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Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has emerged as a pivotal technology in geosciences, offering unparalleled insights into Earth's surface. Indeed, its ability to provide high‐resolution, all‐weather, and day‐night imaging has revolutionized our understanding of various geophysical processes. Recent advancements in SAR technology, that is, developing new satellite missions, enhancing signal processing techniques, and integrating machine learning algorithms, have significantly broadened the scope and depth of geosciences. Therefore, it is essential to summarize SAR's comprehensive applications for geosciences, especially emphasizing recent advancements in SAR technologies and applications. Moreover, current SAR‐related review papers have primarily focused on SAR technology or SAR imaging and data processing techniques. Hence, a review that integrates SAR technology with geophysical features is needed to highlight the significance of SAR in addressing challenges in geosciences, as well as to explore SAR's potential in solving complex geoscience problems. Spurred by these requirements, this review comprehensively and in‐depth reviews SAR applications for geosciences, broadly including various aspects in air‐sea dynamics, oceanography, geography, disaster and hazard monitoring, climate change, and geosciences data fusion. For each applied field, the scientific advancements produced because of SAR are demonstrated by combining the SAR techniques with characteristics of geophysical phenomena and processes. Further outlooks are also explored, such as integrating SAR data with other geophysical data and conducting interdisciplinary research to offer comprehensive insights into geosciences. With the support of deep learning, this synergy will enhance the capability to model, simulate, and forecast geophysical phenomena with greater accuracy and reliability. Plain Language Summary: Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) uses microwaves to remotely see the Earth's surface under all weather conditions, day and night. SAR has been providing high‐resolution images for many decades and they have been applied to many fields in geosciences. Several SAR sensors have been launched in recent years, significantly increasing the SAR data volume and leading to great developments in SAR technology, thereby improving our understanding of geophysical phenomena and processes. This work comprehensively overviews the application of SAR in geosciences, including oceanography, geography, geodesy, climatology, seismology, meteorology, and environmental science. Moreover, this review paper highlights the significance of SAR in various aspects of geosciences, summarizes recent advancements in SAR technology, and demonstrates unique insights and important contributions of SAR in understanding and solving geophysical questions. Future directions and outlooks include integrating SAR with other geophysical data and interdisciplinary applications for complex questions. This review serves as an up‐to‐date guide to the cutting‐edge uses of SAR technology in comprehensive geophysical studies. It is aimed at researchers and practitioners in geosciences, as well as policymakers and stakeholders interested in leveraging SAR for geosciences. Key Points: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for geosciences is comprehensively reviewed broadly including oceanography, geography, hazards, and climate changeScientific advances contributed by SAR techniques for each topic are overviewed in‐depth with recent developments and frontiers highlightedData, techniques, and scientific insights of SAR are summarized and prospected, highlighting the role of machine learning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aldo‐keto reductases (AKRs) are important biocatalysts that can be used to synthesize chiral pharmaceutical alcohols. In this study, the catalytic activity and stereoselectivity of a NADPH‐dependent AKR from Kluyveromyces dobzhanskii (KdAKR) toward t‐butyl 6‐chloro (5S)‐hydroxy‐3‐oxohexanoate ((5S)‐CHOH) were improved by mutating its residues in the loop regions around the substrate‐binding pocket. And the thermostability of KdAKR was improved by a consensus sequence method targeted on the flexible regions. The best mutant M6 (Y28A/L58I/I63L/G223P/Y296W/W297H) exhibited a 67‐fold higher catalytic efficiency compared to the wild‐type (WT) KdAKR, and improved R‐selectivity toward (5S)‐CHOH (dep value from 47.6% to >99.5%). Moreover, M6 exhibited a 6.3‐fold increase in half‐life (t1/2) at 40°C compared to WT. Under the optimal conditions, M6 completely converted 200 g/L (5S)‐CHOH to diastereomeric pure t‐butyl 6‐chloro‐(3R, 5S)‐dihydroxyhexanoate ((3R, 5S)‐CDHH) within 8.0 h, with a space‐time yield of 300.7 g/L/day. Our results deepen the understandings of the structure−function relationship of AKRs, providing a certain guidance for the modification of other AKRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All yellow Camellia plants in China are threatened, but their classification is contentious. Here, we performed a phylogenetic reconstruction based on nuclear double‐digest restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD), transcriptomes, nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS), and the small single‐copy region of the chloroplast genome, in combination with morphological evidence to help resolve taxonomic ambiguity of those rare and threatened species. Conflicting relationships were derived from nuclear and chloroplast sequences. The strong hybridization/introgression signal detected suggests reticulate evolution mainly caused this discordance pattern. The nuclear‐ddRAD and RNA‐seq phylogenies fit better to the yellow camellias' morphology, providing a clear resolution for inferring their relationships in China. Based on present phylogenetic analyses and morphological characters, we propose these taxonomic suggestions: (i) Camellia petelotii and Camellia nitidissima are distinct species; (ii) Camellia ptilosperma, Camellia longruiensis, Camellia longgangensis, and C. longgangensis var. grandis are conspecific with Camellia flavida; (iii) Camellia multipetala and C. longgangensis var. patens are synonyms of Camellia quinqueloculosa, and C. quinqueloculosa should be recognized as an independent species; (iv) Camellia wumingensis should be formally recognized as an independent species; (v) Camellia longzhouensis is a synonym of Camellia chrysanthoides; (vi) Camellia xiashiensis and Camellia parvipetala should be treated as synonyms of Camellia micrantha; (vii) Camellia achrysantha is a good species; (viii) Camellia tunghinensis is an independent species; (ix) species status of Camellia huana is well‐supported; and (x) Camellia pingguoensis var. terminals should be correctly identified to species level as Camellia terminalis. These results provide the basis for the recognition 20 yellow Camellia species in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Tea catechins have been shown to have beneficial effects on the alleviation of obesity, the prevention of diabetes, and the amelioration of metabolic syndrome. The purpose of the present work is to explore the underlying mechanisms linking the intestinal microbiota and anti‐obesity benefits of green tea, oolong tea, and black tea catechins in C57BL/6J mice fed with a high‐fat diet (HFD). RESULTS: The results indicated that, after the dietary intake of three tea catechins, obesity and low‐grade inflammation were significantly alleviated. Hepatic steatosis was prevented, and this was accompanied by the upregulation of the mRNA and protein expressions of hepatic peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α (PPARα). Metagenomic analysis of fecal samples suggested that the three tea catechins similarly changed the microbiota in terms of overall structure, composition, and protein functions by regulating the metabolites, facilitating the generation of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and repressing lipopolysaccharides. CONCLUSION: The anti‐obese properties of three tea catechins were partially mediated by their positive effect on gut microbiota, hepatic steatosis alleviation, and anti‐inflammatory activity. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Habitual sleep duration and efficiency vary widely by age, gender, and racial/ethnic identity. Despite growing research on the importance of night‐to‐night, intraindividual variability (IIV) in sleep, few studies have examined demographic differences in sleep IIV. The present study describes typical sleep IIV overall and by demographics among healthy sleepers. Eight datasets of healthy sleepers (N = 2,404; 26,121 total days of sleep data) were synthesised to examine age, gender, and racial/ethnic identity differences in sleep IIV measured via diaries, actigraphy, and electroencephalography (EEG). Sleep IIV estimates included the intraindividual standard deviation (iSD), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), coefficient of variation (CV), and a validated Bayesian Variability Model (BVM). There was substantial IIV in sleep across measurement types (diary, actigraphy, EEG) for both sleep duration (iSD: 85.80 [diary], 77.41 [actigraphy], 67.04 [EEG] minutes; RMSSD: 118.91, 108.89, 91.93 minutes; CV: 19.19%, 19.11%, 18.57%; BVM: 60.60, 58.20, 48.60 minutes) and sleep efficiency (iSD: 5.18% [diary], 5.22% [actigraphy], 6.46% [EEG]; RMSSD: 7.01%, 7.08%, 8.44%; CV: 5.80%, 6.27%, 8.14%; BVM: 3.40%, 3.58%, 4.16%). Younger adults had more diary and actigraphy sleep duration IIV. Gender differences were inconsistent. White and non‐Hispanic/Latinx adults had less IIV in sleep duration and efficiency compared to racial/ethnic minority groups. Even among healthy sleepers, sleep varies widely from night‐to‐night. Like mean sleep, there also may be disparities in IIV in sleep by demographic characteristics. Study results help characterise normative values of sleep IIV in healthy sleepers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observation of the ocean is crucial to the studies of ocean dynamics, climate change, and biogeochemical cycle. However, current oceanic observations are patently insufficient, because the in situ observations are of difficulty and high cost while the satellite remote‐sensed measurements are mainly the sea surface data. To make up for the shortage of ocean