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Summary: Cracks can develop in high‐rise buildings because of long‐term environmental changes and extreme loading events such as strong winds or earthquakes. Although deep learning‐based identification methods can efficiently identify cracks, the accuracy of crack identification in high‐rise buildings needs to be improved due to the lack of crack datasets specifically related to high‐rise structures. Moreover, the number of available images of cracks in high‐rise is limited. To this end, this paper establishes an intelligent crack identification method based on a photorealistic synthetic modeling technique. First, a computer graphics (CG) model of a high‐rise building with assumed damage is constructed. Subsequently, the CG model is utilized to generate a dataset that includes photorealistic images of the high‐rise building as well as corresponding labels for various components and types of damage. The generated dataset is then used to train a DeepLabv3 + neural network for structural component and damage identification, followed by validation by employing images of both synthetic and full‐scale high‐rise buildings. The trained network can accurately identify different components in images of the full‐scale, high‐rise building and identify cracks that are intentionally synthesized in those images. The results show that the synthetic dataset generated by the CG model not only allows for fast and efficient labeling for the purpose of neural network training but also outperforms methods that do not consider any application‐specific context in crack identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) is an effective treatment for hemangiomas or highly vascular tumors. However, conventional embolic agents have limitations such as off‐target embolization, regurgitation, and embolic migration, which can affect the efficacy and safety of embolic therapy. The study designed a highly elastic modified embolic scaffold constructed with Polycaprolactone/Gelatin (PCL/GEL) nanofibers to achieve precise in situ embolization in vivo. The embolic scaffolds can be extruded to a small size for smooth intervention in the vessel and rapidly regain their volume when reaching the target area. The results of the in vitro study indicate that the embolic scaffolds modified with lysine and PEI exhibit good biocompatibility and functionality. Furthermore, the in vivo rabbit ear embolization test demonstrated that the modified embolic scaffolds fit closely to the vessels and induced a significant amount of neo tissue deposition in the embolized area. The embolization process using the modified embolic scaffolds is safe and stable and results in more desirable embolization outcomes compared to commercial gelatin embolic agents. In conclusion, the modified highly elastic embolic scaffolds designed in this study offer a novel method for in situ embolization that has potential for clinical application in TAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much more attention has been paid to the contamination of Alternaria toxins because of food contamination and the threat to human health. In this study, an ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous detection of the prototypical alternariol, alternariol monomethylether, and the metabolites 4‐oxhydryl alternariol, and alternariol monomethylether 3‐sulfate ammonium salt of Alternaria toxins. The positive samples were used as matrix samples to optimize the different experimental conditions. 0.01% formic acid solution and acetonitrile were used as the mobile phase, and analytes were scanned in negative electron spray ionization under multiple reaction monitoring, and quantitative determination by isotope internal standard method. Application of this method to samples of human plasma and urine showed the detection of the above analytes. The results showed that the recoveries were from 80.40% to 116.4%, intra‐day accuracy was between 0.6% and 8.0%, and inter‐day accuracy was between 1.1% and 12.1%. The limit of detection of the four analytes ranged from 0.02 to 0.6 µg/L in urine, and 0.02 to 0.5 µg/L in plasma, respectively. Thus, the developed method was rapid and accurate for the simultaneous detection of analytes and provided a theoretical basis for the risk assessment of Alternaria toxins for human exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate the exposure–response (E‐R) relationship, including exposure–efficacy and exposure–safety, of ropeginterferon alfa‐2b treatment in patients with polycythaemia vera (PV). Methods: Based on the results of the phase II trial A20‐202 regarding ropeginterferon alfa‐2b in patients with PV, E‐R analyses were performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the given dosing regimen. The E‐R analyses were based on logistic and linear regression and the relationship between exposure to ropeginterferon alfa‐2b and key efficacy and safety variables. The key efficacy variables included complete haematologic response (CHR) and reduction of the driver mutation JAK2V617F. The safety variable was treatment‐related adverse events (TRAEs). Results: A clear relationship between the exposure to ropeginterferon alfa‐2b and CHR was observed, with an increase in drug exposure resulting in an increased probability of achieving CHR. Similar CHR probabilities were observed in the third and fourth quantiles of the average concentration at Week 24. The results from the exposure–JAK2V617F model indicated that the JAK2V617F allele burden decreased with increasing exposure to ropeginterferon alfa‐2b and baseline body surface area. Exposure–safety analysis revealed a risk of AEs associated with transaminase abnormalities, which were not associated with clinical