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Abstract The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) city patrol is of great significance in ensuring the safety of residents’ lives and properties, as well as maintaining the normal operation of the city. However, the detection of UAV images faces challenges such as numerous small-scale objects, complex backgrounds, and high requirements for detection speed. In response to these issues, we introduce a Real-time Small Object Detection network in UAV-vision (RTS-Net), tailored for UAV patrols. Initially, we introduce a multiscale feature fusion module (MFFM) designed to augment the expressiveness of features across scales, thereby enhancing the detection of smaller objects. Subsequently, leveraging attention mechanisms, we present the coordinated attention detection module (CADM), which bolsters the detection model’s ability to accurately segregate objects from the background in expansive, complex scenarios. Lastly, a lightweight real-time feature extraction module (RFEM) is crafted to diminish model computational complexity and boost inference speed. On the UAV road patrol image dataset we constructed, our proposed method attains a detection accuracy of 89.9 $$\%$$ % mAP, breaking previous records. It surpasses all prevailing detection methods, particularly for small-scale objects. Simultaneously, it achieves an inference speed of 163.9 FPS. The experimental results show that RTS-Net can satisfy the accurate and efficient detection of ground objects by various different UAV platforms in different complex scenarios.

Abstract Background Under the background of the increasing trend of population aging, the health and quality of life of older adults have become the focus of social concern. As an important part of older adults’ daily life, the design and configuration of the built environment may positively or negatively affect older adults’ health behaviors. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between older adults’ perceived built environments and health behaviors, which is the association between perceived built environments and older adults’ physical activity (PA) and social interactions. This is important for optimizing the community built environment and improving the quality of life of older adults. Methods In this study, a questionnaire was surveyed on 916 Chinese older adults aged 60 and above. The questionnaire was used to collect demographic information and social interaction from the participants, and the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale (PANES) and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) were used to assess older adults’ subjective perceptions of the built environment in their neighborhoods and their levels of PA, respectively. In data analysis, ANOVA and chi-square tests were used to compare the significance of differences between groups, and multiple linear regression model were used to estimate the association between older adults’ perceived characteristics of the built environment and their PA and social interaction. Results After controlling for confounders such as gender, age, BMI, and education level, the multiple linear regression model showed that perceived destination accessibility, neighborhood infrastructure, aesthetic qualities, and neighborhood environment indices were significantly correlated with PA (β = 0.083 ~ 0.095, P

In recent years, studies on the degradation of emerging organic contaminants by sulfate radical (SO4−·) based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) have triggered increasing attention. Metal-loaded biochar (Me-BC) can effectively prevent the agglomeration and leaching of transition metals, and its good physicochemical properties and abundant active sites induce outstanding in activating persulfate (PS) for pollutant degradation, which is of great significance in the field of advanced oxidation. In this paper, we reviewed the preparation method and stability of Me-BC, the effect of metal loading on the physicochemical properties of biochar, the pathways of pollutant degradation by Me-BC-activated PS (including free radical pathways: SO4−·, hydroxyl radical (·OH), superoxide radicals (O2–·); non-free radical pathways: singlet oxygen (1O2), direct electron transfer), and discussed the activation of different active sites (including metal ions, persistent free radicals, oxygen-containing functional groups, defective structures, etc.) in the SR-AOPs system. Finally, the prospect was presented for the current research progress of Me-BC in SR-AOPs technology. HIGHLIGHTS The characteristics of the preparation methods for metal-loaded biochar are summarized.; The effects of metals on the physicochemical properties of biochar are discussed.; The free radical and non-radical pathways for activation of persulfate by metal-loaded biochar are discussed.; The potential mechanisms of metal-loaded biochar catalysts are discussed.; The future blueprint for metal-loaded is described.;

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) exhibit outstanding catalytic activity due to their highly dispersed metal centers. Activating persulfates (PS) with SACs can generate various reactive oxygen species (ROS) to efficiently degrade emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in aqueous environments, offering unique advantages such as high reaction rates and excellent stability. This technique has been extensively researched and holds enormous potential applications. In this paper, we comprehensively elaborated on the synthesis methods of SACs and their limitations, and factors influencing the catalytic performance of SACs, including metal center characteristics, coordination environment, and types of substrates. We also analyzed practical considerations for application. Subsequently, we discussed the mechanism of SACs activating PS for EOCs degradation, encompassing adsorption processes, radical pathways, and non-radical pathways. Finally, we provide prospects and outline our vision for future research, aiming to guide advancements in applying this technique. HIGHLIGHTS Summarized the synthesis methods of single-atom catalysts and limitations.; Discussed the factors influencing the performance of single-atom catalysts and practical factors.; Elucidated the mechanism of SACs activating PS for EOCs degradation and prospects for the future.;

Abstract Egg-laying performance is of great economic importance in poultry, but the underlying genetic mechanisms are still elusive. In this work, we conduct a multi-omics and multi-tissue integrative study in hens with distinct egg production, to detect the hub candidate genes and construct hub molecular networks contributing to egg-laying phenotypic differences. We identifiy three hub candidate genes as egg-laying facilitators: TFPI2, which promotes the GnRH secretion in hypothalamic neuron cells; CAMK2D, which promotes the FSHβ and LHβ secretion in pituitary cells; and OSTN, which promotes granulosa cell proliferation and the synthesis of sex steroid hormones. We reveal key endocrine factors involving egg production by inter-tissue crosstalk analysis, and demonstrate that both a hepatokine, APOA4, and an adipokine, ANGPTL2, could increase egg production by inter-tissue communication with hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Together, These results reveal the molecular mechanisms of multi-tissue coordinative regulation of chicken egg-laying performance and provide key insights to avian reproductive regulation.

Negatively thermo-responsive 2D membranes, which mimic the stomatal opening/closing of plants, have drawn substantial interest for tunable molecular separation processes. However, these membranes are still restricted significantly on account of low water permeability and poor dynamic tunability of 2D nanochannels under temperature stimulation. Here, we present a biomimetic negatively thermo-responsive MXene membrane by covalently grafting poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) onto MXene nanosheets. The uniformly grafted PNIPAm polymer chains can enlarge the interlayer spacings for increasing water permeability while also allowing more tunability of 2D nanochannels for enhancing the capability of gradually separating multiple molecules of different sizes. As expected, the constructed membrane exhibits ultrahigh water permeance of 95.6 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 at 25 °C, which is eight-fold higher than the state-of-the-art negatively thermo-responsive 2D membranes. Moreover, the highly temperature-tunable 2D nanochannels enable the constructed membrane to perform excellent graded molecular sieving for dye- and antibiotic-based ternary mixtures. This strategy provides new perspectives in engineering smart 2D membrane and expands the scope of temperature-responsive membranes, showing promising applications in micro/nanofluidics and molecular separation.

