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Abstract We present the analytic total cross section of top quark pair production in electron-positron annihilation at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). By utilizing the optical theorem, the NNLO corrections are related to the imaginary parts of three-loop self-energy Feynman diagrams, of which the master integrals are calculated with canonical differential equations. The analytic results for the NNLO corrections are expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms as well as elliptic functions. We discuss the asymptotic expansions near the threshold and in the high energy limit in detail. Numerical results are provided for the total cross section of top quark pair production at future lepton colliders.

Objective In the geological survey for Guiyang urban rail transit projects, karst is a common unfavorable geological condition and also the top geological issue to be confronted. However, the current survey mode of karst problems does not match the demand of Guiyang urban rail transit construction. Therefore, it is necessary to explore a karst survey mode applicable for urban rail transit construction in karst mountainous city. Method Starting from the karst hazards, the technical means, normative constrains and the actual experience from Guiyang City about karst survey are summarized and analyzed. It is then clearly pointed out that the current karst survey mode with “engineering geological mapping first, engineering drilling as the main method, engineering geophysical prospecting as the secondary method” is formed in the course of history, the situation where the contradiction between high resolution requirements and low resolution levels of the karst survey method becomes the principal one in current mountain karst survey for rail transit is discussed. Result & Conclusion Starting from the main contradiction in the current karst survey, and based on the development of technical means in karst survey and specific case analysis, it is concluded through research that the above-mentioned karst survey mode will inevitably evolve into a new survey mode of “starting from engineering needs and guided by geological thinking, with geological mapping first, ground geophysical survey, drilling and borehole geophysical prospecting as supplement and verification, featuring multi-method integration”.

"Objective To explore the value of whole brain CT perfusion (CTP) imaging parameters and serum MMP-9 level in predicting hemorrhagic transformation (HT) after endovascular therapy of acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 46 patients with ACI who underwent endovascular stent mechanical thrombectomy in Wuhan No.1 Hospital from June 2021 to September 2022. Routine CT plain scan, CTP, and serum MMP-9 examination were performed before endovascular treatment, and the symmetrical site ratio between the affected side and the unaffected side of CTP was calculated to obtain the relative parameter values: relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF), relative mean transit time (rMTT), relative time to peak (rTTP) and relative permeability surface (rPS). According to whether the CT images re-examined within 7 days of treatment had HT, the patients were divided into HT group and non-HT group. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation of HT with CTP parameters and serum MMP-9 level, and to evaluate the predictive efficacy of the two indexes on HT after endovascular treatment of ACI. Results Of the 46 patients, HT occurred in 12 patients and non-HT in 34 patients. Compared with non-HT group, rCBV and rCBF decreased,while rPS, PS, rTTP and MMP-9 increased in HT group (P＜0.05). However, there was no statistically significance of rMTT between the two groups (P＞0.05). rPS, PS, rTTP and MMP-9 were positively correlated with HT (P＜0.01), and rCBV and rCBF were negatively correlated with HT (P＜0.01), respectively.Among them, MMP-9 was most strongly correlated with HT (r=0.752,P＜0.01), followed by rPS (r=0.664,P＜0.01). The area under curve (AUC) of rCBV, rCBF, rTTP, PS, rPS and MMP-9 in predicting HT was 0.794, 0.755, 0.750, 0.848, 0.936 and 0.863, respectively, with rPS being the highest. Conclusion The changes in CTP parameters and the increase of serum MMP-9 level are of great significance in predicting the HT after endovascular treatment of ACI, which can provide a guidance for endovascular treatment of patients."

