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Auditory spatial attention detection (ASAD) aims to decipher the spatial locus of a listener's selective auditory attention from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. However, current models may exhibit deficiencies in EEG feature extraction, leading to overfitting on small datasets or a decline in EEG discriminability. Furthermore, they often neglect topological relationships between EEG channels and, consequently, brain connectivities. Although graph-based EEG modeling has been employed in ASAD, effectively incorporating both local and global connectivities remains a great challenge. To address these limitations, we propose a new ASAD model. First, time-frequency feature fusion provides a more precise and discriminative EEG representation. Second, EEG segments are treated as graphs, and the graph convolution and global attention mechanism are leveraged to capture local and global brain connections, respectively. A series of experiments are conducted in a leave-trials-out cross-validation manner. On the MAD-EEG and KUL datasets, the accuracies of the proposed model are more than 9% and 3% higher than those of the corresponding state-of-the-art models, respectively, while the accuracy of the proposed model on the SNHL dataset is roughly comparable to that of the state-of-the-art model. EEG time-frequency feature fusion proves to be indispensable in the proposed model. EEG electrodes over the frontal cortex are most important for ASAD tasks, followed by those over the temporal lobe. Additionally, the proposed model performs well even on small datasets. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the neural encoding related to human hearing and attention, with potential applications in neuro-steered hearing devices., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Brain gliomas are a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Existing glioma segmentation approaches using multi-modal inputs often rely on a simplistic approach of stacking images from all modalities, disregarding modality-specific features that could optimize diagnostic outcomes. This paper introduces STE-Net, a spatial reinforcement hybrid Transformer-based tri-branch multi-modal evidential fusion network designed for conflict-free brain tumor segmentation. STE-Net features two independent encoder-decoder branches that process distinct modality sets, along with an additional branch that integrates features through a cross-modal channel-wise fusion (CMCF) module. The encoder employs a spatial reinforcement hybrid Transformer (SRHT), which combines a Swin Transformer block and a modified convolution block to capture richer spatial information. At the output level, a conflict-free evidential fusion mechanism (CEFM) is developed, leveraging the Dempster-Shafer (D-S) evidence theory and a conflict-solving strategy within a complex network framework. This mechanism ensures balanced reliability among the three output heads and mitigates potential conflicts. Each output is treated as a node in the complex network, and its importance is reassessed through the computation of direct and indirect weights to prevent potential mutual conflicts. We evaluate STE-Net on three public datasets: BraTS2018, BraTS2019, and BraTS2021. Both qualitative and quantitative results demonstrate that STE-Net outperforms several state-of-the-art methods. Statistical analysis further confirms the strong correlation between predicted tumors and ground truth. The code for this project is available at https://github.com/whotwin/STE-Net., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, and there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service, and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: The efficacy of mRNA-based vaccines and therapies relies on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) as carriers to deliver mRNA into cells. The chemical structure of ionizable lipids (ILs) within LNPs is crucial in determining their delivery efficiency., Results: In this study, we synthesized 623 alkyne-bearing ionizable lipids using the A 3 coupling reaction and assessed their effectiveness in mRNA delivery. ILs with specific structural features-18-carbon alkyl chains, a cis-double bond, and ethanolamine head groups-demonstrated superior mRNA delivery capabilities. Variations in saturation, double bond placement, and chain length correlated with decreased efficacy. Alkynes positioned adjacent to nitrogen atoms in ILs reduced the acid dissociation constant (pKa) of LNPs, thereby hindering mRNA delivery efficiency. Conversion of alkynes to alkanes significantly enhanced mRNA delivery of ILs both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, combining optimized ILs with cKK-E12 yields synergistic LNPs that showed markedly augmented mRNA expression levels in vivo., Conclusions: Overall, our study provides insights into the structure-function relationships of ILs, providing a foundation for the rational design of ILs to enhance the efficacy of LNPs in mRNA delivery., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Auditory spatial attention detection (ASAD) seeks to determine which speaker in a surround sound field a listener is focusing on based on the one's brain biosignals. Although existing studies have achieved ASAD from a single-trial electroencephalogram (EEG), the huge inter-subject variability makes them generally perform poorly in cross-subject scenarios. Besides, most ASAD methods do not take full advantage of topological relationships between EEG channels, which are crucial for high-quality ASAD. Recently, some advanced studies have introduced graph-based brain topology modeling into ASAD, but how to calculate edge weights in a graph to better capture actual brain connectivity is worthy of further investigation. To address these issues, we propose a new ASAD method in this paper. First, we model a multi-channel EEG segment as a graph, where differential entropy serves as the node feature, and a static adjacency matrix is generated based on inter-channel mutual information to quantify brain functional connectivity. Then, different subjects' EEG graphs are encoded into a shared embedding space through a total variation graph neural network. Meanwhile, feature distribution alignment based on multi-kernel maximum mean discrepancy is adopted to learn subject-invariant patterns. Note that we align EEG embeddings of different subjects to reference distributions rather than align them to each other for the purpose of privacy preservation. A series of experiments on open datasets demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms state-of-the-art ASAD models in cross-subject scenarios with relatively low computational complexity, and feature distribution alignment improves the generalizability of the proposed model to a new subject., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Disclosure All authors disclosed no financial relationships. Commentary To minimize recurrent disease from gallstones, cholecystectomy is considered the criterion standard for therapy. But increasingly, patients have multiple comorbidities, for which they are deemed not good surgical candidates; or, like this patient, they refuse cholecystectomy. In these cases, the goal is to clear the cholelithiasis and prevent future episodes of stone-related disease. A well-described technique is EUS-guided gallbladder drainage with a transmural stent. However, these authors chose an alternative approach by placing a large-diameter fully covered metal stent across the cystic duct to allow the gallbladder stones to pass on their own. Importantly, the authors also placed an adjacent nasobiliary stent to prevent complete obstruction of the common bile duct. These minimally invasive techniques for gallstone clearance will continue to develop, preventing recurrent biliary disease from stones in a challenging patient population. Monica Saumoy, MD, MS, Center for Digestive Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Amy Tyberg, MD, FASGE, FACG, Associate Editor for Focal Points

The attentional boost effect (ABE) refers to the phenomenon that stimuli which appear with targets in a detection task are better remembered than those that appear with distractors. Previous studies have consistently reported a robust ABE in item memory, but inconsistent conclusions have been drawn for source memory. Additionally, regarding the impact of emotional stimuli on the ABE, conclusions have also been inconsistent. The aim of this research was to clarify these inconsistencies. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to memorize different emotional background words (primary task), monitor the symbols above the words, press the spacebar when encountering the "+" (secondary task), and remember the size of the emotional background stimuli (as a source feature). Results revealed that the ABE of negative stimuli was stronger in item memory. For source memory, an ABE was observed only for large fonts. In Experiment 2, participants performed the same task as in Experiment 1, except for recalling the color of emotional stimuli instead of their size. Results indicated a stronger ABE for emotional stimuli in item memory, with no ABE observed in source memory. These findings suggest: (1) Item and source memory are regulated by distinct cognitive processes, leading to differential effects of emotionality on ABE in both types of memory. (2) Contrary to previous literature, emotional stimuli, such as negative words, do not consistently diminish the ABE., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Diagnosing and treating Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) within 0-24 h of onset is critical for patient recovery. While Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) and Computed Tomography Perfusion (CTP) are effective for early infarction identification, Non-Contrast CT (NCCT) remains the first-line imaging modality in emergency settings due to its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In this work, to enhance lesion segmentation in NCCT using multi-modal information, we propose OS-AISeg, which integrates Offline knowledge distillation with Self-knowledge distillation to realize AIS segmentation. Initially, we trained a multi-modality teacher network by introducing uncertainty through Subjective Logic (SL) theory to reduce prediction errors and stabilize the training process. Subsequently, during student network training, we integrate confidence region knowledge guided by uncertainty weights and feature structure information guided by brain asymmetry. The former facilitates the acquisition of effective contextual information from paired predictions, while the latter leverages asymmetric activation maps to extract high-level structural content from multi-modality images. In self-knowledge distillation, we enhance the student network's learning of consistent global feature distributions by introducing mirrored NCCT images, thereby aiding the network in extracting knowledge directly from the modality. OS-AISeg was evaluated through five-fold cross-validation on two publicly available datasets, achieving a Dice value of 0.6196 on AISD and 0.4841 on ISLES2018. Additionally, experiments were also conducted on an external dataset, BraTS2019, as well as on a private stroke dataset named GLis. Strong correlations were observed between segmented Early Infarct (EI) and ground truth in volume analysis, validating the effectiveness of the proposed method in AIS diagnosis. The code for this project is available at https://github.com/Uni-Summer/OS-AISeg., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, and there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service, and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Flexible thermoelectric (TE) generators have received great attention as a sustainable and reliable option to convert heat from the human body and other ambient sources into electricity. This study provides a synthesis route that involves thermally induced diffusion to introduce Te and Se into Bi, fabricating an n-type Bi-Te-Se flexible thin film on a flexible substrate. This specific synthesis alters the crystal orientation (00 l ) of the thin film, improving in-plane electrical transportation and optimizing carrier concentration. Consequently, Bi x Te y Se 0.42 enhanced both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, achieving a power factor of 17.1 μW cm -1 K -2 at room temperature. The TE device assembled with p-type Sb 2 Te 3 exhibited exceptional flexibility with only a 26.2% change in resistance after 1000 times of bending at a radius of about 6 mm. The resistance change was further reduced to 7.5% after the application of a vinyl laurate coating. The fabricated TE device generated an ultrahigh output power of 792 nW with a temperature difference of 30 K.

