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In order to accurately evaluate the performance of a traction machine/drive system, it is necessary to have an accurate excitation source which considers current harmonics. In this paper, four machine/drive systems with different excitation sources have been modeled, simulated, and studied to evaluate the effects on permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) from different perspectives. In Model I, the excitation is an ideal sinusoidal current source with no harmonics. Model II is excited by an ideal sinusoidal voltage source regardless of the pulse width modification's (PWM's) influence. Model III takes into account the influence of current harmonics under space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) control. Model IV is based on the equivalent circuit extraction (ECE) model (a look-up table motor model). We simulate these four models and study the characteristics of the excitation sources, based on the observations of current harmonics, torque, electromagnetic force, computation time, and efficiency. Experiments are also conducted to show that Model III allows the most precise study of the considered system. Model IV is a good substitution, providing similar results with a shorter running time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The hydrogen isotopic composition of leaf-wax n -alkanes (δD n -alkane) is increasingly used as a proxy for estimating δD of past precipitation (δD p). However, aridity can also affect sedimentary δD n -alkane , complicating the interpretation of paleo-δD n -alkane records. In order to evaluate the effects of the complex interactions and balance between precipitation hydrogen isotope composition and aridity on sedimentary δD n -alkane records, we present two δD n -alkane records from the North China Plain and the western Chinese Loess Plateau across a steep east-west climatic gradient in the East Asian Summer Monsoon area since the Last Glacial Maximum. The estimated δD p changes, based on a present-day relationship between δD p and rainfall amounts, can explain much of the δD n -alkane variations in the North China Plain, but do not explain the large variations of δD n -alkane in the western Chinese Loess Plateau. Comparison of δD n -alkane records with observed δD n -alkane values in modern plants and published pollen data indicates that changes in vegetation play a minor role in the variations of δD n -alkane. Instead, δD n -alkane values are coincident with aridity both temporally and spatially, i.e. the higher δD n -alkane values the drier climate and vice versa. Aridity effects are more evident in the western Chinese Loess Plateau than in the North China Plain. Therefore, on glacial-interglacial scale, sedimentary δD n -alkane records from the North China Plain mostly reflect changes in δD p values, whereas those from the western Chinese Loess Plateau largely reflect the effects of aridity, mainly due to a greater evapotranspirational deuterium-enrichment caused by a drier climate in the western Chinese Loess Plateau than in the North China Plain. Further calibrations from modern sediments are required to better define the quantitative relationship between the δD n -alkane and climate in northern China. Highlights • The spatiotemporal pattern of δD n -alkane in the East Asian Monsoon region is presented. • The major factor influencing δD n -alkane is spatially different. • Precipitation hydrogen composition had a dominate influence on δD n -alkane records from the North China Plain. • Aridity exerted a dominate impact on δD n -alkane records from the western Chinese Loess Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the changeability of ship inner shell (SIS), so that both performance and design efficiency of transport ship can be improved, a new method for SIS optimization is proposed in this study. The method is based on the parametric expression model of SIS, which is a fully-associative model driven by dimensions. Based on the parameters of SIS, the computing system of hold capacity is developed to calculate the floating status and stability automatically. Furthermore, a parametric SIS optimization model is created, including optimization objective, constraints, optimization model solving etc., in which the maximized hold capacity and minimized ballast capacity are optimization objectives, the requirements and rules for SIS design are used as the constraints. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is improved to solve this optimization model. The proposed method is applied to a 50,000 DWT product oil tanker, and it is proved to be feasible, highly efficient, and engineering practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tunable terahertz (THz) bandstop filter based on electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) reconfigurable metamaterials is presented. The central part of the filter is a periodic array structure, and each unit cell consists of a movable bar and a fixed inverted trapezoidal ring. When direct current (DC) voltage is applied to actuate the electrostatic comb actuators symmetrically positioned on both sides, the movable frame and all movable bars can move in-plane. This will reconfigure the unit cell of the filter, and thus change its resonance frequency. Finite integration time domain (FITD) method is used to study the working mechanism and the influence of structure parameters. The results show that the performance of the filter strongly depends on the distance between the trapezoidal ring and the cross bar, the width of inverted trapezoidal ring and the basic angle of trapezoidal ring. A finite element analysis (FEA) method is introduced to study the electromechanical performance of the