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The controllable synthesis of high-performance multicolor light-emitting carbon quantum dots (CQDs) that present photoinduced charge transfer and reservoir is of great concern for advancing their optical physics with versatile functions. In view of the incorporation of conjugated structures into phenylpropanoid building blocks, renewable lignin with abundant functional groups (e.g., hydroxyl, carboxyl, and methoxyl) is well-suited to prepare polycyclic aromatic CQDs. Herein, we propose a universal acidic approach to fabricating multicolor lignin-derived CQDs with heteroatom-doping for double-edged water decontamination involving switchable metal-ions sensing and photocatalytic antibiotic abatement. The N,S co-doped multicolor CQDs with a size distribution of 3.84–5.85 nm facilitate the selective identification abilities of the intricate metal-ion systems of Fe3+, Ag+, Cu2+, and/or Co2+ in a broad response range with excellent accuracy and the limit of detection of 0.55–2.77 μM. The tunable factors of quantum size, surface potential, electrostatic attraction, molecular state, and cation–π interactions that endow the unique CQDs with optical–structure–performance relationships provoked by lignin-oxidized cleavage are underlined. Taking advantage of the Fe-modified yellow-emitting CQDs with high yield, an efficient photocatalytic persulfate activation is proposed to mineralize tetracycline (∼80% removal efficiency at an ultrahigh concentration of 50 mg L−1) under visible-light irradiation. Benefitting from the successful armoring of Fe into the sp2 graphitic CQD structure with the Fe–OH and Fe–N complexes, the electron transition can be expedited via available light-harvesting behavior, enhanced photoactive sites, and Fe-ion durability. The synergetic photoredox manner of extracting electrons/holes maneuvers the generation of free radicals and singlet-oxygen, wherein the produced ˙O2− and surface charge migration-dominant photocatalytic reaction. With the perspective of achieving waste-treats-pollutant, this work not only delivers the rationally engineered lignin valorization but also highlights the well-defined CQDs in multifunctional water purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform systematic studies on the magnetic and magnetotransport properties of Fe1/3NbS2 single crystal. Results show that Fe1/3NbS2 is an antiferromagnet with strong perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy even in the paramagnetic state. The Fe1/3NbS2 nanoplate exhibits exotic magnetotransport characteristics with variation of temperature and magnetic field in the vicinity of Néel temperature. The temperature dependence of resistivity indicates that the magnetic field has a substantial effect on the Néel order of Fe1/3NbS2, and an intermediate phase occurs before the sample enters into the antiferromagnetic state. It is the field- or temperature-induced antiferromagnetic–intermediate phase and intermediate phase–paramagnetic phase transitions that lead to the novel magnetotransport characteristics in the vicinity of Néel temperature. The findings in this work will promote future studies based on two-dimensional antiferromagnetic spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain is a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Highly sensitive Aβ positron emission tomography (PET) imaging plays an essential role in diagnosing and evaluating the therapeutic effects of AD. Aim: To synthesize a new Aβ tracer [18F]DRKXH1 (5-(4-(6-(2-[18]fluoroethoxy)ethoxy)imidazo[1,2-alpha]pyridin-2-yl)phenyl) and evaluate the tracer performance by biodistribution analysis, in vivo small-animal PET-CT dynamic scan, ex vivo and in vitro autoradiography, and PET in human subjects. Methods: [18F]DRKXH1 was synthesized automatically by the GE FN module. Log D (pH 7.4) and biodistribution of [18F]DRKXH1 were investigated. Small-animal-PET was used for [18F]DRKXH1 and [18F]AV45 imaging study in AD transgenic mice (APPswe/PSEN1dE9) and age-matched normal mice. The distribution volume ratios (DVR) and standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were calculated with the cerebellum as the reference region. The deposition of Aβ plaques in the brain of AD transgenic mice was determined by ex vivo autoradiography and immunohistochemistry. In vitro autoradiography was performed in the postmortem brain sections of AD patients and healthy controls. Two healthy control subjects and one AD patient was subjected to in vivo PET study using [18F]DRKXH1. Results: The yield of [18F]DRKXH1 was 40%, and the specific activity was 156.64 ± 11.55 GBq/μmol. [18F]DRKXH1 was mainly excreted through the liver and kidney. The small-animal PET study showed high initial brain uptake and rapid washout of [18F]DRKXH1. The concentration of [18F]DRKXH1 was detected in the cortex and hippocampus of AD transgenic mice brain. The cortex DVR of AD transgenic mice was higher than that of WT mice (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the SUVRs of AD transgenic mice were higher than those of WT mice based on the 0–60-min dynamic scanning. In vitro autoradiography showed a significant concentration of tracer in the Aβ plaque-rich areas in the brain of AD transgenic mice. The DVR value of [18F]-DRKXH1 is higher than that of [18F]-AV45 (1.29 ± 0.05 vs. 1.05 ± 0.08; t = 5.33, P = 0.0003). Autoradiography of postmortem human brain sections showed [18F]DRKXH1-labeled Aβ plaques in the AD brain. The AD patients had high retention in cortical regions, while healthy control subjects had uniformly low radioactivity uptake. Conclusions: [18F]DRKXH1 is an Aβ tracer with high sensitivity in preclinical study and has the potential for in vivo detection of the human brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel type of isolator, named segmented intelligent isolation bearing (SIIB), is designed and manufactured, which can meet the requirements of seismic fortification under three seismic intensities, i.e. frequent intensity, basic intensity, and rare intensity. A theoretical formula for the output of the SIIB is established to provide a basis for the determination of the size of the SIIB. MRE and STMP used in SIIB were prepared, of which the changes of shear storage modulus and damping factor with the magnetic field under different strain are analyzed. The mechanical properties of the SIIB under small displacement, medium displacement, and large displacement are tested, respectively, and the hysteretic characteristics of force–displacement are analyzed. The dynamic mechanical model combining the rheological model, phenomenological model, and bilinear restoring force model is established to represent the behavior of the SIIB. The results showed that the theoretical results agree well with the experimental results, and the model can significantly reflect the dynamic characteristics of SIIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-dimensional super-cell phononic crystal semi-active isolator based on magnetorheological elastomers is designed, which can be used for vibration isolation of mechanical devices at medium and high frequencies. The plane wave expansion method of the super-cell is introduced to model the dynamic characteristics of the proposed phononic crystal isolator. The influence of the constituent materials, dimension parameter of the super-cell, and magnetic field intensity on the band structure is investigated by the plane wave expansion method. The results show that the change of material will affect the bandgap frequency of the super-cell and the dimension parameter of the super-cell will affect the bandgap formation mechanism. It is worth pointing out that the bandgap frequency and width of the isolator can be adjusted by controlling the applied current of the magnetorheological elastomer. Therefore, this method offers a broad range of possibilities for phononic crystal vibration isolation design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wicking geotextile has been increasingly utilized in field projects to mitigate water-related roadway problems. The previous studies showed that the wicking geotextile could provide mechanical stabilization, serve as capillary barrier, and enhance lateral drainage. The wicking geotextile differentiates itself from non-wicking geotextiles by providing capillary or wicking drainage in unsaturated conditions, whereas non-wicking geotextiles only provide gravitational drainage under saturated or near-saturated conditions. Although the previous studies have demonstrated the benefits of soil water content reduction by the wicking drainage, it is not well understood how the wicking geotextile stabilization improves overall performance of aggregate bases over subgrade under traffic or cyclic loading. This paper presents an experimental study where large-scale cyclic plate loading tests were conducted under different conditions: (1) non-stabilized base, (2) non-wicking geotextile-stabilized