Search

To compare 1-year outcomes of computed tomography venography (CTV) combined with ultrasound-guided minimally invasive treatment with ascending phlebography and ultrasound-guided treatment for recurrent varicose veins. Consecutive patients with unilateral recurrent varicose veins were matched by gender, age, C classification, and degree of obesity, and randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either CTV (CTV group) or ascending phlebography (control group) combined with ultrasound-guided minimally invasive treatment. Patients were followed up by clinical and ultrasound examination. Follow-up was scheduled at 1 week, and 3, 6, and 12 months. The primary outcome measure was the Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) at 12 months. Measures of secondary outcome included Chronic Insufficiency Venous International Questionnaire-20 (CIVIQ-20) score, recurrence of varicose vein or ulcer during 12 months, ulcer healing time, detection and location of treated veins. Eighty patients were enrolled. Median VCSS in the CTV group was lower than it in the control group (p= 0.04) and the CIVIQ-20 score was higher than the control group (p= 0.02). By 12 months, no symptomatically recurrent varicose veins or ulcers had occurred. The ulcer healing time in CTV group was shorter (p< 0.01). A greater number of patients had treated veins detected using CTV than by ascending venography (p= 0.01), especially among patients with recurrence reflux veins in the groin, perineum, and vulva (p< 0.01). CTV combined with ultrasound may be more helpful than ascending phlebography combined with ultrasound to improve treatment efficacy for recurrent varices. These results should be verified by an future study with more patients and long-term follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence indicates that the Warburg effect (aerobic glycolysis) is a marker of malignancy in pancreatic cancer (PC). Receptor expression–enhancing protein 3 (REEP3) is dysregulated in various cancers; however, no studies have addressed whether REEP3 is involved in regulating PC malignancy, particularly with respect to the Warburg effect. Herein, we identified a new diagnostic marker of PC, which may be useful for developing drugs to treat PC and providing insight into the molecular pathology of PC. The microarray dataset GSE183795 was retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and the differentially expressed genes were analyzed. REEP3 expression was examined in PC cell lines and normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Following REEP3 knockdown or overexpression in PC cells, cell invasion, migration, glucose uptake, lactate production, ATP levels, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) pathway protein expression were assessed via scratch, Transwell, glucose, and lactate assays and western blot analysis. A database analysis revealed that REEP3 was highly expressed in PC tumor tissues from 179 patients. In addition, patients with high REEP3 tumor expression exhibited poor overall and disease-free survival. Our results suggest that REEP3 is upregulated in multiple PC cell lines. Moreover, cell viability indicators, such as proliferation, invasion, migration, glycolytic activity, and EGFR/ERK pathway protein expression were conspicuously restrained on REEP3 disruption in PC cells. Overall, these findings suggest that REEP3 assists PC cell proliferation, invasion, and migration by facilitating the Warburg effect through the activation of the EGFR/ERK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To retain high efficiency in a wide output voltage range and reduce the conduction and switching losses for a DC power supply, this work makes use of topology morphing between full- and half-bridge converters. The operation of the converter is better as a phase-shift modulated (PSM) full-bridge converter for a high output voltage and as the asymmetrical pulse-width modulated (APWM) half-bridge counterpart for a low output voltage. The light load operations of PSM full-bridge and APWM half-bridge DC converter are analysed in detail to account for the voltage gain variation as well as the switching and conduction losses. A suitable control algorithm is also proposed to facilitate smooth morphing transitions and eliminates the unwanted voltage and current overshoot. A laboratory converter circuit rated at outputs up to 60 V, 1.8 kW with 180 V input voltage is designed and built to verify the operation with topology morphing. The experimental results have demonstrated by adapting the PSM full-bridge DC converter to the APWM half-bridge DC converter at the low voltage range that the circuit efficiency can be effectively improved and enhanced 6% for the best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abnormal growth of grains near the surface of NdCeFeB magnets reduces the number of grain boundaries, and meanwhile, the formation of REFe2 phase also hinders the diffusion of rare earth elements, both of which limit the enhancement of magnetic properties. This poses a certain challenge for the preparation of high Ce content NdCeFeB magnets. In this work, it is found that the TbPrNdAl diffusion source can suppress the mutual diffusion between Ce in the main phase and rare earth elements in the diffusion source, thereby restraining the abnormal growth of grains and inhibiting the formation of REFe2 phase. Eventually, a more uniform core-shell structure and thin and continuous RE-rich phase are formed. The coercivity of 1389 kA/m and magnetic energy product of 289 kJ/m3 can be obtained without reducing the remanence, which are 612 kA/m and 30 kJ/m3 higher than those of the initial magnet, respectively. This diffusion source can greatly promote the development of NdCeFeB magnets with high Ce content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To demonstrate image-guided preplan workflows for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for advanced gynecological malignancies. Two different preplanning scenarios are presented: (1) CT- or MRI-based preplan with partial applicator in place; (2) Preplans generated from prior fractions. The first scenario can be applied to Syed-Neblett template-based implants or hybrid brachytherapy applicators, while the second scenario applies to hybrid applicators. Both scenarios use MRI or CT images acquired with the applicator in place to demonstrate tumor and applicator relative locations and therefore, provide the ability to show optimized suggested needle positions including the implant depths before the actual insertion. The preplanning techniques have demonstrated feasibility and shown five areas of potential improvement: (1) shorter procedure time, (2) decreased number of total needles inserted, (3) shorter physician tumor contour time, (4) shorter planning time, and (5) evaluation of appropriateness for brachytherapy. The use of image-guided brachytherapy preplanning improves clinical efficiency and is recommended for consideration for adaptation into clinical workflows for HDR interstitial and hybrid brachytherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnitude‐frequency distribution (MFD) describes the relative proportion of earthquake magnitudes and provides vital information for seismic hazard assessment. The b‐value, derived from the MFD, is commonly used to estimate the probability that a future earthquake will exceed a specified magnitude threshold. Improved MFD and b‐value estimates are of great importance in the central and eastern United States where high volumes of fluid injection have contributed to a significant rise in seismicity over the last decade. In this study, we recalculate the magnitudes of 8,775 events for the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma sequence using a relative magnitude approach that depends only on waveform data to calculate magnitudes. We also compare the distribution of successive magnitude differences to the MFD and show that a combination of the magnitude difference distribution (MDFD) and relative magnitudes yields a reliable estimate of b‐value. Using the MDFD and relative magnitudes, we examine the temporal and spatial variations in the b‐value and show that b‐value ranges between ∼0.6 and 0.85 during the aftershock sequence for at least 5 months after the M 5.7 mainshock, though areas surrounding the northeast part of the sequence experience higher b‐values (0.7–0.85) than the southwestern part of the Meeker‐Prague fault where b‐value is the lowest (0.6–0.7). We also identify a