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Hypertension remains a leading cause of cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Failure to control blood pressure with ≥ 3 medications or control requiring ≥ 4 medications is classified as resistant hypertension (rHTN) and new therapies are needed to reduce the resulting increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Here, we report genetic evidence that relaxin family peptide receptor 2 (RXFP2) is associated with rHTN in men, but not in women. This study shows that adrenal gland gene expression of RXFP2 is increased in men with hypertension and the RXFP2 natural ligand, INSL3, increases adrenal steroidogenesis and corticosteroid secretion in human adrenal cells. To address the hypothesis that RXFP2 activation is an important mechanism in rHTN, we discovered and characterized small molecule and monoclonal antibody (mAb) blockers of RXFP2. The novel chemical entities and mAbs show potent, selective inhibition of RXFP2 and reduce aldosterone and cortisol synthesis and release. The RXFP2 mAbs have suitable rat pharmacokinetic profiles to evaluate the role of RXFP2 in the development and maintenance of rHTN. Overall, we identified RXFP2 activity as a potential new mechanism in rHTN and discovered RXFP2 antagonists for the future interrogation of RXFP2 in cardiovascular and renal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several mouse models of exogenous-agent – induced atopic dermatitis (AD) are currently available, the lack of certainty regarding their similarity with human AD has limited their scientific value. Thus, comprehensive evaluation of the characteristics of mouse models and their similarity with human AD is essential. To compare six different exogenous-agent – induced AD mouse models and find out the optimum models for study. Female BALB/c mice underwent induction of AD-like dermatitis by MC903 alone or in combination with ovalbumin (OVA), dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) alone or in combination with OVA, OVA alone, or Staphylococcus aureus. Gross phenotype, total immunoglobulin E (IgE) level, histopathological manifestations, and skin lesion transcriptome were analyzed, and metagenomic sequencing of the gut microbiome was performed. The DNFB plus OVA model showed the highest disease severity, while the OVA model showed the lowest severity. The MC903 and MC903 plus OVA models showed high expression of T-helper (Th)2- and Th17-related genes; the DNFB and DNFB plus OVA models showed upregulation of Th1-, Th2-, and Th17-related genes; while the S. aureus inoculation model showed more enhanced Th1 and Th17 immune responses. In contrast to the other models, the OVA-induced model showed the lowest expression levels of inflammation-related genes, while the MC903 model shared the largest overlap with human AD profiles. The intestinal microbiota of all groups showed significant differences after modeling. Each AD mouse model exhibited different characteristics. The MC903 model was the best to recapitulate most features of human AD among these exogenous-agent – induced AD models. • Each exogenous-agent–induced AD model exhibited different characteristics. • The MC903 model was the best to recapitulate most features of human AD among these exogenous-agent–induced AD models. • The intestinal microbiota of all models showed significant differences after modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High cognitive load in nurses is a common problem in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, it remains unclear what different types of cognitive load the ICU nurses have experienced during the implementation of delirium interventions. Aim: To describe the characteristics and explore the effect of implementing a delirium intervention on the cognitive load of nurses working in the ICU. Methods: A cluster‐randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted. Six ICUs were randomized in a 1:1 ratio, and eligible nurses from these units provided either a delirium bundle intervention in addition to usual care (27 nurses) or usual care alone. An instrument was used to measure different types of cognitive load (MDT‐CL), assessing intrinsic, extraneous and germane cognitive load. The repeated measures analysis of variance was used to detect between‐group differences. Results: Among these nurses, significant between‐group differences were identified in terms of their overall (P < 0.001), intrinsic (P < 0.001) and extraneous (P < 0.001) cognitive load. There was no significant change observed in the germane cognitive load (P = 0.489) in the delirium intervention group. Conclusion: It is important to understand how the implementation of a delirium intervention affects different types of cognitive load in nurses, in order that tailored strategies can be applied to reduce cognitive load in ICU nurses. Summary statement: What is already known about the topic? ABCDEF bundle interventions are effective to reduce ICU delirium incidence and improve clinical outcomes.Nursing care in the intensive care units is characterized by elevated demand on workloads and increased cognitive load.Cognitive load has been identified to include three different types: intrinsic cognitive load, extraneous cognitive load and germane cognitive load. What this paper adds? The application of a delirium intervention in ICU nurses can increase the intrinsic, extraneous and overall cognitive load but had no effect on the germane cognitive load in ICU nurses.It is important to understand how the implementation of a delirium intervention affects different types of cognitive load in nurses so that tailored strategies can be applied to reduce cognitive load in ICU nurses. The implications of this paper: Evaluating different types of cognitive load in ICU nurse is helpful to support appropriate allocation of nursing resources and improvement of patient safety.This study highlights the necessity of improving efforts focusing on reduction of the intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load related to nursing care for delirium in ICUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Design Data sources Results Conclusion Relevance to Clinical Practice Patient or Public Contribution Early referral to palliative care has been viewed as providing opportunity for accomplishing end‐of‐life care goals of life closure, comfortable dying and effective grieving. However, previous studies have shown that palliative care referrals are being made too late. Healthcare providers play important role in helping terminally ill patients to early access and being referred to palliative care. It is necessary to understand healthcare providers' attitudes on palliative care referral and associated factors regarding referrals.This review aimed to identify and synthesise healthcare providers' attitudes and associated factors on palliative care referrals systematically.A systematic review of qualitative evidence and meta‐aggregation was conducted and guided according to PRISMA guideline.PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane databases from inception to 24 October 2022.Database searches yielded 5856 references. Twenty‐two studies met eligibility criteria and of moderate to high methodological quality were included. Studies occurred in USA, UK, Australia and France with 716 healthcare providers participants were included. A total of 378 codings were finally extracted and integrated into 41 categories, forming three synthesised findings: (1) Healthcare providers' attitudes towards palliative care referrals, (2) the influence of subjective norms on palliative care referral behaviour and (3) perceived behavioural control on palliative care referral behaviour.This review demonstrates a series of factors that affect the palliative care referrals, including the attitudes of healthcare providers, the participation of patients and families, the support of colleagues and supervisors, inter‐professional collaboration, the availability of hospice resource, disease trajectory and socio‐economic factors. Further research that addresses these factors and design relevant trainings on improving healthcare providers' attitudes, enhancing patient and family engagement, strengthening support networks and optimising resource allocation may aid to meet increasing demands of patients.This review not only guides healthcare providers in making better decisions about patient referrals by identifying and addressing barriers but also aids in the development of effective interventions that facilitate the early initiation of referrals.No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While advances in technology have led to the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) in frontline services, the AI empathic effect is often overlooked. Based on emotional contagion theory, this research explores the impacts of AI emotional mimicry and empathic concern in service success and failure via experimental designs, respectively. Results indicate that AI with high emotional mimicry and empathic concern resulted in higher arousal and pleasure, increasing tourists' continuous usage intention. Arousal and pleasure played significant mediating roles in service success. However, while empathic concern