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Given a prime power $p^d$ with $p$ a prime and $d$ a positive integer, we classify the finite groups $G$ with $p^{2d}$ dividing $|G|$ in which all subgroups of order $p^d$ are complemented and the finite groups $G$ having a normal elementary abelian Sylow $p$-subgroup $P$ such that $p^d

He Zhao,1,&ast; Yan-jun Wang,1,&ast; Rui-guo Wang,2 Da Liu,3 Ya-qing Duan,4 Yang-jin Liu,1 Yu-hong Zeng,5 Qin-peng Zhao,2 Zheng-ping Zhang2 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710054, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Spine Surgery, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710054, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Orthopaedics, General Hospital of Western Theatre Command of PLA, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Imaging, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710054, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Osteoporosis, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710054, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zheng-ping Zhang, Department of Spine Surgery, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 76 Nanguo Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710054, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 17791674069, Email hh_othem@163.comPurpose: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is commonly used for evaluation of bone mineral density before spinal surgery, but frequently leads to overestimation in degenerative spinal diseases due to osteoproliferation factors. We introduce a novel method to compare the predictive ability of Hounsfield Units (HU) and DXA methods to predict screw loosening after lumbar interbody fusion surgery in degenerative spinal diseases by measuring HU of pedicle screw trajectory on computed tomography (CT) images preoperatively.Patients and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent posterior lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative diseases. CT HUs measurement was performed using medical imaging software, including the cancellous region on cross-sections of the vertebral body and three-dimensional pedicle screw trajectory. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed for the risk of pedicle screw loosening in association with the Hounsfield scale and preoperative BMD, and the area under the curve (AUC) and the cutoff values were calculated.Results: A total of 90 patients were enrolled and were divided into loosening (n = 33, 36.7%) and non-loosening groups (n = 57, 63.3%). No significant differences in age, gender, length of fixation and preoperative BMD were found between both groups. The loosening group showed lower CT HU values in the vertebral body and screw trajectory than the non-loosening group. Screw trajectory HU (ST-HU) exhibited a higher AUC value than vertebral body HU (B-HU). The cutoff values of B-HU and ST-HU were 160 and 110 HUs, respectively.Conclusion: Three-dimensional pedicle screw trajectory HU values yields a stronger predictive value than vertebral body HU values and BMD and may provide more guidance for surgery. The risk of screw loosening is significantly increased at ST-HU < 110 or B-HU < 160 at L5 segment.Keywords: osteoporosis, degenerative spinal disease, fixation failure, imaging observation

The performance of endogenous/exogenous nitrification and denitrification in an aerobic granular sequencing batch reactor was investigated for treating inorganic wastewater with ammonia nitrogen of 250 mg/L. The sequencing batch reactor with an effective volume of 120.5 L was started by seeding autotrophic nitrifying granular sludge (ANGS) and operated under oxic (110 min)/anoxic (120 min)/oxic (110 min) aeration mode. The total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal efficiency of ANGS was between 60% and 70% without external carbon sources in days 1–25. However, the operation mode was unsustainable as endogenous nitrification and denitrification would lead to an obvious decrease of sludge concentration. After sodium acetate (the contributed chemical oxygen demand in the reactor was 250–300 mg/L) was added at the beginning of the anaerobic/anoxic stage from day 26, aerobic granules were inadaptable in a few days, which resulted in particle disintegration and SVI increase. As microbes gradually acclimated to the new environment, the aerobic granular sludge became smoother and denser, the relative abundance of denitrifying bacteria increased to 66.07%, and the removal efficiency of TIN gradually increased to more than 90% from day 89. Contributions of endogenous/exogenous nitrification and denitrification to TIN removal were 54.09% and 46.01%, respectively. The coupling of endogenous/exogenous nitrification and denitrification could reduce the aeration consumption, save the external carbon source dosage and decrease the alkalinity consumption, which provided another option for treating wastewater from ionic rare earth mine.

Oncolytic virotherapy can lead to systemic antitumor immunity, but the therapeutic potential of oncolytic viruses in humans is limited due to their insufficient ability to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we showed that locoregional oncolytic virotherapy upregulated the expression of PD-L1 in the TME, which was mediated by virus-induced type I and type II IFNs. To explore PD-1/PD-L1 signaling as a direct target in tumor tissue, we developed a novel immunotherapeutic herpes simplex virus (HSV), OVH-aMPD-1, that expressed a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) against PD-1 (aMPD-1 scFv). The virus was designed to locally deliver aMPD-1 scFv in the TME to achieve enhanced antitumor effects. This virus effectively modified the TME by releasing damage-associated molecular patterns, promoting antigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells, and enhancing the infiltration of activated T cells; these alterations resulted in antitumor T-cell activity that led to reduced tumor burdens in a liver cancer model. Compared with OVH, OVH-aMPD-1 promoted the infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), resulting in significantly higher percentages of CD155+ granulocytic-MDSCs (G-MDSC) and monocytic-MDSCs (M-MDSC) in tumors. In combination with TIGIT blockade, this virus enhanced tumor-specific immune responses in mice with implanted subcutaneous tumors or invasive tumors. These findings highlighted that intratumoral immunomodulation with an OV expressing aMPD-1 scFv could be an effective stand-alone strategy to treat cancers or drive maximal efficacy of a combination therapy with other immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is characterized by hundreds of colonic adenomatous polyps and extraintestinal manifestations beginning in adolescence and early adulthood. It is also one of the most common hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes. In this case study, a rare phenotype of FAP associated with diffuse gastric polyposis, colon oligo-polyposis, and a massive retroperitoneal mass is described. The results expand on the current body of knowledge of FAP and may represent a new phenotypic expression of FAP. Accurate evidence-based surveillance and management recommendations for this disease require further research and evaluation.

