefficient of thermal expansion (LCTE) (30.5 × 10−6/ °C) for 6G rapid-speed communication were detected for PEKKP700092SHT8 substrate film having 8wt% load of SHT nanofillers. Meanwhile, the beginning degradation temperatures estimated for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence increased distinctly with increasing SHT loads. All free-volume-cavity characteristics estimated for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence approached a highest value, as SHT loads came near an optimal value of 8wt%. Distinctly lower εr and tan δ were detected for PEKKa and PEKKaxSHTy having higher free-volume-cavity characteristics. Possible interpretations for the distinctly diminished dielectric and/or heat-resistant characteristics acquired for PEKKaxSHTy films are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health technology assessment (HTA) is an important part of healthcare decision-making globally. The key principles of HTA include transparency, reduction of bias, and consideration of economic value and health outcomes. Over time, the methods and tools for HTA have evolved, and international and regional HTA bodies have played a crucial role in developing best practices. In Australia, the Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures–Surgical (ASERNIP–S) is a longstanding HTA service provider. However, challenges remain for HTA, particularly with the rise of novel and disruptive technologies. The recent HTAi meeting in Australia discussed these challenges and the need for HTA frameworks to adapt. The rapid evolution of digital health technology (DHT) is an example of the opportunities and challenges facing HTA. DHT allows for greater patient participation and personalized healthcare, but conventional HTA frameworks may not be equipped to assess these technologies. There is a need to review HTA methods, decision-making frameworks, and the role of governments in regulatory and funding decisions. Innovation in HTA and health policy, such as parallel reviewing processes and joint assessments, has occurred to improve efficiency. HTA agencies continue to work with governments to eliminate barriers and ensure patients have access to the latest medical technologies. [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, a consensus-based distributed formation control method is proposed for improving the coordinated battle efficiency of coordinated battle system for manned/unmanned aerial vehicles (MAV/UAVs). The method proposed is designed based on consensus protocol, which contains three parts. First, the distributed structure with limited centralized strategy for MAV/UAVs cooperative system is designed. Second, a second-order dynamic model is built up to describe the distributed formation system, which is further simplified using feedback linearization method. Third, the information exchange topology of MAV/UAV-coordinated battle system is established on the basis of graph theory and leader–follower mechanism. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed formation strategy for MAV/UAVs cooperative system is proved asymptotic convergence by constructing a reasonable Lyapunov function which guarantees the accurate formation maintenance. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. And comparative simulation results reveal that the method proposed in this paper is superior to traditional algorithms in the aspects of accuracy and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal stem cells (ISCs), which locate at the base of intestinal crypts, are key determinants of governing proliferation and differentiation of the intestinal epithelium. The surrounding cells of ISCs and their related growth factors form ISC niche, supporting ISC function and self-renewal. ISC has an underappreciated but emerging role as a sensor of dietary nutrients, which fate decisions is adjusted in response to nutritional states to regulate gut homeostasis. Here, we review endogenous and exogenous factors, such as caloric restriction, fasting, fat, glucose and trace element. They instruct ISCs via mTORC1, PPAR/CPT1α, PPARγ/β-catenin, Wnt/GSK-3β pathway, respectively, jointly affect intestinal homeostasis. These dietary responses regulate ISC regenerative capacity and may be a potential target for cancer prevention. However, without precise definitions of nutrition intervene, it will be difficult to generate sufficient data to extending our knowledge of the biological response of ISC on nutrients. More accurately modeling organoids or high-throughput automated organoid culture in microcavity arrays have provided unprecedented opportunities for modeling diet-host interactions. These major advances collectively provide new insights into nutritional regulation of ISC proliferation and differentiation and drive us ever closer to breakthroughs for regenerative medicine and disease treatment by nutrition intervention in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of cervical central lymph-node metastasis (CLNM) is high in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). There is considerable controversy surrounding the benefits of prophylactic central lymph-node dissection (pCLND) in patients with clinically negative central compartment lymph nodes (cN0). Therefore, it is crucial to accurately predict the likelihood of cervical CLNM before surgery to make informed surgical decisions. Methods: Date from 214 PTC patients (cN0) who underwent partial or total thyroidectomy and pCLND at the Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital were collected and retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups in accordance with cervical CLNM or not. Their information, including clinical characteristics, ultrasound (US) features, pathological results of fine-needle aspirations biopsy (FNAB), and other characteristics of the groups, was analyzed and compared using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: A total of 214 patients were eligible in this study. Among them, 43.5% (93/214) of PTC patients had cervical CLNM, and 56.5% (121/214) did not. The two groups were compared using a univariate analyses, and there were no significant differences between the two groups in aspect ratio, boundary, morphology, component, and BRAFV600E (P > 0.05), and there were significant differences between gender, age, maximum tumor size, tumor location, capsule contact, microcalcifications, color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) (P < 0.05). A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to further clarify the correlation of these indices. However, only age (OR = 2.455, P = 0.009), maximum tumor size (OR = 2.586, P = 0.010), capsule contact (OR = 3.208, P = 0.001), and CDFI (OR = 2.225, P = 0.022) were independent predictors of cervical CLNM. Combining these four factors, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the joint diagnosis is 0.8160 (95% 0.7596–0.8725). Univariate analysis indicated that capsule contact (P = 0.001) was a possible predictive factor of BRAFV600E mutation. Conclusions: In conclusion, four independent predictors of cervical CLNM, including age < 45 years, tumor size > 1.0 cm, capsule contact, and rich blood flow, were screened out. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of these risk factors should be conducted when designing individualized treatment regimens for PTC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Collaborative learning has become a crucial approach to promoting online in‐service teacher training. Appropriate peer recommendation for group composition is the basis to ensure productive learning outcomes of collaborative learning. However, there is a lack of understanding of the impact of peer recommendation on in‐service teachers' online training. Objectives: Therefore, based on the collaborative filtering approach, a peer recommendation mechanism for in‐service teachers was constructed in this study. We investigated the effects of the constructed mechanism on in‐service teachers' online learning performance, interactive knowledge construction behavioural patterns and social networks. Methods: In this study, 82 in‐service teachers were recruited to participate in the study. Participants under the experimental condition (n = 41) were invited to apply collaborative filtering‐based peer recommendation mechanism for grouping, while participants under the control condition (n = 41) were invited to use random grouping method. Participants' interaction data were collected from online collaborative discussion activities in a 5‐week asynchronous online course. The pre‐post knowledge test, content analysis, lag sequential analysis and social network analysis were used to analyse the differences between groups. Results and Conclusions: The following findings were revealed: (1) the experimental group performed better than the control group in terms of online learning performance; (2) interactive knowledge construction behavioural patterns generated in collaborative activities showed that the experimental group achieved deeper level of knowledge construction in collaboration than the control group; (3) social networks generated in collaborative activities showed that the experimental group had tighter interaction relationships than the control group. Therefore, the peer recommendation mechanism could be useful to improve peer recommendation for group composition and had positive effects on in‐service teachers' online training. Implications: This study can shed light on the construction of peer recommendation mechanism in recommending appropriate peers for in‐service teachers and different learners in online collaborative learning. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic: Appropriate learning peers are conducive to promoting effective online collaborative learning. What this paper adds: This study constructed a collaborative filtering‐based peer recommendation mechanism for recommending appropriate learning peers to improve online collaborative learning of in‐service teachers. The implications of study findings for practitioners: The study findings provide insights into the construction of mechanisms for recommending learning peers in online teacher training and computer‐supported collaborative learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid and sensitive detection of the important biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP) is of great significance for monitoring inflammation and tissue damage. In this work, an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor was fabricated based on dual signal amplification for the sensitive detection of CRP in serum samples. The sensor was constructed by modifying a silica nanochannel array film (SNF) on a cost-effective indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode using the Stöber solution growth method. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were grown in situ within the nanochannels using a simple electrodeposition method as a nanocatalyst to enhance the active electrode area as well as the ECL signal. The negatively charged nanochannels also significantly enriched the positively charged ECL emitters, further amplifying the signal. The recognition aptamer was covalently immobilized on the outer surface of SNF after modification with epoxy groups, constructing the aptasensor. In the presence of CRP, the formation of complexes on the recognitive interface led to a decrease in the diffusion of ECL emitters and co-reactants to the supporting electrode, resulting in a reduction in the ECL signal. Based on this mechanism, ECL detection of CRP was achieved with a linear range of 10 pg/mL to 1 μg/mL and a low limit of detection (7.4 pg/mL). The ECL aptasensor developed in this study offers advantages such as simple fabrication and high sensitivity, making promising applications in biomarker detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on the outcomes of Chinese couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and the clinical data of their neonates. A total of 21,999 first embryo transfer cycles were included. They were categorized into four groups based on the couple's hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) result (Group A = female HBsAg− and male HBsAg−; Group B = female HBsAg+ and male HBsAg−; Group C = female HBsAg− and male HBsAg+; Group D = female HBsAg+ and male HBsAg+). The fertilization rate (FR), cleavage rate (CR), implantation rate (IPR), clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), live birth rate (LBR) and miscarriage rate (MCR) were analysed. Multilevel logistic regression was applied to evaluate the association. The total prevalence of HBV infection was 5.74% (2526/43998). There were no statistically significant differences in CRs (98.69%, 98.76%, 98.66%, 98.72%, p >.05), IPRs (45.86%, 47.33%, 45.19%, 39.61%, p >.05), CPRs (62.84%, 65.05%, 61.80%, 56.81%, p >.05), MCRs (12.70%, 11.99%, 12.58%, 4%, p >.05) and LBRs (53.43%, 55.38%, 52.70%, 54.54%, p >.05) among the four groups. However, there were significant differences in FRs (66.25%, 66.55%, 66.32%, 61.92%, p <.05). Group D had the lowest FR. After adjusting for confounders, the multilevel logistic regression showed that HBsAg+ had no impact on the LBR, CPR or MCR. We also analysed the data of 14,465 newborns, including 8593 singletons and 2936 twins. Among the four groups, no variables reached statistical significance, including neonatal birth weight (NBW), twin ratio, gestational age, premature birth, delivery type, fetal macrosomia or low birth weight (p >.05). Our study demonstrates that, although biparental HBV infection may affect the FR, neither single‐parent infection nor biparental HBV infection affects IVF/ICSI outcomes or neonatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By virtue of remarkable biocompatibility and their promising applications in biomedical fields, biomass‐regenerated fibers, such as wool keratin fiber and cellulose fiber, have attracted extensive attention. However, the insufficient mechanical performance still hinders their yarn manufacturing capability and further large‐scale applications. Herein, an ultra‐strong and ultra‐tough regenerated wool keratin fiber by regulating keratin conformation with high‐quality small‐size graphene (HQSGr) and mechanical training treatment (M‐HQSGr‐RWKF) is fabricated. With the assistance of mechanical training, a small addition of HQSGr (0.1 wt.