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ABSTRACTWe aimed to explore the correlations of C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 4 (CXCL4) gene polymorphisms with thoracic aortic aneurysm. A total of 50 patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm (disease group) and 50 healthy people in the physical examination center (control group) in our hospital were selected as the subjects. The CXCR2 and CXCL4 gene polymorphisms were detected by means of blood drawing, DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing. Moreover, the levels of serum CXCR2 and CXCL4 were measured using ELISA, and the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were determined. The study found significant differences in the distribution of genotypes and alleles of CXCR2 and CXCL4 gene polymorphisms between the disease group and control group. The frequencies of certain genotypes (AA of rs3890158, CC of rs2230054, AT of rs352008, and CT of rs1801572) were higher in the disease group, as were the frequencies of certain alleles (C of rs2230054 and rs1801572). The distribution of recessive models of rs2230054 was also different, with a lower frequency of CC+CT in the disease group. The haplotype distributions of both gene polymorphisms differed between the groups. CXCR2 rs3890158 and CXCL4 rs352008 were correlated with lower serum levels of their respective proteins, while CXCL4 rs1801572 was associated with CRP levels and CXCR2 rs2230054 with LDL levels in patients (P < 0.05). The gene polymorphisms of CXCR2 and CXCL4 probably have apparent correlations with the susceptibility to thoracic aortic aneurysm.

In pursuit of advancing the electrooxidation of amines, which is typically encumbered by the inertness of C(sp3)–H/N(sp3)–H bonds, our study introduces a high-performance electrocatalyst that significantly enhances the production efficiency of vital chemicals and fuels. We propose a novel electrocatalytic strategy employing a uniquely designed (NixCo1–x)Se2-R electrocatalyst, which is activated through Se–O exchange and electron orbital spin manipulation. This catalyst efficiently generates M4+species, thus enabling the activation of lattice oxygen and streamlining the electrooxidation of amines. Empirical evidence from isotope labeling, molecular probes, and computational analyses indicates that the electrocatalyst fosters the formation of energetically favorable peroxy radical intermediates, which substantially expedite the reaction kinetics. The refined electrocatalyst achieves an exceptional current density of 20 mA cm–2at a potential of 1.315 V, with selectivity surpassing 99% for propionitrile, while demonstrating remarkable stability over 560 h. This work emphasizes the criticality of deciphering the fundamental mechanisms of amine electrooxidation and charts a more sustainable pathway for the nitrile and hydrogen production, marking a substantial advancement in the field of electrocatalysis.

As a kind of obligate biotrophic fungus, Puccinia striiformisf. sp. tritici(Pst) secretes vast effectors via haustoria to host cells during the infection to inhibit host defense responses and promote fungal invasion. In this study, based on the completion of genome sequencing and haustorial transcriptome sequencing of Pst, we identified a Psteffector (Hasp155) that is significantly induced in the early stage of Pstinfection to wheat. The 18 N-terminal amino acids of Hasp155 encoded a signal peptide with a secretory function. Transient expression of Hasp155 in Nicotiana benthamianainhibited Bax-induced cell death as well as chitin-triggered callose deposition and defense-related gene expression. Moreover, delivery of the Hasp155 protein into wheat cells via type three secretion systems (TTSS) led to reduced plant immunity to nonpathogenic bacteria and to the avirulent Pstrace with decreased H2O2accumulation and promoted Pstdevelopment. Furthermore, transgenic overexpression of Hasp155 significantly renders wheat resistance susceptible, resulting in a decreased defense response and increased Pstpathogenicity. Overall, these results indicate that Hasp155 is an important effector of Pstpathogenicity by suppressing plant immunity.

