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Photovoltaic solar cell is one of the main renewable energy sources, and its power conversion efficiency (PCE) is improved by employing doping or heterojunction to reduce the photogenerated carrier recombination. Here, we propose a straightforward strategy for constructing high-PCE homojunction solar cells, where intrinsic driving forces can simultaneously enhance the efficiency of carrier separation and transport. Thanks to the intrinsic dipole of Janus structure, doping-free Janus homojunction has naturally not only a type-II band alignment to promote the photoexciton dissociation, but also a reduced effective bandgap to enhance light absorption. More importantly, the interfacial dipole can facilitate the separation of carriers into different layers, thereby promoting carrier separation; and the intrinsic dipole across the Janus structure can drive photoinduced electron and hole transfer to opposite layers, enhancing carrier transport. We illustrate the concept in titanium-based Janus monolayer homojunction, where the theoretically observed PCE reaches 23.22% of TiSSe homojunction. In contrast to the previous cell architectures that require complex processing procedures and often result in defects, the doping-free homojunction configuration promises both high PCE and significantly lower manufacturing costs. Our work opens an avenue to design low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is categorized as a lift-based turbomachine. It faces challenges in the low tip speed ratio (TSR) range and requires initial torque for the starting operation. Ongoing efforts are being made to enhance the turbine's self-starting capability. In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were utilized to tackle the identified challenge. The Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) approach was employed, combined with the shear–stress transport (SST) k − ω turbulence model, to resolve fluid flow equations. The investigation focused on optimizing the placement of auxiliary blades by considering design parameters such as the pitch angle and horizontal and vertical distances. The goal was to increase the turbine efficiency and initial torque in the low-TSR range while minimizing efficiency loss at high-TSR ranges, which is the primary challenge of auxiliary blade installation. Implementing the auxiliary blade successfully extended the rotor's operational range, shifting the rotor operation's onset from TSR 1.4 to 0.7. The optimal configuration for installing the auxiliary blade involves a pitch angle of 0°, a horizontal ratio of 0.52, and a vertical ratio of 0.41. To address the ineffectiveness of auxiliary blades at high-TSRs, installing deflectors in various configurations was explored. Introducing a double deflector can significantly enhance the overall efficiency of the conventional Darrieus VAWT and the optimum rotor with the auxiliary blade by 47% and 73% at TSR = 2.5, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Featured Application: We have validated two clinical virtual reality environments, both with varying levels of threat, for use in future health research. There is an increasing need for virtual reality (VR) health applications. In the field of pain, VR has been used mainly as a distraction, with minimal use of VR to answer basic clinical questions. Pain is multifactorial and inherently threatening. Our lab recently designed two VR clinical environments with varying threat values; the present study sought to validate these environments. Subjects were randomly allocated into either the threatening or non-threatening VR consultation room and both subjective (threat questionnaire) and physiological (salivary cortisol) measurements were taken. As hypothesised, subjects in the threat condition recorded a higher threat score (p < 0.001; effect size = 0.76). There was a cortisol change across time in the threat condition (χ2(2) = 13.83, p < 0.001), but there were unexpected decreases at both 20 (p = 0.001) and 26 min (p = 0.03) following VR. While the physiological findings need further clarification, this study provides some validation of the threat value of our VR clinical tools. As such, these VR environments can potentially be used in pain experiments to help better our understanding of basic pain mechanisms. It is only with such understanding that we might offer new avenues for pain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiFe oxyhydroxides, generally reconstructed on surface during oxygen evolution reaction (OER), are real active species for water oxidation; however, their direct and convenient preparation remains challenging. Here, we develop a one-step approach to prepare biphase (α/δ) Ni-doped FeOOH catalyst in 3 min under room temperature. The core of this ultrafast method is that Fe2+ derived from the redox reaction of Fe3+ and Ni2+ accelerate Fenton-like reaction, while simultaneously producing mixed-valence Ni ions(Ni2+, Ni3+) results in not only homovalent and heterovalent doping, but also biphase Ni-doped FeOOH heterojunction with high and low crystallinity. Specifically, Ni2+ doping leads to a preferred formation of low-crystalline δ-oriented Ni-doped FeOOH with abundant oxygen vacancies, which is in favor of triggering the lattice oxygen mechanism (LOM) during OER. Benefitting from high/low crystalline biphase heterojunction and LOM, the optimized Ni-FeOOH merely needs low overpotential of 300 mV to reach 1000 mA cm−2 for OER in alkaline electrolyte and also shows excellent durability even at a high current density of 500 mA cm−2. This work provides a cost-effective strategy to fabricate highly active and robust non-noble electrocatalysts that can potentially be applied for industrial-scale OER electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to formate is of great interest due to its significant role in CO2 utilization. In this study, a novel heterogeneous Ru(III) catalyst was prepared by immobilizing RuCl3 on a porous organic polymer (POP) obtained from 1,4-phthalaldehyde (PTA) and 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxaldehyde (BPDA) with melamine. A copolymerization strategy utilizing monomers of varying lengths was employed to prepare the POP-supported Ru catalyst with adjustable porosity. The optimization of the framework porosity resulted in enhanced CO2 affinity, accelerated mass transfer, and a remarkable enhancement in catalytic activity. A high turnover number (TON) of 2458 was achieved for the CO2 hydrogenation to formate in 2 h with catalyst Cat-3 under 3 MPa (CO2/H2 = 1: 1) at 120 °C in 1 M Et3N aqueous solution. Moreover, the Cat-3 demonstrated good recyclability and was able to be reused for five consecutive runs, resulting in a high total TON of 9971. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT)-based clot waveform analysis (CWA) is a plasma-based global haemostatic assay. Elevated CWA parameters have been associated with hypercoagulability in venous thromboembolism, but its role in arterial thrombotic disease is uncertain. This study aims to explore the relationship between aPTT-based CWA and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and its complications. In a retrospective cohort study of patients with AMI who underwent emergency cardiac catheterisation, pre-procedural aPTT and CWA parameters—min1, min2 and max2 were measured. These were compared against a control group of patients, consisting of patients who underwent elective orthopaedic and urological procedures. Within the AMI cohort, we also compared aPTT and CWA parameters of those with and without clinical complications of AMI. Results: Compared to controls (N = 109), patients with AMI (N = 214) had shorter aPTT (26.7 ± 3.3 s vs 27.9 ± 1.7 s, P < 0.001) and higher CWA parameters (min1: 6.11 ± 1.40%/s vs 5.58 ± 1.14%/s; min2: 0.98 ± 0.23%/s2 vs 0.90 ± 0.19%/s2; max2: 0.81 ± 0.20%/s2 vs 0.74 ± 0.16%/s2, all P ≤ 0.001). There was an increased incidence of elevated CWA parameters, in the AMI group, with odds ratio (OR) of 2.06 [95% CI 1.10–3.86], 2.23 (95% CI 1.18–4.24) and 2.01 (95% CI 1.07–3.77) for min1, min2 and max2, respectively. Similarly, elevated min1 and min2 were both individually associated with the presence of adverse outcomes of AMI, both with ORs of 2.63 (95% CI 1.24–5.59). Elevated aPTT-based CWA parameters are significantly associated with the occurrence of AMI and its complications. These findings identify the potential utility