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Objective Methods Results Conclusion Numerous surgical techniques for addressing ulnar coronoid process fractures are available; however, a consensus on the optimal approach remains elusive. This study aimed to use the anterior neurovascular interval approach for the surgical management of ulnar coronoid process fractures and to evaluate its clinical outcomes over short‐ to mid‐term follow‐up.This retrospective clinical study included 20 patients with ulnar coronoid process fractures who were treated using the anterior neurovascular interval approach between January 2018 and December 2022. Participants comprised 16 males and four females, aged between 20 and 64 years (mean, 34.3 ± 12.44 years). Clinical and radiological evaluations were based on elbow joint range of motion (ROM), Visual analogue scale (VAS), and Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS). A paired t‐test was used to compare the pre‐operative and final follow‐up VAS and MEPS scores.The follow‐up duration for all patients was at least 12 months (average, 12.65 ± 1.60 months). At the final follow‐up, measurements of elbow ROM included a mean extension of 2.85 ± 3.17°, mean flexion of 135 ± 7.25°, mean pronation of 86.4 ± 4.56°, and mean supination of 84.85 ± 5.54°. All participants reached their target MEPS, with an average score of 97.25 ± 4.72 points, and the final mean VAS score was 0.2 ± 0.52 points. The VAS score was significantly lower and MEPS score was higher at the final follow‐up than those before surgery (p < 0.05). Throughout the follow‐up period, all the fractures united, and the stability of the affected elbows was satisfactory.Employing the anterior neurovascular interval approach for open reduction and internal fixation to manage coronoid process fractures effectively facilitates anatomical restoration and robust fixation of ulnar coronoid process fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPartner loss deprives young widows of physical contact, emotional intimacy, and the fulfillment of sexual desire. Although disenfranchised and oppressed, sexuality is a core piece of women’s identity, and sexual bereavement may compel widows to reconstruct their sexual identities. This existential phenomenological study seeks to illuminate the sexual loss and coping of young widows aged 45 and under. Qualitative findings from 21 women indicated three findings: a) young widows felt profound loss regarding their sexual relationships, leading to deep physical loneliness and an initial disinterest in sex; b) some subsequently experienced widows’ fire, an involuntary and often distressing intense sexual desire marked by cravings, obsessive thoughts, and a longing for connection; c) widows’ fire complicated their struggle to understand their post-loss identities as sexual beings. These findings highlight the neglected and significant repercussions of sexual loss for young widows and point to a need for heightened support, psychoeducation, and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/Aims Methods Results Discussion Previous studies have suggested that treatments targeting the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) may play a role in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, factors impacting repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS), a technique to evaluate NMJ function, have yet to be fully elucidated. We aimed to identify independent factors contributing to the decremental response of the accessory nerve and evaluated its value in ALS clinical practice.A total of 626 patients who were diagnosed with ALS and underwent 3 Hz RNS tests on the accessory nerve were enrolled. Data on their clinical and electrophysiological indicators were divided into a training set (collected from June 2016 to December 2022) and a test set (collected from January to August 2023). Stepwise regression was used in independent variable selection and model building.Forty‐two percent of patients had a decrement larger than 10% and 24% had a decrement larger than 15%. Onset age, sex, onset site, forced vital capacity (FVC) and motor unit potential (MUP) duration were independent factors contributing to the results of the RNS test. MUP duration had the greatest impact on decremental response, followed by FVC and onset age. The decremental response in females was larger than in males. Upper limb onset was found to contribute more to the decrement than lower limb or bulbar onset.In patients with ALS, NMJ safety factor is reduced during re‐innervation. Decremental response is affected by multiple factors, which needs to be considered in clinical trials targeting the NMJ in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic research has been conducted on the relationship between aging and consumer fraud victimization. But few empirical studies examine the reality of judicial dispute resolution in consumer fraud against older people from the perspective of older adults and judges in China. Based on 161 court rulings, this qualitative study explores the perceptions of older adults in litigation about their experiences of being defrauded in China, alongside judges’ responses. Results reveal that common fraud patterns used by business perpetrators render older individuals more susceptible to fraud. Older plaintiffs strategically frame “old age” in litigation, potentially as a tactical maneuver, while also readily emphasizing the importance of procedural justice. Results further show that judges expressed either negative ageism or age-neutral discourse in response to fraud targeting older individuals. Findings highlight the need to enhance consumer education to prevent fraud and address ageist stereotypes among older people. Findings also highlight the need to encourage Chinese courts to consider individual case specifics, leading to fair judgments and the protection of older individuals from fraud while upholding their rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cine magnetic resonance (MR) images have been used for real‐time MR guided radiation therapy (MRgRT). However, the onboard MR systems with low‐field strength face the problem of limited image quality. Purpose: To improve the quality of cine MR images in MRgRT using prior image information provided by the patient planning and positioning MR images. Methods: This study employed MR images from 18 pancreatic cancer patients who received MR‐guided stereotactic body radiation therapy. Planning 3D MR images were acquired during the patient simulation, and positioning 3D MR images and 2D sagittal cine MR images were acquired before and during the beam delivery, respectively. A deep learning‐based framework consisting of two cycle generative adversarial networks (CycleGAN), Denoising CycleGAN and Enhancement CycleGAN, was developed to establish the mapping between the 3D and 2D MR images. The Denoising CycleGAN was trained to first denoise the cine images using the time domain cine image series, and the Enhancement CycleGAN was trained to enhance the spatial resolution and contrast by taking advantage of the prior image information from the planning and positioning images. The denoising performance was assessed by signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), structural similarity index measure, peak SNR, blind/reference‐less image spatial quality evaluator (BRISQUE), natural image quality evaluator, and perception‐based image quality evaluator scores. The quality enhancement performance was assessed by the BRISQUE and physician visual scores. In addition, the target contouring was evaluated on the original and processed images. Results: Significant differences were found for all evaluation metrics after Denoising CycleGAN processing. The BRISQUE and visual scores were also significantly improved after sequential Denoising and Enhancement CycleGAN processing. In target contouring evaluation, Dice similarity coefficient, centroid distance, Hausdorff distance, and average surface distance values were significantly improved on the enhanced images. The whole processing time was within 20 ms for a typical input image size of 512 × 512. Conclusion: Taking advantage of the prior high‐quality positioning and planning MR images, the deep learning‐based framework enhanced the cine MR image quality significantly, leading to improved accuracy in automatic target contouring. With the