Search

Background: Esophageal cancer (EC), a common and fatal disease, includes two histological subtypes; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (ECA). To aid policymakers in the allocation of resources for the prevention and treatment of EC, updated data on EC deaths and disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high body mass index (BMI) are necessary. The objective of this study was to identify trends in EC associated with high BMI between 1990 and 2019 using 2019 Global Burden of Disease data. Methods: In this observational population‐based study, epidemiological data on the association between high BMI and EC were obtained from GBD 2019. The age‐standardized mortality rate (ASMRs) and disability‐adjusted life year rate (ASDRs) attributable to high BMI‐related EC were stratified by year, age, country, and sociodemographic index (SDI). The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to evaluate the temporal trends of the ASMRs and ASDRs between 1990 and 2019. Results: In 2019, the proportion of EC deaths and DALYs attributed to high BMI was 18.1% and 18.9%, respectively, resulting in 89 904 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27 879–171 255) deaths and 2 202 314 (95% CI: 681 901–4 173 080) DALYs. High BMI‐related deaths and DALYs showed a strong upward trend, increasing by more than two‐fold since 1990. East Asia and Western Europe showed the highest risk of EC mortality and DALYs attributable to high BMI; China and the USA bear the greatest burden. The ASMR and ASDR increased in five SDI regions. Conclusions: The incidence of EC is increasing, particularly in developing nations, which may be attributed to the prevalence of high BMI. To mitigate the impact of high BMI on the incidence of EC, it is important to increase awareness of its deleterious effects, which may alleviate the burden of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent progress on the temporal response (TR) of lanthanide‐doped upconversion luminescence (UCL) has enriched the means of UCL regulation, promoted advanced designs for customized applications such as biological diagnosis, high‐capacity optical coding, and dynamic optical anti‐counterfeiting, and pushed us to reacquaint the dynamic responses of sensitizer/activator ions in UCL systems. In particular, the lifetime of UCL should be revisited after discovery of novel experimental phenomena and luminescence mechanisms, i. e. it should be understood as the collective TR (in the decay edge) of all the involved ions rather than the reciprocal of the radiative rate of an individual ion. In this Concept, we retraced the latest understanding of the dynamics in UCL with special attention to the relationship between excitation and emission, means of TR regulation, and discussed existing challenges. It is expected to provide some fundamental insights to deepened understanding, further regulation, and frontier applications of TR features of UCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To investigate the mechanism of perilipin 2 (PLIN2) increasing lipid accumulation in macrophages. Methods The experiments were divided into oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) group, different PLIN2 expression groups, and different activity Rab18 groups, the levels of Rab18 and acyl-CoA long chain synthetase 3 (ACSL3) protein in high expression and silent expression of PLIN2 macrophages were measured, and the levels of PLIN2, Rab18, and ACSL3 protein expression in high expression PLIN2 macrophages with different activity Rab18 were measured. Western blot was used to detect protein expression levels, immunofluorescence was used to observe the localization of intracellular related proteins, and oil red O staining was used to observe intracellular lipid accumulation. Results The expression levels of Rab18 and ACSL3 in cells with high expression of PLIN2 were increased significantly (P<0. 05), and there was an intracellular phenomenon of co-localization of PLIN2 with Rab18 and ACSL3. The expression level of ACSL3 in high expression macrophages of PLIN2 after transfection with the Rab18 dominant mutant Q67L plasmid (Rab18 activity increased) was increased significantly (P<0. 05), and the number of intracellular lipid droplets was also increased significantly (P < 0. 05). Conclusion PLIN2 promotes macrophage lipid accumulation through Rab18 by up-regulating ACSL3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten carbide particles reinforced metal matrix composite (MMC) coatings can significantly improve surface wear resistance owing to their increased surface hardness. However, the presence of macro‐ and micro‐residual stresses in MMC coatings can have detrimental effects, such as reducing service life. In this study, neutron diffraction was used to determine the residual stresses in spherical fused tungsten carbide (sFTC) reinforced Cu matrix composite surface deposits after laser melt injection. We also developed a thermo‐mechanical coupled finite element model to predict residual stresses. Our findings reveal that sFTC/Cu composite deposits produced with a preheating temperature of 400°C have low residual stresses, with a maximum tensile residual stress of 98 MPa in the Cu matrix on the top surface. In contrast, the sFTC/bronze (CuAl10Ni5Fe4) composite deposit exhibits very high residual stresses, with a maximum tensile residual stress in the Cu matrix on the top surface reaching 651 MPa. These results provide a better understanding of the magnitudes and distributions of residual stresses in sFTC‐reinforced Cu matrix composite surface deposits manufactured via laser melt injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic‐level structural editing is a promising way for facile synthesis and accurately constructing dielectric/magnetic synergistic attenuated hetero‐units in electromagnetic wave absorbers (EWAs), but it is hard to realize. Herein, utilizing the rapid explosive volume expansion of the CoFe‐bimetallic energetic metallic triazole framework (CoFe@E‐MTF) during the heat treatment, the effective absorption bandwidth and the maximum absorption intensity of a series of atomic CoFe‐inserted hierarchical porous carbon (CoFe@HPC) EWAs can be modified under the diverse synthetic temperature. Under the filler loading of 15 wt%, the fully covered X and Ku bands at 3 and 2.5 mm for CoFe@HPC800 and the superb minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −53.15 dB and specific reflection loss (SRL) of −101.24 dB mg−1 mm−1 for CoFe@HPC1000 are achieved. More importantly, the single‐atomic chemical bonding among Co─Fe on the nanopores is captured by extended X‐ray absorption fine structure, which reveals the formation mechanism of nanopore‐confined vortical dipoles and magnetic domains. This work heralds the infinite possibilities of atomic editing EWA in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuing high power density lithium metal battery with high safety is essential for developing next‐generation energy‐storage devices, but uncontrollable electrolyte degradation and the consequence formed unstable solid‐electrolyte interface (SEI) make the task really challenging. Herein, an ionic liquid (IL) confined MOF/Polymer 3D‐porous membrane was constructed for boosting in situ electrochemical transformations of Janus‐heterarchical LiF/Li3N‐rich SEI films on the nanofibers. Such a 3D‐Janus SEI‐incorporated into the separator offers fast Li+ transport routes, showing superior room‐temperature ionic conductivity of 8.17×10−4 S cm−1 and Li+ transfer number of 0.82. The cryo‐TEM was employed to visually monitor the in situ formed LiF and Li3N nanocrystals in SEI and the deposition of Li dendrites, which is greatly benefit to the theoretical simulation and kinetic analysis of the structural evolution during the battery charge and discharge process. In particular, this membrane with high thermal stability and mechanical strength used in solid‐state Li||LiFePO4 and Li||NCM‐811 full cells and even in pouch cells showed enhanced rate‐performance and ultra‐long life spans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuing high power density lithium metal battery with high safety is essential for developing next‐generation energy‐storage devices, but uncontrollable electrolyte degradation and the consequence formed unstable solid‐electrolyte interface (SEI) make the task really challenging. Herein, an ionic liquid (IL) confined MOF/Polymer 3D‐porous membrane was constructed for boosting in situ electrochemical transformations of Janus‐heterarchical LiF/Li3N‐rich SEI films on the nanofibers. Such a 3D‐Janus SEI‐incorporated into the separator offers fast Li+ transport routes, showing superior room‐temperature ionic conductivity of 8.17×10−4 S cm−1 and Li+ transfer number of 0.82. The cryo‐TEM was employed to visually monitor the in situ formed LiF and Li3N nanocrystals in SEI and the deposition of Li dendrites, which is greatly benefit to the theoretical simulation and kinetic analysis of the structural evolution during the battery charge and discharge process. In particular, this membrane with high thermal stability and mechanical strength used in solid‐state Li||LiFePO4 and Li||NCM‐811 full cells and even in pouch cells showed enhanced rate‐performance and ultra‐long life spans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of using lubricating oil, it is inevitable that bubbles will be produced, which can not only accelerate the oil's oxidation and shorten the oil change cycle but also reduce its fluidity and lubricity, aggravate the wear of mechanical parts and produce an air lock that interrupts the oil pump supply and causes an oil shortage accident. This paper mainly and comprehensively discusses the foaming process and its harm, the defoaming mechanism and defoaming method of lubricating oil, more specifically, the synthesis, application, advantages, disadvantages and current situation of three kinds of chemical defoaming agents, namely silicone defoaming agent, non-silicone defoaming agent and compound defoaming agent. Finally, the paper looks forward to the future development of special defoaming agents for lubricating oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new inorganic-organic hybrid crystals based on PbI2 were assembled through the solvent evaporation method, namely, {[L1]·[Pb2I6]}n (1) and {[L2]2·[Pb3I10]}n (2). L1-L2 are a series of multivalent nitrogen-containing cationic ligands. Compounds 1–2 were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, FT-IR, powder X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric microanalysis. The results showed that the adsorption rate of 80 mg compound 1 to iodine reached 96.59%, indicating a high iodine capture performance in cyclohexane solution. In the meantime, the adsorption kinetics is most suitable for a pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption process is mainly chemisorption. Adsorption thermodynamics is most suitable for the Langmuir model, indicating that adsorption occurs on the surface of the monolayer. According to the adsorption mechanism, it can be inferred that the structure of compound 1 contains amino, benzene, N heterocyclic, and other active groups, that is, indirectly increases the adsorption site with iodine, and the chemical reaction with iodine improves the removal rate of iodine in cyclohexane solution. In addition, compound 1 was found to have good iodine adsorption and recyclability by cyclic experiments. Therefore, the synthesized compound 1 can be used as a potential and excellent iodide capture adsorbent, which may have a good application prospects in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite radar altimetry has been widely utilized in hydrological research, particularly with the advent of Sentinel-3, a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) altimeter operating globally and equipped with an innovative onboard tracking system referred to as the open-loop tracking command (OLTC). Utilizing a pseudo-DEM (Digital Elevation Model), controlled through the OLTC, holds significant promise for the reliable observation of inland water bodies. Nevertheless, the complex geographical conditions in high mountain and reservoir river basins pose challenges in defining an appropriate pseudo-DEM for hydrological targets, potentially leading to reduced performance of Sentinel-3. This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the performance of Sentinel-3 by selecting the Lancang and Nu River basins in southwest China as a case study. These two rivers have a similar natural environment, but cascade reservoirs distinguish the Lancang River basin. By analyzing waveform energy from echoes of virtual stations (VSs) in both river basins (27 VSs in the Lancang River basin and 39 VSs in the Nu River basin), the performance of Sentinel-3 in different tracking modes and OLTC versions were compared. The results indicated that the detection rate of Sentinel-3A increased when transitioning from the closed-loop mode to the open-loop mode and with the implementation of newer OLTC versions (36.8% increased to 47.4%, 60.5%, and 63.2% in OLTC V5.0, V6.0, and V6.1, respectively). Similarly, the detection rate of Sentinel-3B rose from 64.3% (OLTC V2.0) to 71.4% and 75.0% in OLTC V3.0 and V3.1, respectively. Additionally, the cascade reservoir causing river channel expansion results in a better performance of Sentinel-3A in the Lancang River compared to the Nu River in the closed-loop mode (13.0% and 35.7%, respectively). Nevertheless, the considerable fluctuations in water surface caused by reservoir impoundment led to a wrong pseudo-DEM, resulting in poor performance of Sentinel-3 in reservoir regions before OLTC V6.0 was updated. The detection rate of low altitude, broad water surfaces (>500 m) decreased from 100% in a closed-loop mode to 0% in an open-loop mode, but increased to 100% in OLTC V6.0 and V6.1, respectively. The detection rate of high altitude, narrow water surfaces (<500 m) increased from 0% in a closed-loop mode to 40.9% in OLTC V6.1. Although the detection ability of Sentinel-3 is improving with the implementation of newer OLTC versions, the seasonal variations (usually more than 60 m) of water levels in reservoirs exceeded the size of the range window (60 m), rendering a complete measurement impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and heavy reservoir regulation in the lower Lancang River basin (LLRB) have caused significant impacts on terrestrial water storage (TWS) in several ways, including changes in surface water storage (SWS), soil moisture storage (SMS), and groundwater storage (GWS). Understanding these impacts is crucial for promoting comprehensive cooperation in managing and utilizing water resources within the basin. This study utilized multi-mission Earth observation (EO) datasets, i.e., gravimetry (GRACE/-FO), altimetry (Jason-2, Sentinel-3, and Cryosat-2), imagery (Sentinel-1/2), and microwave sensors (IMERG), as well as gauged meteorological, hydrological data and reanalysis products, to investigate the spatial-temporal variation of water resources in the LLRB. The study shows that the fluctuations in precipitation and the construction of reservoirs are the primary drivers of changes in the TWS anomaly (TWSA) in the region. Precipitation decreased significantly from 2010 to 2019 (−34.68 cm/yr), but the TWSA showed a significant increase (8.96 cm/yr) due to enhanced water storage capacity in the Xiaowan and Nuozhadu reservoirs. SWS and GWS were also analyzed, with SWS showing a decrease (−5.48 cm/yr) from 2010 to 2019 due to declining precipitation and increasing evaporation. GWS exhibited a steady rise (9.73 cm/yr) due to the maintenance of groundwater levels by the reservoirs. This study provides valuable insights into the potential of EO data for monitoring water resources at a regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) related non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on influenza activity in the presence of other known seasonal driving factors is unclear, especially at the municipal scale. This study aimed to assess the impact of NPIs on outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI) consultations in Beijing and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. Methods: We descriptively analyzed the temporal characteristics of the weekly ILI counts, nine NPI indicators, mean temperature, relative humidity, and absolute humidity from 2011 to 2021. Generalized additive models (GAM) using data in 2011–2019 were established to predict the weekly ILI counts under a counterfactual scenario of no COVID-19 interventions in Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR in 2020–2021, respectively. GAM models were further built to evaluate the potential impact of each individual or combined NPIs on weekly ILI counts in the presence of other seasonal driving factors in the above settings in 2020–2021. Results: The weekly ILI counts in Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR fluctuated across years and months in 2011–2019, with an obvious winter-spring seasonality in Beijing. During the 2020–2021 season, the observed weekly ILI counts in both Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR were much lower than those of the past 9 flu seasons, with a 47.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 42.3%, 52.2%) and 60.0% (95% CI: 58.6%, 61.1%) reduction, respectively. The observed numbers for these two cities also accounted for only 40.2% (95% CI: 35.4%, 45.3%) and 58.0% (95% CI: 54.1%, 61.5%) of the GAM model estimates in the absence of COVID-19 NPIs, respectively. Our study revealed that, "Cancelling public events" and "Restrictions on internal travel" measures played an important role in the reduction of ILI in Beijing, while the "restrictions on international travel" was statistically most associated with ILI reductions in the Hong Kong SAR. Conclusions: Our study suggests that COVID-19 NPIs had been reducing outpatient ILI consultations in the presence of other seasonal driving factors in Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR from 2020 to 2021. In cities with varying local circumstances, some NPIs with appropriate stringency may be tailored to reduce the burden of ILI caused by severe influenza strains or other respiratory infections in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imidacloprid (IMI) protects crops from pests; however, its potential toxicity to plants and underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. We investigated the effects of IMI on maize seedlings under different nitrogen sufficiency conditions. Our measurement of the maize seedlings' growth traits and physiological indicators found that a 5 ppm IMI treatment stunted the maize's growth and enhanced membrane lipid peroxidation under a nitrogen-supplied condition, but that it promoted an increase in biomass and alleviated chlorosis in maize shoots under nitrogen deficiency. These results suggest that IMI causes serious toxicity in maize seedlings under nitrogen-sufficient conditions. The content of IMI indicated that the leaf was the main site of IMI accumulation in maize, and that NO3− was beneficial for the transportation of IMI from the roots to the leaves. The three groups of seedlings, which received 0 (−N), 4 (N) or 10 mmol L−1 NO3− (NN), were either treated or not treated with 5 ppm IMI. The six sets of transcriptome profiles from the shoots and roots were compared using Illumina sequencing. Transcriptome analysis revealed that IMI treatment led to changes in the expression of the genes involved in multiple biological processes, including nitrate transporter, nitrogen assimilation, nitrogen-regulatory factors, detoxification-related genes and several antioxidant-related genes in maize roots. The above results and the data for the nitrate content, glutamine synthetase activities and nitrate reductase activities showed that IMI disturbed nitrogen absorption and metabolism in maize seedlings. Glutathione S-transferase genes, C-type ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter 4, anthocyanins and lignin may play an important role in the detoxification of IMI in maize. These findings have helped us to elaborate the underlying detoxification mechanisms of IMI in plants, which is highly important in the cultivation of anti-pesticide crop varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Few studies have specifically observed the relationship of sarcopenia, visceral obesity, or their joint effects with lean NAFLD in patients with diabetes. We aimed to investigate the associations of lean NAFLD with sarcopenia, visceral obesity, and sarcopenic visceral obesity (SV) in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods. Altogether, 1,112 T2DM patients with BMI <25 kg/m2 were enrolled, and 33.18% of them were diagnosed with lean NAFLD by abdominal ultrasonography. Body composition markers were measured by bioelectrical impedance (BIA). Skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated as appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) divided by weight, and sarcopenia was defined as SMI < 1 standard deviation SD below the sex-specific average for a young reference population. Visceral obesity was defined as visceral fat area VFA ≥ 100 c m 2 . Participants were categorized into one of the four body composition groups: nonsarcopenia/nonvisceral obesity (NN), nonsarcopenia/visceral obesity (NV), sarcopenia/nonvisceral obesity (SN), and SV. Results. Compared to those in the NN group, patients in the NV and SN groups had a higher risk of lean NAFLD after full adjustments (NV: OR = 1.74 ; 95% CI: 1.09, 2.78; SN: OR =2.07; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.46). Of