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Abstract Protein citrullination modification plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) are extensively employed for clinical diagnosis of RA. However, there remains limited understanding regarding specific citrullinated proteins and their implications in the progression of RA. In this study, we screen and verify insulin-like growth factor-2 mRNA binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1) as a novel citrullinated protein with significantly elevated citrullinated level in RA. Autoantibodies against citrullinated IGF2BP1 are further detected in serum and synovial fluid samples from RA patients, which are positively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and disease activity score 28 (DAS28). Transcriptomic sequencing and functional verification show that citrullination at the R167 site of IGF2BP1 promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLSs) by improving the mRNA stability of Semaphorin 3D (SEMA3D). Experiments in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice, the classical animal model of RA, show that IGF2BP1 R176K point mutation (Igf2bp1 R167K/R167K) mice exert reduced inflammatory response, clinical scores, and joint destruction. At a molecular level, citrullination of IGF2BP1 promotes the stability of SEMA3D mRNA by promoting the interaction between IGF2BP1 and its cofactor ELAV-like protein 1 (ELAVL1), thereby promoting the invasiveness of RA-FLSs. In this study, a new citrullinated protein of IGF2BP1 is discovered, and the molecular mechanism of its citrullinated modification promoting the progression of RA disease is elucidated, which provides theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of RA.

Purposes Electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in situ coupled Fenton-like technology has broad application prospects in the treatment of black-odorous waterbodies. However, the development of low-cost, high-performance oxygen reduction cathode electrocatalysts in neutral media has become a key obstacle to the commercial implementation of this technology. Methods To address this problem, a graphite felt(GF)-supported NiOOH electrocatalyst (x-NiOOH/GF) was prepared by a simple and effective hydrothermal method, and the effects of nickel nitrate addition on the morphology and electrochemical performance of the catalysts during the hydrothermal process were discussed. Findings The experimental results show that: The surface of 3.5-NiOOH/GF carbon fiber is covered with a layer of ordered sheet-like structure. Under neutral conditions, it exhibits high electrochemical activity, nearly 100% H2O2 selectivity, and excellent stability in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Finally, 3.5-NiOOH/GF effectively degrades rhodamine B by electro-Fenton process, indicating its potential to treat black-odorous waterbodies.

Purposes The low degradation efficiency of anode materials in printing and dyeing wastewater has led to low industrialization process. Methods SnO2-Sb-Co3O4@GF nanocomposite electrode materials with different Co3O4 doping contents were prepared by multiple dipping and thermal decomposition method. The morphology, crystal phase, and surface elements of nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The free radicals produced by electrolysis of water were identified by chemical trapping agent method. Findings The results show that Co3O4 was uniformly doped into SnO2- Sb solid solution, and a nanocrystalline thin layer was formed on the surface of carbon fiber. Among all prepared electrodes, SnO2-Sb-Co1% @GF exhibited small, uniformly distributed, and dense particle size; During the electrolysis of Na2SO4 aqueous solution, the electrode releases a large number of strong oxidizing free radicald such as ·OH, SO4·-, ·O2-, and 1O2, in which 1O2 plays an important role in the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) in wastewater. Conclusions The electrochemical characterizations of linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, and AC impedance show that the electrode had the highest exchange current density, voltammetric charge, electrochemical active area, and low AC impedance, showing outstanding catalytic activity of water electrolysis.

Dinoflagellates and heterotrophic bacteria are two major micro-organism groups within marine ecosystems. Their coexistence has led to a co-evolutionary relationship characterized by intricate interactions that not only alter their individual behaviors but also exert a significant influence on the broader biogeochemical cycles. Our review commenced with an analysis of bacterial populations, both free-living and adherent to dinoflagellate surfaces. Members of Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and the Cytophaga–Flavobacterium–Bacteroides group are repeatedly found to be associated with dinoflagellates, with representation by relatively few genera, such as Methylophaga, Marinobacter, and Alteromonas. These bacterial taxa engage with dinoflagellates in a limited capacity, involving nutrient exchange, the secretion of pathogenic substances, or participation in chemical production. Furthermore, the genomic evolution of dinoflagellates has been profoundly impacted by the horizontal gene transfer from bacteria. The integration of bacterial genes into dinoflagellates has been instrumental in defining their biological characteristics and nutritional strategies. This review aims to elucidate the nuanced interactions between dinoflagellates and their associated bacteria, offering a detailed perspective on their complex relationship.

Background: Coronary artery calcification (CAC), a surrogate of atherosclerosis, is related to stent underexpansion and adverse cardiac events. However, the effect of CAC on plaque stability is still controversial and the morphological significance of CAC has yet to be elucidated. Methods: A retrospective series of 419 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent optical coherence tomography (OCT) were enrolled. Patients were classified into three groups based on the calcification size in culprit plaques and the features of the culprit and non-culprit plaques among these groups were compared. Logistic regression was used to analyze independent risk factors for culprit plaque rupture and the nonlinear relationship between calcification parameters and culprit plaque rupture. Furthermore, we compared the detailed calcification parameters of different kinds of plaques. Results: A total of 419 culprit plaques and 364 non-culprit plaques were identified. The incidence of calcification was 53.9 % in culprit plaques and 50.3 % in non-culprit plaques. Compared with culprit plaques without calcification, plaque rupture, macrophages and cholesterol crystals were more frequently observed in the spotty calcification group, and the lipid length was longer; the incidence of macrophages and cholesterol crystals was higher in the macrocalcification group. Calcification tended to be smaller in ruptured plaques than in non-ruptured plaques. Moreover, the arc and length of calcification were greater in culprit plaques than in non-culprit plaques. Conclusions: Vulnerable features were more frequently observed in culprit plaques with spotty calcification, whereas the presence of macrocalcification calcifications did not significantly increase plaque vulnerability. Calcification tends to be larger in culprit plaques than in non-culprit plaques.

Abstract Aims Previous prediction studies for 30 day readmission in patients with heart failure were built mainly based on electronic medical records and rarely involved patient‐reported outcomes. This study aims to develop and validate a nomogram including patient‐reported outcomes to predict the possibility of 30 day all‐cause readmission in older patients with heart failure and to explore the value of patient‐reported outcomes in prediction model. Methods and results This was a prospective cohort study. The nomogram was developed and internally validated by Logistic regression analysis based on 381 patients in training group from March to December 2019. The nomogram was externally validated based on 170 patients from July to October 2020. Receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration plots and decision‐curve analysis were used to evaluate the performance of the nomogram. A total of 381 patients' complete data were analysed in the training group and 170 patients were enrolled in the external validation group. In the training group, 14.4% (n = 55) patients were readmitted to hospitals within 30 days of discharge and 15.9% (n = 27) patients were readmitted in the external validation group. The nomogram included six factors: history of surgery, changing the type of medicine by oneself, information acquisition ability, subjective support, depression level, quality of life, all of which were significantly associated with 30 day readmission in older patients with heart failure. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of nomogram were 0.949 (95% CI: 0.925, 0.973, sensitivity: 0.873, specificity: 0.883) and 0.804 (95% CI: 0.691, 0.917, sensitivity: 0.778, specificity: 0.832) respectively in the training and external validation groups, which indicated that the nomogram had better discrimination ability. The calibration plots demonstrated favourable coordination between predictive probability of 30 day readmission and observed probability. Decision‐curve analysis showed that the net benefit of the nomogram was better between threshold probabilities of 0–85%. Conclusions A novel and easy‐to‐use nomogram is constructed and demonstrated which emphasizes the important role of patient‐reported outcomes in predicting studies. The performance of the nomogram drops in the external validation cohort and the nomogram must be validated in a wide prospective cohort of HF patients before its clinical relevance can be demonstrated. All these findings in this study can assist professionals in identifying the needs of HF patients so as to reduce 30 day readmission.

