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Digital Surface Model (DSM) generation from high-resolution optical satellite images is an important topic of research in the remote sensing field. In optical satellite imaging systems, the attitude information of the cameras recorded by satellite sensors is often biased, which leads to errors in the Rational Polynomial Camera (RPC) model of satellite imaging. These errors in the RPC model can mislead the DSM generation. To solve the above problems, we propose an automatic DSM generation method from satellite images based on the Double-Penalty bundle adjustment (DPBA) optimization algorithm. In the proposed method, two penalty functions representing the camera’s attitude and the spatial 3D points, respectively, are added to the reprojection error model of the traditional bundle adjustment optimization algorithm. Instead of acting on images directly, the penalty functions are used to adjust the reprojection error model and improve the RPC parameters. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method using high-resolution satellite image pairs and multi-date satellite images. Through some experiments, we compare the accuracy and completeness of the DSM generated by the proposed method, the Satellite Stereo Pipeline (S2P) method, and the traditional bundle adjustment (BA) method. Compared to the S2P method, the experiment results of the satellite image pair indicate that the proposed method can significantly improve the accuracy and the completeness of the generated DSM by about 1–5 m and 20%–60% in most cases. Compared to the traditional BA method, the proposed method improves the accuracy and completeness of the generated DSM by about 0.01–0.05 m and 1%–3% in most cases. The experiment results can be a testament to the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

The genus Macquartia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera, Tachinidae) with 29 known species is a large group of Macquartiini of Tachininae and widely distributed in the Old World and the Nearctic Region.In this study, Chinese specimens of Macquartia were collected and examined, sixteen species are recognised: thirteen previously described, M. brunneisqua Zhang et Li, M. chinensis Zhang et Li, M. flavifemorata Zhang et Li, M. flavipedicel Zhang et Li, M. chalconota (Meigen), M. dispar (Fallén), M. grisea (Fallén), M. macularis Villeneuve, M. nudigena Mesnil, M. picta (Meigen), M. pubiceps (Zetterstedt), M. tenebricosa (Meigen) and M. viridana Robineau-Desvoidy and three species new to science, M. barkamensis sp. n. (Sichuan), M. setifacies sp. n. (Qinghai) and M. sichuanensis sp. n. (Sichuan). An identification key to the sixteen species of Macquartia known from China is included, along with 80 anatomical figures.

Three-dimensional reconstruction based on optical satellite images has always been a research hotspot in the field of photogrammetry. In particular, the 3D reconstruction of building areas has provided great help for urban planning, change detection and emergency response. The results of 3D reconstruction of satellite images are greatly affected by the input images, and this paper proposes an improvement method for 3D reconstruction of satellite images based on the generative adversarial network (GAN) image enhancement. In this method, the perceptual loss function is used to optimize the network, so that it can output high-definition satellite images for 3D reconstruction, so as to improve the completeness and accuracy of the reconstructed 3D model. We use the public benchmark dataset of satellite images to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. The experiments show that compared with the satellite stereo pipeline (S2P) method and the bundle adjustment (BA) method, the proposed method can automatically reconstruct high-quality 3D point clouds.

In this paper, by making use of some advanced tools from variational analysis and generalized differentiation, we establish necessary optimality conditions for a class of robust fractional minimax programming problems. Sufficient optimality conditions for the considered problem are also obtained by means of generalized convex functions. Additionally, we formulate a dual problem to the primal one and examine duality relations between them. In our results, by using the obtained results, we obtain necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for a class of robust fractional multi-objective optimization problems.

Effectively utilizing deep red to near-infrared (DR-NIR) phosphors to achieve the optimal performance of NIR phosphor-converted white LEDs (DR-NIR pc-wLEDs) is currently a research hotspot. In this study, an optical model of DR-NIR pc-wLEDs with virtual multilayer fluorescent films was established based on the Monte Carlo ray-tracing method. Different gradient distributions of the particles were assigned within the fluorescent film to explore their impact on the optical performance of pc-LEDs. The results show that, for the case with single-type particles, distributing more DR-NIR particles far from the blue LED chip increased the overall radiant power. The distribution of more DR-NIR particles near the chip increased the conversion ratio from blue to DR-NIR light. The ratio of the 707 nm fluorescence emission intensity to the 450 nm excitation light intensity increased from 1:0.51 to 1:0.28. For multiple-type particles, changes in the gradient distribution resulted in dual-nature changes, leading to a deterioration in the color rendering index and an increase in the correlated color temperature, while also improving the DR-NIR band ratio. The reabsorption caused by the partial overlap between the excitation band of the DR-NIR particles and the emission band of the other particles enhanced the radiant power at 707 nm. Distributing DR-NIR phosphor particles closer to the chip effectively amplified this effect. The proposed model and its results provide a solution for the forward design of particle distributions in fluorescent films to improve the luminous performance of DR-NIR pc-wLEDs.

Many studies have attempted to explore the changes in the structure and function of symbiotic microbiomes, as well as the underlying genetic mechanism during crop domestication. However, most of these studies have focused on crop root microbiomes, while those on leaf and fruit are rare. In this study, we generated a comprehensive dataset including the metagenomic (leaf) and metatranscriptomic (fruit pericarp in the orange stage) data of hundreds of germplasms from three tomato clades: Solanum pimpinellifolium (PIM), cherry tomato (S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) (CER), and S. lycopersicum group (BIG). We investigated the effect of domestication and improvement processes on the structure of the symbiotic microbiome of tomato leaf and fruit pericarp, as well as its genetic basis. We were able to obtain the composition of the symbiotic microbiome of tomato leaf and fruit pericarp, based on which the tomato clade (PIM, CER, or BIG) was predicted with high accuracy through machine learning methods. In the processes of tomato domestication and improvement, changes were observed in the relative abundance of specific bacterial taxa, Bacillus for example, in the tomato leaf and fruit pericarp symbiotic microbiomes, as well as in the function of these symbiotic microbiomes. In addition, SNP loci that were significantly associated with microbial species that are characteristic of tomato leaf were identified. Our results show that domestication and genetic improvement processes alter the symbiotic microbiome structure and function of tomato leaf and fruit pericarp. We propose that leaf and fruit microbiomes are more suitable for revealing changes in symbiotic microbiomes during the domestication process and the underlying genetic basis for these changes due to the exclusion of the influence of environmental factors such as soil types on the microbiome structure.

Highlights High-quality Sn2+/Mn2+-co-doped Rb4CdCl6 single crystals and powders were prepared and showed high-performance dual-emission white light with near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield. Short-range and extremely strong interactions between Sn2+ and Mn2+ were observed that lead to an intriguing ultra-high-efficiency Dexter energy transfer process from adjacent Sn2+ ions to Mn2+ ions. The dual-emission intensities were tuned flexibly by varying the fractions of Sn2+ and Sn–Mn pairs to balance their emission proportions for cold/warm white-light generation.

