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Abstract Sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC) is an aggressive cancer affecting the nasal and sinus regions, with its progression factors, particularly genetic ones, not yet fully understood. Here, we first conducted a retrospective study with 219 SNSCC patients to identify clinical factors affecting SNSCC prognosis. Additionally, we mined a vast literature dataset to uncover genetic factors associated with SNSCC progression. Based on this data, we constructed SNSCC prognosis pathways and performed a gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Clear operative margins were linked to a 73.5–86.3% improvement in overall survival and a 73.5–88.9% lower risk of recurrence. Nasal cavity-originated cases exhibited a 67.6–97.4% decrease in mortality and an 80.7–96.7% lower recurrence rate. Patients at T1-2 staging had a 65.0–80.6% reduced risk of death and recurrence compared to those at T3 stage. Additionally, we identified 53 genes associated with SNSCC, with 14 also implicated in primary tumor site, T stage, and operative margin. These genes, including EGFR, PIK3CA, ERBB2, PTEN, BCL2, BRAF, KRAS, and PRL, form a complex SNSCC-prognosis pathway and were significantly enriched in 42 KEGG pathways and Gene Ontology (GO) terms (FDR-corrected p-value

At the current stage, 3D graph convolutional algorithms face the following issues: (1) The problem of determining the neighborhood in graph convolution. (2) The issue of fusing features at different depths in deep graph convolutional algorithms. (3) The challenge of feature fusion and recognition in multi-path deep graph convolutional algorithms. Based on these, the paper ''Multi-Path Deep Segmentation Network Based on 3D Graph Convolutional Algorithm and Its Application in Point Cloud Segmentation'' is proposed. Inspired by visual computing theory, the neighborhood for 3D graph convolution is determined based on the receptive field theory, and a 3D graph convolutional algorithm based on visual selectivity is proposed; A single-link deep feature extraction algorithm for 3D graph convolution based on visual selectivity is proposed, it achieve the fusion of features at different depths learned by the graph convolutional algorithm by a pyramid learning method; A multi-link feature extraction algorithm for 3D graph convolution based on visual selectivity is proposed, and achieve multi-link feature fusion and segmentation to utilize the RPN calculation method. compared with algorithms such as PointNet, PointNet++, KPConv deform, 3D GCN, and My Algorithm, The segmentation performance and geometric invariance of the proposed algorithm are validated on the ShapeNetPart dataset and the custom Mortise_and_Tenon_DB dataset, and Experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is correct and feasible, offers superior 3D point cloud segmentation performance, and exhibits strong geometric invariance.

IntroductionThe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on head and neck cancer (HNC) has been suggested, but the causal relationship remains unclear.MethodsWe explore this connection by utilizing the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach applied to publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary datasets for COVID-19 and HNC. The datasets included critical COVID-19 (13,769 cases, 1,072,442 controls), hospitalized COVID-19 (32,519 cases, 2,062,805 controls), SARS-CoV-2 infection (122,616 cases, 2,475,240 controls), and HNC (2,131 cases, 287,137 controls). Mechanistic underpinnings of the causal relationships identified by MR analysis were explored through functional annotation augmented by AI-based literature data mining.ResultsSurprisingly, a genetic predisposition to contracting a milder form of COVID-19 substantially reduced the risks of developing HNC (OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.35–0.78, p = 1.42E-03), with no significant association between genetic liability to severe COVID-19 and the risk of HNC detected. Additionally, our findings highlighted 14 genes linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection, potentially playing a protective role in the context of HNC. These genes include OAS1, LOC107985887, BCL11A, DPP9, LOC107984685, LINC02326, MUC4, NXPE3, IFNAR2, LZTFL1, LOC105372437, NAPSA, LOC105376622, LOC107986082, and SLC6A20.ConclusionOur study emphasizes the protective role of the genetic liability to milder COVID-19 in reducing the risk of HNC while refuting a causal relationship between severe COVID-19 and HNC.

Objective: To explore the effect of surgical treatment and related prognostic factors for recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) after radiotherapy and the pathological types of nasopharyngeal carcinoma insensitive to radiotherapy. Methods: A total of 70 NPC patients who underwent surgery at the Department of Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, from January 2005 to December 2020 were retrospectively included: 41 males and 29 females, aged 21–75 years, 47 patients were pathologically classified as NPC (nonkeratinizing, undifferentiated type), 10 patients as adenoid cystic carcinoma, 13 patients as other types, 45 patients had received radiotherapy preoperatively, and 25 patients had not received radiotherapy preoperatively. All patients underwent surgical treatment under general anesthesia. Fifty-six patients underwent nasoendoscopic NPC resection, seven patients underwent open surgery, and seven patients underwent combined nasoendoscopic and open surgery. The median follow-up was 39 months. Tumor volume, extent of involvement, lymph node metastasis, imaging characteristics, surgical approach and efficacy, postoperative complications, and 2-, 3-, and 5-year postoperative survival rates were calculated for all patients. Statistical analysis was performed using spss22 Kaplan Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed. Results: Among the 70 patients, the overall 2-year survival rate was 93.4%, the 3-year survival rate was 90.8%, and the 5-year survival rate was 80.3%. Multivariate analysis showed that TNM stage and age at onset were independent prognostic factors for NPC outcome. Conclusion: Depending on the size and location of the tumor, endoscopic surgery, open surgery, and combined open surgery with nasoendoscopy may be considered for recurrent and radiotherapy insensitive NPC. Level of Evidence: Level 4.

