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Dongjing Xie,1,&ast; Junfang Wan,2,3,&ast; Changwei Guo,1 Jie Yang,1 Jiacheng Huang,1 Zhouzhou Peng,1 Jiandi Huang,1 Linyu Li,1 Shitao Fan,1 Dahong Yang,1 Wenzhe Sun,1 Wenjie Zi,1 Fengli Li,1 Feng Peng,4 Jinrong Hu,1 Qingwu Yang1 1Department of Neurology, Xinqiao Hospital and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qingwu Yang; Jinrong Hu, Department of Neurology, Xinqiao Hospital and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), No. 183 Xinqiao Main Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400037, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 23 68774270 ; +86 15183089810, Email yangqwmlys@tmmu.edu.cn; hujinrong1108@163.comBackground and Purpose: Many patients who gained successful recanalization by endovascular treatment (EVT) with acute large vessel occlusion (LVO) did not have the favorable outcome. The study aimed to assess the association between H-type hypertension and clinical prognosis in patients with LVO after receiving EVT.Methods: Our study enrolled patients from the Endovascular Treatment With versus Without Tirofiban for Stroke Patients with Large Vessel Occlusion (RESCUE BT) Trial. H-type hypertension is defined as patients with hypertension and homocysteine (Hcy) ≥ 10μmol/L. The primary outcome was a favorable functional outcome, defined as a score of 0– 2 on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 90 days. The secondary outcomes were mortality, successful recanalization, futile recanalization, and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH).Results: The plasma homocysteine level was recorded for 215 patients with hypertension in our study. Among those patients, 172 patients (80%) were founded with Hcy ≥ 10μmol/L (H-type hypertension), and 43 patients (20%) with Hcy < 10μmol/L (non-H-type hypertension). The probability of favorable outcome decreased with homocysteine increasing in patients with hypertension. H-type hypertension was associated with a low probability of favorable outcome (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 0.38 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.18– 0.80]; p = 0.01) at 90 days. The effects of H-type hypertension on mortality (aOR, 1.90 [95% CI, 0.67– 5.39]; p = 0.23) and sICH (aOR, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.13– 2.29]; p = 0.41) were not significant.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that patients with H-type hypertension have a lower likelihood of achieving favorable outcomes but do not have an increased mortality rate within 90 days.Keywords: H-type hypertension, clinical prognoses, large vessel occlusion

β-LiGaO2 with a wurtzite-like crystal structure is a direct ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor. Similar to many wide bandgap oxides, the valence band of LiGaO2 is predominantly composed of O-2p orbital, leading to a low valence band position, drastically limiting its applications. In this work, we employ first-principles calculations to demonstrate that adding a small amount of Bi into LiGaO2 to form the highly mismatched Li(Ga1−xBix)O2 alloys can dramatically modulate the valence band compositions. Compared to LiGaO2, the valence band maximum of the alloys is significantly elevated, and a fully occupied intermediate valence band appears, further raising the valence band positions. Despite the appearance of intermediate valence bands that significantly reduce the alloys' bandgap, the bandgap remains over 3.10 eV, ensuring visible light transparency. With increasing Bi composition in the alloys, the bulk modulus increases while the shear modulus gradually decreases, which improves the ductility. Moreover, the compliant elastic constants of the alloys indicate mechanical stability. These findings suggest that Li(Ga1−xBix)O2 alloys are promising flexible transparent conductive oxides, offering valuable insights for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the hybrid functional method, the electronic structure, optical property and electron effective mass of α -Ga2O3, together with the properties for intrinsic and extrinsic defects incorporated into α -Ga2O3 are studied. Obtained results indicate the α -Ga2O3 possesses a wide band gap (5.31 eV), small electron effective mass (0.22 m0) and a high visible light transmittance. The nonstoichiometric α -Ga2O3 is not an excellent n-type semiconductor. To improve the n-type conductivity, the W-doped α -Ga2O3 is studied. We find that W Ga is a promising n-type defect due to its relatively small ionization energy ϵ (0/+) (0.30 eV). When the equilibrium fabrication method is selected, the WO2 is a promising dopant source. Using the equilibrium fabrication method, the defect complex (V O+ W Ga) would be formed, and the ionization energy ϵ (0/+) for defect complex (V O + W Ga) would decrease to 0.08 eV, which implies that a great number of free electrons could be induced in the samples. We expect that this work can promote the understanding of the n-type conductivity for α -Ga2O3 and provide significant insights for the development of a transparent n-type semiconductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the mechanical characteristics of Cu2ZnSnS4 are investigated under varying pressures. The correlations between pressure and elastic constants Cij, bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, and Young's modulus E, are obtained. The thermal properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 were studied, including Debye temperature, heat capacity CV and CP, thermal expansion coefficient a, Grüneisen constant and entropy S at temperatures (0, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200K) and pressures (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 GPa), are also obtained and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil carbon isotopes (δ13C) provide reliable insights for studying soil carbon turnover at a long-term scale. The Tibetan Plateau (TP), often referred as "the third pole of the earth", is highly sensitive to global climate change, and exhibits an early warning signal of global warming. Although many studies detected soil δ13C variability at site scales, there is still a knowledge gap existing in the spatial pattern of soil δ13C across the TP. In this study, we compiled a database of 198 topsoil δ13C observations from published literatures and used a modified multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural network algorithm to predict the spatial pattern of topsoil δ13C and β (indicating the decomposition rate of soil organic carbon (SOC), calculated as δ13C divided by logarithmically converted SOC) at 500m resolution. Results showed that MLP model effectively predicted topsoil δ13C with a model efficiency of 0.72 and a root mean square error of 1.16‰. Topsoil δ13C varied significantly across different ecosystem types (p < 0.001) with a mean δ13C of –25.89 ± 1.15‰ (mean ± standard deviation) for forests, –24.91 ± 1.03‰ for shrublands, –22.95 ± 1.44‰ for grasslands, and –18.88 ± 2.37‰ for deserts. Furthermore, there was an increasing trend of predicted δ13C from the southeastern to the northwestern TP, likely linked to vegetation type and climatic conditions. β values were low in the eastern TP and higher in the northern and northwestern TP, indicating faster SOC turnover rate in the east TP compared to the north and northwest. This study represents the first effort to develop a fine resolution