Search

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) possess superb properties originating from their unique chiral structures. However, accurately controlling the structure of SWCNTs remains challenging due to the structural similarities of their chiral structures, which hinders their widespread application in various fields, particularly in electronics. In recent years, much effort has been devoted to preparing single chiral SWCNTs by adopting three constructive strategies, including growth condition control for structurally unstable liquid catalysts, employing stable solid catalyst design, and pre-synthesis of carbon seeds with a well-defined shape. This review comprehensively discusses the state-of-the-art developments in these approaches as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, insights into the key challenges and future directions are provided for acquiring chirally pure SWCNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the prognostic and immunological value of CDC45 in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) using single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing approaches. The expression of CDC45 in KIRC was evaluated by the HPA database, the TCGA-KIRC dataset and verified by PCR analysis and single-cell RNA-sequencing. The ability of CDC45 to independently predict prognosis in KIRC was confirmed by univariate/multivariate regression analysis. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was employed to explore CDC45-related pathways in KIRC. In addition, Relationships between CDC45 and immunity were also examined. Elevated CDC45 expression in KIRC was demonstrated at mRNA and protein levels. The results of the correlation analysis showed that as CDC45 expression increased, so did the histological grade, clinical stage, and TNM stage of the patients (p < 0.05). Univariate/multivariate regression analysis suggested CDC45 as an independent prognostic factor for KIRC. Seven pathways related to CDC45 were screened through GSEA. Meanwhile, we found that CDC45 was correlated with tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI) but not tumor neoantigen burden (TNB). Regarding immunity, CDC45 exhibited correlations with the tumor microenvironment, immune cell infiltration, and immune checkpoints. Besides, low CDC45 expression was shown to be associated with a better response to immunotherapy. Single-cell RNA-sequencing revealed that CDC45 was differently expressed in T cells (p < 0.05). CDC45 showed potential as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for KIRC. Meanwhile, the CDC45 low expression group was more sensitive to immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on online pornography abstinence movements has predominantly focused on men's perspectives, often within the context of the broader manosphere. This focus has overshadowed the unique experiences and viewpoints of women in these movements. Our study aimed to fill this gap by exploring women-centric perspectives in pornography abstinence forums, particularly Porn Free Women (r/pornfreewomen). Using a mixed methods approach, this study examined the sexual scripts presented in women-dominated pornography abstinence communities. Our structural topic modeling analysis delineated the interplay of therapeutic, heteronormative, and empowerment themes that were evident in women's narratives and expressions. Further, our discourse analysis elucidated three specific scripts: the addiction script, the heterosexual script, and the liberation script. These interweaving narratives show that discussions of women's pornography abstinence are multifaceted and include a variety of perspectives to negotiate. These results contribute to a nuanced understanding of the values of health and well-being, sexual liberation, and feminism within women's pornography abstinence communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although microRNA (miR)-150-5p participates in the progression of renal fibrosis, its mechanism of action remains elusive. Methods: A mouse model of unilateral ureteral obstruction was used. The in vitro renal fibrosis model was established by stimulating human kidney 2 (HK-2) cells with transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). The expression profiles of miR-150-5p, zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1), and other fibrosis- and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-linked proteins were determined using Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The relationship between miR-150-5p and ZEB1 in HK-2 cells was confirmed by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results: Both in vivo and in vitro renal fibrosis models revealed reduced miR-150-5p expression and elevated ZEB1 level. A significant decrease in E-cadherin levels, as well as increases in alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen type I (Col-I) levels, was seen in TGF-β1-treated HK-2 cells. The overexpression of miR-150-5p ameliorated TGF-β1-mediated fibrosis and EMT. Notably, miR-150-5p acts by directly targeting ZEB1. A significant reversal of the inhibitory impact of miR-150-5p on TGF-β1-mediated fibrosis and EMT in HK-2 cells was observed upon ZEB1 overexpression. Conclusion: MiR-150-5p suppresses TGF-β1-induced fibrosis and EMT by targeting ZEB1 in HK-2 cells, providing helpful insights into the therapeutic intervention of renal fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expansion damage in medium–low reactivity dolomite limestone poses significant challenges in construction and engineering projects. This study investigates the potential of fly ash in inhibiting expansion damage in such limestone formations based on RILEM AAR-5 method. Through a series of laboratory experiments, various proportions of fly ash instead of cement, respectively, were prepared and subjected to varying alkali content conditions immersion tests to simulate expansion conditions. The expansion rates and extents were monitored and compared between pure limestone samples and those mixed with different proportions of fly ash. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was employed to investigate the microstructure of the dolomite limestone–fly ash mixtures to understand the inhibition mechanisms. Results indicate that fly ash demonstrates promising inhibitory effects on expansion damage in medium–low reactivity dolomite limestone across the addition of 40% fly ash and alkali content of 0.70%. The reaction products are calcite, brucite, and a mixture of Mg-Si-Al phases and the reaction area is within 100 μm from the boundary when the cement alkali content is 1.50% without any fly ash. However, no reaction products were found at the boundary after adding 40% fly ash when lowering the cement alkali content to 0.70%. This research contributes to a better understanding of the interaction between fly ash and dolomite limestone in inhibiting expansion damage, providing valuable insights for engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel [3+3] annulation reaction of 2‐alkenylindoles with hydrazonyl chlorides in the presence of base for the formation of pyridazino[4,5‐b]indoles was developed. This approach provided a convenient and efficient way to synthesize a series of functionalized pyridazino[4,5‐b]indoles derivatives. The method exhibited a broad substrate scope and provided the corresponding pyridazino[4,5‐b]indoles products with excellent yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enrich the properties of polylactic acid (PLA)-based composite films and improve the base degradability, in this study, a certain amount of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) was added to PLA-based composite films, and PLA/PPC-based composite films were prepared by melt blending and hot-press molding. The effects of the introduction of PPC on the composite films were analyzed through in-depth studies on mechanical properties, water vapor and oxygen transmission rates, thermal analysis, compost degradability, and bacterial inhibition properties of the composite films. When the introduction ratio coefficient of PPC was 30%, the tensile strength of the composite film increased by 19.68%, the water vapor transmission coefficient decreased by 14.43%, and the oxygen transmission coefficient decreased by 18.31% compared to that of the composite film without PPC, the cold crystallization temperature of the composite film increased gradually from 96.9 °C to 104.8 °C, and PPC improved the crystallization ability of composite film. The degradation rate of the composite film with PPC increased significantly compared to the previous one, and the degradation rate increased with the increase in the PPC content. The degradation rate was 49.85% and 46.22% faster on average than that of the composite film without PPC when the degradation was carried out over 40 and 80 days; the composite film had certain inhibition, and the maximum diameter of the inhibition circle was 2.42 cm. This study provides a