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The recent discovery of inherently stable two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) provides a unique platform for spintronic devices. However, its efficacy for electric detection by spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) has not been established yet. In this work, we report on SMR in 2D TMDs/ferromagnet heterostructures, i.e., PtSe 2 /NiFe (Py), whose magnitude reaches the maximum with bilayer PtSe 2. Notably, the SMR value in bilayer PtSe 2 /Py heterostructures undergoes a sign change with increasing Py thickness. For thinner Py samples, the SMR rapidly decreases with increasing Py thickness, eventually changing from positive to negative. In the case of intermediate Py thicknesses, the SMR consistently exhibits negative behavior. However, for thicker Py samples, the negative SMR values gradually decrease. This complex behavior is attributed to the dominant and competing mechanisms that contribute to SMR, including the spin Hall effect (or Rashba-induced effect) and its inverse effect, the orbital Hall effect and its inverse effect, as well as interfacial spin–orbit-coupling-induced spin-current-to-charge-current conversion. These findings would expand the arsenal for advanced spintronic applications based on 2D TMDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we studied the X-ray polarization of the jet in the Vela Pulsar Wind Nebula. After the background subtraction, we found a high degree of polarization in the helical jet region, close to the upper limit allowed by the synchrotron radiation mechanism. This result indicates the magnetic field is highly ordered, even though the jet's morphology is curved and varies rapidly, which suggests that the magnetic collimation process for the jet does not introduce significant turbulence. The polarization angle is perpendicular to the symmetry axis of the nebula, consistent with the results from the magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations. This finding sheds light on the underlying mechanisms related to the dynamics and evolution of the jet structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in adolescents, while its prevalence trend in adolescents is seldom reported. In addition, few studies focus on adolescents without depressive symptoms. This study aimed to reveal the trend and predictors of persistent depression/non-depression among Chinese adolescents over three-year period. Methods: Three-wave data were collected from T1 to T3 in a sample from six junior high schools in Shenzhen, China. The 20-item of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used, with scoring ≥16 as depression. Results: Of all 1301 adolescents, 33.4%, 15.5% and 9.0% reported depressive symptoms at baseline, T2 and T3 respectively, while 66.6%, 47.7% and 39.6% reported non-depressive symptoms at three time-points. At the individual level, baseline positive identity and general positive youth development significantly increased persistent non-depression at T2 and T3. At the family level, baseline family harmony and communication consistently prevented persistent depression at T2 and T3, while family communication consistently promoted non-depression. At the school level, baseline awareness of no expectation from teacher and poor interpersonal relationship consistently increased persistent depression and prevented non-depression. Conclusions: The incidence of depression in adolescents aged 11–15 is not high. The rate of persistent non-depression is approximately 30% higher than that of persistent depression, and both have a downward trend over years. Positive youth development and healthy family function are protective factors of depression, while school maladjustment decreases persistent non-depression. During early adolescence, more attention should be paid to family function and school maladjustment to promote non-depression in adolescents from a new broader view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectrics usually exhibit instability or a tendency toward degradation when exposed to the ambient atmosphere, and the mechanism behind this phenomenon remains unclear. To unravel this affection mechanism, we have undertaken an investigation utilizing NH3 and two-dimensional ferroelectric SnS. Herein, the adsorption and desorption of NH3 molecules can reversibly modulate the electrical properties of SnS, encompassing I–V curves and transfer curves. The response time for NH3 adsorption is approximately 1.12 s, which is much quicker than that observed in other two-dimensional materials. KPFM characterizations indicate that air molecules' adsorption alters the surface potentials of SiO2, SnS, metal electrodes, and contacts with minimal impact on the electrode contact surface potential. Upon the adsorption of NH3 molecules or air molecules, the hole concentration within the device decreases. These findings elucidate the adsorption mechanism of NH3 molecules on SnS, potentially fostering the advancement of rapid gas sensing applications utilizing two-dimensional ferroelectrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using observation data and numerical simulations, we have demonstrated that the stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) can predict extreme high temperatures (EHTs) in South Asia in June. The vertical structure of the QBO plays a crucial role in this prediction. When the QBO in June shows easterlies (westerlies) at 50 hPa and westerlies (easterlies) at 70 hPa, more (fewer) EHT events occur. This likely results from the QBO's vertical structure causing positive (negative) temperature anomalies in the lower stratosphere and negative (positive) static stability anomalies near the tropical tropopause. These anomalies enhance (weaken) convective activity over the equatorial Indian Ocean, leading to anomalous circulation with ascending (descending) air over the equatorial Indian Ocean and descending (ascending) air over northern and central South Asia. This suppresses (promotes) convection over northern and central South Asia, affecting cloud formation and precipitation. Consequently, more (less) solar radiation reaches the region, along with weaker (stronger) evaporative cooling effects, warming (cooling) the surface and creating a background state conducive to (against) EHT events. Additionally, the opposite zonal winds at 30 hPa and 50 hPa in April may serve as a reference factor for predicting the probability of EHT events in northern and central South Asia. This study provides a potential approach for forecasting tropospheric extreme weather events based on stratospheric signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Valve interstitial cells (VICs) undergo a transition to intermediate state cells before ultimately transforming into the osteogenic cell population, which is a pivotal cellular process in calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Herein, this study successfully delineated the stages of VIC osteogenic transformation and elucidated a novel key regulatory role of lumican (LUM) in this process. Methods Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) from nine human aortic valves was used to characterize the pathological switch process and identify key regulatory factors. The in vitro , ex vivo , in vivo , and double knockout mice were constructed to further unravel the calcification-promoting effect of LUM. Moreover, the multi-omic approaches were employed to analyse the molecular mechanism of LUM in CAVD. Results ScRNA-seq successfully delineated the process of VIC pathological transformation and highlighted the significance of LUM as a novel molecule in this process. The pro-calcification role of LUM is confirmed on the in vitro , ex vivo , in vivo level, and ApoE−/−//LUM−/− double knockout mice. The LUM induces osteogenesis in VICs via activation of inflammatory pathways and augmentation of cellular glycolysis, resulting in the accumulation of lactate. Subsequent investigation has unveiled a novel LUM driving histone modification, lactylation, which plays a role in facilitating valve calcification. More importantly, this study has identified two specific sites of histone lactylation, namely, H3K14la and H3K9la, which have been found to facilitate the process of calcification. The confirmation of these modification sites' association with the expression of calcific genes Runx2 and BMP2 has been achieved through ChIP-PCR analysis. Conclusions The study presents novel findings, being the first to establish the involvement of lumican in mediating H3 histone lactylation, thus facilitating the development of aortic valve calcification. Consequently, lumican would be a promising therapeutic target for intervention in the treatment of CAVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the evolution of hydrochemical characteristics in river systems is essential for environmental assessment and water resource management. This study explores the spatiotemporal distribution and the determinants of hydrochemical characteristics in the Hailar River basin, China, over an extensive period. Our results revealed that CODMn and CODCr were the primary concerns for long-term river management, with exceedance rates of 42.92% and 50.62%, respectively. These exceedances were