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Single‐atom catalysts have garnered significant attention due to their exceptional atom utilization and unique properties. However, the practical application of these catalysts is often impeded by challenges such as sintering‐induced instability and poisoning of isolated atoms due to strong gas adsorption. In this study, we employed the mechanochemical method to insert single Cu atoms into the subsurface of Fe2O3 support. By manipulating the location of single atoms at the surface or subsurface, catalysts with distinct adsorption properties and reaction mechanisms can be achieved. It was observed that the subsurface Cu single atoms in Fe2O3 remained isolated under both oxidation and reduction environments, whereas surface Cu single atoms on Fe2O3 experienced sintering under reduction conditions. The unique properties of these subsurface single‐atom catalysts call for innovations and new understandings in catalyst design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single‐atom catalysts have garnered significant attention due to their exceptional atom utilization and unique properties. However, the practical application of these catalysts is often impeded by challenges such as sintering‐induced instability and poisoning of isolated atoms due to strong gas adsorption. In this study, we employed the mechanochemical method to insert single Cu atoms into the subsurface of Fe2O3 support. By manipulating the location of single atoms at the surface or subsurface, catalysts with distinct adsorption properties and reaction mechanisms can be achieved. It was observed that the subsurface Cu single atoms in Fe2O3 remained isolated under both oxidation and reduction environments, whereas surface Cu single atoms on Fe2O3 experienced sintering under reduction conditions. The unique properties of these subsurface single‐atom catalysts call for innovations and new understandings in catalyst design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The particle size distribution (PSD) of eroded sediment can effectively reflect changes in erosion processes. Hedgerows provide significant soil and water conservation benefits and influence erosion processes. However, the impact of hedgerows on the PSD of eroded sediment remains unclear. Therefore, three slope conditions (control check, CK; only hedgerow root, R; and whole hedgerow, P) involving the configuration of two slope gradients (15 and 25°) were established, and simulated rainfall experiments were conducted under three rainfall intensities (60, 90, and 120 mm/h). The PSD, sediment sorting process, and sediment particle agglomeration degree under the different slope conditions were compared to evaluate the influence of hedgerows on the size selectivity of eroded sediment during water erosion. Moreover, the direct and indirect effects of hedgerows on the sorting process and sediment particle agglomeration degree were revealed via correlation analysis and partial least squares path modelling (PLS–PM). Compared with those under CK slope conditions, the average clay, fine silt, and coarse silt contents under R slope conditions decreased by 1.37%, 0.06%, and 1.71%, respectively, whereas the sand content increased by 0.46%. Under P slope conditions, the average clay, fine silt, and coarse silt contents increased by 32.61%, 38.71%, and 36.14%, respectively, whereas the average sand content decreased by 47.30%. Under CK slope conditions, sediment sorting occurred primarily during the early stages of rainfall. R slope conditions caused an increase in the duration of early‐stage sediment sorting but caused a reduction in the degree of sorting, whereas P slope conditions exhibited interceptive sorting of sand throughout the rainfall event. Under R slope conditions, more aggregates were dispersed into individual particles due to raindrop impact, whereas under P slope conditions, more fine particles aggregated initially, but loose aggregates were dispersed into individual particles during the later rainfall stages. The enrichment rates of fine silt and coarse silt were positively correlated with slope conditions, whereas they were negatively correlated with the enrichment rate of sand. However, there was no significant relationship between the slope conditions and the aggregation rates of particles of various sizes. PLS–PM indicated that hedgerows directly and indirectly affect sorting processes and sediment particle agglomeration degree by regulating runoff and sediment erosion, and the direct effects exceed the indirect effects. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the influential mechanisms of hedgerows on controlling soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates shock wave load characteristics from condensed phase explosive detonations in deep-water environments using a high-order compressible multiphase solver. Spatial terms of the solver are discretized by fifth-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory reconstruction in characteristic space, while a third-order total variation diminishing Runge–Kutta method is adopted to deal with the temporal terms. The level-set method captures multiphase interfaces, while a programed burn model describes detonation wave generation. Numerical and experimental validations focus on shock waves in explosives interacting with water. Validations across shallow and deep-water conditions align numerical results with theoretical and experimental values. The solver examines shock wave characteristics across varied charge masses and water depths, revealing peak pressure deviations under identical conditions. The numerical simulation results indicate that the similarity of shock wave loads in underwater explosions is evident not only in peak pressures but also in the pressure–time history curves. Through extensive comparative analysis of results, it has been found that existing formulas for calculating shock wave positive pressure durations are not applicable to deep-water explosions. The research findings and analytical methods presented in this paper can serve as crucial references for further studies on the characteristics of shock wave loads in deep-water explosions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are a challenging type of lung cancer due to their varied clinical features and aggressive behavior. This study aimed to find specific metabolomic profiles in the blood of patients with different subtypes of lung NENs, which could help in early diagnosis. By analyzing 153 metabolites in the plasma of 120 NEN patients and comparing them with healthy individuals and patients with other lung cancers, we identified specific metabolic changes. These findings could lead to new biomarkers for early detection and better management of lung NENs, ultimately improving patient outcomes. Background/Objectives: Pulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) account for 20% of malignant lung tumors. Their management is challenging due to their diverse clinical features and aggressive nature. Currently, metabolomics offers a range of potential cancer biomarkers for diagnosis, monitoring tumor progression, and assessing therapeutic response. However, a specific metabolomic profile for early diagnosis of lung NENs has yet to be identified. This study aims to identify specific metabolomic