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For the first time, a Co and Fe bimetallic metal‐organic framework (BMOF) nanosheet array (NSA) employing 5,5′,5′'‐(1,3,5‐triazine‐2,4,6‐triyl)tris(azanediyl)triisophthalic acid (H6TDPAT) as the organic ligand is in situ controllably self‐assembled on iron foam (IF). The obtained IF@CoFe‐TDPAT NSA exhibits an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity much superior to most reported catalysts and even Ru and Ir‐based ones and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity higher than most metal‐organic framework (MOF)‐based catalysts. The excellent bifunctional activities are ascribed to the superhydrophilic (3D) vertically aligned, interconnected NSA of CoFe‐TDPAT MOF with in situ activated coordinatively unsaturated metal sites remarkably enhancing OH− and H2O adsorption, accelerating electron transfer and transport, and facilitating O2/H2 diffusion. When adopted as a bifunctional electrode for overall water splitting, it achieves 300 mA cm−2 at 1.753 V and exhibits negligible current decay after 100 h. This performance is the highest of recently reported noble‐metal‐free water electrolyzers, and even much higher than those using commercial noble metal‐based catalysts. This work offers an economical, facile, and controllable strategy to fabricate low‐cost, highly efficient, and bifunctional BMOF nanostructured array electrodes for large‐current‐density water splitting, and also sheds light on the mechanisms for in situ self‐assembly and outstanding OER and HER performance of 3D free‐standing complex‐organic‐ligand‐based BMOF nanoarchitectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerodynamic characteristics of flapping rotary wings (FRWs) have received considerable attention in design. In this study, optimizations of aerodynamic performance and kinematics of FRWs over the parameter space are explored. A well-validated Quasi-Steady model is employed to estimate the aerodynamic characteristics of FRWs in hovering flight, and a genetic algorithm is utilized for optimizing. It is assumed that flapping and pitching motion are given by motion parameters actively, while rotation is produced passively. Our results show that the optimal kinematic parameters are independent of flapping frequencies. The maximum lift comes from the high rotational speed caused by the small pitching amplitude, and the maximum power factor is from the large pitching amplitude. The dimensionless optimization of the flapping velocity as reference velocity is comparable to the dimensional results. The optimization model proposed in this study can be applied to the actual model for qualitative analysis. Rotational equilibrium power factor can reach more than 80% of the maximum value without rotation equilibrium constraint, but which rotational status can achieve the maximum power factor depends on the pitching angle at the mid-downstroke (αd). This study is helpful for the kinematic parameter design and further research of FRWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the behaviors of tropical cyclone (TC) intensity under the CO2 removal scenario is important for future climate adaptation and policy making. Based on the idealized CO2 ramp‐up (from 284.7 to 1,138.8 ppm) and symmetric ramp‐down experiments, our results suggest an asymmetric and irreversible response of TC potential intensity to CO2 reduction. Potential intensity shows an additional enhancement at the same CO2 level during the CO2 ramp‐down relative to the ramp‐up periods (though with regional differences), and does not completely return to the initial value even when CO2 recovers on multi‐decadal to centennial timescale. The enhanced potential intensity is dominated by the increased thermodynamic disequilibrium, which is mainly attributed to the weakened surface winds arising from the El Niño‐like warming pattern and inter‐hemispheric ocean temperature contrast. Our results highlight the potential risks of stronger storms on the socioeconomic development under the negative carbon emissions pathways. Plain Language Summary: Tropical cyclone (TC) is one of the most destructive natural disasters worldwide. Many studies pointed to the intensification of Tropical cyclones (TCs) in the warming future and thus it is important to limit the amplitude of global warming and mitigate the potential risks of enhanced TCs. This study examines whether TC potential intensity may return to its initial state with the CO2 removal method based on the idealized CO2 forcing experiments, in which CO2 increases from the preindustrial to quadruple level (284.7–1,138.8 ppm) and decreases symmetrically. Our results suggest an asymmetric and irreversible response of TC potential intensity to CO2 removal, with an additional enhancement at the same CO2 level during the CO2 ramp‐down relative to the ramp‐up periods. Moreover, potential intensity does not fully recover to the initial state even when CO2 is restored on multi‐decadal to centennial timescale. The increased potential intensity during the CO2 ramp‐down relative to the ramp‐up periods is dominated by the increased thermodynamic disequilibrium. This is further linked with the uneven sea surface temperature response and the resultant weakened surface wind speed. This study helps understand the response of TC activity under future mitigation pathways and highlights the potential risks of the enhanced storm intensity. Key Points: Asymmetric and irreversible response of tropical cyclone (TC) potential intensity under the symmetric CO2 rising and declining scenarioThe enhancement in TC potential intensity when CO2 recovers is dominated by the increased thermodynamic disequilibriumEl Niño‐like sea surface temperature pattern contributes to the weakened surface winds and thereby increased TC potential intensity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a return‐to‐zero pulse position modulation (RZ‐PPM) impulse tone‐based channel state information (CSI) estimation for adaptive threshold decision (ATD) in free‐space optical (FSO) communications. RZ‐PPM is characterized by impulse tones in the spectrum. Therefore, CSI can be extracted by applying a local oscillator (LO) with the frequencies of impulse tones and low pass filter, which is then used to realize ATD. The proposed method was studied in simulation under RZ‐PPM signals with various number of pulse positions and frequencies of LO. The simulation results show that in FSO communication systems, the use of optimized weighting factor for impulse tone CSI estimation method significantly improves the performance in the absence of accurate CSI, approaching the performance of the traditional ATD with precise CSI knowledge. It proves that the proposed technique was feasible for adaptation in FSO communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a platform society, the realization of the public value of platforms is not only affected by goals constructed based on national interest but also closely related to the rights and interests of platform users. In this context, how a platform mediates between the interests of a country, its users, and its businesses becomes a topic worthy of discussion. Through participatory observation and in-depth interviews, this study reveals that online platforms strategically transfer public values that enjoy national policy support and have a broad popular base into their ecosystems, employing techniques such as bridging different parties, gamification management, and the masking effect to produce green users. The findings reveal the unique logic of contemporary China's platform-driven environmental protection practices and mainstream value cultivation while also highlighting the conflicts and contradictions inherent in realizing public values. This study provides a valuable perspective for understanding the Chinese platform society in terms of public value realization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the nonlinear free vibration of spinning pre-twisted functionally graded material (FGM) plates in thermal environment. Based on the Kirchhoff plate theory and von Kármán large-deformation theory, the nonlinear dynamic model is established via the Lagrange equation, where the warping effect is taken into account. The material properties are related to temperature and change according to a power-law exponent distribution. The theoretical solution of nonlinear-free vibration is obtained using the multiple scale method. The effects of power-law exponent, temperature difference, spinning speed, hub radius ratio, and twist angle on nonlinear-free vibration characteristics of the spinning pre-twisted cantilever FGM plates are discussed. The results show that the spinning pre-twisted cantilever FGM plate exhibits nonlinear hardening-spring vibration behavior, while the characteristics weaken with the increase of spinning speed. The twist angle and setting angle have coupling effects on the nonlinear vibration characteristics of spinning pre-twisted FGM plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxyntic gland neoplasm (OGN) is a rare subtype of gastric cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence, clinicopathological features, effectiveness and safety of endoscopic treatment, as well as the prognosis of OGN. We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients pathologically diagnosed with OGN at our hospital from November 1, 2019 to May 1, 2023. A total of 36 patients with 45 lesions were identified, resulting in a disease frequency of 0.047% (36/76,832). The mean age was 55.0 ± 7.5 years, with a male-to-female ratio of about 1:1.12. Most lesions were ≤10 mm in size (84.4%), located in the upper third of the stomach (73.3%), exhibited slight elevation (75.5%), appeared whitish (55%), had dilated blood vessels on the surface (75.5%). 