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Background: Cell division cycle 42 (CDC42) modulates metabolism, inflammation, and fibrosis to engage in the pathology of diabetic complications. This study intended to further investigate the influence of CDC42 on viability, apoptosis, inflammation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and fibrosis in high glucose (HG)-treated renal tubular epithelial cells. Methods: HK-2 cells were exposed to HG medium (30 mM) to establish the diabetic nephropathy (DN) cellular model, then the cells were transfected with scramble overexpression control (oeNC) or CDC42 overexpression (oeCDC42) vectors. Results: Both the level of CDC42 mRNA and protein were decreased in HG-treated HK-2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Then HG-treated HK-2 cells were proposed for the following experiments. It was found that CDC42 increased CCK-8 detected viability and EdU positive cells. On the contrary, CDC42 reduced cell apoptosis, which was reflected by decreased TUNEL positive rate, increased BCL2, and reduced BAX. Interestingly, CDC42 inhibited fibrosis, which was reflected by increased E-Cadherin, as well as decreased Vimentin, TGF-β1, Collagen1, and α-SMA. Apart from these, CDC42 also attenuated proinflammatory cytokine production, including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Moreover, CDC42 activated the PAK1/AKT pathway, which was reflected by increased p-PAK1 and p-AKT. However, CDC42 did not affect p-ERK. Conclusion: CDC42 may retard DN progression via its regulation of renal tubular epithelial cell functions, which may be due to its stimulation of the PAK1/AKT pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xiachuan site (35°26′22″N, 112°00′43″E) in Shanxi Province, northern China is an important Middle and Upper Paleolithic site, which contains four stages of development: the Middle Paleolithic culture, the initial and early Upper Paleolithic culture, the middle Upper Paleolithic culture and the late Upper Paleolithic culture. To establish the chronology framework for the site, a pedo-stratigraphic sequence at the QX2017T1 survey section of Fuyihegeliang Locality (Loc. FYH) was dated using blue-stimulated optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) on fine-grained quartz and post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (post-IR IRSL or pIRIR) on fine-grained polymineral. The quartz OSL ages of the Upper Paleolithic culture layer are between 21.4 ± 1.6 and 42.2 ± 3.0 ka, which is consistent with the calibrated 14C ages. The Middle Paleolithic culture layer is dated to from 118.2 ± 8.5 to 128.3 ± 9.5 ka using the polymineral pIRIR 100, 290 protocol. These new results allow us to put the main part of the Upper Paleolithic culture layer in the late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and the early MIS 2, with the Middle Paleolithic culture layer corresponding to the early MIS 5. A gap of nearly 70 ka is observed between the two cultural layers, which is larger than previously expected. The presence of early hominins in the Xiachuan site during MIS 2 and MIS 3 as well as in early interglacial MIS 5 reflects their ability of adapting to variable environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both cutaneous radiation injury and radiation combined injury (RCI) could have serious skin traumas, which are collectively referred to as radiation‐associated skin injuries in this paper. These two types of skin injuries require special managements of wounds, and the therapeutic effects still need to be further improved. Cutaneous radiation injuries are common in both radiotherapy patients and victims of radioactive source accidents, which could lead to skin necrosis and ulcers in serious conditions. At present, there are still many challenges in management of cutaneous radiation injuries including early diagnosis, lesion assessment, and treatment prognosis. Radiation combined injuries are special and important issues in severe nuclear accidents, which often accompanied by serious skin traumas. Mass victims of RCI would be the focus of public health concern. Three‐dimensional (3D) bioprinting, as a versatile and favourable technique, offers effective approaches to fabricate biomimetic architectures with bioactivity, which provides potentials for resolve the challenges in treating radiation‐associated skin injuries. Combining with the cutting‐edge advances in 3D skin bioprinting, the authors analyse the damage characteristics of skin wounds in both cutaneous radiation injury and RCI and look forward to the potential value of 3D skin bioprinting for the treatments of radiation‐associated skin injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a porous Co 3 O 4 anode material with capsule–shaped morphology is prepared by a simple solvothermal method and subsequent heat treatment process in air. The as–synthesized CoCO 3 precursor and Co 3 O 4 sample are systematically studied and analyzed by a series of testing technologies, such as XRD, FTIR, FESEM, (HR)TEM, TGA, XPS and N 2 adsorption/desorption measurement. As negative materials in Li–ion batteries, the Co 3 O 4 active material exhibits high charge/discharge specific capacity, good rate performance and satisfactory cycle stability. The excellent electrochemical properties are inevitably related to the structural characteristics of the electrode material itself, including regular morphology, rich pore structure, large specific surface area, high crystallinity, nanoscale particle size, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we consider the Cauchy problem of the three‐dimensional incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) system with only horizontal dissipation and vertical magnetic diffusion near the equilibrium. We establish the global a priori estimate of the smooth solution for this system, with initial data (u0,B0−e1)$$ \left({u}_0,{B}_0-{e}_1\right) $$ sufficiently small in H2$$ {H}^2 $$, by using the special structure of the nonlinear terms and the anisotropic Sobolev inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystallization growth occupies a crucially important role in terms of impacting the film microstructure and device characteristics of the kesterite Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 (CZTSSe) solar cell. Previous studies frequently observed that the selenized CZTSSe film consists of a multiple-layer structure with a large-grained top layer and a fine-grained bottom layer. Herein, a novel strategy is proposed for adjusting spin-coated layers and conducting two-step selenization to promote the fine-grain layers growth of Bi-doped CZTSSe (CZTBiSSe) films for high-performance solar cells. This study systematically investigates the effects of spin-coated layers and the selenization process on growth kinetics of the CZTBiSSe films. By comparison, the optimal spin-coated layer can be identified as "7 + 3", the CZTBiSSe film has a bilayer large grain structure from up to down, which reduces the grain boundaries, thus reducing the charge recombination loss, and is more conducive to charge carrier transfer. Finally, a CZTBiSSe solar cell with the highest efficiency of 7.27 % was obtained, which increased by 36 % more than one prepared using traditional methods (5.34 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Convenient non‐invasive flow monitoring would facilitate the operation and control in microfluidic chips, but is challenging due to the small space of microchannels and complex operation required in traditional optical methods. In this work, we propose a novel non‐invasive strategy to probe microfluidic flows via streaming potential phenomenon. By sealing one side of the microchannel with a piece of hydrogel film, streaming potential inside the channel can be clearly detected by electrodes at outer surface of the hydrogel due to ion diffusion in the hydrogel. Flow is detected without sensors contacting with the internal liquid. Moreover, the electrodes shape like a tiny probe, which can move around mapping the flow distribution in a chip with the spatial resolution of 1 mm and flow rate detection limit of 3 μL·min–1. Bubbles inside the channels can also be detected, due to the fluctuation of streaming voltage when gas‐liquid interface flows through the electrode, showing an easy and potential way for multi‐functional flow monitoring in microfluidic chips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The Platycladus orientalis is a coniferous gymnosperm tree species widely distributed in China and the fFar east of Russia. It has been widely introduced and cultivated in East and South Asia. Plant abscisic acid increases and affects stomatal behavior during soil drought, and prolonged drought-induced stomatal closure definitely affects the soluble sugar content of plants. We found significant correlations between gas exchange and abscisic acid content, as well as the soluble sugar content of Platycladus orientalis under different moisture conditions, as a result of increased drought stress in Platycladus orientalis due to ongoing global climate change. This helps us to reveal the mechanism of plant adaptation to drought–rehydration under different drought treatments. To uncover the internal mechanisms of various drought stress intensities affecting the soluble sugar content in organs and its regulation by endogenous abscisic acid (ABA), we selected the saplings of Platycladus orientalis, a typical tree species in the Beijing area, as our research subject. We investigated the correlation between tree soluble sugars and endogenous ABA in the organs (comprised of leaf, branch, stem, coarse root, and fine root) under two water treatments. One water treatment was defined as T1, which stopped watering until the potted soil volumetric water content (SWC) reached