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Current interventions for oral/dental diseases heavily rely on operative/surgical procedures, while the discovery of novel drug targets may enable access to noninvasive pharmacotherapy. Therefore, this study aims to leverage large-scale data and Mendelian randomization (MR) techniques, utilizing genetic variants as instruments, to identify potential therapeutic targets for oral and dental diseases supported by genetic evidence. By intersecting 4,302 druggable genes with expression quantitative trait loci from 31,684 blood samples, we identified 2,580 druggable targets as exposures. Single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with dental disease/symptom traits were collected from FinnGen R9, the Gene–Lifestyle Interactions in Dental Endpoints consortium, and the UK Biobank to serve as outcomes for both discovery and replication purposes. Through MR analysis, we identified 43 druggable targets for various dental disease/symptom traits. To evaluate the viability of these targets, we replicated the analysis using circulating protein quantitative trait loci as exposures. Additionally, we conducted sensitivity, colocalization, Gene Ontology/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes annotation, protein–protein interaction analyses, and validated dental trait–associated druggable gene expression in animal models. Among these targets, IL12RB1 (odds ratio [OR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.01) and TNF (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97–0.99) exhibited therapeutic promise for oral ulcers, whereas CXCL10 (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.76–0.91) was for periodontitis. Through a rigorous quality control and validation pipeline, our study yields compelling evidence for these druggable targets, which may enhance the clinical prognosis by developing novel drugs or repurposing existing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) is a broadly used dynamical measurement used to characterize a wide range of magnetic materials. Applied research and development on magnetic thin film materials is growing rapidly alongside a growing commercial appetite for magnetic memory and computing technologies. The ability to execute high-quality, fast FMR surveys of magnetic thin films is needed to meet the demanding throughput associated with rapid materials exploration and quality control. Here, we implement optimal Bayesian experimental design software developed by [McMichael et al. J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. 126, 126002 (2021)] in a vector network analyzer-FMR setup to demonstrate an unexplored opportunity to accelerate FMR measurements. A systematic comparison is made between the optimal Bayesian measurement and the conventional measurement. Reduced uncertainties in the linewidth and resonance frequency ranging from 40% to 60% are achieved with the Bayesian implementation for the same measurement duration. In practical terms, this approach reaches a target uncertainty of ±5 MHz for the linewidth and ±1 MHz for the resonance frequency in 2.5× less time than the conventional approach. As the optimal Bayesian approach only decreases random errors, we evaluate how large systematic errors may limit the full advantage of the optimal Bayesian approach. This approach can be used to deliver gains in measurement speed by a factor of 3 or more and as a software add-on has the flexibility to be added on to any FMR measurement system to accelerate materials discovery and quality control measurements, alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are novel inflammatory cell death in neutrophils. Emerging studies demonstrated NETs contributed to cancer progression and metastases in multiple ways. This study intends to provide a prognostic NETs signature and therapeutic target for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients. Consensus cluster analysis performed by 38 reported NET-related genes in TCGA-LUAD cohorts. Then, WGCNA network was conducted to investigate characteristics genes in clusters. Seven machine learning algorithms were assessed for training of the model, the optimal model was picked by C-index and 1-, 3-, 5-year ROC value. Then, we constructed a NETs signature to predict the overall survival of LUAD patients. Moreover, multi-omics validation was performed based on NETs signature. Finally, we constructed stable knockdown critical gene LUAD cell lines to verify biological functions of Phospholipid Scramblase 1 (PLSCR1) in vitro and in vivo. Two NETs-related clusters were identified in LUAD patients. Among them, C2 cluster was provided as "hot" tumor phenotype and exhibited a better prognosis. Then, WGCNA network identified 643 characteristic genes in C2 cluster. Then, Coxboost algorithm proved its optimal performance and provided a prognostic NETs signature. Multi-omics revealed that NETs signature was involved in an immunosuppressive microenvironment and predicted immunotherapy efficacy. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that knockdown of PLSCR1 inhibited tumor growth and EMT ability. Besides, cocultural assay indicated that the knockdown of PLSCR1 impaired the ability of neutrophils to generate NETs. Finally, tissue microarray (TMA) for LUAD patients verified the prognostic value of PLSCR1 expression. In this study, we focus on emerging hot topic NETs in LUAD. We provide a prognostic NETs signature and identify PLSCR1 with multiple roles in LUAD. This work can contribute to risk stratification and screen novel therapeutic targets for LUAD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional ultrasound technology based on spot scanning or phased array encounters significant challenge in real-time imaging with a single detector. In this paper, we present a Hadamard acoustic correlated imaging based on photoacoustic modulation with one transducer. The process of accurately generating the Hadamard acoustic field is to apply the carbon-nanotubes–polydimethylsiloxane composite to absorb the optimized Hadamard basis pattern. Taking advantage of correlated imaging, our system without scanning can reduce imaging artifacts and its resolution could be about four times higher than that of traditional ultrasound imaging. The use of a single transducer rather than an array of transducers can reduce the cost of the imaging system. Therefore, the proposed scheme can find applications in biomedical imaging and nondestructive evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes in the East Asian polar‐front jet (EAPJ) and the East Asian subtropical jet (EASJ) profoundly impact the weather and climate in East Asia. However, the link between aerosols