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Traditional threshold-based methods in brain functional network analysis have some drawbacks. First, the process of determining thresholds is often based on trial and error, lacking standardization, and exhibiting strong subjectivity. Second, this subjectivity may lead to the loss of emotion-related information, limiting a comprehensive understanding and accurate identification of underlying neural processes. To overcome these problems, the persistent homology (PH) theory based on topological data analysis was introduced in this study, and a PH-based framework for emotion recognition in functional brain networks was proposed. Firstly, the EEG signals were divided into five frequency bands (δ , θ , α , β , and γ ) and segmented into multiple time series using non-overlapping sliding windows. Secondly, considering the coupling relationship between brain regions in different emotional states, the degree of phase synchronization between channels was calculated using the phase-locking value (PLV), and the PLV-based brain functional network was constructed. The PLV brain functional network was then analyzed with PH to extract multiple persistent topological features and combine them into richer feature vectors. These persistent topological features include persistence landscapes, Betti curves, persistent entropy, amplitudes, and non-diagonal points. Finally, these persistent feature vectors are used as inputs to a classifier and used for emotion recognition using machine learning algorithms and majority voting methods. Experimental analyses were conducted on the DEAP dataset to evaluate the proposed model. Further validation of the model was implemented on the DREAMER dataset and SEED dataset. The results show that the model achieves good results in EEG emotion recognition. The average accuracy reached 89.94, 87.61, and 83.24%, respectively. In this study, we extracted potential features of EEG data by applying PH to the exploration of functional brain networks, which avoided the reliance on manually determined thresholds and enabled a more comprehensive and accurate method of emotion recognition. Compared with traditional functional brain network methods, our method retains more original information related to functional brain networks in a stable and threshold-free manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The helical structure is a classical framework to design high-performance organic electro-optical materials. In this work, the structure-property's relationships of helical tetraspirobenzene (1) and its oxidation (12+) and reduction (12–) products are explored. The results show that the redox brings some distinctive changes in their geometric structure and electronic property, which regulate the first hyperpolarisability (βtot). Among these structures, the 12– has the largest βtot value of 4.2 × 104, which is greatly larger than 2.0 × 102 a.u. of. 12+. Therefore, the reduction effect is more obvious than the oxidation effect. Furthermore, the UV-Vis absorption spectrum also proves this phenomenon: the oxidation product has a new red-shifted absorption peak (571 nm) and the reduction product has two new red-shifted absorption peaks (577 and 797 nm). We hope the present work can provide theoretical guidance for the search for high-performance nonlinear optical materials by using the redox effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to characterize the properties of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons in male and female mice. We also sought to investigate sex‐specific differences in membrane properties, action potential generation, and protein expression profiles to understand the mechanisms underlying neuronal excitability variations. Methods: Utilizing a genetic mouse model by crossing Dbhcre knock‐in mice with tdTomato Ai14 transgenic mice, LC neurons were identified using fluorescence microscopy. Neuronal functional properties were assessed using patch‐clamp recordings. Proteomic analyses of individual LC neuron soma was conducted using mass spectrometry to discern protein expression profiles. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD045844. Results: Female LC noradrenergic neurons displayed greater membrane capacitance than those in male mice. Male LC neurons demonstrated greater spontaneous and evoked action potential generation compared to females. Male LC neurons exhibited a lower rheobase and achieved higher peak frequencies with similar current injections. Proteomic analysis revealed differences in protein expression profiles between sexes, with male mice displaying a notably larger unique protein set compared to females. Notably, pathways pertinent to protein synthesis, degradation, and recycling, such as EIF2 and glucocorticoid receptor signaling, showed reduced expression in females. Conclusions: Male LC noradrenergic neurons exhibit higher intrinsic excitability compared to those from females. The discernible sex‐based differences in excitability could be ascribed to varying protein expression profiles, especially within pathways that regulate protein synthesis and degradation. This study lays the groundwork for future studies focusing on the interplay between proteomics and neuronal function examined in individual cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the Kevin–Voigt viscoelastic constitutive relationship is used to investigate the vibration characteristics and stability of a functionally graded viscoelastic(FGV) fluid-conveying pipe with initial geometric defects under thermal–magnetic coupling fields. First, the nonlinear dimensionless differential equations of motion are derived by applying Timoshenko beam theory. Second, by solving the equilibrium position of the system, the nonlinear term in the differential equations of motion is approximated as the sum of the longitudinal displacement at the current time and longitudinal displacement relative to the position, and the equations are linearized. Third, these equations are discretized using the Galerkin method and are numerically solved under simply supported conditions. Finally, the effects of dimensionless temperature field parameters, dimensionless magnetic field parameters, thermal–magnetic coupling, initial geometric defect types, and the power-law exponent on the complex frequency of the pipe are examined. Results show that increasing the magnetic field intensity enhances the critical velocity of first-order mode instability, whereas a heightened temperature variation reduces the critical velocity of first-order diverge instability. Under thermal–magnetic fields, when the magnetic field intensity and temperature difference are simultaneously increased, their effects on the complex frequency can partially offset each other. Increasing the initial geometric defect amplitude increases the imaginary parts of the complex frequencies; however, for different types of initial geometric defect tubes, it exhibits the most distinct influence only on a certain order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is necessary to find food additives that can reduce the food friction coefficient, in order to make it easier for the elderly and people with dysphagia to swallow. The sesame paste and rice paste are two typical foods eaten by the elderly. In this research, the tribological and rheological properties of 2 paste with 12 hydrocolloids were investigated. The results showed that three hydrocolloids (xanthan gum, gellan gum, and pectin) could reduce the friction coefficients of sesame paste and rice paste within a certain range of oral friction velocity. The friction coefficients of two kinds of original paste are in the order of 10−1. The addition of three hydrocolloids can reduce them to about 10−2, effectively improving lubrication. After adding hydrocolloids, the particles cross‐link to form a network structure, which improves the viscosity and lubrication of food to a certain extent. This has potential application value for designing food that is more conducive to swallowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic load of compressors is of great concern to designers of refrigeration products since pipes and sheet metals are easy to be excited, leading to noise or fatigue failure. The excitation is impossible to measure directly and difficult to calculate according to generation mechanism; thus, dynamic load identification which skips the mechanism is a more practicable way. However, the reported approaches have the problems of inaccuracy and clumsy. Therefore, an easy-to-implement approach is proposed, in which the accelerations and the frequency response functions from test are transformed to an arbitrarily given point based on rigid body dynamics, and then the equivalent six-degrees of freedom dynamic load of this point is calculated. This approach is validated using a motor with eccentric mass, whose centrifugal force is identified with the proposed approach and also calculated in analytical way. Comparison indicates that the error is within 5% except for the rotational speeds close to natural frequencies. Curve fitting or interpolation is recommended to correct the data in order to reduce the influence of natural frequencies. Cases studies with a rotary compressor and a scroll compressor respectively are presented. For the rotary compressor, the force magnitudes in X and Y directions are almost the same and pretty close to their quadratic polynomial fitting curves with zero intercept respectively, conforming to the characteristics of