product of topsoil δ13C and β across the TP, which could provide an independent, data-driven benchmark for biogeochemical cycling models to study SOC turnover and terrestrial carbon-climate feedback over the TP under climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unmanned helicopter is one of the main platforms for conducting unmanned aerial vehicle aeromagnetic measurements and combines the advantages of rotary-wing and fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. However, unmanned helicopter-based aeromagnetic measurement systems face complex static magnetic noise and maneuvering magnetic interference, which limit their practical performance. To address this issue, an improved multi-channel frequency measurement algorithm for the optically pumped magnetic sensor is proposed to suppress the static magnetic noise proportional to the frequency noise generated by the random quantization error and the airborne electromagnetic interference. A novel aeromagnetic compensation method for the maneuvering magnetic interference is then proposed to weaken the negative effects of the strong multicollinearity of the attitude parameters of the unmanned helicopter on the compensation accuracy and stability by introducing a regularization term and weight matrix. In addition, dedicated software is developed for the real-time calculation and compensation of magnetic interference fields. A dedicated unmanned-helicopter-based aeromagnetic measurement system is developed, and ground and flight experiments are carried out. The ground test results indicate that the static noise of the proposed system is only 0.000 82 nT. In the flight experiments, the system achieves an improvement ratio of 8.33, which is higher than the improvement ratio of 4.37 for a state-of-the-art commercial compensator. Furthermore, the dynamic noise after compensation decreases by 37.6% from 0.0157 to 0.0098 nT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignant tumor in the male genitourinary system. Once PCa has metastasized, it is very difficult to cure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic risk factor analysis of patients with different prostate- specific antigen (PSA) levels in distant metastatic PCa. At the same time, we construct effective models for predicting the survival rate of prostate cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data on prostate cancer patients with the presence of distant metastases were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. PCa patients with distant metastases were categorized into two groups based on PSA levels, one with PSA <20 ng/mL and the other with PSA ≥20 ng/mL. Univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses were used to identify independent factors affecting the prognosis of the patients. A nomogram was constructed using the independent prognostic factors, and the results were evaluated using calibration curves, timeROC curves, and Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: In the PSA <20 ng/mL group, there were a total of 1,832 patients. COX regression analysis showed that age, marital status, N stage, grade, Gleason score, and medical household income inflation were independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in patients. In addition, we found that age, marital status, N stage, bone metastasis, grade, and Gleason score were independent prognostic factors for cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients. In the PSA ≥20 ng/mL group, there were a total of 5,314 patients. It was found that age, ethnicity, marital status, bone metastasis, first malignant primary indicator, grade, Gleason score, and medical household income inflation were patients' independent prognostic factors for OS. For CSS, we found that age, ethnicity, marital status, T stage, radiotherapy, bone metastasis, Gleason score, and Median household income inflation were independent prognostic factors. Constructing a nomogram can accurately predict the prognosis of this group of patients. CONCLUSIONS: We found different independent prognostic factors for different PSA levels in patients with distant metastatic PCa. A new nomogram was constructed to predict OS and CSS in patients, which helps in clinical-assisted decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common type of cancer, and its molecular pathogenesis is unclear. In this study, we investigated the prognostic value of essential meiotic endonuclease 1 (EME1) in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We downloaded the RNA-Seq expression of 526 KIRC tissues and 72 normal tissues from the TCGA database and the corresponding clinical data. The gene expression profiles associated with four clear cell renal cell carcinomas were downloaded from the GEO database for analysis. The expression of EME1 in clear renal cell carcinoma and its correlation with the clinical baseline data were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis was performed to assess the relationship between EME1 and patient survival. Enrichment analysis was performed to elucidate the possible functions of EME1. We also analyzed the relationship between the EME1 expression and immune infiltration through TIMER2.0 and TISIDB online databases as well as the relationship between EME1 and common immune checkpoints. RESULTS: EME1 was identified as a risk factor for overall survival in clear cell renal cell carcinoma with a hazard ratio of 3.201 (95% con- fidence interval: 2.430-4.215; p < 0.001). EME1 was highly expressed in KIRC compared to that in normal tissues (p < 0.001) and in the worse TNM stages and late stages (stage 3/4) (p < 0.001). High EME1 expression was strongly associated with the advanced T stage (p = 0.003), advanced N stage (p = 0 .002), a nd a dvanced M stage (p = 0 .006). R esearch d ata on K IRC were simultaneously collected and analyzed from the GEO database, including GSE40435, GSE53000, GSE68417, and GSE53757. EME1 predicted the survival status in KIRC patients (AUC = 0.62). We further established a nomogram including the correlation between the high and low EME1 expression, and EME1 was found to contribute to the prediction of the probability of patient survival with a c-index = 0.796. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a lower likelihood of survival with a high EME1 expression (p < 0.001). In addition, further bioinformatics analysis suggested that EME1 may be associated with the extent of immune infiltration in KIRC. CONCLUSIONS: An increased expression of EME1 in KIRC is thus associated with advanced clinicopathological features, possibly acting as a potential biomarker of poor prognosis in KIRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation restoration is the primary strategy employed for the purification and restoration of habitats in the Zhegao River wetlands. To investigate the changing characteristics of soil microbial biomass carbon/nitrogen (MBC/MBN) and soil enzyme activities in wetlands undergoing different vegetation restoration treatments, those involving reed and willow restoration were studied in 2014 (WR8) and 2021 (WR1), with a native vegetation wetland (NW) used as a control. This study examined changes in the MBC/MBN, sucrase (Suc), urease (Ure), and acid phosphatase (Acp) in these wetlands. The results indicated that during the restoration of Zhegao River wetlands, reed vegetation had a stronger positive effect on soil properties after one year of restoration than that of willow