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We used Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) to conduct deep H  i imaging of the entire M 106 group region, and have discovered a few new H  i filaments and clouds. Three H  i clouds/filaments are found in a region connecting DDO 120 and NGC 4288, indicating an interaction between these two galaxies. The H  i features in this region suggest that DDO 120 is probably the origin of the H  i stream extending from the northern end of NGC 4288 to M 106. This structure is similar to the Small–Large Magellanic Cloud stream, but much longer, about 190 kpc. Furthermore, based on the distance measurements, we have determined the satellite galaxy members of M 106. With an absolute magnitude cutoff of |$M_{B}$|  = −10, we obtained a sample of 11 member satellite galaxies for M 106. Using the observed H  i mass with FAST, we studied the properties of satellite galaxies in M 106 and found that satellite galaxies with lower stellar masses exhibit more significant deviations from the star-forming main sequence in their specific star formation rates. Furthermore, the relationship between the H  i mass of satellite galaxies and optical diameter generally follows the field galaxies relation. We discuss the possible mechanisms leading to the quenching in the M 106 group based on the new data from FAST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Replacing platinum-based electrocatalysts with iron single-atom catalysts (Fe–N4–C) for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains challenging due to the symmetric electronic structure of atomically dispersed Fe–N4 sites and sluggish kinetics. To address this issue, we introduce Cu–Nx sites and graphene-encapsulated core–shell Fe–Cu nanoalloy (FeCu@G) particles into the Fe–Nx site surroundings through the self-assembly and pyrolysis of a metal–organic framework (MOF). This strategy leverages synergistic interactions with the associated species to modify the uniform electronic structure of Fe single-atom sites, thereby enhancing oxygen-adsorption/desorption kinetics. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the incorporation of Cu–Nx sites and FeCu@G nanoalloy particles significantly alters the electronic structure of Fe–Nx sites, leading to improved ORR activity. Consequently, the optimized FeCu-DSAs@CNT, comprising dual single-atom sites (DSAs: Fe–Nx and Cu–Nx) and FeCu@G nanoalloy within MOF-derived nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs), exhibits a significantly improved half-wave potential (E1/2 = 0.91 V) and feasible ORR kinetics (Tafel slope = 48.15 mV dec−1), surpassing the Pt/C benchmark (E1/2 = 0.847 V and Tafel slope = 56.76 mV dec−1). Notably, FeCu-DSAs@CNT shows a 58 mV more positive E1/2 compared to monometallic Fe–SAs@CNT, attributed to synergistic interactions with Cu species. Moreover, it demonstrates excellent power density, specific capacity, and cycling stability in a lab-made zinc–air battery, outpacing the Pt/C-battery. This study addresses gaps in understanding Fe–Nx site interactions with associated species, providing valuable insights for the advancement of Fe–Nx–C electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most coexisting insect species exhibit stunted growth compared to individual species on plants. This phenomenon reflects an interspecific antagonism drawing extensive attention, while the underlying mechanisms remain largely uncharacterized. Mirids (Apolygus lucorum) and cotton bollworms (Helicoverpa armigera) are two common cotton pests. We identified a secretory protein, ASP1, from the oral secretion of mirids, found in the nucleus of mirid-infested cotton leaves. ASP1 specifically targets the transcriptional co-repressor TOPLESS (TPL) and inhibits NINJA-mediated recruitment of TPL, promoting plant defense response and gossypol accumulation in cotton glands. ASP1-enhanced defense inhibits the growth of cotton bollworms on cotton plants, while having limited impact on mirids. The mesophyll-feeding characteristic allows mirids to avoid most cotton glands, invalidating cotton defense. Our investigation reveals the molecular mechanism by which mirids employ cotton defense to selectively inhibit the feeding of cotton bollworms. The study revealed the underlying mechanism by which mirids manipulate cotton defense to confront the cotton bollworms co-existing on cotton plants. The mirid-secreted protein ASP1 enhances cotton defense by specifically targeting the transcriptional co-repressor TPL, thereby inhibiting cotton bollworm feeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstructed atomic insulator is recently proposed as an unconventional material, in which electric charge centers localized at sites away from the atoms. A half-filling surface state would emerge at specific interfaces cutting through these charge centers and avoid intersecting any atoms. In this article, we utilized photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations to study one of the obstructed atomic insulator candidates, NiP2. A floating surface state with large effective mass that is close to the Fermi level and isolated from all bulk states is resolved on the (100) cleavage plane, implying better catalytic activity in this plane than the previously studied surfaces. Density functional theory calculation results elucidate that this floating surface state is originated from the obstructed Wannier charge centers, albeit underwent surface reconstruction. Our findings not only shed lights on the study of obstructed atomic insulators, but also provide possible route for development of new catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media platforms have seen an influx of multimodal data, leading to heightened attention on image-text multimodal classification. Existing methods for multimodal classification primarily focus on multimodal fusion from different modalities. However, owing to the heterogeneity and high-dimensionality of multimodal data, the fusion process frequently introduces redundant information and noise limiting the accuracy and generalization. To resolve the limitation, we propose a Compact Bilinear pooling and Multi-Loss network (CBMLNet). Compact bilinear pooling is used for feature fusion to learn low-dimensional and expressive multimodal representations efficiently. Furthermore, a multi-loss function is proposed to import the specific information carried by each single modality. Therefore, CBMLNet simultaneously considers the correlation between multimodality and the specificity of single modality for image-text classification. We evaluate the proposed CBMLNet on two publicly available datasets, Twitter-15 and Twitter-17, and on a private dataset, AIFUN. CBMLNet is compared with the advanced methods such as multimodal BERT with Max Pooling, Multi-Interactive Memory Network, Multi-level Multi-modal Cross-attention Network, Image-Text Correlation model (ITC), Target-oriented multimodal BERT and multimodal hierarchical attention model (MHA). Experimental results demonstrate that CBMLNet averagely improves F1_score by 0.28% and 0.44% compared with the best fine-grained baseline, MHA and the best coarse-grained baseline, ITC. It illustrates that CBMLNet is practical for real-world fuzzy applications as a coarse-grained model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop and validate a preoperative prediction model based on multimodal ultrasound and biochemical indicator for identifying microvascular invasion (MVI) in patients with a single hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≤ 5 cm. Methods: From May 2022 to November 2023, a total of 318 patients with pathologically confirmed single HCC ≤ 5 cm from three institutions were enrolled. All of them underwent preoperative biochemical, conventional ultrasound (US), and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) (Sonazoid, 0.6 mL, bolus injection) examinations. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses on clinical information, biochemical indicator, and US imaging features were performed in the training set to seek independent predictors for MVI-positive. The models were constructed and evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis in both validation and test sets. Subgroup analyses in patients with different liver background and tumor sizes were conducted to further investigate the model's performance. Results: Logistic regression analyses showed that obscure tumor boundary in B-mode US, intra-tumoral artery in pulsed-wave Doppler US, complete Kupffer-phase agent clearance in Sonazoid-CEUS, and biomedical indicator PIVKA-II were independently correlated with MVI-positive. The combined model comprising all predictors showed the highest AUC, which were 0.937 and 0.893 in the validation and test sets. Good calibration and prominent net benefit were achieved in both sets. No significant difference was found in subgroup analyses. Conclusions: The combination of biochemical indicator, conventional US, and Sonazoid-CEUS features could help preoperative MVI prediction in patients with a single HCC ≤ 5 cm. Critical relevance statement: Investigation of imaging features in conventional US, Sonazoid-CEUS, and biochemical indicators showed a significant relation with MVI-positivity in patients with a single HCC ≤ 5 cm, allowing the construction of a model for preoperative prediction of MVI status to help treatment decision making. Key Points: MVI status is important for patients with a single HCC ≤ 5 cm. The model based on conventional US, Sonazoid-CEUS and PIVKA-II performs best for MVI prediction. The combined model has potential for preoperative prediction of MVI status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low alloy bainitic steel used in reactor pressure vessels deteriorates during thermal service while the macroscopic thermodynamic parameters that cause thermal aging remains unknown. In this work, a thermal aging restructuring scheme was proposed by step-up aging the steel from 350 °C to 490 °C, with a total duration of 7500 hours. Samples from varied thickness of the steel were characterized in terms of carbides evolution and Charpy impact toughness at 20 °C. The carbide size and its fraction were statistically analyzed showing partial coarsening and dissolution during aging, while the carbide fraction was found linearly correlated with the impact energy for the first time. The critical transition temperature parameter of the aging process was found to be 470 °C for the steel. The macroscopic thermodynamic parameters, including the thermal aging time and temperature, facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the material degradation mechanism and provide a basis for long-term safety of equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground settlement prediction for highway subgrades is crucial in related engineering projects. When predicting the ground settlement, sparse sample data are often encountered in practice, which greatly affects the prediction accuracy. However, this has been seldom explored in previous studies. To resolve it, this paper proposes a regression Kriging (RK)—based method for ground settlement prediction with sparse data. Under the framework of RK, the stationarity of sample residual and trend structure are key factors for prediction accuracy. It is found that the use of Box–Cox transformation, which can help to achieve stationarity of sample residual, leads to significant increase of the prediction accuracy with sparse data. Specifically, the various evaluation metrics (i.e., root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean arctangent absolute percent error (MAAPE) and scatter index (SCI)) are significantly decreased when the Box–Cox transformation is incorporated. In addition, the first-order polynomial trend structure is found to be more appropriate than those with higher orders for predicting settlements resulting from primary consolidation. Moreover, comparative study is conducted among the proposed RK method, classical prediction methods and back propagation neural network (BPNN). It is found that the evaluation metrics obtained by the RK method are significantly smaller than those obtained by the other methods, indicating its highest accuracy. By contrast, BPNN has the worst performance among the various methods, because the sparse data are inadequate to establish a satisfactory BPNN model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the safety level of work behaviors is an important means of safety management through safety managers' manual visual or video surveillance. This paper aims to grasp the view selection rules of safety managers in correctly observing and analyzing work behavior, which are conducive to safety behavior assessment. Firstly, based on a similarity simulation experiment, the work process of the operators was simulated, and the process was simultaneously monitored from multiple views to obtain surveillance videos. Then, safety managers with different experience levels watched the videos and answered the questionnaire in a questionnaire survey experiment. The authors found the following: (1) Prior experience does not affect the view selection during the observation stage, but it does affect the view selection during the analysis stage. Experienced safety managers perform better in view selection when dealing with complex tasks. (2) The work postures have a significant effect on the view type and their combination order. (3) The view selection of experienced safety managers in the behavior observation and analysis stages is non-constant except for sitting posture operations, while the view selection of amateur managers is always constant. (4) Sitting posture work takes the front view as the main view and the left–right–upper views as auxiliary views; standing posture uses the left and right views as the main views and the front–back–upper views as auxiliary views; and mixed posture takes the left and right views as the main views and the upper–front–back views as auxiliary views. These view selection rules can achieve the highest evaluation performance. These findings can help train or select high-quality safety managers and provide a scientific basis for arranging views during video surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a deep H  i survey at L band conducted with the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) over the COSMOS field. This survey is strategically designed to overlap with the MIGHTEE COSMOS field, aiming to combine the sensitivity of the FAST and high-resolution of the MeerKAT. We observed the field with FAST for approximately 11 hours covering |${\sim} 2$| square degrees, and reduced the raw data to H  i spectral cubes over the frequency range 1310–1420 MHz. The FAST-H  i data reach a median 3 |$\sigma$| column density of |$N_{\rm {H\,{{\small I}}}} \sim 2\times 10^{17}$|  cm |$^{-2}$| over a |${\sim} 5\, {\rm km}\, {\rm s}^{-1}$| channel width, allowing for studies of the distribution of H  i gas in various environments, such as in galaxies, the Circum-Galactic Medium (CGM) and Intergalactic Medium (IGM). We visually searched the spectral cubes for H  i sources, and found a total of 80 H  i detections, of which 56 have been cross-matched with the MIGHTEE-H  i catalogue. With the cross-matched sources, we compare their H  i masses and find that the total H  i mass fraction in the IGM and CGM surrounding the galaxy pairs is statistically higher than the H  i fraction surrounding the isolated galaxies by a difference of |${\sim} 13\pm 4$| per cent, indicating that the CGM and IGM associated with interacting systems are richer in neutral hydrogen compared to those around isolated galaxies in the local Universe. We also describe several FAST-MeerKAT synergy projects, highlighting the full potential of exploiting both single-dish and interferometric observations to study the distribution and evolution of the diffuse H  i gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem of excessive energy consumption in the thermal regeneration system of a rectisol process in a certain petrochemical engineering company, process improvement is carried out. A closed heat pump distillation model was proposed, using NRTL thermodynamic model with annual total cost and thermodynamic efficiency as objective functions. Process parameters were optimized and their economic and environmental benefits were analyzed under different compression ratios. The research results show that closed heat pump distillation can effectively reduce the use of superheated steam and condensate when the compression ratio is 1.8, and the total energy consumption is reduced by 62.71% . When the investment payback period are 5 years