note, patients in the SV group had the highest odds of lean NAFLD (OR = 3.29 ; 95% CI: 2.10, 5.17). There were no significant interaction effects between sarcopenia and metabolic risk factors on prevalent lean NAFLD. Conclusions. The current study demonstrated that SV was more closely associated with higher prevalent lean NAFLD than sarcopenia or visceral obesity alone in Chinese patients with T2DM. Besides, the harmful effect of sarcopenia on lean NAFLD was not influenced by visceral obesity or other metabolic risk factors. We hypothesize that increasing skeletal muscle mass more than just reducing visceral fat might be more optimal for the prevention and management of lean NAFLD, which needs further investigation in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rhodium‐catalyzed oxidative cross coupling/annulation of indole carboxylic acids with unsymmetric internal trifluoromethylated alkynes was accomplished, which enabled direct access to diverse trifluoromethylated indolopyranones, by combining indole, pyranone and trifluoromethyl, three valid pharmacophores, into one molecule. Diverse indole‐3‐carboxylic acids and indole‐2‐carboxylic acids were proved to be suitable reaction partners. Excellent regioselectivity was dominated by electron difference of unsymmetric alkynes. Moderate to good yields, high efficiency and atom economy were achieved for a broad substrate scope with high functional group tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Quality of care in colonoscopy is closely related to colonoscopy participants and the nursing workforce in endoscopy-related settings. However, limited data are available on the evaluations and recommendations regarding quality indicators for nursing care by these two groups. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the standards and requirements of quality of care in colonoscopy from the perspectives of patients and nurses.Method: With a descriptive qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted between November 2021 and January 2022 with colonoscopy participants (P = 11) and nursing workforce (N = 7) in the endoscopy unit in a tertiary hospital. The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis.Results: Nine major themes emerged according to the structure, process, and outcome care quality model: workforce structure, quality requirements, unit facilities, nursing tools, nursing quality control systems, dynamic assessment and intervention, pre-examination care, strengthening education, and colonoscopy outcomes.Conclusion: The indicator of quality of colonoscopy care should be used to assess and improve current practices to ensure a more direct and sustained impact of colonoscopy care. This study highlights the importance of nurse managers valuing the opinions and reflections of people involved in colonoscopy to improve the quality of colonoscopy care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human identification is an important topic in event detection, person tracking, and public security. There have been numerous methods proposed for human identification, such as face identification, person re-identification, and gait identification. Typically, existing methods predominantly classify a queried image to a specific identity in an image gallery set (I2I). This is seriously limited for the scenario where only a textual description of the query or an attribute gallery set is available in a wide range of video surveillance applications (A2I or I2A). However, very few efforts have been devoted towards modality-free identification, i.e., identifying a query in a gallery set in a scalable way. In this work, we take an initial attempt, and formulate such a novel Modality-Free Human Identification (named MFHI) task as a generic zero-shot learning model in a scalable way. Meanwhile, it is capable of bridging the visual and semantic modalities by learning a discriminative prototype of each identity. In addition, the semantics-guided spatial attention is enforced on visual modality to obtain interpretable representations with both high global category-level and local attribute-level discrimination. Finally, we design and conduct an extensive group of experiments on two common challenging identification tasks, including face identification and person re-identification, demonstrating that our method outperforms a wide variety of state-of-the-art methods on modality-free human identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport behavior of potassium ions through carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under the effect of moving surface charges is studied by using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and the Monte Carlo method. Two motion patterns of the surface charges, axial translation and radial vibration, are investigated. We found that when the surface charge is translated in the axial direction, there is an optimal translation velocity to maximize the particle flow density (PFD ), and the specific value of this optimal translation velocity is related to the surface charge period and the charge amount. When the surface charge vibrates in the radial direction, the PFD under the negative charge presents a step-type-decrease trend with an increase of the vibration frequency, and the trend is independent from the charge amount and the vibrating period. Our results provide new ideas for nanoscale transport devices and also provide possible insights into the transport mechanisms of biological ion channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qifu decoction (QFD) is an ancient traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription for the treatment of heart failure. However, the mechanisms and active constituents of QFD are poorly understood. In this study, multi-matrices metabolomics (serum, urine, and myocardial mitochondria) based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOFMS), were employed for exploring the mechanisms of QFD against heart failure in rat model. Twenty-one, seventeen, and fifteen endogenous metabolite biomarkers associated with heart failure were identified from serum, urine, and myocardial mitochondria datasets, respectively. Fourteen, twelve, and ten of the identified serum, urine, and mitochondria biomarkers were significantly reversed by QFD, respectively. QFD-targeted pathways were involved in TCA cycle, branched chain amino acids metabolism, fatty acid β-oxidation, sphingolipid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, purine metabolism. In addition, QFD-derived constituents in serum were fully analyzed by UHPLC-Q-TOFMS and SUS-plot, and 24 QFD-derived components were identified in serum. Then, the correlation analysis between the QFD-reversed serum biomarkers and QFD-derived constituents in serum was employed to dissect the active constituents of QFD. It was found that eight prototypical components and three metabolites were highly correlated with efficacy and could serve as the active constituents of QFD against heart failure. Finally, neoline and calycosin, which highly correlated with branched-chain amino acid metabolism and fatty acid β-oxidation, were selected to validate in Na 2 S 2 O 4 -induced cell model. It was found that neoline and calycosin provided a significant protective effect against Na 2 S 2 O 4 -induced cell death in a low dose-dependent manner and increased the expressions of the pathway-related protein CPT1B and BCAT2 in the cell model. In conclusions, these findings provided light on the mechanisms and active constituents of QFD against heart failure. Neoline and calycosin could be selected as potential quality-markers of QFD against heart failure. [Display omitted] • Multiple-matrices metabolomics revealed the mechanism of QFD against heart failure. • SUS-plot was used to identify the exogenous QFD-derived constituents in serum. • The active constituents of QFD against heart failure were identified by Chinmedomics. • Neoline and calycosin was identified as Q-markers of QFD against heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: BOLD signals in the gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) are tightly coupled. However, our understanding of the cross-tissue functional network in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is limited.Objective: We investigated the changes of cross-tissue functional connectivity (FC) metrics for the GM regions susceptible to AD damage.Methods: For each GM region in the default mode (DMN) and limbic networks, we obtained its low-order static FC with any WM region, and the high-order static FC between any two WM regions based on their FC pattern similarity with multiple GM regions. The dynamic and directional properties of cross-tissue FC were then acquired, specifically for the regional pairs whose low- or high-order static FCs showed significant differences between AD and normal control (NC). Moreover, these cross-tissue FC metrics were correlated with voxel-based GM volumes and MMSE in all participants.Results: Compared to NC, AD patients showed decreased low-order static FCs between the intra-hemispheric GM-WM pairs (right ITG-right fornix; left MoFG-left posterior corona radiata), and increased low-order static, dynamic, and directional FCs between the inter-hemispheric GM-WM pairs (right MTG-left superior/posterior corona radiata). The high-order static and directional FCs between the left cingulate bundle-left tapetum were increased in AD, based on their FCs with the GMs of DMN. Those decreased and increased cross-tissue FC metrics in AD had opposite correlations with memory-related GM volumes and MMSE (positive for the decreased and negative for the increased).Conclusion: Cross-tissue FC metrics showed opposite changes in AD, possibly as useful neuroimaging biomarkers to reflect neurodegenerative and compensatory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important perceptual characteristic of the Human Visual System (HVS), the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) has been studied for decades with image and video processing (e.g., perceptual visual signal compression). However, there is little exploration on the existence of JND for the Deep Machine Vision (DMV), although the DMV has made great strides in many machine vision tasks. In this paper, we take an initial attempt, and demonstrate that the DMV has the JND, termed as the DMV-JND. We then propose a JND model for the image classification task in the DMV. It has been discovered that the DMV can tolerate distorted images with average PSNR of only 9.56dB (the lower the better), by generating JND via unsupervised learning with the proposed DMV-JND-NET. In particular, a semantic-guided redundancy assessment strategy is designed to restrain the magnitude and spatial distribution of the DMV-JND. Experimental results on image classification demonstrate that we successfully find the JND for deep machine vision. Our DMV-JND facilitates a possible direction for DMV-oriented image and video compression, watermarking, quality assessment, deep neural network security, and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The lung's protective effect of APs was demonstrated through aerosolization. • It is evident that APs exhibit high efficacy in combating inflammation. • The anti-inflammatory properties of APs were achieved through inhibition of inflammation and oxidative stress. Sepsis-associated acute lung injury (ALI) poses a significant threat, characterized by inflammation and oxidative damage. Effective drugs targeting these aspects with reliable drug delivery systems are vital for ALI management. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of algal polysaccharides (APs) with aerosolized drug delivery in ALI mice and clarify the underlying mechanism. To induce the sepsis-associated acute lung injury (ALI) model, mice were administered intraperitoneal injections of 10 mg/kg LPS for 48 h in vivo. ALI mice received APs via atomization to arrive at different sites within the lungs. Lung tissue samples and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected to access lung injury parameters. Concurrently, western blotting, H&E staining, and immunofluorescence (IF) were applied to investigate the specific impact of APs on ALI. The results showed that APs protect lung tissue against ALI by inhibiting inflammation and mitigating oxidative stress-induced damage. This study highlights promising avenues for ALI intervention using natural compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimization of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and potential pathogenic antibiotic-resistant bacteria (PARB) during anaerobic digestion (AD) is significantly impacted by temperature. However, knowledge on how ARGs and PARB respond to temperature transition from thermophilic to mesophilic is limited. Here, we combined metagenomic-based with culture-based approaches and revealed the risks of antimicrobial resistance and pathogenicity during transition from 55 °C to 35 °C for AD, with strategies of sharp (ST, one-step by 20 °C/d) and mild (MT, step-wise by 1 °C/d). Results indicated a lower decrease in methane production with MT (by 38.9%) than ST (by 88.8%). Phenotypic assays characterized a significant propagation of multi-resistant lactose-fermenting Enterobacteriaceae and indicator pathogens after both transitions, especially via ST. Further genomic evidence indicated a significant increase of ARGs (29.4-fold), virulence factor genes (1.8-fold) and PARB (65.3-fold) after ST, while slight enrichment via MT. Bacterial succession and enhanced horizontal transfer mediated by mobile genetic elements promoted ARG propagation in AD during transition, which was synchronously exacerbated through horizontal transfer mechanisms mediated by cellular physiological responses (oxidative stress, membrane permeability, bacterial conjugation and transformation) and co-selection mechanisms of biomethanation metabolic functions (acidogenesis and acetogenesis). This study reveals temperature-dependent resistome and pathogenicity development in AD, facilitating microbial risk control. [Display omitted] • ARG abundance was enriched after temperature transition especially via ST strategy. • Enrichment of VFG abundance and its pathogenic hosts enhanced pathogenicity risks. • Bacterial succession and enhanced HGT mediated by MGEs promoted ARG propagation. • Cellular physiological responses and biomethanation metabolic functions drove AMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Stress-tolerance Methanosarcina dominates methane production in anaerobic digesters. • Thermodynamic, resource allocation, and labor division explain digester microbehavior. • Review of recent biostrategies for producing digestive products other than methane. • Multi-omics data integration facilitates the mining of microbial ecology. • Perspectives on developing synthetic consortia and customized databases. Microbially driven anaerobic digestion (AD) processes are of immense interest due to their role in the biovalorization of biowastes into renewable energy resources. The function-versatile microbiome, interspecies syntrophic interactions, and trophic-level metabolic pathways are important microbial components of AD. However, the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the process hampers efforts to improve AD efficiency. This study presents a holistic review of research on the microbial and metabolic "black box" of AD processes. Recent research on microbiology, functional traits, and metabolic pathways in AD, as well as the responses of functional microbiota and metabolic capabilities to optimization strategies are reviewed. The diverse ecophysiological traits and cooperation/competition interactions of the functional guilds and the biomanipulation of microbial ecology to generate valuable products other than methane during AD are outlined. The results show that AD communities prioritize cooperation to improve functional redundancy, and the dominance of specific microbes can be explained by thermodynamics, resource allocation models, and metabolic division of labor during cross-feeding. In addition, the multi-omics approaches used to decipher the ecological principles of AD consortia are summarized in detail. Lastly, future microbial research and engineering applications of AD are proposed. This review presents an in-depth understanding of microbiome-functionality mechanisms of AD and provides critical guidance for the directional and efficient bioconversion of biowastes into methane and other valuable products. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For photovoltaic (PV) microgrid, the instability of PV power generation will bring a lot of trouble to the microgrid, it is a good solution to configure lithium-ion battery and the capacity configuration of lithium-ion battery is the key. This paper proposes a simple and feasible capacity configuration strategy for lithium-ion batteries, different from other studies; it optimizes the capacity configuration of batteries by abandoning extreme situations and further optimizes the capacity configuration according to the actual situation of microgrid load and PV. A microgrid consisting of an ~750 m2 factory with 50 kw PV is selected for analysis, the factory works from Monday to Saturday and rests on Sunday and the required battery capacity can be greatly optimized by adjusting the state of charge of the battery. After calculation, the strategy proposed in this paper requires a battery with only 375 kwh compared with the traditional strategy requiring 650 kwh, which can save ~42.3% of the cost and has good economic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical cancer is an important global health problem. In this study we aimed to analyze trends in cervical cancer at the global, regional, and national levels from 1990 to 2019, to inform health service decision-making.Methods: Data on cervical cancer was extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study, 2019. Trends in cervical cancer burden were assessed based on estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) and age-standardized rate (ASR).Results: Globally, decreasing trends were observed in incidence, death, and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) of cervical cancer from 1990 to 2019, with respective EAPCs of - 0.38 (95% confidence interval [CI]: - 0.41 to - 0.34), - 0.93 (95%CI: - 0.98 to - 0.88), and - 0.95 (95 CI%: - 1.00 to - 0.90). Meanwhile, decreasing trends were detected in most sociodemographic index (SDI) areas and geographic regions, particularly death and DALYs in Central Latin America, with respective EAPCs of - 2.61 (95% CI: - 2.76 to - 2.46) and - 2.48 (95% CI: - 2.63 to - 2.32); hhowever, a pronounced increasing trend in incidence occurred in East Asia (EAPC = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.55). At the national level, decreasing trends in cervical cancer were observed in most countries/territories, particularly DALYs in the Maldives (EAPC = - 5.06; 95% CI: - 5.40 to - 4.72), Whereas increasing trends were detected in Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Bulgaria.Conclusions: Slowly decreasing trends in cervical cancer were detected worldwide from 1990 to 2019. Cervical cancer remains a substantial health problem for women globally, requiring more effective prevention and control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full-scale anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) engineering applications are vastly limited by the sensitivity of anammox bacteria to the complex mainstream ambience factors. Therefore, it is of great necessity to comprehensively summarize and overcome performance-related challenges in mainstream anammox process at the macro/micro level, including the macroscopic process variable regulation and microscopic biological metabolic enhancement. This article systematically reviewed the recent important advances in the enrichment and retention of anammox bacteria and main factors affecting metabolic regulation under mainstream conditions, and proposed key strategies for the related performance optimization. The characteristics and behavior mechanism of anammox consortia in response to mainstream environment were then discussed in details, and we revealed that the synergistic nitrogen metabolism of multi-functional bacterial genera based on anammox microbiome was conducive to mainstream anammox nitrogen removal processes. Finally, the critical outcomes of anammox extracellular electron transfer (EET) at the micro level were well presented, carbon-based conductive materials or exogenous electron shuttles can stimulate and mediate anammox EET in mainstream environments to optimize system performance from a micro perspective. Overall, this review advances the extensive implementation of mainstream anammox practice in future as well as shedding new light on the related EET and microbial mechanisms. [Display omitted] • Macro process control schemes to enhance mainstream anammox performance are outlined. • System optimization by synergetic action of mainstream anammox flora is presented. •Models of mainstream anammox extracellular electron transfer are analyzed. • Machine learning is a viable means to promote synergetic behavior of anammox colony. • The development of new electrochemical functional carrier materials is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the cooking characteristics and the overall changes in nutrient metabolites in economically valuable and nutritious black rice (BR) under parboiling treatment. Here, we reported parboiling treatment could promote water absorption while cooking, thus shortening the cooking time and leading to a softer texture of cooked BR. On this