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Zero-dimensional (0D) hybrid metal halides (HMHs) have emerged as a promising platform for exploring excitation-dependent multicolor luminescent materials owing to their diverse crystal structures and chemical compositions. Nevertheless, understanding the mechanism behind excitation-dependent emissions (EDEs) in 0D HMHs and achieving precise modulation remains challenging. In this work, the delicate regulations on the EDE of 0D (DMEDABr)4SnBr3I3 (DMEDA: N, N′-dimethylethylenediamine) with mixed halogens are achieved under low temperature and high pressure, respectively. The inhomogeneous halogen occupation at the atomic scale leads to the formation of Br-rich and I-rich SnX6 (X = Br, I) octahedra, which act as distinct luminescent centers upon photoexcitation. At low temperatures, the narrowed photoluminescence spectra could distinguish the individual emissions from different luminescent centers, resulting in a pronounced EDE of (DMEDABr)4SnBr3I3. In addition, the contraction and distortion of the luminescent SnX6 (X = Br, I) centers at high pressure further result in different degrees of emission shifts, giving rise to the gradual emergence and disappearance of EDE. This work elucidates the underlying mechanism of EDE in 0D HMHs and highlights the crucial role of halogens in determining the optical properties of metal halides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study sought to elucidate the associations of cardiometabolic index (CMI), as a metabolism-related index, with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among the older population. Utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we further explored the potential mediating effect of inflammation within these associations. Methods: A cohort of 3029 participants aged over 65 years old, spanning six NHANES cycles from 2005 to 2016, was enrolled and assessed. The primary endpoints of the study included all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality utilizing data from National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Cox regression model and subgroup analysis were conducted to assess the associations of CMI with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The mediating effect of inflammation-related indicators including leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were evaluated to investigate the potential mechanism of the associations between CMI and mortality through mediation package in R 4.2.2. Results: The mean CMI among the enrolled participants was 0.74±0.66, with an average age of 73.28±5.50 years. After an average follow-up period of 89.20 months, there were 1,015 instances of all-cause deaths and 348 cardiovascular deaths documented. In the multivariable-adjusted model, CMI was positively related to all-cause mortality (Hazard Ratio (HR)=1.11, 95% CI=1.01-1.21). Mediation analysis indicated that leukocytes and neutrophils mediated 6.6% and 13.9% of the association of CMI with all-cause mortality. Conclusion: Elevated CMI is positively associated with all-cause mortality in the older adults. The association appeared to be partially mediated through inflammatory pathways, indicating that CMI may serve as a valuable indicator for poor prognosis among the older population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn order to improve the efficiency and safety of shield machine cutting reinforced concrete piles, abrasive waterjets (AWJs) assisted mechanical combined cutting technology is considered a feasible solution. However, the water-rich flooding environment will cause the cutting performance of AWJs to weaken, which brings great challenges to the application of this technology. In order to analyze the influence of submerged conditions on the cutting performance of AWJs, the cross-sectional morphology of reinforced concrete piles cut by AWJs is explored using indoor experiments, and the weakening law of pile foundation cutting depth is revealed. The results show that the submerged environment greatly weakens the cutting ability, and the average cutting depth is reduced by about 20.0%. Rebar materials are more difficult to remove due to their high strength and strong plastic toughness, which is the root reason of the difficulty in cutting off piles. As the cutting times increases, the cutting depth discount factor initially decreases rapidly before stabilizing. At 380 MPa, the cutting depth discount factor remains stable at 0.49, while at 280 MPa, it stabilizes at 0.62. The findings presented in this paper can provide guidance and suggestions on waterjet parameters for AWJs assisted shield machine pile breaking.HIGHLIGHTSThe cross-sectional change rules of reinforced concrete pile foundation cut by abrasive waterjets is clarified.The depth weakening effect of pile foundations cut by abrasive waterjets under submerged conditions is revealed.The cutting depth discount factor for rebars is established.The cross-sectional change rules of reinforced concrete pile foundation cut by abrasive waterjets is clarified.The depth weakening effect of pile foundations cut by abrasive waterjets under submerged conditions is revealed.The cutting depth discount factor for rebars is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recursive integral terminal sliding mode control with combined extended state observer (ESO) and adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) is proposed in this article for micromechanical system gyroscopes. To accurately estimate the unmeasured system states in the presence of measurement noises, external disturbances and system uncertainties, the special combination of ESO and AKF is proposed. The AKF is employed to deal with measurement noises and prepare necessary signals for the ESO, while the ESO constantly provides the updated estimate of the lumped disturbance for the AKF. Furthermore, a robust control scheme is designed by using the recursive integral terminal sliding mode variable. Simulation results verify that more accurate unmeasured state estimation and higher tracking accuracy are achieved under the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ticks are blood-feeding significant arthropods that can harbour various microorganisms, including pathogens that pose health risks to humans and animals. Tick-symbiont microorganisms are believed to influence tick development, but the intricate interactions between these microbes and the relationships between different tick-borne microorganisms remain largely unexplored. Results: Based on 111 tick pool samples presenting questing and engorged statuses including 752 questing tick and 1083 engorged tick from cattle and goats, which were collected in two types of geographic landscape (semi-desert and alpine meadow). We observed significant variations in the composition of tick-borne microorganisms across different environments and blood-engorgement statuses, with a pronounced divergence in symbionts compared to environmental bacteria. Metabolic predictions revealed over 90 differential pathways for tick-borne microorganisms in distinct environments and more than 80 metabolic variations in response to varying blood engorgement statuses. Interestingly, nine pathways were identified, particularly related to chorismate synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. Moreover, microbial network relationships within tick-borne microorganism groups were highly distinct across different environments and blood-engorgement statuses. The microbial network relationships of symbionts involve some pathogenic and environmental microorganisms. Regression modelling highlighted positive correlations between the Coxiella symbiont and related pathogens, while some environmental bacteria showed strong negative correlations with Coxiella abundance. We also identified commensal bacteria/pathogens in bacterial cooccurrence patterns. Furthermore, we tested pathogenic microorganisms of each tick sample analysis revealed that 86.36% (1601/1855) of the tick samples carried one or more pathogenic microorganisms, The total carrier rate of bacterial pathogens was 43.77% ((812/1855). Most blood samples carried at least one pathogenic microorganism. The pathogens carried by the ticks have both genus and species diversity, and Rickettsia species are the most abundant pathogens among all pathogens. Conclusion: Our findings underscore that the bacterial pattern of ticks is dynamic and unstable, which is influenced by the environment factors and tick developmental characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) members have been widely used in skyscrapers and long-span bridges. Non-uniformly distributed hydration heat during curing, inadequate compaction during construction and unavoidable shrinkage and creep of mass concrete in service most likely lead to interface debonding defects between concrete core and steel tube, which has been a common concern. The development of effective non-destructive inspection methods for interface bonding condition of existing CFST members is critical. In this study, an interface debonding defect detection method based on electromechanical impedance (EMI) measurement using surface-mounted piezoelectric-lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) sensors is proposed at first. Then, experimental study on the feasibility of the proposed approach is carried out with scaled CFST specimens with artificially mimicked interface debonding defects. EMI of surface-mounted PZT sensors at different frequency bands are measured and compared to verify the detectability of the proposed approach for the mimicked interface debonding defects. Thirdly, a multi-physics CFST-PZT coupling finite element model (FEM) with interface debonding defects is established, and EMI of surface-mounted PZT sensors at different locations is simulated. The influence of interface debonding defects on EMI measurements is illustrated. Finally, a blind inspection on the interface