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In this work, conventional sintering, hot-pressing sintering, and spark plasma sintering techniques were utilized to simulate the thermal field, thermal-stress field, and thermal-stress-electric field, respectively. The effects of these fields on the microstructure and cation distribution of the (Mg 0.1 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 Ni 0.2 Ti 0.1 Cu 0.1 Zn 0.2)Fe 2.1 O 4 ferrite (HEF) material were comprehensively analyzed. The results indicate that in the temperature range of 1000–1100 °C, the thermal field provides the driving force for sintering, promotes grain growth (average particle size: 2→7 μm), and increases crystallinity degree. The stress field brings the particles into close contact with each other, facilitates diffusion, and delays grain growth (0.5→5 μm). The electric field reduces grain boundary energy, causes mass transfer, and makes the grains finer (0.5→0.7 μm) and more uniform. Mathematical model analysis reveals that the thermal field is beneficial to the random distribution of cations, which yields an inversion degree (γ) of about 2/3 and increases the configuration entropy of HEF. The stress field leads to lattice distortion, permits ions with larger radius to occupy tetrahedral positions, and changes the cell parameters and oxygen position parameter of HEF. Finally, the interaction between electric field and crystal charges increases the electrostatic field energy, which promotes the formation of positive spinel structure and maximizes the crystal field stability energy. X-ray photoelectron spectra, Raman spectra, and change in lattice constant confirm the rationality of the mathematical model, and can be used to establish the model of the crystal structure under field effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the chemodynamical properties of the Galaxy in the azimuthal velocity V ϕ and metallicity [Fe/H] space using red giant stars from Gaia Data Release 3. The row-normalized V ϕ –[Fe/H] maps form a coherent sequence from the bulge to the outer disk, clearly revealing the thin/thick disk and the Splash. The metal-rich stars display bar-like kinematics, while the metal-poor stars show dispersion-dominated kinematics. The intermediate-metallicity population (−1 < [Fe/H]< − 0.4) can be separated into two populations, one that is bar-like, i.e., dynamically cold ( σ V R ∼ 80 km s−1) and fast-rotating (V ϕ ≳ 100 km s−1), and the Splash, which is dynamically hot ( σ V R ∼ 110 km s−1) and slow-rotating (V ϕ ≲ 100 km s−1). We compare the observations in the bulge region with an Auriga simulation where the last major merger event occurred ∼10 Gyr ago: only stars born around the time of the merger reveal a Splash-like feature in the V ϕ –[Fe/H] space, suggesting that the Splash is likely merger-induced, predominantly made up of heated disk stars and the starburst associated with the last major merger. Since the Splash formed from the proto-disk, its lower metallicity limit coincides with that of the thick disk. The bar formed later from the dynamically hot disk with [Fe/H] > − 1 dex, with the Splash not participating in the bar formation and growth. Moreover, with a set of isolated evolving N -body disk simulations, we confirm that a nonrotating classical bulge can be spun up by the bar and develop cylindrical rotation, consistent with the observations for the metal-poor stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This network meta-analysis (NMA) aimed to compare the efficacy of five non-pharmacological interventions, including exercise intervention (EI), nutritional intervention (NI), respiratory intervention (RI), psychological intervention (PSI), and integrated physical intervention (IPI), on functional status, quality of life, muscle strength, pulmonary function, and safety in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We searched nine databases, PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, WFPD, and CSTJ, for randomized controlled trials of ALS patients. The primary outcome was the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) score. Secondary outcomes were the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (McGill-QoL), Medical Research Council (MRC)-sum score, Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) score. This NMA was conducted using random-effect models to calculate the standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). All types of supplemental interventions had some benefit for patients with ALS. EI had a beneficial effect on the ALSFRS-R score (SMD: 1.01; 95% CI 0.50–1.51), FVC (SMD: 0.78; 95% CI 0.02–1.55), McGill-QoL (SMD: 0.71 95% CI 0.33–1.08), and MRC (SMD: 1.11; 95% CI 0.08–2.14). RI had a beneficial effect on the ALSFRS-R score (SMD: 0.83 95% CI 0.12–1.55). IPI had a beneficial effect on the ALSFRS-R score (SMD: 0.65 95% CI 0.06–1.24). NI had a beneficial effect on the McGill-QoL (SMD: 0.63 95% CI 0.02–1.23). The current study findings support a multimodal intervention strategy with an emphasis on EI for slowing disease progression in patients with ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) nanowire was developed as a precursor and template for the synthesis of CoRu-MOF nanotubes and densely isolated CoRu alloy catalysts. The optimized Co-15Ru@NG-500 catalyst demonstrated superior catalytic performance for the HER in alkaline electrolytes with an overpotential of only 30 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and robust durability. [Display omitted] Designing highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) is essential to the production of green and renewable hydrogen. Metal-organic framework (MOF) precursor strategies are promising for the design of excellent electrocatalysts because of their porous architectures and adjustable compositions. In this study, a hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) nanowire was developed as a precursor and template for the controllable and scalable synthesis of CoRu-MOF nanotubes. After calcination in Ar, the CoRu-MOF nanotubes were converted into N -doped graphene (NG) nanotubes with ultrafine CoRu nanoclusters (hereon called Co- x Ru@NG- T ; x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 25 representing the Ru content of 0–0.25 mmol; T = 400 °C to 700 °C) that were densely encapsulated and isolated on the shell. Taking advantage of the synergistic effects of the porous, one-dimensional hollow structure and ultrafine CoRu nanoclusters, the optimized Co-15Ru@NG-500 catalyst demonstrated superior catalytic performance for HERs in alkaline electrolytes with an overpotential of only 30 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and robust durability for 2000 cycles, which outperforms many typical catalytic materials, such as commercial Pt/C. This work introduces a novel high-efficiency and cost-effective HER catalyst for application in commercial water-splitting electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: White matter injury (WMI) is an important pathological process after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The correlation between white matter functions and the myeloid cells expressing triggering receptor‐2 (TREM2) has been convincingly demonstrated. Moreover, a recent study revealed that microglial sterol metabolism is crucial for early remyelination after demyelinating diseases. However, the potential roles of TREM2 expression and microglial sterol metabolism in WMI after TBI have not yet been explored. Methods: Controlled cortical injury was induced in both wild‐type (WT) and TREM2 depletion (TREM2 KO) mice to simulate clinical TBI. COG1410 was used to upregulate TREM2, while PLX5622 and GSK2033 were used to deplete microglia and inhibit the liver X receptor (LXR), respectively. Immunofluorescence, Luxol fast blue staining, magnetic resonance imaging, transmission electron microscopy, and oil red O staining were employed to assess WMI after TBI. Neurological behaviour tests and electrophysiological recordings were utilized to evaluate cognitive functions following TBI. Microglial cell sorting and transcriptomic sequencing were utilized to identify alterations in microglial sterol metabolism‐related genes, while western blot was conducted to validate the findings. Results: TREM2 expressed highest at 3 days post‐TBI and was predominantly localized to microglial cells within the white matter. Depletion of TREM2 worsened aberrant neurological behaviours, and this phenomenon was mediated by the exacerbation of WMI, reduced renewal of oligodendrocytes, and impaired phagocytosis ability of microglia after TBI. Subsequently, the upregulation of TREM2 alleviated WMI, promoted oligodendrocyte regeneration, and ultimately facilitated the recovery of neurological behaviours after TBI. Finally, the expression of DHCR24 increased in TREM2 KO mice after TBI. Interestingly, TREM2 inhibited DHCR24 and upregulated members of the LXR pathway. Moreover, LXR inhibition could partially reverse the effects of TREM2 upregulation on electrophysiological activities. Conclusions: We demonstrate that TREM2 has the potential to alleviate WMI following TBI, possibly through the DHCR24/LXR pathway in microglia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Crowding stress from stocking density is one of the critical stress factors in mariculture. Exposure of fish to chronic crowding stress substantially affects their well-being and physiological state, resulting in decreased growth performance, disordered metabolism, and consequent economic losses. In this research, we aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the effects of chronic crowding stress from stocking density on rainbow trout in mariculture. The obtained data offer unprecedented insights into the relationship between the growth performance and lipid metabolism of rainbow trout under chronic stress from stocking