cluster of off‐fault events with the highest b‐values in the catalog (0.85). These new estimates of MFD and b‐value will contribute to understanding of the relations between induced and tectonic earthquake sequences and promote discussion regarding the use of b‐value in induced seismic hazard estimation. Plain Language Summary: The magnitude‐frequency distribution and the b‐value are statistical parameters that describe how earthquake magnitudes are distributed in a catalog. These parameters are vital for hazard estimation of induced seismicity in the central and eastern United States, but they are not well understood in this region due to reasons including, but not limited to, catalog incompleteness, magnitude uncertainty between different magnitude types, and variable injection history. In this study, we reevaluate the previously cataloged magnitude estimates using a relative magnitude method to estimate the temporal and spatial variation in b‐value for the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma sequence. With the relative magnitude method, we reestimate magnitude for 81% of the events in the Prague sequence which are then utilized for b‐value estimation. We demonstrate the presence of consistently low b‐values during the aftershock sequence for at least ∼5 months following the mainshock and identify a trend of decreasing b‐value along the Meeker‐Prague fault as distance from the mainshock increases. These observations allow us to compare spatial and temporal b‐value variations of induced sequences to those observed in tectonic sequences. Key Points: The relative magnitude method allows for recalculation of earthquake magnitude without requiring location or geological dataRelative magnitudes combined with the b+ estimator gives a reliable estimate of b‐valueWe identify patterns of spatial and temporal variations in b‐value that are consistent with tectonic sequences [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impedance control is frequency-dependent in the twofold sense: (1) the impedance matching error can only be attenuated arbitrarily small over a low-frequency range due to the water bed effect (Freudenberg et al., 2003), and (2) the impedance matching error always diverges to infinity as the frequency tends to infinity since no causal controller can track arbitrarily fast signals. To sum up, we can only shape the robot impedance over some low-frequency range which may be very small due to the limitation resulting from the robot's inherent high-frequency characteristics. Unfortunately, this fact was underestimated in the existing impedance control schemes. In this paper, a frequency-aware linear impedance control synthesis technique is developed for FSAs based on H ∞ control theory, which is also suitable for the general robot system in the condition that the robot dynamics is linearised around an equilibrium configuration or compensated with its inverse dynamics model to form an exact-linearised system a priori. With the powerful tool, we study the impedance shaping technique and address the two long-standing issues: (1) Under what conditions, an impedance-controlled FSA can exceed its physical stiffness? (2) Can a stiff FSA render a wider stiffness range than its softer counterparts? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability of magnifying chromoendoscopy (MCE) to correctly differentiate early colorectal cancer (CRC) lesions with massively invasive submucosal cancer (SMm) from lesions without submucosal massive invasion (polyp, adenoma, dysplasia, intramucosal cancer, slightly invasive submucosal cancer (SMs)). Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library from the time of the establishment of each database to 5 April 2023. Stata 15 software was used to perform the meta-analysis for sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (LR), and negative LR, diagnostic odds ratio, and 95% CI. A summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curve was constructed, the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated, and the diagnostic value was evaluated. Furthermore, to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity, we used meta-regression to estimate the influencing factors of these studies and their impact on the diagnostic accuracy. MCE was used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy in differentiating CRC lesions with SMm from lesions without submucosal massive invasion (polyp, adenoma, dysplasia, intramucosal cancer, SMs). Subgroup analysis was conducted as well. Deeks' funnel plots were also used to assess publication bias. Results: A total of 11,387 colorectal lesions were included in 19 articles, including polyp, adenoma, dysplasia, and early cancer (intramucosal cancer, SMs, and SMm). The aggregate sensitivity, specificity, positive LR, negative LR, and diagnostic advantage scores of MCE in the diagnosis of differentiating CRC lesions with SMm from lesions without submucosal massive invasion (polyp, adenoma, dysplasia, intramucosal cancer, SMs) were 0.78 (95% CI 0.72–0.83), 0.95 (0.95% CI 0.91–0.97), 15.4 (0.95% CI 8.7–27.4), 0.23 (0.95% CI 0.18–0.30), and 66 (0.95% CI 32–136), respectively. The AUC of the SROC curve was 0.91 (0.95% CI 0.88–0.93). No significant publication bias was found with Deeks' funnel plot. The results showed significant heterogeneity due to the different objects included. Conclusion: MCE can differentiate CRC lesions with SMm from lesions without submucosal massive invasion (polyp, adenoma, dysplasia, intramucosal cancer, SMs) with high accuracy and it can guide assessment of invasion depth of SMm in T1 early CRCs to help us select the most appropriate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of o-carborane, n-butyllithium, sulfur and Me4CpCo(CO)I2 under argon leads to half-sandwich 16e carborane complex Me4CpCo[S2C2B10H10]. Me4CpCo[S2C2B10H10] reacts with PPh2Me, PPhMe2, PMe3 to afford addition products Me4CpCo[S2C2B10H10](PPh2Me) (I), Me4CpCo-[S2C2B10H10](PPhMe2) (II), Me4CpCo[S2C2B10H10](PMe3) (III), respectively. I, II and III have been characterized by IR, NMR, elemental analysis, mass spectrum. I and III have also been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (CCDC nos. 2245287 (I) and 2245288 (III)). The UV and fluorescent spectra properties of the compounds I, II and III have been tested. The UV spectra results of complexes I, II and III in acetonitrile solution show that the bands are located at 412, 399 and 401 nm, respectively. The fluorescence spectra result of the complexes I, II and III exhibit maximum emission peaks at about 405 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common pathological subtype of lung cancer. Both environmental and genetic factors have been reported to impact the lung cancer susceptibility. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 287 NSCLC patients and 467 healthy controls in a Chinese population using the Illumina Genome-Wide Asian Screening Array Chip on 712,095 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). Using logistic regression modeling, GWAS identified 17 new noncoding region SNP loci associated with the NSCLC risk, and the top three (rs80040741, rs9568547, rs6010259) were under a stringent p-value (<3.02e-6). Notably, rs80040741 and rs6010259 were annotated from the intron regions of MUC3A and MLC1, respectively. Together with another five SNPs previously reported in Chinese NSCLC patients and another four covariates (e.g., smoking status, age, low dose CT screening, sex), a predictive model by machine learning methods can separate the NSCLC from healthy controls with an accuracy of 86%. This is the first time to apply machine learning method in predicting the NSCLC susceptibility using both genetic and clinical characteristics. Our findings will provide a promising method in NSCLC early diagnosis and improve our understanding of applying machine learning methods in precision medicine. • We identified 17 SNPs from noncoding regions associated with the NSCLC risk. • Two of the top three SNPs are from the introns of MUC3A and MLC1. • Combination of genomic variations and clinical covariates had an accuracy of 86% in predicting NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent voyages of the Australian R/V Investigator across the remote Southern Ocean have provided unprecedented observations of precipitation made with both an Ocean Rainfall and Ice-Phase Precipitation Measurement Network (OceanRAIN) maritime disdrometer and a dual-polarization C-band weather radar (OceanPOL). This