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Experimental research on perception and cognition has shown that inherent and manipulated visual features of mathematics problems impact individuals' problem-solving behavior and performance. In a recent study, we manipulated the spacing between symbols in arithmetic expressions to examine its effect on 174 undergraduate students' arithmetic performance but found results that were contradictory to most of the literature (Closser et al., 2023). Here, we applied educational data mining (EDM) methods to that dataset at the problem level to investigate whether inherent features of the 32 experimental problems (i.e., problem composition, problem order) may have caused unintended effects on students' performance. We found that students were consistently faster to correctly simplify expressions with the higher-order operator on the left, rather than right, side of the expression. Furthermore, average response times varied based on the symbol spacing of the current and preceding problems, suggesting that problem sequencing matters. However, including or excluding problem identifiers in analyses changed the interpretation of results, suggesting that the effect of sequencing may be impacted by other, undefined problem-level factors. These results advance cognitive theories on perceptual learning and provide implications for educational researchers: online experiments designed to investigate students' performance on mathematics problems should include a variety of problems, systematically examine the effects of problem order, and consider applying different analytical approaches to detect effects of inherent problem features. Moreover, EDM methods can be a tool to identify nuanced effects on behavior and performance as observed through data from online platforms.

The current study investigated the effectiveness of three distinct educational technologies--two game-based applications (From Here to There and DragonBox 12+) and two modes of online problem sets in ASSISTments (an Immediate Feedback condition and an Active Control condition with no immediate feedback) on Grade 7 students' algebraic knowledge. More than 3,600 Grade 7 students across nine in-person and one virtual schools within the same district were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. Students received nine 30-minute intervention sessions from September 2020 to March 2021. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of the final analytic sample (N = 1,850) showed significantly higher posttest scores for students who used From Here to There and DragonBox 12+ compared to the Active Control condition. No significant difference was found for the Immediate Feedback condition. The findings have implications for understanding how game-based applications can affect algebraic understanding, even within pandemic pressures on learning.

The electric power industry is a high-risk industry with frequent accidents. To ensure the life safety of employees and reduce the probability of accidents, it is necessary to utilize certain technical means to identify the main causative factors in electric fatal accident reports. This research proposes an accident causation identification method that combines text categorization and catastrophe association analysis. First, an improved text feature extraction method (TF-IDF-GloVe-LDA) is proposed by fusing term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF), global vectors for word representation (GloVe), and latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) algorithms. Then, an SVM classifier was used to categorize the 473 accident report texts into five categories, ACCIDENT, PROCESS, CAUSE, PROBLEM, and RESPONSE, based on the extracted text feature vectors. Second, for the 461 CAUSEs categorized from the accident report texts, the TF-IDF algorithm is utilized to mine them to obtain 62 accident causative factors. Using the word cloud map and semantic network, a visualization analysis is performed to reveal the intrinsic connection between causative factors. The human factor analysis and classification system (HFACS) is combined to construct a framework and a Boolean dataset for electric power fatal accident causative factors. Finally, the catastrophe progression method is utilized to improve the FP-growth algorithm and propose a catastrophe association analysis method. It is utilized to mine the Boolean dataset to obtain 28 association rules and construct the accident causal network. The main causative factors were ultimately identified by analyzing the critical causal chains within the network and examining the frequency and sensitivity of each node. The findings of this study indicate that a lack of effective management, supervision, and training serves as the fundamental cause of fatal accidents in the electric power industry when compared to equipment and environmental factors. This paper offered a fresh perspective on identifying primary accident causative factors in non-standardized text and exploring their intricate mechanisms of interaction, which holds significant implications for the pre-control management of accidents in the power industry.

Abstract Background Precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most common cancers in children. Failure of induction chemotherapy is a major factor leading to relapse and death in children with B-ALL. Given the importance of altered metabolites in the carcinogenesis of pediatric B-ALL, studying the metabolic profile of children with B-ALL during induction chemotherapy and in different minimal residual disease (MRD) status may contribute to the management of pediatric B-ALL. Methods We collected paired peripheral blood plasma samples from children with B-ALL at pre- and post-induction chemotherapy and analyzed the metabolomic profiling of these samples by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS). Healthy children were included as controls. We selected metabolites that were depleted in pediatric B-ALL and analyzed the concentrations in pediatric B-ALL samples. In vitro, we study the effects of the selected metabolites on the viability of ALL cell lines and the sensitivity to conventional chemotherapeutic agents in ALL cell lines. Results Forty-four metabolites were identified with different levels between groups. KEGG pathway enrichment analyses revealed that dysregulated linoleic acid (LA) metabolism and arginine (Arg) biosynthesis were closely associated with pediatric B-ALL. We confirmed that LA and Arg were decreased in pediatric B-ALL samples. The treatment of LA and Arg inhibited the viability of NALM-6 and RS4;11 cells in a dose-dependent manner, respectively. Moreover, Arg increased the sensitivity of B-ALL cells to L-asparaginase and daunorubicin. Conclusion Arginine increases the sensitivity of B-ALL cells to the conventional chemotherapeutic drugs L-asparaginase and daunorubicin. This may represent a promising therapeutic approach.