predominantly driven by interactions between riparian soils and surface water, rather than anthropogenic pollution, as suggested by the strong correlations between dissolved organic carbon and soil water-extractable organic carbon, and the limited human footprint in this region. Piper trilinear and Gibbs diagram analysis further revealed that long-term rack weathering shaped the basin's hydrochemical characteristics, resulting in distinct HCO3−-Ca2+ and HCO3−-Ca2+-Na+ signatures. In addition, APCS-MLR analysis identified that elevated of CODMn and CODCr levels were mainly attributed to the interactions with adjacent soils, which are extensively covered by forests and grasslands. In contrast, leaching and migration processes contributed significantly on total dissolved solids and total phosphorus. The study also found that environmental self-purification processes played a key role in regulating Fe concentrations. This investigation provides a nuanced understanding of the environmental background's influence on hydrochemistry and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the Hailar River basin, which offers valuable insights and methodologies for the rational assessment of water quality and aquatic ecosystem health in similar riverine systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Annular sectored containers are widely used in nuclear engineering, aerospace, marine, and civil engineering. It is crucial for the safety assessment of such containers to accurately describe their sloshing behavior under external disturbances and seismic conditions. Many studies have been conducted on the sloshing behavior in regular-shaped containers (rectangular, circular, and annular cross sections); however, the studies on the sloshing in annular sectored containers are relatively limited. Specifically, there is a lack of studies on sloshing damping and nonlinear behaviors under large-amplitude resonance conditions and earthquakes. This paper examines the effects of excitations and geometry (curvatures and sizes) on the dynamic sloshing characteristics and transient response of annular sectored containers through shaking table experiments. Experimental results show significant nonlinear sloshing, including breaking waves, at sharp inner corners of annular sectored containers under large harmonic and seismic excitations. It also shows that curvature has a small effect on the frequency and sloshing damping; however, it significantly influences wave heights and hydrodynamic pressures on the outer curved surface. Based on potential flow theory, we derived a wave height formula with damping for the annular sectored container under arbitrary ground motion excitation. Through experiments, we also determined a correction factor for wave height under large-amplitude excitation. The results were compared with experimental data, volume-of-fluid (VOF) results, and the corrected wave height formula for rectangular containers. The comparison shows that under large-amplitude excitation, both the VOF method and potential flow theory show significant errors compared to experimental results, while the corrected formula for the annular sectored container agrees well with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an innovative translation validation framework designed for MLIR-based compilers, which has garnered considerable prominence in fields such as machine learning, high-performance computing and hardware design. Despite rigorous testing, compilers based on MLIR might still induce incorrect results and undefined behaviors, necessitating verification work. Our framework first takes a pair of MLIR programs as inputs and check their function signature's compatibility before encoding them into SMT expressions. Then it uses the Z3 SMT solver to check whether the target program refines the source program. Our framework transcends the dialect limitations of past solutions, thereby providing validation support to a wider range of MLIR-based compilers. We demonstrate its effectiveness through evaluations on prominent open-source MLIR-based compilers, where we identified bugs and undefined behaviors. We further demonstrate the capability of this framework by validating two practical deep-learning accelerator designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition between yeast and hyphae is crucial for regulating the commensalism and pathogenicity in Candida albicans. The mechanisms that affect the invasion of hyphae in solid media, whose deficiency is more related to the pathogenicity of C. albicans, have not been elucidated. Here, we found that the disruption of VAM6 or VPS41 which are components of the homotypic vacuolar fusion and protein sorting (HOPS) complex, or the Rab GTPase YPT72, all responsible for vacuole fusion, led to defects in hyphal growth in both liquid and solid media, but more pronounced on solid agar. The phenotypes of vac8Δ/Δ and GTR1OE-vam6Δ/Δ mutants indicated that these deficiencies are mainly caused by the reduced mechanical forces that drive agar and organs penetration, and confirmed that large vacuoles are required for hyphal mechanical penetration. In summary, our study revealed that large vacuoles generated by vacuolar fusion support hyphal penetration and provided a perspective to refocus attention on the role of solid agar in evaluating C. albicans invasion. The transition between yeast and hyphae is crucial for the pathogenicity of Candida albicans. Here, Liu et al. show that vacuole fusion is active during hyphal extension and that large vacuoles increase the mechanical forces of hyphae penetrating into organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition between yeast and hyphae is crucial for regulating the commensalism and pathogenicity in Candida albicans. The mechanisms that affect the invasion of hyphae in solid media, whose deficiency is more related to the pathogenicity of C. albicans, have not been elucidated. Here, we found that the disruption of VAM6 or VPS41 which are components of the homotypic vacuolar fusion and protein sorting (HOPS) complex, or the Rab GTPase YPT72, all responsible for vacuole fusion, led to defects in hyphal growth in both liquid and solid media, but more pronounced on solid agar. The phenotypes of vac8Δ/Δ and GTR1OE-vam6Δ/Δ mutants indicated that these deficiencies are mainly caused by the reduced mechanical forces that drive agar and organs penetration, and confirmed that large vacuoles are required for hyphal mechanical penetration. In summary, our study revealed that large vacuoles generated by vacuolar fusion support hyphal penetration and provided a perspective to refocus attention on the role of solid agar in evaluating C. albicans invasion. The transition between yeast and hyphae is crucial for the pathogenicity of Candida albicans. Here, Liu et al. show that vacuole fusion is active during hyphal extension and that large vacuoles increase the mechanical forces of hyphae penetrating into organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the primary cause of cancer-related mortality in women. Treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains particularly challenging due to its resistance to chemotherapy and poor prognosis. Extensive research efforts in BC screening and therapy have improved clinical outcomes for BC patients. Therefore, identifying reliable biomarkers for TNBC is of great clinical importance. Here, we found that tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) expression was significantly reduced in BC and strongly correlated with the poor prognosis of BC patients, which distinguished BC patients from normal individuals, indicating that TAT is a valuable biomarker for early BC diagnosis. Mechanistically, we uncovered that methylation of the TAT promoter was significantly increased by DNA methyltransferase 3 (DNMT3A/3B). In addition, reduced TAT contributes to DNA replication and cell cycle activation by regulating homologous recombination repair and mismatch repair to ensure genomic stability, which may be one of the reasons for TNBC resistance to chemotherapy. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Diazinon increases TAT expression as an inhibitor of DNMT3A/3B and inhibits the growth of BC by blocking downstream pathways. Taken together, we revealed that TAT is silenced by DNMT3A/3B in BC, especially in TNBC, which promotes the proliferation of tumor cells by supporting DNA replication, activating cell cycle, and enhancing DNA damage repair. These results provide fresh insights and a theoretical foundation for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation in Europe significantly influences local agriculture and water resources. Numerous research endeavours have explored the influence of tropospheric variables on precipitation variability in Europe. Recent investigations have identified a connection between alterations in high-latitude stratospheric ozone levels and precipitation patterns across Eurasia. This study investigates the correlation between the high-latitude stratosphere and precipitation trends in Western Europe, utilizing observational data, reanalysis, and atmospheric models, yielding new insights that upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric (UTLS) ozone in the northern high latitudes notably influence spring and autumn precipitation in Western Europe, and explained the mechanism. Increased UTLS ozone tends to enhance the precipitation in Western Europe, and vice versa. Further analysis reveals that elevated UTLS ozone radiatively warms the local region, shifting the polar jet stream over Europe equatorward in spring and autumn, which results in a cyclonic anomaly over Western Europe. This enhances the convection over Western Europe and transports more water vapor from the Atlantic Ocean. The influence of variations in UTLS ozone on precipitation patterns in Western Europe has been further corroborated through the sensitivity experiments with climate model. An increase of 20% in UTLS ozone across Europe, relative to the multi-year average, raises precipitation in Western Europe by 2.6–8 mm/month and decrease it by 10 mm/month to the north. Overall, our findings highlight the significant influence of the UTLS ozone on modulating spring and autumn precipitation in Western Europe, offering important implications into the prediction of future precipitation changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining novel data on analyst employment history and mutual fund commission payments, we show that client funds generate higher returns on stocks for which they have access to research by industry expert analysts. The outperformance is greater when funds are more important clients and cannot be attributed to tipping. Client funds place modestly higher weights on stocks covered by industry expert analysts and allocate more commissions to brokers providing such coverage. For identification, we exploit exogenous analyst coverage disruptions. Our findings contribute to the debate on whether mutual funds obtain any investment value from access to analysts through the soft-dollar arrangement. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel titanate (NiTiO3) nanostructured materials have gained extensive attention in the field of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, NiTiO3 exhibits low conductivity and significant volume changes during cycling, resulting in capacity decay and poor cycling stability. Herein, we propose a feasible strategy to enhance the cycling performance of NiTiO3 nanostructures by adjusting their morphology. By manipulating the choice of solvent employed in the synthetic process, we obtain NiTiO3 microbars (NTO MBs) through self‐assembly of NiTiO3 nanoparticles (NTO NPs). When utilized as an anode material in LIBs, NTO MBs exhibit a capacity of 410 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 100 mA g−1, surpassing that of NTO NPs (212 mAh g−1). The improved performance of NTO MBs is attributed to their unique porous bar‐like structure, composed of numerous NPs, which provides a substantial storage space for Li+ ions owing to its larger specific surface area. Additionally, the porous structure accelerates the diffusion of Li+ ions and electron transfer. To gain a profound understanding of the enhanced performance through morphology adjustment, we conduct a comprehensive investigation on the growth mechanism of NTO MBs. This work provides valuable insights into the mechanism governing the morphology control of NTO MBs, facilitating the rational design and synthesis of tailored materials with enhanced performance for LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are suitable candidates in energy storage due to their abundant source and competitive performance. Despite their proven effectiveness and competitiveness, layered oxide cathodes for SIBs encounter challenges related to structural integrity over cycles. This study explores the incorporation of strontium (Sr), a rarely utilized element with a large radius, in P2-type layered oxides as a solution. The research uncovers unique crystal structural changes induced by Sr2+, resulting in suppressed phase transitions and enhanced stability. Through a combination of characterization techniques, novel alterations in crystal parameters are observed, addressing the limitations of traditional nickel/manganese-based oxides. Ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the suppressed Jahn–Teller effect, indicating improved stability. Additionally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest a dual role for Sr2+ ions as "pillars" and "cords" within sodium layers, promoting sodium diffusion. Experimental results demonstrate increased retention and specific capacity with Sr2+ doping, even at high current rates, showcasing its potential for commercialization. This research sheds light on the impact of large-radius ion doping, offering a significant advancement in stable SIB cathode materials development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile robots' efficient path planning has long been a challenging task due to the complexity and dynamism of environments. If an occupancy grid map is used in path planning, the number of grids is determined by grid resolution and the size of the actual environment. Excessively high resolution increases the number of traversed grid nodes and thus prolongs path planning time. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an efficient path planning algorithm based on laser SLAM and an optimized visibility graph for mobile robots, which achieves faster computation of the shortest path using the optimized visibility graph. Firstly, the laser SLAM algorithm is used to acquire the undistorted LiDAR point cloud data, which are converted into a visibility graph. Secondly, a bidirectional A* path search algorithm is combined with the Minimal Construct algorithm, enabling the robot to only compute heuristic paths to the target node during path planning in order to reduce search time. Thirdly, a filtering method based on edge length and the number of vertices of obstacles is proposed to reduce redundant vertices and edges in the visibility graph. Additionally, the bidirectional A* search method is implemented for pathfinding in the efficient path planning algorithm proposed in this paper to reduce unnecessary space searches. Finally, simulation and field tests are conducted to validate the algorithm and compare its performance with classic algorithms. The test results indicate that the method proposed in this paper exhibits superior performance in terms of path search time, navigation time, and distance compared to D* Lite, FAR, and FPS algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Recent studies have shown a correlation between piglet diarrhea and the gut microbiota. However, the precise mechanism by which intestinal microorganisms and their metabolites influence diarrhea in weaned piglets remains unclear. This study explored differences in the gut microbiota and associated metabolites between healthy and diarrheic-weaned piglets using macrogenomic and metabolomic analyses. We identified microorganisms that differed markedly between the two groups. We noticed that the number and abundance of Bacteroidaceae bacterium were strongly negatively correlated with diarrhea in weaned piglets, whereas Caudoviricetes exhibited a strong positive correlation. Our screening for markedly different metabolites such as carnosine, pantothenic acid, pyridoxal, methylimidazoleacetic acid, indole-3-acetaldehyde and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, along with the identification of metabolite-related metabolic pathways like tryptophan and vitamin B6 metabolism, identified important pathways associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis caused by post-weaning diarrhea in piglets. Conjoint analysis revealed that a substantial increase in the number and abundance of Caudoviricetes, coupled with a decrease in the number and abundance of Bacteroidaceae bacterium could potentially serve as microbial markers of post-weaning diarrhea. Recent studies have shown a correlation between piglet diarrhea and the gut microbiota. However, the precise mechanism by which intestinal microorganisms and their metabolites influence diarrhea in weaned piglets remains unclear. This study explored differences in the gut microbiota and associated metabolites between healthy and diarrheic-weaned piglets using macrogenomic and metabolomic analyses. The histomorphological results showed that diarrheic piglets had shorter jejunal and ileal villi, some of which were shed, compared to healthy piglets. Substantial differences in gut microbial diversity and metabolites were also observed, with Bacteroidaceae bacterium and Caudoviricetes being the main differential organisms that were strongly correlated with host status. Microbial functions, mainly the metabolism of carbohydrates, glycans, lipids, and amino acids, as well as related enzyme activities, were substantially different. The major differential metabolites were carnosine, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxal, methylimidazoleacetic acid, indole-3-acetaldehyde, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. These metabolites were enriched in beta-alanine, histidine, tryptophan, and vitamin B6 metabolism, and in the pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis pathways. Combined macrogenomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that carnosine, vitamin B5, and pyridoxal were negatively correlated with Caudoviricetes; methylimidazoleacetic