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ABSTRACT Domestication has shaped the population structure and agronomic traits of tea plants, yet the complexity of tea population structure and genetic variation that determines these traits remains unclear. We here investigated the resequencing data of 363 diverse tea accessions collected extensively from almost all tea distributions and found that the population structure of tea plants was divided into eight subgroups, which were basically consistent with their geographical distributions. The genetic diversity of tea plants in China decreased from southwest to east as latitude increased. Results also indicated that Camellia sinensis var. assamica (CSA) illustrated divergent selection signatures with Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (CSS). The domesticated genes of CSA were mainly involved in leaf development, flavonoid and alkaloid biosynthesis, while the domesticated genes in CSS mainly participated in amino acid metabolism, aroma compounds biosynthesis, and cold stress. Comparative population genomics further identified ~730 Mb novel sequences, generating 6,058 full‐length protein‐encoding genes, significantly expanding the gene pool of tea plants. We also discovered 217,376 large‐scale structural variations and 56,583 presence and absence variations (PAVs) across diverse tea accessions, some of which were associated with tea quality and stress resistance. Functional experiments demonstrated that two PAV genes (CSS0049975 and CSS0006599) were likely to drive trait diversification in cold tolerance between CSA and CSS tea plants. The overall findings not only revealed the genetic diversity and domestication of tea plants, but also underscored the vital role of structural variations in the diversification of tea plant traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research indicates that phubbing can negatively influence adolescent development, it is not clear how perceived parental phubbing, adolescent phubbing, and adolescents' adjustment problems concurrently relate to each other at the dimension level. This study conducted the contemporaneous network analyses and cross-lagged network analysis to examine the distinct relationships between the various dimensions of perceived father phubbing, perceived mother phubbing, adolescent phubbing and adolescent's adjustment problems. A total of 1447 Chinese students (60.5% females; Mean age = 16.15, SD = 0.65) completed a survey at two-time points. The results of the contemporaneous network analyses indicated that perceived father/mother ignorance have the strongest links with the dimensions of adolescent phubbing and adolescents' adjustment problems, suggesting that adolescents who reported high levels of perceived father/mother ignorance are more likely to concurrently face other issues and thus should be a primary focus of concern. The cross-lagged panel network analysis revealed that academic burnout is the primary catalyst in this dynamic network, which underscores a child-driven effect within the network. This emphasizes the importance of addressing adolescent academic burnout as a pivotal intervention point, both to alleviate phubbing in parent-adolescent interactions and to tackle adolescents' adjustment problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between dietary protein intake and constipation remains inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate whether dietary protein intake is associated with constipation. Methods: This cross‐sectional study included 13,941 adults from the 2005 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A weighted logistic regression analysis was used to control for confounding factors. In addition, weighted interaction and stratified analyses were conducted to ascertain the potential modifying factors. Results: The prevalence of constipation was 7.5% when constipation was defined by stool consistency and 3.5% when constipation was defined by stool frequency. After adjusting for covariates, an increase in dietary protein intake of 10 g was not associated with constipation, as defined by stool frequency (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.54, 1.62) or stool consistency (OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.75, 1.39). Subgroup analyses revealed that dietary protein intake was associated with an increase in constipation defined by stool consistency risk in participants who consumed a low amount of carbohydrates (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02–1.14 for every 10‐g increase in protein intake), but a decrease in risk in participants in the moderate‐carbohydrate group (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.89–0.99 for every 10‐g increase in protein intake), suggesting a significant interaction (p = 0.001). Conclusion & Inferences: Dietary protein intake is not associated with stool consistency or frequency‐defined constipation. However, the association between dietary protein intake and constipation defined by stool consistency in participants with a low carbohydrate intake differed from that in participants with a moderate carbohydrate intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents play a crucial role in adolescents' Internet use. Both general parenting (i.e., autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting) and Internet-specific parenting (i.e., restrictive mediation, active mediation, and parental encouragement) are related to adolescents' online behaviors. However, existing studies have focused either on an Internet-specific parenting or general parenting strategy and have neglected their interaction, failing to capture the intricate nature of the parenting context of youth's online behaviors. Few studies have examined parental encouragement or acknowledged the bidirectional influence of parenting on adolescents' online behaviors. To address this gap, this study employed a cross-lagged panel network model to examine the associations among restrictive and active mediation, parental encouragement, and autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting, as well as the interplay of all five parenting strategies with adolescents' online behaviors. A total of 564 Chinese students (51.1% male; mean age = 14.54, SD = 0.7) completed the survey at two time points. The results indicate that in most cases, previous online behaviors are significant and strong predictors of subsequent parenting strategies and not vice versa, corroborating the child effect. The parent and reciprocal effects were observed in the problematic smartphone-use domain, suggesting that the effects may differ for distinct behavioral domains. The effects of parental mediation extend beyond parental encouragement, implying that risk-prevention-related parenting is an effective means of guiding adolescents' online behaviors. Autonomy-relevant general parenting is closely related to active mediation and parental encouragement, while restrictive general parenting is closely related to restrictive mediation, suggesting a consistency between Internet-specific and general parenting strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychopathy is closely related to many negative interpersonal outcomes in daily life, including violence. Therefore, psychopathy intervention in subclinical individuals has significant application value. Objective: Guided by the personality–relationship transaction model and social investment theory, this study examined how marital quality affects self‐ and partner‐rated psychopathy. We also used the actor–partner interdependence mediation model to explore the mediating effect of communication. Methods: We examined self‐reports and partner reports of psychopathy, marital quality, and communication among 260 married Chinese couples. Results: The results indicated that marital quality directly influenced couples' self‐rated psychopathy, with both actor and partner effects on husbands' psychopathy and actor effects on wives' psychopathy. Moreover, verbal communication had mediating effects at time 2 between marital quality at time 1 and partner‐reported psychopathy at time 3. Meanwhile, the mediating effect of nonverbal communication was not significant. Conclusion: Our investigation of relationship effects on psychopathy revealed that the underlying mechanisms differed between self‐ and partner‐rated psychopathy. The findings can highlight directions for exploring potential intervention strategies for subclinical psychopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the comprehensive performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) ferritic stainless steel (FSS) interconnectors, a novel approach involving composite electrodeposition and thermal conversion is proposed to prepare Ni-doped Co-Mn composite spinel protective coatings on FSS surfaces. The process involves the composite electrodeposition of a Ni-doped Co-Mn precursor coating, followed by thermal conversion to obtain the Co-Mn-Ni composite spinel coating. Crofer 22H was used as the substrate and orthogonal experiments were designed to investigate the influences of deposition solution pH, stirring rate, cathode current density, and the element content of Mn and Ni on the surface morphology and properties of the composite coatings, respectively. The characterization of the prepared coatings was conducted through macroscopic and microscopic morphology observations of the component