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From micro to macro level, the performance of zinc-air flow battery (ZAFB) hinges on two crucial factors: the effective oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts, and the durable triple-phase electrodes. However, sluggish kinetic process always occurs due to insufficient active sites and hysteretic mass transfer. In this work, a well-confined iron phthalocyanine (FePc) structure onto carbonized metal-organic framework (C-MOF5) electrocatalyst is constructed through a pyrolysis-free strategy. The macrocyclic skeleton of MOF-5 has been confirmed to offer a stronger and more abundant environment for hosting FePc molecules. Attributing to the hierarchical pore engineering of MOF-5, the FePc@C-MOF5 electrocatalyst reveals a high content of Fe (5.68 wt%) with multiple exposed active sites. Notably, the FePc@C-MOF5 exhibits a remarkably high half-wave potential of 0.915 V for ORR in 0.1 M KOH, surpassing that of commercial Pt/C by nearly 60 mV. From a higher-level device perspective, the highest oxygen diffusion velocity and local current density of the FePc@C-MOF5 electrode is verified by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. As a result, the as-assembled ZAFB demonstrates long-term stability with 200 h' cycling. This work not only presents the hierarchical pore tailoring strategy for designing ORR electrocatalysts but also offers a deeper understanding of the essence of interfacial mass transfer. A novel FePc@C-MOF5 electrocatalyst for zinc-air flow batteries was proposed, enhancing ORR performance and stability while advancing understanding of mass transfer dynamics. [Display omitted] • A well-confined MOF-5-derived ORR catalyst was prepared with a high loading of Fe. • The unique pore structure accelerates both oxygen diffusion and charge transfer. • The FePc@C-MOF5 reveals good activity at both microscale for three-electrode characterization and macroscale for ZAFB test. • A numerical three-dimensional model combining transfer theory with reaction kinetics for ZAFB is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the impact of self-medication on the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 across different age groups, examine the interplay of vaccination and self-medication in disease spread, and identify the age group most prone to self-medication. Methods: We developed an age-structured compartmentalized epidemiological model to track the early dynamics of COVID-19. Age-structured data from the Government of Gauteng, encompassing the reported cumulative number of cases and daily confirmed cases, were used to calibrate the model through a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) framework. Subsequently, uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were conducted on the model parameters. Results: We found that self-medication is predominant among the age group 15-64 (74.52%), followed by the age group 0-14 (34.02%), and then the age group 65+ (11.41%). The mean values of the basic reproduction number, the size of the first epidemic peak (the highest magnitude of the disease), and the time of the first epidemic peak (when the first highest magnitude occurs) are 4.16499, 241,715 cases, and 190.376 days, respectively. Moreover, we observed that self-medication among individuals aged 15-64 results in the highest spreading rate of COVID-19 at the onset of the outbreak and has the greatest impact on the first epidemic peak and its timing. Conclusion: Studies aiming to understand the dynamics of diseases in areas prone to self-medication should account for this practice. There is a need for a campaign against COVID-19-related self-medication, specifically targeting the active population (ages 15-64). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting stress has long been proposed as a major risk factor for child maltreatment. However, there is a lack of evidence from existing studies on the temporal sequence to establish a causal relationship. This study aims to examine bidirectional temporal relationships between parenting stress and child maltreatment. Longitudinal data from two different sources were analysed: a pre-post study of an online parenting programme conducted across six countries - the ePLH Evaluation Study, and a prospective cohort study in the United States - LONGSCAN. Cross-lagged panel model on parenting stress and child maltreatment was used in each dataset. Based on repeatedly measured data of 484 caregivers in the ePLH study across five time points (every two weeks), we found that parenting stress at an earlier time point predicted later child maltreatment (IRR = 1.14, 95 % CI: 1.10,1.18). In addition, the occurrence of child maltreatment was associated with higher subsequent short-term parenting stress (IRR = 1.04, 95 % CI: 1.01,1.08) and thus could form a vicious circle. In the LONGSCAN analysis with 772 caregivers who were followed up from child age of 6 to child age of 16, we also found parenting stress at an earlier time point predicted later child maltreatment (β = 0.11, 95 % CI: 0.01,0.20), but did not observe an association between child maltreatment and subsequent long-term parenting stress. Potential information bias on the measurements. This study provides evidence for a bidirectional temporal relationship between parenting stress and child maltreatment, which should be considered in parenting intervention programmes. • We observed a bi-directional relationship between parenting stress and child maltreatment. • Parenting stress at an earlier time point predicted later child maltreatment. • The occurrence of child maltreatment predicted higher subsequent short-term parenting stress. • Stress-related affective factors should be considered in parenting intervention programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the escalating demand for computing powers, wave‐based analog computers have emerged as a compelling study area due to their remarkable capacity for ultra‐fast operation. Here, a programmable wave‐based computer, based on programmable meta‐structures is proposed, which is also called as meta‐computer. The meta‐computer can perform various types of analog computations in real‐time in the electromagnetic (EM) wave space, including matrix‐vector multiplication, discrete Fourier transform, filtering, and solving complex matrix equations. Owing to the powerful capability of the programmable meta‐structures in manipulating the EM fields and waves in real‐time, the proposed meta‐computer exhibits the advantages of flexible re‐programmability, low complexity, and direct computation in the EM space. Two prototypes of the meta‐computer in the microwave frequency are designed and fabricated, and the computing capability is validated through both numerical simulations and experiments. This work contributes a prominent approach for fully programmable wave‐based computers with noteworthy implications for expanding the applications of analog computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) is a promising anode material for lithium‐ion batteries, owing to the high capacity and superior structural stability. However, the application of SiOC anode is limited by its low conductivity and poor rate performance. Here, SiOC anodes were prepared by the pyrolysis of silicone resin (RSN‐217) at different temperatures (700, 850, 1000, and 1150° C), and the effect of graphitization degree and Si─O─C network on the electrochemical performance of SiOC anodes was investigated. The elemental and structural characteristics of the pyrolyzed SiOC ceramics at different temperatures were inspected using a broad spectrum of characterization techniques, and electrochemical performance testing methods, such as cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge, were conducted on SiOC anode. SiOC‐1000 showed excellent electrochemical performance due to the highest graphitization degree of free carbon phase and the highest content of SiO2C2 and SiO3C units. Considerable research effort laid a foundation for exploring the lithium storage mechanism of SiOC anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complexity and variability of carbonate formation leakage zones, lost circulation prediction and control is one of the major challenges of carbonate drilling. It raises well-control risks and production expenses. This research utilizes the H oilfield as an example, employs seismic features to analyze mud loss prediction, and produces a complete set of pre-drilling mud loss prediction solutions. Firstly, 16 seismic attributes are calculated based on the post-stack seismic data, and the mud loss rate per unit footage is specified. The sample set is constructed by extracting each attribute from the seismic trace surrounding 15 typical wells, with a ratio of 8:2 between the training set and the test set. With the calibration results for mud loss rate per unit footage, the nonlinear mapping relationship between seismic attributes and mud loss rate per unit size is established using the mixed density network model. Then, the influence of the number of sub-Gausses and the uncertainty coefficient on