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Abstract Understanding of infection dynamics is important for public health measures against monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection. Herein, samples from multiple body sites and environmental fomites of 77 acute MPXV infections (HIV co-infection: N = 42) were collected every two to three days and used for detection of MPXV DNA, surface protein specific antibodies and neutralizing titers. Skin lesions show 100% positivity rate of MPXV DNA, followed by rectum (88.16%), saliva (83.78%) and oropharynx (78.95%). Positivity rate of oropharynx decreases rapidly after 7 days post symptom onset (d.p.o), while the rectum and saliva maintain a positivity rate similar to skin lesions. Viral dynamics are similar among skin lesions, saliva and oropharynx, with a peak at about 6 d.p.o. In contrast, viral levels in the rectum peak at the beginning of symptom onset and decrease rapidly thereafter. 52.66% of environmental fomite swabs are positive for MPXV DNA, with highest positivity rate (69.89%) from air-conditioning air outlets. High seropositivity against A29L (100%) and H3L (94.74%) are detected, while a correlation between IgG endpoint titers and neutralizing titers is only found for A29L. Most indexes are similar between HIV and Non-HIV participants, while HIV and rectitis are associated with higher viral loads in rectum.

In 2022, the monkeypox virus (mpox virus, MPXV) exhibited global dissemination across six continents, representing a notable challenge owing to the scarcity of targeted antiviral interventions. Passive immunotherapy, such as the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and bispecific antibodies (bsAbs), has emerged as a promising option for antiviral regimens. Here, we generated several mAbs against M1R and B6R of MPXV, and subsequently characterized the antiviral activity of these antibodies both in vitro and in vivo. Two neutralizing mAbs, M1H11 and M3B2, targeting M1R, and one B6R-specific mAb, B7C9, were identified. They exhibited varying antiviral efficacy against vaccinia virus (VACV) in vitro and in vivo. A cocktail comprising M1H11 and M3B2 demonstrated a superior protective effect in vivo. A bsAb, Bis-M1M3, was engineered by conjugating the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of the human-mouse chimeric engineered M1H11 with the single-chain fragment variable (scFv) of M3B2. In mice challenged with MPXV, Bis-M1M3 showed a notable protective effects. Analysis of neutralization mechanism showed that these mAbs and Bis-M1M3 exerted virus-neutralizing effects before the virus infects cells. In vivo pharmacokinetic experiments showed that Bis-M1M3 has a long half-life in rhesus macaques. This study provides crucial insights for further research on broad-spectrum antiviral drugs against MPXV and other orthopoxviruses.

People spend most of their time indoors, and the visual characteristics of indoor building materials affect not only the quality of the indoor environment, but also the well-being of individuals. Ceramic tiles are widely used in interior decoration of buildings due to their aesthetic appeal and ease of maintenance. However, there is currently a lack of a comprehensive framework for assessing the visual comfort of ceramic tile design. This study established an evaluation system using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Delphi method to collect perceptual words, extract evaluation indices, and calculate weights. A visual comfort scale for ceramic tiles, comprising three dimensions and twelve indices, was developed. A total of 342 questionnaires were analyzed using six types of tiles, and the multidimensional visual comfort scores of the various ceramic tile samples were statistically examined. An analysis of variance was conducted to investigate the effects of tile brightness, texture, and participant gender on visual comfort. The findings indicate that tile brightness and texture significantly affect the overall visual comfort score (p < 0.001; p < 0.001), with light-toned, non-textured tiles providing higher visual comfort (3.949). Although gender did not significantly affect the overall visual comfort scores, it did influence the evaluation scores in certain dimensions. Men rated the aesthetic comfort of tiles lower than women (p = 0.035), but they rated the emotional comfort of medium-toned and non-textured tiles higher (p = 0.003; p = 0.017). In terms of theoretical significance, the establishment of this evaluation model can expand the research content and methods of ceramic tiles, which are crucial architectural decoration materials. In terms of practical significance, this study provides an evaluation method and partial evaluation information for designers, enabling them to assess and enhance the visual experience of tiles based on the specific needs of interior spaces and the characteristics of the visual subject.