bonding condition of selected CFST columns in an existing skyscraper in service using the proposed approach is carried out. Both bonding and debonding defect in the tested CFST columns are detected correctly and validated with drilling hole observation. Experimental, numerical and engineering application results show the proposed approach is effective for interface debonding detection of CFST members and sensitive to minor debonding defect of 0.3 mm in CFST members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Recently, there have been attempts to improve prognostication and therefore better guide treatment for patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). In 2022, the International MTC Grading System (IMTCGS) was developed and validated using a multi‐institutional cohort of 327 patients. The aim of the current study was to build upon the findings of the IMTCGS to develop and validate a prognostic nomogram to predict recurrence‐free survival (RFS) in MTC. Methods and Results: Data from 300 patients with MTC from five centres across the USA, Europe, and Australia were used to develop a prognostic nomogram that included the following variables: age, sex, AJCC stage, tumour size, mitotic count, necrosis, Ki67 index, lymphovascular invasion, microscopic extrathyroidal extension, and margin status. A process of 10‐fold cross‐validation was used to optimize the model's performance. To assess discrimination and calibration, the area‐under‐the‐curve (AUC) of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, concordance‐index (C‐index), and dissimilarity index (D‐index) were calculated. Finally, the model was externally validated using a separate cohort of 87 MTC patients. The model demonstrated very strong performance, with an AUC of 0.94, a C‐index of 0.876, and a D‐index of 19.06. When applied to the external validation cohort, the model had an AUC of 0.9. Conclusions: Using well‐established clinicopathological prognostic variables, we developed and externally validated a robust multivariate prediction model for RFS in patients with resected MTC. The model demonstrates excellent predictive capability and may help guide decisions on patient management. The nomogram is freely available online at https://nomograms.shinyapps.io/MTC_ML_DFS/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Curcubita ficifolia Bouché (Cucurbitaceae) has high value as a food crop and medicinal plant, and also has horticultural value as rootstock for other melon species. China is home to many different cultivars, but the genetic diversity of these resources and the evolutionary relationships among them, as well as the differences between C. ficifolia and other Cucurbita species, remain unclear. Results: We investigated the chloroplast (cp) genomes of 160 C. ficifolia individuals from 31 populations in Yunnan, a major C. ficifolia production area in China. We found that the cp genome of C. ficifolia is ~151 kb and contains 128 genes, of which 86 are protein coding genes, 34 encode tRNA, and eight encode rRNAs. We also identified 64 SSRs, mainly AT repeats. The cp genome was found to contain a total of 204 SNP and 57 indels, and a total of 21 haplotypes were found in the 160 study individuals. The reverse repeat (IR) region of C. ficifolia contained a few differences compared with this region in the six other Cucurbita species. Sequence difference analysis demonstrated that most of the variable regions were concentrated in the single copy (SC) region. Moreover, the sequences of the coding regions were found to be more similar among species than those of the non-coding regions. The phylogenies reconstructed from the cp genomes of 61 representative species of Cucurbitaceae reflected the currently accepted classification, in which C. ficifolia is sister to the other Cucurbita species, however, different interspecific relationships were found between Cucurbita species. Conclusions: These results will be valuable in the classification of C. ficifolia genetic resources and will contribute to our understanding of evolutionary relationships within the genus Cucurbita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) members have been widely used in civil engineering due to their advanced mechanical properties. However, internal defects such as the concrete core voids and interface debonding in CFST structures are likely to weaken their load-carrying capacity and stiffness, which affects the safety and serviceability. Visualizing the inner defects of the concrete cores in CFST members is a critical requirement and a challenging task due to the obvious difference in the material mechanical parameters of the concrete core and steel tube in CFST members. In this study, a curved ray theory-based travel time tomography (TTT) with a least square iterative linear inversion algorithm is first introduced to quantitatively identify and visualize the sizes and positions of the concrete core voids in CFST members. Secondly, a numerical investigation of the influence of different parameters on the inversion algorithm for the defect imaging of CFST members, including the effects of the model weighting matrix, weighting factor and grid size on the void's imaging quality and accuracy, is carried out. Finally, an experimental study on six CFST specimens with mimicked concrete core void defects is performed in a laboratory and the mimicked defects are visualized. The results demonstrate that TTT can identify the sizes and positions of the concrete core void defects in CFST members efficiently with the use of optimal parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Xihu Basin (WXB), part of the East China Sea Shelf Basin (ECSSB), demonstrates distinct structural differences between different sub-areas. Understanding the origin and mechanism of these differences is critical for unravelling the formation and evolution of the Western Xihu Basin and the ECSSB. Based on high-resolution 2D and 3D seismic data, we investigate the structural characteristics and evolution of the hinged margin and discuss the underlying formation mechanisms. The results suggest that, while controlled by NNE-, NE- and NW-striking major faults, there are distinct differences in the fault geometry, margin structure, fault displacement rate, and margin evolution in different basin areas. In contrast to the conventional division scheme which divides the WXB into three general sub-areas, our results suggest that the WXB should be divided into seven sub-areas with different tectonic structures and stress histories. The evolution of the WXB can be divided into three stages: (1) the synrift stage in the Palaeocene and early Eocene, when NNE-, NE- and NW-striking major faults were highly active and controlled the initial formation of the hinged margin structure; (2) late synrift stage in the late Eocene, when the faulting activity diminished, and the control of faults on the margin evolution decreased; (3) postrift stage from the Oligocene onwards, when active faulting ceased and sedimentation and differential basement subsidence became the main factors controlling basin evolution. The formation and reactivation of NW-striking faults under influence of the Izanagi-Pacific ridge subduction during the Mesozoic provided the basis for the differential evolution of the WXB in Cenozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous asphalt pavements are widely used in rainy and wet areas for their skid resistance, noise reduction, runoff minimization and environmental sustainability. Long-term moisture vapor erosion and the destabilization of large pore structures can easily result in pavement problems such as fragmentation, spalling, cracking, and excessive permanent deformation. To this end, four different preventive maintenance materials, including the rejuvenation (RJ), cohesion reinforcement (CEM), polymerization reaction, and emulsified asphalt (EA) types, were selected in this paper to improve the high-viscosity porous asphalt pavement. The effects of the different preventive maintenance materials on the temperature sensitivity, rheological properties and fatigue performance of high-viscosity modified asphalt were evaluated through temperature sweep, frequency sweep, multi-stress creep recovery (MSCR), linear amplitude sweep (LAS), and bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests. The results showed that the four preventive maintenance materials exhibit different enhancement mechanisms and effects. RJ improves the fatigue properties, deformation resistance and low-temperature cracking resistance of aged asphalt by adding elastomeric components; CEM materials are more conducive to increasing the low-temperature crack resistance of aged asphalt; while GL1 and EA improve the viscoelastic behavior of aged asphalt, but the effect of the dosing ratio needs to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors presents a low‐profile wideband circularly polarised (CP) millimetre‐wave (mmWave) elliptical integrated lens antenna (ILA) fabricated by dielectric 3D printing technology. The proposed lens is integrated with a dielectric polariser and an air cavity for phase compensation, which can transfer incident waves from linearly polarised (LP) to planar CP waves over a wide bandwidth. Compared to the classic bifocal ILA, the proposed lens has a low profile. The phase compensation is performed by introducing a specifically shaped air cavity, which greatly reduces the length and weight of the lens. The polariser causes the two electric field components Ex and Ey to degenerate with an orthogonal phase difference, which results in the wideband characteristics of the antenna. The polariser, air cavity and lens can be conveniently and precisely fabricated by low‐cost 3D printing technology. Measurements show that the proposed ILA has a wide axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 21.9–32.6 GHz, while the gain reaches 22.54 dBic with a 38% size reduction and a 60.7% weight