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In this paper, we consider cluster synchronization in an uncertain generic neural network. The network is composed of many interactional clusters, including inner couplings in each cluster and outer couplings between different clusters. For the neural network, the dynamics of each cluster can be unknown and different. The coupling functions including uniform and nonuniform couplings between clusters can be unknown, too. By adding some time-varying linear and negative feedback controllers, we can guarantee that every cluster will synchronize at an arbitrary pre-assigned state/orbit of an isolated cluster of the network. Numerical simulations are presented to show the validity of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Qing Dynasty a special household registration for salt merchants and their offspring was used in the Imperial Examination. However, this registration category also had other implications. This special status was a product of the "marriage of the salt industries and the Imperial Examination" and also the product of beneficial exchange between the salt merchants and the government. The Qing government set a special quota in many provinces. Because the salt merchants and their offspring could not return to their original home regions to participate in the Imperial Examination, it was a necessary condition for the special household registration. But, this provision was flexible in some cases, and it was not always employed. Thus, many examinees who did not meet this provision often took the special tests. Thus there were many instances of fraud due to these phenomena in the history of Imperial Examination in Qing Dynasty.  [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The negative effects of stressors around flowering persisted in the maize kernel. • The persistent negative effects reduced the kernel weight. • The adequate source supply in vitro did not reverse the observed negative effects. • The reduction in kernel weight resulted from decreased starch biosynthesis. Drought and exposure to high temperature at flowering strongly affect maize production. However, previous studies mostly focused on the effects of the stressors on kernel number. The impacts of drought and heat in isolation and combination at flowering on maize kernel filling and final kernel weight have received limited attention. Here we investigated the effects of three stressors (drought, heat, and drought plus heat) at flowering phase (from tasseling to seed setting completed) on maize kernel filling in field site plots covered with a rainout shelter and under laboratory conditions with kernel in vitro culture. In two experiments, the kernel weight of plants exposed to flowering stressors was significantly decreased relative to controls. In the field experiment, exposure to stressors decreased kernel weight by 5.0–8.3% for the basal kernel and 5.6–11.0% for the apical kernel. Accelerated leaf senescence and decreased rate of photosynthesis were observed in the field. Kernel weight was also reduced by 18.0–37.6% in the laboratory with kernel in vitro culture, suggesting that early stressors at flowering led to a sink (kernel) limit. Carbohydrate metabolism and starch biosynthesis were impaired by drought and heat individually and their combination. During the early kernel filling stage, the activities of sucrose invertase, sucrose synthase, ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylase, and starch synthase were decreased at 10 and 20 days after pollination (DAP) in the stress treatment. For both basal and apical kernels, the correlation analyses indicated the mean kernel filling rate correlated positively with zeatin riboside content at DAP 10 and indole-3-acetic acid content at DAP 20. This study provides useful information to support the development of drought- and heat-tolerant hybrids and effective management strategies to improve crop yields. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the global robust stability for uncertain stochastic neural networks with unbounded time-varying delays and norm-bounded parameter uncertainties. A new concept of global robust -stability in the mean square for neural networks is given first, then by means of the linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, stability criteria are presented. Several corollaries are also derived. A simple example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the main result. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Conservation tillage methods, including straw return (SR) and no tillage (NT), are widely used to improve the soil organic carbon (SOC) content and crop yield. However, applying SR or NT separately has become a common practice for farmers producing different crops or those in different regions. Evaluating the effects of SR or NT on the SOC content, carbon emissions, and crop yield are important for guiding the correct application of conservation tillage and promoting sustainable agricultural development. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 1014 sets of data obtained in China to assess the effects of SR and NT on the SOC content, carbon emissions, and crop yield. Compared with no straw return, SR increased the SOC content and crop yield by 10% and 8.6%, respectively, but with no significant impact on carbon emissions. Compared with conventional tillage, NT increased the SOC content by 2.9% and reduced the carbon emissions and crop yield by 18% and 3.9%, respectively. We also found that SR combined with NT had an additive effect, where the combination improved SOC more than applying SR or NT alone. If applying SR or NT alone, the specific climatic conditions, soil characteristics, and field management strategies need to be considered to maximize SOC. In particular, SR should be used in limited hydrothermal conditions (low temperature or low precipitation) and areas where rice–wheat rotation is implemented. NT can be used under any climate conditions, but it can effectively increase the SOC content in continuous wheat cropping areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis work proposes a self-locked Kagome honeycomb (SLKH) structure to realize better balance between energy absorption and cost efficiency. The structure uses a simple and creative bending preparation method to form a triangle nested self-locking pattern with distinct layers, rich shapes, easy assembly, flexibility and efficiency. The quasi-static experiments and numerical simulations are employed to investigate the energy absorption behavior and dynamic response. Numerical analysis is conducted to reveal the influence of cell size, angle at the connecting plate, and number of bent plates on the energy absorption performance of SLKH. Additionally, a theoretical estimation model for mean crushing force of SLKH structure is established, providing guidance for efficient parameter design and selection. The results demonstrate that the SLKH exhibits superior energy absorption performance with low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, wettability, haemocompatibility, and cytocompatibility of the as-cast and as-rolled biodegradable Zn-1Mg-0.1Ca and Zn-1Mg-0.5Ca have been systematically investigated to evaluate their feasibility as potential biodegradable materials. The results demonstrated that the Zn-1Mg-0.1Ca have significantly improved mechanical properties, with the yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and elongation of as-rolled Zn-1Mg-0.1Ca are (209.04 ± 28.31) MPa, (331.51 ± 40.06) MPa, and (35.43 ± 3.53)%, respectively. Wettability test results demonstrated that the Zn-1Mg-0.1Ca and Zn-1Mg-0.5Ca have hydrophilic surfaces that can enhance cell responses and tissue-implant interactions. The haemocompatibility evaluation showed that the hemolysis ratio of Zn-1Mg-0.1Ca have a low hemolysis ratio of 0.6%; the platelets remain sphere morphology and are not activated. High cell viability indicates the cytocompatibility of the as-rolled Zn-1Mg-0.1Ca alloy. The Zn-1Mg-0.1Ca alloy can be considered as new suitable biodegradable Zn-based alloys for further biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Heat stress poses a significant threat to maize, especially when combined with drought. Recent research highlights the potential of water replenishment to ameliorate grain weight loss. However, the mitigating mechanisms of heat in drought stress, especially during the crucial early grain‐filling stage, remain poorly understood. We investigated the mechanism for mitigating heat in drought stress by water replenishment from the 12th to the 32nd days after silking in a controlled greenhouse experiment (Exp. I) and field trial (Exp. II). A significant reduction in grain weight was observed in heat stress compared to normal conditions. When water replenishment was applied to increase soil water content (SWC) under heat stress, the grain yield exhibited a notable increase ranging from 28.4 to 76.9%. XY335 variety was used for transcriptome sequencing to analyze starch biosynthesis and amino acid metabolisms in Exp. I. With water replenishment, the transcripts of genes responsible for trehalose 6‐phosphate phosphates (TPP), alpha‐trehalase (TRE), ADP‐glcpyrophosphorylase, and starch synthase activity were stimulated. Additionally, the expression of genes encoding TPP and TRE contributed to an enhanced conversion of trehalose to glucose. This led to the conversion of sucrose from glucose‐1‐phosphate to ADP‐glucose and ADP‐glucose to amylopectin, ultimately increasing starch production by 45.1%. Water replenishment to boost SWC during heat stress also elevated the levels of essential amino acids in maize, including arginine, serine, tyrosine, leucine, glutamic