The incidence of brain metastases (BrM) has become a growing concern recently. It is a common and often fatal manifestation in the brain during the end-stage of many extracranial primary tumors. Increasing BrM diagnoses can be attributed to improvements in primary tumor treatments, which have extended patients’ lifetime, and allowed for earlier and more efficient detection of brain lesions. Currently, therapies for BrM encompass systemic chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Systemic chemotherapy regimens are controversial due to their associated side effects and limited efficacy. Targeted and immunotherapies have garnered significant attention in the medical field: they target specific molecular sites and modulate specific cellular components. However, multiple difficulties such as drug resistance and low permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remain significant challenges. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel therapies. Brain microenvironments consist of cellular components including immune cells, neurons, endothelial cells as well as molecular components like metal ions, nutrient molecules. Recent research indicates that malignant tumor cells can manipulate the brain microenvironment to change the anti-tumoral to a pro-tumoral microenvironment, both before, during, and after BrM. This review compares the characteristics of the brain microenvironment in BrM with those in other sites or primary tumors. Furthermore, it evaluates the preclinical and clinical studies of microenvironment-targeted therapies for BrM. These therapies, due to their diversity, are expected to overcome drug resistance or low permeability of the BBB with low side effects and high specificity. This will ultimately lead to improved outcomes for patients with secondary brain tumors.

Plant CCCH proteins participate in the control of multiple developmental and adaptive processes, but the regulatory mechanisms underlying these processes are not well known. In this study, we showed that the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) CCCH protein C3H15 negatively regulates cell elongation by inhibiting brassinosteroid (BR) signaling. Genetic and biochemical evidence showed that C3H15 functions downstream of the receptor BR INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1) as a negative regulator in the BR pathway. C3H15 is phosphorylated by the GLYCOGEN SYNTHASE KINASE 3 -like kinase BR-INSENSITIVE 2 (BIN2) at Ser111 in the cytoplasm in the absence of BRs. Upon BR perception, C3H15 transcription is enhanced, and the phosphorylation of C3H15 by BIN2 is reduced. The dephosphorylated C3H15 protein accumulates in the nucleus, where C3H15 regulates transcription via G-rich elements (typically GGGAGA). C3H15 and BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT 1 (BZR1)/BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1), two central transcriptional regulators of BR signaling, directly suppress each other and share a number of BR-responsive target genes. Moreover, C3H15 antagonizes BZR1 and BES1 to regulate the expression of their shared cell elongation-associated target gene, SMALL AUXIN-UP RNA 15 (SAUR15). This study demonstrates that C3H15-mediated BR signaling may be parallel to, or even attenuate, the dominant BZR1 and BES1 signaling pathways to control cell elongation. This finding expands our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying BR-induced cell elongation in plants.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the responses to inorganic phosphate (Pi) deficiency in alfalfa will help enhance Pi acquisition efficiency and the sustainable use of phosphorous resources. Integrated global metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of mid-vegetative alfalfa seedlings under 12-day Pi deficiency were conducted. Limited seedling growth were found, including 13.24%, 16.85% and 33.36% decreases in height, root length and photosynthesis, and a 24.10% increase in root-to-shoot ratio on day 12. A total of 322 and 448 differentially abundant metabolites and 1199 and 1061 differentially expressed genes were identified in roots and shoots. Increased (>3.68-fold) inorganic phosphate transporter 1;4 and SPX proteins levels in the roots (>2.15-fold) and shoots (>2.50-fold) were related to Pi absorption and translocation. The levels of phospholipids and Pi-binding carbohydrates and nucleosides were decreased, while those of phosphatases and pyrophosphatases in whole seedlings were induced under reduced Pi. In addition, nitrogen assimilation was affected by inhibiting high-affinity nitrate transporters (NRT2.1 and NRT3.1), and nitrate reductase. Increased delphinidin-3-glucoside might contribute to the gray-green leaves induced by Pi limitation. Stress-induced MYB, WRKY and ERF transcription factors were identified. The responses of alfalfa to Pi deficiency were summarized as local systemic signaling pathways, including root growth, stress-related responses consisting of enzymatic and nonenzymatic systems, and hormone signaling and systemic signaling pathways including Pi recycling and Pi sensing in the whole plant, as well as Pi recovery, and nitrate and metal absorption in the roots. This study provides important information on the molecular mechanism of the response to Pi deficiency in alfalfa.

