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Friction and wear test equipment, scanning electron microscope, abrasion balls made of CGr15 high carbon chromium bearing steel, and liners made of NM500 steel were used for wear simulation and friction–wear experiments. The variation trends of friction coefficient, wear amount, and sub-surface characteristics under dry friction and slurry conditions were studied. Simulations supported the research results. The results show that the pressure and the coefficient of friction vary inversely. The coefficient of friction between the abrasive ball and the lining plate decreases with the increase of the load. Samples subjected to a pressure of 120N have higher values of Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM) and lower recrystallization ratios compared to samples subjected to a pressure of 130N. In a slurry environment, the difference in wear surface depth decreases to 0 μm (120N) and 5 μm (130N). This change indicates that the presence of the slurry alters the wear characteristics of the surfaces, leading to a reduction in the depth difference between the surfaces under different load conditions. This observation highlights the importance of considering the influence of the slurry environment on friction and wear behavior in simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Compensatory consumption focuses on the psychological value of products. Special agricultural products have symbolic and social functions that effectively meet psychological needs and stimulate compensatory consumption behavior. The social commerce context not only enriches consumer experience but also influences consumer purchase decisions. This study constructs a model based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory to explore the mechanism of compensatory consumption behavior of special agricultural products in a social commerce context. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a two-stage method of partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze 523 valid samples collected through random sampling. PLS-SEM was used to examine the relationships and effects between the variables; fsQCA was used to conduct a cohort analysis between the variables to further reveal the complexity and diversity of compensatory consumption behaviors. Findings: PLS-SEM indicates that product attributes and social affordances influence consumers' triggering of compensatory consumption behavior for control and belongingness needs. fsQCA shows that there are three different modes, and the satisfaction of belongingness or control needs is a necessary condition for triggering compensatory consumption behavior. Originality/value: There is limited research on compensatory consumption behavior specifically focused on special agricultural products. This study explores the influencing factors and mechanisms of compensatory consumption behavior related to special agricultural products. The occurrence of compensatory consumption behavior is not only influenced by product attributes but also by the social commerce environment. In marketing strategies, it is important to not only consider product characteristics but also pay attention to consumers' social and psychological needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum is one of the important strategic metals, which is major produced from molybdenite with roasting process in production to yield MoO3 or ammonium molybdate. For the low molybdenum grade and high impurity contents of the non-standard molybdenum concentrate, which will cause the sintering during roasting, decrease the recovery of metals and cause pollution of environment. The main treatment methods of non-standard molybdenum concentrate were reviewed, which can be divided into two categories: concentrate purification and concentrate smelting. The extraction methods include roasting, atmospheric leaching and pressure oxidation technology etc. The pressure oxidation technology has a brilliant prospect for the advantages of high comprehensive recovery of copper, molybdenum and rehenium, strong adaptability of raw materials and no output of SO2 to pollute the environment in the process, which has a strong industrial application prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation mechanism of bamboo height growth has always been one of the hotspots in developmental biology. In the preliminary work of this project, the function of LBD transcription factor regulating height growth was firstly studied. Here, a gene PheLBD12 regulating height growth was screened. PheLBD12-overexpressing transgenic rice had shorter internodes, less bioactive gibberellic acid (GA3), and were more sensitive to GA3 than wild-type (WT) plants, which implied that PheLBD12 involve in gibberellin (GA) pathway. The transcript levels of OsGA2ox3, that encoding GAs deactivated enzyme, was significantly enhanced in PheLBD12-overexpressing transgenic rice. The transcript levels of OsAP2-39, that directly regulating the expression of EUI1 to reduce GA levels, was also significantly enhanced in PheLBD12-overexpressing transgenic rice. Expectedly, yeast one-hybrid assays, Dual-luciferase reporter assay and EMSAs suggested that PheLBD12 directly interacted with the promoter of OsGA2ox3 and OsAP2-39. Together, our results reveal that PheLBD12 regulates plant height growth by modulating GA catabolism. Through the research of this topic, it enriches the research content of LBD transcription factors and it will theoretically enrich the research content of height growth regulation.Key message: We investigated the functions in height growth of PheLBD12, encoding a LBD transcription factor in moso bamboo. PheLBD12 regulates plant height growth by modulating GA catabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression and activation are crucial for trastuzumab resistance in HER2-positive breast cancer; however, the potential regulatory mechanism of HER2 is still largely undetermined. In this study, a novel circular RNA derived from peptidylprolyl isomerase D (PPID) is identified as a negative regulator of trastuzumab resistance. Circ-PPID is highly stable and significantly downregulated in trastuzumab-resistant cells and tissues. Restoration of circ-PPID markedly enhances HER2-positive breast cell sensitivity to trastuzumab in vitro and in vivo. Circ-PPID directly binds to N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) in the nucleus and blocks the interaction between NAT10 and HER2 mRNA, reducing N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) modification on HER2 exon 25, leading to HER2 mRNA decay. Intriguingly, the subcellular localization of circ-PPID differs between trastuzumab-sensitive and -resistant cells. Circ-PPID in trastuzumab-resistant cells is located more in the cytoplasm, mainly due to the upregulation of Exportin 4 (XPO4), which results in the loss of spatial conditions for circ-PPID to bind to nuclear NAT10. Taken together, our data suggest that circ-PPID is a previously unappreciated ac4C-dependent HER2 epigenetic regulator, providing a promising therapeutic direction for overcoming trastuzumab resistance in clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening OH adsorption on electrocatalyst is crucial to promote the rate‐determining water dissociation