base, and (3) wicking geotextile-stabilized base, over soft and moderate subgrades. Rainfall simulation was carried out for each test section. After each rainfall simulation, a drainage period was designed to allow water to drain from the section. The amounts of water applied and exiting from the test section were recorded and are compared. Cyclic loading was applied after each drainage period. The test results show that the combined hydraulic and mechanical stabilization effect by the wicking geotextile reduced the permanent deformation of the aggregate base over the subgrade as compared with the non-stabilized and non-wicking geotextile-stabilized sections. ⁃ This paper presents an experimental study on the improved performance of wicking geotextile-stabilized bases over different subgrades over non-wicking geotextile-stabilized bases and control bases after simulated rainfalls. ⁃ Large box tests clearly demonstrate the benefits of the wicking geotextile to remove more water from the base courses by capillary drainage as compared with other test sections. ⁃ Large box tests also show that the wicking geotextile significantly reduced permanent deformations of the base courses under cyclic loading as compared with other test sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. A limited number of studies have investigated whether immune-prognostic features can be used to predict the prognosis of CC. This study aimed to develop an improved prognostic risk scoring model (PRSM) for CC based on immune-related genes (IRGs) to predict survival and determine the key prognostic IRGs. Methods: We downloaded the gene expression profiles and clinical data of CC patients from the TCGA and GEO databases. The ESTIMATE algorithm was used to calculate the score for both immune and stromal cells. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in different subpopulations were analyzed by “Limma”. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to establish a DEG co-expression module related to the immune score. Immune-related gene pairs (IRGPs) were constructed, and univariate- and Lasso-Cox regression analyses were used to analyze prognosis and establish a PRSM. A log-rank test was used to verify the accuracy and consistency of the scoring model. Identification of the predicted key IRG was ensured by the application of functional enrichment, DisNor, protein–protein interactions (PPIs) and heatmap. Finally, we extracted the key prognostic immune-related genes from the gene expression data, validated the key genes by immunohistochemistry and analyzed the correlation between their expression and drug sensitivity. Results: A new PRSM was developed based on 22 IRGPs. The prognosis of the low-risk group in the model group (P < 0.001) and validation group (P = 0.039) was significantly better than that in the high-risk group. Furthermore, M1 and M2 macrophages were highly expressed in the low-risk group. Retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs) and the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway were significantly enriched in the low-risk group. Three representative genes (CD80, CD28, and LCP2) were markers of CC prognosis. CD80 and CD28 may more prominent represent important indicators to improve patient prognosis. These key genes was positively correlated with drug sensitivity. Finally, we found that differences in the sensitivity to JNK inhibitors could be distinguished based on the use and risk grouping of this PRSM. Conclusions: The prognostic model based on the IRGs and key genes have potential clinical significance for predicting the prognosis of CC patients, providing a foundation for clinical prognosis judgment and individualized treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystal engineering aims at a better understanding of the correlation between the components and crystal structures, so that the desired crystal structure and functionality will be acquired. In this study, a lead bromide perovskite, {[Na(15-crown-5)]PbBr3}∞ (1, 15-crown-5 = 1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxacyclopentadecane), has been obtained by assembly of equal molar quantities of PbBr2, NaBr and 15-crown-5 in DMF, and 1 has been further characterized by microanalysis, IR spectroscopy, TG analysis, and single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction techniques. DSC measurement revealed that 1 experiences a reversible phase transition at ∼299/∼297 K on heating/cooling, which is an isostructural phase transition confirmed by single crystal structure analysis. 1 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma in both low- and high-temperature phases, containing face-sharing coordination octahedral [PbBr3]∞ chains and supramolecular [Na(15-crown-5)]+ cations, which are bound to the [PbBr3]∞ chains via Na–Br coordination bonds to form rotor-like neutral chains. Variable-temperature crystal structure analysis revealed that the isostructural phase transition is driven by PbBr6 coordination sphere distortion, which is related to the steric hindrance effect between the inorganic chain and 15-crown-5 molecules. Dielectric relaxation has been observed above 273 K, resulting from the distortion of PbBr6 coordination octahedra and the change in polar Na–Br bonds under an AC electrical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major key attributes of decision-making during emergency to de-escalate disaster, reduce fatality and prevent asset loss are time and the efficiency of the process. Decision-makers faced the challenge of accessing adequate and precise information during emergency cases due to the time limitation, inadequate data on and about the disasters and thus decision-making process becomes complex and complicated. A well-advanced and developed mathematical tool is required to respond adequately in the presence of these challenges. The current study investigates the effects of post-flood management plans in Iran through sustainable development features in the possible early time. A new hybrid emergency decision-making approach integrating the best–worst method (BWM), Z numbers and zero‐sum game is proposed to ensure much more effective responses in realistic cases. The importance weights of criteria are computed using the BWM, the payoff assessments of decision-makers are collected employing the Z numbers, and finally, the zero‐sum game method is utilized to rank the alternative of emergency solutions. The proposed hybrid approach assists the decision-makers to deal decisively with the ambiguity associated with the data for assessing and evaluating the emergency circumstances. To show the efficiency of the proposed approach, a real-life example of the Golestan flood of 2019 is presented. More so, a comparison analysis is performed to assess the practicability and feasibility of the proposed hybrid approach. The result indicates that the proposed methodology has considerable merits compared with the existing tools and can adequately deal with these shortages. In this case, the aircraft emergency delivery system of the relief supplies is obtained as the best solution to the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let h = ∏ i = 1 t p i s i be its decomposition into a product of powers of distinct primes, and Z h be the residue class ring modulo h. Let 1 ≤ r ≤ min { m , n } and Z h m × n be the set of all m × n matrices over Z h . The generalized bilinear forms graph over Z h , denoted by Bil r Z h m × n , has the vertex set Z h m × n , and two distinct vertices A and B are adjacent if the inner rank of A - B is less than or equal to r. In this paper, we determine the clique number and geometric structures of maximum cliques of Bil r Z h m × n . As a result, the Erdős-Ko-Rado theorem for Z h m × n is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To analyze the research status and trend of traditional Chinese medicine in the field of prostate cancer. Methods The literatures on TCM treatment of prostate cancer published by CNKI, VIP and Wanfang were searched from the founding of the databases to January 15, 2020. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to visually analyze the chronological distribution, author and keyword co-occurrence of the literature by means of cooperative network, keyword clustering, keyword co-occurrence and so on. Results A total of 510 articles were included, and 11 main cluster tags were formed, including 1591 authors. The research topic mainly focused on the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of prostate cancer cells by monomers and compounds intervention. Research trends included integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine therapy and the related mechanism research. Conclusion The number of the published papers on traditional Chinese medicine therapy of prostate cancer shows an upward trend, but the overall volume is less. The communication and cooperation among the research teams need to be further strengthened for better understand of the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of prostate cancer. Give full play to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine in therapy of prostate cancer such as ameliorating symptoms, improving quality of life and prolonging survival time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biliary fistula is an abnormal communication between the biliary system and the epidermis or internal organs, and is considered a rare complication of hepatobiliary diseases. Choledocholithiasis can cause CBD fistula and frequently affects the duodenum because of its adjacency in anatomy.[5] CBD malignancy leads to the formation of fistulas due to tumor tissue invasion.[[6]] Moreover, CBD fistula can also be found in patients with specific infection such as tuberculosis and hydatid, resulted in choledochoduodenal fistula.[[4], [8]] However, spontaneous fistula affecting the intrahepatic bile duct and stomach has barely been reported. Here we report a rare case of intrahepatic bile duct stones that led to fistula penetrating through the intrahepatic bile duct to the stomach. [Extracted from the article]

