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The prognosis of patients diagnosed with relapsed or refractory (R/R) T-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL/LBL) has consistently been unsatisfactory, with limited treatment options. As reports, the CAG regimen can serve as a salvage treatment for R/R T-ALL/LBL, but there remains a subset of patients who do not benefit from it. Recent studies have indicated that daratumumab (Dara) and venetoclax (Ven) may offer promising therapeutic benefits for T-ALL/LBL. In light of these findings, we conducted a safety and efficacy evaluation of the enhanced treatment regimen, combining Dara and Ven with aclarubicin, cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and etoposide (CAGE), in patients suffering from R/R T-ALL/LBL. The participants in this phase I trial were patients with R/R T-ALL/LBL who fail to standard treatment regimens. During each 28-day cycle, the patients were treated by Dara, Ven, cytarabine, aclarubicin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, etoposide. The primary endpoint of this study was the rate of remission. This report presents the prospective outcomes of 21 patients who received the salvage therapy of Dara and Ven combined with the CAGE regimen (Dara + Ven + CAGE). The objective remission rate (ORR) was determined to be 57.1%, while the complete remission (CR) rate was 47.6%. Notably, patients with the early T-cell precursor (ETP) subtype exhibited a significantly higher remission rate in the bone marrow compared to non-ETP patients (100% vs. 44.4%, p = 0.044). The Dara + Ven + CAGE regimen demonstrated a favorable remission rate in patients with R/R T-ALL/LBL. Moreover, the treatment was well-tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiencies of plasmonic hot-electron-based materials or devices are determined by the transfer efficiency of hot electrons from plasmonic metals to semiconductors. Since the hot-electron transfer takes place at the interface between plasmonic metals and semiconductors, their interface plays a critical role in the hot-electron efficiency. Herein, Au/CdS and Au/CdSe nanostructures with different morphologies are synthesized to study the morphology and interface effects on the hot-electron efficiency. The end-selectively grown nanostructures, Au/end-CdSe and Au/end-CdSe, show extraction efficiencies of hot electrons higher than those of their corresponding fully coated counterparts. For the nanostructures with the same morphology, the Au/CdSe nanostructures have a much higher hot-electron efficiency than the Au/CdS ones. Theoretical calculations indicate that Au/CdS nanostructures exhibit formidable barriers for hot-electron injection, while Au/CdSe nanostructures show resonant electronic states between two components near the Fermi level and are without barriers for hot-electron injection. These two effects jointly account for the higher hot-electron efficiency of Au/CdSe, regardless of whether a direct or indirect transfer mechanism occurs in Au/CdSe nanostructures. These findings unveil the interfacial and morphology effects on the hot-electron efficiency of plasmonic metal/semiconductor nanostructures and will be helpful in the design of nanostructures with high hot-electron efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sealants are easily subjected to microbial attachment, colonization, and deterioration in humid environment. Developing antimicrobial sealants have become an extremely imperative strategy to solve this problem. A kind of antimicrobial sealant was prepared with silane-modified polyether (SMPE) as a matrix and 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyldimethyloctadecylammoniumchloride (TPOAC) as an antimicrobial agent in a room-temperature curing system. The tack-free time testing indicated that the introduction of TPOAC can significantly accelerate the curing rate of sealants. The effects of TPOAC on the mechanical, bonding, and thermal properties and surface wettability of the antimicrobial SMPE sealants were investigated through mechanical testing, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and water contact angle measurement. The mechanical properties of sealants were improved with an appropriate content of TPOAC, and the sealant exhibits optimal mechanical properties with the TPOAC content of 1.5%. Furthermore, TGA results indicated that the thermal behavior of SMPE sealants displayed a one-step weight loss process by heating in a nitrogen atmosphere and the introduction of TPOAC has little effect on the thermal stability of SMPE sealants in a nitrogen atmosphere. Moreover, the sealants exhibit more and more hydrophobic with the amount of TPOAC increased. The findings of this investigation indicated that using TPOAC as an antimicrobial agent is a practical way to obtain antimicrobial SMPE sealants with favorable properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For quantum on‐demand storage and retrieval of nonclassical light, the memory noise at shot noise limit is a necessary condition. And an optical filter is widely used to filter out the strong control mode when the signal mode is maintained. Thus we construct and analyze an etalon filter with the planar monolithic geometry. The signal mode resonant with the etalon is selected and the unwanted modes are filtered out by precisely controlling the etalon temperature. The noise suppression factor for control mode is 0.053 while the transmissivity for signal mode is 97% with a fluctuation of 1.7% within 30 min. Our analysis can provide a direct reference for optimizing the performance of quantum memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological vulnerability is the main index to evaluate areal environmental stability and monitor the development of ecological environment. Longdong area is a typical Loess Plateau area with complex terrain, serious soil erosion, mineral resource development, and other human activities leading to the ecological vulnerability evolution of the area, but the monitoring of its ecological status and the determination of its factors are still lacking. Based on the ecological characteristics of Longdong area, this study constructed an ecological vulnerability system including natural, social, and economic data and used the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) to study the temporal and spatial evolution of ecological vulnerability from 2006 to 2018. A model for quantitative analysis of the evolution of ecological vulnerability and correlation of influencing factors was ultimately developed. The results showed that (1) from 2006 to 2018, the ecological vulnerability index (EVI) had a minimum value of 0.232 and a maximum value of 0.695. EVI was high in the northeast and southwest of Longdong area and low in the central region. (2) At the same time, the areas of potential vulnerability and mild vulnerability increased, and the areas of slight vulnerability, moderate vulnerability, and severe vulnerability decreased. (3) The correlation coefficient between average annual temperature and EVI exceeded 0.5 in four years, and the correlation coefficient between population density and per capita arable land area and EVI exceeded 0.5 in two years showed significant correlation. The results reflect the spatial pattern and influencing factors of ecological vulnerability in typical arid areas of northern China. Additionally, it served as a resource for researching the interrelationships of the variables affecting ecological vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium-tantalum (Ti-Ta) alloy has excellent biomechanical properties with high strength and low Young's modulus, showing great application potential in the biomedical industry. In this study, Ti-Ta alloy samples were prepared by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology with mixed pure 75 wt.