Murine cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are heterologous cells that kill various allogeneic and isogenic tumors and have functional and phenotypic characteristics of natural killer cells and T lymphocytes. However, the effect of CIK cells alone on solid tumor therapy is only limited. To enhance the therapeutic effect, it is vital to discover a mix of several therapy approaches. Immune cell function is inhibited by abnormal tumor vessels and the tumor microenvironment, which block lymphocyte entry into tumor tissue. To increase the effectiveness of CIK cells’ antitumor activity, antivascular therapy and CIK cell therapy can be combined. Furthermore, anlotinib is a tiny drug with multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitors that can block cell migration, delay angiogenesis, and decrease blood vessel density. Compared with other antiangiogenesis drugs, anlotinib stands out due to the wider target of action and lower effective dose. In this work, anlotinib and murine CIK cells were coupled to boost CD3+T cell infiltration, CD3+CD4+T cell infiltration, and expression of granzyme B and interferon γ from CD3+CD8+T cells, which increased the antitumor activity. Through the generation of cytotoxic cytokines by T lymphocytes, the therapeutic group using anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies in conjunction with anlotinib and CIK cells was more successful than the group receiving dual therapy. The preclinical study contributes to exploring the therapeutic alternatives for patients with lung adenocarcinoma, thus prolonging their lives.This preclinical study explores the therapeutic alternatives for patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Diarrheas are common risks faced by piglets during the weaning period. This study investigated the alleviating effects of artificial parasin I protein (API) on growth performance and intestinal health of weaned pigs upon enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC) challenge. Sixty piglets were randomly divided into five groups and fed a basal diet (CON) or basal diet supplemented with API at 0, 750, and 1500 mg/kg or antibiotics for 5 weeks. On d 15 and 25, piglets were challenged with ETEC K88 except for the CON group. Before the ETEC challenge (d 1–14), dietary API supplementation improved growth performance, and 750 mg API increased (P < 0.05) the average daily gain (ADG), decreased (P < 0.05) feed to gain ratio (F/G) and diarrhea index of weaned piglets. ETEC challenge (during d 15–35) reduced growth performance and increased (P < 0.01) the F/G, diarrhea rate, and diarrhea index. This event was accompanied by the numerically increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in serum and ileum, the decreased (P < 0.05) zonula-occludens-1 (ZO-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the ileum, and the increased (P = 0.04) secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) protein in the ileum. Artificial parasin I protein supplementation alleviated the negative impact of ETEC. The 750 mg/kg API inclusion elevated (P < 0.05) ADG and decreased (P < 0.05) F/G. Two levels of API decreased (P < 0.01) the diarrhea rate and diarrhea index. Meanwhile, API inclusion decreased (P < 0.01) the crypt depth in the jejunum, elevated (P < 0.05) villus height in the duodenum and villus height to crypt depth ratio in the duodenum and ileum, up-regulated (P < 0.05) ZO-1gene, and down-regulated (P < 0.05) mucin-2 gene in the jejunum, and 1500 mg/kg API decreased (P < 0.01) sIgA level and down-regulated (P < 0.05) IL-1βgene in the ileum. Furthermore, 750 mg/kg API elevated (P < 0.01) Bifidobacteriapopulation and acetic acid concentrations in the cecal chyme. In conclusion, API supplementation alleviates the negative impact of ETEC on growth performance and intestinal health, thus can be applied as an antibiotic alternative in weaned piglets.

Infrared invisibility has continued to develop in recent decades, triggered by novel physics, advanced fabrication technology and raw materials. However, the quick response of infrared stealth during transmedia (water–air/water–land) movement, which is important in practical scenarios, has not been investigated. Here, we employ the random thermal effect of the interaction between laser and matter to construct a bionic flexible thin-film superhydrophobic infrared invisibility cloak. The average emissivity of invisibility cloak is 0.224 over 8–14 ${{\mu }}\text{m}$, and specular reflectivity at the incident angle of 10 degree is 1.1% over 2.5–16 ${{\mu }}\text{m}$. These characteristics indicate the integrated stealth functionality against active (laser) and passive (thermal) detection, respectively. The contact angle between the cloak and water is 154°, which also indicates its unique cross-media response capability. We also show that the developed infrared stealth cloak is robust to practical (nonideal) manufacturing conditions. Our design strategy expands the concept of infrared stealth to cross-media applications.

The efficient recognition of topological charge (TC) is an essential function for vortex beams-based applications. However, image acquisition devices and image processing algorithms are always demanded by conventional diffraction- or interference-based methods. In this study, we have proposed a frequency measurement method to recognize the amplitude of TC by using rotating slits and photodetectors (PDs) instead of image acquisition devices. In addition, the sign of TC for the conjugated vortex beams can be identified using a designed optical structure, which is composed of vortex retarders and conjugated vortex beams-based Mach-Zehnder interferometers (CVMZIs). The experimental results show the vortex beams with TC varying from -6 to +6 can been efficiently recognized, indicating the feasibility of the proposed method. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the recognition of amplitude and sign of TC of vortex beams has been realized using PD-based simple structure. Since no additional diffraction devices, image acquisition devices with limited sampling rate and resolution, and complex image processing algorithms are required, the proposed method can recognize TC of vortex beams low-costly, efficiently, precisely, and automatically, which may further promote and develop the TC recognition method for vortex beams.

Single-pixel imaging (SPI) is an innovative technique for object imaging that employs nonscanning single-pixel detectors. Most methods for multitarget localization by SPI involve extensive light field modulation, leading to long sampling times, and they lack long-distance experimental verification. This article proposes a multitarget localization method with high pixel resolution and ultralow sampling rates, wherein the selection of positioning speckle patterns is optimized using Fourier spectrum characteristics to reduce the sampling rate. Long-range field experiments validated our scheme, which, in contrast to conventional methods, significantly reduced the number of required samples by up to tenfold and slashed the sampling rate by as much as a hundredfold. In field experiments at a distance of 258.5 m, we accurately located multiple moving targets with a localization rate of 133 frames/s at a pixel resolution of $768\times 1024$ pixels and modulation frequency of 8 kHz while maintaining an extremely low sampling rate of only 0.00763%.

A band-selectable and bandwidth-enhanced flat-top rejection filter is proposed and demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally, which is realized by using single-mode fiber (SMF)-based helical long-period fiber gratings (HLPGs) precisely operated at dispersion turning points (DTPs) of the same azimuthal order cladding mode but with different radial indices. As an important application of such HLPGs, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode converters enabling to have either a flat-top bandwidth of ~116 nm@-16 dB but centered at wavelength of ~1530 nm, or a flat-top bandwidth ~130 nm @-16 dB but centered at wavelength of ~1650 nm, have been successfully demonstrated. This is the first report for the experimental demonstration of such high-performance band-rejection filters with bands fully matching the C-L bands of the fiber communication. The proposed HLPGs may find potential applications to OAM mode converters, OAM tweezers, and OAM sensors.

