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Abstract Graft availability from donation after circulatory death (DCD) is significantly limited by ischaemia reperfusion (IR) injury. Effective strategies to mitigate IR injury in DCD grafts are essential to improve graft quality and expand the donor pool. In this study, liver grafts from DCD pigs were preserved in the University of Wisconsin (UW) solution saturated with 0.1 nM dexmedetomidine (Dex) and various concentrations of noble gases Argon (Ar) and/or Xenon (Xe) at 4 °C for 24 or 72 h. The combined 50% Ar and Dex provided maximum protection to liver grafts by reducing morphological damage, apoptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, hepatocyte glycogen depletion, reticulin framework collapse, iron deposition, and oxidative stress. In vitro, human liver Hep G2 cells were preserved in the UW solution saturated with 0.1 nM Dex and 50% Ar in combination at 4 °C for 24 h, followed by recovery in medium at 37 °C for up to 48 h to mimic clinical IR injury. This treatment significantly increased the expression of anti-oxidative stress proteins by promoting the translocation of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) to mitochondria, thereby inhibiting ferroptosis, increasing plasma membrane integrity, and maintaining cell viability.In summary, The combination of 0.1 nM Dex and 50% Ar may be a promising strategy to reduce ferroptosis and other form cell death, and preserve liver grafts.

A series of flavonol derivatives containing piperidine sulfonamide were designed and synthesized. The EC50 values for the curative of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) by Z6 and Z22 were 108.2 and 102.7 μg/mL, respectively, outperforming the control agent ningenmycin (NNM) with an EC50 value of 253.8 μg/mL. Additionally, the EC50 values for the protective activity of Z6 and Z21 were 100.9 and 123.2 μg/mL, respectively, also surpassing the control agent NNM with an EC50 value of 203.7 μg/mL. Microscale thermophoresis (MST) and molecular docking test showed that Z6 bound well with tobacco mosaic virus coat protein (TMV-CP). The biological safety test showed that Z6 had almost no effect on seed germination and seedling growth. After treatment with Z6, the chlorophyll content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in tobacco leaves increased, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content decreased. Therefore, Z6 has a high probability as a potential antiviral agent.

Bedding structure affects the mechanical properties and stability of engineering rock masses. To elucidate the influence of bedding angle on rock deformation and damage process, longitudinal wave velocity tests and uniaxial compression tests were performed on yellow sandstone at bedding angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°. Furthermore, the influence of the bedding angle on the peak strength, elastic modulus, and failure mode was analyzed. Initial bedding damage and load damage were characterized based on the degradation degree of elastic modulus and evolution characteristics of dissipative energy; moreover, the entire evolution process of coupled layer–load damage was simulated using the logistic function. The influence of the bedding angle on the damage evolution law of yellow sandstone was discussed, and a piecewise constitutive model for simulating the entire deformation process of uniaxial compression was established, combined with the damage mechanics and effective medium theories. The results reveal that with increasing bedding angle, longitudinal wave velocity increases gradually, peak strength and elastic modulus decrease first, then increase, and then decrease, and anisotropy is obvious. The failure mode is closely related to the bedding dip angle. When the dip angle ranges from 0° to 60°, splinter-type tensile failure occurs mainly through the weak side of shear bedding. Moreover, when the dip angle is 75° and 90°, shear slip and splinter tensile failure occur along the weak side of the bedding. The damage evolution curve based on dissipative energy can be divided into four processes: initially undamaged, damage initiation, damage acceleration, and damage deceleration termination. A theoretical damage model constructed using the logistic function can effectively simulate and predict the entire damage evolution process. The ratio of maximum value to minimum value of initial bedding damage is approximately 1.41, indicating that bedding angle substantially affects the initial damage. The piecewise constitutive model can describe the entire stress–strain process of layered yellow sandstone under uniaxial compression, and the theoretical model curves agree well with experimental data. Parameters a and r represent the initial damage degree and damage evolution rate, respectively. Larger a values typically correspond to a lower initial damage degree and higher peak strength. The larger r is, the faster the damage variable develops and the greater the maximum damage evolution rate is. Thus, the theoretical curve shape of the constructed constitutive model is determined by parameters a and r.

In this work, preeminent bendability at room temperature is achieved by simultaneously introducing the gradient microstructure and texture along the normal direction (ND) of Mg-4.05Gd-0.57Zr alloy sheets prepared by turned bearing extrusion (TBE). The grain size of the VK-TBE sheet at the top, middle and bottom layers are 4.54 μm, 8.48 μm and 7.84 μm respectively. In addition, the fine-grained layer presents the highest texture deviation angle witch provides this layer with the highest Schmid factor (SF) for basal slip. When this layer is placed at the outer side, the bending angle is promoted by about 99.8% compared with the conventionally extruded sheet. The sample with a thickness of 3 mm is bent to 60° without cracking, revealing an excellent promotion in the bendability. During bending, the combination of high SF for basal slip and fine grains contributes to the elevated plasticity of the outer layer. Furthermore, at the inner region, a lot of twin bands appear in the relatively coarse grains with high SF for tensile twinning, which significantly regulates the strain distribution along the ND. Consequently, the VK-TBE-FG sample exhibits preeminent bendability owing to the cooperative effects of enhanced plasticity of the outer layer and regulated strain distribution.