density in mariculture. (1) Background: In aquaculture, chronic stress due to high stocking density impairs animals' welfare and results in declined fishery production with low protein quality. However, most previous studies evaluated the effects of high stocking density on trout in freshwater rather than seawater. (2) Methods: Juvenile trout were reared for 84 days in circular tanks under three stocking densities, including low density ("LD", 9.15 kg/m3), moderate density ("MD", 13.65 kg/m3), and high density ("HD", 27.31 kg/m3) in seawater. The final densities of LD, MD, and HD were 22.00, 32.05 and 52.24 kg/m3, respectively. Growth performance and lipid metabolism were evaluated. (3) Results: Growth performance and feeding efficiency were significantly reduced due to chronic stress under high density in mariculture. The digestive activity of lipids was promoted in the gut of HD fish, while the concentration of triglycerides was decreased in the blood. Furthermore, decreased acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), increased hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) concentrations, and activated hepatic β-oxidation processes were observed in trout under HD. Redundancy analysis showed that glycerol and HSL can be used as potential markers to evaluate the growth performance of trout in mariculture. (4) Conclusions: We showed that chronic high stocking density led to negative effects on growth performance, reduced de novo synthesis of fatty acids, and enhanced lipolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Objective: The Tubridge flow diverter is a commonly used device in China for reconstructing the parental artery and occluding complex intracranial aneurysms. However, there is limited experience with the device in treating recurrent intracranial aneurysms. The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and effectiveness of the Tubridge flow diverter in treating recurrent singlecoiling aneurysms. Methods: The clinical records of patients with recurrent intracranial aneurysms who were treated with a Tubridge flow diverter were reviewed to show the therapeutic process, occlusion rate, and clinical outcomes associated with this treatment method. Results: Five patients with recurrent aneurysms of the internal carotid artery after singe coiling were included in the study. The recurrent aneurysmal sac had a mean length and width of 8.34/4.30 mm. All five Tubridge flow diverters were implanted without any unfold failure. The last angiographic follow-up showed a complete occlusion rate of 100%. Five branch arteries were covered, and only one branch artery disappeared during follow-up. No cases of cerebral infarction or intracranial hemorrhage were found among the patients. Conclusions: Our initial findings indicate that the Tubridge flow diverter could be a reliable and successful method for treating recurring single-coil aneurysms. We observed that the branch arteries were well-preserved, and no patients experienced cerebral infarction or hemorrhage. However, further research is necessary to establish clear indications and potential complications through a multicenter randomized controlled trial with long-term follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Unusual clinical course. Background: Hyperparathyroidism is a common issue in patients on long-term hemodialysis, necessitating parathyroidectomy with deep venipuncture. These patients frequently exhibit a heightened incidence of vascular calcification, complicating deep venipuncture and increasing the risk of associated complications. Therefore, a crucial aspect of preoperative assessment in this population involves identifying vascular calcification, with a preference for ultrasound-guided intraplane puncture. Special care is required to prevent blood vessel injuries and postoperative complications such as deep vein thrombosis. Case Report: We present the case of a 66-year-old woman with secondary hyperparathyroidism who encountered challenges during an internal jugular vein puncture, leading to subsequent thrombosis. Initial attempts were hindered by calcification of the internal jugular vein's vascular wall, resulting in stratified damage to the vessel's wall. However, the ultrasound-guided in-plane puncture technique successfully allowed the insertion of a central venous catheter without further damage to the vascular wall. On the postoperative fourth day, thrombus formation was observed in the damaged vascular wall from the initial puncture. Conclusions: The ultrasound-guided in-plane puncture technique is advantageous in overcoming the difficulties associated with puncturing through deep vein calcification in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. This technique also diminishes the likelihood of complications such as venous thrombosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

lithium-rich manganese base cathode material (xLi 2 MnO 3-(1-x) LiMO 2 , M = Ni, Co, Mn, etc.) is regarded as one of the finest possibilities for future lithium-ion battery cathode materials due to its high specific capacity, low cost, and environmental friendliness. The cathode material encounters rapid voltage decline, poor rate and during the electrochemical cycling. A series of problems that hinder the commercial application of lithium-rich manganese base cathode material in energy storage area. In view of this, the structural characteristics and discharge performance of lithium-rich manganese base cathode material are discussed in this manuscript as well as the mechanisms governing ion doping, surface coating, morphology, and component design. The reasons behind the performance differences between various doping ions and coating materials acting on Li-rich layered materials are also examined in detail, along with the benefits of double doping and double coating. In order to solve the shortcomings of single ion doping, surface coating, and morphology and component design in the modification of lithium-rich layered materials, a combined modification process based on the aforementioned three alterations is lastly proposed and briefly explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants possess the remarkable ability to sense detrimental environmental stimuli and launch sophisticated signal cascades that culminate in tailored responses to facilitate their survival, and transcription factors (TFs) are closely involved in these processes. Phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs) are among these TFs and belong to the basic helix–loop–helix family. PIFs are initially identified and have now been well established as core regulators of phytochrome-associated pathways in response to the light signal in plants. However, a growing body of evidence has unraveled that PIFs also play a crucial role in adapting plants to various biological and environmental pressures. In this review, we summarize and highlight that PIFs function as a signal hub that integrates multiple environmental cues, including abiotic (i.e., drought, temperature, and salinity) and biotic stresses to optimize plant growth and development. PIFs not only function as transcription factors to reprogram the expression of related genes, but also interact with various factors to adapt plants to harsh environments. This review will contribute to understanding the multifaceted functions of PIFs in response to different stress conditions, which will shed light on efforts to further dissect the novel functions of PIFs, especially in adaption to detrimental environments for a better survival of plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, lithium–zinc ferrite (LZF) ceramics were prepared by spark plasma sintering. Problem of carbon pollution was effectively resolved by annealing decarburization, formation of BN-coated carbon paper, and formation of protective layer of different metal foils (Ti, Mo, W, and Ta). The effects of carbon pollution and different protective layers on microstructure and dielectric and magnetic properties of LZF ceramics were studied comprehensively. Results reveal that annealing decarburization and BN-coated carbon paper could significantly improve resistance and saturation magnetization (M s) of LZF, while real part of dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss (tanδ) were significantly reduced. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that all selected protective layers can provide good spinel-phase LZF ceramics. The utilization of metallic foil as protective layer can effectively reduce carburization, improve the resistance of LZF ceramics, and reduce ε′ and tanδ values. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy results reveal that cations with the highest valence state replace Fe3+ at B-site. The use of metal foil protective layer leads to the infiltration of metal ions into LZF lattice, leading to the increase in the lattice constant and decrease in the M s value. This study deepens the understanding of carburization during SPS, providing a reference scheme for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Airway remodeling is a poorly reversible feature of asthma which lacks effective therapeutic interventions. CD147 can regulate extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and tissue fibrosis, and participate in the pathogenesis of asthma. In this study, the role of CD147 in airway remodeling and activation of circulating fibrocytes was investigated in asthmatic mice. Methods: Asthmatic mouse model was established by sensitizing and challenging mice with ovalbumin (OVA), and treated with anti-CD147 or Isotype antibody. The number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was examined by microscope, and the levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5 and IL-13 in BALF were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The number of CD45+ and collagen I (COL-I)+ circulating fibrocytes in BALF was detected by flow cytometry. Lung tissue sections were respectively stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE), periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) or Masson trichrome staining, or used for immunohistochemistry of CD31 and immunohistofluorescence of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), CD45 and COL-I. The protein expression of α-SMA, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), Fibronectin, and COL-I was determined by western blotting. Results: Anti-CD147 treatment significantly reduced the number of eosinophils and the levels of IL-4, IL-13, and IL-5 in BALF, and repressed airway inflammatory infiltration and airway wall thickening in asthmatic mice. Anti-CD147 treatment also reduced airway goblet cell metaplasia, collagen deposition, and angiogenesis in asthmatic mice, accompanied by inhibition of VEGF and α-SMA expression. The number of CD45+COL-I+ circulating fibrocytes was increased in BALF and lung tissues of OVA-induced asthmatic mice, but was decreased by anti-CD147 treatment. In addition, anti-CD147 treatment also reduced the protein expression of COL-I, fibronectin, and TGF-β1 in lung tissues of asthmatic mice. Conclusion: OVA-triggered airway inflammation and airway remodeling in asthmatic mice can be repressed by anti-CD147 treatment, along with inhibiting the accumulation and activation of circulating fibrocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The explicit topology optimization method based on moving morphable component (MMC) has attracted more and more attention, and components are the basic building blocks of the implementation of MMC method. In the present work, a MMC topology optimization method based on component with void structure is followed with interest. On the basis of analyzing the characteristics of components used by MMC method, the topology description function for component with void structure is presented, where a quantitative scaling factor is introduced without increasing the number of design variables. Taking the minimum flexibility as the optimization objective, an example of short beam is analyzed with different void structure scaling factors. The results show that different scaling factors have a greater impact on the final topology optimization structure, and an ideal topology structure can be obtained with an appropriate scaling factor. Finally, some problems in the optimization process are analyzed and indicate that appropriate mesh density should be chose for component with void structure in order to achieve good optimization results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperatures and particulate matter (PM) pollution can make environments uninhabitable. Using air conditioners to cool rooms and air filters to remove PM is effective, but it consumes lots of energy. To save energy, a novel curtain made of polyvinylidene fluoride–hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) nanofiber membrane has successfully been produced by simple electrospinning technology, which could block PM from outside through natural ventilation and also cool the room by reflecting and scattering sunlight and radiating energy to the outside. The results showed that the curtain was able to effectively reflect sunlight and reduce the subambient temperature by about 10 °C, achieving effective passive radiative cooling. Moreover, the electrospun PVDF-HFP with good piezoelectric properties could be used as a nano-generator to collect the mechanical energy of the wind, and the PVDF-HFP nanofiber films were used as efficient air filtration curtains with 98% filtration efficiency and 64 Pa pressure drop. This simple method to fabricate double energy-saving curtains is more conducive to dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Objective: The Tubridge flow diverter is a commonly used device in China for reconstructing the parental artery and occluding complex intracranial aneurysms. However, there is limited experience with the device in treating recurrent intracranial aneurysms. The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and effectiveness of the Tubridge flow diverter in treating recurrent singlecoiling aneurysms. Methods: The clinical records of patients with recurrent intracranial aneurysms who were treated with a Tubridge flow diverter were reviewed to show the therapeutic process, occlusion rate, and clinical outcomes associated with this treatment method. Results: Five patients with recurrent aneurysms of the internal carotid artery after singe coiling were included in the study. The recurrent aneurysmal sac had a mean length and width of 8.34/4.30 mm. All five Tubridge flow diverters were implanted without any unfold failure. The last angiographic follow-up showed a complete occlusion rate of 100%. Five branch arteries were covered, and only one branch artery disappeared during follow-up. No cases of cerebral infarction or intracranial hemorrhage were found among the patients. Conclusions: Our initial findings indicate that the Tubridge flow diverter could be a reliable and successful method for treating recurring single-coil aneurysms. We observed that the branch arteries were well-preserved, and no patients experienced cerebral infarction or hemorrhage. However, further research is necessary to establish clear indications and potential complications through a multicenter randomized controlled trial with long-term follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem of feature extraction of ship-radiated noise in complex marine environment, an adaptive weighted multiscale mathematical morphological filtering method is proposed. The weight coefficients of the structure elements of different scales in multiscale morphological filtering are determined adaptively by an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm, and the Teager energy kurtosis is used as the evaluation index of the filtered optimal signal to provide optimized weights for each scale. Finally, the optimized multiscale mathematical morphology filter with selective adaptive weights is bound and applied to the feature extraction of ship-radiated noise. The analysis results of simulated signal and measured ship-radiated noise show that this method has strong noise suppression and feature extraction ability, and the calculation is simple and fast, which provides an effective method for ship feature extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the applicability of perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) in evaluating the curative effect of endostar (EN) combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in advanced cervical cancer. Methods: Between January 2021 and December 2022, 85 patients from Gansu Provincial Maternity and Child-care Hospital, China with advanced cervical cancer received NAC intravenously and underwent pre and post-chemotherapy PWI. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) consisted of paclitaxel (135 - 175 mg/m²) and carboplatin (300 - 400 mg/m²). The NAC regimen comprised three courses, with each course lasting three weeks. General data, gross tumor volume (GTV), maximum signal intensity loss rate (MSILR), tumor regression rate (TRR), and post-chemotherapy MSILR reduction were compared between effective and non-effective groups. Results: There was a significant difference in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging, pathological types and proportion of lymph node metastasis between effective and noneffective groups (p < 0.05). At the end of 3 cycles of chemotherapy, ORR was 72.94 %. After treatment with EN combined with NAC, GTV and MSILR in effective group were significantly lower compared to non-effective group (p < 0.05). After chemotherapy, the mean relative ratio (MRR) and MSILR in effective group were significantly higher compared to non-effective group (p < 0.05). Also, MSILR before treatment (EN combined with NAC) was positively correlated with TRR after chemotherapy in patients with advanced cervical cancer (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Perfusion-weighted imaging effectively changes tumor volume in patients with advanced cervical cancer after treatment with EN combined with NAC, and this has high application in evaluating the drug's curative effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the matrix cracking of LiZn ferrite (LZF) ceramics during spark plasma sintering, fiber-reinforced LZF materials were prepared using silicon carbide nanofibers (SCFs) and alumina whiskers (AWs) as reinforcement phases. The effect of fiber reinforcement on the microstructure and mechanical, electrical, and magnetic properties of LZF was systematically studied. The results reveal that SCFs lead to an increase in grain size of SCF-reinforced LiZn ferrites (LZF-S) and a deterioration of grain morphology due to the transgranular behavior of SCFs. The increase in complex dielectric constant and dielectric loss, as well as the decrease in resistance of LZF-S, is due to the increase in Fe2+ concentration in ceramics and low resistance of SCFs. AW-reinforced LiZn ferrites (LZF-A) show the opposite effect due to the high porosity caused by AWs and the high resistance of AWs. LZF-S exhibits high fiber/matrix bonding strength, which permits the transfer of the load from the matrix to the fiber to be more effective, leading to a high fracture toughness (K IC) of 5.1 MPa m1/2. The bonding strength between fiber and matrix of LZF-A is low, but a large number of pores passivate the crack tip. At an SCF content of less than 2.5 wt%, the saturation magnetization (M s) of LZF does not decrease obviously, but a small amount of AWs leads to a significant decrease in M s (pure LZF: 83 emu·g−1; 1.0 wt% SCFs: 80 emu·g−1; 1.0 wt% AWs: 62 emu·g−1), which can be ascribed to the partial substitution of Fe3+ by nonmagnetic Al3+ ions. When the content of reinforcement phases is 1 wt%, the ferroresonance linewidth increases significantly due to the high porosity caused by the secondary phases (pure LZF: 234 Oe; 1.0 wt% SCFs: 2161 Oe; 1.0 wt% AWs: 1020 Oe). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main application scenario for wearable sensors involves the generation of data and monitoring metrics. fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) allows the nonintrusive monitoring of human visual perception. The quantification of visual perception by fNIRS facilitates applications in engineering-related fields. This study designed a set of experimental procedures to effectively induce visible alterations and to quantify visual perception in conjunction with the acquisition of Hbt (total hemoglobin), Hb (hemoglobin), and HbO2 (oxygenated hemoglobin) data obtained from HfNIRS (high-density functional near-infrared spectroscopy). Volunteers completed the visual task separately in response to different visible changes in the simulated scene. HfNIRS recorded the changes in Hbt, Hb, and HbO2 during the study, the time point of the visual difference, and the time point of the task change. This study consisted of one simulated scene, two visual variations, and four visual tasks. The simulation scene featured a car driving location. The visible change suggested that the brightness and saturation of the car operator interface would change. The visual task represented the completion of the layout, color, design, and information questions answered in response to the visible change. This study collected data from 29 volunteers. The volunteers completed the visual task separately in response to different visual changes in the same simulated scene. HfNIRS recorded the changes in Hbt, Hb, and HbO2 during the study, the time point of the visible difference, and the time point of the task change. The data analysis methods in this study comprised a combination of channel dimensionality reduction, feature extraction, task classification, and score correlation. Channel downscaling: This study used the data of 15 channels in HfNIRS to calculate the mutual information between different channels to set a threshold, and to retain the data of the channels that were higher than those of the mutual information. Feature extraction: The statistics derived from the visual task, including time, mean, median, variance, extreme variance, kurtosis, bias, information entropy, and approximate entropy were computed. Task classification: This study used the KNN (K-Nearest Neighbors) algorithm to classify different visual tasks and to calculate the accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores. Scoring correlation: This study matched the visual task scores with the fluctuations of Hbt, Hb, and HbO2 and observed the changes in Hbt, Hb, and HbO2 under different scoring levels. Mutual information was used to downscale the channels, and seven channels were retained for analysis under each visual task. The average accuracy was 96.3% ± 1.99%; the samples that correctly classified the visual task accounted for 96.3% of the total; and the classification accuracy was high. By analyzing the correlation between the scores on different visual tasks and the fluctuations of Hbt, Hb, and HbO2, it was found that the higher the score, the more obvious, significant, and higher the fluctuations of Hbt, Hb, and HbO2. Experiments found that changes in visual perception triggered changes in Hbt, Hb, and HbO2. HfNIRS combined with Hbt, Hb, and HbO2 recorded by machine learning algorithms can effectively quantify visual perception. However, the related research in this paper still needs to be further refined, and the mathematical relationship between HfNIRS and visual perception needs to be further explored to realize the quantitative study of subjective and objective visual perception supported by the mathematical relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic stones are the result of pathophysiologic changes in chronic pancreatitis with an incidence of more than 90%. At present, pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P-ESWL) can be used as the first-line treatment for large or complex stones. Although a large number of studies have proven the safety and effectiveness of P-ESWL, we should also pay attention to postoperative adverse events, mainly due to the scattering of shock waves in the conduction pathway. Adverse events can be classified as either complications or transient adverse events according to the severity. Because the anatomic location of organs along the shock wave conducting pathway differs greatly, adverse events after P-ESWL are varied and difficult to predict. This paper outlines the mechanism, definition, classification, management and risk factors for adverse events related to P-ESWL. It also discusses the technique of P-ESWL, indications and contraindications of P-ESWL, and adverse events in special populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital skills divide has been raised as a serious issue during the COVID-19. However, few studies explored the predictive influence of personality traits on college students' digital skills in online learning. To address this gap, this study took the second-level digital divide as the focus to conduct a two-round survey of college students over nearly 2 years based on cross-sectional and longitudinal methods to explore whether there is a digital skill divide or personality trait differences between urban and rural college students while learning online, and whether college students' personality traits can predict their digital skills. The results confirmed the rural and urban college students' digital skills divide. There were significant differences in all dimensions of their digital skills except for mobile skills. In addition, the digital skills divide of these college students persisted for nearly 2 years. Specifically, this study further confirmed that there were significant differences in the urban and rural college students' extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness, but there was no significant difference in their openness and conscientiousness. Additionally, there was no change in the urban and rural college students' personality trait differences in nearly 2 years. Personality traits could positively predict college students' digital skills. This study provides evidence for bridging the second-level digital divide of the rural and urban college students from the perspective of personality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of different parameters (sintering temperature and holding time) of spark plasma sintering (SPS) on the microstructure and magnetic properties of LiNiZn ferrite ceramics were systematically investigated, and the samples sintered by SPS (SPS samples) were compared with the samples sintered by traditional sintering (TS samples). X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that all the samples were ferrites with spinel structure. The microstructure of the samples was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Compared with TS samples, SPS samples exhibited finer and more uniform grains and denser structure. At the sintering temperature of 1000 °C, SPS samples exhibited higher saturation magnetization (M s , 79.7 emu⋅g−1) and lower ferromagnetic resonance linewidth (ΔH , 231 Oe) than TS samples (M s : 69.3 emu⋅g−1, ΔH : 298 Oe). The phase structure and cation distribution of the samples were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. Herein, it was speculated that the instantaneous high temperature generated by spark plasma redistributed the cations in the crystal, and the distribution mode was stabilized by rapid cooling. Based on the change of magnetic moment of ferrite molecules caused by cation distribution, a method of judging the specific M s by fitting analysis of Lorentz curve of A 1g Raman signal of ferrite ceramics was proposed. The SPS samples showed more compact and uniform microstructure and more reasonable cation distribution than TS samples, and these characteristics were mainly responsible for the remarkable improvement of magnetic properties. The results indicate that SPS method can effectively alleviate the contradiction between M s and ΔH , and provide an alternative pathway to prepare high-performance soft magnetic ferrite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based piezoelectric ceramics are important functional materials for various electromechanical applications due to their excellent performance and temperature stability. Herein, the rhombohedral PbZr 0.55 Ti 0.45 O 3 ceramics with increasing average grain size from 3.57 μm to 10.85 μm were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method. The grain-size dependent dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were systematically investigated. With the increasing grain size, a significant softening effect with enhanced electromechanical properties was observed. Results of piezoresponse force microscopy show that the formation of non-180° domain walls was strongly repressed in the fine-grain samples, resulting in decreased domain wall mobility. Meanwhile, a noteworthy hardening effect was also observed in the coarse-grain samples with high domain wall mobility, which may be related to the enhanced bulk effect with increasing grain size. The results of this work confirmed that grain size engineering is an effective strategy for designing piezoelectric materials with excellent combination properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family Nidulariaceae, consisting of five genera including Cyathus, is a unique group of mushrooms commonly referred to as bird's nest fungi due to their striking resemblance to bird's nests. These mushrooms are considered medicinal mushrooms in Chinese medicine and have received attention in recent years for their anti-neurodegenerative properties. However, despite