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The quantum version of a special classical Wheatstone bridge built with a boundary-driven spin system has recently been proposed. We propose a quantum Wheatstone bridge consisting of Bose systems, which can simulate the general classical Wheatstone bridge. Unknown coupling can be obtained when the quantum Wheatstone bridge is balanced, which can be determined simply by homodyne detection. When the expectation value of the homodyne detection is 0, the quantum Wheatstone bridge is unbalanced. When the expectation value of the homodyne detection is proportional to the square root of the initial number of bosons by regulating a known coupling strength, the quantum Wheatstone bridge is balanced. By calculating the quantum Fisher information, we show that the measurement precision is optimal when the quantum Wheatstone bridge is balanced. And the homodyne detection is close to the optimal measurement in the case of low-temperature baths.

Discussions about whether quantum theory is determinism or indeterminism has lasted for a century. A new approach to standard quantum mechanics called many-interacting-worlds method based on many-worlds interpretation and de Broglie–Bohm mechanics provided the possibility to demonstrate probability from deterministic universe. The many-interacting-worlds method has been proved successful in the ground state of harmonic oscillator. In this article we extend this method to one dimensional Coulomb potential and construct a corresponding empirical density function. We also provide a theoretical proof of the convergence of density function. Our numerical simulation of one dimensional Coulomb potential in the first excited state obtains the consistent result with standard quantum mechanics and shows the applicability of many-interacting-worlds method. This research provides the possibility to extend many-interacting-worlds method to non-Gaussian quantum systems.

We mainly investigate the quantum measurement of Kerr nonlinearity in the driven-dissipative system. Without the dissipation, the measurement precision of the nonlinearity parameter χ scales as “super-Heisenberg scaling” 1/N2 with N being the total average number of particles (photons) due to the nonlinear generator. Here, we find that “super-Heisenberg scaling” 1/N3/2 can also be obtained by choosing a proper interrogation time. In the steady state, the “super-Heisenberg scaling” 1/N3/2 can only be achieved when the nonlinearity parameter is close to 0 in the case of the single-photon loss and the one-photon driving or the two-photon driving. The “super-Heisenberg scaling” disappears with the increase of the strength of the nonlinearity. When the system suffers from the two-photon loss in addition to the single-photon loss, the optimal measurement precision will not appear at the nonlinearity χ=0 in the case of the one-photon driving. Counterintuitively, in the case of the two-photon driving we find that it is not the case that the higher the two-photon loss, the lower the measurement precision. It means that the measurement precision of χ can be improved to some extent by increasing the two-photon loss.

Although scholars have discussed in depth about the evaluation content and the construction of evaluation index system of emergency management and crisis management, a unified and standardized interpretation of system construction concepts and empirical research on the performance evaluation of urban emergency management is still lacking. In view of this, this paper is based on the theory of the crisis life cycle, with the four phases of urban emergency management and the content of the task as a clue, constructed a performance evaluation index system containing 12 primary indicators and 44 secondary indicators, and centered on the emergency management work situation of S city. The study reveals that emergency management underperforms in S city, with a score of 5.948, qualifying as the "defined level". The "prevention and preparedness stage" receives poor evaluation, indicating a significant bias for crisis response instead of prevention. The report suggests the improvement of emergency material stockpile planning, the formation of grassroots emergency response teams, the emergency management publicity, and special emergency drill plans, etc., with a view to providing reference for city managers to comprehensively review and evaluate the emergency management system, and to promote the construction of a more systematic, complete and scientific urban emergency management system.

Purpose: The present study evaluated the applicability of the sentence-focused framework to Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs) by examining the relative contribution of receptive/expressive noun and verb lexicon sizes to later grammatical complexity. Method: Participants were 51 Mandarin-speaking children who received cochlear implantation before 30 months of age. At 12 months after CI activation, parents were asked to endorse words that their child could understand only or understand and say using the infant version of the Early Vocabulary Inventory. At 24 months after CI activation, parents were asked to endorse the grammatical structures that their children were able to say using the Grammatical Complexity subtest in the Mandarin Communicative Development Inventory--Taiwan. Children's receptive/expressive noun and verb lexicon sizes and grammatical complexity scores were computed from these parent checklists. Results: Correlational analyses showed that children's receptive/expressive noun and verb lexicon sizes at 12 months after CI activation were all highly correlated with their grammatical complexity scores at 24 months after CI activation ([rho]s = 0.52-0.63, ps < 0.001). Regression analyses further revealed that verb lexicon sizes at 12 months after CI activation outweighed noun lexicon sizes in accounting for grammatical complexity at 24 months after CI activation. Conclusions: Our findings supported the prediction of the sentence-focused framework. Emphasizing the role of verbs in early intervention has the potential to enhance grammatical outcomes in Mandarin-speaking children with CIs.

We investigate the parameter estimation in a magnon–cavity–magnon coupled system. PT symmetrical two magnons system can be formed in the gain magnetic materials by the adiabatic elimination of the cavity field mode. We show that the optimal estimation will not appear at the exceptional point due to that the quantum fluctuations are the strongest at the exceptional point. Moreover, we demonstrate that the measurements at the exceptional point tend to be optimal with the increase of prepared time. And the direct photon detection is the optimal measurement for the initial state in the vacuum input state. For the open PT symmetrical two magnons system, the quantum fluctuations will greatly reduce the degree of entanglement. Finally, we show that a higher estimated magnetic sensitivity can be obtained by measuring the frequency of one magnon in the PT symmetrical two magnons system.

Argumentation is a fundamental communicative ability that children develop over time through formal schooling and daily practice with peers and family members. Literature on children's argumentation appears to have focused on their social interactions out of school, clinical environment, or informal pedagogic contexts. Even though there are research inquiries into children's argumentation in formal academic learning, many have been focused on argumentative writing in math or science classes. Much less is known about teacher-led argumentation and the youngest children's emerging argumentation in language art classes, where argumentation is formally and systematically introduced and learned. This paper reports a year-long ethnographic study on argumentation in a first-grade English language art classroom in the United States. Ethnographic discourse analysis was conducted to analyze two key literacy events from the daily reader's and writer's workshop. It is supplemented with qualitative analysis of the researchers' field notes and the students' artifacts. Our findings highlight the inherent intertextual nature of children's argumentation and a critical role the teacher played in eliciting and steering the children's argumentation construction through strategic instructional conversations (especially accountable talk). Our findings also revealed teacher-led children's intertextual argumentation as a powerful heuristic process and tool to enrich students' learning. The paper concludes some classroom argumentation teaching practices based on the research findings.

Both personalization and utility value (UV) interventions have emerged in educational psychology as ways to increase students' interest in learning an academic subject, and potentially improve learning outcomes. However, empirical results for each approach have been mixed and these approaches have worked differently for different groups of students. In the present study, we combined the affordances of personalization with those of UV interventions to create novel activities where students posed mathematics problems based on their career and popular culture interests. While problem-posing has been identified as a powerful approach in the mathematics education literature, it is an effortful activity for learners, inducing demands described by theories related to desirable difficulties. We conducted a randomized control study with 458 middle school, high school, and college students enrolled in algebra courses with overlapping content to examine the impact of the personalized problem-posing intervention. Results showed that when controlling for dosage the intervention had statistically significant positive effects on algebra learning compared to a business-as-usual condition where students solved typical story problems in the same online platform. Posing problems based on popular culture interests was especially effective for learning for college students. However, for secondary school students, posing popular culture problems had significantly negative effects on their feelings of mathematics enjoyment. In addition, there was evidence that a subset of learners who completed a small dosage of the intervention had negative effects on their valuing of mathematics. Implications for interest development theory, personalized and UV interventions, and mathematical problem-posing designs are discussed.