A challenge for synthetic biology is the design and construction of prototissue. Here, the authors spatially segregate layers of enzyme-decorated coacervate protocells as a model prototissue capable of chemical signal processing and modulating outputs of nitric oxide to inhibit blood clot formation.

BackgroundThe increase in tobacco/conventional cigarette (CC) and electronic cigarette (EC) usage among Chinese youth has become a growing public health concern. This is the first large-scale study to compare the impact of CC and EC usage on risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality in cis-heterosexual and sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth populations in China. ObjectiveThis study examines the CC and EC risks for NSSI and suicidality among Chinese youth and compares the extent to which SGM and cis-heterosexual youth’s risks for NSSI and suicidality are influenced by their CC and EC usage and dependence. MethodsA total of 89,342 Chinese participants completed a cross-sectional self-report survey in 2021. Sociodemographic information, sexual orientations, gender identities, CC and EC usage, CC and EC dependence, and risks for suicidality and NSSI were assessed. The Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test were performed for nonnormally distributed continuous variables and categorical variables, respectively. The multivariable linear regression model was used to examine both the influence of CC and EC usage and CC and EC dependence on NSSI and suicidality as well as the interaction effects of CC and EC usage and CC and EC dependence on NSSI and suicidality by group. ResultsThe prevalence of CC usage (P

Abstract High entropy alloys (HEAs) are promising materials for various applications including nuclear reactor environments. Thus, understanding their behavior under irradiation and exposure to different environments is important. Here, two sets of near-equiatomic CoCrCuFeNi thin films grown on either SiO2/Si or Si substrates were irradiated at room temperature with 11.5 MeV Au ions, providing similar behavior to exposure to inert versus corrosion environments. The film grown on SiO2 had relatively minimal change up to peak damage levels above 500 dpa, while the film grown on Si began intermixing at the substrate–film interface at peak doses of 0.1 dpa before transforming into a multi-silicide film at higher doses, all at room temperature with minimal thermal diffusion. The primary mechanism is radiation-enhanced diffusion via the inverse Kirkendall and solute drag effects. The results highlight how composition and environmental exposure affect the stability of HEAs under radiation and give insights into controlling these behaviors.

BackgroundLGBTQ+ community's higher susceptibility to worse mental health outcomes and more help-seeking barriers compared to the cis-heterosexual population. Despite the LGBTQ+ population facing higher mental health risks, there has been a dearth of research focusing on developing tailored interventions targeting them. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a digital multicomponent intervention in promoting help-seeking for mental health issues in LGBTQ+ young adults.Methods and findingsWe recruited LGBTQ+ young adults aged between 18 and 29 who scored moderate or above on at least 1 dimension of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 and did not have help-seeking experiences in the past 12 months. Participants (n = 144) were stratified by gender assigned at birth (male/female) and randomly allocated (1:1 ratio) to the intervention or active control parallel condition by generating a random number table, so they were blinded to the intervention condition. All participants received online psychoeducational videos, online facilitator-led group discussions, and electronic brochures in December 2021 and January 2022, with the final follow-up in April 2022. The contents of the video, discussion, and brochure are help-seeking for the intervention group and general mental health knowledge for the control group. The primary outcomes were help-seeking intentions for emotional problems and suicidal ideation and attitudes toward seeking help from mental health professionals at the 1-month follow-up. The analysis was performed by including all participants based on their randomized group regardless of adherence to the protocol. A linear mixed model (LMM) was used for analysis. All models were adjusted for baseline scores. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2100053248. A total of 137 (95.1%) participants completed a 3-month follow-up, and 4 participants from the intervention condition and 3 from the control condition did not complete the final survey. Compared with the control group (n = 72), a significant improvement was found in help-seeking intentions for suicidal ideation in the intervention group (n = 70) at post-discussion (mean difference = 0.22, 95% CI [0.09, 0.36], p = 0.005), 1-month (mean difference = 0.19, 95% CI [0.06, 0.33], p = 0.018), and 3-month follow-ups (mean difference = 0.25, 95% CI [0.11, 0.38], p = 0.001). There was also a significant improvement in the intervention condition on the help-seeking intention for emotional problems at 1-month (mean difference = 0.17, 95% CI [0.05, 0.28], p = 0.013) and 3-month follow-ups (mean difference = 0.16, 95% CI [0.04, 0.27], p = 0.022) compared with the control group. Participants' depression and anxiety literacy and help-seeking encouragement related knowledge in intervention conditions showed significant improvements. There were no significant improvements in actual help-seeking behaviors, self-stigma toward seeking professional assistance, depression, and anxiety symptoms. No adverse events or side effects were observed. However, the follow-up time point was limited to 3 months which might not be long enough for drastic mindset and behavioral changes in help-seeking to occur.ConclusionsThe current intervention was an effective approach in promoting help-seeking intentions, mental health literacy, and help-seeking encouragement-related knowledge. Its brief yet integrated intervention format could also be utilized in treating other imminent concerns confronted by LGBTQ+ young adults.Trial registrationChictr.org.cn, ChiCTR2100053248.

Summary: Background: Breastfeeding is essential for the growth and development of all infants. Despite the large transgender and gender-diverse population size, there is no comprehensive research of breastfeeding or chestfeeding practices in this group. This study was designed aimed to investigate the status of breastfeeding or chestfeeding practices in transgender and gender-diverse parents and to explore the possible influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 27 2022 and February 15 2022 online in China. A representative sample of 647 transgender and gender-diverse parents was enrolled. Validated questionnaires were used to investigate breastfeeding or chestfeeding practices and its associated factors, including physical factors, psychological factors and socio-environmental factors. Findings: The exclusive breastfeeding or chestfeeding rate was 33.5% (214) and only 41.3% (244) of infants could be continuously fed until 6 months. Accepting hormonotherapy after having this child (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.664, 95% confidential interval (CI) = 1.014∼2.738) and receiving feeding education (AOR = 2.161, 95% CI = 1.363∼3.508) were associated with a higher exclusive breastfeeding or chestfeeding rate, while higher gender dysphoria scores (37–47: AOR = 0.549, 95% CI = 0.364∼0.827; >47: AOR = 0.474, 95% CI = 0.286∼0.778), experiencing family violence (15–35: AOR = 0.388, 95% CI = 0.257∼0.583; >35: AOR = 0.335; 95% CI = 0.203∼0.545), experiencing partner violence (≥30: AOR = 0.541, 95% CI = 0.334∼0.867), using artificial insemination (AOR = 0.269, 95% CI = 0.12∼0.541), or surrogacy (AOR = 0.406, 95% CI = 0.199∼0.776) and being discriminated against during seeking of childbearing health care (AOR = 0.402, 95% CI = 0.28∼0.576), are significantly associated with a lower exclusive breastfeeding or chestfeeding rate. Participants who had feeding education were more likely to feed their child with human milk as the first food intake (AOR = 1.644, 95% CI = 1.015∼2.632), while those who had suffered from family violence (>35: AOR = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.259∼0.84), discrimination (AOR = 0.457, 95% CI = 0.284∼0.721) and chose artificial insemination (AOR = 0.304, 95% CI = 0.168∼0.56) or surrogacy (AOR = 0.264, 95% CI = 0.144∼0.489), were less likely to give their child human milk as first food intake. Besides, discrimination is also related to a shorter breastfeeding or chestfeeding duration (AOR = 0.535, 95% CI = 0.375∼0.761). Interpretation: Breastfeeding or chestfeeding are neglected health problems in the transgender and gender-diverse population and many socio-demographic factors, transgender and gender-diverse-related factors, and family environment are correlated with it. Better social and family support is necessary to improve breastfeeding or chestfeeding practices. Funding: There are no funding sources to declare.

