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Abstract Background The unilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE) technique has garnered significant attention for its little paraspinal iatrogenic damage, expedited recovery, and low complication rates. This method is also applicable to open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of the outcomes associated with unilateral biportal endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (UBE-TLIF), minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF), and TLIF for Meyerding grade I lumbar spondylolisthesis. Methods The study examined the outcomes of 79 patients with Meyerding grade I lumbar spondylolisthesis who underwent single-level intervertebral fusion. Clinical assessments included the measurement of pain levels using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for low back and leg pain, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), surgical data, and demographic information. Imaging techniques were utilized to evaluate the fusion rate. Results The VAS-Back demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in Group UBE-TLIF compared to the other groups at the one-week postoperative evaluation (p

Abstract Monitoring China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is essential for formulating effective carbon cycle policies to achieve carbon peaking and neutrality. Despite insufficient satellite observation coverage, this study utilizes high-resolution spatiotemporal data from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2), supplemented with various auxiliary datasets, to estimate full-coverage, monthly, column-averaged carbon dioxide (XCO2) values across China from 2015 to 2022 at a spatial resolution of 0.05° via the deep forest model. The 10-fold cross-validation results indicate a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.95 and a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.90. Validation against ground-based station data yielded R values of 0.93, and R² values reached 0.81. Further validation from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Reanalysis dataset (CAMS) produced R² values of 0.87 and 0.80, respectively. During the study period, CO2 concentrations in China were higher in spring and winter than in summer and autumn, indicating a clear annual increase. The estimates generated by this study could potentially support CO2 monitoring in China.

Abstract DNBSEQ employs a patterned array to facilitate massively parallel sequencing of DNA nanoballs (DNBs), leading to a considerable boost in throughput. By employing the ultra-high-density (UHD) array with an increased density of DNB binding sites, the throughput of DNBSEQ can be further expanded. However, the typical imaging system of the DNBSEQ sequencer is unable to resolve adjacent DNBs spaced smaller than the resolution limit, resulting in poor base-calling performance of the UHD array and hindering its practical application. In this study, we propose a deep-learning-based DNB image super-resolution network named DNBSRN to address this problem. DNBSRN has a specifically designed structure for DNB images and employs a histogram-matching-based preprocessing approach. For the eight DNB image datasets generated from the DNBSEQ sequencer using UHD arrays with 360 nm pitch, the base-calling performances are significantly improved after super-resolution reconstruction by DNBSRN and reached a comparable level to those of the regular density array. In terms of reconstruction speed, DNBSRN takes only 7.61 ms for an input image with 500 × 500 pixels, which minimizes its influence on throughput. Furthermore, compared with state-of-the-art super-resolution networks, DNBSRN demonstrates superior performance in terms of both the quality and speed of DNB image reconstruction. DNBSRN successfully addresses the DNB image super-resolution task. Integrating DNBSRN into the image analysis workflow of DNBSEQ will allow for the application of UHD array, hence enabling a considerable improvement in throughput as well as tremendous savings in unit reagent cost.

Abstract Background Obesity and adverse lipid profile leads to female infertility. The cardiometabolic index (CMI) is a promising indicator for predicting obesity-related diseases. The correlation between CMI and female infertility merits further investigation. Methods The data for this study were acquired from the 2013–2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), with 2333 women enrolled. The cardiometabolic index (CMI) of each participant was calculated as the ratio of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol multiplied by waist-to-height ratio. Weighted multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the independent correlation between the log-transformed CMI and infertility. Subgroup analyses were carried out to assess the reliability of the findings. Interaction tests were employed to determine whether variables affected infertility by interacting with log CMI. Results A total of 2333 participants aged 18–45 years were enrolled, 274 of whom were infertile. Log CMI of the infertility group was significantly higher than that of the non-infertility group (P

Abstract Objectives To investigate whether the signal intensity (SI) ratio of residual fibroid (RF) to myometrium using Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CE-MRI) could predict fibroid regrowth after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis was conducted among 164 patients with uterine fibroids who underwent HIFU. To predict the RF regrowth, the SI perfusion parameters were quantified using the RF-myometrium SI ratio on CE-MRI on day 1 post-HIFU and then compared with the fibroid-myometrium SI ratio on the T2-weighted image (T2WI) and Funaki classification 1 year later. Thirty cases from another center were used as an external validation set to evaluate the performance of RF-myometrium SI ratio. Results The predictive performance of the RF-myometrium SI ratio on CE-MRI on day 1 post-HIFU (Area Under Curve, AUC: 0.869) was superior to that of the preoperative and postoperative fibroid-myometrium SI ratios on the T2WI (AUC: 0.724, 0.696) and Funaki classification (AUC: 0.663, 0.623). Multivariate analysis showed that the RF- myometrium SI ratio and RF thickness were independent factors. The RF-myometrium SI ratio reflects the long-term rate of re-intervention (r = 0.455, p

Abstract Background We aimed to study the prognostic risk factors affecting patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC), develop a clinical prognostic model, and assess patient survival outcomes. Methods Patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma from 2000 to 2019 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program to extract the clinical variables used for analysis. The dataset was divided into training (70%) and validation (30%) sets based on a 7:3 ratio. Univariate and LASSO regression analyses were performed on clinical variables from the training set to identify independent prognostic factors. Independent prognostic factors were determined by Univariate and lasso regression according to the clinical variables of the training set, and a nomogram model was established to construct a prognostic model based on the contribution degree of the predictors. The prognostic model was evaluated and internally verified by C-index, ROC curve and calibration curve. Results A total of 713 ATC patients were included in the SEER database. LASSO regression results indicated that age, marital status, race, tumor size, whether the primary lesion was limited to the thyroid gland, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, were associated with overall survival(OS) prognosis of ATC, and were used to construct nomograms. In the training cohort, the OS nomogram’s C-index was 0.708 (95% CI 0.672–0.745); in the internal validation cohort, the C-index was 0.677 (95% CI 0.620–0.735). ROC curves demonstrated that the OS nomogram exhibits excellent predictive accuracy and discriminative ability. Calibration curves indicated strong consistency between the OS nomogram’s predicted survival rates and actual survival rates. Conclusions We established a survival prediction model for ATC, which can assist clinicians in assessing patient prognosis and making personalized treatment decisions.