the model's prediction is evaluated. Finally, the model is used in conjunction with downhole drilling conditions to assess the risk of mud loss in various layers and along the wellbore trajectory. The study demonstrates that the mean relative errors of the model for training data and test data are 6.9% and 7.5%, respectively, and that R² is 90% and 88%, respectively, for training data and test data. The accuracy and efficacy of mud loss prediction may be greatly enhanced by combining 16 seismic attributes with the mud loss rate per unit footage and applying machine learning methods. The mud loss prediction model based on the MDN model can not only predict the mud loss rate but also objectively evaluate the prediction based on the quality of the data and the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The goal of this study was to investigate the potential effects of an immunotherapeutic drug targeting STING to suppress the overreactive innate immune response and relieve the bone defect in apical periodontitis. Methodology: We established an apical periodontitis mouse model in Sting−/− and WT mice in vivo. The progression of apical periodontitis was analysed by micro‐CT analysis and H&E staining. The expression level and localization of STING in F4/80+ cells were identified by IHC and immunofluorescence staining. RANKL in periapical tissues was tested by IHC staining. TRAP staining was used to detect osteoclasts. To clarify the effect of STING inhibitor C‐176 as an immunotherapeutic drug, mice with apical periodontitis were treated with C‐176 and the bone loss was identified by H&E, TRAP, RANKL staining and micro‐CT. Bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMMs) were isolated from Sting−/− and WT mice and induced to osteoclasts in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced inflammatory environment in vitro. Moreover, WT BMMs were treated with C‐176 to determine the effect on osteoclast differentiation by TRAP staining. The expression levels of osteoclast‐related genes were tested using qRT‐PCR. Results: Compared to WT mice, the bone resorption and inflammatory cell infiltration were reduced in exposed Sting−/− mice. In the exposed WT group, STING was activated mainly in F4/80+ macrophages. Histological staining revealed the less osteoclasts and lower expression of osteoclast‐related factor RANKL in Sting−/− mice. The treatment of the STING inhibitor C‐176 in an apical periodontitis mice model alleviated inflammation progression and bone loss, similar to the effect observed in Sting−/− mice. Expression of RANKL and osteoclast number in periapical tissues were also decreased after C‐176 administration. In vitro, TRAP staining showed fewer positive cells and qRT‐PCR reflected decreased expression of osteoclastic marker, Src and Acp5 were detected during osteoclastic differentiation in Sting−/− and C‐176 treated BMMs. Conclusions: STING was activated and was proven to be a positive factor in bone loss and osteoclastogenesis in apical periodontitis. The STING inhibitor C‐176 administration could alleviate the bone loss via modulating local immune response, which provided immunotherapy to the treatment of apical periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demands for computing powers, wave‐based computation has attracted researcher's attention due to its inherent high speed. Metasurfaces have flexible and powerful capabilities to manipulate electromagnetic waves and are good candidates for building a next‐generation of wave‐based computers. In this work, a computational‐metasurface‐based equation solver that yields real‐time solutions to arbitrary complex matrix equations (CME) in the form of K · x + c = 0 is proposed. Full‐wave simulations and experimental measurements are conducted to verify the functionality of the proposed solver. This work serves to provide a promising technique to overcome some shortcomings of the existing designs and lays the first stone of the bridge toward programmable wave‐space computers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe use of data fusion based with multiple analytical techniques was investigated to provide the accurate geographical origin identification of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (AMK). Inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to characterize Hubei, Zhejiang, and Hunan production regions. After the implementation of data fusion, the ensemble learning method multi-forest joint network (MFJN) and classic machine learning methods were used to identify the AMK production regions. The MFJN based upon high-level data fusion distinguished AMK samples from different regions with the highest accuracy. The classification accurate rate of AMK in the prediction set was 95%, which was significantly better than the results obtained using twenty-five mineral element or nine bioactive component data sets. The results showed that mass spectrometry data fusion in combination with MFJN is suitable for the geographic origin determination of AMK and has potential to ensure this product’s fair trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of immunomodulation in multiple sclerosis (MS) can alleviate the severity and relapses. However, it cannot improve the neurological disability of patients due to a lack of myelin protection and regeneration. Therefore, remyelinating therapies may be one of the feasible strategies that can prevent axonal degeneration and restore neurological disability. Natural product icariin (ICA) is a flavonol compound extracted from epimedium flavonoids, which has neuroprotective effects in several models of neurological diseases. Here, we attempt to explore whether ICA has the potential to treat demyelination and its possible mechanisms of action using lipopolysaccharide-treated BV2 microglia, primary microglia, bone marrow-derived macrophages, and cuprizone-induced demyelination model. The indicators of oxidative stress and inflammatory response were evaluated using commercial kits. The results showed that ICA significantly reduced the levels of oxidative intermediates nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, and inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and increased the levels of antioxidants superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β in vitro cell experiments. In vivo demyelination model, ICA significantly alleviated the behavioral abnormalities and enhanced the integrated optical density/mm2 of Black Gold II and myelin basic protein myelin staining, accompanied by the inhibition of oxidative stress/inflammatory response. Immunohistochemical staining showed that ICA significantly induced the expression of nuclear factor erythroid derived 2/heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) and inhibited the expression of toll-like receptor 4/ nuclear factor kappa B (TLR4/NF-κB), which are two key signaling pathways in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory processes. Our results strongly suggest that ICA may be used as a potential agent to treat demyelination via regulating Nrf2/HO-1-mediated antioxidative stress and TLR4/NF-κB-mediated inflammatory responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial infection is the main cause of pulpitis. However, whether a dominant bacteria can promote the progression of pulpitis and its underlying mechanism remains unclear. We provided a comprehensive assessment of the microbiota alteration in pulpitis using 16S rRNA sequencing. Fusobacterium nucleatum was the most enriched in pulpitis and played a pathogenic role accelerating pulpitis progression in rat pulpitis model. After odontoblast‐like cells cocultured with F. nucleatum, the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway and autophagy were activation. There was a float of STING expression during F. nucleatum stimulation. STING was degraded by autophagy at the early stage. At the late stage, F. nucleatum stimulated mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production, mitochondrial dysfunction and then mtDNA escape into cytosol. mtDNA, which escaped into cytosol, caused more cytosolic mtDNA binds to cyclic GMP‐AMP synthase (cGAS). The release of IFN‐β was dramatically reduced when mtDNA‐cGAS‐STING pathway inhibited. STING−/− mice showed milder periapical bone loss and lower serum IFN‐β levels compared with wildtype mice after 28 days F. nucleatum‐infected pulpitis model establishment. Our data demonstrated that F. nucleatum exacerbated the progression of pulpitis, which was mediated by the STING‐dependent pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electromagnetically induced transparency metamaterial (EITM) based on dielectric resonators is presented in this paper, which consists of a cut wire (CW) and ten dielectric columns. Destructive interference between the CW, which is a branch of the microstrip line, and the dielectric resonators causes the EIT phenomenon. The simulation results show that the dielectric‐based EITM designed can obtain a transmission peak of 0.938 at 2.17 GHz, and the two‐oscillator model is utilized to verify the effectiveness of the structure. In addition, samples of the