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Ziyang Sang, Hui-Fang Chen, Jerf WK Yeung, Leilei Xu Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative RegionCorrespondence: Hui-Fang Chen, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Ave, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Tel +852 3442297, Fax +852 34420283, Email hfchen@cityu.edu.hkPurpose: This study investigated the mechanism underlying the association between intolerance of uncertainty and mobile phone addiction among Chinese overseas students during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the mediating roles of perceived stress and rumination.Patients and Methods: An online questionnaire survey was distributed via social media platforms popular in mainland China. The items collected demographic information and assessed intolerance of uncertainty, perceived stress, rumination, and mobile phone addiction. A total of 249 respondents completed the questionnaire.Results: The findings suggest a considerably high risk of mobile phone addiction in the study period among overseas Chinese students, as three-fourths of the participants may have been susceptible to mobile phone addiction according to the suggested cut-off point of the Chinese version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Form. Intolerance of uncertainty showed a significant positive direct effect on mobile phone addiction. The mediation analyses suggest that intolerance of uncertainty affected mobile phone addiction mainly through three pathways: the mediating effect of perceived stress, the mediating effect of rumination, and the chain mediating effect of perceived stress and rumination.Conclusion: This study enhances understanding of mobile phone addiction among Chinese overseas students and suggests the mediating roles of rumination and perceived stress in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and mobile phone addiction. The study also provides suggestions for interventions among Chinese students overseas.Keywords: vulnerability, mental health, health issues, internet

Zhuo Sang, Xianli Zeng, Xiaohui Yuan, Xiaolin Wang, Liancong Fu, Wenwen Zhuang Department of General Practice, Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhuo Sang, Department of General Practice, Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-752-2288288, Email 116920609@qq.comObjective: The current study was to evaluate the association of office blood pressure (OBP) and 24h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) with left ventricular (LV) structure and function in hypertensive patients. Whether the association was modified by sex was also evaluated.Methods: A total of 694 hypertensive patients without cardiovascular disease were retrospectively included from the inpatient clinic. Regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association of OBP and 24h ABP parameters with LV mass index (LVMi), e’ velocity and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) with adjustment for covariates including age, obesity, diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, estimated glomerular filtration rate and antihypertensive drugs.Results: There was no difference in OBP by sex. Compared to women, men had a higher 24h (132.6 ± 11.3 vs 129.3 ± 10.0 mm Hg), daytime (136.6 ± 12.9 vs 132.8 ± 9.5 mm Hg) and nighttime (130.3 ± 9.2 vs 125.1 ± 6.6 mm Hg) SBP. The proportion of patients with non-dipping pattern and reverse dipper pattern was also higher in men. In the overall participants, 24h, daytime and nighttime SBP, non-dipping and reverse dipper pattern were associated with LVMi, e’ velocity and LVH, which were not observed in OBP. The magnitude of the association between 24h, daytime and nighttime SBP, non-dipping and reverse dipper pattern with LVMi, e’ velocity and LVH was stronger in men than in women (P-value for interaction < 0.05).Conclusion: Twenty-four-hour ABP appears to be better than OBP in association with LV structural and functional alterations, and this association was modified by sex.Keywords: office blood pressure, ambulatory blood pressure, sex, cardiac structure, cardiac function

The finite element method(FEM)is a widely employed mathematical technique in mechanical research that divides an object into discrete and interacting finite elements. Medically, finite element analysis(FEA)enables the simulation of biomechanical experiments that are challenging to conduct. Orbital surgery poses significant challenges to ophthalmologists due to its inherent difficulty and steep learning curve. FEM enables the simulation and analysis of the mechanical properties of orbital tissue, offering a novel approach for diagnosing and treating orbital-related diseases. With technological advancements, FEM has significantly matured in the diagnosis and treatment of orbital diseases, becoming a popular area of research in orbital biomechanics. This paper reviewed the latest advancements in orbital FEM, encompassing the development of orbital FEA models, simulation of orbital structure, and its application in orbital-related diseases. Additionally, the limitations of FEM and future research directions are also discussed. As a digital tool for auxiliary diagnosis and treatment, orbital FEA will progressively unlock its potential for diagnosing and treating orbital diseases alongside technological advancements.

Objective To investigate the values of enhancing tumor volume (V), total volume (Vn) and relative non-enhancing tumor ratio (rNTR) before second-line treatment on overall survival (OS) and post-recurrence survival (PRS) in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). Methods Clinical data of 85 patients with confirmed rGBM admitted in our medical center from July 2012 to December 2022 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Quantitative measurements of V, Vn (including tumor enhancement, necrotic and cystic volume) and rNTR (FLAIR high signal volume/enhancing tumor volume) were performed with T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) subtraction mode. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were used to analyze the differences of prognosis between high and low level groups of above indicators. Cox proportional risk regression model was employed for univariate and multivariate prognostic analyses. Results The median PRS was 238 d (95%CI: 197.472~278.528) and the median OS was 449 d (95%CI: 348.755~549.245) in these patients. Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test showed significant differences in PRS and OS between high and low levels groups of V, Vn and rNTR (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that V, Vn and rNTR were all influencing factors for PRS and OS (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that V and Vn were independent risk factors for PRS (HR=1.019, P < 0.001), and Vn was an independent risk factor for OS (HR=1.008, P=0.042). The Vn-PRS model had the lowest -2 log likelihood (-2LL) among all the models. Conclusion Voxel subtraction technique can accurately assess the size of recurrent tumors in rGBM patients. V, Vn and rNTR can be used for prognosis, and Vn is the most valuable predictor for PRS, which can provide a reliable reference for clinical evaluation of the extent of lesions and survival time of patients.

