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When terminal devices attempt to access the industrial internet of things (IIoT), preventing illegal access from untrusted terminals becomes challenging. This difficulty arises because most devices adopt the commonly used traditional methods of accessing the internet of things. To address this challenge, we propose a perception‐layer‐based IIoT trusted connection architecture, derived from the trusted connection architecture (TCA), and names it TCA‐IIoT. This architecture enables bidirectional identity and platform integrity authentication between access points and terminals, while also ensuring trusted authentication of IIoT terminal behavior. To validate the effectiveness of TCA‐IIoT, the paper details a simulation experiment. This experiment centers on evaluating the success rate of data transmission and measuring the average delay under various conditions, including scenarios with malicious nodes. The results of the study indicate that TCA‐IIoT markedly improves the security and reliability of IIoT networks, advancements that are vital for the sustainable development and broader application of these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A base promoted oxidative [4+2] annulation of pyrrole‐2‐carbaldehyde derivatives with o‐hydroxyphenyl propargylamines for the synthesis of highly substituted indolizines has been developed. Using DBN as base, a broad range of 5,6,7‐trisubstituted indolizines have been prepared in good to excellent yields under mild conditions, and many useful functional groups can be tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the findings of Let's Be Friends (Shaanxi), Trial 2 (LBF2), which is a second test of the school‐based intervention. Let's Be Friends (LBF) is designed to promote social competence and prevent maladaptive behaviour by strengthening the social information processing (SIP) skills of third‐grade children in rural China. A cluster‐matched design with random sampling was used in LBF2. Two rural counties in China were selected by purposive sampling (one is the treatment site, and another is the control site). Nine treatment schools (n = 343) were selected by random sampling. Fifteen control schools (n = 369) were selected by using vector‐norm matching. All children of the third grade, ages 8–10, in the treatment schools received 12 sessions of LBF2 intervention. Skill‐level Activity Scale and the Carolina Child Checklist–Teacher Form were employed to measure children's SIP skills and aggressive behaviour. LBF2 promoted the improvement of study children's SIP skills and effectively improved children's authority acceptance. LBF has the potential to be applied in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article in the journal "Advanced Functional Materials" discusses the use of engineered microglia-exosomes coated with highly twisting AIE photothermal agents to efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier for mild photothermal-immune checkpoint blockade therapy in glioblastoma. The authors acknowledge errors in several figures and apologize for the mistakes. The study was conducted by Xun Lin, Zhihong Sun, Shiyun Huang, Chuyao Liu, Jin Peng, Yueying Li, Yue Xiong, Hong Gao, Jianwei Chen, Junyang Qi, Chengming Sun, Lintao Cai, Guanjun Deng, and Wenbin Deng. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The literature shows that social support is an important factor influencing health behaviors. This study aimed to explore the relationships and intrinsic pathways of social support, loneliness, economic income, and health behaviors among older adults during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and to provide a theoretical basis for the implementation of health behaviors interventions for older adults. Methods: A cluster-random-sampling survey was adopted within two towns in Dongguan, China. Demographic characteristics, social support, loneliness, economic income and health behaviors were measured. The Social Support Appraisals scale (SS-A), the ULS-8 Loneliness Scale, and the Self-rated abilities for health practice scale (SRAHPS) were used to measure social support, loneliness, and health behaviors in older adults, respectively. A moderated mediation model was built to examine the relationships among social support, loneliness, economic income, and health behaviors using the SPSS PROCESS 4.0 macro. We conducted bootstrapping of regression estimates with 5000 samples and a 95% confidence interval. Results: 621 older adults completed the questionnaire. Most of the participants were female, accounting for 75.0%, and the average age was 81.11 years (SD = 8.11). The median (interquartile range) of the participants' average monthly economic income was 800 (500–1000)RMB. The results of the mediation analysis showed that loneliness partly mediated the relationship between social support and health behaviors (B = 0.024, 95%CI: 0.007, 0.042), with the mediating effect accounting for 4.56% of the total effect. The moderation mediation analysis revealed a positive moderating role of economic income in the relationship between social support and loneliness (B = 0.114, 95%CI: 0.054, 0.174). Specifically, the relationship between social support and loneliness was found to be weaker for older adults with a high economic income compared to those with a lower economic income. Conclusion: The provision of enhanced social support and the alleviation of loneliness among older adults during an epidemic can facilitate the development of healthy behaviours, particularly among those who are economically disadvantaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are some changes in the new 9th edition Tumor-Node-Metastases (TNM) staging system for lung cancer, including subdividing M1c into M1c1 and M1c2 stage. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic performance of the updated classification system and try to provide some real-world application data among advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with bone metastases. Methods: Advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients in M1c stage with bone metastases who receiving first-line first-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) and T790M-guided osimertinib as the second-line therapy were retrospectively screened from December 2016 to December 2021. A total of 126 patients were enrolled in this study. 62 patients and 64 patients were subdivided into M1c1 and M1c2 groups according to the 9th edition of TNM staging system.The first-line real-world progression-free survival (1LrwPFS), the second-line real-world progression-free survival (2LrwPFS), post-progression survival (PPS) and real-world overall survival (rwOS) were analyzed. Results: The overall median rwOS was 40.1 months (95% CI 35.996–44.204). 1LrwPFS was 13.9 months (95% CI 12.653–15.147) and 2LrwPFS was 14.5 months (95% CI 11.665–17.335) for all patients.Patients in M1c2 stage was inferior to M1c1 stage patients in rwOS (35.2 months vs. 42.9 months, HR = 0.512, P = 0.005). 2LrwPFS was moderately correlated with rwOS (r = 0.621, R2 = 0.568, P = 0.000). Multivariate analysis showed performance status (PS) score ≥ 2 and TP53 alteration positive were independent prognostic factors of worse rwOS. Conclusions: More refined stratification of M1c according to the 9th edition of TNM staging system is conducive to the judgment of prognosis and the implementation of precision medicine for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Isolated splenic abscesses are rare, but increasingly reported with newer organisms and changes in mechanisms involved. We conducted a comparative review of publications from 1900–1977, 1977–1986, 1987–1995, and 1996–2022. Methods: A systematic search in Embase and PubMed resulted in 522 publications (1111 cases). Data was tabulated, analysed, and compared. Results: Patient demographics and symptoms remain unchanged although more Asian patients were reported. Metastatic infections remain the main cause, but COVID‐19‐linked and iatrogenic causes post bariatric surgery and splenic artery embolization are increasingly reported. Aerobic organisms remain the commonest (68%), with a variety of exotic organisms reported. Splenectomy remains the definitive treatment, although antibiotics only and percutaneous aspiration/catheter‐drainage are increasingly used with reasonable outcomes, with salvage splenectomy for therapeutic failures not having significantly higher mortality than upfront splenectomy. Conclusions: Isolated splenic abscesses continue to be uncommon, with diagnosis requiring a high degree of suspicion. Non‐surgical options for treatment can sometimes be definitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Overuse of