The trade-off between strength and ductility is a prevalent issue in strengthening commercially pure titanium (CP–Ti). This study presents a method to prepare ultra-high strength Ti–N alloys with adequate ductility using ball-milling (BM) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) techniques, based on nitrogen solid solution and grain refinement strengthening. The effect of ball milling time of mixed powders on mechanical properties of Ti–N alloys was studied systematically. Quantitative analysis reveals that solid solution strengthening and grain refinement strengthening worked synergistically to enhance yield strength of alloys. The Ti–N alloys with the most favorable mechanical properties demonstrated a yield strength of 1606 MPa and a compressive plastic strain of 14.44 %. The development of novel Ti–N alloys provides a viable strategy for the advancement of high-performance titanium alloys using ubiquitous elements.

In this paper, the microstructure of an alloy was regulated by means of strengthening solution aging, and microstructure observation and composition analysis were carried out by means of an optical microscope and X-ray diffractometer. Combined with the Vickers hardness tester, electronic universal testing machine and high-temperature persistent creep testing machine, the mechanical properties and high-temperature properties of the alloy were tested, and the strengthening mechanism of the alloy was explored. The results showed that the dendritic morphology and structure of the alloy decreased with an increase in temperature during the solution process, and the γ′ phase morphology also changed with the solution temperature: oval → cross → cubic. The γ′ phase after solid solution at 1295 °C was closest to the cubic form. Therefore, it is believed that the 1295 °C solution treatment had the best effect. In the aging process, the uniform cubic degree of γ′ phase distribution was the highest at 1090 °C. On the basis of fixed aging temperature (1090 °C), it was found that the volume fraction of the γ′ phase increased significantly after 8 h. The γ′ phase, which was closest to the cubic form, had the largest proportion of precipitation, and the volume fraction increased to 70.3%. The minimum carbide volume was 1.0%. The hardness of the alloy reached 435.8 HV; the yield strength increased to 280.1 MPa; and the durability of the alloy under the conditions of 1000 °C/230 MPa and 870 °C/655 MPa was 99.7 h and 42.7 h, respectively, which achieved the purpose of alloy design.

Brassica napus (B. napus) is a globally significant oilseed crop, making a substantial contribution to both human oil and livestock feed production. Enhancing seed weight is crucial for improving rapeseed yield; however, only a limited number of seed weight-related genes have been functionally validated in B. napus thus far. UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE 15 (UBP15) belongs to the ubiquitin protease pathway and plays a maternal role in prolonging seed development in Arabidopsis. The potential utilization of UBP15 for enhancing seed yield in B. napus has remained unexplored until now. In this study, we identified the orthologs of UBP15 in B. napus and investigated its functionality using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. We generated mutant plants with multiple editing types targeting Bnaubp15s and successfully isolated T-DNA-free homozygous mutant lines that exhibited edits across four homologs of BnaUBP15 in T2 generation plants. Our preliminary data demonstrated that mutation of BnaUBP15s significantly reduced seed size, seed weight, and plant height while noticeably increasing the number of primary branches. These findings not only provide crucial evidence for further elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of seed weight and size by BnaUBP15s but also offer promising novel germplasm for enhancing plant architecture.

The worldwide outbreak of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) has become a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” (PHEIC). Severe monkeypox virus infection can be fatal, however, effective therapeutic methods are yet to be developed. Mice were immunized with A35R protein and A29L protein of MPXV, and the binding and neutralizing activities of the immune sera against poxvirus-associated antigens and viruses were identified. A29L protein and A35R protein-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were generated and their antiviral activities of these mAbs were characterized in vitro and in vivo. Immunization with the MPXV A29L protein and A35R protein induced neutralizing antibodies against the orthopoxvirus in mice. None of the mAbs screened in this study against A35R could effectively neutralize the vaccinia virus (VACV), while three mAbs against A29L protein, 9F8, 3A1 and 2D1 were confirmed to have strong broad binding and neutralizing activities against orthopoxvirus, among which 9F8 showed the best neutralizing activity. 9F8, 3A1, and 2D1 recognized different epitopes on MPXV A29L protein, showing synergistic antiviral activity in vitro against the VACV Tian Tan and WR strains; the best activity was observed when the three antibodies were combined. In the vivo antiviral prophylactic and therapeutic experiments, 9F8 showed complete protective activity, whereas 3A1 and 2D1 showed partial protective activity. Similarly, the three antibodies showed synergistic antiviral protective activity against the two VACVs. In conclusion, three mAbs recognized different epitopes on MPXV A29L protein were developed and showed synergistic effects against orthopoxvirus.