vegetation. After eight years, the effects of willow vegetation restoration were greater than those of reed vegetation restoration. The activities of MBC, MBN, Suc, Ure, and Acp in the reed and willow wetland soils for different years of vegetation restoration decreased with greater soil depth. Thus, reeds and willows have distinct contributions toward enhancing the ecological service functions of the Zhegao River wetlands for different restoration years, which provides a scientific basis for the selection and protection of ecological wetland restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study characteristics and identify factors associated with manuscript publication of oral abstracts presented at gynecologic surgery societies' annual meetings. A cross-sectional study. Oral abstracts from four national gynecologic surgical societies including AAGL, AUGS, SGO, and SGS. N/A. N/A. We reviewed all oral abstracts presented at four major gynecologic surgery meetings in 2018. Oral abstracts subsequently published as peer-reviewed manuscripts were compared to those that were not published. Descriptive statistical analysis and multivariable regression analyses were conducted to identify factors independently associated with peer-reviewed manuscript publication. A total of 396 oral presentation abstracts were identified: 205 from AAGL, 84 from AUGS, 79 from SGO, and 28 from SGS. The overall journal publication rate was 47.4% (188/396). The rate of publication of oral abstracts was 35.1% (72/205) for those presented at AAGL, 73.8% (62/84) for AUGS, 53.2% (42/79) for SGO and 42.9% (12/28) for SGS. In the univariate analysis, most variables were significantly associated with publication, including type of society meeting, higher number of authors, females as first and last authors, higher first and last authors' H-index, academic affiliation, higher number of study participants, randomized controlled trials, and multicenter studies. In multivariable regression analysis, the following variables were independently associated with journal publication: last author's H-index [aOR 95% CI 1.02 (1.00-1.03)], academic center affiliation [aOR 95% CI 2.29 (1.20-4.37)], and randomized controlled trials [aOR 95% CI 2.47 (1.12-5.47)]. In multivariable regression analysis including type of society meeting, AUGS presentation was associated with full-manuscript publication compared to AAGL presentation [aOR 95% CI 2.84 (1.32-6.10)]. In gynecologic surgery research, last researcher's H-index, academic affiliation, randomized controlled trial design and type of societal meeting are associated with increased odds of an oral abstract ultimately reaching manuscript peer-reviewed publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siyu Fan,1,&ast; Yu Zhao,1,&ast; Shiyu Wang,1,&ast; Na Zhang,1,&ast; Zhi Li,1,&ast; Hongyuan Liu,1 Yaodi Wei,1 Yunhui Yu,1 Yifeng Gu,2 Qun Wei,3 Weijuan Ye,4 Ninghan Feng,5 Fengping Liu1 1Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 2Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Surgical Oncology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Lishui Maternal and Child Health center, Lishui, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Urology, Jiangnan University Medical Center, Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ninghan Feng, Department of Urology, Jiangnan University Medical Center, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214002, People’s Republic of China, Email n.feng@njmu.edu.cn Fengping Liu, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214122, People’s Republic of China, Email liulaoshiyc@jiangnan.edu.cnAim: This study aims to explore the psychological reactions of medical students during the pandemic.Design: A qualitative study.Methods: A purposive sampling technique was employed, and a qualitative approach was adopted. Semi-structured questionnaires were utilized, and online interviews were conducted. Forty medical students were selected as participants for the interviews. The interview data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis method.Results: The study identified five themes related to the psychological reactions of medical students during the pandemic. Firstly, COVID-19’s influence on medical careers was characterized by increased interest and determination in pursuing medical professions, heightened admiration for frontline workers, reinforced commitment to a medical career due to the pandemic, and recognition of the significance of medical education. Secondly, challenges and concerns in medical career pursuit were identified, including negative sentiments towards medical careers during COVID-19 and hesitations and concerns about entering the medical field amidst the pandemic. Thirdly, the impact on mental well-being encompassed diverse anxieties expressed by participants regarding control, transmission, treatment, and intentional spreading of the virus. Participants experienced an emotional progression from calmness to fear and anxiety, with heightened anxiety when relatives or acquaintances contracted COVID-19. Academic delays also contributed to anxiety among medical students. Fourthly, changes in behaviors and mindset were observed, including altered behaviors and mindset in response to the pandemic, as well as increased attention to personal hygiene and disease prevention measures. Lastly, expectations of medical students from government, public, and parents were explored.Conclusion: Understanding the psychological reactions of medical students during public health emergencies is crucial for their well-being and professional development. The findings have implications for medical education and the development of strategies to enhance the psychological well-being of medical students during similar crises.Keywords: COVID-19, medical students, psychological reactions, pandemic, mental health

Jiahui Ma,1– 4,&ast; Xue Yang,5,&ast; Zhiming Liu,1– 4 Hao Fu,1– 4 Sizhou Fan,1– 4 Kai Wang,1– 4 Yan Li,1– 4 Lvzhen Huang,1– 4 Mingwei Zhao1– 4 1Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Eye Diseases and Optometry Institute, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Therapy of Retinal and Choroid Diseases, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4College of Optometry, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University International Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Kai Wang; Yan Li, Email wang_kai@bjmu.edu.cn; 13801153660@163.comPurpose: To investigate the impact of vergence dysfunction on myopia progression in children with Defocus incorporated multiple segments (DIMS) spectacle lenses.Patients and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled children prescribed DIMS spectacle lenses to slow myopic progression. Baseline vergence dysfunction was determined according to phoria at distance and near. Axial length (AL) measurement and cycloplegic subjective refraction were performed before fitting the lenses and at six-month and one-year follow-ups. The six-month and one-year AL and spherical equivalent (SE) change from baseline were calculated and compared in subgroups stratified with the type of vergence dysfunction.Results: Two hundred and ninety-two myopic children were included. Significant AL elongation and SE progression were observed at six months and one year (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Multiple regression demonstrated that AL elongation at six months (P < 0.001) and one year (P < 0.001) was negatively correlated with age, and SE progression at six months was associated with age (P = 0.002). The AL elongation at six months in children with convergence excess was significantly greater than in normal myopic subjects (P = 0.011) and subjects with convergence insufficiency (P = 0.008), divergence excess (P = 0.007), divergence insufficiency (P = 0.024) and basic esophoria (P = 0.048) at six months.Conclusion: The present research demonstrated that vergence dysfunction influences myopia progression for myopic children with DIMS, and the children with convergence excess suffer from the greatest myopia progression among different types of vergence dysfunction.Keywords: myopia, vergence dysfunction, defocus spectacles, axial length

