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To address the deficiencies in privacy-preserving expressive query and verification mechanisms in outsourced key-value stores, we propose EKV-VBQ, a scheme designed to ensure verifiable Boolean queries over encrypted key-value data. We have integrated blockchain and homomorphic Xor operations and pseudo-random functions to create a secure and verifiable datastore, while enabling efficient encrypted Boolean queries. Additionally, we have designed a lightweight verification protocol using bilinear map accumulators to guarantee the correctness of Boolean query results. Our security analysis demonstrates that EKV-VBQ is secure against adaptive chosen label attacks (IND-CLA) and guarantees Integrity and Unforgeability under the bilinear q-strong Diffie–Hellman assumption. Our performance evaluations showed reduced server-side storage overhead, efficient proof generation, and a significant reduction in user-side computational complexity by a factor of log n. Finally, GPU-accelerated optimizations significantly enhance EKV-VBQ's performance, reducing computational overhead by up to 50%, making EKV-VBQ highly efficient and suitable for deployment in environments with limited computational resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This cross‐sectional study aims to identify the characteristic changes of prefrontal and motor areas during a tai chi chuan task in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and major depressive disorder (MDD) using wearable functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Methods: Three parallel groups (T2DM with DD group, T2DM group, and healthy group) were recruited from December 10, 2022, to May 31, 2023. Participants in three groups conducted a motor task of tai chi chuan designed by Eprime 3.0, and fNIRS was used to monitor the brain activation, functional connectivity (FC), and lateralization of prefrontal and motor areas. Correlation analyses were performed to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and the function of prefrontal and motor areas. Results: Ninety elder adults (aged ≥ 60), including 30 patients with T2DM and MDD, 30 patients with T2DM, and 30 healthy subjects, were enrolled. In contrast with the patients with T2DM and healthy subjects, the patients with T2DM and MDD had decreased activation and abnormal lateralization in prefrontal and motor areas and decreased FC among supplementary motor area, motor area, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Furthermore, the oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) concentration value of DLPFC in patients with T2DM and MDD was negatively associated with scores of Hamilton Depression Scale‐24 (HAMD‐24). Conclusions: Patients with T2DM and MDD had characteristic functional changes in prefrontal and motor areas. DLPFC may be a potential target of diagnosis and intervention for patients with T2DM and MDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reacting RE2O3 and H3BO3 in an ultra‐alkaline NaOH hydroflux at about 250 °C yielded pure, crystalline samples of Na2[RE(BO3)(OH)2] (RE=Y, Gd−Er). The compounds dehydrate to Na3RE(BO3)2 upon heating in air to about 500 °C. Na2[RE(BO3)(OH)2] (RE=Tb−Er) are photoluminescent under UV radiation. Their UV‐Vis spectra show the typical absorptions associated with 4f–4f transitions and absorption edges in the UV (band gaps ≥5.7 eV). The RE3+ cation is coordinated by seven oxygen atoms, which define a distorted pentagonal bipyramid. The bipyramids share trans‐edges of their base forming infinite chains. Triangular (BO3)3− groups connect the chains into layers. The crystal structure of Na2[Ho(BO3)(OH)2] was investigated at various temperatures in the range 100 K≤T≤320 K. Above 310(2) K, the compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Cmcm (β‐phase), below, it undergoes a displacive phase transition of second order resulting in a monoclinic structure in space group C2/c (α‐phase). The critical exponents derived from different structural parameters indicate a cooperative distortion of the borate layers, but a rather uncorrelated adaptation of the sodium cations to their local environment. The other compounds of the series also adopt the structure of the α‐phase at 296 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graphene-based tunable polarization conversion metasurface (PCM) was designed and analyzed for the purpose of reducing the radar cross-section (RCS) of array antennas. The metasurface comprises periodic shuttle-shaped metal patches, square-patterned graphene, and inclined grating-patterned graphene. By adjusting the Fermi energy levels of the upper (μ1) and lower (μ2) graphene layers, different states were achieved. In State 1, with μ1 = 0 eV and μ2 = 0.5 eV, the polarization conversion ratio (PCR) exceeded 0.9 in the bandwidths of 1.65–2.19 THz and 2.29–2.45 THz. In State 2, with μ1 = μ2 = 0.5 eV, the PCR was greater than 0.9 in the 1.23–1.85 THz and 2.24–2.60 THz bands. In State 3, with μ1 = μ2 = 1 eV, the PCR exceeded 0.9 in the 2.56–2.75 THz and 3.73–4.05 THz bands. By integrating the PCM with the array antenna, tunable RCS reduction was obtained without affecting the basic radiation functionality of the antenna. In State 1, RCS reduction was greater than 10 dB in the 1.60–2.43 THz and 3.63–3.72 THz frequency ranges. In State 2, the RCS reduction exceeded 10 dB in the 2.07–2.53 THz, 2.78–2.98 THz, and 3.70–3.81 THz bands. In State 3, RCS reduction was greater than 10 dB in the 1.32–1.43 THz, 2.51–2.76 THz, and 3.76–4.13 THz frequency ranges. This polarization conversion metasurface shows significant potential for applications in switchable and tunable antenna RCS reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the major components extracted from the plant Cannabis sativa L., has been used as a prescription drug to treat seizures in many countries. CBD-induced male reproductive toxicity has been reported in animal models; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We previously reported that CBD induced apoptosis in primary human Leydig cells, which constitute the primary steroidogenic cell population in the testicular interstitium. In this study, we investigated the effects of CBD and its metabolites on TM3 mouse Leydig cells. CBD, at concentrations below 30 µM, reduced cell viability, induced G1 cell cycle arrest, and inhibited DNA synthesis. CBD induced apoptosis after exposure to high concentrations (≥ 50 µM) for 24 h or a low concentration (20 µM) for 6 days. 7-Hydroxy-CBD and 7-carboxy-CBD, the main CBD metabolites of CBD, exhibited the similar toxic effects as CBD. In addition, we conducted a time-course mRNA-sequencing analysis in both primary human Leydig cells and TM3 mouse Leydig cells to understand and compare the mechanisms underlying CBD-induced cytotoxicity. mRNA-sequencing analysis of CBD-treated human and mouse Leydig cells over a 5-day time-course indicated similar responses in both cell types. Mitochondria and lysosome dysfunction, oxidative stress, and autophagy were the major enriched pathways in both cell types. Taken together, these findings demonstrate comparable toxic effects and underlying mechanisms in CBD-treated mouse and primary human Leydig cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundant studies have explored the relations among deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression without separating within-person from between-person effects. Moreover, it is unclear whether self-control mediates the associations between deviant peer affiliation and aggression during early adolescence. This longitudinal study used Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model to examine the dynamic relations among deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression within individuals, including examining whether self-control mediated the relations between deviant peer affiliation and aggression. A total of 4078 early adolescents (54% boys, Mage = 9.91, SD = 0.73) completed questionnaires on four occasions across 2 years. Results indicated: (a) Deviant peer affiliation and aggression positively predicted each other; (b) Self-control and aggression negatively predicted each other but were unstable; (c) Deviant peer affiliation and self-control negatively predicted each other; and (d) Self-control mediated the path from aggression to deviant peer affiliation, but not vice versa. The results more precisely identify the relations among deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression within individuals, providing valuable information for prevention and intervention programs targeted at alleviating early adolescent aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like factors, comprising amphiregulin (AREG), betacellulin (BTC), and epiregulin (EREG), play a critical role in regulating the ovulatory process. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3), an essential ovulatory protein, is necessary for maintaining extracellular matrix (ECM) stability during cumulus expansion. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of EGF-like factors, AREG, BTC, and EREG on the expression and production of PTX3 in human granulosa-lutein (hGL) cells and the molecular mechanisms involved. Our results demonstrated that AREG, BTC, and EREG could regulate follicular function by upregulating the expression and increasing the production of PTX3 in both primary (obtained from 20 consenting patients undergoing IVF treatment) and immortalized hGL cells. The upregulation of PTX3 expression was primarily facilitated by the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathway, induced by these EGF-like factors. In addition, we found that the upregulation of PTX3 expression triggered by the EGF-like factors was completely reversed by either pretreatment with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, AG1478, or knockdown of EGFR, suggesting that EGFR is crucial for activating the ERK1/2 signaling pathway in hGL cells. Overall, our findings indicate that AREG, BTC, and EREG may modulate human cumulus expansion during the periovulatory stage through the upregulation of PTX3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have suggested an association between major depressive disorder (MDD) and abnormal brain structure. However, it is unclear whether MDD affects cortical gray matter volume, a common indicator of cognitive function. We aimed to determine whether MDD was associated with decreased cortical gray matter volume (GMV) through a Mendelian randomization (MR) study. We obtained summary genetic data from a study conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, which recruited a total of 480,359 participants (135,458 cases and 344,901 controls). Genetic tools—single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)—of MDD were extracted from the study and their effects on gray matter volumes of the cortex and total brain were evaluated in a large cohort from the UK Biobank (n = 8427). The effects of the SNPs were pooled using inverse variance weighted (IVW) analysis and further tested in several sensitivity analyses. We tested whether C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and interleukin-6 signaling were the mediators of the effects using a multivariate MR model. Thirty-three SNPs were identified and adopted as genetic tools for predicting MDD. IVW analysis showed that MDD was associated with lower overall GMV (beta value −0.106, 95%CI -0.188 to −0.023, p = 0.011) in the frontal pole (left frontal pole, −0.152, 95%CI -0.177 to −0.127, p = 0.013; right frontal pole, −0.133, 95%CI -0.253 to −0.013, p = 0.028). Multivariate and mediation analysis showed that interleukin-6 was an important mediator of GMV reduction. Reverse causality analysis found no evidence that total GMV affected the risk of MDD, but showed that increased left precuneus cortex volume and left posterior cingulate cortex volume were associated with increased risk of MDD. Potential pleiotropic effects and overestimation of real-world effects. Key assumptions for MR analysis may not be satisfactorily met. MDD was associated with a reduced GMV, and interleukin-6 might be a mediator of GMV reduction. • MDD was associated with a decreased GMV. • Atrophy in GMV mainly existed in the frontal pole in MDD patients. • Interleukin-6 but not CRP mediated a part of the effect on GMV atrophy in MDD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Recent technical advancements in single-cell chromatin accessibility sequencing (scCAS) have brought new insights to the characterization of epigenetic heterogeneity. As single-cell genomics experiments scale up to hundreds of thousands of cells, the demand for computational resources for downstream analysis grows intractably large and exceeds the capabilities of most researchers. Here, we propose EpiCarousel, a tailored Python package based on lazy loading, parallel processing, and community detection for memory- and time-efficient identification of metacells, i.e. the emergence of homogenous cells, in large-scale scCAS data. Through comprehensive experiments on five datasets of various protocols, sample sizes, dimensions, number of cell types, and degrees of cell-type imbalance, EpiCarousel outperformed baseline methods in systematic evaluation of memory usage, computational time, and multiple downstream analyses including cell type identification. Moreover, EpiCarousel executes preprocessing and downstream cell clustering on the atlas-level dataset with 707 043 cells and 1 154 611 peaks within 2 h consuming <75 GB of RAM and provides superior performance for characterizing cell heterogeneity than state-of-the-art methods. Availability and implementation The EpiCarousel software is well-documented and freely available at https://github.com/biox-nku/epicarousel. It can be seamlessly interoperated with extensive scCAS analysis toolkits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The action of wind and waves has a significant effect on the ship's roll, which can be a source of chaos and even capsize. The influence of random wave excitation is considered in order to investigate complex dynamic behavior by analytical and numerical methods. Chaotic rolling motions are theoretically studied in detail by means of the relevant Melnikov method with or without noise excitation. Numerical simulations are used to verify and analyze the appropriate parameter excitation and noise conditions. The results show that by changing the parameters of the excitation amplitude or the noise intensity, chaos can be induced or suppressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most prevalent and abundant cannabinoids extracted from the plant Cannabis sativa. CBD has been reported to induce male reproductive toxicity in animal models. In this study, we examined the effects of CBD and its main metabolites, 7-carboxy-CBD and 7-hydroxy-CBD, on primary human Leydig cells, which play a crucial role in male reproductive health. Our results showed that CBD, at concentrations below the Bayesian benchmark dose (BMD)50, inhibited the growth of human Leydig cells by arresting the cell cycle at G1/S transition, disrupting cell cycle regulators, and decreasing DNA synthesis. Concentration–response transcriptomic profiling identified that apoptosis was one of the top biological processes significantly affected by treatment with CBD for 24 h. The occurrence of apoptosis was confirmed by increased activation of caspase-3/7 and an increased proportion of annexin V and propidium iodide (PI)-positive cells. Similar to CBD, both 7-carboxy-CBD and 7-hydroxy-CBD decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis after treatment for 24 h. 7-Hydroxy-CBD and 7-carboxy-CBD showed lower cytotoxicity than CBD, and 7-carboxy-CBD had the lowest cytotoxicity among the three compounds. Our findings revealed that CBD and its main metabolites can cause adverse effects on primary human Leydig cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultra‐alkaline conditions of a hydroflux offer the possibility of redox chemistry far from the electrochemical standard potentials. We explored the possibilities of synthesizing tellurium(VI) compounds, using both tellurium(VI) and tellurium(IV) as starting materials. Colorless, block‐shaped crystals of the oxohydroxotellurate(VI) K2[TeO2(OH)4] were synthesized from (NH4)2TeO4 in a KOH hydroflux at 200 °C. In the triclinic crystal structure, [TeO2(OH)4]2− octahedra are connected via hydrogen bonds to form layers, which are separated from each other by potassium cations. Yellow‐colored platelets of the ferrate(III) tellurate(VI) K2[Fe2TeO6(OH)2] ⋅ 2H2O were obtained by oxidation of TeO2 with H2O2 followed by reaction with Fe(NO3)3 ⋅ 9H2O in a KOH hydroflux. In the monoclinic crystal structure, strongly corrugated anionic layers ∞2[ ${{}_{\infty }{}^{2}[}$ Fe2TeO6(OH)2]2− are covered with water molecules and separated from each other by potassium cations. The octahedrally coordinated iron(III) atoms form a distorted honeycomb network, in which they are antiferromagnetically coupled at room temperature and in external fields up to at least 7 T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Melnikov method is extended to piecewise-smooth systems with impact and noise excitation under unilateral rigid constraint. • Homoclinic orbit can jump with respect to the x-axis by the rigid impact. • Random Melnikov process is derived and the criteria for onset of chaos with or without noise excitation are established. • Obtained results can be applied to study non-smooth mechanical systems with impacts, dry friction and noise excitation. The Melnikov method for chaos is developed in a class of hybrid piecewise-smooth systems with impact and noise excitation under unilateral rigid constraint, the corresponding