reduction. Benefiting from the low profile, high gain, wide bandwidth and low cost, the proposed ILA has great potential to be the candidate antenna for 5G applications and satellite communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adverse effects of the frequent reservoir earthquakes (REs) and the severe degradation of the hydrofluctuation belt (HFB) on the long-term stability of bedding bank slope since the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) impoundment were considered fully in this paper. Under such complex conditions, the dynamic response pattern and instability mechanism of typical bank slopes were investigated systematically by using a method of combining field survey, laboratory shaking table (ST) model test, and Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) numerical exploration. The research shows that the degradation forms of the HFB of typical bank slopes in the key field survey of the TGRA can be arranged into four types: erosion (denudation), corrosion (suffosion), avalanche (collapse), and slip (flow). The dynamic response of slope shows obvious characteristics of "surface effect" and "elevation effect," and the cumulative displacement (CD), damping ratio (DR) and natural frequency (NF) of slopes show a trend of gradually increasing, and increasing and decreasing, respectively. Meanwhile, the "S–type" cubic function and "Steep rise type" exponential function can be used to characterize the cumulative damage degree (CDG) of slope at the excitation stages of microseisms—small seisms and strong seisms, respectively. Subsequently, the dynamic evolvement process for cumulative damage and unstable failure of slope considering the impact of degradation of rock mass in the HFB was obtained, and there are good agreement between the model test and numerical exploration results. Furthermore, fully considering the influence of slope height (SH), slope angle (SA), thickness of bedding plane (TBP), dip angle of bedding plane (DABP), dynamic load amplitude (DLA), dynamic load frequency (DLF), height of water level of the HFB (HWHB), degradation range of the HFB (DRHB), and degradation shape of the HFB (DSHB), the CD of slope subjected to continuous excitation of multiple seismic loads increases in the form of exponential function, the dynamic stability coefficient (DSC) of slope decreases slowly first and then drops sharply, and the response degree of slope deformation and sliding velocity is obviously different. Especially, the sensitivity level of every preceding factor to the dynamic stability of slope based on the orthogonal analysis method (OAM) is in the order of DLA > DRHB > SA > SH > DLF > HWHB > DSHB > DABP > TBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previously, we revealed noticeable dynamic fluctuations in syndecan-1 levels in the peripheral blood of post-stroke patients. We further investigated the clinical prognostic value of syndecan-1 as a biomarker of glycoprotein damage in patients with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). Methods: We examined 105 patients with acute large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, all of whom underwent mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Peripheral blood syndecan-1 levels were measured 1 day after MT, and patients were categorised into favourable and unfavourable prognostic groups based on the 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score. Additionally, we compared the clinical outcomes between groups with high and low syndecan-1 concentrations. Results: The findings revealed a significantly lower syndecan-1 level in the group with an unfavourable prognosis compared to those with a favourable prognosis (p < 0.01). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, lower syndecan-1 levels were identified as a predictor of unfavourable prognosis (odds ratio (OR) = 0.965, p = 0.001). Patients displaying low syndecan-1 expression in the peripheral blood (< 29.51 ng/mL) experienced a > twofold increase in the rates of unfavourable prognosis and mortality. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that syndecan-1, as an emerging, easily detectable stroke biomarker, can predict the clinical outcomes of patients with AIS. After MT, low levels of syndecan-1 in the peripheral blood on the first day emerged as an independent risk factor for an unfavourable prognosis, suggesting that lower syndecan-1 levels might signify worse clinical presentation and outcomes in stroke patients undergoing this procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of sustainable development strategies, the recycling of discarded products has become increasingly important with the development of electronic technology. Choosing the human–robot collaborative disassembly mode is the key to optimizing the disassembly process and ensuring maximum efficiency and benefits. To solve the problem of human–robot cooperative parallel dismantling line balance, a mixed integer programming model is established and verified by CPLEX. An improved Moth-Flame Optimization (IMFO) algorithm is proposed to speed up convergence and optimize the disassembly process of various products. The effectiveness of IMFO is evaluated through multiple cases and compared with other heuristics. The results of these comparisons can provide insight into whether IMFO is the most appropriate algorithm for the problem presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the lightweight and dexterous design, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used to perform near-surface target detection missions in various complex environments. The camouflaged personnel detection in the images captured by the UAVs plays an essential role in the information acquisition, which determines the success of detection missions. However, the camouflaged personnel are not easily discovered due to the high similarity between the camouflage style and the background. In addition, there is only available few labeled sample images. To address above-mentioned problems, a camouflaged personnel dataset is first established, and a novel anchor-based method is then proposed to detect the camouflaged personnel. In addition, the efficient channel attention and the improved receptive fields block are added in the anchor-based convolutional network to focus on more features about the camouflaged targets. Besides, the non-maximum suppression is applied to determine the optimal bounding box on the targets. The quantitative results and visualization effects demonstrate that the mean average precision of the proposed method can reach 85%, and the recall can reach 83% on the developed dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the crushing efficiency of drilling machinery, laser-assisted mechanical rock-breaking technology has gained wide attention in the field of engineering construction. In this method, the weakening effect of the laser on the compressive strength of the rock is a key factor of the technology. To reveal the weakening effect of the laser on the compressive strength of rocks, standard uniaxial compression tests were carried out on irradiated rocks using a uniaxial compression testing machine. The weakening effect of laser power and irradiation time on rock strength and rock failure mode was investigated. The experimental results show that the laser power and irradiation time have similar effects on the mechanical properties of the rocks. With the increase of laser power and irradiation time, the peak stress of the specimens shows a tendency to decrease rapidly and then slowly. At the same time, the rock elastic modulus decreases and peak strain increases, and the behavior eventually transform from brittle damage to plastic damage. Melting pit holes and crack networks are the root cause of the weakness of the compressive strength. On one hand, the vertical melting pit hole provides a conical free surface, which reduces the rock deformation constraint and generates stress concentration at the bottom of the hole, so that it facilitates the splitting-tension damage of the specimen. On the other hand, the axial load induces symmetric tensile cracks in the thermal cracks, and adjacent tensile cracks interpenetrate to create a surface of tensile damage, leading to fragmentation of the specimen in the form of rock blocks, ultimately undermining the rock. This work provides an improved understanding of the effect of lasers on the compressive strength of rocks in engineering applications. Highlights: The effect of laser irradiation on the compressive strength weakening of rock was investigated. Failure modes and strength weakening mechanisms of irradiated rocks were revealed. The advantage parameters of laser-assisted rock breaking were clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The prognostic importance of RET and RAS mutations and their relationship to clinicopathologic parameters and outcomes in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) need to be clarified. Experimental Design: A multicenter retrospective cohort study was performed utilizing data from 290 patients with MTC. The molecular profile was determined and associations were examined with clinicopathologic data and outcomes. Results:RET germ line mutations were detected in 40 patients (16.3%). Somatic RET and RAS mutations occurred in 135 (46.9%) and 57 (19.8%) patients, respectively. RETM918T was the most common somatic RET mutation (n = 75). RET somatic mutations were associated with male sex, larger tumor size, advanced American Joint Committee Cancer (AJCC) stage, vascular invasion, and high International Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Grading System (IMTCGS) grade. When compared with other RET somatic mutations, RETM918T was associated with younger age, AJCC (eighth edition) IV, vascular invasion, extrathyroidal extension, and positive margins. RET somatic or germ line mutations were significantly associated with reduced distant metastasis-free