Abstract Background Heat stress (HS) commonly occurring in summer has gradually become a factor threatening the reproductive performance of male dairy goats by reducing their fecundity. Despite the melatonin is applied to relieve HS, it is still unclear whether melatonin protects against reproductive damage induced by HS in dairy goats and how it works. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the role of melatonin in alleviating HS-induced spermatogenesis dysfunction in male dairy goats and further explore its mechanism. Results HS impaired spermatogenesis, sperm formation in the testes, and sperm maturation in the epididymis of dairy goats, resulting in decreased sperm quality. Melatonin rescued the decrease of sperm quality induced by HS via decreasing inflammatory and oxidative stress levels in testicular tissue and enhancing intercellular barrier function within the testes. Amplicon-based microbiota analysis revealed that despite gut microbiota differences between melatonin-treated dairy goats and NC dairy goats to some extent, melatonin administration tends to return the gut microbiota of male dairy goats under HS to the levels of natural control dairy goats. To explore whether the protective role of melatonin in sperm quality is mediated by regulating gut microbiota, fecal microbiota of HS dairy goats with or without melatonin treatment were transferred to HS mice, respectively. We found HS mice that had received fecal bacteria of HS dairy goats experienced serious testicular injury and dyszoospermia, while this phenomenon was ameliorated in HS mice that had received fecal bacteria of dairy goats treated with melatonin, indicating melatonin alleviates HS-induced spermatogenic damage in a microbiota dependent manner. We further found that the testicular tissue of both HS dairy goats and mice transplanted with HS dairy goat feces produced large amounts of arachidonic acid (AA)-related metabolites, which were closely associated with semen quality. Consistently, supplementation with AA has been shown to elevate the levels of inflammation and oxidative stress in the testicular tissue of mice, disrupting intercellular connections and ultimately leading to spermatogenic disorders. Conclusion This study has revealed that melatonin can effectively alleviate spermatogenic disorders in dairy goats caused by HS. This beneficial effect was primarily achieved through the modulation of gut microbiota, which subsequently inhibited the excessive synthesis of AA in testicular tissue. These discoveries are of great significance for preventing or improving the decline in male livestock reproductive performance caused by HS, enhancing the reproductive efficiency of elite male breeds, and ultimately improving the production efficiency of animal husbandry. Video Abstract

Abstract Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a frequent neurological complication encountered during the perioperative period with unclear mechanisms and no effective treatments. Recent research into the pathogenesis of POCD has primarily focused on neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, changes in neural synaptic plasticity and neurotransmitter imbalances. Given the high-energy metabolism of neurons and their critical dependency on mitochondria, mitochondrial dysfunction directly affects neuronal function. Additionally, as the primary organelles generating reactive oxygen species, mitochondria are closely linked to the pathological processes of neuroinflammation. Surgery and anesthesia can induce mitochondrial dysfunction, increase mitochondrial oxidative stress, and disrupt mitochondrial quality-control mechanisms via various pathways, hence serving as key initiators of the POCD pathological process. We conducted a review on the role and potential mechanisms of mitochondria in postoperative cognitive dysfunction by consulting relevant literature from the PubMed and EMBASE databases spanning the past 25 years. Our findings indicate that surgery and anesthesia can inhibit mitochondrial respiration, thereby reducing ATP production, decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential, promoting mitochondrial fission, inducing mitochondrial calcium buffering abnormalities and iron accumulation, inhibiting mitophagy, and increasing mitochondrial oxidative stress. Mitochondrial dysfunction and damage can ultimately lead to impaired neuronal function, abnormal synaptic transmission, impaired synthesis and release of neurotransmitters, and even neuronal death, resulting in cognitive dysfunction. Targeted mitochondrial therapies have shown positive outcomes, holding promise as a novel treatment for POCD.

Abstract The Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) is a pelagic fish commonly found in the North Pacific Ocean. Its population diversity and migratory lifestyle have long captured global attention. Despite the inherent complexity of the C. saira genome, characterized by extremely high heterozygosity, we successfully assembled a phased chromosome-level genome. The genome analysis revealed the expansion and natural selection of numerous functional genes, likely contributing to its enduring and extensive migratory lifestyle. Notably, gpr35 and igh genes showed significant expansion in the C. saira genome, potentially associated with regulating the immune response against environmental parasites and pathogens. Moreover, genes involved in DNA repair/replication and peroxisome function, including atm, ercc6, pex14, and pex16, displayed evidence of positive selection. Based on genome-sequencing of 80 individuals from eight sampling sites, we demonstrated that the genomic divergence among C. saira populations is relatively low. However, the sampling sites could be grouped into two distinct clusters, roughly corresponding to the migratory route of C. saira. This suggests a possible genome-wide divergence for C. saira within the open ocean region. Furthermore, the trmu gene, responsible for controlling otolith development and sharpness, exhibited differentiation between the two groups, consistent with previously reported differences in otolith morphology. This study has provided a reference genome and insights into the evolution, ecology, and conservation of Pacific saury and closely-related species.

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint condition characterised by cartilage deterioration and changes in bone morphology, resulting in pain and impaired joint mobility. Investigation into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying OA has highlighted the significance of mitochondrial dysfunction in its progression. Mitochondria, which are cellular organelles, play a crucial role in regulating energy metabolism, generating reactive oxygen species, and facilitating essential biological processes including apoptosis. In recent years, the utilisation of exogenous drugs and MT to improve mitochondrial function in chondrocytes has shown great promise in OA treatment. Numerous studies have investigated the potential of stem cells and extracellular vesicles in mitochondrial transfer. This review aims to explore the underlying mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction in OA and assess the progress in utilising mitochondrial transfer as a therapeutic approach for this disease.

Most patients are at advanced stages when they are diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma, leading to poor prognosis and a low 5-year survival rate. Serological markers, ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and liver biopsy are the common clinical diagnostic techniques for liver cancer. Effective interventions in the early stage will be beneficial to improve the prognosis of liver cancer patients and reduce the global burden. Therefore, it is urgent to develop new diagnostic methods to improve the diagnosis and management of liver cancer. Nanotechnology has become a new frontier subject in medical detection along with the application of nanomaterials in the manufacture of drug carriers, diagnostic tools, and therapeutic devices. Many studies have shown that nanoparticles (NPs) can be applied to the clinical diagnosis of liver cancer in combination with existing technologies, providing a new method for the early diagnosis of liver cancer. In this review, we elaborate on the theoretical basis and characteristics of NPs in the diagnosis of liver cancer, and the research progress and prospects of NPs in the diagnosis of liver cancer are summarized.

Abstract Introduction Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mental disease that significantly impact the daily lives of those affected. Acupuncture has shown promising therapeutic effects in the treatment of MDD, but its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate the influence of acupuncture on the brain function of patients with MDD and it’s therapeutic effects on MDD. Methods This study plans to recruit 112 participants, who will be randomly allocated to either the acupuncture group or the sham acupuncture group in a 1:1 ratio. Both groups will undergo 8 weeks of treatment, consisting of three sessions per week, with each session lasting for 30 min. A follow-up period of 3 months will be conducted after the treatment. Assessments will be conducted at weeks 0, 8, 12, 16, and 20 in this study. The primary outcome measure will be functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) brain imaging, while secondary outcome measures will include Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), 36-Item Short Form Survey Instrument (SF-36), Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome score scale, and symptom elimination rate. Discussion While acupuncture has been confirmed to have a certain degree of therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of MDD, research on the mechanisms underlying acupuncture’s treatment of MDD remains limited, particularly with regards to its impact on the brain function of individuals with MDD. This study aims to explore both the clinical effectiveness and treatment mechanisms of acupuncture for MDD, with a specific focus on its influence on brain function. This research endeavors to provide new insights into the potential of acupuncture as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of MDD in the future. Trial Registration www.chictr.org.cn , ID: ChiCTR2300076292. Registered on 28 September 2023.