of CWA as risk and prognostic markers for AMI and warrants future works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can lead to severe disease with increased morbidity and mortality among certain risk groups. The presence of autoantibodies against type I interferons (aIFN-Abs) is one mechanism that contributes to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This study aimed to investigate the presence of aIFN-Abs in relation to the soluble proteome, circulating immune cell numbers, and cellular phenotypes, as well as development of adaptive immunity. Results aIFN-Abs were more prevalent in critical compared to severe COVID-19 but largely absent in the other viral and bacterial infections studied here. The antibody and T-cell response to SARS-CoV-2 remained largely unaffected by the presence aIFN-Abs. Similarly, the inflammatory response in COVID-19 was comparable in individuals with and without aIFN-Abs. Instead, presence of aIFN-Abs had an impact on cellular immune system composition and skewing of cellular immune pathways. Conclusions Our data suggest that aIFN-Abs do not significantly influence development of adaptive immunity but covary with alterations in immune cell numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for industrial hydrogen generation is a promising way to achieve intermittent energy storage. However, challenges, such as the insufficient supply of adsorbed hydrogen atoms (*H) and slow bubble dynamics, hinder the development of industrial HER. Here, we report a cooperative strategy by leveraging both microscopic enhanced electric field and macroscopic efficient bubble traffic for industrial hydrogen evolution, demonstrated through the NiCoP nanotips on NiP nanorods (NiCoP-tip@NiP). Specifically, during the HER process, the nanotips can accumulate a large number of electrons, enhancing the electric field of the Stern layer. This enhanced electric field accelerates the dissociation of water, resulting in favorable *H for HER. Simultaneously, the confined space between the nanotips hinders the growth of bubbles generated at the tips. Newly formed bubbles will push out the existing bubbles, thus accelerating gas release. As a result, NiCoP-tip@NiP exhibits a low overpotential of 300 mV at 1000 mA cm−2 and maintains stable operation over 90 h at approximately 300 mA cm−2 during HER processes. This cooperative strategy provides profound insights for industrial hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hair loss profoundly affects women's physical appearance and psychological health. Platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) therapy has gained attention as a potential treatment for female hair loss. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PRP in treating different forms of female hair loss. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov from January 2000 to May 2024. The focus was on randomized controlled trials investigating PRP treatment for various types of hair loss in women. The research protocol is registered with International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42024556190). The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool (RoB 2). Results: A total of 21 studies comprising 628 participants were included in the analysis. PRP treatment was found to significantly enhance hair density and thickness. Additionally, there was a significant reduction in the number of hairs pulled in the PRP group. Adverse effects were generally mild and transient, with no notable difference in pain or discomfort between the PRP and control groups (risk ratio: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.87–1.18). Conclusion: PRP therapy effectively enhances hair density and thickness in women with hair loss, with a favorable safety profile. However, the effects of PRP on hair density and thickness vary with dosage, injection duration, and ethnicity, indicating the need for tailored treatment protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symmetry-breaking plays a crucial role in determining the property and functionality of materials. Here, we demonstrate that symmetry-breaking can dramatically enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure solar cell by taking a γ-phosphorus-carbide (PC)-based vdW heterostructure as a model. Thanks to its four-atom-layer structure of γ-PC, both alternately arranging P and C atoms to form a Janus structure and sliding C atom layer to change space group are two effective methods to break the symmetry. We find that in comparison with a symmetric configuration, the PCE of γ-PC/MoS2N4 with symmetry-breaking could be increased by 257.2% and 270% via forming a Janus structure and the change in space group, respectively. Particularly, the PCE of symmetry-broken γ-PC/MoSi2N4 can be further increased to 21.35% under an appropriate tensile strain, which could be attributed to small conduction band offset between constituent monolayers and suitable donor bandgap. Our study showcases that tuning the symmetry of multi-atom-layer 2D materials is an effective strategy to realize enhancement of the performance for 2D materials-based optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface reconstruction that produces real active species for catalytic reactions generally occurs during electrocatalytic water splitting, but overcoming the reconstruction level‐mass activity‐stability trade‐off is a grand challenge. A cation‐doping in conjunction with a geometrical topology strategy is proposed to concurrently realize deep reconstruction and self‐optimization of FeNi phosphide nanoarrays during an electrochemical activation process. The doped Zn cation induces a deep reconstruction of FeNiP@Fe2P precatalyst by continuously dissolving Fe2P and re‐depositing as amorphous FeOOH that solders Ni2P nanoparticles, forming small ultra‐thin nanosheets with abundant amorphous‐crystalline interfaces for structural stability. Moreover, multichannel topology exhibits an unusual ability to optimize their morphology via finally evolving into multi‐microchannel tubular nanoarrays comprising of interconnected‐nanosheets with a very loose structure for enhanced electrolyte permeability, mass transfer, and accessibility of active sites. The reconstructed Zn‐Ni2P/FeOOH superstructure catalysts reach 10 mA cm−2 current density at an ultra‐low overpotential of 11 mV for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). Impressively, when assembled as a two‐electrode cell with Zn‐FeNiP@Zn‐Fe2P as anode and Zn‐Ni2P/FeOOH as cathode, it delivers current densities of 10 mA cm−2 at a record low cell voltage of 1.40 V. This strategy provides a novel avenue to promote reconstruction for achieving high catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of Ni-based oxyhydroxides greatly hinges on their phase structures, which are mainly γ and β phases: the former has higher intrinsic activity than the latter. However, it is still a grand challenge to purposefully generate γ phase, rather than β phase. Here, we propose a cation-doping strategy to generate γ phase by taking Zn-doped NiFeP/N-doped C (Z-NFP/N-C) precatalyst as a model. In contrast to the case of NFP/N-C that can only be reconstructed into β-NiFeOOH, Zn dopant will induce the formation of γ-NiFeOOH during an electrochemical process. Specifically, the doped Zn cation will promote the dissolution of NiFeP and redeposition of NiFeOOH on the surface. Simultaneously, the cation defects generated by Zn leaching will force the surrounding Ni valence state to rise for charge balance and will attract more K+ in the solution to intercalate into the interlayer of NiFeOOH, resulting in the formation of γ-NiFeOOH. As a result, the γ-NiFeOOH/Z-NFP/N-C exhibits superior OER performance: a low overpotential of 216 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and satisfactory stability (100 h at 17 mA cm−2). Our study offers a practical approach to produce highly active "true catalyst" for efficient water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct hydrogenation of greenhouse gas CO2 to higher alcohols (C2+OH) provides a new route for the production of high-value chemicals. Due to the difficulty of C-C coupling, the formation of higher alcohols is more difficult compared to that of other compounds. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the development of multifunctional catalysts, including noble metal catalysts, Co-based catalysts, Cu-based catalysts, Fe-based catalysts, and tandem catalysts for the direct hydrogenation of CO2 to higher alcohols. Possible reaction mechanisms are discussed based on the structure–activity relationship of the catalysts. The reaction-coupling strategy holds great potential to regulate the reaction network. The effects of the reaction conditions on CO2 hydrogenation are also analyzed. Finally, we discuss the challenges and potential opportunities for the further development of direct CO2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) of an engine is one of the key tasks of Prognostics and health management (PHM). Modern mechanical equipment typically operates in complex operating conditions and fault modes, leading to dispersed distribution of sensor data and challenges for feature extraction. To improve the accuracy of predicting the RUL under the complex scenarios, this paper proposes a multi‐scale convolutional network (CNN) and bidirectional gated recurrent unit (MSC‐BiGRU) mode under a dual path framework with temporal attention. Specifically, the multi‐scale CNN in the first path is to learn complex features, and Swish Activation function is used to improve the prediction ability of the network; the bidirectional gated recurrent unit (BiGRU) in the second path can handle both forward and backward time series, and adaptively capture the importance of outputs at different times using temporal attention, enhancing the model's feature extraction ability in the temporal dimension. A feature fusion mechanism is developed to connect two paths in parallel, overcoming the overfitting and high computational complexity in deep complex models. We verify the effectiveness of the proposed method using a simulated turbofan engine dataset, especially on datasets FD002 and FD004 under complex operating conditions and fault modes, the RMSE values were reduced by 17.37% and 9.97%, respectively, compared to the BiGRU‐TSAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we formulate a random Wolbachia invasion model incorporating the effects of imperfect maternal transmission and incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). Under constant environments, we obtain the following results: Firstly, the complete invasion equilibrium of Wolbachia does not exist, and thus the population replacement is not achievable in the case of imperfect maternal transmission; Secondly, imperfect maternal transmission or incomplete CI may obliterate bistability and backward bifurcation, which leads to the failure of Wolbachia invasion, no matter how many infected mosquitoes would be released; Thirdly, the threshold number of the infected mosquitoes to be released would increase with the decrease of the maternal transmission rate or the intensity of CI effect. In random environments, we investigate in detail the Wolbachia invasion dynamics of the random mosquito population model and establish the initial release threshold of infected mosquitoes for successful invasion of Wolbachia into the wild mosquito population. In particular, the existence and stability of invariant probability measures for the establishment and extinction of Wolbachia are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the aging population, the number of individuals with dementia in China is increasing rapidly. This community-based study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among older adults in China. Methods: In this study, 20,070 individuals aged ≥ 65 were recruited between January 1, 2022, and February 1, 2023, from ten communities in Xiamen City, China. We collected data on age, sex, level of education, and medical history, as well as global cognition and functional status. The prevalence of dementia and MCI was examined, and the risk factors for different groups were assessed. Results: The overall prevalence of dementia and MCI was approximately 5.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.1–5.7) and 7.7% (95% CI, 7.4–8.1), respectively. The results also indicated that dementia and MCI share similar risk factors, including older age, female sex, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Compared with individuals with no formal education, those with > 6 years of education had an odds ratio for MCI of 1.83 (95% CI, 1.49–2.25). We also found that only 5.5% of the positive participants chose to be referred to the hospital for further diagnosis and treatment during follow-up visits. Conclusions: This study estimated the prevalence and risk factors for dementia and MCI among individuals aged ≥ 65 years in Southeast China. These findings are crucial for preventing and managing dementia and MCI in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] In order to improve the confidentiality and performance of the mixed Radio Frequency (RF)/Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems, it is necessary to study the security performance of the Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS)-assisted mixed RF/FSO system to obtain the relationship between system security performance and parameters such as RIS deployment location and the degree of correlation between different antennas branches. [Methods] In the article, a single eavesdropper is considered to eavesdrop against RF links and FSO links respectively, with RF links obeying an arbitrarily correlated Nakagami-m distribution and FSO links obeying a Gamma-Gamma distribution. Closed expressions for the Security Outage Probability (SOP) and Strictly Positive Security Capacity (SPSC) probability of the communication system for the two eavesdropping scenarios are derived using the decode-and-forward protocol, and the SOP is analyzed asymptotically. Simulation experiments are also conducted using the Matlab software to verify the accuracy of the derived formulas through Monte Carlo simulation. [Results] Simulation results show that deploying the RIS close to the receiver reduces the security outage probability of the system. It is also shown that an increase in the degree of antenna correlation increases the SOP of the system when the channel quality of the RF main channel is better compared to the eavesdropping channel. [Conclusion] The RIS-assisted FSO link has better security compared to the RF link. Although the multi-antenna diversity technique can effectively improve the security performance of the system, antenna correlation, similar to the fading caused by pointing error and atmospheric turbulence, can also damage the security performance of the system. It is also shown that the security of the system can be effectively improved by reducing the degree of antenna correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphitic carbon nitride is considered as an ideal semiconductor material for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution due to its suitable energy band structure, durability and environmental friendliness. To further improve the catalytic performance of g-C3N4, nickel phosphide-loaded one-dimensional tubular carbon nitride (Ni2P/TCN) was prepared by thermal polymerization and photo deposition. The beneficial effect of the one-dimensional tubular structure on hydrogen generation was mainly attributed to its larger specific surface area (increased light absorption) as well as the linear movement of the carriers, which reduced their diffusion distance to the surface and facilitated the separation of photogenerated carriers. The loading of Ni2P co-catalyst improved the visible light utilization efficiency and enabled the migration of photogenerated electrons towards Ni2P, which ultimately reacted with the enhanced adsorbed H+ on the Ni2P surface to facilitate the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution process. This study provides new clues for the further development of efficient, environmentally friendly and low-cost g-C3N4 catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-steady-state model for accurately predicting the detailed diffusion-dominated dissolution process of polydisperse spheroidal (prolate, oblate and spherical) particle systems was presented in Part I of this study. In the present paper, the dissolution characteristics of typical polydisperse spheroidal particle systems have been extensively investigated. The effects of the distributions of particle size and shape have been studied by examining the detailed dissolution processes, such as the size reduction rates of individual particles, the increase in bulk concentration and the dissolution time of the polydisperse