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Abstract Background In this paper, a rare case is reported, where the patient is a 74-year-old man. He suffered from recurrent pneumothorax within half a year and experienced a relapse after receiving conservative treatments. Case presentation Diagnostic workup revealed a cystic lesion in the right middle lobe, which has been interpreted as a bulla during the initial chest CT scan. Due to recurrent pneumothorax and poor response to the conservative treatments, the patient underwent bullectomy and pleurodesis. The pathology showed that the wall of the cystic lesion was invasive adenocarcinoma. Conclusions This case highlights the importance of monitoring cystic lesions in the lungs, especially in patients with a history of smoking and emphysema.

Abstract Conductive fillers‐embedded plastic polymer hybrid composites are crucial electronic materials in modern technologies owing to their tunable conductive properties, low density, and corrosion resistance. However, the application of traditional rigid inorganic conductive fillers‐embedded plastic composites is constrained by their subpar electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. Consequently, liquid metals (LMs) including gallium and gallium‐based alloys, have recently emerged as the preferred conductive flexible fillers over traditional rigid fillers. This work employs a solvent evaporation method and phase separation‐induced conductivity mechanism. The resulting flexible and electrically conductive LM‐polycarbonate (PC) film circuits demonstrate ultrahigh metallic conductivity, robust mechanical performance, excellent solvent recyclability, and notable processability. The fluidic nature of LMs and the superior mechanical properties of the PC polymer confer high electrical stability and durability to the LM‐PC film circuits under diverse mechanical forces and environmental conditions. The LM‐PC film circuits are exceedingly promising and apt for use as flexible conductors in contemporary electrical applications, including electricity transmission and underwater working.

Traditional power supply methods for rotating mechanisms are found to face problems, including complex structures, limited functionality, and potential safety hazards. To address these problems, a rotary wireless power transfer system with new rail-type coupling structure (RTR-WPT) is proposed in this paper. This system, characterized by safety, reliability, and flexible installation, is designed to provide power to devices mounted on rotating shafts. Firstly, the topological structure of the RTR-WPT system is introduced, and the corresponding circuit model is established. Secondly, MAXWELL is utilized for finite element analysis to design and optimize the rail-type rotary coupler. Finally, an experimental platform for the RTR-WPT system is built and tested. From the experimental results, it is validated that the new rail-type coupler and the design methodology are feasible, and the system can achieve a power transmission of 10.33W with an overall efficiency of 72.1% under rotating conditions.

The utilization of fossil fuels has brought unprecedented prosperity and development to human society, but also caused environmental pollution and global warming triggered by excess greenhouse gases emission. For one thing, the excess emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), which has a negative impact on global temperature and ocean acidity, needs to be controlled. For another, the depletion of fossil fuels will eventually force people to seek alternative carbon sources to maintain a sustainable economy. Thus, using renewable energy to convert CO2 and biomass into value-added chemicals and fuels is a promising method to overcome urgent problems. The hydrogenation of CO2 is very important to mitigate the greenhouse effect caused by CO2, while biomass conversion can produce alternative renewable biofuels and green chemicals. As a kind of promising catalyst, heterogeneous single-atom catalyst (SAC) has received extensive attention in the past decades. SACs combine the advantages of homogeneous catalysts with uniform active sites and heterogeneous catalysts that are easily separable. In this review, we will give a comprehensive overview of the latest progress in CO2 selective hydrogenation and biomass conversion via SACs.

The molecular mechanism of broad-spectrum neutralization of a rabbit monoclonal antibody 1H1 against Omicron sublineages is revealed by cryo-EM.

Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous heavy metal environmental pollutant that has carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic properties. Excessive exposure to Cd can induce oxidative stress, which greatly harms the male reproductive system. Anthocyanins have remarkable antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-stress properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of anthocyanins and the underlying mechanisms through which anthocyanins mitigate Cd-induced reproductive damage. We isolated and purified Lycium ruthenicum Murray anthocyanin extract (LAE) and performed UHPLC-MS/MS to identify 30 different anthocyanins. We established an ICR mouse Cd injury model by administering 5 mg/kg/day CdCl2 for 28 consecutive days. LAE at 500 mg/kg/day effectively ameliorated testicular damage and preserved spermatogenesis. The mice in the LAE-treated group had elevated testosterone and inhibin B levels. Additionally, the treatment restored the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including T-SOD, CAT, and GR, and substantially increased the levels of the non-enzymatic antioxidant GSH. Research findings indicate that LAE can activate the SIRT1/Nrf2/Keap1 antioxidant pathway. This activation is achieved through the upregulation of both the SIRT1 gene and protein levels, leading to the deacetylation of Nrf2. Moreover, LAE reduces the expression of Keap1, alleviating its inhibitory effect on Nrf2. This, in turn, facilitates the uncoupling process, promoting the translocation of Nrf2 to the nucleus, where it governs downstream expression, including that of HO-1 and GPX1. LAE effectively mitigated toxicity to the reproductive system associated with exposure to the heavy metal Cd by alleviating oxidative stress in the testes.

Abstract Rationally constructing atom‐precise active sites is highly important to promote their catalytic performance but still challenging. Herein, this work designs and constructs ZSM‐5 supported Cu and Ag dual single atoms as a proof‐of‐concept catalyst (Ag1−Cu1/ZSM‐5 hetero‐SAC (single‐atom catalyst)) to boost direct oxidation of methane (DOM) by H2O2. The Ag1−Cu1/ZSM‐5 hetero‐SAC synthesized via a modified co‐adsorption strategy yields a methanol productivity of 20,115 µmol gcat−1 with 81% selectivity at 70 °C within 30 min, which surpasses most of the state‐of‐the‐art noble metal catalysts. The characterization results prove that the synergistic interaction between silver and copper facilitates the formation of highly reactive surface hydroxyl species to activate the C−H bond as well as the activity, selectivity, and stability of DOM compared with SACs, which is the key to the enhanced catalytic performance. This work believes the atomic‐level design strategy on dual‐single‐atom active sites should pave the way to designing advanced catalysts for methane conversion.

Traditional security surveillance detection relies on post-event forensics or is hosted on a backend server, making it impossible to identify behaviors filmed in the field online. This paper proposes the Smart City Security System (SCSS) for detecting anomalous activity in public locations online. SCSS combines the DeepSORT and YOLOv4 algorithms to generate the DS-YOLO aberrant behavior detection algorithm, which compares and matches the target detected in the previous picture frame with the target detected in the following frame to achieve detection and tracking. SCSS is equipped with GPS, WIFI, and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). When a risky behavior is detected, the system will upload the abnormal event as well as the latitude and longitude that occurred to the cloud via the WIFI and notify the user. The recognition accuracy of three deviant behaviors, including Fight, Car Accident, and Fall, was examined using diverse situations, and the results were 89%, 90%, and 90.33% respectively. The findings demonstrate that SCSS has successfully made the transition from passive monitoring to active identification, offsetting the flaws of conventional security systems that can only post-mordem forensics, and bridging the gap of the construction of national smart cities.

The continuous evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants poses a challenge to determine the optimal updated composition of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. The present study aimed to investigate the immunogenicity of the Delta monovalent vaccine, the Omicron monovalent vaccine, and the Delta and Omicron BA.1 bivalent vaccine. Three COVID-19 vaccines were designed using the heterologous DNA prime-protein boost strategy, with each vaccine containing either Delta receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, Omicron RBD, or both Delta and Omicron antigens. Temporal serum antibody binding titers and neutralizing antibody titers induced by the three vaccines in New Zealand White rabbits were analyzed. To further dissect the vaccine elicited antibodies (mAb) responses at the molecular level, a panel of rabbit monoclonal antibodies (RmAbs) was generated by a high-throughput single B cell sorting and discovery pipeline and further comprehensively characterized. The Omicron monovalent vaccine induced higher antibody binding titers and neutralization activities than the Delta and Omicron bivalent vaccine. Four RmAbs with robust neutralization capacity were isolated from rabbits immunized with the Omicron or Delta monovalent vaccine. Notably, 9E11 isolated from the Omicron monovalent vaccine group neutralized all the Omicron subvariants with an IC50 value ranging from 1.5 to 503.6 ng/mL; thus, this vaccine could serve as a prophylactic and therapeutic intervention. Given the increasing incidence of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, RBD from the Omicron strain could serve as a candidate immunogen that can induce higher neutralization activities against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages.

