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Simple Summary: miRNAs have been shown to have altered expressions during cancer disease states, and monitoring their levels in patients undergoing cancer therapies holds potential in finding possible prognostic markers and therapeutic targets. We determined the impact of a PD-1 blockade therapy on miRNA levels, which is correlated with patients' sex and PD-L1 status. Our findings elucidate that there was a significant decrease in a milieu of miRNA levels in the patient sera post treatment with pembrolizumab. Background: Pembrolizumab has recently emerged as a PD-1 blockade immunotherapy treatment for lung cancer. It is critical that such treatment strategies for lung cancer should be chosen not only on the basis of histopathological features and the expression of targetable cell surface proteins (such as PD-1), but should rather be selected based on other determinants of treatment success or risk factors for poor prognosis. One method to forecast cancer trajectory is the identification of biomolecular signatures such as microRNAs (miRNAs), non-protein-coding RNA molecules that play a regulatory role in gene expression by modulating the translation or stability of messenger RNA. Methods: To find out which miRNAs have an important influence on anti-PD-1 treatment outcomes, we evaluated miRNA levels in sera from 38 lung cancer patients undergoing 3 months of pembrolizumab treatment. We selected a panel of miRNAs previously shown to be involved in lung cancer or PD-1 signaling and performed qPCR analysis. Results: Overall, we observed a significant decrease in the levels of miR126-5p (4-fold), let-7a (5-fold), miR133a-3p (4-fold), miR3615 (2-fold), miR4516 (3-fold), miR16 (3-fold), miR34c-5p (2-fold), miR20b-5p (5-fold), miR106b-5p (5-fold), miR146a-5p (3-fold) and miR181b-5p (3-fold) in response to treatment indicating effectiveness of immunotherapy. Within our selected panel of miRNAs, we identified two markers relevant to cancer prognosis: miR-217, which is negatively associated with patient survival, and let-7a, which is positively associated with patient survival. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that circulating miRNAs can be used for future treatment evaluation and lung cancer prognosis, with potential as therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the design, synthesis, and comprehensive characterization of a novel series of D‐π‐A type malononitrile‐derived chromophores, BTC‐1–BTC‐4. Combining various spectroscopic techniques, nonlinear Z‐scan measurements, and quantum chemical calculations, we revealed the intricate relationship between nonlinear optical properties and the interplay of molecular structure, intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), and dipole moments (μ). Our experimental and computational findings corroborate that the polarization degree in the ground state, the charge separation in the excited state and twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) collectively dictate the nonlinear optical properties of the compounds. Notably, BTC‐1 exhibits an exceptional nonlinear absorption coefficient β value (2×10−8 m W−1), attributed to its optimized charge transfer efficiency and pronounced degree of charge separation. Our findings provide actionable insights for the rational design of high‐performance organic Nonlinear optics (NLO) materials with potential applications in advanced photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung cancer is one of the major threats to human life worldwide. MiR‐190 has been found to perform essential roles in multiple cancer progression; however, there have been no studies focused on its function and underlying regulatory mechanism in lung cancer. Method: The miR‐190 expression was detected by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). The cell functional experiments, including cell counting kit‐8 (CCK‐8), colony formation and transwell assay were conducted in vitro, as well as animal experiments performed in vivo. The regulation and potential binding sites of CBX4 on miR‐190 were predicted by TCGA data set and JASPAR website and verified by ChIP assay and dual‐luciferase reporter assay. The prospects binding site of miR‐190‐3p on CBX4 3′UTR region was predicted by StarBase and verified by dual‐luciferase reporter assay. Results: MiR‐190 was decreased in lung cancer cells. The overexpression of miR‐190 had no effects on cell proliferation, but significantly inhibited cancer metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, miR‐190 expression could be transcriptionally inhibited by CBX4, and CBX4 was the direct target of miR‐190‐3p. Conclusion: MiR‐190 served as a cancer metastasis inhibitor in lung cancer and formed a regulatory loop with CBX4. These findings provided emerging insights into therapeutic targets and strategies for metastatic lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline NiTi shape memory alloys (SMAs) change drastically with grain size. The present contribution develops a constitutive model to reproduce the grain size dependent superelastic behavior and tensile–compressive asymmetry observed in the experiments of nanocrystalline NiTi SMAs. Effects of grain size are incorporated in the developed model by introducing the intrinsic length scale accounting for the transformation hardening as well as the grain-core and grain-boundary phase. In this work, nanocrystalline NiTi SMA is regarded as a two-phase composite material made of inclusions of the grain-core phase dispersed in the grain-boundary phase acting as a matrix. A transformation function allowing for the description of fine-grain strengthening mechanism and tensile–compressive asymmetry is proposed. In the grain-core phase, the evolution law for transformation strain during the forward and reverse transformation is determined. Besides, the constitutive relation of the grain-boundary phase is assumed to be linearly elastic. Based on the equivalent secant bulk and shear modulus of the grain-core and grain-boundary phase, the stress–strain relationship of nanocrystalline NiTi SMAs is derived by using the extended Mori–Tanaka method. Comparisons between experimental and predicted results demonstrate that the proposed model has the ability to reproduce the grain size dependent deformation and asymmetric stress–strain behavior under tension and compression of nanocrystalline NiTi SMAs. In detail, it is found that critical transformation stresses for forward and reverse transformations, dissipation energy density, transformation strain hardening, and maximum transformation strain are sensitive to the grain size and stress states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of the minimally invasive locking plate technique (Philos plate) and interlocking intramedullary nailing technique (TRIGEN intramedullary nail) in the treatment of Neer two-part and three-part proximal humeral fractures. Methods and materials: The clinical data of 60 patients with Neer two-part and three-part proximal humerus fractures admitted to the hospital from April 2017 to April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty-two patients were treated with the minimally invasive locking plate technique (minimally invasive plate group), and 28 patients were treated with the interlocking intramedullary nailing technique (intramedullary nail group). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, incision length, fracture healing time, and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. The ASES score and Constant–Murley score were used to evaluate the shoulder joint function of the two groups one year after surgery. Results: All 60 patients were followed up for 12 to 24 months, with an average of 16 months. There was no significant difference in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, incision length, or fracture healing time between the two groups (P > 0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications in the intramedullary nail group was significantly lower than that in the minimally invasive steel plate group, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the ASES score or Constant–Murley score between the two groups one year after surgery (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The use of the minimally invasive locking plate technique and interlocking intramedullary nailing technique in the treatment of Neer two-part and three-part proximal humerus fractures has the advantages of a small incision, less blood loss, and a high fracture healing rate, and both can achieve satisfactory clinical effects. The internal nail technique is more convenient than the minimally invasive locking plate technique in controlling postoperative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of different off-axis energetic particle (EP) slowing down distribution on beta-induced Alfvén eigenmode (BAE), driven by the on-axis EP distribution, is systematically studied using kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic code M3D-K. The aim is to analyze the optimal parameter region for controlling AEs via varying EP distribution parameters. The simulation results reveal that by modifying the gradients of the EP distribution, the off-axis EP can further destabilize or mitigate the on-axis EP driven BAE, depending on the off-axis EP distribution's parameters: deposition profile, EP beta, pitch angle, injection velocity and direction. When the off-axis EP is deposited outside the mode center, and its injection velocity is sufficiently large to satisfy the resonance with BAE, the stabilization of BAE is achieved. This stabilizing effect is directly proportional to the off-axis EP beta, while excessive off-axis EP beta can trigger a new EP-driven