Search

Guvermectin, a purine nucleoside natural product produced by the genus Streptomyces, has recently been registered as a new biopesticide to boost rice yield. Despite its economic and agricultural significance, the regulatory mechanisms of guvermectin biosynthesis remain essentially unknown, hindering industrial production and widespread agricultural application. Here, we examined the roles of two LacI family regulators, gvmR and gvmR2, located within and adjacent to the guvermectin biosynthesis cluster, respectively, in guvermectin production in Streptomyces caniferus NEAU6. GvmR activated the expression of the guvermectin cluster by binding to the promoters of gvmR, gvmA, and O1, while GvmR2 repressed the guvermectin cluster via competitive binding to promoters containing GvmR-binding sites, specifically, a 14-bp palindromic sequences: 5′-RTCATWCGYATGAY-3′ (R = G/A, W = A/T, Y = T/C). Moreover, GvmR indirectly activates the expression of gvmR2 while GvmR2 feedback inhibits gvmR transcription, suggesting a functional interaction between the two regulators for coordinating guvermectin production. Overexpression of gvmR via the T7 RNA polymerase-T7 promoter system in the gvmR2 mutant significantly elevated guvermectin production by 125 % (from 631 mg L−1 to 1422 mg L−1), compared to the parental strain NEAU6. This suggested that combinatorial manipulation of gvmR and gvmR2 is useful for improving guvermectin production. These findings enrich our knowledge of the regulatory network for guvermectin biosynthesis, and offer key targets and effective strategies for high-titer guvermectin production.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as a stem cell type with multiple differentiation potentials and immune regulatory abilities, have shown broad prospects in the treatment of ischemic stroke in recent years. The main characteristics of MSCs include their self-renewal ability, differentiation potential for different types of cells, and the ability to secrete various bioactive factors such as cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors, which play a key role in tissue repair and regeneration. In the treatment of ischemic stroke, MSCs exert therapeutic effects through various mechanisms, including promoting vascular regeneration of damaged brain tissue, reducing inflammatory responses, and protecting neurons from damage caused by apoptosis. Research have shown that MSCs can promote the repair of ischemic areas by releasing neurotrophic factors and angiogenic factors, while inhibiting immune responses triggered by ischemia, thereby improving neurological function. With the in-depth study of its biological mechanism, MSCs have gradually shown good safety and effectiveness in clinical applications. Therefore, fully exploring and utilizing the potential of MSCs in the treatment of ischemic stroke may provide new ideas and solutions for future neural repair and regenerative medicine.

Abstract In the realm of e-commerce, personalized recommendations are a crucial component in enhancing user experience and optimizing sales efficiency. To address the inherent sparsity challenge prevalent in collaborative filtering algorithms within personalized recommendation systems, we propose a novel hybrid e-commerce recommendation algorithm based on the User-Nearest-Neighbor model. By integrating the user nearest neighbor model with other recommendation algorithms, this approach effectively mitigates data sparsity and facilitates a more nuanced understanding of the user-product relationship, consequently elevating recommendation quality and enhancing user experience. Taking into account considerations such as data scale and recommendation performance, we conducted experiments utilizing the Spark distributed platform. Empirical findings demonstrate the superiority of our hybrid algorithm over standalone collaborative filtering algorithms across various recommendation indicators.

Abstract Background The effectiveness of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) versus axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in managing early‐stage male breast cancer (MBC) patients with T1‐2 tumors and limited lymph node metastasis, all receiving radiotherapy, remains uncertain. This study examines trends and survival outcomes for SLNB and ALND in the United States. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data from 2010 to 2020 for MBC patients with T1‐2 tumors and 1–2 positive lymph nodes undergoing radiotherapy. Patients were classified by nodes removed (SLNB ≤5, ALND ≥10), comparing overall survival (OS) and breast cancer‐specific survival (BCSS) between the groups before and after propensity score matching. Results Of 299 MBC patients analyzed, SLNB usage increased from 18.8% in 2010 to 61.0% in 2020. Multivariable logistic regression highlighted significant associations of SLNB use with diagnosis year, race, surgery type, positive lymph node count, and metastasis size. No significant differences in 5‐year OS (77.98% SLNB vs. 85.85% ALND, p = 0.337) or BCSS (91.54% SLNB vs. 94.97% ALND, p = 0.214) were observed. Propensity score matching (96 patients per group) confirmed similar 5‐year OS (83.9% for SLNB vs. 82.0% for ALND, p = 0.925) and BCSS (90.1% for SLNB vs. 96.9% for ALND, p = 0.167). Conclusion SLNB and ALND provide comparable survival outcomes in early‐stage MBC patients with limited lymph node metastasis undergoing radiotherapy. The increased utilization of SLNB supports its consideration to reduce surgical morbidity in selected MBC patients despite limited direct evidence.

Abstract Breast cancer (BC) poses a great threat to women’s health. Neuronal regeneration related protein (NREP) is a multifunctional protein that is involved in embryonic development, regeneration, and human disease. However, the biological function of NREP in tumors is rarely reported and its role in BC remains unknown. Bioinformatics analysis showed that NREP is highly expressed and closely correlated with poor survival in BC patients. Under hypoxic conditions, NREP was upregulated in BC cells, and this promotion was reversed by hypoxia-inducible factor HIF-1α suppression. Luciferase reporter system and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays confirmed that HIF-1α directly binds to the promoter of NREP to increase the transcriptional activity of NREP. NREP suppression inhibited cell proliferation, arrested the cell cycle at the G1/S phase, and promoted apoptosis and caspase-3 activity in BC cells. Suppression of NREP decreased the tube formation ability of HUVECs. In addition, NREP downregulation showed an inhibition effect on cell migration, invasion, and EMT of BC cells. In NREP overexpressed cells, all these changes were reversed. In vivo, animal experiments also confirmed that NREP promotes BC tumor growth and metastasis. In addition, NREP promoted cellular glycolysis and enhanced the levels of glucose consumption, ATP, lactate production, and glucose transporters expression in NREP-overexpressed BC cells. In summary, our results demonstrated that NREP could be transcriptional activated by HIF-1α, which may aggravate BC tumor growth and metastasis by promoting cellular glycolysis. This result suggested that NREP may play an essential part in BC progression.

The significant accumulation of snow and ice in the bogie region severely compromises operational quality and poses a safety hazard to high-speed trains. To enhance testing capabilities for assessing ice and snow accumulation within bogie regions, this study conducts numerical investigations into the influence of contraction section configuration and deflector layout density on wind-snow flow quality within an ice and snow wind tunnel. The predictive accuracy of the numerical method is comprehensively validated against wind-snow wind tunnel tests, involving a comparison of airflow velocity in the test section and snow accumulation thickness on the channel's floor. The results demonstrate that the coupled numerical method of Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) and Discrete Phase Model (DPM) is a reliable tool for analyzing wind-snow flow characteristics within an ice and snow wind tunnel. Furthermore, compared to the vickers curve and bicubic curve, quintic curves applied to the contraction section consistently compress and accelerate airflow. This contributes to a more uniform flow characterized by lower stream-wise fluctuation levels, pitch angles, and yaw angles in the test section, thereby significantly enhancing the overall flow quality of wind and snow. Thus, the quintic curves or smoother curves are recommended for the design of the contraction section in ice and snow wind tunnels. Moreover, increasing the deflector number leads to a noticeable improvement in flow quality inside the test section, while resulting in increased snow accretion on the windward surfaces of deflectors. Hence, a medium-level deflector density is suggested for designing ice and snow wind tunnels to achieve a better balance between flow quality and the additional snow accretion inside the channel.