Abstract Irradiation (IR) induces immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumors, but it rarely leads to the abscopal effect (AE); even combining IR with immune checkpoint inhibitors has shown only anecdotal success in inducing AEs. In this study, we aimed to enhance the IR-induced immune response and generate reproducible AEs using the anti-alcoholism drug, disulfiram (DSF), complexed with copper (DSF/Cu) to induce tumor ICD. We measured ICD in vitro and in vivo. In mouse tumor models, DSF/Cu was injected intratumorally followed by localized tumor IR, creating an in situ cancer vaccine. We determined the anticancer response by primary tumor rejection and assessed systemic immune responses by tumor rechallenge and the occurrence of AEs relative to spontaneous lung metastasis. In addition, we analyzed immune cell subsets and quantified proinflammatory and immunosuppressive chemokines/cytokines in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and blood of the vaccinated mice. Immune cell depletion was investigated for its effects on the vaccine-induced anticancer response. The results showed that DSF/Cu and IR induced more potent ICD under hypoxia than normoxia in vitro. Low-dose intratumoral (i.t.) injection of DSF/Cu and IR(12Gy) demonstrated strong anti-primary and -rechallenged tumor effects and robust AEs in mouse models. These vaccinations also increased CD8+ and CD4+ cell numbers while decreasing Tregs and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the 4T1 model, and increased CD8+, dendritic cells (DC), and decreased Treg cell numbers in the MCa-M3C model. Depleting both CD8+ and CD4+ cells abolished the vaccine’s anticancer response. Moreover, vaccinated tumor-bearing mice exhibited increased TNFα levels and reduced levels of immunosuppressive chemokines/cytokines. In conclusion, our novel approach generated an anticancer immune response that results in a lack of or low tumor incidence post-rechallenge and robust AEs, i.e., absence of or decreased spontaneous lung metastasis in tumor-bearing mice. This approach is readily translatable to clinical settings and may increase IR-induced AEs in cancer patients.

Agricultural non-point source pollution (ANP) had become an important source of water pollution, which seriously restricted the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. As the primary agricultural production base in the region of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Hebei had serious ANP. In order to clarify the current status of ANP in Hebei and figure out the main pollution source and areas, ANP load of Hebei from 2000 to 2021 were evaluated by the export coefficient modeling (ECM) and spatial-temporal characteristics were carried out using geographic information system (GIS). In addition, ANP severity and emission characteristics of Hebei in 2021 were evaluated. The results showed that the environmental impact of ANP in southwest area was obviously more serious than that in northeast area of Hebei. Especially, ANP emissions in Hebei showed significant decreasing inflection points in 2007 and 2017, respectively, reaching a minimum by 2021. The TN and TP emissions of ANP in Hebei were 315,026.1 t and 50,323.76 t in 2021, respectively. The contribution of agricultural land, livestock and poultry breeding and rural life to TN and TP emissions were 37%, 34%, 29% and 20%, 61% and 18%, respectively. The ANP pollution mainly came from livestock and poultry breeding in Hebei Province. Based on cluster analysis, cities in Hebei were divided into four types, and the control strategies for ANP environment management were put forward.

Researching infrared adversarial attacks is crucial for ensuring the safe deployment of security-sensitive systems reliant on infrared object detectors. However, current research on infrared adversarial attacks mainly focuses on pedestrian detection tasks. Due to the complex shape and structure of vehicles and the changing working conditions, adversarial attack in infrared vehicle detection pose challenges like difficult multi-angle attack, poor physical transferability, and weak environmental adaptation. This paper proposed Leaf-like Mask Bar Code (LMBC), a novel adversarial attack method for multi-angle physical black-box attack on infrared detectors. Inspired by natural leaf structures, a mask was designed to restrict the adversarial patch contour. Then, adversarial parameters of the patches (angle, sparsity, and position) were optimized using the Genetic Algorithm with Multi-segment (GAM). Moreover, leaf-like structures in physical adversarial patches were constructed using suitable infrared coating materials. deploying them at multiple angles. Experimental results demonstrated LMBC’s efficacy, paralyzing the infrared vehicle detector with an Average Precision (AP) as low as 33.7% and an average Attack Success Rate (ASR) as high as 92.9% across a distance of 2.4m 4.2 m and angles of 0° 360°. Moreover, LMBC’s adversarial patches transferred to mainstream detectors (e.g., Faster RCNN, Yolov3, etc.) and pedestrian detection tasks.

Abstract Elucidating the expression of microRNAs in developing single cells is critical for functional discovery. Here, we construct scCAMERA (single-cell cartography of microRNA expression based on reporter assay), utilizing promoter-driven fluorescent reporters in conjunction with imaging and lineage tracing. The cartography delineates the transcriptional activity of 54 conserved microRNAs in lineage-resolved single cells throughout C. elegans embryogenesis. The combinatorial expression of microRNAs partitions cells into fine clusters reflecting their function and anatomy. Notably, the expression of individual microRNAs exhibits high cell specificity and divergence among family members. Guided by cellular expression patterns, we identify developmental functions of specific microRNAs, including miR-1 in pharynx development and physiology, miR-232 in excretory canal morphogenesis by repressing NHR-25/NR5A, and a functional synergy between miR-232 and miR-234 in canal development, demonstrating the broad utility of scCAMERA. Furthermore, integrative analysis reveals that tissue-specific fate determinants activate microRNAs to repress protein production from leaky transcripts associated with alternative, especially neuronal, fates, thereby enhancing the fidelity of developmental fate differentiation. Collectively, our study offers rich opportunities for multidimensional expression-informed analysis of microRNA biology in metazoans.

Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious traumatic disease of the central nervous system and leads to incomplete or complete loss of the body’s autonomous motor and sensory functions, seriously endangering human health. Recently, exosomes have been proposed as important substances in cell-to-cell interactions. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes exert good therapeutic effects and play a crucial role in neurological damage repair. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying their effects remain unknown. Herein, we found that compared to SCI rats, those subjected to umbilical cord MSC (UC-MSC)-derived exosomes injection showed an improved motor ability. Nevertheless, the transcriptome of BV2 microglia in different treatment groups indicated that the action pathway of exosomes might be the NF-κB/MAPK pathway. Additionally, exosomes from UC-MSCs could inhibit P38, JNK, ERK, and P65 phosphorylation in BV2 microglia and SCI rat tissues. Moreover, exosomes could inhibit apoptosis and inflammatory reaction and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of BV2 microglia in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, UC-MSCs-derived exosomes might protect SCI in rats by inhibiting inflammatory response via the NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathway, representing novel treatment targets or approaches for SCI.

Fe–20Mn–9Al-1.5C–2Ni–3Cr low-density steel is subjected to multi-stage heat treatment (MHT) to improve the toughness while maintaining high strength and ductility. The mechanical properties and fracture behavior of MHT steel are compared with those resulting from single-stage heat treatment (S1000 and S1050) usnig SEM, EBSD, and TEM microstructural characterization. The grain sizes of S1000, S1050 and MHT are 3.17, 3.84, and 7.31 μm, respectively. The proportion of “special” grain boundaries changes from 71.7 % to 68.3 % and finally to 71.2 % (by length). Simultaneously, dissolution of intergranular Cr7C3 precipitates in S1000. The half-size impact energy of MHT is 88.6 % higher than that of S1000, reaching 55.1 J, and the ultimate tensile strength and total elongation are maintained at approximately 1100 MPa and 50 %, respectively. As demonstrated by quantitative analysis, the yield strength is maintained at 910 MPa due to solution, grain boundary, and precipitation strengthening, whereas the increase in toughness is due to the rise in the crack propagation energy. The increased toughness is derived from the combined effect of reducing the number of intergranular precipitates and a high percentage of “special grain boundaries''.