Abstract Brassinosteroids (BRs), one of the major classes of phytohormones are essential for various processes of plant growth, development, and adaptations to biotic and abiotic stresses. In Arabidopsis, AtCYP90D1 acts as a bifunctional cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, catalyzing C-23 hydroxylation in the brassinolide biosynthetic pathway. The present study reports the functional characterizations of PtoCYP90D1, one of the AtCYP90D1 homologous genes from Populus tomentosa. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that PtoCYP90D1 was highly expressed in roots and old leaves. Overexpression of PtoCYP90D1 (PtoCYP90D1-OE) in poplar promoted growth and biomass yield, as well as increased xylem area and cell layers. Transgenic plants exhibited a significant increase in plant height and stem diameter as compared to the wild type. In contrast, the CRISPR/Cas9-generated mutation of PtoCYP90D1 (PtoCYP90D1-KO) resulted in significantly decreased biomass production in transgenic plants. Further studies revealed that cell wall components increased significantly in PtoCYP90D1-OE lines but not in PtoCYP90D1-KO lines, as compared to wild-type plants. Overall, the findings indicate a positive role of PtoCYP90D1 in improving growth rate and elevating biomass production in poplar, which will have positive implications for its versatile industrial or agricultural applications.

Abstract Bone regeneration is a complex biological process that relies on the orchestrated interplay of various cellular and molecular events. Bone tissue engineering is currently the most promising method for treating bone regeneration. However, the immunogenicity, stable and cell quantity of seed cells limited their application. Recently, exosomes, which are small extracellular vesicles released by cells, have been found to effectively address these problems and better induce bone regeneration. Meanwhile, a growing line of research has shown the cargos of exosomes may provide effective therapeutic and biomarker tools for bone repair, including miRNA, lncRNA, and proteins. Moreover, engineered scaffolds loaded with exosomes can offer a cell-free bone repair strategy, addressing immunogenicity concerns and providing a more stable functional performance. Herein, we provide a comprehensive summary of the role played by scaffolds loaded with exosomes in bone regeneration, drawing on a systematic analysis of relevant literature available on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar database.

Abstract Various auditory and visual factors influence people’s perception and restoration experiences in the spatial environments. However, few studies have treated these factors as a comprehensive system phenomenon to reveal their integrated effects. Therefore, a specific explanation of the primary pathways and factors that contribute to the main effects of park soundscapes and visual features and the resulting perceived restorativeness remains unclear. The study surveyed 861 visitors in five urban parks in China and collected audiovisual information. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the research explored the direct, indirect, and moderating effects of common audiovisual environments in parks on perceived restorativeness, emotional states, and preferences. The results indicate that most natural-related visual and auditory factors provide direct benefits for people’s perceived restorativeness, emotional state, and preference. Additionally, certain landscape features and types of sound sources, such as trees and water sounds, have indirect effects on activating restoration through preference and emotion mediation. The study also reveals the moderating effects of landscape features and sound source types on emotional and perceived restorativeness. Another noteworthy finding is the significant relationship between bird songs and the positive impact on perceived restorativeness, emotional state, and preference, which is closely related to acoustic quality indicators. These findings offer new insights for creating urban park spaces through visual and auditory interactions.

Abstract The inferior vena cava collapsibility index (IVCCI) has been used to predict fluid responsiveness. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the perioperative IVCCI to predict postinduction hypotension (PIH) under general anaesthesia (GA) combined with lumbar plexus sacral plexus block (LSPB) in elderly patients undergoing hip arthroplasty. A total of forty patients aged over 65 years were recruited for this prospective observational study. The diameters of the inferior vena cava (IVC), common iliac vein (CIV) and IVCCI were measured at baseline and 15 min post-LSPB. PIH was defined as a systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg or a ≥ 30% drop from baseline; patients were divided into hypotensive and nonhypotensive groups. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of the IVCCI to predict PIH via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The secondary objective was to observe the change in CIV diameter. Eighteen patients (45%) developed PIH during GA. No statistically significant differences in baseline or post-LSPB IVCCI were detected between hypotensive and nonhypotensive patients (p > 0.05), whereas a significant expansion of the CIV (0.83 cm to 1.10 cm) was observed 15 min post-LSPB in all patients (p

Abstract Effectively predicting the failure rate of train-controlled on-board equipment is of great significance for rationally allocating equipment spares, drawing up maintenance plans, and reducing the occurrence of failures. In order to tackle the problem of the intricate attributes and limited predictive precision of the sample data pertaining to the failure rate of on-board equipment, in this paper, a multivariate time series prediction model for the failure rate of train-controlled on-board equipment is based on the combination of multivariate variational modal decomposition (MVMD) graph neural network (GNN) and transformer. First, the original failure rate time series, air temperature, humidity and sand and dust time series are modally decomposed using MVMD, and the intrinsic modal functions (IMFs) of each series are obtained; then, the dynamic graph of the GNN network is defined according to the IMFs, and Transformer’s self-attention mechanism is utilised to capture the dynamic graph’s temporal and spatial dependencies. Finally, the failure rate is output through the feed-forward neural network prediction value. Experiments using the historical fault data of CTCS3-300T train-controlled on-board equipment are carried out to confirm the efficacy of the suggested method, and it is contrasted with other conventional machine learning techniques. The outcomes of the experiment show that compared with other train-controlled on-board equipment failure prediction models, the proposed method has a very good superiority, as evidenced by its mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.0489 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0510, which is of certain reference value for equipment operation and maintenance.

Abstract Background The biological significance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BUC) warrants further investigation. There is an urgent need to explore the predictive utility of CAF-related genes for prognosis in BUC. Methods The transcriptome and clinical data of 407 BUC patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were analyzed and a prognostic model was established. A total of 476 BUC cases from the E-MTAB-4321 database were used for validation. A risk model was constructed utilizing CAF-related genes through LASSO Cox regression, investigating its association with prognosis, gene mutations, immune cell infiltration, and drug sensitivity in BUC. Results We identified five CAF-related genes (EGFL6, NRSN2, SEMA3D, TM4SF1 and TPST1) in both the TCGA and E-MTAB-4321 datasets, and established a prognostic model using LASSO Cox regression. The high-risk group showed a significant correlation with poor survival. Furthermore, the low-risk group exhibited higher tumor mutational burden and lower levels of immune cell infiltration, and this model holds promise for guiding drug selection in BUC patients. Conclusions These findings underscore the pivotal role of CAF-related genes in prognostic prediction for BUC patients. Clinical decision-making and tailored therapeutics stand to benefit from these results, providing a valuable reference for future research endeavors.

Abstract Cytosine base editing is a powerful tool for making precise single nucleotide changes in cells and model organisms like zebrafish, which are valuable for studying human diseases. However, current base editors struggle to edit cytosines in certain DNA contexts, particularly those with GC and CC pairs, limiting their use in modelling disease-related mutations. Here we show the development of zevoCDA1, an optimized cytosine base editor for zebrafish that improves editing efficiency across various DNA contexts and reduces restrictions imposed by the protospacer adjacent motif. We also create zevoCDA1-198, a more precise editor with a narrower editing window of five nucleotides, minimizing off-target effects. Using these advanced tools, we successfully generate zebrafish models of diseases that were previously challenging to create due to sequence limitations. This work enhances the ability to introduce human pathogenic mutations in zebrafish, broadening the scope for genomic research with improved precision and efficiency.