%) remarkably augments the secondary structure transition from α‐helix to β‐sheet of the keratin, which delivers a tensile strength of 215.4 ± 5.2 MPa, surpassing all reported natural wool and regenerated wool or even poultry fibers. Benefiting from the excellent mechanical strength, wet‐state toughness (158.9 MJ m−3), and recoverable strain (205.0%), M‐HQSGr‐RWKF has been demonstrated as a biocompatible artificial muscle to drive the biomimetic motion, which manifests ultrahigh actuation strain greater than 100.0% and stress of 16.7 MPa. The derived ultra‐strong and ultra‐tough keratin fiber opens a new avenue for developing smart fiber from biomass resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI), the tissue damage which is caused by the returning of blood supply to tissue after a period of ischemia, greatly reduces the therapeutic effect of treatment of myocardial infarction. But the underlying functional mechanisms of MIRI are still unclear. Methods: We constructed mouse models of MIRI, extracted injured and healthy myocardial tissues, and performed transcriptome sequencing experiments (RNA-seq) to systematically investigate the dysregulated transcriptome of MIRI, especially the alternative splicing (AS) regulation and RNA binding proteins (RBPs). Selected RBPs and MIRI-associated AS events were then validated by RT-qPCR experiments. Results: The differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses indicated that transcriptome profiles were changed by MIRI and that DEGs' enriched functions were consistent with MIRI's dysregulated pathways. Furthermore, the AS profile was synergistically regulated and showed clear differences between the mouse model and the healthy samples. The exon skipping events significantly increased in MIRI model samples, while the opposite cassette exon events significantly decreased. According to the functional analysis, regulated alternative splicing genes (RASGs) were enriched in protein transport, cell division /cell cycle, RNA splicing, and endocytosis pathways, which were associated with the development of MIRI. Meanwhile, 493 differentially expressed RBPs (DE RBPs) were detected, most of which were correlated with the changed ratios of AS events. In addition, nine DE RBP genes were validated, including Eif5, Pdia6, Tagln2, Vasp, Zfp36l2, Grsf1, Idh2, Ndrg2, and Uqcrc1. These nine DE RBPs were correlated with RASGs enriched in translation process, cell growth and division, and endocytosis pathways, highly consistent with the functions of all RASGs. Finally, we validated the AS ratio changes of five regulated alternative splicing events (RASEs) derived from important regulatory genes, including Mtmr3, Cdc42, Cd47, Fbln2, Vegfa, and Fhl2. Conclusion: Our study emphasized the critical roles of the dysregulated AS profiles in MIRI development, investigated the potential functions of MIRI-associated RASGs, and identified regulatory RBPs involved in AS regulation. We propose that the identified RASEs and RBPs could serve as important regulators and potential therapeutic targets in MIRI treatment in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of comparative benefits of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics in Asian patients with schizophrenia has been inconsistent. This scoping review aimed to synthesize the current evidence in the past ten years and provide an overview of efficacy, safety, treatment adherence, patient attitudes, and healthcare resource utilization of LAI in this population. A systematic search was conducted with a pre-defined search strategy in six electronic databases including Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. A total of 46 studies were included, including 15 cohort studies, 13 single-arm trials, 10 randomized controlled trials, four mirror-image studies, three cross-sectional studies, and one controlled clinical trial. Paliperidone palmitate once-monthly injection (27/46) and risperidone LAI (14/46) were the most frequently investigated LAIs. Compared with oral antipsychotic medications (OAMs), LAIs demonstrated a lower rate of relapse/hospitalization and comparable improvement in efficacy. Adverse events (AEs) were similar between LAIs and OAMs, although types and incidence varied. Significant reduction in the length of hospitalization and number of outpatient visits/inpatient admission was observed after initiation of LAIs. These findings suggest that LAI demonstrated comparable efficacy and safety among Asian populations with schizophrenia in comparison to OAMs. Better adherence and lower relapse were observed in patients receiving LAIs from published evidence. Future research is warranted to better understand the comprehensive performance of LAI in specific population or context.Plain Language Summary: LAI antipsychotic drugs for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia have been considered the therapy of choice in case of poor adherence to treatment and frequent relapses. Few review studies focused on the benefits of LAI antipsychotics for schizophrenia in the Asian population have been conducted to date. Therefore, we conducted this scoping review to comprehensively summarize the current published evidence in terms of LAI efficacy, safety, treatment adherence, patient attitudes, and healthcare resource utilization in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer based on broad linewidth laser pumping is demonstrated. The broad linewidth laser was obtained by broadening a narrow linewidth laser utilizing an external phase modulator driven by a pseudo-random-bit-sequence (PRBS) waveform. This ingenious optical pumping scheme can significantly enhance the signal response and suppress light shift noise, as well as can reduce the gradient of electron spin polarization and improve the stability of magnetometers. Compared with a narrow linewidth laser pumping scheme, the response of the magnetometer is increased by 56%, experimentally. The relative polarization gradient is reduced from 9.8%/cm to better than 4%/cm by setting PRBS with a bit rate of 16 GHz. This scheme can also be applied to many other fields such as noninvasive bio-magnetic imaging and atomic spin gyroscopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of manganese(I) carbonyl complexes bearing structurally related NN- and NNN-chelating ligands have been synthesized and assessed as catalysts for transfer hydrogenation (TH). Notably, the NN-systems based on N-R functionalized 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoline-8-amines, proved the most effective in the manganese-promoted conversion of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol. In particular, the N-isopropyl derivative, Mn1, when conducted in combination with t-BuONa, was the standout performer mediating not only the reduction of acetophenone but also a range of carbonyl substrates including (hetero)aromatic-, aliphatic- and cycloalkyl-containing ketones and aldehydes with especially high values of TON (up to 17 200; TOF of 3550 h−1). These findings, obtained through a systematic variation of the N-R group of the NN ligand, are consistent with an outer-sphere mechanism for the hydrogen transfer. As a more general point, this Mn-based catalytic TH protocol offers an attractive and sustainable alternative for producing alcoholic products from carbonyl substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Complex ventral hernia remains a challenging situation for any surgeon. In this study, our aim was to analyze the effect of laparoscopic intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) repair in the treatment of complex abdominal wall hernia, with the assistance of preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum (PPP) and botulinum toxin A (BTA). Methods: In this retrospective study, we