The efficacy and requirement were investigated for water mist to extinguish fires in circular, horizontally-oriented ducts, in which the air flow was provided by a blower at the duct inlet at velocities ranging from 0.84 m/s to 3.89 m/s under no fire conditions. Water mist was made discharging in the air flow direction. The fire hazard was simulated with propane release into insulated stainless steel ducts of 0.30 and 0.61 m in diameter. The insulation corresponded to the thermal resistance of combustible ducts commonly used for exhaust applications in industrial settings. The investigation was carried out by first estimating the water mist requirement for fire extinguishment, then by a series of evaluation fire tests. For each duct diameter, water mist was discharged inside the duct with a nominal spacing of 3.1 m along the duct length. The 0.30-m duct tests were mainly conducted with a water mist discharge rate of 44 l/min at each duct location, with a volume-median droplet diameter of about 77 μm. Limited testing was also performed with a higher discharge rate of 64 l/min at each location, with a median droplet size of about 88 μm. The tests showed that the fire could be successfully extinguished, and the extinguishment was independent of fire size when the water mist concentration exceeded 300 g/m3 in the air flow. Based on the result, the 0.61-m duct tests were conducted with a water mist discharge rate of 142 l/min at each location. The tests showed that the fire could be extinguished similarly as observed in the 0.30-m duct tests. Based on the duct-wall temperature measurement, the cooling of the tested protection was deemed adequate to maintain the structure integrity of exhaust ducts made of steel, fiber-reinforced-plastic and fiberglass during the process of fire extinguishment.

Accurate segmentation of lesions is crucial for diagnosis and treatment of early esophageal cancer (EEC). However, neither traditional nor deep learning-based methods up to today can meet the clinical requirements, with the mean Dice score - the most important metric in medical image analysis - hardly exceeding 0.75. In this paper, we present a novel deep learning approach for segmenting EEC lesions. Our approach stands out for its uniqueness, as it relies solely on a single image coming from one patient, forming the so-called "You-Only-Have-One" (YOHO) framework. On one hand, this "one-image-one-network" learning ensures complete patient privacy as it does not use any images from other patients as the training data. On the other hand, it avoids nearly all generalization-related problems since each trained network is applied only to the input image itself. In particular, we can push the training to "over-fitting" as much as possible to increase the segmentation accuracy. Our technical details include an interaction with clinical physicians to utilize their expertise, a geometry-based rendering of a single lesion image to generate the training set (the \emph{biggest} novelty), and an edge-enhanced UNet. We have evaluated YOHO over an EEC data-set created by ourselves and achieved a mean Dice score of 0.888, which represents a significant advance toward clinical applications.

Additional file 1: Supplementary Table 1. Checklist of the PRISMA extension for network meta-analysis. Supplementary Table 2. Number of citations by each database searched. Supplementary Table 3. Characteristics of the 29 studies included in the network Meta-analysis. Supplementary Fig. 1. Risk-of-bias summary of the randomized controlled trials. Supplementary Table 4. Quality assessment of included randomized controlled trials. Supplementary Table 5. Results of global heterogeneity and local heterogeneity. Supplementary Table 6. Node-splitting analysis of inconsistency. Supplementary Table 7. Comparisons of the fitness of consistency and inconsistency models using deviance information criteria. Supplementary Fig. 2. Results of pairwise meta-analysis for postoperative complications. Supplementary Fig. 3. Results of pairwise meta-analysis for defecation frequency. Supplementary Fig. 4. Results of pairwise meta-analysis for bowel function. Supplementary Table 8A. Relative effects table for postoperative anastomotic leakage. Supplementary Table 8B. Rank probabilities for postoperative anastomotic leakage. Supplementary Fig. 5B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for postoperative anastomotic leakage. Supplementary Fig. 6A. Network plot for postoperative anastomotic stricture. Supplementary Table 9A. Relative effects table for postoperative anastomotic stricture. Supplementary Table 9B. Rank probabilities for postoperative anastomotic stricture. Supplementary Fig. 6B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for postoperative anastomotic stricture. Supplementary Fig. 7A. Network plot postoperative reoperation. Supplementary Table 10A. Relative effects table for postoperative reoperation. Supplementary Table 10B. Rank probabilities for postoperative reoperation. Supplementary Fig. 7B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for postoperative reoperation. Supplementary Fig. 8A. Network plot for postoperative mortality within 30 days. Supplementary Table 11A. Relative effects table for postoperative mortality within 30 days. Supplementary Table 11B. Rank probabilities for postoperative mortality within 30 days. Supplementary Fig. 8B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for postoperative mortality within 30 days. Supplementary Fig. 9A. Network plot for defecation frequency at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 12B. Rank probabilities for defecation frequency at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 9B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for defecation frequency at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 10A. Network plot for fecal urgency at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 13A. Relative effects table for fecal urgency at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 13B. Rank probabilities for fecal urgency at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 10B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for fecal urgency at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 11A. Network plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 14A. Relative effects table for use of antidiarrheal medication at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 14B. Rank probabilities for use of antidiarrheal medication at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 11B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 3 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 12A. Network plot for defecation frequency at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 15B. Rank probabilities for defecation frequency at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig .12B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for defecation frequency at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 13A. Network plot for fecal urgency at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 16A. Relative effects table for fecal urgency at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 16B. Rank probabilities for fecal urgency at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 13B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for fecal urgency at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 14A. Network plot for incomplete defecation at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 17A. Relative effects table for incomplete defecation at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 17B. Rank probabilities for incomplete defecation at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 14B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for incomplete defecation at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 15A. Network plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 18A. Relative effects table for use of antidiarrheal medication at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 18B. Rank probabilities for use of antidiarrheal medication at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 15B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 6 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 16A. Network plot for defecation frequency at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 19B. Rank probabilities for defecation frequency at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 16B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for defecation frequency at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 17A. Network plot for fecal urgency at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 20A. Relative effects table for fecal urgency at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 20B. Rank probabilities for fecal urgency at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 17B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for fecal urgency at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 18A. Network plot for incomplete defecation at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 21A. Relative effects table for incomplete defecation at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 21B. Rank probabilities for incomplete defecation at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 18B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for incomplete defecation at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 19A. Network plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 22A. Relative effects table for use of antidiarrheal medication at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 22B. Rank probabilities for use of antidiarrheal medication at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 19B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 12 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 20A. Network plot for defecation frequency at 24 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 23B. Rank probabilities for defecation frequency at 24 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 20B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for defecation frequency at 24 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 21A. Network plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 24 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 24A. Relative effects table for use of antidiarrheal medication at 24 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 24B. Rank probabilities for use of antidiarrheal medication at 24 months postoperatively. Supplementary Fig. 21B. Comparison-adjusted funnel plot for use of antidiarrheal medication at 24 months postoperatively. Supplementary Table 25A. Relative effects table for postoperative anastomotic leakage in the sensitivity analysis. Supplementary Table 25B. Rank probabilities for postoperative anastomotic leakage in the sensitivity analysis.