centrifugal force; the RZ component is larger than the RX and RY components as expected, but the latter two are not negligible; and there is a step change at 45 rps due to the removal of torque compensation. For the scroll compressor, the force magnitudes in X and Y directions are different, but very close to their quadratic polynomial fitting curves, respectively; the Z component has a jump in high-speed range; and there is no significant difference of dynamic force in the cooling and the heating modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, a multiple modes metamaterial absorber with four peaks was proposed and verified. All absorption peaks were excited by the multiple modes coupling between adjacent unit cells. By increasing the structural parameter D, absorption peaks were strengthened and shifteded to the low-frequency region. When the lattice constant P was increased, these peaks were decreased and shifteded to the high-frequency region. Similarly, when the dielectric layer thickness t3 was gradually increased, these absorption peaks were weakened. Temperature was gradually increased, these absorption peaks were gradually reduced and shifteded to the high-frequency region. The multi-mode coupling effetct between unit cells was important to the performance of the metamaterial absorber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Mucinous adenocarcinoma (MC) is a distinct pathological subtype of colon adenocarcinoma, which is associated with a worse prognosis compared with non-mucinous adenocarcinoma (AC). However, clear distinctions between MC and AC remain unknown. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a class of enclosed vesicles containing proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids that are secreted by cells into surrounding tissues or into serum. The EVs could facilitate tumorigenesis by regulating tumor cell proliferation, invasiveness, metastasis, angiogenesis, and evasion of immune surveillance. Methods: Quantitative proteomics analysis was performed to determine the characterization and biological differences of serum-derived EVs in two subtypes of colon adenocarcinoma (MC and AC). Serum-derived EVs from patients with MC, AC, and healthy volunteers were included in this study. The role of PLA2G2A in cell migration and invasion were evaluate with transwell assay, and its prognostic predictive value was further assessed based on TCGA database. Results: Quantitative proteomics analysis revealed 846 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in EVs from MC patients compared with those from AC patients. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the most prominent protein cluster included those involved in cell migration and the tumor microenvironment. Overexpression of PLA2G2A, one of the key EV proteins upregulated in patients with MC, in colon cancer cell line SW480 promoted the cell invasion and migration ability. In addition, the high level of PLA2G2A is associated with poor prognosis of colon cancer patients harboring BRAF mutations. Further, after EV stimulation, proteomic analysis of recipient SW480 cells showed that MC-derived EVs activated multiple cancer-related pathways, including the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway, and might promote the malignancy of mucinous adenocarcinoma through these pathways. Conclusions: The identification of differential protein profiles between MC and AC helps to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of MC pathogenesis. The PLA2G2A in EVs is a potential prognostic predictive marker for those patients harboring with BRAF mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface instability and turbulent mixing of perturbed multi-modes Air/SF6 interface driven by implosion in spherical geometry are numerically investigated. The results show the complex evolving laws and physical mechanisms of turbulent mixing. After the incident imploding shock, the transmitted shock wave moves towards the centre and bounces off outward to produce the second impact, which is a combination of reshock and Taylor wave rather than a single one like in planar case, and forms the loading/unloading effects. The following rebound impacts repeat this assembled loading/unloading process. In the whole process, the turbulent mixing zone (TMZ) growth is closely related to the multiple loading/unloading features. The Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI), Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI), Rayleigh-Taylor stabilization (RTS) and Bell-Plesset (BP) effects coexist, and the competition mechanism results in the TMZ width growing in an oscillatory way. The statistics properties of TMZ are highly related to the multiple shocks process. The fluids mixing across TMZ is asymmetrical but behaves in a self-similar way. The evolution of TMZ has a high degree anisotropy, especially around the two edges of TMZ, the turbulent flow is also highly intermittent. When the turbulent mixing develops fully the energy spectra approach k-1 scaling law at the inertial subrange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, via using the mixed ligand synthesis approach, two coordination polymers (CPs) based on Cu(II) and Co(II) ions as nodes, namely, [Cu3(L1)2(1,2,4-BTC)2(H2O)4]n (1) and [Co3(L2)(1,2,4-BTC)2(H2O)4]n (2) (L1 is 3,6-bis(imidazol-1-yl)pyridazine, L2 is 3,6-bis(benzimidazol-1-yl)pyridazine and 1,2,4-H3BTC is benzene-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid), were synthesized by reaction of the 1,2,4-H3BTC ligand and relevant metal salts with the aid of various nitrogen-donor co-ligands. Their application values on the cerebral ischemia were evaluated and the specific mechanism was studied simultaneously. At first, the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to assess the inflammatory cytokines content released into cerebrospinal fluid. Besides, the neuro-apoptosis induced by cerebral ischemia was tested through the Annexin V-FITC Apoptosis Detection Kit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Asprosin is a newly discovered adipose factor secreted by white fat, which is involved in glucose metabolism and inflammation. Neuregulin-4 (Nrg-4) is a new adipose factor released from brown adipose tissue and is considered to play an important role in metabolism. This study aims to explore the association between serum Asprosin, Nrg-4 level and coronary heart disease(CHD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) and the diagnostic value. Patients and methods: 157 patients with T2DM were enrolled from Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical University between December 2020 to July 2021. These patients were divided into T2DM without CHD group (T2DM-0, n = 80) and T2DM with CHD (T2DM-CHD, n = 77). Serum Asprosin and Nrg-4 expression was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the correlations between Asprosin or Nrg-4 and clinical and biochemical indicators were analyzed. A receiver operating characteristics curve analysis and area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy. Results: Serum Asprosin level of the T2DM-CHD group were significantly higher and Nrg-4 level significantly lower than those of the T2DM-0 group.Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum Asprosin levels were significantly positively correlated with diabetes course,history of hypertension, fasting plasma glucose(FPG), glycosylated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1C), triglycerides(TG),triglyceride glucose index(TyG index) and urea, and negatively correlated with ALT (all p < 0.05). Nrg-4 was negatively correlated with history of hypertension, body mass index(BMI), FPG, HbA1C, TG, and TyG indexes (all p < 0.05), and positively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)(p < 0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting potential confounders, Asprosin was a risk factor for diabetes mellitus, Nrg-4 was a protective factor.The AUC of Asprosin for diagnosing T2DM-CHD was 0.671 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.584–0.759), and the AUC of the Nrg4 index for diagnosing T2DM-CHD was 0.772 (95% CI 0.700-0.844). The AUC of Asprosin and Nrg-4 for the combined diagnosis of T2DM-CHD was 0.796 (95% CI 0.726–0.864). Conclusion: Asprosin and Nrg-4 may be novel diagnostic biomarkers for T2DM with CHD, as they effectively improved the diagnostic accuracy for T2DM-CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical enzymatic biosensors represent a promising, low-cost technology for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics that allows fast response and simple sample processing procedures. In this review, we summarize up-to-date literature on NAD+/NADH (β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide)-dependent electrochemical dehydrogenase biosensors and highlight their applications in human physiological fluids. A brief comparison of various enzyme immobilization procedures is first presented, discussing preparation processes and principal analytical performance characteristics. In the following section, we briefly discuss classes of biosensors based on redox mediators-mediated electron transfer systems (METs). Finally, the conclusion section summarizes the ongoing challenges in the fabrication of NAD+-dependent electrochemical dehydrogenase biosensors and gives an outlook on future research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real oral processing is the squeezing and shearing between two soft surfaces. The importance of soft palate surface cannot