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The generation of complex tailings from iron mining is continuously increasing, reaching a reserve of 500 million tons. The iron tailings mainly contain 0.10–0.50 wt% ultrafine SnO2 (−9.6 μm, >50 %), acid-solule Sn (MgSn(OH)6) and 0.20–1.50 wt% Zn and are recognized as an important secondary Sn resource. Unfortunately, traditional mineral processing techniques have a low Sn recovery ratio. In this study, a novel method is proposed for effectively recovering Sn and Zn from complex iron tailings through reduction-sulfurization roasting, and their transformation behavior is determined. The results reveal that MgSn(OH)6 is first transformed into MgSnO3 at 1073 K, and SnO2 is reduced to SnO(g) and then sulfurized to SnS(g). COS acts as the main curing agent during the roasting process, which originates from the oxidation of FeS. As the temperature increases from 1173 to 1273 K, part of SnO2 can combine with CaO to form Ca2SnO4, and the generated CaSnO3 and MgSnO3 are further reduced to Sn(l) and Fe–Sn alloy. Meanwhile, ZnO and ZnS can be efficiently converted to Zn(g). Interestingly, the Fe–Sn alloy cannot be removed due to low Sn activity (a[Sn]). However, the Sn recovery ratio increases to 90 % due to low SnS partial pressure (PSnS) at 1373 K. Under optimal conditions, 90.10 wt% Sn and 94.90 wt% Zn can be extracted in the dust, which can be further processed into higher value-added Sn concentrate. Compared with current beneficiation process, the recovery ratio of SnO2 increased by 20 %. More importantly, MgSn(OH)6 can be efficiently recovered. This is of great significance for sustainable metallurgy of Sn.

Endometritis represents a prevalent condition in perinatal dairy cows. Bovine endometrial epithelial cells (BEECs), as the primary interface between cavity and the external environment, are particularly vulnerable to infection by pathogenic bacteria following parturition. A20 is essential for regulating inflammation and modulating immune responses. Nevertheless, the exact role of A20 in the BEECs in response to inflammatory response is not fully understood. An endometritis model infected by Escherichia coli (E. coli) in vivo and a BEECs inflammation model induced with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro were built to investigate the function and governing mechanisms of A20 in endometritis. The results showed that infection with E. coli resulted in endometrial damage, inflammatory cell infiltration, and upregulation of inflammatory factors in dairy cows. Furthermore, A20 expression was upregulated in the endometrium of cows with endometritis and in BEECs following LPS stimulation. A20 overexpression attenuated the level of proinflammatory cytokines in LPS-stimulated BEECs; conversely, A20 knockdown lead to an exacerbated response to LPS stimulation. The overexpression of A20 was shown to activate autophagy and suppress the NF-κB signaling pathway in LPS-stimulated BEECs. However, blocking autophagy with chloroquine notably attenuated the anti-inflammatory effect of A20, leading to the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. In summary, the study demonstrated that A20’s suppression of inflammation in LPS-stimulated BEECs is associated with the activation of autophagy. Therefore, the A20 protein showed potential as a novel treatment focus for managing endometritis in dairy cows.

Abstract Quasicrystal metasurfaces, a kind of two-dimensional artificial optical materials with subwavelength meta-atoms arranged in quasi-periodic tiling schemes, have attracted extensive attentions due to their novel optical properties. In a recent work, a dual-functional quasicrystal metasurface, which can be used to simultaneously generate the diffraction pattern and holographic image, is experimentally demonstrated. The proposed method expands the manipulation dimensions for multi-functional quasicrystal metasurfaces and may have important applications in microscopy, optical information processing, optical encryption, etc.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of lamotrigine on peripheral blood cytokines and depression in patients with epilepsy and to explore the possible mechanism by which lamotrigine regulates depression in patients with epilepsy. Methods: 50 healthy people, 72 patients treated with lamotrigine (LTG group) and 72 patients treated with valproate were enrolled (VPA group). Cytokine levels in the peripheral blood of the subjects were measured and their level of depression was scored according to the self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Chinese version of Epilepsy Depression Scale (c-NDDI-E). The cytokine levels and depression scale scores were compared between the three groups. The correlation between cytokine levels and depression scale scores was analyzed. Results: The levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α and the SDS, HAMD, and c-NDDI-E scores in healthy group was lower than that in epileptic group. After 6 months of treatment, the difference valule of IL-1β、IL-6、TNF-α、SDS and HAMD before and after treatment in LTG group significantly higher than that in VPA group. Correlation analysis showed that the SDS scores were correlated with the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α, and the HAMD scores were correlated with the levels of TNF-α. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the HAMD scores were correlated with the levels of TNF-α. Conclusion: Lamotrigine can inhibit peripheral blood inflammation and improve depression in epileptic patients. Lamotrigine improved depressive mood in epileptic patients, which may be related to reduced TNF-α levels.

