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Abstract Background Respiratory infectious diseases have the highest incidence among infectious diseases worldwide. Currently, global monitoring of respiratory pathogens primarily focuses on influenza and coronaviruses. This study included influenza and other common respiratory pathogens to establish a local respiratory pathogen spectrum. We investigated and analyzed the co-infection patterns of these pathogens and explored the impact of lifting non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the transmission of influenza and other respiratory pathogens. Additionally, we used a predictive model for infectious diseases, utilizing the commonly used An autoregressive comprehensive moving average model (ARIMA), which can effectively forecast disease incidence. Methods From June 2023 to February 2024, we collected influenza-like illness (ILI) cases weekly from the community in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, and obtained 2046 samples. We established a spectrum of respiratory pathogens in Nanjing and analysed the age distribution and clinical symptom distribution of various pathogens. We compared age, gender, symptom counts, and viral loads between individuals with co-infections and those with single infections. An autoregressive comprehensive moving average model (ARIMA) was constructed to predict the incidence of respiratory infectious diseases. Results Among 2046 samples, the total detection rate of respiratory pathogen nucleic acids was 53.37% (1092/2046), with influenza A virus 479 cases (23.41%), influenza B virus 224 cases (10.95%), and HCoV 95 cases (4.64%) being predominant. Some pathogens were statistically significant in age and number of symptoms. The positive rate of mixed infections was 6.11% (125/2046). There was no significant difference in age or number of symptoms between co-infection and simple infection. After multiple iterative analyses, an ARIMA model (0,1,4), (0,0,0) was established as the optimal model, with an R2 value of 0.930, indicating good predictive performance. Conclusions The spectrum of respiratory pathogens in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, was complex in the past. The primary age groups of different viruses were different, causing various symptoms, and the co-infection of viruses did not correlate with the age and gender of patients. The ARIMA model estimated future incidence, which plateaued in subsequent months.

Abstract Quantification of behavior is critical in diverse applications from neuroscience, veterinary medicine to animal conservation. A common key step for behavioral analysis is first extracting relevant keypoints on animals, known as pose estimation. However, reliable inference of poses currently requires domain knowledge and manual labeling effort to build supervised models. We present SuperAnimal, a method to develop unified foundation models that can be used on over 45 species, without additional manual labels. These models show excellent performance across six pose estimation benchmarks. We demonstrate how to fine-tune the models (if needed) on differently labeled data and provide tooling for unsupervised video adaptation to boost performance and decrease jitter across frames. If fine-tuned, SuperAnimal models are 10–100× more data efficient than prior transfer-learning-based approaches. We illustrate the utility of our models in behavioral classification and kinematic analysis. Collectively, we present a data-efficient solution for animal pose estimation.

Abstract Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a promising method for tumor treatment due to its non‐invasive and high spatiotemporal selectivity. However, PDT is still hindered by reactive oxygen species deficiency, because solid tumors feature a hypoxic microenvironment. PDT combined with hypoxia‐activated chemotherapy drugs can effectively induce tumor death, overcoming the limitations of the sole PDT for the fight against hypoxia. Herein, we designed a nanosystem (PCe6AZOM) that enhances the release of hypoxia‐activated drugs (AZOM) by PDT. Under hypoxic conditions, the azo bond of AZOM is cleaved by azo reductase, releasing highly cytotoxic AZOM and resulting in a significant increase in intratumor drug concentration. Meanwhile, the commercial photosensitizer Ce6 can aggravate the oxygen‐poor state during the PDT process and further cause more AZOM release. Moreover, the cascade reactions in the nanosystem could activate singlet oxygen and enhance drug release through 660 nm light laser irradiation, contributing to more effective induction of tumor apoptosis and tumor growth retardation in vitro and in vivo.

Abstract Small‐scale robots offer significant potential in minimally invasive medical procedures. Due to the nature of soft biological tissues, however, robots are exposed to complex environments with various challenges in locomotion, which is essential to overcome for useful medical tasks. A single mini‐robot often provides insufficient force on slippery biological surfaces to carry medical instruments, such as a fluid catheter or an electrical wire. Here, for the first time, a team of millirobots (TrainBot) is reported to generate around two times higher actuating force than a TrainBot unit by forming a convoy to collaboratively carry long and heavy cargos. The feet of each unit are optimized to increase the propulsive force around three times so that it can effectively crawl on slippery biological surfaces. A human‐scale permanent magnetic set‐up is developed to wirelessly actuate and control the TrainBot to transport heavy and lengthy loads through narrow biological lumens, such as the intestine and the bile duct. The first electrocauterization performed by the TrainBot is demonstrated to relieve a biliary obstruction and open a tunnel for fluid drainage and drug delivery. The developed technology sheds light on the collaborative strategy of small‐scale robots for future minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Abstract Background Pneumonic-type lung adenocarcinoma (P-ADC) is a rare and challenging subtype of primary lung cancer that can be difficult to distinguish from pneumonia based on radiological images. Furthermore, no drugs are currently available that specifically target KRAS G12V. Case presentation Here we report a case of P-ADC with typical and informative imaging features throughout the course of the disease, including patchy shadows, high-density lesions with aerated bronchus, diffuse ground-glass opacities, and nodular shadows from computed tomography (CT) scan. The KRAS G12V mutation was detected using Next-generation sequencing (NGS). An individualized Afatinib-based therapeutic schedule was prescribed and achieved sustained response after multiple lines of treatment had failed. Conclusion Our case highlights the typical and dynamic changes in imaging features of P-ADC and provides an indicative treatment strategy for KRAS G12V-mutated lung adenocarcinoma.

Abstract Background Inflammation has become a critical pathological mechanism of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). NLRP3 is a critical inflammatory pathway to maintain the immune balance. Recently, preclinical evidence showed that Resolvin D1 might potentially offer a new option for antidepressant treatment due to its protective effects through the inhibition of neuroinflammation. However, whether they have clinical value in the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of adolescent depression was unclear. Methods Forty-eight untreated first-episode adolescent patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder, as well as 30 healthy adolescents (HCs, age and gender-matched), were enrolled for this study. Their ages ranged from 13 to 18 (15.75 ± 1.36) years. The patients were treated with fluoxetine for 6–8 weeks. HDRS-17 was used to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms. Venous blood samples were collected at baseline for the two groups and at the time-point of post-antidepressant treatment for the patients. Serum concentrations of RvD1, NLRP3, IL-1β, IL-18, and IL-4 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) pre- and post-fluoxetine treatment. Results Serum levels of RvD1 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 were significantly elevated in adolescents with MDD compared to healthy adolescents, but no significant difference in NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 between the two groups. Meanwhile, RvD1 (positively) and IL-4 (negatively) were correlated with the severity of symptoms (HDRS-17 scores) after adjusting age, gender, and BMI. Interestingly, fluoxetine treatment significantly reduced the serum levels of RvD1, NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 in MDD adolescents but increased the levels of IL-4 relative to baseline. Furthermore, we observed that serum levels of RvD1 might be an excellent distinguishing indicator for depression and healthy adolescents. Conclusions Our study is the first to compare RvD1 and NLRP3 between adolescent MDD and HCs. Our findings of reactive increase of RvD1 in adolescent MDD comprised a novel and critical contribution. Our results showed the presence of inflammation resolution unbalanced in adolescents with MDD and indicated that RvD1 might be an ideal biomarker for diagnosing and treating adolescent MDD.