strategy for the development of PLA-based biodegradable laminates, which can promote the application of PLA-based laminates in food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces a new subclass of nonlinear moving average model, called the smooth transition moving average (STMA) model, and studies its probabilistic properties. It is shown that, under some mild conditions, the least squares estimation (LSE) is strongly consistent and asymptotically normal. A powerful score‐based goodness‐of‐fit test for the STMA model is presented. A different parametrization from the classical one is applied to numerically improve the identification and estimation of this model. Simulation studies are conducted to assess the performance of the LSE and the score‐based test in finite samples. The results are illustrated with an application to the weekly exchange rate of the USA Dollar to the British Pound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metasurface technology has attracted widespread attention, owing to its remarkable capability to control electromagnetic properties. In this paper, we design a reconfigurable reflective metasurface array operating at 5 GHz for beam generation and scanning based on coding metasurface. Field programmable gate array (FPGA) is equipped for switching the states of PIN (positive-intrinsic-negative) diodes loaded on the metasurface in real-time, resulting in a 180° phase difference. To obtain multi-beam radiation and high-accuracy beam steering, the coding sequence to produce the target radiation pattern is calculated by an algorithm program. We design the fitness function of a genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the sequence corresponding to the target directions. The simulation result shows that with the accuracy of 1°, the proposed metasurface is capable of generating multi-beam and scanning two-dimensional beams within the 50° range. Further, we fabricate and measure a prototype sample of 15 × 15 elements, which is verified feasible by comparing the measured result and the simulation. This work demonstrates the great potential of applying this reflective metasurface to wireless communication or radar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of semantic satiation, which refers to the loss of meaning of a word or phrase after being repeated many times, is a well-known psychological phenomenon. However, the microscopic neural computational principles responsible for these mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we use a deep learning model of continuous coupled neural networks to investigate the mechanism underlying semantic satiation and precisely describe this process with neuronal components. Our results suggest that, from a mesoscopic perspective, semantic satiation may be a bottom-up process. Unlike existing macroscopic psychological studies that suggest that semantic satiation is a top-down process, our simulations use a similar experimental paradigm as classical psychology experiments and observe similar results. Satiation of semantic objectives, similar to the learning process of our network model used for object recognition, relies on continuous learning and switching between objects. The underlying neural coupling strengthens or weakens satiation. Taken together, both neural and network mechanisms play a role in controlling semantic satiation. This study, utilizing deep learning to model semantic saturation, shows its tie to repetitive visual stimuli processing by the primary visual cortex, suggesting a bottom-up neurocognitive process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aircraft wake vortices are serious threats to aviation safety. The Pulsed Coherent Doppler Lidar (PCDL) has been widely used in the observation of aircraft wake vortices due to its advantages of high spatial-temporal resolution and high precision. However, the post-processing algorithms require significant computing resources, which cannot achieve the real-time detection of a wake vortex (WV). This paper presents an improved Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) method for WV locating and grading based on PCDL data to avoid the influence of unstable ambient wind fields on the localization and classification results of WV. Typical WV cases are selected for analysis, and the WV locating and grading models are validated on different test sets. The consistency of the analytical algorithm and the CNN algorithm is verified. The results indicate that the improved CNN method achieves satisfactory recognition accuracy with higher efficiency and better robustness, especially in the case of strong turbulence, where the CNN method recognizes the wake vortex while the analytical method cannot. The improved CNN method is expected to be applied to optimize the current aircraft spacing criteria, which is promising in terms of aviation safety and economic benefit improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the head and neck. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is crucial for tumor growth and metastasis and refers to the formation of fluid channels by invasive tumor cells rather than endothelial cells. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying VM during the malignant progression of LSCC remain largely unknown. Methods: Gene expression and clinical data for LSCC were obtained from the TCGA and Gene GEO (GSE27020) databases. A risk prediction model associated with VM was established using LASSO and Cox regression analyses. Based on their risk scores, patients with LSCC were categorized into high- and low-risk groups. The disparities in immune infiltration, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and functional enrichment between these two groups were examined. The core genes in LSCC were identified using the machine learning (SVM-RFE) and WGCNA algorithms. Subsequently, the involvement of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) in VM and metastasis was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. To elucidate the downstream signaling pathways regulated by BMP2, western blotting was performed. Additionally, ChIP experiments were employed to identify the key transcription factors responsible for modulating the expression of BMP2. Results: We established a new precise prognostic model for LSCC related to VM based on three genes: BMP2, EPO, and AGPS. The ROC curves from both TCGA and GSE27020 validation cohorts demonstrated precision survival prediction capabilities, with the nomogram showing some net clinical benefit. Multiple algorithm analyses indicated BMP2 as a potential core gene. Further experiments suggested that BMP2 promotes VM and metastasis in LSCC. The malignant progression of LSCC is promoted by BMP2 via the activation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, with the high expression of BMP2 in LSCC resulting from its transcriptional activation by runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1). Conclusion: BMP2 predicts poor prognosis in LSCC, promotes LSCC VM and metastasis through the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, and is transcriptionally regulated by RUNX1. BMP2 may be a novel, precise, diagnostic, and therapeutic biomarker of LSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel composite material Na2V6O16·3H2O‐AlxV2O5 (NVO‐AVO) is designed and synthesized for the first time in aqueous zinc ion battery cathode. The electrochemical behavior is elucidated in detail using in situ and ex situ techniques. The NVO‐AVO is simple, inexpensive, and safe to fabricate and contributes to the synergistic effect of orthorhombic AlxV2O5 (AVO) and monoclinic Na2V6O16·3H2O (NVO), the NVO‐AVO composites have fast Zn2+ kinetics and exhibit good electrochemical properties. At 300 mA g−1, the specific capacity is as high as 392.5 mA h g−1, and even more excitingly, NVO‐AVO remains a specific capacity of 160.6 mA h g−1 even after 18 300 cycles at 5000 mA g−1, which is significantly better than the stability of both NVO and AVO. The distinctive V3O8 layered structure in Na2V6O16·3H2O facilitates the diffusion of Zn2+, and structural water located between the V3O8 layers facilitates rapid charge transfer by widening the gallery spacing and supposing more storage sites for Zn2+. In addition, AlxV2O5 forms [AlO6] octahedral units that enhance structural stability and play a crucial role in maintaining long‐term cycling stability. This work supports the theoretical basis and technical support for the development and extension studies of new vanadium‐based electrode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the shock resistance of personal protective equipment and reduce casualties due to shock wave accidents, this study prepared four types of carbon fiber/polymethacrylimide (PMI) foam sandwich panels with different face/back layer thicknesses and core layer densities and subjected them to quasi-static compression, low-speed impact, high-speed impact, and non-destructive tests. The mechanical properties and energy