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Acoustic asymmetric focusing (AAF) has attracted widespread attention owing to its great potential in medical ultrasound. The recent development of acoustic metamaterials and metasurfaces has provided various concepts to achieve AAF systems. Generally, the previously demonstrated AAF lenses were limited to one-dimensional structures, leading to difficulties in practical applications. The realization of AAF in three-dimensional (3D) space based on a two-dimensional (2D) device still remains a challenge. Here, we experimentally and numerically study a 2D AAF lens based on mode converters composed of two pairs of phased unit cells I and II and a step waveguide. Based on the phase profile of sound focusing and the step waveguide of mode converters, we experimentally design and demonstrate a type of 2D AAF lens and observe acoustic focusing and asymmetric transmission simultaneously in 3D space under the excitation of the zero-order wave. Both the phenomena arise from the phase modulation of the lens and the cutoff frequency of the first-order wave for the step waveguide, respectively. The fractional bandwidth (the ratio of the bandwidth to the center frequency) of the lens can reach about 0.14. The proposed 2D AAF lens, as well as its associated mode converter, paves the way for the asymmetric manipulation of sound in 3D space that has potential applications in practical sound devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have suggested a developmental sequence of brain changes: subcortico-subcortical connectivity in children, evolving to subcortico-cortical in adolescence, and culminating in cortico-cortical connectivity in young adulthood. This study hypothesized that children with ADHD would exhibit decreased functional connectivity (FC) between the cortex and striatum compared to adults with ADHD, who may show increased FC in these regions. Seventy-six patients with ADHD (26 children, 26 adolescents, and 24 adults) and 74 healthy controls (25 children, 24 adolescents, and 25 adults) participated in the study. Resting state magnetic resonance images were acquired using a 3.0 T Philips Achieva scanner. The results indicated a gradual decrease in the number of subcategories representing intelligence quotient deficits in the ADHD group with age. In adulthood, the ADHD group exhibited lower working memory compared to the healthy control group. The number of regions showing decreased FC from the cortex to striatum between the ADHD and control groups reduced with age, while regions with increased FC from the default mode network and attention network in the ADHD group increased with age. In adolescents and adults, working memory was positively associated with brain activity in the postcentral gyrus and negatively correlated with ADHD clinical symptoms. In conclusion, the findings suggest that intelligence deficits in certain IQ subcategories may diminish as individuals with ADHD age. Additionally, the study indicates an increasing anticorrelation between cortical and subcortical regions with age in individuals with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining the good mental health of Taiwanese military personnel is crucial, especially in light of incidents such as the Taiwan Strait crisis. Suicide is a leading cause of death among military personnel and alexithymia is a significant risk factor for suicidal ideation. However, the mechanisms linking alexithymia and suicidal ideation in this psychologically burdened population remain poorly understood. In total, 863 voluntary army military personnel from Taiwanese reserve brigades and combined‐arms brigades were enroled between May 2020 and February 2021. Structured questionnaires about alexithymia, perceived stress, depression, suicidal ideation, and background characteristics were used. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the serial mediation roles of perceived stress and depression in the relationship between alexithymia and suicidal ideation. Significant positive correlations were observed between alexithymia, perceived stress, depression, and suicidal ideation in bivariate analyses. Serial mediation analyses revealed that alexithymia significantly predicted higher levels of perceived stress, subsequently leading to depressive symptoms, which were associated with suicidal ideation. Depression served as a significant mediator between alexithymia and suicidal ideation. The strongest mediating effect (71.4%) was observed in the pathway from alexithymia through perceived stress and depression to suicidal ideation. Limitations included the utilization of cross‐sectional data and a reliance on retrospective self‐report measures. Perceived stress and depression were identified as serial mediators in the association between alexithymia and suicidal ideation. Clinically, it is crucial to prioritise interventions that target emotional regulation skills and assess the presence of alexithymia to effectively reduce suicidal ideation in military personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this experiment was to study the extraction method and antioxidant activity of total flavonoids from Cynanchum thesioides (Freyn) K. Schum fructus. Based on single factor experiment, the extraction pressure, extraction temperature, and extraction time were selected for response surface test, and the antioxidant activity was studied. The results showed that the optimum extraction conditions were as follows: Extraction time 2.66 h, extraction pressure 49.5 MPa, and extraction temperature 53 °C. Under these conditions, the extraction rate of total flavonoids was 3.377 mg/g. With the increase of total flavonoids content, the reduction ability, DPPH free radical scavenging rate and hydroxyl free radical scavenging ability increased. The study indicates that the total flavonoids from Cynanchum thesioides (Freyn) K. fructus Schum have the potential to be used as antioxidant feed additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expansion joints play a crucial role in accommodating the longitudinal movement of the main beam, which is mainly caused by temperature variation. This paper establishes an accurate model that relates the temperature field of the main beam to the displacement of the expansion joint, enabling reliable performance prediction and early warning of the expansion joint. Firstly, three commonly used methods for characterizing the temperature field of the main beam are introduced, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Secondly, a novel method is proposed using the Lasso algorithm to calculate critical temperatures. The objective is to select temperature channels data that have significant impact on the longitudinal displacement of the main beam. The selected channels data is then linearly weighted based on feature importance to obtain critical temperature. Based on this, a precise relationship model between the main beam temperature and the expansion joint displacement is derived through regression. For the residual term in the model fitting, an expansion joint performance early warning procedure is developed based on the X-bar control chart. Finally, using one-year long-term monitoring data from a newly constructed cable-stayed bridge as an example, the proposed method demonstrates superior capability in predicting the predefined damage of the expansion joint compared to the other two commonly used methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, wide‐color gamut perovskite light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are commonly controlled through halide composition tuning. However, the formation of perovskite crystals involving different ion radii of halogens often results in structural fragility and ionic defects, leading to emission instability during operation. This study showcases a novel approach to achieving a homogeneous and low‐defect crystalline state by regulating the thermodynamic nucleation mechanism of sky‐blue perovskite, thereby enhancing emission stability. Utilizing oxygen‐plasma treatment, a highly uniform surface energy is ensured for the nickel oxide acting as a hole transport layer. This treatment not only induces homogeneous nucleation of the perovskite layer but also effectively suppresses crystal defects. Simultaneously, the uniform surface energy alleviates halide phase separation caused by Ostwald ripening. Upon optimizing the fabrication conditions for sky‐blue perovskite, the resulting PeLEDs, featuring an electroluminescent peak at 486 nm, attain a luminance of 1125.3 cd m−2 with exceptional electroluminescent stability and a T50 lifetime. Furthermore, gaining insights into the thermodynamic nucleation mechanism in mix‐halides and perovskites contributes to the advancement of research on sky‐blue PeLEDs and offers valuable perspectives for future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The neural cells in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PWP) display aberrant synchronized oscillatory activity within the beta frequency range. Additionally, enhanced gamma oscillations may serve as a compensatory mechanism for motor inhibition mediated by beta activity and also reinstate plasticity in the primary motor cortex affected by Parkinson’s disease. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can synchronize endogenous oscillations with exogenous rhythms, thereby modulating cortical activity. The objective of this study is to investigate whether the addition of tACS to multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment (MIRT) can improve symptoms of PWP so as to enhance the quality of life in individuals with Parkinson’s disease based on the central-peripheral-central theory. Methods: The present study was a randomized, double-blind trial that enrolled 60 individuals with Parkinson’s disease aged between 45 and 70 years, who had Hoehn-Yahr scale scores ranging from 1 to 3. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the tACS + MIRT group or the sham-tACS + MIRT group. The trial consisted of a two-week double-blind treatment period followed by a 24-week follow-up period, resulting in a total duration of twenty-six weeks. The primary outcome measured the change in PDQ-39 scores from baseline (T0) to 4 weeks (T2), 12 weeks (T3), and 24 weeks (T4) after completion of the intervention. The secondary outcome assessed changes in MDS-UPDRS III scores at T0, the end of intervention (T1), T2, T3, and T4. Additional clinical assessments and mechanistic studies were conducted as tertiary outcomes. Discussion: The objective of this study is to demonstrate that tACS can enhance overall functionality and improve quality of life in PWP, based on the framework of MIRT. Additionally, it seeks to establish a potential correlation between these therapeutic effects and neuroplasticity alterations in relevant brain regions. The efficacy of tACS will be assessed during the follow-up period in order to optimize neuroplasticity and enhance its potential impact on rehabilitation efficiency for PWP. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2300071969. Registered on 30 May 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying clean energy is one of the feasible paths to achieve the "dual carbon target". Hydrogen energy, as an efficient and clean energy, is a new growth point for creating industrial transformation and upgrading. Ammonia is recognized as a zero-carbon hydrogen energy carrier, and utilizing hydrogen through hydrogen production from ammonia decomposition is one of the effective ways to safely store, transport and utilize hydrogen energy. In addition, there are many methods to realize the hydrogen production from ammonia, among which the method based on the combination of non-thermal plasma (NTP) and catalyst can reduce the reaction temperature, significantly improve ammonia (NH 3) conversion efficiency and hydrogen energy yield. As one of the methods with good application prospects, the interaction between NTP and catalyst in this method is complicated, and the efficiency of hydrogen production from ammonia is also affected by various factors, which restricts application of the method. In order to provide new ideas for the development and commercial application of NTP-catalytic technology for ammonia decomposition, this paper reviews the progress of NTP-catalytic hydrogen production from ammonia based on a systematic and integrated literature review methodology, analyses the effects of process parameters, temperature, catalyst, and other factors on the efficiency of plasma-catalytic ammonia decomposition, and discusses the plasma source and the mechanism of plasma-catalytic ammonia decomposition reaction. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of this plasma catalysis method are described. • The progress of low-temperature plasma-catalytic NH 3 decomposition was summarized. • Three factors affecting plasma-catalytic NH 3 decomposition reaction were analyzed. • The mechanism of plasma-catalytic NH 3 decomposition were presented. • Opportunities and challenges for plasma-catalytic NH 3 decomposition were outlined. • Low-temperature plasma catalysis can significantly improve the NH 3 conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Potassium bismuth citrate is a gastric mucosal protector and a key drug for treating peptic ulcers. Objective: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics and safety of 120-mg bismuth potassium citrate formulations administered orally under fasting conditions in healthy Chinese subjects. Method: A single-center open two-cycle trial was conducted on 12 healthy subjects who received a single oral dose of 120 mg of bismuth potassium citrate. The plasma concentration of bismuth was determined using a validated inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‒MS) method. The pharmacokinetic parameters, including maximum serum concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve concentration–time curve (AUC0–t and AUC0–∞), and safety were evaluated via noncompartment analysis. Results: The ratios of the least square geometric mean ratio between the test (T) and reference (R) formulations for Cmax, AUC0–t, and AUC0–∞ were 44.8%, 55.5%, and 64.4%, respectively; the bilateral 95% confidence intervals (Cis) for these parameters were 20.2–99.6%, 24.1–127.5%, and 23.7–175.0%, respectively, and the non-inferior limits for these parameters were 169.4%, 198.8%, and 200.5%, respectively. The upper limits of the one-sided 97.5% confidence interval for the least squares geometric mean ratio (T/R) were lower than the non-inferior limits. No serious adverse reactions or adverse reactions leading to detachment were observed among the subjects. Conclusion: The concentration of bismuth in the blood of healthy subjects in the T formulation was not greater than that in the R formulation. Similarly, the safety of oral administration of 120 mg of bismuth potassium citrate formulations to healthy subjects was good. The trial registration number (TRN) was [2018] 013, 6 December 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Demoralization has garnered increasing attention in recent years as a significant psychological distress. This study aims to identify latent classes of demoralization in lung cancer patients using Latent Class Analysis (LCA) from a person‐centered perspective and to explore the factors influencing the latent classes of demoralization. Methods: A cross‐sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted among 567 lung cancer patients in three tertiary hospitals in China. LCA was employed to classify heterogeneous classes of demoralization. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the associations between demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as physical symptoms, resilience, family function, and coping strategies, with class membership in the identified heterogeneous subgroups of lung cancer patients. Results: Three latent classes of demoralization were identified: the high demoralization group (Class 1, 14.8%), the moderate demoralization‐distress and helplessness group (Class 2, 37.2%), and the low demoralization group (Class 3, 48.0%). In comparison to Class 3, lung cancer patients with hypertension, higher core symptom burden, poorer resilience, dysfunctional family dynamics, and resignation coping were more likely to belong to Class 1 and Class 2. Conclusions: The demoralization patterns in lung cancer patients were varied. Targeted intervention should be developed based on the characteristics of each class, and timely attention should be paid to high‐risk patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary scedosporiosis is a rare pulmonary infection that often presents with nonspecific symptoms and radiological findings. In this report, we present a case of localized pulmonary scedosporiosis in an immunocompetent patient and analyze a total of 25 immunocompetent patients with pulmonary scedosporiosis. Through this case and the literature, we highlight the importance of considering pulmonary scedosporiosis in patients with nonspecific clinical symptoms and radiological findings resembling aspergilloma. This case and the literature further emphasize the significance of surgical intervention. Regardless of the use of antifungal drugs, surgery should be conducted as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Atherosclerosis induced by cyclosporine A (CsA), an inhibitor of the calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathway, is a major concern after organ transplantation. However, the atherosclerotic mechanisms of CsA remain obscure. We previously demonstrated that calcineurin/NFAT signalling inhibition contributes to atherogenesis via suppressing microRNA‐204 (miR‐204) transcription. We therefore hypothesised that miR‐204 is involved in the development of CsA‐induced atherosclerosis. Experimental Approach: ApoE−/− mice with macrophage‐miR‐204 overexpression were generated to determine the effects of miR‐204 on CsA‐induced atherosclerosis. Luciferase reporter assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing were performed to explore the targets mediating miR‐204 effects. Key Results: CsA alone did not significantly affect atherosclerotic lesions or serum lipid levels. However, it exacerbated high‐fat diet‐induced atherosclerosis and hyperlipidemia in C57BL/6J and ApoE−/− mice, respectively. miR‐204 levels decreased in circulating monocytes and plaque lesions during CsA‐induced atherosclerosis. The upregulation of miR‐204 in macrophages inhibited CsA‐induced atherosclerotic plaque formation but did not affect serum lipid levels. miR‐204 limited the CsA‐induced foam cell formation by reducing the expression of the scavenger receptors SR‐BII and CD36. SR‐BII was post‐transcriptionally regulated by mature miR‐204‐5p via 3′‐UTR targeting. Additionally, nuclear‐localised miR‐204‐3p prevented the CsA‐induced binding of Ago2 to the CD36 promoter, suppressing CD36 transcription. SR‐BII or CD36 expression restoration dampened the beneficial effects of miR‐204 on CsA‐induced atherosclerosis. Conclusion and Implications: Macrophage miR‐204 ameliorates CsA‐induced atherosclerosis, suggesting that miR‐204 may be a potential target for the prevention and treatment of CsA‐related atherosclerotic side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Records of the Lomagundi–Jatuli Event (LJE) are well preserved globally, but high δ13Ccarb carbonates have not been identified in the North China Craton (NCC). Our results on ~3–4 km thick carbonates from the newly confirmed Palaeoproterozoic successions in Fanhe Basin in the northeastern NCC show that the ~2.20–2.06 Ga carbonates have positive carbon isotope excursion and those deposited after 2.06 Ga have normal carbon isotope. Specially, carbonates from the Daposhan