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Introduction: The long-term overuse of malachite green (MG) has potential carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic effects. The functional nanocomposite is novel and challenging to construct and implement through surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) strategy to reveal the contributions in application. Objectives: The novel Ag-CDs (carbon dots)-PBA (phenyl boric acid) nanocomposite was constructed by a facile route to detect toxic MG molecule with high SERS sensitivity and good uniformity. Methods: The enhanced substrate used for the detection of MG has been successfully constructed using PBA modulated Ag-CDs on a structured surface with rich binding sites. Results: The fabricated Ag-CDs-PBA substrate can be used to analyze various probe molecules exhibiting high sensitivity, good signal reproducibility, and excellent stability. The mechanism between components has been proved by calculations originating from the plasmonic Ag and active electronic transmission among the bridging CDs and PBA via the close spatial π-π effect. In addition, the accelerated separation of electron-hole pairs was triggered to further improve the SERS activity of the hybrid via a bidirectional charge transfer (CT) process. Significantly, the Ag-CDs-PBA system shows distinctive selectivity, in which PBA can hinder the interference of other species without specific hydroxyl groups. Conclusion: Based on this deeper insight on plasmon-mediated mechanism, the SERS substrate was successfully practiced for quantitative determination in real water and fish samples. The strategy developed promises to be a new sensor technology and has great potential for environmental and food safety applications.

Abstract A highly efficient and multi-functional butterfly polarization conversion metasurface is proposed for the Ku-Ka frequency range, designed to reduce the radar cross-section. The suggested converter enables dual frequency bands linear-to-cross (LX) and linear-to-circular (LC) polarization transformations. The efficiency of cross-polarization conversion exceeds 90% over the frequency ranges of 14.57–16.30 GHz and 25.70–37.03 GHz, with relative bandwidths of 11% and 36%, respectively. Reflections of left-hand (LHCP) and right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) waves are realized within the frequency ranges of 17.78–25.31 GHz and 37.38–37.73 GHz, with relative bandwidths of 35% and 0.9%. The oblique incidence significantly affects the metasurface conversion performance, and the proposed model manifests angular robustness up to 60°. Additionally, the butterfly metasurfaces are deployed in a triangular chessboard configuration to achieve radar cross section (RCS) reduction spanning the frequency bands of 14–15.17 GHz, 24.60–35.20 GHz, and 36.30–38 GHz. Drawing from simulation results and test-based validation data, the proposed converter holds promising applications in wireless communication, antenna engineering, and radar stealth.

Although gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) has been reported in patients of all ages, its diagnosis is more common in elders. The two most common types of mutation, receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor a (PDGFRA) mutations, hold about 75 and 15% of GISTs cases, respectively. Tumors without KIT or PDGFRA mutations are known as wild type (WT)-GISTs, which takes up for 15% of all cases. WT-GISTs have other genetic alterations, including mutations of the succinate dehydrogenase and serine–threonine protein kinase BRAF and neurofibromatosis type 1. Other GISTs without any of the above genetic mutations are named “quadruple WT” GISTs. More types of rare mutations are being reported. These mutations or gene fusions were initially thought to be mutually exclusive in primary GISTs, but recently it has been reported that some of these rare mutations coexist with KIT or PDGFRA mutations. The treatment and management differ according to molecular subtypes of GISTs. Especially for patients with late-stage tumors, developing a personalized chemotherapy regimen based on mutation status is of great help to improve patient survival and quality of life. At present, imatinib mesylate is an effective first-line drug for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic recurrent GISTs, but how to overcome drug resistance is still an important clinical problem. The effectiveness of other drugs is being further evaluated. The progress in the study of relevant mechanisms also provides the possibility to develop new targets or new drugs.

BackgroundMuscone, a key component of musk, exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. However, its therapeutic potential in inflammatory lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to investigate whether Muscone could exert a protective effect in a mouse model of COPD in vivo.MethodsA COPD animal model was established by exposing mice to cigarette smoke (CS) and administering lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intranasally. After 4 weeks, mice were treated daily with dexamethasone (DEX) or different doses of Muscone for 3 weeks. Mouse body weight, lung function, and histopathology were determined. Serum levels of cytokines (IL-38, IL-1β, IL-17, TGF-β, IFN-γ) were measured using ELISA and qRT-PCR. Lung expression of CXCR3, IFN-γ, IL-17A, and RORγt was assessed by immunofluorescence.ResultsThe body weight of COPD mice was significantly lower than that of Muscone-treated COPD mice, consistent with decreased lung function, accompanied by reduced circulating and lung IL-38 levels. After Muscone administration, lung function was significantly improved, accompanied by upregulation of circulating and lung anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-38, in a dose-dependent manner, while the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was significantly reduced. Additionally, Muscone significantly inhibited the protein expression of CXCR3, IFN-γ, IL-17A, and RORγt in lung tissues of COPD mice.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that Muscone improves lung function in mice with COPD, potentially through a mechanism that may involve the modulation of cytokine expression, including the potential upregulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-38. The precise underlying mechanisms of Muscone’s therapeutic effects in COPD remain to be fully elucidated. Further research is needed to investigate the correlation between COPD lung pathophysiology and the specific effects of Muscone treatment, including a more detailed analysis of the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators in COPD animal models, particularly utilizing IL-38 GKO mice to further investigate the role of IL-38 in mediating the therapeutic effects of Muscone.

Drawing on Rogers' humanistic psychology framework, this study explores the interplay between self-harmony and mental health among sports majors. For college students majoring in physical education, this theory serves as a significant reference for maintaining their mental well-being. This research delves into the relationship between the mental health status and self - harmony of physical education majors. By doing so, it aims to offer novel perspectives for the psychological health education and counseling tailored to this specific group of students. A random sampling approach was adopted to recruit physical education majors. Participants completed two validated instruments: the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) for assessing mental health symptoms, and the Self-Harmony Scale (SCL-HA) to measure congruence between self-concept and experiences. Data collection followed a double-blind protocol to minimize bias. The findings indicate that the disharmony between self and experience has the most profound impact on the mental health of these students, closely followed by communication - related issues. There exists a notable negative correlation between the mental health of physical education majors and the self - experience disharmony, while a significant positive correlation is observed between mental health and self - flexibility. Students with better mental health conditions exhibit remarkably higher levels of self - harmony and self - flexibility compared to those with poorer mental health. Drawing on Rogers' humanistic psychology framework, this study explores the interplay between self-harmony and mental health among sports majors. By employing mixed-method analyses (SCL-90 and SCL-HA scales), we identify key predictors of psychological well-being and propose actionable strategies for enhancing mental health interventions tailored to this cohort.

Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) can be used as a drug to treat various liver and bile diseases. Currently, the biological synthesis of UDCA is predominantly conducted via a two-step enzymatic process in which synthesis is catalyzed by 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7α-HSDH) and 7β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7β-HSDH) in succession, utilizing chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) as the substrate. In this study, an engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain, designated UCA23, was constructed. This strain coexpressed four enzymes under the control of three independent T7 promoters: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) derived from Lactobacillus delbrueckii, glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) derived from Priestia megaterium, 7α-HSDH derived from E. coli, and 7β-HSDH derived from Ruminococcus torques, enabling the whole-cell catalytic synthesis of UDCA from CDCA. This study systematically optimized the reaction parameters, including temperature, pH, and the addition of organic solvents and surfactants, for the whole-cell catalytic synthesis of UDCA by UCA23, and at the 2 L level, a UDCA conversion rate of 99% was achieved with 100 mM CDCA in 2 h, which is the highest level of conversion of a high-concentration CDCA substrate reported to date.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the feasibility of utilizing cardiac computer tomography (CT) images for extracting the radiomic features of the myocardium at the junction between the left atrial appendage (LAA) and the left atrium (LA) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and to evaluate its asscociation with the risk of AF.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 82 cases of AF and 56 cases in the control group who underwent cardiac CT at our hospital from May 2022 to May 2023, with recorded clinical information. The morphological parameters of the LAA were measured. A radiomics model, a clincal feature model and a model combining radiomics and clinical features were constructed. The radiomics model was built by extracting radiomic features of the myocardial tissue using Pyradiomics, and employing Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method for feature selection, combining random forest with support vector machine (SVM) classifier.ResultsThere were 82 cases in the AF group [44 males, 65.00 (59, 70)], and 56 cases in the control group (21 males, 61.09 ± 7.18). Age, BMI, hypertension, CHA2DS-VASC score, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), LAA volume, LA volume, the myocardial thickness at the junction of LAA and LA, the area, circumference, short diameter, and long diameter of the LAA opening, were significantly different between the AF group and the control group (P

Abstract In situ tissue engineering heart valves (TEHVs) are the most promising way to overcome the defects of existing valve prostheses. Despite their promising prospects, the clinical translation of TEHVs remains a formidable challenge, mainly due to unpredictable host interactions post‐implantation. An immunomodulatory idea based on hydrogel encapsulation of nanoparticle‐coated heart valve scaffolds is introduced. Specifically, galactose‐modified human serum albumin nanoparticles (miR‐93@HSA NPs) to deliver microRNA‐93 mimics are utilized, which target macrophages and induce their differentiation into the anti‐inflammatory M2 subtype, fostering a conducive immune microenvironment. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐responsive hydrogel is used to encapsulate the nanoparticles, enabling targeted and sustained release. Results show that the miR‐93@HSA NPs exhibit excellent ability to induce macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype. A decellularized valve modified with hydrogel reveals MMP‐response release of the miR‐93@HSA NPs. In vitro, the immunomodulatory heart valve possesses good endocytocompatibility and effectively reprograms macrophages when cocultured with HUVECs or RAW264.7 macrophages. In vivo, this valve scaffold promises to mitigate early inflammatory damage and provide a pro‐endothelialization niche for scaffolds' constructive remodeling. With the use of cell coculture systems and transcriptome sequencing, the mechanism of immune‐modulating scaffold accelerating endothelialization is being elucidated. The immunomodulatory heart valve scaffold holds promising potential for clinical translation.

Abstract Background To retrospectively analyze the risk factors of liver metastases in patients with gastric cancer in a single center, and to establish a Nomogram prediction model to predict the occurrence of liver metastases. Methods A total of 96 patients with gastric cancer who were also diagnosed with liver metastasis (GCLM) and treated in our center from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020 were included. The clinical data of 1095 patients with gastric cancer who were diagnosed without liver metastases (GC) in our hospital from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017 were retrospectively compared by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. 309 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer in another medical center from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2018 were introduced as external validation cohorts. Results Based on the training cohort, multivariate analysis revealed that tumor site (OR = 0.55, P = 0.046), N stage (OR = 4.95, P = 0.004), gender (OR = 0.04, P = 0.001), OPNI (OR = 0.95, P = 0.041), CEA (OR = 1.01, P = 0.018), CA724 (OR = 1.01, P = 0.006), CA242 (OR = 1.01, P = 0.006), WBC (OR = 1.13, P = 0.024), Hb (OR = 0.98, P

To achieve the rapid and real-time detection of triethylamine (TEA) gas, this study synthesized a gas sensor based on heterostructures of Fe2O3/MoO3 using a hydrothermal method. Fe2O3/MoO3 composites with a narrow bandgap (1.1 eV) were successfully synthesized by constructing heterostructures. The rapid and efficient detection of triethylamine was achieved at 220 °C. The response and response/recovery times of the Fe2O3/MoO3 sensor with 50 × 10−6 triethylamine were 132 s and 5 s/10 s, respectively. The Fe2O3/MoO3 sensor maintained a good response to triethylamine gas, even at 80% relative humidity. The sensing mechanism of the Fe2O3/MoO3 sensor can be described in terms of adsorption energy and electronic behavior of the sensing layer using density functional theory (DFT). The results are consistent with the excellent selectivity and rapid response/recovery of the Fe2O3/MoO3 gas sensor for triethylamine. Therefore, the construction of heterostructures to facilitate electron transmission is an effective strategy to achieve rapid detection of triethylamine and is worthy of further exploration and investigation.

Abstract Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious threat to patients with nosocomial infections, and infection is strongly associated with biofilm formation. Gallic acid (GA) is a natural bioactive compound found in traditional Chinese medicines that exerts potent antimicrobial activity. However, the anti-MRSA biofilm efficacy of GA remained to be determined. This study investigated the antimicrobial activities of GA against MRSA and the mechanisms involved. The results revealed the significant antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of GA. The minimal inhibitory concentration of GA against MRSA was 32 μg/mL and a growth curve assay confirmed the significant inhibitory effect of GA on planktonic MRSA. Crystal violet and XTT assays showed that 8 µg/mL GA effectively inhibited the formation of new biofilms and disrupted existing biofilms by reducing both biofilm biomass and metabolic activities. Alkaline phosphatase and β-galactosidase leakage assays and live/dead staining provided evidence that GA disrupted the integrity of bacterial cell walls and membranes within the biofilm. Scanning electron microscopy observations showed that GA significantly inhibited bacterial adhesion and aggregation, affecting the overall structure of the biofilm. Bacterial adhesion, polysaccharide intercellular adhesion (PIA) production and real-time quantitative PCR assay confirmed that GA inhibited bacterial adhesion, PIA synthesis, and the expression of icaAD and sarA. These results suggested that GA inhibited biofilm formation by inhibiting the expression of sarA, then downregulating the expression of icaA and icaD, thereby reducing the synthesis of PIA to attenuate the adhesion capacity of MRSA. GA is therefore a promising candidate for development as a pharmaceutical agent for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections caused by MRSA.

