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Abstract Interleukin-18, a member of the interleukin − 1 family of cytokines, is upregulated in glioma. However, its effects on glioma remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the role and underlying mechanisms of interleukin-18 expression in glioma. Here, we demonstrated that interleukin-18 enhanced resistance to temozolomide by increasing proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis in cultured glioma cells. Further in vivo studies revealed that interleukin-18 promoted temozolomide resistance in BALB/c nude mice bearing tumor. Mechanical exploration indicated that interleukin-18 stimulation could activate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in glioma cells, and PI3K inhibition could reduce the temozolomide resistance promoted by interleukin-18. We found that interleukin-18 upregulated CD274 expression in glioma, revealing its potential effects on the microenvironment. Furthermore, we established a tumor xenograft model and explored the therapeutic efficacy of anti-interleukin-18 monoclonal antibody. Targeting interleukin-18 prolonged survival and attenuated CD274 expression in the mice bearing tumor. Combined treatment with anti-interleukin-18 and anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody showed better efficacy in suppressing tumor growth than either treatment alone in mice bearing tumor. Collectively, these data present that interleukin-18 promotes temozolomide chemoresistance in glioma cells via PI3K/Akt activation and establishes an immunosuppressive milieu by modulating CD274. This study highlights the therapeutic value of interleukin-18 in glioma.

Background: Age-related mandibular osteoporosis frequently causes loose teeth, difficulty eating, and disfiguration in elders. Bmi1−/− mice displaying accelerated skeletal aging represent a useful model for testing interventions against premature jaw bone loss. As an anti-aging agent, metformin may ameliorate molecular dysfunction driving osteoporosis pathogenesis. We explored the mechanisms of mandibular osteopenia in Bmi1−/− mice and prevention by metformin treatment. Methods: Three mouse groups were utilized: wild-type controls, untreated Bmi1−/−, and Bmi1−/− receiving 1 g/kg metformin diet. Mandibular bone phenotype was assessed by X-ray, micro-CT, histology, and immunohistochemistry. AMPK-mTOR pathway analysis, senescence markers, osteoblast and osteoclast gene expression were evaluated in jaw tissue. Osteoclast differentiation capacity and associated signaling molecules were examined in cultured Bmi1−/− bone marrow mononuclear cells ± metformin. Results: Bmi1 loss reduced mandible bone density concomitant with decreased AMPK activity, increased mTOR signaling and cellular senescence in jaw tissue versus wild-type controls. This was accompanied by impaired osteoblast function and upregulated osteoclastogenesis markers. Metformin administration normalized AMPK-mTOR balance, oxidative stress and senescence signaling to significantly improve mandibular bone architecture in Bmi1−/− mice. In culture, metformin attenuated excessive osteoclast differentiation from Bmi1−/− marrow precursors by correcting dysregulated AMPK-mTOR-p53 pathway activity and suppressing novel pro-osteoclastogenic factor Stfa1. Conclusions: Our study newly demonstrates metformin prevents accelerated jaw bone loss in a premature aging murine model by rectifying molecular dysfunction in cellular energy sensors, redox state, senescence and osteoclastogenesis pathways. Targeting such age-associated mechanisms contributing to osteoporosis pathogenesis may help maintain oral health and aesthetics in the growing elderly population. Translational potential: The pronounced mandibular osteopenia exhibited in Bmi1−/− mice represents an accelerated model of jaw bone deterioration observed during human aging. Our finding that metformin preserves mandibular bone integrity in this progeroid model has important clinical implications. As an inexpensive oral medication already widely used to manage diabetes, metformin holds translational promise for mitigating age-related osteoporosis. The mandible is essential for chewing, swallowing, speech and facial structure, but progressively loses bone mass and strength with advancing age, significantly impacting seniors' nutrition, physical function and self-image. Our results suggest metformin's ability to rectify cellular energy imbalance, oxidative stress and osteoclast overactivity may help maintain jaw bone health into old age. Further research is still needed given metformin's multifaceted biology and bone regulation by diverse pathways. However, this preclinical study provides a strong rationale for clinical trials specifically examining mandibular outcomes in elderly subjects receiving standard metformin treatment for diabetes or prediabetes. Determining if metformin supplementation can prevent or delay oral disability and disfigurement from senescent jaw bone loss in the growing aged population represents an important public health priority. In summary, our mechanistic findings in a genetic mouse model indicate metformin merits investigation in rigorous human studies for alleviating morbidity associated with age-related mandibular osteoporosis.

Ephemeral gully headcut erosion contributes significantly to global land degradation and increased sediment yields, but the underlying driving factors and prediction models remain poorly understood. We conduct a comprehensive quantitative analysis of ephemeral gully headcut erosion in the Loess Plateau using an optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD) model, leveraging high-resolution remote sensing images. Our findings reveal a varied ephemeral gully head advance rate spanning 0.04–5.54 m yr−1 between 2009 and 2021 (average 1.37 m yr−1), with over 58% of the erosion rates falling between 0.50 and 2.00 m yr−1. Catchment area emerges as the primary driving factor, with an explanatory power of 61%. Moreover, the interactions between catchment area and slope degree, rainfall erosivity, and fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) had explanatory powers exceeding 80%. Furthermore, we developed a robust prediction model for ephemeral gully head advance rates based on the results from the OPGD model, incorporating the FVC factor. The validation of our model yielded a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.92 m yr−1) and low root mean square error (RMSE = 0.31 m yr−1). Our study offers new insights into ephemeral gully headcut erosion control in the Loess Plateau and serves as a valuable reference for loess regions worldwide.

Equine influenza (EI) is a severe infectious disease that causes huge economic losses to the horse industry. Spatial epidemiology technology can explore the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and occurrence risks of infectious diseases, it has played an important role in the prevention and control of major infectious diseases in humans and animals. For the first time, this study conducted a systematic analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of EI using SaTScan software and investigated the important environmental variables and suitable areas for EI occurrence using the Maxent model. A total of 517 occurrences of EI from 2005 to 2022 were evaluated, and 14 significant spatiotemporal clusters were identified. Furthermore, a Maxent model was successfully established with high prediction accuracy (AUC = 0.920 ± 0.008). The results indicated that annual average ultraviolet radiation, horse density, and precipitation of the coldest quarter were the three most important environmental variables affecting EI occurrence. The suitable areas for EI occurrence are widely distributed across all continents, especially in Asia (India, Mongolia, and China) and the Americas (Brazil, Uruguay, USA, and Mexico). In the future, these suitable areas will expand and move eastward. The largest expansion is predicted under SSP126 scenarios, while the opposite trend will be observed under SSP585 scenarios. This study presents the spatial epidemiological characteristics of EI for the first time. The results could provide valuable scientific insights that can effectively inform prevention and control strategies in regions at risk of EI worldwide.

