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A straw interlayer added to soil can effectively reduce soil salinity effects on plant growth, however, the effects of soil moisture, salt and microbial community composition on plant growth under a straw interlayer are unclear. A rhizobox study was conducted to investigate the role of straw interlayer thickness on soil moisture, salt migration, microbial community composition, as well as root growth in sunflower. The study included four treatments: Control (no straw interlayer); S3 (straw interlayer of 3.0 cm); S5 (straw interlayer of 5.0 cm); S7 (straw interlayer of 7.0 cm). Straw interlayer treatments increased soil moisture by 8.2–11.0% after irrigation and decreased soil salt content after the bud stage in 0–40 cm soil. Total root length, total root surface area, average root diameter, total root volume and the number of root tips of sunflower plants were higher under straw interlayer treatments than in the control, and were the highest under the S5 treatment. This stimulated root growth was ascribed to the higher abundance of Chloroflexi and Verrucomicrobia bacteria in soil with a straw interlayer, which was increased by 55.7 and 54.7%, respectively, in the S5 treatment. Addition of a straw interlayer of 5 cm thickness is a practical and environmentally feasible approach for improving sunflower root growth in saline-alkali soil.

Background and aims: Liver cirrhosis is a complex disease that may result in increased morbidity and mortality following bariatric surgery (BS). This study aimed to explore the outcome of BS in patients with unexpected cirrhosis, focusing on postoperative complications and the progression of liver disease. Methods: A retrospective study of bariatric patients with cirrhosis from four centers in China between 2016 and 2023 was conducted, with follow-up for one year after BS. The primary outcome was the safety of BS in patients with unexpected cirrhosis, while the secondary outcome was the metabolic efficacy of BS in this group postoperatively. Results: A total of 47 patients met the study criteria, including 46 cases of Child-Pugh class A cirrhosis and 1 case of Child-Pugh B. Pathological examination confirmed nodular cirrhosis in 21 patients (44.68%), pseudolobule formation in 1 patient (2.13%), lipedema degeneration with inflammatory cell infiltration in 3 patients (6.38%), and chronic hepatitis in 1 patient (2.13%). The average percentage of total weight loss was 29.73 ± 6.53% at one year postoperatively. During the 30-day postoperative period, the complication rate was 6.38%, which included portal vein thrombosis, gastrointestinal bleeding, and intra-abdominal infection. Moreover, no cases of liver decompensation or mortality were reported during the follow-up period. The remission rates of comorbidities among 41 patients one year after surgery were as follows: dyslipidemia 100%, type 2 diabetes 82.61%, hypertension 84.62%, and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome 85.71%. Conclusions: BS can be safely performed in patients with unexpected cirrhosis in the compensated stage of liver disease, with low postoperative morbidity and no mortality observed during one-year follow-up.

With the increasing integration of renewable energy sources and the presence of numerous controllable loads such as electric vehicles and energy storage in the modern power system, higher nonlinearities and uncertainty both sources and loads are introduced. These factors pose challenges in achieving fast and accurate emergency frequency control. Therefore, this paper addresses the issue of dual source-load uncertainties in power system and presents an optimization strategy based on the Soft Actor Critic (SAC) algorithm that involves the participation of controllable loads in emergency frequency control. Firstly, the spatio-temporal uncertainties of wind farm power output on power supply side and power demand on the load side are described using Weibull and normal probability distributions, respectively. Secondly, an improved Markov Decision Process (MDP) model for emergency frequency control is established, which considers the characteristics of the dual source-load uncertainties. Finally, an optimization of the SAC algorithm is conducted based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL), aiming to achieve rapid system frequency recovery and minimize the cost of removing controllable loads. The presented approach in the paper enhances the emergency frequency control strategy for uncertain power systems and effectively addresses the issue of source-load uncertainty compounded by fault power shortages.

IntroductionPremature ovarian insufficiency (POI) has affected about 3.7% of women of reproductive age and is a major factor contributing to infertility. Bushen Huoxue formula (BHF), a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, is clinically used to treat POI in China. This study aims to investigate the potential mechanisms of BHF in combating POI using corticosterone-induced rats and palmitic acid (PA)-challenged human ovarian granulosa cells (GCs).MethodsInitially, ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was employed to analyze the components of BHF. The pharmacodynamic parameters evaluated included body weight, ovaries index, and serum hormone in rats. Follicle numbers were observed using H&E staining. Additionally, PCNA and TUNEL staining were used to assess GCs proliferation and apoptosis, respectively. Lipid accumulation and ROS levels were examined using Oil Red O and ROS staining. Protein expressions were determined by western blot. To probe mechanisms, cell viability and E2 levels in BHF-treated, PA-stimulated GCs were determined using MTT and ELISA, respectively. Cell apoptosis and ROS levels were assessed using TUNEL and ROS staining. Proteins related to lipid metabolism and autophagy in PA-stimulated GCs were studied using agonists.ResultsOur results shown that BHF effectively normalized serum hormone levels, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), estradiol (E2), and luteinizing hormone (LH). Concurrently, BHF also significantly reduced follicular atresia and promoted cell proliferation while inhibiting apoptosis in POI rats. Furthermore, BHF mitigated ovarian lipid accumulation by modulating lipid metabolism, which included reducing lipid synthesis (expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α), increasing lipid catabolism (expression of adipose triglyceride lipase), and enhancing lipid oxidation (expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1A). Mechanistically, the therapeutic effects of BHF on POI were linked with alleviation of lipid deposition-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and excessive autophagy, corroborating the results in PA-challenged GCs. After treatment with elesclomol (a ROS inducer) and rapamycin (an autophagy inducer) in GCs, the effects of BHF were almost counteracted under model conditions.ConclusionThese findings suggest that BHF alleviates the symptoms of POI by altering lipid metabolism and reducing lipid accumulation-induced ROS and autophagy, offering evidence for BHF’s efficacy in treating POI clinically.