Summary: The gene encoding the NUAK family kinase 1 (NUAK1) is frequently amplified and its expression is upregulated, activating oncogenic signaling in various cancers. However, little is known about its role in gastric cancer (GC). We investigate the mechanistic links among NUAK1, Hedgehog signaling, and tumorigenesis in GC. NUAK1 overexpression is validated in local and public GC cohorts. Patient-derived xenograft and transgenic mouse models demonstrate that NUAK1 depletion or inhibition dramatically ameliorates gastric tumorigenesis. NUAK1 upregulates GLI1 expression by activating STAT5-mediated transcription and stabilizing GLI1 protein. NUAK1 depletion or inhibition impairs cancer cell expansion, tumor formation, and chemotherapy resistance in in vitro and in vivo models. Clinicopathological analysis confirms that upregulated NUAK1 expression correlates with poor prognosis and chemotherapy resistance in human GC. Our findings demonstrate that the signaling axis NUAK1/STAT5/GLI1 promotes cancer cell expansion and tumorigenesis and indicate that NUAK1 is an attractive therapeutic target and prognostic factor in GC.

To investigate the dynamic changes and potential correlations between microbial diversity and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during Chinese medium-temperature Daqu (MTD) manufacturing at different key stages, in this study, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC–IMS) were employed to analyze the microbial diversity and VOCs of MTD, respectively. The results showed that Weissella, Staphylococcus, Thermoactinomyces, Kroppenstedtia, and Lactobacillus were the dominant bacterial genera, while Aspergillus, Alternaria, Thermoascus, Thermomyces, Wickerhamomyces, and Saccharomyces were the dominant fungal genera. A total of 61 VOCs were detected by GC–IMS, among which, 13 differential VOCs (VIP > 1) were identified, that could be used as potential biomarkers to judge the fermentation stage of MTD. Kroppenstedtia and Saccharopolyspora were positively correlated with 3-methyl-2-butenal and 2,2,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane-D, respectively, and both of these were positively correlated with butanal-D. Acetobacter, Streptomyces, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) including Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, Weissella, and Lactobacillus were negatively correlated with their associated VOCs, while fungi were generally positively correlated with VOCs. Wickerhamomyces, Saccharomyces, and Candida were positively correlated with butan-2-one-M. This study provides a theoretical basis for explaining the mechanisms of MTD flavor formation and screening functional microorganisms to improve the quality of MTD.

This research produced five hybrid-bonded fiber-reinforced plastic (HB-FRP)-reinforced beam specimens, and different fatigue load amplitudes were used as parameter variables for the fatigue performance tests of the FRP–concrete interface. The results show that FRP sliding with the number of cycles can be roughly divided into fatigue initiation stage, fatigue development stage, and fatigue damage stage, and finally, because the load is too large and friction, pin, and bonding cannot provide a greater inhibition effect, FRP adhesive length is not enough to withstand the stripping load and failure. FRP slip increases with increasing fatigue load amplitude for the same number of fatigue cycles; for the specimens with fatigue damage, the interfacial stiffness of FRP–concrete decreases with the increase in the number of cyclic, and the rate of stiffness damage at the FRP–concrete interface accelerates with increasing fatigue load amplitude. For fatigue load magnitudes higher than 0.6, the slopes of fatigue bond–slip curves decrease with the increase in the number of cycles. When the fatigue load magnitude is lower than 0.4, the slope of the fatigue bond–slip curve increases with the number of cycles and is close to the slope of the monotonically loaded curve. Due to the difference in load class, the bond strength of HB-F-1 continues to decrease with the increase in fatigue times, decreasing by 26% after 100 fatigue cycles and decreasing to 7.33 MPa after 5000 fatigue cycles. The bond strength of the sample HB-F-2 first increased and then decreased with the increase in fatigue times. After 10,000 fatigue cycles, the bond strength decreased by 8%, and at 11,133,300 fatigue breaks, the bond strength of the sample HB-F-3 continued to increase with the increase in fatigue times. At 2 million fatigue load cycles, the bond strength increased to 7 MPa, far from reaching the peak strength. The empirical formulas for the fatigue life curve of HB-FRP-reinforced specimens under single steel fasteners are proposed.

ObjectiveSpinal schwannomas are the most common intradural extramedullary tumors, and their complete removal is recommended to avoid tumor recurrence. Although laminoplasty provides a sufficient window for tumor resection, this approach may increase tissue trauma and cause postoperative instability compared with unilateral hemilaminectomy. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and clinical outcomes of the two approaches.Materials and methodsWe included 100 consecutive patients who underwent unilateral hemilaminectomy or laminoplasty for resection of spinal schwannomas between January 2015 and February 2023. The patients' baseline characteristics, including sex, age, tumor location, percentage of tumor occupying the intradural space, operative time, postoperative length of hospital stay, intraoperative bleeding volume, visual analog scale score, and neurologic results, were retrospectively analyzed.ResultsHemilaminectomy patients who underwent unilateral hemilaminectomy had smaller intraoperative bleeding (p = 0.020) volume, shorter operative time (p = 0.012), and shorter postoperative length of hospital stay (p = 0.044). The mean VAS scores at the last follow-up were similar between the two groups (p = 0.658). Although the postoperative McCormick and Karnofsky Performance scores were not significantly different between the laminoplasty and unilateral hemilaminectomy groups (p = 0.687 and p = 0.649, respectively), there was a statistically significant improvement based on postoperative neurological results compared to preoperative neurological results for both groups. The incidence of postoperative complications was 5% and 11.7% in the unilateral hemilaminectomy and laminoplasty groups, respectively (p = 0.308).ConclusionsFor spinal schwannoma resection, unilateral hemilaminectomy has more advantages than laminoplasty, including a shorter postoperative hospital stay, faster procedure, and less intraoperative blood loss while achieving the same desired result.

Background Evidence regarding sex differences in the associations of traditional risk factors with incident heart failure (HF) hospitalization among Chinese general adults is insufficient. This study aimed to evaluate the potential sex differences in the associations of traditional risk factors with HF among Chinese general adults. Methods and Results Data were from a subcohort of the China PEACE (Patient‐Centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events) Million Persons Project. The traditional risk factors were collected at baseline, and the study outcome was HF‐related hospitalization identified from the Inpatients Registry. A total of 102 278 participants (mean age, 54.3 years; 39.5% men) without prevalent HF were recruited. A total of 1588 cases of HF‐related hospitalization were captured after a median follow‐up of 3.52 years. The incidence rates were significantly higher in men (2.1%) than in women (1.2%). However, the observed lower risk of HF in women was significantly attenuated or even vanished when several traditional risk factors were poorly controlled (P for sex‐by‐risk factors

Highlights The tactile performance of ultralight multifunctional sensors can reach the level of human tactile perception. An individual sensor can provide multiple tactile sensations: pressure, temperature, materials recognition, and 3D location. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to integrate multiple sensing modules with different functions, which greatly simplifies system complexity and reduces energy loss. The tactile system with multimodal learning algorithms has universality and can accommodate object recognition tasks in various application scenarios (e.g., Mars and Kitchen).

