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This study synthesized hawthorn polyphenol microparticles (HPM) based on the polyelectrolyte self-assembly technology. Plackett-burman combined with Box-Behnken design was used to study the factors affecting the preparation of HPM in response to the encapsulation efficiency and drug loading of hawthorn polyphenols. The Plackett-Burman design was used to screen for factors that significantly affect the outcomes, such as preparation time, sulfuric acid concentration, and the ratio of encapsulating materials, which were optimized through Box-Behnken response surface methodology. The morphology of HPM was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and their gastrointestinal release kinetics were assessed using simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. The results indicated that the preparation time, sulfuric acid concentration, and the ratio of encapsulating materials significantly effect the fabrication of HPM. An encapsulation efficiency of 96.27%±1.37% was achieved with a preparation time of 3 h, a sulfuric acid concentration of 0.0254%, and a 4:1 ratio of chitosan to sodium alginate. Morphological analysis of HPM revealed irregularly shaped, well-dispersed spherical particles. The release rate of HPM in simulated intestinal fluid was higher than in gastric fluid, with the release kinetics corresponding to zero-order in gastric fluid and first-order in intestinal fluid. In summary, this study successfully produced HPM with a high encapsulation efficiency, substantial drug loading, and good dispersion. The HPM formulated could reduce the degradation of hawthorn polyphenols in the gastrointestinal tract, offering a novel approach for incorporating hawthorn polyphenols into food products.

ObjectiveTo comprehensively and objectively describe the development history, research hotspots, and trends of digital public health, providing a reference for future digital public health research. MethodsBy searching the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WOS) core databases for digital public health-related research literature from January 1990 to June 2023, 6 437 articles from CNKI and 5 344 articles from WOS were included. Using the bibliometric analysis software CiteSpace, visual analysis, keyword co-occurrence, cluster analysis, timeline analysis, and burst analysis were conducted on all retrieved literature. ResultsSince 2013, the discipline of public health has entered a rapid development stage. Domestic and international research jointly focuses on infectious and chronic disease monitoring and prediction, as well as the extensive application of emerging technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence in the field of public health. The Chinese keyword co-occurrence knowledge map contains 728 nodes and 2 286 connections, with 56 clusters formed among Chinese keywords. Domestic research focuses on healthcare system construction, with research hotspots including informatization and electronic medical record management. The English keyword co-occurrence knowledge map contains 980 nodes and 3 824 connections, with 67 clusters formed among English keywords. International research emphasizes disease intervention methods, with research hotspots including social media and digital mental health. ConclusionThe discipline of digital public health is currently in a period of rapid development, with research contents and trends closely related to the development and innovation of digital technology and major public health events. In the future, personalized digital health services will become a research hotspot, and the discipline of digital public health has broad prospects.

Pulse injection to simulate partial discharge (PD) is the main method for functional verification of gas insulated switchgear (GIS) ultra high frequency (UHF) PD monitoring device. Due to the different coupling modes of pulse injection in field verification, the equivalence law between simulated PD and actual PD is not clear, and the effectiveness of functional verification of monitoring device cannot be guaranteed. In this paper, a typical PD defect (tip, suspension, insulator bubble) and internal/external pulse injection UHF PD detection platform for 126 kV GIS are established, and the effective pulses of UHF signals are normalized and extracted. Then a signal processing method of weighted intrinsic mode functions (IMF) based on empirical mode decomposition is proposed. The signal equivalence is characterized by calculating the average and maximum values of the Euclidean distance of the signal, and finally compared with the conventional signal deviation method. The research shows that compared with the conventional signal equivalence analysis method, the weighted IMF method can effectively solve the problem of large local difference of UHF signal waveform. The internal sensor pulse injection analog PD and suspended PD have the highest equivalence. The average value Me and the maximum value Ma of Euclidean distance are 3.82% and 10.28%, respectively. Therefore, the function verification of UHF monitoring device can use constant parameter pulse injection instead of suspension defect, and the internal UHF sensor injection can be preferred for analog PD. The research in this paper can provide reference for the pulse injection method for the function verification of UHF PD monitoring device.

IntroductionAs one of the most common complications of diabetes, diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the main cause of heart failure in patients with diabetes. However, the lack of effective treatments for DCM remains a clinical challenge. (Pro) renin receptor (PRR) is a member of renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS). Here, we aim to determine whether PRR is involved in myocardial pyroptosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy.MethodsWe established diabetic rats model by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). PRR overexpression adenovirus or PRR knockdown adenovirus was injected into the tail vein. Western blot, histopathology and immunohistochemistry staining, ELISA and Echocardiography were used to detect cardiac function changes and myocardial injury levels of DCM rats. Primary cardiomyocytes were stimulated with high glucose and PRR overexpression or PRR knockdown was achieved by adenovirus transfection, we also used the inhibitor of AMPK to decrease the activity of AMPK. Western blot, Real-time PCR, Immunofluorescence and ELISA were used to detect the level of PRR and pyroptosis in cardiomyocyte.ResultsWe found that high glucose increased the expression of PRR in heart. After overexpression of PRR, the expression of the pyroptosis related proteins such as Caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18, and NLRP3 was significantly increased, the phosphorylation level of AMPK was significantly decreased, and the fibrosis level was significantly increased, thus aggravating the cardiac function injury of DCM. On the contrary, PRR knockdown can alleviate the level of myocardial pyroptosis in DCM and improve cardiac function. The related mechanism was that PRR could inhibit AMPK phosphorylation and promote the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome.DiscussionPRR aggravated pyroptosis of cardiomyocyte, increased the dysfunction of cardiomyocyte, and may be related to the decrease of AMPK phosphorylation and the overactivation of NLRP3. This may provide new ideas and targets for the treatment of DCM.

ABSTRACT Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an enteropathogenic coronavirus that causes substantial economic loss to the global pig industry. The emergence of PEDV variants has increased the need for new vaccines, as commercial vaccines confer inferior protection against currently circulating strains. It is well established that the induction of mucosal immunity is crucial for PEDV vaccines to provide better protection against PEDV infection. In this study, we constructed a recombinant adenovirus expressing the core neutralization epitope (COE) of G2b PEDV based on human adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5). We evaluated the effects of different administration routes and doses of vaccine immunogenicity in Balb/c mice. Both intramuscular (IM) and intranasal (IN) administration elicited significant humoral responses, including COE-specific IgG in serum and mucosal secretions, along with serum-neutralizing antibodies. Moreover, IN delivery was more potent than IM in stimulating IgA in serum and mucosal samples and in dampening the immune response to the Ad5 vector. The immune response was stronger after high versus low dose IM injection, whereas no significant difference was observed between high and low IN doses. In summary, our findings provide important insights for developing novel PEDV vaccines.IMPORTANCEPorcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a highly contagious disease that has severe economic implications for the pork industry. Developing an effective vaccine against PEDV remains a necessity. Here, we generated a recombinant adenovirus vaccine based on Ad5 to express the COE protein of PEDV (rAd5-PEDV-COE) and systematically evaluated the immunogenicity of the adenovirus-vectored vaccine using different administration routes (intramuscular and intranasal) and doses in a mouse model. Our results show that rAd5-PEDV-COE induced potent systemic humoral response regardless of the dose or immunization route. Notably, intranasal delivery was superior to induce peripheral and mucosal IgA antibodies compared with intramuscular injection. Our data provide valuable insights into designing novel PEDV vaccines.

