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Small-scale pedestrian detection is one of the challenges in general object detection. Factors such as complex backgrounds, long distances, and low-light conditions make the image features of small-scale pedestrians less distinct, further increasing the difficulty of detection. To address these challenges, an Enhanced Feature-Fusion YOLO network (EFF-YOLO) for small-scale pedestrian detection is proposed. Specifically, this method employs a backbone based on the FasterNet block within YOLOv8n, which is designed to enhance the extraction of spatial features while reducing redundant operation. Furthermore, the gather-and-distribute (GD) mechanism is integrated into the neck of the network to realize the aggregation and distribution of global information and multi-level features. This not only strengthens the faint features of small-scale pedestrians but also effectively suppresses complex background information, thereby improving the accuracy of small-scale pedestrians. Experimental results indicate that EFF-YOLO achieves detection accuracies of 72.5%, 72.3%, and 91% on the three public datasets COCO-person, CityPersons, and LLVIP, respectively. Moreover, the proposed method reaches a detection speed of 50.7 fps for 1920 × 1080-pixel video streams on the edge device Jetson Orin NX, marking a 15.2% improvement over the baseline network. Thus, the proposed EFF-YOLO method not only boasts high detection accuracy but also demonstrates excellent real-time performance on edge devices.

Controlled interlayer temperature has a profound impact on both the microstructure and mechanical properties of the deposited components. In this study, thin-walled structures made of high-strength low-alloy steel were fabricated using the submerged-arc additive manufacturing process. The effects of varying temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the components were studied. The results showed that the cooling rate within T 8/5 decreased as the interlayer temperature increased, which caused the microstructure to transition from a fine-grained structure dominated by bainitic ferrite and granular bainite to a coarse-grained structure dominated by polygonal ferrite. The measurement of mechanical properties showed that due to the influence of the fine-grained structure, the components with low interlayer temperatures exhibit excellent hardness, high strength, and outstanding ductility and toughness. Furthermore, a faster cooling rate disrupts the stability of carbon diffusion, resulting in the development of increased quantities of residual austenitic films within the components with controlled low interlayer temperatures. This augmentation in residual austenite films strengthens the components' ductility and toughness, enabling the deposited components to exhibit exceptional impact toughness in low-temperature environments.

The commonly used baseline-free Lamb wave damage identification methods often require a large amount of sensor data to eliminate the dependence on baseline signals. To improve the efficiency of damage localization, this paper proposes a new Lamb wave damage location method, namely the probabilistic exchanging-element time-reversal method (PEX-TRM), which is based on the exchanging-element time-reversal method (EX-TRM) and the probabilistic damage identification method. In this method, the influence of the damage wave packet migration on the correlation coefficient between the reconstructed signals of each sensing path and the initial excitation signal is analyzed, and the structure is divided into multiple regional units corresponding to the damage to locate damage. In addition, the influence of the number of sensing paths on the location accuracy is also analyzed. A method of damage probability imaging based on structural symmetry is proposed to enhance location accuracy in the case of sparse sensing paths. The experimental and simulation results verify that the method can achieve damage location with fewer excitation times. Moreover, this method can avoid the problem that the damage wave packet is difficult to extract, improve the efficiency of damage location, and promote the engineering application of the Lamb wave damage location method.

To determine the etiological agents responsible for acute pneumonia in puppies in China, this study utilized bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid extraction to enable the isolation, culture, biochemical identification, and 16S rRNA PCR amplification of the pathogens. Following preliminary identification, the pathogens underwent analysis for antibiotic resistance phenotypes and resistance genes. Additionally, the study examined the presence of virulence genes, conducted multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS). The findings revealed that all four isolated pathogens were characterized as extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC). The examined ExPEC strains demonstrated resistance to cephalosporins, tetracyclines, and penicillins, while remaining susceptible to aminoglycosides, beta-lactamase inhibitors, carbapenems, chloramphenicols, and sulfonamides. An analysis of virulence genes identified the presence of eight genes, namely CNF-I , fyuA , fimC , papC , ompA , fimH , irp2 , and iroN , which are implicated in their invasiveness and potential to inflict tissue damage. The MLST analysis revealed that all ExPEC strains were classified under either sequence type ST131 (Achtman database) or ST43 (Pasteur database). The study further determined that these strains were absent in the kennel's drinking water source, thereby ruling out water contamination as a potential factor in the emergence of ST131-type ExPEC. This study offers a theoretical framework and empirical evidence for elucidating the potential pathogenic mechanisms and clinical therapeutic strategies of ExPEC in the etiology of acute pneumonia in puppies.

ACTINs are key structural proteins in plants, which form the actin cytoskeleton and are engaged in numerous routine cellular processes. Meanwhile, ACTIN , recognized as a housekeeping gene, has not yet been thoroughly investigated in Brassica napus . The current research has led to the detection of 69 actin genes in B. napus , which were organized into six distinct subfamilies on the basis of phylogenetic relationships. Functional enrichment analysis, along with the construction of protein interaction networks, suggested that BnACTIN s play roles in Preserving cell morphology and facilitating cytoplasmic movement, plant development, and adaptive responses to environmental stress. Moreover, the BnACTIN genes presented a wide range of expression levels among different tissues, whereas the majority experienced a substantial increase in expression when subjected to various abiotic stresses, demonstrating a pronounced sensitivity to abiotic factors. Furthermore, association mapping analysis indicated that some BnACTIN s potentially affected certain key agronomic traits. Overall, our research deepens the knowledge of BnACTIN genes, promotes the cultivation of improved B. napus strains, and lays the groundwork for subsequent functional research.

Expression of major histocompatibility complex I (MHC-I) on tumor cells is extremely important for the antitumor immune response for its essential role in activating various immune cells, including tumor-specific CD8+ T cells. Cancers of lower MHC-I expression commonly exhibit less immune cell infiltration and worse prognosis in clinic. In this study, we conducted bioinformatic-experimental screening to identify potential gene targets to enhance MHC-I expression in breast cancer (BRCA). Through a combination of MHC-I scoring, gene expression correlation analysis, survival prognostication, and Cibersort tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes (TILs) scoring, we identify 144 genes negatively correlated with both MHC-I expression and TILs in breast cancer. Furthermore, we verified partially according to KEGG functional enrichment or gene-dependency analysis and figured out multiple genes, including PIP5K1A , NCKAP1 , CYFIP1 , DIS3 , TBP , and EXOC1 , as effective gene targets for increasing MHC-I expression in breast cancer. Mechanistically, knockout of each of these genes activated the intrinsic interferon response in breast cancer cells, which not only promoted MHC-I expression but also caused immunogenic cell death of breast cancer. Finally, the scRNA-seq confirmed the negative correlation of PIP5K1A et al. with TILs in breast cancer patients. Collectively, we identified multiple gene targets for an increase in MHC-I expression in breast cancer in this study.

