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Continuum reverberation mapping is widely used in studying the accretion disks of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Some indirect evidence and simulations have indicated that the diffuse continuum, especially the strong Balmer continuum from the broad-line region, may contribute to the continuum in the u / U band. Here, we present direct evidence for this contribution. In this work, we apply the ICCF-Cut method to continuum reverberation mapping to extract the possible diffuse continuum light curves of six AGNs, using high-cadence, high-quality, and multiband observations. We find the existence of an outer component out of the accretion disk for each of the six AGNs in the Swift U band. Meanwhile, similar results can be derived with the JAVELIN Photometric Reverberation Mapping Model for four of them. The lags of the outer components are consistent with the predicted Balmer continuum lags, which are about half of the H β lag values. Our result directly reinforces the understanding that an outer component, especially the Balmer continuum in the rest-frame u / U band, can contribute significantly to the continuum reverberation lags of AGNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To analyze the coupling and coordination relationship between the supply of medical resources and the utilization of medical services in Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle from 2016 to 2021, so as to provide reference for optimizing the allocation of medical resources. Methods Based on the comprehensive evaluation index system of medical resources supply and service utilization, a comprehensive evaluation model and a coupling coordination degree model were constructed to analyze the coupling and coordination relationship between medical resources supply and service utilization in Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle from 2016 to 2021. With the use of exploratory spatial data analysis, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of medical resources coupling coordination were analyzed. Results From 2016 to 2021, the development levels of medical resources supply and service utilization in Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle were 0.11-0.13 and 0.14-0.15, respectively, and the relative degree of development changed from shortage of medical resources (0.78) to mutual complement and promotion of development (0.92). However, the proportion of cities subject to lagging supply of medical resources was still large (68.8% in 2021). The level of coupling coordination changed from 0.47 to barely coordinated development. By 2021, only Chongqing and Chengdu had a good coordinated development. The LISA diagram showed that the "high-high" areas increased year by year, and the "cold point" effect disappeared, but there was still a "highland" phenomenon centered on Nanchong. Conclusion The development level of medical resource supply and service utilization in Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is stable and rising, but the overall level is low and the regional gap is obvious. The coupling coordination level needs to be further improved, which is mainly limited by the lagging supply of medical resources. The spatial positive correlation of coupling coordination degree is gradually enhanced, but the spatial heterogeneity is still prominent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Reduction of NgR in perforant path decreases amyloid-β peptide production and ameliorates synaptic and cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice." The authors identified an error in Figure 6C(a) of the original article and have provided the corrected version. The corrected figure shows the Western blot and densitometry analysis of NgR and APP levels in APPswe/HEK293 cells. The original article has been updated with the corrected figure. The authors of the article are Rong Jiang, Xue-Fei Wu, Bin Wang, Rong-Xiao Guan, Lang-Man Lv, Ai-Ping Li, Lei Lei, Ye Ma, Na Li, Qi-Fa Li, Quan-Hong Ma, Jie Zhao, and Shao Li. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Whether airway‐compromised airway–esophageal fistula (AEF) patients should undergo combined airway and esophageal stenting is controversial. This study was designed to evaluate the survival prognosis and poststent interventions in AEF patients with airways compromised by advanced malignancy with or without airway stents. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records, survival times, and poststent interventions of 17 patients with or without airway stents was performed. Results: The causes of AEF were esophageal cancer (11/17, 64.7%), lung cancer (6/17, 29.4%), and thyroid cancer (1/17, 5.9%). All patients received a nasogastric tube (n = 12) or underwent gastrostomy (n = 5) to resume enteral nutrition. Thirteen patients underwent airway stent insertion (13/17, 76.5%), whereas four patients did not. Four patients with a high risk of stent migration received external stent fixation to the trachea. Three of the patients with stents suffered severe granulation tissue formation and needed repeated bronchoscopy interventions. In the stented group, none of the patients developed stent migration, and the overall median survival time was 9 months, compared with 1.25 months in the nonstented group (P = 0.04). Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that stent insertion, nasogastric tube insertion, and transcatheter bronchial artery chemoembolization were protective factors against death, whereas surgery‐related fistula, fistula larger than 2 cm, continued chemotherapy, and age were risk factors for poor survival (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In airway‐compromised AEF patients, airway stents and nasogastric tubes are probably the preferred treatments. Airway stenting is tolerable, and routine weekly poststent bronchoscopy is needed in the first month and depending on respiratory symptoms thereafter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of halos, one of the most interesting phenomena in exotic nuclei, has opened up a new field in nuclear physics. To understand this unique property, the level structures of 14 B, 15 C, 22 N, 23 O, 24 F, and 25 Ne are studied with the complex momentum representation (CMR) method. We calculate the single-particle energies of bound and resonant states, and examine the occupation probabilities, density distribution, wavefunctions of the valence neutron occupied levels, and the root mean square (RMS) radii of the single-particle orbits. These results show that 14 B, 15 C, and 22 N are neutron halo nuclei dominated by s-wave configurations in - 0.08 ≤ β 2 ≤ 0 , 0.1 ≤ β 2 ≤ 0.3 , and - 0.1 ≤ β 2 ≤ 0.08 , respectively. Although the last valence neutron of 23 O, 24 F, and 25 Ne all occupy the 2 s 1 / 2 orbit (the orbit with a dominant s-wave configuration), the single-particle levels occupied by the valence neutrons are rather bound. It implies a neutron skin structure in 23 O, 24 F, and 25 Ne with spherical shape or prolate deformation. The halo phenomena are not only related to the orbital occupied by the last valence neutron but also to its separation energy. This prediction has reference value for further exploration of neutron halo in experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stress intensity factor (SIF) is the foundation of fracture mechanics analysis. Accurate determination of SIFs is at the very heart of damage tolerance design and fatigue crack growth life prediction. The weight function method (WFM) is a powerful method for SIF‐determination involving complex load conditions. This article presents a review of the historical development over the past five decades and the current state‐of‐the‐art in three‐dimensional (3D) WFMs. The discussions are focused on the slice synthesis weight function method (SSWFM) and the point weight function method (PWFM). The powerfulness of the 3D WFMs is shown by a variety of examples with complex part‐through crack configurations under uni‐ and bi‐variant loadings. Solution accuracy is verified by comparisons of SIFs with various numerical methods. Use of the substitute geometry concept to expand the capability of 3D WFMs for solving real‐world engineering 3D crack problems is demonstrated. Some remaining challenges are briefly discussed. Highlights: This article presents a review of the historical development and the current state‐of‐the‐art in 3D WFMs.The 3D WFMs is powerful for complex part‐through crack configurations.The WFMs can solve real‐world 3D crack problems with substitute geometry concept.Some remaining challenges are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In previous taxonomic studies, identification of Atlanticus species was mainly based on male morphological features, such as cercus, tenth abdominal tergum and subgenital plate. In this study, we systematically revise eight Atlanticus species (61 individuals) in East China. We sequence COI genes of all samples for identification, and compare morphologies and male calling songs. The classification based on male cerci, calling songs, and COI genes is consistent. In contrast, the morphologies of male tenth abdominal tergum and subgenital plate varied among species. In addition, we regard A. jiangyei Liu, Wang & Cheng, 2016 as a junior synonym of A. pieli Tinkham, 1941, and A. helleri Liu, Wang & Cheng, 2016 as a junior synonym of A. kiangsu Ramme, 1939. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare lung disease characterized by the accumulation of large amounts of phospholipid protein-like surfactant material in the alveolar spaces, leading to severe hypoxemia and respiratory failure. The disease has an insidious onset and is difficult to diagnose in the early stages. Its clinical manifestations primarily include progressive dyspnea and coughing. Currently, whole lung lavage (WLL) is the preferred and effective treatment for PAP, as it improves alveolar ventilation function. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor is used clinically in the treatment of a variety of disease. Nebulized granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has a certain therapeutic effect on PAP. Here, we report a case of PAP treated with WLL combined with nebulized GM-CSF, which achieved good therapeutic effects during a 4-year follow-up period, to enhance understanding of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is a chronic and complex severe psychiatric disorder. Male and female are different in their risks for schizophrenia for the biologic and sociocultural reasons. Homocysteine (Hcy), Cysteine (Cys), and methionine (Met) play important roles in metabolism, and the three amino acids may also be involved in pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This study aimed to test the associations between sulfur-containing amino acid blood levels and risk of schizophrenia, evaluating the different risk in male and female. We organized a case-control study on 876 individuals with schizophrenia and 913 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects as control group. The concentrations of Hcy, Cys and Met were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technology. Subsequently, restricted cubic spline was applied to explore full-range associations of these amino acids with schizophrenia. Interactions between levels of the three amino acids and sex on additive scale were also tested. Hcy levels at ≤29 μmol/L were associated with sharply increased risk of schizophrenia, inversely, Met was associated with sharply decreased risk of schizophrenia at levels ≤22 μmol/L. Increased Cys levels were associated with decreased risk of schizophrenia. Almost inverse associations were observed between Cys/Hcy and Met/Hcy ratios and schizophrenia. Significant synergistic interactions between levels of all the three amino acids and sex were discovered on an additive scale. Our study suggests a close association between sulfur-containing amino acids and schizophrenia with different risk in male and female. Future studies are demanded to clarify the pathogenic role of Hcy, Cys and Met in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients frequently die from cardiac causes after radiotherapy for esophageal cancer. Early detection of cardiac death risk in these patients is crucial to improve clinical decision‐making and prognosis. Thus, we modeled the risk of cardiac death after irradiation for esophageal cancer. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 37,599 esophageal cancer cases treated with radiotherapy in the SEER database between 2000 and 2018 was performed. The selected cases were randomly assigned to the model development group (n = 26,320) and model validation group (n = 11,279) at a ratio of 7:3. We identified the risk factors most commonly associated with cardiac death by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis (LASSO). The endpoints for model development and validation were 5‐ and 10‐year survival rates. The net clinical benefit of the models was evaluated by decision curve analysis (DCA) and concordance index (C‐index). The performance of the models was further assessed by creating a receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and calculating the area under the curve (AUC). Kaplan‐Meier (K‐M) survival analysis was performed on the probability of death. Patients were classified according to death probability thresholds. Five‐ and ten‐year survival rates for the two groups were shown using K‐M curves. Results: The major risk factors for cardiac death were age, surgery, year of diagnosis, sequence of surgery and radiotherapy, chemotherapy and a number of tumors, which were used to create the nomogram. The C‐indexes of the nomograms were 0.708 and 0.679 for the development and validation groups, respectively. DCA showed the good net clinical benefit of nomograms in predicting 5‐ and 10‐year risk of cardiac death. The model exhibited moderate predictive power for 5‐ and 10‐year cardiac mortality (AUC: 0.833 and 0.854, respectively), and for the development and validation cohorts (AUC: 0.76 and 0.813, respectively). Conclusions: Our nomogram may assist clinicians in making clinical decisions about patients undergoing radiotherapy for esophageal cancer based on early detection of cardiac death risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel polyoxometalates-based metal-organic frameworks (POMOFs) microsphere, that is [Ni(phen)H2O]·V2O6 (phen is o-phenanthroline), have been successfully fabricated by one-pot simple hydro(solvent)thermal reaction through regulating different solvent ratios (H2O/EtOH). The experimental results show that the solvent effect has a significant effect on the micro-morphology and the catalytic activity of the materials. The dual-function in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and catalytic reduction of Cr6+ of the as-prepared POMOFs microspheres have been also studied. The POMOF(V,Ni)_3 catalyst prepared in the medium of pure ethanol have the best catalytic activity, in which the overpotential of 159 mV for the electrode is comparable to that of MoS2-based electrode material, and the rate constant k reaches 0.14 in the process of catalytic reduction of Cr6+. In this study, a novel polyoxometalates-based metal-organic frameworks (POMOFs) microsphere [Ni(phen)H2O]·V2O6 have been successfully fabricated by one-pot simple hydro(solvent)thermal reaction through regulating different solvent ratios. The dual-function in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and catalytic reduction of Cr6+ of the as-prepared sample have been also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-infectious uveitis (NIU) is a disorder with various etiologies and is characterized by eye inflammation, mainly affecting people of working age. An accurate diagnosis of NIU is crucial for appropriate therapy. The aim of therapy is to improve vision, relieve ocular inflammation, prevent relapse, and avoid treatment side effects. At present, corticosteroids are the mainstay of topical or systemic therapy. However, repeated injections are required for the treatment of chronic NIU. Recently, new drug delivery systems that may ensure intraocular delivery of therapeutic drug levels have been highlighted. Furthermore, with the development of immunosuppressants and biologics, specific therapies can be selected based on the needs of each patient. Immunosuppressants used in the treatment of NIU include calcineurin inhibitors and antimetabolites. However, systemic immunosuppressive therapy itself is associated with adverse effects due to the inhibition of immune function. In patients with refractory NIU or those who cannot tolerate corticosteroids and immunosuppressors, biologics have emerged as alternative treatments. Thus, to improve the prognosis of patients with NIU, NIU should be managed with different drugs according to the response to treatment and possible side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environment of a γ -ray burst has an important influence on the evolution of jet dynamics and its afterglow. Here we investigate the afterglow polarizations in a stratified medium with the equal arrival time surface (EATS) effect. Polarizations of multiband afterglows are predicted. The effects of the parameters of the stratified medium on the afterglow polarizations are also investigated. We found the influences of the EATS effect on the afterglow polarizations become important for off-axis detections and polarization degree (PD) bumps move to later times with the EATS effect. Even if the magnetic field configurations, jet structure, and observational angles are fixed, polarization properties of the jet emission could still evolve. Here, we assume a large-scale ordered magnetic field in the reverse-shock region and a two-dimensional random field in the forward-shock region. Then, PD evolution is mainly