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The effect of final rolling temperature ranging from 962 to 696 °C on as-rolled high-Mn austenitic low-temperature steel was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The microstructure of the experimental steel remained austenite without suffering ferrite phase transformation, even when produced with a final rolling temperature as low as 696 °C. A decrease in the final rolling temperature of the steel was accompanied by a decrease in grain size from 20.2 to 6.0 μm, accompanied by an increase in dislocation density from 3.01 × 1014 to 10.9 × 1014 m−2. In addition, M23C6 carbides precipitated at the grain boundaries when the final rolling temperature was below 782 °C. Grain refinement and increased dislocation density significantly enhanced the strength of the material. However, an increase in the intragranular dislocation density compromised grain deformation ability. Moreover, the precipitation of M23C6 reduced the plasticity and toughness of the material. Considering the balance between yield strength and low-temperature toughness, the optimal final rolling temperature was 898 °C; this produced a material with a yield strength of approximately 507 MPa and a low-temperature impact energy absorption of approximately 143 J.

Introduction: Biomimetic soft pneumatic actuators (SPA) with Kresling origami patterns have unique advantages over conventional rigid robots, owing to their adaptability and safety. Objectives: Inspired by cloning and moving behaviors observed from salps, we proposed an SPA based on a Kresling-like pattern with a rigid skeleton. The elongation and output force were tested, and the effectiveness of the applications with the SPA was evaluated. Methods: The proposed SPA consists of rigid skeletons and a soft skin. The rigid skeletons are constructed using layers of Kresling-like patterns, while a novel extensible inserting structure is devised to replace the folds found in conventional Kresling patterns. This innovative approach ensures that the SPA exhibits axial contraction/expansion motion without any twisting movement. To mimic the bionic characteristics of swimming and ingesting progress of salps, the proposed SPA can perform an axial contraction motion without twisting and a controllable bending motion based on multi-layered Kresling-like patterns; to mimic the cloning and releasing life phenomena of salps, the number of layers of Kresling-like patterns is changeable by adding or reducing skeleton components according to the practical needs. Results: The experimental elongation results on the SPA with multiple layers of Kresling-like patterns show that the elongation can increase to above 162% by adding layers; the experimental output force results show that the three-layer SPA can provide 6.36 N output force at an air flow rate of 10 L/min, and the output force will continue to increase as the number of layers of Kresling-like pattern increases or the air flow rate increases. Further, we demonstrate the applications of the SPA in soft grippers, scissor grippers, claw grippers and pipe crawlers. Conclusion: Our proposed SPA can avoid twisting in the radial contraction motion with high elongation and output force, and provide the practical guidance for bio-inspired soft robotic applications.

Xanthomonas oryzae are destructive phytopathogens in rice production and also an important model system for studying the interaction between plants and bacterial pathogens. Here, we report the isolation and complete genome sequence of the X. oryzae strain YXol-1. Through the identification of transcription activator-like effectors and whole-genome-based phylogenetic analysis, we confirmed that YXol-1 belongs to a rarely reported type of X. oryzae pathovar named X. oryzae pv. leersiae (Xol). The present work enriches the genetic resources of Xol for studying the evolution of X. oryzae strains and can contribute to a better understanding of Xol–host interaction. [Figure: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Abstract With increases in life expectancy, the number of patients requiring joint replacement therapy and experiencing periprosthetic osteolysis, the most common complication leading to implant failure, is growing or underestimated. In this study, we found that osteolysis progression and osteoclast differentiation in the surface of the skull bone of adult mice were accompanied by significant expansion of lymphatic vessels within bones. Using recombinant VEGF-C protein to activate VEGFR3 and promote proliferation of lymphatic vessels in bone, we counteracted excessive differentiation of osteoclasts and osteolysis caused by titanium alloy particles or inflammatory cytokines LPS/TNF-α. However, this effect was not observed in aged mice because adipogenically differentiated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) inhibited the response of lymphatic endothelial cells to agonist proteins. The addition of the JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib restored the response of lymphatic vessels to external stimuli in aged mice to protect against osteolysis progression. These findings suggest that inhibiting SASP secretion by adipogenically differentiated MSCs while activating lymphatic vessels in bone offers a new method to prevent periprosthetic osteolysis during joint replacement follow-up.

Abstract Background To provide reference for clinical development of ADCs in the industry, we analyzed the landscape and characteristics of clinical trials about antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Method Clinical trials to study ADCs used for the pharmacotherapy of cancers initiated by the sponsor were searched in the Cite line Pharma Intelligence (Trialtrove database), and the landscape and characteristics of these clinical trials were analyzed from multiple perspectives, such as the number, phases, status, indications, and targets of the clinical trials. Result As of December 31, 2022, a total of 431 clinical trials have been initiated to study ADCs used for the pharmacotherapy of cancers, and the number of the last 10 years was 5.5 times as large as the first 11 years. These clinical trials involved 47 indications, including breast cancer, lymphoma (lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s and lymphoma, Hodgkin’s), unspecified solid tumor, bladder cancer and lung cancer (lung, non-small cell cancer and lung, small cell cancer). As for each of these five indications, 50 + clinical trials have been carried out, accounting for as high as 48.50% (454/936). ADCs involve 38 targets, which are relatively concentrated. Among them, ERBB2 (HER2) and TNFRSF8 (CD30) involve in 100 + registered clinical trials, and TNFRSF17 (BCMA), NECTIN4 and CD19 in 10 + trials. The clinical trials for these five targets account for 79.02% (354/448) of the total number. Up to 93.97% (405/431) of these clinical trials explored the correlation between biomarkers and efficacy. Up to 45.91% (292/636) of Lots (lines of treatment) applied in the clinical trials were the second line. Until December 31, 2022, 54.52% (235/431) of the clinical trials have been completed or terminated. Conclusion ADCs are a hotspot of research and development in oncology clinical trials, but the indications, targets, phases, and Lot that have been registered are seemingly relatively concentrated at present. This study provides a comprehensive analysis which can assist researchers/developer quickly grasp relevant knowledge to assess a product and also providing new clues and ideas for future research.

The global supply chain has been experiencing frequent “chain break” events, raising concerns about supply chain resilience within the academic community. When innovating, enterprises require support for supply chain resilience when faced with the risk of a “chain break.” Current research primarily focuses on the impact of information technology or digital technology on enterprise supply chains, neglecting the influence of market accessibility on enterprise innovation performance through the supply chain system. By considering supply chain resilience as an influence path, this study assesses the impact of market accessibility on firms’ innovation performance. The results suggest that market accessibility significantly influences innovation performance, but its impact on innovation quality is less pronounced concerning the quantity of innovative output. The impact of market accessibility is partly due to market expansion beyond a firm's domestic boundaries. The mechanism analysis reveals that market accessibility improves supply chain resilience by optimizing efficiency and adaptability, fostering enterprise innovation performance. However, market accessibility undermines supply chain stability, enhancing innovation. Further analysis suggests that market accessibility has a stronger positive impact on the innovation performance of larger firms and their localities. Additionally, it mitigates the negative effects of geographical distance on firm innovation.

