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Abstract Background Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevalence is on the rise globally. Offspring of diabetic mothers face increased risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia (NH), and women with GDM have abnormal lipid profiles. However, there is no consensus on the link between maternal blood lipids and NH in infants from mothers with GDM. This study aimed to explore how maternal blood lipids affect NH. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. Information on participants’ baseline characteristics and maternal metabolic profiles of glucose and lipids was collected. Significant variables from the univariate analysis were included in logistic regression, which was used to construct the predictive model for NH. A nomogram was constructed for visualizing the model and assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Results Neonatal capillary blood glucose (CBG) decreased rapidly in the first hour after birth, increased gradually from the first to the second hour, and then remained stable. In the NH group, 86.11% (502/583) of hypoglycaemia cases occurred within the first two hours after birth. Multivariate logistic regression suggested that the lipid indices of maternal apoprotein B/apoprotein A1 (Apo-B/Apo-A1) (odds ratio (OR) = 1.36, 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.049–1.764, P = 0.02) and apoprotein E (Apo-E) (OR = 1.014, 95% CIs: 1.004–1.024, P = 0.004) were positively associated with NH in neonates from mothers with GDM. Triglycerides (TGs) (OR = 0.883, 95% CIs: 0.788–0.986, P = 0.028) were inversely associated with NH. Maternal glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), age, twin pregnancy and caesarean delivery also had predictive value of NH. The AUC of the nomogram derived from these factors for the prediction model of NH was 0.657 (95% CIs: 0.630–0.684). Conclusions The present study revealed that the Apo-B/Apo-A1 and Apo-E levels were associated with an increased risk of NH. A nomogram was developed to forecast the risk of NH in babies born to mothers with GDM, incorporating maternal blood lipids, HbA1c, age, twin pregnancy, and caesarean section. The trajectory of glycaemia for neonates indicates the need for intensive CBG monitoring within 2 h of birth for neonates from mothers with GDM.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has been accelerating the digital transformation of financial institutions all over the world. Mobile banking APPs become an important channel to provide financial services in the Internet and Big Data era. Factors that restrict its development have attracted the close attention of scholars and practitioners around the world. Different from a general APP software, mobile banking APPs naturally have some financial attributes which set high requirements for personal privacy protection and other security issues. For this reason, this paper extends the original UTAUT2 model by incorporating a new constructor: perceived risks. The study carefully selects China Construction Bank’s mobile banking app (short as “the CCB APP”), as she is the biggest bank in China and has good novelty and representativeness in financial technology. This paper constructs an extended UTAUT2-based model using questionnaires and structural equation modeling the user behavior of CCB APP and tests the influencing factors of the proposed model through empirical analysis. Similar to other studies using the UTAUT2 model, the findings of this paper indicate that performance expectations, effort expectations, social influence, facilitators, and habits, all have a positive impact on CCB APP users’ intentions. Their intention to use was a mediating variable of user behavior, while facilitators directly influenced CCB users’ behavior. However, the study finds that perceived risk negatively affects the CCB users’ intention while hedonic motivation and price value do not significantly affect users’ decision-making process. Based on these findings, the misdirection should to be avoided in regard to financial APP development by financial institutions is discussed and the future research direction concerning mobile banking app adoption is illustrated.

BackgroundDiurnal temperature range (DTR) is associated with the increased risk of morbidity and mortality. However, the relationship between DTR and emergency ambulance calls (EACs), which more accurately and immediately reflect the health impacts of temperature changes, remains underexplored in China.MethodsWe collected daily data on EACs and meteorological factors from 2009 to 2017 in Guangzhou, China. DTR, representing the temperature range within a day, was calculated by subtracting the minimum temperature from the maximum temperature for each day. Generalized additive models were used to estimate the association between DTR and EACs for all-cause, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases. Additionally, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted in our study.ResultsWe found significant associations between daily DTR and EACs. The excess risks (ERs) were 0.47% (95% CI: 0.14, 0.81%) for all-cause EACs, 0.94% (95% CI: 0.46, 1.43%) for cardiovascular-related EACs, and 1.31% (95% CI: 0.76, 1.86%) for respiratory -related EACs at lag01, respectively. Subgroup analyses indicated that these associations were notably stronger among the older, males, and during the warm season. Specifically, there was an increase of 1.16% (95% CI: 0.59, 1.74%) in cardiovascular-related EACs among the older adult, compared to 0.45% (95% CI: −0.21, 1.12%) among those younger than 65 years. Among males, the increase was 1.39% (95% CI: 0.79, 1.99%), compared to 0.13% (95% CI: −0.53, 0.79%) among females. During the warm season, the increase was 1.53% (95% CI: 0.74, 2.34%), compared to 0.75% (95% CI: 0.14, 1.37%) during the cold season.ConclusionDTR might increase the risk of daily all-cause, cardiovascular-related, and respiratory-related EACs in Guangzhou, China. The associations were particularly strong among older adults, males, and during the warm season. Implementing public health policies is essential to mitigate the adverse health effects of DTR.

Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the relationship between a low serum free triiodothyronine (FT3) level and the mortality of severe pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients. Methods We performed a retrospective study and reviewed the medical records of patients with severe pulmonary TB between January 2016 and June 2022. The patient demographics, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, survival or death at 28 and 90 days after hospital admission, and serum FT3 level were recorded. Bivariate regression analysis was performed to study the relationship between mortality and the FT3 level. The Kaplan–Meier method and the log-rank test were used to compare the survival rates between patients with different serum FT3 levels. Results Our study included 495 severe pulmonary TB patients, with 383 (77.4%) patients having a low serum FT3 level. The low-serum FT3 group had high 28-day and 90-day mortalities. The patients who had died by 28 or 90 days after hospital admission had a low FT3 level. Survival analysis showed that the patients with a low serum FT3 level had a low probability of survival at 28 days and at 90 days after hospital admission. Conclusion The serum FT3 level was correlated with the 28-day and 90-day mortalities in patients with severe pulmonary TB. The serum FT3 level should be monitored in these patients to help manage their disease.

