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The inertia of manipulated objects contributes to natural human performance, but its effects on virtual reality (VR) interactions have rarely been investigated. Here, we designed a virtual goal-directed task, in which virtual objects with different masses were moved into a target hole. Based on synchronized kinematic and eye-tracking data, we examined the effects of inertia on participants' performance during the virtual task in a virtual environment. Our results indicated that hand movements presented greater spatial variability and more discontinuities when the inertial load was removed. It suggested a decline in the ability of motor control and feedback regulation, since the absence of an inertial load weakened the proprioception for sensing limb movements. Eye-movement evidence indicated that increased preferential allocations of visual attention contribute to compensating the weakened proprioceptive cues, supporting the kinematic results. These findings reveal the importance and mechanism of inertial effects on human behaviors in VR interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study offers an often-invisible narrative of Dharavi’s long-term development history, coupled with Bombay / Mumbai’s urbanization. It scrutinizes how diversely originated forms of ‘public space’ and plural ‘publics’ serve as local reproductions of the exogenous notion of ‘public’. Such scrutiny covers three phases of interactions between planning and everyday practices, characterized by periodic crises and radical transformations. Based on the framework of ‘stabilization, change and becoming’, the analysis underlines various dominant and concurrent processes of socio-spatial becoming and charts the dialectic relationship of stabilization and change. Various processes reveal the gradual (trans)formations, encounters, negotiations, mutual connections, and (re)appropriations of plural public spaces and social collectives. They underscore the reconciliation and interchange between structures and practices, survival and politics, as well as becoming and being. It therefore contributes to decolonizing efforts aimed at studying public space within the context of Southern urbanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saline soils limit plant growth due to high salinity. Straw returning has proven effective in enhancing soil adaptability and agricultural stability on saline lands. This study evaluates the effects of different straw-returning methods—straw mulching (SM), straw incorporation (SI), and straw biochar (BC)—on soil nutrients, water dynamics, and salinity in a barley–cotton rotation system using field box experiments. SM improved soil water retention during barley's jointing and heading stages, while SI was more effective in its filling and maturation stages. BC showed lesser water storage capacity. During cotton's growth, SI enhanced early-stage water retention, and SM benefited the flowering and boll opening stages. Grey relational analysis pinpointed significant water relationships at 10 cm and 20 cm soil depths, with SM regulating water across layers. SM and BC notably reduced soil conductivity, primarily within the top 20 cm, and their effectiveness decreased with depth. SI significantly lowered soil conductivity at barley's jointing stage. SM effectively reduced salinity at 10 cm and 20 cm soil depths, whereas BC decreased soil conductivity throughout barley's jointing, filling, and heading stages. For cotton, SI lowered soil conductivity at the seedling and boll opening stages. SM consistently reduced salinity across all stages, and BC decreased conductivity in the top 30 cm of soil during all growth stages. Both SM and BC significantly enhanced the total nutrient availability for barley and cotton, especially improving soil organic carbon and available potassium, with BC showing notable improvements. At barley's heading stage, SI maximized dry matter accumulation, while SM boosted accumulation in leaves, stems, and spikes during the filling and maturation stages. Straw returning increased barley yield, particularly with SM and BC, and improved water use efficiency by 11.60% and 5.74%, respectively. For cotton, straw returning significantly boosted yield and water use efficiency, especially with SI and SM treatments, enhancing the total bolls and yield. In conclusion, straw returning effectively improves saline soils, enhances fertility, boosts crop yields, and supports sustainable agriculture. These results provide a robust scientific foundation for adopting efficient soil improvement strategies on saline lands, with significant theoretical and practical implications for increasing agricultural productivity and crop resilience to salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let $S=\{s_{1}, s_{2}, \ldots \}$ be an unbounded sequence of positive integers with $s_{n+1}/s_{n}$ approaching $\alpha $ as $n\rightarrow \infty $ and let $\beta>\max (\alpha , 2)$. We show that for all sufficiently large positive integers l , if $A\subset [0, l]$ with $l\in A$ , $\gcd A=1$ and $|A|\geq (2-{k}/{\lambda \beta })l/(\lambda +1)$ , where $\lambda =\lceil {k}/{\beta }\rceil $ , then $kA\cap S\neq \emptyset $ for $2 and $k\geq {2\beta }/{(\beta -2)}$ or for $\beta>3$ and $k\geq 3$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between magnesium status and sleep quality is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between renal reabsorption-related magnesium depletion score (MDS) and sleep quality. This study was conducted through a cross-sectional survey of adults aged ≥20 years who participated in NHANES 2005–2014. We used weighted logistic regression to examine the association between MDS and sleep quality and performed trend tests to analyze for the presence of a dose-response relationship. Subgroup analyses were performed based on various sleep outcomes and covariates. A total of 20,585 participants were included in the study, with a mean age of 48.8 years and 50.7 % female. After adjusting for all covariates, we found a graded dose-response relationship between MDS and sleep trouble as well as sleep disorder. Further analyses revealed a significant positive association between MDS and sleep apnea (OR = 3.01; 95 % CI 1.37–6.62), but no association with restless legs, insomnia or insufficient sleep. In addition, subgroup analyses revealed that middle-aged, male, obese, low magnesium intake, and depressed patients were more prone to sleep trouble and sleep disorder; interestingly, MDS was positively associated with excessive sleep in subjects ≥60 years and without depression. Our study found a significant association between MDS and sleep quality, particularly sleep apnea, but adequate magnesium intake may be beneficial in mitigating this association. MDS may be associated with excessive sleep in older adults, but not with insufficient sleep or insomnia. • A graded dose-response relationship was found between MDS and sleep trouble/sleep disorder. • A significant positive association was found between MDS and sleep apnea. • No association was found between MDS and restless legs, insomnia or insufficient sleep. • MDS was positively associated with excessive sleep in subjects ≥60 years. • Adequate magnesium intake may be beneficial in ameliorating this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractGlobal population growth and demographic restructuring are driving the food and agriculture sectors to provide greater quantities and varieties of food, of which protein resources are particularly important. Traditional animal-source proteins are becoming increasingly difficult to meet the demand of the current consumer market, and the search for alternative protein sources is urgent. Microbial proteins are biomass obtained from nonpathogenic single-celled organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and microalgae. They contain large amounts of proteins and essential amino acids as well as a variety of other nutritive substances, which are considered to be promising sustainable alternatives to traditional proteins. In this review, typical approaches to microbial protein synthesis processes were highlighted and the characteristics and applications of different types of microbial proteins were described. Bacteria, fungi, and microalgae can be individually or co-cultured to obtain protein-rich biomass using starch-based raw materials, organic wastes, and one-carbon compounds as fermentation substrates. Microbial proteins have been gradually used in practical applications as foods, nutritional supplements, flavor modifiers, and animal feeds. However, further development and application of microbial proteins require more advanced biotechnological support, screening of good strains, and safety considerations. This review contributes to accelerating the practical application of microbial proteins as a promising alternative protein resource and provides a sustainable solution to the food crisis facing the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camellia oleifera byproduct is the residue after oil extraction from Camellia oleifera seed, which contain dietary nutrients such as crude protein, amino acids, carbohydrates and bioactive ingredients such as tea saponin, tannins, saccharicterpenin and polysaccharides. The development and utilization of byproduct of Camellia oleifera as feeding resources can alleviate the shortage of feed raw materials in China. The article combines the nutritional value and biological activity of Camellia oleifera byproduct, discusses the feeding effect of Camellia oleifera byproduct in animals, in order to provide reference for industrial development and utilization of Camellia oleifera byproduct as feed resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published evidence indicated that the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene polymorphisms are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) risk. However, studies on the association between the polymorphisms of LEPR gene are inconsistent or even controversial. We conducted this meta-analysis to explore the more precise relationship between LEPR polymorphisms and PCOS risk. Relevant articles were searched with five online databases up to March 1 2023. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were selected to examine the statistical strength of each genetic model. Moreover, RNA secondary structure and variant effects of these loci were examined with in silico analysis. Overall, 11 publications were analyzed, and the pooled results did not present any significant association between rs1137101 A/G polymorphism and PCOS risk in general population and some subgroup analysis. But the significant association were observed in Asian population (AG vs. AA: OR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.32–0.81, p =.01, I2=0%; AG + GG vs. AA: OR = 0.41, 95%CI = 0.26–0.65, p <.01, I2=25.9%). Moreover, similar positive associations were also observed in rs1805096 polymorphism with PCOS risk. In summary, our meta-analysis suggested that the LEPR gene polymorphisms might be associated with PCOS susceptibility. Owing to the limited studies and small sample size in our meta-analysis, more well-designed studies from different races were needed to be conducted to verify the current results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have limited predictive performance. In this study we aimed to investigate the feasibility of molecular tumor burden index (mTBI) in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a predictor for immunotherapy in patients with NSCLC. Methods: From February 2017 to November 2020, pretreatment and on‐treatment (3~6 weeks after first cycle of immunotherapy) dynamic plasma ctDNA samples from NSCLC patients receiving immune monotherapy or combination therapy were analyzed by targeted capture sequencing of 1021 genes. PyClone was used to infer the mTBI. The impact of pretreatment mTBI on survival outcomes was verified in the POPLAR/OAK trials. Results: We found that patients without detectable baseline ctDNA had better survival outcomes (median overall survival [OS]: not reached vs. 12.8 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.15; p = 0.035]). RB1 and SMARCA4 mutations were remarkably associated with worse survival outcomes. Furthermore, lower pretreatment mTBI was associated with superior OS (median: not reached vs. 8.1 months; HR, 0.22; p = 0.024) and PFS (median: 32.9 vs. 5.4 months; HR, 0.35; p = 0.045), but not objective response, which was validated in the POPLAR/OAK cohort, suggesting that baseline mTBI was a prognostic factor for NSCLC immunotherapy. Early dynamic changes of mTBI (ΔmTBI) significantly distinguished responsive patients, and patients with mTBI decrease to more than 68% at the final tumor evaluation had longer OS (median: 38.2 vs. 4.0 months; HR, 0.18; p = 0.017) and PFS (median: not reached vs. 2.3 months; HR, 0.24; p = 0.030). Conclusion: ΔmTBI had a good sensitivity to identify potential beneficial patients based on the best effect CT scans, demonstrating that mTBI dynamics were predictive of benefit from immune checkpoint blockade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are widely present in organisms, exhibiting broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and rarely developing resistance. Currently, research on AMPs in many species is still limited, and they have great potential for exploration. In this study, a class of AMPs called Cecropin was identified from insect transcriptome using bioinformatics. Novel Cecropin genes were discovered in several insects and three of them were selected for experimental validation. These peptides possess antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, exhibit a structure and mechanism of action similar to known Cecropins, and are non-toxic to mammalian cells. This study provides a reliable analytical method in the search for AMPs, which hold promising application prospects in diverse fields such as medicine, food, and beyond. Antibiotic resistance is a significant and growing threat to global public health. However, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown promise as they exhibit a broad spectrum of antibacterial activities with low potential for resistance development. Insects, which inhabit a wide range of environments and are incredibly diverse, remain largely unexplored as a source of novel AMPs. To address this, we conducted a screening of the representative transcriptomes from the 1000 Insect Transcriptome Evolution (1KITE) dataset, focusing on the homologous reference genes of Cecropins, the first identified AMPs in insects known for its high efficiency. Our analysis identified 108 Cecropin genes from 105 insect transcriptomes, covering all major hexapod lineages. We validated the gene sequences and synthesized mature peptides for three identified Cecropin genes. Through minimal inhibition concentration and agar diffusion assays, we confirmed that these peptides exhibited antimicrobial activities against Gram-negative bacteria. Similar to the known Cecropin, the three Cecropins adopted an alpha-helical conformation in membrane-like environments, efficiently disrupting bacterial membranes through permeabilization. Importantly, none of the three Cecropins demonstrated cytotoxicity in erythrocyte hemolysis tests, suggesting their safety in real-world applications. Overall, this newly developed methodology provides a high-throughput bioinformatic pipeline for the discovery of AMP, taking advantage of the expanding genomic resources available for diverse organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of the "Returning Farmland to Forest" project in the loess hilly region of China has led to the establishment of large-scale economic forests, which have become the dominant industry driving local economic development. However, the region faces challenges such as drought, water shortages, and an uneven distribution of precipitation, which have a severe impact on the growth of economic forests, including jujube trees. Water stress significantly reduces yield and efficiency, posing a threat to the sustainable and healthy development of jujube ecological and economic forests. Therefore, this study aimed to address these issues by implementing straw mulching (SM) and jujube branch mulching (BM) measures in the mountainous jujube economic forests. Through long-term monitoring and statistical analysis, the study investigated the effects of different mulching treatments on soil moisture and soil temperature. The research findings reveal that both SM and BM significantly increased soil moisture in the 0–280 cm soil layer during the jujube growing season (p < 0.05). In both normal precipitation (2014) and drought (2015) years, SM increased average soil moisture content by 5.10% and 4.60%, respectively, compared to the uncovered treatment (CK). SM also had a positive impact on the soil moisture content in each layer of the soil profile. However, BM only increased soil moisture content in the 40–100 cm and 220–280 cm soil layers. Additionally, SM and BM reduced the variation of soil moisture, with SM showing a more significant effect in regulating soil moisture and achieving more stable moisture levels. During the jujube growing seasons in 2014 and 2015, SM and BM decreased soil temperature in the 0–10 cm soil layer. The temperature difference compared to CK decreased with increasing soil depth. SM had an overcooling effect, while BM reduced the temperature before the fruit expansion period and maintained warmth afterward. Both SM and BM also reduced the daily range and variation range of soil temperature, with SM having a more pronounced effect. The temperature of the 0–20 cm soil layer exhibited the strongest correlation with air temperature, and SM showed the weakest response. In