acid, indole-3-acetaldehyde, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were positively correlated with Caudoviricetes. Whereas carnosine and vitamin B5 were positively correlated with Bacteroidaceae bacterium, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid was negatively correlated. The decreased abundance of Bacteroidaceae bacterium and the increased abundance of Caudoviricetes and related metabolites likely contribute to post-weaning diarrhea in piglets. Therefore, the abundance of Bacteroidaceae bacterium and Caudoviricetes can likely serve as potential markers for identifying and preventing diarrhea in post-weaning piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hemorrhagic stroke is a devastating cerebrovascular event with a high rate of early mortality and long-term disability. The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) for neurological conditions, such as intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), has garnered considerable interest, has garnered considerable interest, though their mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Methods: EVs were isolated from human umbilical cord MSCs, and SPECT/CT was used to track the 99mTc-labeled EVs in a mouse model of ICH. A series of comprehensive evaluations, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), histological study, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), or miRNA microarray, were performed to investigate the therapeutic action and mechanisms of MSC-EVs in both cellular and animal models of ICH. Results: Our findings show that intravenous injection of MSC-EVs exhibits a marked affinity for the ICH-affected brain regions and cortical neurons. EV infusion alleviates the pathological changes observed in MRI due to ICH and reduces damage to ipsilateral cortical neurons. RNA-Seq analysis reveals that EV treatment modulates key pathways involved in the neuronal system and metal ion transport in mice subjected to ICH. These data were supported by the attenuation of neuronal ferroptosis in neurons treated with Hemin and in ICH mice following EV therapy. Additionally, miRNA microarray analysis depicted the EV-miRNAs targeting genes associated with ferroptosis, and miR-214-3p was identified as a regulator of neuronal ferroptosis in the ICH cellular model. Conclusions: MSC-EVs offer neuroprotective effects against ICH-induced neuronal damage by modulating ferroptosis highlighting their therapeutic potential for combating neuronal ferroptosis in brain disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulsars (PSRs) and Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe) form some of the most interesting high-energy astrophysical systems. Their prominent synchrotron emission makes them ideal candidates for polarimetry. Here, after briefly summarizing the scientific rationale underpinning the importance of their polarimetric studies, we review the current status and achievements obtained by the IXPE mission. For the first time, we have space- and phase-resolved X-ray data that allow us to set constraints on the geometry and level of turbulence of the magnetic field which, in turn, can help us to better understand which acceleration and radiation model(s) might be at work in these systems. Interestingly, PWNe show a large variety in terms of polarization degree that might indicate key physical differences, still to be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variability of stratospheric water vapor (SWV) plays a crucial role in stratospheric chemistry and Earth's energy budget, strongly influenced by sea surface temperature (SST). In this study, we systematically investigate the response of lower-SWV (LSWV) to regional sea surface temperature changes using idealized SST patch experiments within a climate model. The results indicate that LSWV is most sensitive to tropical sea surface temperature, with the strongest response occurring in late autumn and early winter. Warming of the tropical Indian Ocean and western Pacific (WP) leads to stratospheric drying, while warming of the tropical Atlantic (TA) and eastern Pacific results in stratospheric moistening. The drying impact on LSWV due to warming in the western Pacific Ocean exceeds the wet effect in the eastern Pacific Ocean by approximately 60%. The variations in tropical SST influence LSWV by modulating the temperature at the tropical tropopause layer, especially over the Indo-Pacific warm pool through Matsuno–Gill responses. Furthermore, the response of LSWV to tropical SST changes exhibits nonnegligible nonlinearity, which indicates the importance of nonlinearity in determining the LSWV response to global surface warming. Significance Statement: In this study, we explore how changes in the temperature of the ocean's surface can affect the amount of water vapor in the stratosphere, a layer of Earth's atmosphere. Understanding this relationship is important because water vapor in the stratosphere can influence both our climate and the chemistry of the atmosphere. Using a climate model, we found that water vapor in the lower stratosphere is especially responsive to temperature changes in tropical ocean regions. Specifically, when the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific get warmer, the stratosphere tends to get drier. On the other hand, warming in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific leads to more moisture in the stratosphere. The way these changes add up is complex and not simply a sum of individual parts, especially in tropical warm pool regions. Our findings have implications for how we understand and predict the impacts of climate change on stratospheric water vapor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The concentrations of linezolid, its optimal regimen and the associated side effects in elderly patients remain unclear. Methods In this multicentre, prospective study, elderly patients receiving linezolid at four tertiary hospitals in Beijing between May 2021 and December 2022 were included. Linezolid concentrations and haematological toxicity were monitored dynamically. Risk factors for linezolid overexposure and moderate-to-severe linezolid-induced thrombocytopenia (M/S LIT) were analysed, and a predictive model of M/S LIT was developed. Results A total of 860 linezolid concentrations were measured in 313 patients. The median trough concentrations of linezolid were 24.4 (15.3, 35.8) mg/L at 36–72 h and 26.1 (17.0, 38.1) mg/L at 5–10 days (P  = 0.132). Severe linezolid exposure was independently associated with age, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the worst SOFA score (SOFA1), and we further recommended dose regimens for elderly patients based on these findings. The incidences of linezolid-induced thrombocytopenia(LIT) and M/S LIT were 73.5% and 47.6%, respectively. M/S LIT was independently correlated with treatment duration, average trough concentration (TDMa), baseline platelet count, eGFR and baseline SOFA score (SOFA0). The developed nomogram predicted M/S LIT with an area under the curve of 0.767 (95% CI 0.715–0.820), a sensitivity of 71.1% and a specificity of 73.2%. Conclusions Linezolid trough concentrations increased dramatically in the elderly, by about 10 mg/L in patients aged 65–80 years, followed by a further increase of 10 mg/L for every 10 years of age. Therapeutic drug monitoring is recommended in elderly patients receiving linezolid. The developed nomogram may predict M/S LIT and guide dosage adjustments of linezolid. Clinical trial registration number : ChiCTR2100045707 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury emissions from human activities persist in the environment, posing risks to humans and ecosystem, and are regulated by the Minamata Convention. Understanding the historical emissions of mercury is critical for explaining the presence of mercury in the environment. In recent years, some studies have looked at the historical trends of atmospheric emission inventory. The spatial resolution of inventories for relatively recent years have improved. However, limited inventories have combined both long time scales and high spatial resolution, which is essential for evaluating the legacy impacts of anthropogenic mercury emissions, particularly in regions with high levels of mercury emissions. Here we compile a new comprehensive point source database by fusing multiple data source, and integrate it with previous China Atmospheric Mercury Emission Model to create an annual point source and gridded emission inventory for China covering 1978–2021. Integrating point source emission inventory (P-CAME) improves the accuracy of the gridded emissions, reducing the normalized mean error for all grids by 108 % compared to not using point sources in the most recent year of 2021. The improved gridded emissions inventory notably enhances the simulation of atmospheric mercury concentrations, particularly in urban areas. P-CAME inventory resulted in a 20–23 % reduction in the normalized mean bias. The improved gridded emission data identifies potential polluted grids characterized by high cumulative emissions. It indicates that 20 % of cumulative emissions originate from just 0.3 % of the grids, primarily distributed in Gansu, Yunnan, and Hunan Provinces. These areas are predominantly dominated by non-ferrous