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Therapeutic agents acting on RNA, including RNA modification, RNA editing and RNA interference (RNAi), play a vital role in gene function study, signaling pathway, drug discovery, disease treatment, vaccine development and so on. Therein, RNAi as an emerging gene therapy has been widely applied in many cancer studies by silencing oncogenes or specific mRNA in malignant tumor cells. Mechanism and efficiency of RNAi are the key issues of RNAi technology. RNA silencing involves dynamic modeling, analyses and optimal control of RNAi gene system. Physiological delay and Hill response describing off-target are considerable elements involving RNAi efficiency. In this paper, we first formulate a four-dimensional RNAi model with time delays and Hill functions, and then investigate the complex dynamic behaviors including the number, existence and stability of internal equilibria and Hopf bifurcations of single delay and two delays. Furthermore, based on the specific mRNA degradation adopted in impulsive patterns, we build an optimal problem by adding exogenous dsRNA at alterable time points in variable dosages in a treatment session. By the method of gradient formula, we can find the optimal impulsive time and proportion of dsRNA. Finally, simulation indicates that (1) physiological lags not only raise the oscillations of mRNA but also cut down the levels of cost; (2) smaller delays and larger rates of siRNA–mRNA complex formation and dsRNA synthesis imply the rapid composition of RISC and fast synthesis of dsRNA leading to more desirable therapeutic schedule, which affords evidence for gene regulation and RNAi; (3) a larger half-saturation coefficient characterizes a unique and stable higher targeted mRNA, whereas a smaller half-saturation coefficient generates bistability in which the higher and lower targeted mRNAs simultaneously emerge; and (4) the bistability will provide a good guidance to control, suppress and degrade targeted mRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose holds significant importance in disease diagnosis as well as beverage quality monitoring. The high‐efficiency electrochemical sensor plays a crucial role in the electrochemical conversion technology. Ni(OH)2 nanosheets are provided with high specific surface area and redox activity that are widely used in electrochemistry. Conductive metal‐organic frameworks (cMOFs) perfectly combine the structural controllability of organic materials with the long‐range ordering of inorganic materials that possess the characteristic of high electron mobility. Based on the above considerations, the combination of Ni(OH)2 and Ni‐HHTP (HHTP=2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexahydroxytriphenylene) as an electrode modification material is designed to enhance electrochemical performance. In this work, to improve glucose detection, a sequence of Ni(OH)2@NiCo‐HHTP and NiM‐LDH@Ni‐HHTP (M=Co2+, Mn2+, Cu2+, LDH=layered double hydroxide) are successfully synthesised by doping metals into Ni‐HHTP and Ni(OH)2, respectively. As a result, NiCu‐LDH@Ni‐HHTP showed the best excellent glucose detection sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Ganglioglioma (GG) is a slow-growing glioneuronal neoplasm, most frequently seen in the supratentorial location in older children and associated with epilepsy syndromes. GG is rare in the infratentorial location, hence we embarked upon analyzing the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to better evaluate GG outcomes by location in comparison to the broader pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG) population. Methods Pediatric patients diagnosed with GG and pLGG from 2004 to 2018 were included in the study. Their demographic, clinical, and survival characteristics were analyzed using SEER*Stat. Results This study describes the largest cohort of pediatric GG, including 852 cases from year 2004 to 2018, with focus on infratentorial sites. Patients with brainstem GG or those with subtotally resected disease were identified as having higher risk of death. Conclusions Our analysis highlights brainstem GG as a high-risk, poor-prognostic subgroup and elaborates on the incidence and survival characteristic of this lesser-known subgroup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary Over the past few decades, N‐sulfonyl hydrazones have been recognized as alternative precursors for hazardous diazo compounds in organic synthesis, allowing for diverse innovative and original chemical transformations that were otherwise difficult to achieve. This critical review summarizes the major advancements in the carbene chemistry of N‐sulfonyl hydrazones. The contents of this review are organized based on research conducted by leading scientists who have made significant contributions to this field. The individual carbene transfer reactions and their mechanisms, as well as the potential applications in the synthesis of natural products and complex bioactive molecules, are thoroughly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that titanium (Ti) implant surfaces exhibit poor antibacterial properties and osteogenesis. In this study, chitosan particles loaded with aspirin, amoxicillin or aspirin + amoxicillin were synthesized and coated onto implant surfaces. In addition to analysing the surface characteristics of the modified Ti surfaces, the effects of the modified Ti surfaces on the adhesion and viability of rat bone marrow-derived stem cells (rBMSCs) were evaluated. The metabolic activities of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) biofilms on the modified Ti surfaces were also measured in vitro. Moreover, S. aureus was tested for its antibacterial effect by coating it in vivo. Using water as the droplet medium, the contact angles of the modified Ti surfaces increased from 44.12 ± 1.75° to 58.37 ± 4.15°. In comparison to those of the other groups tested, significant increases in rBMSC adhesion and proliferation were observed in the presence of aspirin + amoxicillin-loaded microspheres, whereas a significant reduction in the metabolic level of biofilms was observed in the presence of aspirin + amoxicillin-loaded microspheres both in vitro and in vivo. Aspirin and amoxicillin could be used in combination to coat implant surfaces to mitigate bacterial activities and promote osteogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two classes of optimal quaternary sequences have been constructed by applying the sign alternation transform and Gray mapping to Legendre sequence pair, twin-prime sequence pair and GMW sequence pair. In this paper, a new method for investigating the linear complexity over finite field is proposed, and the exact values of the linear complexity over finite field F 4 and Galois ring Z 4 of the quaternary sequences are determined. The results show that their linear complexity are quite good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gut microbiota of rodents is essential for survival and adaptation and is susceptible to various factors, ranging from environmental conditions to genetic predispositions. Nevertheless, few comparative studies have considered the contribution of species identity and geographic spatial distance to variations in the gut microbiota. In this study, a random sampling survey encompassing four rodent species (Apodemus agrarius, Cricetulus barabensis, Tscherskia triton and Rattus norvegicus) was conducted at five sites in northern China's farming–pastoral ecotone. Through a cross‐factorial comparison, we aimed to discern whether belonging to the same species or sharing the same capture site predominantly influences the composition of gut microbiota. Notably, the observed variations in microbiome composition among these four rodent species match the host phylogeny at the family level but not at the species level. The gut microbiota of these four rodent species exhibited typical mammalian characteristics, predominantly characterized by the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla. As the geographic distance between populations increased, the number of shared microbial taxa among conspecific populations decreased. We observed that within a relatively small geographical range, even different species exhibited convergent α‐diversity due to their inhabitation within the same environmental microbial pool. In contrast, the composition and structure of the intestinal microbiota in the allopatric populations of A. agrarius demonstrated marked differences, similar to those of C. barabensis. Additionally, geographical environmental elements exhibited significant correlations with diversity indices. Conversely, host‐related factors had minimal influence on microbial abundance. Our findings indicated that the similarity of the microbial compositions was not determined primarily by the host species, and the location of the sampling explained a greater amount of variation in the microbial composition, indicating that the local environment played a crucial role in shaping the microbial composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyimide (PI) nanofibrous aerogels (NFAs) have garnered significant attention for their exceptional mechanical and thermal properties, making them promising materials for heat insulation applications. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research on heat transfer of PI NFAs on the modeling and prediction. Therefore, three modified unit cells with the features of PI NFA backbone were constructed for the finite element simulation. Subsequently, the comparisons of our results with experimental data from available literature were conducted. It indicated that the cubic unit cell fitted well with the experimental values when the density was lower than 50 kg / m 3 , while the Weaire–Phelan unit cell demonstrated good agreement when the density was higher than 50 kg / m 3 . A series of parametric studies were performed and indicated that the thermal conductivity is proportional to the nanofiber diameter, whereas inversely proportional to the pore size and porosity. Our research will provide novel insights to the selection of parameters for industrial manufacturing of thermal insulation materials in aerospace, energy, protection, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain a deeper understanding of the metabolic differences within and outside the body, as well as changes in transcription levels following estrus in yaks, we conducted transcriptome and metabolome analyses on female yaks in both estrus and non-estrus states. The metabolome analysis identified 114, 13, and 91 distinct metabolites in urine, blood, and follicular fluid, respectively. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis highlighted an enrichment of pathways related to amino acid and lipid metabolism across all three body fluids. Our transcriptome analysis revealed 122 differentially expressed genes within microRNA (miRNA) and 640 within long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). Functional enrichment analysis of lncRNA and miRNA indicated their involvement in cell signaling, disease resistance, and immunity pathways. We constructed a regulatory network composed of 10 lncRNAs, 4 miRNAs, and 30 mRNAs, based on the targeted regulation relationships of the differentially expressed genes. In conclusion, the accumulation of metabolites such as amino acids, steroids, and organic acids, along with the expression changes of key genes like miR-129 during yak estrus, provide initial insights into the estrus mechanism in yaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of local tensile strain in Ni(OH)2 nanosheets accelerates the Ni(OH)2-to-NiOOH transition and boosts the electrocatalytic ammonia oxidation reaction (EAOR), i.e., reducing the onset potential by 80 mV, doubling both the current density and N2 faradaic efficiency, and enabling 1000 hours of operation at 160 mA cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the levels and clinical significance of serum microRNA (miR)-651 and miR-630 in patients with cervical cancer. Methods From June 2017 to May 2020, 108 cervical cancer patients accepted by our hospital were collected as the cervical cancer group. Meantime, 100 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) patients treated in our hospital were regarded as the CIN group, and 110 healthy individuals who underwent physical examination were regarded as the control group. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was applied to detect serum levels of miR-651 and miR-630, while analyzing the relationship between serum miR-651 and miR-630 as well as clinical features and prognosis of patients. Results The serum levels of miR-651 and miR-630 in the cervical cancer group and CIN group were obviously lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), while the serum levels of miR-651 and miR-630 in the cervical cancer group were obviously lower than those in the CIN group (P < 0.05). The expression levels of serum miR-651 and miR-630 were positively correlated (r = 0.542, P < 0.05). The serum levels of miR-651 and miR-630 were related to HPV infection, differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and FIGO staging (P < 0.05). The overall survival rate of patients with low levels of miR-651 and miR-630 was lower than that of patients with high levels. Cox regression analysis showed that, HPV infection, degree of differentiation, lymph node metastasis, FIGO staging, miR-651, and miR-630 were all influencing factors for the prognosis of cervical cancer patients (P < 0.05). Conclusion The serum levels of miR-651 and miR-630 in cervical cancer patients decrease, which are related to HPV infection, differentiation, lymph node metastasis, FIGO staging, and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptomyces mobaraensis transglutaminase (smTG) has been widely used in the food processing industry for protein crosslinking. However, its poor thermostability becomes a major obstacle to further applications. It is significant to develop a feasible strategy to improve the thermostability of smTG. Here, we developed a computational model based on the Siamese graph neural network framework to identify residues critical to the thermostability of smTG by predicting changes in folding free energy (ΔΔG) between the wild type and mutants. Four candidate residues were selected for mutation experiments, and the single mutant H44C exhibited 2.7 U mg−1 residual enzyme activity after 10 min incubation at 60 °C, twice as much as the wild type. Mutants Q74F and E87W also exhibited 3- and 2.3-times greater activity after 20 min. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed that smTG mutants (H44C, Q74F, and E87W) improved thermostability by enhancing hydrogen bond interactions, increasing additional residue interactions, and reducing loop flexibility. The MM-GBSA calculation demonstrated that mutants H44C and Q74F enhanced binding affinity with the substrate, and six residues crucial for substrate binding were identified. This study combines computational analysis with mutation assays for the rational design of smTG and offers a facile and efficient strategy to understand and improve the thermostability of proteins for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intracellular deposition and intercellular transmission of α-synuclein (α-syn) are shared pathological characteristics among neurodegenerative disorders collectively known as α-synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Although the precise triggers of α-synucleinopathies remain unclear, recent findings indicate that disruption of microglial homeostasis contributes to the pathogenesis of PD. Microglia play a crucial role in maintaining optimal neuronal function by ensuring a homeostatic environment, but this function is disrupted during the progression of α-syn pathology. The involvement of microglia in the accumulation, uptake, and clearance of aggregated proteins is critical for managing disease spread and progression caused by α-syn pathology. This review summarizes current knowledge on the interrelationships between microglia and α-synucleinopathies, focusing on the remarkable ability of microglia to recognize and internalize extracellular α-syn through diverse pathways. Microglia process α-syn intracellularly and intercellularly to facilitate the α-syn neuronal aggregation and cell-to-cell propagation. The conformational state of α-synuclein distinctly influences microglial inflammation, which can affect peripheral immune cells such as macrophages and lymphocytes and may regulate the pathogenesis of α-synucleinopathies. We also discuss ongoing research efforts to identify potential therapeutic approaches targeting both α-syn accumulation and inflammation in PD. 3Ny2A2zBLZiS-zTsyr2E_W Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the long-term changes in nutritional status in children with solid tumors during treatment and the relationship between nutritional status and clinical outcomes. Methods: This study was a retrospective medical records review of data from children who were diagnosed with solid tumors and followed up for more than 3months from January 2016 to December 2021 in China. Patient demographics and clinical information, including nutritional status, parenteral nutrition use, intensive care unit (ICU) transfers, infection during hospitalization, hospitalization frequency, length of stay, hospitalization costs and antibiotic costs, were collected to analyze the nutritional status of children with different types of solid tumors, the dynamic changes in nutritional status during treatment, and the relationship between nutritional status and clinical outcomes. Results: Among the 764 patients (383 males (50.1%); 381 females (49.9%); mean age: 2.58 years), 41.6% of the solid tumors were neuroblastomas, 17.1% were hepatoblastomas, and Wilms tumors as the third most common solid tumors (8.9%). The median follow-up duration was 6months (range: 3–40months). At diagnosis, the proportion of children who were undernourished (underweight and wasting) versus overweight or obese were 26.71% versus 5.21% (25.86% vs. 2.89% in the third month; 29.77% vs. 2.28% in the sixth month; 24.77% vs. 3.27% in the 12th month). The body mass index Z scores decreased from the initial values after the first month (−0.56 (−1.47, 0.23) vs. −0.44 (−1.29, 0.41)) but improved later and decreased again at 6months. The children in the undernutrition group had longer hospital stays (p<0.001), higher hospitalization costs (p<0.001), higher antibiotic costs (p<0.001), a higher risk of neutropenia (OR=4.781 (95% CI: 1.571–14.553), p=0.006), and a higher risk of ICU transfers (OR=1.498 (95% CI: 1.010–2.224), p=0.044). No significant differences in those associations by malnutrition and infection, ICU duration, or length of parenteral nutrition were observed. Conclusion: There is a considerable prevalence of malnutrition in children