BackgroundWhole-genome sequencing (WGS) has contributed significantly to advancements in machine learning methods for predicting antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, the comparisons of different methods for AMR prediction without requiring prior knowledge of resistance remains to be conducted.MethodsWe aimed to predict the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 13 antimicrobial agents against Acinetobacter baumannii using three machine learning algorithms (random forest, support vector machine, and XGBoost) combined with k-mer features extracted from WGS data.ResultsA cohort of 339 isolates was used for model construction. The average essential agreement and category agreement of the best models exceeded 90.90% (95%CI, 89.03–92.77%) and 95.29% (95%CI, 94.91–95.67%), respectively; the exceptions being levofloxacin, minocycline and imipenem. The very major error rates ranged from 0.0 to 5.71%. We applied feature selection pipelines to extract the top-ranked 11-mers to optimise training time and computing resources. This approach slightly improved the prediction performance and enabled us to obtain prediction results within 10 min. Notably, when employing these top-ranked 11-mers in an independent test dataset (120 isolates), we achieved an average accuracy of 0.96.ConclusionOur study is the first to demonstrate that AMR prediction for A. baumannii using machine learning methods based on k-mer features has competitive performance over traditional workflows; hence, sequence-based AMR prediction and its application could be further promoted. The k-mer-based workflow developed in this study demonstrated high recall/sensitivity and specificity, making it a dependable tool for MIC prediction in clinical settings.

AbstractTo improve the anti-metastasis effects of honokiol (HNK) on breast cancer, we designed cationic liposomes (Lip) in which HNK was encapsulated into Lip, and its surface was modified with negatively charged polysialic acid (PSA-Lip-HNK) for efficient treatment of breast cancer. PSA-Lip-HNK possessed a homogeneous spherical shape and high encapsulation efficiency. In vitro 4T1 cell experiments indicated that PSA-Lip-HNK increased cellular uptake and cytotoxicity via the endocytosis pathway mediated by PSA and selectin receptors. Furthermore, the significant antitumor metastasis impact of PSA-Lip-HNK was confirmed by wound healing and cell migration and invasion. Enhanced in vivo tumor accumulation of the PSA-Lip-HNK was observed in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice by living fluorescence imaging. For in vivo antitumor experiments using 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, PSA-Lip-HNK exhibited a higher tumor growth and metastasis inhibition compared with unmodified liposomes. Therefore, we believe that PSA-Lip-HNK well combined biocompatible PSA nano-delivery and chemotherapy, providing a promising drug delivery approach for metastatic breast cancer therapy.

China is conducting ecological restoration work in urban water bodies. Under anoxic and anaerobic conditions, pollutants transform and produce odorous and black substances, deteriorating the water quality, which is a significant problem in urban water bodies. Vallisneria natans has received widespread attention for its applications in water treatment and restoration. However, the efficiency by which V. natans reduces water pollution and allows sediment remediation requires further improvement. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of V. natans coupled with carbon fiber on the restoration of water bodies and sediment compared with the control group that grew V. natans without carbon fiber. The oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) was selected as the main evaluation index for the water and sediment. Dissolved oxygen in the water and total organic carbon and total nitrogen (TN) in the sediment were also evaluated. V. natans coupled with carbon fiber significantly increased the ORP; that of surface sediment increased by 50 % and that of the water body increased by 60 % compared with the sediment without any bioremediation. Chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorous, and TN in water decreased by 61.2 %, 22.9 %, and 48.3 %, respectively. These results indicate that planting V. natans with carbon fiber can reduce pollutants in water (including humus) and sediments, effectively improving ORP in water and sediment.

Syndecan-1 (SDC1) modified lipid bilayer (LB)-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) to co-deliver gemcitabine (GEM) and honokiol (HNK) were prepared for the targeting treatment of pancreatic cancer. The encapsulation efficiencies of GEM and HNK in SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK were determined to be 60.3 ± 3.2% and 73.0 ± 1.1%. The targeting efficiency of SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK was investigated in BxPC-3 cells in vitro. The fluorescence intensity in the cells treated with SDC1-LB-MSN-Cou6 was 2-fold of LB-MSN-Cou6-treated cells, which was caused by SDC1/IGF1R-mediated endocytosis. As anticipated, its cytotoxicity was significantly increased. Furthermore, the mechanism was verified that SDC1-LB-MSN-HNK induced tumor cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Finally, the biodistribution, tumor growth inhibition, and preliminary safety studies were performed on BALB/c nude mice bearing BxPC-3 tumor models. The tumor growth inhibition index of SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK was 56.19%, which was 1.45-fold and 1.33-fold higher than that of the free GEM/HNK and LB-MSN-GEM/HNK treatment groups, respectively. As a result, SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK combined advantages of both GEM and HNK and simultaneously targeted and eliminated pancreatic cancerous and cancer-associated stromal cells. In summary, the present study demonstrated a new strategy of synergistic GEM and HNK to enhance the therapeutic effect of pancreatic cancer via the targeting depletion of tumor stroma.

Organic–inorganic hybrid halides and their analogs that exhibit efficient broadband emission from self-trapped excitons (STEs) offers an unique pathway towards realization of highly efficient white light sources for lighting applications. An appropriate dilution of ns2 ions into a halide host is essential to produce auxiliary emissions. However, the realization of ns2 cation-based halides phosphor that can be excited by blue light-emitting diode (LED) is still rarely reported. In this study, a zero-dimensional Te-based single crystal (C8H20N)2TeCl6 was synthesized, which exhibits a yellow-orange emission centered at 600 nm with a full width at half maximum of 130 nm upon excitation under 437 nm. Intense electron–phonon coupling was confirmed in the (C8H20N)2TeCl6 single crystal and the light emitting mechanism is comprehensively discussed. The results of this study are pertinent to the emissive mechanism of Te-based hybrid halides and can facilitate discovery of unidentified metal halides with broadband excitation features.

Abstract Based on magneto‐electric (ME) effect and spin Hall effect (SHE), the authors propose a novel spin logic device named MESH‐SLD. In MESH‐SLD, the charge current is transmitted in the channel by employing inverse SHE, which solves the dissipation problem of spin current in the channel of all‐spin logic device (ASLD). By using a magnetization‐dynamics/spin‐transport hybrid model, the authors have investigated the influence of working voltage, channel lengths, and materials on the performance of the MESH‐SLD. And the simulation results show that the energy dissipation of the MESH‐SLD only increases approximately linearly with the increase of channel length, while the switching delay remains almost unchanged. In addition, with the increase of the spin Hall angle of the channel material, the energy dissipation and the minimum working voltage of the MESH‐SLD decrease significantly. Most importantly, compared with conventional ASLD, the proposed MESH‐SLD improve the switching delay and the energy dissipation by about 2.5 times and 851.8 times, respectively.

Micro-irrigation pipe network systems are commonly utilized for water transmission and distribution in agricultural irrigation. They effectively transport and distribute water to crops, aiming to achieve water and energy conservation, increased yield, and improved quality. This paper presents a model for the scaled micro-irrigation pipeline network system and provides a comprehensive review of the fundamental concepts and practical applications of optimization techniques in the field of pipeline network design. This paper is divided into four main sections: Firstly, it covers the background and theoretical foundations of optimal design for scaled micro-irrigation pipeline network systems. Secondly, the paper presents an optimal design model specifically tailored for scaled micro-irrigation pipeline networks. And then, it discusses various optimization solution techniques employed for addressing the design challenges of scaled micro-irrigation pipeline networks, along with real-world case studies. Finally, this paper concludes with an outlook on the ongoing research and development efforts in the field of scaled micro-irrigation pipeline network systems. In addition, this paper establishes a fundamental model for optimizing pipeline networks, to achieve minimum safe operation and total cost reduction. It considers constraints such as pipeline pressure-bearing capacity, maximum flow rate, and diameter. The decision-making variables include pipeline diameter, length, internal roughness, node pressure, future demand, and valve placement. Additionally, this paper provides an extensive overview of deterministic methods and heuristic algorithms utilized in the optimal design of micro-irrigation pipeline networks. Finally, this paper presents future research directions for pipeline network optimization and explores the potential for algorithmic improvements, integration of machine learning techniques, and wider adoption of EPANET 2.0 software. These endeavors aim to lay a strong foundation for effectively solving complex and challenging optimization problems in micro-irrigation pipeline network systems in the future.

