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Stress-induced anisotropy has been applied for FeSiBCuNb nanocrystalline alloy ribbons in transformers with large direct current (DC) component. However, the physical mechanism of anisotropy induced by stress annealing during crystallization remains controversial. Here, a systematic study was conducted on the microstructure, residual stress state, dynamic domain structure and properties of the stress-annealed FeSiBCuNb nanocrystalline ribbons. Present results demonstrate that, the increase of the applied stress greatly increases the residual tensile stress and induces lattice distortion, which acts as pinning site during magnetization, resulting in enhanced domain-wall energy and narrower wall width. Meanwhile, stress annealing promotes the flattening of hysteresis loops and decreases the effective permeability, which improves the DC-bias characteristics of the ribbons, thereby promoting the transition from “hard saturation” to “soft saturation” behavior. Also, stress-induced grain refinement is beneficial to obtaining high hardness. Owing to the stress-induced anisotropy, the stress-annealed sample with applied stress of 113 MPa exhibits excellent combined properties, including low constant effective permeability of 438 at wide frequency range (1 kHz–8 MHz), high DC-bias capability of 74% (30 Oe), low power loss of 49 kW/m3 (100 mT, 100 kHz), and high hardness of 644 HV. This discovery provides an insightful understanding of stress-induced anisotropy mechanism on the high-performance Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys.

Abstract Background Previous research has suggested that engaging in regular physical activity (PA) can help to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in university students. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the impact of reducing sedentary behavior (SB) and increasing light-intensity PA (LPA) on these symptoms. This study aims to address this gap by using isotemporal substitution (IS) models to explore how substituting SB with LPA or moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) affects depression and anxiety symptoms among university students. Methods The study recruited 318 university students with a mean age of 21.13 years. Accelerometers were used to objectively measure the time spent on SB, LPA, and MVPA, while depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). IS models using multivariable linear regression were employed to estimate the associations between different behaviors and depression and anxiety symptoms when 30 min of one behavior was substituted with another. Results In the single-activity model, less SB (β = 0.321, 95% CI: 0.089, 1.297) and more MVPA (β = −0.142, 95% CI: −1.496, − 0.071) were found to be significantly and negatively associated with depression scores, while less SB (β = 0.343, 95% CI: 0.057, 1.014), LPA (β = 0.132, 95% CI: 0.049, 1.023), and more MVPA (β = −0.077, 95% CI: −1.446, − 0.052) were significantly and negatively correlated with anxiety scores. The IS analysis revealed that substituting 30 min of SB with LPA (β = −0.202, 95% CI: −1.371, − 0.146) or MVPA (β = −0.308, 95% CI: −0.970, − 0.073) was associated with improvements in depressive symptoms. Substituting 30 min of SB with MVPA (β = −0.147, 95% CI: −1.863, − 0.034) was associated with reduced anxiety symptoms. Conclusion Replacing 30 min of SB with MVPA may alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms in university students. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects of PA interventions on the mental health disorders of this population.

Abstract Disturbance in mitochondrial homeostasis within proximal tubules is a critical characteristic associated with diabetic kidney disease (DKD). CaMKKβ/AMPK signaling plays an important role in regulating mitochondrial homeostasis. Despite the downregulation of CaMKKβ in DKD pathology, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. The expression of NEDD4L, which is primarily localized to renal proximal tubules, is significantly upregulated in the renal tubules of mice with DKD. Coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assays revealed a physical interaction between NEDD4L and CaMKKβ. Moreover, deletion of NEDD4L under high glucose conditions prevented rapid CaMKKβ protein degradation. In vitro studies revealed that the aberrant expression of NEDD4L negatively influences the protein stability of CaMKKβ. This study also explored the role of NEDD4L in DKD by using AAV-shNedd4L in db/db mice. These findings confirmed that NEDD4L inhibition leads to a decrease in urine protein excretion, tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Further in vitro studies demonstrated that si-Nedd4L suppressed mitochondrial fission and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, effects antagonized by si-CaMKKβ. In summary, the findings provided herein provide strong evidence that dysregulated NEDD4L disturbs mitochondrial homeostasis by negatively modulating CaMKKβ in the context of DKD. This evidence underscores the potential of therapeutic interventions targeting NEDD4L and CaMKKβ to safeguard renal tubular function in the management of DKD.

Abstract Background Although prior studies have demonstrated that children with high levels of fundamental movement skill (FMS) are more active throughout the day, little is known about children’s FMS and their physical activity (PA) during different segments of the school day (e.g., recess, lunch break, and physical education). The present study focused on FMS and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) during school day and identifies the association between children’s FMS and MVPA during different segments of the school day in China. Methods A total of 322 children (boys n = 163, girls n = 159; Mage = 8.12, SD = 1.22 years) from four elementary schools involved in this study. Children’s FMS and MVPA were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd edition (TGMD-2) and hip-mounted accelerometers. Data such as height, weight, and socio-economic status (SES) were also obtained. Multilevel mixed regression models were used to examine the cross-sectional associations between FMS and MVPA. Models were adjusted for gender, age, standardized body mass index, and SES. Results Children engaged in 32.19 min of MVPA during the whole school day. Boys were more active than girls and had higher object-control skills competency. Locomotor skills were positively associated with children’s long recess (B = 1.063) and short recess time (B = 1.502) MVPA. Object-control skills were positively correlated with children’s MVPA time during long recess (B = 1.244) and physical education (PE) lessons (B = 1.171). Conclusion The findings highlight the importance of developing both locomotor and object-control skills in elementary schools to lead more MVPA engagement during different segments of the school day.

ObjectiveThis study aims to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the serum amino acid profiles of individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its related complications.MethodsPatients with T2D were enrolled in this study. Sixteen kinds of common amino acids in the fasting circulating were assessed through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Subsequently, correlation, regression analyses, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to assess the associations between amino acids and clinical indicators.ResultsThirteen different kinds of amino acids were identified in diabetic patients, as compared with normal controls. The Glutamine/Glutamate (Gln/Glu) ratio was negatively correlated with BMI, HbA1c, serum uric acid, and the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, while it was positively correlated with HDL-C. Logistic regression analyses indicated that Gln/Glu was a consistent protective factor for both T2D (OR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.50-0.86) and obesity (OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.96). The ROC curves demonstrated that Gln/Glu, proline, valine, and leucine provided effective predictions for diabetes risk, with Gln/Glu exhibiting the highest AUC [0.767 (0.678-0.856)]. In patients with T2D, Gln was the only amino acid that displayed a negative correlation with HbA1c (r = -0.228, p = 0.017). Furthermore, HOMA-β exhibited a negative correlation with Glu (r = -0.301, p = 0.003) but a positive correlation with Gln/Glu (r = 0.245, p = 0.017). Notably, logistic regression analyses revealed an inverse correlation of Gln/Glu with the risk of diabetic kidney disease (OR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.55-0.98) and a positive association with the risk of diabetic retinopathy (OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.08-2.15).ConclusionThe Gln/Glu ratio exhibited a significant association with diabetes, common metabolic parameters, and diabetic complications. These findings shed light on the pivotal role of Gln metabolism in T2D and its associated complications.