with solid tumors. Malnutrition is related to adverse clinical outcomes and increases in total hospital expenses and antibiotic costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermittent androgen suppression in the prostate cancer is often relapsed by the increasing of prostate specific antigen level during the on-treatment. Historically, chemotherapy has had a limited role in the treatment of prostate cancer. However, new agents are showing promise in patients with advanced disease. Intermittent androgen suppression plus chemotherapy in pulsed pattern has become an indispensable clinical scheme for prostate cancer, which is presented to describe the transformation mechanism for three kinds of cancer cells in this paper. The model is then extended to include the residual effect of chemotherapy which suppresses the cancer cells production, thereby preventing the relapse. The optimal controls represent the efficiencies of both intermittent androgen suppression and chemotherapy in suppressing relapse of prostate cancer. Based on an optimal algorithm, numerical simulations are implemented not only to show the optimal durations of on- and off-treatment and chemotherapy dosages but also to present the effectiveness of different strategies in inhibiting the relapse for three types of patients. Results reveal that the optimal intermittent androgen suppression scheme with alterable treatment cycles is pivotal for type I and II patients, in part because it can greatly reduce the on-treatment time and degrade the level of prostate specific antigen. Furthermore, optimal hybrid schedule even averts the relapse of prostate cancer for type II and III patients. Finally, comparing the prostate specific antigen under intermittent androgen suppression schedule with residual effect of chemotherapy to one without residual effect of chemotherapy demonstrates the validity of both our model and algorithms in lessening the prostate specific antigen and decreasing the chemotherapy dosages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For animals that breed seasonally, photoperiod is a key factor in controlling their behavior. Epididymal function is highly dependent on androgen. However, the effects of photoperiod on epididymal function and the regulatory mechanism of androgen in this process have not yet been reported. This study examined the effects of different photoperiods on androgen contents and the expression patterns of 5α-reductase, AR, and GPx-5 in the epididymis of Cricetulus barabensis to explore the role of androgens in photoperiod regulation of epididymal function and its mechanism in antioxidant stress. The results showed that in the caput epididymis, androgen content decreased with the shortening of light time, and the mRNA and protein levels of 5α-reductase 1 and androgen receptor (AR) in the long photoperiod (LP) group were significantly higher than those in the short photoperiod (SP) group. In the cauda epididymis, androgen content and the mRNA and protein level of GPx-5 were the lowest in the medium photoperiod (MP) group. In conclusion, these results suggest that androgens affected by the photoperiod may regulate the expression of GPx-5 through the androgen/AR pathway. The findings of this study will help to understand the physiological and biochemical status of the epididymis of seasonally breeding animals under different photoperiods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying proteins is crucial for disease diagnosis and treatment. With the increase of known proteins, large-scale batch predictions are essential. However, traditional biological experiments being time-consuming and expensive are difficult to accomplish this task efficiently. Nevertheless, deep learning algorithms based on big data analysis have manifested potential in this aspect. In recent years, language representation models, especially BERT, have made significant advancements in natural language processing. In this paper, using three protein segmentation methods and three encoder numbers, nine BERT models with different sizes are constructed to predict whether known proteins are DNA-binding proteins or not. Furthermore, based on the concept of protein motifs, multi-scale convolutional networks are fused into the models to extract the local features of DNA-binding proteins. Finally, we find that the larger the number of encoders, the better the model predictions under the condition of considering each amino acid in the protein as a word. Our proposed algorithm achieves 81.88% sensitivity and 0.39 MCC value on the test set. Furthermore, it achieves 62.41% accuracy on the independent test set PDB2272. It is evident that our proposed method can be a tool to assist in the identification of DNA-binding proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is the first to investigate the process of osteoclast (OCL) differentiation, its potential functions, and the associated mRNA and signalling pathways in embryonic palatal bone. Our findings suggest that OCLs are involved in bone remodelling, bone marrow cavity formation, and blood vessel formation in embryonic palatal bone. We observed TRAP-positive OCLs at embryonic day 16.5 (E16.5), E17.5, and E18.5 at the palatal process of the palate (PPP) and posterior and anterior parts of the palatal process of the maxilla (PPMXP and PPMXA, respectively), with OCL differentiation starting 2 days prior to TRAP positivity. By comparing the key periods of OCL differentiation between PPMX and PPP (E14.5, E15.5, and E16.5) using RNA-seq data of the palates, we found that the PI3K-AKT and MAPK signalling pathways were sequentially enriched, which may play critical roles in OCL survival and differentiation. Csf1r, Tnfrsff11a, Ctsk, Fos, Tyrobp, Fcgr3, and Spi1 were significantly upregulated, while Pik3r3, Tgfbr1, and Mapk3k7 were significantly downregulated, in both PPMX and PPP. Interestingly, Tnfrsff11b was upregulated in PPMX but downregulated in PPP, which may regulate the timing of OCL appearance. These results contribute to the limited knowledge regarding mRNA-specific steps in OCL differentiation in the embryonic palatal bone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Preoperative prediction of cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is significant for surgical decision-making. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to develop a dual-modal radiomics (DMR) model based on grayscale ultrasound (GSUS) and dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for non-invasive CLNM in PTC. METHODS: In this study, 348 patients with pathologically confirmed PTC at Jiangsu University Affiliated People's Hospital who completed preoperative ultrasound (US) and DECT examinations were enrolled and randomly assigned to training (n = 261) and test (n = 87) cohorts. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups based on pathology findings namely, CLNM (n = 179) and CLNM-Free (n = 169). Radiomics features were extracted from GSUS images (464 features) and DECT images (960 features), respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression with 10-fold cross-validation were then used to select CLNM-related features. Based on the selected features, GSUS, DECT, and GSUS combined DECT radiomics models were constructed by using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. RESULTS: Three predictive models based on GSUS, DECT, and a combination of GSUS and DECT, yielded performance of areas under the curve (AUC) = 0.700 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.662–0.706], 0.721 [95% CI, 0.683–0.727], and 0.760 [95% CI, 0.728–0.762] in the training dataset, and AUC = 0.643 [95% CI, 0.582–0.734], 0.680 [95% CI, 0.623–0.772], and 0.744 [95% CI, 0.686–0.784] in the test dataset, respectively. It shows that the predictive model combined GSUS and DECT outperforms both models using GSUS and DECT only. CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed combined radiomics model could more accurately predict CLNM in PTC patients and aid in better surgical planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), as 0D graphene nanomaterials, have aroused increasing interest in chemiresistive gas sensors owing to their remarkable physicochemical properties and tunable electronic structures. Research on GQDs has been booming over the past decades, and a number of excellent review articles have been provided on various other sensing principles of GQDs, such as fluorescence-based ion-sensing, bio-sensing, bio-imaging, and electrochemical, photoelectrochemical, and electrochemiluminescence sensing, and therapeutic, energy and catalysis applications. However, so far, there is no single review article on the application of GQDs in the field of chemiresistive gas sensing. This is our primary inspiration for writing this review, with a focus on the chemiresistive gas sensors reported using GQD-based composites. In this review, the various synthesized strategies of GQDs and its composites, gas sensing enhancement mechanisms, and the resulting sensing characteristics are presented. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of GQDs in the abovementioned application filed have been discussed for the more rational design of advanced GQDs-based gas-sensing materials and innovative gas sensors with novel functionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to develop a clinical-radiomics nomogram that could predict the cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) using clinical characteristics as well as radiomics features of dual energy computed tomography (DECT). Method: Patients from our hospital with suspected PTC who underwent DECT for preoperative assessment between January 2021 and February 2022 were retrospectively recruited. Clinical characteristics were obtained from the medical record system. Clinical characteristics and rad-scores were examined by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. All features were incorporated into the LASSO regression model, with penalty parameter tuning performed using tenfold cross-validation, to screen risk factors for CLNM. An easily accessible radiomics nomogram was constructed. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve together with Area Under the Curve (AUC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the discrimination performance of the model. Calibration curves were employed to assess the calibration performance of the clinical-radiomics nomogram, followed by goodness-of-fit testing. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to determine the clinical utility of the established models by estimating net benefits at varying threshold probabilities for training and testing groups. Results: A total of 461 patients were retrospectively recruited. The rates of CLNM were 49.3% (70 /142) in the training cohort and 53.3% (32/60) in the testing cohort. Out of the 960 extracted radiomics features, 192 were significantly different in positive and negative groups (p < 0.05). On the basis of the training cohort, 12 stable features with nonzero coefficients were selected using LASSO regression. LASSO regression identified 7 risk factors for CLNM, including male gender, maximum tumor size > 10 mm, multifocality, CT-reported central CLN status, US-reported central CLN status, rad-score, and TGAb. A nomogram was developed using these factors to predict the risk of CLNM. The AUC values in each cohort were 0.850 and 0.797, respectively. The calibration curve together with the Hosmer–Lemeshow test for the nomogram indicated good agreement between predicted and pathological CLN statuses in the training and testing cohorts. Results of DCA proved that the nomogram offers a superior net benefit for predicting CLNM compared to the "treat all or none" strategy across the majority of risk thresholds. Conclusion: A nomogram comprising the clinical characteristics as well as radiomics features of DECT and US was constructed for the prediction of CLNM for patients with PTC, which in determining whether lateral compartment neck dissection is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in sonic black hole (SBH) provide new opportunities for controlling sound waves and designing wave manipulation devices. SBH is a device that consists of partitions with gradually decreasing inner radii inserted into an acoustic duct. Several studies have reported that SBH can achieve a broadband sound absorption coefficient close to 1, avoiding the issue of alternating high and low absorption coefficients observed in traditional sound absorbers. However, the fundamental mechanisms and principles behind this behavior are not yet fully understood. This study aims to investigate the detailed sound absorption mechanisms of SBH, including the progressive slow-sound effect and the critical coupling condition that leads to broadband sound absorption. To achieve this goal, an analytical model based on the effective medium approach is developed to investigate the layer-by-layer retardation in sound propagation. The sound absorption coefficient is then determined based on the surface impedance calculation. The effective medium analysis reveals that SBH enables a unique condition to progressively decelerate wave propagation across its layers. As a result, the critical coupling condition becomes more easily established with smoothly increasing SBH partitions and more discretised layers, as elucidated by the complex frequency analysis results. The physical insights gained from this study reveal the distinctive features of SBH compared to classical sound absorbers, paving the way for its engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a popular research problem in computational aesthetics, image aesthetic assessment has many important applications in image editing, retrieval, and recommendation. However, the existing mainstream CNN-based image aesthetic assessment methods are difficult to obtain the global aesthetic attributes of images well. To this end, we propose a two-stream image aesthetic assessment model that couples Transformer and CNN features. We use the traditional CNN network to extract the image's local aesthetic feature in the first stream, apply the superpixel algorithm to segment the image, and then feed the segmented image region into the Transformer network to learn the image's aesthetic global features in the second stream. Finally, the features learned by Transformer and CNN are fused to achieve the image aesthetic assessment. The experimental results on the AVA dataset show that our proposed method can obtain local and global aesthetic information on images, which enables the model to learn richer aesthetic information, and the combination of whole and part is more in line with human aesthetic characteristics. Our proposed model achieves an accuracy of 84.5% in the classification task, achieving optimal performance compared to existing methods and good performance in the other two tasks (Score Regression and Distribution). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of the coupling and coordination association between scientific and technological innovation and the eco-environmental system is of vital practical significance for promoting the high-quality economic development of China's Gansu province. The evaluation index system is constructed based on the explanation of the coupling and coordination mechanism of a "Binary system". Subsequently, a comprehensive evaluation model is developed using the entropy method, whereas the coupling coordination relationship between "Binary systems" is analyzed in the context of the coupling coordination degree model. The study findings indicate that the innovation drive has become the primary driving force that leads the high-quality economic development in Gansu province. Furthermore, the comprehensive development level and coupling and coordination degree of all systems in Gansu province demonstrate a sound trend of steadily rising. Additionally, there is an issue of uncoordinated development between scientific and technological innovation and eco-environment systems in Gansu province. Thus, this research study proposes certain policy suggestions, such as optimizing the environment of Sci-tech innovation, insisting on the priority of ecology, increasing the input of Sci-tech innovation, and building up a contingent of talents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To leverage temperature glide in evaporation, a transcritcal heat pump using a CO2-based mixture is investigated from a perspective of simultaneous heat and cold energy storage. Coefficient of performance for heating (COPh) and exergy efficiency are used to evaluate system performance. A parametric investigation on the heat pump is conducted, and the coupling behavior of the cycle with thermal energy storage (TES) material is investigated in view of stored exergy of TES. Optimization and comparative studies are carried out among various mixtures. The results reveal that maximum cycle temperature is mainly affected by high pressure and superheating degree, while minimum cycle temperature, as well as cold exergy, is highly dependent on evaporating temperature glide, with little influence from high pressure. The total exergy efficiency can reach up to 60%. The temperature of low temperature TES could reach as low as −32.4 °C for CO2/R601, providing the largest proportion of cold exergy to total exergy, up to 30.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is the first to investigate the process of osteoclast (OCL) differentiation, its potential functions, and the associated mRNA and signalling pathways in embryonic palatal bone. Our findings suggest that OCLs are involved in bone remodelling, bone marrow cavity formation, and blood vessel formation in embryonic palatal bone. We observed TRAP-positive OCLs at embryonic day 16.5 (E16.5), E17.5, and E18.5 at the palatal process of the palate (PPP) and posterior and anterior parts of the palatal process of the maxilla (PPMXP and PPMXA, respectively), with OCL differentiation starting 2 days prior to TRAP positivity. By comparing the key periods of OCL differentiation between PPMX and PPP (E14.5, E15.5, and E16.5) using RNA-seq data of the palates, we found that the PI3K-AKT and MAPK signalling pathways were sequentially enriched, which may play critical roles in OCL survival and differentiation. Csf1r, Tnfrsff11a, Ctsk, Fos, Tyrobp, Fcgr3, and Spi1 were significantly upregulated, while Pik3r3, Tgfbr1, and Mapk3k7 were significantly downregulated, in both PPMX and PPP. Interestingly, Tnfrsff11b was upregulated in PPMX but downregulated in PPP, which may regulate the timing of OCL appearance. These results contribute to the limited knowledge regarding mRNA-specific steps in OCL differentiation in the embryonic palatal bone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in the depth of coal mining, the problem of coal spontaneous combustion due to air leakage in the coal mine roadways is becoming