acid, and methionine, providing valuable support to maize plants in adversity. Field trials further validated the positive impact of water replenishment on SWC, resulting in a notable increase in grain yield ranging from 7.1 to 9.2%. This study highlights the vital importance of adapting to abiotic stress and underscores the necessity of developing strategies to counteract its adverse effects on crop yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss distributive synchronization of complex networks in finite time, with a single nonlinear pinning controller. The results apply to heterogeneous dynamic networks, too. Different from many models, which assume the coupling matrix being symmetric (or the connecting graph is undirected), here, the coupling matrix is asymmetric (or the connecting graph is directed). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a physiological role in regulating the heat tolerance of plants and maintaining crop productivity under high-temperature stress. Appropriate cultivation techniques can regulate endogenous ABA and help farmers improve food production under high-temperature stress. Here, the physiological basis for ABA-induced heat tolerance in crops is reviewed. High-temperature stress stimulates ABA, which reduces stomatal opening and promotes root growth. The root system absorbs water to maintain the water status, thus allowing the plant to maintain physiological activities under high-temperature stress. ABA plays a synergistic role with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide biosynthesis to improve the thermal stability of the cell membrane, maintain a dynamic balance between material and energy, and reduce the negative effects of high-temperature stress on kernel number and kernel weight. Cultivation and tillage techniques adapted to high-temperature stress, such as adjustment of sowing time, application of plant growth regulators and fertilizers, and the use of irrigation, subsoiling and heat acclimation, and the mechanisms by which they improve crop heat tolerance, are also reviewed. The results of the studies reviewed here will help researchers develop techniques for cultivating food crops under heat stress and apply them to food-production fields to improve crop productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Metabolic information is essential in the investigation of the pathophysiology of stroke-like episodes in patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). Here, we used magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate the dynamic metabolic changes before and after a stroke-like episode in two patients with MELAS caused by the mitochondrial DNA mutation A3243G. We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging, including arterial spin labeling and oxygen extraction fraction imaging, and generated cerebral blood flow and oxygen extraction fraction maps. We recruited eight healthy volunteers to define the normal range of the oxygen extraction fraction. We detected a heterogeneous reduction in the oxygen extraction fraction in the brain in the interictal period as well as at the onset of a stroke-like attack. However, the oxygen extraction fraction in the stroke-like lesions normalized in the acute stage. The stroke-like lesions showed consistent hyperperfusion in the acute phase but hypoperfusion in the chronic phase. We have demonstrated the utility of using new magnetic resonance imaging techniques in the evaluation of the pathophysiology of stroke-like lesions. The increased utilization of oxygen in an acute lesion is a novel finding in our study, which might play a role in the oxidative stress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

China is the second largest irrigated country in the world. Increasing irrigation intensity costs more water and energy, and produces more greenhouse gas (GHG). In the present study, the responses of maize economic and environmental benefits to different irrigation managements were analyzed in a 2-year field study. A purposely designed tube–study was conducted to explore mechanism underlying effects of irrigation managements in detail. Three treatments, rainfed (RF), flood irrigation (FI), and drip irrigation (DI) were included in the field. Five treatments, no irrigation, flood irrigation, irrigation in 0–30, 30–60, and 0–90 cm depth were conducted in the tube study. Compared to RF, grain yields of FI and DI significantly increased by 22.1 % and 35.7 %, respectively, the net ecosystem economic budget significantly increased by 34.2 % and 35.6 %, and carbon footprint decreased by 7.0 % and 12.7 % in the field study. The irrigation treatments in the tube study increased the global warming potential by 12.0–32.8 % and grain yield by 44.5–203.9 %, and reduced GHG intensity by 24.3–57.4 %, compared with no irrigation treatment. Water content at the top soil layer had the