Abstract Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is still a common contaminant in water. In this work, we studied the Cr(VI) adsorption by polyphenol-rich bacterial cellulose(BC) gel, synthesized by the Komagataeibacter rhaeticus K15 using wine pomace. The results showed that the equilibrium removal capacity was 473.09 ± 1.41 mg g−1 (dry weight). The quasi-second-order kinetics model and the Langmuir removal isotherm model was the most suitable for describing the Cr(VI) removal process. Toxic Cr(VI) was converted to the low toxic Cr(III) during the removal process via the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by polyphenols released into the solution by the BC gel. The FTIR, XRD, XPS, SEM-EDX results indicated the physical adsorption on the surface of BC and the reduction reaction between polyphenol groups and Cr(VI) is the critical mechanism of Cr(VI) removal by BC. The finding of this study demonstrates that polyphenols-rich BC gel produced from wine pomace has a superior feature for future Cr(VI)-wastewater purification.

Abstract Transition metal oxides (TMOs) exhibit fascinating physicochemical properties, which originate from the diverse coordination structures between the transition metal and oxygen atoms. Accurate determination of such structure-property relationships of TMOs requires to correlate structural and electronic properties by capturing the global parameters with high resolution in energy, real, and momentum spaces, but it is still challenging. Herein, we report the determination of characteristic electronic structures from diverse coordination environments on the prototypical anatase-TiO2(001) with (1 × 4) reconstruction, using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy/atomic force microscopy, in combination with density functional theory calculation. We unveil that the shifted positions of O 2s and 2p levels and the gap-state Ti 3p levels can sensitively characterize the O and Ti coordination environments in the (1 × 4) reconstructed surface, which show distinguishable features from those in bulk. Our findings provide a paradigm to interrogate the intricate reconstruction-relevant properties in many other TMO surfaces.

Abstract Background Pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents is a serious perioperative complication. Patients with gastric cancer may experience delayed gastric emptying. However, the role of qualitative and quantitative gastric ultrasound assessments in this patient population before anesthesia induction has not yet been determined. Methods Adult patients with gastrointestinal cancer were recruited and examined using gastric point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) before anesthetic induction from March 2023 to August 2023 in a tertiary cancer center. Three hundred patients with gastric cancer were conducted with POCUS prior to induction, and three hundred patients with colorectal cancer were included as controls. The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the gastric antrum and gastric volumes (GV) were measured and calculated. We determined the nature of the gastric contents and classified the antrum using a 3-point grading system. A ratio of GV to body weight > 1.5mL/Kg was defined as a high risk of aspiration. Results In patients with gastric cancer, 70 patients were classified as grade 2 (23%, including 6 patients with solid gastric contents) and 63 patients (21%) were identified as having a high risk of aspiration. Whereas in patients with colorectal cancer, only 11 patients were classified as grade 2 (3.7%), and 27 patients (9.7%) were identified as having a high risk of aspiration. A larger tumor size (OR:1.169, 95% CI 1.045–1.307, P = 0.006), tumor located in antrum (OR:2.304, 95% CI 1.169–4.539,P = 0.016), gastrointestinal obstruction (OR:21.633, 95% CI 4.199–111.443, P

Intestinal symbionts live in insects’ digestive systems and help with food digestion, nitrogen cycling, and energy use. Numerous symbionts, including bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, colonize the posterior gut of termites. Intestinal microbiota affects the Toll or Imd pathways during viral or entomopathogenic fungus infection in mosquitoes, but the role of intestinal symbionts in individual termite immunity is unclear. In the present research, Odontotermes formosanus and Metarhizium robertsii were selected to investigate the potential mechanism of the intestinal bacteria influencing termite innate immune while encountering an entomopathogen using metagenome sequencing and meta-transcriptome sequencing. We found that termite mortality declined within 48 hours under high spore infections and reached semi-lethal status within 72 hours. We sequenced the control and infestation termite and found that the dominant phyla changed below low-abundance flora during infestation. According to function annotation, the functions of spirochetes are significantly different from those of the rest of the phyla, which are mainly enriched in metabolism and cellular processes. There are 261 upregulated and 459 down-regulated DEGs derived from bacteria after infestation. We identified the glutamate-cysteine ligase gene, gshA, which is significantly upregulated in the infected group, and the GSH content in the regular infected group was higher than the 5% kanamycin-infected group. We speculated on a potential mechanism that one or more bacteria belonging to Spirochetes that upregulated gshA gene expression and increased GSH content in the hindgut to integrate with metarhizium toxins and then excrete out of the intestine.

Near-infrared (NIR) persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs) have inherent advantages for high-sensitivity bioimaging due to the separation of excitation and emission light. However, the single-wavelength emission of NIR PLNPs for bioimaging limits their use in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, a biological window excited up-conversion (UC) PLNPs, Zn3Ga2SnO8:Cr3+,Yb3+,Ho3+ (ZGS), was reported for bioimaging and PDT. ZGS exhibits NIR persistent luminescence (PersL) after red LED excitation and visible UCL under 980 nm excitation. The NIR PersL is designed for in vivo bioimaging; the visible UCL is used to activate photosensitizer (PS) to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) for PDT. The dual-functional ZGS with UCL and PersL provides an effective method for bioimaging and PDT, which is expected to further promote the application of PLNPs in the integration of efficient diagnosis and treatment.