Abstract Background Epidemiological study of sex differences in incidence and risk factors of heart failure (HF), and subsequent mortality attributed to HF in the Chinese general population is lacking. This study aims to assess the sex differences in the incidence and risk factors of hospitalization for HF and evaluate the sex differences in population attributable fractions (PAFs) for the subsequent mortality among the general population. Methods Data were from a sub-cohort of the Patient-Centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Million Persons Project in China. Fine and Gray models were conducted to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) accounting for the competing risk of all-cause mortality. Propensity score matching analysis and subgroup analyses were used to verify the robustness of the results. Adjusted PAFs of HF for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were evaluated by sex. Results Of the 102,278 participants, 60.5% were women, and the mean age was 54.3 years. After a median follow-up of 3.52 years, 1588 cases of hospitalization for HF were identified. After adjusting for the covariates, women had 31% (95% CI: 0.61–0.79) lower risk for HF than men. The results were consistent in the propensity score matching cohort and across all subgroup analyses (all P sex-subgroups interaction > 0.05). Although women were associated with a lower risk of HF, they had a higher PAF (24.2%, 95% CI: 16.0-31.6) for subsequent cardiovascular mortality than men (16.5%, 95% CI: 11.3–21.5). Several significant differences in risk factors for HF were noted between sexes. Conclusion In the southern Chinese population, women had a lower risk of HF but had a higher cardiovascular mortality fraction attributed to HF than men. Sex-specific preventative strategies and management for HF should be warranted.

Abstract The association of blood pressure (BP) classification defined by the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline with cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate this research gap in the Chinese adults. Cross‐sectional data were collected from a population‐based cohort conducted in Southern China. Participants were categorized as having normal BP, elevated BP, stage 1 hypertension, and stage 2 hypertension according to the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline. CMM was defined as having two or more of the following diseases: coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The relationship between the BP classifications and CMM was examined by multivariate logistic regression. A total of 95 649 participants (mean age: 54.3 ± 10.2 years, 60.7% were women) were enrolled in this study. Multivariable‐adjusted logistic regression models revealed that stage 1 hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 1.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.78) and stage 2 hypertension (OR, 3.53; 95% CI, 2.82–4.47) were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of CMM compared with normal BP. The association between stage 1 hypertension and CMM were profound in women (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.17–2.67) and in the middle‐aged group (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.02–2.35) compared with men and older individuals, respectively. Our study showed that among Chinese adults, stage 1 hypertension defined by the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline was already associated with higher odds of CMM compared with normal BP, particularly in women and middle‐aged participants. Managing stage 1 hypertension may be an important measure to prevent CMM in Chinese adults.

Abstract Background Cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) and obesity represent two major health problems. The relationship between adiposity indices and CMM, however, remains understudied. This study aimed to investigate the associations of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), a body shape index (ABSI), body roundness index (BRI), and conicity index (CI) with CMM among Chinese adults. Methods Data of 101,973 participants were collected from a population-based screening project in Southern China. CMM was defined as having two or more of the following diseases: coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes. The relationship between the six adiposity indices and CMM was investigated by multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic splines. Receiver operator characteristic curve, C-statistic and net reclassification index were used to estimate the discriminative and incremental values of adiposity indices on CMM. Results Logistic regression models showed the six adiposity indices were all significantly associated with the odds of CMM with non-linear relationships. For per SD increment, WC (Odds ratio [OR]: 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.62–1.70) and WHtR (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.58–1.65) were more significantly associated with a higher prevalence of CMM than BMI (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.52–1.58) (all P

Constant voltage (CV) charging and efficiency improvement are the most basic and main targets to be achieved in inductive power transfer (IPT) systems. However, efficiency may be jeopardized as battery charging progresses, especially under a light-load condition, which accounts for most of the charging time. Traditional maximum-efficiency tracking (MET) control provides an effective solution to the above issues. However, MET control not only brings the difficulties of complicated control and increased cost/volume, but also increases the additional power losses because of the introduction of additional converters or hard-switching in dual-shift phase control. To address the above difficulty, a light-load efficiency improvement (LLEI) technique is presented in this study. Under a heavy-load condition, both the inverter and rectifier operate in conventional full-bridge mode with satisfactory efficiency. Under a light-load condition, both the rectifier and inverter are reconfigured as a voltage-doubler rectifier and half-bridge inverter, respectively, to achieve two targets: one is to keep the charging voltage roughly unchanged, and the other is to force the equivalent load resistance (ELR) approach to the optimal point to improve system power transfer efficiency. A demonstrative experimental prototype with a charging voltage of 60 V is constructed and tested to validate the LLEI method proposed in this study. The experimental results show that the proposal can ensure stable CV charging and significantly improve the system efficiency under a light-load condition over the whole charging process.

Magnetic fields positively influence the nitrogen removal efficiency in activated sludge systems. However, the structural succession pattern of microorganisms by magnetic fields still remains further explored. In this paper, a magnetic simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (MSND) reactor was constructed, and the influence of optimized magnetic field intensity (0, 10, 20 and 30 mT) on the nitrogen removal efficiency was investigated at HRT 6 h, 28.0–30.0 °C, and pH 7.0–8.0. Molecular biology was used to investigate the succession process of the dominant microbial flora and the functional gene structure of MSND systems. The results showed that the denitrification effects of the MSND system were significantly enhanced, which contributed to the lower concentration of total nitrogen in the effluent of the magnetic reactor than that of the nonmagnetic group reactor. The magnetic fields induced the succession of microbial community structure and improved the stability of microbial communities, thereby the relative abundances of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, and the functional genes were improved. In particular, the abundance of functional genes related to gene proliferation and transmembrane transport was increased. Therefore, the efficient nitrogen removal was achieved, which gives inspiration in the enhanced wastewater treatment by magnetic fields. HIGHLIGHTS The influence of magnetic fields with different magnetic field strengths on SND systems was explored.; The succession process of microbial dominant flora and functional gene structure in the SND system was analyzed.; The biological mechanism of the better denitrification effect of SND under magnetic field conditions was clarified.;

Abstract The association of adiposity indices with prehypertension remains unclear in the Chinese non‐hypertensive population. This study aimed to compare the association of adiposity indices, including waist circumference (WC), waist‐to‐height ratio, body roundness index (BRI), a body shape index (ABSI), and conicity index (CI), and prehypertension in the Chinese population. We recruited 61 475 participants from a population‐based screening project in Guangdong province, China. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to detect the association between the six adiposity indices and prehypertension. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the predictive values of adiposity indices to prehypertension. The individuals were divided into two categories by blood pressure (BP) levels: normotension (

Abstract The prevalence of peripheral artery disease continues to rise, with major amputations and mortality remaining prominent. Frailty is a significant risk factor for adverse outcomes in the management of the vascular disease. The geriatric nutritional risk index has been used to predict adverse outcomes in lower extremity peripheral artery disease and is a nutrition‐based surrogate for frailty. The authors recruited 126 patients with peripheral artery disease who underwent endovascular stent implantation. As in previous reports, malnutrition was diagnosed by the geriatric nutritional risk index. The authors used Kaplan‐Meier and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses to analyze the risk of major adverse limb events, which included mortality, major amputation, and target limb revascularization. There were 67 major adverse limb events during a median follow‐up of 480 days. Malnutrition on the basis of the geriatric nutritional risk index was present in 31% of patients. Cox regression analysis showed that malnutrition based on the geriatric nutritional risk index was an independent predictor of major adverse limb events. Kaplan‐Meier analysis showed that major adverse limb events increased with worsening malnutrition. Our single‐center, retrospective evaluation of geriatric nutritional risk index (as a synonym for body health) correlates with an increased risk of major adverse limb events. Future directions should focus not only on identifying these patients but also on modifying risk factors to optimize long‐term outcomes.