Abstract Background We performed a paired analysis to compare the therapeutic effect between the induction chemotherapy‐based organ‐preservation approach and immediate total laryngectomy in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients requiring total laryngectomy. Methods 351 patients who were treated with organ‐preservation approach were compared with 110 patients who were treated with total laryngectomy. The main measures and outcomes were progression‐free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and larynx function preservation survival (LFPS). Results No statistical difference was observed for 3‐, 5‐, and 10‐year PFS and OS in two groups. In the organ‐preservation group, the 3‐, 5‐, and 10‐year LFPS was 30.7%, 23.3%, and 16.6%, respectively. The LFPS of Stage III > Stage IV, N0 > N1 > N2 > N3, T2 > T3 > T4, CR > PR > SD > PD patients (all p values

Summary: Aberrant lung cell differentiation is a hallmark of many lung diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The EZH2-containing Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) regulates embryonic lung stem cell fate, but its role in adult lung is obscure. Histological analysis of patient tissues revealed that loss of PRC2 activity was correlated with aberrant bronchiolar cell differentiation in COPD lung. Histological and single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses showed that loss of EZH2 in mouse lung organoids led to lowered self-renewal capability, increased squamous morphological development, and marked shifts in progenitor cell populations. Evaluation of in vivo models revealed that heterozygosity of Ezh2 in mice with ovalbumin-induced lung inflammation led to epithelial cell differentiation patterns similar to those in COPD lung. We also identified cystathionine-β-synthase as a possible upstream factor for PRC2 destabilization. Our findings suggest that PRC2 is integral to facilitating proper lung stem cell differentiation in humans and mice.

Understanding the effects of groundwater depth on soil microbiota and multiple soil functions is essential for ecological restoration and the implementation of groundwater conservation. The current impact of increased groundwater levels induced by drought on soil microbiota and multifunctionality remains ambiguous, which impedes our understanding of the sustainability of water-scarce ecosystems that heavily rely on groundwater resources. This study investigated the impacts of altered groundwater depths on soil microbiota and multifunctionality in a semi-arid region. Three groundwater depth levels were studied, with different soil quality and soil moisture at each level. The deep groundwater treatment had negative impacts on diversity, network complexity of microbiota, and the relationships among microbial phylum unites. Increasing groundwater depth also changed composition of soil microbiota, reducing the relative abundance of dominant phyla including Proteobacteria and Ascomycota. Increasing groundwater depth led to changes in microbial community characteristics, which are strongly related to alterations in soil multifunctionality. Overall, our results suggest that groundwater depth had a strongly effect on soil microbiota and functionality.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has a poor prognosis and high mortality. The relationship between the deformation capacity of the biatrial and biventricular regions in patients with DCM remains unclear. Methods: This retrospective study used cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to assess patient enrollment between September 2020 to May 2022. Feature tracking (FT) was used to evaluate biventricular global radial strain (GRS), global circumferential strain (GCS) and global longitudinal strain (GLS). Fast long-axis method was used to evaluate biatrial GLS by analyzing balanced steady-state free precession cine images. The median follow-up period was 362 days (interquartile range: 234 to 500 days). DCM patients were divided into two groups based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of major adverse cardiac event (MACE). The primary endpoint was defined as all-cause death, heart transplantation, and adverse ventricular arrhythmia. The secondary end point included hospitalizations due to heart failure. Cox regression analysis was utilized for variables and Kaplan-Meier survival was utilized for clinical outcomes. Results: There were 124 DCM patients (52.82 ± 12.59 years, 67.74% male) and 53 healthy volunteers (53.17 ± 14.67 years, 52.83% male) recruited in this study. Biventricular GRS, GCS, GLS, and biatrial GLS were significantly impaired in the DCM group compared with the healthy group. In receiver-operating characteristic curve, biatrial GLS and biventricular GRS, GCS, and GLS showed significant prognostic value in predicting MACEs (all p < 0.05). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, left ventricular (LV) GLS offered a significant and independent prognostic value surpassing other CMR parameters in predicting MACE. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with a LV GLS >–4.81% had a significantly higher rate of MACE (Log-rank p < 0.001). Conclusions: LV GLS was independently associated with MACEs in DCM patients by using FT and fast long-axis method derived from CMR. Comprehensive CMR examination including biatrial and biventricular functions should be systematically performed, to understand disease characteristics, as well as improve the risk stratification and therapeutic management for patients with DCM.

Tiantangshan Rb-Sn polymetallic deposit in Guangdong Province is located at the intersection of the southern part of the NNE trending Wuyishan polymetallic metallogenic belt and the eastern end of the Nanling latitudinal polymetallic metallogenic belt. Based on the study of the geological and metallogenic characteristics of the rubidium tin polymetallic ore body in Tiantangshan, Guangdong Province, it is found that the ore body mainly occurs in the volcanic rocks of the second subgroup of the upper Jurassic Gaojiping group and its tectonic fracture alteration zone, joint fissure alteration zone and the uplift of granite. The background concentration of Rb is relatively high in the volcanic rocks of the second subgroup of the Jurassic Gaojiping group, This stratum is the main ore bearing horizon of rubidium ore body. Based on geological characteristics and geochemical evidence, it is considered that the source of minerals is related to volcanic rocks and Yanshanian rocks. The genesis of hornblende type rubidium deposit, greisen type rubidium deposit, albitized granite type niobium tantalum deposit, structural fracture alteration zone (rock) type tin deposit, greisen type tungsten tin deposit, veinlet leaching type tin deposit, lead zinc deposit and copper deposit in the area is post magmatic gas hydrothermal filling metasomatism The main multi-stage and multi-stage mineralization is a group of ore deposits with genetic relationship formed in different evolution stages, different metallogenic geological conditions and different parts.