Abstract Fixed frequency beam-scanning leaky-wave antennas have been a focus of attention for many scholars in recent years, and numerous related results have been obtained. However, these antennas suffer from several issues such as small beam-scanning range, low gain, and unsatisfactory impedance matching. To address these problems, this paper proposes a microstrip line (ML) antenna unit based on liquid crystal (LC) materials etched Complementary Split Ring Resonator (CSRR). In a first-of-its-kind approach, the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) structure and the ML transmission structure are combined to present the SIW-ML transmission structure. The antenna operates in the Ka-band with excellent resonance characteristics at 34.7 GHz, and the S11 parameters are below − 13 dB in the frequency range of 30–40 GHz, indicating outstanding impedance matching. By arranging 56 antenna units, a periodic leaky-wave antenna is created, enabling fixed-frequency beam-scanning at 34.7 GHz. Experimental results show that the antenna can achieve scanning of angles between − 53° and + 60° with a gain of up to 12.63 dB. Once single-beam scanning is achieved, a method combining LC and discrete amplitude weighting technique, as well as multi-beam theory, is proposed for multi-beam study. Experimental results reveal that the designed 56-unit beam-scanning antenna can effectively realize beam scanning in two directions.

Objective To develop a novel scoring system based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for predicting the difficulty of ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) ablation for uterine fibroids.Materials and methods A total of 637 patients with uterine fibroids were enrolled. Sonication time, non-perfused volume ratio (NPVR), and ultrasound energy delivered for ablating 1 mm3 of fibroid tissue volume (E/V) were each classified as three levels and assigned scores from 0 to 2, respectively. Treatment difficulty level was then assessed by adding up the scores of sonication time, NPVR and E/V for each patient. The patients with score lower than 3 were categorized into low difficulty group, with score equal to or greater than 3 were categorized into high difficulty group. The potential predictors for treatment difficulty were compared between the two groups. Multifactorial logistic regression analysis model was created by analyzing the variables. The difficulty score system was developed using the beta coefficients of the logistic model.Results Signal intensity on T2WI, fibroid location index, largest diameter of fibroids, abdominal wall thickness, homogeneity of the signal of fibroids, and uterine position were independent influencing factors for the difficulty of USgHIFU for uterine fibroids. A prediction equation was obtained: difficulty score = 17 × uterine position (anteverted =0, retroverted =1)+71 × signal intensity (hypointense = 0, isointense/hyperintense = 1) +8 × enhancement (homogenous = 0, heterogeneous = 1)+25×(largest diameter of fibroids-20) +35 × (fibroid location index −0.2) +1×(abdominal wall thickness −5).Conclusions This scoring system established based on MRI findings can be used to reliably predict the difficulty level of USgHIFU treatment of uterine fibroids.

Objective To develop a diagnostic model for predicting occult uterine sarcoma in patients with presumed uterine fibroids.Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed 41631 patients with presumed uterine fibroids who presented for HIFU treatment in 13 hospitals between November 2008 and October 2023. Of these patients, 27 with occult uterine sarcoma and 54 with uterine fibroids were enrolled. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistics regression analysis were used to determine the independent risk factors for the diagnosis of occult uterine sarcoma. A prediction model was constructed based on the coefficients of the risk factors.Results The multivariate analysis revealed abnormal vaginal bleeding, ill-defined boundary of tumor, hyperintensity on T2WI, and central unenhanced areas as independent risk factors. A scoring system was created to assess for occult uterine sarcoma risk. The score for abnormal vaginal bleeding was 56. The score for ill-defined lesion boundary was 90. The scores for lesions with hypointensity, isointensity signal/heterogeneous signal intensity, and hyperintensity on T2WI were 0, 42, and 93, respectively. The scores for lesions without enhancement on the mass margin, uniform enhancement of tumor, and no enhancement in the center of tumor were 0, 20, and 100, respectively. Patients with a higher total score implied a higher likelihood of a diagnosis of occult uterine sarcoma than that of patients with a lower score. The established model showed good predictive efficacy.Conclusions Our results demonstrated that the diagnostic prediction model can be used to evaluate the risk of uterine sarcoma in patients with presumed uterine fibroids.

Objectives To investigate the long-term efficacy of ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) for multiple uterine fibroids and the factors associated with recurrence.Materials and methods Five hundred and forty-nine patients with multiple uterine fibroids treated with USgHIFU from June 2017 to June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The Pictorial Blood Loss Assessment Chart (PBAC) was used to assess menstrual blood loss. The patients were asked to undergo pre- and post-USgHIFU magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and complete routine follow-up after USgHIFU. Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors associated with recurrence.Results The median number of fibroids per patient was 3 (interquartile range: 3–4), and a total of 1371 fibroids were treated. Among them, 446 patients completed 3 years follow-up. Recurrence, defined as PBAC score above or equal to 100 and/or the residual fibroid volume increased by 10%, was detected in 90 patients within 3 years after USgHIFU, with a cumulative recurrence rate of 20.2% (90/446). The multi-factor Cox analysis showed that age was a protective factor for recurrence. Younger patients have a greater chance of recurrence than older patients. Mixed hyperintensity of fibroids on T2WI and treatment intensity were risk factors for recurrence. Patients with hyperintense uterine fibroids and treated with lower treatment intensity were more likely to experience recurrence than other patients after USgHIFU. No major adverse effects occurred.Conclusions USgHIFU can be used to treat multiple uterine fibroids safely and effectively. The age, T2WI signal intensity and treatment intensity are factors related to recurrence.

Objective Tension-type headache is the most common type of primary headache and results in a huge socioeconomic burden. This network meta-analysis (NMA) aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of simple analgesics for the treatment of episodic tension-type headache (ETTH) in adults.Methods We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Chinese BioMedical Literature database and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform databases for eligible randomized clinical trials reporting the efficacy and/or safety of simple analgesics. A Bayesian NMA was performed to compare relative efficacy and safety. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was calculated to rank interventions. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42018090554.Results We highlighted six studies including 3507 patients. For the 2 h pain-free rate, the SUCRA ranking was ibuprofen > diclofenac-K > ketoprofen > acetaminophen > naproxen > placebo. All drugs except naproxen reported a higher 2 h pain-free rate than placebo, with a risk ratio (RR) of 2.86 (95% credible interval, CrI: 1.62–5.42) for ibuprofen and 2.61 (1.53–4.88) for diclofenac-K. For adverse events rate, the SUCRA ranking was: metamizol > diclofenac-K > ibuprofen > lumiracoxib > placebo > aspirin > acetaminophen > naproxen > ketoprofen. The adverse event rates of all analgesics were no higher than those of placebo, except for ketoprofen. Moreover, all drugs were superior to placebo in the global assessment of efficacy. In particular, the RR of lumiracoxib was 2.47 (1.57–4.57). Global heterogeneity I2 between the studies was low.Conclusions Simple analgesics are considered more effective and safe as a placebo for ETTH in adults. Our results suggest that ibuprofen and diclofenac-K may be the two best treatment options for patients with ETTH from a comprehensive point of view (both high-quality evidence).

Environmental assessments are critical for ensuring the sustainable development of human civilization. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in these assessments has shown great promise, yet the ''black box'' nature of AI models often undermines trust due to the lack of transparency in their decision-making processes, even when these models demonstrate high accuracy. To address this challenge, we evaluated the performance of a transformer model against other AI approaches, utilizing extensive multivariate and spatiotemporal environmental datasets encompassing both natural and anthropogenic indicators. We further explored the application of saliency maps as a novel explainability tool in multi-source AI-driven environmental assessments, enabling the identification of individual indicators' contributions to the model's predictions. We find that the transformer model outperforms others, achieving an accuracy of about 98% and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.891. Regionally, the environmental assessment values are predominantly classified as level II or III in the central and southwestern study areas, level IV in the northern region, and level V in the western region. Through explainability analysis, we identify that water hardness, total dissolved solids, and arsenic concentrations are the most influential indicators in the model. Our AI-driven environmental assessment model is accurate and explainable, offering actionable insights for targeted environmental management. Furthermore, this study advances the application of AI in environmental science by presenting a robust, explainable model that bridges the gap between machine learning and environmental governance, enhancing both understanding and trust in AI-assisted environmental assessments.