Early diagnosis and intervention of depression promote complete recovery, with its traditional clinical assessments depending on the diagnostic scales, clinical experience of doctors and patient cooperation. Recent researches indicate that functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) based on deep learning provides a promising approach to depression diagnosis. However, collecting large fNIRS datasets within a standard experimental paradigm remains challenging, limiting the applications of deep networks that require more data. To address these challenges, in this paper, we propose an fNIRS-driven depression recognition architecture based on cross-modal data augmentation (fCMDA), which converts fNIRS data into pseudo-sequence activation images. The approach incorporates a time-domain augmentation mechanism, including time warping and time masking, to generate diverse data. Additionally, we design a stimulation task-driven data pseudo-sequence method to map fNIRS data into pseudo-sequence activation images, facilitating the extraction of spatial-temporal, contextual and dynamic characteristics. Ultimately, we construct a depression recognition model based on deep classification networks using the imbalance loss function. Extensive experiments are performed on the two-class depression diagnosis and five-class depression severity recognition, which reveal impressive results with accuracy of 0.905 and 0.889, respectively. The fCMDA architecture provides a novel solution for effective depression recognition with limited data.

Abstract Background Different types of exogenous protease supplements have a positive impact on animal performance, but their effects on the nutritional value of meat and the gut microbial community of broilers have not been extensively studied. The objective of this investigation was to determine the impact of supplementation with a novel alkaline protease derived from Bacillus licheniformis (at doses of 0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 g/t) on the fatty acid and amino acid profiles, inosine monophosphate (IMP) levels, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content found within the breast muscle, as well as the impact on the cecal microbiota and metabolites. Results Supplementation with 200–400 g/t of the novel protease resulted in a significant elevation in the concentration of essential amino acids (P

BackgroundChronic excessive exposure to fluoride can cause damage to the central nervous system and a certain degree of learning and memory impairment. However, the associated mechanism is not yet clear and further exploration is needed. ObjectiveUsing 4D unlabelled quantitative proteomics techniques to explore differentially expressed proteins and their potential mechanisms of action in chronic excessive fluoride exposure induced brain injury. MethodsTwenty-four SPF-grade adult SD rats, half male and half male, were selected and divided into a control group and a fluoride group by random number table method, with 12 rats in each group. Among them, the control group drank tap water (fluorine content

In this paper, combined experimental and numerical methods are applied to investigate the effect of different contact stress and slip amplitude on the fretting fatigue (FF) behaviour of TC11 titanium alloy with gradient nanostructure introduced by ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP). The properties of gradient nanostructure are characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray residual stress tester, microhardness tester. As evidenced by the FF experimental results, USRP can significantly improve the FF life of TC11 by introducing large compressive residual stress and work hardening layer. The dominant parameters in improving the FF resistance under different loading conditions are investigated. In addition, the simulated results from Abaqus show that contact stress plays a more important role in influencing FF life compared to fretting bridge span, which is attributed to the change in slip amplitude and stress concentration. Fretting fatigue life initially increases and then decreases with contact stress and there is a contact stress threshold that leads to minimum lifetime. This threshold of USRP specimens is greater than that of untreated specimens. The transition of fretting mode along with contact stress is observed and discussed.

SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) is essential for accurate positioning and reasonable path planning in outdoor mobile robots. LiDAR SLAM is currently the dominant method for creating outdoor environment maps. However, the mainstream LiDAR SLAM algorithms have a single point cloud feature extraction process at the front end, and most of the loop closure detection at the back end is based on RNN (radius nearest neighbor). This results in low mapping accuracy and poor real-time performance. To solve this problem, we integrated the functions of point cloud segmentation and Scan Context loop closure detection based on the advanced LiDAR-inertial SLAM algorithm (LIO-SAM). First, we employed range images to extract ground points from raw LiDAR data, followed by the BFS (breadth-first search) algorithm to cluster non-ground points and downsample outliers. Then, we calculated the curvature to extract planar points from ground points and corner points from clustered segmented non-ground points. Finally, we used the Scan Context method for loop closure detection to improve back-end mapping speed and reduce odometry drift. Experimental validation with the KITTI dataset verified the advantages of the proposed method, and combined with Walking, Park, and other datasets comprehensively verified that the proposed method had good accuracy and real-time performance.

Two-wheeled mobile robots with deformed wheels face low stability when climbing steps, and their success rate in overcoming steps is affected by the trajectory. To address these challenges, we propose an improved hybrid genetic and adaptive particle swarm optimization (HGAPSO) algorithm to optimize the deformed wheels’ trajectory for overcoming steps. HGAPSO optimizes the maximum and minimum values of the inertial weight and learning factors of the adaptive particle swarm algorithm utilizing the region-wide search capabilities of the genetic algorithm, which substantially improves the convergence speed and adaptability. Furthermore, the analysis of the motion of the deformed wheel overcoming the steps and the examination of the potential interference during the operation are used to construct a wheel’s center-of-mass route based on fifth-order Bézier curves. Comparative simulation experiments of the trajectories optimized using different optimization algorithms under the same working conditions are designed to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed HGAPSO algorithm in optimizing the trajectory of the deformed wheel overcoming the step. Simulation experiments were conducted using the HGAPSO algorithm to optimize the trajectories of deformation wheels for overcoming steps of various sizes. These optimized trajectories were then compared to unoptimized ones. The results showed that the HGAPSO-optimized trajectories significantly improved the success rate and stability of the mobile robot in overcoming steps.

Silicon fertilisers are widely utilised to achieve higher productivity in global terrestrial ecosystems, but their impact on the carbon cycle remains unclear. In this study, we used a meta-analysis approach to quantify the response of carbon pools and fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide to the application of silicon fertiliser while also investigating the factors influencing this response. The findings indicated that silicon fertiliser application led to significant increases in various carbon components: plant aboveground carbon increased by 22.9%, plant belowground carbon increased by 17.3%, litter carbon increased by 8.3%, and the SOC content increased by 8.6%. Furthermore, the net photosynthetic rate of plants was significantly enhanced by 28.1% through the application of silicon fertiliser, along with a notable increase of 36.9% in the net primary productivity of ecosystems, which exhibited a strong correlation with alterations in ecosystem carbon pools. A considerable reduction of 29.6% in soil CH4 emissions was observed, whereas the influence of silicon fertiliser on the litter decomposition rate and net soil CO2 emissions was not statistically significant. Moreover, fertilisation (such as vegetation and soil types), climatic conditions, and silicon fertiliser application techniques have been found to affect the responses of carbon pools and fluxes to silicon fertiliser application. Finally, a potential mechanism by which silicon fertilisation can affect plant growth, litterfall, soil organic carbon stability, and soil carbon emissions directly and indirectly by changing the available silicon and soil pH is proposed to explain the positive effects of silicon fertiliser application on terrestrial ecosystem carbon pools. This effect may change owing to the influence of fertilisation technology, fertilisation, climate, and other factors.

When there are dynamic obstacles in the environment, it is difficult for traditional path-generation algorithms to achieve desired obstacle-avoidance results. To solve this problem, we propose a robot navigation control method based on SAC (Soft Actor-Critic) Deep Reinforcement Learning. Firstly, we use a fast path-generation algorithm to control the robot to generate expert trajectories when the robot encounters danger as well as when it approaches a target, and we combine SAC reinforcement learning with imitation learning based on expert trajectories to improve the safety of training. Then, for the hybrid data consisting of agent data and expert data, we use an improved prioritized experience replay method to improve the learning efficiency of the policies. Finally, we introduce RNN (Recurrent Neural Network) units into the network structure of the SAC Deep Reinforcement-Learning navigation policy to improve the agent’s transfer inference ability in a new environment and obstacle-avoidance ability in dynamic environments. Through simulation and practical experiments, it is fully verified that our method has a higher training efficiency and navigation success rate compared to state-of-the-art reinforcement-learning algorithms, which further enhances the obstacle-avoidance capability of the robot system.