Abstract A high-accuracy, continuous air temperature (Ta) dataset with high spatiotemporal resolution is essential for human health, disease prediction, and energy management. Existing datasets consider factors such as elevation, latitude, and surface temperature but insufficiently address meteorological and spatiotemporal factors, affecting accuracy. Additionally, no high-resolution dataset currently includes daily maximum (Tmax), minimum (Tmin), and mean (Tmean) temperatures generated using a unified methodology. Here, we introduce the four-dimensional spatiotemporal deep forest (4D-STDF) model, integrating 12 multisource factors, encompassing static and dynamic parameters, and six refined spatiotemporal factors to produce Ta datasets. This approach generates three high-accuracy Ta datasets at 1 km spatial resolution covering mainland China from 2003 to 2022. These datasets, in GeoTIFF format with WGS84 projection, comprise daily Tmax, Tmin, and Tmean. The overall RMSE are 1.49 °C, 1.53 °C, and 1.18 °C for the estimates. The 4D-STDF model can also be applied to other regions with sparse meteorological stations.

Abstract The influenza neuraminidase (NA) is a potential target for the development of a next-generation influenza vaccine, but its antigenicity is not well understood. Here, we isolate an anti-N6 human monoclonal antibody, named 18_14D, from an H5N6 avian influenza virus (AIV) infected patient. The antibody weakly inhibits enzymatic activity but confers protection in female mice, mainly via ADCC function. The cryo-EM structure shows that 18_14D binds to a unique epitope on the lateral surface of the N6 tetramer, preventing the formation of tightly closed NA tetramers. These findings contribute to the molecular understanding of protective immune responses to NA of AIVs in humans and open an avenue for the rational design of NA-based vaccines.

Abstract In patients with abdominal or pelvic tumors, radiotherapy can result in radiation-induced intestinal injury (RIII), a potentially severe complication for which there are few effective therapeutic options. Sitagliptin (SI) is an oral hypoglycemic drug that exhibits antiapoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity, but how it influences RIII-associated outcomes has yet to be established. In this study, a pH-responsive metal-organic framework-based nanoparticle platform was developed for the delivery of SI (SI@ZIF-8@MS NP). These NPs incorporated mPEG-b-PLLA (MS) as an agent capable of resisting the effects of gastric acid, and are capable of releasing Zn2+ ions. MS was able to effectively shield these SI@ZIF-8 NPs from rapid degradation when exposed to an acidic environment, enabling the subsequent release of SI and Zn2+ within the intestinal fluid. Notably, SI@ZIF-8@MS treatment was able to mitigate radiation-induced intestinal dysbiosis in these mice. restored radiation-induced changes in bacterial composition. In summary, these data demonstrate the ability of SI@ZIF-8@MS to protect against WAI-induced intestinal damage in mice, suggesting that these NPs represent a multimodal targeted therapy that can effectively be used in the prevention or treatment of RIII.

Objective To explore the role and mechanism of pumilio homolog 1 （PUM1） in hypoxia/reoxygenation induced cell injury in human renal tubular epithelial cells （HK-2）. Methods A hypoxia/reoxygenation （H/R） model of HK-2 cells was established in vitro. PUM1 expression was knocked down through small interfering RNA （siRNA）. Cells were randomized into three groups of control， hypoxia/reoxygenation （H/R） and H/R+siRNA. Western blot （WB） method was used for detecting the expression level of PUM1 protein. Cell Count Kit 8 （CCK-8） was employed for detecting cell viability. Hydrogen peroxide （H2O2）， malondialdehyde （MDA） and superoxide dismutase （SOD） were used for evaluating the levels of oxidative stress. Flow cytometry was utilized for detecting the level of cell apoptosis. Results As compared with control group， protein expression level of PUM1 in H/R 3 h group （1.76 ± 0.11 vs 0.98 ± 0.05）， H/R 6 h group （2.89 ± 0.14 vs 0.98 ± 0.05） and H/R 12 h group （3.78 ± 0.08 vs 0.98 ± 0.05） gradually spiked with the prolongation of hypoxic time. As compared with H/R group， knocking down the expression of PUM1 significantly improved the cell viability （73.67 ± 3.42 vs 29.60 ± 2.94）， oxidative stress [H2O2:（13.53 ± 0.85）μmol/L vs （22.43 ± 1.12）μmol/L， MDA: （16.03 ± 0.70）μmol/L vs （31.20 ± 1.50）μmol/L， SOD: （34670 ± 1800）U/L vs （5730 ± 1220）U/L] and apoptotic level [（14.89 ± 1.65）% vs （39.71 ± 1.94）%] after H/R in H/R+si-PUM1 group. Conclusion PUM1 is up-regulated in H/R induced HK-2 cells and its inhibition may alleviate H/R injury through reducing oxidative stress and lowering cell apoptosis levels.

Ladle furnace (LF) refining can effectively control the composition and temperature of molten steel and plays a role in cushioning and coordinating the production rhythm between steelmaking and continuous casting. The use of models for control and decision-making in LF refining can further standardize the refining operations, improve the quality and stability of molten steel, and, combined with automatic control, will strongly promote the development of intelligent refining to achieve optimization of steelmaking and improve efficiency. Regarding promoting intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry, the LF refining process model is no longer limited to the establishment and deployment of single-function models and has begun to develop in the direction of integration, automation, and intelligence while its function has also changed from a single prediction and recommendation to overall intelligent control and decision-making. LF process control and decision models are mostly single-function models, but few integrate applications. Due to the complexity and uncertainty of the refining process, these models have differences in stability and accuracy. Therefore, establishing an integrated model, standardizing the field process, improving the data quality, and combining automatic control and closed-loop feedback to further realize the intelligent control model have become important directions for future research and application of LF control models. Herein, the development and research status of LF refining control and decision models are summarized, including the alloying model, slagging model, temperature model, argon blowing control model, calcium treatment model, and other single-function models, as well as intelligent refining technology. The modeling principles and functions of these models are systematically reviewed, and future development directions of LF process intelligent control and decision models are prospected, providing a reference for the subsequent development and application of LF intelligent refining technology. The establishment and real landing of LF intelligent control and decision models not only require the realization and linkage of process control and decision models but also propose higher requirements for iron and steel enterprises. The realization of LF intelligent control and decision-making models can greatly improve the consistency and qualified rate of product quality, reduce energy consumption and cost, reduce manual intervention, and shorten the smelting cycle, thus improving the competitiveness of enterprises. With the continuous upgrading and improvement of model design, automation technology, and steel mill site environment, the application and development of LF intelligent control and decision-making models show great potential in realizing green, low-carbon, and intelligent manufacturing and would make great contributions to the progress and transformation and upgrading of the steel industry in the future.