Abstract Bimetallic PtRu are promising electrocatalysts for hydrogen oxidation reaction in anion exchange membrane fuel cell, where the activity and stability are still unsatisfying. Here, PtRu nanowires were implanted with a series of oxophilic metal atoms (named as i-M-PR), significantly enhancing alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) activity and stability. With the dual doping of In and Zn atoms, the i-ZnIn-PR/C shows mass activity of 10.2 A mgPt+Ru −1 at 50 mV, largely surpassing that of commercial Pt/C (0.27 A mgPt −1) and PtRu/C (1.24 A mgPt+Ru −1). More importantly, the peak power density and specific power density are as high as 1.84 W cm−2 and 18.4 W mgPt+Ru −1 with a low loading (0.1 mg cm−2) anion exchange membrane fuel cell. Advanced experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations collectively suggest that dual doping with In and Zn atoms optimizes the binding strengths of intermediates and promotes CO oxidation, enhancing the HOR performances. This work deepens the understanding of developing novel alloy catalysts, which will attract immediate interest in materials, chemistry, energy and beyond.

Accurate carbon price prediction can help save energy and reduce emissions worldwide. Thus, this paper proposes a model that combines swarm intelligence algorithms with deep learning to predict carbon prices. In this model, we collect news related to carbon trading, construct a dictionary of carbon financial sentiment, and determine the emotional value of the carbon news. Secondly, The Harris Hawks Optimization (HHO) algorithm is improved by updating the escape energy and introducing the inertia weight. Then, the LSTM is optimized using the improved Harris Hawks Optimization (IHHO) algorithm. Finally, technical and emotional data on carbon price as multiple source input values are integrated, and the MS-IHHO-LSTM prediction model is established. The results show that the MAPE of IHHO-LSTM is 1.89%, 30.48%, and 10.30% better than that of HHO-LSTM in Hubei, Shanghai, and Shenzhen Carbon Exchanges, respectively. Similarly, MS-IHHO-LSTM showed a lower MAPE than IHHO-LSTM by 27.79%, 29.82%, and 6.33% in the corresponding regions. The results of the experiment indicate that: 1) Using IHHO to optimize LSTM hyperparameters can avoid falling into local optimal and improve prediction accuracy; 2) Incorporating emotional values can further enhance the model’s performance. The MS-IHHO-LSTM prediction model facilitates low-carbon investment, technological innovation, and green production, enabling enterprises to support environmental sustainability.

Carbonyl compounds are important oxygenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that play significant roles in the formation of ozone (O3) and atmospheric chemistry. This study presents comprehensive field observations of carbonyl compounds during an unusual wintertime ozone pollution event at a suburban site in Guangzhou, South China, from 19 to 28 December 2020. The aim was to investigate the characteristics and sources of carbonyls, as well as their contributions to O3 formation. Formaldehyde, acetone, and acetaldehyde were the most abundant carbonyls detected, with average concentrations of 7.11 ± 1.80, 5.21 ± 1.13, and 3.00 ± 0.94 ppbv, respectively, on pollution days, significantly higher than those of 2.57 ± 1.12, 2.73 ± 0.88, and 1.10 ± 0.48 ppbv, respectively, on nonpollution days. The Frame for 0-D Atmospheric Modeling (F0AM) box model simulations revealed that local production accounted for 62–88% of observed O3 concentrations during the pollution days. The calculated ozone formation potentials (OFPs) for various precursors (carbonyls and VOCs) indicated that carbonyl compounds contributed 32.87% of the total OFPs on nonpollution days and 36.71% on pollution days, respectively. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and methylglyoxal were identified as the most reactive carbonyls, and formaldehyde ranked top in OFPs, and it alone contributed 15.92% of total OFPs on nonpollution days and 18.10% of total OFPs on pollution days, respectively. The calculation of relative incremental reactivity (RIR) indicates that ozone sensitivity was a VOC-limited regime, and carbonyls showed greater RIRs than other groups of VOCs. The model simulation showed that secondary formation has a significant impact on formaldehyde production, which is primarily controlled by alkenes and biogenic VOCs. The characteristic ratios and backward trajectory analysis also indicated the indispensable impacts of local primary sources (like industrial emissions and vehicle emissions) and regional sources (like biomass burning) through transportation. This study highlights the important roles of carbonyls, particularly formaldehyde, in forming ozone pollution in megacities like the Pearl River Delta region.

Color vision, which varies among species, plays an important role in foraging, mating, and habitat selection among insects. Protaetia brevitarsis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Lewis) is an omnivorous beetle that damages both crops and fruit. Here, to understand the effect of vision and olfaction in host selection, experiments were conducted on the spectral wavelength preference, color preference, and associative learning ability of adult P. brevitarsis using LED lights and grapes. In our experiments, adults showed the strongest spontaneous preference toward the red spectrum, particularly 730 nm. Non-preferred lights were used to train adults with a food reward (grapes). Green-trained adults had an increasing tendency to prefer green light, and blue-trained adults had a clear preference for blue light. Furthermore, adults significantly preferred red grapes in the absence of olfactory cues, but their selectivity for grapes differed in the presence of olfactory cues, indicating that vision was not the only factor in foraging decisions, but that olfactory cues also influenced their decision making. The results lay the groundwork for revealing their host localization mechanism and provide promising avenues for biological control in the field.

To investigate the characteristics and sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as their impacts on secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) formation during high-incidence periods of PM2.5 pollution, a field measurement was conducted in December 2019 in Hefei, a typical city of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). During the whole process, the mixing ratios of VOCs were averaged as 21.1 ± 15.9 ppb, with alkanes, alkenes, alkyne, and aromatics accounting for 59.9%, 15.3%, 15.0%, and 9.8% of the total VOCs, respectively. It is worth noting that the contributions of alkenes and alkyne increased significantly during PM2.5 pollution periods. Based on source apportionment via the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, vehicle emissions, liquefied petroleum gas/natural gas (LPG/NG), and biomass/coal burning were the main sources of VOCs during the research in Hefei. During pollution periods, however, the contribution of biomass/coal burning to VOCs increased significantly, reaching as much as 47.6%. The calculated SOA formation potential (SOAFP) of VOCs was 0.38 ± 1.04 µg m−3 (range: 0.04–7.30 µg m−3), and aromatics were the dominant contributors, with a percentage of 96.8%. The source contributions showed that industrial emissions (49.1%) and vehicle emissions (28.3%) contributed the most to SOAFP during non-pollution periods, whereas the contribution of biomass/coal burning to SOA formation increased significantly (32.8%) during PM2.5 pollution periods. These findings suggest that reducing VOCs emissions from biomass/coal burning, vehicle, and industrial sources is a crucial approach for the effective control of SOA formation in Hefei, which provides a scientific basis for controlling PM2.5 pollution and improving air quality in the YRD region.