Glycyrrhetinic acid, a drug with anti-inflammatory effects, enhanced the activity of antipsoriatic efficacy. In this research, an ointment with glycyrrhetinic acid was prepaired as the major component and several other herbal monomers (astilbin, osthole, and momordin Ic) have antipsoriatic activity as minor components. Then an Imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like mouse model was established and the damaged skin condition of the administered group, the changes in the spleen index and the secretion of inflammatory factors in mouse skin were observed. Calcipotriol ointment was used as a positive control to compare the efficacy. Glycyrrhizic acid compound ointment significantly improved imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice and reduced the secretion of TNF-α, IL-12, IL-17, and IL-23 in mouse skin, and showed a stronger therapeutic effect than calcipotriol ointment. Calcipotriol ointment did not significantly alleviate imiquimod-induced splenomegaly and did not significantly reduce the expression of IL-17 and IL-23 in mouse skin. Glycyrrhetinic acid compound ointment was more effective than calcipotriol and was dose-dependent in the treatment of imiquimod-induced psoriatic dermatitis in mice. Meanwhile,calcipotriol was not suitable for the treatment of Imiquimod -induced psoriasis-like mice.

Paternal environmental inputs can influence various phenotypes in offspring, with important implications for basic biology and public health. Here the authors show that Ang-mediated biogenesis of 5′-tsRNAs in sperm contributes to paternal inflammation-induced metabolic disorders in offspring.

Summary: Background: Gambling appears to be an independent risk factor for suicide among the young population worldwide. Blind boxes are collectable toys packed randomly in the box, which share certain similarities with gambling and are popular among the young population. This is the first study that examined the association between blind box engagement and suicide risk in the young population, the leading consumption group of blind boxes. Methods: This study is part of a large-scale, cross-sectional study using convenience sampling conducted Oct 26 to Nov 18, 2021, which covered all the university and college students in the Jilin province, China. A total of 73,206 participants completed the survey with valid data for the current study (male: N = 28,762; female: N = 44,444; Mean age = 19·59). Participants’ blind box engagement, suicide risk, depression, anxiety, alcohol use, smoking habit, and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed. First, we used univariate and multivariable binary logistic regression models to examine the relationship between blind box engagement and suicide risk in all participants. Second, we tested whether depression and anxiety would mediate the association between blind box engagement and suicide risk. Third, we analysed the association between “Frequency (i.e., frequency of blind box engagement),” “Bet (i.e., expenditure on the blind box that exceeds affordability),” “Tolerance (i.e., level of addiction),” “Borrowed (i.e., the amount of money borrowed for blind box engagement),” and suicide risk in the group with blind box engagement history. Findings: 4,195 participants (5·73%) have engaged in blind boxes, with 3,255 females (77·59%) and 940 males (22·41%). In the univariate models, binary logistic regression showed that blind box engagement was associated with suicide risk in both male and female participants (male: OR = 2·21, 95% CI = 1·86-2·63; female: OR = 1·64, 95% CI = 1·50-1·78). In the multivariable models, after controlling age, subjective socioeconomic status, per capita disposable income, alcohol use, and smoking habit, blind box engagement still was associated with suicide risk across genders (male: OR = 2·25, 95% CI = 1·89-2·68; female: OR = 1·58, 95% CI = 1·45-1·73). Depression (male: indirect effect = 0·31, SE = 0·04, p < 0·001; female: indirect effect = 0·20, SE = 0·02, p < 0·001) and anxiety (male: indirect effect = 0·26, SE = 0·03, p < 0·001; female: indirect effect = 0·13, SE = 0·02, p < 0·001) mediate the association between blind box engagement and suicide risk. Within the blind box engagement group, forward binary logistic regression revealed that “Tolerance” was associated with participants’ suicide risk in both males (p = 0·001) and females (p < 0·001); “Borrowed” (p = 0·019) alone was associated with the male participants’ suicide risk. Interpretation: Our findings showed that blind box over-engagement is positively associated with suicide risk in both young males and females, and this association persisted after adjusting for influencing factors. In spite of the limitations in this study (e.g., cross-sectional, convenience sampling), current findings can assist policymakers in developing regulations for such a prosperous youth-dominant consumption industry while protecting youth's mental health worldwide. Funding: None.

American ginseng extract (AGE) is an efficient and low-toxic adjuvant for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the metabolic mechanisms of AGE against T2DM remain unknown. In this study, a rat model of T2DM was created and administered for 28 days. Their biological (body weight and serum biochemical indicators) and pathological (pancreatic sections stained with HE) information were collected for further pharmacodynamic evaluation. Moreover, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry–based (UHPLC–MS/MS–based) untargeted metabolomics method was used to identify potential biomarkers of serum samples from all rats and related metabolic pathways. The results indicated that body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting blood insulin (FINS), blood triglyceride concentration (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and insulin sensitivity index (ISI), and impaired islet cells were significantly improved after the high dose of AGE (H_AGE) and metformin treatment. Metabolomics analysis identified 101 potential biomarkers among which 94 metabolites had an obvious callback. These potential biomarkers were mainly enriched in nine metabolic pathways linked to amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism. Tryptophan metabolism and glutathione metabolism, as differential metabolic pathways between AGE and metformin for treating T2DM, were further explored. Further analysis of the aforementioned results suggested that the anti-T2DM effect of AGE was closely associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, dyslipidemia, immune response, insulin resistance, insulin secretion, and T2DM-related complications. This study can provide powerful support for the systematic exploration of the mechanism of AGE against T2DM and a basis for the clinical diagnosis of T2DM.

Forests not only are an essential resource for human society but also have a significant impact on the climate. With the development of remote sensing technology, some progress has been made in forest change monitoring. However, relatively little research has been conducted on historical forest dynamics. Estimating forest loss and its drivers during historical time periods remains a scientific pursuit. In this study, we reconstructed forest loss and its dominant drivers across China based on long time-series socioeconomic and environmental data using LightGBM classification and regression models. The models showed good performance in both 10-fold cross-validation and comparison with other datasets. The results indicate that from 1900 to 2000, forest loss mainly occurred in southern China, with a total loss area of 34.4 × 104 km2. Additionally, there was significant spatial heterogeneity, showing a decreasing trend from east to west and from south to north. The forest loss in China can be divided into two stages: (1) the stable stage from 1900 to 1949; and (2) the fluctuating stage from 1950 to 1999. In the first stage, most of the forest loss was attributed to forestry (>80%), followed by commodity-driven deforestation. In the early stage of the development of the People’s Republic of China, forest loss showed an increasing trend. In the 1960s, the forest loss area decreased by 12.9% due to the stagnation of the economy. With the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy, the total forest loss area in China reached its peak value (6.4 × 104 km2) during 1980–1989. The models also accurately captured the impact of urbanization and government policy in this period. This study not only provides an in-depth understanding of historical forest change in China, but also offers data and methodological references for the further study of human–nature interactions over the long term.

