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This paper deals with the coupled fourth-order parabolic equations, subject to Dirichlet or Navier boundary conditions. We combine the generalized potential well method, the concave method, with the auxiliary methods to classify the initial energy about the existence of blow-up solutions and global solutions. Moreover, the decay estimate of global solutions and the bounds of blow-up time and rate are determined, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptosporidium spp. are protozoa commonly found in domestic and wild animals. Limited information is available on Cryptosporidium in deer worldwide. In this study, 201 fecal samples were collected from Alpine musk deer on three farms in Gansu Province, China. Detection and subtyping of Cryptosporidium were performed by PCR and sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA and gp60 genes. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in Alpine musk deer was 3.9% (8/201), with infection rates of 1.0% (1/100), 2.8% (1/36), and 9.2% (6/65) in three different farms. All positive samples for Cryptosporidium were from adult deer. Two Cryptosporidium species were identified, including C. parvum (n = 2) and C. xiaoi (n = 6). The C. parvum isolates were subtyped as IIdA15G1, while the C. xiaoi isolates were subtyped as XXIIIa (n = 2) and XXIIIg (n = 4). The IIdA15G1 subtype of C. parvum was found for the first time in deer. These results provide important insights into the identity and human infectious potential of Cryptosporidium in farmed Alpine musk deer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of high power and an extended start-up time are some of the major issues faced by piezoelectric energy harvesting. With this in mind, a control circuit with an extremely low power consumption of a few milliwatts is designed in this paper to energize heavy loads like wireless sensor nodes. A low-duty cycled self-powered control circuit, which works only at the maximum power point, is proposed in this paper. During a cold-start, optimum operative conditions can be achieved by this circuit. Moreover, a low power threshold at the input is sufficient to start the circuit. An additional piezoelectric transducer or a DC power supply is not required to operate this designed circuit. In terms of harvesting energy, performance enhanced by 320% can be achieved by this circuit when compared to the standard energy harvesting circuit when connected to a series-synchronized switch harvesting on an inductor (SSHI) with a large storage capacitor of 150 mF. An input power of 4.42 μW is enough for the circuit during cold-start and it consumes an ultra-low power of 0.3 μW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The parent‐child relationship plays an important role in shaping adolescents' mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between the parent‐child relationship and mental health are unclear. Using a 2‐wave longitudinal design, this study examined the role of both mother‐child and father‐child relationships during home quarantine in boarding school students' internalizing and externalizing problems after school reopening, and the mediating roles of academic buoyancy and academic engagement. A total of 1967 boarding high school students completed a battery of self‐report questionnaires before and after school reopening. Results indicated that both father‐child and mother‐child relationships indirectly contributed to internalizing and externalizing problems through the interlinked mediation path of academic buoyancy and academic engagement. The mother‐child relationship had greater influence on internalizing and externalizing problems than the father‐child relationship. These findings clarify the associations between the parent‐child relationships and mental health problems of boarding high school students during the transition to school reopening in the COVID‐19 pandemic, expanding our understanding of psychological adjustment related to parent‐child relationships and the potential mechanisms of these relationships. Practitioner Points: Parent‐child relationship positively predicted boarding school students' academic buoyancy and academic engagement.Boarding school students' academic buoyancy and academic engagement sequentially mediated the relationship between parent‐child relationship and internalizing and externalizing problems.Mother‐child relationship had more influence on internalizing and externalizing problems than the father‐child relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two solvent-controlled Cd(II) compounds, formulated as {[Cd2(Htdc)4(µ-imyp)(H2O)4]} (1), [Cd2(µ2-tdc)2(µ-imyp)(DMF)2(H2O)2]n (2) (H2tdc= 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid, imyp = 4-imidazol-1-yl-pyridine and DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) have been synthesized by reactions of Cd(NO3)2·4H2O and H2tdc with imyp in different solvents, respectively. Both compounds were then characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and other physicochemical methods. In 1, partially deprotonated Htdc− anion as terminal ligand and µ-imyp ligand connect Cd2+ ions to generate a discrete structure. In 2, completely deprotonated µ2 – tdc2− anions and µ-imyp ligand link Cd2+ ions into a 1D double chain structure. Both compounds display 3D supramolecular structures through hydrogen bonding interactions. The results provided interesting insights into solvent effects on the structural formation of compounds 1 and 2. In addition, the solid-state photoluminescent properties of compounds 1 and 2 were also investigated.Two solvent-controlled Cd(II) compounds have been synthesized by reactions of Cd(NO3)2·4H2O and 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid with 4-imidazol-1-yl-pyridine in the different solvents. One compound is a discrete structure, while the other compound has a 1D double chain structure. The results provided interesting insights into solvent effects on the structural formation of compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the development of eco-friendly, sustainable, and convenient bio-based coatings to enhance flame retardancy and antibacterial properties in cotton fabrics is growing. In this work, chitosan was protonated at its amino groups using a method with a high atom economy using an equimolar amount of amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP), resulting in the fabrication of a single-component chitosan-based multifunctional coating (ATMP-CS), thereby avoiding any additional neutralization or purification steps. Cotton fabrics coated with various loads of ATMP-CS were prepared through a padding–drying–curing process. The morphology, thermal stability, mechanical properties, antibacterial properties, flame-retardant behavior, and flame-retardant mechanism of these fabrics were investigated. The coating exhibited excellent film-forming properties, and it imparted a uniform protective layer onto the surfaces of the cotton fabrics. When the load capacity reached 11.5%, the coated fabrics achieved a limiting oxygen index of 29.7% and successfully passed the VFT test. Moreover, the ATMP-CS coating demonstrated antibacterial rates against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus reaching 95.1% and 99.9%, respectively. This work presents a straightforward and gentle approach to fabricating colorless, environmentally friendly, and highly efficient fabric coatings that have potential applications in promoting the use of bio-based materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has made assessing vaccine efficacy more challenging. Besides neutralizing antibody assays, systems vaccinology studies use omics technology to reveal immune response mechanisms and identify gene signatures in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). However, due to their low proportion in PBMCs, profiling the immune response signatures of dendritic cells (DCs) is difficult. Here, we develop a predictive model for evaluating early immune responses in dendritic cells. We establish a THP-1-derived dendritic cell (TDDC) model and stimulate their maturation in vitro with an optimal dose of attenuated yellow fever 17D (YF-17D). Transcriptomic analysis reveals that type I interferon (IFN-I)-induced immunity plays a key role in dendritic cells. IFN-I regulatory biomarkers (IRF7, SIGLEC1) and IFN-I-inducible biomarkers (IFI27, IFI44, IFIT1, IFIT3, ISG15, MX1, OAS2, OAS3) are identified and validated in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we apply this TDDC approach to various types of vaccines, providing novel insights into their early immune response signatures and their heterogeneity in vaccine recipients. Our findings suggest that a standardizable TDDC model is a promising predictive approach to assessing early immunity in DCs. Further research into vaccine efficacy assessment approaches on various types of immune cells could lead to a systemic regimen for vaccine development in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Currently, there are a variety of methods for ultrasound to localize the conus medullaris. A concern is that measured values can be influenced by variations in spinal flexion and extension. OBJECTIVE: To overcome this limitation, the present study measures the horizontal distance (HD) between the end of the conus medullaris and the caudal edge of last vertebral body ossification in normal fetus at different gestational weeks, and analyzes the relationship between the measured value and fetal growth, as well as the utility of these measurements in assessing the position of the conus medullaris. METHODS: A total of 655 fetuses at gestational weeks 18–40, who underwent routine prenatal ultrasound, were selected in the study. We measured the distance between the end of the cone of the fetal spinal cord and the caudal end of the final vertebral ossification center (Distance1, D1), the distance between the end of the spinal cord cone and the intersection of the extension of D1 with the caudal skin (Distance2, D2), and HD. We analyzed the correlation between the measurements and gestational weeks, established normal reference values, the ratio of D1, D2 and HD to the commonly used growth parameters was calculated. The ratios of D1, D2, HD and the application value of each ratio phase were analyzed, and the reliability analysis of repeated measurement results among physicians was performed. RESULTS: D1, D2 and HD exhibited strong linear correlations with gestational weeks. Among the ratios of D1, D2 and HD to common growth parameters, D2/FL stabilized after 20 weeks of gestation and consistently exceeded 1. Repeatability tests between D1, D2 and HD showed good reliability (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: D1, D2 and HD are significantly correlated with gestational age. Horizontal distance measurement can effectively determine the position of fetal conus medullaris, enabling rapid prenatal evaluation of low position of conus medullaris and excluding the possibility of tethered cord. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biowaste fermentation is a promising technology for low‐carbon print bioenergy and biochemical production. Although it is believed that the microbiome determines both the fermentation efficiency and the product profiles of biowastes, the explicit mechanisms of how microbial activity controls fermentation processes remained to be unexplored. The current study investigated the microbiome dynamics and fermentation product profiles of biowaste fermentation under different organic loads (5, 20, and 40 g‐VS/L) and with additives that potentially modulate the fermentation process via methanogenesis inhibition (2‐bromoethanesulfonate) or electron transfer promotion (i.e., reduced iron, magnetite iron, and activated carbon). The overall fermentation products yields were 440, 373 and 208 CH4‐eq/g‐VS for low‐, medium‐ and high‐load fermentation. For low‐ and medium‐load fermentation, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were first accumulated and were gradually converted to methane. For high‐load fermentation, VFAs were the main fermentation products during the entire fermentation period, accounting for 62% of all products. 16S rRNA‐based analyses showed that both 2‐bromoethanesulfonate addition and increase of organic loads inhibited the activity of methanogens and promoted the activity of distinct VFA‐producing bacterial microbiomes. Moreover, the addition of activated carbon promoted the activity of H2‐producing Bacteroides, homoacetogenic Eubacteriaceae and methanogenic Methanosarcinaceae, whose activity dynamics during the fermentation led to changes in acetate and methane production. The current results unveiled mechanisms of microbiome activity dynamics shaping the biowaste fermentation product profiles and provided the fundamental basis for the development of microbiome‐guided engineering approaches to modulate biowaste fermentation toward high‐value product recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The potential for totipotency exists in all plant cells; however, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Earlier findings have revealed that the overexpression of LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 (LEC2) can directly trigger the formation of somatic embryos on the cotyledons of Arabidopsis. Furthermore, cotyledon cells that overexpress LEC2 accumulate significant lipid reserves typically found in seeds. The precise mechanisms and functions governing lipid accumulation in this process remain unexplored.In this study, we demonstrate that WRINKLED1 (WRI1), the key regulator of lipid biosynthesis, is essential for somatic embryo formation, suggesting that WRI1‐mediated lipid biosynthesis plays a crucial role in the transition from vegetative to embryonic development.Our findings indicate a direct interaction between WRI1 and LEC2, which enhances the enrichment of LEC2 at downstream target genes and stimulates their induction. Besides, our data suggest that WRI1 forms a complex with LEC1, LEC2, and FUSCA3 (FUS3) to facilitate the accumulation of auxin and lipid for the somatic embryo induction, through strengthening the activation of YUCCA4 (YUC4) and OLEOSIN3 (OLE3) genes.Our results uncover a regulatory module controlled by WRI1, crucial for somatic embryogenesis. These findings provide valuable insights into our understanding of plant cell totipotency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel reinforcement learning (RL)-based event-triggered (ET) output feedback control algorithm is proposed for a class of uncertain strict-feedback nonlinear discrete-time systems. In contrast to traditional RL-based control methods, we proposed an ET output feedback controller based on the backstepping technique, where the transmission cost can be efficiently conserved. Then, in light of the radial basis function (RBF) neural network (NN), various critic NNs are constructed to approximate the critic functions in each step. Furthermore, with the backing of the proposed ET mechanism, a sampled output feedback controller is addressed to guarantee that the tracking errors and all signals of the closed-loop system are semi-global uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB). Finally, a simulation example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a sensor, glucokinase (GK) controls glucose homeostasis, which progressively declines in patients with diabetes. GK maintains the equilibrium of glucose levels and regulates the homeostatic system set points. Endocrine and hepatic cells can both respond to glucose cooperatively when GK is activated. GK has been under study as a therapeutic target for decades due to the possibility that cellular GK expression and function can be recovered, hence restoring glucose homeostasis in patients with type 2 diabetes. Five therapeutic compounds targeting GK are being investigated globally at the moment. They all have distinctive molecular structures and have been clinically shown to have strong antihyperglycemia effects. The mechanics, classification, and clinical development of GK activators are illustrated in this review. With the recent approval and marketing of the first GK activator (GKA), dorzagliatin, GKA's critical role in treating glucose homeostasis disorder and its long‐term benefits in diabetes will eventually become clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kiruna-type iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposits, an important source of iron, show close associations with andesitic subvolcanic intrusions. However, the processes of ore formation and the mechanism controlling iron concentration remain uncertain. Here, we report the widespread presence of high-temperature (>800°C) water-poor multisolid hydrosaline liquid inclusions in pre-and syn-ore minerals from IOA deposits of eastern China. These inclusions consistently homogenize to a liquid phase by vapor disappearance and mostly contain 3 to 10 wt % Fe, signifying a substantial capacity for iron transportation by such hydrosaline liquids. We propose that the hydrosaline liquids were likely immiscible from the dioritic magmas with high Cl/H2O in subvolcanic settings. Subsequent reaction with host rocks and/or decompression and cooling of the hydrosaline liquids is deemed responsible for the simultaneous formation of high-temperature alteration and magnetite ores, thereby providing important insights into the distinctive characteristics of IOA deposits in shallow magmatic-hydrothermal systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the recognised high prevalence of migraines among bank employees, yet their healthcare utilisation patterns and the economic burden of migraines remain underexplored. Aim: To examine migraine-related healthcare utilisation among bank employees in China, and to estimate the economic burden of migraines. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Guizhou province, China between May and October 2022. The HARDSHIP questionnaire was used to identify migraine-positive individuals and enquire about their healthcare utilisation and productivity losses. A probabilistic decision-analytic model with a micro-costing approach was used to estimate the economic burden from the perspectives of the healthcare system, employers, and society. All costs were expressed in 2022 United States dollars. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Nearly half of individuals with migraines reported not seeking medical care. Only 21.8% reported seeking outpatient consultations, 52.5% reported taking medicines, and 27.1% reported using complementary therapies. Chronic migraine patients had significantly higher healthcare utilisation than episodic migraine patients. Among individuals with a monthly migraine frequency of 15 days or more, 63.6% took inappropriate treatments by excessively using acute medications. Migraines in the banking sector in Guizhou cost the healthcare system a median of $7,578.0 thousand (25th to 75th percentile $4,509.2–$16,434.9 thousand) per year, employers $89,750.3 thousand (25th to 75th percentile $53,211.6–$151,162.2 thousand), and society $108,850.3 thousand (25th to 75th percentile $67,370.1–$181,048.6 thousand). The median societal cost per patient-year is $3,078.1. Migraine prevalence and productivity losses were identified as key cost drivers. Conclusions: The study points to the need to raise awareness of migraines across all stakeholders and to improve the organisation of the migraine care system. A substantial economic burden of migraines on the healthcare system, employers, and society at large was highlighted. These cost estimates offer evidence-based benchmarks for assessing economic savings from improved migraine management, and can also draw the attention of Chinese policymakers to prioritise migraine policies within the banking and other office-based occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equilibrium and dynamic surface properties of anionic surfactant alcohol ether sulfate with different EO distribution(C-AE2S and N-AE2S) and cationic surfactant tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) mixtures under different molar ratios were investigated. Their surface activities, adsorption, and spreading performances were investigated by static/dynamic surface tension measurements, molecular dynamics simulation, and dynamic contact angle techniques at 298 K. The static surface tension analysis reveals that the critical micellization concentration (cmc) values and the surface tension at cmc (γcmc) of the binary systems are much lower than that of the individual component. Compared with C-AE2S/TTAB, N-AE2S/TTAB systems have higher cmc and lower γcmc. It was found from the molecular dynamics simulation that negative charges of C-AE2S were drastically neutralized by the positively-charged TTAB at the interface in the system of C-AE2S/TTAB. The dynamic surface tension results indicate that the adsorption process of aqueous solutions for both C-AE2S/TTAB and N-AE2S/TTAB are mixed diffusion-kinetic adsorption mechanisms. From the dynamic contact angle measurements, it could be obtained that the mixtures exhibit better spreading behavior than that of the individual component and N-AE2S/TTAB systems have lower contact angles than that of C-AE2S/TTAB at the same mixing ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Background Aims Methods Results Conclusions People with severe asthma remain at risk of toxicity from maintenance oral corticosteroid (OCS) use and/or frequent OCS burst therapy. Cumulative exposures above 500–1000 mg prednisolone are associated with adverse effects, and recently OCS stewardship principles were promulgated to guide OCS prescription.To examine real‐world registry data to quantify OCS burden, ascertain trends over time in prescription and assess whether opportunities to implement steroid‐sparing strategies were utilised.Participants were enrolled in the Australasian Severe Asthma Registry for the period 2013–2021. Assessments were taken at enrolment and then annual follow‐up, which included asthma control and OCS use. Descriptive analyses were performed, and subgroups were compared at baseline and over time.Nine hundred and twenty‐four participants were evaluated and 215/924 (23%) were taking maintenance OCS at baseline, with 44% and 32% of participants having exposure to ≥500 or 1000 mg of OCS respectively in the prior year. Twelve months later, an additional 10% and 9% of participants reached cumulative doses of 500 or 1000 mg. People exceeding thresholds had ongoing poor asthma control. At baseline, 240/924 (26%) people were treated with asthma biological therapy. An additional 83 (12%) participants were identified as potentially benefiting from this steroid‐sparing medication. Of these patients, only 23% commenced a biologic agent in the next 12 months.A large national asthma registry identifies exposure to toxic cumulative doses of OCS in more than a third of participants, with further subsequent cumulative dose escalation over 2 years. Steroid‐sparing strategies were often not employed, highlighting the need for implementation of OCS stewardship initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implicit emotion regulation provides an effective means of controlling emotions triggered by a single face without conscious awareness and effort. Crowd emotion has been proposed to be perceived as more intense than it actually is, but it is still unclear how to regulate it implicitly. In this study, participants viewed sets of faces of varying emotionality (e.g. happy to angry) and estimated the mean emotion of each set after being primed with an expressive suppression goal, a cognitive reappraisal goal, or a neutral goal. Faster discrimination for happy than angry crowds was observed. After induction of the expressive suppression goal instead of the cognitive reappraisal goal, augmented N170 and early posterior negativity (EPN) amplitudes, as well as attenuated late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes, were observed in response to happy crowds compared to the neutral goal. Differential processing of angry crowds was not observed after the induction of both regulatory goals compared to the neutral goal. Our findings thus reveal the happy-superiority effect and that implicit induction of expressive suppression improves happy crowd emotion recognition, promotes selective coding, and successfully downregulates the neural response to happy crowds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monascus pigments (MPs) have been used as natural food pigments for many years. There is a high demand for Monascus red pigments (MRPs) to enhance color and for antibacterial and cancer prevention therapies in food and medicine. Most MRPs are not water soluble, and the yield of water‐soluble MRPs is naturally low. On the other hand, water‐soluble MRP is more cost effective for application in industrial mass production. Therefore, it is important to improve the yield of water‐soluble MRPs. Environmental factors have a significant influence on the synthesis of water‐soluble MRPs, which is crucial for the development of industrial production of water‐soluble MRPs. This review introduces the biosynthetic pathways of water‐soluble MRPs and summarizes the effects of environmental factors on the yield of water‐soluble MRPs. Acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl‐CoA) is a precursor for MPs synthesis. Carbon and nitrogen sources and the carbon/nitrogen ratio can impact MP production by regulating the metabolic pathway of acetyl‐CoA. Optimization of fermentation conditions to change the morphology of Monascus can stimulate the synthesis of MPs. The appropriate choice of nitrogen sources and pH values can promote the synthesis of MRPs from MPs. Additives such as metal ions and non‐ionic surfactants can affect the fluidity of Monascus cell membrane and promote the transformation of MRPs into water‐soluble MRPs. This review will lay the foundation for the industrial production of water‐soluble MRPs. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron oxide–apatite (IOA or Kiruna-type) deposits typically consist of a magnetite-apatite-actinolite/diopside assemblage and are spatially associated with extensive Na-(Ca) alteration and brecciation. The origin of these deposits is highly controversial and has been ascribed to the separation of iron-oxide/sulfate-(carbonate) melts, magnetite emulsions, or metasomatic replacement by aqueous fluids from silicate magmas. Here, we propose a new model based on the findings from a cluster of IOA deposits located in the early Cretaceous Ningwu andesitic volcanic field, eastern China. In these deposits, magnetite coeval with apatite and actinolite occurs as coarse-grained veins, massive replacement, and fine-grained disseminations in the albitized, often brecciated, apical zones of diorite porphyry intrusions, the overlying andesites, and adjacent sedimentary rocks. The primary magnetite grains from ores with various textures contain similar and variable trace element compositions with up to 5 wt% Ti + V and show the characteristics of high-temperature hydrothermal magnetite in magmatic-hydrothermal systems. Diopside and garnet as well as magnetite contain fluid inclusions with multiple daughter minerals (vapor + halite + sylvite ± anhydrite ± iron chloride ± liquid ± hematite), which show extremely high salinities of more than ~ 90 wt% NaClequiv, homogenization temperatures of 745–846 °C, and Cl/Br mole ratios of 2000–6000. In combination with oxygen isotopes of the magnetite-apatite assemblage and the association with shallow-seated ore-hosting porphyry, available evidence suggests that these deposits formed from hydrosaline liquid exsolved from subvolcanic dioritic magmas with high Cl/H2O at magmatic temperatures (~ 800 °C). Decompression from lithostatic to hydrostatic condition and the interaction with country rocks explain the abundance of breccia bodies and widespread sodic alteration in IOA deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common inflammatory arthritis in women. The effects of RA on the reproductive system are usually overlooked, as RA is not diagnosed until later in reproductive age. Whether RA itself or its related rheumatoid antibodies have an impact on female reproductive function has long been a thought-provoking issue. In brief, relevant epidemiological evidence has shown that women affected by RA are more likely to have coexisting reproductive disorders, including infertility, endometriosis, and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), or to subsequently develop them. Furthermore, linkage between RA and pregnancy loss (PL) as well as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is also well known, albeit controversial in available evidence. RA and reproductive disorders appear to share a similar inflammatory immune response and genetic background. The stress experienced by patients with RA may affect their reproductive choices to some extent. Notably, few studies have explored the impact of rheumatoid antibodies such as rheumatoid factors (RFs) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) on reproductive disorders. Although it has been mentioned that the rate of RF and/or ACPA positivity is higher in women with a history of PL and POI, the clinical relevance of this relationship and underlying mechanisms still need to be further clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human liver transcriptome is complex and highly dynamic, e.g. one gene may produce multiple distinct transcripts, each with distinct posttranscriptional modifications. Direct knowledge of transcriptome dynamics, however, is largely obscured by the inaccessibility of the human liver to treatments and the insufficient annotation of the human liver transcriptome at transcript and RNA modification levels. We generated mice that carry humanized livers of identical genetic background and subjected them to representative metabolic treatments. We then analyzed the humanized livers with nanopore single-molecule direct RNA sequencing to determine the expression level, m6A modification and poly(A) tail length of all RNA transcript isoforms. Our system allows for the de novo annotation of human liver transcriptomes to reflect metabolic responses and for the study of transcriptome dynamics in parallel. Our analysis uncovered a vast number of novel genes and transcripts. Our transcript-level analysis of human liver transcriptomes also identified a multitude of regulated metabolic pathways that were otherwise invisible using conventional short-read RNA sequencing. We revealed for the first time the dynamic changes in m6A and poly(A) tail length of human liver transcripts, many of which are transcribed from key metabolic genes. Furthermore, we performed comparative