unperturbed Hamiltonian system has the three-piecewise homoclinic orbit. This homoclinic orbit crosses the first and second switching manifolds continuously, then jumps symmetrically with x-axis on the third switching manifold through the rigid impact. It will not cross the third switching manifold and enter the next zone under unilateral rigid constraint. Especially, the perturbed trajectory crosses the first switching manifold through the elastic impact rule expressed by the reset map. Afterwards, the random non-smooth Melnikov function is obtained, the chaotic criteria with and without noise excitation are derived. Furthermore, the theoretical results obtained are applied to analyse the chaos in an actual non-smooth mechanical system with impacts, dry friction and noise excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite several methodologies established for C(sp2)−I selective C(sp2)−C(sp3) bond formations, achieving arene‐flanked quaternary carbons by cross‐coupling of tertiary alkyl precursors with bromo(iodo)arenes in a C(sp2)−I selective manner is rare. Here we report a general Ni‐catalyzed C(sp2)−I selective cross‐electrophile coupling (XEC) reaction, in which, beyond 3° alkyl bromides (for constructing arene‐flanked quaternary carbons), 2° and 1° alkyl bromides are also demonstrated to be viable coupling partners. Moreover, this mild XEC displays excellent C(sp2)−I selectivity and functional group compatibility. The practicality of this XEC is demonstrated in simplifying the routes to several medicinally relevant and synthetically challenging compounds. Extensive experiments show that the terpyridine‐ligated NiI halide can exclusively activate alkyl bromides, forming a NiI−alkyl complex through a Zn reduction. Attendant density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal two different pathways for the oxidative addition of the NiI−alkyl complex to the C(sp2)−I bond of bromo(iodo)arenes, explaining both the high C(sp2)−I selectivity and generality of our XEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite several methodologies established for C(sp2)−I selective C(sp2)−C(sp3) bond formations, achieving arene‐flanked quaternary carbons by cross‐coupling of tertiary alkyl precursors with bromo(iodo)arenes in a C(sp2)−I selective manner is rare. Here we report a general Ni‐catalyzed C(sp2)−I selective cross‐electrophile coupling (XEC) reaction, in which, beyond 3° alkyl bromides (for constructing arene‐flanked quaternary carbons), 2° and 1° alkyl bromides are also demonstrated to be viable coupling partners. Moreover, this mild XEC displays excellent C(sp2)−I selectivity and functional group compatibility. The practicality of this XEC is demonstrated in simplifying the routes to several medicinally relevant and synthetically challenging compounds. Extensive experiments show that the terpyridine‐ligated NiI halide can exclusively activate alkyl bromides, forming a NiI−alkyl complex through a Zn reduction. Attendant density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal two different pathways for the oxidative addition of the NiI−alkyl complex to the C(sp2)−I bond of bromo(iodo)arenes, explaining both the high C(sp2)−I selectivity and generality of our XEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The gap junction protein, connexin 43 (Cx43) is highly expressed in human granulosa-lutein (hGL) cells. The phosphorylation of certain amino acid residues in the Cx43 protein has been shown to be related to a decline in gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC), which subsequently affects oocyte meiotic resumption. As a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family, betacellulin (BTC) mediates luteinizing hormone (LH)-induced oocyte maturation and cumulus cell expansion in mammalian follicles. Whether BTC can regulate Cx43 phosphorylation, which further reduces Cx43-coupled GJIC activity in hGL cells remains to be determined. Methods: Immortalized human granulosa cells (SVOG cells) and primary human granulosa-lutein cells obtained from women undergoing in vitro fertilization in an academic research center were used as the study models. The expression levels of Cx43 and phosphorylated Cx43 were examined following cell incubation with BTC at different time points. Several kinase inhibitors (sotrastaurin, AG1478, and U0126) and small interfering RNAs targeting EGF receptor (EGFR) and receptor tyrosine-protein kinase 4 (ErbB4) were used to verify the specificity of the effects and to investigate the molecular mechanisms. Real-time-quantitative PCR and western blot analysis were used to detect the specific mRNA and protein levels, respectively. GJIC between SVOG cells were evaluated using a scrape loading and dye transfer assay. Results were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. Results: The results showed that BTC induced the rapid phosphorylation of Cx43 at serine368 without altering the expression of Cx43 in primary and immortalized hGL cells. Additionally, using a dual inhibition approach (kinase inhibitors and siRNA-based expression knockdown), we demonstrated that this effect was mainly mediated by the EGFR but not the ErbB4 receptor. Furthermore, using a protein kinase C (PKC) kinase assay and a scrape-loading and dye transfer assay, we revealed that PKC signaling is the downstream signaling pathway that mediates the increase in Cx43 phosphorylation and subsequent decrease in GJIC activity in response to BTC treatment in hGL cells. Conclusions: BTC promptly induced the phosphorylation of connexin 43 at Ser368, leading to decreased GJIC activity in hGL cells. The BTC-induced cellular activities were most likely driven by the EGFR-mediated PKC-dependent signaling pathway. Our findings shed light on the detailed molecular mechanisms by which BTC regulates the process of oocyte meiotic resumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-optimal adaptive cruise control (EACC) is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to save energy. Considering the negative impacts of system noise on the EACC, an improved modified model predictive control (MPC) is proposed, which combines the Sage-Husaadaptive Kalman filter (SHAKF), the cubature Kalman filter (CKF), and the back-propagation neural network (BPNN). The proposed MPC improves safety and tracking performance while further reducing energy consumption. The final simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has a stronger energy-saving capability compared to previous studies and always maintains an appropriate relative distance and relative speed to the vehicle in front, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although enormous studies have been devoted to solving the problem of intervertebral disc degeneration/herniation, little attention is paid to the effect of paraspinal muscles on it. We aimed to investigate the correlation between paraspinal muscle atrophy and lumbar disc degeneration to recognize paraspinal muscle atrophy and its importance to the spine. Patients and methods: A total of 107 patients were enrolled in the study (65 females, 42 males; age 50.87 ± 15.391 years old). Cross-sectional area, functional cross-sectional area, and fatty infiltration of the posterior paraspinal muscles were measured at the level of L4/5, and the degree of facet joint degeneration was evaluated at the levels of L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1 by MRI. After controlling the confounding factors by multiple linear regression, the correlations among paraspinal muscle atrophy, disc degeneration, and facet joint degeneration were analyzed. Meanwhile, Pearson/Spearson rank analysis was used to analyze the correlation between clinical symptoms (VAS and ODI) and paraspinal muscle atrophy. Results: There was a strong correlation between paraspinal muscle atrophy and disc degeneration after controlling the confounding factors (p < 0.05, R > 0.5). There was a weak correlation between paraspinal muscle atrophy and facet joint degeneration (p < 0.05, R < 0.5). There was a significant correlation between facet joint degeneration and intervertebral disc degeneration (p < 0.05, R > 0.7). The fatty infiltration of paraspinal muscle was weakly correlated with ODI (p < 0.05, R < 0.3), but VAS was not. Conclusions: The degree of paraspinal muscle atrophy increased with lumbar disc degeneration and facet joint degeneration and fatty infiltration of multifidus was more susceptible to weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the major cannabinoids in the plant Cannabis sativa L. is the active ingredient in a drug approved for the treatment of seizures associated with certain childhood-onset epileptic disorders. CBD has been shown to induce male reproductive toxicity in multiple animal models. We previously reported that CBD inhibits cellular proliferation in the mouse Sertoli cell line TM4 and in primary human Sertoli cells. In this