Abstract The combination of anti-angiogenic treatment and immunotherapy presents a promising strategy against colon cancer. Interleukin-17F (IL-17F) emerges as a critical immune cell cytokine expressed in colonic epithelial cells, demonstrating potential in inhibiting angiogenesis. In order to clarify the roles of IL-17F in the colon cancer microenvironment and elucidate its mechanism, we established a mouse colon carcinoma cell line CT26 overexpressing IL-17F and transplanted it subcutaneously into syngeneic BALB/c mice. We also analyzed induced colon tumor in IL-17F knockout and wild type mice. Our results demonstrated that IL-17F could suppress colon tumor growth in vivo with inhibited angiogenesis and enhanced recruitment of cysteine-cysteine motif chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) positive immune cells. Additionally, IL-17F suppressed the tube formation, cell growth and migration of endothelial cells EOMA in vitro. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of transcriptome profiles between EOMA cells and those treated with three different concentrations of IL-17F identified 109 differentially expressed genes. Notably, a potential new target, Caspase 4, showed increased expressions after IL-17F treatment in endothelial cells. Further molecular validation revealed a novel downstream signaling for IL-17F: IL-17F enhanced Caspase 4/GSDMD signaling of endothelial cells, CT26 cells and CT26 transplanted tumors, while IL-17F knockout colon tumors exhibited decreased Caspase 4/GSDMD signaling. The heightened expression of the GSDMD N-terminus, coupled with increased cellular propidium iodide (PI) uptake and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, revealed that IL-17F promoted pyroptosis of endothelial cells. Altogether, IL-17F could modulate the colon tumor microenvironment with inhibited angiogenesis, underscoring its potential as a therapeutic target for colon cancer.

Water pollution has emerged as a significant worldwide issue, with organic pollutants being a key contributor. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has demonstrated promising photocatalytic performance in removing organic pollutants under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. However, the wide band gap (3.2 eV) of TiO2 results in low absorption capacity of visible light, hindering its overall efficiency in degrading organic pollutants. To address the limitation, this research aimed to synthesize visible light-driven TiO2 photocatalyst with different polymorphs (anatase and rutile) and investigate the effect of various doping combination (Nb, B and Nb,B) and concentrations (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 mol%) on the photodegradation efficiency towards methylene blue (MB) dye solution. Anatase phase was obtained when TiO2-based nanopowders were calcined at 400 °C, while the rutile phase was formed at 900 °C based on XRD analyses. Additionally, the morphology analyses revealed that the particle size of anatase is much smaller than that of rutile. The presence of dopants further reduced the particle size of both anatase and rutile phases. Based on UV-Vis absorbance spectra analyses, the anatase Nb,B-TiO2 with 0.50 mol% of dopant concentration exhibited the best photocatalytic performance towards MB. Moreover, the anatse phase of 0.50 mol% Nb,B-TiO2 showed the narrowest band gap of 2.74 eV compared to the TiO2 (3.4 eV), representing a reduction of 19.41 %, according to UV-Vis analyses. These outcomes suggest the potential application of anatase phase of 0.50 mol% Nb,B-TiO2 in treating organic pollutants in wastewater under visible light conditions in future. Copyright © 2024 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Abstract Fusarium fujikuroi, the causal agent of rice bakanae disease (RBD), contains five succinate dehydrogenase (Sdh) subunits: FfSdhA, FfSdhB, FfSdhC1, FfSdhC2, and FfSdhD. However, the role of these subunits in regulating sensitivity to succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) is largely unknown. Here, we conducted targeted gene disruption and phenotypic assays for all Sdh subunits and found that the deletion mutants of FfSdhA, FfSdhB, and FfSdhD exhibited severe defects in hyphal growth, conidiation, virulence, and sensitivity to CaCl2 and oxidative stresses. To a lesser extent, the mycelial growth rate and conidial production of ΔFfSdhC1 were also decreased as compared to those of the wild-type strain JS16. In addition, fungicide sensitivity assays showed that deletion of FfSdhA, B, C1, or D led to decreased sensitivity to all SDHIs tested. Unexpectedly, we were unable to obtain a FfSdhC1 + C2 double mutant and further found significant up-regulation of FfSdhC2 in ∆FfSdhC1, indicating that FfSdhC1 and -C2 might be essential for fungal growth although the FfSdhC2 deletion mutant was indistinguishable from the wild-type strain. These findings provide useful information for enhancing our understanding of the biological functions of the Sdh subunits in pathogenic fungi.

