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The Precise Point Positioning-Real Time Kinematic (PPP-RTK) technique, which provides centimeter-level positioning with instantaneous ambiguity resolution, is considered as a potential tool for intelligent vehicle applications. However, its performance is restricted under complex urban conditions owing to intermittent signal interruptions and poor satellite geometries. Thus, a tightly coupled Multi-Frequency (MF) PPP-RTK/INS (Inertial Navigation System) model was developed with the objective of providing a stable and reliable positioning for the urban vehicle. In this model, the augmentation of INS information, third-frequency observations, precise atmospheric corrections, the fixed Extra-Wide Lane (EWL), and Wide-Lane (WL) ambiguities can be used to enhance the positioning performance of PPP-RTK. We designed urban vehicle experiments under different scenarios to validate the proposed method. The results show that PPP-RTK can be significantly improved for urban vehicle positioning by fusing the MF and INS. In urban areas, the solution availability with a horizontal positioning error within 10 cm was 96.1% for MFPPP-RTK/INS with a fixing percentage of 90.9%. Compared with the dual-frequency PPP-RTK solutions, the fixing percentage and solution availability in the MFPPP-RTK/INS was improved by 9.5% and 8.8%, respectively. Moreover, MFPPP-RTK/INS provides continuous and stable positioning and fast ambiguity recovery in GNSS-challenged environments. The MFPPP-RTK/INS could achieve a fast ambiguity re-fixing within 1 s after continuously crossing obstacles, whereas PPP-RTK could achieve the same in 10 s.

Background and objective: The intrinsic link between the compositional and structural attributes and the biomechanical functionality is evident in intervertebral discs. However, it remains unclear from a biomechanical perspective whether cartilage endplate (CEP) degeneration exacerbates intervertebral disc degeneration. Methods: This study developed and quantitatively validated four biphasic swelling-based finite element models. We then applied four quasi-static tests and simulated daily loading scenarios to examine the effects of CEP degradation. Results: Under free-swelling conditions, short-term responses were prevalent, with CEP performance changes not significantly impacting response proportionality. The creep test results showed the more than 50 % of the strain was attributed to long-term responses. Stress-relaxation testing indicated that all responses increased with disc degeneration, yet CEP degeneration's impact was minimal. Daily load analyses revealed that disc degeneration significantly reduces nucleus pulposus pressure and disc height, whereas CEP degeneration marginally increases nucleus pressure and slightly decreases disc height. Conclusions: Glycosaminoglycan content and CEP permeability are critical to the fluid-dependent viscoelastic response of intervertebral discs. Our findings suggest that CEP contributes to disc degeneration under daily loading conditions.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone. Macrophages are a type of white blood cell that plays a critical role in the immune system and can be found in various tissues, including joints. Research on the relationship between OA and macrophages is essential to understand the mechanisms underlying the development and progression of OA. Objective: This study was performed to analyze the functions of the IRF1-GCN5-SETD2-SMARCC1 axis in osteoarthritis (OA) development. Methods: A single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) dataset, was subjected to a comprehensive analysis aiming to identify potential regulators implicated in the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). In order to investigate the role of IRF1 and SMARCC1, knockdown experiments were conducted in both OA-induced rats and interleukin (IL)-1β-stimulated chondrocytes, followed by the assessment of OA-like symptoms, secretion of inflammatory cytokines, and polarization of macrophages. Furthermore, the study delved into the identification of aberrant epigenetic modifications and functional enzymes responsible for the regulation of SMARCC1 by IRF1. To evaluate the clinical significance of the factors under scrutiny, a cohort comprising 13 patients diagnosed with OA and 7 fracture patients without OA was included in the analysis. Results: IRF1 was found to exert regulatory control over the expression of SMARCC1, thus playing a significant role in the development of osteoarthritis (OA). The knockdown of either IRF1 or SMARCC1 disrupted the pro-inflammatory effects induced by IL-1β in chondrocytes, leading to a mitigation of OA-like symptoms, including inflammatory infiltration, cartilage degradation, and tissue injury, in rat models. Additionally, this intervention resulted in a reduction in the predominance of M1 macrophages both in vitro and in vivo. Significant epigenetic modifications, such as abundant H3K27ac and H3K4me3 marks, were observed near the SMARCC1 promoter and 10 kb upstream region. These modifications were attributed to the recruitment of GCN5 and SETD2, which are functional enzymes responsible for these modifications. Remarkably, the overexpression of either GCN5 or SETD2 restored SMARCC1 expression in rat cartilages or chondrocytes, consequently exacerbating the OA-like symptoms. Conclusion: This research postulates that the transcriptional activity of SMARCC1 can be influenced by IRF1 through the recruitment of GCN5 and SETD2, consequently regulating the H3K27ac and H3K4me3 modifications in close proximity to the SMARCC1 promoter and 10 kb upstream region. These modifications, in turn, facilitate the M1 skewing of macrophages and contribute to the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). The Translational Potential of this Article: The study demonstrated that the regulation of SMARCC1 by IRF1 plays a crucial role in the development of OA. Knocking down either IRF1 or SMARCC1 disrupted the pro-inflammatory effects induced by IL-1β in chondrocytes, leading to a mitigation of OA-like symptoms in rat models. These symptoms included inflammatory infiltration, cartilage degradation, and tissue injury. These findings suggest that targeting the IRF1-SMARCC1 regulatory axis, as well as the associated epigenetic modifications, could potentially be a novel approach in the development of OA therapies, offering new opportunities for disease management and improved patient outcomes.

The degeneration of intervertebral discs is strongly associated with the occurrence of pyroptosis in nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. This pyroptosis is characterized by abnormal metabolism of fatty acids in the degenerative pathological state, which is further exacerbated by the inflammatory microenvironment and degradation of the extracellular matrix. In order to address this issue, we have developed a fibrin hydrogel complex (FG@PEV). This intricate formulation amalgamates the beneficial attributes of platelet extravasation vesicles, contributing to tissue repair and regeneration. Furthermore, this complex showcases exceptional stability, gradual-release capabilities, and a high degree of biocompatibility. In order to substantiate the biological significance of FG@PEV in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), we conducted a comprehensive investigation into its potential mechanism of action through the integration of RNA-seq sequencing and metabolomics analysis. Furthermore, these findings were subsequently validated through experimentation in both in vivo and in vitro models. The experimental results revealed that the FG@PEV intervention possesses the capability to reshape the inflammatory microenvironment within the disc. It also addresses the irregularities in fatty acid metabolism of nucleus pulposus cells, consequently hindering cellular pyroptosis and slowing down disc degeneration through the regulation of extracellular matrix synthesis and degradation. As a result, this injectable gel system represents a promising and innovative therapeutic approach for mitigating disc degeneration.

