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A structural landform is defined by its surface morphology, controlled by tectonics, lithology (arrangement and resistance), and folded structures, and demonstrated by the characteristics and relationships between geological and geomorphic elements. It is very important to use geographic information system (GIS) technology to accurately describe and express elements of structural landforms and their relationships. In this study, a GIS approach for expressing structural landforms, based on "forms–elements–relationships", was developed. The contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) Combined with the surface morphological characteristics, the structural landforms were abstracted into geological and geomorphic elements, and the characteristics and relationships of these elements were analyzed. (2) The elements of structural landforms and their relationships were abstracted into spatial objects and topological relationships. The spatial objects of the structural landform were designed based on the types and characteristics of structural landform elements. The topological relationships were developed based on the definition of the structural landform morphotype. (3) The structural landform markup language (SLML) method of "forms–elements–relationships" was created. (4) Two typical structural landforms, namely, Qixia Mountain and Gaoli Mountain, were used as examples to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the GIS approach for expressing structural landforms. This paper describes and expresses the "forms–elements–relationships" of structural landforms from the perspective of GIS, which is expected to promote the joint development of structural geomorphology and GIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is the main driver of regional economic development. Exploring the spatial patterns of regional innovation can elucidate the regional differences in innovation development. Nearly all the researches on spatial patterns of innovation take the administrative divisions of provinces, cities and counties as spatial units, and portray the spatial patterns of regional innovation from the macroscopic overall, but lack the spatial patterns within the regions. This paper employed patents of Jiangsu province, China in 2019 as a sample, divided the spatial units based on geographic coordinates of patent data, calculated the technological innovation capability index of within the spatial units, overcoming the drawbacks of the research method that fails to reveal the internal pattern of cities by using provinces, cities and counties as the research scale, and analysed the spatial patterns of technological innovation capability in Jiangsu province by using spatial autocorrelation analysis and standard deviation ellipse. The results show that: (1) In terms of distribution, the spatial pattern of technological innovation capability in Jiangsu province is obviously "one core and one belt" in southern Jiangsu, with Nanjing as the core and Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou as a southeast-northwest belt of high innovation capacity, while multi-point scattered in northern Jiangsu. (2) From the perspective of aggregation mode, each city has the largest number of H-H agglomeration units, relatively presenting a zonal distribution in the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou area and Nanjing, and less distribution in other places. (3) Industrially speaking, the development of technological innovation capability of the secondary industry in many cities is better and centralized, while secondary and tertiary industries move hand in hand around the city centre in Nanjing, and the tertiary industry dominates comparably in Suzhou and Wuxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colon cancer (CC) is a prevalent malignant tumor that affects the colon in the gastrointestinal tract. Its aggressive nature, strong invasiveness, and rapid progression make it a significant health concern. In addition, oxidative stress can lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that surpass the body's antioxidant defense capacity, causing damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA, potentially promoting tumor development. However, the relationship between CC and oxidative stress requires further investigation. Methods: We collected gene expression data and clinical data from 473 CC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. Additionally, we obtained 433 oxidative stress genes from Genecards (https://www.genecards.org/). Using univariate, multivariate, and LASSO Cox regression analyses, we developed predictive models for oxidative stress-related genes in CC patients. To validate the models, we utilized data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We assessed the accuracy of the models through various techniques, including the creation of a nomogram, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA). The Cytoscape program was utilized to identify hub genes among differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in tumor patients using the TCGA dataset. Subsequently, we conducted survival analysis, clinical relevance analysis, and immune cell relevance analysis for the intersected genes obtained by combining the hub genes with the genes from the predictive models. Moreover, we investigated the mRNA expression and potential functions of these intersected genes using a range of experimental approaches. Results: In both the TCGA and GSE17538 datasets, patients classified as high-risk had significantly shorter overall survival compared to those in the low-risk group (TCGA: p < 0.001; GSE17538: p = 0.010). As a result, we decided to further investigate the role of SERPINE1. Our survival analysis revealed that patients with high expression of SERPINE1 had a significantly lower probability of survival compared to those with low expression (p < 0.05). Additionally, our clinical correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between SERPINE1 expression and T, N, and M stages, as well as tumor grade. Furthermore, our immune infiltration correlation analysis demonstrated notable differences in multiple immune cells between the high- and low-expression groups of SERPINE1. To validate our findings, we conducted experimental tests and observed that knocking down SERPINE1 in colon cancer cells resulted in significant reductions in cell viability and proliferation. Interestingly, we also noticed an increase in oxidative stress parameters, such as ROS and MDA levels, while the levels of reduced GSH decreased upon SERPINE1 knockdown. These findings suggest that the antineoplastic effect of silencing SERPINE1 may be associated with the induction of oxidative stress. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study introduces a new approach for the early diagnosis and treatment of CC, and further exploration of SERPINE1 could potentially lead to a significant advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single LiNbO3 (LNO) crystals are widely utilized in surface acoustic wave devices, optoelectronic devices, and novel ferroelectric memory devices due to their remarkable electro-optic and piezoelectric properties, and high saturation and remnant polarizations. However, challenges remain regarding their nanofabrication that hinder their applications. The prevailing etching techniques for LNO encompass dry etching, wet etching, and focused-ion-beam etching, each having distinct merits and demerits. Achieving higher etching rates and improved sidewall angles presents a challenge in LNO nanofabrication. Building upon the current etching researches, this study explores various etching methods using instruments capable of generating diverse plasma densities, such as dry etching in reactive ion etching (RIE) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP), proton exchange-enhanced etching, and wet chemical etching following high-temperature reduction treatment, as well as hybrid dry and wet etching. Ultimately, after employing RIE dry etching combined with wet etching, following a high-temperature reduction treatment, an etching rate of 10 nm/min and pretty 90° sidewall angles were achieved. Furthermore, high etching rates of 79 nm/min with steep sidewall angles of 83° were obtained using ICP dry etching. Additionally, using SiO2 masks, a high etching rate of 108 nm/min and an etching selectivity ratio of 0.86:1 were achieved. Distinct etching conditions yielded diverse yet exceptional results, providing multiple processing paths of etching for the versatile application of LNO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]