ABSTRACT: In this study, milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) ingredients enriched in polar lipids were prepared using membrane filtration, including microfiltration, diafiltration, and ultrafiltration from butter serum powder. Polar lipids (phospholipids, sterols, and gangliosides) in prepared MFGM ingredients were analyzed by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, GC-MS, and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-MS/MS, respectively. The lipolysis degree and microstructure of MFGM ingredient and soybean lecithin (SL) emulsions during in vitro digestion were also analyzed. Microfiltration showed higher concentration efficiency than ultrafiltration, which increased by 2.16% and 2.73% in phospholipids, respectively. Moreover, diafiltration concentrated more polar lipids (6.39% of phospholipids) than microfiltration. Milk fat globule membrane ingredients had high levels of sphingomyelin (1.27%–1.36%) and ratio of GD3 to GM3 is 9.25- to 9.88-fold. The different lipolysis behaviors between MFGM ingredient emulsions and SL emulsions were correlated with their different polar lipid compositions. Phospholipids from both MFGM ingredients and SL could help maintain the initial structure during the gastric digestion. These results could provide a scientific basis for developing high-polar-lipids food, particularly infant formulas and special functional foods.

This study investigated the effects of: (1) proximal grouping of numbers; (2) problem-solving goals to make 100; and (3) prior knowledge on students' initial solution strategies in an interactive online mathematics game. In this game, students transformed an initial expression into a perceptually different but mathematically equivalent goal state. We recorded students' solution strategies and focused on the productivity of their first steps--whether their initial action led them closer to the goal. We analyzed log data within the game from 227 middle-school students solving four addition problems and four multiplication problems consisting of a total of 1,816 problem-level data points. Logistic regression modeling showed that students were more likely to use productive initial solution strategies to solve addition and multiplication problems when: (1) proximity supported number grouping; (2) 100 was the problem-solving goal; and (3) students had higher prior knowledge in mathematics. Furthermore, when problem-solving goals were non-100s, students with lower prior knowledge were less likely to use productive initial solution strategies than students with higher prior knowledge. The findings of the study demonstrated that perceptual and number features influenced students' initial solution strategies, and the effect of number features on initial solution strategies varied by students' prior knowledge. Results yield important implications for designing instructional activities that support mathematics learning and problem-solving.

Abstract Spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) are obligate intracellular bacteria that cause spotted fever. The limitations of gene manipulation pose great challenges to studying the infection mechanisms of Rickettsia. By combining bioorthogonal metabolism and click chemistry, we developed a method to label R. heilongjiangensis via azide moieties and achieved rapid pathogen localization without complex procedures. Moreover, we constructed a C57BL/6 mice infection model by simulating tick bites and discovered that the stomach is the target organ of R. heilongjiangensis infection through in vivo imaging systems, which explained the occurrence of gastrointestinal symptoms following R. heilongjiangensis infection in some cases. This study offers a unique perspective for subsequent investigations into the pathogenic mechanisms of SFGR and identifies a potential target organ for R. heilongjiangensis.

Abstract Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is one of the major risk factors of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying pathological cardiac hypertrophy remain largely unknown. Here, we identified the first evidence that TNFAIP3 interacting protein 3 (TNIP3) was a negative regulator of pathological cardiac hypertrophy. We observed a significant upregulation of TNIP3 in mouse hearts subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC) surgery and in primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes stimulated by phenylephrine (PE). In Tnip3-deficient mice, cardiac hypertrophy was aggravated after TAC surgery. Conversely, cardiac-specific Tnip3 transgenic (TG) mice showed a notable reversal of the same phenotype. Accordingly, TNIP3 alleviated PE-induced cardiomyocyte enlargement in vitro. Mechanistically, RNA-sequencing and interactome analysis were combined to identify the signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) as a potential target to clarify the molecular mechanism of TNIP3 in pathological cardiac hypertrophy. Via immunoprecipitation and Glutathione S-transferase assay, we found that TNIP3 could interact with STAT1 directly and suppress its degradation by suppressing K48-type ubiquitination in response to hypertrophic stimulation. Remarkably, preservation effect of TNIP3 on cardiac hypertrophy was blocked by STAT1 inhibitor Fludaradbine or STAT1 knockdown. Our study found that TNIP3 serves as a novel suppressor of pathological cardiac hypertrophy by promoting STAT1 stability, which suggests that TNIP3 could be a promising therapeutic target of pathological cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.

