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ABSTRACT Some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can provide significant health benefits, which are critically important for the conservation of endangered animals, such as giant pandas. However, little is known about the diversity and culturability of LAB in the giant panda gut microbiota. To understand the roles of LAB in giant panda conservation, it is critical to culture bacterial strains of interest. In this study, we established a pipeline to culture bacterial strains using enrichment of target bacteria with different liquid media and growth conditions. Then, the strains were isolated in solid media to study their functions. Using 210 samples from the culture enrichment method and 138 culture-independent samples, we obtained 1120 amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs) belonging to Lactobacillales. Out of the 1120 ASVs, 812 ASVs from the culture enrichment approach were twofold more diverse than 336 ASVs from the culture-independent approach. Many ASVs of interest were not detected in the culture-independent approach. Using this pipeline, we isolated many relevant bacterial strains and established a giant panda gut bacteria strain collection that included strains with low-abundance in culture-independent samples and included most of the giant panda LAB described by other researchers. The strain collection consisted of 60 strains representing 35 species of 12 genera. Thus, our pipeline is powerful and provides guidance in culturing gut microbiota of interest in hosts such as the giant panda.IMPORTANCECultivation is necessary to screen strains to experimentally investigate microbial traits, and to confirm the activities of novel genes through functional characterization studies. In the long-term, such work can aid in the identification of potential health benefits conferred by bacteria and this could aid in the identification of bacterial candidate strains that can be applied as probiotics. In this study, we developed a pipeline with low-cost and user-friendly culture enrichment to reveal the diversity of LAB in giant pandas. We compared the difference between culture-independent and culture enrichment methods, screened strains of interest that produced high concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and we investigated the catalog of virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, butyrate and lactate synthesis genes of the strains at a genomic level. This study will provide guidance for microbiota cultivation and a foundation for future research aiming to understand the functions of specific strains.

This paper presents a scient metric analysis of status and trend of development of the higher foreign language education using Citespace based on the 2313 research articles from the Web of Science core collection between 2000 and 2023. Based on previous studies, this paper proposes assumptions and data verification. According to the keywords, citations and relevant information in the selected literatures, the research carried out clustering analysis, timeline view and citation bursts analysis. It is found that there is a phased focus in the study of higher foreign language education and no obvious evolutionary trend was found in the data results for the new picture of interdisciplinary has not yet been formed. Besides, the impact of innovative technologies will have more and more influence on higher foreign language education.

A large portion of cloud scenes over the globe shows multiple layers composed of different phases, in general with ice clouds on the top and liquid water clouds beneath. Such multi‐layer (ML) clouds constitute major challenges in cloud observations and weather and climate modeling. This study improved a threshold algorithm for detecting ice‐over‐water ML clouds using geostationary satellites. Optimal thresholds were established for the spectral characteristics of the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) and the Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager (AGRI), accounting for differences between land and ocean surfaces. Validation with collocated space radar and lidar measurements indicated the identification accuracies of approximately 82% over the land and 76% over the ocean. Annual distributions of ML clouds inferred by AHI and AGRI exhibited strong similarity. Furthermore, 6 years of hourly observations revealed distinct monthly and daily variations in ice‐over‐water clouds over the Asia–Pacific region. The ML cloud monthly variations were similar to those of the seasonal convection cycle, with occurrence frequencies over the typical regions higher in summer (maximum ∼27%) and lower (minimum 6%–10%) in winter. Regarding daily variations, ice‐over‐water clouds occurred more frequently around local noon over most of the six time zones (from UTC + 06 to UTC + 11) throughout all seasons. The refined spatiotemporal distribution of ML clouds, particularly the daily variations, is possible to improve our understanding of cloud vertical distributions and radiative effects, and has the potential to promote subsequent validation and parameterization of cloud