BackgroundThe novel coronavirus disease 2019 as the most pervasive and consequential pandemic in recent years, has exerted significant impacts on human health, including aspects related to body weight. Objectives: This study aims to assess the influence of the lockdown measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese college students’ Body Mass Index (BMI) through a three-year cohort study.MethodsWe recruited 6156 college students (n = 4,248, 69% male, and n = 1,908, 31% female, with an average age of 18.68 ± 0.86 yr.) from a University in China to participate in this three-year cohort study. All of the subjects took the same physical fitness tests from 2019 to 2021 (pre-lockdown, during lockdown and post-lockdown). Participants’ height and weight data were objectively measured by Tongfang Health Fitness Testing Products 5000 series. A paired t-test was performed in the analysis.ResultsDuring the lockdown, there is 4.2% increase of BMI among the college student (p

Objectives: Fungal bloodstream infection (fBSI) following pediatric liver transplantation presents a significant challenge; however, there remains a paucity of guidance regarding antifungal prophylaxis in this population. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of universal antifungal prophylaxis and propose a desirable strategy. Methods: We enrolled 604 pediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation between 2020 and 2023, including 242 patients with empirical prophylaxis and 362 patients with universal prophylaxis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent factors for fBSI. Results: Eight (2.2%) pediatric recipients in the universal prophylaxis group and 13 (5.4%) in the empirical group developed fBSI (P = 0.038). Universal prophylaxis was a protective factor (P = 0.044), while high-volume intraoperative plasma transfusion and deceased donor liver transplantation were independent risk factors for fBSI (P = 0.035 and 0.008, respectively). Universal antifungal strategy showed an increased overall survival trend after liver transplantation although without significant statistical difference (P = 0.217). Patients with fBSI had poorer survival than those without fBSI (P

ObjectivesThe safety and feasibility of repeat biopsy after systemic treatment for non-small cell lung cancer have received extensive attention in recent years. The purpose of this research was to compare complication rates between initial biopsy and rebiopsy in non-small cell lung cancer patients with progressive disease and to assess complication risk factors and clinical results after rebiopsy.MethodsThe study included 113 patients initially diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent lung biopsy at initial biopsy and rebiopsy after progression while on epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) and/or chemotherapy from January 2018 to December 2021. We compared the incidence of complications between the initial biopsy and rebiopsy and analyzed the predictors factors that influenced complications in patients who underwent rebiopsy.ResultsThe successful rate of rebiopsy was 88.5% (100/113). With the exception of two cases where lung adenocarcinoma changed into small cell lung cancer with gefitinib treatment, 98 individuals retained their initial pathological type. The secondary EGFR T790M mutation accounts for 55.6% of acquired resistance. The total number of patients with complications in initial biopsy was 25 (22.1%) and 37 (32.7%) in the rebiopsy. The incidence of pulmonary hemorrhage increased from 7.1% at the initial biopsy to 10.6% at rebiopsy, while the incidence of pneumothorax increased from 14.2% to 20.4%. Compared with the initial biopsy, the incidence of overall complications, parenchymal hemorrhage, and pneumothorax increased by 10.6%, 3.5%, and 6.2%, respectively. In all four evaluations (pneumorrhagia, pneumothorax, pleural reaction, and overall complication), there were no significant differences between the rebiopsy and initial biopsy (all p > 0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that male sex (odds ratio [OR] = 5.064, p = 0.001), tumor size ≤ 2 cm (OR = 3.367, p = 0.013), EGFR-TKIs with chemotherapy (OR = 3.633, p =0.023), and transfissural approach (OR = 7.583, p = 0.026) were independent risk factors for overall complication after rebiopsy.ConclusionCompared with the initial biopsy, the complication rates displayed a slight, but not significant, elevation in rebiopsy. Male sex, tumor size ≤ 2 cm, transfissural approach, and EGFR-TKIs combined with chemotherapy were independent risk factors for rebiopsy complications.

Background:Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease, and hyperuricemia is a common comorbidity in patients with psoriasis. However, the exact relationship between uric acid levels and psoriasis remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between uric acid levels and psoriasis.Methods:Observational study participant data (≥16 years, n = 23,489) from NHANES 2003–2014. We conducted analyses using a weighted multiple logistic regression model. Genetic data sets for uric acid levels and psoriasis were obtained from the IEU database. We selected genetically independent loci closely associated with serum uric acid levels as instrumental variables and performed Mendelian randomization analyses using five complementary methods: inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode.Results:After adjusting for other covariates, the results revealed no significant association between serum uric acid levels and psoriasis (b = 0.999, 95% CI: 0.998, 1.001, p = 0.275). Subgroup analyses stratified by gender and ethnicity showed no significant association between sUA and psoriasis in any of the subgroups. Furthermore, the MR analysis involved the selection of 227 SNPs that were associated with both sUA and psoriasis. IVW results demonstrated no causal relationship between sUA and psoriasis (OR = 0.282, 95% CI: -0.094–0.657, p = 0.142).Conclusion:Our study suggests that uric acid levels are not significantly causally related to psoriasis. This finding provides valuable insights for the treatment and prevention of psoriasis, indicating that merely reducing uric acid levels may not be an effective strategy to reduce the risk of psoriasis onset.

Ammonia (NH3) is a vital chemical for modern human society. It is conventionally produced by the energy‐ and emission‐intensive Haber–Bosch process. Alternatively, sustainable NH3 production from renewable electricity‐driven electrolyzers has emerged as a promising route. Particularly, NH3 synthesis from nitrate (NO3−), a common pollutant in water and soil, by the nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) has drawn wide attention. Among various catalysts demonstrated recently, copper (Cu)‐based catalysts have been recognized as attractive candidates due to their availability, good activity, high NH3 selectivity, and facile reaction kinetics. In this review, the recent progress of Cu‐based NO3RR catalysts from the reaction mechanistic fundamentals to various catalyst design strategies, aiming at providing an on‐time summary, is summarized, and perspectives that can guide the rational and on‐demand design of Cu‐ and other earth‐abundant metal‐based catalysts for selective NO3RR toward sustainable NH3 production are elucidated.

BackgroundCutaneous phosphorylated alpha-synuclein (p-α-syn) deposition is an important biomarker of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (iPD). Recent studies have reported synucleinopathies in patients with common genetic forms of PD.ObjectiveThis study aimed to detect p-α-syn deposition characteristic in rare genetic PD patients with CHCHD2 or RAB39B mutations. Moreover, this study also aimed to describe peripheral alpha-synuclein prion-like activity in genetic PD patients, and acquire whether the cutaneous synucleinopathy characteristics of genetic PD are consistent with central neuropathologies.MethodsWe performed four skin biopsy samples from the distal leg (DL) and proximal neck (C7) of 161 participants, including four patients with CHCHD2 mutations, two patients with RAB39B mutations, 16 patients with PRKN mutations, 14 patients with LRRK2 mutations, five patients with GBA mutations, 100 iPD patients, and 20 healthy controls. We detected cutaneous synucleinopathies using immunofluorescence staining and a seeding amplification assay (SAA). A systematic literature review was also conducted, involving 64 skin biopsies and 205 autopsies of genetic PD patients with synucleinopathy.ResultsP-α-syn was deposited in the peripheral cutaneous nerves of PD patients with CHCHD2, LRRK2, or GBA mutations but not in those with RAB39B or PRKN mutations. There were no significant differences in the location or rate of α-syn-positive deposits between genetic PD and iPD patients. Peripheral cutaneous synucleinopathy appears to well represent brain synucleinopathy of genetic PD, especially autosomal dominant PD (AD-PD). Cutaneous α-synuclein SAA analysis of iPD and LRRK2 and GBA mutation patients revealed prion-like activity.ConclusionP-α-syn deposition in peripheral cutaneous nerves, detected using SAA and immunofluorescence staining, may serve as an accurate biomarker for genetic PD and iPD in the future.