Abstract The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of organic solar cells (OSCs) have improved considerably in recent years with the development of fused‐ring electron acceptors (FREAs). Currently, FREAs‐based OSCs have achieved high PCEs of over 19% in single‐junction OSCs. Whereas the relatively high synthetic complexity and the low yield of FREAs typically result in high production costs, hindering the commercial application of OSCs. In contrast, noncovalently fused‐ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) can compensate for the shortcomings of FREAs and facilitate large‐scale industrial production by virtue of the simple structure, facile synthesis, high yield, low cost, and reasonable efficiency. At present, OSCs based on NFREAs have exceeded the PCEs of 15% and are expected to reach comparable efficiency as FREAs‐based OSCs. Here, recent advances in NFREAs in this review provide insight into improving the performance of OSCs. In particular, this paper focuses on the effect of the chemical structures of NFREAs on the molecule conformation, aggregation, and packing mode. Various molecular design strategies, such as core, side‐chain, and terminal group engineering, are presented. In addition, some novel polymer acceptors based on NFREAs for all‐polymer OSCs are also introduced. In the end, the paper provides an outlook on developing efficient, stable, and low‐cost NFREAs for achieving commercial applications.

The mitochondrial genome of Anthomyia illocata Walker, 1857 belonging to the Anthomyiidae, was obtained using a next-generation sequencing approach. This 16,236 bp complete mitogenome consists of 13 protein-coding, two ribosomal RNA, and 22 transfer RNA genes, as well as a non-coding control region. The Anthomyiidae are reconstructed as a paraphyletic group, with the genera Pegomya recovered as a sister group of the Scathophagidae.

ABSTRACT Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is an opportunistic pathogen that has become a global threat. The dissemination of global clone 2 (GC2) CRAB has been well documented. Oxford sequence type (ST) 208 is one of the most prevalent lineages of A. baumannii GC2; however, its evolution and phylogeny are unclear. We collected 45 representative ST208 isolates from 14 cities in China between 1999 and 2018. Moreover, 411 ST208 genome sequences were downloaded from the GenBank database for comparison. The global ST208 phylogeny showed that ST208 might have originated from North America and subsequently evolved into two clades. Notably, the widespread OXA-23-producing ST208 A. baumannii was correlated with the transposon structure and dynamics of replicative transposition, and the Tn2009 tandem structure of five copies of blaOXA-23 and potential circular intermediate of Tn2009 were first detected. Furthermore, 15 Chinese ST208 isolates carried GR25 pABTJ1-like plasmids, which contained blaOXA-23 and have only been found in China in the last decade. In conclusion, our work suggests that replicative transposition contributes to the evolution and transmission of OXA-23-producing ST208 A. baumannii and highlights the new challenges posed by the epidemiological surveillance of globally distributed clonal groups via whole genome sequencing. IMPORTANCE ST208 as one of the most prevalent lineages of CRAB has caused several difficult-to-treat infections and outbreaks around the world. However, few studies have focused on evaluating the genetic background differences of ST208 A. baumannii isolated from very distant geographic regions. A comprehensive genomic analysis of 456 clinical strains of ST208 A. baumannii from a wide temporal and geographic range was performed in this study. Moreover, the mechanisms leading to the horizontal transfer of blaOXA-23 in ST208 A. baumannii are poorly understood. We first describe experimental evidence of the potential circular intermediate of Tn2009, and the Tn2009 tandem structure of five copies of blaOXA-23 was first detected. The interbacterial transfer of genetic elements carrying resistance to last-line antibiotic carbapenems highlights the essential need to enhance epidemiologic surveillance.

Background: A growing body of evidence attests to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) during the pandemic. This study asked caregivers about their perceptions of how COVID-19 impacted them and the people they support. Method: An online survey was conducted in 12 countries during August-September 2020 and sought information on demographics, support practices, information and training, experiences of COVID-19, social distancing, and wellbeing, as measured by the DASS12. This study reports on 3,754 family members, direct support professionals, and managers who participated in the survey. Results: Caregivers observed increases in depression/anxiety, stereotyped behaviours, aggression towards others and weight gain in the person(s) they supported. They also reported difficulties supporting the person(s) to access healthcare. Families reported reducing or ceasing employment and absorbed additional costs when supporting their family member. Direct support professionals experienced changes in staff shifts, staff absences, increased workload and hiring of casual staff. Caregivers’ wellbeing revealed high levels of stress, depression, and less so anxiety. The strongest predictor of wellbeing among families was observation of changes in mood in the person(s) they supported, while for direct support professionals, the strongest predictors of wellbeing were reorganisation of staff shifts and increases in new direct support staff. Discussion: Findings support the contention of this population experiencing a disproportionate burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting historical inequities in access to healthcare and other human rights violations which are now protected under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Abstract MgSO4 is chosen as an additive to address the capacity fading issue in the rechargeable zinc-ion battery system of MgxV2O5·nH2O//ZnSO4//zinc. Electrolytes with different concentration ratios of ZnSO4 and MgSO4 are investigated. The batteries measured in the 1 M ZnSO4 −1 M MgSO4 electrolyte outplay other competitors, which deliver a high specific capacity of 374 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 and exhibit a competitive rate performance with the reversible capacity of 175 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1. This study provides a promising route to improve the performance of vanadium-based cathodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries with electrolyte optimization in cost-effective electrolytes.

ABSTRACT Acinetobacter baumannii is an important opportunistic pathogen of nosocomial infections. A. baumannii presently exhibits increasing antibiotic resistance, which poses great challenges to public health. The occurrence of tigecycline-resistant A. baumannii is related to tigecycline treatment and the within-host evolution of bacteria. We analyzed isogenic A. baumannii isolates from two critically ill patients who underwent tigecycline treatment. Whole-genome sequencing and comparative analyses were performed to determine the characteristics of genomic evolution. We conducted phenotypic studies, including in vitro antibiotic sensitivity tests, biofilm formation tests, growth curve determination, serum bactericidal determination, and Galleria mellonella lethality assays. In vivo emergent tigecycline resistance was observed after tigecycline treatment. After the withdrawal of tigecycline pressure, tigecycline-resistant isolates were not isolated from one patient. Four tigecycline-resistant isolates exhibited lower growth rates. The biofilm formation and virulence characteristics of tigecycline-resistant isolates were reasonably different between the two patients. A special phenotype appeared after tigecycline treatment in both patients, accompanied by reduced serum tolerance, enhanced biofilm formation ability, and reduced virulence of Galleria mellonella. Most of the genomic variation occurred after the tigecycline treatment, primarily involving transcription-, signal transduction-, translation-, ribosomal biogenesis-, and cell wall biogenesis-related genes. We determined that the genomic variations in baeR, wzc, aroQ, rluC, and adeS and acquisition of ISAba1 were associated with tigecycline resistance in vivo. Capsular polysaccharide-related genes, wzc, and itrA2, and aroQ, were the key genes related to the virulence evolution of A. baumannii within the host. IMPORTANCE Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii poses a huge challenge to clinical treatment, and tigecycline is considered a last-line drug for the treatment of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii. However, the mechanism of tigecycline resistance in vivo has not been elucidated. This study analyzed the genomic and phenotypic evolution of tigecycline-resistant A. baumannii in two critically ill patients. In this study, after treatment with tigecycline, tigecycline-resistant A. baumannii emerged with higher fitness costs. After the withdrawal of tigecycline pressure, tigecycline-resistant isolates were not isolated from one patient. The in vivo and in vitro virulence of the isolates exhibited diametrically opposite results in the two patients. Genomic variations in baeR, wzc, aroQ, rluC, and adeS and acquisition of ISAba1 were associated with tigecycline resistance in vivo. The capsular polysaccharide-related genes, wzc, itrA2, and aroQ, were the key genes related to the virulence of A. baumannii in hosts. Our research provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the mechanism of tigecycline resistance and presents new clues for future surveillance and treatment of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii.