On certain occasions, such as bending, a sheet with gradient microstructure may present higher formability compared to one with uniform microstructure. In this study, the formation of gradient microstructure in AZ31 alloy sheets extruded by the asymmetric die is comprehensively investigated. The results exhibit the microstructure evolution undergoes three stages, namely the initial dynamic recrystallization (DRX), abnormal grain growth (AGG), and the secondary DRX. After the initial DRX, the microstructure is fine and uniform, and the transverse direction (TD) preferred texture is formed due to the initiation of non-basal slip. Owing to the high extrusion temperature, AGG occurs after the initial DRX. The grains with basal texture are engulfed by the grains with TD-preferred texture. During the AGG, the grain size is coarsened from 11.4 μm to 382.1 μm. As the material flows through the die bearing, the secondary DRX occurs near the corner of the die. Ascribed to the gradient strain near the bearing, the grains near the bottom surface of the sheet are refined again, while those near the other side inherit the large sizes from grown grains. Ultimately, the extruded sheet exhibits gradient microstructure along the thickness direction, i.e. normal direction (ND). The gradient-distributed plastic strain and strain rate are the main causes of gradient microstructure.

The decision-making process of wind–photovoltaic–hydropower systems involves knowledge from many fields. Influenced by the knowledge level of the decision-maker and the attribute information of the scheme set, there exists a certain uncertainty in the indicator weights. In view of this, this paper proposes a stochastic multi-criteria decision-making framework for scheduling of wind–photovoltaic–hydropower systems, which overcomes the difficulty of uncertainty in indicator weights or even completely unknown information about indicator weights at the time of decision-making. The Stochastic Multi-criteria Acceptability Analysis (SMAA) theory and the VIKOR model are introduced, and the proposed SMAA–VIKOR model makes the indicator weight space explicit. The study shows that the proposed SMAA–VIKOR model can overcome the obstacle of decision-makers’ lack of information on indicator weights. The ranking acceptability indicators calculated by the model show a more obvious trend of advantages and disadvantages, which gives full confidence to the decision-making group to formulate a plan to be implemented. It breaks through the bottleneck of group decision-making, which is difficult to make effective decisions due to the condition of incomplete information, and enriches the library of stochastic multi-criteria decision-making methods for the scientific formulation of scheduling schemes of wind–photovoltaic–hydropower systems under uncertainty conditions. HIGHLIGHTS A stochastic multi-criteria decision-making framework for wind–photovoltaic–hydropower systems is proposed.; The SMAA–VIKOR model is proposed to clarify the indicator weight space.; The proposed SMAA–VIKOR model can overcome the obstacle of decision-makers’ lack of information on indicator weights.;

Study region: Heishanxia Reservoir, upstream of the Yellow River Basin. Study focus: The complicated management of the Yellow River Basin stems primarily from an uncoordinated relationship between water and sediment. The un-built Heishanxia Reservoir has been designated as one of seven pivotal projects, and its regulating effect remains to be thoroughly studied. First, nine typical inflow water and sediment scenarios were constructed based on probability inference. Then, a multi-objective water and sediment regulation model of Heishanxia Reservoir was established with the objectives of maximum erosion quantity (EQ) of the channel, maximum ecological satisfaction rate (ESR), and maximum power generation (PG). Finally, the multi-dimensional regulating effect was revealed, and the synergy-competition relationships among EQ, ESR and PG were analyzed. New hydrological insights for the region: The operation of Heishanxia can increase the discharge during the flood season in the downstream Ning-Meng Channel, and the average annual EQ is 0.19×108 t more than the current condition. Further, the ESR decreases slightly during the high-flow and normal-flow years and increases slightly during the low-flow years. The PG in the upper reaches of the Yellow River has increased by approximately 10 %. Among the three objectives, EQ and ESR, as well as EQ and PG, demonstrate a competitive relationship, whereas ESR and PG exhibit a synergistic relationship. Reservoir inflow plays a major role in the changes of synergy-competition relationship.