Abstract Aim To explore factors promoting and hindering resilience in youth with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) based on Kumpfer's resilience framework. Design A descriptive qualitative study design with an interpretative approach was used. Methods Participants consisted of 10 youths with IBD from a tertiary hospital in Beijing (China) recruited using the purposive sampling method. Data were collected by semi‐structured interviews from December 2020 to March 2021. The directed content analysis was performed for data analysis. Results Both promoting factors and hindering factors could be divided into personal factors and environmental factors. Thirteen themes were identified. The promoting factors included acceptance of illness, strict self‐management, previous treatment experience, life goals, family support, medical support and peer encouragement. Stigma, lack of communication, negative cognition, societal incomprehension, economic pressure and academic and employment pressure were hindering factors. Conclusion Health care professionals need to develop greater awareness of factors, stemming from both the individual and the outside world, that hinder or promote resilience in order to aid young patients with IBD. Building targeted nursing measures to excavate the internal positive quality of patients, provide external support and promote the development of resilience.

Objectives This study aims to investigate the impact of digital engagement on urban-rural disparities in depressive symptoms among Chinese women. Methods Using a dataset from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) wave 2020, this study analyzes the impact of digital engagement on the urban-rural disparity in women's depressive symptoms using multiple linear regression and recentered influence function (RIF) models. Furthermore, the extent to which digital engagement affects the urban-rural disparity in women's depressive symptoms was calculated using the RIF decomposition method. Results Analysis showed that rural women had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to urban women; digital engagement significantly reduced women's depressive symptoms levels and mitigated the urban-rural disparity for women with moderate to high levels of depressive symptoms, and the mitigating effect was stronger for the highly depressed sample, but still widened the urban-rural disparity in women's depressive symptoms overall. In addition, the results of the RIF decomposition showed that digital engagement explained 28.28% of the urban-rural disparity in women's depressive symptoms. Conclusion There is a significant disparity in depressive symptoms levels between urban and rural women in China. Digital engagement reduces women's depressive symptoms, but it also widens the depressive symptoms disparity between urban and rural women overall. Digital engagement is potentially positive for reducing women's depressive symptoms.

In this work, the effects of edible alkali additions on the quality of different frozen grain doughs (wheat, buckwheat, corn, and mung bean) were studied, the frozen doughs were prepared by adding different amounts (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%) of edible alkali into raw materials, which were based on 100 g of frozen grain dough, respectively. And the doughs were frozen at −30 ℃ for 8 h and freezing at −18°C for 1 d, then thawed at 25 ℃ for 30 min. The water loss rate, water retention rate, pH, textural properties, water distribution were measured, respectively. And changes in the surface network structure and protein structure of the frozen doughs were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the additions of edible alkali were negatively correlated with the water loss rate of frozen doughs, it could significantly (P

The potential applications of stretchable strain sensors in wearable electronics have garnered significant attention. However, developing susceptible stretchable strain sensors for practical applications still poses a considerable challenge. The present study introduces a stretchable strain sensor that utilizes silver nanowires (AgNWs) embedded into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. The AgNWs have high flexibility and electrical conductivity. A stretchable AgNW/Pat-PDMS conductive film was prepared by arranging nanowires on the surface of PDMS using a simple rod coating method. Depending on the orientation angle, the overlap area between nanowires varies, resulting in different levels of separation under a given strain. Due to the separation of the nanowire and the change in current path geometry, the variation in strain resistance of the sensor can be primarily attributed to these factors. Therefore, precision in strain regulation can be adjusted by altering the angle θ (0°, 60°, or 90°) of the nanowire. At the same time, the stability of the AgNW/Pattern-PDMS (AgNW/Pat-PDMS) conductive film application was verified by preparing a sandwich structure PDMS/AgNW/Pat-PDMS stretchable strain sensor. The sensor exhibited high sensitivity within the operating sensing range (gauge factor (GF) of 15 within ~120% strain), superior durability (20,000 bending cycles and 5000 stretching cycles), and excellent response toward bending.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) causes a wide spectrum of diseases including hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Previously, we developed a rapid, sensitive, and potentially portable assay that identified STEC by detecting Shiga toxin (Stx) using a B-cell based biosensor platform. We applied this assay to detect Stx2 present in food samples that have been implicated in previous STEC foodborne outbreaks (milk, lettuce, and beef). The STEC enrichment medium, modified Tryptone Soy Broth (mTSB), inhibited the biosensor assay, but dilution with the assay buffer relieved this effect. Results with Stx2a toxoid-spiked food samples indicated an estimated limit of detection (LOD) of ≈4 ng/mL. When this assay was applied to food samples inoculated with STEC, it was able to detect 0.4 CFU/g or 0.4 CFU/mL of STEC at 16 h post incubation (hpi) in an enrichment medium containing mitomycin C. Importantly, this assay was even able to detect STEC strains that were high expressors of Stx2 at 8 hpi. These results indicate that the STEC CANARY biosensor assay is a rapid and sensitive assay applicable for detection of STEC contamination in food with minimal sample processing that can complement the current Food Safety Inspection Service (US) methodologies for STEC.

Optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery offers a wealth of complementary information on a given target, attributable to the distinct imaging modalities of each component image type. Thus, multimodal remote sensing data have been widely used to improve land cover classification. However, fully integrating optical and SAR image data is not straightforward due to the distinct distributions of their features. To this end, we propose a land cover classification network based on multimodal feature fusion, i.e., MFFnet. We adopt a dual-stream network to extract features from SAR and optical images, where a ResNet network is utilized to extract deep features from optical images and PidiNet is employed to extract edge features from SAR. Simultaneously, the iAFF feature fusion module is used to facilitate data interactions between multimodal data for both low- and high-level features. Additionally, to enhance global feature dependency, the ASPP module is employed to handle the interactions between high-level features. The processed high-level features extracted from the dual-stream encoder are fused with low-level features and inputted into the decoder to restore the dimensional feature maps, generating predicted images. Comprehensive evaluations demonstrate that MFFnet achieves excellent performance in both qualitative and quantitative assessments on the WHU-OPT-SAR dataset. Compared to the suboptimal results, our method improves the OA and Kappa metrics by 7.7% and 11.26% on the WHU-OPT-SAR dataset, respectively.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as colon cancer, is the third most common cancer and the fourth most cause of cancer-related death in the world. CRC can be classified into two major subtypes, including microsatellite instability (MSI) and microsatellite stability (MSS), which showed different characteristics in immunotherapy. Low sensitivity of diagnostic biomarkers and metastasis are still the principal cause of mortality, especially in MSI. Here, applying computational programs, we identified recurring expression programs based on single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) data of CRC cell lines. Notably, three MSI specific recurring modules were identified by non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). High NMF score genes enriched in the function of metabolism and inflammatory response. Focusing on top specific active transcription factor (TF), RUNX3 (Runt-related transcription factor 3), our results suggest that T cell infiltration was increased in RUNX3 high MSI CRC samples. Unbiased Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) showed that RUNX3 was strongly associated with immune and metastasis related functions, such as Interferon Gamma (IFN-γ) and EPITHELIAL MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT). In addition, RUNX3 shows specific highly activated at epigenetic level in MSI compared with other gastrointestinal carcinomas. Positive correlation between RUNX3 and most immune checkpoints further confirmed RUNX3 might have crucial roles in MSI cancer progression and immunotherapy. Taken together, these results indicate significant tumor heterogeneity of two CRC subtypes at single-cell level and epigenetic modification level. These results also linked transcriptional dysregulation with immune infiltration at single-cell level in MSI, which may advance the application of scRNA-Seq technology in immunotherapy and contribute to developing novel biomarkers of this malignancy.