16 and 21 lesions were treated by precutting endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR-P) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), respectively. No significant differences were found between EMR-P and ESD in terms of en bloc resection rate (100% vs 100%, p = 1.000), complete resection rate (100% vs 90.5%, p = 0.495), and curative resection rate (93.8% vs 90.5%, p = 1.000). No complications such as bleeding and perforation were observed. No recurrence or metastasis was observed during the follow-up period. OGN is a rare tumor with unique clinical, endoscopic, and pathological characteristics. EMR-P and ESD are deemed safe and effective for treating OGNs. The relatively faster and easier EMR-P seems at least non-inferior to ESD, especially for removal of smaller OGNs. The overall prognosis is favorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar activity, such as sunspots and flares, has a great impact on humans, living beings, and technologies in the whole world. Changes in sunspots will influence high-frequency and space-navigation radio communications. Based on the full-disk, southern and northern hemispheres sunspot areas (SAs) data in 1874–2023 from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA, extreme value theory (EVT) is applied to predict the trend of the 25th and 26th solar cycles (SCs) in this work. Two methods with EVT, the block maxima (BM) approach and the peaks-over-threshold (POT) approach, are employed to research solar extreme events. The former method focuses on each block's maximum sunspot areas value and is applied for the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution. The latter method aims to select the extreme values exceeding a threshold value and is used to obtain the generalized Pareto (GP) distribution. It is the first time that the EVT is applied on the sunspot areas data from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA. The analysis indicates that the estimated 8-year return levels for sunspot areas are 5701 and 6258 using the two methods, while the estimated 19-year return levels are all 7165. This suggests that the trends of the 25th and 26th solar cycles will be stronger than that of the 24th solar cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of unbalanced global energy distribution and increased exogenous shocks to energy trade, major countries bear special responsibilities for energy security and the achievement of greenhouse gas emission reduction under the Paris Agreement. Stabilizing energy supply chains and deploying renewable energy on a large scale are seen as fundamental ways to address both issues. To this end, this paper uses a sample of G20 countries covering the period 1980–2020 to estimate the links between energy import dependence, renewable energy deployment, and carbon emissions per capita. The results indicate that the energy import dependence of G20 countries can act as a combined brake on carbon emissions in large developed countries and emerging market countries, suggesting that global energy trade also has an additional role in reducing carbon emissions. Oil import dependence as one of the robustness check strategies further confirms these findings. The impact mechanism estimates imply that the channel for reducing carbon emissions of energy import dependence was to prompt countries to accelerate renewable energy deployment. Within the established framework of energy demand and economic growth, the universal deployment of renewable energy is a fundamental way to achieve environmental friendliness. These findings provide insights into multinational coordinated policies that ensure open and cooperative international energy markets and a transnational energy trading system that puts humanity on a path to global carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose disturbances are a common comorbidity of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and have been extensively studied in the past. However, few studies have explored glucose disturbances in first-episode drug-naïve (FEDN) MDD patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors of glucose disturbances in FEDN MDD patients to understand the relationship between MDD and glucose disturbances in the acute early phase and provide important implications for therapeutic interventions. Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited a total of 1718 MDD patients. We collected their socio-demographic information, clinical data, and blood glucose indicators.17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), and the positive symptom subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were used to assess their depression, anxiety, psychotic symptoms, respectively. The prevalence of glucose disturbances in FEDN MDD patients was 13.6%. Depression, anxiety and psychotic symptoms, body mass index (BMI) levels and suicide attempts rates were higher in the group with glucose disorders than in the group without glucose disorders among patients with first-episode drug-naive MDD. Correlation analysis showed that glucose disturbances were associated with HAMD score, HAMA score, BMI, psychotic symptoms and suicide attempts. Furthermore, binary logistic regression showed that HAMD score and suicide attempts were independently associated with glucose disturbances in MDD patients. Our findings suggest that the prevalence of comorbid glucose disturbances is very high in FEDN MDD patients. Moreover, more severe depressive symptoms and higher suicide attempts are correlated with glucose disturbances in MDD FEDN patients in the early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoresponsive fluorescent compounds have been widely used to prepare the encryption inks for modern information security. In this study, a photoresponsive fluorescent material based on dithienylethene DTE-PIO4 was synthesized by oxidizing the two sulfur atoms to sulfones. Its solution presented a distinctive fluorescence switching performance when compared with the traditional "turn-off" mode fluorescent dithienylethene, while irreversible "turn-off" fluorescence switching was observed in PMMA films and solid state upon exposure to 254 nm UV light. Remarkably, the PMMA ink was successfully prepared by incorporation with DTE-PIO4, which indicated the great potential in the fields of optical information storage and ink printing. Further research on information encryption has also been demonstrated through the blending of DTE-PIO4 with DTE-PI in PMMA medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the variations of the Walker Circulations during the Last Interglacial (LIG, ~ 130–115 ka BP) may advance our knowledge of climate change in an orbitally induced warmer world. Here we investigate the variations and the underpinning mechanisms of the Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC) and the Indian Ocean Walker Circulation (IWC) during the LIG, using the lig127k experiments from the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project Phase 4. Compared to the preindustrial, annual PWC is broadened by 3° and strengthened by 3.5% during the LIG, whereas annual IWC is narrowed by 3° and weakened by 17.2%. The antiphase change between annual PWC and IWC during the LIG is dominated by the change in boreal warm seasons (June–October), which is in turn closely tied to the changes in sea surface temperatures between the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Specifically, the models predict a general warming over the tropical Indian Ocean but cooling over the tropical western Pacific in boreal warm seasons during the LIG. This interbasin contrast results in enhanced sea-level pressure over the tropical western Pacific and decreased sea-level pressure over the tropical Indian Ocean, together with opposite changes in precipitation. The west-to-east sea-level pressure gradient contributes to anomalous low-level easterlies in the deep tropics. These changes result in an enhancement and broadening of the PWC, whereas a reverse change for the IWC. The proposed dominating role of interbasin contrast in temperature anomaly is further confirmed by a linear baroclinic model and an atmospheric general circulation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thorax is the central component of the insect flight drivetrain, making it essential to understand how thoracic muscles influence insect flight for flapping wing microair vehicle