False data injection (FDI) attack is one of the attacks that can seriously affect the operation of power systems. Some studies have focused on the cyber-attack methods of AC-DC hybrid systems. However, few studies pay their efforts on the optimization of FDI attack on AC-DC hybrid systems. Therefore, an FDI attack strategy optimization method for AC-DC hybrid systems is proposed in the paper. Firstly, a two-layer optimization model with the objective of maximizing the loss of FDI attacks is established. In the upper model, the attacker launches FDI attack on the measuring system to find the optimal attack strategy to maximize the economic loss of the power system. The lower layer model calculates the maximum economic loss under a FDI attack with the objective of minimizing the generator output adjustment and load shedding, considering the security constraint of AD-DC hybrid system and the risk of commutate failure of DC converter station. Then, the two-layer optimization model is solved by the genetic algorithm to generate the optimal attack strategy. Finally, the improved IEEE 14-bus system is taken as an example to verify the effectiveness of the model. Simulation results show that the attack strategy optimized by the proposed method can effectively improve the cost of security constrained economic dispatch (SCED).

The extraction algorithm of target characteristics resonance set at the high-frequency band plays a significant role in defense applications like early warning. The paper proposes a new method to extract the characteristic resonance set of radar targets in the resonance frequency region using an autoregressive moving average model optimized by root mean square propagation particle swarm optimization. Considering that the total scattering response in the resonant region consists of early-time and late-time responses, the autoregressive moving average model approximate the total scattering responses to avoid errors caused by intercepting the late-time response. Further, the paper investigated the impact of the swarm optimization algorithm on the accuracy of moving average model parameters when obtaining the resonance set at different target aspects. The extracted characteristic resonance results within a range of azimuth directions through an aircraft target paradigm indicate that the new method is more convenient and precise than the matrix beam prediction method.

Background: In times of an epidemic such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the public’s knowledge and attitude toward the disease affects the ability to abide to different preventive measures. Aims and Objectives: (1) to assess the knowledge and awareness of the domestic helpers in a tribal population, (2) whether the domestic helpers practice appropriate preventative measures that are recommended by WHO. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was designed and carried out using questionnaire among rural domestic workers in Mizoram, above 14 years of age belonging to both Mizo and Non-Mizo ethnicity. Data were collected from 105 participants and analyzed through t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: Majority of the respondents had higher secondary level of education (78.1%) and 95.2% could identify COVID-19 as a communicable disease. Almost all the participants (97.1%) were afraid of infection and the majority (92.4%) had fear of dying with the disease. Three-fourth of the participants were working during the pandemic of which 44.8% had volunteered. Media (68.6%) was the most common source of information about the disease. The education level was significantly associated with knowledge and attitude scores whereas there were no significant differences with respect to the practice (P>0.05). Conclusion: Our findings indicate an overall good KAP of the rural domestic workers. Since these workers move from house to house and also take care of the vulnerable, and that they themselves and the families, they work for may be at an increased risk of infection with COVID-19, these findings are important from a health campaign perspective.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. It primarily presents with respiratory symptoms and can result in damage to the digestive, nervous, and cardiovascular systems. The clinical profile of COVID-19 positive patients and factors associated with mortality has not been studied in patients admitted in wards in Mizoram. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the clinical profiles and outcome of the COVID-19 positive patients admitted in wards of Zoram Medical College, Mizoram. Materials and Methods: A descriptive record based cross-sectional study was conducted in Zoram Medical College, Mizoram among 742 COVID-19 positive patients admitted between March 27, 2020, and April 19, 2021. Individuals with confirmed COVID-19 positive by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction test from nasopharyngeal swabs were included in the study. Patient’s information was collected from the hospital medical record consisting of demographic details, exposure history, comorbidities, etc. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 version. P60 years (46.15%) [odds ratio [OR]: 21.56; P=0.005], patients having fever (76.92%) [OR: 6.8; P=0.004], and comorbidities (76.92%) [OR: 21.56; P=0.005] as risk factors. Conclusions: Mortality in COVID 19 positive patients admitted in Zoram Medical College, Mizoram was associated with increased age, comorbidities, and patients who were symptomatics.

False data injection attack is one of the important factors that threaten the safe and stable operation of power systems. The research on the methods of the attack against power systems can provide decision-making basis for the improvement of power system defense measures. Considering the operation characteristics of high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station and AC-DC coupling characteristics, a false data injection attack method for AC-DC hybrid system is proposed. Firstly, the basic principle of state estimation of AC-DC hybrid systems is analyzed. Secondly, the attack strategy in AC-DC hybrid systems is proposed, and the attack model is constructed. Finally, the improved IEEE 30-bus system is taken as an example for simulation verification. The results show that the false data injection attack against AC-DC hybrid system can bypass the bad data detection algorithm and endanger the safe and stable operation of the system, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed model and method.

The origin of Tibetan barley (qingke) has been a controversial issue for many years. Here, the authors conduct population genomics study to support that qingke is derived from eastern domesticated barley instead of Tibetan wild barley and suggest southern Tibetan Plateau as its introduction route.