greatest impact on GHG emissions. In conclusion, the differences in grain yield and GHG emissions among irrigation managements are mainly due to the soil water content in space and time. Drip irrigation decreases GHG intensity by producing more grain yield due to the optimized soil water distribution in the root zone. Irrigation management with appropriate amount and frequency can increase economic benefit and reduce environmental cost in maize production. [Display omitted] • Soil water distribution in drip irrigation is beneficial to maize yield. • Drip irrigation decreases GHGI relative to flood irrigation. • Soil moisture at the top soil layer is the main contributor to GHG emissions. • Optimizing irrigation helps to balance yield with environmental costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing enough food for the increasing global population is difficult due to water shortages, which can be partially resolved by regulating soil moisture. Soil moisture influences soluble nutrient uptake and microbial activity, which determine crop growth, but also affects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Farming is increasingly contributing to GHG emission, but little is known about the effects of the vertical soil moisture distribution on GHG or maize (Zea mays L.) yield over the growth season. In this study, there were five irrigation treatments: no irrigation (NI), and irrigation of the top (0–30 cm) (TI), middle (30–60 cm) (MI), bottom (60–90 cm) (BI), and all (0–90 cm) (AI) soil layers. The results showed that TI, MI, BI, and AI increased CO 2 (25–60%), CH 4 (80–270%), and N 2 O (17–96%) emissions, and the global warming potential (25–63%), while also increasing grain yield (13–119%) and reducing GHG intensity by 12–27%. While higher soil moisture in the shallow soil layer increased grain yield and GHG emissions, GHG intensity was lowest. Subsurface irrigation or control of the "drip irrigation interval" improve grain yield and resource use efficiency with lower environmental costs contributing agricultural sustainable development. Unlabelled Image • Higher soil moisture in the shallow layer increased yields and GHG emissions. • GHG emissions before maize tasseling were more due to irrigation and fertilization. • GHG emissions were positively correlated with soil moisture and temperature. • Adjusting the vertical soil moisture distribution can reduce GHGI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Craniomaxillofacial bone serves a variety of functions. However, the increasing number of cases of craniomaxillofacial bone injury and the use of selective rare implants make the treatment difficult, and the cure rate is low. If such a bone injury is not properly treated, it can lead to a slew of complications that can seriously disrupt a patient's daily life. For example, premature closure of cranial sutures or skull fractures can lead to increased intracranial pressure, which can lead to headaches, vomiting, and even brain hernia. At present, implant placement is one of the most common approaches to repair craniomaxillofacial bone injury or abnormal closure, especially with biomedical metallic implants. This review analyzes the research progress in the design and development of degradable and non-degradable metallic implants in craniomaxillofacial surgery. The mechanical properties, corrosion behaviours, as well as in vitro and in vivo performances of these materials are summarized. The challenges and future research directions of metallic biomaterials used in craniomaxillofacial surgery are also identified.

In this article, the passivity and control issues for directed uncertain coupled dynamical networks are solved. The presented model is directly coupled with multiple coupling matrices and parametric uncertainty, while previous literatures of multiweighted networks usually suppose that outer coupling matrices (OMs) are connected, undirected, and certain. The viewpoint of inner coupling matrices (IMs) in this article is added and OMs can be directed and not connected, which is a great improvement on the existing results. First, for all diagonal IMs, considering each dimension separately, we can derive if the weighted combination of multiple OMs for each dimension is strongly connected, then passivity and pinning control rules can be established. In addition, we also discuss the situation that IMs are positive definite but not diagonal. By means of the weighted combination of normalized left eigenvectors (NLEVec) corresponding to zero eigenvalue for multiple coupling matrices, we prove if the Chebyshev distance (Cheb-Dist) among these NLEVec is less than a tolerant deviation interval, then passivity, synchronization, and pinning control criteria are acquired. Moreover, a matter of adaptive coupling strengths is also settled. Examples are provided to verify the validity of established results.

