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Abstract In many noise scenarios, ventilation is necessary. The practical realization of noise attenuation under the premise of ensuring ventilation is an urgent problem to be solved. In this paper, a ventilated acoustic metamaterial labyrinth (VAML) is proposed, and the corresponding analytical and numerical computational models are developed considering the thermal viscous effect (TVE). The loss in sound transmission of the VAML is quantitatively obtained and experimentally verified. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental results with an error of 0.6%. By comparing the transmission coefficient and the impedance at the entrance of the side branches, the mechanism of the TVE on the performance of VAML is analyzed, and it is clarified that the TVE is responsible for the sound absorption coefficient. The effects of structure parameters on the transmission coefficient of the VAML are analyzed individually. The results show that the resonant frequency of the system decreases as the length of channel 1 $$l_1$$ l 1 , the length of channel 2 $$l_2$$ l 2 , and the width of channel d increase. By adjusting the magnitude of these three parameters, the control of the resonant frequency can be realized. Meanwhile, as $$l_1$$ l 1 , $$l_2$$ l 2 and ventilation radius R decrease the valley of transmission coefficient decreases which means better noise reduction. Finally, the effect of flow velocity on the transmission coefficient is analyzed, revealing the mechanism of fluid action on macroscopic acoustic properties.

Alzheimer disease (AD), commonly known as senile dementia, is the most common type of dementia, resulting in progressive impairment of cognitive function, and is often accompanied by a variety of psychiatric symptoms, such as agitation. Agitated symptoms in AD patients often cause an increasing burden on caregivers, and current psychiatric medications may exacerbate adverse effects such as cognitive impairment and motor retardation in patients. Therefore, non-drug intervention is a very important adjuvant treatment option. This article reviews the clinical manifestations, possible mechanisms, drug therapy and non-drug intervention measures of agitation in order to provide reference for more effective treatment of AD.

Introduction: Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) of the soft tissue is a type of tumor that primarily affects the deep soft tissues of the extremities and trunk. We report a case of CCS of soft tissue arising in the first metacarpal of the hand, focusing on the imaging features of CCS combined with the clinicopathological and immunological results. Case Presentation: In this case, computed tomography images showed a soft tissue mass at the first metacarpal, with heterogeneous density, unclear boundaries, and bone destruction. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the mass showed slightly higher signal intensity on T1-weighted images and mixed hyperintensity on T2-weighted images, with inhomogeneous enhancements. On both T1-weighted and T2-weighted sequences, there were some hypointense strips. No significant enhancements were found in these hypointense strips. Conclusion: We suggest that hypointense strips on MRI should lead to the inclusion of CCS in differential diagnoses.

Abstract Self-supervised monocular depth estimation has always attracted attention because it does not require ground truth data. Designing a lightweight architecture capable of fast inference is crucial for deployment on mobile devices. The current network effectively integrates Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) with Transformers, achieving significant improvements in accuracy. However, this advantage comes at the cost of an increase in model size and a significant reduction in inference speed. In this study, we propose a network named Repmono, which includes LCKT module with a large convolutional kernel and RepTM module based on the structural reparameterisation technique. With the combination of these two modules, our network achieves both local and global feature extraction with a smaller number of parameters and significantly enhances inference speed. Our network, with 2.31MB parameters, shows significant accuracy improvements over Monodepth2 in experiments on the KITTI dataset. With uniform input dimensions, our network’s inference speed is 53.7% faster than R-MSFM6, 60.1% faster than Monodepth2, and 81.1% faster than MonoVIT-small. Our code is available at https://github.com/txc320382/Repmono .

Abstract It has been shown that the formation of filopodia is a key step in tumor cell metastasis, but there is limited research regarding its mechanism. In this study, we demonstrated that fatty acid synthase (FASN) promoted filopodia formation in liver cancer cells by regulating fascin actin-bundling protein 1 (FSCN1), a marker protein for filopodia. Mechanistically, on the one hand, the accumulation of FASN is caused by the enhanced deubiquitination of FASN mediated by UCHL5 (ubiquitin c-terminal hydrolase L5). In this pathway, low expression of SIAH1 (Seven in absentia homolog 1) can decrease the ubiquitination and degradation of ADRM1 (adhesion regulating molecule 1) thereby increasing its protein level, which will recruit and activate the deubiquitination enzyme UCHL5, leading to FASN undergo deubiquitination and escape from proteasomal degradation. On the other hand, the accumulation of FASN is related to its weakened ubiquitination, where SIAH1 directly acts as a ubiquitin ligase toward FASN, and low expression of SIAH1 reduces the ubiquitination and degradation of FASN. Both the two pathways are involved in the regulation of FASN in liver cancer. Our results reveal a novel mechanism for FASN accumulation due to the low expression of SIAH1 in human liver cancer and suggest an important role of FASN in filopodia formation in liver cancer cells.

Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for plant growth, development, and metabolism. In apple production, the excessive use of N fertilizer may cause high N stress. Whether high N stress can be alleviated by regulating melatonin supply is unclear. The effects of melatonin on root morphology, antioxidant enzyme activity and 13C and 15N accumulation in apple rootstock M9T337 treated with high N were studied by soil culture. The results showed that correctly raising the melatonin supply level is helpful to root development of M9T337 rootstock under severe N stress. Compared with HN treatment, HN+MT treatment increased root and leaf growth by 11.38%, and 28.01%, respectively. Under high N conditions, appropriately increasing melatonin level can activate antioxidant enzyme activity, reduce lipid peroxidation in roots, protect root structural integrity, promote the transport of sorbitol and sucrose to roots, and promote further degradation and utilization of sorbitol and sucrose in roots, which is conducive to the accumulation of photosynthetic products, thereby reducing the inhibitory effect of high N treatment on root growth. Based on the above research results, we found that under high N stress, melatonin significantly promotes nitrate absorption, enhances N metabolism enzyme activity, and upregulates related gene expression, and regulate N uptake and utilization in the M9T337 rootstock. These results presented a fresh notion for improving N application and preserving carbon-nitrogen balance.

Edge computing, a key technology in the Internet of Things, can help integrate real-time fault diagnosis into industrial applications. Lightweight and compression technologies are essential for deploying high-precision deep learning methods on resource-constrained edge computing systems. However, modeling accuracy is severely compromised by existing methods. To overcome this limitation, a new multi-stage pruning and distillation architecture was proposed in this study to compress a depthwise separable convolutional network for intelligent fault diagnosis of bearings in edge computing systems. The model was implemented on an NVIDIA Jetson Nano and verified using two bearing fault datasets. The results show that the proposed method can significantly reduce the calculation and reasoning time of the model and maintain high accuracy. The proposed method exhibits remarkable effectiveness, requires minimal memory, provides fast inference speeds, and is suitable for use in edge devices with less configuration.