Abstract The triglyceride glucose‐body mass index (TyG‐BMI) has been considered an alternative marker of insulin resistance (IR). This cross‐sectional study was designed to mainly investigate the association between TyG‐BMI, triglyceride glucose combined with body mass index, and hypertension in Chinese adults. The relationship between TyG‐BMI and hypertension was examined by multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline model. Multiple logistic regression models were also performed to examine the associations between the individual components of TyG‐BMI (BMI, TyG index, TG and FBG) and hypertension. The incremental ability of TyG‐BMI versus its individual components for hypertension discrimination was evaluated by C‐statistic and net reclassification index. Subgroup analysis was performed to examine potential interactions. A total of 92,545 participants (38.9% men, mean age 53.7 years) were included for final analysis. Logistic regression models showed TyG‐BMI and its individual components were all significantly associated with the odds of hypertension (p for trend

As an antioxidant and antiozonant, N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) is predominantly used in the rubber industry to prevent degradation. However, 6PPD can be ozonated to generate a highly toxic transformation product called N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine quinone (6PPD-quinone), which is toxic to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Thus, 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone, two emerging contaminants, have attracted extensive attention recently. This review discussed the levels and distribution of 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone in the environment and investigated their toxic effects on a series of organisms. 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone have been widely found in air, water, and dust, while data on soil, sediment, and biota are scarce. 6PPD-quinone can cause teratogenic, developmental, reproductive, neuronal, and genetic toxicity for organisms, at environmentally relevant concentrations. Future research should pay more attention to the bioaccumulation, biomagnification, transformation, and toxic mechanisms of 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone.

Anthurium is the second largest tropical flower crop in the world. The international market has urgent demand for anthurium varieties with different spathe colors, which mainly arises from the types and contents of anthocyanin. The flavonoid 3-O-glycosyltransferase (UF3GT) gene is the key enzyme involved in promoting anthocyanin accumulation through glycosylation downstream of the anthocyanin synthesis pathway (ASP). Abnormal functioning of UFGT usually results in a reduction in or loss of anthocyanins. The aim of this study was to reveal the role of one anthurium UFGT gene (AnUFGT1) in ‘Xueyu’ (X), an anthocyanin-deficient mutant of ‘Alabama’. Metabolome analysis was used to analyze the metabolic products in the ASP to determine the possible key link of the anthocyanin deletion mutation. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis UFGT functionally deficient mutant (ufgt) and ‘X’ validated the function of AnUFGT1. The results of comparative metabolome analysis of ‘X’ and ‘Alabama’ showed that there was no significant difference in product levels upstream of ASP. The expression levels of AnUFGT1 were significantly greater in ‘Alabama’ than in ‘X’. The overexpression of AnUFGT1 in ufgt significantly increased its anthocyanin contents. The overexpression of AnUFGT1 in ‘X’, mediated by a new injection method, can only promote the synthesis of trace anthocyanins. These results showed that AnUFGT1 could fully compensate the phenotype of ufgt, but only partially compensate the anthocyanidin-deficient phenotype of anthurium mutant X. This difference suggested that anthocyanin-deletion mutations in anthurium ‘X’ are associated with AnUFGT1, but AnUFGT1 is not the only factor. There should be other factors interacting with AnUFGT1 that cause anthocyanin deficiency.

Fixed-diamond abrasive wire saw cutting is one of the most common methods for cutting hard and brittle materials. This process has unique advantages including a narrow kerf and the ability to use a relatively small cutting force. In the cutting process, controlling the main process parameters can improve the processing efficiency, obtaining a better processing surface roughness. This work designs the PI controller (Proportional–Integral controller) based on the reciprocating wire saw cutting process. The control objects are the workpiece feed rate and wire saw velocity, and the control objective is the normal cutting force. For the control trials, several reference values of various normal cutting forces were chosen. The effects of feed rate and saw velocity on the cutting surface finish and cutting time were investigated in this work using wire saw cutting analysis on a square monocrystalline silicon specimen. The results of this study showed that under a constant applied force of 2.5 N, the optimal feed rate of the diamond wire through the specimen could reduce cutting time by 42% while achieving a 60% improvement in the measured surface finish. Likewise, optimal control of the wire saw velocity could reduce cycle time by 18% with a 45% improvement in the surface finish. Consequently, the feed speed control is more effective than the wire saw velocity.

This study investigates the effect of aspect ratios (Ra*) on the wake bi-stability behind the GTS model using improved delayed-detached eddy simulation (IDDES) at a Reynolds number of 2.7×104. Eight cases with Ra* in the range of Ra*∈[0.5, 2.0] have been considered to investigate the asymmetric wake flow and the corresponding aerodynamic response. The primary objective of this study is to reveal the mechanism of the Ra* effects on the GTS’s flow topology, asymmetric wake flow and the bi-stable flow switching process. The accuracy of the numerical method has been validated by comparing the recirculation bubble, vortex core and aerodynamic drag with those obtained from the previous large-eddy simulation study and the water channel experiment. The results show that three typical flow topologies (FT-I, FT-II and FT-III) are classified according to the drag coefficient and the length relation between the vertical and horizontal recirculation region. The vertical and horizontal asymmetric characteristics can be transformed between two adjacent flow topologies. Moreover, a switching process of the bi-stable wake flow is also observed as Ra* is equal to 0.71. Additionally, the ground motion can reverse the dominated flow state and inhibiting the corresponding switching process.

When a short-circuit fault occurs in a phase, the faulty phase needs to be removed artificially from the system because of the loss of the capability to generate torque. In this case, both the short-circuit current and phase-loss fault would generate additional torque ripples. In this study, a novel fault-tolerant control strategy is introduced to achieve low torque ripple operation of five-phase fault-tolerant permanent magnet synchronous motors with trapezoidal back electromotive force (FTPMSM-TEMF) in the event of a short-circuit fault. The key concept of this method is to compensate for the torque ripples caused by the short-circuit current and the adverse effect of the phase-loss. Based on the torque expression under fault conditions, the torque ripple caused by the short-circuit current can be offset by injecting a certain pulsating component into the torque expression in the phase-loss condition. This would result in smooth operation under fault conditions. Moreover, to track the fault-tolerant alternating currents, the model of the deadbeat current predictive control is extended and restructured for the fault condition. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed fault-tolerant strategy are verified by experimental results.