analyses of gene regulation between humans and mice, and between two individuals using the liver-specific humanized mice, revealing that transcriptome dynamics are highly species- and genetic background-dependent. Our work revealed a complex metabolic response landscape of the human liver transcriptome and provides a novel resource to understand transcriptome dynamics of the human liver in response to physiologically relevant metabolic stimuli (https://caolab.shinyapps.io/human%5fhepatocyte%5flandscape/). Direct knowledge of the human liver transcriptome is currently very limited, hindering the overall understanding of human liver pathophysiology. We combined a liver-specific humanized mouse model and long-read direct RNA sequencing technology to establish a de novo annotation of the human liver transcriptome and identified a multitude of regulated metabolic pathways that were otherwise invisible using conventional technologies. The extensive regulatory information on human genes we provided could enable basic scientists to infer the pathological relevance of their genes of interest and physician scientists to better pinpoint the changes in metabolic networks underlying a specific pathophysiology. [Display omitted] • Liver-specific humanized mice rendered human liver cells accessible to diverse treatments in a physiological context. • A de novo annotation of the human liver transcriptome was established by nanopore DRS of humanized livers under diverse conditions. • Transcript-level analysis of human liver transcriptomes enabled the identification of regulated metabolic pathways. • Nanopore DRS revealed dynamic changes in m6A and poly(A) tail length of human liver transcripts in response to metabolic stimuli. • Individuals of different genetic backgrounds display divergent baseline transcriptome architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consider Dirichlet problems of Laplace's equation in a bounded simply‐connected domain S$$ S $$, and use the null field equation (NFE) of Green's representation formulation, where the source nodes Q$$ Q $$ are located on a pseudo‐boundary ΓR$$ {\Gamma}_R $$ outside S$$ S $$ but not close to its boundary Γ(=∂S)$$ \Gamma \kern0.3em \left(=\partial S\right) $$. Simple algorithms are proposed in this article by using the central rule for the NFE, and the normal derivatives uν$$ {u}_{\nu } $$ of the solutions on the boundary Γ(=∂S)$$ \Gamma \kern0.3em \left(=\partial S\right) $$ can be easily obtained. These algorithms are called the discrete null field equation method (DNFEM) because the collocation equations are, indeed, the direct discrete form of the NFE. The bounds of the condition number are like those by the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) yielding the exponential growth as the number of unknowns increases. One trouble of the DNFEM is the near singularity of integrations for the solutions in boundary layers in Green's representation formulation. The traditional BEM also suffers from the same trouble. To deal with the near singularity, quadrature by expansions and the sinh transformation are often used. To handle this trouble, however, we develop two kinds of new techniques: (I) the interpolation techniques by Taylor's formulas with piecewise q$$ q $$‐degree polynomials and the Fourier series, and (II) the mini‐rules of integrals, such as the mini‐Simpson's and the mini‐Gaussian rules. Error analysis is made for technique I to achieve optimal convergence rates. Numerical experiments are carried out for disk domains to support the theoretical analysis made. The numerical performance of the DNFEM is excellent for disk domains to compete with the MFS. The errors with O(10−4)$$ O\left(1{0}^{-4}\right) $$ can be obtained by combination algorithms, which are satisfactory for most engineering problems. In summary, the new simple DNFEM is based on the NFE, which is different from the boundary element method (BEM). The theoretical basis in error and stability has been established in this article. One trouble in seeking the numerical solutions in boundary layers has been handled well; this is also an important contribution to the BEM. Besides, numerical experiments are encouraging. Hence the DNFEM is promising, and it may become a new boundary method for scientific/engineering computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is frequently associated with the occurrence and development of depression, and the co-occurrence of diabetes mellitus with depression (DD) may further reduce patients' quality of life. Recent research indicates that dopamine receptors (DRs) play a crucial role in immune and metabolic regulation. Pramipexole (PPX), a D2/3R agonist, has demonstrated promising neuroprotective and immunomodulatory effects. Nevertheless, the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of action of PPX on DM-induced depression are not clear at present. Depression, DM, and DD were induced in a rat model through a combination of a high-fat diet (HFD) supplemented with streptozotocin (STZ) and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) combined with solitary cage rearing. The pathogenesis of DD and the neuroprotective effects of DRs agonists were investigated using behavioral assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, Nissl staining, Western blotting (WB) and immunofluorescence (IF). DD rats exhibited more severe dopaminergic, neuroinflammatory, and neuroplastic impairments and more pronounced depressive behaviors than rats with depression alone or DM. Our findings suggest that DRs agonists have significant therapeutic effects on DD rats and that PPX improved neuroplasticity and decreased neuroinflammation in the hippocampus of DD rats while also promoting DG cell growth and differentiation, ultimately mitigating depression-like behaviors. Our study is based on a rat model. Further evidence is needed to determine whether the therapeutic effects of PPX apply to patients suffering from DD. Neuroinflammation mediated by damage to the dopaminergic system is one of the key pathogenic mechanisms of DD. We provide evidence that PPX has a neuroprotective effect on the hippocampus in DD rats and the mechanism may involve the inhibition of NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation by DRs to attenuate the neuroinflammatory response and neuroplasticity damage. [Display omitted] • We have shown experimentally that pramipexole has neuroinflammatory and neuroplasticity-improving effects. This effect has not yet been demonstrated in diabetes mellitus with depression. • Our study found that impairment of the dopaminergic system may exacerbate neuroinflammatory damage in diabetes mellitus with depression. This is likely one of the key causative mechanisms of diabetes mellitus with depression. • Our study showed that pramipexole administration not only improved depressive symptoms, but also ameliorated diabetes mellitus blood glucose disturbances in DD rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For an edge-colored graph (resp. a vertex-colored graph), a subset of edges (resp. vertices) is called monochromatic if all elements are assigned the same color. An edge-coloring of G is called monochromatic disconnection coloring (or MD-coloring for short) if for any two vertices u , v of G there exists a monochromatic edge set M such that u , v are in different components of G − M. Gao and Li introduce the concept monochromatic vertex disconnection coloring (or MVD-coloring for short) of G : for any two vertices u , v of G , there is a monochromatic vertex set S such that u , v are in different components of G − S if u v ∉ E (G) , and if u v ∈ E (G) , then u or v has the same color as S and u , v belong to distinct components of (G − u v) − S. Fu and Zhang introduce another version of MVD-coloring by considering only nonadjacent vertices (in order to avoid confusion, we call the vertex-coloring a weak monochromatic vertex disconnection coloring , or WMVD-coloring for short). We use m d (G) (resp. m v d (G) , w m v d (G)) to denote the maximum number of colors that are used in an MD-coloring (resp. an MVD-coloring, a WMVD-coloring) of G. In this paper, we show that MVD-colorings and WMVD-colorings are equivalence in triangle-free graphs, and for any graph G , we can obtain a triangle-free graph H in polynomial time such that m v d (G) = w m v d (H). We also show that there exist bijections between MD-colorings of L (G) (here, L (G) is the line graph of G), WMVD-colorings of G and MVD-colorings of G if G is a triangle-free graph without pendent edges, and show that for any graph G , we can get a triangle-free graph H in polynomial time such that m d (L (G)) = m v d (H) = w m v d (H). In addition, we give a complexity result on MD-colorings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although Zika virus infection is rarely reported now, continuous prevention is needed to achieve sustained eradication. This study aimed to explore the knowledge gaps, risk perception and preventive measures against Zika virus infection (ZIKV) in pregnant women in Malaysia. Methods: We conducted in-depth virtual interviews with pregnant women between February and April 2022. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and data were analyzed by content analysis. Results: The majority of the participants demonstrated a commendable level of awareness regarding the signs and symptoms associated with ZIKV infection. They also exhibited a clear understanding of preventive measures, particularly emphasizing the importance of avoiding mosquito bites to minimize the risk of ZIKV transmission. However, a noteworthy gap in knowledge surfaced as a subset of participants remained uninformed about the potential for sexual transmission of ZIKV, which could lead to congenital ZIKV in pregnant women. Even among women who were cognizant of ZIKV and its potential negative health outcomes, associated with the infection, many of them did not perceive themselves to be at risk, mainly because ZIKV infection is infrequently discussed or heard of, leading to a sense of infections' rarity. While the adoption of preventive measures such as mosquito bite prevention during pregnancy was a common practice, however, prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika is low. A minority of women express concerns about the sensitivity surrounding discussions and prevention of STIs within the context of marriage. Most of the participants were supportive of the provision of awareness of ZIKV infection in women during pregnancy and the involvement of men, especially in initiatives aimed at preventing transmission through sexual contact. Conclusion: This study uncovered gaps in both knowledge and practices pertaining ZIKV infection among pregnant women in the aftermath of the ZIKV pandemic. The insights gleaned from our research are valuable for shaping future interventions geared towards preventing the resurgence or facilitating the sustainable eradication of ZIKV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many factors that affect the compressive strength of concrete. The relationship between compressive strength and these factors is a complex nonlinear problem. Empirical formulas commonly used to predict the compressive strength of concrete are based on summarizing experimental data of several different mix proportions and curing periods, and their generality is poor. This article proposes an improved artificial bee colony algorithm (IABC) and a multilayer perceptron (MLP) coupled model for predicting the compressive strength of concrete. To address the shortcomings of the basic artificial bee colony algorithm, such as easily falling into local optima and slow convergence speed, this article introduces a Gaussian mutation operator into the basic artificial bee colony algorithm to optimize the initial honey source position and designs an MLP neural network model based on the improved artificial bee colony algorithm (IABC-MLP). Compared with traditional strength prediction models, the ABC-MLP model can better capture the nonlinear relationship of the compressive strength of concrete and achieve higher prediction accuracy when considering the compound effect of multiple factors. The IABC-MLP model built in this study is compared with the ABC-MLP and particle swarm optimization (PSO) coupling algorithms. The research shows that IABC can significantly improve the training and prediction accuracy of MLP. Compared with the ABC-MLP and PSO-MLP coupling models, the training accuracy of the IABC-MLP model is increased by 1.6% and 4.5%, respectively. This model is also compared with common individual learning algorithms such as MLP, decision tree (DT), support vector machine regression (SVR), and random forest algorithms (RF). Based on the comparison of prediction results, the proposed method shows excellent performance in all indicators and demonstrates the superiority of heuristic algorithms in predicting the compressive strength of concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the accuracy of concrete dynamic principal identification, a concrete dynamic principal identification model based on Improved Dung Beetle Algorithm (IDBO) optimized Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network is proposed. Firstly, the apparent stress–strain curves of concrete containing damage evolution were measured by Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) test to decouple and separate the damage and rheology, and this system was modeled by using LSTM network. Secondly, for the problem of low convergence accuracy and easy to fall into local optimum of Dung Beetle Algorithm (DBO), the greedy lens imaging reverse learning initialization population strategy, the embedded curve adaptive weighting factor and the PID control optimal solution perturbation strategy are introduced, and the superiority of IDBO algorithm is proved through the comparison of optimization test with DBO, Harris Hawk Optimization Algorithm, Gray Wolf Algorithm, and Fruit Fly Algorithm and the combination of LSTM is built to construct the IDBO-LSTM dynamic homeostasis identification model. The final results show that the IDBO-LSTM model can recognize the concrete material damage without considering the damage; in the case of considering the damage, the IDBO-LSTM prediction curves basically match the SHPB test curves, which proves the feasibility and excellence of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has markedly improved the prognosis of patients with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The relative positioning of tumor lesions in lymphoma varies among patients, manifesting as either aggregation (clumped together) or dissemination (spread throughout the body). Prognostic significance of factors indicating the relative positioning of tumor lesions in CAR T cell therapy remains underexplored. For aggregation, prior research proposed the tumor volume surface ratio (TVSR), linking it to prognosis in chemotherapy. Regarding dissemination, indicators such as disease stage or extranodal involvement, commonly used in clinical practice, have not demonstrated prognostic significance in CAR T cell therapy. This study aims to analyze current indicators of tumor aggregation or dissemination and introduce a novel indicator to assess the prognostic value of tumor lesions' relative positioning in DLBCL patients undergoing CAR T cell therapy. Methods: This retrospective study included 42 patients receiving CAR T cell therapy. Lesion image information was obtained from the last PET/CT scan prior to CAR T cell infusion, including total metabolic tumor volume, total tumor surface, diameter of lymphoma masses, and the sites of tumor lesions. We evaluated TVSR and bulky disease as descriptors of tumor aggregation. We refined existing indicators, stage III&IV and >1 site extranodal involvement, to distill a new indicator, termed 'extra stage', to better represent tumor dissemination. The study examined the prognostic significance of tumor aggregation and dissemination. Results: Our findings indicate that TVSR, while prognostically valuable in chemotherapy, lacks practical prognostic value in CAR T cell therapy. Conversely, bulky disease emerged as an optimal prognostic indicator of tumor aggregation. Both bulky disease and extra stage were associated with poor prognosis and exhibiting synergistic prognostic impact in CAR T cell therapy. Conclusions: Overall, the relative positioning of tumor lesions significantly influences the prognosis of patients with DLBCL receiving CAR T cell therapy. The ideal scenario involves tumors with minimal dissemination and no aggregation. The relative positioning of tumor lesions is associated with the prognosis of patients with DLBCL receiving CAR T cell therapy.The tumor lesion with limited dissemination and no aggregation is the most ideal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early-onset androgenetic alopecia (AGA) has been associated with various chronic conditions, including metabolic syndrome (MetS). Gaining a deep understanding of early-onset AGA may enable earlier intervention in individuals at high risks. This scoping review aims to explore the risk factors and etiology, associated conditions, and adverse effects on wellbeing in early-onset AGA. Methods: Electronic literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRIAL. Eligible studies included case-control, cohort, cross-sectional, and meta-analysis studies. Selected studies needed to clearly define early-onset AGA cases or include only cases starting before the age of 40 and compare them with appropriate controls. The exclusion criteria comprised editorials, commentaries, case series, and non-systematic reviews, among others. Data extraction involved collecting study characteristics, methodologies, main outcomes, and findings. Descriptive tables were used to summarize key information and relevant variables when necessary. Results: Among the 65 eligible articles, 67.69% were case-control studies and 78.46% evaluated only male patients. "Early-onset" was defined as cases developing before the age of 30 years in 43.08% of the studies. The Hamilton–Norwood scale was the most frequently used method for evaluating the severity of alopecia in men (69.23%). Reported risk factors for early-onset AGA included a family history of AGA, cigarette smoking, unhealthy dietary habits, and a high body mass index. Early-onset AGA may also be associated with hormonal profiles, 5α-reductase enzyme activity, androgen receptor genes, and some susceptibility loci. Comorbidities investigated included MetS, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and Parkinson's disease. Men with early-onset AGA may have reduced treatment efficacy with drug like rosuvastatin, metformin or lisinopril for dyslipidemia, prediabetes, or hypertension. Additionally, young men with AGA tended to suffer from psychological issues such as anxiety and low self-esteem compared to those without hair loss. Conclusion: Early-onset AGA is a complex condition with various risk factors and etiology, associated comorbidities, and potential implications for treatment response and psychological health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complement system plays a dual role in the body, either as a first-line defense barrier when balanced between activation and inhibition or as a potential driver of complement-associated injury or diseases when unbalanced or over-activated. C4b-binding protein (C4BP) was the first circulating complement regulatory protein identified and it functions as an important complement inhibitor. C4BP can suppress the over-activation of complement components and prevent the complement system from attacking the host cells through the binding of complement cleavage products C4b and C3b, working in concert as a cofactor for factor I in the degradation of C4b and C3b, and consequently preventing or reducing the assembly of C3 convertase and C5 convertase, respectively. C4BP, particularly C4BP α-chain (C4BPα), exerts its unique inhibitory effects on complement activation and opsonization, systemic inflammation, and platelet activation and aggregation. It has long been acknowledged that crosstalk or interplay exists between the complement system and platelets. Our unpublished preliminary data suggest that circulating C4BPα exerts its antiplatelet effects through inhibition of both complement activity levels and complement-induced platelet reactivity. Plasma C4BPα levels appear to be significantly higher in patients sensitive to, rather than resistant to, clopidogrel, and we suggest that a plasma