Abstract Traditional eye drops are administered via topical instillation. However, frequent dosing is needed due to their relatively rapid precorneal removal and low ocular bioavailability. To address these issues, stearoyl L-carnitine-modified nanoemulsions (SC-NEs) were fabricated. The physicochemical properties of SC-NEs in terms of size, morphology, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro drug release behavior were characterized. The cellular uptake and mechanisms of SC-NEs were comprehensively studied in human corneal epithelial cells and the stearoyl L-carnitine ratio in SC-NEs was optimized. The optimized SC-NEs could target the novel organic cation/carnitine transporter 2 (OCTN2) and amino acid transporter B (0 +) (ATB0,+) on the corneal epithelium, which led to superior corneal permeation, ocular surface retention ability, ocular bioavailability. Furthermore, SC-NEs showed excellent in vivo anti-inflammatory efficacy in a rabbit model of endotoxin-induced uveitis. The ocular safety test indicated that the SC-NEs were biocompatible. In general, the current study demonstrated that OCTN2 and ATB0,+-targeted nanoemulsions were promising ophthalmologic drug delivery systems that can improve ocular drug bioavailability and boost the therapeutic effects of drugs for eye diseases. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Based on panel data from 210 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2021, this study employs the Time-Varying Differences-in-Differences (Time-Varying DID) approach to systematically examine the impact of smart city construction on pollution emissions and its underlying mechanisms. Additionally, the Propensity Score Matching–Differences-in-Differences method is employed for further validation. The research findings indicate that Smart City Construction (SCC) significantly reduces urban Volume of Sewage Discharge (VSD), sulfur dioxide emissions (SO2), and Emissions of Fumes and Dust (EFD), thereby mitigating pollution emissions (PE) and enhancing environmental quality. Mechanism analysis reveals that SCC achieves these effects through scale effects, structural effects, and technological effects. City heterogeneity analysis shows that provincial capital cities exhibit a stronger suppression effect on pollution emissions compared to non-provincial capital cities. Moreover, cities with lower levels of education attainment demonstrate a stronger ability to curb pollution emissions, while larger cities exhibit a more pronounced impact on mitigating pollution emissions. The marginal contributions of this study mainly consist of three aspects: Firstly, it enriches the literature on environmental impact factors by assessing, for the first time, the influence of SCC on PE. Secondly, a comprehensive approach is employed, integrating VSD, EFD, SO2 data, and economic and pollution data at the city level. Time-Varying DID is used to evaluate the policy effects of SCC. Finally, the study analyzes the impact mechanisms of SCC policy on environmental emissions from various perspectives.

The influence of the sub-nano Ni3P and Cu3P phases on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and strengthening mechanism of Cu–20Pb–5Sn-xP (x = 0,0.05,0.1,0.3,0.5) alloy were discussed under the addition of P to obtain a new Pb–Sn bronze alloy applying for bimetallic cylinder block. The results showed that the tensile strength and hardness of the Pb–Sn bronze alloy increase with the P contents, while the elongation increased first and then decreased. The main strengthen mechanism was that sub-nano Ni3P and Cu3P phases dispersed in the matrix, hindering the movement of dislocations during deformation. Additionally, the grain refinement also contributed to the improvement of mechanical properties. The Ni3P phase is easier to form than the Cu3P phase. And it is easier to combine with the matrix and more stable. The Ni3P and Cu3P phases were studied by using different characterization techniques, such as OM, SEM, EDS, XRD, TEM and First-principles, Phase diagram calculation method. When P is added to the alloy, the Ni3P phase first appears in the alloy, and when the P content increases to more than 0.3 wt%, the Cu3P phase begins to appear. This is because the Ni3P phase is easier to form than the Cu3P phase and is more stable. Only after part of P reacts with Ni dissolved in copper to form Ni3P, the remaining P and Cu can form Cu3P.

BackgroundOnline psychological surveys allow for swift data collection among college students, thus providing a foundation for psychological interventions, particularly during emergent public health events. However, the association between online survey completion behaviors and offline psychological symptoms has yet to be explored.MethodsA large-scale web-based survey was conducted from December 31, 2022, to January 7, 2023, involving 22,624 participants. Psychological symptoms were assessed using standardized measures, while the time taken to complete the survey and the time of completion were recorded by the online survey platform.ResultsAs the time duration increased, the prevalence of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD also increased significantly (Pfor trend

Abstract This was a single-arm, multicenter phase 2 clinical trial (ChiCTR1900021726) involving advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sq-NSCLC) patients undergoing 2 cycles of nab-paclitaxel/carboplatin and sintilimab (anti-PD-1), followed by sintilimab maintenance therapy. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 11.4 months (95% CI: 6.7-18.1), which met the pre-specified primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints included objective response rate reaching 70.5% and a disease control rate of 93.2%, with a median duration of response of 13.6 months [95% CI: 7.0–not evaluable (NE)]. The median overall survival was 27.2 months (95% CI: 20.2–NE) with treatment-related adverse events grades ≥3 occurring in 10.9% of patients. Predefined exploratory endpoints comprised relationships between biomarkers and treatment efficacy, and the association between circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) dynamics and PFS. Biomarker analysis revealed that the breast cancer gene 2, BMP/Retinoic Acid Inducible Neural Specific 3, F-box/WD repeat-containing protein 7, tyrosine-protein kinase KIT and retinoblastoma 1 abnormalities led to shorter PFS, while ctDNA negative at baseline or clearance at 2 cycles of treatment was associated with longer PFS (18.1 vs. 4.3 months). Taken together, sintilimab in combination with 2 cycles of nab-paclitaxel/carboplatin treatment produced encouraging PFS and better tolerability as first-line treatment for advanced sq-NSCLC.

Straw return is a promising strategy for managing soil organic carbon (SOC) and improving yield stability. However, the optimal straw return strategy for sustainable crop production in the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cropping system remains uncertain. The objective of this study was to quantify the long-term (10 years) impact of carbon (C) input on SOC sequestration, soil aggregation and crop yields in a wheat–cotton cropping system in the Yangtze River Valley, China. Five treatments were arranged with a single-factor randomized design as follows: no straw return (Control), return of wheat straw only (Wt), return of cotton straw only (Ct), return of 50% wheat and 50% cotton straw (Wh-Ch) and return of 100% wheat and 100% cotton straw (Wt-Ct). In comparison to the Control, the SOC content increased by 8.4 to 20.2% under straw return. A significant linear positive correlation between SOC sequestration and C input (1.42–7.19 Mg ha−1 yr−1) (P2 and 1–2 mm at the 0–20 cm soil depth were also significantly elevated under straw return, with the greatest increase of the aggregate stability in the Wt-Ct treatment (28.1%). The average wheat yields increased by 12.4–36.0% and cotton yields increased by 29.4–73.7%, and significantly linear positive correlations were also detected between C input and the yields of wheat and cotton. The average sustainable yield index (SYI) reached a maximum value of 0.69 when the C input was 7.08 Mg ha−1 yr−1, which was close to the maximum value (SYI of 0.69, C input of 7.19 Mg ha−1 yr–1) in the Wt-Ct treatment. Overall, the return of both wheat and cotton straw was the best strategy for improving SOC sequestration, soil aggregation, yields and their sustainability in the wheat–cotton rotation system.

