Search

This paper investigates inverse source problems for the Helmholtz and Navier equations in multi-layered media, considering both two and three-dimensional cases respectively. The study reveals a consistent increase in stability for each scenario, characterized by two main terms: a Hölder-type term associated with data discrepancy, and a logarithmic-type term that diminishes as more frequencies are considered. In the two-dimensional case, measurements on interfaces and far-field data are essential. By employing the fundamental solution in free-space as the test function and utilizing the asymptotic behavior of the solution and continuation principle, stability results are obtained. In the three-dimensional case, measurements on interfaces and artificial boundaries are taken, and the stability result can be derived by applying the arguments for inverse source problems in homogeneous media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are common in the chemical industry, yet process sustainability is limited by the inefficient utilization of CO. In this study, we address this issue and demonstrate that significant improvements can be achieved by adopting a heterogeneously catalyzed process, using a Ru/NbOx catalyst. The Ru/NbOx catalyst enables the direct synthesis of methyl propionate, a key industrial commodity, with over 98% selectivity from CO, ethylene and methanol, without any ligands or acid/base promoters. Under ambient CO pressure, a high CO utilization efficiency (336 mmolestermolCO−1h−1) is achieved. Mechanistic investigations reveal that CO undergoes a methoxycarbonyl (COOCH3) intermediate pathway, attacking the terminal carbon atom of alkene and yielding linear esters. The origins of prevailing linear regioselectivity in esters are revealed. The infrared spectroscopic feature of the key COOCH3 species is observed at 1750 cm−1 (C=O vibration) both experimentally and computationally. The broad substrate applicability of Ru/NbOx catalyst for ester production is demonstrated. This process offers a sustainable and efficient approach with high CO utilization and atom economy for the synthesis of esters. Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are widely used in the chemical industry, but their sustainability is often hindered by inefficient CO utilization. Here, the authors tackle the challenge by developing a sustainable and efficient carbonylation process for producing methyl propionate, achieving high CO utilization and regioselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are common in the chemical industry, yet process sustainability is limited by the inefficient utilization of CO. In this study, we address this issue and demonstrate that significant improvements can be achieved by adopting a heterogeneously catalyzed process, using a Ru/NbOx catalyst. The Ru/NbOx catalyst enables the direct synthesis of methyl propionate, a key industrial commodity, with over 98% selectivity from CO, ethylene and methanol, without any ligands or acid/base promoters. Under ambient CO pressure, a high CO utilization efficiency (336 mmolestermolCO−1h−1) is achieved. Mechanistic investigations reveal that CO undergoes a methoxycarbonyl (COOCH3) intermediate pathway, attacking the terminal carbon atom of alkene and yielding linear esters. The origins of prevailing linear regioselectivity in esters are revealed. The infrared spectroscopic feature of the key COOCH3 species is observed at 1750 cm−1 (C=O vibration) both experimentally and computationally. The broad substrate applicability of Ru/NbOx catalyst for ester production is demonstrated. This process offers a sustainable and efficient approach with high CO utilization and atom economy for the synthesis of esters. Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are widely used in the chemical industry, but their sustainability is often hindered by inefficient CO utilization. Here, the authors tackle the challenge by developing a sustainable and efficient carbonylation process for producing methyl propionate, achieving high CO utilization and regioselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bladder carcinoma (BLCA) is characterized by high morbidity, mortality, and treatment costs. Breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1), a tumor suppressor gene, inhibits the development of malignant tumors. However, research on the significance of BRCA1 in BLCA is limited. This study aims to explore the importance of BRCA1 in BLCA using bioinformatic methods and immunohistochemistry. Methods: Gene expression, clinical, and survival data were collected from the TCGA databases through the UCSC Xena platform (http://xena.ucsc.edu/). The TPM data from the TCGA and GETEx databases were integrated using the GEPIA database (http://GEPIA.cancer-pku.cn). The study then explored the differential expression, survival prognosis, functional enrichment, and immune cell infiltration analyses of BRCA1 in BLCA. A PPI network of BRCA1 was constructed using the STRING database, and a BRCA1-associated gene-gene interaction network was generated using the GeneMANIA database. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays were performed to verify the expression levels of BRCA1 in bladder tumour tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Results: BRCA1 is associated with BLCA. Differential analysis indicated that BRCA1 acts as a risk factor for BLCA but does not show significant expression differences across genders, stages, tumor stages, lymph node stages, or metastasis stages. Additionally, staging was based on the eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) for BLCA. Co-expression network and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GESA) confirmed that BRCA1 is involved in various BLCA pathways. Furthermore, BRCA1 expression was also linked to immune cell infiltration. However, survival prognosis analysis revealed no significant correlation between the prognosis of BLCA and BRCA1. Conclusion: We demonstrated that BRCA1 is a prospective predicted and immunological biomarker in BLCA, offering new avenues for potential therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of bone marrow iron stores is typically performed on an aspirate smear slide that has been manually stained by a technologist using a commercially available kit. This approach can contribute to inconsistent results and limit the broad use of iron staining in bone marrow specimens, particularly when laboratories have low staffing and/or high specimen volumes. Here, we describe the adaptation and validation of the Ventana Benchmark automated stainer and iron stain kit for routine clinical use of staining iron in bone marrow aspirate smear slides. We assessed accuracy and precision of the Ventana automated iron staining protocol compared to the Perls Prussian blue manual iron staining index method. Hematopathologists assigned Gale scores and enumerated the percentages of erythroid sideroblasts on paired patient bone marrow aspirate smear slides stained by the automated method and the manual iron staining method. We found a similar level of performance of the Ventana automated iron stain relative to the index manual method (as assessed by Pearson correlation and Bland–Altman analyses). In addition, there was low imprecision between replicates performed via the automated iron stain protocol. We also report superior qualitative findings of the automated method in ease of localization of