step of alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), whereas too‐intensified OH adsorption will poison the active sites instead. This dilemma remains one of the major challenges for improving the electrocatalysts' alkaline HER activities. Herein, a surprising finding that the strongly adsorbed OH on an ultrafine quinary PtCoCuNiZn nanoalloy can be facilely desorbed via a unique gradient OH desorption pattern is reported, which tremendously boosts its alkaline HER activity. Theoretical simulations unravel that the ultrafine PtCoCuNiZn nanoalloy possesses versatile metal sites for adsorbing OH and the strongly adsorbed OH can be gradiently transferred to desorb from the ultrafine PtCoCuNiZn nanoalloy with moderate energy barriers for each transfer step that is the gradient OH desorption. In the meanwhile, the unique gradient OH desorption mode on the ultrafine PtCoCuNiZn nanoalloy is also experimentally evidenced by the in situ Raman spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry measurements. This finding offers a fresh opportunity to expedite the alkaline HER without compromising the OH adsorption strength on electrocatalysts, which thus maximally promotes their water dissociation properties and unlocks the full potential of their alkaline HER activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleoenvironmental conditions significantly influence the distribution patterns and organic matter enrichment of shale. This study investigated the vertical variations of major elements, trace elements, and total organic carbon (TOC) in the Lower Carboniferous marine shale from the Yaziluo Rift Trough, South China, to understand the paleoenvironmental conditions, including redox conditions, terrigenous detrital input, paleoproductivity, and paleo-seawater depth. The Lower Carboniferous formation consists of three sedimentary facies: basin facies, lower slope facies, and upper slope facies. From the basin to the lower slope and then to the upper slope facies, TOC, quartz, and pyrite contents gradually decrease, whereas the carbonate mineral content shows an increasing trend. A continuous decline in paleo-seawater depth transformed a deep-water anoxic environment with high paleoproductivity and low detrital input in the basin facies into a semi-deep-water environment with dysoxic-oxic conditions and moderate detrital influx in the lower slope facies, evolving further into a suboxic environment with high detrital flux in the upper slope facies. The geochemistry results suggest that anoxic conditions and high paleoproductivity were the primary controls on organic matter enrichment in the siliceous shale of the basin facies. In contrast, redox conditions significantly influenced organic matter accumulation in the mixed shale of the lower slope facies, attributed to relatively low paleoproductivity in a more restricted marine setting. Additionally, the adsorption of carbon components by clay minerals facilitated the preservation of organic matter in the calcareous shale of the upper slope facies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the characteristics of low shear resistance and high filtration loss of guar gum‐fracturing fluid, a high‐efficiency organic zirconium crosslinker was prepared. In addition, the effects of different factors on the filtration coefficient and apparent viscosity of fracturing fluid were studied, and this study explores the micro mechanisms of various factors affecting the filtration coefficient from a molecular dynamics perspective. The results show that the antifiltration ability of guar gum‐fracturing fluid is inversely proportional to the fluid viscosity. The increase of crosslinker content and reservoir pressure is beneficial to improve the viscosity and antishear ability of guar gum‐fracturing fluid. When the crosslinker content is 0.25% and pressure is 30 MPa, the fracturing fluid parameters are 145 mPa·s and 2.1 × 10−2 m3 · min1/2, respectively, while the increase of reservoir temperature and the shear rate reduces the rheology and shear resistance of guar gum‐fracturing fluid, so that the viscosity and filtration coefficient of fracturing fluid at 180°C and 200 s-1 are 123 mPa·s and 2.3 × 10-2 m3·min1/2, respectively. This work not only paves a new avenue for synthesizing organic zirconium as a crosslinker but also provides an efficient measure to reduce the filtration of guar gum‐fracturing fluid on the oil and gas reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the obvious side effects of anti-tumor drugs, premature drug release, and low tumor penetration of nanoparticles have largely reduced the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy. A drug delivery vehicle (MCN-SS-GQDs) was designed innovatively. For this, the mesoporous carbon nanoparticles (MCN) with the capabilities of superior photothermal conversion efficiency and high loading efficiency were used as the skeleton structure, and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were gated on the mesopores via disulfide bonds. The doxorubicin (DOX) was used to evaluate the pH-, GSH-, and NIR-responsive release performances of DOX/MCN-SS-GQDs. The disulfide bonds of MCN-SS-GQDs can be ruptured under high glutathione concentration in the tumor microenvironment, inducing the responsive release of DOX and the detachment of GQDs. The local temperature of a tumor increases significantly through the photothermal conversion of double carbon materials (MCN and GQDs) under near-infrared light irradiation. Local hyperthermia can promote tumor cell apoptosis, accelerate the release of drugs, and increase the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy, thus increasing treatment effect. At the same time, the detached GQDs can take advantage of their extremely small size (5–10 nm) to penetrate deeply into tumor tissues, solving the problem of low permeability of traditional nanoparticles. By utilizing the photothermal properties of GQDs, synergistic photothermal conversion between GQDs and MCN was realized for the purpose of synergistic photothermal treatment of superficial and deep tumor tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti-6Al-4 V titanium alloy has high strength, low density, good heat resistance, high fatigue life and excellent corrosion resistance. It is a preferred material for important parts such as aeroengine fans, compressors, roulette and blades. However, thin-walled titanium alloy parts are easy to deform in the milling process, which affects the machining accuracy. It is necessary to propose appropriate milling parameters. Using finite element software, the stress of thin-walled parts in the milling process was simulated, and the transient stress and the stress rules were analyzed. To predict the stress deformation effects of mutual coupling multiple process parameters during milling thin-walled titanium alloy parts, a set of orthogonal simulation experiments were carried out. The actual milling experiment of thin-walled Ti-6Al-4 V parts was conducted by optimal process parameters. The surface roughnesses in the bottom and the side are Ra 437 nm and Ra 738 nm respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Transgene with recombination sites to address biosafety concerns engineered into lettuce to produce EspB and γ-intimin C280 for oral vaccination against EHEC O157:H7. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is a food-borne pathogen where ruminant farm animals, mainly bovine, serve as reservoirs. Bovine vaccination has been used to prevent disease outbreaks, and the current method relies on vaccines subcutaneously injected three times per year. Since EHEC O157:H7 colonizes mucosal surfaces, an oral vaccine that produces an IgA response could be more convenient. Here, we report on oral vaccination against EHEC O157:H7 in mice orally gavaged with transgenic lettuce that produces EHEC O157:H7 antigens EspB and γ-intimin C280. Younger leaves accumulated a higher concentration of antigens; and in unexpanded leaves of 30-day-old T2 plants, EspB and γ-intimin C280 were up to 32 and 51 μg/g fresh weight, respectively. Mice orally gavaged with lettuce powders containing < 3 µg antigens for 6 days showed a mucosal immune response with reduced colonization of EHEC O157:H7. This suggests that the transgenic lettuce has potential to be used for bovine vaccination. To promote the biosafety of crop plants producing medically relevant proteins, recombination sites were built into our transgenic lines that would permit optional marker removal by Cre-lox recombination, as well as transgene deletion in pollen by CinH-RS2 recombination. The ability to upgrade the transgenic lettuce by stacking additional antigen genes or replacing older genes with newer versions would also be possible through the combined use of Bxb-att and Cre-lox recombination systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the discovery of new shale gas exploration areas in Guangxi, based on the latest drilling data, through detailed observation and description of logging data and cores, this paper selects high-quality shale samples of the target layer for X-ray diffraction analysis and testing of clay minerals and whole rock, major and trace elements (including rare-earth elements), TOC, and other related analysis and testing. The study shows that the total amount of rare-earth elements in the first member of Lower Carboniferous Luzhai Formation in Rongshui area, Guangxi, is low; δ EU and δ CE show negative abnormality. The average value of w V / V + Ni , Th / U ratio, and Mo-TOC covariant model diagram of the first member of Luzhai Formation show that it was the condition of anoxic reduction at that time. At the same time, Ba-Sr diagram, Sr/Cu ratio, and total rare-earth elements reflect that the area was in an arid, hot, and marine salt water paleoenvironment during the sedimentary period. Most of the sample parent rocks of the first member of Luzhai Formation are in shale area, and some samples are close to felsic igneous rock area, which is of mixed origin. The tectonic background of the source area is mainly continental island arc and active continental margin, indicating that the sedimentary environment was unstable and highly active under the background of extensional rifting at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem that thermocouples used in different parts of aeroengines need a lot of repeated design work in application and the high precision requirements as special test sensors, a parameterized optimization method for a thermocouple shape combined with a numerical simulation method is proposed. The performance of a dual-screen thermocouple (DST), single-screen thermocouple (SST), and no-screen thermocouple (NST) is tested by a numerical simulation method, and is represented by the velocity error σ V and the restitution coefficient r. The dual-screen thermocouple (DST) is the best one, and it is selected as the object to parametric optimization, and the parametric optimization methods based on it, geometrically modeled parametrically, adaptive mesh generation and parametric numerical simulation, are proposed. For a dual-screen thermocouple (DST), eight design structural parameters and four environment parameters are suggested for geometrically modeled parametrically and parametric numerical simulation, respectively. The dichotomy method is used to find the optimal length of the screen L, which is considered the most relevant parameter for thermocouple performance. It can be found that the length of the screen L corresponding to the optimal restitution coefficient r ranges from 56.25 to 62.5 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of projectile rotation on the internal and external flow fields of the supersonic fluidic element are numerically studied using sliding grid technique and the RNG k-ε turbulence model. The effects of rotating speed on internal and external flow fields, switching time and output characteristics are studied. The results show that: for the external flow field, there is no obvious change in the flow field structure at low angular velocity; when the angular velocity increases to 20 r/s, the flow field structure becomes obviously asymmetric due to the Coriolis force; the flow field far away from the surface of the projectile body (more than 0.3 m) is much more affected than the flow field near the surface of the projectile body. The influence of projectile rotation on the internal flow field is much weaker than on the external flow field, and the change of internal flow field is not obvious when the rotational speed is less than 20 r/s. The switching time decreases with the increase in angular velocity, and within normal range of the angular velocity, the deviation of switching time from that without rotation is within 5%. The change of thrust distribution is not obvious when the rotational speed is less than 20 r/s. However, when the rotational speed reaches 50 r/s, the thrust of the middle part of the right nozzle increases by about 20 N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of patients suffer from silicosis, but it remains an uncurable disease due to its unclear pathogenic mechanisms. Though the Nlrp3 inflammasome is involved in silicosis pathogenesis, inhibition of its classic downstream factors, Caspase-1 and Gsdmd, fails to block pyroptosis and cytokine release. To clarify the molecular mechanism of silicosis pathogenesis for new therapy, we examined samples from silicosis patients and genetic mouse models. We discovered an alternative pyroptotic pathway which requires cleavage of Gsdme by Caspases-3/8 in addition to Caspase-1/Gsdmd. Consistently, Gsdmd-/-Gsdme-/- mice showed markedly attenuated silicosis pathology, and Gsdmd-/-Gsdme-/- macrophages were resistant to silica-induced pyroptosis. Furthermore, we found that in addition to Caspase 1, Caspase-8 cleaved IL-1β in silicosis, explaining why Caspase-1-/- mice also suffered from silicosis. Finally, we found that inhibitors of Caspase-1, -3, -8 or an FDA approved drug, dimethyl fumarate, could dramatically alleviate silicosis pathology through blocking cleavage of Gsdmd and Gsdme. This study highlights that Caspase-1/Gsdmd and Caspase-3/8/Gsdme-dependent pyroptosis is essential for the development of silicosis, implicating new potential targets and drug for silicosis treatment. Author summary: Inhalation of crystalline silica for prolonged periods leads to silicosis, which remains a prevalent occupational disease among mine workers. Silicosis is featured by lung inflammation, pulmonary fibrosis, nodular lesions and eventual development of lung cancer. Millions