Phase modulation of noble metal alloys (NMAs) is critically important in nanoscience since the distinct atomic arrangements can largely determine their physicochemical properties. However, the precise modulation of NMAs is formidably challenging, because thermodynamically stable phases are generally preferential compared to those metastable ones. Herein, we proposed a potential energy trapping strategy for phase modulation of Pd–Te alloys with solvents. Thereinto, ethylene glycol can increase the energy barrier for both Pd leaching and Te introduction, forming metastable Pd20Te7 phase. Inversely, N, N-dimethylformamide is unable to trap metastable phase, inducing the phase evolution to thermodynamically stable PdTe phase, and the precise phase modulation was realized including Pd20Te7, PdTe and PdTe2 phases. The Pd–Te alloys displayed phase-dependent formic acid oxidation catalytic performance with PdTe phase showing the best. This work proposes a strategy for creating metastable phase with potential energy trap, which may deepen the understanding of phase engineering for noble metal-based nanocrystals.

Abstract In China's cold region water conservancy and hydropower projects, the contact interface between the dam and the reservoir bank rock is prone to cracking under external loading and freeze–thaw action, which may lead to dam-bank failure and damage and cause engineering disasters. The NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) tests and uniaxial compression tests of concrete, sandstone, and sandstone-concrete composite after different numbers of freeze–thaw cycles were carried out to analyze the pore structure development and uniaxial compression mechanical properties of the three types of specimens under different numbers of freeze–thaw cycles. The results show that freeze–thaw cycling promotes the development of pores in sandstone and concrete, and sandstone is more sensitive to low-temperature freeze–thaw than concrete. The UCS (uniaxial compressive strength) of the sandstone-concrete binary changed in a V-shaped with the increase of the dip angle of the cemented interface, and the angle had no obvious effect on the microscopic pores. The freeze–thaw effect on the deterioration of the microscopic pore structure and mechanical properties of the sandstone-concrete binary has a similar effect pattern, in which the deterioration rate of porosity and compressive strength is faster in the early freeze–thaw period, slower in the middle period, and increases in the later period compared with the middle period, but the increase is smaller than that in the early period of freeze–thaw. In addition, the relationship between the porosity and UCS of the sandstone-concrete binary under the freeze–thaw cycle environment is a quadratic parabola.

Various mechanisms are employed to interpret the low water recovery during the shale-gas production period, such as extra-trapped water in the fracture network, water imbibition due to osmotic pressure and capillary pressure. These lead to the difficulty of water flow, which could be described by low-velocity non-Darcy's law known as threshold pressure gradient (TPG). In this paper we firstly employ the low-velocity non-Darcy's law to describe the water flow and use Darcy flow accounting for slip flow and free molecular flow mechanisms to model gas flow in the shale formation. The sensitive study using numerical simulation shows that the proposed flow model could model the low fracturing liquid recovery and that large pseudo TPG leads to lower fracturing liquid recovery. Thus, the proposed model would give new insight to model the low water recovery in shale formations.

Coloration is a crucial trait that allows species to adapt and survive in different environments. Wild boars exhibit alternating black (dark) and yellow (light) longitudinal stripes on their back during their infancy (juvenile stripes), and as adults, they transform into uniform wild-type coat color. Aiming to record the procedure of juvenile stripes disappearing, piglets (WD) with juvenile stripes were produced by crossing a wild boar with Duroc sows, and photos of their coat color were taken from 20 d to 220 d. The pigments in the hairs from the black and yellow stripes were determined. Furthermore, the differentially expressed genes between the black and yellow stripes were investigated in 5 WD with the age of 30 d using whole-transcriptome sequencing to explore the genetic mechanism of the juvenile stripes. The juvenile stripes started to disappear at about 70 d, and stripes were not distinguished with the naked eye at about 160 d; that is, the juvenile stripe completely disappeared. A hotspot of a differentially expressing (DE) region was found on chromosome 13, containing/covering 2 of 13 DE genes and 8 of 10 DE lncRNAs in this region. A network among ZIC4, ssc-miR-532-3p, and ENSSSCG00000056225 might regulate the formation of juvenile stripes. Altogether, this study provides new insights into spatiotemporal coat color pattern.

The synthesis of ultrathin two-dimensional metastable metallic nanomaterials is highly challenging. Here, the authors report free-standing RhMo nanosheets with atomic thickness and a core/shell (metastable/stable phase) structure for high performance towards hydrogen oxidation.

This investigation ventures into the nuanced porosity traits of shallow shale gas reservoirs, pinpointing the critical determinants of their gas content with a nuanced touch. By harnessing sophisticated microscopy and analytical methods, we embarked on an exploration into the porosity architecture of shale, identifying the distinct pore spaces that harbor shale gas and applying gas adsorption techniques to evaluate its storage potential. Noteworthy is our utilization of diverse adsorption mechanisms and models to accurately fit methane adsorption data while carefully considering the influence of marine shallow shale’s pore structure peculiarities, total organic carbon (TOC) content, and clay mineral content on its adsorption prowess. We introduce a refined model for appraising gas adsorption volumes, an innovative stride toward bolstering the precise estimation of reserves in marine dam shallow shale gas and shedding light on accurate gas adsorption volume calculations in analogous shallow shale gas scenarios. This manuscript offers profound insights into the sophisticated interplay between shale porosity and gas storage, enriching our understanding and enabling more accurate future resource estimations.

The development of the efficient catalyst in the direct H2O2 synthesis (DHS) from H2 and O2 remains a formidable challenge. Here, the authors develop a two-step approach to prepare a layer of Pd oxide on PdSn nanowires which displays superior reactivity in the DHS at zero Celcius.