Colistin and tigecycline are the last options against carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP). Intersecting resistance determinants have been detected between these antibiotics; however, there is only limited evidence of such association. Here, we describe a colistin-resistant CR-hvKP isolated from a patient with severe neonatal bacteremia treated with tigecycline as opposed to colistin before isolation of this strain, providing a clinical clue to colistin resistance under tigecycline pressure. Furthermore, an ST11-K64 KPC-2–producing, colistin-susceptible CR-hvKP strain was subjected to experimental evolution toward colistin resistance under tigecycline and colistin pressure to verify this phenomenon in vitro. The biological impact of acquiring colistin resistance on fitness and virulence was also studied. As expected, the parental strain rapidly developed colistin resistance under both tigecycline and colistin selection. However, different from the colistin resistance mechanism in the clinical strain that was due to an ISKpn26 insertion in the mgrB gene, the mutants in this study developed colistin resistance through a ∼4.4 or ∼4.6 kb deletion including the mgrB locus as well as the kdgR, yobH, yebO, yobF, cspC, ftsI, and rlmA genes. Although the virulence of the colistin-resistant mutants, as determined in the Galleria mellonella model, decreased compared with that of the parent strain, it was still higher than that of NTUH-K2044. This suggests a slight virulence cost when CR-hvKP develops colistin resistance under tigecycline or colistin pressure. Together, our results provide clinical and experimental evidence for the association between colistin resistance and tigecycline pressure in CR-hvKP, highlighting a critical issue in the clinical setting.

Inorganic indium‐based halide double perovskites (DPs) are environmentally friendly alternatives to lead‐based halide perovskites in light‐emitting diodes, but commonly suffer from low quantum efficiency and harsh synthesis conditions. Herein, a large‐scale green method using water as solvent is developed for the synthesis of 3D Cs2NaInCl6 and 0D Cs2InCl5·H2O with/without Sb3+ dopant at room temperature. The transformation between Cs2InCl5·H2O and Cs2NaInCl6 products is controlled by the concentration of eco‐friendly NaCl, where excess Cl− and Na+ ions play important roles in inhibiting In3+ hydrolysis and promoting Cs2NaInCl6 crystallization, respectively. The obtained Cs2NaInCl6:Sb and Cs2InCl5·H2O:Sb exhibit highly luminescent self‐trapped exciton‐related blue (450 nm; photoluminescence quantum yield [PLQY] ≈85%) and yellow (610 nm; PLQY ≈88%) emissions, which are comparable to those obtained by previous methods. Tunable cold/warm white light with a PLQY of up to ≈73% is achieved by the rational assembly of two components with highly overlapped excitation wavelength ranges. Each component demonstrates remarkable stability against humidity and heat. This composite shows great potential in solid‐state lighting for general illumination.

Background: Lung biopsy tissue samples can be used for infection detection and cancer diagnosis. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has the potential to further improve diagnosis. Methods: From July 2018 to May 2020, lung biopsy samples of 133 patients with suspected pulmonary infection or abnormal imaging findings were collected and subjected to clinical microbiological testing, Illumina and Nanopore sequencing to identify pathogens. The neural networks were pretrained by extracting features of human reads from 2,095 metagenomic next-generation sequencing results, and the human reads of lung biopsy samples were entered into the validated pipeline to predict the risk of cancer. Findings: Based on the pathogen-cancer detection pipeline, the Illumina platform showed 77·6% sensitivity and 97·6% specificity compared to the composite reference standard for infection diagnosis. However, the Nanopore platform showed 34·7% sensitivity and 98·7% specificity. mNGS identified more fungi, which was confirmed by subsequent pathological examination. M. tuberculosis complex was weakly detected. For cancer detection, compared with histology, the Illumina platform showed 83·7% sensitivity and 97·6% specificity, diagnosing an additional 36 cancer patients, of whom half had abnormal imaging findings (pulmonary shadow, space-occupying lesions, or nodules). Interpretation: For the first time, we have established a pipeline to simultaneously detect pathogens and cancer based on Illumina sequencing of lung biopsy tissue. This pipeline efficiently diagnosed cancer in patients with abnormal imaging findings. Funding: This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and National Natural Science Foundation of China.

ABSTRACT Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) poses a significant public health challenge worldwide, but research on IMP-producing CR-hvKP and its tigecycline resistance is extremely scarce. We report herein the recovery of two IMP-4–producing, capsular serotype K2, sequence type 65 (K2-ST65), hypervirulent K. pneumoniae isolates (C1672 and C2051), which caused severe and fatal infections in ICU patients, after retrospectively screening 3,285 carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates from 26 provinces in China. Notably, C2051 also demonstrated tigecycline nonsusceptibility, mediated by a frameshift mutation in the TetR/AcrR family transcriptional regulator. Both strains harbored blaIMP-4 and critical plasmid-borne virulence genes (rmpA/rmpA2, iucA, and iroN) and demonstrated high virulence in Galleria mellonella, indicating CR-hvKP. The blaIMP-4 gene was located on the IncU- and IncN-type plasmids, which showed high stability in C1672 and C2051 after serial passage for 5 days, with retention rates of 87% and 93.7%, respectively. No significant differences in growth rates were observed among the parental strains and the corresponding resistance plasmid-cured mutants (P = 0.5273), suggesting that strains carrying the blaIMP and virulence plasmids have the potential to exist for a long time without compromising fitness. The genetic environments of the blaIMP-4 gene in both strains were similar, and it has been inferred that the genetic regions of blaIMP-4 were inserted into different backbones. Several conjugal transfer genes, such as traO, traE, traN, and traBCD, were identified in the blaIMP-4-bearing plasmid of C2051, suggesting a higher ability for plasmid transmission. The convergence of IMP carbapenemase and tigecycline nonsusceptibility in a classic hypervirulent K. pneumoniae lineage highlights the need to enhance clinical awareness and epidemiologic surveillance. IMPORTANCE To date, research on IMP-producing CR-hvKP is extremely scarce. Only one case of urinary tract infection caused by an IMP-6–producing K1-ST23 hypervirulent K. pneumoniae isolate in Japan was recorded, with a limited description of clinical information and genomic features. None of the published studies examined the virulence of the reported strains or the stability and fitness of resistance plasmids or presented a phylogenetic analysis. This dearth of data is notable because CR-hvKP infections are increasingly identified, but critical characteristics of the emerging resistance mediated by IMP carbapenemases in CR-hvKP remain unknown. Here, we report the emergence of two IMP-4 carbapenemase-producing K2-ST65 hypervirulent K. pneumoniae isolates that caused severe and fatal infections in clinical settings in China. Notably, one of them also demonstrated tigecycline nonsusceptibility. These strains carrying blaIMP and virulence plasmids had the potential to exist for a long time without compromising their fitness, highlighting the urgent need to enhance clinical awareness and epidemiologic surveillance to prevent their dissemination.

