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Traffic-related pollutant concentrations are typically much higher in near-roadway microenvironments, and pedestrian and resident exposures to air pollutants can be substantially increased by the short periods of time spent on and near roadways. The design of the built environment plays a critical role in the dispersion of pollutants at street level; after normalizing for traffic, differences of a factor of ~5 have been observed between urban neighborhoods with different built environment characteristics. We examined the effects of different built environment designs on the concentrations of street-level ultrafine particles (UFP) at the scale of several blocks using the Quick Urban and Industrial Complex (QUIC) numerical modeling system. The model was capable of reasonably reproducing the complex ensemble mean 3D air flow patterns and pollutant concentrations in urban areas at fine spatial scale. We evaluated the effects of several built environment designs, changing building heights and spacing while holding total built environment volumes constant. We found that ground-level open space reduces street-level pollutant concentrations. Holding volume/surface area constant, tall buildings clustered together with larger open spaces between buildings resulted in substantially lower pollutant concentrations than buildings in rows. Buildings arranged on a ‘checkerboard’ grid with smaller contiguous open spaces, a configuration with some open space on one of the sides of the roadway at all locations, resulted in the lowest average concentrations for almost all wind directions. Rows usually prohibit mixing for perpendicular and oblique wind directions, even when there are large spaces between them, and clustered buildings have some areas where buildings border both sides of the roadways, inhibiting mixing. The model results suggest that pollutant concentrations drop off rapidly with height in the first 10 m or so above the roadways. In addition, the simulated vertical concentration profiles show a moderate elevated peak at the roof levels of the shorter buildings within the area. Model limitations and suggestions both for urban design are both discussed.

Background: RNA methylation is a potential target for cancer therapy, while anoikis, a form of programmed cell death, is linked to cancer metastasis. However, the prognostic and immune significance of RNA methylation- and anoikis-related genes in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. Methods: Transcriptomic and clinicopathological data for CRC were obtained from TCGA and the GEO databases. A novel signature was constructed based on RNA methylation- and anoikis-related genes using univariate and multivariate Cox regression as well as LASSO Cox regression methods. CRC patients were stratified into low- and high-risk groups based on this signature. Differences in prognosis, immune infiltration, and drug sensitivity between two groups were analyzed. Finally, immunohistochemistry, western blot, and RT-qPCR were employed to validate the expression of the key gene SERPINE1 in CRC tissues and cells, as well as the effect of FTO on its expression. Results: We identified 79 differentially expressed RNA methylation-associated anoikis-related genes (RMRARGs) in both cancerous and normal tissues. A signature composed of 9 key genes (BID, FASN, PLK1, CDKN3, MYC, EPHA2, SERPINE1, CD36, PDK4) was established. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed a poorer prognosis in the high-risk group. Compared to the other three published models, this signature demonstrated superior predictive performance based on the ROC curve analysis. Functional analyses highlighted differences in drug sensitivities and signaling pathways between risk groups. Furthermore, immune analysis results showed that risk score was associated with some immune cells and immune checkpoints. Immunohistochemistry showed high SERPINE1 expression in CRC tissues, with FTO expression positively correlated with SERPINE1. Furthermore, RT-qPCR and western blot indicated FTO knockdown markedly downregulated SERPINE1 levels. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the prognostic value of this signature in CRC patients and its utility in assessing immune status. Additionally, the m6A demethylase FTO regulates the expression of the anoikis-related gene SERPINE1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this piece, we considered the effect of different building configurations on the concentrations of traffic-related or other pollution. For this study, we used a numerical model capable of reproducing the very complex airflows at small scales in urban areas (the Quick Urban and Industrial Complex model, QUIC). We then validated the model’s data against an extensive field dataset collected in an earlier study. Drawing from this dataset, we explored the value of open space interspersed with tall buildings, and of clustering buildings instead of spacing them evenly in dense urban areas.

Consumers increasingly read and post online reviews through mobile devices. Drawing upon the motivation, opportunity, and ability framework, we hypothesize the interesting interplay of mobile reviewing, firm review solicitation and reviewer popularity on review helpfulness. Using a large‐scale data set of 1,024,062 reviews from TripAdvisor, we reveal the double‐edged sword effect of mobile reviewing on review helpfulness. Compared to nonmobile reviews, mobile reviews are more emotional, less cognitive and more perceptual, which enhances review helpfulness; however, they are also shorter and less readable, which hurts review helpfulness. Furthermore, hotel review solicitation and reviewer popularity moderate on the aforementioned effects. Compared to organic reviewing, solicitated reviewing weakens both the negative and positive effects of mobile reviewing and elicits more cognitive, more readable, longer but less experiential (i.e., emotional and perceptual) mobile reviews than nonmobile reviews. Meanwhile, compared to unpopular reviewers, popular reviewers mainly strengthen the positive effect of mobile reviewing and write more experiential, more readable, but less cognitive and shorter mobile reviews than nonmobile reviews. Our findings offer practical guidelines for marketers to leverage the power of mobile reviews and downplay their disadvantages, and meanwhile produce meaningful implications for eWOM marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexafluoropropylene Oxide Dimer Acid (HFPO-DA or GenX) is a pervasive perfluorinated compound with scant understood toxic effects. Toxicological studies on GenX have been conducted using animal models. To research deeper into the potential toxicity of GenX in humans and animals, we undertook a comprehensive analysis of transcriptome datasets across different species. A rank-in approach was utilized to merge different transcriptome datasets, and machine learning algorithms were employed to identify key genetic mechanisms common among various species and humans. We identified seven genes—TTR, ATP6V1B1, EPHX1, ITIH3, ATXN10, UBXN1, and HPX—as potential variables for classification of GenX-exposed samples, and the seven genes were verified in separate datasets of human, mouse, and rat samples. Bioinformatic analysis of the gene dataset further revealed that mitochondrial function and metabolic processes may be modulated by GenX through these key genes. Our findings provide insights into the underlying genetic mechanisms and toxicological impacts of GenX exposure across different species and offer valuable references for future studies using animal models to examine human exposure to GenX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of electrocatalysts with high performance for the ethanol oxidation reaction is vital for the large-scale commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells. Here, we successfully synthesized a high-performance electrocatalyst of a AuPd alloy with a decreased alloying degree via pulsed laser irradiation in liquids. As indicated by the experimental results, the photochemical effect-induced surficial deposition of Pd atoms, combined with the photothermal effect-induced interdiffusion of Au and Pd atoms, resulted in the formation of AuPd alloys with a decreased alloying degree. Structural characterization reveals that L-AuPd exhibits a lower degree of alloying compared to C-AuPd prepared via the conventional co-reduction method. This distinct structure endows L-AuPd with outstanding catalytic activity and stability in EOR, achieving mass and specific activities as high as 16.01 A mgPd−1 and 20.69 mA cm−2, 9.1 and 5.2 times than that of the commercial Pd/C respectively. Furthermore, L-AuPd retains 90.1% of its initial mass activity after 300 cycles. This work offers guidance for laser-assisted fabrication of efficient Pd-based catalysts in EOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]