To figure out the relationship between semi-solid deformation and hot tearing susceptibility of magnesium alloys, the solid and semi-solid tensile experiments of binary Mg–xCa (x= 0.2, 0.5, and 2 wt%) alloys were conducted by a Gleeble 3500 thermal simulator. The linear contraction of the alloys was measured by a newly developed apparatus based on a constrained rod casting (CRC) hot tearing apparatus. The results indicated that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and fracture elongation (FE) of the alloys decreased with the decrease in solid fraction (increase in the test temperature). It is revealed that Mg–0.5Ca alloy exhibited the highest hot tearing susceptibility due to its extremely low ductility even at a high solid fraction of 0.96 and the highest linear contraction among the three alloys.

This investigation probes the intricate interplay of catalyst dynamics and reaction pathways during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), highlighting the significance of atomic-level and local ligand structure insights in crafting highly active electrocatalysts. Leveraging a tailored ion exchange reaction followed by electrochemical dynamic reconstruction, we engineered a novel catalytic structure featuring single Ir atoms anchored to NiOOH (Ir1@NiOOH). This novel approach involved the strategic replacement of Fe with Ir, facilitating the transition of selenide precatalysts into active (oxy)hydroxides. This elemental substitution promoted an upward shift in the O 2p band and intensified the metal–oxygen covalency, thereby altering the OER mechanism toward enhanced activity. The shift from a single-metal site mechanism (SMSM) in NiOOH to a dual-metal-site mechanism (DMSM) in Ir1@NiOOH was substantiated by in situ differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) and supported by theoretical insights. Remarkably, the Ir1@NiOOH electrode exhibited exceptional electrocatalytic performance, achieving overpotentials as low as 142 and 308 mV at current densities of 10 and 1000 mA cm–2, respectively, setting a new benchmark for the electrocatalysis of OER.

In the present study, the chronic heat stress (CHS) broiler model was developed to investigate the potential protection mechanism of organic selenium (selenomethionine, SeMet) on CHS-induced skeletal muscle growth retardation and poor meat quality. Four hundred Arbor Acres male broilers (680 ± 70 g, 21 d old) were grouped into 5 treatments with 8 replicates of 10 broilers per replicate. Broilers in the control group were raised in a thermoneutral environment (22 ± 2 °C) and fed with a basal diet. The other four treatments were exposed to hyperthermic conditions (33 ± 2 °C, 24 h in each day) and fed on the basal diet supplied with SeMet at 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 mg Se/kg, respectively, for 21 d. Results showed that CHS reduced (P < 0.05) the growth performance, decreased (P < 0.05) the breast muscle weight and impaired the meat quality of breast muscle in broilers. CHS induced protein metabolic disorder in breast muscle, which increased (P < 0.05) the expression of caspase 3, caspase 8, caspase 9 and ubiquitin proteasome system related genes, while decreased the protein expression of P-4EBP1. CHS also decreased the antioxidant capacity and induced mitochondrial stress and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in breast muscle, which increased (P < 0.05) the ROS levels, decreased the concentration of ATP, increased the protein expression of HSP60 and CLPX, and increased (P < 0.05) the expression of ER stress biomarkers. Dietary SeMet supplementation linearly increased (P < 0.05) breast muscle Se concentration and exhibited protective effects via up-regulating the expression of the selenotranscriptome and several key selenoproteins, which increased (P < 0.05) body weight, improved meat quality, enhanced antioxidant capacity and mitigated mitochondrial stress and ER stress. What's more, SeMet suppressed protein degradation and improved protein biosynthesis though inhibiting the caspase and ubiquitin proteasome system and promoting the mTOR-4EBP1 pathway. In conclusion, dietary SeMet supplementation increases the expression of several key selenoproteins, alleviates mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress, improves protein biosynthesis, suppresses protein degradation, thus increases the body weight and improves meat quality of broilers exposed to CHS.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting in acidic media holds promise as an efficient approach to renewable hydrogen production. However, the development of highly active and stable photoanodes under acidic conditions remains a significant challenge. Herein, we demonstrate the remarkable water oxidation performance of Ru single atom decorated hematite (Fe2O3) photoanodes, resulting in a high photocurrent of 1.42 mA cm–2at 1.23 VRHEunder acidic conditions. Comprehensive experimental and theoretical investigations shed light on the mechanisms underlying the superior activity of the Ru-decorated photoanode. The presence of single Ru atoms enhances the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers, facilitating efficient water oxidation kinetics on the Fe2O3surface. This is achieved by creating additional energy levels within the Fe2O3bandgap and optimizing the free adsorption energy of intermediates. These modifications effectively lower the energy barrier of the rate-determining step for water splitting, thereby promoting efficient PEC hydrogen production.

The effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been greatly restricted by the hypoxic tumor microenvironment and the susceptible resistance of monotherapy. Although nanodrugs based on transition metal complexes capable of integrating PDT with photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) have garnered tremendous attention as promising candidates for overcoming the above limitations, the therapeutic efficacy of these nanodrugs is still hampered by inadequate loading of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and the inherent ability of cancer cells to repair damaged DNA. Herein, we developed a photoactivated full-API nanodrug, Ru–T FAND, by one-step self-assembly of RuDPB and TH287. By virtue of its 100 wt% API content and favorable stability in water, the Ru–T FAND exhibited improved cellular uptake behavior and intracellular 1O2generation. Attractively, the Ru–T FAND with triple anti-cancer modalities can photogenerate 1O2, photo-release DPB ligand and inhibit the repair of DNA damage, ultimately enhancing its phototherapeutic effect on cancer cells. Importantly, the uncaged DPB ligand from RuDPB emits red fluorescence, enabling real-time monitoring of the drug's absorption, distribution and efficacy. Collectively, the presented photoactivated Ru–T FANDs with multiple anti-cancer mechanisms will expand new horizons for the development of safe, efficient and synergistic tumor phototherapy strategies.

The orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) beams- based interferometer (OAMI) has shown its potential in high-precision metrology. However, most phase-demodulation methods for OAMIs require the analysis of interferograms captured by charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras, resulting in limited performance in terms of demodulation rate and resolution. In this study, an azimuthal phase-shifting demodulation method has been proposed for extracting the phase from interferograms produced by a Michelson structure-based OAMI (MOAMI). In contrast to other phase-demodulation methods for OAMIs, the proposed method requires only four-spot light intensity located in four specific azimuthal directions of the interferograms, which can be sampled by four photodetectors (PDs) instead of CCD cameras. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of four-spot light intensity-based demodulation method for OAMIs, which may greatly improve the measurement speed. Using the proposed MOAMI and demodulation method, the displacements ranging from 0 to 3100 nm were precisely measured with a relative error less than 1%, demonstrating the validity of the proposed method.

In recent years, most existing domain-adapted bearing fault diagnoses for rotating machinery have been designed to decrease domain drifts for various operating conditions with an assumption that sufficient tag data are available. To overcome data scarcity, a possible solution is to use fault information of other machines of the same category to diagnose the status of a target machine (i.e., cross-machine diagnosis). This article proposes a variational auto-encoder (VAE)-based multisource deep domain adaptation model using optimal transport for cross-machine fault diagnosis of rotating machinery (named MDVAEOT). This is fundamentally different from most diagnostic models where both train and test data belong to the same machine. First, it uses unlabeled samples of the machines to be diagnosed to establish the target dataset and faulty samples of machines of the same category (containing labels) to form the source dataset. Additionally, the method performs feature extraction on the dataset using VAE networks and improves the reliability of extracted data features by the approximation of fixed probability. Finally, to shrink cross-machine differences between the two domains, we introduce optimal transport (OT) theory. OT distance is used to share fault-related features between the two domains mentioned above to complete the cross-machine diagnosis task. Better accuracy and timeliness are offered by this proposed means compared to other existing intelligent methods in this field.

The existing paper reviewer recommendation methods pay more attention to research interests, ignoring the integration of the reviewer's authority and activity. An online paper reviewer recommendation method combining authority and activity is proposed. Firstly, an expert citation network is established and the PageRank algorithm is adopted to evaluate expert authority. Secondly, a method for predicting the reviewer's domain activity based on time cycle is proposed. This method constructs an expert-keyword matrix with a time cycle at first, and then the matrix is smoothed, optimally decomposed and normalised to get the prediction matrix to be used to predict the reviewer's activity. Thirdly, a reviewer recommendation method that combines authority and activity is presented. Finally, experiments were carried out on the automatically collected data, and experimental results show that the proposed method is successful.

The effects of Cu and Sn additions on the precipitation hardening of Al-Mg-Si alloys were systematically studied by performance testing and microscopic characterisation. Sn addition can retard the onset of natural aging (NA), while after long-term NA, the NA hardening is enhanced. Although Cu and Sn can promote the NA hardening, the Cu and Sn combination addition results in NA hardness lower than the individual Cu addition. Compared with Sn, Cu addition is more efficient in promoting the artificial aging hardening of these alloys. Both of the Sn and Cu atoms can incorporate in the interior of the ß'' phase and produce disordered structure. The results are expected to provide new insight for designing new aluminium alloys for automotive application.

To study the failure characteristics of surrounding rock near an excavated tunnel under different three-dimensional stress conditions, a TRW3000 rock true triaxial electro-hydraulic servo mutagenesis testing system was used to conduct triaxial loading experiments on granite specimens with a circular hole. A high-definition micro-camera system was used to record the failure process near the circular hole. The results show that spalling failure occurs near the holed specimen under low-stress conditions, and rockburst appears around the holed specimen under high-stress conditions. Increasing the horizontal stress can prevent the occurrence of rockburst. The evolution of strain energy density (SED) in the surrounding rock of the holed specimen under different stress conditions was simulated. The findings show that the distribution of SED around the circular hole decreases with an increase in horizontal stress. The SED distributions around the circular hole are basically consistent with the damage distributions in the experiments, namely, butterfly-shaped, ear-shaped, and ring-shaped.