In recent years, edge computing networks have been widely adopted to achieve low latency, save bandwidth, and improve flexibility. However, most of the current Edge Nodes (ENs) are in semi-trusted or untrusted environments, where interactions among users are unsafe. Therefore, providing cost-effective protection strategies for ENs under resource limitations remains a great challenge. To cope with this, we propose an edge computing model with “End-Edge-Cloud” collaborative services, and a Privacy Preservation Strategy with Pseudo-Addresses (P2SPA) is constructed to maximize the cost-effectiveness while protecting the location privacy of the ENs. We quantify the privacy protection preference of user information using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to select the optimal EN. Considering the dynamic change in the attack frequency, a pseudo-address selection and updating strategy is constructed based on the Stackelberg game theory; thus, the optimal pseudo-address update frequency is achieved. Numerical estimations are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed P2SPA strategy. Compared with the existing methods, P2SPA achieves a compromise service strategy with satisfactory performance on both the defense effect and defense cost.

Abstract Background In the present study, we explored the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and its association with ferroptosis in lens epithelium cells (LECs) of age-related cataract (ARC). Methods Through m6A RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (m6A-RIP-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we identified m6A mediated and differentially expressed lncRNAs (dme-lncRNAs) in ARC patients. Based on bioinformatics analysis, we selected critical dme-lncRNAs and pathways associated with ARC formation to reveal their potential molecular mechanisms. The downregulation of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), a key component of ferroptosis, was confirmed by real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting in age-related cortical cataract (ARCC) samples. Transmission electron microscopy was used to assess the change in mitochondrial in LECs. Results The analysis revealed a total of 11,193 m6A peaks within lncRNAs, among which 7043 were enriched and 4150 were depleted. Among those, lncRNA ENST00000586817(upstream of the GPX4 gene) was not only significantly upregulated in the LECs of ARCC but also potentially augmented the expression of GPX4 through a cis mechanism. The expression of m6A-modified lncRNA (ENST00000586817) was correlated with that of GPX4 and was downregulated in ARC patients. The TEM results indicated significant mitochondrial changes in ARCC samples. GPX4 downregulation enhanced LEC ferroptosis and decreased viability via RSL3 in SRA01/04 cells. Conclusions Our results provide insight into the potential function of m6A-modified lncRNAs. M6A-modified lncRNA ENST00000586817 might regulate the expression of GPX4 by a cis mechanism and be implicated in ferroptosis in ARCs.

The effects of different Mn concentrations on the generalized stacking fault energies (GSFE) and elastic properties of MnxCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have been studied via first-principles, which are based on density functional theory. The relationship of different Mn concentrations with the chemical bond and surface activity of MnxCoCrFeNi HEAs are discussed from the perspectives of electronic structure and work function. The results show that the plastic deformation of MnxCoCrFeNi HEAs can be controlled via dislocation-mediated slip. But with the increase in Mn concentration, mechanical micro twinning can still be formed. The deformation resistance, shear resistance, and stiffness of MnxCoCrFeNi HEAs increase with the enhancement of Mn content. Accordingly, in the case of increased Mn concentration, the weakening of atomic bonds in MnxCoCrFeNi HEAs leads to the increase in alloy instability, which improves the possibility of dislocation.

Abstract Objective To explore the changes in the cerebral microstructure of patients with noise‐induced hearing loss (NIHL) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Method Overall, 122 patients with NIHL (mild [MP, n = 79], relatively severe patients [including moderate and severe; RSP, n = 32], and undetermined [lost to follow‐up, n = 11]) and 84 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. All clinical data, including age, education level, hearing threshold, occupation type, noise exposure time, and some scale scores (including the Mini‐Mental State Examination [MMSE], tinnitus handicap inventory [THI], and Hamilton Anxiety Scale [HAMA]), were collected and analyzed. All participants underwent T1WI3DFSPGR and DTI, and tract‐based spatial statistics and region of interest (ROI) analysis were used for assessment. Results The final sample included 71 MP, 28 RSP, and 75 HCs. The HAMA scores of the three groups were significantly different (p .05). There was a significant negative correlation between the FA and HAMA scores for the left IFOF/ILF, right FPT, left SLF, and left C‐H for the three groups (p

Background: This study aims to determine the efficacy and safety profile of aumolertinib in the real-word treatment setting for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 173 EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC patients who received aumolertinib treatment at Henan Cancer Hospital from April 2020 to December 2022. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated using Kaplan–Meier survival curves, while a Cox regression model was used for multifactorial analysis and prognostic factor assessment.Results: Among patients administered first-line aumolertinib (n = 77), the objective remission rate (ORR) of 77.92% was observed, along with a disease control rate (DCR) of 100%. The median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 24.97 months, which did not reach the median overall survival (mOS). The patients treated with aumolertinib after progression on prior EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy (n = 96) exhibited an ORR of 46.88%, a DCR of 89.58%, an mPFS of 15.17 months, and an mOS of 21.27 months. First-line treatment multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated a statistically significant impact of elevated creatine kinase on PFS (p = 0.016) and a similar significant influence of co-mutation on OS (p = 0.034). Furthermore, subsequent-line treatment multivariate Cox regression analysis showed a statistically significant impact of elevated creatine kinase on median PFS (p = 0.026) and a significant effect on the number of metastatic organs (p = 0.017), co-mutation (p = 0.035), and elevated creatine kinase (p = 0.014) on median OS.Conclusion: Aumolertinib has shown clinical significance and can safely be used in the real-world setting for patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC.

Low temperatures decrease the thidiazuron (TDZ) defoliation efficiency in cotton, while cyclanilide (CYC) combined with TDZ can improve the defoliation efficiency at low temperatures, but the mechanism is unknown. This study analyzed the effect of exogenous TDZ and CYC application on cotton leaf abscissions at low temperatures (daily mean temperature: 15°C) using physiology and transcriptomic analysis. The results showed that compared with the TDZ treatment, TDZ combined with CYC accelerated cotton leaf abscission and increased the defoliation rate at low temperatures. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in cotton abscission zones (AZs) were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses to compare the enriched GO terms and KEGG pathways between the TDZ treatment and TDZ combined with CYC treatment. TDZ combined with CYC could induce more DEGs in cotton leaf AZs at low temperatures, and these DEGs were related to plant hormone and reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathways. CYC is an auxin transport inhibitor. TDZ combined with CYC not only downregulated more auxin response related genes but also upregulated more ethylene and jasmonic acid (JA) response related genes at low temperatures, and it decreased the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content and increased the JA and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) contents, which enhanced cotton defoliation. In addition, compared with the TDZ treatment alone, TDZ combined with CYC upregulated the expression of respiratory burst oxidase homologs (RBOH) genes and the hydrogen peroxide content in cotton AZs at low temperatures, which accelerated cotton defoliation. These results indicated that CYC enhanced the TDZ defoliation efficiency in cotton by adjusting hormone synthesis and response related pathways (including auxin, ethylene, and JA) and ROS production at low temperatures.

