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Abstract Background Previously, we reported that serum Semaphorin 5 A (Sema5A) levels were increased in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients compared with healthy controls (HC), and elevated Sema5A correlated with disease activity and lupus nephritis in SLE patients. In this study, we aimed to further understand the role of Sema5A in promoting Th17 cells differentiation in SLE. Methods Sema5A, interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin 4 (IL-4), interleukin 17 A (IL-17 A) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) were measured by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). RNA and protein were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in SLE patients and HC. Expression of PlexinA1 and PlexinB3 were measured by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western Blot. Th cell subsets were detected by flow cytometry. Treatment with recombinant human Sema5A (rhSema5A) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) were employed to examine the in vitro effect of Sema5A in CD4+T cell differentiation in SLE patients. Results IL-17 A elevated in SLE patients and positively correlated with Sema5A. PlexinA1 was upregulated and mainly expressed in CD4+ T cells of SLE; Sema5A treatment induced the differentiation of Th17 cells, while did not affect the Th1 and Th2 skewing. These effects were associated with an upregulation of the transcription factor RORγt by Th17 cells, but not T-bet or GATA3 in Th1 and Th2 cells, respectively. Knock down PlexinA1 regulates IL-17 A production by CD4+T cells. Functional assays showed that Sema5A-PlexinA1 axis promoted Th17 cells differentiation via PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling. Conclusions These findings demonstrated that Sema5A-PlexinA1 axis acts as a key mediator on Th17 differentiation, suggesting that Sema5A might be a novel therapeutic target in SLE.

To improve the premature convergence and poor global search capability of the classical particle swarm algorithm(PSO), this paper proposes a novel elite guidance-based social learning particle swarm optimization (ESLPSO) algorithm. In the ESLPSO algorithm, a hierarchical topological search method is proposed. The method divides particles into optimal elite particles and other civilian particles according to their fitness performance, revolutionizing the update sample of the traditional population iterative search and enhancing the guidance of the whole population evolution information. In addition, an elite particle-guided social learning strategy is designed to better utilize the multidimensional information on population evolution by increasing the uncertainty of state superposition. On this basis, the extremum perturbation migration mechanism motivates the particles to experience new search paths and regions, increase population diversity and balance the population's exploration and exploitation in the search process. Moreover, the Cubic chaos initialization is employed to endow the initial particle population with a wide coverage in the search space. Finally, 12 benchmark test function sets covering unimodal, multimodal and rotated-multimodal functions are used to validate the performance of the proposed algorithm. The results on comparing the ESLPSO algorithm with other eight improved PSO algorithms show that the ESLPSO algorithm has excellent search performances in solving different types of functions, having efficient robustness and excellent solutions.

Abstract The quest for reliable vehicle navigation in urban environments has led the integration of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Odometry (LO) with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU). However, the performance of the integrated system is limited by a lack of accurate LO error modeling. In this paper, we propose a weighted GNSS/IMU/LO integration-based navigation system with a novel LO error model. The Squared Exponential Gaussian Progress Regression (SE-GPR) based LO error model is developed by considering the vehicle velocity and number of point cloud features. Based on error prediction for GNSS positioning and LO, a weighting strategy is designed for integration in an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). Furthermore, error accumulation of the navigation state, especially in GNSS-challenging scenarios, is restrained by the LiDAR-Aided Lateral Constraint (LALC) and Non-Holonomic Constraint (NHC). An experiment was conducted in a deep urban area to test the proposed algorithm. The results show that the proposed algorithm delivers horizontal and three-dimensional (3D) positioning Root Mean Square Errors (RMSEs) of 3.669 m and 5.216 m, respectively. The corresponding accuracy improvements are 35.9% and 50.0% compared to the basic EKF based GNSS/IMU/LO integration.

Abstract Background Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) is the second most prevalent Gram-negative bacterium causing bloodstream infections (BSIs). In recent years, the management of BSIs caused by KP has become increasingly complex due to the emergence of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP). Although numerous studies have explored the risk factors for the development of CRKP-BSIs, the mortality of patients with KP-BSIs, and the molecular epidemiological characteristics of CRKP, the variability in data across different populations, countries, and hospitals has led to inconsistent conclusions. In this single-center retrospective observational study, we utilized logistic regression analyses to identify independent risk factors for CRKP-BSIs and factors associated with mortality in KP-BSI patients. Furthermore, a risk factor-based prediction model was developed. CRKP isolates underwent whole-genome sequencing (WGS), followed by an evaluation of microbiological characteristics, including antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes, as well as epidemiological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. Results Our study included a total of 134 patients with KP-BSIs, comprising 50 individuals infected with CRKP and 84 with carbapenem-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae (CSKP). The independent risk factors for CRKP-BSIs were identified as gastric catheterization (OR = 9.143; CI = 1.357–61.618; P = 0.023), prior ICU hospitalization (OR = 4.642; CI = 1.312–16.422; P = 0.017), and detection of CRKP in non-blood sites (OR = 8.112; CI = 2.130-30.894; P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis revealed that microbiologic eradication after 6 days (OR = 3.569; CI = 1.119–11.387; P = 0.032), high Pitt bacteremia score (OR = 1.609; CI = 1.226–2.111; P = 0.001), and inappropriate empirical treatment after BSIs (OR = 6.756; CI = 1.922–23.753; P = 0.003) were independent risk factors for the 28-day mortality in KP-BSIs. The prediction model confirmed that microbiologic eradication after 6.5 days and a Pitt bacteremia score of 4.5 or higher were significant predictors of the 28-day mortality. Bioinformatics analysis identified ST11 as the predominant CRKP sequence type, with bla KPC−2 as the most prevalent gene variant. CRKP stains carried multiple plasmid-mediated resistance genes along with some virulence genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated the presence of nosocomial transmission of ST11 CRKP within the ICU. Conclusions The analysis of risk factors for developing CRKP-BSIs and the association between KP-BSIs and 28-day mortality, along with the development of a risk factor-based prediction model and the characterization of CRKP strains, enhances clinicians’ understanding of the pathogens responsible for BSIs. This understanding may help in the timely administration of antibiotic therapy for patients with suspected KP-BSIs, potentially improving outcomes.

In the global context of climate change and frequent occurrence of extreme temperature variations, the impact of harsh climates on the outdoor thermal environment in remote, cold, mountainous villages is particularly pronounced, leading to many negative effects. The geoorphology of the village sites and their building layouts are important factors affecting the outdoor thermal environment. Therefore, exploring the spatiotemporal characteristics of these factors is significant for optimizing village construction and improving living environments. In this study, taking Fangjialiang Village in a cold mountainous area as an example, we analysed the outdoor thermal environment from a spatiotemporal perspective through comprehensive field investigations and measurements. The findings obtained are summarized as follows: (1) Landform elements were limited by boundary and azimuth constraints (difference in time temperature decay rate between the valley interior and valley edge area: ΔK = 0.48°C/m). (2) The temperature inversion phenomenon in the valley was significant (the average rate of temperature increase with elevation was 0.037°C/m). (3) The vertical distribution of the temperature was more susceptible to the influence of the difference in elevation inside the village (ρ≈–0.48). The average rate of temperature decrease with elevation is 0.489°C/m. (4) A compact building layout could sustainably weaken the effects of topographic elements (e.g. the average temperature sequenced as: closed internal courtyard (Avg = 14.60°C)> semi-open horizontal village street (Avg = 13.58°C)> fully open space (Avg = 13.11°C)). Therefore, the results of the study further revealed the coordinated relationship between the natural environment and rural settlements, proved the integrated effects of village siting and building layout, and provided useful insights for the construction and living environment optimization of mountain villages.

