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Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly heterogeneous disease, making the prognostic prediction challenging. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, is a key regulator in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of HCC. However, the expression and function of ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) in HCC remained largely unclear. In this study, we analyzed TCGA datasets and identified 58 survival-related deferentially expressed FRGs (DE-FRGs). Then, based on the results of LASSO analysis, we developed a novel prognostic model based on 12 survival-related DE-FRGs. Survival assays indicated a strong prognostic ability of this new model in predicting clinical prognosis of HCC patients. In addition, we conducted an exploration of molecular subtypes related to HCC and delved into the associated immune characteristics and gene expression patterns. Among the 12 survival-related DE-FRGs, our attention focused on ABHD12 (abhydrolase domain containing 12) which was highly expressed in HCC and associated with advanced clinical stages. Multivariate assays confirmed that ABHD12 was a significant prognostic factor for HCC patients. Immune analysis revealed that ABHD12 may play an important role in tumor microenvironment. Finally, we performed RT-PCR and confirmed that ABHD12 was highly expressed in HCC cells. Functional experiments revealed that ABHD12 knockdown may suppress the proliferation and migration of HCC cells. These findings emphasized the significance of ABHD12 as a potential prognostic marker for HCC and its crucial role in the field of tumor biology. Additionally, the study introduces a novel survival model that holds promise for enhancing prognostic predictions in HCC patients. Overall, this research provided valuable insights for a deeper comprehension of the complexity of HCC and the development of personalized treatment strategies.

Abstract The senescence of alveolar type II (AT2) cells impedes self-repair of the lung epithelium and contributes to lung injury in the setting of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is essential for cell growth and organ development; however, the role of YAP1 in AT2 cells during pulmonary fibrosis is still unclear. YAP1 expression was found to be downregulated in the AT2 cells of PF patients. Deletion of YAP1 in AT2 cells resulted in lung injury, exacerbated extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and worsened lung function. In contrast, overexpression of YAP1 in AT2 cells promoted alveolar regeneration, mitigated pulmonary fibrosis, and improved lung function. In addition, overexpression of YAP1 alleviated bleomycin (BLM) -induced senescence of alveolar epithelial cells both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, YAP1 promoted the expression of peroxiredoxin 3 (Prdx3) by directly interacting with TEAD1. Forced expression of Prdx3 inhibited senescence and improved mitochondrial dysfunction in BLM-treated MLE-12 cells, whereas depletion of Prdx3 partially abrogated the protective effect of YAP1. Furthermore, overexpression of Prdx3 facilitated self-repair of the injured lung and reduced ECM deposition, while silencing Prdx3 attenuated the antifibrotic effect of YAP1. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that YAP1 alleviates lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis by regulating Prdx3 expression to improve mitochondrial dysfunction and block senescence in AT2 cells, revealing a potential novel therapeutic strategy for pulmonary fibrosis.

Abstract Objective It is well known that glucose and lipid metabolism disorders and insulin resistance are common in sepsis, which affect the occurrence and prognosis of multiple organ dysfunction in septic patients. Previous study reported the predictive value of triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), a clinical indicator for insulin resistance, in postoperative delirium patients. However, it remains unclear whether the TyG index is a novel predictive biomarker for sepsis-associated delirium. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between TyG index and the risk of delirium in patients with sepsis. Methods Adult septic patients were identified from the MIMIC-IV database and divided into four groups based on the mean value of TyG. The primary outcome was the incidence of delirium. The association between TyG and the risk of developing delirium was evaluated by restricted cubic spline (RCS), multivariate logistic regression and subgroup analysis. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method was used to balance the baseline data. Results A total of 3,331 septic patients were included in the analysis, and further divided into four groups: Q1 (TyG ≤ 8.67), Q2 (8.67 9.61). The RCS curves demonstrated a non-linear positive relationship between TyG index and the risk of developing delirium, and an optimal cut-of value 9.09 was recommended. After balancing the baseline information by PSM, patients in the TyG > 9.09 group had a significant higher incidence of delirium compared with those in the TyG ≤ 9.09 group. In logistic regression analysis, TyG > 9.09 was significantly associated with lower risk of developing delirium in both original cohort (OR 1.54–1.78, all P 0.05). In subgroup analysis, our findings were consistent (all OR > 1 in all subgroups). Conclusion Our study demonstrated an independent association between TyG index and increased risk of delirium in septic patients, indicating that TyG index can serve as a biomarker for delirium in sepsis.

Abstract Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal diseases worldwide. Cancer-derived exosomes, benefiting from the protective role of the lipid membrane, exhibit remarkable stability in the circulatory system. These exosomes, released by tumor microenvironment, contain various biomolecules such as proteins, RNAs, and lipids that plays a pivotal role in mediating distant communication between the local pancreatic tumor and other organs or tissues. They facilitate the transfer of oncogenic factors to distant sites, contributing to the compromised body immune system, distant metastasis, diabetes, cachexia, and promoting a microenvironment conducive to tumor growth and metastasis in pancreatic cancer patients. Beyond their intrinsic roles, circulating exosomes in peripheral blood can be detected to facilitate accurate liquid biopsy. This approach offers a novel and promising method for the diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer. Consequently, circulating exosomes are not only crucial mediators of systemic cell-cell communication during pancreatic cancer progression but also hold great potential as precise tools for pancreatic cancer management and treatment. Exosome-based liquid biopsy and therapy represent promising advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Exosomes can serve as drug delivery vehicles, enhancing the targeting and efficacy of anticancer treatments, modulating the immune system, and facilitating gene editing to suppress tumor growth. Ongoing research focuses on biomarker identification, drug delivery systems, and clinical trials to validate the safety and efficacy of exosome-based therapies, offering new possibilities for early diagnosis and precision treatment in pancreatic cancer. Leveraging the therapeutic potential of exosomes, including their ability to deliver targeted drugs and modulate immune responses, opens new avenues for innovative treatment strategies.

Giant intracranial aneurysms (GIAs) pose a formidable challenge in cerebrovascular surgery. Despite remarkable advancements in microsurgical techniques, the associated morbidity and mortality rates remain alarmingly high, reaching up to 20%. The three-dimensional (3D) Slicer emerges as a valuable tool, offering sophisticated medical image visualization and analysis capabilities. This article reports on a captivating case where 3D-Slicer technology played a pivotal role in diagnosing GIA. The 3D-Slicer excels in assisting with surgical procedures like clipping and resection of both regular and giant thrombotic aneurysms. Its intuitive interface and advanced functionalities hold immense promise for revolutionizing the diagnosis and management of these challenging lesions.