In order to improve the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) columns, a reinforcement technology using prestressed steel wire ropes embedded in polyurethane cement composite material is proposed. Four concrete columns reinforced with different materials were subjected to a combination of axial compression and horizontally repeated loading tests (one of which was not reinforced, while the remaining three were reinforced with prestressed steel wire rope, polyurethane cement composite material, and prestressed steel wire ropes embedded in polyurethane cement composite material). The experimental results show that the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of reinforced concrete columns after reinforcement are significantly improved. After strengthening with prestressed steel wire ropes embedded in polyurethane cement composite material, the ultimate horizontal displacement and energy dissipation capacity of reinforced concrete columns were significantly improved, which were 69% and 3.2 times higher than those of unreinforced columns, respectively.

Ensuring the safety of transmission lines necessitates effective insulator defect detection. Traditional methods often need more efficiency and accuracy, particularly for tiny defects. This paper proposes an innovative insulator defect recognition method leveraging YOLOv8s-SwinT. Combining Swin Transformer and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) enhances the model’s understanding of multi-scale global semantic information through cross-layer interactions. The improved BiFPN structure in the neck achieves bidirectional cross-scale connections and weighted feature fusion during feature extraction. Additionally, a new small-target detection layer enhances the capability to detect tiny defects. The experimental results showcase outstanding performance, with precision, recall, and mAP reaching 95.6%, 95.3%, and 97.7%, respectively. This boosts detection efficiency and ensures high accuracy, providing robust support for real-time detection of tiny insulator defects.

Pollen is a major source of proteins and lipids for bumblebees. The nutritional content of pollen may differ from source plants, ultimately affecting colony development. This study investigated the foraging preferences of Bombus terrestris in regard to four pollen species, i.e., oilseed rape, wild apricot, sunflower, and buckwheat, under laboratory conditions. The results show that B. terrestris diversified their preference for pollens; the bumblebees mostly preferred wild apricot pollen, whereas sunflower pollen was the least preferred. The colonies fed on a mixed four-pollen diet, with a protein–lipid ratio of 4.55–4.86, exhibited better development in terms of the number of offspring, individual body size and colony weight. The colonies fed with buckwheat and sunflower pollens produced a significantly lower number of workers and failed to produce queen and male offspring. Moreover, wild apricot pollen had the richest protein content (23.9 g/100 g) of the four pollen species, whereas oilseed rape pollen had the highest lipid content (6.7 g/100 g), as revealed by the P:L ratios of wild apricot, sunflower, buckwheat, and oilseed rape, which were 6.76, 5.52, 3.50, and 3.37, respectively. Generally, B. terrestris showed feeding preferences regarding different pollens and a mixture of pollens, which ultimately resulted in differences in colony development. The findings of this study provide important baseline information to researchers and developers of nutritive pollen diets for bumblebees.

Photoelectrochemical reduction of CO2 to produce CO with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is recognized as a desirable technology to mitigate CO2 emission and generate sustainable energy. To achieve highly efficient electrocatalyst, it is essential to design a new material interface and uncover new reaction mechanisms or kinetics. Herein, we developed two metal-organic Cu-MOF and Bi-MOF layers using benzene tricarboxylic acid (H3BTC) ligands on CuBi2O4 photocathodes. Both MOF layers drastically improved the photoelectrochemical stability by suppressing the photo-corrosion through conformal surface passivation. The Cu-MOF modified CuBi2O4 showed more significant charge separation and transfer efficiencies than the Bi-MOF modified control. Based on the transient photocurrent curves under the applied potential of 0.6 V vs. RHE, the rate-law analysis showed the CO2 photoreduction took place through a first-order reaction. Further, the photoelectrochemical impedance spectra (PEIS) revealed this reaction order, representing an “operando” analysis. Moreover, the reaction rate constant on Cu-MOF modified sample was higher than that on Bi-MOF modified one and bare CuBi2O4. Combined with the density functional theory calculation, the surface absorption of CO2 and CO molecules and the higher energy barrier for ∗COOH intermediates could significantly determine the first order reaction.

Minifilaments are widespread small-scale structures in the solar atmosphere. To better understand their formation and eruption mechanisms, we investigate the entire life of a sigmoidal minifilament located below a large quiescent filament observed by Big Bear Solar Observatory/Goode Solar Telescope on 2015 August 3. The H α structure initially appears as a group of arched threads, then transforms into two J-shaped arcades, and finally forms a sigmoidal shape. Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly observations in 171 Å show that two coronal jets occur around the southern footpoint of the minifilament before the minifilament eruption. The minifilament eruption starts from the southern footpoint, then interacts with the overlying filament and fails. The aforementioned observational changes correspond to three episodes of flux cancellations observed by SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. Unlike previous studies, the flux cancellation occurs between the polarity where the southern footpoint of the minifilament is rooted and an external polarity. We construct two magnetic field models before the eruption using the flux rope insertion method and find a hyperbolic flux tube above the flux cancellation site. The observation and modeling results suggest that the eruption is triggered by the external magnetic reconnection between the core field of the minifilament and the external fields due to flux cancellations. This study reveals a new triggering mechanism for minifilament eruptions and a new relationship between minifilament eruptions and coronal jets.

We investigate a quiescent filament that erupted on 2013 August 2; the eruption was observed in EUV and H α by the Solar Dynamics Observatory and GONG. After a B9.7 flare in the nearby active region, the dark filament materials near its eastern footpoint start to move in the direction of eruption, and are followed by a counterclockwise rotation identified as the motion of a combination of dark and bright filament materials. Then the entire filament rises up and keeps rotating in a clockwise direction during the eruption. More interestingly, the filament exhibits an unusual two-helix structure near its western footpoint during the eruption, which indicates the existence of a highly twisted flux rope. This hypothesis is confirmed by magnetic field modeling using the flux rope insertion method. In the best-fit unstable model, the lower limits of the estimated maximum and average twist numbers of the erupting flux rope reach 7.5 π and 4 π , which suggests that kink instability plays an important role in the eruption. During these magnetically coupled sympathetic eruptions, the highly twisted filament under the western lobe of a pseudo-streamer-like structure becomes unstable and erupts due to the removal of confinement by magnetic reconnection at the overlying hyperbolic flux tube, which is initiated by the B9.7 flare in the nearby active region. The initial filament motion occurs at the more unstable eastern footpoint, where the surrounding fields are weaker and decrease with height more rapidly.

RNA viruses cause numerous infectious diseases in humans and animals. The crosstalk between RNA viruses and the innate DNA sensing pathways attracts increasing attention. Recent studies showed that the cGAS-STING pathway plays an important role in restricting RNA viruses via mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) mediated activation. However, the mechanisms of cGAS mediated innate immune evasion by RNA viruses remain unknown. Here, we report that seneca valley virus (SVV) protease 3C disrupts mtDNA mediated innate immune sensing by cleaving porcine cGAS (pcGAS) in a species-specific manner. Mechanistically, a W/Q motif within the N-terminal domain of pcGAS is a unique cleavage site recognized by SVV 3C. Three conserved catalytic residues of SVV 3C cooperatively contribute to the cleavage of pcGAS, but not human cGAS (hcGAS) or mouse cGAS (mcGAS). Additionally, upon SVV infection and poly(dA:dT) transfection, pcGAS and SVV 3C colocalizes in the cells. Furthermore, SVV 3C disrupts pcGAS-mediated DNA binding, cGAMP synthesis and interferon induction by specifically cleaving pcGAS. This work uncovers a novel mechanism by which the viral protease cleaves the DNA sensor cGAS to evade innate immune response, suggesting a new antiviral approach against picornaviruses.