Summary Intestinal flora provides an important contribution to the development of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). We performed a cross‐sectional study in 52 healthy controls (HCs) and 83 patients with untreated active PTB to assess the differences in their microbiomic and metabolic profiles in faeces via V3‐V4 16S rRNA gene sequencing and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Patients with PTB had considerable reductions in phylogenetic alpha diversity and the production of short‐chain fatty acids, dysbiosis of the intestinal flora and alterations in the faecal metabolomics composition compared with HCs. Significant alterations in faecal metabolites were associated with changes in the relative abundance of specific genera. Our study describes the imbalance of the gut microbiota and altered faecal metabolomics profiles in patients with PTB; the results indicate that the gut microbiota and faecal metabolomic profiles can be used as potential preventive and therapeutic targets for PTB.

Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a pest with an amazing appetite, damages many crops and causes great losses, especially maize. Understanding the differences in different maize cultivars’ responses to S. frugiperda infestation is very important for revealing the mechanisms involved in the resistance of maize plants to S. frugiperda. In this study, a comparative analysis of two maize cultivars, the common cultivar ‘ZD958’ and the sweet cultivar ‘JG218’, was used to investigate their physico-biochemical responses to S. frugiperda infestation by a pot experiment. The results showed that the enzymatic and non-enzymatic defense responses of maize seedlings were rapidly induced by S. frugiperda. Frist, the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of infested maize leaves were significantly increased and then decreased to the level of the control. Furthermore, compared with the control leaves, the puncture force values and the total phenolics, total flavonoids, and 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one contents of infested leaves were significantly increased within a certain time. The superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities of infested leaves were significantly increased in a certain period of time, while the catalase activities decreased significantly and then increased to the control level. The jasmonic acid (JA) levels of infested leaves were significantly improved, whereas the salicylic acid and abscisic acid levels changed less. Signaling genes associated with phytohormones and defensive substances including PAL4, CHS6, BX12, LOX1, and NCED9 were significantly induced at certain time points, especially LOX1. Most of these parameters changed greater in JG218 than in ZD958. Moreover, the larvae bioassay showed that S. frugiperda larvae weighed more on JG218 leaves than those on ZD958 leaves. These results suggested that JG218 was more susceptible to S. frugiperda than ZD958. Our findings will make it easier to develop strategies for controlling S. frugiperda for sustainable maize production and breeding of new maize cultivars with increased resistance to herbivores.

Concrete civil infrastructure often suffers severe damage to its internal structure due to insufficient durability in high and cold complex environments, affecting the service life of the infrastructure. Therefore, a novel method based on nanofillers for self-healing concrete is proposed to optimize the durability mix proportion of high-performance concrete in complex high and cold environments, which improves the strength recovery rate of concrete. Moreover, a concrete durability prediction model based on particle swarm optimization-least squares support vector machine (PSO-LSSVM) and improved NSGA-II (nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II) algorithm was proposed to quickly and accurately determine the optimization scheme of self-healing concrete mix proportion. First, the model employs PSO-LSSVM to achieve highly accurate predictions of relative dynamic elastic modulus and chloride ion permeability coefficient, which are key indicators of the concrete durability. Subsequently, the predicted regression functions for concrete durability are utilized as fitness functions, and the improved NSGA-II algorithm is employed to obtain the optimal mix ratio for durable concrete. Finally, the Pareto frontier solution set is processed using the ideal point method selection approach to determine the optimal concrete mix ratio scheme. To assess the self-healing ability of the proposed concrete, a concrete durability test study is conducted. Experimental research shows that the durability of the proposed self-healing concrete has been significantly improved. The optimized PSO-LSSVM model demonstrates excellent generalization capability. The coefficient of determination between the predicted and actual values in the test dataset is 0.9357, and the root-mean-square error is 0.10267. Building upon this, the enhanced concrete durability prediction model based on the NSGA-II algorithm proves to be highly effective in predicting the optimal concrete mix proportion scheme. The predicted values of chloride ion permeability coefficient and relative dynamic elastic modulus of the proposed model differ from the actual experimental values by 1.29% and 0.59%, significantly better than the other prediction models.

The separation of propadiene from propyne/propadiene mixtures remains challenging. Here, the authors report a sorbent screening protocol and show that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with open metal sites and cage-based molecule traps exhibit high performance for propyne/propadiene separation.

Abstract Abiotic stresses, including cold and drought, negatively affect maize (Zea mays L.) seed field emergence and later yield and quality. In order to reveal the molecular mechanism of maize seed resistance to abiotic stress at seed germination, the global transcriptome of high- vigour variety Zhongdi175 exposed to cold- and drought- stress was analyzed by RNA-seq. In the comparison between the control and different stressed sample, 12,299 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, of which 9605 and 7837 DEGs were identified under cold- and drought- stress, respectively. Functional annotation analysis suggested that stress response mediated by the pathways involving ribosome, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, among others. Of the obtained DEGs (12,299), 5,143 genes are common to cold- and drought- stress, at least 2248 TFs in 56 TF families were identified that are involved in cold and/or drought treatments during seed germination, including bHLH, NAC, MYB and WRKY families, which suggested that common mechanisms may be originated during maize seed germination in response to different abiotic stresses. This study will provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of response to abiotic stress during maize seed germination, and could be useful for cultivar improvement and breeding of high vigour maize cultivars.

ObjectiveTo investigate a novel combined microinvasive trans-submandibular and nasendoscopy surgical approach for nasopharyngeal carcinoma involving the parapharyngeal space.MethodsSeven patients diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma involving the parapharyngeal space between May 2018 and April 2021, two males and five females, aged 37–63 years.Six of the 7 patients underwent submental flap preparation and dissection of the lymph nodes in the upper neck and parapharyngeal space on the lesion side. The nasopharynx lesions and tumor margins were dissected under nasal endoscopy. The medial boundary of internal carotid artery separated by open cervical approach was used as the lateral boundary of the tumor to realize en bloc resection of the tumor.ResultsThe patients were preoperatively diagnosed with T2~3N0M0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma, including mucoepidermoid carcinoma (n=2), papillary adenocarcinoma (n=1), and nonkeratinizing squamous cell carcinoma (n=4). The tumors were removed completely, and patients achieved primary healing of the incision. No recurrence and no serious complications were recorded during the 13–48 month follow-up.ConclusionComplete resection of the tumor was obtained in the 7 patients without recurrence and serious complications during the follow-up. The findings of this cohort study suggest that, patients with recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy and radiotherapy-insensitive types of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, the combined microinvasive trans-submandibular and nasendoscopy surgical approach may be considered as an surgical options. The results of this study provide an additional option for surgical treatment of NPC in the clinic.