and 8 years, annual total cost is reduced by 15.64% and 32.79%, respectively. The thermodynamic efficiency has been improved from the original 8.78% to 20.96%, which has excellent economic and environ-mental benefits, and the results of the study are expected to provide guidance for the development and design of advanced heat pump distillation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Ferroelastics, an important type of ferroic material, have significant value in applications such as shape memory, mechanical switches, intelligent sensors, etc. With the aim of developing new technologies, ferroelastics with only single properties have certain limitations that hinder expansion of their applications. Thus, it is still a challenge to find multifunctional ferroelastic materials, especially those with multi-dielectric responses and fluorescence properties. Here, under the guidance of a strategy of alkyl modification, (EMP)PbBr3 (EMP = N-ethyl-N-methyl-3-pyrroline) (compound 2) was successfully obtained by modifying the parent compound (DMP)PbBr3 (DMP = N,N-dimethyl-3-pyrroline) (compound 1). Of note, compound 2 was improved to have a triple dielectric response compared with the double dielectric response of compound 1, and both the ferroelastic phase transition temperature and photoluminescence quantum yield of compound 2 were improved. Such changes make compound 2 potentially applicable in smart electronic devices. This work provides some insights into the search for multifunctional ferroelastic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface reconstruction or elemental leaching is generally involved in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) process on transition metal-based oxides during alkaline water electrolysis, which gives rise to both opportunities and challenges for the development of OER electrocatalysts. Reaction-derived metal (oxy)hydroxides have been proven to be the actual active species for many metal oxides but have suffered from the dissolution of active elements. Here, the construction of a dynamically stable CoFe (oxy)hydroxide OER nanocatalyst is proposed, which delivers a low overpotential of 253 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and high mass activity (3.78 A mg−1 at an overpotential of 300 mV), among the highest of all the hydroxides reported previously. The in situ synthesized nanocatalyst acts as a stable CoOxHy host for Fe adsorption and facilitates active Co–O–Fe motif formation. The weak metal–O coordination environment and hydrophilic surface morphology lead to superficial mass transfer. The drawbacks of Fe depletion for conventional CoFe (oxy)hydroxides are overcome, attributed to tardy lattice oxygen ion diffusion and dynamic Fe-saturated dual metal active sites, which lead to a stable performance for over 100 h. This study provides a design strategy for OER electrocatalysts with both high mass activity and durability, which shows application prospects for large-scale electrochemical water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed modified graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) nanosheets and polyether block amide (Pebax) to prepare mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) aiming to enhance CO2 separation efficiency. Through sulfonation and zinc ion (Zn2+) modification of g‐C3N4 nanosheets, high Zn2+ loaded nanofillers (SCN‐Zn2+) were synthesized. Compared to g‐C3N4, MMMs with SCN‐Zn2+ as nanofiller showed a CO2 permeance of 462 Barrer as well as the CO2/N2 selectivity of 47.5 at the feed gas pressure of 2 bar, which surpassed the 2008 Robeson upper bound. Additionally, the Pebax/SCN‐Zn2+(30) membrane was subjected to continuous gas permeability experiments for 70 h and showed good stability. The results showed that SCN‐Zn2+ nanosheets played an important role in enhancing the gas selectivity of the membranes. SEM confirmed that the SCN‐Zn2+ nanosheets had good compatibility with the Pebax substrate and the presence of hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups effectively suppressed the interfacial defects. The increase in the free volume fraction of the membranes as well as the solubility and diffusion coefficient suggested that the introduction of g‐C3N4 nanosheets led to more tortuous gas transport paths, which enhanced the permeability and selectivity of CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex liquid–solid reactions occur during brazing. A deep understanding of brazing liquid evolution is therefore of important concern for the bonding between filler and substrates. The joining of gas‐pressure‐sintered silicon nitride (Si3N4) ceramic to oxygen‐free copper (OFC) foil was prepared using Ag–Cu–TiH2 filler at 875°C for 0.5 h. The effect of the Ag:Cu ratio on the interfacial microstructure and peeling strength of the joints was analyzed. The reaction of brazing liquid with Si3N4 ceramic includes reactions with both the β‐Si3N4 and the grain boundary phases (Y–Si–Mg–O–N). The resulting interfacial reaction products include TiN, Ti5Si3, and potential Cu3Ti3O. Based on the phase composition and three‐dimensional morphology of the interfacial reaction products in the Si3N4 ceramic/OFC foil joints, a model for the evolution of the brazing liquid as the reaction proceeds was proposed. Peeling test results indicated that the peeling strength of the joints rises unilaterally with the increase of the Ag:Cu ratio in the filler until reaching the peak value of 24.3 N/mm at the maximum Ag:Cu ratio of 90:10. The mechanisms of the joint peeling fracture were discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Numerous studies have examined the clinical effectiveness of transforaminal full endoscopic lumbar diskectomy (T-FELD) and interlaminar full endoscopic lumbar diskectomy (I-FELD) for L5–S1 lumbar disk herniation (LDH), with mixed findings. The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the perioperative outcomes, clinical results, and complications of T-FELD and I-FELD to determine their efficacy and safety for treating L5–S1 LDH and to examine the features of complications in depth. Methods Several databases were searched for articles that matched all of the inclusion criteria. The visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were used to assess the clinical results. Information on perioperative outcomes and complications was gathered and analyzed. Results Eight studies with 756 participants were included. There were no significant differences in postoperative bed time (p = 0.44) and hospitalization time (p = 0.49) between T-FELD and I-FELD. When compared with I-FELD, T-FELD was associated with substantially longer fluoroscopy time (p < 0.0001) and operating time (p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in the preoperative and postoperative VAS and ODI scores between T-FELD and I-FELD. The rates for overall complications, postoperative dysesthesia, postoperative lower extremity pain, incomplete decompression, recurrence, and conversion to open surgery were comparable for T-FLED and I-FELD. Conclusion T-FELD and I-FELD had equal clinical results and safety for treatment of L5–S1 LDH. Fluoroscopy and operative times were shorter for I-FELD than for T-FELD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apart from simulating biological synapses, memristors can also be used in the secure encryption by exploiting their inherent random resistive switching (RS) properties. In this work, nonvolatile Ta/BiFeO3/ZrO2/Pt memristor is fabricated with 2 nm inserting BiFeO3 layer. At a high compliance current of 10 mA, it presents gradual RS characteristics during the set process, which resulting in 30 conductance states. Synaptic behavior can be successfully mimicked by precise conductance modulating under pulse electrical stimulation. Whereas under a low compliance current of 500 µA, it exhibits abrupt RS behavior, and the set voltage ranged from 0.3–0.8 V, which can be effectively as an entropy source for true random number generator (TRNG). Due to its Shannon entropy of 300 bits is 0.99987, Hamming weights and intra‐Hamming distances tend to be 50%. Furthermore, the software simulation of encryption and decryption of cat image is achieved by combining the key generated by TRNG. The controllable electrical properties of the Ta/BiFeO3/ZrO2/Pt device can be modulated by the compliance