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In this paper, cyclic triaxial tests are performed by using discrete element method (DEM) to investigate the dynamic behaviors of QH-E lunar soil simulant. The influences of number of cycles, loading frequency, waveform, cyclic stress ratio (CSR) and confining pressure on the dynamic behaviors of lunar soil simulant are discussed. The results indicate that the axial strain and dynamic modulus first increase and then tend to be stable with increasing number of cycles. The dynamic modulus increases with increasing the loading frequency, while the axial strain decreases. The damping ratio is not particularly sensitive to the confining pressure and CSR, it only decreases slightly with increasing confining pressure or decreasing CSR. Under the same conditions, rectangular wave dynamic load can produce a larger axial strain and a smaller dynamic modulus than those of sine and triangular waves, and a higher loading frequency will lead to a higher dynamic modulus and a lower axial strain, these characteristics are consistent with other lunar soil simulants and sandy soils tested in the experiment. However, the effect of confining pressure on the dynamic modulus depends on the magnitude of the CSR. For the lower CSR (CSR<0.6), the dynamic modulus increases with increasing confining pressure. While for the higher CSR(CSR>0.6), the dynamic modulus decreases significantly with increasing confining pressure, which demonstrates the unique dynamic characteristics that differs from other lunar soil simulants and sandy soils, and shows the importance of considering the magnitude of the CSR under cyclic triaxial tests. • Dynamic characteristics of QH-E lunar soil simulant under cyclic triaxial tests are studied by DEM. • Dynamic modulus and axial strain first increase and then gradually tend to be stable with increasing number of cycles. • The damping ratio is not particularly sensitive to the confining pressure and CSR. • Effect of confining pressure on the dynamic modulus depends on the magnitude of CSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and electrical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) are widely used in commercial energy storage systems, but each has inherent limitations. To overcome these limitations, the lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) has emerged as a hybrid energy storage device, combining the benefits of LIBs and EDLCs. However, the introduction of active lithium into LICs poses challenges due to lithium's reactivity and instability. In this study, we propose a dual wet chemical prelithiation strategy to enhance LIC performance. By wet chemically prelithiating both the activated carbon cathodes and hard carbon anodes, significant improvements are achieved compared to traditional prelithiation methods. The dual prelithiation approach outperforms electrochemical prelithiation in terms of energy storage performance, cycle life, and process simplification. LICs with dual wet chemically prelithiated electrodes demonstrate the highest energy density and retain a substantial portion of reversible capacity even at high discharge rates. The strategy exhibits fast kinetics and wide operational stability. In contrast, LICs with metallic lithium anodes or electrochemically prelithiated hard carbon anodes exhibit inferior performance and limited cycle life. The dual wet chemical prelithiation strategy represents a breakthrough in LIC technology, offering superior performance, cycle stability, and scalability. It holds promise for alkali-ion energy storage systems and drives advancements in electrochemical energy storage technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular photoswitches are widely used in material sciences, physics, chemistry, and biology. As needs grow more complex, materials have to react more than one‐dimensionally. The use of multiple photoswitches at once opens manifold opportunities for further improved and more complicated systems. However, this requires independent addressability, i.e., orthogonality, and reversible processes. Herein, the first study on ultrafast excited state dynamics of two orthogonal photoswitches, a push‐pull azobenzene and a donor‐acceptor Stenhouse adduct is reported. In order to gain detailed insight in their interactions and mutual influences on their photoswitching behavior, they are addressed individually and simultaneously via transient absorption spectroscopy supported by quantum chemical calculations. They show reversible photoswitchability and in addition, can be used in 4D printing to provide easy access to a plethora of functional devices. Furthermore, environmental influences on the excited state dynamics are examined using different solvents and thin films. Both compounds photoisomerize independently when addressed individually or simultaneously and only little impacts on the excited state dynamics are found. Especially the vibrational relaxation is affected by different surroundings changing the energy dissipation while hardly affecting the electronic states involved. The orthogonal and simultaneous addressability is thereby crucial for their usage in 4D printed microactuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn last decades, the operator theory of Krein spaces, Krein space approaches, and various generalizations of frames have interested many mathematicians due to their potential applications in mathematics and engineering. This paper addresses the frame theory for Krein spaces. We present some properties of J-orthonormal bases, Parseval frames and frames for Krein spaces, and a parametric expression of all duals of an arbitrarily given frame in Krein spaces. This study shows that the frame theory for Krein spaces is not a direct generalization of the frame theory for Hilbert spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This review is the first to combine the materials, energy, and habitation requirements that astronauts require while residing at a lunar base. • It analyses the theories and technologies needed to meet these demands, their advantages and disadvantages, and combinations of different technologies to construct a lunar base that meets production requirements. • Quantitative comparison of the production capacity of in-situ lunar resource production technology. • This review provides some suggestions for phased planning and construction of lunar bases. Establishing a lunar base is a critical goal for many aerospace powers. To achieve this goal, various resources such as life support materials, energy, and shelter are required. However, current research only focuses on the methods for collecting materials and the corresponding technologies required for lunar bases without comparing their advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive and concise literature review of current research. This review should discuss in detail the fundamental materials and energy requirements for astronauts living in a long-term lunar base and the specific means to meet those demands. The review should begin with the development process of human spaceflight life-support systems and highlight the limitations of transporting survival materials from Earth. The review emphasises the importance of utilising in-situ lunar resources. This review is the first to combine the materials, energy, and habitation requirements for astronauts residing at a lunar base. It analyses the theories and technologies necessary to meet these demands, their advantages and disadvantages, and how different technologies can be combined to construct a lunar base that meets production requirements. The aim of this review is to provide researchers in a specific field with a comprehensive understanding of the factors to consider when developing a lunar habitat, thus facilitating future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Combining DSC experiment and DFT to study the influence of typical clay minerals and glycine on the phase equilibrium conditions of methane hydrate. • Phase equilibrium conditions of methane hydrate in kaolinite suspension closely resembled those in pure water. • Calcium montmorillonite hindered the phase equilibrium of methane hydrate owing to the presence of Ca2+. • The inhibitory effect of calcium montmorillonite on the phase equilibrium condition of methane hydrate intensified with the addition of 1.5 wt% glycine. The investigation of methane hydrate equilibrium conditions is crucial for comprehending the occurrence of methane hydrate in marine sediments. In this study, the liquid-hydrate-vapor equilibrium condition of methane hydrate in montmorillonite and kaolinite suspensions in the presence of glycine was investigated through differential scanning calorimetry experiments. The results indicated that glycine inhibited the phase equilibrium of methane hydrate. The phase equilibrium conditions of methane hydrate in kaolinite suspension closely resembled those in pure water. In contrast, calcium montmorillonite hindered the phase equilibrium of methane hydrate owing to the presence of Ca2+. The phase equilibrium conditions of methane hydrate in kaolinite suspension with the addition of glycine were similar to those in glycine solution. The inhibitory effect of calcium montmorillonite on the phase equilibrium condition of methane hydrate intensified with the addition of glycine. Furthermore, density functional theory simulations indicated that glycine significantly reduced the binding energy between montmorillonite layers and Ca2+, potentially mitigating the inhibitory effect of Ca2+ on methane hydrate formation under suitable glycine concentrations. The diverse equilibrium conditions of methane hydrate, influenced by the types of clay minerals, salt ions, and organic matters, may play a critical role in the formation and occurrence of natural gas hydrates in marine environments, warranting exploration in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its applications in signal analysis and image processing, the quaternionic Fourier analysis has received increasing attention. In particular, quaternionic Gabor frames (QGFs) attracted some mathematicians' interest. From the literatures, some results on QGFs are based on quaternionic Fourier orthonormal bases. But those used so-called quaternionic Fourier orthonormal bases have a gap that they are all incomplete. In this paper, we present a class of quaternionic Fourier orthonormal bases, and using them derive the corresponding Gabor orthonormal bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has highlighted a link between electronic media use and sleep outcomes, but the nuanced impacts of screen use at different time of day and activities on adolescent sleep are underexplored. 