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The giant impact between proto-Earth and a Mars-sized planet called Theia resulted in the formation of the Earth–Moon system, and the silicate mantles of the initial bodies may have partly been vaporized. Here, we develop a machine learning potential for MgSiO3 based on the data from first-principles calculations to estimate its critical point. The variations in pressure along different isotherms yield the position of the critical point of MgSiO3 at 0.54 g cm−3 and 6750 ± 250 K, which agrees with the previous theoretical estimation. We also simulate the MgSiO3 melt under a spectrum of critical conditions to understand the changes in coordination environment with density and temperature. The fourfold Si–O coordination hardly changes with increasing density at 3000 K. However, with increasing temperature, the dominance of four-coordinated Si–O diminishes rapidly as density decreases. Regarding Mg–O coordination, the overall trend, which varies with temperature and density, remains largely consistent with Si–O but with a greater diversity in the types of coordination due to more bond breaking events. Our work opens a new avenue by employing machine learning methods to estimate the critical point of silicates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract.Blocked designs are widely used in practical experiments with heterogeneous experimental units. The blocked general minimum lower-order confounding (B1-GMC) criterion is appropriate for selecting optimal blocked designs. This article extends B1-GMC criterion to s-level blocked designs. First, we introduce a blocked aliased component-number pattern (B1-ACNP) to reflect the confounding information among various component effects s. Further, the existing optimal criteria can be expressed by some functions of elements in the B1-ACNP. Finally, we not only give the formulas of lower-order confounding information by the complementary method, but also provide an algorithm to calculate the lower-order confounding in blocked designs. Some examples are given to illustrate our theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure and electrocatalytic performance of Ni-based MOFs were controlled by the symmetrical engineering of Br functional groups on the terephthalic acid ligand. The asymmetric coordination between metal active sites and the ligand makes Ni-DBC-1Br an excellent OER electrocatalyst with a significantly lower overpotential (247 mV) accompanied by a low Tafel slope of 58.1 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH (pH = 13.88). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple kernel k‐means clustering (MKKC) can efficiently incorporate multiple base kernels to generate an optimal kernel. Many existing MKKC methods all need two‐step operation: learning clustering indicator matrix and performing clustering on it. However, the optimal clustering results of two steps are not equivalent to those of original problem. To address this issue, in this paper we propose a novel method named one‐step multiple kernel k‐means clustering based on block diagonal representation (OS‐MKKC‐BD). By imposing a block diagonal constraint on the product of indicator matrix and its transpose, this method can encourage the indicator matrix to be block diagonal. Then the indicator matrix can produce explicit clustering indicator, so as to implement one‐step clustering, which avoids the disadvantage of two‐step operation. Furthermore, a simple kernel weighting strategy is used to obtain an optimal kernel, which boosts the quality of optimal kernel. In addition, a three‐step iterative algorithm is designed to solve the corresponding optimization problem, where the Riemann conjugate gradient iterative method is used to solve the optimization problem of the indicator matrix. Finally, by extensive experiments on eleven real data sets and comparison of clustering results with 10 MKC methods, it is concluded that OS‐MKKC‐BD is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove that a virtually periodic object in an abelian category gives rise to a non-vanishing result on certain Hom groups in the singularity category. Consequently, for any artin algebra with infinite global dimension, its singularity category has no silting subcategory, and the associated differential graded Leavitt algebra has a non-vanishing cohomology in each degree. We verify the Singular Presilting Conjecture for singularly-minimal algebras and ultimately-closed algebras. We obtain a trichotomy on the Hom-finiteness of the cohomologies of differential graded Leavitt algebras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxide scale on the surface of hot‐rolled low‐carbon steel strips is subjected to isothermal reduction in 10 vol%H2–Ar and 20 vol%H2–Ar environments to simulate the reduction process that occurs in a continuous annealing furnace. The influence of hydrogen concentration on the reduction kinetics and the microstructural evolution of the oxide scale after reduction at temperatures ranging from 450 to 850 °C for a duration of 20 min are investigated in detail. The mass changes of the oxide scale in the two gases are quantified using a thermogravimetric analyzer. This data is then employed to calculate the reduction rate constant and the apparent activation energy. To examine the microstructure and element distribution, electron probe microanalysis and energy‐dispersive spectrometry are employed. An novel approach is also undertaken to assess the reduction degree of the oxide scale by measuring surface microhardness. In the findings, it is indicated that an increase in hydrogen concentration served primarily to accelerate the reduction reaction within the temperature ranges of 450–550 and 800–850 °C. Meanwhile, the mechanism of physical transformation of oxide scale, the microstructure of reduction layer, and hydrogen concentration on reduction efficiency under different reaction stages are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of self-injury and suicide is higher than the general population of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). However, the results reported in existing studies are highly variable in China. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the currently available high-quality evidence to explore the prevalence and influence factors of self-injury and suicide among PLWHA in China. Method: We retrieve literature written in Chinese and English through databases such as PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, SinoMed, CNKI, WanFang Database, and CQVIP from inception to 1 September 2022. Sata 16.0 software was used for analysis. Results: A total of 28 studies were included with a sample size of 1,433,971 and had a satisfactory quality score of ≥ 5. The prevalence among PLWHA in China were 30% for suicidal ideation (SI), 5% for suicide attempt (SA), 8% for suicide plan (SP), 7% for attempted suicide (AS), and 3‰ for completed suicide. High stigma (OR = 2.94, 95%CI: 1.90 − 4.57), depression (OR, 3.17; 95%CI, 2.20 − 4.57), anxiety (OR, 3.06; 95%CI, 2.23 − 4.20), low self-esteem (OR, 3.82, 95%CI, 2.22 − 6.57), high HIV related stress (OR, 2.53; 95%CI, 1.36 − 4.72), and unemployment (OR, 2.50; 95%CI, 1.51 − 4.15) are risk factors for SI; high social support (OR, 0.61; 95%CI, 0.44 − 0.84) and spouse infected with HIV (OR, 0.39; 95%CI, 0.21 − 0.74) are protective factors for SI; depression (OR, 1.62; 95%CI, 1.24 − 2.13), high aggression (OR, 4.66; 95%CI, 2.59 − 8.39), and more negative life events (OR, 2.51; 95%CI, 1.47 − 4.29) are risk factors for AS; high level of education (OR, 1.31; 95%CI, 1.21 − 1.43) is risk factor for CS. Conclusion: Figures indicate that approximately one-third of PLWHA had suicidal ideation, and three out of 1,000 completed suicide in China. Positive events are protective factors for self-injury and suicide among PLWHA, while negative events are risk factors. This suggests that psychosocial support and risk assessment should be integrated into the care of PLWHA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aliased effect-number pattern is usually used to reveal the confounding distributions between various factorial effects in any two-level regular design. However, it does not reflect all the confounding information's properties of concentricity and variation. The article proposes the concepts of confounding average and variance to solve the problem and introduce optimal confounding measures. We further study the relationship between the confounding average, resolution, and word length pattern. Finally, compared with other criteria, optimal designs with 16, 32, and 64 runs are tabulated under confounding measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of stars are in binary/multiple systems. How such systems form in turbulent, magnetized cores of molecular clouds in the presence of non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects remains