significantly affected continuous usage intention through pleasure, arousal did not have a similar effect. The joint effects of extrinsic and intrinsic anthropomorphism (emotional mimicry) were significant in a successful service context, but not in service failure. These results have important implications for the development and promotion of AI and enriches theoretical applications of emotional contagion theory and empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality titanium nitride (TiN) films with different crystal orientations (001, 110, and 111) obtained under the same growth conditions are systematically investigated by both ultra-low temperature scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy and transport experiments. Our results reveal that all of them are conventional type-II superconductors, which exhibit spatially homogeneous superconducting properties. The superconductivity is uniform between surface and bulk. Intriguingly, the TiN (111) film has the highest transition temperature (Tc) but the lowest upper critical field (Hc2). This crystal orientation-dependent superconductivity could be explained by the fact that TiN (001) and TiN (110) films are dirtier than TiN (111). Our results suggest that (111)-oriented TiN is superior to design certain superconducting devices, including Josephson junction devices. The crystallographic orientation could offer an effective controlling parameter for designing TiN-based superconducting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is understood about the relationship between marriage matching patterns and mental health. This study aims to examine the relationship between patterns of marriage matching and depressive symptoms among married Chinese adults, and respectively validate the effects of age, period, and cohort with hierarchical APC models. A total of 20,430 couples from the 2012, 2016 and 2018 wave of China Family Panel Studies were included in this study. We investigate patterns of marriage matching from age, personal education, parental education and especially, parental hukou status, which reflects an individual's residential status through urban-rural divide and has vital implications for socioeconomic status in China. Age gap is significantly associated with depressive symptoms both for men and women, yet sorting of parents' hukou status and education presented significant relationship with depressive symptoms only among women. In addition, we found strong age effects that changing trajectories of depressive symptoms across the life course vary among different genders and marital patterns. We did not find significant cohort effects after considering other factors, indicating the stability of depressive symptoms across birth cohorts. The CES-D is a widely used tool for depressive symptoms screening, the self-report instrument may produce results with lesser accuracy. Marriage matching patterns are significantly associated with depressive symptoms among Chinese adults, and these effects vary significantly across the life course. Our study sheds lights on the public mental health promotion programs from a marital perspective, suggesting that women in less satisfying marriage should be prioritized. • Age gap was associated with depressive symptoms both for men and women. • Parents' SES is related to depressive symptoms among women. • None cohort effects indicates the stability of depressive symptoms somewhat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cyberbullying is an emerging public health problem, it is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic affects cyberbullying. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cyberbullying, to estimate the global cyberbullying prevalence and to explore factors related to cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic. We searched the Medline, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Eric, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, Chinese CNKI, and EBSCO databases to identify relevant empirical studies published between 2019 and 2022. A total of 36 studies were included. Quality assessment, meta-analyses, and subgroup analyses were conducted. The pooled prevalences were 16% for overall cyberbullying, 18% for victimization and 11% for perpetration during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pooled prevalence of postpandemic cyberbullying perpetration is lower in children than in adults. In addition, both virus- and lockdown-related stressors were the main factors contributing to cyberbullying. The COVID-19 crisis may reduce cyberbullying, and the pooled prevalence of cyberbullying during the pandemic in adults is higher than in children and adolescents. In addition, the transient-enduring factor model of postpandemic cyberbullying built in this review could help identify people at high risk of cyberbullying during public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) advocates the dimensional approach in characterizing mental disorders. We followed RDoC to characterize children with ADHD using profiling based on the cognitive and psychopathological domains. We aimed to identify and validate ADHD subtypes with different clinical characteristics and functional impairments. We recruited 362 drug‐naïve children with ADHD and 103 typically developing controls. The cluster analysis was used to identify subgroups based on the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The subgroups' clinical characteristics and functional impairments were assessed using the WEISS Functional Impairment Rating Scale‐Parent Report (WFIRS‐P) and the Conners Parent Symptom Questionnaire (PSQ). The cluster analysis yielded four subgroups: (1) ADHD with severe impairment in psychopathology and executive functions (EF), (2) ADHD with mild executive dysfunctions and normal‐level psychopathology, (3) ADHD with severe externalizing problems and (4) ADHD with severe executive dysfunctions. These subgroups showed different clinical characteristics and degrees of functional impairment. The EF impairment group displayed more serious learning problems and worse life skills than the externalizing group. The two groups with externalizing problems (i.e. the severe impairment group and the externalizing group) both exhibited higher rates of the combined subtype of ADHD and higher rates of comorbid ODD. Different subtypes of ADHD displayed different profiles of internalizing and externalizing problems and levels of executive dysfunctions. In particular, the subtype with severe impairment in EF exhibited more learning problems and worse life skills, suggesting EF is a critical target for intervention in children with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Delirium is a common complication among intensive care unit (ICU) patients that is linked to negative clinical outcomes. However, adherence to the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility, and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU (PADIS guidelines), which recommend the use of the ABCDEF bundle, is sub-optimal in routine clinical care. To address this issue, AI-AntiDelirium, a nurse-led artificial intelligence-assisted prevention and management tool for delirium, was developed by our research team. Our pilot study yielded positive findings regarding the use of AI-AntiDelirium in preventing patient ICU delirium and improving activities of daily living and increasing intervention adherence by health care staff. Methods: The proposed large-scale pragmatic, open-label, parallel-group, cluster randomized controlled study will assess the impact of AI-AntiDelirium on the incidence of ICU delirium and delirium-related outcomes. Six ICUs in two tertiary hospitals in China will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to an AI-AntiDelirium or a PADIS guidelines group. A target sample size of 1,452 ICU patients aged 50 years and older treated in the ICU for at least 24 hours will be included. The primary outcome evaluated will be the incidence of ICU delirium and the secondary outcomes will be the duration of ICU delirium, length of ICU and hospital stay, ICU and in-hospital mortality rates, patient cognitive function, patient activities of daily living, and ICU nurse adherence to the ABCDEF bundle. Discussion: If this large-scale trial provides evidence of the effectiveness of AI-AntiDelirium, an artificial intelligence-assisted system tool, in decreasing the incidence of ICU delirium, length of ICU and hospital stay, ICU and in-hospital mortality rates, patient cognitive function, and patient activities of daily living while increasing ICU nurse adherence to the ABCDEF bundle, it will have a profound impact on the management of ICU delirium in both research and clinical practice. Clinical trial registration: ChiCTR1900023711 (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Brassinosteroids (BRs) are plant hormones that are essential in plant growth and development. BRASSINOSTEROID‐INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1) and BRI1 ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE 1 (BAK1), which are located on the plasma membrane, function as co‐receptors that accept and transmit BR signals.PROHIBITIN 3 (PHB3) was identified in both BRI1 and BAK1 complexes by affinity