merits of both high computational efficiency and considerable image quality enhancement, the proposed method may hold important clinical implication for real‐time MRgRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu‐based catalysts have been identified as the most promising candidates for generation of C2+ products in electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. Defect engineering in catalysts is a widely employed strategy for promoting C−C coupling on Cu. However, comprehensive understanding of defect structure‐to‐activity relationship has not been obtained. In this study, controllable defects generation is achieved, which leads to a series of Cu‐based catalysts with various phase mixing degrees. It is observed that the Faradaic efficiency toward C2+ products increases with the phase mixing degree, reaching 81 % at maximum. In situ infrared absorption spectroscopy reveals that the catalysts with higher phase mixing degree tend to form *CO more easily and possess higher retention of *CO under high overpotential window, thereby promoting C−C coupling. This work sheds new light on the relationship between defects and C−C coupling, and the rational developed of more advanced Cu‐base catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water vapor plays a pivotal role in the intricate processes of energy exchange and climate dynamics. However, a comprehensive understanding of the spatial distribution and temporal variability of water vapor in distinct climatic regions of China is still limited due to the intricate interplay of complex topography and diverse climatic conditions. This study investigates the multiscale variability of water vapor using 10-year 1-hour data of precipitable water vapor (PWV) from 248 observation stations of the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC). Significant variations in PWV distribution among China's climate regions are observed. Average PWV values vary considerably across regions, with the Tropical and Subtropical Monsoon Climate (TSMC) having the highest mean PWV of 32.09 mm, followed by the Midlatitude Monsoon Climate (MMC) with 15.70 mm, the Humid Continental Climate (HCC) with 9.26 mm, and the Plateau Climate (PC) with 7.66 mm. Seasons exhibit summer concentration and winter reduction across regions. Most stations exhibit increasing PWV trends, while a few show decreasing trends. The amplitude of annual PWV variations is higher in TSMC and MMC regions with a range from 8 to 22 mm, compared to HCC and PC regions with a range from 2 to 15 mm. Semiannual variations range from 0 to 6 mm in each region. PWV negatively correlates with latitude, altitude and pressure, particularly in the TSMC. Positive correlations with temperature exist in all regions, with varying strengths. Thermodynamic factors primarily impact PWV, while dynamic factors have secondary influence, equally significant in the PC region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu‐based catalysts have been identified as the most promising candidates for generation of C2+ products in electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. Defect engineering in catalysts is a widely employed strategy for promoting C−C coupling on Cu. However, comprehensive understanding of defect structure‐to‐activity relationship has not been obtained. In this study, controllable defects generation is achieved, which leads to a series of Cu‐based catalysts with various phase mixing degrees. It is observed that the Faradaic efficiency toward C2+ products increases with the phase mixing degree, reaching 81 % at maximum. In situ infrared absorption spectroscopy reveals that the catalysts with higher phase mixing degree tend to form *CO more easily and possess higher retention of *CO under high overpotential window, thereby promoting C−C coupling. This work sheds new light on the relationship between defects and C−C coupling, and the rational developed of more advanced Cu‐base catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous mutations are rare in mitochondria and the lack of mitochondrial transformation methods has hindered genetic analyses. We show that a custom-designed RNA-binding pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein binds and specifically induces cleavage of ATP synthase subunit1 (atp1) mRNA in mitochondria, significantly decreasing the abundance of the Atp1 protein and the assembled F1Fo ATP synthase in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The transformed plants are characterized by delayed vegetative growth and reduced fertility. Five-fold depletion of Atp1 level was accompanied by a decrease in abundance of other ATP synthase subunits and lowered ATP synthesis rate of isolated mitochondria, but no change to mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes, adenylates, or energy charge in planta. Transcripts for amino acid transport and a variety of stress response processes were differentially expressed in lines containing the PPR protein, indicating changes to achieve cellular homeostasis when ATP synthase was highly depleted. Leaves of ATP synthase-depleted lines showed higher respiratory rates and elevated steady-state levels of numerous amino acids, most notably of the serine family. The results show the value of using custom-designed PPR proteins to influence the expression of specific mitochondrial transcripts to carry out reverse genetic studies on mitochondrial gene functions and the consequences of ATP synthase depletion on cellular functions in Arabidopsis. Knockdown of mitochondrial atp1 mRNA by a custom-designed pentatricopeptide repeat protein alters F1Fo ATP synthase, plant growth, amino acid metabolism, and ATP synthesis in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improper processing of sensitive personal data concerning disabled people in government information disclosure not only violates their privacy rights but also leads to discrimination, stigmatization, and other serious secondary harm, that have long been overlooked. China's procurator-led public-interest litigation system is a powerful tool for protecting the privacy rights of vulnerable groups. This paper contends that procurator-led public-interest litigation, as a supplement to and support for private-interest litigation, assists the Chinese government in fulfilling its international obligations to protect the right to privacy of disabled people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of hydrogen content on the deformation and fracture behavior of 27Cr−4Mo−2Ni super ferritic stainless steel (SFSS) was investigated in this study. It was shown that the plasticity and yield strength of SFSS were very susceptible to hydrogen content. The introduction of hydrogen led to a significant decrease in elongation and a concurrent increase in yield strength. Nevertheless, a critical threshold was identified in the elongation reduction, after which the elongation remained approximately constant even with more hydrogen introduced, while the yield strength exhibited a monotonic increase with increasing hydrogen content within the experimental range, attributed to the pinning effect of the hydrogen Cottrell atmosphere on dislocations. Furthermore, the hydrogen-charged SFSS shows an apparent drop in flow stress after upper yielding and a reduced work hardening rate during the subsequent plastic deformation. The more hydrogen is charged, the more the flow stress drops, and the lower the work hardening rate becomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micropterus salmoides rhabdovirus (MSRV) is a formidable pathogen, presenting a grave menace to juvenile largemouth bass. This viral infection frequently leads to epidemic outbreaks, resulting in substantial economic losses within the aquaculture industry. Unfortunately, at present, there are no commercially available vaccines or pharmaceutical treatments to combat this threat. In order to address the urgent need for therapeutic strategy to resist MSRV infection, the antiviral activity of natural product honokiol against MSRV was explored in this study. Firstly, cellular morphology was directly observed in an inverted microscope when treated with honokiol after MSRV infection. The results clarified that honokiol significantly lessened cytopathic effect (CPE) induced by MSRV and protected the integrity of GCO cells. Furthermore, the viral nucleic acid expression (G gene) was detected