Mg–10Gd–3Y–0.5Zr alloy castings have great potential for aerospace applications due to their excellent tensile and creep properties. Thus, the hot tearing behavior of these alloys is an important characteristic to be investigated for engineering applications. In this study, effect of minor addition of Ag (0.5 wt%) and Ce (0.5 wt%) on hot tearing susceptibility (HTS) of Mg–10Gd–3Y–0.5Zr (VW103) alloy is investigated using a constrained rod casting apparatus equipped with a load cell and data acquisition system. The macrostructure and microstructure of the tears are characterized by Optical Microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope. Results indicate Ag and Ce addition worsen the hot tearing resistance of VW103 alloy. The addition of Ag remarkably increases susceptible freezing range and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and sharply decreases the residual liquid fraction that can be involved in feeding tears, thus enhancing the HTS of the VW103 alloy. The addition of Ce significantly increases grain size and CTE, thereby increasing the HTS of the VW103 alloy. Discussion from the perspective of strain and liquid feeding is incorporated to clarify the different hot tearing of VW103, VW103–0.5Ce and VW103–0.5Ag alloys.

The oxygen-varying correlated fluorescence provides an effective strategy to gain the quenching constant KSVfor a non-phosphorescent system. Owing to the absence of detectable phosphorescence emission in general optical spectroscopy, the facticity of this method has never been verified. Here, the correct way to determine KSVby oxygen-varying correlated fluorescence was systematically studied in detail. We selected gadolinium protoporphyrin IX (Gd-PpIX) to establish a fluorescence and phosphorescence dual emission system. Then, KSVof Gd-PpIX can be obtained by the change of fluorescence intensity (IF) with oxygen concentration using the method of correlated fluorescence at intense pump power; meanwhile, the value can also be determined from the relationship of the phosphorescence intensity ratio and oxygen content by the Stern–Volmer equation under relatively low power density. It was found that the KSVvalues obtained by the above two methods were 12.2(1) and 11.9(7) kPa–1, respectively. Our results successfully verified the accuracy of oxygen-varying correlated fluorescence for determining the KSVby the phosphorescence property and fluorescence saturation of Gd-PpIX.

Based on the extended Huygens–Fresnel principle, we found that the effect of turbulence on a beam is equivalent to frequency domain filtering. From the viewpoint of a filter, a quantitative description of turbulent effect on a beam is proposed. As an example, the beam spread and the radial and longitudinal components of the scintillation index of a Gaussian beam are expressed analytically using the definition of the criterion. Compared with the existing results, these expressions are simpler and have explicit physical meaning. With the help of quantitative description, we also found that weaker turbulence strength and longer propagation distance will cause a stronger turbulence effect on a beam when their coherence lengths of turbulence are equal. The relationship between beam size and turbulence effect is nonlinear. When the spatial correlation length of Gaussian–Schell-model beam is shorter, the effect of turbulence on it is smaller, and this agrees with the existing research studies.

ABSTRACT The use of polymer modified asphalt binder in asphalt concrete pavements for over 20 years, large numbers of waste modified asphalt mixture have been produced. In this study, regeneration [...]

The racial/ethnic disparities in cancer incidence and outcome are partially due to the inequities in neighborhood advantage. Mounting evidences supported a link between neighborhood deprivation and cancer outcomes including higher mortality. In this review, we discuss some of the findings related to work on area-level neighborhood variables and cancer outcomes, and the potential biological and built/natural environmental mechanisms that might explain this link. Studies have also shown that residents of deprived neighborhoods or of racially or economically segregated neighborhoods have worse health outcomes than residents of more affluent neighborhoods and/or less racially or economically segregated neighborhoods, even after adjusting for the individual-level socioeconomic status. To date, little research has been conducted investigating the biological mediators that may play roles in the associations of neighborhood deprivation and segregation with cancer outcomes. The psychophysiological stress induced by neighborhood disadvantage among people living in these neighborhoods could be a potential underlying biological mechanism. We examined a number of chronic stress-related pathways that may potentially mediate the relationship between area-level neighborhood factors and cancer outcomes, including higher allostatic load, stress hormones, altered epigenome and telomere maintenance and biological aging. In conclusion, the extant evidence supports the notion that neighborhood deprivation and racial segregation have unfavorable impacts on cancer. Understanding how neighborhood factors influence the biological stress response has the potential to inform whereand whattypes of resources are needed within the community to improve cancer outcomes and reduce disparities. More studies are warranted to directly assess the role of biological and social mechanisms in mediating the relationship between neighborhood factors and cancer outcomes.

Low-cost Mg-1Mn-0.5Al (MA10) alloys with good comprehensive strength and ductility have been developed and have the potential to substitute commercial AZ31 alloys. Thus, the rollability in terms of the edge cracking behavior of MA10 alloy sheets was investigated by multi-pass online heating rolling at different temperatures. The microstructure evolution was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results reveal that edge cracking is significantly improved with increasing temperature due to the more uniform microstructure, higher degree of recrystallization, more homogeneous strain distribution, and more activation of non-basal slips at the edge. The maximum basal texture intensity at the edge of MA10 rolled sheets is obviously increased with increasing temperature, which can be attributed to the increased numbers of grains with basal orientation after multi-pass online heating rolling.

A helical long-period fiber grating (HLPG)-based temperature-insensitive torsion and strain sensor is proposed and experimentally demonstrated, which was realized by using a second-order HLPG written in a thinned four-mode fiber. Simultaneous measurement of the torsion and strain was accomplished by using the power-interrogated scheme, i.e., the torsion- and strain-induced changes in transmission spectrum of two linear regions were especially used as the testing objectives. The maximum torsion sensitivity is 665 pm/(rad/m) under the torsion ranging from −22.4 to 22.4 rad/m and the maximum strain sensitivity is −5.42 pm/ $\mu \varepsilon $ under the strain ranging from 0 to $1588 \mu \varepsilon $ , which are about 2-fold and 10-fold higher than those of the conventional long-period fiber grating (LPG)-based fiber sensors, respectively. In addition, the temperature sensitivity of the proposed sensor is $\sim $ 13.7 pm/°C at a temperature ranging from 20 to 70°C, which is almost 4-fold lower than that of conventional LPGs.