Qi Wang,1,2,&ast; Min Wen,2,3,&ast; Shaohang Fan,2,4 Jinning Liu,2 Xiaowen Wang,5 Wentao Guo,2 Jinyun Hu,6 Jialan Zhang,2 Bing Li,2,7 Lili Zhang,2,7 Yunshu Zhang,1,2,7 Keqing Li2,7 1Clinical Medicine College, Hebei University, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Hebei Provincial Mental Health Center, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, People’s Republic of China; 5Psychosomatic Medicine Department, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China; 6Psychiatric Department, The Second People’s Hospital of Yuxi, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China; 7Hebei Provincial Key Laboratory of Major Mental and Behavioral Disorders, Hebei, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Keqing Li, Hebei Provincial Mental Health Center, Hebei, People’s Republic of China, Email like2125@sina.com Yunshu Zhang, Hebei Provincial Mental Health Center, Hebei, People’s Republic of China, Email yunshucoffee@sina.comObjective: Suicidal behavior is strongly correlated with depressive symptoms and the degree of suicidal ideation. Cognitive impairment may have varying degrees of influence on suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal attempts (SA). The aim of this study was to identify the cognitive biomarkers that distinguish suicidal ideation from suicidal attempts in adolescents.Methods: The cross-sectional sample comprised 54 adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 32 healthy controls (HC). The THINC-it was utilized to assess cognitive function of all the samples. Suicidal ideation was examined by the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Scale (PANSI). Based on the type of data, one-way ANOVA or Kruskal–Wallis was performed to investigate group differences. Bonferroni post-hoc analysis was employed for regulating type I error for pairwise comparisons. Network analysis was used to compare the networks associated with suicidal ideation, depression symptoms, and cognitive function between SA and SI.Results: The depression symptoms (HAMD-17) (F=72.515, P< 0.001) and suicidal ideation (PANSI) (F=267.952, P< 0.001) in the SA were higher than those in the SI. Analysis of between-group differences showed SA performed worse in THINC-it, especially in “Spotter (SP)” (P=0.033), “Objective cognition score (OS)” (P=0.027) and “Composite score (CS)” (P=0.017). Compared with SI, network analysis revealed that SA had a unique network of cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Nevertheless, both networks exhibit comparable performance concerning the node strength of cognitive function. Within their separate networks, the aspects of CS, OS, and SP have emerged as the three most crucial elements.Conclusion: Adolescents with SI or SA exhibit a broad spectrum of cognitive impairments. Attention impairment can be beneficial in discerning between SI and SA. Future interventions for adolescent suicide can center on attention and the comprehensive cognitive ability that it represents.Keywords: attention impairment, suicide ideation, suicide attempts, adolescent, THINC-it tool, network analysis

Yuhuan Qiu,1,2 Shujun Fan,1 Qiuyan Fu,1 Minlie Yang,2 Lihong Zhu2 1Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Minlie Yang, Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, No. 1000 Hefeng Road, Binhu District, Wuxi, 214122, People’s Republic of China, Email jndxfsyyyml@163.comPurpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how fatalism acts as a mediator in the correlation between family resilience and self-management among patients with chronic wounds in China.Participants and Methods: This study used a cross-sectional research design. A total of 269 adult patients (18– 94 years old) with chronic wounds residing in Wuxi, China participated in this study. Participants completed the Chinese version of the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire, 16-item Chinese version of the Fatalism Scale, and Self-Management Scale of Chronic Wound Patients. We conducted correlation and mediation analyses using SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS 4.0.Results: The results indicated family resilience was a significant positive predictor of self-management (β = 0.7101, p < 0.0001), and the pathway between family resilience and self-management was partially mediated by fatalism (Effect = 0.1432, 95% confidence interval [0.0625, 0.2341]).Conclusion: The results indicated that incorporating spiritual interventions into future person-centered self-management programs could align with the motivation of patients with chronic wounds and their families, and reduce the negative impact of fatalism on health outcomes.Keywords: chronic wounds, fatalism, family resilience, self-management, mediation

Cyclic compounds are generally preferred over linear compounds for functional studies due to their enhanced bioavailability, stability towards metabolic degradation, and selective receptor binding. This has led to a need for effective cyclization strategies for compound synthesis and hence increased interest in macrocyclization mediated by thioesterase (TE) domains, which naturally boost the chemical diversity and bioactivities of cyclic natural products. Many non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) derived natural products are assembled to form cyclodimeric compounds, with these molecules possessing diverse structures and biological activities. There is significant interest in identifying the biosynthetic pathways that produce such molecules given the challenge that cyclodimerization represents from a biosynthetic perspective. In the last decade, many groups have pursued the characterization of TE domains and have provided new insights into this biocatalytic machinery: however, the enzymes involved in formation of cyclodimeric compounds have proven far more elusive. In this review we focus on natural products that involve macrocyclization in their biosynthesis and chemical synthesis, with an emphasis on the function and biosynthetic investigation on the special family of TE domains responsible for forming cyclodimeric natural products. We also introduce additional macrocyclization catalysts, including butelase and the C T -mediated cyclization of peptides, alongside the formation of cyclodipeptides mediated by cyclodipeptide synthases (CDPS) and single-module NRPSs. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of biosynthetic research, we anticipate that this review will prove valuable to synthetic chemists, drug discovery groups, enzymologists, and the biosynthetic community in general, and inspire further efforts to identify and exploit these biocatalysts for the formation of novel bioactive molecules.