Abstract Background: We aimed to evaluate the burden of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in the community populations of Guangdong Province and its association with sociodemographic status (SDS). Method: The data were from the community populations of Guangdong Province who have participated in the China PEACE Million Persons Project between 2016 and 2020 (n = 102,358, women 60.5% and mean age 54.3 years). The prevalence of CV risk factors (smoking, drinking, overweight/obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus) and its association with SDS (age, sex and socioeconomic status [SES]) was evaluated cross-sectionally. Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 48.9%, hypertension 39.9%, dyslipidemia 18.6%, smoking 17.2%, diabetes mellitus 16.1% and drinking 5.3%. Even in young adults (aged 35–44), nearly 60% had at least 1 CV risk factor. Overweight/obesity often coexisted with other risk factors, including smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus. The proportion of people with no risk factor decreased with increasing age. Women were more likely than men to have no CV risk factor (29.4% vs. 12.7%). People with ≥ high school degree were more likely than those with

The genome of Aechmea fasciata , a common house plant and popular bromelioid provides insights into its evolution.

Background and objective: The G-Branch endograft is a novel multibranched “off-the-shelf” device used to repair thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs). This report describes the hemodynamic and morphological performance of the G-Branch endograft in a human patient with TAAA.Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the computed tomography angiography scans and clinical data of a woman in whom TAAA was treated using a G-Branch endograft. Patient-specific three-dimensional models were reconstructed, and computational fluid dynamics and morphological and hemodynamic indicators were analyzed before and after implantation of the device.Results: From a morphological perspective, there was an increase in cross-sectional area in the G-Branch endograft and all bridging stent grafts over time. Blood flow was redistributed among the renovisceral arteries, with a decrease in flow rate in the celiac artery and an increase in the left renal artery. Laminar blood flow was smoother and more rapid after implantation of the G-Branch device and remained stable during follow-up. In the bridging stent grafts, flow recirculation zones were found in the bridging zones of the celiac artery and superior mesenteric artery as well as the distal sealing zones of both renal arteries. Furthermore, higher time-averaged wall shear stress and a lower oscillatory index and relative resident time were found in the G-Branch endograft and bridging stent grafts. Quantitative analysis showed obvious reduction in the surface area ratio of the elevated time-averaged wall shear stress area and surface area ratio of the relative resident time after G-branch implantation.Conclusion: The revascularization of branch vessels occurred following G-branch implantation, with improvements arising not only from morphological changes but also from hemodynamic alterations. The long-term performance of the G-Branch endograft needs further investigation and clinical validation.

Perpendicular exchange bias (PEB) is highly desirable for the development of advanced nanoscale spintronics devices. The attainment of conventional PEB typically involves a field-cooling process through the Néel temperature of antiferromagnetic materials. In this study, we demonstrated the realization of spontaneous PEB (SPEB) in IrMn/[Co/Pt] _3 multilayers utilizing isothermal crystallization of IrMn at room temperature (RT). And the SPEB generated isothermally at IrMn/Co interface does not destroy the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the multilayers. The magnetic domains of the multilayers captured by Kerr microscopy after different magnetization time also indicate the generation of SPEB. The magnitude of SPEB can be controllable by varying the isothermal magnetization time and the annealing temperature of IrMn. The relationship between magnetization waiting time and SPEB reveals that even slight isothermal crystallization can generate substantial SPEB. Our results provide an alternative approach to isothermally generate PEB in IrMn/[Co/Pt] _3 multilayers at RT.

To enhance the accuracy of micro-Newton thrust measurements via a torsion pendulum, addressing microgravity coupling effects caused by platform tilt and pendulum mass eccentricity is crucial. This study focuses on analyzing and minimizing these effects by alleviating reference surface tilt and calibrating the center of mass during thrust measurements. The study introduced analysis techniques and compensation measures. It first examined the impact of reference tilt and center of mass eccentricity on the stiffness and compliance of the torsion pendulum by reconstructing its dynamic model. Simscape Multibody was initially employed for numerical analysis to assess the dynamic coupling effects of the tilted pendulum. The results showed the influence of reference tilt on the stiffness and compliance of the torsion pendulum through simulation. An inverted pendulum was developed to amplify the platform’s tilt angle for microgravity drag-free control. Center of mass calibration can identify the gravity coupling caused by the center of mass position. Based on the displacement signal from the capacitive sensor located at the end of the inverted pendulum, which represents the platform’s tilt angle, the pendulum’s vibration at 0.1 mHz was reduced from 5.7 μm/Hz1/2 to 0.28 μm/Hz1/2 by adjusting the voltage of piezoelectric actuator. Finally, a new two-stage torsion pendulum structure was proposed to decouple the tilt coupling buried in both pitch and roll angle. The study utilized theoretical models, numerical analysis, and experimental testing to validate the analysis methods and compensation measures for microgravity coupling effects in torsion pendulums. This led to a reduction in low-frequency noise caused by ground vibrations and thermal strains, ultimately improving the micro-Newton thrust measurement accuracy of the torsion pendulum through the platform’s drag-free control.

Abstract Background Karat (Musa troglodytarum L.) is an autotriploid Fe’i banana of the Australimusa section. Karat was domesticated independently in the Pacific region, and karat fruit are characterized by a pink sap, a deep yellow-orange flesh colour, and an abundance of β-carotene. Karat fruit showed non-climacteric behaviour, with an approximately 215-day bunch filling time. These features make karat a valuable genetic resource for studying the mechanisms underlying fruit development and ripening and carotenoid biosynthesis. Results Here, we report the genome of M. troglodytarum, which has a total length of 603 Mb and contains 37,577 predicted protein-coding genes. After divergence from the most recent common ancestors, M. troglodytarum (T genome) has experienced fusion of ancestral chromosomes 8 and 9 and multiple translocations and inversions, unlike the high synteny with few rearrangements found among M. schizocarpa (S genome), M. acuminata (A genome) and M. balbisiana (B genome). Genome microsynteny analysis showed that the triplication of MtSSUIIs due to chromosome rearrangement may lead to the accumulation of carotenoids and ABA in the fruit. The expression of duplicated MtCCD4s is repressed during ripening, leading to the accumulation of α-carotene, β-carotene and phytoene. Due to a long terminal repeat (LTR)-like fragment insertion upstream of MtERF11, karat cannot produce large amounts of ethylene but can produce ABA during ripening. These lead to non-climacteric behaviour and prolonged shelf-life, which contributes to an enrichment of carotenoids and riboflavin. Conclusions The high-quality genome of M. troglodytarum revealed the genomic basis of non-climacteric behaviour and enrichment of carotenoids, riboflavin, flavonoids and free galactose and provides valuable resources for further research on banana domestication and breeding and the improvement of nutritional and bioactive qualities.

IntroductionTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive cluster of breast cancer characterized by significant molecular heterogeneity. Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that is significantly associated with cancer progression, metastasis, recurrence and chemoresistance. However, the potential roles of glycolysis-related genes in TNBC remain unclear.MethodsIn the present study, we identified 108 glycolysis-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between breast cancer (BRCA) tumor tissues and normal tissues, and we divided patients into two different clusters with significantly distinct molecular characteristics, clinicopathological features, prognosis, immune cell infiltration and mutation burden. We then constructed a 10-gene signature that classified all TNBCs into low- and high-risk groups.ResultsThe high-risk group had significantly lower survival than the low-risk group, which implied that the risk score was an independent prognostic indicator for TNBC patients. Consequently, we constructed and validated a prognostic nomogram, which accurately predicted individual overall survival (OS) of TNBC. Moreover, the risk score predicted the drug sensitivity of chemotherapeutic agents and immunotherapy for TNBC patients.DiscussionThe present comprehensive analysis of glycolysis-related DEGs in TNBC provides new methods for prognosis prediction and more effective treatment strategies.

The materials of the Al-Ni-Ce ternary system have promising application potential in additive manufacturing, and the systematic study of Al-Ni-Ce IMCs is an important part of the design and performance development of Al-Ni-Ce alloys. In this paper, the mechanical properties and electronic properties of seven major Al-Ni-Ce IMCs are studied using first-principles calculations, and the differences in their mechanical properties are discussed. The enthalpy of formation and cohesion energy of the Al-Ni-Ce IMCs showed that Ce4Al23Ni6 had the highest enthalpy of formation and cohesion energy, which were −49.57 kJ/mol and −4.47 kJ/mol, respectively. This demonstrated that all Al-Ni-Ce IMCs had excellent thermodynamic stability. The elastic modulus calculation of the Al-Ni-Ce IMCs showed that the Young’s modulus of CeAl3Ni2 was the largest at 178.15 GPa, the bulk modulus of CeAlNi4 was the largest at 125.78 GPa, and the shear modulus of CeAlNi2 was the largest at 62.53 GPa. This proved that among the Al-Ni-Ce IMCs, CeAl3Ni2 had the greatest stiffness, CeAlNi4 had the strongest resistance to uniform deformation, and CeAl3Ni2 had the strongest resistance to plastic deformation. The electronic density of states of Al-Ni-Ce IMCs was analyzed, and the results showed that the main bonding types of Al-Ni-Ce IMCs were metallic and covalent bonds. This work can provide a theoretical basis for the material design and development of the Al-Ni-Ce ternary system.

Objectives: Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a highly contagious, acutely infectious agent that causes immunosuppression in chickens. We expressed IBDV VP2 proteins in Escherichia coli (E. coli) to develop an effective virus-like-particles (VLPs) vaccine and evaluated its immunogenicity. Methods: The VLPs produced in E. coli were used as an immunogen mixed with a water-in-mineral-oil adjuvant (MontanideTM ISA 71 VG, ISA 71 RVG) or a white oil (7#) adjuvant. VLPs without an adjuvant, commercial subunit vaccine, inactivated vaccine, and attenuated vaccine were used as controls. These test vaccines were intramuscularly injected into 19-day-old SPF chickens, which were challenged with the IBDV virulent strain at 30 days after vaccination. Results: The adjuvants boosted antibody production, and the adjuvant groups (except white oil) produced higher antibody levels than the non-adjuvanted controls and the commercial vaccine groups. In terms of cellular immunity, the VLPs plus adjuvant combinations produced higher levels of cytokines, IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ than the controls. Conclusion: IBDV VLPs plus the ISA 71 RVG adjuvant can be used as an optimal vaccine combination for improving the immune efficacy of IBD subunit vaccines, which can protect against the virulent strain.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a single session of Tai chi (TC) exercise and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on inhibitory control in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD).MethodsA total 47 males with methamphetamine dependence were recruited from a compulsory drug rehabilitation center; participation in this study was voluntary. The participants were randomly assigned to the TC group or the HIIT group, and computer-based Go/No-go and Stroop tasks were used to assess inhibitory control in an indoor setting prior to and following exercise. Independent sample t-test was applied for baseline comparison of continuous variables, while analysis of variance was applied to test differences in the effect of each intervention before and after a single session of exercise.ResultsIn Go/No-go test, the reaction time of the TC and HIIT groups in the post-test was shorter than that at the baseline, and the response accuracy of the post-test were higher than that of the baseline. In the Stroop task, the reaction time of two groups in the post-test was shorter than that at the baseline; while, greater improvement in response accuracy was observed in HIIT group in the post-test than that of the baseline.ConclusionBoth TC and HIIT can promote inhibitory control in individuals with SUD. Compared with the TC group, the HIIT group showed greater improvements in response accuracy. These findings demonstrate the potential of TC and HIIT in improving cognition in SUD.Clinical trial registration[http://www.chictr.org.cn/], identifier [ChiCTR1900022158].

African swine fever (ASF) is a potent infectious disease with detrimental effects on the global swine industry and no currently vaccine available. The emergence of low-virulence CD2v-deleted mutants manifested as non-hemadsorption (non-HAD) strains represents a significant challenge to the prevention and control of ASF. In this study, we aimed to establish an indirect ELISA (IELISA) method for the identification of ASFV wild-type and CD2v-deleted strains. We integrated the CD2v protein extracellular domain sequence (CD2v-Ex, 1–588 bp) of the highly pathogenic strain China/2018/AnhuiXCGQ into the genome of suspension culture-adapted Chinese hamster Ovary-S (CHO-S) cells using lentivirus vectors (LVs). By screening, we identified a monoclonal CHO-S cell line that stably expressed secretory CD2v-Ex Protein. We then used the purified CD2v-Ex Protein as the detection antigen to establish an indirect ELISA method (CD2v-IELISA) for identification of the ASFV wild-type and CD2v-Deleted (CD2v−) strains. The CD2v-IELISA method showed excellent specificity with no cross-reaction with serum samples infected with ASFV (CD2v−), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), classical swine fever virus (CSFV), porcine circovirus (PCV), porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV), swine foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Furthermore, this method showed high sensitivity, allowing identification of ASFV-infected clinical serum samples up to a dilution of 1:2,560. The coefficient of variation both in and between batches was

Monocrystalline silicon is widely used in the semiconductor market, but its hard and brittle physical properties make processing difficult. Fixed-diamond abrasive wire-saw (FAW) cutting is currently the most commonly used cutting method for hard and brittle materials due to advantages such as narrow cutting seams, low pollution, low cutting force and simple cutting process. During the process of cutting a wafer, the contact between the part and the wire is curved, and the arc length changes during the cutting process. This paper establishes a model of contact arc length by analyzing the cutting system. At the same time, a model of the random distribution of abrasive particles is established to solve the cutting force during the cutting process, using iterative algorithms to calculate cutting forces and chip surface saw marks. The error between the experiment and simulation of the average cutting force in the stable stage is less than 6%, and the errors with respect to the central angle and curvature of the saw arc on the wafer surface are less than 5% between the experiment and simulation. The relationship between the bow angle, contact arc length and cutting parameters is studied using simulations. The results show that the variation trend of the bow angle and contact arc length is consistent, increasing with an increase in the part feed rate and decreasing with an increase in the wire velocity.