The increasing number of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria presents a serious threat to global health. However, colistin-resistant Acinetobacter junii has rarely been reported. We identified a colistin-resistant A. junii clinical isolate, AJ6079, in blood. The colony of AJ6079 presented a dry phenotype, and it was difficult to form a bacterial suspension, whilst transmission electron microscopy revealed that AJ6079 possessed a thick outer membrane. The phenotypic and genomic comparisons were conducted with one colistin-susceptible A. junii, which had the same antibiotic susceptibility profile except for colistin, and had the same KL25 capsule biosynthesis locus. The AJ6079 exhibited a slower growth rate, indicating that colistin-resistant A. junii possesses a higher fitness cost. The genome of AJ6079 had a G+C content of 38.7% and contained one 3,362,966 bp circular chromosome with no plasmid or mobile colistin resistance (mcr) gene. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the AJ6079 contained several previously unreported point mutations in colistin-resistance-related genes involving amino acid substitutions in PmrB (N5K, G147C), LpxA (I107F, H131Y), and LpxD (F20I, K263R), which might be correlated with colistin resistance in A. junii. Further research is needed for verification as the genetic background was not exactly the same between the two isolates.

Macquartia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Tachinidae, Tachininae) represents one of the most ancient evolutionary lineages of tachinids, parasitizing Chrysomelidae larvae. We found four new Macquartia species collected by malaise traps, namely M. brunneisquama sp. nov., M. chinensis sp. nov., M. flavifemorata sp. nov., and M. flavipedicel sp. nov. These new species are described and illustrated, and their comparison with congeners as well as an identification key to the 12 species of Macquartia from China known to date are included. To determine the significance of the mitogenome architecture and evolution across different tachinid lineages of this primitive taxonomic group, four complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced, annotated, and analyzed. The gene arrangements are consistent with the ancestral insect mitogenomes. The full-length sequences and protein-coding genes (PCGs) of the mitogenomes of the four species are all AT-biased. Analyses of Ka/Ks and overall p-genetic distance demonstrated that nad5 showed the highest evolutionary rate and nad1/nad4L were the most conserved genes among the four species. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on 13 PCGs strongly supported the monophyly of Macquartia, and the relationships of the four species are (M. flavifemorata + (M. flavipedicel + (M. brunneisquama + M. chinensis))). This study will help enhance our understanding of the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships in Tachinidae.

Abstract Background In China multidrug-resistant bacteria pose a considerable threat to public health. Antimicrobial resistance has weakened the effectiveness of many medicines widely used today. Thus, discovering new antibacterial drugs is paramount in the effort to treat emerging drug-resistant bacteria. Methods Eravacycline, tigecycline and other clinical routine antibiotics were tested by reference broth micro-dilution method against 336 different strains collected from 11 teaching hospitals in China between 2012 and 2016. These isolates included Enterobacteriaceae, non-fermentative, Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus, and a number of fastidious organisms. The strains involved in this study possess the most important drug resistance characteristics currently known in China. Drug resistant bacteria such as those producing extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and carbapenemases (KPC-2 and NDM-1), and those exhibiting colistin resistance (mcr-1) and tigecycline were included in this study. Additionally, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), β-lactamase positive Haemophilus influenzae, and penicillin resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) were also included. Results Eravacycline exhibited good efficacy against all the strains tested, especially for organisms with ESBLs, carbapenemases, and mcr-1 gene compared with tigecycline and other antibiotics tested. The MIC values of eravacycline against carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae and OXA-23-producing A. baumannii were much lower than the MIC values of other antibiotics. MRSA, VRE, β-lactamase positive Haemophilus influenza, and PRSP were sensitive to eravacycline in every strain tested. Furthermore, in most strains tested, the MICs of eravacycline were two to four-fold lower than the MICs of tigecycline. Conclusions Eravacycline has shown potent antibacterial activity against common and clinically important antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The MIC distribution of eravacycline was generally lower than that of tigecycline which demonstrates that this new drug is potentially more effective than the existing medications.

Silicon is a promising anode material for rechargeable Li-ion battery (LIB) due to its high energy density and relatively low operating voltage. However, silicon based electrodes suffer from rapid capacity degradation during electrochemical cycling. The capacity decay is predominantly caused by (i) cracking due to large volume variations during lithium insertion/extraction and (ii) surface degradation due to excessive solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation. In this work, we demonstrate that coating of a-Si thin film with a Li-active, nanoporous SiOx layer can result in exceptional electrochemical performance in Li-ion battery. The SiOx layer provides improved cracking resistance to the thin film and prevent the active material loss due to excessive SEI formation, benefiting the electrode cycling stability. Half-cell experiments using this anode material show an initial reversible capacity of 2173 mAh g−1 with an excellent coulombic efficiency of 90.9%. Furthermore, the electrode shows remarkable capacity retention of ∼97% after 100 cycles at C/2 charging rate. The proposed anode architecture is free from Li-inactive binders and conductive additives and provides mechanical stability during the charge/discharge process. Keywords: Amorphous silicon, Thin film, Solid electrolyte interphase, Silicon oxide, Anode, Li-ion battery

Background: Bloodstream infection (BSI) is one of the most common serious bacterial infections worldwide and also a major contributor to in-hospital mortality. Determining the predictors of mortality is crucial for prevention and improving clinical prognosis in patients with nosocomial BSI.Methods: A nationwide prospective cohort study was conducted from 2007 until 2016 in 16 teaching hospitals across China. Microbiological results, clinical information, and patient outcomes were collected to investigate the pathogenic spectrum and mortality rate in patients with BSI and identify outcome predictors using multivariate regression, prediction model, and Kaplan–Meier analysis.Results: No significant change was observed in the causative pathogen distribution during the 10-year period and the overall in-hospital mortality was 12.83% (480/3,741). An increased trend was found in the mortality of patients infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Acinetobacter baumannii, while a decreased mortality rate was noted in Staphylococcus aureus-related BSI. In multivariable-adjusted models, higher mortality rate was significantly associated with older age, cancer, sepsis diagnosis, ICU admission, and prolonged hospital stay prior to BSI onset, which were also determined using machine learning-based predictive model achieved by random forest algorithm with a satisfactory performance in outcome prediction.Conclusions: Our study described the clinical and microbiological characteristics and mortality predictive factors in patients with BSI. These informative predictors would inform clinical practice to adopt effective therapeutic strategies to improve patient outcomes.