Nanoindentation test method is widely used to measure the material hardness, which is a standard test and the effect of measurement error is limited. However, the measured results of the nano-hardness for the same plane of single crystal materials, such as sapphire, were very different. The possible reason for the difference of nano-hardness is induced by the anisotropy of single crystal materials. In this study, nanoindentation tests were carried out to obtain the nano-hardness of C-plane sapphire. The tests with two different indenter orientations were designed as follow. On C-plane, one edge of the Berkovich indenter was indented parallel to the direction [101‾0], as well as one edge indented perpendicular to the direction [101‾0] for comparison. The average hardness was 25.58 GPa and 29.64 GPa respectively. Molecular dynamics simulation was employed to reveal the generation mechanism of anisotropy in nanoindentation process. The results showed that the distribution of subsurface dislocations and the activation of slip systems were affected by indenter orientations, which resulted in the difference in nano-hardness. When one edge of the Berkovich indenter was indented perpendicular to the direction [101‾0], C-plane sapphire had a stronger ability to resist deformation, showing a higher hardness on the macroscopic level.

To counter heterodyne measurements, correlation attacks, and known plaintext attacks, seed key refresh is critical to the security of a quantum noise stream cipher system. Integrated key distribution is an important means to reduce the deployment cost, as key exchange and public transmission are performed over the same channel. In this paper, we propose a novel method for integrated key distribution by optical steganography based on dither-remodulation in a bias controller of the Mach-Zehnder modulator. No extra wavelength or bandwidth is used for the stealth channel, which is transmitted together within the public channel. The concealing depth of the stealth signal reaches −36.2 dB, and its steganographic effect provides additional security, which further improves the overall security of the optical physical layer. The bidirectional stealth transmission can support light-weight temporary key exchange mechanism, combined with asymmetric encryption algorithm, to achieve high security and forward/backward security of seed keys. We experimentally demonstrate a real-time integrated key distribution via optical steganography in a QNSC system. The experimental results show that a real-time bidirectional stealth link is established at a rate of 1 kbps in a fiber transmission distance of 97 km for a public QNSC transmission at a rate of 32 Gbps, providing a seed key refresh frequency of over 1 Hz.

Abstract The current reliability criterion (RC) of the film capacitor (FC) is usually a fixed value, which does not consider the staged capacitance loss caused by moisture diffusion under high temperature and/or high humidity. The expected lifetime of capacitors would deviate far from the actual one. The moisture diffusion process of the encapsulated FC is analysed based on Fick's second law. In order to investigate the capacitance loss and moisture diffusion characteristics, 4 types of film capacitors are stressed with AC voltage under different temperatures and humidities. Based on the staged analysis of the capacitance and weight gain curves, the effect of moisture diffusion on capacitance loss is revealed. Results indicate that the linear stage of capacitance loss corresponds to the Fickian moisture diffusion stage of weight gain. The effect of voltage on FC aging is the most significant. The capacitance loss rate increases by 301% when the voltage rises by 30%. An RC calculation method of the FC is further proposed, which could also screen the encapsulation quality and shorten the aging test duration by at least 80%.

For the problem of the rotor position estimation and control accuracy of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), this paper proposes a PMSM sensorless based on radial basis function (RBF) neural network optimized Automatic disturbance rejection control (RBF-ADRC) and strong tracking filter (STF) improved square root generalized fifth-order cubature Kalman filter (SGHCKF-STF). The Automatic disturbance rejection control (ADRC) has strong robustness, but there are many parameters and difficult to adjust. Now we use RBF neural network to adjust the parameters in ADRC online so as to improve the robustness and anti-disturbance ability. In order to improve the estimation accuracy of rotor position and speed, the orthogonal triangle (QR) decomposition and STF are introduced on the basis of the generalized fifth-order cubature Kalman filter (GHCKF) to design the SGHCKF-STF algorithm that not only ensure the non-positive nature of the covariance matrix but also improve the ability to cope with sudden changes in state during the filtering process. Experimental results show that the combination of RBF-ADRC and SGHCKF-STF improve the sensorless control effect of the PMSM to some extent.

Abstract Background Prior study reported that mushroom consumption was associated with a lower incidence of hyperuricemia, but there is limited evidence on this association. We conducted a collaborative study to investigate the association between mushroom intake and hyperuricemia in middle-aged and older populations. Methods We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the U.S. (2007–2018) and the National Institute for Longevity Sciences-Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA) in Japan (1997–2012). Consumption of mushroom (g/day) were measured by one- or two-day dietary recall in NHANES and by 3-day dietary records in the NILS-LSA. Hyperuricemia was defined using uric acid levels as > 420 μmol/L and > 350 μmol/L in NHANES for men and women, respectively; in the NILS-LSA, serum uric acid was repeatedly measured at baseline and follow-up surveys. Hyperuricemia was defined as uric acid levels > 416.4 μmol/L for men and ≥ 356.9 μmol/L for women. Logistic regression models in NHANES (cross-sectionally) and Generalized Estimation Equations in NILS-LSA (longitudinally) were performed. Results A total of 5,778 NHANES participants (mean (SD) age: 53.2 (9.6) years) and 1,738 NILS-LSA (mean (SD) age: 53.5 (11.2) years) were included. Mushrooms were consumed by 5.7% of participants in NHANES and 81.2% in NILS-LSA. We did not observe a significant association between mushroom intakes and hyperuricemia in the NHANES men and women. However, in the NILS-LSA, compared to non-consumers, a higher mushroom intake was associated with a lower risk of incident hyperuricemia in men under 65 years old. The adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) for non-consumers, participants with middle, and the highest consumption of mushrooms were 1.00 (Ref.), 0.77 (0.44, 1.36), and 0.55 (0.31, 0.99), respectively (P-trend = 0.036). No association was found in women in NILS-LSA. Conclusions Mushroom consumption was associated with a lower risk of incident hyperuricemia in Japanese men.