Abstract Background White-rot fungi are known to naturally produce high quantities of laccase, which exhibit commendable stability and catalytic efficiency. However, their laccase production does not meet the demands for industrial-scale applications. To address this limitation, it is crucial to optimize the conditions for laccase production. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying different conditions remain unclear. This knowledge gap hinders the cost-effective application of laccases. Results In this study, we utilized transcriptomic and metabolomic data to investigate a promising laccase producer, Cerrena unicolor 87613, cultivated with fructose as the carbon source. Our comprehensive analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially abundant metabolites (DAMs) aimed to identify changes in cellular processes that could affect laccase production. As a result, we discovered a complex metabolic network primarily involving carbon metabolism and amino acid metabolism, which exhibited contrasting changes between transcription and metabolic patterns. Within this network, we identified five biomarkers, including succinate, serine, methionine, glutamate and reduced glutathione, that played crucial roles in co-determining laccase production levels. Conclusions Our study proposed a complex metabolic network and identified key biomarkers that determine the production level of laccase in the commercially promising Cerrena unicolor 87613. These findings not only shed light on the regulatory mechanisms of carbon sources in laccase production, but also provide a theoretical foundation for enhancing laccase production through strategic reprogramming of metabolic pathways, especially related to the citrate cycle and specific amino acid metabolism.

Abstract Photoimmunotherapy faces challenges due to insufficient intratumoral accumulation of photothermal agents and the reversion of the cancer‐immunity cycle during treatment. In this study, an anti‐PD‐L1‐immobilized magnetic gold nanohut, AuNH‐2‐Ab, with photoresponsive, thermosensitive, and immunomodulatory properties to effectively suppress the growth of primary tumors, elevate immunogenic cell death (ICD) levels, reverse the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), and consequently inhibit metastases are developed. AuNH‐2‐Ab achieves high tumor accumulation (9.54% injected dose) following systemic administration, allowing the modulation of hyperthermia dose of over 50 °C in the tumor. By optimizing the hyperthermia dose, AuNH‐2‐Ab simultaneously target and eliminate cancer cells and tumor‐associated macrophages, thereby activating potent antitumor immunity without being compromised by immunosuppressive elements. Hyperthermia/pH induced morphological transformation of AuNH‐2‐Ab involving the detachment of the surface antibody for in situ PD‐L1 inhibition, and exposure of the inner fucoidan layer for natural killer (NK) cell activation. This precision photoimmunotherapy approach reprograms the TIME, significantly prolongs survival in a murine hepatocellular carcinoma model (Hep55.1c), and harnesses the synergistic effects of ICD production and checkpoint inhibitors by utilizing a single nanoplatform.

This study aims to tackle the challenge of high noise levels on balconies while preserving natural ventilation. Eight innovative balcony designs, incorporating elements like diffuser edges, undulating ceilings, Helmholtz resonators, grooves, or sound traps, were evaluated via finite element (FE) modeling. The insertion loss results showed that for many balcony designs, noise reduction in the balcony could deteriorate beyond an elevation of 8 m. However, the front jagged and full wavy ceiling designs were shown to be more robust in noise attenuation across balconies on different floors. The jagged ledge and grooved parapet designs yielded an overall 1.5 dBA lower SPL at the exterior regions, compared to other designs, which implies that the designs are less acoustically detrimental to nearby residential blocks as they tend to diffract and absorb incident noise. The jagged ledge design is more effective for lower floors while the jagged ceiling design is more effective for higher floors. A combination of the protruded jagged ledge for the lower floor and jagged balcony ceiling for the higher floor would result in the lowest noise ingress over three stories of residential units: this would be capable of achieving more than 3 dB noise reduction and would offer viable options for improving balcony noise mitigation, by providing valuable insights to architects and designers seeking practical solutions for outdoor noise reduction. Our study highlights that whereas the spectrum characteristics of acoustic absorption materials may be less tunable, and where reduced head space is traded for thicker material for greater ab-sorption and added affixation and maintenance cost, the jagged ledge and ceiling curvatures can actually be shape-tuned, say for every 3 to 4 floors up the high-rise to more effective reduce noise ingress and possibly improve the architecture façade outlook.