the interest in these mushrooms, very little is known about their mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes). This study is the first comprehensive investigation of the mitogenomes of five Nidulariaceae species with circular genome structures ranging in size from 114,236 bp to 129,263 bp. Comparative analyses based on gene content, gene length, tRNA, and codon usage indicate convergence within the family Nidulariaceae and heterogeneity within the order Agaricales. Phylogenetic analysis based on a combined mitochondrial conserved protein dataset provides a well-supported phylogenetic tree for the Basidiomycetes, which clearly demonstrates the evolutionary relationships between Nidulariaceae and other members of Agaricales. Furthermore, phylogenetic inferences based on four different gene sets reveal the stability and proximity of evolutionary relationships within Agaricales. These results reveal the uniqueness of the family Nidulariaceae and its similarity to other members of Agaricales; provide valuable insights into the origin, evolution, and genetics of Nidulariaceae species; and enrich the fungal mitogenome resource. This study will help to expand the knowledge and understanding of the mitogenomes in mushrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how species richness changes along elevational gradients has attracted increasing attention from many researchers. The relationships between species richness and elevations were characterized by monotonic decreases or mid-elevational peaks. The western Sichuan Plateau is an important species diversity hotspot. However, there is little information available about the ant species diversity and distribution patterns of this region. In this study, we hypothesize that ant diversity will show a monotonic decrease from mid-elevation with increasing elevation. Here, the ant species diversity and distribution patterns of this region were investigated by plot surveys. A total of 22,645 ants were collected from eight elevational transects in the central and northern parts of the western Sichuan Plateau, which were identified as belonging to 40 species, 18 genera, and 4 subfamilies. We found a unimodal relationship between elevation and ant species richness, with the highest ant species richness occurring at mid-elevations. The similarity coefficient of ant communities in each elevational transect was at a moderate level of dissimilarity, indicating that the elevation difference and habitat heterogeneity had a great impact on ant communities in the central and northern areas of the western Sichuan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to study the dynamics and embedded solitons of stochastic quadratic and cubic nonlinear susceptibilities in the Itô sense, which can further help researchers understand the propagation of soliton nonlinear systems. Firstly, a two-dimensional dynamics system and its perturbation system are obtained by using a traveling wave transformation. Secondly, the phase portraits of the two-dimensional dynamics system are plotted. Furthermore, the chaotic behavior, two-dimensional phase portraits, three-dimensional phase portraits and sensitivity of the perturbation system are analyzed via Maple software. Finally, the embedded solitons of stochastic quadratic and cubic nonlinear susceptibilities are obtained. Moreover, three-dimensional and two-dimensional solitons of stochastic quadratic and cubic nonlinear susceptibilities are plotted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SrWO4:RE3+ (RE = Eu, Sm, Pr) fluorescent powders are synthesized using a high-temperature solid-state method. The phase structures and morphologies of the fluorescent powders are examined using X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results reveal that pure phase SrWO4 can be prepared via calcination at 900oC for 4 h and that doping with rare-earth ions has no effect on the crystal phase of the fluorescent powders; SrWO4 powders doped with three rare-earth ions all form spherical-like structures. The luminescence properties of the samples are evaluated using a fluorescence spectrometer, and the excitation and emission spectra of the SrWO4:RE3+ (RE = Eu, Sm, Pr) fluorescent powders are analyzed. The results indicate that SrWO4:Eu3+ fluorescent powder can be effectively excited by ultraviolet light at 395 nm and emit red light at 615 nm when a doping concentration of Eu3+ is 7%; Sm3+- and Pr3+-doped SrWO4 can emit red light at 650 and 687 nm when excited at 406 and 460 nm, respectively, with a doping concentration of 5% each. A W-LED device with SrWO4:Eu3+ pink fluorescent powder and a 395-nm UV chip is successfully assembled. The chromaticity coordinates of the device are (0.3055, 0.3532), exhibiting prominent white light. SrWO4:RE3+ (RE = Eu, Sm, Pr) fluorescent powders are expected to be red suorescent powders for UV-excited white LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is considered one of the main causes of low back pain and lumbar disc herniation. Various studies have shown that disc cell senescence plays a critical role in this process. however, its role in IDD is yet unclear. In this study, we explored the role of senescence-related genes (SR-DEGs) and its underlying mechanism in IDD. A total of 1325 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database GSE41883. 30 SR-DEGs were identified for further functional enrichment and pathway analysis, and two hub SR-DEGs (ERBB2 and PTGS2) were selected to construct transcription factor (TF)–gene interaction and TF-miRNA coregulatory networks, and 10 candidate drugs were screened for the treatment of IDD. Last but not least, in vitro experiments show that ERBB2 expression decreased and PTGS2 expression increased in human nucleus pulposus (NP) cell senescence model treated with TNF-α. After lentivirus-mediated overexpression of ERBB2, the expression of PTGS2 decreased and the senescence level of NP cells decreased. Overexpression of PTGS2 reversed the anti-senescence effects of ERBB2. The findings in this study suggested that ERBB2 overexpression further reduced NP cell senescence by inhibiting PTGS2 levels, which ultimately alleviated IDD. Taken together, our findings provide new insights into the roles of senescence-related genes in IDD and highlight a novel target of ERBB2-PTGS2 axis for therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel mechanical flux-adjusting permanent magnet linear eddy current brake with high performance and its nonlinear analytical model are proposed. The innovative point lies in attaching an additional mechanical magnetic adjuster directly above the interior permanent magnet bar, which can achieve flexible adjustment of the air-gap flux and improve the generation capacity of the braking force and its regulation range. Considering the importance of the analytic model in practical design, the average air-gap flux density and eddy current density are estimated based on the equivalent magnetic circuit method and Ampere's law, where the critical flux-weakening effect and leakage flux effect are calculated quantitatively. Then a practical theoretical model of braking force is derived based on the energy conversion and verified by the 3D finite-element method. Through analysis of the magnitude and regulation range of the braking force in a given range of speed, the advantages of the device and the electromagnetic force model are proved separately. Moreover, design suggestions for selecting the key geometrical parameters are further given, which offer useful information for pre-design and optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most aggressive solid cancers in humans, with limited treatment options. Recent studies suggest that cancer stem cell (CSC) activity contributes to therapeutic resistance and recurrence of ATC. We show that the expression of the endogenous thyroid hormone receptor ß gene (THRB) is silenced in ATC and demonstrate that the exogenously expressed TRß suppresses CSC activity. Decitabine is one of the demethylation agents to treat myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia patients and is currently in clinical trials for hematopoietic malignancies and solid tumors. We aim to show that the re-expression of the endogenous THRB gene by decitabine can attenuate CSC activity to block ATC tumor growth. We treated ATC cell lines derived from human ATC tumors (11T and 16T cells) with decitabine and evaluated the effects of the reactivated endogenous TRß on CSC activity in vitro and in vivo xenograft models. We found that treatment of 11T and 16T cells with decitabine reactivated the expression of endogenous TRß, as evidenced by western blot and immunohistochemical analyses. The expressed TRß inhibited cell proliferation by arresting cells at the S phase, increased apoptotic cell death by upregulation of cleaved caspase-3, and markedly suppressed the expression of CSC regulators, including cMYC, ALDH, SOX2, CD44, and ß-catenin. Decitabine also inhibited xenograft tumor growth by suppressing CSC activity, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, and increasing apoptosis. Our findings suggest that re-expression of the endogenous TRß is a novel therapeutic approach for ATC via suppression of CSC activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For Li‐Se batteries, cathode using carbonaceous hosts to accommodate Se performed modestly, whereas those applying metallic compounds with stronger chemical adsorption exhibited even more rapid capacity decay, the intrinsic reasons for which are still not clear. Herein, it is found that Se tends to precipitate on the surface of the electrode during cycling, and the precipitation speed depends on the polarization degree of the host. A further enhanced adsorption does not certainly generate better electrochemical activity, since hosts with overhigh adsorption ability are hard to desorb polyselenides, leading