An ultra-wideband orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) mode generator has been proposed and demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally, which is based on a helical long period fiber grating (HLPG) but written in a graded-index few-mode fiber (GIFMF). Unlike all the HLPG-based broadband OAM generators reported to date, where the utilized HLPG (fabricated only in step-index fibers) all were operated at wavelengths very close to the dispersion-turning point (DTP), the GIFMF-based HLPG proposed in this study is, however, operated at wavelengths far from its DTP, which provides a new and robust method enabling to produce a ultra-wideband OAM mode generator with an ultra-high conversion-efficiency and yet with a great flexibility in controlling the central wavelength of itself. As a typical example, the first-order OAM mode generator with a central wavelength of ∼1510 nm, a bandwidth of ∼235 nm, and a conversion-efficiency larger than 99% (∼20.7 dB) has been successfully obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report for practical demonstration of the GIFMF-based HLPG.

•A DPSIR model was used to understand the human-induced changes in the Bohai.•Multi-drivers and pressures influenced the ecological environment of the Bohai.•Ecosystem responses cover changes in plankton composition and fishery resources.•Societal responses address solutions, suggestions, and knowledge gaps.

Orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) beams-based interferometers have recently been attracted significant interest and found various applications in the field of optical precision measurement. Whereas all-fiber OAM interferometers featured with the superior characteristics of the compact size, low cost, extremely-low insertion-loss, and the inherent compatibility with other fiber devices, have less been studied and especially demonstrated in experiment. In this study, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated an all-fiber OAM beams-based interferometer, where the two conjugated OAM beams generated by helical long-period fiber gratings (HLPGs) but with opposite helicities, were particularly utilized as the tested and referenced beams, respectively. The resulted interferograms are of the polarization independence, robust, and particularly suitable for phase-demodulation in azimuthal angle domain. As application examples of the proposed all-fiber OAM beams-based interferometer, changes in temperature ranging from 30 °C to 60 °C and changes in the strain ranging from 0 to 100 μϵ were measured, respectively. The obtained maximum sensitivity in temperature and strain are 26.585 rad/°C and 2.130 rad/μϵ, respectively. The accuracies for temperature and strain measurements are estimated to be 0.0016 °C and 0.0195 μϵ, respectively, which are about 2–3 order higher than those obtained from the conventional optical fiber-based sensors. It is believed that the proposed all-fiber OAM beams-based interferometer would find potential applications to ultra-high precision and sensing measurements.

Isobutyraldehyde (IBA) was detected in drug substance (DS) containing an amino acid group using a headspace-gas chromatography (HS-GC) method. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass-spectrometry (HPLC-MS) data from an HS vial confirmed that IBA was a degradant. The HS-GC method was modified to minimize IBA by keeping the HS oven temperature lower than 80 °C.

On September 16, 2022, the first imported monkeypox case was reported in mainland China. Laboratory tests including nucleic acid detection were carried out in Chongqing Nan'an Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention. After that, monkeypox virus was isolated by the Institute for Virus Disease Control and Prevention and preserved at the National Pathogen Resource Center on September 18, 2022. The National Pathogen Resource Center shared the basic information of monkeypox virus strain, samples, biosafety, strain imaging, RT-PCR primers, and probes sequence timely to support the prevention and control of monkeypox epidemic and facilitate the scientific research on vaccine development, drug screening and evaluation of monkeypox virus in the future.

The role of distinct immune cell types in modulating cancer progression has recently gained attention. The immune context is indicated by the abundance of immune infiltration based on quantified lymphocytes in the core of tumors (CT) and invasive tumor margin (IM). Novel immune biomarkers could potentially complement tumor‐node‐metastasis (TNM) classification for non‐small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), thereby improving prognostic accuracy. This study evaluated the prognostic value of a newly established immunologic score (neo‐IS) in patients with NSCLC. We detected 10 immune biomarkers, including CD45RO, CD3, CD8, CD68, CD163, CD66b, FoxP3, PD‐1, PD‐L1, and TIM‐3, in 350 patients with NSCLC from 2 cohorts using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The 3‐ and 5‐year survival and overall survival (OS) rates were evaluated. An immunologic prediction model specifically for NSCLC patients, the neo‐immunologic score (neo‐ISNSCLC), was constructed using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. In the discovery cohort (n= 250), the establishment of neo‐ISNSCLCwas based on 4 immune biomarkers: CD3+IM, CD8+CT, FoxP3+IM, and PD‐1+IM. Significant prognostic differences were found upon comparing low‐ISNSCLCpatients and high‐ISNSCLCpatients. The OS rate in the high‐ISNSCLCgroup was significantly longer than that in the low‐ISNSCLCgroup (67.5 months vs. 51.2 months, p< 0.001). The neo‐ISNSCLCwas validated in the validation cohort (n= 100), and the results were confirmed. Multivariate analyses indicated that neo‐ISNSCLCwas an independent indicator of prognosis in patients with NSCLC. Finally, we combined neo‐ISNSCLCwith clinicopathologic factors to establish a tumor‐node‐metastasis‐immune (TNM‐I) staging system for clinical use, which showed better prediction accuracy than the TNM stage. A neoimmunologic score system was constructed based on 4 variables including CD3+, CD8+, FoxP3+, and PD‐1+ immune cell densities in non‐small cell lung cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common invasive malignancy for men in the USA. The incidence and mortality rates of PCa are significantly higher among African American men, as compared to those in Caucasian men. Betulinic acid (BA) is a penta-cyclic triterpenoid that is often found in the bark of several species of plants. It possesses a variety of biological activities, including anti-cancer activities. We examined the cytotoxic effects and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by BA and its ionic derivatives with PCa cells derived from African Americans and Caucasian men. The viability of all PCa cells was reduced by the BA compounds, and the cytotoxicity of these BA compounds was independent of ethnicity and androgen dependency. The BA compounds induced modest effects on ER stress proteins when compared with ER stress inducers, tunicamycin and thapsigargin. The induction of glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) was largely correlated with the expression of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) and cleaved poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase (PARP)/caspase-3 in the PCa cells. In summary, our data demonstrated that BA compounds impaired the growth of PCa cells regardless of ethnicity – through GRP78- and CHOP-independent pathways.