study, using a transcriptomic approach with mRNA-sequencing analysis, we identified molecular mechanisms underlying CBD-induced cytotoxicity in primary human Sertoli cells. Analysis of differentially expressed genes demonstrated that DNA replication, cell cycle, and DNA repair were the most significantly affected pathways. We confirmed the concentration-dependent changes in the expression of key genes in these pathways using real-time PCR. mRNA sequencing showed upregulation of a group of genes tightly associated with the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and with the activation of the p53 signaling pathway, a key upstream event in cellular senescence. Prolonged treatment of 10 μM CBD-induced cellular senescence, as evidenced by the stable cessation of proliferation and the activation of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal), 2 hallmarks of senescence. Additionally, using real-time PCR and Western blotting assays, we observed that CBD treatment increased the expression of p16, an important marker of cellular senescence. Taken together, our results show that CBD exposure disturbs various interrelated signaling pathways and induces cellular senescence in primary human Sertoli cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorless crystals of the new hydroxometalates Ba[RE(OH)5] with the rare‐earth elements RE=Tb, Dy, Ho were synthesized under ultra‐alkaline conditions in a KOH hydroflux at 200 °C. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction revealed that the three compounds crystallize isostructural in the monoclinic space group P21/n (no. 14). In the crystal structure, the rare‐earth cations are coordinated by the oxygen atoms of seven hydroxide anions, which define a distorted pentagonal bipyramid. These polyhedra share edges of their basal ring forming infinite chains that run parallel to the [010] direction. Hydrogen bonds connect the chains into layers parallel to the (101) plane. The Ba2+ cations are located between these layers and surrounded by nine oxygen atoms. Ba[Dy(OH)5] is paramagnetic and shows no luminescence under UV light. When heated in synthetic air or argon, water is released in well‐defined steps. Ba[Dy(OH)5] decomposes via DyOOH to Dy2O3, which then reacts with the remaining Ba(OH)2 to form BaDy2O4. Thus, the hydroxometalates can be used as carbon‐free precursors for oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Colistin assisted the entry of IBC into bacteria, which led to damaging effect to the integrity of inner membrane. • Colistin combined with IBC inhibited significantly biofilm formation. • Colistin combined with IBC can significantly kill bacteria and disrupt cell membrane structure. • Colistin combined with IBC significantly increased mice survival rate and decrease pathological injury in K. pneumoniae infection. Antibiotic resistance poses a considerable worldwide concern, particularly in clinical environments where drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria like Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) present a major challenge. The objective of this research was to investigate the mechanisms by which isobavachalcone (IBC) restores the sensitivity of K. pneumoniae to colistin in vitro and to validate the synergistic therapeutic effect in vivo. The results indicate that the combined administration of colistin and IBC exhibits a potent antibacterial effect both in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro c oncurrent administration of colistin and IBC resulted in increased membrane permeability, compromised cell integrity, diminished membrane fluidity, and disrupted membrane homeostasis. Additionally, this combination reduced biofilm production, inhibited the synthesis of the autoinducer factor, altered membrane potential, and affected levels of reactive oxygen species and adenosine triphosphate synthesis, ultimately leading to bacterial death. In vivo experiments on Galleria mellonella and mice demonstrated that the co-administration of colistin and IBC increased the survival rate and significantly reduced pathological damage compared to colistin alone. These results suggested that IBC effectively restores the sensitivity of colistin by inducing physical disruption of bacterial membranes and oxidative stress. The combination therapy of colistin and IBC presents a viable and safe strategy to combat drug-resistant K. pneumoniae -associated infections. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing is a critical social determinant of children’s health. While individual pathways between housing and health are well evidenced, there has been less attention on the co-occurrence of housing disadvantages. We aim to identify typologies of children’s housing disadvantage and describe the health inequities they generate. A cross-sectional latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted on 4355 Australian children aged 4 to 5 years who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Nine binary indicators—dwelling tenure, external condition, affordability, stability, crowding, cleanliness, fuel poverty, and noise exposure—were used to generate latent housing typologies. Generalized linear models with robust standard errors described disparities in quality of life, injury, disability, and health service use across these housing typologies. Four distinct housing typologies were identified in this cohort: “good condition, affordable, and secure” (60%); “insecure” (11%); “crowded” (24%); and “unsuitable” (5%). Unsuitable housing, characterized by crowding, poor external conditions, and noise exposure, was more likely to be occupied by single-parent families, low-income households, and be headed by parents with low levels of education. Children in unsuitable housing lagged on quality of life indicators at preschool age (e.g., by 8.0 points on emotional functioning, 95% CI − 10.6, − 5.5), and underutilized primary healthcare services (e.g., prevalence ratio 0.76 for GP services, 95% CI 0.67, 0.87), compared to children in good quality housing. This finding supports the case for early intervention strategies that account for children’s housing circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure samples of colorless, air‐stable Ba(BO2OH) crystals were obtained from Ba(NO3)2 and H3BO3 under the ultra‐alkaline conditions of a KOH hydroflux at about 250 °C. The product formation depends on the water‐base molar ratio and the molar ratio of the starting materials. B(OH)3 acts as a proton donor (Brønsted acid) rather than a hydroxide acceptor (Lewis acid). Ba(BO2OH) crystallizes in the non‐centrosymmetric orthorhombic space group P212121. Hydrogen bonds connect the almost planar (BO2OH)2− anions, which are isostructural to HCO3−, into a syndiotactic chain. IR and Raman spectroscopy confirm the presence of hydroxide groups, which are involved in weak hydrogen bonds. Upon heating in air to about 450 °C, Ba(BO2OH) dehydrates to Ba2B2O5. Moreover, the non‐centrosymmetric structure of Ba(BO2OH) crystals was verified with power‐dependent confocal Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy indicating large conversion efficiencies in ambient atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.), as the main tree species in northeast China, has important economic and ecological values. Currently, supplementary light has been widely used in plant cultivation projects. However, the studies about different supplementary light sources on the growth and development of Korean pine are few. In this study, the one with no supplementary light was used as the control, and two kinds of light sources were set up: light-emitting diode (LED) and incandescent lamp, to supplement light treatment of Korean pine. The spectrum and intensity of these two light sources were different. The results showed that the growth and physiological–biochemical indicators were significantly different under different supplementary light treatments. The biomass of supplementary light treatment was significantly lower than the control. Compared with the control, IAA and GA were lower, and JA, ABA, ZT, and ETH were higher under supplementary light conditions. Photosynthetic parameters in supplementary light conditions were significantly lower than the control. Supplemental light induces chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid accumulation. From RNA-seq data, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed in all the comparison groups, and there were 487 common DEGs. The expression levels of DEGs encoding transcription factors were also changed. According to GO and KEGG analysis, the plant hormone signal transduction, circadian rhythm-plant, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways were the most enriched. These results provided a theoretical basis for the response of Korean pine to different supplementary lights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical Melnikov method for heteroclinic orbits is extended theoretically to a class of hybrid piecewise-smooth systems with impulsive effect and noise excitation. We assume that the unperturbed system is a piecewise Hamiltonian system with a pair of heteroclinic orbits. The heteroclinic orbit transversally jumps across the first switching manifold by an impulsive effect and crosses the second switching manifold continuously. In effect, the trajectory of the corresponding perturbed system crosses the second switching manifold by applying the reset map describing the impact rule instantaneously. The random Melnikov process of such systems is then derived by measuring the distance of perturbed stable and unstable manifolds, and the criteria for the onset of chaos with or without noise excitation is established. In this derivation process, we overcome the difficulty that the derivation method of the corresponding homoclinic case cannot be directly used due to the difference between the symmetry of the homoclinic orbit and the asymmetry of the heteroclinic orbit. Finally, we investigate the complicated dynamics of a particular piecewise-smooth system with and without noise excitation under the reset maps, impulsive effect, and non-autonomous periodic and damping perturbations by this new extended method and numerical simulations. The numerical results verify the correctness of the theoretical results and demonstrate that this extended method is simple and effective for studying the dynamics of such systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern video object segmentation (VOS) algorithms have achieved remarkably high performance in a sequential processing order, while most of currently prevailing pipelines still show some obvious inadequacy like accumulative error, unknown robustness or lack of proper interpretation tools. In this paper, we place the semi-supervised video object segmentation problem into a cyclic workflow and find the defects above can be collectively addressed via the inherent cyclic property of semi-supervised VOS systems. Firstly, a cyclic mechanism incorporated to the standard sequential flow can produce more consistent representations for pixel-wise correspondance. Relying on the accurate reference mask in the starting frame, we show that the error propagation problem can be mitigated. Next, a simple gradient correction module, which naturally extends the offline cyclic pipeline to an online manner, can highlight the high-frequent and detailed part of results to further improve the segmentation quality while keeping feasible computation cost. Meanwhile such correction can protect the network from severe performance degration resulted from interference signals. Finally we develop cycle effective receptive field (cycle-ERF) based on gradient correction process to provide a new perspective into analyzing object-specific regions of interests. We conduct comprehensive comparison and detailed analysis on challenging benchmarks of DAVIS16, DAVIS17 and Youtube-VOS, demonstrating that the cyclic mechanism is helpful to enhance segmentation quality, improve the robustness of VOS systems, and further provide qualitative comparison and interpretation on how different VOS algorithms work. The code of this project can be found at https://github.com/lyxok1/STM-Training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 1 December 2020, China's Chang'E-5 (CE-5) probe successfully landed in the northeastern Oceanus Procellarum. This work mainly presents the results of Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) equipped on the CE-5 Lander. The lunar regolith structure of the landing site from the surface to 3-m depth is unveiled by LRPR, which found that abundant rock fragments are distributed in uniform lunar regolith. The imaging result proved that the drilling and sampling process was prevented by big rocks at about 100 cm depth. On the basis of the response of lunar soil to electromagnetic (EM) wave, the EM properties of the landing site estimate that the relative dielectric constant and the loss tangent are 2.520 ± 0.186 and 0.0133 ± 0.0020, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light is one of the most important environmental cues that affects plant development and regulates its behavior. Light stress directly inhibits physiological responses and plant tissue development and even induces mortality in plants. Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) is an evergreen conifer species widely planted in northeast China that has important economic and ecological value. However, the effects of light stress on the growth and development of Korean pine are still unclear. In this study, the effects of different shading conditions on physiological indices, molecular mechanisms and metabolites of Korean pine were explored. The results showed that auxin, gibberellin and abscisic acid were significantly increased under all shading conditions compared with the control. The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid also increased as the shading degree increased. Moreover, a total of 8556, 3751 and 6990 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found between the control and HS (heavy shade), control and LS (light shade), LS vs. HS, respectively. Notably, most DEGs were assigned to pathways of phytohormone signaling, photosynthesis, carotenoid and flavonoid biosynthesis under light stress. The transcription factors MYB-related, AP2-ERF and bHLH specifically increased expression during light stress. A total of 911 metabolites were identified, and 243 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were detected, among which flavonoid biosynthesis (naringenin chalcone, dihydrokaempferol and kaempferol) metabolites were significantly different under light stress. These results will provide a theoretical basis for the response of P. koraiensis to different light stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the complex dynamics of a newly proposed 4D hyperchaotic Lorenz-type system are studied. The sufficient conditions of the emergence of periodic solutions and the stability of them at bifurcation points are obtained by averaging theory. The ultimate bound estimation of this hyperchaotic system is derived using the Lyapunov stability theory and the optimization idea, and relevant numerical simulations are given. Finally, a variable-order fractional network of this new 4D hyperchaotic Lorenz-type system is introduced and investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Melnikov method is extended to a class of hybrid piecewise-smooth systems with impulsive effect and noise excitation when an unperturbed system is a piecewise Hamiltonian system with a homoclinic orbit. The homoclinic orbit continuously crosses the first switching manifold and transversally jumps across the second switching manifold by the impulsive effect. The trajectory of the corresponding perturbed system crosses the first switching manifold by applying the reset map describing the impact rule instantaneously. Then, the random Melnikov process of such systems is derived and the criteria for the onset of chaos with or without noise excitation are established. In addition, the complicated dynamics of concrete piecewise-smooth systems with or without noise excitation under the reset maps, impulsive effect, and non-autonomous periodic and damping perturbations are investigated by this extended method and numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical data repositories (CDR) including electronic health record (EHR) data have great potential for outcome prediction and risk modeling. We built a prediction tool integrated with CDR based on pattern discovery and demonstrated a case study on contrast related acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods: Patients undergoing cardiac catheterization from January 2015 to April 2017 were included. AKI was identified based on Acute Kidney Injury Network definition. Predictive model including 16 variables covered in existing AKI models was built. A visual analytics tool based on pattern discovery was trained on 70% data up to August 2016 with three interactive knowledge incorporation modes to develop 3 models: (1) pure data-driven, (2) domain knowledge, and (3) clinician-interactive, which were tested and compared on 30% consecutive cases dated afterwards. Results: Among 2560 patients in the final dataset, 189 (7.3%) had AKI. We measured 4 existing models, whose areas under curves (AUCs) of receiver operating characteristics curve for the test dataset were 0.70 (Mehran's), 0.72 (Chen's), 0.67 (Gao's) and 0.62 (AGEF), respectively. A pure data-driven machine learning method achieves AUC of 0.72 (Easy Ensemble). The AUCs of our 3 models are 0.77, 0.80, 0.82, respectively, with the last being top where physician knowledge is incorporated. Conclusions: We developed a novel