Objective Widely distributed active faults are natural carriers that produce surface-rupture events; multidisciplinary observations have revealed that geometric changes in active faults significantly influence surface-rupture development. However, previous studies on the interaction between the geometric characteristics of active faults and the underlying rock geology have been relatively limited and only confined to observing high-temperature and high-pressure experiments. Methods With the development of high-resolution geographic technology and quantitative research methods for active faults, it is now possible to finely characterize the geometric structure of large-scale faults and recognize multiparameter displaced landform characteristics. In this study, we utilized high-resolution topographic data (0.5 m) from the Fodongmiao-Hongyazi Frontal thrust (FFT) on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, spanning approximately 120 km in length to identify and compare the parameters and characteristics of the faulted landform with the underlying bedrock geology. Result The research results indicate that the geometric characteristics of the fault are segmented and synchronized with the geological background of the bedrock. The shallow geometric structures of the eastern and western sections of the FFT are relatively simple and continuous, and the changes in parameters such as the strike, roughness, and deformation zone width of the fault are relatively small. The fault's geometric structure was rougher in the middle section of the fault, where Silurian granite is located, and the shallow deformation zone was broader than that in the eastern and western segments. The step-width distribution also varied more drastically along the fault. Conclusion This study revealed a significant correspondence between faulted landform parameter changes, the boundary of fault segments, and zones of vertical separation attenuation. Additionally, this study suggests that bedrock geology may exert substantial control over the shallow structural deformation of thrust faults. Significance The potential impact of the underlying geology should be considered for thrust faults and when analyzing seismic hazards related to active faults.

Gas gap switch has good application prospects in power systems, due to its quick response and simple structure. However, there is still little research on insulation recovery characteristic. Therefore, the double pulse method is used to study the influence of switch gap distance, trigger medium pressure and trigger medium type on the insulation recovery characteristics of gas switch. The experimental results show that the insulation recovery characteristics of induced trigger gas gap switch experience three stages: transition period, fast recovery period and saturation period. The duration of the saturation period is much longer than the sum of the previous two stages, and there was no 'platform phenomenon' in the rapid recovery period. With the decrease of gap distance, the insulation recovery rate of gas switch increases gradually, and the basic recovery time of gap insulation (insulation recovery coefficient RU > 90%) can be reduced by 50%. The influence of trigger medium pressure on the insulation recovery of gas switch is significant, and the influence characteristics on the insulation recovery process are different. Increasing the trigger medium pressure will slow down the insulation recovery process of gas switch. In 0.1~0.3 MPa compressed dry air, the basic recovery time of gas gap switch insulation corresponds to 11~40 ms. The strong electronegative gas SF6 has a significant effect on the insulation recovery rate of gas switches, and its insulation recovery rate is close to 4 times that in air. The research results provide theoretical guidance for the rapid insulation recovery of gas gap switch.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2), a binding protein of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, regulates the activity of IGFs and also influences cellular function with endogenous activity. In mammals, IGFBP-2 is reported to affect ovarian follicle development and steroidogenesis; however, its role in the chicken ovary is unknown. In this study, we investigated the mRNA expression and function of a novel IGFBP-2 transcript and the effect of reproductive hormones and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) on its expression in the ovarian granulosa cells of chicken follicles. The mRNA expression of IGFBP-2 was significantly increased in granulosa cells after follicle selection and was higher in hierarchical granulosa cells (Post-GCs) than in pre-hierarchical granulosa cells (Pre-GCs). IGFBP-2 promoted the proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of both Pre-GCs and Post-GCs, enhanced the mRNA expression of genes involved in progesterone (P4) synthesis in Pre-GCs. However, in Post-GCs, IGFBP-2 inhibited the mRNA expression of these genes and suppressed P4 secretion. The mRNA expression of IGFBP-2 was inhibited by estradiol (E2) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), but enhanced by P4 in Pre-GCs. In Post-GCs, FSH and IGF1 stimulated the mRNA expression of IGFBP-2 synergistically. Knockdown of IGFBP-2 attenuated the stimulatory effect of IGF1 on the mRNA expression of the side chain cleavage enzyme cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member 1 (CYP11A1). These findings indicate that IGFBP-2 is regulated by FSH and IGF1, exerts different functions in Pre-GCs and Post-GCs in regulating IGF1 and plays an important role in chicken follicle development by affecting granulosa cell proliferation and P4 synthesis.

Objective: Obesity increases deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components of cardiac tissue. Since obesity aggregates with insulin resistance and heart disease, it is imperative to determine whether the increased ECM deposition contributes to this disease cluster. The hypotheses tested in this study were that in cardiac tissue of obese mice i) increased deposition of ECM components (collagens and hyaluronan) contributes to cardiac insulin resistance and that a reduction in these components improves cardiac insulin action and ii) reducing excess collagens and hyaluronan mitigates obesity-associated cardiac dysfunction. Methods: Genetic and pharmacological approaches that manipulated collagen and hyaluronan contents were employed in obese C57BL/6 mice fed a high fat (HF) diet. Cardiac insulin sensitivity was measured by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and cardiac function was measured by pressure-volume loop analysis in vivo. Results: We demonstrated a tight association between increased ECM deposition with cardiac insulin resistance. Increased collagen deposition by genetic deletion of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) exacerbated cardiac insulin resistance and pirfenidone, a clinically available anti-fibrotic medication which inhibits collagen expression, improved cardiac insulin resistance in obese mice. Furthermore, decreased hyaluronan deposition by treatment with PEGylated human recombinant hyaluronidase PH20 (PEGPH20) improved cardiac insulin resistance in obese mice. These relationships corresponded to functional changes in the heart. Both PEGPH20 and pirfenidone treatment in obese mice ameliorated HF diet-induced abnormal myocardial remodelling. Conclusion: Our results provide important new insights into the role of ECM deposition in the pathogenesis of cardiac insulin resistance and associated dysfunction in obesity of distinct mouse models. These findings support the novel therapeutic potential of targeting early cardiac ECM abnormalities in the prevention and treatment of obesity-related cardiovascular complications.