Introduction: Exercise has been recognized to improve cognitive performance by optimizing gut flora and up-regulating exerkine irisin., Objective: Although exercise-induced irisin is beneficial to cognitive improvement, whether this benefit is achieved by optimizing gut microbiota and metabolites is not fully explored., Methods: After aerobic exercise and exogenous irisin interventions for 12 weeks, the 16S rRNA and metabolites in feces of 21-month-old mice were analyzed. Meanwhile, the differential miRNAs and mRNAs in hippocampal tissues were screened by high-throughput sequencing. Relevant mRNAs and proteins were evaluated by RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence., Results: Compared with the young control mice, irisin levels and cognitive capacity of aged mice revealed a significant reduction, while aerobic exercise and intraperitoneal injection of exogenous irisin reversed aging-induced cognitive impairment. Similarly, 147 up-regulated and 173 down-regulated metabolites were detected in aged mice, while 64 and 45 up-regulated and 225 and 187 down-regulated metabolites were detected in aged mice with exercise and irisin interventions, respectively. Moreover, during hippocampal miRNA and mRNA sequencing analysis, 9 differential gut flora and 35 differential genes were identified to be correlated with the inflammatory signaling mediated by the TLR4/MyD88 signal pathway., Conclusion: Aging-induced cognitive impairment is due to insulin resistance induced by TLR4/MyD88 signaling activation in hippocampal tissues mediated by gut microbiota and metabolite changes. Myokine irisin may be an important mediator in optimizing gut microbiota and metabolism for an improved understanding of mitigated aging process upon exercise interventions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: The failure of disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) trials lies mainly in the heterogeneity of the disease, which calls for a more precise population with specific progression and outcomes. This study aimed to determine whether and which MRI-based structural phenotype of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is associated with short-term structural progression and subsequent total knee replacement (TKR)., Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted among participants with baseline Kellgren-Lawrence grade (KLG) ≥ 2 from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI). The structural phenotypes at baseline were defined as subchondral bone, meniscus/cartilage and inflammatory phenotypes according to the MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS). The primary outcome was the progression of structural abnormalities within 24 months and multivariable logistic regressions were applied to evaluate the associations. The secondary outcome was the incidence of TKR during 108 months. Cox regressions and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used for the analysis., Results: A total of 733 participants with KOA were finally included in our study, with 493 (67.3%) having the three main structural phenotypes. For the primary outcome, the subchondral bone phenotype (OR [95% CI]:1.71 [1.02, 2.83], 1.52 [1.06, 2.18], 1.65 [1.11, 2.42], respectively) and the inflammatory phenotype (OR [95% CI]: 1.69 [1.05, 2.74], 1.82 [1.31, 2.52], 2.15 [1.48, 3.14], respectively) were both associated with the short-term progression of joint space narrowing, osteophytes and sclerosis in 24 months, whereas the meniscus/cartilage phenotype was only associated with the progression of osteophytes and sclerosis. For the secondary outcome, the subchondral bone phenotype (HR [95% CI]: 1.71 [1.06-2.78]) and inflammatory phenotype (HR [95%CI]: 2.00 [1.02-2.67]) were associated with shorter time to subsequent TKR, but not the meniscus/cartilage phenotype. Besides, the cumulative effect when the structural phenotype overlapped was confirmed in both outcomes., Conclusions: The subchondral bone phenotype and inflammatory phenotype were associated with the progression of joint space narrowing, osteophytes and sclerosis in 24 months, along with subsequent TKR in 108 months. Besides, additive effects of overlapped phenotypes were further determined. These phenotypes could serve as valuable screening tools for future clinical trials and provide guidance for risk evaluation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Replacing traditional disposable, non-biodegradable plastic packaging with biodegradable plastic packaging is one of the key approaches to address the issue of "white pollution". PBAT/PLA/inorganic filler composites are widely utilized as a biodegradable material, commonly employed in the field of packaging films. However, the poor dispersion of inorganic fillers in the polymer matrix and the limited compatibility between PBAT and PLA have led to inferior mechanical properties and elevated costs. In this work, we propose a simple and effective strategy to improve the dispersion of nano-CaCO 3 in a PBAT/PLA matrix through solid-state shear- milling (S 3 M) technology, combined with mechanochemical modification and in situ compatibilization to enhance the compatibility between PBAT and PLA. The impact of varying milling conditions on the structure and performance of the PBAT/PLA/CaCO 3 composites was investigated. During the milling process, PBAT and PLA undergo partial molecular chain fragmentation, generating more active functional groups. In the presence of the chain extender ADR during melt blending, more branched PBAT-g-PLA is formed, thereby enhancing matrix compatibility. The results indicate that the choice of milling materials significantly affects the structure and properties of the composite. The film obtained by milling only PBAT and CaCO 3 exhibited the best performance, with its longitudinal tensile strength and fracture elongation reaching 22 MPa and 437%, respectively. This film holds great potential for application in the field of green packaging.