Abstract Background Fetal growth monitoring is important for twin pregnancies. However, there has been no clinically validated tool for monitoring fetal growth of twin pregnancies in China. This study aims to develop and validate a chorionicity-specific growth chart of ultrasound estimated fetal weight (EFW) for Chinese twin pregnancies. Methods This retrospective cohort study included all twin pregnancies who delivered two live fetuses with gestational age ≥ 34 weeks without severe obstetric complications at a tertiary hospital from January 2007 to March 2021. The participants were divided into a development set (delivered in or before December 2017) and a validation set (delivered in or after January 2018). Chorionicity-specific growth charts were created using the generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS) based on the development set. The fetuses from the validation set were classified into three groups based on the last EFW: small-for-gestational-age (SGA) indicated by both the newly established twin charts and the Hadlock singleton chart currently used for twin pregnancies in China, suspected SGA indicated by only the singleton chart, and no SGA indicated by either chart. The incidence of neonatal outcomes among the three groups was then compared accordingly, including intensive care unit (NICU) stay length, respiratory diseases, and neurological disorders. Results The development set included 883 twin pregnancies and a total of 6374 EFW measurements between 16 and 38 weeks of gestation, and the validation set included 801 twin pregnancies and 7630 EFW measurements. In the development set, monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins had a significantly lower EFW compared to dichorionic diamniotic (DCDA) twins beginning at 26 weeks, with the difference gradually increasing thereafter, supporting the establishment of chorionicity-specific growth charts. Of the 1,602 twin neonates in the validation set, 103 (6.4%) were classified into the SGA group, 164 (10.2%) into the suspected SGA group, and 1335 (83.3%) into the no SGA group. The incidence of respiratory diseases and neurological disorders was comparable between the suspected SGA group and the no SGA group, but apparently higher in the SGA group. Meanwhile, NICU stay lengths were consistently longer for twins in the SGA group compared to the no SGA group (difference: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.31–0.83), with no significant differences observed between the suspected SGA and no SGA groups. Conclusions The fetal growth trajectories differed by chorionicity, with a lower EFW for MCDA twins beginning at 26 weeks. The establishment of chorionicity-specific growth chart could reduce overdiagnosis of SGA and improve fetal growth monitoring of twin pregnancies.

With the development of the hyperspectral remote sensing technique, extensive chemical weathering profiles have been identified on Mars. These weathering sequences, formed through precipitation-driven leaching processes, can reflect the paleoenvironments and paleoclimates during pedogenic processes. The specific composition and stratigraphic profiles mirror the mineralogical and chemical trends observed in weathered basalts on Hainan Island in south China. In this study, we investigated the laboratory reflectance spectra of a 53-m-long drilling core of a thick basaltic weathering profile collected from Hainan Island. We established a quantitative spectral model by combining the genetic algorithm and partial least squares regression (GA-PLSR) to predict the chemical properties (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3) and index of laterization (IOL). The entire sample set was divided into a calibration set of 25 samples and a validation set of 12 samples. Specifically, the GA was used to select the spectral subsets for each composition, which were then input into the PLSR model to derive the chemical concentration. The coefficient of determination (R2) values on the validation set for SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, and the IOL were greater than 0.9. In addition, the effects of various spectral preprocessing techniques on the model accuracy were evaluated. We found that the spectral derivative treatment boosted the prediction accuracy of the GA-PLSR model. The improvement achieved with the second derivative was more pronounced than when using the first derivative. The quantitative model developed in this work has the potential to estimate the contents of similar weathering basalt products, and thus infer the degree of alteration and provide insights into paleoclimatic conditions. Moreover, the informative bands selected by the GA can serve as a guideline for designing spectral channels for the next generation of spectrometers.

The electrochemical reaction mechanism of galvanized high-strength steel wires (GHSSWs) has not been fully elucidated. Scholars have observed a significant discrepancy between the theoretical mass loss rate calculated using the Faraday equation for electrochemical corrosion and the experimental values. To address this issue, this study conducted electrochemical corrosion tests on 195 sets of GHSSWs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and non-contact 3D scanning systems were used to characterize the surface morphology and elemental composition of specimens before and after rust removal, revealing the reaction mechanism during electrochemical corrosion in GHSSWs. The correlation between corrosion length, current intensity, and electrolysis time with the corrosion rate was investigated, and a correction function for mass loss in GHSSWs under constant current electrochemical corrosion was established. The results indicate that during the initial stage of electrochemical corrosion in GHSSWs, internal stress between the corrosion products and the GHSSWs substrate leads to the formation of apparent cracks in the corroded wire, increasing the contact area between the specimen and the electrolyte and accelerating the corrosion process. In later stages, the formation of needle-like α-FeOOH corrosion products provides protective effects, leading to a decrease in the corrosion rate.

Abstract Under the condition of weak grid, the phase‐locked loop (PLL) is one of the main reasons for the sub‐synchronous oscillation of the grid‐connected inverter. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the PLL parameters of the grid‐connected inverter for the analysis of the inverter operating performance. This paper uses the sequence impedance model and measured impedance data of grid‐connected inverter to construct the identification function for parameter identification of PLL, and the function is calculated by particle swarm optimization algorithm to overcome the nonlinear problem of sequence impedance model. In addition, the identification frequency band is selected based on PLL parameter sensitivity to improve the parameter identification accuracy under the same impedance measurement error. At different frequencies, the positive correlation between the sensitivity of the PLL parameters and the identification accuracy is proven to determine the definite frequency band for PLL parameter identification of grid‐connected inverter. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the above research are verified by simulation and semi‐physical experiments.

Abstract Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine (C-OPLL) is a degenerative disorder that leads to the narrowing of the spinal canal and compression of both the spinal cord and nerve roots. This condition is more prevalent in East Asian populations, with marked regional variations in incidence. Symptoms include neck pain, restricted movement, limb numbness, and motor impairment. In severe cases, surgery may be required. Surgical strategies for C-OPLL can be divided into anterior and posterior approaches, each offering distinct advantages and limitations. Anterior approaches, such as anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF), anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), anterior floating method and vertebral body sliding osteotomy (VBSO), provide the benefit of direct decompression but are technically demanding and carry a higher risk of complications. In contrast, posterior approaches, including laminectomy (with or without instrumented fusion) and laminoplasty (LAMP), offer indirect decompression but may increase the risk of cervical kyphosis. In recent years, innovative techniques like anterior cervical ossified posterior longitudinal ligament en bloc resection (ACOE), anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF), and minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery have been developed to reduce complications and enhance surgical outcomes. Selecting the appropriate surgical technique requires a thorough assessment of factors such as the severity of the lesion, cervical alignment, and the surgeon’s experience. This narrative review examines the differences between these surgical options, discusses their respective advantages and disadvantages, and provides updated insights and recommendations.

Abstract Mitochondria serve as the cellular powerhouse, and their distinct DNA makes them a prospective target for gene editing to treat genetic disorders. However, the impact of genome editing on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) stability remains a mystery. Our study reveals previously unknown risks of genome editing that both nuclear and mitochondrial editing cause discernible transfer of mitochondrial DNA segments into the nuclear genome in various cell types including human cell lines, primary T cells, and mouse embryos. Furthermore, drug-induced mitochondrial stresses and mtDNA breaks exacerbate this transfer of mtDNA into the nuclear genome. Notably, we observe that mitochondrial editors, including mitoTALEN and recently developed base editor DdCBE, can also enhance crosstalk between mtDNA and the nuclear genome. Moreover, we provide a practical solution by co-expressing TREX1 or TREX2 exonucleases during DdCBE editing. These findings imply genome instability of mitochondria during induced DNA breaks and explain the origins of mitochondrial-nuclear DNA segments.