Abstract Background The immature and suppressed immune response makes transplanted children a special susceptible group to Parvovirus B19 (PVB19). However, the clinical features of transplanted children with PVB19 infection haven’t been comprehensively described. Methods We searched the medical records of all the transplant recipients who attended the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University from 1 Oct 2020 to 31 May 2023, and reviewed the medical literature for PVB19 infection cases among transplanted children. Results A total of 10 cases of PVB19 infection were identified in 201 transplanted children at our hospital, and the medical records of each of these cases were shown. Also, we retrieved 40 cases of PVB19 infection among transplanted children from the literature, thus summarizing a total of 50 unique cases of PVB19 infection. The median time to the first positive PVB19 DNA detection was 14 weeks post-transplantation. PVB19 IgM and IgG were detected in merely 26% and 24% of the children, respectively. The incidence of graft loss/dysfunction was as high as 36%. Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients showed higher PVB19 load, lower HGB level, greater platelet damage, lower PVB19 IgM/IgG positive rates, and more graft dysfunction than solid-organ transplant (SOT) recipients, indicating a more incompetent immune system. Conclusions Compared with the published data of transplanted adults, transplanted children displayed distinct clinical features upon PVB19 infection, including lower PVB19 IgM/IgG positive rates, more graft dysfunction, and broader damage on hematopoietic cell lines, which was even more prominent in HSCT recipients, thus should be of greater concern.

Phenolation is one of the effective strategies to synthesize lignin-based polyphenols, improve lignin's properties, and extend its value-added applications in biological, medicinal and cosmetic fields. Herein, by taking the structural feature advantage of lignin, an effective and green strategy was developed to molecularly engineer lignin into a robust lignin-3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)propionate ester (LPPE) derivative via a transesterification reaction between 3,4-dihydrocoumarin (DHC) and the aliphatic hydroxyls in lignin under organocatalysis. The strategy is optimized and the novel derivative was systematically characterized by 1H, 13C and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The findings indicated that the successful introduction of 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)propionate groups using a OH groups/DHC/organic base molar ratio of 1꞉1꞉0.3 at 120 °C for 6 h increased the content of phenolic hydroxyl groups from 1.793 1 to 3.017 9 mmol/g, and the LPPE exhibited excellent ultraviolet-absorbing and antioxidant performance with up to 90% free radical scavenging activity within 20 min using 5 mg/mL of LPPE. In addition, good biocompatibility and a high Sun protection factor (SPF) value of 40.9 were achieved at 5% (w) dosage of LPPE in the cream, indicating its significant application potential in sunscreen.

In conditions of low visibility, the scattering effect of atmospheric particles can result in images captured by cameras exhibiting a number of problems, including reduced contrast, color distortion, and blurred details. These issues can have a significant impact on the clarity and recognition of the images. In response to these issues, this study combines atmospheric scattering models with wavelet transform, introduces non-blind deconvolution algorithms and, finally, designs a special gamma correction function to ultimately develop a new foggy image restoration model. The relevant outcomes showed that when the dehazing model processed most image samples, its edge preservation was mainly concentrated in a relatively high range, namely [0.80, 0.96]. From the perspective of the structural similarity index, the discrete wavelet transform achieved the highest value of 0.8264. In addition, the peak signal-to-noise ratio of the improved gamma correction function was 18.346. The proposed algorithm for restoring foggy images has the advantages of high clarity, strong color restoration ability, and fast restoration speed, providing more reliable and efficient image data support for applications in related fields.

BackgroundDuring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the infection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) decreased significantly. At the beginning of the summer of 2023, there was an increasing trend of MP infection in China and the MP pneumonia (MPP) is surging when it comes to the school season and lasts for several months which has attracted widespread attention.ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the prevalent characteristics of the MP and the difference between the COVID-19 pandemic and the post in Shanghai, China.MethodsThe demographic information and the results of laboratory pathogen detection from July 2021 to May 2024 were collected and analyzed to find out the prevalent characteristics of MP. Two periods, during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic, were divided and compared. The P1 genotyping and macrolide resistance-associated gene of 23 s rRNA were detected using the remaining MP-positive samples.ResultsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of the MP has significantly decreased. Female children are more susceptible to MP infection than the male. The school-aged group (>6 years) had the highest infection rate. The rate of MP P1 genotype during post panel is higher than that during COVID-19 pandemic, which is dominant from July 2021 to May 2024, while the macrolide-resistant associated mutations (A2063G) keep high percentage during or post pandemic.ConclusionAfter the COVID-19 pandemic, an outbreak of MP infection occurred from summer onwards in 2023 with children in Shanghai, China. Immunity debt and high rate of macrolide-resistance may take effects in this MP epidemic. Continuous surveillance of MP is necessary to help to alert the prevalence of MPP.

IntroductionThe immunological characteristics that could protect children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from severe or fatal illnesses have not been fully understood yet.MethodsHere, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis on peripheral blood samples of 15 children (8 with COVID-19) and compared them to 18 adults (13 with COVID-19).ResultsThe child-adult integrated single cell data indicated that children with the disease presented a restrained response to type I interferon in most of the major immune cell types, along with suppression of upstream interferon regulatory factor and toll-like receptor expression in monocytes, which was confirmed by in vitro interferon stimulation assays. Unlike adult patients, children with COVID-19 showed lower frequencies of activated proinflammatory CD14+ monocytes, possibly explaining the rareness of cytokine storm in them. Notably, natural killer (NK) cells in pediatric patients displayed potent cytotoxicity with a rich expression of cytotoxic molecules and upregulated cytotoxic pathways, whereas the cellular senescence, along with the Notch signaling pathway, was significantly downregulated in NK cells, all suggesting more robust cytotoxicity in NK cells of children than adult patients that was further confirmed by CD107a degranulation assays. Lastly, a modest adaptive immune response was evident with more naïve T cells but less activated and proliferated T cells while less naïve B cells but more activated B cells in children over adult patients.ConclusionConclusively, this preliminary study revealed distinct cell frequency and activation status of major immune cell types, particularly more robust NK cell cytotoxicity in PBMC that might help protect children from severe COVID-19.