Formation have δ13Ccarb values of 10.2‰–11.8‰, which is the largest positive carbon isotope excursion in the NCC. The ~2.20–2.06 Ga carbonates in Fanhe Basin have similar δ13Ccarb values as those contemporaneously deposited in other cratons and their δ13Ccarb values exhibit a decreasing trend from ~2.20 Ga to 2.06 Ga. Our identification of carbonates with high positive δ13Ccarb values in Fanhe Basin not only casts new lights on records of the LJE in the NCC, but also provides important constraints on global significance of the positive δ13Ccarb excursion of LJE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective/Hypothesis: This study correlated stage of Meniere's disease (MD) with MR imaging of endolymphatic hydrops (EH) to assess the role of MD staging in modern era. Study Design: Retrospective study. Methods: Fifty‐four MD patients (60 ears) underwent an inner ear test battery and were further confirmed by MR imaging. Sixty MD ears were divided into stages I–IV, and hydrops MR images at each stage were compared. Results: Hydrops MRI demonstrated that EH at the cochlea with respective Grades 0/I/II were 3/7/1 ears for stage I, 0/5/3 ears for stage II, 1/6/26 ears for stage III and 0/2/6 ears for stage IV. Significant relationship was not identified between MD stage and grades of cochlear hydrops. Similarly, no significant relationship was shown between MD stage and grades of vestibular (saccular/utricular) hydrops. The optimal cutoff value of four‐tone average for predicting severe type (Grade II–III) cochlear/vestibular EH was 48 dB, which was within the stage III. Hence, prevalence of severe type (Grade II) cochlear EH in stages III (79%) and IV (75%) was significantly higher than stages I (9%) and II (38%). Similarly, severe type saccular/utricular EH in stages III (64%) and IV (75%) also showed significantly higher than stages I (18%) and II (25%). Conclusion: Although conventional MD staging fails to correlate with the grades of EH on hydrops MRI, late‐stage MD may indicate heightened EH severity in the cochlea and vestibule. Level of Evidence: 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytochrome P450s are a large family of protein-encoding genes in plant genomes, many of which have not yet been comprehensively characterized. Here, a novel P450 gene, CYP82D47, was isolated and functionally characterized from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that CYP82D47 expression was triggered by salicylic acid (SA) and ethephon (ETH). Expression analysis revealed a correlation between CYP82D47 transcript levels and plant defense responses against powdery mildew (PM) and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (Foc). Although no significant differences were observed in disease resistance between CYP82D47-RNAi and wild-type cucumber, overexpression (OE) of CYP82D47 enhanced PM and Foc resistance in cucumber. Furthermore, the expression levels of SA-related genes (PR1, PR2, PR4, and PR5) increased in CYP82D47-overexpressing plants 7 days post fungal inoculation. The levels of ETH-related genes (EIN3 and EBF2) were similarly upregulated. The observed enhanced resistance was associated with the upregulation of SA/ETH-signaling-dependent defense genes. These findings indicate the crucial role of CYP82D47 in pathogen defense in cucumber. CYP82D47-overexpressing cucumber plants exhibited heightened susceptibility to both diseases. The study results offer important insights that could aid in the development of disease-resistant cucumber cultivars and elucidate the molecular mechanisms associated with the functions of CYP82D47. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the predictive effect of Hounsfield unit (HU) values in the cervical vertebral body measured by computed tomography (CT) and T-scores measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) on Zero-P subsidence after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)with Zero-P. In addition, we evaluated the most reliable measurement of cervical HU values. Methods: We reviewed 76 patients who underwent single-level Zero-P fusion for cervical spondylosis. HU values were measured on CT images according to previous studies. Univariate analysis was used to screen the influencing factors of Zero-P subsidence, and then, logistic regression was used to determine the independent risk factors. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the ability to predict Zero-P subsidence. Results: Twelve patients (15.8%) developed Zero-P subsidence. There were significant differences between subsidence group and non-subsidence group in terms of age, axial HU value, and HU value of midsagittal, midcoronal, and midaxial (MSCD), but there were no significant differences in lowest T-score and lowest BMD. The axial HU value (OR = 0.925) and HU value of MSCD (OR = 0.892) were independent risk factors for Zero-P subsidence, and the lowest T-score was not (OR = 1.186). The AUC of predicting Zero-P subsidence was 0.798 for axial HU value, 0.861 for HU value of MSCD, and 0.656 for T-score. Conclusions: Lower cervical HU value indicates a higher risk of subsidence in patients following Zero-P fusion for single-level cervical spondylosis. HU values were better predictors of Zero-P subsidence than DXA T-scores. In addition, the measurement of HU value in the midsagittal, midcoronal, and midaxial planes of the cervical vertebral body provides an effective method for predicting Zero-P subsidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effects of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), the relationship between disease activity and HRQOL, and potential factors affecting HRQOL in Chinese SLE patients. Methods: This study recruited 1568 patients and 2610 controls to explore the effects of SLE on HRQOL. The association between disease activity and HRQOL, and the influencing factors of HRQOL were determined in 1568 patients. Then, we prospectively followed 1096 patients to explore the association between reduced disease activity and improved HRQOL, and the influencing factors of improved HRQOL. The Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) were used to evaluate HRQOL and disease activity. Results: Chinese SLE patients had lower HRQOL than controls in all domains (P < 0.001), especially in role-physical (RP) and role-emotional (RE). Compared with SLE patients from outside China, the HRQOL of Chinese patients appeared to be higher in mental component summary (MCS) but lower in RP and RE. SLEDAI was negatively correlated with HRQOL, which was validated using the results of a follow-up study, where SLEDAI reduction was positively associated with HRQOL improvements (P < 0.05). Furthermore, personality, life nervous and experiences of adverse life events may influence HRQOL and HRQOL improvements. Conclusion: SLE significantly affected the HRQOL of Chinese patients, especially in RP and RE. Disease activity was negatively correlated with HRQOL. We also found for the first time some factors affecting HRQOL, which can be regarded as the basis for improving the HRQOL of SLE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the palladium-catalyzed homo-dimerization of terminal alkynes, a process used in synthetic chemistry. It discusses different methods and catalysts that have been developed to achieve selective dimerization of alkynes. The use of palladium catalysts has shown significant advancements, and the article also explores environmentally friendly approaches using water as a solvent and mechanochemical conditions. The text emphasizes the potential for practical and industrial applications, but further research is needed in this field. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Nutrition and immunity play an important role in many chronic diseases. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has been proposed as a comprehensive indicator of an individual's immune and nutritional status. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the association between the PNI and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: We used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2001-2014 for participants with CKD. Mortality data were obtained from the National Death Index and matched to NHANES participants. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios for all-cause mortality. Results: The patients were 72.5 ± 9.8 years old, and 47.57% were male. The median follow-up was 58 months, and the mortality rate in patients with CKD was 30.27%. A higher PNI protected against all-cause mortality in patients with CKD, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 0.98 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97-0.99). After grouping according to PNI quartiles, statistically significant between-group differences were observed in survival probabilities. The aHR for the lowest PNI quartile compared to the highest PNI quartile was 1.64 (95% CI: 1.26-2.14). Sensitivity analysis further supported this association. Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed an L-shaped association between the PNI and all-cause mortality in patients with CKD, with a critical value of 50.5. Conclusions: The PNI is a protective factor in patients with CKD, with an L-shaped decrease in all-cause mortality with an increasing PNI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phellodendron chinense is an extraordinary medicinal plant, and its stem bark is a famous traditional Chinese medicine in China, containing a number of phytochemicals with biological and pharmacological functions. Studies have shown that the medicinal ingredients in P. chinense from various regions are different, as soil types might be important factors affecting the growth and quality of P. chinense. In this study, the effects of acidic purple soil, alkaline purple soil, yellow soil and red soil on the growth, nutrient element accumulation and partitioning in P. chinense seedlings were studied. Our results showed that the biomass of leaves and stems in acidic purple soil was significantly higher than in other soils, and the root biomass was significantly lower than that in yellow soil. C, N, P and Ca contents cultured in acidic purple soil were the highest compared to other soils, and K and Mg content were the highest in yellow soil and red soil, respectively. The distribution of carbon between different organs can reflect environmental stress. N has become a limiting factor for the growth and development of P. chinense seedlings. C:N and C:P ratios in the leaves were significantly lower than those in the stem and roots. Among four soil types, the highest N:P ratio was 1.65 in P. chinense seedlings. These results suggest that four soil types may significantly affect the accumulation and distribution of biomass and nutrient elements in P. chinense seedlings. The characteristic patterns in different organs have different responses. Acidic purple soil is more suitable for the growth of P. chinense. These findings will help to understand the distribution characteristics and requirements of nutrient elements in P. chinense seedlings, and further provide a theoretical basis and reference for site selection and cultivation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laccases from white-rot fungi exhibit high redox potential in treating phenolic compounds. However, their application in commercial purposes has been limited because of the relatively low productivity of the native hosts. Here, the laccase A-encoding gene lacA of Trametes sp. AH28-2 was overexpressed under the control of the strong promoter of cbh1 (P cbh1), the gene encoding the endogenous cellobiohydrolase 1 (CBH1), in the industrial workhorse fungus Trichoderma reesei. Firstly, the lacA expression cassette was randomly integrated into the T. reesei chromosome by genetic transformation. The lacA gene was successfully transcribed, but the laccase couldn't be detected in the liquid fermentation condition. Meanwhile, it was found that the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) was strongly activated, indicating that the expression of LacA probably triggered intense endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Subsequently, the lacA expression cassette was added with the downstream region of cbh1 (T cbh1) to construct the new expression cassette lacA:: Δ cbh1 , which could replace the cbh1 locus in the genome via homologous recombination. After genetic transformation, the lacA gene was integrated into the cbh1 locus and transcribed. And the unfolded protein response (UPR) and ERAD were only slightly induced, for which the loss of endogenous cellulase CBH1 released the pressure of secretion. Finally, the maximum laccase activity of 168.3 U/l was obtained in the fermentation broth. These results demonstrated that the reduction of secretion pressure by deletion of endogenous protein-encoding genes would be an efficient strategy for the secretion of heterologous target proteins in industrial fungi. One-Sentence Summary The reduction of the secretion pressure by deletion of the endogenous cbh1 gene can contribute to heterologous expression of the laccase (LacA) from Trametes sp. AH28-2 in Trichoderma reesei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the discriminatory, anti-women workplace culture in China's tech industry and how tech workers organise online activism in response. In August 2021, an online petition broke out to demand justice for a sexual crime victim at the Chinese e-commerce enterprise Alibaba. This is a powerful example of digital activism leaping beyond the constraints and challenges of labour organising in the global tech sector. The article shows how social media could bring new possibilities to the tech worker movement in both authoritarian and democratic countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial polymerization is a well-known process to synthesize separation layers for thin film composite membranes at an immiscible organic liquid–aqueous liquid interface. The organic–aqueous interface determines the diffusion dynamics of monomers and the chemical environment for polymerization, exerting a critical influence on the formation of polymer thin films. This review summarizes recent advances in tailoring interfacial polymerization using interfaces beyond the conventional alkane–water interface to achieve high-performance separation films with designed structures. Diverse liquid–liquid interfaces are introduced for synthesizing separation films by adding co-solvents into the organic phase and/or the aqueous phase, respectively, or by replacing one of the liquid phases with other solvents. Innovative liquid–gel and liquid–gas interfaces are then summarized for the synthesis of polymer thin films for separation. Novel strategies to form reaction interfaces, such as spray-coating, are also presented and discussed. In addition, we discuss the details of how a physically or chemically patterned substrate affects interfacial polymerization. Finally, the potential of unconventional interfaces in interfacial polymerization is forecast with both challenges and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. The available research on the association between estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), ER−/PR+ status, and the occurrence of lung cancer subsequent to breast cancer in patients (referred to as BC-LuC) had been limited. Consequently, there is a need to examine whether ER, PR, HER2, and ER−/PR+ have independent correlations with the risk and outcomes of BC-LuC, while appropriately adjusting for other potential covariates. Methods. The present study employed a cohort design and utilized data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program spanning from 2010 to 2015. The study population consisted of 683,336 individuals who were diagnosed with breast cancer (referred to as BC). Various covariates were assessed at baseline, including age, sex, race, marital status, CS tumor size, laterality, radiation, chemotherapy, months from diagnosis to treatment, breast subtype, AJCC 7th edition (2010–2015), and combined summary stage (2004+). The primary objective of this study was to investigate the association between ER, PR, HER2, ER−/PR+ status, and the risk of developing BC-LuC. Logistic regression analysis was employed to assess this association. Furthermore, multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) along with their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Kaplan–Meier plots and log-rank tests were utilized to estimate the outcomes, specifically overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and metastasis. Results. The average age of 198,972 selected participants was 59.8 ± 13.1 years, and about 99.3% of them were female. Result of fully adjusted binary logistic regression showed PR+ and HER2+ were positively associated with lower risk BC-LuC after adjusting confounders (ORs = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.73–0.96, p = 0.011 and ORs = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.72–0.96, p = 0.012, respectively). ER+ and ER−/PR+ were detected no significant relationship with BC-LuC (ORs = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.87–1.22, p = 0.718 and ORs = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.61–1.72, p = 0.936, respectively). In subgroups analyses, the results remain stable. Multivariable Cox regression showed that BC-LuC patients with ER and PR were significantly associated with OS and DSS. However, ER, PR, HER2, and ER−/PR+ were significantly associated with OS and DSS in breast cancer patients. The relationship between ER, PR, HER2, and ER−/PR+ and metastasis in breast cancer patients was different. Conclusion. The results of this study indicated a potential correlation between PR- and HER2- status and a risk of developing BC-LuC. Furthermore, it appears that the prognosis of BC-LuC may be influenced by the presence of ER+ and PR+. Therefore, additional research is warranted to fully investigate and validate this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medical use of molecular hydrogen, including hydrogen-rich water and hydrogen gas, has been extensively explored since 2007. This article aimed to demonstrate the trend in medical research on molecular hydrogen. A total of 1126 publications on hydrogen therapy were retrieved from the PubMed database until July 30, 2021. From 2007 to 2020, the number of publications in this field had been on an upward trend. Medical Gas Research, Scientific Report and Shock have contributed the largest number of publications on this topic. Researchers by the name of Xue-Jun Sun, Ke-Liang Xie and Yong-Hao Yu published the most studies in the field. Analysis of the co-occurrence of key words indicated that the key words “molecular hydrogen,” “hydrogen-rich water,” “oxidative stress,” “hydrogen gas,” and “inflammation” occurred most frequently in these articles. “Gut microbiota,” “pyroptosis,” and “COVID-19” occurred the most recently among the keywords. In summary, the therapeutic application of molecular hydrogen had attracted much attention in these years. The advance in this field could be caught up by subscribing to relevant journals or following experienced scholars. Oxidative stress and inflammation were the most important research directions currently, and gut microbiota, pyroptosis, and coronavirus disease 2019 might become hotspots in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Directional transport of a liquid is an important issue in microfluidic systems and application purpose. Here, through combining the ideas of pressure-driven gas bubble-induced acoustic streaming flow and magnetic field-deformed ferrofluid drop, we study the ambient flow induced by an oscillating ferrofluid drop as an in situ actuator in a millimeter-sized gap environment. A drop squeezed by two