be ignored while focusing on tongue substitutes. Thus the effects of viscoelasticity, roughness of upper jaw substitutes, and fluid rheological properties on lubrication properties were explored by in vitro oral tribology experiments. Different palate substitutes significantly changed the friction curves of pure water, milk, and yogurt. The boundary friction coefficients of pure water and milk are higher under softer or smooth palate substitutes due to stronger viscoelastic responses of friction pairs. Their boundary friction coefficients are lowest at rigid upper jaw substitutes owing to smaller contact angles and deformation. However, the boundary friction coefficient of yogurt is lower owing to its high viscosity, low loss factor, and large particle size under soft friction pairs. In addition, it is highest at rigid palate friction pair because a smaller contact area reduces the entrainment of yogurt, resulting in poor lubricating performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polished sapphire has been widely used because of its superior mechanical and physical characteristics. However, the polishing process of sapphire is still unclear and the processing effects need to be improved. Therefore, the polishing process of sapphire with diamond abrasive particles was studied by molecular dynamics method. The behavior of diamond removing sapphire material in polishing process was researched. The effects of the polishing speed, depth, and the abrasive size were investigated in the aspects of polishing force, surface topography, subsurface damage, removed atoms, temperature distribution and average friction coefficient. The outcomes indicated that the surface temperature of sapphire was higher with the rising polishing velocity, but the subsurface defect of sapphire was deeper. Larger indentation depths resulted in higher forces and temperatures, deeper grooves, more removed atoms and bigger average friction coefficients, but poor polished subsurface. Bigger abrasives gained lower friction coefficients and higher numbers of removed atoms. It was found that both good polishing efficiency and quality are obtained under the speed 150 m/s, the polishing depth 15 Å and the abrasive particle radius 20 Å. This study is helpful to improving the sapphire polishing effects and understanding its polishing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sapphire possesses chemically inert and high hardness. Therefore, it is difficult to get idea material removal rate (MRR) and low surface roughness through chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Ultrasonic vibration assisted chemical mechanical polishing (UV-CMP) can effectively increase the MRR and decrease the roughness of sapphire surface by combining ultrasonic with CMP. In this article, computational fluid dynamics was adopted to research the effects of ultrasonic amplitude on slurry behavior in UV-CMP. The distribution and variations of physical properties such as velocity, pressure, and air volume fraction were characterized at the microscopic level. The importance of cavitation in UV-CMP was discussed. The accuracy of numerical results was verified by the experiments of sapphire UV-CMP. The results show that the amplitude has a vital influence on the polishing effects. The ultrasonic vibration, f = 40 kHz and P = 60 W, can make the MRR and polished surface roughness Ra of sapphire reach 0.96 μm/h and 0.095 nm, respectively. It is much better than 0.66 μm/h and 0.261 nm of sapphire CMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to develop a radiogenomic prognostic prediction model for colorectal cancer (CRC) by investigating the biological and clinical relevance of intratumoural heterogeneity. Methods: This retrospective multi-cohort study was conducted in three steps. First, we identified genomic subclones using unsupervised deconvolution analysis. Second, we established radiogenomic signatures to link radiomic features with prognostic subclone compositions in an independent radiogenomic dataset containing matched imaging and gene expression data. Finally, the prognostic value of the identified radiogenomic signatures was validated using two testing datasets containing imaging and survival information collected from separate medical centres. Results: This multi-institutional retrospective study included 1601 patients (714 females and 887 males; mean age, 65 years ± 14 [standard deviation]) with CRC from 5 datasets. Molecular heterogeneity was identified using unsupervised deconvolution analysis of gene expression data. The relative prevalence of the two subclones associated with cell cycle and extracellular matrix pathways identified patients with significantly different survival outcomes. A radiogenomic signature-based predictive model significantly stratified patients into high- and low-risk groups with disparate disease-free survival (HR = 1.74, P = 0.003). Radiogenomic signatures were revealed as an independent predictive factor for CRC by multivariable analysis (HR = 1.59, 95% CI:1.03–2.45, P = 0.034). Functional analysis demonstrated that the 11 radiogenomic signatures were predominantly associated with extracellular matrix and immune-related pathways. Conclusions: The identified radiogenomic signatures might be a surrogate for genomic signatures and could complement the current prognostic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the results of experimental observation of wind pressure on low-rise buildings in three typical mountain forms through wind tunnel experiments. This research focuses on the distribution change in fluctuating wind pressure coefficients with slope gradient. The variation of power spectra and wind pressure's probability distribution at representative measuring points with the slope gradient were also included. No obvious variation trend for the fluctuating wind pressure coefficient was identified on the windward side. When the slope gradient was 90°, there was just a slight change in distribution or value of the fluctuating wind pressure coefficient on the left. However, the coefficient on the leeward decreased and then increased, while on the roof, it gradually decreased. Furthermore, the experiments showed that the fluctuating wind pressure's distribution in the middle of windward eaves and at the leeward eaves was significantly affected by the slope gradient. At 0° wind angle, the wind pressure probability density distribution gradually changes from symmetric to asymmetric at the measuring points of windward eaves and side centers when the slope gradient increases, which shows that the wind pressure probability density distribution changes from non-Gaussian to Gaussian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine has been widely used as part of the standard treatment for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine increases the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in COVID-19 patients. PubMed and Embase were searched for related publications from inception to Dec 31, 2021, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSIs) comparing the risk of AKI and/or increased creatinine in COVID-19 patients receiving hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine and other controls (active treatment and placebo). We conducted separate meta-analyses for RCTs and NRSIs based on fixed-effect model, with odds ratios (ORs) being considered as effect sizes. We included 21 studies in the analysis, with 12 were RCTs. Based on the RCTs, compared to placebo, the OR was 1.19 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86, 1.64; p =.30, n = 4, moderate quality) for AKI and 1.00 (95%CI: 0.64, 1.56; p =.99, n = 5, moderate quality) for increased creatinine for patients received hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine treatment; compared to active treatment, the odds was 1.28 (95%CI: 0.65, 2.53; p =.47, n = 2, low quality) for AKI and 0.64 (95%CI: 0.13, 3.20; p =.59, n = 1, low quality) for increased creatine. Evidence from NRSIs showed slightly increased odds of AKI, with low quality. Based on current available studies which were graded as low to moderate quality, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine use is associated with increased risk of AKI or raised creatinine. Abbreviations: AKI: acute kidney injury; COVID-19: Coronavirus Disease 2019; RCT: randomized controlled trials; NRSI: non-randomized studies of interventions; OR: odds ratios; ROBIS-I: Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies – of Interventions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous supramolecular assemblies constructed by noncovalent interactions are promising for adsorptive purification of methane because of their easy regeneration. However, the poor stability arising from the weak noncovalent interactions has obstructed their practical applications. Here, we report a robust and easily regenerated polyhedron‐based cationic framework assembled from a metal–organic square. This material exhibits a very low affinity for CH4 and N2, but captures other competing gases (e.g. C2H6, C3H8, and CO2) with a moderate affinity. These results underpin highly selective separation of a range of gas mixtures that are relevant to natural gas and industrial off‐gas. Dynamic breakthrough studies demonstrate its practical separation for C2H6/CH4, C3H8/CH4, CO2/N2, and CO2/CH4. Particularly, the separation time is ≈11 min g−1 for the C2H6/CH4 (15/85 v/v) mixture and ≈49 min g−1 for the C3H8/CH4 (15/85 v/v) mixture (under a flow of 2.0 mL min−1), respectively, enabling its