AimsMyocardial salvage index (MSI) is attracting increasing attention for predicting prognosis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI); however, the evaluation of MSI is mainly based on contrast agent-dependent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scanning sequences. This study aims to investigate the prognostic value of MSI in reperfused ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) through the contrast agent-free CMR technique.Methods and resultsNighty-two patients with acute STEMI, who underwent CMR after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), were finally enrolled. Patients were subcategorized into two groups according to median MSI. T1 and T2 mapping were conducted for measuring infarct size (IS) and area at risk (AAR). IS was significantly larger in < median MSI group than ≥ median MSI group (P < 0.001). AAR between the two groups showed no obvious differences (P = 0.108). Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was lower in < median MSI group than ≥ median MSI group (P = 0.014). There was an obvious inverse correlation between MSI and reperfusion time (R = –0.440, P < 0.001) and a strong inverse correlation between MSI and IS (R = –0.716, P = 0.011). As for the relationship LVEF, MSI showed positive but weak correlation (R = 0.2265, P < 0.001). Over a median follow-up period of 263 (227–238) days, prevalence of MACEs was significantly higher in the < median MSI group [HR: 0.15 (0.04–0.62); Log-rank P = 0.008]. The univariate Cox regression analysis revealed that LVEF, IS, and MSI were significant predictors for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) (all P < 0.05). In the stepwise multivariate Cox regression analysis, LVEF and MSI were identified as independent parameters for predicting MACEs (both P < 0.05). In the receiver-operating characteristic analysis, LVEF, IS, and MSI showed prognostic value in predicting MACEs with AUCs of 0.809, 0.779, and 0.896, respectively, all (P < 0.05). A combination of MSI with LVEF showed the strongest prognostic value of MACEs (AUC: 0.901, sensitivity: 77.78%, specificity: 98.80%, P < 0.001). Delong’s test showed that the combination of LVEF with MSI had an incremental value than LVEF itself in predicting MACEs (P = 0.026).ConclusionContrast agent-free CMR technique provides a reliable evaluation of MSI, which contributes to assessing the efficacy of reperfusion therapy and predicting the occurrence of MACEs.

Kernel size is an important agronomic trait for grain yield in maize. The purpose of this study was to validate a major quantitative trait locus (QTL), qKW-1, which was identified in the F2 and F2:3 populations from a cross between the maize inbred lines SG5/SG7 and to predict candidate genes for kernel width (KW) in maize. A major QTL, qKW-1, was mapped in multiple environments in our previous study. To validate and fine map qKW-1, near-isogenic lines (NILs) with 469 individuals were developed by continuous backcrossing between SG5 as the donor parent and SG7 as the recurrent parent. Marker-assisted selection was conducted from the BC2F1 generation with simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers near qKW-1. A secondary linkage map with four markers, PLK12, PLK13, PLK15, and PLK17, was developed and used for mapping the qKW-1 locus. Finally, qKW-1 was mapped between the PLK12 and PLK13 intervals, with a distance of 2.23 cM to PLK12 and 0.04 cM to PLK13, a confidence interval of 5.3 cM and a phenotypic contribution rate of 23.8%. The QTL mapping result obtained was further validated by using selected overlapping recombinant chromosomes on the target segment of maize chromosome 3. Transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 12 out of 45 protein-coding genes differentially expressed between the two parents were detected in the identified qKW-1 physical interval by blasting with the Zea_Mays_B73 v4 genome. GRMZM2G083176 encodes the Niemann–Pick disease type C, and GRMZM2G081719 encodes the nitrate transporter 1 (NRT1) protein. The two genes GRMZM2G083176 and GRMZM2G081719 were predicted to be candidate genes of qKW-1. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) validation was conducted, and the results provide further proof of the two candidate genes most likely responsible for qKW-1. The work will not only help to understand the genetic mechanisms of KW in maize but also lay a foundation for further cloning of promising loci.

A typical feature of shale gas reservoirs is that they contain a significant amount of adsorbed gas. The evaluation and prediction of adsorbed gas play important roles in shale gas exploration and development. However, the presence of water in shale reservoirs makes this work more difficult. In recent years, research related to the occurrence and distribution of water in shales and its effect on methane adsorption have become a prominent issue. In this paper, the factors controlling water in shale nanopores and its influence on methane adsorption were systematically reviewed. It is revealed that the connate water content in shales and their water absorption capacity vary widely, and both are mainly related to the organic matter contents and properties and mineral compositions. The water absorption capacity of organic matter in shales is mainly affected by its nanopore content, structure and surface chemical properties (such as the type and amount of oxygen-containing functional groups), which are jointly constrained by its kerogen type and maturity. Even under moist conditions, the organic matter in shales still shows a strong methane adsorption capacity, although the water decreases the adsorption capacity to some extent. The hydrophilicity of different minerals in shales varies greatly, but the type and amount of clay minerals are the main factors affecting the adsorbed water content or water adsorption capacity of shales. The nanopore structure and characteristics of shales, such as the pore type, specific surface area, pore size distribution and heterogeneity, directly impact the occurrence and distribution of water. The competition for adsorption between water and methane at some adsorption sites is the main mechanism for the reduction in the methane adsorption capacity of moist shales. In addition, external environmental factors, such as pressure and temperature, can change the distribution and occurrence of water in shales and, thus, the influence of water on the methane adsorption capacity to a certain extent. This paper also discusses some current issues regarding the effect of water on methane adsorption capacity and highlights future research directions in this field.