of patients suffer from silicosis, but it remains an uncurable disease due to its unclear pathogenic mechanisms. Here, we examined samples from silicosis patients and genetic mouse models. We found that Gsdmd and Gsdme both critical for silicosis. If we treated mice with silica, the mice without these two proteins showed markedly attenuated silicosis pathology. Furthermore, we confirm the upstream proteins which activated Gsdmd and Gsdme are Caspase-1, -3 and -8. Those caspases also important for the maturation of IL-1β and IL-18, which are inflammatory cytokines. Finally, we found that inhibitors of Caspase-1, -3, -8 or an FDA approved drug, dimethyl fumarate, could dramatically alleviate silicosis pathology through blocking cleavage of Gsdmd and Gsdme. Our study clarifies the molecular mechanism of silicosis related pyroptosis, and implicates new potential targets and drug for silicosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's key state-owned forest areas are important ecological conservation areas and its forest management belongs to several forest industry groups. Therefore, the ecological improvement and economic development of the key state-owned forest areas should be balanced. This study developed an integrated evaluation model of coupling and coordination, by employing the data of the key forest areas from 2001 to 2019, to investigate the coupling and coordination relationship between the efficiency of economic development and the level of ecological development, using the DEA model. The results suggest that the indices of ecological development in the key state-owned forest areas increased from 2001 to 2019, and especially in 2015, to a better status, due to the policy of completely stopping logging. The other finding was that the coupling degree between the efficiency of economic development and the level of ecological development was in an antagonistic stage, which showed a slow upward trend of the coupling degree and coupling coordination degree and then evolved to a medium and high coordination coupling situation. The reason was that, with the implementation of the ecological protection policy and the industrial transformation of the forest industry group, the ecological environment improved and the development of enterprises was further optimized. Moreover, this study further identified the main factors that affect the coupling and coordination degree of the key state-owned forest areas, including the proportion of tertiary industry, economic growth rate, forest park area, and investment in wildlife and plant protection and natural resource conservation areas. The factors were divided into three principal components. The most significant impact on the economic and ecological coupling coordination of the key state-owned forest areas was the first principal component, meaning that ecological improvement was the most important factor. The second principal component was mainly social coupling coordination, while the third principal component had little effect on economic and ecological coupling coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging business models have impelled firms' competition in a brand-new and fast-growing market. This study examines such a competition for market share through advertising and loyalty reward programs. Two stages can be distinguished based on the transformation of the competition strategies. These stages can be formulated as a dynamic differential game model and a static Hotelling game model. The operation strategies and performances of two firms are determined and compared via analytical studies and case analyses toward a bicycle-sharing program, i.e., Ofo versus Mobike. Historical data are used to fit the curve of the market size and to estimate the parameter values of these models. The results show that during the first stage, the difference in market share between these firms gradually decreases (increases) when the advertising response constant is low (high). Meanwhile, in the second stage, these firms offer converse reward strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HER2‐positive breast cancer is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer, characterized by high malignancy and poor prognosis. Trastuzumab, the first HER2‐targeted monoclonal antibody therapy, has a crucial role in a curative setting in HER2‐positive breast cancer. However, frequent drug resistance inhibits its clinical efficacy. Herein, by performing circular RNA (circRNA) profiling, we identified a novel circRNA, circ‐BGN, as a key contributor in trastuzumab resistance. Circ‐BGN was evidently increased in trastuzumab‐resistant breast cancer cells and tissues, linking to poor overall survival. Knockdown of circ‐BGN inhibited breast cancer cell viability and notably restored its sensitivity to trastuzumab. Further, we found that circ‐BGN could directly bind to OTUB1 and SLC7A11, enhancing OTUB1‐mediated SLC7A11 deubiquitination and thereby inhibiting ferroptosis, a newly recognized form of cell death that is distinct from apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. Moreover, erastin, a small‐molecule ferroptosis inducer, could effectively restore the anti‐tumor effect of trastuzumab. Pre‐clinically, the orthotopic tumor model showed that erastin significantly reduced tumor volume generated by trastuzumab‐resistant breast cancer cells, which was more pronounced after combined circ‐BGN knockdown. Collectively, our data reveal a novel circRNA controlling trastuzumab resistance via regulation of ferroptosis, providing a promising therapeutic strategy for trastuzumab‐resistant breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's logging ban policy has profoundly transformed the forestry industry, creating substantial impacts for forestry-worker households. Empirical evidence is needed to examine whether and how severe the transition policy produces vulnerability and relative poverty for the affected households. This paper samples forestry-worker households from the Greater Khingan Mountains state-owned forest region as the study subjects to evaluate their household vulnerabilities with the LVI approach proposed by IPCC. This study computes the relative poverty scores of the families and further identifies the relationships between the selected household's socio-economic factors and the estimated vulnerability and poverty scores with OLS regression. This study derives a sleuth of valuable points. (1) The majority of the forestry-worker households have had to suffer downsized, vulnerable livelihoods with escalated relative poverty due to the policy's impact. (2) Poverty closely connects with vulnerability, where the more impoverished the household, the more vulnerable it is. Poverty is, however, not the only factor affecting household vulnerability. Other factors, particularly of public and social-financial factors, are interconnected with poverty and, thus, compound the vulnerability issue. (3) Factors, e.g., family size, age and gender of household head, bank deposits, and life and job satisfaction, which are typically very beneficial for improving family vulnerability and poverty. (4) Regular financial assistance programs, particularly the commonly-trusted one-off household compensation program, might not provide solid support for addressing long-term