Search

Abstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) manifests with a higher rate of occurrence in women. Previous epidemiological studies have suggested a potential association between AD and gynecological cancers, but the causal relationship between them remains unclear. This study aims to explore the causal link between 12 types of gynecological cancers and AD using a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Methods We obtained genetic correlation tools for AD using data from the most extensive genome-wide association study. Genetic correlation data for 12 types of gynecological cancers were also sourced from the Finnish Biobank. These cancers include breast cancer (BC), cervical adenocarcinoma (CA), cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), cervical cancer (CC), endometrial cancer (EC), ovarian endometrioid carcinoma (OEC), ovarian cancer (OC), ovarian serous carcinoma (OSC), breast carcinoma in situ (BCIS), cervical carcinoma in situ (CCIS), endometrial carcinoma in situ (ECIS), and vulvar carcinoma in situ (VCIS). We used the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) model for causal analysis and conducted horizontal pleiotropy tests, heterogeneity tests, MR-PRESSO tests, and leave-one-out analyses to ensure the robustness of our results. We also applied replication analysis and meta-analysis to further validate our experimental results. Results The study found that EC (P _IVW =0.037, OR [95% CI] = 1.032 [1.002, 1.064]) and CCIS (P _IVW = 0.046, OR [95% CI] = 1.032 [1.011, 1.064]) increase the risk of AD, whereas OC was negatively correlated with AD (P _IVW = 0.016, OR [95% CI] = 0.974[0.954, 0.995]). In reverse MR analysis, AD increased the risk of CC (P _IVW = 0.039, OR [95% CI] = 1.395 [1.017, 1.914]) and VCIS (P _IVW = 0.041, OR [95% CI] = 1.761 [1.027, 2.021]), but was negatively correlated with OEC (P _IVW = 0.034, OR [95% CI] = 0.634 [0.417, 0.966]). Sensitivity analysis results demonstrated robustness. These findings were further substantiated through replication and meta-analyses. Conclusions Our MR study supports a causal relationship between AD and gynecological cancers. This encourages further research into the incidence of gynecological cancers in female Alzheimer’s patients and the active prevention of AD.

Abstract This study investigates the role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the context of Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) lytic infection. We employ two sequencing technologies, short-read sequencing and long-read sequencing, following RNase R treatment on VZV-infected neuroblastoma cells to identify and characterize both cellular and viral circRNAs. Our large scanning analysis identifies and subsequent experiments confirm 200 VZV circRNAs. Moreover, we discover numerous VZV latency-associated transcripts (VLTs)-like circRNAs (circVLTslytic), which contain multiple exons and different isoforms within the same back-splicing breakpoint. To understand the functional significance of these circVLTslytic, we utilize the Bacteria Artificial Chromosome system to disrupt the expression of viral circRNAs in genomic DNA location. We reveal that the sequence flanking circVLTs’ 5’ splice donor plays a pivotal role as a cis-acting element in the formation of circVLTslytic. The circVLTslytic is dispensable for VZV replication, but the mutation downstream of circVLTslytic exon 5 leads to increased acyclovir sensitivity in VZV infection models. This suggests that circVLTslytic may have a role in modulating the sensitivity to antiviral treatment. The findings shed new insight into the regulation of cellular and viral transcription during VZV lytic infection, emphasizing the intricate interplay between circRNAs and viral processes.

Abstract Background The use of ionic liquids (ILs) to fractionate lignocelluloses for various bio-based chemicals productions is in the ascendant. On this basis, the protic ILs consisting of triethylammonium hydrogen sulfate ([TEA][HSO4]) possessed great promise due to the low price, low pollution, and high efficiency. In this study, the microwave-assistant [TEA][HSO4] fractionation process was established for corn stover fractionation, so as to facilitate the monomeric sugars production and supported the downstream acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Results The assistance of microwave irradiation could obviously shorten the fractionation period of corn stover. Under the optimized condition (190 W for 3 min), high xylan removal (93.17 ± 0.63%) and delignification rate (72.90 ± 0.81%) were realized. The mechanisms for the promotion effect of the microwave to the protic ILs fractionation process were ascribed to the synergistic effect of the IL and microwaves to the depolymerization of lignocellulose through the ionic conduction, which can be clarified by the characterization of the pulps and the isolated lignin specimens. Downstream valorization of the fractionated pulps into ABE productions was also investigated. The [TEA][HSO4] free corn stover hydrolysate was capable of producing 12.58 g L−1 of ABE from overall 38.20 g L−1 of monomeric sugars without detoxification and additional nutrients supplementation. Conclusions The assistance of microwave irradiation could significantly promote the corn stover fractionation by [TEA][HSO4]. Mass balance indicated that 8.1 g of ABE and 16.61 g of technical lignin can be generated from 100 g of raw corn stover based on the novel fractionation strategy.

Short-term residential load forecasting (STRLF) holds great significance for the stable and economic operation of distributed power systems. Different households in the same region may exhibit similar consumption patterns owing to the analogous environmental parameters. Incorporating the spatiotemporal correlations can enhance the load forecasting performance of individual households. To this end, a spatiotemporal graph attention (STGA)-enabled Transformer is proposed for multivariate, multi-step residential load forecasting in this paper. Specifically, the multiple residential loads are cast to a graph and a Transformer with a graph sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq) structure is employed to model the multi-step load forecasting problem. Gated fusion-based STGA blocks are embedded in the encoder and decoder of the Transformer to extract dynamic spatial correlations and non-linear temporal patterns among multiple residential loads. A transform attention block is further designed to transfer historical graph observations into future graph predictions and alleviate the error propagation between the encoder and decoder. The embedding of multiple attention modules in the Seq2Seq framework allows us to capture the spatiotemporal correlations between residents and achieve confident inference of load values several steps ahead. Numerical simulations on residential data from three different regions demonstrate that the developed Transformer method improves multi-step load forecasting by 14.7% at least, compared to the state-of-the-art benchmarks.