Insertions and deletions (Indels) represent one of the major variation types in the human genome and have been implicated in diseases including cancer. To study the features of somatic indels in different cancer genomes, we investigated the indels from two large samples of cancer types: invasive breast carcinoma (BRCA) and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Besides mapping somatic indels in both coding and untranslated regions (UTRs) from the cancer whole exome sequences, we investigated the overlap between these indels and transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs), the key elements for regulation of gene expression that have been found in both coding and non-coding sequences. Compared to the germline indels in healthy genomes, somatic indels contain more coding indels with higher than expected frame-shift (FS) indels in cancer genomes. LUAD has a higher ratio of deletions and higher coding and FS indel rates than BRCA. More importantly, these somatic indels in cancer genomes tend to locate in sequences with important functions, which can affect the core secondary structures of proteins and have a bigger overlap with predicted TFBSs in coding regions than the germline indels. The somatic CDS indels are also enriched in highly conserved nucleotides when compared with germline CDS indels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed the increasing attentions on human action recognition(HAR). Traditional methods are prone to explore the optimum spatiotemporal feature representation of human actions in video clips so as to achieve high recognition performance. However, the optical limitations, such as inappropriate view, dim illumination and object occlusion, usually degrade video quality and affect the recognition performance a lot. Considering that wireless signals are robust against optical limitations, we thus incorporate WiFi signals with video streams for HAR. Specifically, we use WiFi Channel State Information as a compensator for video streams. A great challenge is how to effectively fuse the video and WiFi information to achieve better prediction performance. To this end, we employ convolution neural networks and statistic analysis algorithms to extract video and WiFi features respectively, and propose a novel multi-modal learning approach for video and WiFi feature fusion, where the video and WiFi features are projected to a common space by supervised learning. The experimental results indicate that the recognition precision of human actions in videos improved obviously with the aid of WiFi signals and the proposed multi-modal learning approach rivals the state of art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group testing (or pool testing), for example, Dorfman's method or grid method, has been validated for COVID-19 RT-PCR tests and implemented widely by most laboratories in many countries. These methods take advantages since they reduce resources, time, and overall costs required for a large number of samples. However, these methods could have more false negative cases and lower sensitivity. In order to maintain both accuracy and efficiency for different prevalence, we provide a novel pooling strategy based on the grid method with an extra pool set and an optimized rule inspired by the idea of error-correcting codes. The mathematical analysis shows that (i) the proposed method has the best sensitivity among all the methods we compared, if the false negative rate (FNR) of an individual test is in the range [1%, 20%] and the FNR of a pool test is closed to that of an individual test, and (ii) the proposed method is efficient when the prevalence is below 10%. Numerical simulations are also performed to confirm the theoretical derivations. In summary, the proposed method is shown to be felicitous under the above conditions in the epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regiodivergent addition reactions provide straightforward and atom‐economic approaches to access different regioisomers. However, the regio‐chemistry control to access all the possible results is still challenging especially for the reaction involving multiple addition steps. Herein, we reported regio‐controllable cobalt‐catalyzed sequential hydrosilylation/hydroboration of arylacetylenes, delivering all the possible regio‐outcomes with high regioselectivities (up to >20/1 rr for all the cases). Each regioisomer of value‐added silylboronates could be efficiently and regioselectively obtained from the same materials. The adjustment of the ligands of cobalt catalysts combined with dual catalysis relay strategy is the key to achieve regio‐chemistry control. This regio‐controllable research might inspire the exploration of the diversity‐oriented synthesis that involves multiple additions and provide full sets of regioisomers of other synthetic useful molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regiodivergent addition reactions provide straightforward and atom‐economic approaches to access different regioisomers. However, the regio‐chemistry control to access all the possible results is still challenging especially for the reaction involving multiple addition steps. Herein, we reported regio‐controllable cobalt‐catalyzed sequential hydrosilylation/hydroboration of arylacetylenes, delivering all the possible regio‐outcomes with high regioselectivities (up to >20/1 rr for all the cases). Each regioisomer of value‐added silylboronates could be efficiently and regioselectively obtained from the same materials. The adjustment of the ligands of cobalt catalysts combined with dual catalysis relay strategy is the key to achieve regio‐chemistry control. This regio‐controllable research might inspire the exploration of the diversity‐oriented synthesis that involves multiple additions and provide full sets of regioisomers of other synthetic useful molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightning strikes to a substation happen frequently, which has a serious impact on the safety of the power system. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the effect of the direct lightning to the substation for the sake of protection. However, since the propagation and attachment of the lightning leader is a typical random process, it is hard to sufficiently represent the effect of the direct lightning by some deterministic models. In order to take into consideration the randomness of the lightning propagation process, in this paper, a three dimensional lightning fractal model that reproduces the tortuosity and branching of natural lightning is established. The proposed model is then applied to the effect analysis of the direct lightning to a typical 220 kV substation. Moreover, the protection effect of different distribution and height schemes of lightning rods is investigated using the proposed model. This work helps to understand the lightning strike risk that the substations face and also provides a promising way to improve and optimize the protection design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bi2S3‐based thermoelectric materials without toxic and expensive elements have a high Seebeck coefficient and intrinsic low thermal conductivity. However, Bi2S3 suffers from low electrical conductivity, which makes it a less‐than‐perfect thermoelectric material. In this work, halogen elements F, Cl, and Br from halogen acid are successfully introduced into the Bi2S3 lattice using a hydrothermal procedure to efficiently improve the carrier concentration. Compared with the pure sample, the electron concentration of the Bi2S3 sample treated with HCl is increased by two orders of magnitude. An optimal power factor of 470 µW m−1 K−2 for the Bi2S2.96Cl0.04 sample at 673 K is obtained. Density functional theory calculations reveal that an effective delocalized electron conductive network forms after Cl