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Hydrogels with sustained lubrication, high load-bearing capacity, and wear resistance are essential for applications in soft tissue replacements and soft material devices. Traditional tough or lubricious hydrogels fail to balance the lubrication and load-bearing functions. Inspired by the gradient-ordered multilayer structures of natural tissues (such as cartilage and ligaments), a tough, smooth, low-permeability, and low-friction anisotropic layered electrospun fiber membrane-reinforced hydrogel was developed using electrospinning and annealing recrystallization. This hydrogel features a stratified porous network structure of varying sizes with tightly bonded interfaces, achieving an interfacial bonding toughness of 1.6 × 103J/m2. The anisotropic fiber membranes, mimicking the orderly fiber structures within soft tissues, significantly enhance the mechanical properties of the hydrogel with a fracture strength of 20.95 MPa, a Young’s modulus of 29.64 MPa, and a tear toughness of 37.94 kJ/m2and reduce its permeability coefficient (6.1 × 10–17m4N–1s–1). Meanwhile, the hydrogel demonstrates excellent solid–liquid phase load-bearing characteristics, which can markedly improve the tribological performance. Under a contact load of 4.1 MPa, the anisotropic fiber membrane-reinforced hydrogel achieves a friction coefficient of 0.036, a 219% reduction compared with pure hydrogels. Thus, the superior load-bearing and lubricating properties of this layered hydrogel underscore its potential applications in soft tissue replacements, medical implants, and other biomedical devices.

Improving the water stability of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is essential for their use in water pollution treatment and environmental remediation, though it remains technically challenging. Herein, we report a novel cationic MOF constructed with [Th6O4(OH)4(COO)12] units and [CoN4·Cl2] units possessing a ftw-type topology (denoted as 1–Th-Co). 1–Th-Coitself exhibited poor water stability but excellent stability following a palladium(II) modulation strategy. Experimental studies reveal that Co(II) ions in 1–Th-Cowere replaced by Pd(II) ions through cation exchange in N,N-diethylformamide (yielding 1–Th-Pd). The planar PdN4units in 1–Th-Pdwere responsible for improving the water stability of the framework. As a result, 1–Th-Pdoffered excellent stability, fast adsorption kinetics, and high removal ratios for 99TcO4–and ReO4–(as a 99TcO4–surrogate) in contaminated water. When used in packed columns, 1–Th-Pdcan dynamically capture ReO4–from groundwater. This work provides a new avenue for improving the water stability of MOFs, offering new vistas for the decontamination of aqueous solutions containing 99TcO4–and ReO4–.

Humite-group minerals play a crucial role in transporting water and fluorine to the Earth’s deep mantle through slab sinking. In this study, we have used Brillouin scattering to determine the single-crystal elastic constants of four natural humite-group minerals with varying H2O and fluorite contents under ambient conditions, including one chondrodite [Mg4.88Si1.94O8(OH0.78F1.22)] (F61-Chn), one humite [Mg7.03Si3.07O12(OH1.26F0.74)] (F37-Hu), and two clinohumite [Mg8.85Ti0.19Si3.93O16(OH1.11F0.89) and Mg8.63Fe0.10Ti0.24Si3.97O16(OH1.84F0.16)] (F45-Chu and F8-Chu) samples. The adiabatic bulk (KS0) and shear (G0) moduli calculated from the elastic constants using Voigt-Reuss-Hill averages are: KS0= 120.4(3) GPa and G0= 74.1(5) GPa for F61-Chn, KS0= 122.4(3) GPa and G0= 78.4(2) GPa for F37-Hu, KS0= 126.2(3) GPa and G0= 79.7(2) GPa for F45-Chu, and KS0= 120.5(3) GPa and G0= 76.8(2) GPa for F8-Chu. Our results indicate that the addition of F leads to a noticeable increase in the elasticity of clinohumite and chondrodite, which is in contrast to the effect of H2O. Although Fe has a negligible effect on the bulk modulus of clinohumite, it can produce a substantial decrease in the shear modulus. These results provide important insights into the influence of humite-group minerals on the mantle velocity structure. Furthermore, we have investigated the effects of composition on the elasticity and sound velocities of minerals along the forsterite-brucite join in the MgO-SiO2-H2O system, confirming previous observations. Increasing H2O content along the forsterite-brucite join leads to apparent reductions in the elasticity and sound velocities. The influence of Fe on the elasticity and sound velocities of these minerals has also been evaluated.

Contact-electro-catalysis (CEC) usually uses polymer dielectrics as its catalysts under mechanical stimulation conditions, which although has a decent catalytic dye degradation effect still warrants performance improvement. A carrier separation promotion strategy based on an internal electric field by polarization can effectively improve ferroelectric material performance in photocatalysis and piezocatalysis. Therefore, carrier separation as a necessary process of CEC also can be promoted and is largely expected to improve CEC performance theoretically. However, the carrier separation enhancement by the internal electric field strategy has not been achieved in the CEC experiment yet, because of the difficulty of building an internal electric field in an inert polymer dielectric. Herein, a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) dielectric was charged through an electret process, which was believed to establish an internal electric field for CEC catalysts proved by KPFM, XPS, and triboelectric nanogenerator voltage output analysis. The fastest degradation rate of methyl orange reached over 90% at 1.5 h, while the hydroxyl free radical (•OH) yield of the PTFE electret was nearly three times that of the original PTFE. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations verified that the potential barrier of interatomic electron transfer between PTFE and H2O was reduced by 37% under the internal electric field. The electret strategy used herein to optimize the PTFE catalyst provides a base for the use of other general plastics in CEC and facilitates the production of easily prepared, easily recyclable, and inexpensive polymer dielectric catalysts that can promote large-scale pollutant degradation via CEC.

The OPECT biosensing platform, which connects optoelectronics and biological systems, offers significant amplification and more possibilities for research in biological applications. In this work, a homogeneous organic photoelectrochemical transistor (OPECT) biosensor based on a Bi2S3/Bi2MoO6heterojunction was constructed to detect METTL3/METTL14 protein activity. The METTL3/METTL14 complex enzyme was used to catalyze adenine (A) on an RNA strand to m6A, protecting m6A-RNA from being cleaved by an E. colitoxin (MazF). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) catalyzed the conversion of Na3SPO3to H2S through an enzymatic reaction. Due to the adoption of the strategy of no fixation on the electrode, the generated H2S was easy to diffuse to the surface of the ITO electrode. The Bi2S3/Bi2MoO6heterojunction was formed in situ through a chemical replacement reaction with Bi2MoO6, improving photoelectric conversion efficiency and realizing signal amplification. Based on this “signal on” mode, METTL3/METTL14 exhibited a wide linear range (0.00001–25 ng/μL) between protein concentration and photocurrent intensity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 7.8 fg/μL under optimal experimental conditions. The applicability of the developed method was evaluated by investigating the effect of four plasticizers on the activity of the METTL3/METTL14 protein, and the molecular modeling technique was employed to investigate the interaction between plasticizers and the protein.

