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The easy destruction of most conventional materials by high-energy lasers is a great concern. Anti-laser coatings with ablative heat absorption capabilities are effective in preventing laser damage. However, their extremely low reflectivity implies a high energy absorption rate, which can result in rapid failure. In this study, silicone resin matrix composite coatings were designed and prepared by incorporating ceramic modification components to realize desired optical transformation characteristics. The modification effects on ZrC/SiC, ZrSi 2 , TiC/SiC, and TiSi 2 were specifically studied with a high-energy continuous-wave laser (1080 nm). The results showed that oxidation reactions during laser ablation play a significant role in phase change and optical transformation. The element analysis proved that the composition rapidly changed from carbide and silicide to oxide, leading to the formation of oxide layer with relatively high reflectivity in laser ablation region. In particularly, oxidation and ablation of ZrSi 2 facilitated the exposure, gathering, and sintering of ZrO 2 , which realized an increase in reflection from 6.2 % to 34.9 % during laser ablation (500 W/cm2, 60 s). The optical transformation characteristics were compared with the evolution of diffuse reflection intensity and its corresponding differential curve, which indicates that ZrSi 2 exhibited the best performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the inverse three spectra problem for the perturbed Bessel operators − D 2 + l (l + 1) x 2 + q (x) in L 2 (0 , 1). We show that eigenvalues of the operators defined on the three intervals (0 , a ] , [ a , 1 ] and (0 , 1 ] , respectively, uniquely determine the potential on (0 , 1 ] , where a ∈ (0 , 1) is fixed. If eigenvalues of the operators defined on the subintervals (0 , a ] and [ a , 1 ] have some common eigenvalues, then the norming constants corresponding to these common eigenvalues are added as the prior data to obtain the uniqueness of the inverse problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Alcohol drinking is associated with central obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, which further causes metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, prior epidemiological studies on such associations lack experimental evidence for a causal relationship. This study aims to explore the causal relationship between drinking behavior and MetS in Taiwan population by using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Taiwan Biobank database, which comprised 50 640 Han Chinese who were 30–70 years old without cancer from 2008 to 2020. In MR analysis, we constructed weighted and unweighted genetic risk scores by calculating SNP alleles significantly associated with alcohol drinking. We calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence interval (CI) by using a two-stage regression model. Results A total of 50 640 participants were included with a mean age of 49.5 years (SD: 1.67 years), 36.6% were men. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of MetS per 5% increase in the likelihood of genetic predisposition to drink based on weighted genetic risk score with adjustment was 1.11 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.12, P  < .001). Analysis was also conducted by grouping the likelihood of genetic predisposition to drink based on quartiles with multivariate adjustment. Using Q1 as the reference group, the aORs of MetS for Q2, Q3, and Q4 were 1.19 (1.12, 1.27, p  < .001), 1.31 (1.23, 1.40, p  < .001), and 1.87 (1.75, 2.00, p  < .001), respectively, for the weighted genetic risk score. Conclusions This study shows a modest relationship between drinking behavior and MetS by using MR analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the transformer-based language models have achieved remarkable success in the field of extractive text summarization. However, there are still some limitations in this kind of research. First, the transformer language model usually regards the text as a linear sequence, ignoring the inherent hierarchical structure information of the text. Second, for long text data, traditional extractive models often focus on global topic information, which poses challenges in how they capturing and integrating local contextual information within topic segments. To address these issues, we propose a long text extractive summarization model that employs a local topic information extraction module and a text hierarchical extraction module to capture the local topic information and document's hierarchical structure information of the original text. Our approach enhances the ability to determine whether a sentence belongs to the summary. In this experiment, ROUGE score is used as the experimental evaluation index, and evaluates the model on three large public datasets. Through experimental validation, the model demonstrates superior performance in terms of ROUGE-1, ROUGE-2, and ROUGE-L scores compared to current mainstream summarization models, affirming the effectiveness of incorporating local topic information and document hierarchical structure into the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease that can cause severe pain, motor dysfunction, and even disability. A growing body of research indicates that gut microbiota and their associated metabolites are key players in maintaining bone health and in the progression of OA. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are a series of active metabolites that widely participate in bone homeostasis. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with outstanding anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, have been demonstrated to ameliorate excessive bone loss during the progression of osteoporosis (OP) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the protective effects of GNPs on OA progression are not clear. Here, we observed that GNPs significantly alleviated anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-induced OA in a gut microbiota-dependent manner. 16S rDNA gene sequencing showed that GNPs changed gut microbial diversity and structure, which manifested as an increase in the abundance of Akkermansia and Lactobacillus. Additionally, GNPs increased levels of SCFAs (such as butyric acid), which could have improved bone destruction by reducing the inflammatory response. Notably, GNPs modulated the dynamic balance of M1/M2 macrophages, and increased the serum levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10. To sum up, our study indicated that GNPs exhibited anti-osteoarthritis effects via modulating the interaction of "microbiota-gut-joint" axis, which might provide promising therapeutic strategies for OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we consider Dirac-type operators with a constant delay less than two-fifths of the interval and not less than one-third of the interval. For our considered Dirac-type operators, an incomplete inverse spectral problem is studied. Specifically, when two complex potentials are known a priori on a certain subinterval, reconstruction of the two potentials on the entire interval is studied from complete spectra of two boundary value problems with one common boundary condition. The uniqueness of the solution of the inverse problem is proved. A constructive method is developed for the solution of the inverse problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis (OP) is a severe global health issue that has significant implications for productivity and human lifespan. Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been demonstrated to be closely associated with OP progression. Melatonin (MLT) is an important endogenous hormone that modulates bone metabolism, maintains bone homeostasis, and improves OP progression. Multiple studies indicated that MLT participates in the regulation of intestinal microbiota and gut barrier function. However, the promising effects of gut microbiota‐derived MLT in OP remain unclear. Here, we found that OP resulted in intestinal tryptophan disorder and decreased the production of gut microbiota‐derived MLT, while administration with MLT could mitigate OP‐related clinical symptoms and reverse gut microbiota dysbiosis, including the diversity of intestinal microbiota, the relative abundance of many probiotics such as Allobaculum and Parasutterella, and metabolic function of intestinal flora such as amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and energy metabolism. Notably, MLT significantly increased the production of short‐chain fatty acids and decreased trimethylamine N‐oxide‐related metabolites. Importantly, MLT could modulate the dynamic balance of M1/M2 macrophages, reduce the serum levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, and restore gut‐barrier function. Taken together, our results highlighted the important roles of gut microbially derived MLT in OP progression via the "gut‐bone" axis associated with SCFA metabolism, which may provide novel insight into the development of MLT as a promising drug for treating OP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct Z-schemes for photocatalytic overall water splitting for hydrogen generation are constructed for Sc 2 CCl 2 /MoTe 2 and Sc 2 CCl 2 /Hf 2 CO 2 heterostructures on the basis of the calculated band alignment and built-in electric field. Solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (η STH ′), which is evaluated using the overpotentials of the band edges and band gaps, can reach 22.09 % for Sc 2 CCl 2 /MoTe 2 and 19.07 % for Sc 2 CCl 2 /Hf 2 CO 2. Tensile strains have little effect on η STH ′. Compressive strains substantially increase the η STH ′ of Sc 2 CCl 2 /MoTe 2 and boost that of the Sc 2 CCl 2 /Hf 2 CO 2 heterostructure only slightly. Nonadiabatic dynamics simulations reveal that the lifetime of the photogenerated electron in one of the stacking patterns of Sc 2 CCl 2 /MoTe 2 is much larger than that of the other configurations, indicating that the reduction ability of the electron is well protected. However, the interlayer electron–hole recombination in Sc 2 CCl 2 /MoTe 2 is faster than that in Sc 2 CCl 2 /Hf 2 CO 2 , implying that the Z-schemes with the former are more efficient than the Z-schemes with the latter. The hydrogen and oxidation evolution reactions with the two heterostructures are thermodynamically feasible but the reactions cannot proceed spontaneously. These findings provide a helpful guide for the development of photocatalytic materials for photocatalytic hydrogen generation from overall water splitting based on the title heterostructures. [Display omitted] • Maximum solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of the constructed schemes can reach 22.09 %. • 4 % compressive biaxial strain can boost the efficiency of Sc 2 CCl 2 /MoTe 2 to 33.77 %. • Reduction ability of SM-AA is well protected by its long electron transfer time. • Minimum Gibbs free energy of HER/OER on the heterostructures reaches 0.89/1.99 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we consider Dirac-type operators with a constant delay of less than half of the interval and not less than two-fifths of the interval. For our considered Dirac-type operators, two inverse spectral problems are studied. Specifically, reconstruction of two complex L2-potentials is studied from complete spectra of two boundary value problems with one common boundary condition y1(0) = 0 or y2(0) = 0. We give answers to the full range of questions usually raised in the inverse spectral theory. That is, we give uniqueness, necessary and sufficient conditions of the solvability, reconstruction algorithm and uniform stability for our considered inverse problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metal free photocatalysts have more environmentally friendly and low-cost advantages but are challenging to find suitable ones. Using the electronic properties of the edge-passivated graphene nanoribbons (EPGNRs) by manipulating the widths and edges, we demonstrate that 5 EPGNRs consisting of metal free elements, which are screened from 10 graphene nanoribbons passivated by H/N/O/F atoms, can achieve high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency in overall water splitting for hydrogen production. After ensuring the energy and thermodynamic stabilities, we construct 16 possible photocatalytic schemes for each EPGNR. At the same time, the feasible ones are selected by calculating charge density distributions, vacuum levels, and the potential energy of the band edges. 9 eligible schemes for overall water splitting are determined and the solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies are calculated according to the overpotentials and band gaps. The highest value of 34.19% is attributed to the H-GNR-O nanoribbon and a larger 38.71% can be boosted by stain engineering, which reveals that the passivated atoms can substantially manipulate the electronic properties and photocatalytic performance of graphene nanoribbons. The calculated Gibbs free energies confirm that the photocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen generations can be driven by the present EPGNRs. Therefore, the newfound metal free EPGNRs are promising for driving overall water splitting for generating hydrogen in a clean way. [Display omitted] • Photocatalytic water splitting schemes are built for five considered nanoribbons. • The highest solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of these schemes can reach 34.19%. • Anisotropic vacuum levels are responsible for the high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. • Thermodynamic feasibility of the built schemes is ensured by the Gibbs free energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we deal with inverse nodal problems of reconstructing a fourth-order self-adjoint binomial operator d 4 d x 4 + q with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We prove that a dense subset of nodal points uniquely determines the potential function q. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous polybenzothiophene was synthesized using Friedel-Crafts alkylation and applied as a sorbent for phase extraction. In combination with high performance liquid chromatography, a method for the simultaneous determination of the estrogens 17β-estradiol, ethinylestradiol, and diethylstilbestrol was established for environmental samples. Under the optimized conditions, satisfactory linearity was obtained from 2.0 to 1000.0 μg/L with the coefficients of determination (R2) exceeding 0.9977. The limits of detection were less than 0.3 μg/L for all targets, and the relative standard deviations (n = 5) were below 6.7%. The developed procedure was applied for the determination of estrogens in lake water, grass carp, and chicken manure. The recoveries of the targets were from 75.3% to 106.7%, 78.8% to 109.6%, and 89.1% to 114.5%, respectively. Ethinylestradiol was detected in lake water at 5.3 μg/L. None of the target compounds were present in the grass carp. Ethinylestradiol and diethylstilbestrol were observed in chicken manure at 0.9 μg/g and 0.6 μg/g. The developed method was simple and efficient for the determination of trace estrogens in complex samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sc 2 CCl 2 /WSe 2 and Sc 2 CCl 2 /WTe 2 heterostructures are identified for efficient photocatalytic overall water splitting with direct Z-schemes, although the conduct band minimum for the Sc 2 CCl 2 monolayer and the valence band maximums of the WSe 2 and WTe 2 ones do not match the redox potential conditions. The photocatalytic direct Z-schemes are constructed for the two heterostructures according to the built-in electric fields and band alignments. The solar-to-hydrogen efficiency η S T H , together with the Gibbs free energies are evaluated to understand the photocatalytic activities and feasibilities. The maximum η S T H can reach 20.70% with the Sc 2 CCl 2 /WTe 2 heterostructure and higher than 7.35% with the Sc 2 CCl 2 /WSe 2 one. Interestingly, the biaxial tensile strains remarkably boost the η S T H of the Sc 2 CCl 2 /WSe 2 heterostructure but weakly impact that of the Sc 2 CCl 2 /WTe 2 one, while the compressive strains substantially reduce the η S T H of the Sc 2 CCl 2 /WSe 2 heterostructure but raise that of the Sc 2 CCl 2 /WTe 2 one. Moreover, the Gibbs free energies indicate the considered hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions have thermodynamic feasibilities. [Display omitted] • Sc 2 CCl 2 /WX 2 (X = Se, Te) heterostructures can drive overall water splitting. • Solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies of Sc 2 CCl 2 /WTe 2 and Sc 2 CCl 2 /WSe 2 can reach 20.70% 7.35%. • Biaxial strains impact the η STH s of the Sc 2 CCl 2 /WX 2 (X = Se, Te) heterostructures remarkably. • Thermodynamic feasibilities of HER and OER are confirmed by