Coal ashes in Canada have gained attention as a potential source for recovering rare earth elements (REE) from industrial waste. However, the complex chemical properties of coal ashes have made it difficult to determine the desirability, feasibility, and viability of REE recovery. To address this issue, this study systematically investigated distribution and structural information, speciation and chemical-binding state, and purity and extraction capacity of REE in multiple Canadian coal ashes (i.e., 2 fly ash and 1 bottom ash samples) through synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence mapping and adsorption spectrum analyses, as well as high-resolution REE sequential extraction quantitation. The results showed that Y, Ce, and La were present in the glass phase of the bottom ash, and the distributions of these REE elements correlated with Ca. The XANES analysis revealed that the dominant form of REE in coal fly ash (CFA) was REE oxides, indicating a transformation during combustion, while Y 2 O 3 and Y 2 (CO 3 ) 3 were the predominant Y species identified in CFA. The study found that there is no correlation between P and REEs, suggesting that REEs in CFA may exist as discrete particles rather than being associated with amorphous glass. The extractability of REEs in bottom ash samples was lower than that in fly ash samples. Additionally, the benefits of REE recovery were estimated to be USD 99.82 to 215.21 per ton of fly ash through life cycle analysis, indicating that REE recovery from fly ashes is a promising path to supplement the REE supply chain in Canada., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Dual bronchodilator therapy, consisting of a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA), has proven effective for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, it remains uncertain whether there are efficacy differences between current and former smokers with COPD. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of LABA/LAMA therapies in both these groups., Methods: The TOReTO trial assessed lung function, symptoms, health status, the occurrence of exacerbations, clinically significant exacerbations, and the use of LABA/LAMA therapies. These therapies include Tio/Olo, umeclidinium/vilanterol (Umec/Vi), and umeclidinium/vilanterol (Umec/Vi) are used in patients with COPD. The study examined the differences in outcomes between current and former smokers. To balance the baseline characteristics, propensity score matching (PSM) was employed., Results: Data from 967 patients were collected. After PSM, the time to the first acute exacerbation in current smokers was analyzed separately for the three treatment groups and was significantly different between them (p = 0.0457). Among, there are differences in the occurrence of acute exacerbation between treatment and smoking status in Umec/Vi (p = 0.0114). There is no significant difference in the treatment of former smokers among the three different groups of LABA/LAMA fixed-dose combinations (p = 0.3079). COPD-related symptoms remained stable throughout the treatment period. There were no significant differences in symptom scores, including CAT and mMRC, among the three groups at the end of the study., Conclusions: The three fixed-dose combinations of LABA/LAMA showed no difference in reducing exacerbations in former smokers but did show differences in current smokers. This trend has clinical significance, and future research will be conducted to control influencing variables to validate this point. However, due to the non-randomized study design, these findings should be interpreted with caution., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Water availability, which can be represented by soil water content (SWC), plays a crucial role in plant growth and productivity across the cold and arid Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the indirect effects of SWC are less well understood, and a more comprehensive understanding of its regulating effects may enhance the recognition of its importance, as this factor is pivotal for accurately predicting the future response of alpine ecosystems to climate change. In this study, in situ eddy covariance observation data from typical alpine ecosystems and satellite data covering the Qinghai-Tibetan region were used to comprehensively reveal the effects of SWC on ecosystem productivity. The results indicated that SWC played an important role in regulating the responses of gross primary productivity (GPP) to other environmental factors over both time and space, especially in terms of the responses of GPP to vapor pressure deficit (VPD). The regulating effect can be summarized as follows: there was a specific SWC value (SWC = 0.24 m 3  m -3 on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau) above which SWC was no longer the primary limiting factor. The responses of GPP to certain environmental factors shifted from negative to positive when the SWC increased above this value. The responses of GPP to VPD exhibited the highest sensitivity to the regulating effects of SWC, with a general response pattern found across different temporal and spatial scales. The findings revealed divergent responses of GPP to environmental factors under different SWC conditions and between arid and humid regions, emphasizing the importance of soil water conditions. These findings suggest that water conditions should be given primary consideration in global change studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Understanding how sleep affects the glymphatic system and human brain networks is crucial for elucidating the neurophysiological mechanism underpinning aging-related memory declines. We analyzed a multimodal dataset collected through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and polysomnographic recording from 72 older adults. A proxy of the glymphatic functioning was obtained from the Diffusion Tensor Image Analysis along the Perivascular Space (DTI-ALPS) index. Structural and functional brain networks were constructed based on MRI data, and coupling between the two networks (SC-FC coupling) was also calculated. Correlation analyses revealed that DTI-ALPS was negatively correlated with sleep quality measures [e.g., Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and apnea-hypopnea index]. Regarding human brain networks, DTI-ALPS was associated with the strength of both functional connectivity (FC) and structural connectivity (SC) involving regions such as the middle temporal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus, as well as with the SC-FC coupling of rich-club connections. Furthermore, we found that DTI-ALPS positively mediated the association between sleep quality and rich-club SC-FC coupling. The rich-club SC-FC coupling further mediated the association between DTI-ALPS and memory function in good sleepers but not in poor sleepers. The results suggest a disrupted glymphatic-brain relationship in poor sleepers, which underlies memory decline. Our findings add important evidence that sleep quality affects cognitive health through the underlying neural relationships and the interplay between the glymphatic system and multimodal brain networks., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Cartilage defect is one of the common tissue defect clinical diseases and may finally lead to osteoarthritis (OA) which threat patients' physical and psychological health. Polysaccharide is the main component of extracellular matrix (ECM) in cartilage tissue. In the past decades, polysaccharide-based hydrogels have shown great potential for cartilage regeneration considering unique qualities such as biocompatibility, enhanced cell proliferation, drug delivery, low toxicity, and many others. Structures such as chain length and chain branching make polysaccharides have different physical and chemical properties. In this review, cartilage diseases and current treatment options of polysaccharide-based hydrogels for cartilage defection repair were illustrated. We focus on how components and structures of recently developed materials affect the performance. The challenges and perspectives for polysaccharide-based hydrogels in cartilage repair and regeneration were also discussed in depth., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Li, Miao, Zhao, Dong, Li and Li.)

Introduction: Bullying among adolescents is a global public health issue prevalent in schools, posing significant risks to positive adolescent development. Studies have shown that bullied adolescents tend to engage in more bullying perpetration, but this underlying process of longitudinal correlation has not been fully elucidated., Methods: Based on two waves of longitudinal data collected from 347 junior and 144 senior high school students in China (M age  = 13.66 years, SD age  = 1.46, 59.27% boys) at 1-year intervals, two moderated chain-mediation models were used to explore the longitudinal correlations between bullying victimization and bullying perpetration and its underlying processes., Results: The results found a significant positive correlation between adolescents' bullying victimization experiences 1 year prior and bullying perpetration 1 year later. Furthermore, fear of negative evaluation and psychache played a longitudinal chain-mediating role in the process, with self-esteem and grade moderating this mediating pathway, either enhancing or weakening the effect., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that prior bullying victimization is longitudinally and positively associated with subsequent bullying perpetration among adolescents. This process is mediated by fear of negative evaluation and psychache, with self-esteem and grade level as moderators. Based on these conclusions, we have formulated the Threat-Motivation Model, offering a framework to understand the relationship between bullying victimization and bullying perpetration. Practical implications, including strategies to reduce bullying in youth groups, are discussed., (© 2024 Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.)

The splendid energy storage performances with eminent stability of dielectric ceramics utilized in pulsed power devices have been paid more attention by researchers. This scheme can be basically realized through introducing Li + , Bi(Mg 2/3 Ta 1/3 )O 3 , NaNbO 3 , and LiF into KNN-based ceramics. Under the breakdown strength (BDS) of 460 kV/cm, an outstanding energy storage density ( W ) of 6.05 J/cm 3 with a high energy efficiency (η) of 85.9% is implemented. Within the broad temperature range from 20 to 140 °C, the numerical fluctuations of energy storage characteristics can be maintained at a relatively stable level (Δ W rec ≈ 3.5%, Δη ≈ 2.8%). As for the charging-discharging performances, this component possesses a fast discharging speed ( t 0.90 ≈ 51 ns) and remarkable temperature stability (the variations are smaller than 3.5%). Additionally, the internal mechanisms of outstanding energy storage properties can be confirmed via crystal structures and domain structures, the content of oxygen vacancies, dielectric and impedance spectra, and phase simulation. Hence, the combination of outstanding energy storage with remarkable thermal stability can be fulfilled in one ceramic system according to this discovery, providing a research thought of developing the materials for dielectric capacitors.