design. This paper presents a theoretical model that takes into account the influence of thoracic muscles on flapping wing motion with reference to real insects. The thoracic muscle effect is simulated by the chordwise torsional spring, whose stiffness is derived from a comparison test with the results of real insect experiments. The elastic deformation of the flexible flapping wing is modeled by the von Kármán nonlinear plate theory. The predictive quasi-steady aerodynamic model based on the blade element theory can estimate the aerodynamic force, and the modeling of the spanwise bending and twisting is done with quadratic polynomials. The equations of motion are solved using the Newmark-Raphson method. Results suggest that including the influence of thoracic muscles decreases cycle-averaged lift and power, but enhances the efficiency of lift production by 23%. Moreover, it also postpones pitching motion and reduces its amplitude, though the movement trends of the flapping motion remain approximately unchanged regardless of the inclusion of the thoracic muscle effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an end-to-end neural network model that fully utilizes the characteristic of uneven fog distribution to estimate visibility in fog images. Firstly, we transform the original single labels into discrete label distributions and introduce discrete label distribution learning on top of the existing classification networks to learn the difference in visibility information among different regions of an image. Then, we employ the bilinear attention pooling module to find the farthest visible region of fog in the image, which is incorporated into an attention-based branch. Finally, we conduct a cascaded fusion of the features extracted from the attention-based branch and the base branch. Extensive experimental results on a real highway dataset and a publicly available synthetic road dataset confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method, which has low annotation requirements, good robustness, and broad application space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are concerned with the precise relationship between the Hausdorff dimension of possible singular point set S of suitable weak solutions and the parameter α in the nonlinear term in the following parabolic equation h t + h x x x x + ∂ x x | h x | α = f. It is shown that when 5 / 3 ≤ α < 7 / 3 , the 3 α − 5 α − 1 dimensional parabolic Hausdorff measure of S is zero, which generalizes the recent corresponding work of Ozánski and Robinson in [SIAM J. Math. Anal., 51, 228–255 (2019)] for α = 2 and f = 0. The same result is valid for a 3D modified Navier–Stokes system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an increasing trend of phosphorus limitation in coastal waters, phytoplankton with advantageous strategies to address phosphorus deficiency might be more competitive in their communities. Combining physiological, transcriptomic, and miRNA analyses, the present study analyzed the molecular responses of different intracellular phosphorus components to phosphorus deficiency in the harmful dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi, with a specific focus on membrane phospholipid remodeling. The cellular phosphorus components of phospholipids, polyphosphate (polyP), and RNA and the associated gene expression showed dynamic variations over a prolonged phosphorus-stressed period. Under phosphorus deficiency, K. mikimotoi preferred to preserve polyP and RNA but efficiently replaced phospholipids with glycerol glycolipids and a betaine lipid to maintain active growth. This dynamic phospholipid substitution in K. mikimotoi was a combined result of the cessation of phospholipid biosynthesis and an increase in phospholipid breakdown. The expression of the identified miRNAs involved in ATP metabolism indicated that miRNAs may play an important role in regulating energy metabolism in K. mikimotoi. The present study improved the understanding of the molecular mechanism of intracellular phosphorus metabolism in marine phytoplankton and highlighted the strong capability of dinoflagellates to efficiently modulate intracellular phosphorus resources. IMPORTANCE Dinoflagellates are the most common phytoplankton group and account for more than 75% of harmful algal blooms in coastal waters. In recent decades, dinoflagellates seem to prevail in phosphate-depleted waters. However, the underlying acclimation mechanisms and competitive strategies of dinoflagellates in response to phosphorus deficiency are poorly understood, especially in terms of intracellular phosphorus modulation and recycling. Here, we focused on the response of intracellular phosphorus metabolism to phosphorus deficiency in the model dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi. Our work reveals the strong capability of K. mikimotoi to efficiently regulate intracellular phosphorus resources, particularly through membrane phospholipid remodeling and miRNA regulation of energy metabolism. Our research improved the understanding of intracellular phosphorus metabolism in marine phytoplankton and underscored the advantageous strategies of dinoflagellates in the efficient modulation of internal phosphorus resources to maintain active physiological activity and growth under unsuitable phosphorus conditions, which help them outcompete other species in coastal phosphate-depleted environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the dissociation effect of J / Ψ in magnetized, rotating QGP matter at finite temperature and chemical potential using gauge/gravity duality. By incorporating angular velocity into the holographic magnetic catalysis model, we analyze the influence of temperature, chemical potential, magnetic field, and angular velocity on the properties of J / Ψ meson. The results reveal that temperature, chemical potential, and rotation enhance the dissociation effect and increase the effective mass in the QGP phase. However, the magnetic field suppresses dissociation, and its effect on the effective mass is non-trivial. Additionally, we explore the interplay between magnetic field and rotation, identifying a critical angular velocity that determines the dominant effect. As a parallel study, we also examine the rotation effect in the holographic inverse magnetic catalysis model, although the magnetic field exhibits distinctly different behaviors in these two models, the impact of rotation on the dissociation effect of J / Ψ is similar. Finally, we investigate the influence of electric field and demonstrate that it also speeds up the J / Ψ dissociation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their advantages in structural stability and versatility, cysteine-rich peptides, which are secreted from the venom glands of venomous animals, constitute a naturally occurring pharmaceutical arsenal. However, the correct folding of disulfide bonds is a challenging task in the prokaryotic expression system like Escherichia coli due to the reducing environment. Here, a secretory expression plasmid pSE-G1M5-SUMO-HWTX-I for the spider neurotoxin huwentoxin-I (HWTX-I) with three disulfides as a model of cysteine-rich peptides was constructed. By utilizing the signal peptide G1M5, the fusion protein 6 × His-SUMO-HWTX-I was successfully secreted into extracellular medium of BL21(DE3). After enrichment using cation-exchange chromatography and purification utilizing the Ni-NTA column, 6 × His-SUMO-HWTX-I was digested via Ulp1 kinase to release recombinant HWTX-I (rHWTX-I), which was further purified utilizing RP-HPLC. Finally, both impurities with low and high molecular weights were completely removed. The molecular mass of rHWTX-I was identified as being 3750.8 Da, which was identical to natural HWTX-I with three disulfide bridges. Furthermore, by utilizing whole-cell patch clamp, the sodium currents of hNav1.7 could be inhibited by rHWTX-I and the IC50 value was 419 nmol/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the solvothermal condition, the reaction of 4,4′′-(1,3-phenylene)-bis[2,3′-bipyridine]-6-carboxylic acid (H2L1) with Mn(NO3)2·4H2O in dimethylacetamide (DMA) afforded a novel zero-dimensional (0D) metallomacrocycle, [Mn4(L1)4(H2O)8]·20H2O (1). However, in a similar solvothermal condition to 1, the reaction of H2L1 with Mn(OAc)2·4H2O in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) yielded one new three-dimensional (3D) metal–organic framework, [Mn(L1)]·4H2O·DMSO (2). Furthermore, other three 3D metal–organic frameworks, [M(L1)]·4H2O·DMSO (M = Cd (3), Cu (4) and Zn (5)), were obtained under the same solvothermal condition as 2, which are isostructural with 2. Interestingly, a novel two-dimensional (2D) metallomacrocycle network, [Zn2(L2)(H2O)3]·3H2O·DMA (6), was solvothermally synthesized through the reaction between 4,4′-(6,6′-([1,1′-biphenyl]-4,4′-diyl)bis(2-(4-carboxyphenyl)pyridine-6,4-diyl))dibenzoic acid (H4L2) and Zn(NO3)2·6H2O in DMA. 1–6 were fully characterized by infrared spectra, elemental analyses, thermogravimetric analyses, powder X-ray diffraction patterns, or single-crystal X-ray diffractions. The changes from 0D metallomacrocycle (1) to 3D isostructural metal–organic frameworks (2–5) are mediated by increasing solvent polarity (from DMA to relatively high polar DMSO) because the more polar DMSO solvent helps the coordination sites of L12− ligand to take part in coordination. More interestingly, 3, 5, and 6 achieve close to white-light emission upon excitation at 365 nm. The gas adsorption properties of 2–5 have also been investigated, and the results indicate that the CO2 adsorption capacities are relative to the framework stability of MOFs 2–5. The present work provides a promising approach to constructing novel metal–organic frameworks or metallomacrocycles and may open new perspectives for developing single-component white-light-emitting materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The osteogenic differentiation capacity of periodontal mesenchymal stem cells (PDLSCs) can be influenced by different levels of static mechanical strain (SMS) in an inflammatory microenvironment. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in various physiological processes. However, the mechanisms by which lncRNAs regulate the osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs remain unclear. Methods: We investigated the responses of PDLSCs obtained from periodontitis patients and healthy people to 8% and 12%SMS. Gene microarray and bioinformatics analyses were implemented and identified lncRNA00638 as a target gene for the osteogenesis of PDLSCs from periodontitis patients under SMS. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network analysis was applied and predicted interactions among lncRNA00638, miRNA-424-5p, and fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1). Gene expression levels were regulated by lentiviral vectors. Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, alkaline phosphatase assays, and Alizarin Red S staining were used to examine the osteogenic potential. RT-qPCR and Western blot were performed to detect the expression levels of related genes and proteins. Results: We found that 8% and 12% SMS exerted distinct effects on HPDLSCs and PPDLSCs, with 12% SMS having the most significant effect. By microarray analysis, we detected differentially expressed lncRNAs/mRNAs between 12% SMS strained and static PPDLSCs, among which lncRNA00638 was detected as a positive target gene to promote the osteogenic differentiation of PPDLSCs under SMS loading. Mechanistically, lncRNA00638 may act as a ceRNA for miR-424-5p to compete with FGFR1. In this process, lncRNA00638 and miR-424-5p suppress each other and form a network to regulate FGFR1. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that the lncRNA00638/miRNA-424-5p/FGFR1 regulatory network is actively involved in the regulation of PDLSC osteogenic differentiation from periodontitis patients under SMS loading, which may provide evidence for optimizing orthodontic treatments in patients with periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental way for China to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality is to continuously improve the penetration of renewable energy (RE) in the power system and establish an electricity mix dominated by RE power. According to China's 14th Five-Year Plan, the proportion of non-fossil energy power generation should reach about 39% by 2025. However, the impact of the increase in share of RE power on carbon emissions of the electricity sector remains to be estimated. To this end, the purpose of this paper is to capture the nonlinear characteristics of RE on electricity-related carbon emissions by using panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model and provincial panel data covering the period 1991–2020 under the background of provincial RE quota system. The estimation results indicate that, (i) in the four transition variables of PSTR model such as the installed capacity of power generation, substation equipment capacity, total electricity consumption and total power generation, the nexus between RE deployment and electricity-related carbon emissions was detected as nonlinear. (ii) The heterogeneous RE carbon abatement effect is reflected in its increasing penetration in provincial power systems. (iii) Carbon abatement performance of RE generation decreases in the negative range with the increase of transition variables. (iv) The estimation coefficient of RE is positive at the higher value of the transition variable in the PSTR model of carbon emissions per capita. As a result, the RE quota with the best emission abatement performance should be designed based on the provincial power resource endowment and the medium and long-term expected electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological changes of podocyte mitochondria are observed in patients with mitochondrial cytopathy and nephrotic syndrome. However, whether mitochondrial dynamics involved in podocyte in lupus nephritis (LN) is still not clear. This study aims to investigate the associations between mitochondrial morphology and podocyte lesions and laboratory and pathological features in LN. The foot process width (FPW) and mitochondrial morphology were observed through electron microscope. Then the associations between mitochondrial morphology and podocyte lesions and laboratory features were explored in various International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society class LN patients. Foot process effacement and excessive mitochondria fission in podocyte were observed and proteinuria was positively correlated with FPW. Mitochondria area, circumference, and aspect ratio were negatively correlated with BUN, and 24h-UTP positively correlated with Alb. At the same time, Alb was negatively correlated with form factor. FPW, form factor, surface density, and numerical density on area were positively correlated with 24h-UTP. Excessive mitochondrial fission is associated with podocyte damage and proteinuria, whereas the mechanism still needs to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the effect of nitrification inhibitor combined with urease inhibitor on soil N2O emission under different nitrogen application depths. We carried out a soil column simulation test under 25°C. The combination of 1% N-butyl Phosphorothioate Triamine (NBPT) and 5% Dicyandiamide (DCD) was added to the soil. Anaerobically digested pig slurry (ADPS) was used as a nitrogen source and applied to four soil depths (soil surface (0 cm), 5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm, respectively). It was found that the inhibitory effects of NBPT and DCD on the soil N2O emission were significantly affected by different nitrogen application depths. When the ADPS was applied at 15 cm, 10 cm, and on the soil surface, the combination of 1% NBPT and 5% DCD could inhibit soil N2O emission by 46.1%, 21.7%, and 34.6%, respectively. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the addition of inhibitors changed the microbial paths of soil N2O production. The dominant microbial path of soil N2O production after adding inhibitors was from ammonia oxidation dominated by AOB-amoA to denitrification dominated by nirS and nirK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

85Kr is a major radioactive byproduct released during nuclear fuel reprocessing and an important atmospheric indicator for nuclear safety and environmental monitoring. In this work, we report on online monitoring of atmospheric 85Kr activities with time resolution of 1.5 hours. An automated Kr purification system and an atom trap based 85Kr measurement system work synchronously in the experiment. The Kr purification system features temperature-controlled cryogenic distillation and gas chromatography, which allows direct sampling of ambient air and continuous operation. The separated Kr is fed into an atom trap capable of measuring the abundance of 85Kr with micro-L size Kr samples. The sample consumption is 3 L STP of air per measurement with a 1.5 hour processing time. Compared to the conventional monitoring method based on proportional counting, both the measurement time and sample size (10 m3 and 1 week) are reduced by several orders of magnitude. The 85Kr analysis technology demonstrated in this work allows analysis of atmospheric 85Kr activities with hourly resolution, enabling applications such as online monitoring of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants and tracing of atmospheric circulation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow and work engagement are related concepts, and both are commonly applied and studied in the workplace. This review makes an attempt to define the potential differences and relationships between flow and engagement in the workplace. Based on a systematic review of the extant positive interventions designed to enhance flow and work engagement, meaningful differences between flow and work engagement interventions were found in terms of the mechanisms of the interventions, the types of interventions, and the intervention approach (i.e. personal vs. contextual and deficit-fixing vs. strengths-building). The review concludes that flow interventions can make important