ObjectiveCurrent treatment options for patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease before dialysis (predialysis CKD-5) are determined by individual circumstances, economic factors, and the doctor’s advice. This study aimed to explore the plasma metabolic traits of patients with predialysis CKD-5 compared with maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, to learn more about the impact of the dialysis process on the blood environment.MethodsOur study enrolled 31 predialysis CKD-5 patients, 31 HD patients, and 30 PD patients. Metabolite profiling was performed using a targeted metabolomics platform by applying an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method, and the subsequent comparisons among all three groups were made to explore metabolic alterations.ResultsCysteine metabolism was significantly altered between predialysis CKD-5 patients and both groups of dialysis patients. A disturbance in purine metabolism was the most extensively changed pathway identified between the HD and PD groups. A total of 20 discriminating metabolites with large fluctuations in plasma concentrations were screened from the group comparisons, including 2-keto-D-gluconic acid, kynurenic acid, s-adenosylhomocysteine, L-glutamine, adenosine, and nicotinamide.ConclusionOur study provided a comprehensive metabolomics evaluation among predialysis CKD-5, HD, and PD patients, which described the disturbance of metabolic pathways, discriminating metabolites and their possible biological significances. The identification of specific metabolites related to dialysis therapy might provide insights for the management of advanced CKD stages and inform shared decision-making.

This paper establishes a distributed multistatic sky-wave over-the-horizon radar (DMOTHR) model and proposes a semidefinite relaxation positioning (SDP) algorithm to locate marine ship targets. In the DMOTHR, it is difficult to locate the target due to the complexity of the signal path propagation. Therefore, this paper uses the ionosphere as the reflector to convert the propagation path from a polyline to a straight line for establishing the model, and then the SDP algorithm will be used to transform a highly nonlinear positioning optimization problem into a convex optimization problem. Finally, it is concluded through the simulations that the SDP algorithm can obtain better positioning accuracy under a certain Doppler frequency error and ionospheric measurement error.

The toxicological effects of p-cresol have primarily been attributed to its metabolism products; however, very little human data are available in the key organ (i.e., liver) responsible for the generation of these metabolites. Experiments were conducted in HepaRG cells utilizing the following markers of cellular toxicity: 2′-7′-dichlorofluorescein (DCF; oxidative stress) formation, total cellular glutathione (GSH) concentration, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; cellular necrosis) release. Concentrations of p-cresol, p-cresol sulfate, and p-cresol glucuronide were determined using validated assays. p-Cresol exposure resulted in concentration- and time-dependent changes in DCF (EC50 = 0.64 ± 0.37 mM at 24 h of exposure) formation, GSH (EC50 = 1.00 ± 0.07 mM) concentration, and LDH (EC50 = 0.85 ± 0.14 mM) release at toxicologically relevant conditions. p-Cresol was also relatively more toxic than 3-carboxy-4-methyl-5-propyl-2-furanpropanoic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, indoxyl sulfate, kynurenic acid, and hippuric acid on all markers. Although the exogenous administration of p-cresol sulfate and p-cresol glucuronide generated high intracellular concentrations of these metabolites, both metabolites were less toxic compared to p-cresol at equal-molar conditions. Moreover, p-cresol glucuronide was the predominant metabolite generated in situ from p-cresol exposure. Selective attenuation of glucuronidation (without affecting p-cresol sulfate formation, while increasing p-cresol accumulation) using independent chemical inhibitors (i.e., 0.75 mM l-borneol, 75 µM amentoflavone, or 100 µM diclofenac) consistently resulted in further increases in LDH release associated with p-cresol exposure (by 28.3 ± 5.3%, 30.0 ± 8.2% or 27.3 ± 6.8%, respectively, compared to p-cresol treatment). These novel data indicated that p-cresol was a relatively potent toxicant, and that glucuronidation was unlikely to be associated with the manifestation of its toxic effects in HepaRG cells.

The energy router composed of double active bridge (DAB) can interconnect multiple voltage level AC distribution network through DC lines to form AC/DC hybrid distribution network. The fault types of the system are diverse and the fault characteristics are complex. This paper studies the fault characteristics of the system in detail. The single-phase grounding fault of AC network side and single-phase grounding fault of AC valve side occurred in the system. This paper explored the impact of the AC side of the system after the above failure, and make a detailed comparative analysis. The results show that DAB can isolate the influence of AC side fault, and provide theoretical basis for the selection of grounding mode and the design of protection system for AC/DC hybrid distribution network.

Compared with the direct access to the main power grid and diesel generators, this paper puts forward the scheme of using electric ships to shuttle between islands to transport electric energy, analyzes the limitations and defects of its application in offshore islands; and then puts forward a comprehensive energy supply system of offshore islands. The comprehensive energy supply system can make full use of the rich renewable energy of the islands, and realize the optimal allocation of the overall resources of the islands. At the same time, the energy supply system can break the isolated development pattern of island power grid and connect the island group power exchange ship. This paper analyzes the connotation and characteristics of the system, puts forward the key technology for building the integrated energy supply system of ocean island group, and gives the design and operation analysis example of power exchange ship.

When planning the power grid, it is necessary to obtain the optimal decision scheme according to the market behavior of different stakeholders. In this paper, the virtual game player "nature" is introduced to realize the deep integration of game theory and robust optimization, and a source network load collaborative planning method considering uncertainty and multi-agent game is proposed. Firstly, the planning decision-making models of different stakeholders of DG investment operators, power grid investment operators and power users are constructed respectively; then, the static game behavior between distributed generation (DG) investment operators and power grid investment operators is analyzed according to the transmission relationship of the three; at the same time, robust optimization is used to deal with DG. In this paper, we introduce the virtual game player "nature" to study the dynamic game behavior between the virtual game player and the power grid investment operator. On this basis, the dynamic static joint game planning model is proposed.