iron storage, visualization of sideroblasts, and counterstain consistency. Automated iron staining of bone marrow aspirate smear slides performed similarly to the manual method and may allow for accurate routine evaluation of bone marrow iron stores as part of bone marrow analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorine‐silicone heterogeneous rubbers have been developed to address the issue of poor low‐temperature resistance in fluorine rubber. Bi‐functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles have been prepared as a nano‐compatibilizer to enhance the cooperation of fluorine‐silicon heterogeneous rubbers and improve their compatibility. Research has demonstrated that the nano‐compatibilizer can reduce the interfacial energy between the two phases and facilitate void‐free dispersion of the phases. Fluorine‐silicone heterogeneous rubbers with varying ratios have been synthesized to achieve a broad low‐temperature range, from −34 to −58°C. Additionally, the use of the nano‐compatibilizer enhances the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the rubbers. This study presents a novel approach utilizing bi‐functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles to promote the cooperation of fluorine‐silicone heterogeneous rubbers, resulting in customizable low‐temperature resistance for applications in sealing and hose materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Excessive patulin contamination in fruit juice products pose a significant risk to human health. However, there is a notable absence of a comprehensive and long‐term survey regarding the contamination of patulin in fruit juices within the Chinese market. The present study revealed a discernible decline in the patulin contamination levels, which were as follows: 60% (33/55), 18.28% (17/93), 0% (0/122), 15.58% (12/77), and 0% (0/63) at various survey time dates (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022). Among them, 18.18% (in 2014), 6.45% (in 2016), and 3.90% (in 2020) of samples exceeded the maximum limit concentration of 50 μg/L, respectively. Despite the presence of varying levels of patulin contamination, the average daily intake of patulin across all years did not present a discernible risk to human health. This investigation offers valuable insights for evaluating the extent of human exposure to patulin and establishing regulatory measures to ensure the safety of juice products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon construal level theory and regulatory fit literature, this research examined the effect of fit between humor and regulatory focus on audience engagement with health information on social media. The results of two studies showed that incongruity humor (vs. aggressive humor) induced greater social proximity between the source and the viewer, and humor type interacted with regulatory focus of a message to impact audience engagement. Specifically, incongruity humor paired with a prevention-focused message (vs. a promotion-focused message) resulted in greater content endorsement and health information engagement, whereas aggressive humor combined with a promotion-focused message (vs. a prevention-focused message) led to greater content endorsement. Results further identified processing fluency as a mediator of the fit effect on audience engagement. This research offers important theoretical and practical implications for public health interventions on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercritical CO2 has wide application in enhancing oil recovery, but the low viscosity of liquid CO2 can lead to issues such as poor proppant-carrying ability and high filtration loss. Therefore, the addition of thickening agents to CO2 is vital. Hydrocarbon polymers, as a class of green and sustainable materials, hold tremendous potential for acting as thickeners in supercritical CO2 systems, and PVAc is one of the best-performing hydrocarbon thickeners. To further improve the viscosity enhancement and solubility of PVAc, here we designed a novel polymer structure, PVAO, by introducing CO2-affine functional groups to PVAc. Molecular dynamics simulations were adopted to analyze viscosity and relevant solubility parameters systematically. We found that PVAO exhibits superior performance, with a viscosity enhancement of 1.5 times that of PVAc in supercritical CO2. While in the meantime, PVAO maintains better solubility characteristics than PVAc. Our findings offer insights for the future design of other high-performance polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the progressive degeneration and damage of neurons in the brain. However, developing an accurate diagnostic assay using blood samples remains a challenge in clinic practice. The aim of this study was to explore senescence‐associated secretory phenotypes (SASPs) in peripheral blood using mass spectrometry based multi‐omics approach and to establish diagnostic assays for AD. Methods: This retrospective study included 88 participants, consisting of 29 AD patients and 59 cognitively normal (CN) individuals. Plasma and serum samples were examined using high‐resolution mass spectrometry to identify proteomic and metabolomic profiles. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was employed to screen biomarkers with diagnostic potential. K‐nearest neighbors (KNN) algorithm was utilized to construct a multi‐dimensional model for distinguishing AD from CN. Results: Proteomics analysis revealed upregulation of five plasma proteins in AD, including RNA helicase aquarius (AQR), zinc finger protein 587B (ZNF587B), C‐reactive protein (CRP), fibronectin (FN1), and serum amyloid A‐1 protein (SAA1), indicating their potential for AD classification. Interestingly, KNN‐based three‐dimensional model, comprising AQR, ZNF587B, and CRP, demonstrated its high accuracy in AD recognition, with evaluation possibilities of 0.941, 1.000, and 1.000 for the training, testing, and validation datasets, respectively. Besides, metabolomics analysis suggested elevated levels of serum phenylacetylglutamine (PAGIn) in AD. Interpretation: The multi‐omics outcomes highlighted the significance of the SASPs, specifically AQR, ZNF587B, CRP, and PAGIn, in terms of their potential for diagnosing AD and suggested neuronal aging‐associated pathophysiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) offers a transforming user experience and has been increasingly integrated into entertainment and service contexts. Drawing on experience economy theory and employing a mixed‐methods approach, this research evaluates the antecedents and consequences of four realms of viewer experiences: entertainment, educational, aesthetic, and escapist experiences, in AR‐infused sports videos. A qualitative study of semi‐structured interviews highlights three critical AR features in sports videos (i.e., novelty, vividness, and informativeness) in shaping viewer experiences. Subsequently, a research model is formulated to elucidate the relationships among AR features, four realms of viewer experiences, and behavioral intentions. A quantitative analysis based on survey data reveals that AR features exert varying effects on viewers' entertainment, educational, and aesthetic experiences, yet none significantly affects escapist experience, which is relatively trivial in viewers' overall experience. Entertainment, educational, aesthetic, and escapist experiences have various influences on viewers' intentions to watch again, to recommend, and to pay, except that entertainment and educational experiences do not significantly affect intention to pay. This research stresses the importance of understanding multiple aspects of user experiences in AR research and provides useful guidelines for AR features and viewer experience design in sports videos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia (NH3) is pivotal in modern industry and represents a promising next‐generation carbon‐free energy carrier. Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (eNO3RR) presents viable solutions for NH3 production and removal of ambient nitrate pollutants. However, the development of eNO3RR is hindered by lacking the efficient electrocatalysts. To address this challenge, we synthesized a series of macrocyclic molecular catalysts for the heterogeneous eNO3RR. These materials possess different coordination environments around metal centers by surrounding subunits. Consequently, electronic structures of the active centers can be altered, enabling tunable activity towards eNO3RR. Our investigation reveals that metal center with an N2(pyrrole)‐N2(pyridine) configuration demonstrates superior activity over the others and achieves a high NH3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of over 90 % within the tested range, where the highest FE of approximately 94 % is obtained. Furthermore, it achieves a production rate of 11.28 mg mgcat−1 h−1, and a turnover frequency of up to 3.28 s−1. Further tests disclose that these molecular catalysts with diverse coordination environments showed different magnetic moments. Theoretical calculation results indicate that variated coordination environments can result in a d‐band center variation which eventually affects rate‐determining step energy and calculated magnetic moments, thus establishing a correlation between electronic structure, experimental activity, and computational parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia (NH3) is pivotal in modern industry and represents a promising next‐generation carbon‐free energy carrier. Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (eNO3RR) presents viable solutions for NH3 production and removal of ambient nitrate pollutants. However, the development of eNO3RR is hindered by lacking the efficient electrocatalysts. To address this challenge, we synthesized a series of macrocyclic molecular catalysts for the heterogeneous eNO3RR. These materials possess different coordination environments around metal centers by surrounding subunits. Consequently, electronic structures of the active centers can be altered, enabling tunable activity towards eNO3RR. Our investigation reveals that metal center with an N2(pyrrole)‐N2(pyridine) configuration demonstrates superior activity over the others and achieves a high NH3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of over 90 % within the tested range, where the highest FE of approximately 94 % is obtained. Furthermore, it achieves a production rate of 11.28 mg mgcat−1 h−1, and a turnover frequency of up to 3.28 s−1. Further tests disclose that these molecular catalysts with diverse coordination environments showed different magnetic moments. Theoretical calculation results indicate that variated coordination environments can result in a d‐band center variation which eventually affects rate‐determining step energy and calculated magnetic moments, thus establishing a correlation between electronic structure, experimental activity, and computational parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current era of urban construction, smart city management, and digital twinning, three-dimensional reconstruction of urban buildings is particularly important. Traditional methods have limitations in reconstructing complex geometric scenes, while new methods such as Nerf focus on using implicit MLP to represent the geometric space of the model, but suffer from slow training and rendering speeds. To address this issue, this paper proposes the use of 3D Gaussian scatter points for three-dimensional reconstruction of urban buildings, improving training speed and reconstruction quality through optimized and accelerated rendering algorithms. This method demonstrates high efficiency and editability, providing a new solution for urban building reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panoramic images, prized for their capacity to capture a comprehensive 360-degree field of view, find extensive applications across various domains. However, the challenge arises when attempting to seamlessly stitch together images captured by multiple cameras onto a spherical surface, particularly in cases where the cameras lack concentric alignment. To mitigate this misalignment issue, our paper introduces a novel method that integrates depth information into panoramic image stitching, aiming to enhance registration accuracy and seamline detection. The proposed method encompasses two pivotal steps. Firstly, depth information is employed to rectify the image's placement on the panoramic sphere, facilitating a two-dimensional registration process. This initial step targets the elimination of misalignment problems between images while preserving image clarity. Subsequently, depth information is seamlessly integrated into the smoothing term of the Markov random field energy function to guide seamline detection. Leveraging depth information aids in circumventing foreground obstacles and directs the search through spatially smooth areas, thereby reducing the likelihood of misalignment issues. Experimental results substantiate the effectiveness of employing depth information for image correction on the spherical surface, especially in scenarios where cameras approximate concentric alignment. Furthermore, the integration of depth information into the stitching network construction markedly diminishes misalignment, leading to a notable improvement in panoramic image quality. This signifies a crucial advancement in the domain of panoramic image stitching from an academic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis, a defensive strategy commonly employed by the host cells to restrict pathogenic infections, has been implicated in the development and therapeutic responses of various types of cancer. However, the role of ferroptosis in oncogenic Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-induced cancers remains elusive. While a growing number of non-histone proteins have been identified as acetylation targets, the functions of these modifications have yet to be revealed. Here, we show KSHV reprogramming of host acetylation proteomics following cellular transformation of rat primary mesenchymal precursor. Among them, SERPINE1 mRNA binding protein 1 (SERBP1) deacetylation is increased and required for KSHV-induced cellular transformation. Mechanistically, KSHV-encoded viral interleukin-6 (vIL-6) promotes SIRT3 deacetylation of SERBP1, preventing its binding to and protection of lipoyltransferase 2 (Lipt2) mRNA from mRNA degradation resulting in ferroptosis. Consequently, a SIRT3-specific inhibitor, 3-TYP, suppresses KSHV-induced cellular transformation by inducing ferroptosis. Our findings unveil novel roles of vIL-6 and SERBP1 deacetylation in regulating ferroptosis and KSHV-induced cellular transformation, and establish the vIL-6-SIRT3-SERBP1-ferroptosis pathways as a potential new therapeutic target for KSHV-associated cancers. Author