In the context of the ESG era, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the ESG practices of listed companies and their impact on business performance in Korea and Taiwan, two of the Four Little Dragons economies in Asia. Although these two regions are similar in terms of economic size, they show significant differences in their ESG implementation strategies and effects. Based on the Bloomberg database, this study empirically analyzes data from 113 Taiwanese and 113 Korean firms, using Tobin's q ratio as a measure of business performance. The findings show that there is complexity in the association between ESG scores and firms' business performance. In South Korea, government policies and large conglomerates contribute significantly to ESG practices, while in Taiwan, the economic structure dominated by SMEs has led to different characteristics of ESG practices. All of these differences reflect the influence of intra-firm factors on performance. The findings of this study not only enrich the theoretical foundation of the relationship between ESG and business performance, but the findings provide valuable regional insights and recommendations for international investors, corporate managers, and policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region to implement ESG strategies, especially when considering the specific market environment, economic structure, and internal factors of the firms they operate in order to achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Shaojie Fan. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: The aim of this study was to report our technique and medium-term outcomes of modified robot-assisted laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty (RALDP) in the Lithotomy Trendelenburg position for treating adult ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) with horseshoe kidney (HSK)., Methods: Between March 2021 and March 2023, 11 adult patients with UPJO and HSK underwent modified RALDP in the lithotomy Trendelenburg position. Patient demographic characteristics, perioperative parameters, and follow-up outcomes were collected prospectively and analyzed. A detailed description of the technique and medium-term outcomes were reported., Results: The median (range) age was 33 (23-50) years. The mean preoperative serum creatinine and preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were 74.72±16.20 μmol/L and 100.4±16.5 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively. One patient (9.1%) required an additional right pyelolithotomy. The mean operative duration was 208±70 min. The median (range) estimated blood loss was 20 (20-100) mL. The median (range) drainage-tube removal time was 3 (2-4) days postoperatively. The median (range) postoperative hospitalization period was 5 (3-6) days. No open conversions or intraoperative complications occurred. Postoperative urinary tract infections (Clavien-Dindo grade II) occurred in two patients, managed with oral antibiotics. The median (range) follow-up of 25 (12-36) months achieved an overall success rate of 100%. The mean postoperative serum creatinine and postoperative eGFR were 74.96±17.43 μmol/L and 98.14±18.39 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively., Conclusions: Our medium-term outcomes indicate that the modified RALDP in the Lithotomy Trendelenburg position was safe and feasible for adult HSK patients. Further prospective studies of larger sample sizes and randomized controlled trials are warranted.

In the chemically enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) processes, heavy components in crude oil, such as asphaltenes, adhere to reservoir rocks, significantly impeding crude oil extraction. Surfactants are frequently utilized to improve oil recovery due to their ability to reduce interfacial tension (IFT) and modify surface wettability. Nevertheless, indiscriminate surfactant usage may result in resource wastage and hinder the attainment of optimal recovery outcomes. Therefore, it is urgent to accurately and efficiently screen out optimal surfactants suitable for different oil fields. This work employs fluid density functional theory (FDFT) to investigate the competitive adsorption mechanism of surfactants and asphaltenes on rock interfaces. We examined the impact of surfactants on asphaltene adsorption and determined the optimal surfactant concentration and chain length for differing reservoir electrical properties and asphaltene compositions. Furthermore, a comprehensive assessment of surfactants was conducted, considering both performance and economic factors. The findings contribute to a deeper comprehension of the displacement effect of surfactants on asphaltenes and offer scientific screening solutions for surfactants in oil recovery processes.

Background: Wu-Lan Thirteen-Flavour decoction (WLTd), a traditional Mongolian medicine, has been used for treating hypertension in clinical practice, but the chemical basis and underlying mechanisms remain unknown., Methods: The main components of WLTd were identified and quantified using HPLC and UPLC-MS/MS techniques. A compound-target-disease network was constructed using network pharmacology analysis to forecast the potential anti-hypertension targets. In vivo animal and in vitro cellular experiments were performed to validate the efficacy and molecular mechanisms of renal protection of WLTd and its main active components in spontaneous hypertension., Results: A total of 136 active compounds in WLTd were collected through relevant databases, and network pharmacology analysis identified that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signalling pathway may serve as a potential anti-hypertension targets. Eight of the active components, including vitexin, kaempferol, toosendanin, ursolic acid, matrine, oxymatrine, gardenoside and quercetin, were identified and quantified by HPLC and UPLC-MS/MS. WLTd effectively lowered the mean blood pressure (159.16 ± 13.91 vs 135 ± 13.37 mmHg), reduced the BUN (391.55 ± 59.96 vs 240.88 ± 51.15 mmol/L) and creatinine (1.78 ± 0.41 vs 0.67 ± 0.34 nmol/L) levels, and reduced hypertension-induced renal damage in SHR. AhR and related key gene expression changes predicted by network pharmacology analysis were validated by immunohistochemistry, RT-qPCR, and Western blot analyses. In vitro studies also showed that WLTd up-regulated AhR expression in angiotensin II-induced HEK293 cell injury., Conclusions: Wu-Lan Thirteen-Flavour decoction effectively protects hypertension-induced renal injury by regulating Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor signalling pathway.

