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Abstract Nonthrombotic iliac vein lesions (NIVLs) are significant causes of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in the left lower limb and symptom recurrence following left lower limb varicose vein treatment. The goal of this study was to explore the haemodynamic and morphological characteristics of iliac veins in patients with NIVLs. Pressure at the caudal end of the stenotic left common iliac vein (LCIV) segment, local blood flow velocity, and time-averaged wall shear stress in the stenotic segment exhibited positive correlations with the clinical CVI classification (R = 0.92, p

This study investigated the impact of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) treatment on the storage quality of Toona sinensis after harvesting. Toona sinensis samples treated with different concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 mg/L) of chlorine dioxide and stored at (4 ± 1) °C, with sampling test every 2nd day. The changes in sensory, nutritional, and chlorine dioxide residues of T. sinensis were checked regularly. Results revealed that moderate (0.4~0.8 mg/L) chlorine dioxide concentrations maintained sensory quality, inhibited T. sinensis weight loss, slowed flavonoid and vitamin C content depletion, reduced nitrite content, and enhanced superoxide dismutase activity. The chlorine dioxide resides in T. sinensis were below the national standards (

Thorough and precise gene structure annotations are essential for maximizing the benefits of genomic data and unveiling valuable genetic insights. The cucumber genome was first released in 2009 and updated in 2019. To increase the accuracy of the predicted gene models, 64 published RNA-seq data and 9 new strand-specific RNA-seq data from multiple tissues were used for manual comparison with the gene models. The updated annotation file (V3.1) contains an increased number (24,145) of predicted genes compared to the previous version (24,317 genes), with a higher BUSCO value of 96.9%. A total of 6231 and 1490 transcripts were adjusted and newly added, respectively, accounting for 31.99% of the overall gene tally. These newly added and adjusted genes were renamed (CsaV3.1_XGXXXXX), while genes remaining unaltered preserved their original designations. A random selection of 21 modified/added genes were validated using RT-PCR analyses. Additionally, tissue-specific patterns of gene expression were examined using the newly obtained transcriptome data with the revised gene prediction model. This improved annotation of the cucumber genome will provide essential and accurate resources for studies in cucumber.

Due to the superior catalytic activity and efficient utilization of noble metals, nanocatalysts are extensively used in the modern industrial production of chemicals. The surface structures of these materials are significantly influenced by reactive adsorbates, leading to dynamic behavior under experimental conditions. The dynamic nature poses significant challenges in studying the structure–activity relations of catalysts. Herein, we unveil an anomalous entropic effect on catalysis via surface pre‐melting of nanoclusters through machine learning accelerated molecular dynamics and free energy calculation. We find that due to the pre‐melting of shell atoms, there exists a non‐linear variation in the catalytic activity of the nanoclusters with temperature. Consequently, two notable changes in catalyst activity occur at the respective temperatures of melting for the shell and core atoms. We further study the nanoclusters with surface point defects, i.e. vacancy and ad‐atom, and observe significant decrease in the surface melting temperatures of the nanoclusters, enabling the reaction to take place under more favorable and milder conditions. These findings not only provide novel insights into dynamic catalysis of nanoclusters but also offer new understanding of the role of point defects in catalytic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous Catalysis. In their Communication (e202405379), Jun Cheng et al. use machine learning molecular dynamics to demonstrate anomalous entropic effect on catalysis via surface pre‐melting of nanoclusters...By Fu‐Qiang Gong; Yun‐Pei Liu; Ye Wang; Weinan E; Zhong‐Qun Tian and Jun ChengReported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

This article provides a retrospective review of pediatric alopecia areata (AA) cases in Singapore, focusing on the prognosis, treatment options, complications, and treatment response. The study included 182 cases of AA in patients under 21 years old. The majority of patients received topical treatments or intralesional steroid injections, with a favorable therapeutic response observed in 96.7% of patients. The study highlights the lack of validated treatments and good-quality randomized controlled trials for AA, and discusses the use of topical immunotherapy and potential side effects. The article concludes that current treatment modalities are safe for pediatric patients and emphasizes the importance of individualized treatment based on patient or parental preferences. [Extracted from the article]

Loneliness affect older people's health and well-being. This study explored the effects of changes in health and social relationships on loneliness in older adults. Data were from the 2011 and 2015 surveys of the Taiwan Longitudinal Survey on Aging. Individuals who were aged ≥55 years at the baseline (2011) and who completed both waves of the survey were included in the analysis (n = 2,512). In the 2015 wave, loneliness was predicted on the basis of the factors identified in the 2011 wave and the changes in health and social relationship between the two waves. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed. Decreased social group participation, decreased receiving instrumental social support, increased negative support, decreased feeling of usefulness to others, decreased informational support, decreased financial life satisfaction, increased stress, and increased depressive symptoms were related to a higher level of loneliness, whereas increased social support and social participation as well as decreased stress and depressive symptoms were related to a lower level of loneliness. Changes in depressive symptoms, a reduction in financial satisfaction, and an increase in stress were related to both the social and emotional dimensions of loneliness. Decreased social connection, social support, and social participation were related to social loneliness, whereas an increase in physical disability was related to emotional loneliness. Older people's changes in social support, social participation, financial satisfaction, stress, and depressive symptoms may affect their loneliness afterward. Social networks and resources should be developed in the community for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entropy during the dynamic structural evolution of catalysts has a non-trivial influence on chemical reactions. Confinement significantly affects the catalyst dynamics and thus impacts the reactivity. However, a full understanding has not been clearly established. To investigate catalyst dynamics under confinement, we utilize the active learning scheme to effectively train machine learning potentials for computing free energies of catalytic reactions. The scheme enables us to compute the reaction free energies and entropies of O 2 dissociation on Pt clusters with different sizes confined inside a carbon nanotube (CNT) at the timescale of tens of nanoseconds while keeping ab initio accuracy. We observe an entropic effect owing to liquid-to-solid phase transitions of clusters at finite temperatures. More importantly, the confinement effect enhances the structural dynamics of the cluster and leads to a lower melting temperature than those of the bare cluster and cluster outside the CNT, consequently facilitating the reaction to occur at lower temperatures and preventing the catalyst from forming unfavorable oxides. Our work reveals the important influence of confinement on structural dynamics, providing useful insight into entropy in dynamic catalysis., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)