determined by the evolution of the f 32 parameter (the flux ratio between the reverse-shock region and forward-shock region) at the early stage and by the evolution of the bulk Lorentz factor γ at the late stage. Through the influences on the f 32 or γ, the observational energy band, observational angles, and the parameters of the stratified medium will finally affect the afterglow polarizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional protein engineering methods for modifying protein nanopores are typically limited to 20 natural amino acids, which restrict the diversity of the nanopores in structure and function. To enrich the chemical environment inside the nanopore, we employed the genetic code expansion (GCE) technique to site‐specifically incorporate the unnatural amino acid (UAA) into the sensing region of aerolysin nanopores. This approach leveraged the efficient pyrrolysine‐based aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetase‐tRNA pair for a high yield of pore‐forming protein. Both molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and single‐molecule sensing experiments demonstrated that the conformation of UAA residues provided a favorable geometric orientation for the interactions of target molecules and the pore. This rationally designed chemical environment enabled the direct discrimination of multiple peptides containing hydrophobic amino acids. Our work provides a new framework for endowing nanopores with unique sensing properties that are difficult to achieve using classical protein engineering approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional protein engineering methods for modifying protein nanopores are typically limited to 20 natural amino acids, which restrict the diversity of the nanopores in structure and function. To enrich the chemical environment inside the nanopore, we employed the genetic code expansion (GCE) technique to site‐specifically incorporate the unnatural amino acid (UAA) into the sensing region of aerolysin nanopores. This approach leveraged the efficient pyrrolysine‐based aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetase‐tRNA pair for a high yield of pore‐forming protein. Both molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and single‐molecule sensing experiments demonstrated that the conformation of UAA residues provided a favorable geometric orientation for the interactions of target molecules and the pore. This rationally designed chemical environment enabled the direct discrimination of multiple peptides containing hydrophobic amino acids. Our work provides a new framework for endowing nanopores with unique sensing properties that are difficult to achieve using classical protein engineering approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are common in clinical practice and can cause significant harm to patients and increase resource use. Natural language processing (NLP) has been applied to automate ADE detection, but NLP systems become less adaptable when drug entities are missing or multiple medications are specified in clinical narratives. Additionally, no Chinese-language NLP system has been developed for ADE detection due to the complexity of Chinese semantics, despite ˃10 million cases of drug-related adverse events occurring annually in China. To address these challenges, we propose DKADE, a deep learning and knowledge graph-based framework for identifying ADEs. DKADE infers missing drug entities and evaluates their correlations with ADEs by combining medication orders and existing drug knowledge. Moreover, DKADE can automatically screen for new adverse drug reactions. Experimental results show that DKADE achieves an overall F1-score value of 91.13%. Furthermore, the adaptability of DKADE is validated using real-world external clinical data. In summary, DKADE is a powerful tool for studying drug safety and automating adverse event monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the detection of amino acids has attracted considerable attention in the field of nutrition analysis, health monitoring, and medical diagnosis due to their significance for organisms. In this work, two novel Cd(II)-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with the formulas [Cd(bib)2(SiF6)]n (1) and {[Cd(bib)2(SiF6)]·DMF·3H2O}n (2, bib = 1-(4-imidazol-1-ylphenyl)imidazole) were synthesized and exhibited fluorescence sensing capacity for arginine. In spite of having the same framework composition, complexes 1 and 2 showed great differences in their structure originating in the variations between the coordination modes of SiF62− with Cd2+ and the extension direction of the Cd-bib coordination complexes. Structural analysis manifested that complex 1 featured a 3D coordination framework constructed from 2D Cd-bib coordination layers bridged by SiF62− anions, while complex 2 possessed 3-fold interpenetrated Cd-bib coordination networks connected by SiF62− anions. Furthermore, fluorescence sensing experiments exhibited that both complexes 1 and 2 could be used as fluorescence probes for arginine and the emission intensities of complexes 1 and 2 could be enhanced up to 10.3 and 12.0 times that of the initial emission intensities upon the addition of Arg, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting suitable promoters to drive gene overexpression can provide significant insight into the development of engineered bacteria. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome data of Burkholderia pyrrocinia JK-SH007 and identified 54 highly expressed genes. The promoter sequences were located using genome-wide data and scored using the prokaryotic promoter prediction software BPROM to further screen out 18 promoter sequences. We also developed a promoter trap system based on two reporter proteins adapted for promoter optimization in B. pyrrocinia JK-SH007: firefly luciferase encoded by the luciferase gene set (Luc) and trimethoprim (TP)-resistant dihydrofolate reductase (TPr). Ultimately, eight constitutive promoters were successfully inserted into the probe vector and transformed into B. pyrrocinia JK-SH007. The transformants were successfully grown on Tp antibiotic plates, and firefly luciferase expression was determined by measuring the relative light unit (RLU). Five of the promoters (P4, P9, P10, P14, and P19) showed 1.01–2.51-fold higher activity than the control promoter λ phage transcriptional promoter (PRPL). The promoter activity was further validated via qPCR analysis, indicating that promoters P14 and P19 showed stable high transcription levels at all time points. Then, GFP and RFP proteins were overexpressed in JK-SH007. In addition, promoters P14 and P19 were successfully used to drive gene expression in Burkholderia multivorans WS-FJ9 and Escherichia coli S17-1. The two constitutive promoters can be used not only in B. pyrrocinia JK-SH007 itself to gene overexpression but also to expand the scope of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Plant diseases worsen the threat of food shortage with the growing global population, and disease recognition is the basis for the effective prevention and control of plant diseases. Deep learning has made significant breakthroughs in the field of plant disease recognition. Compared with traditional deep learning, meta‐learning can still maintain more than 90% accuracy in disease recognition with small samples. However, there is no comprehensive review on the application of meta‐learning in plant disease recognition. Here, we mainly summarize the functions, advantages, and limitations of meta‐learning research methods and their applications for plant disease recognition with a few data scenarios. Finally, we outline several research avenues for utilizing current and future meta‐learning in plant science. This review may help plant science researchers obtain faster, more accurate, and more credible solutions through deep learning with fewer labeled samples. Significance Statement: This paper focuses on the research related to meta‐learning based plant disease recognition with few samples. With the significant progress in deep‐learning based plant disease detection, disease diagnose is gradually intelligent. However, traditional deep‐learning has limited the existing research development because of the great demand for samples, time and effort consumption, and the lack of migration between models. Furthermore, traditional deep‐learning faces the time‐consuming and labor‐intensive nature of the available samples and the lack of transferability between models. The emergence of meta‐learning methods has solved the problem of sample annotation arising from the huge sample size, and strong feature‐extracting ability, which may be an essential tool for future crop phenotype research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HLA‐C*07:1089 differs from HLA‐C*07:02:01:01 by one nucleotide in exon 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaction of [Au(tht)2](ClO4) (tht = tetrahydrothiophene), [Cu(CH3CN)4](ClO4), 3,6-di-tert-butyl-1,8-diethynyl-9H-carbazole (H3decz), and bis(2-diphenylphosphinophenyl)ether (POP) in the presence of triethylamine (NEt3) gave the cluster complex Au4Cu2(decz)2(POP)2 as yellow crystals. As revealed by X-ray crystallography, the Au4Cu2 cluster exhibits scissor-like structure sustained by two decz and two POP ligands and stabilized by Au-Cu and Au-Au interactions. The Au4Cu2 cluster shows bright yellow to orange photoluminescence upon irradiation at >300 nm, arising from 3[π (decz)→5d (Au)] 3LMCT (ligand-to-metal charge transfer) and 3[π→π* (decz)] 3IL (intraligand) triplet states as revealed by theoretical and computational studies. When it is mechanically ground, reversible phosphorescence conversion from yellow to red is observed owing to more compact molecular packing and thus stronger intermetallic interaction. Variable-temperature luminescence studies reveal that it displays distinct red-shifts of the emission whether the temperature is elevated or lowered from ambient temperature, suggestive of exceptional thermochromic phosphorescence characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy combined with computer algorithms in the diagnosis of primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS). In this study, Raman spectra of 60 serum samples were acquired from 30 patients with pSS and 30 healthy controls (HCs). The means and standard deviations of the raw spectra of patients with pSS and HCs were calculated. Spectral features were assigned based on the literature. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract the spectral features. Then, a particle swarm optimization (PSO)-support vector machine (SVM) was selected as the method of parameter optimization to rapidly classify patients with pSS and HCs. In this study, the SVM algorithm was used as the classification model, and the radial basis kernel function was selected as the kernel function. In addition, the PSO algorithm was used to establish a model for the parameter optimization method. The training set and test set were randomly divided at a ratio of 7:3. After PCA dimension reduction, the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of the PSO-SVM model were obtained, and the results were 88.89%, 100% and 94.44%, respectively. This study showed that the combination of Raman spectroscopy and a support vector machine algorithm could be used as an effective pSS diagnosis method with broad application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, we evaluated the effect of leucine-enkephalin (L-ENK) on lipid deposition and GSK-3β/mTOR signaling in zebrafish. Zebrafish were exposed with 2.5, 12.5, and 25 µg/g body weight (bw) L-ENK for four weeks. Our results demonstrated that 2.5, 12.5, and 25 µg/g L-ENK enhanced the hepatic gene expression and activities of fatty acid synthesis enzymes. The level of triglyceride (TG) and the number of lipid droplet was increased by 2.5, 12.5, and 25 µg/g L-ENK treatments. Moreover, 2.5, 12.5, and 25 µg/g L-ENK elevated mTOR and PPARγ gene expression, but inhibited GSK-3β and TSC2 expression in the zebrafish liver. Our results showed that L-ENK induces fatty acid synthesis and lipid deposition, and the signaling GSK-3β/mTOR may be involved in this regulatory process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the conditions of powder bentonite-steel slag forming, the composite adsorption particles were prepared from calcium-based bentonite and steel slag with the help of cross-linking of sodium alginate and calcium chloride. The post-adsorption morphology, elemental and physical phases of the composite particles were characterized by SEM-EDS and XRD analysis. The effect of composite adsorption particles on the adsorption of Cu (11) at different slag mass ratios, dosing amounts, pH, temperature and initial concentration was investigated by static adsorption experiments. The results showed that the removal rate of Cu(II) reached 92.95% at a compound particle dosage of 30 g/L, pH 5.2 and an initial Cu(II) concentration of 100 mg/L. The kinetics of Cu(II) adsorption by the composite particles is in accordance with the proposed first-order kinetic model, the adsorption thermodynamics is in accordance with the Lang-muir adsorption isotherm model, and the thermodynamically relevant parameters indicate that the adsorption of Cu(II) by the composite particles is a spontaneous, heat-absorbing procees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gene changes for diagnosis and prognosis of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) still remain unclear. RAC1 was reported to be asso;ciated with the B cell receptor signal pathway, but its relations with DLBCL have not yet been systematically explored. In this study, we have conducted molecular, bioinformatics and clinical analyses by using publicly available data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Wilcoxon signed-rank test and logistic regression were performed to evaluate the association between RAC1 and clinical features in patients. Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression methods were used to examine the impacts of RAC1 expression level on overall survival, and a nomogram was performed to illustrate the correlation between RAC1 and the risk of DLBCL. Our results revealed that the expression level of RAC1 in DLBCL was higher than that in normal tissues or lymphadenitis. High-level expression of RAC1 was significantly associated with clinical stage, as well as being an independent factor affecting overall survival. RAC1 was negatively correlated with Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). The association between RAC1 gene expression and the risk of DLBCL was presented in a nomogram. In conclusion, RAC1 expression patterns may be used to predict the development and prognosis of DLBCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates syntactic and semantic features of the English concessive construction just because X doesn't mean Y (JB-X DM-Y) grounded in Goldberg's theory of construction grammar. Based on initial data collected from the British National Corpus (BNC) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), our qualitative analysis proved that: (1) syntactically, there should be an unexpressed pronoun it or that serving as the subject of the DM-Y part. The quantitative analysis revealed the productivity of JB-X DM-Y. In terms of vocabulary, just and mean in the construction can be replaced by the adverb simply and verbs indicating inference or making assertions. In terms of structure, JB-X NEG-VP and JB-X NEG-CLAUSE were widely used, and JB-X QUESTION exhibited certain productivity; and (2) semantically, JB-X DM-Y should be seen as the negation of the construction Y, because X. It presented the meaning of inference denial and concessive meaning, corresponding to the inferential-because construction and causal-because construction. This article provides a systemic discussion about JB-X DM-Y and hopes to provide a basic structure for the future analysis of JB-X DM-Y. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize the high-value utilization of protein resources in sesame meal, the production process of protein peptide from sesame meal solid-state fermented by Monascus purpureus was optimized. On the basis of single factor experiment, the orthogonal experiment with three factors and three levels was designed to optimize the solid-state fermentation process with the fermentation time, water content and temperature as the influencing factors and the peptide yield as the investigated indicator. The results showed that the factors affecting the protein peptide yield produced from sesame meal solid-state fermented by Monascus purpureus were in order of water content, incubation time and temperature. The optimal fermentation process was the fermentation time of 6 d, water content of 50%, and temperature of 31 °C, and the yield of peptide was 14.95% after the verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the protective effect and the regulatory mechanism of taurine on growth inhibition and intestinal damage induced by glycinin in juvenile Rhynchocypris lagowskii Dybowski. The control diets had no glycinin and taurine, the glycinin diets contained only 80 g/kg glycinin, and the glycinin + taurine diets contained 80 g/kg glycinin+10 g/kg taurine. Juvenile Rhynchocypris lagowskii Dybowski (4.65 ± 0.03 g/tail) were respectively fed with these 3 diets for 8 weeks. The results showed that glycinin significantly decreased the final body weight, weight gain rate, specific growth rate, protein efficiency rate, feed efficiency rate and feeding rate of fish compared with the control group (P < 0.05). While taurine supplementation improved the growth performance and feed efficiency, but final body weight, weight gain rate, specific growth rate of the glycinin + taurine group were still significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the