In this paper, an improved adaptive coding and modulation scheme with hybrid switching standard is proposed for UAV-to-Ground free space optical (FSO) communication to mitigate the degradation of turbulence intensity variation. In order to improve bits efficiency in different turbulence, a channel estimator based on Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) and a hybrid switching standard based on frame error rate (FER) of LDPC decoding are applied. Simulation results show that the GRU estimator achieves approximately 34.9% improvement in training time compared to the LSTM estimator, without degradation in system performance. Moreover, the hybrid switching standard significantly improves the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) switching threshold deviation of the ACM scheme from 1.8 dB and 4 dB, which were observed in moderate turbulence conditions, to an average of 0.35 dB. This improvement allows for the effective implementation of the ACM scheme in different turbulence intensities at a relatively small cost, thereby enhancing the communication quality of FSO systems in atmospheric channels characterized by turbulent variations.

Due to the inherent broadcasting nature and openness of wireless transmission channels, wireless communication systems are vulnerable to the eavesdropping of malicious attackers and usually encounter undesirable situations of information leakage. The problem may be more serious when a passive eavesdropping device is directly connected to the transmitter of a single-input single-output (SISO) system. To deal with this urgent situation, a novel IRS-assisted physical-layer secure transmission scheme based on joint transmitter perturbation and IRS reflection (JPR) is proposed, such that the secrecy of wireless SISO systems can be comprehensively guaranteed regardless of whether the reflection-based jamming from the IRS to the eavesdropper is blocked or not. Moreover, to develop a trade-off between the achievable performance and implementation complexity, we propose both element-wise and group-wise reflected perturbation alignment (ERPA/GRPA)-based IRS reflection strategies, respectively. In order to evaluate the achievable performance, we analyze the ergodic secrecy rate (ESR) and secrecy outage probability (SOP) of the SISO secure systems with the ERPA/GRPA-based JPRs, respectively. Finally, by characterizing the simulated and numerical ESR and SOP performance results, our proposed scheme is compared with the benchmark scheme of random phase-based reflection, which strongly demonstrates the effectiveness of our proposed scheme.

Abstract Temozolomide (TMZ) resistance remains the major obstacle in the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM). Lactylation is a novel post‐translational modification that is involved in various tumors. However, whether lactylation plays a role in GBM TMZ resistance remains unclear. Here it is found that histone H3K9 lactylation (H3K9la) confers TMZ resistance in GBM via LUC7L2‐mediated intron 7 retention of MLH1. Mechanistically, lactylation is upregulated in recurrent GBM tissues and TMZ‐resistant cells, and is mainly concentrated in histone H3K9. Combined multi‐omics analysis, including CUT&Tag, SLAM‐seq, and RNA‐seq, reveals that H3K9 lactylation is significantly enriched in the LUC7L2 promoter and activates LUC7L2 transcription to promote its expression. LUC7L2 mediates intron 7 retention of MLH1 to reduce MLH1 expression, and thereby inhibit mismatch repair (MMR), ultimately leading to GBM TMZ resistance. Of note, it is identified that a clinical anti‐epileptic drug, stiripentol, which can cross the blood–brain barrier and inhibit lactate dehydrogenase A/B (LDHA/B) activity, acts as a lactylation inhibitor and renders GBM cells more sensitive to TMZ in vitro and in vivo. These findings not only shed light on the mechanism of lactylation in GBM TMZ resistance but also provide a potential combined therapeutic strategy for clinical GBM treatment.

IntroductionThe echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is fundamental to the diagnosis and classification of patients with heart failure (HF).MethodsThis paper aimed to quantify LVEF automatically and accurately with the proposed pipeline method based on deep neural networks and ensemble learning. Within the pipeline, an Atrous Convolutional Neural Network (ACNN) was first trained to segment the left ventricle (LV), before employing the area-length formulation based on the ellipsoid single-plane model to calculate LVEF values. This formulation required inputs of LV area, derived from segmentation using an improved Jeffrey’s method, as well as LV length, derived from a novel ensemble learning model. To further improve the pipeline’s accuracy, an automated peak detection algorithm was used to identify end-diastolic and end-systolic frames, avoiding issues with human error. Subsequently, single-beat LVEF values were averaged across all cardiac cycles to obtain the final LVEF.ResultsThis method was developed and internally validated in an open-source dataset containing 10,030 echocardiograms. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient was 0.83 for LVEF prediction compared to expert human analysis (p < 0.001), with a subsequent area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC) of 0.98 (95% confidence interval 0.97 to 0.99) for categorisation of HF with reduced ejection (HFrEF; LVEF

2-bromoacetamide (BAcAm) is an emerging class of unregulated disinfection by-products (DBPs), with potent cytogenetic and developmental toxicity in animals. However, whether BAcAm exerts toxic effects on mammalian oocyte quality remains to be elucidate. In this research, we investigated the effect of BAcAm on mouse and human oocyte maturation with an in vitro culture system. Our results revealed that BAcAm exposure hindered the extrusion of the first polar body, disrupted the spindle organization and reduced the competence of embryo development after fertilization in the mouse oocytes. Results of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) showed that 605 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the BAcAm exposed mouse oocytes, among which 366 were up-regulated and 239 were down-regulated. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis further revealed that DEGs were mainly enriched in mitochondrial functions, oxidative stress, cytoskeleton, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi and protein synthesis, DNA damage and apoptosis. We then conducted further tests in these aspects and discovered that BAcAm exposure principally perturbed the function of microtubule and actin cytoskeleton. This finding was confirmed in human oocytes. Overall, our data suggest that BAcAm exposure disturbs the cytoskeleton function, thus impairing oocyte maturation. These data, for the first time, provide a comprehensive view for the toxic effects of BAcAm on oocyte maturation.

Abstract Solid‐state lithium batteries may provide increased energy density and improved safety compared with Li‐ion technology. However, in a solid‐state composite cathode, mechanical degradation due to repeated cathode volume changes during cycling may occur, which may be partially mitigated by applying a significant, but often impractical, uniaxial stack pressure. Herein, we compare the behavior of composite electrodes based on Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) (negligible volume change) and Nb2O5 (+4% expansion) cycled at different stack pressures. The initial LTO capacity and retention are not affected by pressure but for Nb2O5, they are significantly lower when a stack pressure of