profiles that can serve as biomarkers for early diagnosis of lung NENs. Methods: We measured 153 metabolites using liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in the plasma of 120 NEN patients and compared them with those of 71 healthy individuals. Additionally, we compared these profiles with those of 466 patients with non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) to ensure clinical relevance. Results: We identified 21 metabolites with consistently altered plasma concentrations in NENs. Compared to healthy controls, 18 metabolites were specific to carcinoid tumors, 5 to small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs), and 10 to large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNECs). These findings revealed alterations in various metabolic pathways, such as fatty acid biosynthesis and beta-oxidation, the Warburg effect, and the citric acid cycle. Conclusions: Our study identified biomarker metabolites in the plasma of patients with each subtype of lung NENs and demonstrated significant alterations in several metabolic pathways. These metabolomic profiles could potentially serve as biomarkers for early diagnosis and better management of lung NENs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific assessment of soil quality is the foundation of sustainable vegetation eco-restoration in engineering disturbed areas. This study aimed to find a qualitative and comprehensive method for assessing soil quality after vegetation eco-restoration in engineering disturbed areas. Sixteen soil indicators were used at six vegetation eco-restoration sites as the potential soil indicators. A minimum data set (MDS) and revised minimum data set (RMDS) were determined by principal component analysis. Six soil quality indices (SQIs) of varying scoring functions based on different data sets were employed in this study. Significant positive correlations were observed among all six SQIs, indicating that the effects of different vegetation eco-restoration measures on soil quality could be quantified by all six SQIs. The SQI values of the vegetation concrete eco-restoration slope (VC), frame beam filling soil slope (FB), thick layer base material spraying slope (TB), and external-soil spray seeding slope (SS) were all significantly higher than the SQI value of the abandoned slag slope (AS). It is noteworthy that the SQIs of the VC and TB sites were also significantly higher than the SQI of the natural forest (NF) site. These results indicate that the application of artificial remediation measures can significantly improve the soil quality of the disturbed area at the Xiangjiaba hydropower station. The results of this study also indicate that the SQI-NLRM method is a practical and accurate quantitative tool for soil quality assessment and is recommended for evaluating soil quality under various vegetation eco-restoration techniques in disturbance areas at the Xiangjiaba hydropower station and in other areas with similar habitat characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tin dioxide (SnO2), one of the best electron transport layer materials for perovskite solar cells (PSCs), has high electrical conductivity and low photocatalytic activity. However, the defects in its inside and surface result in nonradiative recombination at the SnO2/perovskite interface. Complex and time‐consuming passivation methods are not conducive to the commercialization of PSCs, and simple passivation strategies should be used to improve the photovoltaic performance of the devices. Herein, a facile and efficient method is proposed to simultaneously passivate the inside and surface defects by adding histidine (HIS) to SnO2 colloidal solution. This one‐step doping strategy also modulates carrier dynamics at the SnO2/perovskite interface. HIS reduces suspended hydroxyl groups, oxygen vacancies, and uncoordinated Sn4+ defects on the surface of SnO2, as well as uncoordinated Pb2+ and halogen vacancy defects at the buried interface of perovskite. Surprisingly, HIS can prevent perovskite from decomposition to form PbI2, which further decomposes to photoactive metallic Pb0 and I, causing ion migration in PSC. As a result, the PSC efficiency has significantly improved 23.11% after HIS doping. The efficiency of unencapsulated device with HIS is 94% of the primary efficiency after storage in relative humidity = 70 ± 5% for 1000 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate long time asymptotics of the modified Camassa–Holm equation in three transition zones under a nonzero background. The first transition zone lies between the soliton region and the first oscillatory region, the second one lies between the second oscillatory region and the fast decay region, and possibly, the third one, namely, the collisionless shock region, that bridges the first transition region and the first oscillatory region. Under a low regularity condition on the initial data, we obtain Painlevé‐type asymptotic formulae in the first two transition regions, while the transient asymptotics in the third region involves the Jacobi theta function. We establish our results by performing a ∂¯$\bar{\partial }$ nonlinear steepest descent analysis to the associated Riemann–Hilbert problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If a Lie group admits a left invariant Randers metric of scalar flag curvature, then it is called of scalar Randers type. In this paper we determine all simply connected three dimensional Lie groups of scalar Randers type. It turns out that such groups must also admit a left invariant Riemannian metric with constant sectional curvature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis is a new type of programmed cell death, which has been involved in the progression of tumours. However, the regulatory network of ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer is still largely unknown. Here, using datasets from GEO and TCGA, we screened HSPB1, related to the P450 monooxygenase signalling, a fuel of ferroptosis, to be a candidate gene for regulating pancreatic cancer cell ferroptosis. We found that HSPB1 was enriched in the exosomes derived from human pancreatic cancer cell lines SW1990 and Panc‐1. Then, hypoxic SW1990 cells were incubated with exosomes alone or together with HSPB1 siRNA (si‐HSPB1), and we observed that exosomes promoted cell proliferation and invasion and suppressed ferroptosis, which was reversed by si‐HSPB1. Moreover, we found a potential binding affinity between HSPB1 and FUS, verified their protein interaction by using dual‐colour fluorescence colocalization and co‐IP assays, and demonstrated the promoting effect of FUS on oxidative stress and ferroptosis in hypoxic SW1990 cells. Subsequently, FUS was demonstrated to bind with and stabilize the mRNA of Nrf2, a famous anti‐ferroptosis gene that negatively regulates the level of P450. Furthermore, overexpressing FUS and activating the Nrf2/HO‐1 pathway (using NK‐252) both reversed the inhibitory effect of si‐HSPB1 on exosome functions. Finally, our in vivo studies showed that exosome administration promote tumour growth in nude mice of xenotransplantation, which was able to be eliminated by knockdown of HSPB1. In conclusion, exosomal HSPB1 interacts with the RNA binding protein FUS and decreases FUS‐mediated stability of Nrf2 mRNA, thus suppressing