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Land surface temperature (LST) is a crucial parameter for representing the earth's surface energy balance. Thermal infrared remote sensing is the primary method for rapidly retrieving LST over large areas. The Chinese Atmospheric Environment Monitoring Satellite (DQ-1) is equipped with the wide swath imager (WSI), which includes three thermal infrared bands capable of providing global LST retrieval. This article introduces a nonlinear hybrid algorithm that combines the split-window (SW) algorithm and the temperature and emissivity separation (TES) algorithm, and the accuracies of the three algorithms, including hybrid, SW and TES algorithm are analyzed. The results demonstrated that the root mean square errors of LST for SW, TES, and hybrid algorithm are approximately 2.11, 1.78, and 1.64 K, with mean absolute errors (of 1.72, 1.40, and 1.21 K using in situ measurements from the SURFRAD sites. Cross-validation with moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST products showed that the hybrid algorithm outperforms the SW and TES algorithms in retrieving LST, achieving reductions in LST error of 0.43 and 0.16 K at the Qinghai Lake site, and 0.67 and 0.06 K at the Dunhuang site, respectively. In summary, this study demonstrates that the nonlinear hybrid algorithm can accurately estimate LST from DQ1/WSI data.

Abstract As a medium to understand the nature of glass transition, ultrastable glasses have garnered increasing attention for their significance in fundamental science and technological applications. Most studies have produced ultrastable glasses through a surface-controlled process using physical vapor deposition. Here, we demonstrate an approach to accessing ultrastable glasses via the glass-to-glass transition, a bulk transformation that is inherently free from size constraints and anisotropy. The resulting ultrastable glass exhibits a significantly enhanced density (improved by 2.3%), along with high thermodynamic, kinetic, and mechanical stability. Furthermore, we propose that this method of accessing ultrastable glasses is general for metallic glasses, based on the examination of the competitive relationship between the glass-to-glass transition and crystallization. This strategy is expected to facilitate the proliferation of the ultrastable glass family, helping to resolve the instability issues of glass materials and devices and deepen our understanding of glasses and the glass transition.

Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic presented unparalleled challenges to prompt and adaptive responses from nations worldwide. This review examines China's multifaceted approach to the crisis, focusing on five key areas of response: infrastructure and system design, medical care and treatment, disease prevention and control, economic and social resilience, and China's engagement in global health. This review demonstrates the effectiveness of a top‐down command system at the national level, intersectoral coordination, a legal framework, and public social governance. This study also examines medical care and treatment strategies, highlighting the importance of rapid emergency response, evidence‐based treatment, and well‐planned vaccination rollout. Further discussion on disease prevention and control measures emphasizes the importance of adaptive measures, timely infection control, transmission interruption, population herd immunity, and technology applications. Socioeconomic impact was also assessed, detailing strategies for disease prevention, material supply, livelihood preservation, and social economy revival. Lastly, we examine China's contributions to the global health community, with a focus on knowledge‐sharing, information exchange, and multilateral assistance. While it is true that each nation's response must be tailored to its own context, there are universal lessons to be drawn from China's approach. These insights are pivotal for enhancing global health security, especially as the world navigates evolving health crises.

Abstract Automatic and accurate tooth segmentation on 3D dental point clouds plays a pivotal role in computer-aided dentistry. Existing Transformer-based methods focus on aggregating local features, but fail to directly model global contexts due to memory limitations and high computational cost. In this paper, we propose a novel Transformer-based 3D tooth segmentation network, called PointRegion, which can process the entire point cloud at a low cost. Following a novel modeling of semantic segmentation that interprets the point cloud as a tessellation of learnable regions, we first design a RegionPartition module to partition the 3D point cloud into a certain number of regions and project these regions as embeddings in an effective way. Then, an offset-attention based RegionEncoder module is applied on all region embeddings to model global context among regions and predict the class logits for each region. Considering the irregularity and disorder of 3D point cloud data, a novel mechanism is proposed to build the point-to-region association to replace traditional convolutional operations. The mechanism, as a medium between points and regions, automatically learns the probabilities that each point belongs to its neighboring regions from the similarity between point and region features, achieving the goal of point-level segmentation. Since the number of regions is far less than the number of points, our proposed PointRegion model can leverage the capability of the global-based Transformer on large-scale point clouds with low computational cost and memory consumption. Finally, extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of our method on our dental dataset.