Structural fractures are pivotal in enhancing the physical properties of buried hill reservoirs within basement metamorphic rocks, thereby increasing oil and gas productivity. However, there is limited comprehensive, multi-scale investigations into the development characteristics and main controlling factors of such fractures. Taking B block in the Bohai Bay Basin as a case study, this research systematically synthesized thin-section, core, and imaging logging data to delineate the characteristics of structural fractures in buried hill reservoirs within basement metamorphic rocks. This study identified the principal controlling factors and revealed the influencing factors and development patterns of these fractures. The study area mainly developed shear fractures, followed by tensile fractures, with lesser occurrences of oblique and vertical fractures. The fractures exhibited a high overall filling degree, primarily filled with mud followed by carbonate. Four groups of structural fractures in near-EW, NE-SW, NW-SE and NNW-SSE directions were identified. Among them, the near-EW fractures were more developed, indicating that the strong compressive environment during the early stage of Indosinian was crucial for widespread fracture development. The development of structural fractures in the study area was mainly controlled by rock mechanics properties, tectonic activity, weathering processes, reservoir physical properties, and lithology. The effectiveness of structural fractures was mainly controlled by factors including the angle between the maximum horizontal principal stress direction and the orientation of structural fractures, tectonic movement, fracture filling and dissolution. Vertically, the influence of weathering decreased with depth in buried hill reservoirs, with local development of dissolution pores along faults in the internal zones. Rocks with different mechanical properties showed different degrees of fracture development. Rocks with higher brittleness index exhibited higher degree of fracture development. Laterally, the line density of structural fractures in the core of the anticlines was greater than that in the flanks, providing favorable conditions for the development of structural fractures when reservoir porosity and permeability were within suitable ranges.

The underwater 10CrNi3MoV high-strength low-alloy steel thin-walled part with forming quality up to in-air laser deposition quality was successfully manufactured for the first time. The influencing mechanisms of complicated thermal history and water environment on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of thin-walled part were researched. Due to austenitization and interlocking effect, the microstructure in the bottom, middle and top (below the 56th layer) areas of underwater sample and the middle area of in-air sample were composed of fine grain ferrite and granular bainite. With the increase of building height, the heat accumulation effect of underwater sample enhanced, resulting in small grain size (GS), high dislocation density, strong solution strengthening effect and low maximum texture strength at the bottom area, while the high proportion of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) at the top area. These resulted in the greatest tensile strength (714 MPa) and microhardness (232 HV) at the bottom area and the highest elongation (11%) at the top area. Due to the cooling effect of water environment, the proportion of HAGBs reduced and there were oxides in fracture. As a result, the horizontal elongation of underwater sample was about 90.9% of in-air sample. Additionally, the GS reduced, and the dislocation density and solution strengthening effect increased, so the microhardness of underwater sample was slightly higher than that of in-air sample. However, due to some microscopic defects, the horizontal and vertical tensile strength of underwater sample were about 97.6% and 90.7% of in-air sample.

Abstract Aim Recent imaging studies have found significant abnormalities in the brain’s functional or structural connectivity among patients with high myopia (HM), indicating a heightened risk of cognitive impairment and other behavioral changes. However, there is a lack of research on the topological characteristics and connectivity changes of the functional networks in HM patients. In this study, we employed graph theoretical analysis to investigate the topological structure and regional connectivity of the brain function network in HM patients. Methods We conducted rs-fMRI scans on 82 individuals with HM and 59 healthy controls (HC), ensuring that the two groups were matched for age and education level. Through graph theoretical analysis, we studied the topological structure of whole-brain functional networks among participants, exploring the topological properties and differences between the two groups. Results In the range of 0.05 to 0.50 of sparsity, both groups demonstrated a small-world architecture of the brain network. Compared to the control group, HM patients showed significantly lower values of normalized clustering coefficient (γ) (P = 0.0101) and small-worldness (σ) (P = 0.0168). Additionally, the HM group showed lower nodal centrality in the right Amygdala (P

The self-repair ability of articular cartilage is limited, which is one of the most difficult diseases to treat clinically. Kartogenin (KGN) induces chondrogenesis by regulating RUNX1 mRNA translation and the small molecule compound TD-198946 (TD) promotes chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) through increasing the transcription of RUNX1 mRNA. GelMA hydrogel and liposomes are respectively similar to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and extracellular vesicles (EVs). So, we developed an “EVs-in-ECM” mimicking system by incorporating GelMA and KGN/TD-loaded liposomes to investigate the repair effects of cartilage defect. First, western-blot, RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), cellular immuno-fluorescence, co-immuno-precipitation (CO-IP), and qRT-PCR techniques showed that KGN regulated RUNX1 mRNA expression, and then promote chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs. Second, the role of RUNX1 was amplified by orchestrating RUNX1 transcription and translation through TD-198946 (TD) and KGN respectively, and the synergistic effects of TD and KGN on chondrogenesis of MSCs in vitro were discovered. Finally, an “EVs-in-ECM” mimicking system was designed for in situ cartilage repair. When GelMA loaded with KGN and TD liposomes, the hydrogel (KGN + TD@ GelMA) showed biological functions by the continuously controlled release of KGN and TD while maintaining its porous structure and mechanical strength, which enhanced the chondrogenesis of MSCs in one system. The repair performance of “EVs-in-ECM” in vivo was assessed using the articular osteochondral defect model of rat. The implantation of KGN + TD@ GelMA hydrogels effectively exerted favorable osteochondral repair effects showing structures similar to the native tissue, and prevented chondrocyte hypertrophy. The study indicate that the “EVs-in-ECM” mimicking system can act as a highly efficient and potent scaffold for osteochondral defect regeneration.

Crop specialization has become an important way to promote agricultural efficiency and increase incomes for farmers in China. Under extreme weather conditions, this is likely to increase resistance to drought risk mitigation and lead to greater drought damage. In order to make more sophisticated mitigation policy decisions, it requires efforts to assess crop drought risk variability and its risk mitigation resistance in detail. This study focuses on citrus as a cash crop, using a case of southern Jiangxi. We first constructed a drought risk assessment system for citrus, and then geographic information technology was used to characterize the risk dynamics. The factor contribution model was applied to calculate the risk mitigation resistance. And the least square error (LSE) model was finally employed to classify risk mitigation resistance types. The results showed that citrus drought risk had fluctuated moderately over macro-regions in the past 30 years, but had varied dramatically at local scales. Citrus drought risk significantly increases during the bud bust to flowering, fruit expansion, and fruit maturation stages. Exposure contributed 33.23 % to drought risk fluctuations, specifically, mainly attributed to the amplification of drought exposure in the farmer and agricultural production sectors, while 14.95 % was derived from climate change. In large-scale citrus expansion areas, the improvement in drought mitigation capacity generally lags behind the increase rate of the exposure system. The LSE model showed that risk mitigation resistance type varied across regions at system level and indicator level. In addition, water scarcity has emerged as a widespread issue that limits drought risk mitigation. Generally, this study provides new insights into the measurement of drought risk mitigation resistance and its type identification, thus contributing to the safe supply of agricultural products and human well-being.