the Gibbs free energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a class of differential operators with retarded arguments on a lasso graph is studied. We derive the asymptotic expressions of its large eigenvalues and obtain a new regularized trace formula for this class of differential operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of low voltage electrostatic field (LVEF, 2500 V, 0.2 mA) on oxidative denaturation of myofibrillar proteins (MPs) in repeatedly freeze–thaw (F-T, both 24 h) lamb was investigated in this study. F-T cycles intensified MP oxidative denaturation and structural destruction, with the influences becoming more severe after 1, 3, and 5 F-T cycles. The samples of the LVEF-assisted F-T cycles (LFT) exhibited lower carbonyl/dityrosine content, "r" value, and surface hydrophobicity, higher sulfhydryl content, solubility, Ca2+-ATPase activity, α-helix content, and fluorescence intensity under the identical F-T cycles (P < 0.05) in comparison with the common F-T cycles (CFT). Although the suppression of LVEF on protein oxidation decreased with the boost in the amount of F-T cycles, the effectiveness was still remarkable compared to samples without LVEF treatment. These original study findings would assist supply theoretical proof for the usage of LVEF in the freezing, storing, and transporting of frozen meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As digital medicine has exerted profound influences upon diagnosis and treatment of hepatobiliary diseases, our study aims to investigate the accuracy of three-dimensional visualization and evaluation (3DVE) system in assessing the resectability of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (hCCA), and explores its potential clinical value. Materials and methods: The discovery cohort, containing 111 patients from April 2013 to December 2019, was retrospectively included to determine resectability according to revised criteria for unresectability of hCCA. 3D visualization models were reconstructed to evaluate resectability parameters including biliary infiltration, vascular involvement, hepatic atrophy and metastasis. Evaluation accuracy were compared between contrast-enhanced CT and 3DVE. Logistic analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors of R0 resection. A new comprehensive 3DVE classification of hCCA based on factors influencing resectability was proposed to investigate its role in predicting R0 resection and prognosis. The main outcomes were also analyzed in cohort validation, including 34 patients from January 2020 to August 2022. Results: 3DVE showed an accuracy rate of 91% (95%CI 83.6–95.4%) in preoperatively evaluating hCCA resectability, significantly higher than 81% (95%CI 72.8–87.7%) of that of CT (p = 0.03). By multivariable analysis, hepatic artery involvement in 3DVE was identified an independent risk factor for R1 or R2 resection (OR = 3.5, 95%CI 1.4,8.8, P < 0.01). New 3DVE hCCA classification was valuable in predicting patients' R0 resection rate (p < 0.001) and prognosis (p < 0.0001). The main outcomes were internally validated. Conclusions: 3DVE exhibited a better efficacy in evaluating hCCA resectability, compared with contrast-enhanced CT. Preoperative 3DVE demonstrated hepatic artery involvement was an independent risk factor for the absence of R0 margin. 3DVE classification of hCCA was valuable in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Müll. Arg.) is a major economic crop grown in tropical areas. However, the various service functions of rubber plantations and their benefit to society, the economy and the environment are still unclear. Data on rubber planting areas, dry rubber and wood yields, carbon sequestration and oxygen release capacities, biodiversity, employment, and market prices for natural rubber and rubber wood were collected. Observations of land use patterns and functions were carried out. The results showed that the capacity of average annual carbon stock capacity of rubber plantations in China was 36.51 million tonnes. The accumulation values of carbon sequestration and oxygen release, 416.89 million tonnes and 304.42 million tonnes, respectively. A total of 849 plant species, 60 bird species, 5 species of ground beetle, 25 species of wild bees, 27 ant species, 10 termite species, 87 spider species and 38 hemipterous species were found in rubber plantations. The average annual dry rubber and rubber wood yields were 676,300 tonnes and 1.29 million m3. From 2000 to 2020, 14.20 million tonnes of dry rubber were produced and 27.02 million m3 of wood were harvested. The average annual output of dry rubber and rubber wood was US$1.86 billion, while total output value summed to US$ 39.08 billion from 2000 to 2020. Rubber cultivation and plantation operation activities employed an average of 1.11 million people annually. Land use management and natural disasters may affect the service functions of rubber plantations, which are carbon sequestration and oxygen release, maintaining biodiversity, providing dry rubber and rubber wood, maintaining water and conserving water sources, absorbing employment, changing unsustainable agricultural practices and habits of smallholders and ethnic minorities, and promoting transfer of technologies. In the future, on the basis of recognising and rationally weighing the various functions of rubber plantations and their main driving factors, smallholders are expected to maximise the social, economic and ecological functions of rubber plantations through effective crop management and utilisation of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis (OP) is a metabolic bone disease characterized by decreased bone mass and increased bone fragility. The imbalance of bone homeostasis modulated by osteoclasts and osteoblasts is the most crucial pathological change in osteoporosis. As a novel treatment strategy, nanomedicine has been applied in drug delivery and targeted therapy due to its high efficiency, precision, and fewer side effects. Gold nanospheres (GNS), as a common kind of gold nanoparticles (GNPs), possess significant antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity, which have been applied for the treatment of eye diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the effect of GNS on osteoporosis remains elusive. In this study, we found that GNS significantly prevented ovariectomy (OVX)-induced osteoporosis in a gut microbiota-dependent manner. 16S rDNA gene sequencing demonstrated GNS markedly altered the gut microbial diversity and flora composition. In addition, GNS reduced the abundance of TMAO-related metabolites in OVX mice. Low TMAO levels might alleviate the bone loss phenomenon by reducing the inflammation response. Therefore, we investigated the alteration of cytokine profiles in OVX mice. GNS inhibited the release of pro-osteoclastogenic or proinflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in the serum. In conclusion, GNS suppressed estrogen deficiency-induced bone loss by regulating the destroyed homeostasis of gut microbiota so as to reduce its relevant TMAO metabolism and restrain the release of proinflammatory cytokines. These results demonstrated the protective effects of GNS on osteoporosis as a gut microbiota modulator and offered novel insights into the regulation of the "gut–bone" axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial and temporal characteristics of land use carbon emissions are relevant to the sustainable use of land resources. Although spatial and temporal studies have been conducted on land use carbon emissions, the spatial correlation of land use carbon emissions at the city level still requires further research. Here, we estimated the distribution of carbon emissions at the city level in Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration in spatial and temporal terms based on land use remote sensing data and fossil energy consumption data during 2000–2019. The results showed that the land use change in the 16 cities in the study area was the conversion of cropland to construction land. Carbon emissions from land use had an upward trend for all 16 cities overall during the period of 2000–2019, but the incremental carbon emissions trended downward after 2010. Among them, Jinan and Qingdao had higher carbon emissions than other cities. In addition, we also found that land use carbon emissions at the city level were characterized by stochasticity, while per capita carbon emissions