contributions above and beyond work engagement interventions. The findings illuminate the conceptual and empirical differences between flow and work engagement interventions, and suggest new directions for flow and engagement intervention research in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the rotation effects of the hot and dense QCD matter in a non-perturbative regime by the gauge/gravity duality. We use the gravitational model that is designated to match the state-of-the-art lattice data on the thermal properties of (2+1)-flavor QCD and predict the location of the critical endpoint and the first-order phase transition line at large baryon chemical potential without rotation. After introducing the angular velocity via a local Lorentz boost, we investigate the thermodynamic quantities for the system under rotation in a self-consistent way. We find that the critical temperature and baryon chemical potential associated with the QCD phase transition decrease as the angular velocity increases. Moreover, some interesting phenomena are observed near the critical endpoint. We then construct the 3-dimensional phase diagram of the QCD matter in terms of temperature, baryon chemical potential, and angular velocity. As a parallel investigation, we also consider the gravitational model of SU(3) pure gluon system, for which the 2-dimensional phase diagram associated with temperature and angular velocity has been predicted. The corresponding thermodynamic quantities with rotation are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thickness configuration effect on natural frequency and critical speed of spinning variable-thickness cylindrical shells is investigated in this paper. Based on Love's thin shell theory, the eigenfrequency equation is derived by employing the Rayleigh–Ritz method in conjunction with Chebyshev polynomials, considering the effects of Coriolis and centrifugal forces due to rotation. Seven types of thickness configurations and various classical boundary conditions are taken into account. Backward and forward wave frequencies, the critical speed, and the mode shapes of the spinning variable-thickness cylindrical shells are solved. Results show that the thickness configuration not only changes circumferential wave number corresponding to the lowest natural frequency, but also affects the critical speed. However, the influence of thickness configuration on mode shapes of the shell is not obvious. The stronger the boundary constraints, the more obvious effect of slope of thickness variation on the critical speed of spinning cylindrical shells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, two dual function fluorescent probes P1 and P2 with obvious fluorescence spectrum change were developed for the detection of Zn2+ and H2S. Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to investigate the detection mechanism. A further illustration of the fluorescence quenching mechanism was also studied by 1H NMR titration and UV‐Vis absorption spectroscopy. Both probes are new compounds containing coumarin structure as fluorophore. They can quantitatively detect Zn2+ and H2S in the concentration range from 0 to 50 μM with excellent selectivity and anti‐interference ability over many metal ions or anions. Most worthy is that probes P1 and P2 have better cell permeability with lower cytotoxicity, which can be used for fluorescence detection in MCF‐7 cells, as well as the detection of exogenous Zn2+ in organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deciphering the Meiyu behavior during the Last Interglacial (∼127 ka; LIG) may deepen our understanding of drought and flooding events over East Asia in a warmer‐than‐present world induced by Earth's orbit. Based on dynamical downscaling simulations, we suggested a 15‐ and 30‐day earlier onset and retreat of the Meiyu during the LIG relative to preindustrial, respectively, leading to a shortened Meiyu season. Meantime, extreme precipitation in the Meiyu season became stronger and occurred more frequently. Intensified monsoonal circulation, poleward‐located western North Pacific subtropical high, and poleward shift of East Asian westerly jet during the LIG provided favorable moisture conditions for earlier onset and retreat of the Meiyu. The variations of atmospheric circulations were further regulated by the joint effect of the three oceans and diabatic heating over Tibetan Plateau. Our results highlight an important role of Earth's orbit in the Meiyu and imply more flooding events in a warmer world. Plain Language Summary: The record‐breaking Meiyu in 2020 reemphasizes the importance of investigating the evolution of the rainy season in East Asia. This study reveals the response of the Meiyu to changes in the Earth's orbit during the Last Interglacial (LIG, 130–115 ka)—the warmest interglacial of the past 800 ka and a warmer world comparable to the low emission scenarios at the end of the 21st century. The Meiyu season occurred and ended earlier compared with the present day, and the duration was shortened. Additionally, more frequent and intense extreme precipitation events occurred in the Meiyu season during the LIG. The enhanced East Asian summer monsoonal flow, strengthened western North Pacific subtropical high, and poleward shift of the East Asian westerly jet in June provided favorable conditions for the earlier occurrence and termination of the Meiyu during the LIG. Moreover, changes in the sea surface temperature over the three oceans can jointly influence the Meiyu via triggering Kelvin waves, Rossby waves, and teleconnections by atmospheric circulations, with the contribution from the diabatic heating over the Tibetan Plateau. The results of this study help us better understand the evolution of the rainy season over East Asia in a warmer world. Key Points: Earlier onset and shortened duration of Meiyu season during the Last Interglacial (LIG)Stronger and more frequent extreme precipitation events occurred in Meiyu season during the LIGIntensified monsoonal circulation, poleward‐located subtropical high and westerly jets led to changes in Meiyu during the LIG [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using gauge/gravity duality, we calculate the spectral function of the heavy vector mesons with the presence of an intense magnetic field in a hot and dense medium. The results show that, a general conclusion, as the increases of magnetic field, chemical potential and temperature, the height of the peak of the spectral function decreases and the width increases. A nontrivial result is the change from the peak position of spectral function. We explain this non-trivial behavior by the interplay of the interaction between the two heavy quarks and the interaction between the medium with each of the heavy quarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: C1q/TNF-related protein 9 (CTRP9) and adiponectin (APN) have beneficial metabolic regulatory and vasoprotective effects. This study explored alteration of CTRP9 and APN multimers during onset of ischemic stroke and development, to provide novel clinical and experimental basis for recognition and prevention of ischemic stroke.Methods: There were 269 patients with ischemic stroke and 182 control subjects included in this study. Serum levels of CTRP9 and APN multimers in different disease stages were measured.Results: Serum CTRP9, total APN (tAPN), and high-molecular weight (HMW) APN decreased gradually in stage I (acute stage, within 72 h of onset) of ischemic stroke and increased during stage III (11th day to one month) and stage IV (1 month after), compared to control. In the non-hyperlipidemia group, serum CTRP9, tAPN, and HMW were decreased in ischemic stroke patients compared to control (P < 0.05). Serum CTRP9 is closely related to serum tAPN and HMW (r = 0.992, 0.991). Serum CTRP9 are protective against ischemic stroke (OR = 0.400, 95% CI 0.197-0.810, P < 0.05).Conclusions: Lower serum CTRP9, tAPN, LMW, and HMW are significantly associated with increased ischemic stroke risk in non-hyperlipidemia subjects. CTRP9, tAPN, and HMW isoforms may be valuable clinical indicators for patients with ischemic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxygenkwanin, a flavonoid isolated from the leaves of the Daphne genkwa plant, is known to have pharmacological properties; however, its modulatory effect on multidrug resistance, which is (MDR) mediated by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters, has not been investigated. In this study, we examine the interaction between hydroxygenkwanin, ABCB1, and ABCG2, which are two of the most well-characterized ABC transporters known to contribute to clinical MDR in cancer patients. Hydroxygenkwanin is not an efflux substrate of either ABCB1 or ABCG2. We discovered that, in a concentration-dependent manner, hydroxygenkwanin significantly reverses ABCG2-mediated resistance to multiple cytotoxic anticancer drugs in ABCG2-overexpressing multidrug-resistant cancer cells. Although it inhibited the drug transport function of ABCG2, it had no significant effect on the protein expression of this transporter in cancer cells. Experimental