purification and LC‐MS/MS analysis. Biochemical data showed that BRI1/BAK1 interacted with PHB3 in vitro and in vivo.BRI1/BAK1 phosphorylated PHB3 in vitro. When the Thr‐80 amino acid in PHB3 was mutated to Ala, the mutant protein was not phosphorylated by BRI1 and the mutant protein interaction with BRI1 was abolished in the yeast two‐hybrid assay. BAK1 did not phosphorylate the mutant protein PHB3T54A. The loss‐of‐function phb3 mutant showed a weaker BR signal than the wild‐type. Genetic analyses revealed that PHB3 is a BRI1/BAK1 downstream substrate that participates in BR signalling. PHB3 has five homozygous in tomato, and we named the closest to AtPHB3 as SlPHB3.1. Biochemical data showed that SlBRI1/SlSERK3A/SlSERK3B interacted with SlPHB3.1 and SlPHB3.3. The CRISPR‐Cas9 method generated slphb3.1 mutant led to a BR signal stunted relatively in tomatoes.PHB3 is a new component of the BR signal pathway in both Arabidopsis and tomato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient water splitting electrocatalysts with low cost is essential for the development of sustainable hydrogen energy. Ni foam supported Ru-doped NiCoP nanowire arrays (Ru–NiCoP@NF) are synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction followed by low-temperature phosphorization. The as-obtained Ru–NiCoP@NF exhibits outstanding bifunctional catalytic activity, achieving 100 mA cm−2 at the overpotentials of 108 and 264 mV for HER and OER, respectively, with a tiny loading of Ru (≈61.8 μg cm−2). The electrolyzer assembled using Ru–NiCoP@NF as the bifunctional electrode requires 1.62 V (with no iR correction) for 50 mA cm−2, 50 mV lower than RuO 2 –Pt/C based electrolyzer. The enhancement of Ru–NiCoP@NF is ascribed to Ru dopants, which contribute to formation of 3D nanowire arrays with the advantages of exposing sufficient active sites, accelerating charge transfer and outstanding mechanical strength. More importantly, the Ru atoms in NiCoP successfully modulate the charge densities around Ni, Co and P through strong electronic interaction, thus elevating the sluggish Volmer step for HER and promoting the adsorption capacity of oxygen-containing intermediates for OER. • Ru-doped NiCoP is fabricated and used as a bifunctional water splitting electrode. • Ru–NiCoP@NF only requires 108 (264) mV to reach 100 mA cm−2 for HER (OER). • The electrolyzer requires 1.62 V for 50 mA cm−2, 50 mV lower than RuO 2 –Pt/C one. • The high performance is due to unique microstructures and electronic configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The pathogenesis of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) remained unclear. We aimed to profile the metabolic alterations in urine of SFTS patients and provide new evidence for its pathogenesis. Methods: A case–control study was conducted in the 154th hospital in China. Totally 88 cases and 22 controls aged ≥ 18 years were enrolled. The cases were selected from laboratory-confirmed SFTS patients. The controls were selected among SFTSV-negative population. Those with diabetes, cancer, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases were excluded in both groups. Fatal cases and survival cases were 1:1 matched. Inter-group differential metabolites and pathways were obtained, and the inter-group discrimination ability was evaluated. Results: Tryptophan metabolism and phenylalanine metabolism were the top one important metabolism pathway in differentiating the control and case groups, and the survival and fatal groups, respectively. The significant increase of differential metabolites in tryptophan metabolism, including 5-hydroxyindoleacetate (5-HIAA), L-kynurenine (KYN), 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP), 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (3-HAA), and the increase of phenylpyruvic acid and decrease of hippuric acid in phenylalanine metabolism indicated the potential metabolic alterations in SFTSV infection. The increase of 5-HIAA, KYN, 5-HTP, phenylpyruvic acid and hippuric acid were involved in the fatal progress of SFTS patients. Conclusions: Tryptophan metabolism and phenylalanine metabolism might be involved in the pathogenesis of SFTSV infection. These findings provided new evidence for the pathogenesis and treatment of SFTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the spatial behavior of the strongly competing systems involving the square root of the Laplacian. The coexistence of minimal energy solutions is discussed and a mechanism to ensure coexistence is given. Moreover, in the case of two densities the global minimizer converges, as the interspecies interaction tends to infinity, to a spatially segregated distribution where the two densities coexist and solve a non-coupled variational problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interspecific interactions in biofilms have been shown to cause the emergence of community‐level properties. To understand the impact of interspecific competition on evolution, we deep‐sequenced the dispersal population of mono‐ and co‐culture biofilms of two antagonistic marine bacteria (Phaeobacter inhibens 2.10 and Pseudoalteromononas tunicata D2). Enhanced phenotypic and genomic diversification was observed in the P. tunicata D2 populations under both mono‐ and co‐culture biofilms in comparison to P. inhibens 2.10. The genetic variation was exclusively due to single nucleotide variants and small deletions, and showed high variability between replicates, indicating their random emergence. Interspecific competition exerted an apparent strong positive selection on a subset of P. inhibens 2.10 genes (e.g., luxR, cobC, argH, and sinR) that could facilitate competition, while the P. tunicata D2 population was genetically constrained under competition conditions. In the absence of interspecific competition, the P. tunicata D2 replicate populations displayed high levels of mutations affecting the same genes involved in cell motility and biofilm formation. Our results show that interspecific biofilm competition has a complex impact on genomic diversification, which likely depends on the nature of the competing strains and their ability to generate genetic variants due to their genomic constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the desired color temperature and color rendering index in light sources is challenging because of the deficiency of certain color components, notably cyan in the illumination spectra. In this investigation, we successfully synthesized orthogonal Ca5Ga6O14: Bi3+ (CGO: Bi3+) phosphors with space group Cmc21, featuring two distinct Ca(1) and Ca(2) sites. Under the excitation of 335 nm, a broad cyan emission with a 495 nm peak was observed. Gaussian peak fitting revealed two sub-peaks at 445 and 500 nm, originating from the emission of Bi3+ occupying Ca(1) and Ca(2) sites, respectively. As Bi3+ doping concentration increased, the luminescence experienced a red shift, attributed to the cooperative impact of crystal field splitting and electron cloud rearrangement. Through the substitution of Sr2+ ions, we achieved a 2.15 times enhancement in emission intensity and an increase in lifetime from 0.451 to 0.551 μs. This substitution also led to a consistent increase in the relative emission percentage of Bi(1) from 46.5% to 73.1%, while that of Bi(2) decreased from 70.5% to 44.9%. It is likely a result of some Bi3+ ions originally situated in the Ca(2) site migrating to the Ca(1) site. Finally, the introduction of Na+ ions for charge compensation resulted in a 20.18% increase in the luminescence intensity and an enhanced quantum efficiency of 84.21%. This CGO: Bi3+ phosphor holds promise as a potential cyan phosphor for white light sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) combined with crop residue retention offers an effective way to achieve soil sustainability. To achieve better results, crop residue is generally incorporated into the soil. However, there is limited research on residue management and N application impact on the vertical distribution of the crop canopy and N allocation. This study used a long-term field experiment that commenced in 2011 as a research platform to uncover the relevant mechanisms of optimized combination of crop residue management and N input increased yield and grain nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Sampling was conducted in 2021 and 2022 on the maize hybrid Fumin 985 to analyze the canopy distribution and N allocation under two crop residue management strategies and five N application rates. The two residue management treatments were no tillage with straw mulch (SM) and plow tillage with straw mulch (SP). The five nitrogen application rates were 0 kg N ha−1 (N0), 90 kg N ha−1 (N90), 150 kg N ha−1 (N150), 210 kg N ha−1 (N210) and 270 kg N ha−1 (N270). The study results indicated that SP achieved the same or better maize yield as SM but with lower nitrogen input. SP yield was 17.54% greater than SM with less than 150 kg N ha−1. SP significantly improved the proportion of grain dry weight and led to an increase of 12.43% in 1000-grain weight compared to SM. Furthermore, SP maintained a higher leaf area index (LAI) and total radiation interception rate (RIR) during the grain-filling stage with the same N application rate as