displayed geospatial aggregation. Among them, Yantai displayed a spatial pattern of high–high clustering of carbon emissions, while Jining presented a spatial pattern of low–low clustering in terms of land-average carbon emissions and carbon emissions per capita during 2000–2019. The results of the study are important for guiding the achievement of urban carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality targets at the city level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary water and oxygen isotope composition are important tools in tracing magma source and evolution. Metamictization of zircon due to U-Th radioactive decay may introduce external secondary water to the crystal, thereby masking the primary water and oxygen isotope signature. Recently, Raman-based screening has been established to select the low-degree metamict zircons. However, such an approach may not be appropriate for ancient samples, in which nearly all zircons are metamict. It was reported that thermal annealing can potentially heal crystals and retrieve primary water content and δ18O information from metamict zircons, given the weaker hydrogen bond of secondary water than that of primary water. Heating experiments at temperatures of 200–1000 °C over a period of 2–10 h reveal that annealing can effectively recover primary water and oxygen isotopes from metamict zircons. Primary water in crystalline and metamict zircons remains intact when heated at <700 °C, while secondary water can be effectively expelled from metamict zircons when heated at 600 °C for >4 h, which represent the optimal annealing treatment condition. Hydrothermally altered zircon is an exception. It only yields the minimum estimate of its primary water contents at 600 °C over a period of >4 h, probably due to partial primary water loss during metamictization for hydrothermal zircons. Moreover, the proportion of low-δ18O (<4.7‰) zircon grains that may be influenced by secondary water dropped from ~21% at <600 °C to ~9% when annealed at >700 °C. This study therefore provides the basis for applying zircon water and δ18O proxies to geologically ancient samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-terminal structure memristors are the most promising electronic devices that could play a significant role in artificial intelligence applications of the next generation and the post-Moore era. In this work, we fabricated the memristive device by depositing a heterojunction WOx/TiOy functional layer onto an indium tin oxide substrate using magnetron sputtering. The Ag/WOx/TiOy/ITO device exhibits improved memory behavior of bipolar resistive switching (RS) nonvolatile compared to TiOy-based single-layer memristors, enabling it to meet high-density information storage requirements. Moreover, our device exhibited the coexistence of the negative differential resistance effect and the behavior of the RS memory. Through a comprehensive analysis of conductivity on the curve of current–voltage (I–V), a physical model based on the mechanism of space charge-limited current, ohmic conduction, and Schottky emission was suggested to explain the behavior device RS memory. This study's findings demonstrate that including a heterojunction bilayer WOx/TiOy as a functional layer can significantly improve the performance of memristive devices. This advancement expands the potential application of ferroelectric metallic oxide heterojunctions within the field of memristors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study an inverse eigenvalue problem for the radial Schrödinger operators on the unit interval. This problem consists in the recovery of the potential on a subinterval (0 , a) , a ≤ 1 , from eigenvalues corresponding to the boundary value problems with different boundary conditions. We obtain a sufficient condition for the unique specification of the radial Schrödinger operator by a set of eigenvalues and a part of the potential function on (a , 1) in terms of the cosine system closedness. The Borg-type and the Hochstadt-Lieberman type results are obtained as corollaries of our main result. Furthermore, under an additional hypothetical condition, we show that our condition is not only sufficient but also necessary for the uniqueness of the inverse problem solution. The main tool of our proof technique is the singular transformation operator representation for the solution of the radial Schrödinger equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photocatalytic direct Z-scheme driven by two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure often achieve high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency (η STH). However, the favorable 2D heterostructure is not easily identified. Here, we identify a 2D heterostructure with InTe and Bismuthene monolayers and confirm the most stable configurations. The band alignments and built-in electric fields both turn out to satisfy the requirement of the direct Z-scheme for hydrogen evolution reaction. In addition, the optical absorption, mobility, η STH and the change in Gibbs free energy is used to justify the photocatalytic performance. The maximum η STH can reach 9.67% which is significantly higher than 4.22% of the InTe monolayer. Moreover, the η STH of the heterostructure can be raised to 16.17% under +9% biaxial strains, indicating that strains have a controlling effect on the η STH s. The alterations in Gibbs free energies of 1.72–2.12 eV assure the hydrogen evolution reactions are feasible in thermodynamics. Therefore, the present InTe/Bismuthene heterostructure has potential applications in driving photocatalytic hydrogen generation from overall water splitting under the irradiation of sunlight. [Display omitted] • InTe/Bismuthene heterostructure can drive hydrogen generation from water splitting. • The maximum solar-to-hydrogen efficiency can reach 16.17% under +9% strains. • InTe/Bismuthene heterojunction raises efficiency compared to the InTe monolayer. • The thermodynamic feasibility of the HERs is confirmed with Gibbs free energy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the previous work, we shall study some inverse problems for the Dirac operator on an equilateral star graph. It is proven that the so-called Weyl function uniquely determines the potentials. Furthermore, we pay attention to the inverse problem of recovering the potentials from the spectral data, which consists of the eigenvalues and weight matrices, and present a constructive algorithm. The basic tool in this paper is the method of spectral mappings developed by Yurko. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum coherence has recently emerged as a key candidate for use as a resource in various quantum information processing tasks. One of the main problems in any quantum resource theory is the characterization of the conversions between resources by means of the free operations of the theory. In this work, we ask if coherence, already present in a reference system, can be broadcast to the auxiliary system via incoherent operations. We prove that it is impossible for a weaker form of broadcasting via incoherent operations. This shows that broadcasting of coherence is forbidden via incoherent operations in every finite-dimensional system. We also prove that a generalized form of broadcasting via incoherent quantum operations can occur if and only if the state of system is coherent. In this case, we are able to give a method for constructing an incoherent quantum operation to broadcast coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the best dietary supplement, nervonic acid (NA) can be applied for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the limited natural sources and high processing costs restrict the wide use of NA. Herein, we engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the effective production of NA. Individual expression of fatty acid elongase from multiple species led to the synthesis of NA. NA biosynthesis was further augmented by co-expression of fatty acid elongases and knockout of elo2. Under the optimized conditions, the recombinant produced up to 57 mg/L of NA in flask culture. Quantitative real-time PCR results indicated that the expression levels of genes encoding key enzymes in NA synthesis were significantly increased under the optimized conditions. This work may serve as a baseline to employ S. cerevisiae chassis for sustainable production of NA or its derivatives. [Display omitted] • The effects