included 13 patients with complex ventral hernia between May 2021 and December 2022. All patients undergoing PPP and BTA protocol before hernia repair. The length of abdominal wall muscles and abdominal circumference were measured from CT scan. All hernias were repaired with laparoscopic or laparoscopic-assisted IPOM. Results: Thirteen patients received PPP and BTA injections. PPP and BTA administration time was over 8.8 ± 2.5 days. Before and after PPP and BTA, imaging showed that the length of lateral muscle on each side increased from 14.3 to 17.4 cm (P < .05). The abdominal circumference increased from 81.8 to 87.9 cm (P < .05). Complete fascial closure was obtained in 13 patients (100%), and no patient experienced postoperative abdominal hypertension and ventilatory support. No patient suffered from recurrent hernia to date. Conclusions: Preoperative PPP combined with BTA injection plays a role similar to component separation technique, avoids the abdominal hypertension after laparoscopic IPOM repair of complex ventral hernia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online teacher professional development is widely regarded as a promising way to improve the quality of teachers and the effect of teaching. Micro-learning, which has the potential to fit the learner's personalized learning needs through a variety of small educational resources and flexible learning opportunities, could be an efficient way for the online teacher professional development. However, the scattered knowledge points and fragmented learning time in micro-learning may limit the learner's comprehension and the construction of knowledge. In this study, a knowledge map-based online micro-learning system was developed to solve this problem. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed system, a quasi-experiment was conducted during a three-week online course for teachers' professional development. A total of 42 in-service Mandarin teachers participated in the course, and were divided into two equal groups. An experimental group learned by using a knowledge map tool while a control group learned the same contents in the form of the conventional list type. The results indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of learning engagement, and showed a clearer and more complete knowledge structure. Furthermore, micro-learning coupled with knowledge maps was found to improve the teachers' learning performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a reproductive hormonal abnormality and a metabolic disorder, which is frequently associated with insulin resistance (IR). We aim to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of Ubiquitin-protein ligase E3A (UBE3A) on IR in the PCOS rats via Adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Methods: The PCOS and IR rats model was established by dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and high fat diet (HFD) treatment, and the fat rate, glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance were measured. The IR rats numbers were calculated. Besides, the mRNA levels of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) and UBE3A were detected by RT-qPCR. Furthermore, the relationship between was demonstrated by co-IP assay. The phosphorylation and ubiquitination of AMPK were analyzed by western blot. Results: UBE3A was up-regulated in the PCOS rats. UBE3A knockdown significantly decreased the fat rate, glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance in the PCOS and IR rats. Additionally, the GLUT4 levels were significantly increased in PCOS + IR rats. Besides, after UBE3A knockdown, the IR rats were decreased, the p-IRS1 and p-AKT levels were significantly up-regulated. Furthermore, UBE3A knockdown enhanced phosphorylation of AMPK through decreasing the ubiquitination of AMPK. AMPK knockdown reversed the role of UBE3A knockdown in the PCOS + IR rats. Conclusions: UBE3A knockdown inhibited the IR in PCOS rats through targeting AMPK. Our study indicated that UBE3A might become a potential biological target for the clinical treatment of PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the synthesis of TiC-TiB2/Fe coatings with varying amounts of aluminum (Al) using tungsten inert gas (TIG) cladding and investigates the impact of Al addition on microstructure refinement and performance enhancement of the coatings. The coatings were prepared on a mild steel substrate using TIG cladding. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the presence of TiC, TiB2, AlxTi, and AlxFe phases in the coatings. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the addition of Al improved the microstructure, reducing defects and enhancing the distribution of reinforcing phases within the coatings. The particle size of the reinforcing phases was significantly refined by the addition of Al. The micro-hardness of the coatings was significantly higher than that of the substrate, with the maximum micro-hardness of the coating reaching 955.5 ± 50.7 HV0.1, approximately six times that of the substrates. However, excessive Al addition led to a reduction in hardness due to a decrease in the quantity of hard phases. The wear tests showed that all the coatings had lower wear loss compared to the substrate material, with the wear loss initially decreasing and then increasing with the increasing Al content. Samples with a 28.57 wt.% Al addition exhibited the best wear resistance, with approximately 16.8% of the wear volume loss compared to mild steel under the same testing conditions, attributed to the optimal combination of reinforcement phase quantity and matrix properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a novel type of energy storage element, supercapacitors have been extensively used in power systems, transportation and industry due to their high power density, long cycle life and good low-temperature performance. The health status of supercapacitors is of vital importance to the safe operation of the entire energy storage system. In order to improve the prediction accuracy of the remaining useful life (RUL) of supercapacitors, this paper proposes a method based on the Harris hawks optimization (HHO) algorithm and long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks (RNNs). The HHO algorithm has the advantages of a wide global search range and a high convergence speed. Therefore, the HHO algorithm is used to optimize the initial learning rate of LSTM RNNs and the number of hidden-layer units, so as to improve the stability and reliability of the system. The root mean square error (RMSE) between the predicted result and the observed result reduced to 0.0207, 0.026 and 0.0341. The prediction results show that the HHO-LSTM has higher accuracy and robustness than traditional LSTM and GRU (gate recurrent unit) models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant–soil feedback (PSF) is conventionally characterized by plant biomass growth, yet it remains unclear how PSF affects plant nutrient acquisition strategies (e.g. nutrient absorption and nutrient resorption) associated with plant growth, particularly under changing soil environments. A greenhouse experiment was performed with seedlings of Pinus elliottii Englem and conditioned soils of monoculture plantations (P. elliottii and Cunninghamia lanceolata Hook). Soil sterilization was designed to test plant phosphorus (P) acquisition strategy with and