dielectric‐based EITM are also fabricated and the effectiveness of the metamaterial is experimentally verified. The proposed metamaterial has several advantages, including high efficiency, low loss, a simple structure, and ease of manufacture, which has good prospects for application in the fields of electromagnetic switches, sensors, and nonlinear metamaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by an abrupt decrease in kidney filtration rate, has become a public health issue affecting between 1% and 15% of the population, which causes high morbidity and death. There is mounting evidence that miRNAs are noncoding single-stranded RNAs with a short length of about 20 nucleotides and have been highly conserved through evolution. Through targeting mRNAs, miRNA may mediate intercellular communication during AKI’s physiological and pathological processes. It is interesting to note that natural products can improve AKI by regulating miRNA expression, which might represent a potentially innovative therapeutic strategy. This review aims at providing an overview of the new data obtained on miRNAs in the treatment and diagnosis of AKI, summarizing studies on natural products improving AKI through regulating miRNAs’ expression; in the same time, it will shed new light on AKI risk biomarkers and therapeutic intervention as well. We summarized the roles of miRNAs involved in AKI progression or protection against renal injury in 32 articles; we found five natural products can improve AKI by regulating miRNA expression, which will potentially provide a reference for clinical treatment. Natural products might represent a potentially innovative therapeutic strategy; in the same time, miRNAs will shed new light on AKI risk biomarkers and therapeutic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of high‐performance cathode materials for next‐generation lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) is urgently needed. Among the potential cathode candidates, ternary layer oxide LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (LNCM) has attracted considerable attention due to its high voltage discharge, large theoretical specific capacity, stable chemical structure and low cost. However, Li+/Ni2+ cation mixing and low conductivity have resulted in poor long‐term cyclability, voltage drop and capacity degradation during high‐rate charging. To address these issues, a sol‐gel technique together with an annealing treatment was used to prepare LNCM with well‐defined structure and good morphology. The material obtained by heating the LNCM precursor at 850 °C for 12 h (LNCM‐850/12) exhibited an initial discharge specific capacity of 217.9 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and maintained a high reversible capacity of 116.1 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles. The LNCM‐850/12 electrode also demonstrated superior rate capacity and exceptional cycling stability due to its well‐defined structure, low Li+/Ni2+ cation mixing and good morphology. These characteristics improve the electrical/ionic conductivity, reduce the charge transfer resistance and shorten the Li+ diffusion distance, ultimately accelerating the Li+ insertion and extraction. Overall, the careful control of calcination time in LNCM synthesis provides valuable insights for the development of advanced cathodes for LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision Avoidance (DA) strategies allow people to forego or abandon effortful deliberation by postponing, bypassing, or delegating a decision. DA is thought to reduce regret, primarily by allowing decision makers to evade personal responsibility for potential negative outcomes. We tested this relation between DA and post-decision regret in a multilevel meta-analysis of 59 effect estimates coming from 13 papers. Five DA strategies were considered: status quo preservation, action omission, inaction inertia, choice delegation and choice deferral. Across all effects and DA strategies, there was a non-significant trend toward DA reducing regret (Hedges' g = -0.23, p = 0.063). When assessing individual strategies, we found that only status quo preservation reduced regret reliably (Hedges' g = -0.45, p = 0.006). The relationship between DA and regret was unclear for the other DA strategies. We tested a number of moderators for the effect. Only 'previous experience' (i.e., the outcome of a previous decision) influenced the relation between DA and regret reliably. That is, if participants choose the DA option when the same choice previously led to a negative outcome, regret is actually enhanced. Overall, there is clear evidence that status quo preservation can reduce regret, but it is currently unclear whether the same holds for other DA strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root developmental plasticity is crucial for plants to adapt to a changing soil environment, where nutrients and abiotic stress factors are distributed heterogeneously. How plant roots sense and avoid heterogeneous abiotic stress in soil remains unclear. Here, we show that, in response to asymmetric stress of heavy metals (cadmium, copper, or lead) and salt, rice roots rapidly proliferate lateral roots (LRs) in the stress-free area, thereby remodeling root architecture to avoid localized stress. Imaging and quantitative analyses of reactive oxygen species (ROS) showed that asymmetric stress induces a ROS burst in the tips of the exposed roots and simultaneously triggers rapid systemic ROS signaling to the unexposed roots. Addition of a ROS scavenger to either the stressed or stress-free area abolished systemic ROS signaling and LR proliferation induced by asymmetric stress. Asymmetric stress also enhanced cytosolic calcium (Ca2+) signaling; blocking Ca2+signaling inhibited systemic ROS propagation and LR branching in the stress-free area. We identified two plasma-membrane-localized respiratory burst oxidase homologs, OsRBOHA and OsRBOHI, as key players in systemic ROS signaling under asymmetric stress. Expression of OsRBOHA and OsRBOHI in roots was upregulated by Cd stress, and knockout of either gene reduced systemic ROS signaling and LR proliferation under asymmetric stress. Furthermore, we demonstrated that auxin signaling and cell wall remodeling act downstream of the systemic ROS signaling to promote LR development. Collectively, our study reveals an RBOH-ROS-auxin signaling cascade that enables rice roots to avoid localized stress of heavy metals and salt and provides new insight into root system plasticity in heterogenous soil. Abiotic stressors, such as heavy metals and salt, are distributed heterogeneously in soil. How plant roots respond to unevenly distributed stressors remains unclear. In this study, we identified an RBOH-ROS-auxin signaling cascade that enables rice roots to avoid localized heavy metals and salt through remodeling of the root system architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Probiotics are not only a food supplement, but they have shown great potential in their nutritional, health and therapeutic effects. To maximize the beneficial effects of probiotics, it is commonly achieved by adding prebiotics. Prebiotics primarily comprise indigestible carbohydrates, specific peptides, proteins, and lipids, with oligosaccharides being the most extensively studied prebiotics. However, these rapidly fermenting oligosaccharides have many drawbacks and can cause diarrhea and flatulence in the body. Hence, the exploration of new prebiotic is of great interest. Besides oligosaccharides, protein hydrolysates have been demonstrated to enhance the expression of beneficial properties of probiotics. Consequently, this paper outlines the mechanism underlying the action of protein hydrolysates on probiotics, as well as the advantageous impacts of proteins hydrolysates derived from various food sources on probiotics. In addition, this paper also reviews the currently reported biological activities of protein hydrolysates. The aim is a theoretical basis for the development and implementation of novel prebiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to more effectively monitor and interfere with enemy signals, it is particularly important to accurately and efficiently identify the intercepted signals and estimate their parameters in the increasingly complex electromagnetic environment. Therefore, in non-cooperative situations, it is of great practical significance to study how to accurately detect direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signals in real time and estimate their parameters. The traditional time-delay correlation algorithm encounters the challenges such as peak energy leakage and false peak interference. As an alternative, this paper introduces a Pseudo-Noise (PN) code period estimation method utilizing a one-dimensional (1D) convolutional neural network based on the residual network (CNN-ResNet). This method transforms the problem of spread spectrum code period estimation into a multi-classification problem of spread spectrum code length estimation. Firstly, the In-phase/Quadrature(I/Q) two-way of the received DSSS signals is directly input