glycinin group, taurine supplementation significantly increased whole-body and muscle crude protein content, and hepatopancreas and intestinal protease activities (P < 0.05). Distal intestinal villous dysplasia and mucosal damage, and increased intestinal mucosal permeability were observed in the glycinin group, while taurine supplementation alleviated these adverse effects. Usefully, taurine supplementation could also partially restore the impaired immune function and antioxidant capacity of fish fed glycinin diets. Compared with the glycinin group, taurine supplementation down-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF‐α and IL-1β mRNA levels, and up-regulated anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β mRNA levels. Furthermore, taurine partially reversed the reduction of antioxidant genes Nrf 2、 HO-1 , CAT and GPx mRNA levels in distal intestine induced by glycinin. Concluded, 80 g/kg glycinin led to intestinal damage, digestive dysfunction and increased intestinal mucosal permeability in juvenile Rhynchocypris lagowskii Dybowski, and these adverse effects were ultimately manifested in growth inhibition. But taurine supplementation could partially mitigate the negative effects induced by glycinin. • Taurine supplement could alleviate the growth inhibition induced by glycinin in Rhynchocypris lagowskii Dybowski. • Taurine can effectively enhance serum immunity and alleviate intestinal inflammation caused by high-dose glycinin. • Taurine can alleviate high-dose glycinin-induced oxidative stress in fish through the Nrf2 - Keap1 signaling pathway. • When the Rhynchocypris lagowskii Dybowski diet contains 80 g/kg glycinin, it is recommended to supplement 10 g/kg taurine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing severity of the global energy crisis and environmental pollution, there is an urgent need to change the economic development model driven by certain factors and the investment scale and pursue science- and technology-driven innovative development. This study aims to improve the efficiency of scientific and technological innovation and promote the high-quality development of regional industrial enterprises. It constructs a data-driven DEA-Malmquist evaluation model to evaluate and optimize regional industrial enterprises' scientific and technological innovation efficiency. First, we collect the panel data of regional industrial enterprises' scientific and technological innovation input-output indexes. Second, we use the Pearson correlation coefficient method to identify and construct the evaluation index system of regional industrial enterprises' scientific and technological innovation efficiency. Third, we build a DEA-Malmquist evaluation model to quantitatively evaluate regional industrial enterprises' scientific and technological innovation efficiency from static and dynamic aspects. Finally, we verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the method using statistical data on scientific and technological innovation and development of Anhui industrial enterprises from 2011 to 2019 and put forth targeted countermeasures and suggestions. This study provides theoretical and methodological support for the sustainable development of industrial enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution, measured by the concentration of airborne particulate matter with diameter below 2.5 μm (PM2.5), is known to cause globally adverse health effects leading to premature mortality, yet high-resolution spatial distribution of premature deaths is lacking due to the absence of detailed data for the calculation of premature mortality. Here, we mapped the impact of PM2.5 on premature mortality at high resolution in 2018 using the global exposure mortality model, then we carried out statistical analysis in provincial-level administrative divisions. Results show that the PM2.5 threshold of 35 μg/m3 is exceeded in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and in mideastern, highly urbanized and industrial regions of Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Hubei, Anhui, and Shanghai. Premature deaths due to PM2.5 exposure in China amounted to 1.44 million, including 510,847 from ischemic heart disease, 471,487 from cerebrovascular disease, 220,837 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 131,321 from lung cancer, and 103,658 from lower respiratory infection. Premature mortality was higher in men, of 879,521 persons accounting for 61%, than women, of 558,629 persons. In provincial-level administrative divisions, high premature deaths were mainly concentrated in the North China Plain, with the highest per capita premature mortality in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong. Our finer resolution data, together with the age- and sex-specific population data, have improved the estimation of health impacts of PM2.5 exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camellia oil contains a variety of active substances, which have the functions of strengthening the heart and lowering cholesterol, and can prevent a variety of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by vascular sclerosis edible oil. Based on the logistics model, this paper builds a research model on the influencing factors of consumption and purchase intention and analyzes the coastal areas of camellia oil. Using this model, it makes an empirical analysis and research on the differences in the purchase intention and influencing factors of different consumers of camellia oil. Based on the results of empirical analysis, the main research conclusions of this paper are extracted, including the influencing factors of consumers' camellia oil purchase willingness and the differences in the influencing factors of consumers' camellia oil purchase willingness under different income levels, and put forward some corresponding measures and policy suggestions in a targeted manner. Based on the research model of the influencing factors of purchase intention established by logistic algorithm, this paper analyzes the coastal areas of Chashan oil and finds that the factors affecting consumers' purchase intention are positively related to education and personal monthly income and negatively related to gender. "Educational education" is significant at 1% and has a positive correlation with a coefficient of 0.864; personal income is significant at 5% with a coefficient of 0.762; for gender, it is negatively correlated with a coefficient of -0.259, indicating that other variables remain unchanged. Education can promote consumers' willingness to buy camellia oil, and consumers with higher education are more likely to buy camellia oil. In the same regression prediction model, the regression prediction efficiency of this model is better. In general, this shows that the model in this paper has certain superior performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most common malignancies, gastric cancer (GC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in China. GC is asymptomatic in early stages, and the majority of GC mortality is due to delayed symptoms. It is an urgent task to find reliable biomarkers for the identification of GC in order to improve outcomes. A combination of dried blood spot sampling and direct infusion mass spectrometry (MS) technology was used to measure blood metabolic profiles for 166 patients with GC and 183 healthy individuals, and 93 metabolites including amino acids, carnitine/acylcarnitines and their derivatives, and related ratios were quantified. Multiple algorithms were used to characterize the changes of metabolic profiles in patients with GC compared to healthy individuals. A biomarker panel was identified in training set, and assessed by tenfold cross-validation and external test data set. After systematic selection of 93 metabolites, a biomarker panel consisting of Ala, Arg, Gly, Orn, Tyr/Cit, Val/Phe, C4-OH, C5/C3, C10:2 shows the potential to distinguish patients with GC from healthy individuals in tenfold cross-validation model (sensitivity: 0.8750, specificity: 0.9006) and test set (sensitivity: 0.9545, specificity: 0.8636). This metabolomic analysis makes contribution to the identification of disease-associated biomarkers and to the development of new diagnostic tools for patients with GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is a complex disease with usually multiple disease mechanisms. Target combination is a better strategy than a single target in developing cancer therapies. However, target combinations are generally more difficult to be predicted. Current CRISPR-cas9 technology enables genome-wide screening for potential targets, but only a handful of genes have been screend as target combinations. Thus, an effective computational approach for selecting candidate target combinations is highly desirable. Selected target combinations also need to be translational between cell lines and cancer patients. We have therefore