without native soil fungal communities. Soils from P. elliottii and C. lanceolata plantations were used to explore the specific soil legacy effects on two different P acquisition pathways (absorption and resorption). Phosphorus addition was also applied to examine the separate and combined effects of soil abiotic factors and soil fungal factors on P acquisition pathways. Due to diminished mycorrhizal symbiosis, PSF prompted plants to increasingly rely on P resorption under soil sterilization. In contrast, P absorption was employed preferentially in the heterospecific soil, where species-specific pathogenic fungi could not affect P absorption. Higher soil P availability diluted the effects of soil fungal factors on the trade-off between the two P acquisition pathways in terms of the absolute PSF. Moreover, P addition plays a limited role in terms of the relative PSF and does not affect the direction and strength of relative PSF. Our results reveal the role of PSF in regulating plant P acquisition pathways and highlight the interaction between mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi as the underlying mechanism of PSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Human adipose-derived stem cells have been identified as a promising candidate for cell-assisted therapy to improve graft survival. OBJECTIVE: To objective of the study was to add human adipose-derived stem cells into filling materials. METHODS: The filling materials were prepared and divided into 6 groups: fat particles with phosphate buffer saline or human adipose-derived stem cells; acellular dermal matrix particles with phosphate buffer saline or human adipose-derived stem cells; mixture of fat particles and acellular dermal matrix particles with phosphate buffer saline or human adipose-derived stem cells. The survival rate, vascular density and histological at 2, 6 and 12 weeks were investigated. RESULTS: Human adipose-derived stem cells significantly improved survival rate in each group at 6 and 12 weeks, and it significantly increased the vascular density in the fat particles and porcine acellular dermal matrix combined group and porcine acellular dermal matrix group at three time points, but human adipose-derived stem cells did not have a significant effect in the fat particles group. CONCLUSION: Human adipose-derived stem cells as assisted cells added into filling material can improve survival rate and vascular density in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of innovative city pilot policies (ICPP) on urban total factor productivity (TFP) and explores the mediating role of absorptive capacity in the context of innovative cities pilot policies in China. Based on panel data of 281 cities in China during 2006–2018, we introduce a difference-in-differences approach to analyse whether ICPP have a facilitating effect on urban TFP. The results of the study are as follows. (1) ICPP significantly contribute to urban TFP. (2) The mediating effect shows that the construction of innovative cities can enhance the absorptive capacity of cities and then improve TFP. (3) There is significant heterogeneity in the construction of innovative cities with different urban forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stroke is a common cerebrovascular disease with great danger to public health. Educational inequality is a universal issue that influences populations' stroke risk. This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between education and stroke risk and the contributions of effects mediated by four modifiable factors. Materials and methods: Public large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data associated with educational attainment, hypertensive diseases, body mass index (BMI), smoking behavior, time spent on watching the television (TV), and stroke were obtained from European ancestry. The data were used to investigate the causal relationship among educational attainment, hypertensive disease, BMI, smoking, watching TV, and stroke risk. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used as a primary algorithm for estimating causal direction and effect size in univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. Results: Higher educational attainment was a causal protective factor, while hypertensive diseases, higher BMI, smoking, and longer time spent on watching the TV were all causal risk factors for the risk of stroke. Hypertensive disease, BMI, smoking, and watching TV were all mediators for linking the causal relationship between educational attainment and stroke risk. Hypertensive disease, BMI, smoking, and watching TV explained 47.35%, 24.74%, 15.72%, and 2.29% of the variance in educational attainment's effect on stroke risk, respectively. The explained proportion reached 69.32% after integrating the four factors. Conclusions: These findings support the causal effect of educational attainment on the risk of stroke, with a substantial proportion mediated by modifiable risk factors. Interventions on these modifiable factors would lead to substantial reductions in stroke cases attributable to educational inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an integrated collaborative learning and knowledge map approach was developed for online teacher professional development. An online teacher education environment based on that approach was constructed. To investigate the interaction between the knowledge map and collaborative learning strategies on teachers' learning performance and self-efficacy of group learning, a 2 × 2 experiment was acted out. The study subjects were 179 in-service teachers from primary schools in China. The participants were divided into four groups to learn theories and cases of educational research methods using different online learning strategies (individual learning or collaborative learning) and knowledge map strategies (using a knowledge map or not). The results revealed two notable findings. First, both the knowledge map and collaborative learning strategies were significantly conducive to enhance the teachers' learning performance. Second, the interaction between the two kinds of strategies showed that the knowledge map strategy was potential to promote the self-efficacy of group learning among teachers who used the collaborative learning strategy. Thus, we conclude that the collaborative construction of group knowledge map could be an effective approach to promote teachers' knowledge construction and provide visual interaction support for teachers' online professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regenerated wool keratin fibers (RWKFs) have heretofore attracted tremendous interest according to environmental friendliness, ample resource, and intrinsic biocompatibility for broad applications. In this realm, both uncontrollable keratin fibril assembly procedure and resultant insufficient mechanical strength, have greatly hindered their large‐scale manufacture and commercial viability. Herein, a continuous wet‐spinning strategy is put forward to rebuild wool keratin into compact regenerated bio‐fibers with improved strength via disulfide re‐bonding. Dithiothreitol (DTT) has been introduced to renovate disulfide linkage inside keratin polypeptide chains, and bridge keratin fibrils via covalent thiol bonding to form a continuous backbone as mechanical support. A thus‐derived RWKF manifests a tensile strength of 186.1 ± 7.0 MPa