The lignocellulose reinforced composites are commonly used sustainable materials with good mechanical and physical properties. Aiming to properly dispose and recover the potential value of discarded lignocellulose reinforced composites, the pyrolysis behaviour and kinetics of reed straw processing residual/polylactic acid (RSPR/PLA) composites, a typical 3D printing material, was investigated. Based on the TG-FTIR results, the synergistic effects between RSPR and PLA during the pyrolysis process were clarified. Compared with the FTIR spectra of PLA, the absorption peaks of CO and CO2 disappear in the FTIR spectra of RSPR/PLA composite, which indicates RSPR provides additional free radicals for the free radical reaction of PLA, and further promoting the decomposition. The apparent activation energy of the RSPR/PLA composite pyrolysis was calculated by two iso-conversional methods including Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS). The average Ea of the RSPR/PLA composite (122.6 kJ mol−1 (FWO) and 117.9 kJ mol−1 (KAS)) was lower than that of solo pyrolysis of RSPR (138.5 kJ mol−1 (FWO) and 135.4 kJ mol−1 (KAS)) and the pure PLA (197.0 kJ mol−1 (FWO) and 196.6 kJ mol−1 (KAS)). The master plot method results suggested the pyrolysis of RSPR/PLA composite followed the one-dimensional (D1) diffusion model. This work provides an environmentally friendly strategy to effective thermo-chemical upgrading of the value of discarded lignocellulose reinforced composite material.

Sridevi S Colten,1 Elisabetta Verdun di Cantogno,2 Dominic Jack3 1Department of MS Market Research & Analysis, EMD Serono Research and Development Institute, Inc. (an Affiliate of Merck KGaA), Billerica, MA, USA; 2Department of MS Medical Affairs, EMD Serono Research and Development Institute, Inc. (an Affiliate of Merck KGaA), Billerica, MA, USA; 3Department of N&I Global Medical Affairs, Merck Serono Ltd. (an Affiliate of Merck KGaA), Feltham, UKCorrespondence: Sridevi S Colten, EMD Serono Research and Development Institute, Inc. (an affiliate of Merck KGaA), Billerica, MA, USA, Tel +1-781-490-7224, Email sridevi.colten@emdserono.comPurpose: RebiSmart® is an electromechanical multidose autoinjector developed for administering subcutaneous interferon beta-1a in patients with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This online survey aimed to understand MS nurses’ and pwMS preferences and perceptions regarding the features of an upgraded version of the RebiSmart device (RebiSmart 3.0) compared to other assistive devices used for multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy.Patients and Methods: Eligible MS nurses and pwMS from Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom completed a double-blind, 30-minute online self-administered questionnaire, including a 10-minute video describing the features of RebiSmart 3.0 and its use in administering interferon beta-1a.Results: In total, 102 participants (MS nurses, n=52; patients, n=50) completed the survey. Overall, 70% respondents found the RebiSmart 3.0 device “very”/“extremely” appealing, 53% were “very”/“extremely” interested in learning more, and 71% stated they would be “very”/“extremely” comfortable using (pwMS) or educating (MS nurses) on it. Among current or recent RebiSmart 2.0 users (vs RebiSmart 2.0 nonusers), 67% (vs 52%) rated RebiSmart 3.0 “very” or “extremely” appealing, 52% (vs 43%) were “very” or “extremely” interested in learning more about the device, and 67% (vs 48%) stated they would be “very” or “extremely” comfortable using the RebiSmart 3.0 device. Respondents ranked customizable injection process (including injection speed, hold time, depth and rotation guide), self-injection process, and hidden needle as the most important self-assistive device features. RebiSmart 3.0 was rated higher than other self-injecting devices on all tested features. Overall, with respect to the top three features, 89% of the MS nurses and 73% of PwMS rated RebiSmart 3.0 “very good” or “excellent”. After reviewing the video, 52% respondents had no questions, 67% nurses recommended providing more information on the customizable injection process feature of RebiSmart 3.0 to patients, and 88% nurses considered patient demonstration materials to be the most helpful type of information for them when initiating and educating pwMS on self-assistive devices.Conclusion: The overall reactions of MS nurses and pwMS to the RebiSmart 3.0 device features were positive. The incremental advances over previous versions of the device as well as in comparison with other currently available assistive devices were welcomed. The MS nurses identified key needs for patient education on the use of the device and the suitable approaches (training videos and educational leaflets) to support MS nurses and pwMS.Keywords: subcutaneous interferon beta-1a, customizable injection, hidden needle, neurodegenerative disorder, nurse and patient device assessment, online survey

Electricity prices have complex features, such as high frequency, multiple seasonality, and nonlinearity. These factors will make the prediction of electricity prices difficult. However, accurate electricity price prediction is important for energy producers and consumers to develop bidding strategies. To improve the accuracy of prediction by using each algorithms' advantages, this paper proposes a hybrid model that uses the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), and Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN). EMD is used to decompose the electricity prices into low and high frequency components. Low frequency components are forecasted by the ARIMA model and the high frequency series are predicted by the TCN model. Experimental results using the realistic electricity price data from Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) electricity markets show that the proposed method has a higher prediction accuracy than other single methods and hybrid methods.

With the development of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), large amounts of electricity consumption data can be collected for electricity theft detection. However, the imbalance of electricity consumption data is violent, which makes the training of detection model challenging. In this case, this paper proposes an electricity theft detection method based on ensemble learning and prototype learning, which has great performance on imbalanced dataset and abnormal data with different abnormal level. In this paper, convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) are employed to obtain abstract feature from electricity consumption data. After calculating the means of the abstract feature, the prototype per class is obtained, which is used to predict the labels of unknown samples. In the meanwhile, through training the network by different balanced subsets of training set, the prototype is representative. Compared with some mainstream methods including CNN, random forest (RF) and so on, the proposed method has been proved to effectively deal with the electricity theft detection when abnormal data only account for 2.5% and 1.25% of normal data. The results show that the proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.

Abstract Background The effective valorization of lignin and carbohydrates in lignocellulose matrix under the concept of biorefinery is a primary strategy to produce sustainable chemicals and fuels. Based on the reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF), lignin in lignocelluloses can be depolymerized into viscous oils, while the highly delignified pulps with high polysaccharides retention can be transformed into various chemicals. Results A biorefinery paradigm for sequentially valorization of the main components in poplar sawdust was constructed. In this process, the well-defined low-molecular-weight phenols and bioethanol were co-generated by tandem chemo-catalysis in the RCF stage and bio-catalysis in fermentation stage. In the RCF stage, hydrogen transfer reactions were conducted in one-pot process using Raney Ni as catalyst, while the isopropanol (2-PrOH) in the initial liquor was served as a hydrogen donor and the solvent for lignin dissolution. Results indicated the proportion of the 2-PrOH in the initial liquor of RCF influenced the chemical constitution and yield of the lignin oil, which also affected the characteristics of the pulps and the following bioethanol production. A 67.48 ± 0.44% delignification with 20.65 ± 0.31% of monolignols yield were realized when the 2-PrOH:H2O ratio in initial liquor was 7:3 (6.67 wt% of the catalyst loading, 200 °C for 3 h). The RCF pulp had higher carbohydrates retention (57.96 ± 2.78 wt%), which was converted to 21.61 ± 0.62 g/L of bioethanol with a yield of 0.429 ± 0.010 g/g in fermentation using an engineered S. cerevisiae strain. Based on the mass balance analysis, 104.4 g of ethanol and 206.5 g of lignin oil can be produced from 1000 g of the raw poplar sawdust. Conclusions The main chemical components in poplar sawdust can be effectively transformed into lignin oil and bioethanol. The attractive results from the biorefinery process exhibit great promise for the production of valuable biofuels and chemicals from abundant lignocellulosic materials.