Objective: To examine the clinical features and synovial pathologies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients across varying titers of circulating anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA). Methodology: We devised a negative pressure suction and rebound synovial biopsy tool to enhance the yield of synovial biopsies, noted for its ease and safety of use. This research involved a retrospective examination of 60 active RA patients who underwent synovial biopsies with this tool from June to November 2013 at our institution. A range of disease activity markers were collected, including DAS28-CRP, ESR, CRP, count of swollen and tender joints, VAS pain scale, and so forth. Synovial tissue underwent HE staining and immunohistochemistry, including synovitis grading (GSS) and counting of B cells (CD20), T cells (CD3), macrophages (CD68), and plasma cells (CD138). Participants: were categorized into three groups as per ACPA titers: ACPA-negative (0–5U/mL), low-titer (5–20U/mL), and high-titer (above 20U/mL). The study compared the clinical features and synovial pathologies across these groups. Results: Of the 60 RA patients, they were segregated into three groups based on ACPA titers: 20 in ACPA-negative, 9 in the low-titer group, and 31 in the high-titer group. No significant differences were observed in GSS scores, synovial cell proliferation and loss, matrix activation, inflammatory infiltration, and neovascularization among these groups (P > 0.05). The high-titer ACPA group demonstrated significantly increased counts of CD3+ T cells, CD20+ B cells, and CD68+ macrophages in synovial tissues compared to the ACPA-negative and low-titer groups (p

Introduction: Intervertebral disc degeneration often occurs in the elderly population, but in recent years, there has been an increasing incidence of disc degeneration in younger individuals, primarily with mild degeneration.Methods: In order to explore the underlying mechanisms of disc degeneration in both young and aging individuals, we collected four types of nucleus pulposus (NP) single-cell sequencing samples for analysis based on Pfirrmann grading: normal-young (NY) (Grade I), normal-old (NO) (Grade I), mild degenerative-young (MY) (Grade II-III), and mild degenerative-old (MO) (Grade II-III).Results: We found that most NP cells in NO and MY samples exhibited oxidative stress, which may be important pathogenic factors in NO and MY groups. On the other hand, NP cells in MO group exhibited endoplasmic reticulum stress. In terms of inflammation, myeloid cells were mainly present in the degenerative group, with the MY group showing a stronger immune response compared to the MO group. Interestingly, dendritic cells in the myeloid lineage played a critical role in the process of mild degeneration.Discussion: Our study investigated the molecular mechanisms of intervertebral disc degeneration from an age perspective, providing insights for improving treatment strategies for patients with disc degeneration at different age groups.

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is often accompanied by increased excretion of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This study aimed to explore the value of exhaled H2S in the diagnosis of CRC.Methods A total of 80 people with normal colonoscopy results and 57 patients with CRC were enrolled into the present observational cohort study. Exhaled oral and nasal H2S were detected by Nanocoulomb breath analyser. Results were compared between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analysed and area under the curves (AUCs) were calculated to assess the diagnostic value of exhaled H2S. Meanwhile, the clinicopathological features, including gender, lesion location and tumour staging of patients with CRC, were also collected and analysed.Results The amount of exhaled H2S from patients with CRC was significantly higher than that of those with normal colonoscopy results. The ROC curve showed an AUC value of 0.73 and 0.71 based on oral and nasal H2S detection, respectively. The exhaled H2S in patients with CRC was correlated with gender, lesion location and tumour progression, including depth of invasion, lymphatic metastasis and TNM (Tumor, Lymph Nodes, Metastasis) staging.Conclusion Exhaled H2S analysis is a convenient and non-invasive detection method for diagnosing CRC, suggesting a potential role in population screening for CRC.

In order to realize the real-time electromagnetic transient simulation of grid-connected photovoltaic power generation system with small time step, a heterogeneous multiplexed parallel real-time simulation method based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) and central processor is studied. According to the simulation accuracy requirements of the high and low frequency decoupling module, a differentiated simulation step size is used to solve the problem, and a 1us/50us FPGA-CPU multi-rate real-time simulation platform is constructed, in which the FPGA simulation part meets the real-time requirements of small-step transient simulation through the optimization of the response matching method and the EMTP algorithm, the offline simulation results are compared with Simulink, and the model before and after optimization is analyzed, the real-time electromagnetic transient simulation results are compared with Simulink, and the model before and after optimization is analyzed. By comparing the offline simulation results with Simulink and analyzing the FPGA resource consumption before and after model optimization, the accuracy and real-time performance of the co-simulation method for real-time simulation of grid-connected photovoltaic systems are verified.

Abstract Objective To investigate the role of eye signs in predicting poor outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Methods This prospective observational study recruited patients diagnosed with SLE-PAH from Jan. 2021 to Dec. 2021 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; those with other potential causes of PAH were excluded. The evaluation of various parameters, such as N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), 6-minute walking distance (6MWD), World Health Organization functional class (WHO-FC), echocardiography, and risk stratification based on the 2015 European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) Guidelines, was conducted at intervals of every 1–3 months, and a 6-month follow-up period was observed. The primary outcome measure considered improvement if there was a decline in the risk stratification grade at the end point and unimproved if there was no decline. Conjunctival microvascular images were observed and recorded. Results A total of 29 SLE-PAH patients were enrolled, comprising 12 in the improved group and 17 in the nonimproved group. All SLE-PAH patients showed various manifestations of eye signs, including vessel twisting, dilation, ischaemic areas, haemorrhages, reticulum deformity, and wound spots. The nonimproved group exhibited significantly lower vessel density (VD) and microvascular flow index (MFI) of conjunctival microvascular images than the improved group. Correlation analysis revealed that VD displayed a negative correlation with the WHO-FC (r = −0.413, p = 0.026) and NT-proBNP (r = −0.472, p = 0.010), as well as a positive correlation with the 6MWD (r = 0.561, p = 0.002). Similarly, MFI exhibited a negative correlation with WHO-FC (r = −0.408, p = 0.028) and NT-proBNP (r = −0.472, p = 0.010) and a positive correlation with 6MWD (r = 0.157, p = 0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that VD (OR 10.11, 95% CI 1.95–52.36), MFI (OR 7.85, 95% CI 1.73–35.67), NT-proBNP, and 6MWD were influential factors in predicting the prognostic improvement of SLE-PAH patients. ROC curve analysis demonstrated that VD, MFI, 6MWD, and NT-proBNP (with respective AUC values of 0.83, 0.83, 0.76, and 0.90, respectively) possessed a sensitivity and specificity of 75 and 100%, as well as 83 and 100%, respectively. Regarding prognostic prediction, VD and MFI exhibited higher sensitivity than 6MWD, whereas MFI displayed higher sensitivity and specificity than NT-proBNP. Conclusion SLE-PAH can lead to various conjunctival microvascular manifestations in which vascular density and microvascular flow index can be used to assess cardiopulmonary function and predict therapeutic efficacy and prognosis in SLE-PAH patients.