survival on univariate analysis, but there were no significant independent associations on multivariable analysis, after adjusting for tumor grade and stage. There were no significant differences in outcomes between RET somatic and RET germ line mutations, or between RETM918T and other RET mutations. Other recurrent molecular alterations included TP53 (4.2%), ARID2 (2.9%), SETD2 (2.9%), KMT2A (2.9%), and KMT2C (2.9%). Among them, TP53 mutations were associated with decreased overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS), independently of tumor grade and AJCC stage. Conclusions:RET somatic mutations were associated with high-grade, aggressive primary tumor characteristics, and decreased distant metastatic-free survival but this relationship was not significant after accounting for tumor grade and disease stage. RETM918T was associated with aggressive primary tumors but was not independently associated with clinical outcomes. TP53 mutation may represent an adverse molecular event associated with decreased OS and DSS in MTC, but its prognostic value needs to be confirmed in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on optical image enhancement, this paper uses convolutional neural network to detect key points of swimming posture. In swimming posture analysis, key point detection can provide information about posture accuracy and evaluation. However, due to the change of illumination conditions, the reduction of image quality and occlusion, the accuracy and stability of key point detection are limited. In order to solve this problem, an optical image enhancement method based on convolutional neural network is proposed in this paper. First, a specific convolutional neural network architecture is used to extract features from input images. Then optical image enhancement technology is used to preprocess the input image to improve the image quality. Next, the trained convolutional neural network model is used to detect key points. Experimental results show that the proposed method has good performance under different illumination conditions and image quality. Therefore, this study provides a new idea and method for the application of optical image enhancement in the detection of key points in swimming posture analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previously, we revealed noticeable dynamic fluctuations in syndecan-1 levels in the peripheral blood of post-stroke patients. We further investigated the clinical prognostic value of syndecan-1 as a biomarker of glycoprotein damage in patients with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). Methods: We examined 105 patients with acute large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, all of whom underwent mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Peripheral blood syndecan-1 levels were measured 1 day after MT, and patients were categorised into favourable and unfavourable prognostic groups based on the 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score. Additionally, we compared the clinical outcomes between groups with high and low syndecan-1 concentrations. Results: The findings revealed a significantly lower syndecan-1 level in the group with an unfavourable prognosis compared to those with a favourable prognosis (p < 0.01). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, lower syndecan-1 levels were identified as a predictor of unfavourable prognosis (odds ratio (OR) = 0.965, p = 0.001). Patients displaying low syndecan-1 expression in the peripheral blood (< 29.51 ng/mL) experienced a > twofold increase in the rates of unfavourable prognosis and mortality. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that syndecan-1, as an emerging, easily detectable stroke biomarker, can predict the clinical outcomes of patients with AIS. After MT, low levels of syndecan-1 in the peripheral blood on the first day emerged as an independent risk factor for an unfavourable prognosis, suggesting that lower syndecan-1 levels might signify worse clinical presentation and outcomes in stroke patients undergoing this procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atomic crystallization behaviors at the crystal–melt interfaces in a broad range of undercoolings are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations for two representative pure metals, FCC Cu and BCC Ta. Results show that the atomic transformation displacements against temperature for both metals have the same trend, i.e., increasing significantly as temperature goes up at small undercooling and keeping invariant at large undercooling. By classifying the interfacial atomic attachment behaviors into ballistic and diffusive motions based on the displacement analysis, it is found that the crystal growth of both metals involves many ballistic attachments, and a small increment of diffusive attachments at the Ta interface leads to a significant energy barrier for crystallization comparing to that of Cu. The temperature effects on the interfacial structures and atomic dynamics to attach onto the crystal are also studied in detail, and their correlations with the different growth mechanisms at low and deep undercoolings are disclosed. Finally, the crystallization rate is proved to be dominated by the atomic transformation displacement and interfacial atomic movement rate for either metal, rather than the atomic thermal velocity or liquid diffusion coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structured light illumination is widely applied for surface defect detection due to its advantages in terms of speed, precision, and non-contact capabilities. However, the high reflectivity of metal surfaces often results in the loss of point clouds, thus reducing the measurement accuracy. In this paper, we propose a novel quaternary categorization strategy to address the high-reflectivity issue. Firstly, we classify the pixels into four types according to the phase map characteristics. Secondly, we apply tailored optimization and reconstruction strategies to each type of pixel. Finally, we fuse point clouds from multi-type pixels to accomplish precise measurements of high-reflectivity surfaces. Experimental results show that our strategy effectively reduces the high-reflectivity error when measuring metal surfaces and exhibits stronger robustness against noise compared to the conventional method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terms of flight conditions, the Martian atmospheric environment is undoubtedly much harsher than the Earth atmospheric environment, with extremely low air density, ultra-low Reynolds number, and raging Martian sandstorms, all of which have serious impacts on the design of Martian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially for the design of the power system. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the Martian atmospheric environment on the aerodynamic performance of the propeller system. The computational fluid dynamics numerical simulation was used to study the impact of varying degrees of sand and dust accumulation on the aerodynamic performance of Martian propellers caused by Martian sandstorms and widespread dust. It was found that in the Martian atmospheric environment, the rough surface of propeller blades after sand and dust accumulation has better aerodynamic performance than the smooth surface, which is greatly different from the Earth environment; The aerodynamic characteristics of the propeller are tested in the simulated Martian atmosphere vacuum chamber environment, and the experiment has shown that the propeller has better aerodynamic performance under the condition of 8° angle of attack; under the condition of 8° angle of attack, the aerodynamic performance of the propeller is simulated by different Reynolds numbers and different Mach numbers, so as to obtain the influence of the Reynolds number and the Mach number on lift–drag characteristics under the Martian atmospheric environment, and then, the modified blead element theory suitable for the Martian atmospheric environment is derived, which provides a detailed reference for the accurate modeling of the Mars UAV. It has important guiding significance for the design of flight controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report introduces a groundbreaking technique for synthesizing carbon dots (CDs) that display both delayed fluorescence and room-temperature phosphorescence. This achievement is made possible through a straightforward solvent-thermal reaction, followed by thermal treatment. The CDs are simultaneously provided with blue fluorescence and cyan afterglow, with an afterglow quantum yield (QY) of up to 60.47%, which is an expected figure for non-metallic CDs afterglow materials. Moreover, these CDs show an average afterglow lifetime of 1.11 s with a visually recognizable period of 16 s. We subsequently demonstrate the pragmatic application of CDs in cutting-edge fields such as anti-counterfeiting security and optical information storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Batch interface tracking and contamination control are the key technologies for the operation and management of multiproduct pipelines. Existing studies only focused on sequence arrangement or segment stoppage to control the generated contamination, and few considered this problem comprehensively and systematically. This study fully considers the contamination control process and develops a scheduling model for straight pipelines to minimize the cost of contamination loss caused by segment stoppage. The objective of this model is to minimize the restart cost of idle segments and the penalty cost due to improper interface placement during segment stoppage. Three types of constraints for contamination control are proposed, namely operation control, flow rate control, and stoppage control. Three real-world multiproduct pipelines are used as examples to validate the proposed method. Compared with the actual operation schemes, the