surface, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, and area specific resistance (ASR) testing, etc. Finally, the optimized composite electrodeposition parameters and the Mn-Ni content ratio in the solution were obtained. Experimental results indicated that the composite spinel coating prepared with the optimized process parameters exhibited excellent adhesion to the substrate, and the diffusion and migration of Cr element has been effectively inhibited. Compared with the substrate, the ASR of the coated components has also been decreased simultaneously, which provided an effective method for the surface modification of SOFC FSS interconnectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, an efficient and multidimensional central scheme has been proposed by applying the limiting process diagonally (Yan et al. (2023) [25]). The aforementioned approach is applied to solve the two-dimensional shallow water equations with non-flat bottom topography in this study. The nonnegativity of the updated water depth is preserved under a reasonable CFL condition. The well-balancedness is achieved by simply applying central difference discretization to the source term using the surface gradient method. The conservation of water mass is obtained by changing the scheme into conservation form. All the key features of the present scheme have been rigorously proven. Several numerical experiments are provided to illustrate the robustness of the proposed scheme, including simulations of shallow water equations with Manning's bottom friction and Coriolis forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matrix factorizations in dual number algebra, a hypercomplex number system, have been applied to kinematics, spatial mechanisms, and other fields recently. We develop an approach to identify spatiotemporal patterns in the brain such as traveling waves using the singular value decomposition (SVD) of dual matrices in this paper. Theoretically, we propose the compact dual singular value decomposition (CDSVD) of dual complex matrices with explicit expressions as well as a necessary and sufficient condition for its existence. Furthermore, based on the CDSVD, we report on the optimal solution to the best rank-k approximation under a newly defined quasi-metric in the dual complex number system. The CDSVD is also related to the dual Moore--Penrose generalized inverse. Numerically, comparisons with other available algorithms are conducted, which indicate less computational costs of our proposed CDSVD. In addition, the infinitesimal part of the CDSVD can identify the true rank of the original matrix from the noise-added matrix, but the classical SVD cannot. Next, we employ experiments on simulated time-series data and a road monitoring video to demonstrate the beneficial effect of the infinitesimal parts of dual matrices in spatiotemporal pattern identification. Finally, we apply this approach to the large-scale brain functional magnetic resonance imaging data, identify three kinds of traveling waves, and further validate the consistency between our analytical results and the current knowledge of cerebral cortex function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying is a goal-directed behavior that has long been in the spotlight of worldwide school mental health programs and research. However, the role of popularity goals in bullying and its potential mechanisms are unclear for adolescents in a non-Western cultural context. Based on 333 Chinese adolescents (52% female), the current study was the first to explore the potential moderating roles of popularity status and cognitive empathy in the association between popularity goals and early Chinese adolescents' bullying behaviors. Moderated moderation analyses indicated that popularity status and cognitive empathy significantly moderated the positive relationship between popularity goals and Chinese adolescents' bullying behaviors. Specifically, the statistically significant three-way interaction revealed that low popularity status and low cognitive empathy strengthen the positive links between popularity goals and bullying. The significant two-way interaction showed that the positive relations between popularity goals and bullying were stronger for low popularity among Chinese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excitation using surface acoustic waves (SAW) has demonstrated efficacy in improving microscale particle/chemical transport due to its ability to generate microscale wavelengths. However, the effects of acoustic stimulation on transport processes along the length of sub-wavelength microchannels and their underlying mechanisms, essential for long-range transport, have not been examined in detail. In this work, we investigate diffusion along the length of subwavelength microchannels using experimental and simulation approaches, demonstrating enhanced transport under SAW excitation. The microchannel-based enhanced diffusion mechanisms are further studied by investigating the acoustic pressure and streaming fields, finding that the degree of enhancement is a function of applied power, microchannel dimensions, and viscosity. This microchannel-based diffusion enhancement approach is applicable to microfluidic and biomedical microscale transport enhancement, with the findings here being relevant to acoustic-based micro-mixing and neurodegenerative therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although sexual satisfaction is a defining feature of marriage, research has consistently found that sexual satisfaction declines over time. Recently, however, emerging findings provide a more optimistic perspective on sexual satisfaction development by suggesting that couples may follow diverse sexual satisfaction trajectories. Using Dyadic Latent Class Growth Analysis, the current study is among the first to examine heterogeneity in couples' sexual satisfaction trajectory patterns during the early years of marriage and the first to do so in a non-Western context. Specifically, we establish distinct trajectory classes among 268 mixed-sex newlywed couples in China based on two couple-level features – the absolute level of sexual satisfaction and synchrony over time – and then compare these classes on subsequent ratings of marital instability. Four distinct trajectory patterns were found: a stable high class, a wives low and simultaneous deterioration class, a husbands low decrease-wives high stable class, and a wives high decrease-husbands high stable class. Couples in the stable high class reported lower levels of marital instability at two-year follow-up compared to couples in the other classes, suggesting that high sexual satisfaction and synchrony is beneficial for couples' marital relationships. These results provide further evidence challenging the inevitability of sexual satisfaction declines and have important implications for interventions aiming to enhance couples' sexual relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine how and when stress affect individual (i.e., psychological health) and relationship well-being (i.e., marital satisfaction) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study used latent profile analysis to identify the typologies of communication and investigated whether the typologies would moderate the associations between stress and individual and relationship well-being in a sample of adults living in China (N = 3,354). Results revealed that (a) stress was negatively associated with psychological health and marital satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic and that its effect on psychological health was greater than that on marital satisfaction and (b) four profiles were identified: low communication (10%), moderate communication (43%), positive communication (43%), and contradictory communication (5%). Further, the typologies moderated the effects of stress on psychological health and marital satisfaction, but the patterns of moderation differed in psychological health and marital satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hollow microtubular covalent organic framework (denoted as TatDha-COF) was synthesized by solvothermal method for the enrichment and determination of quinones. The TatDha-COF showed large specific surface area (2057 m2 g−1), good crystal structure, ordered pore size distribution (2.3 nm), stable chemical properties and good reusability. Accordingly, a simple and efficient method based on dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) and atmospheric pressure gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (APGC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of quinones in complex samples. The established method demonstrated a wide liner range, good linearity (r>0.9990), high enrichment factors (EFs, 24–69-folds) and low detection limits (LODs, 0.200–30.0 pg L−1, S/N≥3). On this basis, the suggested method was successfully applied to sensitively detect the eight ultratrace quinones in mice plasma. Overall, the established method has provided a powerful tool for the enrichment and detection of ultratrace quinones in complex samples, presenting the promising application of TatDha-COF in sample pretreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HELQ plays a key role in DNA damage response and cell‐cycle checkpoint regulation. It has been implicated in ovarian and pituitary tumors and may play a role in germ cell maintenance. This study investigated the role of HELQ in lung cancer. The expression of HELQ in patients with non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was downregulated compared with normal human lungs. Clinical prognostic analysis of Kaplan–Meier plots revealed that patients with NSCLC with low HELQ levels had a reduced overall survival. Further, we found that HELQ depletion enhanced lung cancer cell malignancy. Furthermore, overexpression of HELQ in lung cancer cells reduced cell migration in vitro, while DNA damage repair was inhibited. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that HELQ induces cell death. Mechanistically, we found that cells overexpressing HELQ showed a tendency to induce necrosis. After analyzing the database of HELQ interactors. we found that RIPK3 may interact with it and proved this conclusion by immunoprecipitation. Our findings identified the tumor suppressive role of HELQ in malignant human lung cancer and unraveled a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment through HELQ activation. Moreover, HELQ may also be a predictive biomarker for the clinical predisposition, progression, and prognosis of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource contentions and performance interferences can lead to workload performance degradation in mixed-workload deployment clusters. Previous work guarantees the resource requirements of latency-sensitive tasks and reduces performance losses to batch jobs by reclaiming surplus resources from over-provisioned tasks. While the fragmentation of resources leads to a mismatch between provisioned resources and task requirements, resulting in high operation overheads and losses of task fairness. This paper proposes TERMS , the task management policies based on task relevance, resource distribution, and task fairness to achieve efficient and low-cost task management. TERMS mainly includes three types of management policies. The task scheduling policy can schedule new tasks according to task relevance. Task selection strategies select tasks for resource provisioning and task resumption based on resource requirements and task fairness. If necessary, the node selection strategy can be used to choose befitting target nodes based on task relevance and node resource information for task migration when eliminating straggler tasks. Evaluation results show that TERMS can further improve the performance of latency-sensitive services and batch jobs, reduce management overheads, and avoid operation failures. • Place latency-sensitive new tasks in the queue according to task relevance. • Select batch tasks to provision resources for latency-sensitive new tasks. • Select batch tasks to provision resources for latency-sensitive straggler tasks. • Ensure task fairness when tasks are preempted or resumed. • Choose befitting target nodes for latency-sensitive straggler task migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term clinical outcomes of degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) with the administration of multisegment transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) combined with Ponte osteotomy long-level fixation fusion, as well as to identify the factors affecting health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods: This was a retrospective single-centre study involving comprehensive clinical data. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), visual analog scale (VAS) outcomes, and Scoliosis Research Society (SRS-22) questionnaire were recorded to assess HRQOL. A correlation analysis was performed to determine the association between HRQOL and radiographic parameters. Results: A total of 41 consecutive patients (15 males and 26 females) met the inclusion criteria with a follow-up of 8.62 ± 1.20 years. Factors associated with HRQOL were significantly improved post-operation. Global sagittal parameters, including the sagittal vertebral axis (SVA) and T1 pelvic angle (TPA), and local parameters, including apical vertebral translation (AVT) and apical vertebral rotation (AVR), were significantly improved at the last follow-up. Significantly strong correlations between each clinical and radiographic parameter were demonstrated. Moreover, a multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that the differences in AVT and AVR were significantly correlated with the difference in lumbar lordosis (LL), which was significantly correlated with the differences in SVA and TPA. Conclusion: The surgical treatment of DLS with multisegment TLIF accompanied by Ponte osteotomy and long-level fixations improved the quality of life of patients with a long-term effect. AVR correction is an important factor for LL restoration that significantly correlates with improvements in the sagittal balance parameters SVA and TPA, which are key factors for guaranteeing good HRQOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Camellia plants include more than 200 species of great diversity and immense economic, ornamental, and cultural values. We sequenced the transcriptomes of 116 Camellia plants from almost all sections of the genus Camellia. We constructed a pan‐transcriptome of Camellia plants with 89 394 gene families and then resolved the phylogeny of genus Camellia based on 405 high‐quality low‐copy core genes. Most of the inferred relationships are well supported by multiple nuclear gene trees and morphological traits. We provide strong evidence that Camellia plants shared a recent whole genome duplication event, followed by large expansions of transcription factor families associated with stress resistance and secondary metabolism. Secondary metabolites, particularly those associated with tea quality such as catechins and caffeine, were preferentially heavily accumulated in the Camellia plants from section Thea. We thoroughly examined the expression patterns of hundreds of genes associated with tea quality, and found that some of them exhibited significantly high expression and correlations with secondary metabolite accumulations in Thea species. We also released a web‐accessible database for efficient retrieval of Camellia transcriptomes. The reported transcriptome sequences and obtained novel findings will facilitate the efficient conservation and utilization of Camellia germplasm towards a breeding program for cultivated tea, camellia, and oil‐tea plants. Significance Statement: High‐quality transcriptomes of 116 Camellia plants from almost all sections of genus Camellia unveils their deep phylogeny and the transcriptional mechanism underlying the dynamic evolution of quality traits related secondary metabolites, which will facilitate the efficient conservation and utilization of Camellia germplasm towards a breeding program for cultivated tea, camellia, and oil‐tea plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different applications have different access characteristics and various performance requirements. Thus, the shared cloud object store entails providing tenant-specific policies. However, the limited configurability of existing storage policies makes it difficult to provide efficient and flexible policies to meet tenants' evolving needs. First, existing policies that only control request forwarding cannot provide sufficient optimizations for workload performance. Second, those policies lack the flexibility to adapt to the possible workload changes during runtime. In this paper, we propose Mass, a programmable framework to provide the enhanced storage policies for diverse workloads based on their access characteristics. We also design its enhancements, C-Mass, extending Mass's capabilities through container-based policy deployment to efficiently handle workload changes. Compared with existing storage policies, the latency and throughput of workloads under Mass are improved by up to 81.6% and 231.5%, respectively. Further, the workload performance under C-Mass is optimized by up to 40%. • We actively detect the workload characteristics and track their changes. • We propose Mass to provide workload-aware storage policies. • We set up prioritized queues to coordinate workloads. • We further build C-Mass over Mass to efficiently handle workload changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Symptoms of problematic internet use (PIU) and depression contemporaneously and temporally interact with each other. • The strongest edges connecting PIU and depression were all driven from PIU symptom to depression symptom. • In the early stage of college, the easiest way to prevent the comorbidity is targeting the time management problems symptom. • In the later stage of college, the easiest way to prevent the comorbidity is to change to target the tolerance symptom. Problematic internet use (PIU) and depression usually co-occur and are common among college students. According to network theory, it may be attributed to the interplay of symptoms that connect these two mental health problems. However, most studies have failed to examine complex and subtle connections at the symptom level and have not clarified how PIU and depression symptoms are intercorrelated, which symptoms serve as the source of comorbidity (i.e., the central symptoms), and whether such a comorbidity mechanism would change with higher grades. To explore these questions, this study examined four contemporaneous networks and three cross-lagged panel networks, visualizing the symptoms as nodes and the connections between symptoms as edges. A total of 2,420 college