% Ti and 25 wt.% Ta powders as the feedstock. The maximum relative density of Ti-Ta samples prepared by LPBF reached 99.9%. It is well-accepted that four nonequilibrium phases, namely, α′, α″ and metastable β phase exist in Ti-Ta alloys. The structure of α′, α″ and β are hexagonal close-packed (HCP), base-centered orthorhombic (BCO) and body-centered cubic (BCC), respectively. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the α′ phase transformed to the α″ phase with the increase of energy density. The lamellar α′/α″ phases and the α″ twins were generated in the prior β phase. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the Ti-Ta alloy were optimized with different LPBF processing parameters. The samples prepared by LPBF energy density of 381 J/mm3 had a favorable ultimate strength (UTS) of 1076 ± 2 MPa and yield strength of 795 ± 16 MPa. The samples prepared by LPBF energy density of 76 had excellent ductility, with an elongation of 31% at fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmon-generated hot electrons show great potential for driving chemical reactions. The utilization efficiency of hot electrons is highly dependent on the interaction of the electronic states at the interfaces between plasmonic nanoparticles and other materials/molecules. Strong interaction can produce new hybridized electron states, which permit direct hot-electron transfer, a more efficient transfer mechanism. However, Au usually has very weak interaction with most molecules because of its inertness, which makes direct hot-electron transfer impossible. Herein, the improvement of the hot-electron transfer efficiency from Au to N2 is demonstrated by introducing a Ru bridging layer. Both the N2 fixation rate and Faradic efficiency (FE) are enhanced by the excitation of plasmons. The enhancement of the N2 fixation rate is found to arise from plasmon-generated hot electrons. Theoretical calculations show that the strong interaction of the Ru electronic states with the N2 molecular orbitals produces new hybridized electronic states, and the Ru d electrons also strongly couple with the Au sp electrons. Such a bridging role of Ru makes direct hot-electron transfer from Au to N2 possible, improving the FE of nitrogen fixation. Our findings demonstrate a new approach to increasing the utilization efficiency of plasmonic hot electrons for chemical reactions and will be helpful to the design of plasmonic catalysts in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the dissolution mechanism and absorption process of compound Danshen tablets (CDTs) and compound Danshen capsules (CDCs) in vitro. Taking the cell index as the evaluation index of dissolution and absorption of multi-component solid preparations of CDTs and CDCs, it breaks through the idea of traditional research. We used real-time cell-based assay (RTCA) to provide a new idea and method for the consistency evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound preparations. The drug dissolution and absorption simulation system (DDASS) was established to obtain the dissolution and absorption samples of compound Danshen solid preparations at different time points. The cell index (CI) of the sample to H9C2 cells was detected by RTCA technology, and the dissolution and absorption percentage were calculated based on this index to obtain the dissolution and absorption kinetics model. Meanwhile, one batch of tablets and one batch of capsules (batch numbers ZKC1816 and 202101001) were selected to conduct the overall animal pharmacodynamic experiment to verify the feasibility of drug effect evaluation with cell index as an indicator. The best fitting model of dissolution curves of each batch of CDTs and CDCs is the Weibull model. There was a good correlation (r > 0.86) between the dissolution-absorption-pharmacodynamic curve. Based on RTCA technology, we have established the comprehensive evaluation method for cell biology of compound Danshen solid preparations in line with the overall concept of TCM and a synchronous evaluation system of dissolution and absorption in vitro of new TCM compound solid preparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The status and associated factors of the health-related quality of life of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients under targeted anti-cancer therapy have not been investigated. Self-management and coping style have been proven to be closely related to patients' health-related quality of life. Based on these observations, this study was designed to firstly assess the status of health-related quality of life, and then explore the relationships among coping styles, self-management, and health-related quality of life of NSCLC patients with skin adverse drug reactions under targeted therapy.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study including 536 NSCLC patients with skin adverse drug reactions under targeted therapy in cancer clinics of three hospitals in China between May 2020 and May 2021. Structured questionnaires, including the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor 18, Cancer Patient Self-management Evaluation Scale, and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire, were used to collect data. Relationships among coping style, self-management, and health-related quality of life were identified by Pearson correlation analysis and a multiple linear regression algorithm.Results: The total score of health-related quality of life was 46 ± 12.84 in 536 NSCLC patients with skin adverse drug reactions undergoing targeted therapy. Health-related quality of life was positively correlated with self-management (r = 0.785, P < 0.01) and facing (r = 0.807, P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with yield (r =  - 0.718, P < 0.01), avoidance (r =  - 0.711, P < 0.01), and the severity of skin adverse reactions (r =  - 0.722, P = 0.000). Via multiple linear regression analysis, we identified some significant factors associated with health-related quality of life, including age, education level, combination of medicine, Charlson Comorbidity Index, stages of disease, facing, yield, symptom management, daily activity management, psychological and emotional management, self-efficacy, and self-management (P < 0.05).Conclusions: NSCLC patients with skin adverse drug reactions undergoing targeted therapy generally had a compromised health-related quality of life. The critical factors that were associated with the status of health-related quality of life were age, education level, comorbidity, the combinatorial application of drugs, stage of disease, self-management, and coping styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High medication literacy is the basis of rational medication application and is essential for the management of severe adverse drug reactions. The objective of the present study was to assess the level of medication literacy and determine the association between medication literacy and skin adverse drug reactions in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing targeted epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) therapy.