and the jet streams is still unclear. Here, we investigated the decadal co‐variation of aerosols and the East Asian jet streams in the boreal winter during the period of 1980–2019. In synch with a positive change in aerosol optical depth over East Asia, 300‐hPa winds show an equatorward shift of the land branch of the EASJ, and weakened EAPJ and oceanic branch of the EASJ. This can be linked to the enhanced meridional temperature gradient along 30°–50° N but weakened in northern regions and the decreasing synoptic‐scale transient eddy kinetic energy over subtropical Pacific. Relative importance estimation of aerosols and ocean signals emphasized the contributions of aerosols in jet variations. In turn, meteorological conditions related to jet streams also contribute to variations in aerosols, the decadal co‐variations are a result of their interactions, particularly for the oceanic branch of EASJ. The findings would be helpful in providing potential indicators of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport properties of silicate melts control magma ocean dynamics on the early terrestrial planets and rocky exoplanets. Here we calculate the viscosity (transport of momentum) of peridotite liquid at potential magma ocean conditions (0–159 GPa, 2,200–6,000 K) using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. We find that, unlike MgSiO3 or basaltic melts, the viscosity of the highly depolymerized peridotite liquid (a) increases monotonically with pressure without an anomalous drop and (b) is lower than those of other melts over the entire mantle pressure range. Low viscosity would promote fractional crystallization in a less polymerized magma ocean and thus contribute to mantle heterogeneity from its earliest stage. Given the compositional dependence of magma ocean properties, emphasis on multicomponent bulk silicate Earth‐like composition, instead of simple end‐members, are rendered necessary, in order to better understand high‐energy planetary accretion processes and their aftermaths. Plain Language Summary: In the aftermath of impacts, widely envisaged scenarios taking place on early terrestrial planets, the silicate mantle (i.e., rocks) experiences extreme temperatures that lead to extensive melting (i.e., magma ocean) on those planets. According to our supercomputer simulations, the viscosity of a magma depends on its composition, which can be as fluid as water for a silicate Earth‐like composition. Low viscosity entails vigorous convection, promoting fractional crystallization in the magma ocean. In light of this early differentiation process, mantle heterogeneity observed in the present‐day Earth may be remnants of the solidified magma ocean that survived over geologic time. Key Points: The viscosity of peridotite liquid is calculated at probable magma ocean conditions up to 159 GPa and 6,000 KIsothermal viscosities of peridotite liquid increase monotonically with pressure and are constantly lower than those of MgSiO3 liquidLow viscosity points to turbulent mixing in a magma ocean and favors fractional crystallization during its solidification [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of morphological and molecular lines of evidence has enabled the family Deltocyathidae to be erected to accommodate Deltocyathus species that were previously ascribed to the family Caryophylliidae. However, although displaying the same morphological characteristics as other species of Deltocyathus, molecular data suggested that D. magnificus was phylogenetically distant from Deltocyathidae, falling within the family Turbinoliidae instead. To elucidate the enigmatic evolutionary history of this species and skeletal microstructural features, the phylogenetic relationships of Deltocyathidae and Turbinoliidae were investigated using nuclear ultraconserved and exon loci and complete mitochondrial genomes. Both nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenomic reconstructions confirmed the position of D. magnificus within turbinolids. Furthermore, a novel mitochondrial gene order was uncovered for Deltocyathidae species. This gene order was not present in Turbinoliidae or in D. magnificus that both have the scleractinian canonical gene order, further indicating the taxonomic utility of mitochondrial gene order. D. magnificus is therefore formally moved to the family Turbinoliidae and accommodated in a new genus (Dennantotrochus Kitahara, Vaga & Stolarski, gen. nov.). Surprisingly, turbinolids and deltocyathids do not differ in microstructural organisation of the skeleton that consists of densely packed, individualised rapid accretion deposits and thickening deposits composed of fibres perpendicular to the skeleton surface. Therefore, although both families are clearly evolutionarily divergent, macromorphological features indicate a case of skeletal convergence while these may still share conservative biomineralisation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) is the most popular tool in gene editing; however, off-target mutagenesis is one of the biggest impediments in its application. In our previous study, we proposed the HH theory, which states that sgRNA/DNA hybrid (hybrid) extrusion-induced enhancement of hydrophobic interactions between the hybrid and REC3/HNH is a key factor in cleavage initiation. Based on the HH theory, we analyzed the interactions between the REC3 domain and hybrid and obtained 8 mutant sites. We designed 8 SpCas9 variants (V1–V8), used digital droplet PCR to assess SpCas9-induced DNA indels in human cells, and developed high-fidelity variants. Thus, the HH theory may be employed to further optimize SpCas9-mediated genome editing systems, and the resultant V3, V6, V7, and V8 SpCas9 variants may be valuable for applications requiring high-precision genome editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic recordings made during the InSight mission1 suggested that Mars’s liquid core would need to be approximately 27% lighter than pure liquid iron2,3, implying a considerable complement of light elements. Core compositions based on seismic and bulk geophysical constraints, however, require larger quantities of the volatile elements hydrogen, carbon and sulfur than those that were cosmochemically available in the likely building blocks of Mars4. Here we show that multiply diffracted P waves along a stratified core–mantle boundary region of Mars in combination with first-principles computations of the thermoelastic properties of liquid iron-rich alloys3 require the presence of a fully molten silicate layer overlying a smaller, denser liquid core. Inverting differential body wave travel time data with particular sensitivity to the core–mantle boundary region suggests a