summary: Ferroptosis has been implicated in viral infections and the development of cancers, however, its role in oncogenic Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-induced cancers is still unknown. Although abnormal protein lysine acetylation modification has been strongly implicated in tumorigenesis, the exact role of this modification in KSHV-induced cell transformation remains elusive. Our study uncovers the reduction of acetylation of SERPINE1 mRNA binding protein 1 (SERBP1), which is required for KSHV-induced cellular transformation. KSHV-encoded viral interleukin-6 (vIL-6) promotes SIRT3 deacetylation of SERBP1, preventing its binding to and protection of lipoyltransferase 2 (Lipt2) mRNA from mRNA degradation resulting in ferroptosis. A SIRT3-specific inhibitor, 3-TYP, induces ferroptosis and inhibits survival of KSHV-transformed cells. These findings define a novel mechanism contributing to KSHV-induced cellular transformation and provide a rationale for therapeutically targeting lysine acetylation and the associated enzyme for infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving selective hydrodeoxygenation of α, β-unsaturated carbonyl groups to alkenes poses a substantial challenge due to the presence of multiple functional groups. In this study, we develop a ZnNC-X catalyst (X represents the calcination temperature) that incorporates both Lewis acidic-basic sites and Zn-Nx sites to address this challenge. Among the catalyst variants, ZnNC-900 catalyst exhibits impressive selectivity for alkenes in the hydrodeoxygenation of α, β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, achieving up to 94.8% selectivity. Through comprehensive mechanism investigations and catalyst characterization, we identify the Lewis acidic-basic sites as responsible for the selective hydrogenation of C=O bonds, while the Zn-Nx sites facilitate the subsequent selective hydrodeoxygenation step. Furthermore, ZnNC-900 catalyst displays broad applicability across a diverse range of unsaturated carbonyl compounds. These findings not only offer valuable insights into the design of effective catalysts for controlling alkene selectivity but also extend the scope of sustainable transformations in synthetic chemistry. The selective reduction of α, β-unsaturated carbonyls remains a challenge. Here the authors report a zinc-based catalyst for this reaction, converting α, β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds into unsaturated alcohols followed by hydrodeoxygenation to form alkenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Accumulating evidence from microbial studies have highlighted the modulatory roles of intestinal microbes in numerous human diseases, however, the shared microbial signatures across different diseases remain relatively unclear. Methods To consolidate existing knowledge across multiple studies, we performed meta-analyses of 17 disease types, covering 34 case–control datasets of 16S rRNA sequencing data, to identify shared alterations among different diseases. Furthermore, the impact of a microbial species, Lactobacillus salivarius , was established in a dextran sodium sulphate–induced colitis model and a collagen type II–induced arthritis mouse model. Results Microbial alterations among autoimmune diseases were substantially more consistent compared with that of other diseases (cancer, metabolic disease and nervous system disease), with microbial signatures exhibiting notable discriminative power for disease prediction. Autoimmune diseases were characterized by the enrichment of Enterococcus , Veillonella , Streptococcus and Lactobacillus and the depletion of Ruminococcus , Gemmiger , Oscillibacter , Faecalibacterium , Lachnospiracea incertae sedis , Anaerostipes , Coprococcus , Alistipes , Roseburia , Bilophila , Barnesiella , Dorea , Ruminococcus2 , Butyricicoccus , Phascolarctobacterium , Parabacteroides and Odoribacter , among others. Functional investigation of L. salivarius , whose genus was commonly enriched in numerous autoimmune diseases, demonstrated protective roles in two separate inflammatory mouse models. Conclusion Our study highlights a strong link between autoimmune diseases and the gut microbiota, with notably consistent microbial alterations compared with that of other diseases, indicating that therapeutic strategies that target the gut microbiome may be transferable across different autoimmune diseases. Functional validation of L. salivarius highlighted that bacterial genera associated with disease may not always be antagonistic, but may represent protective or adaptive responses to disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artificial intelligence methods might be applied to see through the education problems, and make effective prediction and decision. The transformation from data to decision are inseparable from the learning analytics. In order to solve the dynamic multi-objective decision problems, a decision learning algorithm is designed to analyze the learning behavior and learning achievement based on the particle swarm optimization mechanism, which ensures the global optimization of data analysis. Compared with the performance indicators of several approximate algorithms, this algorithm has the advantage of association analysis, which improves the accuracy and robustness; Furthermore, three tested problems are constructed by GeoDa tool, and through data training and analysis, the dynamic multi-objective decision rules are obtained. The whole research can provide theoretical and technical support for other related or similar issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video lectures are indispensable components of current online learning platforms. They play critical roles in shaping learners' responses and learning performance. This research intends to synthesize the findings relevant to the effects of video lecture design on learners in online learning. It identified the key elements of video lecture design and revealed their impacts on learners' responses and learning performance by conducting a systematic review. Based on 73 peer-reviewed journal papers extracted and selected from the Web of Science (WOS) core collections database, this research illustrated the landscape of the literature by publication year, journal source, citations, and keyword co-occurrence. It also identified three themes in the literature, such as instructor presence, instructor characteristics, and content presentation, and summarized the key findings for each theme. This research contributes to the online learning literature by revealing the current status of scholarly works relevant to video lecture design and proposes an agenda for future research in this emerging field. Meanwhile, it offers practitioners the synthesized findings in the academic investigations on video lecture design in online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the role of methotrexate-related gene polymorphisms in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) therapy and to explore their effects on serum metabolites before and after HD-MTX treatment. The MTHFR 677C>T, MTHFR 1298A>C, ABCB1 3435C>T, and GSTP1 313A>G genotypes of 189 children with ALL who received chemotherapy with the CCCG-ALL-2020 regimen from January 2020 to April 2023 were analyzed, and toxic effects were reported according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE, version 5.0). Fasting peripheral blood serum samples