significance. Conclusions: Our analyses have shown that patients with PV treated with ropeginterferon alfa‐2b had an increased probability of achieving CHR and a molecular response with acceptable safety risks at the 250–350–500 μg titration dosing regimen. This study has provided the relevant data for the application of a biologics licence of ropeginterferon alfa‐2b for PV treatment in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study takes the tight sandstone of the lower sub‐member of the first member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation (Es1x) in the Suning area, Raoyang Sag, Bohai Bay Basin. Furthermore, it determines the rock type of the middle‐deep tight sandstone through lithologic profiling, core observation and log data analysis. The genetic control factors of tight sandstone in the study area are analysed using conventional thin section, pore‐casted thin section and scanning electron microscope, and the characteristics and genetic control factors of tight sandstone reservoirs are summarized. The research results show that the tight sandstones in this area are primarily feldspathic sandstone and feldspathic lithic sandstone, with high quartz contents, around 61.50%. The average porosity of the reservoir in the study area is 4.69%, and the average permeability is 2.92 mD, which are characteristics of low‐porosity and low‐permeability reservoirs. Through research, it has been found that the distribution of sedimentary facies and diagenesis in the study area control the development and distribution of 'sweet spots'. Both compaction and cementation reduce the physical properties of the reservoir, while dissolution can increase porosity, thereby increasing the physical properties of the reservoir; dissolution resulted in an increase of approximately 3.57%–3.69% in the porosity of the tight reservoir in the study area, with an average porosity increase of 3.63%, and is the main controlling factor for the development of 'sweet spots' in the reservoir. The results provide an important basis for guiding the exploration and development of tight sandstone oil and gas in the lower sub‐member of the first member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation (Es1x)in the Suning area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Microbiome Protocols eBook (MPB) is a valuable resource that provides standardized wet-lab protocols for microbiome research. The first edition, launched in 2020, received widespread acclaim and featured 152 meticulously curated protocols. The MPB aims to bridge the gaps in microbiome protocols and facilitate progress in the field by addressing challenges in wet experiments and data analysis. The upcoming second edition will incorporate updates from the first edition and expand into new areas, covering innovative methodologies and emerging technologies. The MPB is an open-access resource that is easily accessible to all researchers. [Extracted from the article]

Understanding the diffusion law of cement slurry is the key to analyzing and evaluating the reinforcement effect of grouting. This study aimed to reveal the flow grouting mechanism of slurry in the reserved space between piles and soil and the penetration diffusion rule of slurry in the soil around the piles. For this purpose, the grouting slurry was regarded as a Newtonian fluid. The Navier–Stokes equations of fluid mechanics and renormalization group k–ε model were used to study the flow diffusion of slurry in the reserved space around a pile for grouting the drilling with prestressed concrete pipes. The permeability of soil slurry was determined using Darcy's law, and the flow field of slurry during grouting was numerically simulated. The results showed that the flow velocity of slurry and the reinforcement effect of grouting decrease gradually as the flow path extends. The radial flow of slurry in the grouting pipe shows a clear trend of circumferential diffusion. The slurry thickness in the reserved space for grouting decreases with an increase in the distance from the grouting outlet. Its attenuation trend becomes more obvious with increasing grouting height. The grouting thickness directly reflects the filling effect of slurry and is an important index to evaluate the grouting effect of drilling with prestressed concrete pipes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: RCF1 is a highly conserved DEAD‐box RNA helicase found in yeast, plants, and mammals. Studies about the functions of RCF1 in plants are limited. Here, we uncovered the functions of RCF1 in Arabidopsis thaliana as a player in pri‐miRNA processing and splicing, as well as in pre‐mRNA splicing. A mutant with miRNA biogenesis defects was isolated, and the defect was traced to a recessive point mutation in RCF1 (rcf1‐4). We show that RCF1 promotes D‐body formation and facilitates the interaction between pri‐miRNAs and HYL1. Finally, we show that intron‐containing pri‐miRNAs and pre‐mRNAs exhibit a global splicing defect in rcf1‐4. Together, this work uncovers roles for RCF1 in miRNA biogenesis and RNA splicing in Arabidopsis. Significance Statement: RCF1 promotes not only the processing of pri‐miRNAs, but also the splicing of intron‐containing pri‐miRNAs, therefore promoting miRNA biogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies suggested that patients with epilepsy might be able to forecast their own seizures. This study aimed to assess the relationships between premonitory symptoms, perceived seizure risk, and future and recent self‐reported and electroencephalographically (EEG)‐confirmed seizures in ambulatory patients with epilepsy in their natural home environments. Methods: Long‐term e‐surveys were collected from patients with and without concurrent EEG recordings. Information obtained from the e‐surveys included medication adherence, sleep quality, mood, stress, perceived seizure risk, and seizure occurrences preceding the survey. EEG seizures were identified. Univariate and multivariate generalized linear mixed‐effect regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for the assessment of the relationships. Results were compared with the seizure forecasting classifiers and device forecasting literature using a mathematical formula converting OR to equivalent area under the curve (AUC). Results: Fifty‐four subjects returned 10 269 e‐survey entries, with four subjects acquiring concurrent EEG recordings. Univariate analysis revealed that increased stress (OR = 2.