ABSTRACT: Follicle selection in chicken refers to the process of selecting a follicle to enter hierarchy from a cohort of small yellow follicles (SY) with a diameter of 6 to 8 mm. The follicle being selected will develop rapidly and ovulate. Follicle selection is a key stage affecting chicken egg-laying performance. Our previous study showed that the phosphorylation level of lysine (K)-specific demethylase 1A (LSD1) at serine 54 (LSD1Ser54p) was significantly increased in F6 follicles compared to prehierarchal SY follicles, but its function was unclear. Here, the mechanism of this modification, the effect of LSD1Ser54p dephosphorylation on gene expression profile of chicken hierarchal granulosa cells and the function of fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) that is regulated by LSD1Ser54p were further investigated. The modification of LSD1Ser54p was predicted to be mediated by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3). Treatment of chicken hierarchal granulosa cells with CDK5 inhibitor significantly decreased LSD1Ser54p level (P < 0.05) and LSD1Ser54p interacted with CDK5, suggesting that, in the granulosa cells of chicken hierarchal follicles, LSD1Ser54p modification was carried out by CDK5. When the LSD1Ser54p level decreased in the granulosa cells of chicken hierarchal follicles, both the mRNA expression of FGF9 and α-actinin 2 (ACTN2) and the H3K4me2 level in their promoter regions significantly increased (P < 0.05), indicating that this phosphorylation modification enhanced the demethylation activity of LSD1. Moreover, in chicken hierarchal granulosa cells, overexpression of chicken FGF9 stimulated their proliferation and increased the mRNA expression of hydroxy-delta-5-steroid dehydrogenase, 3 beta- and steroid delta-isomerase 1 (Hsd3b) and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR). This study collectively revealed that phosphorylation of LSD1 at serine 54 by CDK5 enhanced its demethylation activity in chicken ovarian granulosa cells and regulated genes including FGF9 that is engaged in chicken follicle selection.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to characterize a novel circulating recombinant form of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) among people living with HIV in Karachi, Pakistan. We conducted near-full-length genome (NFLG) sequencing on eight samples exhibiting D/G recombination signals in the pol gene region. We successfully obtained NFLG sequences (790–9,614; with reference to the HXB2 genome) from four of the eight samples and then conducted phylogenetic and recombination analyses on them. The four NFLG sequences from our study and one DG unique recombinant form previously identified in the United Kingdom (GenBank accession: MF109700) formed a distinct monophyletic cluster with an Shimodaira-Hasegawa approximate likelihood ratio test node support value of 100%. Bootscan analyses of the five NFLG sequences of DG recombinants showed that all five NFLGs shared the same unique mosaic pattern of recombination breakpoints between D and G clades, with two D fragments in the pol and vif regions inserted into a G backbone. Subregion phylogenetic analyses confirmed these sequences to be a novel circulating recombinant form (CRF) composed of subtypes D and G. The DG recombinant sequences were eventually designated as CRF152_DG by the Los Alamos HIV Sequence Database staff.IMPORTANCEIn Pakistan, the genetic diversity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is becoming increasingly complex, compared to the early years of the epidemic that started after the detection of the first cases of HIV-1 in 1987 in Karachi. Based on the available molecular studies, two dominant HIV-1 clades, sub-subtype A1 and CRF02_AG, have been found to co-circulate with other clades, namely B, C, D, G, CRF01_AE, CRF35_A1D, and CRF56_cpx, in various urban areas of Pakistan. Several novel recombinant forms have also been detected. This first report of CRF152_DG highlights the complex nature of the HIV epidemic in Pakistan and emphasizes the importance of continual molecular surveillance (ideally based on whole-genome sequences) of HIV.

As a protein structurally similar to insulin, relaxin3 (RLN3) plays a role in promoting arousal, suppressing depressive or anxious behaviors. Two studies revealed the increase of RLN3 expression during chicken follicle selection. In this study, by real-time quantitative PCR and luciferase assay, mRNA expression and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of chicken RLN3 were investigated. The mRNA expression of chicken RLN3 was higher in the granulosa cell of hierarchal follicles (Post-GCs) than that of pre-hierarchal follicles (Pre-GCs). In Pre-GCs, the mRNA expression of chicken RLN3 was stimulated by FSH and progesterone; in Post-GCs, it was stimulated by higher concentration of estrogen and FSH, however, was inhibited by progesterone. Four SNPs including g.-655G > C, g-592G > A, g.-372T > A and g.-282G > C were identified in the critical promoter region from −1291 bp to −207 bp of chicken RLN3, among which g.-655G > C, and g-592G > A were associated with age at first laying and clutch size, respectively, in Zaozhuang Sunzhi chickens. At g.-655G > C and g-592G > A, allele C and allele A had higher transcriptional activity, respectively. These data suggest that RLN3 plays an important role in chicken follicle development and SNPs in its promoter region are potential DNA markers for improving egg production traits.

Abstract Purpose Interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) captured in electroencephalography (EEG) have a high diagnostic value for epileptic patients. Extending the recording time may increase the possibility of obtaining IEDs. The purpose of our research was to determine how long it took for various epileptic individuals to receive their first IEDs. Methods We retrospectively analyzed patients who were diagnosed with epilepsy and had no anti-seizure medications (ASMs) between September 2018 and March 2019 in the neurology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University. Each individual underwent a 24-h long-term video electroencephalographic monitoring (VEM) procedure. Clinical information including age, gender, age of seizure onset, frequency of seizures, the interval between last seizure and VEM, and results of neuroimaging were gathered. We also calculated the times from the start of the VEM to the first definite IEDs. Results A total of 241 patients were examined, including 191 with focal-onset epilepsy and 50 with generalized epilepsy. In individuals with focal-onset epilepsy, the median latency to the first IED was 63.0 min (IQR 19.0–299.0 min), as compared to 30.0 min (IQR 12.5–62.0 min) in patients with generalized epilepsy (p

AIM: To analyze the current status, hotspots and trends of studies on the treatments of diabetic retinopathy.METHODS: Relevant literatures on diabetic retinopathy in Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI)and Web of Science core collection database were retrieved from creation to June 15, 2023, and CiteSpace 6.2.R2 and VOSviewer were used to conduct visualized analysis with the country/issuing institution, research author and keywords.RESULTS: A total of 5 919 Chinese literatures and 11 475 English literatures were included. The top three countries with global publications are the United States, China and the United Kingdom, respectively. The top three institutions for issuing articles at abroad are Harvard Medical School, Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University, while the top three institutions for issuing articles in China are the Eye Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, and Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University. The research results of high-frequency keywords in both Chinese and English show that the laser photocoagulation, vitrectomy, traditional Chinese medicine therapy, vascular endothelial growth factor and ranibizumab are research hotspots.CONCLUSIONS: In recent years, the research hotspots of diabetic retinopathy mainly focus on surgery, vascular protective agents, traditional Chinese medicine therapy, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, etc., and the research trend mainly focuses on anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs.

Cyclic federated learning based on distribution information sharing and knowledge distillation (CFL_DS_KD) aims to address the challenges of non-iid data distribution and reduce communication requirements. However, when client data is extremely heterogeneous and scarce, it becomes challenging for clients to fully learn the distribution of local data using GANs, thereby affecting the overall model performance. To overcome this limitation, we propose a transfer learning approach where clients first pretrain their generators on a source domain and then fine-tune them on their local datasets. Our results on the classification of Alzheimer’s disease demonstrate that this method effectively improves client distribution learning performance and enhances the overall model performance.

Abstract Federated learning (FL) represents a promising distributed machine learning paradigm for resolving data isolation due to data privacy concerns. Nevertheless, most vanilla FL algorithms, which depend on a server, encounter the problem of reliability and a high communication burden in real cases. Decentralized federated learning (DFL) that does not follow the star topology faces the challenges of weight divergence and inferior communication efficiency. In this paper, a novel DFL framework called federated incremental subgradient-proximal (FedISP) is proposed that utilizes the incremental method to perform model updates to alleviate weight divergence. In our setup, multiple clients are distributed in a ring topology and communicate in a cyclic manner, which significantly mitigates the communication load. A convergence guarantee is given under the convex condition to demonstrate the impact of the learning rate on our algorithms, which further improves the performance of FedISP. Extensive experiments on benchmark datasets validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in both independent and identically distributed (IID) and non-IID settings while illustrating the advantages of the FedISP algorithm in achieving model consensus and saving communication costs.