present study employs these observations to evaluate the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) and the fifth major global reanalysis produced by ECMWF (ERA5) precipitation products. Working at a resolution of 60 min and 0.25° (∼25 km), light rain and drizzle are most frequently observed across the region. The IMERG product overestimated precipitation intensity when evaluated against the OceanRAIN but captured the frequency of occurrence well. Looking at the synoptic/process scale, IMERG was found to be the least accurate (overestimated intensity) under warm-frontal and high-latitude cyclone conditions, where multilayer clouds were commonly present. Under postfrontal conditions, IMERG underestimated the precipitation frequency. In comparison, ERA5's skill was more consistent across various synoptic conditions, except for high pressure conditions where the precipitation frequency (intensity) was highly overestimated (underestimated). Using the OceanPOL radar, an area-to-area analysis (fractional skill score) finds that ERA5 has greater skill than IMERG. There is little agreement in the phase classification between the OceanRAIN disdrometer, IMERG, and ERA5. The comparisons are complicated by the various assumptions for phase classification in the different datasets. Significance Statement: Our best quantitative estimates of precipitation over the remote, pristine Southern Ocean (SO) continue to suffer from a high degree of uncertainty, with large differences present among satellite-based and reanalysis products. New instrumentation on the R/V Investigator, specifically a dual-polarization C-band weather radar (OceanPOL) and a maritime disdrometer (OceanRAIN), provide unprecedented high-quality observations of precipitation across the SO that will aid in improving precipitation estimates in this region. We use these observations to evaluate the IMERG and ERA5 precipitation products. We find that, in general, IMERG overestimated precipitation intensity, but captured the frequency of occurrence well. In comparison, ERA5 was found to overestimate the frequency of precipitation. Using the OceanPOL radar, an area-to-area analysis finds that ERA5 has greater skill than IMERG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular dynamic simulation was performed to study the correlation between atomic packing and shear transformation under compressive deformation in apparent elastic regime in CuZr metallic glass. The packing feature of atomic structures was characterized in terms of cavities in metallic glass. It is found that while atoms surrounded by larger cavity volumes, i.e., loosely packed regions, show very small nonaffine displacements, some atoms surrounded by very small cavities, i.e., densely packed regions, undergo very large nonaffine displacement and form cooperative shear transformations with large scale in space. The size of shear transformation zones monotonically increases with decreasing cavity volume. However, shear transformations rarely occur in either densely packed or loosely packed regions with very small probability. In addition, metallic glasses are revealed to possess characteristic cavity volumes around which atoms have more probability to undergo relatively larger nonaffine displacements. It is found that more neighboring atoms together with these central atoms experience cooperative shear transformations. These findings are general in different metallic glasses and provide a general underlying structural basis for different sizes of shear transformation zones observed in previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heritage management poses significant challenges for museums due to fragmented data, limited intelligent frameworks, and insufficient applications. In response, a digital cultural heritage management approach based on knowledge graphs and deep learning algorithms is proposed to address the above challenges. A joint entity-relation triple extraction model is proposed to automatically identify entities and relations from fragmented data for knowledge graph construction. Additionally, a knowledge completion model is presented to predict missing information and improve knowledge graph completeness. Comparative simulations have been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach for both the knowledge extraction model and the knowledge completion model. The efficacy of the knowledge graph application is corroborated through a case study utilizing ceramic data from the Palace Museum in China. This method may benefit users since it provides automated, interconnected, visually appealing, and easily accessible information about cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to evaluate dosimetric characteristics to organs at risk (OARs) from short-course adjuvant vaginal cuff brachytherapy (VCB) in early endometrial cancer compared with standard of care (SOC) in a multi-institutional prospective randomized trial. SAVE (Short Course Adjuvant Vaginal Brachytherapy in Early Endometrial Cancer Compared to Standard of Care) is a prospective, phase 3, multisite randomized trial in which 108 patients requiring VCB were randomized to an experimental short-course arm (11 Gy × 2 fractions [fx] to surface) and SOC arm. Those randomized to the SOC arm were subdivided into treatment groups based on treating physician discretion as follows: 7 Gy × 3 fx to 5 mm, 5 to 5.5 Gy × 4 fx to 5 mm, and 6 Gy × 5 fx to surface. To evaluate doses to OARs of each SAVE cohort, the rectum, bladder, sigmoid, small bowel, and urethra were contoured on planning computed tomography, and doses to OARs were compared by treatment arm. Absolute doses for each OAR and from each fractionation scheme were converted to 2 Gy equivalent dose (EQD2 3). Each SOC arm was compared with the experimental arm separately using 1-way analysis of variance, followed by pairwise comparisons using Tukey's honestly significant difference test. The experimental arm had significantly lower doses for rectum, bladder, sigmoid, and urethra compared with the 7 Gy × 3 and 5 to 5.5 Gy × 4 fractionation schemes; however, the experimental arm did not differ from the 6 Gy × 5 fractionation scheme. For small bowel doses, none of the SOC fractionation schemes were statistically different than the experimental. The highest EQD2 3 doses to the examined OARs were observed to come from the most common dose fractionation scheme of 7 Gy × 3 fx. With a short median follow-up of 1 year, there have been no isolated vaginal recurrences. Experimental short-course VCB of 11 Gy × 2 fx to the surface provides a comparable biologically effective dose to SOC courses. Experimental short-course VCB was found to reduce or be comparable to D2cc and D0.1cc EQD2 3 doses to rectum, bladder, sigmoid, small bowel, and urethra critical structures. This may translate into a comparable or lower rate of acute and late adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Mesozoic mafic dykes, which are widely developed in the North Qinling Orogenic Belt (NQOB), include abundant geodynamic information. This paper describes the mafic dykes that intrude the Late Jurassic granite in the Dayu and Kuyu areas, and reports important petrological constraints for the late Mesozoic tectonic transition from compression to extension in the NQOB. Three zircon U–Pb results show that the minimum ages of the mafic dykes are 139.8 ± 1.4 Ma, 137.4 ± 1.7 Ma and 133.4 ± 0.9 Ma, indicating that the emplacement age of the Dayu and Kuyu mafic dykes is 140–133 Ma. Petrogeochemical analyses suggest that the mafic dykes belong to the high-K calc-alkaline shoshonite series with low SiO2 (46.93–56.73 wt%), MgO (1.88–9.10 wt%) and TiO2 (1.17–1.82 wt%), and high Al2O3 (13.98–17.46 wt%), TFe2O3 (7.81–10.92 wt%) and K2O (1.28–4.78 wt%). The mafic dykes are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (e.g. Rb, Ba, K, La, Sr) and depleted in high-field-strength elements (e.g. Nb, Ta, Zr, Ti). These samples have the right-sloping chondrite-normalised rare earth element patterns, which suggest light rare earth element enrichment and heavy rare earth elements depletion with no obvious Eu anomalies (δEu = 0.94–1.11). The ISr, εNd(t), εHf (t) and TDM2(crust) values are 0.7056–0.7060, −10.60 to −5.98, −14.1 to −2.8, and 1382.4 ± 25.1 to 2081.9 ± 47.6 Ma, respectively. Both elemental and isotopic geochemistry show that the formation of Dayu and Kuyu mafic dykes is due to the partial decompression melting of previously enriched lithospheric mantle during a delamination process. The mafic dykes have undergone fractionation crystallisation of Mg–Fe phase minerals during magma ascent, accompanied by some crustal contamination. Combined with the regional tectonic setting, we suggested that the NQOB experienced intra-continental extension during the Early Cretaceous. Early Cretaceous (140–133 Ma) mafic dykes have been discovered in the middle part of the North Qinling Orogenic Belt. The remote effect of the Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction has reached the middle of the North Qinling Orogenic Belt. The North Qinling Orogenic Belt entered the extensional stage in the Early Cretaceous (140–133 Ma). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ease water scarcity, dynamic programming, stochastic dynamic programming, and heuristic algorithms have been applied to solve problem matters related to water resources. Development, operation, and management are vital in a reservoir operating policy, especially when the reservoir serves a complex objective. In this study, an attempt via metaheuristic algorithms, namely the Harris Hawks Optimisation (HHO) Algorithm and the Opposite Based Learning of HHO (OBL-HHO) are made to minimise the water deficit as well as mitigate floods at downstream of the Klang Gate Dam (KGD). Due to trade-offs between water supply and flood management, the HHO and OBL-HHO models have configurable thresholds to optimise the KGD reservoir operation. To determine the efficacy of the HHO and OBL-HHO in reservoir optimisation, reliability, vulnerability, and resilience are risk measures evaluated. If inflow categories are omitted, the OBL-HHO meets 71.49% of demand compared to 54.83% for the standalone HHO. The HHO proved superior to OBL-HHO in satisfying demand during medium inflows, achieving 38.60% compared to 20.61%, even though the HHO may have experienced water loss at the end of the storage level. The HHO is still a promising method, as proven by its reliability and resilience indices compared to other published heuristic algorithms: at 62.50% and 1.56, respectively. The Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) outcomes satisfied demand at 61.36%, 59.47% with the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO), 55.68% with the real-coded Genetic Algorithm (GA), and 23.5 percent with the binary GA. For resilience, the ABC scored 0.16, PSO scored 0.15, and real coded GA scored 0.14 whilst the binary-GA has the worst failure recovery algorithm with 0.09. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipids are the primary form of energy storage and a major component of plasma membranes, which form the interface between the cell and the extracellular environment. Several lipids — including phosphoinositide, phosphatidic acid, sphingolipids, lysophospholipids, oxylipins, and free fatty acids — also serve as substrates for the generation of signalling molecules. Abiotic stresses, such as drought and temperature stress, are known to affect plant growth. In addition, abiotic stresses can activate certain lipid‐dependent signalling pathways that control the expression of stress‐responsive genes and contribute to plant stress adaptation. Many studies have focused either on the enzymatic production and metabolism of lipids, or on the mechanisms of abiotic stress response. However, there is little information regarding the roles of plant lipids in plant responses to abiotic stress. In this review, we describe the metabolism of plant lipids and discuss their involvement in plant responses to abiotic stress. As such, this review provides crucial background for further research on the interactions between plant lipids and abiotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ground-breaking properties of biaxially textured thin films have attracted increasing attention to the characterization and growth theory of their crystal morphologies. In particular, multi-faceted columnar structures developed during oblique angle deposition (OAD) show abnormal tilt angles that have not been previously captured by existing models. Current theories for the formation of biaxially aligned columnar structures overlook the fact that the surface diffusion on individual facets can be finite. In this work, a continuum model incorporating finite adatom mobility, flux-dependent sticking coefficient, and material-specific surface energies is employed to study the growth of a well-known MgO-OAD system. Experimentally observed morphologies are reproduced by simulating the shadowing growth of an array of preferentially oriented single crystals. We show that the abnormal tilting is elusive considering only the effects of faceting and shadowing. A proposed sticking coefficient in our model, determined by the component of adatom momentum parallel to the surface, is responsible for the development of abnormal tilting. The role of faceting is demonstrated by its effect on the resulting columnar morphologies. Using the proposed model, the characteristic morphology and tilting behavior of a CaF 2 -OAD system are also obtained, which agree with experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give an "integration by parts" approach to Davies' Hardy inequality. An improvement with a strictly larger Hardy weight is thereby obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fundamental properties of doubly-magic nuclei, such as radius and binding energy, play a key role in theoretical calculations. Reported matter radii of 16 O have a large discrepancy, especially for results obtained from interaction cross sections. To address this issue, the published small-angle differential cross sections of proton-nuclei elastic scattering in the energy region of 200–700 MeV were reanalyzed using the Glauber model. A precise matter radius of 2.554(20) fm for 16 O was extracted. The calculated neutron skin thicknesses of 16 O by different interactions do not obviously depend on the symmetry energy, and agree with our result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To establish and verify a 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy- d- glucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT)-based radiomics nomogram to predict mediastinal lymph node metastasis (LNM) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients preoperatively. This retrospective study enrolled 155 NSCLC patients (primary cohort, n= 93; validation cohort, n= 62). For each patient, 2,704 radiomic features were extracted from the primary lung cancer regions. Four procedures including the Mann–Whitney U -test, Spearman's correlation analysis, minimum redundancy–maximum relevance (mRMR), and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) binary logistic regression were utilised for determining essential features and establishing a radiomics signature. After that, a nomogram was established. The nomogram's potential was assessed based on its discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. The radiomics signature and nomogram predictive performances were evaluated with respect to the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), specificity, accuracy, and sensitivity. The radiomics signature composed of eight selected features had good discriminatory performance of LNM versus non-LNM groups an AUC of 0.851 and 0.826 in primary and validation cohorts, respectively. The nomogram also indicated good discrimination with an AUC of 0.869 and 0.847 in the primary and validation cohorts, respectively. Furthermore, good calibration was demonstrated utilising the nomogram. An 18F-FDG PET/CT-based radiomics nomogram that integrates the radiomics signature and age was promoted to predict mediastinal LNM within NSCLC patients, which could potentially facilitate individualised therapy for mediastinal LNM before treatment. The nomogram was beneficial in clinical practice, as illustrated by decision curve analysis. • Preoperative prediction of mediastinal lymph node status in lung cancer is crucial. • Predictive performance of proposed radiomics model outperformed age. • Radiomics is a promising non-invasive method to facilitate therapeutic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a kind of small non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNA and play critical roles involved various life processes of organisms. Batrachuperus tibetanus (B. tibetanus) as an endangered amphibian species of salamander endemic to China, has attracted much attention because of its value of studying paleontology evolutionary history and decreasing population size. Until now, research