Leaves play a crucial role as ornamental organs in Spathiphyllum , exhibiting distinct differences across various Spathiphyllum varieties. Leaf development is intricately linked to processes of cell proliferation and expansion, with cell morphology often regulated by plant cell walls, primarily composed of cellulose. Alterations in cellulose content can impact cell morphology, subsequently influencing the overall shape of plant organs. Although cellulases have been shown to affect cellulose levels in plant cells, genetic evidence linking them to the regulation of leaf shape remains limited. This study took the leaves of Spathiphyllum 'Mojo' and its somatic variants as the research objects. We screened four cellulase gene family members from the transcriptome and then measured the leaf cellulose content, cellulase activity, and expression levels of cellulase-related genes. Correlation analysis pinpointed the gene SpGH9A3 as closely associated with leaf shape variations in the mutant. Green fluorescent fusion protein assays revealed that the SpGH9A3 protein was localized to the cell membrane. Notably, the expression of the SpGH9A3 gene in mutant leaves peaked during the early spread stage, resulting in smaller overall leaf size and reduced cellulose content upon overexpression in Arabidopsis .

Growth-regulating factor (GRF) is a multi-gene family that plays an important role in plant growth and development and is widely present in plants. Currently, GRF gene members have been reported in many plants, but the GRF gene family has not been found in sweet potato. In this study, ten GRF genes were identified in sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas ), twelve and twelve were identified in its two diploid relatives ( Ipomoea trifida ) and ( Ipomoea triloba ), which were unevenly distributed on nine different chromosomes. Subcellular localization analysis showed that GRF genes of sweet potato, I. trifida , and I. triloba were all located in the nucleus. The expression analysis showed that the expression of IbGRFs was diverse in different sweet potato parts, and most of the genes were upregulated and even had the highest expression in the vigorous growth buds. These findings provide molecular characterization of sweet potato and its two diploid relatives, the GRF families, further supporting functional characterization.

The African swine fever virus (ASFV) is an ancient, structurally complex, double-stranded DNA virus that causes African swine fever. Since its discovery in Kenya and Africa in 1921, no effective vaccine or antiviral strategy has been developed. Therefore, the selection of more suitable vaccines or antiviral targets is the top priority to solve the African swine fever virus problem. B125R , one of the virulence genes of ASFV, encodes a non-structural protein (pB125R), which is important in ASFV infection. However, the epitope of pB125R is not well characterized at present. We observed that pB125R is specifically recognized by inactivated ASFV-positive sera, suggesting that it has the potential to act as a protective antigen against ASFV infection. Elucidation of the antigenic epitope within pB125R could facilitate the development of an epitope-based vaccine targeting ASFV. In this study, two strains of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against pB125R were produced by using the B cell hybridoma technique, named 9G11 and 15A9. The antigenic epitope recognized by mAb 9G11 was precisely located by using a series of truncated ASFV pB125R. The 52 DPLASQRDIYY 62 (epitope on ASFV pB125R) was the smallest epitope recognized by mAb 9G11 and this epitope was highly conserved among different strains. The key amino acid sites were identified as D52, Q57, R58, and Y62 by the single-point mutation of 11 amino acids of the epitope by alanine scanning. In addition, the immunological effects of the epitope (pB125R-DY) against 9G11 were evaluated in mice, and the results showed that both full-length pB125R and the epitope pB125R-DY could induce effective humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. The mAbs obtained in this study reacted with the eukaryotic-expressed antigen proteins and the PAM cell samples infected with ASFV, indicating that the mAb can be used as a good tool for the detection of ASFV antigen infection. The B cell epitopes identified in this study provide a fundamental basis for the research and development of epitope-based vaccines against ASFV.

Polyploids are essential in plant evolution and species formation, providing a rich genetic reservoir and increasing species diversity. Complex polyploids with higher ploidy levels often have a dosage effect on the phenotype, which can be highly detrimental to gametes, making them rare. In this study, offspring plants resulting from an autoallotetraploid (RRRC) derived from the interspecific hybridization between allotetraploid Raphanobrassica (RRCC, 2n = 36) and diploid radish (RR, 2n = 18) were obtained. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using C-genome-specific repeats as probes revealed two main genome configurations in these offspring plants: RRRCC (2n = 43, 44, 45) and RRRRCC (2n = 54, 55), showing more complex genome configurations and higher ploidy levels compared to the parental plants. These offspring plants exhibited extensive variation in phenotypic characteristics, including leaf type and flower type and color, as well as seed and pollen fertility. Analysis of chromosome behavior showed that homoeologous chromosome pairing events are widely observed at the diakinesis stage in the pollen mother cells (PMCs) of these allopolyploids, with a range of 58.73% to 78.33%. Moreover, the unreduced C subgenome at meiosis anaphase II in PMCs was observed, which provides compelling evidence for the formation of complex allopolyploid offspring. These complex allopolyploids serve as valuable genetic resources for further analysis and contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of complex allopolyploids.

Sleep quality is heavily influenced by sleep posture, with research indicating that a supine posture can worsen obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) while lateral postures promote better sleep. For patients confined to beds, regular changes in posture are crucial to prevent the development of ulcers and bedsores. This study presents a novel sparse sensor-based spatiotemporal convolutional neural network (S 3 CNN) for detecting sleep posture. This S 3 CNN holistically incorporates a pair of spatial convolution neural networks to capture cardiorespiratory activity maps and a pair of temporal convolution neural networks to capture the heart rate and respiratory rate. Sleep data were collected in actual sleep conditions from 22 subjects using a sparse sensor array. The S 3 CNN was then trained to capture the spatial pressure distribution from the cardiorespiratory activity and temporal cardiopulmonary variability from the heart and respiratory data. Its performance was evaluated using three rounds of 10 fold cross-validation on the 8583 data samples collected from the subjects. The results yielded 91.96% recall, 92.65% precision, and 93.02% accuracy, which are comparable to the state-of-the-art methods that use significantly more sensors for marginally enhanced accuracy. Hence, the proposed S 3 CNN shows promise for sleep posture monitoring using sparse sensors, demonstrating potential for a more cost-effective approach.

Plastid retrograde signaling plays a key role in coordinating the expression of plastid genes and photosynthesis-associated nuclear genes (PhANGs). Although plastid retrograde signaling can be substantially compromised by mitochondrial dysfunction, it is not yet clear whether specific mitochondrial factors are required to regulate plastid retrograde signaling. Here, we show that mitochondrial ATP synthase beta -subunit mutants with decreased ATP synthase activity are impaired in plastid retrograde signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana . Transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression levels of PhANGs were significantly higher in the mutants affected in the AT5G08670 gene encoding the mitochondrial ATP synthase beta -subunit, compared to wild-type (WT) seedlings when treated with lincomycin (LIN) or norflurazon (NF). Further studies indicated that the expression of nuclear genes involved in chloroplast and mitochondrial retrograde signaling was affected in the AT5G08670 mutant seedlings treated with LIN. These changes might be linked to the modulation of some transcription factors (TFs), such as LHY ( Late Elongated Hypocotyl ), PIF ( Phytochrome-Interacting Factors ), MYB , WRKY , and AP2/ERF (Ethylene Responsive Factors). These findings suggest that the activity of mitochondrial ATP synthase significantly influences plastid retrograde signaling.