conclusion, adopting straw mulching and jujube branch mulching in rain-fed jujube orchards in the loess hilly region not only saves materials and reduces costs but also contributes to water retention and temperature regulation. Straw mulching, in particular, plays a more significant role in moisture retention and temperature regulation and is advantageous for soil management in rain-fed jujube orchards. These research findings provide a scientific basis for optimizing water and heat management in orchards with limited water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the comprehensive effects of straw returning on soil physical and chemical properties, as well as cotton growth in Jiangsu, China, and to determine suitable high-yield and efficient straw returning measures, this study implemented three different straw returning methods: straw mulching (SM), straw incorporation (SI), and straw biochar (BC), with no straw returning served as a control (CT). The study aimed to assess the impact of these straw-returning measures on soil nutrients, soil moisture content, soil water storage, and deficit status, as well as primary indicators of cotton growth. The findings revealed that the total available nutrient storage under SM, SI, and BC showed an increase of 11.93%, 11.15%, and 32.39%, respectively, compared to CT. Among these methods, BC demonstrated a significant enhancement in soil organic carbon content, available phosphorus, and available potassium. Furthermore, SM exhibited a considerable increase in soil moisture content across all layers (0–40 cm), resulting in an average water storage increase of 7.42 mm compared to CT. Consequently, this effectively reduced the soil water deficit during the cotton development period. Moreover, the height of cotton plants was increased by SM, SI, and BC, with SM promoting the greatest growth rate of up to 66.87%. SM resulted in an 11.17 cm increase in cotton plant height compared to CT. Additionally, SM contributed to higher chlorophyll content in leaves at the end of the growth period. Overall, the indicators suggest that straw mulching is particularly effective in enhancing soil moisture and nutrient distribution, especially during dry years, and has a positive impact on promoting cotton development. Based on the results, straw mulching emerges as a recommended straw-returning measure for improving soil quality and maximizing cotton production in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of vehicles (IoV) is an Internet-of-things-based network in the area of transportation. It comprises sensors, network communication, automation control, and data processing and enables connectivity between vehicles and other objects. This study performed main path analysis (MPA) to investigate the trajectory of research regarding the IoV. Studies were extracted from the Web of Science database, and citation networks among these studies were generated. MPA revealed that research in this field has mainly covered media access control, vehicle-to-vehicle channels, device-to-device communications, layers, non-orthogonal multiple access, and sixth-generation communications. Cluster analysis and data mining revealed that the main research topics related to the IoV included wireless channels, communication protocols, vehicular ad hoc networks, security and privacy, resource allocation and optimization, autonomous cruise control, deep learning, and edge computing. By using data mining and statistical analysis, we identified emerging research topics related to the IoV, namely blockchains, deep learning, edge computing, cloud computing, vehicular dynamics, and fifth- and sixth-generation mobile communications. These topics are likely to help drive innovation and the further development of IoV technologies and contribute to smart transportation, smart cities, and other applications. On the basis of the present results, this paper offers several predictions regarding the future of research regarding the IoV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the tumor boundary instability induced by nutrient consumption and supply based on a Hele-Shaw model. The model describes the geometric evolution of the tumor region and is derived from taking the incompressible limit of a cell density model, which leads to the pressure vanishing on the free boundary. We investigate the boundary behaviors under two different nutrient supply regimes, in vitro and in vivo, where in the former case the supply is adequate and in the latter case the supply is deficient. Our main conclusion is that by investigating typical solutions of the tumor-nutrient model with the asymptotic analysis with respect to the domain perturbation, the tumor boundary in the in vitro regime is shown to be stable regardless of the nutrient consumption rate. However, boundary instability occurs when the nutrient consumption rate exceeds a certain threshold in the in vivo regime, and the bifurcation threshold has a monotonic dependence on the frequency of the domain perturbation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper foregrounds the methodological question of how the heuristic research practices of mapping and ethnography operate together to co-produce situated knowledge of/with the urban margin. By critically reflecting on collaborative map-making with young adults in Dharavi (Mumbai), it argues for mapping as an open-ended collaboration in which mappers' various 'finding' and 'founding' acts to support the production of situated knowledge of an ever-shifting urban margin. The continuous efforts to make such knowledge visible is through re-reading, re-writing and re-drawing acts. The method prompted by this experience is proposed as 'popular cartography'. It aims to transcend mappers' backgrounds, technical skills, and disciplinary biases, and offers a collaborative medium for expressing often overlooked, opaque or difficult-to-describe lived experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malocclusions are a type of cranio-maxillofacial growth and developmental deformity that occur with high incidence in children. Therefore, a simple and rapid diagnosis of malocclusions would be of great benefit to our future generation. However, the application of deep learning algorithms to the automatic detection of malocclusions in children has not been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a deep learning-based method for automatic classification of the sagittal skeletal pattern in children and to validate its performance. This would be the first step in establishing a decision support system for early orthodontic treatment. In this study, four different state-of-the-art (SOTA) models were trained and compared by using 1613 lateral cephalograms, and the best performance model, Densenet-121, was selected was further subsequent validation. Lateral cephalograms and profile photographs were used as the input for the Densenet-121 model, respectively. The models were optimized using transfer learning and data augmentation techniques, and label distribution learning was introduced during model training to address the inevitable label ambiguity between adjacent classes. Five-fold cross-validation was conducted for a comprehensive evaluation of our method. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the CNN model based on lateral cephalometric radiographs were 83.99, 92.44, and 90.33%, respectively. The accuracy of the model with profile photographs was 83.39%. The accuracy of both CNN models was improved to 91.28 and 83.98%, respectively, while the overfitting decreased after addition of label distribution learning. Previous studies have been based on adult lateral cephalograms. Therefore, our study is novel in using deep learning network architecture with lateral cephalograms and profile photographs obtained from children in order to obtain a high-precision automatic classification of the sagittal skeletal pattern in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapies are a novel class of therapeutics used in vaccination and protein replacement therapies for monogenic diseases. Previously, we developed a modified ethanol injection (MEI) method for small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection, in which cationic liposome/siRNA complexes (siRNA lipoplexes) were prepared by mixing a lipid-ethanol solution with a siRNA solution. In this study, we applied the MEI method to prepare mRNA lipoplexes and evaluated the in vitro and in vivo protein expression efficiencies. We selected six cationic lipids and three neutral helper lipids to generate 18 mRNA lipoplexes. These were composed of cationic lipids, neutral helper lipids, and polyethylene glycol-cholesteryl ether (PEG-Chol). Among them, mRNA lipoplexes containing N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylhexadecan-1-aminium bromide (DC-1-16) or 11-((1,3-bis(dodecanoyloxy)-2-((dodecanoyloxy)methyl) propan-2-yl) amino)-N,N,N-trimethyl-11-oxoundecan-1-aminium