to catalyst passivation and rapid capacity decay. These findings encourage us to design a ternary anatase/rutile/titanium nitride (aTiO2/rTiO2/TiN@C) composite host, integrating good adsorption of TiO2 and rapid electron transport ability of TiN, and introducing rutile to weaken overall adsorption. The aTiO2/rTiO2/TiN@C composite with medium adsorption not only avoids rapid loss of active substances in electrolyte but also slows down the precipitation speed of Se. As a result, the aTiO2/rTiO2/TiN@C/Se electrode delivered good rate capability(154 mA h g−1 at 20 C) and good cycling stability(a low decay of 0.024% per cycle within 500 cycles at 2 C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption hysteresis is a phenomenon related to phase transitions that can impact applications such as gas storage and separations in porous materials. Computational approaches can greatly facilitate the understanding of phase transitions and phase equilibria in porous materials. In this work, adsorption isotherms for methane, ethane, propane, and n-hexane were calculated from atomistic grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations in a metal-organic framework having both micropores and mesopores to better understand hysteresis and phase equilibria between connected pores of different size and the external bulk fluid. At low temperatures, the calculated isotherms exhibit sharp steps accompanied by hysteresis. As a complementary simulation method, canonical (NVT) ensemble simulations with Widom test particle insertions are demonstrated to provide additional information about these systems. The NVT+Widom simulations provide the full van der Waals loop associated with the sharp steps and hysteresis, including the locations of the spinodal points and points within the metastable and unstable regions that are inaccessible to GCMC simulations. The simulations provide molecular-level insight into pore filling and equilibria between high- and low-density states within individual pores. The effect of framework flexibility on adsorption hysteresis is also investigated for methane in IRMOF-1. Developing computational tools to study the phase behaviour of adsorbate molecules in complex pore architectures can greatly facilitate our understanding of phase transitions and phase equilibria in porous materials. Here, molecular simulations are used to study the hysteresis and phase equilibria of n-alkane adsorbate molecules in a metal–organic framework with both micropores and mesopores, and simulations in the canonical ensemble with Widom insertions are shown to be a powerful complementary approach to grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key variable for monitoring and evaluating global long-term climate change. However, existing satellite-based twice-daily LST products only date back to 2000, which makes it difficult to obtain robust long-term temperature variations. In this study, we developed the first global historical twice-daily LST dataset (GT-LST), with a spatial resolution of 0.05 ∘ , using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Level-1b Global Area Coverage (GAC) data from 1981 to 2021. The GT-LST product was generated using four main processes: (1) GAC data reading, calibration, and preprocessing using open-source Python libraries; (2) cloud detection using the AVHRR-Phase I algorithm; (3) land surface emissivity estimation using an improved method considering annual land cover changes; (4) LST retrieval based on a nonlinear generalized split-window algorithm. Validation with in situ measurements from Surface Radiation Budget (SURFRAD) sites and Baseline Surface Radiation Network sites showed that the overall root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) of GT-LST varied from 1.6 to 4.0 K, and nighttime LSTs were typically better than daytime LSTs. Intercomparison with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer LST products (MYD11A1 and MYD21A1) revealed that the overall root-mean-square difference (RMSD) was approximately 3.0 K. Compared with MYD11A1 LST, GT-LST was overestimated, and relatively large RMSDs were obtained during the daytime, spring, and summer, whereas the significantly smaller positive bias was obtained between GT-LST and MYD21A1 LST. Furthermore, we compared our newly generated dataset with a global AVHRR daytime LST product at the selected measurements of SURFRAD sites (i.e., measurements of these two satellite datasets were valid), which revealed similar accuracies for the two datasets. However, GT-LST can additionally provide nighttime LST, which can be combined with daytime observations estimating relatively accurate monthly mean LST, with an RMSE of 2.7 K. Finally, we compared GT-LST with a regional twice-daily AVHRR LST product over continental Africa in different seasons, with RMSDs ranging from 2.1 to 4.3 K. Considering these advantages, the proposed dataset provides a better data source for a range of research applications. GT-LST is freely available at 10.5281/zenodo.7113080 (1981–2000) (Li et al., 2022a), 10.5281/zenodo.7134158 (2001–2005) (Li et al., 2022b), and 10.5281/zenodo.7813607 (2006–2021) (J. H. Li et al., 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the difficulty in adopting the conventional centralized control method for seismic response control of high-rise buildings with complex structures and large sizes, the decentralized control method is applied. The challenge is that the control model of the high-rise structure divided into multiple subsystems changes as large nonlinear deformation under strong earthquakes. Therefore, with an application of the long short-term memory neural network, the long short-term memory intelligent decentralized control method is proposed for seismic response control of high-rise buildings. On the basis of the decentralized control theory for high-rise buildings, a long short-term memory network deep-learning framework is established to construct different types of decentralized controllers, and to determine the sufficient conditions for the stability of the decentralized controllers using the Lyapunov stability theory. The long short-term memory intelligent decentralized control system of a 20-story benchmark building mode is simulated, and its fault tolerance is studied. The simulation results show that the decentralized control method can reduce the complexity of the structure model by dividing the high-rise building structure into multiple subsystems. Compared with the centralized control method, the long short-term memory intelligent decentralized control method can effectively avoid the overall failure of the control system. The long short-term memory intelligent decentralized control method can still have a satisfactory performance under sensor noise and control devices failures. This verifies that the long short-term memory intelligent decentralized control system has a better fault tolerance and can provide an innovative solution for the decentralized control of high-rise buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The orbit determination accuracy of space debris can be remarkably improved when it is observed by two space-based optical (SBO) sensors simultaneously. The key to observation with two SBO sensors is optimizing the pointings of sensors to maximize the length of the double coverage arc. The traditional sensor scheduling method is only based on the mean of the predicted target orbit, and its coverage performance degrades when the error of the predicted target orbit increases. In this paper, the double coverage probability (DCP) is employed as a sensor scheduling criterion with considered the uncertainty of the predicted target orbit. The DCP is obtained by calculating an integral of the probability density function of target position distribution. Furthermore, an approximate expression of the DCP is derived by simplifying the integral region to reduce the computational burden. The simulation results show that the proposed sensor scheduling method based on the DCP can provide a longer double coverage arc and higher orbit determination accuracy than the traditional method. • New sensor scheduling method for space target tracking is proposed. • Orbital uncertainty of the target is considered in sensor scheduling. • Double coverage probability is employed as a scheduling criteria. • High tracking accuracy can be achieved with the proposed sensor scheduling method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that exposure to coal dust increases immunoglobulin concentration. However, there is a paucity of data reporting immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclass in coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP). Therefore, this study intended to evaluate potential diagnostic biomarkers for the disease. CWP patients, dust-exposed workers without pneumoconiosis (DEW), and matched healthy controls (HCs) presented to the General Hospital of Datong Coal Mining Group and Occupational Disease Prevention and Treatment Hospital of Datong Coal Mining Group between May 2019 and September 2019 were recruited. The serum immunoglobulin concentration was determined by the multiplex immunoassay technique. Totally, 104 CWP patients, 109 DEWs, and 74 HCs were enrolled. Serum levels of IgG1, IgG2, IgM, and IgA were elevated in CWPs compared with those in DEWs and HCs (P < 0.05). The order of diagnostic accuracy between CWPs and DEWs depicted by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was IgG2, IgM, IgG1, IgG3, and IgA. Significantly higher IgG1/IgG3 and IgG2/IgG3 ratios were observed in the CWP group than in DEW and HC groups. Based on the IgG2/IgG3 ratio, the area under the ROC curve between CWP and DEW was 0.785 (95% CI 0.723-0.838), with a sensitivity of 73.1% and a specificity of 73.4%. Our findings suggest that IgG1, IgG2, IgM, and IgA are higher in the CWPs than DEWs and HCs. The IgG2/IgG3 ratio