Detecting early ischemic lesions (EIL) in computed tomography (CT) images is crucial for reducing diagnostic time and minimizing neuron loss due to oxygen deprivation. This paper introduces DCTP-Net, a dual-branch network for segmenting acute ischemic stroke lesions in CT images, consisting of a segmentation branch and a prompt-aware branch. The segmentation branch uses an encoder-decoder network as the backbone to identify lesions, where the encoder fuses CT image features with prompt features from the prompt-aware branch. To enhance semantic feature extraction and reduce the impact of cerebral structural details, we introduce a cross-collaboration dynamic connection (CCDC) module to link the encoder and decoder. The prompt-aware branch includes a learnable prompt (LP) block to incorporate cerebral prior knowledge, and the prompt-aware encoder (PAE) combines the LP block with multi-level features from the segmentation branch for more precise representation. Additionally, we propose a CLIP-enhance textual prompt (CETP) module that utilizes the CLIP text encoder to generate specialized convolutional parameters for the segmentation head. These parameters are tailored to the unique characteristics of each input image, improving segmentation performance. Qualitative and quantitative studies reveal that DCTP-Net outperforms the current state-of-the-art, IS-Net, with Dice score increases of 3.9% on AISD and 3.8% on ISLES2018, demonstrating its superiority in EIL segmentation.

Study Objectives: This study assessed the current state of sleep medicine accreditation and training in Asia by conducting a comprehensive survey across 29 Asian countries and regions facilitated by the Asian Society of Sleep Medicine to identify existing gaps and provide recommendations for future enhancements., Methods: The Asian Society of Sleep Medicine Education Task Force Committee designed a survey to gather data on accreditation, education, and training standards in sleep medicine, including information on challenges in enhancing education in the field., Results: With an 86% (25 countries/regions) response rate, the survey showed that sleep medicine is recognized as an independent specialty in just 9 countries/regions (36% of the countries/regions surveyed). Ten countries/regions have established sleep medicine training programs, with Japan and Saudi Arabia offering it as a distinct specialty. Significant disparities in training and accreditation standards were identified, with many countries/regions lacking formalized training and practice guidelines. The survey also revealed that most local sleep societies across Asia support the development of an Asian Sleep Medicine Training Curriculum led by the Asian Society of Sleep Medicine. However, several barriers significantly impede the establishment and development of sleep medicine training programs, including the scarcity of trained specialists and technologists and the absence of national accreditation for sleep medicine., Conclusions: The survey highlights the need for standardized sleep medicine training and accreditation across Asia. Developing an Asian Sleep Medicine Training Curriculum and promoting Asian Society of Sleep Medicine accreditation guidelines are key recommendations. Implementing these strategies is essential for advancing sleep medicine as a widely recognized discipline throughout Asia., Citation: BaHammam AS, Al-Abri MA, Abd Rashid R, et al. Mapping the landscape of sleep medicine training across Asia. J Clin Sleep Med . 2024;20(10):1647-1656., (© 2024 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.)

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with arthritis., Methods: This research was a retrospective cohort study that focused on SLE patients who had arthritis and were treated with tofacitinib at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology from January 2020 to January 2022. Clinical outcomes, disease activity, immunological parameters, and adverse events were systematically evaluated pre- and post-treatment at 4, 12, and 24 weeks., Results: Twenty-two patients were analyzed. At the 4-week mark, 5 (22.7%) patients were partially relieved, and 17 (77.3%) unalleviated. By the 12-week assessment, CR off corticosteroids was observed in four patients (18.2%), and CR on corticosteroids was seen in six patients (27.3%), with an additional six (27.3%) maintaining partial remission. At 24 weeks after treatment, three patients (13.6%) achieved CR off corticosteroids, ten patients (45.5%) achieved CR on corticosteroids, and all patients received remission. Compared to before treatment, The SLEDAI and PGA scores significantly improved. The level of C3 was increased significantly, and the absolute CD3 + T cell count, the 28-tender and the 28-swollen joint count, and the levels of serum IL-6 were significantly decreased at 24 weeks after treatment., Conclusion: Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis, with a safety profile, and the therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activation. Key Points • Tofacitinib demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in SLE patients with arthritis • The therapeutic mechanism of tofacitinib may be related to reducing IL-6 expression and inhibiting T cell activation., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR).)

Acute lung injury (ALI) is the pathophysiological precursor of acute respiratory distress syndrome. It is characterized by increased oxidative stress and exaggerated inflammatory response that disrupts redox reactions and immune homeostasis in the lungs, thereby posing significant clinical challenges. In this study, an internally functionalized thioether-enriched dendrimer Sr-G4-PEG is developed, to scavenge both proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and restore homeostasis during ALI treatment. The dendrimers are synthesized using an efficient and orthogonal thiol-ene "click" chemistry approach that involves incorporating thioether moieties within the dendritic architectures to neutralize the ROS. The ROS scavenging of Sr-G4-PEG manifests in its capacity to sequester proinflammatory cytokines. The synergistic effects of scavenging ROS and sequestering inflammatory cytokines by Sr-G4-PEG contribute to redox remodeling and immune homeostasis, along with the modulation of the NLRP3-pyroptosis pathway. Treatment with Sr-G4-PEG enhances the therapeutic efficacy of ALIs by alleviating alveolar bleeding, reducing inflammatory cell infiltration, and suppressing the release of inflammatory cytokines. These results suggest that Sr-G4-PEG is a potent nanotechnological candidate for remodeling redox and immune homeostasis in the treatment of ALIs, demonstrating the great potential of dendrimer-based nanomedicine for the treatment of respiratory pathologies., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Transglutaminase 2 (Tgm2) plays an essential role in hepatic repair following prolonged toxic injury. During cholestatic liver injury, the intrahepatic cholangiocytes undergo dynamic tissue expansion and remodelling, referred to as ductular reaction (DR), which is crucial for liver regeneration. However, the molecular mechanisms governing the dynamics of active cells in DR are still largely unclear. Here, we generated Tgm2-knockout mice (Tgm2 -/- ) and Tgm2- CreERT2 -Rosa26-mTmG flox/flox (Tgm2 CreERT2 -R26T/G f/f ) mice and performed a three-dimensional (3D) collagen gel culture of mouse hepatocytes to demonstrate how Tgm2 signalling is involved in DR to remodel intrahepatic cholangiocytes. Our results showed that the deletion of Tgm2 adversely affected the functionality and maturity of the proliferative cholangiocytes in DR, thus leading to more severe cholestasis during DDC-induced liver injury. Additionally, Tgm2 hepatocytes played a crucial role in the regulation of DR through metaplasia. We unveiled that Tgm2 regulated H3K4me3Q5ser via serotonin to promote BMP signalling activation to participate in DR. Besides, we revealed that the activation or inhibition of BMP signalling could promote or suppress the development and maturation of cholangiocytes in DDC-induced DR. Furthermore, our 3D collagen gel culture assay indicated that Tgm2 was vital for the development of cholangiocytes in vitro. Our results uncovered a considerable role of BMP signalling in controlling metaplasia of Tgm2 hepatocytes in DR and revealed the phenotypic plasticity of mature hepatocytes., (© 2024 The Authors. Cell Proliferation published by Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Manipulating materials of different dimensions into heterogeneous nanofiltration membranes with unique physicochemical properties and molecular sieving channels provides an effective way for accurate and fast molecular separation. Here we introduce a heterogeneous structure hybrid connection strategy to fabricate biodegradable wood-based covalent organic framework (COF) composite membranes. As a proof of concept, 3D Picea jezoensis (Siebold & Zucc.) Carrière was selected as the substrate of the membrane and in situ growth of 2D iCOF selective layers. Effective modulation of iCOF layers by 1D sulfonated polyaryletherketone (SPEEK-Na) using the "needle and thread" method. The rearrangement of the above multidimensional materials formed charge-regulated properties of laminar nano-channels and smooth hydrophilic contact area, thereby endowing specific molecular transport pathways and sieving capability for efficient dye/salt separation under ultra-low pressure of 0.5 bar. The wood-based heterostructured membranes exhibited high dye rejection (>97 %), low salt rejection (<10 %), and high permeance (172.34 L m -2 h -1 bar -1 ), which is superior to many reported dye/salt separation membrane materials. In addition, the system exhibited a certain degree of operational stability, good antifouling, and soil biodegradability. Overall, this work enables the design and fabrication of heterostructured separation membranes to be obtained from nature and used in nature, resulting in efficient and sustainable water purification applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Key Message: Thirteen QTLs associated with rice grain shape were localized by genome-wide association study. LOC&#95;Os01g74020, the putative candidate gene in the co-localized QTL-qGSE1.2 interval, was identified and validated. Grain shape (GS) is a key trait that affects yield and quality of rice. Identifying and analyzing GS-related genes and elucidating the physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms are important for rice breeding. In this study, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were conducted based on 1, 795, 076 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and three GS-related traits, grain length (GL), grain width (GW) and thousand-grain weight (TGW), in a natural population which comprised 374 rice varieties. A total of 13 quantitative trait locus (QTLs) related to GL, GW and TGW were identified, respectively, of which two QTLs (qGSE1.2 and qGSE5.3) were associated with both GL and TGW. A known key GS regulatory gene, GW5, was present in the interval of qGSE5.3. Based on the qRT-PCR results, LOC&#95;Os01g74020 (OsGSE1.2) was identified as a GS candidate gene. Functional analysis of OsGSE1.2 showed that glume cell width and GW were significantly reduced, and that glume cell length, GL, TGW and single-plant yield were significantly increased in OsGSE1.2 knockout lines than those of wild type. OsGSE1.2 affects rice grain length by suppressing the elongation of glume cell and is a novel GS regulatory gene. These findings laid the foundation for molecular breeding to improve rice GS and increase rice yield and profitability., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The term sample dependence describes the troublesome tendency of nominally equivalent samples to exhibit different physical properties. High entropy oxides (HEOs) are a class of materials where sample dependence has the potential to be particularly profound due to their inherent chemical complexity. In this work, we prepare a spinel HEO of identical nominal composition by five distinct methods, spanning a range of thermodynamic and kinetic conditions: solid state, high pressure, hydrothermal, molten salt, and combustion syntheses. By structurally characterizing these five samples across all length scales with a variety of X-ray methods, we find that while the average structure is unaltered, the samples vary significantly in their local structures and their microstructures. The most profound differences are observed at intermediate length scales, both in terms of crystallite morphology and cation homogeneity. As revealed by X-ray fluorescence microscopy ideal cation homogeneity is achieved only in the case of combustion synthesis. These structural differences in turn significantly alter the observed functional properties, which we demonstrate via characterization of their magnetic response. While ferrimagnetic order is retained across all five samples, the sharpness of the transition, the size of the saturated moment, and the coercivity all show marked variations with synthesis method. We conclude that the chemical flexibility inherent to HEOs is complemented by strong synthesis method dependence, providing another axis along which to optimize these materials for a wide range of applications.