In this paper, 316L-containing Ti–6Al–4V alloy was fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) through mixing Ti–6Al–4V and 4.5 wt% 316L powders, and the dynamic compressive mechanical properties and deformation mechanism at different strain rates were studied. The results show that the volume fraction of β phase sharply increases from 1.8% (in TC4) to 61.4% (in HST), and micro- and submicron-sized grains coexist in the HST alloy, producing heterostructure in the form of bimodal grain size distribution. The presence of the heterostructure led to superior heterogeneous deformation induced stress, thus facilitating the additional strain hardening and deformation coordinating ability, thus made the HST alloy achieved ultimate compressive stress of ∼1750 MPa and fracture strain of ∼17%, showing excellent comprehensive mechanical properties. Under quasi-static load, the deformation mode of HST alloy is mainly attributed to progressive deformation-induced martensitic transformation. However, at high strain rates, the impact loading inhibited the activation of progressive DIMT, and thus the deformation mode changed to combination of dislocation slipping and deformation twinning.

Flexible graphite film (FGF), as a traditional interface heat dissipation material, has high anisotropy. It is a challenge to enhance both in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity of FGF. For this reason, the effects of oxygen content, layer spacing, density and particle size on the in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity of FGF were studied by both molecular simulation and experimental investigation. The simulation results indicate that the ways to improve the thermal conductivity of FGF include reducing oxygen content and layer spacing, increasing the density and matching the size of graphite sheets. The FGF prepared from room temperature exfoliated graphite (RTFGF) has a wide range of adjustable density (1.3–2.0 g/cm3) and thickness (50–400 μm). The thermal conductivity of the RTFGF is significantly improved after heat treatment owing to reduced oxygen content and layer spacing, which is consistent with the simulation results. Moreover, RTFGF with both high in-plane (518 W⋅m−1⋅K−1) and through-plane (7.2 W⋅m−1⋅K−1) thermal conductivity can be obtained by particle size matching of graphite.

Combining CO2 and green hydrogen to produce methanol can simultaneously realize CO2 conversion and green hydrogen storage. Methanol can be used as a green low-carbon fuel or industrial platform product for large-scale application, which is of great significance to promote the further development of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology. Non-thermal plasma (NTP) can activate CO2 under mild conditions for hydrogenation reaction and obtain specific products such as methanol by combining with catalysts to tailor the reaction routes, but the underlying reaction mechanism is still unclear. Based on this, the reaction mechanism and process coupling laws of the NTP-enhanced CO2 hydrogenation with assistance of Cu/γ-Al2O3 for methanol production were investigated by combining hydrogenation experiments in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with continuously-pulsed discharge plasma simulations. The experiments investigation showed that 18.74% CO2 conversion and 36.28% CH3OH selectivity could be achieved by combining NTP and 10% Cu/γ-Al2O3 at 80 ℃ and 0.1 MPa. The on-line discharge parameters monitoring and in-situ emission spectroscopy (OES) showed that the localized discharge was enhanced by Cu/γ-Al2O3, which increased the average electron energy and density, thus promote the CO and H generation and their surface consumption reaction, resulting in the weakening of spectral intensity. Furthermore, the sensitivity and ROP analyses indicated that the active substances such as H and CO in NTP promoted methanol generation efficiently by alternating the corresponding L-H routes, which usually had higher energy barriers, via E-R reactions such as CO2(S)+H→COOH(S), CO+H(S)→HCO(S), CO(S)+H→HCO(S), and CH3O(S)+H→CH3OH(S). The reaction pathways analysis revealed that the formate (HCOO*) pathway was the main pathway for methanol generation on the Cu/γ-Al2O3 surface, where the reaction CH3O(S)+H(S)→CH3OH(S)+Cu(S) was the rate-limiting step. The generation of CO(S) via the CO2(S)→COOH(S)→CO(S) in the RWGS+CO hydrogenation pathway and its rapid desorption played a vital role in reducing CH3OH selectivity. Uncertainty analysis demonstrated that although increasing the CO2 adsorption rate could effectively improve its conversion, but would not increase CO selectivity when H(S) was insufficient. The optimal CO2 and H2 adsorption rate ratio was predicated to be γ(H2)/γ(CO2)=7～8. Improving CO(S) adsorption stability and enhancing H2 electron collisional dissociation to promote H generation could promote reactions of CO(S)→HCO(S) and CH3O(S)→CH3OH(S), thus facilitated a CO2 conversion of 27.4% and CH3OH selectivity of 51% synergistically.

Abstract Background In patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine (OPLL), high spinal cord signal (HCS) is frequently observed in the spinal cord of the corresponding segment. However, studies on the differences in the improvement of high spinal cord signal due to different surgical approaches are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the improvement of high spinal cord signal in long and short segments with different choices of surgical approaches. Methods In this study, we conducted a meticulous review of medical records for patients diagnosed with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). Demographic variables, including gender, age, and body mass index (BMI), were systematically recorded. We evaluated the severity of neurological impairment using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores both preoperatively and at multiple postoperative follow-up points. Neurological assessments were complemented by serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) to measure the extent of high-signal changes (HCS) in the spinal cord, and the alteration of the HCS was quantified by the SCR (the ratio between the signal intensity value of the HCS region and the signal intensity value of the normal spinal cord region at C7-T1). Results In the short-segment high signal change (HCS) group, comparisons of JOA score improvement (Recovery1) and HCS improvement (CR1) at 6 months postoperatively did not demonstrate significant differences between the surgical approaches (P > 0.05; Table 1). However, at the 2-year follow-up, patients who underwent anterior surgery exhibited significantly greater improvements in both JOA scores (Recovery2) and HCS (CR2), with statistical significance achieved (P 0.05; Table 2). Conclusions In patients with OPLL who present with spinal cord high signal, anterior surgery by resection of the ossified posterior longitudinal ligament and direct decompression is more conducive to regression of small spinal cord high signal and improvement of clinical neurological function if the extent of spinal cord high signal is small.

Abstract Background Glycated Albumin (GA) and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) are two important biomarkers that respectively reflect lipid and glucose levels. Previous research has revealed their roles in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes. However, their combined predictive ability in forecasting cardiovascular events (CVE) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) among postmenopausal acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients remains insufficiently studied. Methods Based on the levels of AIP (AIP-L and AIP-H) and GA (GA-L and GA-H), four groups were used to categorize the patients. The CVE assessed included cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) and nonfatal stroke. To evaluate the relationship between AIP, GA, and CVE, multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed. Results 98 patients (7.5%) experienced CVE during follow-up. AIP and GA were revealed as strong independent predictors of CVE through multivariate analysis (AIP: HR 3.324, 95%CI 1.732–6.365, P = 0.004; GA: HR 1.098, 95% CI 1.023–1.177, P = 0.009). In comparison to those in the initial group (AIP-L and GA-L), the fourth group (AIP-H and GA-H) of patients exhibited the greatest CVE risk (HR 2.929, 95% CI 1.206–5.117, P = 0.018). Derived from the model of baseline risk, the combination of AIP + GA significantly enhanced the AUC, meanwhile combining AIP and GA levels maximized prognostic accuracy in the baseline risk model. Conclusions This study found that the combined measurement of AIP and GA significantly enhanced the predictive capability for CVE following PCI in postmenopausal ACS patients. By integrating these two biomarkers, it became possible to more accurately identify high-risk individuals and provided clinicians with new predictive tools for postmenopausal ACS patients in risk assessment and management.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by the Aspergillus species which can contaminate various food products. This study analysed the transcriptome of the Aspergillus westerdijkiae fc-1 strain under NaCl concentrations of 0, 20, and 100 g/L using RNA-Seq technology to examine gene transcriptional changes linked to osmotic stress and OTA production. Significant changes were observed in metabolic-pathways associated with carbohydrates, cellular communication, and hydrolase activity under 20 g/L NaCl. The HOG1 gene, associated with osmotic pressure regulation was down-regulated by 78.06%. In contrast, OTA biosynthesis genes otaA, otaB, and otaC were up-regulated by 3.26 fold, 1.99 fold, and 2.06 fold, respectively. Conversely, the otaD gene was down-regulated by 43.50%. At 100 g/L NaCl, pathways related to ion transport, peptide metabolism, ribosomal function, and transmembrane transporter protein activities were significantly up-regulated. The HOG1 gene was up-regulated by 28.32% and OTA biosynthesis genes otaA, otaB, otaC, and otaD showed up-regulation of 27.06%, 36.80%, 19.59%, and 5.72 fold, respectively. The study highlights the role of metabolic pathways in osmotic stress regulation and the correlations between HOG1 expression and OTA biosynthesis genes, providing insights for developing strategies to prevent OTA contamination in food.