hypoxia‐induced ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis is expected to be a therapeutic target for cancers including pancreatic cancer. We aimed to screen genes that regulate ferroptosis and doxycycline resistance in pancreatic cancer and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify genes that respond to ferroptosis in two human pancreatic cancer cells with GOT1 knocked down or not. 325 and 842 genes were upregulated in MiaPaCa and Tu8902 cells in response to GOT1 knockdown, with 43 genes shared. Among the 43 genes, 14 genes were identified to interact with ferroptosis key genes. MB and HMOX1 were the genes most sensitive to Erastin and doxycycline. Moreover, MB and HMOX1 expression was higher in human normal pancreatic duct epithelial cells than in pancreatic cancer cells. MB and HMOX1 proteins physically bound and promoted each other's expression. By interacting with HMOX1, MB suppressed pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, colony formation and invasion, and promoted cell ferroptosis and sensitivity to erastin and doxycycline. Silencing HMOX1 reversed the promoting effect of MB on cell ferroptosis and sensitivity to doxycycline. A pancreatic cancer xenograft model was established by subcutaneous injection of Panc‐1 cells transfected with or without Ad‐MB, and doxycycline was administered intraperitoneally. Overexpression of MB enhanced the inhibitory effect of doxycycline on xenograft growth. In conclusion, MB facilitated doxycycline sensitivity in pancreatic cancer cells through promoting HMOX1‐mediated ferroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium–sulfur batteries are an emerging technology. With their elevated theoretical energy density, enhanced safety, and cost-efficiency, they have the ability to transform the energy storage market. This review investigates the obstacles and progress made in the field of electrolytes which are especially designed for magnesium–sulfur batteries. The primary focus of the review lies in identifying electrolytes that can facilitate the reversible electroplating and stripping of Mg2+ ions whilst maintaining compatibility with sulfur cathodes and other battery components. The review also addresses the critical issue of managing the shuttle effect on soluble magnesium polysulfide by looking at the innovative engineering methods used at the sulfur cathode's interface and in the microstructure design, both of which can enhance the reaction kinetics and overall battery efficiency. This review emphasizes the significance of reaction mechanism analysis from the recent studies on magnesium–sulfur batteries. Through analysis of the insights proposed in the latest literature, this review identifies the gaps in the current research and suggests future directions which can enhance the electrochemical performance of Mg-S batteries. Our analysis highlights the importance of innovative electrolyte solutions and provides a deeper understanding of the reaction mechanisms in order to overcome the existing barriers and pave the way for the practical application of Mg-S battery technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by using of the Hirota bilinear method and the long wave limit method, we consider elastic interactions and resonant interactions of a lump and two parallel line solitary waves of the (4+1)-dimensional Fokas equation. We find that the phase shifts of the obtained lumps play an important role in the interactions and three different types of elastic interactions are obtained when the phase shifts are larger than zero. When the phase shifts tend to infinity, we find partially resonant interactions and completely resonant interactions of a lump and two parallel line solitary waves. The asymptotic interaction behaviors of the obtained solutions are analyzed in detail and illustrated graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related Tauopathies are characterised by the pathologically hyperphosphorylated and aggregated microtubule‐associated protein Tau, which is accompanied by neuroinflammation mediated by activated microglia. However, the role of Tau pathology in microglia activation or their causal relationship remains largely elusive. Methods: The levels of nucleotide‐binding oligomerisation domain (NOD)‐like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) acetylation and inflammasome activation in multiple cell models with Tau proteins treatment, transgenic mice with Tauopathy, and AD patients were measured by Western blotting and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the acetyltransferase activity of Tau and NLRP3 acetylation sites were confirmed using the test‐tube acetylation assay, co‐immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence (IF) staining, mass spectrometry and molecular docking. The Tau‐overexpressing mouse model was established by overexpression of human Tau proteins in mouse hippocampal CA1 neurons through the adeno‐associated virus injection. The cognitive functions of Tau‐overexpressing mice were assessed in various behavioural tests, and microglia activation was analysed by Iba‐1 IF staining and [18F]‐DPA‐714 positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging. A peptide that blocks the interaction between Tau and NLRP3 was synthesised to determine the in vitro and in vivo effects of Tau–NLRP3 interaction blockade on NLRP3 acetylation, inflammasome activation, microglia activation and cognitive function. Results: Excessively elevated NLRP3 acetylation and inflammasome activation were observed in 3xTg‐AD mice, microtubule‐associated protein Tau P301S (PS19) mice and AD patients. It was further confirmed that mimics of 'early' phosphorylated‐Tau proteins which increase at the initial stage of diseases with Tauopathy, including TauT181E, TauS199E, TauT217E and TauS262E, significantly promoted Tau–K18 domain acetyltransferase activity‐dependent NLRP3 acetylation and inflammasome activation in HEK293T and BV‐2 microglial cells. In addition, Tau protein could directly acetylate NLRP3 at the K21, K22 and K24 sites at its PYD domain and thereby induce inflammasome activation in vitro. Overexpression of human Tau proteins in mouse hippocampal CA1 neurons resulted in impaired cognitive function, Tau transmission to microglia and microgliosis with NLRP3 acetylation and inflammasome activation. As a targeted intervention, competitive binding of a designed Tau–NLRP3‐binding blocking (TNB) peptide to block the interaction of Tau protein with NLRP3 inhibited the NLRP3 acetylation and downstream inflammasome activation in microglia, thereby alleviating microglia activation and cognitive impairment in mice. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings provide evidence for a novel role of Tau in the regulation of microglia activation through acetylating NLRP3, which has potential implications for early intervention and personalised treatment of AD and related Tauopathies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The housing problem of young people is one of the manifestations of the imbalanced and insufficient development of China's housing market. Solving housing issues for young people and improving their living conditions is of great significance for promoting the sustainable and healthy development of the real estate market. In order to analyze the housing issues of young people in China during the post-pandemic era, this paper investigates young people in the Nanjing Metropolitan Coordinating Region through questionnaires and interviews. The content of the questionnaire survey mainly includes the current housing situation, choice of renting or purchasing a home, expectations of real estate market, and future plans for purchasing a house of young people. The research results indicate that there are problems in the current housing market, such as strong purchasing preferences, imbalanced supply structure in the rental market, limited financial support for purchasing housing, low housing security levels, and small coverage of the housing provident fund. In order to solve the housing problems of young people, government departments should actively promote the formation of a multi-level housing supply structure, accelerate the promotion of the same rights for renting and purchasing, establish a standardized housing rental market, optimize the housing security policy for young people, and expand the coverage of the housing provident fund. The findings of this study have significant policy implications for easing the housing pressure on young people and building a youth-development-oriented city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal pathological conditions such as infections and chronic diseases, along with unexpected events during labor, can lead to life-threatening perinatal outcomes. These outcomes can have irreversible consequences throughout an individual's entire life. Urinary metabolomics can provide valuable insights into early physiological adaptations in healthy newborns, as well as metabolic disturbances in premature infants or infants with birth complications. In the present study, we measured 180 metabolites and metabolite ratios in the urine of 13 healthy (hospital-discharged) and 38 critically ill newborns (admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)). We used an in-house-developed targeted tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS)-based metabolomic assay (TMIC Mega) combining liquid chromatography (LC-MS/MS) and flow injection analysis (FIA-MS/MS) to quantitatively analyze up to 26 classes of compounds. Average urinary concentrations (and ranges) for 167 different metabolites from 38 critically ill NICU newborns during their first 24 h of life were determined. Similar sets of urinary values were determined for the 13 healthy newborns. These reference data have been uploaded to the Human Metabolome Database. Urinary concentrations and ranges of 37 metabolites are reported for the first time for newborns. Significant differences were found in the urinary levels of 44 metabolites between healthy newborns and those admitted at the NICU. Metabolites such as acylcarnitines, amino acids and derivatives, biogenic amines, sugars, and organic acids are dysregulated in newborns with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), asphyxia, or newborns exposed to SARS-CoV-2 during the intrauterine period. Urine can serve as a valuable source of information for understanding metabolic alterations associated with life-threatening perinatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of boundary-layer transition with slight rarefaction for high-speed aircraft has recently received increased attention. In this paper, the stability and resonant interactions of boundary-layer waves for a Mach 5 flat plate under the slip effect are investigated using direct numerical simulation (DNS) and linear stability theory (LST). The slip effect is modelled by slip boundary conditions within the Navier-Stokes (NS) framework, and an LST method considering wall perturbations for both no-slip and slip flows is established. The present numerical results indicate that the slip effect has a consistent impact on the stability of fast and slow modes as obtained from DNS and current LST. In addition, the DNS results show that the slip effect delays the conversion of mode F1 to mode S led by their resonance, and enhances the resonant interactions between fast mode waves and fast acoustic waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is the world's largest resource of animal proteins and is thought to be a high-quality resource for future marine healthy foods and functional products. Therefore, Antarctic krill was degreased and separately hydrolyzed using flavourzyme, pepsin, papain, and alcalase. Protein hydrolysate (AKH) of Antarctic krill prepared by trypsin showed the highest Ca-chelating rate under the optimized chelating conditions: a pH of 8.0, reaction time of 50 min, temperature of 50 °C, and material/calcium ratio of 1:15. Subsequently, fourteen Ca-chelating peptides were isolated from APK by ultrafiltration and a series of chromatographic methods and identified as AK, EAR, AEA, VERG, VAS, GPK, SP, GPKG, APRGH, GVPG, LEPGP, LEKGA, FPPGR, and GEPG with molecular weights of 217.27, 374.40, 289.29, 459.50, 275.30, 300.36, 202.21, 357.41, 536.59, 328.37, 511.58, 516.60, 572.66, and 358.35 Da, respectively. Among fourteen Ca-chelating peptides, VERG presented the highest Ca-chelating ability. Ultraviolet spectrum (UV), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis indicated that the VERG-Ca chelate had a dense granular structure because the N-H, C=O and -COOH groups of VERG combined with Ca2+. Moreover, the VERG-Ca chelate is stable in gastrointestinal digestion and can significantly improve Ca transport in Caco-2 cell monolayer experiments, but phytate could significantly reduce the absorption of Ca derived from the VERG-Ca chelate. Therefore, Ca-chelating peptides from protein hydrolysate of Antarctic krill possess the potential to serve as a Ca supplement in developing healthy foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic CsPbI3 quantum dots (QDs) have received increasing attention for their application in new‐generation solar cells. However, their poor phase stability due to the small ionic radius of Cs and their inhomogeneous energy landscape on the QD surface during ligand exchange remain as bottlenecks for the practical application of CsPbI3 QD photovoltaics. Herein, the unfavorable octahedral distortion is effectively suppressed by riveting dimethylammonium hydroiodide (DMAI) into the lattice structure. Moreover, DMAI reconstructs the surface ligands to create an ultrathin matrix that encloses the QDs. The ultrathin DMAI matrix effectively passivates the vacancy defects and allows efficient coupling and charge transport in the QD films. As a result, the CsPbI3 QD solar cell yields an efficiency approaching 15%. In addition, the increase in the Goldschmidt tolerance factor enhances the stability of the octahedral structure, resulting in significantly improved device stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and is widely used in industrial plastics. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), distinguished by maternal pruritus and elevated serum bile acid levels, is linked to unfavorable pregnancy consequences. Few studies have investigated the potential effect of gestational DEHP exposure on the cholestasis in pregnant female mice, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, a mouse model of cholestasis during pregnancy was established by DEHP exposure. We found that DEHP induces elevated bile acid levels by affecting bile acid synthesis and transporter receptor expression in the maternal liver and placenta of pregnant female mice, ultimately leading to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). In addition, DEHP changed the bile acid composition of maternal serum and liver as well as placenta and amniotic fluid in pregnant female mice; Importantly, we found that DEHP down-regulates the expression of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), which is considered to be a bile acid receptor. FXR agonist obeticholic acid (OCA) effectively alleviated the adverse effects of DEHP on pregnant female mice. While, OCA itself had no adverse effects on normal pregnant female mice. In summary, DEHP could induces bile acid disorder and IUGR in pregnant female mice by affect FXR, which was reversed by OCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and is widely used in industrial plastics. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), distinguished by maternal pruritus and elevated serum bile acid levels, is linked to unfavorable pregnancy consequences. Few studies have investigated the potential effect of gestational DEHP exposure on the cholestasis in pregnant female mice, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, a mouse model of cholestasis during pregnancy was established by DEHP exposure. We found that DEHP induces elevated bile acid levels by affecting bile acid synthesis and transporter receptor expression in the maternal liver and placenta of pregnant female mice, ultimately leading to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). In addition, DEHP changed the bile acid composition of maternal serum and liver as well as placenta and amniotic fluid in pregnant female mice; Importantly, we found that DEHP down-regulates the expression of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), which is considered to be a bile acid receptor. FXR agonist obeticholic acid (OCA) effectively alleviated the adverse effects of DEHP on pregnant female mice. While, OCA itself had no adverse effects on normal pregnant female mice. In summary, DEHP could induces bile acid disorder and IUGR in pregnant female mice by affect FXR, which was reversed by OCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The optimization of glucose control in type-1 diabetes is challenged by postprandial glycemic variability. This study aimed to compare the postprandial glycemic effects of carbohydrate counting and the modified fat-protein unit (FPU) algorithms following meals with different protein and fat emphases in adults with type-1 diabetes. Methods: Thirty adults with type-1 diabetes aged 18 to 45 years participated in a randomized crossover trial. In a random order, participants consumed four test meals with equivalent energy and different macronutrient emphases on four separate mornings. The modified FPU algorithms and carbohydrate counting were used to determine the insulin dose for the test meals. A continuous glucose monitoring system was used to measured postprandial glycemia. Results: Compared with carbohydrate counting, the modified FPU algorithm significantly decreased the late postprandial mean glucose levels (p = 0.026) in high protein-fat meals. The number of hypoglycemia episodes was similar between insulin dosing algorithms for the high protein-fat meals; hypoglycemic events were considerably higher for the modified FPU in the normal protein-fat meal (p = 0.042). Conclusions: The modified FPU algorithm may improve postprandial glycemic control after consuming high protein-fat meals in adults with type-1 diabetes but may result in increased hypoglycemia risk when used with a normal protein-fat meal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merging activities at freeway merging areas can cause significant recurrent and non‐recurrent bottleneck congestion due to vehicles' mandatory lateral conflicts. The Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs), with their capabilities of real‐time communication and precise trajectory control, hold great potential to prevent or mitigate such critical conflicts at merging areas. However, the performance of CAVs may be impaired by the imbalance of lane flow distribution, and non‐cooperative movements of Human‐driven Vehicles (HDVs) in the mixed traffic environment (i.e. traffic mixed with CAVs and HDVs). In this paper, a novel two‐level hierarchical traffic control framework for multilane merging areas under the mixed traffic environment is developed. Note that this paper assumes that the merging sequence is determined by the high control level and focuses on the low level of the control framework. The low control level not only establishes a trajectory optimization strategy for CAVs with lane‐changing optimization and cooperative merging control, but includes a human‐like merging strategy for HDVs. First, to balance downstream lane flow distribution and provide sufficient merging space for on‐ramp vehicles, a lane‐changing optimization method is proposed to choose a certain number of designated mainline CAVs to perform early lane changes at the upstream mainline. Second, a cooperative merging control method is presented to optimize the longitudinal trajectories of both mainline and on‐ramp CAVs while accounting for the movement of HDVs. Third, Gipps car‐following model and heuristic control are combined to represent the HDVs' merging maneuvers. The proposed algorithm simulates and performs merging maneuvers at a typical two‐lane freeway merging area and verifies it in various scenarios considering demand level, demand splits and CAV Penetration Rate (PR). The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively facilitate merging operations, reduce the Total Travel Time (TTT), and increase the Average Travel Speeds (ATS) compared to other merging algorithms. Specifically, compared to the case of using only cooperative merging control method, the proposed algorithm can further reduce TTT by 25.5% and increase ATS by 33.38%. When PR gradually increased, the control performance of the proposed algorithm can be further improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfide electrolyte-based all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) are potential next generation energy storage technology due to the high ionic conductivity of sulfide electrolytes and potentially improved energy density and safety. However, the performance of ASSBs at/below subzero temperatures has not been explored systematically. Herein, low temperature (LT) performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811)|Li9.54Si1.74P1.44S11.7Cl0.3 (LiSPSCl)|Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) ASSBs was investigated. By charging the ASSB to 6 V at −40 °C, a capacity of 100.7 mAh·g−1 at 20 mA·g−1 was achieved, which is much higher than that charged to 4.3 V (4.6 mAh·g−1) at −40 °C. Moreover, atomic resolution microscopy revealed that the NCM811 remained almost intact even after being charged to 6 V. In contrast, NCM811 was entirely destructed when charged to 6 V at room temperature. The sharp difference arises from the large internal charge transfer resistance at LT which requires high voltage to overcome. Nevertheless, such high voltage is not harmful to the active material but beneficial to extracting most energy out of the ASSBs at LT. We