Against the background of China’s strengthening of finance and accounting supervision, this study examines the practice among listed companies of changing signing auditors at the last minute and explores whether Chinese investors can capture this information in a timely manner. We find that China’s capital market responds significantly negatively to these last-minute changes, implying that investors perceive a potential negative impact of this behavior. Cross-sectional analyses suggest that the characteristics of the change event, recent corporate events, and accounting firm capability significantly affect the stock price response. Furthermore, in terms of the individual characteristics of signing auditors, external investors appear to comprehensively consider busyness level, industry experience, and the timing of the change to determine the causes and effects of the auditor change and make different market reactions accordingly. In addition, consistent with investor perceptions, we find that last-minute changes significantly impair the quality of financial statements, indicating that external investors’ judgments based on information about changes in signing auditors are rational and effective.

Context: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the fastest-growing diseases worldwide; however, its pathogenesis remains unclear. Complications seriously affect the quality of life of patients in the later stages of diabetes, ultimately leading to suffering. Natural small molecules are an important source of antidiabetic agents. Objective: Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) is an active ingredient of Astragalus mongholicus (Fisch.) Bunge. We reviewed the efficacy and mechanism of action of AS-IV in animal and cellular models of diabetes and the mechanism of action of AS-IV on diabetic complications in animal and cellular models. We also summarized the safety of AS-IV and provided ideas and rationales for its future clinical application. Methods: Articles on the intervention in DM and its complications using AS-IV, such as those published in SCIENCE, PubMed, Springer, ACS, SCOPUS, and CNKI from the establishment of the database to February 2022, were reviewed. The following points were systematically summarized: dose/concentration, route of administration, potential mechanisms, and efficacy of AS-IV in animal models of DM and its complications. Results: AS-IV has shown therapeutic effects in animal models of DM, such as alleviating gestational diabetes, delaying diabetic nephropathy, preventing myocardial cell apoptosis, and inhibiting vascular endothelial dysfunction; however, the potential effects of AS-IV on DM should be investigated. Conclusion: AS-IV is a potential drug for the treatment of diabetes and its complications, including diabetic vascular disease, cardiomyopathy, retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and nephropathy. In addition, preclinical toxicity studies indicate that it appears to be safe, but the safe human dose limit is yet to be determined, and formal assessments of adverse drug reactions among humans need to be further investigated. However, additional formulations or structural modifications are required to improve the pharmacokinetic parameters and facilitate the clinical use of AS-IV.

The field of orthopedics has long struggled with the challenge of repairing and regenerating bone defects, which involves a complex process of osteogenesis requiring coordinated interactions among different types of cells. The crucial role of endothelial cells and osteoblasts in bone vascularization and osteogenesis underscores the importance of their intimate interaction. However, efforts to bioengineer bone tissue have been impeded by the difficulty in establishing proper angiogenesis and osteogenesis in tissue structures. This study presents a novel approach to bone tissue engineering, involving a three-dimensional composite hydrogel scaffold composed of sodium alginate microspheres encapsulated in type I collagen. Using this scaffold, a three-dimensional indirect co-culture system was established for osteoblasts and endothelial cells to evaluate the osteogenic differentiation potential of osteoblasts. Results demonstrate that the non-contact co-culture system of endothelial cells and osteoblasts constructed by the composite hydrogel scaffold loaded with microspheres holds promise for bone tissue engineering. The innovative concept of an indirect co-culture system presents exciting prospects for conducting intercellular communication studies and offers a valuable in vitro tissue platform to investigate tissue regeneration.

BackgroundOverwhelming evidence points to that genetic factors contributing to the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) has come a long way in the last decade. So far, a large number of GWAS studies have been published on neurological diseases and many other diseases, providing us with a wealth of genetic information and unique biological insights.MethodsGenomic DNA was extracted from both patients’ and controls’ peripheral blood samples utilizing the Blood Genome Extraction Kit. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped employing the enhanced multiple ligase detection reaction (iMLDR) technology.ResultsA case-control study was conducted, involving 211 AD patients, 508 PD patients (including 117 with dementia), and 412 healthy individuals. Age and sex stratification analysis revealed that rs871269/TNIP1 was associated with LOAD (p = 0.035), and rs5011436/TMEM106B was associated with AD in males (p = 0.044) in the genotype model. In the allele model, rs871269/TNIP1 was found to be associated with PD in the Chinese Han population (p = 0.0035, OR 0.741, 95% CI 0.559-0.983), and rs708382/GRN was identified as a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) in the Chinese Han population (p = 0.004, odds ratio (OR) 0.354, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.171-0.733). However, no significant associations with AD or PD were observed for the remaining four loci (rs113020870/AGRN, rs6891966/HAVCR2, rs2452170/NTN5, rs1761461/LILRB2) in terms of allele or genotype frequencies.ConclusionThis study identifies rs871269/TNIP1 as a potential risk factor for both LOAD and PD, rs708382/GRN as a risk factor for PDD, and rs5011436/TMEM106B as associated with AD in males when stratified by age.

ObjectiveDementia is a significant public health concern, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) serves as a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. Among the various types of MCI, amnestic MCI (aMCI) has been identified as having a higher likelihood of progressing to Alzheimer’s dimension. However, limited research has been conducted on the prevalence of aMCI in China. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence of aMCI, examine its cognitive characteristics, and identify associated risk factors.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we investigated a sample of 368 older adults aged 60 years and above in the urban communities of Chengdu, China. The participants underwent a battery of neuropsychological assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), Wechsler’s Logical Memory Task (LMT), Boston Naming Test (BNT) and Trail Making Test Part A (TMT-A). Social information was collected by standard questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was utilized to screen for the risk and protective factors of aMCI.ResultsThe data analysis included 309 subjects with normal cognitive function and 59 with aMCI, resulting in a prevalence of 16.0% for aMCI. The average age of participants was 69.06 ± 7.30 years, with 56.0% being females. After controlling for age, gender and education, the Spearman partial correlation coefficient between various cognitive assessments and aMCI ranged from −0.52 for the long-term delayed recall scores in AVLT to 0.19 for the time-usage scores in TMT-A. The results indicated that all cognitive domains, except for naming scores (after semantic cue of BNT) and error quantity (in TMT-A), showed statistically significant associations with aMCI. Furthermore, the multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that older age (OR = 1.044, 95%CI: 1.002~1.087), lower educational level, and diabetes (OR = 2.450, 95%CI: 1.246~4.818) were risk factors of aMCI.ConclusionThis study found a high prevalence of aMCI among older adults in Chengdu, China. Individuals with aMCI exhibited lower cognitive function in memory, language, and executive domains, with long-term delayed recall showing the strongest association. Clinicians should prioritize individuals with verbal learning and memory difficulties, especially long-term delayed recall, in clinical practice.