bromide (TC-1-12) with 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) and PEG-Chol exhibited high protein expression in cells. Furthermore, mRNA lipoplexes composed of DC-1-16, DOPE, and PEG-Chol exhibited high protein expression in the lungs and spleen of mice after systemic injection and induced high antigen-specific IgG1 levels upon immunization. These results suggest that the MEI method can potentially increase the efficiency of mRNA transfection, both in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new rasorber with a switchable transmission/reflection band between two wide absorption bands is proposed based on an ultrathin low‐profile frequency selective surface. To miniaturise the periodicity in the lossy layer, convoluted elements and lumped capacitors are applied, while in the bandpass layer, non‐resonate elements are implemented with PIN diodes embedded. Moreover, a square loop loaded with resistors is introduced to the bottom of the lossy layer, which consequently extends the bandwidth of the high‐frequency absorption band without an increase in thickness. The simulation indicates that the proposed design presents a switchable transmission/reflection band in two‐sided absorption bands with a periodicity of 0.089λL (wavelength at the lowest operating frequency) and thickness of 0.066λL. Angular stability and polarisation insensitivity are also obtained due to the low profile and symmetry. A prototype was fabricated and measured, according to which the switchable transmission band covers 3.67–3.93 GHz; the absorption bands cover 2.37–3.23 GHz and 4.09–6.63 GHz in the OFF state of the diodes, and 2.23–3.02 GHz and 4.01–6.53 GHz in the ON state. As reasonable agreements between the measurement and simulation results are observed, the performance of the design is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of 20,898 adult psoriasis patients who were notified to the MPR, 547 patients (2.6%) underwent phototherapy within the last 6 months of MPR notification. Forty-nine percent of the phototherapy cohort had a BSA involvement of >10% compared with 21.2% in the non-phototherapy cohort, and more patients in the phototherapy-treated group had poorer quality of life (QoL) compared with the non-phototherapy group (DLQI >10: 46.6% vs 37.3%). On the other hand, 7 patients (13.2%) experienced worsening of DLQI despite improvement in BSA, and another 3 patients (5.7%) experienced worsening of both DLQI and BSA involvement. [Extracted from the article]

Background: DNA replication alteration is a hallmark of patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and is frequently observed in LUAD progression. Origin recognition complex (ORC) 1, ORC2, ORC3, ORC4, ORC5, and ORC6 form a replication–initiator complex to mediate DNA replication, which plays a key role in carcinogenesis, while their roles in LUAD remain poorly understood. Methods: The mRNA and protein expression of ORCs was confirmed by the GEPIA, HPA, CPTAC, and TCGA databases. The protein–protein interaction network was analyzed by the GeneMANIA database. Functional enrichment was confirmed by the Metascape database. The effects of ORCs on immune infiltration were validated by the TIMER database. The prognostic significance of ORCs in LUAD was confirmed by the KM‐plot and GENT2 databases. DNA alteration and protein structure were determined in the cBioProtal and PDB databases. Moreover, the protein expression and prognostic value of ORCs were confirmed in our LUAD data sets by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. Results: ORC mRNA and protein were significantly increased in patients with LUAD compared with corresponding normal tissue samples. The results of IHC staining analysis were similar result to those of the above bioinformatics analysis. Furthermore, ORC1 and ORC6 had significant prognostic values for LUAD patients. Furthermore, the ORC cooperatively promoted LUAD development by driving DNA replication, cellular senescence, and metabolic processes. Conclusion: The ORC, especially ORC1/6, has important prognostic and expression significance for LUAD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The thalamus has been reported to be associated with pain modulation and processing. However, the functional changes that occur in the thalamus of vestibular migraine (VM) patients remain unknown. Methods: In total, 28 VM patients and 28 healthy controls who were matched for age and sex underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. They also responded to standardized questionnaires aimed at assessing the clinical features associated with migraine and vertigo. Differences in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) were analyzed and brain regions with altered ALFF in the two groups were used for further analysis of whole-brain functional connectivity (FC). The relationship between clusters and clinical features was investigated by correlation analyses. Results: The ALFF in the thalamus was significantly decreased in the VM group versus the control group. In the VM group, the ALFF in the left thalamus negatively correlated with VM episode frequency. Furthermore, the left thalamus showed significantly weaker FC than both regions of the medial prefrontal cortex, both regions of the anterior cingulum cortex, the left superior/middle temporal gyrus, and the left temporal pole in the VM group. Conclusions: The thalamus plays an important role in VM patients and it is suggested that connectivity abnormalities of the thalamocortical region contribute to abnormal pain information processing and modulation, transmission, and multisensory integration in patients with VM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The subcritical and supercritical resonances of a 3-D cantilevered pipe conveying pulsating fluid are investigated. • The instability regions of the corresponding to the linear system are predicted by parametric analyses. • The bifurcation routes in two oscillating directions are constructed by varying the pulsating frequencies. • The planar and nonplanar vibrations are detected within several ranges of pulsating frequencies. This paper investigates the stability and three-dimensional (3-D) nonlinear dynamics of a cantilevered pipe with an internal fluid having a harmonic component of flow velocity superposed on a constant mean value. The nonlinear equations of motion for an inextensible cantilevered pipe with the consideration of internal pulsating flow are presented. The nonlinear inertial terms in the governing equations are replaced by equivalent displacement and velocity terms by using a perturbation method. The partial differential equations are then transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by using the Galerkin method. The instability regions of the subcritical and supercritical resonances of a linear system are determined via the Floquet theory. The effects of mean flow velocity and mass ratio are investigated. The resulting coupled nonlinear differential equations are numerically solved using a fourth-order Runge-Kutta integration scheme for the subcritical and supercritical flow velocities. The nonlinear dynamical responses are presented in the form of bifurcation diagrams, time histories, phase portraits, power spectral densities (PSDs) and Poincaré maps. Some interesting and sometimes unexpected results have been observed with different flow velocities. The analytical model is found to exhibit rich and variegated dynamical behaviors which include 2-D or 3-D periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic motions. The convergence analysis of the number of truncating modes in the Galerkin approach is also conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work isolated a strain named Bacillus amyloliquefaciens HM618 from the soil, which can inhibit the growths of Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, and Escherichia coli DH5α. Based on the results of response surface methodology, the surfactin levels of strain HM618 were elevated from 0.724 to 1.876 g/L and 0.995 to 1.888 g/L under the pure culture with the optimized medium (containing 62.39 g/L sucrose, 15.06 g/L yeast extracts, and 3.27 g/L aspartate) and under the coculture of strains HM618 and Bacillus subtilis 168 with the optimized medium (containing 50.52 g/L sucrose, 19.76 g/L yeast extracts, and 1.02 g/L glutamate), respectively. Additionally, influences of nonconstitutive amino acids involved in the biosynthesis of surfactin were also explored. The highest surfactin level reached 2.04 g/L after adding 3.0 g/L exogenous ornithine. However, the surfactin production of strain HM618 was significantly inhibited after adding the mixtures of nonconstitutive amino acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) is one of the most important quarantine diseases in the world. Breeding disease-resistant varieties can solve the problem of prevention