Within the rapidly growing urban tourism industry, the development of urban landscapes plays a crucial role in shaping a city’s image and competitiveness; however, standardized and mismatched landscapes often have a negative impact, highlighting the importance of assessing urban landscape perceptions. Although existing studies have discussed this through subjective questionnaires and physiological methods, the underlying neural mechanisms have not been thoroughly explored. The research focuses on Jingdezhen, a renowned historical and cultural city in China, as its case study. Utilized the event-related potential (ERP) method to explore individuals’ perceptual consistency and neural activity toward different types of urban landscapes. We adopted a 2 (landscape type: historical, modern) X 2 (perceptual match: consistent, inconsistent) within-subject design while recording behavioral data and electrophysiological responses. The results showed that, under any condition, there were no significant differences in people’s behavioral data. Neurophysiological results indicate that consistent perceptions of modern landscapes elicited greater P200 responses, suggesting increased attention driven by visual aesthetics and emotional activation. Under conditions of perceptual inconsistency, historical landscapes elicited higher N400 amplitudes than modern landscapes, revealing cognitive conflict and effort. This study demonstrates that P200 and N400 components are effective indicators for assessing urban perception, proving the viability of the event-related potential method in urban landscape research. Additionally, the research reveals the neural mechanisms of urban environmental perception from the early stages of attention and emotional distribution to the later stages of cognitive decision-making, which involve cognitive processes from “bottom-up” to “top-down”. This study not only provides a reference for efficient design planning for those involved in urban science but also inspires the coordination between the developmental needs of historical and modern urban landscapes. Moreover, it offers a new perspective for an interdisciplinary approach to urban perception assessment.

Objective This study aimed to examine the effectiveness, safety and patients’ perceptions of an immersive virtual reality (VR)–based exercise system for poststroke upper limb rehabilitation. Methods A proof-of-concept, 2-week randomized controlled trial was conducted. Fifty stroke patients were randomly assigned to either use the immersive VR-based exercise system to perform upper limb exercises for 2 weeks (intervention) or play commercial games (control). Effectiveness, safety and patients’ perceptions of the exercise system were assessed at baseline and at 1- and 2-week follow-ups. Results Intention-to-treat analysis revealed that after 2 weeks, statistically significant improvements in shoulder flexion active range of motion (AROM), shoulder abduction AROM, perceived upper limb motor function and quality of life (QoL) were observed in one or both groups, but not between the groups. Per-protocol analysis showed that after 2 weeks: (i) statistically significant improvement in shoulder abduction AROM was obtained in the intervention group, and the difference in the mean changes between the groups was statistically significant; (ii) statistically significant improvements in coordination/speed (Fugl–Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity), shoulder flexion AROM, perceived upper limb motor function and QoL were obtained in one or both groups, but not between the groups. Conclusions The immersive VR-based exercise system is a potentially effective, safe and acceptable approach for supporting poststroke motor rehabilitation. These findings can serve as a basis for larger-scale studies on the application of VR for poststroke exercises.

Face features, as the most widely adopted and essential biometric characteristic in identity verification and recognition, play a crucial role in ensuring security. However, the significance is also accompanied by various face attacks, posing a great threat to the security of facial recognition systems. Therefore, exploring face anti-spoofing detection holds substantial practical significance. There is existing research on Face Anti-Spoofing (FAS) detection, but there is still potential for enhancing detection performance. In this paper, we propose a face anti-spoofing method, named AR-MLP (Attention ResNet-Multilayer Perceptron), which incorporates self-attention and MLP auxiliary convolution. By replacing the last two “Basic block” layers of the Conv-MLP network with a model combining self-attention and convolution, and adjusting the network architecture and parameters, AR-MLP can capture global features more effectively by suitably integrating the self-attention and convolution layers. We conduct comprehensive evaluations using three authoritative multimodal face anti-spoofing datasets (WMCA, HQ-WMCA, and CASIA-SURF CeFA) for intra-dataset, cross-attack, and cross-race testing. The experimental results demonstrate that AR-MLP outperforms several excellent methods in terms of classification performance and computational overhead.