Motivation: Drug repositioning, identifying novel indications for approved drugs, is a cost-effective strategy in drug discovery. Despite numerous proposed drug repositioning models, integrating network-based features, differential gene expression, and chemical structures for high-performance drug repositioning remains challenging., Results: We propose a comprehensive deep pre-training and fine-tuning framework for drug repositioning, termed DrugRepPT. Initially, we design a graph pre-training module employing model-augmented contrastive learning on a vast drug-disease heterogeneous graph to capture nuanced interactions and expression perturbations after intervention. Subsequently, we introduce a fine-tuning module leveraging a graph residual-like convolution network to elucidate intricate interactions between diseases and drugs. Moreover, a Bayesian multi-loss approach is introduced to balance the existence and effectiveness of drug treatment effectively. Extensive experiments showcase the efficacy of our framework, with DrugRepPT exhibiting remarkable performance improvements compared to SOTA baseline methods (Improvement 106.13% on Hit@1 and 54.45% on mean reciprocal rank). The reliability of predicted results is further validated through two case studies, ie, gastritis and fatty liver, via literature validation, network medicine analysis, and docking screening., Availability and Implementation: The code and results are available at https://github.com/2020MEAI/DrugRepPT., Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

This study introduces a novel approach to inverse vulcanization by utilizing a commercially available triaziridine crosslinker as an alternative to conventional olefin-based crosslinkers. The model reactions reveal a self-catalyzed ring-opening of "unactivated" aziridine with elemental sulfur, forming oligosulfide-functionalized diamines. The triaziridine-derived polysulfides exhibit impressive mechanical properties, achieving a maximum stress of ~8.3 MPa and an elongation at break of ~107%. The incorporation of silicon dioxide (20 wt%) enhances the composite's rigidity, yielding a Young's modulus of ~0.94 GPa. Furthermore, these polysulfides display excellent adhesion strength on various substrates, such as aluminum (~7.0 MPa), walnut (~9.6 MPa), and steel (~11.0 MPa), with substantial retention of adhesion strength (~3.3 MPa on steel) at -196 °C. The straightforward synthetic process, combined with the accessibility of the triaziridine crosslinker, emphasizes the potential for further innovations in sulfur polymer chemistry., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Crucial for cell activities, ion channels are key drug discovery targets. Although small-molecule and peptide modulators dominate ion channel drug discovery, antibodies are emerging as an alternative modality. However, challenges persist in generating potent antibodies, especially for channels with limited extracellular epitopes. We herein present a bi-epitopic crosslinking strategy to overcome these challenges, focusing on Na V 1.7, a potential analgesic target. Aiming to crosslink two non-overlapping epitopes on voltage-sensing domains II and IV, we construct bispecific antibodies and ligand-antibody conjugates. Enhanced affinity and potency are observed in comparison to the monospecific controls. Among them, a ligand-antibody conjugate (1080-PEG 7 -ACDTB) displays a two-orders-of-magnitude improvement in potency (IC 50 of 0.06 ± 0.01 nM) and over 1,000-fold selectivity for Na V 1.7. Additionally, this conjugate demonstrates robust analgesic effects in mouse pain models. Our study introduces an approach to developing effective antibodies against Na V 1.7, thereby initiating a promising direction for the advancement of pain therapeutics., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests J.D., Y.Z., and R.Z. have a patent pending to Tsinghua University., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Adolescent depression is a growing public health concern, and neuroimaging offers a promising approach to its pathology. We focused on the functional connectivity of the amygdala and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), which is theoretically important in major depressive disorder (MDD), but empirical evidence has remained inconsistent. This discrepancy is likely due to the limited statistical power of small sample sizes., Methods: We rigorously examined sgACC-amygdala connectivity in depressed adolescents and adults using data from the Healthy Brain Network (n=321; 170 females), the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (n=141; 56 females), the Boston Adolescent Neuroimaging of Depression and Anxiety study (n=108; 75 females), and the REST-meta-MDD project (n=1436; 880 females). Linear mixed models, Bayesian factor analyses, and meta-analysis were employed to assess connectivity., Results: Our analyses revealed that sgACC-amygdala connectivity in adolescents with MDD was comparable to that in healthy controls, whereas adults with recurrent MDD exhibited reduced connectivity. Resampling analysis demonstrated that small sample sizes (i.e., n<30 MDDs) tend to inflate effects, potentially leading to misinterpretations., Conclusions: These findings clarify the state of sgACC-amygdala connectivity in MDD and underscore the importance of refining neurocognitive models separately for adolescents and adults. The study also highlights the necessity for large-scale replication studies to ensure robust and reliable findings., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and treatment of bone-related conditions such as osteoporosis and bone regeneration. While the WW domain-containing coiled-coil adaptor (WAC) protein is primarily associated with transcriptional regulation and autophagy, its involvement in MSC osteogenesis remains unclear. Here, the data reveal that the levels of WAC are diminished in both osteoporosis patients and osteoporosis mouse models. It plays a pivotal function in facilitating MSC osteogenesis and enhancing new bone formation both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, WAC promotes MSC osteogenesis by protecting PINK1, a crucial initiator of mitophagy, from ubiquitination-dependent degradation thereby activating mitophagy. Interestingly, WAC interacts with the TM domains of PINK1 and prevents the K137 site from ubiquitination modification. The study elucidates the mechanism by which WAC modulates MSC osteogenesis, binds to PINK1 to protect it from ubiquitination, and identifies potential therapeutic targets for osteoporosis and bone defect repair., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are omnipresent in the sphere of human industrial, harboring latent adverse consequences for health and the ecological system. The photothermal catalytic oxidation of VOCs is an advanced integrated technology that harnesses the combined effects of light and heat energy to enhance the efficiency of VOCs degradation. Herein, a bimetallic Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) was synthesized with the incorporation of Ce into the UiO-66-NH 2 (Zr) (i.e., UNH(Zr)), UiO-66-NH 2 (Zr 2 Ce) (i.e., UNH(Z 2 C)), which was achieved with Ce atom substituting for a portion of Zr atom within the Zr-oxo clusters. Pt nanoparticles (NPs) are integrated with MOFs to form composites using the dual-solvent method. Ce-oxo fulfills a bifunctional role: it not only facilitates the enhancement of the ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT), but also establishes interaction with Pt NPs. Ce-oxo mediates an enhancement of electron density on Pt NPs. This phenomenon enhances the adsorption and activation of oxygen, significantly boosting the photocatalytic performance for toluene degradation, as demonstrated by a reduction of 30 ℃ for complete mineralization of toluene as compared to that of Pt@UiO-66-NH 2 (Zr) (i.e., PUNH(Zr)). This study potentially offers new insights into the relationship between electron transfer effects in bimetallic MOF-based catalysts and their efficient catalytic performance for VOCs degradation., 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.)