There has been continuous progress in diabetes management over the last few decades, not least due to the widespread dissemination of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and automated insulin delivery systems. These technological advances have radically changed the daily lives of people living with diabetes, improving the quality of life of both children and their families. Despite this, hypoglycemia remains the primary side-effect of insulin therapy. Based on a systematic review of the available scientific evidence, this paper aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for recognizing, risk stratifying, treating, and managing patients with hypoglycemia. The objective of these recommendations is to unify the behavior of pediatric diabetologists with respect to the timely recognition and prevention of hypoglycemic episodes and the correct treatment of hypoglycemia, especially in patients using CGM or advanced hybrid closed-loop systems. All authors have long experience in the specialty and are members of the Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology. The goal of treating hypoglycemia is to raise blood glucose above 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) and to prevent further decreases. Oral glucose at a dose of 0.3 g/kg (0.1 g/kg for children using “smart pumps” or hybrid closed loop systems in automated mode) is the preferred treatment for the conscious individual with blood glucose

Introduction: Horses are susceptible to oxidative stress during strenuous endurance exercise, leading to muscle fatigue and damage. Mulberry leaf flavonoids (MLFs) possess significant antioxidant properties. However, the antioxidant efficacy of MLFs can be influenced by the extraction process, and their impact on H2O2-induced oxidative stress in equine skeletal muscle satellite cells (ESMCs) remains unexplored.Methods: Our study employed three extraction methods to obtain MLFs: ultrasound-assisted extraction (CEP), purification with AB-8 macroporous resin (RP), and n-butanol extraction (NB-EP). We assessed the protective effects of these MLFs on H2O2-induced oxidative stress in ESMCs and analyzed the MLF components using metabolomics.Results: The results revealed that pre-treatment with MLFs dose-dependently protected ESMCs against H2O2-induced oxidative stress. The most effective concentrations were 0.8 mg/mL of CEP, 0.6 mg/mL of RP, and 0.6 mg/mL of NB-EP, significantly enhancing EMSC viability (p < 0.05). These optimized MLF concentrations promoted the GSH-Px, SOD and T-AOC activities (p < 0.05), while reducing MDA production (p < 0.05) in H2O2-induced ESMCs. Furthermore, these MLFs enhanced the gene expression, including Nrf2 and its downstream regulatory genes (TrxR1, GPX1, GPX3, SOD1, and SOD2) (p < 0.05). In terms of mitochondrial function, ESMCs pre-treated with MLFs exhibited higher basal respiration, spare respiratory capacity, maximal respiration, ATP-linked respiration compared to H2O2-induced ESMCs (p < 0.05). Additionally, MLFs enhanced cellular basal glycolysis, glycolytic reserve, and maximal glycolytic capacity (p < 0.05). Metabolomics analysis results revealed significant differences in mulberrin, kaempferol 3-O-glucoside [X-Mal], neohesperidin, dihydrokaempferol, and isobavachalcone among the three extraction processes (p < 0.05).Discussion: Our study revealed that MLFs enhance antioxidant enzyme activity, alleviate oxidative damage in ESMCs through the activation of the Nrf2 pathway, and improve mitochondrial respiration and cell energy metabolism. Additionally, we identified five potential antioxidant flavonoid compounds, suggesting their potential incorporation into the equine diet as a strategy to alleviate exercise-induced oxidative stress.

Over the years, the Shaying River Basin has experienced frequent instances of river pollution. The presence of numerous critical pollutant discharge enterprises and sewage-treatment plants in the vicinity of the Shaying River has transformed it a major tributary with relatively serious pollution challenge within the upper reaches of Huaihe River Basin. To study the sources of manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in Shaying River water, 123 sets of surface water samples were collected from 41 sampling points across the entire basin during three distinct phases from 2019 to 2020, encompassing normal water period, dry season and wet season. The primary origins of heavy metals in river water were determined by analyzing the heavy metal contents in urban sewage wastewater, industrial sewage wastewater, groundwater, mine water, and the heavy metal contributions from agricultural non-point source pollution. The analytical findings reveal that Mn primarily originates from shallow groundwater used for agricultural irrigation, While Cr mainly is primarily sourced from urban sewage treatment plant effluents, coal washing wastewater, tannery wastewater, and industrial discharge related to metal processing and manufacturing. Ni is mainly contributed by urban sewage treatment plant effluents and industrial wastewater streams associated with machinery manufacturing and metal processing. Cd primarily linked to industrial wastewater, particularly from machinery manufacturing and metal processing facilities, while Pb is predominantly associated with urban sewage treatment plant effluents and wastewater generated in Pb processing and recycling wastewater. These research provides a crucial foundation for addressing the prevention and control of dissolved heavy metals at their sources in the Shaying River.

AbstractContext Hyperoside (Hyp), one of the active flavones from Rhododendron (Ericaceae), has beneficial effects against cerebrovascular disease. However, the effect of Hyp on vasodilatation has not been elucidated.Objective To explore the effect of Hyp on vasodilatation in the cerebral basilar artery (CBA) of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats suffering with ischaemic–reperfusion (IR) injury.Materials and methods Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham, model, Hyp, Hyp + channel blocker and channel blocker groups. Hyp (50 mg/kg, IC50 = 18.3 μg/mL) and channel blocker were administered via tail vein injection 30 min before ischaemic, followed by 20 min of ischaemic and 2 h of reperfusion. The vasodilation, hyperpolarization, ELISA assay, haematoxylin–eosin (HE), Nissl staining and channel-associated proteins and qPCR were analysed. Rat CBA smooth muscle cells were isolated to detect the Ca2+ concentration and endothelial cells were isolated to detect apoptosis rate.Results Hyp treatment significantly ameliorated the brain damage induced by IR and evoked endothelium-dependent vasodilation rate (47.93 ± 3.09% vs. 2.99 ± 1.53%) and hyperpolarization (–8.15 ± 1.87 mV vs. −0.55 ± 0.42 mV) by increasing the expression of IP3R, PKC, transient receptor potential vanilloid channel 4 (TRPV4), IKCa and SKCa in the CBA. Moreover, Hyp administration significantly reduced the concentration of Ca2+ (49.08 ± 7.74% vs. 83.52 ± 6.93%) and apoptosis rate (11.27 ± 1.89% vs. 23.44 ± 2.19%) in CBA. Furthermore, these beneficial effects of Hyp were blocked by channel blocker.Discussion and conclusions Although Hyp showed protective effect in ischaemic stroke, more clinical trial certification is needed due to the difference between animals and humans.