IntroductionViral infections have been implicated as a risk factor for laryngeal cancer. Given the possible effects of Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the laryngeal tissue, we investigated the causal link between COVID-19 and laryngeal cancer using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.MethodsWe utilized genetic data from the 5th Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) edition of the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative (published on January 18, 2021) and a large-scale laryngeal cancer GWAS comprising 180 cases and 218,612 controls of European ancestry. We applied inverse variance weighting, MR Egger, and weighted median methods to infer causality. We performed sensitivity analysis using the “leave-one-out” method to verify robustness.ResultsWe found no evidence of a causal association between gene-predicted COVID-19 and laryngeal cancer [Odds ratio (OR)=0.24 (95% Confidence intervals (CI), 0.05–1.26), P=0.09]. However, we observed significant inverse associations between gene-predicted COVID-19 hospitalization [OR=0.51 (95% CI, 0.28–0.95), P=0.03] and severe patients [OR=0.62 (95% CI, 0.43–0.90), P=0.01] and laryngeal cancer. Notably, the study detected important genetic variants, such as rs13050728, that modulate the expression of interferon alpha receptor 2 (IFNAR2), indicating possible roles for immune response pathways in both COVID-19 and cancer.DiscussionThis study reveals a potential interaction between COVID-19 severity, genetic factors, and laryngeal cancer, underscoring the importance of investigating the immune response mechanisms in both conditions. These findings contribute to the understanding of the complex interactions between COVID-19 and laryngeal cancer and may guide future research on the role of immune response, particularly involving IFNAR2.

Objectives To reveal the association between a sedentary lifestyle and the prevalence of primary osteoporosis (POP).Design A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted.Setting This study was conducted in communities in Hefei city, Anhui province, China.Participants A total of 1346 residents aged 40 and above underwent POP screening via calcaneus ultrasound bone mineral density (BMD) testing and completed a questionnaire survey.Outcome measures The average daily sitting time was included in the study variable and used to assess sedentary behaviour. The 15 control variables included general information, dietary information and life behaviour information. Logistic regression was used to analyse the association between the POP prevalence and study or control variables in different models.Results 1346 participants were finally included in the study. According to the 15 control variables, the crude model and 4 models were established. The analysis revealed that the average daily sitting time showed a significant correlation with the prevalence of POP in the crude model (OR=2.02, 95% CI=1.74 to 2.36, p

Fusarium crown rot (FCR) is one of the most important soilborne diseases affecting wheat production. To investigate the diversity of the pathogens causing this disease, 199 diseased wheat samples were collected from 13 cities in Shandong province. In total, 468 isolates were obtained, and from these isolates, 11 Fusarium species were identified based on phylogenetic analyses with the translation elongation factor-1α (TEF-1α), RNA polymerase II largest subunit (RPB1), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) gene sequences. Of these Fusarium isolates, 283 were identified as Fusarium pseudograminearum and the remaining isolates were identified as Fusarium graminearum (n = 113), Fusarium sinensis (n = 28), Fusarium acuminatum (n = 18), Fusarium incarnatum (n = 13), Fusarium ipomoeae (n = 5), Fusarium flocciferum (n = 3), Fusarium proliferatum (n = 2), Fusarium asiaticum (n = 1), Fusarium culmorum (n = 1), and Fusarium oxysporum (n = 1), suggesting that F. pseudograminearum is the dominant pathogen of FCR of wheat in Shandong province. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that all 11 Fusarium species could cause typical symptoms of FCR on wheat seedlings. The results of the study indicate that a greater diversity of Fusarium species can cause FCR of wheat in Shandong province than that has been previously reported. This is the first report in the world of Fusarium incarnatum, Fusarium ipomoeae, and Fusarium flocciferum as pathogens causing FCR in wheat.