students (M age = 18.35, SD = 0.84; 67.98 % girls) completed four annual surveys. Overall, the results of contemporaneous networks and cross-lagged panel networks indicated that (a) PIU and depression symptoms are intercorrelated; (b) the core symptoms responsible for comorbidity mostly belonged to PIU, and (c) the comorbidity mechanism would change with time. These findings explain the dynamic relation between PIU and depression and identify possible primary symptoms that comorbidity programs can mitigate at different stages of the college years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have established a major effect of nanoscale confinement on the glass transition temperature (Tg) of polystyrene (PS), most commonly in thin films with one or two free surfaces. Here, we characterize smaller yet significant intrinsic size effects (in the absence of free surfaces or significant attractive polymer-substrate interactions) on the Tg and fragility of PS. Melt infiltration of various molecular weights (MWs) of PS into anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates is used to create nanorods supported on AAO with rod diameter (d) ranging from 24 to 210 nm. The Tg (both as Tg,onset and fictive temperature) and fragility values are characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. No intrinsic size effect is observed for 30 kg/mol PS in template-supported nanorods with d = 24 nm. However, effects on Tg are present for PS nanorods with Mn and Mw = 175 kg/mol, with effects increasing in magnitude with increasing MW. For example, in 24-nm-diameter template-supported nanorods, Tg,rod - Tg,bulk = -2.0 to -2.5 °C for PS with Mn = 175 kg/mol and Mw = 182 kg/mol, and Tg,rod Tg,bulk = ~-8 °C for PS with Mn = 929 kg/mol and Mw = 1420 kg/mol. In general, reductions in Tg occur when d ≤ ; -2Rg, where Rg is the bulk polymer radius of gyration. Thus, intrinsic size effects are significant when the rod diameter is smaller than the diameter (2Rg) associated with the spherical volume pervaded by coils in bulk. We hypothesize that the Tg reduction occurs when chain segment packing frustration is sufficiently perturbed by confinement in the nanorods. This explanation is supported by observed reductions in fragility with the increasing extent of confinement. We also explain why these small intrinsic size effects do not contradict reports that the Tg-confinement effect in supported PS films with one free surface exhibits little or no MW dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to former research, the atherosclerotic plaque is thought to be aggravated by intraplaque neovessels (IPN) and intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH). Intriguingly, a lower incidence of IPH was found in plaque treated with melatonin. In this study, we attempted to investigate the impact and underlying mechanism regarding the influences of melatonin upon IPN. A mouse model was established by subjecting the high fat diet (HFD)-fed ApoE−/− mice to tandem stenosis (TS) surgery with melatonin and GW9662, a PPARγ antagonist, being given by gavage. In vitro experiment was conducted with HUVECs exposing to according treatments of VEGF, melatonin, GW9662, or Y27632. Plaque and IPN were attenuated by treatment with melatonin, which was then reversed by blocking PPARγ. Western blotting results showed that melatonin increased PPARγ and decreased RhoA/ROCK signaling in carotid artery. Elevated RhoA/ROCK signaling was observed in melatonin-treated mice when PPARγ was blocked. In accordance with it, experiments using protein and mRNA from HUVECs revealed that melatonin inhibited the RhoA/ROCK signaling by enhancing PPARγ. According to in vitro study, melatonin was able to inhibit cell migration and angiogenesis, which was aborted by GW9662. Blockage of ROCK using Y27632 was able to cease the effect of GW9662 and restored the suppression on cell migration and angiogenesis by melatonin. Our study demonstrates that melatonin is able to curb development of plaque and IPN formation by inhibiting the migration of endothelial cells via PPARγ- RhoA-ROCK pathway. That provides a therapeutic potential for both melatonin and PPARγ agonist targeting IPN, IPH, and atherosclerotic plaque. • Melatonin reduces intraplaque neovessels and intraplaque hemorrhage via PPARγ- RhoA-ROCK pathway. • Melatonin inhibits the angiogenic processes of endothelial cells via PPARγ- RhoA-ROCK pathway. • Activation of PPARγ contributes to the suppression of endothelial migration and intraplaque neovessels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss the MUSCL-Hancock scheme for the two-dimensional conservation laws and derive the bound-preserving conditions by a parameterized convex decomposition method which is proposed in [ Journal of Computational Physics, 474:111805, 2023 ] for one-dimensional problems. The CFL number equals the half of the one-dimensional value and then ensures the speed-up compared with the classical two-stage MUSCL scheme. The bound-preserving slope limiter on the preliminary reconstruction becomes problem dependent. The maximum-minimum preserving slope limiter for the scalar problems becomes the same with its one-dimensional version. A positivity-preserving slope limiter for the Euler system is designed including a different parameter from the scalar problems and more efficient operators than the existing limiters. Numerical experiments are reported to demonstrate the robustness of the proposed scheme. • Developed bound-preserving conditions of the 2D MUSCL-Hancock scheme. • The same slope limiter and half the CFL number compared to the 1D case. • Solved important models, such as nonlinear problem, incompressible advection problem and Euler equations. • Numerically checked the sharpness and the robustness of the scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The JEV genome is a positive-sense RNA with a highly structured capped 5′UTR, 3′UTR and a large open reading frame. 3′UTR is the untranslated region of flavivirus and has various important functions during viral replication, such as translation, replication and encapsidation. During viral replication, the 3′UTR interacts with viral proteins and host proteins and is required for viral RNA replication and translocation. Methods: The expression level of FUBP3 was knocked down by siRNA and Flag-tagged FUBP3 overexpression plasmid was constructed for overexpression. BHK-21 cells were cultured and infected with JEV to investigate the functional role of FUBP3 in the viral infection cycle. Subcellular localization of FUBP3 and viral replication complexes was observed by dual immunofluorescence staining. Results: Four host proteins were specifically associated with the 3′UTR of JEV, and FUBP3 was selected to further investigate its potential functional role in the JEV infection cycle. Knockdown of FUBP3 protein resulted in a significant decrease in JEV viral titer, whereas ectopic overexpression of FUBP3 resulted in increased JE viral infectivity. In cells stably knocked down for FUBP3 and then infected with JEV, we found almost no detectable viral NS5 protein. In contrast, when cells stably knocking-down of FUBP3 overexpressed FUBP3, we found a significant increase in viral RNA production over time compared to controls. We also demonstrated that FUBP3 re-localized in the cytoplasm after infection with JEV and co-localized with viral proteins. Exogenous overexpression of FUBP3 was also shown to be located in the JE replication complex and to assist viral replication after JEV infection. Conclusions: The overall results suggest that FUBP3 regulates RNA replication of JEV and promotes subsequent viral translation and viral particle production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by the dynamic-transaction model of health, the current study investigated how the interplay between self-esteem and marital instability affects future depressive symptoms. Based on longitudinal data, the present study demonstrated that higher self-esteem was associated with lower marital instability, thus decreasing the likelihood of depressive symptoms. At the same time, an unstable marital relationship was related to lower levels of self-esteem, which in turn increased depressive symptoms. Thus, the results of the current study provided preliminary evidence regarding the effects of the personality-relationship transaction on depressive symptoms. In addition, the prospective associations between personality-relationship transaction and depressive symptoms was not parallel for husbands and wives. For husbands, the indirect pathway from marital instability to their own depressive symptoms via self-esteem was significant. For wives, the indirect pathway from self-esteem to their own depressive symptoms via marital instability was significant. Theoretical implications and future directions for research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drucker's sixth-order yield function for isotropic materials (J Appl Mech 16:349–357, 1949) was extended by Cazacu and Barlat (Math Mech Solids 6:613–630, 2001) for modeling orthotropic sheet metals via a generalization of the two stress invariants according to the theory of representation. The constant c in the original Drucker's isotropic yield function was found by Dodd and Naruse (Int J Mech Sci 31:511–519, 1989) to be bound between –27/8 and 9/4 per the convexity requirement. In many subsequent modeling applications of orthotropic sheets, the same