Rehabilitation devices, such as traditional rigid exoskeletons or exosuits, have been widely used to rehabilitate upper limb function post-stroke. In this paper, we have developed an exosuit with four degrees of freedom to enable users to involve more joints in the rehabilitation process. Additionally, a hybrid electroencephalogram-based (EEG-based) control approach has been developed to promote active user engagement and provide more control commands.The hybrid EEG-based control approach includes steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) paradigm and motor imagery (MI) paradigm. Firstly, the rehabilitation movement was selected by SSVEP paradigm, and the multivariate variational mode decomposition (MVMD) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method was used for SSVEP EEG recognition; then, the motion intention was obtained by MI paradigm, and the convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory network (LSTM) were used to build a CNN-LSTM model for MI EEG recognition; finally, the recognition results were translated into control commands of Bowden cables to achieve multi-degree-of-freedom rehabilitation.Experimental results show that the average classification accuracy of the CNN-LSTM model reaches to 90.07% ± 2.23%, and the overall accuracy of the hybrid EEG-based control approach reaches to 85.26% ± 1.95%. The twelve subjects involved in the usability assessment demonstrated an average system usability scale (SUS) score of 81.25 ± 5.82. Additionally, four participants who underwent a 35-day rehabilitation training demonstrated an average 10.33% increase in range of motion (ROM) across 4 joints, along with a 11.35% increase in the average electromyography (EMG) amplitude of the primary muscle involved.The exosuit demonstrates good accuracy in control, exhibits favorable usability, and shows certain efficacy in multi-joint rehabilitation. Our study has taken into account the neuroplastic principles, aiming to achieve active user engagement while introducing additional degrees of freedom, offering novel ideas and methods for potential brain-computer interface (BCI)-based rehabilitation strategies and hardware development.Clinical impact: Our study presents an exosuit with four degrees of freedom for stroke rehabilitation, enabling multi-joint movement and improved motor recovery. The hybrid EEG-based control approach enhances active user engagement, offering a promising strategy for more effective and user-driven rehabilitation, potentially improving clinical outcomes.Clinical and Translational Impact Statement: By developing an exosuit and a hybrid EEG-based control approach, this study enhances stroke rehabilitation through better user engagement and multi-joint capabilities. These innovations consider neuroplasticity principles, integrating rehabilitation theory with rehabilitation device.

The mechanics and motion behavior of granular materials affect the production and life of human beings. In order to study the influence of the sliding friction coefficients corresponding to different contact types in the block discrete element method on the simulation results, this study established a block discrete element model to analyze a slope example based on the test method. The example was a homogeneous soil slope that did not consider water. The correctness of the models was verified by establishing the block discrete element slope model and comparing it with the known finite element method (FEM) model in terms of the maximum shear strain. Then, the sliding friction coefficient algorithm was embedded into the discrete element slope model for comparative analysis. The results show that in the calculations in the block discrete element method, the sliding friction coefficients of different contact types are different. Different sliding friction coefficients should be set based on different contact types to improve the accuracy of the simulation. Because the block discrete element model needs to preset the landslide surface of the slope, the displacement at the edge of the landslide surface is slightly different. The discrete element method (DEM) model was also compared with the block element model, and the results show that the DEM model is more stable.

The materials involved in geotechnical engineering are objects of concern in granular mechanics. In order to study the influence of the sliding friction coefficient corresponding to different-sized elements in the discrete element method (DEM) on the simulation results, we establish a two-dimensional DEM model based on the experimental method to analyze a slope example. The correctness of the DEM model is verified by comparing the sliding surface of a finite element method (FEM) model and the DEM slope model. A sliding friction coefficient algorithm based on the experimental method is embedded into the DEM slope model and compared with the original model. The comparison results show that embedding the DEM model into the sliding friction coefficient algorithm leads to an increase in displacement. The reason for this is that the contact information between elements of different sizes has changed, but the displacement trend is the same. Different sliding friction coefficients should be set based on different-sized elements in the DEM, as they can improve simulation accuracy.

Sand production in oil wells seriously affects the production of oil and gas in oilfields. Although conventional sand-control techniques can effectively prevent sand production, it may also limit the productivity of oil wells. Fracturing and packing sand control technology changes the distribution of pressure and flow in the wellbore, while foam polymer resin diversion technology reduces the anisotropy of reservoir permeability and increases the area of oil leakage in the reservoir, both achieving the goal of sand control and increased production. The sand-free production rate is successfully increased thanks to zeta potential sand control technology, which modifies the formation’s sand potential and causes the sand to agglomerate without harming the reservoir. This article first looks into the causes of sand production in oil and gas wells before examining the fundamentals, implementation strategies, and effects of traditional sand control techniques, fracturing and filling sand control technology, foam polymer resin diversion technology, and Zeta potential sand control technology. In this article, the experience of sand control technology in actual oil field applications is summarized, explained in detail, and the future development possibilities of sand control technology are discussed.

The Blasingame method is a valuable tool for analysing the diminishing production challenge in the presence of variable bottomhole pressure and diverse production conditions. It is essential to highlight that the Blasingame method views the closed reservoir as the outer boundary condition for its model. This paper introduces the concept of the equivalent well control radius and formulates the Blasingame method based on the fluid flow characteristics inherent in twin-well production, taking into account the influence of inter-well interference. This study provides an in-depth analysis of production variations in reservoirs with inter-well interference by examining Blasingame type-curve definitions of the dimensionless parameters. Additionally, it investigates key factors impacting production, including neighbouring wells’ production, distance, and opening time: variations in all three parameters lead to different levels of interference between wells, which manifests itself in the regularised production integral derivative curve with different lengths and heights of convexity. Numerical simulations employing orthogonality are conducted to validate the reliability of this method. The results of these simulations offer theoretical support for the precise evaluation of reservoirs facing similar challenges.

The cluster patterns of features in map space represent a comprehensive reflection of individual feature geometric attributes and their spatial adjacency relationships. These patterns also embody spatial cognition results under the Gestalt principle. Describing non-linear spatial cluster patterns as effective regular structures is one of the fundamental tasks in deep learning for recognizing feature cluster patterns. In this study, based on the concept of texture co-occurrence matrices from regular gray-scale images, we utilized Voronoi diagrams to construct the tessellation structure of building polygons. Built upon the foundation of first-order texton co-occurrence matrices, we established three-dimensional texton co-occurrence matrices for building polygons, considered five attributes of building size, shape, orientation, and density, and encompassed 64 different combinations of second-order neighboring directions. This matrix concretizes the latent Gestalt spatial characteristics of building polygon clusters into a three-dimensional sparse matrix. It is then used as an input vector to construct a deep convolutional neural network for recognizing building polygon cluster patterns. Through adjustments and optimizations of neural network structure and strategies, along with validation through practical case studies and comparisons with other models, we have demonstrated the effectiveness of the second-order texton co-occurrence matrix in describing the characteristics of building polygon clusters.

Bacterial blight (BB), caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is a widespread and destructive disease in rice production. Previously, we cloned an executor R gene, Xa7, which confers durable and broad-spectrum resistance to BB. Here, we further confirmed that the transcription activator-like effector (TALE) AvrXa7 in Xoo strains could directly bind to the effector-binding element (EBE) in the promoter of the Xa7 gene. Other executor R genes (Xa7, Xa10, Xa23, and Xa27) driven by the promoter of the Xa7 gene could be activated by AvrXa7 and trigger the hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco leaves. When the expression of the Xa23 gene was driven by the Xa7 promoter, the transgenic rice plants displayed a similar resistance spectrum as the Xa7 gene, demonstrating that the disease resistance characteristics of executor R genes are mainly determined by their induction patterns. Xa7 gene is induced locally by Xoo in the infected leaves, and its induction not only inhibited the growth of incompatible strains but also enhanced the resistance of rice plants to compatible strains, which overcame the shortcomings of its race-specific resistance. Transcriptome analysis of the Xa7 gene constitutive expression in rice plants displayed that Xa7-mediated disease resistance was related to the biosynthesis of lignin and thus enhanced resistance to Xoo. Overall, our results provided novel insights and important resources for further clarifying the molecular mechanisms of the executor R genes.