Current studies on cultured meat mainly focus on the muscle tissue reconstruction in vitro, but lack the formation of intramuscular fat, which is a crucial factor in determining taste, texture, and nutritional contents. Therefore, incorporating fat into cultured meat is of superior value. In this study, we employed the myogenic/lipogenic transdifferentiation of chicken fibroblasts in 3D to produce muscle mass and deposit fat into the same cells without the co-culture or mixture of different cells or fat substances. The immortalized chicken embryonic fibroblasts were implanted into the hydrogel scaffold, and the cell proliferation and myogenic transdifferentiation were conducted in 3D to produce the whole-cut meat mimics. Compared to 2D, cells grown in 3D matrix showed elevated myogenesis and collagen production. We further induced fat deposition in the transdifferentiated muscle cells and the triglyceride content could be manipulated to match and exceed the levels of chicken meat. The gene expression analysis indicated that both lineage-specific and multifunctional signalings could contribute to the generation of muscle/fat matrix. Overall, we were able to precisely modulate muscle, fat, and extracellular matrix contents according to balanced or specialized meat preferences. These findings provide new avenues for customized cultured meat production with desired intramuscular fat contents that can be tailored to meet the diverse demands of consumers.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to establish an accurate and efficient scientific calculation model for the nutritional composition of catering food to estimate energy and nutrient content of catering food.MethodsWe constructed a scientific raw material classification database based on the Chinese food composition table by calculating the representative values of each food raw material type. Using China’s common cooking methods, we cooked 150 dishes including grains, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and vegetables and established a database showing the raw and cooked ratios of various food materials by calculating the ratio of raw to cooked and the China Total Diet Research database. The effects of various cooking methods on the nutritional composition of catering food were analyzed to determine correction factors for such methods on the nutritional components. Finally, we linked the raw material classification, raw and cooked ratio, and nutritional component correction factor databases to establish a model for calculating the nutritional components of catering food. The model was verified with nine representative Chinese dishes.ResultsWe have completed the construction of an accurate and efficient scientific calculation model for the nutritional composition of catering food, which improves the accuracy of nutrition composition calculation.ConclusionThe model constructed in this study was scientific, accurate, and efficient, thereby promising in facilitating the accurate calculation and correct labeling of nutritional components in catering food.

Abstract Hydrogen‐bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) have been widely researched and used in industrial fields owing to their relatively low weight and high pore volume. Furthermore, HOFs with redox‐active units have recently gained attention as electrode‐active materials for energy storage devices as well as other porous organic polymers. This study focuses on N,N‐bis(2‐isophthalicacid)naphthalenediimide (ECUT‐HOF‐30), which exhibits good redox and mechanical properties owing to the redox‐active imide units in heterocyclic compounds, and 1,3,6,8‐tetrakis(4‐carboxyphenyl)pyrene (PFC‐1) and 3,3’,5,5’‐tetrakis‐(4‐carboxyphenyl)‐1,1’‐biphenyl (TCBP) without imide units as relatively lightweight HOFs. We evaluated the battery performance using three HOFs with and without redox‐active imide units as cathode active materials for rechargeable lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs). The HOFs maintained their cycle stability and battery capacities even by HOF formation and ECUT‐HOF‐30 with redox‐active imide units particularly exhibited good battery performance. These results imply the potential of rigid HOFs with redox‐active imide units for realizing high‐performance energy storage devices.

Abstract Graphene geometric diodes, with applications in THz detection, energy harvesting, and high‐speed rectification, have been previously constrained by graphene quality and geometry feature size. This study presents significant advancements in graphene geometric diodes by employing the h‐BN/monolayer graphene/h‐BN heterojunction and extremely precise electron beam lithography. Two distinct designs of graphene geometric diodes with neck widths of 23 and 26 nm are fabricated, the superior of which demonstrated an asymmetry ratio of 1.97, a zero bias current responsivity of 0.6 A W−1, and a voltage responsivity of 12,000 V W−1, setting new benchmarks for such devices. Integrating this device into a rectification circuit, the experimentally validate that the rectified DC output voltage can be dynamically modulated and even inverted through adjustments to the diode's gate voltage. This behavior aligns seamlessly with graphene's intrinsic tunability of charge carriers, implying promising prospects for the device's application in advanced logic circuits, bidirectional switches, and signal modulation/demodulation techniques.