Abstract Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a growing health burden with limited treatment options worldwide. Herein we report a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose trial of a first-in-class pan-phosphodiesterase inhibitor ZSP1601 in 36 NAFLD patients (NCT04140123). There were three cohorts. Each cohort included twelve patients, nine of whom received ZSP1601 50 mg once daily, 50 mg twice daily, or 100 mg twice daily, and three of whom received matching placebos for 28 days. The primary outcomes were the safety and tolerability of ZSP1601. A total of 27 (27/36, 75%) patients experienced at least one treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE). Most TEAEs were mild to moderate. There was no Serious Adverse Event. Diarrhea, transiently elevated creatinine and adaptive headache were frequently reported adverse drug reaction. We conclude that ZSP1601 is well-tolerated and safe, showing effective improvement in liver chemistries, liver fat content and fibrosis in patients with NAFLD.

While the Arctic's accelerated warming and sea ice decline have been associated with Eurasian cooling, debates persist between those attributing this to sea ice retreat and those to internal variability. Our study examines the association between autumn sea ice variability over the Barents-Kara Seas and extreme cold winters in Europe. Using the observational data and composite analysis, we explore the interannual variability and the potential linkage between sea ice and atmospheric circulation patterns. It reveals a correlation with shifts toward a negative phase of North Atlantic Oscillation and more frequent episodes of the atmospheric blocking over Greenland and the North Atlantic. Furthermore, the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation and enhanced blocking are closely related and mutually reinforcing, shaping the spatial distribution of cold anomalies over much of the European continent. Our results suggest a link between the unusual decrease in Barents-Kara Sea ice during autumn and the occurrence of intense European weather extremes in subsequent winter months, emphasizing the need for delving deeper into this relationship on monthly time scales to enhance our predictive capabilities for midlatitude extreme events.

Gianluca Dini,1 Giuseppe Di Cara,1 Pietro Ferrara,2 Pasquale Striano,3 Alberto Verrotti1 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy; 2Department of Pediatrics, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy; 3Pediatric Neurology and Muscular Diseases Unit, IRCCS Istituto “G. Gaslini”, Genoa, ItalyCorrespondence: Gianluca Dini, Department of Pediatrics, University of Perugia, Piazzale Giorgio Menghini 1, Perugia, 06129, Italy, Tel +39 3337797213, Email gianlucadini90@gmail.comAbstract: Despite the introduction of new anti-seizure medications in recent years, approximately one-third of the epileptic population continues to experience seizures. Recently, the anti-obesity medication fenfluramine (FFA) has been successfully repurposed, and it has received approval from various regulatory agencies for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The potential antiseizure effects of FFA were initially observed in patients with photosensitive epilepsy in the 1980s but it was not rigorously explored as a treatment option until 30 years later. This narrative review aims to provide an overview of the historical progression of FFA’s use, starting from initial clinical observations to preclinical studies and, ultimately, successful clinical trials in the field of epilepsy.Keywords: fenfluramine, seizures, Dravet syndrome, drug-resistant epilepsy, serotonin

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the rack load power is constantly increasing. The 48 V/12 V converter which is suitable for the two-stage step-down structure of 48 V distribution system has received much attention. In this paper, the efficiency optimization scheme for 48 V/12 V three-phase resonant switched-capacitor-converter is proposed. The component selection method is considered under light load and heavy load conditions. An accurate loss model is also proposed for the converter, and the model is accurate. Parameter design process is given and three experiments are designed to verify the correctness of the optimization method. The highest power convert efficiency (PCE) achieved by the 48 V/12 V experimental prototype with the maximum load power of 144 W is 98.97%.

Stefania Chiappini,1,2 Francesco Di Carlo,1 Alessio Mosca,1 Giacomo d’Andrea,1 Mariapia Di Paolo,1 Chiara Lorenzini,1 Maria Grazia Lupica,1 Gaia Sampogna,3 Mauro Pettorruso,1 Andrea Fiorillo,3 Giovanni Martinotti1,2 1Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ‘G. D’Annunzio’ University, Chieti, Italy; 2Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse and Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK; 3Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, ItalyCorrespondence: Stefania Chiappini, Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ‘G. D’Annunzio’ University, via dei Vestini, 31, Chieti (CH), 66100, Italy, Tel +393331698033, Email stefaniachiappini9@gmail.comIntroduction and Aim: Psychotic and mood disorders are associated with significant functional impairment, premature mortality, physical morbidity, and great social and economic burden. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of psychosocial, psychological, and rehabilitative interventions implemented in an Italian psychiatric inpatient facility, with a focus on patients with schizophrenia spectrum versus those with mood disorders.Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in the psychiatric hospital Villa Maria Pia in Rome, Italy, during 2022. Patients with an established diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum and mood disorder (ICD-9-CM) were assessed on admission (T0) and at the end of treatment (T1), using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Interventions involved a multidisciplinary team and included individual and group activities. The t-test for independent samples was used to compare continuous variables between groups and Spearman correlation coefficient to calculate correlations between variables.Results: The study sample consisted of 141 patients, the majority of them being adults (51.3 years ± 12.4) men (F/M= 68/73). Among them, 85 patients (60.3%) actively engaged in psychosocial and rehabilitative interventions and, compared to non-participating individuals, they showed lower functioning and symptoms at discharge (delta GAF was significantly higher among patients who had taken part in the psychosocial activities, t = − 2.095; p = 0.038). Considering the index computed (n of interventions/days of hospitalization), the number of psychosocial activities was positively correlated with the improvement in patients’ functioning in the sample taking part in activities (r = 0.272, p = 0.012), especially with psychotherapy and support groups (r = 0.202, p = 0.017 and r = 0.188, p = 0.025, respectively). Splitting the total sample into schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (N = 37) and mood disorder (N = 48) groups, the positive correlations between GAF improvement and participation in psychosocial activities were confirmed only in the schizophrenia-spectrum group. These correlations were not significant for symptomatology (BPRS) either in the total or the individual group.Conclusion: Evidence from our study suggests that inpatient rehabilitation can be effective and useful for people with severe mental disorders. Further investigations are needed to better understand its effectiveness on improving quality of life and social functioning in the long term.Keywords: psychosis, schizophrenia, psychiatric rehabilitation, psychosocial intervention, mental health rehabilitation