To address the problem that traditional cement-based slurry materials cannot meet the actual demand for grouting and reinforcement of large deformation roadways in coal mines, some high-performance composite slurry materials are obtained by modifying ordinary Portland cement with nano-silica sol, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and fly ash. The orthogonal test and extreme difference analysis are used to systematically study the variation of the physical and mechanical properties of the composite slurries, determine the optimal ratio, and further analyze the difference in the physical properties between the optimal ratio of composite slurries and pure cement, construct the hydration reaction mechanism model of the composite slurries, and elucidate the mechanical properties of the composite slurries for reinforcing broken rocks. The results of the study show that the optimum proportion of composite slurry is 0.7 water-cement ratio, 15% fly ash, 2% silica sol and 7.5% EVA. Compared with pure cement, the rheology of composite slurry is slightly decreased, but the stability and mechanical properties of the slurry are significantly improved, with the initial setting time shortened by 38.9%, the final setting time shortened by 53.8%, the precipitation rate reduced by 60%, the stone rate increased by 3.3%, the uniaxial compressive strength increased by 39.1%, the tensile strength increased by 97.2%, and the tensile/compression ratio increased by 41.7%. Silica sol and fly ash undergo volcanic ash reaction with Ca(OH)2 to generate more calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium aluminate hydrate (C-A-H) at different times, which promotes the hydration reaction of the composite slurry and accelerates the film formation of EVA to make the stone body more dense. The injection volume of the composite grout and the uniaxial compressive strength of the bonded body both increase with the increasing grouting pressure. With the increase in the Talbot index, the compressive strength first increases and then decreases. The failure mode is often characterized by bulging, and shear dilation deformation is pronounced. When the grouting pressure exceeds 2 MPa and the Talbot index is 0.5, the bond strength of the grout is higher, and the damage is reduced. This study provides a feasible way for early strength and toughening modification of ce-mentitious composite pastes.

Abstract Background Existing research on chyle leak (CL) after pancreatic surgery is mostly focused on pancreaticoduodenectomy and lacks investigation on total pancreatectomy (TP). This study aimed to explore potential risk factors of CL and develop a predictive model for patients with pancreatic tumor undergoing TP. Methods This retrospective study enrolled 90 consecutive patients undergoing TP from January 2015 to December 2023 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. According to the inclusion criteria, 79 patients were finally included in the following analysis. The LASSO regression and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify risk factors associated with CL and construct a predictive nomogram. Then, the ROC analysis, calibration curve, decision curve analysis (DCA), and clinical impact curve (CIC) were performed to assess its discrimination, accuracy, and efficacy. Due to the small sample size, we adopted the bootstrap resampling method with 500 repetitions for validation. Lastly, we plotted and analyzed the trend of postoperative drainage volume in CL patients. Results We revealed that venous resection (OR = 4.352, 95%CI 1.404–14.04, P = 0.011) was an independent risk factor for CL after TP. Prolonged operation time (OR = 1.473, 95%CI 1.015–2.237, P = 0.052) was also associated with an increased incidence of CL. We included these two factors in our prediction model. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.752 (95%CI 0.622–0.874) after bootstrap. The calibration curve, DCA and CIC showed great accuracy and clinical benefit of our nomogram. In patients with CL, the mean drainage volume was significantly higher in venous resection group and grade B CL group. Conclusion Venous resection was an independent risk factor for chyle leak after TP. Patients undergoing vascular resection during TP should be alert for the occurrence of CL after surgery. We then constructed a nomogram consisted of venous resection and operation time to predict the odds of CL in patients undergoing TP.

Abstract Frequency combs, specialized laser sources emitting multiple equidistant frequency lines, have revolutionized science and technology with unprecedented precision and versatility. Recently, integrated frequency combs are emerging as scalable solutions for on-chip photonics. Here, we demonstrate a fully integrated superconducting microcomb that is easy to manufacture, simple to operate, and consumes ultra-low power. Our turnkey apparatus comprises a basic nonlinear superconducting device, a Josephson junction, directly coupled to a superconducting microstrip resonator. We showcase coherent comb generation through self-started mode-locking. Therefore, comb emission is initiated solely by activating a DC bias source, with power consumption as low as tens of picowatts. The resulting comb spectrum resides in the microwave domain and spans multiple octaves. The linewidths of all comb lines can be narrowed down to 1 Hz through a unique coherent injection-locking technique. Our work represents a critical step towards fully integrated microwave photonics and offers the potential for integrated quantum processors.

Background/Aims Roxadustat, an oral medication for treating renal anemia, is a hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor used for regulating iron metabolism and promoting erythropoiesis. To investigate the efficacy and safety of roxadustat in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) with erythropoietin hyporesponsiveness. Methods Single-center, retrospective study, 81 PD patients (with erythropoietin hyporesponsiveness) were divided into the roxadustat group (n = 61) and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) group (n = 20). Hemoglobin (Hb), total cholesterol, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), related indicators of cardiac function and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were collected. Additionally, adverse events were also recorded. The follow-up period was 16 weeks. Results The two groups exhibited similar baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. At baseline, the roxadustat group had a mean Hb level of 89.8 ± 18.9 g/L, while the ESAs group had a mean Hb level of 95.2 ± 16.0 g/L. By week 16, the Hb levels had increased to 118 ± 19.8 g/L (p < 0.05) in the roxadustat group and 101 ± 19.3 g/L (p > 0.05) in the ESAs group. The efficacy of roxadustat in improving anemia was not influenced by baseline levels of hs-CRP and iPTH. Cholesterol was decreased in the roxadustat group without statin use. An increase in left ventricular ejection fraction and stabilization of BNP were observed in the roxadustat group. Conclusions For PD patients with erythropoietin hyporesponsiveness, roxadustat can significantly improve renal anemia. The efficacy of roxadustat in improving renal anemia was not affected by baseline levels of hs-CRP0 and iPTH.

Purposes The situation of post-disaster site of coal mine underground is complex. Aiming at the fact that traditional A* algorithm-based coal mine robot rescue path planning bears path insecurity, low efficiency, and other problems, and by combining with the raster map and the characteristics that the rescue robot can move along any direction, multi-faceted improvement of the traditional A* algorithm is realized. Methods First, the concept of robot size superimposed to obstacles is introduced to ensure the safety of the path. Second, the computational complexity is reduced by optimising the heuristic function to reduce the number of extensions that deviate from the optimal path nodes, and to reduce the redundant nodes and path transitions. Finally, a dynamic adjustment algorithm is used to round the corners of path turns, and the resulting path is smoothed to improve the operability of path. The optimised path with smaller path cost, shorter time consumption, and fewer turns is finally obtained. Based on the improved A* algorithm, the simulation test of rescue robot path planning under different sizes and different obstacle coverages is carried out by using MATLAB. Findings Compared with the traditional A* algorithm, the improved A* algorithm in rugged environment maps reduces the searching nodes by 26.51%, the computation time by 80.42%, the path length by 31.85%, and the number of turns by 44.44%, which improves the search efficiency and smoothness of the path. Conclusions The improved A* algorithm provides a theoretical basis for the rescue work of coal mine robots under complex working conditions.