capability for CH4 purification from light alkanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous supramolecular assemblies constructed by noncovalent interactions are promising for adsorptive purification of methane because of their easy regeneration. However, the poor stability arising from the weak noncovalent interactions has obstructed their practical applications. Here, we report a robust and easily regenerated polyhedron‐based cationic framework assembled from a metal–organic square. This material exhibits a very low affinity for CH4 and N2, but captures other competing gases (e.g. C2H6, C3H8, and CO2) with a moderate affinity. These results underpin highly selective separation of a range of gas mixtures that are relevant to natural gas and industrial off‐gas. Dynamic breakthrough studies demonstrate its practical separation for C2H6/CH4, C3H8/CH4, CO2/N2, and CO2/CH4. Particularly, the separation time is ≈11 min g−1 for the C2H6/CH4 (15/85 v/v) mixture and ≈49 min g−1 for the C3H8/CH4 (15/85 v/v) mixture (under a flow of 2.0 mL min−1), respectively, enabling its capability for CH4 purification from light alkanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brainstem noradrenergic neuron clusters form a node integrating efferents projecting to distinct areas such as those regulating cognition and skeletal muscle structure and function, and receive dissimilar afferents through established circuits to coordinate organismal responses to internal and environmental challenges. Genetic lineage tracing shows the remarkable heterogeneity of brainstem noradrenergic neurons, which may explain their varied functions. They project to the locus coeruleus, the primary source of noradrenaline in the brain, which supports learning and cognition. They also project to pre‐ganglionic neurons, which lie within the spinal cord and form synapses onto post‐ganglionic neurons. The synapse between descending brainstem noradrenergic neurons and pre‐ganglionic spinal neurons, and these in turn with post‐ganglionic noradrenergic neurons located at the paravertebral sympathetic ganglia, support an anatomical hierarchy that regulates skeletal muscle innervation, neuromuscular transmission, and muscle trophism. Whether any noradrenergic neuron subpopulation is more susceptible to damaged protein deposit and death with ageing and neurodegeneration is a relevant question that answer will help us to detect neurodegeneration at an early stage, establish prognosis, and anticipate disease progression. Loss of muscle mass and strength with ageing, termed sarcopenia, may predict impaired cognition with ageing and neurodegeneration and establish an early time to start interventions aimed at reducing central noradrenergic neurons hyperactivity. Complex multidisciplinary approaches, including genetic tracing, specific circuit labelling, optogenetics and chemogenetics, electrophysiology, and single‐cell transcriptomics and proteomics, are required to test this hypothesis pre‐clinical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the initialization robustness of visual inertial SLAM, the complementarity of the optical flow method and the feature-based method can be used in vision data processing. The parallel initialization method is proposed, where the optical flow inertial initialization and the monocular feature-based initialization are carried out at the same time. After the initializations, the state estimation results are jointly optimized by bundle adjustment. The proposed method retains more mapping information, and correspondingly is more adaptable to the initialization scene. It is found that the initialization map constructed by the proposed method features a comparable accuracy to the one constructed by ORB-SLAM3 in monocular inertial mode. Since the online extrinsic parameter estimation can be realized by the proposed method, it is considered better than ORB-SLAM3 in the aspect of portability. By the experiments performed on the benchmark dataset EuRoC, the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method are validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential prediction is an important research content of thunderstorm gale weather forecast, and it is still a challenge because the environmental field of thunderstorm gale presents different characteristics under different weather conditions. Using the 12-year thunderstorm gale data of Hubei province in central China and the reanalysis data of National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), this study analyzed the percentile distribution of environmental physical quantities of thunderstorm gale, and the continuous probability method was adopted to establish the probability forecast models of thunderstorm gale in four different types of weather situation, which are in the rear of trough type, in front of trough type, in the periphery of the western Pacific subtropical high type and easterly airflow type. Finally, probability prediction was realized by objective classification criterion in operation. The results show that the method based on objective classification and continuous probability can significantly improve the probability of thunderstorm gale detection, and also reduce the missing alarm rate of thunderstorm gale. Moreover, the quantitative test of 16 weather processes under four types of weather situations also shows that the continuous probability method has a higher probability of detection than the bisection method, and significantly reduces the missing alarm of extreme wind by the bisection method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tight interface between graphene and Cu is the key to give full play to the comprehensive properties of Cu/C composites. In this study, reduced graphene oxide(RGO) was used as a reinforcing phase of Cu marix, and the interfacial bonding strength between RGO and Cu was enhanced by introducing Ni metal nanoparticles. RGO supported Ni nanosheets (Ni-RGO) were successfully prepared by in-situ chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) and the introduction of Ni nanoparticles into GO. Ni nanoparticles were tightly attached to the graphene sheets. The mechanical properties and tribological properties of Ni-RGO/Cu composites were significantly improved. The bending strength of Ni-RGO/Cu composites reached 162.2 MPa, which was much higher than that of the pure Cu. At the same time, Ni-RGO composites have the lowest wear rate, and the friction coefficient is stable between 0.1 and 0.2. The comprehensive performance of Ni-RGO composites is significantly enhanced due to the unique structure of Ni-RGO, and the introduction of Ni nanoparticles realizes the effective bonding between GO-Ni-Cu. This study provides a new and effective strategy for enhancing the interfacial bonding of Cu/C composites. [Display omitted] • Deposition of Ni nanometallic particles on graphene flakes using a chemical in situ synthesis method. • The introduction of Ni particles realizes effective bonding between RGO and Cu. • Graphene-loaded Ni particles lubricant can effectively reduce the wear of Cu matrix. • Analysis of the effect of graphene-loaded Ni structure on the friction properties of Cu matrix composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, by adding Polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PGMA) to the inorganic CsPbI 2 Br perovskite film, the coordination bonds and hydrogen bonds between PGMA and CsPbI 2 Br cooperate to passivate defects, regulate energy level and stabilize the perovskite structure and eventually improve the device performance. We systematically study the effects of PGMA addition on the morphology, structure, light absorption, defect concentration and carrier lifetime, hydrophobicity, and optical stability and room temperature black phase stability of CsPbI 2 Br films, and the photoelectric performance and air stability of PSCs, as well as their mechanism. The experimental results show that the addition of 3 wt% of PGMA greatly improves the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of CsPbI 2 Br PSCs by 40.19 % because of the synergistic passivation effects and energy level tuning. The hydrogen bonds between –CH 2 in PGMA and I−/Br− in CsPbI 2 Br, along with the coordination of carbonyl groups with Cs+/Pb2+, improve carrier transport and collection by inactivating flaw and managing the level, reducing the non-radiative recombination losses. In addition, the PSCs with 3 wt% of PGMA maintain 80 % of their initial efficiency even after 600 h in high humidity air environment due to the synergistic effect of coordination bonds and hydrogen bonds. Our study provides valuable insights into the use of PGMA to improve the performance of all-inorganic CsPbI 2 Br PSCs and the practicality of perovskite solar cells. The synergistic effects of C O coordination and hydrogen bonding between PGMA and perovskite components enhances the stability of the perovskite structure, improving the stability of black phase of CsPbI 2 Br perovskite at room temperature and optical properties of CsPbI 2 Br film, and increases carrier transmission efficiency. Under 50 % relative humidity, 3 wt%PGMA-PSCs show a significant 40.19 % increase in PCE and retain 80 % initial efficiency after 600 h. [Display omitted] • Enhanced stability and efficiency with 3 wt% PGMA in CsPbI 2 Br perovskite solar cells. • PGMA coordination and hydrogen bonds improve black phase stability of perovskite. • Energy level modulation and defect passivation by PGMA improve perovskite quality. • Significant 40.19 % PCE enhancement