developed DSCN (double-targetselection guided byCRISPR screening andnetwork), a method that matches expression levels in patients and gene essentialities in cell lines through spectral-clustered protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. In DSCN, a sub-sampling approach is developed to model first-target knockdown and its impact on the PPI network, and it also facilitates the selection of a second target. Our analysis first demonstrated a high correlation of the DSCN sub-sampling-based gene knockdown model and its predicted differential gene expressions using observed gene expression in 22 pancreatic cell lines before and after MAP2K1 and MAP2K2 inhibition (R2 = 0.75). In DSCN algorithm, various scoring schemes were evaluated. The 'diffusion-path' method showed the most significant statistical power of differentialting known synthetic lethal (SL) versus non-SL gene pairs (P = 0.001) in pancreatic cancer. The superior performance of DSCN over existing network-based algorithms, such as OptiCon and VIPER, in the selection of target combinations is attributable to its ability to calculate combinations for any gene pairs, whereas other approaches focus on the combinations among optimized regulators in the network. DSCN's computational speed is also at least ten times fast than that of other methods. Finally, in applying DSCN to predict target combinations and drug combinations for individual samples (DSCNi), DSCNi showed high correlation between target combinations predicted and real synergistic combinations (P = 1e-5) in pancreatic cell lines. In summary, DSCN is a highly effective computational method for the selection of target combinations. Author summary: Cancer therapies require targets to function. Compared to a single target, a target combination is a better strategy for developing cancer therapies. However, predicting target combination is more complicated than predicting a single target. Current CRISPR technology enables whole-genome screening of potential targets. But most of the experiments have been conducted on a single target (gene) level. To facilitate the discovery of novel target (combinations), we developed DSCN (double-targetselection guided byCRISPR screening andnetwork) that utilize single target-level CRISPR screening data and expression profiles for predicting target combinations by connecting cell-line omics-data with tissue omics-data. DSCN showed great accuracy on different cancer types and superior performance compared to existing network-based prediction tools. We also introduced DSCNi derived from DSCN and designed specifically for predicting target combinations for single-tient patient. Our results showed synergistic target combinations predicted by DSCNi accurately reflected synergies on drug combination levels. Thus, DSCN and DSCNi have the potential to be further applied in the clinical personalized medicine practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let B H = { B t H , t ≥ 0 } be a fractional Brownian motion with Hurst index 1 2 ≤ H < 1 . In this paper, we consider the linear self-attracting diffusion: d X t H = d B t H + σ X t H d t − θ ∫ 0 t X s H − X u H d s d t + ν d t with X 0 H = 0 , where θ > 0 and σ , ν ∈ R are three parameters. The process is an analogue of the self-attracting diffusion (Cranston and Le Jan, Math. Ann.303 (1995), 87–93). Our main aim is to study the large time behaviors. We show that the solution t − σ θ H X t H − X ∞ H converges in distribution to a normal random variable, as t tends to infinity, and obtain two strong laws of large numbers associated with the solution X H . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new polyketide derivatives, 2-ethoxycarbonyl-endocrocin (1), 6-methoxy-2-ethoxycarbonyl-endocrocin (2) and pannorin C (3), along with sixteen known compounds (4–19) were isolated from a plant endophytic fungus Aspergillus cristatus 2H1. Their structures were elucidated by 1D/2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS data analysis. Compound 3 showed weak antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC 20 μg/ml). Compounds 14 and 15 showed effective cytotoxicity on human melanoma A375 cells (IC50 4.13 μM for 14, 3.39 μM for 15). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical stabilization is frequently used to stabilize lead (Pb) or arsenate (As), but faces challenges in Pb-As co-contaminated soils because of the antagonistic reactions between chemical stabilizers and contaminants. In this work, we innovated an effective and cost-efficient stepwise steam flash heating (SSFH) strategy to simultaneously immobilize Pb and As, and unraveled the underlying mechanisms. The combination of 1.5 % Ca(H 2 PO 4) 2 and 2 % Fe 2 (SO 4) 3 only decreased 1.99 % Pb by toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP-Pb) but increased 17.8 % of TCLP-As due to the antagonistic effects. SSFH with Ca(H 2 PO 4) 2 in the first step and Fe 2 (SO 4) 3 in the second step achieved the minimal TCLP-Pb and TCLP-As of 0.778 and 0.327 mg/L, respectively. It also reduced 69.8 % of leachable As in 100-year acid rain simulation, indicating a favorable long-term stabilization performance. Additionally, SSFH approach reduced 43.2 % stabilizer dosage and 14.9 % cost. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) documented that the stepwise SFH promoted the transformation of Pb(NO 3) 2 and NaAsO 2 /NaAsO 3 /As 2 O 3 /As 2 O 5 into stable Pb 3 (PO 4) 2 and FeAsO 4 , preventing the formation of AsO 4 3- and FePO 4. Our findings proved the state-of-the-art SSFH approach and unraveled its mechanisms to stabilize Pb and As co-contamination in soils, offering a green and sustainable remediation alternative for the management of heavy metal contaminated sites. A novel stepwise SFH approach can be applied to overcome the stabilizer antagonist effects by separately immobilizing Pb and As in two sequential steps. It also decreased 43.2 % of stabilizer dosage and 14.9 % of cost comparing to conventional chemical stabilization. This approach can be used for other metal co-contaminated soils facing similar antagonistic challenges, and our work raises a state-of-the-art solution for cost-effective, green and sustainable remediation practices. [Display omitted] • Innovative stepwise steam flash heating (SSFH) for effective Pb and As immobilization. • SSFH efficiently eliminated the antagonistic effect by stabilizers. • Higher cost-efficiency and favorable long-term immobilization performance in SSFH. • SSFH changes Pb and As immobility mechanism evidenced by XANES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Microgrid optimal dispatch to reduce costs, carbon emissions and power fluctuation. • The multi-objective optimization algorithm based on war strategy. • Pareto frontier sort based on membership degree. • Reasonable allocation of new energy and energy storage. This article introduces a novel metaheuristic multi-objective optimization algorithm to address the complex multi-objective optimization scheduling challenges of the microgrids for the first time. Comparing with common multi-objective optimization algorithms, the proposed Multi-Objective War Strategy Optimization (MOWSO) has the following highlights: 1) MOWSO only needs to set three parameters. The few parameters make the algorithm simple to debug and real-world implement in practical applications. 2) MOWSO avoids the local centralized distribution of Pareto frontier based on a random selection strategy. The selection range of multiple objectives is expanded properly. In addition, a comprehensive multi-objective optimization dispatch model for microgrids is established, concurrently considering operating costs, carbon emissions, and power fluctuations. Furthermore, the impact of new energy proportion and Energy Storage (ES) on microgrid optimal dispatch is thoroughly investigated. Finally, a case study about a village microgrid in North China is presented to validate the effectiveness and the superiority of proposed multi-objective optimization dispatch model and novel MOWSO algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ketamine, as a non-competitive antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, was originally used in general anesthesia. Epidemiological data show that ketamine has become one of the most commonly abused drugs in China. Ketamine administration might cause cognitive impairment; however, its molecular mechanism remains unclear. The glymphatic system is a lymphoid system that plays a key role in metabolic waste removal and cognitive regulation in the central nervous system. Focusing on the glymphatic system, this study evaluated the behavioral performance and circulatory function of the glymphatic system by building a short-term ketamine administration model in mice, and detected the expression levels of the 5-HT2c receptor, ΔFosb, Pten, Akt, and Aqp4 in the hippocampus. Primary astrocytes were cultured to verify the regulatory relationships among related