Contrastive learning (CL) has been successfully applied in Natural Language Processing (NLP) as a powerful representation learning method and has shown promising results in various downstream tasks. Recent research has highlighted the importance of constructing effective contrastive samples through data augmentation. However, current data augmentation methods primarily rely on random word deletion, substitution, and cropping, which may introduce noisy samples and hinder representation learning. In this article, we propose a novel approach to address data imbalance in text classification by constructing contrastive samples. Our method involves the use of a Label-indicative Component to generate high-quality positive samples for the minority class, along with the introduction of a Hard Negative Mixing strategy to synthesize challenging negative samples at the feature level. By applying supervised contrastive learning to these samples, we are able to obtain superior text representations, which significantly benefit text classification tasks with imbalanced data. Our approach effectively mitigates distributional biases and promotes noise-resistant representation learning. To validate the effectiveness of our method, we conducted experiments on benchmark datasets (THUCNews, AG’s News, 20NG) as well as the imbalanced FDCNews dataset. The code for our method is publicly available at the following GitHub repository: https://github.com/hanggun/CLDMTC.

Named Entity Recognition (NER) poses challenges for both flat and nested tasks, which require different paradigms. To overcome this issue, we present GFNER, a unified global feature-aware framework based on table filling, that can handle both types of tasks with low computational cost. While pretrained models have shown great promise in NER, they typically focus on local contextual information, disregarding global relationships that are crucial for accurate entity boundary extraction. To address this limitation, we introduce a global feature learning module that captures the inter-entity associations and significantly enhances entity recognition. Experimental results on flat and nested NER datasets demonstrate that GFNER outperforms previous state-of-the-art models. The code for GFNER is available at https://github.com/cjymz886/GFNER.

Oxygen solid solution-strengthened titanium-oxygen (Ti–O) alloys with ultrahigh yield strength and large ductility were designed and synthesized via high-energy ball milling (BM) combined with spark plasma sintering (SPS) in compression. The morphology, dispersion state, and solid solution microstructure of the Ti–O alloys were optimized by regulating the mixing method, sintering temperature, and added oxygen content. Outstanding properties that include a compressive yield strength of 1220 MPa and large ductility of 36.3% were achieved after 1 h high-energy BM and 1000 °C SPS with the addition of about 1.8 at% oxygen. The grain refinement and oxygen solid solution strengthening indicate that the dense morphology, refined grain size, and oxygen solid solute atoms are responsible for the balance between the superior strength and ductility of the titanium alloys.

Abstract Fibrosis is a pathological feature of a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases that can affect almost all organs, which can cause severe consequences and even lead to death. Fibrosis is characterized by the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) due to disruption of the balance between ECM production and degradation. Although overabundance of ECM proteins has long been the focus of studies on fibrosis, another facet of the problem—impaired degradation of the ECM—is gaining increasing attention. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) system is the main molecular system contributing to ECM degradation, and macrophages are the major regulators of ECM. However, the relationship among macrophages, the MMP/TIMP system and the ECM is not fully understood in the context of fibrosis. Here, we discuss in detail the role played by the ECM in the development of fibrosis and highlight the macrophage-MMP-ECM interaction that is involved in fibrogenesis and may be a potential therapeutic target for fibrosis.

BackgroundDespite the growing occupational stress of medical personnel, there is no occupational stress risk management index system for medical personnel in China, and the related risk management work is unfounded.ObjectiveTo construct a work-related stress risk management index system for medical personnel in China based on Delphi method.MethodsOn the basis of literature review and expert interview, an index pool of work-related stress risk management for medical personnel was preliminarily constructed. Through two-round Delphi method, experts' opinions on the importance, operability, familiarity, and judgment basis of candidate indicators were collected, and an index system for work-related stress risk management of medical personnel was constructed.ResultsFifteen expert opinions were collected in each of the two rounds, with a recovery rate of 100%. The expert authority coefficients were all >0.9. In the first round, the importance score was 9.78±0.35, the coefficient of variation was 0-0.22, and the Kendall coordination coefficient was 0.215 (P