Abstract Depression is usually accompanied with cognitive impairment and increases risk of incident dementia. However, evidence has been limited on the effect size of depression with cognitive impairment and their synergistic effect on future dementia. To explore this, we examined three large cross-country population-based prospective cohorts. Depressive symptoms were assessed by epidemiologic scale, while cognitive impairment was defined by subjective cognitive tests. Dementia was ascertained by self-reported physician-diagnosed conditions. Cox proportional hazard models were employed to determine the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI), with adjustments of potential confounding variables. Addictive and multiplicative interactions were calculated to evaluate the synergistic effect. A total of 64,706 participants were included at baseline (mean age: 63.9, female: 55.2%), where 4197 (6.5%) individuals had depressive symptoms only, 28,175 (43.5%) individuals had cognitive impairment only, 11,564 (17.9%) individuals had both, and 20,770 (32.1%) individuals had neither. Compared with the neither group, all the other three groups had higher risks of subsequent dementia (depression only: HR 1.65, 95% CI 1.26–2.17; cognitive impairment only: HR 2.71, 95% CI 2.33–3.14; depression with cognitive impairment: HR 3.51, 95% CI 2.95–4.17). There was insignificant additive (RERI, 0.15, 95% CI −0.45–0.75; AP, 0.042, 95% CI −0.13–0.21; SI, 1.06, 95% CI 0.83–1.37) and multiplicative (0.78, 95% CI 0.58–1.06) interaction between depression and cognitive impairment on subsequent dementia. We found depression with cognitive impairment has higher risks of dementia than either condition alone and no significant synergistic effect exists between these two factors.

Background: Allergic asthma is largely dominated by Th2 lymphocytes. Micropeptides in Th2 cells and asthma remain unmasked. Here, we aimed to demonstrate a micropeptide, T-cell regulatory micropeptide (TREMP), in Th2 cell differentiation in asthma. Methods: TREMP translated from lincR-PPP2R5C was validated using Western blotting and mass spectrometry. TREMP knockout mice were generated using CRISPR/Cas9. Coimmunoprecipitation revealed that TREMP targeted pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase 1 (PYCR1), which was further explored in vitro and in vivo. The levels of TREMP and PYCR1 in Th2 cells from clinical samples were determined by flow cytometry. Results: TREMP, encoded by lincR-PPP2R5C, was in the mitochondrion. The lentivirus encoding TREMP promoted Th2 cell differentiation. In contrast, Th2 differentiation was suppressed in TREMP−/− CD4+ T cells. In the HDM-induced model of allergic airway inflammation, TREMP was increased in pulmonary tissues. Allergic airway inflammation was relieved in TREMP−/− mice treated with HDM. Mechanistically, TREMP interacted with PYCR1, which regulated Th2 differentiation via glycolysis. Glycolysis was decreased in Th2 cells from TREMP−/− mice and PYCR1−/− mice. Similar to TREMP−/− mice, allergic airway inflammation was mitigated in HDM-challenged PYCR1−/− mice. Moreover, we measured TREMP and PYCR1 in asthma patients. And we found that, compared with those in healthy controls, the levels of TREMP and PYCR1 in Th2 cells were significantly increased in asthmatic patients. Conclusions: The micropeptide TREMP encoded by lincR-PPP2R5C promoted Th2 differentiation in allergic airway inflammation by interacting with PYCR1 and enhancing glycolysis. Our findings highlight the importance of neglected micropeptides from noncoding RNAs in allergic diseases.

Persistence of quiescent leukemia stem cells (LSCs) after treatment most likely contributes to chemotherapy resistance and poor prognosis of leukemia patients. Identification of this quiescent cell population would facilitate eradicating LSCs. Here, using a cell‐tracing PKH26 (PKH) dye that can be equally distributed to daughter cells following cell division in vivo, we identify a label‐retaining slow‐cycling leukemia cell population from AML1‐ETO9a (AE9a) leukemic mice. We find that, compared with cells not maintaining PKH‐staining, a higher proportion of PKH‐retaining cells are in G0 phase, and PKH‐retaining cells exhibit increased colony formation ability and leukemia initiation potential. In addition, PKH‐retaining cells possess high chemo‐resistance and are more likely to be localized to the endosteal bone marrow region. Based on the transcriptional signature, HLA class II histocompatibility antigen gamma chain (Cd74) is highly expressed in PKH‐retaining leukemia cells. Furthermore, cell surface CD74 was identified to be highly expressed in LSCs of AE9a mice and CD34+ human leukemia cells. Compared to Lin−CD74− leukemia cells, Lin−CD74+ leukemia cells of AE9a mice exhibit higher stemness properties. Collectively, our findings reveal that the identified slow‐cycling leukemia cell population represents an LSC population, and CD74+ leukemia cells possess stemness properties, suggesting that CD74 is a candidate LSC surface marker.

Abstract Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) immunotherapy facilitates new approaches to achieve precision cancer treatment. A growing number of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have benefited from treatment with neoadjuvant ICIs combined with chemotherapy. However, the mechanisms and associations between the therapeutic efficacy of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab and chemotherapy (NAPC) and macrophage subsets are still unclear. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and identified a novel FABP4+C1q+ macrophage subtype, which exhibited stronger proinflammatory cytokine production and phagocytic ability. This subtype was found to be more abundant in tumor tissues and lymph nodes of major pathological response (MPR) patients compared to non-MPR patients, and was associated with a good efficacy of NAPC. Multiplex fluorescent immunohistochemical (mIHC) staining was subsequently used to verify our findings. Further mechanistic studies indicated that FABP4 and C1q regulate the expression of proinflammatory cytokines synergistically. In addition, FABP4 and C1q promote fatty acid synthesis, enhance anti-apoptosis ability and phagocytic ability of macrophage via the interaction of AMPK/JAK/STAT axis. This study provides novel insights into the underlying mechanisms and predictive biomarkers of NAPC. Our findings contribute to improving the prognosis of patients with NSCLC by potentially guiding more precise patient selection and treatment strategies. Novelty & Impact Statements We identified a group of macrophages (FABP4+C1q+ macrophages) related to the therapeutic efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy. FABP4+C1q+ macrophages highly expressed proinflammatory cytokines-related genes and had a strong cytokine production and phagocytic ability. We believe that our study provides a novel insight into the synergistic mechanism of neoadjuvant ICI combined with chemotherapy and may lead to improved clinical outcomes in patients with NSCLC in the future.

Abstract Aiming at the problem of sub‐synchronous oscillations induced by direct‐drive wind farms with series‐compensated lines, this paper proposes an unknown system dynamics estimation‐based PI controller to achieve sub‐synchronous oscillation suppression. According to the mathematical model of the direct‐drive wind farm grid‐connected system, the relationship between the direct‐drive wind turbine grid‐side converter current inner‐loop PI controller and the sub‐synchronous components is first established. Secondly, the uncertain sub‐synchronous current components and voltage components in the series‐compensated lines of the direct‐drive wind farm are taken as the total disturbance, and an unknown system dynamic estimator‐based PI controller is designed by introducing the first‐order low‐pass filter operation. Then, the stability and convergence of the closed‐loop system are proved by Lyapunov theory. Finally, the Prony method is used to analyse the current signal output by the direct‐drive wind turbine, and the inherent characteristics of the negative damping of the SSO induced by the series‐compensated line of the direct‐driven wind farm are revealed. A comparative numerical simulation is carried out to demonstrate that the sub‐synchronous oscillations of the direct‐drive wind farm with series‐compensated lines can be suppressed under different operating conditions.