Abstract Objective To analyze the clinical phenotype and genetic characteristics of a female proband carrying a novel mutation in the DMD gene with non-random X-chromosome inactivation in a large pedigree with pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy. Methods Clinical information of the female proband, her monozygotic twin sister, and other family members were collected. Potential pathogenic variants were detected with Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) and whole-exome sequencing (WES). Methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme (HhaI) was employed for X-chromosome inactivation analysis. Results The proband was a female over 5 years old, displayed clinical manifestations such as elevated creatine kinase (CK) levels and mild calf muscle hypertrophy. Her monozygotic twin sister exhibited normal CK levels and motor ability. Her uncle and cousin had a history of DMD. WES revealed that the proband carried a novel variant in the DMD (OMIM: 300,377) gene: NM_004006.3: c.3051_3053dup; NP_003997.2: p.Tyr1018*. In this pedigree, five out of six female members were carriers of this variant, while the cousin and uncle were hemizygous for this variant. X-chromosome inactivation analysis suggested non-random inactivation in the proband. Conclusion The c.3051_3053dup (p.Tyr1018*) variant in the DMD gene is considered to be the pathogenic variant significantly associated with the clinical phenotype of the proband, her cousin, and her uncle within this family. Integrating genetic testing with clinical phenotype assessment can be a valuable tool for physicians in the diagnosis of progressive muscular dystrophies, such as Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

In this paper, the weighted group consensus for a kind of discrete heterogeneous multi-agent systems (HMASs) with packet loss in cooperative-competitive networks based on self-adaptive controller is studied. Based on self-adaptive controller, packet loss and cooperative-competitive relation, a novel control protocols have been designed for this system without satisfying the in-degree balance of the vertex. Some sufficient conditions have been obtained for the weighted group consensus of this kind of HMASs, by using graph theory, matrix analysis and complex frequency method. Based on weighted parameters, control parameters, packet loss rate and cooperative-competitive relation, the upper bound of the input time delay can be calculated. Finally, some simulation experiments are listed to show the effectiveness of the derived results.

Abstract There are replanting problems in the production of herbaceous peony. If ramet seedlings are replanted in the original planting hole, they weaken year-by-year until their death, which reduces the land utilisation rate and increases the production costs. In this study, exogenous lactic acid bacteria (LAB, the main component is Lactobacillus plantarum) were applied to improve the planting soil of herbaceous peony for the first time to alleviate the replanting problems, to reduce the production costs, and to provide a new way to promote the of the herbaceous peony industry. In this study, herbaceous peony main cultivars varieties ‘Dafugui’ ‘Hongxiuqiu’ and ‘Zifengyu’ were selected, and experiments were conducted using exogenous LAB. Morphological, rhizosphere soil, and root physiology indexes were measured by sampling at the end of the high-growth periods of herbaceous peony. The results showed that after LAB treatment, the plant height, flowering rate, other morphological indexes and root vitality of ‘Hongxiuqiu’ were increased, with a better promoting effect than that of ‘Dafugui’ and ‘Zifengyu’. The ‘Dafugui’ rhizosphere soil nutrient content and enzyme activity were improved, followed by ‘Hongxiuqiu’ and ‘Zifengyu’. The rhizosphere soil free salicylic acid content and root abscisic acid content decreased, whereas the soil bacterial abundance, root antioxidant enzyme activity, proline and paeoniflorin content increased in all varieties. This study found that LAB application can improve soil fertility and enzyme activity, promote the growth and development of herbaceous peony, increase the flowering rate and improve the ornamental value. However, the influence of LAB on different herbaceous peony varieties varied. Therefore, it is necessary to further expand the number of varieties, optimise the application concentration and frequency of LAB application, alleviate the replanting problems in herbaceous peony production, improve the utilisation rate of land, promote excellent varieties of herbaceous peony, and provide a new methods and references. Graphical abstract

Probucol has been utilized as a cholesterol-lowering drug with antioxidative properties. However, the impact and fundamental mechanisms of probucol in obesity-related cognitive decline are unclear. In this study, male C57BL/6J mice were allocated to a normal chow diet (NCD) group or a high-fat diet (HFD) group, followed by administration of probucol to half of the mice on the HFD regimen. Subsequently, the mice were subjected to a series of behavioral assessments, alongside the measurement of metabolic and redox parameters. Notably, probucol treatment effectively alleviates cognitive and social impairments induced by HFD in mice, while exhibiting no discernible influence on mood-related behaviors. Notably, the beneficial effects of probucol arise independently of rectifying obesity or restoring systemic glucose and lipid homeostasis, as evidenced by the lack of changes in body weight, serum cholesterol levels, blood glucose, hyperinsulinemia, systemic insulin resistance, and oxidative stress. Instead, probucol could regulate the levels of nitric oxide and superoxide-generating proteins, and it could specifically alleviate HFD-induced hippocampal insulin resistance. These findings shed light on the potential role of probucol in modulating obesity-related cognitive decline and urge reevaluation of the underlying mechanisms by which probucol exerts its beneficial effects.

Abstract Herbaceous peony is a perennial root plant that likes light and is cold-resistant. During summer, high temperature and strong light intensity advance its entry into the leaf wilting stage, which limits the accumulation of nutrients and formation of strong buds and severely affects its growth and development the following year. In this study, the wild herbaceous peony species and two main cultivars, ‘Zifengyu’ and ‘Hongfengyu’, were subjected to slight shading and strong light environments in summer, and their effects on leaf senescence and endogenous hormone and polyamine contents were explored. Slight shading treatment significantly delayed withering, increased the leaf net photosynthetic rate, and increased the chlorophyll, soluble sugar, indole-3-acetic acid, zeatin, gibberellin, spermine, spermidine, putrescine, and polyamine contents. Additionally, slight shading significantly reduced the proline and abscisic acid contents. Slight shading during summer prolonged the green period and delayed leaf senescence. The tolerance of tested materials to strong light intensity in summer was ranked as follows: ‘Zifengyu’ > ‘Hongfengyu’ > wild species. In conclusion, this study revealed that summer leaf senescence is delayed in herbaceous peony through shading and growth regulators. Additional varieties should be evaluated to provide reference for high-efficiency, high-quality, and high-yield cultivation of herbaceous peony.