Abstract Background Vast economic and healthcare status discrepancies exist among regions in China, contributing to different treatment patterns. This study was aimed to investigate the current status of pharmacotherapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and outcomes in China and explore the geographic variation in stroke care. Methods This study was a multicenter prospective registry study, which collected the data of patients with AIS from 80 hospitals in 46 cities in 2015–2017 across China. Poor functional outcome defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 3–6 was assessed at 3 and 12 months. Multivariate logistic regression was used. Results Among 9973 eligible patients, the number of receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), antiplatelet agents, anticoagulants, statin and human urinary kallidinogenase was 429 (4.3%), 9363 (93.9%), 1063 (10.7%), 6828 (74.7%) and 5112 (51.2%), respectively. Multivariable analysis showed IVT use in northeastern was significantly more frequent than in eastern region (OR = 3.17, 95% CI, 2.53–3.99), while the antiplatelets agents use were less frequent (OR = 0.46, 95%CI: 0.38–0.57). The proportions of poor outcomes at 3 and 12 months were 20.7% and 15.8%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed AIS patients from northeastern and central region had significantly lower risk of poor outcome at month 3 and 12 than those from eastern region (all P

Abstract Purpose This investigation sought to examine the efficacy and safety of low-dose apatinib used alongside chemotherapy in the clinical management of patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) within a real-world setting, whilst comparing the outcomes with those treated solely with chemotherapy. Methods This case series study analyzed clinical data and treatment outcomes of 163 patients with metastatic TNBC who underwent rescue treatment at the Medical Oncology Department of Clinical Oncology, Fujian Cancer Hospital, School of Fujian Medical University, China, between October 2011 and January 2023. All the patients underwent rescue treatment with either chemotherapy alone or apatinib (250 mg/day) combined with chemotherapy. The study’s primary outcome was progression-free survival (PFS), whereas the secondary outcomes included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety profiles. Results The study was designed to compare two groups [1]. Out of the 163 TNBC patients who participated in the study, 107 individuals (65.6%) received treatment based on chemotherapy, whereas 56 patients (34.4%) were given treatment based on a combination of low-dose apatinib (250 mg/day) and other treatments, including chemotherapy. After propensity score matching (PSM), the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who received apatinib-based treatment were 50.0 and 90.0%, respectively, while they were 6.7 and 20.0%, respectively, for the chemotherapy-based group (P

IntroductionRapid identification of infected individuals through viral RNA or antigen detection followed by effective personal isolation is usually the most effective way to prevent the spread of a newly emerging virus. Large-scale detection involves mass specimen collection and transportation. For biosafety reasons, denaturing viral transport medium has been extensively used during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, the high concentrations of guanidinium isothiocyanate (GITC) in such media have raised issues around sufficient GITC supply and laboratory safety. Moreover, there is a lack of denaturing transport media compatible with SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antigen detection.MethodsHere, we tested whether supplementing media containing low concentrations of GITC with ammonium sulfate (AS) would affect the throat-swab detection of SARS-CoV-2 or a viral inactivation assay targeting coronavirus and other enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. The effect of adding AS to the media on RNA stability and its compatibility with SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection were also tested.Results and discussionWe found that adding AS to the denaturing transport media reduced the need for high levels of GITC, improved SARS-COV-2 RNA detection without compromising virus inactivation, and enabled the denaturing transport media compatible with SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection.

The effect of NaCl concentration on heat-induced gel forming ability of myofibrillar protein from European eel muscle was studied. The turbidity, surface hydrophobicity and reactive sulfhydryl groups of the protein was measured. Meanwhile, the properties of heat-induced gel of myofibrillar protein at 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mol/L NaCl concentration were investigated. It was found that turbidity, surface hydrophobicity and reactive sulfhydryl groups began to increase at 30, 35 and 40 ℃, respectively. With the increase of NaCl concentration, the temperature of endothermic peaks of myofibrillar protein decreased, while the storage modulus and loss modulus increased. The breaking strength of heat-induced protein gel prepared with 0.5 mol/L NaCl was 98.81 g, which was higher than that of the heat-induced protein gel prepared with low NaCl concentration. The increased NaCl concentration could promote the interaction between myosin heavy chain and actin according to the electrophoresis analysis. Based on the results of Fourier transform infrared spectra and scanning electron microscopy, heat-induced myofibrillar protein gel with 0.5 mol/L NaCl had a highest Amide II/Amide I intensity ratio and densest network. The result of this study suggested that myofibrillar protein from European eel muscle was prone to denature at above 35 ℃, and the gel strength and network structure of heat-induced myofibrillar protein gels could be improved by increasing the addition of NaCl. The obtained results will provide theoretical guidance for controlling the quality of eel based heat-processed food by using salt concentration and temperature.

Abstract The Xiaolangdi Reservoir has been operated for 23 consecutive years, greatly altering the flow and sediment processes of the Lower Yellow River. Many research have separately analyzed the changes of siltation in reservoirs and river channels, discharge capacity of the lower river channel, river regime stability, or ecological environmental benefits under water and sediment regulation. However, the multiple changes of flow and sediment transport, ecological environment, and social economy were seldom considered. We systematically and holistically explored the changes of river system in the Lower Yellow River since 2000, based on the channel erosion and siltation, channel morphology, ecosystem patterns and habitat quality, irrigation water scale, and crop production index. The results show that the discharge capacity of the main channel has been recovered significantly at a bankfull discharge of over 4700 m3/s. The ecological pattern in the Lower Yellow River and the delta has been optimized. The wetland and water ecosystem area has been remarkably increased by 125.82% and 318.54% respectively, and the saline‐alkali land area has been sharply reduced by 89.65%. The habitat quality has been raised to the highest level in nearly 40 years. The irrigation water volume in the irrigation area of the Lower Yellow River has been increased by 31%, and the grain production has maintained a continuous growth for 16 years. Overall, the coordinated development level of flow and sediment transport, ecological environment and crop production in the Lower Yellow River has been continuously improved from the reluctantly coordinated level (before water and sediment regulation) to the highly coordinated level.