It is of high interest to convert CO2 into valuable ethanol product. Here the authors demonstrate the asymmetric C-C coupling triggered on Ag-modified oxide-derived Cu sites can accelerate and steer the reaction pathway for ethanol production with high faradaic efficiency and current density.

Abstract Catalytic reactions are surface‐sensitive processes. Fabrication of homogeneous metastable metals can be used to promote phase‐dependent catalytic performance; however, this has been a challenging task. Herein, homogeneous metastable hexagonal close‐packed (hcp) Ir is epitaxially grown onto metastable phase hcp Ni, as demonstrated using spherical aberration electron microscopy. The as‐fabricated metastable hcp Ir exhibits high intrinsic activity for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In particular, metastable hcp Ir delivers a low overpotential of 17 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and presents a high specific activity of 8.55 mA cm−2 and a high turnover frequency of 38.26 s−1 at −0.07 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Owing to its epitaxially grown structure, metastable hcp Ir is highly stable. Theoretical calculations reveal that metastable hcp Ir promotes H2O adsorption and fast H2O dissociation, which contributes to its remarkable HER activity. Findings can elucidate the crystal phase‐controlled synthesis of advanced noble metal nanomaterials for the fundamental catalytic applications.

A multi‐objective optimization design method for the cross‐brace structure of a computer numerical control gantry machine tool is proposed to improve mechanical performance. Dynamic and static performance indexes of the cross brace are analyzed. On basis of sensitivity analysis, size parameters which have great influence on mass and dynamic and static performance indexes of the cross brace are selected as design variables for optimization. Objective values under design variables are obtained by orthogonal experimental method, and an objective function is fitted by response surface method. After verifying the fitting effect of the objective function, entropy weight method is used to calculate weight coefficient of each optimization objective, and a comprehensive performance optimization model of the cross brace is built. Accelerated particle swarm optimization (APSO) intelligent algorithm is used to solve the comprehensive performance optimization model. Comparison results before and after the optimization show that the mass of optimized cross brace is reduced by 8.377%, the maximum stress is reduced by 13.252%, and the first‐order natural frequency is increased by 2.183%. The proposed optimization method provides a new idea to improve the dynamic and static performance of the cross brace while reducing its mass.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disease highly associated with metabolic diseases and gut dysbiosis. Several clinical trials have confirmed that fructooligosaccharides (FOSs) are a viable alternative treatment for NAFLD. However, the mechanisms underlying the activities of FOSs remain unclear. Methods: In this study, the effects of FOSs were investigated with the use of two C57BL/6 J mouse models of NAFLD induced by a high-fat, high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet and a methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet, respectively. The measured metabolic parameters included body, fat, and liver weights; and blood glucose, glucose tolerance, and serum levels of glutamate transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and triglycerides. Liver tissues were collected for histological analysis. In addition, 16 S rRNA sequencing was conducted to investigate the effects of FOSs on the composition of the gut microbiota of mice in the HFHC and MCD groups and treated with FOSs. Results: FOS treatment attenuated severe metabolic changes and hepatic steatosis caused by the HFHC and MCD diets. In addition, FOSs remodeled the structure of gut microbiota in mice fed the HFHC and MCD diets, as demonstrated by increased abundances of Bacteroidetes (phylum level), Klebsiella variicola, Lactobacillus gasseri, and Clostridium perfringens (species level); and decreased abundances of Verrucomicrobia (phylum level) and the Fissicatena group (genus level). Moreover, the expression levels of genes associated with lipid metabolism and inflammation (i.e., ACC1, PPARγ, CD36, MTTP, APOC3, IL-6, and IL-1β) were down-regulated after FOS treatment. Conclusion: FOSs alleviated the pathological phenotype of NAFLD via remodeling of the gut microbiota composition and decreasing hepatic lipid metabolism, suggesting that FOSs as functional dietary supplements can potentially reduce the risk of NAFLD.

Introduction: Sleep disorders are common clinical psychosomatic disorders that can co-exist with a variety of conditions. In humans and animal models, sleep deprivation (SD) is closely related with gastrointestinal diseases. Shu-Xie Decoction (SX) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antidepressant properties. SX is effective in the clinic for treating patients with abnormal sleep and/or gastrointestinal disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are not known. This study investigated the mechanisms by which SX alleviates SD-induced colon injury in vivo.Methods: C57BL/6 mice were placed on an automated sleep deprivation system for 72 h to generate an acute sleep deprivation (ASD) model, and low-dose SX (SXL), high-dose SX (SXH), or S-zopiclone (S-z) as a positive control using the oral gavage were given during the whole ASD-induced period for one time each day. The colon length was measured and the colon morphology was visualized using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. ROS and the redox biomarkers include reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were detected. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), molecular docking, immunofluorescence and western blotting assays were performed to detect the antioxidant signaling pathways.Results: ASD significantly increased FBG levels, decreased colon length, moderately increased the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the colon mucosa, altered the colon mucosal structure, increased the levels of ROS, GSH, MDA, and SOD activity compared with the controls. These adverse effects were significantly alleviated by SX treatment. ASD induced nuclear translocation of NRF2 in the colon mucosal cells and increased the expression levels of p62, NQO1, and HO1 transcripts and proteins, but these effects were reversed by SX treatment.Conclusion: SX decoction ameliorated ASD-induced oxidative stress and colon injury by suppressing the p62/KEAP1/NRF2/HO1/NQO1 signaling pathway. In conclusion, combined clinical experience, SX may be a promising drug for sleep disorder combined with colitis.

A versatile top-down strategy has been shown to produce amorphous oxides through amorphization of corresponding hydroxides. This approach was used to generate various unitary, binary and ternary amorphous oxides for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution.