bound is also tacitly assumed for the constant c used in this class of the generalized Drucker's yield function CB2001. No actual proof has, however, been presented in the literature that such a bound is indeed absolutely necessary if not sufficient to guarantee the convexity of the orthotropic CB2001 yield function. In this study, the validity of assuming such a convexity bound on the adjustable constant c is examined using a recently proposed numerical convexity certification algorithm. Representative orthotropic CB2001 yield functions whose material parameters have been calibrated and reported in the literature for some 12 FCC, BCC, and HCP sheet metals are evaluated. It is found that a single convexity bound between - 27 / 8 and 9/4 on the constant c does not hold at all for any of those yield functions. This is in contrast to another class of generalized Drucker's yield function based on linearly transformed stresses where the original convexity bound on the constant c does still hold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In industrial applications of laser welding of aluminum alloys, it is often a challenge to find optimal process parameters to produce welded joints of good quality. This study investigates the effect of changes in welding parameters on the resulting welding defects and tensile properties of laser-welded aluminum alloy joints. A high-power disk laser was used for welding 2.54 mm thick AA6061-T6 sheets with four different sets of process parameters. X-ray computed microtomography and full-field microhardness mapping were first used to characterize the as-welded joints. Surface strain mapping based on digital image correlation and a two-mirror optical setup was applied to tensile testing of welded joints up to ductile failure. It was found that the fusion zone of all four laser-welded joints has similar microhardness levels and spatial distributions. Small pores were detected in all four weld joints, except one had a few large pores. Both microstructural heterogeneities and surface geometric irregularities were found to induce highly non-uniform local tensile deformation in laser-welded joints. One set of laser welding parameters was identified to produce the aluminum welds with the best tensile properties even though its weld joint may contain a few relatively large pores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a thermophilic cash crop and contains a highly duplicated and repeat‐rich genome. It is still unclear how DNA methylation regulates the evolution of duplicated genes and chilling stress in tea plants. We therefore generated a single‐base‐resolution DNA methylation map of tea plants under chilling stress. We found that, compared with other plants, the tea plant genome is highly methylated in all three sequence contexts, including CG, CHG and CHH (where H = A, T, or C), which is further proven to be correlated with its repeat content and genome size. We show that DNA methylation in the gene body negatively regulates the gene expression of tea plants, whereas non‐CG methylation in the flanking region enables a positive regulation of gene expression. We demonstrate that transposable element‐mediated methylation dynamics significantly drives the expression divergence of duplicated genes in tea plants. The DNA methylation and expression divergence of duplicated genes in the tea plant increases with evolutionary age and selective pressure. Moreover, we detect thousands of differentially methylated genes, some of which are functionally associated with chilling stress. We also experimentally reveal that DNA methyltransferase genes of tea plants are significantly downregulated, whereas demethylase genes are upregulated at the initial stage of chilling stress, which is in line with the significant loss of DNA methylation of three well‐known cold‐responsive genes at their promoter and gene body regions. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of DNA methylation regulation and offer new insights into duplicated gene evolution and chilling tolerance in tea plants. Significance Statement: Our results show solid evidence that DNA methylation not only drives transposable element (TE)‐mediated functional diversification of duplicated genes in the tea plant, but also facilitates the enhancement of chilling tolerance in the tea plant through suppressing the activities of DNA methyltransferase under chilling stress. The overall findings underscore the importance of DNA methylation regulation on gene expression through TE insertions and broaden our understanding of duplicated gene evolution and chilling tolerance in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the power output and other power generation performance is the technical bottleneck restricting the industrial application of microbial fuel cell (MFC). Modification of the anode using nanomaterials can significantly increase the power output of MFC. The negatively charged characteristics of Rhodopseudomonas palustris was utilized to propose electroplating of graphene on the surface of biochar, and preparation of polyaniline (PANI) modified biochar electrode by in situ polymerization. Thus, a graphene oxide/polyaniline modified biochar (GO/PANI@Biochar) anode was prepared. Thus, compared the effects of GO/PANI@Biochar, biochar, traditional carbon cloth (CC), and graphite felt (GF) anodes on the power generation performance of MFC. The results showed that the contact angle θ of the new anode was as low as 0°. The biocompatibility is good, and a large number of electricity-producing microorganisms adhere to the surface of the anode material. The maximum power density of GO/PANI@Biochar anode MFC reached to 2025 mW/m2, which was 72.12% higher than that of unmodified biochar, and it was 3.5, 4.39 times that of traditional GF and CC. The maximum output voltage was 6.12% higher than before modification, 15.56% and 23.8% higher than traditional GF and CC anodes. GO/PANI@Biochar anode utilized the advantages of GO conductivity and biochar high biocompatibility effectively. The synergism of them can significantly improve the current and power density of MFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure dependence of the band gap energy of the dilute nitride GaNP is analyzed. It is found that the pressure dependence of the Γ conduction band minimum (CBM) is stronger than that of the X CBM. We also find that the energy difference between the X CBM and the Γ CBM in GaNP becomes large with increasing N content. In order to describe the pressure dependence of the band gap energy of the dilute nitride GaNP, a model is developed. Based on the model, we obtain the energy difference between the X CBM and the Γ CBM in GaNP at standard atmospheric pressure. It agrees well with the results obtained by other method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress factors are associated with development in marital satisfaction. However, the unique contributions of early predictors and changes in these factors to the development of marital satisfaction have been overlooked. Based on data from 268 Chinese newlywed couples (Mage = 29.59, SD = 3.25 for husbands; Mage = 28.08, SD = 2.51 for wives), the current study used latent growth curve model to examine (a) the development of marital satisfaction and the unique contributions of the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress predictors to the developmental trajectories (i.e., the initial level and change) of marital satisfaction; (b) whether the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress predictors develop over time; and (c) how trajectories of these predictor domains are associated with changes in marital satisfaction. The results indicated that interpersonal variables, rather than intrapersonal or stress predictors at baseline, were associated with both the initial levels of and changes in marital satisfaction; in contrast, only the changes in the stress levels were found to be related to changes in marital satisfaction. The theoretical implications and future directions for this research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is perceived as a candidate of synthetic articular cartilage, whose real-world applications have been hindered by poor mechanical and biotribological properties. One-step gelation method was used herein for the synthesis of a biomimetic PVA-BA/PEG hydrogel with porous bilayer structure. Importantly, two layers were integrated closely and both showed porous network. The upper layer of this hydrogel could show high compressive tangent modulus to resist deformation during friction; in the meantime, its bottom layer was able to prevent the leakage of interstitial water and increase the consumption of load. Due to porous high-water-content hydrogel bulk inside bottom layer, this cast-dry PVA-BA/PEG hydrogel could show close to 70% of water-retention capacity. On the other hand, the complexation of BA and PVA greatly strengthened the stability of the polymer network for the PVA-BA/PEG hydrogel. Therefore, the PVA-BA/PEG hydrogel could achieve an excellent combination of high mechanical properties and low friction coefficient. When the addition of BA was 1.4 wt %, the tensile strength of the PVA-BA/PEG hydrogel reached 4.41 MPa at an elongation of 573% and its compressive tangent modulus was 4.6 MPa at a strain of 60%. The COF of the hydrogel under water lubrication or calf serum was very low even at a high load, which is of high application potential for the articular cartilage repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: SMART-GDM examined whether Habits-GDM, a smartphone application (app) coaching program, can prevent excessive gestational weight gain (EGWG) and improve glycemic control and maternal and neonatal outcomes in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).Research Design and Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, women diagnosed with GDM between 12 and 30 weeks were randomly assigned to usual care (control) or to additional support from Habits-GDM that integrated dietary, physical activity, weight, and glucose monitoring (intervention). The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with EGWG. Secondary outcomes included absolute gestational weight gain (GWG), glycemic control, and maternal, delivery, and neonatal outcomes.Results: In total, 340 women were randomized (170 intervention, 170 control; mean ± SD age 32.0 ± 4.2 years; mean BMI 25.6 ± 5.6 kg/m2). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportions of women with EGWG, absolute GWG, or maternal and delivery outcomes between experimental groups. Average glucose readings were lower in the intervention group (mean difference -0.15 mmol/L [95% CI -0.26; -0.03], P = 0.011) as were the proportions of glucose above targets (premeal: 17.9% vs. 23.3%, odds ratio 0.68 [95% CI 0.53; 0.87], P = 0.003; 2-h postmeal: 19.9% vs. 50%, 0.54 [0.42; 0.70], P < 0.001). When regarded as a composite (although not prespecified), the overall neonatal complications (including birth trauma, neonatal hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, respiratory distress, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and perinatal death) were significantly lower in the intervention group (38.1% vs. 53.7%, 0.53 [0.34; 0.84], P = 0.006).Conclusions: When added to usual care, Habits-GDM resulted in better maternal glycemic control and composite neonatal outcomes (nonprespecified) but did not reduce EGWG among women with GDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is transmitted through the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal system, and fecal-oral routes. The main symptoms caused by EV-A71 are hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) or vesicular sore throat. Upf1 (Up-frameshift protein 1) was reported to degrade mRNA containing early stop codons, known as nonsense-mediated decay (NMD). Upf1 is also involved in the NMD mechanism as a host factor detrimental to viral replication. In this study, we dissected the potential roles of Upf1 in the EV-A71-infected cells. Upf1 was virulently down-regulated in three different EV-A71-infected cells, RD, Hela, and 293T, implying that Upf1 is a host protein unfavorable for EV-A71 replication. Knockdown of Upf1 protein resulted in increased viral RNA expression and production of progeny virus, and conversely, overexpression of Upf1 protein resulted in decreased viral RNA expression and production of progeny virus. Importantly, we observed increased RNA levels of asparagine synthetase (ASNS), one of the indicator substrates for the NMD mechanism, which indirectly suggests that EV-A71 infection of cells suppresses NMD activity in the host. The results shown in this study are useful for subsequent analysis of the relationship between the NMD/Upf1 mechanism and other picornaviruses, which may lead to the development of anti-picornavirus drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: College students are at high risk of problematic internet use (PIU). A great amount of research has focused on the PIU among college students. However, little is known about the change pattern of PIU across the college years. Moreover, how peer internet overuse behavior and peer attitude toward internet overuse work together to shape college students' PIU trajectory, and whether such peer contagion effects are equal for all students remain unclear. The present study used latent growth curve model to examine these issues.Methods: A total of 2572 Chinese college students (Mage = 18.37, SD = 0.85; 65% girls) participated in the study. They completed questionnaires regarding demographics, peer internet overuse behavior, peer attitude toward internet overuse, and friendship satisfaction at Wave 1, and PIU at Waves 1-4.Results: After controlling for covariates, the findings revealed that (a) PIU slightly increased before the second year of college and then declined rapidly; (b) both peer internet overuse behavior and peer attitude toward internet overuse were related to the PIU at baseline; however, only peer internet overuse behavior was associated with the change of PIU; and (c) the effect of peer internet overuse behavior on PIU change was moderated by friendship satisfaction and gender.Conclusions: These findings emphasized the dynamic and context-sensitive nature of PIU and clarified how peer contagion unfolded with peer internet overuse behavior and peer attitude toward internet overuse. Theoretical implications and application of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implantable electrodes that can communicate with a small, selective group of neurons via both neural stimulation and recording are critical for the development of advanced neuroprosthetic devices. Microfiber electrodes with neuron‐scale cross‐sections have the potential to improve the spatial resolution for both stimulation and recording, while minimizing the chronic inflammation response after implantation. In this work, glass insulated microfiber electrodes are fabricated by coating carbon fibers with boron‐doped carbon nanowalls. The coating significantly improves the electrochemical properties of carbon fibers, leading to a charge injection capacity of 7.82 ± 0.35 mC cm−2, while retaining good flexibility, stability and biocompatibility. When used for neural interfacing, the coated microelectrodes successfully elicit localized stimulation responses in explanted retina, and are also able to detect signals from single neurons, in vivo with a signal‐to‐noise ratio as high as 6.7 in an acute study. This is the first report of using carbon nanowall coated carbon fibers for neural interfacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractChatGPT, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) tool with the potential to transform education, has gained global recognition. Learners’ attitudes toward new technologies significantly influence their use of AI tools, such as ChatGPT. However, variable-centered studies struggle to fully capture potential heterogeneity attitudes. This study employed a person-centered approach (latent profile analysis) and thematic analysis to uncover students’ attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding ChatGPT. Utilizing a meticulous stratified random sampling approach, this study conducted a mixed-method study based on representative data from 850 Chinese university students, revealing three profiles: Positive Embracers, Cautious Rational Optimism, and Complex Attitudinal Profile. Of the participants, 80.2% showed Cautious Rational Optimism profile, where Positive Embracers showed notably higher ChatGPT intentions. These findings emphasize the need for multidimensional approaches when studying university students’ ChatGPT attitudes. This study is the first to explore and uncover attitude diversity, offering new directions and strong evidence for future research and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of motor vehicles and non-motorized vehicles mixed in the section of arterial highway crossing the town leads to many traffic problems. Therefore, it is necessary to set up a side divider between motorized and non-motorized lanes, and the appropriate spacing of lateral crossing openings to meet the needs of non-motorized vehicles crossing the highway has become a key issue that must be resolved. This paper investigates the traffic flow characteristics of mixed traffic flow on arterial highways through small town sections, and from the two dimensions of highway access efficiency and the psychological characteristics of cyclists, it calibrates the setting range of the spacing of non-motorized lateral crossing openings under different design speeds, which is used to regulate the behavior of non-motorized vehicles crossing the street, improve the safety level of the highway, reduce the lateral interference of the highway, and improve the road access efficiency. The accuracy of the research results is verified by microscopic simulation experiments, which proves that they can meet good expectations in practical engineering. The research results have theoretical significance and reference value for improving the status quo of machine-non-mixed traffic in the section of arterial highway passing through small towns, and enhancing the efficiency and safety of highway traffic. It also provides corresponding reference for the areas facing similar problems worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halophiles are relatively unexplored as potential sources of novel species. However, little is known about the culturable bacterial diversity thrive in hypersaline lakes. In this work, a total of 343 bacteria from sediment samples of Aiding Lake, China, were isolated using nine different media supplemented with 5% or 15% (w/v) NaCl. The number of species and genera of bacteria recovered from the different media varied, indicating the need to optimize