by reverse transcription real‐time quantitative PCR (RT‐qPCR) and the results indicated that honokiol significantly decreased the viral loads of MSRV in a concentration‐dependent manner, and honokiol showed a high antiviral activity with IC50 of 2.92 μM. Besides, honokiol significantly decreased the viral titre and suppressed apoptosis caused by MSRV. Mechanistically, honokiol primarily inhibited the initial replication of MSRV and discharge of progeny virus to exert anti‐MSRV activity. More importantly, in vivo experiments suggested that honokiol (40 mg/kg) expressed a fine antiviral activity against MSRV when administrated with intraperitoneal injection, which led to a notable 40% improvement in the survival rate among infected largemouth bass. In addition, it also resulted in significant reduction in the viral nucleic acid expression within liver, spleen and kidney at 2, 4 and 6 days following infection. What is more, 100 mg/kg honokiol with oral administration also showed certain antiviral efficacy in MSRV‐infected largemouth bass via improving the survival rate by 10.0%, and decreasing significantly the viral nucleic acid expression in liver, spleen and kidney of largemouth bass on day 2. In summary, natural product honokiol is a good candidate to resist MSRV infection and has promising application prospects in aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph neural networks (GNNs) have many variants for graph representation learning. Several works introduce PageRank into GNNs to improve its neighborhood aggregation capabilities. However, these methods leverage the general PageRank to perform complex neighborhood aggregation to obtain the final feature representation, which leads to high computational cost and oversmoothing. In this paper, we propose simple hierarchical PageRank graph neural networks (SHP-GNNs), which first utilize the simple PageRank to aggregate different neighborhood ranges of each node and then leverage a jumping architecture to combine these aggregated features to enable hierarchical structure-aware representation. In this case, first, the simple PageRank turns the neighborhood aggregation process to no-learning, thereby reducing the computational complexity of the model. Then, the jumping structure combines the aggregation features of each node's different hierarchy (neighborhood range) to learn more informative feature representation. Finally, the successful combination of the above methods alleviates the oversmoothing problem of deep GNNs. Our experimental evaluation demonstrates that SHP-GNNs achieve or match state-of-the-art results in node classification tasks, text classification tasks, and community prediction tasks. Moreover, since SHP-GNNs' neighborhood aggregation is a no-learning process, SHP-GNNs are more suitable for node clustering tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating joint disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite its prevalence, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains incomplete. In recent years, transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channels have emerged as key players in OA pathogenesis. This review provides an in-depth exploration of the role of the TRPV pathway in OA, encompassing its involvement in pain perception, inflammation, and mechanotransduction. Furthermore, we discuss the latest research findings, potential therapeutic strategies, and future directions in the field, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of TRPV channels in OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structurally well-defined small organic photothermal agents (PTAs) in the NIR-II biowindow (1000–1700 nm) have garnered considerable attention, but their rarity greatly limits their wide applications. Herein, we report a host–guest charge-transfer (CT) complex, TTF⊂TBox-12+, constructed by electron-deficient naphthalene diimide (NDI) cyclophane TBox-12+ and electron-rich guest tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) in 1 : 1 host/guest stoichiometry. Owing to strong CT absorption, TTF⊂TBox-12+ showed high NIR-II photothermal conversion efficiency in both aqueous solution and the solid state, and then was exploited as a high-performance PTA for antibacterial applications and seawater desalination. This work provides an insight for the development of new structurally well-defined NIR-II PTAs via host–guest CT interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forage selection by mammalian herbivores has shown to be influenced by plant nutritional content, but the role of plant secondary compounds (PSCs) on forage selection is less well understood. Here, we studied the role of PSCs in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) foraging strategies; examined seasonal and age class variation in PSC composition in the panda's principal food resource, bamboo (Bashania fargesii); evaluated anti-oxidant and antibacterial effects of bamboo extract; and determined how panda's seasonal movements and foraging patch selection which were determined by GPS collars related to patterns of PSC concentrations in bamboo. Panda's selection of foraging sites indicated positive selection for several PSCs, including flavonoids, alkaloids, and tannins. Pandas primarily ingested bamboo leaves, as opposed other parts of the bamboo, during the time of year when many PSC concentrations were at their highest. Further, pandas prefer to forage on younger bamboo, which contains higher concentrations of alkaloids and antibacterial activity than older bamboo. As might be expected for compounds that can have positive or negative biological effects depending on dose, pandas appeared to select both for and against some PSCs depending on context. Ex situ experiments showed that flavonoids and alkaloids were influential antioxidants and tannins and alkaloids had high levels of antibacterial activity. Panda foraging sites were characterized by high anti-oxidant activity. Variation in PSC content of bamboo on the landscape may have profound effects on pandas, including parasite control, protecting against cancer, improved cardiovascular health, and disease prevention. These potential roles of PSCs should receive greater attention in ecology and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the toughening mechanism and effects of 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (3-APTES) intercalation in calcium–silicate–hydrate (CSH) structures were investigated through molecular dynamics simulations. CSH established a model using 11 Å-tobermorite to simulate the tensile properties, toughness, adsorption energy, average orientation displacement and radial distribution function of 3-APTES intercalation at different Ca/Si ratios under conditions of a CVFF force field, an NVT system, and 298 K temperature. Simulation results demonstrate that 3-APTES alters the fracture process of CSH and effectively enhances its tensile properties and toughness. The presence of 3-APTES molecules increases the energy required to destroy CSH, thereby increasing the adsorption energy of CSH crystals. Furthermore, 3-APTES molecules effectively increase the atom density within the CSH structure. As the Ca/Si ratio increases, Ca–O bond formation is enhanced, with noticeable aggregation occurring because of modification by 3-APTES within the CSH structure. This study found that 3-APTES organic compounds can effectively improve the tensile, toughness, adsorption and other properties of the CSH structure, and further improve the microstructure of CSH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study explored the current views of ophthalmologists in China on the preferred strategy and the primary influencing factors in managing primary angle-closure suspect (PACS). Methods: An online survey was distributed via WeChat to ophthalmologists working in hospitals at all levels throughout China to investigate the optimal management strategy and factors influencing the strategy for treating PACS from February to March 2023. Management strategies examined included regular observation (RO), laser peripheral iridectomy (LPI), and phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation (PEI). The study explored the factors that influenced clinical decision-making processes and collected demographic information from the respondents for analysis. Results: A total of 1009 ophthalmologists responded; 442 