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Flow control technologies play a crucial role in modern engineering and scientific research. Hydrodynamic metamaterials, as an emerging branch in the field of flow control, have attracted extensive research due to their remarkable potential in flow control, thus leading to the development of hydrodynamic metadevices. Here, we propose a meta-hydrodynamics theory for the active manipulation of fluid flows, which establishes an equivalence relation between volumetric forces and spaces and, consequently, allows for the design of active hydrodynamic metadevices. This equivalence relation can be utilized to accurately tailor the flow fields as long as the manipulation effects of the hydrodynamic metadevices on the flow fields are predetermined. By constructing a mapping relation of coordinate transformation from virtual space to physical space, we can determine the required volumetric force distributions to realize these hydrodynamic metadevices. We exemplify this theory with three different applications: hydrodynamic cloaks, concentrators, and rotators, for which we calculate the corresponding volumetric force distributions. Subsequent numerical simulations reveal the excellent manipulation performances of these hydrodynamic metadevices in both uniform and non-uniform flow fields. Finally, our research is expected to pioneer new perspectives in the development of hydrodynamic metadevices and methodologies for flow control under nonlinear flows with high Reynolds numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Traditionally, the prognosis of patients with FIGO stage I endometrial cancer is determined by clinicopathological risk factors. In this study, we assessed the potential contribution of pretreatment carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen‐125 (CA‐125) levels to estimating the prognosis of these patients and aimed to develop and validate a prognostic nomogram. Methods: This retrospective study included patients with FIGO stage I endometrial cancer who underwent treatment between January 2009 and December 2021 in the four institutes of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. To identify optimal cutoff values of CEA and CA‐125 for predicting survival, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated, the Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate survival, and a Cox regression model was used to analyze the independent prognostic factors. Finally, a nomogram and calibration curve were constructed to predict patient survival probability. Results: Of the 1559 patients evaluated, the optimal cutoff values of CEA and CA‐125 were 1.44 ng/mL (area under the ROC curve [AUC] 0.601) and 39.77 U/mL (AUC 0.503), respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that pretreatment CEA (hazard ratio [HR] 2.11, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.35–3.28), CA‐125 (HR 2.07, 95% CI 1.31–3.27), age >70 years (HR 12.54, 95% CI 5.05–31.11), myometrial invasion >50% (HR 1.69, 95% CI 1.03–2.73), non‐endometrioid histology (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.14–2.95), high‐grade tumor (HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.46–3.97), and lymphovascular space invasion (HR 2.32, 95% CI 1.26–4.25) were significant variables associated with overall survival. These factors were used to construct the nomogram model, which showed good concordance and accuracy. Conclusions: Integration of pretreatment CEA and CA‐125 in a prognostic nomogram is feasible. Our prediction model has the potential to assist clinicians in guiding appropriate clinical practice. Synopsis: Pretreatment CEA and CA‐125 levels should be incorporated into the prognostic evaluation for early‐stage endometrial cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X80 pipeline steel has played a vital role in oil and gas transportation in recent years. However, hydrogen-related issues frequently lead to pipeline failures during service, resulting in significant losses of properties and lives. Three heat treatment processes (furnace cooling (FC), air cooling (AC), and water cooling (WC)) were carried out to investigate the effect of different microstructures on hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) susceptibility of X80 pipeline steel. The WC sample demonstrated the highest hydrogen embrittlement index, registering at 21.9%, while the AC and FC samples exhibited progressively lower values of 15.45% and 10.98%, respectively. Under equivalent hydrogen charging durations, crack dimensions with a maximum length exceeding 30 μm in the WC sample generally exceed those in the FC sample and AC sample. The variation is attributed to the difference in microstructures of the samples, predominantly lath bainite (LB) in water-cooled samples, granular bainite (GB) in air-cooled samples, and ferrite/pearlite (F/P) in FC samples. The research results demonstrate that the sensitivity of lath bainite (LB) to HIC is significantly higher than that of pearlite, ferrite, and granular bainite (GB). The presence of a large amount of martensite/austenite (M/A) constituents within bainite results in a multitude of hydrogen trap sites. HIC cracks in bainite generally propagate along the profiles of M/A constituents, showing both intergranular and transgranular cracking modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this study was to explore the frequency of occurrence of extra-renal manifestations associated with monogenic nephrolithiasis. Methods: A literature review was conducted to identify genes that are monogenic causes of nephrolithiasis. The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database was used to identify associated diseases and their properties. Disease phenotypes were ascertained using OMIM clinical synopses and sorted into 24 different phenotype categories as classified in OMIM. Disease phenotypes caused by the same gene were merged into a phenotypic profile of a gene (PPG) such that one PPG encompasses all related disease phenotypes for a specific gene. The total number of PPGs involving each phenotype category was measured, and the median phenotype category was determined. Phenotype categories were classified as overrepresented or underrepresented if the number of PPGs involving them was higher or lower than the median, respectively. Chi-square test was conducted to determine whether the number of PPGs affecting a given category significantly deviated from the median. Results: Fifty-five genes were identified as monogenic causes of nephrolithiasis. A total of six significantly overrepresented and three significantly underrepresented phenotype categories were identified (p < 0.05). Four phenotypic categories (growth, neurological, skeletal, and abdomen/gastrointestinal) are significantly overrepresented after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (p < 0.002). Among all phenotypes, impaired growth is the most common manifestation. Conclusion: Recognizing the extra-renal manifestations associated with monogenic causes of kidney stones is critical for earlier diagnosis and optimal care in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High spectral resolution imagery of the Earth's surface enables users to monitor changes over time in fine- grained scale, playing an increasingly important role in agriculture, defense, and emergency response. However, most current algorithms are still confined to describing local features and fail to incorporate a global perspective, which limits their ability to capture interactions between global features, thus usually resulting in incomplete change regions. In this paper, we proposed a Global Multi-head INteractive self-attention change Detection network (GlobalMind) to explore the implicit correlation between different surface objects and variant land cover transformations, acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the data and accurate change detection result. Firstly, a simple but effective Global Axial Segmentation (GAS) strategy is designed to expand the self-attention computation along the row space or column space of hyperspectral images, allowing the global connection with high efficiency. Secondly, with GAS, the global spatial multi-head interactive self-attention (GlobalM) module is crafted to mine the abundant spatial-spectral feature involving potential correlations between the ground objects from the entire rich and complex hyperspectral space. Moreover, to acquire the accurate and complete cross-temporal changes, we devise a global temporal interactive multi-head self-attention (GlobalD) module which incorporates the relevance and variation of bi-temporal spatial-spectral features, deriving the integrate potential same kind of changes in the local and global range with the combination of GAS. A new and challenging hyperspectral change detection dataset is designed for comparison of different approaches. We perform extensive experiments on six real hyperspectral datasets, and our method outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms with high accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the widespread prevalence of viruses, there is an escalating demand for antimicrobial composites. Although the composite of dialdehyde cellulose and silver nanoparticles (DAC@Ag1) exhibits excellent antibacterial properties, its weak mechanical characteristics hinder its practical applicability. To address this limitation, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were initially ammoniated to yield N-CNF, which was subsequently incorporated into DAC@Ag1 as an enhancer, forming DAC@Ag1/N-CNF. We systematically investigated the optimal amount of N-CNF and characterized the DAC@Ag1/N-CNF using FT-IR, XPS, and XRD analyses to evaluate its additional properties. Notably, the optimal mass ratio of N-CNF to DAC@Ag1 