absorption capacities of the impact-resistant panels, featuring ceramic/ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and carbon fiber/PMI foam structures, were evaluated and compared, and the feasibility of using the latter as a raw material for personal impact-resistant equipment was also evaluated. For the PMI sandwich panel with a constant total thickness, increasing the core layer density and face/back layer thickness enhanced the energy absorption capacity, and increased the peak stress of the face layer. Under a constant strain, the energy absorption value of all specimens increased with increasing impact speed. When a 10 kg hammer impacted the specimen surface at a speed of 1.5 m/s, the foam sandwich panels retained better integrity than the ceramic/UHMWPE panel. The results showed that the carbon fiber/PMI foam sandwich panels were suitable for applications that require the flexible movement of the wearer under shock waves, and provide an experimental basis for designing impact-resistant equipment with low weight, high strength, and high energy absorption capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), as one of the most powerful analytical methods, undertakes important inspection tasks in various fields. Generally, the performance of an SERS-active substrate relies heavily on its structure, which makes it difficult to integrate multiple-functional detectability on the same substrate. To address this problem, here we designed and constructed a film of graphene/Au nanoparticles (G/Au film) through a simple method, which can be conveniently transferred to different substrates to form various composite SERS substrates subsequently. By means of the combination of the electromagnetic enhancement mechanism (EM) and the chemical enhancement mechanism (CM) of this structure, the film realized good SERS performance experimentally, with the enhancement factor (EF) approaching ca. 1.40 × 105. In addition, the G/Au film had high mechanical strength and had large specific surface area and good biocompatibility that is beneficial for Raman detection. By further transferring the film to an Ag/Si composite substrate and PDMS flexible film, it showed enhanced sensitivity and in situ detectability, respectively, indicating high compatibility and promising prospect in Raman detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relevant studies in the fields of fire safety, occupational health and firefighter clothing were analyzed in this study to address the high injury rate among firefighters during fire rescue and the complexity of factors affecting skin burns. The findings indicate that the degree of skin burns in firefighters is primarily influenced by the heat source (heat flux, type), firefighter clothing (fabric, pattern) and the under-clothing air gap (thickness, characteristics). Since skin burns cannot be directly measured, internal skin heat transfer and burn prediction models are commonly employed to assess the impact of external factors on skin burns. These models can predict the safe working distance or time for firefighters. Investigating the influencing factors and prediction models of skin burns among firefighters holds significant value in enhancing operating procedures, optimizing firefighter clothing design and effectively preventing skin burns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generally, the low electron–hole separation efficiency of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) prevents their catalytic performance from reaching satisfactory results. For this reason, the creation of heterojunctions is considered an effective strategy but usually suffers from dimensional mismatch of the integrated material, even at the expense of its redox capacity. To overcome these difficulties, a novel 2D/2D S‐scheme heterojunction between H2N–Cu–MOF (NCM) and TpPa–1–COF (TP1C) is successfully constructed for efficient photocatalytic H2 production. The matching dimensions of two crystalline porous materials enables the integrated materials with abundant surface reactive sites, strong interaction and optimized electronic structure. Moreover, the combination of two crystalline porous materials can also form a S–scheme heterojunction, which can not only promote the separation of electron–hole pair, but also preserve the redox ability, thus remarkably boosting the catalytic competence. Consequently, the rate of optimal 20% NCM/TP1C in photocatalytic H2 production reaches 4.19 mmol g−1 h−1, which is 46.5 times higher than that of bare NCM, and 22.1 folds over that of pure TP1C. This research offers an innovative perspective for the formation of S–scheme heterojunctions based on porous crystal materials for efficient solar energy utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have identified CpG sites associated with HIV infection in blood cells in bulk, which offer limited knowledge of cell-type specific methylation patterns associated with HIV infection. In this study, we aim to identify differentially methylated CpG sites for HIV infection in immune cell types: CD4+ T-cells, CD8+ T-cells, B cells, Natural Killer (NK) cells, and monocytes. Methods: Applying a computational deconvolution method, we performed a cell-type based EWAS for HIV infection in three independent cohorts (Ntotal = 1,382). DNA methylation in blood or in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was profiled by an array-based method and then deconvoluted by Tensor Composition Analysis (TCA). The TCA-computed CpG methylation in each cell type was first benchmarked by bisulfite DNA methylation capture sequencing in a subset of the samples. Cell-type EWAS of HIV infection was performed in each cohort separately and a meta-EWAS was conducted followed by gene set enrichment analysis. Results: The meta-analysis unveiled a total of 2,021 cell-type unique significant CpG sites for five inferred cell types. Among these inferred cell-type unique CpG sites, the concordance rate in the three cohorts ranged from 96% to 100% in each cell type. Cell-type level meta-EWAS unveiled distinct patterns of HIV-associated differential CpG methylation, where 74% of CpG sites were unique to individual cell types (false discovery rate, FDR <0.05). CD4+ T-cells had the largest number of unique HIV-associated CpG sites (N = 1,624) compared to any other cell type. Genes harboring significant CpG sites are involved in immunity and HIV pathogenesis (e.g. CD4+ T-cells: NLRC5, CX3CR1, B cells: IFI44L, NK cells: IL12R, monocytes: IRF7), and in oncogenesis (e.g. CD4+ T-cells: BCL family, PRDM16, monocytes: PRDM16, PDCD1LG2). HIV-associated CpG sites were enriched among genes involved in HIV pathogenesis and oncogenesis that were enriched among interferon-α and -γ, TNF-α, inflammatory response, and apoptotic pathways. Conclusion: Our findings uncovered computationally inferred cell-type specific modifications in the host epigenome for people with HIV that contribute to the growing body of evidence regarding HIV pathogenesis. Author summary: The host epigenome (i.e., the DNA methylome) plays a pivotal role in HIV-1 viral integration, maintenance, and activation or silencing. Epigenome-wide association studies have identified many DNA methylation CpG sites in bulk cells associated with HIV infection, which offer an aggregated view of the average DNA methylation across cell types. To understand the effect of DNA methylation on chronic HIV infection at the cell-type level, we applied a computational method to deconvolute DNA methylation from blood bulk cells into five cell types: CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cell, B cell, Nature Killer cell, and Monocytes and conducted an epigenome-wide analysis for HIV infection in each inferred cell type. Our results show that most of the HIV infection associated CpG sites are unique to each cell type. The largest number of significant CpG sites for HIV infection are from inferred CD4+ T cells. Significant CpG sites are located on genes that are enriched in interferon-α and -γ pathways, which are known to be key players in HIV infection. The findings help us understand the cellular relationship between DNA methylation and HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the composition and timing sequence of products during the detonation of energetic materials is crucial for the evaluation of detonation performance and improvement of the formulation. However, it is difficult to determine the detonation products of energetic materials due to the fast reaction time during detonation. Herein, a new setup is built to detect the detonation products of energetic materials by time correlated laser induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS) combined with high-speed schlieren imaging. The characteristics of time resolution and spatial distribution of propellant products from laser induced micro-detonation are obtained using the system. According to the time resolved spectrum of the products and high-speed schlieren images of laser induced