With the strengthening of external supervision and the management requirements of internal quality and efficiency improvement of power grid, it is particularly important to improve the lean level of power grid investment. However, the accuracy and scientificity of the current grid infrastructure project investment plan adjustment need to be further improved, and the basis for the completion of investment submission is the on-site construction progress. Therefore, this topic carries out the analysis of the factors affecting the construction progress, including the types of the factors affecting the construction, the depth and breadth of the impact, and the impact of the milestone stage, and takes the analysis results of the shutdown factors as the reference basis for the adjustment of the investment plan, so as to improve the investment management level of the company.

In order to deal with the severe external supervision and challenges, and improve the scientific rationality of internal investment structure decision-making, this study explored the idea of voltage level investment structure decision-making considering the power grid development and operation benefits. Firstly, based on the study of the relationship between historical investment scale and power grid indicators, the investment demand of power grid is determined; secondly, the influence path of investment on business efficiency is sorted out, and the differences of investment, capital transfer and depreciation of different voltage levels are studied and determined, and the operation benefit level of the company under different investment schemes is calculated. Finally, the index system of investment structure optimization is constructed to quantify the power grid and benefit status of the company under different investment structures, so as to optimize the company’s investment scheme and promote the high-quality development of the company and power grid.

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles have been receiving more and more attention because they own many advantages compared with traditional vehicles. A robust and accurate vehicle localization system is critical to the safety and the efficiency of autonomous vehicles. The global positioning system (GPS) has been widely applied to the vehicle localization systems. However, the accuracy and the reliability of GPS have suffered in some scenarios. In this paper, we present a robust and accurate vehicle localization system consisting of a bistatic passive radar, in which the performance of localization is solely dependent on the accuracy of the proposed off-grid direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm. Under the framework of sparse Bayesian learning (SBL), the source powers and the noise variance are estimated by a fast evidence maximization method, and the off-grid gap is effectively handled by an advanced grid refining strategy. Simulation results show that the proposed method exhibits better performance than the existing sparse signal representation-based algorithms, and performs well in the vehicle localization system.

