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Up to now, three-dimensional temperature responses in mid-latitude shallow shelf seas to large-scale climate variabilities are still poorly understood. Combining observations and high-resolution numerical simulations, this study investigated the three-dimensional structure of interannual-to-decadal variations in water temperature in the Yellow Sea and underlying mechanisms during 1998‒2021. Both sea surface temperature (SST) and bottom layer temperature (BLT) in the majority of the Yellow Sea experienced decadal trends, which were negative during 1998‒2010 but were more significantly positive during 2011‒2021. Magnitudes of decadal SST trends had seasonal variations, being much larger in winter than in summer, but those of decadal BLT trends had no significant seasonal variations. Temperatures below the thermocline experienced more significant decadal trends than SST in spring‒summer seasons. This caused increasing trends during 1998‒2010 but decreasing trends during 2011‒2021 in summer stratification. Changes in decadal temperature trends were linked to activities of the Siberia High and Western Pacific pattern in winter. During 1998‒2010, strengthening Siberia High and weakening Western Pacific pattern enhanced surface heat loss and thus induced cooling trend throughout the water column in the Yellow Sea in winter. However, increasing surface heat gain in subsequent spring‒summer reduced the surface layer cooling trend and resulted in upper layer experiencing weaker cooling trend than lower layer. Seasonally reversing surface heat flux trends generated increasing summer stratification. During 2011‒2021, opposite but more intense situations occurred, with weakening Siberia High and strengthening Western Pacific pattern causing warming temperature and decreasing summer stratification in the Yellow Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to review studies exploring the experiences and perceptions of healthcare students and providers regarding their personal choices for elective female fertility preservation and their recommendations of the same to patients. Design/Methods: Employing Pluye and Hong's convergent qualitative synthesis approach, a mixed‐studies review was conducted. The appraisal of studies was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and data analysis utilised Thomas and Harden's thematic synthesis approach. Data Sources: Six electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science) were searched from their inception till November 2023. Results: About 24 studies were reviewed, uncovering four major themes: varied personal perspectives, knowledge gaps and role ambiguities, perceived temporal and financial constraints and apprehensions related to fear and stigma. Conclusion/Implication: This review underscored the challenges faced by healthcare professionals and students in their personal pursuit of elective fertility preservation. Addressing these challenges demands the implementation of fertility navigators, culturally and religiously sensitive public health campaigns and staff training. Moreover, standardised guidelines, transparent cost and process reporting, evidence‐based education, counselling on risks and success rates and governmental support in the form of subsidies can mitigate barriers, enhance cost‐effectiveness and promote equitable access to care. Collaboration among stakeholders is imperative to ensure equitable access and maintain quality care in elective female fertility preservation. Reporting Method: This mixed studies review followed the reporting guidelines in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Patient or Public Contribution: No Patient or Public Contribution. Trial Registration: This review has been registered on the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database (CRD42023395406) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Materials and methods Results Discussion Conclusion It is not known whether bone marrow stem cells when injected intravenously for a bone marrow transplant colonize the human testicular epithelium. No previous studies of sperm genotype after bone marrow transplantation are reported.To differentiate host from donor genotype in spermatozoa of men who have undergone successful bone marrow transplants.Triplet DNA samples (spermatozoa, blood, and hair) obtained from men who had recovered sperm production after bone marrow transplant were genotyped using 44 autosomal and three sex‐related single nucleotide polymorphisms to determine the tissue genotype in pairwise comparisons of DNA profiles.Participants were 14 men at a median of 5.5 years after allogeneic bone marrow transplant who had a median sperm output of 77 million spermatozoa/ejaculate. In 14/14 the donor (leukocyte) DNA genotype differed significantly from the spermatozoa and hair genotypes whereas hair and sperm genotypes showed no variations.These data suggest that paternity after a successful bone marrow transplant is likely to be of the host and not the donor's genetic origins. The study's small sample size reflects the paucity of eligible man with recovered spermatogenesis after bone marrow transplant and represents preliminary evidence. A large‐scale epidemiological analysis to estimate the frequency of bone marrow donor stem cell colonization of the testicular germinal epithelium based on progeny sex ratio and frequency of female donors is proposed.Successful colonization of the testicular germinal and hair follicle epithelia by allogeneic bone marrow transplant donor stem cells is rare or does not occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elastomers with high strength and toughness, excellent self-healing properties, and biocompatibility have broad application prospects in wearable electronics and other fields, but preparing it remains a challenge. In this work, we propose a highly adaptable strategy by introducing the small molecule crosslinking agent of triethanolamine (TEA) to the poly thioctic acid (PTA) chains and preparing the PAxEy elastomers using a simple synthesis step. This strategy stabilizes the PTA chains by constructing multiple non-covalent cross-linked dynamic networks, endowing materials with excellent strength and toughness (tensile strength of 288 kPa, toughness of 278.2 kJ/m3), admirable self-healing properties (self-healing efficiency of 121.6% within 7 h at 70 °C), and good biocompatibility. The PAxEy elastomers can also be combined with MWNTs to become flexible strain sensors, which can be used to monitor human joint movements with high sensitivity, repeatable responses, and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The research was carried out to examine the safeguarding impact of dietary coated benzoic acid supplementation on intestinal barrier functions in weaned pigs challenged by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. We found that coated benzoic acid supplementation enhanced the distribution of tight junction proteins, reduced cell apoptosis and intestinal inflammation, as well as increasing immunity and antioxidant capacity in both serum and intestinal epithelium. These results suggest that coated benzoic acid can reduce the damage from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli to intestinal epithelium by reducing inflammation, enhancing intestinal immunity and antioxidant capacity, so as to improve intestinal epithelial function. The study was designed to investigate the protective effect of dietary supplementation with coated benzoic acid (CBA) on intestinal barrier function in weaned pigs challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Thirty-two pigs were randomized to four treatments and given either a basal diet or a basal diet supplemented with 3.0 g/kg CBA, followed by oral administration of ETEC or culture medium. The results showed that CBA supplementation increased the average daily weight gain (ADWG) in the ETEC-challenged pigs (p < 0.05). CBA also increased the serum activity of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), as it decreased the serum concentrations of endotoxin, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the ETEC-challenged pigs (p < 0.05). Interestingly, the CBA alleviated the ETEC-induced intestinal epithelial injury, as indicated by a reversal of the decrease in D-xylose absorption and a decrease in the serum levels of D-lactate and diamine oxidase (DAO) activity, as well as a decrease in the quantity of apoptotic cells in the jejunal epithelium following ETEC challenge (p < 0.05). Moreover, CBA supplementation significantly elevated the mucosal antioxidant capacity and increased the abundance of tight junction protein ZO-1 and the quantity of sIgA-positive cells in the jejunal epithelium (p < 0.05). Notably, CBA increased the expression levels of porcine beta defensin 2 (PBD2), PBD3, and nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf-2), while downregulating the expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the jejunal mucosa (p < 0.05). Moreover, CBA decreased the expression levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the ileal mucosa upon ETEC challenge (p < 0.05). These results suggest that CBA may attenuate ETEC-induced damage to the intestinal epithelium, resulting in reduced inflammation, enhanced intestinal immunity and antioxidant capacity, and improved intestinal epithelial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of the paper is the numerical and experimental investigation related to the damage recognition effects for CFRP tubes of four dynamic parameters. Four damage identification indexes consisting of natural frequency‐based index, Mode Shape‐based index (MS), Mode Shape Curvature‐based index (MSC), and Modal Flexibility Curvature‐based index (MFC) are established by analyzing the dynamic parameter data obtained before and after damage occurs. The performances of dynamic parameters are thoroughly discussed in the context of numerical simulations and experiment. The results indicate that the effect of natural frequency is not as significant as that of mode shape. MFC has the most notable effectiveness out of the four indexes. The simulation peak index pair is predicted to rise from 0.3 to 0.6 as the damage in the simulation model increases by 25% from 12.5%, indicating that MFC can feedback the damage degree. Moreover, the circumferential curvature index exhibits superior performance compared to the axial curvature index. To enhance the accuracy of the axial curvature index, it is proposed to increase the number of measuring sites along the tube's long direction. Highlights: Damage identification indexes of four dynamic parameters are established.Discuss the identification ability of dynamic parameters by