Background Nowadays, cardiac rehabilitation is mostly transferred from the hospital to a home environment. Mobile health applications assist patients in bridging the support gap from hospital to home environment, which encourages home-based recovery processes. Unfortunately, numerous quality difficulties accompany its promise, and the service quality of cardiac rehabilitation applications must be ＂confirmed＂ as soon as possible. Objective To develop a quality assessment indicator system for home-based rehabilitation APP services for heart failure patients, and to provide a model for standardizing and increasing the quality of mobile health APP. Methods This study was conducted from July 2022 to January 2023, using semi-structured interviews, literature review, the expert consultation method and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine the content of indicator system and the weight for each index. Results 2 rounds of expert consultations resulted in the effective response rates of 100%, with the authority coefficients of 0.867, and the coordination coefficients of 0.128-0.154 and 0.151-0.197 respectively (P

Abstract Insulator defect detection is a critical aspect of grid inspection in reality, yet it faces intricate environmental challenges, such as slow detection speed and low accuracy. To address this issue, we propose a YOLOv8-based insulator defect detection algorithm named CDDCR–YOLOv8. This algorithm divides the input insulator images into multiple grid cells, with each grid cell responsible for predicting the presence and positional information of one or more targets. First, we introduce the Coordinate Attention (CA) mechanism module into the backbone network and replace the original C2f module with the enhanced C2f_DCN module. Second, improvements are made to the original upsampling and downsampling layers in the neck network, along with the introduction of the lightweight module RepGhost. Finally, we employ Wise-IoU (WIoU) to replace the original CIoU as the loss function for network regression. Experimental results demonstrate that the improved algorithm achieves an average precision mean (mAP @ 0.5) of 97.5% and 90.6% on the CPLID and IPLID data sets, respectively, with a frame per second (FPS) of 84, achieving comprehensive synchronous improvement. Compared to traditional algorithms, our algorithm exhibits significant performance enhancement.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need for precise diagnostic methods to distinguish between similar respiratory infections, such as COVID-19 and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP). Identifying key biomarkers and utilizing machine learning techniques, such as random forest analysis, can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy. We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical and laboratory data from 214 patients with acute respiratory infections, collected between October 2022 and October 2023 at the Second Hospital of Nanping. The study population was categorized into three groups: COVID-19 positive (n = 52), MP positive (n = 140), and co-infected (n = 22). Key biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin- 6 (IL-6), and white blood cell (WBC) counts, were evaluated. Correlation analyses were conducted to assess relationships between biomarkers within each group. The random forest analysis was applied to evaluate the discriminative power of these biomarkers. The random forest model demonstrated high classification performance, with area under the ROC curve (AUC) scores of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.70–0.97) for COVID-19, 0.79 (95% CI: 0.64–0.92) for MP, 0.69 (95% CI: 0.50–0.87) for co-infections, and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.83–0.95) for the micro-average ROC. Additionally, the precision-recall curve for the random forest classifier showed a micro-average AUC of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.69–0.91). Confusion matrices highlighted the model’s accuracy (0.77) and biomarker relationships. The SHAP feature importance analysis indicated that age (0.27), CRP (0.25), IL6 (0.14), and PCT (0.14) were the most significant predictors. The integration of computational methods, particularly random forest analysis, in evaluating clinical and biomarker data presents a promising approach for enhancing diagnostic processes for infectious diseases. Our findings support the use of specific biomarkers in differentiating between COVID-19 and MP, potentially leading to more targeted and effective diagnostic strategies. This study underscores the potential of machine learning techniques in improving disease classification in the era of precision medicine.

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a positive emotion‐based exercise intervention on quality of life (QOL), fatigue, and mental health status in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy. A total of 80 patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy were selected and divided into an observation group and a control group, with 40 patients in each group. Patients in the control group received routine care and were educated about the benefits of exercise, while patients in the experimental group received an additional exercise intervention based on positive emotions. We assessed patients' quality of life, fatigue, and mental health at the time of recruitment and 12 weeks after the exercise intervention. After the intervention, patients in the experimental group had a higher overall QOL score than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences in body, role, and emotions (p

Abstract Cavity optomechanical systems have enabled precision sensing of magnetic fields, by leveraging the optical resonance-enhanced readout and mechanical resonance-enhanced response. Previous studies have successfully achieved mass-produced and reproducible microcavity optomechanical magnetometry (MCOM) by incorporating Terfenol-D thin films into high-quality (Q) factor whispering gallery mode (WGM) microcavities. However, the sensitivity was limited to 585 pT Hz−1/2, over 20 times inferior to those using Terfenol-D particles. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a high-sensitivity and mass-produced MCOM approach by sputtering a FeGaB thin film onto a high-Q SiO2 WGM microdisk. Theoretical studies are conducted to explore the magnetic actuation constant and noise-limited sensitivity by varying the parameters of the FeGaB film and SiO2 microdisk. Multiple magnetometers with different radii are fabricated and characterized. By utilizing a microdisk with a radius of 355 μm and a thickness of 1 μm, along with a FeGaB film with a radius of 330 μm and a thickness of 1.3 μm, we have achieved a remarkable peak sensitivity of 1.68 pT Hz−1/2 at 9.52 MHz. This represents a significant improvement of over two orders of magnitude compared with previous studies employing sputtered Terfenol-D film. Notably, the magnetometer operates without a bias magnetic field, thanks to the remarkable soft magnetic properties of the FeGaB film. Furthermore, as a proof of concept, we have demonstrated the real-time measurement of a pulsed magnetic field simulating the corona current in a high-voltage transmission line using our developed magnetometer. These high-sensitivity magnetometers hold great potential for various applications, such as magnetic induction tomography and corona current monitoring.

Abstract Personal and family history of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (PSH and FSH, respectively) are significant risk factors associated with suicides. Research is limited in automatic identification of such data from clinical notes in Electronic Health Records. This study developed deep learning (DL) tools utilizing transformer models (Bio_ClinicalBERT and GatorTron) to detect PSH and FSH in clinical notes derived from three academic medical centers, and compared their performance with a rule-based natural language processing tool. For detecting PSH, the rule-based approach obtained an F1-score of 0.75 ± 0.07, while the Bio_ClinicalBERT and GatorTron DL tools scored 0.83 ± 0.09 and 0.84 ± 0.07, respectively. For detecting FSH, the rule-based approach achieved an F1-score of 0.69 ± 0.11, compared to 0.89 ± 0.10 for Bio_ClinicalBERT and 0.92 ± 0.07 for GatorTron. Across sites, the DL tools identified more than 80% of patients at elevated risk for suicide who remain undiagnosed and untreated.