Additional file1. Table S1: RT-qPCR primers. Table S2: Clinicopathologic characteristics of PBL patients in our study. Table S3: Clinicopathologic characteristics of PBL patients and DLBCL patients for RNA sequencing in our study. Fig. S1: Expression profiles. A. Hierarchical clustering and heat map of DEGs between PBL and GCB-DLBCL. Red blocks represent the overexpressed genes, while the blue blocks represent the lowly expressing genes. B. Volcano plot of DEGs (FDR < 0.05) between PBL and GCB-DLBCL. C. Significantly upregulated pathways in PBL compared to GCB-DLBCL. D. Significantly downregulated pathways in PBL compared to GCB-DLBCL. -F. Downregulation of DEGs of BCR E and P53 F signaling pathways in PBLs compared to GCB-DLBCL. Fig. S2: Expression profiles. A. Hierarchical clustering and heat map of DEGs between PBL and non-GCB-DLBCL. Red blocks represent the overexpressed genes, while the blue blocks represent the lowly expressing genes. B. Volcano plot of DEGs (FDR < 0.05) between PBL and non-GCB-DLBCL. C. Significantly upregulated pathways in PBL compared to non-GCB-DLBCL. D. Significantly downregulated pathways in PBL compared to GCB-DLBCL. E-H. Downregulation of DEGs of BCR E, TCR F, Jak-STAT G and TLR H signaling pathways in PBLs compared to GCB-DLBCL.

This supplementary document is an additional derivation of Eq. (19) in the manuscript.

Effective light cones may emerge in non-relativistic local quantum systems from the Lieb-Robinson bounds, resulting in exponentially decaying commutator norms of two space-time separated operators in the Heisenberg picture. Here, we derive a mechanism for the emergence and consequences of a logarithmic light cone (LLC). As a possible way, the LLC can emerge from a phenomenological model of many-body-localization. We show that the information scrambling is logarithmically slow in the regime of the LLC. We prove that the bipartite entanglement entropy grows logarithmically with time at arbitrary finite space dimensions and for arbitrary initial pure states. As an application in quantum information processing, the LLC supports long-lived quantum memory, a quantum code with macroscopic code distance and an exponentially long lifetime after unitary time evolution., Comment: 6+3 pages, 2 figures

Despite their superiorities in carbon sequestration ability and gas permeability, pure lime mortars are weak and fragile in early ages, as they usually gain strengths through long-term carbonation. Therefore, mixtures of slaked lime and Portland cement are preferred in masonry structures to balance sustainability and early-age mechanical performances. However, due to the lack of understanding in reaction kinetics, there is no reliable microstructure formation models for lime-cement binders, and the material design can only be carried out in an empirical approach. To bridge this gap, this research focuses on hydration, the dominant hardening mechanism in early ages, and empirically determines the hydration kinetics through the combined use of X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analyses (TG), and calorimetry. Based on experiment results, the HYMOSTRUCT model, which was originally developed for cement hydration, is further extended to lime-cement binders. In the extended model, spherical lime and cement clinker particles were firstly generated with laser diffraction test results of raw materials. Then the hydrations of four major phases (i.e., C3S, C2S, C3A and C4AF) were separately considered with basic hydration factors obtained through quantitative analyses of XRD results, and the hydration product was calculated as a uniformly distributed shell outside of cement clinker particles. The influence of slaked lime is interpreted in two aspects – increase in basic hydration rates and the change in cement clinker distribution. The model was finally compared with pore size distribution data obtained with mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and could be used as the input for further carbonation simulation.