overlapping in global climate modeling. Plain Language Summary: ML clouds with complex vertical structures introduce significant challenges in global climate models owing to a lack of accurate observations and universally applicable theories. While active satellite instruments provide valuable information about ML clouds, they are limited by temporal resolution and spatial discontinuity. This study improves on a passive geostationary satellite spectral imager‐based method for detecting ice‐over‐water clouds. Based on the advantages of geostationary satellites, the annual and monthly distributions, as well as daily variations of ice‐over‐water clouds, are revealed. Our results provide a valuable observational foundation for investigating ML cloud properties. Key Points: New thresholds of multi‐layer cloud detection algorithms for Advanced Himawari Imager and Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager are introduced and validatedDaytime spatial and temporal variations of multi‐layer clouds over the Asia‐Pacific region are presentedThere are substantial daily variations (up to over 15%) on the multi‐layer cloud occurrence frequencies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the expression changes of H2S, IGF-1, and GH in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and to detect their neuroprotective functions after TBI. In this study, we first collected cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma from TBI patients at different times after injury and evaluated the concentrations of H2S, IGF-1, and GH. In vitro studies were using the scratch-induced injury model and cell–cell interaction model (HT22 hippocampal neurons co-cultured with LPS-induced BV2 microglia cells). In vivo studies were using the controlled cortical impact (CCI) model in mice. Cell viability was assessed by CCK-8 assay. Pro-inflammatory cytokines expression was determined by qRT-PCR, ELISA, and nitric oxide production. Western blot was performed to assess the expression of CBS, CSE, IGF-1, and GHRH. Moreover, the recovery of TBI mice was evaluated for behavioral function by applying the modified Neurological Severity Score (mNSS), the Rotarod test, and the Morris water maze. We discovered that serum H2S, CSF H2S, and serum IGF-1 concentrations were all adversely associated with the severity of the TBI, while the concentrations of IGF-1 and GH in CSF and GH in the serum were all positively related to TBI severity. Experiments in vitro and in vivo indicated that treatment with NaHS (H2S donor), IGF-1, and MR-409 (GHRH agonist) showed protective effects after TBI. This study gives novel information on the functions of H2S, IGF-1, and GH in TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium‐sulfur (Li−S) batteries exhibit great potential as the next‐generation energy storage techniques. Application of catalyst is widely adopted to accelerate the redox kinetics of polysulfide conversion reactions and improve battery performance. Although significant attention has been devoted to seeking new catalysts, the problem of catalyst passivation remains underexplored. Herein, we find that metal‐N coordination has a previously overlooked role in preventing the catalyst passivation. In the case of nickel, the Ni catalyst reacts with S8 to produce NiSx compounds on the surface, leading to catalyst passivation and slow the kinetics of LiPSs conversion. In contrast, when Ni is coordinated with N (typically Ni−N4), S8 remains stable on the surface. The Ni−N4 exhibits excellent resistance to passivation and rapid kinetics of LiPSs conversion. Consequently, the sulfur cathode with Ni−N4 exhibits a high rate capability of 604.11 mAh g−1 at 3 C and maintains a low capacity decay rate of 0.046 % per cycle over 1000 cycles at 2 C. Furthermore, preventing S passivation in M−N coordination applies not only to Ni−N4 but also to various coordination numbers and transition metals. This study reveals a new aspect of metal‐N coordination in inhibiting catalyst passivation, improving our understanding of catalysts in Li−S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compile a scale of Chinese college students' perception of teachers' differential behavior and to provide a reference for college students to establish correct life values, promote college students' physical and mental health, and reduce teachers' differential treatment. Methods: Open-ended questionnaires and expert interviews were used to conduct interviews and correspondence with 58 college students, ten psychologists, and six psychologists to form an initial questionnaire. Then, the scale's exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability and validity test were conducted on 7053 college students from 18 universities in 6 provinces (municipalities directly under the Central Government). Results: The Chinese college students' perception of teachers' differential behavior scale has two dimensions: teacher prejudice and preference. Each dimension includes three aspects: emotional feedback, behavior orientation, and opportunity privilege, and each aspect have a total of 4 items. The consistency test coefficients of each dimension and each factor of the