Abstract Background Maize kernel colour is an important index for evaluating maize quality and value and mainly entails two natural pigments, carotenoids and anthocyanins. To analyse the genetic mechanism of maize kernel colour and mine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to kernel colour traits, an association panel including 244 superior maize inbred lines was used to measure and analyse the six traits related to kernel colour in two environments and was then combined with the about 3 million SNPs covering the whole maize genome in this study. Two models (Q + K, PCA + K) were used for genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) of kernel colour traits. Results We identified 1029QTLs, and two SNPs contained in those QTLs were located in coding regions of Y1 and R1 respectively, two known genes that regulate kernel colour. Fourteen QTLs which contain 19 SNPs were within 200 kb interval of the genes involved in the regulation of kernel colour. 13 high-confidence SNPs repeatedly detected for specific traits, and AA genotypes of rs1_40605594 and rs5_2392770 were the most popular alleles appeared in inbred lines with higher levels. By searching the confident interval of the 13 high-confidence SNPs, a total of 95 candidate genes were identified. Conclusions The genetic loci and candidate genes of maize kernel colour provided in this study will be useful for uncovering the genetic mechanism of maize kernel colour, gene cloning in the future. Furthermore, the identified elite alleles can be used to molecular marker-assisted selection of kernel colour traits.

Abstract Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important food and feed crop worldwide and serves as a a vital source of biological trace elements, which are important breeding targets. In this study, 170 maize materials were used to detect QTNs related to the content of Mn, Fe and Mo in maize grains through two GWAS models, namely MLM_Q + K and MLM_PCA + K. The results identified 87 (Mn), 205 (Fe), and 310 (Mo) QTNs using both methods in the three environments. Considering comprehensive factors such as co-location across multiple environments, strict significance threshold, and phenotypic value in multiple environments, 8 QTNs related to Mn, 10 QTNs related to Fe, and 26 QTNs related to Mo were used to identify 44 superior alleles. Consequently, three cross combinations with higher Mn element, two combinations with higher Fe element, six combinations with higher Mo element, and two combinations with multiple element (Mn/Fe/Mo) were predicted to yield offspring with higher numbers of superior alleles, thereby increasing the likelihood of enriching the corresponding elements. Additionally, the candidate genes identified 100 kb downstream and upstream the QTNs featured function and pathways related to maize elemental transport and accumulation. These results are expected to facilitate the screening and development of high-quality maize varieties enriched with trace elements, establish an important theoretical foundation for molecular marker assisted breeding and contribute to a better understanding of the regulatory network governing trace elements in maize.

In modern animal husbandry, intelligent digital farming has become the key to improve production efficiency. This paper introduces a model based on improved YOLOv8, Cattle Behavior Recognition-YOLO (CBR-YOLO), which aims to accurately identify the behavior of cattle. We not only generate a variety of weather conditions, but also introduce multi-target detection technology to achieve comprehensive monitoring of cattle and their status. We introduce Inner-MPDIoU Loss and we have innovatively designed the Multi-Convolutional Focused Pyramid module to explore and learn in depth the detailed features of cattle in different states. Meanwhile, the Lightweight Multi-Scale Feature Fusion Detection Head module is proposed to take advantage of deep convolution, achieving a lightweight network architecture and effectively reducing redundant information. Experimental results prove that our method achieves an average accuracy of 90.2% with a reduction of 3.9 G floating-point numbers, an increase of 7.4%, significantly better than 12 kinds of SOTA object detection models. By deploying our approach on monitoring computers on farms, we expect to advance the development of automated cattle monitoring systems to improve animal welfare and farm management.

As the sika deer breeding industry flourishes on a large scale, accurately assessing the health of these animals is of paramount importance. Implementing posture recognition through target detection serves as a vital method for monitoring the well-being of sika deer. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of their physical condition, ensuring the industry can maintain high standards of animal welfare and productivity. In order to achieve remote monitoring of sika deer without interfering with the natural behavior of the animals, and to enhance animal welfare, this paper proposes a sika deer individual posture recognition detection algorithm GFI-YOLOv8 based on YOLOv8. Firstly, this paper proposes to add the iAFF iterative attention feature fusion module to the C2f of the backbone network module, replace the original SPPF module with AIFI module, and use the attention mechanism to adjust the feature channel adaptively. This aims to enhance granularity, improve the model’s recognition, and enhance understanding of sika deer behavior in complex scenes. Secondly, a novel convolutional neural network module is introduced to improve the efficiency and accuracy of feature extraction, while preserving the model’s depth and diversity. In addition, a new attention mechanism module is proposed to expand the receptive field and simplify the model. Furthermore, a new pyramid network and an optimized detection head module are presented to improve the recognition and interpretation of sika deer postures in intricate environments. The experimental results demonstrate that the model achieves 91.6% accuracy in recognizing the posture of sika deer, with a 6% improvement in accuracy and a 4.6% increase in mAP50 compared to YOLOv8n. Compared to other models in the YOLO series, such as YOLOv5n, YOLOv7-tiny, YOLOv8n, YOLOv8s, YOLOv9, and YOLOv10, this model exhibits higher accuracy, and improved mAP50 and mAP50-95 values. The overall performance is commendable, meeting the requirements for accurate and rapid identification of the posture of sika deer. This model proves beneficial for the precise and real-time monitoring of sika deer posture in complex breeding environments and under all-weather conditions.

IntroductionThe emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants has presented a significant challenge to global health, as these variants show resistance to most antibodies developed early in the pandemic. Therapeutic antibodies with potent efficacy to the Omicron variants are urgently demanded.MethodsUtilizing the rapid antibody discovery platform, Berkeley Lights Beacon, we isolated two monoclonal neutralizing antibodies, 2173-A6 and 3462-A4. These antibodies were isolated from individuals who recently recovered from Omicron infections.ResultsBoth antibodies, 2173-A6 and 3462-A4, demonstrated high affinity for the RBD and effectively neutralized pseudoviruses from various Omicron lineages, including BA.4/5, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.5, and EG.5.1. This neutralization was achieved through binding to identical or overlapping epitopes.DiscussionThe use of the Beacon platform enabled the rapid isolation and identification of effective neutralizing antibodies within less than 10 days. This process significantly accelerates the development of novel therapeutic antibodies, potentially reducing the time required to respond to unknown infectious diseases in the future.

To quantify the travel time and cost characteristics of mixed traffic involving electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel-powered vehicles on roads, in this paper, we comprehensively consider three factors affecting road impedance: queue length, waiting time, and service rate. Initially, a time characteristic function and a cost characteristic function for mixed traffic impedance are constructed. From the perspective of travel time, we consider the impact of EV penetration on the actual road capacity and introduce a capacity coefficient to modify the BPR (Bureau of Public Roads) road impedance function. Given that different types of vehicles might need to wait at charging stations, we employ queuing theory to calculate the queuing time at these stations and construct an impedance model that considers travel time. From the perspective of travel costs, we account for the energy consumption costs and road usage fees for different types of vehicles. The energy consumption cost for travel mileage is obtained by multiplying the unit mileage energy consumption cost of mixed traffic by the travel mileage. For road usage fees, we adopt the conventional method of multiplying the per-kilometer rate for each vehicle type by the travel mileage, thus constructing an impedance model that incorporates travel costs. Finally, in the numerical analysis section, based on the vehicle travel mileage, we categorize travel into short-, medium-, and long-distance trips for analysis. With the constructed mixed traffic impedance model, we conduct a detailed analysis of the travel time and cost characteristics of mixed traffic over different travel distances. We explore the specific impacts of the electric vehicle penetration rate, traffic flow volume, and travel mileage on road impedance. The results indicate that as the penetration rate of electric vehicles increases, the total energy consumption of the transportation system significantly decreases. Moreover, at high electric vehicle penetration rates, although an increase in traffic flow leads to higher traffic impedance and longer travel times, the overall travel costs are reduced. This demonstrates that increasing the penetration rate of electric vehicles positively contributes to reducing the energy consumption and costs of transportation systems.