pattern-discovery-based outcome prediction tool integrated with CDR and purely using EHR data. On the case of predicting contrast related AKI, the tool showed user-friendliness by physicians, and demonstrated a competitive performance in comparison with the state-of-the-art models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical data repositories (CDR) including electronic health record (EHR) data have great potential for outcome prediction and risk modeling. We built a prediction tool integrated with CDR based on pattern discovery and demonstrated a case study on contrast related acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods: Patients undergoing cardiac catheterization from January 2015 to April 2017 were included. AKI was identified based on Acute Kidney Injury Network definition. Predictive model including 16 variables covered in existing AKI models was built. A visual analytics tool based on pattern discovery was trained on 70% data up to August 2016 with three interactive knowledge incorporation modes to develop 3 models: (1) pure data-driven, (2) domain knowledge, and (3) clinician-interactive, which were tested and compared on 30% consecutive cases dated afterwards.Results: Among 2560 patients in the final dataset, 189 (7.3%) had AKI. We measured 4 existing models, whose areas under curves (AUCs) of receiver operating characteristics curve for the test dataset were 0.70 (Mehran's), 0.72 (Chen's), 0.67 (Gao's) and 0.62 (AGEF), respectively. A pure data-driven machine learning method achieves AUC of 0.72 (Easy Ensemble). The AUCs of our 3 models are 0.77, 0.80, 0.82, respectively, with the last being top where physician knowledge is incorporated.Conclusions: We developed a novel pattern-discovery-based outcome prediction tool integrated with CDR and purely using EHR data. On the case of predicting contrast related AKI, the tool showed user-friendliness by physicians, and demonstrated a competitive performance in comparison with the state-of-the-art models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canonical nucleosides are vulnerable to enzymatic and chemical degradation, yet their stable mimics—C‐aryl nucleosides—have demonstrated potential utility in medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and synthetic biology, although current synthetic methods remain limited in terms of scope and selectivity. Herein, we report a cross‐electrophile coupling to prepare C‐aryl nucleoside analogues from readily available furanosyl acetates and aryl iodides. This nickel‐catalyzed modular approach is characterized by mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, excellent β‐selectivity, and high functional‐group compatibility. The exclusive chemoselectivity with respect to the aryl iodide enables efficient preparation of a variety of C‐aryl halide furanosides suitable for various downstream transformations. The practicality of this transformation is demonstrated through the synthesis of a potent analogue of a naturally occurring NF‐κB activator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canonical nucleosides are vulnerable to enzymatic and chemical degradation, yet their stable mimics—C‐aryl nucleosides—have demonstrated potential utility in medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and synthetic biology, although current synthetic methods remain limited in terms of scope and selectivity. Herein, we report a cross‐electrophile coupling to prepare C‐aryl nucleoside analogues from readily available furanosyl acetates and aryl iodides. This nickel‐catalyzed modular approach is characterized by mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, excellent β‐selectivity, and high functional‐group compatibility. The exclusive chemoselectivity with respect to the aryl iodide enables efficient preparation of a variety of C‐aryl halide furanosides suitable for various downstream transformations. The practicality of this transformation is demonstrated through the synthesis of a potent analogue of a naturally occurring NF‐κB activator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the accuracy and specificity of visual sensors for detecting Cu(II) and Hg(II), a fluorescent and colorimetric dual-modal sensor based on Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) prepared by using carbon dots (CDs) was designed. If a sensor is to be applied for the detection of targets in different environmental backgrounds, it needs to have high stability against heat, pH, and salt. To this end, CD-wrapped AuNP probes were fabricated by the in situ reaction of chloroauric acid and reductive CDs. The reductive CDs were prepared with hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (HPEI) as a carbon source. HPEI-CDs not only acted as a reducing agent but also as an excellent stabilizer in the preparation and detection application of the AuNPs. Based on multiple signal responses, including color, UV-Vis absorption, and fluorescence intensity, the HPEI-CD/AuNP nanosensor was used to realize the detection of Cu2+ and Hg2+ in the linear range 9.0×10−10–9.0×10−4 M and 9.0×10−7–9.0×10−5 M with low detection limits of 75.6 nM and 281 nM, respectively. In tap water analysis, the recovery of Cu2+ and Hg2+ by fluorescent range from 109.98–113.31% and 100.65–100.81%, and the RSD values were 0.1159–1.6317% and 3.2–5.4%, respectively. The recovery of Cu2+ and Hg2+ by colorimetric detection were 99.72–100.14% and 99.88–100.12%, and RSD values were 0.6527–0.6842% and 0.4400–0.8386%, respectively. Importantly, this sensor was applied to the accurate and sensitive detection of Cu2+ and Hg2+ in tap water and sea water. The multimode readout nanosensor exhibited strong potential for achieving simultaneous detection of two different heavy metal ions in practical applications. The novel multi-mode readout carbon dots/AuNPs sensor for Cu2+ and Hg2+ detectionshowed high sensitivity and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The aim of the current study was to analyze the 100 most-cited systematic reviews or meta-analyses in the field of acupuncture research. Methods. The Web of Science Core Collection was used to retrieve lists of 100 most-cited systematic reviews or meta-analyses in the field of acupuncture research. Two authors screened literature, extracted data, and analyzed the results. Results. The citation number of the 100 most-cited systematic reviews or meta-analyses varied from 65 to 577; they were published between 1989 and 2018. Fourteen authors published more than 1 study as the corresponding author and 10 authors published more than 1 study as the first author. In terms of the corresponding authors, Edzard Ernst and Linde Klaus published the most systematic reviews/meta-analyses (n = 7). The USA published most of the systematic reviews or meta-analyses (n = 24), followed by England (n = 23) and China (n = 14). Most institutions with more than 1 study were from England (4/13). The institutions with the largest numbers of most-cited systematic reviews or meta-analyses were the Technical University of Munich in Germany, the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the USA (n = 8), the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in England (n = 6), and the University of Exeter in England (n = 6). The journal with the largest number of most-cited systematic reviews or meta-analyses was the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (n = 20), followed by Pain (n = 6). Conclusion. Our study reveals that the 100 most-cited systematic reviews or meta-analyses in the acupuncture research field are mostly from high impact factor journals and developed countries. It will help researchers follow research hot spots, broaden their research scope, expand their academic horizons, and explore new research ideas, thereby improving the quality of acupuncture research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Branched AuNPs usually have two or more local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption bands due to their structural anisotropy, and the LSPR performance is more sensitive to the changes of environmental refractive index than that of spherical AuNPs. The design and preparation of branched AuNPs as colorimetric probes is expected to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of detection of targets. In this paper, branched AuNPs were innovatively synthesized via hyperbranched polyethylenimine (HPEI) fabricated and capped AuNPs as seeds and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as template agent. The branched AuNPs were characterized by TEM, DLS, zeta potentials and UV–vis spectra. Using the branched AuNPs as a colorimetric probe, the detection system for Hg2+ and Ag+ showed bright color changes from blue to orange and blue to green based on the morphological evolution of branched AuNPs. The branched AuNPs could selectively detect Hg2+ and Ag+ at concentrations as low as 77 and 140 