and treatment of BLS from the source. The discovery of the molecular mechanism of resistance is an important driving force for breeding resistant varieties. In this study, a BLS-resistant near isogenic line NIL-bls2 was used as the material. Guangxi Xoc strain gx01 (abbreviated as WT) and its mutant strain (abbreviated as MT) with a knockout type III effectors (T3Es) gene were used to infect rice material NIL-bls2. The molecular interaction mechanism of rice resist near isogenic lines in response to infection by different pathogenic strains was analyzed by transcriptome sequencing. The results showed that there were 415, 134 and 150 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the WT group and the MT group at 12, 24 and 48 h of post inoculation (hpi). Through GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, it was found that, compared with non-pathogenic strains, the T3Es secreted by pathogenic strains inhibited the signal transduction pathway mediated by ethylene (ET), jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA), and the MAPKK (MAPK kinase) and MAPKKK (MAPK kinase kinase) in the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) cascade reaction, which prevented plants from sensing extracellular stimuli in time and starting the intracellular immune defense mechanism; and inhibited the synthesis of lignin and diterpenoid phytochemicals to prevent plants from establishing their own physical barriers to resist the invasion of pathogenic bacteria. The inhibitory effect was the strongest at 12 h, and gradually weakened at 24 h and 48 h. To cope with the invasion of pathogenic bacteria, rice NIL-bls2 material can promote wound healing by promoting the synthesis of traumatic acid at 12 h; at 24 h, hydrogen peroxide was degraded by dioxygenase, which reduced and eliminated the attack of reactive oxygen species on plant membrane lipids; and at 48 h, rice NIL-bls2 material can resist the invasion of pathogenic bacteria by promoting the synthesis of lignin, disease-resistant proteins, monoterpene antibacterial substances, indole alkaloids and other substances. Through transcriptome sequencing analysis, the molecular interaction mechanism of rice resistance near isogenic lines in response to infection by different pathogenic strains was expounded, and 5 genes, Os01g0719300, Os02g0513100, Os03g0122300, Os04g0301500, and Os10g0575100 closely related to BLS, were screened. Our work provides new data resources and a theoretical basis for exploring the infection mechanism of Xoc strain gx01 and the resistance mechanism of resistance gene bls2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Borel probability measure on ℝ n is called a spectral measure if the Hilbert space L 2 ⁢ (μ) has an orthonormal basis consisting of exponentials. In the present paper we show that, under a mild condition, compatible pairs and lacunary sequences generate homogeneous Moran spectral measures μ on ℝ n . As a consequence we show that compatible pairs are necessary and sufficient conditions for certain planar homogeneous Moran measures to become spectral ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we prepared small interfering RNA (siRNA)/cationic liposome complexes (lipoplexes) modified with folate (FA)-polyethylene glycol (PEG, MW 2000, 3400 or 5000)-1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE) to facilitate their uptake into tumor cells via folate receptor (FR), and with PEG1600-cholesterol (PEG1600-Chol) or PEG2000-chondroitin sulfate conjugate (PEG2000-CS), to enhance their systemic stability. Among the FA-PEG-modified siRNA lipoplexes, 0.5 mol% FA-PEG5000-DSPE-modified lipoplexes with 2.5 mol% PEG2000-CS or PEG1600-Chol (LP-0.5F5/2.5P2-CS and LP-0.5F5/2.5P1.6-CL, respectively) exhibited selective growth inhibition of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma KB cells through transduction with polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) siRNA. Furthermore, the LP-0.5F5/2.5P2-CS and LP-0.5F5/2.5P1.6-CL lipoplexes exhibited decreased agglutination with erythrocytes through PEGylation, and markedly decreased the accumulation of siRNA in murine lungs after systemic injection. Finally, systemic injection of LP-0.5F5/2.5P2-CS and LP-0.5F5/2.5P1.6-CL lipoplexes resulted in accumulation of siRNA in KB tumor xenografts. These findings suggest that PEGylation of FA-PEG5000-DSPE-modified siRNA lipoplexes with PEG2000-CS or PEG1600-Chol might improve their systemic stability without the loss of selective transfection activity in tumor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the first-time success rate and prognosis of repairing vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) by transvaginal and transvesical approaches, and to highlight a modified transvaginal repair technique which only require single layer closure of an annular vaginal flap. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 57 consecutive patients who underwent VVF repair between 2007 and 2021. Fistula characteristics, operative factors, post-surgical complications and outcomes were analyzed. Results: A total of 57 women with a median age of 50.4 (27–75) years were included. The history ranged from 7 days to 8 years, with an average of 20 months. 56 cases (98.2%) of VVFs were caused by pelvic surgery, and only one resulted from difficult labour. 11 cases (19.3%) had a history of surgical repair failure. All 57 cases of surgery were smoothly completed. Among them, 17 patients underwent transvaginal repair, whereas 40 (70.2%) women had transvesical repair. Transvaginal approach had a significantly shorter operative time, less intraoperative blood loss, reduced postoperative hospital stay, less hospitalization cost and lower minor complication rates than transvesical group (p < 0.05). No serious complications occurred in the two groups. No cystostomy was performed in the transvaginal group, but 12 cases (30%) in the transvesical group. The average follow-up time was 18.5 (3–48) months. The first-time success rates of transvaginal and transvesical techniques were 82.3 and 75%, respectively. Conclusion: VVF repair with single layer closure of an annular vaginal flap is a technically feasible, simple and successful approach with significantly better operative parameters and lower complications rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of transnational cloud platforms poses challenges to cross-border data governance, an understudied area in mainstream global Internet governance studies. Another gap is a critical political economy approach that contributes to a more historical, contextual and dialectical understanding of policy frameworks and their enacting actors, the state. Filling these gaps, this article uses the cloud computing development in China as an example to unpack the geopolitics of the cloud and tensions in data governance models. It argues that the state, neither obsolete nor irrelevant, is the core architect of the varying approaches that reflect the changing dynamics in information geopolitics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. To explore the normal changes in bone turnover markers (BTMs) and the correlations between the different BTMs after osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). Meanwhile, we explored the related differences that exist between sexes. Methods. A total of 130 OVCF patients were retrospectively reviewed. Using IBM SPSS 19.0 statistical software, the differences in the levels of BTMs and clinical parameters between sexes were assessed using Student's unpaired t test, and one-way ANOVA was used for the comparison of the three groups of samples. The correlations between P1NP, CTX, and clinical factors were assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results. P1NP was 52.15 ng/ml within two weeks in male patients, and the level increased to 96.33 ng/ml after 12 weeks; in female patients, the increase was not as obvious as in male patients. CTX in male patients reached as much as approximately twice the initial value after 12 weeks. However, the situation in female patients was diverse. CTX was 0.58 ng/ml within two weeks and increased to 0.61 ng/ml within 2-12 weeks after the onset of OVCF. Subsequently, CTX decreased suddenly after 12 weeks. The increase in P1NP levels within 2 weeks after OVCF was significantly correlated with the levels of osteocalcin (OC) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP). Changes in CTX within 2 weeks after OVCF were considerably related to phosphorus, 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD), OC, and BAP. Conclusion. The levels of P1NP and CTX increased differently in males and females after OVCF. The levels of OC and BAP were correlated with the levels of P1NP and CTX within 2 weeks of OVCF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with Ginsenoside Rd (GSRd) was studied using multiple spectroscopic methods, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), molecular