antibiotics in healthcare remains prevalent and requires urgent attention in China, particularly in primary healthcare (PHC) facilities. This study aimed to describe the patterns of antibiotic prescriptions for acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in PHC facilities in China and to investigate how PHC physicians' knowledge influences their antibiotic prescribing behavior. Methods: A cross-sectional survey linking physician questionnaire responses and their prescription data was conducted in Shaanxi Province, China. The proportions of URTI visits that received at least one antibiotic, combined antibiotics, and broad-spectrum antibiotics were the main outcomes reflecting antibiotic prescribing behavior. Multivariate mixed-effects logistic regressions were applied to analyze the relationship between PHC physicians' knowledge about antibiotics and their antibiotic prescribing behavior. Results: A total of 108 physicians filled out the questionnaires between February 2021 and July 2021, and a sample of 11,217 URTI visits attended by these physicians from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 were included in the analysis. The overall mean score of our respondents on the knowledge questions was 5.2 (total score of 10). Over sixty percent (61.2%; IQR 50.2–72.1) of the URTI visits received antibiotics. The percentages of URTI visits prescribed with combined and broad-spectrum antibiotics were 7.8% (IQR 2.3–10.2) and 48.3% (IQR 36.7–58.7), respectively. Third-generation cephalosporins were the most frequently used antibiotics. Physicians with lower antibiotic knowledge scores were more inclined to prescribe antibiotics (p < 0.001), combined antibiotics (p = 0.001), and broad-spectrum antibiotics (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Physicians' insufficient knowledge was significantly associated with antibiotic overprescribing. Professional training targeting physicians' knowledge of antibiotics is urgently needed to improve the rational use of antibiotics in grassroots healthcare facilities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this study, sesame hull oil (SHO) was extracted to characterise its composition. SHO was heated to determine the volatiles and their effect on the quality of cold‐pressed dehulled sesame oil (SO). Seventeen fatty acids, four lignans (1088.65 mg/100 g), tocopherols (284.17 mg/100 g) mainly in the γ‐form, and sterol (1722.16 mg/100 g, 4.67 times more than in sesame kernel oil) were detected in SHO. After heating, the volatiles found in SHO were mainly aldehydes and acids, represented by hexanal (fatty, green aroma) and 3‐methyl‐butanoic acid (fatty, rancid aroma), respectively. The acid value, peroxide value, anisidine value, and turbidity of SO increased significantly after adding SHO, and the scavenging ability of 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was enhanced. The oxidation induction times of SO with the addition of SHO ranged from 8.93 to 9.53 h. The present study provides information about SHO and a new direction for the utilisation of sesame hulls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cortical bone loss is intricately associated with ageing and coincides with iron accumulation. The precise role of ferroptosis, characterized by iron overload and lipid peroxidation, in senescent osteocytes remains elusive. We found that ferroptosis was a crucial mode of osteocyte death in cortical bone during ageing. Using a single‐cell transcriptome analysis, we identified activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) as a critical driver of osteocyte ferroptosis. Elevated ATF3 expression in senescent osteocytes promotes iron uptake by upregulating transferrin receptor 1 while simultaneously inhibiting solute carrier family 7‐member 11‐mediated cystine import. This process leads to an iron overload and lipid peroxidation, culminating in ferroptosis. Importantly, ATF3 inhibition in aged mice effectively alleviated ferroptosis in the cortical bone and mitigated cortical bone mass loss. Taken together, our findings establish a pivotal role of ferroptosis in cortical bone loss in older adults, providing promising prevention and treatment strategies for osteoporosis and fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although advancements in genomic and epigenetic research have deepened our understanding of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), only one-third of patients can achieve durable remission. Growing evidence suggests that the immune microenvironment in bone marrow influences prognosis and survival in AML. There is a specific association between CD8+ T cells and the prognosis of AML patients. To develop a CD8+ T cell-related immune risk score for AML, we first evaluated the accuracy of CIBERSORTx in predicting the abundance of CD8+ T cells in bulk RNA-seq and found it significantly correlated with observed singlecell RNA sequencing data and the proportions of CD8+ T cells derived from flow cytometry. Next, we constructed the CTCG15, a 15-gene prognostic signature, using univariate and LASSO regression on the differentially expressed genes between CD8+ THigh and CD8+ TLow groups. The CTCG15 was further validated across six datasets in different platforms. The CTCG15 has been shown to be independent of established prognostic markers, and can distill transcriptomic consequences of several genetic abnormalities closely related to prognosis in AML patients. Finally, integrating this model into the 2022 European LeukemiaNet contributed to a higher predictive power for prognosis prediction. Collectively, our study demonstrates that CD8+ T cell-related signature could improve the comprehensive risk stratification and prognosis prediction in AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-temperature-tolerant simultaneous nitrification-denitrification bacterial strain of Acinetobacter kyonggiensis (AKD4) was identified. It showed high efficiency in total nitrogen (TN) removal (92.45% at 10°C and 87.51% at 30℃), indicating its excellent low-temperature tolerance. Transcriptomic analysis revealed possible metabolic mechanisms under low-temperature stress. Genes involved in cell growth, including ATP synthase (atpADGH), amino acid (glyA, dctA, and ilvE), and TCA cycle metabolism (gltA, fumC, and mdh) were remarkably upregulated from 1.05-3.44-fold at 10℃, suggesting that their actions enhance survivability at low temperatures. The expression levels of genes associated with nitrogen assimilation (glnAE, gltBD, and gdhA), nitrogen metabolism regulation (ntrC, glnB, and glnD), and denitrification processes (napA) were increased from 1.01-4.38-fold at 10℃, which might have contributed to the bacterium's highly efficient nitrogen removal performance at low temperatures. Overall, this study offers valuable insights into transcriptome, and enhances the comprehension of the low-temperature-tolerant mechanism of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan (BDG) detection for diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) in non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) immunocompromised patients lacks intensive care unit (ICU)-specific data. We aimed to assess its performance and determine the optimal cutoff for PJP in ICU population. Methods: This retrospective study included critically ill non-HIV immunocompromised patients admitted to a medical ICU with suspected pneumonia, undergoing simultaneous microbiological testing for P. jirovecii on lower respiratory tract specimens and serum BDG. Confounders affecting BDG positivity were explored by multivariable logistic regression. Optimal cut-offs were derived from Youden's index for the entire cohort and subgroups stratified by confounders. Diagnostic performance of serum BDG was estimated at different cutoffs. Results: Of 400 patients included, 42% were diagnosed with PJP and 58.3% had positive serum BDG. Serum BDG's area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.90 (0.87–0.93). At manufacturer's 150 pg/ml cut-off, serum BDG had high sensitivity and negative predictive value (94%), but low specificity and positive predictive value (67%). Confounders associated with a positive serum BDG in PJP diagnosis included IVIG infusion within 3 days (odds ratio [OR] 9.24; 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.09–20.88, p < 0.001), other invasive fungal infections (OR 4.46; 95% CI 2.10–9.49, p < 0.001) and gram-negative bacteremia (OR 29.02; 95% CI 9.03–93.23, p < 0.001). The application of optimal BDG cut-off values determined by Youden's index (252 pg/ml, 390 pg/ml, and 202 pg/ml) specific for all patients and subgroups with or without confounders improved the specificity (79%, 74%, and 88%) and corresponding PPV (75%, 65%, and 