Introduction The exact role of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC) is still unknown. The combination of HAIC and sorafenib has been proven to be more effective than sorafenib alone in the first-line treatment of aHCC. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HAIC plus regorafenib in the second-line treatment of aHCC.Methods and analysis This is a multicenter, open-label, randomised controlled phase III trial. A total of 294 patients with aHCC, who are unable to tolerate the first-line systemic therapy or progress after the first-line systemic therapy, will be enrolled in the study. The patients will be randomly (2:1) assigned into the combination treatment group (HAIC plus regorafenib, n=196) and the control group (regorafenib alone, n=98). HAIC and regorafenib (160 mg/day) will be given in a 4-week cycle. The primary endpoint is overall survival in the intention-to-treat population. The second endpoints include progression-free survival, overall response rate, time to progression, etc. The radiological assessments will be based on the criteria of Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.1.Ethics and dissemination This study is approved by the ethics committee of Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. All participants are required to provide written informed consent. The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and esteemed academic conferences.Trial registration number Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2300073075).

Regulatory immune cells regulate immune responses through various mechanisms, affecting the occurrence, development, and therapeutic effects of tumors. In this article, we reviewed the important roles of regulatory immune cells, such as regulatory T cells (Tregs), regulatory B cells (Bregs), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory dendritic cells (DCregs), and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), in the tumor microenvironment (TME). The immunomodulatory effects of natural products, such as polysaccharides, polyphenols, glycosides, alkaloids, terpenoids, quinones, and other compounds, which affect the functions of regulatory immune cells through molecular signaling pathways, thereby enhancing the potential of the antitumor immune response, are discussed. These findings provide new ideas and possibilities for the application of natural products in tumor treatment, which can help enhance the effectiveness of tumor treatment and improve patient prognosis.

Food processing transforms raw materials into different food forms using physical or chemical techniques. Recently, carbohydrates have gained attention for their diverse biological activities like antioxidant, anticancer, and antimutagenic effects. Selecting suitable processing methods is crucial to preserve the beneficial properties of carbohydrates. This review discusses the impact of non-thermal and thermal processing on the physicochemical and biological traits of carbohydrates, highlighting the need for understanding the mechanisms underlying these changes. Future research will focus on enhancing and safeguarding the biological and functional aspects of carbohydrates through improved processing techniques. The goal is to optimize methods that maintain the beneficial properties of carbohydrates, maximizing their health benefits for consumers.

A two-year field experiment conducted under dryland conditions in semi-humid and drought-prone regions of China aimed to assess the effect of ammonia-oxidizing bacterial on maize water use efficiency and yield. A heterotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (HAOB) strain S2_8_1 was used. Six treatments were applied: (1) no irrigation + HAOB strain (DI), (2) no irrigation + blank culture medium (DM), (3) no irrigation control (DCK), (4) irrigation + HAOB (WI), (5) irrigation + blank culture medium (WM), and (6) irrigation control (WCK). Results revealed that HAOB treatment increased maize growth, yield, and water use efficiency over controls, regardless of whether the year was wet or dry. This improvement was attributed to the accelerated nitrification in the rhizosphere soil due to HAOB inoculation, which subsequently led to increased levels of leaf cytokinins. Overall, these findings suggest that HAOB inoculation holds promise as a strategy to boost water use efficiency and maize productivity in dryland agriculture.

Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the main pathological type of lung cancer, accounting for about 80%. Approximately 30% of all patients with NSCLC have resectable early and middle stage disease at the time of diagnosis. Recently, the epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) have made a major breakthrough in the adjuvant targeted therapy of EGFR-mutated resectable NSCLC, and are recommended by the guidelines for clinical use. In this review, we summarize the clinical research progress of perioperative adjuvant targeted therapy for EGFR-mutated resectable NSCLC, and discuss the key issues in the clinical researches.

The dense and uniform Cr coating is successfully applied to the Zry-4 (zircaloy-4) substrate using multi-arc ion plating as an accident-tolerant fuel cladding. The isothermal oxidation behavior of the Cr-coated Zry-4 is investigated in air and steam at 1200 °C. The mass gain, microstructure evolution and phase composition of the Cr-coated Zry-4 after different oxidation times are compared. The mass gain of Cr-coated Zry-4 in air is higher than in steam. In air, the dense Cr2O3 layer consisted of bulk Cr2O3, while protruding flake Cr2O3 is found on the surface of the Cr coating in steam. The degradation process and oxidation failure mechanism of the Cr-coated Zry-4 in air and steam at 1200 °C are analyzed.

Beach surface moisture (BSM) is crucial to studying coastal aeolian sand transport processes. However, traditional measurement techniques fail to accurately monitor moisture distribution with high spatiotemporal resolution. Remote sensing technologies have garnered widespread attention for providing rapid and non-contact moisture measurements, but a single method has inherent limitations. Passive remote sensing is challenged by complex beach illumination and sediment grain size variability. Active remote sensing represented by LiDAR (light detection and ranging) exhibits high sensitivity to moisture, but requires cumbersome intensity correction and may leave data holes in high-moisture areas. Using machine learning, this research proposes a BSM inversion method that fuses UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) orthophoto brightness with intensity recorded by TLSs (terrestrial laser scanners). First, a back propagation (BP) network rapidly corrects original intensity with in situ scanning data. Second, beach sand grain size is estimated based on the characteristics of the grain size distribution. Then, by applying nearest point matching, intensity and brightness data are fused at the point cloud level. Finally, a new BP network coupled with the fusion data and grain size information enables automatic brightness correction and BSM inversion. A field experiment at Baicheng Beach in Xiamen, China, confirms that this multi-source data fusion strategy effectively integrates key features from diverse sources, enhancing the BP network predictive performance. This method demonstrates robust predictive accuracy in complex beach environments, with an RMSE of 2.63% across 40 samples, efficiently producing high-resolution BSM maps that offer values in studying aeolian sand transport mechanisms.

Rolling bearings are essential transmission and support components in aircraft engines, playing a critical role in ensuring their safe and stable operation. Rolling bearing faults have a significant impact and should not be ignored. The effective diagnosis of bearing faults has always been a critical requirement for ensuring reliable operation. With the increasing demands of modern manufacturing to reduce costs and improve quality, the development of advanced bearing fault detection methods has become indispensable. This paper presents the brief review of recent trends in research on bearing failure modes, bearing fault detection and diagnosis methods, and development trends and prospects. This article provides a comprehensive review of the existing fault diagnosis methods for rolling bearings in four aspects: the integration of advanced sensor technology and advanced data processing technology, multimodal fusion, intelligent detection, and real-time monitoring. It discusses methods based on vibration analysis, acoustic methods, current-based methods, electromagnetic methods, infrared methods, radiographic methods, visual methods, and intelligent detection methods. This study reveals that the application of intelligent detection technology, multimodal fusion detection technology, and real-time online monitoring technology has achieved favorable results. In the future, bearing fault detection will develop in a more intelligent, integrated, and real-time direction.