BackgroundIn recent years, with the increase in academic pressure and changes in social environment, especially after the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been a significant impact on the mental health of high school students. This trend, which is concerning, requires a systematic bibliometric analysis to develop effective preventive and remedial measures.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify and analysis the research hotspots, frontiers and emerging trends in the field of high school students’ mental health over the past two decades using CiteSpace software. These findings provide important insights that can shape future research agendas and guide targeted interventions to improve the mental health outcomes of this vulnerable group.MethodsThis study utilized the Web of Science Core Collection database as its data source to retrieve literature pertaining to high school students’ mental health from January 1, 2004, to January 1, 2023. The initial search yielded 1,764 relevant documents. After manually screening to exclude duplicates, conference proceedings, announcements, and irrelevant documents, a total of 1,748 relevant documents were retained. The research employed the CiteSpace 6.2.R4 tool to evaluate various bibliometric indicators of the included literature, including statistics on institutional and author publication volumes, as well as co-citation analysis.ResultsA total of 1,748 English-language documents were retrieved, showing an upward trend in publications on high school students’ mental health from 2004 to 2024. The research hotspots primarily focus on COVID-19 pandemic, depression, bullying, substance abuse, sexual behavior, Physical Education and their relationships with the mental health of high school students. Future research trends may focus on studies investigating the relationships between the use of electronic cigarettes, sleep disorders, internet addiction, and the mental health of high school students.ConclusionIn addition to the six major research hotspots of COVID-19 pandemic, Depression and stress, Suicidal ideation, Bullying, Sexual behavior and Physical education. Researches should pay more attention to the use of electronic cigarettes, sleep disorders, and Internet addiction among high school students.

The gut microbiota produces metabolites that enrich the host metabolome and play a part in host physiology, including brain functions. Yet the biological mediators of this gut-brain signal transduction remain largely unknown. In this study, the possible role of the gut microbiota metabolite indole, originating from tryptophan, was investigated. Oral administration of indole to simulate microbial overproduction of this compound in the gut consistently led to impaired locomotion and anxiety-like behaviour in both C3H/HeN and C57BL/6J mice. By employing c-Fos protein expression mapping in mice, we observed a noticeable increase in brain activation within the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve (DMX) and the locus coeruleus (LC) regions in a dose-dependent manner. Further immune co-labelling experiments elucidated that the primary cells activated within the LC were tyrosine hydroxylase positive. To delve deeper into the mechanistic aspects, we conducted chemogenetic activation experiments on LC norepinephrine neurons with two doses of clozapine N-oxide (CNO). Low dose of CNO at 0.5 mg/kg induced no change in locomotion but anxiety-like behaviour, while high dose of CNO at 2 mg/kg resulted in locomotion impairment and anxiety-like behaviour. These findings support the neuroactive roles of indole in mediating gut-brain communication. It also highlights the LC as a novel hub in the gut-brain axis, encouraging further investigations.

Objective: To explore the effect of fucoidan on esophageal cancer and analyze its mechanism. Methods: MTT assay was used to analyze the inhibition rate of cell proliferation, Hoechst33258 staining and flow cytometry were used to detect cell apoptosis, and DCFH-DA probe was used to detect ROS level, and Western blot was used to analyze levels of Nrf2, HO-1, NQO-1, Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3, which were used to observe its effects on fucoidan-regulated cell proliferation and Nrf2/ROS signaling pathway. The tumor formation experiment in nude mice verified the effects of fucoidan on tumor weight, tumor volume and levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 in nude mice. Results: The proliferation of ECA109 cells was significantly inhibited by fucoidan from 1 to 16 µg/mL, and the IC50 was 3.26 µg/mL at 48 h. Compared with the control group (0.1%DMSO), ECA109 cells treated with 1, 2, and 4 µg/mL fucoidan showed obvious apoptotic characteristics, such as nuclear condensation, irregular chromatin contraction and apoptotic bodies, which (extremely) significantly promoted the apoptosis of ECA109 cells and significantly down-regulated the expression level of Bcl-2.The expression levels of Bax and Cleaved-caspase-3 were significantly increased, ROS levels were significantly increased, and Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO-1 protein levels were significantly decreased (P

ABSTRACT Gut dysbiosis is closely related to dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in the intestinal epithelial cells, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease (CD). We investigated the relationship between fecal gut microbiome (GM) and intestinal tissue miRNAs in different stages of pediatric CD. Metagenomic analysis and miRNA sequencing were conducted to examine the GM and intestinal miRNA profiles of CD patients before and after clinical induction therapy and the controls. Twenty-seven newly diagnosed, therapy-naïve pediatric patients with active CD and 11 non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) controls were recruited in this study. Among CD patients, 11 patients completed induction treatment and reached clinical remission. Both GM and miRNA profiles were significantly changed between CD patients and controls. Seven key bacteria were identified at species level including Defluviitalea raffinosedens, Thermotalea metallivorans, Roseburia intestinalis, Dorea sp. AGR2135, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, and Salmonella enterica, the exact proportions of which were further validated by real-time quantitative PCR analysis. Eight key miRNAs were also identified including hsa-miR-215-5p, hsa-miR-194-5p, hsa-miR-12135, hsa-miR-509-3-5p, hsa-miR-212-5p, hsa-miR-4448, hsa-miR-501-3p, and hsa-miR-503-5p. The functional enrichment analysis of differential miRNAs indicated the significantly altered cyclin protein, cyclin-dependent protein, and cell cycle pathway. The close interactions between seven key bacteria and eight key miRNAs were further investigated by miRNA target prediction. The association between specific miRNA expressions and key gut bacteria at different stages of CD supported their important roles as potential molecular biomarkers. Understanding the relationship between them will help us to explore the molecular mechanisms of CD.IMPORTANCESince previous studies have focused on the change of the fecal gut microbiome and intestinal tissue miRNA in pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD), the relationship between them in different stages is still not clear. This is the first study to explore the gut microbiota and miRNA and their correlations with the Pediatric Crohn’s Disease Activity Index (PCDAI). Crohn’s Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity (CDEIS), and calprotectin, by applying two omics approach in three different groups (active CD, CD in remission with exclusive enteral nutrition or infliximab induction therapy, and the healthy controls). Both gut microbiome structure and the miRNA profiles were significantly changed in the different stage of CD. Seven key gut microbiome at species and eight key miRNAs were found, and their close interactions were further fully investigated by miRNA target prediction.

Currently, teacher emotion in the context of conducting research has drawn much attention in the field of teacher development. However, existing empirical studies mainly focus on in-service teachers’ emotional experiences in conducting research, thus overlooking pre-service teachers. This study involving seven pre-service English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from a comprehensive university in mainland China as participants adopts a qualitative method to explore their emotional experiences, emotion regulation strategies and influencing factors in research. The first major finding is that the participants experienced positive, negative and complex emotions throughout their research journeys. The negative emotions left the deepest impression, with confusion being the most common emotion. Second, the participants employed both antecedent-focused and response-focused strategies to regulate their negative emotions and sustain the positive ones, but they favored the response-focused strategies. The antecedent-focused strategies included attention deployment, cognitive change, separation, expectation lowering and situation selection, while response-focused strategies cover communication, self-improvement, action taking, relaxation, adaptation and expressive suppression. Third, both personal and environmental factors played a part in the participants’ emotion regulation in conducting research. Personal factors included participants’ past experiences, agency, and personality, while environmental factors included relationships with others and the research support they received. The findings have some implications which may be helpful for pre-service EFL teachers, educators and policy makers in conducting and supervising research.