Abstract The landscape of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) resistance is still being elucidated and the optimal subsequent therapy to overcome resistance remains uncertain. Here we present the final results of a phase Ib/IIa, open-label trial (NCT02871791) of exemestane plus everolimus and palbociclib for CDK4/6i-resistant metastatic breast cancer. The primary objective of phase Ib was to evaluate safety and tolerability and determine the maximum tolerated dose/recommended phase II dose (100 mg palbociclib, 5 mg everolimus, 25 mg exemestane). The primary objective of phase IIa was to determine the clinical benefit rate (18.8%, n = 6/32), which did not meet the predefined endpoint (65%). Secondary objectives included pharmacokinetic profiling (phase Ib), objective response rate, disease control rate, duration of response, and progression free survival (phase IIa), and correlative multi-omics analysis to investigate biomarkers of resistance to CDK4/6i. All participants were female. Multi-omics data from the phase IIa patients (n = 24 tumor/17 blood biopsy exomes; n = 27 tumor transcriptomes) showed potential mechanisms of resistance (convergent evolution of HER2 activation, BRAF V600E), identified joint genomic/transcriptomic resistance features (ESR1 mutations, high estrogen receptor pathway activity, and a Luminal A/B subtype; ERBB2/BRAF mutations, high RTK/MAPK pathway activity, and a HER2-E subtype), and provided hypothesis-generating results suggesting that mTOR pathway activation correlates with response to the trial’s therapy. Our results illustrate how genome and transcriptome sequencing may help better identify patients likely to respond to CDK4/6i therapies.

Abstract Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal malignant diseases. Gemcitabine‐based chemotherapy is still one of the first‐line systemic treatments, but chemoresistance occurs in the majority of patients. Recently, accumulated evidence has demonstrated the role of the tumour microenvironment in promoting chemoresistance. In the tumour microenvironment, pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) are among the main cellular components, and extracellular vesicles (EVs) are common mediators of cell‒cell communication. In this study, we showed that SP1‐transcribed miR‐31‐5p not only targeted LATS2 in pancreatic cancer cells but also regulated the Hippo pathway in PSCs through EV transfer. Consequently, PSCs synthesized and secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteins (SPARC), which was preferentially expressed in stromal cells, stimulating Extracellular Signal regulated kinase (ERK) signalling in pancreatic cancer cells. Therefore, pancreatic cancer cell survival and chemoresistance were improved due to both the intrinsic Hippo pathway regulated by miR‐31‐5p and external SPARC‐induced ERK signalling. In mouse models, miR‐31‐5p overexpression in pancreatic cancer cells promoted the chemoresistance of coinjected xenografts. In a tissue microarray, pancreatic cancer patients with higher miR‐31‐5p expression had shorter overall survival. Therefore, miR‐31‐5p regulates the Hippo pathway in multiple cell types within the tumour microenvironment via EVs, ultimately contributing to the chemoresistance of pancreatic cancer cells.

BackgroundThe Herpesviridae family contains several human-related viruses, which are able to establish colonizing and latency in the human body, posing a significant threat to the prognosis of patients. Pulmonary infections represent one of the predominant infectious diseases globally, characterized by diverse and multifaceted clinical manifestations that have consistently attracted clinician’s concern. However, the relationship of herpesviruses on the prognosis of pulmonary infections and the respiratory microbiota remains poorly understood.MethodsHere, we retrospectively analyzed respiratory samples from 100 patients with pulmonary infection detected by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS).ResultsEmploying mNGS, five herpesvirus species were detected: Human alphaherpesvirus 1 (HSV-1), Human gammaherpesvirus 4 (EBV), Human betaherpesvirus 5 (CMV), Human betaherpesvirus 7 (HHV-7), and Human betaherpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B). Regression analysis showed that the age and positivity of herpesviruses in patients were independently correlated with ICU admission rates. In addition, positivity of herpesvirus was related with increased ICU days and total hospital stay. The herpesvirus-positive group demonstrated markedly higher incidences of co-infections and fungi-positive, predominantly involving Pneumocystis jirovecii and Aspergillus fumigatus. Analysis of respiratory microbiota revealed a substantially altered community composition within the herpesvirus-positive group, and herpesviruses were significantly positively correlated with the diverse respiratory opportunistic pathogens.ConclusionOverall results substantiate that the active herpesviruses in patients with pulmonary infections were significantly associated with high ICU admission rate. Moreover, the herpesviruses promotes the dysbiosis of the respiratory microbiota and an increased proportion of co-infections. These insights could contribute to unraveling the underlying mechanisms connecting active herpesviruses to the progression of severe illnesses.

Exposure to PM2.5 is correlated with cardiac remodeling, of which cardiac hypertrophy is one of the main clinical manifestations. Ferroptosis plays an important role in cardiac hypertrophy. However, the potential mechanism of PM2.5-induced cardiac hypertrophy through ferroptosis remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of cardiac hypertrophy caused by PM2.5 and the intervention role of MitoQ involved in this process. The results showed that PM2.5 could induce cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction in mice. Meanwhile, the characteristics of ferroptosis were observed, such as iron homeostasis imbalance, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial damage and abnormal expression of key molecules. MitoQ treatment could effectively mitigate these alternations. After treating human cardiomyocyte AC16 with PM2.5, ferroptosis activator (Erastin) and inhibitor (Fer-1), it was found that PM2.5 could promote ferritinophagy and lead to lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction as well as the accumulation of intracellular and mitochondrial labile iron. Subsequently, mitophagy was activated and provided an additional source of labile iron, enhancing the sensitivity of AC16 cells to ferroptosis. Furthermore, Fer-1 alleviated PM2.5-induced cytotoxicity and iron overload in the cytoplasm and mitochondria of AC16 cells. It was worth noting that during the process of PM2.5 caused ferroptosis, abnormal iron metabolism mediated the activation of ferritinophagy and mitophagy in a temporal order. In addition, NCOA4 knockdown reversed the iron homeostasis imbalance and lipid peroxidation caused by PM2.5, thereby alleviating ferroptosis. In summary, our study found that iron homeostasis imbalance-mediated the crosstalk of ferritinophagy and mitophagy played an important role in PM2.5-induced ferroptosis and cardiac hypertrophy.

Abstract Micro-sized silicon anodes can significantly increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries with low cost. However, the large silicon volume changes during cycling cause cracks for both organic-inorganic interphases and silicon particles. The liquid electrolytes further penetrate the cracked silicon particles and reform the interphases, resulting in huge electrode swelling and quick capacity decay. Here we resolve these challenges by designing a high-voltage electrolyte that forms silicon-phobic interphases with weak bonding to lithium-silicon alloys. The designed electrolyte enables micro-sized silicon anodes (5 µm, 4.1 mAh cm−2) to achieve a Coulombic efficiency of 99.8% and capacity of 2175 mAh g−1 for >250 cycles and enable 100 mAh LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 pouch full cells to deliver a high capacity of 172 mAh g−1 for 120 cycles with Coulombic efficiency of >99.9%. The high-voltage electrolytes that are capable of forming silicon-phobic interphases pave new ways for the commercialization of lithium-ion batteries using micro-sized silicon anodes.