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted from May to September 2020. In total, 296 NSCLC patients undergoing targeted EGFR-TKI therapy were recruited from hospitals in Henan, China. Structured questionnaires were used to evaluate skin adverse drug reactions and medication literacy. Pearson correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were carried out to identify the correlations between medication literacy and the severity of skin adverse drug reactions in the recruited patients.Results: The research sample consisted of 296 patients with a response rate of 92.5%. The mean score of skin adverse drug reactions and the mean score of medication literacy were 1.83 ± 0.91 and 6.54 ± 2.78, respectively. In total, 188 patients (63.5%) were considered to have moderate medication literacy. According to the binary logistic regression analysis, the following factors were associated with severe skin adverse drug reactions: age (B =  - 3.929, P = 0.000), sex (B = -4.062, P = 0.000), educational level (B = 2.712, P = 0.002), comorbidity (B = 3.297, P = 0.001), eczema history (B = 2.996, P = 0.001), nutritional status (B = -4.891, P = 0.000), blood interleukin-6 level (B = -2.143, P = 0.013), blood high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level (B = -4.015, P = 0.000), combination of drugs (B = -3.183, P = 0.048) and medication literacy (B =  - 1.503, P = 0.000). Subgroup analysis showed that in addition to medication literacy, some other factors including education level, comorbidity, nutritional status, blood interleukin-6 level and combined drug application were common factors that contributed to various adverse skin drug reactions in NSCLC patients under targeted EGFR-TKI therapy.Conclusion: The low medication literacy of the investigated NSCLC patients undergoing targeted EGFR-TKI therapy was correlated with a high proportion of severe skin adverse drug reactions. In addition, factors other than medication literacy including education level, comorbidity, nutritional status, blood interleukin-6 level and the combinatorial application of drugs were also related to the severity of various adverse skin drug reactions. A comprehensive and targeted intervention may be beneficial to improve medication literacy and control severe skin adverse drug reactions in NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the dissolution mechanism and absorption process of compound Danshen tablets (CDTs) and compound Danshen capsules (CDCs) in vitro. Taking the cell index as the evaluation index of dissolution and absorption of multi-component solid preparations of CDTs and CDCs, it breaks through the idea of traditional research. We used real-time cell-based assay (RTCA) to provide a new idea and method for the consistency evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound preparations. The drug dissolution and absorption simulation system (DDASS) was established to obtain the dissolution and absorption samples of compound Danshen solid preparations at different time points. The cell index (CI) of the sample to H9C2 cells was detected by RTCA technology, and the dissolution and absorption percentage were calculated based on this index to obtain the dissolution and absorption kinetics model. Meanwhile, one batch of tablets and one batch of capsules (batch numbers ZKC1816 and 202101001) were selected to conduct the overall animal pharmacodynamic experiment to verify the feasibility of drug effect evaluation with cell index as an indicator. The best fitting model of dissolution curves of each batch of CDTs and CDCs is the Weibull model. There was a good correlation (r > 0.86) between the dissolution-absorption-pharmacodynamic curve. Based on RTCA technology, we have established the comprehensive evaluation method for cell biology of compound Danshen solid preparations in line with the overall concept of TCM and a synchronous evaluation system of dissolution and absorption in vitro of new TCM compound solid preparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood disaster is a serious threat to urban security, and flood control and drainage planning is an important measure to ensure urban security. This paper takes planning guidance to empirical research as the main axis. On the basis of meteorological data and spatial data, through the analysis on the risk of disaster-causing factors of flood disasters, the sensitivity of disaster-pregnant environment, the vulnerability of disaster-bearing bodies and the ability of disaster prevention and mitigation, 12 indicators are selected to construct a comprehensive evaluation index system for flood disaster risk. Handan City is taken as an example to study the spatial distribution characteristics of flood disaster risk. Based on AHP, weights are assigned to the evaluation indicators of flood disasters in the system, and the risk visualization is carried out in GIS. According to comprehensive risk assessment results, it could put forward corresponding disaster prevention planning strategy for defending flood disaster in Handan City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oxidative stress is one of the most important factors affecting large-scale breeding, especially the performance of pigs. Oxidative stress plays a role by affecting various genes in pigs, which can cause serious body damage, functional degradation and reduce production performance. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Toll like receptor 9 (TLR9) pathway on IPEC-J2 cells under oxidative stress and to provide reference for the growth development of Dapulian pigs. Methods: In this study, Diquat was used as a source of oxidative stress to study the effects on Dapulian pigs by detecting relevant indicators. Then the IPEC-J2 cells were selected to verify the TLR9 signaling pathway in oxidative stress. Results: Compared with the control group, superoxide dismutase (SOD) in experimental group decreased significantly, malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly increased, accompanied by inflammatory reaction, and inflammatory factors were significantly increased in the experimental group. Oxidative stress model was constructed by H2O2 incubating IPEC-J2 cells. The interference and overexpression vectors of TLR9 and myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88) were constructed to detect the activity of antioxidant enzymes and related proteins. The results showed that overexpression of TLR9 enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes, decreased the secretion of inflammatory factors, and decreased the activity of MDA，reactive oxygen species (ROS); the results were opposite after TLR9 interference. This study also showed that H2O2 can activate the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway and promote the translocation of NF-κB into the nucleus. After co-transfection with TLR9 and MyD88, the results showed that TLR9 regulated the expression of NF-κB through MyD88. Conclusion: The study showed that TLR9 pathway had a significant positive effect on antioxidant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geometric and electronic structures of different octahedron RuRh clusters are studied using density functional theory calculations. The binding energy, electronic structure, and energy gap of the clusters have been obtained to determine the possible stable structures. The results show that the Ru4Rh2 cluster is the most stable structure which has D4h symmetry with the largest ionization potential, smallest affinity energy and larger energy gap. Furthermore, the information on adsorption and dissociation of multiple nitrogen molecules and the density of state for the octahedral Ru4Rh2 cluster is analyzed. The dissociation barrier of three nitrogen molecules further decreases to 1.18 eV with an increase in the number of N2 molecules. The co-adsorption of multiple N2 molecules facilitates the dissociation of N2 on the Ru4Rh2 cluster. The strong interaction between the antibonding orbital of N2 and the d orbital of the Ru4Rh2 cluster is illustrated by calculating and analyzing the results of PDOS, which stretches the N−N bond length and reduces the activation energy to dissociation. The antibonding orbital of the nitrogen molecule shows distinct and unique catalytic activity for the dissociation of the adsorbed nitrogen molecule on the octahedral Ru4Rh2 cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing demand for simplifying fabrication process of advanced electromagnetic wave absorbers, Ni-(OH)2 nanoparticles/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite foam (NHGF), a high-performance microwave absorber, has been proposed via a facile hydrothermal method. Besides lightweight characteristic, NHGF also possesses broadband microwave absorption capacity whose effective absorption band (EAB) can reach 7.65 GHz and the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) is up to −54.69 dB at a thickness of 3.5 mm. Moreover, its wave absorption capability can be adjusted through altering Ni-(OH)2 content. Some heterogeneous interface effect caused by Ni-(OH)2 nanoparticles can significantly enhance the interfacial polarization. Ni-(OH)2 nanoparticles can contribute to the outstanding impedance matching performance as well as electromagnetic microwave absorption performance of NHGF. Therefore, NHGF, as a broadband microwave absorbing material, is expected to be applied in some advanced electromagnetic protection as well as practical electronic engineering fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) restrict the efficiencies of renewable energy storage and conversion methods, including water splitting and metal–air batteries. Owing to their abundant misaligned atoms and sub-nanometer sizes, metal oxide/oxyhydroxide clusters supported by good electric conductors are supposed to have superior electrocatalytic activity toward the OER. Herein, highly efficient oxygen evolution catalysis is achieved using NiFe oxyhydroxide clusters anchored on carbon black (NiFe-oxyhydroxide/C). To reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2, the NiFe-oxyhydroxide/C sample with a Ni/Fe molar ratio of 1 : 1 (Ni0.5Fe0.5/C) only needs an overpotential of 269.6 mV, which is much smaller than those of amorphous NiFe-oxyhydroxide particles (347.9 mV) and commercial RuO2 (423.3 mV). In particular, the mass activity of Ni0.5Fe0.5/C can reach 593.1 A g−1 at a very low overpotential of 320 mV. Experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations indicate that the existence of Ni–O–Fe structures in NiFe-oxyhydroxide/C accounts for its excellent OER activity. Our findings not only provide a novel avenue for the preparation of excellent OER electrocatalysts but they also deepen our understanding of the catalytic mechanisms of NiFe-based OER electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High medication literacy is the basis of rational medication application and is essential for the management of severe adverse drug reactions. The objective of the present study was to assess the level of medication literacy and determine the association between medication literacy and skin adverse drug reactions in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing targeted epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) therapy. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted from May to September 2020. In total, 296 NSCLC patients undergoing targeted EGFR-TKI therapy were recruited from hospitals in Henan, China. Structured questionnaires were used to evaluate skin adverse drug reactions and medication literacy. Pearson correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were carried out to identify the correlations between medication literacy and the severity of skin adverse drug reactions in the recruited patients. Results: The research sample consisted of 296 patients with a response rate of 92.5%. The mean score of skin adverse drug reactions and the mean score of medication literacy were 1.83 ± 0.91 and 6.54 ± 2.78, respectively. In total, 188 patients (63.5%) were considered to have moderate medication literacy. According to the binary logistic regression analysis, the following factors were associated with severe skin adverse drug reactions: age (B = − 3.929, P = 0.000), sex (B = -4.062, P = 0.000), educational level (B = 2.712, P = 0.002), comorbidity (B = 3.297, P = 0.001), eczema history (B = 2.996, P = 0.001), nutritional status (B = -4.891, P = 0.000), blood interleukin-6 level (B = -2.143, P = 0.013), blood high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level (B = -4.015, P = 0.000), combination of drugs (B = -3.183, P = 0.048) and medication literacy (B = − 1.503, P = 0.000). Subgroup analysis showed that in addition to medication literacy, some other factors including education level, comorbidity, nutritional status, blood interleukin-6 level and combined drug application were common factors that contributed to various adverse skin drug reactions in NSCLC patients under targeted EGFR-TKI therapy. Conclusion: The low medication literacy of the investigated NSCLC patients undergoing targeted EGFR-TKI therapy was correlated with a high proportion of severe skin adverse drug reactions. In addition, factors other than medication literacy including education level, comorbidity, nutritional status, blood interleukin-6 level and the combinatorial application of drugs were also related to the severity of various adverse skin drug reactions. A comprehensive and targeted intervention may be beneficial to improve medication literacy and control severe skin adverse drug reactions in NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance quantum memory for quantized states of light is a prerequisite building block of quantum information technology. Despite great progresses of optical quantum memories based on interactions of light and atoms, physical features of these memories still cannot satisfy requirements for applications in practical quantum information systems, since all of them suffer from trade-off between memory efficiency and excess noise. Here, we report a high-performance cavity-enhanced electromagnetically-induced-transparency memory with warm atomic cell in which a scheme of optimizing the spatial and temporal modes based on