data showing that hydroxygenkwanin stimulates the ATPase activity of ABCG2, and in silico docking analysis of hydroxygenkwanin binding to the inward-open conformation of human ABCG2, further indicate that hydroxygenkwanin sensitizes ABCG2-overexpressing cancer cells by binding to the substrate-binding pocket of ABCG2 and attenuating the transport function of ABCG2. This study demonstrates the potential use of hydroxygenkwanin as an effective inhibitor of ABCG2 in drug combination therapy trials for patients with tumors expressing higher levels of ABCG2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis, typically leading to the formation of acyl azolium reactive intermediates, constitutes one of the most important activation strategies for the NHC‐catalyzed chemical transformations. Here, we report an unprecedented oxidative radical NHC catalysis by using peroxyester as the external single‐electron oxidant to realize divergent difunctionalization of olefins. The key to success of this chemistry is the catalytic generation of oxygen radicals that could trigger an intermolecular hydrogen atom transfer to activate the inert C−H bonds, thereby enabling the productive radical relay process. With this protocol, commonly used general chemicals could serve as radical precursors to allow efficient synthesis of value‐added products in a straightforward and cost‐effective manner. Preliminary mechanistic investigations, including control experiments and DFT calculations, shed light on the NHC organocatalytic radical reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis, typically leading to the formation of acyl azolium reactive intermediates, constitutes one of the most important activation strategies for the NHC‐catalyzed chemical transformations. Here, we report an unprecedented oxidative radical NHC catalysis by using peroxyester as the external single‐electron oxidant to realize divergent difunctionalization of olefins. The key to success of this chemistry is the catalytic generation of oxygen radicals that could trigger an intermolecular hydrogen atom transfer to activate the inert C−H bonds, thereby enabling the productive radical relay process. With this protocol, commonly used general chemicals could serve as radical precursors to allow efficient synthesis of value‐added products in a straightforward and cost‐effective manner. Preliminary mechanistic investigations, including control experiments and DFT calculations, shed light on the NHC organocatalytic radical reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite light‐emitting didoes (PeLEDs) have shown considerable potential in solution‐processable display applications. However, the performance of blue PeLEDs in terms of efficiency and stability hinders their practicality on account of severe trap‐mediated nonradiative recombination losses and halide phase segregation. To ameliorate these issues, mixed‐halide sky‐blue perovskite materials are strategically modulated through crystal defect passivation with a trifurcate isocyanate oligomer, which leads to the synergistical suppression of charge trap density and halide ion migration. The proposed approach enables the performance improvement for sky‐blue PeLEDs, exhibiting a peak external quantum efficiency of 14.82% and spectrally stable emission at 487 nm. In addition, prolonged operational lifetime and enhanced capability of moisture resistance are achieved simultaneously, approaching a half‐lifetime of ≈2900 s at an initial brightness of 178 cd m–2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, widely targeted metabolomics and chemometrics were utilized to comprehensively analyse the formation of taste compounds in Longjing green tea. A total of 580 non-volatile metabolites were identified by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry, and alterations in three metabolic pathways were investigated. Notably, the fixation process reduced phosphatidic acid levels, resulting in the formation of lyso-phosphatidylcholine and lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine, as well as the release of esterified polyunsaturated fatty acids. Baiye No.1 had high levels of L-glutamic acid and l -glutamine, while Longjing 43 showed elevated levels of flavones. Correlation analysis and sensory verification indicated that the specific concentration of L-leucine could decrease the umami of the tea. These findings advance our understanding of Longjing green tea quality improvement and cultivar development. • Metabolite changes in tea processing were analyzed across different tea cultivars. • The three cultivars display distinct metabolites and taste profiles. • Fixation increases lyso-phosphatidylcholine and lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine levels. • L-glutamic acid and l -glutamine are abundant in the Baiye No.1 cultivar. • The taste-related metabolite changes were generally similar across cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoplastics (NPs), identified as emerging pollutants, pose a great risk to environment and global public health, exerting profound influences on the prevalence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Despite evidence suggesting that nano-sized plastic particles can facilitate the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs, it is imperative to explore strategies for inhibiting the transfer of ARGs. Currently, limited information exists regarding the characteristics of environmentally aged NPs and their impact on ARGs propagation. Herein, we investigated the impact of photo-aged NPs on the transfer of ARG-carrying plasmids into Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. Following simulated sunlight irradiation, photo-aged nano-sized polystyrene plastics (PS NPs) exhibited multiple enzyme-like activities, including peroxidase (POD) and oxidase (OXD), leading to a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS). At relatively low concentrations (0.1, 1 μg/mL), both pristine and aged PS NPs facilitated the transfer of pUC19 and pHSG396 plasmids within E. coli due to moderate ROS production and enhanced cell membrane permeability. Intriguingly, at relatively high concentrations (5, 10 μg/mL), aged PS NPs significantly suppressed plasmids transformation. The non-unidirectional impact of aged PS NPs involved the overproduction of ROS (•OH and •O 2 −) via nanozyme activity, directly degrading ARGs and damaging plasmid structure. Additionally, oxidative damage to bacteria resulted from the presence of much toxic free radicals, causing physical damage to cell membranes, reduction of the SOS response and restriction of adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) supply, ultimately leading to inactivation of recipient cells. This study unveils the intrinsic multienzyme-like activity of environmentally aged NPs, highlighting their potential to impede the transfer and dissemination of ARGs. [Display omitted] • Photoaged nanoplastics possessed peroxidase-like and oxidase-like activities. • Aged NPs displayed the nonmonotonic effect of ARG transfer compared to pristine NPs. • Low dose of aged NPs facilitated the horizontal ARG transfer. • Exposure to high dose of aged PS NPs inhibited ARGs propagation. • Excessive ROS degraded ARGs and caused inactivation of recipient cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with arthritis.This research was a retrospective cohort study that focused on SLE patients who had arthritis and were treated with tofacitinib at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology from January 2020 to January 2022. Clinical outcomes, disease activity, immunological parameters, and adverse events were systematically evaluated pre- and post-treatment at 4, 12, and 24 weeks.Twenty-two patients were analyzed. At the 4-week mark, 5 (22.7%) patients were partially relieved, and 17 (77.3%) unalleviated. By the 12-week assessment, CR off corticosteroids was observed in four patients (18.2%), and CR on corticosteroids was seen in six patients (27.3%), with an additional six (27.3%) maintaining partial remission. At 24 weeks after treatment, three patients (13.6%) achieved CR off corticosteroids, ten patients (45.5%) achieved CR on corticosteroids, and all patients received remission. Compared to before treatment, The SLEDAI and PGA scores significantly improved. The level of C3 was increased significantly, and the absolute CD3+ T cell count, the 28-tender and the 28-swollen joint count, and the levels of serum IL-6 were significantly decreased at 24 weeks after treatment.Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis, with a safety profile, and the therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activation.Key Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activationKey Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activationMethods: To estimate the effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with arthritis.This research was a retrospective cohort study that focused on SLE patients who had arthritis and were treated with tofacitinib at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology from January 2020 to January 2022. Clinical outcomes, disease activity, immunological parameters, and adverse events were systematically evaluated pre- and post-treatment at 4, 12, and 24 weeks.Twenty-two patients were analyzed. At the 4-week mark, 5 (22.7%) patients were partially relieved, and 17 (77.3%) unalleviated. By the 12-week assessment, CR off corticosteroids was observed in four patients (18.2%), and CR on corticosteroids was seen in six patients (27.3%), with an additional six (27.3%) maintaining partial remission. At 24 weeks after treatment, three patients (13.6%) achieved CR off corticosteroids, ten patients (45.5%) achieved CR on corticosteroids, and all patients received remission. Compared to before treatment, The SLEDAI and PGA scores significantly improved. The level of C3 was increased significantly, and the absolute CD3+ T cell count, the 28-tender and the 28-swollen joint count, and the levels of serum IL-6 were significantly decreased at 24 weeks after treatment.Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis, with a safety profile, and the therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activation.Key Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activationKey Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activationResults: To estimate the effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with arthritis.This research was a retrospective cohort study that focused on SLE patients who had arthritis and were treated with tofacitinib at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology from January 2020 to January 2022. Clinical outcomes, disease activity, immunological parameters, and adverse events were systematically evaluated pre- and post-treatment at 4, 12, and 24 weeks.Twenty-two patients were analyzed. At the 4-week mark, 5 (22.7%) patients were partially relieved, and 17 (77.3%) unalleviated. By the 12-week assessment, CR off corticosteroids was observed in four patients (18.2%), and CR on corticosteroids was seen in six patients (27.3%), with an additional six (27.3%) maintaining partial remission. At 24 weeks after treatment, three patients (13.6%) achieved CR off corticosteroids, ten patients (45.5%) achieved CR on corticosteroids, and all patients received remission. Compared to before treatment, The SLEDAI and PGA scores significantly improved. The level of C3 was increased significantly, and the absolute CD3+ T cell count, the 28-tender and the 28-swollen joint count, and the levels of serum IL-6 were significantly decreased at 24 weeks after treatment.Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis, with a safety profile, and the therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activation.Key Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activationKey Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activationConclusion: To estimate the effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with arthritis.This research was a retrospective cohort study that focused on SLE patients who had arthritis and were treated with tofacitinib at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology from January 2020 to January 2022. Clinical outcomes, disease activity, immunological parameters, and adverse events were systematically evaluated pre- and post-treatment at 4, 12, and 24 weeks.Twenty-two patients were analyzed. At the 4-week mark, 5 (22.7%) patients were partially relieved, and 17 (77.3%) unalleviated. By the 12-week assessment, CR off corticosteroids was observed in four patients (18.2%), and CR on corticosteroids was seen in six patients (27.3%), with an additional six (27.3%) maintaining partial remission. At 24 weeks after treatment, three patients (13.6%) achieved CR off corticosteroids, ten patients (45.5%) achieved CR on corticosteroids, and all patients received remission. Compared to before treatment, The SLEDAI and PGA scores significantly improved. The level of C3 was increased significantly, and the absolute CD3+ T cell count, the 28-tender and the 28-swollen joint count, and the levels of serum IL-6 were significantly decreased at 24 weeks after treatment.Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis, with a safety profile, and the therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activation.Key Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activationKey Points• Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis• The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For three-dimensional (3-D) vibration suppression of flexible beams, the most commonly used method is the boundary-controlled strategy, which is challenging to employ in general environments. In this study, a novel strategy by employing planned-motion flywheel assembly is designed to suppress 3-D vibration of flexible beams, which is easier to implement and more widely applicable than the boundary-controlled strategy. First, the dynamic equations of flexible beams with flywheel assembly are derived based on the Lagrange equation, where the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and the geometric nonlinearity are employed. Subsequently, the phase delay method is employed to plan the motion of the flywheel assembly, while the optimal parameters in the expressions of flywheel assembly's motion are derived through the analysis of system energy. Theoretical results suggest that the flywheel assembly with planned motion enables the beam stable rapidly in free vibration and decreases displacement in forced vibration. Experimental results also demonstrate this strategy can enable the beam stable rapidly in free vibration under various initial conditions. The proposed control strategy can provide effective 3-D vibration suppression in flexible beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bolt connection is commonly used to assemble shell structures in engineering fields. Prolonged external excitation can induce stick, slip, even separation states at the connection interface, leading to complex nonlinear dynamics in bolted shell structures. Understanding the dynamic mechanism of bolted joined shells under stick–slip-separation condition is crucial for the design and application of these structures. In this study, we aim to build the nonlinear dynamic model and reveal the vibration mechanism of bolted joined conical-cylindrical shells with stick–slip-separation behavior. During the development of the mechanical model of the bolt connection, the axial bilinear stiffness characteristics and interface friction behaviors are taken into account simultaneously, which could simulate the transition of the contact state at the connection interface. The rigid joint between the conical and cylindrical shells is realized via successive distributed artificial springs. Donnell's shell theory as well as the displacement assumption of Chebyshev polynomials are employed in theoretical modeling, and the governing equation is obtained by the Lagrange equation. In contrast with existing research and experimental data, the accuracy of the present theoretical model is validated. Both theoretical and experimental results indicate the frequency multiplication and dynamic softening phenomena as the excitation level increases. By the consideration of the stick-slip-separation behavior at the connection interface in the modeling, these nonlinear vibration behaviors can be effectively illustrated. Additionally, hysteresis characteristics are further investigated to explore frictional energy dissipation. The stick–slip-separation contact state at the connection interface under different excitation levels, bolt preloads and cone angles are also analyzed. The present investigation provides a basis for the design and health condition monitoring of bolted shell structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An effective theoretical dynamics model of BFJDSs is proposed. • Vibration experiment of BFJDSs is conducted. • Experiment validates the present theoretical model. • Present model is applicable for bolt looseness and no-looseness conditions. Bolted flange joint disk-drum structures (BFJDSs) are key components in aero-engines, in which fatigue damage often occurs due to structural vibration. However, no study has so far given an effective theoretical dynamic model of BFJDSs. In this study, an effective dynamic model of BFJDSs is proposed. The present model considers the flange effect, non-uniform contact pressure of bolted joint, and bolt mass. The theoretical expression for describing the stiffness variation of bolted joints is presented. During the modeling process, the energy functions of disk, drum, and flange are obtained according to the Kirchhoff plate, Sanders' shell, and Euler-Bernoulli beam theories, respectively. The non-uniform artificial spring technique is adopted to simulate the pressure distribution of bolted joint. This method is capable of taking into account the contact pressure, which is closer to real contact situation. The displacement functions of disk and drum are expanded by using the Chebyshev orthogonal polynomials, and the motion equations are obtained by employing the Lagrange equation. Then, the experimental studies are performed on BFJDSs to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical model. Finally, the frequency veering and coupling vibration phenomena are revealed. The comparison studies indicate that the established theoretical model can well predict the vibration characteristics of BFJDSs under both bolt looseness and no-looseness conditions. The maximum error can be reduced from 46.81% to 3.61% by using the present dynamic model. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How the remote influences of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may vary in a warmer future remains a hot topic but still elusive. Based on the outputs from the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project Phase 4, here we investigated the variations of ENSO teleconnections in boreal winter during the Last Interglacial (LIG), which shares large similarities with the projected climatic features in the 21st century. Our results suggested that the ENSO-temperature teleconnections on average weakened by ∼13.4% during the LIG relative to the preindustrial, whereas the response of precipitation amplified by ∼5.0%. However, there are large regional discrepancies in the variations of ENSO teleconnections in terms of the sign and amplitude. For example, we observed significant ENSO-temperature relationship changes at the high latitudes during the LIG, with a depressed linkage over northern North America but enhanced linkage over the high latitudes of Eurasia. The most profound change in ENSO-precipitation teleconnection occurred over the tropics during the LIG, characterized by a weaker response over the equatorial Pacific Ocean whereas a stronger response over the Maritime Continent and adjacent oceans. Regarding atmospheric circulations, we found that the ENSO-driven Walker Circulations over the Pacific and the Indian Ocean shifted westward during the LIG, whereas the descending branch of the ENSO-driven Atlantic Walker Circulation shifted eastward. Our results provide a model-based scenario for the variations of ENSO teleconnections during the LIG, but the underlying mechanisms deserve further investigation in the future. • ENSO-temperature teleconnections on average weakened during the Last Interglacial. • ENSO-precipitation teleconnections on average enhanced during the Last Interglacial. • There are large regional discrepancies in the variations of ENSO teleconnections. • ENSO-driven Pacific Walker Circulation moved westward during the Last Interglacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 5 (PNPLA5) is a newly-discovered lipase. Although the PNPLA family plays critical roles in diverse biological processes, the biological functions of PNPLA5 mostly unknown. We previously found that the deletion of Pnpla5 in rats causes a variety of phenotypic abnormalities. In this study, we further explored the effects of Pnpla5 knockout (KO) on male rats. Results: The body weight and testicular or epididymal tissue weight of three to six 3-month-old Pnpla5 KO or wild-type (WT) male Sprague–Dawley rats were measured. The protein expression levels were also measured via western blotting and iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation) analyses. No significant difference between Pnpla5 KO and WT rats, regarding body weight, testicular or epididymal tissue weight, or hormone levels, were found. However, the relative testicular tissue weight of the KO (Pnpla5−/−) rats was higher (P < 0.05) than that of WT rats. Significant increases in apoptotic cells numbers (P < 0.001) and BAX and Caspase-9 expression levels were observed in the testicular tissue of Pnpla5−/− rats. Moreover, iTRAQ analysis revealed that the levels of proteins involved in steroid metabolism and wound healing were significantly decreased in Pnpla5−/− rats. Conclusion: This study revealed that Pnpla5 knockout induced apoptosis in rat testes. We also ascertained that Pnpla5 plays an important role in lipid metabolism, wound healing, and affects reproductive organs negatively, providing new target genes and pathways that can be analyzed to unravel the biological function of Pnpla5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud detection is one of the critical tasks in remote sensing image preprocessing. Remote sensing images usually contain multi-dimensional information, which is not utilized entirely in existing deep learning methods. This paper proposes a novel cloud detection algorithm based on multi-scale input and dual-channel attention mechanisms. Firstly, we remodeled the original data to a multi-scale layout in terms of channels and bands. Then, we introduced the dual-channel attention mechanism into the existing semantic segmentation network, to focus on both band information and angle information based on the reconstructed multi-scale data. Finally, a multi-scale fusion strategy was introduced to combine band information and angle information simultaneously. Overall, in the experiments undertaken in this paper, the proposed method achieved a pixel accuracy of 92.66% and a category pixel accuracy of 92.51%. For cloud detection, the proposed method achieved a recall of 97.76% and an F1 of 95.06%. The intersection over union (IoU) of the proposed method was 89.63%. Both in terms of quantitative results and visual effects, the deep learning model we propose is superior to the existing semantic segmentation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent observations of quasars show high line-flux ratios in their broad emission lines and the ratios appear to be independent of redshift up to z ≳ 6, which indicates that the broad-line regions of these early quasars are surprisingly metal-rich. Here, we revisit the chemical evolution of high-redshift quasars by adding a new ingredient, i.e., the neutrino-dominated accretion flows (NDAFs) with outflows, on top of the conventional core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). In the presence of the chemical contribution from NDAFs with outflows, the total metal mass (i.e., the summation of the conventional CCSN and NDAFs with outflows) per CCSN depends weakly upon the mass of the progenitor star if the mass is in the range of ∼25â€"55 M ⊙. We model the chemical evolution by adopting a improved open-box model with three typical initial mass functions (IMFs). We find that, with the additional chemical contribution from NDAFs with outflows, the quasar metallicity can be enriched more rapidly in the very early universe (z ∼ 10) and reaches a higher saturation than the no-NDAF case at z ∼ 8, after which they evolve slowly with redshift. The quasar metallicity can reach ∼20 Z ⊙ (Z ⊙ denotes the metallicity of the Sun, ∼20% of which is produced by NDAF outflows) at z ∼ 8 for the “top-heavy” IMF model in Toyouchi et al., which readily explains the quasar observations on the supersolar metal abundance and redshift-independent evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new visible-light-gated donor–acceptor Stenhouse adduct (DASA) chemosenor with a Schiff base naphthalene unit was successfully designed and synthesized. The synthesized ND-O exhibited typical and excellent negative photochromic properties in a solution. It also possessed multi-responsive photoswitchable properties under visible light, heat, and in the presence of metal ions. After activation by visible light, the purple ND-O was converted to the nearly colorless ND-C (ring-closed form). Remarkably, this ND-C could not only be utilized as a colorimetric chemosensor to recognize Al3+ by evident color changes in solution but also could be used as a fluorescence chemosensor to detect Zn2+ by a noticeable enhancement of the emission intensity and change in fluorescence color. The lowest detection limits for Al3+ and Zn2+ ions were 3.65 × 10−7 mol L−1 and 1.00 × 10−7 mol L−1, respectively. The binding mode of ND-C with Al3+ and Zn2+ was determined as a 1 : 1 coordination stoichiometry by employing fluorescence titration curves and Job's plot analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese Medicine is generally used as a decoction to guard health. Many active ingredients in the decoction are chemical ingredients that are not usually paid attention to in phytochemical research, such as polysaccharides, etc. Based on research interest in Chinese herbal decoction, crude polysaccharides from G. wilfordii (GCP) were purified to obtain two relatively homogeneous polysaccharides, a neutral polysaccharide (GNP), and an acid polysaccharide (GAP) by various chromatographic separation methods, which were initially characterized by GC-MS, NMR, IR, and methylation analysis. Studies on the hepatoprotective activity of GCP in vivo showed that GCP might be a potential agent for the prevention and treatment of acute liver injury by inhibiting the secretion levels of ALT, AST, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and MDA expression levels, increasing SOD, and the GSH-Px activity value. Further, in vitro assays, GNP and GAP, decrease the inflammatory response by inhibiting the secretion of IL-6 and TNF-α, involved in the STAT1/T-bet signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]