Usually, two-phase current sensors are required to realize sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). However, once the phase current sensor fails, the whole system will not work. In this article, a novel second-order extended state observer (SO-ESO) based current sensor fault-tolerant strategy for realizing PMSM sensorless control and multiparameter identification is proposed, which can significantly improve the system reliability. When a fault occurs in the A-C two-phase current sensor, the proposed scheme uses only a B-phase current sensor to estimate the d-q axis stator current and time varying resistance, achieving a high-performance sensorless control function. In order to reduce the chattering of the system, a sigmoid function is introduced in the SO-ESO. In addition, an SO-ESO based parallel speed and multiparameter identification scheme are proposed by using two model reference adaptive system observer (MRASO). The first MRASO is designed based on super twisting algorithm with a corrective feedback loop and is used for estimating rotor speed and position. The second MRASO only needs to identify inductance and permanent flux because the stator resistance is estimated by SO-ESO. The second MRASO and SO-ESO updates the three identified electrical parameters (i.e., stator resistance, inductance, and permanent flux) and estimated currents to the first MRASO to achieve high robustness sensorless control. The relevant results show that the scheme gives good results, and the system has good dynamic performance and better fault tolerance.

Ferrous glycinate (Fe-Gly) has been increasingly used as iron fortification in the diets of weaned piglets and broilers, but the effect of Fe-Gly on intestinal barrier function in meat ducks has not been well defined. This study therefore investigated the effect of Fe-Gly on apparent nutrient utilization, hematological indices, intestinal morphological parameters, intestinal barrier function and microbial composition in meat ducks. A total of 672 one-day-old Cherry Valley ducks were randomly divided into 6 treatments (8 replicates for each treatment and 14 ducks for each replicate) and fed diets with 0 (control), 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg/kg Fe-Gly or 120 mg/kg FeSO4for 35 d. The results showed that diets supplemented with Fe-Gly significantly increased average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), hematocrit (HCT), mean cell volume (MCV), the apparent utilization of dry matter (DM) and metabolizable energy (ME), villus height (VH) and villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (V:C) (P < 0.05). Fe-Gly also significantly up-regulated barrier-related genes including zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), zonula occludens-2 (ZO-2), mucin 2 (MUC2) and lysozyme (LYZ)(P < 0.05), and down-regulated the mRNA expression of claudin-2 (CLDN2) and occludin (OCLN) in the jejunum (P < 0.05). The 16S rRNA sequence analysis indicated that the diet with Fe-Gly had a higher relative abundance of Intestinimonasand Romboutsia(P < 0.05), which have an ability to produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), especially butyric acid. It also decreased the relative abundance of pathobiont, including Megamonas, Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_groupand Plebeius(P < 0.05). Additionally, diets supplemented with 120 mg/kg Fe-Gly significantly increased the apparent utilization of DM and ME (P < 0.05) and decreased the relative abundance of Megamonas_unclassifiedand Bacteroides_unclassifiedcompared with those fed 120 mg/kg FeSO4(P < 0.05). These results revealed that diets supplemented with Fe-Gly exerted a potent beneficial effect on physical, chemical, immune and microbial barriers, thereby improving the integrity of the intestinal structure, promoting the digestion and absorption of nutrients to a certain extent, and ultimately elevating the growth performance of ducks.

Fabricating two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD)-based unique composites is an effective way to boost the overall physical and chemical properties, which will be helpful for the efficient and fast capture of elemental mercury (Hg0) over a wide temperature range. Herein, we constructed a defect-rich Cu2WS4nano-homojunction decorated on covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with abundant S vacancies. Highly well-dispersed and uniform Cu2WS4nanoparticles were immobilized on COFs strongly via an ion pre-anchored strategy, consequently exhibiting enhanced Hg0removal performance. The saturation adsorption capacity of Cu2WS4@COF composites (21.60 mg·g–1) was 9 times larger than that of Cu2WS4crystals, which may be ascribed to more active S sites exposed in hybrid interfaces formed in the Cu2WS4nano-homojunction and between Cu2WS4nanoparticles and COFs. More importantly, such hybrid materials reduced adsorption deactivation at high temperatures, having a wide operating temperature range (from 40 to 200 °C) owing to the thermostability of active S species immobilized by both physical confined and chemical interactions in COFs. Accordingly, this work not only provides an effective method to construct uniform TMD-based sorbents for mercury capture but also opens a new realm of advanced COF hybrid materials with designed functionalities.