the wilting coefficient and then rewatered the sapling. The other water treatment, named T2, replenished 95% of the total water loss of one potted sapling every day and irrigated the above-mentioned sapling after its SWC reached the wilt coefficients. The results revealed that (1) the photosynthetic physiological parameters of P. orientalis were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) under fast and slow drought processes. The photosynthetic physiological parameters of P. orientalis in the fast drought–rehydration treatment group recovered faster relative to the slow drought–rehydration treatment group. (2) The fast and slow drought treatments significantly (p < 0.05) increased the ABA and soluble sugar contents in all organs. The roots of the P. orientalis exhibited higher sensitivity in ABA and soluble sugar content to changes in soil moisture dynamics compared to other organs. (3) ABA and soluble sugar content of P. orientalis showed a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) under fast and slow drought conditions. During the rehydration stage, the two were significantly correlated in the T2 treatment (p < 0.05). In summary, soil drought rhythms significantly affected the photosynthetic parameters, organ ABA, and soluble sugar content of P. orientalis. This study elucidates the adaptive mechanisms of P. orientalis plants to drought and rehydration under the above-mentioned two water drought treatments, offering theoretical insights for selecting and cultivating drought-tolerant tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, most of the high-sulfur iron ores have not been fully developed and utilized due to the lack of breakthrough progress in the research on the sulfur migration and the desulfurization mechanism during the roasting process. This study will focus on revealing the release and fixation mechanisms of sulfur during the roasting process to achieve the transformation of desulfurization from terminal treatment to process control. Experimental results show that as the roasting temperature increases, the release rate of SO2 also increases, reaching the maximum release rate at 900 °C. Simultaneously, it is found that at the same roasting temperature, the release rate and amount of SO2 under the O2/N2 atmosphere is significantly greater than that under the pure N2 and air atmospheres. Meanwhile, X-ray diffraction (XRD) is utilized to explore the phase composition of the roasted product and the sulfur release mechanism. In addition, the adsorption energy, stability and electron transfer of SO2 on the CaO surface are calculated through density functional theory (DFT), and the optimal adsorption active site perpendicular to the O atom (O-top) is also determined. Finally, the sulfur fixing agent CaO is used to study the SO2 fixation mechanism. When the concentration reaches 10%, the sulfur fixation efficiency reaches more than 80%. Therefore, this work will present basic knowledge and systematic guidance for the sulfur migration and release of high-sulfur iron ore under the oxidizing roasting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy ion acceleration from an ultrathin foil target irradiated by a p -polarized and spatially Gaussian laser pulse at intensity of 1023 W/cm2 is studied by using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We find that, in the extremely intense laser fields, the radiation reaction force from bright γ-rays radiated by radially oscillating electrons is large enough to match the Coulomb explosive force of foil electrons. The undesirable transverse expansion of the foil from the electron heating and inhomogeneous radial profile of the laser intensity is effectively suppressed. The foil maintains relatively good opacity in its central region stabilizing localized acceleration of heavy ions. With a laser of intensity 3.4 × 1023 W/cm2, duration of 33 fs, and power of 96 PW, a dense monoenergetic Au79+ ion bunch with a peak energy of ∼160 GeV can be obtained in the radiation-dominated QED regime. Such a high-quality heavy ion beam is useful for investigating nuclear matter equation of state and quantum chromodynamic phase transition in intermediate-energy heavy ion collisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric energy is the most commonly used energy in people's daily life. In the process of use, how to improve the utilization rate of resources, so as to achieve the purpose of energy saving and environmental protection of power resources is a very significant work. The power grid is crucial in the transmission of electricity, and the energy consumption of substations is a major factor affecting the operation cost. Therefore, it is a key condition to ensure the stable operation of the power grid to scientifically calculate its energy consumption and formulate appropriate energy-saving measures. After consulting a large number of relevant documents and data, it has been found that many researchers have provided new ideas for the calculation of energy consumption and the study of energy-saving measures in substations. This article was adding its own understanding and taking it as the direction and basis. In the introduction, the research significance of substation energy consumption calculation was introduced, and then the academic research and analysis were carried out on the two key sentences of substation energy consumption calculation and analysis and the research of multi-objective artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm in substation. In the method part, a constructive algorithm theory was proposed, and the application of the algorithm in substation energy consumption was proposed to provide a theoretical basis for the energy consumption calculation and energy conservation measures research of substations based on multi-objective ABC algorithm. At the end of the article, a simulation comparison experiment was carried out and the experiment was summarized and discussed. Firstly, the performance of the two algorithms was analyzed. Then, through the first selection of power plant T and Y, it was concluded that the resistivity of the cable in the distribution room in power plant Y was much higher than the average value based on the experimental results. Therefore, it was taken as the sample subject of the following experiments and analyzed again. For the second time, the analysis of district power plant Y showed that through simple calculation, the average energy efficiency difference of the distribution room before and after use was 3.1. Finally, it was analyzed that the ABC algorithm could not only improve the energy efficiency of the distribution room in the power plant, but also improve the effective efficiency of its power station. It shows that this kind of algorithm is effective and worthy of further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prdx2 is a peroxiredoxin (Prx) family protein that protects cells from attack via reactive oxygen species (ROS), and it has an important role in improving the resistance and scavenging capacity of ROS in fungi. Arthrobotrys oligospora is a widespread nematode-trapping fungus that can produce three-dimensional nets to capture and kill nematodes. In this study, AoPrdx2, a homologous protein of Prx5, was investigated in A. oligospora via gene disruption, phenotypic analysis, and metabolomics. The deletion of Aoprdx2 resulted in an increase in the number of mycelial septa and a reduction in the number of nuclei and spore yield. Meanwhile, the absence of Aoprdx2 increased sensitivity to oxidative stresses, whereas the ∆Aoprdx2 mutant strain resulted in higher ROS levels than that of the wild-type (WT) strain. In particular, the inactivation of Aoprdx2 severely influenced trap formation and pathogenicity; the number of traps produced by the ∆Aoprdx2 mutant strain was remarkably reduced and the number of mycelial rings of traps in the ∆Aoprdx2 mutant strain was less than that of the WT strain. In addition, the abundance of metabolites in the ∆Aoprdx2 mutant strain was significantly downregulated compared with the WT strain. These results indicate that AoPrdx2 plays an indispensable role in the scavenging of ROS, trap morphogenesis, and secondary metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humidity sensors play a critical role in diverse fields such as agricultural production, medical equipment, and weather forecasting. However, the majority of existing humidity sensors rely on batteries or are relatively costly to construct. In this study, a simple, efficient, and battery-free visual humidity sensor was developed by combining cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) with acrylic acid (AA) and subsequently curing it to form an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) film. The IPN film changes colour with relative humidity (RH). Moreover, it has been confirmed that the film exhibits excellent repeatability, and its performance remains relatively unaffected by temperature fluctuations. Additionally, the relationship between film thickness and response time is explored in this research. Through orthogonal experiments involving various proportions of CLC, the study also scrutinises the influence of each component on the humidity response performance of the IPN films. During the transition from 40% RH to 90% RH, IPN film sample 3 experienced a remarkable redshift of 123.05 nm in the reflected wavelength. As for sample 9, its humidity response demonstrated an outstanding linearity of 0.9986. Consequently, the experimental outcomes provide strong evidence that this IPN film exhibits superior humidity response capabilities and holds considerable promise for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infection is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Studying the relationship between different