Radioactive Xe isotopes are located at the heavy mass peaks of the fission mass distribution curves of 235U and 239Pu, with the characteristics of high fission yields and moderate half-life times, which have important application value in environmental radiation monitoring, international nuclear arms control and other nuclear event monitoring. The accuracy and reliability of nuclear data of radioactive Xe isotopes are valuable for its application, but there is often interference of radioactive Kr isotopes when measuring radioactive Xe isotopes. At present, cryogenic distillation is the main method for separating inert gas Xe and Kr in industry; however it is expensive and requires complex engineering control, which is not suitable for the preparation of nuclear data measuring gas sources. The adsorption separation method has been widely used in the separation and purification of various gas mixtures because of its maturity and low energy consumption. In order to prepare high activity Xe source for the measurement, the separation of low concentration Xe and Kr on CF-1450 activated carbon at room temperature and atmospheric pressure was studied. The pore structure characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm at −196 ℃ shows that the BET specific surface area of CF-1450 activated carbon is 1680 m2/g and the dominant pore size distribution is smaller than 2 nm. The capacity of CF-1450 activated carbon for separating Xe and Kr was evaluated by static adsorption and dynamic adsorption-desorption methods. The Xe and Kr henry coefficients of CF-1450 activated carbon at 25 ℃ are 0.21 mmol/(g·kPa) and 0.02 mmol/(g·kPa), respectively. The henry selectivity factor of Xe/Kr on CF-1450 activated carbon is 10.5, which is in agreement with the IAST selectivity(10.6, y(Xe)∶y(Kr)=50∶50) under the same conditions. The zero-point isosteric heats of Xe and Kr on CF-1450 activated carbon are 35.7 kJ/mol and 13.9 kJ/mol, respectively. Based on the dynamic separation capacity of low concentration Xe and Kr on CF-1450 activated carbon, an attractive procedure was proposed and showed good performance for preparing high activity Xe source. The recovery of Xe is 79% and the decontamination factor of Kr is 195.

Abstract Angiogenesis is a key process for the proliferation and metastatic spread of cancer cells. Anti-angiogenic peptides (AAPs), with the capability of inhibiting angiogenesis, are promising candidates in cancer treatment. We propose AAPL, a sequence-based predictor to identify AAPs with machine learning models of improved prediction accuracy. Each peptide sequence was transformed to a vector of 4335 numeric values according to 58 different feature types, followed by a heuristic algorithm for feature selection. Next, the hyperparameters of six machine learning models were optimized with respect to the feature subset. We considered two datasets, one with entire peptide sequences and the other with 15 amino acids from peptide N-termini. AAPL achieved Matthew’s correlation coefficients of 0.671 and 0.756 for independent tests based on the two datasets, respectively, outperforming existing predictors by a range of 5.3% to 24.6%. Further analyses show that AAPL yields higher prediction accuracy for peptides with more hydrophobic residues, and fewer hydrophilic and charged residues. The source code of AAPL is available at https://github.com/yunzheng2002/Anti-angiogenic .

Abstract Background Assessing the aggressiveness of pure ground glass nodules early on significantly aids in making informed clinical decisions. Objective Developing a predictive model to assess the aggressiveness of pure ground glass nodules in lung adenocarcinoma is the study’s goal. Methods A comprehensive search for studies on the relationship between computed tomography(CT) characteristics and the aggressiveness of pure ground glass nodules was conducted using databases such as PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Wanfang, CNKI, VIP, and CBM, up to December 20, 2023. Two independent researchers were responsible for screening literature, extracting data, and assessing the quality of the studies. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 16.0, with the training data derived from this analysis. To identify publication bias, Funnel plots and Egger tests and Begg test were employed. This meta-analysis facilitated the creation of a risk prediction model for invasive adenocarcinoma in pure ground glass nodules. Data on clinical presentation and CT imaging features of patients treated surgically for these nodules at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, from September 2020 to September 2023, were compiled and scrutinized using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The model’s effectiveness for predicting invasive adenocarcinoma risk in pure ground glass nodules was validated using ROC curves, calibration curves, and decision analysis curves. Results In this analysis, 17 studies were incorporated. Key variables included in the model were the largest diameter of the lesion, average CT value, presence of pleural traction, and spiculation. The derived formula from the meta-analysis was: 1.16×the largest lesion diameter + 0.01 × the average CT value + 0.66 × pleural traction + 0.44 × spiculation. This model underwent validation using an external set of 512 pure ground glass nodules, demonstrating good diagnostic performance with an ROC curve area of 0.880 (95% CI: 0.852–0.909). The calibration curve indicated accurate predictions, and the decision analysis curve suggested high clinical applicability of the model. Conclusion We established a predictive model for determining the invasiveness of pure ground-glass nodules, incorporating four key radiological indicators. This model is both straightforward and effective for identifying patients with a high likelihood of invasive adenocarcinoma.