prepared scale are all above 0.7, and the split-half reliability is above 0.6. Confirmatory factor analysis shows that the six-factor structural model fits well (χ2/df = 4.287, RMSEA = 0.066, CFI = 0.950, TLI = 0.919). Using the generalized anxiety disorder scale and the patient health questionaire-9items as empirical criteria, each factor in the scale demonstrated significant correlations with both the GAD scale and the patient health questionaire-9items. Conclusions: The Chinese college students' perception of teachers' differential behavior scale has a two-dimensional six-factor structure and has good reliability and validity. It can be used as an effective tool to measure Chinese college students' perceived teacher differential behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reveal the deflagration mechanism of DME/H2-blended gasses, the micro-mechanism was studied based on the constructed UC San Diego 2016 pyrolysis oxidation mechanism model. The results show that adiabatic flame temperature and laminar flame speed increase with the increase in the equivalence ratio (Φ); they first increase and then decrease with the increase in the hydrogen (H2)-blended ratio (λ), and with the increase in λ, the Φ corresponding to the peak laminar flame speed of the blended gas increases. The addition of H2 increases the consumption of O2, and H2 reacts with CO to form H2O and CO2, promoting complete combustion. When Φ = 1.0–1.2, the equilibrium mole fraction of H and OH-activated radicals reach the maximum, and with the addition of H2, the concentration of activating radicals gradually increases, while the number of promoted elementary reactions increases by two, and the number of inhibited elementary reactions does not increase. Meanwhile, the addition of H2 increases the reaction rate of most reactions on the main chemical reaction path CH3OCH3→CH3OCH2→CH2O→HCO→CO→CO2 of DME and increases the risk of the deflagration of DME/H2-blended gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the characteristics of the raindrop size distribution (DSD) for five typhoons that made landfall or passed by Zhejiang on the eastern coast of China, from 2019 to 2022. Additionally, it examines the raindrop shape–slope (µ-Λ) relationship, as well as the local Z-R relationship for these typhoons. The DSD datasets were collected by the DSG1 disdrometer located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. Based on rainfall rate (R), the DSD can be categorized into convective and stratiform rainfall types. Some rainfall parameters can also be derived from the DSDs to further analyze the specific characteristics of rainfall. The histograms of the generalized intercept parameter (log10Nw) exhibit negative skewness in both convective and stratiform rainfall, whereas the histograms of the mass-weighted mean diameter (Dm) of raindrops display positive skewness. During typhoon periods on the eastern coast of China, the DSD characteristic was composed of a lower number concentration of small and midsize raindrops (3.42 for log10Nw, 1.43 mm for Dm in the whole dataset) as compared to Jiangsu in eastern China, Tokyo, in Japan, Miryang, in South Korea, and Thiruvananthapuram in south India, respectively. At the same time, the scatter plots of Dm and log10Nw indicate that the convective rain during typhoon periods exhibits characteristics that are intermediate between "maritime-like" and "continental-like" clusters. Additionally, the raindrop spectra of convective rainfall and midsize raindrops in stratiform rainfall are well-represented by a three-parameter gamma distribution. The µ-Λ relation in this region is similar to Taiwan and Fujian, located along the southeastern coast of China. The Z-R relationship for eastern coastal China during typhoons based on filtered disdrometer data is Z = 175.04R1.53. These results could offer deeper insights into the microphysical characteristics of different rainfall types along the eastern coast of China and potentially improve the accuracy of precipitation estimates from weather radar observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliometric analysis of liver cancer research, particularly in immunotherapy, reveals crucial insights. The US leads in liver cancer mortality but ranks fifth globally. Scopus database analysis identified 2,349 papers, with the top 100 ranging from 127 to 4,959 citations. Notably, “Microenvironmental Regulation of Tumours Progression and Metastasis” in the Journal of Nature Medicine garnered the highest citations. Journals like the Journal of Hepatology, Hepatology, and Nature Reports Clinical Oncology contributed significantly. Understanding molecular mechanisms and prognostic indicators is paramount for advancing combination therapies.For better patient outcomes, research trends in liver cancer immunotherapy point to improved treatment protocols, knowledge of the tumor microenvironment, combining therapies, predicting disease course, international cooperation, sophisticated surgical techniques, early detection, oncolytic virotherapy, and patient-centered care. This research underscores immunotherapy’s pivotal role and encourages further exploration, offering valuable