Abstract Background Bladder cancer (BCa) is a highly malignant tumor, and if left untreated, it can develop severe hematuria and tumor metastasis, thereby endangering the patient's life. The purpose of this paper was to detect the expression of ATAD3A in BCa and research the relationship between ATAD3A and pathological features of bladder cancer and the prognosis of patients. Methods First, the expression of ATAD3A in BCa and normal bladder tissues was analyzed based on the UALCAN and Oncomine public databases. Second, 491 cases of surgically resected bladder cancer specimens and 110 cases of normal adjacent tissues were immunohistochemically stained. The expression of ATAD3A was quantified, and the value and prognosis of ATAD3A as a biomarker of BCa were evaluated. Results The expression of ATAD3A in bladder cancer tissues was higher than that in normal bladder mucosa. High expression of ATAD3A was correlated with patient age, tumor size, number of tumors, distant metastasis, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, and TNM stage (p

Abstract Molecular folding regulation with environmental stimuli is critical in living and artificial molecular machine systems. Herein, we described a macrocycle, cyclo[4] (1,3-(4,6-dimethyl)benzene)[4](1,3-(4,6-dimethyl)benzene)(4-pyridine). Under 298 K, it has three stable stiff atropisomers with names as 1 (C s symmetry), 2 (C s symmetry), and 3 (C 4v symmetry). At 393 K, 1 can reversibly transform into 2, but at 473 K, it can irrevocably transform into 3. At 338 K, 3 and (PhCN)2PdCl2 complex to produce the metal-organic cage 4. Only at 338 K does the combination of 1 or 2 and (PhCN)2PdCl2 create a gel-like structure. Heating both gels to 473 K transforms them into 4. In addition to offering a thermally accelerated method for modifying self-assembled systems using macrocyclic building blocks, this study also has the potential to develop the nanoscale transformation material with a thermal response.

Reticulocalbin‐1 (RCN1) is expressed aberrantly and at a high level in various tumors, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), yet its impact on AML remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that RCN1 knockdown significantly suppresses the viability of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) from AML patients but does not affect the viability of granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF)‐mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) from healthy donors in vitro. Downregulation of RCN1 also reduces the viability of AML cell lines. Further studies showed that the RCN1 knockdown upregulates type I interferon (IFN‐1) expression and promotes AML cell pyroptosis through caspase‐1 and gasdermin D (GSDMD) signaling. Deletion of the mouse Rcn1 gene inhibits the viability of mouse AML cell lines but not the hematopoiesis of mouse bone marrow. In addition, RCN1 downregulation in human AML cells significantly inhibited tumor growth in the NSG mouse xenograft model. Taken together, our results suggest that RCN1 may be a potential target for AML therapy.

Abstract Background Most studies have focused on the risk factors, treatment, and care of affective psychosis, and several have reported a relationship between ambient air quality and this psychosis. Although an association has been reported between psychosis and genes, studies mainly explored the associations between one type of psychosis and one gene; few have identified genes related to affective psychosis. This study investigates the genetic and environmental factors of affective psychosis. Methods In this retrospective longitudinal study, 27 604 participants aged 30–70 were selected from Taiwan Biobank. The participants’ propensity scores were calculated based on their demographic information, and propensity score matching was performed to divide the participants into an experimental (i.e., affective psychosis) and control group at a 1:5 ratio. Plink was used to analyze the major and minor types of gene expression related to affective psychosis, and PM2.5 exposure was incorporated into the analyses. Results According to the generalized estimating equation analysis results, 8 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) belonging to the ANK3, BDNF, CACNA1C, and GRID1 genotypes were significantly correlated with depressive disorder (P

Abstract Magnetic actuation has been well exploited for untethered manipulation and locomotion of small-scale robots in complex environments such as intracorporeal lumens. Most existing magnetic actuation systems employ a permanent magnet onboard the robot. However, only 2-DoF orientation of the permanent-magnet robot can be controlled since no torque can be generated about its axis of magnetic moment, which limits the dexterity of manipulation. Here, we propose a new magnetic actuation method using a single soft magnet with an anisotropic geometry (e.g., triaxial ellipsoids) for full 3-DoF orientation manipulation. The fundamental actuation principle of anisotropic magnetization and 3-DoF torque generation are analytically modeled and experimentally validated. The hierarchical orientation stability about three principal axes is investigated, based on which we propose and validate a multi-step open-loop control strategy to alternatingly manipulate the direction of the longest axis of the soft magnet and the rotation about it for dexterous 3-DoF orientation manipulation.