In various natural language processing tasks, significant strides have been made by Large Language Models (LLMs). Researchers leverage prompt method to conduct LLMs in accomplishing specific tasks under few-shot conditions. However, the prevalent use of LLMs’ prompt methods mainly focuses on guiding generative tasks, and employing existing prompts may result in poor performance in Named Entity Recognition (NER) tasks. To tackle this challenge, we propose a novel prompting method for few-shot NER. By enhancing existing prompt methods, we devise a standardized prompts tailored for the utilization of LLMs in NER tasks. Specifically, we structure the prompts into three components: task definition, few-shot demonstration, and output format. The task definition conducts LLMs in performing NER tasks, few-shot demonstration assists LLMs in understanding NER task objectives through specific output demonstration, and output format restricts LLMs’ output to prevent the generation of unnecessary results. The content of these components has been specifically tailored for NER tasks. Moreover, for the few-shot demonstration within the prompts, we propose a selection strategy that utilizes feedback from LLMs’ outputs to identify more suitable few-shot demonstration as prompts. Additionally, to enhance entity recognition performance, we enrich the prompts by summarizing error examples from the output process of LLMs and integrating them as additional prompts.

ObjectiveThe relationship between dietary niacin intake (DNI) and mortality rates among patients afflicted with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a subject of debate. Utilizing data derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), this study adopts a retrospective cohort design with an aim to investigate the association in the American adult patients with CKD.MethodsA cohort study was conducted in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2009 and 2018 that enrolled 6,191 CKD patients aged 20 years and above. We collected data on mortality through 31 December 2018. DNI was measured using a 24-h recall method. The relationship between DNI levels and mortality from all causes and cardiovascular causes was analyzed using weighted Cox proportional hazards models. The Kaplan–Meier (K-M) survival curve was plotted to illustrate these associations.ResultsFollowing a median monitoring period of 85 months, it was observed that 2,419 individuals (33.08%) succumbed to all causes, whereas cardiovascular-related deaths were recorded for 746 participants (10.45%). When controlling for confounders, an inverse relationship was established between DNI and mortality rates. Specifically, a marginal increase of 1 mg/day in DNI corresponded to a reduced Hazard Ratios (HRs) of 0.993 (0.987, 0.999; p = 0.027) for all-cause mortality and 0.980 (0.969, 0.991; p

Background: Despite the increasing availability of therapeutic drugs for autoimmune diseases, many patients still struggle to achieve their treatment goals. Our aim was to identify whether drugs originally used to treat bone density could be applied to the treatment of autoimmune diseases through Mendelian randomization (MR). Methods: Using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies, we used a two-sample MR design to estimate the correlation between autoimmune diseases and BMD-related drug targets. Data from the DrugBank and ChEMBL databases were used to identify the drug targets of anti-osteoporosis medications. The Wald ratio test or inverse-variance weighting method was used to assess the impact of genetic variation in drug target(s) on autoimmune disease therapy. Results: Through our analysis, we discovered a negative correlation between genetic variability in a specific gene (ESR1) in raloxifene/colecalciferol and various autoimmune disorders such as ankylosing spondylitis, endometriosis, IgA nephropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and type 1 diabetes. Conclusion: These results indicate a possible link between genetic differences in the drug targeting ESR1 and susceptibility to autoimmune disorders. Hence, our study offers significant support for the possible use of drugs targeting ESR1 for the management of autoimmune disorders. MR and drug repurposing are utilized to investigate the relationship between autoimmune diseases and bone mineral density, with a focus on ESR1.

Abstract Objective To compare the diagnostic power among various machine learning algorithms utilizing multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics in detecting anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. Additionally, this research aimed to create and validate the optimal diagnostic model. Methods In this retrospective analysis, 526 patients were included, comprising 178 individuals with ACL tears and 348 with a normal ACL. Radiomics features were derived from multi-sequence MRI scans, encompassing T1-weighted imaging and proton density (PD)-weighted imaging. The process of selecting the most reliable radiomics features involved using interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) testing, t tests, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) technique. After the feature selection process, five machine learning classifiers were created. These classifiers comprised logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM), and multilayer perceptron (MLP). A thorough performance evaluation was carried out, utilizing diverse metrics like the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), specificity, accuracy, sensitivity positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. The classifier exhibiting the best performance was chosen. Subsequently, three models were developed: the PD model, the T1 model, and the combined model, all based on the optimal classifier. The diagnostic performance of these models was assessed by employing AUC values, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis. Results Out of 2032 features, 48 features were selected. The SVM-based multi-sequence radiomics outperformed all others, achieving AUC values of 0.973 and 0.927, sensitivities of 0.933 and 0.857, and specificities of 0.930 and 0.829, in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Conclusion The multi-sequence MRI radiomics model, which is based on machine learning, exhibits exceptional performance in diagnosing ACL tears. It provides valuable insights crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of knee joint injuries, serving as an accurate and objective supplementary diagnostic tool for clinical practitioners.

Abstract Background As a dual-function metabolite, succinate has emerged in cell function and plays a key signaling role in linking mitochondrial function to other cellular functions. Succinate accumulation in the cytoplasm is commonly associated with hypoxia in the microenvironment and immune cell activation. Extracellular succinate released into the microenvironment is considered an inflammatory alarm that can be sensed by its membrane receptor SUCNR1, which boosts proinflammatory responses and acts akin to classical hormones and cytokines. Succinate plays an important role in the development of inflammatory diseases. Whether succinate facilitates the progression of endometriosis (EMs), characterized by chronic inflammation and peritoneal adhesion, is worth exploring. Objective We mimicked the ectopic milieu in vitro and in vivo to evaluate the main source and potential role of succinate in endometriosis. We assessed the molecular and functional effects of succinate on macrophages and peritoneal mesothelial cells in peritoneal cavity. The effect of succinate/SUCNR1 signaling on ectopic endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) was further explored in this study. Methods In this study, we used targeted organic acid metabolomics analysis and in vitro assays to assess the potential accumulation of succinate in the peritoneal fluid of EMs patients. We examined its correlation with disease severity, Visual Analogue Scale, and the Endometriosis Fertility Index. Flow cytometry, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, western blot assay, quantitative real-time PCR, and other molecular biology techniques were used to explore the potential mechanisms. Results By mimicking the ectopic milieu, we constructed an in vitro co-culture system and found that M1 polarized macrophages and that the peritoneal mesothelial cell line (HMrSV5) mainly released succinate into their microenvironment and activated the succinate receptor (SUCNR1) signal, which further polarized the macrophages and significantly enhanced the invasive survival of ESCs, and the adhesion to the peritoneum. We further investigated the pathological effects of extracellular succinate in vivo using a xenograft mouse models of endometriosis. Conclusions Succinate-SUCNR1 signaling facilitates the creation of inflammatory cells and plays a vital role in EMs progression and peritoneal adhesion. Our work on the molecular mechanisms underlying succinate accumulation and function will help elucidate the phenotypic mysteries of pain and infertility in EMs. Video Abstract

The lightning discharges generated by lightning strikes can reach several hundred kiloamperes, causing significant electromagnetic, mechanical, and thermal effects. These effects induce extremely high overvoltages in power transmission systems, leading to the tripping of transmission lines. Therefore, the study of lightning protection and early warning methods is crucial for safeguarding transmission lines. However, previous research in the realm of active lightning protection has been limited, focusing either solely on assessing the risk of lightning-induced tripping on the power grid side or merely predicting the patterns of lightning activity on the disaster side. This paper proposes a novel method for lightning protection and early warning of power transmission lines based on the analysis of lightning data. It encompasses both the risk of lightning-induced tripping of transmission lines on the grid side and the hazards of real-time lightning activities on the disaster side. In the warning phase, the method extensively mines historical lightning location data and, based on predictions of thunderstorm cloud movement trajectories, determines if thunderstorm clouds are nearing tightly packed transmission corridors. It then assesses whether these clouds present a high-risk storm or are approaching transmission lines with low lightning protection capabilities, subsequently integrating these findings to issue a continuous lightning-induced trip warning. In a case study conducted in a certain part of northern China, the proposed continuous lightning strike trip warning method achieved an accuracy rate of 80% for transmission corridors of particular interest to power grid companies’ dispatch departments, enhancing the efficiency of warnings and reducing false alarms and missed reports.