simulation and test.Two numerical models of CFRP tube with delamination damage are established.Impact and modal tests are executed to study the ability of four indexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid urban expansion, historic districts face challenges such as declining vitality and deteriorating spatial quality. Using the streets of Xi'an's historical and cultural district as examples, this research utilizes multisource data, including points of interest (POIs), street view images, and Baidu heatmaps, alongside analytical techniques such as machine learning. This study explores the determinants of street vitality from the dual perspectives of its external manifestation and spatial carriers. A quantitative framework for measuring street vitality in historic districts is established, thoroughly examining the driving factors behind street vitality. Additionally, the relationship between built environment indicators and street vitality is elucidated through statistical analysis methods. The findings reveal significant, time-varying influences of these spatial carriers on human vitality, with distinct spatial distribution patterns of human activity across different times, and the significance of the influence of external representations of human vitality and various types of spatial carriers varies over time. Based on these insights, this paper proposes strategies for enhancing the vitality of historic streets, aiming to rejuvenate and sustain the diverse and dynamic energy of these districts. It provides a foundation for revitalizing the vigor of cultural heritage zones and offers strategies applicable to similar urban contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal image restoration (UIR) aims to accurately restore images with a variety of unknown degradation types and levels. Existing methods, including both learning-based and prior-based approaches, heavily rely on low-quality image features. However, it is challenging to extract degradation information from diverse low-quality images, which limits model performance. Furthermore, UIR necessitates the recovery of images with diverse and complex types of degradation. Inaccurate estimations further decrease restoration performance, resulting in suboptimal recovery outcomes. To enhance UIR performance, a viable approach is to introduce additional priors. The current UIR methods have problems such as poor enhancement effect and low universality. To address this issue, we propose an effective framework based on a diffusion model (DM) for universal image restoration, dubbed ETDiffIR. Inspired by the remarkable performance of text prompts in the field of image generation, we employ text prompts to improve the restoration of degraded images. This framework utilizes a text prompt corresponding to the low-quality image to assist the diffusion model in restoring the image. Specifically, a novel text–image fusion block is proposed by combining the CLIP text encoder and the DA-CLIP image controller, which integrates text prompt encoding and degradation type encoding into time step encoding. Moreover, to reduce the computational cost of the denoising UNet in the diffusion model, we develop an efficient restoration U-shaped network (ERUNet) to achieve favorable noise prediction performance via depthwise convolution and pointwise convolution. We evaluate the proposed method on image dehazing, deraining, and denoising tasks. The experimental results indicate the superiority of our proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that the utilization of exchange bias (EB) effect for data storage underscores its importance. However, achieving a giant EB effect with a small cooling field (HCF) in single-phase materials remains a challenge. This study unveils a giant EB value within a single-phase material, Fe2−xGaxTeO6 (FGTO), originating from the anchoring of spin-glass phase by antiferromagnetic order. Manipulating the relative strengths of the spin-glass and antiferromagnetic order parameters by Ga3+-substitution of Fe3+ ions in the Fe2TeO6 lattice governs the magnitude of the EB effect. It is found that FGTO single crystals synthesized via the chemical vapor transport do exhibit a remarkably large EB value as large as 1.5 T at x = 0.50 and a quite small cooling field HCF = 50 Oe. Investigations on the training effect, minor loop, and relaxation behavior unravel the intricate dynamics inherent to the spin-glass state. This study not only establishes a platform for exploring the EB effect in single-phase materials but also illuminates potential applications of FGTO in the realm of spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective and design: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a multi-faceted, recurrent immune disorder caused by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). The intestinal microbiota has multiple functions in the host, so UC requires long-term potent medication. The effect of resveratrol (RSV) has seldom been reported, and this study researched that. Herein, the effect of RSV and Grape seed oil that anti-inflammatory ability in experimental mice was explored, also why RSV altered Gut Microbiota has been researched. Materials and methods: In this experiment, the effects of experimental drugs on colon length in mice with DSS-induced colitis were compared. H&E Staining was performed on serial sections of colon tissues and histological scores were determined for all groups. The expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the colon tissue of mice was detected by immunohistochemical staining. In the end, the α-diversity index, sobs index, and rarefaction curve of the cecal and colon microbiota of different groups of mice were measured. Bray–Curtis-based Venn diagram of PCoA (principal coordinate analysis) and OTUs distribution in mouse gut microbiota were obtained. Results: The results showed that the use of 40 mg/kg RSV (high dose) significantly reduced the severity of UC. The use of 10 mg/kg RSV (low dose) significantly reduced the effect of shortened colon length in DSS mice. Compared with the DSS-treated group, the levels of COX-2 and TNF-α in the colon tissues of RSV + DSS-treated mice were significantly decreased. According to this experiment, 19 mouse gut microbiota species had a relative abundance greater than 0.1%, with Beerella, Bacteroides, Helicobacter, Oscillator, and cecum pylori being more abundant in the colon than in the colon. A higher relative abundance of Lachnospira NK4A136 was observed in DSS and RSV groups compared with the control group, whereas the opposite was observed for Alloprevotella. This proves that resveratrol increases the uniformity and diversity of gut microbes to a certain extent, and has a protective effect on the gut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of thrower-discus system rotation on performance in discus throwing. The resultant angular momentum of the thrower-discus system and direction cosines of the angular momentum vector were calculated from kinematic data at five critical instants of discus throwing for 28 female and 15 male elite discus throwers, and compared between their long and short trials in actual competition. Compared to short trials, elite female throwers' long trials had significantly less angular momentum at right foot takeoff and left foot takeoff (P ≤ 0.023), and significantly less top-to-left rotation at right foot takeoff, left foot takeoff, left foot touchdown, and release (P ≤ 0.007), and significantly greater right-to-left rotation at left foot touchdown and release (P ≤ 0.009) in long trials. Compared to their short trials, elite male throwers had significantly less top-to-left and top-to-front rotations at left foot touchdown (P ≤ 0.042), and significantly less total angular momentum at release (P = 0.043) in long trials. Elite discus throwers should control the amount of rotations of the thrower-discus system to reduce the top-to-left roll of the discus during the flight to extend the aerodynamic distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a devastating brain cancer for which new effective therapies are urgently needed. GBM, after an initial response to current treatment regimens, develops therapeutic resistance, leading to rapid patient demise. Cancer cells exhibit an inherent elevation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress due to uncontrolled growth and an unfavorable microenvironment, including hypoxia and nutrient deprivation. Cancer cells utilize the unfolded protein response (UPR) to maintain ER homeostasis, and failure of this response promotes cell death. In this study, as integrins are upregulated in cancer, we have evaluated the therapeutic potential of individually targeting all αβ1 integrin subunits using RNA interference. We found that GBM cells are uniquely susceptible to silencing of integrin α3. Knockdown of α3-induced proapoptotic markers such as PARP cleavage and caspase 3 and 8 activation. Remarkably, we discovered a non-canonical function for α3 in mediating the maturation of integrin β1. In its absence, generation of full length β1 was reduced, immature β1 accumulated, and the cells underwent elevated ER stress with upregulation of death receptor 5 (DR5) expression. Targeting α3 sensitized TRAIL-resistant GBM cancer cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis and led to growth inhibition. Our findings offer key new insights into integrin α3's role in GBM survival via the regulation of ER homeostasis and its value as a therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing number of tephritid pest invasions worldwide highlights the importance of interspecific interactions among tephritid pests. The melon fly [Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett)], the pumpkin fruit fly [Zeugodacus tau (Walker)], and the oriental fruit fly [Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)] (all Diptera: Tephritidae) are neotropical fruit flies with overlapping distributions. Their interactions during mating hours have rarely been observed in nature due to their nocturnal behavior. Here, laboratory studies were conducted under no‐choice and choice conditions to quantify interspecific mating. The interactions during mating hours resulted in interspecific mating, which reduced conspecific mating success and interrupted mating activity patterns. Successful interspecific mating pairs of Z. cucurbitae and Z. tau were recorded in no‐choice and choice tests. Interspecific mating between male Z. cucurbitae and female Z. tau significantly reduced conspecific mating in Z. tau. Observations of the diel mating activity patterns showed that male Z. cucurbitae initiated calling behaviors earlier than Z. tau males, giving Z. cucurbitae more chances to court