Lignin utilization is a potential approach for replacing fossil energy and releasing the environment pressure. Herein, we synthesized a series of novel Cu-based catalysts, Cu@NS-SiO2 (NS = nano sphere) and alkali metals (Na, K, Rb, and Cs) doped Cu@NS-SiO2, and applied them in hydrodeoxygenation reaction of anisole. High Cu dispersion was presented on all catalysts. The modification of alkali metals on Cu@NS-SiO2 significantly enhanced the electron density of Cu sites in the following order: Cs > Rb > K > Na, among which Cs decreased the Cu 2p3/2 binding energy most (by 0.7 eV). Moreover, the modification did not substantially affect the geometric structure of Cu species. This regulable electronic environment of Cu sites was crucial for selective deoxygenation and inhibiting the hydrogenation of aromatic rings in anisole, and thus promoted the selectivity of benzene. Compared with Cu@NS-SiO2 (∼59%), the highest benzene selectivity was obtained on Cs/10Cu@NS-SiO2 at ∼83%.

This study reported the fabrication of Ni50 and Ni50-WC coatings while employing the laser cladding manufacture (LCM) technique. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies, microhardness, phase structure, corrosion, and wear resistances of the coatings were measured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), stereoscopic microscope, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), microhardness tester, electrochemical workstation, and friction and wear tester. These results illustrated the emergence of γ-(Ni, Fe), WC, W2C, M23C6, M7C3, and Ni3Fe phases in Ni50–10WC and Ni50–20WC coatings. Besides, W and C contents were higher in Ni50–20WC coating than that in Ni50–10WC coating. The average microhardness of the Ni50–10WC and Ni50–20WC coatings was 655.2 HV and 817.9 HV, respectively, which tripled or quadrupled the substrates' average microhardness. Among all coatings, Ni50 had the lowest corrosion potential value of −0.83 V, indicating poor anti-corrosion efficiency. Ni50–10WC and Ni50–20WC coatings had wear depths of approximately 13.1 μm and 8.3 μm, respectively indicating the outstanding wear resistance of all coatings. Furthermore, the Ni50–20WC coating exhibited the lowest average friction coefficient (0.41) of all coatings because of its fine and compact structure.

The human immunodeficiency virus type-1 epidemic in Pakistan has significantly increased over the last two decades. In Karachi, Pakistan, there is a lack of updated information on the complexity of HIV-1 genetic diversity and the burden of drug resistance mutations (DRMs) that can contribute to ART failure and poor treatment outcomes. This study aimed to determine HIV-1 genetic diversity and identify drug-resistance mutations among people living with HIV in Karachi. A total of 364 HIV-positive individuals, with a median age of 36 years, were enrolled in the study. The HIV-1 partial pol gene was successfully sequenced from 268 individuals. The sequences were used to generate phylogenetic trees to determine clade diversity and also to assess the burden of DRMs. Based on the partial pol sequences, 13 distinct HIV-1 subtypes and recombinant forms were identified. Subtype A1 was the most common clade (40%), followed by CRF02_AG (33.2%). Acquired DRMs were found in 30.6% of the ART-experienced patients, of whom 70.7%, 20.7%, and 8.5% were associated with resistance to NNRTIs, NRTIs, and PIs, respectively. Transmitted DRMs were found in 5.6% of the ART-naïve patients, of whom 93% were associated with resistance against NNRTIs and 7% to PIs. The high prevalence of DRMs in ART-experienced patients poses significant challenges to the long-term benefits and sustainability of the ART program. This study emphasizes the importance of continuous HIV molecular epidemiology and drug resistance surveillance to support evidence-based HIV prevention, precise ART, and targeted AIDS care.

Abstract Surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm (SAEA) prevails in the optimization of computationally expensive problems. However, existing SAEAs confront low efficiency in the resolution of high-dimensional problems characterized by multiple local optima and multivariate coupling. To this end, this paper offers a dual-drive collaboration surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm (DDCSAEA) by coupling feature reduction and reconstruction, which coordinates two unsupervised feature learning techniques, i.e., principal component analysis and autoencoder, in tandem. DDCSAEA creates a low-dimensional solution space by downscaling the target high-dimensional space via principal component analysis and collects promising candidates in the reduced space by collaborating a surrogate-assisted evolutionary sampling with differential mutation. An autoencoder is used to perform the feature reconstruction on the collected candidates for infill-sampling in the target high-dimensional space to sequentially refine the neighborhood landscapes of the optimal solution. Experimental results reveal that DDCSAEA has stronger convergence performance and optimization efficiency against eight state-of-the-art SAEAs on high-dimensional benchmark problems within 200 dimensions.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) undergoes rapid changes due to human production activities, which have an impact on the land carbon cycle and ultimately global change. As one of the main human production activities, coal mining significantly impacts the soil carbon cycle. However, due to the lack of remote sensing modeling of soil carbon in mining areas, the spatio-temporal changes and driving mechanisms of SOC in mining areas remain unclear. Therefore, this study investigated and determined SOC data from 300 sampling points (depth of 0–20 cm) located in an arid mining area of China. Remote sensing images were then used to established a soil organic carbon density (SOCD) prediction model within the Random Forest (RF) model to achieve digital mapping of soil organic carbon stocks (SOCS). The spatiotemporal changes of SOCS were analyzed using SOCS digital mapping, and the influencing mechanism of SOCS was revealed using path analysis. The results showed that the constructed SOCD predictive model meets the demand for SOCD prediction (R2 ≥ 0.74, p soil erosion > mining intensity > precipitation > elevation > land use > temperature. The negative impact of coal mining on SOCS was mainly indirect, through disturbance to elevation, vegetation, and soil erosion. The uneven ground subsidence and stretching caused by coal mining contribute to intensified soil erosion and vegetation degradation in the affected area, leading to a reduction in SOCS. However, SOCS did not decrease under high intensity mining, which was related to the increase in vegetation and the reduction in soil erosion in the mining area. In this study, a soil carbon prediction model was established based on remote sensing modeling to evaluate the temporal and spatial distribution of soil carbon in an arid mining area. The results can serve as valuable references for the scientific improvement of the ecological environment in mining areas, the rational planning of mining area construction, as well as low-carbon land reclamation and ecological compensation assessments.

Background: Women are disproportionally affected by HIV and are at greater risk of OIs and malignancies. This study investigated the spectrum of OIs and malignancies among women living with HIV (WLHIV) in Ethiopia. Methods: A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted among 3,817 WLHIV on Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) from 2007 to 2019 in Ethiopia. Data on OIs, malignancies, and clinical characteristics were retrieved from medical records. Prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates were measured over 13 years of follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and multivariable Cox-proportional hazard regression were used to estimate incidence and identify predictors of OIs and malignancies, respectively. Result: The pooled prevalence of OIs or malignancies was 47%. OIs accounted for 39% and malignancies were 23.3%. The incidence of OIs and malignancies were 19.4 (95%CI:9.2-29.5) and 11.5 (95%CI:2.2-20.8) per 100 person-years of observation, respectively. Incidence of candidiasis was 14.1 per 100 person-years followed by Lymphoma (11.9), Cervical Cancer (11.5), and TB (10.9). The risk of OIs was higher in patients with baseline CD4 count ≤500 cells/mm3 [AHR (95%CI): 2.0 (1.8-2.3)] and VL>1000 copies/ml [AHR (95%CI): 1.5 (1.1-1.9)]. Overall, 24.6% died, and of them, 62.2% had a history of OIs or malignancies. The risk of death was higher among WLHIV with a history of Toxoplasmosis, TB and PCP. Conclusion: OIs and malignancies was recently increasing and two-thirds of all deaths were associated with these co-morbidities. The high rates of OIs and malignancies were attributed to poor treatment outcomes. The finding calls to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of these co-morbidities.Abbreviations AIDS: acquired immune deficiency syndrome; CI: confidence interval; EPHI: Ethiopian Public Health Institute; HAART: highly active antiretroviral therapy; HIV: human immunodeficiency virus; HR: hazard ratio; Mg/dl: milligram per deciliter; TB: tuberculosis; PCP: pneumocystis carinii pneumonia; ZJU: Zhejiang University