increasingly serious. However, traditional cement mortar spray coatings are prone to cracking and poor flexibility, and polyurethane type spray coatings are not flame retardant, they are unable to meet the spraying needs. This paper proposes the preparation of a cement-based flexible spray coating for flame retardant (CFSCF) by modifying the cement-based material with the addition of fly ash, cellulose and emulsion material. The initial dosage ranges of fly ash, cellulose and emulsion material were studied. The effects of different dosages of fly ash, cellulose and emulsion material on the 7-day tensile strength, 14-day tensile strength and 28-day tensile strength were studied, and the optimum ratio of CFSCF was determined by the response surface methodology. The tensile mechanical properties, micromorphology and flame retardant properties of CFSCF with the optimum ratio were studied. The results showed that: the tensile strength of CFSCF reached the maximum at 28 days of maintenance period, 2.55 MPa; the maximum elongation at break was 52.62% at 14 days; the tensile toughness was up to 833.05KJ m−3; when the material was pulled, the two walls of the crack would bond to each other, reflecting the excellent flexibility; the alcohol lamp burning test results showed that there is flame burning time of 0 s, the material leaves the flame extinguished, has good flame retardant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with lever-type amplification mechanisms, bridge-type flexible amplification mechanisms have advantages in terms of amplification ratio and structural compactness. Therefore, they can effectively replace the lever-type amplification mechanism in the existing hair-like sensors and realize the development of miniature hair-like sensors with high sensitivity. With that in mind, a highly sensitive hair-like sensor based on a bridge-type amplification mechanism with distributed flexibility is presented to measure the airflow rate. First, the structural composition and operating principle of the hair-like sensor are described. Then, detailed design and analysis of the hair-like sensor are carried out, focusing on the design of the hair post structure, amplification mechanism, and resonator. Furthermore, the designed hair-like sensor is processed and prepared, and some experimental studies are conducted. The experimental results demonstrate that the developed hair-like sensor can measure the airflow rate with high sensitivity up to 8.56 Hz/(m/s)2. This provides a new concept for the structural design of hair-like sensors and expands the application of bridge-type flexible amplification mechanisms in the field of micro/nano sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen, as a carbon-free fuel, is significantly for replacing fossil fuels and reaching the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality, and is commonly expected to play a major role in future energy supply. Blending hydrogen into natural gas pipeline networks for end-user consumption as a means of delivering pure hydrogen to the market which not only improves the utilization rate of hydrogen energy, but also reduces the cost of hydrogen transportation. A three-dimensional model of the blending the natural gas and hydrogen with SMX mixing elements is developed to obtain homogeneous mixed gas injected into the natural gas pipeline network. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method is employed to investigate the flow physics in the static mixer, which was verified by experiments. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Based on the static mixer model, the coupling relationship between mixing performance and the crucial parameters including the number of mixing elements, operating conditions and hydrogen blending volume fraction is analyzed in detail, and a compromise design scheme is proposed under the studied conditions to improve the mixing performance of natural gas and hydrogen. [Display omitted] • The mixing behavior of the natural gas and hydrogen mixing in a SMX static mixer is investigated. • The simulation results were compared and verified with the experimental data. • The internal coupling relationship between the flow loss and the crucial parameters is studied, and the flow physics inside the static mixer is clarified. • The compromise scheme and operation conditions of the static mixer design are obtained to improve the mixing performance of natural gas and hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonate is an effective method for the resource utilization of CO2 and the production of cyclic carbonates. Herein, a series of polymer‐supported quaternary phosphonium ionic liquid catalysts with high grafting amount have been systematically designed and synthesized, and all catalysts could promote efficient fixation of CO2 into cyclic carbonate. According to the results of the experiment and simulation, it was found that the high catalytic activity was ascribed to the weak interaction energy of the anion and cation of the catalyst. Among them, PS−TPP−Cl, with lower interaction energy of 72.2 KJ/mol, showed better performance. Yet even after being recycled five times, its conversion of propylene oxide with little loss was still above 95 %. Furthermore, a possible cycloaddition mechanism for the synergetic effect of cation‐anion coordination has been proposed. This work will shed new light on the development of novel heterogeneous catalysts with promising properties for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sika deer is a rare livestock resource in China, and the main purpose of breeding is to obtain antlers that can be used as medicinal herbs. As an important limiting amino acid for ruminants, the dietary level of methionine greatly affects the utilization efficiency of protein in feed. In this study, we investigated the effects of different dietary methionine levels on antler-bearing sika deer by supplementing methionine. The results of the study showed that methionine supplementation improved the quality of Sika deer antlers and increased the efficiency of the animals utilizing acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber in the feed. In addition, methionine supplementation altered the composition of free amino acids in the rumen fluid and the composition of fecal bacteria in sika deer. Amino acid balance is central to improving the efficiency of feed protein utilization and for reducing environmental pollution caused by intensive farming. In previous studies, supplementation with limiting amino acids has been shown to be an effective means of improving animal nutrient utilization and performance. In this experiment, the effects of methionine on the apparent digestibility of nutrients, antler nutrient composition, rumen fluid amino acid composition, fecal volatile fatty acids and intestinal bacteria in antler-growing sika deer were investigated by randomly adding different levels of methionine to the diets of three groups of four deer at 0 g/day (CON), 4 g/day (LMet) and 6 g/day (HMet). Methionine supplementation significantly increased the apparent digestibility of organic matter, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in the LMet group (p < 0.05). The crude protein and collagen protein of antlers were significantly higher in the LMet and HMet groups compared to the CON group and also significantly higher in the HMet group compared to the LMet group, while the calcium content of antlers was significantly lower in the HMet group (p < 0.05). Ruminal fluid free amino acid composition was altered in the three groups of sika deer, with significant changes in aspartic acid, citrulline, valine, cysteine, methionine, histidine and proline. At the phylum level, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were highest in the rectal microflora. Unidentified bacterial abundance was significantly decreased in the HMet group compared to the CON group. Based on the results of principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and Adonis analysis, there was a significant difference in the composition of the intestinal flora between the CON and HMet groups (p < 0.05). At the genus level, compared with the CON group, the abundance of Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and Lachnospiraceae_UCG-010 in the LMet group increased significantly (p < 0.05), the abundance of dgA-11_gut_group in the HMet group decreased significantly (p < 0.05) and the abundance of Lachnospiraceae_UCG-010, Saccharofermentans and Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group increased significantly. Taken together, the results showed that methionine supplementation was beneficial in increasing the feed utilization efficiency and improving antler quality in sika deer, while affecting the composition of fecal bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of palliative care for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have been proven in some developed countries, but it is still unclear in the mainland of China. In fact, patients with ESRD experience many unmet palliative care needs, such as physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs, but the factors influencing these needs have not investigated. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at two hemodialysis centers in the mainland of China from January to September 2022. Convenience sampling was used to collect data on the participants' socio-demographics, clinical characteristics, the Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS), the Dialysis Symptom Index (DSI), the Karnofsky Performance Status Scale (KPS), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item (PHQ-9), and the Social Support Rate Scale (SSRS). Data were analyzed using latent profile analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results: Three hundred five participants were included in this study, and divided palliative care needs into three categories: Class 1, mild palliative care needs (n = 154, 50.5%); Class 2, moderate palliative care needs (n = 89, 29.2%); Class 3, severe palliative care needs (n = 62, 20.3%). Based on the analysis of three profiles, the influencing factors of unmet needs were further analyzed. Compared with Class 3, senior high school education, the household per capita monthly income < 2,000, low KPS scores, high PHQ-9 scores, and low SSRS scores were less likely to be in Class 1 (OR = 0.03, P = 0.012; OR = 0.003, P < 0.001; OR = 1.15, P < 0.001; OR = 0.55, P < 0.001; OR = 1.35, P = 0.002; respectively) and Class 2 (OR = 0.03, P = 0.007; OR = 0.05, P = 0.011; OR = 1.10, P = 0.001; OR = 0.60, P = 0.001; OR = 1.32, P = 0.003; respectively), and high symptom severity were less likely to be in Class 1 (OR = 0.82, P = 0.001). Moreover, compared with Class 1, the household per capita monthly income < 2,000 (OR = 16.41, P < 0.001), high symptom severity scores (OR = 1.12, P = 0.002) and low KPS scores (OR = 0.95, P = 0.002) were more likely to be in Class 2. Conclusions: This study showed that almost half of ESRD patients receiving MHD presented moderate to severe palliative care needs, and the unmet needs were mainly affected by education level, financial pressure, functional status, symptom burden and social support. In the future, it is important to identify the populations with the greatest need for palliative care and consider the influencing factors of unmet needs from a comprehensive perspective, so as to help them improve health-related quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding ways to enable seamless communication between deaf and able-bodied individuals has been a challenging and pressing issue. This paper proposes a solution to this problem by designing a low-cost data glove that utilizes multiple inertial sensors with the purpose of achieving efficient and accurate sign language recognition. In this study, four machine learning models—decision tree (DT), support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbor method (KNN), and random forest (RF)—were employed to recognize 20 different types of dynamic sign language data used by deaf individuals. Additionally, a proposed attention-based mechanism of long and short-term memory neural networks (Attention-BiLSTM) was utilized in the process. Furthermore, this study verifies the impact of the number and position of data glove nodes on the accuracy of recognizing complex dynamic sign language. Finally, the proposed method is compared with existing state-of-the-art algorithms using nine public datasets. The results indicate that both the Attention-BiLSTM and RF algorithms have the highest performance in recognizing the twenty dynamic sign language gestures, with an accuracy of 98.85% and 97.58%, respectively. This provides evidence for the feasibility of our proposed data glove and recognition methods. This study may serve as a valuable reference for the development of wearable sign language recognition devices and promote easier communication between deaf and able-bodied individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is asking for a methodologically representable relation between different relative velocity approaches, counter surfaces and the tribological behavior of the radial shaft seal (RSS). Design/methodology/approach: The tribological behavior between the seal and the counterpart is examined experimentally to submit significant measured values. The correlations among seal elements, relative velocity approaches and counter surfaces with more aspects are searched. Findings: A basis for future research regarding optimization options for service life extension of the RSS under different operation environments has been set. New insights for the performance of 3D-printed counter surface are gained as well as the application possibility of that is searched. Originality/value: The applied measuring procedure in investigation part especially the usage of different approaches in relative velocity approaches is designed with originality. In particularly, the usage of a 3D-printed counter surface comes for the first time in a scientific work. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-11-2022-0325/ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ocean Color—Simultaneous Marine and Aerosol Retrieval Tool (OC-SMART) is a robust data processing platform utilizing scientific machine learning (SciML) in conjunction with comprehensive radiative transfer computations to provide accurate remote sensing reflectances ( R rs estimates), aerosol optical depths, and inherent optical properties. This paper expands the capability of OC-SMART by quantifying uncertainties in ocean color retrievals. Bayesian inversion is used to relate measured top of atmosphere radiances and a priori data to estimate posterior probability density functions and associated uncertainties. A framework of the methodology and implementation strategy is presented and uncertainty estimates for R rs retrievals are provided to demonstrate the approach by applying it to MODIS, OLCI Sentinel-3, and VIIRS sensor data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A representative general polarimetric model-based decomposition framework was proposed by Chen et al., which implements a simultaneous full-parameter inversion by using complete polarimetric information and solves several limitations in previous decomposition methods. However, there are still shortcomings in Chen's work. Firstly, only the real part of the parameter β in the generalized surface scattering model is considered. Secondly, inappropriate initial input values may lead to local optima in the nonlinear least squares optimization algorithm. Thirdly, the volume scattering component is underestimated in the volume scattering-dominated scene, but overestimated in buildings with large orientation (LOB) areas. Finally, nonlinear optimization is time-consuming computationally. To overcome those issues, an improved generalized polarimetric model-based decomposition method is proposed in this paper. The imaginary part of the parameter β is incorporated into the decomposition framework of the proposed method. Ingeniously utilizing the internal relationship in the generic equations composed of coherent matrix elements, the model parameters can be inversed by simplifying the nonlinear equations to linear equations. Therefore, compared with Chen's method, the proposed method does not rely on the initial input values, and improves the computational efficiency. In addition, a hierarchical decomposition scheme is presented to solve the problem of underestimation or overestimation of volume scattering component mentioned above. The performance and advantages of this method are evaluated with L-band and C-band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) data sets. Comparison studies are carried out with other model-based decomposition methods, demonstrating that the proposed method can further improve decomposition performance, especially in LOB areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metasurfaces solve the lack of materials in the terahertz (THz) band and control precisely the amplitude, phase, polarization, and transmission characteristics of THz waves, providing an effective way to realize THz functional devices. This article focuses on the design of THz metasurface modulators with a unit structure consisting of metal square rings, including resonance frequency, phase, and amplitude modulators. By embedding photosensitive semiconductor silicon (Si) in the unit structure, the unit structure is built from meta‐atom to molecularization model under the optical pumping condition, and the resonance frequencies are switched between high and low frequencies. The resonance frequency switchable characteristic is demonstrated using the equivalent LC oscillation circuit model, and the theoretical calculation results agree well with the simulations. Through theoretical calculations, the modulators achieve ultrafast switching times of less than 0.141 ps by the optical pumps, which have significant advantages in ultrafast THz modulators. By continuing to change the embedded position of the silicon in the unit structure, not only is a wide range of THz phase modulation achieved, but also multilevel modulation of the phase is realized. It is found that there is a strong relationship between the modulation depth and phase variation of THz waves, and a reasonable analysis is given. Further the amplitude modulator with a larger modulation depth (MD) is developed, and when the conductivity of photosensitive semiconductor silicon (σSi) reaches 2.5 × 106 S m−1, return loss (RL) is ≈0 dB, and the maximum MD reaches ≈100%; in order to gain insight into the nature of modulation, the modulation mechanism of THz waves under optical pumping conditions is analyzed. In addition, graphene‐based THz metasurface amplitude modulators are designed. When the depth of amplitude modulation is achieved by bias voltage modulation of the Fermi energy