831 participants underwent online assessment three times with interval of three months regarding their screen time and activities at specific times of the day, daytime sleepiness was assessed with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and sleep outcomes were assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Insomnia Severity Index. The associations between time spent on various screen activities, and sleep outcomes were examined respectively after controlling for inter-individual differences using the Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model models and LMMs. The RI_CLPM model revealed that both electronic screen time during daytime and after lights off in the evening in Wave1 negatively predicted the sleep quality in Wave2; the nighttime screen time before lights off in Wave1 significantly negatively predicted the seventy of insomnia in Wave2. Whereas no cross-lag and predictive effects of sleep outcomes on screen time were revealed. Moreover, daytime screen exposure, including T.V. watching and social media use, and nighttime music listening were negatively associated with sleep quality. Conversely, nighttime screen time of shopping and working/studying positively influenced sleep quality. Additionally, daytime screen time of T.V. viewing was positively associated with increased insomnia severity, whereas nighttime work/study-related screen time negatively affected insomnia severity. Nighttime screen time of music listening negatively predicted daytime sleepiness. The current findings contributed to the existing literature suggesting that the effects of electronic screen time on sleep depended on both the time of day and type of screen activities. • Daytime and lighting off-screen time in Wave1 worsens sleep quality in wave2. • Nighttime screen time in Wave1 increases insomnia seventy in wave2. • No predictive effect of sleep indicators on next-wave screen time was observed. • Daytime TV watching/social media use and nighttime music listening worsen sleep. • Nighttime shopping/work/study screen time improves sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mild nitration of pyrrolo[2,1‐a]isoquinolines has been reached using sodium nitrite as nitro source in HFIP at ambient temperature. A variety of nitro‐bearing pyrrolo[2,1‐a]isoquinoline derivatives has been efficiently prepared in poor to quantitative yields (28–98 %). These products can be easily transformed to primary amines and amide by simple chemical reactions. Treatment of other nitrogen‐containing heterocycles such as pyrrolo[1,2‐a]quinoline and substituted indoles under this developed reaction system afforded nitro‐bearing N‐heterocycles in relatively lower yields (15–19 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Gabor analysis on locally compact abelian (LCA) groups has become the focus of an active research. In practice, the time variable cannot be negative. The half real line ℝ+ = (0,∞) is an LCA group under multiplication and the usual topology, with the Haar measure dμ = dx x. This paper addresses Gabor frame multipliers and Parseval duals for L2(ℝ +,dμ). We introduce and characterize Gabor frame multipliers and Parseval Gabor frame multipliers based on Zak transform matrices. Our Zak transform matrix is essentially different from the conventional Zibulski–Zeevi matrix. It allows us to define Gabor frame generators by designing suitable matrix-valued functions of finite size. We also prove that an arbitrary Gabor frame 풢(g,a,b) admits a Parseval dual frame/tight dual frame whenever ln a ⋅ln b are rational numbers not greater than 1 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Luffa (Luffa spp.) is an economically important crop of the Cucurbitaceae family, commonly known as sponge gourd or vegetable gourd. It is an annual cross-pollinated crop primarily found in the subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas. Luffa serves not only as a vegetable but also exhibits medicinal properties, including anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer effects. Moreover, the fiber derived from luffa finds extensive applications in various fields such as biotechnology and construction. However, luffa Fusarium wilt poses a severe threat to its production, and existing control methods have proven ineffective in terms of cost-effectiveness and environmental considerations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop luffa varieties resistant to Fusarium wilt. Single-plant GWAS (sp-GWAS) has been demonstrated as a promising tool for the rapid and efficient identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with target traits, as well as closely linked molecular markers. Results: In this study, a collection of 97 individuals from 73 luffa accessions including two major luffa species underwent single-plant GWAS to investigate luffa Fusarium wilt resistance. Utilizing the double digest restriction site associated DNA (ddRAD) method, a total of 8,919 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. The analysis revealed the potential for Fusarium wilt resistance in accessions from both luffa species. There are 6 QTLs identified from 3 traits, including the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC), a putative disease-resistant QTL, was identified on the second chromosome of luffa. Within the region of linkage disequilibrium, a candidate gene homologous to LOC111009722, which encodes peroxidase 40 and is associated with disease resistance in Cucumis melo, was identified. Furthermore, to validate the applicability of the marker associated with resistance from sp-GWAS, an additional set of 21 individual luffa plants were tested, exhibiting 93.75% accuracy in detecting susceptible of luffa species L. aegyptiaca Mill. Conclusion: In summary, these findings give a hint of genome position that may contribute to luffa wild resistance to Fusarium and can be utilized in the future luffa wilt resistant breeding programs aimed at developing wilt-resistant varieties by using the susceptible-linked SNP marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior studies have reported a potential relationship between depressive disorder (DD), immune function, and inflammatory response. Some studies have also confirmed the correlation between immune and inflammatory responses and Bell's palsy. Considering that the pathophysiology of these two diseases has several similarities, this study investigates if DD raises the risk of developing Bell's palsy. Methods: This nationwide propensity score-weighting cohort study utilized Taiwan National Health Insurance data. 44,198 patients with DD were identified as the DD cohort and 1,433,650 adult subjects without DD were identified as the comparison cohort. The inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) strategy was used to balance the differences of covariates between two groups. The 5-year incidence of Bell's palsy was evaluated using the Cox proportional-hazard model, presenting results in terms of hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The average age of DD patients was 48.3 ± 17.3 years, and 61.86% were female. After propensity score-weighting strategy, no significant demographic differences emerged between the DD and comparison cohort. The Cox proportional hazards model revealed a statistically significant adjusted IPTW-HR of 1.315 (95% CI: 1.168–1.481) for Bell's palsy in DD patients compared to comparison subjects. Further independent factors for Bell's palsy in this model were age (IPTW-HR: 1.012, 95% CI: 1.010–1.013, p < 0.0001), sex (IPTW-HR: 0.909, 95% CI: 0.869–0.952, p < 0.0001), hypertension (IPTW-HR: 1.268, 95% CI: 1.186–1.355, p < 0.0001), hyperlipidemia (IPTW-HR: 1.084, 95% CI: 1.001–1.173, p = 0.047), and diabetes (IPTW-HR: 1.513, 95% CI: 1.398–1.637, p < 0.0001) Conclusion: This Study confirmed that individuals with DD face an elevated risk of developing Bell's palsy. These findings hold significant implications for both clinicians and researchers, shedding light on the potential interplay between mental health and the risk of certain physical health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Flavonoids are one of the bioactive ingredients of Lonicera macranthoides (L. macranthoides), however, their biosynthesis in the flower is still unclear. In this study, combined transcriptomic and targeted metabolomic analyses were performed to clarify the flavonoids biosynthesis during flowering of L. macranthoides. Results: In the three sample groups, GB_vs_WB, GB_vs_WF and GB_vs_GF, there were 25, 22 and 18 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in flavonoids biosynthetic pathway