into the CNN-ResNet model, which will automatically learn the characteristics of the DSSS signal with different PN code lengths and then estimate the PN code length. Simulation experiments are conducted using a data set with DSSS signals ranging from −20 to 10 dB in terms of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Upon training and verifying the model using BPSK modulation, it is then put to the test with QPSK-modulated signals, and the estimation performance was analyzed through metrics such as loss function, accuracy rate, recall rate, and confusion matrix. The results demonstrate that the 1D CNN-ResNet proposed in this paper is capable of effectively estimating the PN code period of the non-cooperative DSSS signal, exhibiting robust generalization abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the wide application of direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signals, the comprehensive performance of DSSS communication systems has been continuously improved, making the electronic reconnaissance link in communication countermeasures more difficult. Electronic reconnaissance technology, as the fundamental means of modern electronic warfare, mainly includes signal detection, recognition, and parameter estimation. At present, research on DSSS detection algorithms is mostly based on the correlation characteristics of DSSS signals, and autocorrelation algorithm is the most mature and widely used method in practical engineering. With the continuous development of deep learning, deep-learning-based methods have gradually been introduced to replace traditional algorithms in the field of signal processing. This paper proposes a spread spectrum signal detection method based on convolutional neural network (CNN). Through experimental analysis, the detection performance of the CNN model proposed in this paper on DSSS signals in various situations has been compared and analyzed with traditional autocorrelation detection methods for different signal-to-noise ratios. The experiments verified the estimation performance of the model in this paper under different signal-to-noise ratios, different spreading code lengths, different spreading code types, and different modulation methods and compared it with the autocorrelation detection algorithm. It was found that the detection performance of the model in this paper was higher than that of the autocorrelation detection method, and the overall performance was improved by 4 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is puzzling that a sizeable percentage of people refuse to get vaccinated against COVID‐19. This study aimed to examine social psychological factors influencing their vaccine hesitancy. This longitudinal study traced a cohort of 2663 individuals in 25 countries from the time before COVID‐19 vaccines became available (March 2020) to July 2021, when vaccination was widely available. Multilevel logistic regressions were used to examine determinants of actual COVID‐19 vaccination behavior by July 2021, with country‐level intercept as random effect. Of the 2663 participants, 2186 (82.1%) had been vaccinated by July 2021. Participants' attitude toward COVID‐19 vaccines was the strongest predictor of both vaccination intention and subsequent vaccination behavior (p <.001). Perceived risk of getting infected and perceived personal disturbance of infection were also associated with higher likelihood of getting vaccinated (p <.001). However, religiosity, right‐wing political orientation, conspiracy beliefs, and low trust in government regarding COVID‐19 were negative predictors of vaccination intention and behavior (p <.05). Our findings highlight the importance of attitude toward COVID‐19 vaccines and also suggest that certain life‐long held convictions that predate the pandemic make people distrustful of their government and likely to accept conspiracy beliefs and therefore less likely to adopt the vaccination behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

F.-H. Lin (1989) studied minimal graphs of the Dirichlet problem in the hyperbolic space and proved that any such minimal graph has the same global regularity as the boundary if the dimension of the minimal graph is even and that there is an obstacle to the higher regularity if the dimension is odd. We discuss the odd-dimensional case and study how the higher regularity is obstructed. We introduce the logarithmic distance to the boundary as an additional independent self-variable and establish concise boundary regularity for the minimal graph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A watershed ecosystem is a compound ecosystem composed of land and rivers, and its health is closely related to the sustainable development of the region it is located in. The Yihe River Basin (YRB) in central China's Henan province, which is located in the north–south transition zone and has a mountain–hill–plain landscape from the upstream to the downstream, is adopted as the research area in this study. A watershed ecosystem health assessment system is constructed based on an ecosystem vigor–organization–resilience–service supply and demand harmony (EVORSH) framework and utilized to assess the ecosystem health in the YRB by taking a 3 km × 3 km grid as the evaluation unit. Thirteen factors are selected from natural and human social factors, and from them, the factors that influence watershed ecosystem health through the generation of spatial heterogeneity are identified using the geographical detector model. The following findings are obtained. (1) The mean value of ecosystem health levels in the YRB is 0.65 and at the good level. The ecosystem health has considerable spatial heterogeneity. The areas with high–high concentration are distributed in the mountains in the upper reaches of the YRB, and the areas with low–low concentration are mainly distributed in the plain areas in the middle reaches of the YRB. (2) The geographical detector result shows that 9 of 13 factors have a considerable impact on the spatial distribution of the YRB's ecosystem health. The interaction between two factors is enhanced synergically. The decisive power of population density, rainfall, and potential evapotranspiration are more than 0.5, so these three are the main factors that influence the distribution of ecosystem health in the YRB. (3) The EVORSH framework is suitable for the measurement of ecosystem health in the YRB. The evaluation result is consistent with the actual situation in the YRB. A 3 km × 3 km grid is used as the basic research unit, and it can more accurately and scientifically express the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem health in the YRB compared with the macro evaluation unit. This study can provide a scientific basis for ecological protection and high-quality development planning in the YRB. By integrating multi-dimensional data and methods, the EVORSH framework proposed in this study can quickly and scientifically assess the status of ecosystem health, identify the influencing factors of spatial heterogeneity, and could be applied in other similar watersheds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'Kung Fu' is used internationally more often than its official name 'Wushu' to depict the Chinese martial arts. Yet the latter term has been promoted by the Chinese government for nearly 50 years and also used by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) during the past three decades. This paper examines the distinction in the meaning between both terms through Stuart Hall's Representation Theory, based on 20 in-depth interviews with international expert witnesses. Findings suggest that the term 'Kung Fu' is mostly associated with traditional Chinese martial arts, Kung Fu cinema, Oriental imagination, and fighting practicability. For expert witnesses, Kung Fu represents an identity of traditional Chinese martial arts and a way to experience 'Chineseness'. By contrast, although the IWUF has made efforts to package Wushu as the term representing Chinese martial arts, 'Wushu' is regarded as a competitive sport, shaped significantly by IWUF's Olympic ambition. Also, three key aspects regarding the representation of the Chinese martial arts in relation to both terms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranyl coordination polymers have caught more and more attention due to their rich topological structures and potential practical applications in nuclear waste processing and management. In this work, four novel uranyl coordination polymers have been successfully synthesized by the utilization of a semirigid ligand and uranyl nitrate under hydrothermal reactions through the introducing of different kinds of auxiliary ligands (NaCl, oxalate acid, succinic acid). Therein, the powder X-ray diffraction, Infrared spectroscopy and luminescence properties of compounds 3 and 4 are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants take up a wide range of trace metals/metalloids (hereinafter referred to as trace metals) from the soil, some of which are essential but become toxic at high concentrations (e.g., Cu, Zn, Ni, Co), while others are non‐essential and toxic