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify key genes and investigate the immunological mechanisms of atopic dermatitis (AD) at the molecular level via bioinformatics analysis. Gene expression profiles (GSE32924, GSE107361, GSE121212, and GSE230200) were obtained for screening common differentially expressed genes (co-DEGs) from the gene expression omnibus database. Functional enrichment analysis, protein–protein interaction network and module construction, and identification of common hub genes were performed. Hub genes were validated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis based on GSE130588 and GSE16161. NetworkAnalyst was used to detect microRNAs (miRNAs) and transcription factors (TFs) associated with the hub genes. The immune cell infiltration was analyzed using the CIBERSORT algorithm to further analyze the correlation between hub genes and immune cells. A total of 146 co-DEGs were obtained, showing significant enrichment in cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction and JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Seven hub genes were identified by Cytoscape and validated with external datasets. Subsequent prediction of miRNAs and TFs targeting these hub genes revealed their regulatory roles. Analysis of immune cell infiltration and correlation revealed a significant positive correlation between CCL22 expression and the number of dendritic cells activated. The identified hub genes represent potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets in the immunological pathogenesis of AD.

Abstract Diabetes is a global chronic disease that seriously endangers human health and characterized by abnormally high blood glucose levels in the body. Diabetic wounds are common complications which associate with impaired healing process. Biomarkers monitoring of diabetic wounds is of great importance in the diabetes management. However, actual monitoring of biomarkers still largely relies on the complex process and additional sophisticated analytical instruments. In this work, we prepared hydrogels composed of different modules, which were designed to monitor different physiological indicators in diabetic wounds, including glucose levels, pH, and temperature. Glucose monitoring was achieved based on the combination of photonic crystal (PC) structure and glucose-responsive hydrogels. The obtained photonic crystal hydrogels (PCHs) allowed visual monitoring of glucose levels in physiological ranges by readout of intuitive structural color changes of PCHs during glucose-induced swelling and shrinkage. Interestingly, the glucose response of double network PCHs was completed in 15 min, which was twice as fast as single network PCHs, due to the higher volume fraction of glucose-responsive motifs. Moreover, pH sensing was achieved by incorporation of acid-base indicator dyes into hydrogels; and temperature monitoring was obtained by integration of thermochromic powders in hydrogels. These hydrogel modules effectively monitored the physiological levels and dynamic changes of three physiological biomarkers, both in vitro and in vivo during diabetic wound healing process. The multifunctional hydrogels with visual monitoring of biomarkers have great potential in wound-related monitoring and treatment. Graphical abstract

Abstract Many biological problems are understudied due to experimental limitations and human biases. Although deep learning is promising in accelerating scientific discovery, its power compromises when applied to problems with scarcely labeled data and data distribution shifts. We develop a deep learning framework—Meta Model Agnostic Pseudo Label Learning (MMAPLE)—to address these challenges by effectively exploring out-of-distribution (OOD) unlabeled data when conventional transfer learning fails. The uniqueness of MMAPLE is to integrate the concept of meta-learning, transfer learning and semi-supervised learning into a unified framework. The power of MMAPLE is demonstrated in three applications in an OOD setting where chemicals or proteins in unseen data are dramatically different from those in training data: predicting drug-target interactions, hidden human metabolite-enzyme interactions, and understudied interspecies microbiome metabolite-human receptor interactions. MMAPLE achieves 11% to 242% improvement in the prediction-recall on multiple OOD benchmarks over various base models. Using MMAPLE, we reveal novel interspecies metabolite-protein interactions that are validated by activity assays and fill in missing links in microbiome-human interactions. MMAPLE is a general framework to explore previously unrecognized biological domains beyond the reach of present experimental and computational techniques.