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a naturally occurring flavonoid derived from licorice root, exhibits antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergic properties, and is frequently detected in both environmental and human samples. Previous studies from our lab have demonstrated that ISL exposure can lead to developmental deformities and aberrant immune responses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying ISL toxicity in zebrafish embryos remain incompletely elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the effects of ISL exposure on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in zebrafish embryos by assessing the expression levels of ER stress markers HSPA5 and CHOP, along with associated apoptosis factors, under various ISL concentrations, with tunicamycin (TM) serving as a positive control. Furthermore, targeted analyses of ER stress-related pathways were conducted using RNA transcriptome sequencing, and the up-regulated gene was verified by western blot. The results revealed that ISL exposure significantly elevated the expression levels of HSPA5 and CHOP, concomitantly activating ER stress pathways, including pPERK-eIF2α-ATF4 and ATF6 pathways in zebrafish embryos. These findings suggest that the activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling pathways may contribute to the developmental deformities observed in zebrafish embryos following ISL exposure, thereby highlighting the potential ecological risks associated with ISL usage., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Aging is a process that accompanies a decline in the function of various tissues and organs, especially affecting intestinal health. Agarose oligosaccharide (AOS) can prolong the lifespan of organisms and protect the intestine in the previous study. It was examined to evaluate the effects of AOS on intestinal health, and the potential associations between intestinal homeostasis and health status were further validated., Methods: D-galactose-induced aging mice were used to investigate the role of AOS in promoting intestinal health by determining intestinal physiology, microbiota and stem cells., Results: AOS supplementation decreased the clinical frailty index of aging mice with increasing intestinal length and crypt depth; moreover, it decreased the average flatulence index and PCNA protein content in the intestine. Besides, AOS contributed to the diversity of the gut microbiota by increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and other bacteria that could produce short-chain fatty acids. Furthermore, AOS affected the expression of proinflammatory factors in aging mice, promoting the proliferative equilibrium of intestinal stem cells., Conclusion: These findings confirmed that AOS could improve intestinal health in aging mice by maintaining intestinal homeostasis, which provides new insights into the potential application of AOS as a prebiotic., Competing Interests: Declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. Ethical approval All experimental protocols involving animals were approved by the Animal Care and Welfare Committee of Life Science College and the Scientific Ethical Committee of China Jiliang University (No. CJLU2023004; Hangzhou, China)., (© 2024. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes associated with zygomatic implant (ZI) rehabilitation in partially atrophic edentulous maxillae over a mean follow-up period of more than 10.3 years., Methods: All consecutive patients underwent ZI rehabilitation between 1999 and 2020, with a minimum follow-up period of 3 years. The primary outcome was the implant survaival rate. Secondary outcomes included the prosthesis success rate, complications, and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life., Results: Of the 21 patients, treated with 27 ZIs and 48 conventional implants (CIs), 9 (42.9%) were females. The mean follow-up was 10.3 ± 5.7 years (range 3.2-23.4). ZI and CI survival rates were 100% and 97.9%, respectively, with one CI that failed. Eleven patients received 12 CIs placed in the pterygoid and tuberosity region. Most of the implants (81.33%) were immediately loaded, with 17 patients (80.9%) receiving 21 acrylic bridges. Of the total of 26 definitive prosthesis, the success rate was 96.1%. Local inflammation (n = 2) and soft tissue recession (n = 1) were reported as complications, occurring at a mean follow-up of 4.5 and 3.2 years, respectively. The mean score of the OHIP-14 questionnaire was 1.19 ± 1.99., Conclusions: Unilateral ZI rehabilitation was a predictable option for patients with partially atrophic edentulous maxilla who have experienced previous graft or implant failures, or who require immediate loading. Splinting the ZI with CI for restoration appeared to be essential in unilateral ZI treatment. Complications were infrequent and could be managed effectively, with patient-reported outcomes indicating normalization in quality of life., (© 2024 The Author(s). Clinical Oral Implants Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study evaluates the impact of an expanded HIV testing initiative, launched in June 2018 in Luzhou, Sichuan, China, on antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation rates among people living with HIV (PLWH). Using an uncontrolled interrupted time-series design, we analyzed data from 11,040 PLWH between June 2016 and December 2022, extracted from 108 health facilities via the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's ART database. The primary outcome measures were ART initiation rates within 7 and 30 days of HIV diagnosis. Results showed a significant improvement in the 30-day ART initiation rate following expanded testing, increasing from 46.1% to 90.9% by the study's end. The 7-day initiation rate also improved but remained below 30%. The study found that expanded testing enhanced the role of primary health care institutions in ART initiation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning January 2020, negatively impacted ART initiation rates, with a slight effect on 30-day rates but a persistent negative impact on 7-day rates. Despite these challenges and an increased HIV burden, Luzhou's ART initiation rates surpassed the national average. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of expanded HIV testing in ensuring timely ART access, crucial for HIV epidemic control, and improved patient outcomes. It also reveals challenges in maintaining HIV services during public health crises, offering insights into health care system resilience. Future research should focus on evaluating long-term treatment outcomes and strategies to support ending the AIDS epidemic.

Subambient daytime radiative cooling enables temperatures to passively reach below ambient temperature, even under direct sunlight, by emitting thermal radiation toward outer space. This technology holds promise for numerous exciting applications. However, previous demonstrations of subambient daytime radiative cooling require surfaces that directly face the sky, and these cannot be applied to vertical surfaces that are ubiquitous in real-world scenarios such as buildings and vehicles. Here, we demonstrate subambient daytime radiative cooling of vertical surfaces under peak sunlight using a hierarchically designed, angularly asymmetric, spectrally selective thermal emitter. Under peak sunlight of about 920 watts per square meter, our emitter reaches a temperature that is about 2.5°C below ambient temperature, corresponding to a temperature reduction of about 4.3° and 8.9°C compared with a silica-polymer hybrid radiative cooler and commercial white paint, respectively.