also demonstrated that thinner electrolyte is favorable for LT operation of ASSBs due to the reduced ion transfer distance. This work provides new strategies to boost the capacity and energy density of sulfide-based ASSBs at LT for dedicated LT applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hard edge Pearcey process is universal in random matrix theory and many other stochastic models. This paper deals with the gap probability for the thinned/unthinned hard edge Pearcey process over the interval (0, s) by working on a 3 × 3 matrix-valued Riemann–Hilbert problem for the relevant Fredholm determinants. We establish an integral representation of the gap probability via the Hamiltonian related to a new system of coupled differential equations. Together with some remarkable differential identities for the Hamiltonian, we derive the large gap asymptotics for the thinned hard edge Pearcey process, including the explicitly evaluation of the constant factor in terms of the Barnes G-function. As an application, we also obtain the asymptotic statistical properties of the counting function for the hard edge Pearcey process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To derive the Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome classification and subgroup syndrome characteristics of ischemic stroke patients. Methods: By extracting the CM clinical electronic medical records (EMRs) of 7,170 hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke from 2016 to 2018 at Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Province, China, a patient similarity network (PSN) was constructed based on the symptomatic phenotype of the patients. Thereafter the efficient community detection method BGLL was used to identify subgroups of patients. Finally, subgroups with a large number of cases were selected to analyze the specific manifestations of clinical symptoms and CM syndromes in each subgroup. Results: Seven main subgroups of patients with specific symptom characteristics were identified, including M3, M2, M1, M5, M0, M29 and M4. M3 and M0 subgroups had prominent posterior circulatory symptoms, while M3 was associated with autonomic disorders, and M4 manifested as anxiety; M2 and M4 had motor and motor coordination disorders; M1 had sensory disorders; M5 had more obvious lung infections; M29 had a disorder of consciousness. The specificity of CM syndromes of each subgroup was as follows. M3, M2, M1, M0, M29 and M4 all had the same syndrome as wind phlegm pattern; M3 and M0 both showed hyperactivity of Gan (Liver) yang pattern; M2 and M29 had similar syndromes, which corresponded to intertwined phlegm and blood stasis pattern and phlegm-stasis obstructing meridians pattern, respectively. The manifestations of CM syndromes often appeared in a combination of 2 or more syndrome elements. The most common combination of these 7 subgroups was wind-phlegm. The 7 subgroups of CM syndrome elements were specifically manifested as pathogenic wind, pathogenic phlegm, and deficiency pathogens. Conclusions: There were 7 main symptom similarity-based subgroups in ischemic stroke patients, and their specific characteristics were obvious. The main syndromes were wind phlegm pattern and hyperactivity of Gan yang pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inerter is a novel type of mechanical element. As the important composition of vibration control systems, inerters are widely used. Meanwhile, the operation security issue of the inerter is becoming increasingly prominent. Dynamic-breakdown of the inerter (DBoI) means that the inerter's two terminals come into contact, which can cause a huge impact force and destroy the system. The ball-screw inerter is an essential protype of inerters. The existence of dynamic-breakdown of a single inerter has been already proved by previous research. To confirm whether DBoI exists in the inerter-spring-damper (ISD) system, the research focuses on the dynamic-breakdown of a ball-screw inerter (DBoBSI) in the ISD system. The dynamic model of the DBoI in the ISD system is established and analyzed. On account of the model and analysis, DBoBSI is analyzed. A novel experimental system is established and experiments of DBoBSI in the ISD system are carried out. The coefficient of restitution et changes slightly with a value of about 0.5. The variation of momentum is nearly equal to the impulse, with an error within 15%. On account of the experimental data collected, the conclusions are that there is a DBoBSI in the ISD system, and the impact force during DBoI in the ISD system ought to be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enrichment of social media expression makes multimodal sentiment analysis a research hotspot. However, modality heterogeneity brings great difficulties to effective cross-modal fusion, especially the modality alignment problem and the uncontrolled vector offset during fusion. In this paper, we propose a bimodal multi-head attention network (BMAN) based on text and audio, which adaptively captures the intramodal utterance features and complex intermodal alignment relationships. Specifically, we first set two independent unimodal encoders to extract the semantic features within each modality. Considering that different modalities deserve different weights, we further built a joint decoder to fuse the audio information into the text representation, based on learnable weights to avoid an unreasonable vector offset. The obtained cross-modal representation is used to improve the sentiment prediction performance. Experiments on both the aligned and unaligned CMU-MOSEI datasets show that our model achieves better performance than multiple baselines, and it has outstanding advantages in solving the problem of cross-modal alignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lysosomes, a central regulator of autophagy, play a critical role in tumour growth. Lysosomal protease cathepsin D can initiate apoptosis when released from lysosomes into the cytosol. In this study, we observed that Musca domestica cecropin (Mdc) 1–8 (M1‐8), a small anti‐tumour peptide derived from Mdc, inhibits hepatoma cell growth by blocking autophagy–lysosome fusion. This effect is likely achieved by targeting lysosomes to activate lysosomal protease D. Additionally, we examined whether lysosomal content and cathepsin D release were involved in M1‐8‐induced apoptosis. After exposure to M1‐8, human hepatoma HepG2 cells rapidly co‐localized with lysosomes, disrupted lysosomal integrity, caused leakage of lysosomal protease cathepsin D, caspase activation and mitochondrial membrane potential changes; and promoted cell apoptosis. Interestingly, in M1‐8‐treated HepG2 cells, autophagic protein content increased and the lysosome–autophagosome fusion was inhibited, suggesting that M1‐8 can cause apoptosis through autophagy and lysosomes. This result indicates that a small accumulation of autophagy and autolysosome inhibition in cells can cause cell death. Taken together, these data suggest a novel insight into the regulatory mechanisms of M1‐8 in autophagy and lysosomes, which may facilitate the development of M1‐8 as a potential cancer therapeutic agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead halide perovskite film exhibits excellent optoelectronic properties. The currently most common preparation method usually