Abstract The artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) struggles in handling complex optimization problems with high dimensions in light of its search operators’ strong exploration and weak exploitation properties. To tackle this situation, in this study, we propose a bi-preference linkage-driven ABC algorithm with multi-operator fusion, named BPLABC. BPLABC couples a preference-free stochastic search operator with a global best-guided search operator in the employed bee phase to maintain the population diversity while enhancing the population quality. During the onlooker bee phase, a tailored bi-type elite-guided exploitation mechanism is employed to regulate the exploitation intensity of the promising elite nectar sources selected via a new roulette selection probability calculation paradigm. To discourage the onlooker bees from slipping into local traps, after the scout bee phase, an auxiliary adversarial search operator is assembled to tug certain promising elite solutions away from the present pseudo-global best solution. To illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of BPLABC, two sets of test suits consisting of 23 benchmark problems, 30 complex CEC2014 functions, and two real-world problems are picked for testing. Experimental results showed that BPLABC can achieve superior or equivalent performance to several representative ABC variants on the majority of the tested problems.

Objective: To explore whether Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP)-Epac1 signaling is activated in 1-Desamino-8-D-arginine-Vasopressin-induced Endolymphatic Hydrops (DDAVP-induced EH) and to provide new insight for further in-depth study of DDAVP-induced EH. Methods: Eighteen healthy, red-eyed guinea pigs (36 ears) weighing 200–350 g were randomly divided into three groups: the control group, which received intraperitoneal injection of sterile saline (same volume as that in the other two groups) for 7 consecutive days; the DDAVP-7d group, which received intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg/mL/kg DDAVP for 7 consecutive days; and the DDAVP-14d group, which received intraperitoneal injection of 10 μg/mL/kg DDAVP for 14 consecutive days. After successful modeling, all animals were sacrificed, and cochlea tissues were collected to detect the mRNA and protein expression of the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP-1 and 2 (Epac1, Epac2), and Repressor Activator Protein-1 (Rap1) by Reverse Transcription (RT)-PCR and western blotting, respectively. Results: Compared to the control group, the relative mRNA expression of Epac1, Epac2, Rap1A, and Rap1B in the cochlea tissue of the DDAVP-7d group was significantly higher (p

Abstract Background Follicle selection in chickens refers to the process of selecting one follicle from a group of small yellow follicles (SY, 6–8 mm in diameter) for development into 12–15 mm hierarchal follicles (usually F6 follicles), which is controlled by sex hormones including follicle-stimulating factor (FSH), estrogen and progesterone. Follicle selection is a critical process impacting egg production in chicken, therefore, is the focus of many studies. Phosphorylation is important for the proper function of proteins, thus, needs to be analyzed by proteomic level. Result In this study, we compared the phosphoproteomes of SY and F6 follicles in laying hens and identified 2,386 phosphoproteins and 5,940 phosphosites, of which 4,235 sites of 1,963 phosphoproteins were quantified. From SY to F6 follicles, 190 phosphorylation sites of 149 proteins changed significantly, among which the phosphorylation level of lysine demethylase 1 A (LSD1) at the conserved 54th serine (LSD1Ser54p) was significantly upregulated in F6 follicles compared to SY follicles (p

Objective: To improve the mechanization of the initial processing of walnuts, and to solve the problems such as low stripping rate and high crushing rate in the process of green walnut peeling. Methods: A green walnut peeling device was designed which was integrated scraping and squeezing, rolling and cleaning. The mechanical and kinematic analysis of the peeling process of green walnuts, was made to establish a spatial force model of green walnuts combined with theoretical mechanics theory, and the key structural of system devices was designed. Based on the single-factor test, a three-factor, three-level orthogonal test was conducted with Design-Expert 13 to optimize the working parameters of the green pecan peeling device by taking the speed, the range of the spacing between the end of the rollers and the center distance as the influencing factors. Results: The optimal operating parameters of the green walnut peeling device were: rotational speed 64.54 r/min, distance between the ends of the rollers 41.7 mm, and center distance 9.44 mm. Under this condition the debarking rate was 91.92% and the crushing rate was 4.49%. Conclusion: The peeling device can meet the requirements of green walnut peeling production.

Co-circulation of different human immunodeficiency virus type 1 HIV-1 subtypes among infected populations can lead to the generation of new recombinants. In Pakistan, subtype A1 and CRF02_AG are the dominant strains circulating among key populations. The high prevalence of new HIV infections among the key populations highlights the possibility of recombination between the dominant strains, which can lead to the generation of new recombinants. Here, we identified a recombinant cluster composed of CRF02_AG, sub-subtype A3, and subtype G among HIV-infected children in Larkana. For the study, 10 retrospectively collected samples, with recombination signals in the pol gene, were used to perform a near full-length genome NFLG sequencing. Of the 10 samples, NFLG was successfully sequenced from seven samples. Phylogenetic analysis of the seven NFLGs showed that all recombinants formed a distinct monophyletic cluster and were distinct from known HIV-1 circulating recombinant forms CRFs. Recombination analyses showed that all seven NFLGs shared a similar recombinant structure consisting of CRF02_AG, sub-subtype A3, and subtype G, with a sub-subtype A3 fragment inserted into pol and vif regions spanning from (HXB2: 4218-5518), and a subtype G fragment inserted into vpu, rev, tat and env regions spanning from (HXB2: 5957-8250) of the CRF02_AG backbone. The identification of unique recombinant forms may indicate the presence and transmission of several co-circulating lineages in Larkana, giving rise to newer CRFs. This study also highlights the importance of continuous molecular surveillance to fully understand HIV-1 genetic diversity in Pakistan, particularly in Larkana, which is the epicenter of HIV outbreaks.

Abstract Preeclampsia is a progressive and severe cardiovascular disorder in pregnant women. To determine the potential significance of ophthalmic Doppler parameters in preeclamptic women and to provide evidence‐based hints for clinical practice and scientific investigation. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library till July 31, 2022. Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random effects model. Heterogeneity across included studies was evaluated utilizing the Q test and I2 statistic. We identified 8 observational studies that met the inclusion criteria. The pooled SMD for peak systolic velocities (PSV) was .12 (95% CI: −.82, 1.06, p = .8071; I2 = 94%, p

The identification of accelerant about gasoline and other ignited liquids in arson has always been a difficult problem in the field of physical evidence identification. How to avoid “false positive” and “false negative” results is a key issue. To study the interference of diene rubber on gasoline identification from two aspects of “false positives” and “false negatives”, and to explore its degree when gasoline was mixed with diene rubber in different proportions, the combustion residues obtained from cis-polybutadiene rubber, isobutylene isoprene rubber and styrene butadiene rubber after loading different amounts of gasoline were compared using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that alkanes, alkenes/cycloalkanes, aromatic-alkylbenzenes, homologs of indenes and indanes, alkylnaphthalenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected in the combustion residues of the three kinds of diene rubber samples before and after gasoline loading, which was consistent with gasoline in terms of the characteristic components categories and had strong interference with gasoline identification. After loading 0.05 mL and 0.1 mL gasoline respectively into 5 g rubber sample, there was no significant changes in the characteristic components of cycloalkanes/alkenes, alkylnaphthalenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the rubber combustion residues. The number and relative peak area ratio of characteristic peaks corresponding to aromatic-alkylbenzenes, homologs of indenes and indanes changed to different degrees, while the changes of alkylbenzenes were more representative. Loading gasoline or not had little effect on the ratio of the characteristic peaks of C2 benzene components in the combustion residues of cis-polybutadiene rubber. The ratio among three characteristic peaks of C2 benzene components in the combustion residues of isobutylene isoprene rubber and styrene butadiene rubber samples changed significantly when the gasoline loading amount reached 0.1 mL. This study can provide important references for the gasoline identification when there is a presence of diene rubber matrix in practical work.