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12–3.61, AUC =.61, p =.02) was associated with increased relative odds of future self‐reported seizures. Multivariate analysis showed that previous self‐reported seizures (OR = 5.37, 95% CI = 3.53–8.16, AUC =.76, p <.001) were most strongly associated with future self‐reported seizures, and high perceived seizure risk (OR = 3.34, 95% CI = 1.87–5.95, AUC =.69, p <.001) remained significant when prior self‐reported seizures were added to the model. No correlation with medication adherence was found. No significant association was found between e‐survey responses and subsequent EEG seizures. Significance: Our results suggest that patients may tend to self‐forecast seizures that occur in sequential groupings and that low mood and increased stress may be the result of previous seizures rather than independent premonitory symptoms. Patients in the small cohort with concurrent EEG showed no ability to self‐predict EEG seizures. The conversion from OR to AUC values facilitates direct comparison of performance between survey and device studies involving survey premonition and forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 21 May 2021 (local time), an Mw 6.1 earthquake struck the Yangbi County, Yunnan Province, China. The finite fault stochastic simulation approach is usually used to simulate ground motions in high‐frequency band (f > 1 Hz). Model parameters needed for earthquake ground motion simulation mainly include source, path, and site. In the high‐frequency ground motion simulation program widely used in earthquake engineering, the reciprocal of corner frequency is typically used to define the source rise time; however, the complete step‐wise derivation process is unavailable. In deriving the static corner frequency f0, source rise time is typically estimated to be the time required for the rupture to reach 50% of the final location, and the source rise time then can be obtained as 0.27/f0, which is consistent with the hypothesis of corner frequency and rupture velocity, and the correlation and integrity between parameters are established. This study also focuses on the influence of different source rise times and path durations on the simulation results, such as Fourier acceleration spectrum, pseudo‐spectral acceleration, and peak ground acceleration. The results show that the source rise time recommended in this simulation can improve the accuracy of near‐fault ground motion simulations. This study provides suggestions for a reasonable selection of path duration in different engineering applications. Key Points: The stochastic finite‐fault method was applied to simulate the near‐field ground motion of the Yangbi earthquake in ChinaThe input parameters were selected and the simulated and observed results were comparedThe effects of path duration and source rise time on the synthetized results were analyzed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The letter discusses a study on brain conductivity in human focal epilepsy and provides additional insights related to the implant effect, electrical stimulation, and behavioral state. The authors compare their own findings on impedance dynamics with the results of the study, noting that they are largely consistent. They also highlight the relationship between tissue conductivity and behavioral state, such as the circadian cycle and sleep-wake changes. The authors commend the study but caution that conductivity measurements are complex due to various factors, including electrode-tissue interface effects and immunologic dynamics. They suggest that future measurements should consider four-point conductivity measurements and the circadian dynamics of brain tissue conductivity. [Extracted from the article]

Two planar coupled line baluns without vias are designed in this letter. Because of asymmetrical configurations, a virtual port is introduced for even–odd mode analysis, showing the proposed baluns are equivalent to an open‐shorted anti‐coupled line section in odd mode and an open–open coupled line section in even mode. Consequently, bandpass response is obtained in odd mode while suppression is available in even mode, realizing the out‐of‐phase power splitting characteristic. Due to different input and output impedances of the open‐shorted anti‐coupled line sections, the designed baluns have the functionality of impedance transformation, and S‐parameters are then calculated to verify the performance as well. For validation, the two proposed baluns are fabricated with impedance transformers for a 50 Ω test system. The measured results exhibit the two baluns have 16.6% and 18.1% impedance bandwidth centered at 3.5 GHz with an insertion loss of 3.6 and 3.7 dB, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The factors that influence seizure timing are poorly understood, and seizure unpredictability remains a major cause of disability. Work in chronobiology has shown that cyclical physiological phenomena are ubiquitous, with daily and multiday cycles evident