The auxin efflux transporter PIN-FORMED (PIN) family is one of the major protein families that facilitates polar auxin transport in plants. Here, we report that overexpression of OsPIN9 leads to altered plant architecture and chilling tolerance in rice. The expression profile analysis indicated that OsPIN9 was gradually suppressed by chilling stress. The shoot height and adventitious root number of OsPIN9-overexpressing (OE) plants were significantly reduced at the seedling stage. The roots of OE plants were more tolerant to N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) treatment than WT plants, indicating the disturbance of auxin homeostasis in OE lines. The chilling tolerance assay showed that the survival rate of OE plants was markedly lower than that of wild-type (WT) plants. Consistently, more dead cells, increased electrolyte leakage, and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content were observed in OE plants compared to those in WT plants under chilling conditions. Notably, OE plants accumulated more hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and less superoxide anion radicals (O2−) than WT plants under chilling conditions. In contrast, catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in OE lines decreased significantly compared to those in WT plants at the early chilling stage, implying that the impaired chilling tolerance of transgenic plants is probably attributed to the sharp induction of H2O2 and the delayed induction of antioxidant enzyme activities at this stage. In addition, several OsRboh genes, which play a crucial role in ROS production under abiotic stress, showed an obvious increase after chilling stress in OE plants compared to that in WT plants, which probably at least in part contributes to the production of ROS under chilling stress in OE plants. Together, our results reveal that OsPIN9 plays a vital role in regulating plant architecture and, more importantly, is involved in regulating rice chilling tolerance by influencing auxin and ROS homeostasis.

Different pollinators exhibit different adaptability to plants. Here, we compared the performance in visiting frequency and pollination efficiency among three bee pollinators (Bombus terrestris, Apis cerana, and Apis mellifera) on greenhouse-grown northern highbush ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry plants and evaluate their effects on yield and fruit quality. Our results indicated that the duration of daily flower-visiting of B. terrestris was 24 and 64 minutes longer than that of A. cerana and A. mellifera, respectively, and the visiting time of a single flower for B. terrestris was substantially shorter than the other two bee species, and pollen deposition on the stigma from single visit by B. terrestris was twice and three times that of A. cerana and A. mellifera, respectively. The yield of individual plants pollinated by B. terrestris showed an increase of 11.4% and 20.0% compared with the plants pollinated by A. cerana and A. mellifera, respectively, with the rate of Grade I fruit (>18 mm diameter) reaching 50.8%, compared with 32.9% and 22.5% for A. cerana and A. mellifera groups, respectively. Moreover, the early-to-midseason yield of plants pollinated by B. terrestris was higher, and the ripening time was 3 to 4 days earlier. An artificial pollination experiment demonstrated that seed set of high (≈300), medium (90–110), and low (20–30) pollination amounts were 43.0%, 42.5%, and 10.5%, respectively, and the corresponding mean weights of single fruits (related to the seed number inside) were 2.8, 2.7, and 1.2 g, respectively. The highly efficient pollination of B. terrestris was attributed to its behavior of buzz-pollination. Therefore, it is preferential for pollination of ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry in the greenhouse.

Phytohormone auxin plays a vital role in plant development and responses to environmental stresses. The spatial and temporal distribution of auxin mainly relies on the polar distribution of the PIN-FORMED (PIN) auxin efflux carriers. In this study, we dissected the functions of OsPIN9, a monocot-specific auxin efflux carrier gene, in modulating chilling tolerance in rice. The results showed that OsPIN9 expression was dramatically and rapidly suppressed by chilling stress (4°C) in rice seedlings. The homozygous ospin9 mutants were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 technology and employed for further research. ospin9 mutant roots and shoots were less sensitive to 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA), indicating the disturbance of auxin homeostasis in the ospin9 mutants. The chilling tolerance assay showed that ospin9 mutants were more tolerant to chilling stress than wild-type (WT) plants, as evidenced by increased survival rate, decreased membrane permeability, and reduced lipid peroxidation. However, the expression of well-known C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR (CBF)/DEHYDRATION-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT-BINDING PROTEIN 1 (DREB)-dependent transcriptional regulatory pathway and Ca2+ signaling genes was significantly induced only under normal conditions, implying that defense responses in ospin9 mutants have probably been triggered in advance under normal conditions. Histochemical staining of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by 3′3-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) showed that ospin9 mutants accumulated more ROS than WT at the early stage of chilling stress, while less ROS was observed at the later stage of chilling treatment in ospin9 mutants. Consistently, antioxidant enzyme activity, including catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), improved significantly during the early chilling treatments, while was kept similar to WT at the later stage of chilling treatment, implying that the enhanced chilling tolerance of ospin9 mutants is mainly attributed to the earlier induction of ROS and the improved ROS scavenging ability at the subsequent stages of chilling treatment. In summary, our results strongly suggest that the OsPIN9 gene regulates chilling tolerance by modulating ROS homeostasis in rice.

Background: Compared to its cis-heterosexual counterpart, the sexual and gender minority (SGM) population is disproportionately susceptible to mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and minority stress. They are also facing unique help-seeking barriers when in need of support. Past research has shown promising results in using interventions to promote help-seeking intentions and attitudes of the cis-heterosexual population. However, there were no known help-seeking interventions targeting the SGM population. This protocol illustrates a study design to test the efficacy of a newly-developed internet-based program aimed to promote help-seeking for mental health in LGBTQ+ young adults. Methods: This study is a randomized controlled trial that aims to promote and improve the SGM young adults' help-seeking by integrating animated psychoeducational videos, group discussion, and the SGM youth help-seeking brochure. Primary outcomes, including help-seeking intentions and attitudes, will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, one-month post-intervention, and three-month post-intervention. The secondary outcomes, including help-seeking stigma, help-seeking literacy, mental health literacy, and help-seeking behaviors, will be measured at the same time points. Discussion: This is an internet-based, multi-dimensional, and integrative intervention tailored to the needs of the SGM population. It addresses an important gap in the current landscape of mental health promotion for the SGM population. The findings from this trial will provide new knowledge on promoting help-seeking among the SGM population, paving the road for future research that focuses on addressing mental health issues faced by the SGM population. Trial registration: Chictr.org.cn: ChiCTR2100053248.

As the scale of the power grid continues to expand, the human-based inspection method struggles to meet the needs of efficient grid operation and maintenance. Currently, the existing UAV inspection system in the market generally has short endurance power time, high flight operation requirements, low degree of autonomous flight, low accuracy of intelligent identification, slow generation of inspection reports, and other problems. In view of these shortcomings, this paper designs an intelligent inspection system based on self-developed UAVs, including autonomous planning of inspection paths, sliding film control algorithms, mobile inspection schemes and intelligent fault diagnosis. In the first stage, basic data such as latitude, longitude, altitude, and the length of the cross-arms are obtained from the cloud database of the power grid, while the lateral displacement and vertical displacement during the inspection drone operation are calculated, and the inspection flight path is generated independently according to the inspection type. In the second stage, in order to make the UAV’s flight more stable, the reference-model-based sliding mode control algorithm is introduced to improve the control performance. Meanwhile, during flight, the intelligent UAV uploads the captured photos to the cloud in real time. In the third stage, a mobile inspection program is designed in order to improve the inspection efficiency. The transfer of equipment is realized in the process of UAV inspection. Finally, to improve the detection accuracy, a high-precision object detector is designed based on the YOLOX network model, and the improved model increased the mAP0.5:0.95 metric by 2.22 percentage points compared to the original YOLOX_m for bird’s nest detection. After a large number of flight verifications, the inspection system designed in this paper greatly improves the efficiency of power inspection, shortens the inspection cycle, reduces the investment cost of inspection manpower and material resources, and successfully fuses the object detection algorithm in the field of high-voltage power transmission lines inspection.