responders considered RO as a reasonable option for patients with PACS, while the majority opted for more positive treatments, with 460 choosing LPI and 107 selecting PEI. Further grouping analysis revealed significant differences between tertiary and lower-level hospitals (P < 0.01) and between public and private hospitals (P < 0.05). Significant differences were found among resident, attending, and senior doctors and between northern and southern hospitals. The top three considerations for ophthalmologists who selected RO were ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) without pupillary block, absence of a family history of glaucoma, and good compliance with regular follow-up. For LPI, the factors were UBM indicating pupillary block, glaucoma symptoms, and poor compliance with regular follow-up. For PEI the factors were age, family history of glaucoma, and poor compliance with regular follow-up. Conclusion: The majority of ophthalmologists prefer aggressive treatments such as LPI or PEI over RO when dealing with patients with PACS. Disparity existed among ophthalmologists based on their level of experience, hospital ownership and level, and geographical location. The survey underscores the complexity and multifactorial nature of PACS management and highlights the need for further research and standardization of treatment protocols to ensure optimal patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is one of the common features of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). LNM is also taken as a sign of advanced OTSCC and poor survival rate. Recently, single‐cell RNA sequencing has been applied in investigating the heterogeneity of tumor microenvironment and discovering the potential biomarkers for helping the diagnosis and prognosticating. Pathogenesis of LNM in OTSCC remains unknown. Specifically, cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and epithelial tumor cells could foster the progression of tumors. Thus, in this study, we aimed to comprehensively analyze the roles of subpopulations of CAFs and epithelial tumor cells in lymph node metastatic OTSCC using the integration of OTSCC single‐cell RNA sequencing datasets. Four distinct subtypes of CAFs, namely vascular CAFs, myofibroblast CAFs, inflammatory CAFs, and growth arrest CAFs were successfully discovered in LNM tumor and confirmed the roles of GAS and PTN pathways in the progression of tumor metastasis. In addition, NKAIN2+ epithelial cells and FN1+ epithelial cells specifically exhibited an upregulation of PTN, NRG, MIF, and SPP1 signaling pathways in the metastatic OTSCC. In doing so, we put forth some potential biomarkers that could be utilized for the purpose of diagnosing and prognosticating OTSCC during its metastatic phase and tried to confirm by immunofluorescence assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multichannel orbital angular momentum (OAM) generation based on metasurfaces has brought significant advancements in expanding communication capacity. However, the realization of truly integrated optics is still challenging and important aspects such as beam scanning and rapid electronic switching among OAM channels, which are crucial for broad‐area communication coverage, have received little attention until now. Herein, a novel concept for multichannel OAM vortex beams generation and switching is proposed, realized by a guided‐wave‐excited metasurface (GWEM) in conjunction with a single pole five throws (SP5T) RF switch. A holography‐based theory is developed and employed to complete the array synthesis and analysis procedure without the need for a 2π phase modulation. As a proof of concept, a prototype of the GWEM is experimentally demonstrated with high qualities, including the generation of five channels of OAM vortex beams with a scanning range of ±35° in the elevation plane, a measured OAM mode purity of up to 84.5%, and consistent maintenance of the topological charge l = 2 state from 25 to 27 GHz. The proposed strategy features cost‐effectiveness, compactness, and fast nanosecond‐scale electronic switching for multichannel OAM vortex beams, making it highly applicable in space‐limited automotive radar, imaging, and communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgenic corn and cotton that express Cry and Vip insecticidal proteins from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), have been valuable tools for the management of lepidopteran pests. In 2019, a Vip3Aa-resistant strain of Helicoverpa zea (CEW-Vip-RR) was isolated from F2 screens of field populations in Texas. Characterizing the resistance mechanism in this strain is important for predicting the sustained efficacy of current commercial Bt traits and guiding the development of future transgenic traits. Resistance to insecticidal proteins in Bt traits is commonly associated with reduced toxin binding, with the exception of Vip3Aa resistance being associated to altered proteolytic processing in the insect host gut. Therefore, Vip3Aa protoxin processing was tested by incubation with midgut fluids from CEW-Vip-RR relative to a susceptible strain (CEW-SS). Finding no significant processing differences, alterations in Vip3Aa binding were tested by comparing binding of radiolabeled and biotinylated Vip3Aa toxin to midgut brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) from CEW-Vip-RR and CEW-SS larvae. Specific Vip3Aa binding to CEW-Vip-RR BBMV in these experiments was consistently reduced when compared with CEW-SS BBMV. These results support that an altered Vip3Aa-receptor is associated with resistance in CEW-Vip-RR. Understanding this resistance mechanism could have important implications for resistance management decisions, considering widespread Cry1 and Cry2 resistance in H. zea populations. IMPORTANCE Helicoverpa zea is a major crop pest in the United States that is managed with transgenic corn and cotton that produce insecticidal proteins from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). However, H. zea has evolved widespread resistance to the Cry proteins produced in Bt corn and cotton, leaving Vip3Aa as the only plant-incorporated protectant in Bt crops that consistently provides excellent control of H. zea. The benefits provided by Bt crops will be substantially reduced if widespread Vip3Aa resistance develops in H. zea field populations. Therefore, it is important to identify resistance alleles and mechanisms that contribute to Vip3Aa resistance to ensure that informed resistance management strategies are implemented. This study is the first report of reduced binding of Vip3Aa to midgut receptors associated with resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a flexible eddy current TMR (FEC-TMR) sensor to monitor the internal crack of metal joint structures. First, the finite element model of the FEC-TMR sensor is established to analyze the influence of the sensor's crack identification sensitivity with internal crack propagation at different depths and determine the optimal location and exciting frequency of the sensor. Then, the optimal longitudinal spacing and exciting frequency of the sensor are tested by experiment. The experimental results are consistent with the simulation results, which verify the correctness of the simulation model. Finally, the experiment is carried out for internal cracks of different depths to verify that the sensor can monitor internal cracks, and the crack identification sensitivity gradually decreases with the increase in the depth of the crack from the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prevent noise pollution, a hexagonal acoustic metamaterial cell combining multiple parallel Helmholtz resonators with optional apertures is proposed. There were 6 trapezoidal chambers and 6 triangular chambers, and each front panel had 6 different apertures, which meant that there were 612 = 2176782336 possible permutations. The distribution of sound pressures obtained by acoustic finite element simulation revealed the acoustic absorption mechanism, which provided effective guidance to alter the absorption capacity. For certain scenarios, the acoustic absorption performance was optimized by the joint combination of artificial neural network and acoustic finite element simulation. Through manufacturing and testing the sample, actual average acoustic absorption coefficients were achieved at 0.6733, 0.7296, 0.8785 and 0.7065 for the