decreased core radius of 1,675 ± 30 km associated with an increased density of 6.65 ± 0.1 g cm−3, relative to previous models2,4–8, while the thickness and density of the molten silicate layer are 150 ± 15 km and 4.05 ± 0.05 g cm−3, respectively. The core properties inferred here reconcile bulk geophysical and cosmochemical requirements, consistent with a core containing 85–91 wt% iron–nickel and 9–15 wt% light elements, chiefly sulfur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. The chemical characteristics of a molten silicate layer above the core may be revealed by products of Martian magmatism.Using multiply diffracted P waves and first-principles computations of the thermoelastic properties of liquid iron-rich alloys, we show that the core of Mars is smaller and denser than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the problems of location and travel choices for strategic land use and transport planning. Conventionally, the interaction between location choices and travel choices is investigated through the iteration operation in a nested set of land-use model and transport model. However, these choices and associated utilities (or costs) may not be consistent within that assumed in the iteration process. This paper proposes a combined activity-based network equilibrium model for location and travel choices so as to avoid the consistency problems. The activity-based approach is developed to interpret both location and travel choice behaviors. A solution algorithm is presented for solving the proposed location and travel choice problem. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed model and solution algorithm under various conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at analyzing the contribution of every part of vegetation concrete system degrading ammonia nitrogen and exploring the nitrogen migration characteristics during denitrification process, 15NH4Cl tracer was used and added to six airtight glass containers in this study. Samples of concrete aggregate, Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé), water and air were acquired on the 1std and 8thd. The results showed that the 15N Atom % of air samples had no obvious change. 15N tracer in each kind of samples taking up the percent of the initial dosing quantity were respectively, on the 1std: Bahia grass 3.8%~6.6%, aggregate 11.9%~17.2%, water 2.9%~80.5%, loss 3.3%~3.8%; on the 8thd: Bahia grass 65.3%~68.7%, aggregate 25.6%~26.2%, water 4.6%~4.8%, loss 0.8%~3.9%. Variance of the 15N abundance of each kind of samples indicate that 15NH4Cl tracer added in the culture solution was mainly absorbed by aggregate at early phase (1 d), while by plant assimilation at later phase (8 d). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the core acquisition and remanufacturing problem in which the remanufactured products are produced from acquired cores with uncertain quality condition, and are used to satisfy customer demand. Decision-making models are developed to examine the potential value of core sorting and quality grading in the remanufacturing system: a single-period model with deterministic demand, and a single-period model with stochastic demand (i.e., a newsvendor-type model). In each model, both the sorting strategy and the non-sorting strategy are discussed and compared. Our theoretical and numerical results show that: (1) In the deterministic demand case, core sorting is cost-effective only when the unit sorting cost is below a threshold value and the unit acquisition cost falls into a specific interval. Furthermore, in the case with two quality grades the adoption of sorting strategy with respect to the expected fraction of high-quality cores may be nonmonotone: an initial increase in the expected fraction of high-quality cores may motivate a switch to core sorting, however, further increase in the expected fraction may motivate a reverse switch; (2) Similarly, in the stochastic demand case, the sorting strategy also becomes unattractive when the unit sorting cost is sufficiently high. In addition, the value of core sorting will be better off under more fluctuating demand for remanufactured products if the sorting strategy is the dominant strategy. Otherwise, it will be worse off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apical periodontitis is an inflammatory condition that is considered an immunological reaction of the periapical tissue to invading bacteria and their pathogenic components. Recent research has revealed that NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) is crucial to the pathogenesis of apical periodontitis and serves as a link between innate and adaptive immunity. The balance between regulatory T-cell (Treg) and T helper cell 17 (Th17 cell) determines the direction of the inflammatory response. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether NLRP3 exacerbated periapical inflammation by disturbing Treg/Th17 balance and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. In the present study, NLRP3 was raised in apical periodontitis tissues as opposed to healthy pulp tissues. Low NLRP3 expression in dendritic cells (DCs) increased transforming growth factor β secretion while decreasing interleukin (IL)–1β and IL-6 production. The Treg ratio and IL-10 secretion rose when CD4+ T cells were cocultured with DCs primed with IL-1β neutralizing antibody (anti–IL-1β) and specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting NLRP3 (siRNA NLRP3), but the proportion of Th17 cells and IL-17 release dropped. Furthermore, siRNA NLRP3-mediated suppression of NLRP3 expression aided Treg differentiation and elevated Foxp3 expression as well as IL-10 production in CD4+ T cells. Inhibition of NLRP3 activity by MCC950 boosted the percentage of Tregs while decreasing the ratio of Th17 cells, leading to reduced periapical inflammation and bone resorption. Nigericin administration, however, exacerbated periapical inflammation and bone destruction with an unbalanced Treg/Th17 response. These findings demonstrate that NLRP3 is a pivotal regulator by regulating the release of inflammatory cytokines from DCs or directly suppressing Foxp3 expression to disturb Treg/Th17 balance, thus exacerbating apical periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic measurements made on Mars indicate that the liquid iron‐nickel core is rich in light elements; however, the effects of these light components on the elasticity of Mars' core remain poorly constrained. Here, we calculate elastic properties of various liquid Fe‐X (X = Ni, S, C, O and H) mixtures using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. We find that, at martian core conditions, the addition of S and O most effectively