of various fatty acid elongases on the chain length of fatty acids were compared. • The synergism of fatty acid elongases could boost the synthesis of nervonic acid. • A high nervonic acid titer of 57 mg/L was obtained in the engineered yeast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dimensionless figures of merit (bp-ZTs) with the bipolar effect of RbSnX3 (X = F, Cl) are evaluated. The carrier-type dependent Seebeck (Sn/Sp) coefficient, electric conductivity (σn/σp), and electronic thermal conductivity (κen/κep) of RbSnX3 at 300–900 K are obtained via solving the Boltzmann transport equation on the basis of the first principles band alignments and intrinsic carrier concentrations. Then, the corresponding values with bipolar effect (Sbp, σbp, and κbp) are evaluated. The bp-ZTs are determined with the obtained Sbp, σbp, and κbp and the calculated lattice thermal conductivity of RbSnX3. The results demonstrate that the maximum bp-ZTs can reach 3.17 for RbSnF3 and 1.66 for RbSnCl3 at 900 K, indicating that the two compounds are promising thermoelectric materials. To understand the mechanism of the thermoelectric performance, we also examine the relationship between the thermoelectric properties (ZT/Sn/Sp/σn/σp/κen/κep) and carrier concentration. Comparing the bp-ZTs with the dimensionless figures of merit obtained from the direct summation of the ones for the n-type and p-type carriers without bipolar effect, we find the bipolar effects are trivial in all the considered temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a digital delay locked loop (DLL) with a monotonic delay line (DL). This DLL adopts the calibration mode to reduce the non‐monotonic effects for the coarse‐tuning delay line (CTDL) and the fine‐tuning delay line (FTDL). The calibration mode detects the delay time of the delay unit, the timing resolution of CTDL, to adjust the delay range of the FTDL. Thus, the calibration mode can limit the overlap range of the delay time between the CTDL and the FTDL. The proposed DLL was implemented using a 0.18‐μm CMOS process, and the RMS and the peak‐to‐peak jitters of the DLL were 0.21% and 1.72%, respectively, at 560 MHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is known and Objective: It is estimated that 60% of children undergoing anaesthesia develop severe preoperative anxiety. The anxiety is associated with adverse reactions. Sedatives such as dexmedetomidine, midazolam, clonidine, ketamine, and melatonin can be used as premedication against preoperative anxiety. However, no consensus has been reached on the choice of pre‐anaesthetic sedatives in children before selective surgery. Therefore, the current network meta‐analysis (NMA) was carried out to evaluate different sedatives in children aged between 1 and 7 before general anaesthesia for selective surgery. Methods: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were retrieved from Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Web of Science databases from inception to October 22, 2021. Primary outcomes showed satisfactory sedation at parent separation and also at induction or mask acceptance. Secondary outcomes were those related to added benefits and side effects. The present NMA was conducted using the R software. Results of the study were reported as Relative Risk (RR) or Mean Difference (MD) at a 95% credible intervals (CrIs). Results and Discussion: A total of 48 trials were included in the present study. It was found that the effectiveness of dexmedetomidine, midazolam, clonidine, and ketamine were superior to that of placebo in satisfactory sedation at parent separation and induction or mask acceptance. There was no significant difference between melatonin and placebo in satisfactory sedation at induction or mask acceptance. Dexmedetomidine, ketamine, clonidine, and melatonin were superior to placebo in reducing emergence delirium (ED). In addition, midazolam prolonged the length of stay in the post anaesthesia care unit (PACU) as compared with placebo. Dexmedetomidine caused a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR). Nevertheless, it was noted that the hemodynamic changes were roughly within safety limits. What is New and Conclusion: It was evident that the studied drugs can provide effective sedation with exception of melatonin and placebo. However, it was found that midazolam, ketamine, and clonidine lead to several side effects. The findings of the present study supported that dexmedetomidine, especially intranasal administration, has potential in the optimal selection of the sedatives for premedication in children. This is because the drug has effective sedation, reduced incidence of ED, side effects, and onset time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2D ZrI2 monolayer with a high dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) is analyzed in terms of intrinsic carrier concentrations, transport coefficients, and a bipolar effect. The ZrI2 monolayer with a space group of P21/m is fully optimized. The dynamic and thermal stabilities are verified by computing the phonon dispersion in addition to performing ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The thermal conductivity of the lattice is evaluated by employing the phonon Boltzmann transport theory and the first-principle second and third force constants. The Seebeck coefficients, electronic thermal conductivities, and electric conductivities of the monolayer are determined by solving the relaxation time approximation semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation. To further explore the chance for promoting ZT, we investigate the manipulating effect of the carrier concentrations. The largest ZT with the bipolar effect can reach 7.86 at 700 K, implying that the ZrI2 monolayer has excellent thermoelectric performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aging face is characterized by skin laxity and volume loss. Attenuation of facial retaining ligaments significantly contributes to skin sagginess and soft tissue volume loss. Aims: We designed a prospective cohort study to quantitatively assess the efficacy of hyaluronic acid (HA) with adjunct poly‐L‐lactic acid (PLLA) injections in strengthening the retaining ligaments. Patients/Methods: A total of 12 Asian women were treated with HA injections to the orbital, zygomatic, buccal‐maxillary, and mandibular retaining ligaments with adjunct supraperiosteal and subdermal PLLA injections to the temporal region, midface, and lower face. Cephalometric measurements were done before treatment and 2, 4, 12, and 24 weeks post‐procedurally. Results: Eyebrow peak and tail angles increased 20.0° ± 3.8° to 21.0° ± 3.8° (p < 0.05) and −2.9° ± 4.2° to −1.3° ± 3.3° (p < 0.001) at week 12. Eyebrow‐to‐orbital‐rim distance increased 1.9 ± 2.0 mm to 3.9 ± 1.5 mm (p < 0.001) at week 12. Eyebrow‐to‐upper‐eyelid distance increased 11.6 ± 3.0 mm to 12.7 ± 3.2 mm (p < 0.001) at week 24. Eyebrow‐peak‐to‐lateral‐limbus distance decreased 6.1 ± 3.1 mm to 5.3 ± 2.4 mm (p < 0.05) at week 4. Tragus‐oral‐commissure length and lower‐facial‐contouring length decreased 281 ± 11 mm to 275 ± 10 mm (p < 0.01) and 297 ± 14 to 292 ± 11 mm (p < 0.05) at week 12, respectively. Conclusion: Hyaluronic acid injection for strengthening of facial retaining ligaments with adjunct PLLA is viable, safe, and effective in facial rejuvenation as supported by quantitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we study inverse problems for the Sturm–Liouville operator with periodic conditions and jump conditions inside the interval. We prove that the potential and parameters in the jump conditions can be uniquely determined by two spectra and the sign sets, and give the reconstruction algorithm for the solution of inverse problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: As the treatment advances, there were several novel agents developed for R/M HNSCC, including an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody, cetuximab, and an anti-programmed death-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, pembrolizumab and nivolumab. To date, little was known regarding the optimal treatment sequences. Our observational study demonstrated that median overall survival was 23.7 months versus 22.8 months in Cet-IO and IO-Cet, respectively (p = 0.484). The overall response rate (ORR) were 73% in Cet-IO versus 37% in IO-Cet (p = 0.002). Both Cet-IO and IO-Cet are effective in R/M HNSCC patients with insignificant survival differences. The higher response rate of Cet-IO might render it to be considered in patients with large tumor burdens and urgent needs for treatment responses. Our conclusion can be real-world evidence for clinical decision-making. Background: The prognosis was poor when patients had recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC). Herein, we conducted an observational study of cetuximab followed by immunotherapy (Cet-IO) versus immunotherapy followed by cetuximab (IO-Cet) in patients with R/M HNSCC. Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with R/M HNSCC and treated with a sequential cetuximab-containing regimen and immunotherapy-containing regimen were enrolled in our study. Kaplan-Meier curves were estimated for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 75 patients were enrolled in our study for oncologic outcomes evaluation, with 40 patients in Cet-IO and 35 patients in IO-Cet. The median PFS1 was 5.1 months in Cet-IO and 4.5 months in IO-Cet (p = 0.777) and the median PFS2 was 16.5 months in Cet-IO and 11.4 months in IO-Cet (p = 0.566). The median OS was 23.7 months versus 22.8 months in Cet-IO and IO-Cet, respectively (p = 0.484). The overall response rate (ORR) were 73% in Cet-IO versus 37% in IO-Cet (p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the treatment sequences, Cet-IO or IO-Cet, were insignificantly different with survival. Conclusion: Both Cet-IO and IO-Cet are effective in R/M HNSCC patients with insignificant survival differences. The higher ORR of Cet-IO might render it to be considered in patients with large tumor burdens and urgent needs for treatment responses. Further prospective studies are merited to validate our conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pd clusters are widely concerned because of their outstanding catalytic capacity. Here such a candidate of Pd13 cluster with the icosahedron symmetry and multiple active sites is shown. The first‐principles calculations reveal that this cluster can maximally catalyze the water‐splitting reaction to generate three H2 from three H2O molecules. The geometrical structures of the reactants, transition states, and products are optimized, and their stabilities are confirmed by the frequency analysis. The intrinsic reaction coordinates are constructed to confirm the rationality of the reaction. Firstly, one H2O is adsorbed on atop sites of the Pd13 cluster and releases an H2 through a reaction of H2O@Pd13 → H2@[O+Pd13]. Then, the remained O+Pd13 cluster can continually split H2O and generate additional H2, and the obtained 2O+Pd13 cluster can also dissociate H2O to generate H2. However, it is found that the 3O+Pd13 cluster cannot continue the splitting reaction. It is also observed that the O+Pd13 cluster can adsorb two molecules at the same time and split them one by one. These findings support that the Pd13 cluster, O+Pd13, and 2O+Pd13 are promising candidates for efficient generation of H2 from H2O splitting reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water content and oxygen isotopes in zircon provide crucial constraints on magma source and process, yet they can be significantly modified by zircon metamictization, which causes secondary water absorption into the zircon crystal and the concomitant oxygen isotope changes. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a screening scheme to select the least-metamict zircons for the analyses. We propose a screening scheme based on our study on the Suzhou A-type granite (South China) through integrating Raman spectroscopy, water and trace element measurements, and oxygen isotope analysis. The results show that the primary water content is retained in zircon when the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) is <8 cm−1 or the Raman shift is >1007 cm−1 of v3(SiO4) vibration band, while the primary δ18O is preserved at <10 cm−1 FWHM or >1005.5 cm−1 Raman shift. Changes in trace element concentrations in Suzhou zircons are different from previous observations in metamict zircons but most likely related to magma evolution, which implies that trace elements are insensitive to metamictization. Primary δ18O in Suzhou zircons (4.5–6.0‰) fall into the mantle range, indicating a dominant mantle contribution to Suzhou granites. Primary water content was estimated at ca. 650–1400 ppm, significantly higher than those of typical I-type granite (400–736 ppm) and upper mantle-derived zircons (81–177 ppm). The high primary zircon water content was not controlled by the sub-solidus process, temperature, pressure, and cation charge balance but considered to reflect the high-water content in melts. This suggests a hydrous origin for the Suzhou A-type granite, which challenges the conventional view of anhydrous petrogenesis for A-type granites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Spontaneous HER and OER are achieved for the S-doped Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe heterostructure. • S impurity substantially reduces ΔG max s of the Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe heterostructure. • STH efficiency can be maintained in the spontaneous HER and OER to produce hydrogen. • NAMD simulations confirm that the redox ability for HER/OER is well-protected. Numerous photocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) with heterostructures are reported but have no practicality because the less sophisticated heterostructures have no enough driving force to overcome the Gibbs free energy necessary for the spontaneous proceed of these reactions. Here, we demonstrate that these reactions with the Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe heterostructure can be manipulated to spontaneously proceed by S atom impurity. Based on the electronic properties by the first-principles calculations, the direct Z-scheme of the photocatalytic HER and OER with the Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe and S-doped Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe heterostructures are constructed. The calculated Gibbs free energies confirm that OER cannot spontaneously proceed with Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe heterostructure but can proceed with the S-doped Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe heterostructures, and HER can spontaneously proceed with all heterostructures. The maximum solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies of the latter can reach 11.48 %, indicating that the photocatalytic performance is maintained. Moreover, the nonadiabatic molecular dynamics results reveal the prolonged lifetimes of the photogenerated carriers, indicating the redox ability is well protected. Therefore, the S atom impurity enables the Sc 2 CCl 2 /SiSe heterostructure to be a promising candidate for developing catalysts for photocatalytic overall water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Laser cooling schemes are built for the PbH, PoH, BiH+, and AtH+ molecules. • SOC splitting states are used for the closed transitions with high diagonal FCFs. • Accurate PECs are obtained using KRCI based on four-component relativistic orbitals. • The spectroscopic parameters correspond to the available experimental data. The pseudo-closed transition with enough large Frank-Condon factor (FCF) is a necessary condition for direct laser cooling molecules, which means that only a few molecules with the appropriate ground and excited electronic states can be considered as potential candidates. The electronic and spectroscopic properties of five Ω states are evaluated for the PbH, PoH, BiH+, and AtH+ molecules based on the four-component full relativistic calculations with all-electron basis sets, by which we construct optical schemes for these molecules by using the X 1 2Π 1/2 (ν'') ↔ X 2 2Π 3/2 (ν') transitions for PbH and BiH+ or the X 1 2Π 3/2 (ν'') ↔ X 2 2Π 1/2 (ν') ones for PoH and AtH+. The built schemes can provide 104 ∼ 105 scattering phonons with three or five pumping lasers. Moreover, the Doppler/recoil temperatures are 2.08 × 10−3/0.04, 2.91 × 10−3/0.11, 7.48 × 10−3/0.08 and 0.01/0.18 μK, respectively, which means that the temperature of the order of nanokelvin for the PbH and PoH and microkelvin for the BiH+ and AtH+ molecules may be cooled based on the present optical schemes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Based on the USPEX screening more stable SiCP 4 allotropes was obtained. • A high carrier mobility of 106 cm2 V−1 s−1 is observed