indexes using a 5-HT2c receptor antagonist, a 5-HT2c receptor short interfering RNA (siRNA), and a ΔFosb siRNA. Ketamine administration induced ΔFosb accumulation by increasing 5-HT2c receptor expression in mouse hippocampal astrocytes and primary astrocytes. ΔFosb acted as a transcription factor to recognize the AATGATTAAT bases in the 5′ regulatory region of the Aqp4 gene (−1096 bp to −1087 bp), which inhibited Aqp4 expression, thus causing the circulatory dysfunction of the glymphatic system, leading to cognitive impairment. Although this regulatory mechanism does not involve the Pten/Akt pathway, this study revealed a new mechanism of ketamine-induced cognitive impairment in non-neuronal systems, and provided a theoretical basis for the safety of clinical treatment and the effectiveness of withdrawal. [Display omitted] • Ketamine administration causes circulatory dysfunction of glymphatic system. • Ketamine administration induces cognitive impairment in mice. • Ketamine induces ΔFosb accumulation by increasing the expression of 5-HT2c receptor. • ΔFosb acts as a transcription factor to recognize and inhibit Aqp4 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we synthesized three novel isomorphic materials, RE-BDC-NH 2 (RE = Sm, Y, Er), and compared their capacity to confirm the importance of pore size. Er-BDC-NH 2 was proved to be the best choice among them with a relatively high CO 2 adsorption capacity (91 cm3g−1) and CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity (15). [Display omitted] • Three 3D stable microporous amino-functionalized rare earth hexanuclear cluster based MOFs composed of tetrahedral cages and octahedral cages were synthesized. • They exhibit notable CO 2 gas adsorption performance, compared with CH 4. • They achieve the separation of CO 2 /CH 4 mixture gas with excellent selectivity and recyclability. Climate pollution and global warming caused by greenhouse gases have become one of our toughest environmental challenges. CO 2 capture and separation from natural gas can effectively reduce CO 2 emissions and improve energy efficiency, accordingly, it is a serious challenge faced by industrial separation and scientific research to effectively reduce the carbon dioxide concentration in natural gas pipeline transportation and achieve the acquisition of high-purity methane (>99.5 %). In this study, three stable hexanuclear microporous rare earth cluster-based MOFs (Sm-BDC-NH 2 , Er-BDC-NH 2 , Y-BDC-NH 2) were successfully synthesized. The selectivity of CO 2 /CH 4 was improved by the introduction of amino groups to achieve better CO 2 /CH 4 separation performance, which was proved by dynamic penetration experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural images tend to recur similar patterns within the same scale and across different scales. Some recent progress on Single Image Super-Resolution (SISR) have elaborated on applying non-local attention mechanism to explore intrinsic feature correlation on multi-scale similarity to improve SR performance. However, recent advanced non-local attention-based methods typically utilize fixed-scale image patches to mine the correlations between local and global features, which is unreliable to judge the similarity between the non-local image patches across various scales. In this paper, we develop a novel Multi-Scale Non-Local Attention Network (MSNLAN) for SISR. The MSNLAN consists of a serial of Residual Groups (RGs) and an embedded Multi-Scale Non-Local Attention Block (MSNLAB) located at the middle of those RGs. Each RG is comprised of several Residual Multi-scale Attention Blocks (RMABs) which learns multi-scale features extracted from different receptive fields to fully capture diverse and complementary feature representations. MSNLAB is applied to establish more long-range dependencies by exploring multi-scale patches within the same feature map to seek more faithful and relevant non-local features. Moreover, we utilize Dense Skip Connections (DSC) between each RG and the MSNLAB to enhance the interaction of different context features, which is propitious for generating more impressive image details. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed MSNLAN outperforms other state-of-the-art competitors in terms of both quantitative and qualitative quality assessment results. The code will be available at https://github.com/kbzhang0505/MSNLAN. • Multi-scale non-local attention module exploring multi-scale long-range dependencies. • Residual multi-scale attention block (RMAB) for complementary feature representation. • Multi-scale non-local attention network for SR with the residual group of RMABs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) in combination with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for the differentiation of lacrimal gland tumors. Purpose: To evaluate the ability of DCE and DWI in differentiating lacrimal gland tumors. Material and Methods: DCE and DWI were performed in 72 patients with lacrimal gland tumors. Time-intensity curve (TIC) patterns were categorized as type A, type B, type C, and type D. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was measured on DWI. Then, the diagnostic effectiveness of TIC in conjunction with ADC was assessed using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. Results: Type A tumors were all epithelial; they could be further separated into pleomorphic adenoma sand carcinomas. Type B tumors were all non-epithelial tumors, which could be further separated into benign inflammatory infiltrates (BIIs) and lymphomas. Type C tumors contained both carcinomas and non-epithelial tumors, which could be diagnosed into carcinomas, BIIs and lymphomas. Type D tumors were all PAs. The mean ADC of epithelial tumors was significantly higher than that of non-epithelial tumors, and the mean ADC values were significantly different between PAs and carcinomas. Besides, the mean ADC value of BIIs was higher than that of lymphomas. Therefore, the CART decision tree made by ADC and TIC had a predictive accuracy of 86.1%, differentiating lacrimal gland tumors effectively. Conclusion: Combined DCE and DWI-MRI can efficiently differentiate lacrimal gland tumors which can be of help to ophthalmologists in the diagnosis and treatment of these tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the effect of sandplay (SP) therapy on the mental health level of college students. 500 college students were openly recruited, using the University Student Mental Health Questionnaire (UPI) to screen out 76 students in the UPI category. 34 college students were randomly selected and divided into two groups, 17 in the control group and 17 in the SP therapy group (experimental group); the control group received no treatment, and the experimental group was treated with SP therapy, to analyze the differences between groups before and after the intervention of SCL-90 and self-made group self-reflection questionnaire. (1) With a detection rate of 15.2 percent, 76 of the 500 college students solicited openly were identified as UPI students; (2) except for the terror factor, there were significant differences in other aspects and overall scores for the experimental group following SP therapy intervention, and the scores reduced. There were no significant differences in the total scores and scores of all factors in the control group (P > 0.05). The overall score, somatization, interpersonal connection, depression, paranoia, and psychosis were all significantly different between the experimental and control groups in the independent sample t -test (P < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current classification and retrieval methods are affected by the amount of data in the classification of multimedia learning resources, and there are problems such as low classification accuracy, low retrieval rate, and long retrieval time. To solve this problem, a new multimedia learning method is proposed. Combine decision tree and hash algorithm to design resource classification and retrieval method. The decision tree algorithm is used for the collection and classification of multimedia learning resources, the hash algorithm is introduced to solve and preprocess the resources, and the Lyapunov theorem is used to obtain features. By using two different deep convolutional networks as non-linear hash functions, joint training enables the corresponding hash codes of the network to interpret the similar relations contained in the semantic information. Use annotated propagation algorithm to realize multimedia classification and retrieval of learning resources. The experimental results show that the improved method can effectively improve the retrieval accuracy and efficiency of multimedia learning resources, and has certain practicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology is an emerging technology developed in recent years. It has powerful information traceability function. The blockchain technology