relatively underexplored. Through athena ++-based non-ideal MHD adaptive mesh refinement simulations with ambipolar diffusion, we show that the collapsing protostellar envelope is dominated by dense gravo-magneto-sheetlets, a turbulence-warped version of the classic pseudodisc produced by anisotropic magnetic resistance to the gravitational collapse, in agreement with previous simulations of turbulent, magnetized single-star formation. The sheetlets feed mass, magnetic fields, and angular momentum to a Dense ROtation-Dominated (DROD) structure, which fragments into binary/multiple systems. This DROD fragmentation scenario is a more dynamic variant of the traditional disc fragmentation scenario for binary/multiple formation, with dense spiral filaments created by inhomogeneous feeding from the highly structured larger-scale sheetlets rather than the need for angular momentum transport, which is dominated by magnetic braking. Provided that the local material is sufficiently demagnetized, with a plasma- |$\beta$| of 10 or more, collisions between the dense spiralling filaments play a key role in facilitating gravitational collapse and stellar companion formation by pushing the local magnetic Toomre parameter |$Q_\mathrm{m}$| below unity. This mechanism can naturally produce in situ misaligned systems on the 100-au scale, often detected with high-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations. Our simulations also highlight the importance of non-ideal MHD effects, which affect whether fragmentation occurs and, if so, the masses and orbital parameters of the stellar companions formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Tuberculosis (TB), predominantly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection, remains a prominent global health challenge. Macrophages are the frontline defense against MTB , relying on autophagy for intracellular bacterial clearance. However, MTB can combat and evade autophagy, and it influences macrophage polarization, facilitating immune evasion and promoting infection. We previously found that heparin-binding hemagglutinin (HBHA) inhibits autophagy in A549 cells; however, its role in macrophage autophagy and polarization remains unclear. Methods Bacterial cultures, cell cultures, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, macrophage infection assays, siRNA knockdown, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to investigate HBHA's impact on macrophages and its relevance in Mycobacterium infection. Results HBHA inhibited macrophage autophagy. Expression of recombinant HBHA in Mycobacterium smegmatis (rMS-HBHA) inhibited autophagy, promoting bacterial survival within macrophages. Conversely, HBHA knockout in the Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) mutant (BCG-ΔHBHA) activated autophagy and reduced bacterial survival. Mechanistic investigations revealed that HBHA may inhibit macrophage autophagy through the Toll-like receptor 4–dependent PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway. Furthermore, HBHA induced macrophage M2 polarization. Conclusions Mycobacterium may exploit HBHA to suppress the antimicrobial immune response in macrophages, facilitating intracellular survival and immune evasion through autophagy inhibition and M2 polarization induction. Our findings may help identify novel therapeutic targets and develop more effective treatments against MTB infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rye (Secale cereale L.) is the most widely used related species in wheat genetic breeding, and the introduction of its chromosome fragments into the wheat genome through distant hybridization is essential for enriching the genetic diversity of wheat. Rapid and accurate detection of rye chromatin in the wheat genome is important for distant hybridization. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are widely distributed in the genome, and SSRs of different species often exhibit species-specific characteristics. Results: In this study, genome-wide SSRs in rye were identified, and their characteristics were outlined. A total of 997,027 SSRs were selected, with a density of 115.97 SSRs/Mb on average. There was no significant difference in the number of SSRs on each chromosome. The number of SSRs on 2R was the highest (15.29%), and the number of SSRs on 1R was the lowest (13.02%). The number of SSRs on each chromosome is significantly correlated with chromosome length. The types of SSR motifs were abundant, and each type of SSR was distributed on 7 chromosomes of rye. The numbers of mononucleotide simple sequence repeats (MNRs), dinucleotide simple sequence repeats (DNRs), and trinucleotide simple sequence repeats (TNRs) were the greatest, accounting for 46.90%, 18.37%, and 22.64% of the total number, respectively. Among the MNRs, the number of G/C repeats and the number of 10 bp motifs were the greatest, accounting for 26.24% and 31.32% of the MNRs, respectively. Based on the SSR sequences, a total of 657 pairs of primers were designed. The PCR results showed that 119 pairs of these primers were rye-specific and could effectively detect rye chromatin in the wheat genome. Moreover, 86 pairs of the primers could also detect one or more specific rye chromosomes. Conclusion: These results lay a foundation for both genomic evolution studies of rye and molecular breeding in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Wind‐blown sand movements induce desertification and cause various environmental problems. This study investigates the rebound probability of sand particles during sand transport. The widely used rebound probability models are essentially empirical and the mechanism that generates non‐rebounding particles remains unclear. By tracking the grain–bed collision process of impact particles in steady‐state sand flows, it was observed that non‐rebounding particles undergo repetitive collisional momentum losses within the rheological layer of the sand bed. Therefore, rebound probability models based on the incident velocity and angle cannot realistically describe rebound probability. Furthermore, the rheological sand bed produces numerous rebound particles with a coefficient of restitution above 1.0, converting the normal distribution of the coefficient of restitution into a lognormal distribution pattern with considerably larger variances. The new insights into aeolian rebounds gained through this study are expected to reduce the uncertainties in sand flux predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to recognize and differentiate between conspecifics and heterospecifics as well as their signals is critical for the coexistence of closely related species. In the genus Rattus , species are morphologically similar and multiple species often coexist. Here, we investigated the interspecific recognition and signal differentiation of two sympatric rat species, the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus , RN) and the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi , RT). In a two-way choice test, both RN and RT females showed a preference for conspecific male rats to heterospecific ones. RT females showed a significant preference for accessible urine of males of same species to those of other species, but not for the inaccessible urine. On the other hand, there were significant differences in the structural characteristics of the ultrasonic vocalization emitted by males of these two rat species. Sodium dodecyl sulphate‒polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‒PAGE) and isoelectric focusing electrophoresis unveiled that major urinary proteins (MUPs) in voided urine were more highly expressed in RN males versus RT males. The interspecific differences of urinary volatile compounds were also discussed. In conclusion, female rats had the ability to distinguish between males of either species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures, stability and electronic properties of the Ni-doped boron nitride tubular clusters (NiBm−1Nm), NH3 adsorption on the NiBm−1Nm (NH3NiBm−1Nm) and NH3 embedded into the NiBm−1Nm (NH3@NiBm−1Nm) (m = 48, 72 and 96) clusters have been investigated by using density functional theory. The results reveal that the diameters of the NiBm−1Nm clusters have almost no effect on the NH3 adsorption. The diameter of the NiB47N48 clusters is small enough to accommodate the NH3 molecules, and the appropriate diameter of the NiB71N72 clusters occurs to embed the NH3 molecules. The NH3 molecules prefer to adsorb on rather than embed into the NiBm−1Nm clusters. The charge transfer between the NH3 molecules and the NiBm−1Nm clusters is limit, in the range of 0.002–0.221 |e|. The adsorption between the NH3 molecules and the NiBm−1Nm clusters is chemical process. In a word, the curvature effects of the Ni-doped boron nitride nanotubes with various diameters on NH3 adsorption are restrict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To summarize the preliminary