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An increasing attention has been directed at the study of tourist perceived value, as more and more destinations recognize its importance of being a new battleground for gaining competitive advantage. This is particularly true for wetland parks, the popularity of which is fast growing as novel tourist attractions. The marketplace is expected to experience heightened competition. The purpose of this research is to better understand the tourist perceived value of wetland parks and provide a tool for wetland destinations to manage it as their competitive advantage. Xixi and Qinhu Lake are both AAAAA-Level Scenic Areas and are listed as the top two of the first 12 National Wetland Parks in China. Using the two National Wetland Parks of Xixi and Qinhu Lake as cases, this research develops a measurement scale and explores the structural characteristics of the wetland park tourist perceived value. The analyses of the empirical data have resulted in a six-dimension scale that comprises of 23 items. The six value dimensions, each of which are comprised of three to five items, are 1) environment, 2) characteristics, 3) service, 4) management, 5) education, and 6) cost. The theoretical contribution of the study lies in the discovery of the six- dimension scale of the wetland park tourist perceived value and the structural similarity and difference of tourist perceived values between wetland parks and other types of tourist attractions. Five of the six dimensions mirror five of the seven experiences found in the previous work of Wei Xia and Pan Yiting. The dimension of management value found in the current research was not present in Wei and Pan's work; whereas the dimensions of trust and concern experiences in Wei and Pan's study are not found in the current study. To compare with extant studies on tourist perceived values in the contexts of other attraction types, the dimensions of environment, characteristics and management values are unique to, and reflect the ecological attributes, of wetland parks. These three dimensions, together with the dimension of service value, constitute the functional value of wetland parks. However, the social value, which tends to be an important component in other studies, is absent as an independent dimension in this research at all. The findings from the research bear significant managerial implications for the two wetland parks. Although tourists have positive perceptions of both parks, the ratings are not as high as expected. There is much room for both parks to improve in order to compete more effectively with other types of attractions and to provide higher values for the tourists. The measurement scale is consistent between the two parks with no significant difference between four of the six dimensions. The exceptions are characteristics and education values, which are perceived higher of Qinhu Lake than of Xixi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High cycle fatigue fracture (HCF) occurs on the conductive slide support rod of a section insulator. • Arc discharge-induced crack is investigated. • Stress concentration generated at the edge of the arc-shaped region of the support rod promotes crack to initiate and propagate. • Alternating load causing the fatigue fracture is mainly from the change in train operation direction at the returnsite on the route. The support rod of conductive slide of a section insulator which was applied in urban rail transport system fractured after operation for about 4 years. The failed section insulator was installed at the turning of the train route. Multiple failure causes had been analyzed utilizing a combination methods of chemical composition analysis, mechanical property test, metallographic examination, macro morphology and microstructure observation. The support rod is made of AISI-304/L/C stainless steel. No obvious microstructure defects are detected in crack origins or the matrix material. The mechanical properties and the chemical composition satisfy the requirement. The failure mechanism of the support rod is proved to be high cycle fatigue fracture (HCF). The main fatigue crack origin locates at the right-angle edge of the arc-shaped transition region of the support rod where stress concentration can be generated easily. In addition, arc discharge-induced cracks can be observed on the local burned surface of the support rod, and they contribute a lot to the fatigue crack initiation. Finally, the alternating load mainly results from the change of train operation direction at the turning position and this change further leads to the direction change of the contact force between pantograph and insulator section. Besides, the impact, vibration and unsmooth contact caused by pantograph also contribute to the alternating load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) generally has a favorable prognosis, and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy is typically used for metastatic DTC that continues to progress and poses life-threatening risks. However, resistance to RAI in metastatic DTC significantly impairs treatment effectiveness. This study aims to identify potential compounds that may influence RAI efficacy. We conducted untargeted metabolomics on pre-treatment serum samples from 42 RAI-refractory DTC (RAIR-DTC) patients and 52 RAI-sensitive patients. The results revealed significantly elevated levels of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), PFDA and PFNA, in RAI-resistant patients. This accumulation was significantly negatively correlated with the expression of the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS), which reflects the differentiation status and iodide uptake capability of thyroid cancer. Furthermore, high levels of PFDA and PFNA exposure were significantly associated with poor prognosis in patients undergoing RAI therapy. In vivo exposure simulations in a murine model showed that PFAS exposure significantly increased the malignant progression of thyroid cancer, reduced iodine uptake ability, and promoted dedifferentiation. Overall, these findings provide novel insights into the development of RAIR-DTC, highlighting the importance of continuous monitoring and control of PFAS exposure in cancer patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are closely associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Due to the highly dynamic nature of IDPs, their structural determination and conformational exploration pose significant challenges for both experimental and computational research. Recently, the integration of machine learning with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations has emerged as a promising methodology for efficiently exploring the conformation spaces of IDPs. In this viewpoint, we briefly review recently developed autoencoder-based models designed to enhance the conformational exploration of IDPs through embedding and latent sampling. We highlight the capability of autoencoders in expanding the conformations sampled by MD simulations and discuss their limitations due to the non-Gaussian latent space distribution and the limited conformational diversity of training conformations. Potential strategies to overcome these limitations are also discussed.