traits of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and MM is critical for the management and treatment of MM patients with COVID-19. But all the studies on the relationship so far were observational and the results were also contradictory. Using the latest publicly available COVID-19 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data, we performed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis of the causality between MM and different traits of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 hospitalization, and severe COVID-19) and use multi-trait analysis of GWAS(MTAG) to identify new associated SNPs in MM. We performed co-localization analysis to reveal potential causal pathways between diseases and over-representation enrichment analysis to find involved biological pathways. IVW results showed SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalization increased risk of MM. In the reverse analysis, the causal relationship was not found between MM for each of the different symptoms of COVID-19. Co-localization analysis identified LZTFL1, MUC4, OAS1, HLA-C, SLC22A31, FDX2, and MAPT as genes involved in COVID-19-mediated causation of MM. These genes were mainly related to immune function, glycosylation modifications and virus defense. Three novel MM-related SNPs were found through MTAG, which may regulate the expression of B3GNT6. This is the first study to use MR to explore the causality between different traits of COVID-19 and MM. The results of our two-way MR analysis found that SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalization increased the susceptibility of MM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Nitrogen is correlated with plant biomass and Cd concentration, collectively influencing phytoextraction of Cd-polluted soil. The Cd phytoextraction by hyperaccumulating plants and high biomass plants as affected by nitrogen remains elusive. Methods: Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), a high biomass energy plant, and Solanum nigrum L., a Cd hyperaccumulator were investigated. Plant growth, Cd accumulation and soil properties as affected by different forms and dosages of nitrogen supply in Cd-polluted soil were studied. Additionally, rhizosphere soil bacterial and fungal community changes of the two species and their relationships with plant Cd accumulation were determined. Results: A high level of nitrate resulted in the highest and equal Cd accumulation in shoots of the two plants. Sweet sorghum exhibited high photosynthesis rates with capacity for bioethanol production, enabling the re-utilization of post-harvested Cd materials. Consequently, sweet sorghum demonstrated a greater potential for Cd phytoextraction than S. nigrum. Regarding microbial community, clay was the driving factor influencing rhizosphere soil bacterial community in sweet sorghum as affected by nitrogen under Cd stress, while soil available Cd played a vital role in S. nigrum. Moreover, Pseudomonas and AKYG1722 bacteria showed a positive correlation with shoot Cd accumulation in sweet sorghum. AKYG1722, Sphingobium herbicidovorans, Sphingobium chlorophenolicum, Streptomyces scabiei, Devosia sp. I507, Bacillus simplex and Ensifer meliloti were positively correlated with shoot Cd accumulation in S. nigrum. Conclusions: Nitrate performs better than ammonium and urea for improving phytoremediation of Cd-polluted soil using sweet sorghum and S. nigrum, but their rhizosphere soil microbial communities were species-dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese landscape painting is prone to low-resolution image issues during the digital protection process. To reconstruct high-quality images from low-resolution landscape paintings, we propose a novel Chinese landscape painting generation diffusion probabilistic model (CLDiff), which is similar to the Langevin dynamic process, and realizes the transformation of the Gaussian distribution into the empirical data distribution through multiple iterative refinement steps. The proposed CLDiff can provide ink texture clear super-resolution predictions by gradually transforming the pure Gaussian noise into a super-resolution landscape painting condition on a low-resolution input through a parameterized Markov Chain. Moreover, by introducing an attention module with an energy function into the U-Net architecture, we turn the denoising diffusion probabilistic model into a powerful generator. Experimental results show that CLDiff achieves better visual results and highly competitive performance in traditional Chinese Landscape painting super-resolution tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diversification has been proposed as a promising strategy for transitioning towards sustainable agricultural systems. The Hetao Irrigation District faces multiple challenges in ensuring food security and farmer livelihood. A diversified green manure inclusive cropping system was designed to evaluate the influences of hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) incorporation on soil nutrients, yield, and economic benefit compared to the existing wheat–maize–sunflower rotation system in the Hetao Irrigation District. The specific method was as follows: spring wheat (Triticum-durum L.)–vetch rotation in the first year, maize (Zea mays L.)/vetch intercropping in the second year, and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)/vetch relay intercropping in the third year. Over a 6-year experimental observation, green manure incorporation significantly increased soil alkaline hydrolyzed nitrogen and exchangeable potassium levels. Although the effect of green manure incorporation on the yield of rotated spring wheat and intercropped maize was not prominent, it improved sunflower yield in the second rotation cycle by 11%. Consequently, only the sunflower led to an increase in income of 235 CNY ha−1 in the second rotation cycle. This indicates that the soil-property-building and yield-enhancing effects of green manure incorporation require time to accumulate. However, the benefits derived from increased yield were not sufficient to offset the production costs associated with green manure cultivation, resulting in less-than-desirable economic returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper thoroughly discusses the electric activities generated by ion communication between cells and their surrounding environment. Specifically, it focuses on the transients of firing activities of a four-dimensional pituitary model that evolves on three disparate timescales. To examine the impact of inward rectifying K + current and calcium concentration on the firing activities, a bifurcation analysis is conducted, categorizing three primary behaviors: resting, tonic spiking, and bursting. Each behavior is validated through their respective time courses, with the pituitary cells showing higher secretion rates of hormones and neurotransmitters during bursting than spiking. The geometric singular perturbed theory is applied to reveal hidden geometric features and the transient mechanisms associated with bursting, particularly mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs). Singular orbit construction performed in two-timescale separation with different viewpoints offers clarity on the underlying dynamic mechanisms. Canard-induced MMOs are observed in the context of 1 fast/3 slow and 2 fast/2 slow separations, facilitated by the presence of folded saddle-node and folded node, respectively. Additionally, the fast–slow analysis of the 3 fast/1 slow subsystem, which treats calcium concentration c as a parameter, in conjunction with the singular orbit constructions, effectively illustrates the system's complex dynamics. Furthermore, the information obtained in 1 fast/3 slow and 3 fast/1 slow discussions is interplayed in the context of three-timescale separation. The singular orbits identified within three-timescale framework offer a supplemental perspective to the delicate firing patterns observed in two-timescale analysis, enriching the overall understanding of the transient and long-term firing behaviors of the pituitary cells. This study presents valuable insights into the firing features in pituitary cells from the perspectives of dynamic systems. The singular perturbation analysis provides useful viewpoints for accessing firing patterns in multi-timescale systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a prevalent hematological malignancy that poses significant challenges for treatment. Dysregulated cholesterol metabolism has been linked to tumorigenesis, disease progression, and therapy resistance. However, the correlation between cholesterol metabolism-related genes (CMGs) and the prognosis of MM remains unclear. Univariate Cox regression analysis and LASSO Cox regression analysis were applied to construct an overall survival-related signature based on the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The signature was validated using three external datasets. Enrichment analysis and immune analysis were performed between two risk groups. Furthermore, an optimal nomogram was established for clinical application, and its performance was assessed by the calibration curve and C-index. A total of 6 CMGs were selected to establish the prognostic signature, including ANXA2, CHKA, NSDHL, PMVK, SCAP and SQLE. The prognostic signature demonstrated good prognostic performance and correlated with several important clinical parameters, including number of transplants, International Staging System, albumin, beta2-Microglobulin and lactate dehydrogenase levels. The function analysis and immune analysis revealed that the metabolic pathways and immunologic status were associated with risk score. The nomogram incorporating the signature along with other clinical characteristics was constructed and