target frequency ranges 350–950 Hz, 400–1000 Hz, 500–800 Hz and 350–700 Hz, respectively, with total thickness 40 mm. The tunable acoustic absorption property proved that the hexagonal acoustic metamaterial cell was appropriate for noise reduction with variable frequency ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street view images are emerging as new street-level sources of urban environmental information. Accurate detection and quantification of urban air conditioners is crucial for evaluating the resilience of urban residential areas to heat wave disasters and formulating effective disaster prevention policies. Utilizing street view image data to predict the spatial coverage of urban air conditioners offers a simple and effective solution. However, detecting and accurately counting air conditioners in complex street-view environments remains challenging. This study introduced 3D parameter-free attention and coordinate attention modules into the target detection process to enhance the extraction of detailed features of air conditioner external units. It also integrated a small target detection layer to address the challenge of detecting small target objects that are easily missed. As a result, an improved algorithm named SC4-YOLOv7 was developed for detecting and recognizing air conditioner external units in street view images. To validate this new algorithm, we extracted air conditioner external units from street view images of residential buildings in Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The results of the study demonstrated that SC4-YOLOv7 significantly improved the average accuracy of recognizing air conditioner external units in street view images from 87.93% to 91.21% compared to the original YOLOv7 method while maintaining a high speed of image recognition detection. The algorithm has the potential to be extended to various applications requiring small target detection, enabling reliable detection and recognition in real street environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the noise generated by large mechanical equipment, a stackable and expandable acoustic metamaterial with multiple tortuous channels (SEAM–MTCs) was developed in this study. The proposed SEAM–MTCs consisted of odd panels, even panels, chambers, and a final closing plate, and these component parts could be fabricated separately and then assembled. The influencing factors, including the number of layers N, the thickness of panel t0, the size of square aperture a, and the depth of chamber T0 were investigated using acoustic finite element simulation. The sound absorption mechanism was exhibited by the distributions of the total acoustic energy density at the resonance frequencies. The number of resonance frequencies increased from 13 to 31 with the number of layers N increasing from 2 to 6, and the average sound absorption coefficients in [200 Hz, 6000 Hz] was improved from 0.5169 to 0.6160. The experimental validation of actual sound absorption coefficients in [200 Hz, 1600 Hz] showed excellent consistency with simulation data, which proved the accuracy of the finite element simulation model and the reliability of the analysis of influencing factors. The proposed SEAM–MTCs has great potential in the field of equipment noise reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Marrakesh Treaty entered into force in China on May 5, 2022. To fulfill its obligations and guarantee basic education access for visually impaired people, China revised its copyright law and introduced supporting measures for Treaty implementation. This article discusses various issues in designing a legal system for achieving 'intangible accessible environments' for visually impaired people in China and the priorities and possible shortcomings in transforming the Marrakesh Treaty into domestic law. Legislation must carefully avoid using specialized over-protection designs that could exacerbate the marginalization and social isolation of visually impaired people. Furthermore, it is crucial to refine the supporting system for Treaty implementation and strengthen sectoral synergies and international cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the existence and non-existence of traveling wave solutions for a nonlocal dispersal non-cooperative and non-monotonic system with a cyclic structure, which can model the SIS disease-transmission and the nutrient-phytoplankton mechanism. The upper-lower solutions method combined with Schauder’s fixed-point theorem is used to obtain the existence of traveling wave solutions and the minimal wave speed. Firstly, we show the traveling wave solutions are bounded by analysis techniques. Then, a suitable Lyapunov function is constructed to show the traveling wave solutions connecting a positive equilibrium at the final state. Particularly, the negative Laplace transform is applied to prove the asymptotic behavior of traveling wave solutions at - ∞ with the critical wave speed. Meanwhile, the non-existence of traveling waves is established by eigenvalue theory. Finally, a numerical simulation is given to present the traveling waves and shows the differences between non-local and local dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used reversed‐phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and supercritical fluid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for determination of the stereoisomers of chlorfenvinphos and dimethylvinphos in tobacco. Tobacco samples were extracted and purified with a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe technique using spherical carbon. The performance of both methodologies was comprehensively compared in terms of methods validation parameters (separation efficiency, linearity, selectivity, recovery, repeatability, sensitivity, matrix effect, etc.). Under optimized conditions, the calibration curves of the stereoisomers of chlorfenvinphos and dimethylvinphos in the range of 10–500 ng/mL showed excellent linearity with R2 ≥ 0.997 in both methods. The adequate recoveries of analytes from three different spiked tobaccos were obtained using reversed‐phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (86.1–95.7%) as well as supercritical fluid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (86.5–94.0%). The relative standard deviations for spiked samples were all below 7.0%. Compared with supercritical fluid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, lower matrix effects and LODs can be obtained in reversed‐phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) alloy has the ability to quickly transform between the amorphous phase and the crystalline phase; therefore, it can be used in non-volatile phase change storage. First-principles molecular dynamics was used to simulate the reversible phase change process of GST alloy, namely, amorphization and crystallization. The amorphous state was obtained by melting (∼3000 K) and cooling, and the amorphization process was characterized by the pair correlation function and bond angle distribution. The bond angles of amorphous GST were mainly distributed around 60°, 90°, and 110°, indicating the existence of octahedral and tetrahedral bonding configurations. The crystalline state was obtained by annealing at a temperature of 600 K, and the crystallization process was characterized by the pair correlation function, component disordered number, bond angle distribution, and dynamic atomic structure change. The results show that the bond angle of GST in crystallization is mainly distributed around 90°, and the structure mainly contains four-membered rings formed by Ge–Te and Sb–Te. By analyzing the optical properties, with the growth of crystallization time, the absorption coefficient, reflectivity, and conductivity of GST were significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem that the railway passenger volume data are abnormal due to holidays and major events interfering with the prediction accuracy, the spline interpolation method is introduced to replace the abnormal passenger volume data. In addition, an improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) is proposed to optimize the gradient difference acceleration law to combine and improve the predicted value and further improve the prediction accuracy of the railway passenger traffic. Finally, taking Beijing as the research object, the Holt exponential smoothing method and