Surface water dynamics are sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic activity, and they exert important feedback to the above two processes. However, it is unclear how climate and human activity affect surface water variation, especially in semi-arid regions, such as Horqin Sandy Land (HQSL), a typical part of the fragile region for intensive interaction of climate and land use change in northern China. We investigated the changes of spatiotemporal distribution and the influence of climatic and anthropogenic factors on Surface Water Area (SWA) in HQSL. There are 5933 Landsat images used in this research, which were processed on the Google Earth Engine cloud platform to extract water bodies by vegetation index and water index method. The results revealed that the area and number of water bodies showed a significant decrease in HQSL from 1985 to 2020. Spatially, the SWA experienced different amplitudes of variation in the Animal Husbandry Dominated Region (AHDR) and in the Agriculture Dominated Region (ADR) during two periods; many water bodies even dried up and disappeared in HQSL. Hierarchical partitioning analysis showed that the SWA of both regions was primarily influenced by climatic factors during the pre-change period (1985–2000; the mutation occurred in 2000), and human activity has become more and more significantly important during the post-change period (2001–2020). Thus, it is predictable that SWA variation in the following decades will be influenced by the interaction of climate change and human activity, even more by the later in HQSL, and the social sectors have to improve their ability to adapt to climate change by modifying land use strategy and techniques toward the sustainable development of water resources.

BackgroundThe differentiation between hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is challenging due to similar myocardial hypertrophic phenotype. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT) and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) to distinguish between HCM and HHD and the potential relationship between myocardial strain and cardiac functional parameters.MethodsOne hundred and seventy subjects (57 HCM, 45 HHD, and 68 controls) underwent 3.0 T CMR, including steady-state free precession cines and LGE images. Global and segmental (basal, mid, and apical) analyses of myocardial radial, circumferential, longitudinal strain, and left ventricular (LV) torsion, as well as global and 16 segments of LGE were assessed. The multivariate analysis was used to predict the diagnostic ability by combining comprehensive myocardial strain parameters and LGE.ResultsGlobal radial strain (GRS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and LV torsion were significantly higher in the HCM group than in the HHD group (GRS, 21.18 ± 7.52 vs. 14.56 ± 7.46%; GCS, −13.34 ± 3.52 vs. −10.11 ± 4.13%; torsion, 1.79 ± 0.69 vs. 1.23 ± 0.65 deg/cm, all P < 0.001). A similar trend was also seen in the corresponding strain rate. As for segmental strain analysis, basal radial strain (BRS), basal circumferential strain (BCS), basal longitudinal strain (BLS), mid-radial strain (MRS), and mid-circumferential strain (MCS) were higher in the HCM group than in the HHD group (all P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of LGE in the mid-interventricular septum (mIVS) was the highest among global and segmental LGE analyses. On the multivariate regression analysis, a combined model of LGE (mIVS) with GRS obtained the highest AUC value, which was 0.835 with 88.89% sensitivity and 70.18% specificity, respectively. In addition, for patients with HCM, GRS, GCS, and global longitudinal strain had correlations with LV ejection fraction (LVEF), maximum interventricular septum thickness (IVST max), and left ventricular mass index (LVMi). Torsion was mildly associated with LVEF.ConclusionCMR-FT-derived myocardial strain and torsion provided valuable methods for evaluation of HCM and HHD. In addition, the combination of GRS and LGE (mIVS) achieved the highest diagnostic value.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms contribute to phenotypic diversity in maize. Creation and functional annotation of point mutations has been limited by the low efficiency of conventional methods based on random mutation. An efficient tool for generating targeted single-base mutations is desirable for both functional genomics and precise genetic improvement. The objective of this study was to test the efficiency of targeted C-to-T base editing of two non-allelic acetolactate synthase (ALS) in generating sulfonylurea herbicide-resistant mutants. A CRISPR/Cas9 nickase-cytidine deaminase fused with uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitor (UGI) was employed to achieve targeted conversion of cytosine to thymine in ZmALS1 and ZmALS2. Both protoplasts and recovered mutant plants showed the activity of the cytosine base editor, with an in vivo efficiency of up to 13.8%. Transgene-free edited plants harboring a homozygous ZmALS1 mutation or a ZmALS1 and ZmALS2 double mutation were tested for their resistance at a dose of up to 15-fold the recommended limit of chlorsulfuron, a sulfonylurea herbicide widely used in agriculture. Targeted base editing of C-to-T per se and a phenotype verified in the generated mutants demonstrates the power of base editing in precise maize breeding.

In practical settings, the supercapacitor is often used as the storage battery, which is composed of several supercapacitor cells in series. In order to accurately estimate the State of Charge (SoC) in the supercapacitor cell module, an equivalent model of supercapacitor cell module is invoked, which is expected to reflect the characteristics of supercapacitor cell module, especially the self-discharge characteristics during standing. The results of parameter identification directly affect the model accuracy. Hitherto, most supercapacitor equivalent models have been proposed for supercapacitor cells, but if the module equivalent model is characterized by connecting many equivalent models of supercapacitor cells in series, it would lead to the cumulative errors and the additional errors, which would incur errors in the parameter identification, and directly affect the model accuracy. The paper aims to obtain the accurate equivalent model parameters, the supercapacitor cell module is regarded as the object, the three-branch equivalent circuit model is established for the supercapacitor cell module, a discussion is given on the parameter identification methods about Circuit Analysis Method (CA) and Recursive Least Squares Method (RLS). This paper establishes the Simulink simulation model for the multi-method parameter identification of supercapacitor cell module, the simulation and analysis are performed to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of CA and Circuit Analysis-Recursive Least Squares Method (CA-RLS). Then, it proposes a parameters identification method of the equivalent circuit model of supercapacitor cell module based on Segmentation Optimization (SO). The effectiveness of SO is verified by simulation and error analysis, the results indicate that SO can more effectively reflect the charging characteristics and self-discharge characteristics of the supercapacitor cell module. In particular, the comprehensive error in the static self-discharge phase is 0.28%, which is 6.83% and 0.64% lower than CA and CA-RLS, respectively.