in gonadal miRNA of B. tibetanus have not been reported. In this study, RNA sequencing technology was used to screen miRNAs based on the construction of two cDNA libraries from adult testis and ovary tissues of B. tibetanus, respectively. Totally, 15 481 068 and 15 929 246 raw reads were yielded in testis and ovary, respectively, representing five known and 88 novel miRNAs. Among all these identified miRNA, 54 differentially expressed miRNAs were found between testis and ovary of B. tibetanus containing 25 up-regulated as well as 29 down-regulated miRNAs. Ten miRNAs were randomly chosen to verify their expression by using stem-loop qRT-PCR indicating the reliability and accuracy of sequenced data. Additionally, further analysis of target mRNAs of differentially expressed miRNAs reveals that they were mainly involved in cellular processes, reproduction and reproductive process related GO terms. Our current result is the first to perform the identification, characterization, differential expression and functional analysis of gonadal miRNAs both in testis and ovary of B. tibetanus, which also provide a valuable reference to enhance the resource protection of stream salamander species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue virus (DENV) is a disease‐causing agent normally transmitted from person to person through the bite of an infected mosquito. In addition to mosquito‐borne cases of dengue, there are instances of transmission of dengue after receipt of blood products or donor organs or tissue. To improve blood safety, we developed a quantitative risk assessment model to estimate the dengue risk of transmission to blood transfusion recipients from preclinical and subclinical blood donors. We derived predictive coefficients from model simulations for predicting the risk outcomes such as monthly infectious blood units and transfusion‐transmitted DENV cases based on the rate of reported clinical cases. The model was validated with a previous study where donor blood samples from the 2012 dengue transmission season in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were tested for DENV RNA by a transcription‐mediated amplification (TMA) assay. In that study, about 69·4% of donations were tested by the TMA assay and 78 samples were found positive, indicating that 112 DENV RNA‐positive donations would have been detected if testing screening had been performed on all donations. Our model estimated a mean of 93 (2.5–97.5th%ile: 47–186) infected units among the donations, which was consistent with the reported numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The differences of flow characterization at the different stages of flame acceleration and transition to detonation in tubes with smooth walls, solid obstacles, and fluid jets are studied, especially the effects of flow instabilities on the process. The two-dimensional viscous unsteady reactive Navier–Stokes equations with a detailed chemistry model are solved numerically based on the structured adaptive mesh refinement technique in Adaptive Mesh Refinement Object-oriented C + + . During the ignition to a low-speed flame stage, it is found that initial pressure wave interactions with the wall and Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities, induced by the density and pressure gradient misalignment between the ignition region and unburned gas, accelerate the wrinkling and deformation of the flame surface. Consequentially, the flame wrinkles trigger Darrieus–Landau instabilities and as a result the flame accelerates. At the main acceleration stage, the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability formed in the wake of solid obstacles and the strong Kelvin–Helmholtz instability caused by the jets lead to the formation of strong turbulent structures in the flowfield and accelerate the flame propagation. Richtmyer–Meshkov instabilities caused by the interactions of reflected shock waves and the flame surface lead to flame acceleration in the case with solid obstacles. Compared to the tube with fluid jets, although the solid obstacles induce stronger Richtmyer–Meshkov instabilities, the effect of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities is not obvious. In general, Darrieus–Landau instabilities and Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities dominate at the initial flame-developing stage, and Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities and Richtmyer–Meshkov instabilities play a more critical role in the flame acceleration due to interactions of the flame, the shock, solid obstacles, and vortices during the deflagration propagation stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To compare the efficacy and safety of daily use PDE5i and PDE5i combined with linear low-intensity shockwave therapy (Li-SWT) in the treatment of acute phase of Peyronie disease (PD). Objective: 68 patients with acute PD within 6 month onset were collected. The patients were 26–56 years old with an average of 42.3 years. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, 35 of which were orally administered with 5 mg of tadalafil every night for 3 months; the other 33 received 4 times of Li-SWT with daily PDE5i. Li-SWT uses the Renova shock wave therapy device with an energy density of 0.09mJ/mm2, each time 3200 times in the penile plaque, 900 times in the left and right penile shaft, and once a week for 4 consecutive treatments as a cycle. All patients underwent ultrasound or MRI, penile bending angle measurement, improvement of subjective symptoms, and IIEF-5 scale before and after treatment. Methods: 68 patients with acute PD within 6 month onset were collected. The patients were 26–56 years old with an average of 42.3 years. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, 35 of which were orally administered with 5 mg of tadalafil every night for 3 months; the other 33 received 4 times of Li-SWT with daily PDE5i. Li-SWT uses the Renova shock wave therapy device with an energy density of 0.09mJ/mm2, each time 3200 times in the penile plaque, 900 times in the left and right penile shaft, and once a week for 4 consecutive treatments as a cycle. All patients underwent ultrasound or MRI, penile bending angle measurement, improvement of subjective symptoms, and IIEF-5 scale before and after treatment. Results: In the PDE5i group, the pain symptom relieve were improved in 80% patients (28 of 35 cases), while the combined group (PDE5i+Li-SWT) were improved in 90.9% patients (30 of 33 cases). The IIEF5 score in the PDE5i group improved from 13.8±7.9 to 19.5±8.1 and from 13.4±7.6 to 21.3±9.2 in the combined group, with both improvement between two groups. The plaque size were shrinkage 5 cases in PDE5i group and 12 cases in combined group, but penile curvature did not change significantly in both groups. In the PDE5i group, 5 patients had mild dizziness and back pain, while 3 patients had mild dizziness and back pain in combined group. There was no obvious adverse reaction observed for Li-SWT treatment. Conclusions: Both the daily use PDE5i and the PDE5i combined with Li-SWT can improve the symptoms of acute PD patients, mainly to relieve pain and improve erectile function in some patients. The combined group had a better pain symptom relieve rate and more improvement for sexual function. The two methods can reduce PD plaque size in some cases, while both groups did not significantly change penile curvature. Both methods have good safety in the treatment of acute phase PD. Disclosure: No. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Most clinical studies have demonstrated that low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT) can improved erectile function in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). The EAU guideline recommended to use Li-ESWT for mild vasculogenic ED patients. However, the therapeutic advantages of Li-ESWT combined with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i) have not been explored clearly in clinical practice for mild and moderate ED patients. Objective: To compare the therapeutic effects of Li-ESWT and Li-ESWT combined with PDE5i in mild and moderate ED patients with 8≤IIEF-5≤16 from a multicenter clinical study in China. Methods: Patients with ED which IIEF-5 score is less than 22 and aged 18–60 years old were enrolled from three clinical centers from Jun. 2019 to Mar. 2023. The demographic data, International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), erectile hardness score (EHS) and self-reported symptom questions were collected. Patients were treated by a linear low-energy shock waves generator (Renova). Low-intensity shock wave (energy density of 0.09mJ/mm2) treatments were applied (once a week, 4 weeks in total, 5000 shocks each time). Patients in Li-ESWT combined with PDE5i group took 5mg of tadalafil once a day for one continuous month during ESWT. Comparative analyses of pre- and post-treatment and intergroup were used for statistics. Results: In total, 42 ED cases (37.43±11.86 years) in Li-ESWT group and 116 cases (37.41±10.14 years) in combined group were enrolled for analysis. The IIEF-5 score and EHS in both groups were significantly improved after 1 month treatment (p<0.01). Compared with Li-ESWT group, patients in combined group significantly had higher self-reported efficiency (61.2% vs. 47.6%, p=0.013), IIEF-5 scores (15.34±7.15 vs. 13.96±7.71, p=0.039) and EHS (2.85±0.82 vs. 2.69±0.89, p=0.050). In the mild and moderate ED (with 8≤IIEF-5≤16) sub-group, 30 ED cases (36.81±10.99 years) in Li-ESWT group and 96 cases (36.80±10.69 years) in combined group were enrolled for analysis. The combined regimen showed better therapeutic advantages, including effective parameters IIEF-5(14.50±6.74 vs. 12.87±8.54, p=0.040), EHS (2.85±0.75 vs. 2.81±0.67, p=0.046) and self-reported efficiency (64.2% vs. 54.1%, p=0.001). Conclusions: Li-ESWT can effectively improve erectile function in this multicenter clinical study in China, and the combination of Li-ESWT with daily use PDE5i had a better therapeutic effect on Chinese ED patients, especially on mild and moderate ED. Long-term follow-up with large sample study need to be developed for exploring the optimal therapeutic regimen. Disclosure: No. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To compare the efficacy and safety of daily use PDE5i and PDE5i combined with linear low-intensity shockwave therapy (Li-SWT) in the treatment of acute phase of Peyronie disease (PD). Objective: 68 patients with acute PD within 6 month onset were collected. The patients were 26–56 years old with an average of 42.3 years. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, 35 of which were orally administered with 5 mg of tadalafil every night for 3 months; the other 33 received 4 times of Li-SWT with daily PDE5i. Li-SWT uses the Renova shock wave therapy device with an energy density of 0.09mJ/mm2, each time 3200 times in the penile plaque, 900 times in the left and right penile shaft, and once a week for 4 consecutive treatments as a cycle. All patients underwent ultrasound or MRI, penile bending angle measurement, improvement of subjective symptoms, and IIEF-5 scale before and after treatment. Methods: 68 patients with acute PD within 6 month onset were collected. The patients were 26–56 years old with an average of 42.3 years. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, 35 of which were orally administered with 5 mg of tadalafil every night for 3 months; the other 33 received 4 times of Li-SWT with daily PDE5i. Li-SWT uses the Renova shock wave therapy device with an energy density of 0.09mJ/mm2, each time 3200 times in the penile plaque, 900 times in the left and right penile shaft, and once a week for 4 consecutive treatments as a cycle. All patients underwent ultrasound or MRI, penile bending angle measurement, improvement of subjective symptoms, and IIEF-5 scale before and after treatment. Results: In the PDE5i group, the pain symptom relieve were improved in 80% patients (28 of 35 cases), while the combined group (PDE5i+Li-SWT) were improved in 90.9% patients (30 of 33 cases). The IIEF5 score in the PDE5i group improved from 13.8±7.9 to 19.5±8.1 and from 13.4±7.6 to 21.3±9.2 in the combined group, with both improvement between two groups. The plaque size were shrinkage 5 cases in PDE5i group and 12 cases in combined group, but penile curvature did not change significantly in both groups. In the PDE5i group, 5 patients had mild dizziness and back pain, while 3 patients had mild dizziness and back pain in combined group. There was no obvious adverse reaction observed for Li-SWT treatment. Conclusions: Both the daily use PDE5i and the PDE5i combined with Li-SWT can improve the symptoms of acute PD patients, mainly to relieve pain and improve erectile function in some patients. The combined group had a better pain symptom relieve rate and more improvement for sexual function. The two methods can reduce PD plaque size in some cases, while both groups did not significantly change penile curvature. Both methods have good safety in the treatment of acute phase PD. Disclosure: No. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Most clinical studies have demonstrated that low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT) can improved erectile function in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). The EAU guideline recommended to use Li-ESWT for mild vasculogenic ED patients. However, the therapeutic advantages of Li-ESWT combined with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i) have not been explored clearly in clinical practice for mild and moderate ED patients. Objective: To compare the therapeutic effects of Li-ESWT and Li-ESWT combined with PDE5i in mild and moderate ED patients with 8≤IIEF-5≤16 from a multicenter clinical study in China. Methods: Patients with ED which IIEF-5 score is less than 22 and aged 18–60 years old were enrolled from three clinical centers from Jun. 2019 to Mar. 2023. The demographic data, International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), erectile hardness score (EHS) and self-reported symptom questions were collected. Patients were treated by a linear low-energy shock waves generator (Renova). Low-intensity shock wave (energy density of 0.09mJ/mm2) treatments were applied (once a week, 4 weeks in total, 5000 shocks each time). Patients in Li-ESWT combined with PDE5i group took 5mg of tadalafil once a day for one continuous month during ESWT. Comparative analyses of pre- and post-treatment and intergroup were used for statistics. Results: In total, 42 ED cases (37.43±11.86 years) in Li-ESWT group and 116 cases (37.41±10.14 years) in combined group were enrolled for analysis. The IIEF-5 score and EHS in both groups were significantly improved after 1 month treatment (p<0.01). Compared with Li-ESWT group, patients in combined group significantly had higher self-reported efficiency (61.2% vs. 47.6%, p=0.013), IIEF-5 scores (15.34±7.15 vs. 13.96±7.71, p=0.039) and EHS (2.85±0.82 vs. 2.69±0.89, p=0.050). In the mild and moderate ED (with 8≤IIEF-5≤16) sub-group, 30 ED cases (36.81±10.99 years) in Li-ESWT group and 96 cases (36.80±10.69 years) in combined group were enrolled for analysis. The combined regimen showed better therapeutic advantages, including effective parameters IIEF-5(14.50±6.74 vs. 12.87±8.54, p=0.040), EHS (2.85±0.75 vs. 2.81±0.67, p=0.046) and self-reported efficiency (64.2% vs. 54.1%, p=0.001). Conclusions: Li-ESWT can effectively improve erectile function in this multicenter clinical study in China, and the combination of Li-ESWT with daily use PDE5i had a better therapeutic effect on Chinese ED patients, especially on mild and moderate ED. Long-term follow-up with large sample study need to be developed for exploring the optimal therapeutic regimen. Disclosure: No. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a case of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) in identical twins. PAN is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis that primarily affects small- to medium-sized arteries. The patient presented with acute chest pain and was diagnosed with PAN based on findings from emergency coronary angiography (CAG), which revealed bead-like multiple aneurysmal changes in the coronary arteries. The patient's twin brother also underwent CAG and showed similar coronary artery changes. The article emphasizes the importance of recognizing PAN as a potential cause of myocardial infarction and highlights the characteristic angiographic findings associated with the disease. [Extracted from the article]

This article, titled "Giant J-waves in severe hypothermia," discusses the case of a 36-year-old woman who was brought to the emergency room unconscious and with a low body temperature. The electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed the presence of giant J waves, also known as Osborn waves, which are associated with hypothermia. These waves become more prominent as the body temperature drops and regress with rewarming. The article also mentions other conditions that can cause similar wave patterns on an ECG. The authors of the article are Yun Tao Zhao, Yen Shu Huang, and Lei Wang. Written consent has been obtained from the patient for publication, and there are no conflicts of interest. [Extracted from the article]