actuator, and a displacement of 3 µm is achieved at DC 30 V. The corresponding modulation of central frequency is about 24%. The potential applications of this tunable THz bandstop filter are THz communication, THz beam control and frequency selective detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the actual retrieval scenario, queries from different users tend to have different retrieval intentions. Accurately understanding users' retrieval intentions is a fundamental challenge for search engines. In this paper, we propose a Personalized Dynamic Attention Multi-task Learning model (PDAML) to solve this problem, which can clarify the user's retrieval intention and generate a personalized document list. Specifically, we design a personalized retrieval model that can learn user retrieval preferences based on the user's historical behavior. In addition, we propose an ad-hoc model based on multi-task learning to train query generation tasks and document retrieval tasks to enhance query representation and integrate document-aware interactive information into query representation through a dynamic attention mechanism. We can generate query representations with intent information and rank candidate documents through the interaction of the two sub-models. Experimental results on the publicly available AOL and SogouQ datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of PDAML, which improves the retrieval accuracy and personalized experience for users. • Dynamic attention mechanism can mine users' retrieval intentions and preferences. • Personalized search models can capture long and short-term retrieval preferences. • Multi-task training can generate better query and document embeddings. • Co-training of retrieval and query generation tasks can improve model performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf wax n -alkanes have been recently introduced into loess deposits for paleovegetation and paleoclimate reconstruction. However, the paleoclimate significance of some n -alkane parameters such as chain-length ratios (L/H, C 27 /C 31 , C 29 /C 31 , and (C 27 +C 29 )/(C 31 +C 33 )) remains to be clarified. In order to evaluate the validity of those proxies in loess deposits, leaf wax n -alkanes were analyzed from a northwest-southeast transect on the Chinese Loess Plateau since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The n -alkanes show a bimodal distribution between C 14 and C 33 with Carbon number maxima (C max ) at C 14 or C 16 , and at C 31 or C 33 , indicative of both terrestrial plant and microbial origin. L/H variations are in good agreement with climate changes both temporally and spatially, i.e. the higher L/H ratio the warmer and wetter climate and vice versa. Therefore, the L/H ratio in Chinese loess can serve as an efficient proxy for paleoclimate. By comparing long-chain n -alkane ratios with pollen records, we suggest that the generally used woody plant proxies (C 27 and C 29 ) and grass proxies (C 31 and C 33 ) are not applicable to Chinese loess. As the Chinese Loess Plateau was dominated by herbs in both the LGM and the Holocene, the long-chain n -alkane ratios may mainly reflect changes in the species composition of local vegetation. For a better understanding of leaf wax n -alkanes in Chinese loess, further studies are required to investigate the n -alkane distributions in both the major plant species and their associated surface soils on the Chinese Loess Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of glacial-interglacial changes in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) can potentially provide insights into future hydrological changes in its region of influence, caused by ongoing global warming. Here, we present temperature and hydrological (soil moisture and pH) reconstructions based on records of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers from fluvio-lacustrine sediments in the monsoonal North China Plain (NCP) for the past 31 kyr. The results show that the air temperature in the NCP was ∼8–9 °C warmer during the mid-Holocene than during the Last Glacial Maximum, and that soil pH is negatively correlated with soil moisture but with a lag of 2–4 kyr due to the buffering effect of carbonates. By contrast, soil moisture increased synchronously with temperature, suggesting that EASM precipitation will increase in the near future as global warming continues. Additionally, the initial increase in land and sea temperature during the last deglaciation lagged summer insolation at northern high latitudes, indicating that insolation was the ultimate trigger of the last deglacial warming. • BrGDGTs records show a LGM to Holocene warming of ∼8–9 °C in the North China Plain. • CBT'-derived soil pH is negatively correlated with precipitation. • Soil pH lags 2–4 kyr behind precipitation due to the buffering effect of carbonates. • Precipitation increased synchronously with air temperature in the monsoonal China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We included 62 studies from 17 countries assessing psychological distress of COVID-19. • We found a high psychological burden among medical staff and the general public. • However, the psychological distress was significantly higher among patients. • We identified risk factors of psychological burdens to identify high-risk people. • Professional medical services should be allocated to high-risk population. • More self-help materials should be made available for people with milder impact. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused enormous psychological impact worldwide. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the psychological and mental impact of COVID-19 among healthcare workers, the general population, and patients with higher COVID-19 risk published between 1 Nov 2019 to 25 May 2020. We conducted literature research using Embase, PubMed, Google scholar and WHO COVID-19 databases. Among the initial search of 9207 studies, 62 studies with 162,639 participants from 17 countries were included in the review. The pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression was 33% (95% confidence interval: 28%-38%) and 28% (23%-32%), respectively. The prevalence of anxiety and depression was the highest among patients with pre-existing conditions and COVID-19 infection (56% [39%-73%] and 55% [48%-62%]), and it was similar between healthcare workers and the general public. Studies from China, Italy, Turkey, Spain and Iran reported higher-than-pooled prevalence among healthcare workers and the general public. Common risk factors included being women, being nurses, having lower socioeconomic status, having high risks of contracting COVID-19, and social isolation. Protective factors included having sufficient medical resources, up-to-date and accurate information, and taking precautionary measures. In conclusion, psychological interventions targeting high-risk populations with heavy psychological distress are in urgent need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is one of the most common liver diseases worldwide; however, its pathogenesis and treatment methods have not been perfected. NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain-associated protein 3 (NLRP3) is a promising therapeutic target for MAFLD. Diosgenin (DG) is a natural compound that was identified in a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, which has pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and hypolipidemic activities. In this study, we examined the effects and molecular mechanisms of DG on MAFLD in vitro and in vivo. We established a rat model by administering a high-fat diet (HFD). We also generated an in vitro MAFLD model by treating HepG2 cells with free fatty acids (FFAs). The results indicated that DG attenuated lipid accumulation and liver injury in both in vitro and in vivo models. DG downregulated the expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speckle-like protein (ASC), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1 (caspase-1), gasdermin D (GSDMD), GSDMD-n, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). In addition, we silenced and overexpressed NLRP3 in vitro to determine the effects of DG on antiMAFLD. Silencing NLRP3 enhanced the effect of DG on the treatment of MAFLD, whereas NLRP3 overexpression reversed its beneficial effects. Taken together, the results show that DG has a favorable effect on attenuating MAFLD through the hepatic NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent signaling pathway. DG represents a natural NLRP3 inhibitor for the MAFLD treatment., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing worldwide in recent years, causing severe economic and social burdens. Therefore, the lack of currently approved drugs for anti-NAFLD has gradually gained attention. SIRT1, as a member of the sirtuins family, is now the most widely studied in the pathophysiology of many metabolic diseases, and has great potential for preventing and treating NAFLD. Natural products such as Diosgenin (DG) have the potential to be developed as clinical drugs for the treatment of NAFLD due to their excellent multi-target therapeutic effects. In this study, we found that DG can activate the SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway and upregulate the expression of its downstream targets nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), complex IV (COX IV), mitofusin-2 (MFN2), and PPARα (perox-isome proliferator-activated receptor α) in SD rats induced by high-fat diet (HFD) and HepG2 cells caused by free fatty acids (FFAs, sodium oleate: sodium palmitate = 2:1). Conversely, the levels of dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) and inflammatory factors, including NF-κB p65, IL6, and TNFα, were downregulated both in vitro and in vivo. This improved mitochondrial dysfunction, fatty acid oxidation (FAO), lipid accumulation, steatosis, oxidative stress, and hepatocyte inflammation. Subsequently, we applied SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 and SIRT1 agonist SRT1720 to confirm further the necessity of activating SIRT1 for DG to exert therapeutic effects on NAFLD. In summary, these results further demonstrate the potential therapeutic role of DG as a SIRT1 natural agonist for NAFLD. (Graphical Abstracts)., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The MTCH2 protein is located on the mitochondrial outer membrane and regulates mitochondria-related cell death. This study set out to investigate the role of MTCH2 in the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of breast cancer (BC). MTCH2 expression levels in BC were analyzed using bioinformatics prior to verification by cell lines in vitro. Experiments of over-expression and siRNA-mediated knockdown of MTCH2 were conducted to assess its biological functions, including its effects on cellular proliferation and cycle progression. Xenografts were utilised for in vivo study and signaling pathway alterations were examined to identify the mechanisms driven by MTCH2 in BC proliferation and cell-cycle regulation. MTCH2 was up-regulated in BC and correlated with patients' overall survival. Over-expression of MTCH2 promoted cellular proliferation and cycle progression, while silencing MTCH2 had the opposite effect. Xenograft experiments were utilised to confirm the in vitro cellular findings and it was identified that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was activated by MTCH2 over-expression and suppressed by its silencing. Moreover, the activation of IGF-1R rescued cellular growth and cycle arrest induced by MTCH2-silencing. Overall, this study reveals that expression of MTCH2 in BC is upregulated and potentiates cellular proliferation and cycle progression via the PI3K/Akt pathway., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a type of gastrointestinal cancer with high morbidity and mortality rates, and is often accompanied by distant metastases. Metastasis is a major cause of shortened survival time and poor treatment outcomes for patients with CRC. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the metastasis of CRC remain unclear. Exosomes are a class of small extracellular vesicles that originate from almost all human cells and can transmit biological information (e.g., nucleic acids, lipids, proteins, and metabolites) from secretory cells to target recipient cells. Recent studies have revealed that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) can be released by exosomes into the tumour microenvironment or specific tissues, and play a pivotal role in tumorigenesis by regulating a series of key molecules or signalling pathways, particularly those involved in tumour metastasis. Exosomal ncRNAs have potential as novel therapeutic targets for CRC metastasis, and can also be used as liquid biopsy biomarkers because of their specificity and sensitivity. Therefore, further investigations into the biological function and clinical value of exosomal ncRNAs will be of great value for the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of CRC metastasis., 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 © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) ranks as the eighth most prevalent malignancy globally and has the eighth greatest fatality rate when compared to all other forms of cancer. The inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family comprises a collection of apoptosis-negative modulators characterized by at least one single baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) domain in its N-terminal region. While the involvement of the IAP family is associated with the initiation and progression of numerous tumours, its specific role in HNSCC remains poorly understood. Thus, this study aimed to comprehensively examine changes in gene expression, immunomodulatory effects, prognosis, and functional enrichment of HNSCC utilising bioinformatics analysis. Elevated levels of distinct IAP family members were observed to varying degrees in HNSCC, with high BIRC2 expression indicating a worse prognosis. Additionally, Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were used to probe the enrichment of gene expression and biological processes related to the IAP family in HNSCC. The infiltration levels of immune cells were shown to be strongly associated with the IAP gene expression, as determined by subsequent analysis. Hence, BIRC2 could be an effective immunotherapy target for HNSCC. Collectively, novel knowledge of the biological roles and prognostic implications of IAP family members in HNSCC is presented in this study.

Objective: To generate an image-driven biomarker (Rad_score) to predict tumor-infiltrating regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg) in breast cancer (BC)., Methods: Overall, 928 BC patients were enrolled from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) for survival analysis; MRI (n = 71 and n = 30 in the training and validation sets, respectively) from the Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) were retrieved and subjected to repeat least absolute shrinkage and selection operator for feature reduction. The radiomic scores (rad_score) for Treg infiltration estimation were calculated via support vector machine (SVM) and logistic regression (LR) algorithms, and validated on the remaining patients., Results: Landmark analysis indicated Treg infiltration was a risk factor for BC patients in the first 5 years and after 10 years of diagnosis (p = 0.007 and 0.018, respectively). Altogether, 108 radiomic features were extracted from MRI images, 4 of which remained for model construction. Areas under curves (AUCs) of the SVM model were 0.744 (95% CI 0.622-0.867) and 0.733 (95% CI 0.535-0.931) for training and validation sets, respectively, while for the LR model, AUCs were 0.771 (95% CI 0.657-0.885) and 0.724 (95% CI 0.522-0.926). The calibration curves indicated good agreement between prediction and true value (p > 0.05), and DCA shows the high clinical utility of the radiomic model. Rad_score was significantly correlated with immune inhibitory genes like CTLA4 and PDCD1., Conclusions: High Treg infiltration is a risk factor for patients with BC. The Rad_score formulated on radiomic features is a novel tool to predict Treg abundance in the tumor microenvironment., (© 2023 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

We propose a polarization insensitive, flexible ultra-broadband terahertz (THz) metamaterial absorber. It consists of a chromium composite resonator on the top, a polyimide (PI) dielectric layer in the middle, and a chromium substrate. The simulation results show that the absorption achieves more than 90% ultra-wideband absorption in the range of 1.92-4.34 THz. The broadband absorption is produced by the combination of electric dipole resonance and magnetic resonance, as well as impedance matching with free space. Due to the rotational symmetry of the unit structure, the absorber is insensitive to polarization of the THz wave and has a larger range of incident angles. The total thickness of the absorber is only 13.4 µm, showing highly flexible and excellent high-temperature resistance characteristics. Therefore, it has potential applications in THz wave stealth and electromagnetic shielding.

Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is among the most prevalent cancers worldwide, ranking as the third most prevalent malignancy in incidence and mortality. The somatostatin receptor (SSTR) family comprises G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which couple to inhibitory G proteins (Gi and Go) upon binding to somatostatin (SST) analogs. GPCRs are involved in hormone release, neurotransmission, cell growth inhibition, and cancer suppression. However, their roles in COAD remain unclear. This study used bioinformatics to investigate the expression, prognosis, gene alterations, functional enrichment, and immunoregulatory effects of the SSTR family members in COAD. SSTR1-4 are differentially downregulated in COAD, and low SSTR2 expression indicates poor survival. Biological processes and gene expression enrichment of the SSTR family in COAD were further analyzed using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology. A strong correlation was observed between SSTR expression and immune cell infiltration. We also quantified SSTR2 expression in 25 COAD samples and adjacent normal tissues using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. We analyzed its correlation with the dendritic cell-integrin subunit alpha X marker gene. The biomarker exploration of the solid tumors portal was used to confirm the correlation between SSTR2 with immunomodulators and immunotherapy responses. Our results identify SSTR2 as a promising target for COAD immunotherapy. Our findings provide new insights into the biological functions of the SSTR family and their implications for the prognosis of COAD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Yu, Yang, Nie, Jiang, He and Ou.)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with high morbidity and mortality rates. The inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) family act as oncogenes in various tumor types; however, their functions in HCC remain unclear. Here, we used integrated bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification to assess the expression and the prognostic and clinical value of the IAP family in HCC. Using the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Data Analysis Portal (UALCAN) and the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER), we analyzed the expression profiles of IAP family members in HCC tissue, normal tissues, and in patients with different stages and grades of HCC. We further verified the expression level of BIRC2 in 25 HCC samples and matched adjacent normal tissues using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and analyzed its correlation with the marker gene of T-helper type 1 cells (Th1)-STAT1. Meanwhile, the association between BIRC2 and the immunotherapeutic response or immunomodulators was confirmed using the Biomarker Exploration of Solid Tumors (BEST) database. The results showed that NAIP, BIRC2, BIRC3, XIAP, BIRC5, and BIRC6 mRNAs were overexpressed in HCC. The clinical stages, pathological grades, and other clinicopathological features of HCC were closely related to the expression levels of the IAP family members, especially the BIRC2 and BIRC5, which were found to be potential prognostic biomarkers for HCC. Expression of the IAPs was strongly associated with immune cell infiltration. Based on the infiltrative status of various immune cells, HCC patients with high BIRC2 and BIRC5 expression demonstrated poor overall survival (OS) rates. In patients with HCC, BIRC2 expression was noticeably elevated. Concurrently, the expression levels of BIRC2 and STAT1 showed a favorable correlation. BEST database analysis revealed that BIRC2 was a negative predictor of responsiveness to anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)/cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) inhibitor treatment in HCC, and BIRC2 mRNA expression levels were positively correlated with the expression levels of the immune checkpoint genes programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), PD-L1, and CTLA-4 in HCC. Consequently, the IAP family may play a role in carcinogenesis and cancer-immune system interactions in HCC. Our results demonstrate that IAP family members may be viable predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCC., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© The author(s).)

Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare but aggressive malignancy with cellular and immunological characteristics that remain unclear. Here, we perform transcriptomic analysis for 111,038 single cells from tumor tissues of six MBC and thirteen female breast cancer (FBC) patients. We find that that MBC has significantly lower infiltration of T cells relative to FBC. Metastasis-related programs are more active in cancer cells from MBC. The activated fatty acid metabolism involved with FASN is related to cancer cell metastasis and low immune infiltration of MBC. T cells in MBC show activation of p38 MAPK and lipid oxidation pathways, indicating a dysfunctional state. In contrast, T cells in FBC exhibit higher expression of cytotoxic markers and immune activation pathways mediated by immune-modulatory cytokines. Moreover, we identify the inhibitory interactions between cancer cells and T cells in MBC. Our study provides important information for understanding the tumor immunology and metabolism of MBC., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer death in the world. The aim of this study was to establish a new model to predict the prognosis of HCC., Materials and Methods: The mRNA, miRNA and lncRNA expression profiles of early (stage I-II) and late (stage III-IV) stage HCC patients were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) and lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were identified between early and late stage HCC. Key molecules associated with the prognosis, and important immune cell types in HCC were identified. The nomogram based on incorporating age, gender, stage, and all important factors was constructed to predict the survival of HCC., Results: A total of 1516 DEmRNAs, 97 DEmiRNAs and 87 DElncRNAs were identified. A DElncRNA-DEmiRNA-DEmRNA regulatory network including 78 mRNAs, 50 miRNAs and 1 lncRNA was established. Among the regulatory network, 11 molecules were significantly correlated with the prognosis of HCC based on Lasso regression analysis. Then, Preadipocytes and 3 survival-associated DEmRNAs were identified as crucial biomarkers. Subsequently, a nomogram with a differentiation degree of 0.758, including 1 immune cell, 11 mRNAs and 3 miRNAs, was generated., Conclusion: Our study constructed a model by incorporating clinical information, significant biomarkers and immune cells to predict the survival of HCC, which achieved a good performance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© 2023 Jiang et al.)

Background: RTN4IP1 interacts with a membranous protein of endoplasmic reticulum (RTN4), this study was to explore the role RTN4IP1 involved in breast cancer (BC)., Methods: After RNAseq data of The Cancer Genome Atlas Breast Invasive Carcinoma (TCGA-BRCA) project were downloaded, correlations between RTN4IP1 expression and clinicopathologic variables, as well as expression levels between cancerous samples and non-cancerous ones were tested. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and functional enrichment, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and immune infiltration analysis were conduct for bioinformatics analysis. After logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier curve of disease-specific survival (DSS), univariate and multivariate COX analysis, a nomogram was established for prognosis., Results: RTN4IP1 expression was up-regulated in BC tissue, significantly associated with estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status (P<0.001). The 771 DEGs linked RTN4IP1 to glutamine metabolism and mitoribosome-associated quality control. Functional enrichment pointed to DNA metabolic process, mitochondrial matrix and inner membrane, ATPase activity, cell cycle and cellular senescence; whereas GSEA indicated regulation of cellular cycle, G1&#95;S DNA damage checkpoints, drug resistance and metastasis. Eosinophil cells, natural killer (NK) cells and Th 2 cells were found to be correlated with RTN4IP1 expression (R=-0.290, -0.277 and 0.266, respectively, P<0.001). RTN4IP1 high BC had worse DSS than RTN4IP1 low ones [hazard ratio (HR) =2.37, 95% confidential interval (CI): (1.48-3.78), P<0.001], which has independent prognostic value (P<0.05)., Conclusions: Overexpressed in BC tissue, RTN4IP1 predicts adverse prognosis for patients with BC, especially in infiltrating ductal carcinoma, infiltrating lobular carcinoma, Stage II, Stages III&IV and luminal A subtype., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tcr.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tcr-22-2350/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Translational Cancer Research. All rights reserved.)

Actively controlling the phase of a terahertz (THz) wave is of great significance for beaming, tunable focusing, and holography. We present a THz phase modulator based on an electrically triggered vanadium dioxide ( V O 2 ) reconfigurable metasurface. The unit cell of the device consists of two split-ring resonators embedded with a V O 2 ribbon. By electrically triggering the insulator-to-metal transition of V O 2 , the resonance mode and resonance intensity of the unit cell can be dynamically controlled. The simulation results show that the structure can achieve a phase shift of about 360° in the range of 1.03-1.13 THz, and the reflection amplitude can reach 80%. The device has potential applications in THz imaging, radar, broadband wireless communications, and array phase control.