ABSTRACTExcessive apoptosis of placental trophoblast cells is considered a major cause of pre-eclampsia (PE) pathogenesis. Phosphorylation of the widely expressed cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) regulates apoptosis and may be involved in PE incidence. Low-dose aspirin (LDA) is an effective approach for preventing PE with unclear mechanisms. Thus we examined whether LDA protects against PE by inhibiting trophoblast cell apoptosis through CREB. The effects of LDA on human PE placenta, PE model rat placenta, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced HTR-8/SVneo cell apoptosis were analyzed. TUNEL assay, immunohistochemistry, Cell Counting Assay Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, western blot, and flow cytometry assay were performed. In the placenta of human PE and rat PE models, the TUNEL index increased and was partially corrected with LDA pre-treatment. Meanwhile, decreased Bcl-2 and increased Bax expression were significantly reversed by LDA pre-treatment. In HTR-8/SVneo cells, H2O2decreased cell viability, promoted apoptosis, reduced the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, aggravated loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), increased cytoplasmic cytochrome c release, and simultaneously activated caspase-9 and caspase-3. These effects were effectively restored by LDA pre-treatment in the cells. Moreover, LDA promoted CREB phosphorylation in trophoblast cells. CREB interference further promoted apoptosis, reduced the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and increased MMP loss. CREB interference also reversed the inhibitory effect of LDA on H2O2-induced apoptosis in HTR-8/SVneo cells. Thus, LDA was shown to inhibit trophoblast cell mitochondrial apoptosis by activating the CREB/Bcl-2 pathway, providing novel evidence for the protective mechanism of LDA in PE.Abbreviations;PE: Pre-eclampsia; LDA: low-dose aspirin; CREB: cAMP response element binding protein; ROS: reactive oxygen species; H2O2: hydrogen peroxide; PBS: Phosphate-buffered saline; Bcl-2: B-cell lymphoma-2; MMP: Mitochondrial membrane potential; Cyt-c: CytochromeC.

Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.5Zr (VW63K) alloy is widely used in the aerospace field because of its excellent mechanical properties not only at room temperature but also under high service temperature. In this study, the effect of minor changes to the Y alloying levels on the hot tearing behavior of VW63K alloys was researched by using a "T" mold, with pouring temperature of 720 °C and mold temperature of 150 °C. The results show that the hot tearing susceptibility of the alloy decreases gradually with the increase of Y content from 2.8 to 3.4 wt%. The reason for this phenomenon is that high content of Y element narrows the susceptible freezing range and increases the eutectic liquid fraction of the alloy, which is helpful for the alloy to have a better compensation at the late stage of solidification and, thereby decreasing the hot tearing susceptibility.

The presence of room temperature phosphorescence emission in metalloporphyrin, via the transition from the excited triplet state (T1) to the ground state (S0), relies on the chelated heavy metal ions, which is known as the heavy atom effect (HAE). Despite the HAE being a reliable method to tune the phosphorescence process widely, the realization of the HAE nature is a tough task as the induced phosphorescence process is sensitive to not only the specie of bonded heavy atoms but also chemical environments such as the oxygen quenching and solvent effect. In this study, we have aimed at a quantitative determination of the intrinsic phosphorescent transition rate (kP) in metalloporphyrin gadolinium-labeled hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (Gd-HMME). After the theoretical analysis based on the rate equation model to remove the nonintrinsic contribution and the experimental results of phosphorescence, the kPis calculated to be ∼2.4 × 10–4μs–1. This study enables us to approach the intrinsic energy characteristic of metalloporphyrins; moreover, our work provides an effective pathway for the further optimization of the varied functional metalloporphyrin.

AbstractIntroductionIn the event of radiological accidents and cancer radiotherapies in the clinic, the gastrointestinal (GI) system is vulnerable to ionizing radiation and shows GI injury. Accessible biomarkers may provide means to predict, evaluate, and treat GI tissue damage. The current study investigated radiation GI injury biomarkers in rat plasma.Material and methodsHigh-coverage targeted lipidomics was employed to profile lipidome perturbations at 72 h after 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 Gy (60Co γ-rays at 1 Gy/min) total-body irradiation in male rat jejunum. The results were correlated with previous plasma screening outcomes.ResultsIn total, 93 differential metabolites and 28 linear dose-responsive metabolites were screened in the jejunum. Moreover, 52 lipid species with significant differences both in jejunum and plasma were obtained. Three lipid species with linear dose-response relationship both in jejunum and plasma were put forth, which exhibited good to excellent sensitivity and specificity in triaging different exposure levels.DiscussionThe linear dose-effect relationship of lipid metabolites in the jejunum and the triage performance of radiation GI injury biomarkers in plasma were studied for the first time.ConclusionThe present study can provide insights into expanded biomarkers of IR-mediated GI injury and minimally invasive assays for evaluation.