For the purpose of the peaceful, safe and reliable application of nuclear technology, the monitoring of radioactive gas is one of the most important items for on-site inspection of CTBTO and safety monitoring of nuclear installations, which could rapidly and correctly discriminate nuclear activity of violation treaty of CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty) and identify the leakage of nuclear installations. Since radio-xenon isotopes (mainly 131m,133,133m,135Xe) have distinguished features including high fission yields, leaking easily and spreading worldwide, notable decay properties and low ambient concentrations, which are seen as important monitoring objects. Based on the proposed principle combined with these techniques including dynamic adsorption at -110 ℃ ultra low temperature, impurity removal with hollow fiber membranes, and gamma spectrum monitoring with low background, a rapid and highly sensitive on-site automatic monitoring system for radioxenon was developed, which could sample, separate and measure radioxenon on-site with a rapid and efficient way. During the development process, the technological flow diagram for whole system was established, and the critical hardware components including impurity removal column, adsorption column, lead shield chamber, and sample container were designed. And then these elements were assembled as four modules about sampling, preprocessing, refrigeration and measurement units combined with other components such as three hollow fiber membranes, four flowmeters, two pressure sensors and a HPGe detector and so on. Meanwhile, two control softwares including upper computer and off-line control versions were designed. And the methods of efficiency calibration, recovery test, calculation of activity concentration and MDC (minimum detectable activity) of xenon, and uncertainty evaluation were studied. Then these parameters were tested including detection efficiency, recovery of stable xenon, MDCs of 133Xe and 135Xe, and uncertainties of measuring results. The experimental results show that the recovery of stable xenon is 79.9%, the MDC of 133Xe is less than 0.26 Bq/m3 within a 120 min cycle including sampling, enrichment and measurement, when the activity concentration of 222Rn and sampling volume are 20 Bq/m3 and 2 m3, respectively. Compared with technical specifications of other systems, the elapsed time of a cycle of the system developed in this paper decreases larger than 10 times of SAUNA-OSI and XESPM-Ⅲ systems, while the MDC of the systems is smaller than other rapid systems. Because this developed system has following features about high sensitivity, shorter monitoring period, automation during total process, it will provide a dominant and straightforward contribution to the on-site inspection (OSI) of CTBT, safety monitoring of the gaseous effluents and emergency monitoring for nuclear facilities, and will be a powerful supplement for current monitoring technique and systems.

In order to analyze the impact of the waste heat utilization environment in phosphate compound fertilizer industrial production on the corrosion behavior of steam turbine rotors, various methods such as the mass loss method, laser scanning confocal microscopy (CLSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical tests were employed. The corrosion behavior and patterns of the steam turbine rotor material, 2Cr-1Ni-1.2Mo-0.2V steel in 120 mmol/L NH4H2PO4 solution at an external temperature of 25 ℃ were investigated. Results showed that 2Cr-1Ni-1.2Mo-0.2V steel underwent uniform corrosion. The corrosion rate first rapidly decreased and then slowly decreased, gradually stabilizing towards 0.2 mm/a. When the NH4H2PO4 concentration was 120 mmol/L and the temperature was 25 ℃, the service life of 2Cr-1Ni-1.2Mo-0.2V steel was determined to be 7.5 a. The corrosion product film of 2Cr-1Ni-1.2Mo-0.2V steel in NH4H2PO4 solution was composed of Fe3(PO4)2, FePO4, Fe(OH)3, FeOOH, and Fe3O4. As the immersion time prolonged, the coverage, compactness and thickness of the corrosion product film were observed to increase, and Cr was found to be enriched in the corrosion product film, thereby enhancing the corrosion resistance of 2Cr-1Ni-1.2Mo-0.2V steel.

Temperature swing adsorption is one of most important means of the enrichment of xenon, and temperature is an important factor affecting adsorbent performance for xenon. In this paper, the dynamic adsorption experimental platform at ultra-low temperatures was designed, based on which the adsorption characteristics of carbon molecular sieve for xenon was studied within the temperature range of -110 ℃ to -60 ℃. The effects of xenon volume fraction, gas flow rate, inlet pressure, and inner diameter of the adsorption column on xenon adsorption performance were analyzed at -110 ℃. The results show that at -110 ℃, the volume fraction of xenon and flow rate have the most significant effects on the dynamic adsorption coefficient of xenon, while the effects of the inlet pressure and the inner diameter of the adsorption column are less than the above two factors within a certain range.