IntroductionAn unprecedented surge of Omicron infections appeared nationwide in China in December 2022 after the adjustment of the COVID-19 response policy. Here, we report the clinical and genomic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections among children in Shanghai during this outbreak.MethodsA total of 64 children with symptomatic COVID-19 were enrolled. SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences were obtained using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics were compared between variants. Phylogenetic tree, mutation spectrum, and the impact of unique mutations on SARS-CoV-2 proteins were analysed in silico.ResultsThe genomic monitoring revealed that the emerging BA.5.2.48 and BF.7.14 were the dominant variants. The BA.5.2.48 infections were more frequently observed to experience vomiting/diarrhea and less frequently present cough compared to the BF.7.14 infections among patients without comorbidities in the study. The high-frequency unique non-synonymous mutations were present in BA.5.2.48 (N:Q241K) and BF.7.14 (nsp2:V94L, nsp12:L247F, S:C1243F, ORF7a:H47Y) with respect to their parental lineages. Of these mutations, S:C1243F, nsp12:L247F, and ORF7a:H47Y protein were predicted to have a deleterious effect on the protein function. Besides, nsp2:V94L and nsp12:L247F were predicted to destabilize the proteins.DiscussionFurther in vitro to in vivo studies are needed to verify the role of these specific mutations in viral fitness. In addition, continuous genomic monitoring and clinical manifestation assessments of the emerging variants will still be crucial for the effective responses to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent degenerative joint disease, and PPARs are involved in its pathogenesis; however, the specific mechanisms by which changes in PPARδ impact the OA pathogenesis yet to be discovered. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how PPARδ affects the onset and development of OA. In vitro, we found that PPARδ activation ameliorated apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in OA chondrocytes stimulated by IL-1β. In addition, PPARδ activation may modulate AKT/mTOR signaling to partially regulate chondrocyte autophagy and apoptosis. In vivo, injection of PPARδ agonist into the articular cavity improved ECM degradation, apoptosis and autophagy in rats OA models generated by destabilization medial meniscus (DMM), eventually delayed degeneration of articular cartilage. Thus, targeting PPARδ for OA treatment may be a possibility.

In order to improve the oil recovery of mid-deep heavy oil reservoirs, this study investigates the efficiency of enhanced oil recovery and the mechanisms of oil displacement in mid-deep heavy oil reservoirs using different injected gases (N2, CH4, CO2) and development approaches (gas flooding and gas huff-n-puff) through a series of experiments. These experiments include high-pressure physical properties tests of crude oil after gas injection, displacement efficiency tests of gas injection, and displacement efficiency tests of gas huff-n-puff. The results indicate that for mid-deep heavy oil reservoirs, the preferred optimal injection gas is CO2, with gas huff-n-puff being the most effective development method. Furthermore, a numerical simulation study was conducted to explore the adaptability parameters of CO2 huff-n-puff development in different well patterns, encompassing variables such as the amount of gas injected per cycle, crude oil viscosity, reservoir permeability, and oil layer thickness.

Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a traumatic condition of the central nervous system that causes paralysis of the limbs. Micro electric fields (EF) have been implicated in a novel therapeutic approach for nerve injury repair and regeneration, but the effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles that are induced by micro electric fields (EF-sEVs) stimulation on SCI remain unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether EF-sEVs have therapeutic effects a rat model of SCI. EF-sEVs and normally conditioned human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells-derived small extracellular vesicles (CON-sEVs) were collected and injected intralesionally into SCI model rats to evaluate the therapeutic effects. We detect the expression of candidate long noncoding RNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (lncRNA-MALAT1) in EF-sEVs and CON-sEVs. The targets and downstream effectors of lncRNA-MALAT1 were investigated using luciferase reporter assays. Using both in vivo and in vitro experiments, we demonstrated that EF-sEVs increased autophagy and decreased apoptosis after SCI, which promoted the recovery of motor function. We further confirmed that the neuroprotective effects of EF-sEVs in vitro and in vivo correlated with the presence of encapsulated lncRNA-MALAT1 in sEVs. lncRNA-MALAT1 targeted miR-22-3p via sponging, reducing miR-22-3p’s suppressive effects on its target, SIRT1, and this translated into AMPK phosphorylation and increased levels of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. Collectively, the present study identified that the lncRNA-MALAT1 in EF-sEVs plays a neuroprotective role via the miRNA-22-3p/SIRT1/AMPK axis and offers a fresh perspective and a potential therapeutic approach using sEVs to improve SCI.

The hot-working behavior of high-Mn austenitic steel for liquefied natural gas carriers at the deformation temperature in the range of 1073–1273 K and the strain rate in the range of 0.01–10 s−1 was studied on a Gleeble-3800 thermomechanical simulator using a compression test. Electron backscatter diffraction was used to study the microstructure after deformation. Under each deformation condition, a peak stress appears in the stress-strain curve, which conforms to traditional dynamic recrystallization hot-working flow stress curves. A hyperbolic sine-law-type constitutive equation was established to predict the peak stress. The thermal deformation activation energy was 414.19 kJ/mol, and the stress index n was 4.94. The texture of the deformed grains consisted of strong and weak fibers along the compression direction. The main recrystallization mechanism was discontinuous dynamic recrystallization. The grain size of the discontinuous dynamic recrystallization grains tended to increase with increasing deformation temperature or decreasing strain rate. Processing maps were drawn based on the dynamic material model. At high deformation temperatures, the power consumption factor of dynamic recovery was greater than that of dynamic recrystallization, whereas at low deformation temperatures, the power consumption factor of discontinuous dynamic recrystallization was greater than that of dynamic recovery. There are two flow instability regions in the processing maps, 1243–1273 K/1-10 s−1 and 1073–1203 K/0.05–10 s−1. The formation of a ‘necklace microstructure’ was the main cause of deformation instability. The optimized process parameters for industrial production were 1243–1273 K/1-10 s−1.

The standard values of mechanical properties are important performance indexes of original bamboo as a sustainable building material. Such values should be determined by combining the requirement of confidence level and the number of samples. In this paper, systematic tests of longitudinal compression, bending, longitudinal tensile, longitudinal shear, transverse compression, and transverse tensile of bamboo were performed. Based on parametric and non-parametric methods, the influencing factors of the standard values of mechanical properties of bamboo were analyzed. A calculation method and prediction formulas were proposed and the standard values of mechanical properties of bamboo were determined. The results show that the choice of parametric method to calculate the standard value of bamboo strength in the case of a small number of samples may lead to distortion of the results, and the use of non-parametric analysis can effectively reduce the error.