Crop diseases and pests are important factors restricting agricultural production. Traditional pest detection methods are mainly targeted at a single pest species, which is difficult to meet the needs of multi-target identification and rapid response in real scenes. Therefore, this paper improves the YOLOv8n model for efficient multi-target pest detection. Two feature enhancement modules, EMSFEM and AFEM_SIE, are proposed in this paper. The EMSFEM module enriches the model’s receptive field through the combination of multi-scale asymmetric convolution kernel and different expansion rates and can better extract the width, height, texture, and edge information of the target. The AFEM_SIE module captures the similarities and differences between upper and lower features through spatial information exchange and enhances feature representation through inter-feature information exchange. In addition, an improved feature fusion operation, Concat_Weighting, is proposed on the basis of Concat. The module uses the learned weights to carry out channel weighting and feature graph weighting for input features, which realizes more flexible and effective feature fusion. The results of experiments conducted on the publicly available large-scale crop pest and disease dataset IP102 show that the performance of the AEC-YOLOv8n model is significantly improved compared with the original YOLOv8n model, with mAP50 increased by 8.9%, accuracy increased by 6.8%, and recall rate increased by 6.3%. The AEC-YOLOv8n model proposed in this study can effectively identify and deal with a variety of crop pests and has achieved the best detection accuracy on the IP102 dataset, which has high application value.

Setosphaeria turcica, the fungal pathogen responsible for northern corn leaf blight in maize, forms specialized infectious structures called appressoria that are critical for fungal penetration of maize epidermal cells. The Rab family of proteins play a crucial role in the growth, development, and pathogenesis of many eukaryotic species. Rab4, in particular, is a key regulator of endocytosis and vesicle trafficking, essential for filamentous growth and successful infection by other fungal pathogens. In this study, we silenced StRAB4 in S. turcica to gain a better understanding the function of Rab4 in this plant pathogen. Phenotypically, the mutants exhibited a reduced growth rate, a significant decline in conidia production, and an abnormal conidial morphology. These phenotypes indicate that StRab4 plays an instrumental role in regulating mycelial growth and conidial development in S. turcica. Further investigations revealed that StRab4 is a positive regulator of cell wall integrity and melanin secretion. Functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes highlighted primary enrichments in peroxisome pathways, oxidoreductase and catalytic activities, membrane components, and cell wall organization processes. Collectively, our findings emphasize the significant role of StRab4 in S. turcica infection and pathogenicity in maize and provide valuable insights into fungal behavior and disease mechanisms.

Natural polysaccharides extracted from plants have received increasing attention due to their rich bioactivity. In our study, peach gum polysaccharides (PGPs) were extracted by water extraction-alcohol precipitation method. PGPs are typical pyranose polysaccharides with a mean molecular weight of 3.68 × 106 g/mol. The antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective capacity of PGPs were studied. In vitro, assays showed that PGPs scavenged DPPH, OH, and O2– in a dose-dependent manner. PGPs exhibited antioxidative properties against alcohol-induced HL7702 cells, as evidenced by the normalization of MDA, SOD, ROS, and GSH levels. To further elucidate the hepatoprotective mechanism of PGPs, we carried out in vivo experiments in male mice. PGPs exerted hepatoprotective effects in alcohol liver disease (ALD) mice by exerting antioxidant effects, decreasing the inflammatory response and modulating lipid metabolism. In addition, metabolomic analysis indicated that PGPs mainly regulate D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, and arginine biosynthesis to promote hepatic metabolism and maintain body functions. Overall, this study revealed that the hepatoprotective mechanism of PGPs against ALD might be associated with the regulation of oxidative stress and lipid metabolism.

The presence of endotoxemia is strongly linked to the development of endothelial dysfunction and disruption of myocardial microvascular reactivity. These factors play a crucial role in the progression of endotoxemic cardiomyopathy. Sepsis-related multiorgan damage involves the participation of the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs). However, whether DNA-PKcs contributes to endothelial dysfunction and myocardial microvascular dysfunction during endotoxemia remains unclear. Hence, we conducted experiments in mice subjected to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemic cardiomyopathy, as well as assays in primary mouse cardiac microvascular endothelial cells. Results showed that endothelial-cell-specific DNA-PKcs ablation markedly attenuated DNA damage, sustained microvessel perfusion, improved endothelial barrier function, inhibited capillary inflammation, restored endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and improved heart function under endotoxemic conditions. Furthermore, we show that upon LPS stress, DNA-PKcs recognizes a TQ motif in cofilin2 and consequently induces its phosphorylation at Thr25. Phosphorylated cofilin2 shows increased affinity for F-actin and promotes F-actin depolymerization, resulting into disruption of the endothelial barrier integrity, microvascular inflammation, and defective eNOS-dependent vasodilation. Accordingly, cofilin2-knockin mice expressing a phospho-defective (T25A) cofilin2 mutant protein showed improved endothelial integrity and myocardial microvascular function upon induction of endotoxemic cardiomyopathy. These findings highlight a novel mechanism whereby DNA-PKcs mediates cofilin2Thr25 phosphorylation and subsequent F-actin depolymerization to contribute to endotoxemia-related cardiac microvascular dysfunction.

As offshore wind farms move into deeper waters and the capacity of offshore wind turbines (OWTs) increases, a new type of OWT foundation needs to be developed. In this study, a new type of five-bucket jacket foundation (FBJF) was proposed based on the broad application of a multi-bucket jacket foundation (MBJF) in offshore wind farms. The soil around the OWT foundation is subject to scour due to the complex marine environment. To investigate the effects of scouring on the FBJF, a series of local-scour simplified finite-element models of the FBJF were established using ABAQUS, and the effects of scouring depth and the extent on the bearing capacity of the FBJF with the monotonic load were analyzed. Then, the failure envelopes of the FBJF under combined loading were obtained using the fixed-displacement ratio method, and the effects of various scour conditions on the failure envelopes were compared. The results indicate that the failure envelope profile contracts inward, and the bearing capacity decreases with the increasing scouring depth and extent. Furthermore, the failure envelopes of the FBJF under different vertical loads were calculated, and the FV-FH-FM failure envelopes of the FBJF were obtained through interpolation. Finally, the effects of different scour conditions on the FV-FH-FM failure envelopes of the FBJF were analyzed. The results show that the FV-FH-FM failure envelopes of the FBJF have similar profiles and follow the same trend under different scour conditions.

Studies on the impact of ship emission control area (ECA) policies focus mainly on regional or national perspectives, while the impact on local air quality and its associated effects are largely neglected. Here, we quantitatively analyzed the impact of the implementation of the ECA policy on SO2 concentrations at local and regional levels from 2018 to 2021 using a regression discontinuity (RD) model to reveal its positive effects from multiple perspectives. In this model, the time point of policy implementation and concentration of SO2 were considered the breakpoint and observation indicator, respectively, to evaluate the effect of policy implementation. We investigated the impact of the implementation of the 2016 ECA policy in terms of switching to low-sulfur fuel oil on air quality at the Waigaoqiao Wharf in Shanghai Port (local perspective), the change in wharf air quality during 2018–2021, the change in Shanghai City air quality (regional perspective) 2016–2021 and the results show that the mean SO2 concentration decreased from 4.61 to 3.33, 2.68 to 0.03, and 11.32 to 6.73 μg/m3, respectively. The improvement in air quality at the local and regional scales from 2018 to 2021 with respect to the decrease in the mean SO2 concentration were 3.10 to 0.03 and 8.30 to 5.90 μg/m3, respectively. Our results showed that the ECA policy effectively improved air quality at both local and regional scales. As expected, the policy had a greater impact on local air quality, given the impacts of various other emission sources at the regional scale.