Abstract Quantum lock-in amplifiers have been proposed to extract an alternating signal from a strong noise background. However, due to the typical target signal has unknown initial phase, it is challenging to extract complete information about the signal’s amplitude, frequency, and initial phase. Here, we present a general protocol for achieving a quantum double lock-in amplifier by employing two quantum mixers operating under orthogonal pulse sequences. To demonstrate the practical implementation, we discuss the experimental feasibility using a five-level double-Λ coherent population trapping system with Rb atoms. Here, each Λ structure acts as a quantum mixer, and two applied dynamical decoupling sequences serve as orthogonal reference signals. Notably, the system significantly reduces the total measurement time by nearly half and mitigates time-dependent systematic errors compared to conventional two-level systems. Furthermore, our quantum double lock-in amplifier is robust against experimental imperfections. This study establishes a pathway to alternating signal measurement, thereby facilitating the development of practical quantum sensing technologies.

Objective: Through meta-analysis, this study aims to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of single-plating and double-plating in the treatment of comminuted fractures of the distal femur. Methods: Computer searches of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine (CBM), VIP, and Wanfang digital journals were performed, and the timeframe for the searches was from the establishment of each database to July 2023 for each of the databases. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software provided by the Cochrane Library, and the review process was registered in the PROSPERO database. Results: A total of ten studies were included for statistical analysis. One randomised controlled study and nine retrospective cohort studies with a total of 563 patients were included. The double-plate group was superior to the single-plate group in terms of knee mobility at 6 months postoperatively, overall postoperative complications, and the rate of healing of knee deformity. However, it increased the operation time and intraoperative bleeding, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of excellent knee function rate, fracture healing time, plate fracture, postoperative infection, delayed fracture healing, and non-union (P ≥ 0.05). Conclusion: Double plate fixation for comminuted fractures of the distal femur can improve knee mobility at 6 months postoperatively, reduce overall postoperative complications, and decrease the incidence of malunion healing. However, it increases operative time and bleeding. Randomised studies are needed to provide strong evidence in the future.

Abstract Background Perineal massage, as a preventive intervention, has been shown to reduce the risk of perineal injuries and may have a positive impact on pelvic floor function in the early postpartum period. However, there is still debate concerning the best period to apply perineal massage, which is either antenatal or in the second stage of labor, as well as its safety and effectiveness. Meta-analysis was used to evaluate the effect of implementing perineal massage in antenatal versus the second stage of labor on the prevention of perineal injuries during labor and early postpartum pelvic floor function in primiparous women. Methods We searched nine different electronic databases from inception to April 16, 2024. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) we included assessed the effects of antenatal and second-stage labor perineal massage in primiparous women. All data were analyzed with Revman 5.3, Stata Statistical Software, and Risk of Bias 2 was used to assess the risk of bias. Subgroup analyses were performed based on the different periods of perineal massage. The primary outcomes were the incidence of perineal integrity and perineal injury. Secondary outcomes were perineal pain, duration of the second stage of labor, postpartum hemorrhage, urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and flatus incontinence. Results This review comprised a total of 10 studies that covered 1057 primigravid women. The results of the analysis showed that perineal massage during the second stage of labor reduced the perineal pain of primigravid women in the immediate postpartum period compared to the antenatal period, with a statistical value of (MD = -2.29, 95% CI [-2.53, -2.05], P

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) can cause infection and critical diseases in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients. This study aimed to explore the cumulative incidence and risk factors for CMV infection and disease among HSCT recipients in Taiwan. Methods: This retrospective cohort study using the Taiwan Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry (TBMTR) included HSCT recipients between 2009 and 2018 in Taiwan. The primary outcome was cumulative incidence of CMV infection or disease at day 100 after HSCT. Secondary outcomes included day 180 cumulative incidence of CMV infection or disease, infection sites, risk factors for CMV infection or disease, survival analysis, and overall survival after CMV infection and disease. Results: There were 4394 HSCT recipients included in the study (2044 auto-HSCT and 2350 allo-HSCT). The cumulative incidence of CMV infection and disease was significantly higher in allo-HSCT than in auto-HSCT patients at day 100 (53.7% vs. 6.0%, P

