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Abnormal emotional perception may contribute to emotional dysfunction in individuals with anxiety. This study explored the progression of impaired emotional perception with the deepening of anxiety in individuals with nonclinical trait anxiety, by measuring the motor cortical excitability associated with emotional perception. In total, 87 participants were assigned to a high trait anxiety (n = 27), moderate trait anxiety (n = 30), or low trait anxiety (n = 30) group. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the right primary motor cortex at 150 ms or 300 ms after the onset of positive, negative, or neutral images, while participants performed an emotion recognition task, and motor‐evoked potentials (MEPs) were collected. For participants with low trait anxiety, MEP amplitudes were significantly higher for both negative and positive stimuli than for neutral stimuli. Participants with moderate trait anxiety showed significantly higher MEP amplitudes only for negative stimuli. Participants with high trait anxiety showed no significant difference in MEP amplitudes for positive, negative, and neutral stimuli. Trait anxiety score was negatively correlated with MEP amplitude: For higher trait anxiety scores, MEP amplitudes were correlated with lower emotional perception of positive and negative stimuli. Findings suggest that anxiety impairs emotional perception–related motor cortical excitability, starting with decreased motor cortical excitability responses to positive information and progressing to negative information as anxiety levels increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The connection between aging and cancer is complex. Previous research has highlighted the association between the aging process of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells and the immune response, yet there remains a gap in confirming this through single-cell data validation. Here, we aim to develop a novel aging-related prognostic model for LUAD, and verify the alterations in the genome and immune microenvironment linked to cellular senescence. Methods: We integrated a comprehensive collection of senescence genes from the GenAge and CellAge databases and employed the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox analysis to construct and validate a novel prognostic model for LUAD. This model was then utilized to examine the relationship between aging, tumor somatic mutations, and immune cell infiltration. Additionally, we explored the heterogeneity of senescence and intercellular communication within the LUAD tumor microenvironment (TME) through single-cell transcriptomic data analysis. Results: By exploring the expression profiles of 586 cellular senescence-related genes in 428 LUAD patients, we constructed an aging-related genes (ARGs) risk model included 10 ARGs and validated it as an independent prognostic predictor for LUAD patients. Notably, patients with low aging scores (LAS group) exhibited better survival, lower tumor mutation burden (TMB), lower somatic mutation frequency, lower tumor proliferation rate, and an immune activated phenotype compared to patients with high aging scores (HAS group). While the HAS group was enriched in tumor cells and showed a lower infiltration of CD8-CCR7, CD8-CXCL13, CD8-GNLY, FCGR3A NK cells, XCL1 NK cells, plasma cell (PC) and other immune subsets. Furthermore, the SPP1 and TENASCIN pathways, associated with tumor immune escape and tumor progression, were also enriched in the HAS group. Additionally, our study also indicated that senescence levels were heterogeneous in the LUAD tumor microenvironment (TME), especially with tumor cells in the LAS group showing higher age scores compared to those in the HAS group. Conclusions: Collectively, our findings underscore that ARRS through ARGs serves as a robust biomarker for the prognosis in LUAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 (LMNCO) cathode and Li anode in high specific energy batteries is impeded by particle cracking and electrode–electrolyte side reactions. Here, lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB) and dopamine (DA) are used as dual electrolyte additives to effectively stabilize the LMNCO cathode and Li anode. Specifically, LiBOB is preferentially reduced on the Li anode to participate in the formation of a B-rich inorganic solid electrolyte interface film, which suppresses the interfacial reactions between Li anode and the electrolyte. Meanwhile, DA is preferentially oxidized on the LMNCO cathode to form a thin and uniform cathode electrolyte interface film, which is beneficial to inhibit the decomposition of the electrolyte and reduce the corrosion of the LMNCO cathode. The facts are consistent with the results of density function theory. The synergetic effect of LiBOB and DA results in excellent electrochemical performance. Especially at 1 C, the capacity retention of the cell with the reference electrolyte is only 74.7% after 100 cycles, while the cell with dual-additive electrolyte is up to 92.6% after 400 cycles. This work provides a new idea to improve the electrochemical performance of Li anode and LMNCO