Purpose: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a chronic headache caused by regular overuse of medications. OnabotulinumtoxinA (BoNTA) is used for preventive treatment of MOH. However, its efficacy and safety remain controversial., Methods: Seven online databases (Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang data, and Chinese BioMedical Literature Database) were searched for relevant articles published between January 2002 and March 2024. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies on the treatment of MOH using BoNTA versus a placebo or other active treatments., Results: We retrieved 487 articles in the database search. Of these, four eligible RCTs were identified after detailed screening. A total of 1,259 patients with MOH (622 patients treated with BoNTA, 607 with placebo, and 30 with topiramate) were included in the four RCTs. We found that BoNTA significantly reduced headache frequency compared with placebo (mean difference, 1.89; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11-2.67; I 2 = 0%; p  < 0.001). There was no significant difference between BoNTA and the placebo in terms of secondary outcomes, which included reductions in acute medication intake (MD, 1.30; 95% CI, -1.18-3.78; I 2 = 0%; p  = 0.30), Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire scores (MIDAS, MD, -4.04; 95% CI, -29.36-21.28; I 2 = 0%; p  = 0.75), and Headache Impact Test scores (HIT-6, MD, 0.03; 95% CI, -1.77-1.83; I 2 = 0%; p  = 0.97). BoNTA was more likely to cause adverse events (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.45-2.42; I 2 = 0%; p  < 0.001) than placebo., Conclusion: The results of this study show that BoNTA reduces headache frequency and is effective for the treatment of MOH., Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022315845., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Lang, Peng, Wu, Chen, Jiang, He and Chen.)

l-Valine, an essential amino acid, serves as a valuable compound in various industries. However, engineering strains with both high yield and purity are yet to be delivered for microbial l-valine production. We engineered a Corynebacterium glutamicum strain capable of highly efficient production of l-valine. We initially introduced an acetohydroxy acid synthase mutant from an industrial l-valine producer and optimized a cofactor-balanced pathway, followed by the activation of the nonphosphoenolpyruvate-dependent carbohydrate phosphotransferase system and the introduction of an exogenous Entner-Doudoroff pathway. Subsequently, we weakened anaplerotic pathways, and attenuated the tricarboxylic acid cycle via start codon substitution in icd , encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase. Finally, to balance bacterial growth and l-valine production, an l-valine biosensor-dependent genetic circuit was established to dynamically repress citrate synthase expression. The engineered strain Val19 produced 103 g/L of l-valine with a high yield of 0.35 g/g glucose and a productivity of 2.67 g/L/h. This represents the highest reported l-valine production in C. glutamicum via direct fermentation and exhibits potential for its industrial-scale production, leveraging the advantages of C. glutamicum over other microbes.