The SlADH gene plays a key role in environmental stress response. However, limited studies exist regarding the tomato SlADH gene. In this study, we identified 35 SlADH genes in tomato by genome-wide identification. Among the 12 chromosomes of tomato, SlADH gene is distributed on 10 chromosomes, among which the 7th and 10th chromosomes have no family members, while the 11th chromosome has the most members with 8 family members. Members of this gene family are characterized by long coding sequences, few amino acids, and introns that make up a large proportion of the genetic structure of most members of this family. Moreover, the molecular weight of the proteins of the family members was similar, and the basic proteins were mostly, and the overall distribution was relatively close to neutral (pI = 7). This may indicate that proteins in this family have a more conserved function. In addition, a total of four classes of cis-acting elements were detected in all 35 SlADH promoter regions, most of which were associated with biotic and abiotic stresses. The results indicate that SlADH gene had a certain response to cold stress, salt stress, ABA treatment and PEG stress. This study provides a new candidate gene for improving tomato stress resistance.

Introduction: Multiple organ failure is the commonest cause of death in septic patients. Objectives: This study was undertaken in an attempt to elucidate the functional importance of DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) on mitochondrial dysfunction associated with the development and progression of sepsis-related multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Methods: Cardiomyocyte-specific DNA-PKcs knockout (DNA-PKcsCKO) mice, liver-specific DNA-PKcs knockout (DNA-PKcsLKO) mice, and kidney tubular cell-specific DNA-PKcs knockout (DNA-PKcsTKO) mice were used to generate an LPS-induced sepsis model. Echocardiography, serum biochemistry, and tissue microscopy were used to analyze organ damage and morphological changes induced by sepsis. Mitochondrial function and dynamics were determined by qPCR, western blotting, ELISA, and mt-Keima and immunofluorescence assays following siRNA-mediated DNA-PKCs knockdown in cardiomyocytes, hepatocytes, and kidney tubular cells. Results: DNA-PKcs deletion attenuated sepsis-mediated myocardial damage through improving mitochondrial metabolism. Loss of DNA-PKcs protected the liver against sepsis through inhibition of mitochondrial oxidative damage and apoptosis. DNA-PKcs deficiency sustained kidney function upon LPS stress through normalization of mitochondrial fission/fusion events, mitophagy, and biogenesis. Conclusion: We conclude that strategies targeting DNA-PKcs expression or activity may be valuable therapeutic options to prevent or reduce mitochondrial dysfunction and organ damage associated with sepsis-induced MODS.

Circular synthetic aperture radar (CSAR) possesses the capability of multi-angle observation, breaking through the geometric observation constraints of traditional strip SAR and holding the potential for three-dimensional imaging. Its sub-wavelength level of planar resolution, resulting from a long synthetic aperture, makes CSAR highly valuable in the field of high-precision mapping. However, the motion geometry of CSAR is more intricate compared to traditional strip SAR, demanding high precision from navigation systems. The accumulation of errors over the long synthetic aperture time cannot be overlooked. CSAR exhibits significant coupling between the range and azimuth directions, making traditional motion compensation methods based on linear SAR unsuitable for direct application in CSAR. The dynamic nature of flight, with its continuous changes in attitude, introduces a significant deformation error between the non-rigidly connected Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and the Global Positioning System (GPS). This deformation error makes it difficult to accurately obtain radar position information, resulting in imaging defocus. The research in this article uncovers a correlation between the deformation error and radial acceleration. Leveraging this insight, we propose utilizing radial acceleration to estimate residual motion errors. This paper delves into the analysis of Position and Orientation System (POS) errors, presenting a novel high-resolution CSAR motion compensation method based on airborne platform acceleration information. Once the system deformation parameters are calibrated using point targets, the deformation error can be directly calculated and compensated based on the acceleration information, ultimately resulting in the generation of a high-resolution image. In this paper, the effectiveness of the method is verified with airborne flight test data. This method can compensate for the deformation error and effectively improve the peak sidelobe ratio and integral sidelobe ratio of the target, thus improving image quality. The introduction of acceleration information provides new means and methods for high-resolution CSAR imaging.

In this paper, we examine potential methods for autonomously tracking and landing multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a complex yet essential problem. Autonomous tracking and landing control technology utilizes visual navigation, relying solely on vision and landmarks to track targets and achieve autonomous landing. This technology improves the UAV’s environment perception and autonomous flight capabilities in GPS-free scenarios. In particular, we are researching tracking and landing as a cohesive unit, devising a switching plan for various UAV tracking and landing modes, and creating a flight controller that has an inner and outer loop structure based on relative position estimation. The inner and outer nested markers aid in the autonomous tracking and landing of UAVs. Optimal parameters are determined via optimized experiments on the measurements of the inner and outer markers. An indoor experimental platform for tracking and landing UAVs was established. Tracking performance was verified by tracking three trajectories of an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) at varying speeds, and landing accuracy was confirmed through static and dynamic landing experiments. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme has good dynamic tracking and landing performance.

With the rapid development of modern technology and information systems, optical anti-counterfeiting and encryption have recently attracted considerable attention. The demand for optical materials is also constantly increasing, with new requirements proposed for performance and application fields. Currently, rare earth ion doped materials possess a unique electronic layer structure, underfilled 4f5d electronic configuration, rich electronic energy level, and long-life excited state, which can produce a variety of radiation absorption and emission. The distinctive properties of rare earth are beneficial for using in diverse optical output anti-counterfeiting. Design is essential for rare earth ion doped materials with multiple responsiveness and multi-channel optical information anti-counterfeiting in the field of information security. Therefore, this mini review summarizes the luminescent mechanisms, preparation methods, performance characteristics and anti-counterfeiting application of rare earth doped materials. In addition, we discuss some critical challenges in this field, and potential solutions that have been or are being developed to overcome these challenges.

By employing a tiny frequency offset across the array elements, a frequency diverse array (FDA) produces a beampattern with the property of being range-angle-dependent. However, the beampattern of a traditional FDA has many maxima at undesired range-angle couples, which is unfavorable for target localization and jamming suppression. In this paper, a novel FDA scheme with Hamming interelement spacing, namely, the HIS-FDA, is proposed. By adopting Hamming window weighted interelement spacing and frequency offsets optimized by the genetic algorithm, the HIS-FDA produces a dot-shaped well-performed beampattern, which has superior performance over the existing FDA systems, especially in the angle dimension. The multiple input multiple output technique and multiple matched filters are employed at the receiver to solve the time-varying problem. A new multicarrier (MC) technique termed the sinusoidal MC approach is also presented to improve the beampattern performance, especially in the range dimension. Our proposed scheme outperforms the existing FDA systems in terms of the mainlobe width in the range and angle profiles, the sidelobe level, and the range-angle spatial region of the mainlobe. Comparison results are provided to validate the superiority of the proposed scheme.

BackgroundPercutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion has been considered an efficient alternative to oral anticoagulation to prevent embolic events in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Due to the complexities and heterogeneous anatomy of the LAA structure, the single-device approach may not always fit a large bilobulated LAA. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of one-stop dual Watchman implantation for patients with bilobulated LAA.MethodsIncluded in the analysis were patients who underwent complete LAA closure with dual Watchman devices between December 2015 and December 2021. The anatomic morphology, procedure characteristics, procedure safety, and procedural complications were analyzed. Cardiac CT or transesophageal ultrasound was obtained at 7 days, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years post-operatively to evaluate the effect of occlusion.ResultsAmong the 330 patients who underwent LAA occlusion during the study period, 7 (2.1%) patients were occluded with one-stop implantation of the double Watchman strategy. Successful occlusion was achieved in all patients. One patient had the double-access sheath strategy for implantation, and 6 patients had only a single-access sheath strategy for implantation. Pericardial effusion occurred in one case during the 7-day perioperative period. There was no device embolization, thrombosis, or obvious peridevice leakage (≥l mm) during the 2-year follow-up, with the exception of two cases with 2 mm of incomplete LAA sealing.ConclusionThe one-stop implantation of a dual Watchman is feasible and safe and might provide a strategy to occlude a large bilobulated LAA when incomplete closure is inevitable with a single device.

Objective: The objective of this study was to introduce a surgical technique for the percutaneous decompression of cervical stenosis (CS) using a unilateral biportal endoscopic approach and characterize its early clinical and radiographic results. Materials and Methods: Nineteen consecutive patients with CS who needed surgical intervention were recruited. All enrolled patients underwent unilateral biportal endoscopic laminectomy (UBEL). All patients were followed postoperatively for >1 year. The preoperative and final follow-up evaluations included the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score for neurological assessment, visual analogue scale (VAS) for axial pain and C2–C7 Cobb angle for cervical sagittal alignment. The postoperative complications were analyzed. Results: Thirteen males and six females were included in the analysis. The mean follow-up period was 16.3 ± 2.6 months. The mean operative time was 82.6 ± 18.4 min. Postoperative MRI and CT revealed ideal neural decompression of the treated segments in all patients. Preoperative VAS and JOA scores improved significantly after the surgery, and cervical lordosis was preserved on the postoperative images. Conclusions: UBEL was an effective surgical method for CS, which may also minimize iatrogenic damage to the posterior tension band (PTB) and help to maximize the preservation of the cervical lordosis.

In this paper, mesoporous CuO with a novel architecture was synthesized through a conventional hydrothermal approach followed by a facile sintering procedure. HR-TEM analysis found that mesoporous CuO with an interconnected pore structure has exposed high-energy crystal planes of (002) and (200). Theoretical calculations indicated that the high-energy crystal planes have superior adsorption capacity for H+ ions, which is critical for the excellent adsorption and remarkable photocatalytic activity of the anionic dye. The adsorption capacity of CuO to methyl orange (MO) at 0.4 g/L was approximately 30% under adsorption equilibrium conditions. We propose a state-changing mechanism to analyze the synergy and mutual restraint relation among the catalyst CuO, H+ ions, dye and H2O2. According to this mechanism, the degradation rate of MO can be elevated 3.5 times only by regulating the MO ratio in three states.

The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) is one of the most destructive lepidopteran pests of cruciferous vegetables, and insights into regulation of its physiological processes contribute towards the development of new pesticides against it. Thus, we investigated the regulatory functions of its β-adrenergic-like octopamine receptor (PxOctβ3). The open reading frame (ORF) of PxOctβ3 was phylogenetically analyzed, and the levels of expression of the receptor mRNA were determined. This ORF was also cloned and expressed in HEK-293 cells. A series of octopamine receptor agonists and antagonists were tested against PxOctβ3. We showed that the receptor is a member of the Octβ3 protein family, and an analysis using quantitative PCR showed that it was expressed at all developmental stages of P. xylostella. Octopamine activated PxOctβ3, resulting in increased levels of intracellular cAMP. Furthermore, the agonists naphazoline, clonidine, 2-phenethylamine, and amitraz activated the PxOctβ3 receptor, and naphazoline was the most effective. Only metoclopramide and mianserin had significant antagonistic effects on PxOctβ3, whereas yohimbine, phentolamine, and chlorpromazine lacked obvious antagonistic effects. The injection of double-stranded RNA in an RNA interference assay indicated that PxOctβ3 regulates development in P. xylostella. This study demonstrated the pharmacological properties and functions of PxOctβ3 in P. xylostella, thus, providing a theoretical basis for the design of pesticides that target octopamine receptors.

The increasing need for inexpensive, safe, highly efficient, and time-saving damage detection technology, combined with emerging technologies, has made damage detection by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) an active research area. In the past, numerous sensors have been developed for damage detection, but these sensors have only recently been integrated with UAS. UAS damage detection specifically concerns data collection, path planning, multi-sensor fusion, system integration, damage quantification, and data processing in building a prediction model to predict the remaining service life. This review provides an overview of crucial scientific advances that marked the development of UAS inspection: underlying UAS platforms, peripherals, sensing equipment, data processing approaches, and service life prediction models. Example equipment includes a visual camera, a multispectral sensor, a hyperspectral sensor, a thermal infrared sensor, and light detection and ranging (LiDAR). This review also includes highlights of the remaining scientific challenges and development trends, including the critical need for self-navigated control, autonomic damage detection, and deterioration model building. Finally, we conclude with a brief discussion regarding the pros and cons of this emerging technology, along with a prospect of UAS technology research for damage detection.

With the rapid development in the field of computer vision, the vision-based approach to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracking and landing technology in weak global positioning system (GPS) or GPS-free environments has become prominent in military and civilian missions. However, this technique still suffers from problems such as interference by similar targets in the environment, low tracking accuracy, slow processing speed, and poor stability. To solve these problems, we propose the designated target anti-interference tracking (DTAT) method, which integrates YOLOv5 and SiamRPN, and built a system to achieve UAV tracking and the landing of a designated target in an environment with multiple interference targets. The system consists of the following parts: first, an image is acquired by a monocular camera to obtain the pixel position information of the designated target. Next, the position of the UAV relative to the target is estimated based on the pixel location information of the target and the known target size information. Finally, the discrete proportion integration differentiation (PID) control law is used to complete the target tracking and landing task of the UAV. To test the system performance, we deployed it on a robot operating system (ROS) platform, conducted many simulation experiments, and observed the real-time trajectories of the UAV and the target through Gazebo software. The results show that the relative distance between the UAV and the target during the tracking process when the target was moving at 0.6 m/s does not exceed 0.8 m, and the landing error of the UAV during the landing process after the target is stationary does not exceed 0.01 m. The results validate the effectiveness and robustness of the system and lay a foundation for subsequent research.