SM, increasing post–tasselling dry matter accumulation. Additionally, SP reduced soil bulk density and moisture content before sowing, increasing soil temperature. SP increased the grain's relative N content, which improved nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) and NUE. Finally, SP demonstrated a synergistic enhancement in yield and NUE under lower N application rates than SM. In summary, the combination of SP with 150 kg N ha−1 quantified it as an effective method to achieve greater yield and improved efficiency in maize production compared to SM. These findings are instrumental in formulating appropriate residue management and determining optimal nitrogen fertilizer application rates, thus providing a viable pathway for sustainable agriculture. However, it is essential to consider field specific conditions and farming context in determining optimal crop residue management and N application rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify biomarkers that can predict the recurrence of the central nervous system (CNS) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The transcriptome and clinical data of ALL in children were downloaded from the TARGET database. Transcriptome data were analyzed by bioinformatics method to identify core (hub) genes and establish a risk assessment model. Univariate Cox analysis was performed on each clinical data, and multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed on the obtained results and risk score. The children ALL phase I samples from TARGET database were used for validation. Univariate multivariate Cox analysis of 10 hub genes identified showed that PPARG (HR = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.67–0.91, p = 0.007), CD19 (HR = 1.15, 95%CI = 1.05–1.26, p = 0.003) and GNG12 (HR = 1.25, 95%CI = 1.04–1.51, p = 0.017) had statistical differences. The risk score was statistically significant in univariate (HR = 3.06, 95%CI = 1.30–7.19, p = 0.011) and multivariate (HR = 1.81, 95%CI = 1.16–2.32, p = 0.046) Cox regression analysis. The survival analysis results of the high and low-risk groups were different when the validation dataset was substituted into the model (p = 0.018). Then, we constructed a Nomogram which had a concordance index of survival prediction of 0.791(95%CI= 0.779-0.803). In addition, the CNS involvement grading status at first diagnosis CNS3 vs. CNS1 (HR = 5.74, 95%CI = 2.01–16.4, p = 0.001), T cell vs B cell (HR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.06-2.49, p = 0.026) were also statistically significant. PPARG, GNG12, and CD19 may be predictors of CNS relapse in childhood ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adherence to the delirium bundle intervention is sub-optimal in routine practice, and inappropriate use of the instructional design of interventions may result in higher cognitive load among nurses. It remains unclear whether the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) Assisted Prevention and Management for Delirium (CDSS-AntiDelirium) results in the improvement of adherence to delirium intervention and the reduction of extraneous cognitive load, as well as improving adherence to delirium intervention, among nurses in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: This study (named the CDSSD-ICU) is a multicentre, prospective, cluster randomized controlled clinical trial. A total of six ICUs in two hospitals will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either the CDSS-AntiDelirium group or the delirium guidelines group. The CDSS-AntiDelirium consists of four modules: delirium assessment tools, risk factor assessment, a nursing care plan, and a nursing checklist module. Each day, nurses will assess ICU patients with the assistance of the CDSS-AntiDelirium. A total of 78 ICU nurses are needed to ensure statistical power. Outcome assessments will be conducted by investigators who are blinded to group assignments. The primary endpoint will be adherence to delirium intervention, the secondary endpoint will be nurses' cognitive load measured using an instrument to assess different types of cognitive load. Repeated measures analysis of variance will be used to detect group differences. A structural equation model will be used to clarify the mechanism of improvement in adherence. Discussion: Although the CDSS has been widely used in hospitals for disease assessment, management, and recording, the applications thereof in the area of delirium are still in infancy. This study could provide scientific evidence regarding the impact of a CDSS on nurses' adherence and cognitive load and promote its further development in future studies. Clinical trial registration: ChiCTR1900023711 (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use 3653 (2661 RRab, 992 RRc) RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) with 7D (3D position, 3D velocity, and metallicity) information selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, and Gaia EDR3, and divide the sample into two Oosterhoff groups (Oo I and Oo II) according to their amplitude–period behaviour in the Bailey diagram. We present a comparative study of these two groups based on chemistry, kinematics, and dynamics. We find that Oo I RRLs are relatively more metal-rich, with predominately radially dominated orbits and large eccentricities, while Oo II RRLs are relatively more metal-poor, and have mildly radially dominated orbits. The Oosterhoff dichotomy of the Milky Way's halo is more apparent for the inner-halo region than for the outer-halo region. Additionally, we also search for this phenomenon in the haloes of the two largest satellite galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic clouds, and compare over different bins in metallicity. We find that the Oosterhoff dichotomy is not immutable, and varies based on position in the Galaxy and from galaxy to galaxy. We conclude that the Oosterhoff dichotomy is the result of a combination of stellar and galactic evolution, and that it is much more complex than the dichotomy originally identified in Galactic globular clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to: 1) estimate the prevalence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and mental health problems in Chinese adults, after the relaxation of the dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy; 2) examine the relationship between multi-dimensional variables related to COVID-19 infection and mental health symptoms; 3) explore the differences in the above relationship between healthcare workers (HCWs) and general populations. A large cross-sectional survey of residents in Beijing was conducted from January 13th to February 9th, 2023. A total of 53,762 adults were included in our analyses. The infection rate of COVID-19 was 83.6 % in our study sample. The prevalence of depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) was 20.0 % and 19.2 % in full sample, respectively. People with COVID-19 infection experience developed more mental health problems, especially for those still having physical symptoms. However, participants recovered from infection had lesser PTSS. Multi-dimensional variables related to COVID-19, i.e., infection status, frequency of infection, time from firstly tested positive, number, duration, severity of physical symptoms and the lowest SpO2, were all significantly associated with mental health symptoms. Occupational types were found to moderate the above relationships, and healthcare workers had less mental health symptoms though they had more infection exposure. This was a cross-sectional study, limiting the causal inference. Multi-dimensional indicators related to COVID-19 infection are associated with mental health symptoms. The findings call for that more personalized mental health service should be delivered to the general populations with COVID-19 infection experience. • The infection rate of COVID-19 was 83.6 % in our study sample. • Participants recovered from infection had lesser PTSD symptoms. • People with COVID-19 infection experience developed more mental health problems. • Healthcare workers had less mental health symptoms though they had more infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater images often suffer from color distortion and low contrast, which dramatically affects the target detection and measurement tasks in the underwater context. In this paper, we present a multistage generative adversarial network for better visual perception of underwater images. Extensive multi-scale context feature learning and high-precision restoration of spatial details are implemented stage by stage. Rich context features are learned based on the encoder and decoder architecture. Spatial details are restored through a pixel restoration module based on original images. Through channel attention module used between multistages, cross-stage feature utilization is realized. More notably, we introduce Gaussian noise into the generator, which enriches the details of images, and the relative discriminator, which promotes the generated image to have more realistic edges and textures. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our method over state-of-the-art methods in terms of both quantitative metrics and visual quality. In particular, we applied our method to natural underwater scenes. The results confirm that our method can effectively improve the efficiency of downstream tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Transglutaminases (TGs) are multifunctional enzymes exhibiting transglutaminase crosslinking, as well as atypical GTPase/ATPase and kinase activities. Here, we used an integrated comprehensive analysis to assess the genomic, transcriptomic and immunological landscapes of TGs across cancers. Methods: Gene expression and immune cell infiltration patterns across cancers were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) datasets. Western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and orthotopic xenograft models were used to validate our database-derived results. Results: We found that the overall expression of TGs (designated as the TG score) is significantly upregulated in multiple cancers and related to a worse patient survival. The expression of TG family members can be regulated through multiple mechanisms at the genetic, epigenetic and transcriptional levels. The expression of transcription factors crucial for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is commonly correlated with the TG score in many cancer types. Importantly, TGM2 expression displays a close connection with chemoresistance to a wide range of chemotherapeutic drugs. We found that TGM2 expression, F13A1 expression and the overall TG score were positively correlated with the infiltration of immune cells in all cancer types tested. Functional and clinical verification revealed that a higher TGM2 expression is linked with a worse patient survival, an increased IC50 value of gemcitabine, and a higher abundance of tumor-infiltrating macrophages in pancreatic cancer. Mechanistically, we found that increased C–C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) release mediated by TGM2 contributes to macrophage infiltration into the tumor microenvironment. Conclusions: Our results reveal the relevance and molecular networks of TG genes in human cancers and highlight the importance of TGM2 in pancreatic cancer, which may provide promising directions for immunotherapy and for addressing chemoresistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, has developed widespread pesticide resistance. Knowledge about resistance mechanisms can provide ideas for pesticide resistance management. Since gut microbes can affect host pesticide resistance, we explored gut bacteria-mediated phosphine susceptibility in T. castaneum and its molecular basis. Among five cultivable gut bacteria excised from a phosphine-resistant T. castaneum, only Enterococcus sp. inoculation significantly promoted host susceptibility to phosphine, while inoculation of any other gut bacteria did not. Furthermore, when T. castaneum was exposed to phosphine, Enterococcus sp. inoculation decreased the female fecundity, promoted host oxidative stress, and suppressed the expression and activity of host antioxidant enzymes. In the absence of phosphine, Enterococcus sp. inoculation also elicited overactive host immune responses, including the dual oxidase–reactive oxygen species system. These results indicate that Enterococcus sp. likely promotes host phosphine susceptibility by aggravating oxidative stress and fitness costs. Knowledge about resistance mechanisms can provide ideas for pesticide resistance management. Although several studies have unveiled the positive or negative impacts of gut microbes on host pesticide resistance, minimal research is available regarding the association between gut microbes and host phosphine resistance. To explore the influence of gut bacteria on host phosphine susceptibility and its molecular basis, mortality, fitness, redox responses, and immune responses of adult Tribolium castaneum were determined when it was challenged by phosphine exposure and/or gut bacteria inoculation. Five cultivable gut bacteria were excised from a population of phosphine-resistant T. castaneum. Among them, only Enterococcus sp. inoculation significantly promoted host susceptibility to phosphine, while inoculation of any other gut bacteria had no significant effect on host phosphine susceptibility. Furthermore, when T. castaneum was exposed to phosphine, Enterococcus sp. inoculation decreased the female fecundity, promoted host oxidative stress, and suppressed the expression and activity of host superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase. In the absence of phosphine, Enterococcus sp. inoculation also elicited overactive immune responses in T. castaneum, including the immune deficiency and Toll signaling pathways and the dual oxidase–reactive oxygen species system. These results indicate that Enterococcus sp. likely promotes host phosphine susceptibility by aggravating oxidative stress and fitness costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Jet quenching has long been regarded as one of the key signatures for the formation of quark-gluon plasma in heavy-ion collisions. Despite significant efforts, the separate identification of quark and gluon jet quenching has remained as a challenge. Here we show that J / ψ in high transverse momentum ( p T ) region provides a uniquely sensitive probe of in-medium gluon energy loss since its production at high p T is particularly dominated by gluon fragmentation. Such gluon-dominance is first demonstrated for the baseline of proton-proton collisions within the framework of leading power non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics factorization formalism. We then use the linear Boltzmann transport model combined with hydrodynamics for the simulation of jet-medium interaction in nucleus-nucleus collisions. The satisfactory description of experimental data on both nuclear modification factor R AA and elliptic flow v 2 reveals, for the first time, that the gluon jet quenching is the driving force for high p T J / ψ suppression. This novel finding is further confirmed by the data-driven Bayesian analyses of relevant experimental measurements, from which we also obtain the first quantitative extraction of the gluon energy loss distribution in the quark-gluon plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a non‐invasive strategy shows high promise in cancer treatment. However, owing to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment and light irradiation‐mediated rapid electron–hole pair recombination, the therapeutic efficacy of PDT is dramatically discounted by limited reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Herein, a multifunctional theranostic nanoheterojunction is rationally developed, in which 2D niobium carbide (Nb2C) MXene is in situ grown with barium titanate (BTO) to generate a robust photo‐pyroelectric catalyst, termed as BTO@Nb2C nanosheets, for enhanced ROS production, originating from the effective electron–hole pair separation induced by the pyroelectric effect. Under the second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) laser irradiation, Nb2C MXene core‐mediated photonic hyperthermia regulates temperature variation around BTO shells facilitating the electron–hole spatial separation, which reacts with the surrounding O2 and H2O molecules to yield toxic ROS, achieving a synergetic effect by means of combinaterial photothermal therapy with pyrocatalytic therapy. Correspondingly, the engineered BTO@Nb2C composite nanosheets feature benign biocompatibility and high antitumor efficiency with the tumor‐inhibition rate of 94.9% in vivo, which can be applied as an imaging‐guided real‐time non‐invasive synergetic dual‐mode therapeutic nanomedicine for efficient tumor nanotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Quinoa is a highly nutritious and novel crop that is resistant to various abiotic stresses. However, its growth and development is restricted due to its limited utilization of soil phosphorus. Studies on the levels of phosphorus in quinoa seedlings are limited; therefore, we analyzed transcriptome data from quinoa seedlings treated with different concentrations of phosphorus. Results: To identify core genes involved in responding to various phosphorus levels, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis method was applied. From the 12,085 expressed genes, an analysis of the gene co-expression network was done. dividing the expressed genes into a total of twenty-five different modules out of which two modules were strongly correlated with phosphorus levels. Subsequently we identified five core genes that correlated strongly either positively or negatively with the phosphorus levels. Gene ontology and assessments of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes have uncovered important biological processes and metabolic pathways that are involved in the phosphorus level response. Conclusions: We discovered crucial new core genes that encode proteins from various transcription factor families, such as MYB, WRKY, and ERF, which are crucial for abiotic stress resistance. This new library of candidate genes associated with the phosphorus level responses in quinoa seedlings will help in breeding varieties that are tolerant to phosphorus levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Elevated plasma homocysteine levels, known as hyperhomocysteinemia, have been