We extracted the spatial characteristics of the health-related behaviors of 1223 older adults of Tujia, Yao, Miao and Dong ethnicity living in 20 villages in western Hunan, considering three dimensions: spontaneously healthy, health-necessary, and mentally healthy behavior. We constructed separate prediction models using logistic regression, support vector machine, categorical boosting, random decision forest, light gradient boosting machine, and extreme gradient boosting. We then combined these models with Shapley additive explanations to complete a global explanatory analysis to explore the correlation between location and the health behaviors of older adults of different ethnicities living in villages. The support vector model and gradient boosting tree models produced the most accurate simulations of the health behaviors of older adults. We found significant differences in the health behaviors of the older adults in the different villages, noting the preferences of the older adults of specific ethnicities. This study provides a reference for the excavation of the health behavior of older adults and the aging design of village spaces.

Abstract Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is a major cause of cancer-related mortality due to the absence of effective therapeutics. Thus, it is urgent to discover new drugs for mCRC. Fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) is a potential therapeutic target with high level in most malignant cancers including CRC. FUT8 mediates the core fucosylation of CD276 (B7-H3), a key immune checkpoint molecule (ICM), in CRC. FUT8-silence-induced defucosylation at N104 on B7-H3 attracts heat shock protein family A member 8 (HSPA8, also known as HSC70) to bind with 106-110 SLRLQ motif and consequently propels lysosomal proteolysis of B7-H3 through the chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) pathway. Then we report the development and characterization of a potent and highly selective small-molecule inhibitor of FUT8, named FDW028, which evidently prolongs the survival of mice with CRC pulmonary metastases (CRPM). FDW028 exhibits potent anti-tumor activity by defucosylation and impelling lysosomal degradation of B7-H3 through the CMA pathway. Taken together, FUT8 inhibition destabilizes B7-H3 through CMA-mediated lysosomal proteolysis, and FDW028 acts as a potent therapeutic candidate against mCRC by targeting FUT8. FDW028, an inhibitor specifically targeted FUT8, promotes defucosylation and consequent HSC70/LAMP2A-mediated lysosomal degradation of B7-H3, and exhibits potent anti-mCRC activities.

Abstract Background The incidental finding of thyroid inclusions in lymph nodes of neck dissections of non-thyroid cancer patients is an unusual event. It is still controversial for pathologists about whether this represents benign inclusions or metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). This study is to analyze clinicopathological features of such cases in an attempt to explore their clinical implications. Methods Pathological data were searched for incidentally detected PTC of cervical lymph nodes in non-thyroid cancer cases. Clinicopathological characteristics were reevaluated and recorded. BRAF V600E protein expression and sequencing analysis was then performed in cases with sufficient tissues. Results 31 patients had an incidental finding of PTC in lymph nodes of patients with non-thyroid cancer. BRAF immunohistochemical staining were performed in 17 metastatic lymph nodes with sufficient tumor tissues, and 6 were positive. BRAF V600E point mutation was detected in 5 of 6 BRAF V600E positive cases. Subsequent imaging examinations of the thyroid showed no nodules or calcifications/benign nodules in 20 patients, and suspected malignant nodules in 5 patients. 12 patients underwent total thyroidectomy or ipsilateral lobectomy, and 6 showed PTC in postoperative pathological examinations. The remaining 19 patients without surgery were kept under active surveillance, and no one had recurrence of PTC. Conclusion Incidentally discovered PTC in lymph nodes has usually interpreted as metastasis from a clinical occult thyroid primary cancer, but primary PTC was not always detected. This suggests it could be double occult lesions. With regards to concurrence with highly malignant tumor, most patients could keep regular surveillance.

With the continuous improvement of people ‘s living standards, people have put forward higher requirements for the safety and comfort of housing. Therefore, Inherent Defect Insurance, a financial method to guarantee the quality of construction projects, has also emerged. At present, China ‘s Inherent Defect Insurance has been gradually promoted, but its claim mechanism has not been analyzed and studied. From the perspective of construction engineering, this paper first makes a bibliometric analysis of the influencing factors of insurance claims that may be caused by construction engineering quality through VOSViewers, and the evaluation index system of inherent defects is constructed. Then, according to the influencing factors, the PSO-LSSVR model is adopted to fit the performance function of the inherent defects. Finally, based on the reliability design principle of engineering structure, the reliability index and failure probability of Inherent Defect Insurance are derived from the performance function of inherent defects. This paper also analyzes its application in insurance practice and determines the relationship between the number of insurance underwriting policies and the initial reserve of insurance at a certain risk level. This paper studies the probability of Inherent Defect Insurance by constructing the reliability model of inherent defect risks in construction quality, and analyzes the anti-risk ability of insurance companies from the perspective of claim, which provides scientific analysis methods and theoretical basis for the scientific decision-making of insurance companies.

The architecture of apple trees plays a pivotal role in shaping their growth and fruit-bearing potential, forming the foundation for precision apple management. Traditionally, 2D imaging technologies were employed to delineate the architectural traits of apple trees, but their accuracy was hampered by occlusion and perspective ambiguities. This study aimed to surmount these constraints by devising a 3D geometry-based processing pipeline for apple tree structure segmentation and architectural trait characterization, utilizing point clouds collected by a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). The pipeline consisted of four modules: (a) data preprocessing module, (b) tree instance segmentation module, (c) tree structure segmentation module, and (d) architectural trait extraction module. The developed pipeline was used to analyze 84 trees of two representative apple cultivars, characterizing architectural traits such as tree height, trunk diameter, branch count, branch diameter, and branch angle. Experimental results indicated that the established pipeline attained an R2 of 0.92 and 0.83, and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 6.1 cm and 4.71 mm for tree height and trunk diameter at the tree level, respectively. Additionally, at the branch level, it achieved an R2 of 0.77 and 0.69, and a MAE of 6.86 mm and 7.48° for branch diameter and angle, respectively. The accurate measurement of these architectural traits can enable precision management in high-density apple orchards and bolster phenotyping endeavors in breeding programs. Moreover, bottlenecks of 3D tree characterization in general were comprehensively analyzed to reveal future development.