Abstract. Background:. Female breast and five gynecological cancers remain substantial burden in China and worldwide. GLOBOCAN 2022 has recently updated the estimates of cancer burden. This study aims to depict the profiles of disease burden and to compare the age-specific rates of female breast and five gynecological cancers in China with those in other countries. Methods:. The latest estimates of incidence and mortality of female breast and five gynecological cancers from various regions and countries were extracted from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database. We compared the proportion of total cases or deaths for cancers affecting female breast and five gynecological cancers and other tumor types in China and globally. Correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) or age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and the Human Development Index (HDI). Additionally, age-specific rate curves were plotted for ten exemplary countries with different income levels. Results:. Female breast and five gynecological cancers in China accounted for 30.2% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases. Breast cancer and cervical cancer are the most commonly diagnosed, with nearly 507,000 new cases, representing 23.48% of the new cases. The incidence rates of breast, uterine corpus, ovarian, and vulvar cancers were positively associated with HDI tiers. Chinese women aged 50– 54 years are experiencing high incidence rates of breast, cervix uteri, corpus uteri, and ovarian cancers. Conclusions:. Female breast and five gynecological cancers continue to be a significant health concern for women in China and worldwide. It is crucial to implement comprehensive prevention strategies tailored to address the increasing trend among younger individuals and reduce regional disparities.

Abstract Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a prevalent type of sexual dysfunction, and continuous monitoring of penile tumescence and rigidity during spontaneous nocturnal erections is crucial for its diagnosis and classification. However, the current clinical standard device, limited by its active mechanical load, is bulky and nonwearable and strongly interferes with erections, which compromises both monitoring reliability and patient compliance. Here, we report a wearable adaptive rigidity monitoring (WARM) system that employs a measurement principle without active loads, allowing for the assessment of penile tumescence and rigidity through a specifically designed elastic dual-ring sensor. The dual-ring sensor, comprising two strain-sensing rings with distinct elastic moduli, provides high resolution (0.1%), robust mechanical and electrical stability (sustaining over 1000 cycles), and strong interference resistance. An integrated flexible printed circuit (FPC) collects and processes sensing signals, which are then transmitted to the host computer via Bluetooth for ED assessment. Additionally, we validated the WARM system against the clinical standard device using both a penile model and healthy volunteers, achieving high consistency. Furthermore, the system facilitates the continuous evaluation of penile erections during nocturnal tumescence tests with concurrent sleep monitoring, demonstrating its ability to minimize interference with nocturnal erections. In conclusion, the WARM system offers a fully integrated, wearable solution for continuous, precise, and patient-friendly measurement of penile tumescence and rigidity, potentially providing more reliable and accessible outcomes than existing technologies. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a prevalent sexual dysfunction, and continuous monitoring of penile tumescence and rigidity during spontaneous nocturnal erections is crucial for its diagnosis and classification. However, the current clinical standard device, limited by its active mechanical load, is bulky, nonwearable, and creates pronounced interference with erections, which compromises both monitoring reliability and patient compliance. Here, we report a wearable adaptive rigidity monitoring (WARM) system (Fig. 1a) that employs a measurement principle without active loads (Fig. 1b), allowing for the assessment of penile tumescence and rigidity through a specifically designed elastic dual-ring sensor. The dual-ring sensor, comprising two strain-sensing rings with distinct elastic moduli, provides high resolution (0.1%), robust mechanical and electrical stability (sustaining over 1000 cycles), and strong interference resistance. Additionally, we validate the WARM system against the clinical standard device using both a penile model and healthy volunteers, achieving high consistency. Furthermore, the system facilitates the continuous evaluation of penile erections during nocturnal tumescence tests, with concurrent sleep monitoring, demonstrating its ability to minimize interference with nocturnal erections (Fig. 1c). In conclusion, the WARM system offers a fully integrated, wearable solution for continuous, precise, and patient-friendly measurement of penile tumescence and rigidity, potentially providing more reliable and accessible outcomes than those from existing technologies.

Objective To explore the application value of transesophageal echocardiography （TEE） for evaluating hemodialysis tunneled cuffed catheter （TCC） dysfunction. Methods From March 1, 2020 to July 31, 2022, 28 patients hospitalized at Central Municipal Hospital for hemodialysis with tunneled cuffed catheter （TCC） dysfunction. Both TEE and digital subtraction angiography（DSA） were performed for observing the status of catheter routing, thrombus, fibrin sheath and central venous disease, etc. Positive criteria for TEE/DSA if one or more of the following:（1）catheter-related thrombosis （CRT）; （2） fibrin sheath around duct; （3） central venous stenosis; （4）narrow chamber junction;（5）catheter in an inappropriate position. With DSA as a gold standard, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of TEE results were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic（ROC） curve and area under ROC curve（AUC） were employed for examining the accuracy of TEE and verifying the consistency of two inspection results. Results Among them,18 were TEE positive and 16 DSA positive. As compared with DSA results, TEE had a sensitivity of 87.5%, a specificity of 66.7%, an accuracy of 78.6%, a positive predictive value of 77.8% and a negative predictive value of 80%. AUC of 0.771 [95%CI （0.582, 0.960）], P = 0.016;Kappa = 0.553, P = 0.003] hinted at consistency between TEE/DSA results. Conclusion As an important modality of evaluating TCC dysfunction, TEE offers the advantages of non-invasiveness, affordability and convenience. It may guide the diagnosis and treatment of TCC dysfunction and is worthy of wider popularization.