Ticks are important vectors for many pathogens affecting humans and animals. This study was aimed at investigating the species composition, genetic diversity, and potential transmission risks of tick-borne pathogens in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. A total of 980 ticks were collected from 14 prefecture-level cities in Guangxi between March and July 2021. Ticks were identified morphologically and genetically, and the population diversity of Rhipicephalus microplus was analyzed according to 16S rDNA, COXI , and ITS-2 gene sequences. Population genetics was assessed through F ST , AMOVA, and phylogenetic analyses. PCR was used to detect five common tick-borne pathogens: Rickettsia , Babesia , Theileria , Borrelia burgdorferi , and Anaplasma phagocytophilum . Rhipicephalus microplus was the dominant tick species, and was observed in 92.04% of all samples. Genetic diversity analysis revealed higher haplotype diversity for the 16S rDNA and COXI genes than the ITS-2 gene; these findings suggested a faster evolutionary rate for the first two markers. Population genetic differentiation was observed between Rhipicephalus microplus populations in Guilin, Hechi, and other regions, probably because of geographic isolation. Pathogen analysis revealed a 13.27% overall infection rate, and identified three Rickettsia , two Babesia , and three Theileria species. Co-infection with Theileria and Rickettsia was also detected. Notably, neither Borrelia nor Anaplasma was found in the tick samples. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the distinctiveness of the Rickettsia and Piroplasma groups. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of tick species diversity and tick-borne pathogens in Guangxi, highlighting the potential health risks posed by Rhipicephalus microplus . The findings emphasize the need for expanded tick surveillance, enhanced pathogen detection methods, and integrated management strategies to mitigate the spread of tick-borne diseases. Future research should include the collection of free questing ticks and metagenomic approaches to provide a more comprehensive understanding of pathogen risk in the region.

In traditional teaching concepts, teachers are regarded as the owners, transmitters and authorities of knowledge. With the arrival of the information age, the channels for students of sports major to know more about information have increased, and the concept of equality based on people in modern education has opened up a new situation of equal dialogue and exchange. The biggest difference between multi-dimensional interactive teaching mode and traditional teaching mode lies in its emphasis on interactivity and participation. Through purposeful communication and benign interaction teaching methods, combined with the characteristics of sports majors.In the process of teaching ideological and political theory, the abstract and boring theoretical knowledge is combined with the limited social experience of students of sports major to give students of sports major a new feeling, new experience and new stimulation. This kind of interactive and cooperative teaching activities has increased the appeal, persuasiveness and appeal of theoretical propaganda. Form an interactive space for multi-directional communication of teaching information, so that knowledge learning and ability development are unified. The use of visual communication technology in multi-dimensional interactive teaching fully mobilizes students of sports major' enthusiasm, fun, intuitiveness and thinking, creating a passionate classroom teaching atmosphere.

To realize transparent monitoring and resilience improvement of low-voltage distribution network, both the data acquisition scope and frequency have been greatly expanded. Cloud-edge collaboration leverages the edge server’s real-time response capabilities and the cloud server’s robust data processing power to enhance the performance of high-frequency data acquisition processing. Nonetheless, it continues to confront challenges such as the entanglement of optimization variables, the presence of uncertain information, and a lack of awareness regarding acquisition frequencies. In this paper, we propose a machine learning-based cloud-edge collaborative data processing optimization algorithm to minimize the weighted sum of data processing delay and device energy consumption for distribution network resilience improvement. The joint optimization problem is decoupled into device-edge data offloading subproblem and edge-cloud data splitting subproblem, which are solved by the proposed upper confidence bound (UCB) based frequency-aware device-edge data offloading optimization algorithm and the exponential-weight algorithm for exploration and exploitation (EXP3) based edge-cloud data splitting optimization algorithm, respectively. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is superior to existing algorithms in performances of energy consumption and total processing delay.

Abstract Background The efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccines in preventing SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not clear. Methods From January 2022 to October 2022, patients diagnosed with HCC in a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort were analyzed. Results One hundred and forty‐one patients with (n = 107) or without COVID‐19 vaccination (n = 34) were included. The number of patients with severe or very severe infection was relatively lower in the vaccinated group (3.7% vs. 11.8%, p = 0.096). Median infection‐free survival in the vaccinated group (14.0 vs. 8.3 months, p = 0.010) was significantly longer than that in the unvaccinated group. COVID‐19 vaccination (hazard ratio (HR) HR = 0.47), European Cooperative Oncology Group performance score = 0 (HR = 2.06), and extrahepatic spread (HR = 0.28) were found to be the independent predictive factors for infection‐free survival. Conclusion COVID‐19 vaccines could effectively reduce the SARS‐Cov‐2 infection in patients with HCC.

This study conducts a survey and analysis of the fitness status of 331 fishermen who have withdrawn from fishing in the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River Basin. The results indicate that educational level is the most significant factor constraining the participation of these fishermen in fitness activities in the Yangtze River Basin. Gender, place of residence, working hours, and employment status also have a significant impact on their engagement in fitness activities. A monthly income of 6000 yuan is a key income threshold for their participation in fitness activities. After withdrawing from fishing, the attention to health among these fishermen has continually increased. The forms of fitness activities they engage in primarily involve "simple and feasible" activities such as walking, jogging, and hiking. The locations for these activities are mainly parks, roads, courtyards, or residential areas. There are noticeable differences in the level of exercise among fishermen withdrawing from fishing of different age groups. "Lack of time" is a crucial factor preventing these fishermen from participating in fitness activities. Insufficient skills in sports and lack of necessary equipment also hinder their engagement in fitness. The habit of "staring at screens without moving" poses a significant health risk for fishermen withdrawing from fishing in the current context. Participation in fitness activities has a clear positive effect in alleviating the post-out-of-fishing life pressures for these fishermen. It not only facilitates their transition to alternative livelihoods but also enhances their life adaptation, ultimately increasing their sense of well-being in retirement.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced during the growth, storage, and transportation of crops contaminated by fungi and are physiologically toxic to humans and animals. Aflatoxin, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin, patulin, and fumonisin are the most common mycotoxins and can cause liver and nervous system damage, immune system suppression, and produce carcinogenic effects in humans and animals that have consumed contaminated food. Physical, chemical, and biological methods are generally used to detoxify mycotoxins. Although physical methods, such as heat treatment, irradiation, and adsorption, are fast and simple, they have associated problems including incomplete detoxification, limited applicability, and cause changes in food characteristics (e.g., nutritive value, organoleptic properties, and palatability). Chemical detoxification methods, such as ammonification, ozonation, and peroxidation, pollute the environment and produce food safety risks. In contrast, bioenzymatic methods are advantageous as they achieve selective detoxification and are environmentally friendly and reusable; thus, these methods are the most promising options for the detoxification of mycotoxins. This paper reviews recent research progress on common mycotoxins and the enzymatic principles and mechanisms for their detoxification, analyzes the toxicity of the degradation products and describes the challenges faced by researchers in carrying out enzymatic detoxification. In addition, the application of enzymatic detoxification in food and feed is discussed and future directions for the development of enzymatic detoxification methods are proposed for future in-depth study of enzymatic detoxification methods.