decreases the density of liquid iron, followed by C and H, while Ni has a minimal effect. As for compressional sound velocity (Vp), C increases Vp of liquid Fe throughout Mars' core, while both S and O reduce Vp, the intensity of which diminishes with increasing pressure. Assuming a martian core made of a binary mixture, the seismically‐inferred density would require the presence of at least 30 wt% S. Plain Language Summary: Planetary structure and chemical constitution is a product of the material from which it formed. As a planet assembles material and continues to grow, it undergoes melting, enabling heavy elements like Fe and Ni to settle toward the center of the planet to form a core. During core formation, liquid metals can incorporate light elements (LEs) such as S, C, O and H that lower the density of the core relative to pure Fe. The amounts of these LEs can be inferred from geophysical measurements such as seismology, an approach used to deduce the composition of Earth's core. Similar seismic measurements have been obtained for Mars with the InSight mission, which have allowed us to place limits on the mean density of Mars' core and its chemical make‐up. Relative to Earth's core, Mars' core is significantly less dense, requiring the presence of considerable amounts of LEs. We performed simulations based on first principles to determine the elastic properties of various Fe‐Ni‐rich‐LE mixtures that can be compared with those obtained from for example, InSight to place further constraints on its core composition, but can also be used for other planets such as Mercury and mid‐sized exoplanets. Key Points: Unlike S, the densities of Ni, C, O and H mix ideally with liquid Fe at Mars' core conditionsOf the light elements (LEs), C and S have the largest effects on the bulk sound velocity of liquid FeTo match the density of Mars' core, any Fe‐X binary requires a substantial amount of LE (e.g., >30 wt% S) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, photogrammetrically derived point clouds are widely used in many civilian applications due to their low cost and flexibility in acquisition. Typically, photogrammetric point clouds are assessed through reference data such as LiDAR point clouds. However, when reference data are not available, the assessment of photogrammetric point clouds may be challenging. Since these point clouds are algorithmically derived, their accuracies and precisions are highly varying with the camera networks, scene complexity, and dense image matching (DIM) algorithms, and there is no standard error metric to determine per-point errors. The theory of internal reliability of camera networks has been well studied through first-order error estimation of Bundle Adjustment (BA), which is used to understand the errors of 3D points assuming known measurement errors. However, the measurement errors of the DIM algorithms are intricate to an extent that every single point may have its error function determined by factors such as pixel intensity, texture entropy, and surface smoothness. Despite the complexity, there exist a few common metrics that may aid the process of estimating the posterior reliability of the derived points, especially in a multi-view stereo (MVS) setup when redundancies are present. In this paper, by using an aerial oblique photogrammetric block with LiDAR reference data, we analyze several internal matching metrics within a common MVS framework, including statistics in ray convergence, intersection angles, DIM energy, etc. We associate these metrics to the per-point errors evaluated through LiDAR reference data and discuss their potential contributions in estimating internal reliabilities of point clouds derived from DIM algorithms. The experimental results show that ray convergence and DIM energy are relevant indicators for the accuracy of the generated point clouds. Initial investigation shows that these two indicators could be further utilized to infer the measurement errors without reference data, which could potentially estimate the reliabilities of point clouds through error propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiV2O4 is a mixed-valent spinel oxide and one of a few transition-metal compounds to host a heavy fermion phase at low temperatures. Although numerous experimental studies have attempted to elucidate how its 3d electrons undergo giant mass renormalization, spectroscopic probes that may provide crucial hints, such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), remain to be applied. A prerequisite is atomically flat and pristine surfaces, which, in the case of LiV2O4, are difficult to obtain by the cleavage of small, three-dimensional crystals. We report the epitaxial growth of LiV2O4 thin films with bulklike properties on SrTiO3(111) via pulsed laser deposition and stable STM imaging of the LiV2O4(111) surface. The as-grown films were transferred ex situ to a room-temperature STM, where subsequent annealing with optional sputtering in ultrahigh vacuum enabled compact islands with smooth surfaces and a hexagonal 1 × 1 atomic lattice to be resolved. Our STM measurements provide insights into the growth mechanisms of LiV2O4 on SrTiO3(111) as well as demonstrate the feasibility of performing surface-sensitive measurements of this heavy fermion compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron quasiparticles play a crucial role in simplifying the description of many-body physics in solids with surprising success. Conventional Landau's Fermi-liquid and quasiparticle theories for high-temperature superconducting cuprates have, however, received skepticism from various angles. A path-breaking framework of electron fractionalization has been established to replace the Fermi-liquid theory for systems that show the fractional quantum Hall effect and the Mott insulating phenomena; whether it captures the essential physics of the pseudogap and superconducting phases of cuprates is still an open issue. Here, we show that excitonic excitation of optimally doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ with energy far above the superconducting-gap energy scale, about 1 eV or even higher, is unusually enhanced by the onset of superconductivity. Our finding proves the involvement of such high-energy excitons in superconductivity. Therefore, the observed enhancement in the spectral weight of excitons imposes a crucial constraint on theories for the pseudogap and superconducting mechanisms. A simple two-component fermion model which embodies electron fractionalization in the pseudogap state provides a possible mechanism of this enhancement, pointing toward a novel route for understanding the electronic structure of superconducting cuprates. The nature of