systems. Some important factors controlling the dissolution process, including initial particle concentration, smallest and largest particle sizes, and the smallest and largest Taylor shape parameters, have been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giant aerosol, i.e., those with diameters larger than 1 μm, can form large droplets via condensational growth to sizes similar to drizzle particles without being activated. In this study, we assess the impacts of giant aerosol on clouds, precipitation, and radiation when activated giant aerosol are directly categorized as raindrops using the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2). We find that categorizing activated giant aerosol as raindrops reduces cloud liquid water path by 11.38 % globally, with most pronounced reduction in the mid-latitudes. We also find that this approach improves model's ability to simulate the positive correlation between surface rain rate and coarse mode aerosol concentration in regions of low precipitation. The effective radiative forcing associated with aerosol-cloud interactions (ERFaci) reduces from -1.37 to between -0.94 and -1.23 W m-2, depending on the size of giant aerosol. Our results highlight the importance of a better representation of giant aerosol in Earth system models to provide better predictions of cloud, precipitation, and the climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Cell-type annotation of single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data is a hallmark of biomedical research and clinical application. Current annotation tools usually assume the simultaneous acquisition of well-annotated data, but without the ability to expand knowledge from new data. Yet, such tools are inconsistent with the continuous emergence of scRNA-seq data, calling for a continuous cell-type annotation model. In addition, by their powerful ability of information integration and model interpretability, transformer-based pre-trained language models have led to breakthroughs in single-cell biology research. Therefore, the systematic combining of continual learning and pre-trained language models for cell-type annotation tasks is inevitable. Results We herein propose a universal cell-type annotation tool, called CANAL, that continuously fine-tunes a pre-trained language model trained on a large amount of unlabeled scRNA-seq data, as new well-labeled data emerges. CANAL essentially alleviates the dilemma of catastrophic forgetting, both in terms of model inputs and outputs. For model inputs, we introduce an experience replay schema that repeatedly reviews previous vital examples in current training stages. This is achieved through a dynamic example bank with a fixed buffer size. The example bank is class-balanced and proficient in retaining cell-type-specific information, particularly facilitating the consolidation of patterns associated with rare cell types. For model outputs, we utilize representation knowledge distillation to regularize the divergence between previous and current models, resulting in the preservation of knowledge learned from past training stages. Moreover, our universal annotation framework considers the inclusion of new cell types throughout the fine-tuning and testing stages. We can continuously expand the cell-type annotation library by absorbing new cell types from newly arrived, well-annotated training datasets, as well as automatically identify novel cells in unlabeled datasets. Comprehensive experiments with data streams under various biological scenarios demonstrate the versatility and high model interpretability of CANAL. Availability An implementation of CANAL is available from https://github.com/aster-ww/CANAL-torch. Contact dengmh@pku.edu.cn Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Journal Name online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation The rapid development of spatial transcriptome technologies has enabled researchers to acquire single-cell-level spatial data at an affordable price. However, computational analysis tools, such as annotation tools, tailored for these data are still lacking. Recently, many computational frameworks have emerged to integrate single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomics datasets. While some frameworks can utilize well-annotated scRNA-seq data to annotate spatial expression patterns, they overlook critical aspects. First, existing tools do not explicitly consider cell type mapping when aligning the two modalities. Second, current frameworks lack the capability to detect novel cells, which remains a key interest for biologists. Results To address these problems, we propose an annotation method for spatial transcriptome data called SPANN. The main tasks of SPANN are to transfer cell-type labels from well-annotated scRNA-seq data to newly generated single-cell resolution spatial transcriptome data and discover novel cells from spatial data. The major innovations of SPANN come from two aspects: SPANN automatically detects novel cells from unseen cell types while maintaining high annotation accuracy over known cell types. SPANN finds a mapping between spatial transcriptome samples and RNA data prototypes and thus conducts cell-type-level alignment. Comprehensive experiments using datasets from various spatial platforms demonstrate SPANN's capabilities in annotating known cell types and discovering novel cell states within complex tissue contexts. Availability The source code of SPANN can be accessed at https://github.com/ddb-qiwang/SPANN-torch. Contact dengmh@math.pku.edu.cn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi steady-state model (QSM) for accurately predicting the detailed diffusion-dominated dissolution process of polydisperse spheroidal (prolate, oblate and spherical) particle systems with a broad range of distributions of particle size and aspect ratio has been developed. A rigorous, mathematics-based QSM of the dissolution of single spheroidal particles has been incorporated into the well-established framework of polydisperse dissolution models based on the assumption of uniform bulk concentration. Validation against experimental results shows that this model can accurately predict the increase in bulk concentration of polydisperse systems with various particle sizes and shape parameters. A series of representative instances involving the dissolution of polydisperse felodipine particles at various concentration ratios is used to demonstrate the model's effectiveness, rendering it a valuable tool for understanding and managing complex systems with diverse particle characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel–iron oxyhydroxides are among the most active electrocatalysts, but their sluggish kinetic of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) limits the energy efficiency toward overall water splitting. Here, we present a "cascade electron transfer" strategy through spurring unidirectional electron transfer among different metal sites in Mn-doped FeNiOOH@FeNiP to boost OER and overall water splitting. The Mn doping induces a cascade electron transfer from Ni to Fe and then to Mn via metal-O-metal bridge, thus promoting the oxidation Ni and Fe centers, which in turn help charge transfer by increasing the covalency between metal-O bonds to optimize the bonding strength between metal and adsorbed oxygen species. Consequently, the optimal Mn–FeNiOOH@FeNiP delivers a fast OER kinetics (32.1 mV dec−1) along with a low overpotential of 215 mV@10 mA cm−2. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of high conductivity, large specific surface area, and favorable OER kinetics, the catalyst only requires a low cell voltage of 1.456 V to achieve 20 mA cm−2 for overall water splitting, superior to that of a commercial RuO2ǁPt/C catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using perovskite photocatalytic reduction of CO2 and H2O to produce hydrocarbon fuels offers an attractive method to solve the energy crisis and the greenhouse effect. Bi4Ti3O12 (BTO) has received much attention in the field of photocatalysis due to its unique layered structure, but it still faces many challenges such as weak photoresponse and severe photogenerated carrier recombination. In this paper, Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheets with different concentrations of surface oxygen vacancies (VO) and Ti3+ defect were prepared by the molten salt method and NaBH4 high-temperature reduction method (HBTO). Surface defects formed obvious carrier traps on the HBTO surface, reduced the recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes, and adjusted the band gap structure (from 3.09 to 2.62 eV), which improved the visible light utilization of HBTO. The decrease of photoinduced carrier recombination rate and the improvement of visible light response significantly enhanced the photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity of HBTO under visible light. The CH3OH yield with the optimized HBTO-4 (NaBH4:Bi4Ti3O12 = 1:5) was 4.90 μmol·g–1·h–1, which was about 3.5 times that of the original BTO. Meanwhile, the band gap structure, electronic density of states (DOS), and work function were calculated by the density functional theory (DFT). This study provided an effective strategy for designing and preparing perovskite photocatalysts rich in surface defects for the efficient conversion of solar energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin plays a key role in physical and chemical reactions, such as oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions (OER/HER), but the spin–activity correlation has remained unclear. Based on a transition metal (TM)-doped PtN2 monolayer model with a well-defined spin center as an adsorption site, we here reveal that only an active spin state can enhance the strength of hydrogen adsorption, while an inert spin state offers very little influence. Specifically, the an unpaired electron along the out-of-plane direction such as in the d z 2 orbital, acting as an active spin state, will strongly hybridize with hydrogen, resulting in enhanced hydrogen binding energy because the d z 2 orbital is just enough to accommodate two electrons to form a bonding orbital. While the in-plane unpaired electron such as in the d x 2 − y 2 orbital plays a negligible role in an adsorbing hydrogen atom. This is verified by a series of single atom catalysts comprising of PtN2 monolayer by replacing a Pt atom with a TM (Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, or Ir) atom or subsequent adsorbing a Cl atom. One of the most promising materials is Pd@PtN2-Cl that offers superior HER activity, even better than pure Pt. This work uncovers the nature of spin–activity correlation, thus paving the way for the design of high-performance catalysts through spin-engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the modeling and control problems of an epidemic network system, in which the disease spreads through multiple routes. A novel heterogeneous annealed network model is developed to describe the disease transmission from the complex networks point of view. Different from the prior multi-path epidemic transmission annealed network models, the occurrence of the considered disease spreading is also induced via the exposed individuals which are infectious within the incubation period. By using the next-generation matrix method, the basic reproduction number is provided. The existence and stability of equilibria are analyzed accordingly. In particular, the sufficient conditions for the monotonic variation of basic reproduction number with incubation period and the exposure transmission intensity are theoretically obtained, which is related to the heterogeneity of human contact. Furthermore, detailed explanations about this condition are provided for regular network, random network and scale-free network. The dynamic of vaccination network is considered, and the effective vaccination rate threshold to ensure the disease disappears is proposed. Moreover, an optimal control strategy is designed to trade off the minimum infection and control cost by Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. Finally, some numerical analysis is performed to verify the theoretical results. Compared with the perfect immunization measures, optimized control minimizes the number of infections and achieves better control effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An earlier study evaluating dust life cycle in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) Atmosphere Model version 1 (EAMv1) has revealed that the simulated global mean dust lifetime is substantially shorter when higher vertical resolution is used, primarily due to significant strengthening of dust dry removal in source regions. This paper demonstrates that the sequential splitting of aerosol emissions, dry removal, and turbulent mixing in the model's time integration loop, especially the calculation of dry removal after surface emissions and before turbulent mixing, is the primary reason for the vertical resolution sensitivity reported in that earlier study. Based on this reasoning, we propose a revised numerical process coupling scheme that requires the least amount of code changes, in which the surface emissions are applied before turbulent mixing instead of before dry removal. The revised scheme allows newly emitted particles to be transported aloft by turbulence before being removed from the atmosphere, and hence better resembles the dust life cycle in the real world. Sensitivity experiments show that the revised process coupling substantially weakens dry removal and strengthens vertical mixing in dust source regions. It also strengthens the large-scale transport from source to non-source regions, strengthens dry removal outside the source regions, and strengthens wet removal and activation globally. In transient simulations of the years 2000–2009 conducted using 1 ∘ horizontal grid spacing, 72 vertical layers, and unchanged tuning parameters of emission strength, the revised process coupling leads to a 40 % increase in the global total dust burden and an increase of dust lifetime from 1.8 to 2.5 d in terms of 10-year averages. Weakened dry removal and increased mixing ratios are also seen for other aerosol species that have substantial surface emissions, although the changes in mixing ratio are considerably smaller for the submicron species than for dust and sea salt. Numerical experiments confirm that the revised coupling scheme significantly reduces the strong and non-physical sensitivities of model results to vertical resolution in the original EAMv1. This provides a motivation for adopting the revised scheme in EAM as well as for further improvements on the simple revision presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part 1 of this study discusses the motivation and empirical evaluation of a revision to the aerosol-related numerical process coupling in the atmosphere component of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 1 (EAMv1) to address the previously reported issue of strong sensitivity of the simulated dust aerosol lifetime and dry removal rate to the model's vertical resolution. This paper complements that empirical justification of the revised scheme with a mathematical justification leveraging a semi-discrete analysis framework for assessing the splitting error of process coupling methods. The framework distinguishes the error due to numerical splitting from the error due to the time integration method(s) used for each individual process. Such a distinction results in a framework that provides an intuitive understanding of the causes of the splitting error. The application of this framework to the dust life cycle in EAMv1 confirms (i) that the original EAMv1 scheme artificially strengthens the effect of dry removal processes and (ii) that the revised splitting reduces that artificial strengthening. While the error analysis framework is presented in the context of the dust life cycle in EAMv1, the framework can be broadly leveraged to evaluate process coupling schemes, both in other physical problems and for any number of processes. This framework will be particularly powerful when the various process implementations support a variety of time integration approaches. Whereas traditional local truncation error approaches require separate consideration of each combination of time integration methods, this framework enables evaluation of coupling schemes independent of particular time integration approaches for each process while still allowing for the incorporation of these specific time integration errors if so desired. The framework also explains how the splitting error terms result from (i) the integration of individual processes in isolation from other processes and (ii) the choices of input state and time step size for the isolated integration of processes. Such a perspective has the potential for the rapid development