Abstract Background Rice body formation is an uncommon, nonspecific inflammatory process. Certain clinical features, such as chronic synovitis associated with rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculous arthritis, and osteoarthritis, can induce a non-specific response that may lead to the development of rice bodies. Currently, the etiological and prognostic significance of rice bodies remains unknown. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred diagnostic imaging modality for evaluating rice body formation. Case presentation The patient, a 44-year-old female, presented with bursitis of the hip joint and the presence of numerous rice bodies. This case is exceptionally rare and unusual as it involves a combination of hip dysplasia and pelvic fracture. The patient underwent a one-stage resection of the rice body, internal fixation of the acetabular fracture, and two-stage total hip arthroplasty, resulting in an immediate improvement in her symptoms. We reviewed the relevant literature and observed that the majority of rice bodies were predominantly found within the capsules of the shoulder and knee joints, while instances of hip joint rice body bursitis were relatively infrequent. To our knowledge, there have been no previous reports documenting a case of hip joint rice body bursitis in conjunction with hip dysplasia and pelvic fracture. Conclusion This paper presents the rare case of hip joint rice body bursitis combined with hip dysplasia and pelvic fracture, and is one of the highlights.

Abstract Indoor localization using Wi-Fi fingerprinting based on Received Signal Strength (RSS) has gained widespread attention due to its immunity to external factors and ability to penetrate obstacles. The localization process involves an offline phase for building a radio map and an online phase for matching location queries. Existing matching algorithms often prioritize enhancing online phase accuracy, overlooking the importance of offline data preprocessing, which can negatively impact overall performance. This study introduces a novel approach called Fingerprint Dictionary Preprocessing (FDP) that employs Convolutional Dictionary Learning (CDL) to process radio map data. CDL learns a set of kernels capturing site characteristics, representing RSS values from Access Points (APs) in a sparse manner. The proposed FDP system compresses data through feature learning, reducing storage requirements for data transmission. In the online phase, CDL is utilized for assisting matching fingerprints against the learned dictionary, accurately locating users. The contributions of the FDP system presenting a cost-effective and practical solution for indoor localization, addressing the challenges associated with large data collection and multi-dimensional data requirements, making it a promising approach for real-world applications. We conducted experiments in two real indoor environments, and the results indicated that the proposed FDP system, whether applied to the original radio map or the preprocessed fingerprint database, led to improved localization accuracy and reduced localization time.

Abstract During coal mining operations, the coal will be deformed and damaged due to multiple mining disturbances (MMD), often resulting in disasters, like rock burst. To understand the evolution rules of coal deformation under MMD and its final fracture characteristics after impact dynamic load loading, reduce the adverse effects of mining disturbances, and improve disaster prevention and control capabilities, quasi-static uniaxial cyclic loading-unloading (L-U) and dynamic axial compression tests were conducted on large-sized coal-like samples. During the tests, three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring technology were utilized to accurately capture the full-field deformation and AE response data, facilitating a systematic analysis of deformation and fracture characteristics. The results show that: (1) Under the cyclic L-U effect induced by MMD, each loading cycle causes compression deformation with partial recovery during unloading, presenting an overall “wavy” variation trend. (2) The maximum load is the most critical factor affecting the damaged coal deformation, with smaller load resulting in less overall sample deformation. (3) After the impact dynamic loading, the damaged samples suffered large-scale impact splitting failure, with the compressive-shear layer failure mainly occurred inside the holes. (4) Lower loading during cyclic L-U process correlate with reduced damage degree, and smaller debris particles with a higher fractal dimension when impact failure occurs, indicating a more severe impact failure. (5) With multiple cycles of L-U, the cracks inside the sample gradually extend and expand from around the hole to the outside. The greater the load and the number of cycles, the more serious the crack damage will be. (6) In the practical mining process, it is crucial to reinforce roadway interiors while minimizing low-loading cyclic disturbances induced by MMD. The study has obtained the deformation evolution rules and failure characteristics of coal under MMD, providing a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of corresponding engineering disasters.

Abstract Temperature prediction over decades provides crucial information for quantifying the expected effects of future climate changes. However, such predictions are extremely challenging due to the chaotic nature of temperature variations. Here we devise a prediction method involving an information tracking mechanism that aims to track and adapt to changes in temperature dynamics during the prediction phase by providing probabilistic feedback on the prediction error of the next step based on the current prediction. We integrate this information tracking mechanism, which can be considered as a model calibrator, into the objective function of the proposed method to obtain the corrections needed to avoid error accumulation. Experimental results on the task of global weekly land surface temperature prediction over a decade validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Students in the 21st century are expected to possess the ability to solve ill-defined complex problems (ICPs). One challenge to understanding students’ ability to solve ICPs is the lack of methods for measuring noncognitive and metacognitive behaviors and relating those behaviors to cognitive behaviors with the goal of investigating differences in student performance across ability levels. Based on the principles of the synthetic intelligence (PSI) framework, this study utilized a computerized interactive assessment platform to design a multidimensional evaluation framework (including the four dimensions of perception, cognition, metacognition, and motivation) and analyzed log file data collected from 132 elementary students with regard to solving ICPs. The results revealed new problem-solving strategies among students in the high-achievement group, who spent more time constructing problem models. Due to their ability to exercise goal-oriented self-control, students in the high-achievement group were able to fully explore the information they needed to optimize their solutions. The results also revealed three types of behaviors that characterized differences in motivation, the most notable of which characterized students who succeeded after relentless attempts. This study also explains the interaction mechanism underlying mental processes based on the PSI framework. The findings suggested that educators can highlight differences between environmental stimuli and students’ internal assumptions, encourage students to adopt strategies that disambiguate the task goal and object, and strengthen their ability to search for relevant information to improve their performance in solving ICPs. The results also provide a new paradigm for assessing problem-solving capabilities based on the PSI framework.