Organic-matter-hosted pores are fundamental pore spaces in shale reservoirs, which largely control the expulsion and storage of oil and gas. However, the strong heterogeneity of organic pores greatly increases the complexity of the pore network in shale reservoirs, which make shale reservoir evaluation challenging. The heterogeneity of organic pores in shale reservoirs has beenone of the hottest topics of recent years. In this review, the heterogeneity of organic pores in shale reservoirs and their controlling factors are systematically summarized. The formation and evolution of organic pores in shale reservoirs are directly linked to hydrocarbon generation and expulsion,and the heterogeneity of organic pores is a result of various geological and geochemical factors. The development and heterogeneity of organic pores are basically controlled by the differences in kerogen types and maceral compositions of shale deposits, which are mainly attributed to the differencesin hydrocarbon generation capacity of different maceral compositions. Thermal maturation of organic matter is responsible for the formation and evolutionary mechanisms of organic pores and their heterogeneities. With increasing maturity, the increasing trend of pore volume and porosity diminishes. The reduction in macropore volume first appears, and the collapse of macropores could lead to an increase in micropore and mesopore volumes. An important turning point for the thermal evolution of OM is 3.5% Ro. At an Ro greater than 3.5%, the chemical structure of OM is transformed from amorphous carbon to crystalline graphite, and the hydrocarbon generation capacity of the OM has been exhausted, thus, resulting in the destruction of OM-hosted pores. The TOC content and mineral compositions of shale reservoirs affect the development and preservation of organic pores, but enhanced TOC content and brittle minerals may work against the development and preservation of organic porosity. Geological factors, e.g., compaction, diagenesis, pore fluid pressure and tectonic deformation, can also affect the organic pore structure of shale reservoirs to some extent, and their differences can enhance the heterogeneity of organic pores. On the basis of the above-mentioned understandings, this review also puts forward and discusses the problems existing in the current study of organic pore and its heterogeneity of shale reservoirs, and points out further research directions.

In spite of extensive successes, cancer recurrence after radiation treatment (RT) remains one of the significant challenges in the cure of localized prostate cancer (PCa). This study focuses on elucidating a novel adaptive response to RT that could contribute to cancer recurrence. Here, we used PC3 cell line, an adenocarcinoma from a bone metastasis and radio-resistant clone 695 cell line, which survived after total radiation dose of 66 Gy (2 Gy × 33) and subsequently regrew in nude mice after exposure to fractionated radiation at 10 Gy (2 Gy × 5). Clone 695 cells not only showed an increase in surviving fraction post-radiation but also an increase in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production when compared to PC3 cells. At the single cell level, confocal microscope images coupled with IMARIS rendering software demonstrate an increase in mitochondrial mass and membrane potential in clone 695 cells. Utilizing the Seahorse XF96 instrument to investigate mitochondrial respiration, clone 695 cells demonstrated a higher basal Oxygen Consumption Rate (OCR), ATP-linked OCR, and proton leak compared to PC3 cells. The elevation of mitochondrial function in clone 695 cells is accompanied by an increase in mitochondrial H2O2 production. These data suggest that H2O2 could reprogram PCa’s mitochondrial homeostasis, which allows the cancer to survive and regrow after RT. Upon exposure to RT, in addition to ROS production, we found that RT induces the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from PC3 cells (p < 0.05). Importantly, adding H2O2 to PC3 cells promotes EVs production in a dose-dependent manner and pre-treatment with polyethylene glycol-Catalase mitigates H2O2-mediated EV production. Both RT-derived EVs and H2O2-derived EVs carried higher levels of mitochondrial antioxidant proteins including, Peroxiredoxin 3, Glutathione Peroxidase 4 as well as mitochondrial-associated oxidative phosphorylation proteins. Significantly, adding isolated functional mitochondria 24 h prior to RT shows a significant increase in surviving fractions of PC3 cells (p < 0.05). Together, our findings reveal that H2O2 promotes the production of EVs carrying mitochondrial proteins and that functional mitochondria enhance cancer survival after RT.

Rational design of sulfur hosts for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries is essential to address the shuttle effect and accelerate reaction kinetics. Herein, the composites of bimetallic sulfide CuCo2S4 loaded on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are prepared by hydrothermal method. By regulating the loading of CuCo2S4 nanoparticles, it is found that when Cu2+ and CNT are prepared in a 10:1 ratio, the CuCo2S4 nanoparticles loaded on the CNT are relatively uniformly distributed, avoiding the occurrence of agglomeration, which improves the electrical conductivity and number of active sites. Through a series of electrochemical performance tests, the S/CuCo2S4-1/CNT presents a discharge specific capacity of 1021 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C after 100 cycles, showing good cycling stability. Even at 1 C, the S/CuCo2S4-1/CNT cathode delivers a discharge capacity of 627 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles. This study offers a promising strategy for the design of bimetallic sulfide-based sulfur hosts in Li-S batteries.