Exceptional properties of high entropy alloys (HEAs) are attributed to the disordered random solid solution of multiple alloying elements. Despite numerous studies, the fundamental understanding at the electronic and atomic levels is still missing. We report a comparative study of four fcc HEAs of NiFeCoCr and NiFeCoCrX (X = Mn, Cu, or Pd) based on ab initio calculations using large supercells with 500 atoms in equal composition. After fully optimizing their structures using the VASP package, their electronic structure, interatomic bonding, partial charge distribution, and mechanical properties are calculated and compared, revealing the intricate interdependence among them. A novel parameter based on the quantum mechanical metric for internal cohesion, the total bond order density (TBOD), is used to interpret the calculated properties. The highest TBOD is found in Cantor alloy NiFeCoCrMn but lower in NiFeCoCrPd. The atomic radii vary depending on their local chemical environment. The resulting lattice distortions is validated experimentally in NiFeCoCrMn and NiFeCoCrPd. Moreover, modeling of Cu and Pd clustering in the supercell shows they have lower total energy in agreement with the observation of Cu-enhanced nano-participates in NiFeCoCrCu and Pd-induced concentration wave in NiFeCoCrPd HEAs.

Background: With the global popularity of communication devices such as mobile phones, there are increasing concerns regarding the effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on the brain, one of the most important organs sensitive to RF-EMR exposure at 1,800 MHz. However, the effects of RF-EMR exposure on neuronal cells are unclear. Neurite outgrowth plays a critical role in brain development, therefore, determining the effects of 1,800 MHz RF-EMR exposure on neurite outgrowth is important for exploring its effects on brain development.Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effects of 1,800 MHz RF-EMR exposure for 48 h on neurite outgrowth in neuronal cells and to explore the associated role of the Rap1 signaling pathway.Material and Methods: Primary hippocampal neurons from C57BL/6 mice and Neuro2a cells were exposed to 1,800 MHz RF-EMR at a specific absorption rate (SAR) value of 4 W/kg for 48 h. CCK-8 assays were used to determine the cell viability after 24, 48, and 72 h of irradiation. Neurite outgrowth of primary hippocampal neurons (DIV 2) and Neuro2a cells was observed with a 20 × optical microscope and recognized by ImageJ software. Rap1a and Rap1b gene expressions were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. Rap1, Rap1a, Rap1b, Rap1GAP, and p-MEK1/2 protein expressions were detected by western blot. Rap1-GTP expression was detected by immunoprecipitation. The role of Rap1-GTP was assessed by transfecting a constitutively active mutant plasmid (Rap1-Gly_Val-GFP) into Neuro2a cells.Results: Exposure to 1,800 MHz RF-EMR for 24, 48, and 72 h at 4 W/kg did not influence cell viability. The neurite length, primary and secondary neurite numbers, and branch points of primary mouse hippocampal neurons were significantly impaired by 48-h RF-EMR exposure. The neurite-bearing cell percentage and neurite length of Neuro2a cells were also inhibited by 48-h RF-EMR exposure. Rap1 activity was inhibited by 48-h RF-EMR with no detectable alteration in either gene or protein expression of Rap1. The protein expression of Rap1GAP increased after 48-h RF-EMR exposure, while the expression of p-MEK1/2 protein decreased. Overexpression of constitutively active Rap1 reversed the decrease in Rap1-GTP and the neurite outgrowth impairment in Neuro2a cells induced by 1,800 MHz RF-EMR exposure for 48 h.Conclusion: Rap1 activity and related signaling pathways are involved in the disturbance of neurite outgrowth induced by 48-h 1,800 MHz RF-EMR exposure. The effects of RF-EMR exposure on neuronal development in infants and children deserve greater focus.

Atom probe tomography can image chemical composition at the nanoscale, but our understanding of how it images voids, or empty spaces, is still lacking. Here, the authors combine atom probe tomography, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and field-evaporation theory to show how voids are imaged and subsequently measured.

Ball-drop fracturing is a kind of technology that is commonly used for multistage fracturing of shale gas horizontal wells. At present, the ball injector cannot satisfy the operation demands of large bore and small spacing fracturing of shale gas wells due to its disadvantages, such as a small size of fracturing ball, a limited number of balls, complicated structure and poor applicability. In this paper, a new type of automatic ball injector with rotating plate and large bore was designed. There is a ball storage at the upper part of the ball injector and a ball injecting mechanism inside the pedestal at the lower part. And the ball injecting mechanism is controlled by the drive motor to inject the balls one by one. Then, collision analysis was carried out on its ball injecting process by using finite element method (FEM). Finally, simulation and prototype tests were conducted by using the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) mesh adaption method and the coupled smoothed particle hydrodynamics method (FEM–SPH). And the following research results were obtained. First, in the process of ball collision, the maximum equivalent stress, equivalent plastic strain and displacement are generated at the edge of the rotating plate. The maximum stress is about 600 MPa, which is less than the yield strength of 42CrMo (930 MPa), so the strength requirement is satisfied with a certain safety margin. Second, the prototype successfully passes the continuous ball injecting test of 12-stage fracturing process with the ball diameter of 64–108 mm and the ball contrast of 4 mm. In conclusion, this automatic ball injector with rotating plate and large bore is advantageous with simple operation and wide applicability and can effectively address the needs of multistage fracturing of shale gas horizontal wells. Keywords: Rotating plate type, Large bore, Ball injector, Ball storage, Shale gas, Horizontal well, Multistage fracturing, FEM, ALE, FEM–SPH

Ebola virus (EBOV), a member of the filovirus family, is an enveloped negative-sense RNA virus that causes lethal infections in humans and primates. Thousands of people have died from the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa, and no specific antiviral medication and treatment have been approved for EVD. Although the development of an EBOV vaccine is promising, immunity to any vaccine is not immediate. Here, we computationally analysed the structure of EBOV glycoprotein GP2 (GP2EBOV) and designed RNA aptamers that recognize and inhibit it. The aptamers specifically bind to conserved arginine residues (Arg587 and Arg596) located in the C-terminal coiled-coil region of GP2EBOV. Molecular docking of the synthetic RNA aptamers with the ectodomain of GP2EBOV revealed that the optimized orthogonal RNA aptamers have strong binding affinities with the coiled-coil region of GP2EBOV. The characterized RNA aptamers may facilitate strategies to block replication of EBOV and related Filoviruses, and thus may serve as important antivirals to reduce mortality associated with these infections.