identified as an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular diseases. Macrophage pyroptosis-mediated inflammation is crucial in the development of atherosclerosis, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: A hyperhomocysteinemia atherosclerotic model with ApoE−/− mice fed with a high-methionine diet was constructed to investigate the role of plasma homocysteine in atherosclerosis. THP-1-derived macrophages were used to investigate the mechanisms by which Hcy regulates pyroptosis. Results: We found that hyperhomocysteinemia resulted in larger atherosclerotic plaques and more secretion of inflammatory cytokines, while these effects were attenuated in Caspase-1 knockdown mice. Likewise, in vitro experiments demonstrated that treatment of macrophages with homocysteine resulted in NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis, as evidenced by cleavage of Caspase-1, production of downstream IL-1β, elevation of lactate dehydrogenase activity, and extensive propidium iodide-positive staining of cells. These were all inhibited by Caspase-1 inhibitor. In addition, excessive generation of reactive oxygen species was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, characterized by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP synthesis. Moreover, further experiments revealed that homocysteine induced endoplasmic reticulum stress, enhanced communication between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, and consequently contributed to calcium disorder. Furthermore, the endoplasmic reticulum stress inhibitor, 4PBA, the calcium chelator, BAPTA, and calcium channel inhibitor, 2-APB significantly improved macrophage pyroptosis. Conclusion: Homocysteine accelerates atherosclerosis progression by enhancing macrophages pyroptosis via promoting endoplasmic reticulum stress, endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria coupling, and disturbing of calcium disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress and lipid metabolism disorder caused by estrogen deficiency are regarded as the main causes of postmenopausal atherosclerosis, but the underlying mechanisms remain still unclear. In this study, ovariectomized (OVX) female ApoE−/− mice fed with high‐fat diet were used to imitate postmenopausal atherosclerosis. The atherosclerosis progression was significantly accelerated in OVX mice, accompanied by the upregulation of ferroptosis indicators, including increased lipid peroxidation and iron deposition in the plaque and the plasma. While both estradiol (E2) and ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin‐1 alleviated atherosclerosis in OVX mice, with the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and iron deposition, as well as the upregulation of xCT and GPX4, especially in endothelial cells. We further investigated the effects of E2 on ferroptosis in endothelial cells induced by oxidized‐low‐density lipoprotein or ferroptosis inducer Erastin. It was found that E2 exhibited anti‐ferroptosis effect through antioxidative functions, including improving mitochondrial dysfunction and upregulating GPX4 expression. Mechanistically, NRF2 inhibition attenuated the effect of E2 against ferroptosis as well as the upregulation of GPX4. Our findings revealed that endothelial cell ferroptosis played a pivotal role in postmenopausal atherosclerosis progression, and the NRF2/GPX4 pathway activation contributed to the protection of E2 against endothelial cell ferroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new lindenane sesquiterpenoid, chlohenriol D (1), along with five known compounds (2–6) was obtained from the roots of Chloranthus henryi. Structural elucidation for the new compound was characterized by spectroscopic analysis. Compound 1 was further tested for its neuroprotective effects on H2O2-damaged PC12 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The broadband spectrum detection from ultraviolet to near-infrared is hankered in the photoelectric applications of imaging, sensing and communication. Here, a new self-powered photodetector based on ferroelectric LuMnO 3 thin film with a narrow bandgap of 1.46 eV exhibits high-sensitivity ultraviolet–visible–near infrared photodetection properties. The responsivity (R) and detectivity (D *) in sunlight are 0.4 A/W and 7.05 × 1011 Jones, which are much higher than that of other ferroelectric photodetectors. Moreover, under the monochromatic light (900 nm), the R and D * can reach 0.39 A/W and 6.89 × 1011 Jones. The outstanding photodetection performances owed to the large photocurrent output, where the short-circuit current density can reach 10.5 mA/cm2 under 1 sun illumination. The synergistic effect of ferroelectric photovoltaic effect and interface barrier effect demonstrates that the multi-driving forces can achieve high dissociation efficiency for photon-generated carriers. The excellent photodetection performances open up new application of ferroelectric materials in broadband self-powered photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective method to eliminate grain boundary resistance of crystalline vanadoborate electrolyte was developed. This method involved the addition of glycerol to result in the formation of many hydrogen bonds between crystal grains, facilitating a rapid transfer of protons across grain boundaries. Using this method, the intrinsic conduction of vanadoborate electrolyte was fully reflected in its bulk materials, valuable for advancing our understanding of vanadoborate electrolytes and for promoting the application of these electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to understand the molecular mechanism of absorption and utilization of ammonium nitrogen in rice, the real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of all the 12 predicted ammonium trans- porter genes in rice after the treatment of nitrogen deficiency and nitrogen restoration. The results showed that all the ammonium transporter genes were expressed in the roots, stems and leaves of rice. AMT1.1 had the highest expression level in leaves, and its expression was affected by nitrogen deficiency and the types of nitrogen source. After the treatment of nitrogen deficiency, the expression in rice roots was all significantly down-regulated, the expression in most of the stems were down-regulated, a few were up-regulated or fluctuated, and the expression in most of the leaves were first up-regulated and then down. After restoring the nitrogen supply, the expression in most of the rice roots were significantly up-regulated, while the expression in stems and leaves were differentiated, partially up-regulated or first up-regulated and then down-regulated. This phenomenon was related to the overall ammonium transport pathway of rice nitrogen metabolism pathway. The absorption of ammonium was transported from roots to stems and then to leaves, and the metabolic exhaustion of ammonium was reversed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to investigate levels of cytokines/chemokines and immune checkpoint molecules in patients with anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1) encephalitis. Methods: The study recruited 12 patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis and six non-inflammatory controls from the Qilu Hospital of Shandong University treated between January 2019 and December 2020. Serum levels of 30 cytokines/chemokines and 10 checkpoint molecules were measured in participants of both the groups. Results: In contrast to those in the control group, 24 cytokines/chemokines and 5 immune checkpoint molecules were differentially expressed in patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis, with 14 cytokines being upregulated and 10 being downregulated. There were 1033 enriched biological processes and 61 enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes signaling pathways. Conclusion: A wide range of cytokines/chemokines and immune checkpoint molecules are implicated in immune regulation in anti-LGI1 encephalitis, indicating that they may serve as important targets in the development and treatment of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with some special additive noises driven stochastic partial differential equations with multiscale parameters. Then, the constraint energy minimizing generalized multiscale finite element method with a novel multiscale spectral representation of the noise is constructed to solve the multiscale models. The corresponding convergence analysis and error estimates are derived, and the effects of noises on the accuracy of the multiscale computation are demonstrated. Some numerical examples are provided to validate our theoretic analysis, and numerical results show the highly efficient computational performance of our method, which is a beneficial attempt to deal with the noises in the complex multiscale stochastic physical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probing children's understanding of science concepts has been a focus of research in science education since the 1980s. In the process of learning, learners often produce many conceptions that differ from established scientific knowledge, which are commonly labelled as alternative conceptions (ACs). Knowing these ACs, their prevalence, nature, strength, causes