provides a viable alternative for the diagnosis of CWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the information obtained by humans comes from colour images. However, salt‐and‐pepper noise (SPN) during signal acquisition, encoding, transmission, and decoding easily interferes with the quality of colour images. Most existing SPN denoising methods decompose a colour image into three independent matrices according to the colour channel and then recover each channel signal independently, ignoring the strong data correlation between channels. In addition, most existing SPN denoising methods apply only a single model‐driven or data‐driven approach and fail to take the advantages of their combination fully. Therefore, we first regard a colour image contaminated by SPN as the sum of an SPN tensor and a tensor with missing data. In this manner, we transform the denoising problem into a low‐rank tensor reconstruction problem. We then introduce a model‐driven‐based parallel matrix factorization low‐rank tensor reconstruction algorithm and a data‐driven‐based FFDNet denoising network to restore the colour image better. The proposed method not only enhances the similarity of the colour image channels but also explores the deep prior of the colour image to capture the image details. Finally, the proposed method is compared with some advanced denoising methods. The results show that the proposed method achieves a competitive denoising performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impairment in the autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP) and the activation of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome represent two molecular events leading to neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder without a cure. Previously we demonstrated the cognitive-enhancing effect of a combined electroacupuncture (EA) therapy termed TNEA in a transgenic mouse model of AD, involving activation of transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of ALP. However, whether and how TNEA inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome via TFEB-mediated ALP in AD remains to be investigated. Methods: 5xFAD mice overexpressing amyloid-β (Aβ) were treated with TNEA or EA on its composing acupoints (GB13 and GV24). The changes in the signaling pathways regulating NLRP3 inflammasome, the association of NLRP3 inflammasome with ALP, and the roles of TFEB/TFE3 in mice brains were determined by immunoblots, immunohistochemistry and AAV-mediated knockdown assays. Results: TNEA inhibits the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and the release of active interleukin 1β (IL1B) in the hippocampi of 5xFAD mice. Mechanistically, TNEA promoted the autophagic degradation of inflammasome components via activating both TFEB and TFE3 by modulating kinases including AMPK and AKT. The composing acupoints in TNEA showed synergistic effects on regulating these molecular events and memory improvement. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that TNEA attenuates AD-associated memory impairment via promoting TFEB/TFE3-mediated autophagic clearance of Aβ and NLRP3 inflammasome, and partially reveal the molecular basis of combined acupoints therapy originated from ancient wisdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to construct the traveling wave solution of the Kaup–Boussinesq system with beta derivative arising from water waves. By using the complete discriminant system method of polynomial, the rational function solution, the trigonometric function solution, the exponential function solution, and the Jacobian function solution of the Kaup–Boussinesq system with beta derivative are obtained. In order to further explain the propagation of the Kaup–Boussinesq system with beta derivative in water waves, we draw its three-dimensional diagram, two-dimensional diagram, density plot, and contour plot by using Maple software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of interventricular septum thickness (IVSd) on the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Based on the general population in Northeast China, 10,349 participants were successfully followed up for echocardiography over a median follow-up time of 4.66 years, among which 4801 were hypertensive. Coronary heart disease (CHD) and myocardial infarction (MI) incidence were followed up. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the association of the baseline IVSd with adverse outcomes. IVS hypertrophy increased incident rates of CHD and MI compared with normal IVSd in the overall population and in the female sex-stratification group. In males, IVS hypertrophy had parallel increase rates of CHD (all p < 0.05). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that IVS hypertrophy could predict CHD and MI incidence and CHD-free and MI-free survival. Multivariable Cox analysis revealed that IVS hypertrophy was correlated with CHD incidence (HR = 1.155, 95% CI = 1.155–2.861, p = 0.01) and MI incidence (HR = 2.410, 95% CI = 1.303–4.458, p = 0.005). In women, IVS hypertrophy was independently associated with CHD and MI incidence (all p < 0.05). Our prospective cohort study illustrated that IVS hypertrophy detected by echocardiography has a prognostic significance for CHD and MI. Therefore, the early detection of IVSd should be conducted to avoid adverse outcomes in further clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Yi Shen An (YSA) is an investigational composite of traditional Chinese medicine (Reference: 2010L000974) for the treatment of renal disease. Objective: To investigate the protective effects of YSA against membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN). Materials and methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with cationic bovine serum albumin (C-BSA) to create a model of MGN. Then, rats were orally treated with YSA at doses of 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg for 35 successive days; prednisone (5 mg/kg) was used as a positive control. At the end of the experimental period, we performed a series of tests, including 24 h urinary protein, and biochemical, immunological, antioxidative, coagulation indices, and histopathological examination. Results: YSA-1 g/kg significantly lowered urinary protein from 68.37 to 30.74mg (p<0.01). Meantime, total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB) recovered from 66.26 and 20.51 g/L to 76.08 and 35.64 g/L (p<0.01), respectively. YSA removed the deposition of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and complement 3c (C3c), prevented inter-capillary cell hyperplasia on the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), and reduced electron-dense deposits and fusion of podocytes. In addition, serum IgG and superoxide dismutase were significantly elevated. In contrast, malondialdehyde, total cholesterol, triglyceride, circulating immune complex (CIC), and immunoglobulin M decreased in the YSA-treated group. Moreover, the blood coagulation dysfunction was adjusted. Discussion and conclusions: These findings indicate YSA may exert a therapeutic effect against MGN through the inhibition of CIC formation, and the removal of IgG and C3c deposition from the GBM, thus supporting the development of further clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basis of organizational innovation is employee innovation, which is of great significance for organizations to gain a competitive advantage. At present, the research on the influencing factors of employee service innovation behavior is increasing. This study, based on the social cognitive theory, with relative deprivation as the mediator and attribution style as the moderator, explores the mechanism of the effect of organizational fairness on employee service innovation behavior. Taking 342 employees of service-oriented enterprises as the subjects of investigation, this paper empirically tests the theoretical model by using Amos and SPSS. The results indicated the following, organizational fairness was positively related to employees' service innovation behavior. Relative deprivation partially mediated the relationship between organizational fairness and service innovation behavior. An external attribution style positively moderated the relationship between relative deprivation and employee service innovation behavior. An external attribution style also positively moderated the mediation effect of the relationship between organizational fairness and service innovation behavior. The internal attribution style negatively moderated the relationship between relative deprivation and employee service innovation behavior. The internal attribution style also negatively moderated the mediation effect of the relationship between organizational fairness and service innovation behavior. The conclusion of this study has managerial implications on how to promote employee service innovation behavior in service-oriented enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to extract feature of ship signal more effectively, we propose a new approach for mathematical morphological filtering based on the morphological features. Mathematical morphological filter is a new nonlinear filter, which can effectively extract the edge contour and shape characteristics. The stimulation signal is processed by mathematical morphological filtering of different structure elements, which confirms the effect of morphological filtering on suppressing noise and preserving the nonlinear characteristics. Using flat structure element, the measured ship-radiated noise signals are processed by average filter, and the filtered signals are analyzed on the frequency spectrum. Compared with other filters, the result shows that the mathematical morphological filtering can successfully extract the effective information from the ship-radiated noise signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wideband conformal