Abstract Background Unhealthy lifestyles, which include unhealthy diet and unhealthy sleep duration, have been widely recognized as modifiable risk factors for depressive symptoms. This study aims to explore the associations between dietary quality, sleep duration, and depression symptoms, as well as their combined effects. Methods The NHANES 2007 to 2014 cycles provided the data for this study, in which 19,134 adults aged 20 years and older were included. Unhealthy diet, measured using an average Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 score below the 60th percentile, and unhealthy sleep duration, measured as sleep duration at night less than 7 h or greater than/equal to 9 h, were the primary exposures. Then participants were divided into four different lifestyles. A weighted-multivariable logistic regression was employed, controlling for relevant variables. Furthermore, stratified analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the findings and identify potential high-risk groups. Results The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms among all participants was 8.44%. Among the participants, 56.58% met the criteria for healthy sleep duration, and 24.83% scored at or above the 60th percentile on the HEI-2015. Unhealthy diet (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.18–1.67, p

Abstract Background Medical fear is a common psychological reaction in hospitalized children, especially during radiotherapy for central nervous system (CNS) cancers. This fear not only causes negative emotions such as anxiety and depression but also affects children’s quality of life and treatment outcomes. It is exacerbated by factors such as unfamiliar environments during radiation therapy and separation from parents. Child Life, as a professional service, offers physical and mental support to children through medical understanding and psychological preparation, addressing their social and psychological needs, among other things. This study aims to construct a comprehensive Child Life intervention program (CCLIP), consisting of four key components: psychological adjustment and preparation, therapeutic play, pain management and coping strategies, and family support. The integration of effective intervention methods aims to reduce medical fear in children undergoing radiotherapy, promote psychological well-being, improve treatment compliance, and enhance quality of life. Methods This study is a protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Using a random number table method, we plan to recruit 38 eligible children who meet the inclusion criteria and then randomize them into two distinct groups: the intervention group and the control group. The intervention group will receive the CCLIP, and the control group will receive standardized care. Data will be collected through questionnaires and on-site assessments during the one-month intervention period at four distinct time points: the day of admission (T0), the first radiotherapy positioning (T1), mid-radiotherapy (T2), and postradiotherapy (T3). The primary outcome measure is the effectiveness of the CCLIP in reducing medical fear among children receiving radiation treatment for CNS cancers. Secondary outcomes include anxiety, depression, radiation adherence, quality of life among children, and parental satisfaction. Discussion This study aims to alleviate medical fear among children with CNS tumors undergoing radiotherapy through the implementation of the CCLIP while enhancing their mental health and quality of life. The expected outcomes of this research include providing effective intervention strategies for clinical practice, improving the treatment experience and long-term prognosis of children, and having positive impacts on children and their families. Trial registration This study is registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2400082622. Registered 2 April, 2024.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of Roche Cobas s 201 in detecting HBV by analyzing its blood nucleic acid testing (NAT) results. Methods The results were grouped according to the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and NAT minipool test (MP), NAT individual test (ID) and repeated NAT ID test (rID), and categorized into 4 groups as ELISA+ /NAT(ID)+ , ELISA+ /NAT(rID)+ , ELISA-/NAT(ID)+ and ELISA-/NAT(rID)+ . The data were statistically analyzed to explore whether there was a difference in the detection of reactive results by repeated NAT, and the correlation between cycle threshold (Ct) and nucleic acid detection rate for NAT-reactive samples with different ELISA results. The true infection status of blood donors was further analyzed by supplementary tests, including NAT systems and chemiluminescence serological marker assays using other methodologies. Results A total of 1 691 groups of 766 293 blood donor samples were HBV NAT(MP)+ , of which 1 418 groups(83.86%) were detected with reactive results (1 418 HBV NAT+ , 7 090 NAT-), and there were still 273 groups (16.14%) that remained undetected after repeated testing[a total of 1 638 NAT-, Ct(MP): 39.49±3.62]. Of the HBV NAT+ , 881(62.13%) were ELISA+ /NAT(ID)+ , 19(1.34%) were ELISA+ /NAT(rID)+ , 451(31.81%) were ELISA-/NAT(ID)+ , and 67(4.72%) were ELISA-/NAT(rID)+ . For samples with different ELISA results, difference was found in the detection of HBV by repeated NAT (P0.05), but there were significant differences between other groups compared pairwise (P

Compacted clay liners are extensively used as barriers to control the upward diffusion of vapors of volatile or semi-volatile organic contaminants released from unsaturated contaminated soils at industry-contaminated sites. This study aimed to investigate the gas diffusion barrier performance of compacted clayey soils amended with three agents including attapulgite and diatomite individually, and attapulgite/diatomite mixture. The properties including water retention, volumetric shrinkage, gas diffusion, and unconfined compressive strength were evaluated through a series of laboratory tests of amended compacted clayey soils. The results demonstrate that the decrease in volume proportions of inter-aggregate pores leads to an increase in unconfined compressive strength (qu). Both hydrophilic groups and microstructures of attapulgite and diatomite result in an increase in water retention percent (Wt) of compacted clayey soil specimens after amendment regardless of the type of agent or initial water content (w0). Furthermore, the ratio of the gas diffusion coefficient (De) to the gas diffusion coefficient in the air (Da) was significantly reduced owing to a decrease in volume proportions of inter-aggregate pores, hydrophilic group, and microstructures of attapulgite and diatomite. Scanning electron microscope analyses revealed that rod-shaped attapulgite filled the inter-aggregate pores formed by clay particles, whereas the disc-shaped diatomite particles, characterized by micropores, failed to obstruct the inter-aggregate pores due to their larger particle size. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) analyses showed a reduction in pore volume in the inter-aggregate pores, leading to a reduction in the total pore volume for both the attapulgite and attapulgite/diatomite mixture amended clays, which is in accordance with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) results. The findings are pertinent to the practical application of compacted clay liners as gas barriers against the upward migration of volatile or semi-volatile organic contaminants at contaminated sites.

Abstract Background Hepatic progenitor cells serve not only as the origin of combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA) but are also responsible for malignancy recurrence after surgical resection. Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) has been implicated in cancer metastasis and poor prognosis. This study aimed to determine the expression of NPM1 by hepatic progenitor cells in cHCC-CCA and the effects of targeting NPM1 on hepatic progenitor cells and BEL-7402 cells with characteristics of both progenitor cells and cHCC-CCA. Methods First, NPM1 was detected by RT‒PCR, western blotting, and double-immunofluorescence staining in cHCC-CCA tissues. NPM1 expression was subsequently analysed in rat hepatic progenitor cells cultured in vitro and in interleukin 6 (IL6)-treated cells. The effects and mechanism of NPM1 on hepatic progenitor cells were determined by knocking down NPM1 and performing RNA sequencing analysis. Finally, NSC348884, a small-molecule inhibitor that disrupts NPM1 dimer formation, was used to confirm the function of NPM1 in BEL-7402 cells. Results Both human hepatic progenitor cells in cHCC-CCA tissues and rat in vitro cultured hepatic progenitor cells highly expressed NPM1. IL6, a cytokine involved in the malignant transformation of hepatic progenitor cells, dose-dependently increased NPM1 and PCNA expression. Knocking down NPM1 reduced IL6R transcription (P