The alternative oxidase (AOX), a common terminal oxidase in the electron transfer chain (ETC) of plants, plays a crucial role in stress resilience and plant growth and development. Oat (Avena sativa), an important crop with high nutritional value, has not been comprehensively studied regarding the AsAOX gene family. Therefore, this study explored the responses and potential functions of the AsAOX gene family to various abiotic stresses and their potential evolutionary pathways. Additionally, we conducted a genome-wide analysis to explore the evolutionary conservation and divergence of AOX gene families among three Avena species (Avena sativa, Avena insularis, Avena longiglumis) and four Poaceae species (Avena sativa, Oryza sativa, Triticum aestivum, and Brachypodium distachyon). We identified 12 AsAOX, 9 AiAOX, and 4 AlAOX gene family members. Phylogenetic, motif, domain, gene structure, and selective pressure analyses revealed that most AsAOXs, AiAOXs, and AlAOXs are evolutionarily conserved. We also identified 16 AsAOX segmental duplication pairs, suggesting that segmental duplication may have contributed to the expansion of the AsAOX gene family, potentially preserving these genes through subfunctionalization. Chromosome polyploidization, gene structural variations, and gene fragment recombination likely contributed to the evolution and expansion of the AsAOX gene family as well. Additionally, we hypothesize that AsAOX2 may have potential function in resisting wounding and heat stresses, while AsAOX4 could be specifically involved in mitigating wounding stress. AsAOX11 might contribute to resistance against chromium and waterlogging stresses. AsAOX8 may have potential fuction in mitigating ABA-mediated stress. AsAOX12 and AsAOX5 are most likely to have potential function in mitigating salt and drought stresses, respectively. This study elucidates the potential evolutionary pathways of the AsAOXs gene family, explores their responses and potential functions to various abiotic stresses, identifies potential candidate genes for future functional studies, and facilitates molecular breeding applications in A. sativa.

Farmers’ attitude plays a crucial role in the success of land acquisition. To add new insights and theoretical support for the effective governance of land acquisition, this paper examines the effectiveness of administrative power on farmers’ attitude and the mediating role of perceived fairness based on asymmetric dependency theory. The hypotheses were verified using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis conducted with data gathered from 250 questionnaire samples in rural areas of China. The results reveal that the coercion and transparency of administrative power have a significant positive impact on farmers’ attitude while normality’s influence is not significant. The coercion and transparency of administrative power have a significant positive impact on fairness while normality’s impact is not significant. The mediating effect of perceived fairness was insignificant. Therefore, local governments could encourage farmers to embrace a cooperative attitude in land acquisition negotiations by fostering a constructive interaction between the government and the public and pursuing a high-level institutional balance driven by a service-oriented government.

Abstract Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with different functional groups have wide applications, while the understanding of functionalization influences remains insufficient. Previous researches focused on the static changes in electronic structure or chemical environment, while it is unclear in the aspect of dynamic influence, especially in the direct imaging of dynamic changes after functionalization. Here we use integrated differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (iDPC-STEM) to directly ‘see’ the rotation properties of benzene rings in the linkers of UiO-66, and observe the high correlation between local rigidity and the functional groups on the organic linkers. The rigidity is then correlated to the macroscopic properties of CO2 uptake, indicating that functionalization can change the capability through not only static electronic effects, but also dynamic rotation properties. To the best of our knowledge this is the first example of a technique to directly image the rotation properties of linkers in MOFs, which provides an approach to study the local flexibility and paves the way for potential applications in capturing, separation and molecular machine.

Abstract The 20,000-ton combined train running has greatly promoted China’s heavy-haul railway transportation capability. The application of controllable train-tail devices could improve the braking wave of the train and braking synchronism, and alleviate longitudinal impulse. However, the characteristics of the controllable train-tail device such as exhaust area, exhaust duration and exhaust action time are not uniform in practice, and their effects on the longitudinal impulse of the train are not apparent, which is worth studying. In this work, according to the formation of the Datong–Qinhuangdao Railway, the train air brake and longitudinal dynamics simulation system (TABLDSS) is applied to establish a 20,000-ton combined train model with the controllable train-tail device, and the braking characteristics and the longitudinal impulse of the train are calculated synchronously with changing the air exhaust time, exhaust area, and action lag time under initial braking. The results show that the maximum coupler force of the combined train will decrease with the extension of the continuous exhaust time, while the total exhaust time of the controllable train-tail device remains unchanged; the maximum coupler force of the combined train reduces by 32.5% with the exhaust area increasing from 70% to 140%; when the lag time between the controllable train-tail device and the master locomotive is more than 1.5 s, the maximum coupler force of the train increases along with the time difference enlargement.

Under the new wave of scientific and technological revolution, the construction industry finds itself with a critical need to alter the traditional and outdated production mode through technological innovation in order to realize industry transformation and move towards a new era characterized by digitalization, informatization, and intelligence. As intelligent construction is the indispensable pathway for the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry, it is of great significance to conduct in-depth research on its evaluation indicators and causality. This paper adopts the system dynamics method, based on the overall structure of intelligent construction, extracts the causality chain and causal feedback loop of intelligent construction, and presents a causality diagram and system dynamics diagram to build a robust system dynamics model for intelligent construction. On this basis, an evaluation index system for intelligent construction is constructed from the five dimensions—investment, design, construction, operation, and environment—for a holistic assessment of the current state of intelligent construction. The research aims to provide a valuable reference for professionals focusing on intelligent construction and the broader development of the industry.

Natural killer (NK) cells can migrate quickly to the tumor site to exert cytotoxic effects on tumors, and some chemokines, including CXCL8, CXCL10 or and CXCL12, can regulate the migration of NK cells. Activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily, is highly expressed in tumor tissues and involved in tumor development and immune cell activation. In this study, we focus on the effects of activin A on NK cell migration. In vitro, activin A induced NK cell migration and invasion, promoted cell polarization and inhibited cell adhesion. Moreover, activin A increased Ca2+, p-SMAD3 and p-AKT levels in NK cells. An AKT inhibitor and Ca2+ chelator partially blocked activin A-induced NK cell migration. In vivo, exogenous activin A increased tumor-infiltrating NK cells in NS-1 cell solid tumors and inhibited tumor growth, and blocking endogenous activin A with anti-activin A antibody reduced tumor-infiltrating NK cells in 4T-1 cell solid tumors. These results suggest that activin A induces NK cell migration through AKT signaling and calcium signaling and may enhance the antitumor effect of NK cells by increasing tumor-infiltrating NK cells.

Abstract N6-methylation of adenosine (m6A) is one of the most frequent chemical modifications in eukaryotic RNAs and plays a vital role in tumorigenesis and progression. Recently, emerging studies have shown that m6A modification by ALKBH5 was associated with immunotherapy response in various types of cancer. However, whether m6A demethylases ALKBH5 participate in regulating the tumor immune microenvironment and the efficacy of immunotherapy in glioblastoma remain unknown. Here, we found that deletion of ALKBH5 significantly inhibited the growth of glioma allografts, rescued the antitumoral immune response, and increased cytotoxic lymphocyte infiltration and proinflammatory cytokines in CSF while significantly suppressing PD-L1 protein expression. m6A-methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing and RNA sequencing identify ZDDHC3 as the direct target of ALKBH5. Mechanically, ALKBH5 deficiency impairs the YTHDF2-mediated stability of ZDHHC3 mRNA, thereby suppressing PD-L1 expression by accelerating PD-L1 degradation in glioma. In addition, genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of ALKBH5 with IOX1 enhances the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-1 treatment in preclinical mice models. These data suggest that the combination of anti-PD-1 therapy and ALKBH5 inhibition may be a promising treatment strategy in glioma.