Z. tau. Though males of neither Zeugodacus species formed mating pairs with B. dorsalis, Zeugodacus males reduced conspecific mating in B. dorsalis in the choice trials. Thus, interspecific interactions among Z. cucurbitae, Z. tau, and B. dorsalis affected conspecific mating; interrupted conspecific mating activity patterns were recorded in all three species. This information could be used to improve management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to explore the effects of gut microbiota on neonatal diarrhea in a germ-free (GF) pig model. Twelve hysterectomy-derived GF piglets were housed in six sterile isolators. Among them, six piglets were treated as the GF group, and the other six piglets were orally introduced with healthy sow fecal suspension and regarded as the fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) group. Another six piglets from natural birth were considered as the conventional (CV) group. The GF and FMT piglets were hand-fed with sterile milk powder for 21 days, and the CV piglets were suckled for the same days. Then, all piglets were fed with sterile feed for another 21 days. Results exhibited that the GF group's fecal score and moisture level were higher than those in the CV and FMT groups (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the abundances of colonic AQP1 and AQP8 in the GF group were the greatest among these treatments (p < 0.05). However, FMT piglets had a lower fecal score in d 22–28 and d 29–35 than that in the CV piglets (p < 0.05). Collectively, the absence of gut microbiota may cause diarrhea in the piglet model, and transplantation of maternal fecal microbiota may reverse it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our knowledge of the difference in maternal and neonatal gut microbiota composition is not fully understood. Using the Bama miniature pig model, the bacterial community in the feces from sows and piglets was analyzed on an IonS5TMXL platform targeting the single-end reads strategy. Results revealed that the maternal and neonatal bacteria profile in the pig model was distinct. Compared with the piglets, sows had higher proportions of bacteria in Spirochetes, Clostridiales, and Spirochaetales (p < 0.10) and had a lower abundance of bacteria in Tyzzerella (p < 0.05) and Alistipes (p < 0.10). Meanwhile, the proportions of bacteria in Oscillibacter and the index of Chao1, Shannon, and observed_species increased in the sows compared with those in the piglets (p < 0.05). Moreover, the abundance of bacteria associated with the human disease was higher (p < 0.05) and the population of bacteria associated with cellular processes was lower (p < 0.05) in the piglets compared with those in the sows. Collectively, the diversity and beneficial bacteria populations in the sow fecal microbiota exhibit more than those in the piglets. This study indicates that maternal fecal microbiota may be a beneficial source of transplanted bacteria to promote healthy function in neonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the radiological hazard indices caused by radionuclides in heavy minerals hosted in Taiwanese beaches, streams, and rocks. Apatite, zircon, monazite, xenotime, rutile, sphene, and epidote are counted as radioactive minerals that respond to radiological hazard indices. These indices are lower than the international permitted values that do not endanger human health. Rocks with uranium migrated out (− Um) are considered radioactive mineral sources with negative migration rates ranging between − 2.18 and − 91.52%, with an average of − 46.85%, and are redistributed into beaches and stream sediments, with positive migration rates ranging between 3.76 and 79.55%, with an average of 41.66%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X‐ray imaging technology has achieved important applications in many fields and has attracted extensive attentions. Dynamic X‐ray flexible imaging for the real‐time observation of the internal structure of complex materials is the most challenging type of X‐ray imaging technology, which requires high‐performance X‐ray scintillators with high X‐ray excited luminescence (XEL) efficiency as well as excellent processibility and stability. Here, a macrocyclic bridging ligand with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) feature was introduced for constructing a copper iodide cluster‐based metal–organic framework (MOF) scintillator. This strategy endows the scintillator with high XEL efficiency and excellent chemical stability. Moreover, a regular rod‐like microcrystal was prepared through the addition of polyvinyl pyrrolidone during the in situ synthesis process, which further enhanced the XEL and processibility of the scintillator. The microcrystal was used for the preparation of a scintillator screen with excellent flexibility and stability, which can be used for high‐performance X‐ray imaging in extremely humid environments. Furthermore, dynamic X‐ray flexible imaging was realized for the first time. The internal structure of flexible objects was observed in real time with an ultrahigh resolution of 20 LP mm−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X‐ray imaging technology has achieved important applications in many fields and has attracted extensive attentions. Dynamic X‐ray flexible imaging for the real‐time observation of the internal structure of complex materials is the most challenging type of X‐ray imaging technology, which requires high‐performance X‐ray scintillators with high X‐ray excited luminescence (XEL) efficiency as well as excellent processibility and stability. Here, a macrocyclic bridging ligand with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) feature was introduced for constructing a copper iodide cluster‐based metal–organic framework (MOF) scintillator. This strategy endows the scintillator with high XEL efficiency and excellent chemical stability. Moreover, a regular rod‐like microcrystal was prepared through the addition of polyvinyl pyrrolidone during the in situ synthesis process, which further enhanced the XEL and processibility of the scintillator. The microcrystal was used for the preparation of a scintillator screen with excellent flexibility and stability, which can be used for high‐performance X‐ray imaging in extremely humid environments. Furthermore, dynamic X‐ray flexible imaging was realized for the first time. The internal structure of flexible objects was observed in real time with an ultrahigh resolution of 20 LP mm−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects the occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and usually coexists with AF. Chronic inflammation has been identified as an important factor in the development of AF, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been identified as a biomarker that positively correlates with the degree of inflammation. However, little information regarding how NLR correlates with AF in OSA patients. Our study enrolled 368 patients with OSA between September 2018 and April 2023. All data were collected after admission. Independently associated factors were assessed by multivariate logistic regression and then constructed a nomogram to predict AF risk. Nomogram's calculation model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). The correlation between CHA2DS2-VASc scores and NLR was assessed using Spearman correlation. Multivariate logistic regression showed that high level log-transformed NLR (OR, 1.664; 95% CI, 1.026–2.699; P = 0.039) was independently associated with the presence of AF in patients with OSA. The concordance index (0.817, 95% CI, 0.770–0.864), ROC curve, calibration curve, and DCA of the nomogram indicated this model had well clinical utility. Also, the nomogram's calculation model could identify patients who are at a higher risk of developing AF, and the CHA2DS2-VASc score was positively correlated with NLR in patients with AF (P < 0.05). The elevated NLR may serve as a promising biomarker for assessing the risk of AF in individuals with OSA. The nomogram's calculation model may be utilized as a tool to estimate the probability of AF occurrence in OSA patients. • The NLR can be used as a biomarker superior to CRP to predict the presence of AF in patients with OSA. • The accurate nomogram's calculation model could be used as a tool to predict the risk of AF presence in OSA patients. • Using the nomogram's calculation model, patients with OSA at risk for AF could be identified. • The NLR is expected to serve as a new CHA2DS2-VASc score of complementary risk stratification indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Starch is a major component of carbohydrates and a major energy source for monogastric animals. Starch is composed of amylose and amylopectin and has different physiological functions due to its different structure. It has been shown that the energy supply efficiency of amylose is lower than that of amylopectin. However, there are few studies on the effect of starch structure on the available energy of pigs. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of different structures of starch in the diet on the net energy (NE) of pigs using a comparative slaughter method and to establish a prediction equation to estimate the NE of starch with different structures. Fifty-six barrows (initial BW 10.18 ± 0.11 kg) were used, and they were housed and fed individually. Pigs were divided into 7 treatments, with 8 replicates for each treatment and 1 pig for each replicate. One of the treatments was randomly selected as the initial slaughter group (ISG). Pigs in the remaining treatments were assigned to 6 diets, fed with basic diet and semi-pure diets with amylose/amylopectin ratio (AR) of 3.09, 1.47, 0.25, 0.15 and 0.12, respectively. The experiment lasted for 28 d. Results: Results showed that compared with the high amylose (AM) groups (AR 3.09 and 1.47), the high amylopectin (AP) group (AR 0.15) significantly increased the final BW, average daily weight gain and average daily feed intake of pigs (P < 0.05), but the F:G of the AM group was lower (P < 0.01). In addition, AR 0.15 and 0.12 groups have higher (P < 0.01) nutrient digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, gross energy and crude ash. Meanwhile, compared with other groups, AR 0.15 group has a higher (P < 0.05) NE intake and energy retention (RE). The regressive equation for predicting with starch structures was established as RE = 1,235.243 − 48.298AM/AP (R2 = 0.657, P = 0.05). Conclusions: In conclusion, NE intake and RE of pigs augmented with the increase of dietary amylopectin content, indicating that diets high in amylopectin were more conducive to promoting the growth of pigs in the late conservation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cornerstone