interior data and make full use of the abundant satellite data, here we develop a data‐driven deep learning model to estimate ocean subsurface and interior variables from satellite‐observed sea surface data. Exclusively and simply using satellite data, three‐dimensional ocean temperature and salinity fields are successfully reconstructed, which are at 26 level depths from 0 to 2,000 m. We further design a scheme to increase the horizontal resolution from 1° to 1/4°, which is higher than the Argo gridded data. Estimations from our model are accurate, reliable, and stable for a wide range of research areas and periods. Dynamic height fields that are derived from the estimated temperature and salinity, as well as the associated ocean geostrophic flows, are also calculated and analyzed, which indicates the potentials of our model for reconstructing the ocean circulation fields as well. This study enriches oceanic observations with respect to vertical dimension and horizontal resolution, which can largely make up for the paucity of the subsurface and deep ocean observation, both before and during Argo era. This work also provides some new foundations for and insights into geoscience and climate change fields. Plain Language Summary: Ocean data are important for ocean science and climate change studies; however, oceanic observations are difficult and costly and thus are still very sparse in space and time. Satellites have been providing plentiful oceanic observations, but these data are only at the sea surface. To fully utilize the copious satellite data and to make up for the shortage of ocean interior data. Here, we establish a deep learning model to connect the surface ocean with the subsurface and deep oceans, through which, subsurface and deep ocean temperature and salinity data are estimated from the surface data observed by satellites. We also design a new scheme to improve the horizontal resolution of the obtained data. The results show that our model successfully reconstructed the three‐dimensional field data of temperature and salinity. Our model could facilitate ocean science studies by largely enriching the ocean data availability. Key Points: Three‐dimensional temperature and salinity anomaly fields are estimated exclusively from satellite data through a deep learning approachEstimated data are at 26 depths (0–2,000 m) and horizontal resolution has been improved to 1/4°, higher than Argo gridded dataOur model is accurate and reliable for a wide range of research area and period; dynamic fields from the estimated data are also analyzed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variability of the Indian Ocean (IO) shallow overturning circulation during 1958–2017 was investigated, which consisted of a cross‐equator cell (CEC) and a southern subtropical cell (SSTC). Structures of these shallow cells were examined through the velocity sections and the transport steamfunction patterns based on the newly released Ocean Reanalysis System 5 data set, and the results showed that the returning flows, at the subsurface, of the shallow cells mainly presented at the western boundary while absented in the ocean interior. Strengths of the IO shallow cells were then determined according to the annual‐mean meridional streamfunction profiles. Both the CEC and the SSTC exhibited significant variability on interannual to decadal timescales during 1958–2017, and this variability mainly resulted from changes in both meridional Ekman transports and meridional geostrophic flows in the upper layer, and each component could dominate the shallow cells' variations in certain years. Contributions of the geostrophic currents to the shallow cells were likely opposite to that of the Ekman transport in the South Indian Ocean during years when the latter reached the extremes. The CEC and the SSTC were negatively correlated during the research period. The CEC exhibited a decadal weakening during 2000–2015, contributing to the decadal increasing of the IO heat content, while the SSTC only experienced very little strengthening. Here this paper presents a comprehensively study of the interannual to decadal variability of the IO shallow cells and the corresponding reasons and influences and tried to link these variations with other variations in the IO. Plain Language Summary: Studying ocean circulation is of great importance in understanding the changes and processes of the ocean and atmosphere. Meridional flows play an important role in balancing the heat in the ocean, and thus, their changes have great influences on climate change. The shallow overturning circulation is the wind‐driven circulation in the upper few hundred meters along the north‐south direction. This work examined the structure and time series of the Indian Ocean shallow overturning circulation and the results shown obvious variability on different timescales. This paper further explored the reasons for this variability and its influences on ocean heat redistributions. Our findings promote the understanding of the oceanic circulation and its role in the sea‐atmosphere system and climate changes. Key Points: Pycnocline flow, returning flow of Indian Ocean (IO) shallow cells, was trivial interior and mainly in the