basis, we compared metabolites between untreated BR (UBR) and parboiled BR (PBR) through widely targeted metabolomics. Compared with UBR, PBR had significant increases in 129 differential metabolites, such as six tricin derivatives (5.8–1941-fold changes). KEGG analysis revealed that these changes in metabolites may be related to variations in the metabolism of phenylalanine, tyrosine and various secondary metabolites. indicating that parboiling can improve the nutrition of BR. More importantly, the nutritional advantages of 78 differential metabolites were still maintained in PBR after cooking, despite of a certain loss of anthocyanins possibly due to degradation into aglycones and phenolic acids. These results suggest that parboiling treatment is a good strategy to improve the cooking characteristics and nutrition of BR. [Display omitted] • Parboiling improved the water absorption and texture of cooked black rice. • Parboiling increased the contents of 129 differential metabolites in black rice. • Phenolic acids, flavonoids and amino acids were main differential metabolites. • Parboiling promoted the synthesis of phenolic acids. • Parboiling promoted the interconversion of flavonoid aglycones and glycosides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon materials with multi-components and hollow structures can be used as promising candidates in microwave absorption materials, however, rational design and construction of the special structures is still hard to achieve. In this work, a hollow structural bimetallic carbon polyhedron (CoMo@HNCP) is synthesized by the pyrolysis of core-shell ZIF-8@HZIF-CoMo polyhedrons. Owing to the uniform distribution of Mo 2 C and metallic Co nanoparticles in the hollow N-doped carbon shell, the generated multi-heterogeneous interfaces are in favor of dipolar and interfacial polarization, resulting in enhanced conduction loss, matched impedance as well as multiple scatterings. Typically, with a filler loading of 30 wt%, the minimum R L of CoMo@HNCP reaches −44.8 dB and the effective absorption bandwidth is as wide as 6.56 GHz with the absorber thickness of 2.5 mm, which is better than that of ZIF-8 derived N-doped carbon polyhedron and HZIF-CoMo derived bimetallic carbon polyhedron. The usage of bimetallic HZIF to assemble core-shell nanomaterials is proven to be an novel and excellent way to assembly microwave absorbers with multi-heterogeneous interfaces and hollow structures. A bimetallic hollow carbon polyhedron (CoMo@HNCP) is pyrolyzed from core-shell ZIF-8@HZIF-CoMo which displays excellent microwave absorption performance. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite radar altimetry has become an important data source supplementing in situ water level. For practical reasons, a radar altimeter can only record reflected echoes within its range window. Therefore, water surface elevation must fall within the range window. To this end, the Sentinel‐3 radar altimetry mission is configured with a new tracking function (i.e., open loop) to position its range window based on an onboard a priori elevation of ground targets. We found that Sentinel‐3 is unable to observe recently built reservoirs due to the incorrect onboard elevations. To overcome this issue, four approaches are proposed to improve the a priori elevation for inland water bodies, particularly reservoirs. These approaches can significantly increase data availability of Sentinel‐3 over reservoirs and can be used to prepare the onboard elevations of reservoirs and lakes for future missions such as Sentinel‐6, Sentinel‐3C/‐3D, and the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. Plain Language Summary: Satellite radar altimetry is increasingly being used for hydrological studies. However, it is still challenging to deliver high‐quality data over inland water bodies, that is, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. One of the reasons is that the altimeter cannot easily identify the water surface elevation due to highly variable terrain elevation along the satellite flight path. In other words, the data delivered may not contain valid information for water bodies. To address this issue, Sentinel‐3 is configured with a new function, which informs the altimeter about the expected elevation of the water surface. However, this function demands a priori knowledge of the altitude of the ground targets. We present four approaches to improve the a priori information to increase data availability over inland water bodies, specifically reservoirs. Key Points: The Sentinel‐3A altimeter cannot deliver useful data over many reservoirs (constructed after 2005) in open‐loop tracking mode with OLTC V5Defining correct a priori elevation information is the key to increasing data availability over reservoirsFour approaches are proposed to define the most accurate onboard a priori elevation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Follicular fluid is an important external environment for the growth and development of oocytes. A thorough identification of specific components in follicular fluid can better the existing understand of intracellular signal transduction and reveal potential biomarkers of oocyte health in women undergoing assisted reproductive therapy. To study on follicular fluid metabolomics components at different ages based on lipid metabolism, we have adopted a new method of SWATH to MRM(the sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment-ion spectra to multiple reaction monitor)metabolomics to provide extensive coverage and excellent quantitative data. This was done to investigate the differences in follicular fluid of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer in different age groups and to further explore the relationship between follicular fluid, age and reproductive function. Method: A combination of Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and high resolution mass spectrometry techniques were used to analyze the follicular fluid of 230 patients enrolled for the IVF cycle. The patients were of different ages grouped into two groups:the younger and older patients.The obtained multidimensional chromatographic data were processed by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The charge ratios and mass numbers enabled for the identification of different fragments in the samples. Matching information obtained through database search and the fragment information obtained by fragment ion scan structurally identified substances in the samples. This was used to determine the differential compounds. Results: The quality of oocytes decline with age,and the lipid composition in follicular fluid also changes,The lipid metabolism that changes with age may be related to the quality of oocytes.The main differences were in lipid metabolites. Some were up-regulated: Arachidonate, LysoPC(16:1), LysoPC(20:4) and LysoPC(20:3) while others were down-regulated: LysoPC(18:3) and LysoPC(18:1). Conclusions: Metabolomic analysis of follicular fluid revealed that with the increase in age, several differential metabolites are at play. Among these metabolites, lipid metabolism undergoes significant changes that affect the development of oocytes thus causing reduced fertility in older women. These differential metabolites related to follicular development may provide possible detection and treatment targets for promoting oocyte health, and provide scientific basis for understanding the environment of oocyte development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Representative prototype selection facilitates the interpretability of aggregated representations. • The discriminability of aggregated representations is strengthened by enforcing domain-invariant projection of bundled descriptors along a taskspecific direction. • A composite Block Coordinate Descent algorithm is customized to effectively seek the optimal solution of our model. Given a set of hand-crafted local features, acquiring a global representation via aggregation is a promising technique to boost computational efficiency and improve task performance. Existing feature aggregation (FA) approaches, including Bag of Words and Fisher Vectors, usually fail to capture the desired information due to their pipeline mode. In this paper, we propose a generic formulation to provide a systematical solution (named ProLFA) to aggregate local descriptors. It is capable of producing compact yet interpretable representations by selecting representative prototypes from numerous descriptors, under relaxed exclusivity constraint. Meanwhile, to strengthen the discriminability of the aggregated representation, we rationally enforce the domain-invariant projection of bundled descriptors along a task-specific direction. Furthermore, ProLFA is also provided with a powerful generalization ability to deal flexibly with the semi-supervised and fully supervised scenarios in local feature aggregation. Experimental results on various descriptors and tasks demonstrate the proposed ProLFA is considerably superior over currently available alternatives about feature aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microseismic monitoring technology has developed rapidly in recent years, and effectively evaluating the risk of water inrush from coal seam floor using microseismic monitoring is a research method with development potential, which is of great significance for ensuring the safe and efficient mining of coal resources. Based on the research background of the threat of Ordovician limestone water inrush during the mining process of the 9212 working face in Dongpang Coal Mine, this paper proposes a new method for evaluating floor spatial failure characteristics and water inrush risk based on microseismic monitoring. First, three research stages are established according to theoretical analysis and comprehensive geophysical exploration, and the response characteristics and temporal and spatial distribution of the microseismic events in the different stages are analysed. Second, the weighted coefficient of variation ( CV W ) and three floor factors (S, e , and θ ) are introduced as new risk evaluation indices for the risk of floor water inrush in the vertical direction. The comprehensive weight is determined based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the entropy weight method, and then the water inrush evaluation model is established by the vulnerability index method. For the water inrush risk of the floor in the horizontal direction, the stratified cumulative kernel density estimation method is employed to determine the degree of water inrush risk and distribution location of different layers from the perspective of microseismic frequency and microseismic energy. Finally, the potential location of the water-conducting channel in the three-dimensional space of the floor is successfully predicted in the analysed working face, and