C4BPα measurement could be used to predict clopidogrel resistance in the clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the feasibility of a 5G-based telerobotic ultrasound (US) system for providing qualified abdominal US services on a rural island. Methods: This prospective study involved two medical centers (the tele-radiologist site's hospital and the patient site's hospital) separated by 72 km. Patients underwent 5G-based telerobotic US by tele-radiologists and conventional US by on-site radiologists from September 2020 to March 2021. The clinical feasibility and diagnostic performance of the 5G-based telerobotic abdominal US examination were assessed based on safety, duration, image quality, diagnostic findings, and questionnaires. Results: A total of 401 patients (217 women and 184 men; mean age, 54.96 ± 15.43 years) were enrolled. A total of 90.1% of patients indicated no discomfort with the telerobotic US examination. For the examination duration, telerobotic US took longer than conventional US (12.54 ± 3.20 min vs. 7.23 ± 2.10 min, p = 0.001). For image quality scores, the results of the two methods were similar (4.54 ± 0.63 vs. 4.57 ± 0.61, p = 0.112). No significant differences were found between the two methods in measurements for the aorta, portal vein, gallbladder, kidney (longitudinal diameter), prostate, and uterus; however, telerobotic US underestimated the transverse diameter of the kidney (p < 0.05). A total of 504 positive results, including 31 different diseases, were detected. Among them, 455 cases were identified by the two methods; 17 cases were identified by telerobotic US only; and 32 cases were identified by conventional US only. There was good consistency in the diagnosis of 29 types of disease between the two methods (κ = 0.773–1.000). Furthermore, more than 90% of patients accepted the telerobotic US examination and agreed to pay additional fees in future. Conclusion: The 5G-based telerobotic US system can expand access to abdominal US services for patients in rural areas, thereby reducing health care disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked recessive inheritance lysosomal storage disorder caused by pathogenic mutations in the GLA gene leading to a deficiency of the enzyme alpha-galactosidase A (α-Gal A). Multiple organ systems are implicated in FD, most notably the kidney, heart, and central nervous system. In our previous study, we identified four GLA mutations from four independent Fabry disease families with kidney disease or neuropathic pain: c.119C>A (p.P40H), c.280T>C (C94R), c.680G>C (p.R227P) and c.801+1G>A (p.L268fsX3). To reveal the molecular mechanism underlying the predisposition to Fabry disease caused by GLA mutations, we analyzed the effects of these four GLA mutations on the protein structure of α-galactosidase A using bioinformatics methods. The results showed that these mutations have a significant impact on the internal dynamics and structures of GLA, and all these altered amino acids are close to the enzyme activity center and lead to significantly reduced enzyme activity. Furthermore, these mutations led to the accumulation of autophagosomes and impairment of autophagy in the cells, which may in turn negatively regulate autophagy by slightly increasing the phosphorylation of mTOR. Moreover, the overexpression of these GLA mutants promoted the expression of lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2), resulting in an increased number of lysosomes. Our study reveals the pathogenesis of these four GLA mutations in FD and provides a scientific foundation for accurate diagnosis and precise medical intervention for FD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In clinical trials and other comparative studies, covariate balance is crucial for credible and efficient assessment of treatment effects. Covariate adaptive randomization (CAR) procedures are extensively used to reduce the likelihood of covariate imbalances occurring. In the literature, most studies have focused on balancing of discrete covariates. Applications of CAR with continuous covariates remain rare, especially when the interest goes beyond balancing only the first moment. In this article, we propose a family of CAR procedures that can balance general covariate features, such as quadratic and interaction terms. Our framework not only unifies many existing methods, but also introduces a much broader class of new and useful CAR procedures. We show that the proposed procedures have superior balancing properties; in particular, the convergence rate of imbalance vectors is O P (n ϵ) for any ϵ > 0 if all of the moments are finite for the covariate features, relative to O P (n) under complete randomization, where n is the sample size. Both the resulting convergence rate and its proof are novel. These favorable balancing properties lead to increased precision of treatment effect estimation in the presence of nonlinear covariate effects. The framework is applied to balance covariate means and covariance matrices simultaneously. Simulation and empirical studies demonstrate the excellent and robust performance of the proposed procedures. for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most important diseases in which the side effects of chemotherapy cause disturbances in mental, physical, spiritual, and social functions. This disease has a significant effect on the life quality of patients and severely affects it. In this study, the impact of self-care training on the life quality of women with breast cancer was studied. This semi-experimental study was done on breast cancer patients who had recently undergone mastectomy and were in the first session of chemotherapy. The samples were randomly assigned to the control group and the test group. Questionnaires related to demographic characteristics and standard questionnaires for assessing the life quality of breast cancer patients were completed once in the first session and then after 4 months, for both groups. In the test group, self-care training was given for 60 minutes to the researched units and they were given training booklets. SPSS version 23 statistical software was utilized for data analysis. Based on the obtained results, there was a statistically significant difference in the test group between the average scores of the overall quality of life after and before the intervention and it was reduced (P<0.05). The findings of the current study reveal that the one-hour training in the first session of therapeutic chemistry and just giving them textbooks cannot improve the life quality in breast cancer patients. In this way, it seems that in the first session of chemotherapy, the patient has not yet experienced the complications caused by chemotherapy, or because of the fear and anxiety of chemotherapy, he does not have much motivation to learn educational materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Money laundering is an illicit activity that seeks to conceal the nature and origins of criminal proceeds, posing a substantial threat to the national economy, the political order, and social stability. To scientifically and reasonably predict money laundering risks, this paper focuses on the "layering" stage of the money laundering process in the field of supervised learning for money laundering fraud prediction. A money laundering and fraud prediction model based on deep learning, referred to as MDGC-LSTM, is proposed. The model combines the use of a dynamic graph convolutional network (MDGC) and a long short-term memory (LSTM) network to efficiently identify illegal money laundering activities within financial transactions. MDGC-LSTM constructs dynamic graph snapshots with symmetrical spatiotemporal structures based on transaction information, representing transaction nodes and currency flows as graph nodes and edges, respectively, and effectively captures the relationships between temporal and spatial structures, thus achieving the dynamic prediction of fraudulent transactions. The experimental results demonstrate that compared with traditional algorithms and other deep learning models, MDGC-LSTM achieves significant advantages in comprehensive spatiotemporal feature modeling. Specifically, based on the Elliptic dataset, MDGC-LSTM improves the Macro-F1 score by 0.25 compared to that of the anti-money laundering fraud prediction model currently considered optimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantum mechanisms how life efficiently utilizes energy and transmits information remain unclear yet. Frequency medicine, an emerging cross‐discipline of both quantum mechanics and biomedicine, is a promising turning point for biomaterials and medicine developing from the matter level to the energy level. Recognizing the pivotal role of molecular vibrational frequencies in resonant energy coupling and transmission underscores the potential of frequency medicine to precisely regulate biomaterial vibrations, influencing interactions and reactions in living organisms. At present, scientists have unveiled sophisticated phototherapeutics; nevertheless, their advancement necessitates the precise mapping of the life energy. In contrast to genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics studied on the matter level, omics of frequencies related to medicine should be on the energy level. Herein, starting from the history of frequency medicine, and followed by the introduction of vibrational strong coupling applications in life sciences, we emphasize the significance, necessity, and urgency of studying spatiotemporal omics of medicine frequencies. By decoding the energy atlas of life, we can acquire profound insights into the quantum mechanisms that govern life processes from an energy standpoint. We anticipate that the integration of biomaterials with spatiotemporal frequency omics related to medical research will contribute significantly to advancing the goals of precision medicine, potentially revolutionizing pharmaceuticals, such as terahertz drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering high‐performance oxygen evolution reaction (OER) anode material with high activity, selectivity, and strong robustness against chloride corrosion is critical to advance seawater electrolysis for large‐scale production of H2, yet a daunting challenge. Herein