Structural health monitoring is the technique which evaluate and analyze materials in the production and service process. In this paper, the basic principles and characteristics of terahertz, infrared, visible-multispectral and X-ray nondestructive testing technologies with different penetration rates, spectral energy, detection accuracy and system complexity are reviewed. Based on the types and causes of defects in aerospace materials, the corresponding testing techniques and nondestructive testing technology for different defects are also summarized. Finally, the image processing technology of each detection technology is analyzed. In practice, it is usually necessary to select one or more test methods according to the material properties and damage types. The differences in imaging techniques and processing algorithms are the major obstacles to joint multispectral detection. Although there have been preliminary studies on the methods of combining and associating image data under different spectra, further research is needed on how to integrate more spectra for new, more complex applications.

Injured endothelial cells are shown to induce an A1 phenotype in astrocytes, characterized by a genetic signature associated with extracellular matrix remodeling factors (e.g. decorin and vascular Aß deposits).

Abstract Defect engineering provides a highly potential way to yield exceptional catalytic performance. Herein, we first report the selenium (Se) vacancies‐decorated ultrafine platinum–nickel (PtNi‐Sev) nanowires, as a bifunctional catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The optimized PtNi‐Sev exhibits obvious enhancement for HER and MOR compared to PtNi nanowires. It displays merely an overpotential of 18.8 mV for alkaline HER and the outstanding MOR performance (3.51 A/mgPt). When applying in one symmetric overall water splitting electrolyzer coupling with HER and MOR, an ultralow working voltage of 0.637 V with 100% Faraday efficiency for hydrogen production was achieved at the current density of 10 mA/cm2. Further investigations reveal that the weakened hydrogen binding energy, strong OH binding as well as relative weak CO binding are responsible for the improved HER and MOR activities.

Abstract We propose DEGAS (Diagnostic Evidence GAuge of Single cells), a novel deep transfer learning framework, to transfer disease information from patients to cells. We call such transferrable information “impressions,” which allow individual cells to be associated with disease attributes like diagnosis, prognosis, and response to therapy. Using simulated data and ten diverse single-cell and patient bulk tissue transcriptomic datasets from glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and multiple myeloma (MM), we demonstrate the feasibility, flexibility, and broad applications of the DEGAS framework. DEGAS analysis on myeloma single-cell transcriptomics identified PHF19 high myeloma cells associated with progression. Availability: https://github.com/tsteelejohnson91/DEGAS .

Abstract Background To validate a competency-based assessment scale for students majoring in clinical medicine, ASK-SEAT. Students’ competency growth across grade years was also examined for trends and gaps. Methods Questionnaires were distributed online from May through August in 2018 to Year-2 to Year-6 students who majored in clinical medicine at the Shantou University Medical College (China). Cronbach alpha values were calculated for reliability of the scale, and exploratory factor analysis employed for structural validity. Predictive validity was explored by correlating Year-4 students’ self-assessed competency ratings with their licensing examination scores (based on Kendall’s tau-b values). All students’ competency development over time was examined using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results A total of 760 questionnaires meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The overall Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.964, and the item-total correlations were all greater than 0.520. The overall KMO measure was 0.966 and the KMO measure for each item was greater than 0.930 (P

Abstract Background N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common post-transcriptional modification at the RNA level. However, the exact molecular mechanisms of m6A epigenetic regulation in breast cancer remain largely unknown and need to be fully elucidated. Methods The integrating bioinformatics analyses were used to screen clinical relevance and dysregulated m6A “reader” protein YTHDF1 in breast cancer from TCGA databases, which was further validated in a cohort of clinical specimens. Furthermore, functional experiments such as the CCK-8 assay, EdU assay, wound healing assay, transwell invasion assay and cell cycle assay were used to determine the biological role of YTHDF1 in breast cancer. RIP, m6A-IP, and CLIP assays were used to find the target of YTHDF1 and further verification by RT-qPCR, western blot, polysome profiling assay. The protein–protein interaction between YTHDF1 and FOXM1 was detected via co-immunoprecipitation. Results Our study showed that YTHDF1 was overexpressed in breast cancer cells and clinical tissues specimens. At the same time, the high expression level of YTHDF1 was positively correlated with tumor size, lymph node invasion, and distant metastasis in breast cancer patients. YTHDF1 depletion repressed the proliferation, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and induced G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrated that FOXM1 is a target of YTHDF1. Through recognizing and binding to the m6A-modified mRNA of FOXM1, YTHDF1 accelerated the translation process of FOXM1 and promoted breast cancer metastasis. Whereas overexpression of FOXM1 in breast cancer cells partially counteracted the tumor suppressed effects caused by YTHDF1 silence, which further verified the regulatory relationship between YTHDF1 and FOXM1. Conclusion Our study reveals a novel YTHDF1/FOXM1 regulatory pathway that contributes to metastasis and progression of breast cancer, suggesting that YTHDF1 might be applied as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target. That also advances our understanding of the tumorigenesis for breast cancer from m6A epigenetic regulation.

The accurate distribution of solar energy on indoor walls is the basis of simulating the indoor thermal environment, and its specific distribution changes all the time due to the influence of solar azimuth and altitude angle. By analyzing the assumptions of each model, the existing solar energy distribution models are eight kinds in all and are divided into three categories. The solar radiation models in TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, and Airpak software all use the absorption-weighted area ratio method, which assumes that a single interior surface is a whole, but the detailed assumptions of the models used in the three software are different. In the Radiosity-irradiation method, the indoor surfaces are discretized into small surfaces for calculation. The calculation accuracy of solar radiation distribution indoors can be controlled by the number of discrete small surfaces. The Radiosity-irradiation method is implemented by using Matlab software programming in this paper. Through the numerical calculation and analysis of typical cases, the solar distribution results of the absorption-weighted area ratio method and the Radiosity-irradiation method all show the asymmetry. The asymmetrical ratio of direct solar radiation varies during the time between 7.96–9.89, and the minimum turns up at 11:30 in the summer solstice. The asymmetrical ratio of diffuse solar radiation is 3.23 constantly. The asymmetrical ratio of total solar energy is mainly influenced by the direct and diffuse solar feat gain and its value changes in the range from 3.4 to 4.45 in the summer solstice. Calculation comparison and error analysis on the solar radiation models used in TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, and Airpak software are conducted. There are significant errors in the simulation results of all three software. TRNSYS has the highest error among the three software as its results do not change over time. For EnergyPlus, the distribution ratio of floor 1 is too large. Airpak has the smallest error, but the solar radiation distribution ratios of the indoor surfaces near the south glazing facade are underrated, especially the indoor surfaces that have not been exposed to direct solar radiation.