On account of the high theoretical capacity, high corrosion resistance, environmental benignity, abundant availability and low cost, the research on α-Fe2O3 has been gradually fastened on as promising anodes materials toward lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). A high-performance anode for LIBs based on α-Fe2O3 nanoplates have been selectively prepared. The α-Fe2O3 nanoplates can be synthesized with iron ion-based ionic liquid as iron source and template. The α-Fe2O3 nanoplates as the anode of LIBs can display high capacity of around 1950 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 which have exceeded the theoretical capacity of α-Fe2O3. On account of unique nanoplate structures and gum arabic as binder, the α-Fe2O3 nanoplates also exhibit high rate capability and excellent cycling performance. Keywords: α-Fe2O3, Nanoplates, Li-ion battery, High reversible capacity, Anode

This study aims to explore the co-occurrence of chromosomal and plasmid blaOXA-23 in carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) and its influence on phenotypes. A total of 11 CRAB isolates containing copies of blaOXA-23 on the chromosome and plasmid (CO), as well as 18 closely related isolates with blaOXA-23, located on either the chromosome or plasmid (SI), were selected for the determination of antibiotic susceptibility, virulence phenotype, and characteristic genomic differences. The co-occurrence of blaOXA-23 on the CRAB chromosome and plasmids did not enhance carbapenem resistance, but trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole exhibited significantly reduced minimum inhibitory concentrations in CO. CO demonstrated a higher degree of fitness compared to SI. An increased biofilm formation ability and serum tolerance were also identified in CO, which may be associated with virulence genes, which include csuD, entE, pgaA, and plc. blaOXA-23-carrying transposons were found at different insertion sites on the chromosome. The most common site was AbaR-type genomic islands (50%). Two types of plasmids were found in CO. The co-occurrence of blaOXA-23 on the chromosome and a plasmid in CRAB had little effect on carbapenem susceptibility but was accompanied by increased fitness and virulence. Different origins and independent insertions of blaOXA-23-carrying transposons were identified in both the chromosomal and plasmid sequences.

Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMP) are important mediators of innate immunity. Here the authors show that N-myc and STAT interactor (NMI) and interferon-induced protein 35 (IFP35) act as DAMPs to promote inflammation by activating macrophages via the Toll-like receptor 4 and NF-κB pathways.

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is a comprehensive approach for sequence-based identification of pathogenic microbes. However, reports on the use of mNGS in pulmonary infection applied to lung biopsy tissues remain scarce. In this study, we applied mNGS to detect the presence of pathogenic microbes in lung biopsy tissues from 20 patients with pulmonary disorders indicating possible infection. We applied a new data management for identifying pathogen species based on mNGS data. We determined the thresholds for the unique reads and relative abundance required to identify the infectious pathogens. Potential pathogens of pulmonary infections in 15 patients were identified by mNGS. The comparison between mNGS and culture method resulted that the sensitivity and specificity were 100.0% (95% CI: 31.0–100.0%) and 76.5% (95% CI: 49.8–92.2%) for bacteria, 57.1% (95% CI: 20.2–88.2%) and 61.5% (95% CI: 32.2–84.9%) for fungi. The positive predictive value (PPV) (42.9% for bacteria, 44.4% for fungi) was much lower than negative predictive value (NPV) (100% for bacteria, 72.7% for fungi) in mNGS vs. culture method. The mNGS showed the highest specificity (100.0 and 94.1%) and PPV (100.0 and 75.0%) in the evaluation of fungi and MTBC respectively, when compared with histopathology method. The study indicated that mNGS of lung biopsy tissues can be used to detect the presence (or absence) of pulmonary pathogens in patients, with potential benefits in speed and sensitivity. However, accurate data management and interpretation of mNGS are required, and should be combined with observations of clinical manifestations and conventional laboratory-based diagnostic methods.

To investigate the epidemiology and genetic structure of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in China, a total of 416 isolates from 22 teaching hospitals in 12 cities from 2013 and 2016 were characterized by antibiogram analysis, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), spa typing and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing. The predominant meticillin-susceptible (MSSA) genotypes in 2013 were ST188 (19.1%), ST7 (8.7%), and ST398 (7.8%), respectively, and they continued to be the main genotypes in 2016. The prevalence of meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) were 36.5% (66/181) and 36.6% (86/235) in 2013 and 2016, respectively. Interestingly, the susceptibility rates of MRSA to rifampicin and fluoroquinolones increased significantly from 2013 to 2016 (P < 0.01), and this was associated with changes in genetic structure. ST239-t030-MRSA, the predominant genotype among all MRSAs in 2013 (34.8%), was replaced by ST59-t437-MRSA (15.1%) in 2016. Further analysis revealed that the ST239-t030-MRSA were more resistant to rifampicin, tetracycline and fluoroquinolones than ST59-t437-MRSA (P < 0.01). To further gain insight into the mechanisms underlying the changes of genetic structure, in vitro competition and fitness measurements were performed. Importantly, ST239-t030-MRSA displayed lower growth rate and lower competitive advantage compared to ST59-t437-MRSA. Together, our findings reveal that fitness advantage of ST59-t437-MRSA over ST239-t030-MRSA may lead to changes in genetic structure and increased susceptibility of MRSA to rifampicin and fluoroquinolones in Chinese patients with S. aureus bacteremia. Our study supports temporal dynamics in MRSA clone diversities, further providing critical insights into the importance of continued monitoring of MRSA.

Although coexistence of blaNDM-5 and mcr-1 in Escherichia coli has been reported, little is known about the fitness and virulence of such strains. Three carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (GZ1, GZ2, and GZ3) successively isolated from one patient in 2015 were investigated for microbiological fitness and virulence. GZ1 and GZ2 were also resistant to colistin. To verify the association between plasmids and fitness, growth kinetics of the transconjugants were performed. We also analyzed genomic sequences of GZ2 and GZ3 using PacBio sequencing. GZ1 and GZ2 (ST10) co-harbored blaNDM-5 and mcr-1, while GZ3 (ST4981) carried only blaNDM-5. GZ3 demonstrated significantly more rapid growth (P < 0.001) and overgrew GZ2 with a competitive index of 1.0157 (4 h) and 2.5207 (24 h). Increased resistance to serum killing and mice mortality was also identified in GZ3. While GZ2 had four plasmids (IncI2, IncX3, IncHI2, IncFII), GZ3 possessed one plasmid (IncFII). The genetic contexts of blaNDM-5 in GZ2 and GZ3 were identical but inserted into different backbones, IncX3 (102,512 bp) and IncFII (91,451 bp), respectively. The growth was not statistically different between the transconjugants with mcr-1 or blaNDM-5 plasmid and recipient (P = 0.6238). Whole genome sequence analysis revealed that 28 virulence genes were specific to GZ3, potentially contributing to increased virulence of GZ3. Decreased fitness and virulence in a mcr-1 and blaNDM-5 co-harboring ST10 E. coli was found alongside a ST4981 strain with only blaNDM-5. Acquisition of mcr-1 or blaNDM-5 plasmid did not lead to considerable fitness costs, indicating the potential for dissemination of mcr-1 and blaNDM-5 in Enterobacteriaceae.

Two-dimensional (2D) metal dichalcogenides have attracted considerable attention for use in photoelectric devices due to their unique layer structure and strong light-matter interaction. In this paper, vertically grown SnS2 nanosheets array film was synthesized by a facile chemical bath deposition (CBD). The effects of deposition time and annealing temperature on the quality of SnS2 films was investigated in detail. By optimizing the preparation conditions, the SnS2 array film exhibited efficient photoelectric detection performance under sunlight. Furthermore, in order to improve the performance of the photodetector based on SnS2 nanosheets film, a transparent graphene film was introduced as the hole-transport layer by wet-chemical method directly transferring techniques. Graphene/SnS2 nanosheets array film heterojunction photodetectors exhibit enhanced photoresponsivity. The light on/off ratio of the photodetector based on graphene/SnS2 was 1.53, about 1.4 times higher than that of the pristine SnS2 array films. The improved photoresponse performance suggested that the effective heterojunction between vertical SnS2 nanosheets array film and graphene suppresses the recombination of photogenerated carriers. The results indicate that the graphene/SnS2 heterojunction photodetectors have great potential in photodetection devices.