Abstract Platelet-stored activated blood coagulation factor X (FXa) has great potential in the gene therapy of hemophilia B (HB). However, we still need to understand more about the properties of FXa-storing platelets and how dietary factors affect them. We created transgenic mice called 2bFXa-HB, which had stable expression and storage of FXa in their platelets, resulting in the alleviation of the bleeding disorder in these mice. Even after inducing anti-factor IX (FIX) inhibitors in 2bFXa-HB mice, the hemorrhage phenotype could still be rescued by the expression of FXa. The activation capacity of 2bFXa-HB platelets remained unchanged, and there were no signs of elevated thrombotic risk in these mice. In an acute alcohol exposure mouse model, a single administration of alcohol reduced both the number of platelets and their activation capacity, as well as impaired coagulation function. However, it did not increase the markers of thrombotic risk in either 2bFXa-HB or HB mice. These results suggest that FXa storage in platelets is safe and effective for treatment of HB, but alcohol could impair the therapeutic effect of FXa-containing platelets.

In this paper, we study the entire solutions of two quadratic functional equations in the complex plane. One consists of three basic terms, $ f(z), f'(z) $ and $ f(z+c) $, and the other one consists of $ f(z), f'(z) $ and $ f(qz) $. These two equations can be transformed into functional equations of Fermat-type. We prove that if these two equations admit finite order transcendental entire solutions, then the solutions of these two equations are both exponential functions, and their exponents are one degree polynomials, whose coefficients of the first degree term are closely related to the coefficients of the functional equation. Moreover, examples are given to show that the theorems are true. The feature of this paper is that the Fermat-type equations contain three quadratic terms, while the equations that have been studied in the previous articles in this field contain only two quadratic terms. The addition of $ f(qz) $ will make the proof methods in this paper very different from those in the existing literature. The proof becomes more difficult, and the number of cases that need to be discussed becomes much larger. In addition, when dealing with the analytical property of $ f $, we also use a different method from the previous literature.

Casting performance is seriously jeopardized by metallurgical defects, especially the long-neglected bifilm defects that have been found in various alloys. The theory of entrainment formation of bifilm defects has been commonly accepted, but their visualization of the formation process and fracture behavior are absent to date, which is explored in the present work. The vivid numerical simulation results showed that the rapid rise of the liquid level leads to violent melt fluctuation, which results in the repeated folding-entrainment-detachment process of the oxide film on the melt surface. Different motion trajectories would be produced by the bifilm defects based on their composition. The observation of metallographic samples confirmed the corresponding results. Meanwhile, the fracture behavior of bifilm defects can be studied using optical in situ tensile. The results show that the bifilm defects are the source of cracks, and the connection of their influence domains causes the cracks to expand laterally. These results will shed new light on the understanding of the formation and fracture process of bifilm defects and improve the defect control of castings.

With the advancement of radiological medicine and nuclear industry technology, radiation is increasingly used to diagnose human health disorders. However, large-scale nuclear leakage has heightened concerns about the impact on human organs and tissues. Selenium is an essential trace element that functions in the body mainly in the form of selenoproteins. Selenium and selenoproteins can protect against radiation by stimulating antioxidant actions, DNA repair functions, and immune enhancement. While studies on reducing radiation through antioxidants have been conducted for many years, the underlying mechanisms of selenium and selenoproteins as significant antioxidants in radiation damage mitigation remain incompletely understood. Therefore, this paper aims to provide new insights into developing safe and effective radiation protection agents by summarizing the anti-radiation mechanism of selenium and selenoproteins.

The stick tea thrip (Dendrothrips minowai) is one of the most serious sucking pests of tea plants (Camellia sinensis) in China, North Korea, and Japan. Plant volatile lures are widely used for both monitoring and mass trapping. Previously, we demonstrated that sticky traps baited with p-anisaldehyde, eugenol, farnesene, or 3-methyl butanal captured significantly more D. minowai in tea plantations, with p-anisaldehyde notably capturing the most. In this study, we showed that D. minowai adults exhibited significantly higher attraction to mixtures of p-anisaldehyde, eugenol, and farnesene compared to an equivalent dose of p-anisaldehyde alone in H-tube olfactometer assays under laboratory conditions. Moreover, in field experiments conducted in 2022, rubber septa impregnated with a ternary blend of p-anisaldehyde, eugenol, and farnesene (at 3–4.5 mg and a ratio of 3:1:1) captured the highest number of adults on sticky traps, outperforming traps bailed with individual components or a solvent control over two weeks. Significantly, the mass trapping strategy employing these lures achieved control efficacies ranging from 62.8% to 70.7% when compared to traps without attractant, which achieved control efficacies of only 14.2% to 35.4% across three test sites in 2023. These results indicate that the combination of p-anisaldehyde, eugenol, and farnesene exhibits an additive or synergistic effect on D. minowai. In conclusion, our findings establish a theoretical framework and provide practical technological support for integrating attractant-based strategies into comprehensive thrips management strategies.

Abstract Background Dysfunction of microglia during aging affects normal neuronal function and results in the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases. Retinal microglial senescence attributes to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death in glaucoma. This study aims to examine the role of ATP-P2X7R in the mediation of microglia senescence and glaucoma progression. Methods Forty-eight participants were enrolled, including 24 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and age-related cataract (ARC) and 24 patients with ARC only. We used ARC as the inclusion criteria because of the availability of aqueous humor (AH) before phacoemulsification. AH was collected and the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration was measured by ATP Assay Kit. The chronic ocular hypertension (COH) mouse model was established by microbead occlusion. Microglia were ablated by feeding PLX5622 orally. Mouse bone marrow cells (BMCs) were prepared and infused into mice through the tail vein for the restoration of microglia function. Western blotting, qPCR and ELISA were performed to analyze protein and mRNA expression in the ocular tissue, respectively. Microglial phenotype and RGC survival were assessed by immunofluorescence. The mitochondrial membrane potential was measured using a JC-1 assay kit by flow cytometry. Results ATP concentrations in the AH were increased in older adults and patients with POAG. The expression of P2X7R was upregulated in the retinal tissues of mice with glaucoma, and functional enrichment analysis showed that P2X7R was closely related to cell aging. Through in vivo and in vitro approaches, we showed that pathological activation of ATP-P2X7R induced accelerated microglial senescence through impairing PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1)-mediated mitophagy, which led to RGC damage. Additionally, we found that replacement of senescent microglia in COH model of old mice with BMCs from young mice reversed RGC damage. Conclusion ATP-P2X7R induces microglia senescence by inhibiting PINK1-mediated mitophagy pathway. Specific inhibition of ATP-P2X7R may be a fundamental approach for targeted therapy of RGC injury in microglial aging-related glaucoma.