Controllable engineering of thin lithium (Li) metal is essential for increasing the energy density of solid-state batteries and clarifying the interfacial evolution mechanisms of a lithium metal negative electrode. However, fabricating a thin lithium electrode faces significant challenges due to the fragility and high viscosity of Li metal. Herein, through facile treatment of Ta-doped Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 (LLZTO) with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, its surface Li 2 CO 3 species is converted into a lithiophilic layer with LiCF 3 SO 3 and LiF components. It enables the thickness control of Li metal negative electrodes, ranging from 0.78 μm to 30 μm. Quasi-solid-state lithium-metal battery with an optimized 7.54 μm-thick lithium metal negative electrode, a commercial LiNi 0.83 Co 0.11 Mn 0.06 O 2 positive electrode, and a negative/positive electrode capacity ratio of 1.1 shows a 500 cycles lifespan with a final discharge specific capacity of 99 mAh g -1 at 2.35 mA cm -2 and 25 °C. Through multi-scale characterizations of the thin lithium negative electrode, we clarify the multi-dimensional compositional evolution and failure mechanisms of lithium-deficient and -rich regions (0.78 μm and 7.54 μm), on its surface, inside it, or at the Li/LLZTO interface., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e - -ORR) provides an alternative method to the energy-intensive anthraquinone method. Metal macrocycles with precise coordination are widely used for 2e - -ORR electrocatalysis, but they have to be commonly loaded on conductive substrates, thus exposing a large number of 2e - -ORR-inactive sites that result in poor H 2 O 2 production rate and efficiency. Herein, guided by first-principle predictions, a substrate-free and two-dimensional conductive metal-organic framework (Ni-TCPP(Co)), composed of CoN 4 sites in porphine(Co) centers and Ni 2 O 8 nodes, is designed as a multi-site catalyst for H 2 O 2 electrosynthesis. The approperiate distance between the CoN 4 and Ni 2 O 8 sites in Ni-TCPP(Co) weakens the electron transfer between them, thus ensuring their inherent activities and creating high-density active sites. Meanwhile, the intrinsic electronic conductivity and porosity of Ni-TCPP(Co) further facilitate rapid reaction kinetics. Therefore, outstanding 2e - -ORR electrocatalytic performance has been achieved in both alkaline and neutral electrolytes (>90 %/85 % H 2 O 2 selectivity within 0-0.8 V vs. RHE and >18.2/18.0 mol g -1  h -1 H 2 O 2 yield under alkaline/neutral conditions), with confirmed feasibility for water purification and disinfection applications. This strategy thus provides a new avenue for designing catalysts with precise coordination and high-density active sites, promoting high-efficiency electrosynthesis of H 2 O 2 and beyond., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The intrinsic reversibility of dynamic covalent bonding, such as the furan-maleimide Diels-Alder (DA) cycloaddition reactions, enables reprocessable, self-healing polymer materials that can be reconfigured via the mechanism of solid-state plasticity. In this work, the temperature-dependent exchange rates of stereochemically distinct endo and exo DA bonds are leveraged to achieve tunable, temperature- and stress-activated shape morphing in Diels-Alder polymer (DAP) networks. Through thermal annealing, ≈35% of endo DA isomers are converted in neat DAP networks to the thermodynamically favored exo form, achieving ≈97% exo after complete annealing at 60 °C. This conversion results in a ≈1.7 fold increase in elastic modulus, from 1.7 to 3.0 MPa, and significantly alters the stress relaxation and shape recovery behavior. Spatially resolved annealing, is further showcased enabling the precise control of spatial distributions of endo and exo DA bonds across planar geometries. The locally distinct concentrations of endo/exo isomers, achieved by temperature-induced conversion of endo DA isomers to the thermodynamically stable exo DA isomers, gave rise to the spatial distributions of stress relaxation rates and elastic strain recovery mismatch to enable controlled stereochemical shape morphing. This approach provides a simplified, thermally driven method for shape morphing, with potential applications in soft robotics and flexible electronics., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Electroencephalography (EEG) microstates are canonical voltage topographies that reflect the temporal dynamics of brain networks on a millisecond time scale. Abnormalities in broadband microstate parameters have been observed in subjects with psychiatric symptoms, indicating their potential as clinical biomarkers. Considering distinct information provided by specific frequency bands of EEG, we hypothesized that microstates in decomposed frequency bands could provide a more detailed depiction of the underlying neuropathological mechanism. In this study, with a large open access resting-state dataset (n = 203), we examined the properties of frequency-specific microstates and their relationship with anxiety and depression symptoms. We conducted clustering on EEG topographies in decomposed frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha and beta), and determined the number of clusters with a meta-criterion. Microstate parameters, including global explained variance (GEV), duration, coverage, occurrence and transition probability, were calculated for eyes-open and eyes-closed states, respectively. Their ability to predict the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms were systematically identified by correlation, regression and classification analyses. Distinct microstate patterns were observed across different frequency bands. Microstate parameters in the alpha band held the best predictive power for emotional symptoms. Microstates B (GEV, coverage) and parieto-central maximum microstate E (coverage, occurrence, transitions from B to E) in the alpha band exhibited significant correlations with depression and anxiety, respectively. Microstate parameters of the alpha band achieved predictive R-square of 0.100 for anxiety scores, which is much higher than those of broadband (R-square = -0.026, p < 0.01). Similar results were found in classification of participants with high and low anxiety symptom scores (68% accuracy in alpha vs. 52% in broadband). These results suggested the value of frequency-specific microstates in predicting emotional symptoms., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Daptomycin (DAP), a novel cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic produced by Streptomyces roseosporus, is clinically important for treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens, but the low yield hampers its large-scale industrial production. Here, we describe a combination metabolic engineering strategy for constructing a DAP high-yielding strain. Initially, we enhanced aspartate (Asp) precursor supply in S. roseosporus wild-type (WT) strain by separately inhibiting Asp degradation and competitive pathway genes using CRISPRi and overexpressing Asp synthetic pathway genes using strong promoter kasOp*. The resulting strains all showed increased DAP titre. Combined inhibition of acsA4, pta, pyrB, and pyrC increased DAP titre to 167.4 μg/mL (73.5% higher than WT value). Co-overexpression of aspC, gdhA, ppc, and ecaA led to DAP titre 168 μg/mL (75.7% higher than WT value). Concurrently, we constructed a chassis strain favourable for DAP production by abolishing by-product production (i.e., deleting a 21.1 kb region of the red pigment biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC)) and engineering the DAP BGC (i.e., replacing its native dptEp with kasOp*). Titre for the resulting chassis strain reached 185.8 μg/mL. Application of our Asp precursor supply strategies to the chassis strain further increased DAP titre to 302 μg/mL (2.1-fold higher than WT value). Subsequently, we cloned the engineered DAP BGC and duplicated it in the chassis strain, leading to DAP titre 274.6 μg/mL. The above strategies, in combination, resulted in maximal DAP titre 350.7 μg/mL (2.6-fold higher than WT value), representing the highest reported DAP titre in shake-flask fermentation. These findings provide an efficient combination strategy for increasing DAP production and can also be readily applied in the overproduction of other Asp-related antibiotics., (© 2024 The Author(s). Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Multi-omics integration has demonstrated promising performance in complex disease prediction. However, existing research typically focuses on maximizing prediction accuracy, while often neglecting the essential task of discovering meaningful biomarkers. This issue is particularly important in biomedicine, as molecules often interact rather than function individually to influence disease outcomes. To this end, we propose a two-phase framework named GREMI to assist multi-omics classification and explanation. In the prediction phase, we propose to improve prediction performance by employing a graph attention architecture on sample-wise co-functional networks to incorporate biomolecular interaction information for enhanced feature representation, followed by the integration of a joint-late mixed strategy and the true-class-probability block to adaptively evaluate classification confidence at both feature and omics levels. In the interpretation phase, we propose a multi-view approach to explain disease outcomes from the interaction module perspective, providing a more intuitive understanding and biomedical rationale. We incorporate Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) to explore local-view subgraphs and pinpoint modules that highly contribute to disease characterization from the global-view. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms state-of-the-art methods in seven different classification tasks, and our model effectively addresses data mutual interference when the number of omics types increases. We further illustrate the functional- and disease-relevance of the identified modules, as well as validate the classification performance of discovered modules using an independent cohort.