and Young's modulus of 7.4 ± 0.2 GPa, which exceeds those of natural wool, feathers, and regenerated wool or feather keratin fibers. The detailed wet‐spinning technical parameters, such as coagulation, oxidation, and post‐treatment, have been systematically optimized to guarantee the continuous preparation of high‐strength regenerated keratin fibers. This work offers insight into solving the concurrent challenges for continuous manufacture of regenerated protein fibers and sustainability concerns about biomass waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of studies have suggested that stage N2 is vulnerable and strongly affected by the first-night effect (FNE). However, the neurophysiological mechanism underlying the vulnerability of stage N2 of the FNE has not been well examined. A total of 17 healthy adults (11 women and 6 men, mean age: 21.59 ± 2.12) underwent two nights of polysomnogram recordings in the sleep laboratory. We analyzed sleep structure and central and autonomic nervous system activity during stage N2 and applied the electroencephalographic (EEG) activation index (beta/delta power ratio) and heart rate variability to reflect changes in central and autonomic nervous system activity caused by the FNE. Correlation analyses were performed between EEG activation and heart rate variability. The results showed that EEG activation and high-frequency heart rate variability increased on the adaptation night (Night 1). Importantly, EEG activation was significantly associated with the percentage of stage N1, and the correlation between EEG activation and high-frequency heart rate variability decreased due to the FNE. These findings indicate that the FNE affects the instability of stage N2 by increasing central nervous system activity and uncoupling the activity between the central and autonomic nervous systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell migration is crucial for physiological and pathological processes such as morphogenesis, wound repair, immune response and cancer invasion/metastasis. There are many factors affecting cell migration, and the regulatory mechanisms are complex. Rac1 is a GTP-binding protein with small molecular weight belonging to the Rac subfamily of the Rho GTPase family. As a key molecule in regulating cell migration, Rac1 participates in signal transduction from the external cell to the actin cytoskeleton and promotes the establishment of cell polarity which plays an important role in cancer cell invasion/metastasis. In this review, we firstly introduce the molecular structure and activity regulation of Rac1, and then summarize the role of Rac1 in cancer invasion/metastasis and other physiological processes. We also discuss the regulatory mechanisms of Rac1 in cell migration and highlight it as a potential target in cancer therapy. Finally, the current state as well as the future challenges in this area are considered. Understanding the role and the regulatory mechanism of Rac1 in cell migration can provide fundamental insights into Rac1-related cancer progression and further help us to develop novel intervention strategies for cancer therapy in clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online asynchronous interaction is considered a core part of online teacher training, which has an important impact on learners' learning experience and learning outcomes. How to provide immediate and effective feedback through technical support based on the learners' interactive content and enhance interactive connection has become a key issue in massive online teacher training. This study designed an automated feedback framework from feedback strategy, feedback way, and feedback type. Then, we designed an emotional-cognitive feedback approach and an emotional-cognitive-metacognitive feedback approach based on automated analysis of online asynchronous interactions. A massive online teacher training course was conducted to provide automated feedback to 1438 learners in the online asynchronous interaction. Results showed that the two approaches enabled learners to interact more positively, slow down the growth of the dropout rate, and help learners adjust their emotional state and cognitive level. Particularly, the emotional-cognitive-metacognitive feedback approach could facilitate learners' self-regulation and improve feedback quality. Through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, we found that learners were obsessed by automated emotional-cognitive-metacognitive feedback approach and they believed that it was helpful for their learning. This study is of great significance and application value to widely carry out high-quality, massive and personalized online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has brought survival benefits to patients with specific cancer types, most of cancer patients remain refractory to the ICB therapy, which is largely attributed to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Thereby, it is urgent to profile key molecules and signal pathways responsible for modification of tumor microenvironment. Methods: Multiple databases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) were integratively analyzed to screen candidate genes responsible for infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Expression of pescadillo ribosomal biogenesis factor 1 (PES1) in clinical ESCC samples was examined by qRT-PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. The mechanisms of PES1 were investigated via RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry followed by immunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assay. The clinical and therapeutic significance of PES1 in ESCC was comprehensively investigated using ESCC cells and mouse model. Results: PES1 was significantly upregulated and correlated with poor prognosis in ESCC patients. PES1 knockdown decreased ESCC cell growth in vitro and in vivo and enhanced the efficacy of ICB therapy in mouse model, which was established through subcutaneous inoculation with ESCC cells. Analyses on RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry suggested that PES1 expression was negatively correlated with IL15 and ILF3 was one of the PES1-associated proteins. It has been known that ILF3 interacts with and stabilizes IL15 mRNA to increase IL15 protein level. Our data further indicated that PES1 interfered with the interaction between ILF3 and IL15 mRNA and impaired ILF3-mediated stabilization of IL15 mRNA, which eventually reduced the protein level of IL15. Interestingly, the inhibitory effect of ICB therapy boosted by PES1 knockdown dramatically antagonized by knockdown of IL15, which suppressed the tumor-infiltrated CD8+ T cells in ESCC. Finally, we confirmed the relationships among PES1, IL15, and CD8+ T cell infiltration in 10 locally advanced ESCC patients receiving ICB neoadjuvant therapy and demonstrated that ICB therapy would be more effective in those with low expression of PES1. Conclusions: Altogether, our findings herein provided novel insights on biological function and clinical significance of PES1 and suggested that high expression of PES1 could suppress ILF3-IL15 axis-mediated immunosurveillance and promote resistance to ICB through restraining tumor-infiltrated CD8+ T cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immobilizing ligands is a crucial part of preparing optical sensors and directly connected to the