Abstract Background It is widely known that muscle mass influences the outcomes of many chronic diseases. Erector spine mass is a convenient parameter obtained from routine abdominal computed tomography (CT). The clinical application value of erector spine mass, and whether erector spine mass could predict the outcome of disease has not been studied. Aim To evaluate the role of the erector spine index (ESI) calculated based on abdominal CT imaging in the progression of acute-on-chronic liver failure related to the hepatitis B virus (HBV-ACLF). Methods We performed a retrospective study of 118 HBV-ACLF patients and calculated the ESI (the total erector spine area normalized for height2 in meters) for each patient through abdominal CT. The findings were analyzed regarding the progression of HBV-ACLF and the ESI at baseline, including mortality and the development of complications. Results The ESI level was associated with mortality and the development of complications. During the 90-day follow-up period, patients with a low ESI (

NaNbO3(NN)-based lead-free materials are attracting widespread attention due to their environment-friendly and complex phase transitions, which can satisfy the miniaturization and integration for future electronic components. However, NN materials usually have large remanent polarization and obvious hysteresis, which are not conducive to energy storage. In this work, we investigated the effect of introducing CaTiO3((1−x)NaNbO3-xCaTiO3) on the physical properties of NN. The results indicated that as x increased, the surface topography, oxygen vacancy and dielectric loss of the thin films were significantly improved when optimal value was achieved at x = 0.1. Moreover, the 0.9NN-0.1CT thin film shows reversible polarization domain structures and well-established piezoresponse hysteresis loops. These results indicate that our thin films have potential application in future advanced pulsed power electronics.

Abstract Aim Our study aimed at investigating the risk perception of nurses and related factors in the era of COVID‐19 period. Design Cross‐sectional study. Methods Four hundred and forty‐two participants completed an online questionnaire relating to their risk perception on public health emergencies. Data were collected between 25 November 2020 and 1 December 2020. Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney U test and Ordinal logistic regression analysis were used to examine factors impacting on risk perception. Results 65.2% of nurses' risk perception of COVID‐19 was the moderate level even below the moderate level in the postperiod of COVID‐19. Kruskal–Wallis test results indicated significant differences in gender, age, education status, working years, professional title, postlevel, COVID‐19 contact experience, marital status and health status (p

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) N-glycosylation plays a crucial role in the development of inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of IgG for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer subtypes. A total of 749 GI cancer patients were enrolled from the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, including esophageal cancer (EC), gastric cancer (GC), colorectal cancer (CRC), and pancreatic cancer (PC) patients. Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (HILIC-UPLC) was employed to analyze the composition of the plasma IgG N-glycome. The levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines were detected by means of a Bio-Plex Pro Human Th17 Cytokine Assay. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was used to explore the correlation between IgG N-glycosylation patterns and inflammatory cytokines. A Lasso algorithm, accompanied by a logistic regression model, was used to develop a glycan-based model for differentiating GI cancer patients from healthy individuals. The levels of sialylation and galactosylation were significantly decreased among EC, GC, CRC, and PC patients, whereas the abundance of glycans with bisecting N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) was increased in GI cancer patients in comparison with the healthy controls. Moreover, only PC patients had a decreased level of fucosylation. The levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-31, and soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) were significantly higher in GI cancer patients than in the controls. In addition, the composition of IgG N-glycans was correlated with that of inflammatory cytokines (r = 0.556). The glycan-based models for diagnosing GI cancers exhibited an excellent performance, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of 0.972 for EC, 0.871 for GC, 0.867 for CRC, and 0.907 for PC. Our findings demonstrate that IgG N-glycosylation plays an important role in modulating the pathogenesis of GI cancers. Serological IgG N-glycosylation is thus a potential candidate for noninvasively assisting in the clinical diagnosis of GI cancer subtypes.

Abstract Objectives The role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) remains controversial and the eighth edition TNM staging scheme for MPM has not been fully verified. We aimed to develop an individualized prediction model for identifying optimal candidates for PORT among MPM patients who received surgery plus chemotherapy and externally validate the performance of the new TNM staging scheme. Materials and Methods Detailed characteristics of MPM patients during 2004–2015 were retrieved from SEER registries. Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to reduce disparities of baseline characteristics (age, sex, histologic type, stage, and type of surgery) between the PORT group and no‐PORT group. A novel nomogram was constructed based on independent prognosticators identified by multivariate Cox regression model. The discriminatory performance and degree of calibration were evaluated. We stratified patients into different risk groups according to nomogram total scores and estimated the survival benefit of PORT in different subgroups in order to identify the optimal candidates. Results We identified 596 MPM patients, among which 190 patients (31.9%) received PORT. PORT conferred significant survival benefit in the unmatched population, while there was no significant survival difference favoring PORT in the matched population. The C‐index of the new TNM staging scheme was closed to 0.5, which represented a poor discriminatory ability. A novel nomogram was constructed based on clinicopathological factors, including age, sex, histology, and N stage. We stratified patients into three risk groups. Subgroup analyses indicated that PORT was beneficial for high‐risk group (p = 0.003) rather than low‐risk group (p = 0.965) and intermediate‐risk group (p = 0.661). Conclusion We established a novel predictive model, which could make individualized prediction of survival benefit of PORT for MPM and could compensate for weakness in TNM staging system.

As the internet data centers are mushrooming, the energy consumption and carbon emission of data centers are increasing rapidly. To cut down the electricity cost and carbon emission of the data centers, we proposed an optimization method to reduce the electricity cost and carbon emission in geo-distributed multiple data centers. In the proposed method, the carbon tax is considered in the overall operation cost to optimize the carbon emission. The spatial and temporal flexibility of computational workload is fully utilized by considering the difference in renewable energy power output, local electricity and carbon emission of multiple geo-distributed data centers to achieve a better performance. Furthermore, the nonlinear characteristics of the power loss of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) are considered in the optimization. To verify the proposed optimization method, simulation of six cases is carried out with realistic data, and results have proved the proposed method can reduce the operational costs by 4.93%–12.7% and decrease carbon emissions by up to 10%.

Background: Airway remodeling is an essential pathological basis of respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD, which is significantly related to pulmonary function and clinical symptoms. And pulmonary disease can be improved by regulating airway remodeling. This study aimed to establish a knowledge map of airway remodeling to clarify current research hotspots and future research trends. Methods: A comprehensive search was performed to analyze all relevant articles on airway remodeling using the Web of Science Core Collection Database from January 01, 2004 to June 03, 2023.2 reviewers screened the retrieved literature. Besides, the CiteSpace (6.2. R3) and VOSviewer (1.6.19) were utilized to visualize the research focus and trend regarding the effect of airway remodeling. Results: A total of 4077 articles about airway remodeling were retrieved. The United States is the country with the most published literature, underscoring the country's role in airway remodeling. In recent years, China has been the country with the fastest growth in the number of published literature, suggesting that China will play a more critical role in airway remodeling in the future. From the perspective of co-operation among countries, European co-operation was closer than Asian co-operation. The co-citation analysis showed that 98,313 citations were recorded in 3594 articles, and 25 clusters could be realized. In recent years, Burst detection shows that oxidative stress and epithelial-mesenchymal transition are hot words. Conclusions: Based on the bibliometric analysis of airway remodeling studies in the past 20 years, a multi-level knowledge structure map was drawn, it mainly includes countries, institutions, research fields, authors, journals, keywords and so on. The research directions represented by obstructive airway disease, PDGF-BB treatment of airway smooth muscle, allergen-induced airway remodeling, extracellular matrix, and non-coding RNA are the research hotspots in the field of airway remodeling. While the risk factors for airway remodeling, the application of new noninvasively assessing tools, biomarkers as well as The molecular mechanism represented by EMT and autophagy had been frontiers in recent years.