Abstract Background Previous studies have reported that anemia was associated with depression, but the association between changes in depressive symptoms and the risk of anemia was unclear. This study aimed to explore whether changes in depressive symptoms were associated with anemia among the middle-aged and elderly adults. Methods A total of 6112 patients aged 45 years and older from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were included in this analysis. Elevated Depression Symptoms (EDS) was defined as the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-10 score ≥ 10. Depression status was defined as no depressive symptom [no EDS at Wave 1 (2011–2012) and Wave 2 (2013–2014)], decreasing depressive symptoms (EDS at Wave 1, no EDS at Wave 2), increasing depressive symptoms (no EDS at Wave 1, EDS at Wave 2), persistent depressive symptoms (EDS at Wave 1 and Wave 2). Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the relationships between depressive symptoms and the changes and risk of anemia. Results During the follow-up of Wave 1 and Wave 3 (2015–2016), 906 participants (14.82%) developed anemia, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for the depressive symptom compared with the no depressive symptom was 1.24 (95% CI, 1.12–1.58) for anemia. From Wave 2 to Wave 3, there were 828 participants (14.62%) diagnosed with anemia. Compared to participants with no depressive symptom, those with persistent depressive symptoms during Wave 1 and Wave 2 had the significantly elevated risk of anemia (odds ratio 1.44, 95% CI 1.21–1.84). Conclusions The present study demonstrated that baseline depressive symptoms and changes in depressive symptoms were associated with increased risks of anemia.

Abstract Stem cell therapy constitutes a pivotal subject in contemporary discourse, with donor stem cells having been employed in research and clinical treatments for several decades. Primary cell transplantation encompasses diverse stem cell types, including ectomesenchymal stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, and various stem cell derivatives such as vesicles and extracellular vesicles. Nevertheless, the emergence of cell engineering techniques has heralded a new epoch in stem cell therapy, markedly broadening their therapeutic potential. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) epitomize a significant milestone in modern medical biology. This groundbreaking discovery offers significant potential in disciplines such as biology, pathophysiology, and cellular regenerative medicine. As a result, iPSCs derived differentiated cells have become a pioneering avenue for cell therapy research. Induced mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs), derived from iPSCs, represent a novel frontier in MSCs related research. Empirical evidence suggests that iMSCs demonstrate enhanced proliferative capacities compared to natural MSCs, with diminished age-related variability and heterogeneity. Numerous clinical trials have highlighted the prospective superiority of iMSCs. This article synthesizes current basic research and clinical trials pertaining to iMSCs, aiming to provide a reference point for future research endeavors.

Abstract Myeloid cells are pivotal in the inflammatory and remodeling phases of fracture repair. Here, we investigate the effect of periostin expressed by myeloid cells on bone regeneration in a monocortical tibial defect (MTD) model. In this study, we show that periostin is expressed by periosteal myeloid cells, primarily the M2 macrophages during bone regeneration. Knockout of periostin in myeloid cells reduces cortical bone thickness, disrupts trabecular bone connectivity, impairs repair impairment, and hinders M2 macrophage polarization. Mechanical stimulation is a regulator of periostin in macrophages. By activating transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), it increases periostin expression in macrophages and induces M2 polarization. This mechanosensitive effect also reverses the delayed bone repair induced by periostin deficiency in myeloid cells by strengthening the angiogenesis-osteogenesis coupling. In addition, transplantation of mechanically conditioned macrophages into the periosteum over a bone defect results in substantially enhanced repair, confirming the critical role of macrophage-secreted periostin in bone repair. In summary, our findings suggest that mechanical stimulation regulates periostin expression and promotes M2 macrophage polarization, highlighting the potential of mechanically conditioned macrophages as a therapeutic strategy for enhancing bone repair.

Abstract Understanding land use and damage in open-pit coal mining areas is crucial for effective scientific oversight and management. Current recognition methods exhibit limitations: traditional approaches depend on manually designed features, which offer limited expressiveness, whereas deep learning techniques are heavily reliant on sample data. In order to overcome the aforementioned limitations, a three-branch feature extraction framework was proposed in the present study. The proposed framework effectively fuses deep features (DF) and shallow features (SF), and can accomplish scene recognition tasks with high accuracy and fewer samples. Deep features are enhanced through a neighbouring feature attention module and a Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) module, which capture both neighbouring features and the correlation between local scene information. Shallow features are extracted using the Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and Gabor filters, which respectively capture local and overall texture variations. Evaluation results on the AID and RSSCN7 datasets demonstrate that the proposed deep feature extraction model achieved classification accuracies of 97.53% and 96.73%, respectively, indicating superior performance in deep feature extraction tasks. Finally, the two kinds of features were fused and input into the particle swarm algorithm optimised support vector machine (PSO-SVM) to classify the scenes of remote sensing images, and the classification accuracy reached 92.78%, outperforming four other classification methods.

Abstract Exploring the impact of physical exercise on adolescent insomnia and the chained mediating role of psychological inflexibility and stress between them. In September 2023, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 416 adolescents in Xiangxi Prefecture, collecting data on physical activity, insomnia, psychological inflexibility, stress, and related variables. Statistical analysis was performed, involving 215 boys and 201 girls with an average age of 15.37 ± 0.54 years. (1) Adolescent physical exercise showed significant negative correlations with stress (r =−0.329, P

Abstract Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a severe interstitial lung disease characterized by a grim prognosis, in which various forms of cell death are significant contributors to its development. The objective of this study is to explore diagnostic biomarkers and molecular subtypes associated with PANoptosis in IPF, and to develop reliable diagnostic models based on PANoptosis-related mechanisms. The peripheral blood transcriptomic data of IPF from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and PANoptosis-related genes from the GeneCards database were utilized to conduct differential gene expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), identifying PANoptosis-related differentially expressed genes (PDEGs). We yielded 9 PDEGs and employed machine learning algorithms to identify 3 key diagnostic biomarkers for PANoptosis in IPF: MMP9, FCMR, NIBAN3. Consensus clustering algorithm was applied to recognize two PANoptosis-related subtypes. Cluster 1 exhibited higher abundance of adaptive immune response cells and significant enrichment in DNA damage and repair-related pathways. Cluster 2 exhibited greater prevalence of innate immune response cells and predominant enhancement in pathways related to lipid cholesterol metabolism and vascular remodeling. Diagnostic models were developed with the aid of clinical decision-making and a novel approach to the diagnosis and treatment for IPF.

Abstract Asymptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (aICAS) is a major risk factor for cerebrovascular events. The study aims to construct and validate a nomogram for predicting the risk of aICAS. Participants who underwent health examinations at our center from September 2019 to August 2023 were retrospectively enrolled. The participants were randomly divided into a training set and a testing set in a 7:3 ratio. Firstly, in the training set, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate logistic regression were performed to select variables that were used to establish a nomogram. Then, the receiver operating curves (ROC) and calibration curves were plotted to assess the model’s discriminative ability and performance. A total of 2563 neurologically healthy participants were enrolled. According to LASSO-Logistic regression analysis, age, fasting blood glucose (FBG), systolic blood pressure (SBP), hypertension, and carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) were significantly associated with aICAS in the multivariable model (adjusted P

Abstract Background Adolescents may have anxiety due to a series of events such as school work and social interaction. Improper handling of anxiety often leads to some negative consequences, such as Internet addiction. Therefore, this study further explored the relationship between anxiety and Internet addiction, as well as the mediating role of inhibitory control between the two, and also considered the moderating role of physical activity between anxiety and inhibitory control. Methods A total of 1607 adolescents, comprising 664 boys and 943 girls with an average age of 15.86 years (SD = 0.73), from Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, and Hunan provinces completed a self-report survey on physical activity, anxiety, inhibitory control, and Internet addiction. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and mediation test were conducted. Results The results revealed a significant positive correlation between anxiety and adolescent internet addiction (r = 0.413, p