Abstract Background Doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) is a major impediment to its clinical application. It is indispensable to explore alternative treatment molecules or drugs for mitigating DIC. WGX50, an organic extract derived from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant biological activity, however, its function and mechanism in DIC remain unclear. Methods We established DOX-induced cardiotoxicity models both in vitro and in vivo. Echocardiography and histological analyses were used to determine the severity of cardiac injury in mice. The myocardial damage markers cTnT, CK-MB, ANP, BNP, and ferroptosis associated indicators Fe2+, MDA, and GPX4 were measured using ELISA, RT-qPCR, and western blot assays. The morphology of mitochondria was investigated with a transmission electron microscope. The levels of mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial ROS, and lipid ROS were detected using JC-1, MitoSOX™, and C11-BODIPY 581/591 probes. Results Our findings demonstrate that WGX50 protects DOX-induced cardiotoxicity via restraining mitochondrial ROS and ferroptosis. In vivo, WGX50 effectively relieves doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction, cardiac injury, fibrosis, mitochondrial damage, and redox imbalance. In vitro, WGX50 preserves mitochondrial function by reducing the level of mitochondrial membrane potential and increasing mitochondrial ATP production. Furthermore, WGX50 reduces iron accumulation and mitochondrial ROS, increases GPX4 expression, and regulates lipid metabolism to inhibit DOX-induced ferroptosis. Conclusion Taken together, WGX50 protects DOX-induced cardiotoxicity via mitochondrial ROS and the ferroptosis pathway, which provides novel insights for WGX50 as a promising drug candidate for cardioprotection. Graphic abstract

Abstract Mounting evidence has proposed the importance of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and tripartite motif 31 (TRIM31) in certain malignancies. Our research aimed to clarify the correlation between aberrant TRIM31 expression and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway during gastric cancer (GC) oncogenesis and development. TRIM31 was drastically elevated in GC tissues and was closely associated with aggressive clinical outcomes and poor prognosis. Moreover, TRIM31 downregulation attenuated GC cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. Mechanistically, TRIM31 could bind and ubiquitinate Axin1 protein, thereby facilitating the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Additionally, Axin1 knockdown partially abrogated the inhibitory effects on the proliferative, invasive and migratory abilities of GC cells induced by TRIM31 silencing. Furthermore, TRIM31 was negatively correlated with Axin1 protein expression in GC tissues. In summary, we revealed a new TRIM31-Axin1-Wnt/β-catenin axis that contributed greatly to the progression of GC, and targeting this regulatory axis may represent an effective treatment for GC patients.

Abstract Background The cotton industry suffers significant yield losses annually due to Verticillium wilt, which is considered the most destructive disease affecting the crop. However, the precise mechanisms behind this disease in cotton remain largely unexplored. Methods Our approach involved utilizing transcriptome data from G. australe which was exposed to Verticillium dahliae infection. From this data, we identified ethylene-responsive factors and further investigated their potential role in resistance through functional validations via Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in cotton and overexpression in Arabidopsis. Results A total of 23 ethylene response factors (ERFs) were identified and their expression was analyzed at different time intervals (24 h, 48 h, and 72 h post-inoculation). Among them, GauERF105 was selected based on qRT-PCR expression analysis for further investigation. To demonstrate the significance of GauERF105, VIGS was utilized, revealing that suppressing GauERF105 leads to more severe infections in cotton plants compared to the wild-type. Additionally, the silenced plants exhibited reduced lignin deposition in the stems compared to the WT plants, indicating that the silencing of GauERF105 also impacts lignin content. The overexpression of GauERF105 in Arabidopsis confirmed its pivotal role in conferring resistance against Verticillium dahliae infection. Our results suggest that WT possesses higher levels of the oxidative stress markers MDA and H2O2 as compared to the overexpressed lines. In contrast, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes SOD and POD were higher in the overexpressed lines compared to the WT. Furthermore, DAB and trypan staining of the overexpressed lines suggested a greater impact of the disease in the wild-type compared to the transgenic lines. Conclusions Our findings provide confirmation that GauERF105 is a crucial candidate in the defense mechanism of cotton against Verticillium dahliae invasion, and plays a pivotal role in this process. These results have the potential to facilitate the development of germplasm resistance in cotton.