docking and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The fluorescence experiments showed that GSRd quenched BSA intrinsic fluorescence via a static quenching process because of the formation of the GSRd-BSA complex. UV-visible and circular dichroism (CD) spectral studies indicated that the binding of GSRd to BSA resulted in the loosening and unfolding of BSA backbone, with the loss of partial α-helix structures. Also, thermodynamic parameters obtained from ITC experiment suggested that BSA-binding of GSRd was a spontaneous endothermic reaction driven by entropy, and that hydrophobic interactions were the main forces within the BSA-GSRd complex. Additionally, docking studies and DFT calculation further implied that hydrogen bonds also helped stabilize the GSRd-BSA system. These research results could help us better understand the pharmacokinetic behavior of GSRd, and provide useful conformational change information of BSA induced by the bound drugs, to the design of analogues drugs with more effective pharmacological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common subtype of nonsmall cell lung cancer. Cytochrome c (Cyt c), which is produced from mitochondria, interacts with a protein called Apaf-1 to form the heptameric apoptosome. This heptameric apoptosome then activates the caspase cascade, which ultimately results in the execution of apoptosis. The purpose of our research was to discover a new prognostic model that is based on cytochrome c-related genes (CCRGs) for LUAD patients. Through LASSO regression analysis conducted on the LUAD datasets included in the TCGA datasets, a CCRGs signature was created. The diagnostic accuracy of the multigene signature was verified by an independent source using the GSE31210 and GSE72094 datasets. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed. In this study, there were 159 differentially expressed CCRGs in the TCGA dataset, while there were 68 differentially expressed CCRGs in the GSE31210 dataset. Additionally, there were 57 genes that overlapped across the two datasets. Using LASSO and Cox regression analysis, a signature consisting of 12 differentially expressed CCRGs was developed from the total of 57 such genes. On the basis of their risk ratings, patients were categorized into high-risk and low-risk categories, with low-risk patients having lower risk scores and a greater likelihood of surviving the disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses both concluded that this signature is an independent risk factor for LUAD. ROC curves demonstrated that this risk signature is capable of accurately predicting the 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival rates of patients who have LUAD. The infiltration of antigen-presenting cells was higher in the low-risk group, such as aDCs, DCs, pDCs, and iDCs. The expression of multiple immune checkpoints was significantly higher in the low-risk group, such as BTLA, CD28, and CD86. Finally, we showed that the signature can be used to predict the drug sensitivity of already available or under investigational drugs. Overall, patient classification and individualized therapy options may benefit from this study's development of a powerful gene signature with high value for prognostic prediction in LUAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common coronary artery disease. The functional mechanism of circular RNA (circRNA) HECT, C2 and WW domain containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 2 (circ_HECW2, hsa_circ_0057583) in ox-LDL-treated human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (hCMECs) is still unclear.Expression levels of circ_HECW2, microRNA (miR)-942-5p, and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot assays. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed by 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. Tube formation assay was performed to analyze the angiogenesis of cells. Luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assays were performed to analyze the target relationship among circ_HECW2, miR-942-5p and TLR4.Circ_HECW2 and TLR4 expression levels were up-regulated and miR-942-5p expression was decreased in the serum of CAD patients and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced hCMECs. Knockdown of circ_HECW2 enhanced cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis in ox-LDL-treated hCMECs. MiR-942-5p was the target of circ_HECW2 and directly targeted TLR4. Moreover, the effect of circ_HECW2 knockdown could be weakened by anti-miR-942-5p, and TLR4 could restore the function of miR-942-5p on cell damage of ox-LDL-induced hCMECs.Circ_HECW2 could regulate ox-LDL-induced cardiovascular endothelial cell dysfunction through targeting miR-942-5p/TLR4 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an efficient approach based on the parallel alternating direction implicit (ADI) method is presented for the transient thermal simulation of liquid-cooled 3-D integrated circuits (ICs). To accurately characterize the thermal behaviors, a compact thermal model based on finite-difference approximation is established. The ADI method with linear time complexity is utilized to reduce computational cost, which can easily deal with large-scale problems. To suppress the oscillations of transient results in the case of large time steps, an effective technique using the exponentially expanding subtime steps is introduced, which improves the accuracy of results significantly. In addition, taking the advantage of parallel computing, the transient simulation is further accelerated by the parallel cyclic reduction (PCR) algorithm implemented on graphics processing units (GPUs). The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method are demonstrated by several numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an electrothermal co-design of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) slot antenna array combined with fin-shaped heatsink is proposed. The antenna array is constructed by 4 $\times8$ SIW slot elements. The heatsink structure above the antenna array not only improves the radiation performance of the antenna array but also enhances the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and the heat dissipation capability of the whole structure. The measured realized gains over the operating frequency range increase from 15.4–18.1 to 16.1–19.7 dBi when the heatsink is mounted on the antenna array. Meanwhile, the enclosed heatsink reduces the hotspot temperature rise of the system by 57%. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulated ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is still the major contributor to cancer-related mortality. Over 85% of patients suffer from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Mucins (MUCs) are large glycoproteins secreted or membrane-bound produced by epithelial cells in normal and malignant tissues. They are the major components of the mucous gel that covers the surface of the respiratory epithelium. Certain MUCs have been used or proposed to act as biomarkers for lung cancer. Nevertheless, the expression, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels, and the prognostic value of MUCs in NSCLC are yet to be investigated systematically. In this research, the biological information of MUC proteins in patients with NSCLC was examined using a series of databases. The results based on gene expression profiling interactive analysis (GEPIA) illustrated that the expression of MUC3A, MUC4, MUC5B, MUC13, MUC16, and MUC21 mRNAs was remarkably upmodulated in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients, whereas the MUC1 expression was downregulated in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) patients. Kaplan–Meier plotter (KM Plotter) analysis revealed that elevated mRNA expression levels of MUC3A and MUC16 were linked to unfavourable overall survival (OS) in NSCLC, while increased mRNA expression of MUC1 and MUC15 was linked to good OS, especially in LUAD patients. In addition, differential expression of MUC1, MUC3A/3B, MUC8, MUC12, MUC15, and MUC16 mRNA was linked to the prognoses of NSCLC patients with varied clinical-pathological subtypes. Genetic alterations of MUCs in NSCLC primarily involved mutations, fusion, amplification, deep deletion, and multiple alterations according to cancer genomics (cBioPortal). Therefore, we propose that combinations of MUC proteins can act as prognostic biomarkers and demonstrate the therapeutic potential for NSCLC-related therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modular approach to azulene building blocks was developed starting from readily available aryl‐substituted cyclopentadiene and ortho‐haloaryl aldehyde by dehydration condensation followed by palladium‐catalyzed C−H coupling. It facilitates the synthesis of four nonalternant isomers of pentacene and hexacene, namely, dibenzo[e,g]azulene, benzo[1,2‐f : 5,4‐f′]diazulene, benzo[1,2‐f : 4,5‐f′]diazulene, and naphtho[2,3‐f : 6,7‐f′]diazulene, which exhibit narrow band gaps with high stability in addition to protonation‐caused enhanced near‐infrared fluorescence. We discovered that in these isomers, i) constitutional isomerism influences significantly their photoelectric properties and ii) the elongation of the conjugation system does not necessarily lead to a narrowing in the band gap. Due to the easy modifiability of the nonazulene building blocks, this strategy can be extended to modularly prepare numerous multiazulene‐fused aromatics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modular approach to azulene building blocks was developed starting from readily available aryl‐substituted cyclopentadiene and ortho‐haloaryl aldehyde by dehydration condensation followed by palladium‐catalyzed C−H coupling. It facilitates the synthesis of four nonalternant isomers of pentacene and hexacene, namely, dibenzo[e,g]azulene, benzo[1,2‐f : 5,4‐f′]diazulene, benzo[1,2‐f : 4,5‐f′]diazulene, and naphtho[2,3‐f : 6,7‐f′]diazulene, which exhibit narrow band gaps with high stability in addition to protonation‐caused enhanced near‐infrared fluorescence. We discovered that in these isomers, i) constitutional isomerism influences significantly their photoelectric properties and ii) the elongation of the conjugation system does not necessarily lead to a narrowing in the band gap. Due to the easy modifiability of the nonazulene building blocks, this strategy can be extended to modularly prepare numerous multiazulene‐fused aromatics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groups on the upper rim of cavitands can play major roles in the recognition of small molecules. Water‐soluble deep cavitands 1, 2 or 3 bearing the walls upper rim of imidazole, urea, and methyl urea, respectively, were synthesized and characterized as hosts of small‐molecule guests. The vase forms of 1 or 2 are stabilized through H‐bonding to solvent water molecules between adjacent walls. Various small alkyl organic molecules – alcohols, halides, cycloalkane derivatives and heterocycles – are efficiently bound in 1. For n‐alcohols (C5 to C12), the −OH end is fixed at the upper rim and the alkyl parts are in the hydrophobic cavity. The longer alcohol guests (C7–C12) show coiling. Cycloalkane guests rotate rapidly on all 3 axes within the host cavity, while heterocycles show orientations placing their heteroatoms near the cavitand rim. Competition studies between alkyl chlorides, bromides and iodides showed preference for binding of iodides in 1. Competition between cavitands for hexyl halide guests halide showed the order 2>1>3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aimed to assess the depression and anxiety status and their association with sleep disturbance among one single center Chinese inpatients with arrhythmia and help cardiologists better identify patients who need psychological care. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 495 inpatients with arrhythmia treated in Fuwai Hospital from October to December 2019. The psychological status and sleep quality were assessed using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the potential risk factors for anxiety and depression. Results: The mean age of the participants was 52.8 ± 14.4 years, and 58.0% were male. Approximately 18.3% were in an anxious state, and 33.5% were in a depressive state. In multivariate logistic regression, age from 50 to 59 (p = 0.03), unemployment (p = 0.026) and sleep disturbance (p < 0.001) were the risk factors for anxiety status. Cardiac implanted electronic devices (CIEDs) (p = 0.004) and sleep disturbance (p < 0.001) were the risk factors for depression status. A total of 150 patients (30.3%) were categorized as having poor sleep quality (PSQI > 7). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of having poor sleep quality was 4.30-fold higher in patients with both anxiety and depression (OR: 4.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.52– 7.35); 2.67-fold higher in patients with depression (OR: 2.67; 95% CI: 1.78– 4.00); and 3.94-fold higher in patients with anxiety (OR: 3.94; 95% CI: 2.41– 6.44). Conclusions: Psychological intervention is critical for Chinese inpatients with arrhythmia, especially for patients aged 50– 59, unemployed, or those using CIEDs. Poor sleep quality could be an important risk factor linked to psychological disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, we demonstrated that cationic liposomes comprised of N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylhexadecan-1-aminium bromide, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine and poly(ethylene glycol) cholesteryl ether induced substantial protein expression both in vitro and in vivo following the administration of mRNA/cationic liposome complexes (mRNA lipoplexes). The present study evaluated the effect of vorinostat, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on protein expression levels in vitro and in vivo following the administration of mRNA lipoplexes. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of vorinostat for human cervical carcinoma HeLa and human liver cancer HepG2 cells were determined to be 7.8 and 2.6 µM, respectively, following a 24 h incubation period. Treatment with 1 µM vorinostat resulted in a 2.7-fold increase in luciferase (Luc) activity for HeLa cells and a 1.6-fold increase for HepG2 cells at 24 h post-transfection with firefly Luc (FLuc) mRNA lipoplexes compared with untreated cells. However, treatment with 10 µM vorinostat decreased Luc activity compared with treatment with 1 µM vorinostat. Intravenous injection of Cy5-labeled mRNA lipoplexes into mice resulted in mRNA accumulation primarily in the lungs; however, co-injection with vorinostat at doses of 5 or 25 mg/kg resulted in mRNA accumulation in both the lungs and liver. Furthermore, intravenous injection of FLuc mRNA lipoplexes resulted in high Luc activity in both the lungs and spleen. Nevertheless, co-injection with vorinostat slightly decreased Luc activity in the lungs but not in the spleen. These findings indicated that vorinostat enhances in vitro protein expression from transfected mRNA after treatment with a lower concentration of IC50; however, it does not largely affect in vivo protein expression from the transfected mRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagram illustrating the potential mechanism of BmNPV infection in the 306 strain. The three-color modules represent distinct signaling pathways: NF-kB (depicted in purple), MAPK (illustrated in green), and JAK/STAT (highlighted in pink). Genes outlined in red signify upregulation, while those outlined in green denote downregulation. Genes outlined in black represent expression levels of uncertainty. Illustrations were generated using BioRender. [Display omitted] • Integration of third-generation and second-generation high-throughput sequencing technologies for precise identification and analysis of alternative splicing (AS) patterns. • Identification of five pivotal genes (Dsclp, LOC692903, LOC101743583, LOC101742498, LOC101743809) associated with the response to BmNPV infection. • Discovery of novel transcripts, expanding the current understanding beyond what is available in SilkBase. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, stands out as one of the few economically valuable insects within the realm of model organisms. However, Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) poses a significant threat, decreasing the quality and quantity of silkworm cocoons. Over the past few decades, a multitude of researchers has delved into the mechanisms that underlie silkworm resistance to BmNPV, employing diverse methodologies and approaching the problem from various angles. Despite this extensive research, the role of alternative splicing (AS) in the silkworm's response to BmNPV infection has been largely unexplored. This study leveraged both third-generation (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) and second-generation (Illumina) high-throughput sequencing technologies to meticulously identify and analyze AS patterns in the context of BmNPV response, utilizing two distinct silkworm strains—the susceptible strain 306 and the resistant strain NB. Consequently, we identified five crucial genes (Dsclp , LOC692903, LOC101743583, LOC101742498, LOC101743809) that are linked to the response to BmNPV infection through AS and differential expression. Additionally, a thorough comparative analysis was conducted on their diverse transcriptomic expression profiles, including alternative polyadenylation, simple sequence repeats, and transcription factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of high-precision machine learning models relies on large-scale data collection from IoT devices. Since the training data involves sensitive user information, it is essential to design a