Animal nutritionists have incessantly worked towards providing livestock with high-quality plant protein feed resources. Soybean meal (SBM) has been an essential and predominantly adopted vegetable protein source in livestock feeding for a long time; however, several SBM antinutrients could potentially impair the animal's performance and growth, limiting its use. Several processing methods have been employed to remove SBM antinutrients, including fermentation with fungal or bacterial microorganisms. According to the literature, fermentation, a traditional food processing method, could improve SBM's nutritional and functional properties, making it more suitable and beneficial to livestock. The current interest in health-promoting functional feed, which can enhance the growth of animals, improve their immune system, and promote physiological benefits more than conventional feed, coupled with the ban on the use of antimicrobial growth promoters, has caused a renewed interest in the use of fermented SBM (FSBM) in livestock diets. This review details the mechanism of SBM fermentation and its impacts on animal health and discusses the recent trend in the application and emerging advantages to livestock while shedding light on the research gap that needs to be critically addressed in future studies. FSBM appears to be a multifunctional high-quality plant protein source for animals. Besides removing soybean antinutrients, beneficial bioactive peptides and digestive enzymes are produced during fermentation, providing probiotics, antioxidants, and immunomodulatory effects. Critical aspects regarding FSBM feeding to animals remain uncharted, such as the duration of fermentation, the influence of feeding on digestive tissue development, choice of microbial strain, and possible environmental impact.

The wear and corrosion properties of the cyclone separator play a crucial role for the preparation of high-purity trichlorosilane in the Siemens method polysilicon cold hydrogenation system. In this work, we used fluent simulation technology to determine the optimal spraying process parameters of high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) technology, and the Ni60-WC composite coatings with different content of Cr3C2 were prepared on 316L stainless steel surface by using HVOF technology. The microstructure, phase structure and mechanical properties of the coating were characterized, and the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the coating were studied. By comparing the friction coefficient, wear rate, wear profile and electrochemical polarization and impedance spectrum of the coating, the effects of Cr3C2 content on the microstructure, hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of HVOF sprayed WC composite coating were studied. The results show that the coating prepared by using the simulation parameters are uniform and compact, the coating is tightly bonded to the substrate. The main phases in the coating are WC, W2C and Cr3C2. With the increase of Cr3C2 hard phase, the wear resistance and corrosion resistance gradually improve. Ni60–35WC–20Cr3C2 and Ni60–35WC–30Cr3C2 volume loss rate is the lowest, the friction depth is the shiniest, compared with the substrate, the wear rate is reduced by more than 95 %. Ni60–35WC–20Cr3C2 has the highest corrosion potential, the smallest corrosion current, the smallest corrosion rate and the largest impedance spectrum radius. However, when the content of Cr3C2 reaches 30 %, the corrosion resistance is the worst. Combined with wear resistance and corrosion resistance analysis, the Ni60–35WC–20Cr3C2 coating is selected to provide support for upgrading and prolongating the service life of the cyclone separator.

A dense and uniform Cr coating is prepared on the Zr-4 alloy using multi-arc ion plating technology, with the aim of serving as an accident-tolerant fuel cladding for light water reactors. The corrosion performance of Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy is investigated after exposure to 360 °C and 18.6 MPa corrosion conditions for up to 5040 h, and its corrosion mechanism is discussed. Furthermore, the oxidation behavior of the Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy in steam at 1300 °C is mainly examined. It is observed that the ZrO2 channel within the Cr coating acts as an oxygen diffusion path during steam oxidation and facilitates the reduction of Cr2O3 by providing Zr. When the ZrO2 channel diffuses to the Cr2O3/Cr interface, Cr2O3 is reduced to form ZrO2 and Cr. When the thickness of the Cr2O3 layer is minimized, the Cr coating fails. The in-situ oxidation of the Cr2Zr layer results in the formation of ZrO2 and Cr2O3, while the substrate beneath the Cr coating is oxidized to form a ZrO2 layer. The whole oxidation process of the Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy up to 1300 °C is presented in detail.

Cr–Fe–Ni–Co–Mo–Si–B amorphous coating was successfully prepared on 316 L steel using atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The effects of different annealing temperatures on the crystallization process of amorphous coatings, thus on the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of coatings were studied. The results indicated that heat treatment can increase the hardness of the amorphous coating by 12.5% and reduce the wear rate by 30%. In addition, compared to heat-treated coatings, the amorphous coating had the highest corrosion voltage (−0.506V) and lower corrosion current (5.609 × 10−6 A). The passivation film on the amorphous coating provided the best protection due to the relatively high content of Cr2O3. The molecular dynamics (MD) calculation results also indicated that the adsorption energy of hydrogen chloride molecules on Cr–Fe–Ni–Co–Mo–Si–B amorphous coating (−90.94 kcal/mol) was greater than that of 316 L (−293.03 kcal/mol).

For addressing background noise interference during gas leakage detection, an end-to-end gas leakage acoustic signal noise reduction method based on the improved Sandglasset model is proposed. This model, tailored for enhanced modeling and sound source separation, incorporates the Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN) module and Coordinate Attention (CA) module, replacing Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) and Multi-headed Attention (MA). TCN excels in capturing local information and boosting time series data modeling, while the CA module specializes in inter-segment sequences modeling and feature extraction from various time sequences, yielding superior global modeling capability. The process involves encoding the collected gas leakage acoustic signal with a one-dimensional convolutional encoder to generate the feature sequence, which is then process by the improved Sandglasset model and subsequently decoded to reconstruct the noise-reduced signal. The experimental results demonstrate that the method effectively isolates the background noise signal. Post-noise reduction, the SI-SNR and SDR reach 5.93dB and 8.17dB, respectively, thereby minimizing interference with further signal analysis and identification.