was found to be 5:5, resulting in a substantial enhancement in mechanical properties, with a 139.8% increase in tensile elongation and a 33.1% increase in strength, reaching 10% and 125.24 MPa, respectively, compared to DAC@Ag1 alone. Furthermore, the inhibition zones against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were significantly expanded to 7.9 mm and 15.9 mm, respectively, surpassing those of DAC@Ag1 alone by 154.8% and 467.9%, indicating remarkable improvements in antimicrobial efficacy. Mechanism analysis highlighted synergistic effects from chemical covalent bonding and hydrogen bonding in the DAC@Ag1/N-CNF, enhancing the mechanical and antimicrobial properties significantly. The addition of N-CNF markedly augmented the properties of the composite film, thereby facilitating its broader application in the antimicrobial field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft magnetic composites (SMCs) play a crucial role in modern electronics and electrical devices, for which challenges remain in maintaining magnetic performance and reducing loss at megahertz (MHz) frequencies. Here, CeFeCo/FeSiAl@ polyurethane (PU) SMCs have been rationally designed with the simultaneous achievement of large relative permeability, high domain-wall resonance frequency, and low power loss. As a rare-earth soft magnetic alloy, the CeFeCo is promising for high-frequency applications due to its easy-plane anisotropy, whereas FeSiAl is advantageous with increased electrical resistivity as well as approaching-zero magnetocrystalline anisotropy and magnetostriction. Hot pressing has been adopted to achieve a dense and homogeneous distribution of CeFeCo and FeSiAl powders in the PU for reduced magnetic dilution and eddy current loss. The resultant SMCs exhibit optional soft magnetic performance with large relative permeability of 21.0, low power loss of 3677.5 kW·m−3 at 5 MHz, and high domain-wall resonance frequency of 386.1 MHz. As such this work provides insights into the design of high-frequency SMCs incorporating novel rare-earth soft magnetic alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the demands of miniaturization, weight reduction and green development for electronic devices, development of lead-free dielectric ceramic capacitors with high recoverable energy density (W rec) and energy storage efficiency (η) attracts much attention. To this end, (1- x)[0.75(Na 0.5 Bi 0.5)TiO 3 -0.25SrTiO 3 ]- x NdNbO 4 (abbreviated as: NBST- x NN) ceramics were fabricated through a solid-state reaction method. After adding NN, the non-perovskite phase of Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 (BTO) with low dielectric constant (ε r) and loss (tan δ) is generated. Finite element software (COMSOL) was used to explore the influence of the BTO phase on breakdown strength (E b). The simulation result indicates that the BTO phase with a low ε r concentrates a larger local electric field (LEF), and thus weakens the LEF loading in the main perovskite phase, which is beneficial for enhancing E b. Moreover, NN doping significantly decreases the oxygen vacancy concentration in NBST ceramics, which plays a key role in improving E b. On the other hand, as NN content increases, the hysteresis of the polarization (P)-electric field (E) loops is substantially suppressed, and the polarization saturation is delayed, which can be ascribed to the appearance of the BTO phase having a linear dielectric characteristic and to the enhanced fluctuations of composition and charge by NN doping. Benefitting from the above factors, the optimal energy storage performance (ESP) with a W rec of 4.14 J/cm3 and an η of 90 % is obtained in NBST-0.08NN ceramics. Meanwhile, the ESP of NBST-0.08NN ceramics shows good charge-discharge properties and thermal stability. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that NBST-0.08NN ceramics are promising candidates as environment-friendly dielectric capacitor materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Static and dynamic metamaterials have been extensively studied for their ability to manipulate different physical fields and directed to broad applications. Because the governing equations of heat transfer consist of nonlinear terms with conservation of mass, momentum and energy, the equations can exhibit elliptical, parabolic, hyperbolic and hybrid configurations under different transfer modes. Such multi-mode transfer characteristics intrinsically make thermal metamaterials distinguish themselves from other metamaterials with unique static and dynamic manipulation mechanisms. Therefore, numerous studies have emerged that use the transformation theory and other methods to control static thermal metamaterials. It leads to the development of thermal cloaks, thermal concentrators, thermal diodes, and so on. Originating from the static style, the manipulation of heat transfer has expanded to dynamic systems in recent years. The introduction of hydrodynamics in metamaterial design leads to numerous novel physics effects, such as dynamic cloaking, zero-drag characteristics, topological heat transfer, nonreciprocal diffusion, and non-Hermitian physics. Moreover, the dynamic thermal metamaterials allow accurate control at both time and space dimensions, leading to exciting applications such as adjustable, reconfigurable, and intelligent thermal meta-devices. However, few studies have systematically analyzed thermal metamaterials from the perspective of static and dynamic manipulation. In this review, we aim at clarifying the connection and distinction of static and dynamic manipulation from the scopes of principle, application, and physical effects. We start with the development of static thermal metamaterials and its application. Subsequently, the development of dynamic thermal metamaterials is presented both in fundamental theory and application. Finally, we summarize the research directions and prospect future research challenges for static and dynamic thermal metamaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of pathogenic variants in presynaptic proteins involved in the synaptic vesicle cycle are being discovered in neurodevelopmental disorders. The clinical features of these synaptic vesicle cycle disorders are diverse, but the most prevalent phenotypes include intellectual disability, epilepsy, movement disorders, cerebral visual impairment, and psychiatric symptoms (Verhage and Sørensen, 2020; Bonnycastle et al., 2021; John et al., 2021; Melland et al., 2021). Among this growing list of synaptic vesicle cycle disorders, the most frequent is STXBP1 encephalopathy caused by de novo heterozygous pathogenic variants in syntaxin-binding protein 1 (STXBP1, also known as MUNC18-1; Verhage and Sørensen, 2020; John et al., 2021). STXBP1 is an essential protein for presynaptic neurotransmitter release. Its haploinsufficiency is the main disease mechanism and impairs both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter release. However, the disease pathogenesis and cellular origins of the broad spectrum of neurological phenotypes are poorly understood. Here we generate cell type-specific Stxbp1 haploinsufficient male and female mice and show that Stxbp1 haploinsufficiency in GABAergic/glycinergic neurons causes developmental delay, epilepsy, and motor, cognitive, and psychiatric deficits, recapitulating majority of the phenotypes observed in the constitutive Stxbp1 haploinsufficient mice and STXBP1 encephalopathy. In contrast, Stxbp1 haploinsufficiency in glutamatergic neurons results in a small subset of cognitive and seizure phenotypes distinct from those caused by Stxbp1 haploinsufficiency in GABAergic/glycinergic neurons. Thus, the contrasting roles of excitatory and inhibitory signaling reveal GABAergic/glycinergic dysfunction as a key disease mechanism of STXBP1 encephalopathy and suggest the possibility to selectively modulate disease phenotypes by targeting specific neurotransmitter systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep models may have disappointing performance in real applications due to the domain shifts in data distributions between the source and target domain. Although a few unsupervised domain adaptation methods have been proposed to make the pre-train models effective on target domain datasets, constraints like data privacy, security, and transmission limits restrict access to VHR remote sensing images, making existing unsupervised domain adaptation methods almost ineffective in specific change detection areas. Therefore, we propose a source-free unsupervised domain adaptation change detection structure to complete specific change detection tasks, using only the pre-trained source model and unlabelled target data. The GAN-based source generation component is designed to generate synthetic source data, which, to some extent, reflects the distribution of the source domain. Moreover, these data can be utilised in model knowledge transfer. The model adaptation component facilitates knowledge transfer between models by minimising the differences between deep features, using AAM (Attention Adaptation Module) to extract the difference between high-level features, meanwhile we proposed ISM (Intra-domain Self-supervised Module) to train target model in a self-supervised strategy in order to improve the knowledge adaptation. Our SFDA-CD framework demonstrates superior accuracy over existing unsupervised domain adaptation change detection methods, which has 0.6% cIoU and 1.5% F1 score up in cross-regional tasks and 1.4% cIoU and 1.9% F1 score up in cross-scenario tasks, proving that it can effectively reduce the domain shift between the source and target domains even without access to source data. Additionally, it can facilitate knowledge transfer from the source model to the target model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the mutual