IntroductionCancer represents a significant global public health concern. In recent years, the incidence of cancer has been on the rise worldwide due to various factors, including diet, environment, and an aging population. Simultaneously, advancements in tumor molecular biology and genomics have led to a shift from systemic chemotherapy focused on disease sites and morphopathology towards precise targeted therapy for driver gene mutations. Therefore, we propose a comprehensive review aimed at exploring the research hotspots and directions in the field of Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS)-mutant cancers over the past decade, providing valuable insights for cancer treatment strategies. Specifically, we aim to present an intellectual landscape using data obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) regarding KRAS mutation.MethodsBibliometrix, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and HistCite were employed to conduct scientometric analyses on national publications, influential authors, highly cited articles, frequent keywords, etc.ResultsA total of 16,609 publications met the screening criteria and exhibited a consistent annual growth trend overall. Among 102 countries/regions, the United States occupied the vast majority share of the published volume. The journal Oncotarget had the highest circulation among all scientific publications. Moreover, the most seminal articles in this field primarily focus on biology and targeted therapies, with overcoming drug resistance being identified as a future research direction.ConclusionThe findings of the thematic analysis indicate that KRAS mutation in lung cancer, the prognosis following B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF) or rat sarcoma (RAS) mutations, and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-related lung cancer are the significant hotspots in the given field. Considering the significant advancements made in direct targeting drugs like sotorasib, it is anticipated that interest in cancers associated with KRAS mutations will remain steadfast.

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia that is associated with obesity and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). Obesity and OSA may increase the risk of AF by affecting cardiovascular health.MethodsThe study used the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, combined with two-sample and multivariable analyses, to assess the relationships between obesity, OSA, and AF. The study utilized GWAS data and applied various statistical methods for the analysis.ResultsThe study found that obesity increased the risk of OSA, which in turn significantly increased the risk of AF. Through mediating MR analysis, it was found that OSA played a certain role in the causal relationship between obesity and AF, with about 6.4% of the risk of AF being mediated by OSA.ConclusionThis study highlights the relationships among obesity, OSA, and AF, providing useful guidance for future clinical researches.

Abstract The HIV-1 Tat protein hijacks the Super Elongation Complex (SEC) to stimulate viral transcription and replication. However, the mechanisms underlying Tat activation and inactivation, which mediate HIV-1 productive and latent infection, respectively, remain incompletely understood. Here, through a targeted complementary DNA (cDNA) expression screening, we identify PRMT2 as a key suppressor of Tat activation, thus contributing to proviral latency in multiple cell line latency models and in HIV-1-infected patient CD4+ T cells. Our data reveal that the transcriptional activity of Tat is oppositely regulated by NPM1-mediated nucleolar retention and AFF4-induced phase separation in the nucleoplasm. PRMT2 preferentially methylates Tat arginine 52 (R52) to reinforce its nucleolar sequestration while simultaneously counteracting its incorporation into the SEC droplets, thereby leading to its functional inactivation to promote proviral latency. Thus, our studies unveil a central and unappreciated role for Tat methylation by PRMT2 in connecting its subnuclear distribution, liquid droplet formation, and transactivating function, which could be therapeutically targeted to eradicate latent viral reservoirs.

The present study tested the learning avoidance model by examining the degree to which learning avoidance in various afterschool settings mediated the negative association between math anxiety and math achievement. Participants consisted of 207 third to sixth graders. Using a path model, findings showed that students’ math anxiety was negatively associated with both standardized math achievement test scores and parent-reported math school grades. Additionally, higher math anxiety was associated with more negative homework behaviors and less frequent participation in math-related extracurricular activities. Finally, the association between math anxiety and math achievement was partially mediated by negative math homework behaviors and participation in math extracurricular activities. Effort in math exam preparation did not contribute to explaining the association between math anxiety and math achievement. Overall, these findings support the learning avoidance model and suggest that avoidance behaviors in everyday learning in the afterschool setting may contribute to explaining the undesired math achievement among highly math anxious students.

Dendritic bridging plays a key role in hot tearing formation and crack propagation, but it has yet to be clearly understood. This article describes the formation process of interdendritic bridging and its effect on the propagation of hot tearing. Two types of interdendritic bridging are proposed: mechanical bridging where dendrites are in contact with each other but are connected only by the surface tension of liquid film and metallurgical bridging where dendrites are metallurgically bonded at their contact points. Mechanical bridging cannot effectively impede crack propagation, thus exhibiting a brittle fracture characteristic, while metallurgical bridging can hinder crack propagation, resulting in a ductile fracture characteristic. Experiments on a high manganese steel were carried out to provide evidence of these two types of bridging and illustrate unique features on fractured surface that are associated with these two types of bridging. In this paper, the process of dendritic bridge formation is clearly described and its effect on hot tearing propagation is discussed.

Electrokinetic remediation technology can effectively remove heavy metal ions from contaminated soil in coal mine area. In order to clarify the effect of electric field on the adsorption characteristics of heavy metal ions on the surface of kaolinite, three common heavy metal elements Pb(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II) in mine soil were studied, a three-dimensional visualization model was established, and a stable kaolinite-solution-kaolinite simulation system was optimized. Molecular dynamics simulation method was used. The adsorption mode, atomic density distribution, diffusion coefficient and radial distribution function of heavy metal ions on kaolinite (001) crystal plane under electric field were investigated. The results show that when the electric field direction is +Z, the electric field promotes the complexation between heavy metal ions and siloxane surface, and the coordination number of the first hydration shell of heavy metal ions decreases with the increase of electric field intensity. The adsorption percentage of outer complexes increases with the increase of electric field intensity. When the electric field direction is −Z, the adsorption percentage of the outer complex decreases with the increase of the electric field intensity, the interaction between the kaolinite surface and heavy metal ions weakens, and more heavy metal ions dissociate in the solution and pair with chloride ions; under the action of electric field polarization, there is no obvious boundary between the first and second hydration shells of heavy metal ions, and there is water molecular exchange between the hydration shells; under the action of electric field, the MSD curve of heavy metal ions on kaolinite shows anisotropy. The diffusion coefficient in X and Y direction is larger than that in Z direction, the total diffusion coefficient increases with the increase of electric field intensity, and the diffusion coefficient is not obviously affected by the positive and negative direction of electric field. Pb(II) ion and Cd(II) ion only have outer complexes on the surface of kaolinite, while Cu(II) ions have the adsorption mode of coexistence of inner and outer complexes. The adsorption priority of kaolinite to three heavy metal ions is Pb(II) > Cu(II) > Cd(II).