of alternative coupling approaches that utilize knowledge both about the desired accuracy and about the computational costs of individual processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global environmental changes drive biodiversity loss and community compositional change. Yet whether and how both factors simultaneously impact biomass dynamics in natural ecosystems remains elusive, especially considering their multidimensional effects (e.g., taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) over spatial scales. To fill this knowledge gap, we generated an experimental spatial gradient using circular quadrats that vary in radius (2–30 m) in a subtropical forest on Dinghushan Mountain, China. Within each quadrat over 10 years, we calculated the changes in aboveground biomass (i.e., net Δbiomass), biodiversity (i.e., Δbiodiversity for richness, Shannon diversity, functional, phylogenetic), and community composition (i.e., β-diversity for taxonomic, functional, phylogenetic). Based on multi-model inference, we determined the most parsimonious relationships of Δbiomass as a function of Δbiodiversity and β-diversity and then quantified their standardized coefficients in response to the spatial gradient. Our results showed that Δbiomass, Δbiodiversity, and β-diversity decreased with quadrat size; the former at an accelerating rate and the latter at decelerating rates. While Δbiomass as a function of Δbiodiversity and β-diversity had low occurrences across the gradient, Δbiomass was strongly related to the change in functional dispersion (i.e., ΔFDis) and taxonomic β-diversity at larger spatial scales. Our results suggest scale-dependent influences of biodiversity loss and community compositional change on biomass dynamics in natural ecosystems. Further, our results highlight that multiple dimensions of biodiversity should be considered when predicting biomass dynamics at large spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Department of Energy (DOE)'s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), including its atmosphere model (EAM), has many relatively new features. In a previous study we conducted a systematic parametric sensitivity analysis for EAM based on short, perturbed parameter ensemble (PPE) simulations, mainly focusing on global mean climate features and metrics. While parameter values in global climate models are generally invariant in space and time, model response to parameters perturbation may vary by regions and climate regimes, which motivates the need to better understand the EAM model behaviors and physics at regional scale and process level. In this study, using the same set of PPE simulations and a similar sensitivity analysis framework, we identify parameters that cause largest sensitivities over different regions and compare model responses in fast atmospheric processes to the parameters across different cloud regimes for several important cloud-related fidelity metrics. We find that cloud forcing has opposite response to some parameters over mid-latitude vs. tropical land. We also analyze how the parametric sensitivity varies as stratocumulus transitions to shallow convection and to deep convection over ocean. Low cloud forcing and shortwave cloud forcing in the subtropical eastern Pacific are most sensitive to the parameters controlling the width of the probability density function (PDF) of the subgrid vertical velocity (w') (gamma) and the damping of the w' skewness (c8) near the coast but become more sensitive to the parameter affecting the damping of the w' variance (c1) further offshore. Detailed interpretation of the spatial dependence of parametric sensitivity is provided. We also investigate how the parametric sensitivity evolves with prediction duration. This study improves our process-level understanding of cloud physics and parameterization and provides insights for developing more advanced regime-aware parameterization schemes in global climate model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, five types of Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) strands with different widths and percentages were mixed to prepare oriented strand board (OSB) panels and their impacts on the internal bonding strength (IB), stiffness (MOE), and bending strength (MOR) of OSB were investigated. The results showed that strands with different widths at different ratios showed a significant effect on the manufacture process and qualities of the obtained OSB. The influence mechanisms of the width combination of strands on the performance of OSB was also revealed. This study could provide references for further improving the quality of OSB products, improving resource utilization, reducing the carbon footprint of wood-based panel production and reducing manufacturing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Verticillium dahliae, one of the most destructive fungal pathogens of several crops, challenges the sustainability of cotton productivity worldwide because very few widely‐cultivated Upland cotton varieties are resistant to Verticillium wilt (VW). Here, we report that REVEILLE2 (RVE2), the Myb‐like transcription factor, confers the novel function in resistance to VW by regulating the jasmonic acid (JA) pathway in cotton. RVE2 expression was essentially required for the activation of JA‐mediated disease‐resistance response. RVE2 physically interacted with TPL/TPRs and disturbed JAZ proteins to recruit TPL and TPR1 in NINJA‐dependent manner, which regulated JA response by relieving inhibited‐MYC2 activity. The MYC2 then bound to RVE2 promoter for the activation of its transcription, forming feedback loop. Interestingly, a unique truncated RVE2 widely existing in D‐subgenome (GhRVE2D) of natural Upland cotton represses the ability of the MYC2 to activate GhRVE2A promoter but not GausRVE2 or GbRVE2. The result could partially explain why Gossypium barbadense popularly shows higher resistance than Gossypium hirsutum. Furthermore, disturbing the JA‐signalling pathway resulted into the loss of RVE2‐mediated disease‐resistance in various plants (Arabidopsis, tobacco and cotton). RVE2 overexpression significantly enhanced the resistance to VW. Collectively, we conclude that RVE2, a new regulatory factor, plays a pivotal role in fine‐tuning JA‐signalling, which would improve our understanding the mechanisms underlying the resistance to VW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on three-dimensional optical proximity correction (3D OPC), recent advancements in 3D lithography have enabled the high-fidelity customization of 3D micro-optical elements. However, the micron-to-millimeter-scale structures represented by the Fresnel lens design bring more stringent requirements for 3D OPC, which poses significant challenges to the accuracy of models and the efficiency of algorithms. Thus, a lithographic model based on optical imaging and photochemical reaction curves is developed in this paper, and a subdomain division method with a statistics principle is proposed to improve the efficiency and accuracy of 3D OPC. Both the simulation and the experimental results show the superiority of the proposed 3D OPC method in the fabrication of Fresnel lenses. The computation memory requirements of the 3D OPC are reduced to below 1%, and the profile error of the fabricated Fresnel lens is reduced 79.98%. Applying the Fresnel lenses to an imaging system, the average peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) of the image is increased by 18.92%, and the average contrast of the image is enhanced by 36%. We believe that the proposed 3D OPC method can be extended to the fabrication of vision-correcting ophthalmological lenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the key influencing factors during the flaking process of yellow birch (Betula arneghaniensis brittori) wood strands with the aim of achieving energy efficiency, improving utilization of wood resources and enhancing wood strand quality by optimizing parameters and flaking processes of the disc flaker. The impact of disc flake knife rake angle, clearance angle, knife projection, counter knife angle, wood temperature, flaking direction, and wood flaking height on the production process of yellow birch wood strands were discussed. Birch wood strand length distribution and tensile strength were evaluated as the indicators of wood strand flaking quality, while strand curl index and flaking energy consumption during the cutting