The death of cardiomyocytes either through apoptosis or necroptosis is the pathological feature of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Phosphoglycerate mutase 5 (PGAM5), a mitochondrially-localized serine/threonine-protein phosphatase, functions as a novel inducer of necroptosis. However, intense debate exists regarding the effect of PGAM5 on I/R-related cardiomyocyte death. Using cardiac-specific PGAM5 knockout (PGAM5CKO) mice, we comprehensively investigated the precise contribution and molecular mechanism of PGAM5 in cardiomyocyte death. Our data showed that both PGAM5 transcription and expression were upregulated in reperfused myocardium. Genetic ablation of PGAM5 suppressed I/R-mediated necroptosis but failed to prevent apoptosis activation, a result that went along with improved heart function and decreased inflammation response. Regardless of PGAM5 status, mitophagy-related cell death was not apparent following I/R. Under physiological conditions, PGAM5 overexpression in primary cardiomyocytes was sufficient to induce cardiomyocyte necroptosis rather than apoptosis. At the sub-cellular levels, PGAM5 deficiency increased mitochondrial DNA copy number and transcript levels, normalized mitochondrial respiration, repressed mitochondrial ROS production, and prevented abnormal mPTP opening upon I/R. Molecular investigation demonstrated that PGAM5 deletion interrupted I/R-mediated DrpS637 dephosphorylation but failed to abolish I/R-induce Drp1S616 phosphorylation, resulting in partial inhibition of mitochondrial fission. In addition, declining Mfn2 and OPA1 levels were restored in PGAM5CKO cardiomyocytes following I/R. Nevertheless, PGAM5 depletion did not rescue suppressed mitophagy upon I/R injury. In conclusion, our results provide an insight into the specific role and working mechanism of PGAM5 in driving cardiomyocyte necroptosis through imposing mitochondrial quality control in cardiac I/R injury.

Analyzing the propeller aerodynamic performance is of vital importance for research and improvement of unmanned aerial vehicles. This paper presents the design requirements for a propeller for rotorcraft unmanned aerial vehicles and an analysis of a model for calculating propeller aerodynamic performance. Based on blade element momentum theory, the aerodynamic force of a blade element is analyzed and used. The symmetric airfoil NACA 0012 is used as an example to verify the validity of the model. An experimental system for propeller aerodynamic performance is designed and built to test the aerodynamic performance of six types of the propeller from a single manufacturer (APC). Data-processing software is also developed to draw curves and perform single-step calculations of three propellers’ parameters: airfoil resistance power, induced velocity, and efficiency. The results of the experiment indicate that both the thrust and torque of the propeller increase with rotational speed, propeller diameter, and propeller pitch. The research is of great significance to select more suitable propellers for unmanned aerial vehicles and the further improvement of the performance of unmanned aerial vehicles’ dynamical system.

The lack of techniques for monitoring ship emissions all day and in all weather conditions to obtain real-time emission factor values is the main problem in understanding the characteristics of ship emissions, and there is still no perfect solution. In this study, a real-time measurement-modeling system was designed and implemented. The system was divided into three parts: (1) a portable exhaust monitoring device, which could be mounted on a drone, aircraft, patrol boat, dock, and bridge crane, as well as on the shore, to conduct all-weather and real-time online monitoring of ship emissions; (2) a monitoring information platform for ship emissions, based on a Spring + Spring MVC + MyBatis (SSM) framework and Vue front-end technology; and (3) a cloud server that received real-time ship emission measurement data and stored it after verification and analysis to calculate the pollutant gas and particulate matter emission factors. Following development, this system was used to monitor the emissions of ocean-going and inland river ships. Analysis of the acquired data showed that the system could effectively measure the emission factors of ship exhausts full-time in a variety of weather scenarios. This system can improve the efficiency of maritime law enforcement and provide technical support for promoting the construction of ship emission control areas. It can also help researchers obtain ship emission data, as well as an improved understanding of the emission characteristics of ships.

China has the largest output of litchi in the world. However, at present, litchi is mainly picked manually, fruit farmers have high labor intensity and low efficiency. This means the intelligent unmanned picking system has broad prospects. The precise location of the main stem picking point of litchi is very important for the path planning of an unmanned system. Some researchers have identified the fruit and branches of litchi; however, there is relatively little research on the location of the main stem picking point of litchi. So, this paper presents a new open-access workflow for detecting accurate picking locations on the main stems and presents data used in the case study. At the same time, this paper also compares several different network architectures for main stem detection and segmentation and selects YOLOv5 and PSPNet as the most promising models for main stem detection and segmentation tasks, respectively. The workflow combines deep learning and traditional image processing algorithms to calculate the accurate location information of litchi main stem picking points in the litchi image. This workflow takes YOLOv5 as the target detection model to detect the litchi main stem in the litchi image, then extracts the detected region of interest (ROI) of the litchi main stem, uses PSPNet semantic segmentation model to semantically segment the ROI image of the main stem, carries out image post-processing operation on the ROI image of the main stem after semantic segmentation, and obtains the pixel coordinates of picking points in the ROI image of the main stem. After coordinate conversion, the pixel coordinates of the main stem picking points of the original litchi image are obtained, and the picking points are drawn on the litchi image. At present, the workflow can obtain the accurate position information of the main stem picking point in the litchi image. The recall and precision of this method were 76.29% and 92.50%, respectively, which lays a foundation for the subsequent work of obtaining the three-dimensional coordinates of the main stem picking point according to the image depth information, even though we have not done this work in this paper.

Structural stability, sound velocities, elasticity, and thermodynamic properties of cubic Zr0.5Nb0.5 alloy have been investigated at high pressure and high temperature by first-principles density functional calculations combined with the quasi-harmonic Debye model. A pronounced pressure-induced shear wave velocity stiffening in Zr0.5Nb0.5 alloy is observed at pressures above ~11 GPa, owing to its structural instability under high pressure, whose anomalous behavior is also observed in the end members of Zr-Nb alloys for Zr at ~13 GPa and for Nb at ~6 GPa upon compression, respectively. In addition, high-pressure elasticity and elastic-correlated properties of cubic Zr0.5Nb0.5 are reported, as compared with previous studies on Zr-Nb alloys with different compositions. A comprehensive study of the thermodynamic properties of cubic Zr0.5Nb0.5, such as heat capacity (Cv), thermal expansion coefficients (α), and Debye temperature (ΘD), are also predicted at pressures and temperatures up to 30 GPa and 1500 K using the quasi-harmonic Debye model.

Trehalase regulates energy metabolism in insects by converting trehalose into two glucose molecules. High amounts of trehalase are critical for insect flight and larval stress resistance. However, whether trehalase participates in the development of pesticide resistance remains unclear. In this study, we explored this phenomenon and the mechanism that underlies the regulation of Trehalase transcription. We found that overexpression of PxTreh1 and PxTreh2 induced Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) resistance in Plutella xylostella. The promoter sequences of PxTreh1 and PxTreh2 were also cloned and identified. The dual-luciferase reporter system and RNA interference technology revealed that the expression of PxTreh1 and PxTreh2 genes is possibly regulated by the CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (C/EBPα). A yeast one-hybrid experiment confirmed the interaction between C/EBPα and the PxTreh2 promoter. The findings of this study suggest that C/EBPα mediates the adaptability of P. xylostella to adverse environmental stressors by regulating the expression of trehalase.