Introduction: Childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity are global public health issues. Previous studies on exercise and overweight and obese children have produced inconsistent findings and lacked comparisons between different exercise modalities and intensities. Therefore, a network meta-analysis is necessary to provide evidence-based intervention programs. This study aims to identify the effects of different exercise modalities and intensities on changes in body composition in overweight and obese children and adolescents.Methods: A search for randomized controlled trials was conducted on Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase involving exercise interventions aimed at improving body composition (body fat percentage, BMI, fat mass, fat-free mass, body weight) in overweight and obese children and adolescents. A random effects network meta-analysis was performed using STATA 14.0 software within a frequentist framework. The literature quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0.Results: Thirty-two papers involving 1,452 participants were included. There were six types of intervention involved in the study, including moderate intensity aerobic exercise, high-intensity aerobic exercise, moderate intensity resistance exercise, high-intensity resistance exercise, moderate intensity combined exercise, and high-intensity combined exercise. The network meta-analysis results revealed that high-intensity combined exercise was the best exercise mode for improving BMI [mean difference in kg/m2 = −1.65, 95% CI (−3.27, −0.02)] and reducing fat mass [mean difference in kg = −2.87, 95% CI (−4.84, −0.91)]. Moderate intensity combined exercise was the best mode for weight loss [mean difference in kg = −4.58, 95% CI (−5.94, −3.22)] and improvement in body fat percentage [mean difference in% = −2.52, 95% CI (−3.83, −1.20)]. High-intensity resistance exercise had the optimal effect in increasing fat-free mass [mean difference in kg = 1.10, 95% CI (0.22, 1.99)].Conclusion: In conclusion, the study found that combined exercise, whether moderate or high intensity, was more effective than any other exercise modality in improving body fat percentage and BMI, reducing fat mass and weight. Resistance exercise was the most effective in increasing fat-free mass.

We conducted this experiment to establish a consistent result of dietary glucose oxidase (GOX) supplementation in broilers’ growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gas emission, caecum bacterial count, and antoxidant status. A total of 792 broilers of 42.38 ± 0.72 g average body weight (BW) at one-day old were fractionated into four treatment groups (18 birds/pen; 11 pens/treatment) named as 0%, Basal diet; 0.01%, basal diet + 100 mg/kg GOX; 0.02%, basal diet + 200 mg/kg GOX; 0.03%, basal diet + 300 mg/kg GOX. For growth performance, this 35 days’ experimental period was divided into three phases (d 1 to 7, d 7 to 21, d 22 to 35, overall). For the final phase, nutrient digestibility, gas emission, caecum bacterial count, and blood parameters were measured. GOX supplementation (0.02%, 0.03%) showed increased body weight gain (BWG) and reduced feed conversion ratio (FCR) during days 22 to 35 and in overall period. At the same time, linear increase of BWG and linear decrease of FCR were observed. Increasing doses of GOX showed linear improvement in dry matter digestibility and a tendency for a gradual increase in energy digestibility. On day 7, GOX supplementation (0.02%, 0.03%) reduced drip loss in meat with a gradual decrease. Blood antioxidant parameters of glutathione peroxidase (GSSG) and glutathione (GSH) were linearly increased by rising doses of GOX where 0.03% GOX had the highest value. In short, GOX supplementation brought improvements in digestibility and antioxidant capacity, which helped to increase body weight gain in broilers.Highlights Glucose oxidase enzyme supplementation could benefit growth performance in broilers Dietary addition of glucose oxidase could increase apparent nutrient digestibility in broilers As a health benefit, antioxidant status of broilers were improved with glucose oxidase supplementation

Effective drug accumulation in deep glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) lesions remains challenging due to the blood brain barrier. Here, the authors develop a biomimetic nanogel system activated by near infrared irradiation and show high efficacy in orthotopic GBM and GBM stem cells-bearing mouse models.

Comparing how light and nutrient availability affect biomass production in garden experiments in China and Germany shows that with a joint increase of nutrients and light intensity, non-native plants outcompete natives.

Climate warming has resulted in significant changes in permafrost in Northeast China, leading to notable alterations in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. These changes are crucial for both the global carbon cycle and climate change, as well as directly impacting the sustainable development of ecosystems. In order to examine the SOC dynamics and the impact of permafrost changes on SOC, we investigate the changes of permafrost extent based on a regression model and TTOP (top temperature of permafrost) model and the relationship between land use and land cover (LULC), SOC stocks, and permafrost changes in Northeast China. The results showing a shrinking permafrost area from 37.43 × 104 km2 to 16.48 × 104 km2 during the period from the 1980s to the 2010s in Northeast China, and the SOC stock decreased by 24.18 Tg C from the 1980s to the 1990s and then rapidly increased by 102.84 Tg C in the 2000s. Permafrost degradation speeds up the succession of LULC, impacting about 90% of the SOC in permafrost regions. The relationship between permafrost changes and SOC in Northeast China shows that permafrost degradation significantly reduces SOC stocks in the short term but increases SOC stocks in the long term, and that LULC play a crucial role in regulating this relationship. The goals of this study are to acquire an understanding of permafrost status and deepening insights into the dynamics of SOC. Simultaneously, the study aims to furnish valuable scientific references for shaping policies on sustainable land use and management in the future, all the while advancing the cause of ecological equilibrium and sustainable development in Northeast China and other areas.

Path-planning research has been the key to mobile-robot-navigation technology. However, traditional path-planning algorithms have some shortcomings. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a fusion algorithm that combines the kinematical constrained A* algorithm with the Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) algorithm. The kinematical constrained A* algorithm can plan the global path, and then the DWA algorithm can plan the local path under the global path’s guidance. Firstly, combined with robot kinematics, we improve the node-expansion method and heuristic-function model of the A* algorithm, which improves the search efficiency, reduces the number of path bends and lowers the computational cost so that the path generated by the A* algorithm better meets the needs of robot motion. Secondly, we optimize the trajectory-evaluation function of the DWA algorithm so that the local paths planned by the DWA algorithm are smoother and more coherent, which is easier for robot-motion execution. Finally, we extract the key nodes from the global path planned by the A* algorithm to guide the DWA algorithm for local path planning and dynamic-obstacle avoidance and to make the local path closer to the global path. Through simulation and practical experiments, the effectiveness of the fusion algorithm proposed in this paper is verified.