Abstract Recurrent incidents of economically motivated adulteration have long-lasting and devastating effects on public health, economy, and society. With the current food authentication methods being target-oriented, the lack of an effective methodology to detect unencountered adulterants can lead to the next melamine-like outbreak. In this study, an ensemble machine-learning model that can help detect unprecedented adulteration without looking for specific substances, that is, in a non-targeted approach, is proposed. Using raw milk as an example, the proposed model achieved an accuracy and F1 score of 0.9924 and 0. 0.9913, respectively, when the same type of adulterants was presented in the training data. Cross-validation with spiked contaminants not routinely tested in the food industry and blinded from the training data provided an F1 score of 0.8657. This is the first study that demonstrates the feasibility of non-targeted detection with no a priori knowledge of the presence of certain adulterants using data from standard industrial testing as input. By uncovering discriminative profiling patterns, the ensemble machine-learning model can monitor and flag suspicious samples; this technique can potentially be extended to other food commodities and thus become an important contributor to public food safety.

Abstract Background Calcium (Ca2+) ionophores are now mainly considered as efficient treatments for fertilization failure. Recently, its application for rescuing poor embryo development was proposed but still non-routine. This study aimed to explore whether Ca2+ ionophore improves embryo development and pregnancy outcomes in patients with poor embryo development in previous intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Methods This study included 97 patients undergoing assisted oocyte activation (AOA) with Ca2+ ionophore (calcimycin, A23187) treatment. Preimplantation embryonic development and clinical outcomes were compared between ICSI-AOA cycles (AOA group) and previous ICSI cycles of the same patients in which poor embryo developmental potential was present (non-AOA group). Subgroups stratified by maternal age (

Abstract Cardiovascular magnetic resonance T1-mapping enables myocardial tissue characterisation, and is capable of quantifying both intracellular and extracellular volume. T1-mapping is conventionally performed in diastole, however, we hypothesised that systolic readout would reduce variability due to a reduction in myocardial blood volume. This study investigated whether T1-mapping in systole alters T1 values compared to diastole and whether reproducibility alters in atrial fibrillation compared to sinus rhythm. We prospectively identified 103 consecutive patients recruited to the Mitral FINDER study who had T1 mapping in systole and diastole. These patients had moderate or severe mitral regurgitation and a high incidence of ventricular dilatation and atrial fibrillation. T1, ECV and goodness-of-fit (R2) values of the T1 times were calculated offline using Circle cvi42 and in house-developed software. Systolic T1 mapping was associated with fewer myocardial segments being affected by artefact compared to diastolic T1 mapping [217/2472 (9%) vs 515/2472 (21%)]. Mean native T1 values were not significantly different when measured in systole and diastole (985 ± 26 ms vs 988 ± 29 respectively; p = 0.061) and mean post-contrast values showed similar good agreement (462 ± 32 ms vs 459 ± 33 respectively, p = 0.052). No clinically significant differences in ECV, native T1 and post-contrast T1 were identified between diastolic and systolic T1 maps in males versus females, or in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation versus sinus rhythm. A statistically significant improvement in R2 value was observed with systolic over diastolic T1 mapping in all analysed maps (n = 411) (96.2 ± 1.4% vs 96.0 ± 1.4%; p

Abstract Background In mammals, oocytes display compromised quality after experiencing a process of postovulatory aging. However, the mechanisms underlying are not yet fully understood. Here, we portrayed a protein expression profile of fresh and aging metaphase II (MII) mouse oocytes by means of four-dimensional label-free quantification mass spectrometry (4D-LFQ). Results The analysis of 4D-LFQ data illustrated that there were seventy-six differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between two groups of MII stage oocytes. Fifty-three DEPs were up-regulated while twenty-three DEPs were down-regulated in the MII oocytes of the aging group, and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that these DEPs were mainly enriched in regulation of gene expression, biosynthesis, RNA metabolism and cell cycle. Our detailed analysis revealed that the expression of proteins that related to gene expression processes such as transcription, translation, post-translational modifications and epigenome was changed; the relative protein expression of RNA metabolic processes, such as RNA alternative splicing, RNA export from nucleus and negative regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter was also altered. Conclusion In conclusion, we identified considerable DEPs and discussed how they agreed with previous researches illustrating altered protein expression associated with the quality of oocytes. Our research provided a new perspective on the mechanisms of postovulatory aging and established a theoretical support for practical methods to control and reverse postovulatory aging.

Ephemeral gullies are widely distributed in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau and play a unique role in the slope gully erosion system. Rapid and accurate identification of ephemeral gullies impacts the distribution law and development trend of soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. Deep learning algorithms can quickly and accurately process large data samples that recognize ephemeral gullies from remote sensing images. Here, we investigated ephemeral gullies in the Zhoutungou watershed in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau in China using satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle images and combined a deep learning image semantic segmentation model to realize automatic recognition and feature extraction. Using Accuracy, Precision, Recall, F1value, and AUC, we compared the ephemeral gully recognition results and accuracy evaluation of U-Net, R2U-Net, and SegNet image semantic segmentation models. The SegNet model was ranked first, followed by the R2U-Net and U-Net models, for ephemeral gully recognition in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau. The ephemeral gully length and width between predicted and measured values had RMSE values of 6.78 m and 0.50 m, respectively, indicating that the model has an excellent recognition effect. This study identified a fast and accurate method for ephemeral gully recognition in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau based on remote sensing images to provide an academic reference and practical guidance for soil erosion monitoring and slope and gully management in the Loess Plateau region.

Summary: The prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM) patients is poor, and temozolomide (TMZ) resistance has become an important obstacle to its treatment effect. A growing number of researches have revealed the special characteristics of iron metabolism in GBM chemosensitivity. Iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) is an important protein for maintaining intracellular iron homeostasis. IRP1 has been indicated to have additional vital roles beyond its conventional metabolic activity, but the underlying mechanisms and biological consequences remain elusive. Here, we unprecedentedly demonstrated that amplifying IRP1 signals can reverse TMZ resistance and suppress tumor growth in vivo via inhibiting NFKB2 in the noncanonical NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, we identified that NFKB2 affected TMZ sensitivity of GBM by modulating the expression of LCN2 and FPN1. Taken together, this study established a role for the IRP1/NFKB2 pathway in regulating LCN2/FPN1 signaling axis among the progression of TMZ resistance, suggesting a potential innovative GBM therapeutic strategy.

Snakes are a vital component of wildlife resources and are widely distributed across the globe. The many-banded krait Bungarus multicinctus is a highly venomous snake found across Southern Asia and central and southern China. Snakes are an ancient reptile group, and their genomes can provide important clues for understanding the evolutionary history of reptiles. Additionally, genomic resources play a crucial role in comprehending the evolution of all species. However, snake genomic resources are still scarce. Here, we present a highly contiguous genome of B. multicinctus with a size of 1.51 Gb. The genome contains a repeat content of 40.15%, with a total length exceeding 620 Mb. Additionally, we annotated a total of 24,869 functional genes. This research is of great significance for comprehending the evolution of B. multicinctus and provides genomic information on the genes involved in venom gland functions.