BackgroundIn this study, we investigated the epidemiological characteristics and predictors of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).MethodsThe study was designed as a retrospective cohort trial at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. From January 2017 to December 2020, a total of 1,262 patients with DM were enrolled to assess the risk factors for DPN. The patients were divided into two groups (DPN group and non-DPN group). The Mann–Whitney U test or t-test, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, univariate chi-square analyses, and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the adjusted predictors of DPN.ResultsThe overall prevalence of DPN in DM patients was 72.7% (n = 793/1,091). Multivariate analysis revealed that age > 66 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.647; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.469–4.770; p = 0.002), history of hypertension (OR, 1.829; 95% CI 1.146–2.920; p = 0.011), neutrophil (NE) levels exceeding 4.0 × 109/L (OR 0.256; 95% CI 0.162–0.405; p = 0.001), lymphocyte (LY) levels over 3.0 × 109/L (OR 7.173; 95% CI 4.258–12.086; p = 0.000), HbA1c > 7.7% (OR 3.151; 95% CI 1.959–5.068; p = 0.000), and FT3 > 4.4 pmol/L (OR 0.417; 95% CI 0.263–0.662; p = 0.000) were six significant predictive factors for the prevalence of DPN.ConclusionsHigh levels of LY, HbA1c, history of hypertension, and > 66 years of age increase the risk of DPN in adult patients with DM, while high levels of NE and FT3 were protective factors of DPN. Thus, the prediction of DPN can significantly be improved by identifying older patients over the age of 66 and history of hypertension, as well as establishing the biochemical cutoff values of NE, LY, HbA1c, and FT3.

Hard and brittle materials such as monocrystalline silicon still occupy an important position in the semiconductor industry, but hard and brittle materials are difficult to process because of their physical properties. Fixed-diamond abrasive wire-saw cutting is the most widely used method for slicing hard and brittle materials. The diamond abrasive particles on the wire saw wear to a certain extent, which affects the cutting force and wafer surface quality in the cutting process. In this experiment, keeping all the given parameters unchanged, a square silicon ingot is cut repeatedly with a consolidated diamond abrasive wire saw until the wire saw breaks. The experimental results show that the cutting force decreases with the increase in cutting times in the stable grinding stage. The wear of abrasive particles starts at the edges and corners, and the macro failure mode of the wire saw is fatigue fracture. The fluctuation of the wafer surface profile gradually decreases. The surface roughness of wafer is steady during the wear steady stage, and the large damage pits on the wafer surface are reduced in the whole process of cutting.

Objective: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant primary brain tumor in adults. This study aimed to identify significant prognostic biomarkers related to GBM. Methods: We collected 3 GBM and 3 healthy human brain samples for transcriptome and proteomic sequencing analysis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between GBM and control samples were identified using the edge R package in R. Functional enrichment analyses, prediction of long noncoding RNA target genes, and protein-protein interaction network analyses were performed. Subsequently, transcriptomic and proteomic association analyses, validation using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and survival and prognostic analyses were conducted. Then the hub genes directly related to GBM were screened. Finally, the expression of key genes was verified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results: Totally, 1140 transcripts and 503 proteins were significantly up- or down-regulated. A total of 25 genes were upregulated and 62 were downregulated at both the transcriptome and proteome levels. Results from TCGA database showed that 84 of these 87 genes matched with transcriptome sequencing results. A Cox regression analysis suggested that Fibronectin 1( FN1 ) was a prognostic risk factor. The qPCR results showed that FN1 was significantly upregulated in GBM samples. Conclusions: FN1 may play a role in GBM progression through ECM-receptor interaction and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. FN1 may be considered as a prognostic biomarkers related to GBM.

Household carbon emissions (HCEs) in urban communities are significant sources of China’s total carbon emissions and contribute to global warming and climate change dramatically. This study aims to estimate the HCEs and investigate their influential factors based on a total of 185 household survey data collected from three typical types of urban communities in Beijing: traditional communities, unit communities, and commercial housing communities with the application of the consumer lifestyle approach analysis and econometrics model. The results show that unit communities contribute to the highest direct carbon emissions and the commercial housing communities produce the most indirect carbon emissions, with the traditional communities emitting the lowest carbon emissions both directly and indirectly. The highest direct carbon emissions of households are found in unit communities at 723.79 kgCO2 per month, followed by commercial communities at 580.01 kgCO2, and finally the traditional communities with 526.44 kgCO2 direct carbon emissions monthly. And the highest monthly indirect carbon emissions of households are found in commercial communities at 707.70 kgCO2, followed by unit communities at 669.38 kgCO2, and finally with 554.85 kgCO2 indirect carbon emissions monthly in traditional communities. It concludes that the community type affects HCE characteristics and their driving factors significantly. Household income, household population, and the ownership of cars increase HCE in more than one type of community. Scientific research work-related population, community environment satisfaction, housing area have positive effects, while community convenience has negative impacts on HCEs in one certain type of community. Policy implications tailored to general and specific community types are proposed as the guidance of carbon reduction and community transformation finally. This study contributes to the understanding of the impact of community attributes on HCEs and proposes some methods for microregional carbon emission reduction and the ecological transformation of urban communities.

In the last 20 years, accumulating evidence indicates that the gut microbiota contribute to the development, maturation, and regulation of the host immune system and mediate host anti-pathogen defenses. Lactobacillus casei (L.casei) is a normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract in mammals and, as a great mucosal delivery vehicle, has wide use in bioengineering. However, the diarrhea prevention role of commensal intestinal microbiota interfered by the recombinant L.casei (rL.casei) in newborn piglets is not well understood. In our study, newborn piglets orally fed with the rL.casei surface displayed the fimbrial protein K88 of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and their feces were collected for a period of time after feeding. The next-generation sequencing of these fecal samples showed that the relative abundance of L.casei was significantly increased. The oral administration of rL.casei altered the intestinal microbial community as evidenced by altered microbial diversity and microbial taxonomic composition. Remarkably, the functional enhancing of the intestinal bacterial community by rL.casei was positively correlated with membrane transport, replication, and repair (p < 0.05). The specific antibody detection indicates that high levels of anti-K88 secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) were induced in fecal samples and systemic immunoglobulin G was produced in serum. The diarrhea rate in piglets caused by ETEC K88 was decreased by about 24%. Thus, the oral administration of rL.casei not only activated the mucosal and humoral immune responses in vivo but also contributed to shape the intestinal probiotics in newborn piglets and to significantly reduce the diarrhea rates of newborn piglets.

Abstract Silica aerogels are low density solids with high surface area and high porosity which are ideal supports for catalyst materials. The main challenge in aerogel production is the drying process, which must remove liquid from the pores of the wet gel while maintaining the solid network. In this work, the synthesis of silica aerogels and nickel-doped silica aerogels by a low energy budget process is demonstrated. Silica aerogels are produced by ambient drying using ammonium bicarbonate, rather than a conventional low surface tension solvent. Heating dissociates the ammonium bicarbonate, so generating CO2 and NH3 within the pores of the wet gel which prevents pore collapse during drying. Nickel-doped aerogels were produced by reducing nickel ions within pre-synthesised silica aerogels. The morphology of the resulting nickel particles—spheres, wires and chains—could be controlled through an appropriate choice of synthesis conditions. Materials were characterized using nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. The surface area of undoped aerogel is found to increase with the concentration of ammonium bicarbonate salts from 360 to 530 m2 g−1, and that of nickel-doped silica aerogel varies from 240 to 310 m2 g−1 with nickel doping conditions.