western boundaryIO shallow cells exhibited obvious interannual to decadal variability, resulting from changes in the wind stress and geostrophic transportsThe cross‐equator cell experienced a significant decadal weakening during 2000‐2015 while the southern subtropical cell showed little change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An artificial neural network (ANN) is trained and validated using a large dataset of observations of wind speed, direction, and power generated at an offshore wind farm (Lillgrund in Sweden). In its traditional form, the ANN is used to generate a new two‐dimensional power curve, which predicts with high accuracy (bias ∼−0.5% and absolute error ∼2%) the power of the entire Lillgrund wind farm based on wind speed and direction. By contrast, manufacturers only provide one‐dimensional power curves (i.e., power as a function of wind speed) for a single turbine. The second innovative application of the ANN is the use of a geometric model (GM) to calculate two simple geometric properties to replace wind direction in the ANN. The resulting GM‐ANN has the powerful feature of being applicable to any wind farm, not just Lillgrund. A validation at an onshore wind farm (Nørrekær in Denmark) demonstrates the high accuracy (bias ∼−0.7% and absolute error ∼6%) and transfer‐learning ability of the GM‐ANN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative photoconductive phototransistors, referring to transistors that exhibit a decrease in photocurrent under illumination, have the potential to revolutionize optoelectronic applications involving light, such as optoelectronic logic circuits and visual neural simulation. Currently, achieving negative photoconductivity (NPC) requires complex material design or interface structure construction. However, achieving precise control over NPC behaviors poses a significant challenge. Herein, a simple yet effective strategy is demonstrated for realizing controllable NPC responses in organic phototransistors through ambipolar transport modulation. Due to the controversy between the preferred exciton dissociation/charge separation direction and the gate electric field driven charge drift direction, the main semiconductor channel (n‐ or p‐channel) exhibits NPC behavior under illumination. The validity of this mechanism has been confirmed through intensive studies by varying the component and combination of the p‐n heterostructure. Moreover, devices utilizing ambipolar transport exhibit a wavelength‐selectivity NPC response due to the absorption characteristics of the combined semiconductor materials. Most encouragingly, by incorporating both negative and positve photoconductivity along with wavelength‐selective responses, high‐contrast image sensing, information encryption and decryption, as well as optoelectronic logic circuit design is successfully achieved. This work promotes the design and development of bidirectional optoelectronic devices and offers a new route for developing attractive multifunctional optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The IL‐17 receptor (IL‐17R) has a perplexing role in cancer, which may be explained by its yin‐yang signaling pathways. Recently, the critical role of IL‐17R in maintaining basal levels of A20—a key negative regulator of NF‐κB and JNK‐c‐Jun pathways has been demonstrated in cancer cell lines. Cross‐cancer analyses of somatic copy number alterations in IL‐17RA, IL‐17RC and A20 genes reveal that IL‐17RA‐deletion is common in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, representing 24, 26, 37 and 49% of stage I, II, III and IV of patients, respectively, and mutually exclusive with patients displaying microsatellite instability. Importantly, patients with IL‐17R‐deletion or concurrent deletions of A20 show significantly reduced overall survival. Analysis of multiple published microarray studies confirms that IL‐17RA expression is significantly reduced in CRC samples compared to normal counterparts, and its level is closely associated with A20 expression. Analyses of RNAseq data indicate that tumors with IL‐17R‐deletion express strong molecular markers of tumor invasion, growth and metastasis. Notably, approximately 20 genes responsible for protein synthesis and mitochondrial metabolism are inversely correlated with both IL‐17RA and A20. Immunohistochemistry staining in human colorectal tissue arrays further reveals that high‐grade tumors have significantly reduced IL‐17RA staining compared to low‐grade tumors. Thus, collective evidence strongly supports a previously unrecognized CRC‐promoting mechanism triggered by IL‐17RA‐deletion and highlights its utility as a prognostic marker in CRC. What's new? Interleukin‐17 signaling plays an important, complex role in inflammation and colorectal cancer. Here, the authors show that high grade tumors have far less IL‐17 receptor than low grade tumors. They also found that IL‐17R levels correlate closely with the ubiquitin‐editing enzyme A20, which helps keep a lid on inflammation by regulating NF‐kB. Patients with reduced IL‐17R had worse overall survival, and tumors carrying deletions in IL‐17R had significant changes in the NF‐kB and MAPK signalling pathways. Together, these data suggest