predictive relationship between mobile social media Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and Mobile Phone Addiction (MPA) among vocational college students, to provide scientific reference for the prevention and education of college students' mobile phone addiction behavior. Methods With the use of cluster random sampling, 1 000 col-lege students from a vocational college in Shenzhen were investigated by mobile social media FoMO scale and MPA scale in September 2021 (Tl) and December 2021 (T2). The data were analyzed by cross-lag regression analysis. Results There was a significant positive correlation including the synchronous correlation and the consecutive correlation between mobile social media FoMO and MPA (P<0.05). Mobile social media FoMO Tl positively predicted MPA T2 (β=0.25, P<0.001), whereas MPA Tl did not predict mobile social media FoMO T2 (β=-0.01, P=0.76). Three dimensions of mobile social media FoMO could predict MPA synchronously (P<0.05) and behavioral performance Tl could predict MPA T2 consecutively (P<0.05). Two dimensions of MPA, loss of control and avoidance, could predict mobile social media FoMO synchronously (P<0.05), and avoidance Tl could predict mobile social media FoMO T2 consecutively (P<0.05). Conclusion Vocational college students with higher FoMO are more likely to have MPA. There is a one-way predictive relationship between mobile social media FoMO and MPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sap flow offers key insights about transpiration dynamics and forest‐climate interactions. Accurately simulating sap flow remains challenging due to measurement uncertainties and interactions between global and local environmental controls. Addressing these complexities, this study leveraged Long Short‐Term Memory networks (LSTMs) with SAPFLUXNET to predict hourly tree‐level sap flow across Europe. We built models with diverse training sets to assess performance under previously unseen conditions. The average Kling‐Gupta Efficiency was 0.77 for models trained on 50% of time series across all forest stands, and 0.52 for models trained on 50% of the forest stands. Continental models not only matched but surpassed the performance of specialized and baselines for all genera and forest types, showcasing the capacity of LSTMs to effectively generalize across tree genera, climates, and forest ecosystems given minimal inputs. This study underscores the potential of LSTMs in generalizing state‐dependent ecohydrological processes and bridging tree level measurements to continental scales. Plain Language Summary: Transpiration is the dominant flux of water from the land surface to the atmosphere, yet it remains challenging to measure and estimate especially given different climates and tree types. This study shows how large‐scale deep learning models can simulate sap flow, the movement of water within trees, with high precision, even in forests and conditions not previously studied. We show that these models excel when they learn from large and diverse data sets. The flexible design of our model training means that every new sap flow measurement can potentially be used to further optimize our networks. Our findings indicate that this approach of continuously updating the model with new information greatly improves its performance to simulate and predict tree‐level sap flow. This work thus highlights the potential of deep learning models to generalize sap flow, thereby enhancing ecohydrological investigations from the tree to the continental scale. Key Points: Long Short‐Term Memory networks (LSTMs) can predict hourly sap flow for diverse trees and climates across Europe bridging tree level measurements to continental scalesTraining on the extensive SAPFLUXNET data set enhances the ability of the LSTMs to simulate sap flow accurately in time and spaceThe study underscores the value of large‐scale deep learning models and advocates for the expansion of data sets like SAPFLUXNET [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is the most commonly used signal processing method in modern digital sensor design for signal study and analysis. It is often implemented in hardware, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm. The frequency resolution (i.e., frequency bin size) is determined by the number of time samples used in the DFT, when the digital sensor's bandwidth is fixed. One can vary the sensitivity of a radio frequency receiver by changing the number of time samples used in the DFT. As the number of samples increases, the frequency bin width decreases, and the digital receiver sensitivity increases. In some applications, it is useful to compute an ensemble of FFT lengths; e.g., 2 P − j for j = 0 ,   1 ,   2 ,   ... ,   J , where j is defined as the spectrum level with frequency resolution   2 j · Δ f . Here Δ f is the frequency resolution at j = 0 . However, calculating all of these spectra one by one using the conventional FFT method would be prohibitively time-consuming, even on a modern FPGA. This is especially true for large values of P ; e.g., P ≥ 20 . The goal of this communication is to introduce a new method that can produce multi-resolution spectrum lines corresponding to sample lengths   2 P − j for all J + 1 levels, concurrently, while one long 2 P -length FFT is being calculated. That is, the lower resolution spectra are generated naturally as by-products during the computation of the 2 P -length FFT, so there is no need to perform additional calculations in order to obtain them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation for novel catalytic materials is quite important for the development of fuel cell as well as hydrogen economy. In this study, platinum-cobalt (PtCo) bimetallic nanowires are prepared successfully by the centrifugal electrospinning technique and their potential as electrocatalyst is evaluated for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The influences of operation conditions on nanowire morphology are studied, which include the rotation rate of spinneret, applied electric field, and nanowire composition. The electrochemical performance of the prepared nanowires is studied by performing the tests of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) to characterize the electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. The accelerated degradation tests (ADT) are also conducted to examine the durability of the nanowires. The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) using PtCo nanowires as cathode electrocatalyst is also made and its performance is compared with conventional MEA using Pt/C catalyst. It is found that under the situation of 1600 rpm of rotation rate, 12 cm of collection distance, and 13 kV of applied voltage, PtCo nanowires can be obtained with excellent morphology and the minimum mean diameter is 76 nm for the case of atomic ratio Pt:Co = 4:1. The corresponding ECSA is 41.2 m 2 g − 1 and the LSV and ADT results show the resultant PtCo nanowires exhibit better ORR activity and durability than Pt/C catalyst. [Display omitted] • PtCo nanowires are successfully prepared by centrifugal electrospinning technique. • Optimal parameters to produce PtCo nanowires are evaluated. • The produced PtCo nanowires present higher ORR activity than Pt/C. • The produced PtCo nanowires exhibit better durability in ECSA and ORR activity than Pt/C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are soft-tissue neoplasms with rare metastatic potential. Approximately half of IMTs are positive for an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement which causes aberrant expression. Early phase clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of ALK inhibitors in the treatment of IMTs. However, there is no definite conclusion on which ALK inhibitor performs best, and data regarding subsequent therapy after first-line ALK inhibitor failure are scarce. Here, we report a case of ALK+ metastatic IMT that demonstrated a dramatic response to first-line alectinib but resulted in rapidly acquired resistance. Repeated biopsy and next-generation sequencing (NGS) showed ALK:c.3604G>A; p.(Gly1202Arg), which is a common mechanism of drug resistance in ALK fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer. We also report subsequent treatment choices and responses in this patient and perform a literature review regarding similar cases as this rare tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disinfectants are important in the food industry to prevent the transmission of pathogens. Excessive use of disinfectants may increase the probability of bacteria experiencing long-term exposure and consequently resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. This study aims to investigate the cross-resistance of multidrug-resistant, drug-resistant, and drug-susceptible isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) with different sequence types (STs) to a group of antibiotics after exposure to different food-grade disinfectants. Methods: A panel of 27 S. Typhimurium strains with different antibiograms and STs were exposed to increasing concentrations of five food-grade disinfectants, including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), benzalkonium chloride (BAC), chlorine dioxide (ClO2), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), and ethanol. Recovered evolved strains were analyzed using genomic tools and phenotypic tests. Genetic mutations were screened using breseq pipeline and changes in resistance to antibiotics and to the same disinfectant were determined. The relative fitness of evolved strains was also determined. Results: Following exposure to disinfectants, 22 out of 135 evolved strains increased their resistance to antibiotics from a group of 14 clinically important antibiotics. The results also showed that 9 out of 135 evolved strains had