application experience of intraoperative ultrasound with burr hole probe in minimally invasive neurosurgery and to explore its application value. Thirty-one patients who underwent intraoperative ultrasound guided puncture with burr hole probe in our center from August 2018 to May 2024 were collected, including 16 cases of ventriculoperitoneal shunt operation, 6 cases of assisted stereotactic needle biopsy, 3 cases of intracranial pressure probe implantation in lateral ventricle, 3 cases of brain abscess puncture for external drainage, and 3 cases of intracranial cyst puncture and peritoneal drainage. During the procedures, the burr hole probe was used to locate the intracranial targets and guide the puncture. The postoperative computed tomography (CT) scans or combined postoperative pathological results could verify the accuracy of puncture. In addition, the intervention effect and recovery status of patients were also recorded. The intraoperative ultrasound with burr hole probe could clearly display all the purposed targets and accurately guide the puncture procedures in all cases. All patients achieved satisfactory diagnostic and therapeutic results without new neurological dysfunction and serious complications. The intraoperative ultrasound with burr hole probe is an effective device for demonstrating intracranial structures. It not only enables minimally invasive and precise diagnosis or treatment of many neurosurgical diseases, but also is simple and safe to operate, which has important promotional value in the neurosurgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) is a rare genetic, non-inheritable disease and is characterized by fibrous dysplasia, hyperendocrinism, and café-au-lait macules. Pituitary adenomas could be concurrent with this syndrome but clinicopathological features and the surgical management of such disorders is unclear. We retrospectively reviewed ten MAS-associated pituitary adenoma patients with follow-up in Beijing Tiantan Hospital and analyzed their clinicohistological data, surgical strategies, neuro-imaging, genetic mutations, and prognosis. Moreover, a critical review of the English language literature was also conducted. All of the ten MAS-associated adenoma patients underwent surgeries to remove the tumor (nine transsphenoidal approaches and one transcranial approach). None of these patients had a decompression of the optic canal. Notably, the growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), and IGF-1 level had a significant reduction after the resection of the tumor while vision improvement was observed in most patients (6/7) with visual deficits. No tumor recurrence was observed during the follow-up from 16 to 150 months. The pathological examination showed a moderate Ki-67 LI (mean 1.19%, range from 0.1% to 3.3%) and the positive staining of Gsα and PKA C-beta. GNAS gene mutation (R201C) was detected in one patient. Hormone excess (including GH and PRL) could be significantly reduced and the visual deficits are greatly improved after the surgery without the decompression of the optic canal. In addition, MAS-associated pituitary adenomas have a moderate expression of Ki-67 and positive expression of Gsα and PKA C-beta, indicating a mildly proliferative nature of these tumors and the possible linking between MAS and adenomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants synthesise a vast array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which serve as chemical defence and communication agents in their interactions with insect herbivores. Although nitrogen (N) is a critical resource in the production of plant metabolites, its regulatory effects on defensive VOCs remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of N content in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) on the tobacco cutworm (Spodoptera litura), a notorious agricultural pest, using biochemical and molecular experiments in combination with insect behavioural and performance analyses. We observed that on tomato leaves with different N contents, S. litura showed distinct feeding preference and growth and developmental performance. Particularly, metabolomics profiling revealed that limited N availability conferred resistance upon tomato plants to S. litura is likely associated with the biosynthesis and emission of the volatile metabolite α‐humulene as a repellent. Moreover, exogenous application of α‐humulene on tomato leaves elicited a significant repellent response against herbivores. Thus, our findings unravel the key factors involved in N‐mediated plant defence against insect herbivores and pave the way for innovation of N management to improve the plant defence responses to facilitate pest control strategies within agroecosystems. Summary statement: Our study illustrates that nitrogen levels in tomato plants mediate the production and volatilisation of defensive secondary metabolites, specifically α‐humulene, which confer direct and indirect plant resistance to Spodoptera litura. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study aimed to estimate population-level and state-level lead-attributable mortality burdens stratified by socioeconomic status (SES) class in the USA. Methods Based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we constructed individual-level SES scores from income, employment, education and insurance data. We assessed the association between the blood lead levels (BLL) and all-cause mortality by Cox regression in the NHANES cohort (n  = 31 311, 4467 deaths). With estimated hazard ratios (HR) and prevalences of medium (2–5 μg/dL) and high (≥ 5 μg/dL) BLL, we computed SES-stratified population-attributable fractions (PAFs) of all-cause mortality from lead exposure across 1999–2019. We additionally conducted a systematic review to estimate the lead-attributable mortality burden at state-level. Results The HR for every 2-fold increase in the BLL decreased from 1.23 (1.10–1.38) for the lowest SES class to 1.05 (0.90–1.23) for the highest SES class. Across all SES quintiles, medium BLL exhibited a greater mortality burden. Individuals with lower SES had higher lead-attributable burdens, and such disparities haver persisted over the past two decades. In 2017–19, annually 67 000 (32 000–112 000) deaths in the USA were attributable to lead exposure, with 18 000 (2000–41 000) of these deaths occurring in the lowest SES class. Substantial disparities in the state-level mortality burden attributable to lead exposure were also highlighted. Conclusions These findings suggested that disparities in lead-attributable mortality burden persisted within US adults, due to heterogeneities in the effect sizes of lead exposure as well as in the BLL among different SES classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water reuse, as a viable option for water supply, must be implemented to minimize the adverse impacts on stream ecosystems that previously received this wastewater effluent. In the State of Oklahoma (OK), USA, local communities have implemented wastewater reuse, and many seek to expand the reuse programs. This study presents a hydro‐modeling analysis based on the Coupled Routing and Excess STorage with VECtor routing (CREST‐VEC) model focusing on the potential ecosystem impacts and societal benefits of wastewater reuse under climate change in the OK portion of the Red River basin. First, a CREST‐VEC model is established for the upper Red River basin and validated against observed streamflow for a 30‐year historical period (1990–2020). Based on the established model, we then assess the sensitivity of ecosystem impact to various climate change scenarios and hypothetical wastewater reuse scenarios. Results show that dominant effects of climate change cause the annual time below environmental flow to increase in the next 30 years, which constrains the room to implement wastewater reuse. However, at sub‐catchment scale, the analyses identify viable locations for allocating wastewater reuse while maintaining ecosystem health. The results also reveal that wastewater reuse brings about the most societal water benefits at minimal cost of ecosystem health under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 2.6 followed by RCP 4.5 and then RCP 8.5. Overall, the study demonstrates capabilities of the hydro‐modeling framework in developing water management plans facing the changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precipitation, growth, and transformation of carbides rich in Cr and Mo during solidification and cooling process of high‐alloy steel for cold working dies are investigated. The Fe–C pseudobinary phase diagram of high‐alloy steel is calculated by Thermo‐Calc software to ascertain the critical phase transformation temperatures. The temperatures of phase transformation during the solidification process are determined by a differential scanning calorimeter. Then the microstructure of the samples at these characteristic temperatures is observed in