the discrimination was verified by the calibration curve and C-index. Our findings indicated the potential prognostic connotation of cholesterol metabolism in MM. The development and validation of the prognostic signature is expected to aid in predicting prognosis and guiding precision treatment for MM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High accuracy and a high spatiotemporal resolution of precipitation are essential for the hydrological, ecological, and environmental fields. However, the existing daily gridded precipitation datasets, such as remote sensing products, are limited both by the coarse resolution and the low accuracy. Despite considerable efforts having been invested in downscaling or merging, a method of coupled and simultaneously downscaling and merging multiple datasets is currently lacking, which limits the wide application of individual popular satellite precipitation products. For the first time, in this study, we propose a simple coupled merging and downscaling (CMD) method for simultaneously obtaining multiple high-resolution and high-accuracy daily precipitation datasets. A pixel-repeated decomposition method was first proposed, and the random forest (RF) method was then applied to merge multiple daily precipitation datasets. The individual downscaled dataset was obtained by multiplying the result of merging by an explanatory rate obtained by RF. The results showed that the CMD method exhibited significantly better performance compared with the original datasets, with the mean absolute error (MAE) improving by up to 50%, the majority of the values of bias ranging between −1 mm and 1 mm, and the majority of the Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE) values being greater than 0.7. CMD was more accurate than the widely used dataset, Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP), with a 43% reduction in the MAE and a 245% improvement in the KGE. In addition, the long-term estimation suggested that the proposed method exhibits stable good performance over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in precipitation have a great influence on human society and the natural environment. Existing studies have provided substantial information regarding variations in the magnitude, frequency, and intensity of precipitation. However, little is known about how the start and end dates of precipitation change, which could offer crucial insights for related studies in agriculture, hydrology, and other related disciplines. Here, we present an analysis of variations in the start date, end date, and frequency of different precipitation intensities, using a widely used gauge-satellite-reanalysis-based merging product, during the latest period, 1980–2022, across China. The results show that the spatial–temporal variations in the start date, end date, and frequency of different precipitation intensities were complex among regions. For example, in northeast and northwest China, light precipitation (LP) started earlier and increased in frequency during the study period. In the Tibetan Plateau, precipitation at different intensities levels started earlier, heavy precipitation (HP) and violent precipitation ended earlier, and the frequency of LP and moderate precipitation increased significantly. The start date of HP shifted earlier in Southeast China (−0.28 days/year). Our findings could be helpful in providing a comprehensive understanding of precipitation changes under global warming and highlight the need to pay close attention to these precipitation changes in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With ongoing global warming, heatwave-related disasters are on the rise, exerting a multifaceted impact on both the natural ecosystem and human society. While temperature has been extensively studied in the effects of extreme heat on human health, humidity has often been ignored. It is crucial to consider the combined influence of temperature and humidity when assessing heatwave risks and safeguarding human well-being. This study, leveraging remote sensing products and reanalysis data, presented the first analysis of the spatiotemporal variations in global human-perceived heatwaves on a seasonal scale from 2000 to 2020, and further employed the Random Forest (RF) regression model to quantitatively assess the explanatory power of seven driving factors. The study found that since the 21st century (1) changes in Heat Index (HI) have varied significantly worldwide, with the majority of regions witnessing an increase, particularly at higher latitudes. The largest HI-increasing area was observed in the second quarter (S2), while the overall HI increase peaked in the third quarter (S3); (2) except for the decreasing area of none-risk regions, the regions under all other risk levels expanded (the proportion of high-risk areas in the world increased from 2.97% to 3.69% in S2, and from 0.04% to 0.35% in the fourth quarter (S4)); (3) aspect demonstrated the greatest explanatory power for the global heatwave distribution (0.69–0.76), followed by land-use coverage (LUCC, 0.48–0.55) and precipitation (0.16–0.43), while the explanatory power of slope and nighttime light (NTL) was rather low; (4) over the years, the explanatory power of each factor for heatwave distribution underwent a minor decrease without significant trend, but exhibited seasonal periodicity. Climatic factors and LUCC were most impactful in the first quarter (S1), while DEM and other human factors dominated in S2; and (5) interaction factors showed no significant trends over the years, but the explanatory power of DEM and slope increased notably when interacting with climate factor, aspect, and LUCC, respectively. The interactions between the aspect and LUCC with precipitation yielded the highest explanatory power (above 0.85) across all interactions. To effectively tackle heatwave risks, it is suggested to concentrate on high-latitude regions, reinforce land use and urban planning with eco-friendly strategies, scrutinize the interplay between precipitation and heatwaves, capitalize on topographic data for devising well-informed prevention measures, and tailor response strategies to accommodate seasonal fluctuations. This study offers valuable insights for enhancing climate change adaptation, disaster prevention, and mitigation strategies, ultimately contributing to the alleviation of extreme heatwaves and risk reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in endometrial cancer is limited. At present, the anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) antibody is only used in patients with recurrence or metastasis. CD40 is an important immune checkpoint, which is expressed in tumor cells and immune cells, but its distribution characteristics in endometrial carcinoma have not been explored. Methods: Sixty-eight cases of primary endometrial carcinoma treated in Peking University People's Hospital from January 2010 to December 2020 were collected, including 28 cases of poorly differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma, 23 cases of serous carcinoma and 17 cases of clear cell carcinoma. The relationship of CD40 expression and PD-L1 expression with their prognosis was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results: We found that CD40 had higher expression in non-endometrioid endometrial carcinoma, which lead to the worse prognosis. The effect of high expression of CD40 on the prognosis of endometrioid adenocarcinoma was not significantly different, and most patients with good prognosis. We found that the proportion of CD40 distribution in tumor cells and immune cells may be associated with this heterogeneity. Conclusion: The expression of CD40 in different endometrial cancers may indicate the difference prognosis, which may become a potential target for drug treatment of non-endometrioid endometrial carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate water quality estimation is important for water environment monitoring and water resource management and has emerged as a pivotal aspect of ecological rehabilitation and sustainable development. However, due to the strong spatial heterogeneity of water quality parameters, it is still challenging to obtain highly accurate spatial patterns of them. Taking chemical oxygen demand as an example, this study proposes a novel estimation method for generating highly accurate chemical oxygen demand fields in Poyang Lake. Specifically, based on the different water levels and monitoring sites in Poyang Lake, an optimal virtual sensor network was first established. A Taylor expansion-based method with integration of spatial correlation and spatial heterogeneity was developed by considering environmental factors, the optimal virtual sensor network, and existing monitoring stations. The proposed approach was evaluated and compared with other approaches using a leave-one cross-validation process. Results show that the proposed method exhibits good performance in estimating chemical oxygen demand fields in Poyang Lake, with mean absolute error improved by 8% and 33%, respectively, on average, when compared with classical interpolators and remote sensing methods. In addition, the applications of virtual sensors improve the performance of the proposed method, with mean absolute error and root mean squared error values reduced by 20% to 60% over 12 months. The proposed method provides an effective tool for estimating highly accurate spatial fields of chemical oxygen demand concentrations and could be applied to other water quality parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new method to determine the viability of a switched system on a cone and an unbounded polyhedron. First, we investigate the viability condition on a cone. Then, a sufficient viability criterion for a polyhedron, which is expressed by