Al/steel bimetal prepared by compound casting process exhibits an increasing application prospect in the lightweight field due to the combination of the advantages of Al alloy with steel materials. Unfortunately, a large number of hard and brittle Al–Fe intermetallic compounds (IMCs) are prone to form at the interface, resulting in insufficient interfacial bonding strength of Al/steel bimetal. Therefore, in the present work, the typical CoCrFeNiMn high entropy alloy (HEA) coating fabricated by laser cladding technique was used as the interlayer of Al/steel bimetal to suppress the Al–Fe IMCs. The results showed that the reaction layer of Al/steel bimetal with HEA interlayer first forms Al5Co2 rather than Al5Fe2 phases compared with the as-cast bimetal. More importantly, the Al5Co2 phase layer consists of nanocrystals. Besides, the elements like Cr, Ni and Mn are uniformly distributed into the reaction layer and no IMCs are detected. This contributes to a reduction in the grain size of Al5Fe2 phase. Although the characteristic of brittle with respect to Al5Co2 compound, the interfacial bonding strength of bimestal is improved by 33% compared with that of the as-cast bimetal, attributing to the fact that the nanocrystals formed at the interface make the surface energy and defect size increase in terms of Griffith's theory. In short, laser cladded CoCrFeNiMn HEA coating provides a new choice for the interlayer selection of Al/steel bimetal.

In the value distribution theory of complex analysis, Petrenko's deviation is to describe more precisely the quantitative relationship between $ T (r, f) $ and $ \log M (r, f) $ when the modulus of variable $ |z| = r $ is sufficiently large. In this paper we introduce Petrenko's deviations to the coefficients of three types of complex equations, which include difference equations, differential equations and differential-difference equations. Under different assumptions we study the lower bound of limiting directions of Julia sets of solutions of these equations, where Julia set is an important concept in complex dynamical systems. The results of this article show that the lower bound of limiting directions mentioned above is closely related to Petrenko's deviation, and our conclusions improve some known results.

Grafting is the most important means of breeding peach, plum, apricot, and other fruit trees, and the selection of the rootstock is crucial to the quality of the grafting and the yield of the products. The traditional commonly used peach rootstock is susceptible to root-knot nematode infections, resulting in a decreased yield, while a variety of cherry plum rootstocks, Mirabolano 29C, is resistant to root-knot nematode. In this study, root-knot nematode infection experiments on seedlings of traditional peach rootstocks and Mirabolano 29C confirmed that Mirabolano 29C was indeed more resistant to root-knot nematodes. At the same time, we compared the roots of the root-knot nematode uninfected and infected Mirabolano 29C by transcriptome sequencing and found 3 176 differentially expressed genes. A further functional enrichment analysis of these genes found that the secondary metabolites, phenylpropane and flavonoids, may be responsible for the high resistance of Mirabolano 29C to root-knot nematodes. These results can provide a reference value for the disease resistance breeding of rootstocks.

Accurate measurement of fire source heat release rate is crucial for comprehensively understanding the fire evolution process. However, the widely used oxygen consumption method requires expensive equipment, incurring high costs. This study proposes a comprehensive framework based on machine learning to predict fire source heat release rate using temperature as input. Firstly, fire scenarios with different parameters in ISO9705 room were simulated using FDS software to obtain temperature at various locations, establishing a fire database. Then, two recursive feature elimination algorithms based on the Lasso and the Random Forest (RF) models were employed separately for feature selection, resulting in two different low-dimensional feature subsets and a control group. Finally, different feature subsets were input to analyse and compare the prediction performance on the heat release rate of three typical algorithms: linear regression (LR), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and lightGBM. Results indicate that the LightGBM model trained with the feature subset selected by the recursive feature elimination algorithm based on the Random Forest model exhibits the best predictive performance, with root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of 23.89 kW and 15.49 kW respectively, and a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9916. This comprehensive framework based on machine learning demonstrates excellent predictive performance and is cost-effective, providing a new and effective approach for predicting fire source heat release rate.

The sintered nano-silver has been widely concerned by the industry in the field of electronic packing. Researches on sintered nano-silver have mostly focused on individual tensile or compressive loading conditions. In the paper, the mechanical properties of sintered nano-silver components were investigated under the periodic tensile and compressive loads by molecular dynamics method. The influence of periodic load on it was studied, and the difference between sintered and unsintered nano-silver under the same condition was analyzed and compared. Under different periodic loads, the different number of periods do not affect the initial potential energy, and their maximum potential energy peaks are not different. Under the periodic load of different tensile rates, the maximum potential energy increases with the increase of the tensile rate. The yield stress of sintered nano-silver is higher than that of unsintered nano-silver under different periodic loads and different tensile rates. The results show that the sintering process improves the mechanical properties of nano-silver components.

The new insulated single-sided composite shear wall (NISCSW) composition involves setting a precast wall panel on one side and an insulation panel on the other side, with a middle cavity for casting concrete. To investigate the seismic performance of NISCSW under different shear spans and axial compression ratios, eight specimens are made, including six composite and two cast-in-place walls. The shear span ratio is controlled at 1.2 and 1.9, and the axial compression ratio is controlled at 0.1, 0.3, and 0.4. The specimens are subjected to quasistatic tests to analyze failure modes, hysteresis characteristics, stiffness degradation, displacement ductility, and energy dissipation capacity and to compare the seismic performance of the composite and cast-in-place walls. Results show that for each composite specimen, under the same axial compression ratio, the large shear span ratio specimen has a lower ultimate bearing capacity and faster stiffness degradation but better ductility and postyield energy dissipation capacity. Under the same shear span ratio, the high axial compression ratio specimen had a higher ultimate bearing capacity, slightly worse ductility, and similar stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity compared to other specimens. Compared with the cast-in-place specimen with the same axial compression ratio, the composite specimen failure mode and hysteresis characteristics are similar, and the ductility and energy dissipation capacity are comparable to the cast-in-place shear wall specimen, indicating that NISCSW has similar seismic performance to the cast-in-place shear wall under conditions of a large shear span ratio and high axial compression ratio. Based on the test results, the program ABAQUS is used to simulate the specimens. Compared with the test results, the simulated specimen failure mode is consistent with the test results, and the hysteresis and skeleton curves are consistent with the test curve, indicating that the model is correct, reliable, and can be verified with test results.