Oats (Avena sativa) are an important cereal crop and cool-season forage worldwide. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a protein ubiquitously expressed in response to heat stress in almost all plants. To date, the HSP90 gene family has not been comprehensively reported in oats. Herein, we have identified twenty HSP90 genes in oats and elucidated their evolutionary pathways and responses to five abiotic stresses. The gene structure and motif analyses demonstrated consistency across the phylogenetic tree branches, and the groups exhibited relative structural conservation. Additionally, we identified ten pairs of segmentally duplicated genes in oats. Interspecies synteny analysis and orthologous gene identification indicated that oats share a significant number of orthologous genes with their ancestral species; this implies that the expansion of the oat HSP90 gene family may have occurred through oat polyploidization and large fragment duplication. The analysis of cis-acting elements revealed their influential role in the expression pattern of HSP90 genes under abiotic stresses. Analysis of oat gene expression under high-temperature, salt, cadmium (Cd), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and abscisic acid (ABA) stresses demonstrated that most AsHSP90 genes were significantly up-regulated by heat stress, particularly AsHSP90-7, AsHSP90-8, and AsHSP90-9. This study offers new insights into the amplification and evolutionary processes of the AsHSP90 protein, as well as its potential role in response to abiotic stresses. Furthermore, it lays the groundwork for understanding oat adaptation to abiotic stress, contributing to research and applications in plant breeding.

Glioma is a common intracranial malignant tumor with high mortality and high recurrence rate. In recent years, increasing evidence has demonstrated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for many tumors. However, the role of circRNAs in glioma remains unclear. In this study, we found that circRNA-0002109 was highly expressed in glioma tissues and cell lines. Downregulation of circRNA-0002109 expression inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioma cells and inhibited the malignant progression of tumors in vivo. Investigations into the relevant mechanisms showed that circRNA-0002109 upregulated the expression of EMP2 through endogenous competitive binding of microRNA-129-5P (miR-129-5P), which partially alleviated the inhibitory effect of miR-129-5P on epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) and ultimately promoted the malignant development of glioma. Our results indicate that circRNA-0002109 plays an important role in the proliferation, invasion, and migration of glioma cells by regulating the miR-129-5P/EMP2 axis, which provides a new potential therapeutic target for glioma.

Medium-deep borehole heat exchangers (MBHEs) have received increasing attention with respect to building heating. To avoid the thermal interference of adjacent MBHEs, the temperature distribution characteristics of medium-deep rock soil were investigated in this work. The evolution of the maximum rock-soil thermal affected radius (MTAR) over a full lifecycle was analyzed. The results showed that the rock-soil thermal affected area (RTAA) continuously expanded in both the radial and vertical directions when the MBHE continuously extracted geothermal energy during a heating season. The factors of the thermal extraction load, fluid velocity, geothermal gradient, and pipe length, impacted the RTAA in the vertical direction, while rock-soil thermal conductivity affected the RTAA in both the radial and vertical directions. Furthermore, the thermal affected radius (TAR) in deeper formations was larger, reaching even 96 m, such that thermal interference between adjacent MBHEs was more likely to occur. The MTAR in shallow formations was limited to 20 m. Consequently, a new layout form, achieved by inclining the borehole, was proposed to increase the distance between adjacent MBHEs in deep formations. The recommended incline angle was equal to or larger than four times the TAR angle. This work provides a scientific reference for promoting the application of multiple MBHE arrays.

Abstract Phytohormones play important roles in germination, blossom, senescence, abscission of plants by a series of signal transduction and molecular regulation. The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of root restriction (RR) cultivation on plant endogenous hormone variation tendency at different growth stages in diverse organs or tissues. ‘Muscat Hamburg’ (Vitis ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ × Vitis ‘Trollinger’) grapevine was used as test material. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantify hormone levels, qRT-PCR was used to quantify the expression of genes related to hormone biosynthesis pathway, and determined parameters of growth and photosynthetic, aiming to investigate the influence of root restriction on the formation and metabolism of phytohormones, as well as the degree of correlation between phytohormones and plant growth and photosynthetic intensity under root restriction. By measuring the photosynthetic rate of leaves at the stages of core-hardening, veraison and maturity, it was found that root restriction could reduce most photosynthetic parameters. The results also revealed that RR treatment increased abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), zeatin riboside (ZR), N6-(delta 2-isopentenyl)-adenine nucleoside (iPR) concentrations, while reduced auxin (IAA), 3-indolepropionic acid (IPA), 3-indolebutyric acid (IBA), gibberellin A3 (GA3), zeatin (ZT), N6-(delta 2-Isopentenyl)-adenine (iP), kinetin (KT), jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) concentrations in most organs and at most developmental stages. RT-qPCR was carried out to further explore the effect of root restriction on genes expression of ABA, SA and IAA biosynthesis pathways at molecular level. Meanwhile, through correlation analysis, we found that different phytohormones contributed differently to physiological indicators, there existed strong correlation of ABA, KT, MeJA, iPR, SA, JA with leaf photosynthesis, GA3, IBA, ZR, IAA, ZT with fruit quality. In addition, we also found that the shoot growth related parameters were closely correlated with JA, IPA and iP. To sum up, our results suggested that RR treatment could significantly increase soluble solid content, regulate the growth and photosynthesis of grapevine, by affecting the biosynthesis of phytohormones. It could further prove that root restriction was a feasible technique to ameliorate the phenomenon of low quality in grape berry in southern China.

Background Correction of mitral regurgitation (MR) at the time of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation remains controversial. There is conflicting evidence regarding the clinical impact of residual MR, and studies have not examined whether MR aetiology or right heart function impacts the likelihood of residual MR.Methods This is a retrospective single-centre study of 155 consecutive patients with LVAD implantation from January 2011 to March 2020. Exclusion criteria were no MR pre-LVAD (n=8), inaccessible echocardiography (n=9), duplicate records (n=10) and concomitant mitral valve repair (n=1). Statistical analysis was performed using STATA V.16 and SPSS V.24.Results Carpentier IIIb MR aetiology was associated with more severe MR pre-LVAD (severe 18/27 (67%) vs non-severe 32/91 (35%), p=0.004) and a higher likelihood of residual MR (8/11 (72%) vs 30/74 (41%), p=0.045). Of 95 patients with significant MR pre-LVAD, 15 (16%) had persistent significant MR, which was associated with higher mortality (p=0.006), post-LVAD right ventricle (RV) dilatation (10/15 (67%) vs 28/80 (35%), p=0.022) and RV dysfunction (14/15 (93%) vs 35/80 (44%), p

Borehole heat exchanger (BHE) array is a key element in the ground source heat pump system (GSHPS). The BHE array is traditionally simplified by assuming the same heat exchange rate for each BHE, which normally is not correspondent to the real applications. In this investigation, a TRT was firstly conducted for a site located in Shanxi Province (China) to get the local ground thermal properties. A numerical simulation framework was next verified by the TRT results. Subsequently, the ground thermal properties obtained by the TRT were used in the numerical simulation model to investigate the influence of two operation strategies on the ground temperature development of the surrounding soil and the BHE performance. The results showed that both ground temperature and BHE array performance decreased during the 8-year operation period of the BHE array in the heating mode. The ground temperature around the center BHE was lower in the same heat load (SHL) scenario (same heat load for the BHEs in the array) than in the same inlet temperature (SIT) scenario (same carrying fluid inlet temperature for the BHEs in the array), and this difference can be 2 °C in the 7th year. The annual average outlet temperature in the SHL scenario was also lower than that in the SIT scenario, especially in the long term. The investigation shows that SIT working strategy superiors the SHL strategy, providing a reference for the upcoming investigation on the design aspect of the GSHPS.