BACKGROUND: Exertional heat stroke (EHS) is a clinical entity characterized by abnormalities of the central nervous system (CNS) and is associated with multiple organ injury, some of which may be irreversible. It is valuable to establish an optimized model of EHS that is able to induce and assess damage to the CNS and multiple organs. METHODS: We induced EHS by using an environmental chamber with adjustable temperature and humidity and a mice forced running wheel. The endpoint for the EHS was defined as either exhaustion or a core temperature of 42.5°C being reached. Injury to the liver, kidney, and CNS of mice in the EHS group was revealed through pathological studies using hematoxylin and eosin staining of harvested organs at different time points and detection of biomarkers. The depressive-like behavior of EHS mice was assessed through open field tests, forced swimming tests, and tail suspension tests. RESULTS: The favorable environmental conditions for induction of EHS based on this presented model are 38°C, 70% RH. The EHS mice developed thermoregulatory dysfunction and experienced a significantly higher weight loss ratio compared to the SHE (sham heat exercise) group. The liver, kidney, and brain tissues of EHS mice were significantly damaged, and the pathological damage scores for each organ were significantly higher than those of the SHE group. In the open field test (OFT), compared to the SHE group, there was a significant reduction in the number and time of EHS mice entering the center of the open field. Additionally, there was a significant increase in immobile time during forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). CONCLUSION: This study presents an improved animal model that has the potential to assess for neurological and multiple organ injury caused by EHS and simultaneously, while accurately reflecting the clinical characteristics observed in EHS patients.

Well-designed artificial scaffolds are urgently needed due to the limited self-repair capacity of bone, which hampers effective regeneration in critical defects. Optimal scaffolds must provide physical guidance to recruit cells and immune regulation to improve the regenerative microenvironment. This study presents a novel scaffold composed of dual-sided centripetal microgrooved poly(D,L-lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) film combined with a dynamic hydrogel containing prednisolone (PLS)-loaded Prussian blue nanoparticles (PB@PLS). The microgrooves on the surface of the PLCL film were imprinted using a micropatterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) template. Following aminolysis, the PLCL film was covalently grafted with the EM-7 peptide via glutaraldehyde. Functional group analysis, surface morphology and hydrophilicity were evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and an optical contact angle measuring instrument, respectively. Bone regeneration-related cells (e.g., bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, macrophages, Schwann cells, and endothelial cells) cultured on PLCL films tended to align along the stripes and migrate from the periphery toward the center region in vitro. Subsequently, the PLCL film was encapsulated in an immune-regulating hydrogel synthesized from thiol-modified gelatin and Cu2+ in the presence of PB@PLS nanoparticles, which demonstrated excellent antioxidant properties. This scaffold significantly accelerated critical-sized bone regeneration, as evidenced by an increase in the volume of newly formed bone and histological images in vivo. This innovative approach holds substantial promise for clinical applications in bone regeneration and broader tissue repair.

Abstract Surge in global population and shift toward animal‐based diets have accelerated expansion of livestock production, posing various environmental challenges. It requires inventorying localized, activity‐specific, and indicator‐extended multidimensional eco‐environmental burdens and revealing their transfers within interregional trade to inform holistic livestock production management from both production and consumption sides. Herein, we construct a life cycle framework covering multiple livestock species, feeding regimes, and activities to evaluate nine environmental impacts ending up as human health, ecosystem quality and resource scarcity burdens in Chinese provincial regions. Multi‐regional input‐output analysis is then conducted to trace transfers of these burdens embedded within trade associated with livestock production. Results indicate that fine particulate matter formation (mainly by livestock housing) and climate change (mainly by enteric fermentation) contribute greater than 60% and 30% to health burdens. Besides for health burdens, for ecosystem burdens primarily caused by housing, and resource burdens mainly aggravated by high on‐farm energy use, poultry results in the highest level. The main production regions Shandong, Henan and Sichuan lead from perspectives of both production and consumption‐based burdens. Whereas regions with the largest export (Inner Mongolia, 3.87 × 104 DALY for health burdens) or import (Guangdong, 3.92 × 104 DALY for health burdens) do not necessarily bear greatest burdens. This work provides policy instructions in mitigating various eco‐environmental burdens imposed by livestock production and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