and its dynamic change in the learning process is very important for the formation of scientific conceptions. In order to better identify middle school students' ACs at different times in mainland china and analyse the differences between these ACs, taking the concept of 'the human blood circulatory system' as an example, this study constructed and validated two sets of Four-Tier Multiple-Choice tests (4TMC), and applied them to explore 501 seventh graders after they had learned the concept. The results show that the 4TMC can effectively explore not only the individual ACs but also the group ACs. In the first test, 1 week after learning human blood circulatory system, six ACs have been identified in this group. There are five ACs in the second test 6 months after learning this knowledge. Meanwhile, there is a significant difference between these ACs at different times. This research can provide examples for exploring students' ACs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify a biomarker that can predict the efficacy of rituximab (RTX) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods: Utilized weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and LASSO regression analysis of whole blood transcriptome data (GSE15316 and GSE37107) related to RTX treatment for RA from the GEO database, the critical modules, and key genes related to the efficacy of RTX treatment for RA were found. The biological functions were further explored through enrichment analysis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was validated using the GSE54629 dataset. Results: WGCNA screened 71 genes for a dark turquoise module that were correlated with the efficacy of RTX treatment for RA (r = 0.42, P < 0.05). Through the calculation of gene significance (GS) and module membership (MM), 12 important genes were identified; in addition, 21 important genes were screened by the LASSO regression model; two key genes were obtained from the intersection between the important genes. Then, BANK1 (AUC = 0.704, P < 0.05) was identified as a potential biomarker to predict the efficacy of RTX treatment for RA by ROC curve evaluation of the treatment and validation groups. BANK1 gene expression was significantly decreased after RTX treatment, and a statistically significant difference was found (log FC = − 2.08, P < 0.05). Immune cell infiltration analysis revealed that the infiltration of CD4 + T cell memory subset was increased in the group with high BANK1 expression, and a statistically significant difference was found (P < 0.05). Conclusions: BANK1 can be used as a potential biomarker to predict the response of RTX treatment in RA patients. Key Points • Identifying the hub genes BANK1 as a potential biomarker to predict the response of RTX treatment in RA patients and confirming it in validation data. • Using the WGCNA approach and LASSO analyses to identify the BANK1 in a data set consisting of two GEO data merged and assessing the correlations between BANK1 and immune infiltration by CIBERSORT algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize temperature and refractive index (RI) detection of the analyte in the same space–time, a dual parameter detection photonic crystal fiber (PCF) optical sensor is proposed in this paper. Meanwhile, it can effectively avoid the interference of analyte temperature with RI detection. Furthermore, a dual polished D-type structure is designed to provide mutually independent detection channels for temperature and RI, respectively. In addition, silver is used as the metal layer material, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) are used as the temperature-sensitive materials and RI-sensitive materials, respectively. This structure design enables the two detection results to be output in parallel without interfering with each other. The proposed optical fiber sensor has a wide detection range and good detection performance. The temperature detection range can be as wide as −60 to 100°C, and the RI detection range is 1.30–1.40. The best temperature resolution can be 1.42 × 10−2 RIU, and the temperature wavelength sensitivity is 0.7 nm/°C. While the RI wavelength sensitivity is up to 1.25 × 104 nm/RIU, and the wavelength resolution is 8 × 10−6 RIU. The detailed fabrication process of the sensor is given in this paper, as well as the practical application scenarios. Therefore, the optical fiber sensor proposed in this paper has research significance for the development of dual parameter detection optical fiber sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with placebo + antidepressants, esketamine + antidepressants significantly improved remission in patients with treatment-resistant depression (RR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.63, P < 0.0001) (Figure 5). All of them were conducted in the last 3 years, the treatment phase of the patients was a double-blind induction treatment period, and the patients were all treated with conventional antidepressants combined with esketamine or placebo. Efficacy and safety of fixed doses of intranasal esketamine as an add-on therapy to oral antidepressants in Japanese patients with treatment-resistant depression: a phase 2b randomized clinical study. Compared with the control group, esketamine + antidepressant significantly improved the response to antidepressants in patients with treatment-resistant depression (RR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.46, P = 0.0002) (Figure 4). [Extracted from the article]

In quantum optics, orbital angular momentum (OAM) is very promising to achieve high‐dimensional quantum states due to the nature of infinite and discrete eigenvalues, which is quantized by the topological charge of l. Here, a heralded single‐photon source with switchable OAM modes is proposed and demonstrated on silicon chip. At room temperature, the heralded single photons with 11 OAM modes (l = 2–6, −6 to −1) are successfully generated and switched through thermo‐optical effect. It is believed that such an integrated quantum source with multiple OAM modes and operating at room temperature can provide a practical platform for high‐dimensional quantum information processing. Moreover, this proposed architecture can also be extended to other material systems to further improve the performance of OAM quantum source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the zinc finger aspartate-histidine-histidine-cysteine (DHHC)-type containing 1 (ZDHHC1) gene was identified in a commercial fish, the Chinese perch Siniperca chuatsi. The ZDHHC1 has five putative transmembrane motifs and conserved DHHC domain, showing high amino-acid identity with other teleost fish, and vertebrate ZDHHC1 loci are conserved from fish to human. In vivo expression analysis indicated that ZDHHC1 gene was constitutively transcribed in all the examined organs/tissues, and was induced following infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) infection. It is further observed that ZDHHC1 interacts with MITA and the overexpression of ZDHHC1 in cells resulted in the upregulated expression of ISGs, such as Mx, RSAD2, IRF3 and type I IFNs such as IFNh and IFNc, exhibiting its antiviral function in fish as reported in mammals. • A zinc finger aspartate-histidine-histidine-cysteine (DHHC)-type containing 1, ZDHHC1 gene was cloned in Chinese perch. • Constitutive and DNA-virus induced expression of ZDHHC1 was observed in vivo. • Overexpression of ZDHHC1 resulted in upregulation of ISGs and type I IFNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A flexible N-doped carbon nanofiber membrane loaded with Nb and Ni nanoparticles (Nb/Ni@NC) was prepared using electrospinning technology and a subsequent thermal annealing method and used as a self-supporting anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The Nb/Ni@NC nanofiber membrane had excellent flexibility and could be folded and bent at will without fragmentation and wrinkling; the nanofibers also had a uniform and controllable morphology with a diameter of 300–400 nm. The electrochemical results showed that the flexible Nb/Ni@NC electrode could deliver a high discharge capacity of 378.7 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 and an initial coulombic efficiency of 67.7%, which was higher than that of the pure flexible NC anode in contrast. Moreover, a reversible discharge capacity of 203.6 mAh g−1 after 480 cycles at 1.0 A g−1 was achieved by the flexible Nb/Ni@NC electrode with a capacity decay for each cycle of only 0.075%, which showed an excellent rate capability and cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaempferol, a natural plant flavonoid compound, has a neuroprotective effect on ischemic stroke, while the specific mechanism remains unclear. In the current study, we applied the comprehensive strategy that combines network pharmacology and experimental evaluation to explore the potential mechanism of kaempferol in the treatment of cerebral ischemia. First, network pharmacology analysis identified the biological process of kaempferol, suggesting that kaempferol may partly help in treating ischemic stroke by regulating apoptosis and inflammatory response. Then, we evaluated the efficacy of kaempferol in the acute stage of ischemic stroke and elucidated