metal smelters or a mix of emissions sources including coal-fired industries and cement production. With the improvements in simulation accuracy and the identification of highly polluted regions, this updated inventory would greatly facilitate the assessment of mercury exposure, legacy impacts, and effective management of cross-media mercury pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a prevalent gastrointestinal cancer characterized by high mortality and an unfavorable prognosis. While combination therapies involving surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are advancing, targeted therapy for ESCC remains underdeveloped. As a result, the overall five‐year survival rate for ESCC is still below 20%. Herein, ESCC‐specific DNA aptamers and an innovative aptamer‐modified nano‐system is introduced for targeted drug and gene delivery to effectively inhibit ESCC. The EA1 ssDNA aptamer, which binds robustly to ESCC cells with high specificity and affinity, is identified using cell‐based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (cell‐SELEX). An EA1‐modified nano‐system is developed using a natural egg yolk lipid nanovector (EA1‐EYLNs‐PTX/siEFNA1) that concurrently loads paclitaxel (PTX) and a small interfering RNA of Ephrin A1 (EFNA1). This combination counters ESCC's proliferation, migration, invasion, and lung metastasis. Notably, EFNA1 is overexpressed in ESCC tumors with lung metastasis and has an inverse correlation with ESCC patient prognosis. The EA1‐EYLNs‐PTX/siEFNA1 nano‐system offers effective drug delivery and tumor targeting, resulting in significantly improved therapeutic efficacy against ESCC tumors. These insights suggest that aptamer‐modified nano‐systems can deliver drugs and genes with superior tumor‐targeting, potentially revolutionizing targeted therapy in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It appears that tumour-infiltrating neoantigen-reactive CD8 + T (Neo T) cells are the primary driver of immune responses to gastrointestinal cancer in patients. However, the conventional method is very time-consuming and complex for identifying Neo T cells and their corresponding T cell receptors (TCRs). Methods: By mapping neoantigen-reactive T cells from the single-cell transcriptomes of thousands of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes, we developed a 26-gene machine learning model for the identification of neoantigen-reactive T cells. Results: In both training and validation sets, the model performed admirably. We discovered that the majority of Neo T cells exhibited notable differences in the biological processes of amide-related signal pathways. The analysis of potential cell-to-cell interactions, in conjunction with spatial transcriptomic and multiplex immunohistochemistry data, has revealed that Neo T cells possess potent signalling molecules, including LTA, which can potentially engage with tumour cells within the tumour microenvironment, thereby exerting anti-tumour effects. By sequencing CD8 + T cells in tumour samples of patients undergoing neoadjuvant immunotherapy, we determined that the fraction of Neo T cells was significantly and positively linked with the clinical benefit and overall survival rate of patients. Conclusion: This method expedites the identification of neoantigen-reactive TCRs and the engineering of neoantigen-reactive T cells for therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The high recurrence rate after liver resection emphasizes the urgent need for neoadjuvant therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to enhance the overall prognosis for patients. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, camrelizumab combined with an anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) apatinib, have emerged as a first-line treatment option for patients with unresectable HCC, yet its neoadjuvant application in combination with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in HCC remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of sequential TACE, camrelizumab, and apatinib as a neoadjuvant therapy for single, huge HCC. Methods: This multi-center, open-label randomized phase 3 trial will be conducted at 7 tertiary hospitals. Patients with single huge (≥ 10 cm in diameter), resectable HCC will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to arm of surgery alone or arm of neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery. In the neoadjuvant therapy group, patients will receive TACE within 1 week after randomization, followed by camrelizumab (200 mg q2w, 4 cycles), along with apatinib (250 mg qd, 2 months). Patients will receive liver resection after neoadjuvant therapy unless the disease is assessed as progressive. The primary outcome is recurrence-free survival (RFS) at 1 year. The planned sample size of 60 patients will be calculated to permit the accumulation of sufficient RFS events in 1 year to achieve 80% power for the RFS primary endpoint. Discussion: Synergistic effects provided by multimodality therapy of locoregional treatment, TKI, and anti-programmed cell death 1 inhibitor significantly improved overall survival for patients with unresectable HCC. Our trial will investigate the efficacy and safety of the triple combination of TACE, camrelizumab, and apatinib as a neoadjuvant strategy for huge, resectable HCC. Trial registration: www.chitr.org.cn ChiCTR2300078086. Registered on November 28, 2023. Start recruitment: 1st January 2024. Expected completion of recruitment: 15th June 2025. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buses and subways are crucial modes of transportation for residents, yet frequent disturbances pose serious challenges to their daily commutes. To tackle these disruptions and boost the stability of the transportation network, it is vital to accurately measure the resilience of a bus–subway composite network under such events. Therefore, this study utilizes the generalized cost between stations as weights with which to construct a bus–subway weighted composite network. Subsequently, three indicators, namely reachability, path importance, and weighted coreness, are proposed to evaluate the significance of the nodes, thereby combining the improved CRITIC-TOPSIS method to identify the critical nodes. Then, deliberate attacks and preferential restorations are conducted on the nodes, considering their importance and the critical nodes sequences, respectively. Finally, network resilience changes are characterized by the network connectivity coefficient and global accessibility, and the network resilience is compared under different attack and recovery strategies. The research results indicate that resilience is lowest when using reachability sequences to attack and recover the network. The network's recovery is most significant when using the critical nodes sequences. When 70% of the nodes are restored, the network's performance is essentially fully recovered. Additionally, the resilience of a bus–subway network is higher than that of a single bus network. This study applies the generalized cost to weight the transportation network, and considers the impact of multiple factors on the ease of connectivity between the nodes, which facilitates the accurate measurement of the resilience of a bus–subway network and enhances the ability to cope with disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the low detection accuracy in steel surface defect detection and the constraints of limited hardware resources, we propose an improved model for steel surface defect detection, named CBiF-FC-EFC-YOLOv8s (CFE-YOLOv8s), including CBS-BiFormer (CBiF) modules, Faster-C2f (FC) modules, and EMA-Faster-C2f (EFC) modules. Firstly, because of the potential information loss that convolutional neural networks (CNN) may encounter when dealing with miniature targets, the CBiF combines CNN with Transformer to optimize local and global features. Secondly, to address the increased computational complexity caused by the extensive use of convolutional layers, the FC uses the FasterNet block to reduce redundant computations and memory access. Lastly, the EMA is incorporated into the FC to design the EFC module and enhance feature fusion capability while ensuring the light weight of the model. CFE-YOLOv8s achieves mAP@0.5 values of 77.8% and 69.5% on the NEU-DET and GC10-DET datasets, respectively, representing enhancements of 3.1% and 2.8% over YOLOv8s, with reductions of 22% and 18% in model parameters and FLOPS. The CFE-YOLOv8s demonstrates superior overall performance and balance compared to other advanced models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer immunotherapy has demonstrated significant efficacy in various tumors, but its effectiveness in treating Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) remains limited. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify a new immunotherapy target and develop corresponding intervention strategies. Bioinformatics analysis has revealed that growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is highly expressed in HCC and is closely related to poor prognosis of HCC patients. The previous study revealed that GDF15 can promote immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, knocking out GDF15 through gene editing could potentially reverse the suppressive tumor immune microenvironment permanently. To deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 system specifically to HCC, nanocapsules (SNC) coated with HCC targeting peptides (SP94) on their surface is utilized. These nanocapsules incorporate disulfide bonds (SNCSS) that release their contents in the tumor microenvironment characterized by high levels of glutathione (GSH). In vivo, the SNCSS target HCC cells, exert a marked inhibitory effect on HCC progression, and promote HCC immunotherapy. Mechanistically, CyTOF analysis showed favorable changes in the immune microenvironment of HCC, immunocytes with killer function increased and immunocytes with inhibitive function decreased. These findings highlight the potential of the CRISPR‐Cas9 gene editing system in modulating the immune microenvironment and improving the effectiveness of existing immunotherapy approaches for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of object detection, segmentation, and categorization in computer vision. These tasks are crucial for interpreting visual data and are widely used in areas such as autonomous driving, medical imaging, and surveillance. Traditional methods have limitations, but recent advancements in artificial intelligence and deep learning have led to more efficient and accurate algorithms. The article also highlights specific contributions in various fields, such as logo detection, clustering, underwater object detection, and remote sensing. Overall, these advancements improve the performance and applicability of computer vision technology in different domains. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: To develop a dynamic self‐attention and feature discrimination loss function (DSDF) model for identifying oral mucosal diseases presented to solve the problems of data imbalance, complex image background, and high similarity and difference of visual characteristics among different types of lesion areas. Methods: In DSDF, dynamic self‐attention network can fully mine the context information between adjacent areas, improve the visual representation of the network, and promote the network model to learn and locate the image area of interest. Then, the feature discrimination loss function is used to constrain the diversity of channel characteristics, so as to enhance the feature discrimination ability of local similar areas. Results: The experimental results show that the recognition accuracy of the proposed method for oral mucosal disease is the highest at 91.16%, and is about 6% ahead of other advanced methods. In addition, DSDF has recall of 90.87% and F1 of 90.60%. Conclusions: Convolutional neural networks can effectively capture the visual features of the oral mucosal disease lesions, and the distinguished visual features of different oral lesions can be extracted better using dynamic self‐attention and feature discrimination loss function, which is conducive to the auxiliary diagnosis of oral mucosal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cetuximab resistance has been a major challenge for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients receiving targeted therapy. However, the mechanism that causes cetuximab resistance, especially microRNA (miRNA) regulation, remains unclear. Growing evidence suggests that miRNAs may act as "nuclear activating miRNAs" for targeting promoter regions or enhancers related to target genes. This study elucidates a novel mechanism underlying cetuximab resistance in HNSCC involving the nuclear activation of KDM7A transcription via miR-451a. Herein, small RNA sequencing, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‒PCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) results provided compelling evidence of miR-451a nuclear enrichment in response to cetuximab treatment. Chromatin isolation via RNA purification, microarray analysis, and bioinformatic analysis revealed that miR-451a interacts with an enhancer region in KDM7A, activating its expression and further facilitating cetuximab resistance. It has also been demonstrated that the activation of KDM7A by nuclear miR-451a is induced by cetuximab treatment and is AGO2 dependent. Logistic regression analyses of 87 HNSCC samples indicated the significance of miR-451a and KDM7A in the development of cetuximab resistance. These discoveries support the potential of miR-451a and KDM7A as valuable biomarkers for cetuximab resistance and emphasize the function of nuclear-activating miRNAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperglycemia accelerates calcification of atherosclerotic plaques in diabetic patients, and the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is closely related to the atherosclerotic calcification. Here, we show that hyperglycemia-mediated AGEs markedly increase vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) NF90/110 activation in male diabetic patients with atherosclerotic calcified samples. VSMC-specific NF90/110 knockout in male mice decreases obviously AGEs-induced atherosclerotic calcification, along with the inhibitions of VSMC phenotypic changes to osteoblast-like cells, apoptosis, and matrix vesicle release. Mechanistically, AGEs increase the activity of NF90, which then enhances ubiquitination and degradation of AGE receptor 1 (AGER1) by stabilizing the mRNA of E3 ubiquitin ligase FBXW7, thus causing the accumulation of more AGEs and atherosclerotic calcification. Collectively, our study demonstrates the effects of VSMC NF90 in mediating the metabolic imbalance of AGEs to accelerate diabetic atherosclerotic calcification. Therefore, inhibition of VSMC NF90 may be a potential therapeutic target for diabetic atherosclerotic calcification. The accumulation of AGEs is closely related to the atherosclerotic calcification in diabetic patients. Here, the authors find that VSMC NF90 knockout attenuates diabetic atherosclerotic calcification by mediating the metabolic imbalance of AGEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiological Rapid On-Site Evaluation (M-ROSE) is based on smear staining and microscopic observation, providing critical references for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary infectious disease. Automatic identification of pathogens is the key to improving the quality and speed of M-ROSE. Recent advancements in deep learning have yielded numerous identification algorithms and datasets. However, most studies focus on artificially cultured bacteria and lack clinical data and algorithms. Therefore, we collected Gram-stained bacteria images from lower respiratory tract specimens of patients with lung infections in Chinese PLA General Hospital obtained by M-ROSE from 2018 to 2022 and desensitized images to produce 1705 images (4,912 × 3,684 pixels). A total of 4,833 cocci and 6,991 bacilli were manually labelled and differentiated into negative and positive. In addition, we applied the detection and segmentation networks for benchmark testing. Data and benchmark algorithms we provided that may benefit the study of automated bacterial identification in clinical specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reg3A is upregulated in various cancers and considered a potential target for antitumor treatments. However, the effect of Reg3A in metastasis has been elusive. This study aims to disclose the role of Reg3A overexpression in hepatic metastasis of LoVo colon cancer cells. A stable cell line of LoVo cells overexpressing Reg3A (LoVo-luc-Reg3A), labeled with luc reporter gene, was constructed. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were determined using MTT, EdU, Hoechst's staining, flow cytometry, and transwell assays, respectively. Hepatic metastasis of LoVo-luc-Reg3A cells was investigated in BALB/c nude mice. Living bioluminescence imaging, histological examination, and mRNA sequencing (mRNA-seq) were performed to assess the metastatic efficiency and gene expression alteration. Reg3A content was determined by Western blotting and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Cell attachment capacity was determined in the Matrigel culture. Reg3A overexpression did not promote LoVo cell proliferation or apoptosis, but facilitated cell migration and invasion. In the hepatic metastasis model, Reg3A overexpression increased the number of metastatic colonies. The result of mRNA-seq suggested 349 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by Reg3A upregulation, many of which were related to colon adenocarcinoma tumorigenesis compared to normal colon tissue. Gene ontology enrichment assay indicated that the DEGs are mainly associated with cell adhesion, leukocyte regulation, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, integrin binding, and STAT protein binding. Reg3A overexpression led to an enrichment of Reg3A protein in local tumor tissue of liver metastasis and ECM/intracellular space in ex vivo cultured cells. However, Reg3A concentration in serum and culture medium was relatively low. Reg3A overexpression also resulted in an increased number of cells that attach to Matrigel, which was attenuated by treatments of siRNA-Reg3A and single-chain variable fragment against Reg3A. Endogenous Reg3A overexpression facilitates hepatic metastasis of LoVo colon cancer cells. The prometastatic effect could be contributed by Reg3A