Pathogens constantly evolve and can develop mutations that evade host immunity and treatment. Addressing these escape mechanisms requires targeting evolutionarily conserved vulnerabilities, as mutations in these regions often impose fitness costs. We introduce adaptive multi-epitope targeting with enhanced avidity (AMETA), a modular and multivalent nanobody platform that conjugates potent bispecific nanobodies to a human immunoglobulin M (IgM) scaffold. AMETA can display 20+ nanobodies, enabling superior avidity binding to multiple conserved and neutralizing epitopes. By leveraging multi-epitope SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies and structure-guided design, AMETA constructs exponentially enhance antiviral potency, surpassing monomeric nanobodies by over a million-fold. These constructs demonstrate ultrapotent, broad, and durable efficacy against pathogenic sarbecoviruses, including Omicron sublineages, with robust preclinical results. Structural analysis through cryoelectron microscopy and modeling has uncovered multiple antiviral mechanisms within a single construct. At picomolar to nanomolar concentrations, AMETA efficiently induces inter-spike and inter-virus cross-linking, promoting spike post-fusion and striking viral disarmament. AMETA's modularity enables rapid, cost-effective production and adaptation to evolving pathogens., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests Y.X. and Y.S. are co-inventors on a provisional patent of AMETA technology filed by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The A.G.-S. laboratory has received research support from GSK, Pfizer, Senhwa Biosciences, Kenall Manufacturing, Blade Therapeutics, Avimex, Johnson & Johnson, Dynavax, 7Hills Pharma, Pharmamar, ImmunityBio, Accurius, Nanocomposix, Hexamer, N-fold LLC, Model Medicines, Atea Pharma, Applied Biological Laboratories, and Merck, outside of the reported work. A.G.-S. has consulting agreements for the following companies involving cash and/or stock: Castlevax, Amovir, Vivaldi Biosciences, Contrafect, 7Hills Pharma, Avimex, Pagoda, Accurius, Esperovax, Applied Biological Laboratories, Pharmamar, CureLab Oncology, CureLab Veterinary, Synairgen, Paratus, Pfizer, and Prosetta, outside of the reported work. A.G.-S. has been an invited speaker in meeting events organized by Seqirus, Janssen, Abbott, and AstraZeneca. A.G.-S. is an inventor of patents and patent applications on the use of antivirals and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of virus infections and cancer, owned by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, outside of the reported work. Y.X. and Y.S. are co-inventors on a patent of Nbs filed by Univ. of Pittsburgh. Y.S. is a co-founder of Antenna Biotech Inc., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The performance of detectors is key for a PET scanner to achieve high spatial resolution and high sensitivity. This work aims to develop flood histogram generating algorithms to reduce the edge effect and improve the crystal identification of a PET detector consisting of two optically coupled pixelated scintillator detectors., Methods: The PET detector consists of two optically coupled detectors, each consisting of a 23×23 LYSO crystal array with a crystal size of 1.0×1.0×20 mm 3 read out by an 8×8 SiPM array with a pixel size of 3.0×3.0 mm 2 . The SiPM array is read out with a resistor network circuit to obtain four position encoding energy signals. A novel center of gravity (COG) positioning algorithm using six signals from the two detectors was proposed and compared to the traditional COG algorithms using either four or eight signals from the detectors. The raised-to-the-power (RTP) method was applied to the three COG algorithms for the PET detector. Different powers of the RTP from 1.0 to 2.5 were evaluated., Results: The proposed COG algorithm significantly improves the crystal identification at the junction of the two detectors as compared to the COG algorithm using four signals of each detector, and improves the crystal identification at the center of the two detectors as compared to the COG algorithm using eight signals from both detectors. The RTP method significantly improves the overall flood histogram qualities of the two COG algorithms using either eight or six signals from the two detectors, and the two COG algorithm provide similar flood histogram quality when a power of 1.5 is used., Conclusion: The novel positioning algorithms reduce the edge effect and improve the flood histogram quality for a PET detector consisting of two optically coupled detectors, each consisting of a pixelated scintillator crystal array and a SiPM array with highly multiplexed four signal readout. The positioning algorithms can be used in a PET scanner to improve the spatial resolution and sensitivity., (© 2024 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.)