The torque is a significant indicator reflecting the comprehensive operational characteristics of a power system. Thus, accurate torque measurement plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and stability of the system. However, conventional torque measurement systems predominantly rely on strain gauges adhered to the shaft, often leading to reduced accuracy, poor repeatability, and non-traceability due to the influence of strain gauge adhesion. To tackle the challenge, this paper introduces a photoelectric torque measurement system. Quadrants of photoelectric sensors are employed to capture minute deformations induced by torque on the rotational axis, converting them into measurable voltage. Subsequently, the system employs the radial basis function neural network optimized by simulated annealing combined with particle swarm algorithm (SAPSO-RBF) to establish a correlation between measured torque values and standard references, thereby calibrating the measured values. Experimental results affirm the system’s capability to accurately determine torque measurements and execute calibration, minimizing measurement errors to 0.92%.

In this study, we designed and developed a DOX nanodrug delivery system (PEG-GA@ZIF-8@DOX) using ZIF-8 as the carrier and glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) as the targeting ligand. We confirmed that DOX was loaded and PEG-GA was successfully modified on the surface of the nanoparticles. The in vitro release profile of the system was investigated at pH 5.0 and 7.4. The cellular uptake, in vitro cytotoxicity, and lysosomal escape characteristics were examined using HepG2 cells. We established an H22 tumor-bearing mouse model and evaluated the in vivo antitumor activity. The results showed that the system had a uniform nanomorphology. The drug loading capacity was 11.22 ± 0.87%. In acidic conditions (pH 5.0), the final release rate of DOX was 57.73%, while at pH 7.4, it was 25.12%. GA-mediated targeting facilitated the uptake of DOX by the HepG2 cells. PEG-GA@ZIF-8@DOX could escape from the lysosomes and release the drug in the cytoplasm, thus exerting its antitumor effect. When the in vivo efficacy was analyzed, we found that the tumor inhibition rate of PEG-GA@ZIF-8@DOX was 67.64%; it also alleviated the loss of the body weight of the treated mice. This drug delivery system significantly enhanced the antitumor effect of doxorubicin in vitro and in vivo, while mitigating its toxic side effects.

Abstract Background Nucleolin (NCL, C23) is a multifunctional phosphoprotein that plays a vital role in modulating the survival, proliferationand apoptosis of cancer cells. However, the effects of NCL on cervical cancer and the underlying mechanisms behind this are poorly understood. Methods Lentiviral transfection technology was used to construct NCL knockdown cell lines. MTT, colony formation assays, and tumorigenic assays in vivo were performed to observe cell proliferation. HOECHST 33342 staining, flow cytometry, and caspase activity assay were used to test cell apoptosis. RNA‐Seq, Western blotting, and RT‐PCR were conducted to investigate the specific molecular mechanism. Results NCL knockdown inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistic studies revealed that NCL knockdown inhibited the PI3K/AKT pathway by upregulating FGF, ITGA, TNXB, VEGF, Caspase 3, and Bax, as well as by downregulating AKT, GNB4, CDK6, IL6R, LAMA, PDGFD, PPP2RSA and BCL‐2. In addition, the expression levels of apoptosis‐related genes after using a PI3K inhibitor LY294002 were consistent with shRNA studies, while treatment with a 740Y‐P agonist showed the opposite effect. Conclusions Our findings indicate that downregulation of NCL may be a novel treatment strategy forcervical cancer.

It is important for a networked-system to have both good controllability and robustness, where the former measures the ability that the networked system can be properly steered via control to any target state form any initial state within a finite time duration, while the later reflects how well this system can regain its controllability after being destructively attacked. Empirical observations suggest that multi-loop structures are beneficial for enhancing the controllability robustness. The Henneberg-growth mechanism in social networks offers a natural manner to generate multi-clique structures that can be developed to multi-loops by assigning proper edge directions. In this paper, a series of random polygon networks are generated, forming random triangle, rectangle, pentagon and hexagon networks. Then, their controllability robustness is investigated. A realistic measure is designed for characterizing their controllability robustness, which can be used to filter out trivial performances after the network is severely destructed, so that the computation and analysis become much more efficient. Extensive simulation results suggest that, for random polygon networks, 1) non-loop polygon structures are inferior to the loop polygons, confirming that the multi-loop structures are indeed beneficial for controllability robustness; 2) polygons with more sides possess better controllability robustness; and 3) the correlation between controllability robustness and connectivity robustness is weak, implying that the two objectives cannot be enhanced in the same way.