Common wild rice ( Oryza rufipogon Griff.) is an important germplasm resource containing valuable genes. Our previous analysis reported a stable wild rice inbred line, Huaye3, which derives from the common wild rice of Guangdong Province. However, there was no information about its drought tolerance ability. Here, we assessed the germination characteristics and seedling growth between the Dawennuo and Huaye3 under five concentrations of PEG6000 treatment (0, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). Huaye3 showed a stronger drought tolerance ability, and its seed germination rate still reached more than 52.50% compared with Dawennuo, which was only 25.83% under the 20% PEG6000 treatment. Cytological observations between the Dawennuo and Huaye3 indicated the root tip elongation zone and buds of Huaye3 were less affected by the PEG6000 treatment, resulting in a lower percentage of abnormalities of cortical cells, stele, and shrinkage of epidermal cells. Using the re-sequencing analysis, we detected 13,909 genes that existed in the genetic variation compared with Dawennuo. Of these genes, 39 were annotated as drought stress-related genes and their variance existed in the CDS region. Our study proved the strong drought stress tolerance ability of Huaye3, which provides the theoretical basis for the drought resistance germplasm selection in rice., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

This study subjected nuclear-grade 20# pipeline steel to cyclic freeze-thaw ice plugging tests, simulating the plastic deformation experienced by pipes during ice plug removal procedures. Subsequently, the dislocation morphology and mechanical properties of the specimens post cyclic ice plugging were examined. The cyclic ice plugging process led to an increase in the dislocation density within the specimens. After 20 and 40 cycles of ice plugging, the internal dislocation structures evolved from individual dislocation lines and dislocation tangles to high-density dislocation walls and dislocation cells. These high-density dislocation walls and cells hindered dislocation motion, giving rise to strain hardening phenomena, thereby resulting in increased strength and hardness of the specimens with an increasing number of ice plugging cycles. In addition, a large stress field was generated around the dislocation buildup, which reduced the pipe material's plastic toughness. The findings elucidate the effects of cyclic ice plugging on the microstructure and properties of nuclear-grade 20# pipeline steel, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the safe and stable application of ice plugging technology in nuclear piping systems.

A 9-10-bit adjustable and energy-efficient switching scheme for SAR ADC with one-LSB common-mode voltage variation is proposed. Based on capacitor-splitting technology and common-mode conversion techniques, the proposed switching scheme reduces the DAC switching energy by 96.41% compared to the conventional scheme. The low complexity and the one-LSB common-mode voltage offset of this scheme benefit from the simultaneous switching of the reference voltages of the capacitors corresponding to the positive array and the negative array throughout the entire reference voltage switching process, and the reference voltage of each capacitor in the scheme does not change more than two voltages. The post-layout result shows that the ADC achieves the 54.96 dB SNDR, the 61.73 dB SFDR, and the 0.67 μw power consumption with the 10-bit mode and the 48.33 dB SNDR, the 54.17 dB SFDR, and the 0.47 μw power consumption with the 9-bit mode in a 180 nm process with a 100 kS/s sampling frequency.

Dissolved gases in the aquatic environment are critical to understanding the population of aquatic organisms and the ocean. Currently, laser absorption techniques based on membrane separation technology have made great strides in dissolved gas detection. However, the prolonged water-gas separation time of permeable membranes remains a key obstacle to the efficiency of dissolved gas analysis. To mitigate these limitations, we demonstrated direct measurement of dissolved gas using the evanescent-wave absorption spectroscopy of a tapered silica micro-fiber. It enhanced the analysis efficiency of dissolved gases without water-gas separation or sample preparation. The feasibility of this sensor for direct measurement of dissolved gases was verified by taking the detection of dissolved ammonia as an example. With a sensing length of 5 mm and a consumption of ~50 µL, this sensor achieves a system response time of ~11 min and a minimum detection limit (MDL) of 0.015%. Possible strategies are discussed for further performance improvement in in-situ applications requiring fast and highly sensitive dissolved gas sensing.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has significant potential as a treatment for cancer by targeting specific genes or molecular pathways involved in cancer development and progression. The addition of siRNA to other therapeutic strategies, like photodynamic therapy (PDT), can enhance the anticancer effects, providing synergistic benefits. Nevertheless, the effective delivery of siRNA into target cells remains an obstacle in cancer therapy. Herein, supramolecular nanoparticles were fabricated via the co-assembly of natural histone and hyaluronic acid for the co-delivery of HMGB1-siRNA and the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) into the MCF-7 cell. The produced siRNA-Ce6 nanoparticles (siRNA-Ce6 NPs) have a spherical morphology and exhibit uniform distribution. In vitro experiments demonstrate that the siRNA-Ce6 NPs display good biocompatibility, enhanced cellular uptake, and improved cytotoxicity. These outcomes indicate that the nanoparticles constructed by the co-assembly of histone and hyaluronic acid hold enormous promise as a means of siRNA and photosensitizer co-delivery towards synergetic therapy.

Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular recycling process which enables eukaryotes to maintain both cellular and overall homeostasis through the catabolic breakdown of intracellular components or the selective degradation of damaged organelles. In recent years, the importance of autophagy in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) has been increasingly recognized, and numerous studies have linked the dysregulation of autophagy to the development of endothelial dysfunction and vascular disease. Here, we provide an overview of the molecular mechanisms underlying autophagy in ECs and our current understanding of the roles of autophagy in vascular biology and review the implications of dysregulated autophagy for vascular disease. Finally, we summarize the current state of the research on compounds to modulate autophagy in ECs and identify challenges for their translation into clinical use.

Underwater images suffer from low contrast and color distortion. In order to improve the quality of underwater images and reduce storage and computational resources, this paper proposes a lightweight model Rep-UWnet to enhance underwater images. The model consists of a fully connected convolutional network and three densely connected RepConv blocks in series, with the input images connected to the output of each block with a Skip connection. First, the original underwater image is subjected to feature extraction by the SimSPPF module and is processed through feature summation with the original one to be produced as the input image. Then, the first convolutional layer with a kernel size of 3 × 3, generates 64 feature maps, and the multi-scale hybrid convolutional attention module enhances the useful features by reweighting the features of different channels. Second, three RepConv blocks are connected to reduce the number of parameters in extracting features and increase the test speed. Finally, a convolutional layer with 3 kernels generates enhanced underwater images. Our method reduces the number of parameters from 2.7 M to 0.45 M (around 83% reduction) but outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms by extensive experiments. Furthermore, we demonstrate our Rep-UWnet effectively improves high-level vision tasks like edge detection and single image depth estimation. This method not only surpasses the contrast method in objective quality, but also significantly improves the contrast, colorimetry, and clarity of underwater images in subjective quality.