The iPS cells were discovered in 2006. With their ability to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers, iPS cells have great potential for clinical applications. Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4 were identified as the most effective factors for generating iPS cells. Despite this, iPS cells manufactured with these factors would still be inefficient. As a member of the chromobox family, chromobox protein homolog 7 (Cbx7) binds to PRC1 and PRC2 to inhibit genes involved in differentiation. A decrease in the expression of Cbx7 is observed during embryonic stem cell differentiation. Currently, no report discusses the role of Cbx7 in the production of iPS cells. In this study, we hypothesized that Cbx7 could increase iPS cell generation. We confirmed that Cbx7 is highly expressed in pluripotent stem cells (including ES and iPS cells). In addition, transfecting Cbx7 into fibroblasts increased Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4 expression. Moreover, we describe a novel approach to producing iPS cells using Cbx7 in combination with Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4. In summary, we have demonstrated that Cbx7 enhances the reprogramming of iPS cells and characterized the stemness and pluripotency of iPS cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Taiwan. Some patients with HCC are diagnosed with macrovascular invasion (MVI), which is associated with a poorer prognosis. In Taiwan, sorafenib is the first-line therapy for patients with advanced HCC. However, the efficacy of adjuvant sorafenib therapy remains unclear for the subset of patients with HCC and MVI who are eligible for surgery. Therefore, we investigated the potential benefit of adjuvant sorafenib therapy for patients with HCC and MVI after surgery. Our study showed that the lack of improved PFS or OS of adjuvant sorafenib challenged the therapeutic benefit of postoperative sorafenib. Alcohol consumption and an α-fetoprotein level of ≥400 ng/mL were independent predictors of overall survival (OS); however, adjuvant sorafenib therapy was not a predictor of progression-free survival (PFS) or OS. In conclusion, our study indicated that adjuvant sorafenib therapy did not provide PFS or OS benefits in patients with HCC and MVI.

To study the effect of high Cl- environment on the corrosion of aluminum rich phosphate coatings, the corrosion behavior of phosphate coatings in high Cl- environments was analyzed using electrochemical testing methods such as open circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, combined with scanning electron microscopy and laser confocal microscopy. Results showed that the aluminum-rich phosphate coating had a double-layer structure. Phosphate coated Al powder inside the coating provided excellent shielding performance. With the increase of Cl- concentration in the solution, the corrosion tendency and corrosion rate increased, and the corrosion resistance of the coating decreased. Moreover, aluminum-rich phosphate coatings corroded first at cracks and defects when the concentration of Cl- was low. With the increase of Cl- concentration, the corrosion of phosphate would cause the Al powder in the outer surface and the inner of coatings to fall off, and then the corrosion pits were formed. Furthermore, the corrosion pits tended to expand outward and increase in size, accelerating the corrosion of the coating and the substrate.

A comprehensive modeling framework for the thermoforming of polymer matrix woven laminate composite was developed. Two numerical indicators, the slip path length and traction magnitude, have been identified to be positively correlated to matrix smearing and wrinkling defects. The material model has been calibrated with picture-frame experimental results, and the prediction accuracy for intra-ply shear and thickness distribution was examined with measurements of the physically formed parts. Specifically, thickness prediction for most locations on the formed parts was accurate within an 11.6% error margin. However, at two points with significant intra-ply shear, the prediction errors increased to around 20%. Finally, a parametric study was conducted to determine the relationship between various process parameters and the quality of the formed part. For the trapezoidal part, orienting the laminate at 45 degrees to the mold axis reduces the likelihood of matrix smear and wrinkling defects. Although this laminate orientation yielded a greater spatial variation in part thickness, the thickness deviation is lower than that for the 0-degree orientation case. Two forming analyses were conducted with ramp rates of 25 mm/s and 80 mm/s to match the equipment’s operational limits. It was observed that higher forming rates led to a greater likelihood of defects, as evidenced by a 15% and 10% increase in the formed part areas with longer slip paths and higher traction magnitudes, respectively. It was discovered that shallower molds benefit from faster ramp rates, while deeper molds require slower rates to manage extensive shearing, stretching and bending. Faster forming rates lead to smaller thickness increases at high intra-ply shear regions, indicating a shift from intra-ply shear to out-of-plane bending due to the visco-plastic effect of the molten laminate and can negatively impact part quality. Lastly, it was shown that a well-conceived strategy using darts could improve the part quality by reducing the magnitude of the defect indicators.