situ by high‐temperature confocal microscope. The results show that the characteristic temperatures for phase transformation and carbide precipitation are 1380, 1315, 1140, and 980 °C, respectively. At 1315 °C, thick rod‐like or island‐like M7C3 carbides enriched in Cr and Fe are formed. At 1140 °C, secondary M7C3, adhering to the primary eutectic M7C3, grows rapidly in a rod‐like morphology and maintains a similar composition. The secondary M6C carbides of segregated Mo elements precipitate in fan‐shaped clusters near M7C3 through the dissolution of M7C3 and the conversion of M2C. Thermodynamic calculation further indicates that the eutectic Cr7C3 precipitates at 1213 °C, and secondary Cr7C3 remains under conditions favorable for precipitation below the solidus, preceding the precipitation of secondary carbides Cr23C6 and Mo2C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind farms, a rapidly expanding sector within wind energy, are playing a significant role in achieving global carbon neutrality, and this trend is to continue. Here, we utilize ERA5 reanalysis to correct offshore wind speed trends predicted by CMIP6 models. This approach led to enhanced projections for changes in offshore Wind Power Density (WPD) under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) scenarios. Throughout the 21st century, global offshore WPD is projected to follow an upward trend across all SSP scenarios. Notably, Europe stands out with the most substantial increase in offshore WPD among regions with higher current installations, projected to reach up to 26% under 4°C global warming. Our study uncovers a notable increase of global offshore WPD in a warmer climate, which offers valuable insights for the strategic planning of future global wind energy. Plain Language Summary: Wind energy is key to achieving global carbon neutrality. While onshore wind has been extensively studied, offshore wind energy (OWE) projections have received less attention. Climate models, particularly those from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phases 5 and 6 (CMIP5/6), have underestimated changes in OWE in past decades. Our study addresses this by using a state‐of‐the‐art reanalysis, ERA5, to correct these underestimations in CMIP6 models and project future changes in offshore wind power density (WPD) in a warming world. We discover that global offshore WPD is expected to rise throughout the 21st century. By the end of the century, we project an increase in offshore WPD by 3.8%–18.3% under various emission scenarios. Specifically, with global warming of 4°C (and 2°C), we expect increases of 8.9%–9.2% (and 0.2%–2.2%) compared to that at a 1.5°C warming level. Europe stands out under 4°C global warming, with the largest projected increase in offshore WPD (26%). This significant increase of global offshore WPD in a warmer climate offers valuable information for the strategic planning of future global wind energy. It highlights the growing importance of offshore wind in our energy mix and underscores the need for improved modeling to guide investments and policies. Key Points: CMIP6 models have consistently underestimated trends of offshore wind speeds from 1940 to 2014Independent validation demonstrates the corrected simulations reasonably reproduce observed historical wind speed trendsGlobal offshore wind energy is projected to rise significantly, potentially rising by up to 9% under 4°C global warming [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Methods Results Conclusion The role of hypoalbuminemia throughout the course of chronic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) remains poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of hypoalbuminemia in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) patients and to explore the association between hypoalbuminemia and treatment outcomes.This retrospective cohort study included 387 PJI cases who underwent two‐stage exchange arthroplasty between January 2007 and August 2020, of which 342 were reimplanted. The mean follow‐up period was 7.9 years. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for hypoalbuminemia and to assess the effect of hypoalbuminemia at 1st‐ and 2nd‐stage exchange on the treatment outcome. Furthermore, the impact of dynamic changes in hypoalbuminemia was investigated.The prevalence of hypoalbuminemia at 1st‐ and 2nd‐stage exchange was 22.2% and 4.7%, respectively. Patients with age ≥ 68 years and those with isolation of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, or Gram‐negative bacteria exhibited a higher risk of hypoalbuminemia. Hypoalbuminemia at 1st‐stage was significantly related to treatment failure (OR = 3.3), while hypoalbuminemia at 2nd‐stage raised the OR to 10.0. Patients with persistent hypoalbuminemia at both the 1st‐ and 2nd‐stage exchanges had a significantly higher rate of treatment failure than patients with hypoalbuminemia at the 1st‐stage but normal albumin levels at the 2nd‐stage exchange (55.6% vs 20.0%, p = 0.036).One in five patients with chronic PJI exhibits hypoalbuminemia. Hypoalbuminemia is more likely to develop in patients of advanced age and those infected by specific highly virulent organisms. Also, our results highlight the close association between hypoalbuminemia and treatment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The systematic status of sect. Tuberculata and its taxonomy have recently attracted considerable attention. However, the different bases for defining the characteristics of sect. Tuberculata has led to many disagreements among the plants in this group. Camellia neriifolia and Camellia ilicifolia have been the subject of taxonomic controversy and have been treated as different species or varieties of the same species. Therefore, it is important to use multiple methods, i.e., integrative taxonomy, to determine the taxonomic status of C. neriifolia and C. ilicifolia. This is the first study to systematically explore the taxonomic position of these two plants on the basis of Morphology, Anatomy, Palynology and Molecular Systematics. Results: Extensive specimen reviews and field surveys showed that many differences exist in C. neriifolia and C. ilicifolia, such as the number of trunk (heavily debarked vs. slightly peeling), leaf type (smooth thin leathery, shiny vs. smooth leathery, obscure or slightly shiny), leaf margin (entire vs. serrate), flower type (subsessile vs. sessile), number of styles (3–4 vs. 3), and sepal (ovate vs. round). Moreover, C. neriifolia has a more distinctive faint yellow flower color, and trunk molting was more severe in C. neriifolia than that in C. ilicifolia. In addition, micromorphological analysis of the leaf epidermis showed that the two species differed in the anticlinal wall, stomatal apparatus, and stomatal cluster, and pollen morphology analyses based on pollen size, germination furrow, and polar and equatorial axes showed that they are both distinct from each other. The results of the phylogenetic tree constructed based on the whole chloroplast genome, protein-coding genes, and ITS2 showed that both C. ilicifolia and C. neriifolia were clustered in different branches and gained high support. Conclusions: The results combine morphology, anatomy, palynology, and molecular systematics to treat both C. neriifolia and C. ilicifolia as separate species in the sect. Tuberculata, and the species names continue to be used as they were previously. In conclusion, clarifying the taxonomic status of C. neriifolia and C. ilicifolia deepens our understanding of the systematic classification of sect. Tuberculata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the thermal safety of hydrophobic SiO 2 aerogels (SAs) is crucial for its practical thermal insulation applications. Here, we explore a facile method to enhance the thermal safety of hydrophobic SAs with the introduction of ammonium polyphosphate intercalated layered double hydroxide (APP-LDH). The obtained results show that as-produced APP-LDH/SA composites maintain excellent fundamental properties, including low density (0.14–0.16 g/cm3), high porosity (92.8–93.5 %), high specific surface area (680.0–762.6 m2/g), and low thermal conductivity (25.3–26.9 mW/m/K). Notably, APP-LDH effectively inhibits the thermal oxidation decomposition of SAs. In comparison to pristine SAs and those modified solely with LDH, the APP-LDH/SA composites exhibit significantly improved thermal stability. The gross calorific value of the APP-LDH/SA-20 % (i.e., containing 20 wt% APP-LDH) decreases by 13.9 % and 5.2 % compared with that of neat SAs and SAs modified solely with 20 wt% LDH, respectively. The improved thermal stability and reduced gross calorific value completely confirm the enhancement of the thermal safety of the APP-LDH/SA composites. This work provides a simple method to improve the thermal safety of hydrophobic SAs, which expands the thermal insulation application scenarios of SAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of