respectively. A total of 339 flavonoids were detected and quantified at four developmental stages of flower in L. macranthoides. In the three sample groups, 113, 155 and 163 differentially accumulated flavonoids (DAFs) were detected respectively. Among the DAFs, most apigenin derivatives in flavones and most kaempferol derivatives in flavonols were up-regulated. Correlation analysis between DEGs and DAFs showed that the down-regulated expressions of the CHS, DFR, C4H, F3'H, CCoAOMT_32 and the up-regulated expressions of the two HCTs resulted in down-regulated levels of dihydroquercetin, epigallocatechin and up-regulated level of kaempferol-3-O-(6"-O-acetyl)-glucoside, cosmosiin and apigenin-4'-O-glucoside. The down-regulated expressions of F3H and FLS decreased the contents of 7 metabolites, including naringenin chalcone, proanthocyanidin B2, B3, B4, C1, limocitrin-3,7-di-O-glucoside and limocitrin-3-O-sophoroside. Conclusion: The findings are helpful for genetic improvement of varieties in L.macranthoides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyroelectric materials hold significant potential for energy harvesting, sensing, and imaging applications. However, achieving high‐performance pyroelectricity across a wide temperature range near room temperature remains a significant challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a single crystal of Fe(II) spin‐crossover compound shows remarkable pyroelectric properties accompanied by a thermally controlled spin transition. In this material, the uniaxial alignment of polar molecules results in a polarization of the lattice. As the molecular geometry is modulated during a gradual spin transition, the polar axis experiences a colossal thermal expansion with a coefficient of 796×10−6 K−1. Consequently, the material's polarization undergoes significant modulation as a secondary pyroelectric effect. The considerable shift in polarization (pyroelectric coefficient, p=3.7–22 nC K−1cm−2), coupled with a low dielectric constant (ϵ′=4.4–5.4) over a remarkably wide temperature range of 298 to 400 K, suggests this material is a high‐performance pyroelectric. The demonstration of pyroelectricity combined with magnetic switching in this study will inspire further investigations in the field of molecular electronics and magnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well established that traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes acute and chronic alterations in systemic immune function and that systemic immune changes contribute to posttraumatic neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. However, how TBI affects bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells chronically and to what extent such changes may negatively impact innate immunity and neurological function has not been examined. Methods: To further understand the role of BM cell derivatives on TBI outcome, we generated BM chimeric mice by transplanting BM from chronically injured or sham (i.e., 90 days post-surgery) congenic donor mice into otherwise healthy, age-matched, irradiated CD45.2 C57BL/6 (WT) hosts. Immune changes were evaluated by flow cytometry, multiplex ELISA, and NanoString technology. Moderate-to-severe TBI was induced by controlled cortical impact injury and neurological function was measured using a battery of behavioral tests. Results: TBI induced chronic alterations in the transcriptome of BM lineage−c-Kit+Sca1+ (LSK+) cells in C57BL/6 mice, including modified epigenetic and senescence pathways. After 8 weeks of reconstitution, peripheral myeloid cells from TBI→WT mice showed significantly higher oxidative stress levels and reduced phagocytic activity. At eight months after reconstitution, TBI→WT chimeric mice were leukopenic, with continued alterations in phagocytosis and oxidative stress responses, as well as persistent neurological deficits. Gene expression analysis revealed BM-driven changes in neuroinflammation and neuropathology after 8 weeks and 8 months of reconstitution, respectively. Chimeric mice subjected to TBI at 8 weeks and 8 months post-reconstitution showed that longer reconstitution periods (i.e., time post-injury) were associated with increased microgliosis and leukocyte infiltration. Pre-treatment with a senolytic agent, ABT-263, significantly improved behavioral performance of aged C57BL/6 mice at baseline, although it did not attenuate neuroinflammation in the acutely injured brain. Conclusions: TBI causes chronic activation and progressive dysfunction of the BM stem/progenitor cell pool, which drives long-term deficits in hematopoiesis, innate immunity, and neurological function, as well as altered sensitivity to subsequent brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aberrant expression of ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) plays a key role in several cancers. However, influence of G protein coupled receptor family C group 5 type A (GPRCSA)-regulated ABCB1 expression on lung adenocarcinoma proliferation remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of GPRC5A regulated ABCB1 expression on the proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma. ABCBI expressions in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, human lung adenocarcinoma tissues, and tracheal epithelial cells and lung tissues of GPRC5A knockout mice and wild-type mice were analyzed with RT-PCR, Western blot, or immunohistochemical analysis. Cell counting kit-8 assay was performed to analyze the sensitivity of tracheal epithelial cells from GPRC5A knockout mice to chemotherapeutic agents. Subcutaneous tumor formation assay was performed to confirm whether down-regulation of ABCBI could inhibit the proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma in vivo. To verify the potential regulatory relationship between GPRCS A and ABCB1, immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation assays were performed. ABCB1 expression was up-regulated in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines and human lung adenocarcinoma tissues. ABCBI expression in the tracheal epithelial cells and lung tissues of GPRC5A deficient mice was higher than that in the wild type mice. Tracheal epithelial cells of GPRC5A knockout mice were much more sensitive to tariquidar and doxorubicin than those of GPRC5A wild type mice. Accordingly, 28 days after injection of the transplanted cells, the volume and weight of lung tumor in ABCBI knockout cell-transplanted GPRCS A-/C57BL/6 mice were significantly smaller than those in wild type cell-transplanted mice (P = 0.0043, P = 0.0060). Furthermore, immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation assays showed that GPRC5A regulated ABCBI expression by direct binding. GPRC5A reduces lung adenocarcinoma proliferation via inhibiting ABCBI expression. The pathway by which GPRC5A regulates ABCBI expression needs to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Psychological insulin resistance is a common barrier to initiation and persistence with insulin therapy that affects approximately 42.7% of people living with type II diabetes mellitus, which may negatively impact self‐management. This study aimed to assess patients' levels of psychological insulin resistance and to identify factors associated with self‐management in patients with type II diabetes mellitus treated with insulin therapy. Methods: We adopted a cross‐sectional design. Subjects from the metabolism and endocrinology outpatient departments of a regional teaching hospital in central Taiwan were recruited by consecutive sampling. Patients were assessed for psychological insulin resistance and self‐management using the barriers to insulin treatment questionnaire and the partners in health scale. Results: A total of 222 patients with type II diabetes mellitus were recruited. Patients had an average psychological insulin resistance score of 3.14 (maximum of 8). Positive self‐management was associated with insulin therapy injection by patient, fewer expectations regarding positive insulin‐related outcomes, no diabetes‐related complications, less fear of injection and self‐testing, no hypoglycaemia within the previous year, and younger age. Conclusion: Insulin therapy injection by patient and no diabetes‐related complications were the most common factors associated with overall self‐management and with each domain of self‐management in patients with type II diabetes mellitus treated with insulin therapy. Insulin therapy education should be offered to improve patients' beliefs about insulin therapy and enhance patients' ability to perform self‐management. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Psychological insulin resistance is a common psychological barrier to initiation and persistence with insulin therapy.Psychological insulin resistance causes poor glycaemic control and diabetes‐related complications.Psychological insulin resistance may negatively impact self‐management in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. What is the contribution of this paper? Positive self‐management was associated with insulin therapy injection by patient, fewer expectations regarding positive insulin‐related outcomes, no diabetes‐related complications, less fear of injection and self‐testing, no hypoglycaemia within the previous year, and younger age.Insulin therapy injection by patient and no diabetes‐related complications were the most common factors associated with overall self‐management and with each domain of self‐management in patients with type II diabetes mellitus treated with insulin therapy.Patients with poor self‐management had statistically significantly higher levels of overall psychological insulin resistance, fear of injections and self‐testing, expectations regarding positive insulin‐related outcomes, and stigmatization by insulin injections, compared to those with appropriate self‐management. What are the implications of this paper? Knowing in advance the factors associated with diabetes self‐management will allow healthcare professionals prevent psychological insulin resistance in patients with type II diabetes mellitus treated with insulin therapy.Healthcare professionals can design and provide patient‐centred diabetes education based on education level to enhance self‐management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of approximate oblique dual frame was introduced by Díaz, Heineken and Morillas. It is more general than traditional dual frame, oblique dual frame, and approximate dual frame. This paper addresses constructing more approximate oblique dual frame pairs starting from one given oblique dual frame pair. Using “analysis and synthesis operator”, “portrait”, and “gap” perturbation techniques, we present several sufficient conditions for constructing approximate oblique dual frame pairs under the general Hilbert space setting. As an application, we then focus on constructing approximate oblique dual frame pairs in shift-invariant subspaces of L 2 (R) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Moon's polar regions have abundant water ice resources. The mining and utilization of lunar polar water ice could serve as a propellant and survival resource for human exploration of deep space. The concept of thermal mining has been proposed to extract water ice resources. There are advantages and disadvantages to different mining methods. The energy problems faced by in situ resource utilization on the Moon are of great concern. The electrolysis of water and the heating of weathered layers require a continuous supply of energy. Wired energy transfer at the lunar poles would be very costly for launching conductors from Earth to the Moon. Wireless energy transfer technology is also well-developed today and has promising applications in the energy supply of lunar thermal mining. This paper describes the different methods of thermal mining and the various ways of supplying energy using solar energy for thermal mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Pathogen contamination in drinking water sources causes waterborne infectious diseases, seriously threatening human health. Nowadays, stimuli-responsive self-propelled nanomotors are appealing therapeutic agents for antibacterial therapy in vivo. However, achieving water disinfection using these nanobots is still a great challenge. Herein, we report on prebiotic galactooligosaccharide-based nanomotors for sunlight-regulated water disinfection. The nanomotors can utilize galactooligosaccharide-based N -nitrosamines as sunlight-responsive fuels for the spontaneous production of antibacterial nitric oxide. Such a solar-to-chemical energy conversion would power the nanomotors for self-diffusiophoresis, which could promote the diffusion of the nanomotors in water and their penetration in the biofilm, significantly enhancing the inhibition and elimination of the pathogens and their biofilms in aquatic environments. After water treatments, the prebiotic-based residual disinfectants can be selectively utilized by beneficial bacteria to effectively relieve safety risks to the environment and human health. The low-energy-cost, green and potent antibacterial nanobots show promising potential in water disinfection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though previous studies revealed the potential associations of elevated levels of plasma fibrinogen with dementia, there is still limited understanding regarding the influence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers on these associations. We sought to investigate the interrelationships among fibrinogen, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers, and cognition in non‐demented adults. We included 1996 non‐demented adults from the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and LifestylE (CABLE) study and 337 from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database. The associations of fibrinogen with AD biomarkers and cognition were explored using multiple linear regression models. The mediation analyses with 10 000 bootstrapped iterations were conducted to explore the mediating effects of AD biomarkers on cognition. In addition, interaction analyses and subgroup analyses were conducted to assess the influence of covariates on the relationships between fibrinogen and AD biomarkers. Participants exhibiting low Aβ42 were designated as A+, while those demonstrating high phosphorylated tau (P‐tau) and total tau (Tau) were labeled as T+ and N+, respectively. Individuals with normal measures of Aβ42 and P‐tau were categorized as the A−T− group, and those with abnormal levels of both Aβ42 and P‐tau were grouped under A+T+. Fibrinogen was higher in the A+ subgroup compared to that in the A− subgroup (p = 0.026). Fibrinogen was higher in the A+T+ subgroup compared to that in the A−T− subgroup (p = 0.011). Higher fibrinogen was associated with worse cognition and Aβ pathology (all p < 0.05). Additionally, the associations between fibrinogen and cognition were partially mediated by Aβ pathology (mediation proportion range 8%–28%). Interaction analyses and subgroup analyses showed that age and ApoE ε4 affect the relationships between fibrinogen and Aβ pathology. Fibrinogen was associated with both cognition and Aβ pathology. Aβ pathology may be a critical mediator for impacts of fibrinogen on cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex hydrolysis process and strong uncertainty of self-assembly rules have led to the precise synthesis of lanthanide clusters still being in the "blind-box" stage and simplifying the self-assembly process and developing reliable regulation strategies have attracted widespread attention. Herein, different anions are used to induce the construction of a series of dysprosium clusters with different shapes and connections. When the selected anion is NO3−, it blocks the coordination of metal sites around the cluster through the terminal group coordination mode, thereby controlling the growth of the cluster. When NO3− was changed to OAc−, OAc− adopted a bridging mode to induce modular units to build dysprosium clusters through an annular growth mechanism. Specifically, we selected 2-amino-6-methoxybenzoic acid, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and Dy(NO3)3·6H2O to react under solvothermal conditions to obtain a pentanuclear dysprosium cluster (1). The five Dy(III) ions in 1 are distributed in upper and lower planes and are formed by the tight connection of nitrogen and oxygen atoms, and μ3-OH− bridges on the ligand. Next, octa-nuclear dysprosium cluster (2) were obtained by only regulating ligand substituents. The eight Dy(III) ions in 2 are tightly connected through ligand oxygen atoms, μ2-OH−, and μ3-OH− bridges, forming an elliptical {Dy/O} cluster core. Furthermore, only by changing NO3− to OAc−, a wheel-shaped tetradeca-nuclear dysprosium cluster (3) was obtained. Cluster 3 is composed of OAc− bridged multiple template Dy3L3 units and pulling of these template units connected by an annular growth mechanism forms a wheel-shaped cluster. The angle of the coordination site on NO3− is ∠ONO = 115°, which leads to the further extension of the metal sites on the periphery of clusters 1 and 2 through the terminal group coordination mode, thereby regulating the structural connection of the clusters. However, the angle of the coordination site on OAc− is ∠OCO = 128°, and a slightly increased angle leads to the formation of a ring-shaped cluster 3 by connecting the template units through bridging. This is a rare example of the controllable construction of lanthanide clusters with different shapes induced by the regulation of different anions, which provides a new method for the precise construction of lanthanide clusters with special shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stair climbing exercise (SE) provides a feasible approach to elevate physical activity, but the effects on metabolic health are unclear. We systematically reviewed the currently available evidence on the effects of SE on fasting and postprandial glycaemia and lipidaemia. Studies were included if they investigated the effects of acute or chronic (at least 2 weeks) SE on fasting and/or postprandial glycaemic (insulin and glucose) and lipidaemic (triacylglycerols and non-esterified fatty acids) responses in healthy, prediabetic or type 2 diabetic adult populations. PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched for eligible studies until July 2022. A total of 25 studies (14 acute and 11 chronic) were eligible for review. Acute bout(s) of SE can reduce postprandial glycaemia in individuals with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (8 of 9 studies), but not in normoglycemic individuals. The effects of acute SE on postprandial lipidaemic responses and SE training on both fasting and postprandial glycaemia/lipidaemia were unclear. Acute SE may reduce postprandial glucose concentrations in people with impaired glycaemic control, but high-quality studies are needed. More studies are needed to determine the effect of chronic SE training on postprandial glucose and lipid responses, and the acute effects of SE on lipid responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antipsychotics (APs) are among the most widely prescribed medications, and have been shown to cause cognitive decline. But previous studies on their effects on dementia risk are controversial and