MET alterations, including MET exon 14 skipping variants, MET amplification, MET overexpression, and MET fusion, play pivotal roles in primary tumorigenesis and acquired resistance to targeted therapies, especially EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. They represent important diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers in many solid tumor types. However, the detection of MET alterations is challenging due to the complexity of MET alterations and the diversity of platform technologies. Therefore, techniques with high sensitivity, specificity, and reliable molecular detection accuracy are needed to overcome such hindrances and aid in biomarker-guided therapies. The current review emphasizes the role of MET alterations as oncogenic drivers in a variety of cancers and their involvement in the development of resistance to targeted therapies. Moreover, our review provides an overview of and recommendations on the selection of various cross-platform technologies for the detection of MET exon 14 skipping variants, MET amplification, MET overexpression, and MET fusion. Furthermore, challenges and hurdles underlying these common detection platforms are discussed.

Habitat heterogeneity leads to genome-wide differentiation and morphological and ecological differentiation, which will progress along the speciation continuum, eventually leading to speciation. Phragmites hirsuta and Phragmites australis are sympatric congeners that coexist in saline-alkaline meadow soil (SAS) and sandy soil (SS) habitats of the Songnen Meadow. The results provided genetic evidence for two separate species of reeds. Genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure supported the specialist-generalist variation hypothesis (SGVH) in these two sympatric reed species, suggesting that P. australis is a generalist and P. hirsuta is a habitat specialist. When we compared these different species with respect to phenotypic and genetic variation patterns in different habitats, we found that the phenotypic differentiation of P. australis between the two habitats was higher than that of P. hirsuta. Multiple subtle differences in morphology, genetic background, and habitat use collectively contribute to ecological success for similar congeners. This study provided evidence of the two reed congeners, which should contribute to their success in harsh environments.

The Taixi anthracite was used as the raw materials, and mixed with different masses of additives, namely silicon oxide, titanium oxide, and iron oxide, to prepare the coal-based graphite by high temperature graphitization. The microstructure of coal-based graphite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser confocal Raman spectroscopy (Raman) and Specific surface area and porosity analyzer.The results show that the graphitization degree of the coal-based graphite can reach over 89% after high temperature heat treatment at 2800 °C , which significantly improves the microcrystalline structure of anthracite and achieves orderly rearrangement of sp2 hybrid carbon atoms in the coal. Under the same additive mixing level, the graphitization degree and stacking height of coal-based graphite with titanium dioxide as additive are relatively high, the difference between the layer spacing and the ideal graphite layer spacing is the smallest, and the degree of ordering of carbon materials is the highest. The Raman spectroscopy results showed that the order degree of coal -based graphite prepared under different additives was significantly different, and the order degree of TXSC3, TXTC2 and TXIC3 coal-based graphite was the highest among the additives. Under the electron microscope, it is found that under the conditions of three additives, the scales, spherical and two shapes of coal-based graphite can be prepared separately. It can be seen from the specific surface area and pore size distribution data of coal-based graphite that they have similar low-temperature nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms.

China is striving to reach a peak in its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The accurate accounting of carbon emissions is important for achieving these dual carbon goals. An extensive literature review and field measurements were conducted to investigate the specific impact of population density on carbon emissions in large integrated healthcare organizations. This research uses VOSviewer to visualize the literature analysis. We determined that the flow of people is a key factor affecting carbon emissions during the operational phase of large-scale comprehensive medical institutions. Through field measurements, the relationship between the density of pedestrian flow and indoor environment measurements was derived, and the incremental equipment operating loads caused by changes in the indoor environment were analyzed. Using the carbon emission factor method advocated by the IPCC, a carbon emission accounting model based on different flow intervals was constructed, and the energy consumption of different equipment was fully considered according to its proportion. The validation results showed that the error between the calculated value and the actual values of the model was 3.07% (less than 5%), which has good validity. The model calculates the direct and indirect carbon emissions in the operational phase based on the population flow perspective, which can provide a reference for the energy-saving design and green operation of large-scale comprehensive medical institutions. The research will continue to focus on the population flow, and the accounting model will be further optimized through machine learning algorithms.

The method of improving the electrochromic properties of tungsten oxide by doping has attracted great interest. In this study, we successfully fabricated nanostructured tungsten oxide with different copper doping concentrations by a solvothermal method using copper chloride dihydrate and tungsten hexachloride as precursors. We found that the area-specific capacitance of the films gradually increased with the increase in doping concentration. The products were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. The results show that the films we fabricated are reticular structures composed of nanowires. The doping of copper can improve the electron conductivity and shorten the ion transmission distance, thus improving energy storage properties. When the doping concentration is 7% and the annealing temperature is 200 °C, the film had the largest surface capacitance of 17.89 mF/cm2 and the capacitance retention reached 58.23%.

Objective To determine the diagnostic yield of a ‘high’ N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with suspected heart failure (HF) referred from primary to secondary care.Methods In this retrospective study, cardiac diagnoses were quantified in consecutive patients with an NT-proBNP>400 ng/L referred from primary care centres to a specialist HF service.Results Among 654 consecutive patients (age: 78.5±9.72 years; 45.9% men; left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF): 55.4±12.5% (mean±SD)), the primary diagnoses were: valvular disease (39.4%), HF (29.2%; 13.3% with LVEF400 ng/L referred through a primary care HF pathway, most patients had valve disease or AF rather than HF. NT-proBNP cannot discriminate among HF, valve disease and AF. On this basis, NT-proBNP may be best employed in detecting cardiac disease in general rather than HF per se.

Summary: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) are key effector proteins of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, choreographing essential processes of cellular physiology. Here, we discover that ERK1/2 are subject to S-acylation, a reversible lipid modification of cysteine residues, at C271/C254. The levels of ERK1/2 S-acylation are modulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling, mirroring its phosphorylation dynamics, and acylation-deficient ERK2 displays altered phosphorylation patterns. We show that ERK1/2 S-acylation is mediated by “writer” protein acyl transferases (PATs) and “eraser” acyl protein thioesterases (APTs) and that chemical inhibition of either lipid addition or removal alters ERK1/2’s EGF-triggered transcriptional program. Finally, in a mouse model of metabolic syndrome, we find that ERK1/2 lipidation levels correlate with alterations in ERK1/2 lipidation writer/eraser expression, solidifying a link between ERK1/2 activity, ERK1/2 lipidation, and organismal health. This study describes how lipidation regulates ERK1/2 and offers insight into the role of dynamic S-acylation in cell signaling more broadly.