Background/Aims: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the tumor type with the highest incidence of perineural invasion. This study tries to identify the differentially expressed genes regulated between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissues with perineural invasion and without perineural invasion. Materials and Methods: The GSE102238 profile was downloaded. Gene function and pathway analysis were subsequently conducted. A protein–protein interaction network was constructed to search for hub genes. Both univariate Cox analysis and multivariate Cox analysis were calculated to identify prognostic factors. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and overall survival analysis of hub genes were used to verify. Results: Our study identified 242 differentially expressed genes including 68 upregulated differentially expressed genes and 174 downregulated differentially expressed genes, which were involved in important functions and pathways. Nine relevant core genes using protein–protein interaction analysis as well as nestin (NES)/vascular endothlial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway which is highly related to the pathological process of perineural invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were also discovered. The differentiation was identified as an independent prognostic factor (P < .05) after multivariate Cox analysis. Three upregulated genes (JUP, CALM1, and NES) and 6 downregulated genes (EPHA2, ARF1, ORM2, TERT, IL18, and CXCL3) were validated by quantitative RT-PCR and they all had markedly worse overall survival (P < .05). Conclusion: This analysis showed that 9 core genes including JUP, CALM1, NES, EPHA2, ARF1, ORM2, TERT, IL18, and CXCL3, as well as NES/VEGF signaling pathway, have a relationship with the development process of perineural invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cox analysis and overall survival analysis suggested differentiation as an independent prognostic factor and key roles for these 9 hub genes in perineural invasion prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

The digital chirp signal (DCS) is commonly used in modern radar system and ultrashort pulse application. The traditional method is using DDS device, but this method is limited by many restrictions, including device limit, cost limit and application range. In consideration of those restrictions, we propose a new method implemented on field programmable gate array (FPGA). It has a composite architecture featuring an improved CORDIC algorithm core to generate arbitrary-phase-varying DCS and a trajectory approximator to eliminate uncertain error. The improved CORDIC algorithm core is embedded in a finite state machine (FSM) which make the design more efficient. Meanwhile, the trajectory approximator is used to counteract the uncertainty influence from the output error and disturbance. An experiment is built for the efficiency and validation of the proposed method. We generated a DCS with frequency bandwidth of 1.25MHz, starting from 0Hz to 1.25MHz and its pulse duration is 81.92us. Another experiment is done to validate the feasibility generating nonlinear phase chirp digital signal. According to the results of the practical implementation in FPGA, the main advantage of the proposed technique is that it can reduce the usage of Memory, Slice Register and Logic gates of FPGA.

This study investigates the mechanisms driving maize compensatory growth upon post-drought, to reveal how the root’s original cytokinins are regulated by the two-fold roles of heterotrophic bacteria with ammonia-oxidizing (HAOB) capabilities. The HAOB’ dual roles encompass influencing root cytokinin synthesis and transport through nitrification and a direct pathway. Experiment 1 involved introducing the application of varying amounts of NO3− to the roots to examine how nitrification affects cytokinin roots-to-leaves transport. Results demonstrate that the 30–40 mmol·L−1 NO3− concentration had ideal effects on enhancing post-drought growth in maize by facilitating cytokinin synthesis and transport. In experiment 2, an HAOB strain, S2_8_1, was utilized and NO3− was supplemented alongside HAOB inoculation to assess the joint impacts of nitrification and the direct pathway on the production and transportation of cytokinins. Results demonstrate that the HAOB strain S2_8_1 increases nitrification rates in rhizosphere soil, thereby promoting the transport of cytokinins from roots to leaves. In addition, the HAOB strain promotes root cytokinin transport to leaves autonomously, showcasing its direct pathway. Inoculation with the HAOB strain increased leaf cytokinin content and improved water use efficiency compared to the addition of NO3−; however, the combination of NO3− and HAOB strains resulted in a synergistic effect and further improvement. These findings elucidate how HAOB can enhance maize compensatory growth through its dual roles, presenting promising applications in agriculture.

Insulators and conductors in transmission line systems are susceptible to wind-induced movements, especially when insulators are closely positioned to transmission towers, potentially leading to electrical discharge. To address this issue, this study proposes a spring-pendulum dynamic vibration absorber (SPDVA) for windage suppression in transmission line systems. Using a finite element model based on an actual transmission line project, the study investigates SPDVA’s effectiveness in mitigating windage responses under varying wind speeds. The analysis considers mass and stiffness parameters to elucidate SPDVA’s suppression mechanism. The results indicate that SPDVA outperforms the additional heavy hammer method in suppressing insulator windage responses and also affects the peak acceleration response at the insulator’s bottom. Increasing stiffness initially enhances SPDVA’s suppression effectiveness on both peak and mean square deviation windage angle responses, peaking at 10 kN/m stiffness, while increasing the mass of the mass block also enhances suppression effectiveness.

For the construction of a subway station, temporary vertical shafts were commonly used to facilitate machine operation. In densely urban areas, the requirement of settlement control and environmental impact called for a novel construction method of vertical shafts. In this paper, a novel swift-assembled support (SAS) structure and construction method for vertical shafts of a metro station was proposed, using prefabricated steel components. A comprehensive scheme of full-time monitoring was conducted to evaluate the performance of this novel support structure and ground response. Field monitoring results indicated that the SAS method was able to control the settlement of ground and adjacent buildings. Based on the field measurements, the calculation theory for design parameters were discussed. The active earth pressure yield from the method considering wall movement was closer to the field measurements. All of the local buckling values were both overestimated based on the technical standards’ methods. The calculation methods were thereby adopted carefully to determine the designed loading share ratio of structure components. The advantage of the SAS method, including rapid construction, safety, and lower environmental impacts, were obviously clear.

Investigating the primary influencing factors that regulate the enrichment of shallow gas not only deepens our understanding of the rules governing shallow gas enrichment in deep-ocean environments but also has the potential to enhance the success rate of locating shallow gas reservoirs. Recent drilling activities in the LS36 gas field located in the central Qiongdongnan Basin have revealed a substantial shallow gas reserve within the sediments of the Quaternary Ledong Formation, marking it as the first shallow gas reservoir discovered in the offshore region of China with confirmed natural gas geological reserves surpassing 100 billion cubic meters. However, the formation mechanism and influencing factors of shallow gas enrichment remain elusive due to the limited availability of 3D seismic and well data. This study employs seismic interpretation and digital simulation to decipher the dynamics of shallow gas accumulation and utilizes the carbon isotope composition of methane to ascertain the origin of the shallow gas. Our results show that the shallow gas is primarily concentrated within a large-scale submarine fan, covering a distribution region of up to 2800 km2, situated in the deep-sea plain. The δ13 C1 methane carbon isotope data ranges from −69.7‰ to −45.2‰ and all δ13 C2 values are above −28‰, suggesting that the shallow gas within the Ledong Formation is derived from a mix of biogenic gas produced in shallow strata and thermogenic gas generated in deeper source rocks. The results of gas sources, seismic profiles, and digital simulations suggest that thermogenic gas originating from the Lingshui and Beijiao sags was transported to the Quaternary submarine fan via a complex system that includes faults, gas chimneys, and channel sands. The mass-transported deposits (MTDs) in the upper reaches of the submarine fan have effectively acted as a seal, preventing the escape of shallow gas from the fan. Therefore, the factors contributing to the enrichment of shallow gas in the Qiongdongnan Basin include the presence of favorable submarine fan reservoirs, the availability of two distinct gas sources, the effective sealing of MTDs, and the presence of two efficient transport pathways. A conceptual model for the accumulation of shallow gas is developed, illuminating the complex formation–migration–accumulation process. This study underscores the importance of aligning multiple influencing factors in the process of shallow gas accumulation, and the suggested accumulation model may be pertinent to shallow gas exploration in other marginal sea basins.