enrichment in ECM, which alters the cell adhesion behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the goals of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality", this paper puts forward the connotation and measurement method for the carbon emission intensity of urban industrial land and conducts an empirical study with the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as an example. We defined the carbon intensity of urban industrial land as the industrial carbon emissions per unit area of land, which is a spatial mapping of urban industrial economic development and carbon spillover and a key indicator for urban and territorial spatial planning oriented towards the "dual carbon" goal. Findings: The carbon emission density of industrial land in the YREB varied greatly between cities and exhibited significant positive spatial autocorrelation. In addition, the geographical pattern and spatio-temporal evolution model of the urban industrial land carbon emission density had a very complex driving mechanism, and different factors had significant synergistic effects. Therefore, it is suggested that while striving towards the goal of "dual carbon", the government should incorporate the carbon emission density indicator of urban industrial land into the urban and territorial spatial planning system, and based on the threshold of the medium suitable density, they should design differentiated management policies according to concrete urban policies and encourage cooperation among cities to jointly promote carbon emission management of urban industrial land. In policy design, emphasis should also be placed on highlighting the interactive effects of foreign direct investment, fiscal expenditure, and the number of patent authorizations as well as constructing a combination of policies centered around them to better leverage the impacts of globalization, government intervention, and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lakeshore environments often preserve a rich record of Pleistocene hominin evidence, and hence are promising vantage points from which to infer hominin evolutionary pathways. However, early Pleistocene sites from fluvial-lacustrine contexts are usually palimpsests, making it essential to understand their formation processes. Focusing on the evidence from the 1.2 Ma-old site of Feiliang (Nihewan Basin, north China), this paper applies a new package of several taphonomic, spatial and fabric approaches to enable a more detailed reconstruction of site formation history. So far, many assemblages from the Nihewan fluvial-lacustrine sequence in North China have lacked this detailed kind of evaluation, even though they are important sources of evidence for hominins’ arrival and adaptations in East Asia. We conclude that the Feiliang assemblage is well preserved and has only undergone minor disturbance mainly by water flow. As various post-depositional modifications are identified at different localities, hominins used this area in varied freshwater environment, and did so recurrently for a long period. This study shows that the interpretation of site structure from lakeshore paleo-landscape should play an important role in the identifying site integrity and in extrapolating hominin behavioural patterns during early Pleistocene in the Nihewan Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor localization has long been a challenging task due to the complexity and dynamism of indoor environments. This paper proposes ULG-SLAM, a novel unsupervised learning and geometric-based visual SLAM algorithm for robot localizability estimation to improve the accuracy and robustness of visual SLAM. Firstly, a dynamic feature filtering based on unsupervised learning and moving consistency checks is developed to eliminate the features of dynamic objects. Secondly, an improved line feature extraction algorithm based on LSD is proposed to optimize the effect of geometric feature extraction. Thirdly, geometric features are used to optimize localizability estimation, and an adaptive weight model and attention mechanism are built using the method of region delimitation and region growth. Finally, to verify the effectiveness and robustness of localizability estimation, multiple indoor experiments using the EuRoC dataset and TUM RGB-D dataset are conducted. Compared with ORBSLAM2, the experimental results demonstrate that absolute trajectory accuracy can be improved by 95% for equivalent processing speed in walking sequences. In fr3/walking_xyz and fr3/walking_half, ULG-SLAM tracks more trajectories than DS-SLAM, and the ATE RMSE is improved by 36% and 6%, respectively. Furthermore, the improvement in robot localizability over DynaSLAM is noteworthy, coming in at about 11% and 3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kaladawan iron deposit is located in the North Altyn Tagh and exhibits occurrences of iron ore bodies at the contact zone between Ordovician magmatic rocks (basalts, rhyolite, and granodiorite) and marble. However, controversy persists regarding the genetic classification and metallogenic mechanism of this deposit. Through a field investigation, single mineral in situ geochemical analysis, whole-rock geochemical analysis, and Fe isotope determination, the following conclusions are made: (1) Ti-(Ni/Cr) and (V/Ti)-Fe diagrams indicate that the magnetite from all studied rocks underwent hydrothermal metasomatism, while (Ni/(Cr + Mn))-(Ti + V) and (Ca + Al + Mn)-(Ti + V) diagrams suggest a skarn origin for these magnetites. Therefore, it can be inferred that the Kaladawan iron deposit is skarn-type. (2) The iron ore exhibits similar rare-earth-element characteristics to the altered basalt. Additionally, the altered basalts (δ56Fe = 0.024~0.100‰) are more enriched in light Fe isotopes than the unaltered basalts (δ56Fe = 0.129~0.197‰) at the same location, indicating that the ore-forming materials of the Kaladawan iron ore are mainly derived from basaltic rocks. (3) According to the law of mass conservation and the intermediate Fe isotopic composition of the iron ore between the granodiorite and basalt, the hydrothermal fluid for the formation of iron ores was inferred to be derived from the late intrusive granodiorite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. In the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are pivotal for the immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME). This investigation delves into the functional transformations of TAMs within the TME by leveraging single-cell transcriptomics to pinpoint critical genes influencing TAM subset polarization. Methods. We procured single-cell and bulk transcriptomic data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), implementing quality assurance, dimensional reduction, clustering, and annotation on the single-cell sequencing data. To examine cellular interactions, CellChat was utilized, while single-cell regulatory network inference and clustering (SCENIC) was applied to deduce transcription factors (TFs) and their associated targets. Through gene enrichment, survival, and immune infiltration correlation analyses, we sought to pinpoint and validate influential genes. A TAM model under HCC conditions was then established to confirm the expression levels of these key genes. Results. Our analysis encompassed 74,742 cells and 23,110 genes. Through postdimensional reduction and clustering, we identified seven distinct cell types and nine TAM subtypes. Analysis via CellChat highlighted a predominance of M2-phenotype-inclined TAM subsets within the tumor's core. SCENIC pinpointed the transcription factor PRDM1 and its target genes as pivotal in this region. Further analysis indicated these genes' involvement in macrophage polarization. Employing trajectory analysis, survival analysis, and immune infiltration correlation, we scrutinized and validated genes likely directing M2 polarization. Experimental validation confirmed PRDM1's heightened expression in TAMs conditioned by HCC. Conclusions. Our findings suggest the PRDM1 gene is a key regulator of M2 macrophage polarization, contributing to the immunosuppressive TME in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition between yeast and hyphae is crucial for regulating the commensalism and pathogenicity in Candida albicans. The mechanisms that affect the invasion of hyphae in solid media, whose deficiency is more related to the pathogenicity of C. albicans, have not been elucidated. Here, we found that the disruption of VAM6 or VPS41 which are components of the homotypic vacuolar fusion and protein sorting (HOPS) complex, or the Rab GTPase YPT72, all responsible for vacuole fusion, led to defects in hyphal growth in both liquid and solid media, but more pronounced on solid agar. The phenotypes of vac8Δ/Δ and GTR1OE-vam6Δ/Δ mutants indicated that these deficiencies are mainly caused by the reduced mechanical forces that drive agar and organs penetration, and confirmed that large vacuoles are required for hyphal mechanical penetration. In summary, our study revealed that large vacuoles generated by vacuolar fusion support hyphal penetration and provided a perspective to refocus attention on the role of solid agar in evaluating C. albicans invasion. The transition between yeast and hyphae is crucial for the pathogenicity