Objective: In ophthalmic surgery, different materials and fixation methods are employed for bone flap repositioning after lateral orbitotomy approach (LOA), yet there is no unified standard. This study aims to investigate the impact of different fixation strategies on orbital stability through Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations of the biomechanical environment for orbital rim fixation in LOA., Methods: A Finite Element Model (FEM) was established and validated to simulate the mechanical responses under various loads in conventional lateral orbitotomy approach (CLOA) and deep lateral orbital decompression (DLOD) using single titanium plate, double titanium plates, and double absorbable plates fixation methods. The simulations were then validated against clinical cases., Results: Under similar conditions, the maximum equivalent stress (MES) on titanium alloy fixations was greater than that on absorbable plate materials. Both under static and physiological conditions, all FEM groups ensured structural stability of the system, with material stresses remaining within safe ranges. Compared to CLOA, DLOD, which involves the removal of the lateral orbital wall, altered stress conduction, resulting in an increase of MES and maximum total deformation (MTD) by 1.96 and 2.62 times, respectively. Under a horizontal load of 50 N, the MES in FEM/DLOD exceeded the material's own strength, with an increase in MES and MTD by 3.18 and 6.64 times, respectively, compared to FEM/CLOA. Under a vertical force of 50 N, the MES sustained by each FEM was within safe limits. Bone flap rotation angles remained minimally varied across scenarios. During follow-up, the 12 patients validated in this study did not experience complications related to the internal fixation devices., Conclusion: Under static or physiological conditions, various fixation methods can effectively maintain stability at the orbitotomy site, and absorbable materials, with their smoother stress transmission properties, are more suited for application in CLOA. Among titanium plate fixations, single titanium plates can better withstand vertical stress, while double titanium plates are more capable of handling horizontal stress. Given the change in the orbital mechanical behavior due to DLOD, enhanced fixation strength should be considered for bone flap repositioning., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Zn ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising for large-scale energy storage but their practical application is plagued by inhomogeneous Zn deposition. Despite much effort, the harm of simultaneous hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) during plating to Zn deposition, has not received sufficient studies. Herein, Sn-modified Cu nanowires (Sn@CuNWs) with Sn-Cu core-shell nanostructure to achieve uniform Zn deposition by zinc affinity-HER tendency trade-off are fabricated. Confirmed by both theoretical calculation and practical characterization, the nanowires with high zinc affinity and large deposition sites facilitate Zn deposition, while the enlarged HER tendency harmful to Zn plating is inhibited by Sn nanoshell. Therefore, the Zn deposited Sn@CuNWs anode delivers a long lifespan of 800 h at 5 mA cm -2 , and the full cell exhibits a high capacity of 294.4 mAh g -1 at 5 A g -1 and a high capacity retention of 97.8% after 2500 cycles. This work reveals the importance of HER regulation for reversible Zn deposition, which should be noticed in further research., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: The correlation between heading date and flowering time significantly regulates grain filling and seed formation in barley and other crops, ultimately determining crop productivity. In this study, the transcriptome, hormone content detection, and metabolome analysis were performed systematically to analyze the regulatory mechanism of heading time in highland barley under different light conditions. The heading date of D18 (winter highland barley variety, Dongqing18) was later than that of K13 (vernal highland barley variety) under normal growth conditions or long-day (LD) treatment, while this situation will reverse with short-day (SD) treatment., Results: The circadian rhythm plant, plant hormone signaling transduction, starch and sucrose metabolism, and photosynthesis-related pathways are significantly enriched in barley under SD and LD to influence heading time. In the plant circadian rhythm pathway, the key genes GI (Gigantea), PRR (Pesudoresponseregulator), FKF1 (Flavin-binding kelch pepeat F-Box 1), and FT (Flowering locus T) are identified as highly expressed in D18SD3 and K13SD2, while they are significantly down-regulated in K13SD3. These genes play an important role in regulating the heading date of D18 earlier than that of K13 under SD conditions. In photosynthesis-related pathways, a-b binding protein and RBS were highly expressed in K13LD3, while NADP-dependent malic enzyme, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, and triosephosphate isomerase were significantly expressed in D18SD3. In the starch and sucrose metabolism pathway, 41 DEGs (differentially expressed genes) and related metabolites were identified as highly expressed and accumulated in D18SD3. The DEGs SAUR (Small auxin-up RNA), ARF (Auxin response factor), TIR1 (Transport inhibitor response 1), EIN3 (Ethylene-insensitive 3), ERS1 (Ethylene receptor gene), and JAZ1 (Jasmonate ZIM-domain) in the plant hormone pathway were significantly up-regulated in D18SD3. Compared with D18LD3, the content of N6-isopentenyladenine, indole-3-carboxylic acid, 1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid, trans-zeatin, indole-3-carboxaldehyde, 1-O-indol-3-ylacetylglucose, and salicylic acid in D18SD3 also increased. The expression levels of vernalization genes (HvVRN1, HvVRN2, and HvVRN3), photoperiod genes (PPD), and PPDK (Pyruvate phosphate dikinase) that affect photosynthetic efficiency in barley are also analyzed, which play important regulatory roles in barley heading date. The WGCNA analysis of the metabolome data and circadian regulatory genes identified the key metabolites and candidate genes to regulate the heading time of barley in response to the photoperiod., Conclusion: These studies will provide a reference for the regulation mechanism of flowering and the heading date of highland barley., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common malignancies and a leading cause of death among women worldwide. The ubiquitin pathway plays an important role in OC development. Using the single nucleotide polymorphism data obtained using the prevalence and dominance strategies, four ubiquitin marker genes were identified according to their expression levels: BARD1, BRCA2, FANCA, and BRCA1. Based on these four genes, a consensus clustering of OC expression data was performed. The significant differences in the survival analysis, ESTIMATE, and CIBERSORT results among the clusters indicated the pivotal role of these four genes in OC development. Of the ubiquitin-representative genes in each cluster, two ubiquitin genes, TOP2A and MYLIP , were identified in the survival risk model after univariate survival, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regression, and multivariate survival analyses. The reliability and robustness of both the training and validation data were confirmed by comparing the significant survival difference between high- and low-risk patients. We further explored the association between our risk model and clinical outcomes as well as predicted potentially interacting drugs. The co-expression network showed clear interactions among the four marker genes and two model genes and between high- and low-risk differentially expressed genes. Significantly enriched genes were found in pathways associated with ion channels, channel activity, and neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions. Therefore, suggesting the involvement of ubiquitin genes in the survival and development of OC through neurohumoral regulation. Our results will provide valuable reference or supplementary information for studies investigating OC diagnosis and therapies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Introduction: A local microneedle patch loaded with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) was constructed to improve the efficiency of ALA photodynamic treatment of oral leukoplakia, reduce local photosensitivity reactions, and promote the healing of lesions., Methods: The microneedle patch loaded with ALA was constructed with the hyaluronic acid (HA) solution (ALA-HAMN), and its morphology, strength, mucosal penetration, and biocompatibility were tested., Results: In vivo safety and permeability tests confirmed that ALA-HAMN had good biocompatibility and could penetrate the mucosal barrier and quickly dissolve and release ALA for in situ transdermal administration. The 4-nitroquinoline oxide (NQO) rat model experiment showed that ALA-HAMN can significantly improve photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficiency and has no damage to mucosal tissue compared with the commonly used ALA cotton ball dressing., Conclusions: The ALA-loaded microneedle patch was successfully constructed for the photodynamic treatment of oral leukoplakia, and the photodynamic efficiency and comfort of oral leukoplakia were improved, which provided an effective delivery mode to improve clinical ALA-PDT treatment of oral leukoplakia (OLK)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Designing non-noble metal single-atom catalysts (M-SACs) for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e-ORR) is attractive for the hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) electrosynthesis, in which the coordination configuration of the M-SACs essentially affects the reaction activity and product selectivity. Though extensively investigated, a generalized coordination engineering strategy has not yet been proposed, which fundamentally hinders the rational design of M-SACs with optimized catalytic capabilities. Herein, a generalized coordination engineering strategy is proposed for M-SACs toward H 2 O 2 electrosynthesis via introducing heteroatoms (e.g., oxygen or sulfur atoms) with higher or lower electronegativity than nitrogen atoms into the first sphere of metal-N 4 system to tailor their electronic structure and adjust the adsorption strength for * OOH intermediates, respectively, thus optimizing their electrocatalytic capability for 2e-ORR. Specifically, the (O, N)-coordinated Co SAC (Co-N 3 O) and (S, N)-coordinated Ni SAC (Ni-N 3 S) are precisely synthesized, and both present superior 2e-ORR activity (E onset : ≈0.80 V versus RHE) and selectivity (≈90%) in alkaline conditions compared with conventional Co-N 4 and Ni-N 4 sites. The high H 2 O 2 yield rates of 14.2 and 17.5 moL g -1  h -1 and long-term stability over 12 h are respectively achieved for Co-N 3 O and Ni-N 3 S. Such favorable 2e-ORR pathway of the catalysts is also theoretically confirmed by the kinetics simulations., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