Axon regeneration is abortive in the central nervous system following injury. Orchestrating microtubule dynamics has emerged as a promising approach to improve axonal regeneration. The microtubule severing enzyme spastin is essential for axonal development and regeneration through remodeling of microtubule arrangement. To date, however, little is known regarding the mechanisms underlying spastin action in neural regeneration after spinal cord injury. Here, we use glutathione transferase pulldown and immunoprecipitation assays to demonstrate that 14-3-3 interacts with spastin, both in vivo and in vitro, via spastin Ser233 phosphorylation. Moreover, we show that 14-3-3 protects spastin from degradation by inhibiting the ubiquitination pathway and upregulates the spastin-dependent severing ability. Furthermore, the 14-3-3 agonist Fusicoccin (FC-A) promotes neurite outgrowth and regeneration in vitro which needs spastin activation. Western blot and immunofluorescence results revealed that 14-3-3 protein is upregulated in the neuronal compartment after spinal cord injury in vivo. In addition, administration of FC-A not only promotes locomotor recovery, but also nerve regeneration following spinal cord injury in both contusion and lateral hemisection models; however, the application of spastin inhibitor spastazoline successfully reverses these phenomena. Taken together, these results indicate that 14-3-3 is a molecular switch that regulates spastin protein levels, and the small molecule 14-3-3 agonist FC-A effectively mediates the recovery of spinal cord injury in mice which requires spastin participation.

Abstract Background The aims of the study were to evaluate potential differences among first-line treatment for EGFR mutant (m+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastasis in China and to identify the factors influencing survival outcomes. Methods In this retrospective study, 172 EGFRm + patients with advanced NSCLC who received a 1st generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) were divided into 4 groups: A, EGFR-TKI (n = 84); B, EGFR-TKI + pemetrexed + cisplatin/carboplatin chemotherapy (CT) (n = 55); C, EGFR-TKI + bevacizumab (n = 15); and D, EGFR-TKI + pemetrexed + cisplatin/carboplatin CT + bevacizumab (n = 18). Intracranial and extracranial progression-free survival (PFS), the overall survival (OS), objective remission rates (ORRs) and adverse events were analyzed. Results Intracranial PFS of groups C + D was longer than for groups A + B (18.9 m vs. 11.0 m, P = 0.027). Extracranial PFS were longer in group B in comparison with group A (13.0 m vs. 11.5 m, P = 0.039) and in groups C + D compared to groups A + B (18.9 m vs. 11.9 m, P = 0.008). Median OS in groups A and B were 27.9 m and 24.4 m, respectively, while groups C and D have not yet achieved median OS. Significant difference was found in intracranial ORR between groups A + B vs. C + D (31.0% vs. 65.2%, P = 0.002). Most patients suffered grade 1–2 treatment-related adverse events, which were relieved soon after symptomatic treatment. Conclusions First-generation EGFR-TKI + bevacizumab treatment outperformed other regimens in EGFRm + NSCLC patients with brain metastasis. The therapy improved the control and delayed progression of intracranial lesions and prolonged survival times.

The fabrication of Al/steel bimetal with a good metallurgical interface is always a great challenge, particularly for the improvement of bonding strength due to the inevitably extensive formation of brittle Al–Fe intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the interface. Therefore, in this work, the electroplated Cr coating with thickness of 5 μm was firstly used as the interlayer of Al/steel bimetal to suppress Al–Fe IMCs and further improve the interfacial bonding strength. Al/steel bimetal was prepared by compound casting combined with a hot-dip aluminizing process. The results showed that the interface of Al/steel bimetal with Cr interlayer contained an unmolten Cr coating and a reaction layer, in which the latter consisted mainly of Al13Cr4Si4, Al5Cr, Al-rich solid solution and CrSi2 phases. Besides, the morphology of these new Al–Cr–Si and Al–Cr phases was granular rather than the tongue-shaped of Al–Fe phase and the polygonal blocky of Al–Fe–Si phase. Both the microstructure characterization and kinetics calculation results revealed that the application of Cr interlayer could avoid the contact between Fe atoms from steel side and Al atoms from Al alloy side, thereby suppressing the formation of brittle Al–Fe phases at the interface. Moreover, the reaction layer showed a lower nano-hardness than that of without Cr interlayer. With assistance of Cr interlayer, Al/steel bimetal with maximum shear strength of 115.5 MPa was obtained and the interface failed through the Al alloy side. The morphology characteristic and lower nano-hardness of these new phases, the composite structure consisting of Al–Cr–Si and Al–Cr layer together with the Al-rich solid solution layer greatly contributed to the enhancement of the interfacial strength for the Al/steel bimetal.

Oxidative stress is a key factor leading to profound neurological deficits following spinal cord injury (SCI). In this study, we present the development and potential application of an iridium (iii) complex, (CpxbiPh) Ir (N^N) Cl, where CpxbiPh represents 1-biphenyl-2,3,4,5-tetramethyl cyclopentadienyl, and N^N denotes 2-(3-(4-nitrophenyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5-yl) pyridine chelating agents, to address this challenge through a mechanism governed by the regulation of an antioxidant protein. This iridium complex, IrPHtz, can modulate the Oxidation Resistance 1 (OXR1) protein levels within spinal cord tissues, thus showcasing its antioxidative potential. By eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and preventing apoptosis, the IrPHtz demonstrated neuroprotective and neural healing characteristics on injured neurons. Our molecular docking analysis unveiled the presence of π stacking within the IrPHtz-OXR1 complex, an interaction that enhanced OXR1 expression, subsequently diminishing oxidative stress, thwarting neuroinflammation, and averting neuronal apoptosis. Furthermore, in in vivo experimentation with SCI-afflicted mice, IrPHtz was efficacious in shielding spinal cord neurons, promoting their regrowth, restoring electrical signaling, and improving motor performance. Collectively, these findings underscore the potential of employing the iridium metal complex in a novel, protein-regulated antioxidant strategy, presenting a promising avenue for therapeutic intervention in SCI.

The Snf2 protein family is a group of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factors (CHRs) that play an essential role in gene expression regulation. In plants, Snf2 is involved in growth, development, as well as stress resistance. However, only a very limited number of experimentally validated Snf2 have been identified and reported, while the majority remaining undiscovered in most species . In this study, we predicted 3135 Snf2 proteins and 8398 chromatin remodeling complex (CRC) subunits in diverse plant species, and constructed the Plant Chromatin Remodeling Factors Database (PlantCHRs, http://www.functionalgenomics.cn/PlantCHRs/), which provide a comprehensive resource for researchers to access information about plant CHRs. We also developed an online tool capable of predicting CHRs and CRC subunits. Moreover, we investigated the distribution of Snf2 proteins in different species and observed a significant increase in the number of Snf2 proteins and the diversity of the Snf2 subfamily during the evolution, highlighting their evolutionary importance. By analyzing the expression patterns of the Snf2 genes in different tissues of maize and Arabidopsis, we found that the Snf2 proteins may show some conservation across different species in regulating plant growth and development. Over the all, we established a comprehensive database for plant CHRs, which will facilitate the researches on plant chromatin remodeling.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1258267 in CHAT and rs3753841 in COL11A1 are associated with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association of CHAT rs1258267 and COL11A1 rs3753841 with PACG. A comprehensive electronic database search was performed to include eligible studies, published from October 2010 to March 2022. By calculating summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) under five genetic models, the risk of PACG related to these two SNPs could be estimated. Heterogeneity was measured with a Chi-square-based Q statistic test and the I2 statistic. By the Z test, we analyzed the overall effect of OR. We used funnel plots and Begg's funnel plots to evaluate the publication bias of included studies. The meta-analysis was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 checklist. There were eighteen studies associating CHAT rs1258267 with PACG indicating evidently decreased PACG risk in five genetic models. Thirty studies were included to demonstrate a notable increase in the risk of PACG-carrying COL11A1 rs3753841 genotypes. Subgroup analyses showed that the association of CHAT rs1258267 and COL11A1 rs3753841 with PACG was obvious in Asians, while no evidence was found to confirm this connection in Caucasians. This meta-analysis suggests that CHAT rs1258267 G/A polymorphisms could bring about a decreased risk of PACG susceptibility and COL11A1 rs3753841 G/A polymorphisms could cause an increased risk. These effects mainly manifest in Asians.