Abstract Background Lymph node (LN) metastasis is the most common metastasis route in gastric cancer. Extensive dissection of LNs can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Recently, multiple clinical studies have demonstrated that either indocyanine green (ICG) or carbon nanoparticles (CNs) can assist to promote the dissection of LNs during laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Considering the pros and cons of the two tracers, this study proposed a novel method of dual tracer (ICG combined with CNs) for lymphatic tracing in laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery. Methods This trial is a prospective, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with an estimation of 516 participants that randomize into 4 groups (1:1:1:1), namely control group, ICG group, CNs group, and dual tracer group. The primary outcome is the number of dissected LNs. The secondary outcomes include positive rate, false positive rate, negative rate, false negative rate, number of metastatic LNs, relationship between LN metastasis and tracer stained, operation duration, blood loss, incision length, morbidity and mortality rate, 3-year DFS (disease free survival), PFS (progression-free survival), and OS (overall survival). Discussion This study will investigate the efficacy and safety of a novel strategy using dual tracers for laparoscopic gastrectomy. The protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital (2021-361-02). The trial findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100051309). Registered 18 September 2021, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=133764 .

As the flexible-controlled power source in the power system, the doubly fed-based variable-speed pumped storage unit (DF-VSPSU) has a significant role in the power rebalance and the reactive power support. However, as with the voltage sag in the remote grid side, the DF-VSPSU with the conventional low-voltage ride-through control may lose the synchronization and result in instability due to the absence of an equilibrium point. Thus, taking a DF-VSPSU infinite system as a case, the generator-side, and the grid-side model is well established. The large disturbance instability mechanism of doubly fed-based variable-speed pumped storage unit under remote grid faults is explained in detail, which is caused by the absence of the equilibrium point. Together with the key influencing factors, including the voltage depth and the short circuit ratio, the available gain of the reactive current control is presented. Finally, the availability of the theoretical analysis is demonstrated based on MATLAB/Simulink.

Photosensitizer systems play a crucial role in light absorption and charge transfer processes. Designing and selecting dye molecules with exceptional photoelectric features remains a significant scientific challenge in the realm of solar cell research. The paper explores the photovoltaic properties of two D-A'-π-A dyes (CS-70 and CS-72) both individually and after co-sensitization with chlorophyll derivatives, utilizing density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density-functional theory (TD-DFT) methods. The monomeric dye molecules share the same donor and conjugated bridge but differ in their auxiliary receptors (benzothiadiazole and naphthobisthiadiazole). Firstly, the study investigates the impact of various auxiliary acceptors on the properties of the dye molecules by analyzing their geometrical structure, frontier molecular orbitals, spectral properties, chemical reaction parameters, intramolecular charge transfer, electron injection, density of projected states, and dye regeneration. A detailed explanation for the superior performance of CS-72 is provided. Furthermore, a solar cell evaluation model was developed for the short circuit current density (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), and photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of the single dye molecule. Subsequently, simulations of the co-sensitized molecules with chlorophyll are performed, focusing on structure, excited state properties and charge transfer, suggesting that co-sensitization enhances spectral properties, light-trapping, and regeneration abilities, and long-range charge transfer between the dye molecules and chlorophyll can be found. The results also demonstrate that the Jsc of the co-sensitized molecules were improved, which facilitates the realization of a higher PCE. This study provides theoretical support for the potential of co-sensitizing dye molecules with chlorophyll to enhance solar cell efficiency, offering valuable insights for the future development of green, cost-effective, and efficient solar cells.

Lung cancer is still one of the deadliest malignancies today, and most patients with advanced lung cancer pass away from disease progression that is uncontrollable by medications. Super-enhancers (SEs) are large clusters of enhancers in the genome’s non-coding sequences that actively trigger transcription. Although SEs have just been identified over the past 10 years, their intricate structure and crucial role in determining cell identity and promoting tumorigenesis and progression are increasingly coming to light. Here, we review the structural composition of SEs, the auto-regulatory circuits, the control mechanisms of downstream genes and pathways, and the characterization of subgroups classified according to SEs in lung cancer. Additionally, we discuss the therapeutic targets, several small-molecule inhibitors, and available treatment options for SEs in lung cancer. Combination therapies have demonstrated considerable advantages in preclinical models, and we anticipate that these drugs will soon enter clinical studies and benefit patients.

Abstract Acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) methods aim to suppress the acoustic coupling for hands‐free speech communication. Traditional AEC works by identifying the acoustic impulse response using adaptive algorithms. With recent research advances, deep learning has become an attractive choice for AEC. This paper introduces a two‐stage bidirectional long short term memory (TS‐BLSTM) framework, incorporating multi‐head self‐attention mechanisms after each BLSTM block. This is aimed at better capturing contextual information and further enhancing ability of the model to handle complex acoustic scenarios. The BLSTM blocks are utilized to aggregate magnitude spectrum information, modelling both time and frequency dependencies. Additionally, dilation convolution is introduced to broaden the range of information in each convolution output. The magnitude decoder estimates a mask for the input, resulting in the generation of an estimated magnitude spectrum for near‐end speech. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method achieves promising outcomes.

This study explores MAX-phase materials for self-lubricating performance in high-speed turbomachinery, especially for aircraft engines and diverse industries. Ti2AlC was effectively synthesized and sintered using spark plasma sintering (SPS) under vacuum conditions at 30 MPa and 1000 °C, followed by rigorous cyclic oxidation at 1200 °C. The microstructure, element distribution, and phase analysis of the sintered and worn surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanical properties were evaluated through Vickers hardness and nanoindentation tests, while tribological properties were examined using wear tests. The results indicated that TiO2 and Al2O3 had a self-lubricating or anti-wear effect, significantly decreasing the wear rate. Furthermore, a transition was observed in the wear rate, going from high to low. This change was attributed to the formation of TiC particles, which can deform plastically and further reduce the overall wear rate.

Abstract Multimodal epigenetic characterization of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) could improve the performance of blood-based early cancer detection. However, integrative profiling of cfDNA methylome and fragmentome has been technologically challenging. Here, we adapt an enzyme-mediated methylation sequencing method for comprehensive analysis of genome-wide cfDNA methylation, fragmentation, and copy number alteration (CNA) characteristics for enhanced cancer detection. We apply this method to plasma samples of 497 healthy controls and 780 patients of seven cancer types and develop an ensemble classifier by incorporating methylation, fragmentation, and CNA features. In the test cohort, our approach achieves an area under the curve value of 0.966 for overall cancer detection. Detection sensitivity for early-stage patients achieves 73% at 99% specificity. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility to accurately localize the origin of cancer signals with combined methylation and fragmentation profiling of tissue-specific accessible chromatin regions. Overall, this proof-of-concept study provides a technical platform to utilize multimodal cfDNA features for improved cancer detection.