in PGMA-PSC under RH50 % air conditions. • Improved air stability in PGMA-PSC, retaining 80 % initial efficiency after 600 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 6, 9, and 14 FLSs are identified in B. rapa, B. oleracea , and B. napus , respectively. • All brflss locate in the nucleus and cell membrane except for BrFLS4 in the nucleus. • Four hormone treatments upregulate BrFLS1, BrFLS3.2 , and BrFLS3.3 but repress BrFLS2. • BrFLSs display unlike expression patterns under diverse abiotic and biotic stresses. • BrFLSs can enhance their resistance to stresses by bolstering antioxidant capacity. Flavonol synthase (FLS) serves as a pivotal enzyme in the flavonol biosynthesis pathway, contributing to the abundance of flavonol compounds found in Brassica vegetables. Nevertheless, there are limited investigations on the identification and analysis of FLS gene family and their precise roles in responding to biotic and abiotic stresses remain elusive in Brassica vegetables. Herein, a total of 6 (Brassica rapa), 9 (Brassica oleracea), and 14 (Brassica napus) FLS genes were identified and distributed on 4, 5, and 8 chromosomes, respectively. Notably, while FLS genes exhibited considerable variation in sequence, exon-intron structure, and molecular weight, they displayed highly conserved domain and motif compositions. Of the six identified BrFLSs , namely BrFLS1, BrFLS2, BrFLS3.1, BrFLS3.2, BrFLS3.3 , and BrFLS4 , all were located in the nucleus and cell membrane except for BrFLS4 exclusively in the nucleus. Specifically, BrFLS1, BrFLS3.2 , and BrFLS3.3 showed up-regulation after 6-BA, ABA, BR, and GA 3 treatments, while BrFLS2 exhibited down-regulation. Intriguingly, BrFLS members displayed distinct expression patterns under diverse abiotic and biotic stresses. Employing the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology, we validated BrFLS1 / BrFLS3.2, BrFLS1 / BrFLS3.3, BrFLS2, BrFLS1 , and BrFLS1/BrFLS2/BrFLS3.1/BrFLS3.3 as vital candidate genes, contributing to the flavonol biosynthesis pathway under drought, salt, high temperature, low temperature, and anthracnose stresses in Brassica vegetables, respectively, and they enhanced their resistance to stresses by bolstering antioxidant capacity. Overall, our findings shed light on the biological roles of FLS gene family in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, offering valuable genetic resources for crop enhancement. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on thyroid hormone (TH) controlling the timely differentiation of oligodendrocytes (OLs). Topics include discovered the SECISBP2L being highly expressed in differentiating OLs and required for DIO2 translation; and excess TH suppressing the production of thyrotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus.

The 5-HT2A serotonin receptor (HTR2A) has been reported to be involved in the serotonin- or serotonin receptor 2A agonist-induced melanogenesis in human melanoma cells. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying HTR2A in regulating melanogenesis remain poorly understood. In this research, cultured mouse melanoma cell line B16F10, human skin, and zebrafish embryos were used to elucidate the downstream signaling of HTR2A in regulating melanogenesis and to verify the potential application of HTR2A in the treatment of pigment-associated cutaneous diseases. We demonstrated that HTR2A antagonists (AT1015 and ketanserin) attenuated the melanogenesis induction of serotonin in both mouse melanoma cells and zebrafish embryos. The agonists of HTR2A (DOI and TCB-2) increased melanin synthesis and transfer in B16F10 cells, human skin tissue, and zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, the HTR2A agonists increased the expression of proteins related to melanosome organization and melanocyte dendrites to facilitate the melanocyte migration and melanosome transport. HTR2A antagonists and genetic knockout of zebrafish htr2aa (the homologue of mammalian HTR2A gene) were also used to clarify that HTR2A mediates serotonin and DOI in regulating melanogenesis. Finally, through small scale screening of the candidate downstream pathway, we demonstrated that HTR2A mediates the melanogenesis induction of its ligands by activating the PKA/CREB signaling pathway. In this research, we further confirmed that HTR2A is a crucial protein to mediate melanocyte function. Meanwhile, this research supports that HTR2A could be designed as a drug target for the development of chemicals to treat cutaneous diseases with melanocytes or melanogenesis abnormality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian tumors do not really typically occur in association with pregnant; however, once they do, the treatment is critical. It is important to note that around 6% of ovarian tumors in pregnancies are cancerous. The problems induced by ovarian tumors in pregnancy particularly necessitate rapid medical intervention and are much more frequent than cancer. Medication choices and survival of ovary tumor patients could be influenced by varied diagnoses of ovarian masses. So, we present an upgraded logistic regression (ULR) approach in this paper. Initially, the collection of 137 patient datasets was employed in screening test to identify the ovarian tumor as benign-tumor and malignant-tumor by using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEU) method. Then, the screening test images are preprocessed using wavelet transform (WT) approach. The preprocessed data are extracted by using local binary pattern (LBP) and laws' texture energy (LTE) techniques. Finally, the clinical analysis of the ovarian tumor can be obtained by the proposed ULR approach. The performances were examined and compared with existing approaches to achieve the proposed approach with greatest correctness. The findings are depicted by utilizing the MATLAB tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Minor hallucinations (MHs) are the most common psychotic phenomena in Parkinson's disease (PD), and it has important clinical and prognostic implications in PD. Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) has been reported to predict the outcome of PD; whether or not Hcy is associated with MH is not known. We aim to investigate the Hcy level and related factors in patients with PD and MH. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study and included 99 patients with PD, 34 with MH, and 65 without any hallucinations. The clinical and demographic data of the patients with and without hallucinations were compared. Hcy-related clinical factors were also analyzed. Results. The plasma Hcy level was higher in MH patients than in patients without hallucinations, and the result was more pronounced in male patients than in female patients. Differences were also observed when the groups were divided on the basis of levodopa equivalent daily dose and disease duration. The high Hcy concentration was correlated with some symptoms in patients with MH, including motor dysfunction and nonmotor symptoms, such as symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract, angiocarpy, sleep/fatigue, and poor visuospatial/executive function. Conclusions. Results indicated a higher plasma Hcy concentration in MH patients than in their counterparts and revealed that Hcy is associated with certain motor and nonmotor symptoms in patients with MH. Hcy may be a marker of MH and have important therapeutic implications in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate tumor development and metastasis in several types of cancers through various molecular mechanisms. However, the biological role of most lncRNAs in pancreatic cancer (PC) remains unclear. Here, we explored the expression, biological functions, and molecular mechanism of LINC01128 in PC. Methods: Quantitive reverse transcription PCR was used to detect the expression level of LINC01128 in PC tissues and different PC cell lines. A loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiment was used to explore the biological effects of LINC01128 on PC carcinogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Western blot analysis, subcellular fractionation experiment, luciferase reporter gene assay, and MS2-RNA immunoprecipitation experiment were used to study the potential molecular mechanism of LINC01128 during carcinogenesis. Results: The expression of LINC01128 was upregulated in PC tissues and cell lines, and overexpression of LINC01128 was significantly related to the poor prognosis of patients with PC. Furthermore, silencing LINC01128 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of PC cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, while LINC01128 overexpression promoted these processes. Further research showed that LINC01128 acted as a sponge for microRNA miR-561-5p, and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) was the downstream target gene of miR-561-5p. It was also revealed that the expression of miR-561-5p in PC was decreased, and a negative correlation between miR-561-5p and LINC01128 was revealed. Based on rescue experiments, LDHA overexpression partially restored the inhibitory effect of LINC01128 knockdown on proliferation, migration, and invasion of PC cells. Conclusions: LINC01128 promotes the proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT of PC by regulating the miR-561-5p/LDHA axis, suggesting LINC01128 may be a new prognostic marker and therapeutic target in PC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is extensively applied in sapphire substrate processing. However, the mechanism is unclear