process were used to evaluate the production control of high-quality yellow birch wood strands.The results showed that longitudinal flaking can obtain better wood strand quality, and increasing the wood temperature and counter knife angle can effectively improve it as well. However, the increase of counter knife tingle resulted in more energy consumption. This study was significant for guiding the flaking process of oriented strand board (OSB), improving the efficiency of wood resource utilization, and enhancing economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Components of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) are present on bone cells. One measure of RAAS activity, the aldosterone-renin-ratio (ARR), is used to screen for primary aldosteronism. Associations between ARR and bone mineral density are conflicting. This study investigated associations between ARR and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and impact microindentation (IMI). Male participants (n = 431) were from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. "Likely" primary aldosteronism was defined as ARR ≥ 70 pmol/mIU. Another group, "possible" primary aldosteronism, was defined as either ARR ≥ 70 pmol/mIU or taking a medication that affects the RAAS, but not a beta blocker, and renin < 15 mU/L. Using pQCT, images at 4% and 66% of radial (n = 365) and tibial (n = 356) length were obtained. Using IMI measurements, bone material strength index (BMSi; n = 332) was determined. Associations between ARR or likely/possible primary aldosteronism and IMI or pQCT-derived bone parameters were tested using median regression. ARR and aldosterone values were not associated with any of the pQCT-derived bone variables in either unadjusted or adjusted analyses. Men with likely primary aldosteronism (n = 16), had lower adjusted total bone area (radial 66% site, − 12.5%). No associations were observed for men with possible primary aldosteronism (unadjusted or adjusted). No associations with BMSi were observed (p > 0.05). There were no associations between ARR or aldosterone and pQCT-derived bone parameters. Men with likely primary aldosteronism had lower bone area, suggesting clinically high levels of ARR may have a negative impact on bone health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To augment edge preservation capabilities and detail enhancement in multi-focus image fusion, a new Multi-focus image fusion algorithm is proposed in this paper. Firstly, we select fast local laplacian filtering (FLLF) as the multi-scale decomposition tool to decompose the source image into an approximate image and multiple detail images. Secondly, higher-order singular value decomposition (HOSVD) is applied to fuse the approximate image. Thirdly, the parameter-adaptive pulse coupled-neural network (PA-PCNN) model is used to fuse the detailed images. Finally, exploiting the combination of the fusion results of the approximate image and the detail images, the final fusion image is obtained using the FLLF inverse transform. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves excellent performance in both subjective visual perception and objective index evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement of intelligent shipping, current traffic management systems have become inadequate to meet the requirements of intelligent supervision. In particular, with regard to ship violations, on-site boarding is still necessary for inspection. This paper presents a novel approach for enhancing ships' management and service capabilities through scientific knowledge graph technology to develop a ship knowledge graph. The proposed approach extracts key characteristics of ship violations from the ship knowledge graph, such as monitoring ships, expired ship certificates, multiple ship tracks, inconsistent ship tracks with port reports, and ships not reported to the port for a long time. Combining the characteristics of ship violations, the approach uses reasoning and identification techniques to detect specific instances of falsely licensed ships and other violations. The development of the ship knowledge graph analysis system enables the identification and verification of illegal ships using fake license plates, while also improving the effective utilization of maritime data and enhancing the ability to make informed decisions related to ship safety. By leveraging cognitive approaches and knowledge graphs, this study offers the potential to develop an intelligent decision-making system for maritime traffic management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent observational studies suggest that the large‐scale dynamical forcing (vertical motion) plays important roles in deep convection development. In this study we propose a convective mass flux adjustment (MAdj) approach to represent the dynamical effects of large‐scale vertical motion on convection in the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2). With MAdj, convection is enhanced (suppressed) when there is large‐scale ascending (descending) motion at the planetary boundary layer top. The coupling of convection with large‐scale circulation significantly improves the simulation of climate variability in E3SMv2 across multiple scales from the diurnal cycle, convectively coupled equatorial waves, to the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO). The standard E3SMv2 tends to simulate overly weak diurnal amplitude of precipitation and overly weak variance of convectively coupled equatorial Kelvin and westward inertio‐gravity (WIG) waves. It also fails to simulate the essential characteristics of the MJO: continuous eastward propagation. With MAdj, the amplitude of diurnal cycle of precipitation is systematically increased and its probability density distribution is much closer to observations. The MAdj can also simulate more realistic eastward propagation of the MJO and much stronger convectively coupled Kelvin and WIG waves. Moreover, the MAdj approach slightly improves the climatology simulations in precipitation, cloud, radiation, circulation, temperature, and moisture fields, with overall root‐mean‐square error (RMSE) of major climatological fields reduced by about 2%. The MAdj approach suppresses excessive grid‐scale precipitation, reducing precipitation wet biases over South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Himalayas, and South Pacific Convergence Zone in western Pacific in summer. Plain Language Summary: The representation of convection in global climate models is one of the most challenging scientific issues in climate modeling. Many deficiencies in precipitation and climate variability simulations and uncertainties in climate change projections can be traced to the poor representation of convection. Recent observational studies suggest that large‐scale vertical motion plays important roles in deep convection development. In this study we propose a convective mass flux adjustment (MAdj) approach to represent the effects of large‐scale vertical motion on convection in the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2). With MAdj, convection is enhanced (suppressed) when there is large‐scale ascending (descending) motion at the planetary boundary layer top. The coupling of convection with large‐scale circulation significantly improves the climate variability simulation of E3SMv2 across multiple scales from the diurnal cycle, convectively coupled equatorial waves, to the Madden‐Julian Oscillation. Improving climate variability simulation through modifying convection parameterization usually causes degradations of the mean state and other climate aspects. The MAdj approach does not degrade the climatology simulations. It actually slightly improves the climatology simulations in precipitation, cloud, radiation, circulation, temperature and moisture fields. Key Points: A convective mass flux adjustment approach is proposed to represent the dynamical effects of large‐scale vertical motion on convectionThe mass flux adjustment significantly improves the climate variability simulation of E3SMv2 across multiple scalesThe mass flux adjustment slightly improves climatology simulations of precipitation, cloud, radiation, circulation, temperature, and moisture [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is caused by an inherited structural abnormality of adult hemoglobin causing polymerization. Fetal hemoglobin interferes with polymerization but is epigenetically silenced by DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) in adult erythropoiesis. Decitabine depletes DNMT1 and increases fetal and total hemoglobin in SCD patients, but is rapidly catabolized by cytidine deaminase (CDA) in vivo. Tetrahydrouridine (THU) inhibits CDA, safeguarding decitabine. Methods: The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of three oral combination formulations of THU and decitabine, with different coatings producing different delays in decitabine release, were investigated in healthy participants. Results: Tetrahydrouridine and decitabine were rapidly absorbed into the systemic circulation after a single combination oral dose, with relative bioavailability of decitabine ≥74% in fasted males compared with separate oral administration of THU followed by decitabine 1 h later. THU and decitabine Cmax and area under the plasma concentration versus time curve were higher in females versus males, and fasted versus fed states. Despite sex and food effect on pharmacokinetics, the pharmacodynamic effect of DNMT1 downregulation was comparable in males and females and fasted and fed states. Treatments were well tolerated. Conclusion: Combination oral formulations of THU with decitabine produced pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics suitable for oral DNMT1‐targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition‐metal‐catalyzed acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling (ADC) has emerged as a sustainable synthetic strategy for the construction of N‐heteroaromatics. Herein, a series of water‐soluble amidato Ru catalysts were designed, synthesized, and utilized in the selective synthesis of 2‐substituted benzimidazoles from the aromatic diamines and primary alcohols, as well as 2‐substituted quinolines from the substituted 2‐aminobenzyl alcohols and acetophenones via the ADC strategy in water. Catalyst 1 d bearing a strong electron‐donating hydroxyl group on the ligand exhibited the best catalytic activity. The catalytic system demonstrated remarkable efficiency and versatility, allowing for the application of over 40 substrates in two ADC reactions with good to high yields. Based on control experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, a plausible mechanism was proposed, highlighting the significant role of functionalized amidato Ru complexes in catalyzing alcohol dehydrogenation via an outer‐sphere pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella are major foodborne pathogens that are widespread in nature and responsible for several outbreaks of food safety accidents. Thus, a rapid and practical technique (PMA-mPCR) was developed for the simultaneous detection of viable E. coli O157:H7, S. aureus, and Salmonella in pure culture and in a food matrix. To eliminate false positive results, propidium monoazide (PMA) was applied to selectively suppress the DNA amplification of dead cells. The results showed the optimum concentration of PMA is 5.0 µg/mL. The detection limit of this assay by mPCR was 103 CFU/mL in the culture broth, and by PMA-mPCR was 104 CFU/mL both in pure culture and a food matrix (milk and ground beef). In addition, the detection of mixed viable and dead cells was also explored in this study. The detection sensitivity ratio of viable and dead counts was less than 1:10. Therefore, the PMA-mPCR assay proposed here might provide an efficient detection tool for the simultaneous detection of viable E. coli O157:H7, S. aureus, and Salmonella and also have great potential for the detection and concentration assessment of VBNC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)- based clot waveform analysis (CWA) quantitatively extends information obtained from the APTT waveform through its derivatives. However, pre-analytical variables including reagent effects on the CWA parameters are poorly understood and must be standardized as a potential diagnostic assay. (2) Methods: CWA was first analysed with patient samples to understand reagent lot variation in three common APTT reagents: Pathromtin SL, Actin FS, and Actin FSL. A total of 1055 healthy volunteers were also recruited from seven institutions across the Asia-Pacific region and CWA data were collected with the Sysmex CS analysers. (3) Results: CWA parameters varied less than 10% between lots and the linear mixed model analysis showed few site-specific effects within the same reagent group. However, the CWA parameters were significantly different amongst all reagent groups and thus reagent-specific 95% reference intervals could be calculated using the nonparametric method. Post-hoc analysis showed some degree of influence by age and gender with weak correlation to the CWA (r < 0.3). (4) Conclusions: Reagent type significantly affects APTT-based CWA with minimal inter-laboratory variations with the same coagulometer series that allow for data pooling across laboratories with more evidence required for age- and gender-partitioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt damage is a major threat to sustainable cotton production owing to the limited arable land in China, which is mainly occupied by the production of staple food crops. Salt-stress-tolerant cotton varieties are lacking in production, and the mechanisms underpinning salt stress tolerance in cotton remain enigmatic. Here, DM37, an intraspecific introgression line from Gossypium hirsutum race yucatanense acc TX-1046 into the G. hirsutum acc TM-1 background, was found to be highly tolerant to salt stress. Its seed germination rate and germination potential were significantly higher than those of the recipient TM-1 under salt stress. Physiological analysis showed that DM37 had a higher proline content and peroxidase activity and lower Na+/K+ ratios at the seedling stage, which is consistent with a higher seedling survival rate after durable salt stress. Furthermore, comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that responsive patterns to salt stress in DM37 were different from those in TM-1. Weighted correlation network analysis demonstrated that co-expression modules associated with salt stress in DM37 also differed from those in TM-1. From this analysis, GhPP2C43-A , a phosphatase gene, was found to exhibit negative regulation of salt stress tolerance verified by virus-induced gene silencing and the genration of transgenic Arabidopsis. Gene expression showed that GhPP2C43-A in TM-1 was induced by durable salt stress but not in DM37, probably attributable to a variation in the cis -element in its promoter, thereby conferring different salt stress tolerance. These results provide new genes/germplasms from semi-wild cotton in salt-stress-tolerant cotton breeding, as well as new insight into the mechanisms underpinning salt stress tolerance in cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advection-enhanced heat and mass transport from a single droplet neutrally suspended in a simple shear flow has been studied using high-fidelity numerical simulation. The capillary number ranges from 0.01 to 0.5, which encompasses the entire range of small deformation, large deformation, and breakup of the droplets. The Reynolds number is from 0.01 to 1, including regions of both weak and strong advection. The temperature and mass concentration are modeled as the concentration of a passive scalar released at the droplet surface. Two Schmidt numbers, 10 and 100, are considered, for which flow advection plays a role in the transport of passive scalar. For unbroken droplets, the interaction between the carrier fluid and the suspended droplet leads to several different flows around the droplet. The fluid motions together with scalar diffusion constitute a coupled transport mechanism for passive scalar. The dependence of scalar release rate on Reynolds and Peclet numbers can be roughly described by the correlation for a rigid sphere. For broken droplets, the basic flow features around the droplet during the process of elongation and breakup are similar to those of an unbroken droplet. The variation of the scalar release rate can be decomposed into several stages, corresponding to the process of droplet elongation and breakup. The variation of the scalar release rate exhibits a high correlation with the capillary, Reynolds, and Peclet numbers. This suggests that it is feasible to develop an empirical model that incorporates the effects of the number and size distributions of child droplets after breakup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]