doping, which raises the Fermi level into the conduction bands, thus generating more free electrons and improving the conductivity of the Bi2S3‐based materials. Ultimately, an excellent ZT of ≈0.8 is achieved at 673 K for the Bi2S2.96Cl0.04 sample, which is one of the highest values reported for a state‐of‐the‐art Bi2S3 system. The energy conversion efficiency of the module reaches 2.3% at 673 K with a temperature difference of 373 K. This study offers a new method for enhancing the thermoelectric properties of Bi2S3 by adding halogen acid in the hydrothermal process for powder synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the daily meteorological monitoring data of Xiaozhan rice in Tianjin planting area from 2010 to 2020 and the observation data of nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice in Tianjin from 2014 to 2020, comprehensive characterization parameter M of nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice in Tianjin and the evaluation model of meteorological conditions' influence on the nutritional quality of rice was established by principal component analysis, ordered sample optimal clustering method and stepwise regression method. The climatic evaluation grades of nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice in Tianjin were divided into four grades. The comprehensive characterization parameter (M) of nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice can be determined using five quality factors (protein, amylose, gel consistency, amino acid and chalkiness) into three weighted sums, and the coefficients are is the proportion of the eigenvalues corresponding to the three principal components to the total variance of the original variables. The thresholds of M corresponding to the four grades of ‘general’, ‘good’, ‘excellent’, ‘extra‐superior’, in the climatic evaluation of nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice in Tianjin were M < 0.3, 0.3 ≤ M < 0.45, 0.45 ≤ M < 0.7, 0.7 ≤ M, respectively. The results showed that M was related to 14 meteorological factors such as average temperature, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, sunshine duration and daily range in different months of rice growth period. Among them, the temperature condition in September was the key factor affecting the nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice, including amylose, gel consistency, protein, chalkiness and the comprehensive characterization parameter (M). September is the period from grain filling (the grain filling stage of rice refers to the period from the end of flowering to the beginning of glume closure to grain maturity) to mature harvest of Xiaozhan rice in Tianjin. That is to say, the temperature in this period has a very significant effect on the final nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice. The correlation between the 14 factors and M is high, and all 29 pass the Pearson correlation significance test of p < 0.01. The absolute value of lowest correlation coefficient is sunshine hours in May, |R| = 0.839; and the absolute value of highest correlation coefficient was the highest temperature in June, R = 0.982. Among the 14 factors, 9 factors are related to temperature (including the day difference in June), and all of them positively correlated with climate evaluation index M of nutritional quality, 3 factors are related to sunshine hours, and 2 factors are related to precipitation, indicating that the temperature condition in the whole growth period of Xiaozhan rice is the most important climate factor to determine its nutrition quality formation. The root mean square error of the simulation results of the climate evaluation model for the nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice is 0.0236, which indicates that the model can be used for the climate impact evaluation of the nutritional quality of Xiaozhan rice in Tianjin, so as to determine the nutritional quality grade of Xiaozhan rice and provide scientific reference for reasonably predicting the market price of Xiaozhan rice.Study area: The left panel shows the entire country of China and on the right is the Tianjin City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enhance the interfacial adhesion of carbon fiber (CF) and polymer matrix, a multiscale gradient modulus intermediate layer with rigid-flexible (GO-PA) hierarchical structure was designed and fabricated between CFs and matrix by a facile and businesslike strategy. The polarity, roughness and wettability of CFs surface as well as the thickness of intermediate layer in composite have been significantly increased after rigid-flexible hierarchical structure was constructed. The IFSS, ILSS, compression and impact toughness manifested that the hierarchical structure could bring about a fantastic improvement (76.8%, 46.4%, 40.7% and 37.8%) for the interfacial and mechanical properties than other previous reports. Consequently, the establishment of CF surface with gradient modulus rigid-flexible hierarchical structure via regulation of nanoparticles and polymer array would open a new, viable and promising route to obtaining high-performance composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective organic transformations using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and MOF-based heterogeneous catalysts have been an intriguing but challenging research topic in both the chemistry and materials communities. Analogous to the reaction specificity achieved in enzyme pockets, MOFs are also powerful platforms for regulating the catalytic selectivity via engineering their catalytic microenvironments, such as metal node alternation, ligand functionalization, pore decoration, topology variation and others. In this review, we provide a comprehensive introduction and discussion about the role of MOFs played in regulating and even boosting the size-, shape-, chemo-, regio- and more appealing stereo-selectivity in organic transformations. We hope that it will be instructive for researchers in this field to rationally design, conveniently prepare and elaborately functionalize MOFs or MOF-based composites for the synthesis of high value-added organic chemicals with significantly improved selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an intelligent shock isolation bearing based on the negative stiffness platform (SIBP) is designed, manufactured, and modeled. The addition of the negative stiffness platform to the SIBP can further reduce the natural frequency of the structure and enable the isolator to a broader range of isolation frequencies. It is noteworthy that the stiffness of the magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) limit layer can be adjusted to provide controllable seismic resistance and to achieve isolation and vibration reduction under various seismic conditions, such as small and large displacements. Through the theoretical analysis and magnetic field simulation of the SIBP's damping force, the structure of the SIBP is designed and established. Then, the MRE for the SIBP is prepared. The shear storage modulus and damping factor of MRE with different strains are tested and analyzed. A novel dynamics model is established to model the displacement–force hysteretic curve of the SIBP under small displacement and large displacement input. The experiment results show that the theoretical calculation results are in good agreement with the actual shock isolation bearing, and the proposed model can accurately describe the dynamic characteristics of the SIBP, which provides the design basis for the application of the SIBP in active control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated nanoparticle (NP)-induced coil-to-globule transition of a semi-flexible polymer in a confined suspension of ideal NP using Langevin dynamics. DNA molecules are often found to be highly compact, bound with oppositely charged proteins in a crowded environment within cells and viruses. Recent studies found that high concentration of electrostatically neutral NP also condenses DNA due to entropically induced depletion attraction between DNA segments. Langevin dynamics simulations with a semi-flexible chain under strong confinement were performed to investigate the competition between NP-induced monomer-monomer and monomer-wall attraction under different confinement heights and NP volume fractions. We found that whether NP induce polymer segments to adsorb to the walls and swell or to attract one another and compact strongly depends on the relative strength of the monomer-wall and the NP-wall interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human parsing, especially in the wild, has attracted a lot of attention due to its great potential in many real-world applications. The Pyramid Spatial Parsing (PSP) module has shown superior performances in scene and human parsing tasks. However, the basic AvgPool operation in PSP equally aggregates spatial clues of a local region, and thus mixes up influences of different human