Abstract This study investigated the effects of Tai Chi exercise on subjective well-being in the aged. The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group received 12-week Tai Chi exercise while the control group maintain their original living habits. The participants’ subjective well-being, physical fitness, self-control, and executive function were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of Tai Chi exercise. Results: (1) Tai Chi exercise can positively affect the subjective well-being of the aged (F(1,78) = 37.699, p

The increasing volume of motorized traffic not only negatively impacts the structural preservation and overall planning of individual buildings within the block but also disrupts the originally harmonious and pleasant spatial environment of the area. Walking, as a primary mode of urban transportation, plays a crucial role in preserving the unique characteristics of historical blocks, enhancing the quality of the urban environment, and achieving long-term sustainable urban development. This study takes the Five Avenues historical block as a case, assessing the current walking environment from the perspective of Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE). Machine learning techniques (including web scraping, the TF-IDF algorithm, and the LDA model) were employed to collect and analyze user feedback data, assisting in constructing walking environment satisfaction indicators. A total of 19 key factors affecting walking satisfaction were identified. Paired sample t-tests, ANOVA, and reliability and validity analyses were applied to examine the feasibility and practicality of the questionnaire content. Finally, using Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA), the improvement priorities for walking environment indicators were clearly defined. Although the overall satisfaction index of the Five Avenues is comparatively high, unobstructed pathways have the greatest impact on walking environment satisfaction, followed by the rationality of guiding signage facilities, and then by public security management and facility maintenance. Furthermore, visitors prioritize factors such as the cultural recognizability of the area, travel convenience, green space accessibility, and the sidewalk width proportion; they are less focused on the functional aspects of the walkways. Based on the analysis results from POE and machine learning, targeted strategies for improving the walking environment in historical blocks were proposed, aiming to provide a more comprehensive basis for improving the walking environments of similar blocks.

Magnetic pose tracking is a non-contact, accurate, and occlusion-free method that has been increasingly employed to track intra-corporeal medical devices such as endoscopes in computer-assisted medical interventions. In magnetic pose-tracking systems, a nonlinear estimation algorithm is needed to recover the pose information from magnetic measurements. In existing pose estimation algorithms such as the extended Kalman filter (EKF), the 3-DoF orientation in the S3 manifold is normally parametrized as unit quaternions and simply treated as a vector in the Euclidean space, which causes a violation of the unity constraint of quaternions and reduces pose tracking accuracy. In this paper, a pose estimation algorithm based on the error-state Kalman filter (ESKF) is proposed to improve the accuracy and robustness of electromagnetic tracking systems. The proposed system consists of three electromagnetic coils for magnetic field generation and a tri-axial magnetic sensor attached to the target object for field measurement. A strategy of sequential coil excitation is developed to separate the magnetic fields from different coils and reject magnetic disturbances. Simulation and experiments are conducted to evaluate the pose tracking performance of the proposed ESKF algorithm, which is also compared with standard EKF and constrained EKF. It is shown that the ESKF can effectively maintain the quaternion unity and thus achieve a better tracking accuracy, i.e., a Euclidean position error of 2.23 mm and an average orientation angle error of 0.45°. The disturbance rejection performance of the electromagnetic tracking system is also experimentally validated.

The H9 subtype of avian influenza virus (AIV) has been characterized by its rapid spread, wide range of prevalence, and continuous evolution in recent years, leading to an increasing ability for cross-species transmission. This not only severely impacts the economic benefits of the aquaculture industry, but also poses a significant threat to human health. Therefore, developing a rapid and sensitive detection method is crucial for the timely diagnosis and prevention of H9 AIVs. In this study, a real-time fluorescent reverse transcription recombinase-aided isothermal amplification (RT–RAA) technique targeting the hemagglutinin (HA) of H9 AIVs was established. This technique can be used for detection in just 30 min at a constant temperature of 42 °C, and it exhibits good specificity without cross-reactivity with other viruses. Sensitivity tests revealed that the detection limit of RT–RAA was 163 copies per reaction, and the visual detection limit was 1759 copies per reaction at a 95% confidence interval, both of which are capable of detecting low concentrations of standards. Furthermore, RT–RAA was applied to detect 155 clinical samples, and compared to real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT–qPCR), RT–RAA demonstrated high accuracy, with a specificity of 100% and a kappa value of 0.96, indicating good correlation. Additionally, with the assistance of a portable blue imaging device, we can visually observe the amplification products, greatly facilitating rapid detection in resource-limited environments. The RT–RAA detection method developed in this study does not require expensive equipment or highly skilled staff, making it beneficial for the accurate and low-cost detection of H9 AIVs.