85%), while maintaining reasonable sensitivity and NPV. Conclusions: Tailoring serum BDG cutoff specific to PJP and incorporating consideration of confounders could enhance serum BDG's diagnostic performance in the ICU settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Corynebacterium striatum (C. striatum), a common skin and mucosal colonizer, is increasingly considered as an opportunistic pathogen causing bloodstream infections (BSIs). This study aims to investigate the clinical features and outcomes of C. striatum-BSI. Methods: We included hospitalized cases with C. striatum-positive blood cultures from January 2014 to June 2022 and classified them into C. striatum-BSI group and contamination group; Clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes were compared between the C. striatum-BSI group and contamination group, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-BSI and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE)-BSI. Results: Fifty-three patients with positive C. striatum blood cultures were identified. Among them, 25 patients were classified as C. striatum-BSI, with 21 as contamination cases. And 62 cases of MRSA-BSI and 44 cases of MRSE-BSI were identified. Compared to the contaminated group, the C. striatum-BSI group had a shorter time to positivity of blood cultures (27.0 h vs. 42.5 h, P = 0.011). C. striatum-BSI group had a longer time to positivity (27 h) when compared to both the MRSA (20 h) and MRSE groups (19 h) (p < 0.05). Appropriate therapy within 24 h of BSI onset was significantly lower in the C. striatum group (28%) compared to the MRSA (64.5%) and MRSE (65.9%) groups (p < 0.005). The 28-day mortality was higher in the C. striatum group (52.0%) compared to the MRSA (25.8%) and MRSE (18.2%) groups. Conclusions: Given the distinct characteristics of C. striatum-BSI, including a longer time to positivity than other Gram-positive bacteria and higher mortality rates, we suggest prescribing early appropriate antibiotics if C. striatum-BSI is suspected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) has high morbidity and mortality and is often attributed to dental procedures. Aim: This study characterized variables related to paediatric IE in a paediatric hospital cohort. Design: A retrospective review of medical records, from January 1, 2008, to January 1, 2020, to examine demographic, medical and dental history, and risk factors associated with children diagnosed with IE at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Results: Of the 242 patients who were admitted with tentative IE diagnoses, 67 met the inclusion criteria: 46 (69%) had underlying cardiac conditions and 21 (31%) had not. One‐third had an infection with S. aureus and viridans streptococci. Age was significantly associated with intracardiac devices in children with IE. Mean hospitalization was 25 days, and the mortality was 6 (9%); 41(61%) required surgery for causative defects, and 24 (32%) had dental consultation during admission. Conclusion: Although cardiac‐related conditions were present in most cases, IE occurred in patients without cardiac factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess factors associated with higher odds of undergoing repeat general anesthesia (GA2) for dental treatments. The authors studied children up to age 48 months of age enrolled in Medicaid who underwent dental treatment under first general anesthesia (GA1). The authors used a case-control design to compare children who had a GA2 within 48 months of GA1 (case patients) with those who did not (control patients). In total, 60 case patients were age and sex matched to 120 control patients. Mean (SD) age at GA1 was 38 (5.2) months for case participants and 40 (4.7) months for control participants (P =.08). Higher caries involvement of maxillary incisors (P =.04), and lower caries involvment of canines (P =.003), first molars (P =.012), and second molars (P <.001) at GA1 was associated with higher odds of occurrence of GA2. There was a significant inverse association between full-coverage restoration on canines (P =.003), first molars (P =.001), and second molars (P =.002) at GA1 and occurrence of GA2. There was a significant direct association between the use of composites or sealants on second molars in GA1 and occurrence of GA2 (P =.02). The number of extractions at GA1 was not associated significantly with the occurrence of GA2. The use of full-coverage restorations on primary molars and canines under general anesthesia (GA) was associated with lower odds of occurrence of GA2. Resin restorations and sealants on primary second molars were associated with higher odds of occurrence repeat GA. The findings support preferential use of full-coverage restorations for young children undergoing dental GA. Full-coverage restorations should be considered strongly for young children undergoing GA for dental treatments to reduce the risk of requiring GA2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The foreign exchange market is the most liquid financial market globally, attracting investors looking for lucrative investment opportunities. Despite numerous techniques developed for forecasting foreign exchange trends, accurate and reliable models remain scarce. This article presents a novel approach that combines fundamental and technical analysis to predict exchange rates for the USD-CNY, EUR-USD, and GBP-USD currency pairs. Additionally, we extend the model's architecture by using China CSI300 stock index futures (CIFc1) instead of VIX, LSTM instead of GRU, and adding data pre-processing. The results show that our method is more accurate and stable than other approaches mentioned above, including traditional methods based on fundamental analysis. This study highlights the importance of the idea of combing fundamental information with deep learning, and underscores the effectiveness of integrating technique analysis and fundamental analysis, and lays the groundwork for further extensions and experimentation in foreign exchange forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty in the environment poses a significant challenge for supply chain management, and uncertainty theory is a branch of mathematics that focuses on analyzing uncertain phenomena. In this context, an increasing number of scholars have begun to use the uncertainty theory to study uncertain phenomena in the supply chain management, but there is still a lack of systematic literature reviews and research outlooks in this research field. To fill this gap, this paper provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the relevant literature in the Web of Science database from 2015 to May 2024 using bibliometric analysis and content analysis. First, bibliometric analysis is conducted to visualize the current state of research, including publication trends, keywords, authors, and geographical distribution. Then, through content analysis, the selected literature is categorized into seven subfields according to the research questions, including supply chain pricing decision, supply chain network disruption, supply chain network design, supply chain management considering sales efforts, sustainable supply chain management, supply chain contract design, and general supply chain management. The results indicate that the literature on the supply chain management based on the uncertainty theory is not yet mature. The research has begun to shift from single uncertainty to multidimensional uncertainty and from single-objective decision-making to multi-objective decision-making. The research direction has also shifted towards sustainability and resilience design in supply chain networks, gradually incorporating environmental and social benefits into supply chain decision-making. Based on the results of the bibliometric analysis and content analysis, future research directions are identified and potential related research opportunities are proposed, including the impact of consumer behavior, channel interaction, corporate social responsibility, and logistics service strategies on the supply chain management based on the uncertainty theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), the promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor alpha (PML/RARα) fusion protein destroys PML nuclear bodies (NBs), leading to the formation of microspeckles. However, our understanding, largely learned from morphological observations, lacks insight into the mechanisms behind PML/RARα-mediated microspeckle formation and its role in APL leukemogenesis. This study presents evidence uncovering liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) as a key mechanism in the formation of PML/RARα-mediated microspeckles. This process is facilitated by the intrinsically disordered