The Bogoyavlenskii equation is used to describe some kinds of waves on the sea surface and discussed by many researchers. Recently, the $ G'/G^2 $ method and simplified $ \tan(\frac{\phi(\xi)}{2}) $ method are introduced to find novel solutions to differential equations. To the best of our knowledge, the Bogoyavlenskii equation has not been investigated by these two methods. In this article, we applied these two methods to the Bogoyavlenskii equation in order to obtain the novel exact traveling wave solutions. Consequently, we found that some new rational functions, trigonometric functions, and hyperbolic functions can be the traveling wave solutions of this equation. Some of these solutions we obtained have not been reported in the former literature. Through comparison, we see that the two methods are more effective than the previous methods for this equation. In order to make these solutions more obvious, we draw some 3D and 2D plots of them.

Determining fire source in underground commercial street fires is critical for fire analysis. This paper proposes a method based on temperature and machine learning to determine information about fire source in underground commercial street fires. Data was obtained through consolidated fire and smoke transport (CFAST) software, and a fire database was established based on the sampling to ascertain fire scenarios. Temperature time series were chosen for feature processing, and three machine learning models for fire source determination were established: decision tree, random forest, and LightGBM. The results indicated that the trained models can determine fire source information based on processed features, achieving a precision exceeding 95%. Among these, the LightGBM model exhibited superior performance, with macro averages of precision, recall, and F1 score being 99.01%, 98.45%, and 99.04%, respectively, and a kappa value of 98.81%. The proposed method for determining the fire source provides technical support for grasping the fire situation in underground commercial streets and has good application prospects.

Graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) consist of a single or few layers of graphene sheets or modified graphene including pristine graphene, graphene nanosheets (GNS), graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), as well as graphene modified with various functional groups or chemicals (e.g., hydroxyl, carboxyl, and polyethylene glycol), which are frequently used in industrial and biomedical applications owing to their exceptional physicochemical properties. Given the widespread production and extensive application of GBNs, they can be disseminated in a wide range of environmental mediums, such as air, water, food, and soil. GBNs can enter the human body through various routes such as inhalation, ingestion, dermal penetration, injection, and implantation in biomedical applications, and the majority of GBNs tend to accumulate in the respiratory system. GBNs inhaled and substantially deposited in the human respiratory tract may impair lung defenses and clearance, resulting in the formation of granulomas and pulmonary fibrosis. However, the specific toxicity of the respiratory system caused by different GBNs, their influencing factors, and the underlying mechanisms remain relatively scarce. This review summarizes recent advances in the exposure, metabolism, toxicity and potential mechanisms, current limitations, and future perspectives of various GBNs in the respiratory system.

Fraxinus angustifolia is a type of street tree and shade tree with ornamental value. It has a beautiful shape and yellow or reddish purple autumn leaves, but its leaf color formation mechanism and molecular regulation network need to be studied. In this study, we integrated the metabolomes and transcriptomes of stage 1 (green leaf) and stage 2 (red-purple leaf) leaves at two different developmental stages to screen differential candidate genes and metabolites related to leaf color variation. The results of stage 1 and stage 2 transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 5,827 genes were differentially expressed, including 2,249 upregulated genes and 3,578 downregulated genes. Through functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes, we found that they were involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, pigment metabolism, carotene metabolism, terpenoid biosynthesis, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, pigment accumulation, and other biological processes. By measuring the metabolites of Fraxinus angustifolia leaves, we found the metabolites closely related to the differentially expressed genes in two different periods of Fraxinus angustifolia, among which flavonoid compounds were the main differential metabolites. Through transcriptome and metabolomics data association analysis, we screened nine differentially expressed genes related to anthocyanins. Transcriptome and qRT-PCR results showed that these nine genes showed significant expression differences in different stages of the sample, and we speculate that they are likely to be the main regulatory factors in the molecular mechanism of leaf coloration. This is the first time that we have analyzed the transcriptome combination metabolome in the process of leaf coloration of Fraxinus angustifolia, which has important guiding significance for directional breeding of colored-leaf Fraxinus species and will also give new insights for enriching the landscape.

Background: Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) is an increasingly used method to control postoperative pain. We aimed to investigate the association between PCIA and recovery after flap reconstruction in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods: Patients with OSCC who underwent flap reconstruction between 2016 and 2020 were reviewed (n=850). Baseline characteristics were compared between PCIA and non-PCIA groups. Propensity score matching (PSM) (1:4) was introduced to eliminate these confounding factors (n=505). Univariate analysis was performed to compare matched PCIA and non-PCIA group. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed before and after PSM to identify factors that influenced length of stay (LOS) in hospital. The differences in characteristics of matched and unmatched groups were also compared. Results: Before PSM, the differences in flap types, smoking status, and radiotherapy history between PCIA and non-PCIA groups were statistically significant (P

In the article, we investigate three classes of fourth-order boundary value problems with dependence on all derivatives in nonlinearities under the boundary conditions involving Stieltjes integrals. A Gronwall-type inequality is employed to get an a priori bound on the third-order derivative term, and the theory of fixed-point index is used on suitable open sets to obtain the existence of positive solutions. The nonlinearities have quadratic growth in the third-order derivative term. Previous results in the literature are not applicable in our case, as shown by our examples.

Low-pressure water mist fire extinguishing systems are a cost-effective and highly reliable option for fire protection. However, they have not yet seen widespread use in urban underground utility tunnels. To validate the fire extinguishing effectiveness of the system in cable fires within urban utility tunnels and to identify the key factors influencing its efficiency, a scaled-down test platform for low-pressure water mist fire extinguishing in utility tunnels was constructed, and a series of fire extinguishing tests was conducted. The test results demonstrate that low-pressure water mist can rapidly and effectively extinguish cable fires in utility tunnels, with the quickest fire extinguishing time of 7 s. Within 50 s of activating the system, the internal temperature of the tunnel can be reduced from 650 °C to 40 °C. Among the influencing factors, the pressure and nozzle flow coefficient have a significant impact on the fire extinguishing efficiency, while nozzle spacing has a relatively smaller effect. Thus, when the nozzle spacing meets the requirement of “no dead zones”, priority should be given to increasing the pressure and nozzle flow coefficient.