the isolation conditions. The results showed an unexpected level of bacterial diversity, with four phyla (Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Rhodothermaeota), fourteen orders (Actinopolysporales, Alteromonadales, Bacillales, Balneolales, Chromatiales, Glycomycetales, Jiangellales, Micrococcales, Micromonosporales, Oceanospirillales, Pseudonocardiales, Rhizobiales, Streptomycetales, and Streptosporangiales), including 17 families, 43 genera (including two novel genera), and 71 species (including four novel species). The predominant phyla included Actinobacteria and Firmicutes and the predominant genera included Actinopolyspora, Gracilibacillus, Halomonas, Nocardiopsis, and Streptomyces. To our knowledge, this is the first time that members of phylum Rhodothermaeota were identified in sediment samples from a salt lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea plant is an important economic crop, which is used to produce the world's oldest and most widely consumed tea beverages. Here, we present a high-quality reference genome assembly of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) consisting of 15 pseudo-chromosomes. LTR retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) account for 70.38% of the genome, and we present evidence that LTR-RTs play critical roles in genome size expansion and the transcriptional diversification of tea plant genes through preferential insertion in promoter regions and introns. Genes, particularly those coding for terpene biosynthesis proteins, associated with tea aroma and stress resistance were significantly amplified through recent tandem duplications and exist as gene clusters in tea plant genome. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of 81 tea plant accessions with diverse origins revealed three well-differentiated tea plant populations, supporting the proposition for the southwest origin of the Chinese cultivated tea plant and its later spread to western Asia through introduction. Domestication and modern breeding left significant signatures on hundreds of genes in the tea plant genome, particularly those associated with tea quality and stress resistance. The genomic sequences of the reported reference and resequenced tea plant accessions provide valuable resources for future functional genomics study and molecular breeding of improved cultivars of tea plants. A chromosome-level genome assembly of tea plant was presented in this study, which provides novel insights into the evolution of transposable elements and chromosomes of tea plants. Genome analysis showed that genome duplication events drive the amplification of specific genes associated with quality traits. Using resequencing data of 81 diverse accessions, hundreds of candidate domestication genes were identified, some of which were found to be associated with tea quality and stress resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quench protection system in a large-scale superconductor test facility (LSTF) aims to protect the superconducting magnets from being damaged by long time and severe conducting current. A super-high pulse current from oscillation between a pulse inductor and a storage capacitor flows reversely into the main circuit to force the current in the main circuit cross zero, which ensures the reliable turn-off of the mechanical switch to protect the superconducting magnets. Furthermore, the pulse inductor also plays an essential role in adjusting the pulsewidth and the limiting pulse peak value. For the inductor, the pulse current is up to 130 kA and the rated inductance is $30~\mu \text{H}$. To release the electromagnetic (EM) force largely and reinforce the structure and insulation properties, a circular multi-winding structure with epoxy resin-casting technique is presented. Based on the 2-D/3-D model built in finite element analysis software, the structure resist, deformation, heat, and EM environment of the design are simulated. The terminals are also optimized to minimize the damage from the EM force and extend the operation life of the inductor. In addition, a fatigue analysis is carried out to estimate the working life of the inductor and verify the reliability of the structure under the 130-kA pulse current working condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carcinogenic function of arachidonate lipoxygenase12 (Alox12) has been reported in various cancers. However, little is known on the role of Alox12 in lung cancer. Here, we demonstrate that Alox12 is upregulated and contributes to biological activities of lung cancer through multiple mechanisms. We found that Alox12 mRNA and protein levels were increased by 2.5-fold in a panel of lung cancer cell lines compared to normal lung cells. The expression of Alox12 varied among lung cancer cell lines. The immunohistochemistry analysis on paired normal and tumor lung tissues from twenty patients showed that Alox12 protein level is higher in lung cancer than normal lung tissues from the majority of patients. We further observed the upregulation of Alox12-12-HETE signaling axis in lung cancer tissues. Overexpression of Alox12 promoted growth and migration in normal lung cells and lung cancer cells. In contrast, Alox12 inhibition via genetic and pharmacological approaches suppressed growth and migration, induced apoptosis, and sensitized lung cancer cells to chemotherapy. This is through suppressing RhoA signaling, inhibiting epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and NF-κB activity. Our work reveals the therapeutic value of inhibiting Alox12 in overcoming chemoresistance in lung cancer. • Alox12 is elevated in half of lung cancer patients analyzed. • Alox12 overexpression promotes normal and tumor lung cell growth and migration. • Alox12 knockdown inhibits lung cancer cells. • Alox12 depletion suppresses RhoA, EMT and NF-κB activity in lung cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the non-fluorinated self-assembly deposition of TMES-modified SiO 2 , we developed a superhydrophobic coating on aluminium alloy with long-term water repellency and corrosion resistance. Surface morphology and chemical composition were determined with SEM and XPS respectively, to understand the existence of superhydrophobicity. As we expected, the coating displayed excellent repellency to water (WSA: 1°), which was confirmed from the lotus effect. Such a coating showed positive E corr and low i corr in comparison to bare aluminium alloy substrate. Notably, the impedance modulus of coating was able to reach the level of 108 Ω cm2. In addition, the coating maintained superhydrophobicity even after continuous immersion for 5 days, on the basis of its WSA of ~4° and WCA of ~150°. The corrosion protection efficiency of the coating was greater than 99.5% even through lasting immersion in NaCl for 5 days, which indicates excellent anti-corrosion performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China fusion engineering test reactor is a new tokamak device, which is one design option under the consideration of the China National Integration Design Group employs superconducting magnets. The main target of this project is to build a self-sufficient fusion engineering tokamak reactor with its fusion power 50–200 MW. Toroidal field coils, center solenoid coils, and poloidal field (PF) coils, whose rated current range from 52.9 to 90 kA, produce the magnetic field for plasma generation and confinement. The core of quench protection unit is to divert the coil current into discharge resistor by using commutation technology, which should be determined by the rated current and voltage requirement of magnets. Different kinds of technologies for quench protection unit (QPU) are considered, and an advanced commutation technology composed of a mechanical bypass switch, vacuum circuit breaker (VCB), and LC commutation circuit based on artificial current zero technology has been worked out to meet the current and voltage requirement (10 kV/100 kA). To provide a faster and more reliable removal of the energy stored in those superconducting coils, this paper analyzes in detail the feasibility of a commutation scheme based on artificial current zero technology by analyzing and simulating each stage of the commutation process at such large rated current and voltage conditions. Both analysis and simulation results verified that the operating reliability of QPU can be guaranteed by this 100 kA dc commutation scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A forecasting model is developed using a hybrid approach of artificial neural network (ANN) and multiple regression analysis (MRA) to predict the total typhoon rainfall and groundwater-level change in the Zhuoshui River basin. We used information from the raingauge stations in eastern Taiwan and open source typhoon data to build the ANN model for forecasting the total rainfall and the groundwater level during a typhoon event; then we revised the predictive values using MRA. As a result, the average accuracy improved up to 80% when the hybrid model of ANN and MRA was applied, even where insufficient data were available for model training. The outcome of this research can be applied to forecasts of total rainfall and groundwater-level change before a typhoon event reaches the Zhuoshui River basin once the typhoon has made landfall on the east coast of Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a part of urban pipeline network, buried gas pipelines