region containing a large portion of PML and a smaller segment of RARα. We demonstrate the coassembly of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) within PML/RARα-mediated condensates, differing from wild-type PML-formed NBs. In the absence of PML/RARα, PML NBs and BRD4 puncta exist as two independent phases, but the presence of PML/RARα disrupts PML NBs and redistributes PML and BRD4 into a distinct phase, forming PML/RARα-assembled microspeckles. Genome-wide profiling reveals a PML/RARα-induced BRD4 redistribution across the genome, with preferential binding to super-enhancers and broad-promoters (SEBPs). Mechanistically, BRD4 is recruited by PML/RARα into nuclear condensates, facilitating BRD4 chromatin binding to exert transcriptional activation essential for APL survival. Perturbing LLPS through chemical inhibition (1, 6-hexanediol) significantly reduces chromatin co-occupancy of PML/RARα and BRD4, attenuating their target gene activation. Finally, a series of experimental validations in primary APL patient samples confirm that PML/RARα forms microspeckles through condensates, recruits BRD4 to coassemble condensates, and co-occupies SEBP regions. Our findings elucidate the biophysical, pathological, and transcriptional dynamics of PML/RARα-assembled microspeckles, underscoring the importance of BRD4 in mediating transcriptional activation that enables PML/RARα to initiate APL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their low cost, environmental friendliness and high energy density, the lithium-sulfur batteries (LSB) have been regarded as a promising alternative for the next generation of rechargeable battery systems. However, the practical application of LSB is seriously hampered by its short cycle life and high self-charge owing to the apparent shuttle effect of soluble lithium polysulfides. Using MgSO4@MgO composite as both template and dopant, template-guided S-doped mesoporous graphene (SMG) is prepared via the fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition method. As the polypropylene (PP) modifier, SMG with high specific surface area, abundant mesoporous structures and moderate S doping content offers a wealth of physical and chemical adsorptive sites and reduced interfacial contact resistance, thereby restraining the serious shuttle effects of lithium polysulfides. Consequently, the LSB configured with mesoporous graphene (MG) as S host material and SMG as a separator modifier exhibits an enhanced electrochemical performance with a high average capacity of 955.64 mA h g-1 at 1C and a small capacity decay rate of 0.109% per cycle. Additionally, the density functional theory (DFT) calculation models have been rationally constructed and demonstrated that the doped S atoms in SMG possess higher binding energy to lithium polysulfides than that in MG, indicating that the SMG/PP separator can effectively capture soluble lithium polysulfides via chemical binding forces. This work would provide valuable insight into developing a versatile carbon-based separator modifier for LSB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE) are regarded as a prospective technique for hydrogen production due to their superior energy efficiency as well as high gas pureness. However, cost-effective and high-efficiency electrocatalysts remain to be explored to further promote their hydrogen production capacity. Herein, single-atom Pt and P atom co-doped bicontinuous nanoporous MoS2 (PtSA, P/np-MoS2) is constructed as an electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic HER performance with a low overpotential of 24 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 28 mV dec−1, and excellent long-term stability in acidic media. Experimental and theoretical investigations unambiguously uncover that the activity and stability of PtSA, P/np-MoS2 are significantly optimized by electronic effects due to the dual-element doping, thus dramatically enhancing HER via thermodynamic and kinetic acceleration. More significantly, a PEMWE assembled with the prepared catalyst as a cathode demonstrates exceptional hydrogen production performance with a cell voltage of 1.67 V up to 1 A cm−2 as well as excellent stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive blood cancer with high heterogeneity and poor prognosis. Although the metabolic reprogramming of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) has been reported to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the prognostic value of NAD metabolism and its correlation with the immune microenvironment in AML remains unclear. Methods: We utilized our large-scale RNA-seq data on 655 patients with AML and the NAD metabolism-related genes to establish a prognostic NAD metabolism score based on the sparse regression analysis. The signature was validated across three independent datasets including a total of 1,215 AML patients. ssGSEA and ESTIMATE algorithms were employed to dissect the tumor immune microenvironment. Ex vivo drug screening and in vitro experimental validation were performed to identify potential therapeutic approaches for the high-risk patients. In vitro knockdown and functional experiments were employed to investigate the role of SLC25A51, a mitochondrial NAD+ transporter gene implicated in the signature. Results: An 8-gene NAD metabolism signature (NADM8) was generated and demonstrated a robust prognostic value in more than 1,800 patients with AML. High NADM8 score could efficiently discriminate AML patients with adverse clinical characteristics and genetic lesions and serve as an independent factor predicting a poor prognosis. Immune microenvironment analysis revealed significant enrichment of distinct tumor-infiltrating immune cells and activation of immune checkpoints in patients with high NADM8 scores, acting as a potential biomarker for immune response evaluation in AML. Furthermore, ex vivo drug screening and in vitro experimental validation in a panel of 9 AML cell lines demonstrated that the patients with high NADM8 scores were more sensitive to the PI3K inhibitor, GDC- 0914. Finally, functional experiments also substantiated the critical pathogenic role of the SLC25A51 in AML, which could be a promising therapeutic target. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that NAD metabolism-related signature can facilitate risk stratification and prognosis prediction in AML and guide therapeutic decisions including both immunotherapy and targeted therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric yellow cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus), renowned for its exceptional ornamental value, enjoys widespread popularity among aquarium enthusiasts and holds significant economic value in the market. This study employed high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the microorganisms in the circulating water of the electric yellow cichlid cultivated with six different types of feeds. Statistical results showed that the compound feed group exhibited the highest specific growth and mass gain rates. In contrast, the water flea and brine shrimp groups showed lower rankings with significant differences. 51,084 to 64,626 effective sequences were obtained and clustered into 127 to 848 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The research findings indicate a remarkable bacterial diversity in the breeding environment of electric yellow cichlids with higher levels in the water flea and brine shrimp groups, and the lowest level in the compound feed group; the dominant bacterial phyla in all six experimental groups include Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Parcubacteria, and Cyanobacteria; Comparative analysis using the COGs database revealed significant differences (P<0.05) in the metabolic pathways of 24 functional microbial genes among the experimental groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention research studies focused on strengthening the social information-processing (SIP) skills of children. Methods: A systematic search and review process was employed to identify, screen, and summarize research on SIP-guided interventions. Results: The search recovered 183,184 citations published from 1997 to 2022. After screening, 42 articles were retained for a full-text review. Findings from the 15 studies using more rigorous designs [i.e., 8 individual-level randomized control trials (RCTs), 5 cluster-level RCTs, and 2 quasi-experimental studies with statistical controls for selectivity] suggest that SIP-focused interventions produced statistically significant treatment effects on cognitive skills, with mean effect sizes of 0.35 on encoding, 0.13 on hostile attribution bias, 0.13 on goal formulation, 0.16 on response decision, and—more behaviorally—0.37 on