Significant efforts have recently been exerted toward construction of singlet oxygen (1O2)-dominated catalytic oxidation systems for selective removal of organic contaminants from wastewater, with peroxides serving as the chemical source. However, the relevance of 1O2in the removal of pollutants remains ambiguous and requires elucidation. In this study, we scrupulously exclude the significant role of 1O2in contaminant degradation in various peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation systems. Multiple experimental results indicate that the activation of PMS catalyzed by CuO, MnO2, Fe-doped g-C3N4(Fe–CN), or N-doped graphite does not predominantly follow the 1O2pathway. More importantly, the reactivity of 1O2is remarkably overestimated in the literature, given its inferior capacity in degradation of a range of heterocyclic contaminants and aromatic compounds possessing electron-withdrawing groups. In addition, the strong physical quenching effect of water, coupled with the low oxidizing ability of 1O2, would notably reduce the utilization efficiency of peroxide, which is particularly apparent in the degradation of micropollutants. We reckon that this study is expected to end the long-running dispute associated with the relevance of 1O2in pollutant removal.

The demand for high-performance lead-free piezoelectric ultrasound transducers has grown significantly, driven by their applications in implantable, biocompatible medical devices and environmentally friendly consumer electronics. In this study, we present the design, fabrication, and characterization of arrays of lead-free (K, Na)NbO3 (KNN)-based piezoelectric micromechanical ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) with a center frequency of 4.7 MHz in liquid and 5.85 MHz in air. High-quality KNN thin film (FWHM of 0.32°, $e_{\mathrm {31,}f}= -12$ C/m2, $\epsilon _{r} =1200$ ) was deposited via physical vapor deposition (PVD) and patterned using an optimized wet etching process with an oxide layer as a mask. Additionally, we obtained a −6 dB fractional bandwidth of 95.7% through optimizing layer stacks and transducers mutual acoustic impedance based on finite element model (FEM) and lumped element model (LEM) methods. We achieved high transmitting performance of 3.8 kPa/V at 3 cm away from a PMUT super-pixel (with an area of 0.278 mm2, consisting of $3\times 12$ PMUTs). The measured transducer performance is comparable to previous PMUTs based on PZT (lead-included) thin films and demonstrates the potential of KNN-based PMUTs in future advanced applications. [2024-0005]

IMPORTANCE: Overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence is a global health issue associated with adverse outcomes throughout the life course. OBJECTIVE: To estimate worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents from 2000 to 2023 and to assess potential risk factors for and comorbidities of obesity. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane. STUDY SELECTION: The inclusion criteria were: (1) studies provided adequate information, (2) diagnosis based on body mass index cutoffs proposed by accepted references, (3) studies performed on general population between January 2000 and March 2023, (4) participants were younger than 18 years. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: The current study was performed in accordance with the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model with Free-Tukey double arcsine transformation was used for data analysis. Sensitivity analysis, meta-regression, and subgroup analysis of obesity among children and adolescents were conducted. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents assessed by World Health Organization, International Obesity Task Force, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or other national references. RESULTS: A total of 2033 studies from 154 different countries or regions involving 45 890 555 individuals were included. The overall prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents was 8.5% (95% CI 8.2-8.8). We found that the prevalence varied across countries, ranging from 0.4% (Vanuatu) to 28.4% (Puerto Rico). Higher prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents was reported in countries with Human Development Index scores of 0.8 or greater and high-income countries or regions. Compared to 2000 to 2011, a 1.5-fold increase in the prevalence of obesity was observed in 2012 to 2023. Substantial differences in rates of obesity were noted when stratified by 11 risk factors. Children and adolescents with obesity had a high risk of depression and hypertension. The pooled estimates of overweight and excess weight in children and adolescents were 14.8% (95% CI 14.5-15.1) and 22.2% (95% CI 21.6-22.8), respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study’s findings indicated 1 of 5 children or adolescents experienced excess weight and that rates of excess weight varied by regional income and Human Development Index. Excess weight among children and adolescents was associated with a mix of inherent, behavioral, environmental, and sociocultural influences that need the attention and committed intervention of primary care professionals, clinicians, health authorities, and the general public.

Chaperonin-containing TCP1 (CCT) is a multi-subunit complex, known to participate the correct folding of many proteins. Currently, the mechanism underlying CCT subunits in cancer progression is incompletely understood. Based on data analysis, the expression of CCT subunit 6 A (CCT6A) is found higher than the other subunits of CCT and correlated with an unfavorable prognosis in colon cancer. Here, we find CCT6A silencing suppresses colon cancer proliferation and survival phenotype in vitro and in vivo. CCT6A plays a role in cellular process, including the cell cycle, p53, and apoptosis signaling pathways. Further investigations have shown direct binding between CCT6A and both Wtp53 and Mutp53, and BIRC5 is found to act downstream of CCT6A. The highlight is that CCT6A inhibition significantly reduces BIRC5 expression independent of Wtp53 levels in Wtp53 cells. Conversely, in Mutp53 cells, downregulation of BIRC5 by CCT6A inhibition mainly depends on Mutp53 levels. Additionally, combined CCT6A inhibition and Wtp53 overexpression in Mutp53 cell lines effectively suppresses cell proliferation. It is concluded CCT6A is a potential oncogene that influences BIRC5 through distinct pathways in Wtp53 and Mutp53 cells.

The polymerized organic electrode (PTA) with dual redox active sites exhibits the potential application in aqueous proton batteries with competitive capacity and cycle stability.