Abstract In higher plants, mature male gametophytes have distinct apertures. After pollination, pollen grains germinate, and a pollen tube grows from the aperture to deliver sperm cells to the embryo sac, completing fertilization. In rice, the pollen aperture has a single-pore structure with a collar-like annulus and a plug-like operculum. A crucial step in aperture development is the formation of aperture plasma membrane protrusion (APMP) at the distal polar region of the microspore during the late tetrad stage. Previous studies identified OsINP1 and OsDAF1 as essential regulators of APMP and pollen aperture formation in rice, but their precise molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We demonstrate that the Poaceae-specific OsSRF8 gene, encoding a STRUBBELIG-receptor family 8 protein, is essential for pollen aperture formation in Oryza sativa. Mutants lacking functional OsSRF8 exhibit defects in APMP and pollen aperture formation, like loss-of-function OsINP1 mutants. OsSRF8 is specifically expressed during early anther development and initially diffusely distributed in the microsporocytes. At the tetrad stage, OsSRF8 is recruited by OsINP1 to the pre-aperture region through direct protein-protein interaction, promoting APMP formation. The OsSRF8-OsINP1 complex then recruits OsDAF1 to the APMP site to co-regulate annulus formation. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms controlling pollen aperture formation in cereal species.

Polyacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene(ABS) is a widely used engineering plastic. In this study, the surface of the ABS substrate was modified by combining green UV irradiation surface modification technology with chitosan grafting technology. The effects of ultraviolet irradiation conditions, concentration of chitosan acetate solution, modification temperature and modification time on the ABS substrate surface morphology, roughness, hydrophilicity and chemical properties were investigated. Firstly, the ABS was irradiated at 300 W for 30 min by using 2 g/L titanium dioxide(TiO2) as a photocatalyst, and then it was modified with a 0.75 g/L chitosan acetic acid solution at 70 ℃ for 30 min. The surface morphology change of the ABS substrate was observed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and atomic force microscopy(AFM), and the hydrophilicity change of the ABS substrates surface was analyzed using a surface contact angle measuring instrument and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). Results showed that after UV irradiation and chitosan grafting modification, the ABS substrate surface developed a small number of tiny holes, exhibited low surface roughness, and displayed a significant increase in the concentration of hydrophilic groups. Consequently, the surface hydrophilicity was significantly enhanced. Furthermore, the electroless copper plating layer appeared smooth, with a pink color and metallic luster.

Abstract Millirobots must have low cost, efficient locomotion, and the ability to track target trajectories precisely if they are to be widely deployed. With current materials and fabrication methods, achieving all of these features in one millirobot remains difficult. We develop a series of graphene-based helical millirobots by introducing asymmetric light pattern distortion to a laser-induced polymer-to-graphene conversion process; this distortion resulted in the spontaneous twisting and peeling off of graphene sheets from the polymer substrate. The lightweight nature of graphene in combine with the laser-induced porous microstructure provides a millirobot scaffold with a low density and high surface hydrophobicity. Magnetically driven nickel-coated graphene-based helical millirobots with rapid locomotion, excellent trajectory tracking, and precise drug delivery ability were fabricated from the scaffold. Importantly, such high-performance millirobots are fabricated at a speed of 77 scaffolds per second, demonstrating their potential in high-throughput and large-scale production. By using drug delivery for gastric cancer treatment as an example, we demonstrate the advantages of the graphene-based helical millirobots in terms of their long-distance locomotion and drug transport in a physiological environment. This study demonstrates the potential of the graphene-based helical millirobots to meet performance, versatility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness requirements simultaneously.

Abstract Objective To report the long-term re-intervention of patients with uterine fibroids after ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) ablation and to analyse the influencing factors of re-intervention in patients in the NPVR ≥ 80% group. Materials and methods Patients with a single uterine fibroid who underwent USgHIFU at our hospital from January 2012 to December 2019 were enrolled. The patients were divided into four groups according to different nonperfusion volume ratio (NPVR). Kaplan–Meier survival curve was used to analyse long-term re-intervention in different NPVR groups, and Cox regression was used to analyse the influencing factors of re-intervention in the NPVR ≥ 80% group. Main results A total of 1,257 patients were enrolled, of whom 920 were successfully followed up. The median follow-up time was 88 months, and the median NPVR was 85.0%. The cumulative re-intervention rates at 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10 years after USgHIFU were 3.4%, 11.8%, 16.8%, 22.6% and 24.1%, respectively. The 10-year cumulative re-intervention rate was 37.3% in the NPVR