To enhance the catalytic activity by designing metal particles combined with atomically dispersed non-noble metal catalyst is a huge challenge, which yet has not been studied widely in organic reactions. Herein, we describe a simple and efficient method to synthesize FexC combined with Fe single atoms anchored on the N-doped porous carbon by regulating pyrolysis temperature. Aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy corroborate the existence of atomically dispersed Fe and the coordination number between Fe and N atoms. The Fe–N–C-800 catalyst exhibits the highest catalytic activity giving the 97% yield of quinoline in dehydration of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) reaction at a mild condition (60 °C, O2 balloon), and it shows good stability with 80% isolated yield after five consecutive dehydration reactions. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that coexistence of FexC and FeNx structure exhibits high activity owing to the lowest adsorption energy of co-adsorbed O2 and THQ and the longest N–H bond length of THQ, that is because the existence of FexC induces the charges transfer. Our work may open a new route to design metal particles combined with atomically dispersed non-noble metal catalysts with high activity in organic synthesis.

School bullying among primary and secondary school students has received increasing attention, and identifying relevant factors is a crucial way to reduce the risk of bullying victimization. Machine learning methods can help researchers predict and identify individual risk behaviors. Through a machine learning approach (i.e., the gradient boosting decision tree model, GBDT), the present longitudinal study aims to systematically examine individual, family, and school environment factors that can predict the risk of bullying victimization among primary and secondary school students a year later. A total of 2767 participants (2065 secondary school students, 702 primary school students, 55.20% female students, mean age at T1 was 12.22) completed measures of 24 predictors at the first wave, including individual factors (e.g., self-control, gender, grade), family factors (family cohesion, parental control, parenting style), peer factor (peer relationship), and school factors (teacher–student relationship, learning capacity). A year later (i.e., T2), they completed the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire. The GBDT model predicted whether primary and secondary school students would be exposed to school bullying after one year by training a series of base learners and outputting the importance ranking of predictors. The GBDT model performed well. The GBDT model yielded the top 6 predictors: teacher–student relationship, peer relationship, family cohesion, negative affect, anxiety, and denying parenting style. The protective factors (i.e., teacher–student relationship, peer relationship, and family cohesion) and risk factors (i.e., negative affect, anxiety, and denying parenting style) associated with the risk of bullying victimization a year later among primary and secondary school students are identified by using a machine learning approach. The GBDT model can be used as a tool to predict the future risk of bullying victimization for children and adolescents and to help improve the effectiveness of school bullying interventions.

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) is an important crop grown worldwide as a food and fodder crop owing to its potential nutritional and feed values. High-efficiency herbicide varieties is crucial to achieving efficient weeding and ensuring successful foxtail millet production. Herbicides affect several morphological and physiological indicators of foxtail millet. In this study we aimed to evaluate the damage caused by herbicides, improve their effectiveness, and select indicators that accurately reflect herbicide resistance in foxtail millet. Jingu 21, which has the largest planting area in Shanxi province and even the whole of China, is selected as the experimental material to be sown in the field in 2022. A total of 31 herbicides were applied, and 21 traits, including morphological, physiological, and yield-component traits, were measured to assess millet resistance. Principal component analysis was employed to transform these 21 conventional traits into seven independent and comprehensive indexes. These indexes were screened using regression analysis, resulting in the selection of the following indicators: the surface area of the second leaf from the top, peroxidase activity, catalase activity, malondialdehyde content, chlorophyll (a + b), grain weight per ear, and yield. Through membership function and cluster analyses, the resistance of Jingu 21 to 31 herbicides was divided into five categories: extremely weakly resistant, weakly resistant, moderately resistant, strongly resistant, and extremely strongly resistant. Jingu 21 exhibited extremely strong resistance to lactofen, butachlor, and anilofos. After an investigation into the effectiveness of herbicides, it was found that eight herbicides had good effects.

Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy is a typical difficult-to-cut material used in many fields. The selection of cutting parameters exerts tremendous influences on the material removal process. Finite element numerical simulation is a low-cost method to obtain optimized cutting parameters. Finite element simulation requires the study of machining properties of machined materials. The material removal and related physical phenomena during machining are characterized by the dynamic mechanical properties of the machined material. In this paper, the dynamic mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V have been tested by the high temperature split Hopkinson pressure bar system to obtain true stress–strain curves under different conditions. The sensitivity of strain and temperature of Ti-6Al-4V has been analyzed. The influence of temperature-dependent specific heat capacity, which has been tested by a laser thermal conductivity tester, on adiabatic temperature rise has been considered. Adiabatic temperature rise has been calculated separately with constant specific heat capacity and temperature-dependent specific heat capacity. True stress–strain curves have been switched to true stress–strain isothermal curves to analyze separately the influence of strain rate and temperature on true stress. Based on true stress–strain isothermal curves, the constitutive models of power-law and Johnson–Cook have been introduced to fit the experimental results. The fitting results of the two constitutive models have been compared with the experiment results, which have an average error less than 6%.

IntroductionThe interaction between endometrial cancer (EMC) cells and intratumoral macrophages plays a significant role in the development of the disease. PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome formation triggers caspase-1/IL-1β signaling pathways and produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in macrophages. However, the role of NLRP3-regulated ROS production in macrophage polarization and the subsequent growth and metastasis of EMC remains unknown.MethodsWe conducted bioinformatic analysis to compare NLRP3 levels in intratumoral macrophages from EMC and normal endometrium. In vitro experiments involved knocking out NLRP3 in macrophages to shift the polarization from an anti-inflammatory M1-like phenotype to a proinflammatory M2-like phenotype and reduce ROS production. The impact of NLRP3 depletion on the growth, invasion, and metastasis of co-cultured EMC cells was assessed. We also evaluated the effect of NLRP3 depletion in macrophages on the growth and metastasis of implanted EMC cells in mice.ResultsOur bioinformatic analysis showed significantly lower NLRP3 levels in intratumoral macrophages from EMC than those from normal endometrium. Knocking out NLRP3 in macrophages shifted their polarization to a proinflammatory M2-like phenotype and significantly reduced ROS production. NLRP3 depletion in M2-polarized macrophages increased the growth, invasion, and metastasis of co-cultured EMC cells. NLRP3 depletion in M1-polarized macrophages reduced phagocytic potential, which resulted in weakened immune defense against EMC. Additionally, NLRP3 depletion in macrophages significantly increased the growth and metastasis of implanted EMC cells in mice, likely due to compromised phagocytosis by macrophages and a reduction in cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.DiscussionOur results suggest that NLRP3 plays a significant role in regulating macrophage polarization, oxidative stress, and immune response against EMC. NLRP3 depletion alters the polarization of intratumoral macrophages, leading to weakened immune defense against EMC cells. The reduction in ROS production by the loss of NLRP3 may have implications for the development of novel treatment strategies for EMC.