Abstract Objective Leukoencephalopathies are a group of heterogeneous disorders characterized by the degeneration of white matter, resulting in a variety of progressive neurological symptoms. To date, over 60 genes linked to genetic leukoencephalopathies have been discovered through whole‐exome sequencing (WES) and long‐read sequencing. Nonetheless, the genetic diversity and clinical variability of these disorders among various racial groups remain largely unknown. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the genetic spectrum and clinical features of Chinese adult leukoencephalopathies and compare the genetic profiles in different populations. Methods A total of 129 patients suspected of possible genetic leukoencephalopathy were enrolled and underwent WES and dynamic mutation analysis. Bioinformatics tools were used to predict the pathogenicity of these mutations. Skin biopsies were conducted for further diagnosis. Genetic data sources from different populations were collected from published articles. Results Genetic diagnosis was established in 48.1% of patients, with WES identifying 57 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in 39.5% of cases. NOTCH3 and NOTCH2NLC were the most common mutated genes, accounting for 12.4% and 8.5% of cases, respectively. Dynamic mutation analysis revealed NOTCH2NLC GGC repeat expansions in 8.5% of patients. Different mutations resulted in varying clinical symptoms and imaging findings. Comparisons of genetic profiles between different populations showed distinct mutational spectrums in adult leukoencephalopathies. Interpretation This study highlights the importance of genetic testing for accurate diagnosis and improved clinical management of these disorders. It also sheds light on the genetic heterogeneity of adult leukoencephalopathies across different races, emphasizing the need for further research on this topic.

In this study, the effects of soil conditioners on the growth and development of melons and the rhizosphere soil environment were explored. The optimal amount of added soil conditioner was screened to solve the practical production problems of high-quality and high-yield thin-skinned melon. The melon variety “Da Shetou” was used as the material. Under the conditions of conventional fertilization and cultivation technology management, different soil conditioners were set up for potted melons. The effects of Pastoral soil (CK), 95% Pastoral soil + 5% volcanic ash soil conditioner (KT1), 85% Pastoral soil + 15% volcanic ash soil conditioner (KT2), 75% Pastoral soil + 25% volcanic ash soil conditioner (KT3), 65% Pastoral soil + 35% volcanic ash soil conditioner (KT4), and 55% Pastoral soil + 45% volcanic ash soil conditioner (KT5) on melon yield, quality, and rhizosphere soil characteristics were investigated. The soil microbial community was analyzed using Illumina MiSeq technology. Compared to CK, KT1, KT3, KT4, and KT5, the KT2 treatment could improve the single fruit yield of melon, increasing it by 4.35%, 2.48%, 2.31%, 5.92%, and 2.92%. Meanwhile, the highest contents of soluble protein, soluble solid, and soluble sugar in the KT2 treatment were 1.89 mg·100 g−1, 16.35%, and 46.44 mg·g−1, which were significantly higher than those in the control treatment. The contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, alkali-soluble nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, available potassium, and available phosphorus in melon rhizosphere soil were the highest in the KT2 treatment. Through Alpha diversity analysis, it was found that the Chao1 index, Shannon index, and ACE index were significantly higher in the KT1 treatment than in the control, while, among all groups, the Simpson index and coverage were not significantly different. The dominant bacteria in the six treated samples were mainly Actinobacteriota, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Myxomycota, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadota, Verrucomicrobia, and Planctomycetes, which accounted for 96.59~97.63% of the relative abundance of all bacterial groups. Through redundancy analysis (RDA), it was found that the organic matter, electrical conductivity, available phosphorus, and nitrate nitrogen of melon rhizosphere soil were the dominant factors of bacterial community change at the dominant genus level. In summary, 15% ash soil conditioner applied on melon was the selected treatment to provide a theoretical reference for the application of soil conditioner in facility cultivation.

A novel terahertz polarization isolator using a two-dimensional square lattice tellurium rod array is numerically investigated at the interesting band of 0.22 THz in this short paper. The isolator is designed by inserting six hexagonal tellurium rods into a fully polarized photonic crystals waveguide with high efficiency of −0.34 dB. The TE and TM photonic band gaps of the 7 × 16 tellurium photonic crystals are computed based on the plane wave expansion method, which happen to coincide at the normalized frequency domain from 0.3859(a/λ) to 0.4033(a/λ), corresponding to the frequency domain from 0.2152 to 0.2249 THz. The operating bandwidth of the tellurium photonic crystals waveguide covers 0.2146 to 0.2247 THz, calculated by the finite element method. The six hexagonal tellurium rods with smaller circumradii of 0.16a serve to isolate transverse electric waves and turn a blind eye to transverse magnetic waves. The polarization isolation function and external characteristic curves of the envisaged structure are numerically simulated, which achieves the highest isolation of −33.49 dB at the central frequency of 0.2104 THz and the maximum reflection efficiency of 98.95 percent at the frequency of 0.2141 THz. The designed isolator with a unique function and high performance provides a promising approach for implementing fully polarized THz devices for future 6G communication systems.

Small-hole structures, such as the millions of fastener holes found on aircraft, are typical stress-concentration structures prone to fatigue failure. To further improve the strengthening process of this small-hole structure, we make up for the limitations of laser shock processing (LSP) of small holes by combining it with the ultrasonic extrusion strengthening (UES) process to form a new strengthening method—laser shock and ultrasonic extrusion strengthening (LUE). The influence of the LUE process sequence and process parameters on residual stress distribution was studied through FEM, and the gain of fatigue life of specimens after LUE strengthening was also explored through tests. The results show that when using LUE technology, the friction force decreases with the increase in amplitude and decreases by 3.2% when the amplitude is maximum. The LUE process eliminates the thickness effect generated by LSP, which can achieve good stress distribution of small-hole components under smaller laser shock peak pressure, and reduces equipment power. LUE can significantly improve the fatigue life of small-hole components, and the maximum fatigue life gain can be up to 310.66%.

Osteoporosis (OP), a prevalent skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength and increased susceptibility to fractures, poses a significant public health concern. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current state of research in the field, focusing on the application of proteomic techniques to elucidate diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for OP. The integration of cutting-edge proteomic technologies has enabled the identification and quantification of proteins associated with bone metabolism, leading to a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying OP. In this review, we systematically examine recent advancements in proteomic studies related to OP, emphasizing the identification of potential biomarkers for OP diagnosis and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets. Additionally, we discuss the challenges and future directions in the field, highlighting the potential impact of proteomic research in transforming the landscape of OP diagnosis and treatment.

Ultrasonic vibration-assisted con-rod fracture splitting (UV-CFS) was used to carry out the fracture experiment of 1045 quenched and tempered steel. The effect of ultrasonic vibration on the fracture properties was studied, the fracture microstructure and the evolution of dislocations near the fracture were analyzed and the microscopic mechanism was analyzed. The results show that in the case of conventional fracture splitting without amplitude, the dimple and the fracture belong to ductile fracture. With the increase in ultrasonic amplitude, the plasticity and pore deformation of the con-rod samples decrease at first and then increase; when the amplitude reaches a certain point, the load required for cracking is reduced to a minimum and the ultrasonic hardening effect is dominant, resulting in a decrease in the plasticity of the sample, a cleavage fracture, a brittle fracture, the minimum pore deformation and high cracking quality. The research results also show that with the increase in ultrasonic amplitude, the fracture dislocation density decreases at first, then increases, and dislocation entanglement and grain breakage appear, then decrease, and multiple dislocation slip trajectories appear. The changes in the dislocation density and microstructure are consistent with the above results.