Abstract Background COVID-19 has been shown to increase the risk of extracorporeal coagulation during hemodialysis in patients, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of COVID-19 on the risk of extracorporeal coagulation in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis. Methods A retrospective analysis of the extracorporeal coagulation status of 339 hemodialysis patients at our center before and after COVID-19 infection was performed, including subgroup analyses. Post-infection blood composition was analyzed by protein spectrometry and ELISA. Results Compared to the pre-COVID-19 infection period, COVID-19-induced extracorporeal coagulation predominantly occurred in patients with severe/critical symptoms. Further proteomic analysis demonstrated that in patients with severe/critical symptoms, the coagulation cascade reaction, platelet activation, inflammation, and oxidative stress-related pathways were significantly amplified compared to those in patients with no/mild symptoms. Notably, the vWF/FBLN5 pathway, which is associated with inflammation, vascular injury, and coagulation, was significantly upregulated. Conclusions Patients with severe/critical COVID-19 symptoms are at a higher risk of extracorporeal coagulation during hemodialysis, which is associated with the upregulation of the vWF/FBLN5 signaling pathway. These findings highlight the importance of early anticoagulant therapy initiation in COVID-19 patients with severe/critical symptoms, particularly those undergoing hemodialysis. Additionally, vWF/FBLN5 upregulation may be a novel mechanism for virus-associated thrombosis/coagulation.

Abstract Purpose To evaluate short-term visual and refractive outcomes after implantation of a diffractive trifocal intraocular lens (IOL) in cataract patients with phacoemulsification (PHACO) and femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery (FLACS). Setting Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Aier Eye Hospital, China. Design A retrospective, observational study. Methods Patients who underwent cataract surgery combined with Acrysoft IQ PanOptix trifocal IOL implantation were enrolled and divided into three groups: PHACO group, LAstig-FLACS group (astigmatism less then 1D) and HAstig-FLACS group (astigmatism more than 1D). Logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity of uncorrected distance (UDVA), intermediate (UIVA), near visual (UNVA), defocus curve, surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) were evaluated in 1 months postoperatively and wavefront aberrations were evaluated in 6 months. Results 101 eyes of 60 patients were included with 31 eyes in PHACO group, 45 eyes in LAstig-FLACS group and 25 eyes in HAstig-FLACS group. Significant difference was found of internal Strehl Ratio (SR) between PHACO and LAstig-FLACS group (P = 0.026). In PHACO group, 79.31%, 86.21%, 72.41% of eyes gain visual acuity LogMAR 0.1 or more in UDVA, UIVA and UNVA, while 83.72%, 93.02%, 93.02% of those in LAstig-FLACS group and 92.00%, 84.00%, 76.00% in HAstig-FLACS group. Conclusions Panoptix diffractive trifocal IOL provides satisfied visual outcome in no matter FLACS or PHACO. Besides, trifocal IOL implantation via FLACS can provide a better accumulative visual acuity outcome at all distance than PHACO in 1 month. Femtosecond laser assisted limbal relaxing incisions (FLLRIs) is an excellent way to reduce a patient’s corneal astigmatism.

Abstract Background Luffa (Luffa spp.) is an economically important crop of the Cucurbitaceae family, commonly known as sponge gourd or vegetable gourd. It is an annual cross-pollinated crop primarily found in the subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas. Luffa serves not only as a vegetable but also exhibits medicinal properties, including anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer effects. Moreover, the fiber derived from luffa finds extensive applications in various fields such as biotechnology and construction. However, luffa Fusarium wilt poses a severe threat to its production, and existing control methods have proven ineffective in terms of cost-effectiveness and environmental considerations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop luffa varieties resistant to Fusarium wilt. Single-plant GWAS (sp-GWAS) has been demonstrated as a promising tool for the rapid and efficient identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with target traits, as well as closely linked molecular markers. Results In this study, a collection of 97 individuals from 73 luffa accessions including two major luffa species underwent single-plant GWAS to investigate luffa Fusarium wilt resistance. Utilizing the double digest restriction site associated DNA (ddRAD) method, a total of 8,919 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. The analysis revealed the potential for Fusarium wilt resistance in accessions from both luffa species. There are 6 QTLs identified from 3 traits, including the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC), a putative disease-resistant QTL, was identified on the second chromosome of luffa. Within the region of linkage disequilibrium, a candidate gene homologous to LOC111009722, which encodes peroxidase 40 and is associated with disease resistance in Cucumis melo, was identified. Furthermore, to validate the applicability of the marker associated with resistance from sp-GWAS, an additional set of 21 individual luffa plants were tested, exhibiting 93.75% accuracy in detecting susceptible of luffa species L. aegyptiaca Mill. Conclusion In summary, these findings give a hint of genome position that may contribute to luffa wild resistance to Fusarium and can be utilized in the future luffa wilt resistant breeding programs aimed at developing wilt-resistant varieties by using the susceptible-linked SNP marker.