Road network simplification is a complex decision-making process. Such a multi-factor decision and scaling operation traditionally applied rule-based methods. The establishment and adjustment of these rules involve many human-set parameters and conditions, which makes generalized results closely related to the cartographer’s experience and habits. On the other hand, existing methods tend to consider individual structures separately in different algorithms, such as strokes, meshes and graph networks, lacking a solution that brings the advantages of these methods together. Aiming at the above problems, this study designs a simplification method using the Mesh-Line Structure Unit (MLSU) to consider polyline and polygon characteristics simultaneously with the support of graph-based deep learning networks. In order to make generalization decisions, a model based on graph convolutional network (GCN) is constructed and trained using real data, thus realizing the road network selective omission. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method effectively achieves automatic road generalization.

Continuous adductor canal block (CACB) is almost a pure sensory nerve block and can provide effective analgesia without blocking the motor branch of the femoral nerve. Thus, the objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy of CACB versus continuous femoral nerve block (CFNB) on analgesia and functional activities in patients undergoing knee arthroplasty. PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (from inception to 3 October 2023) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared CACB with CFNB in patients undergoing knee arthroplasty. Registration in the PROSPERO International prospective register of the meta-analysis was completed, prior to initiation of the study (registration number: CRD42022363756). Two independent reviewers selected the studies, extracted data and evaluated risk of bias by quality assessment. Revman 5.4 software was used for meta-analysis and the summary effect measure were calculated by mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. Eleven studies with a total of 748 patients were finally included. Pooled analysis suggested that both CACB and CFNB showed the same degree of pain relief at rest and at motion at 12 h, 24 h and 48 h in patients undergoing knee arthroplasty. Compared with CFNB, CACB preserved the quadriceps muscle strength better (P

Tight gas reservoirs with mobile water exhibit multi-phase flow and high stress sensitivity. Accurately analyzing the reservoir and well parameters using conventional single-phase rate transient analysis methods proves challenging. This study introduces novel rate transient analysis methods incorporating evaluation processes based on the conventional flowing material balance method and the Blasingame type-curve method to examine fractured gas wells producing water. By positing a gas-water two-phase equivalent homogenous phase that considers characteristics of mobile water, gas, and high stress sensitivity, the conventional single-phase rate transient analysis methods can be applied by integrating the phase's characteristics and defining the phase's normalized parameters and material balance pseudo-time. The rate transient analysis methods based on the equivalent homogenous phase can be used to quantitatively assess the parameters of wells and gas reservoirs, such as original gas-in-place, fracture half-length, reservoir permeability, and well drainage radius. This facilitates the analysis of production dynamics of fractured wells and well-controlled areas, subsequently aiding in locating residual gas and guiding the configuration of well patterns. The specific evaluation processes are detailed. Additionally, a numerical simulation mechanism model was constructed to verify the reliability of the developed methods. The methods introduced have been successfully implemented in field water-producing gas wells within tight gas reservoirs containing mobile water.

In recent years, the installed capacity of renewable energy systems has seen rapid growth, particularly in photovoltaic (PV) power. Photovoltaic modules, being the fundamental elements of the PV system, play a crucial role in determining system performance. However, the challenge arises from the inconsistent decay rates of PV modules, which significantly impact the accuracy of PV system modeling. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel MIC-LSTM based parameter extraction method for the single-diode PV model. This method focuses on accurately deriving PV module model parameters under various decay rates. By establishing a mapping relationship between the current-voltage (I-V) curve characteristics and the five unknown parameters in the photovoltaic module model, the proposed method demonstrates high precision in parameter extraction. Simulation and experimental verifications are carried out to validate the proposed method, where the extraction accuracy is 99.3%, 98.39%, 98.85%, 97.91%, and 98.36% for the five unknown model parameters.

Objective: To mine and analyze the adverse reaction signals of human serum albumin (HSA) using the FDA adverse event reporting system (FAERS) database for the safe clinical use of this drug.Methods: Data cleaning and analysis of adverse event reports in the FAERS database for a total of 76 quarters from Q1 2004 to Q4 2022 were performed using the reporting odds ratio (ROR), Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN). Gender-differentiated signal detection was used to investigate the gender differences in the occurrence of HSA adverse events.Results: Through a combination of three methods, a total of 535 adverse event reports were identified. These reports involved 1,885 cases of adverse reactions, with respiratory, thoracic, and mediastinal disorders, as well as general disorders and administration site conditions, as the most common. One noteworthy new signal was the occurrence of transfusion-related acute lung injury. Additionally, gender-differentiated signals were present, with females experiencing paraesthesia, hypertension, pulmonary oedema, loss of consciousness, and vomiting.Conclusion: This study has revealed that HSA poses a risk of causing transfusion-related acute lung injury. It has also been observed that adverse reactions, including paraesthesia, hypertension, pulmonary oedema, loss of consciousness, and vomiting, are more prevalent in females. These findings should be taken into account when using HSA in a clinical setting.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a common neurodegenerative disease. Its molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we obtained differential mRNA expression in the cochlea of 2-month-old miR-29a+/+ mice and miR-29a−/− mice by RNA-seq. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was used to identify molecular functions associated with hearing in miR-29a−/− mice, including being actin binding (GO: 0003779) and immune processes. We focused on the intersection of differential genes, miR-29a target genes and the sensory perception of sound (GO:0007605) genes, with six mRNA at this intersection, and we selected Col1a1 as our target gene. We validated Col1a1 as the direct target of miR-29a by molecular and cellular experiments. Total 6 pathways involved in Col1a1 were identified by through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. We selected the focal adhesion pathway as our target pathway based. Their expression levels in miR-29a−/− mice were verified by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Compared with miR-29a+/+ mice, the expression levels of Col1a1, Itga4, Itga2, Itgb3, Itgb7, Pik3r3 and Ptk2 were different in miR-29a−/− mice. Immunofluorescence was used to locate genes in the cochlea. Col1a1, Itga4 and Itgb3 were differentially expressed in the basilar membranes and stria vascularis and spiral ganglion neurons compared to miR-29a+/+ mice. Pik3r3 and Ptk2 were differentially expressed in the basilar membranes and stria vascularis, but not at the s spiral ganglion neurons compared to miR-29a+/+ mice.Our results show that when miR-29a is knocked out, the Col1a1 mediates the focal adhesion pathway may affect the hearing of miR-29a−/− mice. These findings may provide a new direction for effective treatment of age-related hearing loss.