Permanent magnet synchronous linear motor (PMSLM) is a linear motion device, which has the characteristics of simple structure, low loss, high precision, repeatability, large stroke, and simple maintenance. Simultaneously, due to its feature of non-linearity, time-varying, strong coupling, and external load uncertainty, a speed disturbance control method base on sliding mode control of PMSLM is proposed in this paper. The method of sliding mode control uses the power function to smooth the processing. It replaces the symbolic function based on the exponential approach method; therefore, the buffeting of the conventional sliding mode can be well suppressed by this method. When considering different disturbances, the simulation proves that the sliding mode control system can overcome the influence of system parameter changes and external disturbances. Therefore, the control of the PMSLM can be achieved. Meanwhile, the simulation results show that the proposed new sliding mode approach rate can better suppress chattering compared with the traditional approach rate. Additionally, the stability of the system and anti-interference is improved.

Aberrant levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are potential mechanisms that contribute to both cancer therapy efficacy and the side effects of cancer treatment. Upregulation of the non-canonical redox-sensitive NF-kB family member, RelB, confers radioresistance in prostate cancer (PCa). We screened FDA-approved compounds and identified betamethasone (BET) as a drug that increases hydrogen peroxide levels in vitro and protects non-PCa tissues/cells while also enhancing radiation killing of PCa tissues/cells, both in vitro and in vivo. Significantly, BET increases ROS levels and exerts different effects on RelB expression in normal cells and PCa cells. BET induces protein expression of RelB and RelB target genes, including the primary antioxidant enzyme, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), in normal cells, while it suppresses protein expression of RelB and MnSOD in LNCaP cells and PC3 cells. RNA sequencing analysis identifies B-cell linker protein (BLNK) as a novel RelB complementary partner that BET differentially regulates in normal cells and PCa cells. RelB and BLNK are upregulated and correlate with the aggressiveness of PCa in human samples. The RelB-BLNK axis translocates to the nuclear compartment to activate MnSOD protein expression. BET promotes the RelB-BLNK axis in normal cells but suppresses the RelB-BLNK axis in PCa cells. Targeted disruptions of RelB-BLNK expressions mitigate the radioprotective effect of BET on normal cells and the radiosensitizing effect of BET on PCa cells. Our study identified a novel RelB complementary partner and reveals a complex redox-mediated mechanism showing that the RelB-BLNK axis, at least in part, triggers differential responses to the redox-active agent BET by stimulating adaptive responses in normal cells but pushing PCa cells into oxidative stress overload.

Kernel size is an important agronomic trait for grain yield in maize. The purpose of this study is to map QTLs and predict candidate genes for kernel size in maize. A total of 199 F2 and its F2:3 lines from the cross between SG5/SG7 were developed. A composite interval mapping (CIM) method was used to detect QTLs in three environments of F2 and F2:3 populations. The result showed that a total of 10 QTLs for kernel size were detected, among which were five QTLs for kernel length (KL) and five QTLs for kernel width (KW). Two stable QTLs, qKW-1, and qKL-2, were mapped in all three environments. Three QTLs, qKL-1, qKW-1, and qKW-2, were overlapped with the QTLs identified from previous studies. In order to validate and fine map qKL-2, near-isogenic lines (NILs) were developed by continuous backcrossing between SG5 as the donor parent and SG7 as the recurrent parent. Marker-assisted selection was conducted from BC2F1 generation with molecular markers near qKL-2. A secondary linkage map with six markers around the qKL-2 region was developed and used for fine mapping of qKL-2. Finally, qKL-2 was confirmed in a 1.95 Mb physical interval with selected overlapping recombinant chromosomes on maize chromosome 9 by blasting with the Zea_Mays_B73 v4 genome. Transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 11 out of 40 protein-coding genes differently expressed between the two parents were detected in the identified qKL-2 interval. GRMZM2G006080 encoding a receptor-like protein kinase FERONIA, was predicted as a candidate gene to control kernel size. The work will not only help to understand the genetic mechanisms of kernel size of maize but also lay a foundation for further fine mapping and even cloning of the promising loci.

Salient regions provide important cues for scene understanding to the human vision system. However, whether the detected salient regions are helpful in image blur estimation is unknown. In this study, a salient region guided blind image sharpness assessment (BISA) framework is proposed, and the effect of the detected salient regions on the BISA performance is investigated. Specifically, three salient region detection (SRD) methods and ten BISA models are jointly explored, during which the output saliency maps from SRD methods are re-organized as the input of BISA models. Consequently, the change in BISA metric values can be quantified and then directly related to the difference in BISA model inputs. Finally, experiments are conducted on three Gaussian blurring image databases, and the BISA prediction performance is evaluated. The comparison results indicate that salient region input can help achieve a close and sometimes superior performance to a BISA model over the whole image input. When using the center region input as the baseline, the detected salient regions from the saliency optimization from robust background detection (SORBD) method lead to consistently better score prediction, regardless of the BISA model. Based on the proposed hybrid framework, this study reveals that saliency detection benefits image blur estimation, while how to properly incorporate SRD methods and BISA models to improve the score prediction will be explored in our future work.

In order to solve the problems of heavy computational load and poor real time of the information fusion method based on the federated Kalman filter (FKF), a novel information fusion method based on the complementary filter is proposed for strapdown inertial navigation (SINS)/celestial navigation system (CNS)/global positioning system (GPS) integrated navigation system of an aerospace plane. The complementary filters are designed to achieve the estimations of attitude, velocity, and position in the SINS/CNS/GPS integrated navigation system, respectively. The simulation results show that the proposed information fusion method can effectively realize SINS/CNS/GPS information fusion. Compared with FKF, the method based on complementary filter (CF) has the advantages of simplicity, small calculation, good real-time performance, good stability, no need for initial alignment, fast convergence, etc. Furthermore, the computational efficiency of CF is increased by 94.81%. Finally, the superiority of the proposed CF-based method is verified by both the semi-physical simulation and real-time system experiment.