decreased resistance to some antibiotics. Genetic mutations were found in evolved strains. A total of 77.78% of ST34, 58.33% of ST19, and 66.67% of the other STs strains exhibited changes in antibiotic resistance. BAC was the disinfectant that induced the highest number of strains to cross-resistance to antibiotics. Besides, H2O2 induced the highest number of strains with decreased resistance to antibiotics. Conclusions: These findings provide a basis for understanding the effect of disinfectants on the antibiotic resistance of S. Typhimurium. This work highlights the link between long-term exposure to disinfectants and the evolution of resistance to antibiotics and provides evidence to promote the regulated use of disinfectants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have beneficial roles in a variety of human pathologies and disorders. Owing to the limited source of PUFAs in animals and plants, microorganisms, especially fungi, have become a new source of PUFAs. In fungi, fatty acid desaturases (F-FADS) are the main enzymes that convert saturated fatty acids (SFAs) into PUFAs. Their catalytic activities and substrate specificities, which are directly dependent on the structure of the FADS proteins, determine their efficiency to convert SFAs to PUFAs. Catalytic mechanisms underlying F-FADS activities can be determined from the findings of the relationship between their structure and function. In this review, the advances made in the past decade in terms of catalytic activities and substrate specificities of the fungal FADS cluster are summarized. The relationship between the key domain(s) and site(s) in F-FADS proteins and their catalytic activity is highlighted, and the FADS cluster is analyzed phylogenetically. In addition, subcellular localization of F-FADS is discussed. Finally, we provide prospective crystal structures of F-FADSs. The findings may provide a reference for the resolution of the crystal structures of F-FADS proteins and facilitate the increase in fungal PUFA production for human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To date, most countries lifted the restriction requirement and coexisted with SARS-CoV-2. Thus, dietary behavior for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection becomes an interesting issue on a daily basis. Coffee consumption is connected with reduced COVID-19 risk and correlated to COVID-19 severity. However, the mechanisms of coffee for the reduction of COVID-19 risk are still unclear. Results: Here, we identified that coffee can inhibit multiple variants of the SARS-CoV-2 infection by restraining the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and reducing transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) and cathepsin L (CTSL) activity. Then, we used the method of "Here" (HRMS-exploring-recombination-examining) and found that isochlorogenic acid A, B, and C of coffee ingredients showed their potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection (inhibitory efficiency 43–54%). In addition, decaffeinated coffee still preserves inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2. Finally, in a human trial of 64 subjects, we identified that coffee consumption (approximately 1–2 cups/day) is sufficient to inhibit infection of multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 entry, suggesting coffee could be a dietary strategy to prevent SARS-CoV2 infection. Conclusions: This study verified moderate coffee consumption, including decaffeination, can provide a new guideline for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2. Based on the results, we also suggest a coffee-drinking plan for people to prevent infection in the post-COVID-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used experimental measurements and the finite-element method (FEM) simulations to inves- tigate transient underwater radiated noise induced by the impulse excitation of water surrounding a water- tight steel-structured circular cylindrical shell submerged in the 176 x 8 x 4 m towing tank. The excitation was caused by dropping an iron block onto a structural bracket in the shell to generate structural vibration. The experimental results were found to be consistent with the FEM results, with the difference between the ex- perimental and simulated sound pressure levels being less than 3 dB. Moreover, it was determined that the structural vibration also generated airborne noise in the cylindrical shell, but this contributed much less than the impulse excitation to the induction of underwater radiated noise. Finally, analysis of the sound field of the underwater noise radiation showed that it was influenced by the wall thickness of the watertight steel cylindrical shell and that of the reinforced bracket seat structure. In particular, the structural reinforcement position proved to be the diffusion breakpoint of the underwater sound radiation. This demonstrates that compared with the studied structure, a thicker and more complex reinforced structure will transmit less or incomplete sound radiation into water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoirs play important roles in hydropower generation, flood control, water supply and navigation. However, the regulation of reservoirs is challenged due to their adverse influences on river ecosystems. In this study, 'Ecoflow' was used as an ecological indicator for reservoir operation to indicate the extent of natural flow alteration. Three reservoir optimisation models were established to derive ecological operating rule curves (ORCs). Model 1 only considers maximisation of average annual hydropower generation (AAHG) and the assurance rate (AR) of hydropower generation. Model 2 incorporates ecological objectives and constraints. Model 3 not only considers the hydropower objectives but also simulates runoff and calculates the ecological indicator values of multiple downstream stations. The three models were optimised using a simulation–optimisation framework. Reservoir ecological ORCs were derived for a case study of China's Three Gorges reservoir. The results provided feasible schemes for reservoir operation by considering both hydropower and ecological demands. The AAHG and AR of the preferred optimised scheme for model 3 were increased by 1.06% and 2.50%, respectively. Furthermore, the ecological benefits of three hydrologic stations were also improved. In summary, the ecological indicator Ecoflow and optimisation models could be helpful for reservoir ecological operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The processing, particularly, etching of brittle, hard, and anti-corrosion materials represented by the third-generation wide bandgap semiconductor silicon carbide (SiC), is a significant challenge. Although SiC has excellent electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties, the difficulty of processing limits its application in various sensor devices. To solve this problem, in this study, an integrated processing method of femtosecond laser-assisted SiC dry etching is proposed, which realizes high surface quality and high rate etching of the SiC microstructure. Specifically, the effects of different laser processing parameters on the processing effect were first studied through orthogonal experiments. Experiments indicate that compared with laser power and laser scan times, laser processing speed has a more obvious impact on the processing effect. Subsequently, considering the elastic modulus anisotropy of SiC, a 5 MPa piezoresistive pressure sensor chip was designed. Using the proposed composite processing method, a chip sensitive diaphragm was obtained. The diaphragm thickness and diameter are 76 μm and 1700 μm respectively. The overall sensor chip dimension was 4000 μm × 4000 μm × 350 μm. Static tests demonstrated that the sensor have excellent performance with sensitivity of 6.8 mV/MPa, linearity of 0.69% FS, and repeatability of 0.078% FS. In addition, by designing high-temperature packaging, the sensor achieved a pressure test at 400 °C. This study verifies the feasibility of the composite processing method, realizes the fabrication and measurement of high-temperature pressure sensors, and provides a reference for the micro-and nanostructure processing of various SiC sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To establish and validate a prognostic nomogram of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) using independent clinicopathological and genetic mutation factors. Methods: 213 patients with CCA (training cohort n = 151, validation cohort n = 62) diagnosed from 2012 to 2018 were included from multi-centers. Deep sequencing targeting 450 cancer genes was performed. Independent prognostic factors were selected by univariate and multivariate Cox analyses. The clinicopathological factors combined with (A)/without (B) the gene risk were used to establish nomograms for predicting overall survival (OS). The discriminative ability and calibration of the nomograms were assessed using C-index values, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration plots. Results: The clinical baseline information and gene mutations in the training and validation cohorts were similar. SMAD4, BRCA2, KRAS, NF1, and TERT were found to be related with CCA prognosis. Patients were divided into low-, median-, and high-risk groups according to the gene mutation, the OS of which was 42.7 ± 2.7 ms (95% CI 37.5–48.0), 27.5 ± 2.1 ms (95% CI 23.3–31.7), and 19.8 ± 4.0 ms (95% CI 11.8–27.8) (p < 0.001), respectively. The systemic chemotherapy improved the OS in high and median risk groups, but not in the low-risk group. The C-indexes of the nomogram A and B were 0.779 (95% CI 0.693–0.865) and 0.725 (95% CI 0.619–0.831), p < 0.01, respectively. The IDI was 0.079. The DCA showed a good performance and the prognostic accuracy was validated in the external