current, thus meeting the computing or safety requirements, which provides a solid foundation for the development of integrating computation and security at the hardware level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-Mg alloys are widely used as important engineering structural materials in aerospace engineering, transportation systems, and structural constructions due to their low density, high specific strength, corrosion resistance, welding capability, fatigue strength, and cost-effectiveness. However, the conventional Al-Mg alloys can no longer fully satisfy the demands of practical production due to difficulties caused by many defects. The high strength of Al-Mg alloys as non-heat treatment precipitation-strengthened alloys is achieved primarily by solid solution strengthening along with work hardening rather than precipitation strengthening. Therefore, severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques can be often used to produce ultrafine-grained structures to fabricate ultra-high strength aluminum alloys. However, this approach often achieves the strengthening of material at the cost of reduced ductility. This paper comprehensively summarizes the various approaches of ultrafine/nanocrystalline materials for enhancing their plasticity, elaborates on the creation of a bimodal microstructure within the alloy, and discusses the formation of a nanotwin microstructure within the alloy and the incorporation of dispersed nanoparticles. The mechanisms underlying both the strengthening and toughening during large plastic deformation in aluminum alloys are summarized, and the future research direction of high-performance ultrafine crystalline and nanocrystalline Al-Mg aluminum alloys is prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infects various cell types, its receptor molecules are still not clearly understood. In our laboratory's prior research, Rab4b was identified as a potential host factor that facilitates JEV infection in PK15 cells, utilizing a genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout library (PK-15-GeCKO). To further explore the effect of Rab4b on JEV replication, we used the Rab4b knockout PK15 cell line using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology and overexpressing the Rab4b PK15 cell line, with IFA, RT–qPCR, and Western blot to study the effect of Rab4b on viral replication in the whole life cycle of the JEV. The results show that the knockout of Rab4b inhibited the replication of the JEV in PK15 cells, and the overexpression of Rab4b promoted the replication of the JEV in PK15 cell lines. Furthermore, we demonstrated for the first time that host factor Rab4b facilitates the adsorption, internalization, assembly, and release of the JEV, thereby promoting JEV replication. This study enriches the regulatory network between the JEV and host factors and lays the experimental foundation for further understanding of the function of the Rab4b protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid integration of cloud computing and edge computing has brought the cloud-edge environment into the spotlight in information technology. Within this context, the selection of high-quality and reliable services is crucial to meet the needs of users. However, ensuring the reliability of service information is a challenge due to its vulnerability to tampering. This research paper proposes a method for service selection in the cloud-edge environment based on blockchain smart contracts. By leveraging blockchain technology, this method achieves decentralized and trustworthy service selection. Through smart contracts, user interactions are securely recorded, significantly reducing the risk of information tampering and enhancing information reliability. Additionally, the Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm is improved for service selection on the blockchain by introducing mutation and crossover operations. Experimental results demonstrate that this method effectively prevents tampering with service information and improves the utility value of selected services compared to traditional methods and metaheuristic algorithms mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between tumor programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and T-cell programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) has long been acknowledged as a mechanism for evading immune surveillance. Recent studies, however, have unveiled a more nuanced role of tumor-intrinsic PD-L1 in reprograming tumoral phenotypes. Preclinical models emphasize the synchronized effects of both intracellular and extracellular PD-L1 in promoting metastasis, with intricate interactions with the immune system. This review aims to summarize recent findings to elucidate the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression and the pro-metastatic roles of PD-L1 in the entire process of tumor metastasis. For example, PD-L1 regulates the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, facilitates the survival of circulating tumor cells, and induces the formation of immunosuppressive environments at pre-metastatic niches and metastatic sites. And the complexed and dynamic regulation process of PD-L1 for tumor metastasis is related to the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression and functions from tumor primary sites to various metastatic sites. This review extends the current understandings for the roles of PD-L1 in mediating tumor metastasis and provides new insights into therapeutic decisions in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal insulation materials must exhibit superior mechanical properties alongside exceptional thermal insulation conductivity. However, traditional porous ceramics often struggle to meet these dual requirements simultaneously. In high-entropy materials, the phonon scattering induced by lattice distortion effects can significantly reduce the thermal conductivity of ceramics, thus opening new avenues for the design of novel thermal insulation materials. Inspired by the high-entropy effect, this study employed solid-state reaction methods to synthesize (Ce0.2Zr0.2Ti0.2Sn0.2Ca0.2)O2−δ (CZTSC) high-entropy ceramics at various temperatures, investigating their phase constituents, microstructural characteristics, and mechanical properties, while exploring the optimal sintering temperature. Additionally, a pore-forming agent method was utilized to fabricate monophasic CZTSC porous ceramics with different porosities at 1400 °C. Specifically, when the pore-forming agent content was 20 wt%, the sample exhibited an apparent porosity of 42.82%, with a low thermal conductivity of 0.57 W·m− 1·K− 1, a low thermal diffusivity of 0.406 mm2·s− 1, and a relatively high compressive strength of 32.49 MPa. The current investigation underscores the promising prospects of porous CZTSC ceramics in the field of thermal insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common primary neoplasms of the liver and one of the most common solid tumors in the world. Its global incidence is increasing and it has become the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. There is growing evidence that chemokines play an important role in the tumor microenvironment, regulating the migration and localization of immune cells in tissues and are critical for the function of the immune system. This review comprehensively analyses the expression and activity of chemokines in the TME of HCC and describes their interrelationship with hepatocarcinogenesis and progression. Special attention is given to the role of chemokine-chemokine receptors in the regulation of immune cell accumulation in the TME. Therapeutic strategies targeting tumor-promoting chemokines or the induction/ release of beneficial chemokines are reviewed, highlighting the potential value of natural products inmodulating chemokines and their receptors in the treatment of HCC. The in-depth discussion in this paper provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of HCC. It is an important reference for new drug development and clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of factors cause a reduction in remote sensing image resolution. Unlike super-resolution (SR) reconstruction methods with single degradation assumption, multi-degradation SR methods aim to learn the degradation kernel from