In underground industries, practitioners frequently employ argots to communicate discreetly and evade surveillance by investigative agencies. Proposing an innovative approach using word vectors and large language models, we aim to decipher and understand the myriad of argots in these industries, providing crucial technical support for law enforcement to detect and combat illicit activities. Specifically, positional differences in semantic space distinguish argots, and pre-trained language models' corpora are crucial for interpreting them. Expanding on these concepts, the article assesses the semantic coherence of word vectors in the semantic space based on the concept of information entropy. Simultaneously, we devised a labeled argot dataset, MNGG, and developed an argot recognition framework named CSRMECT, along with an argot interpretation framework called LLMResolve. These frameworks leverage the MECT model, the large language model, prompt engineering, and the DBSCAN clustering algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that the CSRMECT framework outperforms the current optimal model by 10% in terms of the F1 value for argot recognition on the MNGG dataset, while the LLMResolve framework achieves a 4% higher accuracy in interpretation compared to the current optimal model.The related experiments undertaken also indicate a potential correlation between vector information entropy and model performance.

In the process of the ultrasonic-assisted arc welding of metal materials, traditional ultrasonic application methods, such as the low-frequency impact of ultrasonic horns on a base material, can easily cause the non-fusion defect. In order to solve this problem, a rotating sonotrode with a groove and double thin ends was designed in this study. The ultrasonic vibration is transmitted into the weld pool by the rolling of the sonotrode on both sides of the weld. The resonant frequency was set at 50 kHz. Firstly, based on the Mindlin theory, a rotating sonotrode without a groove was designed by solving the frequency equation and by conducting a finite element simulation. Secondly, the effects of the groove, perforation, and transition mode on the resonant frequency, stress distribution, and amplification factor were investigated by finite element simulation. Finally, the optimum rotating sonotrode with a groove was obtained. The results show that the size of a rotating sonotrode that has a small frequency error can be obtained by using the discrete interval solver method combined with finite element simulation. The groove can significantly reduce the resonant frequency. The stress concentration can be effectively reduced by using the elliptical transition mode. The resonant frequency and amplification factor of a rotating sonotrode with a groove could be effectively adjusted by a method of double-position joint perforation. The final resonant frequency was 49.721 kHz and the amplification factor was 3.02. This study provides an effective design method for a sonotrode with double thin ends and a groove structure.

Long COVID (LongC) is associated with a myriad of symptoms including cognitive impairment. We reported at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that neuronal-enriched or L1CAM+ extracellular vesicles (nEVs) from people with LongC contained proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since that time, a subset of people with prior COVID infection continue to report neurological problems more than three months after infection. Blood markers to better characterize LongC are elusive. To further identify neuronal proteins associated with LongC, we maximized the number of nEVs isolated from plasma by developing a hybrid EV Microfluidic Affinity Purification (EV-MAP) technique. We isolated nEVs from people with LongC and neurological complaints, AD, and HIV infection with mild cognitive impairment. Using the OLINK platform that assesses 384 neurological proteins, we identified 11 significant proteins increased in LongC and 2 decreased (BST1, GGT1). Fourteen proteins were increased in AD and forty proteins associated with HIV cognitive impairment were elevated with one decreased (IVD). One common protein (BST1) was decreased in LongC and increased in HIV. Six proteins (MIF, ENO1, MESD, NUDT5, TNFSF14 and FYB1) were expressed in both LongC and AD and no proteins were common to HIV and AD. This study begins to identify differences and similarities in the neuronal response to LongC versus AD and HIV infection.

This study analyzes the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children across Chicagoland zip codes from 2019 to 2021, linking them to socioeconomic, environmental, and racial factors. Wilcoxon tests and generalized additive model (GAM) regressions identified economic hardship, reflected in per capita income and unemployment rates, as a significant contributor to increased lead poisoning (LP) rates. Additionally, LP rates correlate with the average age of buildings, particularly post the 1978 lead paint ban, illustrating policy impacts on health outcomes. The study further explores the novel area of land surface temperature (LST) effects on LP, finding that higher nighttime LST, indicative of urban heat island effects, correlates with increased LP. This finding gains additional significance in the context of anthropogenic climate change. When these factors are combined with the ongoing expansion of urban territories, a significant risk exists of escalating LP rates on a global scale. Racial disparity analysis revealed that Black and Hispanic/Latino populations face higher LP rates, primarily due to unemployment and older housing. The study underscores the necessity for targeted public health strategies to address these disparities, emphasizing the need for interventions that cater to the unique challenges of these at-risk communities.

Setaria italica is an important crop in China that plays a vital role in the Chinese dietary structure. In the last several decades, high temperature has become the most severe climate issue in the world, which causes great harm to the yield and quality formation of millet. In this study, two main cultivated varieties (ZG2 and AI88) were used to explore the photosynthesis and yield index of the whole plant under heat stress. Results implied that photosynthesis was not inhibited during the heat stress, and that the imbalance in sugar transport between different tissues may be the main factor that affects yield formation. In addition, the expression levels of seven SiSUT and twenty-four SiSWEET members were explored. Sugar transporters were heavily affected during the heat stress. The expression of SiSWEET13a was inhibited by heat stress in the stems, which may play a vital role in sugar transport between different tissues. These results provide new insights into the yield formation of crops under heat stress, which will provide guidance to crop breeding and cultivation.

Cement kiln dust (CKD) is a by-product of cement production, which has the shortcomings of low utilization and high-temperature activation. This study combined CKD and slag as precursors for preparing pastes through quicklime activation under ambient conditions. The effects of quicklime and CKD content on the workability (flowability and setting time), macro-mechanical properties, and micro-structure of the CKD-slag binders were analyzed. The experimental results showed that the rapid precipitation of Ca 2+ , Si 4+ , and Al 3+ ions from the CKD provided more nucleation sites for the formation of calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-(A)-S-H) gel and enhanced the reactivity of the binder system under the influence of the activator (CaO). The specimens had the highest unconfined compressive strength (UCS) (24.6 MPa) after 28 days with 10% quicklime content and 60% CKD content; scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analysis showed that the Ca/Si ratio of the C-(A)-S-H gel was minimized, leading to a denser microstructure and better binding ability under this mixing proportion. Therefore, this study may provide novel binder materials with a high proportion of CKD under ambient conditions.