parts presented in this region. It results in failures in capturing useful contexts relevant to parsing different parts. To address this problem, a suitable mechanism to collect spatial clues aligning with different human parts is proposed in this paper. We employ a Gather-Excite (GE) operation, a replacement of the AvgPool-Upsample operation in a pyramidical structure, to accurately reflect relevant human parts of various scales. The GE operation contains two steps: the gather operation that adaptively aggregates spatial clues to relevant human parts, and the excite operation that generates new feature maps with the gathered contextual information. This results in a novel Pyramidical Gather-Excite Context (PGEC) module to solve the multi-scale problem and parse person at various scales. The PGEC module is composed of multiple GE operations with different spatial extents and aggregates local and global spatial clues for better modeling multi-scale contextual information in parallel. Moreover, we integrate the PGEC module with fine-grained details, edge preserving module and deep supervision to formulate a novel PGEC Network (PGECNet) for human parsing. The proposed PGECNet has achieved state-of-the-art performance on four single-person human parsing datasets (i.e., LIP, PPSS, ATR and Fashion Clothing) and two multi-person human parsing datasets (i.e., PASCAL-Person-Part and CIHP). The experimental results show that the proposed PGEC is superior to the PSP and ASPP modules especially in single-human parsing task. The source code is publicly available at https://github.com/31sy/PGECNet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate here the thermal properties of accretion disks in a spacetime for some galactic density profiles in spherical symmetry. The matter distributions have a finite outer radius with a naked central singularity. The luminosities of the accretion disks for some density profile models are found to be higher than those for a Schwarzschild black hole of the same mass. The slopes for the luminosity distributions with respect to frequencies are significantly different, especially at higher frequencies, from that in the Schwarzschild black hole case. Such features may be used to distinguish black holes from naked singularities. The efficiencies for the conversion of mass energy of the accreting gas into radiation and the strength of naked singularities are analyzed. The novel feature that we find is, the strength of the singularity is different depending on the profiles considered, and the stronger the singularity is, the higher is the efficiency for the accretion disk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare uterine artery pulsatility index (UTPI) at 6 weeks of pregnancy following in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) between clinical pregnancies that resulted in a miscarriage and those that were ongoing beyond 12 weeks. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in an IVF unit at Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, between December 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019. UTPI was measured at 6 weeks of pregnancy among women who conceived following IVF/ET. Results: Among 153 participants, 22 (14.4%) had a miscarriage whereas 131 (85.6%) had an ongoing pregnancy beyond 12 weeks. Median UTPI in pregnancies that ended in a miscarriage was significantly lower than those that progressed beyond 12 weeks (2.1, IQR 1.9–2.4 vs 2.50, IQR 2.2–2.9, respectively; P<0.001). The likelihood of the pregnancy ending in a miscarriage when the UTPI was above the 75th percentile (>2.9), between the 25th–75th percentiles (2.2–2.9), and below the 25th percentile (<2.2) was 0%, 13.2%, and 27.7%, respectively (P=0.001). Conclusions: IVF pregnancies that resulted in a miscarriage were associated with reduced resistance to uterine artery blood flow at 6 weeks of pregnancy. IVF pregnancies that resulted in a miscarriage were associated with reduced resistance to uterine artery blood flow at 6 weeks of pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Chinese medicine, Qiaoshao formula combined with dapoxetine was used for the treatment of premature ejaculation in a real‐life setting. Nine hundred and five males diagnosed with premature ejaculation were reviewed in this retrospective cohort study. We divided the patients into two groups: dapoxetine alone and Qiaoshao formula combined with dapoxetine according to actual interventions provided to patients in clinics. The perceived intravaginal ejaculation latency time and the premature ejaculation profile measures markedly improved in both groups. However, in men with severe premature ejaculation (baseline perceived intravaginal ejaculation latency time <1 min) and those with baseline age ≤30 years, the perceived intravaginal ejaculation latency time was slightly but significantly longer with combined therapy than with dapoxetine alone (p <.05). Therefore, combined therapy involving the Qiaoshao formula and dapoxetine proved to safe as well as effective for treating premature ejaculation while prolonging the perceived intravaginal ejaculation latency time, which significantly improved the overall satisfaction of the patient and likely that of the couple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research concentrates on pull-in behavior of a micro-plate laminated with a novel material: light activated shape memory polymer (LASMP). Under light exposure, this material can realize dynamic Young's modulus. With this feature, a LASMP laminated micro-plate model considering micro-scale effect and geometric nonlinearity is proposed. Dynamic equations of the micro-plate system are derived via Hamilton principle and solved by Galerkin method whose accuracy is validated by FEM. Effect of size dependency and dynamic Young's modulus of LASMP on pull-in behavior of the micro-plate are studied. Present study provided a technique to manipulate pull-in phenomenon of electrically actuated micro-plate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functionally graded WC-Co (FG WC-Co) offers enhanced property combinations and superior engineering performance compared to conventional homogeneous WC-Co. However, production methods face challenges in creating the graded microstructure, cost-effectiveness, and scalability. A versatile carburizing technique has been developed to address these challenges and to apply FG WC-Co to various WC-Co grades and applications. This paper reviews the carburizing technique's underlying principles and mechanisms of a one-step to a two-step process for treating off-the-shelf homogeneous products. Key two-step process parameters such as temperature, time, and carbon potential, which influence the control of the Co gradient, free carbon depth, and Co build-up, are highlighted. Both laboratory findings and field test data suggest that by optimizing these parameters, the carburizing technique can produce desired results, thus broadening the potential industrial applications of both the process itself and the FG WC-Co. • A viable carburizing heat treatment process for manufacturing functionally graded WC-Co (FG WC-Co) is described. • Co gradient structure can be effectively tailored by optimizing the carburizing process parameters. • The potential industrial applications of FG WC-Co materials were demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) positively contributes to enhancing animal health, regulating inflammation and reducing stress by participating in the synthesis of cysteine, glutathione, and taurine in the body. The present study aims to investigate the effects of dietary different levels of NAC on the morphology, function and physiological state of hepatopancreas in juvenile common carp (Cyprinus carpio). 