A central research topic in condensed matter physics is the understanding of the evolution of various phases and phase transitions under different tuning parameters such as temperature, magnetic field and pressure. To explore the pressure-induced evolution of the magnetism and Fermi surface of the heavy fermion antiferromagnet YbPtBi, we performed tunnel diode oscillator based measurements under pressure at low temperatures in high magnetic fields. Our results reveal that the magnetic order strengthens and the Fermi surface shrinks as the pressure increases, which are consistent with typical observations for Yb-based heavy fermion compounds. In addition, an anomalous change in the quantum oscillation amplitudes is observed above 1.5 GPa, and determining the origin requires further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The full-length cDNA sequences of suppressor of cytokine signaling 5 (SOCS5) from Andrias davidianus gene, named as adSOCS5, was cloned and characterized in the present study. The full-length cDNAs of adSOCS5 with 1908 bp long encoded corresponding proteins of 536 amino acids. Structure analysis indicated that adSOCS5 possessed a conserved Src homology 2 (SH2) domain and a C terminal SOCS box domain. Phylogenetic analysis and 3D structure analysis revealed that adSOCS5 is comparatively similar to SOCS5 of G. evgoodei. Transcripts of adSOCS5 were ubiquitously detected in ten tissues examined but varied among tissues. The highest mRNA expression of adSOCS5 was detected in the ovary and lowest in the muscle. Finally, the ovary and muscle tissue were selected for preliminarily investigating the role of adSOCS5 in immune response. Significant up-regulations of the expressions of adSOCS5 were observed in the ovary and muscle in response to Citrobacter freundii challenge. The adSOCS5 expression in the ovary was more sensitive to C. freundii than the muscle. This work provides valuable information about the characterization of SOCS5 of A. davidianus, which facilitating further research of function of SOCSs in amphibians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction of Co(OAc)2·4H2O with multisite coordinated salamo-based ligand H2L containning six coordinating sites in presence of co-ligand NCS– anions afforded successfully a trinuclear Co(II) complex [Co3(L)2(NCS)2]. The trinuclear Co(II) complex has been characterized by elemental analyses, UV-Vis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic methods and DFT calculation. In addition, the structure of the Co(II) complex has been confirmed by single crystal X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystal structure analysis of the Co(II) complex revealed that the Co(II) complex consists of three Co(II) atoms coordinated by two fully deprotonated ligand (L)2– units and co-ligand NCS– anions. The close surveillance of the crystal structure of the Co(II) complex discloses some notable non-covalent interactions like H-bonding, C-H⋯π and π⋯π. The luminescent property of the Co(II) complex has been studied in methanol solution. Apart from, as a complementary revelation, intermolecular interactions with respect to percentages of hydrogen bondings in the X-ray crystal structure of the trinuclear Co(II) complex was quantified by analyses of Hirshfeld surfaces and fingerprint plots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complex structure of spring-seat, six steps were adopted from initial blank to finished product. In this paper, simulation of the stamping process of spring-seat with Dynaform platform was presented and the resulting defects of rupture, wrinkling and spring back were the same as those in a certain factory. Aiming at the wrinkling defects of the helical surface in the forming process, die clearance, blank hold force, and friction coefficient were selected as input variables, wrinkling and thickness uniformity were used as evaluation indexes of stamping quality, and the function relation between the evaluation indices of the stamping quality and variables was obtained through response surface methodology (RSM). After optimisation, the wrinkle index decreased by 31.72 %, and thickness uniformity index decreased by 2.85 %. Stamping validation test was conducted using the optimized stamping parameters. The stamping quality of product was evaluated by gauges. Results showed that spring-seat achieved the quality requirements. The numerical simulation results can provide parameters for manufacturing and reduce the cost in development work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the large-scale agricultural activities and the excessive use of soil resources has led to many problems in agricultural production. The vigorous implementation of the monoculture has resulted in serious decline in soil fertility, soil quality, soil diseases and pests. Although facility agriculture is an advanced modern agricultural method, soil acidification, salinization, nutrient imbalance, microbial community destruction and other problems still exist. The continuous cropping of field crops, vegetables and medicinal plants has led to the problems of soil sickness, which adversely affected their quality and yield. Continuous cropping obstacle has become the major problem for crop industry development. This review discusses the soil sickness problems in continuous cropping from two aspects: Changes in soil physico-chemical properties and Soil microflora diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the dynamics of domain growth has been a long-standing topic in ferroic systems, its science complexity and important guidance to practical applications cannot be overemphasized. Highly anisotropic systems with only domain-wall-type defects and roughly isotropic systems with only vortex-type defects have been extensively studied as two ideal and extreme examples in terms of domain growth dynamics. The domain growth processes in these two types of systems are believed to follow two different scaling laws. The driving forces behind are domain wall motion and vortex–antivortex annihilation, respectively. However, no realistic ferroic systems have ever been found to exhibit a domain growth process that strictly follows these scaling laws. Fortunately, we now have a realistic ferroic system, i.e., the ferroelectric hexagonal manganite family in which the aforementioned two types of defects coexist. This system supports a fascinating topological vortex–antivortex domain structure and is a unique platform for probing a generalized theory on the domain growth dynamics that covers the two extremes. In this work, we investigate this vortex–antivortex domain structure and its growth dynamics within the framework of the Landau theory using phase-field simulations. It is revealed that morphology of this domain structure can be controlled by a correlation length Lc that is different from the conventional correlation length. More importantly, this domain structure can be seen as an intermediate state between the two extremes in terms of domain growth dynamics. When Lc is very small, the domain growth process in this domain structure is driven by domain wall motion and follows the well-known Allen–Cahn scaling law. As Lc increases, vortex–antivortex annihilation will dominate the domain growth process and the scaling law will need a logarithmical correction. The present work provides a comprehensive understanding of the domain growth behavior in such a realistic ferroic system of much attention and represents a substantial extension of domain growth dynamics toward complicated multi-defect systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We focus on the anomalous Hall effects (AHEs) of Co/Ni multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) by using Ta, Nb, and Cu as the buffer and top layer. An un-conventional AHE behavior was found in which the AH resistance exhibits two anti-symmetric peaks in the presence of a magnetic field. Moreover, Co/Ni multilayers with a Ta neighboring layer show reverse AH resistance compared to the Nb and Cu neighboring layers, except Ta bottom and Cu capping layers. The former can be explained by considering the influence of the external magnetic field on the interfacial spin orbit interaction due to spontaneous symmetry breaking at the