Increased mitochondrial damage is related to the progression of a diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The aim of our study is to investigate the role of Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) in treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with a focus on mitophagy and the ERK-CREB pathway. Our data indicated that Sirt3 was downregulated in liver tissue in response to chronic HFD treatment. Interestingly, re-introduction of Sirt3 protected hepatic function, attenuated liver fibrosis, alleviated the inflammatory response, and prevented hepatocyte apoptosis. Molecular investigations demonstrated that lipotoxicity was associated with an increase in mitochondrial apoptosis as evidenced by reduced mitochondrial potential, augmented ROS production, increased cyt-c leakage into the nucleus, and activated caspase-9 apoptotic signalling. Additionally, Sirt3 overexpression protected hepatocytes against mitochondrial apoptosis via promoting Bnip3-required mitophagy. Functional studies showed that Sirt3 reversed Bnip3 expression and mitophagy activity via the ERK-CREB signalling pathway. Blockade of the ERK-CREB axis repressed the promotive effects of Sirt3 on Bnip3 activation and mitophagy augmentation, finally negating the anti-apoptotic influences of Sirt3 on hepatocytes in the setting of high-fat-stress. Collectively, our data show that high-fat-mediated liver damage is associated with Sirt3 downregulation, which is followed by ERK-CREB pathway inactivation and Bnip3-mediated inhibition of mitophagy, causing hepatocytes to undergo mitochondria-dependent cell death. Based on this, strategies for enhancing Sirt3 activity and activating the ERK-CREB-Bnip3-mitophagy pathways could be used to treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Keywords: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Mitophagy, Bnip3, Sirt3, ERK-CREB signalling pathway

In this paper, a complete set of nonlinear modeling and controller design process for a small electric fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is presented. The nonlinear mathematical model and aerodynamic model of the small fixed-wing UAV are derived. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to obtain the aerodynamic coefficients of the UAV, and the models of propulsion system components were established through experiments. Since the linearized and decoupled model of the fixed-wing UAV has a large error, a nonlinear model is established based on Simulink, which is utilized to design and verify the control algorithms. Based on the established nonlinear model, a stability controller, path following controller and path management controller of the aircraft are set up. The results indicate that system parameters of the aircraft can be quickly acquired and an efficient and practical model can be established by the methods. In addition, the controller designed and applied in this paper has good performance and small steady-state error, which can meet the basic flight mission requirements, including stability of flight attitude, path following and switching of different waypoints. These modeling and control methods can also be employed in other small battery-powered fixed-wing UAV projects.

Interference suppression and information extraction in pseudorandom code phase modulated pulse Doppler detection system is a practical and challenging problem. In order to extract useful range and velocity in the presence of single-channel multi-component periodic interferences, this paper presents an interference suppression method based on eigenvector analysis and independent component analysis (ICA) by leveraging the characteristic of generalized periodicity of received signal. Using the generalized period of the transmitted signal, we divide the observed received signal into different segments and derive the sample covariance matrix. By computing the eigenvalue decomposition of the sample covariance matrix, we obtain all the eigenvectors and find the corresponding eigenvector with the maximum eigenvalue, which is the sum of the basic waveform components with the same generalized period. Then multi-dimensional matrix can be structured by changing the length of observed signal. The multi-dimensional matrix is used to accomplish ICA so as to separate all the components. Finally, the useful echo signal can be reconstructed; the range and velocity information can be obtained. Simulation results show that the proposed method is effective to excise multi-component periodic interferences and obtain the range and velocity information accurately at high signal to interference ratio (SIR). At low SIR, recursive separation is required. Compared with the existing methods, the proposed method has better performance.

This study aimed to explore the effects of hypoxia and acid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3) on nucleus pulposus cells from cell behavior to molecular mechanism. Primary rabbit nucleus pulposus cells were isolated and identified by HE, toluidine blue and immunohistochemical staining of collagen II. 2% O2 and 48 h were screened as optimal oxygen concentration and effect time, respectively, by determining cell apoptosis and mRNA expression of ASIC3, hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and aquaporin 3. FLuo-3 AM labeling showed that the Ca2+ concentration in cells increased under hypoxia condition. shRNA-ASIC3 and ASIC3 expression vector were transfected into cells. Subsequently, cells were divided into six groups: Control, 2% O2, shRNA-NC+2% O2, shRNA-ASIC3 + 2% O2, Vector+2% O2 and ASIC3 + 2% O2. Flow cytometry, CCK-8 assay, transmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescent labeling, RT-PCR and western blot demonstrated that hypoxia and ASIC3 over-expression inhibited the proliferation, arrested cell cycle in G1 phase, promoted the apoptosis, initiated the autophagy and up-regulated the expression of ASIC3, HIF-1α, light chain 3, p-ERK1/2 and p-MAPK. However, ASIC3 silencing could significantly relieve these phenomena. Co-immunoprecipitation assay found ASIC3 was interacted with HIF-1α&ERK1/2. Evaluation of the effect of HIF-1αsilencing on ASIC3 expression showed that the high expression of ASIC3 induced by hypoxia was reduced significantly by HIF-1α silencing. In conclusion, hypoxia and ASIC3 changed the behavior of nucleus pulposus cells by activating the MAPK pathway. HIF-1α and ASIC3 could regulate each other in nucleus pulposus cells.

In insects, inward-rectifying potassium (Kir) channels regulate vital physiological functions, such as feeding behavior, silk secretion, renal excretion, and immune function. Therefore, they offer promising potential as targets for insecticides. Three types of Kir subunits have been identified in Diptera and Hemiptera, but the Kir subunits of Lepidoptera still remain unclear. This study identified five Kir subunit genes (pxkir1, pxkir2, pxkir3A, pxkir3B, and pxkir4) in the transcriptome of Plutella xylostella. Phylogenetic analysis identified pxkir1, pxkir2, pxkir3A, and pxkir3B as orthologous genes of kir1–3 in other insects. Interestingly, pxkir4 may be encoding a new class of Kir subunit in Lepidoptera that has not been reported to date. To identify further Kir channel subunits of P. xylostella, the gene expression profiles of five pxkir genes were studied by quantitative real-time PCR. These pxkir genes are expressed throughout the development of P. xylostella. pxkir1 and pxkir2 were highly expressed in thoraxes and legs, while pxkir3 (3A and 3B) and pxkir4 had high expression levels in the midgut and Malpighian tubules. This study identified the composition and distribution of Kir subunits in P. xylostella for the first time, and provides useful information for the further study of Kir channel subunits in Lepidoptera.

As a powerful power system simulation software package, PSS/E has great advantage in large-scale power system simulation. However, in the PSS/E dynamic model, there is no low voltage ride through (LVRT) the model for the wind turbine generator, and that is why for engineering practice it less referred with regard to wind power simulation. According to the analysis of the principle of the PSS/E second generation generic model wind generator, this paper built the LVRT a model-based PSS/E second generation generic model for the wind generator with the help of Fortran, and the model has been verified. The model this paper has built enriches the dynamic model of PSS/E and has led to more reference to PSS/E in engineering practice for the study of power system simulation with fluctuant wind power.

Background: Public–private mix (PPM), recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), was introduced to cope with the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic worldwide. In many developing countries, PPM has played a powerful role in TB control, while in others it has failed to meet expectations. Thus we performed a systematic review to determine the mechanisms used by global PPM programs implemented in different countries and to evaluate their performance. Methods: A comprehensive search of the current literature for original studies published up to May 2014 was done using electronic databases and online resources; these publications were then screened using rigorous criteria. Descriptive information and evaluative outcomes data were extracted from eligible studies for synthesis and analysis. Results: A total of 78 eligible studies were included in the final review. These assessed 48 PPM TB programs worldwide, subsequently categorized into three mechanisms based on collaborative characteristics: support, contract, and multi-partner group. Furthermore, we assessed the effectiveness of PPM programs against six health system themes, including utilization of the directly observed treatment strategy (DOTS), case detection, treatment outcomes, case management, costs, and access and equity, under the different collaborative mechanisms. Analysis of the comparative studies suggested that PPM could improve overall outcomes of a TB service, and multiple collaborative mechanisms may significantly promote case detection, treatment, referral, and service accessibility, especially in resource-limited areas. However, the less positive outcomes of several programs indicated limited funding and poor governance to be the predominant reasons. Conclusions: PPM is a promising strategy to strengthen global TB care and control, but is affected by contextual characteristics in different areas. The scaling-up of PPM should contain essential commonalities, particularly substantial financial support and continuous material input. Additionally, it is important to improve program governance and training for the health providers involved, through integrated collaborative mechanisms.