because of the challenging in the dynamic characterization. In this paper, effects of the polishing speeds, slurry concentrations, and abrasive sizes on the removal action of granular flow in sapphire CMP are investigated using the discrete particle model (DPM) and densely discrete phase model (DDPM). Contours of the residence time, concentration, and abrasive velocity present that rotation speeds of the wafer and pad (30 and 80 rpm respectively) are beneficial to improving sapphire CMP performance. When the SiO 2 slurry concentration is higher than 1 wt%, DDPM is more suitable for the fluid-solid flow in sapphire CMP compared to DPM. As the slurry concentration increases, the growth trend of material removal rate (MRR) slows down because of the reduction of the integral particle erosion ratio (PER). The 100 nm SiO 2 abrasive can obtain the maximum MRR ( 10.90 × 10 − 9 nm / s), although its PER is 2 × 10−5 of 5 µm particles' PER. The in-situ atomic force microscopy experiments prove the MRR function of granular flow owing to the hydro-dynamic contact. In addition, the removal ability will be improved by enhancing the interactive force between the abrasive and sapphire. It provides a novel idea to boost the efficiency of sapphire CMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food oral tribology plays an important role in studying the oral processing behavior of foods. This article explores the lubricity of different mass fractions of honey-water solutions (HWS) combining experimental and simulation study. Friction experiments are performed in simulated soft oral environment, and the complete Stribeck curve is successfully constructed. It is found that as the mass fractions of honey increase, the friction coefficients decrease and the curves move towards higher Vη (speed × viscosity) values. Higher viscosity and wettability enhance the film-forming and entrainment ability of the fluid, while reducing the friction coefficients in the boundary and mixed regimes. However, changes in wettability have little impact on the elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime of pure honey. In addition, a lubrication model is established using finite element method to examine the fluid movement in the lubrication area. The distribution of lubrication film exhibits a horseshoe shape. Influences of the sliding speed, fluid viscosity, and solid viscoelasticity on the distribution of fluid pressure and film thickness are revealed. This study provides guidance for exploring the oral processing behavior of fluid foods and improving the pleasure of eating. • Friction of honey-water is revealed combining experiment and simulation study. • Rising honey mass fractions improves its lubrication. • 100% honey is mainly in the elastohydrodynamic lubrication during oral processing. • The viscoelasticity of tongue-palate substitutes affects the movement of fluid food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Protective Activity of Two New Mixed-Ligand Coordination Polymers on Learning and Memory Function of Cerebral Ischemia Rats" has been retracted by the Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher of the Journal of Cluster Science. The retraction was prompted by an investigation that revealed evidence of systematic manipulation of the publication process, including issues with citations, phrasing, figures, and ethics approval statements. The Editor-in-Chief no longer has confidence in the results and conclusions of the article. One of the authors, Dr. Jin Xie, agreed to the retraction, but the remaining authors have not responded to correspondence regarding the retraction. Springer Nature, the publisher, maintains neutrality regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

• A multi-scale simulation method is established to analyze the fracture behavior of SiC. • The evolution process of SiC crack is reproduced. • The fracture toughness of SiC with different microscopic defects is predicted. • Grain distribution and microscopic defects affect crack growth and fracture toughness. Silicon carbide (SiC) is considered one of the most promising emerging materials in the fields of refractory materials and semiconductors. In this paper, a multi-scale numerical simulation method is proposed to investigate crack propagation in SiC at different scales, using a combination of cohesive zone model and molecular dynamics (MD). The microstructure of the material is represented by Voronoi subdivision, and bilinear treatment is applied at the grain boundaries. Firstly, MD models with different microscopic defects were established to obtain the corresponding traction separation curves. Then, the element parameters, obtained by fitting the traction separation law, were inserted into the cohesive elements located at the grain boundary and within the grain. Finally, the finite element models were simulated by the failure criterion. The fracture toughness of the material is predicted, and the influence of microscopic defects and grain distribution on macroscopic fracture toughness is explored. The results indicate that the grain distribution and the type of micro defect have an impact on the crack growth path and macro fracture toughness. The simulation results are consistent with published experimental results, which demonstrates the viability of employing this multi-scale analysis method for examining and replicating the micro-, meso-, and macro-scale crack propagation characteristics of SiC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) were ubiquitously found in dog and cat feces. • ω-Carboxylic acid metabolites of benzalkonium compounds were found in pet urine. • Majority of QACs excreted in feces as parent compounds. • Daily intakes of QACs in pets were below the available toxicity reference doses. Benzylalkyldimethylammonium (BACs), dialkyldimethylammonium (DDACs), and alkyltrimethylammonium compounds (ATMACs) are quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) used widely as biocides, disinfectants, and sanitizers. Owing to their toxicity, human exposure to this class of chemicals is a concern. Pet animals are sentinels of human exposure to several indoor environmental chemicals. For the first time, we measured 7 BACs, 6 DDACs, 6 ATMACs, and 8 metabolites of BACs in urine and feces of pet dogs and cats from New York State, USA. We found widespread occurrence of QACs in feces, with median concentration of ∑All (sum concentration of all 27 QAC analytes) at 9680 and 1260 ng/g dry weight (dw) in dog and cat feces, respectively. BACs were the most abundant compounds among the four types of QACs, accounting for 64 % and 57 % of ∑All in dog and cat feces, respectively, followed by DDACs (33 % and 34 %, respectively), ATMACs (4 % and 9 %, respectively), and BAC metabolites (0.2 % and 0.3 %, respectively). However, in urine, only ω-carboxylic acid metabolites of BACs were found at median concentrations at 2.08 and 0.28 ng/mL in dogs and cats, respectively. Samples collected from animal shelters contained elevated levels of QACs than those from homes of pet owners. A significant positive correlation was found among the four types of QACs analyzed, which suggested usage of these chemicals in combination as mixtures. Based on the concentrations measured in feces, and through a reverse dosimetry approach, the median cumulative daily intakes (CDIs) of QACs were estimated to be 49.4 and 4.75 µg/kg body weight (BW)/day for dogs and cats, respectively. This study provides first evidence that pet dogs and cats are exposed to QACs at significant levels that warrant further attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sleep disturbance is one of the common symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). The study of sleep disturbance used to concentrate on treated PD. This study aimed to investigate the factors that are associated with the sleep quality of drug-naïve patients with PD. Patients and Methods: All participants were interviewed using a standard questionnaire to collect basic information. PD severity, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, sleep quality, cognitive status, life quality, and the presence of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and minor hallucination were assessed using corresponding rating scales. The patients with a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ≤ 6 fell into the poor sleep group, and those with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Screening Questionnaire score ≥ 5 were considered to have probable RBD. Results: Seventy drug-naive patients with PD and 30 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and education were recruited. Up to 41.4% of the patients suffered from sleep disturbance, and 24.3% of the patients had RBD. Poor sleepers were more likely to have left-side predominant motor symptoms. Compared with good sleepers, poor sleepers, particularly female patients, had more burden in the aspect of anxiety and depression. RBD was associated with more nonmotor symptoms, poor sleep quality, bad performance in cognition orientation domain, anxiety, depression, presence of minor hallucination, and poor life quality. Conclusion: Sleep disturbances are common in drug-naïve PD and require wide attention. Motor symptom laterality and gender difference in mood are associated with sleep quality. Depression, anxiety, and RBD are highly related to sleep disturbance. RBD has many comorbidities, which can influence the cognitive function and life quality of the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. As the most