ferromagnetic (FM)/FM layer interface. Furthermore, the reverse Co/Ni AHE with a Ta adjacent layer can be interpreted as the leakage spin current of proximity effects from Ta due to its larger spin–orbit coupling, and finally, taking the shunting action of the Cu layer into account, the Co/Ni AHE with Ta and Cu adjacent layers can also be explained. Our results provide a clear physics picture of the AHE in a two-dimensional nano-scaling FM/FM interface with PMA; in particular, this work shows that the non-magnetic adjacent layer with large spin–orbit coupling will play an important role in the understanding of AHE in two-dimensional FM multilayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial Fibrillation (AF), a type of heart arrhythmia, becomes more common with aging and is associated with an increased risk of stroke and mortality. In light of the urgent need for effective automated AF monitoring, existing methods often fall short in balancing accuracy and computational efficiency. To address this issue, we introduce a framework based on Multi-Scale Dilated Convolution (AF-MSDC), aimed at achieving precise predictions with low cost and high efficiency. By integrating Multi-Scale Dilated Convolution (MSDC) modules, our model is capable of extracting features from electrocardiogram (ECG) datasets across various scales, thus achieving an optimal balance between precision and computational savings. We have developed three MSDC modules to construct the AF-MSDC framework and assessed its performance on renowned datasets, including the MIT-BIH Atrial Fibrillation Database and Physionet Challenge 2017. Empirical results unequivocally demonstrate that our technique surpasses existing state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods in the AF detection domain. Specifically, our model, with only a quarter of the parameters of a Residual Network (ResNet), achieved an impressive sensitivity of 99.45%, specificity of 99.64% (on the MIT-BIH AFDB dataset), and an F1all score of 85.63% (on the Physionet Challenge 2017 AFDB dataset). This high efficiency makes our model particularly suitable for integration into wearable ECG devices powered by edge computing frameworks. Moreover, this innovative approach offers new possibilities for the early diagnosis of AF in clinical applications, potentially improving patient quality of life and reducing healthcare costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this note we propose a simplified approach to recent reverse Pinsker inequalities due to O. Binette. More precisely, we give direct proofs of optimal variational bounds on f-divergence with possible constraints on relative information extrema. Our arguments are closer in spirit to those of Sason and Verdú. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of grain constraint on the magnetic field levels required to complete the isothermal martensitic transformation in magnetic shape memory alloys has been demonstrated for a NiCoMnSn alloy, and the magnetocaloric performance of an optimally heat treated alloy was quantified. Ni45CoxMn45-xSn10 melt spun ribbons with x = 2, 4, 5, and 6 were characterized. The x = 5 sample was determined to exhibit the lowest transformation thermal hysteresis (7K) and transformation temperature range during transformation from paramagnetic austenite to nonmagnetic martensite, as well as a large latent heat of transformation (45 J kg-1 K-1). For this composition, it was found that increasing the grain size to thickness ratio of the ribbons from 0.2 to 1.2, through select heat treatments, resulted in a decrease in the magnetic field required to induce the martensitic transformation by about 3 T due to the corresponding reduction in the martensitic transformation temperature range. This decrease in the field requirement ultimately led to a larger magnetocaloric entropy change achieved under relatively smaller magnetic field levels. The giant inverse magnetocaloric effect of the optimized alloy was measured and showed that up to 25 J kg-1 K-1 was generated by driving the martensitic transition with magnetic fields up to 7 T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The elderly males undergo degenerative fertility and testicular endocrine function that jeopardize the reproductive health and well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying reproductive aging are unclear. Objective: This study aims to investigate the phenotypes and transcriptomes of seven regions of the male mouse reproductive tract: the testis, efferent ductules, initial segment, caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis, and vas deferens, in adult (3 months) and aged (21 months) mice. Methods: Quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescent staining, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were performed for the analysis of gene expression in mice, human tissues, and semen samples. Aged male mice showed both systematic and reproductive changes, and remarkable histological changes were detected in the testis and proximal epididymis. Transcriptomes of the male reproductive tract were mapped, and a series of region-specific genes were identified and validated in mouse and/or human tissues, including Protamine 1 (Prm2), ADAM metallopeptidase domain 28 (Adam28), Ribonuclease A family member 13 (Rnase13), WAP four-disulfide core domain 13 (Wfdc13), and Wfdc9. Meanwhile, age-related transcriptome changes of different regions of the male reproductive tract were characterized. Results: Notably, increased immune response was functionally related to the male reproductive aging, especially the T cell activation. An immune response-associated factor, phospholipase A2 group IID (Pla2g2d), was identified as a potential biomarker for reproductive aging in mice. And the PLA2G2D level in human seminal plasma surged at approximately 35 years of age. Furthermore, we highlighted Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C (Ptprc), Lymphocyte protein tyrosine kinase (Lck), Microtubule associated protein tau (Mapt), and Interferon induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 3 (Ifit3) as critical molecules in the aging of initial segment, caput, caput, and cauda epididymidis, respectively. Conclusions: This study provides an RNA-seq resource for the male reproductive system during aging in mice, and is expected to improve our understanding of male reproductive aging and infertility. Disclosure: No. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Glycated serum albumin (GSA) is an early glycosylation product that participates in diabetic vascular complications, including retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and coronary artery disease. Elevated GSA levels and the associated damage to the corpus cavernosum might be limited to not only diabetic patients but also non-diabetic patients and even individuals with normal glucose levels. Objective: This study aimed to examine the role of GSA in early damage to the corpus cavernosum and identify the pathways involved in GSA-induced endothelium damage. Methods: Nine 8-week-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (250–300 g) were divided into the control (saline vehicle, n=3) and GSA (200 μg/kg, n=6) groups. The corpus cavernosum tissues were harvested. Phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated connexin 43 (Cx43), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and serine-threonine kinase (Akt) were tested by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) overexpressing Cx43 were used to analyze the Cx43 phosphorylation sites (S368, S262, Y265, S255, and S279/282) using western blotting. Results: The expression of phosphorylated Cx43 in the penis was significantly lower in GSA-treated rats than in controls. The expression levels of p-Cx43, p-eNOS, p-PI3K, and p-Akt were significantly decreased in HUVECs exposed to GSA in dose- and time-dependent manners. The most significant impact on all four proteins was observed with 1 μg/mL of GSA for 12 h. Phosphorylation at the S368, S262, Y265, S255, and S279/282 sites of Cx43 was downregulated by GSA, and S368 was the most significantly suppressed phosphorylation site compared with the other sites. Conclusions: GSA decreases the expression of p-Cx43 in the corpus cavernosum of rats. This effect might be also related to the decreased phosphorylation of p-eNOS, p-PI3K, and p-Akt, as well as by the downregulation of phosphorylation at the S368 site. Disclosure: No. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]