This study delves into the heritage language experiences of Australian-born Chinese immigrant children under the framework of family language policy. Storytelling as a narrative inquiry method is used to reveal the lived experiences of the protagonists in relation to heritage language and culture. The three family stories involved for case studies reveal different levels of parent agency in Chinese immigrant families regarding their children's home language use and heritage language education. It is noted that the level of child agency corresponds with the level of their parent agency. Where parents strongly advocate and practice heritage language maintenance, stronger agency is observed in their children to continue the use and learning of their heritage language. In addition, maintaining harmony while parents are implementing family language policies and providing children with formal instruction in heritage language are conducive to heritage language development, particularly in terms of its literacy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Shen and Jiang.)

Background: Temporin is one family of the shortest antimicrobial peptides found in Ranidae frogs. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the main pathogens of suppurative diseases and food contamination, causing severe local or systemic infections in humans. Temporin-GHa (GHa) was previously obtained from Hylarana guentheri, showing weak antibacterial activity against S. aureus. Most temporin peptides are positively charged by arginine and lysine; however, GHa contains histidine., Objective: In order to investigate the impact of positively charged amino acid on its antibacterial and antibiofilm activity, GHa4R was designed and synthesized by replacing histidine with arginine in GHa., Methods: The antibacterial activity and efficacy against S. aureus were detected by minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration, and time-killing kinetics assays. The action mechanism was determined by propidium iodide uptake and scanning electron microscopy assays. The antibiofilm activity was measured by the MTT method. Eradication of biofilm was observed by fluorescence microscope., Results: Compared to GHa, GHa4R had stronger antibacterial activity and bactericidal efficacy against S. aureus. Impressively, GHa4R presented antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). It was barely affected by temperature, pH, and storage period, showing high stability. Furthermore, it increased the permeability of the cell membrane and damaged the membrane integrity, leading to cell death. In addition, GHa4R did not induce antibiotic resistance in S. aureus in 30 days, but the MIC of vancomycin was doubled. It not only inhibited S. aureus biofilm formation but also eradicated 24 h-biofilms., Conclusion: The above-mentioned characteristics make GHa4R a promising candidate for the treatment of S. aureus infections., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) show broad-spectrum microbicidal activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and have been considered as one of the most promising candidates to overcome bacterial antimicrobial resistance. Structural modification of AMPs is an effective strategy to develop high-efficiency and low-toxicity antibacterial agents. A series of peptides GHaR6R, GHaR7R, GHaR8R, and GHaR9W with arginine replacement of histidine (His) derived from temporin-GHa of Hylarana guentheri were designed and synthesized. These derived peptides exhibit antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, and GHaR8R exerts bactericidal effect within 15 min at 4 × MIC (25 µm). The derived peptides caused rapid depolarization of bacteria, and the cell membrane damage was monitored using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation assay, which suggests that they target cell membranes to exert antibacterial effects. The derived peptides can effectively eradicate mature biofilms of S. aureus. Taken together, the derived peptides are promising antibacterial agent candidates against S. aureus., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry.)