Monitoring etoposide is important due to its wide usage in anti-tumor therapy; however, the commonly used HPLC method is expensive and often requires complicated extraction and detection procedures. Electrochemical analysis has great application prospects because of its rapid response and high specificity, sensitivity, and efficiency with low cost and high convenience. In this study, we constructed a nanoporous gold (NPG)-modified GCE for the detection of etoposide. The electrochemical oxidation of etoposide by NPG caused a sensitive current peak at +0.27 V with good reproductivity in 50 mM of phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The relationship between etoposide concentration and peak current was linear in the range between 0.1 and 20 μM and between 20 and 150 μM, with a detection sensitivity of 681.8 μA mM -1 cm -2 and 197.2 μA mM -1 cm -2 , respectively, and a limit of detection (LOD) reaching 20 nM. The electrode had a good anti-interference ability to several common anions and cations. Spiked recovery tests in serum, urine, and fermentation broth verified the excellent performance of the sensor in terms of sensitivity, reproducibility, and specificity. This may provide a promising tool for the detection of etoposide in biological samples.

UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) form a large enzyme family that is found in a wide range of organisms. These enzymes are known for accepting a wide variety of substrates, and they derivatize xenobiotics and metabolites for detoxification. However, most UGT homologs have not been well characterized, and their potential for biomedical and environmental applications is underexplored. In this work, we have used a fluorescent assay for screening substrates of a plant UGT homolog by monitoring the formation of UDP. We optimized the assay such that it could be used for high-throughput screening of substrates of the Medicago truncatula UGT enzyme, UGT71G1, and our results show that 34 of the 159 screened compound samples are potential substrates. With an LC-MS/MS method, we confirmed that three of these candidates indeed were glycosylated by UGT71G1, which includes bisphenol A (BPA) and 7-Ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38); derivatization of these toxic compounds can lead to new environmental and medical applications. This work suggests that UGT homologs may recognize a substrate profile that is much broader than previously anticipated. Additionally, it demonstrates that this screening method provides a new means to study UDP-glycosyltransferases, facilitating the use of these enzymes to tackle a wide range of problems.

Epidermal cells are the main avenue for signal and material exchange between plants and the environment. Leaf epidermal cells primarily include pavement cells, guard cells, and trichome cells. The development and distribution of different epidermal cells are tightly regulated by a complex transcriptional regulatory network mediated by phytohormones, including jasmonic acid, and transcription factors. How the fate of leaf epidermal cells is determined, however, is still largely unknown due to the diversity of cell types and the complexity of their regulation. Here, we characterized the transcriptional profiles of epidermal cells in 3-day-old true leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana using single-cell RNA sequencing. We identified two genes encoding BASIC LEUCINE-ZIPPER (bZIP) transcription factors, namely bZIP25 and bZIP53 , which are highly expressed in pavement cells and early-stage meristemoid cells. Densities of pavement cells and trichome cells were found to increase and decrease, respectively, in bzip25 and bzip53 mutants, compared with wild-type plants. This trend was more pronounced in the presence of jasmonic acid, suggesting that these transcription factors regulate the development of trichome cells and pavement cells in response to jasmonic acid.

Underwater optical imaging for information acquisition has always been an innovative and crucial research direction. Unlike imaging in the air medium, the underwater optical environment is more intricate. From an optical perspective, natural factors such as turbulence and suspended particles in the water cause issues like light scattering and attenuation, leading to color distortion, loss of details, decreased contrast, and overall blurriness. These challenges significantly impact the acquisition of underwater image information, rendering subsequent algorithms reliant on such data unable to function properly. Therefore, this paper proposes a method for underwater image restoration using Stokes linearly polarized light, specifically tailored to the challenges of underwater complex optical imaging environments. This method effectively utilizes linear polarization information and designs a system that uses the information of the first few frames to calculate the enhanced images of the later frames. By doing so, it achieves real-time underwater Stokes linear polarized imaging while minimizing human interference during the imaging process. Furthermore, the paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the deficiencies observed during the testing of the method and proposes improvement perspectives, along with offering insights into potential future research directions.

In this paper, the green synthesis of isoeugenol methyl ether (IEME) from eugenol by O -methylation and isomerization is completed using a one-step green process. In the methylation reaction, dimethyl carbonate (DMC) was used as a green chemistry reagent instead of the traditional harmful methylation reagents, in accordance with the current concept of green chemistry. The phase transfer catalyst (PTC) polyethylene glycol 800 (PEG-800) was introduced into the isomerization reaction to break the barrier of difficult contact between solid and liquid phases and drastically reduce the reaction conditions by shortening the reaction time and reducing the alkalinity of the reaction system. The catalytic systems for the one-step green synthesis of IEME were screened, and it was shown that the catalytic system "K 2 CO 3 + PEG-800" was the most effective. The effects of reaction temperature, n(DMC):n(eugenol) ratio, n(PEG-800):n(eugenol) ratio, and n(K 2 CO 3 ):n(eugenol) ratio on eugenol conversion, IEME yield, and IEME selectivity were investigated. The results showed that the best reaction was achieved at a reaction temperature of 140 °C, a reaction time of 3 h, a DMC drip rate of 0.09 mL/min, and n(eugenol):n(DMC):n(K 2 CO 3 ):n(PEG-800) = 1:3:0.09:0.08. As a result of the conversion of 93.1% of eugenol to IEME, a yield of 86.1% IEME as well as 91.6% IEME selectivity were obtained.

The present study proposes a novel deep-learning model for remote sensing image enhancement. It maintains image details while enhancing brightness in the feature extraction module. An improved hierarchical model named Global Spatial Attention Network (GSA-Net), based on U-Net for image enhancement, is proposed to improve the model's performance. To circumvent the issue of insufficient sample data, gamma correction is applied to create low-light images, which are then used as training examples. A loss function is constructed using the Structural Similarity ( SSIM ) and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio ( PSNR ) indices. The GSA-Net network and loss function are utilized to restore images obtained via low-light remote sensing. This proposed method was tested on the Northwestern Polytechnical University Very-High-Resolution 10 (NWPU VHR-10) dataset, and its overall superiority was demonstrated in comparison with other state-of-the-art algorithms using various objective assessment indicators, such as PSNR , SSIM , and Learned Perceptual Image Patch Similarity (LPIPS). Furthermore, in high-level visual tasks such as object detection, this novel method provides better remote sensing images with distinct details and higher contrast than the competing methods.

Optically pumped gradiometers have long been utilized in measurement in the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF). With advancements in technologies such as laser diodes and microfabrication, integrated gradiometers with compact sizes have become available, enabling improvements in magnetoencephalography and fetal magnetocardiography within shielded spaces. Moreover, there is a growing interest in the potential of achieving biomagnetic source detection without shielding. This review focuses on recent developments in optically pumped magnetic field gradiometers, including various fabrication methods and measurement schemes. The strengths and weaknesses of different types of optically pumped gradiometers are also analyzed.