The cladding of fast reactor fuel rods, made of stainless steel, presents significant challenges in cutting due to its ductility, which leads to increased tool wear and poor cut quality with traditional mechanical methods. Laser cutting has emerged as a superior alternative, offering non-contact precision, high efficiency, and suitability for radioactive environments. This study systematically investigates the effects of laser cutting parameters-cutting speed, focal position, power, and gas pressure-on the cutting quality of simulated fast reactor fuel rods. The results show that optimal cutting is achieved with a cutting speed of 1 m/min, a focal position between - 20 and - 25 mm, a laser power between 7200 and 9600 W, and a gas pressure of 10 MPa. These parameters provide the best balance between cutting efficiency, surface roughness, and minimal slag formation. This study contributes valuable insights into optimizing laser cutting technology for nuclear fuel rod processing, with potential applications in fuel reprocessing and decommissioning., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The prognostic value of nutritional status in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) remains unclear. The Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) is a reliable indicator of overall nutritional and immune status, and it has emerged as a significant prognostic factor in various malignancies. This study aimed to explore the utility of PNI in ATC., Methods: We systematically reviewed ATC patients in our institute from January 2000 to June 2023 and categorized them into high and low PNI groups based on the median PNI value. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression were employed to assess the impact of PNI on overall survival, while ROC curve analysis evaluated the predictive value of PNI. Mimics software was used for three-dimensional reconstruction of pre- and post-immunotherapy tumor volumes, enabling the assessment of treatment response., Results: A total of 77 ATC patients were included in this study. Low baseline PNI was associated with significantly shorter overall survival (1-year survival rate: 5.26% vs 30.77%; median survival time: 5.30 months vs 8.87 months). The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year AUC values for PNI were 0.82, 0.79, and 0.77, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, both PNI and tumor size emerged as independent prognostic factors for patient overall survival. Among ATC patients receiving 2-3 cycles of immunotherapy, an increase in post-treatment PNI levels was positively correlated with a reduction in tumor volume., Conclusion: PNI is an independent predictor of overall survival and holds the potential to serve as a valuable indicator for assessing and predicting immunotherapy efficacy in ATC patients., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSC) is a prevalent malignant disease, with the majority of patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is considered to be a process that promotes tumorigenesis and impacts the tumor microenvironment (TME) in various cancers. The study aims to investigate the predictive value of ERS in HNSC and explore the correlation between ERS-related genes and TME. A series of bioinformatics analyses were carried out based on mRNA and scRNA-seq data from the TCGA and GEO databases. We conducted RT-qPCR and western blot to validate the signature, and performed cell functional experiments to investigate the in vitro biological functions of the gene. We identified 63 ERS-related genes that were associated with outcome and stage in HNSC. A three-gene signature (ATF6, TRIB3, and UBXN6) was developed, which presents predictive value in the prognosis and immunotherapy response of HNSC patients. The high-risk group exhibited a worse prognosis but may benefit from immunotherapy. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between the signature and immune infiltration. In the high-risk group, fibroblasts were more active in intercellular communication, and more T cells were observed at the end of the sequential phase. The genes in the ERS-related signature were overexpressed in HNSC cells, and the knockdown of TRIB3 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and migration. This study established a novel ERS-related signature that has potential implications for HNSC therapy and the understanding of TME., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Pollution from heavy metals in estuaries poses potential risks to the aquatic environment and public health. The complexity of the estuarine water environment limits the accurate understanding of its pollution