The human gut microbiota plays a vital role in health and disease. Indole derivatives like indole, tryptamine and indoxyl sulfate represent important microbiota-associated metabolites and biomarkers of gut function. However, current techniques for analysis of these metabolites like mass spectrometry and HPLC suffer from limitations including high cost, complex sample preparation procedures, and long analysis times. In contrast, electrochemical sensing offers a rapid, simple and low-cost alternative with potential for point-of-care applications. We report a nanotip array-based electrochemical sensing platform for rapid, simple and sensitive quantification of indole derivatives. Silicon nanotip arrays were fabricated with controlled sub-micron morphology and coated with gold to form nanotip electrodes. Further modification with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) led to significantly enhanced electrochemical signal. Using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), distinct oxidation peaks were observed for indole, tryptamine and indoxyl sulfate, enabling sensitive detection down to nM levels. A broad linear dynamic range of 7 orders of magnitude demonstrated excellent quantitative capabilities. The sensor showed high reproducibility (

Abstract Background With the COVID-19 outbreak, an increasing number of individuals are concerned about their health, particularly their immune status. However, as of now, there is no available algorithm that effectively assesses the immune status of normal, healthy individuals. In response to this, a new score-based method is proposed that utilizes complete blood cell counts (CBC) to provide early warning of disease risks, such as COVID-19. Methods First, data on immune-related CBC measurements from 16,715 healthy individuals were collected. Then, a three-platform model was developed to normalize the data, and a Gaussian mixture model was optimized with expectation maximization (EM-GMM) to cluster the immune status of healthy individuals. Based on the results, Random Forest (RF), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) were used to determine the correlation of each CBC index with the immune status. Consequently, a weighted sum model was constructed to calculate a continuous immunity score, enabling the evaluation of immune status. Results The results demonstrated a significant negative correlation between the immunity score and the age of healthy individuals, thereby validating the effectiveness of the proposed method. In addition, a nonlinear polynomial regression model was developed to depict this trend. By comparing an individual’s immune status with the reference value corresponding to their age, their immune status can be evaluated. Conclusion In summary, this study has established a novel model for evaluating the immune status of healthy individuals, providing a good approach for early detection of abnormal immune status in healthy individuals. It is helpful in early warning of the risk of infectious diseases and of significant importance.

Abstract Objective A thorough examination of the available approaches is crucial to comprehensively understand the variance among the alignment strategies employed in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). In this study, we assessed the functional outcomes during the perioperative and postoperative periods of TKA in patients using generic instruments with varus knee to compare the mechanical alignment (MA) and kinematic alignment (KA) procedures. Methods A total of 127 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College who had undergone unilateral TKA between November 2019 and April 2021 were included. The patients with varus knee deformity were categorized into two groups [type I (n = 64) and type IV (n = 63)] based on the modified coronal plane alignment of the knee (mCPAK) classification. The type I and IV groups were further subdivided into MA (n = 30 and n = 32) and KA subgroups (n = 34 and n = 21), respectively. The clinical information collected included sex, surgical side, age, body mass index, and perioperative data [including operation time, intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification]. All patients were monitored for 12 months post-surgery to evaluate the recovery of knee joint function. During this period, the Knee Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement (KOOS JR) and the active range of motion (AROM) and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores were compared at different time points, i.e., before the operation and 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months post-operation. Additionally, the patients’ subjective experiences were assessed at 6 and 12 months post-surgery using Forgotten Joint Score Knee (FJS-12 Knee), while complications were recorded throughout the monitoring period. Results No significant variances were observed in ASA classification, operation duration, blood loss volume during surgery, and hospital stay length between the patients who underwent KA TKA and those who received MA TKA (P > 0.05). During the initial 6 weeks post-operation, the KA group exhibited a significantly reduced average VAS pain score (P 0.05). Furthermore, the KA group had significantly higher scores on the KOOS JR at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year following the surgery (P 0.05). The KA cohort also exhibited a significant increase in FJS-12 Knee at 1 year following the operation (P 0.05). Thus, compared to the MA method, the KA procedure provided pain relief and improved active motion range within 6 weeks after the surgery in patients undergoing TKA. Further, the KOOS JR exhibited significant increases at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year while the FJS-12 Knee demonstrated a significant increase at 1 year after the KA TKA procedure. Conclusion Therefore, our study results suggest that the KA approach can be considered in patients using generic instruments with varus alignment of the knee, particularly those with mCPAK type I and IV varus knees, to help improve patient satisfaction.

Abstract Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa primarily characterized by symptoms, such as nasal itching, sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion. It has a high recurrence rate and low cure rate, with a lack of effective drugs for treatment. The current approach to management focuses on symptom control. High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is a highly conserved non-histone protein widely present in the nucleus of eukaryotes. It is recognized as a proinflammatory agent, and recent studies have demonstrated its close association with AR. Here, we will elaborate the role and mechanism of HMGB1 in AR, so as to reveal the potential value of HMGB1 in the occurrence and development of AR, and provide a new target for clinical research on the treatment of AR.

Abstract Cell‐specific transcriptional regulatory networks (TRNs) play vital roles in plant development and response to environmental stresses. However, traditional single‐cell mono‐omics techniques are unable to directly capture the relationships and dynamics between different layers of molecular information within the same cells. While advanced algorithm facilitates merging scRNA‐seq and scATAC‐seq datasets, accurate data integration remains a challenge, particularly when investigating cell‐type‐specific TRNs. By examining gene expression and chromatin accessibility simultaneously in 16,670 Arabidopsis root tip nuclei, the TRNs are reconstructed that govern root tip development under osmotic stress. In contrast to commonly used computational integration at cell‐type level, 12,968 peak‐to‐gene linkage is captured at the bona fide single‐cell level and construct TRNs at an unprecedented resolution. Furthermore, the unprecedented datasets allow to more accurately reconstruct the coordinated changes of gene expression and chromatin states during cellular state transition. During root tip development, chromatin accessibility of initial cells precedes gene expression, suggesting that changes in chromatin accessibility may prime cells for subsequent differentiation steps. Pseudo‐time trajectory analysis reveal that osmotic stress can shift the functional differentiation of trichoblast. Candidate stress‐related gene‐linked cis‐regulatory elements (gl‐cCREs) as well as potential target genes are also identified, and uncovered large cellular heterogeneity under osmotic stress.