This study aimed to explore the influence of excess iodine on the articular cartilage and epiphyseal growth plate in rats. Wistar rats (n = 200) were randomly divided into five groups with 40 rats in each: normal iodine (NI), 5-fold high iodine group (5HI), 10-fold high iodine group (10HI), 50-fold high iodine group (50HI), and 100-fold high iodine group (100HI). The rats were executed in 6 and 12 months. 24-h urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was monitored by arsenic-cerium catalytic spectrophotometry. The chemiluminescence method was used to determine the thyroid function. The pathological changes in the epiphyseal plate, articular cartilage, and thickness of the epiphyseal plate were observed. The mRNA expression of collagen II (ColII), collagen X, matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), and fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 in articular chondrocytes was detected by RT-PCR. 24-h UIC increased as iodine intake increased. In the 12th month, there was a significant increase in serum sTSH and a decrease in serum FT 4 in HI groups, compared to the NI group. There was a decrease in the number of proliferating cells in the epiphyseal plate and an increase in the number of mast cell layers. The chondrocytes appeared disorganized, and the tidal lines were disturbed or even broken. Growth plate thickness decreased with increasing iodine intake. Compared with the NI group, ColII and MMP-13 mRNA expression in chondrocytes in all HI groups significantly increased. Chronic iodine overdose increases the risk of hypothyroidism. Chronic iodine overdose leads to abnormal morphology of epiphyseal growth plates and articular cartilage, increasing the risk of osteoarthritis., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Magnolia wufengensis , a newly discovered ornamental species in the Magnoliaceae family, is susceptible to salinity. Moreover, Ca 2+ is an essential element for plant growth and is receiving increasing attention for its ability to mitigate the negative effects of environmental stress on plants. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Ca 2+ on the growth and transcriptome of M. wufengensis under salt stress. The treatments used here were as follows: control, NaCl (150 mmol/L), CaCl 2 (5 mmol/L), and NaCl (150 mmol/L) + CaCl 2 (5 mmol/L). After a 60-day treatment period, plant growth indices were determined, and leaves were collected for physiological analysis and transcriptome investigation. The combined application of NaCl and CaCl 2 alleviated phenotypic damage and restored seedling growth. Moreover, RNA sequencing data revealed that in the Na vs. control group and the NaCa vs. Na group, there were 968 and 2632 differentially expressed genes, respectively, which were both primarily enriched in secondary metabolism, glutathione metabolism, signaling hormone metabolism, glucose metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. These pathways were analyzed to screen key genes: the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette efflux transporter G1 (ABCG1) genes, which are related to transmembrane transport; the calmodulin genes, which are related to signal transmission; and the glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and peroxidase (POD) genes related to antioxidant enzymes. Lastly, we constructed a hypothesis model of Ca 2+ -enhanced salt tolerance in M. wufengensis . This study reveals the potential mechanisms by which Ca 2+ enhances the salt tolerance of M. wufengensis and provides a theoretical reference for its cultivation in saline areas.