privacy-preserving machine learning (PPML) paradigm to obtain reliable models without leaking data. Due to the diversity of IoT devices, the collected data from multiple sources often has different attributes, namely vertically partitioned data. PPML over vertically settings (abbreviated as VPPML) is more challenging than horizontal cases since VPPML requires both secure feature integration and sample aggregation. Most of existing VPPML approaches require multi-round interactions among multiple users and servers, therefore exhibiting high computation and communication overheads. To close this gap, we propose an efficient framework VPPLR to realize the security training for logistic regression. We employ a well-designed structure to reformulate the gradient update rules, ensuring that any user can go offline after uploading the rearranged local data to the cloud server in secret sharing. In the training phase, we introduce vectorization approach to complete the global parameter update in the plain-domain through common channel, thereby going beyond approaches depending on homomorphic encryption in efficiency. We illustrate the performance of our VPPLR in developing classifiers using private IoT data in vertically partitioned scenarios by comparing it with the advanced PPLR methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate controlled wildfires in the Changjiang River Basin before the mid-Holocene. • Enhancing human activities induced the fire regime shift since ∼ 5 ka. • Farming and bronze smelting promoted natural landscape changes by fire use. Deforestation and technical innovation have changed the natural fire regimes, topography and carbon reservoirs during the history of human evolution. Recognition of the timing, scope, and magnitude of wildfire events in large river basins such as the Changjiang (Yangtze River) is essential for understanding the impacts of climate forcing and human perturbation on Earth surface processes. Here, we present a multi-proxy study based on the pollen and black carbon (BC) abundance in sediments of Core CM97 taken from the Changjiang Delta, aiming to reconstruct the paleo-fire history in the Changjiang River Basin and further disentangle anthropogenic and climatic influences on fire regimes during the Holocene. Our results show that the average BC abundance increased from 0.88 ‰ at 12–8 cal kyr BP to 1.17 ‰ at 8–5 cal kyr BP, well corresponding to the evolution of the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM). This suggests the wildfire occurrences were dominated by hydroclimatic conditions during 12–5 cal kyr BP. After the early Bronze Age (∼5 cal kyr BP), the sustained high anomaly of BC abundance (average 1.30 ‰), however, was decoupled from the weakened monsoon climate. We propose that this might be associated with anthropogenic destruction of natural forests through fire-assisted agriculture and bronze smelting. Especially, with the prosperity of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE − 220 CE), a rapid increase in population promoted the transition of ecosystem (vegetation type) from forests to permanent farmlands in the drainage basin. Human intervention has overwhelmed the long-term climate control over wildfire, plant diversity, soil erosion, and sediment source-to-sink processes, suggesting the dominance of anthropogenic activities on nature over the last 2 kyrs. Our study provides deep insight on the enhancing perturbation of human activities on Earth's surface at a continental scale and provides more constraints on the Anthropocene epoch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported metal catalysts are important in many industrial reactions. It is reported that support materials are not always inert, and in some cases could even interact with metal nanoparticles (NPs) actively via various ways. In particular, the strong metal‐support interaction (SMSI), referring to metal NPs covered by support materials, affects catalysis at the active sites on the metal NP surface, which can serve as a very effective method in tuning and improving catalytic performance. By tailoring the support materials or controlling the treatment processes, different kinds of SMSI, such as classical SMSI, oxidative SMSI, wet‐chemistry SMSI, and adsorbate‐mediated SMSI, can be achieved. This concept summarizes the general strategies to tune SMSI and discusses the key results. Moreover, a new proposal is presented to tailor SMSI by combining both the exposed facets of the support materials and external environments. Furthermore, the challenges faced at present are discussed and useful insights for future research concerning this topic are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a set A of positive integers and any positive integer n, let $R_{1}(A, n)$ , $R_{2}(A,n)$ and $R_{3}(A,n)$ denote the number of solutions of $a+a^{\prime }=n$ with $a, a^{\prime }\in A$ and the additional restriction that $a for $R_{2}$ and $a\leq a^{\prime }$ for $R_{3}$. We consider Problem 6 of Erdős et al. ['On additive properties of general sequences', Discrete Math.136 (1994), 75–99] about locally small and locally large values of $R_{1}, R_{2}$ and $R_{3}$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the problem of convergence of a class of trigonometric series supported on the generalized Bernoulli convolutions μ on ℝ. Our main result shows that, under a technical condition, there are continuum many exponential orthonormal bases for L 2 (μ) such that the associated mock Fourier series converge to itself in the sense of uniform, L p (1 ≤ p ≤ ∞) -norm and μ -almost pointwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flotation separation of magnetite and quartz is a long-term challenge for the beneficiation industry. For high-quartz magnetite, conventional flotation shows poor separation effect, resulting in the waste of resources and low flotation efficiency. In this paper, dodecylamine acts as a collector and Al(III) ions in water act as a depressant to selectively separate magnetite and quartz at high alkalinity. The experimental results are analyzed by a micro-flotation experiment, solution chemical calculation, zeta potential, contact angle measurement, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of micro-flotation experiments showed that Al(III) ions in water inhibited magnetite more strongly than quartz. The calculation results of solution stoichiometry and zeta potential showed that the phase formed by Al(III) ions on the surface of magnetite and quartz are mainly Al(OH)3(s), which covers the surface of magnetite and quartz, The contact angle measurement results showed that with the addition of Al(III) ions, the contact angle of magnetite varies significantly than that of quartz, and the floatability of magnetite is lower than that of quartz. The FT-IR results further indicated that the addition of Al(III) ions could hinder the adsorption of dodecylamine on the magnetite surface. Meanwhile, the addition of Al(III) ions has no obvious effect on the adsorption of dodecylamine on the quartz surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the average power handling capability (APHC) of microstrip lines is studied which considers both the heat convection and self-heating effects (SHEs) with temperature-dependent resistivity. A modified parallel-plate model (MPM) is developed to improve the prediction accuracy of APHCs. First, an effective thermal conductivity is used as correction in the original parallel-plate model. After that, the impact of heat convection on the microstrip line is combined in MPM, which matters in realistic situations. Finally, MPM is extended to account for SHEs of metal lines with temperature-dependent resistivities. For validation, APHCs of several microstrip lines with different dielectric substrates are investigated. The results agree well with those simulated by the commercial multiphysics solver, which confirms the validity and accuracy of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical thermal model for AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) is proposed in this article. By means of the conformal mapping technique, the device structure is transformed into a simplified geometry, and the solution to the heat conduction equation is easily obtained. The model is capable of accurately predicting the maximum temperature rise of the device channel. Moreover, based on the superposition principle, this model provides an accurate estimation of thermal coupling between the gate fingers of multifinger devices, as well as the temperature rise of each gate finger. In addition, the temperature-dependent and orthotropic properties of thermal conductivity can also be taken into consideration. The proposed model provides an efficient prediction of hot spots in AlGaN/GaN devices. The accuracy of this model is verified by the simulation results and experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]