a convex hull of finite number of extreme points and a nonnegative linear combination of finite extreme directions, is presented by using nonsmooth analysis. Based on this criterion, instead of all boundary points, just several extreme points and extreme directions are needed to be verified whether satisfying some conditions. The advantage of the proposed methods is that determining the viability for a switched system is easy to be implemented. Finally, an example is listed to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the influence of the weak layer dip angle on the creep rupture of the composite rock mass, this paper conducts a graded loading creep experiment on the composite rock mass with different dip angles using the acoustic emission method to examine the fracture evolution process. With increasing load grade, the cumulative total ring count of the rock mass shows a "U"-shaped trend, and the acoustic emission spatial positioning results show that acoustic emission events in the rock mass fracture process are primarily concentrated in the vicinity of the weak layer, while events in other areas are few and dispersed. For rock masses with weak layer dip angles of 0° and 15°, cracks occur in both soft and hard rocks, where shear cracks are dominant in soft rocks, tensile cracks are dominant in hard rocks, and finally, the rock mass mainly exhibits tensile splitting failure. For rock masses with weak layer dip angles of 30° and 45°, most of the cracks exist in the interior of the soft rock, which is dominated by shear cracks. With increasing graded loads, the shear cracks continue to develop along the direction of the weak layer, the upper rock mass keeps slipping and dislocating, and the final failure mode is mainly shear-slip failure. The damage evolution varies with the inclination angle of the weak layer, which can be divided into three stages: initial damage accumulation, damage acceleration, and damage destruction. This demonstrates the ability to predict, prevent, and control the occurrence of creep disasters in rock masses with weak layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining precipitation estimates with high resolution and high accuracy is critically important for regional meteorological, hydrological, and other applications. Although satellite precipitation products can provide precipitation fields at various scales, their applications are limited by the relatively coarse spatial resolution and low accuracy. In this study, we propose a multi-source merging approach for generating accurate and high-resolution precipitation fields on a daily time scale. Specifically, a random effects eigenvector spatial filtering (RESF) method was first applied to downscale satellite precipitation datasets. The RESF method, together with Kriging, was then applied to merge the downscaled satellite precipitation products with station observations. The results were compared against observations and a data fusion dataset, the Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP). It was shown that the estimates of the proposed method significantly outperformed the individual satellite precipitation product, reducing the average value of mean absolute error (MAE) by 52%, root mean square error (RMSE) by 63%, and improving the mean value of Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE) by 157%, respectively. Daily precipitation estimates exhibited similar spatial patterns to the MSWEP products, and were more accurate in almost all cases, with a 42% reduction in MAE, 46% reduction in RMSE, and 79% improvement in KGE. The proposed approach provides a promising solution to generate accurate daily precipitation fields with high spatial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purity of monosporic acid was up to 98.3%, which has a good application prospect in the preparation of anticoagulant drugs. Monospora acid group significantly prolonged APTT compared with the control group, indicating that monospora acid has anticoagulant activity by inhibiting one or more of the aforementioned coagulation factors; however, the effect was weaker than that of breviscapine group. Monospora acid significantly prolonged TT and PT, demonstrating that monospora acid has a significant anticoagulant effect, but the target does not include fibrinogen. Anticoagulant drugs prevent blood coagulation by affecting clotting factors, mainly used in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic diseases [[4]]. [Extracted from the article]

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with chemometrics was used for rapid source identification and component quantification of Arnebiae Radix. The modeling parameters were determined using the processing trajectory method. The quantitative model of target components was established using the model fusion method. The root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC), root mean square error of validation (RMSEP), determination coefficient of calibration (Rcal2) and validation (Rpre2), and the ratio of standard error of prediction to standard deviation (RPD) were used to evaluate the constructed model. The RMSEC, Rcal2, RMSEP, Rpre2, and RPD of β-β'-dimethylacryloacanin partial least square (PLS) model established using the step-by-step strategy were 1.3004 mg/g, 0.9453, 1.3833 mg/g, 0.9544, and 4.6650, respectively. The RMSEC, Rcal2, RMSEP, Rpre2, and RPD of total pigment PLS model were 4.5095 mg/g, 0.9533, 4.5679 mg/g, 0.9534, and 3.0509, respectively. The RMSEC, Rcal2, RMSEP, Rpre2, and RPD of β-β'-dimethylacryloacanin Bagging-PLS model established using the process trajectory were 1.6126 mg/g, 0.9159, 1.2254 mg/g, 0.9649, and 5.2662, respectively. The RMSEC, Rcal2, RMSEP, Rpre2, and RPD of the total pigment Bagging-PLS model were 4.3499 mg/g, 0.9565, 4.4662 mg/g, 0.9116, and 3.1205, respectively. The accuracy of quantitative model may be improved using the process trajectory and model fusion method. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to establish the discriminant models of different sources of Arnebiae Radix. The predicted accuracy rate was 100%. The method is simple, rapid, and demonstrated for the discrimination and quantitative analysis of the main active ingredients of Arnebiae Radix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS) has unfortunately been the third leading cause of neonatal death worldwide. The current study is aimed at discovering reliable biomarkers for the diagnosis of neonatal EOS through transcriptomic analysis of publicly available datasets. Whole blood mRNA expression profiling of neonatal EOS patients in the GSE25504 dataset was downloaded and analyzed. The binomial LASSO model was constructed to select genes that most accurately predicted neonatal EOS. Then, ROC curves were generated to assess the performance of the predictive features in differentiating between neonatal EOS and normal infants. Finally, the miRNA-mRNA network was established to explore the potential biological mechanisms of genes within the model. Four genes (CST7, CD3G, CD247, and ANKRD22) were identified that most accurately predicted neonatal EOS and were subsequently used to construct a diagnostic model. ROC analysis revealed that this diagnostic model performed well in differentiating between neonatal EOS and normal infants in both the GSE25504 dataset and our clinical cohort. Finally, the miRNA-mRNA network consisting of the four genes and potential target miRNAs was constructed. Through bioinformatics analysis, a diagnostic four-gene model that can accurately distinguish neonatal EOS in newborns with bacterial infection was constructed, which can be used as an auxiliary test for diagnosing neonatal EOS with bacterial infection in the future. Conclusion: In the current study, we analyzed gene expression profiles of neonatal EOS patients from public databases to develop a genetic model for predicting sepsis, which could provide insight into early molecular changes and biological mechanisms of neonatal EOS. What is Known: • Infants with suspected EOS usually receive empiric antibiotic therapy directly after birth. • When blood cultures are negative after 48 to 72 hours, empirical antibiotic treatment is often halted. Needless to say, this is not a short time. Additionally, because of the concern for inadequate clinical sepsis production and the limited sensitivity of blood cultures, the duration of antibiotic therapy for the kid is typically extended. What is New: • We established a 4-gene diagnostic model of neonatal EOS with bacterial infection by bioinformatics analysis method. The model has better diagnostic performance compared with conventional inflammatory indicators such as CRP, Hb, NEU%, and PCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Chinese government implemented the dynamic COVID-zero strategy. We hypothesized that pandemic mitigation measures might have reduced the incidence, mortality rates, and case fatality ratios (CFRs) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 2020–2022. Method: We collected HIV incidence and mortality data from the website of the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China from January 2015 to December 2022. We compared the observed and predicted HIV values in 2020–2022 with those in 2015–2019 using a two-ratio Z-test. Results: From January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2022, a total of 480,747 HIV incident cases were reported in mainland China, of which 60,906 (per year) and 58,739 (per year) were reported in 2015–2019 (pre-COVID-19 stage) and 2020–2022 (post-COVID-19 stage), respectively. The average yearly HIV incidence decreased by 5.2450% (from 4.4143 to 4.1827 per 100,000 people, p < 0.001) in 2020–2022 compared with that in 2015–2019. However, the average yearly HIV mortality rates and CFRs increased by 14.1076 and 20.4238%, respectively (all p < 0.001), in 2020–2022 compared with those in 2015–2019. During the emergency phase in January 2020 to April 2020, the monthly incidence was significantly lower (23.7158%) than that during the corresponding period in 2015–2019, while the incidence during the routine stage in May 2020–December 2022 increased by 27.4334%, (all p < 0.001). The observed incidence and mortality rates for HIV decreased by 16.55 and 18.1052% in 2020, by 25.1274 and 20.2136% in 2021, and by 39.7921 and 31.7535% in 2022, respectively, compared with the predicted values, (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings suggest that China's dynamic COVID-zero strategy may have partly disrupted HIV transmission and further slowed down its growth. Without China's dynamic COVID-zero strategy, HIV incidence and deaths in the country would have likely remained high in 2020–2022. There is an urgent need to expand and improve HIV prevention, care, and treatment, as well as surveillance in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is a gonochoristic fish with no sexual dimorphism in appearance, making sex identification difficult. Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) function in transposon silencing and gametogenesis and are involved in various physiological processes, including sex development and differentiation. Exosomal piRNAs can be indicators for the determination of sex and physiological status. In this study, four piRNAs were differentially expressed in both serum exosomes and gonads between male and female greater amberjack. Three piRNAs (piR-dre-32793, piR-dre-5797, and piR-dre-73318) were significantly up-regulated and piR-dre-332 was significantly down-regulated in serum exosomes and gonads of male fish, compared to female fish, consistent with the serum exosomal results. According to the relative expression of four marker piRNAs derived from the serum exosomes of greater amberjack, the highest relative expression of piR-dre-32793, piR-dre-5797, and piR-dre-73318 in seven female fish and that of piR-dre-332 in seven male fish can be used as the standard for sex determination. The method of sex identification can ascertain the sex of greater amberjack by blood collection from the living body, without sacrificing fish. The four piRNAs did not show sex-inclined expression in the hypothalamus, pituitary, heart, liver, intestine, and muscle tissue. A piRNA–target interaction network involving 32 piRNA-mRNA pairs was generated. Sex-related target genes were enriched in sex-related pathways, including oocyte meiosis, transforming growth factor-beta signaling pathway, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, and gonadotropin releasing hormone signaling pathway. These results provide a basis for sex determination in greater amberjack and improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying sex development and differentiation in the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuation (ALFF) has been widely used for localization of abnormal activity at the single‐voxel level in resting‐state fMRI (RS‐fMRI) studies. However, previous ALFF studies were based on fast Fourier transform (FFT‐ALFF). Our recent study found that ALFF based on wavelet transform (Wavelet‐ALFF) showed better sensitivity and reproducibility than FFT‐ALFF. The current study aimed to test the reliability and validity of Wavelet‐ALFF, and apply Wavelet‐ALFF to investigate the modulation effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The reliability and validity were assessed on multicenter RS‐fMRI datasets under eyes closed (EC) and eyes open (EO) conditions (248 healthy participants in total). We then detected the sensitivity of Wavelet‐ALFF using a rTMS modulation dataset (24 healthy participants). For each dataset, Wavelet‐ALFF based on five mother wavelets (i.e., db2, bior4.4, morl, meyr and sym3) and FFT‐ALFF were calculated in the conventional band and five frequency sub‐bands. The results showed that the reliability of both inter‐scanner and intra‐scanner was higher with Wavelet‐ALFF than with FFT‐ALFF across multiple frequency bands, especially db2‐ALFF in the higher frequency band slow‐2 (0.1992–0.25 Hz). In terms of validity, the multicenter ECEO datasets showed that the effect sizes of Wavelet‐ALFF with all mother wavelets (especially for db2‐ALFF) were larger than those of FFT‐ALFF across multiple frequency bands. Furthermore, Wavelet‐ALFF detected a larger modulation effect than FFT‐ALFF. Collectively, Wavelet db2‐ALFF showed the best reliability and validity, suggesting that db2‐ALFF may offer a powerful metric for inspecting regional spontaneous brain activities in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: The modified injection technique developed in Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences has significantly improved the visualization rate of internal mammary sentinel lymph nodes (IMSLN), however there is still a gap between the visualization rate of IMSLN obtained by this technique and that of axillary sentinel lymph nodes (ASLN). The study aimed to further improve the IMSLN visualization rate and promote the widespread use of internal mammary sentinel lymph node biopsy (IM-SLNB) by optimizing the modified injection technique. Methods: A total of 159 patients with primary breast cancer were enrolled in a prospective group and divided into the optimized radiotracer technique group (group A, n=81) and the modified injection technique group (group B, n=78). In group A, 99mTc-sulfur colloid was injected averagely into parenchyma in the gland's three most abundant regions under ultrasound guidance (total radioactive intensity 1.0-1.3 mCi; 0.8-1.0 mL/point). In group B, 99mTc-sulfur colloid was injected averagely into the parenchyma of the breast at 6 and 12 points under ultrasound guidance (total radioactive intensity 1.0-1.3 mCi; 0.8-1.0 mL/point). Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) lymphoscintigraphy was performed preoperatively, and the sentinel lymph nodes were detected intraoperatively by γ probe. In this study, we evaluated the differences in IMSLN and ASLN visualization rates between the groups, and also analyzed the factors that may affect the IMSLN visualization rate. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in visualization rate of IM-SLN measured by preoperative SPECT/CT between the two groups (P=0.806). The intraoperative visualization rate of IM-SLN was significantly higher in group A than in group B (87.65% vs 70.51%, P=0.008). Analysis of subgroups showed that the intraoperative visualization rate of IMSLN was 92.31% and 83.33% (P=0.315) in group A patients aged ≤50 years and >50 years, respectively, and the intraoperative visualization rate of IMSLN was significantly higher in group B patients aged ≤50 years than in patients aged >50 years (81.58% vs 60.00%, P=0.037). The median in vitro radioactivity count of IMSLN was significantly higher in group A than in group B (160.50 vs 59.00, P=0.005). Conclusion: The optimized radiotracer technique can effectively increase the lymphatic drainage and uptake in the internal mammary region of the radiotracer, which can significantly improve the visualization rate of IM-SLN without affecting the visualization rate of ASLN, and is conducive to the promotion and application of IM-SLNB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We revealed how the gut-brain crosstalk affects cognitive function in chronic sleep deprivation. • Our results identified gut microbiota as a driver of various detrimental effects in chronic sleep deprivation and highlighted the NLRP3 inflammasome as a key regulator within the microbiota-gut-brain axis. • Gut microbiota dysbiosis led to the breakdown of the intestinal barrier by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome, which plays a critical role in cognitive impairment induced by chronic sleep deprivation. Growing evidence suggests the involvement of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in cognitive impairment induced by sleep deprivation (SD), however how the microbiota-gut-brain axis work remains elusive. Here, we discovered that chronic SD induced intestinal dysbiosis, activated NLRP3 inflammasome in the colon and brain, destructed intestinal/blood–brain barrier, and impaired cognitive function in mice. Transplantation of "SD microbiota" could almost mimic the pathological and behavioral changes caused by chronic SD. Furthermore, all the behavioral and pathological abnormalities were practically reversed in chronic sleep-deprived NLRP3-/- mice. Regional knockdown NLRP3 expression in the gut and hippocampus, respectively. We observed that down-regulation of NLRP3 in the hippocampus inhibited neuroinflammation, and ameliorated synaptic dysfunction and cognitive impairment induced by chronic SD. More intriguingly, the down-regulation of NLRP3 in the gut protected the intestinal barrier, attenuated the levels of peripheral inflammatory factors, down-regulated the expression of NLRP3 in the brain, and improved cognitive function in chronic SD mice. Our results identified gut microbiota as a driver in chronic SD and highlighted the NLRP3 inflammasome as a key regulator within the microbiota-gut-brain axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uniformly distributed In2O3 nanoparticle modified reduced graphene oxide sheets (In2O3/rGO) were synthesized via a normal-pressure microwave-assisted method with an in situ growth process. In the In2O3/rGO composites, In2O3 nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 3 to 26 nm are evenly fixed on rGO surfaces. In2O3/rGO sensors exhibit high sensitivity, rapid response and recovery, and high selectivity toward 1–50 ppm NO gas at 150 °C. The mass ratio of indium nitrate to GO during synthesis (16–24) dramatically influences