Abstract Topological phases characterized by non-Abelian charges are beyond the scope of the paradigmatic tenfold way and have gained increasing attention recently. Here we investigate topological insulators with multiple tangled gaps in Floquet settings and identify uncharted Floquet non-Abelian topological insulators without any static or Abelian analog. We demonstrate that the bulk-edge correspondence is multifold and follows the multiplication rule of the quaternion group Q 8. The same quaternion charge corresponds to several distinct edge-state configurations that are fully determined by phase-band singularities of the time evolution. In the anomalous non-Abelian phase, edge states appear in all bandgaps despite trivial quaternion charge. Furthermore, we uncover an exotic swap effect—the emergence of interface modes with swapped driving, which is a signature of the non-Abelian dynamics and absent in Floquet Abelian systems. Our work, for the first time, presents Floquet topological insulators characterized by non-Abelian charges and opens up exciting possibilities for exploring the rich and uncharted territory of non-equilibrium topological phases.

ABSTRACTThe development of simple and high-throughput approaches to yield solid-state nanopores on large surface membranes may facilitate the prevalence of nanopore analysis technology and in-vitro diagnosis using portable devices. However, solid-state nanopores are typically realized by complex and high-end nanofabrication equipments. Here, we present a method to achieve nanopores on polymer membranes using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as templates and intense pulsed light (IPL) as a heating source. The density and size of nanopores are controllable by adjusting the spin coating rate, the concentration of nanoparticle suspension, and the size of nanoparticles (NPs). The temperature of the AgNPs can rapidly reach 1132 K under instant heating of photothermal effect through light irradiation in 2 ms, resulting in localized melting and decomposition of an underneath polycarbonate (PC) membrane to yield nanopores with sizes ranging from 10 to 270 nm. After removing the nanoparticle residues, the flexible membrane with nanopores can be integrated into a flow cell to achieve a nanopore sensor that has been used to measure the translocation behaviors of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The results have demonstrated the capability of the sensor in protein denaturation identification. This low-cost and high-throughput technique to fabricate solid-state nanopores on flexible polymeric membranes may facilitate the development of more nanopore-based flexible sensors that can be integrated with other flexible components for wearable diagnosis.

To reduce carbon, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from the integrated energy system (IES), a low carbon optimization strategy for the IES is proposed, taking into account carbon, SO2 and NOXemissions. Firstly, hydrogen production, storage and use equipment such as methane reactor, electrolysis tank, hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen energy storage are added to the traditional IES to build a multi-energy complementary system of electricity, gas, cooling, thermal and hydrogen. Then this paper introduces a stepped carbon trading mechanism and the model of the emissions of SO2 and NOX. Finally, to further reduce its pollutant emissions, the model of combined heat and power units and hydrogen fuel cells with adjustable thermoelectric ratio is built. To compare and account for the impact of air pollutant emissions on the optimal low-carbon operation of IES, this paper construsted three scenarios, with the lowest cost of carbon trading, the lowest penalty cost for SO2 and NOXemissions and total operation cost as objective functions respectively The results show that the strategy is effective in reducing air pollutant emissions from integrated energy systems and the outputs of CHP and HFC with adjustable thermoelectric ratios are more flexible and can effectively achieve carbon reduction and pollutant emission reduction.

A functionalized ethylene–vinyl-alcohol (EVOH) nanofibrous membrane (NFM) was fabricated via co-electrospinning H4SiW12O40 (SiW12) and EVOH first, and then grafting citric acid (CCA) on the electrospun SiW12@EVOH NFM. Characterization with FT-IR, EDX, and XPS confirmed that CCA was introduced to the surface of SiW12@EVOH NFM and the Keggin structure of SiW12 was maintained well in the composite fibers. Due to a number of carboxyl groups introduced by CCA, the as-prepared SiW12@EVOH-CCA NFM can form a high number of hydrogen bonds with CR, and thus can be used to selectively absorb congo red (CR) in aqueous solutions. More importantly, the CR enriched in the NFM can be rapidly degraded via photocatalysis. SiW12 in the NFM acted as a photocatalyst, and the hydroxyl groups in the NFM acted as an electron donor to accelerate the photodegradation rate of CR. Meanwhile, the SiW12@EVOH-CCA NFM was regenerated and then exhibited a relatively stable adsorption capacity in five cycles of filtration–regeneration. The bifunctional nanofibrous membrane filter showed potential for use in the thorough purification of dye wastewater.

This study introduces a GPU-based parallel computing approach that combines the phase-field model (PF) and the lattice Boltzmann model (LBM). By establishing a coupled multiphase field model incorporating physical external fields such as flow field, temperature field, and solute field, the research simulates the growth of single grains and multiple grains under the influence of natural convection. The variations in dendritic morphology, flow field, and solute field during dendritic solidification processes are observed. Initially, the study analyzes the morphology of equiaxed dendrites and the growth patterns of primary dendrites arms under natural convection conditions. The evolution of equiaxed dendrites in single grains and multiple grains under various conditions is investigated. Furthermore, the study explores the impact of different anisotropy strengths on the growth of single grains and multiple grains under natural convection. Notably, a distinct “necking” phenomenon is observed when the anisotropy strength of a single grain is 0.05. In the case of multiple grains, where competition between dendrites is present in addition to the influence of natural convection, a pronounced “necking” phenomenon is evident at an anisotropy strength of 0.03. Moreover, OpenCL parallel technology is designed on the GPU platform to accelerate the solution of the model. The parallelization of the phase-field model coupled with the LBM model on the GPU demonstrates a clear advantage. The parallel computation based on GPU not only exhibits absolute superiority but also shows more significant acceleration effects as the computational domain increases.

Accurately quantifying the relative effects of climate change and human activities on soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in alpine grasslands and their feedback is an important aspect of global change, and high-precision models are the key to solving this scientific problem with high quality. Therefore, nine models, the random forest model (RFM), generalized boosted regression model (GBRM), multiple linear regression model (MLRM), support vector machine model (SVMM), recursive regression tree model (RRTM), artificial neural network model (ANNM), generalized linear regression model (GLMR), conditional inference tree model (CITM), and eXtreme gradient boosting model (eXGBM), were used for modeling soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), the ratio of SOC to TN (C:N), the ratio of SOC to TP (C:P), and the ratio of TN to TP (N:P) at depths of 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm under non-grazing and free-grazing scenarios in the Xizang grasslands. Annual radiation (ARad), annual precipitation (AP), and annual temperature (AT) were used as independent variables under non-grazing scenarios, whereas ARad, AP, AT, and growing season maximum normalized difference vegetation index (NDVImax) were used as independent variables under free-grazing scenarios. Overall, the RFM and GBRM were more accurate than the other seven models. However, the tree numbers of the GBRM were much larger than those of the RFM, indicating that the GBRM may have a greater model complexity and lower running speed. Therefore, the RFM had the best performance among the nine models in modeling SOC, TN, TP, C:N, C:P, and N:P in the Xizang grasslands. The RFM established in this study can not only help scientists save time and money on massive sampling and analysis, but can also be used to construct a database of SOC, TN, and TP, and their ratios, and further scientific research related to ecological and environmental issues (e.g., examining whether soil systems intensified global warming over the past few decades by exploring whether climate change and human activities altered soil organic carbon) in the grasslands of Xizang Plateau.