were collected from 27 children before and after HD-MTX treatment, and plasma metabolites were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS). The results of univariate and multivariate analyses showed that MTHFR 677C>T and ABCB1 3435 C>T gene polymorphisms were associated with the delayed MTX clearance (P < 0.05) and lower platelet count after treatment in children with MTHFR 677 mutation compared with wild-type ones (P < 0.05), and pure mutations in ABCB1 3435 were associated with higher serum creatinine levels (P < 0.05). No significant association was identified between MTHFR 677C>T, MTHFR 1298A>C, ABCB1 3435 C>T, and GSTP1 313A>G genes and hepatotoxicity or nephrotoxicity (P > 0.05). However, the serum metabolomic analysis indicated that the presence of the MTHFR 677C > T gene polymorphism could potentially contribute to delayed MTX clearance by influencing L-phenylalanine metabolism, leading to the occurrence of related toxic side effects. Conclusion: MTHFR 677C>T and ABCB1 3435 C>T predicted the risk of delayed MTX clearance during HD-MTX treatment in children with ALL. Serum L-phenylalanine levels were significantly elevated after HD-MTX treatment in children with the MTHFR 677C>T mutation gene. Trial registration: This study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration number: ChiCTR2000035264; registration: 2020/08/05; https://www.chictr.org.cn/). What is Known: • MTX-related genes play an important role in MTX pharmacokinetics and toxicity, but results from different studies are inconsistent and the mechanisms involved are not clear. What is New: • Characteristics, prognosis, polymorphisms of MTX-related genes, and metabolite changes were comprehensively evaluated in children treated with HD-MTX chemotherapy. • Analysis revealed that both heterozygous and pure mutations in MTHFR 677C>T resulted in a significantly increased risk of delayed MTX clearance, and that L-phenylalanine has the potential to serve as a predictive marker for the metabolic effects of the MTHFR 677C>T polymorphism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to enhance cardiovascular health. However, there is a lack of research investigating the specific cardiovascular effects of different HIIT training modes. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the acute effects of cycling-type high intensity interval training (C-HIIT) and resistance-type high intensity interval training (R-HIIT) on arterial stiffness, cardiac autonomic modulation, and cardiac biomarkers in healthy young men. Methods: This is a cross-over randomized trial. Eleven healthy active young men took part in both C-HIIT and R-HIIT. Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), heart rate variability (HRV), and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured before, immediately and 30 min after the exercise in C-HIIT and R-HIIT. Meanwhile, blood samples for cardiac troponin-T (cTnT) and amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were assessed using ELISA before, 5min and 35min after exercise. Results: There was a significant time × group interaction effect (P = 0.019, ηp2 = 0.182) and time main effect for ⊿CAVI (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.729), and R-HIIT resulted in a more significant reduction in ⊿CAVI compared to C-HIIT (− 0.60 ± 0.30, P = 0.043, d = 0.924) immediately after exercise. There was a significant time main effect was observed for SBP (P = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.304). A significant time main effect for lnHF (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.782), lnRMSSD (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.693), and LF/HF (P = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.302) of HRV was observed. A significant time main effect was observed for cTnT (P = 0.023, ηp2 = 0.193) and NT-proBNP (P = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.334) of cardiac biomarkers. Conclusion: R-HIIT and C-HIIT elicited similar acute responses in cardiac autonomic modulation and cardiac biomarkers. However, R-HIIT was more effective in reducing arterial stiffness in healthy young men. Furthermore, the increase in cardiac biomarkers induced by both C-HIIT and R-HIIT was reversible. Trial registration: The study was prospectively registered on 22 February 2022 at www.chictr.org.cn with identification number ChiCTR2200056897. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a type of drug eruption in dermatology emergencies that is rare in clinical practice but has a high mortality rate. The main causes are drug and viral infections. Unfortunately, no expert consensus on treating this disease exists, and a standard therapy is absent. Up to now, glucocorticoids combined with gamma globulin are commonly used in clinical practice, but their efficacy is highly controversial. This study reports on a 7-year-old girl with TEN who did not respond to traditional therapy, such as methylprednisolone combined with gamma globulin, but was finally cured with an additional low-dose etanercept. The results showed that etanercept therapy in paediatric TEN is safe, reliable and worth recommending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of hemoglobin is a vital index for diagnosing and monitoring diseases in clinical practice. At present, solutions need to be found for the soreness, high risk of infection, and inconvenient operation associated with invasive detection methods. This paper proposes a method for non-invasively detecting hemoglobin levels based on multi-wavelength photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. AFE4490 and TMUX1109 were used to implement the low-cost collection of an eight-LED transmissive PPG signal. We used seven regular LEDs and one broadband LED (Osram SFH4737) as light sources. Additionally, a finger clip integrating multiple sensors was designed and manufactured via 3D printing to simultaneously monitor the LED–sensor distance and the pressure from the tester's finger during PPG signal acquisition. We used a method to extract features from PPG signals using a sliding-window's variance and an evaluation metric for PPG signals based on the AdaCost classification. Data were gathered from 56 participants from the Nephrology department, including 16 anemic patients. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted on the collected data to remove any data with a weak correlation. The advantage of using a broadband LED as a light source was also demonstrated. Several non-invasive hemoglobin regression models were created by applying AdaBoost, BPNN, and Random Forest models. The study's results indicate that the AdaBoost model produced the best performance, with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.67 g/L and a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.91 The study results show that the device we designed and manufactured can achieve effective non-invasive hemoglobin detection and represents a new methodological approach to obtaining measurements that can be applied in a clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Preservatives may pose a potential threat to human health. To ensure food safety, this study has devised a method that concurrently detects a dozen preservatives (acetic acid, propionic acid, dehydroacetic acid, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, dimethyl fumarate, methyl parahydroxybenzoate, ethyl parahydroxybenzoate, propyl parahydroxybenzoate, isopropyl