low-resolution (LR) images and reconstruct high-resolution (HR) images more suitable for restoring the resolution of remote sensing images. However, existing multi-degradation SR methods only utilize the given LR images to learn the representation of the degradation kernel. The mismatches between the estimated degradation kernel and the real-world degradation kernel lead to a significant deterioration in performance of these methods. To address this issue, we design a reconstruction features-guided kernel correction SR network (RFKCNext) for multi-degradation SR reconstruction of remote sensing images. Specifically, the proposed network not only utilizes LR images to extract degradation kernel information but also employs features from SR images to correct the estimated degradation kernel, thereby enhancing the accuracy. RFKCNext utilizes the ConvNext Block (CNB) for global feature modeling. It employs CNB as fundamental units to construct the SR reconstruction subnetwork module (SRConvNext) and the reconstruction features-guided kernel correction network (RFGKCorrector). The SRConvNext reconstructs SR images based on the estimated degradation kernel. The RFGKCorrector corrects the estimated degradation kernel by reconstruction features from the generated SR images. The two networks iterate alternately, forming an end-to-end trainable network. More importantly, the SRConvNext utilizes the degradation kernel estimated by the RFGKCorrection for reconstruction, allowing the SRConvNext to perform well even if the degradation kernel deviates from the real-world scenario. In experimental terms, three levels of noise and five Gaussian blur kernels are considered on the NWPU-RESISC45 remote sensing image dataset for synthesizing degraded remote sensing images to train and test. Compared to existing super-resolution methods, the experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approach achieves significant reconstruction advantages in both quantitative and qualitative evaluations. Additionally, the UCMERCED remote sensing dataset and the real-world remote sensing image dataset provided by the "Tianzhi Cup" Artificial Intelligence Challenge are utilized for further testing. Extensive experiments show that our method delivers more visually plausible results, demonstrating the potential of real-world application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Berberine (BBR), as a natural isoquinoline alkaloid, has demonstrated various pharmacological activities, and is widely applied in the treatment of diseases. The quantitative analysis of BBR is important for pharmacological studies and clinical applications. In this work, utilizing the specific interaction between BBR and triplex DNA, a sensitive and selective fluorescent detecting method was established with DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs). After binding with the triplex structure in the template of DNA-AgNCs, BBR quenched the fluorescence of DNA-AgNCs and formed BBR-triplex complex with yellow–green fluorescence. The ratiometric fluorescence signal showed a linear relationship with BBR concentration in a range from 10 nM to 1000 nM, with a detection limit of 10 nM. Our method exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity, and was further applied in BBR detection in real samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a positive features in C-TIRADS (Chinese Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System) guidelines, solid features represent the latest positive indicator, which differs from those in other guidelines. This study was to explore the diagnostic value of the solid features for thyroid nodules of different sizes. Methods: Between January 2022 and October 2023, a total of 1561 patients with 1790 thyroid nodules confirmed by surgical pathology were prospectively included in this study. These nodules were divided into three groups based on their maximum diameter: Group A1 (≤ 10mm), Group A2 (> 10mm, < 20mm), and Group A3 (≥ 20mm). The component characteristics of thyroid nodules in each group were analyzed. Based on the surgical pathology results, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of C-TIRADS solid features for thyroid nodules of different sizes. Results: As the size of thyroid nodules increased, the incidence of cystic changes in both benign and malignant nodules showed a linear increasing trend (Z-values of 46.251 and 156.586, respectively; P values < 0.001 for both). The occurrence rate of solid malignant nodules was higher than that of benign nodules in all groups, with Area Under Curve (AUC) values of 0.620, 0.723, and 0.767, respectively. Conclusion: With the increase in the size of thyroid nodules, the diagnostic value of solid features for thyroid cancer progressively increases. The specificity of thyroid nodule diagnosis also increases progressively. Which may have certain value in the evaluation process using C-TIRADS, particularly in the management of thyroid nodules in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection exhibits multi-organ damage with diverse complications, the correlation between age, gender, medical history and clinical manifestations of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients was investigated. Methods 1640 patients who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalized at the First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University from 22 December 2022 to 1 March 2023 were categorized and analysed. Normal distribution test and variance homogeneity test were performed. Based on the test results, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's chi-squared test and logistic regression analysis were conducted in the study. Results According to the ANOVA, there was a significant difference in the age distribution (P  = .001) between different clinical presentations, while gender did not (P  = .06). And regression analysis showed that age, hypertension, atherosclerosis and cancer were significant hazard factors for the development of predominant clinical manifestations in patients hospitalized with novel COVID-19. Additionally, infection with SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to exacerbate the burden on specific diseased or related organs. Conclusion The elderly who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 ought to be treated with emphasis not only on antiviral therapy but also on individualized treatment that takes their medical history and comorbidities into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on high-sensitivity neutral hydrogen observations toward the gas-rich interacting galaxies NGC 3395/3396 with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Compared to previous observations carried out by the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), a more extended H  i envelope around this system has been detected. The total H  i gas mass of the NGC 3395/3396 system is estimated to be 7.8 × 109 M |$_\odot$|⁠. This value is 2.7 times more than that reported based on the VLA interferometric maps. Previous observations found a large H  i tail extending to the south-west and a minor tail emerging from the north of this peculiar galaxy pair. Based on the high-sensitivity observations of FAST, an extended H  i plume to the north-west and a gas plume to the north-east have been detected for the first time. Neutral hydrogen of the two smaller galaxies IC 2604 and IC 2608 in the south of the system have also been detected. We discuss the origins of these extra gas and possible tidal interactions between these galaxies. The most prominent tidal feature of NGC 3395/3396, the south-west tail combined with the new detected north-west plume, behaves like a large ring. We suggest the ring might be formed by the previous fly-by interaction between NGC 3395 and 3396, which happened 500 Myr ago. Our study shows that high-sensitivity H  i observations are important in revealing low column density gas, which is crucial to a deeper understanding of this interacting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent demand for stable and highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER) is pivotal in advancing energy conversion and storage technologies. Herein, we introduce a metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived bifunctional electrocatalyst Fe3Co-NC@900, featuring synergistically