With the increasing demand for plastics, plastic pollution is growing rapidly. A significant amount of plastic has leaked into the environment, leading to severe environmental issues. Biodegradable plastics are considered promising alternatives to conventional durable plastics, and the environmental impacts of biodegradable plastics have received increasing attention. Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) is a commercial and cost-competitive biodegradable polymer and has been applied in the packaging and agriculture sectors. The environmental performances of PBAT with second-generation feedstocks from forestry waste have been rarely investigated. Since China is the leading global producer and exporter of PBAT polymer, Chinese cradle-to-gate life cycle inventories of PBAT were compiled in this study. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to explore the potential for environmental performance of PBAT with second-generation bio-based feedstock compared to fossil-based PBAT and conventional plastics. The results showed that feedstocks contributed to more than 70 % of 18 environmental impact categories of fossil-based PBAT. In comparison, PBAT with second-generation bio-based feedstock reduces the environmental loads in 16 impact categories by 15-85 %, and renewable energy substitution has the potential to reduce environmental impacts by 10 %. Bio-based PBAT performs better than PVC, PP, HDPE, LDPE, and PET in 16 impact categories by 15-80 %. Bio-based PBAT has GWP of 3.72 kg CO 2 eq, which is 37 % lower than fossil-based PBAT (5.89 kg CO 2 eq) and 18-32 % lower than conventional plastics. Since feedstock dominates the environmental performance of PBAT, the development of biomanufacturing technologies for bio-based polymers and chemicals could significantly improve environmental performance of biodegradable plastics and promote the sustainable development of the plastic industry. Results could serve as the basis for environmental impact and mitigation strategies for biodegradable plastics with bio-based feedstocks, as well as the sustainable development of the PBAT industry., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The removal of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) production is critical yet difficult due to their similar physicochemical properties. Despite extensive research has been conducted on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for C 2 H 2 /CO 2 separation, approaches to designing functionalized MOFs remain limited. Enhancing gas adsorption through simple pore modification holds great promise in molecular recognition and industrial separation processes. This study proposes a guest cation functionalization strategy using the anionic framework SU-102 as the prototype material. Specifically, the guest cation Li + is introduced into the skeleton by ion exchange to obtain SU-102-Li + . This strategy generates strong interactions between Li + and gas molecules, thereby elevating C 2 H 2 uptake to 49.18 cm 3 g -1 and CO 2 uptake to 29.88 cm 3 g -1 , marking 20.3% and 36.9% improvements over the parent material, respectively. In addition, ideal adsorbed solution theory selectivity calculations and dynamic breakthrough experiments confirmed the superior and stable separation performance of SU-102-Li + for C 2 H 2 /CO 2 (25 min g -1 ) and C 2 H 2 productivity (1.55 mmol g -1 ). Theoretical calculations further reveals the unique molecular recognition mechanism between gas molecules and guest cations., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Traditional nitrogen fertilizers (TNF), such as urea, percolate easily in arid fields, posing low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and a high non-point pollution risk. Controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) exhibit significantly lower deep seepage, rendering it a favorable choice in arid fields due to its ability to enhance NUE through slow-release mechanisms. However, current models do not fully account for the soil nitrogen dynamics and crop interactions under controlled-release conditions, and lack quantification. This study improved the APSIM model by adjustment the urea hydrolysis rate to assess the impact of CRF and TNF applications on soil health, crop growth, and water quality. Calibration and validation were conducted through experiments in the Hetao Irrigation District of China from 2019 to 2020, with different nitrogen application rates (135, 225, and 315 kg/ha). The model accurately simulated soil NO 3 -N concentration (SNC), cumulative NO 3 -N leaching (CNL), nitrogen uptake (NU), and sunflower yield. During the validation process, R 2 and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) values were both above 0.75. Results indicated that the average SNC, NU, and yield under CRF application were significantly higher than those under TNF application, with increases of 38.62%, 44.92%, and 18.38%, respectively. Notably, the proportion of soil nitrogen available (P SNA ), a novel metric proposed in this study, was 159.50% higher in the 0-40 cm soil layer with CRF compared to TNF. Additionally, CNL and NO 3 -N leaching loss rate (NLLR) decreased by 25.76% and 25.77%, respectively. Scenario simulations indicated that the optimal fertilization strategy for this region is to use 180-193.5 kg/ha of CRF with a release period of 80-85.5 d to balance agricultural productivity and ecological protection. This study confirms the significant advantages of CRF in enhancing yield, improving nitrogen management, and promoting environmental sustainability, providing a scientific basis for CRF management strategies and supporting the shift towards more efficient and environmentally friendly agricultural practices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection significantly contributes to the global cancer burden. Understanding the factors influencing male clinical interns' willingness to promote HPV vaccination is crucial for developing effective public health strategies in China., Methods: This study employed a stratified random sampling method to select 1,980 male clinical interns from five provinces in China between January and March 2024. Data were collected on participants' demographic characteristics, HPV-related clinical experience, and knowledge. The Theory of Planned Behavior framework, encompassing attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, was used to examine factors influencing the willingness to promote the HPV vaccine. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with the willingness to promote the HPV vaccine., Results: Among the respondents, 72.29% were willing to encourage others to receive the HPV vaccine. Significant factors influencing this willingness included older age (OR = 3.065, P ≤ 0.001), higher monthly household income (OR = 1.449, P = 0.025), participation in the diagnosis and treatment of HPV-related diseases (OR = 3.458, P ≤ 0.001), positive attitude towards the vaccine (OR = 13.503, P = 0.004), and strong perceived behavioral control (OR = 2.364, P = 0.006)., Conclusion: This study highlights the critical role of practical experience and targeted education in promoting HPV vaccination among male clinical interns in China. Enhancing the training and education of this group is essential for improving HPV vaccine advocacy and supporting public health efforts to reduce HPV-related diseases., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Myocardial fibrosis can trigger heart failure in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), and irisin, an exercise-induced myokine, may have a beneficial effect on cardiac function. However, the specific molecular mechanism between exercise and irisin in the diabetic heart remains not fully explored. This study aimed to investigate how miR-34a mediates exercise-induced irisin to ameliorate myocardial fibrosis and its underlying mechanisms. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with DCM was induced in adult male rats with high-fat diet and streptozotocin injection. The DCM rats were subjected to swimming (60 min/d) and recombinant irisin (r-irisin, 500 μg/kg/d) interventions for 8 weeks, respectively. Cardiac function, cardiomyocyte structure, myocardial fibrosis and its correlated gene and protein expression were analyzed. Swimming intervention alleviated insulin resistance, myocardial fibrosis, and myocardial hypertrophy, and promoted blood glucose homeostasis in T2DM model rats. This improvement was associated with irisin upregulation and miR-34a downregulation in the myocardium, thus enhancing cardiac function. Similar efficacy was observed via intraperitoneal injection of exogenous recombinant irisin. Inhibition of miR-34a in vivo exhibited an anti-myocardial fibrotic effect by promoting irisin secretion through activating sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α)/fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5) signal pathway and downregulating myocardial fibrosis markers (collagen I, collagen III, and transforming growth factor-β1). Therefore, swimming-induced irisin has the potential therapeutic effect on diabetic myocardial fibrosis through activating the miR-34a-mediated SIRT1/PGC-1α/FNDC5 signal pathway., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Guo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Metal-metal bonding is crucial in chemistry for advancing our understanding of the fundamental aspects of chemical bonds. Metal-metal bonds based on alkaline-earth (Ae) elements, especially the heavier Ae elements (Ca, Sr, and Ba), are rarely reported due to their high electropositivity. Herein, we report two heteronuclear di-EMFs CaY@ C s (6)-C 82 and CaY@ C 2 v (5)-C 80 , which contain unprecedented single-electron Ca-Y metal-metal bonds. These compounds were characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. The crystallographic study of CaY@ C s (6)-C 82 shows that Ca and Y are successfully encapsulated into the carbon cage with a Ca-Y distance of 3.691 Å. The CW-EPR study of both CaY@ C s (6)-C 82 and CaY@ C 2 v (5)-C 80 exhibits a doublet, suggesting the presence of an unpaired electron located between Ca and Y. The combined experimental and theoretical results confirm the presence of a Ca-Y single-electron metal-metal bond with substantial covalent interaction, attributed to significant overlap between the 4s4p orbitals of Ca and the 5s5p4d orbitals of Y. Furthermore, pulse EPR spectroscopy was used to investigate the quantum coherence of the electron spin within this bond. The unpaired electron, characterized by its s orbital nature, is effectively protected by the carbon cage, resulting in efficient suppression of both spin-lattice relaxation and decoherence. CaY@ C s (6)-C 82 behaves as an electron spin qubit, displaying a maximum decoherence time of 7.74 μs at 40 K. This study reveals an unprecedented Ae-rare-earth metal-metal bond stabilized by the fullerene cages and elucidates the molecular qubit properties stemming from their unique bonding character, highlighting their potential in quantum information processing applications.

A self-reinforcing positive feedback is regarded as a critical process for maintaining alternative stable states (ASS); however, identification of ASS and quantification of positive feedbacks remain elusive in natural ecosystems. Here, we used large-scale field surveys to search for ASS and a positive feedback mechanism under a wide range of habitats on the Tibetan Plateau. Using multiple methods, we proved that three stable states exist that accompany alpine marsh degradation. Positive feedbacks between changing soil moisture and plant community composition forced the ecosystem into another stable state, and the alteration of water use efficiency (WUE) of the component species contributed to this shift. This study provides the first empirical evidence that positive feedback loops maintain ASS in the alpine marsh ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau. Our research revealed the powerful driving role of plants in transitions between states, which may support the conservation and restoration of global alpine marsh ecosystems., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient in wetland ecosystems. Changing in nitrogen nutrient status has a great effect on wetland carbon and nitrogen cycling. However, there is much uncertainty as to wetland greenhouse gas emissions response to nitrogen inputs in China. In this study, we synthesized 177 paired observations from 27 studies of greenhouse gases emissions related to nitrogen additions across wetland in China. The results showed nitrogen inputs significantly contributed to wetland carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions but had no significant effect on methane (CH 4 ). We further analyze the relationship between greenhouse gases emissions and soil properties, climate factors under nitrogen inputs. Regression analyses introducing explanatory variables showed that high nitrogen inputs (12 g N m -2  yr -1 -24 g N m -2  yr -1 ) contributed more significantly to wetland CO 2 and N 2 O emissions. Compared to other wetland types, alpine peatlands have a greater impact on CO 2 and N 2 O emissions following nitrogen input. In addition, high altitude (> 1500 m and ≤ 3500 m) could promote wetland CO 2 and N 2 O emissions more significantly after nitrogen input, but ultra-high altitude (> 3500 m) reduced CO 2 emissions. CO 2 and N 2 O emissions were more significantly promoted when mean annual temperature (MAT) was positive, and CO 2 emissions increased with increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP). Wetland CO 2 emissions can be significantly promoted when soil is acidic, while N 2 O emissions can be significantly promoted when soil is alkaline. N 2 O emissions increased with increasing of soil total nitrogen (TN) and soil organic carbon (SOC) contents. These findings highlight the characteristics of wetland greenhouse gas emissions following nitrogen input, and improve our ability to predict greenhouse gas emissions and help meet carbon neutrality targets., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Understanding the water-involved mechanism on metal oxide surface and the dynamic interaction of water with active sites is crucial in solving water poisoning in catalytic reactions. Herein, this work solves this problem by designing the water-promoted function of metal oxides in the ethanol oxidation reaction. In situ multimodal spectroscopies unveil that the competitive adsorption of water-dissociated *OH species with O 2 at Sn active sites results in water poisoning and the sluggish proton transfer in CoO-SnO 2 imparts water-resistant effect. Carbon material as electron donor and proton transport channel optimizes the Co active sites and expedites the reverse hydrogen spillover from CoO to SnO 2 . The water-promoted function arises from spillover protons facilitating O 2 activation on the SnO 2 surface, leading to crucial *OOH intermediate formation for catalyzing C-H and C-C cleavage. Consequently, the tailored CoO-C-SnO 2 showcases a remarkable 60-fold enhancement in ethanol oxidation reaction compared to bare SnO 2 under high-humidity conditions., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Materials published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