instability located outside the BAE. Furthermore, to achieve a stronger stabilizing effect, the pitch angle distribution and velocity direction of the off-axis EP should be close to those of the on-axis EP. For instance, compared to the off-axis counter-passing EP, the off-axis co-passing EP can lead to a more effective mitigation of the BAE driven by the on-axis co-passing EP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Children and adolescents, after natural and man-made disasters, often exhibit various psychological, emotional, and behavioral issues, showing a range of clinical symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This review used a network meta-analysis (NMA) approach to compare and rank psychological interventions for PTSD and depression in children and adolescents after exposure to natural and man-made disasters. Methods: Randomized studies of psychosocial interventions for PTSD and depression in children and adolescents exposed to natural and man-made disasters were identified. PTSD and depression symptoms at postintervention and 1–12 month follow-up are the outcomes. The standardized mean differences (SMDs) between pairs of interventions at postintervention and follow-up were pooled. Mean effect sizes with 95% credible intervals (CI) were calculated, and the ranking probabilities for all interventions were estimated using the surface under the cumulative ranking curve. Study quality was assessed with version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). Results: In total, 26 studies with 4331 participants were included in this NMA. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) (SMD = − 0.67; 95% CI − 1.17 to − 0.17), exposure therapy (ET) (SMD = − 0.66; 95% CI − 1.11 to − 0.22), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (SMD = − 0.62; 95% CI − 0.90 to − 0.34) were significantly more effective for PTSD at postintervention than inactive intervention. EMDR (SMD = − 0.72; 95% CI − 1.11 to − 0.33) and ET (SMD = − 0.62; 95% CI − 0.97 to − 0.27) were associated with a higher reduction in PTSD symptoms at follow-up than inactive intervention. EMDR (SMD = − 0.40; 95% CI − 0.78 to − 0.03) and play therapy (PT) (SMD = − 0.37; 95% CI − 0.62 to − 0.12) were significantly more effective for depression at postintervention than inactive intervention. For all psychological interventions in reducing depression symptoms at follow-up compared with inactive intervention, the differences were not significant. Conclusion: EMDR appears to be most effective in reducing PTSD and depression in children and adolescents exposed to natural and man-made disasters. In addition, ET and CBT are potentially effective in reducing PTSD symptoms at postintervention, while PT is beneficial in managing depression symptoms at the treatment endpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coherent light beams play an important role in the development of opto‐electronic microwave and terahertz technologies, serving as a source for generating RF carrier signals with very high quality. The authors explore in this work an approach to enhance the coherence between two incoherent lasers so as to provide coherent light beams, and proof‐of‐concept demonstrates a terahertz signal generation with low phase noise. Based on the proposed passive phase compensation technique, the phase noise between two independent lasers can be well suppressed and the carrier to noise ratio in the terahertz regime remains high. In the experiment, the beating phase noise between two independent lasers is reduced from −60.68 dBc/Hz@10kHz to −90.05 dBc/Hz@10kHz at about 280 GHz, which is promisingly applicable in the terahertz photonics community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have recently been suggested as potential functional modulators of cellular physiology processes in gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we demonstrated that circFOXP1 was more highly expressed in GC tissues. High circFOXP1 expression was positively associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, and poor prognosis in patients with GC. Cox multivariate analysis revealed that higher circFOXP1 expression was an independent risk factor for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in GC patients. Functional studies showed that increased circFOXP1 expression promoted cell proliferation, cell invasion, and cell cycle progression in GC in vitro. In vivo, the knockdown of circFOXP1 inhibited tumor growth. Mechanistically, we observed ALKBH5-mediated m6A modification of circFOXP1 and circFOXP1 promoted GC progression by regulating SOX4 expression and sponging miR-338-3p in GC cells. Thus, our findings highlight that circFOXP1 could serve as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for GC. A study found that circFOXP1 was highly expressed in gastric cancer (GC) and demonstrated that ALKBH5-mediated m6A modification of circFOXP1 promoted GC progression by regulating SOX4 expression and sponging miR-338-3p. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic black hole (ABH) with the power-law profile has the advantages of strong designability and vibration suppression. This study provides a novel virtual spring energy method (VEM) to solve the vibration characteristics of a plate embedded or attached with acoustic black hole. Firstly, the virtual springs in this study can deal with boundary conditions, continuity conditions, and periodic conditions. After solving the kinetic and potential energy of a plate cell embedded with acoustic black hole, the periodic structure's kinetic and potential energy need not be calculated repeatedly. The method is verified by the finite element method. Secondly, to overcome the stiffness reduction owing to the varying thickness of ABH in the primary bearing structure, a composite ABH structure called "Plate–ABH" is proposed, in which a damping layer is designed with an ABH profile and attached to the primary plate structure. The two layers connect each other through the virtual springs. The vibration characteristics of the composite ABH plate are given by employing the VEM. The composite ABH structure shows strong damping ability and lighter weight compared with a plate attached with the uniform thickness damping layer. Plate–ABH can be effectively used in the engineering of vibration reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terahertz (THz) bands are considered to have various anticipated applications. Output power is an important factor determining the operating distance of THz systems, but it is very challenging to achieve high output power under current solid‐state terahertz circuit technology. The paper first presents a four‐way G‐band radial combiner, which features high passive efficiency of 88% and compact size. Moreover, based on this radial combiner and in‐house fabricated gallium nitride chips, a solid‐state power amplifier prototype is further demonstrated. Measured results show that, the average saturated output power is 21.7 dBm across the 180–240 GHz band with a typical output power of 23.2 dBm at 189 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The primary treatment for patients with myocardial infarction (MI) is percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Despite this, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) remains a significant concern. Our study seeks to optimize PCI predictive modeling by employing an ensemble learning approach to identify the most effective combination of predictive variables. Methods and results: We conducted a retrospective, non-interventional analysis of MI patient data from 2018 to 2021, focusing on those who underwent PCI. Our principal metric was the occurrence of 1-year postoperative MACEs. Variable selection was performed using lasso regression, and predictive models were developed using the Super Learner (SL) algorithm. Model performance was appraised by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the average precision (AP) score. Our cohort included 3,880 PCI patients, with 475 (12.2%) experiencing MACEs within one year. The SL model exhibited superior discriminative performance, achieving a validated AUC of 0.982 and an AP of 0.971, which markedly surpassed the traditional logistic regression models (AUC: 0.826, AP: 0.626) in the test cohort. Thirteen variables were significantly associated with the occurrence of 1-year MACEs. Conclusion: Implementing the Super Learner algorithm has substantially enhanced the predictive accuracy for the risk of MACEs in MI patients. This advancement presents a promising tool for clinicians to craft individualized, data-driven interventions to better patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study is the first to reveal the role and mechanism of ANLN (anillin, an actin-binding protein) in gallbladder cancer (GBC). Our research has led to the following conclusions: (1) ANLN promotes the proliferation and migration of gallbladder cancer cells. (2) Knockdown of ANLN promotes apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in GBC cells. (3) Knockdown of ANLN inhibits the Phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)/Serine/Threonine Kinase (AKT) signaling pathway, leading to the inhibition of GBC cell growth and migration. (4) ANLN activates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by regulating STRA6 in GBC cells. The ANLN gene encodes anillin, a protein that binds to actin. Recent research has identified ANLN's function in the initiation and advancement of different cancers. However, its impact on gallbladder cancer (GBC) remains unexplored. This study aimed to elucidate its possible molecular mechanisms in GBC. ANLN expression was assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR), Western