Abstract Background BAT1706 is a proposed biosimilar of bevacizumab, a vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A)-targeting biologic used to treat several different cancers, including metastatic colorectal cancer. A comprehensive physicochemical and functional similarity assessment is a key component of demonstrating biosimilarity between a reference biologic and a proposed biosimilar. Here we report the physicochemical and functional similarity of BAT1706 and reference bevacizumab sourced from both the United States (US-bevacizumab) and the European Union (EU-bevacizumab). Method A large range of product attributes, including primary and higher order structure, post-translational modifications, purity, stability, and potency, were characterized for BAT1706 and EU/US-bevacizumab using sensitive state-of-the-art analytical techniques. Up to 18 lots of US- and 29 lots of EU-bevacizumab, and 10 unique drug substance lots of BAT1706, were assessed. Result BAT1706 was shown to have an identical amino acid sequence and an indistinguishable higher-order structure compared with EU/US-bevacizumab. BAT1706 and EU/US-bevacizumab also exhibited similar post-translational modifications, glycan profiles, and charge variants. Potency, assessed using a wide range of bioassays, was also shown to be comparable between BAT1706 and EU/US-bevacizumab, with statistical equivalence demonstrated for VEGF-A binding and neutralizing activity. Conclusion Overall, this extensive comparability exercise demonstrated BAT1706 to match EU/US-bevacizumab in terms of all physicochemical and functional attributes assessed.

The complexity of terrain features poses a substantial challenge in the effective processing and application of airborne LiDAR data, particularly in regions characterized by steep slopes and diverse objects. In this paper, we propose a novel multiscale filtering method utilizing a modified 3D alpha shape algorithm to increase the ground point extraction accuracy in complex terrain. Our methodology comprises three pivotal stages: preprocessing for outlier removal and potential ground point extraction; the deployment of a modified 3D alpha shape to construct multiscale point cloud layers; and the use of a multiscale triangulated irregular network (TIN) densification process for precise ground point extraction. In each layer, the threshold is adaptively determined based on the corresponding α. Points closer to the TIN surface than the threshold are identified as ground points. The performance of the proposed method was validated using a classical benchmark dataset provided by the ISPRS and an ultra-large-scale ground filtering dataset called OpenGF. The experimental results demonstrate that this method is effective, with an average total error and a kappa coefficient on the ISPRS dataset of 3.27% and 88.97%, respectively. When tested in the large scenarios of the OpenGF dataset, the proposed method outperformed four classical filtering methods and achieved accuracy comparable to that of the best of learning-based methods.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to validate the prognostic value of Immunoscore (IS) in stage II colorectal cancer (CRC), and explore the roles of IS and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the adjuvant treatment for early-stage CRC. Resected tumor samples from stage II CRC patients were collected from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. The densities of CD3+ and CD8+ lymphocytes were quantified and converted to IS and classified into Low, Intermediate (Int), and High groups according to predefined cutoffs. A total of 113 patients were included in the study. Patients with IS-High, Int, and Low were 43 (38%), 62 (55%), and 8 (7%), respectively. Patients with IS-High had an excellent clinical outcome, with none recurring during a median follow-up of 3 years, including 15 (35%) clinical high-risk patients. The 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 100% for IS-High, 76% for IS-Int, and 47% for IS-Low (P

Abstract Background Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) had not yet been approved therapy. Electro-acupuncture (EA) has been reported to have potential efficacy. However, high-quality clinical evidence was still lacking. Methods NASH patients were randomized and allocated to either sham acupuncture (SA) or EA group in a 1:1 ratio, with the patient blinded. Each patient received 36 sessions of SA or EA treatment over 12 weeks, followed by additional 4 weeks. The primary outcome was the changes in relative liver fat content measured by magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF). Results A total of 60 patients were enrolled. From baseline to week 12, the reduction of relative liver fat content measured by MRI-PDFF in the EA group (− 33.6%, quantile range: − 52.9%, − 22.7%) was significantly more significant than that in the SA group (− 15.8%, quantile range: − 36.1%, − 2.7%) (p = 0.022). Furthermore, the EA group had more patients who achieved MRI-PDFF to 30% reduction at week 12 (53.3% vs. 25.9%, p = 0.035). EA treatment also significantly reduced body weight (− 3.0 vs. + 0.1 kg, p = 0.034) and BMI (− 1.5 vs. − 0.2 kg/m2, p = 0.013) at week 16. Except for AST (− 27.4 vs. − 16.2 U/L, p = 0.015), other biochemical varieties, including ALT, fasting-glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride, showed no statistically significant difference. Both groups measured no significant changes in liver stiffness by magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). There were no serious adverse events in either group. Conclusions Twelve weeks of EA effectively and safely reduces relative liver fat content in NASH patients. Further multicenter randomized controlled studies are needed. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2100046617. Registered 23 May 2021, http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=127023&htm=4

This paper proposes a robust and computationally efficient control method for damping ultra-low frequency oscillations (ULFOs) in hydropower-dominated systems. Unlike the existing robust optimization based control formulation that can only deal with a limited number of operating conditions, the proposed method reformulates the control problem into a bi-level robust parameter optimization model. This allows us to consider a wide range of system operating conditions. To speed up the bi-level optimization process, the deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) based deep reinforcement learning algorithm is developed to train an intelligent agent. This agent can provide very fast lower-level decision variables for the upper-level model, significantly enhancing its computational efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve much better damping control performance than other alternatives with slightly degraded dynamic response performance of the governor under various types of operating conditions.

The socioeconomic growth of China and local urban vitality have both been significantly impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19. It is of great significance to scientifically evaluate the changes of urban vitality in the Short Period of Time before and after the Outbreak of the Epidemic. Taking Zhengzhou City as an example, this study selected the epidemic period in May 2022, based on traffic big data and traffic simulation data, and applied the AHP-entropy weight method, gray relational TOPSIS method, time series method, spatial analysis method, visual analysis method, gravity model, standard deviation ellipse, multiple linear regression model and other methods. The daily characteristics, stage characteristics and temporal and spatial patterns of urban vitality affected by COVID-19 in Zhengzhou were revealed at multiple scales. The results are as follows: The change of urban vitality in the short term of the epidemic outbreak is basically in line with the change model of urban vitality. Erqi District has the greatest impact on the change of urban vitality, which is the center of gravity of urban vitality change. Among the means of transportation, pedestrians, nonmotor vehicles, taxis, private cars, and buses all had a positive correlation effect on the change of urban vitality in Zhengzhou, with nonmotor vehicles contributing the most. Trucks had a negative correlation with the change of urban vitality. The results of this study indicated that traffic data had good application prospects in the real-time evaluation and analysis of major health emergencies.