Abstract Main goal of the JUNO experiment is to determine the neutrino mass ordering using a 20 kt liquid-scintillator detector. Its key feature is an excellent energy resolution of at least 3% at 1 MeV, for which its instruments need to meet a certain quality and thus have to be fully characterized. More than 20,000 20-inch PMTs have been received and assessed by JUNO after a detailed testing program which began in 2017 and elapsed for about four years. Based on this mass characterization and a set of specific requirements, a good quality of all accepted PMTs could be ascertained. This paper presents the performed testing procedure with the designed testing systems as well as the statistical characteristics of all 20-inch PMTs intended to be used in the JUNO experiment, covering more than fifteen performance parameters including the photocathode uniformity. This constitutes the largest sample of 20-inch PMTs ever produced and studied in detail to date, i.e. 15,000 of the newly developed 20-inch MCP-PMTs from Northern Night Vision Technology Co. (NNVT) and 5000 of dynode PMTs from Hamamatsu Photonics K. K.(HPK).

Application programming interface(API) benefits to effectively improve software development efficiency by reusing existing software frameworks or libraries.However,many constraints must be satisfied to correctly use APIs,such as call order,exception handling.Violation of these constraints will cause API misuse,which may result in software crashes,errors,or vulnerabilities.Although many API misuse detection techniques have been proposed,these techniques still face two challenges:1) the acquisition of API usage specification is difficult,and 2) the detection of many different types of API misuse at the same time is difficult.To address the above challenges,a decision tree algorithm-based API misuse detection method is proposed.First,the API usage source code is converted into an API usage graph,and the API usage specification is mined from the graph to effectively solve the first challenge.Second,an API usage decision tree is constructed based on the obtained API specification information,and the generalization ability of the API usage decision tree is improved by incorporating pruning strategies.Finally,a combination of coarse-grained and fine-grained detection is proposed in the detection phase to improve the detection capability of the API usage decision tree,which effectively solves the second challenge.Experimental results show that the proposed approach can rea-lize detection of API misuse defects to a certain extent.

Abstract To investigate the diagnostic value of ultra‐small superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles as dual modal contrast agent in rabbit orthotopic liver tumor. Twenty‐four New Zealand rabbits with orthotopic liver tumor were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The experimental group contained 12 rabbits which intravenously injected with Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the control group contained 12 rabbits which intravenously injected with Gd‐DTPA. After injection, the cross‐sectional T1 and T2‐weighted scan images of experimental group and cross‐sectional T1‐weighted scan images of control group were obtained at the different timepoints (including 0, 5, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min) with a clinical 3.0 T MRI scanner. The SNR value of the tumor site and the normal liver site at different time points were calculated, respectively, and then the signal change value (CNR) of the tumor relative to the normal liver tissue was obtained. The r1 value of Fe3O4 nanoparticles was significantly higher than Gd‐DTPA (6.97 mM−1 s−1 for Fe3O4 nanoparticles and 4.75 mM−1 s−1 for Gd‐DTPA and only Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibited the r2 relaxation rate which was 22.53 mM−1 s−1). In addition, the r2/r1 ratio of Fe3O4 was 3.23 which also demonstrated the strong MR relaxation characteristics of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Compare with clinical used MRI contrast agent (Gd‐DTPA), the ultra‐small magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles not only showed the better T1 contrast enhancement but also exhibited the T1/T2 dual‐modal enhanced contrast ability, which could improve the accuracy and sensitivity of MRI diagnosis and realize the early diagnosis of diseases in prospect.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate HIV-1 drug resistance among patients failing first-line antiretroviral therapy in Ethiopia. Methods: A total of 699 adults infected with HIV (aged ≥15 years) who failed first-line Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) were recruited between 2017 and 2019 from 63 ART-providing sites in Ethiopia. Treatment failure was defined as patients with two consecutive viral loads (VLs) ≥1000 copies/mL within six months of follow-up. The pol gene region of HIV-1 was amplified and sequenced using an in-house assay of the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The Stanford HIVDB v9.0 algorithm was used for identification of resistance mutations. Resistance mutations were characterized according to the 2019 International AIDS Society-USA mutation list. P values of

Summary: Migraines are a common medical condition. From a basic science point of view, the central mechanism for migraine and headache is largely unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that cortical excitatory transmission is significantly enhanced in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)—a brain region which is critical for pain perception. Biochemical studies found that the phosphorylation levels of both the NMDA receptor GluN2B and AMPA receptor GluA1 were enhanced in ACC of migraine rats. Both the presynaptic release of glutamate and postsynaptic responses of AMPA receptors and NMDA receptors were enhanced. Synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) was occluded. Furthermore, behavioral anxiety and nociceptive responses were increased, which were reversed by application of AC1 inhibitor NB001 within ACC. Our results provide strong evidence that cortical LTPs contribute to migraine-related pain and anxiety. Drugs that inhibit cortical excitation such as NB001 may serve as potential medicines for treating migraine in the future.

Auricularia auricula polysaccharides used in Pinus koraiensis polyphenol encapsulation and delivery under weightlessness are rarely reported. In this study, an anionic polysaccharide fragment named AAP Iα with a molecular weight of 133.304 kDa was isolated and purified to construct a polyphenol encapsulation system. Nanoparticles named NPs-PP loaded with a rough surface for Pinus koraiensis polyphenol (PP) delivery were fabricated by AAP Iα and ε-poly-L-lysine (ε-PL). SEM and the DLS tracking method were used to observe continuous changes in AAP Iα, ε-PL and PP on the nanoparticles’ rough surface assembly, as well as the dispersion and stability. Hydrophilic, monodisperse and highly negative charged nanoparticles can be formed at AAP Iα 0.8 mg/mL, ε-PL 20 μg/mL and PP 80 μg/mL. FT-IR was used to determine their electrostatic interactions. Release kinetic studies showed that nanoparticles had an ideal gastrointestinal delivery effect. NPs-PP loaded were assembled through electrostatic interactions between polyelectrolytes after hydrogen bonding formation in PP-AAP Iα and PP-ε-PL, respectively. Colon adhesion properties and PP delivery in vivo of nanoparticles showed that NPs-PP loaded had high adhesion efficiency to the colonic mucosa under simulated microgravity and could enhance PP bioavailability. These results suggest that AAP Iα can be used in PP encapsulation and delivery under microgravity in astronaut food additives.