Orthopyroxene is one of the dominant minerals in the Earth’s upper mantle. In this study, we used Raman spectroscopy to investigate the lattice vibration and phase transition of orthopyroxene with four different compositions using diamond-anvil cells up to 34 GPa at 300 K. Our orthopyroxene samples contain 0 (En100), 9% (En91Fs9), 11% (En86Fs11), and 21% (En74Fs21) Fe. At ambient conditions, the Raman modes exhibit a negative dependence on the Fe content, with the exception of the modes at ~850 and 930 cm–1. In contrast, these two Raman modes increase with increasing the Fe content. The phase transition from metastable α- to β-phase was observed at 12.9–15 GPa for samples with <21 mol% Fe and varying Fe content has a minor effect on the phase transition pressure. Besides Fe, incorporation of 2–24 mol% Al can cause an increase in the phase transition pressure from 10–13 to 14–16 GPa. At 29–30.1 GPa, we observed the second apparent change in the Raman spectra for all four investigated samples. For Fe-bearing orthopyroxene, this change in the Raman spectra and frequency shift is associated with the phase transition from β- to γ-phase, whereas for En100, it should be caused by the change of coordination number of Si from 4 to 6 or the presence of α-popx phase. Using the obtained Raman frequency shifts, we calculated the Grüneisen parameters at high pressures. These parameters are useful for understanding the thermoelastic properties of orthopyroxene at high pressures.

Thermoelectricity has been considered as the most important solution of generating electricity, particularly from low-grade heat below 300 °C. Despite efforts in recent years on exploring alternative materials to only commercialized Bi2Te3, the practical implementation of these new materials has been hindered by inadequate investigation into device design. Given that the utilization of weldable electrodes offers advantages in technical compatibility for a large-scale assembly of thermoelectric elements into modules, a thorough investigation into the potential of weldable metal electrodes at T< 300 °C is imperative. In this work, the diffusion of 11 kinds of thermoelectric materials in common weldable metals (Ni, Fe, Cu, and Ag) was screened. Ag is sorted out as a promising weldable electrode that can directly bond to thermoelectric Ag2Se in this temperature range, leading to a minimization of an interfacial contact resistivity down to 11 μΩ cm2in a design of the Ag/Ag2Se/Ag structure. The conversion efficiency of ∼3% at ΔTof 95 K with an excellent stability indicates Ag2Se as a top alternative to n-type Bi2Te3for low-grade heat recovery.

Lignin is dietary fiber from plant cell walls with multiple biological antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, whether lignin protects from ulcerative colitis (UC) and underlying mechanisms is unclear. Herein, UC mouse modeling was established with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and treatment with lignin for 1 week. Results showed that lignin inhibited the disease activity index (DAI), histological damage, and cell death in UC mice. We also found that lignin reversed the alterations of ferroptotic features in DSS-induced mice and ferroptotic cells, as evidenced by increased expression of GPX4 and 4-HNE and decreased transferrin expression, ameliorating the phenomenon of iron overload, GSH depletion, and ROS and MDA production. Furthermore, the increased expression of NRF2 was observed in IECs under lignin treatment. Also, the upstream regulatory molecule ERK of NRF2 was activated. Further research revealed that lignin can bind GPR37. Meanwhile, lignin was able to alleviate colitis by improving the composition of the intestinal flora in DSS mice and its effect was similar to that of 5-ASA. Taken together, these findings suggest that lignin protects against ferroptosis in UC by combining GPR37 and activating the ERK-NRF2-GPX4 signaling axis, which provides new ideas for clinical intervention in the treatment of UC.

Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) Fenton-like systems have emerged as promising alternatives to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Fenton systems are currently used in the industry owing to their highly efficient utilization rate of oxidizing agents and wide operating pH ranges. Heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts are promising candidates in this regard. However, self-aggregation and generation of ambiguous reactive oxygen species greatly restrict their broad application in practical settings. Herein, a redox reaction between exfoliated MXene and KMnO4facilitates the in-situdeposition of MnO2nanoparticles on the surface of Ti-deficient vacancies of MXene (MXene/MnO2). Owing to the advantages of MXene with fast charge transfer and MnO2with strong PMS activation ability, the engineered MXene/MnO2@PVDF catalytic membrane exhibited enhanced activity and excellent long-term stability for various refractory organic pollutants. Experimental observations, combined with density functional theory calculations, revealed that the exposed Mn sites effectively promoted the generation of 1O2. Interestingly, the widespread pathway for the direct generation of 1O2viahigh-valent Mn-oxo phases has a high energy barrier (3.34 eV). In contrast, the pathway that uses the •OOH species as intermediates to produce 1O2is energetically more viable (1.84 eV). This work offers insights into the in-situengineering of transition metal-oxides on MXene-based membranes, facilitating their implementation in remediating micropollutant-contaminated environmental water.

Polarization Volume Hologram (PVH) waveguide is an innovative liquid crystal‐based diffractive waveguide designed for augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, showcasing exceptional optical performance and simplified fabrication process. This presentation offers a comprehensive overview, including its working principles, advantages, performance optimization, process development, challenges and opportunities. The objective is to provide insights into PVH waveguide technology, from its inception to practical implementation.

With the fast development of the smart lifestyle in recent years, simple and flexible body condition monitoring has become more and more important. However, currently, commercially available motion-sensing devices always lack flexibility or at a high cost. This article has fully explored the merits of a commercial and easily available material of carbon fiber powder (CFP) and prepared CFP-based screen printing inks. This conductive ink can be directly and quickly printed onto a variety of different flexible common substrates, such as paper, cotton fabrics, etc., to prepare flexible sensors. At the same time, as a result of the good photothermal performance and conductivity of CFP, the printed flexible sensors have fast and stable performance on thermal and human motion detection. The use of CFP as the smart element to construct a wearable device will offer a choice for the intelligent industry.

Failure behavior of epoxy coating/low alloy steel systems applied with cathodic polarization at 0.1 MPa and 15 MPa was investigated based on a deep−sea environment simulation test device. The results showed that the diffusion of water into the coating was significantly accelerated by the high hydrostatic pressure under the same polarization potential, and the time of water uptake of the coating that reached saturation was shortened; the coating's physical structure was significantly affected by the high hydrostatic pressure; the generation of highly conductive Fe3O4was promoted in the corrosion products, which accelerated the metal corrosion process. Under the same hydrostatic pressure, with the negative shift of the polarization potential, the coating protective performance was significantly reduced and metal corrosion was mitigated to a certain extent; the water transport behavior showed a tendency to shorten the time of water uptake of the coating that reached saturation and lengthen the duration of the saturation state, which may be related to a more severe degree of cathodic delamination and the increase of water consumption for cathodic reactions under the coating. In addition, the increase of the weakly conductive α−Fe2O3content in the corrosion products may cause a reduction in the cathodic protection current at the same polarization potential, resulting in the reduction of the protection effect on the metal.