for SiCP 4 allotrope. • The maximum η S T H ′ and η S T F ′ of SiCP 4 allotrope can reach 21.89% and 23.90% • Two SiCP 4 allotropes can trigger HER spontaneously. • SiCP 4 allotropes have the potential to reduce CO 2 to CH 4 or HCOOH. Two-dimensional metal-free photocatalysts are catching the attention of researchers. Here, we present several allotrope SiCP 4 monolayers with high stability, high carrier mobility, and excellent photocatalytic performance. Using a searching method based on the universal structure predictor evolutionary xtallography, together with assessing the energy and thermodynamic stabilities, and matching the potentials of band edges with the photocatalytic conditions for achieving overall water splitting, we successfully identify 5 highly favorable configurations (including the previously reported one) from a pool of 1056 allotrope SiCP 4 monolayers. The results show that the largest solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of the considered monolayers can reach 21.89 %, while a high mobility of 2.7677 × 105 cm2 V−1 s−1 is observed, both are superior to those of the previously reported one. The Gibbs free energies for hydrogen or oxygen evolutions, and CO 2 reduction reactions indicate they are thermodynamically feasible. Moreover, the hydrogen evolution reaction can proceed spontaneously with two allotrope SiCP 4 monolayers. Therefore, the newfound allotrope SiCP 4 monolayers are expected to have potential applications in the field of photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen generation and carbon dioxide reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is essential for the formation of granites, but its origin and role in granite generation (i.e., dehydration vs. water‐fluxed melting) remain uncertain. These issues are addressed by combining water abundances and other geochemical indices in zircons from Late Mesozoic granites generated during the destruction of the North China Craton (NCC). The water contents in zircons from the NCC Early Cretaceous granites (763 ppm, median) are much higher than those of the NCC Jurassic granites (424–513 ppm), upper mantle and continental arc magmas (92–477 ppm). More importantly, the higher water contents in the voluminous Early Cretaceous granites also have higher zircon saturation temperatures, εHf(t), and lower δ18O values. These observations suggest a predominantly mantle origin for the water, and water‐fluxed crustal melting, in which larger water ingression produced more voluminous melts. The high‐water flux was likely related to the subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific Plate, which ultimately destabilized the NCC. Plain Language Summary: The fact that water is essential in generating granites has been known for a long time. However, its detailed role is poorly understood due to heterogeneous source and complex melting reactions involved in the generation of granites. As a fundamental issue of granite genesis, it remains a long‐standing problem to distinguish the two major mechanisms, that is, hydrous‐mineral‐dehydration melting versus external‐water‐added melting. In this study, the water content of zircon combined with other lines of clues of I‐type granites that generated during the destruction of North China Craton (NCC) in Late Mesozoic collectively points to water‐added crustal melting rather than dehydration melting. The isotope composition of zircon suggests a mantle provenance of water. The highest water contents occurred in the Early Cretaceous granites, corresponding to the climax of the NCC destruction. Higher zircon water contents in Early Cretaceous granites indicate higher water‐flux into thelithospheric mantle and overlying crust by the subduction of the paleo‐Pacific plate. Accordingly, water played a significant role in cratonic destruction. Key Points: Water contents of zircons from North China Craton Jurassic granites are comparable with continental arc magmasHigher zircon water contents are found in voluminous Early Cretaceous granites generated during the climax of cratonic destructionEarly Cretaceous granites were generated by water‐fluxed crustal melting, the water in which has a predominant mantle origin [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the association between acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) usage and the risk of lung cancer. Data from 116,106 new users of AChEI and 348,318, at a ratio of 1:3, matched by age, sex, and index-year, between 2000 and 2015 controls were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database in this cohort study. The Cox regression model was used to compare the risk of lung cancer. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of lung cancer for AChEI users was 1.198 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.765–1.774, p = 0.167). However, the adjusted HR for patients aged ≥ 65 was adjusted to HR: 1.498 (95% CI = 1.124–1.798, p < 0.001), in contrast to the comparison groups. In addition, patients with comorbidities such as pneumonia, bronchiectasis, pneumoconiosis, pulmonary alveolar pneumonopathy, hypertension, stroke, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, depression, anxiety, smoking-related diseases, dementia, and seeking medical help from medical centers and regional hospitals, were associated with a higher risk in lung cancer. Furthermore, longer-term usage of rivastigmine (366–730 days, ≥ 731 days) and galantamine (≥ 731 days) was associated with the risk of lung cancer. AChEI increased the risk of lung cancer in the older aged patients, several comorbidities, and a longer-term usage of rivastigmine and galantamine. Therefore, physicians should estimate the risks and benefits of AChEI usage and avoid prescribing antidepressants concurrently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Primary gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinomas (GB‐NEC) are malignant neoplasms that remained to be studied. In this study we aimed to summarize their clinicopathological characteristics, effective treatment and prognostic factors for patients with GB‐NEC. Methods: Patients with GB‐NEC admitted to Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital and Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University from October 2012 to August 2020 were enrolled. Clinicopathological characteristics of our patients and those reported in previous studies were recorded. The Kaplan‐Meier method and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used for survival analysis. Results: Altogether 15 patients from our hospitals and 47 patients from previous studies were included. A total of 55 patients who underwent surgical resection, including R0 and non‐R0 resection, had significantly longer overall survival compared with the other seven patients. A univariate analysis indicated that patients aged 60 years or older, with jaundice, carcinoid syndrome, non‐R0 resection, and advanced stage were associated with worse survival. A multivariate analysis showed that patients aged 60 years or older, carcinoid syndrome and non‐R0 resection, but not lymphadenectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy, were independently related to reduced survival. Conclusions: R0 resection should be the first‐line treatment for GB‐NEC. Older age, carcinoid syndrome and non‐R0 resection are independently associated with reduced survival after surgical resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study some properties of weight matrices for the Dirac operator on a star graph, which are corresponding concepts to those of the Sturm‐Liouville operator. There are two major ingredients. The first is devoted to the structure properties and asymptotic formulae of weight matrices. As an application, we construct a sequence of eigenfunctions and prove its Riesz basicity in the second ingredient. The methods employed rely on contour integration techniques and the theory of Riesz bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells (IMCs) with immunosuppressive functions, whereas IMCs originally differentiate into granulocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) to participate in innate immunity under steady-state conditions. At present, difficulties remain in identifying MDSCs due to lacking of specific biomarkers. To make identification of MDSCs accurately, it also needs to be determined whether having immunosuppressive functions. MDSCs play crucial roles in