insights into liver cancer treatment trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the atmospheric moisture capacity has increased globally in concert with global warming, with a particularly notable warming trend in Arctic regions. However, due to limited observational data, the variation and causes of polar precipitation, especially large-scale precipitation events associated with Arctic cyclones, remain unclear. In this paper, GPM satellite data are compared with ERA5 reanalysis data to explore the characteristics of summer precipitation at the northern margin of the Eurasian region (NMER) and the influence of cyclone activity on precipitation. It is revealed that high precipitation values in the Arctic region, as indicated by the GPM and ERA5 data, are mainly concentrated at the NMER. However, the GPM data show an overall larger precipitation amount, while the station observations more closely agree with the ERA5 precipitation changes at the NMER. The cyclone identification results indicate that summer cyclones at the NMER are mainly distributed in the Barents, Kara and Laptev Seas, and the precipitation contribution rate of ERA5-derived cyclones is 37.35%, which is significantly higher than that of GPM-derived cyclones (29.47%). Furthermore, high cyclone activity results in more intense precipitation, with the top 5% of the strongest cyclones contributing 60% (GPM) and 40% (ERA5) to the total cyclonic precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The West Liao River (WLR) and Yellow River (YR) basins are two major centers of millet farming in northern China. The result from flotation analyses and the spatial distribution of archeological sites indicate that two distinct survival strategies—agriculture and pastoralism were adopted in the southern and western regions of the WLR. Previous studies of ancient populations from the western area of the WLR suggested a correlation between a pastoral economy in the Bronze Age Upper Xiajiadian culture with a decreased genetic affinity with YR farmers. However, the population history of the southern WLR is unknown mainly due to the lack of ancient genetic data. Here we report the genomic data of an ancient individual from the Majiazishan site from the Late Bronze Age southern WLR region associated with Upper Xiajiadian culture. Unlike individuals from western WLR, this individual derived ancestry entirely from Late Neolithic YR farmers. We found a genetic substructure of the ancient human population of Upper Xiajiadian culture, which is consistent with the differences in the subsistence strategies of western and southern WLR. Climate deterioration led to different populations occupying the west and the south, respectively, in the WLR: the nomadic population from the Amur River (AR) in the west and the agricultural population from the YR in the south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the university spin-offs (USOs) literature either focuses on the influence of parent universities or the external environments on enterprise performance in economies with one aspect almost always neglected, that is, the role of USOs' corporate governance. In this study, we examine the effects of USOs' corporate governance structure which includes equity structure, board size and organizational form, on enterprise performance in a Chinese context, as well as the moderating effect of human capital on the relationship between board size and enterprise performance. This study takes 150 enterprises in 42 universities in Hubei Province as samples in 2017 using the weighted least square (WLS) method. The research finds evidence of positive relationships between equity structure and enterprise performance, as well as between board size and enterprise performance. However, a positive effect is not found between organizational form and enterprise performance, which shows a prominent negative effect. Moreover, human capital which is partially positive, influences the relationship between board size and enterprise performance. Therefore, these findings add some potentially noteworthy dimensions to the USOs literature that are especially important to USOs' policy makers and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish and validate machine learning-based models for predicting the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Patients and Methods: The clinical data of 1494 ICU patients who underwent Doppler ultrasonography or venography between December 2020 and March 2023 were extracted from three tertiary hospitals. The Boruta algorithm was used to screen the essential variables associated with VTE. Five machine learning algorithms were employed: Random Forest (RF), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), and Logistic Regression (LR). Hyperparameter optimization was conducted on the predictive model of the training dataset. The performance in the validation dataset was measured using indicators, including the area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, specificity, and F1 score. Finally, the optimal model was interpreted using the SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) package. Results: The incidence of