Diodes based on p–n junctions are fundamental building blocks for numerous circuits, including rectifiers, photovoltaic cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and photodetectors. However, conventional doping techniques to form p- or n-type semiconductors introduce impurities that lead to Coulomb scattering. When it comes to low-dimensional materials, controllable and stable doping is challenging due to the feature of atomic thickness. Here, by selectively depositing dielectric layers of Y2O3and AlN, direct formation of wafer-scale carbon-nanotube (CNT) diodes are demonstrated with high yield and spatial controllability. It is found that the oxygen interstitials in Y2O3, and the oxygen vacancy together with Al–Al bond in AlN/Y2O3electrostatically modulate the intrinsic CNTs channel, which leads to p- and n-type conductance, respectively. These CNTs diodes exhibit a high rectification ratio (>104) and gate-tunable rectification behavior. Based on these results, we demonstrate the applicability of the diodes in electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection and photodetection.

The medical and health industry is evolving from traditional single management to modern scientific and systematic management. From the perspective of medical management, medical consumer electronics have developed rapidly. Various medical consumer electronics have been widely used, and the security of medical electronic networks has gradually become the focus of researchers. Traffic intrusion detection is a network security system running at all times, and its importance is self-evident. Traditional intrusion detection mainly relies on expert experience, which leads to the limitations of intrusion detection technology. To address this issue, this work designs a medical consumer electronic traffic intrusion detection network via deep learning and integrated learning. First, this work proposes a classification model (NDR-BiLSTM) based on the combination of the nonlinear dimensionality reduction method and BiLSTM. Secondly, this work proposes a processing model for unbalanced data problems (SMOTE-IAdaboost). This model can promote classification effect of minority data in intrusion detection. SMOTE-IAdaboost uses NDR-BiLSTM intrusion detection model as a weak classifier in ensemble learning. This eventually forms an intrusion detection model that improves the ability of unbalanced data processing. Finally, this work conducts systemic experiments, the data verify the superiority of SMOTE-IAdaboost for medical consumer electronic traffic intrusion detection.

Near-infrared-II fluorescence imaging (NIR-II FI) has become a powerful imaging technique for disease diagnosis owing to its superiorities, including high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, deep imaging depth, and low background interference. Despite the widespread application of conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) for NIR-II FI, most of the developed CPNs have quite low NIR-II fluorescence quantum yields based on the energy gap law, which makes high-sensitivity and high-resolution imaging toward deep lesions still a huge challenge. This work proposes a nanoengineering strategy to modulate the size of CPNs aimed at optimizing their NIR-II fluorescence performance for improved NIR-II phototheranostics. By adjusting the initial concentration of the synthesized conjugated polymer, a series of CPNs with different particle sizes are successfully prepared via a nanoprecipitation approach. Results show that the NIR-II fluorescence brightness of CPNs gradually amplifies with decreasing particle size, and the optimal CPNs, NP0.2, demonstrate up to a 2.05-fold fluorescence enhancement compared with the counterpart nanoparticles. With the merits of reliable biocompatibility, high photostability, and efficient light–heat conversion, the optimal NP0.2 has been successfully employed for NIR-II FI-guided photothermal therapy both in vitro and in vivo. Our work highlights an effective strategy of nanoengineering to improve the NIR-II performance of CPNs, advancing the development of NIR-II FI in life sciences.

Biomolecules play a vital role in the regulation of biomineralization. However, the characteristics of practical nucleation domains are still sketchy. Herein, the effects of the representative biomolecular sequence and conformations on calcium phosphate (Ca-P) nucleation and mineralization are investigated. The results of computer simulations and experiments prove that the line in the arrangement of dual acidic/essential amino acids with a single interval (Bc (Basic) -N (Neutral) -Bc-N-Ac (Acidic)- NN-Ac-N) is most conducive to the nucleation. 2α-helix conformation can best induce Ca-P ion cluster formation and nucleation. “Ac- × × × -Bc” sequences with α-helix are found to be the features of efficient nucleation domains, in which process, molecular recognition plays a non-negligible role. It further indicates that the sequence determines the potential of nucleation/mineralization of biomolecules, and conformation determines the ability of that during functional execution. The findings will guide the synthesis of biomimetic mineralized materials with improved performance for bone repair.

With progressive digitalization of healthcare systems worldwide, large-scale collection of electronic health records (EHRs) has become commonplace. However, an extensible framework for comprehensive exploratory analysis that accounts for data heterogeneity is missing. Here we introduce ehrapy, a modular open-source Python framework designed for exploratory analysis of heterogeneous epidemiology and EHR data. ehrapy incorporates a series of analytical steps, from data extraction and quality control to the generation of low-dimensional representations. Complemented by rich statistical modules, ehrapy facilitates associating patients with disease states, differential comparison between patient clusters, survival analysis, trajectory inference, causal inference and more. Leveraging ontologies, ehrapy further enables data sharing and training EHR deep learning models, paving the way for foundational models in biomedical research. We demonstrate ehrapy’s features in six distinct examples. We applied ehrapy to stratify patients affected by unspecified pneumonia into finer-grained phenotypes. Furthermore, we reveal biomarkers for significant differences in survival among these groups. Additionally, we quantify medication-class effects of pneumonia medications on length of stay. We further leveraged ehrapy to analyze cardiovascular risks across different data modalities. We reconstructed disease state trajectories in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) based on imaging data. Finally, we conducted a case study to demonstrate how ehrapy can detect and mitigate biases in EHR data. ehrapy, thus, provides a framework that we envision will standardize analysis pipelines on EHR data and serve as a cornerstone for the community.