targeted grouting reinforcement and other treatment measures are effectively implemented to ensure the safe mining of the working face. Highlights: Based on microseismic monitoring, a new universally applicable method for analysing the characteristics of floor failure and evaluating the risk of water inrush is proposed. The Weighted Coefficient of Variation ( CV W ) and Three Floor Factors (S, e , and θ) are introduced to analyse the migration characteristics of floor strata and used as the new indices to evaluate the risk of water inrush in vertical direction. The method of stratified cumulative energy kernel density and stratified cumulative frequency kernel density evaluation (SC-KDE) is introduced to comprehensively determine the connectivity degree and range of transverse fractures in the horizontal direction. The potential location of the water-conducting channel in the floor space has been successfully predicted in field engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symmetry‐broken wave function can transform the 1Σg+ state of C2 from the classic double bonding to the quadruple bonding, where the transformed wave functions of ϕL and ϕR are singly occupied by two opposite‐spinning electrons. In this article, the effective bond order (EBO) contribution of the fourth bond in C2 is assessed through the overlap integral between ϕL and ϕR, namely the value (0.60) is the EBO contribution of the fourth bond in the transformed scheme. Hence, the new EBO is 3.36, which is more equitable than the original EBO (2.15) in the traditional scheme. In addition, the singlet diradical character of the linear polyacetylenic C4 and C6 in the 1Σg+ state is addressed for the first time. No spin‐polarized bonding exists in other linear C2n clusters, because the ionic interaction in the polyacetylenic 1Σg+ state of C4 is negligible. Moreover, the coupling energy between α and β single electrons in C4 is only 4.0 kcal mol−1 based on the electron spin‐flip energy. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The antiferromagnetic spin‐polarized distribution in MO orbitals leads to the symmetry of the spin‐orbital wave function opposite to the symmetry of the spatial orbital. Hence, 2σu is a bonding orbital and 3σg is an antibonding orbital in dicarbon when spin‐polarized distribution is introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report herein a label‐free and turn‐on fluorescence approach for detecting DNA polymerase activity. In the presence of DNA polymerase, the DNA primer could be elongated to produce one long double‐stranded DNA (dsDNA). Then, the produced dsDNA acted as the template for in‐situ synthesizing fluorescent copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) via Cu2+–ascorbate reaction (10 min at room temperature), and the fluorescent intensity of the CuNCs was used to quantify the activity of DNA polymerase. In this strategy, cheap CuSO4 and ascorbate acted as fluorescence developers, so this method is low‐cost and easy to carry out. Interestingly, based on the sequence‐dependent fluorescence of DNA‐templated CuNCs, we rationally designed the sequence of DNA substrate to decrease the background and increase the signal of this assay. Therefore, this proposed method exhibited a high sensitivity toward DNA polymerase, and the limit of detection was 3.7×10–7 U/μL for Klenow Fragment (KF) polymerase. The strategy suggests a "mix‐and‐detect" homogenous assay format without precipitation, separation and washing. The whole process (including enzyme reaction and synthesizing CuNCs) can be completed in a single tube. This fluorescence method is low‐cost and simple, and shows potential application in some biomedical studies and clinical diagnostics. In this method, DNA‐templated copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) were in‐situ synthesized via Cu2+–ascorbate reaction, and the fluorescent intensity of the CuNCs was used to quantify the activity of DNA polymerase. Furthermore, we rationally designed the sequence of DNA substrate to decrease the background and increase the signal of this assay. Therefore, this proposed method exhibited a high sensitivity, and the limit of detection was 3.7×10–7 U/μL for Klenow Fragment polymerase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Solvent-based sugaring-out extraction was developed to separate SA. • Different sugars and solvent consisting systems were investigated. • The effect of TLL, pH, glucose, t -butanol and SA concentration were evaluated. • Salts-assisted sugaring-out extraction on SA partition behavior were illustrated. • Sugaring-out extraction combining crystallization was applied to obtain SA crystal. Abstract In this study, sugaring-out extraction combining crystallization was developed for succinic acid separation and purification. From the different sugaring-out extraction systems investigated, the following order in the phase forming ability of the solvents and sugars were observed: t -butanol > n -propanol > isopropanol, and galactose > glucose > fructose > mannose ≈ sucrose > xylose, respectively. Tert -butanol/glucose system showed the potential superiority in the partition behavior of succinic acid, glucose and solvent. The system parameters influencing the extraction efficiency, such as tie line length, system pH, temperature, glucose, t -butanol and succinic acid concentration were evaluated. The results showed that partition coefficient of succinic acid increased linearly as tie line length increased, and strongly depend on the system pH. 88.15% of succinic acid and 96.72% of t -butanol was distributed into the top phase while 94.69% of glucose into the bottom phase at a system consisting of 27% (w/w) glucose and 40% (w/w) t -butanol under pH 3.0 and temperature 25 °C. Succinic acid concentration had influence on its partition behavior due to its broadened scope of phase formation. The effect of temperature in the t -butanol/glucose system was not obvious for partition of succinic acid. Salts-assisted sugaring-out extraction of succinic acid in t -butanol-glucose system was also investigated. When the mass fraction of (NH 4) 2 SO 4 was increased from 1% to 9% (w/w), the recovery of SA from the broth increased from 87.62% to 89.55%. It was noteworthy that t -butanol recovery increased obviously from 96.21% to 99.48%, which means almost all of t -butanol was recovered to the top phase. Finally, succinic acid purification was developed by gradient crystallization after recovering t -butanol by vacuum distillation and glucose by water-washing. By combining sugaring-out extraction with gradient crystallization, an identical total yield (73%) and a higher purity (98%) of succinic acid were obtained. The results obtained in this work support the establishment of sugaring-out extraction combining crystallization as a potential effective and economic strategy for bio-succinic acid separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • It describes the motivation of a cluster approach and defines its associated boundary dimensions. • A set of influencing factors on urban energy systems at cluster level are identified. • Three main categories of RES envelope solutions are summarized. • Modelling techniques for energy systems at cluster level are reviewed. Abstract The emergence of renewable-energy-source (RES) envelope solutions, building retrofit requirements and advanced energy technologies brought about challenges to the existing paradigm of urban energy systems. It is envisioned that the building cluster approach—that can maximize the synergies of RES harvesting, building performance, and distributed energy management—will deliver the breakthrough to these challenges. Thus, this paper aims to critically review urban energy systems at the cluster level that incorporate building integrated RES solutions. We begin with defining cluster approach and the associated boundaries. Several factors influencing energy planning at cluster scale are identified, while the most important ones are discussed in detail. The closely reviewed factors include RES envelope solutions, solar energy potential, density of buildings, energy demand, integrated cluster-scale energy systems and energy hub. The examined categories of RES envelope solutions are (i) the solar power, (ii) the solar thermal and (iii) the energy-efficient ones, out of which solar energy is the most prevalent RES. As a result, methods assessing the solar energy potentials of building envelopes are reviewed in detail. Building density and the associated energy use are also identified as key factors since they affect the type and the energy harvesting potentials of RES envelopes. Modelling techniques for building energy demand at cluster level and their coupling with complex integrated energy systems or an energy hub are reviewed in a comprehensive way. In addition, the paper discusses control and operational methods as well as related optimization algorithms for the energy hub concept. Based on the findings of the review, we put forward a matrix of recommendations for cluster-level energy system simulations aiming to maximize the direct and indirect benefits of RES envelope solutions. By reviewing key factors and modelling approaches for characterizing RES-envelope-solutions-based urban energy systems at cluster level, this paper hopes to foster the transition towards more sustainable urban energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Prototype learning is formulated as a structurally regularized model. • Intrinsic structures of dataset are exploited via l p , 1 -norm grouping. • The prototypes are learnt more representatively and diversely. • An alternative re-weighting solver is presented to solve the proposed model. • The proposed method works well on video summarization and classification tasks. Abstract Prototype learning aims to eliminate redundancy of large-scale data by selecting an informative subset. It is at the center of visual data analysis and processing. However, due to intrinsic structures among sample groups, the learnt prototypes are generally less representative and diversified. To alleviate this issue, we develop in this paper a structurally regularized model via ℓ p , 1 -norm grouping, in which both the intra-group and inter-group structures of source data in object-space are rationally exploited. Thus, while the learnt representative prototypes are prone to distribute in different groups at the inter-group level, the grouping constraint via ℓ p , 1 -norm will enforce the greatest diversity for intra-group prototypes. Considering the convexity in the formulated model, an alternative re-weighting solver is presented to efficiently solve the proposed optimization problem. Experimental results on video summarization, scene categorization and handwriting recognition demonstrate that the proposed method is considerably superior to the state-of-the-art