Human actions are sequential, and structured patterns of the body parts and their movements. In this paper, we present a hybrid two-stream convolutional neural network (H2SCNN) for the recognition of actions from sequences by exploring the statistical information like skeletons. This aims to exploit the skeletons completely and identify the actions properly by merging the different motion related features. These features include motion and joint features. The framework calculates the distance between consecutive sequences to form the temporal information required for the recognition process. The proposed H2SCNN is based on two stages. The neighbourhood feature model will be used to process both inputs individually in the first step. In the second stage, it performs ensemble learning and takes advantage of the diversity of multiple features by fusing them together. The multi-task ensemble learning model helps the system to improve the prediction ability of H2SCNN. Experiments on the benchmark dataset have shown the superiority of the proposed model with other recent approaches.

People's motions or behaviors often ensue from these positive or negative emotions. Set off either subconsciously or intentionally, these fragmentary responses also represent people's emotional vacillations at different times, albeit rarely noted or discovered. This system incorporates affective computing into an interactive installation: While a user is performing an operation, the system instantaneously and randomly generates corresponding musical instrument sound effects and special effects. The system is intended to enable users to interact with emotions through the interactive installation to yield a personalized digital artwork as well learning about how emotions affect the causative factors of consciousness and personal behaviors. At the end of the process, this project design renders three questionnaires for users to fill in as a means to enhance the integrity and richness of the system with a survey and to further increase the stability and precision of the system through progressive modifications aligned with user suggestions.

Unsupervised attribute reduction becomes very challenging due to a lack of decision information, which is to select a subset of attributes that can maintain learning ability without decision information. However, most of the existing unsupervised attribute reduction methods are proposed for numerical or nominal attributes, and little research has been done on unsupervised mixed attribute reduction methods. In view of this, this paper proposes a generalized unsupervised mixed attribute reduction model based on fuzzy rough sets . First, based on all single attribute subsets , the significance is defined to indicate the importance of a candidate attribute. Then, a specific fuzzy rough-based unsupervised attribute reduction (FRUAR) algorithm is designed. Finally, the proposed algorithm is compared with the existing algorithms by using thirty public data sets. Experimental results show that the algorithm FRUAR can select fewer attributes to maintain or improve the performance of learning algorithms, and it is suitable for mixed attribute data.

Seashore paspalum is a halophytic, warm-season grass with wide applications. It is noted for its superior salt tolerance in saline environments; however, the nutritive value of seashore paspalum and the effect of salinity remains to be determined. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between agronomic traits and forage quality and identified the effects of short-term high-salt stress (1 week, 700 mM NaCl) on the growth and forage nutritive value of 16 ecotypes of seashore paspalum. The salt and cold tolerances of the seashore paspalum ecotypes were assessed based on the survival rate following long-term high-salt stress (7 weeks, 700 mM NaCl) and exposure to natural low temperature stress. There were significant genetic (ecotype-specific) effects on plant height, leaf–stem ratio, and survival rate of seashore paspalum following salt or low temperature stress. Plant height was significantly negatively correlated with the leaf–stem ratio (r = −0.63, P

Melanin is a kind of versatile biopolymer with strong binding capacities for cationic pollutants. The effects of melanin extraction from biomass on cationic pollutant adsorption of biomass remain unknown. Methylene blue (MB) was herein used as a model cationic pollutant, and chestnut shells were used as a melanin-containing byproduct of biomass. The MB biosorption behaviors onto the raw and melanin-extracted chestnut shells were comparatively studied. The biosorbents were contrastively characterized by BET surface area, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, pH point of zero charges (pHpzc), and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The MB adsorption capacity of each biomass was evaluated at different pH, contact time, initial MB concentration, and temperature. The melanin extraction resulted in higher values of adsorbent surface area, pHpzc, and CEC. It toned down the sensitivity of biomass to the solution pH, expanding the applicable pH range. It also introduced new types of binding sites or adsorption mechanisms. The biosorption process was well described by the chemisorption model of the pseudo-second-order equation and accelerated by the melanin extraction. The biosorption equilibrium data are well modeled by the Langmuir isotherm. The melanin extraction more than doubled the monolayer adsorption capacity. The improvement in the biosorption performance of chestnut shells by the melanin extraction is mainly owed to the chemical activation of binding sites and secondary to the physical modification. Melanin-containing biomass such as chestnut shells can be used in cascade for melanin production and subsequently for adsorptive removal of basic dyes such as MB.

The legume plant alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a widely cultivated perennial forage due to its high protein content, palatability, and strong adaptability to diverse agro-ecological zones. Alfalfa is a self-incompatible cross-pollinated autotetraploid species with tetrasomic inheritance. Therefore, maintaining excellent traits through seed reproduction is a prime challenge in alfalfa. However, the cutting propagation technology could enable consistent multiplication of quality plants that are genetically identical to the parent plant. The current study aimed to develop a simple, cost-effective, reproducible, and efficient hydroponic cutting method to preserve alfalfa plants and for molecular research. In this study, alfalfa landrace ‘Wudi’ was grown in hydroponics for 30 days and used as source material for cuttings. The top, middle and bottom sections of its stem were used as cuttings. The rooting rate, root length, and stem height of the different stem sections were compared to determine the best segment for alfalfa propagation in four nutrient treatments (HM, HM + 1/500H, HM + 1/1000H and d HM + 1/2000H). After 21 days of culture, the rooting rates of all the three stem types under four cutting nutrient solutions were above 78%. The rooting rate of the middle and bottom parts in HM + 1/1000 H and HM + 1/2000 H nutrient solutions reached more than 93%, with a higher health survey score (> 4.70). In conclusion, this study developed a de novo cutting propagation method that can be used to conserve and propagate germplasm in breeding programs and research. This method is a new report on the cutting propagation of alfalfa by hydroponics, which could supplement the existing cutting propagation methods.