The increasing intensity of environmental radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) has increased public concern about its health effects. Of particular concern are the influences of RF-EMF exposure on the development of the brain. The mechanisms of how RF-EMF acts on the developing brain are not fully understood. Here, based on high-throughput RNA sequencing techniques, we revealed that transcripts related to neurite development were significantly influenced by 1800 MHz RF-EMF exposure during neuronal differentiation. Exposure to RF-EMF remarkably decreased the total length of neurite and the number of branch points in neural stem cells-derived neurons and retinoic acid-induced Neuro-2A cells. The expression of Eph receptors 5 (EPHA5), which is required for neurite outgrowth, was inhibited remarkably after RF-EMF exposure. Enhancing EPHA5 signaling rescued the inhibitory effects of RF-EMF on neurite outgrowth. Besides, we identified that cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) and RhoA were critical downstream factors of EPHA5 signaling in mediating the inhibitory effects of RF-EMF on neurite outgrowth. Together, our finding revealed that RF-EMF exposure impaired neurite outgrowth through EPHA5 signaling. This finding explored the effects and key mechanisms of how RF-EMF exposure impaired neurite outgrowth and also provided a new clue to understanding the influences of RF-EMF on brain development.

Particle fracture can influence material failure and removal mechanisms in high velocity impact progress. In this paper, a coupled finite element method-smooth particle hydrodynamics numerical model of a single irregularly shaped particle erode metal surface was established to investigate the particle fracture and metal surface erosion. The Johnson–Cook model and Johnson–Holmquist-II model were introduced to describe the deformation of ductile materials and the fracture of brittle materials, respectively. Subsequently, the erosion process of a single irregularly shaped particle impacting different material properties of metal was studied. The results showed the following: (1) The JH-2 constitutive model can simulate the fracture of brittle particles accurately, and the results between simulations and experiments were in reasonable agreement. (2) The extent of particle fracture was lower on softer substrates than on the harder ones. (3) The orientation angle was a key factor affecting secondary impacts of brittle particles. (4) The rigid particle made more damage on the substrate than the brittle one under the same condition.

Background: The outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has attracted global attention. In the early stage of the outbreak, the most important question concerns some meaningful milepost moments, including the time when the number of daily confirmed cases decreases, the time when the number of daily confirmed cases becomes smaller than that of the daily removed (recovered and death), and the time when the number of daily confirmed cases and patients treated in hospital, which can be called “active cases”, becomes zero. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to make right and precise prediction due to the limited amount of available data at the early stage of the outbreak. To address it, in this paper, we propose a flexible framework incorporating the effectiveness of the government control to forecast the whole process of a new unknown infectious disease in its early-outbreak. Methods: We first establish the iconic indicators to characterize the extent of epidemic spread. Then we develop the tracking and forecasting procedure with mild and reasonable assumptions. Finally we apply it to analyze and evaluate the COVID-19 outbreak using the public available data for mainland China beyond Hubei Province from the China Centers for Disease Control (CDC) during the period of Jan 29th, 2020, to Feb 29th, 2020, which shows the effectiveness of the proposed procedure. Results: Forecasting results indicate that the number of newly confirmed cases will become zero in the mid-early March, and the number of patients treated in the hospital will become zero between mid-March and mid-April in mainland China beyond Hubei Province. Conclusions: The framework proposed in this paper can help people get a general understanding of the epidemic trends in countries where COVID-19 are raging as well as any other outbreaks of new and unknown infectious diseases in the future.

Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is one of the first-line chemotherapeutic drugs for acute promyelocytic leukemia. Its anti-cancer activities against various human neoplastic diseases have been extensively studied. However, the clinical use of ATO for solid tumors is limited, and these limitations are because of severe systemic toxicity, low bioavailability, and quick renal elimination before it reaches the target site. Although without much success, several efforts have been made to boost ATO bioavailability toward solid tumors without raising its dose. It has been found that nanomedicines have various advantages for drug delivery, including increased bioavailability, effectiveness, dose-response, targeting capabilities, and safety as compared to traditional drugs. Therefore, nanotechnology to deliver ATO to solid tumors is the main topic of this review, which outlines the previous and present medical applications of ATO. We also summarised ATO anti-cancer mechanisms, limitations, and outcomes of combinatorial treatment with chemo agents. As a result, we strongly recommend conducting pre-clinical and clinical studies of ATO, especially nano-system-based ones that might lead to a novel combination therapy for cancer treatment with high efficacy, bioavailability, and low toxicity for cancer patients.

The role of dislocations on ion irradiation-induced void formation is studied in a high-entropy alloy (HEA) NiCoFeCrPd. Despite previous observations that show high-entropy alloys are swelling resistant due to a high defect recombination rate, the swelling is enhanced with increasing density of pre-existing dislocations at low strain levels that shortened transient duration before the onset of void swelling. Under certain irradiation conditions, a high density of dislocations may carry the material closer to the sink-dominated regime. Compared to another HEA NiCoFeCrMn, NiCoFeCrPd has a smaller loop size and higher loop density due to the stronger lattice distortion.

Ion irradiation of KTaO3 has been performed to investigate the evolution of irradiation damage with and without significant electronic energy deposition. Damage accumulation under irradiation with 2 MeV Au ions follows a direct-impact/defect-stimulated model, and occurs more rapidly than in SrTiO3 under similar conditions. Electronic energy deposition from 21 MeV Ni ions creates negligible damage in pristine KTaO3 to depths of 1 micron; however, damage is greatly enhanced in samples containing pre-existing defects, as evidenced by rapid amorphization due to track formation. The cross-sections for amorphous tracks show a nearly linear dependence on initial disorder, comparable with SrTiO3.

In order to study chemical complexity-induced lattice distortion in high-entropy alloys, the static Debye–Waller (D-W) factor of NiCoFeMnCr solid solution alloy is measured with low temperature neutron diffraction, ambient X-ray diffraction, and total scattering methods. The static atomic displacement parameter of the multi-element component alloy at 0 K is 0.035–0.041 Å, which is obvious larger than that of element Ni (∼ 0 Å). The atomic pair distance between individual atoms in the alloy investigated with extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements indicates that Mn has a slightly larger bond distance (∼0.4%) with neighbor atoms than that of others.

Understanding energy dissipation in electronic and atomic subsystems and subsequent defect evolution is a scientific challenge. Separate and combined effects of electronic and nuclear energy deposition in z-cut LiTaO3 have been investigated. Irradiation of pristine LiTaO3 samples with 2 MeV Ta ions leads to amorphization due to atomic displacement damage, described by a disorder accumulation model. While 21 MeV Si ions do not produce significant damage in pristine LiTaO3, introduction of pre-existing defects sensitizes LiTaO3 to the formation of ion tracks from the electronic energy loss by 21 MeV Si ions that induce a synergistic two-stage phase transition process. Impact statement Experimental study shows that the introduction of pre-existing defects prior to high energy irradiation sensitizes LiTaO3 to ion track formation leading to a synergistic two-stage phase transition process.

Underwater video images, as the primary carriers of underwater information, play a vital role in human exploration and development of the ocean. Due to the optical characteristics of water bodies, underwater video images generally have problems such as color bias and unclear image quality, and image quality degradation is severe. Degenerated images have adverse effects on the visual tasks of underwater vehicles, such as recognition and detection. Therefore, it is vital to obtain high-quality underwater video images. Firstly, this paper analyzes the imaging principle of underwater images and the reasons for their decline in quality and briefly classifies various existing methods. Secondly, it focuses on the current popular deep learning technology in underwater image enhancement, and the underwater video enhancement technologies are also mentioned. It also introduces some standard underwater data sets, common video image evaluation indexes and underwater image specific indexes. Finally, this paper discusses possible future developments in this area.