A hybrid energy-efficient, area-efficient, low-complexity switching scheme in SAR ADC for biosensor applications is proposed. This scheme is a combination of the monotonic technique, the MSB capacitor-splitting technique, and a new switching method. The MSB capacitor-splitting technique, as well as the reference voltage V aq allow for more options for reference voltage conversion, resulting in higher area savings and higher energy efficiency. In a capacitor array, the circuit performs unilateral switching during all comparisons except for the second and last two comparisons, reducing the difficulty in designing the drive circuit. The proposed switching scheme saves 98.4% of the switching energy and reduces the number of unit capacitors by 87.5% compared to a conventional scheme. Furthermore, the SAR ADC employs low-noise and low-power dynamic comparators utilizing multi-clock control, low-sampling error-sampling switches based on the bootstrap technique, and dynamic SAR logic. The simulation results demonstrated that the proposed SAR ADC achieves 61.51 dB SNDR, 79.21 dB SFDR and consumes 0.278 μW of power in a 180 nm process with a 1 V power supply, a full swing input signal frequency of 23.33 kHz, and a sampling rate of 100 kS/s.

Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH, EC 1.3.5.1) is one of the most promising targets for fungicide development and has attracted great attention worldwide. However, existing commercial fungicides targeting SDH have led to the increasingly prominent problem of pathogen resistance, so it is necessary to develop new fungicides. Herein, we used a structure-based molecular design strategy to design and synthesize a series of novel SDHI fungicides containing an N -(alkoxy)diphenyl ether carboxamide skeleton. The mycelial growth inhibition experiment showed that compound M15 exhibited a very good control effect against four plant pathogens, with inhibition rates of more than 60% at a dose of 50 μg/mL. A structure-activity relationship study found that N-O-benzyl-substituted derivatives showed better antifungal activity than others, especially the introduction of a halogen on the benzyl. Furthermore, the molecular docking results suggested that π-π interactions with Trp35 and hydrogen bonds with Tyr33 and Trp173 were crucial interaction sites when inhibitors bound to SDH. Morphological observation of mycelium revealed that M15 could inhibit the growth of mycelia. Moreover, in vivo and in vitro tests showed that M15 not only inhibited the enzyme activity of SDH but also effectively protected rice from damage due to R. solani infection, with a result close to that of the control at a concentration of 200 μg/mL. Thus, the N -(alkoxy)diphenyl ether carboxamide skeleton is a new starting point for the discovery of new SDH inhibitors and is worthy of further investigation.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) poses as a multifaceted neurodevelopmental condition, significantly impacting children's social, behavioral, and communicative capacities. Despite extensive research, the precise etiological origins of ASD remain elusive, with observable connections to brain activity. In this study, we propose a novel framework for ASD detection, extracting the characteristics of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data and phenotypic data, respectively. Specifically, we employ recursive feature elimination (RFE) for feature selection of fMRI data and subsequently apply graph neural networks (GNN) to extract informative features from the chosen data. Moreover, we devise a phenotypic feature extractor (PFE) to extract phenotypic features effectively. We then, synergistically fuse the features and validate them on the ABIDE dataset, achieving 78.7% and 80.6% accuracy, respectively, thereby showcasing competitive performance compared to state-of-the-art methods. The proposed framework provides a promising direction for the development of effective diagnostic tools for ASD.

Liver fibrosis, a critical pathological feature of chronic liver diseases, arises from a multitude of pathogenic factors. Consequently, establishing an appropriate animal model to simulate liver fibrosis holds immense significance for comprehending its underlying pathogenesis. Despite the numerous methodologies available for generating liver fibrosis models, they often deviate substantially from the spontaneous age-related liver fibrosis process. In this study, compared with young (12 weeks) and middle-aged NOD/SCID mice (32 weeks), there were a large number of fibrous septum and collagen in the liver tissue of old NOD/SCID mice (43 weeks, 43 W). Immunohistochemical analysis unequivocally indicated heightened α-SMA content within the liver tissue of the 43 W mice, thereby underscoring aging's role in triggering the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. In addition, SA-β-gal staining as well as P21 expression were increased, and SIRT1 and SIRT3 expression were decreased in 43 W mice. A comprehensive evaluation encompassing transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence quantitative analysis elucidated compromised mitochondrial function and reduced antioxidant capacity in hepatocytes of the 43 W mice. Furthermore, the aging process activated the pro-fibrotic TGF-β-SMAD pathway, concurrently inducing hepatocellular inflammation. The results of the present study not only validate the successful construction of a spontaneous liver fibrosis mouse model through natural aging induction but also provide initial insights into the mechanisms underpinning age-induced liver fibrosis.

Ruan Hua Tang (RHT) and Ruan Hua Fang (RHF) are two Chinese herbal mixtures that have been used in clinical cancer treatment for decades. This study validated our hypothesis that RHT and RHF can inhibit lung tumor development in the mouse model of Benzo(a)pyrene-induced lung tumorigenesis. An RHT oral solution was diluted to 9% and 18% in water. RHF was mixed into the diet at 15% and 30% of total food in the final doses. Two weeks after injecting BP into mice, we administered RHT and RHF for eighteen weeks. We found that 9% and 18% RHT reduced tumor multiplicity by 36.05% and 38.81% (both p < 0.05) and the tumor load by 27.13% and 55.94% ( p < 0.05); 15% and 30% RHF inhibited tumor multiplicity by 12.75% and 39.84% ( p < 0.01) and the tumor load by 18.38% and 61.68% ( p < 0.05). Ki67 expressions in the 9% and 18% RHT groups were 19.55% and 11.51%, significantly lower than in the control (33.64%). The Ki67 levels in the 15% and 30% RHF groups were 15.56% and 14.04%, significantly lower than in the control (27.86%). Caspase 3 expressions in the 9% and 18% RHT groups were 5.24% and 7.32%, significantly higher than in the control (2.39%). Caspase 3 levels in the 15% and 30% RHF groups were 6.53% and 4.74%, significantly higher than in the control (2.07%). The bio-absorption was confirmed via a pharmacokinetic test. This study showed that RHT and RHF are safe and can inhibit lung tumor development, with anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects.

Due to their versatile and unique properties, tantalum-based thin films have been extensively studied. However, tantalum is susceptible to oxidation due to its higher chemical activity, which is crucial regardless of whether oxidations of Ta are beneficial or detrimental. Therefore, the oxidation of Ta during material processing, especially without conscious means, should be taken seriously. In this study, pure Ta films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering under set procedure parameters. The effects of base pressure and substrate temperature on the degree of oxidation of Ta films were investigated. The results revealed that the magnitude of the base pressure directly affects the oxidation state of the as-deposited Ta films. When preferably avoiding the oxidation of sputtered Ta films, the base pressure should be controlled below 4.4 × 10 -4 Pa. The substrate temperature has little effect on the oxidation state of the as-deposited Ta films under a base pressure ranging from about 10 -2 Pa to 10 -4 . We hope that this study can provide some references for controlling the oxidation states of Ta involved in relevant film preparation.