The effects of uniaxial tensile strain in the x direction (εx) on the mechanical properties of the Al6MgNb compound were explored by carrying out first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). The calculation results showed that the Al6MgNb compound was stable in mechanics at a uniaxial tensile strain range of 0–12%. The shear modulus G, bulk modulus B and Young’s modulus E of the Al6MgNb compound all decreased as the uniaxial tensile strain εx grew from 0 to 12%, exhibiting the negative sensitivities of elastic moduli to uniaxial tensile strain. The Poisson ratio ν of the Al6MgNb compound grew with the increase in uniaxial tensile strain εx from 0 to 7%, exhibiting the positive sensitivity of Poisson’s ratio to uniaxial tensile strain, but it decreased as the uniaxial tensile strain εx increased from 7% to 12%, exhibiting its negative sensitivity to the uniaxial tensile strain. The Al6MgNb compound possesses the optimal toughness under a uniaxial tensile strain εx of 7% because of the largest value of ν. The Vickers hardness HV of the Al6MgNb compound decreased first and then remained stable with the growth in uniaxial tensile strain εx from 0 to 12%, exhibiting the significant negative sensitivity of the Vickers hardness to tensile uniaxial strain at a strain range of 0–7%. The ratio of the bulk modulus B to the elastic shear modulus G (i.e., B/G) increased first and then decreased with the growth in uniaxial tensile strain εx from 0 to 12%. The highest ductility is achieved for the Al6MgNb compound at a strain εx of 7% because of the largest value of B/G. The compression anisotropy percentage AB, shear anisotropy percentage AG and the universal anisotropy index AU of the Al6MgNb compound all increased as the uniaxial tensile strain εx increased from 0 to 12%, exhibiting the positive sensitivity of elastic anisotropy to the uniaxial tensile strain. Our study suggested that the mechanical properties of the Al6MgNb compound can be influenced and regulated by applying proper uniaxial tensile strain. These findings can provide a favorable reference to the study on mechanical performance of Al-Mg-based materials by means of strain modulation.

The influences of uniaxial tension strain in the x direction (εx) on the mechanical stability, stress–strain relations, elastic properties, hardness, ductility, and elastic anisotropy of Al6Mg1Zr1 compound were studied by performing first-principle calculations on the basis of density functional theory. It was found that Al6Mg1Zr1 compound is mechanically stable in the range of strain εx from 0 to 6%. As the strain εx increased from 0 to 6%, the stress in the x direction (σx) first grew linearly and then followed a nonlinear trend, while the stresses in the y and z directions (σy and σz) showed a linearly, increasing trend all the way. The bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, and Young’s modulus E all dropped as the strain εx increased from 0 to 6%. The Poisson ratio μ of Al6Mg1Zr1 compound was nearly unchanged when the strain εx was less than 3%, but then it grew quickly. Vickers hardness HV of Al6Mg1Zr1 compound dropped gradually as the strain εx increased from 0 to 6%. The Al6Mg1Zr1 compound was brittle when the εx was less than 4%, but it presented ductility when the strain εx was more than 4%. As the strain εx increased from 0 to 6%, the compression anisotropy percentage (AB) grew and its slope became larger when the strain εx was more than 4%, while both the shear anisotropy percentage (AG) and the universal anisotropy index (AU) first dropped slowly and then grew quickly. These results demonstrate that imposing appropriate uniaxial tension strain can affect and regulate the mechanical properties of Al6Mg1Zr1 compound.

Abstract Measuring the concentration and viability of fungal cells is an important and fundamental procedure in scientific research and industrial fermentation. In consideration of the drawbacks of manual cell counting, large quantities of fungal cells require methods that provide easy, objective and reproducible high‐throughput calculations, especially for samples in complicated backgrounds. To answer this challenge, we explored and developed an easy‐to‐use fungal cell counting pipeline that combined the machine learning‐based ilastik tool with the freeware ImageJ, as well as a conventional photomicroscope. Briefly, learning from labels provided by the user, ilastik performs segmentation and classification automatically in batch processing mode and thus discriminates fungal cells from complex backgrounds. The files processed through ilastik can be recognized by ImageJ, which can compute the numeric results with the macro ‘Fungal Cell Counter’. Taking the yeast Cryptococccus deneoformans and the filamentous fungus Pestalotiopsis microspora as examples, we observed that the customizable software algorithm reduced inter‐operator errors significantly and achieved accurate and objective results, while manual counting with a haemocytometer exhibited some errors between repeats and required more time. In summary, a convenient, rapid, reproducible and extremely low‐cost method to count yeast cells and fungal spores is described here, which can be applied to multiple kinds of eucaryotic microorganisms in genetics, cell biology and industrial fermentation.

ObjectiveHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most commonly occurring cancer and ranks third in mortality among all malignant tumors; as a result, HCC represents a major human health issue. Although aberrant glycosylation is clearly implicated in HCC, changes in serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM glycosylation have not been comprehensively characterized. In this study, we used lectin microarrays to evaluate differences in serum IgG and IgM glycosylation among patients with HCC, hepatitis B cirrhosis (HBC), or chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and healthy normal controls (NC) and aimed to establish a model to improve the diagnostic accuracy of HCC.MethodsIn total, 207 serum samples collected in 2019–2020 were used for lectin microarray analyses, including 97 cases of HCC, 50 cases of HBC, 30 cases of CHB, and 30 cases of NC. Samples were randomly divided into training and validation groups at a 2:1 ratio. Training group data were used to investigate the diagnostic value of the relative signal intensity for the lectin probe combined with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The efficacy of models for HCC diagnosis were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.ResultsIn terms of IgG, a model combining three lectins and AFP had good diagnostic accuracy for HCC. The area under the ROC curve was 0.96 (P < 0.05), the sensitivity was 82.54%, and the specificity was 100%. In terms of IgM, a model including one lectin combined with AFP had an area under the curve of 0.90 (P < 0.05), sensitivity of 75.41%, and specificity of 100%.ConclusionEstimation of serum IgG and IgM glycosylation could act as complementary techniques to improve diagnosis and shed light on the occurrence and development of the HCC

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes between single-port laparoscopic appendectomy using a needle-type grasping forceps (SLAN) and conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy (CLA) for patients with uncomplicated appendicitis. Methods We retrospectively collected clinical data of patients with uncomplicated appendicitis who underwent SLAN or CLA from May 2019 to May 2021 in our center. The patients’ baseline characteristics, perioperative outcomes, and follow-up data were compared between the two groups. Additionally, baseline characteristics were compared with postoperative outcomes in the SLAN group. Results Ninety-six patients were enrolled (SLAN group, n = 32; CLA group, n = 64). The SLAN group had a shorter hospital stay, lower 24-hour postoperative visual analogue scale scores, shorter postoperative fasting time, lower frequency of antibiotic administration, and longer operative time than the CLA group. In the SLAN group, younger patients had a longer appendix and male patients had a thicker appendix; additionally, patients with an appendiceal diameter of 0.6 to 1.0 cm had a longer postoperative hospital stay and higher frequency of antibiotic administration. Conclusions Compared with CLA, SLAN may be less invasive, provide faster postoperative recovery, and result in better cosmesis for patients with uncomplicated appendicitis. Further research should be performed to evaluate the long-term outcomes.

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) is a central nervous system tumor with poor prognosis due to the rapid development of resistance to mono chemotherapy and poor brain targeted delivery. Chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) combines chemotherapy drugs with activators of innate immunity that hold great promise for GBM synergistic therapy. Herein, we chose temozolomide, TMZ, and the epigenetic bromodomain inhibitor, OTX015, and further co‐encapsulated them within our well‐established erythrocyte membrane camouflaged nanoparticle to yield ApoE peptide decorated biomimetic nanomedicine (ABNM@TMZ/OTX). Our nanoplatform successfully addressed the limitations in brain‐targeted drug co‐delivery, and simultaneously achieved multidimensional enhanced GBM synergistic CIT. In mice bearing orthotopic GL261 GBM, treatment with ABNM@TMZ/OTX resulted in marked tumor inhibition and greatly extended survival time with little side effects. The pronounced GBM treatment efficacy can be ascribed to three key factors: (i) improved nanoparticle‐mediated GBM targeting delivery of therapeutic agents by greatly enhanced blood circulation time and blood–brain barrier penetration; (ii) inhibited cellular DNA repair and enhanced TMZ sensitivity to tumor cells; (iii) enhanced anti‐tumor immune responses by inducing immunogenic cell death and inhibiting PD‐1/PD‐L1 conjugation leading to enhanced expression of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. The study validated a biomimetic nanomedicine to yield a potential new treatment for GBM.