Forecasting the state of health and remaining useful life of batteries is a challenge that limits technologies such as electric vehicles. Here, the authors build an accurate battery performance forecasting system using machine learning.

Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the association between maternal asthma and the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Methods: A systematic search of seven databases was conducted. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate risk ratios and 95% CI using random-effects models. Results: Asthma was associated with an increased risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (RR 1.45, 95%CI 1.29–1.63), transient hypertension of pregnancy (RR 2.00, 95%CI 1.52–2.63), preeclampsia or eclampsia (RR 1.28, 95%CI 1.25–1.32), preeclampsia (RR 1.43, 95%CI 1.31–1.57) and eclampsia (RR 1.56, 95%CI 1.13–2.15). Conclusion: The meta-analysis illustrated that asthma was significantly increased risk of hypertension during pregnancy.

In this paper, the drawbacks of the conventional f-t frame based maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) control schemes are analyzed and mathematically proved. In order to inherit the merits of both the direct flux vector control (DFVC) in field weakening region and field orientated control (FOC) in constant torque region while avoiding their disadvantages, an integrated control scheme is proposed. The proposed control scheme integrates the FOC into f-t reference frame at low speeds to achieve a relatively accurate and robust MTPA control, while at high speeds, the DFVC is adopted to utilize the advantages of f-t frame based control scheme in field weakening region. A shape function is utilized by the proposed control scheme to achieve a smooth transition between the two control schemes. The proposed control scheme is verified by experiments under various operation conditions on a prototype IPMSM drive. The simulation and experimental results illustrate that the proposed control scheme could achieve a better MTPA control accuracy in constant torque region and a better field weakening performance in the constant power region. Meanwhile the complex look-up tables for FOC in field weakening region and the difficulties in observing flux vector at low speed are avoided.

Aims Smooth muscle 22-alpha (SM22α) is an actin-binding protein that plays critical roles in mediating polymerization of actin filaments and stretch sensitivity of cytoskeleton in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Multiple lines of evidence indicate the existence of SM22α in cardiomyocytes. Here, we investigated the effect of cardiac SM22α on the membrane architecture and functions of cardiomyocytes to pressure overload. Methods SM22α knock-out (KO) mice were utilized to assess the role of SM22α in the heart. Echocardiography was used to evaluate cardiac function, transverse aortic constriction (TAC) was used to induce heart failure, cell shortening properties were measured by IonOptix devices in intact cardiomyocytes, Ca2+ sensitivity of myofilaments was measured in permeabilized cardiomyocytes. Confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, western blotting, co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP), Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) techniques were used to perform functional and structural analysis. Results SM22α ablation did not alter cardiac function at baseline, but mRNA levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) were increased significantly compared with wild type (WT) controls. The membrane architecture was severely disrupted in SM22α KO cardiomyocytes, with disassembly and flattening of caveolae and disrupted T-tubules. Furthermore, SM22α was co-immunoprecipitated with caveolin-3 (Cav3), and the interaction between Cav3 and actin was significantly reduced in SM22α KO cells. SM22α KO cardiomyocytes displayed asynchronized SR Ca2+ release, significantly increased Ca2+ spark frequency. Additionally, the kinetics of sarcomere shortening was abnormal, accompanied with increased sensitivity and reduced maximum response of myofilaments to Ca2+ in SM22α KO cardiomyocytes. SM22α KO mice were more prone to heart failure after TAC. Conclusions Our findings identified that SM22α may be required for the architecture and function of caveolae and T-tubules in cardiomyocytes.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly infectious viral pathogen that endangers the global pig industry, and no effective vaccine is available thus far. The CD2v protein is a glycoprotein on the outer envelope of ASFV, which mediates the transmission of the virus in the blood and recognition of the virus serotype, playing an important role in ASFV vaccine development and disease prevention. Here, we generated two specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), 6C11 and 8F12 (subtype IgG1/kappa-type), against the ASFV CD2v extracellular domain (CD2v-ex, GenBank: MK128995.1, 1–588 bp) and characterized their specificity. Peptide scanning technology was used to identify the epitopes recognized by mAbs 6C11 and 8F12. As a result, two novel B cell epitopes, 38DINGVSWN45 and 134GTNTNIY140, were defined. Amino acid sequence alignment showed that the defined epitopes were conserved in all referenced ASFV strains from various regions of China including the highly pathogenic, epidemic strain, Georgia2007/1 (NC_044959.2), with the same noted substitutions compared to the four foreign ASFV wild-type strains. This study provides important reference values for the design and development of an ASFV vaccine and useful biological materials for the functional study of the CD2v protein by deletion analysis.

Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is one of the most common pathological type of intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), often characterized by hippocampal atrophy, neuronal apoptosis, and gliogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms of neuronal apoptosis in patients with HS are still not fully understood. We therefore conducted a pilot study focusing on the neuronal apoptosis ceRNA network in the sclerotic hippocampus of intractable TLE patients. In this research, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was utilized to quantify the expression levels of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in TLE patients with HS (HS-TLE) and without HS (non-HS-TLE), and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). The interactions of differential expression (DE) lncRNAs-miRNAs or DEmiRNAs-mRNAs were integrated by StarBase v3.0, and visualized using Cytoscape. Subsequently, we annotate the functions of lncRNA-associated competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network through analysis of their interactions with mRNAs. RNA-seq analyses showed 381 lncRNAs, 42 miRNAs, and 457 mRNAs were dysregulated expression in HS-TLE compared to non-HS-TLE. According to the ceRNA hypothesis, 5 HS-specific ceRNA network were constructed. Among them, the core ceRNA regulatory network involved in neuronal apoptosis was constituted by 10 DElncRNAs (CDKN2B-AS1, MEG3, UBA6-AS1, etc.), 7 DEmiRNAs (hsa-miR-155-5p, hsa-miR-195-5p, hsa-miR-200c-3p, etc.), and 3 DEmRNAs (SCN2A, DYRK2, and MAPK8), which belonging to apoptotic and epileptic terms. Our findings established the first ceRNA network of lncRNA-mediated neuronal apoptosis in HS-TLE based on transcriptome sequencing, which provide a new perspective on the disease pathogenesis and precise treatments of HS.

The effect of an insulation lid on the growth of 4-inch β-Ga2O3 single crystals by the Czochralski method is analyzed by numerical simulation. The insulation lid mainly hinders upward radiant heat transfer from the melt and crucible and increases the axial temperature gradient in the crystal. Such benefits make the melt/crystal interface convex, which is conducive to suppressing spiral growth and growing large crystals with high quality. Materials with low thermal conductivity λ and low emissivity ε are the optimal choices for making an insulation lid. The inner hole has a great influence on the isolation of radiant heat, and it is determined that the maximum size of the inner diameter Din should not be larger than 130 mm. Thermal stress analysis results indicated that the insulation lid will cause a better stress distribution, illustrating the effect of the insulation lid on the quality of a cylindrical crystal.