We present a numerical analysis of noise performance improvement of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier by flatting the mode field intensity distribution within the interaction region of erbium ions. Three different refractive index types of erbium-doped fiber were used to study the effect of the pump mode intensity distribution on noise performance. The results show that taking advantage of the depressed refractive index erbium-doped fiber which has a flat mode distribution in the fiber core, the maximum reduction of nearly 0.53 dB for noise figure was achieved across the full C-band. Based on the center depressed refractive index profile, the noise figure was further decreased by about 0.1 dB by reducing the doping radius to 0.71 μm. Finally, maintaining the same gain level of ∼38.3 dB, a NF reduction of ∼0.63 dB was realized by introducing the center depressed refractive index profile and narrowing the erbium doping region. It is suggested that our investigation shows great potential for improving the noise performance of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier.

The study of high-order networks as attracted significant attention recently. The authors introduce the concept of computability for searching maximum clique in large networks and an optimized algorithm for finding cavities with different orders.

Abstract Selective conversion of specific functional groups to desired products is highly important but still challenging in industrial catalytic processes. The adsorption state of surface species is the key factor in modulating the conversion of functional groups, which is correspondingly determined by the uniformity of active sites. However, the non‐identical number of metal atoms, geometric shape, and morphology of conventional nanometer‐sized metal particles/clusters normally lead to the non‐uniform active sites with diverse geometric configurations and local coordination environments, which causes the distinct adsorption states of surface species. Hence, it is highly desired to modulate the homogeneity of the active sites so that the catalytic transformations can be better confined to the desired direction. In this review, the construction strategies and characterization techniques of the uniform active sites that are atomically dispersed on various supports are examined. In particular, their unique behavior in boosting the catalytic performance in various chemical transformations is discussed, including selective hydrogenation, selective oxidation, Suzuki coupling, and other catalytic reactions. In addition, the dynamic evolution of the active sites under reaction conditions and the industrial utilization of the single‐atom catalysts are highlighted. Finally, the current challenges and frontiers are identified, and the perspectives on this flourishing field is provided.

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer are associated with dysregulation of cytokine networks. However, it is challenging to target cytokines for effective intervention because of the overlapping functions and unpredictable interactions of cytokines in such diverse networks. Here, it is shown that IL‐36γ and IL‐36Ra, an agonist and an antagonist for IL‐36R signaling respectively, reciprocally regulate the experimental colitis and the colon cancer development in mice. Knockout or neutralization of IL‐36γ alleviates dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis and inhibits colon cancer development, whereas knockout of IL‐36Ra exacerbates DSS‐induced colitis and promotes colonic tumorigenesis in multiple colon cancer models in mice. Mechanistically, IL‐36γ upregulates extracellular matrix and cell–matrix adhesion molecules and facilitates Wnt signaling, which is mitigated by IL‐36Ra or IL‐36γ neutralizing antibody. Consistently, IL‐36γ levels are positively correlated with extracellular matrix levels and β‐catenin levels in human colorectal tumor biopsies. These findings suggest the critical role of IL‐36γ and IL‐36Ra in gut inflammation and tumorigenesis and indicate that targeting the IL‐36γ/IL‐36Ra signal balance provides potential therapeutic strategy for inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal cancers.

This study used micro data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2018 to explore the impact of China’s residential clean energy consumption on residents’ subjective well-being. Our research results show that: the more clean energy consumption is present in housing, the stronger the residents’ sense of happiness; furthermore, it can be seen from the results of marginal effects that the increase in residential clean energy consumption increases the probability of residents choosing “relatively happy” and “extremely happy”. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis found that the increase in residential clean energy consumption increased the happiness of people with housing and low education, and also increased the happiness of residents in central China and middle-aged and elderly residents; the intermediary analysis shows that the use of clean energy in housing improves the health of residents, and improves their quality of life while increasing their expenditure. In addition, central heating affects the relationship between residential clean energy consumption and residents’ well-being. Further analysis shows that there is no non-linear relationship between the increase in residential clean energy consumption and residents’ happiness. This study enriches the research on residential clean energy and provides policy suggestions for improving residents’ living standards and welfare.