the excitations in the pseudogap regime and their relation to superconductivity remain core issues in cuprate high-Tc superconductivity. Here, using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, the authors find that high-energy excitons in optimally-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ are enhanced by the onset of superconductivity, an effect possibly explained in terms of electron fractionalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of targeted therapy and immunotherapy combined with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) of FOLFOX and lipiodol embolization in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients included in the study were those who received targeted therapy and immunotherapy combined with HAIC of FOLFOX and lipiodol embolization in Zhongshan People's Hospital from December 2020 to June 2021 for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Evaluation indicators included objective response rate (ORR), median progression-free survival (mPFS), median duration of response (mDOR), 1-year overall survival rate (OS), surgical conversion rate, and adverse events. Treatment response was assessed using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST and RECIST v1.1). A total of 35 patients were included in this study, 30 of whom completed treatment evaluation. According to mRECIST evaluation criteria, the objective response rate (ORR) was 83.3% (25/30); the complete response (CR) was 60% (18/30); the partial response (PR) was 23.3% (7/30), and stable disease (SD) was 16.7% (5/30). The mDOR was 10.3 months (95% Cl: 8.27-NE), and the mPFS was 13.2 months (95% CI: 10.3-NE); the surgical conversion rate was 30.0% (9/30). The 1-year OS was 96.7%. There were no serious surgical complications and grade 4 or 5 adverse events of targeted therapy, immunotherapy and HAIC. Some patients had grade 3 adverse reactions in gastrointestinal toxicity or hepatotoxicity, and the adverse reactions were improved after corresponding symptomatic treatment. We concluded that HAIC of FOLFOX and lipiodol embolization combined with targeted therapy and immunotherapy had a significant curative effect in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, with no serious adverse reactions and a high rate of surgical conversion rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Methods: b R/R and TN MCL pts with adequate organ function were eligible. B Introduction: b MCL is incurable with standard chemotherapy. Venetoclax, ibrutinib, prednisone, obinutuzumab, and lenalidomide (ViPOR) in relapsed/refractory (R/R) and treatment-naïve (TN) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). [Extracted from the article]

The characters of the residential communities over Tong'an District of Xiamen City in thermal environment as well as in biophysical factors were investigated mainly based on the Lansat-8 OLI/TIRS Collection 2 Level-2 products. Specifically, the surface temperature product was used in measuring thermal environment, and the surface reflectance product was used to derive biophysical factors through the tasseled cap transformation as well as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Among the four types of residential community, the old community in urban area was generally lower in NDVI and in the Wetness component and therefore had higher surface temperature. Varied relationships of surface temperature with biophysical factors among four types were observed, which also demonstrated seasonal variation. At the same time, the preliminary investigation showed that the residential communities located in rural-urban fringe and a small portion of village communities had confronted with problems in thermal environment as well as in surface biophysical conditions. Furthermore, limitations of this study were discussed, mainly in spatial resolution and temporal representativeness of the Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS data, in biophysical components derived from the multi-spectral reflectance without depicting actual landscape, and in no consideration for the background of individual community. As the whole district covers wide and complex territory along with different local climate types, more investigations in details are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, our understanding of periodontitis has evolved from that based on a gross/histologic level to one on a cellular/molecular level. Previous landscape studies have explored molecular subtyping, diagnosis, and gingival tissue cell decomposition in periodontitis, and meaningful results have been obtained at a transcriptomic level. However, current periodontitis transcriptomic studies lack a finer dissection of the intercommunication between immune cells and the biological processes of specific immune cell subtypes. In this study, we classified 15 immune cell types in periodontitis at a single-cell level and conducted a cell communication analysis based on a multicenter integrated single-cell transcriptome profile, in which plasma cell–generated macrophage migration inhibitory factor can communicate with most other immune cells in periodontitis. A pseudotime analysis focusing on B/plasma cell infiltration in periodontitis revealed 2 distinct cell fates (CFs) for B/plasma cells. In addition, at a bulk tissue level, a single-sample gene set enrichment analysis showed a similar immune cell infiltration trend, and a weighted gene coexpression network analysis identified an immune-related gene module. Combined with the above findings, we used machine learning methods to further narrow down potential gene candidates for developing and validating molecular diagnostic models of periodontitis. Multivariable logistic regression of a large public cohort (68 healthy vs. 235 periodontitis) and an independent validation cohort (12 healthy vs. 7 periodontitis) showed the CF1 signature provides a good discrimination and calibration performance with clinical benefits at a proper threshold probability. Furthermore, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction validation of the gene candidates was performed in both snap-frozen gingival tissues and gingival crevicular fluids. Our transcriptomic landscape analysis at both single-cell and bulk tissue resolutions thereby illustrates the B/plasma cell infiltration process in periodontitis and reveals a gene signature that may assist in molecular diagnosis of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antiperovskites, or inverse perovskites, have recently emerged as a material class with a plethora of promising electronic properties. This Perspective describes the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of oxide