Background: Patients with Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) face a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Current data on eribulin usage to treat TNBC is scarce. Therefore, we sought to compare the feasibility and tolerability of eribulin-based regimens with other chemotherapy regimens in patients with TNBC.Method: This retrospective study was conducted at Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital and included 159 patients with TNBC enrolled between October 2011 and January 2023. Patients underwent treatment with eribulin-based and other chemotherapy regimens. The study’s primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), while its secondary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety. Tumour response was assessed using RECIST V.1.1 criteria.Results: Of the 159 participants in the study, 42 individuals (26.4%) received treatment with eribulin, whereas 117 participants (73.6%) were administered alternative chemotherapy regimens, which included nab-paclitaxel-based therapy (n = 45) and platinum-based therapy (n = 51). The follow-up period for all patients ended on 31 December 2022, and the median follow-up time was 18.3 months (range:0.7–27.5). Following propensity score matching (PSM), eribulin-based treatment resulted in longer median progression-free survival compared to platinum-based (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.41, p = 0.006), nab-paclitaxel-based (hazard ratio = 0.36, p = 0.001) and other chemotherapy (HR = 0.39, p < 0.001). Also, eribulin induced a remarkable prolongation of the median overall survival duration in all three comparative groups. The group receiving eribulin treatment showed significantly reduced incidences of any grade of anaemia, peripheral neuropathy, nausea and vomiting, and hair loss compared to other chemotherapy groups.Conclusion: For the salvage treatment of advanced TNBC, treatment with eribulin produced longer median PFS and OS than other chemotherapy regimens, with a well-tolerated safety profile. Therefore, further investigation of eribulin-based treatment in larger randomized trials for patients with advanced TNBC is warranted.

Considering the mass reservoirs construction, it is important to study the cascade reservoir construction sequence, which directly affects the water and sediment resource allocation, ecological environment restoration, and socioeconomic development of the basin. Thus, we constructed an evaluation index system by comprehensively considering the basin water and sediment discharge index, basin ecological and environmental maintenance index, and basin social and economic development index. The evaluation model was established to assess the impact of the cascade reservoir construction sequence on basin multifunctional synergy development index. The model was applied to evaluate the cascade reservoir construction sequence in the Yangtze and Yellow River Basin of China. The results revealed that: (1) The basin water and sediment discharge index, basin social and economic development index, and basin multifunctional synergy development index benefits gradually increased, the basin ecological and environmental maintenance index benefits progressively decreased in the Yangtze and Yellow River Basin. (2) The basin water and sediment discharge index, and basin ecological and environmental maintenance index of the planned cascade reservoir construction sequence ranked top in the Yellow River Basin; the basin water and sediment discharge index, and basin social and economic development index of the planned cascade reservoir construction sequence ranked top in the Yangtze River Basin. (3) The cascade reservoir construction sequence focused more on basin social and economic development index benefits when the level of national economic development was low, and more on basin water and sediment discharge index benefits when it was high. (4) Reservoir capacity and installed capacity were the main factors influencing the cascade reservoir construction sequence in the Yangtze and Yellow River Basin, respectively. These findings provide useful information regarding the cascade reservoir construction sequence.

Cichoric acid (CA) is a caffeic acid derivative, which has significant anti respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) effect and low toxicity. However, due to the low oral bioavailability and poor intestinal absorption of CA, it is not suitable to be made into oral preparations. In this study, CA was made into metered dose inhaler (MDI), allowing the drug to target the site of action, thus achieving more effective treatment. Through preliminary experiments, the drug content and prescription composition of the preparation were determined. Clarity and stability of solution were used as indexes to screen the composition of latent solvent. Single factor and orthogonal test were used to optimize the amount of latent solvent in CA-MDI, and the optimal prescription was verified. The aerosol prepared according to the optimal formula was characterized and preliminary stability was studied. The final formula of CA-MDI was: CA 15 mg, absolute ethanol 1 g, propylene glycol 0.4 g and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane 10 g. CA-MDI was prepared with the best prescription, with the specification of 150 actuation per bottle and 75 μg per actuation. After quality inspection, three batches of inhaled aerosols showed that the main drug content per bottle was 77.91 ± 1.63 μg (n = 3), and the total number of bottles was 185 ± 3 (n = 3), all of which met the standards of China Pharmacopoeia and the proposed specifications. The preliminary stability study showed that the quality of inhaled aerosols in CA was stable and reliable.