nM, respectively. Moreover, this unusual colorimetric method has been successfully used in real water samples and has great potential as a simple, rapid, sensitive and selective method for the detection of Hg2+ and Ag+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low back pain which resulted from intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a common health problem that afflicts people all over the world. Due to the lack of an overall understanding of the molecular interactions involved in IDD, we hope to better understand the pathogenetic mechanisms that drive the degenerative process. The purpose of this study is to obtain mRNAs, miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs associated with IDD gained from public databases and to establish an interaction network. According to the results of microarray analysis and bioinformatics analysis from the contrast of IDD and normal nucleus pulposus tissues, a total of 49 mRNAs, 10 miRNAs, 30 lncRNAs, and 4 circRNAs were obtained and a lncRNA/circRNA–miRNA–mRNA interaction network was constructed. NEAT1–miR-5100–COL10A1 and miR663AHG/HEIH/hsa-circ-0003600–miR-4741–HAS2/HYAL1/LYVE1 might be potential interaction axes of the molecular mechanism in IDD. The increased expression of NEAT1 might inhibit miR-5100 and subsequently upregulate the expression of COL10A1, which leads to IDD, while the increased expression of miR663AHG/HEIH/hsa-circ-0003600 might inhibit miR-4741 and indirectly upregulate HAS2/HYAL1/LYVE1, and leads to the protection from IDD. More interaction axes are to be exploited to provide theoretical bases for further study on IDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein glutaminase (PG; EC 3.5.1.44) is a novel deamidase that helps to improve functional properties of food proteins. Currently, the highest activated PG enzyme activity was 26 U/mg when recombinantly expressed via the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum. In this study, superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) was used to replace traditional signal peptides to facilitate efficient heterologous expression and secretion of Propeptide-Protein glutaminase (PP) in Bacillus subtilis. The fusion protein, sfGFP-PP, was secreted from 12 h of fermentation and reached its highest extracellular expression at 28 h, with a secretion efficiency of about 93 %. Moreover, when fusing sfGFP with PP at the N-terminus, it significantly enhances PG expression up to 26 U/mL by approximately 2.2-fold compared to conventional signal-peptides- guided PP with 11.9 U/mL. Finally, the PG enzyme activity increased from 26 U/mL to 36.9 U/mL after promoter and RBS optimization. This strategy not only provides a new approach to increase PG production as well as extracellular secretion but also offers sfGFP as an effective N-terminal tag for increased secreted production of difficult-to-express proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present parallel single-pixel imaging (PSI), a photography technique that captures light transport coefficients and enables the separation of direct and global illumination, to achieve 3D shape reconstruction under strong global illumination. PSI is achieved by extending single-pixel imaging (SI) to modern digital cameras. Each pixel on an imaging sensor is considered an independent unit that can obtain an image using the SI technique. The obtained images characterize the light transport behavior between pixels on the projector and the camera. However, the required number of SI illumination patterns generally becomes unacceptably large in practical situations. We introduce local region extension (LRE) method to accelerate the data acquisition of PSI. LRE perceives that the visible region of each camera pixel accounts for a local region. Thus, the number of detected unknowns is determined by local region area, which is extremely beneficial in terms of data acquisition efficiency. PSI possesses several properties and advantages. For instance, PSI captures the complete light transport coefficients between the projector–camera pair, without making specific assumptions on measured objects and without requiring special hardware and restrictions on the arrangement of the projector–camera pair. The perfect reconstruction property of LRE can be proven mathematically. The acquisition and reconstruction stages are straightforward and easy to implement in the existing projector–camera systems. These properties and advantages make PSI a general and sound theoretical model to decompose direct and global illuminations and perform 3D shape reconstruction under global illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is a plasma glycoprotein that binds androgens and oestrogens, and regulates their bioavailability to target tissues. To date, several human SHBG gene polymorphisms have been identified. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders, and hyperandrogenism has been considered to be a hallmark of PCOS. Many studies have examined the association between SHBG gene polymorphisms and PCOS risk, but the results have been inconclusive or inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate whether SHBG gene polymorphisms are associated with risk of PCOS. Twelve studies were included, involving 4733 participants: 2271 patients with PCOS and 2462 control participants. The results revealed that SHBG polymorphism of eight or more (TAAAA)n pentanucleotide repeats (rs35785886) was associated with PCOS risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06, 1.44, Z = 2.77, P = 0.006) and low serum SHBG concentrations in women with PCOS (standardized mean difference = –0.83, 95% CI = –1.54, –0.12, Z = 2.30, P = 0.02). Other SHBG gene polymorphisms (rs6259, rs6257, rs727428 and rs1799941) were not significantly associated with either PCOS risk or serum SHBG concentrations. These findings suggest that the presence of a polymorphism of eight or more SHBG (TAAAA) n may be a predictive factor for the risk of PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive bio-composition investigation of microalgal species is essential for categorizing their applications. In this study, nutrients uptake followed by complete biomass characterizations, including proximate, ultimate, and bio-compounds (proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids), were performed along with FTIR and TGA/DTG, analyses of four microalgal strains (Tetradesmus dimorphus GEEL-06, Tetradesmus obliquus GEEL-07, Chlorella sp. GEEL08, and Chlorella sorokiniana GEEL-09). All microalgae species were able to remove 90%–95% nitrogen and phosphorus. T. dimorphus GEEL-06 had highest growth with proteins accumulation of 36.63% and 28.33% of lipids. T. obliquus GEEL-07, Chlorella sp. GEEL08, and C. sorokiniana GEEL-09 accumulated 46.37%, 31.13%, and 39.38% of proteins and 27.94%, 34.61%, and 36.56% of carbohydrates, respectively. FTIR spectra revealed the presence of an alcohol, carboxyl, and amino groups, while biomass pyrolysis showed 67%–80% decomposition. Biodiesel feasibility was confirmed by the presence of 68%–84% C16/C18. These results indicate the potential applications of T. obliquus GEEL-07 , C. sorokiniana GEEL-09, and T. dimorphus GEEL-06 /Chlorella sp. GEEL08 for production of higher alcohols, bioethanol, biodiesel/oil for, respectively, along with nutrients removal. • All the microalgae species were able to remove 90%–95% total nitrogen and phosphorus. • The highest accumulated protein 46.37% was achieved with T. obliquus. • The highest accumulated carbohydrate 36.56%' was attained with C. sorokiniana. • Biochemical, CHNS, TGA, FTIR confirmed microalgae potential as a biofuel feedstock. • Biodiesel production feasibility was confirmed by the presence of C16/C18 (68%–84%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the distribution of tidal deformabilities and component masses of binary neutron star merger GW170817, the parametric equation of state (EOS) is employed to probe the nuclear symmetry energy and the properties of the neutron star. To obtain a proper distribution of the parameters of the EOS that is consistent with the observation, Bayesian analysis is used and the constraints of causality and maximum mass are considered. From this analysis, it is found that the symmetry energy and pressure at twice the saturation density of nuclear matter can be constrained within E sym (2 ρ 0) = 34. 5 - 2.3 + 20.5 MeV and P (2 ρ 0) = 3. 