in immune, endocrine, metabolic, neurological, and cardiovascular function. Additionally, work with chronic brain recordings has identified that seizure risk is linked to daily and multiday cycles in brain activity. Here, we provide the first characterization of the relationships between the cyclical modulation of a diverse set of physiological signals, brain activity, and seizure timing. Methods: In this cohort study, 14 subjects underwent chronic ambulatory monitoring with a multimodal wrist‐worn sensor (recording heart rate, accelerometry, electrodermal activity, and temperature) and an implanted responsive neurostimulation system (recording interictal epileptiform abnormalities and electrographic seizures). Wavelet and filter–Hilbert spectral analyses characterized circadian and multiday cycles in brain and wearable recordings. Circular statistics assessed electrographic seizure timing and cycles in physiology. Results: Ten subjects met inclusion criteria. The mean recording duration was 232 days. Seven subjects had reliable electroencephalographic seizure detections (mean = 76 seizures). Multiday cycles were present in all wearable device signals across all subjects. Seizure timing was phase locked to multiday cycles in five (temperature), four (heart rate, phasic electrodermal activity), and three (accelerometry, heart rate variability, tonic electrodermal activity) subjects. Notably, after regression of behavioral covariates from heart rate, six of seven subjects had seizure phase locking to the residual heart rate signal. Significance: Seizure timing is associated with daily and multiday cycles in multiple physiological processes. Chronic multimodal wearable device recordings can situate rare paroxysmal events, like seizures, within a broader chronobiology context of the individual. Wearable devices may advance the understanding of factors that influence seizure risk and enable personalized time‐varying approaches to epilepsy care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work prepares nanocrystalline tungsten carbide (WC) powder using conventional ball milling or plasma milling (P‐milling) to process tungsten trioxide (WO3)–carbon (C) mixtures, with subsequent carbothermal reduction. The aim is to assess the effects of a discharge plasma on the microstructure of these materials. The results indicates that WC powders with particle sizes of less than 100 nm could be fabricated through heating at a relatively low temperature of 1150 °C for 1 h under vacuum after P‐milling. This process is found to allow a lower processing temperature and provided more complete carburization in comparison with conventional ball milling. P‐milling is determined to produce more loosely adhering WO3 nanoparticles and a higher surface area, resulting in more reactive sites and a larger contact area between WO3 nanoparticles and C atoms. This technique simultaneously generates more oxygen vacancies and defects on the surfaces of the WO3 and C, respectively, based on the use of a plasma discharge. It is evident that this new technology permits nanocrystalline WC to be readily obtained from WO3 and C in a reduced time span and at a lower cost and greater efficiency. This technique could also be used to fabricate WC nanopowders on an industrial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tumour repopulation initiated by residual tumour cells in response to cytotoxic therapy has been described clinically and biologically, but the mechanisms are unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the mechanisms for the tumour‐promoting effect in dying cells and for tumour repopulation in surviving tongue cancer cells. Methods: Tumour repopulation in vitro and in vivo was represented by luciferase activities. The differentially expressed cytokines in the conditioned medium (CM) were identified using a cytokine array. Gain or loss of function was investigated using inhibitors, neutralising antibodies, shRNAs and ectopic overexpression strategies. Results: We found that dying tumour cells undergoing cytotoxic therapy increase the growth of living tongue cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Dying tumour cells create amphiregulin (AREG)‐ and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)‐based extracellular environments via cytotoxic treatment‐induced endoplasmic reticulum stress. This environment stimulates growth by activating lysine acetyltransferase 6B (KAT6B)‐dependent nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) signalling in living tumour cells. As direct targets of NF‐κB, miR‐22 targets KAT6B to repress its expression, but long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) (XLOC_003973 and XLOC_010383) counter the effect of miR‐22 to enhance KAT6B expression. Moreover, we detected increased AREG and bFGF protein levels in the blood of tongue cancer patients with X‐box binding protein‐1 (XBP1) activation in tumours under cytotoxic therapy and found that XBP1 activation is associated with poor prognosis of patients. We also detected activation of miR‐22/lncRNA/KAT6B/NF‐κB signalling in recurrent cancers compared to paired primary tongue cancers. Conclusions: We identified the molecular mechanisms of cell death‐induced tumour repopulation in tongue cancer. Such insights provide new avenues to identify predictive biomarkers and effective strategies to address cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While helix has elegant biomimetic structures and functionalities, it still remains a big question how the nanoscale helicity evolved from the molecular chiral building blocks across length scales. Herein, macrocyclic triangles composed of achiral edges and chiral vertices were rationally designed, in which the planar chirality emerged