that IL‐17R deletions could be useful as a prognostic marker for CRC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is a prevalent clinical problem in the management of advanced non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with TKI‐sensitizing mutations in the EGFR gene. Third‐generation EGFR‐TKIs have demonstrated potent activity against TKI resistance mediated by the EGFR T790M mutation, and standard rebiopsy and liquid biopsy are utilized to assess the T790M status of the NSCLC patients who experienced progressive disease (PD). Here, we conducted a retrospective study to assess 375 patients whose initial biopsy indicated a TKI‐sensitizing mutation (either EGFR 19del or L858R) and who developed PD after treatment with first‐generation TKIs, and assayed for T790M status. We adopted a combination approach in which tissue rebiopsy is preferred, utilizing liquid biopsies when tissue rebiopsy is not feasible. We analyzed the potential predictive clinical factors affecting T790M detection, evaluated the standard rebiopsy and liquid biopsy methods in T790M genotyping, and reported the clinical performance of osimertinib. Our results suggested that primary EGFR 19del, brain metastasis, and longer progression‐free survival of initial EGFR‐TKI treatment are associated with acquired T790M resistance. T790M‐positive patients significantly benefited from osimertinib. In conclusion, the real‐world clinical adoption of the combination approach with both tissue rebiopsy and liquid biopsy for T790M genotyping may provide significant benefits to patients who have developed PD after first‐generation TKI treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: This study examined pathological quality‐of‐surgery indicators in laparoscopic and open rectal cancer resection specimens. Methods: Retrospective analysis of consecutive, prospectively recorded laparoscopic (LR) or open (OR) resections for rectal cancer. Indicators included integrity of the perirectal fascial envelope, circumferential margin clearance, lymph node yield and distal margin clearance. Results: Between January 2007 and December 2013, 168 LR and 189 OR were performed. Univariate analysis showed that the presence of tumor within 1 mm of the circumferential margin was lower in LR (13/168 vs 28/189 cases, P = 0.039) as was a distal margin of clearance of < 1 cm (3/165 vs 12/186, P = 0.032). There was no difference in the surgical disruption of the fascial envelope (P = 0.091) or the percentage of specimens with a lymph node yield < 12 (P = 0.576) between the LR and OR groups. Multivariate analysis did not reveal any significant differences in pathological outcomes. Conclusion: With careful case selection, laparoscopic surgery has similar pathological outcomes to open surgery for rectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nb-doped TiO2 ( TNO) films, which are highly conductive and transparent, can be used as transparent conductive oxide ( TCO) films. A predominant manufacturing method for TCO film is magnetron sputtering, and the material of the sputtering target affects the performance of the film. The objective of this study was to investigate the sintering densification, microstructure, and electrical properties of TNO and TiO2 sputtering targets. The results showed that the segregation of Nb at the grain boundary in TNO helps to facilitate densification and inhibit grain growth. After 1200°C sintering, the sintered density of TNO target achieves almost 100% of the theoretical density. Moreover, the Nb2 O5 additive greatly improves the electrical properties, decreasing the resistivity of TiO2 from >108 Ωcm to 4.6 × 101 Ωcm. Correlations between TNO sputtering target investigated in this study and TNO sputtered film reported in the literature are also preliminarily established. The resistivity of TNO film with an anatase structure is obviously lower than that of TNO target with a rutile structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral lead halide perovskites have captivated considerable attentions due to their distinctive attributes, such as ferroelectricity, spin‐dependent transport, and chiroptical activity. However, lead toxicity and weak circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) have cast a pall over their practical applications. Here, a series of 0D lead‐free chiral enantiomorphic hybrids, such as (R‐/S‐MBA)3In1‐xSbxCl6 (x = 0–1) is successfully developed. By optimizing the Sb3+ doping concentration to 0.55%, the resultant (R‐/S‐MBA)3In99.45%Sb0.55%Cl6 not only shows a near‐unity quantum yield but also emanates potent CPL, boasting a dissymmetry factor (glum) of 6.3 × 10–3. These efficient CPL activities are intricately tied to the presence of a twisted luminescent cluster [SbCl6]3– induced by structural chirality. The comprehensive results reveal that the emission of the chiral perovskite originated from self‐trapped excitons (STEs) of 5s2 Sb3+ ions. Moreover, (MBA)3In99.45%Sb0.55%Cl6 single crystals also exhibit bright orange emission and UV detector signals. These findings will pave the way for the further investigation in efficient CPL and detectors based on lead‐free chiral optoelectronic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]