Abstract This study aims to evaluate the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a predictive biomarker for cardiovascular mortality among cancer patients, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). From the NHANES dataset (2007–2018), we analyzed 4974 cancer survivors, investigating the prognostic significance of NLR for all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer-specific mortality. Survival outcomes were analyzed using Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier methods. Optimal NLR cutoffs were identified as 2.61 for differentiating the higher NLR group from lower NLR group. Elevated NLR levels significantly correlated with increased all-cause mortality (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.07–1.14, P

Abstract Background Loss-of-function mutations of ZBTB24 cause immunodeficiency, centromeric instability, and facial anomalies syndrome 2 (ICF2). ICF2 is a rare autosomal recessive disorder with immunological defects in serum antibodies and circulating memory B cells, resulting in recurrent and sometimes fatal respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. The genotype–phenotype correlation in patients with ICF2 indicates an essential role of ZBTB24 in the terminal differentiation of B cells. Methods We used the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPER)/Cas9 technology to generate B cell specific Zbtb24-deficient mice and verified the deletion specificity and efficiency by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and western blotting analyses in fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-sorted cells. The development, phenotype of B cells and in vivo responses to T cell dependent or independent antigens post immunization were analyzed by flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Adoptive transfer experiment in combination with in vitro cultures of FACS-purified B cells and RNA-Seq analysis were utilized to specifically determine the impact of Zbtb24 on B cell biology as well as the underlying mechanisms. Results Zbtb24 is dispensable for B cell development and maintenance in naive mice. Surprisingly, B cell specific deletion of Zbtb24 does not evidently compromise germinal center reactions and the resulting primary and secondary antibody responses induced by T cell dependent antigens (TD-Ags), but significantly inhibits T cell independent antigen-elicited antibody productions in vivo. At the cellular level, Zbtb24-deficiency specifically impedes the plasma cell differentiation of B1 cells without impairing their survival, activation and proliferation in vitro. Mechanistically, Zbtb24-ablation attenuates heme biosynthesis partially through mTORC1 in B1 cells, and addition of exogenous hemin abrogates the differentiation defects of Zbtb24-null B1 cells. Conclusions Zbtb24 seems to regulate antibody responses against TD-Ags B cell extrinsically, but it specifically promotes the plasma cell differentiation of B1 cells via heme synthesis in mice. Our study also suggests that defected B1 functions contribute to recurrent infections in patients with ICF2.

Abstract Background Seven-carbon sugars, which rarely exist in nature, are the key constitutional unit of septacidin and hygromycin B in bacteria. These sugars exhibit a potential therapeutic effect for hypoglycaemia and cancer and serve as building blocks for the synthesis of C-glycosides and novel antibiotics. However, chemical and enzymatic approaches for the synthesis of seven-carbon sugars have faced challenges, such as complex reaction steps, low overall yields and high-cost feedstock, limiting their industrial-scale production. Results In this work, we propose a strain engineering approach for synthesising sedoheptulose using glucose as sole feedstock. The gene pfkA encoding 6-phosphofructokinase in Corynebacterium glutamicum was inactivated to direct the carbon flux towards the pentose phosphate pathway in the cellular metabolic network. This genetic modification successfully enabled the synthesis of sedoheptulose from glucose. Additionally, we identified key enzymes responsible for product formation through transcriptome analysis, and their corresponding genes were overexpressed, resulting in a further 20% increase in sedoheptulose production. Conclusion We achieved a sedoheptulose concentration of 24 g/L with a yield of 0.4 g/g glucose in a 1 L fermenter, marking the highest value up to date. The produced sedoheptulose could further function as feedstock for synthesising structural seven-carbon sugars through coupling with enzymatic isomerisation, epimerisation and reduction reactions.

Abstract Besides chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), autologous T cells can also serve as a new treatment approach for AML patients. However, the features of tumor-reactive T cells and their distinctive markers still lack full description. To evaluate the characteristics of tumor-reactive T cells, we collected bone marrow (BM) T cells from newly diagnosed AML patients with RUNX1::RUNX1T1 as examples for paired single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell V(D)J sequencing. Based on the STARTRAC-like algorithm, we defined bystander T cells and tumor-reactive T cells. Compared with bystander T cells, tumor-reactive T cells presented as senescent-like cytotoxic terminally differentiated T cells (Temra) with upregulated NK-related markers. Additionally, we found ADGRG1 could serve as the specific marker of CD8+ T tumor-reactive T cell and validated it through the Runx1Runx1t1/+; Mx1-Cre mouse model. In chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T and target cell system, ADGRG1 was selectively upregulated upon antigen-TCR encounter. Moreover, ADGRG1+CD8+ T cells released a higher level of IFN-γ and showed higher cell-killing ability when exposed to matched AML blasts. Together, our findings depict the single-cell profile of tumor-reactive T cells in AML BM and propose that ADGRG1 can act as an indicator of T cell tumor reactivity in AML, which may be further harnessed for adoptive cell therapy and tumor-reactive TCR enrichment.

Abstract Background Breast cancer, with its high morbidity and mortality rates, is a significant global health burden. Traditional treatments—surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy—are widely used but come with drawbacks such as recurrence, metastasis, and significant side effects, including damage to healthy tissues. To address these limitations, new therapeutic strategies are being developed. Peroxidases (POD) can catalyze excess H2O2 in the tumor microenvironment to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which induce cancer cell apoptosis by disrupting redox homeostasis and modulating apoptosis-related proteins. However, natural enzymes face challenges like poor stability, high cost, and sensitivity to environmental conditions, limiting their application in breast cancer treatment. Nanozymes, nanomaterials with enzyme-like activity, offer a promising alternative by overcoming these limitations. Methods In this study, we successfully prepared Au@Pd nanozymes with peroxidase activity by depositing metallic Pd on Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) synthesized using a trisodium citrate reduction method and ascorbic acid reduction. The in vitro validation was conducted through a series of experiments, including ROS detection, flow cytometry, CCK-8 assay, DNA damage assessment, live/dead cell staining, Western blot (WB), and qPCR. Tumor treatment was performed via tail vein injection of the drug, followed by HE staining of the treated tissues and biochemical analysis of the blood. Results Au@Pd nanozymes can effectively accumulate at the tumor site through the EPR effect and exert peroxidase-like activity, catalyzing the excess H2O2 in the tumor microenvironment to produce ROS. This triggers apoptosis pathways and DNA damage, leading to the downregulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, upregulation of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax, and induction of apoptosis-related genes, demonstrating strong anti-tumor effects. Conclusions This study developed an efficient nanozyme-mediated catalytic therapy strategy targeting the tumor microenvironment for the treatment of breast cancer cells.

Soliton microcombs, which require the hosting cavity to operate in an anomalous dispersion regime, are essential to integrate photonic systems. In the past, soliton microcombs were generated on cavity whispering gallery modes (WGMs), and the anomalous dispersion requirement of the cavity made by normal dispersion material was achieved through structural dispersion engineering. This inevitably degrades the cavity optical quality factor (Q) and increases pump threshold power for soliton comb generation. To overcome the challenges, here, we report a soliton microcomb excited by cavity polygon modes. These modes display anomalous dispersion at near-infrared while optical Q factors exceeding 4×106 are maintained. Consequently, a soliton comb spanning from 1450 nm to 1620 nm with a record low pump power of 11 mW is demonstrated, a three-fold improvement compared to the state of the art on the same material platform.