due to the restriction of edge rotation by intermolecular stackings and led to a unique chiral self‐assembly. In contrast to the solution systems where the chiroptical property is exclusively dominated by the point chiral vertices, the emerged planar chirality was found to control the chiral self‐assembly, resulting the nanotwist with the handedness determined by the planar chirality. Our work unveiled the self‐assembly behaviors of macrocyclic conformers for the first time and provided a deep understanding on the macrocyclic chirality evolution including the excited‐state chirality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the mobile Internet of Things (MIoT) for online English education has quickly become an important means and main tool for people to learn and communicate English due it has characteristics and advantages such as high efficiency and no geographical restrictions. However, most MIoT for online English education is vulnerable to security attacks because of the online learning device's weak security protection measures and their communication channels with open wireless nature. To address these issues, herein, a novel secure authentication scheme in 6G‐enabled MIoT for online English education is proposed. The proposed authentication scheme does not rely on the ideal tamper‐proof device. In this scheme, the certificate and key are updated in real‐time to resist side‐channel attacks, and pseudonym seeds are used to generate pseudonyms to hide user's identity information and realise identity privacy protection. The scheme allows the attacker to continuously obtain private key information. Detailed security analysis proves that the authors' scheme is unforgeable to adaptive selection message attacks and can satisfy the security requirements of 6G‐enabled MIoT for online English education. In addition, compared with other related studies, the proposed scheme achieves better performance in terms of computation and communication costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncovering the contribution of anisotropic crystal facets in single‐crystalline photocatalysts is still a challenge in fundamental study. Here, the mechanism underlying facet junction‐dependent photocharge separation in polyhedral Cu2O is demonstrated, which is beneficial for understanding why 50‐faceted Cu2O exhibiting quaternary {100}/{110}/{111}/{522} facet junction possesses an enhanced photodegradation activity toward tetracycline than that of the 26‐faceted Cu2O exhibiting ternary {100}/{110}/{111} and 18‐faceted Cu2O exhibiting binary {100}/{110} facet junction. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and selective photodeposition results confirm that hierarchical facet junctions are formed in a 50‐faceted Cu2O, which could be regarded as one parallel connection between binary {110}/{111} and ternary {110}/{522}/{100} series facet junction for conduction band minimum, and another parallel connection between binary {100}/{522} and ternary {111}/{110}/{522} series facet junction for valence band maximum, leading to an unprecedented dual series‐parallel transfer pathway for more efficiently improved photocharge separation. Hopefully, this study would be a beneficial guideline for scientific researchers currently concentrating on the facet junction engineering of polyhedral photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of high‐performance electrocatalysts is significant to improve the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) speed in electrochemical systems. Here, the creation of novel non‐precious metal catalysts via knitting hypercrosslinked polymer (TPP‐HCP‐1) based on porphyrin as the building block which contains both mesopore and catalytic sites, is demonstrated. Interestingly, the TPP‐HCP can be converted into a nitrogen‐doped porous carbon skeleton through pyrolyzing the hybrid at 900 °C, which possesses an excellent ORR electrochemical performance in alkaline medium, with a more positive onset potential of 0.96 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode, the same in the following), half‐wave potential of 0.85 V, and higher diffusion limiting current density of 4.00 mA cm−2. Moreover, it also exhibits much higher stability, comparable selectivity, and better methanol tolerance than the commercial Pt/C. Making good use of their high ORR activity and easy fabrication makes it possible to use low‐cost FeCl3 as both catalysts for HCP precursors and metal dopant for the porphyrin‐based hypercrosslinked polymer (TPP‐HCP‐1), thus the obtained TPP‐HCP‐1 may offer novel ideation to construct non‐precious metal catalysts for practical electrocatalytic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facet junction (also called facet heterojunction or surface heterojunction) is defined as a complex polyhedral single crystal exposed to two, three, or four types of crystallographic planes, and is a promising platform for achieving multifunctional photocatalysis. Compared with simple polyhedral counterparts enclosed by the same crystallographic planes or conventional heterogeneous junctions, facet junctions have notable facet‐crosslinking effects arising from different electronic structures of heterogeneous facets, which is beneficial for promoting the transfer and separation of photogenerated charge carriers in a single‐crystalline semiconductor without the introduction of external species or interfaces. However, there are few specialized review articles on facet junction engineering of photocatalysts. Herein, an overview of facet junction‐based photocatalysts is provided based on the following aspects: elementary knowledge, microstructural features, intrinsic facet‐synergistic mechanisms, functional modifications, enhanced photocatalytic