VTE among the ICU patients in this study was 26.04%. We screened 19 crucial features for the risk prediction model development. Among the five models, the RF model performed best, with an AUC of 0.788 (95% CI: 0.738– 0.838), an accuracy of 0.759 (95% CI: 0.709– 0.809), a sensitivity of 0.633, and a Brier score of 0.166. Conclusion: A machine learning-based model for prediction of VTE in ICU patients were successfully developed, which could assist clinical medical staff in identifying high-risk populations for VTE in the early stages so that prevention measures can be implemented to reduce the burden on the ICU patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fibronectin type III domain containing 3B (FNDC3B), a member of the fibronectin type III domain-containing protein family, has been indicated in various malignancies. However, the precise role of FNDC3B in the progression of pancreatic cancer (PC) still remains to be elucidated. Methods: In this study, we integrated data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the Cancer Genome Atlas, Genotype-Tissue Expression database, and Gene Expression Omnibus datasets to analyze FNDC3B expression and its association with various clinicopathological parameters. Subsequently, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, along with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), single sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA) and estimate analysis were recruited to delve into the biological function and immune infiltration based on FNDC3B expression. Additionally, the prognostic estimation was conducted using Cox analysis and Kaplan–Meier analysis. Subsequently, a nomogram was constructed according to the result of Cox analysis to enhance the prognostic ability of FNDC3B. Finally, the preliminary biological function of FNDC3B in PC cells was explored. Results: The study demonstrated a significantly higher expression of FNDC3B in tumor tissues compared to normal pancreatic tissues, and this expression was significantly associated with various clinicopathological parameters. GSEA revealed the involvement of FNDC3B in biological processes and signaling pathways related to integrin signaling pathway and cell adhesion. Additionally, ssGSEA analysis indicated a positive correlation between FNDC3B expression and infiltration of Th2 cells and neutrophils, while showing a negative correlation with plasmacytoid dendritic cells and Th17 cells infiltration. Kaplan–Meier analysis further supported that high FNDC3B expression in PC patients was linked to shorter overall survival, disease-specific survival, and progression-free interval. However, although univariate analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between FNDC3B expression and prognosis in PC patients, this association did not hold true in multivariate analysis. Finally, our findings highlight the crucial role of FNDC3B expression in regulating proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of PC cells. Conclusion: Despite limitations, the findings of this study underscored the potential of FNDC3B as a prognostic biomarker and its pivotal role in driving the progression of PC, particularly in orchestrating immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to investigate the relationship between older adults' perceived community services for the elderly (PCSE), life satisfaction (LS), and self-rated health (SRH)., Methods: Data from four rounds of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from 2008 to 2018 were used. A total of 2454 older adults were obtained. Unconditional Least Squares (ULS) was used to measure PCSE, LS, and SRH growth trajectories without covariates. Finally, a mediating latent growth model was constructed using Mplus 8.3 to examine the mediating role of LS in the relationship between PCSE and SRH after adjusting for some demographic characteristics., Results: The results from the ULS method indicate that the intercepts and slopes for PCSE and LS are significantly negatively correlated ( β 1 = -0.629, β 2 = -0.579, p < 0.001). Additionally, there is a significant positive correlation between the intercept and slope of health levels ( β = 0.774, p < 0.001). Using a parallel growth model, significant regression coefficients were found between the intercept of PCSE and the intercepts of SRH and LS ( β 1 = -0.335, β 2 = 0.378, p < 0.01). Similarly, the regression coefficients between the slope of PCSE and the slopes of SRH and LS were also significant ( β 1 = -0.532, β 2 = 0.344, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the regression coefficient between the intercept of LS and the intercept of SRH was significant ( β = 0.415, p < 0.001). The regression coefficient between the slope of LS and the slope of SRH was also found to be significant ( β = 0.729, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: It is essential to ensure adequate supply and accessibility of community services for older adults. LS especially is, and should be a promising target for assessing the quality of life and utilization of PCSE supply., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests related to the study., (© 2024 Jiang et al.)