BackgroundCeramic tiles are popular because of their various forms, and they are often used to decorate the environment. However, few studies have applied objective methods to explore the implicit preference and visual attention of people toward ceramic tile features. Using event-related potential technology can provide neurophysiological evidence for the study and applications of tiles.Materials and methodsThis study explored the influence of pattern, lightness, and color system factors of ceramic tiles on the preferences of people using a combination of subjective questionnaires and event-related potential (ERP) technology. Twelve different conditions of tiles (2 × 3 × 2) were used as stimuli. EEG data were collected from 20 participants while they watched the stimuli. Subjective preference scores and average ERPs were analyzed using analysis of variance and correlation analysis.Results(1) Pattern, lightness, and color system factors significantly affected the subjective preference scores for tiles; the unpatterned tiles, light-toned tiles, and warm-colored tiles received higher preference scores. (2) The preferences of people for different features of tiles moderated ERP amplitudes. (3) The light-toned tiles with a high preference score caused a greater N100 amplitude than the medium-toned and dark-toned tiles; and the patterned tiles and warm-colored tiles with low preference scores induced greater P200 and N200 amplitudes.DiscussionIn the early stage of visual processing, light-toned tiles attracted more attention, possibly because of the positive emotional effects related to the preference. The greater P200 and N200 elicited by the patterned and neutral-colored tiles in the middle stage of visual processing indicates that patterned and neutral-colored tiles attracted more attention. This may be due to negativity bias, where more attention is allocated to negative stimuli that people strongly dislike. From the perspective of cognitive processes, the results indicate that the lightness of ceramic tiles is the factor that people first detect, and the visual processing of pattern and color system factors of ceramic tiles belong to a higher level of visual processing. This study provides a new perspective and relevant information for assessing the visual characteristics of tiles for environmental designers and marketers involved in the ceramic tiles industry.

As urbanization quickens, the role of public art in urban landscape design gains prominence. Nevertheless, how stylistic characteristics of landscape public art affect aesthetic preferences remains insufficiently discussed, particularly with objective assessment methods. The use of event-related potential (ERP) can offer neurophysiological evidence to support research and practice in landscape art design. We employed a 2 (artistic features) × 2 (professional proficiency) repeated-measures design, involving abstract and figurative experimental stimuli; both experts and non-experts participated, with their aesthetic reactions and relevant electroencephalographic data recorded. Behavioral findings show a preference for figurative public artworks regardless of professional background. From neurophysiological outcomes, stimuli elicit an elevated N100 during early perceptual processing, signifying increased attentional resources. During aesthetic processing, figurative stimuli more effectively evoke positive emotions, particularly among professionals, yielding a heightened P200 response. Conversely, abstract stimuli may evoke a higher N200 amplitude, reflecting augmented negative biases. Nevertheless, non-experts exhibit no marked differences in their stimulus responses during aesthetic processing. Research indicates that low-level physical attributes of public artworks are initially noted, while the visual processing of artistic traits lies at a higher perceptual level, necessitating specialized expertise involvement. Furthermore, the complexity of visual perceptual processing plays a significant role in the assessment of landscape art preferences. This study not only offers crucial reference indices for designing urban landscapes that satisfy diverse public aesthetic needs but also lays the foundation for neural techniques to assess landscape design preferences and expands the field of landscape design research.

IntroductionThe ecological environment of tidal flats often changes due to tidal erosion and sedimentation. The distribution of tidal flat surface sediment is a natural reflection of the changes in the external dynamic environment, the spatial and temporal distribution pattern is of great significance.MethodsIn this study, the output structure of traditional convolutional neural network is combined with BP neural network. Meanwhile, four phases of Sentinel-2 multispectral images were collected and combined with field data from the Doulonggang tidal flat in Jiangsu Province, China, to construct the sediment composition inversion model.ResultsThe inversion accuracy was higher than 80% compared with the measured results. According to the inversion result, from 2017 to 2022, the surface sediment particle size of the tidal flat in Jiangsu varied seasonally and was coarse in summer and fine in winter. Additionally, the sediment composition tended to coarsen, showing an interannual change trend of increasing sand content and decreasing clay and silt contents.DiscussionThe above change of the sedimentary environment of the tidal flat may be caused by the decrease of fine grained sediment deposition, the introduction of exotic vegetation, the global sea level rise and the influence of human activities.

IntroductionThe aesthetic preferences of people can determine the success of a design and are often closely related to design features. The discovery of designs that match user preferences can provide a reference for designers. Ceramic tiles are widely used in environmental design; however, little attention has been paid to the aesthetic preferences of people for tiles. This study aimed to explore the relationship between aesthetic preferences for tile design and neural responses.Materials and methodsIn this study, two groups of tiles with different preference levels were randomly presented to 16 participants, and their electroencephalograms were recorded. The mean amplitudes of event-related potentials were analyzed by ANOVA.ResultsThe results showed that: (1) the aesthetic preferences of people for tiles could modulate brain activity; (2) tiles that people liked triggered higher N100 amplitudes; and (3) tiles that people disliked triggered higher P200 and late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes.DiscussionThese results suggest that N100, P200, and LPP are significantly related to the aesthetic preferences of people for ceramic tiles. The difference in N100 and P200 amplitudes indicates that participants developed aesthetic perceptions of the tiles in the early and middle stages of vision and formed different attention allocations to tiles with varying levels of aesthetic preference; in the middle and late stages of visual processing, the difference in the LPP amplitude indicates that the impression of people for tiles is further deepened in the later stage, forming a top-down emotion-driven evaluation. Exploring the relationship between the aesthetic preferences of people and neural responses is significant in establishing objective aesthetic judgment indicators for tiles and understanding the process of aesthetic cognition. This study provides relevant information for quantitative aesthetic assessments of environmental design, interior design, and marketing involving ceramic tiles.