transmitarrays at E-band are developed for multibeam applications in this article. A triple-layer element with double split rings is presented for wideband transmissions, achieving a 360° continuous phase variation range at 74 GHz with less than 2.3 dB transmission loss. A comprehensive design methodology of multibeam conformal transmitarrays is demonstrated for various platforms with different curvatures. To validate the theoretical analysis, conformal transmitarrays with two different curvatures are designed, fabricated, and measured. Multiple radiation beams are realized between ± 30° and ± 45° for the two prototypes, respectively. Good agreement is obtained between simulation and measurement. The 3 dB gain bandwidths are 30% from 66.5 to 90 GHz, and 27.8% from 68 to 90 GHz for the two designs, respectively, covering the entire E-band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal residual strains/stresses cause several defects in hybrid structures and various studies have reported the reduction of residual strain. This paper describes a method for reducing thermal residual strains/stresses in metal-CFRP-metal hybrid tubes (MCMHT). The proposed axial preload tool provides two ways to reduce the thermal residual strains/stresses during the co-cure bonding process: pre-compressing of the metal layers and pre-stretching of the unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) layers. An online measurement technique with embedded optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors is presented. Thermal residual strains are evaluated based on classical lamination theory with the assumption of plane stress. The theoretical calculations and measurement results agree well. Furthermore, the dynamic characteristics of the MCMHTs are tested. The results show that the reduction of residual strain increases the natural frequency of the MCMHT, but is detrimental to the damping capability of the MCMHT, which imply that the intrinsic properties of the metal-composite hybrid structure can be modified by the proposed axial preload tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphatidyl ethanolamine-binding proteins (PEBPs) are involved in regulating flowering time and various developmental processes. Functions and expression patterns in cultivated peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) remain unknown. In this study, 33 PEBP genes in cultivated peanuts were identified and divided into four subgroups: FT, TFL, MFT and FT-like. Gene structure analysis showed that orthologs from A and B genomes in cultivated peanuts had highly similar structures, but some orthologous genes have subgenomic dominance. Gene collinearity and phylogenetic analysis explain that some PEBP genes play key roles in evolution. Cis-element analysis revealed that PEBP genes are mainly regulated by hormones, light signals and stress-related pathways. Multiple PEPB genes had different expression patterns between early and late-flowering genotypes. Further detection of its response to temperature and photoperiod revealed that PEBPs ArahyM2THPA, ArahyEM6VH3, Arahy4GAQ4U, ArahyIZ8FG5, ArahyG6F3P2, ArahyLUT2QN, ArahyDYRS20 and ArahyBBG51B were the key genes controlling the flowering response to different flowering time genotypes, photoperiods and temperature. This study laid the foundation for the functional study of the PEBP gene in cultivated peanuts and the adaptation of peanuts to different environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

De novo gene origination, where a previously nongenic genomic sequence becomes genic through evolution, is increasingly recognized as an important source of novelty. Many de novo genes have been proposed to be protein-coding, and a few have been experimentally shown to yield protein products. However, the systematic study of de novo proteins has been hampered by doubts regarding their translation without the experimental observation of protein products. Using a systematic, mass-spectrometry-first computational approach, we identify 993 unannotated open reading frames with evidence of translation (utORFs) in Drosophila melanogaster. To quantify the similarity of these utORFs across Drosophila and infer phylostratigraphic age, we develop a syntenybased protein similarity approach. Combining these results with reference datasets ontissue- and life stage-specific transcription and conservation, we identify different properties amongst these utORFs. Contrary to expectations, the fastest-evolving utORFs are not the youngest evolutionarily. We observed more utORFs in the brain than in the testis. Most of the identified utORFs may be of de novo origin, even accounting for the possibility of false-negative similarity detection. Finally, sequence divergence after an inferred de novo origin event remains substantial, suggesting that de novo proteins turn over frequently. Our results suggest that there is substantial unappreciated diversity in de novo protein evolution: many more may exist than previously appreciated; there may be divergent evolutionary trajectories, and they may be gained and lost frequently. All in all, there may not exist a single characteristic model of de novo protein evolution, but instead, there may be diverse evolutionary trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report the effect of the strain states on the structure, optical and electrical transport properties of the La0.05Sr0.95SnO3 (LSSO) thin films grown epitaxially on (001)-oriented 0.70 Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction results indicate that the films are fully strained up to at least 100 nm thickness, and the in-plane compressive strain gradually releases in thicker films. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy characterizations demonstrate that the LSSO films were grown coherently on PMN-PT(001) substrates. With varying the thicknesses of the fully strained films from 20 to 100 nm, the electrical transport properties are improved significantly. A lowest room-temperature resistivity of 1.88 mΩcm and the highest mobility of 28.1 cm²/Vs are obtained in the 100 nm film. The optical band gap determined from spectroscopic ellipsometry is found to increase from 4.58 to 4.88 eV with the film thicknesses varying from 20 to 500 nm. The results imply that the LSSO epitaxial films exhibit tunable electrical performances and optical band gaps through strain, which may have potential applications in optoelectrical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the full-touch human–machine interaction (HMI) mode has gained popularity in the automotive market. However, little research has been conducted on how this interaction mode affects drivers' glance behavior and lateral control ability. In this study, we evaluated the visual engagement and driving performance of 30 participants while driving two vehicles equipped with either the full-touch interaction mode (FTIM) or the conventional interaction mode (CIM) provided by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). We found that both air conditioning–related tasks required more visual engagement, longer task completion time, and worse lateral vehicle control under FTIM. Furthermore, the gray correlation analysis demonstrated that FTIM exhibited slightly different disadvantages in the two secondary tasks. In the temperature adjustment task, the correlations of glance behavior and lateral control ability between the two interactive modes were 0.688 and 0.680, respectively. In the airflow adjustment task, the correlations of glance behavior and lateral control ability between the two interactive modes were 0.659 and 0.668, respectively. In addition, this study revealed that driving speed had significant effects on glance behavior and lateral driving performance in both interaction modes. As speed increased, self-adjusting glance behavior was evident in performing the secondary task; however, this behavior could not compensate for the deterioration in lateral driving performance caused by the increased speed. The findings will help improve drivers' perception of FTIM and provide theoretical guidance for the design development of HMI mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) is a rapid, cost-effective method for mapping mutations and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in animals and plants based on high-throughput sequencing. However, the algorithms currently used for BSA have not been systematically evaluated and are complex and fallible to operate. We developed a BSA method driven by deep learning, DeepBSA, for QTL mapping and functional gene cloning. DeepBSA is compatible with a variable number of bulked pools and performed well with various simulated and real datasets in both animals and plants. DeepBSA outperformed all other algorithms when comparing absolute bias and signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, we applied DeepBSA to an F 2 segregating maize population of 7160 individuals and uncovered five candidate QTLs, including three well-known plant-height genes. Finally, we developed a user-friendly graphical user interface for DeepBSA, by integrating five widely used BSA algorithms and our two newly developed algorithms, that is easy to operate and can quickly map QTLs and functional genes. The DeepBSA software is freely available to non-commercial users at http://zeasystemsbio.hzau.edu.cn/tools.html and https://github.com/lizhao007/DeepBSA. The authors developed a bulked segregant analysis (BSA) method driven by deep learning, DeepBSA, for quantitative trait loci mapping and functional gene cloning, that is compatible with a variable number of bulked pools and performed well in both animals and plants. Furthermore, a user-friendly graphical user interface for DeepBSA, which integrated five widely used BSA algorithms and our two newly developed algorithms, was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]