Introduction: Oesophageal cancer is a prevalent and deadly cancer around the world. Objectives: We aimed to present a comprehensive analysis of the global geographic patterns and temporal trends in the mortality and incidence of oesophageal cancer. Methods: The mortality and incidence data of oesophageal cancer in 2020 were obtained from the GLOBOCAN database. Based on World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database and the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5), we also retrieved the mortality and incidence age-standardized rates (ASRs) of oesophageal cancer. The average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) of mortality and incidence were calculated using the joinpoint regression analysis. Results: Globally, 0.54 million deaths and 0.6 million new cases were identified in 2020. In the majority of countries of South America and Asia, the mortality and incidence trends have substantially decreased, but trends in European countries have varied. The prevalence in European nations varied, but the incidence in most other continents decreased dramatically. In terms of mortality, the global average rate was 5.6 per 100000, ranging from 16.7 (Malawi) to 0.28 (Belize). European countries varied in mortality, such as Norway (AAPC, male: 0.68; female: 0.89) and Ireland (AAPC, male: −0.96; female: −1.52). Most non-European countries saw large decreases in mortality, such as Singapore (AAPC, male: −4.78; female: −6.89). The elderly had more noticeable trends in mortality and incidence in most countries. Conclusions: We have identified different trends in mortality and incidence among European countries, whereas declining trends were identified in most non-European countries. However, increasing trends were identified in specific subgroups of some countries, such as men in Thailand. For populations with rising mortality and incidence trends, more preventative efforts are required.

Abstract Cardiac fibrosis is a common feature of chronic heart failure. Iroquois homeobox (IRX) family of transcription factors plays important roles in heart development; however, the role of IRX2 in cardiac fibrosis has not been clarified. Here we report that IRX2 expression is significantly upregulated in the fibrotic hearts. Increased IRX2 expression is mainly derived from cardiac fibroblast (CF) during the angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced fibrotic response. Using two CF-specific Irx2-knockout mouse models, we show that deletion of Irx2 in CFs protect against pathological fibrotic remodelling and improve cardiac function in male mice. In contrast, Irx2 gain of function in CFs exaggerate fibrotic remodelling. Mechanistically, we find that IRX2 directly binds to the promoter of the early growth response factor 1 (EGR1) and subsequently initiates the transcription of several fibrosis-related genes. Our study provides evidence that IRX2 regulates the EGR1 pathway upon Ang II stimulation and drives cardiac fibrosis.

Background and Aims: Over the last few decades, rampant nitrogen fertilization has exacerbated soil acidification in agricultural ecosystems. To counteract this, liming has become an essential technique for rehabilitating fertility in acid-degraded agricultural soils. Our research aimed to shed light on the response of ammonia oxidizers to liming in acidic soils within a controlled rice paddy experiment. We conducted a pot experiment with rice, featuring three different treatments: a control with only soil, a low dolomite dose (LD), and a high dolomite dose (HD). Various soil properties were investigated throughout the study. Under flooding, soil pH values rose across the treatments, from 5.4 in the control to 6.8 in HD. Ammonium and nitrate levels peaked in the HD treatment, reaching 30 and 22 mg kg−1, respectively. Similarly, dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon surged at mid-season aeration, hitting highs of 101 and 30 mg kg−1, respectively, in the HD treatment. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) were responsive to dolomite-lime application, with distinct reactions; AOB abundance and potential nitrification rates were positively affected by higher lime doses, whereas AOA numbers decreased over time and with dolomite application. Additionally, soil enzymes such as urease, catalase, invertase, phenol oxidase, and phosphatase also increased progressively, mirroring the rise in soil pH. This study identified increased soil pH as the critical factor influencing various soil parameters, especially the balance between AOA and AOB populations. Both AOB and AOA were sensitive to liming; AOA decreased while liming stimulated AOB abundance.

Metabolic reprogramming is a critical pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC), referring to metabolic disorders that cancer cells make in response to the stimulating pressure. Metabolic reprogramming induces changes in genetic material and promotes CRC progression and has been proven to be an efficient target of CRC. As natural products have garnered interest due to notable pharmacological effects and potential in counteracting chemoresistance, an increasing body of research is delving into the impact of these natural products on the metabolic reprogramming associated with CRC. In this review, we collected published data from the Web of Science and PubMed, covering the period from January 1980 to October 2023. This article focuses on five central facets of metabolic alterations in cancer cells, glucose metabolism, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), amino acid metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and nucleotide metabolism, to provide an overview of recent advancements in natural product interventions targeting metabolic reprogramming in CRC. Our analysis underscores the potential of natural products in disrupting the metabolic pathways of CRC, suggesting promising therapeutic targets for CRC and expanding treatment options for metabolic-associated ailments.

Summary: Background: Azvudine and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir are approved to treat mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults with a high risk for progression to severe infection. We sought to compare the antiviral effectiveness and clinical outcomes of elderly severe patients with COVID-19 receiving these two antiviral agents. Methods: In this observational study, we identified 249 elderly patients with severe COVID-19 infection who were admitted to the Second Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital from December 2022 to January 2023, including 128 azvudine recipients, 66 nirmatrelvir/ritonavir recipients and 55 patients not received antiviral treatments. We compared the cycle threshold (Ct) value dynamic change of all three groups. The primary outcome was a composite outcome of disease progression, including all-cause death, intensive care unit admission, and initiation of invasive mechanical ventilation. The outcomes of all enrolled patients were followed up from the electronic medical record system. Kaplan–Meier and Cox risk proportional regression analyses were used to compare the clinical outcomes of all three groups. To more directly compare the effectiveness of the two antiviral drugs, we performed propensity-score matching between the two antiviral groups and compared antiviral efficacy and clinical outcomes in the matched population. Findings: Among 249 patients (mean age, 91.41 years), 77 patients died during the follow-up period. When compared to patients who did not receive any antivirals, neither nirmatrelvir/ritonavir nor azvudine demonstrated a survival benefit. The Cox analysis of the all-cause death of the three groups showed that the risk of death was 0.730 (0.423–1.262) in the azvudine group 0.802 (0.435–1.480) and in the nirmatrelvir/ritonavir group compared with the non-antiviral group. After propensity score matching, we included 58 azvudine recipients and 58 nirmatrelvir/ritonavir recipients. The fitted curve of the Ct value after matching illustrated that the rate of viral decline in the early stage of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment seems to surpass that of azvudine, but there was no statistical significance. Azvudine was seemly associated with a lower risk of composite outcomes (HR:1.676, 95% CI:0.805–3.488) and short-term all-cause death (HR: 1.291, 95%CI: 0.546–3.051). Interpretation: Patients who received azvudine have a similar antiviral effectiveness and survival curve trend compared to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. In this limited series, antiviral treatment was not associated with a significant clinical benefit. This lack of clinical benefit might be attributed to potential bias. Funding: This study was supported by the “National Key R&D Program of China” (Funding No. 2020YFC2008900) and the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Special Zone Project (223-CXCY-N101-07-18-01).