the NO-sensing properties of In2O3/rGO composites, and the 20-In2O3/rGO sensor shows the highest response at the optimal operating temperature of 150 °C. Compared with the In2O3 sensor, the 20-In2O3/rGO sensor presents greatly improved gas-sensing properties, including higher response, lower optimal operating temperature, and better selectivity toward NO gas. The response of the 20-In2O3/rGO sensor toward 50 ppm NO at 150 °C is 30.6, 6 times higher than that (5.2) of the In2O3 sensor. The enhanced NO-sensing properties of the In2O3/rGO nanocomposite could be attributed to the synergistic effect of In2O3 particles and rGO sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inflammatory microenvironment involves changes in pH and protein phosphorylation state and is closely related to the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis (AS). Herein, we constructed a dual‐detection fluorescence nanosensor PCN‐NP‐HPZ based on post modification of MOFs, which realized the simultaneous detection and imaging of pH and phosphorylation through the pH‐sensitive group piperazine and the ZrIV node of the MOFs. The sensors were used to monitor changes in blood pH and phosphate levels at different time stages during atherosclerotic plaque formation. Two‐photon fluorescence imaging was also performed in the vascular endothelium. Blood tests combined with two‐photon fluorescence images indicated that in the early stage of AS, blood and tissue pH levels were lower than that of the normal mice, while phosphate and tissue phosphorylation levels were higher than that of the normal mice. The present study provides a new analysis method for the assessment of early atherosclerotic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inflammatory microenvironment involves changes in pH and protein phosphorylation state and is closely related to the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis (AS). Herein, we constructed a dual‐detection fluorescence nanosensor PCN‐NP‐HPZ based on post modification of MOFs, which realized the simultaneous detection and imaging of pH and phosphorylation through the pH‐sensitive group piperazine and the ZrIV node of the MOFs. The sensors were used to monitor changes in blood pH and phosphate levels at different time stages during atherosclerotic plaque formation. Two‐photon fluorescence imaging was also performed in the vascular endothelium. Blood tests combined with two‐photon fluorescence images indicated that in the early stage of AS, blood and tissue pH levels were lower than that of the normal mice, while phosphate and tissue phosphorylation levels were higher than that of the normal mice. The present study provides a new analysis method for the assessment of early atherosclerotic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Equity and efficiency are basic value dimensions to evaluate the effectiveness of China's medical and health service system (MHS) reform and development. Coordinated development of equity and efficiency is necessary to realize high-quality development of medical and health services. This study aims to evaluate the equity, efficiency, and combined efforts in coordinating the MHS during 1991–2020 reform. Methods: Data on China's MHS were obtained from the China Statistical Yearbook 1992–2021. Ratios of urban to rural residents' medical expenditure and number of medical professionals per 10,000 people were employed to evaluate MHS's equity. The data envelopment analysis-Malmquist model was employed to evaluate MHS's efficiency. We constructed a combined-efforts-in-coordination model to examine the coordination degree between equity and efficiency. Results: Equity of medical expenditure burden significantly improved from during 1991–2007. Urban residents' 1991 medical expenditure burden was 87.8% of that of rural residents, which increased to 100.1% in 2007. Urban areas' mean medical expenditure burden was 105.94% of that in rural areas during 1991–2007. The gap in equity of medical expenditure burden between urban and rural areas slowly widened after 2007, with urban areas' mean burden being 68.52% of that in rural areas during 2007–2020. Medical and health resources allocation shows an alarming inequity during this period, with mean number of medical professionals per 10,000 people in urban areas being 238.30% of that in rural areas. Efficiency experienced several fluctuations before 2008. Since 2008, efficiency was high (0.915) and remained stable, except in 2020. The combined-efforts-in-coordination score for medical expenditure burden was less than 0.2 for 80% of the years, while that for in medical and health resources was more than 0.5 for 99.67% of the years. Conclusions: MHS inequity remains between urban and rural China, primarily because of disproportionate allocation of medical and health resources. The government should enhance rural medical professionals' salary and welfare and provide medical subsidies for rural residents to adjust resource allocation levels in urban and rural areas, control differences in medical expenditure burden between urban and rural residents to a reasonable range, and continuously improve urban and rural residents' equity level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite-based and reanalysis precipitation products have experienced increasing popularity in agricultural, hydrological and meteorological applications, but their accuracy is still uncertain in different areas. In this study, six frequently used high-resolution daily precipitation products, including Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP), Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG), Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP), Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Cloud Classification System-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CCS-CDR) and European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis V5-Land (ERA5-Land), were comprehensively evaluated and compared in nine regions of mainland China between 2015 and 2019. The results reveal that, in general, GSMaP is the best precipitation product in different agricultural regions, especially based on the Pearson correlation coefficient (CC) and critical success index (CSI). ERA5-Land and MSWEP tend to have the highest probability of detection (POD) values, and MSWEP tends to have the smallest relative root mean squared error (RRMSE) values. GSMaP performs better at almost all precipitation levels and in most agricultural regions in each season, while MSWEP has the best performance for capturing the time series of mean daily precipitation. In addition, all precipitation products perform better in summer and worse in winter, and they are more accurate in the eastern region. The findings of this study will contribute to understanding the uncertainties of precipitation products, improving product quality and guiding product selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The golden pompano snout (GPS) and head kidney (GPHK) cell lines have been proven to be meaningful tools for the study on pathogenic infections in vitro. In this study, we aimed to select the most stable reference genes from seven housekeeping genes (Actin, B2M, GAPDH, RPL13, EF1A, 18S and UBCE) applied to two cell lines of golden pompano (GPS and GPHK) under both normal physiological conditions and stimulated conditions of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) relying on quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Additionally, the raw Ct value resulting from the qRT-PCR was analyzed by the geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper algorithm, and the results indicated that expression for all candidate genes exhibited some discrepancy under different experimental conditions or cell types. As for the non-stimulated group, 18S and RPL13 were the most appropriate reference genes in GPS and GPHK cells, respectively. Nevertheless, the most suitable reference genes in GPS and GPHK cells, under the stimulation of LPS, were RPL13 and 18S, respectively, whereas after being stimulated with Poly I:C, UBCE and EF1A were recommended as the optimal candidates for GPS and GPHK cells, respectively. To be sure of the reliability of the selected reference genes, immune-related genes (ISG15, BCL2, IRF1 and IRF7) were chosen as target genes to normalize. The study will provide a direction for various golden pompano cell lines to screen appropriate reference genes, and will set the stage for the application of these cell lines in relevant research areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hetao Irrigation District is the primary spring wheat production region in China. However, overuse and unscientific use of chemical fertilizer have resulted in low nutrient use efficiency and potential risks to the environment. Balanced fertilization (BF), a 29.9–36.4% N fertilizer and 40% P fertilizer, was reduced, while a 72 kg K2O ha−1 K fertilizer was supplied and designed to resolve problems encountered during the field trial from 2019 to 2021. The results showed that the grain yield did not decrease significantly in the BF treatments compared in the local farmer practice (FP) treatment. The nitrogen fertilizer partial productivity (PFPN) and agronomic nitrogen efficiency (NAEN) increased 42.95–52.88% and 44.06–49.24% with BF compared to with the FP, respectively. Moreover, the BF treatments reduced nitrate leaching in the 0–100 cm soil layer and reduced the N surplus (Nsur) to approximately 160 kg N per hectare per year, dramatically reducing the environmental risk. The yield maintenance and nitrogen use efficiency increases were attributed to the lower nitrogen concentrations in the seedlings and the higher apparent N translocation efficiency (TR) from the stems and sheaths after anthesis in the BF treatments than in