micro-detonation, we speculate on the timing sequence of gaseous propellant products from laser induced micro-detonation in air: N2, O2, and nitrogen oxides precede hydrocarbon gases, followed by carbon oxides and gaseous containing the element of H. Moreover, the distribution of the gaseous products from laser induced micro-detonation are clarified. This study provides a new method for the detection of products during the detonation of energetic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic nephropathy (DN), one of the more prevalent microvascular complications in patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, is attributed as the main cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Lipotoxicity in podocytes caused by hyperglycemia has been recognised as a significant pathology change, resulting in the deterioration of the glomerular filtration barrier. Research has demonstrated how dapagliflozin, a kind of SGLT2i, exhibits a multifaceted and powerful protective effect in DN, entirely independent of the hypoglycemic effect, with the specific mechanism verified. In this present study, we found that dapagliflozin has the potential to alleviate apoptosis and restore cytoskeleton triggered by high glucose (HG) in vivo and in vitro. We also discovered that dapagliflozin could mitigate podocyte cholesterol accumulation by restoring the expression of ABCA1, which is the key pathway for cholesterol outflows. This research also mechanistically demonstrates that the protective effect of dapagliflozin can be mediated by KLF-5, which is the upstream transcription factor of ABCA1. Taken together, our data suggest that dapagliflozin offers significant potential in alleviating podocyte injury and cholesterol accumulation triggered by high glucose. In terms of the mechanism, we herein reveal that dapagliflozin could accelerate cholesterol efflux by restoring the expression of ABCA1, which is directly regulated by KLF-5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of treatment effects on the response variable is often a primary goal in empirical investigations in disciplines such as medicine, economics and marketing. Typically, the investigator would select one model from a multitude of models and estimate the treatment effects based on this single winning model. In this paper, we consider an alternative model averaging approach, where estimates of treatment effects are obtained from not one single model but a weighted ensemble of models. We develop a weight choice method based on a minimisation of the approximate risk under squared error loss of the model average estimator of the conditional treatment effects. We prove that the model average estimator resulting from this criterion has an optimal asymptotic property. The results of a simulation study show that the proposed approach is superior to various existing model selection and averaging methods in a large region of the parameter space in finite samples. The proposed method is applied to a data set on HIV treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine teschovirus (PTV) can cause reproductive dysfunction and respiratory diseases, with high mortality rates for sick pigs. Among Picornaviridae family virus-encoded proteins, the VP1 structural protein is critical for viral immune evasion. However, whether PTV VP1 inhibits the type I interferon (IFN) response remains unknown. Here, it shows that the PTV VP1 protein significantly hinders the activation of NF-κB, impairing Sendai virus-induced expression of beta IFN (IFN-β). Further studies revealed that VP1 targets and interacts with the MDA5 factor in the RIG-I like receptors pathway. More importantly, the VP1 protein interacts with the caspase activation and recruitment domain and Hel domains of MDA5, blocking IFN-β expression. Our findings provide evidence about the VP1 protein of PTV hinders MDA5 activation and may represent a viral mechanism to escape the innate immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Walking pace is associated with various health‐related outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between self‐reported walking pace and the incidences of diabetic microvascular complications among participants with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: Self‐reported walking pace was classified as brisk, average, or slow. The outcomes were the incidences of diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, and diabetic nephropathy. COX proportional hazards models adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health‐related factors were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs. Results: A total of 14 518 participants with T2D in the UK Biobank (mean age 59.7 ± 7.0 years, 5028 [34.6%] women) were included. During a median follow‐up of 12.5 (interquartile range: 11.6–13.4) years, 2980 participants developed diabetic microvascular complications. After adjusting for confounding factors, and compared with brisk walkers, slow walkers had a multivariable‐adjusted HR of 1.98 (95% CI 1.58, 2.47) for composite diabetic microvascular complications, 1.54 (95% CI 1.11, 2.14) for diabetic retinopathy, 3.26 (95% CI 2.08, 5.11) for diabetic neuropathy, and 2.32 (95% CI 1.91, 2.82) for diabetic nephropathy. Average walking pace was associated with a higher risk for diabetic nephropathy (HR 1.51, 95 CI% 1.27–1.79) compared with brisk walking. Additionally, ≥1 diabetic microvascular complication occurred in 447 (14.7%) of participants with brisk walking pace, 1702 (19.5%) with average walking pace, and 831 (30.4%) with slow walking pace. Time from study recruitment to first diagnosis was shorter in participants who reported a slow walking pace, compared with brisk or average walkers. Among participants who had diabetic nephropathy as their first diagnosis, slow walking pace was associated with subsequent risk of a second diabetic microvascular complication (HR 3.88, 95 CI% 2.27–6.60). Conclusions: Self‐reported slow walking pace is associated with a higher risk of diabetic microvascular complications among participants with T2D in this population‐based cohort study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UAV-borne video SAR (ViSAR) imaging system requires miniaturization, low power consumption, high frame rates, and high-resolution real-time imaging. In order to satisfy the requirements of real-time imaging processing for the UAV-borne ViSAR under limited memory and parallel computing resources, this paper proposes a method of embedded GPU-based real-time imaging processing for the UAV-borne ViSAR. Based on a parallel programming model of the compute unified device architecture (CUDA), this paper designed a parallel computing method for range-Doppler (RD) and map drift (MD) algorithms. By utilizing the advantages of the embedded GPU characterized with parallel computing, we improved the processing speed of real-time ViSAR imaging. This paper also adopted a unified memory management method, which greatly reduces data replication and communication latency between the CPU and the GPU. The data processing of 2048 × 2048 points took only 1.215 s on the Jetson AGX Orin platform to form a nine-consecutive-frame image with a resolution of 0.15 m, with each frame taking only 0.135 s, enabling real-time imaging at a high frame rate of 5 Hz. In actual testing, continuous mapping can be achieved without losing the scenes, intuitively obtaining the dynamic observation effects of the area. The processing results of the measured data have verified the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed scheme, satisfying the processing requirements for real-time ViSAR imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Target misalignment can cause beam pointing deviations and degradation of sidelobe performance. In order to eliminate the effect of target misalignment, we formulate the jamming sub-space recovery problem as a linearly modified atomic norm-based optimization. Then, we develop a deep-unfolding network based on the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), which effectively improves the applicability and efficiency of the algorithm. By using the back-propagation process of deep-unfolding networks, the proposed method could optimize the hyper-parameters in the original atomic norm. This feature enables the adaptive beamformer to adjust its weight according to the observed data. Specifically, the proposed method could determine the optimal hyper-parameters under different interference noise matrix conditions. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed network could reduce computational cost and achieve near-optimal performance with low complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immunotherapy has shown promise in the treatment of esophageal cancer, but using it alone only benefits a small number of patients. Most patients either do not have a significant response or develop secondary drug resistance. The combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy appears to be a promising approach to treating esophageal cancer. Purpose: We reviewed milestone clinical trials of radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy for esophageal cancer. We then discussed potential biomarkers for radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy, including programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) status, tumor mutation burden (TMB), tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, ct-DNA, imaging biomarkers, and clinical factors. Furthermore, we emphasize the key mechanisms of radiation therapy-induced immune stimulation and immune suppression in order to propose strategies for overcoming immune resistance in radiation therapy (RT). Lastly, we discussed the emerging role of low-dose radiotherapy (LDRT) , which has become a promising approach to overcome the limitations of high-dose radiotherapy. Conclusion: Radiotherapy can be considered a triggering factor for systemic anti-tumor immune response and, with the assistance of immunotherapy, can serve as a systemic treatment option and potentially become the standard treatment for cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercritical CO2 (S-CO2) thermodynamic power cycles have been considerably investigated in the applications of fossil fuel and nuclear power generation systems, considering their superior characteristics such as compactness, sustainability, cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly working fluid and high thermal efficiency. They can be potentially integrated and applied with various renewable energy systems for low-carbon power generation, so extensive studies in these areas have also been conducted substantially. However, there is a shortage of reviews that specifically concentrate on the integrations of S-CO2 with renewable energy, encompassing biomass, solar, geothermal and waste heat. It is thus necessary to provide an update and overview of the development of S-CO2 renewable energy systems and identify technology and integration opportunities for different types of renewable resources. Correspondingly, this paper not only summarizes the advantages of CO2 working fluid, design layouts of S-CO2 cycles and classifications of renewable energies to be integrated but also reviews the recent research activities and studies carried out worldwide on advanced S-CO2 power cycles with renewable energy. Moreover, the performance and development of various systems are well grouped and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: The flexible composite film presents ultrahigh thermal conductivity and good thermal management performance in electronic devices. An original "self-modified nanointerface" strategy is used to reduce the interfacial thermal resistance between boron nitride and the polymer matrix. The ideal phonon spectrum matching between boron nitride nanocrystals and fillers as well as the strong interaction between self-modified fillers and the polymer matrix are the two major contributors to decrease the interfacial thermal resistance. While boron nitride (BN) is widely recognized as the most promising thermally conductive filler for rapidly developing high-power electronic devices due to its excellent thermal conductivity and dielectric properties, a great challenge is the poor vertical thermal conductivity when embedded in composites owing to the poor interfacial interaction causing severe phonon scattering. Here, we report a novel surface modification strategy called the "self-modified nanointerface" using BN nanocrystals (BNNCs) to efficiently link the interface between BN and the polymer matrix. Combining with ice-press assembly method, an only 25 wt% BN-embedded composite film can not only possess an in-plane thermal conductivity of 20.3 W m−1 K−1 but also, more importantly, achieve a through-plane thermal conductivity as high as 21.3 W m−1 K−1, which is more than twice the reported maximum due to the ideal phonon spectrum matching between BNNCs and BN fillers, the strong interaction between the self-modified fillers and polymer matrix, as well as ladder-structured BN skeleton. The excellent thermal conductivity has been verified by theoretical calculations and the heat dissipation of a CPU. This study provides an innovative design principle to tailor composite interfaces and opens up a new path to develop high-performance composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection of patient sexual orientation and gender identity information is crucial in identifying and addressing disparities in healthcare access, quality, and outcomes for sexual and gender minority individuals. While some studies have explored patients' willingness to disclose this information in specific settings, little is known about response rates in digital health applications. In light of the growing use of digital health, including virtual care, we sought to determine whether adults would respond to optional sexual orientation and gender identity fields during registration for a digital health application offered through their employer-provided benefits. We analyzed response rates for sexual orientation and gender identity by age, race and ethnicity, and region among individuals over age 17 between September 9th and December 31, 2022. Our study, which included over 41,000 commercially-insured adults from all 50 states, found that nearly 80% were willing to report their sexual orientation and gender identity. However, we observed higher nonresponse rates among older adults and individuals living in central and southern regions, with no consistent pattern by race and ethnicity. Our findings indicate that digital health applications could be a valuable resource for collecting this data from a diverse group of adults. Nevertheless, digital health companies must ensure that they use the data responsibly, identifying quality improvement initiatives and contributing to research that can inform health policies for sexual and gender minority individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the rapidly evolving social media landscape with the potential to revolutionise sexual health education, this article presents a critical discourse analysis and qualitative content analysis of the top 10 Chinese sexual health influencers’ online discourses regarding sex and sexuality. Findings suggest that influencers utilise a range of destigmatisation strategies to facilitate sex education within a heavily censored social media environment. These include widening understandings of normalcy, using relatable images and alternative terminology to discuss sexuality, and incorporating paradoxical narratives that seek to navigate between empowering women and reinforcing self-regulation. However, the effectiveness of influencers’ work is constrained by a complex web of factors, including the stringent censorship and content control enforced by the Chinese government, the economic interests that shape platforms’ algorithms and advertising practices, and the persistence of societal and cultural norms that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and attitudes regarding sexual health. This study illuminates the complexities of online sex and sexuality education and sheds light on both the potential and limitations of influencers in fostering open and more inclusive dialogue about sexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A multi-laser sensors-based measurement instrument is proposed for the measurement of geometry errors of a differential body and quality evaluation. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned idea. Design/methodology/approach: First, the differential body is set on a rotation platform before measuring. Then one laser sensor called as "primary sensor", is installed on the intern of the differential body. The spherical surface and four holes on the differential body are sampled by the primary sensor when the rotation platform rotates one revolution. Another sensor called as "secondary sensor", is installed above to sample the external cylinder surface and the planar surface on the top of the differential body, and the external cylinder surface and the planar surface are high in manufacturing precision, which are used as datum surfaces to compute the errors caused by the motion of the rotation platform. Finally, the sampled points from the primary sensor are compensated to improve the measurement accuracy. Findings: A multi-laser sensors-based measurement instrument is proposed for the measurement of geometry errors of a differential body. Based on the characteristics of the measurement data, a gradient image-based method is proposed to distinguish different objects from laser measurement data. A case study is presented to validate the measurement principle and data processing approach. Research limitations/implications: The study investigates the possibility of correction of sensor data by the measurement results of multiple sensors to improving measurement accuracy. The proposed technique enables the error analysis