Summary: Demyelination is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis, leukoencephalopathies, cerebral vasculopathies, and several neurodegenerative diseases. The cuprizone mouse model is widely used to simulate demyelination and remyelination occurring in these diseases. Here, we present a high-resolution single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) analysis of gene expression changes across all brain cells in this model. We define demyelination-associated oligodendrocytes (DOLs) and remyelination-associated MAFBhi microglia, as well as astrocytes and vascular cells with signatures of altered metabolism, oxidative stress, and interferon response. Furthermore, snRNA-seq provides insights into how brain cell types connect and interact, defining complex circuitries that impact demyelination and remyelination. As an explicative example, perturbation of microglia caused by TREM2 deficiency indirectly impairs the induction of DOLs. Altogether, this study provides a rich resource for future studies investigating mechanisms underlying demyelinating diseases.

BackgroundRapid profiling of the EGFR mutations is crucial to help clinicians choose the optimal treatment for patients with advanced/metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, current diagnostic techniques, including ARMS-PCR and NGS, generally require several days to deliver final results. This diagnostic delay may lead to treatment delays for patients who are worsening rapidly.MethodsThis study introduced the ultra-rapid Idylla™ system for rapid, sensitive and specific identification of the EGFR mutations among Chinese NSCLC patients. Idylla™ EGFR Assay, an integrated cartridge running on the Idylla™ system, which can detect 51 EGFR mutations directly from Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) samples within 2.5 hours, was used in this study. The sensitivity and specificity of the Idylla™ system were evaluated in comparison with ARMS-PCR or NGS using 95 clinical samples.ResultsThe Idylla™ system achieved a sensitivity of 97.6%, a specificity of 100%, and an overall concordance of 97.9% for 95 retrospective samples. When compared to ARMS-PCR, the Idylla™ system demonstrated high accuracy with an overall agreement of 97.1% (34/35), a sensitivity of 95.2% (20/21) (95% CI, 76.2% - 99.9%), and an estimated specificity of 100% (12/12) (95% CI, 76.8% - 100%) for 35 prospective samples.ConclusionsThis Idylla system provides a rapid, accurate and simple approach for screening EGFR mutations, which can guide Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKI) treatment for NSCLC patients in a timely manner.

BackgroundInflammation and immune activation may play a role in the pathological mechanism of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Evidence from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of adolescents and adults has shown that MDD is associated with increased plasma pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1β, IL-6). It has been reported that Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs) mediate inflammation resolution, and Maresin-1 can activate the process of inflammation and promote inflammation resolution by promoting macrophage phagocytosis. However, no clinical studies have been conducted to evaluate the relationship between the levels of Maresin-1 and cytokine and the severity of MDD symptomatology in adolescents.Methods40 untreated adolescent patients with primary and moderate to severe MDD and 30 healthy participants as the healthy control (HC) group aged between 13 and 18 years old were enrolled. They received clinical and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) evaluation and then, blood samples were collected. Patients in the MDD group were re-evaluated for HDRS-17, and blood samples were taken after a six to eight-week fluoxetine treatment.ResultsThe adolescent patients with MDD had lower serum levels of Maresin-1 and higher serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) compared with the HC group. Fluoxetine treatment alleviated depressive symptoms in MDD adolescent patients, which was reflected by higher serum levels of Maresin-1 and IL-4 and lower HDRS-17 scores, serum levels of IL-6, and IL-1β. Moreover, the serum level of Maresin-1 was negatively correlated with the depression severity scores on the HDRS-17.ConclusionAdolescent patients with primary MDD had lower levels of Maresin-1 and higher levels of IL-6 compared with the HC group, implying that the peripheral level of pro-inflammatory cytokines may be elevated in MDD, resulting in the insufficiency of inflammation resolution. The Maresin-1 and IL-4 levels increased after anti-depressant treatment, whereas IL-6 and IL-1β levels decreased significantly. Moreover, Maresin-1 level negatively correlated with depression severity, suggesting that reduced levels of Maresin-1 promoted the progression of MDD.

Abstract Background Depression and sarcopenia are common diseases in the elderly population. However, the association between them is controversial. Based on the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) database, a cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the relationship of calf circumference and physical performance with depression. Methods From the 8th wave of CLHLS conducted in 2018, data on calf circumference, physical performance, depressive symptoms, and demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related characteristics were collected. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to explore the impact of calf circumference, physical performance and their combination on depressive symptoms. Results We enrolled a total of 12,227 participants aged 83.4 ± 11.0 years, including 5689 (46.5%) men and 6538 (53.5%) women. Patients with depression were more likely to have low calf circumference (2274 [68.2%] vs. 5406 [60.8%], p

Binocular stereo matching, a computer vision task typically using cost volume constructed from the left and right feature maps to estimate disparity and depth, is widely applied in 3D reconstruction, autonomous driving and robotics navigation. Though recent study brings an awareness of the convolution neural networks and the attention algorithms used in this field can make great progress, it is still difficult to satisfy the demand of high-precision applications due to many reasons. Study finds that the exist methods usually incline to ignore the intermediate feature map of other scales, pay less attention to the relationship between left and right feature maps and even just tend to use one type of cost volume to train the model. In this article, we mainly focus on solving the three rproblems mentioned above. Firstly, we present the Multi-scale Feature Extraction and Fusion Module (MFEFM) to get the informational feature maps via fusing all scale feature maps. And then we design the Effective Channel Attention Module (ECAM) applied to better capture and utilize the channel-wise independencies. Finally, we adopt the Hybrid Cost Volume Computation Module (HCVCM) to construct and aggregate cost volume. With these solutions, we build an end-to-end stereo matching network named HCVNet. Comparison with other state-of-the-art models, it can achieve 0.714 EPE on SceneFlow dataset, descending PSMNet (1.09 EPE) by 37.6%.

The system of inherent defect insurance is an important measure to serve the real economy through financial means and improve the quality of construction projects, which is the future development direction of China’s construction industry. However, the related research is not perfect due to the short implementation of the insurance. This could bring risks to the promotion of insurance for companies. Insurance ruin theory is an important method in risk management theory, so adopting it to manage the risk inherent defect insurance from the perspective of insurance companies is vital. The research starts with the classic insurance ruin theory and determines the coefficient of premium collection from the perspective of claim settlement distribution expectations. Furthermore, the approximate distribution of claim settlement is deduced, and a comprehensive risk assessment model is constructed. Finally, based on the data of insurance actuarial practice in Shanghai, both the ruin probability of inherent defect insurance in each insuring term and its average required initial reserve are calculated, which provides the analyses on the risks and main subitems of inherent defect insurance as well as relevant suggestions. Finally, the sensitivity analysis is used to further analyse the risk of different insurance stages of IDI, and the relevant measures are proposed. The research can provide theoretical assistances for insurance companies to carry out effective risk management and provide model tools to make scientific decisions.