landslide recognition focuses on extracting the location and extent of landslides over large areas, providing ample data support for subsequent landslide research. This study explores the use of UAV and deep learning technologies to achieve robust landslide recognition in a more rational, simpler, and faster manner. Specifically, the widely successful DeepLabV3+ model was used as a blueprint and a dual-encoder design was introduced to reconstruct a novel semantic segmentation model consisting of Encoder1, Encoder2, Mixer and Decoder modules. This model, named DeepLab for Landslide (DeepLab4LS), considers topographic information as a supplement to DeepLabV3+, and is expected to improve the efficiency of landslide recognition by extracting shape information from relative elevation, slope, and hillshade. Additionally, a novel loss function term—Positive Enhanced loss (PE loss)—was incorporated into the training of DeepLab4LS, significantly enhancing its ability to understand positive samples. DeepLab4LS was then applied to a UAV dataset of Baihetan reservoir, where comparative tests demonstrated its high performance in landslide recognition tasks. We found that DeepLab4LS has a stronger inference capability for landslides with less distinct boundary information, and delineates landslide boundaries more precisely. More specifically, in terms of evaluation metrics, DeepLab4LS achieved a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 76.0% on the validation set, which is a substantial 5.5 percentage point improvement over DeepLabV3+. Moreover, the study also validated the rationale behind the dual-encoder design and the introduction of PE loss through ablation experiments. Overall, this research presents a robust semantic segmentation model for landslide recognition that considers both optical and topographic semantics of landslides, emulating the recognition pathways of human experts, and is highly suitable for landslide recognition based on UAV datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genotoxic substances widely exist in the environment and the food supply, posing serious health risks due to their potential to induce DNA damage and cancer. Traditional genotoxicity assays, while valuable, are limited by insufficient sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency, particularly when applied to complex food matrices. This study introduces a multiparametric high-content analysis (HCA) for the detection of genotoxic substances in complex food matrices. The developed assay measures three genotoxic biomarkers, including γ-H2AX, p-H3, and RAD51, which enhances the sensitivity and accuracy of genotoxicity screening. Moreover, the assay effectively distinguishes genotoxic compounds with different modes of action, which not only offers a more comprehensive assessment of DNA damage and the cellular response to genotoxic stress but also provides new insights into the exploration of genotoxicity mechanisms. Notably, the five tested food matrices, including coffee, tea, pak choi, spinach, and tomato, were found not to interfere with the detection of these biomarkers under proper dilution ratios, validating the robustness and reliability of the assay for the screening of genotoxic compounds in the food industry. The integration of multiple biomarkers with HCA provides an efficient method for detecting and assessing genotoxic substances in the food supply, with potential applications in toxicology research and food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has demonstrated significant potential as a photocatalyst for the wastewater treatment. However, its wide bandgap leads to inefficient light utilization and rapid carrier recombination, which inhibits its photocatalytic activity. To overcome these limitations, we employed a hydrothermal method to synthesize Ag/ZnO composite microspheres with different concentrations of Ag nanoparticles. By utilizing Ag complexed with ZnO, the Ag/ZnO composite photocatalysts were made to have a narrower bandgap and a broadened light response range, as well as the red-shift phenomenon at the absorption edge. In addition, Ag nanoparticles can act as electron traps to efficiently capture electrons and minimize the recombination of photoexcited carriers for improved photocatalytic performance. Compared with other concentrations of ZnO microspheres and pure ZnO microspheres, the 5% Ag/ZnO composite microspheres exhibited excellent degradation performance when exposed to a xenon lamp, with 90.1% degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) solution in 100min. Incorporating trapping agents in experimental studies has indicated that the RhB degradation process is significantly influenced by •O2−, while the impact of •OH and h+ were relatively weak. Thus, Ag/ZnO nanocomposites hold great promise as materials for use in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resonators have been treated as essential elements in optics because of their capacity to store and enhance light and exhibit a wide range of applications such as semiconductor lasers and optical communication components. In this article, we reveal a new mechanism of light field confinement in an optical cavity composed of different valley photonic crystals. The electromagnetic field of light is localized because of the valley spin states contrasted between the inner and outer regions, which leads a high Q -factor and a small model volume of the resonator. Furthermore, the whispering-gallery-mode modulated vortex phase distribution is demonstrated in the proposed structure, which offers a new method for manipulating the light field. The energy spectrum as well as the light field distributions show the simultaneous appearance of both bulk and edge states. Such effect becomes pronounced or diminished when the domain wall changes, and can be explained by the location of the edge states in the shared bandgap. Our findings offer a novel mechanism of light field confinement and phase modulation, which may pave the way for a new type of topological device and provide broad applications in the areas of micro-lasers, optical communications, and other light-matter interaction systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited data is available regarding the weaning techniques employed for mechanical ventilation (MV) in elderly patients with dementia in China. Objective: The primary objective of this study is to investigate diverse weaning methods in relation to the prognostic outcomes of elderly patients with dementia undergoing MV in the intensive care unit (ICU). Specifically, we seek to compare the prognosis, likelihood of successful withdrawal from MV, and the length of stay (LOS) in the ICU. Methods: The study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial, encompassing a group of 169 elderly patients aged ≥ 65 years with dementia who underwent MV. Three distinct weaning methods were used for MV cessation, namely, the tapering parameter, spontaneous breathing trial (SBT), and SmartCare (Dräger, Germany). Results: In the tapering parameter group, the LOS in the ICU was notably prolonged compared to both the SBT and SmartCare groups. However, no statistically significant differences were observed among the groups with respect to demographic characteristics, such as age and sex, as well as factors including the rationale for ICU admission, cause of MV, MV mode, oxygenation index, hemoglobin levels, albumin levels, ejection fraction, sedation and analgesia practices, tracheotomy, duration of MV, successful extubation, successful weaning, incidences of ventilator‐associated pneumonia, and overall prognosis. Conclusions: Both the SBT and SmartCare withdrawal methods demonstrated a reduction in the duration of MV and LOS in the ICU when compared to the tapering parameter method. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR1900028449 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water inrush represents a significant hazard in karst tunnels, and the water-resistant rock mass plays a pivotal role in water inrush incidents. It is of great significance to explore the coupled hydro-mechanical failure process of water-resistant rock mass under excavation. A series of triaxial compression tests with different pressure conditions and loading rates were conducted in this study to investigate progressive failure characteristics and permeability evolution of limestone specimens. The experimental findings demonstrate that loading rate and confining pressure significantly influence progressive failure characteristics and permeability evolution. Additionally, a decreasing-then-increasing trend is observed in the crack initiation threshold (σci), and the crack damage threshold (σcd) exhibits a decreasing tendency. The resulting σci/σp ratio increases while the σcd/σp ratio decreases, indicating a diminishing stable fracture development stage. In general, permeability experiences an increase within an order of magnitude during the progressive failure of rock specimens, and the permeability of the rock mass decreases with rising initial confining pressure. The rate of deformation induced over the duration of permeability measurement exhibits a positive correlation with the stress ratio. Lastly, we propose a potential hysteresis water inrush mechanism, drawing upon the aforementioned observations. It is deduced that the creation, expansion, and ultimate penetration of fractures within the rock mass, resulting from the combined effects of excavation stress disturbance and changed pore pressure, give rise to water inrush events in karst tunnels. Highlights: Study of progressive failure characteristics and permeability evolution of limestone. Loading rate and confining pressure significantly influence progressive failure characteristics. Permeability experiences an increase within an order of magnitude. Deformation induced by permeability measurement exhibits a positive correlation with the stress ratio. Investigation of water inrush mechanism linking construction disturbance and pore pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of a financial system should not only consider the current situation, but also need to refer to the past. Due to the memory of the fractional derivative, a fractional-order system can more effectively describe the historical significance of the financial system. Most scholars use the prediction–correction scheme to study fractional-order systems. This paper provides a higher-precision numerical method for the financial system, which more effectively simulate the system. Based on the definition of the Grünwald–Letnikov fractional derivative, the integer-order system with nonconstant demand elasticity is extended to the fractional-order setting, and its dynamic behavior is studied, with some novel chaotic attractors found. The research results are helpful for improving the understanding of the financial system and the financial market and for predicting financial risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the quality of guidelines on the pancreatic perioperative enhanced recovery after surgery both domestically and internationally, providing reference and reference for clinical practice. Methods: Systemically retrieved in the guideline websites, professional association websites and databases, such as up to date, BMJ Best Practice, PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang Data, China Science and Technology Journal Database(VIP), China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc), Medlive, Guidelines International Network(GIN), National Guideline Clearinghouse(NGC), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence(NICE), Registered Nurses Association of Ontario(RNAO), Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network(SIGN), Joanna Briggs Institute Library(JBI), including guidelines and expert consensus on enhanced postsurgical recovery in pancreatic surgery published as of December 20, 2023. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II(AGREE II) tool was applied to evaluate the quality of the guidelines by four assessors. Results: This study included seven guidelines, all of which were rated as Grade B in terms of quality, with ICC coefficients ranging from 0.752 to 0.884, indicating a high level of consistency. Conclusion: When formulating guidelines in the future, it is recommended to use AGREE II as a reference, emphasizing the standardization of the guideline development process and methods, fully considering patients’ values and preferences, focusing on the applicability of the guidelines, and striving to create high-quality evidence-based recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have suggested that humility is an adaptive strength at the individual level, but the questions of whether, and how, leader humility influences team adaptation are yet to be addressed. In this study we explored the relationship between leader humility and team flexibility. Drawing on social information processing theory, we theorized that humble leaders would promote team flexibility directly and indirectly by fostering team reflexivity. Analysis of survey data collected from 625 employees of a company in China provided empirical evidence for the proposed relationship of leader humility with team reflexivity and team flexibility. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MSi 2 -type multicomponent silicide coatings were prepared on Nb alloys by spark plasma sintering using mixed powders of Mo, Ta, W, Zr, Ti and Si. The coatings were composed of thick outer layers and thin inner layers (interdiffusion zone). A two-phase structure consisting of C11b (Mo,Ta,W,Ti)Si 2 and C40 (Ti,Ta,Zr)Si 2 was observed in the outer layers of all the coatings sintered for holding times ranging from 15 s to 5 min, but the distribution of these elements in each phase gradually became uniform with increasing holding time. The coatings demonstrated excellent protection during oxidation at 1300 °C for 100 h, and a continuous dense oxide scale mainly composed of ZrSiO 4 and SiO 2 was generated. The alternation of heating and cooling during oxidation caused cracks to appear at the interface between the outer layer and inner layer due to a mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients. However, crack extension was observed only along the inner layer toward the interior due to the multicomponent structure of the outer layer of the coating. The microstructural development and oxidation behavior of the coatings were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to the lives of families and children, affecting children's adjustment. We examined the impact COVID-19 had on families and how child-rearing disagreements might be linked to child adjustment. Furthermore, given the role that children play in evoking parent responses within the family context, we also investigated how children's temperament trait of anger/frustration might moderate the indirect pathway through child-rearing disagreements. We recruited 516 parents with a child between the ages 3 and 7 to complete an online survey measuring their perceived COVID-19 impact, and family and child functioning. Results indicate that greater COVID-19 impact, and child temperamental anger/frustration were each linked to greater child-rearing disagreements, and thereby, greater child stress. In addition, families reporting the most COVID-19 impact and having a child with high anger/frustration experienced the most child-rearing disagreements, and thereby, greater child anxiety during the pandemic. This work highlights how the COVID pandemic might have disrupted family processes, which in turn had negative consequences on the family, and suggest that less coparenting conflict might be a protective factor on the effect of the pandemic on child outcomes. Highlights: We surveyed parents with children between the ages of 3 and 7 and examined how the pandemic related to family functioning. We found that families that were more impacted by COVID-19 had more coparenting conflict. The effect of COVID impact was greater for families with children with high anger/frustration temperament. Coparenting conflict was related to child stress, and mediated the relation between COVID impact and stress. The indirect effect was particularly strong for children with greater anger-frustration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal analysis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers is commonly employed to assess the chemical and physical changes occurring during the pre-oxidation stage. However, in actual pre-oxidation processes, PAN fibers are stretched to a certain extent (approximately 5%) to prevent fiber shrinkage. Consequently, the pre-oxidation process of PAN fiber is influenced not only by temperature and atmosphere but also by the stretching tension. In this study, two types of PAN fiber samples with different crystal structures were utilized alongside four different processing methods (PAN powder, unfixation, physical fixation, and chemical fixation) to generate three degrees of fixed stretching. These included PAN powder and unfixed PAN fiber samples (without fixation tension), physically fixed PAN fiber with relatively weak fixation tension, and chemically fixed PAN fiber with strong fixation. Through a comparison of these samples, it was observed that the fixation tension aided in preserving the crystal structure during the heating process, significantly reducing the cyclization rate of the PAN fibers. The cyclization reaction rate of PAN fiber A, initially at 85% without any fixation, decreased to 66% after physical fixation and dropped to 56% after chemical fixation. For PAN fibers with distinct crystal morphologies, the impact of the fixation tension was more prominent for PAN fibers with larger crystal sizes and lower orientation. Additionally, the presence of crystal orientation