BackgroundDespite the great potential of eHealth, substantial costs are involved in its implementation, and it is essential to know whether these costs can be justified by its benefits. Such needs have led to an increased interest in measuring the benefits of eHealth, especially using the willingness to pay (WTP) metric as an accurate proxy for consumers’ perceived benefits of eHealth. This offered us an opportunity to systematically review and synthesize evidence from the literature to better understand WTP for eHealth and its influencing factors. ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide a systematic review of WTP for eHealth and its influencing factors. MethodsThis study was performed and reported as per the Cochrane Collaboration and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. PubMed, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library, EconLit, and PsycINFO databases were searched from their inception to April 19, 2022. We conducted random-effects meta-analyses to calculate WTP values for eHealth (at 2021 US dollar rates) and meta-regression analyses to examine the factors affecting WTP. ResultsA total of 30 articles representing 35 studies were included in the review. We found that WTP for eHealth varied across studies; when expressed as a 1-time payment, it ranged from US $0.88 to US $191.84, and when expressed as a monthly payment, it ranged from US $5.25 to US $45.64. Meta-regression analyses showed that WTP for eHealth was negatively associated with the percentages of women (β=−.76; P

Abstract Nitrogen (N2) fixation under mild conditions is a promising approach for green production of ammonia (NH3). In the past decades, various advanced catalysts have been fabricated to achieve this goal through electrocatalytic and photocatalytic processes. Among them, the TiO2‐based catalysts have been recognized as promising candidates due to their high activity, low cost, chemical stability, and nontoxicity. In this review, recent advances in the fabrication of high‐performance TiO2‐based materials for N2 reduction reaction (NRR) under mild conditions are summarized, including electrocatalytic and photocatalytic NRR. The design principles, synthetic strategies, and corresponding chemical/physical properties of TiO2‐based NRR catalysts are described in detail. Moreover, the key challenges and potential opportunities in this field are presented and discussed.

BackgroundIn recent years, efforts have been made to implement virtual reality (VR) to support the delivery of poststroke upper extremity motor rehabilitation exercises. Therefore, it is important to review and analyze the existing research evidence of its effectiveness. ObjectiveThrough a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, this study examined the effectiveness of using VR-supported exercise therapy for upper extremity motor rehabilitation in patients with stroke. MethodsThis study followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched on December 31, 2021. Changes in outcomes related to impairments in upper extremity functions and structures, activity limitations, and participation restrictions in life situations from baseline to after intervention, after intervention to follow-up assessment, and baseline to follow-up assessment were examined. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were performed to determine whether the differences in treatment outcomes depended on age, stroke recovery stage, VR program type, therapy delivery format, similarities in intervention duration between study groups, intervention duration in VR groups, and trial length. ResultsA total of 42 publications representing 43 trials (aggregated sample size=1893) were analyzed. Compared with the control groups that used either conventional therapy or no therapy, the intervention groups that used VR to support exercise therapy showed significant improvements in upper extremity motor function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity; SMD 0.45, 95% CI 0.21-0.68; P

The electron valley pseudospin in two-dimensional hexagonal materials is a crucial degree of freedom for achieving their potential application in valleytronic devices. Here, bringing valleytronics to layered van der Waals materials, we theoretically investigate lightwave-controlled valley-selective excitation in twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) with a large twist angle. It is demonstrated that the counter-rotating bicircular light field, consisting of a fundamental circularly-polarized pulse and its counter-rotating second harmonic, can manipulate the sub-cycle valley transport dynamics by controlling the relative phase between two colors. In comparison with monolayer graphene, the unique interlayer coupling of tBLG renders its valley selectivity highly sensitive to duration, leading to a noticeable valley asymmetry that is excited by single-cycle pulses. We also describe the distinct signatures of the valley pseudospin change in terms of observing the valley-selective circularly-polarized high-harmonic generation. The results show that the valley pseudospin dynamics can still leave visible fingerprints in the modulation of harmonic signals with a two-color relative phase. This work could assist experimental researchers in selecting the appropriate protocols and parameters to obtain ideal control and characterization of valley polarization in tBLG.