Introduction: Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) remains a prevalent issue following video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), despite advancements in surgical techniques. Various regional anesthesia techniques, including thoracic paravertebral block (PVB), intercostal nerve block (ICNB), serratus anterior plane block (SAPB), erector spinae plane block (ESPB), and thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA), have been employed in VATS procedures to mitigate this issue. This study aims to compare the efficacy of these analgesia methods in reducing the incidence of CPSP in VATS patients through a network meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and EMBASE for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the incidence of CPSP associated with PVB, ICNB, SAPB, ESPB, and TEA. The occurrence of CPSP was evaluated at both 2–3 months and 6 months post-surgery. Results: Six RCTs, involving 652 patients, were included in the analysis of CPSP incidence at 2–3 months, while seven RCTs, involving 715 patients, were included for 6 months analysis. PVB, ICNB, or TEA reduced CPSP incidence compared with control group (without regional anesthesia techniques) at both 2–3 months and 6 months post-surgery. However, SAPB was found less effective in reducing CPSP incidence at 2–3 months post-VATS compared to PVB, ICNB, or TEA. Conclusions: PVB, ICNB, and TEA exhibit significant effects on reducing CPSP incidence following VATS. Conversely, SAPB is not recommended for reducing CPSP incidence post-VATS. Nonetheless, considering the limitation of a small sample size in this network meta-analysis, additional RCTs are necessary to validate these conclusions and enhance the management of CPSP after VATS.

Branch-and-bound-based consensus maximization stands out due to its important ability of retrieving the globally optimal solution to outlier-affected geometric problems. However, while the discovery of such solutions caries high scientific value, its application in practical scenarios is often prohibited by its computational complexity growing exponentially as a function of the dimensionality of the problem at hand. In this work, we convey a novel, general technique that allows us to branch over an $n-1$n-1 dimensional space for an n-dimensional problem. The remaining degree of freedom can be solved globally optimally within each bound calculation by applying the efficient interval stabbing technique. While each individual bound derivation is harder to compute owing to the additional need for solving a sorting problem, the reduced number of intervals and tighter bounds in practice lead to a significant reduction in the overall number of required iterations. Besides an abstract introduction of the approach, we present applications to four fundamental geometric computer vision problems: camera resectioning, relative camera pose estimation, point set registration, and rotation and focal length estimation. Through our exhaustive tests, we demonstrate significant speed-up factors at times exceeding two orders of magnitude, thereby increasing the viability of globally optimal consensus maximizers in online application scenarios.

Primary cutaneous CD4+small/medium-sized pleomorphic T-Cell lymphoproliferative disorder (PC-SMTLD) has been considered as a controversial dermatological disease that has been included in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma group, presenting most commonly as a solitary nodule and/or plaque with a specific and characteristic head and neck predilection. Due to the considerable overlap between PC-SMTLD and pseudolymphoma (PL), the differential diagnosis is often challenging. Methylation of DNA at position 5 of cytosine, and the subsequent reduction in intracellular 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) levels, is a key epigenetic event in several cancers, including systemic lymphomas. However, it has rarely been studied in cutaneous lymphomas.

Background: Previous research has established a connection between polymorphisms rs4747203 and rs885828 in the prosaposin (PSAP) gene and an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, other studies have found no significant difference in risk compared to the general population. Methods: To evaluate the current evidence linking rs4747203 and rs885828 to PD risk, we conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, the Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for relevant studies up until May 2023. In addition, we analyzed data from the publicly available “PD Variant Browser”. We performed a meta-analysis using Stata 17.0 to synthesize the findings from the selected studies. Results: Our meta-analysis, which included data from six published studies and the public database, revealed no significant association between PD risk and either rs4747203 [OR (95% CI) = 0.99 (0.93–1.05), I2= 90.3%, P = 0.635] or rs885828 [OR (95% CI) = 1.01 (0.95–1.07), I2= 90.7%, P = 0.773]. These results remained consistent when examining subgroups of individuals within or outside of Asia. Conclusion: The available evidence does not support an association between the genotype at rs4747203 or rs885828 and the risk of PD.

Based on the versatile properties of bio-derived materials, non-enzymatic assays in combination with electronic devices have attracted increasing interest. Here, we report a novel enzyme-free visualization approach for the detection of erythritol, which is a zero-calorie natural sweetener and serves as an ideal sucrose substitute for diabetics or overweight people who need sugar control. The recognition element of the electrochemical biosensor was constructed by catechol modification on a chitosan-based hydrogel film. The signal transduction was achieved by the competitive binding assay of sweeteners. The results show that 2-fluorophenylboronic acid (FPBA) can form a cyclic boronate ester with the ortho-hydroxyls of both reduced catechol and oxidized quinone, impeding the electron transfer and leading to redox signal attenuation. The addition of sweeteners caused a competitive reaction resulting in bonding between the 1,2-diols and FPBA moieties, and in the recovery of the redox signals. Importantly, the pattern of redox signal changes of catechol can be detected optically, as the oxidized quinone state is darker in color than the reduced catechol state. Using a simple cell phone imaging application, we demonstrate that erythritol can be distinguished from other sweeteners in real samples using the oxidized catechol-Chit0/agarose hydrogel film. Thus, we envision that this method could allow diabetics and people who need to control their sugar intake to detect whether the product contains only erythritol in the field or at home. In addition, this work further illustrates the potential of bio-derived materials for performing redox-based functions and enzyme-free visualization assays.

In order to overcome the problems of low recognition accuracy and low recognition efficiency of traditional image emotion recognition methods, this paper proposes a digital art image emotion recognition method based on weighted fusion strategy. First, image emotional tags are designed, and image samples are selected using information entropy. Secondly, Gaussian fuzzy is used to reduce image noise and extract image emotional features. Then, the weighted fusion strategy is used to construct a weighted matrix to determine the similarity between feature classes; Finally, SVM classifier is constructed to classify image emotion features, emotion recognition function is designed according to weighted fusion strategy, and emotion recognition result is solved according to maximum rule. The results show that the recognition time of this method is less than 30 s, and the recognition accuracy can reach 99.0%, which shows that this method can improve the effect of emotion recognition.

Purpose: Aimed to create a nomogram using clinical and eye-specific metrics to predict the efficacy of intravenous glucocorticoid (IVGC) therapy in patients with active and moderate-to-severe Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy (TAO). Methods: This study was conducted on 84 eyes from 42 moderate-to-severe TAO patients who received systemic IVGC therapy, and 42 eyes from 21 controls. Data were collected retrospectively from June 2020 to December 2021. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method was used to identify predictive factors for “unresponsiveness” to IVGC therapy. These factors were then analyzed using logistic regression to create a nomogram. The model’s discriminative ability was robustly assessed using a Bootstrap resampling method with 1000 iterations for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The LASSO analysis identified six factors with non-zero coefficients as significant, including Schirmer I test values, Meibomian gland (MG) diameter, MG length, disease duration, whole capillary vessel density (VD) in the radial peripapillary capillary (RPC), and whole macular VD for the superficial retinal capillary plexus (SRCP). The subsequent logistic regression model highlighted MG length, whole macular VD for SRCP, and disease duration as independent predictors of IVGC therapy response. The constructed nomogram demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.73–0.91), affirming the model’s consistent and reliable ability to distinguish between responsive and non-responsive TAO patients. Conclusion: Our nomogram, combining MG length (&lt;4.875 mm), SRCP VD (&lt;50.25%), and disease duration (>5.5 months), reliably predicts lower IVGC therapy effectiveness in active, moderate-to-severe TAO patients.