Introduction: Platinum-based chemotherapy is the first-line treatment strategy for ovarian cancer patients. The dismal prognosis of ovarian cancer was shown to be stringently associated with the heterogeneity of tumor cells in response to this therapy, therefore understanding platinum sensitivity in ovarian cancer would be helpful for improving patients' quality of life and clinical outcomes. HRDetect, utilized to characterize patients' homologous recombination repair deficiency, was used to predict patients' response to platinum-based chemotherapy. However, whether each of the single features contributing to HRD score is associated with platinum sensitivity remains elusive. Methods: We analyzed the whole-exome sequencing data of 196 patients who received platinum-based chemotherapy from the TCGA database. Genetic features were determined individually to see if they could indicate patients' response to platinum-based chemotherapy and prognosis, then integrated into a Pt-score employing LASSO regression model to assess its predictive performance. Results and discussion: Multiple genetic features, including bi-allelic inactivation of BRCA1/2 genes and genes involved in HR pathway, multiple somatic mutations in genes involved in DNA damage repair (DDR), and previously reported HRD-related features, were found to be stringently associated with platinum sensitivity and improved prognosis. Higher contributions of mutational signature SBS39 or ID6 predicted improved overall survival. Besides, arm-level loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of either chr4p or chr5q predicted significantly better disease-free survival. Notably, some of these features were found independent of HRD. And SBS3, an HRD-related feature, was found irrelevant to platinum sensitivity. Integrated all candidate markers using the LASSO model to yield a Pt-score, which showed better predictive ability compared to HRDetect in determining platinum sensitivity and predicting patients' prognosis, and this performance was validated in an independent cohort. The outcomes of our study will be instrumental in devising effective strategies for treating ovarian cancer with platinum-based chemotherapy., Competing Interests: GL, XL, LG, and CZ are current employees of Geneplus-Shenzhen. The remaining 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 Yang, Wei, Li, Lan, Liu, Gao, Zhang, Fan and Li.)

The study of complex networks with multiweights (CNMWs) has been a hot topic recently. For a network with a single weight, previous studies have shown that they can promote synchronization, but for CNMWs, there are no rigorous analyses about the role of coupling matrices. In this brief, the complex network is allowed to be directed, which is the main difference with previous studies and may make the synchronization analysis difficult for multiple couplings. At first, we prove that if the inner coupling matrices are all diagonal, then synchronization can be realized only if the weighted sum (or union) of multiple coupling matrices is strongly connected, which bridges the gap between single-weighted and multiweighted networks. Moreover, we also consider the case that inner coupling matrices are positive definite but not diagonal. We design two techniques for this hard problem. One technique is to decompose inner coupling matrices into diagonal matrices and residual matrices. The other one is to measure the similarity between outer coupling matrices. In virtue of the normalized left eigenvectors (NLEVecs) corresponding to the zero eigenvalue of coupling matrices, we prove that if the Chebyshev distance between NLEVec is less than some value, defined as the allowable deviation bound, then the synchronization and control will be realized with sufficiently large coupling strengths. Furthermore, adaptive rules are also designed for coupling strength.

Information is a critical element of capital markets, and liquidity is the lifeblood of capital markets. Relative to historical information, forward-looking information is of significant value to investors. Based on textual analysis calculations, we selected Chinese A-share listed companies as a research sample to explore the impact of forward-looking information disclosure level on stock liquidity. It is found that the higher the level of forward-looking information disclosure, the better the stock liquidity. Investor sentiment is the transmission mechanism through which the forward looking statement disclosure level affects stock liquidity. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the level of forward-Looking statement disclosure has a more significant effect on stock liquidity improvement for state-owned enterprises and enterprises in low-market regions than those in regions with high marketization levels. The article expands and enriches the research on forward-looking information disclosure, and also has some reference value for regulators to formulate laws and regulations and regulate forward-looking information disclosure., 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., (© 2023 The Authors.)

As creative deviance can improve organizational innovation ability and competitiveness effectively, scholars have recently paid much attention to this innovative manner. This paper examines the mechanism between career calling and creative deviance based on 304 surveyed samples via a cross-temporal questionnaire. The results show that employees' career calling exerts a significant positive impact on their creative deviance, and employee creativity plays a mediating role in this relationship. Furthermore, ethical leadership positively moderates the relationship between career calling and employee creativity as well as the relationship between career calling and creative deviance., 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 © 2022 Liu and Xu.)