Abstract The mechanisms underlying heritable phenotypic divergence associated with adaptation in response to environmental stresses may involve both genetic and epigenetic variations. Several prior studies have revealed even higher levels of epigenetic variation than genetic variation. However, few population‐level studies have explored the effects of epigenetic variation on species with high levels of genetic diversity distributed across different habitats. Using AFLP and methylation‐sensitive AFLP markers, we tested the hypothesis that epigenetic variation may contribute to differences in plants occupying different habitats when genetic variation alone cannot fully explain adaptation. As a cosmopolitan invasive species, Phragmites australis (common reed) together with high genetic diversity and remarkable adaptability has been suggested as a model for responses to global change and indicators of environmental fluctuations. We found high levels of genetic and epigenetic diversity and significant genetic/epigenetic structure within each of 12 studied populations sampled from four natural habitats of P. australis. Possible adaptive epigenetic variation was suggested by significant correlations between DNA methylation‐based epigenetic differentiation and adaptive genetic divergence in populations across the habitats. Meanwhile, various AMOVAs indicated that some epigenetic differences may respond to various local habitats. A partial Mantel test was used to tease out the correlations between genetic/epigenetic variation and habitat after controlling for the correlation between genetic and epigenetic variations. We found that epigenetic diversity was affected mostly by soil nutrient availability, suggesting that at least some epigenetic differentiation occurred independently of genetic variation. We also found stronger correlations between epigenetic variation and phenotypic traits than between genetic variation and such traits. Overall, our findings indicate that genetically based differentiation correlates with heterogeneous habitats, while epigenetic variation plays an important role in ecological differentiation in natural populations of P. australis. In addition, our results suggest that when assessing global change responses of plant species, intraspecific variation needs to be considered.

Plain language summary With the formulation of China's two-child policy and the increase in the incidence of infertility, anxiety is one of the most common anxiety disorders among infertility patients. This study mainly discussed the prevalence of anxiety among infertile women in China and its potential risk factors after the implementation of the "two-child" policy. First-child infertile patients (FI) or Second-child infertile patients (SI) were asked to self-fulfilled the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale questionnaires to understand their anxiety. Of the 693 respondents: the prevalence of anxiety among total infertile patients was 21.8%, and its 23.5% among first-child infertile patients, and 18.4% among second-child infertile patients. The group of infertile patients with middle salary incomes, a history of oral contraceptive use, and a history of allergy were more likely to be anxious. In conclusion: under the current situation, low education levels, middle incomes, OC taking and allergy history can be the related risk factors of anxiety. It is of guiding significance for the mental health of special populations of infertility.

Reliable transient thermal analysis plays a very important role in the engine safety analysis. Transient conjugate heat transfer simulation is an important way of temperature analysis. But there exists a great disparity in the time scales between solid conduction and fluid convection. The calculation cost of transient conjugate heat transfer analysis is very huge because of the tiny time step of computational fluid dynamics. The Bi-Fo time scaling method is proposed to improve the computational efficiency of transient conjugate heat transfer. On the one hand, this method carries out a similar transformation on solid heat conduction, scaling the calculation time with the product of density and specific heat capacity to maintain the consistency of Fourier number. On the other hand, it takes very short time for the fluid domain to recover stability after a boundary disturbance. Based on the above characteristic, the flow time is directly compressed to the same as that of the solid domain. It is verified by Mark Ⅱ vane that increasing the solid thermal diffusivity can reduce the time scale of heat conduction. In the situation of rapidly stable flow field, scaling flow time does not affect the solid thermal boundary under corresponding dimensionless time. Within the application scope, the Bi-Fo time scaling method can greatly reduce the time cost of transient conjugate heat transfer simulation while maintaining the accuracy of transient temperature analysis.

With the advancement of intelligent driving technology, researchers are paying more and more attention to the identification of traffic signs. Although a detection method of traffic signs based on color or shape can achieve recognition of large categories of signs such as prohibitions and warnings, the recognition categories are few, and the accuracy is not high. A traffic sign detection algorithm based on color or shape is small in computation and good in real-time, but the color features are greatly affected by light and weather. For the questions raised above, this paper puts forward an improved YOLOv5 method. The method uses the SIoU loss function to take the place of the loss function in the YOLOv5 model, which optimizes the training model, and the convolutional block attention model (CBAM) is fused with the CSP1_3 model in YOLOv5 to form a new CSP1_3CBAM model, which enhances YOLOv5’s feature extraction ability and improves the accuracy regarding traffic signs. In addition, the ACONC is introduced as the activation function of YOLOv5, which promotes YOLOv5’s generalization ability through adaptive selection of activation by linear–nonlinear switching factors. The research results on the TT100k dataset show that the improved YOLOv5 precision rate increased from 73.2% to 81.9%, an increase of 8.7%; the recall rate increased from 74.2% to 77.2%, an increase of 3.0%; and the mAP increased from 75.7% to 81.9%, an increase of 6.2%. The FPS also increased from 26.88 to 30.42 frames per second. The same training was carried out on the GTSDB traffic sign dataset, and the mAP increased from 90.2% to 92.5%, which indicates that the algorithm has good generalization ability.

Small-scale robots hold great potential for targeted cargo delivery in minimally invasive medicine. However, current robots often face challenges in locomoting efficiently on slippery biological tissue surfaces, especially when loaded with heavy cargo. Here, we report a magnetic millirobot that can walk on rough and slippery biological tissues by anchoring itself on the soft tissue surface alternatingly with two feet and reciprocally rotating the body to move forward. We experimentally studied the locomotion, validated it with numerical simulations, and optimized the actuation parameters to fit various terrains and loading conditions. Furthermore, we developed a permanent magnet set-up to enable wireless actuation within a human-scale volume that allows precise control of the millirobot to follow complex trajectories, climb vertical walls, and carry cargo up to four times its own weight. Upon reaching the target location, it performs a deployment sequence to release the liquid drug into tissues. The robust gait of our millirobot on rough biological terrains, combined with its heavy load capacity, makes it a versatile and effective miniaturized vehicle for targeted cargo delivery.