Abstract Scribble is a master scaffold protein in apical-basal polarity. Current knowledge about the biological function of Scribble in colonic epithelial plasticity/regeneration during intestinal inflammation is limited. Here, we showed that the level of Scribble is decreased in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and mice with DSS-induced colitis. ScribΔIEC mice develops severe acute colitis with disrupted epithelial barrier integrity and impaired crypt stem cell’s function. Mechanistically, Scribble suppressed the process of autophagy by modulating the stability of caspase-dependent degradation of Atg16L1 by directly interacting with Atg16L1 in a LRR domain-dependent manner in IECs and led to an accumulation of ROS both in intestinal stem cells and epithelial cells. In addition, further study indicates that dietary sphingomyelin alleviates DSS-induced colitis by increase the expression of Scribble, which suggests that Scribble may be the critical marker of IBD. Our study shows that Scribble deficiency is associated with the dysregulated autophagy and impaired maintenance of colonic stemness, and it may be a target for diagnosis and treatment of IBD.

Abstract An important challenge in genetics, evolution and biotechnology is to understand and predict how mutations combine to alter phenotypes, including molecular activities, fitness and disease. In diploids, mutations in a gene can combine on the same chromosome or on different chromosomes as a “heteroallelic combination”. However, a direct comparison of the extent, sign, and stability of the genetic interactions between variants within and between alleles is lacking. Here we use thermodynamic models of protein folding and ligand-binding to show that interactions between mutations within and between alleles are expected in even very simple biophysical systems. Protein folding alone generates within-allele interactions and a single molecular interaction is sufficient to cause between-allele interactions and dominance. These interactions change differently, quantitatively and qualitatively as a system becomes more complex. Altering the concentration of a ligand can, for example, switch alleles from dominant to recessive. Our results show that intra-molecular epistasis and dominance should be widely expected in even the simplest biological systems but also reinforce the view that they are plastic system properties and so a formidable challenge to predict. Accurate prediction of both intra-molecular epistasis and dominance will require either detailed mechanistic understanding and experimental parameterization or brute-force measurement and learning.

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall) is resistant to drought but not waterlogging. The main production areas of peony are prone to waterlogging, seriously affecting the growth and development of herbaceous peony. Polyamines have been observed to significantly enhance the ability of plants to defend and repair adverse damage and affect the synthesis and accumulation of the endogenous growth hormones indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA). In this study, two herbaceous peony varieties (‘Lihong’, ‘Qihualushuang’) with different waterlogging tolerances were selected for artificial simulated waterlogging treatment to observe their morphological indexes and to determine their endogenous polyamine and hormone contents. Simultaneously, transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were performed, focusing on screening differentially expressed genes in the polyamine metabolism pathway. The results showed that flood-tolerant varieties of herbaceous peony respond to waterlogging stress by continuously synthesizing spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm) through putrescine (Put) to counteract adversity. In the waterlogging-intolerant varieties, the expression of polyamine oxidase-related genes was annotated; their response to waterlogging stress was the simultaneous degradation of Spm and Spd to Put in the process of synthesis, and a decrease in the accumulation of Spm and Spd led to the early appearance of the symptoms of damage. In addition, polyamines influence key hormones that respond to plant adversity (IAA; ABA). The objective of this work was to initially analyze the mechanism of the polyamine signaling pathway in response to flooding in herbaceous peonies for further in-depth research on the mechanism of flooding tolerance in herbaceous peony, screen flood-tolerant varieties, and promote of their use.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have emerged as one of the most pressing environmental and public health concerns of the 21st century [...]

Inosine monophosphate (IMP), as a critical umami substance, is one of the most important indicators for evaluating the quality of meat products. Here, a sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor based on graphdiyne (GDY)/AuNPs/luminol nanocomposites was constructed to detect IMP. The GDY/AuNPs/luminol nanocomposites were synthesized by using simple one-pot method. GDY utilized its 2D framework to disperse and fix gold nanoparticles, which inhibited the agglomeration of gold nanoparticles and greatly improved its stability and catalytic properties. Importantly, GDY/AuNPs/luminol nanocomposites showed excellent catalytic ability and superior ECL activity towards luminol-H2O2 systems due to the synergistic effect of GDY and AuNPs. Under optimal conditions, the prepared biosensor exhibited a wide linear range from 0.01 g/L to 20 g/L, a satisfactory limit detection of 0.0013 g/L, as well as an excellent specificity. Moreover, we carried out the precise analysis of IMP in actual meat samples with acceptable results compared to the liquid chromatography. We believe that this work could offer an efficient ECL platform for accurate and reliable report of IMP levels, which is significant for maintaining food quality and safety.

Abstract Decubitus ulcers are a common spinal cord injury (SCI) complication that puts patients' lives in danger and has emerged as a more prevalent issue in modern clinical rehabilitation and care. Decubitus ulcers in humans can currently be treated in a number of different ways, but there are fewer studies on how to treat and care for decubitus ulcers in macaques. To treat a 20‐year‐old adult male macaque monkey with SCI and decubitus ulcers after a quarter transection of the thoracic spinal cord, a number of scientific care procedures and pharmaceutical treatments, such as dietary changes and topical or intravenous administration of medication, were carried out and continuously monitored in real‐time. In comparison to the untreated group, we observed a significant improvement in decubitus wound healing in the macaques. In this article, we provide a good protocol for decubitus ulcer care after SCI and suggest that future experimental animal modeling needs to focus on issues such as care for postoperative complications.