A new method based on phase difference analysis is proposed for the single-channel mixed signal separation of single-channel radar fuze. This method is used to estimate the mixing coefficients of de-noised signals through the cumulants of mixed signals, solve the candidate data set by the mixing coefficients and signal analytical form, and resolve the problem of vector ambiguity by analyzing the phase differences. The signal separation is realized by exchanging data of the solutions. The waveform similarity coefficients are calculated, and the time–frequency distributions of separated signals are analyzed. The results show that the proposed method is effective.

Battery-powered multi-rotor UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have been employed as chemical applicators in agriculture for small fields in China. Major challenges in spraying include reducing the influence of environmental factors and appropriate chemical use. Therefore, the objective of this research was to obtain the law of droplet drift and deposition by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), a universal method to solve the fluid problem using a discretization mathematical method. DPM (Discrete Phase Model) was taken to simulate the motion of droplet particles since it is an appropriate way to simulate discrete phase in flow field and can track particle trajectory. The figure of deposition concentration and trace of droplet drift was obtained by controlling the variables of wind speed, pressure, and spray height. The droplet drifting models influenced by different factors were established by least square method after analysis of drift quantity to get the equation of drift quantity and safe distance. The relationship model, Yi(m), between three dependent variables, wind speed Xw(m s−1), pressure Xp(MPa) and spray height Xh(m), are listed as follows: The edge drift distance model was Y1 = 0.887Xw + 0.550Xp + 1.552Xh − 3.906 and the correlation coefficient (R2) was 0.837; the center drift distance model was Y2 = 0.167Xw + 0.085Xp + 0.308Xh − 0.667 and the correlation coefficient (R2) was 0.774; the overlap width model was Y3 = 0.692xw + 0.529xp + 1.469xh − 3.374 and the correlation coefficient (R2) was 0.795. For the three models, the coefficients of the three variables were all positive, indicating that the three factors were all positively correlated with edge drift distance, center drift distance, and overlap width. The results of this study can provide theoretical support for improving the spray quality of UAV and reducing the drift of droplets.

Tyramine receptors (TARs) can be activated by tyramine (TA) or octopamine (OA) and have been shown to be related to physiological regulation (e.g., gustatory responsiveness, social organization, and learning behavior) in a range of insect species. A tyramine receptor gene in Plutella xylostella, Pxtar1, was cloned and stably expressed in the HEK-293 cell line. Pharmacological properties and expression profile of Pxtar1 were also analyzed. Tyramine could activate the PxTAR1 receptor, increasing the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ((Ca2+)i) at an EC50 of 13.1 nM and reducing forskolin (10 μM)-stimulated intracellular cAMP concentration ((cAMP)i) at an IC50 of 446 nM. DPMF (a metabolite of amitraz) and L(-)-carvone (an essential oil) were found to act as PxTAR1 receptor agonists. Conversely, yohimbine and mianserin had significant antagonistic effects on PxTAR1. In both larvae and adults, Pxtar1 had the highest expression in the head capsule and expression of Pxtar1 was higher in male than in female reproductive organs. This study reveals the temporal and spatial differences and pharmacological properties of Pxtar1 in P. xylostella and provides a strategy for screening insecticidal compounds that target PxTAR1.

Hypertension is a well established cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the effect of prehypertension on risk of CKD is controversial. The aim of this study is to determine whether prehypertension increases the risk of CKD events in the Chinese population. We enrolled 20,034 with prehypertension and 12,351 with ideal blood pressure in this prospective study. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)

To find out if content changes of the major functional cerebrum metabolites are interconnected and formed a network during the brain development, we obtained high-resolution magic-angle-spinning (HR-MAS) 1H NMR spectra of cerebrum tissues of chick embryo aged from incubation day 10 to 20, and postnatal day 1, and analyzed the data with principal component analysis (PCA). Within the examined time window, 26 biological important molecules were identified and 12 of them changed their relative concentration significantly in a time-dependent manner. These metabolites are generally belonged to three categories, neurotransmitters, nutrition sources, and neuronal or glial markers. The relative concentration changes of the metabolites were interconnected among/between the categories, and, more interestingly, associated with the number and size of Nissl-positive neurons. These results provided valuable biochemical and neurochemical information to understand the development of the embryonic brain.

The structure of the title complex, [FeRu(C5H5)(C5H4OPS2)(CO)(C18H15P)2(H2O)]·CH2Cl2, consists of one neutral [{FcP(O)S2}Ru(CO)(H2O)(PPh3)2] complex [Fc = Fe(η5-C5H4)(η5-C5H5)] and one CH2Cl2 solvent molecule. The geometry around the RuII atom is pseudo-octahedral, with two cis-binding PPh3 ligands and one chelating bidentate [Fc(O)PS2]2− ligand via two S atoms. The average Ru—S and Ru—P bond lengths are 2.434 (1) and 2.398 (1) Å, and the Ru—O and Ru—C bond lengths are 2.157 (3) and 1.826 (4) Å, respectively. In the crystal, pairs of O—H...O hydrogen bonds link adjacent molecules into dimers.

Increased levels of the inflammatory biomarker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, ideal cardiovascular health indicates lower risk of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and health factors on hs-CRP levels among a hypertensive population. From 2006 to 2007, a cross-sectional study was conducted to survey 41,476 hypertensive subjects among the employees of Kailuan Corporation. Data from unified questionnaires and blood biochemical examinations were collected. The effects of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and health factors on hs-CRP levels were evaluated through multivariate logistic regression analysis. A negative correlation was observed between hs-CRP levels and the number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics. The mean hs-CRP levels of subjects with zero to one, two, three, and four to six ideal cardiovascular health metrics were 1.11, 0.96, 0.90, and 0.80 mg/L, respectively (P3 mg/L were lower than those with zero to one ideal health metrics, with corresponding odd ratios of 0.86 (95%CI: 0.79-0.93, P

Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) has been identified as an endogenous anti-hypertrophy effect. However, the association of plasma GDF-15 levels with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertension is poorly understood. We investigate the effect of plasma GDF-15 levels on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertension. We measured the plasma levels of GDF-15 in 299 untreated hypertensive patients which consisted of 99 with LVH and 200 without LVH using immunoradiometric assay. All subjects were examined by the ultrasonic cardiograph to determine Left ventricular (LV) internal diameters, septal thickness, and posterior wall thickness. The associations of GDF-15 with left ventricular mass index (LVMI), LV end-systolic and -diastolic diameters, LV wall thickness, and LV ejection fraction were evaluated. We found that plasma GDF-15 levels in hypertensive patients with LVH [median 1101, 25th-75th percentiles (879-1344) ng/L] were higher than that in hypertensive patients without LVH [median 516, 25th-75th percentiles (344-640) ng/L] (P