aggressive and disruptive comportment. Conclusions: SIP-focused interventions are effective. If widely implemented, they hold the potential to reduce aggressive behavior in childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S32750 dual-phase stainless steel (DSS) wires were prepared by cold drawing with a strain of ε = 0~3.6. The mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of these DSS wires at different strains were investigated. Specifically, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of a S32750 DSS wire at a strain of ε = 3.6 reached 1771 MPa and 1952 MPa, respectively. The microstructure of the wire was transformed into a heterogeneous microstructure, which consisted of ferrite fiber grains and a nanofibrous grain structure consisting of austenite and strain-induced martensite nanofiber grains. A sub-grain structure was observed inside the ferrite fiber. The austenitic phase followed the evolutionary steps of stacking faults, twinning, ε-martensite, α-martensite, and, finally, austenite, before transitioning into a nanofibrous grain structure. This nanofibrous grain structure significantly contributed to the strength compared with the relatively coarse ferrite phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Circular RNA (circRNA) has been found to mediate ulcerative colitis (UC) progression by regulating intestinal mucosal barrier function. However, the role of circSOD2 in UC process and its underlying molecular mechanism still need to be further elucidated. Methods: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced Caco2 cells were used to mimic UC cell models. CircSOD2, miR‐378g, and Snail1 levels were determined by quantitative real‐time PCR. Cell viability was detected using MTT assay, and inflammatory cytokine levels were measured using ELISA. The intestinal mucosal barrier function was evaluated by testing transepithelial electrical resistance and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)‐dextran permeability. Snail1 and tight junction‐related markers (Zo‐1 and Claudin2) protein levels were examined using western blot. The interaction between miR‐378g and circSOD2 or Snail1 was confirmed by dual‐luciferase reporter assay. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) was used to induce UC rat models in vivo. Results: CircSOD2 was overexpressed in UC patients, and its knockdown significantly increased cell viability, transepithelial electrical resistance, and tight junction‐related protein expression, while reduced inflammation cytokine levels and the permeability of FITC‐dextran in LPS‐induced Caco2 cells. In terms of mechanism, circSOD2 sponged miR‐378g to positively regulate Snail1 expression. MiR‐378g inhibitor reversed the effect of circSOD2 knockdown on intestinal mucosal barrier injury and Snail1 expression in LPS‐induced Caco2 cells. In DSS‐induced UC rat models, circSOD2 knockdown also could repair the intestinal mucosal barrier injury through regulating miR‐378g/Snail1 axis. Conclusion: CircSOD2 could destroy intestinal mucosal barrier function in LPS‐induced Caco2 cells and DSS‐induced UC rats by miR‐378g/Snail1 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute pancreatitis is one of the most common diseases requiring emergency surgery. Rapid and accurate recognition of acute pancreatitis can help improve clinical outcomes. This study aimed to develop a deep learning-powered diagnostic model for acute pancreatitis. Materials and methods: In this investigation, we enrolled a cohort of 190 patients with acute pancreatitis who were admitted to Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital between January 2020 and December 2021. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained from both patients with acute pancreatitis and healthy individuals. Our model was constructed using two modules: (1) the acute pancreatitis classifier module; (2) the pancreatitis lesion segmentation module. Each model's performance was assessed based on precision, recall rate, F1-score, Area Under the Curve (AUC), loss rate, frequency-weighted accuracy (fwavacc), and Mean Intersection over Union (MIOU). Results: Upon admission, significant variations were observed between patients with mild and severe acute pancreatitis in inflammatory indexes, liver, and kidney function indicators, as well as coagulation parameters. The acute pancreatitis classifier module exhibited commendable diagnostic efficacy, showing an impressive AUC of 0.993 (95%CI: 0.978–0.999) in the test set (comprising healthy examination patients vs. those with acute pancreatitis, P < 0.001) and an AUC of 0.850 (95%CI: 0.790–0.898) in the external validation set (healthy examination patients vs. patients with acute pancreatitis, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the acute pancreatitis lesion segmentation module demonstrated exceptional performance in the validation set. For pancreas segmentation, peripancreatic inflammatory exudation, peripancreatic effusion, and peripancreatic abscess necrosis, the MIOU values were 86.02 (84.52, 87.20), 61.81 (56.25, 64.83), 57.73 (49.90, 68.23), and 66.36 (55.08, 72.12), respectively. These findings underscore the robustness and reliability of the developed models in accurately characterizing and assessing acute pancreatitis. Conclusion: The diagnostic model for acute pancreatitis, driven by deep learning, exhibits excellent efficacy in accurately evaluating the severity of the condition. Trial Registration: This is a retrospective study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T‐ALL) is a highly aggressive and heterogeneous lymphoid malignancy with poor prognosis in adult patients. Aberrant activation of the NOTCH1 signalling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of over 60% of T‐ALL cases. Ubiquitin‐specific protease 28 (USP28) is a deubiquitinase known to regulate the stability of NOTCH1. Here, we report that genetic depletion of USP28 or using CT1113, a potent small molecule targeting USP28, can strongly destabilize NOTCH1 and inhibit the growth of T‐ALL cells. Moreover, we show that USP28 also regulates the stability of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP1), which has been reported to mediate increased lipogenesis in tumour cells. As the most critical transcription factor involved in regulating lipogenesis, SREBP1 plays an important role in the metabolism of T‐ALL. Therefore, USP28 may be a potential therapeutic target, and CT1113 may be a promising novel drug for T‐ALL with or without mutant NOTCH1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and colorectal cancer (CRC) has long been extensively recognized, but their crosstalk mechanisms based on gene regulation remain elusive. In our study, for the first time, bulk RNA-seq and single-cell RNA-seq data were used to explore the shared molecular mechanisms between T2DM and CRC. Moreover, Connectivity Map and molecular docking were employed to determine potential drugs targeting the candidate targets. Eight genes (EVPL, TACSTD2, SOX4, ETV4, LY6E, MLXIPL, ENTPD3, UGP2) were identified as characteristic comorbidity genes for T2DM and CRC, with EVPL and ENTPD3 further identified as core comorbidity genes. Our results demonstrated that upregulation of EVPL and downregulation of ENTPD3 were intrinsic molecular features throughout T2DM and CRC and were significantly associated with immune responses, immune processes, and abnormal immune landscapes in both diseases. Single-cell analysis highlighted a cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) subset that specifically expressed ENTPD3 in CRC, which exhibited high heterogeneity and unique tumor-suppressive features that were completely different from classical cancer-promoting CAFs. Furthermore, ENTPD3+ CAFs could notably predict immunotherapy response in CRC, holding promise to be an immunotherapy biomarker at the single-cell level. Finally, we identified that droperidol may be a novel drug simultaneously targeting EVPL and ENTPD3. In conclusion, previous studies have often focused solely on metabolic alterations common to T2DM and CRC. Our study establishes EVPL and ENTPD3 as characteristic molecules and immune biomarkers of comorbidity in T2DM and CRC patients, and emphasizes the importance of considering immunological mechanisms in the co-development of T2DM and CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to address quality issues in the production of prefabricated steel structural components for buildings by investigating challenges in quality risk assessment. It identifies key factors contributing to quality problems and establishes an evaluation index system. Traditional methods encounter limitations in handling uncertainty and conducting quantitative analysis. Therefore, the fuzzy