method helps to reduce the number of stoppage operations by 20%–50%, and decrease the probability that the interface is improperly located by 40%–67%. Therefore, this work can reduce the cost of contamination treatment and bring greater benefits to pipeline operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Childhood emotional neglect (CEN) confers a great risk for developing multiple psychiatric disorders; however, the neural basis for this association remains unknown. Using a dynamic functional connectivity approach, this study aimed to examine the effects of CEN experience on functional brain networks in young adults. Method: In total, 21 healthy young adults with CEN experience and 26 without childhood trauma experience were recruited. The childhood trauma experience was assessed using the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), and eligible participants underwent resting-state functional MRI. Sliding windows and k-means clustering were used to identify temporal features of large-scale functional connectivity states (frequency, mean dwell time, and transition numbers). Result: Dynamic analysis revealed two separate connection states: state 1 was more frequent and characterized by extensive weak connections between the brain regions. State 2 was relatively infrequent and characterized by extensive strong connections between the brain regions. Compared to the control group, the CEN group had a longer mean dwell time in state 1 and significantly decreased transition numbers between states 1 and 2. Conclusion: The CEN experience affects the temporal properties of young adults' functional brain connectivity. Young adults with CEN experience tend to be stable in state 1 (extensive weak connections between the brain regions), reducing transitions between states, and reflecting impaired metastability or functional network flexibility. We focus solely on the childhood emotional neglect experience and its long-term effects on brain function. Eligible participants with and without childhood emotional neglect were identified through a large-scale screen among young adults. The results found childhood emotional neglect experiences have a long-term impact on brain flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy performance and efficiency of Pelton turbine units is the focus of attention in engineering. The countertorque of the bucket during the operation of the Pelton turbine will affect the above indicators of the unit. However, there is still a lack of systematic research on the generation mechanism of countertorque and control strategies. Numerical simulation and experimental research were conducted on a Pelton turbine. It was found that the countertorque of the bucket is generated during the initial contact stage between the jet and the suction surface of the bucket. At this time, the jet acts on the tip of the suction surface of the bucket, generating a force in the opposite direction of the bucket's rotation, resulting in the generation of countertorque. A geometric optimization method is proposed, which suppresses the countertorque by controlling the inclination angle of the bucket. As the inclination angle decreases, the countertorque, pressure, circumferential force, and entropy production rate of the bucket are effectively controlled. Compared to the original scheme, the optimal scheme reduces the maximum countertorque by 49.33% and improves the unit efficiency by 0.57%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a special issue of Grass and Forage Science focused on grassland, forage, and turfgrass science in China. The issue highlights the developments in these areas in China and includes papers on topics such as genetics and grass breeding, forage production and utilization, grassland degradation, and turfgrasses. The article emphasizes the breadth of Chinese grassland science and notes an increase in the number of papers published from China in recent years. The authors express their gratitude to those who contributed to the special issue and anticipate continued growth in research from China in the future. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Whether pretreatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) can improve the pregnancy outcomes in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles is controversial. The inconsistencies in the results of different studies would be related to the characteristics of the included patients and the protocol of GnRHa use. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of pretreatment with a long-acting GnRH agonist in the early follicular phase of FET cycles and determined which population was suitable for the protocol. Results: We retrospectively included 630 and 1141 patients in the GnRHa FET and hormone replacement treatment (HRT) FET without GnRHa groups respectively, between October 2017 and March 2019 at a university-affiliated in vitro fertilization center. On the second or third day of menstruation, 3.75 mg of leuprorelin was administered. After 14 days, HRT was initiated for endometrial preparation. No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of patient characteristics. However, the GnRHa FET group showed a higher percentage of endometrium with a triple line pattern (94.8% vs 89.6%, p < 0.001) on the day of progesterone administration, with increased implantation (35.6% vs 29.8%, p = 0.005), clinical pregnancy (49.8% vs 43.3%, p = 0.008), and live birth rate (39.4% vs 33.7%, p = 0.016), than the HRT FET cycles with similar endometrial thickness, ectopic pregnancy and early miscarriage rates. Binary logistic regression analysis showed the GnRHa FET group to be associated with an increased chance of clinical pregnancy (P=0.028, odds ratio [OR] 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.70) and live birth (P=0.013, odds ratio [OR] 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06–1.70) compared to the HRT FET without GnRHa group. After subgroup analysis, we found that the GnRHa FET group showed a significantly higher live birth rate in the subgroups of age < 40 years, primary infertility, with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and irregular menstruation. Conclusions: Pretreatment with a long-acting GnRHa during the early follicular phase improved the live birth rate in FET cycles. Age < 40 years, primary infertility, PCOS, and irregular menstruation are effective indications for endometrial preparation with GnRHa pretreatment in FET cycles. However, further randomized controlled trials are required to verify these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Particulate matter (PM) is the most important hazardous pollutant and seriously affects the respiratory tract health of both animals and humans. Nowadays, the development of intensive animal husbandry not only increases PM pollution in the atmospheric environment but also harms the health of animals and ranch workers. The concentration of PM in poultry houses is higher than that for other animals, such as in pig and cow houses. However, there are few studies on the effect of fine particulate matter on pulmonary microbiota in poultry. This study aims to explore the effect of fine particulate matter on pulmonary microbiota in broilers. (1) Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) seriously affects the respiratory tract health of both animals and humans. Growing evidence indicates that the pulmonary microbiota is involved in the development of respiratory tract health; however, there is still much that is unknown about the specific changes of pulmonary microbiota caused by PM2.5 in broilers. (2) In this experiment, a total of 48 broilers were randomly divided into a control group and PM-exposure group. The experiment lasted for 21 days. Microbiota, inflammation biomarkers, and histological markers in the lungs were determined. (3) On the last day of the experiment, PM significantly disrupted the structure of lung tissue and induced chronic pulmonary inflammation by increasing IL-6, TNFα, and IFNγ expression and decreasing IL-10 expression. PM exposure significantly altered the α and β diversity of pulmonary microbiota. At the phylum level, PM exposure significantly decreased the Firmicutes abundance and increased the abundance of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. At the genus level, PM exposure significantly increased the abundance of Rhodococcus, Achromobacter, Pseudomonas, and Ochrobactrum. We also observed positive associations of the above altered genera with lung TNFα and IFNγ expression. (4) The results suggest that PM perturbs the pulmonary microbiota and induces chronic inflammation, and the pulmonary microbiota possibly contributes to the development of lung inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composite learning control with the heterogeneous estimator is proposed to deal with the multiple uncertainties of strict‐feedback nonlinear systems. The article applies the recorded data‐based neural learning and the disturbance observer (DOB) to learn the multiple uncertainties, including the nonlinear dynamics, the unknown control gain function (CGF), and the time‐varying disturbance. The lumped prediction error is constructed and included into the update law by neural approximation and disturbance observation. Furthermore, the asymmetric saturation nonlinearity (ASN) of the control input is represented by the smooth form model to ensure the input limitation, and a projection algorithm is adopted to avoid the singularity problem. The closed‐loop system stability is rigorously analyzed and the boundedness of the system tracking error is guaranteed. Through the tests of the third‐order nonlinear system and the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), it is observed that the proposed approach can improve the system tracking accuracy with the expected learning performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a new type of three-component optic