blotting (WB), and immunohistochemistry (IHC), revealing elevated levels in GBC tissues. ANLN knockdown resulted in the inhibition of cell proliferation and migration, leading to apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Conversely, ANLN overexpression had the opposite effects on GBC cells. In vivo experiments confirmed that ANLN knockdown inhibited GBC cell growth. RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis revealed ANLN's function in activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. We further confirmed that ANLN could upregulate STRA6 expression, which activated PI3K/AKT signaling to enhance the growth and movement of GBC cells. These findings demonstrate ANLN's involvement in GBC initiation and progression, suggesting its potential as a novel target for GBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose-based carbon (CBC) is widely known for its porous structure and high specific surface area and is liable to adsorb gas molecules and macromolecular pollutants. However, the application of CBC in gas sensing has been little studied. In this paper, a ZnO/CBC heterojunction was formed by means of simple co-precipitation and high-temperature carbonization. As a new ammonia sensor, the prepared ZnO/CBC sensor can detect ammonia that the previous pure ZnO ammonia sensor cannot at room temperature. It has a great gas sensing response, stability, and selectivity to an ammonia concentration of 200 ppm. This study provides a new idea for the design and synthesis of biomass carbon–metal oxide composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous nanocrystalline NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) benefit from a combination of the smart responses of nanograined SMA and the characteristics of porous materials, showing great potential in the high-tech field. Porosity and grain size exert an influence on the microstructure evolution during phase transformations, thus possessing the ability to alter the transformation characteristics of NiTi SMA. To investigate the porosity and grain size-dependent superelastic behaviors of porous nanocrystalline NiTi, the constitutive model incorporating grain size effects and tensile–compressive asymmetry for dense nanocrystalline NiTi is first developed. Based on the dense SMA model, porous nanocrystalline NiTi SMA is regarded as a composite material consisting of the void phase and the SMA matrix phase. The voids are treated as inclusions embedded in the SMA matrix composed of grain core and grain boundary. Tensile–compressive asymmetry, transformation hardening modulus associated with intrinsic length scale and grain size are incorporated into the modified Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman potential function, leading to the construction of constitutive model for porous nanocrystalline NiTi SMA. Simulated results demonstrate that the proposed model is capable to describe the characteristics of porous nanocrystalline NiTi SMA, such as grain size and porosity dependent superelasticity and tensile–compressive asymmetry. Using the developed model, the combined effects of porosity and grain size on the critical transformation stresses, strain hardening, peak stresses, tensile–compressive asymmetry behaviors and the superelastic stress–strain hysteresis loop are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to build radiomic feature-based machine learning models to predict pathological clinical response (pCR) of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (nCRT) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Methods: A total of 112 ESCC patients who underwent nCRT followed by surgical treatment from January 2008 to December 2018 were recruited. According to pCR status (no visible cancer cells in primary cancer lesion), patients were categorized into primary cancer lesion pCR (ppCR) group (N = 65) and non-ppCR group (N = 47). Patients were also categorized into total pCR (tpCR) group (N = 48) and non-tpCR group (N = 64) according to tpCR status (no visible cancer cells in primary cancer lesion or lymph nodes). Radiomic features of pretreatment CT images were extracted, feature selection was performed, machine learning models were trained to predict ppCR and tpCR, respectively. Results: A total of 620 radiomic features were extracted. For ppCR prediction models, radiomic model had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.817 (95% CI: 0.732–0.896) in the testing set; and the combination model that included rad-score and clinical features had a great predicting performance, with an AUC of 0.891 (95% CI: 0.823–0.950) in the testing set. For tpCR prediction models, radiomic model had an AUC of 0.713 (95% CI: 0.613–0.808) in the testing set; and the combination model also had a great predicting performance, with an AUC of 0.814 (95% CI: 0.728–0.881) in the testing set. Conclusion: This study built machine learning models for predicting ppCR and tpCR of ESCC patients with favorable predicting performance respectively, which aided treatment plan optimization. Clinical relevance statement: This study significantly improved the predictive value of machine learning models based on radiomic features to accurately predict response to therapy of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy, providing guidance for further treatment. Key Points: • Combination model that included rad-score and clinical features had a great predicting performance. • Primary tumor pCR predicting models exhibit better predicting performance compared to corresponding total pCR predicting models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the following quadratic pencil of Schrödinger operators L(λ) generated in L 2 (ℝ +) by the equation with the boundary condition y ′ (0) y (0) = β 1 λ + β 0 α 1 λ + α 0 , where p(x)and q(x) are complex valued functions and α0, α1, β0, β1 are complex numbers with α 0 β 1 − α 1 β 0 ≠ 0 . It is proved that L(λ) has a finite number of eigenvalues and spectral singularities, and each of them is of a finite multiplicity, if the conditions and sup 0 ≤ x < + ∞ { e ε x [ | p ′ (x) | + | q ′ ′ (x) | ] } < + ∞ hold, where ε> 0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) using formic acid as a protective agent is reported for the determination of acrylic resin monomers in food contact packaging paper. The analytes were extracted by ethanol mixed with formic acid with 2-phenylethyl propionate as the internal standard. The extract was separated by a 6% cyanopropylbenzene-94% dimethylsiloxane ultra-inert chromatographic column and analyzed by GC-MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. 13 acrylic resin monomers including acrylic acid, styrene, and acrylic ester were separated. The procedure was successfully applied for the analysis of real samples. The procedure provided a linear calibration range with detection limits from 0.16 to 0.46 mg kg−1. The mean recoveries were from 88.1% to 100.9% with relative standard deviations less than 5.4%. The residual acrylic resin monomers in packaging paper were primarily from printing base paper and varnish. Of the acrylic resin monomers, the monomers except for butyl acrylate and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate showed low migration rates. The method provides high sensitivity and good reproducibility with simple pretreatment, demonstrating application for monitoring acrylic resin monomers in food contact packaging paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scattered tubular-like cells (STCs) are differentiated renal tubular cells that during recovery from ischemic injury dedifferentiate to repair other injured renal cells. Renal artery stenosis (RAS), often associated with chronic inflammatory injury, compromises the integrity and function of STCs, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We hypothesized that RAS alters the transcriptomic and epigenetic profile of inflammatory genes in swine STCs. Methods: STCs were harvested from pig kidneys after 10 weeks of RAS or sham (n=6 each). STC mRNA profiles of inflammatory genes were analyzed using high-throughput mRNA-sequencing (seq) and their DNA methylation (5mC) and hydroxymethylation (5hmC) profiles by DNA immunoprecipitation and next-generation sequencing (MeDIP-seq) (n=3 each), followed by an integrated (mRNA-seq/MeDIP-seq) analysis. STC protein expression of candidate differentially expressed (DE) genes and common proinflammatory proteins were subsequently assessed in vitro before and after epigenetic (Bobcat339) modulation. Results: mRNA-seq identified 57 inflammatory genes up-regulated in RAS-STCs versus Normal-STCs (>1.4 or <0.7-fold, P<0.05), of which 14% exhibited lower 5mC and 5% higher 5hmC levels in RAS-STCs versus Normal-STCs, respectively. Inflammatory gene and protein expression was higher in RAS-STCs compared with Normal-STCs but normalized after epigenetic modulation. Conclusions: These observations highlight a novel modulatory mechanism of this renal endogenous repair system and support development of epigenetic or anti-inflammatory therapies to preserve the reparative capacity of STCs in individuals with RAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In our recent study, advanced disease stage and nonreceipt of surgery were the most important mediators of the racial disparity in breast cancer survival. The purpose of this study was to quantify the racial disparity in these two intermediate outcomes and investigate mediation by the more proximal mediators of insurance status and neighborhood poverty. Methods: This was a cross‐sectional study of non‐Hispanic Black and non‐Hispanic White women diagnosed with first primary invasive breast cancer in Florida between 2004 and 2015. Log‐binomial regression was used to obtain prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multiple mediation analysis was used to assess the role of having Medicaid/being uninsured and living in high‐poverty neighborhoods on the race effect. Results: There were 101,872 women in the study (87.0% White, 13.0% Black). Black women were 55% more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease stage at diagnosis (PR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.50–1.60) and nearly twofold more likely to not receive surgery (PR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.90–2.04). Insurance status and neighborhood poverty explained 17.6% and 5.3% of the racial disparity in advanced disease stage at diagnosis, respectively; 64.3% remained unexplained. For nonreceipt of surgery, insurance status explained 6.8% while neighborhood poverty explained 3.2%; 52.1% was unexplained. Conclusions: Insurance status and neighborhood poverty were significant mediators of the racial disparity in advanced disease stage at diagnosis with a smaller impact on nonreceipt of surgery. However, interventions designed to improve breast cancer screening and receipt of high‐quality cancer treatment must address additional barriers for Black women with breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the impact of microRNA (miR)-126 on aortic dissections using rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMCs). Methods: The cell model of AD (MA-RASMCs) was established by co-culturing RASMCs with angiotensin II (Ang II). The cells were then transfected with miR-126 control and miR-126 mimic. Transfection efficiency was assessed using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The proliferative and migratory potentials of the cells were determined, as well as the expression levels of related proteins, i.e., Ras, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1), phosphorylated MAPK (p-MAPK), and phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK). Results: Compared to RASMCs, MA-RASMCs exhibited enhanced proliferation and migration, and decreased miR-126 expression (p < 0.05). MA-RASMCs transfected with miR-126 mimic, reduced its proliferative potential, increased miR-126 expression, and lowered the expression levels of Ras, MMP2, p-MAPK, and p-ERK (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the transfected cells had higher expression levels of TIMP1 (p < 0.05). Conclusion: MicroRNA-126 inhibits the proliferation and migration of RASMCs by modulating MAPK/ERK pathway, thereby delaying the formation of aortic dissections. Thus miR-126 is a potential therapeutic target for aortic dissections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Inhibitors of cyclin‐dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) are targeted therapeutic drugs for breast cancer treatment. The mechanism of resistance to these inhibitors requires further investigation. Methods: We used bioinformatics to screen differentially expressed genes between cells that were susceptible and resistant to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) was used to identify gene expressions in different cell lines. Cell viability, colony formation, cell cycle, and apoptosis assays were used to evaluate the effect of carboxypeptidase vitellogenic like (CPVL) on breast cancer cells under the condition of CDK4/6 inhibitors. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) suggested the potential regulatory pathway of CPVL in breast cancer. Xenograft formation assay was conducted in nude mice to study the role of CPVL in vivo. Results: Based on bioinformatics analysis and qRT‐PCR, CPVL was identified more abundantly in cells that were resistant than sensitive to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Overexpressed or knocked down CPVL regulated the effects of CDK4/6 inhibitors in resistant cell lines. GSEA showed that resistance might be induced by CPVL through altered phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)‐related pathways. Our findings showed that CPVL negatively regulates PTEN to impact the anticancer effects of CDK4/6 inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: CPVL might be a key factor in regulating breast cancer resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerotic renovascular disease (RVD) leads to hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and heart disease. Intrarenal delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) attenuate renal injury and suppress release of inflammatory cytokines in porcine RVD. We hypothesized that this strategy would also be useful for cardioprotection. Pigs with renovascular hypertension and metabolic syndrome were studied 4 weeks after treatment with a single intrarenal infusion of autologous MSCs, EVs, or vehicle. Cardiac structure and function were assessed in vivo, and myocardial remodeling and expression of the pro-fibrotic factor growth factor receptor-bound protein-2 (Grb2) were measured ex-vivo. Inflammatory cytokine levels were measured in the systemic circulation and myocardial tissue. Blood pressure was elevated in all RVD groups, but serum creatinine increased in RVD and decreased in both RVD + MSCs and RVD + EVs. RVD-induced diastolic dysfunction (lower E/A ratio) was normalized in both MSCs- and EVs- treated pigs. Intrarenal delivery of MSCs and EVs also attenuated RVD-induced myocardial fibrosis, collagen deposition, and Grb2 expression, yet EVs restored capillary density and inflammation more effectively than MSCs. These observations suggest that autologous EVs attenuate cardiac injury in experimental RVD more effectively than their parent MSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) chromophores have received a lot of attention due to their wide range of applications in nonlinear optical materials. In this work, we introduced an electron-rich benzothiadiazole group into the classical organic nonlinear material dimethylaminonitrostilben (DANS), which improved the efficiency of ICT and increased the dipole moment difference between the ground state and the excited state of the chromophore. We synthesized three benzothiadiazole derivatives, and the nonlinear optical properties of these chromophores were characterized by the Z-scan method. The nonlinear response is one order of magnitude higher than that of DANS. The analysis of UV-vis absorption spectra combined with the results of DFT theoretical calculations revealed the difference in the dipole moment between the ground and excited states. The difference in the dipole moments (Δμ) between the ground state and excited state is responsible for the different nonlinear properties. The refractive indices n2 of the three chromophores increase in the following order: BTN-2 > BTN-1 > BTN-3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well acknowledged that the microphase‐separated morphology of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) is of vital importance for membrane properties utilized in alkaline fuel cells. Herein, a rigid macromolecule poly(methyldiallylamine) (PMDA) is incorporated to regulate the microphase morphology of hyperbranched AEMs. As expected, the hyperbranched poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) (HB‐PVBC) is guided to distribute along PMDA chains, and longer PMDA cha leads to a more distinct microphase morphology with interconnected ionic channels. Consequently, high chloride conductivity of 10.49 mS cm−1 at 30 °C and suppressed water swelling ratio lower than 30% at 80 °C are obtained. Furthermore, the β‐H of pyrrolidinium cations in the non‐antiperiplanar position increases the energy barrier of β‐H elimination, leading to conformationally disfavored Hofmann elimination and increased alkaline stability. This strategy is anticipated to provide a feasible way for preparing hyperbranched AEMs with clear microphase morphology and good overall properties for alkaline fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mpox virus (MPXV), a member of Poxviridae family, causes a rare zoonotic disease. According to the most recent data, over 15,600 cases and 537 deaths of human mpox have been reported. The MPXV complete RNA polymerase (RNAP), which is responsible for the entire early transcriptional cycle, comprises the RNAP core enzyme and essential factors including viral early transcription factor (VETF), nucleoside triphosphate phosphohydrolase I (NPH-I), RNA polymerase-associated protein (Rap94), and F10 core protein. The dimeric F10 core protein stabilizes the N-terminal region of Rap94, and the C-terminal domain of NPH-I, functioning as a structural clamp that enhances the stability of the RNAP complex. Here, we determined the crystal structure of the F10 core protein at a high resolution of 1.5 Å, and identified a cavity between the F10 core protein and NPH-I through superimposition of the MPXV F10 core protein and the vaccinia virus (VACV) RNAP. We further conducted a virtual screening based on this cavity, and identified 28 compounds as potential MPXV inhibitors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to screen for inhibitors targeting MPXV RNAP. Our study may facilitate the development of novel ways for the discovery of anti-MPXV compounds against emerging pathogens. • A high-resolution crystal structure of MPXV F10 core protein was determined for the first time. • A structural cavity between F10 and NPH-I was first identified which may serve as the accommodation site for MPXV inhibitors. • A number of potential F10 inhibitors were obtained by virtual screening based on the cavity. • This work may be helpful to developing novel anti-MPXV compounds and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two phase transitions of BTMSDA are discovered at 1.2 GPa and 6.5 GPa. • Solid-state polymerization of BTMSDA is