of materials physics is the principle that all properties of crystalline systems are fundamentally determined based on the underlying potential energy surface (PES), which affects the structural stability and structure–property relations. Finding a proper representation of the PES is essential for the implementation of this principle, which has attracted considerable interest over the past decades; however, progress has been impeded by the lack of a firm theoretical basis for effectively exploring the vast configurational space. Here, we introduce a new method for constructing a crystal PES by using a solution landscape with an improved high-index saddle dynamic scheme, in which generalized coordinates are introduced to encode crystals that satisfy translational and rotational invariance. To represent the PES of periodic crystalline structures, we devise an advanced graph-based stationary-point network to visualize and analyze complex PES terrains, with nodes and edges representing stationary points and their connections, respectively. Crystalline GaN and Si are considered as exemplary case studies, and our newly devised approach leads to the discovery of several hidden transition paths with low enthalpy barriers associated with multistep processes; thus, the effectiveness of the approach is validated. Our method combined with the first-principles calculations offers a viable solution to long-standing problems associated with crystal PESs, such as the kinetics of activated processes, materials stability and synthesizability. These findings represent a notable advancement and offer a basis for future research. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane chromatography is mainly used for the separation and purification of proteins and biological macromolecules in the downstream processing process, also applications in sewage disposal. Membrane chromatography is recognized as an effective alternative to column chromatography because it significantly improves chromatography from affinity, hydrophobicity, and ion exchange; the development status of membrane chromatography in membrane matrix and membrane equipment is thoroughly discussed, and the applications of protein capture and intermediate purification, virus, monoclonal antibody purification, water treatment, and others are summarized. This review will provide value for the exploration and potential application of membrane chromatography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wound biofilm infections that develop tolerance to standard-of-care antimicrobial treatment has been increasing. The objective of this study was to demonstrate a proof-of-concept of mild magnetic nanoparticle (MNP)/alternating magnetic field (AMF) hyperthermia as an anti-biofilm therapy against multispecies biofilm infections. Using both an in vitro cell culture and in vivo murine model of wound infection, we investigated whether MNP/AMF hyperthermia applied at a mild thermal dosage would be synergistically effective against dual species biofilm infection consisting of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa when combined with a broad-spectrum antibiotic, ciprofloxacin (CIP). The combined treatment of MNP/AMF hyperthermia and CIP to the wounds of diabetic mice (db/db mice) significantly reduced the CFU number of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa by 2-log and 3-log, respectively, compared to the untreated control group, whereas either mild MNP/AMF hyperthermia or CIP treatment alone had little effect on the eradication of both bacteria. Our gene microarray data obtained from the culture of S. aureus biofilm suggest that mild MNP/AMF could shift the expression of genes for cellular respiration from anaerobic fermentation to an aerobic glycolytic/tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) pathway, implicating that the beneficial effect of mild MNP/AMF hyperthermia on the increased susceptibility of biofilm bacteria to an antibiotic treatment is associated with an increased metabolic activity. Our results support the translational potential of mild MNP/AMF as an adjunctive therapy that can be combined with a broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment for the management of wound biofilm infections associated with multispecies bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of renewable resources with distribution networks (DNs) is an effective way to reduce carbon emissions in energy systems. In this paper, an economic and low-carbon-oriented optimal planning solution for the integration of photovoltaic generation (PV) and an energy storage system (ESS) in DNs is proposed. A convolutional neural network (CNN)-based prediction model is adopted to characterize the uncertainties of PV and load demand in advance. Then, taking the lowest total economic cost, the largest carbon emission reduction, and the highest system power supply reliability as the optimization objectives, the optimal distribution network planning model is constructed. The improved multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is used to solve the optimization model, and the effectiveness of the proposed solution is confirmed through a comparative case study on the IEEE-33 bus system. Simulation results show that the proposed solution can better maintain the balance between economic cost and carbon emissions in DNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks (DNNs) are continuously expanding their application to various domains due to their high performance. Nevertheless, a well-trained DNN after deployment could oftentimes raise errors during practical use in the operational environment due to the mismatching between distributions of the training dataset and the potential unknown noise factors in the operational environment, e.g., weather, blur, noise, etc. Hence, it poses a rather important problem for the DNNs’ real-world applications: how to repair the deployed DNNs for correcting the failure samples under the deployed operational environment while not harming their capability of handling normal or clean data with limited failure samples we can collect. In this article, we propose a style-guided data augmentation for repairing DNN in the operational environment, which learns and introduces the unknown failure patterns within the failure samples into the training data via the style transfer. Moreover, we further propose the clustering-based failure data generation for much more effective style-guided data augmentation. We conduct a large-scale evaluation with 15 degradation factors that may happen in the real world and compare with four state-of-the-art data augmentation methods and two DNN repairing methods. Our technique successfully repairs three convolutional neural networks and two recurrent neural networks with averaging 62.88% and 39.02% accuracy enhancements on the 15 failure patterns, respectively, achieving higher repairing performance than state-of-the-art repairing methods on the most failure patterns with even better accuracy on clean datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CircSERPINA3 has been shown to be upregulated in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC); however, whether it regulates the development of LSCC and the specific molecular mechanism remains unclear, which is to be explored in this study. Expressions of circSERPINA3, miR‐885‐5p, and Malic enzyme 1 (ME1) in LSCC tissues or cell lines were determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). The regulation of circSERPINA3 on the biological behavior of LSCC cells was confirmed by loss and gain experiments (cell counting kit‐8, transwell, and colony formation assay). The correlation between circSERPINA3/ME1 and miR‐885‐5p was predicted and confirmed by bioinformatics analysis, dual‐luciferase reporter assay, and qRT‐PCR. The effect of circSERPINA3/miR‐885‐5p axis on the biological behavior of LSCC cells and expressions of epithelial–mesenchymal transition‐related proteins was confirmed by rescue experiments. CircSERPINA3 and ME1 was upregulated in LSCC tissues, whereas miR‐885‐5p was downregulated. MiR‐885‐5p was the target gene of circSERPINA3, whereas ME1 was the target gene of miR‐885‐5p. Silent circSERPINA3 suppressed viability, invasion, migration, colony formation, and expression of ME1, claudin‐4, snail, and vimentin but elevated expression of miR‐885‐5p and E‐cadherin, whereas overexpressed circSERPINA3 was the opposite. However, miR‐885‐5p inhibitor or mimic reversed the effects of silent circSERPINA3 or overexpressed circSERPINA3. Collectively, circSERPINA3 promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of LSCC cells by targeting miR‐885‐5p. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We evaluated A Novel Multi-view Bi-clustering Method to detect, respectively carry out Bi-clustering in each view. • This method yields a dual cluster of patients across views. • The algorithm has high efficiency in dealing with the problem of abnormal co-occurrence. • Our method has more advantages in accuracy and efficiency. Abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavior is a form of medical insurance fraud. Specifically, an organized gang of fraudsters hold multiple medical insurance cards and purchase similar drugs frequently at the same time and the same location in order to siphon off medical insurance funds. Conventional identification methods to identify such behaviors rely mainly on manual auditing, making it difficult to satisfy the needs of identifying the small number of fraudulent behaviors in the large-scale medical data. On the other hand, the existing single-view bi-clustering algorithms only consider the features of the time-location dimension while neglecting the similarities in prescriptions and neglecting the fact that fraudsters may belong to multiple gangs. Therefore, in this paper, we present a multi-view bi-clustering method for identifying abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavioral patterns, which performs cluster analysis simultaneously on the large-scale, complex and diverse visiting record dimension and prescription dimension to identify bi-clusters with similar time-location features. The proposed method constructs a matrix view of patients and visit records as well as a matrix view of patients and prescriptions, while decomposing multiple data matrices into sparse row and column vectors to obtain a consistent patient population across views. Subsequently the proposed method identifies the corresponding abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavior and may greatly facilitate the safe operations and the sustainability of medical insurance funds. The experimental results show that our proposed method leads to more efficient and more accurate identifications of abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavior, demonstrating its high efficiency and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) is a premalignant lesion, highly associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. Previous studies have shown that H. pylori is able to induce the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD‐L1), an inhibitory immune modulator, in gastric cells. Our aim was to investigate whether tissues from GIM patients may exploit PD‐L1 expression upon H. pylori infection to evade immunosurveillance. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed for PD‐L1 and enteroendocrine markers somatostatin and gastrin on samples derived from a cohort of patients with known GIM, both before and after H. pylori eradication. To determine the identity of any observed PD‐L1‐positive cells, we performed multiplex immunofluorescent staining and analysis of single‐cell sequencing data. Results: GIM tissue was rarely positive for PD‐L1. In normal glands from GIM patients, PD‐L1 was mainly expressed by gastrin‐positive G‐cells. While the D‐cell and G‐cell compartments were both diminished 2‐fold (p =.015 and p =.01, respectively) during H. pylori infection in the normal antral tissue of GIM patients, they were restored 1 year after eradication. The total number of PD‐L1‐positive cells was not affected by H. pylori, but the percentage of PD‐L1‐positive G‐cells was 30% higher in infected subjects (p =.011), suggesting that these cells are preferentially rescued from destruction. Conclusions: Antral G‐cells frequently express PD‐L1 during homeostasis. G‐cells seem to be protected from H. pylori‐induced immune destruction by PD‐L1 expression. GIM itself does not express PD‐L1 and is unlikely to escape immunosurveillance via expression of PD‐L1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Southern Granulite Terrane (SGT) in India hosts granulite facies rocks metamorphosed at ultra‐high temperature (UHT) conditions in the various crustal blocks, as well as within the Palghat‐Cauvery Suture Zone (PCSZ), that is considered as a trace of the Late Neoproterozoic—Cambrian Gondwana suture. Here we investigate UHT granulites from the northern margin of the Madurai Block adjacent to the PCSZ where Mg‐Al‐rich granulites are exposed. We identify sodic gedrite + kyanite in these rocks as the high‐pressure prograde stage assemblage, followed by sillimanite‐garnet‐orthopyroxene that formed during pressure decrease and temperature increase. The rare remnant gedrite is also stable at the near‐peak UHT metamorphism until it was replaced by sapphirine. The rocks subsequently underwent decompression that formed sapphirine + cordierite and sapphirine + plagioclase symplectite around sillimanite. Dehydration during decompression generated orthopyroxene‐sillimanite‐quartz assemblage with the appearance of sapphirine, defining the diagnostic mineral assemblage indicative of peak UHT metamorphism (T > 900°C) at relatively high‐pressure (P > 9 kbar). The UHT peak metamorphism in this region is consistent with the results of P–T calculations using conventional geothermometers and phase equilibrium modelling (T up to 1,050°C, P over12 kbar). Zircon and monazite geochronology on the UHT metapelites indicate distinct stages. Detrital zircon grains in the metasediments indicate protolith from ca. 2.5 Ga igneous source and the metamorphic overgrowths yield 206Pb/238U mean ages concentrated at ca. 550–520 Ma. Monazite ages define another younger group 206Pb/238U mean ages at ca. 450 Ma. The prograde high‐pressure granulite‐facies metamorphism and following UHT event correlate with the subduction‐collision tectonics at 550–500 Ma associated with the final stage of amalgamation of the Gondwana supercontinent, while the 420–460 Ma monazite age records a later hydration at the post‐orogenic stage, possibly associated with deep shearing and fluid influx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracting facade maps from 3D point clouds is a fast and economical way to describe a building's surface structure. Existing methods lack efficiency, robustness, and accuracy, and depend on many additional features such as point cloud reflectivity and color. This paper proposes a robust and automatic method to extract building facade maps. First, an improved 3D Hough transform is proposed by adding shift vote and 3D convolution of the accumulator to improve computational efficiency and reduce peak fuzziness and dependence on the step selection. These modifications make the extraction of potential planes fast and accurate. Second, the coplane and vertical plane constraints are introduced to eliminate pseudoplanes and nonbuilding facades. Then, we propose a strategy to refine the potential facade and to achieve the accurate calibration and division of the adjacent facade boundaries by clustering the refined point clouds of the facade. This process solves the problem where adjoining surfaces are merged into the same surface in the traditional method. Finally, the extracted facade point clouds are converted into feature images. Doors, windows, and building edges are accurately extracted via deep learning and digital image processing techniques, which combine to achieve accurate extraction of building facades. The proposed method was tested on the MLS and TLS point cloud datasets, which were collected from different cities with different building styles. Experimental results confirm that the proposed method decreases computational burden, improves efficiency, and achieves the accurate differentiation of adjacent facade boundaries with higher accuracy compared with the traditional method, verifying the robustness of the method. Additionally, the proposed method uses only point cloud geometry information, effectively reducing data requirements and acquisition costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the treatment efficacy and safety of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and anti‐programmed cell death 1 (PD‐1) immunotherapy combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) for patients with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Methods: Patients with unresectable ICC received TKIs and anti‐PD‐1 immunotherapy combined with HAIC (HTP group) or TACE (TTP group) were included. The clinicopathological characteristics, treatment efficacy, and adverse events (AEs) were compared between the two groups. The factors associated with response rate to the treatments were evaluated. Results: A total of 58 patients were enrolled, with 39 in the HTP group and 19 in the TTP group. Patients in the HTP group exhibited a better objective response rate (ORR; Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors [RECIST] 48.7% vs 15.8%, P = 0.02; modified RECIST [mRECIST] 61.5% vs 21.1%, P = 0.004) and disease control rate (DCR; 82.1% vs 36.8%, P = 0.001) compared to the TTP group. The median progression‐free survival (PFS) rate was not reached and the 1‐year PFS rate was 61.9% in the HTP group, whereas the median PFS was 11.0 months and the 1‐year PFS rate was 31.6% in the TTP group. The type of treatment and tumor size were significant factors for the response rate. More patients in the HTP group presented rash, abdominal pain and hand‐foot syndrome, but all AEs were relieved after symptomatic treatment, and no treatment‐related death occurred. Conclusions: For unresectable ICC, treatment with a combination of HAIC with TKIs and anti‐PD‐1 immunotherapy was effective and safe. Tumor size might serve as a significant factor for the response rate following treatment for unresectable ICC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal fire disasters generally occur in major coal-producing countries. They destroyed many coal resources and triggered various environmental problems. The identification and state assessment of coal fire areas are paramount to coal fire management. In this paper, a method for identifying coal fires by integrating land surface temperatures (LSTs) from multitemporal thermal infrared remote sensing and subsidence information from multitemporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (MT-InSAR) is proposed. The method primarily consists of estimating the LSTs and subsidence values, normalizing and equidistantly partitioning the LSTs, estimating the thermal anomaly frequency (TAF), extracting high-subsidence areas, determining the thermal anomaly frequency threshold (TAFT), and identifying coal fire areas according to the TAFT. The coal fire ratio index (CRI) was developed to quantitatively evaluate the severity of coal fires and its variations. Midong District, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, was selected as the study area. Forty-five Landsat 8 images and sixty-one Sentinel-1 SAR images were used to retrieve LST and subsidence time series, respectively. The proposed method and CRI were applied to identify and evaluate coal fires in the study area. The results demonstrate the satisfactory reliability of these methods compared with field surveys. The maximum CRI was 6.145 × 10-4 (July 28, 2019), and the minimum CRI was 2.685 × 10-5 (January 13, 2020). Coal fires in summer were more severe than those in winter. The CRI profile presented seasonal and annual periodicities and was affected by the local climate. The soil cohesion and humidity are higher in winter due to possible snowmelt, which weakens the interaction between oxygen and coal seams and the subsequent combustion of coal. The LST, thermal anomaly, and deformation information were combined in a time series overlay analysis to reveal the differences in the LSTs and subsidence values among mining areas, coal fire areas, and areas with both mining and coal fires. The results verify the applicability and reliability of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphological features of glands provide a reliable basis for pathologists to diagnose colon cancer correctly. Currently, most methods are limited in their ability to address blurred edges, adhesions, and morphological differences in glands when working in the spatial domain. In this study, a new perspective is proposed to segment glands by utilizing the interaction between Fourier and spatial domain features. Specifically, a Fourier transform is used to analyze the frequency characteristics of pathological images in which the phase component is related to image structural information and the amplitude component contains image intensity information. A Fourier-based colon cancer gland segmentation network (FFS-Net) is proposed, which gradually constructs feature representations in both the spatial and frequency domains through spatial frequency edge interactions. This network comprises spatial subnetworks, frequency