antiperovskites Sr3PbO and Sr3SnO. We show that MBE offers great potential in regard to not only growing antiperovskites with high structural quality but also providing a means for seamless integration with advanced characterization techniques, including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and scanning tunneling microscopy, to facilitate the analyses of their intrinsic properties. The initial results point toward the feasibility of atomically controlled antiperovskite growth, which can open doors to study topological and correlated electronic states in an electronic environment quite distinct from what is available in conventional complex oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A giant negative electrocaloric (EC) effect in a PbZrO3/(0.88BaTiO3-0.12 Bi(Mg1/2,Ti1/2)O3) (PZ/(BT-BMT)) multilayered composite ferroelectric (MCFE) thin film which is grown on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by the sol-gel method is investigated in this work. The negative EC effect in the PZ/(BMT-BT) MCFE thin film is greatly higher than that in the PZ AFE thin film with an adiabatic temperature change (ATC) ΔT = 1.5 K. The ATC ΔT of the PZ/(BMT-BT) MCFE thin film is -32 K under the applied electric field change ΔE = 1151 kV/cm. The result is conducive to enhance the EC refrigeration efficiency greatly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrocaloric (EC) effect in PbTiO3 ferroelectric thin films (FETFs) with an array of partially compensated head-to-head (HH) and tail-to-tail (TT) 90° charged domain walls (CDWs) has been studied by using a phase field method. The calculation results indicate that the magnitude of the adiabatic temperature change ΔT increases with the diminution of the charge density (ρ*), in which ρ* is provided by charged defects or band bending. In particular, a negative EC effect caused by the direction difference between the applied electric field and the dipole is found near the HH and TT domain walls when ρ*>2.0. The EC strength |ΔT|/|ΔE| is 0.020 K cm kV-1 with the positive ΔT = 2.03 K at the external dimensionless electric field Eb*=0.08 (ΔE=104kV cm-1). These results indicate that the CDWs can provide an efficient way to adjust the EC effect of FETFs for refrigeration applications at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term human path forecasting in crowds is critical for autonomous moving platforms (like autonomous driving cars and social robots) to avoid collision and make high-quality planning. It is not easy for prediction systems to successfully take into account social interactions and predict a distribution of future possible path in a highly interactive and dynamic circumstance. In this paper, we develop a data-driven model for long-term trajectory prediction, which naturally takes into account social interactions through a spatio-temporal graph representation and predicts multi-modes of future trajectories. Different from generative adversarial network (GAN) based models which generate samples and then provide distributions of samples, we use mixture density functions to describe human motion and intuitively map the distribution of future path with explicit densities. To prevent the model from collapsing into a single mode and truly capture the intrinsic multi-modality, we further use a Winner-Takes-All (WTA) loss instead of computing loss over all modes. Extensive experiments over several trajectory prediction benchmarks demonstrate that our method is able to capture the multi-modality of human motion and forecast the distributions of plausible futures in complex scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) is a major ingredient of the atmosphere, but a trace component in the silicate Earth. Its initial inventory in these reservoirs during Earth's early differentiation requires knowledge of N speciation in magmas, for example, whether it outgasses as N2 or is sequestered in silicate melts as N3−, which remains largely unconstrained over the entire mantle regime. Here we examine N species in anhydrous and hydrous pyrolitic melts at varying P‐T‐redox conditions by ab‐initio calculations, and find N‐N bonding under oxidizing conditions from ambient to lower mantle pressures. Under reducing conditions, N interacts with the silicate network or forms N‐H bonds, depending on the availability of hydrogen. Redox control of N speciation is demonstrated valid over a P‐T space encompassing probable magma ocean depths. Finally, if the Earth accreted from increasingly oxidized materials toward the end of its accretion, an N‐enriched secondary atmosphere might be produced and persist until later impacts. Plain Language Summary: Earth's atmosphere was likely formed by the spontaneous release of gases, either from magma oceans during early Earth's accretion, or through later volcanic activity. Although our present‐day atmosphere (attributed to the latter) is rich in nitrogen (N) (78%), whether this held true for the early Earth is unclear, and is determined by the species (that control the solubility) of nitrogen in the silicate melt (i.e., magma ocean). In this study, we investigate the speciation of nitrogen in silicate melts during Earth's accretion, and find that N is dissolved as N2 at oxidizing conditions, regardless of the magma ocean's depth, promoting nitrogen degassing from the magma ocean. Our results suggest that, if Earth's building blocks were sufficiently oxidized at later times, magma ocean outgassing might produce an N‐enriched atmosphere. Given the violent impact history on the early Earth, as inferred from that recorded on the surface of the Moon, atmospheric loss of N by impact erosion may provide an explanation for Earth's "missing" nitrogen. Key Points: Strong N‐N bonding found stable in magmas under oxidizing conditions over the entire mantle regimeRedox conditions superimpose P and T in controlling nitrogen speciation (thus solubility) in deep magma oceansNitrogen‐enriched secondary atmosphere might form if the Earth accreted from sufficiently oxidized materials [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state with effective total moment Jeff = 1/2 stabilized by the spin-orbit coupling is known to suppress Jahn-Teller distortions and may induce a strong exchange anisotropy. This in turn may lead to the formation of an elusive spin-liquid state in real materials. While recent studies have demonstrated that such a situation can be realized in 3d transition-metal compounds such as those based on Co2+ and Cu2+, diagnosis of Jeff = 1/2 state remains challenging. We show that resonant inelastic X-ray scattering is an effective tool to probe this state and apply it to CuAl2O4, material where Cu2+ ions were previously proposed to