sensitivity, stability, and other characteristics of sensors. In this work, an ordered porous layer interferometry (OPLI) system that can monitor the covalent coupling process of ligands in real time was developed. Films of silica colloidal crystal (SCC), as optical interference substrates, were surface modified by three different reagents: chloroacetic acid, glutaric anhydride, and carboxymethyl dextran. Staphylococcus aureus protein A (SPA), the ligand, was immobilized on SCC films. The covalent coupling process of SPA and SCC films can be dynamically monitored by the OPLI system. In addition, the three different strategies were evaluated by comparing the efficiency of the sensors prepared by different methods for binding Immunoglobulin G (IgG). The glutaric anhydride-modified sensor offers apparent advantages in terms of bound IgG quantity and affinity. This system provides a simple and intuitive way to determine the efficiency of different covalent coupling strategies. Furthermore, the sensor covalently coupled with SPA also excels in the determination of IgG content in complex systems such as milk. At the same time, the covalent coupling gives the sensor the ability to be stored stably over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the secular trend and the urban–rural disparity of spermarche among Chinese Han boys from 1995 to 2019. Methods: A total of 392 775 boys of Han ethnicity aged 11–18 years were extracted from the 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014 and 2019 Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health. The median age at spermarche was estimated using the status quo data and probit analysis. The chi‐square, ANOVA and LSD tests were used to compare the differences between the year‐subgroups. U‐test was used to compare the difference between urban and rural areas at each year. Results: The median age at spermarche in Chinese Han boys decreased from 14.6 years in 1995 to 13.9 years in 2019 (p < 0.001). The rural boys showed a faster decreasing pace with a 1‐year advance of age at spermarche while the urban boys had only a 0.5‐year decrement, and there was still a statistically significant difference between urban–rural areas in 2019 (p < 0.001). Similar to urban–rural disparity, the age gap at spermarche between areas with different urbanisation rates became smaller over time. Conclusions: In general, spermarche in Chinese Han boys showed a decreasing trend, but the pace was slowing down. The urban–rural disparity in puberty development still existed but was gradually narrowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an improved recompression combined cycle configuration to explore the potential of using CO 2 -propane in a direct-heating solar power tower (SPT) plant. The effects of critical parameters on overall performance were detailly analyzed. The exergy distribution of CO 2 and CO 2 -propane cycles was compared respectively after being optimized by a genetic algorithm. The results show that the exergy loss of regenerators was reduced, and the entire exergy efficiency of the SPT plant was improved by configuring two high-temperature regenerators. The cycle performance of propane, serving as the second additive, becomes more significant when the cooling temperature is increased. The overall thermal efficiency of the CO 2 -propane-configured SPT plant is 2.08% higher than using CO 2 alone at a condensation temperature of 50 °C. Meanwhile, the exergy efficiency of the SPT plant with CO 2 -propane cycle decreases less (1.67%) than CO 2 (2.02%) when the condensation temperature rises from 42 °C to 50 °C. However, the temperature difference of the receiver would decrease when using CO 2 -propane. This study provides a valuable reference for the application of CO 2 -propane mixture in the dry-cooling Brayton cycle of the direct-heated SPT plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to solve a one-dimensional multi-period cutting stock production replanning problem encountered in manufacturing industry cutting departments, considering pattern-setup costs. For operational purposes, long-term coordinated production and cutting plans are often created based on predicted demand. However, real demand may differ from predictions, and replanning may be warranted by changing conditions. A mixed-integer mathematical model was proposed by minimizing both the production cost and the cost of deviating from established plans. In addition, a hybrid dynamic programming-based heuristic was proposed. Extensive experiments were conducted on randomly generated instances. The influences on the solutions are analysed by varying the holding cost per unit and the deviation cost. Finally, the proposed heuristic is applied to enterprise practice, and the results indicate that the total cost can be expected to be reduced by 14.55% on average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cartilage defect is a common pathology still lacking a unified treating option. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and clinical and radiological outcome of cartilage restoration of knee joint with allogenic next‐generation Matrix‐Induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (MACI) for the first time, as well as the correlation between postoperative clinical and radiological outcomes and preoperative patient history and demographics. Methods: From July 2014 to August 2020, 15 patients who went through cartilage restoration with allogenic next‐generation MACI were included in this study. Patient demographics and PROM including the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee score, Lysholm score, Tegner Activity Scale (TAS), and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) were obtained preoperatively, at 3, 6, 12 months postoperatively and the last follow‐up using an online questionnaire platform. MOCART 2.0 score was calculated at the last follow‐up. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare PROM pre‐ and post‐operation, with two‐tailed p < 0.05 defined as statistical significant. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluate correlation between the PROM and MOCART 2.0 score at the last follow‐up with patients demorgraphics. Results: All patients were followed for an average of 66.47 ± 24.15 months (range, 21–93). All patients were satisfied with the outcome of the surgery and no complication was reported at the end of the study. No significant improvement was observed until 1 year after the implantation, except for IKDC score at 6 months. All PROM showed significant improvement 1 year post‐op except for Lysholm score and TAS, which also increased significantly at the time of the last follow‐up. Pearson correlation coefficient showed that the size of the defect, before or after debridement, was significantly negatively correlated with final KOOS‐Pain (before debridement: r = −0.57, p < 0.05; after debridement: r = −0.54, p < 0.05) and KOOS‐Symptoms score (before debridement: r = −0.66, p < 0.05; after debridement: r = −0.67, p < 0.05). The MOCART 2.0 score was found significantly and negatively correlated with BMI (r = −0.60, p < 0.05), and significantly and positively correlated with Lysholm score (r = 0.70, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The next generation MACI with autologous chondrocyte and allogenic chondrocyte ECM scaffold could be used to treat focal articular cartilage defect