Abstract A limitation of current anticancer nanocarriers is the contradiction between multiple functions and favorable biocompatibility. Thus, we aimed to develop a compatible drug delivery system loaded with paclitaxel (PTX) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapy. A basic backbone, PTX-loaded poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) PHBV nanoparticle (PHBV-PTX-NPs), was prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation. As a gatekeeper, the pH-sensitive coating was formed by self-polymerization of dopamine (PDA). The HCC-targeted arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD)-peptide and PDA-coated nanoparticles (NPs) were combined through the Michael addition. Subsequently, the physicochemical properties of RGD-PDA-PHBV-PTX-NPs were characterized by dynamic light scattering-autosizer, transmission electron microscope, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and X-ray spectroscopy. As expected, the RGD-PDA-PHBV-PTX-NPs showed robust anticancer efficacy in a xenograft mouse model. More importantly, they exhibited lower toxicity than PTX to normal hepatocytes and mouse in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Taken together, these results indicate that the RGD-PDA-PHBV-PTX-NPs are potentially beneficial for easing conflict between multifunction and biocompatible characters of nanocarriers.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementing glucose oxidase (GOX; 1000 unit/g) to the diet of growing pigs on growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, faecal bacteria counts, and serum antioxidant enzyme parameters. A total of 200 growing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an initial body weight of 23.3 ± 0.33 kg were used in a 42-day trial. Pigs were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments with 10 replicate pens per treatment and five pigs (mixed sex) per pen based on the initial body weight. The dietary treatments consisted of the basal diet (control), control + 0.01% GOX, control + 0.02% GOX, or control + 0.03% GOX. One unit of GOX concentration is defined as the amount of enzyme which oxidises 1 μmol β-D-glucose per minute to D-gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide at 37 °C and pH5.5. Body weight on day 42 (p = .035), average daily gain during days 22–42 (p = .001) and 1-42 (p = .001), average daily feed intake during days 22–42 (p = .008) and 1–42 (p = .020), apparent nitrogen digestibility on day 42 (p = .029), apparent energy retention on day 42 (p = .032), and the concentrations of serum glutathione peroxidase (p = .044) and glutathione (p = .032) on day 42 increased linearly at graduated doses of GOX increased in the diet. Therefore, supplementing GOX to the diet of growing pigs could improve the apparent nutrient digestibility and serum antioxidant enzyme parameters in a dose-dependent manner, thus improving growth performance. In this study, the suitable dosage of GOX used in the diet of growing pigs was 0.03%.Highlights Feeding growing pigs with GOX containing diet has beneficial effects on the growth performance Dietary supplementation of GOX could improve the apparent nutrient digestibility in growing pigs The antioxidant status of growing pigs has improved by GOX supplementation.

Reinforced concrete bridge columns (RCCs) are vulnerable to collisions with vehicles or vessels. To assess the performance of RCCs under lateral impact loading and to guide the impact-resistant design of RCCs, scaled model tests and numerical simulations were carried out in this study. An experimental facility was designed, and three sets of RCC specimens were tested. The specimens were available in three sizes: 60 cm × 14 cm × 14 cm, 80 cm × 14 cm × 14 cm, and 80 cm × 20 cm × 20 cm. Finite element models of RCCs were created in LS-DYNA, and parametric studies were carried out to investigate the variables influencing the impact resistance of RCCs. According to the findings, the impact mass and velocity had a positive correlation with the extreme value of dynamic strain. When the mass of a model car increased by 22.8% and 45.6% during the impact test, the extreme concrete strain at the same position increased by 22.5% and 42.3%, respectively. In addition, as the longitudinal reinforcement ratio increased, RCCs exhibited significantly less plastic deformation and damage. The findings of this study aided in the formulation of several recommendations for future research.

ABSTRACT: Arbor Acre (AA) broilers were used as the research object to investigate whether glucose oxidase (GOD) has preventive and relieving effects on necrotic enteritis. The experiment was designed as a factorial arrangement of 2 dietary treatments × 2 infection states. Chickens were fed a basal diet or a diet with 150 U/kg GOD, and were challenged with Clostridium perfringens (Cp) or sterile culture medium. In our study, Cp challenge led to intestinal injury, as evidenced by reducing the average daily gain and the average daily feed intake of AA broilers of 14 to 21 d (P < 0.05), increasing the intestinal jejunal lesion score (P < 0.05), reducing the jejunal villi height and villi height/crypt depth (P < 0.05), upregulating the mRNA expression levels jejunal IFN-γ (P < 0.05). The dietary GOD had no significant effects on the growth performance of each growth period, but significantly decreased the ileal pH, increased the height of villi and the ratio of villi height to crypt depth (P < 0.05) and the expression levels of Occludin and Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) at d 21. Moreover, dietary GOD and the Cp challenge significantly altered the composition of 21-d ileal microbiota. The Cp challenge decreased the relative abundance of genus Lactobacillus (P = 0.057), and increased the relative abundance of genus Romboutsia (P < 0.05) and genus Veillonella (P = 0.088). The dietary GOD tended to increase the relative abundance of genus Helicobacter (P = 0.066) and decrease the relative abundance of genus Streptococcus (P = 0.071). This study has shown that the supplementation of GOD could promote the integrity of intestinal barrier and the balance of ileal microbiota, but the effects of GOD on NE broilers and its application in actual production need to be further confirmed.

There have been speculation and research linking migraine with abnormalities of platelet aggregation and activation. The role of the P2Y12 platelet inhibitor in the treatment of migraine has not been established. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of the platelet P2Y12 inhibitor in the treatment of migraine and prevention of new-onset migraine headache (MHA) following transcatheter atrial septal defect closure (ASDC). We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases for relevant studies. The primary outcomes were the headache responder rate and the rate of new-onset migraine attacks following ASDC. Four studies for a total of 262 migraine patients with or without patent foramen ovale (PFO) and three studies involving 539 patients with antiplatelet treatment in the prevention of new-onset migraine following ASDC were included. The pooled responder rate of the P2Y12 inhibitor for migraine was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.43 to 0.81). For patients who underwent ASDC, the use of antiplatelet regimens including the P2Y12 inhibitor, compared with regimens excluding P2Y12 inhibitor, resulted in a lower rate of new-onset migraine (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.77, P=0.005). We concluded that the P2Y12 platelet inhibitor may have a primary prophylactic role in migraine patients with or without PFO and prevent new-onset MHA after ASDC. The responsiveness of the P2Y12 inhibitor could help select candidates who would benefit from PFO closure. It warrants further large-scale research to explore the role of the P2Y12 inhibitor, particularly in a proportion of migraine patients.

In this study, carbonate saline soil in the Duerbote of Songnen Plain was improved by adding lime and fly ash. The improved soil was exposed to 0, 30, and 60 freeze-thaw cycles, and ordinary triaxial compression tests (UU) were conducted under confining pressures of 100, 200, and 300 kPa. The effects of freeze-thaw cycles, lime content, fly ash content, and confining pressure on the peak deviatoric stress, cohesion, and internal friction angle on the lime-ash improved carbonate saline soil were analysed. The incorporation of lime and fly ash in carbonate saline soil transformed the stress-strain curves from the strain hardening type to strain softening type and also changed the strain corresponding to the peak deviatoric stress of the soil. The effect of lime on the shear strength of the soil was the most significant, and it significantly increased the peak deviatoric stress, cohesion, and internal friction angle of the soil. Similarly, the effect of fly ash on the peak deviatoric stress and internal friction angle of the soil was significant, but the effect on cohesion was very limited. A small amount of fly ash increased the peak deviatoric stress and internal friction angle of carbonate saline soil, but an excessive amount had the opposite effects. The freeze-thaw cycles cause the shear strength of the carbonate saline soil to decrease, but the incorporation of lime and fly ash alleviated this decrease.