Background: Patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) grade III chronic heart failure (CHF) present with low capacity for daily activities, severe self-perceived burden, and poor quality of life. Effective nursing interventions may reduce patients’ self-perceived burden and improve their quality of life. Objectives: To explore the effects of an explain-simulate-practice-communicate-support intervention on the self-perceived burden, cardiac function, and activities of daily living (ADL) ability in patients with New York Heart Association grade III chronic heart failure. Methods: Of the 100 patients with New York Heart Association grade III chronic heart failure who were electronically randomized and equally divided into control and intervention groups, data from 88 patients who completed our study were analyzed. The primary outcome was quality of life; secondary outcomes were self-perceived burden, 6-min walking test distances, serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels, New York Heart Association cardiac function classification, and ability to perform activities of daily living. Results: After 12 weeks’ intervention, the intervention group had significantly lower self-perceived burden, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire scores, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels, and New York Heart Association grades compared with the control group, while 6-min walking test distances, left ventricular ejection fraction, and modified Barthel Index scale scores were significantly higher than those in the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The explain-simulate-practice-communicate-support intervention improved patients' quality of life through reducing the level of self-perceived burden, and improving cardiac function and activities of daily living ability. This intervention was found to be effective for patients with New York Heart Association grade III chronic heart failure.

ObjectiveTo compare the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with healthy controls (HC) and evaluate the BDNF levels in T2DM patients with/without cognitive impairment.MethodsPubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for the published English literature on BDNF in T2DM patients from inception to December 2022. The BDNF data in the T2DM and HC groups were extracted, and the study quality was evaluated using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. A meta-analysis of the pooled data was conducted using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 18 English articles fulfilled with inclusion criteria. The standard mean difference of the serum BDNF level was significantly lower in T2DM than that in the HC group (SMD: -2.04, z = 11.19, P ConclusionBDNF might be involved in the neuropathophysiology of cerebral damage in T2DM, especially cognitive impairment in T2DM.

Abstract Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) is associated with various malignancies and infects >90% of the global population. EBV latent proteins are expressed in numerous EBV‐associated cancers and contribute to carcinogenesis, making them critical therapeutic targets for these cancers. Thus, this study aims to develop mRNA‐based therapeutic vaccines that express the T‐cell‐epitope‐rich domain of truncated latent proteins of EBV, including truncatedlatent membrane protein 2A (Trunc‐LMP2A), truncated EBV nuclear antigen 1 (Trunc‐EBNA1), and Trunc‐EBNA3A. The vaccines effectively activate both cellular and humoral immunity in mice and show promising results in suppressing tumor progression and improving survival time in tumor‐bearing mice. Furthermore, it is observed that the truncated forms of the antigens, Trunc‐LMP2A, Trunc‐EBNA1, and Trunc‐EBNA3A, are more effective than full‐length antigens in activating antigen‐specific immune responses. In summary, the findings demonstrate the effectiveness of mRNA‐based therapeutic vaccines targeting the T‐cell‐epitope‐rich domain of EBV latent proteins and providing new treatment options for EBV‐associated cancers.

This study proposes an adaptive robot pathfinding algorithm (MS-W-Theta*) based on fused trajectory smoothing with 3D maps. Firstly, we introduce an obstacle buffer in the 3D map, which includes the height and volume of the AGV when carrying shelves. This enhancement improves the robot's path traversal in narrow spaces. Then, we propose an improved adaptive heuristic function and a cost function to optimize the total cost function of the algorithm, based on the obstacle distribution information on the 3D map. This step increases the purposefulness of the planned path. Finally, the original path is smoothed using a Minimum Snap polynomial algorithm to avoid the unstable speed or jitter phenomenon that may occur during the actual operation of the mobile robot and to improve the stability of the robot operation. The experimental results show that MS-W-Theta* exhibits a significant advantage in terms of running time, and the generated path curves better align with the requirements of real-world mobile robot scenarios. The practicality and high efficiency of the algorithm in path planning for workshop logistics robots are demonstrated through experiments, indicating a reduction in running time by 20 % and an improvement in path alignment by 15 % compared to the baseline algorithm.

To meet the lightweight design requirements of the control arm, an automobile suspension control arm with a carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP)–aluminum foam sandwich structure was proposed, and the structure optimization design of the CFRP panel was performed. The accuracy of the cellular pore model of aluminum foam hexahedron was verified by the quasi-static compression test of aluminum foam. The performance parameters of carbon fiber reinforced plastics were obtained by the mechanical property test of CFRP. A suspension control arm composed of a CFRP–aluminum foam sandwich structure body and an aluminum alloy connector was designed, and the adhesive-bolted hybrid joint was used to connect the two. Based on this, the finite element model of the control arm of the CFRP–aluminum foam sandwich structure was established. The porosity of aluminum foam in the sandwich was 55%. The multi-level optimization method was used to optimize the layering of the CFRP panels. Free size optimization was used to obtain the layered shape of CFRP under four classical ply angles, during which the mass of the panel was reduced while its stiffness improved. Based on the regularization of the CFRP layer, the ply thickness was discretized into manufacturing thickness by size optimization. Simultaneously, the number of layers of the panel was determined, and its mass was further reduced as the stiffness of the composite material is also dependent on the ply angle. Therefore, the arrangement order of the classical ply angle was obtained by ply stacking sequence optimization, further improving the panel stiffness. The results show that compared with the steel control arm, the mass of the optimized sandwich structure control arm was reduced by 26%. Simultaneously, the maximum stress at the foam aluminum sandwich was reduced from 225.6 MPa before optimization to 151.2 MPa. The safety factor and the failure coefficient of the CFRP panel after optimization were 1.1 and 0.81, respectively, both meeting the strength requirements. From the stiffness perspective, the longitudinal stiffness of the optimized control arm increased by 54.7% compared to the initial control arm of the sandwich structure, 103.2% compared to the steel control arm, and the lateral stiffness increased by 37% compared to the initial control arm of the sandwich structure and 56% compared to the steel control arm, respectively. Thus, the stiffness improvement effect was obvious. The first-order modal frequency of the optimized control arm was 785 Hz, 573.1 Hz higher than that of the steel control arm, and the vibration performance was significantly improved.