it is reported for the first time, the engineer of a multilayered electrode consisting of Ni foam‐supported Ni3N porous nanosheet array decorated with NiFe‐phytate coordination complex overlayer (NF/Ni3N@NiFe‐PA) via a facile interfacial coordination assembly, for remarkably boosted and sustained OER in alkaline seawater electrolysis. Benefitting from regulated electronic state by synergism between Ni and Fe species, boosted proton‐coupled electron transfer via accelerating proton movement with the aid of incorporated phytic acid as proton transfer relay, and promoted mass transfer rendered by unique superhydrophilic and superaerophobic property, the resulting NF/Ni3N@NiFe‐PA demonstrates prominent OER activity in seawater. Impressively, integrating anticorrosive Ni3N with NiFe‐PA complex and in situ generated NiFeOOH can collaboratively contribute to chloride repelling, leading to exceptional corrosion resistance of the electrode. This work affords a novel paradigm to engineer active and corrosion‐resistive anode for selective OER in saline water electrolysis via simultaneous geometric and electronic structural manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identifying risk factors for adverse pathologic features in low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) can provide valuable insights into the necessity of surgical or non-surgical treatment. This study aims to develop a nomogram for predicting the probability of adverse pathologic features in low-risk PTMC patients. Methods: A total of 662 patients with low-risk PTMC who underwent thyroid surgery were retrospectively analyzed in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from May 2019 to December 2021. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for adverse pathologic features, and a nomogram was constructed based on these factors. Results: Most PTMC patients with these adverse pathologic features had tumor diameters greater than 0.6 cm (p < 0.05). Other factors (age, gender, family history of thyroid cancer, history of autoimmune thyroiditis, and BRAFV600E mutation) had no significant correlation with adverse pathologic features (p > 0.05 each). The nomogram was drawn to provide a quantitative and convenient tool for predicting the risk of adverse pathologic features based on age, gender, family history of thyroid cancer, autoimmune thyroiditis, tumor size, and BRAFV600E mutation in low-risk PTMC patients. The areas under curves (AUC) were 0.645 (95% CI 0.580–0.702). Additionally, decision curve analysis (DCA) and calibration curves were used to evaluate the clinical benefits of this nomogram, presenting a high net benefit. Conclusion: Tumor size > 0.60 cm was identified as an independent risk factor for adverse pathologic features in low-risk PTMC patients. The nomogram had a high predictive value and consistency based on these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corn cob is a major waste mass-produced in corn agriculture. Corn cob hydrolysate containing xylose, arabinose, and glucose is the hydrolysis product of corn cob. Herein, a recombinant Escherichia coli strain BT-10 was constructed to transform corn cob hydrolysate into 1,2,4-butanetriol, a platform substance with diversified applications. To eliminate catabolite repression and enhance NADPH supply for alcohol dehydrogenase YqhD catalyzed 1,2,4-butanetriol generation, ptsG encoding glucose transporter EIICBGlc and pgi encoding phosphoglucose isomerase were deleted. With four heterologous enzymes including xylose dehydrogenase, xylonolactonase, xylonate dehydratase, α-ketoacid decarboxylase and endogenous YqhD, E. coli BT-10 can produce 36.63 g/L 1,2,4-butanetriol with a productivity of 1.14 g/[L·h] using xylose as substrate. When corn cob hydrolysate was used as the substrate, 43.4 g/L 1,2,4-butanetriol was generated with a productivity of 1.09 g/[L·h] and a yield of 0.9 mol/mol. With its desirable characteristics, E. coli BT-10 is a promising strain for commercial 1,2,4-butanetriol production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corn cob is a major waste mass-produced in corn agriculture. Corn cob hydrolysate containing xylose, arabinose, and glucose is the hydrolysis product of corn cob. Herein, a recombinant Escherichia coli strain BT-10 was constructed to transform corn cob hydrolysate into 1,2,4-butanetriol, a platform substance with diversified applications. To eliminate catabolite repression and enhance NADPH supply for alcohol dehydrogenase YqhD catalyzed 1,2,4-butanetriol generation, ptsG encoding glucose transporter EIICBGlc and pgi encoding phosphoglucose isomerase were deleted. With four heterologous enzymes including xylose dehydrogenase, xylonolactonase, xylonate dehydratase, α-ketoacid decarboxylase and endogenous YqhD, E. coli BT-10 can produce 36.63 g/L 1,2,4-butanetriol with a productivity of 1.14 g/[L·h] using xylose as substrate. When corn cob hydrolysate was used as the substrate, 43.4 g/L 1,2,4-butanetriol was generated with a productivity of 1.09 g/[L·h] and a yield of 0.9 mol/mol. With its desirable characteristics, E. coli BT-10 is a promising strain for commercial 1,2,4-butanetriol production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water electrolysis has a promising prospect in the production of green hydrogen energy, but its oxygen evolution reaction kinetics is relatively slow. Therefore, in this experiment, CuCo 2 O 4 @ACoNi-LDH (A = Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr) with heterogeneous core-shell catalytic material was firstly prepared by means of hydrothermal and calcination process, and its anodic oxidation reaction in freshwater, seawater and urea was investigated. In the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of electrolytic water, CuCo 2 O 4 @CuCoNi-LDH displays the best catalytic activity. When the current density is 10 mA cm−2, only the overpotential of 199 mV is needed (potential of 1.429 V). The competitive oxidation and corrosion of chloride ions in seawater result in the decrease of catalytic activity. For urea oxidation reaction (UOR), CuCo 2 O 4 @FeCoNi-LDH displays the best catalytic performance, only potential of 1.292 V was required with the same current density, and the catalyst had good stability during the reaction for 12 h. Density functional theory calculation shows that CuCo 2 O 4 plays an important role in the catalytic process. The synergistic catalysis of FeCoNi-LDH and CuCo 2 O 4 results in the improvement of catalyst activity and stability. The CuCo 2 O 4 material plays a key role in catalyzing urea splitting and the FeCoNi-LDH material protects CuCo 2 O 4 from corrosion according to experimental results and density functional theory calculations. This experiment provides a new idea for the hydrogen production, exploration and the treatment of urea wastewater for transition metal oxides and layered hydroxides electrocatalyst with core-shell heterostructure. CuCo 2 O 4 @ACoNi-LDH (A = Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr) with heterogeneous core-shell catalytic material was firstly prepared by means of hydrothermal and calcination process, and its anodic oxidation reaction in freshwater, seawater and urea was investigated. [Display omitted] • CuCo 2 O 4 @ACoNi-LDH (A = Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr) synthesized by hydrothermal method was employed in OER and UOR. • The effects of iron doping was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. • CuCo 2 O 4 @FeCoNi-LDH showed notable activity as well as high stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Advance care planning enables people to record their future health and care wishes and appoint someone as an advocate. An advance directive can be made in the event that a person is incapacitated, so that their wishes are still upheld. The beliefs of the nephrology team might affect patients' choices and willingness to sign an advance directive. To increase the number of dialysis patients who have signed an advance directive, it is necessary to educate the nephrology medical staff. Aim: To explore the intention to sign an advance directive and its related factors among nephrology medical staff. Methods: A cross-sectional and correlational design was used. This study recruited 160 nephrology medical staff. Data were analysed by using the Statistical Package for Social Science 21.0 for Windows. Findings: The results found that the longer someone has worked as part of the nephology medical staff, the more knowledgeable they were about an advance directive. This led to them being more likely to want to sign an advance directive for themselves. Conclusion: In order to improve the knowledge and awareness of advance directives among nephrology medical staff, hospital managers should provide continuing education on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: With the constant upgrading of healthcare concepts, silicone‐free hair products have attracted more attention among consumers. In the present study, transparent silicone‐free shampoo containing proteins was successfully fabricated by mixing mild non‐sulphate surfactants, compound cationic conditioners, natural silicone oil substitutes, protein conditioners, thickeners, and other auxiliary ingredients. The effects of the type of surfactants, hair conditioners and thickeners, the type and content of proteins, and the mass ratio of compound proteins on the hair foaming performance, hair grooming performance, and penetration performance were investigated. Methods: The basic formulation framework for transparent silicone‐free shampoo was established at first. Then, various hydrolyzed proteins were further added to the basic formulation in the form of single use or compound use to prepare transparent silicone‐free shampoo containing different proteins. The morphology of hair samples and penetration of protein in hair were evaluated with a scanning electron microscope and laser confocal fluorescence microscopy, respectively. And the hair grooming performance was also determined by a dynamic combing tester. Results: The compound proteins of Croquat WKP PE‐LQ‐WD and Gluadin® Kera‐PLM with mass ratios of 1:9 and 1:1 at 2 wt% total protein content added to the silicone‐free shampoo brought a higher contact angle and a lower frictional coefficient