There are potential ethical pitfalls when performing clinical and translational research. The growing emphasis on evidence-based medicine and an understanding of basic ethical principles demands attention from the clinician scientist. Underlying principles such as respect for autonomy and considering the risk-benefit profile for each participant should remain the foundation when considering ethical issues in clinical research. Developing technology, the growth of large databases, and unanticipated health crises require ethical guidelines to be dynamic and continuously reviewed to adequately address potential ethical quandaries. Although there are various international guidelines in this area, there remains heterogeneity in their interpretation and application., Competing Interests: Disclosure The author has nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may affect the oral microbial community, exacerbating periodontal inflammation; however, its pathogenic mechanisms remain unclear. As nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) plays a crucial role in the activation during periodontitis (PD), it is hypothesized that changes in the oral microbial community due to diabetes enhance periodontal inflammation through the activation of NOD2., Methods: We collected subgingival plaque from 180 subjects who were categorized into two groups based on the presence or absence of T2DM. The composition of oral microbiota was detected by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. In animal models of PD with or without T2DM, we assessed alveolar bone resorption by micro-computerized tomography and used immunohistochemistry to detect NOD2 expression in alveolar bone. Primary osteoblasts were cultured in osteogenic induction medium with high or normal glucose and treated with inactivated bacteria. After 24 h of inactivated bacteria intervention, the osteogenic differentiation ability was detected by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining, and the expressions of NOD2 and interleukin-12 (IL-6) were detected by western blot., Results: The relative abundance of Parvimonas and Filifactor in the T2DM group was increased compared to the group without T2DM. In animal models, alveolar bone mass was decreased in PD, particularly in T2DM with PD (DMPD) group, compared to controls. Immunohistochemistry revealed NOD2 in osteoblasts from the alveolar bone in both the PD group and DMPD group, especially in the DMPD group. In vitro, intervention with inactivated Parvimonas significantly reduced ALP secretion of primary osteoblasts in high glucose medium, accompanied by increased expression of NOD2 and IL-6., Conclusions: The results suggest that T2DM leading to PD may be associated with the activation of NOD2 by Parvimonas., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims/Background: Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is a common complication of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC typically infiltrates intrahepatic vessels, particularly the portal vein, leading to the formation of PVTT, marking advanced-stage HCC and correlating with poor prognosis. PVTT often complicates local treatment strategies such as surgical resection and affects the efficacy of interventions. Combination therapy, including immunotherapy and targeted therapy, shows promise in HCC treatment, but management options for HCC patients with PVTT are incompletely characterized. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab + apatinib in treating HCC patients with PVTT. Case Presentation: Two cases of HCC with PVTT were presented. Patient 1, a 51-year-old male with a history of hepatitis B virus, was diagnosed with stage IIIA HCC and treated with camrelizumab + apatinib, achieving complete response (CR) after six cycles. Patient 2, a 50-year-old male with stage IIIA HCC, also underwent the same treatment and achieved CR after four cycles but died due to acute cardiac disease. Results: Our research found that camrelizumab + apatinib effectively shrank the size of filling defects and significantly prolonged patients' progression-free survival. In addition, no adverse effects were observed during the treatment process. However, despite the manageable safety profile demonstrated by combination therapy, further clinical research is needed to validate its long-term efficacy and safety. Conclusion: Camrelizumab + apatinib produced satisfactory efficacy and safety among the HCC patients with PVTT, providing clinical evidence for future treatment.

Achieving large-scale electrochemical CO 2 reduction to multicarbon products with high selectivity using membrane electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzers in neutral electrolyte is promising for carbon neutrality. However, the unsatisfactory multicarbon products selectivity and unclear reaction mechanisms in an MEA have hindered its further development. Here, we report a strategy that manipulates the interfacial microenvironment of Cu nanoparticles in an MEA to suppress hydrogen evolution reaction and enhance C 2 H 4 conversion. In situ multimodal characterizations consistently reveal well-stabilized Cu δ+ -OH species as active sites during MEA testing. The OH radicals generated in situ from water create a locally oxidative microenvironment on the copper surface, stabilizing the Cu δ+ species and leading to an irreversible and asynchronous change in morphology and valence, yielding high-curvature nanowhiskers. Consequently, we deliver a selective C 2 H 4 production with a Faradaic efficiency of 55.6% ± 2.8 at 316 mA cm -2 in neutral media., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The research aimed to evaluate the connection between pre-treatment inflammatory biomarkers and clinical results in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors., Materials and Methods: Between 2019 and 2022, we analyzed 354 individuals diagnosed with metastatic ESCC who underwent immunotherapy. The study sought to evaluate the impact of specific inflammatory biomarkers (Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CRP/ALB) and Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors or steroids usage on the effectiveness and survival outcomes of immunotherapy in advanced ESCC. The research utilized Kaplan‒Meier and Cox regression models alongside propensity score matching for analysis., Results: The findings revealed that elevated pre-treatment NLR (11.0 vs. 14.6 months, p = 0.021) and CRP/ALB (11.4 vs. 14.6 months, p = 0.022) levels were significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) outcomes, while the use of steroids did not show a significant difference in OS (15.5 vs. 15.4 months, p = 0.685) between groups. Similarly, no notable disparity in OS was observed between patients treated withCOX-2 inhibitors and those who were not (13.8 vs. 11.0 months, p = 0.054)., Conclusion: Lower levels of NLR and CRP/ALB prior to treatment were linked to better effectiveness and OS in immunotherapy for advanced ESCC. The study did not identify a significant relationship between OS in patients with esophageal cancer and the use of either steroids or COX-2 inhibitors., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Federación de Sociedades Españolas de Oncología (FESEO).)