In order to achieve the fine alignment of strapdown inertial navigation (SINS) under large misalignment angles, a novel filtering alignment method is proposed based on the second-order extended Kalman filter (EKF2) and adaptive fuzzy inference system (AFIS). Firstly, the quaternion is employed to represent the attitude errors of SINS. A second-order nonlinear state equation is made based on the nonlinear velocity error model and attitude error model, and the linear measurement equation is based on the velocity outputs from SINS. Then, the filtering scheme is designed based on EKF2 and AFIS. The error estimation and fine alignment can be achieved by using the proposed filtering scheme. The results of Monte Carlo Simulation show that the errors of pitch, roll and yaw misalignment angles quickly decrease to about 14″, 15″ and 7.62′ respectively in 350 s under the condition of any misalignment angles with pitch error from −40° to 40°, roll error from −40° to 40°, and yaw error from −50° to 50°. Even when the initial misalignment angles are all very large such as (80°, 120°, 170°), the proposed nonlinear alignment method still can converge normally by utilizing the adaptive fuzzy inference system (AFIS) to adjust the covariance matrix Pk/k−1. Finally, the turntable experiment was performed, and the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method were further verified by compared with other nonlinear methods.

As lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode materials, porous carbons with high specific surface area are highly required because they can well accommodate huge volume expansion/contraction during cycling. In this work, hierarchically porous carbon (HPC) with high specific surface area (~1714.83 m2 g−1) is synthesized from biomass reed flowers. The material presents good cycling stability as an LIB anode, delivering an excellent reversible capacity of 581.2 mAh g−1 after cycling for 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1, and still remains a reversible capacity of 298.5 mAh g−1 after cycling for 1000 cycles even at 1000 mA g−1. The good electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the high specific surface area of the HPC network, which provides rich and fast paths for electron and ion transfer and provides large contact area and mutual interactions between the electrolyte and active materials. The work proposes a new route for the preparation of low cost carbon-based anodes and may promote the development of other porous carbon materials derived from various biomass carbon sources.

This data article contains the synthesis and structure information of a new Fe-base sodium metaphosphate compound, which is related to the research article entitled ‘Synthesis, structural, magnetic and sodium deinsertion/insertion properties of a sodium ferrous metaphosphate, NaFe(PO3)3’ by Lin et al. [1]. The research article has reported a new Fe-base metaphosphate compound NaFe(PO3)3, which is discovered during the exploration of the new potential electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries. In this data article, the synthesized process of this metaphosphate compound and the morphology of the obtained sample will be provided. The high-power XRD Rietveld refinement is applied to determine the crystal structure of this metaphosphate compound and the refinement result including the main refinement parameters, atomic coordinate and some important lattace parameters are stored in the cif file. Also, the refined structure has be evaluated by checkcif report and the result is also provided as the supplementary materials.

The objective of this study was to validate the reliability and validity of the safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ) in Heilongjiang province, northern China.The SAQ was distributed to 27 public hospitals in five cities across Heilongjiang province. The Cronbach's α, item-dimension and dimension-dimension correlations were calculated. Descriptive analyses and confirmatory factor analysis were also performed.The recovery rate of the questionnaire was 84.45%. The validity and reliability measures of the SAQ were acceptable. The goodness-of-fit index from the confirmatory factor analysis showed a reasonable model fit (CFI = 0.93, GFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.05). The Cronbach's α value for the scale was 0.91 and ranged from 0.66 to 0.91 for each of the scales. The SAQ showed good internal consistency reliability.The SAQ had satisfactory psychometric properties and could be a useful tool to measure safety attitudes in public hospitals in Heilongjiang province in China.

The guardian of the genome, p53, is often mutated in cancer and may contribute to therapeutic resistance. Given that p53 is intact and functional in normal tissues, we harnessed its potential to inhibit the growth of p53-deficient cancer cells. Specific activation of p53 in normal fibroblasts selectively induced apoptosis in p53-deficient cancer cells. This paracrine effect was mediated by p53-dependent secretion of the tumor suppressor Par-4. Accordingly, the activation of p53 in normal mice, but not p53−/− or Par-4−/− mice, caused systemic elevation of Par-4, which induced apoptosis of p53-deficient tumor cells. Mechanistically, p53 induced Par-4 secretion by suppressing the expression of its binding partner, UACA, which sequesters Par-4. Thus, normal cells can be empowered by p53 activation to induce Par-4 secretion for the inhibition of therapy-resistant tumors.

The study's objectives were to: 1) use social support theory to examine factors influencing healthcare workers' opinions about workplace violence (WPV) prevention strategies, and 2) to determine the types of support that general practitioners (GPs) and general nurses sought and expected to use after WPV exposure. A cross-sectional survey was used to assess a sample of 448 GPs and 412 general nurses from 90 township hospitals located in Heilongjiang province, China. Results revealed that workers exposed to physical, psychological or both WPV types had a strong opinion about the necessity of improving diagnosis/treatment competence, developing violence prevention guidelines and plans, using protective equipment, and reinforcing staff by providing back-up support. The last two strategies were also selected by tertiary hospital workers in our previous study. In addition, workers with high anxiety selected the following prevention strategies as most effective: improving doctor-patient communication skills; installing cameras on wards; keeping work areas bright; improvements in violence reporting, statistics, and interventions; security patrols in the key departments; reinforcing staff; and correcting inaccurate media perspectives and reports. The last four strategies were also selected by tertiary hospital workers. All respondents expected to receive organisational and social support. In conclusion, these prevention strategies should be tailored to the different requirements of specific populations. Furthermore, it is necessary for organisations, the public, and policymakers to provide powerful support in WPV prevention.