mechanisms, challenges and issues, and directions for future investigations. This review article will act as a theoretical base for researchers who are focused on facet‐dependent effects to design and fabricate new photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SnO2, storing Li through conversion and alloying reactions, has been regarded as one of the most typical anode materials and has been widely studied for both mechanism exploring and performance tuning. However, the structure of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed on the SnO2 electrode and its evolution process are rarely focused and still poorly understood. Herein, time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry is used to observe the bilayer hybrid structure of SEI formed on a SnO2 film. Multiscale observations reveal the SEI accumulation after alloying reactions and distinct dissolving of the organic layer at potentials above de‐conversion reactions, which results in the inorganic layer being directly exposed to the electrolyte and thus becoming thick and inhomogeneous. The broken and thick SEI causes rapid capacity decay and low Coulombic efficiencies (CEs) of 97.5%. Accordingly, it is demonstrated that, as the SnO2 is precoated with LiF or Li2CO3, a robust and thin SEI layer is induced to form and is stabilized in the continuous cycles, resulting in enhanced cycling stability and promoted CEs to 99.5%. This work adds new insights to the SEI evolution mechanisms on SnO2‐based anodes and suggests an effective strategy to create high performance metal oxide anode for Li‐ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the effect of insulin‐like growth factor 2 mRNA‐binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) on colorectal cancer (CRC) by recognizing the m6A modification of YAP mRNA thus activating ErbB2 expression. High expressions of IGF2BP2, YAP, and ErbB2 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of CRC cells and reduced their apoptosis. IGF2BP2 recognized the m6A on YAP mRNA and promoted the translation of mRNA. YAP regulated ErbB2 expression by promoting TEAD4 enrichment in ErbB2 promoter region. Therefore, IGF2BP2 promoted the expression of ErbB2 to enhance the proliferation, invasion and migration of CRC cells, to repress cell apoptosis, and to promote solid tumor formation in nude mice. IGF2BP2 activates the expression of ErbB2 by recognizing the m6A of YAP, thus affecting the cell cycle of CRC, inhibiting cell apoptosis, and promoting proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) plays an important role in the renal inflammatory response caused by hyperuricaemia. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms through which lncRNA is involved in endothelial injury induced by hyperuricaemia remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the regulatory role of lncRNA‐HOTAIR in high concentration of uric acid (HUA)–induced renal injury. We established hyperuricaemia mouse model and an in vitro uric acid (UA)–induced human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) injury model. In HUA‐treated HUVECs and hyperuricaemia mice, we observed increased HOTAIR and decreased miR‐22 expression. The expression of pyroptosis‐associated protein (NLRP3, Caspase‐1, GSDMD‐N, GSDMD‐FL) was increased. The release of LDH, IL‐1β and IL‐18 in cell supernatants and the sera of model mice was also increased. The proliferation of HUVECs stimulated by HUA was significantly inhibited, and the number of TUNEL‐positive cells in hyperuricaemia mouse kidney was increased. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter and RIP assays confirmed that HOTAIR promoted NLRP3 inflammasome activation by competitively binding miR‐22. In gain‐ or loss‐of‐function experiments, we found that HOTAIR and NLRP3 overexpression or miR‐22 knock down activated the NLRP3 inflammasome and promoted pyroptosis in HUA‐treated HUVECs, while NLRP3 and HOTAIR knockdown or a miR‐22 mimic exerted the opposite effects. Furthermore, in vivo experiments validated that HOTAIR knockdown alleviated renal inflammation in hyperuricaemia mice. In conclusion, we demonstrated that in hyperuricaemia, lncRNA‐HOTAIR promotes endothelial cell pyroptosis by competitively binding miR‐22 to regulate NLRP3 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxin‐like compounds, including sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen heterocycles, are widespread and toxic environmental pollutants. A wide variety of microorganisms capable of growing with aromatic polycyclic compounds are essential for bioremediation of the contaminated sites and the Earth's carbon cycle. Here, cells of Pseudomonas putida B6‐2 (ATCC BAA‐2545) grown in the presence of biphenyl (BP) are able to simultaneously degrade PAHs and their derivatives, even when they are present as mixtures, and tolerate high concentrations of extremely toxic solvents. Genetic analysis of the 6.37 Mb genome of strain B6‐2 reveals coexistence of gene clusters responsible for central catabolic systems of aromatic compounds and for solvent tolerance. We used functional transcriptomics and proteomics to identify the candidate genes associated with catabolism of BP and a mixture of BP, dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene and carbazole. Moreover, we observed dynamic changes in transcriptional levels with BP, including in metabolic pathways of aromatic compounds, chemotaxis, efflux pumps and transporters potentially involved in adaptation to PAHs. This study on the highly versatile activities of strain B6‐2 suggests it to be a potentially useful model for bioremediation of polluted sites and for investigation of biochemical, genetic and evolutionary aspects of