of Candida albicans. Here, Liu et al. show that vacuole fusion is active during hyphal extension and that large vacuoles increase the mechanical forces of hyphae penetrating into organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to investigate the effect of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) on cholinergic system integrity in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients. Nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) volume and cholinergic pathways integrity was evaluated at baseline, 1-, 2-, and 4-year follow-ups in 40 cognitively unimpaired (CU) participants, 29 MCI patients without SVD, and 23 MCI patients with SVD. We compared cholinergic markers among three groups and examined their associations with SVD burden in MCI patients. We used linear mixed models to assess longitudinal changes in cholinergic markers over time among groups. Mediation analysis was employed to investigate the mediating role of cholinergic system degeneration between SVD and cognitive impairment. Increased mean diffusivity (MD) in medial and lateral pathways was observed in MCI patients with SVD compared to those without SVD and CU participants. Both MCI groups showed decreased NBM volume compared to CU participants, while there was no significant difference between the two MCI groups. Longitudinally, compared to CU participants, MCI patients with SVD displayed a more rapid change in MD in both pathways, but not in NBM volume. Furthermore, SVD burden was associated with cholinergic pathway disruption and its faster rate of change in MCI patients. However, mediation analyses showed that cholinergic pathways did not mediate significant indirect effects of SVD burden on cognitive impairment. Our findings suggest that SVD could accelerate the degeneration of cholinergic pathways in MCI patients. However, they do not provide evidence to support that SVD could contribute to cognitive impairment through cholinergic system injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the influence of confined space size on the temperature distribution characteristics of internal window plumes from well-ventilated compartment fires was studied. Theoretical analysis was firstly used to establish a mathematical model for the smoke after ejecting from the window in the space. The study considered fire heat release rate and vertical height as dependent variables. Numerical simulations and experimental methods were carried out to study the temperature variations. A critical distance L2 was obtained. Results show that when the space D between the vertical retaining wall and the building façade is greater than L2, the variation of D has little influence on radial temperature. Once D is less than L2, the radial temperature distribution inside the confined space will tend to be consistent, and the temperature in the confined space sharply increases as D decreases. In addition, a dimensionless model was derived to quantify the relationship between temperature rise and vertical height. The experimental and numerical simulation results were processed, which are in good agreement with the model. The study can provide a framework for managing building safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Display technologies have been developed to adjust the display brightness and color under different viewing conditions, providing better viewing experiences to users. Solutions have been proposed to adjust the display white point according to the ambient light condition, which roots into the underlying chromatic adaptation mechanism in the human visual system. This study was carefully designed to reveal the necessity to consider the ambient light level and display luminance together, which affects the viewing mode, when adjusting the adaptive display white point. The results clearly suggested that when the display luminance was greater than the ambient light diffuse white luminance, the display was viewed in the self‐luminous mode and the display white point was not significantly affected by the ambient light chromaticities. In contrast, when the display luminance was lower than the ambient light diffuse white luminance, the display was viewed in the surface mode and the ambient light chromaticities had a significant effect on the display white point, especially when the surround ratio was high. Adaptive display shifts the display white point and other colors accordingly based on the ambient conditions. In addition to the ambient light color, it needs to consider the ambient light illuminance and also the relationship between ambient light illuminance and display luminance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Predicting patient mortality risk facilitates early intervention in intensive care unit (ICU) patients at greater risk of disease progression. This study applies machine learning methods to multidimensional clinical data to dynamically predict mortality risk in ICU patients. Methods: A total of 33,798 patients in the MIMIC-III database were collected. An integrated model NIMRF (Network Integrating Memory Module and Random Forest) based on multidimensional variables such as vital sign variables and laboratory variables was developed to predict the risk of death for ICU patients in four non overlapping time windows of 0–1 h, 1–3 h, 3–6 h, and 6–12 h. Mortality risk in four nonoverlapping time windows of 12 h was externally validated on data from 889 patients in the respiratory critical care unit of the Chinese PLA General Hospital and compared with LSTM, random forest and time-dependent cox regression model (survival analysis) methods. We also interpret the developed model to obtain important factors for predicting mortality risk across time windows. The code can be found in https://github.com/wyuexiao/NIMRF. Results: The NIMRF model developed in this study could predict the risk of death in four nonoverlapping time windows (0–1 h, 1–3 h, 3–6 h, 6–12 h) after any time point in ICU patients, and in internal data validation, it is suggested that the model is more accurate than LSTM, random forest prediction and time-dependent cox regression model (area under receiver operating characteristic curve, or AUC, 0–1 h: 0.8015 [95% CI 0.7725–0.8304] vs. 0.7144 [95%] CI 0.6824–0.7464] vs. 0.7606 [95% CI 0.7300–0.7913] vs 0.3867 [95% CI 0.3573–0.4161]; 1–3 h: 0.7100 [95% CI 0.6777–0.7423] vs. 0.6389 [95% CI 0.6055–0.6723] vs. 0.6992 [95% CI 0.6667–0.7318] vs 0.3854 [95% CI 0.3559–0.4150]; 3–6 h: 0.6760 [95% CI 0.6425–0.7097] vs. 0.5964 [95% CI 0.5622–0.6306] vs. 0.6760 [95% CI 0.6427–0.7099] vs 0.3967 [95% CI 0.3662–0.4271]; 6–12 h: 0.6380 [0.6031–0.6729] vs. 0.6032 [0.5705–0.6406] vs. 0.6055 [0.5682–0.6383] vs 0.4023 [95% CI 0.3709–0.4337]). External validation was performed on the data of patients in the respiratory critical care unit of the Chinese PLA General Hospital. Compared with LSTM, random forest and time-dependent cox regression model, the NIMRF model was still the best, with an AUC of 0.9366 [95% CI 0.9157–0.9575 for predicting death risk in 0–1 h]. The corresponding AUCs of LSTM, random forest and time-dependent cox regression model were 0.9263 [95% CI 0.9039–0.9486], 0.7437 [95% CI 0.7083–0.7791] and 0.2447 [95% CI 0.2202–0.2692], respectively. Interpretation of the model revealed that vital signs (systolic blood pressure, heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, and body temperature) were highly correlated with events of death. Conclusion: Using the NIMRF model can integrate ICU multidimensional variable data, especially vital sign variable data, to accurately predict the death events of ICU patients. These predictions can assist clinicians in choosing more timely and precise treatment methods and interventions and, more importantly, can reduce invasive procedures and save medical costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In real-world scenarios, obtaining the relationships between nodes is often challenging, resulting in incomplete network topology. This limitation significantly reduces the applicability of community detection methods, particularly neighborhood aggregation-based approaches, on structurally incomplete networks. Therefore, in this situation, it is crucial to obtain meaningful community information from the limited network structure. To address this challenge, the LPGSE algorithm was designed and implemented, which includes four parts: link prediction, structure observation, network estimation, and community partitioning. LPGSE demonstrated its performance in community detection in structurally incomplete networks with 10% missing edges on multiple datasets. Compared with traditional community detection algorithms, LPGSE achieved improvements in NMI and ARI metrics of 1.5781% to 29.0780% and 0.4332% to 31.9820%, respectively. Compared with similar community detection algorithms for structurally incomplete networks, LPGSE also outperformed other algorithms on all datasets. In addition, different edge-missing ratio settings were also attempted, and the performance of different algorithms in these situations was compared and analyzed. The results showed that the algorithm can still maintain high accuracy and stability in community detection across different edge-missing ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]