In the field of maneuvering target tracking, the combined observations of azimuth and Doppler may cause weak observation or non-observation in the application of traditional target-tracking algorithms. Additionally, traditional target tracking algorithms require pre-defined multiple mathematical models to accurately capture the complex motion states of targets, while model mismatch and unavoidable measurement noise lead to significant errors in target state prediction. To address those above challenges, in recent years, the target tracking algorithms based on neural networks, such as recurrent neural networks (RNNs), long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, and transformer architectures, have been widely used for their unique advantages to achieve accurate predictions. To better model the nonlinear relationship between the observation time series and the target state time series, as well as the contextual relationship among time series points, we present a deep learning algorithm called recursive downsample–convolve–interact neural network (RDCINN) based on convolutional neural network (CNN) that downsamples time series into subsequences and extracts multi-resolution features to enable the modeling of complex relationships between time series, which overcomes the shortcomings of traditional target tracking algorithms in using observation information inefficiently due to weak observation or non-observation. The experimental results show that our algorithm outperforms other existing algorithms in the scenario of strong maneuvering target tracking with the combined observations of azimuth and Doppler.

The physics potential of detecting ^8 B solar neutrinos will be exploited at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), in a model-independent manner by using three distinct channels of the charged current (CC), neutral current (NC), and elastic scattering (ES) interactions. Due to the largest-ever mass of ^13 C nuclei in the liquid scintillator detectors and the expected low background level, ^8 B solar neutrinos are observable in the CC and NC interactions on ^13 C for the first time. By virtue of optimized event selections and muon veto strategies, backgrounds from the accidental coincidence, muon-induced isotopes, and external backgrounds can be greatly suppressed. Excellent signal-to-background ratios can be achieved in the CC, NC, and ES channels to guarantee the observation of the ^8 B solar neutrinos. From the sensitivity studies performed in this work, we show that JUNO, with 10 yr of data, can reach the 1 σ precision levels of 5%, 8%, and 20% for the ^8 B neutrino flux, ${\sin }^{2}{\theta }_{12}$ , and ${\rm{\Delta }}{m}_{21}^{2}$ , respectively. Probing the details of both solar physics and neutrino physics would be unique and helpful. In addition, when combined with the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory measurement, the world's best precision of 3% is expected for the measurement of the ^8 B neutrino flux.

The multi-dimensional multiplexing technology is very promising for further increasing the link capacity of optical interconnects. A 96-channel silicon-based on-chip reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) is proposed and demonstrated for the first time to satisfy the demands in hybrid mode/polarization/wavelengthdivision-multiplexing systems. The present ROADM consists of a six-channel mode/polarization de-multiplexer, a 6 × 16 array of microring-resonator (MRR)-based wavelength-selective switches, and a six-channel mode/polarization multiplexer. With such a ROADM, one can add/drop optical signals to/from any channels of the multimode bus waveguide arbitrarily. For the designed and fabricated ROADM chip, there are more than 1000 elements integrated monolithically, including 96 MRRs, 576 waveguide crossings, 192 grating couplers, 96 micro-heaters, 112 pads, six polarization-splitter-rotators (PSRs), four asymmetric adiabatic couplers and four asymmetric directional couplers. For any channel added/dropped with the fabricated ROADM, the on-chip excess loss is about 5–20 dB, the inter-mode crosstalk is

Abstract We study damping signatures at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a medium-baseline reactor neutrino oscillation experiment. These damping signatures are motivated by various new physics models, including quantum decoherence, ν 3 decay, neutrino absorption, and wave packet decoherence. The phenomenological effects of these models can be characterized by exponential damping factors at the probability level. We assess how well JUNO can constrain these damping parameters and how to disentangle these different damping signatures at JUNO. Compared to current experimental limits, JUNO can significantly improve the limits on τ 3/m 3 in the ν 3 decay model, the width of the neutrino wave packet σ x , and the intrinsic relative dispersion of neutrino momentum σ rel.

A passenger-centered Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is an urgent need with the innovative development of intelligent vehicles. A prerequisite for such a system is precise real-time estimation of human thermal comfort. This paper introduces a new method based on deep learning to predict the personal thermal comfort in the vehicle via facial thermal image. Specifically, a deep learning-based ResNet34 coupled with a spatial attention mechanism (SAM-ResNet34) is designed for feature extraction from the facial thermal image. Unlike the existing methods, this method extracts the gray features from the different areas of facial thermal images instead of measuring the facial skin temperature to predict the thermal comfort states. The thermal comfort data were collected from the experiment with 22 subjects. It has highlighted that the model trained with the thermal image dataset can achieve an accuracy as high as 93.75% in the test set. The result suggests that the non-invasive method proposed in this study could accurately predict personal thermal comfort in the vehicular environment and holds great potential to be applied to the HVAC control system of a vehicle in the future.

ABSTRACT: Follicle selection is an important step in the laying process of chicken, which is closely related to the laying performance and fecundity of hens. Follicle selection mainly depends on the regulation of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secreted by pituitary gland and the expression of follicle stimulation hormone receptor. To uncover the role of FSH in chicken follicle selection, in this study, we analyzed the changes in the mRNA transcriptome profiles of FSH-treated chicken granulosa cells from prehierarchical follicles by long-read sequencing Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) approach. Among the 10,764 genes detected, 31 differentially expressed (DE) transcripts of 28 DE genes were significantly upregulated by FSH treatment. These DE transcripts (DETs) were mainly related to the steroid biosynthetic process by GO analysis and enriched in pathways of ovarian steroidogenesis and aldosterone synthesis and secretion by KEGG analysis. Among these genes, the mRNA and protein expression of TNF receptor associated factor 7 (TRAF7) was upregulated after FSH treatment. Further study revealed that TRAF7 stimulated the mRNA expression of steroidogenic enzymes steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member 1 (CYP11A1) genes and the proliferation of granulosa cells. This is the first study to investigate differences in chicken prehierarchical follicular granulosa cells before and after FSH treatment by using ONT transcriptome sequencing, which provides a reference for a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanism of follicle selection in chicken.

In order to explore the influence of microwave loading path on the effect of microwave cracking coal, in this paper, a self-developed microwave radiation experiment device was used to carry out coal cracking experiments under different microwave loading paths, and the P wave velocity, elastic modulus, coal surface crack evolution and coal microstructure damage of coal samples before and after microwave radiation were studied. The change characteristics of the factors reveal the influence of different microwave loading paths on the cracking effect of coal. The results showed that the average P-wave velocity of coal samples decreased by 40.13% after microwave radiation, and the decrease amplitude of microwave continuous loading was 56.47%; the elastic modulus of coal was significantly affected by microwave radiation, the average compressive strength has dropped as much as 74.91%, and the average elastic modulus decreased evenly under different paths, the elastic modulus decreases by more than 65.01%, and up to 80.11% under continuous loading; the cumulative damage factor of the coal body is related to the loading path, and different microwave loading paths cause different degrees of damage to the internal microstructure of the coal body; both continuous microwave loading and intermittent loading promote coal. The development of cracks on the surface of the coal under continuous loading, the development of cracks on the surface of the coal sample is more complex and the damage is more significant. Therefore, the change of the microwave loading path of the coal can effectively crack the coal. Underthe experimental conditions of microwave energy of 216 kJ, the continuous microwave radiation of the coal sample can crack the coal to the greatest extent, and the coal has the best cracking effect.