cathode by functional electrolyte additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered high nickel LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA), as one of the most promising cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries, has high specific capacity, stable structure, and environmentally friendly characteristics. However, severe Li+/Ni2+ mixing and surface side reactions hinder its further development. To solve these issues, fast lithium-ion conductor LiTi2(PO4)3 was coated on the surface of NCA using wet chemistry and high-temperature solid-state methods. The LiTi2(PO4)3 coating not only reduces the Li+/Ni2+ mixing effect of NCA, but also effectively suppresses the side reactions between the electrolyte and NCA surface, thereby improving its cycling performance. After 200 cycles at 1C, the capacity retention rate of pure NCA is 72.1%, while the corresponding value of 2.0wt% LTP-NCA is 88.0%. Even at a high rate of 5C, due to high Li+ diffusion rate of LiTi2(PO4)3, the capacity of 2.0wt% LTP-NCA reaches 152.8 mAh g−1 compared to 136.2 mAh g−1 of pure NCA. Therefore, fast lithium-ion conductor coating modification effectively improves electrochemical performance, which is beneficial for the further commercialization of NCA cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and safe path planning for autonomous navigation is paramount in advancing the motion control capabilities of mobile robots. To obtain the global optimal smooth path for mobile robots, a multi-strategy ensemble Harris hawks optimization algorithm (SDHHO) is proposed in this paper. The spiral search strategy is adopted to improve the early update method of the algorithm, which can improve the global exploration ability. To achieve better balance between global exploration and local exploitation, the Sine chaotic map is introduced to the escape energy, replacing random components. Furthermore, an elite differential mutation strategy combined with Gaussian mutation is designed to prevent the algorithm from falling into local optima. We compared the SDHHO algorithm with other classical and novel algorithms on 23 benchmark functions, and the results demonstrated the superiority of SDHHO. The proposed algorithm is applied to the smooth path planning for mobile robots, which is transformed into an optimization problem of control nodes of high-order Bezier curves. Empirical evaluations across diverse environments underscore the proficiency of the proposed method in generating paths characterized by reduced length and enhanced safety and continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theta‐burst transcranial ultrasound stimulation (tbTUS) increases primary motor cortex (M1) excitability for at least 30 min. However, the remote effects of focal M1 tbTUS on the excitability of other cortical areas are unknown. Here, we examined the effects of left M1 tbTUS on right M1 excitability. An 80 s train of active or sham tbTUS was delivered to the left M1 in 20 healthy subjects. Before and after the tbTUS, we measured: (1) corticospinal excitability using motor‐evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes from single‐pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of left and right M1; (2) interhemispheric inhibition (IHI) from left to right M1 and from right to left M1 using a dual‐site paired‐pulse TMS paradigm; and (3) intracortical circuits of the right M1 with short‐interval intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation (ICF) using paired‐pulse TMS. Left M1 tbTUS decreased right M1 excitability as shown by decreased MEP amplitudes, increased right M1 ICF and decreased short‐interval IHI from left to right hemisphere at interstimulus interval (ISI) of 10 ms but not long‐interval IHI at interstimulus interval of 40 ms. The study showed that left M1 tbTUS can change the excitability of remote cortical areas with decreased right M1 excitability and interhemispheric inhibition. The remote effects of tbTUS should be considered when it is used in neuroscience research and as a potential neuromodulation treatment for brain disorders. Key points: Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is a novel non‐invasive brain stimulation technique for neuromodulation with the advantages of being able to achieve high spatial resolution and target deep brain structures.A repetitive TUS protocol, with an 80 s train of theta burst patterned TUS (tbTUS), has been shown to increase primary motor cortex (M1) excitability, as well as increase alpha and beta movement‐related spectral power in distinct brain regions.In this study, we examined on the effects of the motor cortical tbTUS on the excitability of contralateral M1 measured with MEPs elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation.We showed that left M1 tbTUS decreased right M1 excitability and left‐to‐right M1 interhemispheric inhibition, and increased intracortical facilitation of right M1.These results lead to better understand the effects of tbTUS and can help the development of tbTUS for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders and in neuroscience research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]