the BP neural network are selected to verify the effect of spline interpolation and IPSO-gradient difference acceleration law on prediction accuracy. The research results show that the spline interpolation method has a better prediction effect after processing abnormal passenger traffic data, and the improved particle swarm algorithm also shows better optimization ability and convergence speed when solving the double difference postulate. In comparison with the BP neural network, Holt exponential smoothing, simple averaging, and conventional redifference approaches, the IPSO-redifference acceleration method achieves a superior prediction performance, and the absolute values of the forecast error are reduced by 3.320%, 1.518%, 2.419%, and 0.602%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3(PZT)/PbZrO3(PZ) composite films are deposited on LaNiO3/SiO2/Si substrates using sol–gel method, and annealed at 620 °C for a different time with the rapid thermal annealing technology. The microstructures, crystal structure, and electrical performance of the PZT/PZ composite films are researched. When the composite films are annealed at 620 °C for 3 min, the PZT films show the perovskite phase and the PZ films exhibit the pyrochlore phase with tiny perovskite phase, making the films obtain a linear hysteresis loop and possess the high energy storage density of 10.0 J cm−3 and the energy storage efficiency of 84.8%. The aforementioned experimental results show that the phase structure of the PZT/PZ multilayer films can be regulated by different annealing times, which would improve the energy storage performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular signaling data have become increasingly indispensable in analyzing residents' travel characteristic. Especially with the enhancement of positioning quality in 4G-LTE and 5G wireless communication systems, it is expected that the identification accuracy of fine-grained travel modes will achieve an optimal level. However, due to data privacy issues, the empirical evaluation of the performance of different identification methods is not yet sufficient. This paper builds a travel mode identification model that utilizes the gated recurrent unit (GRU) neural network. With 24 features as input, this method can identify four traffic modes, including walking, bicycle, car, and bus. Moreover, in cooperation with the operator, we organized an experiment collecting cellular signaling data, as well as the corresponding GPS data. Using the collected dataset as ground-truth data, the performance of the method presented in this paper and other popular methods is verified and compared. The results indicate that the GRU-based method has a better performance, with a precision, recall, and F score of 90.5%. Taking F score as an example, the outcome of the GRU-based method is about 6% to 7% higher than methods based on other machine learning algorithms. Considering the identification accuracy and model training time comprehensively, the method suggested in this paper outperforms the other three deep learning-based methods, namely, recurrent neural network (RNN), long short-term memory network (LSTM), and bidirectional long short-term memory network (Bi-LSTM). This study may provide some insights for the application and development of cellular signaling-based travel information collection technology for residents in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lifespan extension has independently evolved several times during mammalian evolution, leading to the emergence of a group of long-lived animals. Though mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is shown as a central regulator of lifespan and aging, the underlying influence of mTOR pathway on the evolution of lifespan in mammals is not well understood. Results: Here, we performed evolution analyses of 72 genes involved in the mTOR network across 48 mammals to explore the underlying mechanism of lifespan extension. We identified a total of 20 genes with significant evolution signals unique to long-lived species, including 12 positively selected genes, four convergent evolution genes, and five longevity associated genes whose evolution rate related to the maximum lifespan (MLS). Of these genes, four positively selected genes, two convergent evolution genes and one longevity-associated gene were involved in the autophagy response and aging-related diseases, while eight genes were known as cancer genes, indicating the long-lived species might have evolved effective regulation mechanisms of autophagy and cancer to extend lifespan. Conclusion: Our study revealed genes with significant evolutionary signals unique to long-lived species, which provided new insight into the lifespan extension of mammals and might bring new strategies to extend human lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of an active control system, crucial for the co-phase maintenance of segmented mirrors, is closely related to the spatial layout of sensors and actuators. This article compares two types of edge sensor layouts, vertical and horizontal, and proposes a novel tandem differential sensor layout that saves layout space and reduces the number of positioning references. The control performance of this scheme is analyzed in terms of error propagation, mode representation, and the scalable construction of the control matrix. Finally, we constructed a tandem differential-based sensor detection system to examine the performance of edge sensors and the effect of laboratory environmental variables on sensor measurements. Simulations and experiments demonstrate that this scheme has the same ability to fully characterize actuator modification modes as the Keck edge sensor layout. Although the total error multiplier is slightly larger than the latter, it has fewer scalable control matrix types and stronger spatial and segmental shape adaptation capabilities. Actual measurements show that the sensor's own noise in a tandem differential layout is less than 20 nm, which meets the requirements for future segmented co-phase maintenance. This layout type can potentially be applied to future small and medium-sized segmented splices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limited occupied space and various noise spectrum requires an adjustable sound absorber with a smart structure and tunable sound absorption performance. The hexagonal acoustic metamaterial cell of the multiple parallel-connection resonators with tunable perforating rate was proposed in this research, which consisted of six triangular cavities and six trapezium cavities, and the perforation rate of each cavity was adjustable by moving the sliding block along the slideway. The optimal geometric parameters were obtained by the joint optimization of the acoustic finite element simulation and cuckoo search algorithm, and the average sound absorption coefficients in the target frequency ranges of 650–1150 Hz, 700–1200 Hz and 700–1000 Hz were up to 0.8565, 0.8615 and 0.8807, respectively. The experimental sample was fabricated by the fused filament fabrication method, and its sound absorption coefficients were further detected by impedance tube detector. The consistency between simulation data and experimental data proved the accuracy of the acoustic finite element simulation model and the effectiveness of the joint optimization method. The tunable sound absorption performance, outstanding low-frequency noise reduction property, extensible outline structure and efficient space utilization were favorable to promote its practical applications in noise reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hollow porphyrin-based porous organic polymer (H-Fe-POP) was prepared for rapid and sensitive colorimetric determination of Cr(VI), which exhibited excellent dual enzyme-like activities, including oxidase-like and peroxidase-like activities. Due to the specific binding of 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ) to Cr(VI), 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) was liberated, and TMB was oxidized to blue ox-TMB catalyzed by H-Fe-POP. Based on the excellent oxidase-like activity of H-Fe-POP, an ultra-fast colorimetric platform for the detection of Cr(VI) was constructed, allowing the quantification of Cr(VI) in the range 2–130 μM within 30 s with a detection limit of 0.23 μM. Importantly, the sensor can accurately determine Cr(VI) in