cohort. Conclusion: Gene risk has the potential to guide treatment decision for patients at different risks. The nomogram combined with gene risk showed a better accuracy in predicting OS of CCA than not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, (Bi 0.65-0.65 x Ba 0.35-0.35 x Nd x)(Fe 0.65-0.65 x Ti 0.35-0.35 x Nb x)O 3+ x (abbreviated as: BFBT- x NN, x = 0, 0.04, 0.08 and 0.12) ceramics were fabricated through a solid-state reaction method, aiming to obtain high-performance capacitor materials. BFBT ceramics have attracted increasing attention as potential energy storage materials because of their excellent dielectric and ferroelectric properties. However, two handicaps limit the large improvement of their energy storage performance (ESP). One is the large hysteresis of their polarization (P)-electric field (E) loops; the other is the low dielectric breakdown strength (E b), which has a close correlation with the inevitable defects present in BF-based ceramics. Herein, we designed a co-doping strategy to overcome the two handicaps in order to achieve high ESP in BFBT ceramics. In this strategy, the trivalent rare earth Nd3+ ions and high valence Nb5+ ions are simultaneously introduced at the perovskite A- and B-sites of BFBT ceramics, which is called NN co-doping. The NN co-doping enhances the relaxor properties of BFBT ceramics due to the enhanced composition and charge fluctuations and promotes the formation of the Bi-rich phases, which contribute to the appearance of a slim P - E loop. Meanwhile, the E b of BFBT ceramics is enhanced, which is ascribed to the significantly decreased oxygen vacancy concentration, the reduced grain size and the Bi-rich phases. Benefitting from these factors, a high recoverable energy storage density (W rec) of 3.64 J/cm3 and energy storage efficiency (η) of 88% are simultaneously obtained under an enhanced E b of 330 kV/cm in BFBT-0.08NN ceramics. Moreover, the ESP of BFBT-0.08NN ceramics shows good thermal stability (30–150 °C) and charge-discharge properties. These results indicate that BFBT-0.08NN ceramics could be a promising capacitor material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-encoded X antigen, HBx, assists in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through complex mechanisms. Our results provide new insights into the EZH2 epigenetic repression of let-7c that promotes HCC migration induced by HBx. Thus, let-7c and HMGA2 represent key diagnostic markers and potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of HBV-related HCC. Results: We investigated the epigenetic regulation of let-7c, an important representative miRNA in liver tumor metastasis, in human HCC cells to verify the effect of HBx. Based on quantitative PCR (qPCR) of mRNA isolated from tumor and adjacent non-tumor liver tissues of 24 patients with HBV-related HCC, EZH2 expression was significantly overexpressed in most HCC tissues (87.5%). We executed a miRNA microarray analysis in paired HBV-related HCC tumor and adjacent non-tumorous liver tissue from six of these patients and identified let-7c, miR-199a-3p, and miR-99a as being downregulated in the tumor tissue. Real-time PCR analysis verified significant downregulation of let-7c and miR-99a in both HepG2X and Hep3BX cells, which stably overexpress HBx, relative to parental cells. HBX enhanced EZH2 expression and attenuated let-7c expression to induce HMGA2 expression in the HCC cells. Knockdown of HMGA2 significantly downregulated the metastatic potential of HCC cells induced by HBx. Conclusions: The deregulation of let-7c expression by HBx may indicate a potential novel pathway through deregulating cell metastasis and imply that HMGA2 might be used as a new prognostic marker and/or as an effective therapeutic target for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) is a near-field imaging technique that has been used to visualize the local conductivity of materials with nanoscale resolution across the GHz regime. In recent years, MIM has shown great promise for the investigation of topological states of matter, correlated electronic states, and emergent phenomena in quantum materials. To explore these low-energy phenomena, many of which are only detectable in the milliKelvin regime, we have developed a novel low-temperature MIM incorporated into a dilution refrigerator. This setup, which consists of a tuning-fork-based atomic force microscope with microwave reflectometry capabilities, is capable of reaching temperatures down to 70 mK during imaging and magnetic fields up to 9 T. To test the performance of this microscope, we demonstrate microwave imaging of the conductivity contrast between graphite and silicon dioxide at cryogenic temperatures and discuss the resolution and noise observed in these results. We extend this methodology to visualize edge conduction in Dirac semi-metal cadmium arsenide in the quantum Hall regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of afatinib in patients with sarcopenia, an important prognostic factor for treatment efficacy and toxicity in patients with cancer. Methods: The clinical features of patients with advanced NSCLC treated with frontline afatinib between 2014 and 2018 at a medical center in Taiwan were retrospectively reviewed. Sarcopenia was evaluated based on the total cross‐sectional area of skeletal muscles assessed by computed tomography (CT) imaging at the L3 level. Baseline characteristics, response rates, survival rates, and adverse events (AEs) were compared between sarcopenic and nonsarcopenic patients. Results: A total of 176 patients evaluated for sarcopenia by CT and treated with afatinib were enrolled in the current study. Sarcopenia was significantly associated with good performance status, low body mass index (BMI), low body surface area (BSA), and low total mass area (TMA). Sarcopenia did not influence the response rate (69.2% vs. 72.0%, p = 0.299), progression‐free survival (median 15.9 vs. 14.9 months, p = 0.791), or overall survival (median 26.5 vs. 27.2 months, p = 0.441). However, BSA ≤ 1.7 and the 40 mg afatinib dose were associated with dose reduction. TMA was the only independent factor for afatinib discontinuation due to AEs. Conclusion: Sarcopenia was not associated with treatment efficacy or toxicity among patients with NSCLC harboring common mutations treated with afatinib, indicating sarcopenic patients should not be excluded from afatinib treatment. Other factors, such as BSA and TMA, were associated with dose reduction and afatinib discontinuation, respectively, which may require additional evaluations in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cystine stone is a Mendelian genetic disease caused by SLC3A1 or SLC7A9. In this study, we aimed to estimate the genetic prevalence of cystine stones and compare it with the clinical prevalence to better understand the disease etiology. Methods: We analyzed genetic variants in the general population using the 1000 Genomes project and the Human Gene Mutation Database to extract all SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 pathogenic variants. All variants procured from both databases were intersected. Pathogenic allele frequency, carrier rate, and affected rate were calculated and estimated based on Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Results: We found that 9 unique SLC3A1 pathogenic variants were carried by 26 people and 5 unique SLC7A9 pathogenic variants were carried by 12 people, all of whom were heterozygote carriers. No homozygote, compoun d heterozygote, or double heterozygote was identified in the 1000 Genome database. Based on the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, the calculated genetic prevalence of cystine stone disease is 1 in 30,585. Conclusion: The clinical prevalence of cystine stone has been previously reported as 1 in 7,000, a notably higher figure than the genetic prevalence of 1 in 30,585 calculated in this study. This suggests that the etiology of cystine stone is more complex than what our current genetic knowledge can explain. Possible factors that may contribute to this difference include novel causal genes, undiscovered pathogenic variants, alternative inheritance models, founder effects, epigenetic modifications, environmental factors, or other modifying factors. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the etiology of cystine stone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cystic periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is the most common white matter injury and a common cause of cerebral palsy in preterm infants. Postnatal epilepsy may occur after cystic PVL, but their causal relationship remains uncertain. Our aim was to validate the contribution of cystic PVL to postnatal epilepsy in very preterm infants and demonstrate their seizure characteristics. Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 1,342 preterm infants (birth weight <1,500 g and gestational age <32 weeks) from 2003 to 2015. Cystic PVL was diagnosed by serial cerebral ultrasound, and other comorbidities were recorded during hospitalization. Neurological developments and consequences, including epilepsy, were serially accessed until the age of 5. Results: A total of 976 preterm infants completed a 5-year neurological follow-up; 47 (4.8%) had cystic PVL. Preterm infants with cystic PVL were commonly associated with other comorbidities, including necrotizing enterocolitis stage III, neonatal seizures, and intraventricular hemorrhage during hospitalization. At age 5, 14 of the 47 (29.8%) preterm infants with cystic PVL had postnatal epilepsy. After adjusting for gender, gestational age, and three common comorbidities, cystic PVL was an independent risk factor for postnatal epilepsy (adjust OR: 16.2; 95% CI: 6.8–38.4; p < 0.001). Postnatal epilepsy after cystic PVL was commonly the generalized type (13 of 14, 92.9%), not intractable and most occurred after 1 year of age. Discussion/Conclusion: Cystic PVL would independently lead to postnatal epilepsy. Preterm infants with cystic PVL are at risk of postnatal epilepsy after age 1 in addition to cerebral palsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harnessing detachment of an aqueous droplet via electrowetting on a flat surface has been of considerable interest for potential practical applications, ranging from self-cleaning to novel optical and digital microfluidic devices, due to the wettability of the droplet on a solid substrate enhanced by applying an electric voltage between the droplet and the insulated substrate. However, a quantitative understanding of the detachment process and an accurate prediction on the thresholds of applied voltage for droplet detachment on curved surfaces are still lacking. In this paper, based on energy conservation, we derive a critical condition theoretically for electrowetting-induced droplet detachment from a hydrophobic curved surface. Furthermore, phase diagrams are constructed in terms of droplet volume, viscosity, the Ohnesorge number, friction coefficient at contact line, surface curvature, surface wettability, and electrowetting number. The deduced critical condition offers a general and quantitative prediction on when the detachment occurs, a criterion enabling us to gain more insights into how to accurately manipulate the electrowetting-induced detachment of an aqueous droplet on a curved surface. The results obtained in this paper also imply that the detachable regimes of the phase diagrams can be enlarged through increasing droplet volume and surface curvature and reducing liquid viscosity, friction coefficient, the Ohnesorge number, and wettability of substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain shift is the problem in which trained models fail to maintain their performance when they confront new test domains. Cross-scene classification, a technique developed to overcome this challenge, has attracted significant research interest in the field of remote sensing (RS). By exploring the correlation between the source domain and the target domain, relevant models can have better generalization ability regarding the target domain. Nevertheless, Domain Adaptation (DA), as the main technique for cross-scene classification, necessarily requires access to the target samples to assist the model training, a condition that is difficult to satisfy in real-world applications. Domain Generalization (DG) has attracted increasing research attention in recent years. Given one or several source domain(s), DG tends to learn models that can perform well when dealing with unseen (inaccessible) target domains. DG can better deal with out-of-distribution generalization with fewer restrictions, making it a good fit for cross-scene classification. Notably, little research has been conducted on domain generalization in the field of remote sensing. Thus, we refer to this type of method as cross-scene generalization. Recent studies have shown that convolutional neural networks have a strong bias towards recognizing textures rather than shapes. Accordingly, we proposed a Style and Content Separation Network (SCSN) for RS image cross-scene generalization in this paper, which can improve the generalizability and discriminative capability. The Style and Content Separation (SCS) module uses instance normalization to obtain the content information and thereby ensure better generalization ability. Moreover, the residual feature, which contains the style information, can supplement the feature representations after refinement. We further proposed a separation loss to constrain the style and content separation process. Experimental results and relevant analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed SCSN on cross-scene generalization tasks. Code is available at https://github.com/WHUzhusihan96/SCSN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A fungus Simplicillium aogashimaense was discovery on artifacts for the first time. • The biological and physical destruction of the fungus caused fading of the pigments. • Simplicillium aogashimaense had the capacity of copper adsorption. • The morphology of the fungus mycelium was changed on copper-based pigments. Severe fading of the blue (azurite) and green (malachite) pigments occurred on the polychrome pottery figurines excavated from the Duan family cemetery M194 of the Tang Dynasty, in Xianyang, China, and microorganisms were suspected to be involved in this discoloration phenomenon. Therefore, molecular methods were used to identify the dominant strains isolated from azurite and malachite on the pottery figurines. On this basis, the fading mechanism of azurite and malachite from microorganisms was explored. The dominant strain was identified as Simplicillium aogashimaense , and this species has until now, not yet been encountered on cultural heritage objects. It can colonize the polychrome layers of azurite and malachite, causing the deepening of color and the thickening of mycelium after the absorption of Cu(II), resulting in the destruction of the polychrome layers. This study lays a theoretical foundation for the fading of azurite and malachite in polychrome artifacts, providing a scientific basis for their conservation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Excessive version and inclination of the glenoid component during total shoulder arthroplasty can lead to glenohumeral instability, early loosening, and even failure. The orientation and position of the central pin determine the version and inclination of the glenoid component. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in centerline position and orientation obtained using "3D preoperative planning based on the best-fit method for glenoid elements" and the surgeon's manipulation. Materials and methods: Twenty-nine CT images of glenohumeral osteoarthritis of the shoulder were reconstructed into a 3D model, and a 3D printer was used to create an in vitro model for the surgeon to drill the center pin. The 3D shoulder model was also used for 3D preoperative planning (3DPP) using the best-fit method for glenoid elements. The in vitro model was scanned and the version, inclination and center position were measured to compare with the 3DPP results. Results: The respective mean inclinations (versions) of the surgeon and 3DPP were −2.63° ± 6.60 (2.87° ± 5.97) and −1.96° ± 4.24 (−3.21° ± 4.00), respectively. There was no significant difference in the inclination and version of the surgeon and 3DPP. For surgeons, the probability of the inclination and version being greater than 10° was 13.8% (4/29) and 10.3% (3/29), respectively. Compared to the 3DPP results, the surgeon's center position was shifted down an average of 1.63 mm. There was a significant difference in the center position of the surgeon and 3DPP (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The central pin drilled by surgeons using general instruments was significantly lower than those defined using 3D preoperative planning and standard central definitions. 3D preoperative planning prevents the version and inclination of the centerline from exceeding safe values (± 10°). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused a public health crisis globally. Against the backdrop of global resilience, studies have demonstrated the therapeutic value of home gardening as a measure to strengthen human health. However, there is a lack of comparative studies on its benefits across countries. Studies need to examine the role of home gardening in improving public health in various societies to understand and encourage this practice broadly and effectively. We chose Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam as case studies, which have suffered substantial pandemic impacts, with millions of infections and thousands of deaths. We explored and compared the perceptions of people on home gardening and its health benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted online surveys in three countries between May 1 and September 30, 2022, with a total of 1172 participants. Data were collated on perceived pandemic stress, challenges and solutions in gardening, home gardening intentions, and mental and physical health benefits. In these countries, we found that perceived pandemic stress positively affects home gardening intentions, whereby the motivation of Vietnamese people is the highest. Challenges hinder gardening intentions, while the solutions only positively affect gardening intentions in Taiwan and Vietnam. Home gardening intentions positively affect mental and physical health, whereby there are higher mental health benefits in Taiwanese people than in Thai people. Our findings potentially support public health recovery and promote healthy lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the hybrid origin of a macaque group called the fascicularis group, which arose from an ancient hybridization event between two other macaque groups. It mentions the study reveals that the X chromosomes and low-recombination regions of the hybrid group showed equal contributions from each parental lineage, suggesting their role in maintaining hybrid integrity and the development of mixed sexual phenotypes.