Abstract Background Cisplatin (DDP) is a major chemotherapeutic drug which was widely used for cervical cancer (CC) patients with advanced or recurrent although its limitation in the development of resistance. LncRNA nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase-antisense RNA1 (NNT-AS1) has been reported to be involved in the DDP resistance. However, the role of NNT-AS1 in DDP resistance in CC remain unknown. Methods The mRNA expression of NNT-AS1, microRNA-186 (miR-186) and HMGB1 was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell proliferation and apoptosis abilities were measured via MTT assay or flow cytometry, respectively. Western blot was used to measure the expression level of HMGB1, Bax, Bcl-2, Cleaved-caspase 3, N-cadherin, Vimentin and E-cadherin. Cell migration and invasion abilities were analyzed using Transwell assay. The interaction among NNT-AS1, miR-186 and HMGB1 was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull-down assay. Murine xenograft model was established using stably transfected SiHa/DDP cells. Results NNT-AS1 level was significantly elevated in CC tissues and cells, especially in DDP-resistant tumors and cell lines. Subsequently, loss-of function assays indicated that NNT-AS1 silence could attenuate DDP resistance by inhibiting proliferation, metastasis and EMT but inducing apoptosis in DDP-resistant CC cells. Besides that, knockdown of NNT-AS1 also antagonized DDP resistance in vivo. Bioinformatics predication revealed NNT-AS1 directly bound to miR-186 and HMGB1 was a target of miR-186. Additionally, NNT-AS1 could regulate HMGB1 expression via targeting miR-186. Furthermore, restoration experiments showed NNT-AS1 knockdown might improve DDP-sensitivity of CC cells via blocking HMGB1 expression by competitive interaction with miR-186. Conclusion NNT-AS1 improved chemoresistance of DDP-resistant CC cells via modulating miR-186/HMGB1 axis.

Owing to high thermal conductivity, carbon nanotube and graphene have been used as nanofillers to improve the thermal conductivity of polymer. However, the agglomeration of nanofillers in polymer inhibits their applications in improving the thermal conductivity of composite. To overcome this problem, graphene was grown on Ni foam by chemical vapor deposition in this work. And graphene–nickel three-dimensional filler was added into epoxy resin to improve the thermal conductivity of epoxy resin. Ni foam can prevent the agglomeration of graphene in epoxy resin and a thermally conductive network by graphene and Ni foam was formed in epoxy resin. By adding graphene–nickel three-dimensional filler into epoxy resin, the thermal conductivity of graphene–nickel/epoxy composite can reach up to 2.6549 W·m−1·k−1, which was 9 times higher than that of raw epoxy resin.

With the purpose of improving the water solubility and oral bioavailability, ursolic acid nanoparticles (UANs) were prepared by the emulsion solvent evaporation method, and the nanosuspension was freeze-dried into powder. The optimal conditions for preparing nanoparticles were screened out using single-factor experiment. Take advantage of the optimal conditions, UA nanoemulsion had mean particle size (MPS) of 69.7 ± 15.6 nm and polydispersity index value (PI) of 0.005. The MPS of UA nanosuspension was gained at 100.2 ± 12.1 nm (PI = 0.005), after the organic solvent was removed by rotary evaporator. Finally, UANs possessing an MPS of 157.5 ± 28.0 nm (PI = 0.005) and zeta potential of 20.33 ± 1.67 mV were obtained after freeze-dried. UANs were investigated using SEM, XRD, DSC, TGA and further explored their equilibrium solubility, dissolution rate, solvent residue analysis, cellular antioxidant activity and oral bioavailability. All the results above showed that UA in UANs was in the amorphous state. The result of solubility test figured that the equilibrium solubility of UANs was 13.48 times in simulated gastric fluid (SGF), 11.79 times in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) and 23.99 times in deionized water than raw UA. Accordingly, the dissolution rate of UANs in SGF and SIF had an apparent enhancement. The oral bioavailability of UANs increased 2.68 times than raw UA. UANs improved antioxidant activity toward cells compared with raw UA, and EC50 of UANs reduced 37.5 times than raw UA. The residual contents of trichloromethane and ethanol were separated up to the mustard of the ICH limit for class III and class II solvents. The results above indicated that UANs possesses a value of application on enhancement oral bioavailability.

ContextLong-acting recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) has transformed growth hormone deficiency (GHD) treatment. However, the possibility and rationality for flexible time regimen are pending.ObjectiveWe studied the efficacy of biweekly versus weekly PEGylated rhGH (PEG-rhGH) therapy in GHD children.Design, Setting, and PatientsThis multicenter, phase IV trial with a non-inferiority threshold ≥20% enrolled 585 Tanner stage I GHD children.InterventionSubjects randomly received 0.20 mg/kg once-weekly or biweekly PEG-rhGH, or 0.25 mg/kg.w rhGH once daily for 26 weeks.Main Outcome MeasureThe primary outcome was height SD scores for chronological age (HtSDSCA) at week 26 and safety measurements including adverse events (AEs), IGF-2, and IGFBP-2 changes.ResultsAt week 26, the median HtSDSCA changed from −2.75, −2.82, and −2.78 to −2.31, −2.43, and −2.28 with weekly and biweekly PEG-rhGH, and daily rhGH, respectively. The difference in HtSDSCA was 0.17 ± 0.28 between weekly and biweekly PEG-rhGH, and 0.17 ± 0.27 between daily rhGH and biweekly PEG-rhGH, failing the non-inferiority threshold. Nevertheless, the height velocity of children receiving biweekly PEG-rhGH reached 76.42%–90.34% and 76.08%–90.60% that of children receiving weekly PEG-rhGH and daily rhGH, respectively. The rate of AEs was comparable among the groups. No statistical difference was observed in IGF-2 and IGFBP-2 levels among the groups. IGFBP-2 levels decreased over time in all groups, with no notable difference in IGF-2 and IGFBP-2 changes among the three treatment groups.ConclusionsAlthough notably promoted height velocity, biweekly PEG-rhGH failed the non-inferiority threshold as compared with either weekly PEG-rhGH or daily rhGH. Compared with short-term rhGH, long-acting PEG-rhGH did not significantly increase tumor-associated IGF-2 and IGFBP-2 expressions.Clinical Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT02976675.

In this paper, we propose a localization method applicable to 3D LiDAR by improving the LiDAR localization algorithm, such as AMCL (Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization). The method utilizes multiple sensing information, including 3D LiDAR, IMU and the odometer, and can be used without GNSS. Firstly, the wheel speed odometer and IMU data of the mobile robot are multi-source fused by EKF (Extended Kalman Filter), and the sensor data obtained after multi-source fusion are used as the motion model to participate in the positional prediction of the particle set in AMCL to obtain the initial positioning information of the mobile robot. Then, the position pose difference values output by AMCL at adjacent moments are substituted into the PL-ICP algorithm as the initial position pose transformation matrix, and the 3D laser point cloud is aligned with the nonlinear system using the PL-ICP algorithm. The three-dimensional laser odometer is obtained by LM (Levenberg--Marquard) iterative solution in the PL-ICP algorithm. Finally, the initial position pose output by AMCL is corrected by the three-dimensional laser odometer, and the AMCL particles are weighted and sampled to output the final positioning result of the mobile robot. Through simulation and practical experiments, it is verified that the improved AMCL algorithm has higher positioning accuracy and stability compared to the AMCL algorithm.