parallel glass sheets, under the influence of a magnetic field, is discovered to undergo multimodal oscillations. The particle image velocimetry technique helps us to reveal the vortex-typed flow structure surrounding the oscillating drop. The shape changes of drop are found including the circular, elliptical, triangular, inverse-triangular, and circular shapes. We employ the numerical front-tracking method and analytical mixed-mode model to elucidate a drop-driven flow. We find that the pulsating, translational, and quadrupole mode oscillation of the drop is capable to describe most features of the flow distribution. Furthermore, we demonstrate an in situ pump by applying a spatially non-uniform pulsating magnetic field onto the arranged ferrofluid drops. The ferrofluid drop-based in situ pump shows the ability to produce a flow rate of 108 μ l/min, which should be a great help in microfluidic pumping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) for pancreatic cancer (PC) has achieved certain results. This article was aimed to analyze the trends in NAT in PC over the past 20 years using bibliometric analysis and visualization tools to guide researchers in exploring future research hotspots. Articles related to NAT for PC were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection for the period 2002–2021. The information was analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer, Citespace, Microsoft Excel and R software. The number of articles per year has continued to increase over the past 20 years. Of the 1,598 eligible articles, the highest number was from the United States (760), and an analysis of institutions indicated that the University of Texas System (150) had the highest number of articles. Matthew H. G. Katz had the highest number of citations and the highest H-index. "Pancreatic cancer" (981), "Resection" (623), "Cancer" (553), "Neoadjuvant therapy" (509) and "Survival" (484) were the top five ranked keywords. Combined with the keywords-cluster analysis and citation burst analysis, current research hotspots were the optimal NAT regimen, NAT response assessment, NAT for resectable PC and management of complications. NAT has received increasing attention in the field of PC over the past 20 years, but greater collaboration between countries and additional multicenter randomized clinical trials are needed. Overall, we have revealed current research hotspots and provided valuable information for the choice of future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To assess the effect and safety of probiotics for treating urticaria. Methods: Randomized controlled trial (RCT) papers on the probiotics treatment published before May 2019 were retrieved from various databases like PubMed, EMbase, MEDLINE (Ovid), SCI‐Hub, Springer, ClinicalKey, VIP, and CNKI. The treatment plan that we include are oral administration of single probiotic, multiple probiotics, and the combination of probiotics and antihistamines. Meta‐analysis of the data was performed by RevMan 5.3 software. Results: A total of nine RCT papers were included: four papers for oral administration of single probiotic, three papers for oral administration of multiple probiotics, and two papers for oral administration of a probiotic combined with antihistamines. The results of meta‐analysis showed that the therapeutic effect of the probiotic group was significantly higher than the control group (placebo or antihistamines) (RR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03–1.16, p = 0.006). And compared with the placebo group, the therapeutic effect of single probiotic group was significantly improved (RR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01–1.21, p = 0.03). Regarding therapeutic effect, there was no statistically significant difference between the multiple probiotics group and placebo group (RR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.94 ~ 1.07, p = 0.91); the therapeutic effect of single probiotic combined antihistamine group was significantly higher than the antihistamine group (RR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07–1.19, p < 0.0001). Regarding the incidence of adverse reactions, there was no significant difference between the probiotic group and the control group (p = 0.46). Conclusion: The treatment plan of oral administration of probiotics has significant therapeutic effects on urticaria, but the therapeutic effects of the administration of multiple probiotics and the safety of probiotic therapy are still not yet obvious. Some large‐scale, multi‐centered RCT studies are needed in the future for clarification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The cerebellum is involved in regulating motor, affective, and cognitive processes. It is a promising target for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) intervention in stroke. Objectives: To review the current evidence for cerebellar tDCS (ctDCS) in stroke, its problems, and its future directions. Methods: We searched the Web of Science, MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and PubMed databases. Eligible studies were identified after a systematic literature review of the effects of ctDCS in stroke patients. The changes in assessment scale scores and objective indicators after stimulation were reviewed. Results: Eleven studies were included in the systematic review, comprising 169 stroke patients. Current evidence suggests that anode tDCS on the right cerebellar hemisphere does not appear to enhance language processing in stroke patients. Compared with the sham group, stroke patients showed a significant improvement in the verb generation task after cathodal ctDCS stimulation. However, with regard to naming, two studies came to the opposite conclusion. The contralesional anodal ctDCS is expected to improve standing balance but not motor learning in stroke patients. The bipolar bilateral ctDCS protocol to target dentate nuclei (PO10h and PO9h) had a positive effect on standing balance, goal-directed weight shifting, and postural control in stroke patients. Conclusions: ctDCS appears to improve poststroke language and motor dysfunction (particularly gait). However, the evidence for these results was insufficient, and the quality of the relevant studies was low. ctDCS stimulation parameters and individual factors of participants may affect the therapeutic effect of ctDCS. Researchers need to take a more regulated approach in the future to conduct studies with large sample sizes. Overall, ctDCS remains a promising stroke intervention technique that could be used in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the general environment of lightweight automobiles, the integrated die-casting technology proposed by Tesla has become the general mode to better achieve weight reduction in automobiles. The die-casting mold required by integrated die-casting technology has the characteristics of large scale and complexity. Hence, higher requirements are put forward for the comprehensive performance of the die steel. Despite the stagnation in the progress of conventional strengthening methods, enhancing the performance of die steel has become increasingly challenging. Indeed, it necessitates exploring novel die steel and optimizing heat treatment and reinforcement technologies. This article summarizes and analyzes the development status of die steel and corresponding heat treatment and microstructure manipulation as well as strengthening methods and elaborates on an excellent nano-strengthening technology. Furthermore, this review will aid researchers in establishing a comprehensive understanding of the development status of die steel and the processes utilized for its strengthening. It will also assist them in developing die steel with improved comprehensive performance to meet the high demand for mold steel in the integrated die-casting technology of the new era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a crucial signaling protein regulating a range of cellular events. Numerous studies have reported that the mTOR pathway is related to spermatogenesis in mammals. However, its functions and underlying mechanisms in crustaceans remain largely unknown. mTOR exists as two multimeric functional complexes termed mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2. Herein, we first cloned ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6, a downstream molecule of mTORC1) and protein kinase C (PKC, a downstream effector of mTORC2) from the testis of Eriocheir sinensis. The dynamic localization of rpS6 and PKC suggested that both proteins may be essential for spermatogenesis. rpS6/PKC knockdown and Torin1 treatment led to defects in spermatogenesis, including germ cell loss, retention of mature sperm and empty lumen formation. In addition, the integrity of the testis barrier (similar to the blood-testis barrier in mammals) was disrupted in the rpS6/PKC knockdown and Torin1 treatment groups, accompanied by changing in expression and distribution of junction proteins. Further study demonstrated that these findings may result from the disorganization of filamentous actin (F-actin) networks, which were mediated by the expression of actin-related protein 3 (Arp3) rather than epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (Eps8). In summary, our study illustrated that mTORC1/rpS6 and mTORC2/PKC regulated spermatogenesis via Arp3-mediated actin microfilament organization in E. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the largest concerns with world health today is still antibiotic resistance, which is making it imperative to find efficient alternatives as soon as possible. It has been demonstrated that microbes are reliable sources for the creation of therapeutic antibiotics. This research intends to investigate the endophytic microorganisms from several medicinal plants in Fenghuang Mountain (Jiangsu Province, China) and to discover new antibiotics from their secondary metabolites. A total of 269 endophytic strains were isolated from nine distinct medicinal plants. Taxonomic analysis revealed that there were 20 distinct species among these endophytes, with Streptomyces being the most common genus. Three of the target strains were chosen for scale-up fermentation after preliminary screening of antibacterial activities and the metabolomics investigation using LC-MS. These strains were Penicillium sp. NX-S-6, Streptomyces sp. YHLB-L-2 and Streptomyces sp. ZLBB-S-6. Twenty-three secondary metabolites (1–23), including a new sorbicillin analogue (1), were produced as a result of antibacterial activity-guided isolation. Through spectroscopic analysis using MS and NMR, the structures of yield compounds were clarified. According to antibacterial data, S. aureus or B. subtilis were inhibited to varying degrees by sorrentanone (3), emodic acid (8), GKK1032 B (10), linoleic acid (14), toyocamycin (17) and quinomycin A (21). The most effective antimicrobial agent against S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and A. baumannii was quinomycin A (21). In addition, quinomycin A showed strong antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, and two clinical isolated strains Aspergillus fumigatus #176 and #339, with MIC as 16, 4, 16 and 16 µg/mL, respectively. This is the first time that bioprospecting of actinobacteria and their secondary metabolites from medicinal plants in Fenghuang Mountain was reported. The finding demonstrates the potential of endophytic microbes in medical plants to produce a variety of natural products. Endophytic microbes will be an important source for new antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great progress has been made in identifying positive regulators that activate adipocyte thermogenesis, but negative regulatory signaling of thermogenesis remains poorly understood. Here, we found that cardiotrophin-like cytokine factor 1 (CLCF1) signaling led to loss of brown fat identity, which impaired thermogenic capacity. CLCF1 levels decreased during thermogenic stimulation but were considerably increased in obesity. Adipocyte-specific CLCF1 transgenic (CLCF1-ATG) mice showed impaired energy expenditure and severe cold intolerance. Elevated CLCF1 triggered whitening of brown adipose tissue by suppressing mitochondrial biogenesis. Mechanistically, CLCF1 bound and activated ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor (CNTFR) and augmented signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling. STAT3 transcriptionally inhibited both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator (PGC) 1α and 1β, which thereafter restrained mitochondrial biogenesis in adipocytes. Inhibition of CNTFR or STAT3 could diminish the inhibitory effects of CLCF1 on mitochondrial biogenesis and thermogenesis. As a result, CLCF1-TG mice were predisposed to develop metabolic dysfunction even without external metabolic stress. Our findings revealed a brake signal on nonshivering thermogenesis and suggested that targeting this pathway could be used to restore brown fat activity and systemic metabolic homeostasis in obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the molecular interaction between ligand and receptor is important for providing the basis for the development of regenerative drugs. Although it has been reported that extracellular phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (Pgk1) can promote the neurite outgrowth of motoneurons, the Pgk1-interacting neural receptor remains unknown. Here we show that neural membranous Enolase-2 exhibits strong affinity with recombinant Pgk1-Flag, which is also evidently demonstrated by immunoelectron microscopy. The 325th-417th domain of Pgk1 interacts with the 405th-431st domain of Enolase-2, but neither Enolase-1 nor Enolase-3, promoting neurite outgrowth. Combining Pgk1 incubation and Enolase-2 overexpression, we demonstrate a highly significant enhancement of neurite outgrowth of motoneurons through a reduced p-P38-T180/p-Limk1-S323/p-Cofilin signaling. Collectively, extracellular Pgk1 interacts neural membrane receptor Enolase-2 to reduce the P38/Limk1/Cofilin signaling which results in promoting neurite outgrowth. The extracellular Pgk1-specific neural receptor found in this study should provide a material for screening potential small molecule drugs that promote motor nerve regeneration. The extracellular kinase, Pgk1, interacts with the neural membrane protein, Enolase2, which in turn enhances neurite outgrowth of motoneurons both in neural cells and an embryonic zebrafish model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsupervised image-to-image translation has received considerable attention due to the recent remarkable advancements in generative adversarial networks (GANs). In image-to-image translation, state-of-the-art methods use unpaired image data to learn mappings between the source and target domains. However, despite their promising results, existing approaches often fail in challenging conditions, particularly when images have various target instances and a translation task involves significant transitions in shape and visual artifacts when translating low-level information rather than high-level semantics. To tackle the problem, we propose a novel framework called Progressive Unsupervised Generative Attentional Networks with Adaptive Layer-Instance Normalization (PRO-U-GAT-IT) for the unsupervised image-to-image translation task. In contrast to existing attention-based models that fail to handle geometric transitions between the source and target domains, our model can translate images requiring extensive and holistic changes in shape. Experimental results show the superiority of the proposed approach compared to the existing state-of-the-art models on different datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The linear arboricity la(G) of a graph G is the minimum number of linear forests that partition the edges of G. Akiyama, Exoo and Harary conjectured that ⌈ Δ 2 ⌉ ≤ l a (G) ≤ ⌈ Δ + 1 2 ⌉ for any graph G with maximum degree Δ , and proved the conjecture holds for forests. This conjecture has been verified for certain graph families with treewidth at most 3. In the paper we improve these former results by validating the conjecture for all graphs with treewidth at most 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of reinforcement of concrete pylons in cable‐stayed bridges is a challenging task. Usually, only the influence of the strong horizontal component of the cable force is considered during the reinforcement design of the concrete tower, while the bursting forces caused by the vertical components of the cable forces are ignored. However, the latter is also an important factor for concrete cracking in bridge towers. In this paper, the concrete tower of a single cable plane cable‐stayed bridge is considered. The strut‐and‐tie model (STM) of the pylon wall subject to the vertical components of one single cable force was derived. Based on the minimum strain energy principle, an equation for predicting the bursting force was given. Then, the STMs of a concrete pylon with two cable forces with different vertical distances between cables were proposed. A series of equations for predicting the bursting force in different STMs were presented. The STMs of a concrete pylon with multiple cables were subsequently obtained from the STM for two cable forces. The analysis results show that the vertical distance between cables has a great influence on the STM configuration of the tower. When the cable distance is less than 0.7 times the width of the tower wall, the bursting force is larger than that when the cable distance is larger than 0.7 times the width of the tower wall. This study was expected to provide a reference in the design and applications of pylons of concrete cable‐stayed bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pneumatic down-the-hole (DTH) hammer has been extensively used in air drillings through hard and ultra-hard geological formations. Numerical modeling can offer close observation on the working behaviors by visualizing internal pressure status as well as provide reliable performance predictions for large-diameter DTH hammers to which conventional empirical and experimental approaches cannot be applied. In this study, CFD simulations coupled with dynamic meshing are utilized to simulate the air flow and piston movement inside the large-diameter DTH hammers. The numerical modeling scheme is verified against a theoretical model published in literature. Effects of structural parameters on hammer performance, including piston mass, piston upper-end diameter, piston groove diameter, and lengths of intake and exhaust stroke in both front and rear chambers, are analyzed in detail by virtue of sets of numerical simulations. The simulations suggest that changing the intake stroke of front chamber has a negligible influence on hammer performance while increasing the piston groove would lower all the four indicators of hammer performance, including impact energy, impact frequency, maximum stroke, and air consumption rate. Changing the other structural parameters demonstrates mixed effects on the performance indicators. Based on the numerical simulations, a large GQ-400 DTH hammer has been designed for reduced air consumption rate and tested in a field drilling practice. The air drilling test with the designed hammer provided a penetration rate 1.7 times faster than that of conventional mud drilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six sartan substances including telmisartan, losartan, valsartan, irbesartan, olmesartan, and candesartan were selected in this work. A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to simutaniously detect six drugs. Linearity, LOD, and LOQ were satisfied for routine quantitative and qualitative detection. The linearity ranged from 2 to 1000 ng/mL with the determination coefficient more than 0.98. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were all below 27.5%. All the recoveries were above 80%, and matrix effects were between 25 and 120%. Profiling detection of six sartan substances in human urine was also developed after administration. Irbesartan urinary metabolic pathway was firstly investigated by liquid chromatography quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry using full scan and targeted tandem mass spectrometry techniques. Fifteen urinary metabolites of irbesartan were identified and characterized, and ten of them were firstly reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial upgrading and transfer is one of the three key areas in the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region. Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) are important means of promoting industrial upgrading. Urban MICE industry, as an important carrier of event activities, become an important gripper for coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region. City exhibition space structure plays an dominant role in regional economic development, and it will greatly promote smooth implementation of the coordinated development strategy of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region. In this paper, 13 prefecture-level cities in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei were selected as research objects, and the data from 2012 to 2018 were selected to establish a gravity model of the attractiveness of MICE cities. With the help of UCINET software, the network density, centrality, cohesive subgroup and core-edge of nodes researches were obtained to analyze the spatial structure characteristics of the attractiveness of MICE cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region. The influencing factors of the spatial characteristics of MICE city attractiveness are analyzed by using geographically weighted regression model. The results show that: (1) Beijing, as the overall core area, act as a prominent role. Beijing strengthens the attraction to the superior resources of the surrounding areas, but the network of MICE cities tends to be unbalanced. (2) Overall space forms a subgroup from a single independent subgroup to a subgroup that is spatially separated from each other and acts as an intermediary channel to connect each other, and the core region decreases from 3 to 2. Langfang was removed from the list, leaving Beijing and Tianjin as the core. (3) The influence of supporting facilities, urban environment and population factors on the MICE city attractiveness of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region is increasing gradually. The influence of tourism development level on the MICE city attractiveness of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region is decreasing gradually. The influence of economic development level and Internet development level on the MICE city attractiveness of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region remains unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to diesel, liquefied natural gas (LNG), often used as an alternative fuel for marine engines, comes with significant advantages in reducing emissions of particulate matter (PM), SOx, CO2, and other pollutants. Promoting the use of LNG is of great significance for achieving carbon peaking and neutrality worldwide, as well as improving the energy structure. However, compared to diesel engines, medium- and high-speed marine LNG engines may produce higher methane (CH4) emissions and also have nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission issues. For the removal of CH4 and NOx from the exhaust of marine LNG engines, the traditional technical route of combining a methane oxidation catalyst (MOC) and an HN3 selective catalytic reduction system (NH3-SCR) will face problems, such as low conversion efficiency and high operation cost. In view of this, the technology of non-thermal plasma (NTP) combined with CH4-SCR is proposed. However, the synergistic mechanism between NTP and catalysts is still unclear, which limits the optimization of an NTP-CH4-SCR system. This article summarizes the synergistic mechanism of NTP and catalysts in the integrated treatment process of CH4 and NOx, including experimental analysis and numerical simulation. And the relevant impact parameters (such as electrode diameter, electrode shape, electrode material, and barrier material, etc.) of NTP reactor energy optimization are discussed. The work of this paper is of great significance for guiding the high-efficiency removal of CH4 and NOx for an NTP-CH4-SCR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing a new strategy to improve the self‐assembly efficiency of functional assemblies in a confined space and construct hybrid functional materials is a significant and fascinating endeavor. Herein, we present a highly efficient strategy for achieving the supramolecular self‐assembly of well‐defined metallacages in microdroplets through continuous‐flow microfluidic devices. The high efficiency and versatility of this approach are demonstrated by the generation of five representative metallacages in different solvents containing water, DMF, acetonitrile, and methanol in a few minutes with nearly quantitative yields, in contrast to the yields obtained with the hour‐scale reaction time in a batch reactor. A ring‐opening catalytic reaction of the metallacages was selected as a model reaction for exploring supramolecular catalysis in microdroplets, whereby the catalytic yield was enhanced by 2.22‐fold compared to that of the same reaction in the batch reactor. This work illustrates a new promising approach for the self‐assembly of supramolecular systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing a new strategy to improve the self‐assembly efficiency of functional assemblies in a confined space and construct hybrid functional materials is a significant and fascinating endeavor. Herein, we present a highly efficient strategy for achieving the supramolecular self‐assembly of well‐defined metallacages in microdroplets through continuous‐flow microfluidic devices. The high efficiency and versatility of this approach are demonstrated by the generation of five representative metallacages in different solvents containing water, DMF, acetonitrile, and methanol in a few minutes with nearly quantitative yields, in contrast to the yields obtained with the hour‐scale reaction time in a batch reactor. A ring‐opening catalytic reaction of the metallacages was selected as a model reaction for exploring supramolecular catalysis in microdroplets, whereby the catalytic yield was enhanced by 2.22‐fold compared to that of the same reaction in the batch reactor. This work illustrates a new promising approach for the self‐assembly of supramolecular systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenylate kinases (ADKs) are one of the important enzymes regulating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) metabolism in Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. The objective of the present study was to explore the molecular characteristics and immunological properties of E. granulosus sensu stricto (G1) adenylate kinase 1 (EgADK1) and adenylate kinase 8 (EgADK8). EgADK1 and EgADK8 were cloned and expressed, and the molecular characteristics of EgADK1 and EgADK8 were analyzed through different bioinformatics tools. Western blotting was used to examine the reactogenicity of recombinant adenylate kinase 1 (rEgADK1) and recombinant adenylate kinase 8 (rEgADK8) and to evaluate their diagnostic value. The expression profiles of EgADK1 and EgADK8 in 18-day-old strobilated worms and protoscoleces were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR, and their distribution in 18-day-old strobilated worms, the germinal layer, and protoscoleces was determined by immunofluorescence localization. EgADK1 and EgADK8 were successfully cloned and expressed. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that EgADK1 and EgADK8 have multiple phosphorylation sites and B-cell epitopes. Compared with EgADK8, EgADK1 and other parasite ADKs have higher sequence similarity. In addition, both cystic echinococcosis (CE)–positive sheep sera and Cysticercus tenuicollis–infected goat sera could recognize rEgADK1 and rEgADK8. EgADK1 and EgADK8 were localized in protoscoleces, the germinal layer, and 18-day-old strobilated worms. EgADK1 and EgADK8 showed no significant difference in their transcription level in 18-day-old strobilated worms and protoscoleces, suggesting that EgADK1 and EgADK8 may play an important role in the growth and development of E. granulosus sensu lato. Since EgADK1 and EgADK8 can be recognized by other parasite-positive sera, they are not suitable as candidate antigens for the diagnosis of CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties and service life of asphalt pavement are to a large extent dependent on pavement structure. Most pavement structural designs at home and abroad commonly follow the typical structural design method; however, considering that the geographical span from east to west in Inner Mongolia is large, a single pavement structure cannot be optimal for all environments, and low-temperature fracturing may easily occur during the road service life. Ten kinds of pavement structures are analyzed in this paper. The pavement structure mechanical indices are analyzed using different soil base modulus values, different axle loads, and different internal contact conditions. A low-temperature return period was introduced to establish a Gumbel extreme temperature model. The low-temperature protection index and calculation method based on the return period for asphalt pavement is proposed, which takes Arxan City as a benchmark for calculating low-temperature protection values in Eastern Inner Mongolia. The low-temperature