Cucumber plants commonly suffer from Fusarium wilt disease, which is caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (Foc). Although resistant cultivars assist with Fusarium wilt disease control, enhancement of the virulence of Foc has been identified after monoculture of wilt-resistant cultivars. To investigate the biological characteristics that contribute to the virulence evolution of Foc, a wildtype strain foc-3b (WT) and its virulence-enhanced variant Ra-4 (InVir) were compared in terms of their growth, reproduction, stress tolerance, and colonization in cucumber plants. The InVir strain showed similar culture characteristics on PDA media to the WT strain but produced significantly more conidia (>two fold), with a distinctly higher germination rate (>four fold) than the WT strain. The colony diameter of the InVir strain increased faster than the WT strain on PDA plates; however, the mycelia dry weight of the InVir was significantly lower (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum. This study will provide an insight into its virulence evolution and help us understand the mechanisms underlying the evolutionary biology of F. oxysporum.

Background We aim to create a holistic competency-based assessment system to measure competency evolution over time – one of the first such systems in China. Method Two rounds of self-reported surveys were fielded among the graduates from the Shantou University Medical College: June through December 2017, and May through August 2018. Responses from three cohorts of graduates specializing in clinical medicine – new graduates, resident physicians, and senior physicians – were analyzed. Gaps between respondents’ expected and existing levels of competencies were examined using a modified service quality model, SERVQUAL Results A total of 605 questionnaires were collected in 2017 for the construction of competency indicators and a 5-level proficiency rating scale, and 407 in 2018, for confirmatory factor and competency gap analysis. Reliability coefficients of all competency indicators (36) were greater than 0.9. Three competency domains were identified through exploratory factor analysis: knowledge (K), skills (S), and attitude (A). The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fit of the scale (CMIN/DF < 4; CFI > 0.9; IFI > 0.9; RMSEA ≤ 0.08). Within the cohorts of resident and senior physicians, the largest competency gap was seen in the domain of knowledge (K): −1.84 and −1.41, respectively. Among new graduates, the largest gap was found in the domain of skills (S) (−1.92), with the gap in knowledge (−1.91) trailing closely behind. Conclusions A competency-based assessment system is proposed to evaluate clinician’s competency development in three domains: knowledge (K), skills (S), and attitude (A). The system consists of 36 competency indicators, a rating scale of 5 proficiency levels, and a gap analysis to measure competency evolution through 3 key milestones in clinician’s professional career: new graduate, resident physician, and senior physician. The competency gaps identified can provide evidence-based guide to clinicians’ own continuous development as well as future medical curriculum improvements.

Background: Cellular senescence has recently been considered a new cancer hallmark. However, the factors regulating cellular senescence have not been well characterized. The aim of this study is to identify long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with senescence and prognosis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).Methods: Using RNA sequence data from the Cancer Genome Atlas Lung Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-LUAD) and senescence genes from the CellAge database, a subset of senescence-related lncRNAs was first identified. Then, using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, a senescence lncRNA signature (LUADSenLncSig) associated with LUAD prognosis was developed. Based on the median LUADSenLncSig risk score, LUAD patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare the overall survival (OS) in the high- and low-risk score subgroups. Differences in Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), immune infiltration, tumor mutation burden (TMB), tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) module score, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy selection were also compared between the high-risk and low-risk groups.Results: A prognostic risk model was obtained consisting of the following nine senescence-related lncRNAs: LINC01116, AC005838.2, SH3PXD2A-AS1, VIMS-AS1, SH3BP5-AS1, AC092279.1, AC026355.1, AC027020.2, and LINC00996. The LUADSenLncSig high-risk group was associated with poor OS (hazard ratio = 1.17, 95% confidence interval = 1.102–1.242; p < 0.001). The accuracy of the model was further supported based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC), principal component analysis (PCA), and internal validation cohorts. In addition, a nomogram was developed consisting of LUADSenLncSig for LUAD prognosis, which is consistent with the actual probability of OS. Furthermore, immune infiltration analysis showed the low-risk group had a stronger anti-tumor immune response in the tumor microenvironment. Notably, the levels of immune checkpoint genes such as CTLA-4, PDCD-1, and CD274, and the TIDE scores were significantly higher in the low-risk subgroups than in high-risk subgroups (p < 0.001). This finding indicates the LUADSenLncSig can potentially predict immunotherapy efficacy.Conclusion: In this study, a lncRNA signature, LUADSenLncSig, that has dual functions of senescence phenotype identification and prognostic prediction as well as the potential to predict the LUAD response to immunotherapy was developed.

Identifying new, active material phases provides a promising avenue in the development of efficient catalysts. Here, authors demonstrate a metastable 1T-phase IrO2 metallene oxide as an oxygen evolution electrocatalyst in acidic electrolytes.

CO2 hydrogenation has attracted intense scientific attention yet suffers from the disadvantage of poor activity and low selectivity. Here, the authors report that Cu single atom catalysts with tailored coordination environments on C3N4 serve as highly selective catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation.

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have attracted increasing attention in diverse field. Here, the authors report PtRuNiCoFeMo HEA with enhanced activity, stability and preferable CO anti-poisoning in alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction.

Objective: Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD)/menthyl acetate (MA) microcapsules were developed to overcome the volatile and unstable defects of MA and improve the ease of use and storage. Methods: MA microcapsules were prepared via spray drying using HP-β-CD as the wall material. The embedding rate of MA microcapsules was determined through gas chromatography. The embedding characteristics were studied using phase solubility and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The stability was characterized via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the release and retention rates of MA microcapsules at different temperatures. Results: The embedding rate of HP-β-CD /MA microcapsules was 96.3%. The Gibbs free energy change, enthalpy change and entropy change of the embedding reaction between HP-β-CD and MA were all less than zero, indicating that the embedding process was a spontaneous exothermic reaction. NMR spectra showed that MA entered the cavity of HP-β-CD through the large opening end and interacted with the inner wall of the small opening end. DSC and the release and retention rates of MA microcapsules at different temperatures showed that the stability of MA was significantly enhanced after being embedded in HP-β-CD. Conclusion: The HP-β-CD/MA microcapsules are able to significantly improve the stability of MA and reduce the volatilization of MA.