To reduce the use of the toxic Pb element in the Cu-Sn alloy with high friction performance, Cu-xBi-10Sn alloys with different Bi contents were prepared by gravity casting, and the effect of Bi content on the microstructure, mechanical properties and wear property of Cu-Sn alloys were studied. The results showed that the Bi element was distributed in bands or long strips on the dendritic arms and did not form compounds with other elements. With the increase in Bi content, the hardness and tensile strength of Cu-xBi-10Sn alloys present a trend of increasing first and then decreasing. When the Bi content was 7 wt.%, the maximum hardness value was obtained, and the ultimate tensile strength was close to that of Cu-10Pb-10Sn alloy. Compared with Cu-10Pb-10Sn alloy, Cu-7Bi-10Sn alloy also possessed better friction reduction and wear resistance under the oil lubrication condition.

Tibetan is a low-resource language, and Tibetan culture carried by historical Tibetan documents is an important part of Chinese civilization. The study of historical Tibetan documents is of great significance to the protection of Tibetan culture and the promotion of Chinese culture. Character segmentation is an important step in image analysis and recognition of historical Tibetan documents. However, the following three challenges prevent solving problems of character segmentation in historical Tibetan documents: 1) the text lines have different degrees of tilt and twist; 2) there are many complex situations such as overlapping, crossing, touching and breaking character strokes; and 3) these documents are written by different people with different stroke styles. To resolve these problems, we propose a character segmentation method based on key feature information for historical Tibetan documents. The proposed method consists of three parts: 1) projection and syllable point location information are used to shorten the text lines of historical Tibetan documents and establish a character block database; 2) the local baseline of the character block is detected by using the location information of syllable points or combined with horizontal projection and straight line detection, and the character block is divided into two areas above and below the baseline, and different segmentation methods are adopted; and 3) in view of the large difference in stroke styles, three stroke attribution distances are used to complete the attribution. The experimental results show that the method proposed in this paper can effectively solve the problem of character segmentation of historical Tibetan documents and achieve a better character segmentation effect, which also provides a reference for the relevant document character segmentation.

Stress has become a universal biological phenomenon in the body, which leads to pathophysiological changes. However, the molecular network interactions between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and ferroptosis under stressful conditions are not clear. For this purpose, we screened the gene expression profile of GSE173795 for intersection with ferroptosis genes and screened 68 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (63 up-regulated, 5 down-regulated), mainly related to lipid and atherosclerosis, autophagy—animal, mitophagy—animal, focal adhesion, DNA replication, proteasome, oocyte meiosis, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, cell cycle, etc. Immune infiltration analysis revealed that stress resulted in decreased B cells memory, T cells CD8 and T cells CD4 memory resting, monocytes, macrophages M2, and increased B cells naive, T cells follicular helper, and macrophages M1. 19 core-DEGs (ASNS, TRIB3, ATF4, EIF2S1, CEBPG, RELA, HSPA5, DDIT3, STAT3, MAP3K5, HIF1A, HNF4A, MAPK14, HMOX1, CDKN1A, KRAS, SP1, SIRT1, EGFR) were screened, all of which were up-regulated DEGs. These biological processes and pathways were mainly involved in responding to ER stress, lipid and atherosclerosis, cellular response to stress, cellular response to chemical stress, and regulation of DNA-templated transcription in response to stress, etc. Spearman analysis did not find MAPK14 to be significantly associated with immune cells. Other core-DEGs were associated with immune cells, including B cells naive, T cells follicular helper, and monocytes. Based on core-DEGs, 283 miRNAs were predicted. Among the 22 miRNAs with highly cross-linked DEGs, 11 had upstream lncRNA, mainly targeting STAT3, SP1, CDKN1A, and SIRT1, and a total of 39 lncRNA were obtained. 85 potential drugs targeting 11 core-DEGs were identified and were expected to be potential immunotherapeutic agents for stress injury. Our experiments also confirmed that Liproxstatin-1 alleviates common cross-linked proteins between ER stress and ferroptosis. In conclusion, our study explored the molecular mechanisms and network interactions among stress—ER stress—ferroptosis from a novel perspective, which provides new research ideas for studying stressful injury.

Abstract Objectives To explore the role of folate metabolism in 1,3-Butadiene (BD)'s genotoxicity, we conducted a match-up study in BD-exposed workers in China to analyze the associations between the polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and the chromosomal damage induced by BD exposure, and culture-based experiments in TK-6 cells to examine the global DNA methylation levels and chromosomal damage when exposed both to BD’s genotoxic metabolite, 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB), and MTHFR’s direct catalytic product, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF). Methods Cytokinesis block micronucleus assay (CBMN) was used to examine the chromosomal damage induced by BD or DEB. Poisson regression models were produced to quantify the relationship of chromosomal damage and genetic polymorphisms in the BD-exposed workers. Global DNA methylation levels in TK6 cells were examined using DNA Methylation Quantification Kit. Results We found that BD-exposed workers carrying MTHFR C677T CC (2.00 ± 2.00‰) (FR = 0.36, 95%CI: 0.20–0.67, P

Naturally occurring hyperbolic polaritons exist in a class of layered materials. Here, the authors show evidence, via optical spectroscopy, of hyperbolic exciton-polaritons in phosphorene, originating from its in-plane anisotropy and strong exciton resonances.

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a representative of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is ubiquitously spread in the environment and showing deleterious impacts on male steroidogenesis, including testosterone synthesis disorder. However, the precise mechanisms involved in B[a]P-induced steroidogenesis perturbation remains obscure. In the present study, we integrated in vivo tests, transcriptome profiling, in vitro assays, and conjoint in silico toxicological approaches to delineate the detailed mechanisms. In mouse models, we observed that B[a]P administration remarkably inhibited testosterone synthesis accompanied by ultrastructural impairments of mitochondria and mitophagosome formation in mouse Leydig cells. Transcriptome profiling showed that B[a]P down-regulated the expression of Ndufa9, Ndufa6, Ndufa10, and Ndufa5 in mouse testes, which are identified as critical genes involved in the assembly and functionality of mitochondrial complex I. In the in vitro tests, the bioactive B[a]P metabolite BPDE induced perturbation of testosterone synthesis by NDUFA10-mediated mitochondrial impairment, which was further exacerbated by mitophagy in TM3 Leydig cells. The findings of in silico toxicological analyses were highly consistent with the experimental observations and further unveiled that B[a]P/BPDE-involved PPARα activation could serve as a molecular initiating event to trigger the decline in Ndufa10 expression and testosterone synthesis. Overall, we have shown the first evidence that mitochondrial compromise in Leydig cells is the extremely crucial target in B[a]P-induced steroidogenesis perturbation.