450 common carps were randomly divided into 5 groups: N1 (basal diet), N2 (1.5 g/kg NAC diet), N3 (3.0 g/kg NAC diet), N4 (4.5 g/kg NAC diet) and N5 (6.0 g/kg NAC diet), and fed for 8 weeks. The results indicated that dietary 3.0–6.0 g/kg NAC reduced hepatopancreas lipid vacuoles and nuclear translocation, and inhibited apoptosis in common carp. Simultaneously, the activities of hepatopancreas alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase progressively increased with rising dietary NAC levels. Dietary NAC enhanced the non-specific immune function of common carp, and exerted anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Additionally, dietary 3.0–6.0 g/kg NAC significantly improved the antioxidant capacity of common carp, which was associated with enhanced glutathione metabolism, clearance of ROS and the activation of Nrf2 signaling pathway. In summary, NAC has the potential to alleviate inflammation, mitigate oxidative stress and inhibit apoptosis via the MAPK/NF-κB/Nrf2 signaling pathway, thereby improving hepatopancreas function and health of common carp. The current findings provide a theoretical basis for promoting the application of NAC in aquaculture and ecological cultivation of aquatic animals. [Display omitted] • N-acetylcysteine (NAC) could improve the morphology and health of hepatopancreas in common carp. • The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of NAC via the MAPK/NF-κB/Nrf2 signalling pathway. • We recommend adding 3.0 g/kg NAC to the diets of juvenile common carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the texture profile of high moisture meat analogs (HMMAs) presents a notable challenge, one that can potentially be addressed by diversifying the ingredients used. This research examines how the type of pulse - specifically peas and lentils - and the germination process can impact the functional properties and structural transformation of proteins within these ingredients. A twin-screw extrusion cooking process was used to produce HMMAs with an optimized screw speed of 800 rpm and a final zone temperature of 140 °C. The quality of the HMMAs was evaluated through an analysis of their textural properties and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Generally, germination and variations in pulse types were seen to create significant (p < 0.05) changes to the protein profile. These changes resulted in reduced subunit molecular weight, altered melting temperatures (120–127 °C), and increased quantities of disulfide bonds. In turn, these shifts elicited corresponding adjustments in the HMMAs when subjected to identical extrusion conditions. Notably, the protein-rich fraction derived from lentils was markedly different (p < 0.05) from that of peas, contributing to lower levels of cohesiveness, chewiness, and gumminess in HMMAs. SEM images taken at 250 × -1000 × magnification demonstrated filaments in HMMAs, illustrating the transformation of proteins from a globular to a fibrous form. Guided by the influence of melting temperature and shear force on pulse protein, the "Thermo-shear Protein Structuring Principle" was proposed. Overall, our findings offer critical insights into how germination and pulse selection can affect protein behavior during the production of HMMAs. [Display omitted] • Pulse-wheat gluten based HMMAs revealed filament structures. • Germination led to reduced subunit molecular weight of protein. • Pea and lentil protein melting temperature was lower than 120 °C. • Protein melting temperature and disulfide bonds influence HMMA texture. • "Thermo-shear Protein Structuring Principle" was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new method is proposed for batch preparation microfiber Bragg grating (MFBG) sensors using alkaline solution with safety and the high efficiency. • The smooth-surfaced MFBG sensors were produced with a roughness of less than 100 nm, which is nearly 30 times lower compared to the widely-used HF etching method. • The method can achieve diameter customization of MFBG sensor by controlling time with an error of only ± 1.2918 μm. • The effects of diameter reduction of FBG sensors on their optical property, sensing performance, and mechanical property were systematically investigated. Microfiber Bragg grating sensors hold great promise given their compactness and large evanescent field effect. The fabrication method of the sensors plays a pivotal role in determining the performance. In this study, a novel approach for batch manufacturing microfiber Bragg grating sensors was proposed using a NaOH solution under hydrothermal conditions. Compared to other methods, it is simpler, safer, and more efficient. Through precisely controlling the reaction time, 50 microfiber Bragg grating sensors were produced with smooth surfaces, exhibiting a surface roughness of about 87 nm, and achieved tailored fiber diameters with an error of only ± 1.2918 μm. In addition, the sensors with different diameters produced by the method to systematically investigate the effects of diameter reduction on various aspects, including spectral characteristics, temperature, strain, refractive index sensing, and bending performance, accompanied by theoretical explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We present a novel fiber-optic suction sensor for total suction measurement in unsaturated soils. • The measurement range (5–300 MPa), accuracy (±3.5 MPa), and response time (<10 mins) of the sensor were determined. • The changes in temperature, relative humidity, and total suction during evaporation can be effectively captured by sensors. • Fiber-optic suction sensor has potential for in-situ, long-term, and quasi-distributed suction monitoring. Measurement of the soil water suction is important for investigating geotechnical problems and mitigating associated risks; however, conventional high-range suction measurement techniques have some limitations for accurate, long-term, and quasi-distributed suction measurement in the field. Fiber-optic humidity sensors provide a viable solution due to their unique properties. Here, we present a novel microfabricated fiber-optic suction sensor for measuring the suction of water in unsaturated soils. We evaluated the performance of the sensor on four bentonite–sand mixtures by comparing it with two laboratory suction measurement methods (chill-mirror hygrometer, salt solution vapor equilibrium) and a capacitive relative humidity sensor. We determined that this sensor has a measurement range of 5–300 MPa with a root mean square error of less than 3.5 MPa, and a response time of 2–9 min over the tested suction variation range (6.5–80.5 MPa). The results of the evaporation model test showed that three fiber-optic sensors installed at different depths of bentonite could effectively capture changes in temperature, relative humidity in soil pores, and total suction during evaporation. Together, these results demonstrate the great potential of the fiber-optic suction sensor for in-situ, long-term, and quasi-distributed suction monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ca ascorbate induction significantly improved yeast biocontrol effectiveness. • DEGs enriched in ribosome synthesis, metabolism and cell growth pathways. • Ca ascorbate stimulates the synthesis of multiple organelles and the metabolic capacity of yeast. • Ca ascorbate increased antioxidant capacity and environmental adaptability of yeast. The external environment and yeast's inherent physiological characteristics play important roles in the biocontrol efficacy of antagonistic yeast. Attention has been focused on increasing biocontrol efficacy by improving yeast environmental adaptability in recent years. In this study, the effect and mechanism of calcium ascorbate (Ca ascorbate) on enhancement of Meyerozyma guilliermondii biocontrol effectiveness were investigated based on transcriptome sequencing, and physiological and biochemical activity analysis of yeast cells. The results demonstrated that the yeast induced by 0.2 g/L Ca ascorbate inhibit gray decay substantially compared with the control, non-induced, ascorbic acid (VC) and calcium chloride (CaCl 2) induced groups. The results of transcriptome sequencing showed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of M. guilliermondii induced by Ca ascorbate were mainly enriched in those GO functions such as "cell process, metabolic process, antioxidant" and KEGG pathways such as "ribosome, metabolism, cell cycle". Ca ascorbate induction could significantly upregulate the expression of genes related to ribosome synthesis (RIM101 , PAN3 , NHP2 , and RPS19A), growth and metabolism (HXT2 and SDH4), and antioxidation (FMN1 and SNZ1). The accelerated growth dynamics and cell metabolic activity as well as the elevated antioxidant enzyme activity were all in line with the transcriptomic data. As expected, the increased antioxidant enzyme activity reduced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA). These results demonstrated that the mechanism of Ca ascorbate-induced enhancement of biocontrol efficacy is related to accelerating yeast proliferation and colonization, improving nutrient utilization, enhancing cell homeostasis and cell wall structure, and improving the environmental adaptability of yeast cells. Additionally, Ca2+ also has a synergistic effect on yeast physiological activity and antioxidant activity to promote the improvement of yeast biocontrol efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a powerful approach for improving product quality that can transform customer requirements (CRs) into engineering characteristics (ECs) during product manufacturing. The limitations of traditional QFD methods lead to imprecise quantification of CRs and difficulty in accurately mapping customer needs. To address these issues, this paper introduces an innovative QFD approach that integrates extended hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (EHFLTSs), CRITIC, and cumulative prospect theory. The method expresses the subjectivity and hesitancy of decision makers when evaluating the relationship between ECs and CRs using EHFLTSs, considering the conflicts among CRs. The CRITIC is used to comprehensively evaluate the