Anthocyanins play an important role in the growth of plants, and are beneficial to human health. In plants, the MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) complex activates the genes for anthocyanin biosynthesis. However, in rice, the WD40 regulators remain to be conclusively identified. Here, a crucial anthocyanin biosynthesis gene was fine mapped to a 43.4-kb genomic region on chromosome 2, and a WD40 gene OsTTG1 (Oryza sativa TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1) was identified as ideal candidate gene. Subsequently, a homozygous mutant (osttg1) generated by CRISPR/Cas9 showed significantly decreased anthocyanin accumulation in various rice organs. OsTTG1 was highly expressed in various rice tissues after germination, and it was affected by light and temperature. OsTTG1 protein was localized to the nucleus, and can physically interact with Kala4, OsC1, OsDFR and Rc. Furthermore, a total of 59 hub transcription factor genes might affect rice anthocyanin biosynthesis, and LOC_Os01g28680 and LOC_Os02g32430 could have functional redundancy with OsTTG1. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that directional selection has driven the evolutionary divergence of the indica and japonica OsTTG1 alleles. Our results suggest that OsTTG1 is a vital regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis, and an important gene resource for the genetic engineering of anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice and other plants.

Multi-Source Information Fusion (MSIF) is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary subject, and is referred to as, multi-sensor information fusion which was originated in the 1970s. Nowadays, the types and updates of data are becoming more multifarious and frequent, which bring new challenges for information fusion to deal with the multi-source data. Consequently, the construction of MSIF models suitable for different scenarios and the application of different fusion technologies are the core problems that need to be solved urgently. Rough set theory (RST) provides a computing paradigm for uncertain data modeling and reasoning, especially for classification issues with noisy, inaccurate or incomplete data. Furthermore, due to the rapid development of MSIF in recent years, the methodologies of learning under RST are becoming increasingly mature and systematic, unveiling a framework which has not been mentioned in the literature. In order to better clarify the approaches and application of MSIF in RST research community, this paper reviews the existing models and technologies from the perspectives of MSIF model (i.e., homogeneous and heterogeneous MSIF model), multi-view rough sets information fusion model (i.e., multi-granulation, multi-scale and multi-view decisions information fusion models), parallel computing information fusion model, incremental learning fusion technology and cluster ensembles fusion technology. Finally, RST based MSIF related research directions and challenges are also covered and discussed. By providing state-of-the-art understanding in specialized literature, this survey will directly help researchers understand the research developments of MSIF under RST.

Physical dormancy in seeds exists widely in seed plants and plays a vital role in maintaining natural seed banks. The outermost cuticle of the seed coat forms a water-impermeable layer, which is critical for establishing seed physical dormancy. We previously set up the legume plant Medicago truncatula as an excellent model for studying seed physical dormancy, and our studies revealed that a class II KNOTTED-like homeobox, KNOX4, is a transcription factor critical for controlling hardseededness. Here we report the function of a seed coat β-ketoacyl-CoA synthase, KCS12. The expression level of KCS12 is significantly downregulated in the knox4 mutant. The KCS12 gene is predominantly expressed in the seed coat, and seed development in the M. truncatula kcs12 mutant is altered. Further investigation demonstrated that kcs12 mutant seeds lost physical dormancy and were able to absorb water without scarification treatment. Chemical analysis revealed that concentrations of C24:0 lipid polyester monomers are significantly decreased in mutant seeds, indicating that KCS12 is an enzyme that controls the production of very long chain lipid species in the seed coat. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that the expression of KCS12 in the seed coat is directly regulated by the KNOX4 transcription factor. These findings define a molecular mechanism by which KNOX4 and KCS12 control formation of the seed coat and seed physical dormancy.

In this paper, we proposed a strategy for the establishment of an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system for simultaneous nitrogen and Pb(II) removal from inorganic wastewater. AGS was stored in lead nitrate solution to select functional bacteria resistant to lead poison, and then an AGS system for ammonia nitrogen (180-270 mg/L) and Pb(II) (15-30 mg/L) removal was established based on carbon dosing and a two-stage oxic/anoxic operational mode. After storage for 40 days, the stability of AGS decreased because specific oxygen uptake rate, nitrification rate and abundance of Nitrosomonas decreased to different degrees compared with those before storage. During the first 70 days of the recovery process, AGS in R1 (the blank reactor) and R2 (the control reactor) both experienced a first breakage and then regranulation process. The main properties of AGS in reactors R1 and R2 tended to be stable after days 106 and 117, respectively, but the structure of steady-state AGS in R2 was more compact. The total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) in effluent from R1 and R2 basically remained below 25 mg/L after days 98 and 90, respectively. The Pb(II) concentration in effluent from R2 was always below 0.3 mg/L. On day 140, the relative abundance of Nitrosomonas in R2 (6.17%) was significantly lower than that in R1 (12.15%), whereas the relative abundance of denitrifying bacteria was significantly higher than that in R1 (62.44% and 46.79%). The system removed 1 kg of influent TIN only consuming approximately 1.85 kg of carbon source, demonstrating clear advantages in energy savings.