methods in prototype learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video analytics, also known as video content analysis, involves a variety of pivotal tasks, such as video segmentation and recognition. In essence, performing most of these tasks can be viewed as learning an assignment model. Here, assignment model refers to what each element in a target set is assigned to the element in an opposite source set under some kind of constraint. Existing assignment models generally suffer from some limitations. For instance, imperfect results can be obtained when the source set is artificially provided with less representativeness, or part of the target set has expected assignments, thus significantly limiting the application of assignment model. To alleviate these issues, we develop, in this paper, a general assignment model to dynamically learn a source set by minimizing structural dissimilarity in a low-dimensional space. Furthermore, by associating the expected assignment solution with empirical assignment indicator via a consistency boosting strategy, the proposed assignment model is provided with a potential powerful generalization ability to deal flexibly with the unsupervised, semi-supervised, and fully supervised scenarios in assignment model learning. Considering the separability of both objective and constraints to be solved, an alternating direction method of multipliers solver is presented with rigorous theoretical analysis on its convergence. Experimental results on video analysis, including motion segmentation, activities recognition, and scene categorization, demonstrate that the proposed general assignment model is considerable superior to the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A valine carbamate prodrug of daidzein was synthesized to improve its bioavailability because of the poor solubility and low permeability of daidzein. To evaluate the pharmacokinetic behavior of the prodrug, a sensitive and high‐throughput method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of daidzein and its prodrug in rat plasma. The samples were extracted by ethyl acetate and then analyzed by a supercritical fluid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method. The separation was achieved by an ACQUITY UPC2™ BEH 2‐EP column maintained at 40°C using carbon dioxide (≥99.99%) and methanol within 3.0 min by gradient elution. The mass transition ion pairs were m/z 254.8→136.7, 398.0→254.9, and 271.0→91.07 for daidzein, the prodrug, and genistein, respectively. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration ranges of 2–500 (r > 0.997) and 10.0–5000.0 ng/mL (r > 0.996) with lower limits of quantification of 2 and 10 ng/mL for daidzein and the prodrug, respectively. The intra‐ and interday accuracy and precision were within ±15% for all quality control samples. This developed method enabled high specificity, low cost, low solvent consumption, and a brief analysis time and was successfully applied to a bioavailability evaluation of daidzein and its carbamate prodrug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Molecular simulation successfully predicted the efficient alginate oligosaccharides adsorption media. • Various resin structures impacted the adsorption–desorption ability of alginate oligosaccharides. • The adsorption equilibrium of alginate oligosaccharides on resins is described by the Freundlich isotherm. • The adsorption rate of alginate oligosaccharides on gel-type resins was faster than on macroporous resins. • The van der Waals forces dominant interactions between alginate oligosaccharides and resin. Alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) with low polymerization have gained considerable attention due to their unique physiological activities. However, the lack of understanding regarding the mechanism of action for resin selection and optimization of separation processes has impeded their precise chromatographic separation and large-scale production. Here, the adsorption–desorption characteristics of AOS on the resins with varying solid phase composition, including backbones, functional groups, crosslinking degrees, and counterions resin structures, were analyzed using simulations and experiments. The simulation results revealed that the structural differences of AOS are characterized by their electrostatic potential and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level. Based on molecular simulations, we predicted that the basic anion resin with a styrene backbone would be suitable for AOS separation. Subsequently, we constructed SM-7Cl resin based on the simulation results and performed static adsorption experiments to verify the prediction. SM-7Cl resin demonstrated noteworthy adsorption–desorption performance for AOS, with an adsorption capacity of 471.2 mg/g and a desorption rate of 89.45%. The fitting adsorption isotherm was consistent with the Freundlich model, indicating that the adsorption proceeded spontaneously. The equilibrium times for AOS adsorption on the gel-type resin and the macroporous resin, which both followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, were 30 min and 60 min, respectively. This study provides optimized chromatographic media and separation processing that can be implemented for the amplification of chromatographic separation in AOS production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Identified HMR's precipitationshed and found transport differences in wet/dry years. • Quantified climate indices' impacts on annual/seasonal moisture variation. • Explored anthropogenic factors' potential impacts on local moisture recycling. Climate change and anthropogenic factors have resulted in intense and frequent droughts and floods in the Hengduan Mountain Region (HMR). Exploring the source supply of evaporation and transportation processes for the precipitation in the HMR can help us understand regional precipitation characteristics and provide valuable insights regarding effective water resource management, disaster prevention, and mitigation. Based on the ERA5 reanalysis data, we identified the annual and seasonal precipitationsheds of the HMR, using the Water Accounting Model-2layer, to investigate the potential mechanisms that drive the changes in the precipitation in the HMR, in terms of external moisture contribution and local recycling. The identified precipitationshed in the HMR varied in response to different types of precipitation during the different seasons. The decrease in the annual precipitation was mainly attributed to the reduced moisture supply from the extended southwest (SW) and northwest (NW) regions, portraying a decreasing trend of −2.08 mm/yr/yr and −0.92 mm/yr/yr, respectively. The detected difference in the moisture sources and transport pathways, in terms of the response of wet and dry precipitation years, can improve our understanding of the moisture patterns of wet and dry years. We could conclude that the increase in moisture from the SW regions, due to El Niño, may have triggered the heavy precipitation in the HMR in 1998. Additionally, the reduction in moisture from the SW regions, due to La Niña, may have triggered an extreme drought in the HMR in 2011. Notably, woodland and water surface expansion tend to weaken local recycling (−0.07 %/yr) after 2000. In the future, the decreasing trend of local recycling will likely be intensified owing to large-scale artificial reservoir construction and the surface changes caused by underlying impoundment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The goal is to identify risk factors associated with receiving a blood transfusion during the perioperative period in patients who undergo total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) using a large-scale national database. Methods: In this retrospective analysis, data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) was utilized to review the medical records of all patients who underwent TLH from 2010 to 2019. The researchers identified patients who had received a blood transfusion during the perioperative period and compared with those who had not. The subsequent factors associated with blood transfusion were examined: hospital characteristics (type of admission and payer, patient demographics (age and race), bed size, teaching status, location, and region of hospital), length of stay (LOS), total charges during hospitalization, in-hospital mortality, comorbidities, and perioperative complications. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The independent risk factors of perioperative blood transfusion after TLH was identified by performing multivariate logistic regression. Results: A total of 79,933 TLH were captured from the NIS database, among which 3433 (4.40%) patients received a perioperative blood transfusion. TLH patients affected by blood transfusion were 2 days longer hospital stays (P < 0.001), higher overall costs (P < 0.001), the patients who received a transfusion after a long-term hospitalization had a significantly higher rate of mortality (0.5% vs. 0.1%; P < 0.001). Perioperative blood transfusion after TLH was associated with chronic blood loss anemia, deficiency anemia, coagulopathy, congestive heart failure, fluid and electrolyte disorders, renal failure, metastatic cancer, sepsis, weight loss, deep vein thrombosis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, shock, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia, stroke, hemorrhage, pulmonary embolism, and disease of the genitourinary system. Conclusion: Studying the risk factors of perioperative blood transfusion after TLH is advantageous in order to ensure proper management and optimize outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River stage fluctuation (RSF) is one of the most important factors influencing the physical, chemical, and ecological aspects of rivers. Despite widespread interest in river stage variations, there is currently no global benchmark of RSF and their spatial patterns. Our understanding of these characteristics remains limited. We used Sentinel‐3 altimetry data to establish a benchmark data set for RSF in wide rivers (width >1 km). We conducted an initial investigation of the spatial patterns and inter‐annual variability associated with RSF. The results show a wide range of fluctuation amplitudes spanning from a mere 1 to 18 m. Notably, rivers in semi‐arid regions exhibit more pronounced fluctuations. Further analyses indicate that human activities play a significant role in RSF. The results are of substantial interest to the scientific community, as they are closely linked to critical hydrological processes, including floods, river‐floodplain dynamics, river‐groundwater interaction, greenhouse gas emissions, and river restoration. Plain Language Summary: Rivers show a seasonal rhythm over time due to multiple processes. A critical aspect of