household vulnerability and poverty. This study contributes to a broader understanding of household vulnerability and relative poverty for improved policy and program development addressing forestry workers and household vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lithium adsorption energies, electronic structures, and properties for single‐walled blue phosphorus nanotubes (SWBPNTs) doped with B, C, N, and Si upon Li intercalation on the inside and outside surfaces are investigated using density functional methods. It is found that the dopants of B, C, N, and Si have negative formation energies. The structure and properties of the SWBPNT will undergo certain changes after doping. Due to the interaction of dopant atoms and P atoms, the bandgap of the nanotubes doped with B and N will be reduced, and the nanotubes doped with C and Si have defects (dopant) state in the forbidden band. For the dopant atoms in SWBPNT, B and Si lose electrons, while C and N gain electrons. Compared with pristine SWBPNT, when Li is adsorbed internal to the tube, the lithium adsorption energies in the doped SWBPNT have a larger negative value, especially for C and Si doping. Consequently, our work suggests that the B‐, C‐, N‐, and Si‐doped SWBPNT have the capability to enhance the Li adsorption capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the use of polyurethane foam dressings to prevent local adverse reactions of subcutaneous azacitidine injection. Patients receiving a subcutaneous azacitidine injection were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. A total of 55 patients were included in each group. A polyurethane foam dressing was used to cover the injection site of patients in the experimental group. Conventional treatment was used in the control group. Injection site pain and local skin reactions were assessed after the intervention in both groups. The score and duration of pain, the incidence and duration of local skin adverse reactions, and the incidence of severe reactions in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group (p < 0.05). Polyurethane foam dressing can effectively reduce local adverse reactions of subcutaneous injection of azacitidine, relieve pain, shorten the duration of local pain and adverse reactions, and improve the quality of nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recreational use of nitrous oxide (N2O) is sharply increasing among young adults. N2O abuse can cause serious complications. However, the association between acute pancreatitis and N2O is rarely reported. Here we report a case of a young and previously healthy female with widespread cutaneous lesions, neurologic symptoms, and abdominal pain. Acute pancreatitis was the patient's primary diagnosis when she was admitted to the gastroenterology unit. We added the diagnosis of N2O intoxication after an additional inquiry into the patient's personal history revealed that she had abused N2O for 1 month. With the application of mecobalamin and other symptomatic treatments, the symptoms and laboratory indexes improved gradually. In this case, we highlight that acute pancreatitis may be a rare complication induced by N2O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The responses of forests to nitrogen (N) deposition largely depend on the fates of deposited N within the ecosystem. Nitrogen‐fixing legume trees widely occur in terrestrial forests, but the fates of deposited N in legume‐dominated forests remain unclear, which limit a global evaluation of N deposition impacts and feedbacks on carbon sequestration. Here, we performed the first ecosystem‐scale 15N labeling experiment in a typical legume‐dominated forest as well as in a nearby non‐legume forest to determine the fates of N deposition between two different forest types and to explore their underlying mechanisms. The 15N was sprayed bimonthly for 1 year to the forest floor in control and N addition (50 kg N ha−1 year−1 for 10 years) plots in both forests. We unexpectedly found a strong capacity of the legume forest to retain deposited N, with 75 ± 5% labeled N recovered in plants and soils, which was higher than that in the non‐legume forest (56 ± 4%). The higher 15N recovery in legume forest was mainly driven by uptake by the legume trees, in which 15N recovery was approximately 15% more than that in the nearby non‐legume trees. This indicates higher N‐demand by the legume than non‐legume trees. Mineral soil was the major sink for deposited N, with 39 ± 4% and 34 ± 3% labeled N retained in the legume and non‐legume forests, respectively. Moreover, N addition did not significantly change the 15N recovery patterns of both forests. Overall, these findings indicate that legume‐dominated forests act as a strong sink for deposited N regardless of high soil N availability under long‐term atmospheric N deposition, which suggest a necessity to incorporate legume‐dominated forests into N‐cycling models of Earth systems to improve the understanding and prediction of terrestrial N budgets and the global N deposition effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a broadband near-100%-efficiency ultrathin metasurface operating at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies. We develop and employ two orthogonally polarized metallic gratings to form a Fabry–Perot cavity and incorporate a subwavelength metallic double-split-ring resonator at the center of each unit cell. It allows arbitrary amplitude-phase combinations with no coupling between amplitude and phase or between transmitted and reflected waves, leading to the design of an ultrathin but highly efficient broadband metasurface with multiple functionalities. Furthermore, the proposed metasurface can generate diffractive beams with different orders and vortex beams with different orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes in reflection and transmission spaces simultaneously. Both numerical and experimental results verify that the proposed metasurface has superior performance to its counterparts that are based solely on phase control. The proposed metasurface presents a lightweight, low-cost, and easily deployable flat device for microwave and millimeter-wave applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arterial baroreceptors (BRs) play a vital role in the regulation of the cardiopulmonary system. What is known about how these sensors operate at the subcellular level is limited, however. Until recently, one afferent axon was considered to be connected to a single baroreceptor (one-sensor theory). However, in the lung, a single airway mechanosensory unit is now known to house many sensors (multiple-sensor theory). Here we tested the hypothesis that multiple-sensor theory also operates in BR units, using both morphological and electrophysiological approaches in rabbit aortic arch (in whole mount) labeled with Na+/K+-ATPase, as well as myelin basic protein antibodies, and examined microscopically. Sensory structures presented in compact clusters, similar to bunches of grapes. Sensory terminals, like those in the airways, formed leaf-like or knob-like expansions. That is, a single myelinated axon connected with multiple sensors forming a network. We also recorded single-unit activities from aortic baroreceptors in the depressor nerve in anesthetized rabbits and