To realizing the network slice with spectrum sharing in cognitive capacity harvesting network, a spectrum sharing strategy was proposed based on 4D conflict graph and opportunistic capacity.Firstly, a 4D conflict graph model for mesh network was built and a method to achieve the node sets with conflict free was proposed.Then, the opportunistic capacity model of spectrum sharing was established and the opportunistic capacity of the unlicensed channel was derived.Finally, the spectrum sharing strategy based on 4D conflict graph and opportunistic capacity was proposed for cognitive capacity harvesting network.The simulation results show that compared with existing algorithms, the proposed algorithm can effectively utilize opportunistic spectrum resources and further improve channel utilization.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly pervasive, severe psychological condition for which the precise underlying pathophysiology is incompletely understood, although microglial activation is known to play a role in this context. In this study we analyzed the association between neuroinflammation and depressive-like behaviors in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse model system using 10-12-week-old male C57BL/6 mice. Microglial activation and associated neuroinflammatory activity were monitored via positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Animals were assessed at three time points, including 24 h prior to LPS injection, 24 h post-LPS injection, and 72 h post-LPS injection. Analyses of microglial activation and hippocampal neuroinflammation were conducted through [18]F DPA-714 PET imaging and immunohistochemical staining for ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1) and translocator protein (TSPO). Moreover, NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activity and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels were assessed at 24 h post-LPS injection. We found that LPS treatment was associated with a marked increase in depressive-like behavior at 24 h post-injection time point, and that it was less pronounced at the 72 h post-injection time point. These changes coincided with enhanced [18F] DPA-714 PET uptake in the whole brain, hippocampus, cortex and amygdala together with increased hippocampal microglial activation as evidenced by immunofluorescent staining. By 72 h post-injection, however, these PET and immunofluorescence phenotypes had returned to baseline levels. Furthermore, increased NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL-1β expression were evident at 24 h post-LPS injection. These data demonstrate that dynamic microglial activation is associated with LPS-induced depressive-like behaviors and hippocampal neuroinflammation in a mouse model system.

The corrosion behavior of alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) stainless steels with different Nb additions in a supercritical carbon dioxide environment at 500 °C, 600 °C, and 20 MPa was investigated. The steels with low Nb content were found to have a novel structure with a double oxide as an outer Cr2O3 oxide film and an inner Al2O3 oxide layer with discontinuous Fe-rich spinels on the outer surface and a transition layer consisting of Cr spinels and γ’-Ni3Al phases randomly distributed under the oxide layer. Oxidation resistance was improved by accelerating diffusion through refined grain boundaries after the addition of 0.6 wt.% Nb. However, the corrosion resistance decreased significantly at higher Nb content due to the formation of continuous thick outer Fe-rich nodules on the surface and an internal oxide zone, and Fe2(Mo, Nb) laves phases were also detected, which prevented the outward diffusion of Al ions and promoted the formation of cracks within the oxide layer, resulting in unfavorable effects on oxidation. After exposure at 500 °C, fewer spinels and thinner oxide scales were found. The specific mechanism was discussed.

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy Type 31 (DEE31) is a severe early infantile epileptic encephalopathy with intellectual and movement disability caused by heterozygous mutations in the Dynamin 1 gene, which encodes DNM1, a GTPase involved in synaptic vesicle fission for receptor-mediated endocytosis on the presynaptic plasma membrane. A human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line, termed as FDCHI007-A, was generated using non-integrating episomal vector technique from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of a 3-year-old female DDE31 patient, who had a heterozygous (c.545C > A P. Ala 182Asp) mutation in the DNM1 gene. FDCHI007-A offers a useful cell resource to investigate pathogenic mechanisms in DEE31, as well as a cell-based model for drug development for DEE31.

Mung bean is characterized by having a good edible and medicinal value, while its flowers and pods have low production. Being a tertiary amine, DCPTA [2-(3,4-dichlorophenoxy) triethylamine] substantially regulates the growth and development of crops, maintaining production. Yet it is still limited in terms of the regulation of DCPTA on growth and development, including the yield and sugar metabolism of mung bean. In this study, DCPTA was sprayed at the beginning of mung flowering through a two-season cultivation, to assess its effects on the yield, leaf area per plant, plant height, seed setting rate, photosynthesis, chlorophyll content, and endogenous protective enzymes. Experimental results illustrated that relative to the control (CK), the DCPTA application significantly (p < 0.05) improved the yield of Bailv 11 mung bean, which rose to 6.9% in 2020 and 7.8% in 2021, respectively. This effect positively corresponded to a significant (p

The authors introduce a dynamic spatial ultrasound modulator, based on digitally generated patterns of microbubbles controlled by a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) chip. They achieve reshaping of incident plane waves into complex acoustic images and demonstrate dynamic parallel assembly of microparticles.

Abstract Background Recently, copy number alteration (CNA) of 9p24.1 were demonstrated in 10% of diffuse large b-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), with gene expression and mutation profiles that were similar to those of primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). However, their CNA-based profile and clinical impact still remain unclear. Methods Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification were employed to investigate the prevalence of JAK2/PD-L2 amplification in DLBCL and their CNA-based pattern of driver genes. The clinical outcome and characteristics were also analyzed. Results Using unsupervised hierarchical clustering, a small group of DLBCL (10.5%, 8/76) was clustered together with PMBCL as Cluster_2, demonstrating amplification of JAK2 (100%,8/8) and PD-L2 (75.0%,6/8). This subgroups of DLBCL demonstrated significant higher expression of PD-L1 than those with MYD88 L265P mutation(p = 0.024). And they exhibited dismal OS and PFS as compared with DLBCL_others(p = 0.003 and 0.001, respectively), which is similar to DLBCL with MYD88 L265P mutation. Conclusions DLBCL with amplification of JAK2/PD-L2 exhibits CNA pattern that is similar to PMBCL, and demonstrates unfavorable clinical outcome that resembles those with MYD88 L265P mutation. It is essential to identify this subgroup of DLBCL who may acquire more benefits from the JAK2 and PD-L1 signaling inhibition.

Maximizing is characterized by aspirations for the highest standards. The current study explored the relationship between maximizing and risk-taking tendencies in decisions subject to risk. We propose that people first refer to expectation (i.e., the overall utility expected from an alternative) when taking risky decisions. If expectation clearly identifies the best option, maximizing will not be correlated with risk-taking tendencies. If not, people refer to maximizing to reach a decision. Maximizing will be positively associated with risk-taking tendencies because the “upper bound” of risky options helps achieve the goal of seeking the best. Four studies showed that risk-taking tendencies increased with maximizing when the options had similar expectations (Studies 1 to 3). When expectations between options were clearly different (vs. similar), the positive relationship between maximizing and risk-taking tendencies was reduced (Study 4). These findings provide an insight into how maximizing is related to risk seeking.