Pseudomonas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the microstructure and microsegregation in a new type of Mg–6Al–4Zn–1.2Sn (wt%) cast magnesium alloy solidified at cooling rates from 4.5 × 101 °C s−1 to 2.3 × 103 °C s−1 is investigated. The results indicate that the secondary dendrite arm spacing and the average grain sizes decrease from 14.3 to 2.9 μm and from 187 to 78 μm, respectively, as the cooling rate increases from 4.5 × 101 °C s−1 to 2.3 × 103 °C s−1. The relationship between the secondary dendrite arm spacing (λ2) and cooling rate (R) is fitted as λ2 = 69.7 × R−0.42. When the alloy solidifies in the range of cooling rates, a new quasi‐crystalline I phase is formed due to faster solidification. The microsegregation ratios of Al, Zn, and Sn elements decrease significantly with the increase in cooling rate. Compared with the specimen solidified at 4.5 × 101 °C s−1, the microsegregation ratios of Al, Zn, and Sn of that solidified at a cooling rate of 2.3 × 103 °C s−1 decrease by 37.4%, 45.7%, and 31.6%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusing multimodal medical images into an integrated image, providing more details and rich information thereby facilitating medical diagnosis and therapy. Most of the existing multiscale‐based fusion methods ignore the correlations between the decomposition coefficients and lead to incomplete fusion results. A novel contextual hidden Markov model (CHMM) is proposed to construct the statistical model of contourlet coefficients. First, the pair brain images are decomposed into multiscale, multidirectional, and anisotropic subbands with a contourlet transform. Then the low‐frequency components are fused with the choose‐max rule. For the high‐frequency coefficients, the CHMM is learned with the EM algorithm, and incorporate with a novel fuzzy entropy‐based context, building the fuzzy relationships among these coefficients. Finally, the fused brain image is obtained by using the inverse contourlet transform. Fusion experiments on several multimodal brain images show the superiority of the proposed method in terms of both visual quality and some widely used objective measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Elevator scheduling algorithms generally denote methods used to calculate how to use the elevator. These algorithms can distribute elevators to various floors of a building, thereby achieving efficient transportation. From the perspective of the elevator scheduling problem, we address the load‐balancing problem for software‐defined networking (SDN) architecture and propose a load‐balancing method based on the elevator scheduling algorithm, LBBESA. We take advantage of the flexibility of the SDN architecture, obtain the real‐time load of the server through real‐time statistical analyses of the SDN switch port traffic by the controller, and combine this with the idea of regional elevator allocation to coordinate the connection of the client's requests and realize the load balancing of each server in the cluster. Simulation experiments show that, compared with the round‐robin algorithm, LBBESA is more effective in the load balancing of the server pool and can improve the throughput of the server pool to a certain extent. In addition, our scheme is easy to implement and has high scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the biological function and molecular mechanism of Sp2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Tissue microarray immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to study the expression of Sp2 in hepatocellular tissue and adjacent non‐neoplastic tissues (ANT). In HCC cell lines, the role of Sp2 was determined by in vitro experiments such as CCK8, clone formation test, Transwell assay, wound‐healing assay, and flow cytometry apoptotic analysis, and its possible mechanism was analyzed. Results: Compared with ANT, Sp2 expression in HCC tissues was significantly up‐regulated, which was strongly associated with stage of tumor and poor prognosis of patients. TCGA database were further confirmed these results. Besides, functional studies had shown that Sp2 knockdown not only leads to a decrease in cell proliferation and an increase in cell apoptosis but also inhibits the cells' abilities of migration and invasion. Sp2 silencing could inhibit the expression of TRIB3 protein and down‐regulate the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) level of HCC. Conclusion: Sp2 may play a part in promoting cancer by regulating TRIB3 protein, which may be a factor of prognostic and a potential new therapeutic target for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A direct coagulation casting method for silicon carbide ceramic suspension using dispersant crosslink reaction is reported. Polymer electrolyte (polyethyleneimine, PEI) was used as dispersant to prepare silicon carbide suspension. Common food additives (carboxymethyl cellulose, CMC) were used to coagulate the electrosteric stabilized silicon carbide suspension. There was a well disperse silicon carbide suspension with 0.2 wt% PEI at pH = 5‐6. Influence of coagulant on viscosity and zeta potential of the silicon carbide suspension was investigated. It indicates that the high solid loading silicon carbide suspension can be destabilized and coagulated at elevated temperature. It can be attribute to the gradual decrease of electrosteric force due to the crosslink reaction between PEI and CMC. Silicon carbide wet green body with compressive strength of 1.99 MPa could be demolded at 70°C which is higher than that prepared by traditional DCC and dispersant reaction method for nonoxide ceramics. Dense silicon carbide ceramics with relative density above 98.8% and 99.3% had been prepared by liquid phase pressureless and hot pressed