facilitated the occurrence of the cyclization reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans have substantially transformed the global land surface, resulting in the decline in variation in biotic communities across scales, a phenomenon known as "biological homogenization." However, different biota are affected by biological homogenization to varying degrees, but this variation and the underlying mechanisms remain little studied, particularly in soil systems. To address this topic, we used metabarcoding to investigate the biogeography of soil protists and their prey/hosts (prokaryotes, fungi, and meso‐ and macrofauna) in three human land‐use ecosystem types (farmlands, residential areas, and parks) and natural forest ecosystems across subtropical and temperate regions in China. Our results showed that the degree of community homogenization largely differed between taxa and functional groups of soil protists, and was strongly and positively linked to their colonization ability of human land‐use systems. Removal analysis showed that the introduction of widespread, generalist taxa (OTUs, operational taxonomic units) rather than the loss of narrow‐ranged, specialist OTUs was the major cause of biological homogenization. This increase in generalist OTUs seemingly alleviated the negative impact of land use on specialist taxa, but carried the risk of losing functional diversity. Finally, homogenization of prey/host biota and environmental conditions were also important drivers of biological homogenization in human land‐use systems, with their importance being more pronounced in phagotrophic than parasitic and phototrophic protists. Overall, our study showed that the variation in biological homogenization strongly depends on the colonization ability of taxa in human land‐use systems, but is also affected by the homogenization of resources and environmental conditions. Importantly, biological homogenization is not the major cause of the decline in the diversity of soil protists, and conservation and study efforts should target at taxa highly sensitive to local extinction, such as parasites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights Despite the continued dominance of detrimental formaldehyde‐based binders in the wood reconstituted products, there is a growing push to develop more environmentally friendly alternatives. Cellulose‐based biomass adhesives have been extensively researched and documented. However, their industrial application is limited due to inadequate water resistance and suboptimal coating ability. In this study, a cellulose‐derived wood binder with a hyperbranched entangling structure was synthesized by covalently cross‐linking branched polyethylenimine and oxycellulose through Schiff base formation. The dry/wet bonding strength of the prepared plywood was 2.07 and 1.52 MPa, respectively, exhibiting a remarkable increase and breakthrough compared to that of pure oxidized cellulose binder. This can be attributed to the formation of a water‐resistant Schiff base tangle network, which enhances the toughness of the adhesive. Notably, the pure cellulose adhesive tends to agglomerate on the wood surface, whereas the hyperbranched modified cellulose adhesive exhibits a more uniform coating ability. This study further demonstrates the reliable potential of tangle structures based on Schiff base reactions in the development of biomass‐based adhesives. A high bonding strength cellulose‐based wood adhesive was prepared. The Schiff base reactions have been used to construct cross‐linked structures. The cross‐linked network structure provides excellent water resistance. The cured cellulose‐based adhesive has excellent dry/wet bonding strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackgroundPurposeMethodsResultsConclusionThe incidence of cervical spondylosis is increasing, gradually affecting people’s normal lives. Establishing a finite element model of the cervical spine is one of the methods for studying cervical spondylosis. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) still has certain difficulties in transitioning from human imaging to establishing muscle models suitable for finite element analysis. Medical software provides specific morphologies and can generate muscle finite element models. Additionally, there is little research on the static analysis of cervical spine finite element models with solid muscle.A new method is proposed for establishing a finite element model of the cervical spine based on CT (Computed Tomography) data and medical software, and the model’s effectiveness is validated. Human movement characteristics based on the force distribution in various parts are analyzed and predicted.The muscle model is reconstructed in medical software and a three-dimensional finite element model of the entire cervical spine (C0–C7) is established by combining muscle models with CT vertebral data models. 1.5 Nm of load is applied to the finite element model to simulate the cervical spine movement.The finite element model was successfully established, and effectiveness was verified. Stress variations in various parts under six movements were obtained. The effectiveness of the model was basically verified.The finite element model of the cervical spine for mechanical analysis can be successfully established by using medical software and CT data. In daily life, the C2–3, C3–4, C4–C5 intervertebral discs, rectus capitis posterior major, longus colli, and obliquus capitis inferior are more prone to injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyol esters are abundant bio‐based resources. Integration of polyol esters into the production chain of fine chemicals would reduce carbon emissions and improve the sustainability of the chemical industry. An efficient synthetic route to phenoxyethanols was developed through catalytic hydroxyethylation of phenols with ethylene glycol diacetate as the reagent. This method showed the potential of ethylene glycol diester as a safe and sustainable substitute for ethylene oxide, a useful but toxic reagent. A variety of phenoxyethanol esters were produced in high yield under simple catalytic conditions. Mechanistic studies revealed that the reaction underwent a neighboring group participation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood–brain barrier disruption is a critical pathological event in the progression of ischemic stroke (IS). Most studies regarding the therapeutic potential of neferine (Nef) on IS have focused on neuroprotective effect. However, whether Nef attenuates BBB disruption during IS is unclear. We here used mice underwent transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) in vivo and bEnd.3 cells exposed to oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury in vitro to simulate cerebral ischemia. We showed that Nef reduced neurobehavioral dysfunction and protected brain microvascular endothelial cells and BBB integrity. Molecular docking, short interfering (Si) RNA and plasmid transfection results showed us that PGC-1α was the most binding affinity of biological activity protein for Nef. And verification experiments were showed that Nef upregulated PGC-1α expression to reduce mitochondrial oxidative stress and promote TJ proteins expression, further improves the integrity of BBB in mice. Intriguingly, our study showed that neferine is a natural PGC-1α activator and illustrated the mechanism of specific binding site. Furthermore, we have demonstrated Nef reduced mitochondria oxidative damage and ameliorates endothelial inflammation by inhibiting pyroptosis to improve BBB permeability through triggering a cascade reaction of PGC-1α via regulation of PGC-1α/NLRP3/GSDMD signaling pathway to maintain the integrity of BBB in ischemia/reperfusion injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluoropolymers and metal halide perovskites (MHPs), as two classes of important piezoelectric materials, suffer from active phases through a facile process and brittleness led poor manufacturability, respectively. Here, TMCM‐CdCl3/PVDF nanocomposites (TMCM = trimethylchloromethyl ammonium, PVDF = polyvinylidene fluoride) are synthesized to overcome the above shortcomings. The abundant hydrogen (H) and chlorine (Cl) sites in TMCM‐CdCl3 can interlock with H and fluorine (F) atoms within PVDF via C─H···Cl and C─H···F interactions. This programming effect augments the dipole alignment and consequently promotes the formation of polar phases within PVDF. The devices made by these nanocomposites exhibit high energy harvesting properties surpassing established MHP/PVDF analogues, and prominent performance in sensing delicate human motions. Moreover, the devices show exceptional capabilities for detecting underwater ultrasound waves. The signal intensity is ≈4 times that of commercial PVDF film devices, and the frequency distortion is only a quarter of that observed in commercial ceramic transducers. This study opens up new possibilities