parahydroxybenzoate, butyl parahydroxybenzoate, and isobutyl parahydroxybenzoate) in pastry, utilizing gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. (2) Methods: The pastry samples were acidified with hydrochloric acid, extracted with acetonitrile via vortexing, purified by hexane and saturated with sodium chloride solution to remove lipids and impurities, and then concentrated via nitrogen blowing. The method was then quantitatively analyzed using GC-MS with the internal standard method after methanol re-dissolution. (3) Results: The results showed that the content of the 12 preservatives had good linearity within the range of 1.0–50 μg/mL, with correlation coefficients all greater than 0.99. The method detection limit was 0.04–2.00 mg/kg and the quantification limit was 0.12–6.67 mg/kg. The average recovery rates of the samples at three different spiked concentrations of low, medium, and high were 70.18–109.22%, and the relative standard deviations were 1.82–9.79% (n = 6). (4) Conclusions: This method requires a small amount of sample, has high sensitivity, and is simple and fast to operate, making it suitable for the simultaneous determination of 12 preservatives in pastry. This approach contributes to the effective surveillance and regulation of preservative usage in pastries, thereby safeguarding public well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aim: Reproductive carrier screening seeks to identify couples at a high risk of having offspring affected by autosomal recessive and X‐linked (XL) conditions. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of existing carrier screening panels by examining their gene content and characteristics, identifying the most common genes/conditions included in these panels, and analyzing their listed prices. Methods: A comprehensive evaluation of existing carrier screening panels was conducted by searching for web‐based content, reviewing information brochures, and establishing direct contact with the providers via email or phone. Results: Twenty‐two panels and their providers were identified with a cumulative total of 2205 unique genes. The number of genes included in these panels varied from 44 to 2054. Only 15 genes (0.7%) were included in all the panels. The carrier frequency of these 15 common genes and their associated conditions varied greatly, but the conditions associated with the genes are "severe". The price of these 22 panels ranged from $349 to $4320 per couple (USD in 2023). The correlation between the listed price and the number of selected genes among these panels was small and not statistically significant (r = 0.1023, p = 0.6959). Conclusion: Considerable discrepancies exist among carrier screening panels. Ongoing research and monitoring are necessary to capture the dynamic nature of the carrier screening landscape, providing up‐to‐date information for clinical practice and informed decision‐making. Key points: What's already known about this topic?Previously, carrier screening focused on a limited number of common conditions, but now panels for hundreds of conditions are commercially available.The carrier screening market has experienced significant changes, with new providers entering and old providers exiting. What does this review add?There are considerable differences in gene content among the identified carrier screening panels.Rapid changes in this field were found due to acquisitions, providers discontinuing services, and new providers entering the market.This study identified 15 genes that were present in all the identified panels, with all of them associated with "severe" conditions.The correlation between the price and the number of selected genes was small and not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by ad-content congruence literature, arousal-biased competition (ABC) model, and motivated cognition framework, this research examined the effectiveness of peripherally placed advertising in online video content. Specifically, two studies were conducted to explore the interplay between arousal generated from the contextual video and thematic ad-content congruence on ad memory and evaluation of in-video overlay advertisements. Results revealed that in a calm context, thematic incongruence was associated with better encoding and storage of ad information but no differences in ad attitudes or purchase intentions, whereas in an arousing context, thematically congruent ads (vs. incongruent ads) led to better encoding and storage, as well as greater processing fluency, which, in turn, resulted in more favorable ad attitudes and greater purchase intentions. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpersonal rejection has been found to impair people's prosocial actions. However, this relation may change as a function of theoretically relevant personality traits. The present study examined the potential moderating roles of trait mindfulness in the longitudinal relations between peer rejection and prosocial behaviors. At two time points with an interval of eight months, 654 adolescents nominated children in their class who have been rejected by peers and children who have enacted prosocial behaviors toward classmates and then completed the mindfulness questionnaire. Cross-lagged model results indicated that peer rejection could negatively predict prosocial behaviors in both high and low mindfulness groups of children while the reverse predictive relation from prosociality to peer rejection was not significant. More prominent, trait mindfulness might buffer the negative contribution of peer rejection to prosocial behaviors. Within a more ecologically valid context with a longitudinal design, our study contributed to a better understanding of the conditions under which interpersonal rejection may undermine prosocial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are currently one of the most attractive smart materials expected to replace traditional shape memory alloys and ceramics (SMAs and SMCs, respectively) in some fields because of their unique properties of high deformability, low density, easy processing, and low cost. As one of the most popular SMPs, shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) has received extensive attention in the fields of biomedicine and smart textiles due to its biocompatibility and adjustable thermal transition temperature. However, its laborious synthesis, limitation to thermal response, poor conductivity, and low modulus limit its wider application. In this work, biocompatible poly(ε-caprolactone) diol (PCL-2OH) is used as the soft segment, isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) is used as the hard segment, and glycerol (GL) is used as the crosslinking agent to prepare thermoset SMPU with a thermal transition temperature close to body temperature for convenient medical applications. The effects of different soft-chain molecular weights and crosslinking densities on the SMPU's properties are studied. It is determined that the SMPU has the best comprehensive performance when the molar ratio of IPDI:PCL-2OH:GL is 2:1.5:0.33, which can trigger shape memory recovery at body temperature and maintain 450% recoverable strain. Such materials are excellent candidates for medical devices and can make great contributions to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how humor (incongruity humor vs. no humor) interacts with individual differences in perceived efficacy to influence health attitudes and behavioral intentions. Results of a controlled experiment (N = 294) revealed that among individuals with lower levels of perceived efficacy, incongruity humor, relative to no humor condition, resulted in greater source liking, which in turn, enhanced their attitudes and intentions to perform preventive health behaviors. However, for individuals higher in perceived efficacy, incongruity humor (vs. no humor) had an indirect negative effect on intentions via decreased attitudes. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scientific societies have emphasized the importance of evaluating the clinical utility of reproductive carrier screening (RCS). This systematic review aims to assess the clinical utility of RCS and synthesize the outcomes in a meta-analysis. A total of eleven studies were included. The number of conditions screened in the studies varied from three to 176 and led to the identification of one to 24 high-risk couples (HRCs) per 1,000 screened individuals. Pooled estimations were as follows: the prenatal diagnosis (PND) rate among pregnant HRCs 0.644 (95% CI = 0.364, 0.923), the termination rate among affected pregnancies 0.714 (95% CI = 0.524, 0.904), and the rate of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) 0.631 (95% CI = 0.538, 0.725). There is a statistically significant decrease in the rates of undertaking PND and termination as the number of screened conditions increases. Carriers of conditions classified as having a more severe impact were found to be more likely to choose termination or IVF with PGT. Our review suggests that the number and the severity of screened conditions can significantly impact HRCs' reproductive decisions. Future work needs to investigate the definition of clinical utility and the design of screening panels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Induction of immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor combined with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy is widely developed to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, the current ICD induced based on apoptosis, i.e., immunogenic apoptosis, is often restricted in immunogenicity owing to the inflammatory quenching that occurs early in apoptosis. Recently, pyroptosis is demonstrated to be a more efficient ICD form, i.e., immunogenic pyroptosis. The cell contents released during pyroptosis can powerfully activate tumor immunogenicity. Herein, first, it is demonstrated that lower doses of epigenetic drug decitabine can increase GSDME expression in prostate cancer (PCa) RM‐1 cells and successfully induce an apoptosis‐pyroptosis transition after photodynamic therapy (PDT). Subsequently, a microenvironment dual‐responsive nano‐drug equipped with PD‐L1 blocking peptide (TSD@LSN‐D) is developed for self‐synergistic cancer immunotherapy. The poorly immunogenic RM‐1 PCa model confirm that the powerful antitumor immune response evoked by TSD@LSN‐D not only can effectively inhibit the primary tumor but also form a long‐term immune memory to prevent PCa recurrence and metastasis. To the best of authors' knowledge, this work presents the first concept that promotes the apoptosis–pyroptosis transition after tumor PDT through epigenetic modulation. Furthermore, the powerful combination of immunogenic pyroptosis with ICB opens a new platform for PCa immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we studied the evolution of vacancy-like defects and the formation of brittle precipitates in a reduced-activation V−Cr−Mn medium-entropy alloy. The evolution of local electronic circumstances around Cr and Mn enrichments, the vacancy defects, and the CrMn3 precipitates were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and positron annihilation spectroscopy. The microstructure measurements showed that the Mn and Cr enrichments in the as-cast sample significantly evolved with temperature, i.e., from 400 °C, the Cr/Mn-segregated regions gradually dissolved into the matrix and then disappeared, and from 900 °C to 1000 °C, they existed as CrMn3 precipitates. The crystallite size of the phase corresponding to CrMn3 precipitates was about 29.4 nm at 900 °C and 43.7 nm at 1000 °C. The positron annihilation lifetime results demonstrated that the vacancies mediated the migration of Cr and Mn, and Cr and Mn segregation finally led to the formation of CrMn3 precipitates. The coincidence Doppler broadening results showed that the characteristic peak moved to the low-momentum direction, due to an increase in the size of the vacancy defects at the interface and the formation of CrMn3 precipitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an inherited neuromuscular disorder and regarded as one of the most frequent genetic causes of infant mortality. The aim of this study is to develop a cost-effectiveness analysis of AVXS-101 (Onasemnogene Abeparvovec/Zolgensma®) and nusinersen (Spinraza®) for SMA to inform decision-making on reimbursement policies in Australia. Methods: A Markov model was developed with five health states to evaluate the costs and effects for patients with SMA Type I from a healthcare system perspective over a time-horizon of 100 years. The model parameters were based on clinical trials, parametric distributions, published literature, and Australian registries. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to appraise the uncertainties of the parameters in the model. A threshold analysis was conducted to estimate the cost of AVXS-101 of being cost-effective. Results: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of AVXS-101 was $1,808,471 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and that of nusinersen was $2,772,798 per QALY, compared to standard of care, respectively. The ICER of AVXS-101 was $1,238,288 per QALY compared to nusinersen. The key drivers influencing on ICERs were costs of using treatments and utility values of sitting and walking independently. Conclusion: Both nusinersen and AVXS-101 resulted in health benefits, but they were not cost-effective with a commonly used willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $50,000 per QALY. Developing high-quality clinical data and exploring appropriate WTP thresholds are critical for decision-making on reimbursement policies in the treatment of rare diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sika deer (Cervus nippon) are large ruminants distributed throughout northeastern Asia. The phylogenetic relationship of the sika deer subspecies remains unclear. The complete mitochondrial genomes of 287 sika deer from eight subspecies (C. n. hortulorum, C. n. sichuanicus, C. n. kopschi, C. n. taiouanus, C. n. yesoensis, C. n. centralis, C. n. nippon and C. n. yakushimae) were obtained. Haplotype network and development of a phylogenetic tree revealed China clusters and Japan clusters that were well separated based on the mitochondrial whole-genome level. Our studies indicate that China sika deer are genetically distinguishable from Japanese samples. Our findings increase the understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of sika deer and could provide useful information for sika deer conservation projects as well as for sika deer genomics, emergence and geographical distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern equity incentive system, which takes shareholders' interests first as the logic of governance, is based on material reward and short-term behavior, making it difficult to