We study the discrete-time thermodynamic Cucker–Smale (TCS) model with a communication time-delay on a general digraph containing a spanning tree. In the TCS model, the mutual interactions not only are "mechanical" but also are affected by the "temperature effect." It always takes time for information to be received between agents due to finite propagation speed effects. Transmission delays are inevitable and should be incorporated into flocking modeling. In this paper, we provide sufficient frameworks for flocking to the discrete TCS model, which are formulated in terms of initial configuration, network topology, and system parameters. In our proposed frameworks, we show that the TCS model exhibits exponential flocking convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Mold‐ripened cheeses have low levels of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). Geotrichum candidum is an adjunct culture for the development of Geotrichum‐ripened cheese but has a low ability to produce high levels of UFAs. Δ12 fatty acid desaturase (FADS12) is a pivotal enzyme that converts oleic acid (OA) to linoleic acid (LA) and plays a vital role in UFA biosynthesis. By investigating FADS12 catalytic activity from various species with OA substrates, we found that FADS12 from Mucor circinelloides (McFADS12) had the highest catalytic activity for OA. RESULTS: In the current study, a plasmid harboring McFADS12 was constructed and overexpressed in G. candidum. Our results showed that LA production increased to 31.1 ± 1.4% in engineered G. candidum – three times higher than that in wild‐type G. candidum. To enhance LA production, an exogenous substrate (OA) was supplemented, and the yield of LA was increased to 154 ± 6 mg L−1 in engineered G. candidum. Engineered G. candidum was used as an adjunct culture for Geotrichum‐ripened cheese production. The LA level reached 74.3 ± 5.4 g kg−1 cheese, whereas the level of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) decreased by 9.9 ± 0.5%. In addition, the soybean byproduct (okara) was introduced into the engineered G. candidum growth and the level of LA increased to 126 ± 4 g kg−1 cheese and the percentage of UFAs:SFAs increased from 0.8:1 to 1.3:1. CONCLUSION: This study offers a suitable technology for converting SFAs to UFAs in Geotrichum‐ripened cheeses and provides a novel trend for converting soybean waste into a value‐added product. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sylvester equation plays an important role in many branches of mathematical physics. The goal of this paper is to show that a special case of the Sylvester equation can be related to the lattice B-type Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (BKP) system via the generalized Cauchy matrix method. We use the variables given in the Sylvester equation to define the function and several scalar functions that are closely related to the lattice BKP equation. After rederiving the lattice BKP equation, we make it clear that besides its multisoliton solutions, various other types of exact solutions also exist. Furthermore, Lax pairs for the lattice BKP equation are obtained in different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is an important stage of a homogeneous and isotropic expanding universe. The results of calculation of the synthesis of light elements during this epoch can then be compared with the abundances of the light elements. The theoretical calculation of the BBN model depends on the initial conditions of the early universe and reaction cross sections measured by the nuclear physics experiment. Recently, an update of the Nuclear Astrophysics Compilation of REactions database is presented. This improved compilation comprises thermonuclear reaction rates for 34 two-body reactions on light nuclides (fifteen are particle transfer reactions and nineteen are radiative capture reactions). In this work, we calculate the BBN abundances by using these updated thermonuclear reaction rates in the framework of the code AlterBBN. Our results suggest that the new numerical result of the primordial Lithium abundance is 7.1% larger than the previous calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Mood disorders including depression and bipolar were associated with an increased hazard ratio of cervical cancer. The cumulative incidence of cervical cancer was significantly higher in participants with mood disorders than in the non-mood-disorder cohort. Thus, mood disorders could potentially increase the risk of developing subsequent cervical cancer. Objective: Psychological distress is considered a factor for cancer development. However, the impact of mood disorders (depression and bipolar) on the development of cervical cancer remains uncertain. We conducted a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study to investigate the association between mood disorders and the subsequent risk of developing cervical cancer. Methods: A total of 138,130 participants' profiles between 2000 and 2012 were extracted from the National Health Insurance Research Database and subdivided into a mood-disorder cohort (27,626 participants) and a non-mood-disorder cohort (110,504 participants). Cohorts were propensity-matched for a 1:4 ratio according to age and index year. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was utilized for assessing cervical cancer risk between cohorts. Results: Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that the mood-disorder cohort had a higher cumulative incidence of cervical cancer. The mood-disorder cohort was also associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer after adjustments for potential confounders. Subgroup analysis revealed a negative impact of mood disorders on cervical cancer, especially in the 30–50 years and white-collar groups. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that mood disorders were associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer development, which provide helpful information for clinical strategies to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UBE3A encodes ubiquitin protein ligase E3A, and in neurons its expression from the paternal allele is repressed by the UBE3A antisense transcript (UBE3A-ATS). This leaves neurons susceptible to loss-of-function of maternal UBE3A. Indeed, Angelman syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder, is caused by maternal UBE3A deficiency. A promising therapeutic approach to treating Angelman syndrome is to reactivate the intact paternal UBE3A by suppressing UBE3A-ATS. Prior studies show that many neurological phenotypes of maternal Ube3a knockout mice can only be rescued by reinstating Ube3a expression in early development, indicating a restricted therapeutic window for Angelman syndrome. Here, we report that reducing Ube3a-ATS by antisense oligonucleotides in juvenile or adult maternal Ube3a knockout mice rescues the abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) rhythms and sleep disturbance, two prominent clinical features of Angelman syndrome. Importantly, the degree of phenotypic improvement correlates with the increase of Ube3a protein levels. These results indicate that the therapeutic window of genetic therapies for Angelman syndrome is broader than previously thought, and EEG power spectrum and sleep architecture should be used to evaluate the clinical efficacy of therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to compare the differences in gray matter volumes (GMVs) of subcortical nuclei between major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with and without persistent depressive disorder (PDD) at long-term follow-up.Methods: 114 and 94 subjects with MDD, including 48 and 41 with comorbid PDD, were enrolled to undergo high-resolution T1-weighted imaging at first (FIP) and second (three years later, SIP) investigation points, respectively. FreeSurfer was used to extract the GMVs of seven subcortical nuclei, and Generalized Estimating Equation models were employed to estimate the differences in GMVs of subcortical nuclei between the two subgroups.Results: The PDD subgroup had a significantly greater depressive severity and a higher percentage of patients undergoing pharmacotherapy at the FIP as compared with the non-PDD subgroup. These differences became insignificant at the SIP. The PDD subgroup had a significantly (p < 0.003) smaller GMV in the right putamen at the SIP and in the right nucleus accumbens (NAc) at the FIP and SIP as compared with the non-PDD subgroup. After controlling for clinical variables, PDD was independently associated with smaller GMVs in the right putamen and NAc.Limitations: Imaging was not performed at baseline and pharmacotherapy was not controlled at the FIP and SIP.Conclusions: MDD with PDD was associated with smaller GMVs in the right putamen and NAc as compared with MDD without PDD. Whether the two regions are biomarkers related to a poor prognosis and the chronicity of depression requires further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we investigate the scattering of massless plane scalar waves by the high dimensional non-commutative Schwarzschild–Tangherlini black hole. We use the partial wave approach to determine the scattering and absorption cross sections in the incident wavelength range. Our numerical results demonstrate that the bigger the non-commutative parameter, the smaller the maximum value of the related partial absorption cross section, however the tendency is slightly. We also discovered that when the non-commutative parameter is weak, the absorption cross section of the high dimensional black hole oscillates in the low frequency zone. The total absorption cross section oscillates around the geometrical optical limit in the high frequency range, and the scattering characteristics of black holes with various parameters are visibly different. The influence on the differential scattering cross section is particularly pronounced at large angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of high energy density enables lithium metal batteries (LMBs) to become the research hotpot again. However, the safety concerns including easy leakage and inflammability of the liquid electrolyte and the performance deterioration due to the uncontrollable Li dendrites growth in liquid electrolyte limit the further development of LMBs. Gel electrolyte, the most promising alternative