subnetworks, and an edge phase fusion module (EPFM). To alleviate the interference of complex background information in feature discrimination, the spatial subnetwork collects high-frequency contour information regarding the glands. Then, the EPFM completes the spatial-frequency feature interaction to add edge-related constraints to the extracted features, enhance edge representation, and obtain global features from the frequency domain, thereby, addressing significant differences in gland morphology. Finally, learnable Gabor filters are introduced to enhance edge texture detail information in the frequency subnetwork, which further improves the segmentation of glands exhibiting blurred edges. The experimental results demonstrate that FFS-Net's performance on two representative datasets was competitive and highly interpretable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-angle laser cladding powder-gas-laser-liquid multiphase coupling model. • Simulate the whole process of the powder from the nozzle to cladding formation. • Cladding morphology of substrate at 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°, 120° and 150°. • Effect of laser power and scanning speed on the cladding morphology. This study developed a comprehensive model that integrated fluid finite element computational mechanics, powder discrete element dynamics, and molten pool heat and mass transfer. The model accurately described the various phenomena occurring during the laser cladding process. This model, known as the multi-angle powder–gas–laser–liquid multiphase coupling model, extensively elucidated powder–gas transport, laser energy distribution, and heat and mass transfer within the molten pool. Additionally, the model comprehensively simulated the entire process of powder flow, from the nozzle to the formation of the cladding, even under varying substrate inclinations at different angles. Additionally, the study investigated the influence of substrate deflection angles, laser power, and scanning speed on the morphology of the cladding layer. The results revealed that as the substrate deflection angle varied from 0° to 150°, the height of the cladding layer first decreased and then increased, reaching a minimum value of 0.34 mm at 90°. Similarly, at a deflection angle of 90°, the width and offset of the layer first increased and then decreased, reaching peak values at 2.96 mm and 116 μm, respectively. However, the depth of the cladding layer displayed minimal variations, with an initial decrease followed by an increase. Moreover, as the laser power increased from 900 to 1500 W, the height, width, depth, and offset of the cladding layer gradually increased. Conversely, as the scanning speed increased from 5 to 11 mm/s, the dimensions of the layer gradually decreased. These findings address current challenges in numerical simulations, such as discontinuity and staging issues. Moreover, the findings provide valuable theoretical guidance for selecting and optimizing process parameters in multi-angle laser cladding, thereby filling a crucial knowledge gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A CMC/CPAM/SBR ternary composite binder is proposed for Si-based anode. • Multifunctional groups are designed for matching the surfaces of both Si and carbon. • Regional elasticity and integral rigidness are achieved for the volumetric effects. • The cyclability of a Si@C/graphite blended anode is improved. • The binder is effective in high-loading electrodes and full cells. Si/C blend anodes hold great promise in commercialized high-energy-density (HED) Li-ion batteries but suffer from volumetric effects and electrode integrity deterioration. This study reports a ternary composite binder consisting of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM), and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), which can significantly improve the cyclability of a Si@C/graphite blend anode. A high capacity retention of 92.9% after 100 cycles was achieved in a half cell. Moreover, the ternary binder proves suitable for a very high mass loading (4.9 mAh/g) electrode and is effective in a 2 Ah-level full cell, which delivers an excellent capacity retention of 80.6% after 500 cycles. The beneficial effects were ascribed to the multifunctional groups compatible with the surfaces of both Si and carbon, and the designed rigidness and elasticity which restricts and accommodates the volumetric effects of the Si/C blend anode simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multivariate time series forecasting, the most popular strategy for modeling the relationship between multiple time series is the construction of graph, where each time series is represented as a node and related nodes are connected by edges. However, the relationship between multiple time series is typically complicated, e.g. the sum of outflows from upstream nodes may be equal to the inflows of downstream nodes. Such relations widely exist in many real-world scenarios for multivariate time series forecasting, yet are far from well studied. In these cases, graph might be insufficient for modeling the complex dependency between nodes. To this end, we explore a new framework to model the inter-node relationship in a more precise way based our proposed inductive bias, Functional Relation Field , where a group of functions parameterized by neural networks are learned to characterize the dependency between multiple time series. Essentially, these learned functions then form a "field", i.e. a particular set of constraints, to regularize the training loss of the backbone prediction network and enforce the inference process to satisfy these constraints. Since our framework introduces the relationship bias in a data-driven manner, it is flexible and model-agnostic such that it can be applied to any existing multivariate time series prediction networks for boosting performance. The experiment is conducted on one toy dataset to show our approach can well recover the true constraint relationship between nodes. And various real-world datasets are also considered with different backbone prediction networks. Results show that the prediction error can be reduced remarkably with the aid of the proposed framework. • Explicitly and precisely characterize the underlying constraints between multiple time series. • Flexible and model-agnostic framework as a new inductive bias for multi-variate time series. • Consistently improve the prediction performance of various backbone prediction models empirically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for food due to population growth and climate change poses significant challenges to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030. A key aspect in overcoming these challenges is to determine appropriate planting patterns for various crops, aimed at enhancing regional-scale crop water productivity despite the constraints of limited water and land resources. Remote sensing data and models provide the possibility for accurately estimating water productivity of different crops on a regional scale, but studies on remote sensing-based assessments of regional crop water productivity and its applications in agricultural management are still limited. In this study, we present a satellite-based integrated approach to assess crop planting suitability based on regional crop water productivity estimation. Focusing on the Hetao Irrigation District (HID) in the upper Yellow River basin, a representative irrigation district in arid region of Northwest China, we first use remote sensing data (HJ-1A/1B) to estimate water productivity for the two major crops, maize and sunflower, within the HID from evapotranspiration and yield estimates. Additionally, we introduce a novel crop planting suitability index based on the frequency distribution of crop water productivity, facilitating the determination of appropriate crop planting patterns. Our findings reveal that Dengkou, the periphery of Hangjinhouqi, and the southern part of Linhe are optimal for maize cultivation, while Wuyuan and the northern part of Linhe are ideal for sunflower cultivation. This is attributed to higher water productivity levels for maize in Dengkou (2.46 kg/m³) and Linhe (2.15 kg/m³), and for sunflower in Wuyuan (0.86 kg/m³). Following the optimization of crop planting distribution, the average water productivity for maize and sunflower increases by 7.6 % and 5.0 %, respectively. The proposed method can be generalized to other regions, and the results offer valuable insights for local governments in decision-making to regulate cropping pattern and maximize regional crop water productivity. • We develop a remote sensing-based approach to assess crop water productivity (CWP). • Crop planting suitability index (CPSI) is derived from CWP frequency distribution. • Crop planting distributions can be optimized with increased CWP based on the CPSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of Zn and Cu addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the extruded Mg-3Sn-1Ca alloy were systematically studied. The effects of the grain size, texture, type and distribution of the second phase on the mechanical properties of the alloy were analyzed. The mechanical test results show that the addition of Zn and Cu elements can significantly improve the mechanical properties of the alloy. The as-extruded Mg-3Sn-1Ca-1Zn-1Cu alloy has the best comprehensive mechanical properties, and the UTS, YS and EL are 244 MPa, 159 MPa and 13.4%, respectively. Compared with the Mg-3Sn-1Ca alloy, the UTS and EL of the Mg-3Sn-1Ca-1Zn alloy are increased by 50 MPa and 132%, respectively. However, the UTS of the TXC311 alloy is increased by 55 MPa, but the ductility of the Mg-3Sn-1Ca-1Cu alloy is far less than that of the Mg-3Sn-1Ca-1Zn alloy, which is mainly attributed to the presence of a large amount of hard and brittle Mg2Cu phase in the alloy. Interestingly, the addition of Zn to Mg-3Sn-1Ca-1Cu alloy can improve the elongation of the alloy, which is due to the solid solution strengthening caused by the Zn element and the formation of small MgZnCu phase with Zn element and the consumption of Mg2Cu phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive changes affecting elderly patients following surgery under anesthesia have drawn significant attention and have been investigated in considerable depth. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) can be used to assess changes in brain functional connectivity (FC) associated with postoperative changes in cognition, a common complication in seniors undergoing surgery. In this study, we recruited 20 patients over 55 of age and scheduled an elective thyroidectomy under general anesthesia to assess perioperative changes in brain FC density (FCD) in patients undergoing thyroidectomy under general anesthesia using rs-fMRI. All 20 patients underwent a series of clinical, quantitative, neurological, and neuropsychological tests and fMRI examinations on the day before surgery (Day 0) and 7 days after surgery (Day 7). The following tests were conducted on all patients: the Minimental State Examination (MMSE), the digit symbol substitution test (DSST), the trail making test (part A), the verbal fluency test, and Warrington's recognition memory test (WRMT). FMRI data were acquired using a 3T MR system; the FCD values were calculated using the REST software package. We used paired t -tests to compare the FCD between Day 7 and Day 0. A value of p < 0.05 was considered to reflect statistical significance. The postoperative FCD was significantly reduced in the supplementary motor area (SMA). Analyses of the percentage changes of errors in the WRMT revealed a significant and negative correlation with the mean percentage change of FCD in the SMA (Spearman's r = − 0.54 , 95% CI: (-0.80, -0.12), p = 0.014). Postoperative changes in FCD in the SMA may be associated with the perioperative neurocognitive changes in patients undergoing partial thyroidectomy under general anesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geochemistry of magnetite provides constraints on the source(s) of the magnetite and other ore minerals. In this study, we constructed a magnetite distribution map, compared the chemical composition of magnetite present in hard rocks with that present in sand beach and stream deposits to determine magnetite's provenance, investigated relationships among different trace elements, examined variations in the concentrations of trace elements present in magnetite, and identified the type of studied magnetite. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry/inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy was used to analyze samples available in small and large amounts, respectively. The average magnetite compositions of beach and river samples were substantially similar to those of andesite rocks, revealing that the magnetite samples may have originated from surrounding andesite rocks; this finding is consistent with the chemical composition of the samples analyzed using LA-ICP-MS. Some of the andesite rocks found in the study area were the primary source of magnetite aggregations in the beach sands and stream sands near or slightly away from these rocks. High Ti–V magnetites lie within the fields of Fe–Ti–V bearing magnetite and titanomagnetite (ulvöspinel). These titanomagnetites may be undergoing transformation to spinel minerals such as galaxite, gahnite, magnesiochromite, and chromite, which are characterized by the high concentrations of Al, Ti, Mg, Cr, Ni, Mn, and Zn. The positive correlation between Fe and Ti, Cr and Ni, and also the negative correlation between Fe and Mg, Mn and Zn can be attributed to various magnetite phases present in the study area. V, Co, Mo, Nb, Ga, Sn, and Ta exhibited a positive correlation with Fe and a negative correlation with Al. The positive correlation between Fe and these elements indicates the enrichment of these elements in the magnetite series. We observed a negative correlation between Fe and Li, Rb, Ca, Ba, Sr, Cu, Cd, Sb, As, Sc, Y, REE, U, and Th. A positive correlation between Al and these elements indicates the enrichment of these elements in the spinel series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the trade-offs associated with the two operation stages of hydropower generation is critical for guiding efficient reservoir operations. Previous studies showed that the marginal return in Stage 2 is always higher than the marginal cost in Stage 1 if variations in tailwater levels are ignored. However, the tailwater level often raises faster than the reservoir water level, and thus reduces the net hydraulic head of the reservoirs with reaction turbines, especially in large-scale and low-head reservoirs. Therefore, this study considers the variations in tailwater levels and theoretically evaluates the marginal utility of the total power generation (TPG) in the two stages. It is found that the variation of TPG presents diminishing marginal utility and is closely related to the topography characteristics of the reservoir and downstream channels, as well as the relationship between releases in the two stages. The marginal return in Stage 2 might be lower than the marginal cost in Stage 1 when the release in Stage 2 exceeds that in Stage 1 for the reservoirs in which the tailwater level is sensitive to discharge and hydraulic head. This suggests that the carryover storage equalizing the marginal utility in the two stages is optimal, i.e., satisfying the marginal utility principle. Otherwise, the marginal return is always higher than the marginal cost, which suggests that as much carryover storage as possible should be saved. Following these findings, the reservoir states, represented by the storage difference and the total inflow in the two stages, that satisfy the marginal utility principle are identified. Further, the optimal carryover storage under different levels of inflow and storage difference is derived. The theoretical findings are verified with four hydropower plants in China. Results confirm the theoretical findings and show that two-stage hydropower generation coupled with operating rules can greatly improve the performance of hydropower generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we provide the adsorption behavior of lysozyme on the inverse colloidal crystal (ICC) membrane under different parameters (such as temperature, pH value, adsorption time). Besides, this also studied lysozyme adsorption behavior by changing the Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) ratio of the ICC membrane. Furthermore, we found that ICC membranes containing Hydroxyethyl methacrylate have significantly improved lysozyme adsorption than ICC membranes without Hydroxyethyl methacrylate. With the increasing lysozyme concentration, the ICC membrane containing 50% HEMA showed an excellent selective adsorption effect. At the same time, we describe the adsorption mechanism of lysozyme on the ICC membrane containing HEMA. Finally, after ten adsorption-desorption cycles on the ICC membrane, the membranes adsorption effect on lysozyme has not significantly decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of shank mass manipulation on the sprinting technique in maximal-speed sprinting. Sixteen well-trained male athletes sprinted with and without an additional 15% of shank mass attached to the shank centre of mass. Kinematic data were collected using a 12-camera motion analysis system and analysed using linear regression analyses with categorical variables and paired t-tests. The sprinting speed (p < 0.01), knee flexion angle at landing (p = 0.028), and maximum hip flexion angular velocity (p = 0.029) decreased; contact time (p < 0.01) increased; and step length, step frequency, and other analysed technique measures of maximal-speed sprinting were unchanged (p ≥ 0.12) with shank mass manipulation, compare with no manipulation. The relationships of sprinting speed with critical linear and angular kinematics at landing, take-off and swing in maximal-speed sprinting were not affected by the shank mass manipulation. These results suggest that 15% shank mass manipulation does not change the sprinting technique of well-trained male athletes in maximal-speed sprinting. This supports the use of shank mass manipulation as a training method for well-trained sprinters; however, a change in correlations between sprinting speed and technique measures should be considered during such training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions is still seriously impeded by the inferior NH3 yield and low Faradaic efficiency, especially at low overpotentials. Herein, we report the synthesis of nano‐sized RuO2 and Bi2O3 particles grown on functionalized exfoliated graphene (FEG) through in situ electrodeposition, denoted as RuO2−Bi2O3/FEG. The prepared self‐supporting RuO2−Bi2O3/FEG hybrid with a Bi mass loading of 0.70 wt% and Ru mass loading of 0.04 wt% shows excellent NRR performance at low overpotentials in acidic, neutral and alkaline electrolytes. It achieves a large NH3 yield of 4.58±0.16 μgNH3 h−1 cm−2 with a high Faradaic efficiency of 14.6 % at −0.2 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. This performance benefits from the synergistic effect between Bi2O3 and RuO2 which respectively have a fairly strong interaction of Bi 6p orbitals with the N 2p band and abundant supply of *H, as well as the binder‐free characteristic and the convenient electron transfer via graphene nanosheets. This work highlights a new electrocatalyst design strategy that combines transition and main‐group metal elements, which may provide some inspirations for designing low‐cost and high‐performance NRR electrocatalysts in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of high-efficient and low-cost heterostructure photocatalyst is crucial for hydrogen production in solar driven water splitting. Herein, g-C3N4-modified TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) with confined Pt nanoparticles were prepared via a facile two-step process. The results of structure characterizations by XRD, TEM, and XPS reveal that Pt nanoparticles with the average size of 2–3 nm are embedded in the inner cavity of the TiO2 nanotube, and amorphous g-C3N4 is attached to the outer wall of anatase TNTs. The as-prepared g-C3N4/TNTs@Pt ternary composite displays an enhanced visible light-induced absorbance capacity and improved charge carrier recombination rate than that of pure TNTs. The photocatalytic performance is evaluated by hydrogen evolution from water splitting by using methanol as sacrifice agent under solar light illumination. Compared with TNTs@Pt and g-C3N4/Pt photocatalysts, the as-prepared ternary nanocomposite exhibits the highest photocatalytic performance with a H2 evolution rate of 15.36 mmol h−1 g−1. A possible mechanism of photocatalytic H2 production over the ternary g-C3N4/TNTs@Pt composite is also proposed. This work not only provides a promising low-cost heterostructure candidate for water splitting, but also paves the way to rational design high-performance photocatalysts in solar-to-fuel conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cordyceps militaris (CM), a well-known parasitic fungus that grows on the larvae of Lepidoptera, has a variety of pharmacological activities. However, little is known about its safe dosage for animals, including pigs. To explore its effect on intestinal health and evaluate its safe dosage, 30 weaned pigs were randomly allotted to five groups and fed with