and compensation by the geometric correlation relationship of various features on the measurand. Originality/value: The proposed error compensation principle by using multiple sensors proved to be useful for the design of new measurement device for special part inspection. The proposed approach to describe the measuring data by image also is proved to be useful to simplify the measurement data processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although novel 3D animation techniques could be boosted by a large variety of deep learning methods, flexible automatic 3D applications (involving animated figures such as humans and low-life animals) are still rarely studied in 3D computer vision. This is due to lacking of arbitrary 3D data acquisition environment, especially those involving human populated scenes. Given a single image, the 3D animation aided by contextual inference is still plagued by limited reconstruction clues without prior knowledge pertinent to the identified figures/objects and/or their possible relationship w.r.t. the environment. To alleviate such difficulty in time-varying 3D animation, we devise a dynamic scene creation framework via a dynamic knowledge graph (DKG). The DKG encodes both temporal and spatial contextual clues to enable and facilitate human interactions with the affordance environment. Furthermore, we construct the DKG-driven variational auto-encoder (DVAE) upon animation kinematics knowledge conveyed by meta-motion sequences, which are disentangled from videos of prior scenes. It is then possible to utilize the DKG to induce the animations in certain scenes, thus, we could automatically and physically generate plausible 3D animations that afford vivid interactions among humans, low-and life animals in the environment. The extensive experimental results and comprehensive evaluations confirm our DKGs' representation and modeling power towards new animation production in 3D graphics and vision applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban high-temperature disasters have gradually emerged as a significant threat to human society. Therefore, it is crucial to assess and identify areas at risk of such disasters and implement urban planning measures aimed at mitigating their impact. Additionally, a multitude of studies have demonstrated the significant cooling effect of urban blue-green spaces (UGBS), which play a pivotal role in urban environments. Incorporating a UBGS layout into planning and evaluation processes has substantial potential for mitigating high-temperature disasters. This paper presents the construction of a set of assessment processes for mitigating urban high-temperature disaster risk using a UBGS structure layout specifically for the main urban area of Harbin, China. We employed GIS and multi-source remote sensing imagery to develop local climate zone (LCZ) maps applicable to the designated study area. The differentiated impact of UBGS factors on high-temperature disaster risk was determined using the multi-scale geographical weighted regression model (MGWR). The results showed the following: (a) There was an overall low risk level, with 19.61% of the high-risk areas concentrated within the second ring road, forming a spatial pattern characterized by "one line, one cluster". (b) The risk of the building category LCZs was generally higher than that of the natural category LCZs. The risk of the architectural LCZs could be summarized as the risk of low-density LCZs being smaller than that of the high-density LCZs, except LCZ 5. The mean value of the LCZ 2 and LCZ 5 types was the highest. (c) Through indicator screening, AREA_MN, SHAPE_MN, PD, and NP were found to be significant determinants influencing the risk, and the effectiveness and spatial differentiation of these main factors exhibited notable disparities. (d) By comparing different LCZ types, we concluded that the mitigation effect of these factors on risk may be interfered with by building height (BH); NP may be positively interfered with by BH; and PD and SHAPE_MN may be negatively interfered with by BH. The research results provided a new perspective and practical scientific basis for high-temperature disaster risk-mitigation planning based on UBGSs under LCZ classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter published in the Annals of Hematology describes three cases of warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA) that occurred after SARS-CoV-2 infection and were successfully treated with eculizumab. The first patient had a history of hemolysis and achieved remission after receiving eculizumab. The second patient experienced a hemolysis flare and responded to eculizumab after other treatments failed. The third patient had Evans' syndrome and achieved a response with eculizumab. This case series suggests that complement modulation with eculizumab may be effective in treating COVID-19-associated wAIHA, but further research is needed. [Extracted from the article]

The 21st century has seen a revival of populism in politics worldwide. Although scholars in different fields have extensively investigated populism, the term remains controversial and fragmentary. This article uses the bibliometric method to analyze the scientific production, critical points, and main trends of studies on populism from 2000 to 2020 based on the literature retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, to better understand relevant themes and issues and conduct a comparative study. Populism research shows a general upward trend in three stages and covers a wide range of disciplines, with political science contributing the largest number of publications and sociology sharing the closest links with other subjects. Two relatively large cooperation groups of institutions were found in European countries, but cross-region links between institutions are weak. No relatively stable and large academic teams have been formed between political scholars, and low cooperation exists between prolific scholars in different disciplines. Literature with high co-citation counts are mainly conceptual and comparative studies, and research hotspots include the relationship between populism and democracy, the polarization of populism, and national populism. We believe that future research may shift focus to polarization, European populism, and political trust. Plain Language Summary: A systematic review of the state of populism research (2000–2020) In this paper, we perform a bibliometric and visual analysis of populism research across disciplines by using CiteSpace (2000–2020). The aim of this study is not only to explore the field of knowledge, its evolution over time, its frontier, and a visualized presentation of results, but also to provide an example of conducting a literature review using quantitative methods. Populism research shows a general upward trend in three stages and covers a wide range of disciplines, with political science contributing the largest number of publications and sociology sharing the closest links with other subjects. Two relatively large cooperation groups of institutions were found in European countries, but cross-region links between institutions are weak. No relatively stable and large academic teams have been formed between political scholars, and low cooperation exists between prolific scholars in different disciplines. Research hotspots include the relationship between populism and democracy, polarization of populism, and national populism. We believe that future research may shift focus to polarization, European populism, and political trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of antiseizure medications (ASMs), both as monotherapies and adjunctive therapies, for idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGEs) and related entities. Methods: Two reviewers independently searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for relevant randomized controlled trials from December 2022 to February 2023. Studies on the efficacy and safety of ASM monotherapies or adjunctive therapies for IGEs and related entities—including juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), juvenile absence epilepsy, or generalized tonic–clonic seizures alone (GTCA)—were included. Efficacy outcomes were the proportions of patients remaining seizure free for 1, 3, 6, and 12 months; safety outcomes were the proportions of any treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) and TEAEs leading to discontinuation. Network meta-analyses were performed in a random-effects model to obtain odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Rankings of ASMs were based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). This study is registered with PROSPERO (No. CRD42022372358). Results: Twenty-eight randomized controlled trials containing 4282 patients were included. As monotherapies, all ASMs were more effective than placebo, and valproate and ethosuximide were significantly better than lamotrigine. According to the SUCRA for