needs a conductive-annealing process, which inevitably leads to residual strain and defects, hindering the performance of the resulting perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this work, we develop a residual strain regulation (RSR) strategy in which an appropriate amount of ligand-capped CsPbI3 quantum dot (QD) solution is used as the antisolvent during the preparation process of (CH(NH2)2)0.95Cs0.05PbI3 perovskite films. In this strategy, not only do the lattice-matching CsPbI3 QDs act as heterogeneous nucleation centers, but also the ligands attach to the perovskite film's surface, which significantly regulates the crystallization kinetics and releases the residual strain during the annealing process. The strategy successfully delivers multiple effects: an enlarged grain size, fewer defects, reduced nonradiative recombination and higher charge transfer efficiency. Therefore, the device shows a PCE of 23.32%, higher than that of a control device of 21.61%. First-principles calculations are performed to study the electronic structure of the perovskite films under strained conditions. We believe that this facile approach provides a novel strain engineering strategy for PSC technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting rainfall-induced landslide displacement is one of the important means of disaster prevention and mitigation. Considering the Tanjiawan landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir area as the research object, the daily rainfall and soil moisture content as influencing factors, complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) was used to decompose the time series of displacement and influencing factors, followed by K-means clustering to determine the periodic displacement, random displacement, trend displacement, and their corresponding influencing factor components after decomposition. The Grey System theory was used to test the correlation between the influencing factor and decomposition displacement, and the least squares support vector machine based on particle swarm optimization (PSO-LSSVM) and the least square method were used to predict the decomposition displacement. The results showed that after decomposition and clustering, the grey relational degree between the influencing factor and the decomposition displacement is up to 0.91, which showed that the selection of the displacement decomposition and the influencing factor is reliable. A coefficient of determination of 1.00 indicated that the quadratic least squares function model can predict the trend displacement well, and the root mean squared error value of the PSO-LSSVM model predicting displacement did not exceed 21.62 mm. At the same time, compared with the prediction results without considering water content as the influencing factor, the results show that the prediction effect considering water content as the influencing factor is very reliable, and the model in this study can achieve the displacement prediction of rainfall-type landslides satisfactorily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: African colorectal cancer (CRC) rates are rising rapidly. A low-cost CRC screening approach is needed to identify CRC from non-CRC patients who should be sent for colonoscopy (a scarcity in Africa). OBJECTIVE: To identify urinary metabolite biomarkers that, combined with easy-to-measure clinical variables, would identify patients that should be further screened for CRC by colonoscopy. Ideal metabolites would be water-soluble and easily translated into a sensitive, low-cost point-of-care (POC) test. METHODS: Liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to quantify 142 metabolites in spot urine samples from 514 Nigerian CRC patients and healthy controls. Metabolite concentration data and clinical characteristics were used to determine optimal sets of biomarkers for identifying CRC from non-CRC subjects. RESULTS: Our statistical analysis identified N 1 , N 12 -diacetylspermine, hippurate, p -hydroxyhippurate, and glutamate as the best metabolites to discriminate CRC patients via POC screening. Logistic regression modeling using these metabolites plus clinical data achieved an area under the receiver-operator characteristic (AUCs) curves of 89.2% for the discovery set, and 89.7% for a separate validation set. CONCLUSIONS: Effective urinary biomarkers for CRC screening do exist. These results could be transferred into a simple, POC urinary test for screening CRC patients in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using standard DNA-damaging medicines with DNA repair inhibitors is a promising anticancer tool to achieve better therapeutic responses and reduce therapy-related side effects. Cell viability assay, neutral comet assay, western blotting (WB), and cell cycle and apoptosis analysis were used to determine the synergistic effect and mechanism of ML216, a Bloom syndrome protein (BLM) helicase inhibitor, and cisplatin (CDDP), a DNA-crosslinking agent, in PCa cells. Based on the online database research, our findings revealed that BLM was substantially expressed in PCa, which is associated with a bad prognosis for PCa patients. The combination of ML216 and CDDP improved the antiproliferative properties of three PCa cell lines. As indicated by the increased production of γH2AX and caspase-3 cleavage, ML216 significantly reduced the DNA damage-induced high expression of BLM, making PC3 more susceptible to apoptosis and DNA damage caused by CDDP. Furthermore, the combination of ML216 and CDDP increased p-Chk1 and p-Chk2 expression. The DNA damage may have triggered the ATR-Chk1 and ATM-Chk2 pathways simultaneously. Our results demonstrated that ML216 and CDDP combination therapy exhibited synergistic effects, and combination chemotherapy could be a novel anticancer tactic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic modeling and analysis are generally regarded as effective tools to investigate the vibration characteristics and fault mechanisms of planetary gear systems with a tooth crack fault. In actual gearboxes, the tooth crack is always a three-dimensional spatial surface, but it was usually simplified as a two-dimensional domain in most previous studies. In this paper, the tooth crack is modeled as a spatial shape that propagates along the crack depth, length and height directions simultaneously. Based on the potential energy principle, an improved analytical method is proposed to calculate the time-varying mesh stiffness (TVMS) of a planetary gear system with a spatial tooth crack. Furthermore, a coupled translational–torsional dynamic model is established for a planetary gear system including time-varying parameters and nonlinear factors. Numerical simulations are conducted to reveal the influences of the spatial crack propagation on the TVMS and vibration responses. In addition, an experimental study is carried out on a gear transmission test rig to verify the proposed analytical method and dynamic model. The mesh stiffness calculation method of the spatial cracked tooth and corresponding analysis results in this study might provide references to detect tooth crack faults in planetary gear systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small‐scale convection beneath the oceanic plates has been invoked to explain off‐axis nonplume volcanism, departure from simple