coupled dual single-atom sites (Fe/Co–Nx) and core–shell Co3Fe7@C nanoparticles. Leveraging the synergistic interactions of Fe–Nx sites with associated Co–Nx sites and core–shell nanoparticles within the MOF-derived nitrogen-doped mesoporous sheets and nanotubes, Fe3Co-NC@900 demonstrates outstanding ORR and OER performance, outpacing the Fe-NC@900 catalyst fabricated without Co incorporation. Specifically, it demonstrates superior ORR performance with a higher half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.88 V and a small Tafel slope of 62.1 mV dec−1, surpassing the Pt/C benchmark (E1/2 of 0.82 V) and Fe-NC@900 (E1/2 of 0.788 V). Additionally, it demonstrates noteworthy OER performance, requiring a 1.572 V overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 current density, resulting in a significant bifunctional activity with a potential gap (ΔE) of 0.692 V, surpassing the Pt/C + Ir/C combination (ΔE = 0.748 V). Moreover, serving as a bifunctional air electrode, Fe3Co-NC@900 exhibits excellent performance in lab-made Zn–air batteries, with outstanding open circuit voltage, specific capacity, and cycling stability (>650 cycles), outpacing the Pt/C + Ir/C-based battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of die steels, hot-work die steels are mainly used to manufacture molds made of solid metal or high-temperature liquid metal from heating to recrystallization temperature. In view of the requirements for mechanical properties and service life for hot-work die steel, it is conducive to improve the thermal fatigue resistance, wear resistance, and oxidation resistance of hot work die steel. In this review, the main failure modes of hot-work die steel were analyzed. Four traditional methods of strengthening and toughening die steel were summarized, including optimizing alloying elements, electroslag remelting, increasing the forging ratio, and heat treatment process enhancement. A new nano-strengthening method was introduced that aimed to refine the microstructure of hot-work abrasive steel and improve its service performance by adding nanoparticles into molten steel to achieve uniform dispersion. This review provides an overview to improve the service performance and service life of hot work die steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implications of minimum wage standards have been widely debated, but their effects on firms' pollution emissions and the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. This paper finds that the introduction of minimum wage standards significantly reduces emissions of pollutants such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Firms respond to rising minimum wages by optimizing their product mix, enhancing technological innovation, and improving managerial efficiency, which collectively curb pollution outputs. Our analysis using a random forest model shows that these effects are most pronounced in regions with higher economic development, stringent environmental regulations, and elevated minimum wage standards. Our findings augment the body of research on minimum wage standards and introduce novel insights for emission reduction strategies for firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for the synthesis of γ‐amino sulfones through visible light‐induced oxidative decarboxylation and radical reductive addition is described. Various readily available N‐protected natural amino acids react with aromatic/aliphatic vinyl sulfones to directly produce γ‐amino sulfone derivatives. This reaction is also applicable to α‐N(O)‐acids and other aliphatic carboxylic acids, resulting in the corresponding sulfone derivatives. The method operates without the need for sacrificial reducing agents or additional hydrogen atom donors. The sole by‐product is CO2 released from decarboxylation, rendering the process both atom‐ and step‐economical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing images usually contain abundant targets and complex information distributions. Consequently, networks are required to model both global and local information in the super-resolution (SR) reconstruction of remote sensing images. The existing SR reconstruction algorithms generally focus on only local or global features, neglecting effective feedback for reconstruction errors. Therefore, a Global Residual Multi-attention Fusion Back-projection Network (SRBPSwin) is introduced by combining the back-projection mechanism with the Swin Transformer. We incorporate a concatenated Channel and Spatial Attention Block (CSAB) into the Swin Transformer Block (STB) to design a Multi-attention Hybrid Swin Transformer Block (MAHSTB). SRBPSwin develops dense back-projection units to provide bidirectional feedback for reconstruction errors, enhancing the network's feature extraction capabilities and improving reconstruction performance. SRBPSwin consists of the following four main stages: shallow feature extraction, shallow feature refinement, dense back projection, and image reconstruction. Firstly, for the input low-resolution (LR) image, shallow features are extracted and refined through the shallow feature extraction and shallow feature refinement stages. Secondly, multiple up-projection and down-projection units are designed to alternately process features between high-resolution (HR) and LR spaces, obtaining more accurate and detailed feature representations. Finally, global residual connections are utilized to transfer shallow features during the image reconstruction stage. We propose a perceptual loss function based on the Swin Transformer to enhance the detail of the reconstructed image. Extensive experiments demonstrate the significant reconstruction advantages of SRBPSwin in quantitative evaluation and visual quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Owing to their distinctive optical and physical properties, organic‐inorganic hybrid perovskite materials have gained significant attention in the field of electronic devices, especially solar cells. The achievement of high‐performance solar cells hinges upon the utilization of top‐notch perovskite thin films. Nevertheless, the fabrication process involving solutions and the polycrystalline nature of perovskite result in the emergence of numerous defects within the perovskite films, consequently exerting a deleterious influence on the overall performance and stability of the devices. Improving the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells by additive engineering to suppress/passivate defects is a viable approach, which involves hydrogen bond interactions in these device engineering processes. This review explores the intrinsic hydrogen bonds in methylammonium and formamidium lead triiodide, while also considering cation rotations, phase transitions, and stability. Moreover, the review classifies additives into distinct categories, including organic small molecules, polymers, nanodots, classical salts, ionic liquids, and molten salts. The various forms and characterization techniques of hydrogen bonds are discussed, as well as their potential synergistic effects in conjunction with other chemical interactions. Furthermore, this review offers insights into the potential utilization of hydrogen bonds to further enhance the performance and stability of devices. Key Scientists: In 2009, Tsutomu Miyasaka et al. prepared the first perovskite solar cell, which kicked off the research on perovskite light‐absorbing materials. However, the use of liquid electrolytes led to device instability. The transition to all‐solid‐state perovskite solar cells was realized by Nam‐Gyu Park's team in 2012, which was the beginning of high‐efficiency perovskite solar cells. Subsequently, a number of scientists have innovated the preparation ground process. Methods such as two‐step deposition by Michael Grätzel in 2013 and anti‐solvent extraction by Sang II Seok's team in 2014 were instrumental in advancing the development of perovskite. Liyuan Han's team then increased the cell's working area to 1 cm2 without compromising performance, making it possible to compare the performance metrics of perovskite solar cells with those of other types of solar cells on the same scale. Recently, You's team and Pan's team kept updating the world record by obtaining certified efficiencies of 25.6% and 25.8% in 2022 and 2023, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study