in the knee joint safely and efficiently with lasting promising outcomes for more than 5 years. The size of the defects should be considered the most negatively correlated parameters influencing the postoperative clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffold has been widely applied to bone regeneration because of its good biocompatibility and bone conduction property. However, the low mechanical strength and the lack of angiogenic and osteogenic induction properties have restricted its application in bone tissue regeneration. In this study, we combined zinc (Zn2+) doping and silk fibroin (SF) coating with expectation to enhance compressive strength, osteogenesis and angiogenesis of BCP scaffolds. The phase composition, morphology, porosity, compressive strength, in vitro degradation and cell behaviors were investigated systematically. Results showed that the scaffold coated with SF exhibited almost 3 times of compressive strength without compromising its porosity compared with the uncoated scaffold. Zn2+ doping and SF coating synergistically enhanced the alkaline phosphatase activity and osteogenesis-related genes expression of mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells (mBMSCs). Furthermore, SF coating notably improved the proliferation, cell viability and in vitro angiogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). This work provides a novel way to modify BCP scaffolds simultaneously with enhancing mechanical strength and biological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marked Mg segregation at grain boundaries (GBs) in nanocrystalline Al alloys usually contributes additional GB segregation strengthening. To gain a further understanding of this phenomenon, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to reveal the Mg segregation behavior at Al Σ9 (221)[ 1 1 ¯ 0 ] symmetric tilt grain boundary (STGB) and its effects on the GB stability and strength. Results reveal that Mg dopants have a large driving force to segregate at Al GBs. Such Mg segregation not only enhances the strength of Σ9 (221) STGB but also improves GB stability. It is found that the Mg segregation turns to enlarge and narrow the strain intervals of stable and thickening stages of Σ9 (221) STGB during tensile test, indicative of the Mg-induced stabilizing effect on the GB structural integrity. Calculations further elucidate that the segregated Mg dopants increase the critical stress for dislocation nucleation, which accounts for the remarkably increased tensile strength of Σ9 (221) STGB with Mg segregation. Such retarded dislocation nucleation is ascribed to the decrement in boundary free volume by Mg segregation. This work will provide important atomic-scale insights into the extra GB strengthening in Al alloys deriving from Mg segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bike rebalancing problem is one of the major operational challenges in the urban bike-sharing system, which involves the redistribution of bikes among stations to prevent stations from being empty or overloaded. This paper investigates a new bike rebalancing problem, which considers the collection of broken bikes in the multi-depot system. The proposed problem can be classified as a two-commodity vehicle routing problem with pick-up and delivery. An integer programming model is formulated to find the optimal vehicle assignment and visiting sequences with the minimum total working time and fixed cost of vehicles. A hybrid heuristic algorithm integrating variable neighborhood search and dynamic programming is proposed to solve the problem. The computational results show that the proposed method can find 26 best solutions out of 36 instances, while the CPLEX obtains 16 best solutions. Impact of broken bikes collection and distribution of depots is examined. Comparison of different practical strategies indicates that the number of vehicles can be significantly reduced by allowing multiple visits to depots. Allowing vehicles to return to different depots can help reduce the total working time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensitive determination of C-reactive protein (CRP) is of great significance because it is an early indicator of inflammation in cardiovascular disease and acute myocardial infarction. A disposable electrode with an integrated three-electrode system (working, reference, and counter electrodes) has great potential in the detection of biomarkers. In this work, an electrochemical immunosensing platform was fabricated on disposable and integrated screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) by introducing nanochannel arrays and gated electrochemical signals, which can achieve the sensitive detection of CRP in serum. To introduce active reactive groups for the fabrication of immuno-recognitive interface, vertically-ordered mesoporous silica-nanochannel film (VMSF) with rich amino groups (NH2-VMSF) was rapidly grown by electrochemical assisted self-assembly (EASA). The electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ErGO) synthesized in situ during the growth of NH2-VMSF was used as a conductive adhesive glue to achieve stable bonding of the nanochannel array (NH2-VMSF/ErGO/SPCE). After the amino group on the outer surface of NH2-VMSF reacted with bifunctional glutaraldehyde (GA/NH2-VMSF/ErGO/SPCE), the converted aldehyde surface was applied for covalent immobilization of the recognitive antibody (Ab) followed with the blocking of the non-specific sites. The fabricated immunosensor, Ab/GA/NH2-VMSF/ErGO/SPCE, enables sensitive detection of CRP in the range from 10 pg/mL to 100 ng/mL with low limit of detection (LOD, 8 pg/mL, S/N = 3). The immunosensor possessed high selectivity and can realize reliable determination of CRP in human serum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the level of autonomy during the landing phase helps promote the full-envelope autonomous flight capability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Aiming at the identification of potential landing sites, an end-to-end state estimation method for the autonomous landing of carrier-based UAVs based on monocular vision is proposed in this paper, which allows them to discover landing sites in flight by using equipped optical sensors and avoid a crash or damage during normal and emergency landings. This scheme aims to solve two problems: the requirement of accuracy for runway detection and the requirement of precision for UAV state estimation. First, we design a robust runway detection framework on the basis of YOLOv5 (you only look once, ver. 5) with four modules: a data augmentation layer, a feature extraction layer, a feature aggregation layer and a target prediction layer. Then, the corner prediction method based on geometric features is introduced into the prediction model of the detection framework, which enables the landing field prediction to more precisely fit the runway appearance. In simulation experiments, we developed datasets applied to carrier-based UAV landing simulations based on monocular vision. In addition, our method was implemented with help of the PyTorch deep learning tool, which supports the dynamic and efficient construction of a detection network. Results showed that the proposed method achieved a higher precision and better performance on state estimation during carrier-based UAV landings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]