the FP treatments. Considering the yield, nutrient use efficiency, and environmental and economic benefits comprehensively, the BF1 treatment was considered the optimal fertilization scheme for Hetao spring wheat production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a group of plant steroid hormones that play important roles in a wide range of developmental and physiological processes in plants. Transcription factors BRASSINOZALE-RESISTANT1 (BZR1) and its homologs are key components of BR signaling and integrate a wide range of internal and environmental signals to coordinate plant growth and development. Although several E3 ligases have been reported to regulate the stability of BZR1, the molecular mechanism of BZR1 degradation remains unclear. Here, we reveal how a newly identified molecular mechanism underlying EBF1 directly regulates BZR1 protein stability via the 26S proteasome pathway, repressing BR function on regulating Arabidopsis apical hook development and hypocotyl elongation. BZR1 directly binds to the EBF1 gene promotor to reduce EBF1 expression. Furthermore, the genetic analysis shows that BZR1, EIN3 and PIF4 interdependently regulate plant apical hook development. Taken together, our data demonstrates that EBF1 is a negative regulator of the BR signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cyclic adenosine monophosphate‐protein kinase A (cAMP‐PKA) signalling pathway is evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes and plays a crucial role in defending against external environmental challenges, which can modulate the cellular response to external stimuli. Arthrobotrys oligospora is a typical nematode‐trapping fungus that specializes in adhesive networks to kill nematodes. To elucidate the biological roles of the cAMP‐PKA signalling pathway, we characterized the orthologous adenylate cyclase AoAcy, a regulatory subunit (AoPkaR), and two catalytic subunits (AoPkaC1 and AoPkaC2) of PKA in A. oligospora by gene disruption, transcriptome, and metabolome analyses. Deletion of Aoacy significantly reduced the levels of cAMP and arthrobotrisins. Results revealed that Aoacy, AopkaR, and AopkaC1 were involved in hyphal growth, trap morphogenesis, sporulation, stress resistance, and autophagy. In addition, Aoacy and AopkaC1 were involved in the regulation of mitochondrial morphology, thereby affecting energy metabolism, whereas AopkaC2 affected sporulation, nuclei, and autophagy. Multi‐omics results showed that the cAMP‐PKA signalling pathway regulated multiple metabolic and cellular processes. Collectively, these data highlight the indispensable role of cAMP‐PKA signalling pathway in the growth, development, and pathogenicity of A. oligospora, and provide insights into the regulatory mechanisms of signalling pathways in sporulation, trap formation, and lifestyle transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the emerging roles of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the regulation of the physiology of aquaculture animals raises the possibility of potential applications of ncRNAs for the advancement of aquaculture. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), like other ncRNAs do not encode proteins. However, by interacting directly with RNAs, DNAs or proteins lncRNAs participate in the regulation of target genes at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic levels. A number of studies have shown that lncRNAs play a key role in multiple aspects of animal physiology, including reproduction, development, growth, metabolism, stress response, immunity and rhythmicity. However, application of lncRNAs knowledge to aquaculture is still limited and dispersed. This review updated the status of lncRNAs research and suggested future directions that may contribute to development of potential applications of lncRNAs to the improvement of farmed aquatic animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physalin A is a promising natural product with excellent anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. However, the pharmacokinetic profile of physalin A is still unclear. In this study, a rapid and sensitive analytical method based on LC–MS/MS for the quantitation of physalin A in rat plasma with special consideration to its chemical stability was developed and validated. To avoid the degradation of physalin A, the separation of plasma was conducted at 4 °C directly after the blood samples were collected. Meanwhile, plasma samples were immediately precipitated with acetonitrile containing tolbutamide (internal standard, IS) and the pH of the supernatant was adjusted to 1.5 with formic acid. Chromatographic separation of physalin A and IS was achieved on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH-C18 column (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.7 μm) using 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as mobile phase delivered at 0.3 mL/min in a gradient elution mode. Physalin A and IS were detected through negative ion electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The MS/MS ion transitions for physalin A and IS were m/z 525.1–148.9 and m/z 269.8–169.9, respectively. The developed method showed good linearity over the range of 2.00–400 ng/mL. This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of physalin A in rats following its intragastric administration and the findings were beneficial for future studies of physalin A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of drought stress on yield, physiological and biochemical indexes and changes of ecological parameters of artificially cultivated Pinellia ternata. Pinellia ternata were taken from four regions including Changde, Fuling, Ziyang and Bijie. A 75%, 65%, and 55% field water capacity processing were set under the same planting conditions and changes in morphology, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activity and final yield of Pinellia ternata during the 80-day growth period was determined. Results of current study explored that when the field water capacity drops from 75% to 55%, the leaf area of Bijie Pinellia ternate decreased from 15.29 cm² to 10.88 cm² while Ziyang Pinellia ternate tuber fresh weight decreased from 2.58 g to 1.48 g. The content of chlorophyll a in Bijie Pinellia ternate decreased from 1.21 mg/g to 0.89 mg/g. Moderate and severe drought stress can significantly reduce the content of chlorophyll and soluble protein in leaves of Pinellia ternate, while CAT activity, SOD activity and POD activity showed different degrees of increase. Pinellia ternate of different regions showed certain interspecies differences in terms of changes in leaf area, fresh root yield, chlorophyll b content, MDA content, and CAT activity. Based on results, it is concluded that moderate drought stress can cause Pinellia ternate to produce significant ecological and physiological changes, and also affecting its tuber yield. 75% of field water holding capacity is a suitable soil moisture condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from various eukaryotes range from 30–1000 nm in diameter, and contain numerous cargoes, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids with various functions, which might be promising biomarkers or important modulating molecules. Research into the roles of EVs in aquatic animals is in its infancy. Limited studies have confirmed the existence of EVs in different kinds of aquatic animals, such as fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and reptiles, and a few of them have shown that EVs have similar roles to those in higher vertebrates. Therefore, research on EVs from aquatic animals will not only deepen our understanding of the complex biological process in aquatic animals, but also will provide evolution-related information. This review summarizes EVs extracted from different aquatic species and their different tissues, including details of their extraction methods, identification, characterization, contents analysis, and application. This review provides a reference for the in-depth study of the extracellular systems of aquatic animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the ecological, yield, physiological, and biochemical index of cultivated pinellia under different shade conditions and to analyze the influence of light intensity on Pinellia ternata’s ecological and physiological characteristics, our experiment employed four varieties of pinellia, Changde pinellia, Yuanling pinellia, Ziyang pinellia, and Bijie pinellia, as experiment materials, planted them under equivalent growing conditions, and placed them under different shade conditions (shade net settings of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% shade). The present study sought to determine the index changes of pinellia, including their morphology, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activity, and yield, over a 100-day growth period. The results under 25% shade, compared with full light, revealed the following: pinellia plants reached heights of up to 20.04 cm, an increase of 43.35%; the maximum leaf area was 16.15 cm², an increase of 34.78%; and the fresh weight of pinellia tubers decreased to varying degrees. Under shade treatment, the content of chlorophyll in pinellia leaves increased, the content of soluble protein and malondialdehyde decreased, and the activities of three antioxidant enzymes increased; these changes were overall consistent with the typical characteristics of shade plants, and the adaptability of pinellia to different shade conditions varied considerably. Moderate shade (25%–50% shade) could improve the physiological and ecological indicators of pinellia and reduce the threat of intense light exposure, but it would also reduce the tuber yield to varying extents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]