frequent and earliest type of psychotic phenomenon in Parkinson's disease (PD), minor hallucination (MH) can occur before the onset of motor symptoms. This sensation may be an early predictor of severe psychotic and cognitive states and is often overlooked in clinics. This study was aimed at providing a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of MHs. Patients and Methods. Demographic information was obtained from 262 patients with PD, and a series of clinical assessment questionnaires were provided. According to the result of the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part I, the patients were classified into the MH and nonhallucination (NH) groups. Results. MHs were the most common psychotic symptom with 38.9% prevalence. The most frequent MH was visual illusion, especially object misidentification. Three minor phenomena were somewhat consistent in terms of external factors, temporal factors, and content. Disease duration, daily levodopa equivalent dose, and percentage of levodopa and dopamine-receptor agonist use were remarkably greater in the MH group than in the NH group. After covariate control, the MH group had worse life quality and more severe nonmotor symptoms, including poor sleep quality and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), than the NH group. The binary logistic regression model showed that RBD, sleep quality, and health-related life quality were associated with MHs. Conclusion. A high prevalence of MHs was observed in patients with PD. Further studies are needed to confirm and expand the identified clinical factors related to MH, which have potential prognostic and therapeutic implication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep ocean below 2000 m is a large water body with the sparsest data coverage, challenging the closure of the sea-level budget and the estimation of the Earth's energy imbalance. Whether the deep ocean below 2000 m is warming globally has been debated in the recent decade. However, as the regional signals are generally larger than the global average, it is intriguing to investigate the regional temperature changes. Here, we adopt an indirect method that combines altimetry, GRACE, and Argo data to examine the global and regional deep ocean temperature changes below 2000 m. The consistency between high-quality conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data from repeated hydrographic sections and our results confirms the validity of the indirect method. We find that the deep oceans are warming in the Middle East Indian Ocean, the subtropical North and Southwest Pacific, and the Northeast Atlantic, but cooling in the Northwest Atlantic and Southern oceans from 2005 to 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erianin is a natural product derived from the traditional Chinese herb, Dendrobium chrysotoxum, which is highly valued for its antitumor activity in various cancer cells. However, the specific mechanism of antitumor activity of erianin in human hepatocellular carcinoma remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate erianin-induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. The proliferation of HepG2 cells was significantly inhibited by the treatment of erianin in a doseand time-dependent manner. In addition, erianin induced a series of apoptosis-related events in HepG2 cells, including G2/M cell cycle arrest, the loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential, elevation of intracellular Ca2+, and accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Erianin activated the caspase-3 and caspase-9 without a change in caspase-8, accompanied by upregulation of the expression of Bax and downregulation of the expression of Bcl-2 along with cytochrome C release from the mitochondria. There was no significant change in Fas and FasL expression, indicating that the exogenous pathway is not involved in erianin-induced apoptosis. In summary, it concluded that erianin-induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells is through a mitochondria-mediated pathway. The results of this study suggest that erianin may serve as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, α-cyanostilbene-based luminogen with an electron donor-π-electron acceptor (D-π-A) architecture was formylated into the salicylaldehyde-analogue luminogen, followed by the Schiff base reaction with phenylamine, a red-emitting luminogen was elaborately designed and successfully synthesized in a high yield of 89%. Its well-defined structure was confirmed by FT-IR, MALDI-TOF-MS, HR-MS and 1H/13C NMR technologies. Based on the synergistic mechanisms of aggregation-induced emission (AIE), excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), it enjoyed a red-fluorescence emission at 627 nm in THF/water mixtures (fw = 95%) and was used as a probe. Moreover, the TLC-based test strips loaded with the probe not only exhibited the reversible fluorescence response to amine/acid vapor but also showed sensitive and selective fluorescence response towards Cu2+. Furthermore, the fluorescence titration experiment between the probe and Cu2+ in THF/water mixtures (fw = 95%, pH = 7.4) revealed that the detection limit was 1.18 × 10-7 M and the binding constant was 1.59 × 105. Job's plot experiment and HR-MS analysis revealed the 2:1 binding stoichiometry of the probe with Cu2+. The method enabled real-time assessment for Cu2+ in real water samples. This study could offer insightful opinions on the development of long-wavelength emissive luminogens based on α-cyanostilbene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The clinical features and outcomes of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) in younger children are different from those of adults, leading easily to misdiagnosis during the early stage. So far, there are limited data related to SSPE in preschool children. Methods: In order to summarize the clinical data and evolution of SSPE in preschool children and to expand the phenotypes of SSPE, the medical charts of preschool patients diagnosed with SSPE were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed; the clinical outcomes of the enrolled cases were evaluated and followed up. Results: Overall, we included three cases in the study. Their onset age was 5 years and 2 months, 4 years and 3 months, and 4 years and 2 months, respectively. All patients presented drop attacks or jerks as the onset symptom, and one patient had concurrent gait disturbance. Atypical periodic complexes on electroencephalography (EEG) were recorded in all patients. The brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of two cases showed demyelinating lesions predominantly on the white matter. The neurological conditions of all cases deteriorated rapidly. Two children died at 21 months and 6 months after onset, respectively. The other case progressively developed vegetative status and akinetic mutism within 4 months. Conclusions: In younger children, the characteristic features of SSPE may be seizures and gait instability as onset manifestations, atypical periodic complexes on EEG, and rapid worsening of neurological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key input parameter for simulating the moving trail of a rockfall, the magnitude of the normal coefficient of restitution (Rn) directly affects the prediction accuracy. However, few comprehensive and accurate calculation models are available for reference, owing to the fact that Rn is jointly controlled by multiple factors with the influence mechanisms being complex. Considering the interactive effects of influencing factors and the non-linear relationships between some influencing factors and Rn, the combined effects of the seven influencing factors on Rn were first investigated in this study by the response surface methodology–central composite design (RSM–CCD) method. The effects of the seven main factors on Rn were all significant; the results of the regression and variance analysis indicate that for non-angular blocks, the degree of influence of these factors is given by the following sequence: shape factor (η) > Schmidt hardness of the block (SHV1) > impact angle (θ) > rotational speed (ω) > Schmidt hardness of the slope surface (SHV2) > incident velocity (V) > block size (d). However, for angular blocks, the sequence is θ > SHV1 > ω > η > V > SHV2 > d. There are also many interaction parameters that had significant effects on the Rn of the test blocks (for non-angular blocks: η–θ > d–η > η–ω > V–d > SHV1–η > SHV1–θ; for angular blocks, d–θ > SHV1–d > V–η > SHV1–ω > d–η > η–ω > SHV1–η), the effects of which were examined via contour and three-dimensional surface plots. Based on the conclusions of these experiments (the determined significant influence parameters of Rn) and the previous single-factor experiments, the SPSS19.0 software was used to perform multivariate non-linear regression on the test results. Consequently, two Rn value calculation models of both non-angular and angular blocks were established. Through a contrastive analysis of the measured values of field tests and the predicted values of various models, the prediction ability of models "a" of the two types of blocks closely approached the measured values, with average deviations of only 3.4% and 9.8%; thus, these models can basically be used to achieve an accurate prediction of Rn values under various conditions. The models obtained in this study consider the comprehensive influences of various factors, which include not only the effects of all the main controlling factors, but also those of