The daily precipitation data of the years 1955–2017 from May to September were retrieved; then a Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) and maximum likelihood methods were adopted to understand trends and calculate the reappearance period of heavy precipitation in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The daily precipitation values at 22 stations in the TP were found to conform to the model, and theoretical and measured frequencies were consistent. According to the spatial distribution of the maximum precipitation value, the extreme values of Shigatse and Lhasa showed large fluctuations, and the probability of record-breaking precipitation events was low. In the western part of Nagqu, the probability of extreme precipitation was relatively low, and that of record-breaking precipitation was relatively high. The peak values of extreme precipitation in the flood season in the TP generally exhibited a decreasing trend from southeast to northwest, and the extreme value of the flood season that reappeared in the southeast region was approximately twice that of the northwest region. The maximum rainfall in most areas will exceed 20 mm in the next 5–10 years, and the maximum rainfall in Shigatse will reach 52.7 mm. After 15 years of recurrence in various regions, the peak rainfall in the flood season has become low. Most of the regions in the model have different responses to ENSO and Indian Ocean monsoon indices with external forcing factors. HIGHLIGHTS The Generalized Pareto Distribution method was first used in the TP.; The fitting results agree with the observation results.; The probability of breaking records was higher due to the lower probability of extreme precipitation.; The recurrence period of extreme precipitation gradually decreases from southeast to northwest in the TP.; ENSO and SST index for the Indian Ocean has a great influence on the extreme precipitation in the TP.;

In the context of the ubiquitous power Internet of Things (UPIoT), this paper attempts to make full use of distributed new energy, and rationalize the energy management strategy of households. Inspired by the energy management system (EMS) of intelligent buildings, the authors searched for the optimal control plan for energy based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm. Under the overall architecture of the system, a distributed new energy generation system was modelled for consumers in intelligent buildings, including energy storage, household electrical loads, new energy vehicles, etc. Next, a Q-learning-based energy management model was established for intelligent buildings, and the corresponding constraints were set up. After that, the reward and penalty functions of the EMSs for households and the intelligent building were designed based on the daily economic dispatch (DED) model. Finally, the energy management strategy was optimized, creating the real-time optimization control process. The proposed energy management strategy was proved effective for intelligent buildings through simulations. The research results provide a reference for energy management in other microgrids.

Phytophthora infestans, the notorious pathogen of potato late blight, leads to a severe decline in potato yields and even harvest failure. We isolated 201 endophytic isolates from healthy root tissues of potatoes, among which 41 showed strong antagonistic activity against P. infestans. Further, the tolerance to stress and the potential application against potato late blight of these antagonistic isolates were tested. Most of them were extremely tolerant to stresses such as acid–alkali, temperature, UV, salt, and heavy metal stress. However, some antagonistic isolates with excellent stress tolerance might be pathogenic to potatoes. Combining the screening results, a total of 14 endophytes had excellent comprehensive performance in all the tests. In this paper, the endophyte 6-5 was selected among them for the preliminary exploration of the anti-oomycete mechanism. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence revealed that 6-5 had a high homology to the corresponding sequence of Bacillus velezensis (99.72%) from the NCBI database. Endophyte 6-5 significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of P. infestans, with an inhibition rate of over 90% in vitro assays, and deformed the hyphal phenotype of P. infestans. In addition, endophyte 6-5 could secrete protease and cellulase, and produce antagonistic substances with high thermal stability, which might be helpful to its antagonistic activity against P. infestans. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that 6-5 had the ability to improve the resistance of potato tubers to late blight. In short, our study described the process of isolating and screening endophytes with antagonistic activity against P. infestans from potato roots, and further explored the potential of biocontrol candidate strain 6-5 in potato late blight control.

To improve the operation performance and energy conversion efficiency of the redox flow battery (RFB), a modular active balancing circuit for redox flow battery applied in the energy storage system is proposed in this paper. Detailed topology description, parameter design, characteristic analysis, operation principle and control strategy of the proposed circuit are presented and discussed in the paper. Different from the conventional battery balancing circuit, the key point of the proposed balancing circuit is that it integrates the circulating pump driving circuit and the state-of-charge (SOC) equalization circuit of the redox flow battery. It uses the energy consumption of the pump driving to balance the SOCs of different battery stacks, which provides a new SOC balancing mechanism for RFB. Based on the proposed circuit, an active balancing control strategy using the time-sharing energy transmission method is proposed, in which the sub-modules of the circuit are alternatively configured in charge-state and discharge-state for absorbing energy or releasing energy to achieve the SOC balancing control for RFB. Compared with the conventional balancing solution or circuit, the proposed modular active balancing circuit simplifies the complexity of the battery management system for RFB, which has the advantages of high efficiency, high reliability, and good scalability. Simulations on Matlab/Simulink and experiments on a downscaled prototype were carried out to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed circuit and control strategy.

In order to use mechanism model analysis instead of experimental test to control and adjust the temperature and oven temperature curve of each part of the integrated circuit board reflow oven to make it meet the process requirements, a fitting algorithm was used to establish a heat transfer model of the reflow soldering. The established reflow soldering heat transfer model was used to simulate and fit to obtain the integrated circuit board reflow soldering oven temperature curve, and compared it with the reflow soldering experiment curve to verify the reliability of the model’s simulation performance. The comparison results show that the reflow soldering oven temperature simulation curve is in good agreement with the experimental curve, and it can replace the experimental test to find the best. On this basis, the genetic algorithm was further used to optimize the temperature setting and oven temperature curve for integrated circuit boards. After optimization, the conveyor belt velocity of the integrated circuit board is preferably 1.4799cm/s, and the set temperature of temperature zones is 179 °C at small temperature zones 1~5, 185 °C at small temperature zone 6, 235 °C at small temperature zone 7, and 264 °C at small temperature zones 8~9; the area of the oven temperature curve that exceeds 217 °C decreases by $831.1611~^{\circ }\textrm {C}\cdot \text{s}$ , and its symmetry with respect to the peak is better, which is much closer to the ideal oven temperature curve. The research results provide a useful reference for the design of integrated circuit board reflow soldering process.