fracturing formula is improved to calculate low-temperature indexes for different pavement structures. Using a life cycle cost model, the economy of different pavement structures is evaluated from the aspects of initial cost, maintenance cost, and pavement residual value. By establishing a combined weight-fuzzy pavement evaluation model and combining the mechanical response, low-temperature fractures during the return period, and economy of the life cycle, a comprehensive property ranking for different pavement structures was obtained. Finally, the typical structural combination for the asphalt pavement in the Eastern Inner Mongolia is recommended to be three layers of asphalt surface + semi-rigid base or three layers of asphalt surface + asphalt treated base (ATB) + semi-rigid base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Collarless‐polished‐tapered (CPT) stems have been widely used in total hip replacement (THR). Given that various types of cups are combined with CPT in clinical practice, however, what cup type performs the best for use with CPT is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of three types of commonly used cups with CPT on revision and survival life using multi‐factor analysis. Methods: This study is a cohort study using the data between October 1998 to September 2021. The data of THR patients with ZCA All‐poly Acetabular Cup, Continuum Acetabular System, and Trilogy Acetabular System with CPT were collected from several hospitals in the UK. The patients aged from 20 to 97 (n = 5981, 2345 male and 3636 female). Age, gender, body mass index, diagnosis, surgeon grade, cup material, cup size, surgical approach, survival life, complications, and Harris hip scores (HHS) were analyzed in relation to revision status. SPSS statistical software was used to analyze the relationship among various factors. The main statistical methods included chi‐square with cross tables, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and survival analysis. Results: The results in relation to HHS shows that the continuum cup has the best outcome in the postoperative period of 1 and 5 years (1 year = 90.7, 5 years = 91.3; P < 0.001); the Trilogy cup was the second (1 year = 88.4, 5 years = 87.3; P < 0.001); and the ZCA cup was the third (1 year = 84.6, 5 years = 82.4; P < 0.001). However, the Trilogy cup performed the best regarding survival life on revision while the Continuum cup was the worst. Conclusion: When the CPT stem is combined with different cups, the trilogy cup shows the best characteristics in terms of survival trends with revision ratios compared with the continuum and ZCA cups, and is therefore recommended by this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although statins are an effective strategy for the secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in the general population, the benefits for dialysis patients are controversial. We sought to assess trends of statin use and evaluate outcomes of statin therapy in dialysis patients with different types of ASCVD. Methods: This nationwide retrospective population-based cohort study using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service included adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) undergoing chronic dialysis who had an initial ASCVD event in the time period of 2013 to 2018. Annual trends of statin use according to age, sex, and ASCVD types were analyzed. The association between 1-year mortality and statin use was examined using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. Results: Among 17,242 subjects, 9,611(55.7%) patients were statin users. The overall prevalence of statin use increased from 52.9% in 2013 to 57.7% in 2018; the majority (77%) of dialysis patients were prescribed moderate-intensity statins. The proportions of low- or moderate-intensity statin use were similar, but high-intensity statin use increased from 5.7% in 2013 to 10.5% in 2018. The use of the statin/ezetimibe combination has gradually increased since 2016. Statin use was independently associated with the reduced 1-year all-cause mortality after adjusting for confounding factors (hazard ratio [HR] 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.80–0.96, P = 0.004). Conclusion: The prevalence of statin prescriptions in dialysis patients after ASCVD event increased from 2013 to 2018. Most patients received moderate-intensity statin. However, high-intensity statin and statin/ezetimibe combination therapy has remarkably increased. Statin use was associated with decreased 1-year all-cause mortality in dialysis patients with ASCVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wave propagation in the viscoacoustic media is physically dispersive and dissipated. Completely excluding the numerical dispersion error from the physical dispersion in the viscoacoustic wave simulation is indispensable to understanding the intrinsic property of the wave propagation in attenuated media for the petroleum exploration geophysics. In recent years, a viscoacoustic wave equation characterized by fractional Laplacian gains wide attention in geophysical community. However, the firstorder form of the viscoacoustic wave equation, often solved by the conventional staggered-grid pseudospectral method, suffers from the numerical dispersion error in time due to the low-order finitedifference approximation. It is challenging to completely eliminate the error because the viscoacoustic wave equation contains two temporal derivatives, which stem from the time stepping and the amplitude attenuation terms, respectively. To tackle the issue, we derive two exact first-order k-space viscoacoustic formulations that can fully exclude the numerical error from the physical dispersion. For the homogeneous case, two formulations agree with the viscoacoustic analytical solution very well and have the same efficiency. For the heterogeneous case, our second k-space formulation is more efficient than the first one because the second formulation significantly reduces the number of the wavenumber-space mixed-domain operators, which are the expensive part of the viscoacoustic k-space simulation. Numerical cases validate that the two first-order k-space formulations are effective and efficient alternatives to the current staggered-grid pseudospectral formulation for the viscoacoustic wave simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sacubitril/valsartan is a commonly used medicine for treating heart failure (HF) patients, but the treatment effects significantly vary. Neprilysin (NEP) and carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) play an important role in the efficacy of sacubitril/valsartan. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between NEP and CES1 gene polymorphisms and the efficacy and safety of sacubitril/valsartan treatment in HF patients. Methods: Genotyping of 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the NEP and CES1 genes in 116 HF patients was performed by the Sequenom MassARRAY method, and logistic regression and haplotype analysis were used to evaluate the associations between SNPs and the clinical efficacy and safety of sacubitril/valsartan in HF patients. Results: A total of 116 Chinese patients with HF completed the whole trial, and T variations in rs701109 in NEP gene were an independent risk factor (P = 0.013, OR = 3.292, 95% CI:1.287–8.422) for the clinical efficacy of sacubitril/valsartan. Furthermore, haplotype analysis of 6 NEP SNPs (including rs701109) was performed and showed that the CGTACC and TGTACC haplotypes were significantly associated with clinical efficacy (OR = 0.095, 95%CI: 0.012–0.723, P = 0.003; OR = 5.586, 95% CI: 1.621–19.248, P = 0.005). Moreover, no association was found between SNPs of other selected genes in terms of efficacy in HF patients, and no association was observed between SNPs and symptomatic hypotension. Conclusion: Our results suggest an association between rs701109 and sacubitril/valsartan response in HF patients. Symptomatic hypotension is not associated with the presence of NEP polymorphisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic bacteria wastewater treatment is an efficient water pollution treatment method, but photosynthetic bacteria fermentation is a multivariable, non-linear, and time-varying process. So it is difficult to establish an accurate model. Aiming at the difficulty of online measurement of key parameters, such as bacterial concentration and matrix concentration in photosynthetic bacteria fermentation process, an improved ant colony algorithm least squares support vector machine (AC-LSSVM) soft sensing model method is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the virtual sensing subsystem of the photosynthetic bacteria fermentation process is proposed, with measurable parameters as input and unmeasurable key parameters as output, and the left inverse soft sensing model of virtual sensing is constructed. Then, the ant colony algorithm can quickly find the shortest path to optimize the parameters of the traditional PI regulation, to improve the dynamic performance and accuracy of parameter measurement in the fermentation process. After that, the ant colony algorithm is used to optimize penalty parameters C and kernel parameters σ of LSSVM, which effectively avoids the local optimization and improves the computing power and global optimization ability. Finally, the soft sensing prediction model of the photosynthetic bacteria fermentation process based on AC-LSSVM is established. Compared with SVM and LSSVM prediction models, the root mean square error of bacterial concentration and matrix concentration based on the AC-LSSVM model are 0.468 and 0.126, respectively. The simulation analysis shows that this model has less error and better prediction ability, and it can meet the needs of online prediction of key parameters of photosynthetic bacteria fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]