Combined with the light absorption from molecular vibration, photonic crystal (PhC) cavity structures have gradually shown great potential in gas detection, particularly for toxic gases. We proposed a PhC cavity with a high-quality factor of 1.24 × 106 and a small mode volume of 2.3 × 10−4 (λ/n)3, which was used for carbon monoxide detection. To reduce the interference of other gases, we set the resonance frequency in the terahertz band. The numerical analysis shows that the structure has good selectivity and high sensitivity, and the linear fitting of the results provides the possibility to realize the application, which has great competitiveness in the same type of sensor structure. Additionally, we also proved that the interference of H2O and CO2 on the CO sensing can be ignored, and it supports the detection of CO without pre-drying.

Stress granules (SGs), formed by untranslated messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs) during cellular stress in eukaryotes, have been linked to flavivirus interference without clear understanding. This study reveals the role of Zika virus (ZIKV) NS2B as a scaffold protein mediating interaction between protein phosphatase 1α (PP1α) and eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α). This interaction promotes eIF2α dephosphorylation by PP1α, inhibiting SG formation. The NS2B-PP1α complex exhibits remarkable stability, resisting ubiquitin-induced degradation and amplifying eIF2α dephosphorylation, thus promoting ZIKV replication. In contrast, the NS2BV35A mutant, interacting exclusively with eIF2α, fails to inhibit SG formation, resulting in reduced viral replication and diminished impact on brain organoid growth. These findings reveal PP1α's dual role in ZIKV infection, inducing interferon production as an antiviral factor and suppressing SG formation as a viral promoter. Moreover, we found that NS2B also serves as a versatile mechanism employed by flaviviruses to counter host antiviral defenses, primarily by broadly inhibiting SG formation. This research advances our comprehension of the complex interplay in flavivirus-host interactions, offering potential for innovative therapeutic strategies against flavivirus infections.

ABSTRACTMycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is commonly detected in children. However, the epidemiological trends of MP in Northeast (NE) China are unclear. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MP infections in this understudied region. The clinical manifestations and bronchoscopic findings observed in hospitalized patients with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (SMPP) were collected from comprehensive data obtained from six tertiary hospitals in NE and Inner Mongolian (IM) China, from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2023. A total of 5,593,530 children who visited the outpatient and emergency departments, and 412,480 inpatient hospitalized children were included in the study. The positivity rate of MP immunoglobulin M (IgM) in the children who visited the outpatient and emergency departments varied from 7.80% to 10.12%, whereas that of MP infection in hospitalized children ranged from 27.18% to 30.10%. Children hospitalized for MP infection were mainly concentrated in the 1- to 4-year (41.39%) and 4- to 7-year (24.25%) age groups. Before 2020, the season with the highest incidence of MP was winter. After the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), the MP epidemic season changed, and the number of children with MP infections decreased; however, the proportion of MP infections in hospitalized children did not change significantly. Starting from August 2023, the MP infection rate in outpatient, emergency, and hospitalized children increased sharply, with SMPP and its complications (e.g., plastic bronchitis and pleural effusion) increasing significantly. MP is prevalent in NE and IM, China. When the NPIs ended, MP infection showed a delayed outbreak trend, and the number of children with severe infection increased significantly.IMPORTANCEIn Northeastern (NE) and Inner Mongolia (IM), the incidence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infections, including severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (SMPP), is high, posing health risks and imposing substantial economic burdens on the local population. Therefore, it is imperative to prioritize the study of MP prevalence and address the research gaps in MP epidemiology in these areas of China. We obtained a comprehensive collection of pediatric outpatient, emergency, and inpatient data from six public Grade III hospitals. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because understanding regional variations in MP infections can help healthcare professionals tailor prevention and treatment strategies, and studying bronchoscopic manifestations can provide insights into the impact of the disease on the respiratory system, potentially leading to a more effective clinical management.

Infections of hepatotropic viruses cause a wide array of liver diseases including acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis and the consequently developed cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Among the five classical hepatotropic viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) usually infect human persistently and cause chronic hepatitis, leading to major troubles to humanity. Previous studies have revealed that several types of inflammasomes are involved in the infections of HBV and HCV. Here, we summarize the current knowledge about their roles in hepatitis B and C. NLRP3 inflammasome can be activated and regulated by HBV and HCV. It is found to exert antiviral function or mediates inflammatory response in viral infections depending on different experimental models. Besides NLRP3 inflammasome, IFI16 and AIM2 inflammasomes participate in the pathological process of hepatitis B, and NALP3 inflammasome may sense HCV infection in hepatocytes. The inflammasomes affect the pathological process of viral hepatitis through its downstream secretion of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 or induction of pyroptosis resulting from cleaved gasdermin D (GSDMD). However, the roles of inflammasomes in different stages of viral infection remains mainly unclear. More proper experimental models of viral hepatitis should be developed for specific studies in future, so that we can understand more about the complexity of inflammasome regulation and multifunction of inflammasomes and their downstream effectors during HBV and HCV infections.

Soil microorganisms play a key role in regulating soil organic carbon (SOC) accrual. Organic amendments with distinct stoichiometry may lead to imbalanced supply of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) to the microbiome, causing changes in microbial community composition and their life strategies, as well as enzyme production. However, the response of soil microorganisms to these imbalances and whether their adaptive strategies are related to the fate of SOC pools remain largely unknown in low-fertility paddy soil. To address this uncertainty, soils were sampled from a 12-year experimental fertilisation trial under integrated application of mineral fertilizers and three types of organic materials (green manure, rice straw, and cattle manure). Stoichiometric imbalances between soil microbes and their available resources, enzyme activities, and microbial community composition, and their linkages with soil particulate (POC) and mineral-associated (MAOC) organic C were investigated. The results showed that despite equal C input, strongest increase in MAOC occurred with organic amendments causing the smallest microbial C:N imbalance and C:P imbalance, suggesting that alleviation in N and P limitation was inductive to the accrual of soil stable organic C fraction. Additional organic amendments with lower C: nutrient ratios shifted the microbial community towards the prevalence of r-strategists, with cattle manure addition supporting copiotrophic bacteria and green manure addition favouring copiotrophic fungi. Importantly, the relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Actinobacteria belonging to copiotrophs were negatively related to microbial C:N imbalance and C:P imbalance, but positively related to POC and MAOC, while Chloroflexi, Basidiomycota and Glomeromycota belonging to oligotrophs exhibited reversed relationships. In addition, greater MAOC accrual was associated with an increase in microbial biomass and a decrease in biomass-specific P-acquiring enzyme activity. Random forest analysis and partial least squares path model revealed that microbial C:N imbalance and C:P imbalance played an important but indirect role in shaping MAOC by concurrently regulating soil microbial biomass, community composition and enzyme production, whereas the POC pool was predominantly and directly controlled by the proportion of macroaggregates. These results provide empirical evidence for the stoichiometric control of microbial communities and their feedback to SOC pools, highlighting the role of low C:nutrient ratio organic amendments for long-term storage and the persistence of C in intensively managed paddy soils.

The detection of tumor markers has significant importance in the early diagnosis of cancer. It is an important indicator for evaluating the extent of the disease and monitoring the efficacy of tumor treatment. Therefore, it is meaningful to find a convenient, fast, and sensitive method to detect tumor markers. Carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19-9) is the first discovered carbohydrate antigen tumor marker with the highest sensitivity and specificity for pancreatic cancer. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), as the most widely spectrum carbohydrate antigen tumor marker, can show an upward trend in many tumors. In this work, an electrochemical immunosensing platform was proposed for the detection of CEA and CA199. Nano-silicon sphere-cyclodextrin was synthesized for antibody capture. Graphene and gold nanoparticles were used to modify the electrode, improving the electronic conductivity of the electrode. The synthesized sensor can be used for highly sensitive detection of two tumor markers. This method also provides a new platform for clinical immune analysis of other biomolecules.