Since May 2018 till the end of 2021, Mayotte island has been the locus of a major submarine volcanic eruption characterized by the offshore emission of more than 6.5 km$^{3}$ of basanitic magma. The eruption occurred along a WNW–ESE trending submarine ridge on the east flank of the island where, in addition, several seemingly recent phonolitic bodies were also identified close to the island. To define realistic scenarios of magma ascent and potentially predict the style of an upcoming event, it is crucial to have a precise understanding on the plumbing system operating below volcanoes. The putative relationships between basanites emitted by the new volcano and these recent phonolites have been experimentally explored by performing crystallization experiments on a representative basanite over a large range of pressures (up to 400 MPa). The results show that the crystallization of basanite at crustal levels (${\le }$12–15 km) yields a phonolitic residual liquid containing up to 3–4 wt% $\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}$ after ${\ge }$65 wt% of an assemblage of olivine$+$plagioclase$+$amphibole$+$clinopyroxene$+$biotite$+$magnetite$+$ilmenite$+$apatite. The final iron content of the residual phonolitic liquids is strongly controlled by the depth/pressure of fractionation. Fe-rich phonolites from the submarine ridge are produced at 6–8 km depth, while a shallower differentiation (${\le }$4–5 km) results in the production of liquids with trachyte–benmoreite affinities. If the fractionation process occurs at depths higher than 8 km, the resulting phonolitic melts are progressively enriched in $\mathrm{SiO}_{2}$–$\mathrm{Al}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}$ but depleted in FeO*, ie unlike those erupted. We therefore conclude that phonolitic magma production and storage at Mayotte is a rather shallow process.

The multi-directional flow of energy in a multi-microgrid (MMG) system and different dispatching needs of multiple energy sources in time and location hinder the optimal operation coordination between microgrids. We propose an approach to centrally train all the agents to achieve coordinated control through an individual attention mechanism with a deep dense neural network for reinforcement learning. The attention mechanism and novel deep dense neural network allow each agent to attend to the specific information that is most relevant to its reward. When training is complete, the proposed approach can construct decisions to manage multiple energy sources within the MMG system in a fully decentralized manner. Using only local information, the proposed approach can coordinate multiple internal energy allocations within individual microgrids and external multilateral multi-energy interactions among interconnected microgrids to enhance the operational economy and voltage stability. Comparative results demonstrate that the cost achieved by the proposed approach is at most 71.1% lower than that obtained by other multi-agent deep reinforcement learning approaches.

Image segmentation is an essential part of remote sensing preprocessing. This paper proposes a deep learning-based multiscale pyramid sieve and analysis module to solve the problems associated with multiscale object coexistence in the complex semantic environments of multispectral remote sensing images. The image information distribution features, which change with scales in different convolutional feature map pyramids, were investigated, and the relationship between informative scales and the variation function curve was examined. Then, the proposed sieve and analysis module was designed according to the results. The proposed module is described as follows. (1) First, a feature map pyramid is built via a convolution calculation. (2) Sieve informative feature layers from the feature map pyramid with variation analysis. (3) Fuse informative feature layers. (4) The final feature representation is input into subsequent calculations for image segmentation. Experimental results demonstrate that, compared to the control group, the precision of the experimental group improved by 3.57%-5.89%, and the intraclass conformity improved by 2.74%-5.58%. In addition, the intraclass chaos decreased by 1.5%-7.9%. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed multiscale pyramid sieve and analysis module can separate informative feature layers and improve the hierarchical segmentation accuracy of remote sensing multispectral images.

Accurate and timely fault diagnosis is of great significance for the safe operation and power supply reliability of distribution systems. However, traditional intelligent methods limit the use of the physical structures and data information of power networks. To this end, this study proposes a fault diagnostic model for distribution systems based on deep graph learning. This model considers the physical structure of the power network as a significant constraint during model training, which endows the model with stronger information perception to resist abnormal data input and unknown application conditions. In addition, a special spatiotemporal convolutional block is utilized to enhance the waveform feature extraction ability. This enables the proposed fault diagnostic model to be more effective in dealing with both fault waveform changes and the spatial effects of faults. In addition, a multi-task learning framework is constructed for fault location and fault type analysis, which improves the performance and generalization ability of the model. The IEEE 33-bus and IEEE 37-bus test systems are modeled to verify the effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnostic model. Finally, different fault conditions, topological changes, and interference factors are considered to evaluate the anti-interference and generalization performance of the proposed model. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.

The neutron Time-of-Flight (TOF) research facility at CERN, n_TOF, has been a pioneering platform for neutron cross-section measurements since its inception in 2001. It boasts three distinct experimental areas, each tailored to address a specific range of neutron energies. This paper delves into the intricacies of the n_TOF facility, including its recent upgrade during the Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) at CERN. Additionally, it highlights the key characteristics of the detectors employed for capture and fission cross-section measurements, paving the way for future research endeavors.

Chromium is a very relevant element regarding criticality safety in nuclear reactors because of its presence in stainless steel, an important structural material. Currently, there are serious discrepancies between the different evaluations regarding the neutron capture cross sections of 50Cr and 53Cr, most probably related to the difficulty of reducing and then estimating the very large neutron scattering effects on the shape of the resonances. In this context, there is a recent entry in the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) High Priority Request List (HPRL) to measure these reactions between 1 and 100 keV with an accuracy of 8-10%. In response to this request, we have performed a time-of-flight experiment at CERN n_TOF (Switzerland) and a complementary activation experimenton 50Crat30and90keVatCNAHiSPANoS(Spain).Theexperiments are presented herein, together with a discussion on the quality of the preliminary data and the results to be expected.

The experimental setup of the new measurement of 239Pu fission and capture cross-section in the n_TOF time-of-flight facility at CERN is presented. The measurement aims to address the needs and demands of nuclear data users. The experiment incorporates an innovative fast Fission Fragment Detector and the n_TOF Total Absorption Calorimeter, enabling the implementation of the fission tagging technique. Preliminary results exhibit the robust performance of the detector systems, along with the high quality of the new 239Pu samples. These samples were exclusively produced for this measurement by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Geel.