Owing to high efficacy and safety, natural medicines have found their way into the field of cancer therapy over the past few decades. However, the effective ingredients of natural medicines have shortcomings of poor solubility and low bioavailability. Nanoparticles can not only solve the problems above but also have outstanding targeting ability. Targeting preparations can be classified into three levels, which are target tissues, cells, and organelles. On the premise of clarifying the therapeutic purpose of drugs, one or more targeting methods can be selected to achieve more accurate drug delivery and consequently to improve the anti-tumor effects of drugs and reduce toxicity and side effects. The aim of this review is to summarize the research status of natural medicines’ nano-preparations in tumor-targeting therapies to provide some references for further accurate and effective cancer treatments.

Reservoir operation optimization is a technical measure for flood control and is beneficial owing to its reasonable and reliable control and application of existing water conservancy and hydropower hubs, while ensuring dam safety and flood control, as well as the normal operation of power supply and water supply. Considering the beneficial functions of reservoirs, namely flood control and ecological protection, this paper firstly established a two-objective optimal operation model for the reservoir group in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. We aim to maximize the average output of the cascade reservoir group and minimize the average change in ecological flow during the operation period under efficient sediment transport conditions, with the coordination degree of water and sediment as the constraints of reservoir discharge flows. The paper aims to construct an evaluation index system for reservoir operation schemes, apply a combined approach of objective and subjective evaluations, and introduce the gray target and cumulative prospect theories. By uniformly quantifying the established scheme evaluation index system, screening the reservoir operation schemes with the fuzzy evaluation method, and selecting the recommended scheme for each typical year, this paper provides a new scientific formulation of the operation schemes of reservoirs in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The selected schemes are compared with actual data, demonstrating the effectiveness of joint reservoir operation and for multidimensional benefits in terms of power generation, ecology, and flood control.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have been proven effective for the treatment of B-cell-mediated malignancies. Currently, the development of efficient tools that supply CAR T cells for the treatment of other malignancies would have great impact. In this study, interleukin (IL)-15 and C-C motif chemokine ligand 19 (CCL19) were introduced into natural killer group 2D (NKG2D)-based CARs to generate 15×19 CAR T cells, which remarkably increased T-cell expansion and promoted the production of central memory T (Tcm) cells. 15×19 CAR T cells showed greater cytotoxicity to gastric cell lines than conventional CAR T cells and produced higher levels of IL-15 and CCL-19, which resulted in increased responder T cell chemotaxis and reduced expression of T cell exhaustion markers. A live zebrafish model was used for single-cell visualization of local cytotoxicity and metastatic cancers. Administration of 15×19 CAR T cells resulted in significant shrinking of gastric cancer xenograft tumors and expansion of 15×19 CAR T cells in zebrafish models. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that 15×19 CAR T cells are highly efficient in killing gastric cancer cells, are effective to avoid off-target effects, and migrate to local and metastatic sites for long-term surveillance of cancers.

Objective: Neoantigens arising from gene mutations in tumors can induce specific immune responses, and neoantigen-based immunotherapies have been tested in clinical trials. Here, we characterized the efficacy of altered neoepitopes in improving immunogenicity against gastric cancer. Methods: Raw data of whole-exome sequencing derived from a patient with gastric cancer were analyzed using bioinformatics methods to identify neoepitopes. Neoepitopes were modified by P1Y (the first amino acid was replaced by tyrosine) and P2L (the second amino acid was replaced by leucine). T2 binding and stability assays were used to detect the affinities between the neoepitopes and the HLA molecules, as well as the stabilities of complexes. Dendritic cells (DCs) presented with neoepitopes stimulated naïve CD8+ T cells to induce specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. ELISA and carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester were used to detect IFN-γ and TNF-α levels, and T cell proliferation. Perforin was detected by flow cytometry. The cytotoxicity of T cells was determined using the lactate dehydrogenase assay. Results: Bioinformatics analysis, T2 binding, and stability assays indicated that residue substitution increased the affinity between neoepitopes and HLA molecules, as well as the stabilities of complexes. DCs presented with altered neoepitopes stimulated CD8+T cells to release more IFN-γ and had a greater effect on promoting proliferation than wild-type neoepitopes. CD8+T cells stimulated with altered neoepitopes killed more wild-type neoepitope-pulsed T2 cells than those stimulated with wild-type neoepitopes, by secreting more IFN-γ, TNF-α, and perforin. Conclusions: Altered neoepitopes exhibited greater immunogenicity than wild-type neoepitopes. Residue substitution could be used as a new strategy for immunotherapy to target neoantigens.