be in the Jeff = 1/2 state. Our results unambiguously demonstrate that, contrary to previous expectations, a competitive (to Jeff = 1/2) Jahn-Teller state realizes in this compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to study the effects of near-earth thunderstorms electric field on the showers with different zenith angle ranges. A vertical and uniform atmospheric electric field model is used in our simulations. The counting rates of ground cosmic rays at YBJ (located at YangBaJing, Tibet, China, 4300 m a. s. l.) are found to be associated with the strength and polarity of the electric field. The variations are also strongly dependent upon the shower's zenith angle and the distance to shower core. During thunderstorms, when the distance to shower core is less than a certain value (4 m in −1000 V/cm and 40 m in +1000 V/cm), the counting rates decrease as the distance to shower core decreases, and the decreased amplitude becomes larger with the increasing zenith angle and electric field strength, especially for that in positive fields (i.e., fields accelerating positive charges downwards). As the distance to shower core increases, an increase of ground cosmic ray intensity occurs, and the enhanced amplitude becomes lager with smaller zenith angles. However, when the distance to shower core is large enough (320 m in −1000 V/cm and 540 m in +1000 V/cm), the enhanced amplitude increases with the increasing zenith angle as well as the rising strength of the electric field. A clear relationship between the intensity variations of the ground cosmic rays from showers with different zenith angle ranges and the distances to shower core in fields is given in this paper. Our simulation results are beneficial to understand the flux variations obtained by ground-based cosmic ray detectors with scaler mode and shower mode, as well as the acceleration mechanisms of secondary charged particles caused by an atmospheric electric field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a prescriptive seismic design procedure for post-tensioned mass timber rocking wall lateral force–resisting systems is proposed. Unlike performance-based design approaches that employ nonlinear analysis, this procedure utilizes techniques and analysis procedures that are routinely applied in design industry practice as well as adhering to traditional approaches contained in current US standards. The design procedure targets providing a basis for prescriptive design of mass timber rocking wall lateral force–resisting systems and their future adoption into model codes. For illustration, the design approach is applied to an example building, with the building's performance validated through a nonlinear numerical model simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure from motion using uncalibrated multi-camera systems is a challenging task. This paper proposes a bundle adjustment solution that implements a baseline constraint respecting that these cameras are static to each other. We assume these cameras are mounted on a mobile platform, uncalibrated, and coarsely synchronized. To this end, we propose the baseline constraint that is formulated for the scenario in which the cameras have overlapping views. The constraint is incorporated in the bundle adjustment solution to keep the relative motion of different cameras static. Experiments were conducted using video frames of two collocated GoPro cameras mounted on a vehicle with no system calibration. These two cameras were placed capturing overlapping contents. We performed our bundle adjustment using the proposed constraint and then produced 3D dense point clouds. Evaluations were performed by comparing these dense point clouds against LiDAR reference data. We showed that, as compared to traditional bundle adjustment, our proposed method achieved an improvement of 29.38%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic diversity present in the sugarcane germplasm, among different Saccharum species and related taxa, represents a large reservoir of genes to develop new varieties and hybrids for any character or ecosystem. Every country engaged in sugarcane improvement retains a collection of sugarcane clones, which evolves over time with new additions. Sugarcane improvement became a professionally directed and scientific endeavour in the early twentieth century. At around this time researchers in India and Indonesia also developed inter-specific hybrids between Saccharum officinarum and S. spontaneum, which formed the founding clones for variety development worldwide. Since then, inter-specific crosses formed the basis for the development of the modern sugarcane industry globally. Deleterious effects of climate, human activities and growing importance of the crop for the production of sugar, ethanol and energy from its biomass add to the importance of research attention to preserve, characterize and utilize accessions from all the genera in the Saccharum complex in a systematic way. It is obvious that the genetic resources have been utilized to a considerable extent by different workers, although success in terms of released varieties has been limited to a handful of ancestor clones from S. officinarum, S. spontaneum and S. barberi. However, reports of many hybrids developed from various species combinations, several of which are novel creations, have attained commercial-level or near-commercial-level clones are encouraging. All the activities connected with collection, preservation, characterization, documentation and utilization should aim to be more systematic through conventional breeding, genomic breeding and gene harvesting. Aided by the powerful molecular, genomic and bioinformatics tools, the genetic diversity available in the germplasm offers opportunities to design and develop sugarcane varieties with substantial yield improvement under any situations and for generating diversified products in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterned piezoelectric films as inter-digital transducer (PP-IDT) structures on diamond substrates have been attracting extensive attention due to the increased working frequency, electromechanical coupling, and quality factor of piezoelectric devices. In this study, by conceiving every single patterned piezoelectric IDT bar as the longitudinal bulk acoustic wave (BAW) vibrating source, we study how the BAW excites and couples with the surface acoustic wave (SAW) on the surface of diamond substrates and resonates simultaneously. The classic delta-function model of the SAW and electric impedance theory of the film bulk acoustic resonator were innovatively combined to develop this conception. Resonating frequency and corresponding piezoelectric IDT thickness were calculated using MATLAB software based on the developed delta-function model. The resonance results coincided well with finite element method simulations, validating this conception and the developed delta-function model for PP-IDT structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the mechanism of secreted frizzled‐related protein I (sFRP1) involvement in the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) under inflammatory conditions. Methodology: hPDLCs were cultured in an osteogenic differentiation‐inducing medium (odi) and subjected to the stimulation of Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (P. gingivalis LPS) with or without the inhibition of sFRP1. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay were carried out to evaluate the expression of osteogenic markers as well as the classic Wnt signalling pathway. Periapical periodontitis was induced in Wistar rats to further confirm the effect of sFRP1 inhibitor on bone loss in vivo. After the Shapiro–Wilk normality test, data were analysed by Student's paired t‐test or one‐way Anova test with a P value less than 0.05 as the level of statistical significance. Results: Significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression of osteogenic markers were detected in hPDLCs treated with P. gingivalis LPS during osteogenic induction (P < 0.001). Increased expression of sFRP1 was observed (P < 0.01), whilst Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway was inhibited by the addition of P. gingivalis LPS (P < 0.01). After the addition of the sFRP1 inhibitor, the decrease of osteogenic markers (P < 0.05) and the inhibition of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway (P < 0.05) were reversed significantly. The animal experiment further confirmed that the sFRP1 inhibitor significantly reduced bone loss of periapical lesions in vivo (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Wnt antagonist sFRP1 was involved in the osteogenic differentiation of hPDLCs under inflammation. Modulation of the Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway through the inhibition of sFRP1 may offer a new perspective on the treatment of chronic apical periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the development of a high‐resolution and highly efficient beamline for soft X‐ray resonant inelastic X‐ray scattering (RIXS) located at the Taiwan Photon Source. This beamline adopts an optical design that uses an active grating monochromator (AGM) and an active grating spectrometer (AGS) to implement the energy compensation principle of grating dispersion. Active gratings are utilized to diminish defocus, coma and higher‐order aberrations, as well as to decrease the slope errors caused by thermal deformation and optical polishing. The AGS is mounted on a rotatable granite platform to enable momentum‐resolved RIXS measurements with scattering angles over a wide range. Several high‐precision instruments developed in‐house for this beamline are described briefly. The best energy resolution obtained from this AGM–AGS beamline was 12.4 meV at 530 eV, achieving a resolving power of 4.2 × 104, while the bandwidth of the incident soft X‐rays was kept at 0.5 eV. To demonstrate the scientific impact of high‐resolution RIXS, we present an example of momentum‐resolved RIXS measurements on a high‐temperature superconducting cuprate, i.e. La2–xSrxCuO4. The measurements reveal the A1g buckling phonons in superconducting cuprates, opening a new opportunity to investigate the coupling between these phonons and charge‐density waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to overcome the problem that the accuracy of the traditional historical traffic accident data modeling method is not high, this paper proposes a historical traffic accident data modeling method based on state observer. The road traffic accident database is established, and the IOT terminal function module and traffic accident monitoring device are designed and constructed in combination with the Internet of things technology, and the invalid data are filtered by cosine similarity in the database to improve the reliability of data modeling. The statistical feature analysis method is used to fuse and cluster the historical traffic accident data, and the distribution concept set of historical traffic accident data is obtained. Based on the obtained data set, a state observer is designed to optimize the modeling parameters, so as to realize the modeling analysis of historical traffic accident data. The experimental results show that the method can still maintain the high accuracy of the data modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a computationally efficient numerical model for predicting seismic responses of post‐tensioned cross‐laminated timber (CLT) rocking wall systems. The rocking wall is modeled as a simple linear beam element with a nonlinear rotational spring at the base. The model is primarily intended for preliminary design and assessment of multistory buildings using this particular lateral system. A method was developed to determine the nonlinear rotational spring parameters by considering the dimension of the CLT wall panel and post‐tensioned steel rods and energy dissipating devices' contributions. The proposed model was validated by comparing the simulated results with the responses from a series of shake table tests of a full‐scale two‐story building with CLT rocking walls. The numerical results show reasonable agreement with the shake table test results considering the simplicity of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the noise performance characteristics of magnetic sensors using both magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and giant magnetoresistance (GMR) elements. Each sensor studied has a notably different noise and detectivity. Of the sensors we measured, those based on GMR multilayers have the lowest noise and detectivity. However, the GMR sensor also has a significantly smaller linear range. To make a direct comparison between sensors, we scale the linear operating ranges of each sensor to be the same. This is the phenomenological equivalent of modifying the flux concentration. Upon scaling, the low frequency detectivity of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors becomes essentially equal to that of the GMR sensor. Using the scaling approach, we are able to place the detectivity in the context of other key parameters, namely, size and power consumption. Finally, we use this technique to examine the upper limit for magnetoresistive sensor performance based on a notional MTJ sensor using present record setting TMR values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]