Abstract Background The longer upper airway is more collapsible during sleep. This study aims to reveal relationships among upper airway length, weight, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly to answer why the upper airway of OSA patients is longer than that of healthy people and why some obese people suffer from OSA while others do not. Methods We perform head and neck MRI on male patients and controls, and measure > 20 morphological parameters, including several never before investigated, to quantify the effect of weight change on upper airway length. Results The upper airway length is longer in patients and correlates strongly to body weight. Weight increase leads to significant fat infiltration in the tongue, causing the hyoid to move downward and lengthen the airway in patients. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) strongly correlates to airway length and tongue size. Surprisingly, a distance parameter h and angle β near the occipital bone both show significant differences between healthy males and patients due to their different head backward tilt angle, and strongly correlates with AHI. The contributions of downward hyoid movement and head tilt on airway lengthening are 67.4–80.5% and19.5–32.6%, respectively, in patients. The parapharyngeal fat pad also correlates strongly with AHI. Conclusions The findings in this study reveal that the amount of body weight and distribution of deposited fat both affect airway length, and therefore OSA. Fat distribution plays a larger impact than the amount of weight, and is a better predictor of who among obese people are more prone to OSA.

Prohibitin (PHB) is a highly conserved, ubiquitously expressed, multifunctional protein with a well‐characterized function as a chaperone‐stabilizing mitochondrial proteins. Recently it was reported that nuclear PHB participates in HIRA chaperone complexes and regulates downstream gene expression via cell cycle independent deposition of H3.3 into DNA. However, the role of PHB in cancer progression remains controversial with conflicting reports in the literature, perhaps due to its cell type‐dependent subcellular localization. Here, we report that the increased expression of nuclear PHB is positively correlated with metastasis of breast cancer cell lines. We showed PHB participates in the HIRA complex by interacting with HIRA through the linker region of the PHB domain and stabilizes all components of the HIRA complex in breast cancer. Overexpression of nuclear PHB resulted in a higher enrichment of histone H3.3 deposited by the HIRA complex at the promoters of mesenchymal markers. This coincided with an increased gene expression level of these markers, and induced EMT in breast cancer. Overall, these molecular and structural mechanisms suggest that nuclear PHB could hold promise as a potential target for cancer therapy.

Direct methane conversion to high value-added products is a promising way for highly-efficient utilization of methane. Here, the authors demonstrate that rhodium single-atom supported on cerium dioxide nanowires can selectively convert methane to oxygenates under mild conditions.

A phase change memory (PCM) model suitable for neuromorphic circuit simulations is developed. A crystallization ratio module is used to track the memory state in the SET process, and an active region radius module is developed to track the continuously varying amorphous region in the RESET process. To converge the simulations with bi-stable memory states, a predictive filament module is proposed using a previous state in iterations of nonlinear circuit matrix under a voltage-driven mode. Both DC and transient analysis are successfully converged in circuits with voltage sources. The spiking-time-dependent-plasticity (STDP) characteristics essential for synaptic PCM are successfully reproduced with SPICE simulations verifying the model's promising applications in neuromorphic circuit designs. Further on, the developed PCM model is applied to propose a neuron circuit topology with lateral inhibitions which is more bionic and capable of distinguishing fuzzy memories. Finally, unsupervised learning of handwritten digits on neuromorphic circuits is simulated to verify the integrity of models in a large-scale-integration circuits. For the first time in literature an emerging memory model is developed and applied successfully in neuromorphic circuit designs, and the model is applicable to flexible designs of neuron circuits for further performance improvements.

Abstract Background There is currently no method that can predict whether or under what condition hypopnea, even obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), will occur during sleep for individuals based on credible parameters measured under waking condition. We propose a threshold concept based on the narrowest cross-sectional area of the upper airway (CSA-UA) and aim to prove our hypothesis on the threshold of the area for hypopnea onset (TAHO), which can be used as an indicator of hypopnea onset during sleep and measured while awake. Methods We performed magnetic resonance imaging for 20 OSA patients to observe CSA-UA changes during fluid accumulation in the neck caused by elevating their legs, and identified TAHO by capturing the sudden enlargement in CSA-UA. Correlation analyses between TAHO and the body mass index (BMI), and between the reduction in CSA-UA and the increase in the neck circumference (NC) with fluid accumulation were performed. Logistic regression analysis was performed for identifying OSA patients based on the behaviors of their CSA-UA changes during leg raising. Shape changes of airway cross-section were also investigated. Results Four CSA-UA change patterns after fluid redistribution were identified. Six patients had similar CSA-UA variation behaviors observed in healthy subjects. From the other three change patterns involving 14 patients, a threshold value of CSA-UA 0.63 ± 0.21 cm2 was identified for normal breathing. Data showed a positive correlation between TAHO and BMI (r = 0.681, p = 0.0007), and a negative correlation between the reduction in CSA-UA and the increase in NC (r = − 0.513, p = 0.051) with fluid accumulation. A sigmoid function for the probability of being a OSA patient p = 1/[1 + exp. (4.836 + 3.850 t-8.4 h)] was obtained to effectively separate OSA patients from normal subjects. The upper airway narrowing occurred in anteroposterior, lateral, or both directions, suggesting different tendencies of upper airway collapse in patients. Three types of shape changes in the cross-section of the upper airway, which had different effects on airway resistance, were measured. Conclusions Our findings prove TAHO hypothesis. The threshold measured while awake for normal breathing can be used clinically as the indicator of hypopnea onset during sleep, and therefore to identify OSA patients under waking condition and design effective personalized treatments for OSA patients. Both shape and size changes in the cross-section of the upper airway affect airway resistance significantly. Shape change in the cross-section of the upper airway can provide key clinical information on the collapse patterns of the upper airway for individuals.

Elctrochemical water splitting is of vital significance for energy conversion and storage. Here the authors show an electrocatalyst based on amorphous ruthenium-tellurium porous nanorods which exhibit significantly improved OER performance than its crystalline counterparts