Both social and motor development play an essential role in an individual's physical, psychological, and social well-being. It is essential to conduct a dynamic analysis at multiple time points during the developmental process as it helps us better understand and evaluate the trajectory and changes in individual development. Recently, some studies found that mutations in the BRSK2 gene may contribute to motor impairments, delays in achieving motor milestones, and deficits in social behavior and communication skills in patients. However, little is known about the dynamic analysis of social and motor development at multiple time points during the development of the brsk2 gene. We generated a novel brsk2 -deficient ( brsk2ab -/- ) zebrafish model through CRISPR/Cas9 editing and conducted comprehensive morphological and neurobehavioral evaluations, including that of locomotor behaviors, social behaviors, and anxiety behaviors from the larval to adult stages of development. Compared to wild-type zebrafish, brsk2ab -/- zebrafish exhibited a catch-up growth pattern of body length and gradually improved locomotor activities during the developmental process. In contrast, multimodal behavior tests showed that the brsk2ab -/- zebrafish displayed escalating social deficiency and anxiety-like behaviors over time. We reported for the first time that the brsk2 gene had dynamic regulatory effects on motor and social development. It helps us understand developmental trends, capture changes, facilitate early interventions, and provide personalized support and development opportunities for individuals.

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is a specific pathogen of Bombyx mori that can significantly impede agricultural development. Accumulating evidence indicates that the viral proliferation in the host requires an ample supply of energy. However, the correlative reports of baculovirus are deficient, especially on the acetylation modification of tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) metabolic enzymes. Our recent quantitative analysis of protein acetylome revealed that mitochondrial aconitase (ACO2) could be modified by (de)acetylation at lysine 56 (K56) during the BmNPV infection; however, the underlying mechanism is yet unknown. In order to understand this regulatory mechanism, the modification site K56 was mutated to arginine (Lys56Arg; K56R) to mimic deacetylated lysine. The results showed that mimic deacetylated mitochondrial ACO2 restricted enzymatic activity. Although the ATP production was enhanced after viral infection, K56 deacetylation of ACO2 suppressed BmN cellular ATP levels and mitochondrial membrane potential by affecting citrate synthase and isocitrate dehydrogenase activities compared with wild-type ACO2. Furthermore, the deacetylation of exogenous ACO2 lowered BmNPV replication and generation of progeny viruses. In summary, our study on ACO2 revealed the potential mechanism underlying WT ACO2 promotes the proliferation of BmNPV and K56 deacetylation of ACO2 eliminates this promotional effect, which might provide novel insights for developing antiviral strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

In wireless communication, to fully utilize the spectrum and energy efficiency of the system, it is necessary to obtain the channel state information (CSI) of the link. However, in Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) systems, CSI feedback wastes part of the spectrum resources. In order to save spectrum resources, the CSI needs to be compressed. However, many current deep-learning algorithms have complex structures and a large number of model parameters. When the computational and storage resources are limited, the large number of model parameters will decrease the accuracy of CSI feedback, which cannot meet the application requirements. In this paper, we propose a neural network-based CSI feedback model, Mix&#95;Multi&#95;TransNet, which considers both the spatial characteristics and temporal sequence of the channel, aiming to provide higher feedback accuracy while reducing the number of model parameters. Through experiments, it is found that Mix&#95;Multi&#95;TransNet achieves higher accuracy than the traditional CSI feedback network in both indoor and outdoor scenes. In the indoor scene, the NMSE gains of Mix&#95;Multi&#95;TransNet are 4.06 dB, 4.92 dB, 4.82 dB, and 6.47 dB for compression ratio η = 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, respectively. In the outdoor scene, the NMSE gains of Mix&#95;Multi&#95;TransNet are 3.63 dB, 6.24 dB, 4.71 dB, 4.60 dB, and 2.93 dB for compression ratio η = 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, respectively.

Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) are a kind of crystalline porous material that have shown great potential for photocatalysis on account of their mild synthesis conditions and high crystallinity. Perylene-based photocatalysts have great potential for photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production due to their excellent photochemical stability and broad spectral absorption. In this work, we designed and synthesized a high crystalline perylene-based HOF (PTBA) and an amorphous analog sample PTPA for photocatalytic H 2 O 2 evolution. Under visible light irradiation, PTBA shows a higher photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production rate of 2699 μmol g -1  h -1 than PTPA (2176 μmol g -1  h -1 ) and an apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 2.96% at 500 nm. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of PTBA is attributed to the promotion of the separation and transfer of photocarriers due to its high crystallinity. This work provides a precedent for the application of HOFs in the field of photocatalytic H 2 O 2 generation.

There is a high clinical unmet need to improve outcomes for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, either with the discovery of new therapies or biomarkers that can track response to treatment more efficiently than imaging. We report an innovative approach that will generate renewed interest in using circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to monitor treatment efficacy, which, in this case, used PDAC patients receiving an exploratory new therapy, poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor (PARPi)-niraparib-as a case study. CTCs were enumerated from whole blood using a microfluidic approach that affinity captures epithelial and mesenchymal CTCs using anti-EpCAM and anti-FAPα monoclonal antibodies, respectively. These antibodies were poised on the surface of two separate microfluidic devices to discretely capture each subpopulation for interrogation. The isolated CTCs were enumerated using immunophenotyping to produce a numerical ratio consisting of the number of mesenchymal to epithelial CTCs (denoted "Φ"), which was used as an indicator of response to therapy, as determined using computed tomography (CT). A decreasing value of Φ during treatment was indicative of tumor response to the PARPi and was observed in 88% of the enrolled patients (n = 31). Changes in Φ during longitudinal testing were a better predictor of treatment response than the current standard CA19-9. We were able to differentiate between responders and non-responders using ΔΦ ( p = 0.0093) with higher confidence than CA19-9 ( p = 0.033). For CA19-9 non-producers, ΔΦ correctly predicted the outcome in 72% of the PDAC patients. Sequencing of the gDNA extracted from affinity-selected CTC subpopulations provided information that could be used for patient enrollment into the clinical trial based on their tumor mutational status in DNA repair genes.

Ultra-high Temperature Oxidation-Resistant Alloys (UTORAs) have received a lot of attention due to the increased research demand for deep space exploration around the world. However, UTORAs have the disadvantages of easy oxidation and chalking. So, in this study, a UTORAs is prepared by hot-press sintering on VZrHfNbTa (HEA: High Entropy Alloys can generally be defined as more than five elements by the equal atomic ratio or close to the equal atomic ratio alloying, the mixing entropy is higher than the melting entropy of the alloy, generally forming a high entropy solid solution phase of a class of alloys.) a substrate coated with hafnium. The bonding mechanism, resistance to high-temperature oxidation, and hardness of the sample tests are carried out. The results show that zirconium in the matrix will diffuse into the hafnium coating during the high-temperature sintering process and form the HfZr alloy transition layer, the coating thickness of the composite is about 120 μm, and the diffusion distance of zirconium in the hafnium coating is about 60 μm, this transition layer chemically combines the hafnium coating and the HEA substrate into a monolithic alloy composite. The results of high-temperature oxidation experiments show that the oxidation degree of the hafnium-coated VZrHfNbTa composite material is significantly lower than that of the VZrHfNbTa HEA after oxidation in air at 1600 °C for 5 h. The weight gain of the coated sample after oxidation is 56.56 mg/cm 2 , which is only 57.7% compared to the weight gain of the uncoated sample (98.09 mg/cm 2 for uncoated), and the surface of the uncoated HEA shows obvious dents, oxidation, and pulverization occurred on the surface and interior of the sample. In contrast, the coated composite alloy sample mainly undergoes surface oxidation sintering to form a dense HfO 2 protective layer, and the internal oxidation of the hafnium-coated VZrHfNbTa composite alloy is significantly lower than that of the uncoated VZrHfNbTa HEA.