than commercial silicone‐free shampoo without proteins. In addition, the compound proteins also have the dual effect of adsorbing the hair surface and penetrating deep into the interior of the hair. Conclusion: The combination of cationic modified hydrolyzed protein (e.g., Croquat WKP PE‐LQ‐WD) and hydrolyzed protein with low molecular weight (e.g., Gluadin® Kera‐P LM) at an appropriate mass ratio exhibited a strong synergistic effect on hair conditioning properties. It could provide a significant reference for developing silicone‐free hair products with more benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth materialism excites adolescents' unethical consumer beliefs (UCB-dishonesty). We develop a second-stage moderated mediation model, investigate the relationships between materialism and Generation Z teenagers' consumer ethics (UCB-dishonesty), and treat two self-concept mechanisms (power and self-esteem) as dual mediators and culture as a moderator (China vs. France). We theorize that materialism enhances power (public self) and reduces self-esteem (private self). French adolescents' sense of power increases UCB more than their Chinese counterparts. Chinese teenagers' self-esteem reduces UCB more than their French counterparts. We challenge the assumption that the interaction effects between consumers' self-concepts and UCB are the same across cultures. We offer the following discoveries based on 1,005 (409 Chinese and 596 French) adolescents. First, the measurement model of consumer ethics with four subconstructs is superior to the model with one overall construct. Second, a sense of power and self-esteem mediate the relationships between youth materialism and consumer ethics, creating two positive and negative paths for power and self-esteem, respectively. Third, French adolescents display a higher magnitude and positive intensity between adolescents' power (public self) and UCB-dishonesty than their Chinese counterparts across all four subconstructs. Chinese teenagers illustrate a lower magnitude but a higher negative intensity between self-esteem and UCB than their French counterparts across three subconstructs, with one exception: Adolescents' self-esteem has no impact on "no harm, no foul" across cultures. Neither buyers nor sellers experience substantial financial gains or losses. Finally, cultures moderate the second-stage mediation effects. Scholars must enhance adolescents' self-esteem and curb their power to promote honesty. We offer implications for materialism, consumer ethics, self-concepts, and culture for consumers and retailers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a novel approach named Multi Pier Macro MPM method is proposed for seismic analysis of steel moment frames. Based on the model an arbitrary multi-bay and multi-story moment frame is substituted by a single bay braced frame consists of two piers and two braces at each story. Piers are continuous and braces are pinned to piers. Both piers and braces are 1D truss elements. The axial, flexural and shear stiffness of the moment frame are provided by axial behavior of piers and braces. MPM method was benchmarked against four steel moment frames including two mid-rise and two high-rise buildings. The seismic responses of equivalent braced frames including maximum floor displacements and story drifts was compared with original moment frames responses as exact results, by means of Non-linear Static Procedure NSP and Non-linear Response History Analysis NL-RHA. NL-RHA was performed using twelve ground motion records scaled to Maximum Design Earthquake MDE and Maximum Considered Earthquake MCE hazard intensities. The results proved the simplified braced frame is able to estimate the seismic responses of mid and high-rise moment frame buildings with high accuracy meanwhile the analysis time and computational cost were limited remarkably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic development, energy sustainability, and pollution are issues related to human survival, and it is crucial to properly address the relationships between them. This article examines the nexus between natural resources (NRs), technological innovation, economic growth (EG), and environmental sustainability in China by applying a fixed effect model, random effect model, instrumental variable estimation, using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces as the basis of investigation. (1) There is a “resource curse” in the role of NRs in economic development; the accumulation of human capital, the degree of marketization and the degree of urbanization can mitigate the phenomenon of “resource curse”. (2) The phenomenon of “resource curse” is mainly caused by the displacement effect of technological innovation. (3) Natural resource exploitation and economic development inhibit environmental sustainability, while technological innovation promotes environmental sustainability. Based on the research conclusions, policy insights are proposed to increase the degree of marketization, strengthen human capital accumulation, increase scientific and technological investment, and increase the supply of renewable energy, with a view to providing assistance in promoting the harmonious development of human beings and nature as well as the economic development of various regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To generate minichromosome maintenance protein 2 (MCM2) gene knockout cervical cancer HeLa cell lines using inducible CRISPR/Cas9 technology, and to explore the effect of MCM2 on DNA replication and replication stress. Methods The inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system, TLCV2, was used to construct MCM2 knockout HeLa cell lines. And the cell lines were divided into control group (Control), knockout group 1 (KOI), and knockout group 2 (K02). Western blot, Edu incorporation experiment, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), immunofluorescence and MTT assay were used to analyze the effects of MCM2 knockout on DNA replication and replication stress induced by hydroxyurea. Results The CRISPR/Cas9 system successfully knocked out the MCM2 gene after induction, and MCM2 knockout affected the stability of MCM2-7 complex. Compared with the control cells, MCM2 knockout cells had a dramatic decrease in the capacity of DNA replication, and the mRNA levels of Cyclin A1, Cyclin E1 and CDK4. Under DNA replication stress, MCM2 knockout cells decreased cell viability, DNA damage repair capacity, and increased genomic instability compared with control cells. Conclusion Knockout of MCM2 gene reduces the DNA replication capacity of HeLa cells under normal conditions and cell viability under replication stress. This study successfully generates MCM2 gene inducible knockout HeLa cell lines, laying the foundation for further research on the role and biological function of MCM2 gene in the occurrence and progression of cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White-light superflares from ultra-cool stars are thought to be resulted from magnetic reconnection, but the magnetic dynamics in a fully convective star is not clear yet. In this paper, we report a stellar superflare detected with the ground wide angle camera (GWAC), along with rapid follow-ups with the F60A, Xinglong 2.16-m, and LCOGT telescopes. The effective temperature of the counterpart is estimated to be 2200 ± 50 K by the BT-Settl model, corresponding to a spectral type of L0. The R -band light curve can be modelled as a sum of three exponential decay components, where the impulsive component contributes a fraction of 23 per cent of the total energy, while the gradual and the shallower decay phases emit 42 per cent and 35 per cent of the total energy, respectively. The strong and variable Balmer narrow emission lines indicate the large amplitude flare is resulted from magnetic activity. The bolometric energy released is about 6.4 × 1033 erg, equivalent to an energy release in a duration of 143.7 h at its quiescent level. The amplitude of Δ R  = −8.6 mag (or Δ V  = −11.2 mag), placing it one of the highest amplitudes of any ultra-cool star recorded with excellent temporal resolution. We argue that a stellar flare with such rapidly decaying and huge amplitude at distances greater than 1 kpc may be false positive in searching for counterparts of catastrophic events such as gravitational wave events or gamma-ray bursts, which are valuable in time-domain astronomy and should be given more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inferior capacity and cyclic durability of V2O5 caused by inadequate active sites and sluggish kinetics are the main problems to encumber the widespread industrial applications of vanadium‐zinc batteries (VZBs). Herein, a cooperative redox chemistry (CRC) as "electron carrier" is proposed to facilitate the electron‐transfer by capturing/providing electrons for the redox of V2O5. The increased oxygen vacancies in V2O5 provoked in situ by CRC offers numerous Zn2+ storage sites and ion‐diffusion paths and reduces the electrostatic interactions between vanadium‐based cathode and intercalated Zn2+, which enhance Zn2+ storage capability and structural stability. The feasibility of this strategy is fully verified by some CRCs. Noticeably, VZB with [Fe(CN)6]3−/[Fe(CN)6]4− as CRC displays conspicuous specific capacity (433.3 mAh g−1), ≈100% coulombic efficiency and superb cyclability (≈3500 cycles without capacity attenuation). Also, the mechanism and selection criteria of CRC are specifically unraveled in this work, which provides insightful perspectives for the development of high‐efficiency energy‐storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The planar Turán number of H , denoted by e x P (n , H) , is the maximum number of edges in an n -vertex H -free planar graph. The planar Turán number of k ≥ 3 vertex-disjoint union of cycles is a trivial value 3 n − 6. Lan, Shi and Song determine the exact value of e x P (n , 2 C 3). We continue to study planar Turán number of two vertex-disjoint union of cycles and obtain the exact value of e x P (n , H) , where H is vertex-disjoint union of C 3 and C 4. The extremal graphs are also characterized. We also improve the lower bound of e x P (n , 2 C k) when n is sufficiently large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]