scarce. We aimed to examine the relationships of APs exposure with the risk of dementia. Data were obtained from a prospective cohort of 415,100 UK Biobank (UKB) participants. We investigated the effects of APs exposure and their various classes on dementia risk by using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models and further the dose-response effects of oral APs. After a mean follow-up of 8.64 years, 5235 (1.3 %) participants developed all-cause dementia (ACD), among whom 2313 (0.6 %) developed Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 1213 (0.3 %) developed vascular dementia (VaD). Exposure to any APs conferred increased risks of ACD (HR: 1.33, 95 % CI = 1.17–1.51, P < 0.001) and VaD (HR: 1.90, 95 % CI = 1.51–2.40, P < 0.001), but not AD (HR: 1.22, 95 % CI = 1.00–1.48, P = 0.051). Cumulative dose-response relationships of oral APs with the risks of ACD and VaD were observed (P for trend, P < 0.05). Our study is observational and does not show evidence of causality. Since there are relatively few cases of dementia in the UKB, APs exposure may be higher than estimated in our study. APs exposure increased the risk of developing dementia. Dose-response relationships were found between oral APs and dementia risk. Efforts to raise awareness of doctors and patients about this potential drug-related risk are critical to reducing APs use. • Exposure to any antipsychotics (APs) conferred increased risks of dementia. • Cumulative dose-response relationships between oral APs and dementia risk existed. • Both typical and atypical APs increased dementia risk with different effect sizes. • The results were robust across a range of sensitivity analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bryophytes, a monophyletic group comprising three major lineages, diversified soon after the terrestrialization of land plants. However, their internal phylogenetic relationships remain controversial. In this study, we reconstructed the ordinal and familial phylogeny of bryophytes using the largest plastid data set to date, including 549 taxa that represent almost all known orders and two‐thirds of families. The strongly supported phylogenetic inference enabled us to propose in mosses seven newly segregated families, that is, Baldwiniellaceae, Calyptrochaetaceae, Ctenidiaceae, Herpetineuraceae, Isodrepaniaceae, Pseudotaxiphyllaceae, and Rozeaceae, and one reduced family, that is, Climaciaceae. We also transferred the liverwort family Calyculariaceae from Fossombroniales to Pelliales. Recent advancements in molecular phylogeny have revolutionized bryophyte classification, tending to be more fragmental. Hence, we further propose a revised familial classification system for bryophytes that includes 45 orders and 142 families in mosses, 23 orders and 85 families in liverworts, and five orders and five families in hornworts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) are commonly used first-line drugs for treating cerebral thrombosis and stroke in China. However, the synchronized and targeted delivery of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) poses a significant challenge for modern TCM formulations. Methods: Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was modified using 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), an analog of acetylcholine, and subsequently adsorbed the major PNS onto the modified albumin to produce MPC-BSA@PNS nanoparticles (NPs). This novel delivery system facilitated efficient and synchronized transport of PNS across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) through active transport mediated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Results: In vitro experiments demonstrated that the transport rates of R1, Rg1, Rb1, and Rd across the BBB were relatively synchronous in MPC-BSA@PNS NPs compared to those in the PNS solution. Additionally, animal experiments revealed that the brain-targeting efficiencies of R1 + Rg1 + Rb1 in MPC-BSA@PNS NPs were 2.02 and 7.73 times higher than those in BSA@PNS NPs and the free PNS group, respectively. Conclusions: This study presents a simple and feasible approach for achieving the targeted delivery of complex active ingredient clusters in TCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Control of spatial electromagnetic (EM) waves has always been an attractive prospect, especially with the emergence of metasurfaces, which introduce additional manipulating methods and degrees of freedom. In this paper, a design is proposed to realize reconfigurable and programmable space channels for non‐reciprocal transmissions of EM waves through the use of active metasurface. The layout of the chessboard pattern is preferred for constructing the metasurface, which is composed of two kinds of meta‐atoms. One type of meta‐atom is independently controlled for the transmission gain, attenuation, and phase shift, while the other type is independently controlled for the transmission attenuation and phase shift only. The use of power amplifiers (PAs) to achieve transmission gain in the meta‐atoms can actualize the performance of non‐reciprocal transmissions. The programmable operations of phase shift and attenuation in meta‐atoms can dynamically establish varied spatial channels. A prototype of the active metasurface is fabricated and measured. In the measurements, multiple types of reconfigurable and programmable non‐reciprocal transmission channels are observed clearly, verifying the validity of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quaternion algebra is a noncommutative associative algebra. Noncommutativity limits the flexibility of computation and makes analysis related to quaternions nontrivial and challenging. Due to its applications in signal analysis and image processing, quaternionic Fourier analysis has received increasing attention in recent years. This paper addresses phase retrievability in quaternion Euclidean spaces H M . We obtain a sufficient condition on phase retrieval frames for quaternionic left Hilbert module ( H M , (· , ·)) of the form { e m T n g } m , n ∈ N M , where { e m } m ∈ N M is an orthonormal basis for ( H M , (· , ·)) and (· , ·) is the Euclidean inner product on H M . It is worth noting that { e m } m ∈ N M is not necessarily 1 M e 2 π i m · M m ∈ N M , and that our method also applies to phase retrievability in C M . For the real Hilbert space ( H M , ⟨ · , · ⟩) induced by ( H M , (· , ·)) , we present a sufficient condition on phase retrieval frames { e m T n g } m ∈ N 4 M , n ∈ N M , where { e m } m ∈ N 4 M is an orthonormal basis for ( H M , ⟨ · , · ⟩) . We also give a method to construct and verify general phase retrieval frames for ( H M , ⟨ · , · ⟩) . Finally, some examples are provided to illustrate the generality of our theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory properties of gastrodin. However, its specific role and mechanism in the context of osteoarthritis (OA) remain unclear. Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore the function and mechanism of gastrodin in both in vivo and in vitro OA models. Materials and Methods: In this study, the targets of gastrodin against osteoarthritis were analyzed using bioinformatics methods. The effect of gastrodin on neutrophil infiltration and inflammatory cytokines in OA synovial tissue was evaluated using H&E staining. The levels of inflammatory cytokines were determined using ELISA and Q-PCR. The extracellular matrix degradation-related proteins and PI3K/AKT/FoxO1 signaling pathway were tested using western blotting. Results: Bioinformatics analysis predicted that the target of gastrodin against OA might act on the FoxO pathway. The use of gastrodin resulted in a significant reduction in the infiltration of neutrophils in the synovial tissue of rats, as observed through H&E staining. Additionally, gastrodin was found to attenuate IL-1β-induced inhibition of chondrocyte viability, pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and extracellular matrix degradation. This effect can be attributed to the suppression of PI3K/AKT/FoxO1 by gastrodin. Conclusion: These findings indicate that gastrodin is a treatment for OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Disruption of intestinal barriers plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of colitis. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a recognition sensor that mediates intestinal immune homeostasis and minimizes intestinal inflammation. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) exerts pharmacological actions in colitis; however, the mechanism has not been elucidated. We investigated whether APS protects through AhR‐dependent autophagy. Experimental Approach: The symptoms of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis in mice involving intestinal barrier function and inflammatory injury were evaluated after APS administration. Intestinal‐specific Becn1 conditional knockout (Becn1 cKO) mice were constructed and compared with wild‐type mice. Autophagy and the effects of APS were investigated after the deactivation of AhRs. The relationship between APS‐induced AhRs and autophagic Becn1 was investigated using a dual‐luciferase reporter system and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. Caco‐2 cells were used to investigate inflammatory responses and AhR‐dependent autophagy. Key Results: APS improved intestinal barrier function in inflammatory injury in colitis mice. APS triggered autophagic flow; however, knockout of Becn1 in the gut increased susceptibility to colitis, leading to diminished epithelial barrier function and severe intestinal inflammation, impairing the protective effects of APS. Mechanistically, APS‐triggered autophagy depends on AhR expression. Activated AhR binds to the promoter Becn1 to operate transcription of genes involved in anti‐inflammation and intestinal barrier repair, while deactivation of AhR correlated with intestinal inflammation and the therapeutic function of APS. Conclusions and Implications: APS protects colitis mice by targeting autophagy, especially as the AhR stimulates the repair of damaged intestinal barrier functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thymoma is a rare thymic tumor but is the most common anterior mediastinal tumor. Currently, there are still limitations regarding to its screening and the pathology remains elusive. In this study, nontargeted metabolomic analysis of serum was performed to study the metabolic characteristics of thymoma using ultra-performance liquid chromatography—high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS) in positive and negative ionization modes. The metabolites that were differentially abundant in thymoma were identified by MS/MS and matching to chemical standards. Forty-one metabolic features differentially abundant in thymoma were identified in the corresponding age groups, including uridine, dipeptides, arachidonic acid (AA)/8,11,14,17-eicosatetraenoic acid, lactic acid and its dimer, acylcarnitines, lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), and ceramide 1-phosphate (Cer1P) (d18:0/3:0). Among these metabolites, lactic acid and 9-decenoylcarnitine also had significant abundance changes between thymoma patients with and without myasthenia gravis (MG). Uridine, lactic acid and Cer1P (d18:0/3:0) may also be associated with the aberrant immune status in thymoma. Orthogonal partial least squares—discriminant analysis (oPLS-DA) showed that classification between thymoma and thymic hyperplasia was possible with 94.7% sensitivity, 100% specificity and 96.8% accuracy for all patient samples. The discriminant feature panel included uridine, AA/8,11,14,17-eicosatetraenoic acid, lactic acid dimer, and N-(1-deoxy-1-fructosyl)tryptophan. The distinct serum metabolic characteristics of thymoma identified in this study may offer insights into improvement of the diagnosis and discovery of new therapeutic strategies for thymoma, in addition to providing information for study of the underlying molecular mechanism of thymoma pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Firmiana danxiaensis is a critically endangered and ecologically important tree currently only found in four locations in Danxia or Karst habitats in northern Guangdong Province, China. The specialized habitat preference makes it an ideal model species for study of adaptive evolution. Meanwhile, the phylogenetic relationships of F. danxiaensis in four locations under two landforms are unclear. Therefore, we sequenced its complete chloroplast (cp.) genomes and conducted comprehensive interspecific and intrageneric plastome studies. Results: The F. danxiaensis plastomes in four locations showed a typical quadripartite and circular structure that ranged from 160,832 to 161,206 bp in size, with 112 unique genes encoded. Comparative genomics showed that the plastomes of F. danxiaensis were relatively conserved with high similarity of genome organization, gene number, GC content and SSRs. While the genomes revealed higher biased codon preferences in Karst habitat than those in Danxia habitats. Eighteen and 11 divergent hotpots were identified at interspecific and intrageneric levels for species identification and further phylogenetic studies. Seven genes (clpP, accD, ccsA, ndhH, rpl20, rpoC2, and rps4) were under positive selection and may be related to adaptation. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that F. danxiaensis is sister to F. major and F. simplex. However, the interspecific relationships are not consistent with the habitat types. Conclusions: The characteristics and interspecific relationship of F. danxiaensis plastomes provide new insights into further integration of geographical factors, environmental factors, and genetic variations on the genomic study of F. danxiaensis. Together, our study will contribute to the study of species identification, population genetics, and conservation biology of F. danxiaensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore whether empathy with nature (i.e., the tendency to understand and share the emotional experience of the natural world) contributes to pro‐environmental attitudes in early childhood. In a correlational investigation (Study 1), 138 (Mage = 57.78 months) preschool children completed a battery of tasks to measure their pro‐environmental attitudes, empathy with nature, and empathy with humans. We found that empathy with nature positively predicts pro‐environmental attitudes, even beyond the predictive power of empathy with humans. In a quasi‐experimental investigation (Study 2), 46 children from two parallel classes in the same preschool were recruited as the intervention (n = 23, Mage = 66.74 months) and control (n = 23, Mage = 67.61 months) groups. An intervention session that aimed to induce empathy with nature was applied to the intervention group, whereas an active control teaching session was applied to the control group. After the intervention, the intervention group demonstrated greater pro‐environmental attitudes than did the control group. Together, our studies provide converging evidence that empathy with nature promotes pro‐environmental attitudes in early childhood, further implying the value of integrating empathy with nature in early childhood environmental education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amino acid/auxin permease (AAAP) genes encode a large family of protein transporters that play important roles in various aspects of plant growth and development. Here, we performed genome-wide identification of members in the foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) AAAP family (SiAAAP) and their saline-alkali stress-induced expression patterns, resulting in the identification of 65 SiAAAP genes, which could be divided into eight subfamilies. Except for SiAAAP65, the remaining 64 genes were located on nine chromosomes of foxtail millet. Gene structure and conserved motif analyses indicated that the members in the same subfamily are highly conserved. Gene duplication event analysis suggested that tandem duplication may be the main factor driving the expansion of this gene family, and Ka/Ks analysis indicated that all the duplicated genes have undergone purifying selection. Transcriptome analysis showed differential expression of SiAAAPs in roots, stems, leaves, and tassel inflorescence. Analysis of cis-acting elements in the promoter indicated that SiAAAPs contain stress-responsive cis-acting elements. Under saline-alkali stress, qRT-PCR analysis showed that SiAAP3, SiLHT2, and SiAAP16 were differentially expressed between salt-alkali tolerant millet variety JK3 and salt-alkali sensitive millet variety B175. These results suggest that these genes may be involved in or regulate the response to saline-alkali stress, providing a theoretical basis for further studying the function of SiAAAPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a nonlocal reaction-diffusion equation modeling the growth of phytoplankton species with changing-sign advection in a vertical water column is investigated, where the species depends solely on light for its metabolism. We mainly study the concentration phenomenon of the phytoplankton with large advection amplitude and small diffusion rate. Firstly, we study the threshold-type dynamics of the population by critical death rate d ⁎. Secondly, we examine the concentration phenomenon with large advection amplitude and small diffusion in two cases: (i) the advection function h (x) changes sign only once from positive to negative in water column [ 0 , 1 ]. We find that the phytoplankton will concentrate at certain critical point with large advection amplitude and small diffusion; (ii) the advection function h (x) < 0 in [ 0 , κ) with ∫ 0 x h (s) a (s) d s < 0 for all x ∈ (0 , 1 ] , the phytoplankton will concentrate at the surface of water column with large advection amplitude and small diffusion. We also investigate the limiting distribution of phytoplankton as diffusion rate D → + ∞ : the phytoplankton tends to even distribution in water column. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dihydroquinazolinone (DHQZ) has recently been harnessed as a ketone‐derived pro‐aromatic reagent extensively employed in (metalla)photoredox reactions as versatile group transfer agents. In this work, we outline a column chromatography‐free protocol for the multigram‐scale synthesis of pro‐aromatic DHQZs as well as its use in a gram‐scale nickel/photoredox dual‐catalyzed cross‐coupling in single‐batch, photoflow, and simultaneous multiple smaller batches. While the single‐batch approach leveraged moderate yields, a simple plug‐flow photoreactor also exhibited amenable productivity (up to 45 % yield) despite the use of a heterogeneous base. Meanwhile, performing the metallaphotoredox‐catalyzed reaction in multiple smaller batches in an improvised photoreactor facilitated high yields of up to 59 % and good reproducibility, implying a convenient alternative in the absence of photoflow setups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bladder cancer is a common urinary tract malignancy. Minimally invasive radical cystectomy has shown oncological outcomes comparable to the conventional open surgery and with advantages over the open procedure. However, outcomes of the two main minimally invasive procedures, robot-assisted and pure laparoscopic, have yet to be compared. This study aimed to compare in-hospital outcomes between these two techniques performed for patients with bladder cancer. Methods: This population-based, retrospective study included hospitalized patients aged ≥ 50 years with a primary diagnosis of bladder cancer who underwent robot-assisted or pure laparoscopic radical cystectomy. All patient data were extracted from the US National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database 2008–2018 and were analyzed retrospectively. Primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality, prolonged length of stay (LOS), and postoperative complications. Results: The data of 3284 inpatients (representing 16,288 US inpatients) were analyzed. After adjusting for confounders, multivariable analysis revealed that patients who underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy had a significantly lower risk of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR [aOR], 0.50, 95% CI: 0.28–0.90) and prolonged LOS (aOR, 0.63, 95% CI: 0.49–0.80) than those undergoing pure laparoscopic cystectomy. Patients who underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy had a lower risk of postoperative complications (aOR, 0.69, 95% CI: 0.54–0.88), including bleeding (aOR, 0.73, 95% CI: 0.54–0.99), pneumonia (aOR, 0.49, 95% CI: 0.28–0.86), infection (aOR, 0.55, 95% CI: 0.36–0.85), wound complications (aOR, 0.33, 95% CI: 0.20–0.54), and sepsis (aOR, 0.49, 95% CI: 0.34–0.69) compared to those receiving pure laparoscopic radical cystectomy. Conclusions: Patients with bladder cancer, robot-assisted radical cystectomy is associated with a reduced risk of unfavorable short-term outcomes, including in-hospital mortality, prolonged LOS, and postoperative complications compared to pure laparoscopic radical cystectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is increasing in prevalence and causes a global health burden. AKI is associated with significant mortality and can subsequently develop into chronic kidney disease (CKD). The kidney is one of the most energy-demanding organs in the human body and has a role in active solute transport, maintenance of electrochemical gradients, and regulation of fluid balance. Renal proximal tubular cells (PTCs) are the primary segment to reabsorb and secrete various solutes and take part in AKI initiation. Mitochondria, which are enriched in PTCs, are the main source of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in cells as generated through oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondrial dysfunction may result in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, impaired biogenesis, oxidative stress multiplication, and ultimately leading to cell death. Even though mitochondrial damage and malfunction have been observed in both human kidney disease and animal models of AKI and CKD, the mechanism of mitochondrial signaling in PTC for AKI-to-CKD transition remains unknown. We review the recent findings of the development of AKI-to-CKD transition with a focus on mitochondrial disorders in PTCs. We propose that mitochondrial signaling is a key mechanism of the progression of AKI to CKD and potential targeting for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) commonly reactivates after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT), potentially leading to CMV disease and significant morbidity and mortality. To reduce morbidity and mortality, many centers conduct weekly CMV blood polymerase chain reaction (PCR) surveillance testing with subsequent initiation of antiviral therapy upon CMV DNAemia detection. However, the impact of CMV DNAemia on subsequent hospitalization risk has not been assessed using models accounting for the time‐varying nature of the exposure, outcome, and confounders. Methods: All allogeneic HCTs at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia from January 2004–April 2017 were considered for inclusion. Patients were monitored with CMV surveillance via PCR testing for up to 105 days after HCT receipt. We estimated the association between CMV DNAemia and rate of hospitalization using marginal structural models (MSM). Results: There were 343 allogeneic HCT episodes in 330 with CMV surveillance; median age was 9.0 (range: 0.1–26.2) and 46.5% were female. And 24.1% of HCT patients had at least one positive CMV blood PCR during the follow‐up period. Median time to CMV DNAemia detection was 19 days (range: 4–97). The MSM estimated the incidence rate ratios for an association of CMV DNAemia with hospitalization to be 1.24, (95% confidence interval: 1.04–1.47). Conclusions: CMV DNAemia was associated with an increased hospitalization in the post‐HCT period. The MSM accounted for time‐varying nature of the outcome, exposure and confounders. The findings support prevention of CMV DNAemia in this population. We recommend further investigation into the effectiveness and safety of prophylaxis versus pre‐emptive CMV prevention approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a bio-based polymer with biodegradability and biocompatibility has attracted much attention. To manipulate its properties for different applications, regulation of crystal structure and crystalline morphology becomes an attractive research topic. In this work, the structure evolution of layered samples containing an amorphous poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) layer and a crystalline poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) layer with highly oriented edge-on α lamellar crystals after annealing at 150 °C or/and after melt-recrystallization has been studied by AFM, FTIR, and TEM combined with electron diffraction. The results demonstrate that melt recrystallization of the as-prepared sample leads to the formation of abundant randomly oriented PLA stereo-complex (PLA SC) crystals. Annealing at 150 °C results in the formation of a small amount of oriented PLA SC crystals at the interface. These PLA SC crystals show great impact on the recrystallization behavior of sample after melting at 190 °C and then crystallizing at 90 °C. First, they impede the mutual diffusion of the overlying PDLA and underlying PLLA, and thus reduce their stereocomplexation ability as manifested by the decreased amount of PLA SC crystals. Second, they act as substrate to initiate the epitaxial crystallization of the overlying PDLA and underlying PLLA, which ensures the production of a highly oriented structure of PDLA and PLLA after melt recrystallization again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses quaternionic dual Gabor frames under the condition that the products of time‐frequency shift parameters are rational numbers. For a general overcomplete quaternionic Gabor frame with the product of time‐frequency shift parameters not equal to 12$$ \frac{1}{2} $$, we show that its corresponding frame and translation operators do not commute, which leads to its canonical dual frame not having the Gabor structure, but it may have other dual frames with Gabor structure. We characterize when two quaternionic Gabor Bessel sequences form a pair of dual frames, and present a class of quaternionic dual Gabor frames. We also characterize quaternionic Gabor Riesz bases and prove that their canonical dual frames have Gabor structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal oxygen supplementation is usually used as an intrauterine resuscitation technique to prevent fetal hypoxia and acidemia during delivery. However, there has been a great deal of controversy regarding the effects of prophylactic maternal oxygen during cesarean section, during which the incidence of fetal acidemia seems to be higher compared with that during labor. High-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) can improve oxygenation better in patients with high-flow oxygen airflow. The purpose of this study is to determine whether maternal oxygen supplementation with HFNO has a positive effect on fetal acidemia during cesarean section through umbilical arterial blood gas analysis. Method: This prospective, single-center, randomized, double-blinded trial will enroll 120 patients undergoing cesarean section. Participants will be randomly assigned to the HFNO group or air group at a 1:1 ratio. For parturients in the HFNO group, the flow rate is 40L/min, and the oxygen is heated to 37℃ with humidity 100% oxygen concentration through the Optiflow high-flow nasal oxygen system. And for the air group, the flow rate is 2 L/min with an air pattern through the same device. The primary outcome was umbilical artery (UA) lactate. Secondary outcomes include UA pH, PO2, PCO2, BE, the incidence of pH < 7.20 and pH < 7.10, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min, and neonatal adverse outcomes. Discussion: Our study is the first trial investigating whether maternal oxygen supplementation with HFNO can reduce the umbilical artery lactate levels and the incidence of fetal acidemia in cesarean section under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05921955. Registered on 27 June 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conjugation on a Hilbert space $ \mathcal {H} $ H means an antilinear bounded operator that the squares to the identity, which generalizes the traditional conjugation on complex Euclidean spaces. In this paper, with the help of normalized conjugation we introduce the notion of conjugate phase retrieval on general Hilbert spaces. We characterize frames that do conjugate phase retrieval; prove that every conjugate phase retrieval frame for $ \mathcal {H} $ H consisting of all real vectors has the complement property in $ \mathcal {H} $ H, and the converse is true if $ dim({\mathcal {H}})\leq ~2 $ dim(H)≤2; and also prove that a small perturbation of conjugate phase retrieval frame still gives a conjugate phase retrieval frame if $ dim({\mathcal {H}}) \lt \infty $ dim(H)<∞, but it is false if $ dim({\mathcal H})=\infty $ dim(H)=∞. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the context of increasing population aging, ongoing drug-resistant pathogens and the COVID-19 epidemic, the changes in the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with pneumonia remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the trends in hospitalization, case fatality, comorbidities, and isolated pathogens of pneumonia-related adult inpatients in Guangzhou during the last decade. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled hospitalized adults who had doctor-diagnosed pneumonia in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2022. A natural language processing system was applied to automatically extract the clinical data from electronic health records. We evaluated the proportion of pneumonia-related hospitalizations in total hospitalizations, pneumonia-related in-hospital case fatality, comorbidities, and species of isolated pathogens during the last decade. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess predictors for patients with prolonged length of stay (LOS). Results: A total of 38,870 cases were finally included in this study, with 70% males, median age of 64 (53, 73) years and median LOS of 7.9 (5.1, 12.8) days. Although the number of pneumonia-related hospitalizations showed an upward trend, the proportion of pneumonia-related hospitalizations decreased from 199.6 per 1000 inpatients in 2013 to 123.4 per 1000 in 2021, and the case fatality decreased from 50.2 per 1000 in 2013 to 23.9 per 1000 in 2022 (all P < 0.05). The most common comorbidities were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung malignancy, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The most common pathogens were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus. Glucocorticoid use during hospitalization (Odd Ratio [OR] = 1.86, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.14–3.06), immunosuppressant use during hospitalization (OR = 1.99, 1.14–3.46), ICU admission (OR = 16.23, 95%CI: 11.25–23.83), receiving mechanical ventilation (OR = 3.58, 95%CI: 2.60–4.97), presence of other underlying diseases (OR = 1.54, 95%CI: 1.15–2.06), and elevated procalcitonin (OR = 1.61, 95%CI: 1.19–2.19) were identified as independent predictors for prolonged LOS. Conclusion: The proportion of pneumonia-related hospitalizations and the in-hospital case fatality showed downward trends during the last decade. Pneumonia inpatients were often complicated by chronic underlying diseases and isolated with gram-negative bacteria. ICU admission was a significant predictor for prolonged LOS in pneumonia inpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a space‐fed beamforming approach capable of steering beams up to ±70° with a focal ratio (F/D) reduced to 0.27 and a scan loss remained 4 dB. It is implemented based on an mmWave phase reconfigurable metasurface, and an unconventional array‐fed architecture. By doing so, while the total profile of conventional space‐fed phased arrays can be significantly reduced, specifications such as scan range and scan loss can be simultaneously improved. Compared with conventional phased array systems, such specifications are unique, and can be used to realize low‐profile, cost‐effective, space‐fed phased arrays requiring ultrawide coverages at mmWave frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulsar system PSR J1023+0038 is a very interesting binary with radio millisecond pulsar and low-mass X-ray binary transitions, which depend on the stellar accretion process. We have used Kepler light curves with 1 minute cadence and TESS light curves with 2 minute cadence to study the flare properties of PSR J1023+0038. We detected 516 flare events in the K2 data and 84 flare events in the TESS survey data. We determined the flare rise and delay times, the flare durations and amplitudes, and flare energies. We obtained a value of the power-law index of 0.359 ± 0.023 between the flare energies and decay times, which is similar to the theoretically predicted value of 1/3. This in turn indicates that PSR J1023+0038 might be exhibiting physical mechanisms described by magnetic reconnection theory. Using the maximum likelihood estimation method, we also calculated the power-law index of the cumulative flare frequency distribution, finding 1.87 ± 0.27 for the Kepler data and 1.74 ± 0.29 for the TESS data. Meanwhile, we reduced six FAST observations of PSR J1023+0038 from 2019–2021 using a standard pulsar search procedure. We report that we detected a prompt signal with a period compatible with that found in previous observations of PSR J1023+0038. However, there are several reasons (statistical, excess DM, pulse shape, etc.) as to why the association is not likely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Transcriptomic and targeted metabolomic analyses provide insights into the flavonoids biosynthesis in the flowers of Lonicera macranthoides" published in BMC Biotechnology. The correction addresses an error in the sample names of Figure 6. The correct figure has been provided, and the original article has been corrected. The authors of the article are Ling Ling Lv, Li Yun Li, Long Qian Xiao, and Jian Hui Pi. [Extracted from the article]

Advances in soft robotics strongly rely on the development and manufacturing of new responsive soft materials. In particular, light‐based 3D printing techniques, and especially, digital light processing (DLP), offer a versatile platform for the fast manufacturing of complex 3D/4D structures with a high spatial resolution. In this work, DLP all‐printed bilayered structures exhibiting reversible and multi‐responsive behavior are presented for the first time. For this purpose, liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are used as active layers and combined with a printable non‐responsive elastomer acting as a passive layer. Furthermore, selective light response is incorporated by embedding various organic dyes absorbing light at different regimes in the active layers. An in‐depth characterization of the single materials and printed bilayers demonstrates a reversible and selective response. Last, the versatility of the approach is shown by DLP printing a bilayered complex 3D structure consisting of four different materials (a passive and three different LCE active materials), which exhibit different actuation patterns when irradiated with different wavelengths of light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial dysfunction leading to overproduction of oxygen free radicals is an important event in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Tetrahydroxy stilbene glycoside (TSG) is one of the main effective components of Polygonum multiflorum and has a certain free radical scavenging effect. We synthesized tetrahydroxy stilbene glycoside derivatives (Mito-TSGs) that can cross the mitochondrial membrane and may provide effective protection against Alzheimer's disease. This experiment investigates the protective mechanism of tetrahydroxy stilbene glycoside derivatives against mitochondrial free radical damage and apoptosis in APP695V717I transgenic model mice. The experimental subjects were healthy 3-month-old APP695V717I transgenic model mice, while C57BL/6J mice of the same age and genetic background served as controls. The results demonstrated that the tetrahydroxy stilbene glycoside derivatives significantly improved mouse behavioral performance. It also led to a decrease in the levels of H2O2, NO, MDA, and LD, along with an increase in LDH activity and in the antioxidant enzyme activity of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px. Moreover, it elevated the mitochondrial membrane potential, decreased the gene and protein expression of Caspase-3 and Bax, and increased the gene and protein expression of Bcl-2. Notably, the effectiveness of tetrahydroxy stilbene glycoside derivatives was superior to that of traditional tetrahydroxy stilbene glycoside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endogenous phytohormones play a vital role in the growth and secondary metabolism performance of microalgae and their secretion is significantly affected by external environmental conditions. In this study, the combined influences of three carbon sources (glucose, sodium pyruvate, and sodium acetate) and three pH levels (6, 8 and 10) on growth, astaxanthin accumulation, and contents of four endogenous phytohormones (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA; zeatin riboside, ZR; gibberellic acid 3, GA3; abscisic acid, ABA) of Haematococcus pluvialis were investigated. The results showed that carbon source and pH level had significant isolated and interactive effects on growth, astaxanthin accumulation, and endogenous phytohormone secretion. The cell density, specific growth rate and cell dry weight reached the highest levels in the glucose treatment at pH 8. The maximum astaxanthin concentration and productivity occurred in the glucose treatment with pH 10. The contents of IAA, ZR and GA3 significantly increased at the green stage (vegetative cell stage), indicating their potential involvement in cell proliferation. ABA contents, in contrast, significantly increased at the red stage (red cyst cell stage), probably contributing to astaxanthin accumulation. This experiment provided valuable insights for optimizing the mixotrophic cultivation conditions of H. pluvialis and successfully developing biological regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]