Understanding how energy deposited in electronic and atomic subsystems may affect defect dynamics is a long-standing fundamental challenge in materials research. The coupling of displacement cascades and in-cascade ionization-induced annealing are investigated in silicon carbide (SiC). A delayed damage accumulation under ion irradiation is revealed with a linear dependence as a function of both increasing ionization and increasing ratio of electronic to nuclear energy deposition. An in-cascade healing mechanism is suggested with a low threshold value of electronic energy loss (∼1.0 keV nm−1). The in-cascade ionization effects must be considered in predicting radiation performance of SiC.

Abstract Single-phase concentrated solid-solution alloys (SP-CSAs) have recently gained unprecedented attention due to their promising properties. To understand effects of alloying elements on irradiation-induced defect production, recombination and evolution, an integrated study of ion irradiation, ion beam analysis and atomistic simulations are carried out on a unique set of model crystals with increasing chemical complexity, from pure Ni to Ni80Fe20, Ni50Fe50, and Ni80Cr20 binaries, and to a more complex Ni40Fe40Cr20 alloy. Both experimental and simulation results suggest that the binary and ternary alloys exhibit higher radiation resistance than elemental Ni. The modeling work predicts that Ni40Fe40Cr20 has the best radiation tolerance, with the number of surviving Frenkel pairs being factors of 2.0 and 1.4 lower than pure Ni and the 80:20 binary alloys, respectively. While the reduced defect mobility in SP-CSAs is identified as a general mechanism leading to slower growth of large defect clusters, the effect of specific alloying elements on suppression of damage accumulation is clearly demonstrated. This work suggests that concentrated solid-solution provides an effective way to enhance radiation tolerance by creating elemental alternation at the atomic level. The demonstrated chemical effects on defect dynamics may inspire new design principles of radiation-tolerant structural alloys for advanced energy systems.

We investigate the energy dissipation and track formation due to ion irradiation in SrTiO3 and KTaO3. We use molecular dynamics simulations combined with the inelastic thermal spike model to simulate 21 MeV Ni ion irradiation in pristine and predamaged samples. The results are validated against experimental findings, showing that the level of initial disorder affects the electron-phonon interactions and the energy dissipation and deposition to the atoms. It is predicted that the ion track size increases linearly for low disorder levels, while its size saturates for high levels of disorder.

Determining optimized conditions necessary to achieve high-quality films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for materials with multiple volatile elements is challenging. In this work, we present the optimized growth of epitaxial films of the topological insulator Bi2Te3 on Al2O3 (0001) substrates using PLD. It is found that the key to maximize film quality requires balanced control of the Ar background pressure (PAr) and growth temperature (TG). Within a narrow window (200 ≤ PAr < 350 mTorr and 300 ≤ TG < 350 °C), we find that Bi2Te3 thin films are flat, stoichiometric, and of the highest crystalline quality. This is a result of balancing the kinetics of ablated species in the PLD plume and the bulk thermodynamics of Bi2Te3. This work demonstrates that a careful optimization of the growth parameters can enable PLD to successfully grow multielemental materials containing volatile constituents.

When underwater vehicles work, underwater images are often absorbed by light and scattered and diffused by floating objects, which leads to the degradation of underwater images. The generative adversarial network (GAN) is widely used in underwater image enhancement tasks because it can complete image-style conversions with high efficiency and high quality. Although the GAN converts low-quality underwater images into high-quality underwater images (truth images), the dataset of truth images also affects high-quality underwater images. However, an underwater truth image lacks underwater image enhancement, which leads to a poor effect of the generated image. Thus, this paper proposes to add the natural image quality evaluation (NIQE) index to the GAN to provide generated images with higher contrast and make them more in line with the perception of the human eye, and at the same time, grant generated images a better effect than the truth images set by the existing dataset. In this paper, several groups of experiments are compared, and through the subjective evaluation and objective evaluation indicators, it is verified that the enhanced image of this algorithm is better than the truth image set by the existing dataset.

Oxygen vacancies are known to play a central role in the optoelectronic properties of oxide perovskites. A detailed description of the exact mechanisms by which oxygen vacancies govern such properties, however, is still quite incomplete. The unambiguous identification of oxygen vacancies has been a subject of intense discussion. Interest in oxygen vacancies is not purely academic. Precise control of oxygen vacancies has potential technological benefits in optoelectronic devices. In this review paper, we focus our attention on the generation of oxygen vacancies by irradiation with high energy particles. Irradiation constitutes an efficient and reliable strategy to introduce, monitor, and characterize oxygen vacancies. Unfortunately, this technique has been underexploited despite its demonstrated advantages. This review revisits the main experimental results that have been obtained for oxygen vacancy centers (a) under high energy electron irradiation (100 keV–1 MeV) in LiNbO3, and (b) during irradiation with high-energy heavy (1–20 MeV) ions in SrTiO3. In both cases, the experiments have used real-time and in situ optical detection. Moreover, the present paper discusses the obtained results in relation to present knowledge from both the experimental and theoretical perspectives. Our view is that a consistent picture is now emerging on the structure and relevant optical features (absorption and emission spectra) of these centers. One key aspect of the topic pertains to the generation of self-trapped electrons as small polarons by irradiation of the crystal lattice and their stabilization by oxygen vacancies. What has been learned by observing the interplay between polarons and vacancies has inspired new models for color centers in dielectric crystals, models which represent an advancement from the early models of color centers in alkali halides and simple oxides. The topic discussed in this review is particularly useful to better understand the complex effects of different types of radiation on the defect structure of those materials, therefore providing relevant clues for nuclear engineering applications.

Radiation tolerance is a property determined both by materials structure and defect dynamics. Here authors demonstrate enhancement of radiation tolerance at elevated temperatures in equiatomic single-phase concentrated solid solution alloys and propose an underlying mechanism.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to observe the effects of 50 Hz magnetic fields (MFs) on the immune function of splenic lymphocytes in mice. Material and Methods: Twenty male Kunming mice (6 weeks old), weighing 18– 25 g, were randomly divided into sham exposure (N = 10) and 500 μT MFs (N = 10) groups. The mice in the MFs group were exposed to 500 μT MFs for 8 h daily (5 days/week) for up to 60 days. In vitro study was carried out to examine the effects of 50 Hz MFs on the expression of inflammatory factor genes and a cluster of differentiation 69 (CD69) in mouse prime splenic lymphocytes activated by para-Methoxyamphetamine (PMA) and ionomycin. In the in vitro experiments, lymphocytes were isolated from the spleen of 10 healthy Kunming mice, the cells were cultured in the Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1640 medium (RPMI-1640) and exposed to 0 μT, 250 μT, 500 μT, or 1 mT MFs in an incubator under 5% carbon dioxide (CO2) at 37°C for 6 h. The levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3) and T cell-specific T-box transcription factor (T-bet) were assessed by the real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), respectively. The expression of CD69 was checked using the flow cytometry. Results: Under our experimental conditions, body weight of the mice exposed to occupational, extremely low frequency- electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) significantly decreased on day 20 and day 30. There were no significant changes observed in vivo in spleen weight, splenic coefficient, splenic histology profile and cytokine production in spleen tissues. Our in vitro experiments showed that 50 Hz MFs had no effect on the expression of these genes and CD69 to primary splenic cells. Conclusions: In conclusion, under the applied experimental conditions, occupational exposure to 50 Hz magnetic field did not alter responses of inflammatory genes and activation of splenic lymphocytes in mice, except for body weight.