Abstract Since October 2023, a significant outbreak of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia (MPP) has been observed in children in northern China. Chinese health authorities have attributed this epidemiological to immune debt resulting from the relaxation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) control measures. This study described the epidemiological features of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) prevalence in children and developed a straightforward prediction model to differentiate between MPP and viral pneumonia in children. The infection rate of MP in children notably increased from 8.12 in 2022 to 14.94% in 2023, peaking between October and November, especially among school-age children. Logistic regression screening identified four key indicators: Age, D-Dimer levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and gender. The developed nomogram exhibited a receiver operator characteristic curve-area under the curve (ROC-AUC) of 0.858, with external validation confirming an ROC-AUC of 0.794. This study examined the epidemiological characteristics of MPP prevalence in children in Shandong Province during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. An early predict model was developed and validated to differentiate between Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and viral infections.

Abstract The spatial delays of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) have been less explored. In this study, a total of 151,799 notified PTB cases were included, with median patient and diagnostic delays of 15 [interquartile range (IOR), 4–35] and 2 (IOR, 0–8) days, respectively. The spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatial–temporal scan statistics were used to determine the clusters, indicating that the regions in the southwestern and northeastern parts of Zhejiang Province exhibited high rates of long-term patient delay (LPD, delay ≥ 15 days) and long-term diagnostic delay (LDD, delay ≥ 2 days). Besides, the Mantel test indicated a moderately positive correlation between public awareness of suspicious symptoms and the LPD rate in 2018 (Mantel's r = 0.4, P

Abstract During follicular development, changes in the composition of the follicular fluid are synchronized with the development of oocytes. Our aim was to screen the key factors affecting oocyte maturation and optimize the in vitro culture protocol by understanding the changes of proteins and metabolites in follicular fluid. Follicles are divided into three groups according to their diameter (small follicle fluid (SFF): 10 mm

A new species Serangium xinpingensis Huang & Wang, sp. nov. is described from Yunnan Province, China, as a newly discovered predator on Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Aleyrodidae). The new species is a valuable addition to the 14 species of this genus in China known before. A diagnosis, detailed description, including the structure of its immature stages, illustrations, and the distribution of the new species are provided.

Abstract The rheological parameters of oil testing fluids play a crucial role in safely conducting oil testing operations, protecting reservoirs, and maintaining wellbore integrity, which are greatly influenced by temperature and pressure. This article conducted rheological experiments on commonly used potassium salt polymer systems and organic salt systems for oil testing fluids in the Bohai Bay Oilfield under 4–200 °C and 30–150 MPa. The experiments revealed the variation of rheological parameters with temperature and pressure. Nine commonly used rheological models were evaluated for their applicability to the two types of oil testing fluids. It was found that the Ross model was suitable for the potassium salt polymer system, while the power-law model was suitable for organic salt oil testing fluids. A new rheological parameter prediction model suitable for wide range of temperature and pressure and different testing fluid systems was proposed based on the optimized results. The average error for the potassium salt polymer system for oil testing fluids was 0.101%, and the error for the organic salt system for oil testing fluids was 0.113%. Both were superior to known rheological models and can meet the requirements of oil testing operations within the wide temperature and pressure range in the Bohai Bay Oilfield.

Abstract Objective Bibliometrics was employed in this study to determine the research trends in the worldwide application of 3D printing technology to treat bone tumors over the previous 10 years. Methods Published from 2013 to 2022, the papers related to bone tumors treated with 3D printing were located in Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), PubMed, and Scopus. The screened articles were included in this bibliometric study. From these papers in WoSCC, information on annual publications, journals, keywords, countries, authors, institutions, and cited references were extracted and visualized with CiteSpace (version 6.1.R6) software to investigate the state of bone tumor treatment using 3D printing as well as research hotspots. The Carrot2 online visualization tool and Vosviewer software (version 1.6.20) were employed to visualize the publications from PubMed and Scopus, respectively, in order to ascertain the most popular research topics from both databases. Results A total of 606, 233, and 364 publications were obtained from WoSCC, PubMed, and Scopus, respectively, between the years 2013 and 2022. In WoSCC, the peak number of publications was found in 2021, with 145 publications published. Acta Biomaterialia (11 publications) and World Neurosurgery (10 publications) were the most prolific journals, and Biomaterials was the journal cited the most (244 times). Yong Zhou was the most productive author with 14 publications, while Kwok-Chuen Wong (69 citations) and William F Enneking, (69 citations) possessed the most citations. The country with the largest quantity of publications was China (207). Among all institutions, Shanghai Jiao Tong University produced the most publications (29). Rapid prototyping was the keyword with the strongest citation burst (4.73). ‘Reconstruction’, ‘surgery’, ‘resection’, and ‘design’ caught the significant attention of researchers. 3D-printed materials, pelvic reconstruction, mandibular reconstruction, computer-assisted surgical techniques, photothermal therapy, and in vitro experiments were recognized as hot subjects and trends in current research. The most frequently occurring topics in Scopus are not significantly different from those found in WoSCC. The most prevalent research areas in PubMed encompass implant, patient-specific, bioceramic, models, and pelvic.

Abstract Sustainable photoactivated room temperature phosphorescent materials exhibit great potential but are difficult to obtain. Here, we develop photoactivated room temperature phosphorescent materials by covalently attaching lignin to polylactic acid, where lignin and polylactic acid are the chromophore and matrix, respectively. Initially the phosphorescence of the lignin is quenched by residual O2. However, the phosphorescence is switched on when the residual oxygen is consumed by the triplet excitons of lignin under continuous UV light irradiation. As such, the lifetime increases from 3.0 ms to 221.1 ms after 20 s of UV activation. Interestingly, the phosphorescence is quenched again after being kept under an atmosphere of air for 2 h in the absence of UV irradiation due to the diffusion of oxygen into the materials. Using these properties, as-developed material is successfully used as a smart anti-counterfeiting logo for a medicine bottle and for information recording.

Abstract Background Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed structures containing lipids, proteins, and RNAs that play a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication. However, the precise mechanism through which circulating EVs disrupt hepatic glucose homeostasis in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains unclear. Results Circulating EVs isolated from human plasma were co-cultured with mammalian liver cells to investigate the potential induction of hepatic insulin resistance by GDM-EVs using glucose output assays, Seahorse assays, metabolomics, fluxomics, qRT-PCR, bioinformatics analyses, and luciferase assays. Our findings demonstrated that hepatocytes exposed to GDM-EVs exhibited increased gluconeogenesis, attenuated energy metabolism, and upregulated oxidative stress. Particularly noteworthy was the discovery of miR-1299 as the predominant miRNA in GDM-EVs, which directly targeting the 3′-untranslated regions (UTR) of STAT3. Our experiments involving loss- and gain‐of‐function revealed that miR-1299 inhibits the insulin signaling pathway by regulating the STAT3/FAM3A axis, resulting in increased insulin resistance through the modulation of mitochondrial function and oxidative stress in hepatocytes. Moreover, experiments conducted in vivo on mice inoculated with GDM-EVs confirmed the development of glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and downregulation of STAT3 and FAM3A. Conclusions These results provide insights into the role of miR-1299 derived from circulating GDM-EVs in the progression of insulin resistance in hepatic cells via the STAT3/FAM3A axis and downstream metabolic reprogramming.