successfully induced at 6.5 GPa. • Phase transitions are reversible, whereas solid-state polymerization is irreversible. • First phase transition helps polymerization, while second phase transition competes with it. Solid-state topochemical polymerization (SSTP) reactions of diacetylenes (DAs) have garnered significant attention due to their crucial role in the synthesis and development of polydiacetylenes (PDAs). However, the SSTP reaction of bis(trimethylsilyl)-substituted diacetylene (BTMSDA) has not been reported until now due to its molecular stacking parameters seriously deviating from the conditions required for the SSTP reaction. To explore the possibility of the SSTP reaction of BTMSDA under high pressure, the structural evolution of BTMSDA in the range of 0∼12 GPa was investigated using diamond anvil cells combined with in situ Raman and infrared spectroscopy techniques. During compression, BTMSDA initially underwent a phase transition from DA-Ⅰ to DA-Ⅱ around 1.2 GPa. Subsequently, BTMSDA simultaneously experienced an SSTP reaction and another phase transition around 6.5 GPa, resulting in an uneven blue mixture consisting of the PDA-blue phase of Poly-BTMSDA and the DA-Ⅲ phase of BTMSDA. Upon decompression, the uneven blue mixture transformed into an uneven red mixture comprising the PDA-red phase of Poly-BTMSDA and the DA-Ⅰ phase of BTMSDA. Analysis reveals that the phase transitions were reversible, whereas the SSTP reaction was irreversible. Moreover, the first phase transition played a pivotal role in facilitating the SSTP reaction, while the second phase transition exhibited a competitive relationship with the SSTP reaction. This study not only deepens our understanding of the physicochemical properties of BTMSDA but also demonstrates the SSTP reaction of BTMSDA under high pressure. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The existing recycling technologies for SNCM are systematically reviewed. • The in-situ reduction of anode is applied to enhance cathode recovery. • The proposed innovative process can ensure both recovery and eco-friendly. The overall crushing of spent ternary lithium-ion batteries (SNCM) makes the mix of the anode and cathode electrode materials. Multiple separation not only wastes energy, causes secondary pollution but also fails to achieve the excellent separation of the valuable component. Therefore, this paper reviewed the recycling methods of SNCM from three aspects, including the single recycling of anode electrode materials, the single recycling of cathode electrode materials and the overall collaborative recycling of anode and cathode electrode materials. The necessity of high-purity separation of the anode and cathode electrode materials was discussed by evaluating the difference between single recycling and overall collaborative recycling. A process that used collaborative reclaim to realize efficient and green resource utilization of electrode materials was proposed based on the review. In this process, the mixed electrode materials were first divided into rich cathode-poor anode materials and rich anode-poor cathode materials by flotation. Two kinds of materials were regenerated to prepare NCM. The recovery of the cathode was enhanced through the reduction properties of the anode. The electrochemical properties of the regenerated anode were enhanced by the in-situ self-utilization behavior of the cathode. The recovery process was optimized by simplifying the process and improving efficiency. The economic and green of the recovery process was ensured by treating the SNCM with readily available and environmentally friendly agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the extremely low-grade of gold in natural ores, a huge amount of gold tailings is produced in the beneficiation progress, which caused the disposal of tailings becomes extremely urgent because of the increasingly stringent environmental protection factors. The present study focuses on the innovative full component disposal of gold tailings, which including the recovery of useful feldspar and safe filling of the remaining low-value component. However, the Fe content of feldspar concentrate is strictly limited, and the Fe removal process is preferred. Firstly, a clean physical (physical-chemical) separation method, magnetic separation, and flotation were combined to remove harmful Fe elements. In addition, Fe removal characteristics of narrow particle size were analyzed. Subsequently, the deslimed gold tailings (+0.045 mm) were used for the recovery of feldspar by flotation in acidic environment. Finally, the ultrafine grained tailings (−0.045 mm), flotation tailing, and iron impurity were backfilled underground by cementation. Separation results show that magnetic field strength and particle size have a significant positive correlation with Fe removal. As the particle size decreases from 0.5–0.25 mm to −0.045 mm, the total Fe content (TFe) increases from 0.23% to 0.35% under 1.4 T field strength, accompanied by the reduction of TFe removal from 68.73% to 61.34%. Flotation can further reduce the TFe to 0.09%–0.21%. Further, feldspar concentrate was successfully recovered with dodecylamine as collector. The grades of Na2O and K2O can reach 7.55% and 3.73% with dosage of 1000 g/t, with recovery of 86.63% and 74.63%. When the tailings pulp concentration is greater than 56%, the curing strength can exceed 0.5 MPa at 3 d. Therefore, feldspar concentrate meeting ceramic standards with whiteness of 58.63 is obtained, and the remaining low value components are filled back to the ground, making it a secondary resource rather than a waste with environmental threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Every year, approximately 17 million people worldwide die due to coronary heart disease, with China ranking second in terms of the death toll. Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) significantly influences cardiac function and prognosis in cardiac surgery patients. Jiawei Danshen Decoction (JWDSD) is a traditional Chinese herbal prescription that has been used clinically for many years in China to treat MIRI. The underlying molecular mechanisms, however, remain unknown. To investigate the proteomic changes in myocardial tissue of rats given JWDSD for MIRI therapy-based proteomics. Methods: MIRI rat model was created by ligating/releasing the left anterior descending coronary artery. For seven days, the drugs were administered twice daily. The model was created following the last drug administration. JWDSD's efficacy in improving MIRI was evaluated using biochemical markers and cardiac histology. Tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteomics (TMT) technology was also used to detect proteins in the extracted heart tissue. To analyze differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), bioinformatics analysis, including gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways, were employed. Furthermore, western blotting confirmed the potential targets regulated by JWDSD. Results: The histopathologic characteristics and biochemical data showed JWDSD's protective effects on MIRI rats. A total of 4549 proteins were identified with FDR (false discovery rate) ≤1%. Twenty overlapping were identified (162 DEPs and 45 DEPs in Model/Control or JWDSD/Model group, respectively). Of these DEPs, 16 were regulated by JWDSD. GO analysis provided a summary of the deregulated protein expression in the categories of biological process (BP), cell component (CC), and molecular function (MF). KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the signaling pathways of neutrophil extracellular trap formation, RNA polymerase, serotonergic synapse, and linoleic acid metabolism are all closely related to JWDSD effects in MIRI rats. Furthermore, T-cell lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1 (TIAM1) was validated using western blotting, and the results were consistent with proteomics data. Conclusions: Our study suggests that JWDSD may exert therapeutic effects through multi-pathways regulation in MIRI treatment. This work may provide proteomics clues for continuing research on JWDSD in treating MIRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Fault Attack (FA) is performed mainly under the data corruption model and poses a threat to security chips. Instruction corruption can enact the same purpose at the behavioral level, which is produced by interfering with the instruction system. Laser Fault Injection (LFI) on program memory during the instruction-fetching process, which we refer to as an instruction-fetching attack, is studied in this paper. This process bears the ability to produce a controllable instruction-fetching fault. Our work shows the implementation of the attack and its specific application case on an 8-bit microcontroller. The main contributions of this paper include: (1) We have mapped the sensitive areas precisely to the faulted instructions via laser injection and implemented controllable instruction tampering. (2) A Collision Fault Attack (CFA) scheme based on instruction-fetching fault is proposed. (3) The impacts of the faulted instructions are fully explored, including the influence on subsequent operations and key recovery. (4) The fault mechanism of the on-chip Flash is further investigated. Instruction-fetching fault means that the controller fetches a tampered instruction from the program memory under external interference, which likely gives rise to an invalid or incorrect operation. The experiment confirms that this specific fault can induce particular types of faults that are different to realize, e.g., the byte-fault model in CFA. The realization, application and mechanism of instruction-fetching fault are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Renal