prediction. Field observations were conducted at seven sampling sites along the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE) during summer, autumn, and winter 2021 to analyze the concentrations of seven heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn) in water and surface sediments. The order of heavy metal concentrations in water samples from highest to lowest was Zn > As > Cu > Ni > Cr > Pb > Cd, while that in surface sediments samples was Zn > Cr > As > Ni > Pb > Cu > Cd. Human health risk assessment of the heavy metals in water samples indicated a chronic and carcinogenic risk associated with As. The risks of heavy metals in surface sediments were evaluated using the geo-accumulation index (I geo ) and potential ecological risk index (RI). Among the seven heavy metals, As and Cd were highly polluted, with Cd being the main contributor to potential ecological risks. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to identify the sources of the different heavy metals, revealing that As originated primarily from anthropogenic emissions, while Cd was primarily from atmospheric deposition. To further analyze the influence of water quality indicators on heavy metal pollution, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was utilized. A modified model was proposed, incorporating biochemical parameters to predict the level of heavy metal pollution, achieving an accuracy of 95.1%. This accuracy was 22.5% higher than that of the traditional model and particularly effective in predicting the maximum 20% of values. Results in this paper highlight the pollution of As and Cd along the YRE, and the proposed model provides valuable information for estimating heavy metal pollution in estuarine water environments, facilitating pollution prevention efforts., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Forkhead box D1 (FOXD1) belongs to the FOX protein family, which has been found to function as a oncogene in multiple cancer types, but its role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) requires further investigation. Our research aimed to investigate the function of FOXD1 in HNSCC. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that mRNA level of FOXD1 was highly expressed in HNSCC tissues, and over-expressed FOXD1 was related to poor prognosis. Moreover, FOXD1 knockdown increased the ratio of senescent cells but decreased the proliferation ability, while FOXD1 overexpression obtained the opposite results. In vitro experiments revealed that FOXD1 bound to the p21 promoter and inhibited its transcription, which blocked the cyclin dependent kinase 2 (CDK2)/retinoblastoma (Rb) signaling pathway, thus preventing senescence and accelerating proliferation of tumor cells. CDK2 inhibitor could reverse the process to some extent. Further research has shown that miR-3oe-5p serves as a tumor suppressant by repressing the translation of FOXD1 through combining with the 3'-untranslated region (UTR). Thus, FOXD1 resists cellular senescence and facilitates HNSCC cell proliferation by affecting the expression of p21/CDK2/Rb signaling, suggesting that FOXD1 may be a potential curative target for HNSCC., (© 2023. Cell Death Differentiation Association (ADMC).)

As a common malignancy, thyroid cancer mainly occurs in the endocrine system. There have been accumulating studies on therapeutic methods of thyroid cancer, but its internal molecular mechanism is still not fully understood. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) OIP5-AS1 was confirmed as an oncogene and related to poor prognosis in various cancers. Nevertheless, its role and underlying mechanism remain unclear in thyroid cancer. Here, we observed a significant upregulation of OIP5-AS1 in thyroid cancer tissues and cells, and upregulated OIP5-AS1 was correlated with poor prognosis in thyroid cancer. Moreover, OIP5-AS1 knockdown resulted in the inhibited cell proliferation and migration, while overexpressed OIP5-AS1 exhibited the reverse function in thyroid cancer. Besides, OIP5-AS1 was found to positively regulate Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Through mechanism exploration, OIP5-AS1 was discovered to activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via FXR1/YY1/CTNNB1 axis. Finally, rescue assays indicated that the inhibitive role of silenced OIP5-AS1 in thyroid cancer cell growth and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway could be rescued by overexpression of CTNNB1 or addition of lithium chloride (LiCl). In conclusion, upregulation of OIP5-AS1 predicted unfavorable prognosis and enhanced thyroid cancer cell growth by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)