Abstract 7‐Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging may allow for higher resolution images but may produce greater acoustic noise than 1.5‐ and 3‐T scanners. We sought to characterize the intensity of acoustic noise from 7‐ versus 3‐T scanners. A‐weighted sound pressure levels from 5 types of pulse sequences used for brain and inner ear imaging in 3‐ and 7‐T scanners were measured. Time‐averaged sound level and maximum sound levels generated for each sequence were compared. Time‐averaged sound levels exceeded 95 dB and reached maximums above 105 dB on the majority of 3‐ and 7‐T scans. The mean time‐averaged sound level and maximum sound level across pulse sequences were greater in 7‐ than 3‐T (105.6 vs 91.4, P = .01; 114.0 vs. 96.5 dB, P

Summary: Cytosine methylation is an important epigenetic modification involved in regulation of plant development. However, the epigenetic mechanisms governing peanut seed development remain unclear. Herein, we generated DNA methylation profiles of developmental seeds of peanut H2014 and its smaller seed mutant H1314 at 15 and 60 days after pegging (DAP, S1, S4). Accompanying seed development, globally elevated methylation was observed in both lines. The mutant had a higher methylation level of 31.1% than wild type at S4, and 27.1–35.9% of the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between the two lines were distributed in promoter or genic regions at both stages. Integrated methylome and transcriptome analysis revealed important methylation variations closely associated with seed development. Furthermore, some genes showed significantly negative correlation of expression with the methylation level within promoter or gene body. The results provide insights into the roles of DNA methylation in peanut seed development.

Photocatalyst-enzyme coupling process for visible light driven biotransformation holds promise in producing solar chemicals. In this work, aiming to produce furfuryl alcohol, the important bulk chemical that is typically derived from renewable lignocellulose, a highly selective furfural hydrogenation process is proposed by coordinating the alcohol dehydrogenase with the ZnIn2S4 assistant reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotid (NADH) regeneration. Results indicated that under visible light irradiation, the hierarchical ZnIn2S4 microspheres exhibited excellent holes and electrons separating efficiency, affording to high NADH regeneration (yield of 90.2±3.28%). When adopting the photo-biocoupled reduction process in furfural transformation, a furfuryl alcohol yield of 79.4±1.95% was achieved under the optimized conditions. The photocatalyst-enzyme coupling process also showed good stability, exceeding 70% of catalytic activity was reserved after reusing the catalysts for 10 cycles. The novel photo-biocoupled system showed promising in extending to the highly selective hydrogenation of other biochemicals from lignocelluloses.

The main goal of this study is to emphasise the geotourism potential and the values of geoethics as drivers of rural development in the territory of the Knjaževac municipality, which is one of the richest areas in Serbia in terms of geoheritage. Numerous objects of geomorphological and hydrological heritage stand out in an area of 1,202 km2. Despite this richness in geoheritage, the potential of geotourism development has been ignored by many stakeholders, and the geoheritage of this area has not been sufficiently explored and proposed for tourism purposes. This study makes an inventory of geosites in the municipality of Knjaževac. The selected sites were evaluated by applying the Modified Geosite Assessment Model to discover the most suitable geosites for future geotourism development, in order to select the geosite that possesses the greatest geotourism potential to support rural development. The results uncover information about the major areas of improvement for each evaluated geosite. Moreover, areas that demand more attention and better management in the upcoming period to become recognisable geotourism destinations were identified. It is pointed out that geoethical implications in geosite management can contribute to sustainable geoconservation in Eastern Serbia.

Abstract Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), as a newly proposed swarm-based algorithm, has gradually become a popular approach for optimization problems in various engineering fields. However, WOA suffers from the poor balance of exploration and exploitation, and premature convergence. In this paper, a new enhanced WOA (EWOA), which adopts an improved dynamic opposite learning (IDOL) and an adaptive encircling prey stage, is proposed to overcome the problems. IDOL plays an important role in the initialization part and the algorithm iterative process of EWOA. By evaluating the optimal solution in the current population, IDOL can adaptively switch exploitation/exploration modes constructed by the DOL strategy and a modified search strategy, respectively. On the other hand, for the encircling prey stage of EWOA in the latter part of the iteration, an adaptive inertia weight strategy is introduced into this stage to adaptively adjust the prey’s position to avoid falling into local optima. Numerical experiments, with unimodal, multimodal, hybrid and composition benchmarks, and three typical engineering problems are utilized to evaluate the performance of EWOA. The proposed EWOA also evaluates against canonical WOA, three sub-variants of EWOA, three other common algorithms, three advanced algorithms and four advanced variants of WOA. Results indicate that according to Wilcoxon rank sum test and Friedman test, EWOA has balanced exploration and exploitation ability in coping with global optimization, and it has obvious advantages when compared with other state-of-the-art algorithms.

This paper investigates the optimal real-time residential appliances scheduling of individual owner when participating in the demand response (DR) program. The proposed method is novel since we cast the optimization problem to an intelligent deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework, which avoids solving a specific optimization model directly when facing dynamic operation conditions induced by the outdoor temperature, electricity price and resident’s behavior. We consider the scheduling of power-shiftable, time-shiftable and deferrable appliances for the optimization of profit and satisfaction rate of resident. The optimization problem is first modeled as a Markov decision process and then solved by a model-free entropy-based DRL algorithm. Unlike traditional model-based methods which rely on accurate knowledge of parameters and physical models that are difficult to obtain in practice, the proposed method can develop real-time near-optimal control behavior by interacting with the environment and learning from data, which avoids the error caused by the simplification and assumption when building physical model. The proposed scheduling algorithm also achieves better tradeoff between the profit and the satisfaction rate than deterministic DRL algorithm owing to the introduction of the entropy term. Simulation results using real-world data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The temperature control unit (TCU) is widely used in lithography tools or other precision equipment to achieve a high level of temperature stability. Still, there is no systematic analysis of the thermal model in the present study about how to build a precise TCU. In this paper, we provide a new perspective for analyzing the outlet temperature performance of TCU. We analyzed the thermal model of TCU’s sub-devices and thermal model of environmental disturbance over the frequency domain, then obtained the influence of different processes on the TCU output temperature at different frequencies. The above thermal models are brought into two commonly used process control frameworks to comprehensively consider the temperature control effect under the combination of control and hardware. The relationship expressions from the temperature spectrum performance to the fluctuation index are derived to obtain the quantitative TCU temperature performance. We built a TCU experimental platform with the water medium and verified the accuracy of TCU thermal models, thermal disturbance models, and the accuracy of temperature fluctuation index derivation, all within a 5% error. The TCU temperature accuracy reaches ± 1mk under one sigma statistics as a thermal engineering application case.