artery stenosis (RAS) is an important cause of chronic kidney disease and secondary hypertension. In animal models, renal ischemia leads to downregulation of growth factor expression and loss of intrarenal microcirculation. However, little is known about the sequelae of large-vessel occlusive disease on the microcirculation within human kidneys. Method This study included five patients who underwent nephrectomy due to renovascular occlusion and seven nonstenotic discarded donor kidneys (four deceased donors). Micro-computed tomography was performed to assess microvascular spatial densities and tortuosity, an index of microvascular immaturity. Renal protein expression, gene expression and histology were studied in vitro using immunoblotting, polymerase chain reaction and staining. Results RAS demonstrated a loss of medium-sized vessels (0.2–0.3 mm) compared with donor kidneys (P = 0.037) and increased microvascular tortuosity. RAS kidneys had greater protein expression of angiopoietin-1, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and thrombospondin-1 but lower protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) than donor kidneys. Renal fibrosis, loss of peritubular capillaries (PTCs) and pericyte detachment were greater in RAS, yet they had more newly formed PTCs than donor kidneys. Therefore, our study quantified significant microvascular remodeling in the poststenotic human kidney. RAS induced renal microvascular loss, vascular remodeling and fibrosis. Despite downregulated VEGF, stenotic kidneys upregulated compensatory angiogenic pathways related to angiopoietin-1. Conclusions These observations underscore the nature of human RAS as a microvascular disease distal to main vessel stenosis and support therapeutic strategies directly targeting the poststenotic kidney microcirculation in patients with RAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel moderately halophilic, Gram-stain-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, strictly aerobic, non-sporulating, non-motile rod, designated strain JSM 104105 T, was isolated from human faeces. Strain JSM 104105 T was able to grow with 0.5–18% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 4–9%), at pH 6–10.5 (optimum pH 7–8) and at 10–40 °C (optimum 30 °C) in complex media. The major cellular fatty acids were C18:1ω7c, C16:0, C16:1ω7c and/or C16:1ω6c, C19:0 cyclo ω8c and C12:0 3-OH. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid, an unidentified glycolipid and three unidentified phospholipids. The predominant respiratory quinone was Q-9 and the genomic DNA G + C content was 64.5 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain JSM 104105 T should be assigned to the genus Halomonas, and was most closely related to Halomonas gudaonensis SL014B-69 T (99.0% sequence similarity), followed by Halomonas azerbaijanica TBZ202T (98.6%) and Halomonas lysinitropha 3(2)T (97.3%). The whole genomic analysis showed that strain JSM 104105 T constituted a different taxon separated from the recognized Halomonas species. Combined data from phenotypic and genotypic studies demonstrated that strain JSM 104105 T represents a new species of the genus Halomonas, for which the name Halomonas faecis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JSM 104105 T (= CCTCC AB 2014160 T = CGMCC 1.12945 T = KCTC 42146 T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ames dwarf mice (df/df) display delayed aging relative to their normal (N) siblings, living approximately 40–60 % longer. As such, investigating the mechanisms that enable these organisms to have extended lifespan is useful for the development of interventions to slow aging and deter age-related disease. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition that is characterized by the accumulation of excess adipose tissue in the liver. Previous studies highlight the potential of calorie restriction (CR) in promoting longevity, but little is known about its effects on the biomolecular processes that govern NAFLD. In this study, we examined the role of 6-month CR on genes regulating lipid metabolism in the livers of long-living df/df mice and their N littermates. Importantly, our findings showed significant downregulation of miR-34a-5p in N-CR mice and df/df mice regardless of dietary regimen. Alongside, our RT-PCR results indicated that downregulation of miR-34a-5p is correlated with the expression of metabolism-associated mRNAs involved in modulating the processes of de novo lipogenesis (DNL), fatty acid oxidation (FAO), very-low density lipoprotein transport (VLDL-T), and reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). To further verify the role of miR-34a-5p in regulating metabolic processes, we transfected the human liver cancer (HepG2) cell line with miR-34a mimic, and studied its effect on direct targets Sirt1, Ampk, and Ppara as well as downstream lipid transport regulating genes. Our findings suggest that CR and df/df life extending mutation are robust drivers of the miR-34a-5p signaling pathway and prevent the pathogenesis of age-related diseases by improving overall lipid homeostasis. • Calorie restriction downregulates miR-34a in the livers. • Calorie restriction and df/df genotype influence insulin signaling and fatty acid oxidation. • Calorie restriction and df/df genotype influence reverse cholesterol transport. • Calorie restriction influences VLDL transport in the Ames dwarf liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The vibration characteristics of a two-layer beam are solved by the energy method. • Solving the defect of insufficient stiffness about acoustic black hole. • Proposing a damping design with lightweight and strong vibration suppression ability. • Providing the engineering design guidance of acoustic black hole damping layer. Inspired by the thickness reduction and wave focusing characteristics of the acoustic black hole (ABH) effect, a so-called ABH-damping layer (ABHD) is proposed for the broadband vibration reduction of a host structure, different from the common-used uniform thickness damping layer (UNID). The ABHD has a lighter weight and shows better vibration suppression ability. It can overcome the defect that ABHs cannot serve as the main load-bearing component due to the stiffness reduction. The primary beam structure and damping layer both follow the Timoshenko beam theory. The null space method handles the continuity between the two-layer structures. Analyses reveal the difference in vibration suppression characteristics between UNID and ABHD, further exhibiting the wave-gathering properties of ABH. The mass reduction ratio of ABHs is presented under different damping material loss factors. Finally, an experiment is conducted to verify the correctness of the proposed method and the feasibility of designing the ABHD. The damping layer's weight of ABHD is reduced by 30.8% less than that of UNID, when the material loss factor is equal to 1.0. This study provides a new method for lightweight, strong vibration suppression performance and wide-band vibration reduction in engineering with the application of ABH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A semi-analytical method is presented to analyze free vibration response of beam-plate-shell combined structures with general boundary conditions. Based on the beam-plate-shell energy theory, the coupled annular plate-conical-cylindrical-spherical shell with stiffened rings and bulkheads regarded as the theoretical model is constructed. The unified displacement admissible functions of each substructure are expanded as modified Fourier series and auxiliary convergence functions along generatrix direction and Fourier series along circumferential direction. Virtual spring technology is adopted to express the energy stored at the junction of adjacent substructures and both boundaries. The energy variational procedure and Ritz method are used to obtain the vibrational governing equation of the combined structure. The present method provides an analytical way for the vibrational response of complicated combined structures. The convergence, accuracy and reliability are validated by comparing the free vibrational response with those of the references and finite element method. Some numerical examples show effects of different boundary conditions on the free vibration. And the influence of stiffened rings and bulkheads treated as Euler-beams and annular plates is also discussed from quantity, size and spatial distribution, offering a feasible way to design the reinforced structures and optimize the bulkheads in engineering problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) driven unstable by energetic electrons and a geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) have been successively observed in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) low-density Ohmic discharges. Nonlinear mode couplings among these modes are conclusively identified. Theoretical analysis suggests that the coupling of simultaneously driven TAEs is the mechanism for GAM excitation. These results experimentally show the potential role of nonlinear mode coupling to the saturation of energetic-particle driven TAE instability, which may nonlinearly transfer energy of energetic particles to bulk plasma and heat fuel ions via low frequency mode such as GAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the efficacy demonstrated by immunotherapy recently, liver cancer still remains one of the deadliest cancers, mainly due to heterogeneity of this disease. Continuous exploration of new therapeutics is therefore necessary. Chemical‐induced cell differentiation can serve as a promising approach, with its ability to consistently remodel gene expression profile and alter cell fate. Inspired