evaluates the efficacy of a nomogram for predicting the pathology upgrade of apical prostate cancer (PCa). Methods: A total of 754 eligible patients were diagnosed with apical PCa through combined systematic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐targeted prostate biopsy followed by radical prostatectomy (RP) were retrospectively identified from two hospitals (training: 754, internal validation: 182, internal–external validation: 148). A nomogram for the identification of apical tumors in high‐risk pathology upgrades through comparing the results of biopsy and RP was established incorporating statistically significant risk factors based on univariable and multivariable logistic regression. The nomogram's performance was assessed via the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Univariable and multivariable analysis identified age, targeted biopsy, number of targeted cores, TNM stage, and the prostate imaging‐reporting and data system score as significant predictors of apical tumor pathological progression. Our nomogram, based on these variables, demonstrated ROC curves for pathology upgrade with values of 0.883 (95% CI, 0.847–0.929), 0.865 (95% CI, 0.790–0.945), and 0.840 (95% CI, 0.742–0.904) for the training, internal validation and internal–external validation cohorts respectively. Calibration curves showed good consistency between the predicted and actual outcomes. The validation groups also showed great generalizability with the calibration curves. DCA results also demonstrated excellent performance for our nomogram with positive benefit across a threshold probability range of 0–0.9 for the training and internal validation group, and 0–0.6 for the internal–external validation group. Conclusion: The nomogram, integrating clinical, radiological, and pathological data, effectively predicts the risk of pathology upgrade in apical PCa tumors. It holds significant potential to guide clinicians in optimizing the surgical management of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the predictive value of dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) in differentiating small-duct (SD) and large-duct (LD) types of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 110 patients with pathologically confirmed ICC lesions who were subject to preoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examinations between January 2022 and February 2023. Patients were further classified according to the subtype: SD-type and LD-type, and an optimal predictive model was established and validated using the above pilot cohort. The test cohort, consisting of 48 patients prospectively enrolled from March 2023 to September 2023, was evaluated. Results: In the pilot cohort, compared with SD-type ICCs, more LD-type ICCs showed elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (p < 0.001), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (p = 0.004), ill-defined margin (p = 0.018), intrahepatic bile duct dilation (p < 0.001). Among DCE-US quantitative parameters, the wash-out area under the curve (WoAUC), wash-in and wash-out area under the curve (WiWoAUC), and fall time (FT) at the margin of lesions were higher in the SD-type group (all p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the mean transit time (mTT) and wash-out rate (WoR) at the margin of the lesion were higher in the LD-type group (p = 0.041 and 0.007, respectively). Logistic regression analysis showed that intrahepatic bile duct dilation, mTT, and WoR were significant predictive factors for predicting ICC subtypes, and the AUC of the predictive model achieved 0.833 in the test cohort. Conclusions: Preoperative DCE-US has the potential to become a novel complementary method for predicting the pathological subtype of ICC. Critical relevance statement: DCE-US has the potential to assess the subtypes of ICC lesions quantitatively and preoperatively, which allows for more accurate and objective differential diagnoses, and more appropriate treatments and follow-up or additional examination strategies for the two subtypes. Key Points: Preoperative determination of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) subtype aids in surgical decision-making. Quantitative parameters from dynamic contrast-enhanced US (DCE-US) allow for the prediction of the ICC subtype. DCE-US-based imaging has the potential to become a novel complementary method for predicting ICC subtypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic tomography utilizes sensor arrays to collect sound wave signals, enabling non-contact measurement of physical parameters within an area of interest. Compared to optical technologies, acoustic tomography offers the advantages of low cost, low maintenance, and easy installation. Current research in acoustic tomography mainly focuses on reconstruction algorithms for temperature fields, while monitoring the composition and concentration of gases is significant for ensuring safety and improving efficiency, such as in scenarios like boiler furnaces and aviation engine nozzles. In excitable gases, the speed of sound exhibits an S-shaped curve that changes with frequency, a characteristic that could be potentially useful for acoustic tomography. Therefore, this study primarily discusses the quantitative calculation of gas concentration and temperature based on the dispersion of the speed of sound. By employing graphic processing and pattern matching methods, a coupled relationship of the dispersion of the speed of sound with gas concentration and temperature is established. The projection intersection method is used to calculate the concentration and temperature of binary and ternary gas mixtures. Combined with the inversion method, a joint reconstruction method for gas concentration fields and temperature fields based on the dispersion of the speed of sound is developed. The feasibility of the proposed simultaneous reconstruction method for temperature and concentration fields is validated using numerical simulations. Additionally, an acoustic tomography experimental system was set up to conduct reconstruction experiments for binary gas concentration fields and temperature fields, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero-shot sketch-based image retrieval (ZS-SBIR) has attracted increasing attention in computer vision, with the aim of searching the natural images that match a given sketch under the setting of zero-shot learning. In this paper, we propose a novel ZS-SBIR method based on the specifically developed domain-aware dual attention (DADA) module and similarity loss, which utilizes prior knowledge more fully than previous work. The DADA module emphasizes the importance of different channels and spaces according to the prior knowledge of whether the input is a sketch or a natural image. To preserve more prior knowledge from the models pre-trained on ImageNet, a similarity loss function is designed to supervise inter-class similarity. Furthermore, the center loss is introduced into our model, which can bridge the representation gap between the sketch domain and the natural image domain. We perform experiments on the TU-Berlin extended dataset and the Sketchy extended dataset, and the corresponding results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the main components and potential mechanism of Shuxuening Injection (SXNI) in the treatment of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) through network pharmacology and in vivo research. Methods: The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) and PharmMapper databases were used to extract and evaluate the effective components of Ginkgo biloba leaves, the main component of SXNI. The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and GeneCards databases were searched for disease targets and obtain the drug target and disease target intersections. The active ingredient-target network was built using Cytoscape 3.9.1 software. The STRING database, Metascape online platform, and R language were used to obtain the key targets and signaling pathways of the anti-MIRI effects of SXNI. In order to verify the therapeutic effect of different concentrations of SXNI on MIRI in rats, 60 rats were first divided into 5 groups according to random number table method: the sham operation group, the model group, SXNI low-dose (3.68 mg/kg), medium-dose (7.35 