Alfalfa sprouts are among the most nutritionally rich foods, and light exposure is a critical factor in determining their biomass and quality. However, detailed metabolic and molecular differences between yellow and green alfalfa sprouts remain unclear. In this study, comprehensive metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses were integrated to evaluate the nutrient composition of alfalfa sprouts during germination with or without light exposure. Differentially expressed genes and differentially accumulated metabolites in green and yellow alfalfa sprouts were significantly enriched in secondary metabolic pathways, such as the isoflavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Green alfalfa sprouts contained a wide variety of lipids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and terpenoids, among which the top three upregulated were calycosin, methyl gallate, and epicatechin 3-gallate, whereas yellow alfalfa sprouts contained relatively more isoquercitrin. These results provide new insights into the nutritional value and composition of alfalfa sprouts under different germination regimes.

Autotoxicity is a form of intraspecific allelopathy, in which a plant species inhibits the establishment or growth of the same species through the release of toxic chemical compounds into the environment. The phenomenon of autotoxicity in crops is best traced in alfalfa (Medicago sativa). A close relative of alfalfa, M. truncatula, has been developed into an excellent model species for leguminous plants. However, it is not known whether M. truncatula has autotoxicity. In this study, M. truncatula root exudates showed a negative impact on the growth of M. truncatula seedlings, indicating autotoxicity. Detailed analyses with plant extracts from M. truncatula and alfalfa revealed varying degrees of suppression effects in the two species. The extracts negatively affected seed germination potential, germination rate, radicle length, hypocotyl length, synthetic allelopathic effect index, plant height, root growth, fresh weight, dry weight, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance in both M. truncatula and alfalfa. The results demonstrated that autotoxicity and allelopathic effects exist in M. truncatula. This opens up a new way to use M. truncatula as a model species to carry out in-depth studies of autotoxicity and allelopathy to elucidate biochemical pathways of allelochemicals and molecular networks controlling biosynthesis of the chemicals.

Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) play crucial roles in plant growth and stress response. To date, there have been no reports of the analysis and identification of the GRF transcription factor family in alfalfa. In this study, we identified 27 GRF family members from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) “Xinjiang Daye”, and analyzed their physicochemical properties. Based on phylogenetic analysis, these MsGRFs were divided into five subgroups, each with a similar gene structure and conserved motifs. MsGRFs genes are distributed on 23 chromosomes, and all contain QLQ and WRC conserved domains. The results of the collinearity analysis showed that all MsGRFs are involved in gene duplication, including multiple whole-genome duplication or segmental duplication and a set of tandem duplication, indicating that large-scale duplication is important for the expansion of the GRF family in alfalfa. Several hormone-related and stress-related cis-acting elements have been found in the promoter regions of MsGRFs. Some MsGRFs were highly expressed in young leaves and stems, and their expression decreased during development. In addition, the leaf size of different varieties was found to vary, and MsGRF1 to 4, MsGRF18 to 20, and MsGRF22 to 23 were differentially expressed in large and small leaf alfalfa varieties, suggesting that they are critical in the regulation of leaf size. The results of this study can benefit further exploration of the regulatory functions of MsGRFs in growth and development, and can identify candidate genes that control leaf size development.

A novel bacterium, designated strain XHP0097

Thermal processes tend to have large inertia and hysteresis, non-linearity, and slow time-varying. Therefore, the fixed-parameter proportional integral derivative conventional regulation system cannot meet the higher and higher control requirements in production. Based on this research background, the paper proposes an automatic control method for thermal boiler steam based on artificial intelligence technology. Through the real-time monitoring of the boiler, the state monitoring method is used to estimate the influence factors of the boiler, and the estimated error output is artificially supplemented to realize the accurate control of the boiler. After being put on the market, it is found that the control method proposed in the article can overcome the randomness and inertia of the temperature and accurately realize the temperature control of the boiler. Moreover, compared with the traditional proportional integral derivative control, this method is more effective.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops throughout the world. Maximizing leaf retention during the haymaking process is critical for achieving superior hay quality and maintaining biomass yield. Leaf abscission process affects leaf retention. Previous studies have largely focused on the molecular mechanisms of floral organ, pedicel and seed abscission but scarcely touched on leaf and petiole abscission. This study focuses on leaf and petiole abscission in the model legume Medicago truncatula and its closely related commercial species alfalfa. By analysing the petiolule-like pulvinus (plp) mutant in M. truncatula at phenotypic level (breakstrength and shaking assays), microscopic level (scanning electron microscopy and cross-sectional analyses) and molecular level (expression level and expression pattern analyses), we discovered that the loss of function of PLP leads to an absence of abscission zone (AZ) formation and PLP plays an important role in leaflet and petiole AZ differentiation. Microarray analysis indicated that PLP affects abscission process through modulating genes involved in hormonal homeostasis, cell wall remodelling and degradation. Detailed analyses led us to propose a functional model of PLP in regulating leaflet and petiole abscission. Furthermore, we cloned the PLP gene (MsPLP) from alfalfa and produced RNAi transgenic alfalfa plants to down-regulate the endogenous MsPLP. Down-regulation of MsPLP results in altered pulvinus structure with increased leaflet breakstrength, thus offering a new approach to decrease leaf loss during alfalfa haymaking process.