Abstract Objectives Enhanced neuroinflammation is an important mechanism underlying perioperative neurocognitive disorders. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a crucial role in regulating systemic immune responses. The present study was aimed to investigate the participation of Tregs in the development of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Methods Surgery-associated neurocognitive disorder was induced in 18-month-old mice subjected to internal fixation of tibial fracture. Morris water maze was used to examine mice cognitive function. Splenic Tregs were collected for RNA sequencing and flow cytometry. Levels of inflammatory factors in the circulation and hippocampus were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Protein presences of tight junction proteins were detected by immunofluorescence. Results Surgery of internal fixation of tibial fracture induced cognitive impairment in aged mice, accompanied by elevated plasma levels of inflammatory factors and increased circulating Tregs. Transfusion of Tregs from young mice partially restored the structure of the blood–brain barrier and alleviated POCD in aged mice. Compared with young Tregs, differentially expressed genes in aged Tregs were enriched in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway and cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction. Flow cytometry revealed that aged Tregs had blunted functions under basal and stimulated conditions. Blockade of the CD25 epitope protected the blood–brain barrier structure, reduced TNF-α levels in the hippocampus, and improved surgery-associated cognition in aged mice. Conclusions Blocking peripheral regulatory T cells improves surgery-induced cognitive function in aged mice. Therefore, aged Tregs play an essential role in the occurrence of POCD.

Motor Imagery (MI) based on Electroencephalography (EEG), a typical Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) paradigm, can communicate with external devices according to the brain’s intentions. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) are gradually used for EEG classification tasks and have achieved satisfactory performance. However, most CNN-based methods employ a single convolution mode and a convolution kernel size, which cannot extract multi-scale advanced temporal and spatial features efficiently. What’s more, they hinder the further improvement of the classification accuracy of MI-EEG signals. This paper proposes a novel Multi-Scale Hybrid Convolutional Neural Network (MSHCNN) for MI-EEG signal decoding to improve classification performance. The two-dimensional convolution is used to extract temporal and spatial features of EEG signals and the one-dimensional convolution is used to extract advanced temporal features of EEG signals. In addition, a channel coding method is proposed to improve the expression capacity of the spatiotemporal characteristics of EEG signals. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method on the dataset collected in the laboratory and BCI competition IV 2b, 2a, and the average accuracy is at 96.87%, 85.25%, and 84.86%, respectively. Compared with other advanced methods, our proposed method achieves higher classification accuracy. Then we use the proposed method for an online experiment and design an intelligent artificial limb control system. The proposed method effectively extracts EEG signals’ advanced temporal and spatial features. Additionally, we design an online recognition system, which contributes to the further development of the BCI system.

Based on the modified gravity model and social network analysis method, the evolution characteristics and driving mechanism of logistics network spatial structure in the Zhengzhou metropolitan area (ZMA) from 2008 to 2019 are analyzed at a county (district) scale. Research findings reveal that the following: (1) The distribution of logistics links in ZMA counties (districts) has significant spatial heterogeneity, with a spatial pattern of “sparse in the east and dense in the west,” and the counties (districts) logistics links are concentrated in Zhengzhou. (2) The overall level of the logistics network density in ZMA is low, but it is fluctuating and rising. The overall realization is the logistics radiation effect. The logistics network layout’s core area is primarily concentrated in Zhengzhou’s main urban area and surrounding counties (districts), and the spatial scope is expanding and merging into one piece. The contact density of counties (districts) in the core area is high, whereas that between counties (districts) in the edge area is low. (3) With obvious spatial correlation characteristics, the logistics connection intensity of counties (districts) in ZMA plays a positive role in promoting the logistics connection intensity of surrounding areas. (4) The main factors that promote the formation of the local logistics network structure are the upgrading of industrial structure (ln Ind), the level of economic development (ln GDP), and the size of the population (ln Pop). The ln Ind and ln GDP restrain the logistics network structure and internal logistics network structure in the surrounding areas, whereas the ln Pop and government intervention (ln Gov) promote the formation of the external logistics network structure in the surrounding areas.

In this article, the couple-group secure consensus of a kind of heterogeneous multi-agent systems (HMASs) with cooperative-competitive relation and time delays has been investigated if it receives malicious attacks. Based on cooperative-competitive relation and time delays, a new couple-group secure consensus protocol is designed. By applying the graph theory, linear algebra theory, probability theory, the linear combination theory and Getschgorin theorem, several sufficient conditions have been obtained to realize the couple-group secure consensus for this system. The obtained results also show the upper limitation of input delay can be computed if the parameters of system are given. It worth pointing out the topology of HMASs is no more needed to contain a spanning tree or meet with the balance of in or out degree in the obtained results. In additional, an adaptive function is added to speed up the convergence of consensus. Combined these obtained results with T-test, a novel detection algorithm has also been designed to determine that the nodes are security or not. Some examples have been given to prove the effectiveness of these obtained results and the improved secure detection algorithm.