seafloor depth‐age relationships, and intraplate gravity lineations. We deployed 30 broadband ocean bottom seismometer stations on ∼40 Ma Pacific seafloor in a region notable for gravity anomalies, measured by satellite altimetry, elongated parallel to plate motion. P‐wave teleseismic tomography reveals alternating upper mantle velocity anomalies on the order of ±2%, aligned with the gravity lineations. These features, which correspond to ∼300°–500°K lateral temperature contrast, and possible hydrous or carbonatitic partial melt, are—surprisingly—strongest between 150 and 260 km depth, indicating rapid vertical motions through a low‐viscosity asthenospheric channel. Coherence and admittance analysis of gravity and topography using new multibeam bathymetry soundings substantiates the presence of mantle density variations, and forward modeling predicts gravity anomalies that qualitatively match observed lineations. This study provides observational support for small‐scale convective rolls beneath the oceanic plates. Plain Language Summary: Covered by kilometers of water and therefore hard to access, Earth's oceanic tectonic plates have several features we cannot explain. Among these are linear undulations ("rolls") in the strength of gravitational acceleration at the sea surface. Using data from a rare underwater seismic experiment, we have produced 3‐D maps of seismic properties of the Earth's sub‐surface in a location of clear gravity rolls. We find linear blobs of fast and slow material in the mantle beneath the oceanic plate, parallel to the gravity features. These represent cold sinking and warmer rising material, revealing a highly dynamic convective system underneath the plate, which has long been theorized but not previously directly observed at this scale. Key Points: We use ocean bottom seismometer data to image elongated upper mantle P‐wave velocity anomalies, of order ±2%, striking parallel to free air gravity lineationsThese features extend >200 km deep, requiring thermal anomalies and small‐fraction partial melts related to volatiles in the asthenosphereAnomalies are inferred to arise from small‐scale convective cells beneath the plate with a planform parallel to absolute plate motion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical modelling, a physically based method, is adopted to obtain an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of sediment-related hazards such as landslides and debris flows. With its ability to address large deformation problems, the particle flow analysis method (the particle flow code or PFC model) can simulate propagation and runout from landslides to debris flows under complex landslide material compositions with a proper rheological model. Hence, this study aims to analyse the kinematic characteristics of a landslide-generated debris flow event in Shaziba, Enshi City, that occurred on June 8, 2020, with the PFC3D numerical model and linear parallel bonding method. To determine the differences among various processes, field surveys, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photography campaigns, and laboratory direct shear tests were conducted to invert the relevant parameters, such as the digital elevation model (DEM) and shear strength, corresponding to the rheological properties of landslide debris flow materials. In dynamic analysis, the velocity, displacement, and characteristics of landslide deposition were considered. The results indicate that the initial landslide stage started with overall acceleration, and the movement of gravel–silty clay materials lasted approximately 733 s with double-peak velocity curves and nonsynchronous displacement. The maximum velocity of the landslide body was 17.5 m/s, and the maximum displacement exceeded 1000 m. The volume of the landslide body was 9.31 × 105 m3. The simulation results agree with the actual landslide volume (1.5 × 106 m3) and morphology of the landslide dam observed in Qingjiang. The study provides detailed information on the recent Shaziba landslide, thereby providing a useful reference for better understanding the dynamics of gravel–silty clay landslides and preventing the potential hazard for remobilisation of the Shaziba landslide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commonly used long-chain ligands in CsPbBr3 quantum dots (QDs) hinder the electronic coupling and charge transport in optoelectronic devices; therefore, surface ligand management is crucial to optimize device performance. In this report, we demonstrate a simple and feasible aromatic carboxylic acid ligand management to obtain high-efficiency CsPbBr3 QD light-emitting solar cells (LESCs). Benzoic acid (BA) is used to replace the excess insulating ligands so that the charge transport of QD films is greatly improved, and the trap-assisted nonradiative recombination is also effectively inhibited. Consequently, the CsPbBr3 QD LESCs yield an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.46% for the champion device and function as green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a maximum brightness of 584 cd/m2. This work sheds light on the ligand management in perovskite QDs and provides a new avenue to realize high-performance multifunctional optoelectronic devices based on perovskite QDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cs2AgBiBr6 is a lead-free perovskite that shows great potential to solve the toxicity and instability of organic–inorganic lead perovskite. However, because of the poor interface contact and inferior film quality, the open-circuit voltage and the power conversion efficiency of the solar cells are inhibited. Herein, the Cs2AgBiBr6 film quality is improved by adding formamidinium acetate into the precursor solution. With additive regulation, the grain size increases and the film surface is more smooth. The crystal structure remains unchanged, and the defect density decreases. Correspondingly, the average power conversion efficiency of the target device increases more than 30% than the control device. The best efficiency approaches 2.09%, and the open-circuit voltage is surprisingly high at 1.23 V, the highest value reported for Cs2AgBiBr6 solar cells. Moreover, the device remains more than 90% of its initial efficiency after 40 days of storage under environmental conditions, showing excellent stability. This work is therefore helpful for enhancing the efficiency and stability of inorganic lead-free perovskite solar cells toward future commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), an important member in PRMT family, has been validated as a promising anticancer target. In this study, through the combination of virtual screening and biological experiments, we have identified two PRMT5 inhibitors with novel scaffold structures. Among them, compound Y2431 showed moderate activity with IC50 value of 10.09 μM and displayed good selectivity against other methyltransferases. The molecular docking analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations suggested that the compound occupied the substrate-arginine binding site. Furthermore, Y2431 exhibited anti-proliferative activity to leukemia cells by inducing cell cycle arrest. Overall, the hit compound could provide a novel scaffold for further optimization of small-molecule PRMT5 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]