CuO/ZnO heterojunction nanorod arrays were synthesized using a facile photochemical deposition strategy. The morphology of CuO was related to the concentration of Cu2+ in the Cu(NO3)2 solution, UV illumination time, and the air annealing temperature. A possible reaction mechanism was proposed. In the photochemical deposition process, the OH− was generated in the vicinity of the ZnO nanorod arrays and reacted with Cu2+ and NO3− in the solution to form Cu2(NO3)(OH)3/ZnO heterojunction nanorod arrays firstly, which were converted into CuO/ZnO heterojunction nanorod arrays completely after air annealing at a low temperature. The fabricated CuO/ZnO heterojunction nanorod arrays exhibits a well-defined rectifying characteristic and an improved photo-response performance compared with pure ZnO nanorod arrays.

We prepared high-performance photoresistors based on CH3NH3PbI3 films with a high PbI2 doping level. The role of PbI2 in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite thin film was systematically investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, and photoconductive atomic force microscope. Laterally-structured photodetectors have been fabricated based on CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite thin films deposited using precursor solution with various CH3NH3I:PbI2 ratios. Remarkably, the introduction of a suitable amount of PbI2 can significantly improve the performance and stability of perovskite-based photoresistors, optoelectronic devices with ultrahigh photo-sensitivity, high current on/off ratio, fast photo response speed, and retarded decay. Specifically, a highest responsivity of 7.8 A/W and a specific detectivity of 2.1 × 1013 Jones with a rise time of 0.86 ms and a decay time of 1.5 ms have been achieved. In addition, the local dependence of photocurrent generation in perovskite thin films was revealed by photoconductive atomic force microscopy, which provides direct evidence that the presence of PbI2 can effectively passivate the grain boundaries of CH3NH3PbI3 and assist the photocurrent transport more effectively.

A comparative genomic microarray comprising 2,457 genes from two whole genomes of S. aureus was employed for the comparative genome hybridization analysis of 50 strains of divergent clonal lineages, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), and swine strains in China. Large-scale validation was confirmed via polymerase chain reaction in 160 representative clinical strains. All of the 50 strains were clustered into seven different complexes by phylogenetic tree analysis. Thirteen gene clusters were specific to different S. aureus clones. Ten gene clusters, including seven known (vSa3, vSa4, vSaα, vSaβ, Tn5801, and phage ϕSa3) and three novel (C8, C9, and C10) gene clusters, were specific to human MRSA. Notably, two global regulators, sarH2 and sarH3, at cluster C9 were specific to human MRSA, and plasmid pUB110 at cluster C10 was specific to swine MRSA. Three clusters known to be part of SCCmec, vSa4 or Tn5801, and vSaα as well as one novel gene cluster C12 with homology with Tn554 of S. epidermidis were identified as MRSA-specific gene clusters. The replacement of ST239-spa t037 with ST239-spa t030 in Beijing may be a result of its acquisition of vSa4, phage ϕSa1, and ϕSa3. In summary, thirteen critical gene clusters were identified to be contributors to the evolution of host specificity and antibiotic resistance in Chinese S. aureus.

Supported molybdenum carbide (yMo2C/M41) and Cu-promoted molybdenum carbide, using a mechanical mixing and co-impregnation method (xCuyMo2C/M41-M and xCuyMo2C/M41-I) on a mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41, were prepared by temperature-programmed carburization method in a CO/H2 atmosphere at 1073 K, and their catalytic performances were tested for CO2 hydrogenation to form methanol. Both catalysts, which were promoted by Cu, exhibited higher catalytic activity. In comparison to 20Cu20Mo2C/M41-M, the 20Cu20Mo2C/M41-I catalyst exhibited a stronger synergistic effect between Cu and Mo2C on the catalyst surface, which resulted in a higher selectivity for methanol in the CO2 hydrogenation reaction. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the highest selectivity (63%) for methanol was obtained at a CO2 conversion of 8.8% over the 20Cu20Mo2C/M41-I catalyst.

Abstract Aims This study sought to assess the effect of treatment of sacubitril/valsartan (S/V) on improving cardiac function and reversing cardiac remodelling in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) complicated with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods and results We enrolled 275 ACS patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction after PCI. The patients were divided into the routine and S/V groups according to the treatment drugs. The symptoms, N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) concentrations, echocardiographic parameters [left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular end‐diastolic volume index (LVEDVI), and left ventricular end‐systolic volume index (LVESVI)], major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), and adverse reactions were recorded at baseline and 6 months after treatment when a clinical follow‐up was performed. The S/V group was further divided into prespecified subgroups including unstable angina (UA) group, non‐ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) group, and ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) group according to the type of ACS. We analysed the changes in LVEF, LVMI, LVEDVI, LVESVI, and NT‐proBNP in both groups and evaluated the correlation between the changes in the above variables (ΔLVEF, ΔLVMI, ΔLVEDVI, ΔLVESVI, and ΔNT‐proBNP). Cox regression model was used to assess the independent risk factors of MACE. Prespecified subgroup analyses were also conducted. Compared with baseline, LVEF increased significantly (P

Abstract Background Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are the leading health risks for the elderly. Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a novel and reliable indicator of insulin resistance (IR). This study aims to explore the relationship between the TyG index and all-cause mortality in oldest-old patients with ACS and DM. Methods Seven hundred twenty hospitalized patients with ACS aged ≥ 80 years were enrolled, and 699 patients signed informed consent for the study. During the follow-up period, 37 were lost to follow-up, and the follow-up rate was 94.7%. 231 ACS patients with DM were selected for the study’s analyses. Kaplan–Meier curve, Cox regression model and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to analyze the association between the TyG index and all-cause mortality. Results The mean age of participants was 81.58 ± 1.93 years, and 32.47% were women. Compared to TyG tertile 1, the Hazard Ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] of all-cause mortality was 2.04 (1.09, 3.81) for TyG tertile 3 in the fully adjusted model. For the TyG index per standard deviation (SD) increment, the HR (95% CI) of all-cause mortality was 1.44 (1.13, 1.83). Further, the association between the TyG index and all-cause mortality was dose–response (P for trend = 0.026). ROC curve analyses indicated that the TyG index outperformed FBG and TG in the prediction of mortality risk and improved the prognostic value of the Gensini score combined with LVEF. Conclusion The TyG index predicts the risk of all-cause mortality in the oldest-old ACS patients with DM.

Background and objectiveNutritional status assessment in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients has been neglected for a long time. The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) is a sensitive indicator for assessing the nutritional status of the elderly. This study aims to explore the association between GNRI and all-cause mortality in the oldest-old patients with ACS.MethodsThe patients who met the inclusion criteria were consecutively enrolled from January 2006 to December 2012. Clinical data were collected on admission, and all subjects were followed after being discharged. The nutritional status was evaluated using GNRI. The relationship between GNRI and all-cause mortality was assessed by using different analyses.ResultsA total of 662 patients with a mean age of 81.87 ± 2.14 years old were included in our study, and followed (median: 63 months, IQR 51–71). Patients whose GNRI ≤ 98 were reported as at risk of malnutrition (31.11%, n = 206). In multivariable analysis, we found that for each SD increase in GNRI, the risk of all-cause mortality lowered by 23%, and the HR for GNRI ≤ 98 was 1.39 (95% CI 1.04–1.86). After stratifying patients into three groups by tertiles of GNRI, we found that the HRs for tertile 2 and tertile 3 were 1.49 (95% CI 1.02–2.19) and 1.74 (95% CI 1.22–2.50), respectively. The trend test revealed a dose–response relationship between GNRI and all-cause mortality in the oldest-old with ACS. Lastly, in subgroup analyses, we found a reliable association between GNRI and all-cause mortality.ConclusionMalnutrition is common in the oldest-old patients with ACS, and GNRI could predict their long-term all-cause mortality in a dose-dependent manner. GNRI may be a prospective index for risk-stratification and secondary-prevention in the oldest-old patients with ACS.