Abstract Turnover prediction has an important impact on alleviating the brain drain, which can help organizations reduce costs and enhance competitiveness. Existing studies on turnover are mainly based on analyzing the turnover correlation, using different models to predict various employee turnover scenarios, and only predicting turnover category, while the class imbalance and turnover possibility have been ignored. To this end, in this paper, we propose a novel fine-grained adaptation-based turnover prediction neural network (FATPNN) model. Specifically, we first employ a GRU to learn profile-aware features representations of the personnel samples. Then, to evaluate the contribution of various turnover factors, we further exploit an attention mechanism to model the profile information. Finally, we creatively design a weighted-based probability loss function suitable for our turnover prediction tasks. Experimental results show the effectiveness and universality of the FATPNN model in terms of turnover prediction.

Abstract Background Osteosarcoma is highly malignant. The migration, invasion, and chemoresistance contribute to poor prognosis of osteosarcoma. Research reported that endogenous bornavirus-like nucleoprotein 3 pseudogene (EBLN3P) promotes the progression of osteosarcoma. Methods In this study, the expression of EBLN3P in osteosarcoma tissue with different methotrexate (MTX) treatment responses was measured. Osteosarcoma cell lines with MTX resistance were constructed, and bioinformatic analysis was performed to explore the potential involved targets and pathways. Results Higher EBLN3P was associated with MTX resistance. Downregulation of LncEBLN3P decreased the MTX resistance of osteosarcoma cells by sponging miR-200a-3p, an important microRNA that affects epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The decreased miR-200a-3p resulted in the upregulation of its target gene O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), which in turn promoted the EMT process of osteosarcoma cells. Further analysis confirmed that the loss of OGT and over-expression of miR-200a-3p could partly abolish the MTX resistance induced by LncEBLN3P. Conclusion LncEBLN3P is upregulated in osteosarcoma and increases the MTX resistance in osteosarcoma cells through downregulating miR-200a-3p, which in turn promoted the EMT process of osteosarcoma cells by increasing the OGT.

Grape downy mildew is a major grape disease that typically occurs when grape leaves are subjected to high temperature. In this study, downy mildew incidence in ‘Red Globe’ grape was investigated. To clarify the effects of grape downy mildew on grape leaves under high-temperature stress. Grape downy mildew infestation and high-temperature treatment alone or combinations were applied to ‘Red Globe’ grape. The gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of grape leaves were measured. The results showed that logistic growth period of grape downy mildew in the Jinzhong, China was from July 20 to August 10. After the combined stress of high temperature and grape downy mildew, photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci), maximum photochemical efficiency(Fv/Fm), actual photochemical efficiency(ΦPSII), and performance index on absorption basis (PIABS) of grape leaves were all decreased more than the sum of those indexes under the two stresses individually. At 28°C, the damage of downy mildew had no significant effect on the degree of photosystem closure of leaves, but it was significantly increased with the combined stresses. The electron transfer efficiency from photosystem II to photosystem I was decreased significantly under the combined stresses. Under 38°C high-temperature stress, the energy dissipated per active reaction center of the leaves affected by grape downy mildew was significantly increased. High temperature aggravated adverse effects of downy mildew on the structure and function of photosystem II (PSII) of grape leaves and then further exacerbated reduction of photosynthesis caused by heat stress.

Zwitterionic hydrogels are nonfouling and hemocompatibility but several key challenges such as weak mechanical strength and low adhesion hamper their application as coating materials for devices. Here, the authors report a microgel reinforced zwitterionic hydrogel with excellent mechanical robustness and anti-swelling properties.

Sentiment analysis aims to extract emotions from textual data; with the proliferation of various social media platforms and the flow of data, particularly in the Arabic language, significant challenges have arisen, necessitating the development of various frameworks to handle issues. In this paper, we firstly design an architecture called Gated Convolution Long (GCL) to perform Arabic Sentiment Analysis. GCL can overcome difficulties with lengthy sequence training samples, extracting the optimal features that help improve Arabic sentiment analysis performance for binary and multiple classifications. The proposed method trains and tests in various Arabic datasets; The results are better than the baselines in all cases. GCL includes a Custom Regularization Function (CRF), which improves the performance and optimizes the validation loss. We carry out an ablation study and investigate the effect of removing CRF. CRF is shown to make a difference of up to 5.10% (2C) and 4.12% (3C). Furthermore, we study the relationship between Modern Standard Arabic and five Arabic dialects via a cross-dialect training study. Finally, we apply GCL through standard regularization (GCL+L1, GCL+L2, and GCL+LElasticNet) and our Lnew on two big Arabic sentiment datasets; GCL+Lnew gave the highest results (92.53%) with less performance time.

Biochar, as a soil conditioner, has been widely used to promote the growth of maize, but most of the current research is short-term experiments, which limits the research on the long-term effects of biochar, especially the physiological mechanism of biochar on maize growth in aeolian sandy soil is still unclear. Here, we set up two groups of pot experiments, respectively after the new biochar application and one-time biochar application seven years ago (CK: 0 t ha-1, C1: 15.75 t ha-1, C2: 31.50 t ha-1, C3: 63.00 t ha-1, C4: 126.00 t ha-1), and planted with maize. Subsequently, samples were collected at different periods to explore the effect of biochar on maize growth physiology and its after-effect. Results showed that the plant height, biomass, and yield of maize showed the highest rates of increase at the application rate of 31.50 t ha-1 biochar, with 22.22% increase in biomass and 8.46% increase in yield compared with control under the new application treatment. Meanwhile, the plant height and biomass of maize increased gradually with the increase of biochar application under the one-time biochar application seven years ago treatment (increased by 4.13%-14.91% and 13.83%-58.39% compared with control). Interestingly, the changes in SPAD value (leaf greenness), soluble sugar and soluble protein contents in maize leaves corresponded with the trend of maize growth. Conversely, the changes of malondialdehyde (MDA), proline (PRO), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) manifested an opposite trend to the growth of maize. In conclusion, 31.50 t ha-1 biochar application can promote the growth of maize by inducing changes in its physiological and biochemical characteristics, but excessive biochar application rates ranging from 63.00-126.00 t ha-1 inhibited the growth of maize. After seven years of field aging, the inhibitory effect of 63.00-126.00 t ha-1 biochar amount on maize growth disappeared and changed to promoting effect.