for developing high‐performance piezoelectric nanocomposites and the creation of advanced electromechanical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent deep learning-based watermarking methods have achieved impressive results. However, they struggle with unknown distortions and often suffer from poor generalization, slow convergence, unstable training, and degraded visual quality in watermarked images. To address the above problems, this paper proposes a two-stage separable adversarial distortion (TSAD)-based robust watermarking algorithm for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The algorithm uses a noise-free end-to-end network in the first stage for learning and training DTI images. In the second stage, it fixes the watermark embedding network trained in the first stage, interacts the noise distortion network with the watermark extraction network to perform adversarial training for improving robustness. Experimental results show that our method achieves comparable or better robustness to seen distortions and better robustness to unseen distortions, along with enhanced stability, faster convergence, and improved visual quality in watermarked DTI images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the unsolvability of |$\overline \partial $| -equation with weighted |$L^{2}$| estimates involved curvature terms on any singular normal complex space in general. Moreover, in the non-normal case, we also give a complete description on |$L^{2}$| -solvability of the |$\overline \partial $| -equation with weighted |$L^{2}$| estimates for plane curve singularities and their variants in the higher dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, K2Ti6O13 (KTO) nanowires were doped with carbon (CKTO) via a novel solid-phase approach at 800∘C for the first time using ethanol, KF, and TiO2. In addition to the lower sintering temperature, a shorter insulation period was achieved compared to the conventional solid-phase method. Furthermore, by combining and calcining CKTO and g-C3N4, a CKTO/g-C3N4 heterojunction composite was produced. The rate at which CKTO/g-C3N4 photocatalytically degraded methylene blue was higher than those of pure CKTO and g-C3N4. Our study indicates that adding g-C3N4 enhances photocatalytic performance by reducing the recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and narrowing the bandgap of the CKTO/g-C3N4 heterostructure. This paper presents a novel method for creating KTO composites in an eco-friendly and productive manner for the photocatalytic degradation of organic colors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gated structure of the long short‐term memory (LSTM) alleviates the defects of gradient disappearance and explosion in the recurrent neural network (RNN). It has received widespread attention in sequence learning such as text analysis. Although LSTM has good performance in handling remote dependencies, information loss often occurs in long‐distance transmission. We propose a new model called ELSTM based on the computational complexity and gradient dispersion in the traditional LSTM model. This model simplifies the input gate of LSTM, reduces some time complexity by reducing some components, and improves the output gate. By introducing the exponential linear unit activation layer, the problem of gradient dispersion is alleviated. Comparing the new model with multiple existing models, when predicting language sequences, the time used by the model has been greatly reduced, and the language confusion has been reduced, showing good performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate a class of stochastic Riemann-Liouville type fractional differential equations driven by Lévy noise. By using Itô formula for the considered equation, we attempt to explore the non-confluence property of solution for the considered equation under some appropriate conditions. Our approach is to construct some suitable Lyapunov functions which is novel in exploring the non-confluence property of differential equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous epidemiologic research has shown that phthalate exposure in pregnant women is related to adverse birth outcomes in a sex-specific manner. However, the biological mechanism of phthalate exposure that causes these birth outcomes remains poorly defined. In this research, we investigated the association between phthalate exposure and placental oxidative stress in a large population-based cohort study, aiming to initially explore the relationship between phthalate exposure and gene expression in placental oxidative stress in a sex-specific manner. Quantitative PCR was performed to measure the expression of placental inflammatory mRNAs (HO-1, HIF1α, and GRP78) in 2469 placentae. The multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the associations between mRNA and urinary phthalate monoesters. Phthalate metabolites monomethyl phthalate (MMP) and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) were positively correlated with higher HIF1α expression in placentae of male fetuses (p <.05). Mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) increased the expression of HO-1, HIF1α, and GRP78 in placentae of male fetuses, and mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) up-regulated the expression of HIF1α and GRP78. Additionally, mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) was negatively correlated with HO-1, HIF1α, and GRP78 in placentae of female fetuses. Maternal phthalate exposure was associated with oxidative stress variations in placental tissues. The associations were closer in the placentas of male fetuses than in that of female ones. The placenta oxidative stress is worth further investigation as a potential mediator of maternal exposure-induced disease risk in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale landslides that occur at unexpected locations and seasons can cause severe losses of life and property. Unusually, the Shidang landslide occurred prior to the rainy season in Jinkouhe County, Sichuan Province, China, resulting in 19 deaths and missing persons. In this paper, landslide characteristics and causes are revealed through a field investigation, laboratory experiments, and numerical calculations. The results show that the Shidang landslide was a small-scale landslide with a total volume of approximately 19500 m3, originating from hollow colluvial deposits. The geomorphological hollow above the landslide provided topographic conditions for the collection of subsurface runoff. Groundwater flow was transported downward along dolomite and accumulated in the area above shale, with a low conductivity. Groundwater table rise combined with the decrease in the soil strength led to landslide occurrence. Improper siting of residential areas and insufficient vigilance against post-rainfall landslides caused this tragedy. Considering the post-disaster lessons, it is strongly recommended that in the future, more attention should be given to the investigation of landslides triggered by groundwater, especially in determining landslide hydrological system boundaries. In mountainous areas where the developable space is limited, areas with hollow landforms are potentially at risk of geohazards. This paper could provide a reference for the prevention and management of similar landslides and new insights for updating landslide investigation systems and residential housing plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The change in extreme precipitation events in the conterminous United States (CONUS) has been of interest to the research communities in recent years for its intensification under environmental and climate change. Previous studies have not yet used sub-hourly precipitation observations to examine convective precipitation change over the CONUS. This study aims to fill the gap by examining convective precipitation, identified by radar reflectivity, in the CONUS using the state-of-the-art Multi-radar Multi-sensor data, operated at the NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory, with an unprecedentedly high spatial (1 km) and temporal (2 min) resolutions. These high-resolution data are expected to better capture the precipitation peak and the precipitation pattern. The results showed that in CONUS, precipitation reflectivity increased both in magnitude and the number of convective days from 2015 to 2021. For example, in 2019, 60% of areas showed an increase in the magnitude of precipitation, and the average number of convective days over CONUS has increased by 19%. Changes in precipitation also vary by season and region. This study highlights the need for continued monitoring and understanding of the evolving pattern of extreme precipitation in the CONUS, especially at sub-hourly frequency, as it exposes significant impacts on various sectors, including agriculture, infrastructure, and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]