There is increasing interest in developing quinoa products due to their unique nutritional value. Starch and protein are the primary components in quinoa, and the interaction between them affects the quality of quinoa products. This study extracted the starch and protein from quinoa and simulated the thermal processing of quinoa to investigate the effects of starch on the solubility and structure of quinoa protein isolates during heat treatment. The structure of quinoa protein isolates was characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, laser particle size analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that starch decreased protein solubility, and the maximum solubility was obtained after heating for 5 min. After starch addition during heat treatment, the surface charge distribution of protein changed, the degree of protein aggregation increased, the particle size of proteins increased, the thermal stability increased, and the β-sheet ratio of the proteins increased, suggesting that the protein structure is more ordered, which is the structural foundation of protein solubility decreasing. The research about the interaction between starch and protein and the effects on the solubility of protein could provide a reference for quinoa products processing.

Biological tissues (such as tendons and cartilages) are not only well known for their excellent strength, modulus, and toughness, but also have long-term stability which can withstand millions of high-stress cycles without fracture, and show a fatigue threshold of more than 1000 J m−2. In contrast, although synthetic hydrogels are comparable to natural soft tissues in terms of strength, modulus, toughness, and other properties, these toughened gels will still be subjected to fatigue fracture under repeated cyclic loading, exhibiting a fatigue threshold usually below 100 J m−2. Here, we report a simple strategy for the development of tough and fatigue-resistant anisotropic hydrogels with a fatigue threshold more than 100 times that of conventional hydrogels. Our two-step process mainly includes the formation of an arranged polydopamine-Fe3O4-carbon fiber structure, followed by freezing-thawing and annealing, synergistically contributing to the ultrahigh strength and toughness, excellent tribological properties, and extraordinary fatigue resistance. The tensile strength, compressive strength, and fatigue threshold of the anisotropic hydrogel were up to 11.82 ± 0.85 MPa, 5.95 ± 0.35 MPa, and 1845 J m−2, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of most biogels and synthetic hydrogels. Therefore, this research provides a feasible method for manufacturing soft materials with excellent properties and expands the application of soft materials in load-bearing materials, soft robots, flexible electronics, etc.

Accurate and rapid thermal estimation holds immense significance in the analysis of power semiconductors under long-term mission profile, reliability design, and real-time thermal assessment. This letter proposes a novel paradigm shift for thermal estimation of power semiconductors. First, long-term dissipation data are transformed into a limited set of base pulses through orthogonal decomposition. These base pulses are preconverted into corresponding base temperatures, enabling the simplification of long-term thermal estimation by efficient time-shifting and superposition of these base temperatures. Meanwhile, to achieve desired temperature estimation accuracy with a minimal set of base temperatures, we further employ dictionary learning for optimization. To validate the effectiveness of this approach, we compare it against a commercial simulation software and two existing methods. The proposed methodology demonstrates significant advantages in the analysis of long-term mission profile. In addition, we conduct experiments using three distinct standard driving cycles for electric vehicles, all demonstrating the accuracy under highly dynamic loading.

Gene therapy has great potential in treating neurodegenerative diseases with complex pathologies. The combination of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting β-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and caspase-3 will provide an effective treatment option for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To overcome the multiple physiological barriers and improve the therapeutic efficacy of siRNAs, lesion-recognizing nanoparticles (NPs) are constructed in this study for the synergistic treatment of AD. The lesion-recognizing NPs contain rabies virus glycoprotein peptide-modified mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes as the shell and a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive polymer loaded with siRNAs as the core. After intranasal administration, the lesion-recognizing NPs cross the nasal mucosa and migrate to the affected brain areas. Furthermore, the NPs recognize the target cells and fuse with the cell membranes of neurons. The cores of NPs directly enter into the cytoplasm and achieve the controlled release of siRNAs in a high-ROS environment to downregulate the level of BACE1 and caspase-3 to ameliorate neurologic injury. In addition, lesion-recognizing NPs can significantly reduce the number of reactive astrocytes. Lesion-recognizing NPs have a positive effect on regulating the phase of neurons and astrocytes, which results in better restoration of memory deficits in 3 × Tg-AD mice. Therefore, this work provides a promising platform for neurodegenerative disease treatment.

Artificial joint replacement is the most effective way to treat osteoarthritis. However, these artificial joints are too stiff with high interfacial contact stress and poor surface lubrication, resulting in stress shielding and severe wear and tear lead to an extremely high failure rate. At present, hydrogels are considered the most promising substitute for artificial joint prostheses owing to their good biocompatibility, adjustable mechanical properties, and excellent flexibility. Nevertheless, a traditional single-layer hydrogel has poor bearing capacity and lubrication, which are far from the properties of natural articular cartilage. The high strength and low friction properties of natural articular cartilage are based on its own multilayer fibrous structure. Therefore, by simulating the multilayer structure of natural cartilage, a bilayer bionic cartilage hydrogel was prepared; that is, the upper hydrogel realized excellent lubrication and the lower hydrogel realized high load-bearing capacity. However, the interface binding of bilayer hydrogels is a challenge at present. Therefore, the interfacial adhesion of the bilayer hydrogel is improved by adding tannic acid (TA) based on the adhesion of the natural polyphenol structure. The average interfacial toughness reaches 3650 J/m2, and the average interfacial shear force reaches 800 kPa. In the preparation of the bilayer hydrogel, taking advantage of the coordination reaction between TA and metal cations, Fe3+is further added to endow the bilayer hydrogel with excellent mechanical properties and good sliding friction performance. Therefore, this work opens up a new way to construct cartilage-like materials with high toughness and a soft–soft interface.