plays an important role in monitoring product quality and responding to product safety problems. Under considering the traceability awareness of consumers and the cost of using the blockchain technology, should the supply chain adopt the blockchain technology? The research on this issue deserves great attentions. In this paper, for a three-stage supply chain consisting of a supplier, a manufacturer and a retailer, we study the optimal pricing strategies of the supply chain considering the traceability awareness of consumers in two scenarios. These two scenarios are: scenario N (i.e., the supply chain does not adopt the blockchain technology) and scenario B (i.e., the supply chain adopts the blockchain technology). On this basis, we discuss the conditions that the supply chain adopts the blockchain technology by comparing the optimal profits of the supply chain and its members in two scenarios. Further, we discuss the problem of supply chain coordination when adopting the blockchain technology. The results show that it is conditional for the supply chain to adopt the blockchain technology, and the condition is related to the traceability awareness of consumers, the production costs of the supplier and manufacturer, and the cost of using the blockchain technology. We also find that under a certain condition, the revenue sharing contract can realize a Pareto improvement for the supply chain that adopts the blockchain technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Changing-look" active galactic nuclei (CL-AGNs) are a newly discovered class of AGNs that show the appearance (or disappearance) of broad emission lines within short timescales (months to years), and are often associated with dramatic changes in their continuum emissions. They provide us with an unprecedented chance to directly investigate the host galaxy properties with minimal contamination from the luminous central engine during the turn-off state, which is difficult for normal luminous AGNs. In this work, for the first time, we systematically characterize the stellar populations and star formation histories of host galaxies for 26 turn-off CL-AGNs using the stellar population synthesis code STARLIGHT. We find that the stellar populations of CL-AGNs are similar to those of normal AGNs, except that the intermediate stellar populations contribute more fractions. We estimate their stellar velocity dispersions (σ⋆) and black hole masses (MBH,vir), and find that CL-AGNs also follow the overall MBH–σ⋆ relationship. We also confirm the previous claims that CL-AGNs tend to be biased toward lower Eddington ratios, and that their extreme variabilities are more likely due to the intrinsic changes of the accretion rates. In addition, CL-AGNs with recent star formations tend to have higher Eddington ratios. Compared with previous studies, our analysis suggests that there may be a correlation between CL-AGN host galaxy properties and their CL phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal phytochemicals, such as artemisinin and taxol, have impacted the world, and hypericin might do so if its availability issue could be addressed. Hypericin is the hallmark component of Saint John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), an approved depression alleviator documented in the US, European, and British pharmacopoeias with its additional effectiveness against diverse cancers and viruses. However, the academia‐to‐industry transition of hypericin remain hampered by its low in planta abundance, unfeasible bulk chemical synthesis, and unclear biosynthetic mechanism. Here, we present a strategy consisting of the hypericin‐structure‐centered modification and reorganization of microbial biosynthetic steps in the repurposed cells that have been tamed to enable the designed consecutive reactions to afford hypericin (43.1 mg L−1), without acquiring its biosynthetic knowledge in native plants. The study provides a synthetic biology route to hypericin and establishes a platform for biosustainable access to medicinal phytochemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal phytochemicals, such as artemisinin and taxol, have impacted the world, and hypericin might do so if its availability issue could be addressed. Hypericin is the hallmark component of Saint John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), an approved depression alleviator documented in the US, European, and British pharmacopoeias with its additional effectiveness against diverse cancers and viruses. However, the academia‐to‐industry transition of hypericin remain hampered by its low in planta abundance, unfeasible bulk chemical synthesis, and unclear biosynthetic mechanism. Here, we present a strategy consisting of the hypericin‐structure‐centered modification and reorganization of microbial biosynthetic steps in the repurposed cells that have been tamed to enable the designed consecutive reactions to afford hypericin (43.1 mg L−1), without acquiring its biosynthetic knowledge in native plants. The study provides a synthetic biology route to hypericin and establishes a platform for biosustainable access to medicinal phytochemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two 2-fold interpenetrating MOFs (CTGU-39/40-a) with 1D/3D microporous pore systems were constructed to achieve efficient separation for C 2 H 2 /CO 2 mixture. Attributed to the confinement of C 2 H 2 through multiple C 2 H 2 -MOF interactions, CTGU-39-a combines ultra-high C 2 H 2 packing density, excellent C 2 H 2 /CO 2 selectivity and relatively low Q st of C 2 H 2. [Display omitted] • Two 2-fold interpenetrating MOFs (CTGU-39/40-a) with novel pore systems and diverse adsorption sites have been constructed. • CTGU-39/40-a can effectively separate C 2 H 2 /CO 2 mixture confirmed by both static adsorption and breakthrough experiments. • CTGU-39-a combines ultra-high C 2 H 2 packing density, excellent adsorption selectivity, and a relatively low C 2 H 2 Q st. Adsorptive separation of C 2 H 2 /CO 2 is industrially important and feasible but the design of highly efficient adsorbents remains very challenging owing to the almost identical physicochemical properties of the two gases. Herein, we constructed two new microporous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), termed CTGU-39/40 (CTGU = China Three Gorges University), with 2-fold interpenetrating frameworks and unique pore geometry/chemistry for C 2 H 2 /CO 2 separation. Both the activated MOFs (CTGU-39/40-a) can preferentially adsorb C 2 H 2 over CO 2 with excellent selectivity of 8.4 and 3.3 at 298 K and 100 kPa, respectively, as verified by static adsorption measurements. More importantly, attributed to the suitable pore aperture size (∼5 Å) and abundant adsorption sites, CTGU-39-a combines exceptionally high packing density of C 2 H 2 (0.41 g mL−1) and moderate isosteric heat of adsorption (Q st) for C 2 H 2 (26.8 kJ mol−1), outperforming most previously reported adsorbents. Theoretical calculations reveal that the preferential adsorption of C 2 H 2 within two MOFs is driven by cooperative adsorption behavior through multiple H-bonding and Coulomb interactions. Experimental breakthrough results further confirmed their practical separation ability and recyclability toward an equimolar C 2 H 2 /CO 2 mixture at different feeding rates. This work may offer new insights into the design of advanced porous materials for C 2 H 2 purification and potentially other gas separations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, high-resolution anthropogenic heat release (AHR) due to energy consumption is considered in Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1) to explore possible climatic effects and physical mechanisms due to AHR in eastern China (EC) in boreal summer. The results show that the heating effect of AHR on the lower atmosphere leads to an increase in the temperature difference between land and ocean, causing changes in atmospheric circulation and water vapor transport in EC in boreal summer. AHR affects the lower-troposphere stability and low clouds, impacting the surface energy balance. This will affect the surface temperature and further increase the occurrence of extreme high temperatures. The modeling results show that in the central part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Inner Mongolia regions, the relative humidity increases by more than 1% due to AHR, leading to a decrease in low cloud cover. In the Middle-Lower Yangtze region, low clouds decrease by 2–3%, while the net shortwave radiation flux at the surface increases by approximately 5%. AHR leads to an increase of 0.19 K in the 2 m air temperature in the 25°N-35°N regions of EC on average in boreal summer, which will further impact the summer extreme high temperature in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Region. AHR acts as a non-negligible factor for the extreme high temperature in EC in boreal summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]