anti-tumor, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Meanwhile, MDSCs could make close interaction with osteoclasts, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and other stromal cells within microenvironment of bone and joint, and thereby contributing to poor prognosis of bone-related diseases such as cancer-related bone metastasis, osteosarcoma (OS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), and orthopedic trauma. In addition, MDSCs have been shown to participate in the procedure of bone repair. In this review, we have summarized the function of MDSCs in cancer-related bone metastasis, the interaction with stromal cells within the bone microenvironment as well as joint microenvironment, and the critical role of MDSCs in bone repair. Besides, the promising value of MDSCs in the treatment for bone-related diseases is also well discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to some inverse spectral problems for Dirac operators on a star graph with mixed boundary conditions in boundary vertices. By making use of Rouché's theorem, we derive the eigenvalue asymptotics of these operators. Besides, we show that for each of these operators, if the potentials are known a priori for all but one edge on the graph, then the potential on the remaining edge is uniquely determined by part of the potential on this edge and part of its spectrum. Our method relies upon some estimates of infinite products given by Horváth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the Sturm–Liouville operator on quantum graphs with a loop with the standard matching conditions in the internal vertex and the jump conditions at the boundary vertex. Given the potential on the loop, we try to recover the potential on the boundary edge from the subspectrum. The uniqueness theorem and a constructive algorithm for the solution of this partial inverse problem are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Ethylene oxide (EO) sterilization is commonly employed for the sterilization of medical devices and has a very high market share. However, EO and its metabolite ethylene chlorohydrin (ECH) are toxic to humans. In compliance with the classification and residue limits of medical devices defined by ISO 10993‐7, our study established two extraction methods for the testing of EO and ECH. Methods: The first method involves simulated‐use extraction using water as the extraction solvent. While the second, exhaustive extraction, directly extracts sample through headspace sampling analysis. Gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode was utilized, requiring only 16 min. Then, the developed method was applied to assess 10 commercially available medical devices sterilized by EO. Results: In simulated‐use extraction, calibration curves were evaluated in the range of 1–100 and 5–500 μg for EO and ECH, respectively (r > 0.999). Inter‐day recoveries ranged from 85.0% to 95.2% and from 94.8% to 102.4%. In exhaustive extraction, calibration curves spanned 0.5–50 and 2–200 μg for EO and ECH, respectively (r > 0.999). Inter‐day recoveries ranged from 101.6% to 102.1% for EO and from 98.1% to 102.2% for ECH. After analysis of the 10 commercially available medical devices, two cotton swabs were found to have ECH of 35.1 and 28.4 μg per device, and four medical devices were found to have EO with concentration below the limit of quantification. Meanwhile, we found that the EO internal standard (propylene oxide) recommended by ISO 10993‐7 had interference problems with other similar substances and was not suitable as an internal standard for EO. Conclusions: This study offers a sensitive and straightforward analytical approach to EO and ECH residues in a variety of medical devices. In addition, the results show that the EO or ECH content of these types of medical devices in our study falls below the regulatory limits, therefore instilling confidence among consumers regarding their safe use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low-voltage electrostatic field (LVEF) is directly used to assist frozen lamb meat to storage. • LVEF enhances frozen force at −12 °C achieving the same inhibition of the oxidative denaturation of protein as conventional frozen. • During 90–––150 d, the effect of LVEF assisting frozen storage at −9 °C disappears. The effect of low-voltage electrostatic field (LVEF) assisted −9 °C (LVEF-9) and −12 °C (LVEF-12) frozen, non-LVEF-assisted −9 °C (NLVEF-9) and −12 °C (NLVEF-12) frozen, and conventional frozen (CF-18, −18 °C) storage on the muscle microstructure and the oxidative denaturation of the lamb protein during the subsequent frozen storage process after finishing initial freezing was investigated. Compared with NLVEF-9, LVEF-9, and NLVEF-12, LVEF-12 maintained the better integrity of muscle microstructure, demonstrated by smaller holes, more complete Z-line and M-line, and no significant difference with CF-18 (P > 0.05). Furthermore, LVEF-12 effectively inhibited protein oxidative denaturation as shown by the lower carbonyl content, surface hydrophobicity, and higher total/active sulfhydryl groups and Ca2+-ATPase activity. Moreover, LVEF-12 effectively maintained the integrity of the secondary and tertiary structure of proteins, reduced cross-linking aggregation of proteins, and sustained better functional properties, as shown by higher α -helix content, fluorescence intensity, protein solubility, and lower R-value, disulfide bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Photocatalytic Z-schemes are built for SiSe/SnSe 2 and SiSe/SnSSe heterostructures. • The STH efficiencies of the Z-schemes can reach 19.18%, 14.61%, and 14.24%. • NAMD simulations confirm photocatalytic activity of SiSe/SnSe 2 is well-protected. • Δ G s reveal both HER and OER with SiSe/SnSSe-I can spontaneously proceed. The direct Z-schemes of the photocatalytic overall water splitting with the SiSe/SnSe 2 , SiSe/SnSSe-I, and SiSe/SnSSe-II heterostructures are constructed based on the density functional theory calculations and nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) simulations. The maximum solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (ηʹ STH) reaches 19.18% and can be promoted to 28.71% under tensile biaxial strains. NAMD simulations indicate the transfer of the electron for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and hole for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for SiSe/SnSe 2 are apparently slower than those for the other two heterostructures, implicating the reduction and oxidation activities of this heterostructure are well-protected. Moreover, the shortest electron-hole recombination time is attributed to SiSe/SnSSe-I, indicating that it holds the best photocatalytic performance. Remarkably, the Gibbs free energies indicate that HER and OER with SiSe/SnSSe-I can spontaneously proceed, while OERs can but HERs cannot spontaneously proceed with the other two heterostructures. Therefore, the newfound heterostructures, especially SiSe/SnSSe-I, are promising candidates in photocatalytic overall water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the monochromator premirror in FEL-1 at S3FEL, the deformation induced by moving high heat load and gravity severely affects the X-ray beam quality during its off-axis rotation. To meet the premirror shape error requirement for X-ray coherent transport, the integration of passive cooling and active heating systems for thermal management of the monochromator premirror has been proposed, modeled, and analyzed. Thermal and gravity deformation is initially analyzed using indirect water cooling and Bessel point support. Then, an active heating system with twenty-five pairs of electric heaters is adopted to compensate for the premirror shape. Furthermore, an improved generalized mathematical model for mirror shape compensation in a 2D Cartesian coordinate system is proposed. Finally, using the optimization algorithms, the optimization of twenty-five pairs of heat fluxes generated by all electric heaters was accomplished. The results show that both the height error and the slope error RMS were reduced significantly, and the requirements were fulfilled, proving that the thermal management using passive cooling and active heat schemes is effective in obtaining high-precision mirror shape for FEL facilities. Meanwhile, a figure of merit for evaluating the ease of mirror shape thermal compensation is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]