Cell adhesion plays a crucial role in determining the functionality of hydrogel-based culture platforms or implants and is commonly mediated by adhesive proteins. However, nonspecific protein adhesion is prone to causing inflammatory response in vivo. Traditional hydrogels are usually either pro- or anticell/protein adhesion simultaneously. To address this dilemma, a series of novel bioabsorbable poly(amidoamine) (PAA) hydrogels [aminobutyric acid hydrogel (C-Gel), aminopropanesulfonic acid hydrogel (S-Gel), and aminopropylphosphonic acid hydrogel (P-Gel)] are prepared, combining dual-amide (pro-cell adhesion) and zwitterionic (anti-protein adhesion) moieties, to simultaneously achieve excellent protein repulsion and cell adhesion. In our hydrogel system, the protein repulsion capability of hydrogels depends on the types of zwitterionic moieties (C-Gel > S-Gel > P-Gel) and the surface zwitterionic density. Meanwhile, the cell adhesion capability of hydrogels depends on the surface dual-amide density. C-Gel and S-Gel exhibit better cell adhesion compared to P-Gel due to their high surface dual-amide density. Additionally, the PAA hydrogels (especially C-Gel) have excellent cell proliferation and infiltration abilities for three-dimensional endothelial cell culture and thus achieving vascularization. Moreover, PAA hydrogels exhibit excellent degradation properties and biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo with no observed inflammatory responses. Therefore, these hydrogels hold substantial promise as platforms for tissue engineering, bringing new hope to promote the clinical translation of implantable hydrogels.

The Metaverse is a virtual world, an immersive experience, a new human-computer interaction, built upon various advanced technologies. How to protect Metaverse personal information and virtual properties is also facing new challenges, such as new attacks and new expectations of user experiences. While traditional methods (e.g., those employed in smartphone authentication) generally pass the basic design considerations, they are repeatedly reported to be either unsafe or inconvenient in the Metaverse. In this paper, we address this discrepancy by introducing CAN: a new design consideration especially for the Metaverse. Specifically, we focus on the legacy and novel biometric authentication systems and evaluate them thoroughly with basic and CAN considerations. We also propose an ear-based method as one example of CAN systems. To conclude, a continuous, active and non-intrusive biometric system is suggested for Metaverse authentication for its capability in continuous sessions, against imposters, and immersive experience.

The accurate measurement of the flatness of satellite devices is of great significance for the performance of satellites; however, the planes to be measured on satellites have different sizes. Using a limited number of sensors to measure the flatness of large-scale planes, the point cloud repositioning required for multiple samplings will cause a sharp increase in the computation. The reference planes are inconsistent in multiple samplings. To solve these problems, this article proposes a low-cost, large-scale flatness measurement method based on genetic algorithm (GA) and machine learning. First, this article proposes a regional measurement method based on a rotating platform and a laser sensor, which realizes point cloud augmentation, adapts to different scales and shapes of planes, and reduces equipment costs. Second, a point cloud correction method is proposed, using GAs and spatial transformation algorithms to reduce the impact of mechanical tolerance in the rotating platform on measurement accuracy and enhance measurement result consistency. Finally, this article uses a machine learning algorithm based on the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) model to perform flatness error regression, which reduces the influence of nonlinear errors in data on measurement results and simplifies and accelerates the measurement process of flatness. The experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve efficient, accurate, and nondestructive flatness error measurement, reducing the relative error of flatness measurement of large-scale planes from 52.7% to 0.05%, enabling the use of the same equipment for planes of different scales.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a deadly cancer with rapid tumor progression. While hyperactive mRNA translation caused by mis-regulated mRNA or tRNA modifications promotes ICC development, the role of rRNA modifications remains elusive. Here, we found that 18S rRNA m6A modification and its methyltransferase METTL5 were aberrantly upregulated in ICC and associated with poorer survival (log rank test, p < 0.05). We further revealed the critical role of METTL5-mediated 18S rRNA m6A modification in regulation of ICC cell growth and metastasis using loss- and gain-of function assays in vitroand in vivo. The oncogenic function of METTL5 is corroborated using liver-specific knockout and overexpression ICC mouse models. Mechanistically, METTL5 depletion impairs 18S rRNA m6A modification that hampers ribosome synthesis and inhibits translation of G-quadruplex-containing mRNAs that are enriched in the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β pathway. Our study uncovers the important role of METTL5-mediated 18S rRNA m6A modification in ICC and unravels the mechanism of rRNA m6A modification-mediated oncogenic mRNA translation control.

The polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-highly cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), all-polymer knee prosthesis has excellent prospects for replacing the traditional metal/ceramic-polyethylene joint prosthesis, improving the service life of the joint prosthesis and the quality of patients’ life. The long-term wear mechanism of PEEK-XLPE knee joint prosthesis is comprehensively evaluated from wear amount, wear morphology, and wear debris compared to that of CoCrMo-XLPE joint prosthesis. After 5 million cycles of in vitrowear, the wear loss of XLPE in PEEK-XLPE (30.9±3.2 mg) is lower than that of XLPE in CoCrMo-XLPE (32.1±3.1 mg). Compared to the XLPE in CoCrMo-XLPE, the plastic deformation of XLPE in PEEK-XLPE is more severe in the early stage, and the adhesive peeling and adhesion are lighter in the later stage. The size distribution of XLPE wear debris in PEEK-XLPE is relatively dispersed, which in CoCrMo-XLPE is relatively concentrated. Wear debris is mainly flake and block debris, and the wear mechanism of XLPE was abrasive wear. The wear volume per unit area of PEEK femoral condyle (10.45×105µm3/mm2) is higher than that of CoCrMo (8.32×105µm3/mm2). The PEEK surface is mainly furrows and adhesions, while the CoCrMo surface is mainly furrows and corrosion spots. The PEEK wear debris is mainly in flakes and blocks, and the CoCrMo wear debris is mainly in the shape of rods and blocks. The wear mechanism of PEEK is abrasive wear and adhesion, and that of CoCrMo is abrasive wear and corrosion.

This article presents a modeling method to build a complete and accurate multitime-scale analytical model for low-voltage eGaN HEMTs-based zero-voltage switching buck converter with consideration of parasitic inductors, nonlinear junction capacitors, and nonlinear transconductance. The switching steady-state modes and switching transient modes are discussed in detail based on their corresponding equivalent circuits. The state equations of each mode are solved by MATLAB software to obtain the key operating waveforms throughout one switching cycle. Moreover, the established switching steady-state model and switching transient model are numerically merged together through continuous state variables, and then the multitime-scale model for stable operation is formed based on the iterative method. The waveforms and switching energy losses predicted by the model within one switching cycle are compared with the experimental results, respectively, to verify the accuracy of the model. In the end, the dead time is optimized based on the proposed model, and the optimization result is verified to be effective in reducing the switching energy loss through the experiment.