Bayesian network (FBN) theory is utilized to perform a probabilistic analysis of quality risks during the production phase. This research achieves a more accurate and dynamic risk assessment by integrating the strengths of fuzzy logic and Bayesian networks (BNs) and by utilizing expert knowledge, the similarity aggregation method (SAM), and the noisy-OR gate model. The study reveals that factors such as the "low professional level of designers", "poor production refinement", and "poor storage conditions for finished products" have a significant impact on quality risks. This study offers a scientific risk assessment tool designed to address the quality control challenges commonly experienced in the manufacturing of steel structural components. Identifying the critical risk factors that influence quality empowers actual production enterprises to develop risk management strategies and improvement measures in a more focused manner, thereby facilitating more effective resource allocation and risk prevention and control. Consequently, this approach has a significant impact on enhancing the overall production level and quality within the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and its incidence increases with sepsis. However, data on new-onset AF during sepsis hospitalization remain limited in China. We aimed to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and associated mortality of new-onset AF in sepsis patients in China. We conducted a retrospective study using the National Data Center for Medical Service system, from 1923 tertiary and 2363 secondary hospitals from 31 provinces in China from 2017 to 2019.In total we included 1,425,055 sepsis patients ≥ 18 years without prior AF. The incidence of new-onset AF was 1.49%. Older age, male sex, hypertension, heart failure, coronary disease, valvular disease, and mechanical ventilation were independent risk factor. New-onset AF was associated with a slight increased risk of mortality (adjusted RR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.06). Population attributable fraction suggested AF accounted for 0.2% of sepsis deaths. In this large nationwide cohort, new-onset AF occurred in 1.49% of sepsis admissions and was associated with a small mortality increase. Further research should examine whether optimized AF management can improve sepsis outcomes in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. There are two main types of AD: familial and sporadic. Familial AD is linked to mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin-1 (PSEN1), and presenilin-2 (PSEN2). On the other hand, sporadic AD is the more common form of the disease and has genetic, epigenetic, and environmental components that influence disease onset and progression. Investigating the epigenetic mechanisms associated with AD is essential for increasing understanding of pathology and identifying biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment. Chemical covalent modifications on DNA and RNA can epigenetically regulate gene expression at transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels and play protective or pathological roles in AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: The post-transcriptional gene regulatory pathway and small RNA pathway play important roles in regulating the rapid and long-term response of Rhododendron moulmainense to high-temperature stress. The Rhododendron plays an important role in maintaining ecological balance. However, it is difficult to domesticate for use in urban ecosystems due to their strict optimum growth temperature condition, and its evolution and adaptation are little known. Here, we combined transcriptome and small RNAome to reveal the rapid response and long-term adaptability regulation strategies in Rhododendron moulmainense under high-temperature stress. The post-transcriptional gene regulatory pathway plays important roles in stress response, in which the protein folding pathway is rapidly induced at 4 h after heat stress, and alternative splicing plays an important role in regulating gene expression at 7 days after heat stress. The chloroplasts oxidative damage is the main factor inhibiting photosynthesis efficiency. Through WGCNA analysis, we identified gene association patterns and potential key regulatory genes responsible for maintaining the ROS steady-state under heat stress. Finally, we found that the sRNA synthesis pathway is induced under heat stress. Combined with small RNAome, we found that more miRNAs are significantly changed under long-term heat stress. Furthermore, MYBs might play a central role in target gene interaction network of differentially expressed miRNAs in R. moulmainense under heat stress. MYBs are closely related to ABA, consistently, ABA synthesis and signaling pathways are significantly inhibited, and the change in stomatal aperture is not obvious under heat stress. Taken together, we gained valuable insights into the transplantation and long-term conservation domestication of Rhododendron, and provide genetic resources for genetic modification and molecular breeding to improve heat resistance in Rhododendron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a manufacturer who sells its products through an e-commerce platform. The manufacturer can decide whether to wholesale its products to the platform (namely the wholesale mode) or sell them directly to consumers through the platform and pay a commission (namely the agency mode). Meanwhile, there are two logistics service strategies within the e-commerce market, i.e., logistics service offered either by the manufacturer or the platform. Given the lack of historical samples of new products and the uncertainty of the e-commerce market, we characterize the unit cost of products and consumers' sensitivity to logistics service as uncertain variables. We explore the joint decision models for the online selling mode and logistics service strategy in the e-commerce market with uncertain information. Our findings indicate that the logistics service provided by the platform under the wholesale mode can achieve a 'win-win' outcome for both the manufacturer and the platform. However, under the agency mode, both the manufacturer and the platform prefer to take on the logistics services by themselves. Furthermore, the highest level of logistics service and the lowest retail price can be obtained when the manufacturer provides logistics service under the agency mode. The results reveal that as the uncertainty of unit cost of products or consumers' sensitivity to logistics service increases, the manufacturer and the platform can obtain greater expected profits by appropriately altering their pricing decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of damping and friction performance of grinding wheels on precision grinding was explored for the first time. GO hybrid PU-modified PF copolymers were prepared by in situ synthesis and adopted as a matrix for fabricating grinding wheels. FT-IR, DSC, TG, and mechanical property tests showed the optimal modification when PU content was 10 wt% and GO addition was 0.1 wt%. Damping properties were investigated by DMA, and tribological characteristics were measured by sliding friction and wear experiments. The worn surfaces and fracture morphologies of GO hybrid PU–PF copolymers were observed by SEM. Distribution of components on the worn surfaces was explored by Raman mapping and EDS. The research results revealed that the PU component tended to be dispersed around the edges of corundum abrasives acting as a buffer layer of abrasive particles, which could provide micro-damping characteristics for abrasives, making the grinding force more stable during precision machining and facilitating a smoother surface quality of the workpiece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sorghum plant color is the leaf sheath/leaf color and is associated with seed color, tannin and phenol content, head blight disease incidence, and phytoalexin production. Results: In this study, we evaluated plant color of the sorghum mini core collection by scoring leaf sheath/leaf color at maturity as tan, red, or purple across three testing environments and performed genome-wide association mapping (GWAS) with 6,094,317 SNPs markers. Results and Discussion: Eight loci, one each on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, and 6 and two on chromosomes 5 and 9, were mapped. All loci contained one to three candidate genes. In qPC5-1, Sobic.005G165632 and Sobic.005G165700 were located in the same linkage disequilibrium (LD) block. In qPC6, Sobic.006G149650 and Sobic.006G149700 were located in the different LD block. The single peak in qPC6 covered one gene, Sobic.006G149700, which was a senescence regulator. We found a loose