Abstract Induced oncoproteins degradation provides an attractive anti-cancer modality. Activation of anaphase-promoting complex (APC/CCDH1) prevents cell-cycle entry by targeting crucial mitotic proteins for degradation. Phosphorylation of its co-activator CDH1 modulates the E3 ligase activity, but little is known about its regulation after phosphorylation and how to effectively harness APC/CCDH1 activity to treat cancer. Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1)-catalyzed phosphorylation-dependent cis-trans prolyl isomerization drives tumor malignancy. However, the mechanisms controlling its protein turnover remain elusive. Through proteomic screens and structural characterizations, we identify a reciprocal antagonism of PIN1-APC/CCDH1 mediated by domain-oriented phosphorylation-dependent dual interactions as a fundamental mechanism governing mitotic protein stability and cell-cycle entry. Remarkably, combined PIN1 and cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs) inhibition creates a positive feedback loop of PIN1 inhibition and APC/CCDH1 activation to irreversibly degrade PIN1 and other crucial mitotic proteins, which force permanent cell-cycle exit and trigger anti-tumor immunity, translating into synergistic efficacy against triple-negative breast cancer.

Abstract Although the motor cortex has been found to be modulated by sensory or cognitive sequences, the linkage between multiple movement elements and sequence-related responses is not yet understood. Here, we recorded neuronal activity from the motor cortex with implanted micro-electrode arrays and single electrodes while monkeys performed a double-reach task that was instructed by simultaneously presented memorized cues. We found that there existed a substantial multiplicative component jointly tuned to impending and subsequent reaches during preparation, then the coding mechanism transferred to an additive manner during execution. This multiplicative joint coding, which also spontaneously emerged in recurrent neural networks trained for double reach, enriches neural patterns for sequential movement, and might explain the linear readout of elemental movements.

Background/purpose: 3D-printed bone tissue engineering is becoming recognized as a key approach in dentistry for creating customized bone regeneration treatments fitting patients bone defects requirements. 3D bioprinting offers an innovative method to fabricate detailed 3D structures, closely emulating the native bone micro-environment and better bone regeneration. This study aimed to develop an 3D-bioprintable scaffold using a combination of alginate and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) with the Cellink® BioX printer, aiming to advance the field of tissue engineering. Materials and methods: The physical and biological properties of the resulting 3D-printed scaffolds were evaluated at 10 %, 12 %, and 15 % alginate combined with 10 % β-TCP. The scaffolds were characterized through printability, swelling behavior, degradability, and element analysis. The biological assessment included cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Results: 10 % alginate/β-TCP 3D printed at 25 °C scaffold demonstrated the optimal condition for printability, swelling capability, and degradability of cell growth and nutrient diffusion. Addition of β-TCP particles significantly improved the 3D printed material viscosity over only alginate (P

Background: Prior work has shown that middle school students struggle with algebra and that game-based educational technologies, such as DragonBox and From Here to There!, are effective at improving students' algebraic performance. However, it remains unclear which aspects of algebraic knowledge shift as a result of playing these games and what game design features support algebraic learning. Objective: Using the data from a randomized controlled trial conducted in the 2020-2021 academic year, we (a) examined students' relative performance on assessment items measuring conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge and procedural flexibility in algebraic equation solving, and (b) identified changes in these aspects of algebraic knowledge after playing DragonBox or From Here to There!. Methods: Eight hundred eighty-seven seventh-graders were randomly assigned to playing DragonBox or From Here to There! for nine 30-min sessions throughout the school year. Students also completed a pretest, midtest and posttest measuring their algebraic knowledge. Results and Conclusion: First, prior to the intervention, students scored the highest on procedural knowledge and lowest on conceptual knowledge. Second, students significantly improved and maintained learning gains on conceptual knowledge throughout the intervention. Their performance on procedural knowledge and procedural flexibility items increased at midtest but decreased at posttest. Third, the pattern of results was consistent for students in the DragonBox and From Here to There! conditions, suggesting that both games may support students' conceptual understanding of algebra. The findings have implications for research and practice on supporting algebraic learning through game-based technologies during and beyond educational disruptions. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED628258.]

Prior research has shown that game-based learning tools, such as DragonBox 12+, support algebraic understanding and that students' in-game progress positively predicts their later performance. Using data from 253 seventh-graders (12-13 years old) who played DragonBox as a part of technology intervention, we examined (a) the relations between students' progress within DragonBox and their algebraic knowledge and general mathematics achievement, (b) the moderating effects of students' prior performance on these relations and (c) the potential factors associated with students' in-game progress. Among students with higher prior algebraic knowledge, higher in-game progress was related to higher algebraic knowledge after the intervention. Higher in-game progress was also associated with higher end-of-year mathematics achievement, and this association was stronger among students with lower prior mathematics achievement. Students' demographic characteristics, prior knowledge and prior achievement did not significantly predict in-game progress beyond the number of intervention sessions students completed. These findings advance research on how, for whom and in what contexts game-based interventions, such as DragonBox, support mathematical learning and have implications for practice using game-based technologies to supplement instruction. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED626412.]