by advances in stem cell and reprogramming field, here it is reported that a small molecule cocktail (SMC) consisted of: SB431542 (TGFβ inhibitor), CHIR99021 (GSK3β inhibitor), BIX01294 (H3K9 methyltransferase/G9a inhibitor), and all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA), can induce differentiation of liver cancer cells including cell lines, primary cancer cells, cancer stem cells, and drug resistant cells. Treated cells lose malignant characteristics and regain hepatocyte phenotype instead. When applied in vivo, SMC induces wide range of tissue necrosis or fibrosis within the tumors, while remaining tissues begin to express hepatic nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α), the hepatic nuclear marker. SMC also leads to tumor abrogation in orthotopic xenograft models and life span extension of animals. The powerful differentiation induction of SMC is exerted through modulation of Akt/mTOR/HIF1α signaling and metabolic reprogramming, as well as suppressing Snail and enhancing HNF4α expression. Together, these results highlight that chemical‐induced differentiation has the potential to effectively treat liver cancer disregard of heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the spatiotemporal distribution of electric vehicle (EV) charging demands and operating efficiency of the charging system. The travel behavior of EV drivers is analyzed by considering the heterogeneity of range anxiety and bound rationality. Building on existing charging choice models, our more holistic perspective of charging demand distribution is obtained through multiagent system (MAS) modeling. In our study, the charging demand distribution in different areas is compared by considering two charging price schemes. The performance of the charging system is then evaluated based on three indicators, the charging request rejection rate, charging pile utilization rate, and charging load deviation, thereby verifying the effectiveness of our charging demand prediction model. This is done using multiagent-based simulations applied to the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) 2017 dataset. The results are analyzed according to different key indicators, mainly indicating (a) the limitations of the time-of-use (TOU) pricing strategy in reducing the peak-valley difference, (b) the transferability of charging demand among different functional areas, and (c) that there is less demand for charging piles in the workplace, as users mainly rely on home charging. These results facilitate further analyses to help the design and operation of the EV charging infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For wireless applications at millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies, an amplifier module with power combining is critical to boosting the output power of the solid-state transmitter, and then significantly expanding the operation distance. In this article, for W-band applications, a 31-W-amplifier module is demonstrated by integrating eight-way radial combiner/splitter, mode transducers, and solid-state power amplifiers (PAs). The combiner/splitter features high efficiency and compact size, by using the in-house developed 200-mm microelectromechanical system (MEMS) process. The mode transducer provides a standard interface with commercial equipment and other circuit blocks. Moreover, eight W-band 4-W-PAs, which are designed and in-house fabricated in a 100-nm Gallium nitride (GaN) process, are integrated within the combiner using the MEMS platform. Results show that, at 96 GHz, the integrated module is able to achieve an output power of 31 W with a power-added efficiency of 13%. The demonstrated prototype is promising for wireless applications with compact size and affordable cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanomedicine has significant potential to revolutionize biomedicine and healthcare through innovations in diagnostics, therapeutics, and regenerative medicine. This study aims to develop a novel framework that integrates advanced natural language processing, noise-free topic modeling, and multidimensional bibliometrics to systematically identify emerging nanomedicine technology topics from scientific literature. The framework involves collecting full-text articles from PubMed Central and nanomedicine-related metrics from the Web of Science for the period 2013–2023. A fine-tuned BERT model is employed to extract key informative sentences. Noiseless Latent Dirichlet Allocation (NLDA) is applied to model interpretable topics from the cleaned corpus. Additionally, we develop and apply metrics for novelty, innovation, growth, impact, and intensity to quantify the emergence of novel technological topics. By applying this methodology to nanomedical publications, we identify an increasing emphasis on research aligned with global health priorities, particularly inflammation and biomaterial interactions in disease research. This methodology provides deeper insights through full-text analysis and leading to a more robust discovery of emerging technologies. One limitation of this study is its reliance on the existing scientific literature, which may introduce publication biases and language constraints. Additionally, manual annotation of the dataset, while thorough, is subject to subjectivity and can be time-consuming. Future research could address these limitations by incorporating more diverse data sources, and automating the annotation process. The methodology presented can be adapted to explore emerging technologies in other scientific domains. It allows for tailored assessment criteria based on specific contexts and objectives, enabling more precise analysis and decision-making in various fields. This study offers a comprehensive framework for identifying emerging technologies in nanomedicine, combining theoretical insights and practical applications. Its potential for adaptation across scientific disciplines enhances its value for future research and decision-making in technology discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) selection is a useful technique to generate new mutations that may cause some functional changes in the gene. Through our previous genomic bulked segregant analysis (BSA), one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at the 3′ UTR of Toll interacting protein gene (TOLLIP 982T>C) was identified in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) subjected to ENU-induced mutagenesis. We found that the overexpression of cid-miR-nov-1043 mimics significantly suppressed the luciferase activity of the TOLLIP 3′ UTR, but TOLLIP 982T>C mutation at the target site can decrease the binding affinity between the miRNA cid-miR-nov-1043 and TOLLIP 3′ UTR, reducing the inhibition of TOLLIP mRNA transcription in grass carp subjected to ENU-induced mutagenesis. More importantly, we demonstrated that TOLLIP mRNA transcription levels in the gills, liver, kidney and the isolate white cells of the mutant grass carp were significantly (p < 0.01) higher than those in the corresponding tissues from the wild-type grass carp following infection with Grass Carp Reovirus (GCRV) for seven days, while the downstream gene of TOLLIP transforming growth factor β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) and TAK1-binding protein 1 (TAB1), were higher expressed in wild-type grass carp. As a negative regulator in the pro-inflammatory pathway of NF-κB, TOLLIP inhibits the excessive inflammation in ENU grass carp after GCRV infection. Consistent with the TOLLIP expression, histopathological results demonstrated more severe inflammation in wild-type grass carp, compared to the TOLLIP 982T>C mutant grass carp on the seventh day. Severe inflammation will lead to thoroughly infiltration of chloride and inflammatory cells in the gill filaments. This seriously hindered the exchange of oxygen, which ultimately disrupted blood circulation. Meanwhile, the survival rate of the mutant grass carp was significantly (p < 0.01) higher than that of the wild-type grass carp, indicating that the TOLLIP 982T>C mutants showed strong anti-viral abilities. Our results revealed that an SNP in the TOLLIP 3′ UTR may contribute to the suppression of serve inflammation subjected to ENU-induced mutagenesis following GCRV infection, which may be helpful for future resistant breeding development of grass carp. • cid-miR-nov-1043 inhibits the expression of TOLLIP. • TOLLIP 982T>C mutation abrogates the inhibition of cid-miR-nov-1043. • High expression of TOLLIP inhibit the excessive inflammation inside fish body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of science and technology, the updating speed of electronic equipment is accelerated, massive electronic waste has been produced. According to statistics, about 53.8 million tons of e-waste were generated worldwide in 2019, which is expected to increase to 74 million tons by 2030. Printed circuit board (PCB) is the core component of electronic equipment. The surge of electronic waste leads to a large number of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs). One ton of WPCBs contains about 80–1500 g of gold, and the concentration is 40–800 times that of gold in gold ore. Therefore, WPCBs have become a gold mine with great recycling potential. In recent years, more and more researchers have paid attention to the recovery of gold resources in WPCBs, which is of great significance to explore the economic potential of WPCBs. This review excludes smelter technology and summarizes the related processes of gold recovery from WPCBs from three aspects: physical technology, biological metallurgy and hydrometallurgy. Physical technology is environmentally friendly, biological metallurgy is more cost-effective and safe, hydrometallurgy makes