Olefins play a critical role in the production of high-value and high-quality chemicals within refineries. This paper focuses on examining the molecular composition of heavy olefins (C10+) in products derived from thermal cracking and slurry-phase hydrocracking. A specific characterization technique involving Ag+complexation electrospray ionization Orbitrap mass spectrometry was employed after the removal of aromatics through prior separation. A semi-quantitative analysis was performed by adding naphthalene-d8as the internal standard. Both cracking processes exhibited the presence of heavy olefins with the carbon number ranging from C10–C40. However, the thermal cracking product demonstrated a higher abundance of mono-olefins with smaller carbon numbers compared to the slurry-phase hydrocracking product. Furthermore, the study delves into investigating and discussing the molecular variations of olefins in slurry-phase hydrocracking products under different reaction conditions.

Through tuning piperazine and morpholine groups and spacer length in organic ligands, five [Mo8O26]4–-based compounds have been obtained, [(H2tep)2(γ-Mo8O26)]2·H2O (1), [ZnII(Htep)2(H2O)(γ-Mo8O26)]2·5H2O (2), [AgI(Htem)]2[(β-Mo8O26)0.5(γ-Mo8O26)0.5]·H2O (3), [MII(Htpm)2(γ-Mo8O26)] (M = Cu in 4, Co in 5, tep = 1-(2-(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)ethyl)piperazine, tem = 4-(2-(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)ethyl)morpholine, and tpm = 4-(2-(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)propyl)morpholine). In compound 1, the N atom of tep directly connects the Mo atom of a [γ-Mo8O26]4–anion through a Mo–N bond without transition-metal ions. The [γ-Mo8O26]4–anions in 2are linked by a Zn atom to construct an inorganic layer with tep ligand coordination with Zn and Mo atoms by Zn–N and Mo–N bonds. The N atom in the piperazine group does not link with the metal atoms in 1and 2. However, the O atom in the morpholine group in 3–5coordinates with Ag, Cu, and Co atoms, respectively. Compound 3shows a 3D framework with 2D layers linked by bi-nuclear Ag clusters. Compounds 4and 5are isostructural, containing two kinds of chains. The chains connect each other to form a 3D framework. Both N and O of tem and tpm participate to link metal atoms in 3–5, which are conducive to build high-dimensional structures. The spacer length, piperazine and morpholine groups, and different metal ions all exhibit effects on structures under hydrothermal conditions. Furthermore, electrocatalytic reduction of KNO2and KBrO3and electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid were studied. These compounds can be used as electrochemical sensors for detecting NO2–. They also show selective photocatalytic properties. Compounds 1–5own properties of capacitor materials.

Radiofrequency heat ablation is an ideal radical treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, insufficient radiofrequency ablation (IRFA) could lead to high recurrence of HCC. N7-methylguanosine (m7G) on tRNAs, an evolutionally conservative modification in mammals and yeast, modulates heat stress responses and tumor progression, while its function in HCC recurrence after IRFA remains unknown. Here, we found that IRFA significantly upregulates the level of m7G tRNA modification and its methyltransferase complex components METTL1/WDR4 in multiple systems including HCC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse, patients’ HCC tissues, sublethal-heat-treated models of HCC cell lines, and organoids. Functionally, gain-/loss-of-function assays showed that METTL1-mediated m7G tRNA modification promotes HCC metastasis under sublethal heat exposure both in vitroand in vivo. Mechanistically, we found that METTL1 and m7G tRNA modification enhance the translation of SLUG/SNAIL in a codon frequency-dependent manner under sublethal heat stress. Overexpression of SLUG/SNAIL rescued the malignant potency of METTL1 knockdown HCC cells after sublethal heat exposure. Our study uncovers the key functions of m7G tRNA modification in heat stress responses and HCC recurrence after IRFA, providing molecular basis for targeting METTL1-m7G-SLUG/SNAIL axis to prevent HCC metastasis after radiofrequency heat ablation treatment.

Ionically conductive polymers are commonly made of monomers containing high polarity moieties to promote high ion dissociation, like poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). However, the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of these polymers are relatively high, and therefore, these polymers are in a glassy state at room temperature, which limits the mechanical flexibility of the material. Although polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has many attractive physical and chemical properties, including a low glass transition temperature, mechanical flexibility, and good biocompatibility, its low dielectric constant suppresses ion dissociation. In this Letter, we overcome this shortcoming by functionalizing the PDMS with ligands that can form labile coordination with metal ions, which greatly promotes ion dissociation and improves the ionic conductivity by orders of magnitude. By combining an experimental study with a fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulation, we systematically investigated the ion transport mechanisms in this low Tgmaterial.

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the market reaction to strategic alliance agreements (SAAs), a prevalent yet previously uninvestigated corporate voluntary disclosure practice. We document that investors react positively to SAA disclosures in short windows, and that the effect of SAA disclosures is transitory, since a reversal occurs within 30 days after the disclosure. We also find that the market reaction is weaker to an SAA involving the progress of existing cooperation projects and that markets react more positively to SAAs disclosed by firms that had released progress reports before. The results of cross-sectional tests indicate that investor sophistication and being a high-technology firm strengthen the association between SAA characteristics and market reactions. Finally, we document that market reaction decreased after the passage of the SAA format guidelines in 2015 and after firms have received a comment letter related to an SAA. Overall, our findings indicate that SAA disclosure is a crucial information resource for investors.

The classical polarimetric method has been widely used in Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) phase depth measurement with a simple optical setup. However, the current method does not provide sufficient accuracy to measure the phase uniformity due to interference caused by LCoS cover glass reflections. This paper is aimed at mathematically analyzing the errors caused by non‐ideal glass reflections, and proposing procedures to reduce or eliminate such errors. The measurement is discussed in three conditions, including an ideal condition with no reflections off the LCoS cover glass, a second condition with only forward reflection off the cover glass and a third condition with only backward reflection off the cover glass. It is discovered that the backward reflection has the largest contribution to the overall measurement error, and is the main obstacle to high‐quality measurements. Several procedures including optical alignment, gap thickness measurement and phase estimation based on gap thickness are proposed, making the uniformity measurement more qualitative and consistent.