The efficiency of the valved linear compressor is very important to the efficiency of the space J-T throttling refrigerator. To compare the efficiency of the single-piston valved linear compressor (SVLC) and the symmetrical dual-piston valved linear compressor (SDVLC), this paper explores the factors that affect efficiency. Firstly, this paper analyzes the mechanical vibration system of the linear compressor, the result shows that the efficiency is highest when the external force (current) is in phase with the speed. Then the numerical solutions of the current and velocity are obtained. By comparing the variance and same direction rate of the current and velocity between the SVLC and SDVLC, the reason for the difference in efficiency is explained. Subsequently, the performance of the SVLC and SDVLC are tested on the experimental system. The result shows that the current and velocity of the SDVLC are more in phase, and the isentropic efficiency, volume efficiency and motor efficiency of the SDVLC are all higher than that of the SVLC.

As important pollinators, bees play a critical role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem and improving the yield and quality of crops. However, in recent years, the bee population has significantly declined due to various pathogens and environmental stressors including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and increased pesticide application. The above threats trigger or suppress the innate immunity of bees, their only immune defense system, which is essential to maintaining individual health and that of the colony. In addition, bees can be divided into solitary and eusocial bees based on their life traits, and eusocial bees possess special social immunities, such as grooming behavior, which cooperate with innate immunity to maintain the health of the colony. The omics approach gives us an opportunity to recognize the distinctive innate immunity of bees. In this regard, we summarize innate bee immunity from a genomic and transcriptomic perspective. The genetic characteristics of innate immunity were revealed by the multiple genomes of bees with different kinds of sociality, including honeybees, bumblebees, wasps, leaf-cutter bees, and so on. Further substantial transcriptomic data of different tissues from diverse bees directly present the activation or suppression of immune genes under the infestation of pathogens or toxicity of pesticides.

To date, the modelling of constitutive equations of solidified frozen saline soil have seldom been studied. This paper presented the formulation of a damage constitutive model for solidified saline frozen soil considering both freeze thaw cycles (FTCs) and salinities. To model the solidified frozen saline soil, the unconfined compression strength test (UCST) and consolidated undrained (CU) triaxial shear test were conducted under three ambient temperatures (20, –10, and –20 °C), five ages (3, 7, 14, 28, and 90 d), six salinities (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5%), and four FTCs (0, 5, 10, and 14 times) in this research. The UCST results showed that the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the solidified saline soils at an age of 14 days can reach 75% of the maximum UCS, which basically meets the engineering construction requirements. The range of the rate of strength loss as affected by salinity was 16.2% to 75.65%, while the coupling effect of salt and frozen conditions amplified the rate of strength loss. Affected by increasing salinity, the rate of strength loss of frozen soils was magnified by a factor of 1.2 to 3.7 compared to thawing soils. Likewise, the CU triaxial shear test showed that the rate of strength loss of shear strength was amplified by the coupling effect of FTCs and salt erosion. With increased FTCs, the strain threshold of Young’s modulus was gradually pushed backward, which was similar to the effect of salinity. Remarkably, the damage constitutive model performed better than conventional constitutive models for the solidified saline soil under the salt–freezing coupling effect.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different protease levels on performance, diarrhea rate, nutrient digestibility, blood metabolites, digestive enzyme activities, and intestinal health of weaned piglets. A total of 96 weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire, 28 d of age, initial average BW = 6.55 ± 0.17 kg) were divided into four groups (4 pigs/pen and 6 replicates/group) according to a completely random block design. Piglets were fed different levels of protease (0, 150, 300 or 600 mg/kg of diet) for 28 d. The results showed that the addition of protease had no significant effect on the growth performance of weaned piglets (p > 0.05), and the addition of 300 mg/kg protease significantly increased the apparent total intestinal digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of amino acids in weaned piglets (p < 0.05), while the addition of 150 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg protease had no significant effect on the digestibility (p > 0.05). The nutrient digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and total energy (GE) showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing with increasing protease concentration (p < 0.05). Adding 300 and 600 mg/kg protease significantly decreased serum ALB/GLO levels (p < 0.05) and duodenal pH (p < 0.05) and increased duodenal villus height (p < 0.05). The addition of protease significantly increased jejunal trypsin and chymotrypsin activities (p < 0.01) and duodenal and jejunal mucosal tight junction proteins in piglets. The mRNA expression levels of ZO-1 and CLAUDIN-1 in the duodenum together with ZO-1 and OCCLUDIN in the jejunum of piglets in the 300 and 600 mg/kg protease supplementation groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). The results showed that, compared with the control group, protease could promote nutrient absorption, improve small intestine morphology and enhance digestive enzyme activity in weaned piglets. The suitable addition amount was 150–300 mg/kg in the present study.

Although nitriding treatment usually improves the hardness and wear resistance of stainless steel, it also reduces its corrosion resistance. The effects of different nitriding temperatures and time and main alloying elements in stainless steel on the properties of the martensitic precipitation hardening of stainless steel were studied by first-principles calculations and experiments in this study. The results showed that the corrosion resistance of the martensitic stainless steel 0Cr17Ni4Cu4Nb was much lower than that of 1Cr15Ni2Mo2Cu before and after nitriding. According to the density functional theory calculation results, the molybdenum-containing stainless steel had higher stability and corrosion resistance and a lower Fermi level, electron conduction concentration and electrochemical activity than the niobium-containing stainless steel before and after nitriding. In addition, at the same temperature, the surface hardness of the 1Cr15Ni2Mo2Cu steel increased linearly with the prolongation of nitriding time, but its corrosion resistance decreased. Under the same nitriding time (24 h), the nitriding temperature increased from 300 to 450 °C, and the surface hardness and nitriding layer depth of the nitriding steel increased gradually, while the corrosion resistance decreased gradually. These results were attributed to the Cr-poor phenomenon caused by the formation of CrN. The 1Cr15Ni2Mo2Cu martensitic stainless steel obtained a high surface hardness after nitriding at 300 °C for 24 h, and the corrosion resistance did not decrease.

Objective: This study aimed to review and provide an informative synthesis of the findings from longitudinal studies that describe the relationship between sedentary behavior and various health outcomes among young adults. Methods: A literature search was conducted in Web of Science, PubMed, APA PsycInfo, MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for articles that examined the association between sedentary behavior and health outcomes among young adults aged 18–34 years. Two reviewers independently examined the articles and performed data extraction and quality assessment. The level of evidence was determined using the best-evidence synthesis. Results: A total of 34 studies were included in the analysis, 18 of which were high-quality studies. On the basis of inconsistency in the findings among studies, insufficient evidence was concluded for sedentary behavior and adiposity indicators, physical fitness, metabolic syndrome/cardiovascular disease risk factors, cognitive function, and mood disorders. Based on one high-quality study, moderate evidence for a negative relationship between sedentary behavior and physical fitness was observed. Conclusions: Given the trend toward increased time in sedentary behaviors and the inconsistent current findings, additional longitudinal studies of high methodologic quality are recommended to clarify the relationships between sedentary behavior and health outcomes among young adults.