fiber balance based on Fabry–Perot displacement measurement technology based on the structure of the pulse wind tunnel balance. This paper systematically introduces the force measurement principle and design process of a three-component optic fiber balance and conducts relevant simulation analysis and experimental verification. The simulation results show that the Fabry–Perot sensor can achieve significant sensitivity to cavity length changes, and when used in existing balance structures, sensitivity gains can be achieved by changing the probe height without the need to modify the original structure of the balance. Finally, the feasibility of the design method was verified through calibration experiments: the optic fiber balance has high sensitivity and good linearity compared to simulation sensitivity, the error is less than 6%, and the calibration accuracy of each component is better than 0.13%, which is better than the existing traditional strain balance (0.37%). The pulse wind tunnel force measurement test has a short test time and a large model mass, and the balance needs to have a large stiffness to meet the short-term force measurement requirements. The introduction of more sensitive optic fiber balance force measurement technology is expected to solve the contradiction between the stiffness and sensitivity of force measurement systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research proposes a novel Trombe wall system using direct absorption solar collector based on phase change slurry (DPTW). The dynamic coupling model of the DPTW system is established, and its accuracy is verified. The indoor temperature of the room under heating conditions in January is simulated. Simulation results indicate that the DPTW system has higher indoor thermal comfort. The indoor personnel activity area temperature was within the range of 18.5–24 °C for 148.4 h, which was 167% longer than that of the traditional Trombe wall system (TW). The indoor thermal comfort index PMV is in the range of −0.5∼0.5 for 119.2 h, an increase of 121% compared with the TW system. In addition, the DPTW system reduces the heat load in winter, which is 39% less than that of the TW system in January. The proportion of solar energy utilization is higher, and the solar fraction of the DPTW system can be increased by 45% at lower temperatures. According to the performance of January, the DPTW system is more robust. Therefore, the TW system can be substituted by the DPTW system because the DPTW system can better maintain the indoor temperature and reduce heating energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impacts of increasing model resolutions and shortening forecast lead times on the quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) for heavy-rainfall events over south China during the rainy seasons in 2013- 2020. The control experiment, where the analysis-forecast cycles run with model resolutions of about 3 km, was compared to a lower-resolution experiment with model resolutions of about 9 km, and a longer-term experiment activated 12 hours earlier. Rainfall forecasting in the presummer rainy season was significantly improved by improving model resolutions, with more improvements in cases with stronger synoptic-scale forcings. This is partially attributed to the improved initial conditions (ICs) and subsequent forecasts for low-level jets (LLJs). Forecasts of heavy rainfall induced by landfalling tropical cyclones (TCs) benefited from increasing model resolutions in the first 6 hours. Forecast improvements in rainfall due to shortening forecast lead times were more significant at earlier (1-6 h) and later (7-12 h) lead times for cases with stronger and weaker synoptic-scale forcings, respectively, due to the area- and case-dependent improvements in ICs for nonprecipitation variables. Specifically, significant improvements mainly presented over the northern South China Sea for low-level onshore wind of weak-forcing cases but over south China for LLJs of strongforcing cases during the presummer rainy season, and over south China for all the nonprecipitation variables above the surface during the TC season. However, some disadvantages of higher-resolution and shorter-term forecasts in QPFs highlight the importance of developing ensemble forecasting with proper IC perturbations, which include the complementary advantages of lower-resolution and longer-term forecasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mine microseismic signal denoising is a basic and crucial link in microseismic data processing, which influences the accuracy and reliability of the monitoring system, and is of great significance with regard to safety during mining. Therefore, this study introduces a deep learning method to improve the mapping function and sparsity of signals in the time-frequency domain and constructs a denoising framework based on a deep convolutional autoencoder to address the denoising problem of mine microseismic signals. First, all noisy microseismic signals are normalized to ensure the nonlinear expression ability of the constructed denoising framework. Then, the normalized signals are transformed into the time-frequency domain using the short-time Fourier transform (STFT), and the real and imaginary parts of time-frequency coefficients serve as the input of the deep convolutional autoencoder to output the masks of the effective and noise signals. Next, these masks are applied to the time-frequency coefficients of the noisy microseismic signals, and the time-frequency coefficients of the potentially effective and noise signals are estimated. Finally, inverse STFT is used to transform these time-frequency coefficients to the time domain to obtain the final denoised effective and noise signals. The constructed framework automatically learns rich features from synthetic data to separate the effective and noise signals, thereby achieving the purpose of fast and automatic denoising. The experimental results show that compared with the wavelet threshold and ensemble empirical mode decomposition, the denoising framework considerably improves the signal-to-noise ratio of mine microseismic signals with less waveform distortion. Moreover, it can achieve a better denoising effect efficiently even in the case of a low SNR, which has obvious advantages. The constructed denoising framework is suitable for microseismic monitoring signals of various mine dynamic disasters and provides strong technical support for intelligent monitoring and early warning concerning production risks in mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zirconium sheet has been widely used in various fields, e.g., chemistry and aerospace. The surface scratches on the zirconium sheets caused by complex processing environment have a negative impact on the performance, e.g., working life and fatigue fracture resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the defect of zirconium sheets. However, it is difficult to detect such scratch images due to lots of scattered additive noise and complex interlaced structural texture. Hence, we propose a framework for adaptively detecting scratches on the surface images of zirconium sheets, including noise removing and texture suppressing. First, the noise removal algorithm, i.e., an optimized threshold function based on dual-tree complex wavelet transform, uses selected parameters to remove scattered and numerous noise. Second, the texture suppression algorithm, i.e., an optimized relative total variation enhancement model, employs selected parameters to suppress interlaced texture. Finally, by connecting disconnection based on two types of connection algorithms and replacing the Gaussian filter in the standard Canny edge detection algorithm with our proposed framework, we can more robustly detect the scratches. The experimental results show that the proposed framework is of higher accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cool paint (CP) is effective to decrease cooling energy consumption, but it brings heating penalty. Phase change material (PCM) can alleviate the heating penalty caused by CP. In this work, eight cities with different climates are analyzed. According to cooling/heating energy consumption, these cities are divided into different categories. Compared with CP roof, adding PCM on the CP has little effect for further reducing the cooling energy use or peak load. CP increases heating energy consumption, but does not aggravate the peak heating load range. The higher the proportion of heating energy consumption increased by CP, the more PCM amount needs to compensate for the heating penalty. When increasing PCM thickness, the peak heating load decreases first and then unchanged. For the total energy consumption, CP + PCM is always superior to CP. Applying CP alone is only preferable in cities whose heating energy consumption ratio does not exceed 0.66. In other cities, applying 10–20 mm PCM on the basis of CP can realize positive energy saving benefits, which broadens the applicable climate for CP. This work provides valuable guides for the application of CP alone, and the optimization effect of PCM on CP under different climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) are involved in resistance to a variety of fungal diseases, whether the TLP5 and TLP6 genes in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) confer resistance to the pathogenesis of soil-borne diseases has not been demonstrated. In this study, five soil-borne diseases (fungal pathogens: Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum, and Verticillium dahliae; bacterial pathogens: Clavibacter michiganense subsp. michiganense and Ralstonia solanacearum) were used to infect susceptible "No. 5" and disease-resistant "S-55" tomato cultivars. We found that SlTLP5 and SlTLP6 transcript levels were higher in susceptible cultivars treated with the three fungal pathogens than in those treated with the two bacterial pathogens and that