Background: Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), encoded by programmed cell death protein 1 (PDCD1), is widely investigated in clinical trials. We aimed to develop a radiomic model to discriminate its expression levels patients with ovarian cancer (OC) and explore its prognostic value., Methods: Computed tomography (CT) images with the corresponding sequencing data and clinicopathological features were used. The volumes of interest were manually delineated. After extraction and normalization, the radiomic features were screened using repeat least absolute shrinkage and selection operator. A radiomic model for PD-1 prediction, radiomic score (rad&#95;score), was developed using logistic regression and validated via internal 5-fold cross-validation. The Kaplan-Meier curves, COX proportional hazards model, and landmark analysis were used for survival analysis., Results: The mRNA level of PDCD1 significantly affects the overall survival (OS) of OC patients. The rad&#95;score for PDCD1 prediction was based on four features and was significantly correlated with other genes involved in T-cell exhaustion and immune checkpoint molecules. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves reached 0.810 and 0.772 in the training and validation datasets, respectively. The calibration curves and decision curve analysis proved the model's fitness and clinical benefits. Patients with higher rad&#95;score had poorer OS (P < 0.001, 0.031, 0.014, 0.01, and < 0.001, after landmark of 12 months, before and after landmark of 36 months, and before and after landmark of 60 months, respectively)., Conclusions: The radiomic signature from CT images can discriminate the PD-1 expression status and OC prognosis, which is correlated with T-cell exhaustion., 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 © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

BACKGROUND This study compared the effects of peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis on cognitive dysfunction and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and analyzed other potential influencing factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 265 patients who received dialysis at our hospital were included and divided into the hemodialysis group (n=115) and the peritoneal dialysis group (n=150). The cognitive performance was assessed by the Beijing version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The Kidney Disease Quality of 36-Item Short Form Survey and a kidney disease-related quality of life assessment were used for evaluating HRQOL. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to explore the effects of dialysis on cognitive dysfunction and HRQOL. RESULTS As compared with the hemodialysis group, the peritoneal dialysis group had lower scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (ß=-8.35, 95% CI: -9.85 to -6.86), 36-Item Short Form Survey (ß=-10.20, 95% CI: -11.94 to -8.45), and kidney disease-related quality of life assessment (ß=-8.67, 95% CI: -10.10 to -7.23). After adjustment for sex, age, BMI, marital status, educational level, income level, presence of diabetes, duration of kidney disease, duration of dialysis, and dialysis frequency, the results were consistent with that of the crude model. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, patients receiving peritoneal dialysis had worse cognitive dysfunction and worse HRQOL compared to patients receiving hemodialysis, which might lead to poorer outcomes of ESRD patients. The related factors affecting cognitive dysfunction and HRQOL were also explored, which could help clinicians to determine the optimal treatment for ESRD patients.

Background: The influence of genetic polymorphisms on the development of gestational hypertension (GH) is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group C, member 2 (NR3C2) genes, rs5522, rs2070951, rs5534, s2248038, and s9992256 are associated with GH in Han Chinese women., Method: Sanger sequencing was used to analyze the genotypes of rs5522, rs2070951, rs5534, rs2248038, and rs9992256 loci of the NR3C2 gene in 450 patients with GH and 450 healthy controls., Results: The rs5522 dominant model (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-1.47, P < .001) and the recessive model (OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.33-1.86, P < .001) had higher GH risk. The rs2070951 dominant model (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.03-1.35, P = .02) had higher risk of GH, and the recessive model (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.84-1.34, P = .55) was not significant for GH risk. The rs5534 dominant model (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.09-1.43, P = .001) had a higher GH risk. The rs2248038 and rs9992256 sites were not significantly related to GH risk. Gene-gene interactions at the rs5522, rs2070951, and rs5534 loci affected GH risk (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.12-1.64, P < .001)., Conclusion: The SNPs of the NR3C2 gene rs5522, rs2070951, and rs5534 are associated with GH in Han Chinese women.

Glacial-interglacial changes in the distribution of C3/C4 vegetation on the Chinese Loess Plateau have been related to East Asian summer monsoon intensity and position, and could provide insights into future changes caused by global warming. Here, we present δ(13)C records of bulk organic matter since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) from 21 loess sections across the Loess Plateau. The δ(13)C values (range: -25‰ to -16‰) increased gradually both from the LGM to the mid-Holocene in each section and from northwest to southeast in each time interval. During the LGM, C4 biomass increased from <5% in the northwest to 10-20% in the southeast, while during the mid-Holocene C4 vegetation increased throughout the Plateau, with estimated biomass increasing from 10% to 20% in the northwest to >40% in the southeast. The spatial pattern of C4 biomass in both the LGM and the mid-Holocene closely resembles that of modern warm-season precipitation, and thus can serve as a robust analog for the contemporary East Asian summer monsoon rain belt. Using the 10-20% isolines for C4 biomass in the cold LGM as a reference, we derived a minimum 300-km northwestward migration of the monsoon rain belt for the warm Holocene. Our results strongly support the prediction that Earth's thermal equator will move northward in a warmer world. The southward displacement of the monsoon rain belt and the drying trend observed during the last few decades in northern China will soon reverse as global warming continues.