sintering, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noncovalent interactions between all the neighboring components in biomolecular machines are responsible for their synchronized motion and thus complex functions. This strategy has rarely been used in multicomponent molecular machines. Here, we report four [3]rotaxane‐based molecular shuttles. Noncovalent interactions among the three components (two interacting macrocycles and one axle) not only cause a "systems‐level" effect on the relative positions of the two macrocycles along the axle, but also result in a synchronized motion of the two macrocycles when adding partial amount of stimuli. Moreover, the intermediate state with one shuttled macrocycle even exist predominantly in the solution during the titration of stimuli, which is theoretically unexpected for the [3]rotaxane with two non‐interacting rings. This biomimetic strategy may provide a method for constructing highly complex molecular machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of the regulation on photosynthesis after spaceflight has not been fully understood. To learn more information about this, we conducted a series of experiments of photosystem, including photosynthetic physiological characteristics (fluorescence parameters, pigment contents), gene expression and proteomic change. We want to examine the response of rice (Oryza sativaDN416), whose seeds were placed in Bio‐Radiation Box on the ShiJian‐10(SJ‐10) recoverable satellite. Our results demonstrated that the photosynthesis capacity of plants after spaceflight declined, compared to ground control plants. Specifically, Fv/Fm is significantly reduced for 7.5%. Chlorophyll content decreased in the three growth stages of rice, trefoil, tillering and mature stages. To further analyze changes under spaceflight environment, quantitative real‐time PCR technology and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantization (iTRAQ) labeling technology were deployed. We found that the gene expression of important subunits of key enzymes and important structures had been decreased after spaceflight. As for the results of changes in proteins, we discovered that the content of proteins related to electron transport and photosynthesis key enzyme declined. Our experiments can provide reference for further research to learn more about the effects of spaceflight on photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu2O/CuOx (x=0, 1) nanocomposites with well‐defined morphologies have been widely applied in catalytic reactions. However, people still understand less about tuning interfacial Cu‐O atomic structures for enhanced catalytic applications, and a special review on this topic has not been reported so far. Herein, we summarize our understanding on tuning interfacial Cu‐O atomic structures based on the literature, including the formation as well as evolution mechanism of Cu‐O interfaces in Cu2O/CuO and Cu2O/Cu systems, and the improved performances in the fields of CO oxidation, NOx oxidation, photoelectrocatalysis, water gas shift reaction, photodegradation of organic dyes, hydrogen evolution, and photoreduction of CO2. Finally, we briefly propose several potential research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report that a HOAc‐assisted protocol to synthesize 2,3‐disubstituted quinolines in water, from the available starting materials arylamine and aliphatic aldehyde. The arylamine substrates showed a good universality. While the phenylacetaldehyde led to a 2,3‐disubstituted quinoline product in a very low yield, accompanied by the mono‐substituted quinoline involving C−C cleavage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: A novel eigenvector‐based iteration procedure is developed for the free‐interface component modal synthesis (CMS) method. To derive the iteration formula, Kron's substructuring is employed to distribute the computations of subspace iteration, and the free‐interface component modes are chosen as the initial guess. Then, the modal transformation matrix of the first‐order approximated Kron's CMS method is proved to be the free‐interface component modes with one step of Kron's inverse iteration. The proposed CMS method has the advantages of both free‐interface CMS approximation and subspace iteration: on one hand, the CMS approximation provides a high‐quality initial guess and distributes the computational cost of the subspace iteration; on the other hand, the subspace iteration provides a more efficient way for truncation compensation and is compatible with using deflation, shifting, and restarting for further enhancements on the efficiency. Numerical examples show that the efficiency of the proposed method is higher than that of the conventional simultaneous iterative Kron's CMS method, especially for obtaining a large number of high‐precision modes. Moreover, the proposed method is as efficient as the global Lanczos method for first‐time analysis without parallelization while retaining the advantages of CMS methods for reanalysis tasks, parallelization, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel high-isolation wideband divider based on multi-layer elliptical defected ground structure coupler is presented along with its analytical theory and design procedure. The proposed divider could be conveniently applied for high- power applications with less loss for the absence of isolation resistors. The simulation results show that in 3.1–10.6 GHz, the return loss S11 and S22 are <−15 dB, the overall isolation S23 is <−20 dB and the best part achieves−50 dB. Insertion loss S21 and S31 are both >−4 dB within 4–9 GHz, and the amplitude and phase difference between port 2 and port 3 is <1 dB and 2°, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]