Abstract Background Patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes and hypertension generally exhibit poor adherence to self-management, which adversely affects their disease control. Therefore, identification of the factors related to patient adherence is warranted. In this study, we aimed to examine (i) the socio-demographic correlates of patient adherence to a set of self-management behaviors relevant to type 2 diabetes and hypertension, namely, medication therapy, diet therapy, exercise, tobacco and alcohol avoidance, stress reduction, and self-monitoring/self-care, and (ii) whether health attitudes and self-efficacy in performing self-management mediated the associations between socio-demographic characteristics and adherence. Methods We performed a secondary analysis of data collected in a randomized controlled trial. The sample comprised 148 patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed using logistic regression. Results Female patients were found to be less likely to exercise regularly (odds ratio [OR] = 0.49, P = 0.03) and more likely to avoid tobacco and alcohol (OR = 9.87, P

Recent emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology has stimulated interests as well as concerns in their potential in teaching and learning. Situated in the new and transforming context, this study provides an avenue for students to introspectively explore their use of GenAI in a postgraduate course. Seventy-four students from three Chinese universities participated in this study. By analyzing student interviews conducted pre- and post-course, alongside their chat logs with GenAI and reflective journal entries detailing their learning approaches, the research uncovers a spectrum of student perspectives on GenAI's impact, ranging from beneficial optimism, to cautious skepticism and adaptable pragmatism. Notably, student agency is identified as a crucial element in relation to these themes. This was articulated in four types of learning activities: receptive, resistive, resourceful, and reflective. The research underscores the importance of supporting and empowering student agency in the learning approaches aided by GenAI in education, highlighting its role in optimizing its use and enhancing autonomous, lifelong learning skills amidst the evolving technologically advanced learning landscape.

Well-designed wheel-rail profiles are not only helpful in achieving expected dynamic vehicle performance but also in extending the service lives of wheels and rails. In this paper, a method for designing wheel-rail profiles is presented based on the rolling radius difference. This method consists of three parts, i.e., the reverse designs of wheel profiles, symmetric rail profiles and non-symmetric rail profiles. A reverse design method for wheel-rail profiles that can obtain smooth profile formed by quadratic curves is established according to the mapping relation between the rolling radius difference and the wheel-rail profile gradient. This reverse design method is verified and an example for optimizing the design of wheel profiles is introduced. Results show that the design method is effective and efficient. The static/dynamic indexes of the optimized wheel profiles matched with CHN60 can be greatly improved. According to the comparative analysis of wheel-rail contact and dynamic performance, when the lateral displacement reaches 6 mm, the maximum contact stress will be distributed evenly and can be decreased by 184.4 MPa compared to that of existing profiles, while the critical speed can be increased by 10.8% and the running stability can be improved by around 7%. It can be seen that this method is useful for the design of new wheel-rail profiles and optimization of existing wheel-rail profiles.

BACKGROUND: A collection of in vitro evidence has demonstrated that Notch signaling plays a key role in the growth of neurites in differentiated neurons. However, the effects of Notch signaling on axon outgrowth in an in vivo condition remain largely unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, the neural tubes of HH10-11 chick embryos were in ovo electroporated with various Notch transgenes of activating or inhibiting Notch signaling, and then their effects on commissural axon outgrowth across the floor plate midline in the chick developing central nerve system were investigated. Our results showed that forced expression of Notch intracellular domain, constitutively active form of RBPJ, or full-length Hes1 in the rostral hindbrain, diencephalon and spinal cord at stage HH10-11 significantly inhibited commissural axon outgrowth. On the other hand, inhibition of Notch signaling by ectopically expressing a dominant-negative form of RBPJ promoted commissural axonal growth along the circumferential axis. Further results revealed that these Notch signaling-mediated axon outgrowth defects may be not due to the alteration of axon guidance since commissural axon marker TAG1 was present in the axons in floor plate midline, and also not result from the changes in cell fate determination of commissural neurons since the expression of postmitotic neuron marker Tuj1 and specific commissural markers TAG1 and Pax7 was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We first used an in vivo system to provide evidence that forced Notch signaling negatively regulates commissural axon outgrowth.