fundamentally build an economic interest community between enterprises and employees. How to avoid opportunistic behavior in equity incentive and stimulate employees' prolonged sense of organizational identity for enterprise sustainability is an important governance problem of modern enterprises. Based on the theory of social embeddedness, this study uses constructing grounded theory to explore the incentive theory of Qiaojiazihao, which means an exceptional family business owned and run in Shanxi Province but well known throughout China by a family surnamed Qiao in the Qing Dynasty. Qiaojiazihao takes the Confucian community thought as its foundation of social values, the Confucian concept of righteousness and interests as its business ethics, and the social factors, such as emotion and trust, are embedded in its economic organization. The labor sharing incentive thus forms the pathway to Geo-cultural community-social identity community-economic interests community. On this basis, it abstracts the internal mechanism of value generation-system coupling-interest strengthening as the logic of the communitybased labor sharing incentive of Chinese classical enterprises. This study deepens the understanding of the equity incentive system of Chinese classical enterprises, and is enlightening for revising the institutional logic of rational calculation of equity incentive based on material interests and improving corporate governance and employee shareholding methods from the perspective of social embeddedness. Therefore, this study is helpful to understand the role of employee incentive in securing for employment stability, comprehensiveness, and loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) is a potentially disruptive technology that enriches the consumer experience and transforms marketing. With the surging popularity of AR in marketing practice, academic efforts to investigate its effects on consumer experience, response, and behavior have increased significantly. To obtain an integrated and comprehensive view of the front-line in AR marketing research and identify the gaps for future research, we analyze the existing AR marketing literature through a systematic literature review. Using 99 journal articles selected from the Web of Science core collections, this research sheds light on the general characteristics such as publication year, publication outlet, research design, and research method. Moreover, this research also gains insight into the AR marketing relevant factors such as application area, application context, AR type, and theoretical lenses. The findings of the analyses reveal the state-of-the-art of scholarly publications on AR marketing research. First, the number of journal articles on AR marketing increased rapidly in the past few years, and the journals that published articles on AR marketing cover a wide range of disciplines. Second, the empirical studies in most literature adopted the quantitative research design and used survey or experiment methods. Third, the studies in more than half of the journal articles used mobile AR applications in various online contexts. Fourth, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework are the two most widely used theoretical lenses used in the literature. After that, the major application areas of AR in marketing are retail, tourism, and advertising. To identify the focal themes discussed in the three application areas, this research summarizes the studies by the outcome variables. Specifically, the outcome variables have five categories: technology-related, product-related, brand-related, tourist destination-related, and advertisement-related. Finally, this research proposes the agenda for future academic efforts in AR marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the time structure characteristics of collaborative knowledge production behaviors in Q&A (question-and-answer) communities for explicit and tacit knowledge, and systematically investigate the supply side and the demand side of knowledge production. Design/methodology/approach: Taking Zhihu as the research object, using the methods of recurrence plot and recurrence quantification analysis, this paper analyzes the recursive characteristics of the motion trajectories of the three behavioral sequences of questioning, answering, and discussion, qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing the generation and evolution mechanism of explicit and tacit knowledge. Findings: The results show that compared with the demand-side behavior sequence, the supply-side behavior sequence exhibits higher stability, complexity and periodicity. Compared with the tacit knowledge topics, the demand-side behavior sequence of the explicit knowledge topics shows stronger nonlinearity, and the supply-side behavior sequence shows lower complexity. Originality/value: The research conclusions provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of the recurrence plot method in distinguishing different types of knowledge production behaviors and have important application value for the "crowdsourcing" knowledge generation and identification under the knowledge economy and the sustainable development of the socialized question-and-answer community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equine herpesvirus type 8 (EHV-8) can cause significant economic losses in the global horses and donkey industry. The disease has been associated with abortion and respiratory symptoms. However, it is rare for a study to be reported about donkeys with neurological diseases induced by EHV-8 infection. In the present study, one 2-year-old male donkey, from a large-scale donkey farm in China, died with a severe neurological disorder. The causative agent, donkey/Shandong/10/2021 (GenBank accession: OL856098), was identified and isolated from the brain tissue of the dead donkey. Meanwhile, BALB/c mice were used as an animal model to evaluate the pathogenicity of the EHV-8 isolate. Our data showed that EHV-8 was positive in brains by PCR and immunohistochemistry, which induced typical viral encephalitis lesions in both donkey and mice consistent with clinical signs. For the first time, we reported that EHV-8 had been isolated from donkeys with a neurological illness in China, which is helpful to reveal the pathogenicity of EHV-8 in the donkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social facilitation of eating plays a significant role in influencing individuals' eating decisions. However, how social eating cues are processed in health promotion messages is unclear. This study examined individuals' food craving in response to social cues in images (Experiment 1) and emotional experiences, perceived threat, perceived efficacy, behavioral intentions, and motivational coactivation elicited by social eating cues in obesity prevention fear appeals (Experiment 2). Results suggested that the presence of a group of people eating in an image facilitated food craving for the presented foods. Moreover, fear appeals that presented obesity and its consequences with more social eating cues, versus individual eating cues, generated greater positive emotional responses, perceived threat severity, response and self-efficacy, and motivational coactivation indicating more attention and threat vigilance. However, these cues also generated fewer self-reported intentions to change unhealthy eating behavior s. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]