the rhythm is the river stage, which resembles the pulse of a river as it rises and falls. Traditionally, river stages have been monitored using gauging stations. However, these local monitoring networks fall short in providing a comprehensive global perspective on river stage fluctuations, which are directly linked to significant events like floods and droughts. Advanced Earth Observation techniques now offer a means to better understand the pulse of rivers on broader scales. Specifically, satellite radar altimetry serves as a valuable tool for river stage records by measuring water surface elevation, thereby providing insights into the normality or abnormality of river conditions. This study represents one of the first global‐scale investigations into the patterns of river stage fluctuations and inter‐annual variability spanning from 2016 to 2022. Moreover, this new data set holds practical value for related studies, such as the validation of the average depth of the channel when the river is full, the assessment of river channel storage variation, the facilitation of river navigation, stepwise ecological restoration, and more. Key Points: Stage fluctuations of large rivers were estimated globally for the first time using satellite radar altimetryRivers in semi‐arid regions have larger fluctuations than those in other climate regionsThe top five river basins with the highest stage fluctuations (>7 m) are the Orinoco, Mississippi, Yangtze, Irrawaddy, and Amazon basins [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solar energy share in Sweden will grow up significantly in next a few decades. Such transition offers not only great opportunity but also uncertainties for the emerging solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) technologies. This paper therefore aims to conduct a techno-economic evaluation of a reference solar PV/T concentrator in Sweden for building application. An analytical model is developed based on the combinations of Monte Carlo simulation techniques and multi energy-balance/financial equations, which takes into account of the integrated uncertainties and risks of various variables. In the model, 11 essential input variables, i.e. average daily solar irradiance, electrical/thermal efficiency, prices of electricity/heating, operation & management (OM) cost, PV/T capital cost, debt to equity ratio, interest rate, discount rate, and inflation rate, are considered, while the economic evaluation metrics, such as levelized cost of energy (LCOE), net present value (NPV), and payback period (PP), are primarily assessed. According to the analytical results, the mean values of LCOE, NPV and PP of the reference PV/T connector are observed at 1.27 SEK/kW h (0.127 €/kW h), 18,812.55 SEK (1881.255 €) and 10 years during its 25 years lifespan, given the project size at 10.37 m 2 and capital cost at 4482–5378 SEK/m 2 (448.2–537.8 €/m 2 ). The positive NPV indicates that the investment on the selected PV/T concentrator will be profitable as the projected earnings exceeds the anticipated costs, depending on the NPV decision rule. The sensitivity analysis and the parametric study illustrate that the economic performance of the reference PV/T concentrator in Sweden is mostly proportional to solar irradiance, debt to equity ratio and heating price, but disproportionate to capital cost and discount rate. Together with additional market analysis of PV/T technologies in Sweden, it is expected that this paper could clarify the economic situation of PV/T technologies in Sweden and provide a useful model for their further investment decisions, in order to achieve sustainable and low-carbon economics, with an expanded quantitative discussion of the real economic or policy scenarios that may lead to those outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A copper nanoclusters (CuNCs)-based fluorescence biosensing platform was developed for label-free DNA detection through a cascade isothermal exponential amplification reaction (EXPAR). It is based on target-triggered isothermal dual-cycling and a cascade EXPAR, which generates a large amount of long double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The resultant long dsDNA can act as an efficient template for fluorescent CuNC synthesis, and the produced CuNC is an excellent fluorescence indicator to quantify target DNA concentration. This assay allows the detection of the model DNA with a detection limit of 7 pM. This label-free assay occurs in a homogenous solution, and the whole assay process, including hybridization, amplification and detection, can be completed in a single-tube. This method is simple, low-cost and convenient to operate, and may offer potential applications in related biomedical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of actinide-actinide bonds has attracted considerable attention for a long time, especially since recent theoretical studies suggest that triple and up to quintuple bonds should be possible, but little is known experimentally. Actinide-actinide bonds inside fullerene cages have also been proposed, but their existence has been debated intensively by theoreticians. Despite all the theoretical arguments, critical experimental data for a dimetallic actinide endohedral fullerene have never been obtained. Herein, we report the synthesis and isolation of a dimetallic actinide endohedral metallofullerene (EMF), U2@C80. This compound was fully characterized by mass spectrometry, single crystal X-ray crystallography, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The single crystal X-ray crystallographic analysis unambiguously assigned the molecular structure to U2@Ih(7)-C80. In particular, the crystallographic data revealed that the U-U distance is within the range of 3.46- 3.79 Å, which is shorter than the 3.9 Å previously predicted for an elongated weak U-U bond inside the C80 cage. The XAS results reveal that the formal charge of the U atoms trapped inside the fullerene cage is +3, which agrees with the computational and crystallographic studies that assign a hexaanionic carbon cage, (Ih-C80)6-. Theoretical studies confirm the presence of a U-U bonding interaction and suggest that the weak U-U bond in U2@Ih(7)-C80 is strengthened upon reduction and weakened upon oxidation. The comprehensive characterization of U2@Ih(7)-C80 and the overall agreement between the experimental data and theoretical investigations provide experimental proof and deeper understanding for actinide metal-metal bonding interactions inside a fullerene cage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent surge of interest in building energy consumption has generated a tremendous amount of energy data, which boosts the data-driven algorithms for broad application throughout the building industry. This article reviews the prevailing data-driven approaches used in building energy analysis under different archetypes and granularities, including those methods for prediction (artificial neural networks, support vector machines, statistical regression, decision tree and genetic algorithm) and those methods for classification (K-mean clustering, self-organizing map and hierarchy clustering). The review results demonstrate that the data-driven approaches have well addressed a large variety of building energy related applications, such as load forecasting and prediction, energy pattern profiling, regional energy-consumption mapping, benchmarking for building stocks, global retrofit strategies and guideline making etc . Significantly, this review refines a few key tasks for modification of the data-driven approaches in the context of application to building energy analysis. The conclusions drawn in this review could facilitate future micro-scale changes of energy use for a particular building through the appropriate retrofit and the inclusion of renewable energy technologies. It also paves an avenue to explore potential in macro-scale energy-reduction with consideration of customer demands. All these will be useful to establish a better long-term strategy for urban sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic heavy metals. Cd tolerance ability differs among varieties in plants, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified genes that are involved in Cd stress responses and different Cd tolerances of two V. sativa varieties (Cd-tolerant variety (L3) and Cd-sensitive variety (ZM)).Methods: Transcriptomic analysis using Illumina pair-end sequencing was carried out on root tissues of L3 and ZM grown with 5 μM and 50 μM of Cd treatments. A de novo assembled V. sativa transcriptome was generated. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were assigned to Gene Ontology (GO) functions and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, and enrichment analysis was performed. The expression of selected DEGs were confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).Results: A total of 49,062 sequences were identified as unigenes. In the 5 μM Cd treatment, 69 and 28 differentially expressed unigenes were found as compared with the control in the L3 and ZM respectively, while in the 50 μM Cd treatment, 1036 and 335 differentially expressed unigenes were found in comparison with the control in L3 and ZM. Pathway enrichment analysis suggested that genes related to the cell wall, stress response, the glutathione pathway, metal transporters, and transcription factors are commonly up-regulated in response to Cd stress in both varieties. However, the expression of metal transporter genes and transcription factor genes showed significant differential responses to Cd stress.Conclusions: In addition to the regulation of transcription by transcription factors, metal transporters play a vital role in controlling the different Cd tolerances of V. sativa varieties L3 and ZM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot deformation behavior of a stir cast and hot extruded 14 vol% SiCp/2014Al composite was studied at temperatures from 355 to 495 °C and strain rates from 0.001 to 1 s −1 , including microstructure evolution and damage formation. Stress-strain rate fitting was optimized to construct accurate processing maps based on modified dynamic materials model (MDMM). In addition, the strain rate sensitivity maps were plotted, indicating more significant effect of temperature on deformation mechanism than strain rate. The dissipation efficiency versus temperature curves indicated: (i) a transition from dynamic recovery (DRV) to dynamic recrystallization (DRX) at 400 °C; (ii) occurrence of dynamic grain growth (DGG) at 400–440 °C; (iii) existence of equicohesive point ( T eq ) of 450 °C (∼0.8 T m ) above which grain boundaries weakened and contributed to plastic deformation. The particular fluctuation of temperature sensitivity at 440 °C was caused by an abnormal grain growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]