Abstract In response to the challenge of telomere attrition during DNA replication, cancer cells predominantly employ telomerase or, in 10–15% of cases, the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The intricate details of ALT, however, remain elusive. In this study, we unveil that the knockdown of lamina-associated polypeptide 2 alpha (LAP2α) in ALT cells results in telomere dysfunction, triggering a notable increase in ALT-associated hallmarks, including high frequencies of PML bodies (APBs), C-rich extrachromosomal circles (C-circles), and telomere sister chromatid exchange (T-SCE). Furthermore, LAP2α emerges as a crucial player in break-induced telomere replication for telomerase-positive cells following telomeric double-strand breaks. Mechanistically, our investigation suggests that LAP2α may influence the regulation of the heterochromatic state of telomeres, thereby affecting telomeric accessibility. In line with our findings, LAP2α expression is markedly reduced in ALT-positive osteosarcoma. And the use of methotrexate (MTX) can restore the heterochromatin state altered by LAP2α depletion. This is evidenced by a significant inhibition of tumor proliferation in ALT-positive patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models. These results indicate the important role of LAP2α in regulating ALT activity and offer insights into the interplay between lamina-associated proteins and telomeres in maintaining telomere length. Importantly, our findings may help identify a more appropriate target population for the osteosarcoma therapeutic drug, MTX.

Abstract Background Carbapenem-resistant and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) caused infections of high mortality and brought a serious impact on public health. This study aims to evaluate the epidemiology, resistance and virulence characteristics of CR-hvKP and to identify potential drivers of cross-regional transmission in different regions of China, in order to provide a basis for developing targeted prevention measures. Methods Clinical K. pneumoniae strains were collected from Jiujiang and Nanchang in Jiangxi province between November 2021 to June 2022. Clinical data of patients (age, sex, source of infection, and diagnosis) were also gathered. We characterized these strains for their genetic relatedness using PFGE, antimicrobial and virulence plasmid structures using whole-genome sequencing, and toxicity using Galleria mellonella infection model. Results Among 609 strains, 45 (7.4%) CR-hvKP were identified, while the strains. isolated from Nanchang and Jiujiang accounted for 10.05% (36/358) and 3.59% (9/251). We observed that ST11-KL64 CR-hvKP had an overwhelming epidemic dominance in these two regions. Significant genetic diversity was identified among all ST11-KL64 CR-hvKP cross-regional transmission between Nanchang and Jiujiang and this diversity served as the primary driver of the dissemination of clonal groups. Virulence genes profile revealed that ST11-KL64 CR-hvKP might harbour incomplete pLVPK-like plasmids and primarily evolved from CRKP by acquiring the hypervirulence plasmid. We found the predominance of truncated-IncFIB/IncHI1B type virulence plasmids with a 25 kb fragment deletion that encoded iroBCDN clusters. Conclusion ST11-KL64 is the most cross-regional prevalent type CR-hvKPs in Jiangxi province, which mainly evolved from CRKPs by acquiring a truncated-IncHI1B/IncFIB virulence plasmid with the deletion of iroBCDN. Stricter surveillance and control measures are urgently needed to prevent the epidemic transmission of ST11-KL64 CR-hvKP.

Abstract Background This study aims to evaluate the two-year outcomes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) treated with conbercept and to investigate the predictive response factors. Methods Consecutive patients with PCV who received three-loading intravitreal conbercept, followed by as-needed reinjections, were studied retrospectively. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT) and polyps were evaluated. Patients who achieved dry maculae in month 6 were categorised into the dry group, or otherwise, into the non-dry group. The predictive factors for a dry macula were evaluated. Results A total of 25 eyes from 25 patients (17 males; mean age: 62.8 ± 6.4 years) were included. At month 24, the average BCVA increased significantly from 49.9 ± 15.0 letters to 57.2 ± 16.0 letters (p = 0.040); the average CRT decreased significantly from 430.16 ± 166.55 μm to 278.31 ± 157.34 μm (p = 0.00), and 88% of the eyes achieved dry maculae. The number of polyps changed from 55 to 20 (fading rate: 63.6%; p

Abstract Although some studies have revealed the association between bullying victimization and internet addiction in adolescents, the mediating and moderating factors between the two need to be further discussed. This study aimed to discuss the chain mediating role of anxiety and inhibitory control between bullying victimization and internet addiction among Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted in seven schools in five provinces of China by convenience sampling from February to March 2024. A total of 1673 participants (695 boys and 978 girls) with an average age of 15.86 ± 0.74 years were included in this study. Subjective data on bullying victimization, internet addiction, anxiety, inhibitory control were collected and analyzed, and a mediation model test was carried out. After controlling for age and gender, bullying victimization was found to be a significant predictor of internet addiction (β = 0.098, p 0.05). Bullying victimization can predict internet addiction through anxiety and inhibitory control. It is suggested that guardians should provide adequate support to adolescent bullying victims in order to reduce the negative impact of bullying victimization on adolescents and prevent the occurrence of internet addiction.

Abstract Sea cucumbers are predominant deposit feeders in benthic ecosystems, providing protective benefits to coral reefs by reducing disease prevalence. However, how they receive sufficient nutrition from seabed sediments remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate Holothuria leucospilota, an ecologically significant tropical sea cucumber, to elucidate digestive mechanisms underlying marine deposit-feeding. Genomic analysis reveals intriguing evolutionary adaptation characterized by an expansion of digestive carbohydrase genes and a contraction of digestive protease genes, suggesting specialization in digesting microalgae. Developmentally, two pivotal dietary shifts, namely, from endogenous nutrition to planktonic feeding, and from planktonic feeding to deposit feeding, induce changes in digestive tract enzyme profiles, with adults mainly expressing carbohydrases and lipases. A nuanced symbiotic relationship exists between gut microbiota and the host, namely, specific resident bacteria supply crucial enzymes for food digestion, while other bacteria are digested and provide assimilable nutrients. Our study further identifies Holothuroidea lineage-specific lysozymes that are restrictedly expressed in the intestines to support bacterial digestion. Overall, this work advances our knowledge of the evolutionary innovations in the sea cucumber digestive system which enable them to efficiently utilize nutrients from seabed sediments and promote food recycling within marine ecosystems.

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the second most lethal cancer worldwide because of its high rate of metastasis, and approximately 20% of CRC patients have metastases at initial diagnosis. Metabolic reprogramming, a hallmark of cancer cells, has been implicated in the process of metastasis. We previously demonstrated that fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2) promotes the malignancy of CRC cells, however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, bioinformatic analysis revealed that FUT2 is associated with the malignant phenotype and fatty acid metabolism in CRC. FUT2 knockdown decreased glucose uptake and de novo fatty acid synthesis, which in turn inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of CRC cells. Mechanistically, FUT2 promotes YAP1 nuclear translocation and stabilizes mSREBP-1 by fucosylation, thus promoting de novo fatty acid synthesis in CRC cells. In summary, this study demonstrates that FUT2 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of CRC cells by reprogramming fatty acid metabolism via YAP/TAZ signaling and SREBP-1, indicating that FUT2 might be a potential target for developing therapeutic strategies against CRC.