the interactions between them. Thus, these models can more accurately reflect the energy loss in the process of rockfall impact, which is helpful to improve the prediction accuracy of rockfall motion paths and is capable of providing a more reliable reference for the prevention and control of rockfall disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to study the effect of an external electric field as well as arrangement of donor–acceptor groups on the second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of push–pull systems. The first hyperpolarizabilities (βtot) of acceptor–donor molecules (m-AD and p-AD regioisomers) are investigated based on 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) as the electron-acceptor and benzodithiophene (BDT) as the electron-donor. Calculated results show that the βtot value (7.49 × 103 a.u.) of p-AD is larger than that (1.03 × 103 a.u.) of m-AD. Furthermore, we investigate that the external electric fields (along the positive or the negative directions of x-axis, Fx and F−x) regulate the NLO properties of the p-AD. (1) As Fx increases, the βtot values of p-AD are gradually decreased to 0 (Fx ranging from 0 to 30 × 10−4 a.u.). (2) As F−x increases, the βtot values are sharply increased (F−x ranging from 0 to −30 × 10−4 a.u.). It is worth noting that the βtot value is increased to 3.70 × 104 a.u. (F−x = −30 × 10−4 a.u.). Moreover, the evolutions of the simulated UV-Vis absorption spectra can well explain the trends of βtot values under an external electric field. The present work not only provides a deeper understanding of the relationship between structure and NLO properties, but also expands electric field-induced switchable NLO materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past, microcrystalline graphite (MG) was mainly used for the preparation of carbon enhancers and flame retardant, and is a low value-added inorganic mineral. There are very few reports of MG being compounded with Cu to produce friction materials. Carbon coated microcrystalline graphite/Cu (Carbon@MG/Cu) composites were prepared by coating MG with phenolic resin and mixing it with Cu. The effect of the phenolic resin coating on the mechanical and tribological properties of the composites was investigated by comparison with pure Cu, microcrystalline graphite/Cu (MG/Cu). The hardness and flexural strength of pure Cu were 39.8 HV and 72.3 MPa, respectively. The protection of the amorphous carbon shells led to a significant improvement in the mechanical properties of Carbon@MG/Cu, with hardness and flexural strengths of 72.3 HV and 103.8 MPa. The poor bonding between the MG and Cu severely affects its mechanical properties. Pure Cu has the highest wear rate (10.6 × 10−7(mm3/(N∙m)), while Carbon@MG/Cu has a stable coefficient of friction (0.19) and the lowest wear rate (4.3 × 10−7 (mm3/(N∙m)) compared to pure Cu and MG/Cu. We provide a method to prepare graphite/Cu composites with high mechanical and tribological properties based on low-cost MG, which helps to solve the problem of reuse of MG and increase its industrial added value. [Display omitted] • A low-cost core-shell structured Carbon@MG/Cu composites with enhanced mechanical and tribological properties. • The reuse of microcrystalline graphite and the increase of its industrial added value. To increase the mechanical and tribological properties of the composites. • The hardness and bending strength are increased by 44.9% and 39.8% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the technology node of large-scale integrated circuit manufacturing develops to 5 nm and below, cobalt is considered to replace the diffusion barrier layer Ta/TaN and still needs to be polished. In this paper, the influences of voltage, downpressure, polishing speed of head and disc on cobalt electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP) is explored through experiments and measurements. The optimal polishing conditions are determined combining the material removal rate (MRR) and surface quality. They are 2 V polishing voltage, 2 psi downpressure, 110 rpm polishing head speed, and 105 rpm polishing disc speed. The MRR of cobalt can reach 147.02 nm/min, and the surface roughness after polishing is 0.46 nm. In addition, in situ dynamic polarization and friction curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, XPS and AFM are used to investigate the electrochemical behavior and reaction mechanism of cobalt ECMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All-dielectric metasurfaces based on high refractive index material are becoming important components of optoelectronic devices. However, the achived functions are often fixed by the traditional all-dielectric metasurfaces due to the resonant properties are primarily excited based on the design strategies. Optically behaviors of these metasurfaces are solidified at the manufacturing stages. It is of great significance to design and verify an all-dielectric metasurface with dynamic modulation and reconfigurable properties. Here, the silicon and Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST) blocks are combined in a hybrid arrays to achieve a dynamically modulated and reconfigurable all-dielectric metasurface. Based on the amorphous state of GST, two absorption peaks are excited by this metasurface: P1 peak (amplitude 0.87, resonance wavelength 1302 nm) and P2 peak (amplitude 0.78, resonance wavelength 2008 nm). Since the GST block is in the crystalline state, only the P1 peak (the measured amplitude is 0.71 and the resonant wavelength is 1311 nm) is obtained. This all-dielectric metasurface is highly sensitive to human body fluids (glucose solution, sweat, and urine) and ambient temperature, which can be applied in health information and temperature sensors in travel or healthy care hotel, etc. Based on optimization the crystallinity of the GST block, the dynamic modulation characteristics is achieved by this all-dielectric metasurface. The measurement results show that P2 peak is insensitive to the incidence angle of electromagnetic wave. On the contrary, with the increase of incidence angle, the P1 peak is gradually divided into two new absorption peaks (regardless of whether the GST block is in amorphous state or crystalline state). • The metamaterial can be function conversion between single/double band absorption characteristics. • Absorption peaks are sensitive to temperature(crystallinity). • Absorption peak are sensitive to environmental media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two series of NSAIDs-EBS derivatives (5a-j and 9a-i) based on the hybridization of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) skeleton and Ebselen moiety were synthesized. Their cytotoxicity was evaluated against five types of human cancer cell lines, BGC-823 (human gastric cancer cell line), SW480 (human colon adenocarcinoma cells), MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma cells), HeLa (human cervical cancer cells), A549 (human lung carcinoma cells). Moreover, the most active compound 5j showed IC 50 values below 3 μM in all cancer cell lines and with remarkable anticancer activity against MCF-7 (1.5 μM) and HeLa (1.7 μM). The redox properties of the NSAIDs-EBS derivatives prepared herein were conducted by 2, 2-didiphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), bleomycin dependent DNA damage and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like assays. Finally, TrxR1 inhibition activity assay and molecular docking study revealed NSAIDs-EBS derivatives could serve as potential TrxR1 inhibitor. [Display omitted] • • New NSAIDs-EBS derivatives were synthesized. • • These compounds showed active in reducing the viability of different cancer cell lines. • • The most promising compound 5j exhibit IC 50 values lower than 3 μM against the five cancer cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Key processes and governing mechanisms of Cr removal by biochars are digested. • Targeted synthesis of biochar is proposed to improve the performance of Cr removal. • Influencing factors of Cr removal are analyzed with a focus on their corresponding effect. • Applications in treating Cr-contaminated wastewater and advantages of biochar are discussed. Biochar has caught much attention owing to its excellent characteristics and prominent performance in the treatment of various contaminants. Many studies have demonstrated that biochar displays brilliant capacity for Chromium (Cr) removal and holds great promise for practical applications. There is a critical need to summarize recent developments in the preparations and applications of biochars especially engineered ones in removing Cr from water. To satisfy this need, this critical review first digests the key processes and governing mechanisms that control the removal of Cr by biochars. It then summarizes various novel preparation and modification techniques designed based on the mechanisms for maximizing biochar performance. In addition, the review also evaluates the influencing factors with a focus on their corresponding effect on Cr removal by biochar, thereby providing insights into optimal operation conditions. Most importantly, it innovatively outlines several practical applications cases of biochars in treating Cr contaminated wastewater to demonstrate their robust performs even under harsh conditions. At the end, the review outlines final conclusions and future research directions to further promote the application of biochar in the remediation of Cr in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]