even at relatively low concentrations (e.g., As, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Hg). Soil contamination of trace metals is an increasing problem worldwide due to intensifying human activities. Trace metal contamination can cause toxicity and growth inhibition in plants, as well as accumulation in the edible parts to levels that threatens food safety and human health. Understanding the mechanisms of trace metal toxicity and how plants respond to trace metal stress is important for improving plant growth and food safety in contaminated soils. The accumulation of excess trace metals in plants can cause oxidative stress, genotoxicity, programmed cell death, and disturbance in multiple physiological processes. Plants have evolved various strategies to detoxify trace metals through cell‐wall binding, complexation, vacuolar sequestration, efflux, and translocation. Multiple signal transduction pathways and regulatory responses are involved in plants challenged with trace metal stresses. In this review, we discuss the recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in trace metal toxicity, detoxification, and regulation, as well as strategies to enhance plant resistance to trace metal stresses and reduce toxic metal accumulation in food crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government performance evaluation in the US dates back to the early twentieth century, in which the performance evaluation of the US federal government S&T budget also follows its pattern and experiences historical evolution. Looking into the historical trajectory of performance evaluation of the US federal government S&T budget, this study divides its transformation into 3 phases, namely exploration stage, formation stage, and development stage. The study first analyzes the major traits and evaluation methods of each individual stage, and further gives out a general conclusion of the whole development trajectory based on a comprehensive analysis. Finally, based on the current status quo, the study puts forward some implications towards the performance evaluation of national S&T budget in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Se decorated CdS nanowires with few-layer MoSe 2 nanosheets are fabricated for efficient H 2 production. The piezoelectric field of MoSe 2 nanosheets promotes the separation of free charges. Compared with the photocatalysis, the piezo-photocatalysis yields a superior H 2 evolution rate of 59.1 mmol/h g−1 (124.9% that of photocatalysis). [Display omitted] The build-in electric field by the construction of heterojunction is one of the most promising strategies to suppress the recombination of photogenerated carriers. Here, we reported a piezo-photocatalytic system composed of Se-decorated CdS nanowires and few-layered edge-on MoSe 2 nanosheets for efficient H 2 generation by two-pot hydrothermal synthesis. The few-layered MoSe 2 exposed abundant edge sites for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The activity of 20-MoSe 2 /CdS 0.95 Se 0.05 (20-MS/CSS, with 20 mol% of MoSe 2 loading) nanocomposite casted a remarkable photocatalytic HER performance, with a rate of 47.3 mmol h−1 g−1. Moreover, MoSe 2 nanosheets deformed to generate the piezoelectric polarization field under magnetic stirring, which rendered efficient separation of photogenerated carriers, resulting in a piezo-photocatalytic synergistic effect. As a result, the HER of 20-MS/CSS at 900 rpm for piezo-photocatalysis was 59.1 mmol h−1 g−1, which was 1.25 times that of 20-MS/CSS for photocatalysis. Meanwhile, the photoelectrochemical measurements further visualized the piezo-photoelectric synergy. This study exposes a new way for utilizing mechanical energy to improve photocatalytic performance, and achieving high piezo-photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innate social investigation behaviors are critical for animal survival and are regulated by both neural circuits and neuroendocrine factors. Our understanding of how neuropeptides regulate social interest, however, is incomplete at the current stage. In this study, we identified the expression of secretin (SCT) in a subpopulation of excitatory neurons in the basolateral amygdala. With distinct molecular and physiological features, BLASCT+ cells projected to the medial prefrontal cortex and were necessary and sufficient for promoting social investigation behaviors, whilst other basolateral amygdala neurons were anxiogenic and antagonized social behaviors. Moreover, the exogenous application of secretin effectively promoted social interest in both healthy and autism spectrum disorder model mice. These results collectively demonstrate a previously unrecognized group of amygdala neurons for mediating social behaviors and suggest promising strategies for social deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the unique internal structures with inherent anisotropy in biological tissues and their dynamic scattering characteristic, a simple and easy-to-fabricate optical encryption technique using structural uncorrelated characteristics of biological tissues was proposed. It can generate unique keys with the random characteristics of the tissues and transforms multiple image plaintexts into speckle-like ciphertexts. The optical encryptions of grayscale images are demonstrated utilizing the uncorrelated characteristics of shallot and chicken breast respectively. Ciphertext-only-attack is resisted by phase retrieval due to the inherent dynamic randomness of biological tissues and the complexity of the plaintexts. Besides, once the unique PSF keys is recorded by the optical setup, the encryption can be accomplished, either online using the setup, or offline through performing convolutions on the plaintexts with pre-recorded uncorrelated PSFs to yield ciphertexts. Therefore, it is very secure, simple, and flexible to guarantee the promising potentials for information encryption of grayscale images and/or videos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effective implementation of government policies and measures for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires compliance from the public. This study aimed to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of trust in government regarding COVID-19 control with the adoption of recommended health behaviours and prosocial behaviours, and potential determinants of trust in government during the pandemic. Methods: This study analysed data from the PsyCorona Survey, an international project on COVID-19 that included 23 733 participants from 23 countries (representative in age and gender distributions by country) at baseline survey and 7785 participants who also completed follow-up surveys. Specification curve analysis was used to examine concurrent associations between trust in government and self-reported behaviours. We further used structural equation model to explore potential determinants of trust in government. Multilevel linear regressions were used to examine associations between baseline trust and longitudinal behavioural changes. Results: Higher trust in government regarding COVID-19 control was significantly associated with higher adoption of health behaviours (handwashing, avoiding crowded space, self-quarantine) and prosocial behaviours in specification curve analyses (median standardised β = 0.173 and 0.229, p < 0.001). Government perceived as well organised, disseminating clear messages and knowledge on COVID-19, and perceived fairness were positively associated with trust in government (standardised β = 0.358, 0.230, 0.056, and 0.249, p < 0.01). Higher trust at baseline survey was significantly associated with lower rate of decline in health behaviours over time (p for interaction = 0.001). Conclusions: These results highlighted the importance of trust in government in the control of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convergence of sensing, computing, communication and control elements drives the traditional point-to-point control systems towards networked control systems. Sampled-data control systems, which focus on the significant interplay between sampling and control, play a critical role in modern networked control systems, including intelligent transportation systems, smart grids, and advanced manufacturing systems. This paper presents a survey of methods and trends in non-uniform sampled-data control systems, where sampling and control actions are performed in an aperiodic manner. First, some fundamental issues of both continuous- and discrete-time sampled-data control systems are discussed. Next, main methods in both continuous-time and discrete-time domains are elaborated, respectively. Then, event-triggered sampling, under which sampling is executed only when the system needs attention, is examined. Typical triggering mechanisms in the existing literature are reviewed and classified into four types according to different threshold functions. Furthermore, two applications in terms of automated vehicle platoons and islanded microgrids are provided to demonstrate that sampled-data control methods are capable to support relevant practical application