The effect of baking temperature on the physicochemical, sensory and digestive properties of eel burgers was investigated. The moisture content of eel burgers gradually decreased with increased baking temperature, whereas the water-holding capacity remained unchanged. The breaking force of eel burgers baked at 160°C was significantly higher than that at other baking temperatures. With increased baking temperature from 100 to 220°C, amide I in the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of eel burgers shifted from 1,645 to 1,633 cm−1, and the peak intensity of 1,744 cm−1 initially increased and then decreased. When the baking temperature exceeded 160°C, the band intensity of protein aggregate increased gradually with increased baking temperature. Scanning electron microscopy result indicated that the muscle fibers in eel burgers contracted significantly with increased baking temperature, and a honeycomb-like network structure appeared in eel burgers baked at 220°C. The sulfur compounds in the eel burgers baked at 130°C were lower than those of the sample baked at 100°C, but it increased gradually with further increased baking temperature. The aftertaste astringency, richness, saltiness, and overall acceptability of eel burgers increased with increased baking temperature. The eel burgers baked at 130–160°C could be easily digested according to the in vitro digestibility and confocal laser confocal microscopy of gastrointestinal digests. In conclusion, the texture properties, barbecue aroma, and digestibility of eel burgers could be controlled by the baking temperature.

Abstract Aim To test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of using an integrated approach combined online and in‐person delivery to support colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and their spousal caregivers coping positively with cancer together. Design A single‐arm pre–post‐feasibility design was used. Methods Chinese CRC patient‐partner dyads (N = 24) accessed the blended intervention combined online platform and face‐to‐face sessions for six weeks between October 2019 to January 2020. Feasibility was measured through recruitment and retention and acceptability was examined by intervention engagement and post‐treatment programme evaluation. Effect sizes were calculated using the complete data (N = 20 couple dyads) to evaluate preliminary treatment effect. Results Recruitment (70.6%) and retention rates (83.3%) supported programme feasibility. Participants’ positive intervention engagements and evaluations indicated acceptability. The overall small‐to‐medium improvements in most outcome measures verified preliminary efficacy of the integrated couples‐based supportive programme. The findings support its feasible and acceptable for couples coping with CRC and show potential efficacy.

Network slicing (NS) is a promising technology of 5G that provides end-to-end customized network service to multi-tenant. The network slicing embedding (NSE) problem is one of the essential issues in NS technology. In most NSE solutions, the resource conservation is dedicated and utilization-inefficient. Applying the resource sharing into NSE is the most direct way to improve resource utilization, but introduce the collision risk. This paper puts forward a novel NSE solution with risk-controlled resource sharing, namely NSE-RRS. We abstract the embedded slices’ loads as the uncertainties and formulate the risk as chance constraints. Hence NSE-RRS is formulated as a chance-constrained program. We apply the distributionally robust approach in terms of conditional value at risk (CVaR) to give a deterministic and tractable form of NSE-RRS. Then, we use a two-steps heuristic algorithm to solve NSE-RRS. Finally, numerical evaluation verifies that NSE-RRS can effectively improve utilization with controlled risk.

Semantic co-reference and ellipsis always lead to information deficiency when parsing natural language utterances with SQL in a multi-turn dialogue (i.e., conversational text-to-SQL task). The methodology of dividing a dialogue understanding task into dialogue utterance rewriting and language understanding is feasible to tackle this problem. To this end, we present a two-stage framework to complete conversational text-to-SQL tasks. To construct an efficient rewriting model in the first stage, we provide a large-scale dialogue rewrite dataset (DIR), which is extended from two cross-domain conversational text-to-SQL datasets, SParC and CoSQL. The dataset contains 5908 dialogues involving 160 domains. Therefore, it not only focuses on conversational text-to-SQL tasks, but is also a valuable corpus for dialogue rewrite study. In experiments, we validate the efficiency of our annotations with a popular text-to-SQL parser, RAT-SQL. The experiment results illustrate 11.81 and 27.17 QEM accuracy improvement on SParC and CoSQL, respectively, when we eliminate the semantic incomplete representations problem by directly parsing the golden rewrite utterances. The experiment results of evaluating the performance of the two-stage frameworks using different rewrite models show that the efficiency of rewrite models is important and still needs improvement. Additionally, as a new benchmark of the dialogue rewrite task, we also report the performance results of different baselines for related studies. Our dataset will be publicly available once this paper is accepted.

Angiogenesis is a significant pathogenic characteristic of diabetic microangiopathy. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are considerably elevated in diabetic tissues and can affect vascular endothelial cell shape and function. Regulation of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) signaling pathway is a critical mechanism in the regulation of angiogenesis, and VEGFR2 activity can be modified by post-translational changes. However, little research has been conducted on the control of small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO)-mediated VEGFR2 alterations. The current study investigated this using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in conjunction with immunoblotting and immunofluorescence. AGEs increased Nrf2 translocation to the nucleus and promoted VEGFR2 expression. They also increased the expression of sentrin/SUMO-specific protease 6 (SENP6), which de-SUMOylated VEGFR2, and immunofluorescence indicated a reduction in VEGFR2 accumulation in the Golgi and increased VEGFR2 transport from the Golgi to the cell membrane surface via the coatomer protein complex subunit beta 2. VEGFR2 on the cell membrane was linked to VEGF generated by pericytes, triggering the VEGF signaling cascade. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that SENP6 regulates VEGFR2 trafficking from the Golgi to the endothelial cell surface. The SENP6-VEGFR2 pathway plays a critical role in pathological angiogenesis.