An in-depth learning-based approach is designed to develop the ability to recognize human behavior on the move. We introduce 3D residual structures and create 3D residual models. In order to get the most out of the data relationship of several consecutive frames, this study introduces 3D techniques for assigning different values to the existing frames. Experiments show that both structures improve recognition performance. For the 3D residual model, 3D attention model, and 3D attention residual model, this study proposes two model fusion strategies: average and weighted. Among them, the weighted fusion is to give a higher fusion proportion to the high accuracy model by using the model weight calculation method designed in this study. The experimental results show that the additive fusion strategy based on feature contribution has an obvious improvement effect on the test results of the two benchmark datasets, with an increase of more than 2% points, including an increase of 2.69% on HMDB51. The effect of splicing and fusion strategy has also increased by more than 1% point, including 1.34% on UCF101 dataset and about 1.9% on HMDB51. It is proven that deep learning can effectively recognize human behavior in sports., Competing Interests: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Xiwei Liu.)

The cytoplasmic domain of PD-L1 (PD-L1-CD) regulates PD-L1 degradation and stability through various mechanism, making it an attractive target for blocking PD-L1-related cancer signaling. Here, by using NMR and biochemical techniques we find that the membrane association of PD-L1-CD is mediated by electrostatic interactions between acidic phospholipids and basic residues in the N-terminal region. The absence of the acidic phospholipids and replacement of the basic residues with acidic residues abolish the membrane association. Moreover, the basic-to-acidic mutations also decrease the cellular abundance of PD-L1, implicating that the electrostatic interaction with the plasma membrane mediates the cellular levels of PD-L1. Interestingly, distinct from its reported function as an activator of AMPK in tumor cells, the type 2 diabetes drug metformin enhances the membrane dissociation of PD-L1-CD by disrupting the electrostatic interaction, thereby decreasing the cellular abundance of PD-L1. Collectively, our study reveals an unusual regulatory mechanism that controls the PD-L1 level in tumor cells, suggesting an alternative strategy to improve the efficacy of PD-L1-related immunotherapies., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Dysfunctional T cells in the tumour microenvironment have abnormally high expression of PD-1 and antibody inhibitors against PD-1 or its ligand (PD-L1) have become commonly used drugs to treat various types of cancer 1-4 . The clinical success of these inhibitors highlights the need to study the mechanisms by which PD-1 is regulated. Here we report a mechanism of PD-1 degradation and the importance of this mechanism in anti-tumour immunity in preclinical models. We show that surface PD-1 undergoes internalization, subsequent ubiquitination and proteasome degradation in activated T cells. FBXO38 is an E3 ligase of PD-1 that mediates Lys48-linked poly-ubiquitination and subsequent proteasome degradation. Conditional knockout of Fbxo38 in T cells did not affect T cell receptor and CD28 signalling, but led to faster tumour progression in mice owing to higher levels of PD-1 in tumour-infiltrating T cells. Anti-PD-1 therapy normalized the effect of FBXO38 deficiency on tumour growth in mice, which suggests that PD-1 is the primary target of FBXO38 in T cells. In human tumour tissues and a mouse cancer model, transcriptional levels of FBXO38 and Fbxo38, respectively, were downregulated in tumour-infiltrating T cells. However, IL-2 therapy rescued Fbxo38 transcription and therefore downregulated PD-1 levels in PD-1 + T cells in mice. These data indicate that FBXO38 regulates PD-1 expression and highlight an alternative method to block the PD-1 pathway.

Neuroendocrine carcinomas have become increasingly recognized as more reports are emerging to describe these rare tumors. Primary sites include the lung, liver, throat, and other organs. Laryngeal neuroendocrine carcinomas are relatively rare, and the subtypes as well as the prognoses are quite different in most cases. Metastases to the liver, lungs and other parts are common. However, metastases to subcutaneous tissues or muscles have been rarely reported. We report a case of a neuroendocrine carcinoma of the larynx with subcutaneous and muscle metastases.