Abstract Background Ischemic stroke (IS) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Genetic factors are important risk factors for the development of IS. The quinone oxidoreductase 1 gene (NQO1) has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective properties. Thus, in this study, we investigated the relationship between NQO1 gene polymorphism and the risk of IS. Methods Peripheral blood was collected from 143 patients with IS and 124 the control groups in Yunnan, China, and NQO1 rs2917673, rs689455, and rs1800566 were genotyped. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between the three NQO1 loci and IS susceptibility. The difference in the expression levels of NQO1 between the control groups and IS groups was verified using public databases and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The rs2917673 locus increased the risk of IS by 2.375 times in TT genotype carriers under the co-dominance model compared with CC carriers and was statistically associated with the risk of IS (OR = 2.375, 95% CI = 1.017–5.546, P = 0.046). In the recessive model, TT genotype carriers increased IS risk by 2.407 times compared with CC/CT carriers and were statistically associated with the risk of IS (OR = 2.407, 95% CI = 1.073–5.396, P = 0.033). Conclusions NQO1 rs2917673 polymorphism is significantly associated with IS. Mutant TT carriers are risk factors for IS.

Abstract Purpose To investigate aqueous humor cytokine levels in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients with subretinal fibrosis and to explore the relationship between cytokine levels and disease severity. Methods The aqueous humor samples were collected from 16 eyes with subretinal fibrosis due to nAMD (SRFi group), 33 eyes with nAMD without subretinal fibrosis (nAMD group) and 28 eyes with cataract patients (control group). Clinical samples were analyzed for 5 cytokines,including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α), platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB). Results Aqueous humor cytokines VEGF and bFGF were significantly higher in nAMD patients than controls (all P

Abstract Despite the growing interest in precision medicine-based therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD), little research has been conducted on how individual AD risk factors influence changes in cognitive function following transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). This study evaluates the cognitive effects of sequential tDCS on 63 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, considering AD risk factors such as amyloid-beta deposition, APOE ε4, BDNF polymorphism, and sex. Using both frequentist and Bayesian methods, we assessed the interaction of tDCS with these risk factors on cognitive performance. Notably, we found that amyloid-beta deposition significantly interacted with tDCS in improving executive function, specifically Stroop Word-Color scores, with strong Bayesian support for this finding. Memory enhancements were differentially influenced by BDNF Met carrier status. However, sex and APOE ε4 status did not show significant effects. Our results highlight the importance of individual AD risk factors in modulating cognitive outcomes from tDCS, suggesting that precision medicine may offer more effective tDCS treatments tailored to individual risk profiles in early AD stages.

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of liver dual-layer spectral-detector CT (SDCT) derived parameters of liver parenchyma for grading steatosis with reference to magnetic resonance imaging-based proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF). Methods Altogether, 320 consecutive subjects who underwent MRI-PDFF and liver SDCT examinations were recruited and prospectively enrolled from four Chinese hospital centers. Participants were classified into normal (n = 152), mild steatosis (n = 110), and moderate/severe(mod/sev) steatosis (n = 58) groups based on MRI-PDFF. SDCT liver parameters were evaluated using conventional polychromatic CT images (CTpoly), virtual mono-energetic images at 40 keV (CT40kev), the slope of the spectral attenuation curve (λ), the effective atomic number (Zeff), and liver to spleen attenuation ratio (L/S ratio). Linearity between SDCT liver parameters and MRI-PDFF was examined using Spearman correlation. Cutoff values for SDCT liver parameters in determining steatosis grades were identified using the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses. Results SDCT liver parameters demonstrated a strong correlation with PDFF, particularly Zeff (rs = −0.856; p

Abstract Background Occult Macular Dystrophy (OMD), primarily caused by retinitis pigmentosa 1-like 1 (RP1L1) variants, is a complex retinal disease characterised by progressive vision loss and a normal fundus appearance. This study aims to investigate the diverse phenotypic expressions and genotypic correlations of OMD in Chinese patients, including a rare case of Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy (VMD) associated with RP1L1. Methods We analysed seven OMD patients and one VMD patient, all with heterozygous pathogenic RP1L1 variants. Clinical assessments included Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), visual field testing, Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT), multifocal Electroretinograms (mfERGs), and microperimetry. Next-generation sequencing was utilised for genetic analysis. Results The OMD patients displayed a range of phenotypic variability. Most (5 out of 7) had the RP1L1 variant c.133 C > T; p.R45W, associated with central vision loss and specific patterns in SD-OCT and mfERG. Two patients exhibited different RP1L1 variants (c.3599G > T; p.G1200V and c.2880G > C; p.W960C), presenting milder phenotypes. SD-OCT revealed photoreceptor layer changes, with most patients showing decreased mfERG responses in the central rings. Interestingly, a unique case of VMD linked to the RP1L1 variant was observed, distinct from traditional OMD presentations. Conclusions This study highlights the phenotypic diversity within OMD and the broader spectrum of RP1L1-associated macular dystrophies, including a novel association with VMD. The findings emphasise the complexity of RP1L1 variants in determining clinical manifestations, underscoring the need for comprehensive genetic and clinical evaluations in macular dystrophies.

Abstract Background Aging is a multifaceted process that affects all organ systems. With the increasing trend of population aging, aging-related diseases have resulted in significant medical challenges and socioeconomic burdens. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), due to their antioxidative stress, immunoregulatory, and tissue repair capabilities, hold promise as a potential anti-aging intervention. Methods In this study, we transplanted MSCs into naturally aged rats at 24 months, and subsequently examined levels of aging-related factors such as β-galactosidase, superoxide dismutase, p16, p21 and malondialdehyde in multiple organs. Additionally, we assessed various aging-related phenotypes in these aged rats, including immune senescence, lipid deposition, myocardial fibrosis, and tissue damage. We also conducted a 16 S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) analysis to study the composition of gut microbiota. Results The results indicated that MSCs significantly reduced the levels of aging-associated and oxidative stress-related factors in multiple organs such as the heart, liver, and lungs of naturally aging rats. Furthermore, they mitigated chronic tissue damage and inflammation caused by aging, reduced levels of liver lipid deposition and myocardial fibrosis, alleviated aging-associated immunodeficiency and immune cell apoptosis, and positively influenced the gut microbiota composition towards a more youthful state. This research underscores the diverse anti-aging effects of MSCs, including oxidative stress reduction, tissue repair, metabolic regulation, and improvement of immune functions, shedding light on the underlying anti-aging mechanisms associated with MSCs. Conclusions The study confirms that MSCs hold great promise as a potential anti-aging approach, offering the possibility of extending lifespan and improving the quality of life in the elderly population.