Introduction: Persistent chronic myocardial hypoxia causes disturbances in mitochondrial quality control (MQC), ultimately leading to increased cardiomyocyte injury in patients with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). The present study aimed to identify the key effector molecules of cardiomyocyte injury under chronic hypoxia in TOF., Methods: Clinical data from TOF patients were collected and whole transcriptome sequencing was performed on myocardial samples. Chronic hypoxia models were established in cardiac-specific knockout mice and cardiomyocytes, and a series of molecular experiments were used to determine the specific mechanisms involved., Results: Clinical cohort data and whole-transcriptome sequencing analysis of myocardial samples from TOF patients revealed that forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) plays an important role in chronic hypoxic cardiomyocyte injury. In a model of chronic hypoxia established in FOXO1 cardiac-specific knockout mice and FOXO1 gene-deficient cardiomyocytes, the AMPK signaling pathway regulates the expression of FOXO1, which in turn disrupts MQC by regulating the transcriptional activation of Rho-associated protein kinase 1 (ROCK1), and increasing the production of mitochondrial ROS, thereby exacerbating damage to cardiomyocytes. Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during MQC dysfunction further activates Cox7a2L to increase the assembly of the respiratory chain supercomplex. In addition, we found that miR-27b-3p partially binds to the 3' untranslated region of FOXO1 to exert a protective effect., Conclusions: Maintenance of MQC under chronic hypoxia is achieved through a series of injury-protection mechanisms, suggesting that FOXO1 inhibition may be crucial for future mitigation of chronic hypoxic cardiomyocyte injury in TOF., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxin produced by marine microalgae. It tends to accumulate in marine shellfish and fish, posing a threat to aquaculture and seafood consumers' health. In this study, DA in the surface and bottom seawater, sediment, and porewater of the Jiaozhou Bay, a typical mariculture bay in China, was systematically investigated for the first time over different seasons. Surprisingly, a high concentration of DA was discovered in the marine sediment porewater (maximum detected concentration: 289.49 ng/L) for the first time. DA was found to be extensively distributed in the water body and sedimentary environment of the Jiaozhou Bay. DA in the surface and bottom seawater of Jiaozhou Bay in spring was uniformly distributed, whereas DA showed obvious spatial variations in summer and winter. The high concentration areas of DA are located in the north of Jiaozhou Bay and decreased to the south areas. DA was also distributed in the sediment (spring mean: 316.57 ng/kg; summer mean: 10.22 ng/kg; winter mean: 237.08 ng/kg) and porewater (spring mean: 129.70 ng/L; summer mean: 53.54 ng/L; winter mean: 19.90 ng/L) of Jiaozhou Bay. The DA concentrations in the surface sediment and porewater were higher in the spring than in the winter and summer, contrary to the seasonal variation pattern observed in the surface and bottom seawater. The DA concentration in porewater was significantly higher than in the surface and bottom seawater, indicating that the risk of pollution contamination from DA to benthic fishery organisms may be underestimated. Overall, DA is widely distributed in the seawater and also in the benthic environment of Jiaozhou Bay and exhibited potential harm to fishery organisms varied greatly with seasons. It is an important discovery for marine algae toxins and has important guiding significance and important indicative role for the routine monitoring and management of DA pollution in water and benthic environment., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune disease, characterized by abnormal elevation in thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab) and/or thyroglobulin antibody (TG-Ab). Patients have multiple symptoms despite adequate hormone substitution. In the present study, we aimed to quantify the relationship between thyroid antibodies and multiple symptoms, inflammation and health-related life quality. A total of 108 HT patients with clinical euthyroid status and 57 heathy controls were recruited. Clinical parameters were determined by laboratory examination, and the symptoms burden and life quality were obtained by a Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Symptom Questionnaire and a SF-36 Questionnaire, respectively. Compared with healthy controls, multiple extrathyroidal symptoms were significantly more serious in HT patients despite euthyroid status, mainly including that related to digestive system (abdominal distension, constipation and diarrhea), endocrine system (chilliness, gain weight and facial edema), neuropsychiatric system (forgetfulness, anxiety, depressed, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and indifferent) and mucocutaneous system (dry skin, pruritus, and hair loss). Furthermore, serum TPO-Ab and TG-Ab were both inversely correlated with health-related life quality of general health and vitality parameters, and positively correlated with pro-inflammatory factors of TNF-α and IFN-γ, as well as severity of abdominal distension, diarrhea, chilliness, forgetfulness and fatigue. Moreover, TG-Ab level was positively associated with depressed, insomnia and indifferent. HT patients suffered from a variety of symptoms, and the elevated thyroid antibodies were inversely associated with health-related life quality and positively associated with inflammation and multiple extrathyroidal symptoms., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Qingdao University (Approval Number: QDU-20201107-1). Written informed consent has been provided by each participant., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In light of environmental issues, the lead-free ferroelectric single crystal K(Ta 1- x Nb x )O 3 (KTN) has attracted considerable interest due to its excellent piezoelectric properties. This research focus on improving the piezoelectric performance of KTN by engineering domains through polarization in the [011] c direction. The full-matrix parameters of KTN crystals after polarization along the [011] direction were determined. The finding reveal that KTN polarized in the nonspontaneous polarization direction [011] c exhibits higher piezoelectric constants ( d 33 = 156 pC/N, d 15 = 155 pC/N) and dielectric constants (ε 33 T ∼ 2337). Additionally, tensor matrix transformation techniques were utilized to analyze the directional dependence of the piezoelectric ( d 33 * ), dielectric (ε 33 T * ), elastic ( s 33 E * ) constants, and electromechanical coupling coefficient ( k 33 * ). The results indicate that these constants reach their maximum values along the polarized [011] c direction. A comparison of the experimental polarization values in the [011] c direction with those calculated for a single-domain state, demonstrates that ferroelectric domains in KTN crystals contribute significantly to the piezoelectric properties. Finally, polarized light microscopy was used to conduct a detailed analysis of the domain structure in KTN single crystals, revealing various orientations and sizes of domain walls. This research offers strategies for optimizing piezoelectric performance.