Objective: The development of seminal vesicle technology has greatly improved the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment of seminal vesiculitis, but its long-term efficacy and postoperative complications still need to be evaluated further. Patients and methods: Ninety-eight patients with seminal vesiculitis were randomly assigned to a traditional medical treatment control group (n = 49) and a seminal vesiculoscopy group (n = 49). The clinical efficacy of the two groups of patients, including blood sperm and pain, was evaluated 1 month after surgery. The maximum urine flow rate (MFR) and the average urine flow rate (AFR) were measured. Results: Compared with traditional medicine, seminal vesicle endoscopy has a higher clinical effect on seminal vesiculitis. Seminal vesicle therapy was more effective in reducing blood cells in patient’s semen and improving the patient’s urinary function. The seminal vesicle volume and seminal fructose were significantly improved. Conclusions: The efficacy of seminal vesiculoscopy for seminal vesiculitis is better than traditional medicine.

Climate change, population growth, and socio-economic transformations present multifaceted challenges to the water resource systems in the four major river basins of Henan Province. Consequently, to gain a comprehensive understanding of water security within the study area, a quantitative assessment of water resource vulnerability (WRV) is imperative. In this investigation, the vulnerability scoping diagram (VSD) model serves as the analytical framework, subdividing vulnerability into three critical subsystems: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Utilizing a comprehensive evaluation index system, this study assesses WRV in Henan Province’s four primary watersheds. Temporal variations and spatial patterns of WRV from 2000 to 2020 are systematically examined through the standard deviational ellipse (SDE) and GeoDetector methods. The findings indicate that vulnerability within these river basins is shaped by the interactions among exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Moreover, exposure and sensitivity are found to be more influential than adaptive capacity. Although there are indications of future improvements in the system’s resilience against water resource vulnerability, the overarching scenario remains precarious, particularly within the Hai and Yellow River basins. Considering the diverse characteristics of the watershed, it is recommended that adaptive management strategies be implemented. This study enhances the understanding of WRV dynamics in Henan Province, thereby aiding more effective decision making in sustainable water resource management.

Bioethanol is an important biofuel which can be produced from the abundant low-value lignocelluloses. However, the highly toxic inhibitory compounds formed in the hydrolysate and the ineffective utilization of xylose as a co-substrate are the primarily bottlenecks that hinder the commercialization of lignocellulosic bioethanol. In this study, aiming to properly solve the above obstacles, an engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain was constructed by introducing the xylose reductase (XR)–xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) pathway, overexpressing the non-oxidized pentose phosphate pathway, and deleting aldose reductase GRE3 and alkaline phosphatase PHO13 using a GTR-CRISPR system, followed by adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE). After screening, the isolated S. cerevisiae YL13-2 mutant was capable of robust xylose-utilizing, and exhibited high tolerance to the inhibitors in undetoxified steam-exploded corn stover hydrolysate (SECSH). An ethanol concentration of 22.96 g/L with a yield of 0.454 g/g can be obtained at the end of batch fermentation when using SECSH as substrate without nutrient supplementation. Moreover, aiming to simplify the downstream process and reduce the energy required in bioethanol production, fermentation using fed-batch hydrolyzed SECSH containing higher titer sugars with a YL13-2 strain was also investigated. As expect, a higher concentration of ethanol (51.12 g/L) was received, with an average productivity and yield of 0.71 g/L h and 0.436 g/g, respectively. The findings of this research provide an effective method for the production of bioethanol from lignocellulose, and could be used in large-scale applications in future works.

Peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) bacterial wilt (BW) is a devastating disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum that results in severe yield and quality losses. Plant defensins are short cysteine-rich peptides with antimicrobial activity. The role of defensin genes (AhDef) in peanut is unclear. A genome-wide investigation of AhDef genes was undertaken, and 12 identified AhDef genes were classified into two groups containing the gamma-thionin domain formed by four disulfide pairs: Cys1-Cys8, Cys2-Cys5, Cys3-Cys6, and Cys4-Cys7. In silico analysis revealed that AhDef genes showed highly conserved architectural features and contained cis-elements associated with phytohormone signaling and defense responses. A highly resistant cultivar, H108 (R) and a susceptible accession, H107 (S) were tested by R. solanacearum inoculation. H108 (R) showed fewer symptoms than H107 (S) owing to inhibition of bacterial reproduction and spread in the vascular bundles of roots and stems. In a transcriptomic expression profile, AhDef genes, particularly AhDef1.6 and AhDef2.2, were up-regulated in H108 (R) compared with H107 (S) under R. solanacearum infection and phytohormone treatment. Subcellular localization showed that the AhDef1.6 and AhDef2.2 proteins were both expressed specifically on the plasma membrane. Overexpression of protein fusion AhDef2.2-YFP in Nicotiana benthamiana and peanut leaves increased resistance to R. solanacearum, suggesting its role in response to BW infection. AhDef2.2 may be valuable for peanut resistance breeding.

Abstract Background The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based proton density fat fraction (PDFF) has become popular for quantifying liver fat content. However, the variability of the region-of-interest (ROI) sampling strategy may result in a lack of standardisation of this technology. In an effort to establish an accurate and effective PDFF measurement scheme, this study assessed the pathological correlation, the reader agreement, and time-burden of different sampling strategies with variable ROI size, location, and number. Methods Six-echo spoiled gradient-recalled-echo magnitude-based fat quantification was performed for 50 patients with obesity, using a 3.0-T MRI scanner. Two readers used different ROI sampling strategies to measure liver PDFF, three times. Intra-reader and inter-reader agreement was evaluated using intra-class correlation coefficients and Bland‒Altman analysis. Pearson correlations were used to assess the correlation between PDFFs and liver biopsy. Time-burden was recorded. Results For pathological correlations, the correlations for the strategy of using three large ROIs in Couinaud segment 3 (S3 3L-ROI) were significantly greater than those for all sampling strategies at the whole-liver level (P 0.995 and LOAs

Bio-based PA56 is as matrix resin, maleic anhydride (MAH), and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) dual monomer grafted POE (POE-g-MAH/GMA) polyphenyl ether(PPO) are simultaneous as toughening agents. The PA56/POE-g-MAH-GMA/PPO ternary alloys containing 10 wt% POE-g-MAH-GMA with different PPO content prepared by the melt blending method through twin screw extruder. The structure and property of PA56/POE-g-MAH-GMA/PPO ternary alloys were studied. The results showed that the microscopic morphology of each alloy showed an obvious “sea-island” structure. PA56 is a continuous sea phase, and the island phase assumes the “core–shell structure,” the etched POE-g-MAH-GMA particles are as the nucleus, and PPO are as the shell. When the PPO mass fraction is 30%, the relative crystallinity of the alloy is 11.56%, which is 1.68 times lower compared to the pure PA56, the alloy notch impact strength is 42.1 kJ/m2, and reaches 11.7 times of pure PA56; the water absorption rate of 1.22%, which is 3.22 times lower than pure PA56.