BackgroundAcute kidney injury is a common and severe complication of sepsis. Sepsis -induced acute kidney injury(S-AKI) is an independent risk factor for mortality among sepsis patients. However, the mechanisms of S-AKI are complex and poorly understand. Therefore, exploring the underlying mechanisms of S-AKI may lead to the development of therapeutic targets.MethodA model of S-AKI was established in male C57BL/6 mice using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The data-independent acquisition (DIA)-mass spectrometry-based proteomics was used to explore the protein expression changes and analyze the key proteomics profile in control and CLP group. The methodology was also used to identify the key proteins and pathways. S-AKI in vitro was established by treating the HK-2 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Subsequently, the effect and mechanism of Cathepsin B (CTSB) in inducing apoptosis in HK-2 cells were observed and verified.ResultsThe renal injury scores, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and kidney injury molecule 1 were higher in septic mice than in non-septic mice. The proteomic analysis identified a total of 449 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). GO and KEGG analysis showed that DEPs were mostly enriched in lysosomal-related cell structures and pathways. CTSB and MAPK were identified as key proteins in S-AKI. Electron microscopy observed enlarged lysosomes, swelled and ruptured mitochondria, and cytoplasmic vacuolization in CLP group. TUNEL staining and CTSB activity test showed that the apoptosis and CTSB activity were higher in CLP group than in control group. In HK-2 cell injury model, the CTSB activity and mRNA expression were increased in LPS-treated cells. Acridine orange staining showed that LPS caused lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP). CA074 as an inhibitor of CTSB could effectively inhibit CTSB activity. CCK8 and Annexin V/PI staining results indicated that CA074 reversed LPS-induced apoptosis of HK-2 cells. The JC-1 and western blot results showed that LPS inhibited mitochondrial membrane potential and activated mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, which could be reversed by CA074.ConclusionsLMP and CTSB contribute to pathogenesis of S-AKI. LPS treatment induced HK-2 cell injury by activating mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Inhibition of CTSB might be a new therapeutic strategy to alleviate sepsis-induced acute kidney injury.

Abstract Facility location selection plays a critical role in the planning of logistics networks. It selects the addresses of facility nodes from a candidate set of locations to optimise multiple targets such as transportation efficiency and economic cost considering the practical constraints of the real world. Thus, it is often formulated as a combinational optimisation problem, which is solved by either mixed integer programing algorithms or heuristic methods. However, these approaches are limited by several issues such as a high computational cost and weak generalisation flexibility. In this work, a novel hierarchical clustering framework is proposed for facility location selection, which can flexibly support a wide variety of optimisation targets and the combinations of multiple practical constraints that are vital in the real logistics scenarios. Beyond the original hierarchical clustering algorithm, it incorporates a looking‐forward mechanism that alleviates the ‘greedy trap’ by utilising global information. These advantages enable the proposed method to generate reliable solutions with high time efficiency. As demonstrated by the experimental results on real JD Logistics data, the proposed method outperforms the widely adopted GGA and VNS algorithms. It also has a much lower computation cost compared to the SCIP solver, while the quality of solutions are within an acceptable range.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant modification in eukaryotic cells, and it regulates RNA transcription, processing, splicing, degradation, and translation. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), as transcriptional products with no or limited protein coding ability more than 200 nt in length, play an important role in epigenetic modification, mRNA transcription, splicing, stability, translation, and other biological functions. Extensive studies have shown that both m6A modification and lncRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as kinds of cancers, heart failure, Alzheimer’s disease, periodontitis, human abdominal aortic aneurysm, and obesity. To date, m6A modification has been identified as an important biological function in enrichment and regulation of lncRNAs. In this review, we summarize the role of m6A modification in the regulation and function of tumor-related lncRNAs. Moreover, we discuss the potential applications and possible future directions in the field.

Abstract Background Hepatic ischaemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is inevitable in complicated liver surgery and is a major factor leading to postoperative complications and liver dysfunction. Studies have shown that the paracrine mechanisms of stem cell may be essential to tissue repair and functional improvement after transplantation. However, the role of the adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell secretome (ASC-secretome) in liver regeneration in large animals remains to be determined. Methods Twenty-four miniature pigs were subjected to laparoscopic liver ischaemia-reperfusion combined with partial hepatectomy and divided into the following four groups: the saline group, the DMEM group, the ASC group and the ASC-secretome group. Serum and liver tissue samples were collected before the operation and at 1, 3 and 7 days after the operation, and changes in tissue pathology, serum inflammation, liver function, angiogenesis-related factors and liver tissue regeneration-related genes and proteins were evaluated. Results Detailed histological analysis showed that ASCs and the ASC-secretome changed pathological damage to liver tissue after liver ischaemia-reperfusion combined with partial hepatectomy (1 and 3 days: p

With the development of the economy and society, energy problems have become a great concern. The heat pump-coupled thermal energy storage (TES) system is a potential form of building heating, which can improve the stability of the grid and promote the consumption of renewable energy. Phase change materials (PCMs) are widely used in the field of building heating, but there are still some problems such as unsatisfactory melting points, low thermal conductivity, phase separation, and supercooling, which limit the application of PCMs in heat pump heating systems. Therefore, it is very important to improve PCMs by a performance improvement method. This work first summarizes the classification, advantages and disadvantages of PCMs, and introduces the connection between PCMs and heat pumps. Then, a detailed summary of PCMs applied in heat pump heating systems is presented, and a comprehensive review of the performance improvement methods for PCMs, which include additives, encapsulation, and eutectic compounds, is discussed. Finally, the existing problems, solutions, and future research directions are proposed. The emphasis of the research is to clarify the influence of PCMs on heat pump performance and the effect of different performance improvement methods on PCMs, and to illustrate the future development direction for PCMs in heat pump heating technologies, including the matching of heat pumps and PCMs, multi-standard decision methods and advanced control strategies.