CEN and NFPA have expanded the application of water mist in open environments from light solid combustible fire hazards to several in the higher hazard categories. A previous analysis and test evaluation showed that such application expansion is feasible, provided that the water mist spray meets droplet size and application density requirements for the intended fire challenge. However, this evaluation was performed exclusively for water mist sprays discharging at 1.65 m above the burning combustibles. This led to the question of whether the water mist protection could still be effective for larger clearances of nozzle discharge above the combustibles. Therefore, a series of fire tests was conducted subsequently to determine the ceiling height limits for both deluge and automatic nozzle protections. As for the previous evaluation, the two tested fire challenges were a 2-tier (2.74 m) high rack-storage of corrugated cardboard cartons on wood pallets, and a palletized storage of cartoned expanded polystyrene up to 1.68 m high. Both fire challenges were in the CEN OH-3 category, and respectively represented fire hazards in the FM Global HC-2 and HC-3 categories, which in turn corresponded to the NFPA OH-1 and OH-2 fire hazards. Each water mist spray discharged 76 l/min at 16.5 bar, with a volume median droplet diameter of around 220 µm. The nozzles were spaced 3.05 × 3.05 m to provide a designated application density of 8.1 mm/min. Quick-response thermal sensors, with an activation temperature of 74°C and a response index of 27.6 (m s)1/2, were employed to initiate the nozzle discharge. The tests showed that the deluge protection is applicable to both fire challenges for ceiling heights up to 9.1 m. However, for the automatic nozzle protection, the ceiling height limit is reduced to 6.1 m, with a water supply requirement of providing 17 nozzle operations for a safety factor of about 50% over the maximum number of nozzle operations observed in the tests.

Oncolytic virotherapy can lead to systemic antitumor immunity, but the therapeutic potential of oncolytic viruses in humans is limited due to their insufficient ability to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we showed that locoregional oncolytic virotherapy upregulated the expression of PD-L1 in the TME, which was mediated by virus-induced type I and type II IFNs. To explore PD-1/PD-L1 signaling as a direct target in tumor tissue, we developed a novel immunotherapeutic herpes simplex virus (HSV), OVH-aMPD-1, that expressed a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) against PD-1 (aMPD-1 scFv). The virus was designed to locally deliver aMPD-1 scFv in the TME to achieve enhanced antitumor effects. This virus effectively modified the TME by releasing damage-associated molecular patterns, promoting antigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells, and enhancing the infiltration of activated T cells; these alterations resulted in antitumor T-cell activity that led to reduced tumor burdens in a liver cancer model. Compared with OVH, OVH-aMPD-1 promoted the infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), resulting in significantly higher percentages of CD155+ granulocytic-MDSCs (G-MDSC) and monocytic-MDSCs (M-MDSC) in tumors. In combination with TIGIT blockade, this virus enhanced tumor-specific immune responses in mice with implanted subcutaneous tumors or invasive tumors. These findings highlighted that intratumoral immunomodulation with an OV expressing aMPD-1 scFv could be an effective stand-alone strategy to treat cancers or drive maximal efficacy of a combination therapy with other immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Autotrophic nitrifying granular sludge (ANGS) was cultivated for the simultaneous removal of ammonia nitrogen and Tl(I) from inorganic wastewater. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the influent gradually decreased to approximately zero in four parallel sequencing batch reactors (B1: blank controller, B2: 10 mL of added nitrifying bacteria concentrate in each cycle, B3: 1 mg/L Tl(I) added in each cycle and B4: 10 mL of added nitrifying bacteria concentrate and 1 mg/L Tl(I) in each cycle) within 15 days. The main properties, such as the granulation rate and specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) of the ANGS in B1, B2, B3 and B4 tended to be stable within 40, 33, 30 and 33 days, the removal efficiencies of Tl(I) were 59.5%–82.9% and 57.1%–88.6% in B3 and B4 after Day 30, the removal efficiencies of ammonia nitrogen in B1, B2, B3 and B4 were usually above 90% after Day 33, and the total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) in the effluent of B1, B2, B3 and B4 gradually stabilized after Day 36, 32, 32 and 36, indicating that mature ANGS was successfully cultivated in B1, B2, B3 and B4 within 40, 33, 33 and 36 days. The nitrogen degradation kinetic parameters of ANGS indicated that B3 had the strongest ability to remove ammonia and nitrite, suggesting that Tl(I) stress was beneficial to ammonia nitrogen removal and nitrite oxidation. The adsorption of Tl(I) can be described by the Freundlich equation, and the addition of external nitrifying bacteria improved the adsorption ability of ANGS.