mg/kg), and high-dose (14.7 mg/kg) groups, with 12 rats in each group. Then, another 60 rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: the sham operation group, the model group, SXNI group (14.7 mg/kg), SXNI+LY294002 group, and LY294002 group, with 12 rats in each group. The drug was then administered intraperitoneally at body weight for 14 days. The main biological processes were validated using in vivo testing. Evans blue/triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) double staining, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western blot analysis were used to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of SXNI in MIRI rats. Results: Eleven core targets and 30 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were selected. Among these, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/ protein kinase B (AKT) pathway was closely related to SXNI treatment of MIRI. In vivo experiments showed that SXNI reduced the myocardial infarction area in the model group, improved rat heart pathological damage, and reduced the cardiomyocyte apoptosis rate (all P<0.01). After SXNI treatment, the p-PI3K/PI3K and p-AKT/AKT ratios as well as B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) protein expression in cardiomyocytes were increased, while the Bax and cleaved caspase 3 protein expression levels were decreased (all P<0.05). LY294002 partially reversed the protective effect of SXNI on MIRI. Conclusion: SXNI protects against MIRI by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial market is a particularly challenging playground for deep reinforcement learning due to its unique feature of dynamic datasets. Building high-quality market environments for training financial reinforcement learning (FinRL) agents is difficult due to major factors such as the low signal-to-noise ratio of financial data, survivorship bias of historical data, and model overfitting. In this paper, we present an updated version of FinRL-Meta, a data-centric and openly accessible library that processes dynamic datasets from real-world markets into gym-style market environments and has been actively maintained by the AI4Finance community. First, following a DataOps paradigm, we provide hundreds of market environments through an automatic data curation pipeline. Second, we provide homegrown examples and reproduce popular research papers as stepping stones for users to design new trading strategies. We also deploy the library on cloud platforms so that users can visualize their own results and assess the relative performance via community-wise competitions. Third, we provide dozens of Jupyter/Python demos organized into a curriculum and a documentation website to serve the rapidly growing community. The codes are available at https://github.com/AI4Finance-Foundation/FinRL-Meta [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porokeratosis (PK), characterized by keratotic lesions with an atrophic center and a prominent peripheral ridge, with a typical histological hallmark, namely, the cornoid lamella, has two forms: disseminated and localized. While PK often converts into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), conversion from disseminated superficial porokeratosis (DSP) alone is rarely reported except for one case in which DSP and LP coexisted and converted to SCC. Here, we report the case of a patient with SCC converted from DSP alone, presenting with coin-sized macules on the bottom right of his waist that developed into an ulcer at the center. The patient underwent radiation therapy, which effectively treated the SCC but did not resolve the PK. This article highlights regular follow-up and undergo comprehensive diagnosis, both of which are beneficial to enable early detection and management of DSP that has converted to into SCC; in addition, standardized medical treatment may help improve the treatment therapeutic effect of in similar diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of systemic factors on macular vessel density in quantitative Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) by sex. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 2018 adults were recruited in this study. Participants were excluded (n=964) due to missing data, eye-related problems, or low OCTA scan quality. Macular vessel densities were measured with OCTA using split-spectrum amplitude decorrelation angiography algorithm. Only the data from the right eyes were selected for analysis. Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to determine the associations between macular vessel density and obesity-related systemic factors in each gender group. Results: The right eyes of 1054 participants (59.6% women) were enrolled. Men had significantly higher obesity parameters and associated risk factors. In multivariable linear regression analysis in men, older age and type 2 diabetes mellitus were independently associated with lower superficial retinal vessel density (β = −0.37, p = 0.002; β = −1.22, p = 0.03) and deep retinal vessel density, respectively (β = −0.66, p < 0.001; β = −1.76, p = 0.02); positive association was also observed between body mass index (BMI) and superficial retinal vessel density (β = 0.56, p = 0.02). In women, only higher systolic blood pressure was independently associated with a lower deep retinal vessel density (β = −0.50, p = 0.003). Conclusions: This large cross-sectional study shows that older age and type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with lower superficial and deep retinal capillary vessel density in men. This may help clinicians better understand how systemic factors influence retinal vessel density in different genders and future studies can ascertain more potential sex differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief proposed an innovative fault detection method based on analytical data for the stratospheric airship control system. The control system considered is subject to both space disturbance and nonlinear characteristics; the faults of sensors and actuators are all taken into account. The proposed method is developed in two phases. In the first phase, the moving window kernel principal component analysis is employed to construct the fault detection model with the training data under normal operating conditions and update the fault detection model online until abnormal data are detected. Second, a fault detection model updating mechanism is designed to reduce computational complexity and cost with a clustering algorithm, which compounds the mean shift clustering with weighted Euclidean distance to reflect the data density distribution feature to make the updating to be adaptive. Finally, the proposed method is applied to detect fault for an illustrative simulation stratospheric airship control model. The fault detection results validate the effectiveness of proposed fault detection method for different sensor and actuator fault cases. Comparing to some extended moving window kernel principal component analysis method, the proposed method reduces the computational cost significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatty liver disease, a condition characterized by fatty degeneration of the liver, mainly classified as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD), has become a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and death. The gut-liver axis is the bidirectional relationship between the gut and its microbiota and its liver. The liver can communicate with the gut through the bile ducts, while the portal vein transports the products of the gut flora to the liver. The intestinal flora and its metabolites directly and indirectly regulate hepatic gene expression, leading to an imbalance in the gut-liver axis and thus contributing to the development of liver disease. Utilizing natural products for the prevention and treatment of various metabolic diseases is a prevalent practice, and it is anticipated to represent the forthcoming trend in the development of drugs for combating NAFLD/ALD. This paper discusses the mechanism of the enterohepatic axis in fatty liver, summarizes the important role of plant metabolites in natural products in fatty liver treatment by regulating the enterohepatic axis, and provides a theoretical basis for the subsequent development of new drugs and clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]