The quality of underwater images is often affected by the absorption of light and the scattering and diffusion of floating objects. Therefore, underwater image enhancement algorithms have been widely studied. In this area, algorithms based on Multi-Scale Retinex (MSR) represent an important research direction. Although the visual quality of underwater images can be improved to some extent, the enhancement effect is not good due to the fact that the parameters of these algorithms cannot adapt to different underwater environments. To solve this problem, based on classical MSR, we propose an underwater image enhancement optimization (MSR-PO) algorithm which uses the non-reference image quality assessment (NR-IQA) index as the optimization index. First of all, in a large number of experiments, we choose the Natural Image Quality Evaluator (NIQE) as the NR-IQA index and determine the appropriate parameters in MSR as the optimization object. Then, we use the Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) to optimize the underwater image enhancement algorithm based on MSR and the NIQE index. The experimental results show that this algorithm has an excellent adaptive ability to environmental changes.

Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is the most commonly used and powerful method for gene expression analysis due to its high sensitivity, specificity, and high throughput, and the accuracy of this approach depends on the stability of reference genes used for normalization. Taihangia rupestris Yu and Li (Rosaceae), an andromonoecious plant, produces both bisexual flowers and unisexual male flowers within the same individual. Using qRT-PCR technique, investigation of the gene expression profiling in staminate and perfect flowers would improve our understanding of the molecular mechanism in regulation of flower formation and sex differentiation in andromonoecious T. rupestris. To accurate normalize the gene expression level in Taihangia flower, 16 candidate reference genes, including 10 traditional housekeeping genes, and 6 newly stable genes, were selected based on transcriptome sequence data and previous studies. The expressions of these genes were assessed by qRT-PCR analysis in 51 samples, including 30 staminate and perfect flower samples across developmental stages and 21 different floral tissue samples from mature flowers. By using geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and comprehensive RefFinder algorithms, ADF3 combined with UFD1 were identified as the optimal reference genes for staminate flowers, while the combination of HIS3/ADF3 was the most accurate reference genes for perfect floral samples. For floral tissues, HIS3, UFD1, and TMP50 were the most suitable reference genes. Furthermore, two target genes, TruPI, and TruFBP24, involved in floral organ identity were selected to validate the most and least stable reference genes in staminate flowers, perfect flowers, and different floral tissues, indicating that the use of inappropriate reference genes for normalization will lead to the adverse results. The reference genes identified in this study will improve the accuracy of qRT-PCR quantification of target gene expression in andromonoecious T. rupestris flowers, and will facilitate the functional genomics studies on flower development and sex differentiation in the future.

We use the inelastic thermal spike model for insulators and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate the effects of pre-existing damage on the energy dissipation and structural alterations in KTaO3 under irradiation with 21 MeV Ni ions. Our results reveal a synergy between the pre-existing defects and the electronic energy loss, indicating that the defects play an important role on the energy deposition in the system. Our findings highlight the need for better understanding on the role of defects in electronic energy dissipation and the coupling of the electronic and atomic subsystems.

A dynamic learning method is developed for an uncertain n-link robot with unknown system dynamics, achieving predefined performance attributes on the link angular position and velocity tracking errors. For a known nonsingular initial robotic condition, performance functions and unconstrained transformation errors are employed to prevent the violation of the full-state tracking error constraints. By combining two independent Lyapunov functions and radial basis function (RBF) neural network (NN) approximator, a novel and simple adaptive neural control scheme is proposed for the dynamics of the unconstrained transformation errors, which guarantees uniformly ultimate boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop system. In the steady-state control process, RBF NNs are verified to satisfy the partial persistent excitation (PE) condition. Subsequently, an appropriate state transformation is adopted to achieve the accurate convergence of neural weight estimates. The corresponding experienced knowledge on unknown robotic dynamics is stored in NNs with constant neural weight values. Using the stored knowledge, a static neural learning controller is developed to improve the full-state tracking performance. A comparative simulation study on a 2-link robot illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Class I PI3 Kinase (PI3K) phosphorylates phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphophate (PIP2) to generate the second messenger phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) and therefore plays an important role in fundamental cellular responses such as proliferation. There are four isoforms of class I PI3K which are known to have different functions and relate to various diseases such as cancer and inflammation. Flavonoids are abundant in fruits, vegetables and plant-derived beverages such as tea. So far, various pharmacological effects of flavonoids have been reported. We previously reported that the flavonoid baicalein exhibits potent PI3K-inhibitory activity. Recently we examined the inhibitory activity of eighteen flavonoids against PI3Ka by using an in vitro homogenous time resolved fluorescence (HTRF) kinase assay, and deduced their structure-activity relationships by comparing the activities of the analogues. Our result suggests that the number of hydroxyl groups in the A and B rings might promote the activity, while loss of C2-C3 double bond might reduce the activity. Furthermore, the activity against 4 class I PI3K isoforms of some selected flavonoids was investigated, and the results indicate that the flavonoids seem to exhibit more potent activity on PI3Ka and d isoforms compared with that on PI3Kb and g isoforms.

An up-to-date review on recent results for self-trapping of free electrons and holes, as well as excitons, in strontium titanate (STO), which gives rise to small polarons and self-trapped excitons (STEs) is presented. Special attention is paid to the role of carrier and exciton self-trapping on the luminescence emissions under a variety of excitation sources with special emphasis on experiments with laser pulses and energetic ion-beams. In spite of the extensive research effort, a definitive identification of such localized states, as well as a suitable understanding of their operative light emission mechanisms, has remained lacking or controversial. However, promising advances have been recently achieved and are the objective of the present review. In particular, significant theoretical advances in the understanding of electron and hole self-trapping are discussed. Also, relevant experimental advances in the kinetics of light emission associated with electron-hole recombination have been obtained through time-resolved experiments using picosecond (ps) laser pulses. The luminescence emission mechanisms and the light decay processes from the self-trapped excitons are also reviewed. Recent results suggest that the blue emission at 2.8 eV, often associated with oxygen vacancies, is related to a transition from unbound conduction levels to the ground singlet state of the STE. The stabilization of small electron polarons by oxygen vacancies and its connection with luminescence emission are discussed in detail. Through ion-beam irradiation experiments, it has recently been established that the electrons associated with the vacancy constitute electron polaron states (Ti3+) trapped in the close vicinity of the empty oxygen sites. These experimental results have allowed for the optical identification of the oxygen vacancy center through a red luminescence emission centered at 2.0 eV. Ab-initio calculations have provided strong support for those experimental findings. Finally, the use of Cr-doped STO has offered a way to monitor the interplay between the chromium centers and oxygen vacancies as trapping sites for the electron and hole partners resulting from the electronic excitation.

In the present study, we have revealed that (NiCoFeCr)100−xPdx (x= 1, 3, 5, 20 atom%) high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have both local- and long-range lattice distortions by utilizing X-ray total scattering, X-ray diffraction, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure methods. The local lattice distortion determined by the lattice constant difference between the local and average structures was found to be proportional to the Pd content. A small amount of Pd-doping (1 atom%) yields long-range lattice distortion, which is demonstrated by a larger (200) lattice plane spacing than the expected value from an average structure, however, the degree of long-range lattice distortion is not sensitive to the Pd concentration. The structural stability of these distorted HEAs under high-pressure was also examined. The experimental results indicate that doping with a small amount of Pd significantly enhances the stability of the fcc phase by increasing the fcc-to-hcp transformation pressure from ~13.0 GPa in NiCoFeCr to 20⁻26 GPa in the Pd-doped HEAs and NiCoFeCrPd maintains its fcc lattice up to 74 GPa, the maximum pressure that the current experiments have reached.