industrial wastewater, indicating its high potential for environmental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gallium (Ga) has been revisited as a potential candidate for engineering potent antibacterial drugs and materials. Here, various types of Ga-enabled bactericidal medicine (GaBM) are introduced that have shown excellent performances both in vitro and in vivo. Future opportunities of GaBM are discussed based on an interdisciplinary perspective. [Display omitted] • Gallium-enabled bactericidal medicine (GaBM) is reviewed. • Various types of GaBM including ions, colloids, and composites are introduced. • The chemical and toxicological principles of GaBM are discussed. • GaBM is under rapid development toward smart multifunctional medicine. Metallic materials have been used as antibacterial agents since antiquity. Gallium (Ga), an abiogenic metal, has shown pharmaceutical effects in developing unconventional anticancer and antibacterial drugs. Recent advances have disclosed the potential of Ga-based materials in creating bactericidal medicine (GaBM) that is safe, efficacious, multifunctional, and even smart, showing promising results both in the lab research and in clinical trials. Here, we describe the chemical and toxicological principles underlying the antibacterial activity of various types of GaBM, including ions, colloids, and composites, and discuss their in vitro and in vivo performances in different disease models. We expect that GaBM is rapidly advancing towards broad-spectrum antimicrobial medicine in combating bacterial pathogens, fungi, and viruses, and other microorganisms; interdisciplinary research is on the way to improve molecular levelled understanding of GaBM and facilitate its future collaborations with drug discovery, nanotechnology, and precision medicine. Our study offers a comprehensive guidebook for the design, fabrication, and implementation of GaBM, which could benefit a wide range of communities including chemists, material chemists, and drug engineers working on developing next-generation antimicrobial materials, medications, and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper starts with the Cobb Douglas function, introduces financial development as an influencing factor of technological innovation in strategic emerging industries into the production function, and then incorporates the transfer function into the linear model, further deepens the linear model into a nonlinear model, and chooses to use financial development scale and financial development efficiency as conversion variables. The panel smooth conversion model (PSTR) is used to study the nonlinear effects of financial development and technological innovation and find the best interval for financial development to promote technological innovation in strategic emerging industries. We introduce the economic and human capital spatial weight matrix in the spatial lag, spatial error, and spatial Durbin model. Finally, we verify the spatial spillover effect of financial development in promoting technological innovation in strategic emerging industries. The research results provide empirical evidence for the government to formulate policies for the long-term development of strategic emerging industries and technological innovation in strategic emerging industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study assessed the impact of adherence to guidelines-recommended diagnostic testing on treatment selection and overall survival (OS) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) initiated on rituximab-based first line of treatment (1-LOT). Methods: This retrospective cohort study used a nationwide electronic health record-derived de-identified database, including diagnostic testing information on immunohistochemistry (IHC), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and karyotype analysis that were abstracted from pathology reports or clinical visit notes, where available. The study included patients above 18 years old who were diagnosed with DLBCL between January 2011 and December 2019 and initiated on rituximab-based 1-LOT. Patients were classified into 'non-adherence,' 'partial-adherence' and 'complete-adherence' groups according to the evidence/documentation of a confirmed known result for IHC and molecular profiling tests (FISH and karyotyping) on a selection of the markers prior to the initiation of 1-LOT. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations of adherence to diagnostic testing with 1-LOT between R-CHOP and other rituximab-based regimens. Median OS after the start of rituximab-based 1-LOT was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess the risk of all-cause death after initiation of 1-LOT by the degrees of adherence to guidelines-recommended diagnostic testing. Results: In total, 3730 patients with DLBCL who initiated on rituximab-based 1-LOT were included. No association was found between adherence to guidelines-recommended diagnostic testing and treatment selection of 1-LOT for R-CHOP versus other rituximab-based regimens. Patients with a higher degree of adherence to guidelines-recommended diagnostic testing survived longer (median OS at 5.1, 6.9 and 7.1 years for 'non-adherence,' 'partial-adherence' and 'complete-adherence' groups, respectively [log-rank p < 0.001]) and had a decreased mortality risk (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio with 95% confidence intervals at 0.83 [0.70–0.99] for 'partial-adherence' and 0.77 [0.64–0.91] for 'complete-adherence' groups, respectively). Conclusion: Patients' adherence to guidelines-recommended diagnostic testing were associated with better survival benefit, reinforcing the need for adoption of diagnostic testing guidelines in routine clinical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self-floating sponge functionalized with a photothermal polydopamine coating and catalytic zerovalent iron nanoparticles can activate persulfate through three independent yet synergistic pathways. The device is applied for dual functional antibiotic degradation and freshwater obtainment through solar driven interfacial evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo scrimber is widely used in interior decoration, architecture, and many other fields. However, it has caused huge security risks due to its inherent flammability and easy-to-produce toxic volatiles after combustion. In this work, the bamboo scrimber with superior flame retardant and smoke suppression properties was produced via the coupling of phosphocalcium-aluminum hydrotalcite (PCaAl-LDHs) with bamboo bundles. The results demonstrated that the flame-retardant bamboo scrimber (FRBS) heat release rate (HRR) and total heat release (THR) were, respectively, reduced by 34.46% and 15.86% compared with that of untreated bamboo scrimber. At the same time, the unique multi-layer structure of PCaAl-LDHs effectively slowed down the release rate of flue gas by extending its escape path. Cone calorimetry showed that the total smoke emissions (TSR) and specific extinction area (SEA) of FRBS were, respectively, reduced by 65.97% and 85.96% when the concentration of the flame retardant was 2%, which greatly developed the fire safety of the bamboo scrimber. This method not only improves the fire safety of bamboo scrimber but can also be expected to broaden its use scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy storage capacitors occupy a large proportion in the pulse power equipment, and they play an important role nowadays. In recent years, anti‐ferroelectric materials have attracted increasing attention of researchers due to their high energy storage density. Compared with the lead‐free anti‐ferroelectric materials, PbZrO3 (PZ)‐based anti‐ferroelectric films are defined as promising electrical energy storage devices for pulsed power systems due to their ultrahigh energy storage density. During the past decade, numerous studies have been reported to develop high‐performance PZ‐based anti‐ferroelectric thin films for electrical energy storage applications. This review focuses on the recent progress of PZ‐based anti‐ferroelectric films for energy storage, and provides various ways, such as element modification (replacing of one element in the ABO3 structure by another element), composite materials (adding secondary phase into PZ films to form composite films), and process improvement (such as the tuning of different