The ovary is a highly susceptible organ to senescence, and granulosa cells (GCs) have a crucial role in oocyte development promotion and overall ovarian function maintenance. As age advances, GCs apoptosis and dysfunction escalate, leading to ovarian aging. However, the molecular mechanisms underpinning ovarian aging remain poorly understood. In this study, we observed a correlation between the age-related decline of fertility and elevated expression levels of miR-143-3p in female mice. Moreover, miR-143-3p was highly expressed in senescent ovarian GCs. The overexpression of miR-143-3p in GCs not only hindered their proliferation and induced senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) but also impeded steroid hormone synthesis by targeting ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 E3 ( Ube2e3 ) and luteinizing hormone and human chorionic gonadotropin receptor ( Lhcgr ). These findings suggest that miR-143-3p plays a substantial role in senescence and steroid hormone synthesis in GCs, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target for interventions in the ovarian aging process.

Patients with human papillomavirus-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-negative HNSCC) have worse outcomes than HPV-positive HNSCC. In our study, we used a published dataset and investigated the microbes enriched in molecularly classified tumor groups. We showed that microbial signatures could distinguish Hypoxia/Immune phenotypes similar to the gene expression signatures. Furthermore, we identified three highly-correlated microbes with immune processes that are crucial for immunotherapy response. The survival of patients in a molecularly heterogenous group shows significant differences based on the co-abundance of the three microbes. Overall, we present evidence that tumor-associated microbiota are critical components of the tumor ecosystem that may impact tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy response. The results of our study warrant future investigation to experimentally validate the conclusions, which have significant impacts on clinical decision-making, such as treatment selection.

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has brought an unprecedented public health crisis and continues to threaten humanity due to the persistent emergence of new variants. Therefore, developing more effective and broad-spectrum therapeutic and prophylactic drugs against infection by SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, as well as future emerging CoVs, is urgently needed. In this study, we screened several US FDA-approved drugs and identified phenothiazine derivatives with the ability to potently inhibit the infection of pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 and distinct variants of concern (VOCs), including B.1.617.2 (Delta) and currently circulating Omicron sublineages XBB and BQ.1.1, as well as pseudotyped SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Mechanistic studies suggested that phenothiazines predominantly inhibited SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus (PsV) infection at the early stage and potentially bound to the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, which may prevent the proteolytic cleavage of the S protein, thereby exhibiting inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In summary, our findings suggest that phenothiazines can serve as a potential broad-spectrum therapeutic drug for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as the infection of future emerging human coronaviruses (HCoVs).

MXene, a new intercalation pseudocapacitive electrode material, possesses a high theoretical capacitance for supercapacitor application. However, limited accessible interlayer space and active sites are major challenges to achieve this high capacitance in practical application. In order to stimulate the electrochemical activity of MXene to a greater extent, herein, a method of hydrothermal treatment in NaOH solution with reducing reagent-citric acid is first proposed. After this treatment, the gravimetric capacitance of MXene exhibits a significant enhancement, about 250% of the original value, reaching 543 F g -1 at 2 mV s -1 . This improved electrochemical performance is attributed to the tailoring of an interlayer structure and surface chemistry state. An expanded and homogenized interlayer space is created, which provides enough space for electrolyte ions storage. The -F terminations are replaced with O-containing groups, which enhances the hydrophilicity, facilitating the electrolyte's accessibility to MXene's surface, and makes MXene show stronger adsorption for electrolyte ion-H + , providing sufficient electrochemical active sites. The change in terminations further leads to the increase in Ti valence, which becomes more prone to reduction. This work establishes full knowledge of the rational MXene design for electrochemical energy storage applications.

Type II grass carp reovirus (GCRV-II) with high pathogenicity and infectivity causes severe hemorrhagic disease, which leads to extensive death in the grass carp and black carp aquaculture. However, the early invasion portal remains unclear. In this study, we explored the invasion portal, time, and pathway of GCRV-II by immersion infection in grass carp. Through the detection of the infected grass carp external body surface tissues, most of them could be detected to carry GCRV-II within 45 min except for the skin covered by scales. Further shortening the duration of infection, we proved that GCRV-II rapidly invades through the nostril (especially), gill, and skin on head at only 5 min post-immersion, rather than merely by adhesion. Subsequently, visual localization investigations of GCRV-II were conducted on the nostril, olfactory system (olfactory bulb and olfactory tract), and brain via immunofluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. We found that few viruses were located in the nostril at 5 min post-immersion infection, while a significantly increased quantity of viruses were distributed in all of the examined tissues at 45 min. Furthermore, the semi-qRT-PCR and Western blotting results of different infection times confirmed that GCRV-II invades grass carp via the nostril-olfactory system-brain axis and then viral replication unfolds. These results revealed the infection mechanism of GCRV-II in terms of the invasion portal, time, and pathway in grass carp. This study aims to understand the invasion mode of GCRV-II in grass carp, thus providing theoretical support for the prevention and control strategies of hemorrhagic disease.

The most significant technical challenges of current aerial image object-detection tasks are the extremely low accuracy for detecting small objects that are densely distributed within a scene and the lack of semantic information. Moreover, existing detectors with large parameter scales are unsuitable for aerial image object-detection scenarios oriented toward low-end GPUs. To address this technical challenge, we propose efficient-lightweight You Only Look Once (EL-YOLO), an innovative model that overcomes the limitations of existing detectors and low-end GPU orientation. EL-YOLO surpasses the baseline models in three key areas. Firstly, we design and scrutinize three model architectures to intensify the model's focus on small objects and identify the most effective network structure. Secondly, we design efficient spatial pyramid pooling (ESPP) to augment the representation of small-object features in aerial images. Lastly, we introduce the alpha-complete intersection over union (α-CIoU) loss function to tackle the imbalance between positive and negative samples in aerial images. Our proposed EL-YOLO method demonstrates a strong generalization and robustness for the small-object detection problem in aerial images. The experimental results show that, with the model parameters maintained below 10 M while the input image size was unified at 640 × 640 pixels, the AP S of the EL-YOLOv5 reached 10.8% and 10.7% and enhanced the APs by 1.9% and 2.2% compared to YOLOv5 on two challenging aerial image datasets, DIOR and VisDrone, respectively.