level of graphene, the maximum modulation amplitude is 23.42 dB, with a minimal modulation accuracy of 0.05 THz eV−1. In the article, the designed modulators have extremely excellent modulation performance. It has great potential applications in silicon‐based THz photonic devices, ultrahigh frequency electronic devices, high sensitivity sensors, and high‐precision imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The face is one of the most common areas of traumatic injury, making up approximately 25% of all injuries in 2016. Assault, motor vehicle collision (MVC), fall, sports, occupational, and gunshot wounds (GSW) are all common causes of facial fractures, with MVC and GSW leading to significantly higher severity of injuries. Most facial fractures occur in the upper two-thirds of the face. Most facial fractures require timely assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for optimal restoration of facial structures and functions. Without proper initial management, significant complications including immediate complications such as airway compromise, massive bleeding, infection, intracranial hemorrhages, or even death, and long-term complications such as poor functional outcomes and aesthetic setbacks can occur. The goal of this review is to summarize the management of fractures of the upper face, orbit, and midface and provide an update about complications and their management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximate Bayesian Computation algorithms (ABC), bypassing the intractable likelihood function, are commonly used to estimate the posterior distributions of parameters in practice. However ABC algorithms also have some inherent problems in the application, for example, when the algorithm maintains operating efficiency, it is difficult to obtain a more accurate approximation of the target distribution. To overcome these defects, an improved ABC algorithm is introduced in this article. The novel algorithm based on the ABC Sequential Monte Carlo (ABC-SMC) and a new recalibration post-processing methods is obtained to estimate the parameters of the biodynamic models, which is also called the ABC-SMCR algorithm. Through this article, it will be shown that the new algorithm is promising in processing the parameter inference problem. This algorithm not only offers high computational efficiency but also improves the quality estimate of the posterior distributions. To demonstrate its strengths, two examples are given. The first illustrative example on the basis of simulated data mainly demonstrates that it can be used to obtain accurate parameter inference of the Lotka-Volterra model. The second illustration based on actual flu outbreak data are given to show the computational efficiency of this algorithm in parameter estimation of the epidemic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni supported on the ordered mesoporous Ce x Zr 1−x O 2 with various Ce/Zr molar ratios prepared by a programmed evaporation-induced self-assembly method were employed for dry reforming of methane. The systematical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, N 2 physisorption, Raman, transmission electron microscope, chemisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflection Fourier transform infrared spectrum, thermogravimetric analysis, etc. were used to clarify the structure-activity relationship. It was found that the prepared catalysts all had highly ordered mesoporous structures, and compared to the sole ZrO 2 and CeO 2 , the CeO 2 -ZrO 2 composites exhibited the best thermal stability, stronger basicity, and greater oxygen migration. Especially, the composite with Ce/Zr ratio of 1/4 possessed the suitable basicity and most oxygen vacancies, which were closely related to the excellent anti-carbon ability. Moreover, its supported catalyst had the strongest metal-support interaction and highest Ni dispersion. Expectedly, the catalyst showed the superior activity and the robust stability for at least 1800 min [Display omitted] • Ce x Zr 1−x O 2 were prepared by programmed evaporation-induced self-assembly method. • Composites had higher thermal stability, stronger basicity, greater oxygen migration. • C1Z4 possessed suitable basicity, most oxygen vacancies, highest anti-carbon ability. • NC1Z4 showed the superior activity and the long-term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original partial coherence analysis method can be used to analyze the contributions between different noise sources and field points under steady-state conditions. Nevertheless, coherence analysis cannot be used to deal with unsteady-state signals because the signals are time-varying. In this paper, the method of panel contribution under unsteady-state conditions based on wavelet coherence analysis is proposed to determine the largest noise contribution in the cab. First, the unsteady-state simulation signals are analyzed by wavelet coherence theory. This step not only verifies the effectiveness but also points out that wavelet coherence is more superior to crossed wavelet. Second, the measured unsteady-state signals of the eight measuring points are processed by time-frequency wavelet coherent analysis. According to the obtained two-dimensional time-frequency diagrams, the contribution of different panels to the noise of measuring field points in the continuous frequency range can be found out. Then, the total contribution coefficient sum of each panel in a certain frequency band is calculated. Finally, the above analysis results are used to determine the panels with the largest contribution to the cab noise. The corresponding noise reduction scheme is also proposed. The results show that the overall sound pressure level is obviously decreased after optimization. The noise in the cab is reduced by 4.5dBA ∼ 7dBA. The effectiveness of this method has been further verified by the above results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dehydratase (DH), a domain located at polyketide synthase (PKS) modules, commonly catalyzes the dehydration of β‐hydroxy to an α,β‐unsaturated acyl intermediate. As a unique bifunctional dehydratase, AmbDH3 (the DH domain of module 3 of the ambruticin PKS) is verified to be responsible for both dehydration and the following pyran‐forming cyclization. Besides, in vitro studies showed that its catalytic efficiency varies with different chiral substrates. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of AmbDH3 remains unclear. In this work, the structural rationale for the substrate specificity (2R/2S‐ and 6R/6S‐substrates) in AmbDH3 was elucidated and the complete reaction pathways including dehydration and cyclization were presented. Both MD simulations and binding free energy calculations indicated AmbDH3 had a stronger preference for 2R‐substrates (2R6R‐2, 2R6S‐3) than 2S‐substrates (2S6R‐1), and residue H51 and G61 around the catalytic pocket were emphasized by forming stable hydrogen bonds with 2R‐substrates. In addition, AmbDH3's mild tolerance at C6 was explained by comparison of substrate conformation and hydrogen bond network in 6S‐ and 6R‐substrate systems. The QM/MM results supported a consecutive one‐base dehydration and cyclization mechanism for 2R6S‐3 substrate with the energy barrier of 25.2 kcal mol−1 and 24.5 kcal mol−1, respectively. Our computational results uncover the substrate recognition and catalytic process of the first bifunctional dehydratase‐cyclase AmbDH3, which will shed light on the application of multifunctional DH domains in PKSs for diverse natural product analogs and benefit the chemoenzymatic synthesis of stereoselective pyran‐containing products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The impacts of nutritional status on clinical outcomes in children receiving umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation (UCBT) are not fully described. We evaluated the risk for malnutrition before transplantation admission and influence of weight loss during hospitalization on short-term clinical outcomes in children with UCBT. Methods and Study Design: We conducted a retrospective study of pediatric patients up to age 18 years who received UCBT and were treated at the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University between January 2019 and December 2020. Results: The mean age of the 91 patients was 1.3 years, with 78 (85.7%) men and 13 (14.3%) women (p<0.001). UCBT was performed mostly for primary immunodeficiency disease (PID) (83, 91.2%). The weight loss differences among children with different primary diseases were statistically significant (p=0.003). Children with a large amount of weight loss during hospitalization (n = 24) had higher risks of skin graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (multivariate OR=5.01, 95% CI: 1.35-18.65), intestinal GVHD (multivariate OR=7.27, 95% CI: 1.74-30.45), a longer median hospital stay (p=0.004), higher antibiotic costs (p=0.008) and higher total hospitalization costs (p=0.004). Malnutrition on admission was significantly positively correlated with longer parenteral nutrition (PN) time (p=0.008). Early nutritional intervention effects on clinical outcomes need further assessment. Conclusions: Underweight recipient child and excessive weight loss during transplantation increases the length and cost of hospital stay, and is associated with a high incidence of GVHD, which affects the prognosis of transplantation and medical resources consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs responsible for amino acid translocation during protein synthesis and are ubiquitously found in organisms. With certain modifications and under specific conditions, tRNAs can be sheared and fragmented into small non-coding RNAs, also known as tRNA-derived small RNAs (tDRs). With the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies and bioinformatic strategies, more and more tDRs have been identified and their functions in organisms have been characterized. tRNA and it derived tDRs, have been shown to be essential not only for transcription and translation, but also for regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and immunity. Aberrant expression of tDRs is associated with a wide range of human diseases, especially with tumorigenesis and tumor progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex ecosystem consisting of various cellular and cell-free components that are mutually compatible with the tumor. It has been shown that tDRs regulate the TME by regulating cancer stem cells, immunity, energy metabolism, epithelial mesenchymal transition, and extracellular matrix remodeling, playing a pro-tumor or tumor suppressor role. In this review, the biogenesis, classification, and function of tDRs, as well as their effects on the TME and the clinical application prospects will be summarized and discussed based on up to date available knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the distribution of corneal spherical aberration (CSA) and the relationship between corneal curvature with CSA and anterior chamber parameters in age-related cataract patients with normal axial lengths and shallow anterior chambers. Methods: Preoperative data of age-related cataract patients were collected in this retrospective comparative study. According to the average corneal curvature, the eyes were divided into groups of Km < 42 diopters (D), 42 D ≤ Km < 45 D, and Km ≥ 45 D. The axial length (AL) and corneal curvature were obtained using IOLMaster. CSA, anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber volume (ACV), anterior chamber angle (ACA), and corneal diameter (CD) were acquired according to Pentacam. The above parameters were compared among the three groups. Correlation analysis was applied to these parameters. Results: The average CSA value of 753 eyes was 0.41 ± 0.27 μm, with no significant difference among the three groups. Overall, CSA was significantly correlated with corneal curvature and ACD. The comparison of ACD among the three groups showed significant differences between the Km ≥ 45 D group, Km < 42 D group, and 42 D ≤ Km < 45 D group. Corneal curvature was positively correlated with ACD, and further analysis confirmed that the relationship was significant only in the Km ≥ 45 D group. There were statistically significant differences in CD between the three groups. A significant correlation was found in corneal curvature and CD in all eyes, which was also found in the 42 D ≤ Km < 45 D group and the Km ≥ 45 D group. Concerning ACV and ACA, no correlation with corneal curvature was found. In addition, the mean ACV and ACA of the three groups did not show any significant difference. Conclusions: CSA was higher in this population and had individual variance. Compared with ACD, ACV and ACA were more stable in different corneal curvatures and more objective in representing the anterior chamber space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-cancer drug design has been acknowledged as a complicated, expensive, time-consuming, and challenging task. How to reduce the research costs and speed up the development process of anti-cancer drug designs has become a challenging and urgent question for the pharmaceutical industry. Computer-aided drug design methods have played a major role in the development of cancer treatments for over three decades. Recently, artificial intelligence has emerged as a powerful and promising technology for faster, cheaper, and more effective anti-cancer drug designs. This study is a narrative review that reviews a wide range of applications of artificial intelligence-based methods in anti-cancer drug design. We further clarify the fundamental principles of these methods, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, we collate a large number of databases, including the omics database, the epigenomics database, the chemical compound database, and drug databases. Other researchers can consider them and adapt them to their own requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous carbon microspheres have been acknowledged as one kind of effective microwave absorption materials, but simple- and volume-produce still remains a big challenge. In this work, we developed a facile template-free and one-step approach to construct unique multi-cavity mesoporous carbon microspheres for enhanced microwave absorption. The production of multi-cavity pores is induced by the selective etching effect of acetone to the phenolic resin oligomers, which is much simplified and easy operated compared with traditional soft/hard template method. Further, the quantity of mesopores can be effectively regulated through controlling the addition of acetone. It is demonstrated the porous structure plays a significant role on dielectric and absorption capability. The carbon microsphere with appropriate mesoporous structure (60 mL of acetone etching) presents attractive absorption performance with strong reflection loss (RL) intensity of −44.5 dB and wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.72 GHz at only thickness of 1.6 mm. The relationship between porous structure and performance and absorption mechanism are also investigated in detail. This work may pave a new way for punching pores in carbon microspheres and implement corresponding potential application in solving microwave interference issue. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates scholars' citation behaviors from a fine‐grained perspective. Specifically, each scholarly citation is considered multidimensional rather than logically unidimensional (i.e., present or absent). Thirty million articles from PubMed were accessed for use in empirical research, in which a total of 15 interpretable features of scholarly citations were constructed and grouped into three main categories. Each category corresponds to one aspect of the reasons and motivations behind scholars' citation decision‐making during academic writing. Using about 500,000 pairs of actual and randomly generated scholarly citations, a series of Random Forest‐based classification experiments were conducted to quantitatively evaluate the correlation between each constructed citation feature and citation decisions made by scholars. Our experimental results indicate that citation proximity is the category most relevant to scholars' citation decision‐making, followed by citation authority and citation inertia. However, big‐name scholars whose h‐indexes rank among the top 1% exhibit a unique pattern of citation behaviors—their citation decision‐making correlates most closely with citation inertia, with the correlation nearly three times as strong as that of their ordinary counterparts. Hopefully, the empirical findings presented in this paper can bring us closer to characterizing and understanding the complex process of generating scholarly citations in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of mild, efficient, and enantioselective methods for preparing chiral fluorinated compounds has been a long‐standing challenge. Herein, we report a promiscuous cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) for the photoinduced synthesis of chiral α‐fluoroketones via enantioselective reductive dehalogenation of α,α‐halofluoroketones. Wild‐type CHMO from Acinetobacter sp. possesses this promiscuous ability innately; however, the yield and stereoselectivity are low. A structure‐guided rational design of CHMO improved the yield and stereoselectivity remarkably. Mechanistic studies and molecular simulations demonstrated that this photoinduced CHMO catalyzes the reductive dehalogenation via a novel electron transfer (ET)/proton transfer (PT) mechanism, distinct from that of previously reported reductases with similar promiscuity. This methodology was expanded to various substrates, and desirable chiral α‐fluoroketones were obtained in high yields (up to 99 %) and e.r. values (up to 99:1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of mild, efficient, and enantioselective methods for preparing chiral fluorinated compounds has been a long‐standing challenge. Herein, we report a promiscuous cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) for the photoinduced synthesis of chiral α‐fluoroketones via enantioselective reductive dehalogenation of α,α‐halofluoroketones. Wild‐type CHMO from Acinetobacter sp. possesses this promiscuous ability innately; however, the yield and stereoselectivity are low. A structure‐guided rational design of CHMO improved the yield and stereoselectivity remarkably. Mechanistic studies and molecular simulations demonstrated that this photoinduced CHMO catalyzes the reductive dehalogenation via a novel electron transfer (ET)/proton transfer (PT) mechanism, distinct from that of previously reported reductases with similar promiscuity. This methodology was expanded to various substrates, and desirable chiral α‐fluoroketones were obtained in high yields (up to 99 %) and e.r. values (up to 99:1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]