In the real-time flood control operation of multi-reservoir systems, it is of great significance to establish a dynamic operating system with high efficiency based on the spatiotemporal variation of flood control situations. This paper proposes a self-adaptive modeling framework for real-time flood control operation of multi-reservoirs based on the cyber–physical system (CPS) theory. Firstly, the random flood samples considering the randomness of both space and magnitude are generated, and then the multi-reservoir real-time flood control hybrid operation (MRFCHO) model is established based on the dynamic identification of effective reservoirs. Then, the CPS theory is introduced to put forward the multi-reservoir real-time flood control hybrid operation cyber–physical system (MRFCHOCPS), which integrates real-time monitoring, control center, database, computation module, and communication network. Finally, the proposed framework is demonstrated in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and adaptability in real-time flood control operations. A case study of the multi-reservoir system upstream of the Lutaizi point in the Huaihe River basin in China reveals that (1) the equivalent qualified rate of the MRFCHO model is 84.9% for random flood samples; (2) the efficiency of solving the MRFCHO model is much higher than the efficiency of solving the MRFCJO model under the premise of ensuring the flood control effect, so it provides a reliable method for the real-time operation of basin-wide floods; (3) the MRFCHOCPS has good adaptability in real-time dynamic modeling and operation of large-scale multi-reservoir systems.

As many new devices and factors, such as renewable energy sources, energy storage (ESs), electric vehicles (EVs), and demand response (DR), flood into the distribution network, the characteristics of the distribution network are becoming complicated and diversified. In this study, a two-layer collaborative optimized operation model for the multi-character distribution network considering multiple uncertain factors is proposed to achieve optimal dispatching of ES and EV and obtain the optimal grid structure of the distribution network. Based on basic device models of distribution network, the upper layer distribution network reconfiguration (DNR) model is established and solved by the particle swarm optimization (PSO) based on the Pareto optimality and the Prim algorithm. Then, the lower layer optimal dispatching model of ES and EV is established and solved by the binary PSO. The upper layer model and the lower layer model are integrated to form the collaborative optimized operation model for the multi-character distribution network and solved by iterating the upper and lower layers continuously. A case study is conducted on the IEEE 33-bus system. The simulation results show that the total network loss and the voltage deviation are decreased by 15.66% and 15.52%, respectively, after optimal dispatching of ES and EV. The total network loss and the voltage deviation are decreased by 28.39% and 44.46%, respectively, after the DNR with distributed generation (DG) and EV loads with little impact on the average reliability of the power supply. The total network loss and the voltage deviation are decreased by 26.54% and 27.04%, respectively, after the collaborative optimized operation of the multi-character distribution network. The collaborative optimized operation of the distribution network can effectively reduce the total cost by 114.45%, which makes the system change from paying to gaining.

ObjectiveTo study the role of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) in endothelial barrier dysfunction induced by heat stress, to further explore the signal pathway by which RAGE contributes to heat-induced endothelia response, and thereby find a novel target for the clinical treatment of ALI (acute lung injury) induced by heatstroke.MethodsThis study established the animal model of heatstroke using RAGE knockout mice. We observed the role of RAGE in acute lung injury induced by heatstroke in mice by evaluating the leukocytes, neutrophils, and protein concentration in BALF (Bronchoalveolar lavage fluids), lung wet/dry ratio, histopathological changes, and the morphological ultrastructure of lung tissue and arterial blood gas analysis. To further study the mechanism, we established a heat stress model of HUVEC and concentrated on the role of RAGE and its signal pathway in the endothelial barrier dysfunction induced by heat stress, measuring Transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and western blot.ResultsRAGE played a key role in acute lung injury induced by heatstroke in mice. The mechanism C-Jun is located in the promoter region of the RAGE gene. C-Jun increased the RAGE protein expression while HSF1 suppressed RAGE protein expression. The overexpressed RAGE protein then increased HUVEC monolayer permeability by activating ERK and P38 MAPK under heat stress.ConclusionThis study indicates the critical role of RAGE in heat stress-induced endothelial hyperpermeability in acute lung injury and suggests that RAGE could be a potential therapeutic target in protecting patients against acute lung injury induced by heatstroke.

Transboundary water resources allocation is an effective measure to resolve water-related conflicts. Aiming at the problem of water conflicts, we constructed water resources allocation models based on game theory and multi-objective optimization, and revealed the differences between the two models. We compare the Pareto front solved by the AR-MOEA method and the NSGA-II method, and analyzed the difference between the Nash–Harsanyi Leader–Follower game model and the multi-objective optimization model. The Huaihe River basin was selected as a case study. The results show that: (1) The AR-MOEA method is better than the NSGA-II method in terms of the diversity metric (Δ); (2) the solution of the asymmetric Nash–Harsanyi Leader–Follower game model is a non-dominated solution, and the asymmetric game model can obtain the same water resources allocation scheme of the multi-objective optimal allocation model under a specific preference structure; (3) after the multi-objective optimization model obtains the Pareto front, it still needs to construct the preference information of the Pareto front for a second time to make the optimal solution of a multi-objective decision, while the game model can directly obtain the water resources allocation scheme at one time by participating in the negotiation. The results expand the solution method of water resources allocation models and provide support for rational water resources allocation.