Abstract Compared with the traditional permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), the double‐stator permanent magnet synchronous motor (DS‐PMSM) can utilise the internal space adequately and has high power density. In this study, the design method of this kind of motor will be researched. Different rotor magnetic circuit topologies are analysed while keeping the outer diameter of outer stator unchanged, and the rotor magnetic circuit topologies with higher power density are selected. Furthermore, the effects of pole‐arc coefficient and stator split ratio on the power density of the motor are analysed, so a high power density DS‐PMSM can be designed. On this basis, a kind of magnetic pole structure with unequal pole‐arc coefficient is proposed to solve the problem of large torque ripple in DS‐PMSM. Finally, the DS‐PMSM is investigated by the FEA, compared with the traditional single stator PMSM, the average torque of the DS‐PMSM is increased by 62.2%, and the torque ripple is only 3.2%.

Protein oxidation leads to changes in shrimp texture, which affects sensory profile and consumer acceptability. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of electron beam irradiation (EBI) on protein oxidation and textural properties of Litopenaeus vannamei during refrigerated storage. Results revealed that EBI treatment and storage increased the protein oxidation level of shrimps. Shrimps irradiated with ≥ 7 kGy exhibited remarkably higher (P

AbstractPurposes The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on physical fitness among college women living in China and to explore how fitness changed with different physical conditions.Methods We performed repeated measures of BMI, 800 m running and sit-up performance assessment on college women from one university in China pre and post the COVID-19 lockdown. A total of 3658 (age 19.15 ± 1.08 yr.) college women who completed the same assessment pre and post the COVID-19 lockdown were included in the analysis. We analyzed the data using one way ANOVA and paired-samples t-test.Results Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the result shows a significant increase in BMI by 2.91% (95% CI =0.33, 0.40) and a significant decline in 800 m running and sit-up by 7.97% (95% CI =0.69, 0.77) and 4.91% (95% CI = −0.27, −0.19), respectively. College women in the highest quartile level of physical condition (Quartile 4) had more decreases than college women in the lowest quartile level (Quartile 1). Their BMI level was increased by 3.69% and 0.98% in college women in Quartile 4 and Quartile 1, respectively. Their performance of 800 m running was decreased by 9.32% and 7.37% in college women in Quartile 4 and Quartile 1, respectively. Their performance of sit-up was decreased by 13.88% in college women in Quartile 4 while it increased by 10.91% in college women in Quartile 1, respectively.Conclusions The COVID-19 lockdown might increase the BMI level and decrease 800 m running and sit-up performance among college women living in China. The decrease for college women in higher quartile level of physical condition (Quartile 4) were more seriously while college women in lower quartile level of physical condition (Quartile 1) were modest.

AbstractObjective To compare the safety and efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for patients with internal or external adenomyosis based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) classification.Materials and methods A total of 238 patients with internal adenomyosis and 167 patients with external adenomyosis who received HIFU treatment were enrolled. HIFU treatment results and adverse effects between patients with internal and external adenomyosis were compared.Results The treatment time and sonication time for patients with external adenomyosis were significantly longer than that for patients with internal adenomyosis. The total energy used and EEF for patients with external adenomyosis were higher than that for patients with internal adenomyosis (p

AbstractObjective To investigate the therapeutic dose and long-term efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation for different types of uterine fibroids based on signal intensity on T2-weighted MR images (T2WI).Materials and methods Four hundred and one patients with a solitary uterine fibroid treated with HIFU were classified into four groups consisting of extremely hypointense, hypointense, isointense and hyperintense fibroids. Each group was further classified into two subtypes: homogeneous and heterogeneous, based on signal homogeneity of fibroids. The therapeutic dose and long-term follow-up results were compared.Results There were significant differences in treatment time, sonication time, treatment intensity, total treatment dosage, treatment efficiency, energy-efficiency factor (EEF) and non-perfused volume (NPV) ratio among the four groups (p

The incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is gradually increasing, making it a widespread global health concern. Cadmium (Cd) is a common toxic heavy metal in the environment, and cadmium exposure may be associated with diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, the mechanism of Cd-induced DN remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of cadmium on diabetic kidney injury and the underlying mechanism in diabetic rats and a renal tubular epithelial cell line (NRK-52E cells). Our results could provide novel insights on the nephrotoxic mechanism of cadmium. HE, PAS, and Masson staining were used to observe pathological renal injury. COL-I, COL-IV, CTSB, and CTSD protein levels were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the fluorescence intensity of p62 and LC3 proteins in kidney tissue. TEM was used to observe the ultrastructure of mitochondria and number of autophagosomes. After cadmium exposure, DM rats showed a dramatic decrease in body weight compared to the unexposed DM group. Relative kidney weight showed a contrasting trend after cadmium exposure. Urinary microalbumin/creatinine significantly increased in normal and DM rats after cadmium exposure. However, the trend was clearer in the DM groups than in the control groups. Endogenous creatinine clearance exhibited a contrasting trend. After cadmium exposure in DM rats, MDA content significantly increased and GSH, CAT, SOD, and GSH-PX activation reduced compared to normal controls. Pathological damage was more pronounced, and the expression of autophagy related proteins and apoptosis and fibrosis proteins was significantly higher in vivo and vitro in the cadmium-exposed groups than in unexposed controls. Further, lysosomal protein levels were lower, and ROS content and autophagosome count significantly higher in the cadmium exposed groups compared to the unexposed controls. Therefore, Cadmium exposure aggravates diabetic kidney injury via autophagy inhibition.

Renewable energy is increasingly relying on optimized electrolytes and interfaces. In this work, Tween 20 and sodium chloride are selected as a model system to reveal the effects of surfactants on salt crystallization in the context of ionic conductivity and interface optimization. At a varied crystallization speed and mix ratio, it is demonstrated that the resultant solution-grown ionic crystalline complexes can achieve a highly tunable ion transport with a controllable crystalline interface. X-ray diffraction results rule out the possibility of polymorphism in the NaCl/Tween 20 systems, which further supports the importance of an optimized crystalline network for optimizing permittivity or ionic conductivity. Raman mapping and machine learning techniques are used to perform semantic segmentation on highly heterogeneous NaCl/Tween 20 complexes. Furthermore, FTIR measurements demonstrate that inter- and intra-molecular interactions play critical roles in the formation of these crystals. This work lays a foundation toward future optimization of such complex ion systems for a specific salt or crystallization modifier in energy storage or ion transport applications.

Thick LiFePO4 (LFP) cathodes offer a promising solution to increasing the areal capacity and reducing the cost of Li-ion batteries while retaining the qualities intrinsic to LFP, including long cycle lifetimes and thermal stability required for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage applications. However, the primary challenges of thick LFP cathodes are poor rate capability and cycling stability due to LFP’s electronically insulating material property, poor electronic conductivity, and long diffusion length at high electrode thicknesses. Herein, we propose an electrode architecture composed of vertically aligned carbon fibers (CFs) attached to a plasticized current collector (PCC) to promote rate capability, cycle life, and further enhance the safety of thick LFP cathodes. The effectiveness of the CF-PCC architecture is demonstrated by electrochemical analysis with a good areal capacity of 3.5 mA cm-2, excellent cycling stability at C/3, and good rate capability up to 1C. These results are confirmed by investigating the architecture’s impact on ionic diffusivity via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) compared to the conventional slurry cast LFP cathode.