Abstract To compare the predictive value of mortality between left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) defined by Chinese thresholds and defined by international guidelines in hypertension individuals and investigate better indexation methods for LVH in Chinese population. We included 2454 community hypertensive patients with Left ventricular mass (LVM) and relative wall thickness. LVM was indexed to body surface area (BSA), height2 7 and height 1 7. The outcomes were all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality. Cox proportional hazards models were used to explore the association between LVH and the outcomes. C‐statistics and time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the value of those indicators. During a median follow‐up of 49 months (interquartile range 2–54 months), 174 participants (7.1%) died from any cause (n = 174), with 71 died of cardiovascular disease. LVM/BSA defined by the Chinese thresholds was significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality (HR: 1.63; 95%CI: 1.00‐2.64). LVM/BSA was significantly associated with all‐cause mortality using Chinese thresholds (HR: 1.56; 95%CI: 1.14‐2.14) and using Guideline thresholds (HR: 1.52; 95%CI: 1.08‐2.15). LVM/Height1.7 was significantly associated with all‐cause mortality using Chinese thresholds (HR: 1.60; 95%CI: 1.17‐2.20) and using Guideline thresholds (HR: 1.54; 95%CI: 1.04‐2.27). LVM/Height2.7 was not significantly associated with all‐cause mortality. C‐statistics indicated that LVM/BSA and LVM/Height1.7 by Chinese thresholds had better predictive ability for mortality. Time‐ROC indicated that only LVM/Height1.7 defined by Chinese threshold had incremental value for predicting mortality. We found that in community hypertensive populations, race‐specific thresholds should be used to classify LV hypertrophy related to mortality risk stratification. LVM/BSA and LVM/Height1.7 are acceptable normalization method in Chinese hypertension.

Lunar exploration is of significant importance in the development and utilization of in situ lunar resources, water ice exploration, and astronomical science. In recent years, ground-based radar (GBR) has gained increasing attention in the field of lunar exploration due to its flexibility, low cost, and penetrating capabilities. This paper reviews the scientific research on lunar exploration using GBR, outlining the basic principles of GBR and the progress made in lunar exploration studies. Our paper introduces the fundamental principles of lunar imaging using GBR and systematically reviews studies on lunar surface/subsurface detection, the dielectric properties inversion of the lunar regolith, and polar water ice detection using GBR. In particular, the paper summarizes the current development status of the Chinese GBR and forecasts future development trends in China. This review will enhance the understanding of lunar exploration results using GBR radar, systematically demonstrate the main applications and scientific achievements of GBR in lunar exploration, and provide a reference for GBR radar in future lunar exploration missions.

Synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) have been shown to be an ecofriendly alternative for promoting plant growth. However, the mechanisms by which SynCom inoculants drive plant growth promotion in rhizosphere soil are still not fully explored. Herein, we designed a three-strain consortium based on the biocompatibility among strains and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production. The consortium containing Bacillus safensis 5-49, Bacillus stratosphericus 5-54, and Bacillus halotolerans 6-30 possessed a synergistic effect on IAA production and biofilm formation. Genetic analysis suggested that IAA was synthesized through tryptophan-dependent pathways in the strains. The consortium outperformed the plant growth-promoting effect observed with single strains, showing an increase in walnut (Juglans regia) seedling dry weight by 92.3% over the non-inoculated plants after 60 days of cultivation. This effect was underpinned by the synergistic interactions of the consortium, which was evidenced by the significantly increased relative abundance of Bacillus and tryptophan metabolism-associated genes in the rhizosphere of consortium-inoculated plants. Meanwhile, the consortium increased the relative abundance of indigenous Pseudomonas in rhizosphere soil, providing a synergistic effect on improving soil enzyme activities and thus available nutrients. The available N, P, and K contents in the consortium-inoculated plant rhizosphere were 3.77–28.4% higher than those in non-inoculated samples. This work provided an efficient bacterial consortium and proposed the mode of action by which this consortium improved plant growth and soil fertility.

Summary: Short-term memory (STM) maintains information during a short delay period. How long-range and local connections interact to support STM encoding remains elusive. Here, we tackle the problem focusing on long-range projections from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the anterior agranular insular cortex (aAIC) in head-fixed mice performing an olfactory delayed-response task. Optogenetic and electrophysiological experiments reveal the behavioral importance of the two regions in encoding STM information. Spike-correlogram analysis reveals strong local and cross-region functional coupling (FC) between memory neurons encoding the same information. Optogenetic suppression of mPFC-aAIC projections during the delay period reduces behavioral performance, the proportion of memory neurons, and memory-specific FC within the aAIC, whereas optogenetic excitation enhances all of them. mPFC-aAIC projections also bidirectionally modulate the efficacy of STM-information transfer, measured by the contribution of FC spiking pairs to the memory-coding ability of following neurons. Thus, prefrontal projections modulate insular neurons’ functional connectivity and memory-coding ability to support STM.

The Bozhong 19–6 Condensate gas field is the first giant gas field discovered in the Bohai Bay Basin in recent years. The gas field reservoir has diverse reservoir space and strong heterogeneity.In this paper, we systematically summarize tectonic fractures development patterns and explore the main factors controlling fractures development and clarify the influence of fractures on reservoir quality through core and microscopic thin section observations, physical property data, imaging logging data. The results show that the major types of tectonic fractures in study area are shear fractures, followed by tensile fractures. Study area mainly developed high-angle fractures and completely filled fractures, fractures are commonly filled with carbonate and clay cement. Four groups of tectonic fractures were found in the study area, which corresponds to the four fracture formation period. Tectonic movement controls the fractures development in study area, the multi-stage tectonic movement had caused a complex fractures network system. The faults control the development of associated fractures formation in the fractures zone, different faults control the fractures formation and orientations in the vicinity. Rock type and minrals content is the basis of forming different fractures, such as the high felsic content is the basis of developed fractures in metamorphic rocks, and rock layer thickness, reservoir porosity and permeability are important factors of the fractures development heterogeneity longitudinally.

Abstract Zirconia implants have great application prospects due to their favorable biocompatibility and esthetic properties. However, the percentage of osseointegration of zirconia implants is lower than that of titanium implants. This study, structures bioactive surfaces on zirconia using a femtosecond laser combined with hydroxyapatite (HA) crystals and evaluates the surface morphology, functional groups, crystal phase, mechanical performance, and cell response. The results revealed that calcium phosphate deposition coincided with the establishment of micro‐grooves on the zirconia surface. The crystal composition and flexural strength of zirconia showed no significant changes after the surface treatment. Furthermore, the modified surface promoted cell adhesion and proliferation through adjustments in cell morphology. The findings suggest that the combination of femtosecond laser and HA crystals offers a clean, rapid, and controllable approach to preparing bioactive surfaces for zirconia implants.