transcript levels varied depending on the pathogen. Moreover, the SlTLP5 and SlTLP6 transcript levels were much higher in disease-resistant cultivars than in disease-susceptible cultivars, and the SlTLP5 and SlTLP6 transcript levels were higher in cultivars treated with the same fungal pathogen than in those treated with bacterial pathogens. SlTLP6 transcript levels were higher than SlTLP5. SlTLP5 and SlTLP6 overexpression and gene-edited transgenic mutants were generated in both susceptible and resistant cultivars. Overexpression and knockout increased and decreased resistance to the five diseases, respectively. Transgenic plants overexpressing SlTLP5 and SlTLP6 inhibited the activities of peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT) after inoculation with fungal pathogens, and the activities of POD, SOD, and APX were similar to those of fungi after infection with bacterial pathogens. The activities of CAT were increased, and the activity of β-1,3-glucanase was increased in both the fungal and bacterial treatments. Overexpressed plants were more resistant than the control plants. After SlTLP5 and SlTLP6 knockout plants were inoculated, POD, SOD, and APX had no significant changes, but CAT activity increased and decreased significantly after the fungal and bacterial treatments, contrary to overexpression. The activity of β-1,3-glucanase decreased in the treatment of the five pathogens, and the knocked-out plants were more susceptible to disease than the control. In summary, this study contributes to the further understanding of TLP disease resistance mechanisms in tomato plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prospective inter-relationships among biomarkers were unexplored, which may provide mechanistic insights into diseases. We investigated the longitudinal associations of BMI change with trajectories of biomarkers related to cardiometabolic or breast cancer risk. A longitudinal study was conducted among 444 healthy women between 2019 to 2021. Cross‑lagged path analysis was used to examine the temporal relationships among BMI, cardiometabolic risk score (CRS), and obesity‑related proteins score (OPS) of breast cancer. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to investigate associations of time-varying BMI with biomarker-based risk score trajectories. Baseline BMI was associated with subsequent change of breast cancer predictors (P = 0.03), and baseline CRS were positively associated with OPS change (P < 0.001) but not vice versa. After fully adjustment of confounders, we found a 0.058 (95%CI = 0.009–0.107, P = 0.020) units increase of CRS and a 1.021 (95%CI = 0.041–1.995, P = 0.040) units increase of OPS as BMI increased 1 kg/m2 per year in postmenopausal women. OPS increased 0.784 (95%CI = 0.053–1.512, P = 0.035) units as CRS increased 1 unit per year. However, among premenopausal women, BMI only significantly affected CRS (β = 0.057, 95%CI = 0.007 to 0.107, P = 0.025). No significant change of OPS with time-varying CRS was found. Higher increase rates of BMI were associated with worse trajectories of biomarker-based risk of cardiometabolic and breast cancer. The longitudinal impact of CRS on OPS is unidirectional. Recommendations such as weight control for the reduction of cardiometabolic risk factors may benefit breast cancer prevention, especially in postmenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of multi-components strong motion duration on seismic performance of high concrete-faced rockfill dams (CFRDs) by fragility analysis based on the method of incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). The contributions of all compositions of earthquake excitations are considered by the definition of integrated duration based on the concept of significant duration. The nonlinear finite element model of a 2D 200-m-high CFRD is established as a case study and the vertical and horizontal displacements are selected as damage measures. Fragility curves and probabilities of two sets of 23 and 25 spectrally equivalent as-recorded bi-directional long-duration and short-duration motions are determined under different failure grades and intensities. The results show that the duration of vertical component has a certain effect on correction between strong motion duration and deformation of the dam and fragility analysis indicates that the ground motions with long duration can make more risk of failure of high CFRDs than short duration motions. Therefore, the seismic performance of high CFRDs will be reformed by taking the effect of ground motion duration into seismic design and risk assessment consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of idle computing resources in mobile devices and the computing capacity of mobile edge servers enables all available devices in an edge network to complete all computing tasks in coordination to effectively improve the computing capacity of the edge network. This is a research hotspot for 5G technology applications and integrating collaborative computing techniques into edge computing. Previous research has focused on the minimum energy consumption and/or delay to determine the formulation of the computational offloading strategy but neglected the cost required for the computation of collaborative devices (mobile devices, mobile edge servers, etc.); therefore, we propose a cost-based collaborative computation offloading model. In this model, when a task requests these devices' assistance in computing, it needs to pay the corresponding calculation cost; and on this basis, the task is offloaded and computed. In addition, for the model, we propose an adaptive neighborhood search based on simulated annealing algorithm (ANSSA) to jointly optimize the offloading decision and resource allocation with the goal of minimizing the sum of both the energy consumption and calculation cost. The adaptive mechanism enables different operators to update the probability of selection according to historical experience and environmental perception, which makes the individual evolution have certain autonomy. A large number of experiments conducted on different scales of mobile user instances show that the ANSSA can obtain satisfactory time performance with guaranteed solution quality. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the mobile edge computing (MEC) offloading system. It is of great significance to strike a balance between maintaining the life cycle of smart mobile devices and breaking the performance bottleneck of MEC servers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Extremity rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is associated with a very poor outcome compared with other sites, mainly because of its high incidence of alveolar histology and regional lymph node involvement. To better define prognostic markers in this clinical subset, we investigated our experience of 61 patients with extremity RMS treated at our tertiary cancer center for the past 2 decades. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients had a median age of 8 years at diagnosis, equal gender distribution, and two-thirds occurred in the lower extremity. Most (85%) patients had FOXO1 fusion–positive alveolar RMS (ARMS), with 70% having a PAX3::FOXO1 transcript. Remaining were seven patients with fusion-negative embryonal RMS (ERMS) and two with MYOD1- mutant spindle cell/sclerosing RMS (SRMS). In 40% of the patients, material was available for DNA-based targeted sequencing using MSK-IMPACT cancer gene panel. RESULTS: One-third of patients presented with localized disease at diagnosis while the remaining had regional nodal (18%) or distant metastases (51%). Metastatic disease, high-risk group, and age 10 years or older significantly affected the overall survival (OS; hazard ratio [HR], 2.68 [ P =.004], 2.78 [ P =.010] and 2.26 [ P =.034], respectively). Although the presence of metastatic disease had a dismal impact on 5-year EFS and OS (19% and 29%, respectively), nodal involvement had a comparatively lower impact on 5-year EFS and 5-year OS (43% and 66%, respectively). PAX3::FOXO1 ARMS had worse prognosis and afflicted older children compared with PAX7::FOXO1 (HR = 3.45, P =.016). The most common events in the ARMS group included MED12 alterations, CDK4 amplifications, and CDKN2A deletions (8%-17%). The latter two abnormalities were mutually exclusive, enriched for acral and high-risk lesions, and correlated with poor outcome on OS (P =.02). CONCLUSION: Our data provide rationale for considering the integration of molecular abnormalities to refine risk stratification in extremity RMS. A clinical and genomic investigation of extremity RMS shows that CDKN2A and CDK4 alterations are associated with poor OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Markers are needed to increase the diagnostic accuracy of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in prostate cancer (PCa) screening. Mounting evidence has shown that plasma proteins can be hopeful biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. Methods: Tandem mass tag (TMT)-based proteomics and parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) analysis were used to screen the differential proteins and further validated in other independent studies (n = 539). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC), decision curves and nomograms were applied to assess the diagnostic accuracy of biomarkers. Results: Three candidate proteins (DBP, LCAT and ORM2) were preliminarily screened. Subsequent validation studies revealed significant upregulation of ORM2 in PCa patients across other independent cohorts. ORM2 yielded excellent discriminative power for PCa from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients (AUC = 0.861 and 0.814 in validation phases 2a and 2b, respectively). Importantly, the combination of ORM2 and PSA gave better predictive accuracy than PSA alone. We incorporated age, PSA and ORM2 into a nomogram, which yielded C-index of 0.883 in validation phase 2a. A similar C-index of 0.879 was obtained in external validation phase 2b. Conclusions: In summary, our study suggests that ORM2 could be treated as a complementary biomarker for PSA in distinguishing PCa from BPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mesoscale ensemble prediction system based on the Tropical Regional Atmosphere Model for the South China Sea (CMA-TRAMS (EPS)) has been pre-operational since April 2020 at South China Regional Meteorological Center (SCRMC), which was developed by the Guangzhou Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology (GITMM). To better understand the performance of the CMA-TRAMS (EPS) and provide guidance to forecasters, we assess the performance of this system on both deterministic and probabilistic forecasts from April to September 2020 in this study through objective verification. Compared with the control (deterministic) forecasts, the ensemble mean of the CMATRAMS (EPS) shows advantages in most non-precipitation variables. In addition, the threat score indicates that the CMA-TRAMS (EPS) obviously improves light and heavy rainfall forecasts in terms of the probability-matched mean. Compared with the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts operational ensemble prediction system (ECMWF-EPS), the CMA-TRAMS (EPS) improves the probabilistic forecasts of light rainfall in terms of accuracy, reliability and discrimination, and this system also improves the heavy rainfall forecasts in terms of discrimination. Moreover, two typical heavy rainfall cases in south China during the pre-summer rainy season are investigated to visually demonstrate the deterministic and probabilistic forecasts, and the results of these two cases indicate the differences and advantages (deficiencies) of the two ensemble systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of feeding Bacillis natto on growth performance, immune function and intestinal flora of broilers. A total of 180 one-day-old Kebao broilers were randomly divided into two groups, with six replicates in each group and 15 broilers in each replicate. The broilers in control group were fed with a basal diet, and broilers in experimental group were fed with a basal diet +300 mg/kg Bacillus natto. The experiment lasted for 42 d. The results showed that compared with control group, the average daily gain of experimental group at 1~42 d of age was significantly increased (P<0.05), and the body weight at 42 d of age was significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with control group, serum IgM content of broilers in experimental group was increased by 37.63% and 38.85% at 21 and 42 d of age, respectively (P<0.01). Compared with control group, the content of IL-1β in jejunal mucosa of broilers in experimental group at 42 d of age was extremely decreased (P<0.01). The results of PCoA analysis showed that the flora structure of the experimental group was changed, and the proportion of Alistipes in experimental group was increased compared with control group (P>0.05). Enorma, norank&lowbar;f&lowbar;Flavobacteriaceae and Paludicola in experimental group were significantly increased (P<0.05). The study indicates that Bacillus natto can improve the structure of intestinal flora, enhance the richness and diversity of intestinal flora, enhance the immune function, thus improve the growth performance of broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the intelligent sliding mode control for satellite dynamics based on neural learning and disturbance observer. We consider the dynamics uncertainty due to uncertain inertia matrix and the disturbance torque caused by orbit transfer engine. A neural network is used to approximate the unknown dynamics, while an adaptive observer is utilized to handle the unknown disturbance. The prediction error is constructed by introducing the estimation model to understand the uncertainties better. Based on the finite-time design, an efficient controller is designed to achieve the attitude tracking. The system stability is guaranteed under the proposed control design while the sliding mode converges in finite time. Better learning and control performances are presented by conducting the simulation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart services are expected to solve the dilemma of development and emission reduction, but there is still no conclusive evidence on whether and how they work. This article aims to explore the relationship between smart services and sustainable green transformation and the effect mechanism. To achieve this goal, a text mining analysis is performed to assess 970 Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises' smart services development; a regression analysis is then conducted. The results show that smart services have a significant positive impact on the quality and quantity of green innovation, especially for heavily polluting enterprises. The substitution of technology and labor for capital, as well as the upgrading of human resource quality, are effective mechanisms. Smart services can assist as a management strategic tool to balance environmental protection and development, but such an effect fails to work in areas not covered by new infrastructure and is weaker for private enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to efficiently investigate the effect of the mesoscale heterogeneity of a concrete core and the randomness of circular coarse aggregate distribution on the stress wave propagation procedure and the response of PZT sensors in traditional coupling mesoscale finite element models (CMFEMs), firstly, a mesoscale homogenization approach is introduced to establish coupling homogenization finite element models (CHFEMs) with circular coarse aggregates. CHFEMs of rectangular concrete-filled steel tube (RCFST) members include a surface-mounted piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuator, PZT sensors at different measurement distances, a concrete core with mesoscale homogeneity. Secondly, the computation efficiency and accuracy of the proposed CHFEMs and the size effect of representative area elements (RAEs) on the stress wave field simulation results are investigated. The stress wave field simulation results indicate that the size of an RAE limitedly affects the stress wave fields. Thirdly, the responses of PZT sensors at different measurement distances of the CHFEMs under both sinusoidal and modulated signals are studied and compared with those of the corresponding CMFEMs. Finally, the effect of the mesoscale heterogeneity of a concrete core and the randomness of circular coarse aggregate distribution on the responses of PZT sensors in the time domain of the CHFEMs with and without debond defects is further investigated. The results show that the mesoscale heterogeneity of a concrete core and randomness of circular coarse aggregate distribution only have a certain influence on the response of PZT sensors that are close to the PZT actuator. Instead, the interface debond defects dominantly affect the response of each PZT sensor regardless of the measurement distance. This finding supports the feasibility of stress wave-based debond detection for RCFSTs where the concrete core is a heterogeneous material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tar and substantial CH4 and CO2 are contained in gasified fuels, which pose an obstacle to direct chemical synthesis, and this is a predominant challenge for biomass gasification technology. Herein, a packed−bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor was built for simultaneous CH4 dry reforming and tar removal with a La−Ni/γ−Al2O3 catalyst. The interaction between CH4 dry reforming and tar removal in plasma catalysis was investigated. The results indicated that plasma catalysis can achieve high−efficiency simultaneous tar removal and CH4 dry reforming, as indicated by the reactants' conversion (14% increase for CCH4 and CCO2 at 450 °C in the presence of tar and a 37% increase for the tar removal rate at 360 °C when CH4 and CO2 were introduced), and the mechanism for mutual promotion of CH4 dry reforming and tar removal was elucidated through catalyst characterization results. In addition, a possible reaction mechanism for tar removal via plasma catalysis was proposed. These findings provide valuable insights for simultaneous upgrading and purification of gases generated by biomass gasification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HER2-low expression in breast cancer has received increasing attention as a target for novel antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of HER2-low status on survival outcomes in patients with HER2-negative early breast cancer. Methods: Medical records of patients with HER2-negative non-metastatic breast cancer who were treated at our institution from January 2008 and June 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The main outcome measurements of our study were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), which were compared between the HER2-low and HER2-0 groups stratified by hormone receptor (HR) status. Results: A total of 2605 HER2-negative cases were identified, of which 1418 (54.4%) had HER2-low and 1187 (45.6%) had HER2-0 disease. The proportion of HER2-low tumors was significantly higher in HR-positive tumors than in HR-negative tumors. No significant difference was observed in DFS and OS between the HER2-low and HER2-0 groups in univariate analyses, regardless of HR status. Multivariate analysis of the Cox proportional hazard regression model revealed that HER2-low was independently associated with improved OS in patients with HR-negative disease (HR 0.32, 95% CI 0.13–0.80, p = 0.015). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that the prognostic impact of low HER2 expression varies according to HR status, with slightly favorable outcomes among HER2-low tumors in patients with HR-negative disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]