for the commercial liquid electrolyte, is expected to solve the dilemma faced by the liquid electrolyte because of its higher safety, good flexibility and adaptability to the electrode and high ionic conductivity comparable to that of liquid electrolyte. Deeply understanding the characteristics and the role of the gel electrolyte in LMBs is of great importance to achieve superior electrochemical performance of LMBs. In this review, we comprehensively introduce the chemical fundamental of the gel electrolyte. On this basis, the modification strategies and the recent progress of the gel electrolyte for LMBs are systematically reviewed and particularly highlighted, which are categorized based on composition regulation, structural design and functional design. We endeavor to provide guidance for the rational design of the gel electrolyte with superior properties for LMBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, to evaluate the role of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) combined with vacuum precooling (VP) treatment in fresh goji preservation, the physicochemical properties and anti‐oxidation indexes of goji berries were compared between the AEW+VP‐treated and control (VP treatment) groups during storage at 4, 7, and 10°C. The results showed that AEW+VP could effectively inhibit the decrease in L* and a* values, reduce the respiratory rate, delay the loss of vitamin C content, and maintain higher total soluble solid (TSS) content. Compared to the control, AEW+VP‐treated goji maintained higher catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Therefore, AEW+VP treatment could effectively improve the storage quality and extend the shelf life of fresh goji berries. Practical applications: Acidic electrolyzed water, a clean and environmentally friendly preservation technology, combined with vacuum precooling extended the shelf life of fresh goji berries while delaying the aging of goji berries at different storage temperatures. In this sense, AEW+VP had certain stability in enhancing the storage quality and extending the shelf life of goji berries, which can be regarded as an effective strategy for promoting the preservation of agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the flocking behavior of a class of multi-agent systems with symmetrical and asymmetrical delays under hierarchical leadership. First, we present the two corresponding models. Then, mainly using mathematical induction and considering the nature of differential and quadratic functions, we prove that the group can realize flocking with the two types of delays under certain conditions. Finally, we validate the conclusions via numerical simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hardware-accelerated time–frequency distribution calculation is one of the commonly used methods to analyze and present the information from intercepted radio frequency signals in modern ultra-wideband digital receiver (DRX) designs. In this paper, we introduce the piecewise constant window blocking FFT (PCW-BFFT) method. The purpose of this work is to show the generation of spectrograms (formed by a number of spectrum lines) using a very large number of samples (N) in an FFT frame for each spectrum line calculation. In the PCW-BFFT, the N samples are grouped into K consecutive time slots, and each slot has M number of samples. As soon as the M samples in the current time slot are available from a high-speed analog-to-digital convertor (ADC), the frequency information will be obtained using K M-point FFTs. Since each time the FFT frame hops one time slot for the next spectrum line calculation, the frequency information obtained from a time slot will be reused in many spectrum line calculations, as long as these spectrum lines share those samples in the time slot. Although the use of the time domain PCW introduces spikes in the frequency spectrum of the window, the levels of those spikes are still much lower than the first side lobe level of a rectangular window. Using a Gaussian window as an example, the highest spike level can be lower than the main lobe level by at least 38 dB. The PCW-BFFT method allows a DRX to produce multiple spectrograms concurrently with different analysis window widths when the time domain samples become available continuously from the ADC. This paper presents the detailed derivation process of the PCW-BFFT method and demonstrates the use of the method with simulation results. The hardware implementation process will be reported in another paper. The computer simulation results show that long signals with slowly changing frequencies over time can be depicted on the spectrograms with wide analysis windows, and short pulses and signals with rapidly changing instantaneous frequencies can be captured in the narrow analysis window spectrograms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Plantar warts are a common cutaneous disease of the sole of the foot caused by human papillomavirus. Photodynamic therapy has gained increasing attention in the treatment of plantar warts. Objective. To investigate the effect of photodynamic therapy combined with transfer factor capsules in the treatment of multiple plantar warts. Methods. Sixty-one patients with multiple plantar warts who visited our outpatient department from September 2017 to August 2019 were randomly divided into two groups. Twenty-three patients received photodynamic therapy (treatment group) and thirty-eight received cryotherapy (control group). Both groups also received immune modulator transfer factor capsules. Skin lesion score, numeric rating scale- (NRS-) 10 score, recurrence rate, adverse reactions, and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were analyzed in both groups. Results. The mean skin lesion score improved from 13.39 ± 3.88 before treatment to 1.48 ± 2.50 after the last treatment in the treatment group and from 12.47 ± 2.99 before treatment to 4.47 ± 3.67 after the last treatment in the control group. The success rate after 3 months of treatment was 86.96% in the treatment group and 39.47% in the control group. After 3 months of follow-up, the recurrence rate was significantly lower in the treatment group (20%) than in the control group (53.33%). The mean DLQI score at three months after treatment was significantly lower in the treatment group (3.61 ± 1.16) than in the control group (6.31 ± 2.59). Conclusion. Photodynamic therapy combined with immunomodulators significantly increased the cure rate and reduced the recurrence rate of multiple plantar warts compared with traditional cryotherapy combined with immunomodulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1- x)(0.75(Na 0.5 Bi 0.5)TiO 3 -0.25SrTiO 3)- x NdGaO 3 ceramics (NBST- x NG, x = 0–0.06) were fabricated through a solid-state reaction method. High-valent Nd3+ ions enter the perovskite A-site to occupy Bi vacancies resulting from the volatilization of Bi, inhibiting the formation of oxygen vacancies and contributing to an enhanced breakdown electric field (E b). Low-valent Ga3+ ions enter the B-site to substitute for Ti4+ ions, resulting in the formation of random electric fields (REFs) at the B-site due to co-occupying hetero-valence ions of Ga3+/Ti4+, which significantly reduces ferroelectric hysteresis. Therefore, a synergic effect of A- and B-sites co-doping was realized in NBST- x NG ceramics. Benefitting from this synergic effect, an enhanced recoverable energy storage density (W rec) of 2.88 J/cm3 and an efficiency (η) of 83% are simultaneously obtained in NBST-0.04NG ceramics under a moderate electric field (E) of 200 kV/cm. Compared with most NBT-based ceramics, the values of (η vs W rec / E 2) for NBST-0.04NG ceramics show an obvious advantage, indicating excellent potential for application as an energy storage material. Moreover, W rec and η of NBST-0.04NG ceramics exhibit excellent temperature stability from 30 °C to 200 °C due to the enhanced correlation strength of polar nanoregions (PNRs) and local structural stability. This work provides a potential strategy to improve the energy storage performance of NBT-based ceramics via the synergic effect of A- and B-site co-doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine ecosystems harbor remarkably diverse and distinct plant communities that are characteristically limited to harsh, and cold climatic conditions. As a result of thermal limitation to species occurrence, mountainous ecosystems are considered to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Our understanding of the impact of climate change is mainly based on vascular plants however, whereas cryptogams (i.e., lichens and bryophytes) are generally neglected or simply considered as one functional group. Here we aimed to improve our understanding of the drivers underlying temporal changes in vegetation of alpine ecosystems. To this end, we repeatedly surveyed the vegetation on four mountain summits along an elevational gradient in northern Sweden spanning a 19‐year period. Our results show that the vascular plant communities remained relatively stable throughout the study period, despite fluctuations in terms of ground cover and species richness of shrubs and graminoids. In contrast, both lichens and bryophytes substantially decreased in cover and diversity, leading to alterations in community composition that were unrelated to vascular plant cover. Thermophilization of the vascular plant community was found only on the two intermediate summits. Our findings are only partially consistent with (long‐term) climate‐change impacts, and we argue that local non‐climatic drivers such as herbivory might offset vegetation responses to warming. Hence, we underline the importance of considering local non‐climatic drivers when evaluating temporal vegetation change in biologically complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]