Climate factors have a major influence on biodiversity patterns have often used their mean values to reflect the distribution of different organisms, reducing the faceted information of the study unit to point information, a situation that may affect the accuracy of the study results. However, there has been a lack of systematic and comprehensive discussion on regional climatic indicators and their selection. To address this, we evaluated plant distribution and meteorological data from 88 banners and counties in Inner Mongolia considering five regional climatic indicators that reflect the state of climate factors, heterogeneity, and total resources in each sampling unit. Additionally, we compared and analyzed the advantages of the regional climatic indicators over mean climate indicators to determine the dominant climate factors driving the diversity patterns of plant families, genera, and species. Our results showed that the regional climatic indicators were better than the mean values at reflecting the diversity patterns of plant families and genera. In Inner Mongolia, plant species diversity patterns were mainly influenced by total precipitation and temperature heterogeneity indicators; and concurrently, the correlation between plant family and genus diversity patterns and regional climatic indicators was also higher than the mean values. The extent to which climate explains the diversity patterns of plants increases with decreasing plant taxonomic rank. The results of this study expand the available selection and use of climate indicators in biodiversity research and deepen the understanding of the effects of climate on plant family diversity patterns in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, this study provides new perspectives for the rational selection and accurate use of climate or environmental indicators in biodiversity conservation and restoration research.

Glued laminated bamboo (glubam) is a type of bamboo-based lamina, and manufactured by pressure lamination of phenol-formaldehyde saturated bamboo strips under elevated temperature. Estimating, controlling, and limiting the formaldehyde release from glubam are important issues in indoor air quality of building with glubam. This study investigates formaldehyde emission characteristics from two types of glubam under different conditions including temperature, relative humidity, edge treatment, and surface covering material. A series of formaldehyde concentration tests were performed using 1 m3 climate chamber. The results indicate that the peak values of the formaldehyde concentration of glubam specimens under all testing conditions are lower than 0.124 mg/m3, and thus can be classified as Class E1 according to EN 13986. An analysis model was provided to estimate formaldehyde release based on the test data and a first-order decay model. Initial formaldehyde emission rate E0 and decay rate constant k in the proposed model was utilized for comparison and analysis of the experimental parameters. This investigation reveals that the temperature and relative humidity have significant influence on the formaldehyde emission characteristics of glubam boards. Sealing cutting edges and covering surface layer of the samples can significantly reduce the releasing rate and amount of formaldehyde from glubam.

ABSTRACTPapain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) play important roles in plant-pathogen interactions. In citrus, PLCPs are targeted by effectors from Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the causal agent of Huanglongbing (HLB). To study interactions between Citrus sinensis and CLas, we identified 33 candidate CsPLCP genes by HMMsearch with the Peptidase_C1 domain (PF00112), and further confirmed them using local BLAST with PLCP sequences from Arabidopsis thaliana. The 33 CsPLCPs were classified into 9 subfamilies. Analysis of the cis-acting elements in their promoters indicated that CsPLCPs are responsive to various phytohormones and stressors. Further qPCR analysis indicated that several CsPLCPs were up-regulated during CLas infection. Subcellular localization analysis indicated that five CsPLCPs were localized to the cytoplasm and nucleus, while CsXBCP2 was localized only to the cytoplasm. In summary, this study provides a sound basis for understanding the roles of CsPLCPs in the Citrus-CLas interaction.

Abstract Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent mental disorder that negatively impacts mothers and infants. The mechanisms of vulnerability to affective illness in the postpartum period remain largely unknown. Drastic fluctuations in reproductive hormones during the perinatal period generally account for triggering PPD. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the PPD-like behaviors induced by the fluctuations in hormones has rarely been reported. Methods We utilized hormones-simulated pseudopregnancy (HSP) and hormones-simulated postpartum period (HSPP) rat models to determine how drastic fluctuations in hormone levels affect adult neurotransmission and contribute to depressive-like behaviors. The electrophysiological response of CA1 pyramidal neurons was evaluated by whole-cell patch clamping to identify the hormone-induced modulations of neurotransmission. The statistical significance of differences was assessed with One-way ANOVA and t-test (p

ABSTRACT Objectives To compare the dusting efficiency and safety with basketing for treating renal stones ≤ 2 cm during flexible ureteroscopy (fURS). Materials and methods This study included 218 patients with renal stones ≤ 2 cm treated with fURS. Among them, 106 patients underwent dusting, and 112 patients underwent fragmentation with basket extraction. All patients were followed up for 3 months postoperatively. The operating time, lasing time, stone-free rate (SFR) and complication rate were compared. Results The mean stone size in the dusting group was 1.3 cm, whereas 1.4 cm in the basketing group. The mean operative time was significantly lower in the dusting group than in the basketing group (43.1±11.7 minutes VS 60.5±13.4 minutes, P

Objective:. Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare and special type of pancreatitis, which is often difficult to distinguish from pancreatic cancer. We aimed to discuss the clinical characteristics, operation characteristics, and therapeutic effects of AIP patients who received surgical treatment based on retrospective analysis. Methods:. The medical records of patients who underwent surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2012 to July 2021 and whose postoperative pathology was AIP were collected. Clinical symptoms, laboratory examinations, imaging features, surgical information, and prognostic data were analyzed. Results:. Nineteen patients with AIP (median age 60 years old, 14 males) underwent surgery, whose main indication for surgery was suspected of a malignant lesion (n = 18, 94.7%). Ten patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy, 8 underwent distal pancreatectomy, and 1 underwent total pancreatectomy, the pathological result of whom were all AIP. The main postoperative complication was pancreatic fistula (n = 11, 57.9%), and one patient (5.3%) underwent a second operation due to gastrointestinal anastomotic bleeding. One patient (5.6%) had a recurrence of AIP, 3 patients (16.7%) were treated with glucocorticoid after surgery, and one patient (5.6%) was treated with immunosuppressors. Conclusions:. Differential diagnosis of AIP from pancreatic cancer is complex. Operation difficulty and complication incidence for patients with AIP were similar to pancreatic cancer patients. Although glucocorticoid is the first-line treatment for AIP, surgery may still be necessary for patients who are strongly suspected of a malignant lesion.

With the increase in urban development intensity, the urban climate has become an important factor affecting sustainable development. The role of urban ventilation corridors in improving urban climate has received widespread attention. Urban ventilation identification and planning based on morphological methods have been initially applied. Traditional morphological methods do not adequately consider the dynamic process of air flow, resulting in a rough evaluation of urban ventilation patterns. This study proposes a new urban-scale ventilation corridor identification method that integrates the Lattice Boltzmann method and the K-means algorithm. Taking Wuhan, China as the research area, an empirical study in different wind directions was conducted on a 20 m grid. The results showed that three levels of ventilation corridors (245.47 km2 in total) and two levels of ventilation obstruction areas (658.09 km2 in total) were identified to depict the ventilation pattern of Wuhan’s central urban area. The method proposed in this study can meet the needs of urban-scale ventilation corridor identification in terms of spatial coverage, spatial distribution rate and dynamic analysis. Compared with the classic least cumulative ventilation cost method, the method proposed in this study can provide more morphologic details of the ventilation corridors. This plays a very important role in urban planning based on urban ventilation theory.