are mainly used to transport high-pressure natural gas, artificial gas and liquefied petroleum gas. Since it are exposed to harsh service condition, buried gas pipelines are easy to encounter failures. In this paper, an abnormal perforation failure of super large diameter buried gas pipeline with an outside diameter of exceeding 1000 mm happened nearby metro was investigated systematically. The failed pipeline had transported water gas before transporting natural gas and was welded with iron buttresses which were not treated by anticorrosive insulation treatment. The obtained results indicated that the accumulation of impurities from water gas caused localized corrosion on the lower surface of the inner wall of the pipeline, leading to the formation of the corrosion pits. After that, stray current came from metro flowed into the pipeline through iron buttresses, bringing about stray current corrosion inside the corrosion pits on the lower surface of the inner wall of the pipeline. The compound effect of these two corrosions resulted in the corrosion perforations. Finally, countermeasures were proposed to address corresponding problems. • An abnormal perforation failure of super large diameter buried gas pipeline happened nearby metro was investigated in depth. • The compound effect of localized corrosion and stray current corrosion was the root cause of the failure. • The accumulation of impurities from water gas caused localized corrosion and lead to the formation of pits. • Stray current flowing from metro via iron buttresses caused stray current corrosion inside pits and resulted in perforations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two tetranuclear copper cages with tubular type, [Cu 4 (BMBA) 4 ((CH 3) 2 N) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ] (1) and [Cu 4 (BMBA) 4 (Bipy)(H 2 O) 2 ] (2), were successfully constructed by the reaction of cupric nitrate with dicarboxylic acid ligand. • Interesting, the complex 2 exhibits excellent stability in common organic solvents and aqueous solutions at pH 2–12. • Upon thermal activation of complex 2 , its active metal site show Lewis acid character to be an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for C C (Knoevenagel condensation) and C N (Clauson-Kaas) bond forming reactions. Two tetranuclear copper cages with tubular type, [Cu 4 (BMBA) 4 ((CH 3) 2 N) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ] (1) and [Cu 4 (BMBA) 4 (Bipy)(H 2 O) 2 ] (2), were successfully constructed by the reaction of Cu(NO 3) 2 with dicarboxylic acid 4,4′-[(ethylazanediyl) bis (methylene)]-bis[(1,1′-biphenyl)-2-carboxylic acid] (H 2 BMBA) under solvothermal conditions. The complexes 1 and 2 exhibit a similar cage structure, formed by four ligands connecting two binuclear copper paddle-wheel secondary building units (SBUs). Interestingly, the complex 2 was obtained by appropriately binding of 4, 4′-bipyridine (Bipy) molecule on the axial positions of two Cu paddle-wheels inside the cage. For this reason, the complex 2 exhibits excellent stability in some common organic solvents at room temperature and aqueous solutions with a pH of 2 to 12. Upon thermal activation of complex 2 , the coordinated water molecules can be removed, and its exposed metal active-sites show Lewis acid character, which can be used an efficient heterogeneous catalysis of Knoevenagel condensation (C C) and Clauson-Kaas (C N) reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The entry site D68 of P450-BM3 was reasonably modified to create a mutant D68V with high epoxidation activity. • Through molecular dynamics simulation, the reason of increasing activity and stereoselectivity was revealed. • The best mutant also presents high activity toward methyl cinnamate analogs with fluorinated benzyl group, and all products were produced on gram-scales by whole-cells catalysis. • A new chemo-enzymatic method has been developed for synthesizing optically pure (+)-prebalamide derivatives. Optically pure methyl trans -3-phenylglycidates are useful chiral blocks or intermediates in the pharmaceutic field. However, high efficiency and enantioselective synthetic methods remain to be developed. We report an enzymatic process, based on rationally modifying the site D68 at the entrance of the P450-BM3 monooxygenase, thereby creating a mutant D68V with high epoxidation activity and high stereoselectivity toward methyl cinnamate as a cheap substrate. About 9-fold increase in turnover number compared to the wild type was achieved. Furthermore, with molecular dynamics simulations, the reasons for increased activity and stereoselectivity were unveiled. The best mutant also presents high activity toward methyl cinnamate analogs with fluorinated benzyl group. All epoxy products were produced on a gram-scale by whole-cells catalysis. In addition, a series of (+)-prebalamide derivatives were chemically synthesized from these products. This work not only expands the biocatalytic toolbox for producing methyl trans -3-phenylglycidates, but also identifies a new hotspot for engineering P450-BM3. Identification of a new engineering site locates at the entrance of substrate has enabled highly efficient access to optically pure methyl trans-3-phenylglycidates through the rational design of P450-BM3. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed the Couple Interaction Pattern Scale (CIPS) based on the interpersonal theory, comprising five subscales: friendly complementary (FC), hostile complementary (HC), mutual hostile‐dominant (MHD), friendly‐dominant eliciting hostile‐submissive (FDHS), and hostile‐dominant eliciting friendly‐submissive (HDFS). The psychometric properties of the CIPS were examined through three independent studies. Study one conducted item reduction and preliminary analysis using a sample of 662 married individuals, with an additional 80 married individuals for test–retest reliability assessment. Study two validated the scale through 1207 married individuals. In study three, the effect of couple interaction pattern (CIP) on marital quality was analyzed among 310 newlywed couples using the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM). Results supported the construct validity, acceptable internal consistency, and test–retest reliability of the CIPS. Besides, concurrent validity was also proved by associations with conflictual communication patterns, marital quality, stability, emotional connection, and perceived partner support. APIM analysis also supported the association between CIP and marital quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fu‐Ke‐Zai‐Zao pills, the famous traditional Chinese medicine formula, composed of 42 medicinal herbs, have been widely used to treat various gynecological diseases. However, the chemical constituents and metabolic profiling of Fu‐Ke‐Zai‐Zao pills remain largely unknown, which hampers improvement of the quality control and pharmacological elucidation of this formula. In the present study, a sensitive and selective ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry method was developed to separate and identify the comprehensive chemical constituents of Fu‐Ke‐Zai‐Zao pills. According to the results, a total of 83 compounds were identified, including phenylpropionic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, triterpene saponins, and phthalides, and 81 compounds were first reported in Fu‐Ke‐Zai‐Zao pills. Moreover, the absorbed components and metabolites in rat plasma after intragastric administration of Fu‐Ke‐Zai‐Zao pills were also detected by the same analytical method. A total of 36 compounds were identified, including 21 prototypes and 15 metabolites. The latter were generated through the metabolic pathways of methylation and glucuronidation, and glucuronidated metabolites were the main constituents in the plasma. This is the first systematic study on the chemical constituents and metabolic profiling of Fu‐Ke‐Zai‐Zao pills, and the results provide valuable chemical information for further elucidating pharmacological effects and mechanism of action of Fu‐Ke‐Zai‐Zao pills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Interactions are firstly passive and then positive. • Synergism effect is the strongest at 830 K. • Expectation equations of kinetic parameters are proposed. • Expected value of activation energy for Coats-Redfern is the most precise. Abstract The combustion behavior of anthracite, biomass (Ficus virens) char and their blends were investigated by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The combustion process mainly focused on the volatile combustion and char combustion. The addition of char reduced the initial temperature and final temperature of fuels. The interactions firstly inhibited and then facilitated. When the blending ratio was 70AN30FV, the antagonism was the minimum, and synergism was the strongest at 830 K for the random ratio. The kinetic models of Coats-Redfern (CR), Doyle equation (Doyle), Friedman (FR), Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and distributed activation energy model (DAEM) were used to calculate the kinetic parameters. The average values of activation energy for CR and Doyle were close and that of KAS, FWO and DAEM were near. Based on these six models, the corresponding expectation equations of activation energy and pre-exponential factor were proposed and the best predicted results was CR model for 60AN40FV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]