Background/Aims: Angiogenesis is essential for the outgrowth and metastasis of tumors. The structure and characteristics of tumor vasculature differ from those of normal vessels. We compared the characteristics of differentially expressed genes in endothelial cells (ECs) isolated from gastric and normal cells. Methods: Previously, we had isolated pure tumor ECs (TECs) and normal ECs (NECs) from advanced gastric cancer (AGC) lesions and normal mucosal tissues, respectively. Using the oligomer chip platform of the Affymetrix GeneChip technology, genes that were expressed more than three-fold with a significance of p≤0.001 were measured. The intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) was found to be overexpressed in the TECs compared to the normal gastric ECs. In this study, the upregulation of ICAM-1 was confirmed in cultured TECs by immunofluorescence. Results: The expression of ICAM-1 was upregulated in the ECs, as well as in the stromal and immune cells, in early human gastric preneoplastic and hepatic fibrotic tissues. Upregulation of ICAM-1 was observed in the TECs, immune cells, and cancer epithelial cells in AGC and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These results suggest that increased ICAM-1 expression in the ECs of the tissue microenvironment progressively contributes to the recruitment of immune cells to promote inflammation, leading to fibrosis and tumorigenesis. Conclusions: Therefore, upregulated ICAM-1 in the tissues in premalignant gastric diseases or hepatic fibrosis and their malignant cancers could be a promising target for disease prevention and treatment.

TA15 titanium alloy is welded by electron beam welding (EBW) and pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam welding (P-LBW), respectively. Results show that the fusion zone (FZ) is mainly composed of acicular α′ martensite, while the acicular α′ martensite in the FZ of EBW joint is coarser. The quantity of martensite in the FZ of EBW joint is larger and the distribution of martensite is denser. The microstructure of heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the two joints is similar. The HAZ near FZ consists of primary α phase and acicular α′ martensite, and the HAZ near base metal (BM) consists of primary α phase, secondary α phase, and β phase. The hardness in the FZ of EBW joint is slightly higher than that of the P-LBW joint. The tensile strength of both joints is close to that of the BM, but their elongations are decreased to a certain extent. The tensile performance of the EBW joint is slightly better than that of the P-LBW joint. Both joints fail in the BM during stretching. There are many dimples on the fracture surfaces, and the two joints obviously present the characteristics of ductile fracture.

Cellular metabolism in tumor is an important biological process to promote the occurrence and development of tumor, and the genes related to cellular metabolism are gradually becoming the targets of tumor treatment. However, more researches are still needed to explore the abnormal metabolism in tumor progression and its prognostic value. BDH2 gene is a multifunctional gene, participates in a variety of metabolic pathways, plays an important catalytic role in iron metabolism, participates in ketone metabolism and is related to lipid metabolism. In recent years, researchers have found that BDH2 plays distinct roles in various types of tumors. The occurrence and development of a variety of tumors are closely related to BDH2. This paper analyzes, summarizes and prospects the role and mechanism of BDH2 in metabolism and tumorigenesis.

Abstract Background Astrocytic activation might play a significant role in the central sensitization of chronic migraine (CM). However, the temporal characteristics of the astrocytic activation in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) and the molecular mechanism under the process remain not fully understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the duration and levels change of astrocytic activation and to explore the correlation between astrocytic activation and the levels change of cytokines release. Methods We used a mice model induced by recurrent dural infusion of inflammatory soup (IS). The variation with time of IS-induced mechanical thresholds in the periorbital and hind paw plantar regions were evaluated using the von Frey filaments test. We detected the expression profile of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the TNC through immunofluorescence staining and western blot assay. We also investigated the variation with time of the transcriptional levels of GFAP and ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1) through RNAscope in situ hybridization analysis. Then, we detected the variation with time of cytokines levels in the TNC tissue extraction and serum, including c-c motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), c-c motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), c-c motif chemokine ligand 7 (CCL7), c-c motif chemokine ligand 12 (CCL12), c-x-c motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1), c-x-c motif chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), interleukin 1beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10), interleukin 17A (IL-17A). Results Recurrent IS infusion resulted in cutaneous allodynia in both the periorbital region and hind paw plantar, ranging from 5 d (after the second IS infusion) to 47 d (28 d after the last infusion) and 5 d to 26 d (7 d after the last infusion), respectively. The protein levels of GFAP and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels of GFAP and Iba1 significantly increased and sustained from 20 d to 47 d (1 d to 28 d after the last infusion), which was associated with the temporal characteristics of astrocytic activation in the TNC. The CCL7 levels in the TNC decreased from 20 d to 47 d. But the CCL7 levels in serum only decreased on 20 d (1 d after the last infusion). The CCL12 levels in the TNC decreased on 22 d (3 d after the last infusion) and 33 d (14 d after the last infusion). In serum, the CCL12 levels only decreased on 22 d. The IL-10 levels in the TNC increased on 20 d. Conclusions Our results indicate that the astrocytic activation generated and sustained in the IS-induced mice model from 1 d to 28 d after the last infusion and may contribute to the pathology through modulating CCL7, CCL12, and IL-10 release.

In chickens, follicle selection is an important process affecting laying traits, which is characterized by the differentiation of granulosa cells and the synthesis of progesterone by granulosa cells from hierarchical follicles. By using Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) approach, we compared the transcriptomes of granulosa cells between pre-hierarchical (Pre-GCs) and hierarchical follicles (Post-GCs) to identify genes underlying chicken follicle selection. A total of 2,436 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 3,852 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) and 925 differentially expressed lncRNA transcripts were identified between chicken Pre-GCs and Post-GCs. For all of the significant DETs, the alternative 3′splice sites (A3) accounted for a maximum of 23.74% of all alternative splicing events. Three DETs of the 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase gene (DHCR7) named as T1, T3, and T4, differing in 5′untranslated regions (UTRs), increased in Post-GCs with different folds (T1: 1.83, T3: 2.42, T4: 5.06). The expression of the three DHCR7 transcripts was upregulated by estrogen in a dose-dependent manner, while was downregulated by bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1). Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) promoted the expression of the three DHCR7 transcripts in Pre-GCs at lower concentrations, while repressed their expression at higher concentrations. The data from this study may provide a reference for better understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying follicle selection in chicken and other poultry species.

In the era of big data,due to information overload,it is difficult for users to find interesting content from massive data.The birth of personalized recommendation system has greatly solved this problem.Collaborative filtering has been widely used in the field of personalized recommendation,but due to the limitations of the model,the recommendation effect has not been further improved.Most existing collaborative filtering introduce presentation learning methods to obtain better user representation vectors and item representation vectors or improve user item match functions to improve the performance of the recommendation system,but such work is devoted to extracting user-item interaction information from a single interaction.This paper proposes a multi-space interactive collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm,which maps user vectors and item vectors to multiple spaces,performs user-item interaction from multiple angles,and then uses a two-layer attention mechanism to aggregate the final user representation vector and item representation vector to make a score prediction.The multi-space interaction collaborative filtering(MSICF) was compared with baseline on the published real dataset,and the evaluation of the MSICF is better than baseline.

Abstract The OSIRIS detector is a subsystem of the liquid scintillator filling chain of the JUNO reactor neutrino experiment. Its purpose is to validate the radiopurity of the scintillator to assure that all components of the JUNO scintillator system work to specifications and only neutrino-grade scintillator is filled into the JUNO Central Detector. The aspired sensitivity level of $$10^{-16}\hbox { g/g}$$ 10 - 16 g/g of $$^{238}\hbox {U}$$ 238 U and $$^{232}\hbox {Th}$$ 232 Th requires a large ( $$\sim 20\,\hbox {m}^3$$ ∼ 20 m 3 ) detection volume and ultralow background levels. The present paper reports on the design and major components of the OSIRIS detector, the detector simulation as well as the measuring strategies foreseen and the sensitivity levels to U/Th that can be reached in this setup.