its effects and possible mechanisms on cell apoptosis and neuroinflammation involved by neutrophils. The results showed that kaempferol could significantly reduce the modified neurological severity score (mNSS), and reduce the volume of cerebral infarction and the degree of cerebral edema. In terms of anti-apoptosis, kaempferol could significantly reduce the number of TUNEL-positive cells, inhibit the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins and promote the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins. Kaempferol may play an anti-apoptotic role by up-regulating the expression level of the BDNF-TrkB-PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In addition, we found that kaempferol inhibited neuron loss and the activation of glial cells, as well as the expression level of the inflammatory protein COX-2 and the classic pro-inflammatory signaling pathway TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB in the ischemic brain, reduced MPO activity and neutrophil counts in peripheral blood, and down-regulated neutrophil aggregation and infiltration in the ischemic brain. Western blot revealed that kaempferol down-regulated the activation of the JAK1/STAT3 signaling pathway in neutrophils and ischemic brains. Our study showed that kaempferol inhibited the activation and number of neutrophils in the rat peripheral blood and brain, which may be related to the down-regulation of the JAK1/STAT3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve simultaneous detection of dual refractive index (RI), an asymmetric dual RI D-type photonic crystal fiber (PCF) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is proposed. The PCF sensor adopts titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zirconium oxide (ZrO2) as the dielectric layer materials on both sides to form an asymmetric structure, achieving simultaneous detection of both analytes. The use of silver can promote the excitation of surface plasmons and enhance the detection sensitivity of the optical fiber sensor. Furthermore, the wavelength sensitivity of the dual channel reaches 11,200 nm/RIU and 14,300 nm/RIU with the RI range of 1.33–1.40. Meanwhile, according to its practical application, a detailed equipment construction process is designed. This PCF sensor is proposed to provide a new method for the simultaneous detection of dual RI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research on nutrition in early-life commonly focuses on the maturation of the intestine because the intestinal system is crucial for ensuring continued growth. To explore the importance of early nutrition regulation in animals, soy protein concentrate (SPC) was added to the early diet of broilers to investigate its effects on amino acid digestibility, intestinal development, especially intestinal microorganisms, and broiler metabolites. A total of 192 one-day-old Arbor Acres (AA) male broilers were randomly assigned to two experimental treatments with 8 replicates of 12 birds. The control group was fed a basal diet (control), and the treatment group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 12% SPC (SPC12) during the first 10 d (starter phase). From d 11 to 21 (grower phase) and d 22 to 42 (finisher phase), a basal diet was fed to both treatment groups. Results: SPC reduced the pH value and acid-binding capacity of the starter diet (P < 0.05, d 10); SPC in the early diet enhanced the gizzard weight (P < 0.05, d 10 and d 42) and the ileum weight (P < 0.05, d 10) and decreased the weight and length of the jejunum (P < 0.05, d 10) and the relative length of the duodenum and jejunum (P < 0.05, d 10). At the same time, SPC enhanced villus height (P < 0.05, d 10) and muscle thickness in the jejunum and ileum (P < 0.05, d 10) and increased the number of goblet cells in the duodenum (P < 0.05, d 10). Meanwhile, SPC increased the Chao1 index and the ACE index (P < 0.05, d 10) and altered the composition of caecal microflora at d 10. SPC also increased the relative abundance of Alistipes, Anaerotruncus, Erysipelatoclostridium, Intestinimonas and Flavonifractor bacteria (P < 0.05, d 10). At the same time, the concentrations of caecal butyric acid and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were also increased in the SPC12 group (P < 0.05, d 10). Conclusions: In summary, the results showed that supplementing the starter diet of broilers with SPC has a significant effect on the early development of the intestine and the microflora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multiclass determination of antibiotic residues in the soil is challenging because of its complex physicochemical properties. In this study, a simple analytical method was developed to simultaneously extract and determine 58 antibiotics from the soil. A novel acidity-regulated extraction-partition-concentration protocol was established for the simultaneous extraction of five classes (23 sulfonamides, 18 quinolones, five tetracyclines, eight macrolides, and four chloramphenicols) of antibiotics from the soil. Compared to traditional methods, the sample preparation efficiency was significantly improved by four times (45 min vs. 230 min) by optimizing the extraction method and omitting the time-consuming solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure. The ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was optimized to determine the 58 antibiotics in a single run by applying positive/negative switching acquisition mode in less than 10 min with the baseline separation of sulfameter and sulfamethoxypyridazine. Suitable recoveries, ranging between 60 and 120%, were obtained for most antibiotics, with RSD <20%. The limits of quantification (LOQ) of the method were 2 μg/kg and 5 μg/kg. Thus, this study provides a simple, reliable, and economical method for accurately and rapidly determining a multiclass of antibiotics in the soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tree peony (Paeonia ostii 'Feng Dan Bai') has excellent drought tolerance. Although it has already been reported that the cuticle is an essential barrier against drought stress, the critical genes for cuticle resistance to drought remain unclear. However, the long-chain acyl-CoA synthetases (LACS) family of genes may be significant for the synthesis of cuticle wax. To test whether the LACS gene family is involved in cuticle response to drought stress in tree peony, we measure the thickness of cuticle stems and leaves alongside LACS enzyme activity. It is found that the cuticle thickens and the LACS enzyme increases with the maturation of stems and leaves, and there is a positive correlation between them. The LACS enzyme increases within 12 h under drought stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG). The transcriptome sequencing result (BioProject accession number PRJNA317164) is searched for, and a LACS gene with high expression is cloned. This gene has high homology and similarity with LACS4 from Arabidopsis thaliana. The gene is named PoLACS4. It is show to be highly expressed in mature leaves and peaks within 1 h under drought and salt stresses. All these results suggest that the LACS family of genes may be involved in cuticle response to drought stress and that PoLACS4 is a crucial gene which responds rapidly to drought in the tree peony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of Bose–Einstein condensates in a one-dimensional ring optical lattice is related to the interplay of the open system conditions and the initial atomic distribution. The circulation evaluation model based on the relative atomic density on each site is established to analyze the circulation strength under low dissipation. The direction of the circulation due to the symmetry breaking can be manipulated by changing the primary atomic distribution and the number of lattice sites. The effect of the atomic interaction on the atom flow in the optical ring lattice is analyzed to maintain the current interval rotation behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) have substantially extended our understanding of microbial functionality. However, 16S rRNA genes, which are commonly used in phylogenetic analysis and environmental surveys, are often missing from MAGs. Here, we developed MarkerMAG, a pipeline that links 16S rRNA genes to MAGs using paired-end sequencing reads. Results Assessment of MarkerMAG on three benchmarking metagenomic datasets with various degrees of complexity shows substantial increases in the number of MAGs with 16S rRNA genes and a 100% assignment accuracy. MarkerMAG also estimates the copy number of 16S rRNA genes in MAGs with high accuracy. Assessments on three real metagenomic datasets demonstrate 1.1- to 14.2-fold increases in the number of MAGs with 16S rRNA genes. We also show that MarkerMAG-improved MAGs increase the accuracy of functional prediction from 16S rRNA gene amplicon data. MarkerMAG is helpful in connecting information in MAG databases with those in 16S rRNA databases and surveys and hence contributes to our increasing understanding of microbial diversity, function and phylogeny. Availability and implementation MarkerMAG is implemented in Python3 and freely available at https://github.com/songweizhi/MarkerMAG. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]