Growth differentiation among farmed sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) poses a significant challenge to aquaculture, with there being a limited understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. In this study, sea urchins with varying growth rates, reared under identical conditions, were analyzed for feeding behavior, gut microbiota, and transcriptomes. Large-sized sea urchins demonstrated significantly higher feeding ability and longer duration than smaller ones. The dominant phyla across all size groups were Campylobacterota, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes, with Campylobacterota showing the highest abundance in small-sized sea urchins (82.6%). However, the families Lachnospiraceae and Pseudomonadaceae were significantly less prevalent in small-sized sea urchins. Transcriptome analysis identified 214, 544, and 732 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the large vs. medium, large vs. small, and medium vs. small comparisons, respectively. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analyses associated DEGs with key processes such as steroid biosynthesis, protein processing within the endoplasmic reticulum, and nucleotide sugar metabolism. Variations in phagosomes and signaling pathways indicated that size differences are linked to disparities in energy expenditure and stress responses. These findings provide a foundation for future investigations into the regulatory mechanisms underlying growth differences in S. intermedius and provide clues for the screening of molecular markers useful to improve sea urchin production.

The variety and content of high-quality proteins in sunflower seeds are higher than those in other cereals. However, sunflower seeds can suffer from abnormalities, such as breakage and deformity, during planting and harvesting, which hinder the development of the sunflower seed industry. Traditional methods such as manual sensory and machine sorting are highly subjective and cannot detect the internal characteristics of sunflower seeds. The development of spectral imaging technology has facilitated the application of terahertz waves in the quality inspection of sunflower seeds, owing to its advantages of non-destructive penetration and fast imaging. This paper proposes a novel terahertz image classification model, MobileViT-E, which is trained and validated on a self-constructed dataset of sunflower seeds. The results show that the overall recognition accuracy of the proposed model can reach 96.30%, which is 4.85%, 3%, 7.84% and 1.86% higher than those of the ResNet-50, EfficientNeT, MobileOne and MobileViT models, respectively. At the same time, the performance indices such as the recognition accuracy, the recall and the F1-score values are also effectively improved. Therefore, the MobileViT-E model proposed in this study can improve the classification and identification of normal, damaged and deformed sunflower seeds, and provide technical support for the non-destructive detection of sunflower seed quality.

This study utilized gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) to analyze the volatile flavor compounds present in various commercially available sausages. Additionally, it conducted a comparative assessment of the distinctions among different samples by integrating sensory evaluation with textural and physicochemical parameters. The results of the GC-IMS analysis showed that a total of 65 volatile compounds were detected in the four samples, including 12 hydrocarbons, 11 alcohols, 10 ketones, 9 aldehydes, 12 esters, and 1 acids. Fingerprinting combined with principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the volatiles of different brands of sausages were significantly different (p < 0.05). The volatiles of S1 and S4 were more similar and significantly different from the other two samples (p < 0.05). Among them, there were 14 key volatile substances in the four samples, of which 3-hydroxy-2-butanone and diallyl sulfide were common to all four sausages. Combined textural and sensory evaluations revealed that smoked sausages exhibited superior characteristics in resilience, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness. Additionally, smoked sausages were found to be more attractive in color, moderately spicy, and salty, while having a lower fat content. In conclusion, smoked sausages are preferred by consumers over flavored oil sausages.

We report an experimental demonstration of resonance fluorescence in a two-level superconducting artificial atom under two driving fields coupled to a detuned cavity. One of the fields is classical and the other is varied from quantum (vacuum fluctuations) to classical by controlling the photon number inside the cavity. The device consists of a transmon qubit strongly coupled to a one-dimensional transmission line and a coplanar waveguide resonator. We observe a sideband anticrossing and asymmetry in the emission spectra of the system through a one-dimensional transmission line, which is fundamentally different from the weak-coupling case. By changing the photon number inside the cavity, the emission spectrum of our doubly driven system approaches the case when the atom is driven by two classical bichromatic fields. We also measure the dynamical evolution of the system through the transmission line and study the properties of the first-order correlation function, Rabi oscillations, and energy relaxation in the system. The study of resonance fluorescence from an atom driven by two fields promotes understanding decoherence in superconducting quantum circuits and may find applications in superconducting quantum computing and quantum networks.