The evolution of the H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses has led to the emergence of distinct groups with genetically similar clusters of hemagglutinin (HA) sequences. In this study, a consensus H5 HA sequence was cloned into the baculovirus expression system. The HA protein was expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells and utilized as the antigen for the production of an oil emulsion-based H5 avian influenza vaccine (rBacH5Con5Mut). Twenty-one-day-old SPF chickens were immunized with this vaccine and then challenged at 21 days post-vaccination with clade 2.3.2.1, clade 2.3.4.4, and clade 7.2 of H5 HPAI viruses. The sera of vaccinated chickens exhibited high hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers against the rBacH5 vaccine antigen, while lower HI titers were observed against the different challenge virus H5 hemagglutinins. Furthermore, the rBacH5Con5Mut vaccine provided 100% protection from mortality and clinical signs. Virus isolation results showed that oropharyngeal and cloacal shedding was prevented in 100% of the vaccinated chickens when challenged with clade 2.3.2.1 and clade 2.3.4.4 H5 viruses. When the rBacH5Con5Mut vaccine candidate was administrated at one day of age, 100% protection was demonstrated against the challenge of clade 2.3.4.4 virus at three weeks of age, indicating the potential of this vaccine for hatchery vaccination. Overall, A single immunization of rBacH5Con5Mut vaccine candidate with a consensus HA antigen can protect chickens against different clades of H5 HPAI viruses throughout the rearing period of broiler chickens without a boost, thus fulfilling the criteria for an efficacious broad-spectrum H5 avian influenza vaccine.

Background: Aging is an inevitable biological process. Accelerated aging renders adults more susceptible to chronic diseases and increases their mortality rates. Previous studies have reported the relationship between lifestyle factors and phenotypic aging. However, the relationship between intrinsic factors, such as reproductive factors, and phenotypic aging remains unclear., Methods: This study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), spanning from 1999 to 2010 and 2015-2018, with 14,736 adult women. Random forest imputation was used to handle missing covariate values in the final cohort. Weighted linear regression was utilized to analyze the relationship between women-specific reproductive factors and PhenoAgeAccel. Considering the potential impact of menopausal status on the results, additional analyses were conducted on premenopausal and postmenopausal participants. Additionally, the Life's Essential 8 (LE8) was used to investigate the impact of healthy lifestyle and other factors on the relationship between women-specific reproductive factors and PhenoAgeAccel. Stratified analyses were conducted based on significant interaction p-values., Results: In the fully adjusted models, delayed menarche and gynecological surgery were associated with increased PhenoAgeAccel, whereas pregnancy history were associated with a decrease. Additionally, early or late ages of menopause, first live birth, and last live birth can all negatively impact PhenoAgeAccel. The relationship between women-specific reproductive factors and PhenoAgeAccel differs between premenopausal and postmenopausal women. High LE8 scores positively impacted the relationship between certain reproductive factors (age at menarche, age at menopause, age at first live birth, and age at last live birth) and phenotypic age acceleration. Stratified analysis showed significant interactions for the following variables: BMI with age at menarche, pregnancy history, and age at menopause; ethnicity with age at menopause, age at first live birth, and parity; smoking status with use of contraceptive pills and gynecologic surgery; hypertension with use of contraceptive pills, pregnancy history, and age at menopause., Conclusion: Delayed menarche, gynecological surgery, and early or late ages of menopause, first live birth, and last live birth are associated with accelerated phenotypic aging. High LE8 score may alleviate the adverse effects of reproductive factors on phenotypic aging., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

To further develop Liupao tea products and enhance their flavor, this study investigated the effects of different fermentation methods on the aroma quality of Liupao tea. The aroma quality of Liupao tea was comprehensively analyzed using HS-SPME in combination with GC-Q-TOF-MS, electronic nose, and sensory evaluations. Electronic nose detection showed that the aroma fingerprints of Liupao tea samples with different fermentation methods were different. Sulfides, alcohols, ketones, and methyls were the main aroma categories affecting the aroma of the four groups of Liupao tea samples. GC-Q-TOF-MS analysis revealed significant differences in the composition of aroma components among the four fermentation methods of Liupao tea ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, the total amount of aroma compounds was found to be highest in the group subjected to hot fermentation combined with the inoculation of Monascus purpureus (DMl group). Based on the OPLS-DA model, candidate differential aroma components with VIP > 1 were identified, and characteristic aroma compounds were selected based on OAV > 10. The key characteristic aroma compounds shared by the four groups of samples were 1,2,3-Trimethoxybenzene with a stale aroma and nonanal with floral and fruity aromas. The best sensory evaluation results were obtained for the DMl group, and its key characteristic aroma compounds mainly included 1,2,3-Trimethoxybenzene, nonanal, and cedrol. The results of this study can guide the development of Liupao tea products and process optimization.

To further enhance the performance of the fast tool servo (FTS) system in terms of stroke, load capacity, and application area, this paper proposes a novel fast tool servo device driven by a voice coil motor (VCM), based on a three-segment uniform corrugated flexure (CF) guiding mechanism, with a large stroke, high accuracy, and high dynamics. To describe the unified static characteristics of such device, the compliance matrix method is applied to establish its model, where the influence of CF beam structural parameters on the FTS device is investigated in detail. Furthermore, resolution and positioning accuracy tests are conducted to validate the features of the system. The testing results indicate that the maximum stroke of the FTS device is up to 3.5 mm and the positioning resolution values are 3.6 μm and 2.4 μm for positive and negative stroke, respectively, which further verifies the device's effectiveness and promising application prospect in ultra-precision microstructure machining.

The use of peracetic acid (PAA) in advanced oxidation processes has gained significant attention recently, but the knowledge of activating PAA to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is limited due to the variety and selectivity of reactive substances in PAA oxidation system. This paper presented the first systemically study on the degradation of PAHs by PAA activation in soil. It was found that heat-activated peracetic acid (heat/PAA) was capable of degrading phenanthrene (PHE) efficiently with degradation efficiency > 90 % within 30 min. Experimental results demonstrated that a series of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including organic radicals (RO • ), hydroxyl radicals (HO • ) and singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) were generated, while acetylperoxyl (CH 3 C(O)OO • ) and acetyloxyl (CH 3 C(O)O • ) radicals were primarily responsible for PHE degradation in soil. Further analysis shows that polymerization products such as diphenic acid, 2'-formyl-2-biphenylcarboxylic acid and other macromolecules were dominant products of PHE degradation, suggesting polymerization driving PHE degradation instead of the conventional mineralization process. Toxicity analysis shows that most of the polymerization products had less toxicity than that of PHE. These results indicate that PAA activation was a highly effective remediation method for PAHs contaminated soil, which also provided a novel mechanism for pollutant degradation with the PAA activation process for environmental remediation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The depth of fertilizer application significantly influences soil nitrate concentration (SNC), sunflower root length density (RLD), sunflower nitrogen uptake (SNU), and yield. However, current studies cannot precisely capture subtle nutrient variations between soil layers and their complex relationships with root growth. They also struggle to assess the impact of different fertilizer application depths on sunflower root development and distribution as well as their response to the spatial and temporal distribution of nutrients., Methods: The Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) model was employed to explore the spatial and temporal patterns of nitrogen distribution in the soil at three controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) placement depths: 5, 15, and 25 cm. This study investigated the characteristics of the root system regarding nitrogen absorption and utilization and analyzed their correlation with sunflower yield formation. Furthermore, this study introduced the modified Jaccard index (considering the compatibility between soil nitrate and root length density) to analyze soil-root interactions, providing a deeper insight into how changes in CRF placement depth affect crop growth and nitrogen uptake efficiency., Results: The results indicated that a fertilization depth of 15 cm improved the modified Jaccard index by 6.60% and 7.34% compared to 5 cm and 25 cm depths, respectively, maximizing sunflower yield (an increase of 9.44%) and nitrogen absorption rate (an increase of 5.40%). This depth promoted a greater Root Length Density (RLD), with an increases of 11.95% and 16.42% compared those at 5 cm and 25 cm, respectively, enhancing deeper root growth and improving nitrogen uptake. In contrast, shallow fertilization led to higher nitrate concentrations in the topsoil, whereas deeper fertilization increased the nitrate concentrations in the deeper soil layers., Discussion: These results provide valuable insights for precision agriculture and sustainable soil management, highlighting the importance of optimizing root nitrogen absorption through tailored fertilization strategies to enhance crop production efficiency and minimize environmental impact., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ren, Li, Liu, Chen, Xin, Liu, Qi and Li.)