examined the unit response to a bolus intravenous injection of phenylephrine. Unit activity increased progressively as blood pressure (BP) increased. Five of eleven units abruptly changed their discharge pattern to a lower activity level after BP attained a plateau for a minute or two (when BP was maintained at the high level). These findings clearly show that the high discharge baroreceptor deactivates after over-excitation and unit activity falls to a low discharge sensor. In conclusion, our morphological and physiological data support the hypothesis that multiple-sensory theory can be applied to BR units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug addiction can be seen as a disorder of maladaptive learning characterized by relapse. Therefore, disrupting drug-related memories could be an approach to improving therapies for addiction. Pioneering studies over the last two decades have revealed that consolidated memories are not static, but can be reconsolidated after retrieval, thereby providing candidate pathways for the treatment of addiction. The limbic–corticostriatal system is known to play a vital role in encoding the drug memory engram. Specific structures within this system contribute differently to the process of memory reconsolidation, making it a potential target for preventing relapse. In addition, as molecular processes are also active during memory reconsolidation, amnestic agents can be used to attenuate drug memory. In this review, we focus primarily on the brain structures involved in storing the drug memory engram, as well as the molecular processes involved in drug memory reconsolidation. Notably, we describe reports regarding boundary conditions constraining the therapeutic potential of memory reconsolidation. Furthermore, we discuss the principles that could be employed to modify stored memories. Finally, we emphasize the challenge of reconsolidation-based strategies, but end with an optimistic view on the development of reconsolidation theory for drug relapse prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Middle and Upper Yangtze region of South China, there are well developed sets of marine shale strata. Currently only Wufeng Longmaxi shale gas has been developed in scale, while the Sinian and Cambrian shale gas are still under exploration. The various shale strata show different characteristics in lithological features, such as lithofacies types and reservoir physical properties, which are due to the influence of tectonic pattern, sedimentary environment, and diagenesis caused by tectonic subsidence. This will affect the later fracturing technology and fracturing effect. The shale reservoirs of Sinian doushantuo, Cambrian Niutitang, Upper Ordovician Wufeng, and the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale were evaluated and compared with each other with respect to their sedimentary environments, lithofacies, minerals compositions, and micro pore characteristics. The reservoir characteristics of the shale and the main control factors of shale gas enrichment were summarized in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumour microenvironment (TME) is frequently remodelled and deregulated in cancer development and progression. The underlying mechanisms are complex, multifactorial and largely unknown. Circular RNA (circRNA) is an endogenous RNA with a covalently closed loop that plays critical roles in the pathological and physiological processes of the organism. Here, we identified a TME-associated circRNA, circ-TPGS2, which promoted breast cancer (BC) cell dissemination via altering TME. High circ-TPGS2 was observed in metastatic BC tissues and cell lines in comparison to respective normal controls, which was linked to poor overall and recurrence-free survival. Overexpression of circ-TPGS2 notably promoted cell migration, while silencing of circ-TPGS2 resulted in an opposite trend. Moreover, circ-TPGS2 increased pro-inflammatory chemokine production and evoked tumour-associated inflammation by recruiting neutrophils via autocrine and paracrine manners. In terms of mechanism, circ-TPGS2 acted as a sponge of miR-7 and elevated TRAF6, leading to p65 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation, ultimately activating NF-κB signalling. In addition, p65 was abundantly occupied on circ-TPGS2 promoter, activating circ-TPGS2 transcription, thus, forming a positive feedback loop that amplified the pro-metastasis effect of circ-TPGS2. Taken together, our data for the first time reveal the biological implication of circ-TPGS2 in BC, it triggers TME reshaping that facilitates BC metastasis through the miR-7/TRAF6/NF-κB signalling cascade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the job shop with variable processing speeds, the aim of energy saving and consumption reduction is implemented from the perspective of production scheduling. By analyzing the characteristics of the workshop, a multi-objective mathematical model is established with the objective of reducing the total energy consumption and shortening the makespan. A multi-objective discrete water wave optimization (MODWWO) algorithm is proposed for solving the problem. Firstly, a two-vector encoding method is adopted to divide the scheduling solution into two parts, which represent speed selection and operation permutation in the scheduling solution, respectively. Secondly, some dispatching rules are used to initialize the population and obtain the initial scheduling solutions. Then, three operators of the basic water wave optimization algorithm are redesigned to make the algorithm adaptive for the multi-objective discrete scheduling problem under study. A new propagation operator is presented with the ability of balancing global exploration and local exploitation based on individual rank and neighborhood structures. A novel refraction operator is designed based on crossover operation, by which each individual can learn from the current best individual to absorb better information. And a breaking operator is modified based on the local search strategy to enhance the exploitation ability. Finally, extensive simulation experiments demonstrate that the proposed MODWWO algorithm is effective for solving the considered energy-saving scheduling problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early growth response protein 1 (EGR1) is potent in modulating placental trophoblast cell growth and shows a differential expression in preeclampsia (PE). We aimed to identify the downstream mechanism of EGR1 in PE. RT-qPCR showed EGR1 was significantly decreased in PE placenta. Overexpression of EGR1 facilitated the proliferation and invasion of HTR-8/Svneo cells, and reduced the concentration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) in the supernatant. Bioinformatics prediction, ChIP, and luciferase reporter experiments revealed that EGR1 inhibited miR-574 expression by binding to miR-574 promoter and that miR-574 targeted GAB1. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-574 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of HTR-8/Svneo cells. GAB1 was downregulated in placenta of PE patients, which was positively correlated with EGR1 and negatively correlated with miR-574. Inhibition of GAB1 attenuated the effect of EGR1 overexpression on the proliferation and invasion of HTR-8/Svneo cells. All in all, EGR1 upregulated GAB1 by inhibiting miR-574, thus contributing to trophoblast cell proliferation and invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of 2D metal–organic framework (MOF), namely Cu-MOF, was constructed from Cu(NO3)2·3H2O and the novel ligand 1,4-bis(4-naphthoic acid)benzene. The C–H⋯π interactions in the Cu-MOF effectively reduced aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) due to restrictions in intramolecular motion (RIM), increased fluorescence, and controlled crystal packing properties, resulting in low dimensional parallelogram channels and a responsive "turn-on" fluorescence. The activated Cu-MOF exhibited excellent chemical sensing properties to various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and showed excellent recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiorgan injury has been implicated in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). We aim to assess the impact of organ injury (OI) on prognosis according to the number of affected organs at admission. This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with confirmed COVID‐19 in Wuhan Third Hospital & Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University from February 17 to March 22, 2020. We classified the patients according to the presence and number of damaged organs (heart, liver, and kidney). The percentage of patients with no, one, two, or three organs affected was 59.75%, 30.46%, 8.07%, and 1.72%, respectively. With the increasing number of OI, there is a tendency of gradual increase regarding the white blood cell counts, neutrophil counts, levels of C‐reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase, D‐dimer, and fibrinogen as well as the incidence of most complications. In a Cox regression model, individuals with OI, old age, and an abnormal level of CRP were at a higher risk of death compared with those without. Patients with three organ injuries had the highest mortality rate (57.9%; hazard ratio [HR] with 95% confidence interval [CI] vs. patients without OI: 22.31 [10.42–47.77], those with two [23.6%; HR = 8.68, 95% CI = 4.58–16.48], one [8.6%; HR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.7–5.7], or no OI [2.6%]; p <.001). The increasing number of OI was associated with a high risk of mortality in COVID‐19 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the area of production scheduling, some traditional indicators are always treated as the optimization objectives such as makespan, earliness/tardiness and workload, and so on. However, with the increasing amount of energy consumption, the low-carbon scheduling problem has gained more and more attention from scholars and engineers. In this paper, a low-carbon flexible job shop scheduling problem (LFJSP) is studied to minimize the earliness/tardiness cost and the energy consumption cost. In this paper, a low-carbon flexible job shop scheduling. Due to the NP-hard nature of the problem, a swarm-based intelligence algorithm, named discrete African buffalo optimization (DABO), is developed to deal with the problem under study effectively. The original ABO was proposed for continuous problems, but the problem is a discrete scheduling problem. Therefore, some individual updating methods are proposed to ensure the algorithm works in a discrete search domain. Then, some neighborhood structures are designed in terms of the characteristics of the problem. A local search procedure is presented based on some neighborhood structures and embedded into the algorithm to enhance its searchability. In addition, an aging-based population re-initialization method is proposed to enhance the population diversity and avoid trapping into the local optima. Finally, several experimental simulations have been carried out to test the effectiveness of the DABO. The comparison results demonstrate the promising advantages of the DABO for the considered LFJSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is a common malignancy of the lower and upper urinary tract. Recurrent UC has poor prognosis due to delayed diagnosis and a lack of clinical management guidance, especially for upper urinary tract UC. Patients with germline or somatic BRCA1/2 mutations are a special population in UC. No evidence is available so far on the effectiveness of poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) in this population. Here, we report a 60-year-old female patient diagnosed with left ureter high-grade UC. Recurrent lesions were found 20 months after radical surgery. Computed tomography (CT) examination showed a slightly high-density soft tissue mass (3.2 × 3.1 cm) on the left posterior wall of the abdomen (waist), soft tissue mass adjacent to the left inner wall of the pelvis (3.2 × 4.2 cm), and multiple enlarged lymph nodes to the left of abdominal aorta. A next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based 605-gene panel detected a novel BRCA2 pathogenic germline mutation c.1670T>A (p.L557*), and a series of somatic insertion and deletion (INDEL) mutations of BRCA1, RB1, and JAK2, and single nucleotide variation (SNV) mutations of TP53, KMT2D, MET, ROS1, and IL7R. The above lesions were reduced significantly or disappeared (partial response, PR) after a 3-month Olaparib treatment, and the patient's general condition remained well. In conclusion, this study proved for the first time that PARPi was effective for UC treatment in patients carrying germline BRCA2 pathogenic mutations, providing new treatment options for such patients. In addition, the circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) test can be used for drug selection and response monitoring in UC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Down syndrome (DS), caused by trisomy 21, is the most common human chromosomal disorder. Hippocampal abnormalities have been believed to be responsible for the DS developmental cognitive deficits. Cumulative evidences indicated that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) participated in brain development and function. Currently, few was known whether dysregulated ncRNAs existed in DS whether the dysregulated ncRNAs played important pathology roles in DS. Objective: The purpose of this study was generating an overview map of the dysregulated ncRNAs in DS, including the microRNA (miRNA), long ncRNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNAs). DS mouse models are invaluable tools for further mechanism and therapy studies. Methods: The well-studied DS mouse model Dp(16)1/Yey was used in this study as it contains the trisomy of the whole human chromosome 21 syntenic region on mouse chromosomes 16. Hippocampi were isolated from pups of seven-days-old. Libraries for miRNA, lncRNA and circRNAs were constructed separately, and the next generation sequencing method was utilized. Results: Differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs were reported. Relative few regulating relationship were found between the DE miRNAs and DE mRNAs. LncRNAs originated from the trisomic regions expressed in clusters, but not all of them were 1.5-fold increased expressed. Dramatic DE circular RNAs were found in the DS hippocampus. The host genes of the DE circRNAs were enriched on functions which were well-known impaired in DS, e.g. long-term-potentiation, glutamatergic synapse, and GABAergic synapse. Conclusions: We generated the first DS developmental hippocampal ncRNA transcriptome map. This work laid foundations for further investigations on role of ncRNAs in hippocampal functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5-(3,4-Dicarboxylphenyl) picolinic acid (H3dppa) was applied as a new building block for the synthesis of two isomorphic coordination polymers, namely [Ni1.5dppa(H2O)3]n·nH2O (1), [Co1.5dppa(H2O)3]n·nH2O (2). Two compounds were generated by a hydrothermal self-assembly method using the corresponding metal(II) acetates and H3cppa ligand. Structure analysis reveals that compounds 1 and 2 are isomorphic both featuring a two-dimensional wave structure and are finally extended into the three-dimensional supramolecular architecture though hydrogen bonding interactions. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that domain a weak ferromagnetic exchange coupling between the adjacent Ni(II) centers in 1, and a weak antiferromagnetic coupling between Co(II) ions in for 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asarum heterotropoides Fr. var. mandshuricum (Maxim) Kitag (Chinese wild ginger) is an important medicinal herb. Essential oil extracted from its roots is the key ingredient and is mainly composed of phenylpropanoid compounds. As a skiophyte plant, light is a crucial factor for A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum growth and metabolism. To investigate the effects of light irradiation on the essential oil biosynthesis in A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum, the plants were cultivated in four light irradiation treatments (100, 50, 24 and 12% full sunlight). The photosynthetic capacity, essential oil content and composition, activities of several enzymes and levels of some secondary metabolites involved in the shikimic acid and cinnamic acid pathways were analyzed. The leaf mass per area, average diurnal net photosynthetic rate, and the essential oil content increased significantly with increasing light intensity. Phenylalanine, cinnamic acid, and p-coumaric acid in the cinnamic acid pathway were at their highest levels in plants cultivated in 100% full sunlight. The highest content of shikimic acid in the shikimic acid pathway was obtained in plants grown in 50% sunlight transmittance. The activity of the enzymes 3-Deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, cinnamate-4-hydroxylase and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase increased proportionally with light intensity. Overall, we conclude that high light irradiation promotes high net photosynthetic rate, high activity of enzymes and high amounts of phenylpropanoid precursor metabolites leading to significant biosynthesis of essential oil in A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Music has shown positive effects on pain management in previous studies. However, the relationship between musical emotional types and therapeutic effects remains unclear. To investigate this issue, this study tested three typical emotional types of music and discussed their neural mechanisms in relation to pain modulation. Subjects and Methods: In this experiment, 40 participants were exposed to cold pain under four conditions: listening to happy music, listening to neutral music, listening to sad music and no sound. EEG and pain thresholds were recorded. The participants were divided into the remission group and the nonremission group for analysis. Differences among conditions were quantified by the duration of exposure to the pain-inducing stimulus in the remission group. EEG data were obtained using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) and then correlated with the behavioral data. Results: We found that sad music had a significantly better effect on alleviating pain, as a result of brain oscillations in a higher beta band and the gamma band at the O2 and P4 electrodes. The comparison between the remission group and the nonremission group suggested that personality may affect music-induced analgesia, and dominance, liveliness and introvert and extrovert personality traits were associated with pain modulation by sad music. Additionally, in the network analysis, we compared brain networks under the three conditions and discussed the possible mechanisms underlying the better analgesic effect of sad music. Conclusion: Sad music may have a better effect on alleviating pain, and its neural mechanisms are also discussed. This work may help understand the effects of music on pain modulation, which also has potential value for clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the blockchain technology and its bitcoin cryptocurrency have received considerable attention. Bitcoin has experienced significant price swings in daily and long-term valuations. In this paper, we propose a partial differential equation (PDE) model on the bitcoin transaction network for forecasting the bitcoin price movement. Through analysis of bitcoin subgraphs or chainlets, the PDE model captures the influence of transaction patterns on the bitcoin price over time and combines the effect of all chainlet clusters. In addition, Google Trends index is incorporated to the PDE model to reflect the effect of the bitcoin market sentiment. The experiment results demonstrate that the PDE model is capable of forecasting the bitcoin price movement. The paper is the first attempt to apply a PDE model to the bitcoin transaction network for forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ring finger protein 213 gene (RNF213) rs112735431 was significantly associated with intracranial artery stenosis/occlusion disease (ICASO) in Japan and Korea and to a lesser degree in China. We conducted a case–control study to examine the prevalence and correlates of the RNF213 rare variants in Chinese patients with symptomatic ICASO. A total of 503 cases including 390 ischemic stroke patients (ICASO-IS), 113 intracranial hemorrhage patients (ICASO-ICH) and 227 control subjects were recruited. The snapshot technique was used for RNF213 rare variants analysis, including rs112735431, rs148731719, rs37144111 and rs138130613. Moreover, a meta-analysis was performed to explore the relationship between RNF213 variants and ICASO in Asian. In our case–control study, we found that the rs138130613 variant was significantly associated with ICASO-IS (OR = 9.92, 95% CI 1.24–79.19, p = 0.03). The mean age of first ischemic stroke onset of variant carriers was earlier than the noncarriers (51.3 ± 18.0 versus 66.0 ± 12.9 years old, p = 0.02), but the conventional atherosclerotic risk factors and the characteristics of artery stenosis did not differ between them. In addition, the meta-analysis showed significant association between the rs112735431 polymorphism and the ICASO or ICASO-IS, and this variant was found more often in women and young-onset patients in Asia. This study suggests that the RNF213 rs112735431 and rs138130613 are genetic risk variants for ischemic stroke with intracranial artery stenosis/occlusion in China and rs112735431 is also associated with the high risk of ICASO in Asia. Further large-scale investigation of the RNF213 gene will provide new insights into pathogenetic mechanisms of symptomatic ICASO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]