This study explores a hypothetical scenario where low-activation refractory multi-component alloys (RMCAs) are considered for use as divertor target materials in fusion reactors. To investigate the surface modifications under divertor service conditions, a multi-phase W–Ta–V–Cr RMCA is irradiated with low-energy helium (He) plasma at varying temperatures to approximately 5.0 × 10 ^25 He·m ^−2 . The W-rich and Cr-rich phases in the multi-phase RMCA mimic the mono-phase W–Ta–V–Cr RMCA and segregation at grain boundaries, respectively. Following irradiation, fuzz layer formation is observed for all phases at temperatures lower than pure W requires. Additionally, nano He bubbles are identified in the fuzz tendrils at 920 °C. The modified layers exhibit reduced V and Cr content with increasing temperature, transitioning into W-Ta binary alloys at 920 °C. Notably, the fuzz layer on the W-rich phase is thinner than that on pure W at 920 °C. While a thinner fuzz layer suggests the alloy’s potential as a divertor target material, challenges include a lower fuzz formation temperature and potential high V and Cr sputtering yield, raising concerns for plasma contamination during fusion reactor operation. This dual perspective highlights both the promise and challenges of utilizing RMCAs as divertor target materials in severe fusion reactor environments.

To identify herbaceous peony cultivars with strong photosynthetic productivity, we compared the photosynthetic characteristics of 20 herbaceous peony cultivars based on four photosynthetic characteristics parameters and established light–response curves under a light intensity gradient, using CIRAS-3 portable photosynthetic dynamic monitoring. The net photosynthetic rate (Pn) showed a “unimodal” diurnal variation pattern, with a peak around 12:00. The diurnal pattern of the transpiration rate was the same as that of Pn. Stomatal conductance values (Gs) showed similar patterns among the cultivars, with only small differences. The daily variation in intracellular CO2 concentration (Ci) showed an opposite trend to that of Pn. When the photosynthetically active radiation was 0–400 μmol·m−2s−1, Pn increased linearly and gradually with increasing light intensity. ‘Xueyuanhonghua’, ‘Qingwen’, ‘Taohuafeixue’, ‘Chifen’, and ‘Qihualushuang’ showed high photosynthetic productivity. ‘Xueyuanhonghua’, ‘Fushi’, ‘Qingwen’, ‘Tianshanhongxing’, ‘Qingtianlan’, ‘Dafugui’, and ‘Hongfushi’ had high light saturation points and the highest light resistance. ‘Xueyuanhonghua’, ‘Qingwen’, ‘Taohuafeixue’, ‘Tianshanhongxing’, ‘Qingtianlan’, ‘Guifeichacui’, ‘Chifen’, and ‘Hongxiuqiu’ had low light compensation points. Thus, two cultivars with strong photosynthetic productivity, ‘Xueyuanhonghua’ and ‘Qingwen’, can be cross-bred to obtain both light- and shade-tolerant plants. This study provides a theoretical basis for breeding new cultivars with high photosynthetic productivity.

The study of functional genes involved in baculovirus infection is vital for its wide application in pest biocontrol. This study utilized the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and silkworm as models to elucidate the role of BmRRS1, which has been found to exhibit notable differential expression between resistant and susceptible silkworm strains. The results showed that it was evolutionarily conserved in selected species. Among different tissues, it was expressed at the highest level in the gonads, followed by the hemolymph and silk glands; among the different developmental stages, it was the highest in the second instar, followed by the pupae and adults. Moreover, its vital role in suppressing AcMNPV infection was verified by the decreased expression of lef3 and vp39 protein after overexpression of BmRRS1 as well as by the increased expression of the viral gene lef3 and the viral protein vp39 after siRNA treatment against BmRRS1 expression in BmN cells. Additionally, the direct interaction between BmRRS1 and AcMNPV was detected by the GST pull-down assay. Finally, the homologue of BmRRS1 in Spodoptera frugiperda was found to be involved in larval resistance to AcMNPV. In a word, BmRRS1 plays a vital role in AcMNPV resistance in silkworms, and this might be related to the direct interaction with AcMNPV. The results of this study provide a potential target for protecting silkworm larvae from virus infection and controlling agricultural and forestry pests.

The accumulation of pesticide residues poses a significant threat to the health of people and the surrounding ecological systems. However, traditional methods are not only costly but require expertise in analysis. An electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor was developed using chitosan and molybdenum disulfide (CTS-MoS2), along with acetylene black (AB@CTS) for the rapid detection of malathion residues. Due to the weak interaction force, simple composite may lead to uneven dispersion; MoS2 and AB were dissolved in CTS solution, respectively, and utilized the biocompatibility of CTS to interact with each other on the electrode. The MoS2 nanosheets provided a large specific surface area, enhancing the utilization rate of catalytic materials, while AB exhibited excellent conductivity. Additionally, the dendritic polylysine (PLL) contained numerous amino groups to load abundant luminol to catalyze hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). The proposed ECL aptasensor obtained a low detection limit of 2.75 × 10−3 ng/mL (S/N = 3) with a good detection range from 1.0 × 10−2 ng/mL to 1.0 × 103 ng/mL, demonstrating excellent specificity, repeatability, and stability. Moreover, the ECL aptasensor was successfully applied for detecting malathion pesticide residues in authentic samples with recovery rates ranging from 94.21% to 99.63% (RSD < 2.52%). This work offers valuable insights for advancing ECL sensor technology in future applications.