up for the metal loss caused by traditional recovery technology, and has high applicability. Based on the existing technology, an environment-friendly and efficient process for gold recovery from WPCBs is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridge structures are often vulnerable to vehicle collisions, necessitating innovative solutions to enhance safety. This paper introduces a concept employing energy-absorbing crash dampers to safeguard bridge structures. The primary objective is to optimize energy dissipation while ensuring uninterrupted bridge functionality. Utilizing the finite element modeling approach, and incorporating realistic constitutive relationships and boundary conditions, simulations were performed to encompass X-shaped damper impact tests and collisions involving trucks with steel-reinforced concrete columns. The study affirms the effectiveness of the numerical model in simulating the dynamic response of steel dampers and column structures under vehicle impacts. Leveraging this modeling approach, this research compares the anti-collision performance of urban bridge structures, both with and without the proposed bridge pier. The methodology involves two key steps: first, a response surface optimization analysis is conducted for the primary energy-absorbing component, the anti-collision hollow diamond-shaped damper, determining optimal dimensions for the device at varying vehicle collision speeds. Second, a comparative study explores failure modes, collision capabilities, deflection changes, and energy absorption of bridge structures with and without the energy-absorbing crash dampers under vehicle impacts. Subsequently, this study performs an optimization design and calculation for the bridge structures. The outcomes reveal that the bridge with the pier experiences a substantial reduction in impact peak force. The damper effectively absorbs part of impact energy, with the optimized damper demonstrating superior energy absorption. • This paper presents for the first employing energy-absorbing crash dampers to safeguard bridge structures against impact. • The optimal dimensions of anti-collision hollow diamond-shaped damper is determined at varying vehicle collision speeds. • The dynamic responses of bridge structure with energy-absorbing crash dampers under lateral impact were obtained and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis is a useful method for the genetic engineering of plants, and the production of functional mutants in animal models including mice and zebrafish. Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a haemorrhagic disease of grass carp which has caused noteworthy losses in fingerlings over the last few years. To overcome this problem, we used ENU mutant grass carp in an attempt to identify functional resistance genes for future hereditary rearing projects in grass carp. Results: This study used ENU-mutated grass carp to identify genetic markers associated with resistance to the haemorrhagic disease caused by GCRV. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) was performed on two homozygous gynogenetic ENU grass carp groups who were susceptible or resistant to GCRV. This analysis identified 466,162 SNPs and 197,644 InDels within the genomes of these mixed pools with a total of 170 genes annotated in the associated region, including 49 genes with non-synonymous mutations at SNP sites and 25 genes with frame shift mutations at InDel sites. Of these 170 mutated genes, 5 randomly selected immune-related genes were shown to be more strongly expressed in the resistant group as compared to the susceptible animals. In addition, we found that one immune-related gene, EPHB2, presented with two heterozygous SNP mutations which altered the animal's responded to GCRV disease. These SNPs were found in the intron region of EPHB2 at positions 5859 (5859G > A) and 5968 (5968G > A) and were significantly (p = 0.002, 0.003) associated with resistance to GCRV. These SNP sites were also shown to correlate with the GCRV-resistant phenotype in these ENU grass carp. We also evaluated the mortality of the different ENU fish genotypes in response to GCRV and the SNPs in EPHB2. The outcomes of these evaluations will be useful in future selections of GCRV-resistant genes for genetic breeding in grass carp. Conclusion: Our results provide a proof of concept for the application of BSA-sequence analysis in detecting genes responsible for specific functional genotypes and may help to develop better methods for marker-assisted selection, especially for disease resistance in response to GCRV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposing a multi-layer non-local feature fusion network to extract visual features. • Learning multi-modal data to model the compatibility of paired clothing. • Feature fusion operation helps to improve the performance of the model. Clothing plays a critical role in people's daily lives, a perfect styling clothing is able to help people to avoid weaknesses and show their personal temperament, however, not everyone is good at styling. Compatibility is the core of styling, however, determining whether a pair of garments are compatible with each other is a challenging styling issue. Years of research have been devoted to fashion compatibility learning, whereas there are still several drawbacks in visual feature detection and compatibility calculation. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end framework to learn the compatibility among tops and bottoms. In order to improve the effects of visual feature extraction, a Multi-layer Non-local Feature Fusion framework (MNLFF) is developed. Feature fusion model is used to combine both high and low-level features, while non-local block is for global feature detection. We compare our technique with the prior state-of-the-art methods in the outfit compatibility prediction task and extensive experiments on existing datasets demonstrate its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize cleaner production of coal flotation and reduce the dependence of traditional nonrenewable diesel collector, renewable collector was prepared from gutter oil and used for the flotation process. For contrast, flotation performance of gutter oil and traditional diesel collector was analyzed. The functional group composition of the two collectors was compared by infrared spectrum analysis (FTIR). In addition, the adsorption properties of collectors on the particle surface were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Then, flotation experiments were conducted to verify the applicability of renewable collector. FTIR results show that the main functional groups of diesel oil are C-C and C-H, while the gutter oil contains C = O and C-O besides hydrophobic groups, which results in higher ash content of clean coal. XPS results show that the hydrophobicity group content of coal increased significantly after the adsorption of collector. The flotation result show that the ash content of clean coal can be reduced to less than 10% and accompanied by more than 80% combustible matter recovery for both the gutter oil and diesel oil. This study demonstrates that the coal flotation process can become cleaner by using gutter oil as green collector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we establish a small time large deviation principle (small time asymptotics) for the dynamical Φ14 model, which not only involves study of the space-time white noise with intensity ε , but also the investigation of the effect of the small (with ε) nonlinear drift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure determination of surface species has long been a challenge because of their rich chemical heterogeneities. Modern tip-based microscopic techniques can resolve heterogeneities from their distinct electronic, geometric, and vibrational properties at the single-molecule level but with limited interpretation from each. Here, we combined scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), noncontact atomic force microscopy (AFM), and tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) to characterize an assumed inactive system, pentacene on the Ag(110) surface. This enabled us to unambiguously correlate the structural and chemical heterogeneities of three pentacene-derivative species through specific carbon-hydrogen bond breaking. The joint STM-AFM-TERS strategy provides a comprehensive solution for determining chemical structures that are widely present in surface catalysis, on-surface synthesis, and two-dimensional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the retrieval process of the deep-sea mining vehicle (DSMV), the stability of the retrieval system is strongly influenced by the interaction between the vehicle body and the surrounding seawater due to the vehicle's complex shape and wave motion. Naturally, the negative side effects of significant changes in the vehicle's attitude and the water exit position can only increase retrieval's challenge. To investigate the characteristic of the flow field of the DSMV, this study employs the computational fluid dynamics method based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations integrating the volume-of-fluid multiphase flow model with a fifth-order Stokes-wave model to explore the attitude and displacement changes of the vehicle during the water exit process in the ocean wave environment. The results indicate that the wave phase and lifting force are the major effect factors in the DSMV's water exit process. An appropriate lifting force under a specific wave phase can effectively reduce attitude changes and positional drift of the DSMV during water exit, thereby enhancing recovery efficiency and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]