Soft sensors have been extensively utilized to approximate real-time power prediction in wind power generation, which is challenging to measure instantaneously. The short-term forecast of wind power aims at providing a reference for the dispatch of the intraday power grid. This study proposes a soft sensor model based on the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network by combining data preprocessing with Variational Modal Decomposition (VMD) to improve wind power prediction accuracy. It does so by adopting the isolation forest algorithm for anomaly detection of the original wind power series and processing the missing data by multiple imputation. Based on the process data samples, VMD technology is used to achieve power data decomposition and noise reduction. The LSTM network is introduced to predict each modal component separately, and further sum reconstructs the prediction results of each component to complete the wind power prediction. From the experimental results, it can be seen that the LSTM network which uses an Adam optimizing algorithm has better convergence accuracy. The VMD method exhibited superior decomposition outcomes due to its inherent Wiener filter capabilities, which effectively mitigate noise and forestall modal aliasing. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) was reduced by 9.3508%, which indicates that the LSTM network combined with the VMD method has better prediction accuracy.

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a prized traditional Chinese medicinal plant species. Its red storage roots are primarily used for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In this study, a transcription factor gene AtMYB2 was cloned and introduced into Salvia miltiorrhiza for ectopic expression. Overexpression of AtMYB2 enhanced salt stress resistance in S. miltiorrhiza, leading to a more resilient phenotype in transgenic plants exposed to high-salinity conditions. Physiological experiments have revealed that overexpression of AtMYB2 can decrease the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during salt stress, boost the activity of antioxidant enzymes, and mitigate oxidative damage to cell membranes. In addition, overexpression of AtMYB2 promotes the synthesis of tanshinones and phenolic acids by upregulating the expression of biosynthetic pathway genes, resulting in increased levels of these secondary metabolites. In summary, our findings demonstrate that AtMYB2 not only enhances plant tolerance to salt stress, but also increases the accumulation of secondary metabolites in S. miltiorrhiza. Our study lays a solid foundation for uncovering the molecular mechanisms governed by AtMYB2 and holds significant implications for the molecular breeding of high-quality S. miltiorrhiza varieties.

Abstract Cardiac hypertrophy is a common structural remodeling in many cardiovascular diseases. Recently, long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) were found to be involved in the physiological and pathological processes of cardiac hypertrophy. In this study, we found that LncRNA KCND1 (LncKCND1) was downregulated in both transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced hypertrophic mouse hearts and Angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes. Further analyses showed that the knockdown of LncKCND1 impaired cardiac mitochondrial function and led to hypertrophic changes in cardiomyocytes. In contrast, overexpression of LncKCND1 inhibited Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophic changes. Importantly, enhanced expression of LncKCND1 protected the heart from TAC-induced pathological cardiac hypertrophy and improved heart function in TAC mice. Subsequent analyses involving mass spectrometry and RNA immunoprecipitation assays showed that LncKCND1 directly binds to YBX1. Furthermore, overexpression of LncKCND1 upregulated the expression level of YBX1, while silencing LncKCND1 had the opposite effect. Furthermore, YBX1 was downregulated during cardiac hypertrophy, whereas overexpression of YBX1 inhibited Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Moreover, silencing YBX1 reversed the effect of LncKCND1 on cardiomyocyte mitochondrial function and its protective role in cardiac hypertrophy, suggesting that YBX1 is a downstream target of LncKCND1 in regulating cardiac hypertrophy. In conclusion, our study provides mechanistic insights into the functioning of LncKCND1 and supports LncKCND1 as a potential therapeutic target for pathological cardiac hypertrophy.

Abstract Inner product arguments allow a prover to prove that the inner product of two committed vectors equals a public scalar. They are used to reduce the complexity of many cryptographic primitives, such as range proofs. Range proofs are deployed in numerous applications to prove that a committed value lies in a certain range. As core building blocks, their complexity largely determines the performance of corresponding applications. In this paper, we have optimised the inner product argument with statement including two vector commitments (IPAtvc) and range proof of Daza et al. (PKC’20), the inner product argument with statement including only one vector commitment (IPAovc) of Bünz et al. (S&P′18). For IPAtvc, we reduce the concrete communication complexity by 2 log2n field elements, where n is the vector dimension. For range proofs, we reduce the concrete communication and prover complexities by about 2 log2m field elements and 11m field multiplications, respectively, where m is the bit length of range. For IPAovc, we exponentially reduce the asymptotic verifier complexity from linear to logarithmic. Due to the asymptotic characteristics, our protocols are highly competitive when the vector dimension or bit length of range is large.

Abstract Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies worldwide. Increasing evidence suggests that the capacity for self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation of pancreatic cancer stem cells (PCSCs) contribute to major challenges with current PC therapies, causing metastasis and therapeutic resistance, leading to recurrence and death in patients. The concept that PCSCs are characterized by their high plasticity and self-renewal capacities is central to this review. We focused specifically on the regulation of PCSCs, such as stemness-related signaling pathways, stimuli in tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME), as well as the development of innovative stemness-targeted therapies. Understanding the biological behavior of PCSCs with plasticity and the molecular mechanisms regulating PC stemness will help to identify new treatment strategies to treat this horrible disease.

Abstract Wound healing is a dynamic and highly sequential process involving a series of overlapping spatial and temporal phases, including hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and tissue remodeling. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells with self-renewal, multidirectional differentiation potential, and paracrine regulation. Exosomes are subcellular vesicular components 30–150 nm in size and are novel carriers of intercellular communication in regulating the biological behaviors of skin cells. Compared to MSCs, MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-exos) possess lower immunogenicity, easy storage, and highly effective biological activity. MSC-exos, mainly derived from adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs), human umbilical cord MSCs (hUC-MSCs), and other stem cell types, play a role in shaping the activity of fibroblasts, keratinocytes, immune cells, and endothelial cells in diabetic wounds, inflammatory wound repair, and even wound-related keloid formation. Therefore, this study focuses on the specific roles and mechanisms of different MSC-exos in wound healing, as well as the current limitations and various perspectives. Deciphering the biological properties of MSC-exos is crucial to providing a promising cell-free therapeutic tool for wound healing and cutaneous regeneration. Graphical Abstract

As compared with sparse scalar arrays and uniform diversely polarized arrays, sparse diversely polarized arrays show respectively advantages of possessing the ability of sensing the polarization state of source signals, avoiding polarization mismatch and increasing the degrees of freedom, reducing mutual coupling, decreasing hardware cost, etc. Therefore, the comprehensive research on sparse diversely polarized array is of great importance in both theory and realistic applications. The design architecture of sparse diversely polarized arrays, which are related not only to the location of the array elements, but also to the dipole/loop type, orientation, and polarization states of the antenna elements, are more diverse than those of sparse scalar arrays. This paper summarizes the relevant researches in this field in recent years, introduces and explores the mainstream sparse diversely polarized array structure optimization approaches from three aspects: non-uniformly sparse, uniformly sparse and mixed uniformly and non-uniformly sparse. Then the future development of sparse diversely polarized arrays is discussed in terms of deep learning-based optimization approach, sparse Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) diversely polarized array, sparse Polarimetric Frequency Diverse Array (PFDA) radar and sparse PFDA-MIMO radar, sparse polarimetric reconfigurable intelligent surface, and the application of sparse diversely polarized array in complex indoor scenes, such as smart communications in house and Industrial Internet of Things.