scenarios. Finally, several challenging issues are envisioned to direct future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: More than 19% of patients undergoing knee arthroscopies suffers from articular cartilage defects. The chondral or osteochondral lesion has negative impacts on the knee joints function and the life quality of patients. However, the treatment remains challenging as hyaline cartilage is not renewable. The purpose of this study was to systematically analyze the data of randomized controlled trials for comparing the postoperative outcomes between osteochondral autologous transplantation (OAT) and microfracture (MF) procedure. We hypothesized that the outcomes were better in OAT than MF procedure. Materials and methods: A systematic literature search of the EMBASE, Pubmed, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The outcome measures include: the rate of excellent or good results, the rate of return to sports, the failure rate, osteoarthritis rate, International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) score, Lysholm Knee Score, and Tegner scale. The statistical analysis was completed using Review Manager (RevMan, version 5.3) software. Results: The systematic search identified 7 studies with a total of 346 patients. The pooled result showed significant differences between the two groups in the rate of return to sports and failure. The following outcome scores showed significant improvement (pre- vs postoperatively): Lysholm score (p = 0.02), Tegner scale (p < 0.00001), and ICRS score (p < 0.00001). The differences were not significant in the excellent or good results and the rate of osteoarthritis. Conclusion: The patients in OAT group may return to play quicker, even return to pre-injury level of activity compared to the MF group. OAT is better than MF procedure in accordance with Lysholm score, Tegner score, ICRS score, and the rate of failure. However, few studies have reported long-term outcomes and there has no uniform criteria for safe return to sports. Further research is needed. Level of Evidence: Level II, meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The cut-off value for PTX-3 demonstrated high sensitivity for screening active TAK patients. • The cut-off value for PTX-3 demonstrated high sensitivity/specificity for monitoring active patients from TAK patients. • Compared with traditional parameters (CRP and ESR), the cut-off and RI-derived values of PTX-3 demonstrated higher TAK diagnostic performance. To establish reference intervals (RIs) for PTX-3 and to validate the performance of these RIs in a population including healthy volunteers and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) patients. Plasma PTX-3 levels were determined in 166 healthy volunteers and 63 TAK patients. RIs were established in healthy volunteers according to guidelines from the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI, C28-A3). Global assessment was used to quantitatively diagnose active/non-active TAK patients. Screening and monitoring performances were validated by identifying active TAK patients from the whole population or diagnosed TAK patients. The PTX-3 RI was calculated to be 0.87–2.78 ng/mL. For screening purposes, 1.55 ng/mL had a high sensitivity of 90.32 % and the RI upper limit (2.78 ng/mL) had a high specificity of 97.94 %. For monitoring purposes, the sensitivity/specificity of the cut-off value (1.55 ng/mL) and RI median were 90.32 %/90.63 % and 80.85 %/90.63 %, respectively. These screening and monitoring performances of PTX-3 were superior to those of C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The distribution of serum PTX-3 levels was stable and uniform across the population. The screening and monitoring performances of the cut-off value and RI-derived values of PTX-3 were higher than CRP and ESR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An age-structured deterministic model with multiple infections that accounts for decaying maternal antibody, waning infection-acquired and vaccine-induced immunity is formulated to study the transmission dynamics of pertussis and the effect of childhood DTaP and adolescent Tdap vaccines. The expression of the reproduction number ℛ is derived for the ODE model in the case of proportionate mixing. Estimated age-dependent transmission probability and empirical contact data are used in the simulation of the ODE model from which the basic reproduction number ℛ 0 is estimated to be around 15. The combination of DTaP and Tdap vaccines fails to bring ℛ 0 under one and thus pertussis remains endemic despite sustained high coverage of vaccination. While both DTaP and Tdap vaccines have remarkable effect on reducing the incidences of the age groups being directly vaccinated, the adolescent booster dose Tdap is also found to provide some indirect protection for infants though very limited (< 5 % incidence reduction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most hydrazone compounds prefer the azine tautomeric states. However, oxygen-/sulfur-substituted compounds prefer hydrazone tautomers. In this study, density functional theory at M062X level with the basis set of 6–311 + + g(2d, 2p), with MP2/cc-pVTZ for reference, was used to investigate the different tautomeric mechanisms between hydrazone and azine forms with oxygen, sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen as negative centers. The energetic stabilities are in the order as oxygen- < sulfur- < imine- < amidino- < carbene-substituted hydrazones with respect to their azine tautomeric structures. Resonance of the molecular structures might be the geometrical basis for their energy stabilities and were estimated based on HOMED indices. Further, the increased proton affinities in the trend as hydroxyl < sulfhydryl < imine terminal groups account for their increasing azine preferences. Proton release was examined for the reversible equilibrium from azine to hydrazone by calculating the transition energy barrier of H transfer. It is favorable to form hydrazone tautomers for oxygen and sulfur containing groups, while it is less favorable for amino-substituted ones. Azine form is the most stable tautomer for methyl substituted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exosomes are well-known key mediators of intercellular communication and contribute to various physiological and pathological processes. Their biogenesis involves four key steps, including cargo sorting, MVB formation and maturation, transport of MVBs, and MVB fusion with the plasma membrane. Each process is modulated through the competition or coordination of multiple mechanisms, whereby diverse repertoires of molecular cargos are sorted into distinct subpopulations of exosomes, resulting in the high heterogeneity of exosomes. Intriguingly, cancer cells exploit various strategies, such as aberrant gene expression, posttranslational modifications, and altered signaling pathways, to regulate the biogenesis, composition, and eventually functions of exosomes to promote cancer progression. Therefore, exosome biogenesis-targeted therapy is being actively explored. In this review, we systematically summarize recent progress in understanding the machinery of exosome biogenesis and how it is regulated in the context of cancer. In particular, we highlight pharmacological targeting of exosome biogenesis as a promising cancer therapeutic strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Zoonoses are public health threats that cause severe damage worldwide. Zoonoses constitute a key indicator of One Health (OH) and the OH approach is being applied for zoonosis control programmes of zoonotic diseases. In a very recent study, we developed an evaluation system for OH performance through the global OH index (GOHI). This study applied the GOHI to evaluate OH performance for zoonoses in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: The framework for the OH index on zoonoses (OHIZ) was constructed including five indicators, 15 subindicators and 28 datasets. Publicly available data were referenced to generate the OHIZ database which included both qualitative and quantitative indicators for all sub-Sahara African countries (n = 48). The GOHI algorithm was used to estimate scores for OHIZ. Indicator weights were calculated by adopting the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. Results: Overall, five indicators associated with weights were generated as follows: source of infection (23.70%), route of transmission (25.31%), targeted population (19.09%), capacity building (16.77%), and outcomes/case studies (15.13%). Following the indicators, a total of 37 sub-Sahara African countries aligned with OHIZ validation, while 11 territories were excluded for unfit or missing data. The OHIZ average score of sub-Saharan Africa was estimated at 53.67/100. The highest score was 71.99 from South Africa, while the lowest score was 40.51 from Benin. It is also worth mentioning that Sub-Sahara African countries had high performance in many subindicators associated with zoonoses, e.g., surveillance and response, vector and reservoir interventions, and natural protected areas, which