81 - 2.32 + 1.18 × 10 34 dyn cm - 2 at 90% credible level, respectively. Moreover, the constraints on the radii and dimensionless tidal deformabilities of canonical neutron stars are also demonstrated through this analysis, and the corresponding constraints are 10.80 km ≤ R 1.4 ≤ 13.20 km and 133 ≤ Λ 1.4 ≤ 686 at 90% credible level, with the most probable value of R ¯ 1.4 = 12.60 km and Λ ¯ 1.4 = 500, respectively. With respect to the prior, our result (posterior result) prefers a softer EOS, corresponding to a lower expected value of symmetry energy, a smaller stellar radius, and a smaller tidal deformability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The World Health Organization declared on March 11, 2020, that the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) has escalated from epidemic into pandemic. As the initial outbreak area, China has taken multiple active measures to deal with the epidemic. Updated versions of diagnosis and treatment guideline for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients have been issued, and traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been recommended as a treatment. The objective of this study will be to summarize the recommendations in current clinical practice guidelines about the use of traditional Chinese herbal medicine for COVID-19 patients. We will also evaluate and report on the methodological and reporting quality of these guidelines. Methods: In this systematic review, we will search for guidelines, expert consensuses, and policy documents published since December 2019 in electronic databases (e.g., PubMed, EMBASE, and Chinese databases) and on websites of governments or organizations (e.g., The National Guideline Clearinghouse [NGC], Guidelines International Network [GIN], National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network [SIGN], and WHO). Eligible documents will be independently selected, and relevant data will be independently extracted by two reviewers. We will also independently evaluate the methodological quality and reporting quality of the included guidelines, using the Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch & Evaluation (AGREE) II tool and Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare (RIGHT) statement, respectively. Any discrepancies will be discussed and resolved through discussion among the reviewers. We will use the extracted information to summarize their recommendations for traditional Chinese herbal formulae and Chinese patent medicine for COVID-19 patients and to summarize the strength and quality of these recommendations with reference to the results of AGREE II and RIGHT tools. Discussion: This review will summarize the recommendations in current clinical practice guidelines and provide insight into the implementation strategies for traditional Chinese herbal medicine in COVID-19 patients. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42020179205 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solitary plasmacytoma of bone (SPB) is a rare malignancy of localized osseous lesion consisting of neoplastic monoclonal plasma cells. Recommended treatment of SPB includes a combination of surgery and radiation therapy. We present a rare case of SPB lesion in the atlas requiring surgical resection, followed by restoration of atlas stability with a custom 3-dimensional-printed (3DP) patient-specific implant (PSI). A 57-year-old man presented with severe neck pain. Assessment by radiographs, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging was found to harbor a single osteolytic lesion at the C1 (atlas) vertebra. Diagnostic tumor screening returned negative results. Transoral biopsy suggested solitary plasmacytoma. Spinal instability was apparent—hence the decision for surgical intervention via the retropharyngeal external approach to resect the lesion. Atlas reconstruction and stabilization were achieved using a custom 3DP titanium PSI. Subsequent pathologic findings confirmed plasma cell infiltration of the atlas. Histologic evaluations and cytogenetic risk analysis indicated a non-high-risk SPB. The patient was given localized radiation therapy at 57 Gy in 27 fractions. Her neurologic complaints were subsequently relieved, and mobility was restored 7 days postoperatively. No consensus on the appropriate surgical approaches and perioperative strategies for spinal SPB exists. Surgical intervention is recommended when vertebral instability is evident, followed by radiation therapy to minimize local recurrence and/or progression to multiple myeloma. The use of 3D modeling for preoperative planning improves intraoperative accuracy and avoids iatrogenic injuries to vital anatomic structures. Customized 3DP-PSI to restore atlas stability is an effective option for the treatment of spinal SPBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A new type of coronavirus, novel coronavirus (COVID-19), is causing an increasing number of cases of pneumonia and was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization on 30 January 2020. The virus first appeared in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, and traditional Chinese herbal medicine is being used for its treatment. This systematic review and meta-analysis will assess studies of the effects of traditional Chinese herbal medicine in COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: We will search electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP), and Wanfang database using keywords related to COVID-19 and traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Reference lists of relevant trials and reviews will be searched. We will manually search gray literature, such as conference proceedings and academic degree dissertations, and trial registries. Two independent reviewers will screen studies (XL and DZ), extract data (YL and LG), and evaluate risk of bias (YL and DZ). Data analysis will be conducted using the Review Manager software (version 5.3.5) and R software (version 3.6.1). Statistical heterogeneity will be assessed using a standard chi-square test with a significance level of P < 0.10. Biases associated with study size (e.g., publication bias) will be investigated using funnel plots, Egger's test and Begg's test, and Trim and Fill analysis. Discussion: This study will provide a high-quality synthesis of the effects of traditional Chinese herbal medicine for COVID-19. The use of traditional Chinese herbal medicine for treatment or prevention of these novel viral infections affecting the pneumonia will be investigated. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020168004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• No significant association between VEGF SNP and PCOS in general population. • VEGF +405G>C (rs2010963) protects Asian women from PCOS. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays important roles in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the VEGF gene have been identified and are associated with the aberrant secretion of VEGF protein. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of the VEGF +405G>C (rs2010963), –460C>T (rs833061) and –2578A>C (rs699947) polymorphisms on PCOS susceptibility. A systematic search of the Embase, PubMed, Web of Science and Wanfang databases was carried out to identify relevant studies published before 19 July 2019. Seven eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis involving 1100 patients with PCOS and 1141 control individuals. The pooled analysis revealed no significant association between PCOS risk and the +405G>C (rs2010963), –460C>T (rs833061) or –2578A>C (rs699947) polymorphisms in women. Subgroup analysis by ethnicity indicated that Asian women carrying the VEGF +405C allele had a lower risk of PCOS (C versus G: odds ratio [OR] 0.731, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.544–0.982, P < 0.05, I 2 = 46.4%; CG versus GG: OR 0.667, 95% CI 0.469–0.948, P < 0.05, I 2 = 18.4%; CC versus GG: OR 0.611, 95% CI 0.390–0.958, P < 0.05, I 2 = 24.3%). The study demonstrates that for all women regardless of ethnicity, no significant associations between VEGF SNP and PCOS were observed; however, +405G>C (rs2010963) may protect Asian women from PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen sulfide is a kind of widely distributed toxic gas, therefore, it is strongly necessary to conduct highly selective detection at lower concentrations. However, due to the high affinity of sulfur elements to transition metals, hydrogen sulfide sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors often have slower recovery and poor selectivity. In this work, Fe-NiO x nanotubes with unique structure and high specific surface area (175 m2/g) were synthesized by using anodized aluminum oxide templates for detecting sub-ppm H 2 S. The gas sensor based on 2 wt% Fe-doped NiO x nanotube performed exceptional gas sensing properties to 800 ppb H 2 S, featured with the high sensitivity (|Δ R / R a | = 5.24), excellent selectivity (S H2S /S NO2 = 8.3) and fast response/recovery speed (3.2/8.1 s) at 270 °C. Density function theory calculation proved the critical function of Fe3+ to lower the adsorption enthalpy of H 2 S and changing the selectivity. This work not only provided a superior ppb-level H 2 S gas sensor, but also induced a synthesis strategy to enhance the gas sensing properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]