comparison strength and conflict between indicators, and the cumulative prospect theory is utilized to derive the prioritization of ECs. A case study is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals FexGeTe2 metallic ferromagnets have Curie temperature near or even higher than room temperature, showing great prospects in the field of spintronics. Here, we study the magnetotransport properties of Fe5GeTe2 nanoflakes. Multiple sign changes of angle-dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR) are observed with changing temperature or magnetic field. The high field-induced negative to positive MR transition in low temperatures (T < 50 K) and the temperature-induced sign reversal of anisotropic MR at T = 130 K are responsible for these exotic and complex characteristics of ADMR. In addition, the electron–magnon scattering induced negative MR exhibits abnormal nonmonotonic temperature dependence, which is related to the nonmonotonic variation of anomalous Hall resistance and the transition of the carrier types at T = 150 K. The exotic magnetotransport properties of Fe5GeTe2 revealed in this work may help pave the way for the practical application of this 2D magnetic material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actual operating environment of rotating mechanical device contains a large number of noisy interference sources, leading to complex components, strong coupling, and low signal to noise ratio for vibration. It becomes a big challenge for intelligent fault diagnosis from high-noise vibration signals. Thus, this paper proposes a new deep learning approach, namely decomposition-enhance Fourier residual network (DEFR-net), to achieve high noise immunity for vibration signal and learn effective features to discriminate between different types of rotational machine faults. In the proposed DEFR-net, a novel algorithm is proposed to explicitly model high-noise signals for noisy data filtering and effective feature enhancement based on a hard threshold decomposition function and muti-channel self-attention mechanism. Furthermore, it deeply integrates complementary analysis based on fast Fourier transform in the time-frequency domain and extends the breadth of network. The performance of the proposed model is verified by comparison with five state-of-the-art algorithms on two public datasets. Moreover, the noise experimental results show that the fault diagnosis accuracy is still 85.91% when the signal-to-noise-ratio reaches extreme noise of –8 dB. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is a valuable study for intelligent fault diagnosis of rotating machines in high-noise environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) harboring Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) mutations represent a distinct subset with unique therapeutic challenges. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been transformative in lung cancer treatment, the efficacy of ICIs in HER2-mutated NSCLC remains to be established. Methods: We systematically searched for real-world studies investigating the use of ICIs in treating HER2-mutated NSCLC, sourced from the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases. Outcomes including objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and progression-free survival (PFS) were extracted for further analysis. Results: Twelve studies involving 260 patients were enrolled in this meta-analysis. Pooled data revealed an ORR of 0.26 (95% CI 0.17–0.34), a DCR of 0.68 (95% CI 0.55–0.81), and a median PFS (mPFS) of 5.36 months (95% CI 3.50–7.21). Notably, in the subgroup receiving combined immune and chemotherapy, the ORR increased to 0.37 (95% CI 0.26–0.49), the DCR to 0.79 (95% CI 0.70–0.87), and the mPFS to 7.10 months (95% CI 5.21–8.99). Conclusions: ICIs demonstrate promising anti-tumor activity and safety in patients with HER2-mutated NSCLC. Furthermore, the combined regimen of ICIs and chemotherapy may provide a significant therapeutic option for this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To verify the protective effect of phosphocreatine on myocardium in an ischemic model and the possible mechanism of action. Methods. The model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) was established by the ligation balloon method. 30 SD rats were randomly divided into three groups, n = 10 in each group. Sham operation group: the coronary artery was not blocked and observed for 120 minutes. The ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) group was given ischemia for 30 minutes and ischemia reperfusion for 90 minutes. Phosphocreatine (PCr) group: after 30 minutes of ischemia, the rats were intraperitoneally injected with PCr (200 mg/kg) for 90 minutes. The animal groups of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion model in vitro were the same as those in vivo. The heart was removed by thoracotomy and washed immediately in H-K buffer solution. Then, the heart was installed on the Langendorff instrument. The concentration of PCr perfusion fluid in the PCr group was 10 mmol/L. The changes in coronary blood flow in isolated myocardium were recorded. The heart rate and electrocardiogram were recorded by RM6240BT. At the end of the experiment, myocardial pathological sections and Cx43 immunofluorescence staining were made, and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in myocardial tissue were detected. Results. Phosphocreatinine treatment improved the myocardial ischemia model, performance in electrocardiogram (ECG) changes (ST segment apparent), and histological changes (decrease in necrotic myocardial cells, inflammatory cell infiltration, and a reduction in myocardial edema). At the same time, MDA decreased, while coronary blood flow and Cx43 expression significantly improved. Conclusions. Phosphocreatine can improve the electrocardiogram and restore histologic changes in ischemic myocardium and coronary blood flow. The postulated mechanism is by inhibiting the generation of free oxygen radicals and restoring the expression of Cx43 protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of sulfur heterocycles via the construction of C–S bonds has received considerable attention due to their biological value and extensive pharmaceutical application. While diverse sulfurating agents have been developed over the past few decades, in this regard, elemental sulfur, with advantages of low toxicity, odorless nature and chemical stability, has great potential for the construction of diverse sulfur heterocycles through its direct incorporation into the target molecules in a concise way. Direct functionalization of inert C–H bonds can shorten the number of reaction steps and minimize the amount of waste formed. Hence, heteroannulations via direct C–H sulfuration is considered to be an attractive strategy for the synthesis of sulfur heterocycles. In the last few years, a vast array of concise systems have been reported for the synthesis of some valuable sulfur heterocycles such as thiophenes, thienoindoles, thienothiazoles, thiazoles, benzothiazoles, and thiadiazoles through direct C–H sulfuration/annulations with elemental sulfur. These are discussed in detail in this review. 1 Introduction 2 Thiophenes 3 Thienoindoles 4 Thienothiazoles 5 Other Fused Thiophenes 6 Thiazoles 7 Benzothiazoles 8 Thiadiazoles 9 Others 10 Summary and Outlook [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains poor, and its incidence is especially high in developing countries. Multiple long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recently identified as crucial oncogenic factors or tumor suppressors. This study aimed to probe into the role of lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 17 (SNHG17) on the progression of OSCC. METHODS: The expression level of SNHG17 in OSCC samples was tested using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Human OSCC cell lines CAL-27 and Tca8113 were used in in vitro studies. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and BrdU assays were used to assess the effect of SNHG17 on OSCC cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to study the effect of SNHG17 on OSCC cell apoptosis. Transwell assay was conducted to detect the effect of SNHG17 on migration and invasion. Moreover, luciferase reporter assay was employed to confirm targeting relationship between miR-375 and SNHG17. Additionally, Western blot was used to observe the regulatory function of SNHG17 on PAX6. RESULTS: SNHG17 expression in OSCC clinical samples was significantly increased and was correlated with unfavorable pathological indexes. Its overexpression remarkably accelerated proliferation and metastasis of OSCC cells, while reduced apoptosis. Accordingly, knockdown of SNHG17 suppressed the malignant phenotypes of OSCC cells. Overexpression of SNHG17 significantly reduced the expression of miR-375 by sponging it, but enhanced the expression of PAX6. CONCLUSION: SNHG17 is a sponge of tumor suppressor miR-375 in OSCC, enhances the expression of PAX6 indirectly, and functions as an oncogenic lncRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The features of crystal structures, thermo‐mechanical properties and their dominant mechanisms of weberites RE3NbO7 were studied as high‐temperature oxides. We concentrated on connections between structures and thermo‐mechanical properties, the influences of bond lengths, lattice distortion degrees and microstructures on these properties were estimated. The shortening of bond length and increment of bonding strength would lead to the increase of mechanical properties. The Vickers hardness (4.5‐7.8 GPa) and toughness (0.5‐1.6 MPa·m1/2) of weberites RE3NbO7 are enhanced by grain refinement and increment of bond strength, while crystal structures, bond lengths, and lattice distortion degrees influenced their Young's modulus (100‐170 GPa). Nano‐indentation was applied to test the influence of microstructures on modulus and hardness. The dominant mechanisms for mechanical properties and thermal conductivity were proposed, which was conducive to properties tailoring and engineering applications of weberites RE3NbO7 oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CRISPR-Cas system initiated a revolution in genome editing when it was, for the first time, demonstrated success in the mammalian cells. Today, scientists are able to readily edit genomes, regulate gene transcription, engineer posttranscriptional events, and image nucleic acids using CRISPR-Cas-based tools. However, to efficiently transport CRISPR-Cas into target tissues/cells remains challenging due to many extra- and intra-cellular barriers, therefore largely limiting the applications of CRISPR-based therapeutics in vivo. In this review, we summarize the features of plasmid-, RNA- and ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-based CRISPR-Cas therapeutics. Then, we survey the current in vivo delivery systems. We specify the requirements for efficient in vivo delivery in clinical settings, and highlight both efficiency and safety for different CRISPR-Cas tools. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Amongst AF patients with long term use (≥1 year) of mHealth technology for optimising stroke prevention, symptom control and comorbidity management, there was a reduced risk for the composite outcome of 'ischaemic stroke/systemic thromboembolism, death, and rehospitalization' in patients using App-based management based on the ABC (Atrial fibrillation Better Care) pathway. • Rates of clinical outcomes (thromboembolism, bleeding events, recurrent atrial fibrillation and its symptoms, heart failure, and rehospitalization) were lower in patients allocated to mAF App intervention, compared with usual care. • Over 70% of patients using the mAF App had adherence of approximately 70%, with the overall persistence of mAFA use being 91.7%. Background. In the mobile Atrial Fibrillation App (mAFA)-II trial, the use of mobile health (mHealth) technology, incorporating AF screening and integrated management strategy, was associated with improved short-term clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to report adherence/persistence and long term (≥1 year) clinical outcomes of the mAFA-II trial, with mHealth-supported optimised stroke prevention, symptom control and comorbidity management. Methods. We studied an adult population screened for AF, where identified patients could enter a structured program of holistic and integrated care based on the ABC (Atrial fibrillation Better Care) pathway using mHealth with a mAFA intervention. In this cluster randomised trial, comparing mHeath intervention to usual care, the primary composite outcome was 'stroke/thromboembolism, all-cause death and rehospitalization'. Results. The 1261 subjects (mean age 67.0 years, 38.0% female) who were followed up over one year (mean follow-up 687 (standard deviation, SD 191) days) in the intervention arm, had a lower risk of the composite outcome of 'ischaemic stroke/systemic thromboembolism, death, and rehospitalization' (hazard ratio, HR 0.18, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.13–0.25, P < 0.001), compared to usual care (1212 subjects, mean age 70.1 years, 42.1% female). Of 842 patients using their smart devices for 'Better symptom management', 70.8% had good management adherence (monitoring time/follow-up since initial monitoring ≥ 70%), with the persistence of use of 91.7%. Conclusion. Amongst AF patients with long term use (≥1 year) of mHealth technology for optimising stroke prevention, symptom control and comorbidity management, adherence/persistence was good and associated with a reduction in adverse clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired angiogenesis is crucial for impeding the wound healing process in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). In this study, we found that Angelica dahurica (A. dahurica) stimulated angiogenesis and benefited wound healing in genetic mouse models of diabetes. In HUVECs, A. dahurica promoted cell proliferation and tube formation, which was accompanied by increased nuclear translocation of HIF-1α under hypoxic conditions and led to elevated PDGF-β protein expression. A. dahurica activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), which was abrogated by the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Furthermore, the cellular expression of PDGF-β decreased significantly after treatment with a HIF-1α-siRNA, and PDGF-β expression was increased in HIF-1α-overexpressing cells. In a full-thickness cutaneous wound healing db/db mouse model, A. dahurica accelerated wound closure, which was reflected by a significantly reduced wound area and an increase in neovascularization, as well as by elevated PDGF-β expression and increased capillary formation. In addition, A. dahurica activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and enhanced HIF-1α synthesis in wounds. In summary, A. dahurica promoted angiogenesis of HUVECs in vitro by promoting signaling via the HIF-1α/PDGF-β pathway, efficiently enhancing vascularization in regenerated tissue and facilitating wound healing in vivo. The results revealed that A. dahurica has potential as a therapy for vessel injury-related wounds. Image 1 • Angelica dahurica stimulated angiogenesis and benefited wound healing in genetic mouse models of diabetes. • Angelica dahurica promoted angiogenesis of HUVECs in vitro by promoting signaling via the HIF-1α/PDGF-β pathway. • Angelica dahurica has potential as a therapy for vessel injury-related wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact wideband dual-polarized slot-coupled stacked patch antenna is presented in this communication. Two orthogonal U-shaped feed lines are used to excite a cross-slot to obtain dual-polarization. The cross-slot consists of two orthogonal slots whose long sides vary as exponential curves. The impedance bandwidth is increased effectively by using the two orthogonal slots with gradually changing width and stacked patches. The radiation layers and feeding layers of the antenna are embedded in a small cylindrical metal cavity. By using the metal cavity as the reflector, the transverse dimension of the antenna is effectively reduced. The measured results demonstrate that the impedance bandwidth of the antenna is 94% (2.47–6.85 GHz) for $\vert \text{S}_{11}\vert < -10$ dB with a transmission coefficient of less than −21.2 dB between two input ports. A stable radiation pattern is obtained in the range of 2.5–6.5 GHz. The proposed dual-polarized antenna can be applied to wideband wireless communication systems with compact platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by defining off-shell amplitudes as off-shell CHY integrals, and redefining the longitudinal operator, we demonstrate that the differential operators which link on-shell amplitudes for a variety of theories together link off-shell amplitudes in a similar manner. Based on the algebraic property of the differential operator, we also generalize three relations among color-ordered on-shell amplitudes, including the color-ordered reversed relation, the photon decoupling relation, the Kleiss–Kuijf relation, to off-shell ones. The off-shell CHY integrals are chosen to be in the double-cover framework, thus, as a by product, our result also provides a verification for the double-cover construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comment on: Does antibiotic therapy for chronic endometritis improve clinical outcomes of patients with recurrent implantation failure in subsequent IVF cycles? 1A. Forest plot of re-analysis for the clinical pregnancy rate between the chronic endometritis (being treated with oral antibiotics) and non-chronic endometritis. Most of the reanalysis outcomes were consistent with the authors; however, both patients with chronic endometritis, whether being treated with oral antibiotics (OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.32) (Fig. [Extracted from the article]