suggests that this region had a certain capacity in control and prevention or responses to zoonotic events. Conclusions: This study reveals that it is possible to perform OH evaluation for zoonoses in sub-Saharan Africa by OHIZ. Findings from this study provide preliminary research information in advancing knowledge of the evidenced risks to strengthen strategies for effective control of zoonoses and to support the prevention of zoonotic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Soil salinity is a significant threat to global agriculture. Understanding salt exclusion mechanisms in halophyte species may be instrumental in improving salt tolerance in crops. Puccinellia tenuiflora is a typical salt‐excluding halophytic grass often found in potassium‐deprived saline soils. Our previous work showed that P. tenuiflora possesses stronger selectivity for K+ than for Na+; however, the mechanistic basis of this phenomenon remained elusive. Here, P. tenuiflora PutHKT1;5 was cloned and the functions of PutHKT1;5 and PutSOS1 were characterized using heterologous expression systems. Yeast assays showed that PutHKT1;5 possessed Na+ transporting capacity and was highly selective for Na+ over K+. PutSOS1 was located at the plasma membrane and operated as a Na+/K+ exchanger, with much stronger Na+ extrusion capacity than its homolog from Arabidopsis. PutHKT2;1 mediated high‐affinity K+ and Na+ uptake and its expression levels were upregulated by mild salinity and K+ deprivation. Salinity‐induced changes of root PutHKT1;5 and PutHKT1;4 transcript levels matched the expression pattern of root PutSOS1, which was consistent with root Na+ efflux. The transcript levels of root PutHKT2;1 and PutAKT1 were downregulated by salinity. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the functional activity of PutHKT1;5 and PutSOS1 in P. tenuiflora roots is fine‐tuned under saline conditions as well as by operation of other ion transporters/channel (PutHKT1;4, PutHKT2;1, and PutAKT1). This leads to the coordination of radial Na+ and K+ transport processes, their loading to the xylem, or Na+ retrieval and extrusion under conditions of mild salinity and/or K+ deprivation. Significance Statement: P. tenuiflora is considered an important model halophyte due to its strong salt tolerance and close genetic relationship with cereals. Here, We aimed to elucidate the coordinated physiological and molecular mechanism for P. tenuiflora adapt to severe salinity and K+ starvation conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classification of architectural style for Chinese traditional settlements (CTSs) has become a crucial task for developing and preserving settlements. Traditionally, the classification of CTSs primarily relies on manual work, which is inefficient and time consuming. Inspired by the tremendous success of deep learning (DL), some recent studies attempted to apply DL networks such as convolution neural networks (CNNs) to achieve automated classification of the architecture styles. However, these studies suffer overfitting problems of the CNNs, leading to inferior classification performance. Moreover, most of the studies apply the CNNs as a black box providing limited interpretability. To address these limitations, a new DL classification framework is proposed in this study to overcome the overfitting problem by transfer learning and learning-based data augmentation technique (i.e., AutoAugment). Furthermore, we also employ class activation map (CAM) visualization technique to help understand how the CNN classifiers work to abstract patterns from the input. Specifically, due to a lack of architectural style datasets for the CTSs, a new annotated dataset is first established with six representative classes. Second, several representative CNNs are leveraged to benchmark the new dataset. Third, to address the overfitting problem of the CNNs, a new DL framework is proposed which combines transfer learning and AutoAugment to improve the classification performance. Extensive experiments are conducted on the new dataset to demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework. The proposed framework achieves much better performance than baselines, greatly mitigating the overfitting problem. Additionally, the CAM visualization technique is harnessed to explain what and how the CNN classifiers implicitly learn for recognizing a specified architectural style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant defense hormone, salicylic acid (SA), plays essential roles in immunity and systemic acquired resistance. Salicylic acid induced by the pathogen is perceived by the receptor nonexpressor of pathogenesis‐related genes 1 (NPR1), which is recruited by TGA transcription factors to induce the expression of pathogenesis‐related (PR) genes. However, the mechanism by which post‐translational modifications affect TGA's transcriptional activity by salicylic acid signaling/pathogen infection is not well‐established. Here, we report that the loss‐of‐function mutant of brassinosteroid insensitive2 (BIN2) and its homologs, bin2‐3 bil1 bil2, causes impaired pathogen resistance and insensitivity to SA‐induced PR gene expression, whereas the gain‐of‐function mutant, bin2‐1, exhibited enhanced SA signaling and immunity against the pathogen. Our results demonstrate that salicylic acid activates BIN2 kinase, which in turn phosphorylates TGA3 at Ser33 to enhance TGA3 DNA binding ability and NPR1–TGA3 complex formation, leading to the activation of PR gene expression. These findings implicate BIN2 as a new component of salicylic acid signaling, functioning as a key node in balancing brassinosteroid‐mediated plant growth and SA‐induced immunity. Synopsis: How pathogen‐induced salicylic acid (SA)‐mediated expression of pathogenesis‐related (PR) genes is integrated into more long‐term signals is incompletely understood. Here, the brassinosteroid signaling kinase BIN2 is found involved in SA signaling via TGA transcription factor phosphorylation.BIN2 is an indispensable component of SA signaling;BIN2 interacts with and phosphorylates TGA3;SA‐induced phosphorylation of TGA3 by BIN2 promotes the interaction between TGA3 and NPR1, which enhances the transcriptional activity of TGA3;SA‐induced TGA3 phosphorylation positively regulates plant immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few-layered MoSe 2 nanosheets were grown vertically on TiO 2 nanorods (TNr) to synthesis a direct Z-scheme heterojunction, exhibiting efficient piezocatalytic and piezo-photocatalytic performance. Moreover, a piezo-photoelectric synergistic effect of nanocomposites was also observed by current outputs. Our results highlight significance in the design of heterojunction for capturing fluid mechanical energy and improving piezo-photocatalytic synergistic effect. [Display omitted] Nano-semiconductor materials coupled with piezoelectric effect have received extensive attention due to their wide application in catalysis. In this work, few-layered MoSe 2 nanosheets were grown vertically on TiO 2 nanorods (TNr) to synthesize a direct Z-scheme heterojunction, exhibiting efficient piezocatalytic and piezo-photocatalytic performance. The MoSe 2 /TNr heterostructure exhibited superior piezoelectric degradation efficiency, successfully removing over 98% of RhB within 360 s under continuous magnetic stirring in dark. Compared with piezocatalysis, the piezo-photocatalytic system possessed higher degradation efficiency and cycle stability. Furthermore, a piezo-photoelectric synergistic effect of nanocomposites was observed by current outputs. Under stirring conditions, the current density of depleted MoSe 2 /TNr and MoSe 2 nanosheets were respectively 6.3 μA/cm2 and 5.5 μA/cm2. When light and stirring were applied, the MoSe 2 /TNr current density increased twice to 13.2 μA/cm2, while the MoSe 2 nanosheets didn't exhibit improvement. Through the direct Z-scheme heterojunction of MoSe 2 /TNr, photoexcitation and piezoelectric polarization work together to effectively replenish carriers under light irradiation, and then rapidly separate free charges through piezopotential. This work broadens the application prospects of piezocatalysis and piezo-photocatalysis in renewable energy harvesting and water purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teleost mucosal immune system consists mainly of the skin, gills and gut, which play crucial roles in local immune responses against invading organisms. Immunoglobulins are essential molecules in adaptive immunity that perform crucial biological functions. In our study, a mucosal immunity model was constructed in Epinephelus coioides groupers after Cryptocaryon irritans infection, according to previous experience. Total IgM and IgT in the groupers increased in the serum and mucus in the immune group, whereas only pathogen-specific IgM were detected existence. More critically, pathogen-specific IgM was detected in the head kidney, gill and skin supernatants, thus suggesting that the systematic immune and mucosal immune system secreted immunoglobulins. Furthermore, an early response in the skin was observed, on the basis of the detection of