the time-reversal approach is applied. The memory efficiency up to 67 ± 1% is directly measured and a noise level close to quantum noise limit is simultaneously reached. It has been experimentally demonstrated that the average fidelities for a set of input coherent states with different phases and amplitudes within a Gaussian distribution have exceeded the classical benchmark fidelities. Thus the realized quantum memory platform has been capable of preserving quantized optical states, and is ready to be applied in quantum information systems, such as distributed quantum logic gates and quantum-enhanced atomic magnetometry. Quantum memories usually suffer from a trade-off between efficiency and excess noise. Here, by exploiting the time-reversal approach for improving modes matching, the authors show a warm-atomic-cell-based cavity-enhanced memory with 67% efficiency and noise level close to quantum noise limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM) is a recognized complication of cirrhosis and is associated with poor outcomes, especially under challenges such as surgery/liver transplantation. However, the mechanism is not clear, and the treatment is not specific. The present study aimed to evaluate the role of anti-β1-adrenergic receptor antibodies (anti-β1-AR) in CCM. We enrolled 3 groups: healthy controls, cirrhotic patients without CCM, and patients with CCM. We found that the anti-β1-AR levels in the CCM group were significantly higher than that in the non-CCM group; anti-β1-AR was positively correlated to NT-proBNP, negatively correlated to left ventricular ejection fraction, fractional shortening ((r = − 0.466, P < 0.05), and the ratio of peak early (E wave) and atrial (A wave) flow velocities (E/A (r = − 0.475, P < 0.05) in CCM patients. Anti-β1-AR is a useful predictive biomarker for the presence of CCM and eventually may also have therapeutic implications. Clinical Trials Registration: Chinese Clinical Trials No. ChiCTR 2,000,037,730 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Soil fertility and nitrogen (N) fertilizer application level are both important factors affecting the grain yield (GY) and N use efficiency (NUE) of crops, but knowledge of their integrated effects remains poor. This study aimed to reveal the comprehensive relationship between the GY and NUE of wheat and rice with the integrated soil fertility (IFI) and N application level (NA). Then, we can reveal the potential for optimizing fertilization by improving the limiting factors to IFI to reduce the NA and improve NUE in the study area. Materials and methods: Eight test fields with different IFI in the Taihu Lake region of China were selected to carry out 2-year in situ tests to obtain the comprehensive quantitative relationship between NA and IFI with GY and NUE. Based on the comprehensive quantitative relationship models, the NA reduction ratio with IFI improvement for pursuing the maximum yield, maintaining the current maximum yield, and maintaining the NUE of the current maximum yield for wheat-rice rotation were calculated. The three kinds of NA reduction ratios were spatially coupled with IFI improvements to obtain the spatial distribution of NA reduction, and GY and NUE increase based on IFI increase scenario. Results and discussion: The results show that increases in NA and the IFI were both beneficial to GY but inhibited NUE. The improved soil fertility had slightly larger impact as NA on the yield and NUE of the rice–wheat rotation. The soil fertility indicators, SOM, total nitrogen, and available potassium had the most significant correlations with the IFI, which were the main obstacle factors for soil fertility in study area. When the NA reduction ratios of wheat and rice were selected at 0.50 and between 1.22 and 2.34, respectively, a maximum reduction in 9.3% of NA in rice–wheat rotation can be achieved, and a maximum increase of 1.20% of GY or 1.24% of NUE can be achieved simultaneously by improving the obstacle factors of IFI in study area. Conclusions: It is difficult to improve the GY and NUE of crop production simultaneously by improving the soil IFI, particularly when pursing the maximum yield. Only by enhancing the soil IFI, reducing the NA significantly and sacrificing an appropriate portion of the maximum yield can high levels of NUE be achieved in the rice–wheat rotation system. Under this hypothesis, the NA reduction with increasing efficiency of the wheat-rice rotation system, was primarily contributed by rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to investigate the interaction between mixed land use patterns and urban road structures based on the balance theory of complex networks. An approach for extracting a signed network from a weighted road network is proposed, and a walk-based balance index for urban road networks is developed. A probability matrix is adopted for the conversion between various land use types. Then a bi-level integrated mixed land-use transportation (IML–T) model is established, where the balance index is used as a parameter to correct the degree of mixed use. The upper-level is a multi-objective problem that considers total travel time, wider economic benefits, and a balanced internal capture rate, while the lower level involves the problem of user equilibrium (UE). The proposed method was validated through a sample network and the application to Handan City in China. The results indicate that the structure of the road network can be accurately measured by using a balance index. The local traffic property can be improved by choosing a mixed-use pattern given by the IML–T model. Moreover, the IML–T model is more efficient than traditional network design models at reducing the congestion caused by the distribution of the aggregated population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The adverse reactions (ADRs) of targeted therapy were closely associated with treatment response, clinical outcome, quality of life (QoL) of patients with cancer. However, few studies presented the correlation between ADRs of targeted therapy and treatment effects among cancer patients. This study was to explore the characteristics of ADRs with targeted therapy and the prognosis of cancer patients based on the clinical data.Methods: A retrospective secondary data analysis was conducted within an ADR data set including 2703 patients with targeted therapy from three Henan medical centers of China between January 2018 and December 2019. The significance was evaluated with chi-square test between groups with or without ADRs. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression with backward stepwise method were applied to assess the difference of pathological characteristics in patients with cancer. Using the univariate Cox regression method, the actuarial probability of overall survival was performed to compare the clinical outcomes between these two groups.Results: A total of 485 patients were enrolled in this study. Of all patients, 61.0% (n = 296) occurred ADRs including skin damage, fatigue, mucosal damage, hypertension and gastrointestinal discomfort as the top 5 complications during the target therapy. And 62.1% of ADRs were mild to moderate, more than half of the ADRs occurred within one month, 68.6% ADRs lasted more than one month. Older patients (P = 0.022) and patients with lower education level (P = 0.036), more than 2 comorbidities (P = 0.021), longer medication time (P = 0.022), drug combination (P = 0.033) and intravenous administration (P = 0.019) were more likely to have ADRs. Those with ADRs were more likely to stop taking (P = 0.000), change (P = 0.000), adjust (P = 0.000), or not take the medicine on time (P = 0.000). The number of patients with recurrence (P = 0.000) and metastasis (P = 0.006) were statistically significant difference between ADRs and non-ADRs group. And the patients were significantly poor prognosis in ADRs groups compared with non-ADRs group.Conclusion: The high incidence of ADRs would affect the treatment and prognosis of patients with cancer. We should pay more attention to these ADRs and develop effective management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A kind of functional polysiloxane containing pendent γ-chloropropyl groups, α, ω-trimethylsiloxy-poly(methylchloropropyl)siloxane (PMCPS), was synthesized. Its thermal stability and thermal degradation kinetics were studied through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in nitrogen atmosphere. The effect of the introduced γ-chloropropyl units on the thermal degradation behavior of PMCPS was discussed. The TGA revealed that PMCPS exhibited three degradation stages in the temperature range of 30–800 °C. The depolymerization of the main chain of polysiloxane was accelerated by introducing the γ-chloropropyl groups. Two isoconversional methods, the Friedman and the modified Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) by Starink, were chosen to investigate the thermal degradation kinetics of PMCPS. The average activation energies of the thermal degradation of PMCPS obtained from the two methods were compared and found to be in good agreement with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The α-Fe2O3/graphite composites were prepared by a thermal decomposition method using the expanded graphite as the matrix. The α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with the size of 15–30 nm were embedded into interlayers of graphite, forming a laminated porous nanostructure with a main pore distribution from 2 to 20 nm and the Brunauer−Emmett−Teller surface area of 33.54 m2 g−1. The porous structure constructed by the graphite sheets can alleviate the adverse effects caused by the huge volume change of the α-Fe2O3 grains during the charge/discharge process. The composite electrode exhibits a high reversible capacity of 1588 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1, 702 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1, 460 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 after 160 cycles, respectively, showing good cycle stability and outstanding rate capability at high current densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Return to work following myocardial infarction (MI) represents an important indicator of recovery. However, MI can cause patients to feel pressure, loneliness and inferiority during work and even detachment from employment after returning to work, which may affect their quality of life. The aims of this study were to identify the influencing factors of Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with MI after returning to work and explore the correlations between these factors and HRQoL.Method: This was a cross-sectional study. All participants were recruited from tertiary hospitals in China from October 2017 to March 2018. The general data questionnaire, Short-Form Health Survey-8 (SF-8), Health Promoting Lifestyle ProfileII (HPLPII), Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire (MCMQ) and Social Supporting Rating Scale (SSRS) were used to assess 326 patients with myocardial infarction returned to work after discharge. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explore factors related to HRQoL in patients with MI after returning to work.Results: The sample consisted of 326 patients. The mean total score of quality of life was 28.03 ± 2.554. According to the multiple linear regression analysis, next factors were associated with better HRQoL: younger age (B = - 0.354, P = 0.039), higher income (B = 0.513, P = 0.000), less co-morbidity (B = - 0.440, P = 0.000), the longer time taken to return to work (B = 0.235, P = 0.003), fewer stents installed (B = - 0.359, P = 0.003), participation in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) (B = - 1.777, P = 0.000), complete CR (B = - 1.409, P = 0.000), better health behaviors such as more health responsibility (B = 0.172, P = 0.000) and exercise (B = 0.165, P = 0.000), better nutrition (B = 0.178, P = 0.000) and self-realization (B = 0.165, P = 0.000), stress response (B = 0.172, P = 0.000), more social support such as more objective support (B = 0.175, P = 0.000), subjective support (B = 0.167, P = 0.000) and better utilization of social support (B = 0.189, P = 0.028), positive copping strategies such as more coping (B = 0.133, P = 0.000) and less yield (B = - 0.165, P = 0.000).Conclusions: HRQoL of MI patients after returning to work is not satisfactory. Health behavior, coping strategies, social support are factors which can affect HRQoL. A comprehensive and targeted guide may be a way to improve HRQoL and to assist patients' successful return to society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell differentiation within an isogenic population allows the specialisation of subpopulations and a division of labour. Bacillus thuringiensis is a spore‐forming bacterium that produces insecticidal crystal proteins (Cry proteins) in sporulating cells. We recently reported that strain B. thuringiensis LM1212 presents the unique ability to differentiate into two subpopulations during the stationary phase: spore‐formers and crystal‐producers. Here, we characterised the transcriptional regulator CpcR responsible for this differentiation and the expression of the cry genes. cpcR is located on a plasmid that also harbours cry genes. The alignment of LM1212 cry gene promoters revealed the presence of a conserved DNA sequence upstream from the −35 region. This presumed CpcR box was also found in the promoter of cpcR and we showed that cpcR transcription is positively autoregulated. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays suggested that CpcR directly controls the transcription of its target genes by binding to the CpcR box. We showed that CpcR was able to direct the production of a crystal consisting of a heterologous insecticidal Cry protein in non‐sporulating cells of a typical B. thuringiensis kurstaki strain. Moreover, the expression of cpcR induced a reduction in the sporulation of this B. thuringiensis strain, suggesting an interaction between CpcR and the sporulation regulatory networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The proliferation and differentiation of preadipocytes are regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs), hormones, and other factors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of miR-331-3p on the proliferation and differentiation of preadipocytes in addition to fatty acid metabolism. Methods. Preadipocytes were transfected with miR-331-3p mimics, miR-NC, or miR-331-3p inhibitor to explore its effect on cell proliferation and fatty acid accumulation. Furthermore, preadipocytes were transfected with pre-miR-331-3p, pcDNA3.1(+), or miR-331-3p inhibitor to explore its effect on differentiation. Results. It was observed that miR-331-3p could inhibit preadipocytes proliferation. Furthermore, miR-331-3p was highly expressed during cellular differentiation and appeared to promote the process. In addition, dual fluorescein analysis showed that dihydrolipoamide S-succinyltransferase (DLST) is a target gene of miR-331-3p, and overexpression of miR-331-3p could regulate the metabolism of fatty acids in the citrate pyruvate cycle by targeting DLST expression. Conclusion. In summary, these findings indicated that miR-331-3p exerts contrasting effects on the processes of fat deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial transcription termination factors (MTERFs) regulate mitochondrial gene transcription and metabolism in numerous types of cells. Previous studies have indicated that MTERFs serve pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of various cancer types. However, the expression and prognostic roles of MTERFs in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain elusive. The present study investigated the gene alteration frequency and expression level using Gene Expression Omnibus datasets and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and evaluated the prognostic roles of MTERFs in patients with NSCLC using the Kaplan-Meier plotter database. In human lung cancer tissues, it was observed that the mRNA levels of MTERF1, 2, 3 and 4 were positively associated with the copy number of these genes. The mRNA expression levels of MTERF1 and 3 were significantly increased in NSCLC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues; however, the mRNA expression of MTERF2 was significantly decreased in NSCLC tissues. High mRNA expression levels of MTERF1, 2, 3 and 4 were strongly associated with an improved overall survival rate (OS) in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Additionally, high mRNA expression levels of MTERF1, 2, 3 and 4 were also strongly associated with an improved OS of patients with NSCLC in the earlier stages of disease (stage I) or patients with negative surgical margins. These results indicate the critical prognostic values of MTERF expression levels in NSCLC. The findings of the present study may be beneficial for understanding the molecular biology mechanism of NSCLC and for generating effective therapeutic approaches for patients with NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suzuki coupling is of paramount importance in C−C coupling reactions. However, Suzuki coupling reactions are generally catalyzed by homogeneous catalysts under thermal heating, which results in difficulties in the catalyst separation and consumes a relatively large amount of energy. g‐C3N4/Pd has been successfully prepared for photocatalytic Suzuki coupling reactions. The g‐C3N4/Pd is prepared through the reduction of a Pd source in the presence of g‐C3N4. The Pd is found to exist as Pd nanoparticles and Pd(II) species on g‐C3N4. Owing to the good light absorption of g‐C3N4 and the excellent catalytic activity of the Pd species, the g‐C3N4/Pd shows an excellent photocatalytic performance in Suzuki coupling reactions with a TOF of 47.3 h−1, which is almost twice that of a commercial homogeneous catalyst Pd(PPh3)4, under thermal heating. Moreover, g‐C3N4/Pd displays very good recyclability and wide applicability for Suzuki coupling reactions. Our findings provide a green and sustainable method for the catalysis of Suzuki coupling reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a non-coding regulatory RNAs that play significant roles in plant growth and development, especially in the stress response. Low-energy ion radiation, a type of environmental stress, can cause multiple biological effects. To understand the roles of miRNAs in response to low-energy N+ ion radiation in Oryza sativa, high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs was carried out to detect the expression of miRNAs in the shoots of the rice after 2 × 1017 N+/cm2 irradiation. The differentially expressed 28 known miRNAs were identified, 17 of these identified miRNAs were validated by real-time quantitative fluorescent PCR (q-PCR), including 9 up-regulated miRNAs (miR1320-3p, miR1320-5p, miR156b-3p, miR156c-5p, miR156c-3p/g-3p, miR1561-5p, miR398b and miR6250) and 8 down-regulated miRNAs (miR156a/e/i, miR156k, miR160f-5p, miR166j-5p, miR1846e and miR399d). In addition, 45 novel radiationresponsive miRNAs were predicted, and 8 of them were verified by q-PCR. The target genes of radiation-responsive miRNAs were predicted and gene function enrichment analysis was performed with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The expression of 9 targets of 4 known miRNA families (miR156, miR399, miR1320 and miR398) and 2 targets of 2 novel miRNAs were quantified by q-PCR, and a strong negative regulation relation between miRNAs and their targets were observed. Those targets including SQUAMOSA promoterbinding-like protein (SPL) genes, copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), copper chaperone for SOD (CCS1) and electron transporter/ heat-shock protein binding protein (HSP), which are involved in growth and defense against various stresses, especially associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging. This work provides important information for understanding the ROS generation and elimination mechanisms closely related to miRNAs in rice seedlings after low-energy N+ radiation exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some disulfide bonds perform important structural roles in proteins, but another group has functional roles via redox reactions. Forbidden disulfides are stressed disulfides found in recognizable protein contexts, which currently constitute more than 10% of all disulfides in the PDB. They likely have functional redox roles and constitute a major subset of all redox‐active disulfides. The torsional strain of forbidden disulfides is typically higher than for structural disulfides, but not so high as to render them immediately susceptible to reduction under physionormal conditions. Previously we characterized the most abundant forbidden disulfide in the Protein Data Bank, the aCSDn: a canonical motif in which disulfide‐bonded cysteine residues are positioned directly opposite each other on adjacent anti‐parallel β‐strands such that the backbone hydrogen‐bonded moieties are directed away from each other. Here we perform a similar analysis for the aCSDh, a less common motif in which the opposed cysteine residues are backbone hydrogen bonded. Oxidation of two Cys in this context places significant strain on the protein system, with the β‐chains tilting toward each other to allow disulfide formation. Only left‐handed aCSDh conformations are compatible with the inherent right‐handed twist of β‐sheets. aCSDhs tend to be more highly strained than aCSDns, particularly when both hydrogen bonds are formed. We discuss characterized roles of aCSDh motifs in proteins of the dataset, which include catalytic disulfides in ribonucleotide reductase and ahpC peroxidase as well as a redox‐active disulfide in P1 lysozyme, involved in a major conformation change. The dataset also includes many binding proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mn-doped (K0.48Na0.52)NbO3 (KNN) ceramics were annealed in air at 600-800 °C for 16 h and the effects of annealing on the structure as well as the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were investigated. The 3 mol% Mn-doped ceramics sintered at 1030-1080 °C were found to be melted after being annealed at 800 °C, and the melting temperature decreased with the increase of Mn content. The TC and TO-T of the ceramics with x ≤ 0.04 shifted significantly to higher temperature after annealing. The annealed ceramics doped with 1-4 mol% Mn possessed a large internal bias field (Ei) of 5.08-6.6 kV/cm, and larger d33 and Qm. The d33 of the 1 mol% Mn-doped ceramics increased from 109 to 124 pC/N after annealed at 600 °C, and the largest Qm, 145, was obtained when the 2 mol% Mn-doped ceramics were annealed at 700 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the presence and possible role of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), its co-infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), or their association with clinical characteristics of patients with NPC in Central China, where NPC is non-endemic. A total of 45 NPC formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues were retrospectively analyzed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and a nested PCR combined with DNA sequencing to detect the presence of P. gingivalis, and using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR to detect the presence of EBV. Clinical data including EBV and P. gingivalis status were associated with overall survival (OS). All tumors were undifferentiated, non-keratinizing carcinomas, of which 40/45 (88.9%) were positive for EBV (EBV+), 26/45 (57.8%) were positive for P. gingivalis (by IHC), and 7/45 (15.6%) were positive for P. gingivalis DNA (P. gingivalis+). All seven P. gingivalis DNA-positive NPCs were co-infected with EBV. The 5-year survival rates of the patients with EBV-/P. gingivalis-, EBV+/P. gingivalis-, and EBV+/P. gingivalis+ tumors were 60.0% (3/5), 39.4% (13/33) and 42.9% (3/7), respectively. No significant difference was found between the OS of NPC patients among the different infection groups (P=0.793). In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to describe and confirm the presence of P. gingivalis in FFPE tissues from patients with NPC. P. gingivalis was found to co-exist with EBV in NPC tumor tissues, but is not etiologically relevant to NPC in non-endemic areas, such as Central China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scan angle information implicitly contained within the 3-D point cloud data (PCD) generated from light detection and ranging strongly affects the retrieval accuracy of the forest canopy structural parameters. Using information generated from overlapping aerial laser scanning (ALS) flight paths with multiple scan angles over a forest canopy can help to remove the occlusion effects between foliage elements, ultimately creating a relative comprehensive PCD. In this paper, we develop a novel physically based scan angle correction algorithm to retrieve the effective leaf area index (LAIe) of a forest canopy using ALS. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of scan angle and the number of ALS overpass lines from adjacent flight paths over a forest canopy on directional gap fraction (DGF) estimates. Our results suggest that ALS-based LAIe estimates capture 71.35% of the variations in LAIe derived from digital hemispherical photography. A forest canopy point cloud created using PCD from multiple overlapping ALS flight paths was sufficient to quantitatively reveal the anisotropy characteristics of DGF variations. These results suggest that scan angle information should not be neglected in retrieving forest canopy structural parameters, especially when using ALS data collected with a wide scan angle (i.e., −30° to 30° in this paper). Finally, this paper provides a solid foundation to characterize the 3-D spatial distribution of a forest radiation regime using ALS-based forest PCD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The wheat powdery mildew resistance gene Pm40, which is located on chromosomal arm 7BS, is effective against nearly all prevalent races of Blumeria graminis f. sp tritici (Bgt) in China and is carried by the common wheat germplasm PI 672538. A set of the F1, F2 and F2:3 populations from the cross of the resistant PI 672538 with the susceptible line L1034 were used to conduct genetic analysis of powdery mildew resistance and construct a high-density linkage map of the Pm40 gene. We constructed a high-density linkage genetic map with a total length of 6.18 cM and average spacing between markers of 0.48 cM.Pm40 is flanked by Xwmc335 and BF291338 at genetic distances of 0.58 cM and 0.26 cM, respectively, in deletion bin C-7BS-1-0.27. Comparative genomic analysis based on EST-STS markers established a high level of collinearity of the Pm40 genomic region with a 1.09-Mbp genomic region on Brachypodium chromosome 3, a 1.16-Mbp genomic region on rice chromosome 8, and a 1.62-Mbp genomic region on sorghum chromosome 7. We further anchored the Pm40 target intervals to the wheat genome sequence. A putative linear index of 85 wheat contigs containing 97 genes on 7BS was constructed. In total, 9 genes could be considered as candidates for the resistances to powdery mildew in the target genomic regions, which encoded proteins that were involved in the plant defense and response to pathogen attack. These results will facilitate the development of new markers for map-based cloning and marker-assisted selection of Pm40 in wheat breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial distribution of the photosynthetic components of a forest canopy plays a key role in ecological related processes such as gas exchange, photosynthesis, and evapotranspiration through affecting radiation regimes of the forest canopy. However, quantitative evaluation of woody materials' contribution to effective leaf area index (LAIe) using 3-D terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is a challenging work. In this paper, we first identified the differences between directional gap fraction (DGF) and angular gap fraction (AGF) and then developed a local geometric feature-based approach to automatically classify a TLS forest point cloud data (PCD) into three different classes, including nonphotosynthetic canopy components (i.e., stem and branch points), photosynthetic canopy components (i.e., leaf and grass points), and bare ground. In addition, we proposed a new approach named “radial hemispherical point cloud slicing” algorithm to investigate the 3-D spatial distribution of foliage elements and retrieve LAIe from a given forest PCD. Our results showed that nonphotosynthetic canopy components contributed from 19% to 54% to LAIe depending on various forest densities. Moreover, TLS-based LAIe estimates can explain 74.27% variations of digital-hemispherical-photography-based LAIe values with a linear regression statistical model. This paper provides a theoretical foundation for LAI estimation based on the PCD generated using the TLS system and facilitates the application of TLS on retrieving 3-D forest canopy structural biophysical parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]