BackgroundPatients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who are refractory to two or more lines of systemic chemotherapy have limited therapeutic options. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of autologous dendritic cell cytokine-induced killer (DC-CIK) transfer on the survival of patients with mCRC who are refractory or intolerant to at least two lines of systemic chemotherapies.MethodsA matched case–control comparative study was conducted with patients who received DC-CIK immunotherapy in addition to standard chemotherapy (cases) and those with standard chemotherapy alone (controls). The primary objective was to compare the duration of oncologic survival, including overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), between the two groups.ResultsA total of 27 cases and 27 controls were included. The median OS in the DC-CIK case group was 18.73 ± 5.48 months, which was significantly longer than that in the control group (14.23 ± 1.90 months, p = 0.045). However, there was no significant difference in PFS between the two groups (p = 0.086). Subgroup analysis showed that in patients with liver or extra-regional lymph node metastasis, DC-CIK cases had longer OS than controls (17.0 vs. 11.87 months, p = 0.019; not match vs. 6.93 months, p = 0.002, respectively). In patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scale 0 or wild RAS/BRAF, DC-CIK cases showed a significant increase in OS duration compared to controls (28.03 vs. 14.53 months, p = 0.038; 18.73 vs. 11.87 months, p = 0.013, respectively).ConclusionsThe addition of autologous DC-CIK to standard chemotherapy had a positive effect on OS of patients with refractory mCRC, especially those with liver or extra-regional lymph node metastasis, ECOG = 0, and wild RAS/BRAF status.

ABSTRACTThe white rot fungus Cerrena unicolor 87613 has been previously shown to be a promising resource in laccase production, an enzyme with significant biotechnological applications. Conventional methods face technical challenges in improving laccase activity. Attempts are still being made to develop novel approaches for further enhancing laccase activity. This study aimed to understand the regulation of laccase activity in C. unicolor 87613 for a better exploration of the novel approach. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed to identify key genes and metabolites involved in extracellular laccase activity. The findings indicated a strong correlation between the glutathione metabolism pathway and laccase activity. Subsequently, experimental verifications were conducted by manipulating the pathway using chemical approaches. The additive reduced glutathione (GSH) dose-dependently repressed laccase activity, while the GSH inhibitors (APR-246) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) inducer (H2O2) enhanced laccase activity. Changes in GSH levels could determine the intracellular redox homeostasis in interaction with ROS and partially affect the expression level of laccase genes in C. unicolor 87613 in turn. In addition, GSH synthetase was found to mediate GSH abundance in a feedback loop. This study suggests that laccase activity is negatively influenced by GSH metabolism and provides a theoretical basis for a novel strategy to enhance laccase activity by reprogramming glutathione metabolism at a specific cultivation stage.IMPORTANCEThe production of laccase activity is limited by various conventional approaches, such as heterologous expression, strain screening, and optimization of incubation conditions. There is an urgent need for a new strategy to meet industrial requirements more effectively. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome of Cerrena unicolor 87613. For the first time, we discovered a negative role played by reduced glutathione (GSH) and its metabolic pathway in influencing extracellular laccase activity. Furthermore, we identified a feedback loop involving GSH, GSH synthetase gene, and GSH synthetase within this metabolic pathway. These deductions were confirmed through experimental investigations. These findings not only advanced our understanding of laccase activity regulation in its natural producer but also provide a theoretical foundation for a strategy to enhance laccase activity by reprogramming glutathione metabolism at a specific cultivation stage.