In view of the problems of low early strength and weak deformation resistance of ordinary cement-based materials, the cement-based materials were modified by nano-silica sol. The nano-silica sol was charasterized by means of electro-hydraulic servo universal testing, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The fluidity, stone rate, uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, hydration products, and microstructure of cement-based materials with different water-cement ratios were evaluated. The results show that when the content of silica sol is within 0.5% and the water-cement ratio is less than 1.0, the fluidity of cement slurry can be significantly improved, and the maximum increase is 20.24%. The stone formation rate increases with the increase of nano-silica sol admixture, and the silica sol increases the stone formation rate of slurry with water-cement ratio greater than 0.7 significantly, with a maximum increase of 24.49%. When the content of silica sol is 2%, the compressive strength of the stone body increases the most. The effect of increasing the strength gradually weakens. The incorporation of nano-silica sol promotes the early hydration reaction of cementitious, and reacts with the hydration products to produce hydrated calcium silicate gel (C—S—H) and makes the microscopic morphology more dense, so that the early compressive strength and elastic modulus of the stone body are significantly increased. Nano-silica sol promotes the hydration reaction by shortening the induction period and providing nucleation sites for C—S—H in the particle voids, which improves the performance of cementitious materials.

The significance of exosomes has emerged in a variety of physiological processes and diseases. Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal diseases at present. Recently, increasing evidence has suggested that exosomes are vital for mediating the elaborate interaction of highly heterogeneous cell clusters within the pancreatic tumor microenvironment, contributing to activating pancreatic stellate cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts, compromising immune cells, and enhancing angiogenesis. Besides their natural and intrinsic roles, exosomes may provide a novel potential way for pancreatic cancer management and therapy as well. Thus, exosomes not only mediate cellular communication during pancreatic cancer progression but also serve as a promising player in precise pancreatic cancer management and treatment. To comprehensively summarize the role of exosomes in pancreatic cancer, we searched the PubMed database and reviewed all relevant original studies.

Abstract Background Malnutrition and inflammation are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes or coronary artery disease (CAD). Prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is a comprehensive and simple indicator reflecting nutritional condition and immunological status. Whether there is a crosstalk between nutritional-immunological status and diabetes status for the impact on the prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) is unclear. Methods A total of 9429 consecutive CAD patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were grouped by diabetes status [diabetes (DM) and non-diabetes (non-DM)] and preprocedural PNI level [high PNI (H-PNI) and low PNI (L-PNI)] categorized by the statistically optimal cut-off value of 48.49. The primary endpoint was all-cause death. Results During a median follow-up of 5.1 years (interquartile range: 5.0–5.1 years), 366 patients died. Compared with the non-DM/H-PNI group, the DM/L-PNI group yielded the highest risk of all-cause death (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.65, 95% confidence interval: 1.97–3.56, p

Membranes with fast and selective ion transport are essential for electrochemical processes. Here the authors provide mechanistic insights into the structures of metal-ion coordinated polybenzimidazole membranes and the preferential K+ transport, and their application in an alkaline zinc-iron flow battery.

Abstract Background The prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients remains relatively poor. Although some patients would receive surgical resection, distant metastasis frequently occurs within one year. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as a pathological mechanism in cancer progression, contributed to the local and distant metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Methods Tissue microarray analysis and immunohistochemistry assays were used to compare the expression of EGR1 in pancreatic cancer and normal pancreatic tissues. Transwell chambers were used to evaluated the migration and invasion ability of cancer cells. Immunofluorescence was utilized to assess the expression of E-cadherin. ChIP-qPCR assay was applied to verify the combination of EGR1 and SNAI2 promoter sequences. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the gene promoter activation. Co-IP assay was conducted to verify the interaction of EGR1 and p300/CBP. Results EGR1 was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer rather than normal pancreatic tissues and correlated with poor prognosis and cancer metastasis. EGR1 was proved to enhance the migration and invasion ability of pancreatic cells. Besides, EGR1 was positively correlated with EMT process in pancreatic cancer, via a SNAI2-dependent pathway. P300/CBP was found to play an auxiliary role in the transcriptional activation of the SNAI2 gene by EGR1. Finally, in vivo experiments also proved that EGR1 promoted liver metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Conclusion Our findings implied the EMT-promoting effect of EGR1 in pancreatic cancer and revealed the intrinsic mechanism. Blocking the expression of EGR1 may be a new anticancer strategy for pancreatic cancer. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal diseases with a relatively low 5-year survival rate, and gemcitabine-based chemoresistance occurs constantly. Mitochondria, as the power factory in cancer cells, are involved in the process of chemoresistance. The dynamic balance of mitochondria is under the control of mitophagy. Stomatin-like protein 2 (STOML2) is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is highly expressed in cancer cells. In this study, using a tissue microarray (TMA), we found that high STOML2 expression was correlated with higher survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, the proliferation and chemoresistance of pancreatic cancer cells could be retarded by STOML2. In addition, we found that STOML2 was positively related to mitochondrial mass and negatively related to mitophagy in pancreatic cancer cells. STOML2 stabilized PARL and further prevented gemcitabine-induced PINK1-dependent mitophagy. We also generated subcutaneous xenografts to verify the enhancement of gemcitabine therapy induced by STOML2. These findings suggested that STOML2 regulated the mitophagy process through the PARL/PINK1 pathway, thereby reducing the chemoresistance of pancreatic cancer. STOML2-overexpression targeted therapy might be helpful for gemcitabine sensitization in the future.

Objective: The pathogenesis of leukemia is complex and there are no effective diagnostic and prognostic indicators. Previous studies showed that microRNA-22 (miR-22) has altered expression level in multiple leukemia subtypes, which is associated with the survival outcomes of leukemia. Methods: According to the constituted retrieval strategy, eligible studies were included from January 2010 to November 2022 by searching database. The pooled Risk Ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to study the relationship between miR-22 and survival. Stata12.0 was used for meta-analysis. Differential expression analysis was conducted based on expression profile of miRNA. Results: Four English articles were included containing a total of 215 leukemia patients. Data showed that the pooled RR for overall survival (OS) was 1.558 (95% CI: 1.197-2.028, P