efficacy, ethosuximide ranked first for CAE, whereas valproate ranked first for other types of IGEs. As adjunctive therapies, topiramate ranked best for GTCA as well as overall for IGEs, while levetiracetam ranked best for myoclonic seizures. For safety, perampanel ranked best (measured by any TEAE). Conclusions: All of the studied ASMs were more effective than placebo. Valproate monotherapy ranked best overall for IGEs, whereas ethosuximide ranked best for CAE. Adjunctive topiramate and levetiracetam were most effective for GTCA and myoclonic seizures, respectively. Furthermore, perampanel had the best tolerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal conduction in a symmetrical system composed of two Frenkel–Kontorova (FK) lattices is investigated numerically. We find thermal conduction resonance and reversal phenomena via using numerical computation. There is a driving frequency value where the heat flux reaches the highest value. In particular, the dynamical parameters of the model, such as the lattice period, coupling coefficient, onsite potential, and so on, control the phenomena. This finding suggests that dynamic parameters are crucial to develop thermal rectifier devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether hydrogen‐rich bath has therapeutic effect on psoriasis and its molecular mechanism. Mice with imiquimod‐induced psoriasis were established and divided into groups. The mice were respectively treated with hydrogen‐rich water bath and distilled water bath. The changes of skin lesions and PSI scores of mice were compared after their treatments. HE staining was used to observe the pathological feature. The changes of inflammatory indexes and immune factors were analysed by ELISA and immunohistochemical staining. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content was measured by the thiobarbituric assay (TBA) method. By naked eye, the severity of skin lesions in hydrogen‐rich water bath group was lower than that in distilled water bath group, and the psoriasis severity index (PSI) was lower (p < 0.01). The results of HE staining showed that the mice with distilled water bath had more abnormal keratosis, thickening of the spinous layer and prolongation of the dermal process, and more Munro abscess than the mice with hydrogen‐rich water bath. During the course of disease, the overall levels and peaks of IL‐17, IL‐23, TNF‐α, CD3+ and MDA in mice with hydrogen‐rich bath were lower than those in mice with distilled water bath (p < 0.05). In the skin, the mice treated with the hydrogen‐rich water bath also had lower peak of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) levels. It is concluded that hydrogen‐rich water bath can inhibit psoriasis inflammation and oxidative stress, relieve psoriasis skin lesions and accelerate the end of abnormal skin proliferation state, which shows a therapeutic and improving effect on psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in information technologies have made network data increasingly frequent in a spectrum of big data applications, which is often explored by probabilistic graphical models. To precisely estimate the precision matrix, we propose an optimal model averaging estimator for Gaussian graphs. We prove that the proposed estimator is asymptotically optimal when candidate models are misspecified. The consistency and the asymptotic distribution of model averaging estimator, and the weight convergence are also studied when at least one correct model is included in the candidate set. Furthermore, numerical simulations and a real data analysis on yeast genetic data are conducted to illustrate that the proposed method is promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of thyroid disease has seen a rapid increase in recent times, primarily attributed to the fast pace of lifestyles that often result in poor dietary choices, work-life imbalances, social stress, genetic mutations, and improved diagnostic capabilities. However, the precise contribution of these factors to thyroid disease remains a subject of controversy. Consequently, there is a pressing need to gain a comprehensive understanding of the related associations in order to potentially mitigate the associated morbidity and mortality rates. Methods: This study employed association rule mining techniques to reveal hidden correlations among complex and diverse epidemiological connections pertaining to thyroid disease associations. We proposed a framework which incorporates text mining and association rule mining algorithms with exceptionality measurement to simultaneously identify common and exception risk factors correlated with the disease through real-life digital health records. Two distinctive datasets were analyzed through two algorithms, and mutual factors were retained for interpretation. Results: The results confirmed that age, gender, and history of thyroid disease are risk factors positively related to subsequent thyroid cancer. Furthermore, it was observed that the absence of underlying chronic disease conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, or obesity, are associated with reduced likelihood of being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Conclusions: Collectively, the proposed framework demonstrates its sound feasibility and should be further recommended for different disease in-depth knowledge discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The classic optimal foraging theory (OFT) predicts animals' food patch use assuming that individuals in a population use the same strategy while foraging. However, due to the existence of animal personality, i.e. repeatable inter-individual differences and intra-individual consistency in behaviours over time and/or across contexts, individuals often exhibit different behavioural strategies, challenging the basic assumptions of the OFT. Here, we tested whether personality traits (boldness and exploration in open arena) of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica, 38 females and 34 males) influenced their patch use in two foraging experiments with different inter-patch distances (i.e. 2 m in Experiment 1 and 3 m in Experiment 2). Results: The total feeding time and food intake of individuals did not differ between Experiment 1 and 2, but in both experiments, proactive (i.e. bolder and more explorative) individuals had longer feeding time and higher food intake than reactive individuals. In Experiment 1, proactive quails changed patches more frequently and had shorter mean patch residence time than reactive individuals, while the effects were not significant in Experiment 2. The quails reduced patch residence time along with feeding, and this trend was weakened in Experiment 2 which had longer inter-patch distance. Conclusions: The above results suggest that personality traits affect animals' patch use, while the effects might be weakened with longer inter-patch distance. Our study highlights that animal personality should be considered when investigating animals' foraging behaviours because individuals may not adopt the same strategy as previously assumed. Furthermore, the interaction between personality traits and inter-patch distances, which is related to movement cost and capacity of information gathering, should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sleep disturbance occur among nurses at a high incidence. Aim: To develop a Nomogram and a Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to predict sleep disturbance in clinical nurses. Methods: A total of 434 clinical nurses participated in the questionnaire, a cross-sectional study conducted from August 2021 to June 2022.They were randomly distributed in a 7:3 ratio between training and validation cohorts.Nomogram and ANN model were developed using predictors of sleep disturbance identified by univariate and multivariate analyses in the training cohort; The 1000 bootstrap resampling and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) were used to evaluate the predictive accuracy in the training and validation cohorts. Results: Sleep disturbance was found in 180 of 304 nurses(59.2%) in the training cohort and 80 of 130 nurses (61.5%) in the validation cohort.Age, chronic diseases, anxiety, depression, burnout, and fatigue were identified as risk factors for sleep disturbance. The calibration curves of the two models are well-fitted. The sensitivity and specificity (95% CI) of the models were calculated, resulting in sensitivity of 83.9%(77.5–88.8%)and 88.8% (79.2–94.4%) and specificity of83.1% (75.0–89.0%) and 74.0% (59.4–84.9%) for the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Conclusions: The sleep disturbance risk prediction models constructed in this study have good consistency and prediction efficiency, and can effectively predict the occurrence of sleep disturbance in clinical nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the dynamic effects of miR-20a-5p on hippocampal ripple energy in rats after status epilepticus (SE). A lithium pilocarpine (LiCl-PILO)-induced rat model of status epilepticus (SE) was established, and the rats were divided into the normal control (Control, CTL), epileptic control (PILO), valproic acid (VPA + PILO), miR-20a-5p overexpression lentivirus vector (miR + PILO), sponges blocking lentivirus vector (Sponges + PILO), and scramble sequence negative control (Scramble + PILO) groups (n = 6). Electroencephalograms (EEGs) were used to analyze changes in hippocampal ripple energy before and after SE. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) analysis showed that miR-20a-5p levels gradually increased after miR-20a-5p overexpression lentivirus vector injection into the lateral ventricle, and the miR-20a-5p levels were significantly higher than that in CTL group on days 7 and 36 (P < 0.001). The miR-20a-5p levels decreased significantly on days 7 and 36 after blocking by sponges lentivirus vector injected into the lateral ventricle (P < 0.001). After injection of PILO, the average ripple energy expression in each group gradually increased, and reached the peak before chloral hydrate injection (compared with 1 day before SE, P < 0.05). The ripple energy in the VPA + PILO and Sponges + PILO groups was significantly lower than that in the PILO group at 60 min and 70 min after PILO injection and before chloral hydrate injection (P < 0.05), and maintained lower until 2 h after chloral hydrate injection in VPA + PILO (P < 0.05). Compared with the VPA + PILO group, the mean ripple energy of the Sponges + PILO group had no difference at all time points (P ≥ 0.05). After SE, ripple distribution of space and energy is closely related to the occurrence of epilepsy. Inhibition of miR20a-5p expression can downregulate ripple oscillation energy during seizure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of doping ceramic reinforcing particles during the fabrication of amorphous alloy coatings by laser cladding technology has rarely been investigated. A crack-free Fe-based amorphous/crystalline composite coating with good tribological properties was prepared on the surface of 40Cr steel by changing the content of WC–14Co addition during laser cladding. As the content of WC–14Co particles increases, cracks in the coating are first suppressed until gradually disappearing and then re-forming, reaching a crack-free state at 5 wt% addition. SEM, TEM and EBSD results showed that the incorporation of WC–14Co successfully introduced fine WC particles into the coating structure and refined the microstructure of the coating. The Vickers hardness of the coating is 937.7 Hv, and the wear loss of the coating was 1.1 × 10–2 mm3 at a load of 30 N, a friction counterpart of Al2O3, and a sliding speed of 9 mm/s for 1.5 h. The crack-free and good tribological properties of the coating were mainly attribute to the uniform and diffuse distribution of WC, which inhibits the directional growth of columnar crystals at the coating–substrate interface and promotes the refinement of the crystal structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the cost-reference particle filter (CRPF) has a good advantage in solving the state estimation problem with unknown noise statistical characteristics, its estimation accuracy is still affected by the lack of particle diversity and sensitivity to the particles' initial value. In order to solve these problems of the CRPF, this paper proposed an intelligent cost-reference particle filter algorithm based on multi-population cooperation. A multi-population cooperative resampling strategy based on ring structure was designed. The particles were divided into multiple independent populations upon initialization, and each population generated particles with a different initial distribution. The particles in each population were divided into three different particle sets with high, medium and low weights by the golden section ratio according to the weight. The particle sets with high and medium weights were retained. Then, a cooperative strategy based on Gaussian mutation was designed to resample the low-weight particle set of each population. The high-weight particles of the previous population in the ring structure were randomly selected for Gaussian mutation to replace the low-weight particles in the current population. The low-weight particles of all populations were resampled in turn. The simulation results show that the intelligent CRPF based on multi-population cooperation proposed in this paper can reduce the sensitivity of the CRPF to the particles' initial value and improve the particle diversity in resampling. Compared with the general CRPF and intelligent CRPF with adaptive MH resampling (MH-CRPF), the RMSE and MAE of the proposed method are lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical applications of Pt-based nano-catalysts in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have been seriously restricted by their high cost and poor durability. Therefore, it is significantly desirable to explore high active, non-noble metal and low-cost electrocatalysts for ORR. Herein, a series of nickel salts [NiNH2SO3, Ni(NO3)2, NiSO4, NiAc2, NiCl2, and Ni(acac)2] doped MnO2 octahedral molecular sieves (Ni-OMS-2) nanomaterials are successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal reaction and used as cathodic ORR electrocatalyst. We also demonstrate that nickel salt has a significant influence on the porous structure, morphology and ORR performance. Notably, comparing with other nickel salts-doped Ni-OMS-2 catalysts, the resulting Ni-OMS-2 with NiNH2SO3 dopant exhibits impressive electrocatalytic performance toward ORR in alkaline (0.1 M KOH), with a more positive Eonset (0.866 V) and E1/2 (0.792 V), as well as high limited diffusion current (5.03 mA/cm2), respectively. Moreover, it displays superior long-term stability and methanol tolerance than that of commercial Pt/C, and the ORR process follows an ideal 4e− transfer pathway. Such outstanding ORR performance primarily contributes to the well-defined one-dimensional nanorods and nickel salts doping, which are in favor of promoting electron transfer, active sites exposure and intermediates absorption during the catalytic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve more efficient and accurate measurement of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW), a room-temperature semiconductor detector CdZnTe (CZT) can be used to replace the high-purity germanium detector. The traditional method cannot identify nuclides since the energy resolution of CZT detectors is poor, and the spectrum have more overlapping peaks, compared with HPGe detectors. Therefore, in this study, we proposed a gamma spectrum analysis method based on an intelligent dynamic library. Simulation spectrum experiment and standard-source spectrum experiment achieved LILW all-nuclide quantitative analysis based on a CZT detector for the first time globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2018, an innovative case-based payment scheme called Diagnosis-Intervention Packet (DIP) was piloted in a large developed city in southern China. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the new payment method on total medical expenditure per case, length of stay (LOS), and in-hospital mortality rate across different hospitals. Methods: We used the de-identified patient-level discharge data of hospitalized patients from 2016 to 2019 in our study city. The interrupted time series model was used to examine the impact of the DIP payment reform on inflation-adjusted total expenditure per case, LOS, and in-hospital mortality rate across different hospitals, which were stratified into different hospital ownerships (public and private) and hospital levels (tertiary, secondary, and primary). Results: We included 2.08 million and 2.98 million discharge cases of insured patients before and after the DIP payment reform, respectively. The DIP payment reform resulted in a significant increase of the monthly trend of adjusted total expenditure per case in public (1.1%, P = 0.000), tertiary (0.6%, P = 0.000), secondary (0.4%, P = 0.047) and primary hospitals (0.9%, P = 0.039). The monthly trend of LOS increased significantly in public (0.022 days, P = 0.041) and primary (0.235 days, P = 0.032) hospitals. The monthly trend of in-hospital mortality rate decreased significantly in private (0.083 percentage points, P = 0.002) and secondary (0.037 percentage points, P = 0.002) hospitals. Conclusions: We conclude that implementing the DIP payment reform yields inconsistent consequences across different hospitals. DIP reform encouraged public hospitals and high-level hospitals to treat patients with higher illness severities and requiring high treatment intensity, resulting in a significant increase in total expenditure per case. The inconsistencies between public and private hospitals may be attributed to their different baseline levels prior to the reform and their different responses to the incentives created by the reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]