correlation between the degree of linkage and tissue/organ expression of the underlying genes possibly related to the plant color phenotype. Allele analysis indicated that none of the linked SNPs can differentiate between red and purple accessions whereas all linked SNPs can differentiate tan from red/purple accessions. The candidate genes and SNP markers may facilitate the elucidation of plant color development as well as molecular plant breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio (CCR) and body composition (BC) parameters have emerged as significant prognostic factors in cancer patients. However, the potential effects of CCR in gastric cancer (GC) remains to be elucidated. This multi-center retrospective study explored the predictive and prognostic value of CCR and BC-parameters in patients with metastatic GC receiving PD-1 inhibitors-based combination therapy. Methods: One hundred and thirteen GC patients undergoing PD-1 inhibitors-based combination therapy were enrolled at three academic medical centers from January 2021 to July 2023. A deep-learning platform based on U-Net was developed to automatically segment skeletal muscle index (SMI), subcutaneous adipose tissue index (SATI) and visceral adipose tissue index (VATI). Patients were divided into two groups based on the median of CCR or the upper tertile of BCparameters. Logistic and Cox regression analysis were used to determine the effect of CCR and BC-parameters in predicting response rates and survival rates. Results: The CCR was positively correlated with SMI (r=0.43; P<0.001), but not with SATI or VATI (P>0.05). Multivariable logistic analysis identified that both low CCR (OR=0.423, P=0.066 for ORR; OR=0.026, P=0.005 for DCR) and low SATI (OR=0.270, P=0.020 for ORR; OR=0.149, P=0.056 for DCR) were independently associated with worse objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). Patients with low CCR or low SATI had significantly lower 8-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate and 16-month overall survival (OS) rate than those with high CCR (PFS rate, 37.6% vs. 55.1%, P=0.011; OS rate, 19.4% vs. 44.9%, P=0.002) or those with high SATI (PFS rate, 37.2% vs. 53.8%, P=0.035; OS rate, 8.0% vs. 36.0%, P<0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that low CCR (HR=2.395, 95% CI: 1.234-4.648, P=0.010 for PFS rate; HR=2.528, 95% CI: 1.317-4.854, P=0.005 for OS rate) and low SATI (HR=2.188, 95% CI: 1.050-4.560, P=0.037 for PFS rate; HR=2.818, 95% CI: 1.381-5.752, P=0.004 for OS rate) were both independent prognostic factors of poor 8-month PFS rate and 16-month OS rate. A nomogram based on CCR and BC-parameters showed a good performance in predicting the 12- and 16-month OS, with a concordance index of 0.756 (95% CI, 0.722-0.789). Conclusions: Low pre-treatment CCR and SATI were independently associated with lower response rates and worse survival in patients with metastatic GC receiving PD-1 inhibitors-based combination therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has achieved remarkable therapeutic effects in cancer, but it is not effective in glioblastoma (GBM). The main reason is that it is difficult for drugs to penetrate blood‐brain‐barrier (BBB) to GBM and lacks enough pre‐existing cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in GBM microenvironment. Here, two AIE photothermal agents (Fs and Fo) are synthesized with NIR‐II fluorescence emission and increase molecular twisting of AIE photothermal agents by simply changing one O atom into S atom, improving Fs photothermal conversion efficiency to 48%. Subsequently, engineered microglia‐exosomes AIE nanoparticles (EE@Fs‐NPs) are prepared by encapsulating Fs with microglia‐exosomes which express immune checkpoint LAG3 inhibitory antibody (anti‐LAG3) via genetic engineering technology. Engineered microglia‐exosomes endow that EE@Fs‐NPs cross BBB and target GBM, which successfully deliver anti‐LAG3 to GBM. Anti‐LAG3 highly reverses T cells exhaustion and generates TNF‐α for inhibiting the expression of heat shock proteins to enhance tumor cells thermosensitivity. Moreover, AIE photothermal agents of EE@Fs‐NPs generate mild photothermal therapy to destroy tumor cells and improve the infiltration of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in GBM, which increases the responsiveness of ICB therapy. EE@Fs‐NPs produce powerful mild photothermal‐immune synergistic therapeutic effect, which will provide a therapeutic platform for the efficient treatment of GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopy is the primary modality for detecting asymptomatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and precancerous lesions. Improving detection rate remains challenging. We developed a system based on deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for detecting esophageal cancer and precancerous lesions [high-risk esophageal lesions (HrELs)] and validated its efficacy in improving HrEL detection rate in clinical practice (trial registration ChiCTR2100044126 at www.chictr.org.cn). Between April 2021 and March 2022, 3117 patients ≥50 years old were consecutively recruited from Taizhou Hospital, Zhejiang Province, and randomly assigned 1:1 to an experimental group (CNN-assisted endoscopy) or a control group (unassisted endoscopy) based on block randomization. The primary endpoint was the HrEL detection rate. In the intention-to-treat population, the HrEL detection rate [28 of 1556 (1.8%)] was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group [14 of 1561 (0.9%), P = 0.029], and the experimental group detection rate was twice that of the control group. Similar findings were observed between the experimental and control groups [28 of 1524 (1.9%) versus 13 of 1534 (0.9%), respectively; P = 0.021]. The system's sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for detecting HrELs were 89.7, 98.5, and 98.2%, respectively. No adverse events occurred. The proposed system thus improved HrEL detection rate during endoscopy and was safe. Deep learning assistance may enhance early diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer and may become a useful tool for esophageal cancer screening. Editor's summary: Early-stage esophageal cancers show better treatment response but are harder to detect. Li et al. developed a deep learning pipeline to aid clinicians in identifying early-stage, high-risk esophageal lesions and tested it in a randomized clinical trial in patients undergoing endoscopy. Deep learning assistance doubled the detection of high-risk esophageal lesions compared with the unassisted control group. This clinical trial demonstrates the promise of this pipeline to improve early esophageal cancer detection. —Catherine Charneski [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of construction enterprises still needs to be improved. Therefore, in order to better utilize resources effectively to improve enterprise ESG performance, this paper explores the configuration paths for Chinese construction enterprises to improve their ESG performance using the (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis) fsQCA method. It was found that single conditions are not necessary to achieve high ESG performance. The improvement of the high ESG performance needs to be combined with synergistic effects of multiple conditions. The specific configuration paths consist of six types of conditions. They are the environmental goal and management-led improvement path, the environmental training and action-led improvement path, the environmental concept and partner protection joint-led improvement path, the environmental and social level synergistic improvement path and the two multifactorial composite improvement paths. Among them, the environmental concepts, environmental goal and management, environmental training and action, and partner protection are the core conditions. The other conditions also have a certain supporting role. This study will help the construction enterprises to effectively allocate resources and develop ESG strategies with limited resources. It will also provide a reference for the government to manage the ESG performance of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly lethal malignant tumor, and the current non‐invasive diagnosis method based on serum markers, such as α‐fetoprotein (AFP), and des‐γ‐carboxy‐prothrombin (DCP), has limited efficacy in detecting it. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop novel biomarkers for HCC. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of exosomes as biomarkers. To enhance exosome enrichment, a silicon dioxide (SiO2) microsphere‐coated three‐dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous chip, named a SiO2‐chip is designed. The features of the chip, including its continuous porous 3D scaffold, large surface area, and nanopores between the SiO2 microspheres, synergistically improved the exosome capture efficiency. Exosomes from both non‐HCC and HCC subjects are enriched using an SiO2‐chip and performed RNA sequencing to identify HCC‐related long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the exosomes. This study analysis reveales that LUCAT‐1 and EGFR‐AS‐1 are two HCC‐related lncRNAs. To further detect dual lncRNAs in exosomes, quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) is employed. The integration of dual lncRNAs with AFP and DCP significantly improves the diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, the integration of dual lncRNAs with DCP effectively monitors the prognosis of patients with HCC and detects disease progression. In this study, a liquid biopsy‐based approach for noninvasive and reliable HCC detection is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cellular senescence frequently occurs during anti-cancer treatment, and persistent senescent tumor cells (STCs) unfavorably promote tumor progression through paracrine secretion of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have recently emerged as a novel component of the SASP and primarily mediate the tumor-promoting effect of the SASP. Of note, the potential effect of EVs released from STCs on tumor progression remains largely unknown. Methods: We collected tumor tissues from two cohorts of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to examine the expression of p16, p21, and SERPINE1 before and after anti-cancer treatment. Cohort 1 included 22 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) who received neoadjuvant therapy before surgical resection. Cohort 2 included 30 patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC) who received first-line irinotecan-contained treatment. CCK-8, transwell, wound-healing assay, and tumor xenograft experiments were carried out to determine the impacts of EVs released from STCs on CRC progression in vitro and in vivo. Quantitative proteomic analysis was applied to identify protein cargo inside EVs secreted from STCs. Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometer identification were utilized to explore the binding partners of SERPINE1. The interaction of SERPINE1 with p65 was verified by co-immunoprecipitation, and their co-localization was confirmed by immunofluorescence. Results: Chemotherapeutic agents and irradiation could potently induce senescence in CRC cells in vitro and in human CRC tissues. The more significant elevation of p16 and p21 expression in patients after anti-cancer treatment displayed shorter disease-free survival (DFS) for LARC or progression-free survival (PFS) for mCRC. We observed that compared to non-STCs, STCs released an increased number of EVs enriched in SERPINE1, which further promoted the progression of recipient cancer cells. Targeting SERPINE1 with a specific inhibitor, tiplaxtinin, markedly attenuated the tumor-promoting effect of STCs-derived EVs. Additionally, the patients with greater increment of SERPINE1 expression after anti-cancer treatment had shorter DFS for LARC or PFS for mCRC. Mechanistically, SERPINE1 bound to p65, promoting its nuclear translocation and subsequently activating the NF-κB signaling pathway. Conclusions: We provide the in vivo evidence of the clinical prognostic implications of therapy-induced senescence. Our results revealed that STCs were responsible for CRC progression by producing large amounts of EVs enriched in SERPINE1. These findings further confirm the crucial role of therapy-induced senescence in tumor progression and offer a potential therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The impact of immunosuppression on prognosis of carbapenem-resistant organism (CRO) bloodstream infection (BSI) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between immunosuppression and mortality of CRO-BSI and to identify the risk factors associated with mortality in immunosuppressed patients. Methods: This retrospective study included 279 patients with CRO-BSI from January 2018 to March 2023. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between the immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patients. The relationship between immunosuppression and 30-day mortality after BSI onset was assessed through logistic-regression analysis, propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Factors associated with mortality in immunosuppressed patients were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 88 immunocompetent and 191 immunosuppressed patients were included, with 30-day all-cause mortality of 58.8%. Although the 30-day mortality in immunosuppressed patients was significantly higher than in immunocompetent patients (46.6% vs. 64.4%, P = 0.007), immunosuppression was not an independent risk factor for mortality in multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio [OR] 3.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74–18.89; P = 0.123), PSM (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.60–3.18; P = 0.449,) or IPTW (OR 1.40, 95% CI 0.58–3.36; P = 0.447). For patients with CRO-BSI, regardless of immune status, appropriate antibiotic therapy was associated with decreased 30-day mortality, while Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infection and thrombocytopenia at CRO-BSI onset were associated with increased mortality. Conclusion: Despite the high mortality rate of CRO-BSI, immunosuppression did not affect the mortality. Appropriate antibiotic therapy is crucial for improving the prognosis of CRO-BSI, regardless of the immune status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interrupted tensile tests were conducted on FSWed AZ31 Mg alloy to reveal the non-uniform tensile deformation and underlying deformation mechanisms along welding joint. During tensile test, plastic deformation is inhomogeneous along tensile sample. Tensile deformation concentrates at the welding joint, especially at the intermediate zone between NZ and TMAZ. Depending on texture variation, different deformation mechanisms are concluded to be responsible for such inhomogeneous deformation. The activation stress of each deformation mechanism changes gradually from advancing side to retreating side. { 10 1 ¯ 2 } Twinning, prismatic slip and basal slip are the dominating deformation mechanisms in TMAZ, NZ and their intermediate zones, respectively. Thus, inhomogeneous deformation was found along the center line of welding joint, and producing different working hardening. It is verified through micro-hardness distribution along the center line where the intermediate zone has the highest micro-hardness improvement. The results presented in this study give a clear exposition on deformation mechanisms induced inhomogeneous deformation in Mg alloy welding joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify social variables common to children with dento‐alveolar trauma (DAT) and child abuse and neglect (CAN) in a large children's hospital population. Methods: Emergency department data from an urban trauma Level 1 children's hospital were queried between December 02, 2017 and September 30, 2022 to identify children with both DAT and CAN. Patients with DAT and CAN were compared to DAT‐only children in a case–control study design. Descriptive statistics were used to report characteristics of children in case and control groups. Chi‐Squared and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare cases and controls. The level of significance was set at p ≤.05. Results: In total, 14 children who had DAT and CAN reported simultaneously comprised the case group. A total of 42 children with DAT‐only, age/sex matched with cases, comprised the control group. Mean (SD) age of cases was 10.4 (±4) and controls was 10.1 (±3.9) years‐old. Eight cases (57.1%) and 24 controls (57.1%) were female. No statistical differences (p =.05) were present for language, race, insurance coverage, parental custody, legal guardianship, and type of residence for cases versus controls. Five (35.7%) cases had a special need versus 4 (9.5%) controls and was statistically different (p =.03). Nine (64.3%) cases had behavioral problems versus 13 (31%) controls (p =.05). Cases were more likely to have facial injuries than controls (74.3 vs. 31%), however no significant differences were present for total number of injured teeth, head injury or neck injury between cases and controls. In half of cases, the perpetrator reported was the sibling. Conclusions: Demographics did not predict CAN in children with dental injuries. Sibling violence should be considered in suspected CAN children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]