bottom electrodes), to improve their energy storage density. Finally, the problems and future development directions of the PZ‐based films are raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water‐soluble small organic photothermal agents (PTAs) over NIR‐II biowindow (1000–1350 nm) are highly desirable, but the rarity greatly limits their applications. Based on a water‐soluble double‐cavity cyclophane GBox‐44+, we report a class of host–guest charge transfer (CT) complexes as structurally uniform PTAs for NIR‐II photothermal therapy. As a result of its high electron‐deficiency, GBox‐44+ can bind different electron‐rich planar guests with a 1 : 2 host/guest stoichiometry to readily tune the CT absorption band that extends to the NIR‐II region. When using a diaminofluorene guest substituted with an oligoethylene glycol chain, the host–guest system realized both good biocompatibility and enhanced photothermal conversion at 1064 nm, and was then exploited as a high‐efficiency NIR‐II PTA for cancer cell and bacterial ablation. This work broadens the potential applications of host–guest cyclophane systems and provides a new access to bio‐friendly NIR‐II photoabsorbers with well‐defined structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water‐soluble small organic photothermal agents (PTAs) over NIR‐II biowindow (1000–1350 nm) are highly desirable, but the rarity greatly limits their applications. Based on a water‐soluble double‐cavity cyclophane GBox‐44+, we report a class of host–guest charge transfer (CT) complexes as structurally uniform PTAs for NIR‐II photothermal therapy. As a result of its high electron‐deficiency, GBox‐44+ can bind different electron‐rich planar guests with a 1 : 2 host/guest stoichiometry to readily tune the CT absorption band that extends to the NIR‐II region. When using a diaminofluorene guest substituted with an oligoethylene glycol chain, the host–guest system realized both good biocompatibility and enhanced photothermal conversion at 1064 nm, and was then exploited as a high‐efficiency NIR‐II PTA for cancer cell and bacterial ablation. This work broadens the potential applications of host–guest cyclophane systems and provides a new access to bio‐friendly NIR‐II photoabsorbers with well‐defined structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) continues to increase worldwide. Aerobic glycolysis, the prominent feature of glucose metabolism in cancer progression, is associated with TC. We first demonstrated that HIF-1a is highly expressed in TC tissues and is positively correlated with the level of XIST in the serum of patients with TC. Then, we proved that XIST regulates the expression of HIF-1a through the XIST/miR-93/HIF-1a pathway, thereby regulating the level of glycolysis in TC cells. Knockdown of XIST inhibits glycolysis, proliferation, the cell cycle and metastasis of TC cells. Finally, we verified that artemisinin could target the degradation of HIF-1a and inhibit glycolysis in TC cells. Collectively, XIST levels in serum may be used as a tumor marker for TC promoted by HIF-1a, which could be treated using artemisinin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two series of novel steroidal[17,16-d]pyrimidines derived from natural epiandrosterone and androsterone were designed and synthesized, and these compounds were screened for their potential anticancer activities. The preliminary bioassay indicated that some of these prepared compounds exhibited significantly good cytotoxic activities against human gastric cancer (SGC-7901), lung cancer (A549), and hepatocellular liver carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines compared with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), epiandrosterone, and androsterone. Especially the respective pairs from epiandrosterone and androsterone showed significantly different inhibitory activities, and the possible configuration-activity relationships have also been summarized and discussed based on kinase assay and molecular docking, which indicated that the inhibition activities of these steroidal[17,16-d]pyrimidines might obviously be affected by the configuration of the hydroxyl group in the part of the steroidal scaffold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Headaches account for up to 4.5% of emergency department visits, where they present a significant diagnostic challenge. While primary headaches are benign, secondary headaches can be life-threatening. It is essential to rapidly differentiate between primary and secondary headaches as the latter require immediate diagnostic work-up. Current assessment relies on subjective measures; time constraints can result in overuse of diagnostic neuroimaging, prolonging diagnosis, and adding to economic burden. There is therefore an unmet need for a time- and cost-efficient, quantitative triaging tool to guide further diagnostic testing. Routine blood tests may provide important diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers indicating underlying headache causes. In this retrospective study (approved by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Independent Scientific Advisory Committee for Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) research [20_000173]), UK CPRD real-world data from patients (n = 121,241) presenting with headache from 1993–2021 were used to generate a predictive model based on a machine learning (ML) approach for primary versus secondary headaches. A ML-based predictive model was constructed using two different methods (logistic regression and random forest) and the following predictors were evaluated: ten standard measurements of complete blood count (CBC) test, 19 ratios of the ten CBC test parameters, and patient demographic and clinical characteristics. The model's predictive performance was assessed using a set of cross-validated model performance metrics. The final predictive model showed modest predictive accuracy using the random forest method (balanced accuracy: 0.7405). The sensitivity, specificity, false negative rate (incorrect prediction of secondary headache as primary headache), and false positive rate (incorrect prediction of primary headache as secondary headache) were 58%, 90%, 10%, and 42%, respectively. The ML-based prediction model developed could provide a useful time- and cost-effective quantitative clinical tool to facilitate the triaging of patients presenting to the clinic with headache. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reasonable ecological function zoning is conducive to balancing ecological security and social development. Previous studies of evaluation for urban ecosystem services (ESs) have great progress. However, there is a lack of integrating ES stable hotspots into urban planning and refined management. In this research, we are interested in how hotspot identification can help promote ecological refined management. To achieve this, Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration (CY) was chosen as a case study. First, we employed coefficient of variation and linear regression to analyze ESs temporal and spatial evolution trend from 2000 to 2017. Then, the stable ES hotspots were identified in the time dimension, and the results were superimposed on the dominant function zoning map obtained by a self-organizing feature map (SOFM). Finally, the refined zoning results were obtained, and we added corresponding control measures and policy guidance. The results showed the following: (1) from 2000 to 2017, water conservation (WR) and biodiversity conservation (Sbio) in the study area fluctuated greatly and showed a significant improvement trend on the whole; soil erosion protection (Spro), carbon sequestration and oxygen production (CSOP) showed a degradation trend in a few areas; (2) the area with at least one kind of ES stable hotspot accounted for 35.22% in the study area, and only 0.8% covered the four kinds of ES hotspots; and (3) the two-level zoning system of CY-refined management was designed. Eighteen cells have been designed within five main functional zones: urban agglomeration zone, modern agricultural development zone, ecological farming zone, ecological transition zone, and core ecological protection zone. Overall, the research based on natural ecological zoning management can provide a decision-making basis for urban planning, policy making, and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]