Abstract Permanent-magnet small ball-end magnetorheological polishing method can be used to polish the small part with complex structure. However, the material removal rate of this method is low, which is difficult to improve the output and reduce the cost. In this research, the effect of magnetorheological fluid temperature on the material removal rate is theoretically analyzed by measuring the effect of temperature on the flow properties of magnetorheological fluid, establishing the hydrodynamic model of polishing zone and solving the material removal parameters. It is found that with the increase of the magnetorheological fluid temperature, the polishing relative velocity increases accordingly, which can promote the improvement of material removal rate. But the shear stress decreases accordingly, which inhibits the improvement of material removal rate. The verification experiment results show that the promoting effect can exceeds the inhibitory effect, so that the material removal rate increases with the increase of magnetorheological fluid temperature. When the magnetorheological fluid temperature increases to 60 °C, the material removal rate is improved by 108.4% and the polished surface roughness Sa can reach 14.9 nm. Therefore, increasing the magnetorheological fluid temperature can significantly improve the efficiency of permanent-magnet small ball-end magnetorheological polishing and obtain high quality polished surface.

As the core device of the hemispherical resonator gyroscope (HRG), the processing accuracy and the surface quality of hemispherical resonator directly affect the working accuracy and the service life of HRG. To solve the problem of hemispherical resonator processing and improve the performance of HRG, the interference in the processing of hemispherical resonator is analyzed theoretically according to the structural characteristics of the hemispherical resonator. Then, the grinding trajectory is planned by using the characteristics of the grinding area distribution of the ball-end grinding wheel, and the optimal turning angle of the ball-end grinding wheel during different grinding processing sections of the hemispherical resonator is determined. Finally, grinding experiments of hemispherical resonator are conducted on the developed hemispherical resonator ultra-precision grinding machine tool. The surface roughness (Ra value) of hemispherical resonator is improved from 0.615 8 μm to 0.040 2 μm after ultra-precision grinding processing, while the profile accuracy (PV value) is improved from 4.590 4 μm to 0.339 0 μm. The surface roughness Ra of the hemispherical resonator is further improved to 0.003 2 μm after magnetorheological polishing. The research shows that the grinding process after trajectory planning can avoid the interference between the grinding wheel rod and the workpiece. High-quality hemispherical resonator component is produced by using the above grinding process.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of using the tortuosity of branch retinal artery as a more promising indicator for early detection and accurate assessment of diabetic retinopathy (DR).Design and methodThe diagnoses, consisting of whether DR or not as well as DR severity, were given by ophthalmologists upon the assessment of those fundus images from 495 diabetic patients. Meanwhile, benefiting from those good contrast and high optical resolution fundus images taken by confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope, the branch arteries, branch veins, main arteries and main veins in retina can be segmented independently, and the tortuosity values of them were further extracted to investigate their potential correlations with DR genesis and progress based on one-way ANOVA test.ResultsFor both two comparisons, i.e., between non-DR group and DR group as well as among groups with different DR severity levels, larger tortuosity increments were always observed in retinal arteries and the increments in branch retinal vessels were even larger. Furthermore, it was newly found that branch arterial tortuosity was significantly associated with both DR genesis (p=0.030) and DR progress (p

Aging represents an independent risk factor affecting the poor prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This present research aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of myocardial injury in elderly AMI by animals and cells experiment. Our previous clinical study found the serum Cystatin C (Cys-C) increased in the elderly AMI population, while the mechanism underlying high Cys-C induced myocardial injury of AMI remains unclear. In the in-vitro study, we confirmed that Wnt/β-catenin could significantly reduce the expression of cytoplasmic Cys-C through transnuclear action, and highly attenuate the occurrence of mitochondrial oxidative stress injury induced via Cys-C/reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, the addition of exogenous Wnt3a and inhibition of Cys-C expression could effectively inhibit mitochondrial oxidative stress injury and relieve the acute myocardial hypoxia injury. These results indicate that Cys-C exerted damaging effects on the hypoxic aging cardiomyocyte through the ROS/mitochondrial signaling pathway. Inhibition of this pathway effectively reduced the apoptosis of aging cardiomyocytes. In the in-vivo study, we also explored the function of the Wnt/Cys-C pathway on the ischemic infarction heart. We confirmed that Wnt/β-catenin served as the upstream protective protein of this pathway, and the promotion of this pathway improved the cardiac structure and function of the elderly AMI mice effectively.

To mitigate the temperature sensitivity of photonic devices, materials with a negative thermo-optical coefficient (TOC) are integrated to optical waveguides. However, previously reported waveguides are made athermal at only one wavelength. In this paper, we theoretically propose a new broadband athermal waveguide, which consists of TiO2 with a negative TOC and SiC with a positive TOC in its core. This composite core shows a near-zero broadband effective TOC, i.e., ±1x10-6/K over a 780-nm bandwidth from 1280 to 2060 nm. Furthermore, it also has low anomalous dispersion, from 66 to 329 ps/nm/km in the same wavelength range. This new athermal waveguide, when used to form microresonators, enables us to achieve broadband nonlinear applications with negligible intra-cavity thermal dynamics on a chip. We also show that the proposed waveguide can be tightly bent without suffering from a large bending loss/substrate leakage, which is suitable for dense integration.

BackgroundThe differential effects of various exercises on knee joint injury have not been well documented. Improper physical training can cause irreversible damage to the knee joint. MRI is generally used to precisely analyze morphological and biochemical changes in the knee cartilage. We compared the effects of long-walking and regular daily physical training on acute and chronic knee joint injuries as well as cartilage structure in freshmen students.MethodsA total of 23 young male college freshmen were recruited to participate in an 8-day 240 km long distance walk and a one-year daily training. 3D-DESSwe, 2D T2 mapping, DIXON, and T1WI of the right knee joint were performed using the MAGNETOM Spectra 3T MR scanner. The injury of meniscus, bone marrow edema, ligaments and joint effusion is graded. Cartilage volume, thickness and T2 values of 21 sub-regions of the knee cartilage were estimated using automatic cartilage segmentation prototype software. Friedman’s test and Wilcoxon paired rank-sum test were used to compare quantitative indices of knee cartilage in three groups.ResultsThe injury to the medial meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament of the knee joint, joint effusion, and bone marrow edema was significantly higher in the long-walking group compared to the baseline and daily groups. Furthermore, injury to the lateral meniscus was significantly worse in the long-walking group compared to the baseline group but was significantly better in the daily group compared to the baseline group. No significant changes to the posterior cruciate ligament were observed among the three groups. Knee cartilage volume was significantly increased, mainly in the stress surface of the femur, patella, and the lateral area of the tibial plateau. Regular daily training did not significantly change the thickness of the knee cartilage. Conversely, knee cartilage thickness decreased in the long-walking group, especially in the medial and lateral areas of the femur and tibial plateau. Moreover, no significant changes were observed in the knee cartilage volume of the long-walking group. Both long-walking and daily groups showed reduced T2 values of the knee joint compared to the baseline.ConclusionAmong freshmen students and the training of this experimental intensity, our results show that regular daily training does not cause high-level injury to the knee joint, but improve the knee joint function adaptability by increasing cartilage volume. Moreover, knee injury caused by short-term long walking can be reversible.