a basal diet supplemented with different doses of CM for 42 days. The results showed that CM supplementation at 100 mg/kg increased the average daily weight gain (ADG) and significantly decreased the ratio of feed intake to gain (F:G) in the weaned pigs (p < 0.05). However, CM supplementation at a higher dose (1000 to 4000 mg/kg) had no effect on growth performance. CM supplementation at 100 mg/kg also increased the digestibility of gross energy and increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (V/C) in the duodenum and ileum (p < 0.05). Moreover, CM supplementation at 100 mg/kg increased the activities of catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), but decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum (p < 0.05). Importantly, histopathological studies of tissues (e.g., heart, liver, kidney, spleen, lungs, pancreas, thymus, mesenteric lymph nodes, stomach, and small intestine), organ indexes, major hematological parameters, and serum biochemical parameters were not affected upon CM supplementation. These results suggest that CM may have the potential to act as a safe and effective supplement to improve the growth performance and intestinal health of weaned pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In China, following the ban on feed antibiotics in 2020, the intestinal health problems of weaning piglets have become increasingly serious; however, diets supplemented with a single dietary additive for weaning piglets cannot always solve adverse problems caused by weaning. Lactic acid promotes the activity of digestive enzymes and improves the subsequent digestion of young piglets by regulating gastrointestinal pH, and it can also play an important role as an energy substance in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Glutamine, as the most abundant free amino acid in animal organisms, can restore the defective intestinal mucosal structure and immune function caused by weaning. Dietary supplementation with lactic acid and glutamine could be a strategy for alleviating the weaning stress of piglets; however, it is unknown whether the combined addition of these has an interactive effect. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with lactic acid and glutamine, and their interactions, on growth performance, intestinal function, and microflora of weaning piglets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary addition of lactic acid and glutamine, and their interactions, on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, digestive enzyme activity, intestinal barrier functions, microflora, and expressions of intestinal development-related genes of weaning piglets. Ninety-six 24-day-old weaning piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire, weaned at 21 ± 1 d and fed the basal diet for a 3 d adaptation period) with initial body weight of 7.24 ± 0.09 kg were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments with six replicates per treatment and four pigs per replicate in a 2 × 2 factorial treatment arrangements: (1) CON (a 2-period basal diet; control), (2) LS (supplemented with 2% lactic acid), (3) GS (supplemented with 1% glutamine), and (4) LGS (supplemented with 2% lactic acid and 1% glutamine). The study lasted for 28 d. On days 25–28, fresh fecal samples were collected to evaluate apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients. After 28 d, one weaning pig per pen was euthanized, and physiological samples obtained. Results showed that the supplementation of lactic acid improved the ADFI of the pigs (p < 0.05), while the pigs fed the glutamine diet had a greater ADFI and higher G/F (p < 0.05), and there were significant interactive effects between lactic acid and glutamine on the ADFI and G/F of the pigs (p < 0.05). The ATTD of CP and ash for pigs fed with lactic acid was significantly enhanced, and pigs fed the glutamine diet had greater ATTD of CP and ash (p < 0.05), while there were significant interactive effects between lactic acid and glutamine on the ATTD of CP and ash of the pigs (p < 0.05). Pigs fed with lactic acid exhibited greater activity of α-amylase and lipase (p < 0.05); moreover, the activity of lipase in the pigs showed a significant interactive effect between lactic acid and glutamine (p < 0.05). There was a greater villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio in pigs fed with lactic acid (p < 0.05), and the villus height to crypt depth ratio of pigs fed with glutamine was greater (p < 0.05). There were greater GLUT2, IGF-1, TGF-β2, OCLN, and ZO-1 mRNA levels in pigs fed with lactic acid (p < 0.05), and the supplementation of glutamine increased SGLT1, GLUT2, PepT1, IGF-1, IGF-1R, TGFβ-2, GLP-2, and OCLN mRNA levels (p < 0.05), Additionally, expressions of SGLT1, GLUT2, PepT1, IGF-1, IGF-1R, TGFβ-2, GLP-2, CLDN-2, OCLN, and ZO-1 mRNA levels of pigs showed a positive interactive effect between lactic acid and glutamine (p < 0.05). Supplementation of lactic acid significantly increased the populations of Bifidobacterium in cecal digesta, Lactobacillus in colonic digesta, and the content of butyric acid in colonic digesta (p < 0.05). In addition, there were significant interactive effects between lactic acid and glutamine on populations of Bifidobacterium in cecal digesta, Lactobacillus in colonic digesta, and the content of acetic acid, butyric acid, and total VFAs in cecal digesta of the pigs (p < 0.05). Collectively, the current results indicate that dietary supplementation with lactic acid and glutamine had a positive synergistic effect on weaning pigs, which could improve growth performance through promoting the development of the small intestine, increasing digestive and barrier function, and regulating the balance of microflora in pigs, and which might be a potential feeding additive ensemble to enhance the health and growth of weaning piglets in the post-antibiotic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of ammonia (NH3) from nitrogen sources involves competitive adsorption of different intermediates and multiple electron and proton transfers, presenting grand challenges in catalyst design. In nature nitrogenases reduce dinitrogen to NH3 using two component proteins, in which electrons and protons are delivered from Fe protein to the active site in MoFe protein for transfer to the bound N2. We draw inspiration from this structural enzymology, and design a two‐component metal–sulfur–carbon (M−S−C) catalyst composed of sulfur‐doped carbon‐supported ruthenium (Ru) single atoms (SAs) and nanoparticles (NPs) for the electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO3−) to NH3. The catalyst demonstrates a remarkable NH3 yield rate of ~37 mg L−1 h−1 and a Faradaic efficiency of ~97 % for over 200 hours, outperforming those consisting solely of SAs or NPs, and even surpassing most reported electrocatalysts. Our experimental and theoretical investigations reveal the critical role of Ru SAs with the coordination of S in promoting the formation of the HONO intermediate and the subsequent reduction reaction over the NP‐surface nearby. Such process results in a more energetically accessible pathway for NO3− reduction on Ru NPs co‐existing with SAs. This study proves a better understanding of how M−S−Cs act as a synthetic nitrogenase mimic during ammonia synthesis, and contributes to the future mechanism‐based catalyst design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of ammonia (NH3) from nitrogen sources involves competitive adsorption of different intermediates and multiple electron and proton transfers, presenting grand challenges in catalyst design. In nature nitrogenases reduce dinitrogen to NH3 using two component proteins, in which electrons and protons are delivered from Fe protein to the active site in MoFe protein for transfer to the bound N2. We draw inspiration from this structural enzymology, and design a two‐component metal–sulfur–carbon (M−S−C) catalyst composed of sulfur‐doped carbon‐supported ruthenium (Ru) single atoms (SAs) and nanoparticles (NPs) for the electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO3−) to NH3. The catalyst demonstrates a remarkable NH3 yield rate of ~37 mg L−1 h−1 and a Faradaic efficiency of ~97 % for over 200 hours, outperforming those consisting solely of SAs or NPs, and even surpassing most reported electrocatalysts. Our experimental and theoretical investigations reveal the critical role of Ru SAs with the coordination of S in promoting the formation of the HONO intermediate and the subsequent reduction reaction over the NP‐surface nearby. Such process results in a more energetically accessible pathway for NO3− reduction on Ru NPs co‐existing with SAs. This study proves a better understanding of how M−S−Cs act as a synthetic nitrogenase mimic during ammonia synthesis, and contributes to the future mechanism‐based catalyst design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xiling gold deposit (>592 t @ 4.02 g/t) in the eastern Zhaoyuan-Laizhou gold belt of the Jiaodong Peninsula, is currently the largest gold deposit and deepest gold mine in China. This study presents microthermometric fluid inclusions data on quartz gangue, as well as trace element and S isotope data on pyrite from different mineralization stages and depths in the Xiling gold deposit to provide new insights into the spatio-temporal evolution of the ore-forming fluid that led to a giant Early Cretaceous gold deposit in the Jiaodong Peninsula. The δ34S values of pyrite range from 7.5 to 15.2 ‰, but vary temporally and spatially, reflecting a changes in physicochemical conditions as the ore-forming fluid migrated to different crustal levels over time, also suggesting Precambrian basement as the principal sulfur source. Trace element analyses of pyrite revealed that ore-forming metals were scavenged from the wall rock and then incorporated into the pyrite. Fluid inclusions data reveal that the ore-forming H 2 O-CO 2 -NaCl ± CH 4 fluid had a medium to high temperature (283–401 °C), medium-low salinity (1.91–8.00 wt% NaCl equivalent), analogous to most gold deposits in the Jiaodong Peninsula. Intensive interaction between the ore-forming fluid and wall rock changed the physicochemical conditions of fluid, leading to gold precipitation. The study supports the notion of the ore fluid of Jiaodong-type gold deposit having originated from a metasomatized lithospheric mantle. • Spatio-temporal fluid evolution is recorded by sulfur isotopes and trace element contents of pyrite. • The ore-forming fluids formed in a H 2 O-CO 2 -NaCl ± CH 4 hydrothermal system • The intensive fluid-rock interaction is the key for Xiling gold mineralization. • The Xiling deposit can be classified as the Jiaodong-type gold deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]