Increased emergence of drug resistance and DON pollution pose a severe problem in Fusarium head blight (FHB) control. While the H+ antiporter (DHA) family plays crucial roles in drug resistance, the characterization of DHA transporters has not been systematically studied in pathogenetic fungi. In this study, a systematic gene deletion analysis of all putative DHA transporter genes was carried out in Fusarium graminearum, and one DHA1 transporter FgQdr2 was found to be involved in multiple drug resistance, ion homeostasis, and virulence. Further exploration showed that FgQdr2 is mainly localized in the cell membrane; its expression under normal growth conditions is comparatively low, but sufficient for the regulation of drug efflux. Additionally, investigation of its physiological substrates demonstrated that FgQdr2 is essential for the transport of K+, Na+, Cu2+, and the regulation of the membrane proton gradient. For its roles in the FHB disease cycle, FgQdr2 is associated with fungal infection via regulating the biosynthesis of virulence factor deoxynivalenol (DON), the scavenging of the phytoalexin, as well as both asexual and sexual reproduction in F. graminearum. Overall, the results of this study reveal the crucial roles of FgQdr2 in multiple drug resistance, ion homeostasis, and pathogenicity, which advance the understanding of the DHA transporters in pathogenetic fungi.

Dihydromyricetin (DHM) has garnered attention due to its promising antitumor activity, but its low bioavailability restricts its clinical application. Thus, developing nano-drug delivery systems could enhance its antitumor activity. We prepared DHM@ZIF-8 nanoparticles using the zeolite imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) as a carrier loaded with dihydromyricetin. A series of characterizations were performed, including morphology, particle size, zeta potential, X-single crystal diffraction, ultraviolet spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The in vitro release characteristics of DHM@ZIF-8 under pH = 5.0 and pH = 7.4 were studied using membrane dialysis. The antitumor activity and pro-apoptotic mechanism of DHM@ZIF-8 were investigated through CCK-8 assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS), Annexin V/PI double-staining, transmission electron microscopy, and Western blot. The results depicted that DHM@ZIF-8 possessed a regular morphology with a particle size of 211.07 ± 9.65 nm (PDI: 0.19 ± 0.06) and a Zeta potential of −28.77 ± 0.67 mV. The 24 h drug releasing rate in PBS solution at pH = 7.4 was 32.08% and at pH = 5.0 was 85.52% in a simulated tumor micro acid environment. DHM@ZIF-8 could significantly enhance the killing effect on HepG2 cells compared to the prodrug. It can effectively remove ROS from the tumor cells, promote apoptosis, and significantly affect the expression of apoptosis-related proteins within tumor cells.

Hollow carbon nitride nanosphere (HCNS) was synthesized via the hard template method to improve the fluorescence characteristics, drug delivery ability, and photocatalytic activity. Blue fluorescent HCNS was utilized as a quenching agent and an internal reference to combine with Cy5-labelled aptamer (Cy5-Apt), resulting in an off-on fluorescence aptasensing method for the detection of Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium). Under optimum conditions, this fluorescence assay presented a linear range from 30 to 3 × 104 CFU mL−1 with a detection limit of 13 CFU mL−1. In addition, HCNS was also used as a drug carrier to load chloramphenicol (Cap) molecules. The Cap-loading amount of HCNS could reach 550 μg mg−1 within 24 h, whereas the corresponding Cap-release amount is 302.5 μg mg−1 under acidic and irradiation conditions. The integration of photocatalyst with antibiotic could endow HCNS-Cap with better disinfection performance. The bactericidal efficiency of HCNS-Cap (95.0%) against S. typhimurium within 12 h was better than those of HCNS (85.1%) and Cap (72.9%). In addition, selective disinfection of S. typhimurium was further realized by decorating aptamer. Within 4 h, almost all S. Typhimurium were inactivated by HCNS-Cap-Apt, whereas only 13.3% and 48.2% of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli cells were killed, respectively. Therefore, HCNS is a promising bio-platform for aptamer-based fluorescence detection and selective disinfection of S. typhimurium.