The specific aims of the present study were twofold: (i) to examine the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the 17-item Benefit Finding Scale (BFS-C), and (ii) to explore the experienced benefits in colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors and their spousal caregivers (SCs). A total of 286 CRC survivors and SCs participated in the investigation, which assessed participant variables of demographic characteristics and benefit finding (BF). Statistical methods applied were confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Cronbach’s α, Pearson’s correlation, Kappa coefficient, paired t-tests, and one-way ANOVAs. CFA analysis supported a three-factor model for structure validity. All Cronbach’s α for BFS-C was greater than 0.870 in both CRC survivors and SCs. The test–retest correlations at the scale level ranged from good to excellent for CRC survivors (r = 0.752–0.922), and from moderate to good for SCs (r = 0.469–0.654). There were moderate to high correlations between CRC survivors and SCs in all of the paired BFs (all Ps < 0.001, r = 0.332–0.575). This report provided the satisfactory psychometric properties of the BFS-C in such aspects as construct validity, internal, and test–retest reliability among couples coping with CRC in China. Healthcare professionals need to treat couples as a unit and develop dyadic interventions to improve dyadic BF when supporting CRC survivors.

Studies have shown that the qualitative process assessment of cancer couple-based psychosocial interventions is often ignored. This article aims to evaluate the implementation process of an integrated psychosocial program developed for colorectal cancer couples. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eight colorectal cancer couple participants and two intervention facilitators. Normalization Process Theory was used to guide the data collection and analysis. Data analysis was conducted using a directed content analysis approach within a framework approach. Participants had a good understanding of the program significance. For most participants, the intervention duration was appropriate, and was well integrated into daily life. A lack of understanding of psychological nursing, and a lack of confidence in the use of online platforms and other personal factors, inhibited participants’ experience of participating in the intervention. The facilitator’s challenge in the implementation process was being flexible in dealing with situations occurring outside of the framework plan. Face-to-face and online psychological interventions require more flexibility, and participant cognition of psychosocial care was the key to the successful implementation of the intervention. Future research should consider raising participants’ awareness of psychological care to better integrate this type of intervention into participants’ daily lives and routine care.

Background: Previous researches have reported that donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) provides a new approach for the treatment of hematological malignancies and some solid tumors. The present study was designed to discuss the antitumor effect on mice with melanoma and possible involvement of the mechanism of haploidentical DLI in CB6F1 mice→CC3HF1 mice (F1→F1) mouse model. Methods: An F1→F1 haploidentical infusion model was established. CB6F1 mice (H-2b/d) bearing melanoma were used as recipients. CC3HF1 mice (H-2d/k) were used as donors. Changes in tumor volume and mice survival, host-derived lymphocytes proliferation, cytotoxicity, donor cell survival in vivo, histopathological examination of important organs, and the secretion Th1/Th2 cytokines were analyzed. Results: Irradiated haploidentical DLI combined with low-dose cyclophosphamide (Cy) chemotherapy induced an antitumor effect on mice with melanoma using the F1→F1 infusion model. Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) was not obvious in any DLI-treated groups. Donor lymphocytes disappeared within 5 days after infusion, while the antitumor effect continued to be observed. Moreover, the DLI-treated groups showed a significant increase in the secretion of Th1 cytokines, including IFN-γ and IL-2, and an enhanced proliferation of CD8+ T lymphocytes and NK cells. Conclusions: Irradiated haploidentical DLI without bone marrow transplantation offers a safe, feasible, and effective approach in the treatment of melanoma.

In a deregulated electricity market, optimal hydropower operation should be achieved through informed decisions to facilitate the delivery of energy production in forward markets and energy purchase level from other power producers within real-time markets. This study develops a stochastic programming model that considers the influence of uncertain streamflow on hydropower energy production and the effect of variable spot energy prices on the cost of energy purchase (energy shortfall). The proposed model is able to handle uncertainties expressed by both a probability distribution and discretized scenarios. Conflicting decisions are resolved by maximizing the expected value of net revenue, which jointly considers benefit and cost terms under uncertainty. Methodologies are verified using a case study of the Three Gorges cascade hydropower system. The results demonstrate that optimal operation policies are derived based upon systematic evaluations on the benefit and cost terms that are affected by multiple uncertainties. Moreover, near-optimal operation policy under the case of inaccurate spot price forecasts is also analyzed. The results also show that a proper policy for guiding hydropower operation seeks the best compromise between energy production and energy purchase levels, which explores their nonlinear tradeoffs over different time periods.