Abstract Background Myocardial fibrosis occurs in end-stage heart failure secondary to mitral regurgitation (MR), but it is not known whether this is present before onset of symptoms or myocardial dysfunction. This study aimed to characterise myocardial fibrosis in chronic severe primary MR on histology, compare this to tissue characterisation on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, and investigate associations with symptoms, left ventricular (LV) function, and exercise capacity. Methods Patients with class I or IIa indications for surgery underwent CMR and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. LV biopsies were taken at surgery and the extent of fibrosis was quantified on histology using collagen volume fraction (CVFmean) compared to autopsy controls without cardiac pathology. Results 120 consecutive patients (64 ± 13 years; 71% male) were recruited; 105 patients underwent MV repair while 15 chose conservative management. LV biopsies were obtained in 86 patients (234 biopsy samples in total). MR patients had more fibrosis compared to 8 autopsy controls (median: 14.6% [interquartile range 7.4–20.3] vs. 3.3% [2.6–6.1], P

Abstract Background Alström syndrome (ALMS) is a rare ciliopathy characterised by early onset insulin resistance, obesity, and dyslipidaemia and is a model for diseases that have huge social, health and economic impact. Cardiomyopathy develops in the majority, with high rates of morbidity and mortality, the definitive features of which are coarse replacement fibrosis and diffuse myocardial fibrosis (DIF). The pathogenesis of heart failure is thought to involve fibroblast accumulation and expansion of the extracellular matrix with excess protein deposition, leading to distorted organ architecture and impaired contractile function. Consecutive adults with genetically proven ALMS attending the National Centre for Rare Disease in Birmingham, England were studied. All patients underwent serial CMR, echocardiography and venous blood sampling, with computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) performed to assess severity of CAD. The aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate changes over time in DIF by cardiovascular magnetic resonance tissue characterization in ALMS; 2) to examine whether changes in DIF are associated with alteration in systolic or diastolic function; and 3) to evaluate the frequency and severity of coronary artery disease as a confounder for progression of ischaemic versus non-ischaemic fibrosis. Results In total, 30/32 adults (63% male; 67% White British) participated. The median age at first scan was 21.3 years (interquartile range: 19.0–32.6) and participants were followed for a maximum of 67 months. Only 4 patients had significant coronary artery stenosis on post-mortem, invasive coronary angiography or CTCA. Mid short axis myocardial T1 times, myocardial extracellular volume, and left ventricular mass increased significantly over time, by an average of 21.8 ms (95% CI 17.4–26.1; p

Abstract Aquatic scientists require robust, accurate information about nutrient concentrations and indicators of algal biomass in unsampled lakes in order to understand and predict the effects of global climate and land‐use change. Historically, lake and landscape characteristics have been used as predictor variables in regression models to generate nutrient predictions, but often with significant uncertainty. An alternative approach to improve predictions is to leverage the observed relationship between water clarity and nutrients, which is possible because water clarity is more commonly measured than lake nutrients. We used a joint‐nutrient model that conditioned predictions of total phosphorus, nitrogen, and chlorophyll a on observed water clarity. Our results demonstrated substantial reductions (8–27%; median = 23%) in prediction error when conditioning on water clarity. These models will provide new opportunities for predicting nutrient concentrations of unsampled lakes across broad spatial scales with reduced uncertainty.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) and cognitive radio (CR) are two promising techniques in designing mobile-edge computing (MEC) systems. In this paper, we study a robust secure wireless powered multiple-input single-output (MISO) cognitive MEC system, which integrates several techniques: physical-layer security, WPT, CR, underlay spectrum sharing and MEC. Three optimization problems are formulated to minimize the total transmission power (TTP) of the primary transmitter (PT) and the secondary base station (SBS) under perfect channel state information (CSI) model, bounded CSI error model and the probabilistic CSI error model, respectively. The formulated problems are nonconvex and hard to solve. Three two-phase iterative optimization algorithms combined with Lagrangian dual, semidefinite relaxation (SDR), S-Procedure and Bernstein-type inequalities are proposed to jointly optimize the beamforming vectors of the PT and the SBS, the central processing unit (CPU) frequency and the transmit power of the MD. Simulation results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

The finite battery capacity, limited spectrum resource and the transmission security are three challenges in designing mobile edge computing (MEC) systems. In this paper, a framework for wireless powered secure multiple-input single-output (MISO) cognitive-based MEC-enabled networks is proposed, which integrates several technologies: physical-layer security, cooperative relaying, cognitive radio (CR), wireless power transfer (WPT) and MEC. Two optimization problems are formulated to maximize the number of computation bits (NCB) of the mobile device (MD) and minimize the total transmission power (TTP) of the primary transmitter (PT) and the SBS, respectively. The formulated problems are non-convex and hard to solve. Two two-phase methods with block coordinate decent (BCD) and Lagrangian dual decomposition methods are proposed to jointly design the beamforming vector of the PT, beamforming matrix of the secondary base station (SBS), the central processing unit (CPU) frequency, the transmit power, the number of the offloaded bits and the offloading time of the MD. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Herceptin (trastuzumab) is a recombinant, humanized, monoclonal antibody that targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and is used in the treatment of HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers. However, it carries a risk of cardiotoxicity, manifesting as left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction, conventionally assessed for by transthoracic echocardiography. Clinical surveillance of cardiac function and discontinuation of trastuzumab at an early stage of LV systolic dysfunction allow for the timely initiation of heart failure drug therapies that can result in the rapid recovery of cardiac function in most patients. Often considered the reference standard for the noninvasive assessment of cardiac volume and function, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging has superior reproducibility and accuracy compared to other noninvasive imaging modalities. However, due to limited availability, it is not routinely used in the serial assessment of cardiac function in patients receiving trastuzumab. In this article, we review the diagnostic and prognostic role of CMR in trastuzumab-mediated cardiotoxicity.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common cause of non-ischaemic heart failure, conferring high morbidity and mortality, including sudden cardiac death due to systolic dysfunction or arrhythmic sudden death. Within the DCM cohort exists a group of patients with familial disease. In this article we review the pathophysiology and cardiac imaging findings of familial DCM, with specific attention to known disease subtypes. The role of advanced cardiac imaging cardiovascular magnetic resonance is still accumulating, and there remains much to be elucidated. We discuss its potential clinical roles as currently known, with respect to diagnostic utility and risk stratification. Advances in such risk stratification may help target pharmacological and device therapies to those at highest risk.

The safe landing and rapid recovery of the reentry capsules are very important to manned spacecraft missions. A variety of uncertain factors, such as flight control accuracy and wind speed, lead to a low orbit prediction accuracy and a large landing range of reentry capsules. It is necessary to realize the autonomous tracking and continuous video observation of the reentry capsule during the low-altitude phase. Aiming at the Shenzhou return capsule landing mission, the paper proposes a new approach for the autonomous tracking of Shenzhou reentry capsules based on video detection and heterogeneous UAV swarms. A multi-scale video target detection algorithm based on deep learning is developed to recognize the reentry capsules and obtain positioning data. A self-organizing control method based on virtual potential field is proposed to realize the cooperative flight of UAV swarms. A hardware-in-the-loop simulation system is established to verify the method. The results show that the reentry capsule can be detected in four different states, and the detection accuracy rate of the capsule with parachute is 99.5%. The UAV swarm effectively achieved autonomous tracking for the Shenzhou reentry capsule based on the position obtained by video detection. This is of great significance in the real-time searching of reentry capsules and the guaranteeing of astronauts’ safety.

Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a key role in fruit development and ripening in non-climacteric fruit. A variety of metabolites such as sugars, anthocyanins, fatty acids, and several antioxidants, which are regulated by various phytohormones, are important components of fruit quality in grape. Here, grape cultivar “Ruiduhongyu” was used to investigate the relationship between endogenous phytohormones and metabolites associated to grape berry quality under exogenous ABA treatment. 500 mg/L ABA significantly improved the appearance parameters and the content of many metabolites including sugar, anthocyanin, and other compounds. Exogenous ABA also increased the contents of ABA, auxin (IAA), and cytokinins (CTKs), and transcription level of ABA biosynthesis and signaling related genes in fruit. Furthermore, a series of genes involved in biosynthesis and the metabolite pathway of sugars, anthocyanins, and fatty acids were shown to be significantly up-regulated under 500 mg/L ABA treatment. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that there existed relatively strong cooperativities in the ABA/kinetin (KT)-appearance parameters, ABA/IAA/KT-sugars, ABA/indolepopionic acid (IPA)/zeatin riboside (ZR)-anthocyanins, and gibberellin 3 (GA3)/methyl jasmonate (MeJA)-fatty acids, indicating that 13 kinds of endogenous phytohormones induced by ABA had different contributions to the accumulation of quality-related metabolites, while all of them were involved in regulating the overall improvement of grape fruit quality. These results laid a primary foundation for better understanding that exogenous ABA improves fruit quality by mediating the endogenous phytohormones level in grape.

BackgroundNeuronal activity regulated by synaptic communication exerts an important role in tumorigenesis and progression in brain tumors. Genes for soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) annotated with the function ‘vesicle’ about synaptic connectivity were identified, and synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP25), one of those proteins, was found to have discrepant expression levels in neuropathies. However, the specific mechanism and prognostic value of SNAP25 during glioma progression remain unclear.MethodsUsing RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, the differential synaptosis-related genes between low grade glioma (LGG) and glioblastoma (GBM) were identified as highly correlated. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and survival analysis were used to differentiate the outcome of low- and high-risk patients, and the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) cohort was used for validation of the data set. RT-qPCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry assays were performed to examine the expression level of SNAP25 in glioma cells and samples. Functional assays were performed to identify the effects of SNAP25 knockdown and overexpression on cell viability, migration, and invasion. Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomics approach was presented for identifying crucial metabolic disturbances in glioma cells. In situ mouse xenograft model was used to investigate the role of SNAP25 in vivo. Then, an immunofluorescence assay of the xenograft tissue was applied to evaluate the expression of the neuronal dendron formation marker-Microtubule Associated Protein 2 (MAP2).ResultsSNAP25 was decreased in level of expression in glioma tissues and cell lines, and low-level SNAP25 indicated an unfavorable prognosis of glioma patients. SNAP25 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and fostered glutamine metabolism of glioma cells, exerting a tumor suppressor role. Overexpressed SNAP25 exerted a lower expression level of MAP2, indicating poor neuronal plasticity and connectivity. SNAP25 could regulate glutaminase (GLS)-mediated glutaminolysis, and GLS knockdown could rescue the anti-tumor effect of SNAP25 in glioma cells. Moreover, upregulated SNAP25 also decreased tumor volume and prolonged the overall survival (OS) of the xenograft mouse.ConclusionSNAP25, a tumor suppressor inhibited carcinogenesis of glioma via limiting glutamate metabolism by regulating GLS expression, as well as inhibiting dendritic formation, which could be considered as a novel molecular therapeutic target for glioma.

Protein phosphatase V (PpV) encodes the Drosophila homolog of the evolutionarily conserved Protein Phosphatase 6 (PP6). The physiological and developmental functions of PpV/PP6 have not been well characterized due to lack of a genetically defined mutant. Here, we identified a PpV non-sense mutation and describe multiple mutant phenotypes in oogenesis and early embryogenesis. Specifically, we found that the defects in chromosome segregation during nuclear cycles are related to AuroraA function, which is consistent with the interaction of PP6 and AuroraA in mammalian cells. Surprisingly, we also identified a PpV function specifically in blastoderm cell cycle but not in cell proliferation in the follicle epithelium or larval wing imaginal discs. Embryos from PpV germline clones frequently undergo an extra nuclear division cycle. By epistasis analysis, we found that PpV functions in parallel with tribbles, but independently of auroraA for the remodeling of the nuclear cycles. Taken together, this study reports novel developmental functions of PpV and provides a framework for further genetic analysis under physiological conditions.

Previous studies have proposed higher requirements for the transient characteristics of a DC transformer used in a flexible high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system to achieve faster sampling speed and meet wider bandwidth requirements of the control and protection signal, and to eventually suppress the large transient fault current. In this study, a transient characteristics verification method is proposed for transient characteristics verification of a DC transformer used in a flexible HVDC system based on resampling technology and LabVIEW measurement technology after analyzing the key technology for transient characteristics verification of a DC transformer. A laboratory experiment for the transient characteristics of a full-fiber electronic DC transformer is conducted, and experimental results show that such verification method can be employed for frequency response and step response verification of a DC transformer at 10% of the rated voltage and current, and can eventually improve the screening of a DC transformer. Keywords: DC transformer, Step response, Transient characteristic, Resampling technology, Verification method

While water splitting chemistry provides a renewable means to produce carbon-neutral hydrogen fuel, the most efficient catalysts require rare and expensive platinum. Here, authors prepare single-atom platinum on cobalt selenide as a high-performance hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst.

Traditional mobile edge computing (MEC) methods always assume that the wireless devices (WDs) can offload their data to the base stations (BSs) or the access points (APs) at any time, which are not practical due to the tension between a large number of the WDs and the limited spectrum resources. In this paper, a framework for MEC-enabled cognitive radio (CR) networks is proposed, which integrates three technologies: MEC, CR, and wireless power transfer (WPT). To obtain the spectrum for offloading, cooperative relaying is considered. Optimization problems are formulated to study the upper bound of the energy efficiency (EE) of the WD and to maximize the practical EE in both partial offloading and local computing scenarios, which are non-convex and intractable. In order to tackle these problems, a two-phase method is proposed. The transmit power, the time for energy harvesting (EH) and MEC, and the central processing unit (CPU) frequency of the WD are jointly optimized. Semi-closed-form solutions are obtained in partial offloading scenario by using fractional programming theory, Lagrangian dual decomposition, and successive pseudo-convex approximation (SPCA) methods. Closed-form solutions are obtained for local computing scenarios. The simulation results show the effects of the different parameters on the system performance.