pathogen-specific IgM in the skin supernatant. In conclusion, this research characterized the grouper IgM and IgT in mucosal immune responses to pathogens in the gills and skin, thus providing a theoretical basis for future studies on vaccines against C. irritans. • A mucosal immune model was constructed in Epinephelus coioides after Cryptocaryon irritans infection. • Only pathogen-specific IgM was detected in the serum and mucus of multiply immunized groupers. • Mucosal tissues (gill and skin) secreted pathogen-specific IgM independently after C. irritans infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the potential functions of nonconserved residues on the outer side of a-helices and systematically optimizing them are pivotal for their application in protein engineering. Based on the evolutionary structural conservation analysis of GH5_5 cellulases, a practical molecular improvement strategy was developed. Highly variable sites on the outer side of the a-helices of the GH5_5 cellulase from Aspergillus niger (AnCel5A) were screened, and 14 out of the 34 highly variable sites were confirmed to exert a positive effect on the activity. After the modular combination of the positive mutations, the catalytic efficiency of the mutants was further improved. By using CMC-Na as the substrate, the catalytic efficiency and specific activity of variant AnCel5A_N193A/T300P/D307P were approximately 2.0-fold that of AnCel5A (227 6 21 versus 451 6 43 ml/s/mg and 1,726 6 19 versus 3,472 6 42 U/mg, respectively). The half-life (t1/2) of variant AnCel5A_N193A/T300P/D307P at 75°C was 2.36 times that of AnCel5A. The role of these sites was successfully validated in other GH5_5 cellulases. Computational analyses revealed that the flexibility of the loop 6- loop 7-loop 8 region was responsible for the increased catalytic performance. This work not only illustrated the important role of rapidly evolving positions on the outer side of the a-helices of GH5_5 cellulases but also revealed new insights into engineering the proteins that nature left as clues for us to find. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important means of communication, sports public opinion has been paid more and more attention by the country. This article will focus on the emergency events of sports events as the main object and research and analysis of the communication function and law in the public opinion of sports events and analyzes the characteristics of public opinion communication. This paper holds that the media play the "should be" roles in different periods, such as network public opinion monitoring and early warning, public opinion information processing and interpretation, consensus builder highlighting the mainstream, and introspection of public opinion events, and there is a media role cycle in the secondary public opinion period. Spreading law of public opinion in sports events in China: trigger-conduction-outbreak mechanism. At present, the diversified interactive mode of sports events in China makes the communication environment of public opinion in sports events more and more three-dimensional and multidimensional, and it is also convenient for us to make better use of the current regulation means of public opinion in sports events. Sports network public opinion can easily go to "post-truth." In order to strengthen the monitoring of sports public opinion and improve the ability to respond to network public opinion, using interdisciplinary thinking, this paper proposes a network public opinion guidance strategy for sports events. The experiment is aimed at the disadvantage that the trend of sports public opinion analysis and tracking is not clear. The optimization method is proposed, and the accuracy is improved by 87.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adaptive rhythmic gymnastics (ARG) course has been specially designed for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study is to discover the influence of the course on the joint attention and emotional problems of ASD children. This study adopted A-B-A cross-subject multibaseline design in a single case research design. The joint attention behaviour of two 6-year-old ASD children was examined. The experiment process was recorded and coded, and the results were analysed. The results illustrated the following: (1) ARG is effective in promoting the development of joint attention in ASD children, but it has a better effect on increasing responding joint attention, and (2) to a certain extent, ARG can boost the classroom participation of ASD children and improve their emotional problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the processing of rhythmic gymnastics resources, there are inefficiency problems such as confusion of teaching resources and lack of individuation. To improve the health access to teaching resource data, such as videos and documents, this study proposes a cloud computing-based personalized rhythmic gymnastics teaching resource classification algorithm for health promotion. First, personalized rhythmic gymnastics teaching resource database is designed based on cloud computing technology, and the teaching resources in the database are preprocessed to obtain a meta-sample set. Then, the characteristics of teaching resources are selected by the information acquisition method, and a vector space model is established to calculate the similarity of teaching resources. Finally, the distance-weighted k-NN method is used to classify the teaching resources for health promotion. The experimental results show that the classification accuracy of the proposed algorithm is high, the recall rate is high, and the F-measure value is high, which verifies the effectiveness of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extinguishing the previously acquired fear is critical for the adaptation of an organism to the ever-changing environment, a process requiring the engagement of GABAA receptors (GABAARs). GABAARs consist of tens of structurally, pharmacologically, and functionally heterogeneous subtypes. However, the specific roles of these subtypes in fear extinction remain largely unexplored. Here, we observed that in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a core region for mood regulation, the extrasynaptically situated, δ-subunit-containing GABAARs [GABAA(δ)Rs], had a permissive role in tuning fear extinction in male mice, an effect sharply contrasting to the established but suppressive role by the whole GABAAR family. First, the fear extinction in individual mice was positively correlated with the level of GABAA(δ)R expression and function in their mPFC. Second, knockdown of GABAA(δ)R in mPFC, specifically in its infralimbic (IL) subregion, sufficed to impair the fear extinction in mice. Third, GABAA(δ)R-deficient mice also showed fear extinction deficits, and re-expressing GABAA(δ)Rs in the IL of these mice rescued the impaired extinction. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated that the permissive effect of GABAA(δ)R was associated with its role in enabling the extinction-evoked plastic regulation of neuronal excitability in IL projection neurons. By contrast, GABAA(δ)R had little influence on the extinction-evoked plasticity of glutamatergic transmission in these cells. Altogether, our findings revealed an unconventional and permissive role of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors in fear extinction through a route relying on nonsynaptic plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exhaust is generated by engine flows through a turbocharger, front exhaust pipe, and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) post-treatment device. The structure of the front exhaust pipe affects the temperature, velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy of exhaust and the Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) of urea water solution (UWS). A high temperature and turbulent kinetic energy in the exhaust will promote the decomposition of UWS, and further accelerate the evaporation and atomization effect of the UWS droplets. Therefore, in order for the exhaust to reach a high temperature and turbulent kinetic energy, a double-layered pipe structure with air insulation was designed. The flow field and the atomization of UWS in the double-layered pipe based on hydroforming processing was investigated through numerical simulation. The thermal insulation simulation was verified by the temperature measurement system and the temperature drops between the double-layered pipe and the volcanic rock-wrapped pipe were also compared. The results indicate that the temperature at the outlet of the designed double-layered pipe was 3.5% higher than that of a single-layered pipe with the same structure, and the velocity at the outlet of the exhaust of the double-layered pipe was 16.1% higher than that of a single-layered pipe. The maximum turbulent kinetic energy in the double-layered pipe was 71 times that of the single-layered pipe. The design is not only conducive to the mixing of UWS and exhaust, but can also improve the atomization performance of UWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]