Abstract Brain aging may accelerate after rodents reach middle age. However, the endogenous mediator that promotes this acceleration is unknown. We predict that the mediator may be expressed after an organism reaches middle age and dysregulates mitochondrial function. In the neurons of wild-type Drosophila (flies), we observed that mitochondria were fragmented in aged flies, and this fragmentation was associated with mitochondrial calcium overload. In a previous study, we found that mitochondrial fragmentation induced by calcium overload was reversed by the loss of Vimar, which forms a complex with Miro. Interestingly, Vimar expression was increased after the flies reached middle age. Overexpression of Vimar in neurons resulted in premature aging and mitochondrial calcium overload. In contrast, downregulation of Vimar in flies older than middle age promoted healthy aging. As the mouse homolog of Vimar, RAP1GDS1 expression was found to be increased after mice reached middle age; RAP1GDS1-transgenic and RAP1GDS1-knockdown mice displayed similar responses to flies with overexpressed and reduced Vimar expression, respectively. This research provides genetic evidence of a conserved endogenous mediator that promotes accelerated brain aging.

The catalytic asymmetric construction of axially chiral indole-based frameworks is an important area of research due to the unique characteristics of such frameworks. Nevertheless, research in this area is still in its infancy and has some challenges, such as designing and constructing new classes of axially chiral indole-based scaffolds and developing their applications in chiral catalysts, ligands, etc. To overcome these challenges, we present herein the design and atroposelective synthesis of aryl-pyrroloindoles as a new class of axially chiral indole-based scaffolds via the strategy of organocatalytic asymmetric (2 + 3) cyclization between 3-arylindoles and propargylic alcohols. More importantly, this new class of axially chiral scaffolds was derived into phosphines, which served as efficient chiral ligands in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric reactions. Moreover, theoretical calculations provided an in-depth understanding of the reaction mechanism. This work offers a new strategy for constructing axially chiral indole-based scaffolds, which are promising for finding more applications in asymmetric catalysis.

Abstract The prenylation of proteins is involved in a variety of biological functions. However, it remains unknown whether it plays an important role in the morphogenesis of the cerebellum. To address this question, we generated a mouse model, in which the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (Ggps1) gene is inactivated in neural progenitor cells in the developing cerebellum. We report that conditional knockout (cKO) of Ggps1 leads to severe ataxia and deficient locomotion. To identify the underlying mechanisms, we completed a series of cellular and molecular experiments. First, our morphological analysis revealed significantly decreased population of granule cell progenitors (GCPs) and impaired proliferation of GCPs in the developing cerebellum of Ggps1 cKO mice. Second, our molecular analysis showed increased expression of p21, an important cell cycle regulator in Ggps1 cKO mice. Together, this study highlights a critical role of Ggpps-dependent protein prenylation in the proliferation of cerebellar GCPs during cerebellar development.

Abstract Sparse inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging can be generally achieved by compressed sensing (CS) methods because sparse sampling disables the approach of conventional range Doppler. However, the CS‐based methods have to convert the matrix into a vector when the random sampling is adopted, which results in huge memory usage and high computational complexity. Note that matrix completion (MC) is suitable for matrix operations, which can recover random sparse data directly based on the low‐rank property of the echo matrix. In order to improve the performance of the conventional MC approaches, a novel reweighted matrix completion method for sparse ISAR imaging is proposed in this paper. To avoid using the same singular value thresholding of the traditional MC method to achieve a low‐rank solution, the reweighted scheme for singular values is applied to restrain the rank. Furthermore, the weights of the current iteration are updated with their singular values obtained in the former iteration, rather than using a fixed value. Then, the alternating direction method of multipliers is utilised to alternatively optimise the proposed model, which has an improved computational efficiency. Once the full data is recovered, the ISAR image can be achieved via the conventional 2D inverse fast Fourier transform. Experimental results based on measured data validate the proposed approach that can result in improving imaging performance within several seconds, which is tens of times faster than some reported low‐rank‐based methods.

Summary: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is characterized by atherosclerotic plaque formation in the arterial wall. CAD progression involves complex interactions and phenotypic plasticity among vascular and immune cell lineages. Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) studies have highlighted lineage-specific transcriptomic signatures, but human cell phenotypes remain controversial. Here, we perform an integrated meta-analysis of 22 scRNA-seq libraries to generate a comprehensive map of human atherosclerosis with 118,578 cells. Besides characterizing granular cell-type diversity and communication, we leverage this atlas to provide insights into smooth muscle cell (SMC) modulation. We integrate genome-wide association study data and uncover a critical role for modulated SMC phenotypes in CAD, myocardial infarction, and coronary calcification. Finally, we identify fibromyocyte/fibrochondrogenic SMC markers (LTBP1 and CRTAC1) as proxies of atherosclerosis progression and validate these through omics and spatial imaging analyses. Altogether, we create a unified atlas of human atherosclerosis informing cell state-specific mechanistic and translational studies of cardiovascular diseases.

Compared with the pure lead-based MAPbBr3 (MA = CH3NH3) perovskite single crystals (PSCs), tin–lead alloy (MAPbxSn1−xBr3) PSCs with higher carrier mobility and longer carrier lifetime are expected to perform as better-quality ionization radiation detectors. In this work, we design MAPbBr3–MAPb0.9Sn0.1Br3–MAPb0.8Sn0.2Br3 structure detectors by employing solution-process epitaxial growth. Because of the gradient change in tin element proportion, the relatively low mismatch rates between different PSC layers can effectively reduce defects generated at the interface, which improves charge collection efficiency. Moreover, band barriers between different PSC layers form depletion layers due to the differences in band structure, and the high resistivity and built-in electric field of depletion layers can suppress dark current under high voltages. The optimized detector exhibits a high x-ray detection sensitivity of 6.76 × 104 μC Gy−1 cm−2 and the lowest detectable dose rate of 7.4 nGy s−1 under 40 kVp x-ray radiation. Based on 241Am (5.95 MeV) α particle irradiation, tin–lead HD has lower detection noise and more obvious response compared to MAPbBr3 PSCs. The electron mobility was indicated as high as 612 cm2 s−1 V−1, and the mobility-lifetime (μτ) products were measured to be 3.5 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 using the Hecht equation, demonstrating superior transport properties.

Supercontinuum (SC) generation pumped by fiber lasers with short wavelengths below 2.0 μm is important since it can provide a compact light source for various applications. We review the progress of SC generation in various materials regarding the formation of the waveguides and point out the existing issues in the current investigations and possible solutions in the future.

Abstract Background Serum sodium level is associated with cardiovascular and endocrine health. Though decreased serum sodium is considered to be associated with reduced hypertension risk, some studies also found that it may increase the risk of diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the association of serum sodium with new‐onset diabetes in hypertensive patients. Methods Based on the annual health examinations from 2011 to 2016 in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China, hypertensive patients without diabetes at baseline were selected. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline were used to evaluate the association between serum sodium level and new‐onset diabetes. Subgroup analysis was also conducted. Results A total of 4438 hypertensive patients with a mean age of 58.65 years were included, of whom 48.9% were male. During a median follow‐up of 35.1 months, 617 (13.9%) of the subjects developed new‐onset diabetes. Per 1‐SD (3.39 mmol/L) increment of serum sodium was associated with a 14% lower risk of new‐onset diabetes (odds ratio = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.78, 0.97; p = 0.01). The lowest quartile of serum sodium was associated with the lowest diabetes risk. The restricted cubic spline showed a linear inverse relationship (nonlinear p = 0.72). Across all the subgroups, the inverse association was consistent (p for interaction >0.05). Conclusion An inverse association of serum sodium with new‐onset diabetes in hypertensive patients was observed.