The high temperature melting and sintering of Cu powder will seriously limit the coverage of graphene on the surface of Cu powder during the in-situ generation of graphene. To solve this problem, MgO was added as a dispersant preventing Cu powders from bonding together due to surface melting during the chemical vapor deposition. The results show that the graphene/Cu powder prepared by this method had higher coverage, and the graphene/Cu composite sintered had better mechanical and anti-corrosion properties. It was attributed to the grain refinement strengthening effect and dislocation strengthening effect by the introduction of graphene. Meanwhile, graphene reduced the coverage of CuCl during Cl− corrosion. Therefore, this method provided a new idea for the preparation of high strength and high corrosion-resistant graphene/Cu composites.

Supercritical multi-source, multi-component thermal fluid is a heavy oil thermal recovery method independently developed by China National Offshore Oil Co., Ltd (Beijing, China). It uses waste liquid at the production end of the production well as the water source, the injection medium temperature exceeds 374 °C, 22.1 MPa, and all the produced flue gas is re-injected. Compared with steam huff and puff technology, supercritical technology has the advantages of high enthalpy value, high heat utilization rate, good oil displacement effect, and being green and pollution-free. In addition, its oil–water treatment cost is low, it can realize the reuse of organic matter, it has a good cost advantage of water treatment under the background of low carbon, and it is a thermal recovery method with great application potential for offshore heavy oil. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out research on the adaptability and application potential of supercritical multi-source, multi-heat flow thermal recovery technology in the sea. Based on the laboratory one-dimensional displacement experiment, this paper reveals the mechanism of heavy oil supercritical multi-source multi-component thermal fluid displacement and the contribution of supercritical components to the displacement effect, and establishes the supercritical multi-source, multi-component thermal fluid numerical simulation characterization method. Combined with the characteristics of offshore heavy oil reserves, the main control factors affecting supercritical multi-source, multi-component thermal fluid development were established by numerical simulation and orthogonal test methods, and the adaptive screening method of offshore supercritical technology was established. The application potential of 670 million tons of offshore heavy oil reserves was evaluated and sorted, and KL 10-2 oilfield was selected as the pilot test oilfield. The results show that supercritical technology has great advantages in oil displacement and water treatment cost reduction, and the results play an important guiding significance for the development of offshore heavy oil technology system and the iteration of new technology.

OVATE family proteins (OFPs) are a kind of plant-specific transcription factor, which play important roles in the growth and development of plants. Here, we performed a genome-wide investigation of the OFP gene family members in the wild diploid strawberry (Fragaria vesca, 2n = 14), and analyzed their physical and chemical properties, gene structure, phylogeny, expression patterns, and the subcellular localizations of these genes. Fourteen OFP genes from F.vesca were identified. Collinearity analysis showed ten pairs of collinearity between F. vesca and Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis divided FvOFP genes into five different clades. The expression patterns of the FvOFP genes assayed in different tissues of F. vesca by Reverse Transcription Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) showed that FvOFP1, FvOFP11, FvOFP12, and FvOFP14 were highly expressed in achene and their expression was further verified in the fruits at different developmental stages. Additionally, the subcellular localizations of FvOFP1, FvOFP11, FvOFP12, and FvOFP14 were preliminarily analyzed in tobacco leaves. The results showed clear fluorescent signals in the nucleus. Our results provided a comprehensive understanding of the potential function of FvOFP genes in strawberries.

In situ combustion (ISC), an efficient and economical method for enhancing heavy oil recovery in high-pressure, high-viscosity, and thermally challenged reservoirs, relies on the kinetics of crude oil oxidation. Despite an increased focus on kinetic models, there is a gap in understanding how oxidation kinetic parameters impact ISC effectiveness in heavy oil reservoirs. This study addresses this by selecting heavy oil samples from the G Block in the Liaohe oilfield and the M Block in the Huabei oilfield and conducting ramped temperature oxidation (RTO), pressure differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments. RTO detailed the thermal conversion process, categorizing oxidation into low-temperature oxidation (LTO), fuel deposition (FD), and high-temperature oxidation (HTO) stages. PDSC and TGA provided thermal characteristics and kinetic parameters. The feasibility of fire flooding was evaluated. Using CMG-STARS, an ISC model was established to analyze the impact of kinetic parameter changes. Activation energy significantly affected coke combustion, while the pre-exponential factor had a notable impact on cracking reactions. The recommended values for activation energy and the pre-exponential factor are provided. This study not only guides fire flooding experiments but also supports field engineering practices, particularly for in situ combustion in heavy oil reservoirs.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a versatile sphingolipid that is generated through the phosphorylation of sphingosine by sphingosine kinase (SPHK). S1P exerts its functional effects by binding to the G protein-coupled S1P receptor (S1PR). This lipid mediator plays a pivotal role in various cellular activities. The S1P/S1PR signaling pathway is implicated in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases, significantly contributing to the functioning of the immune system. It plays a crucial role in diverse physiological and pathophysiological processes, including cell survival, proliferation, migration, immune cell recruitment, synthesis of inflammatory mediators, and the formation of lymphatic and blood vessels. However, the full extent of the involvement of this signaling pathway in the development of autoimmune diseases remains to be fully elucidated. Therefore, this study aims to comprehensively review recent research on the S1P/S1PR axis in diseases related to autoimmunity.

IntroductionHuman astrovirus (HAstV) is an important pathogen of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in children. This study was aimed at investigating the diversity and epidemiology of classic and novel HAstV in outpatient children aged 0–16 years old with AGE in Shanghai.MethodsFrom May 2020 to December 2022, a total of 1,482 stool samples were collected from children diagnosed as AGE from the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University. HAstV was identified using pan-astrovirus consensus primers by Reverse transcription PCR.ResultsDuring the study period, 3.3% (49/1,482) of specimens were identified as HAstV, with a detection rate of 2.5% (37/1,482) for classic HAstV and 0.8% (12/1,482) for novel HAstV. Among the 12 novel HAstV strains, 11 (91.7%) belonged to the HAstV-MLB and 1 (8.3%) was HAstV-VA. Genotyping revealed six circulating genotypes. Strain HAstV-1 was predominant in the study population with a detection rate of 1.8% (26/1,482) followed by HAstV-MLB1 (0.7%, 10/1,482) and HAstV-4 (0.6%, 9/1,482). Of note, all the HAstV-4 strains detected in this study were close to one astrovirus strain isolated from Bactrian camels with 99.0-100.0% amino acid sequences identity. In this study, HAstV was detected in all age groups with the highest detection rate of HAstV-positive specimens observed in children older than 73 months (5.7%, 12/209).DiscussionThis study provided useful information and contributed to the molecular epidemiology of both classic and novel HAstV, which were simultaneously characterized and reported for the first time in Shanghai.