BackgroundUncertainty in the diagnosis of lung nodules is a challenge for both patients and physicians. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly being integrated into medical imaging to assist diagnostic procedures. However, the accuracy of AI systems in identifying and measuring lung nodules on chest computed tomography (CT) scans remains unclear, which requires further evaluation. ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the impact of an AI-assisted diagnostic system on the diagnostic efficiency of radiologists. It specifically examined the report modification rates and missed and misdiagnosed rates of junior radiologists with and without AI assistance. MethodsWe obtained effective data from 12,889 patients in 2 tertiary hospitals in Beijing before and after the implementation of the AI system, covering the period from April 2018 to March 2022. Diagnostic reports written by both junior and senior radiologists were included in each case. Using reports by senior radiologists as a reference, we compared the modification rates of reports written by junior radiologists with and without AI assistance. We further evaluated alterations in lung nodule detection capability over 3 years after the integration of the AI system. Evaluation metrics of this study include lung nodule detection rate, accuracy, false negative rate, false positive rate, and positive predictive value. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics and chi-square, Cochran-Armitage, and Mann-Kendall tests. ResultsThe AI system was implemented in Beijing Anzhen Hospital (Hospital A) in January 2019 and Tsinghua Changgung Hospital (Hospital C) in June 2021. The modification rate of diagnostic reports in the detection of lung nodules increased from 4.73% to 7.23% (χ21=12.15; P

The hypoxic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) remains a major obstacle to impede cancer immunotherapy. Here, we found that sononeoperfusion—a new effect of tumor perfusion enhancement induced by low mechanical index ultrasound stimulated microbubble cavitation (USMC)—ameliorated tumor tissue oxygenation and induced tumor vascular normalization (TVN). This TVN might be associated with the down-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) within tumors. Moreover, the sononeoperfusion effect reduced the accumulation of immunosuppressive cells, such as regulatory T cells (Tregs), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (M2-TAMs), and decreased the production of immune inhibitory factors like transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), interleukin 10 (IL-10), chemoattractant chemokines CC-chemokine ligand 22 (CCL22), CCL28, adenosine and lactate within tumors. Notably, flow cytometry analysis revealed that sononeoperfusion not only increased the percentage of tumor infiltrating-CD8+ T cells, but also promoted the generation of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by these cells. Furthermore, the improved immune TME by sononeoperfusion effect sensitized anti-PD-L1 treatment both in MC38 colon cancer and Lewis lung carcinoma mice, resulting in tumor regression and prolonged survival. Mechanically, the enhanced efficacy of combination therapy was mainly based on promoting the infiltration and function of CD8+ T cells within tumors. Together, sononeoperfusion could ameliorate hypoxia and immunosuppression in the TME, thereby potentiating anti-PD-L1 therapy for solid tumors. This novel method of USMC generating sononeoperfusion effect may provide a new therapeutic modality for facilitating cancer immunotherapy.

Increase of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the tumour microenvironment predicts worse survival of patients with various types of cancer. Recently, B cells play a significant role in the maintenance of Treg cells. However, the relevance of regulatory B cells (Bregs) to tumour immunity in humans remains elusive. Flow cytometry analysis was used to detect the Bregs and Tregs. Double staining results illustrated that the proportion of Bregs and Tregs were prominently higher in cervical cancer than normal tissues. Increase of Bregs and Tregs in cervical cancer microenvironment was associated with poor survival. Furthermore, Bregs cocultured with cervical cancer cell lines increased and induced Tregs. To sum up, the increased expression of Bregs contributes to the differentiation of CD4+ T cells into Tregs in the cervical cancer.

Arctic warming played a dominant role in recent occurrences of extreme events over the Northern Hemisphere, but climate models cannot accurately simulate the relationship. Here a significant positive correlation (0.33–0.95) between extreme precipitation and Arctic amplification (AA) is found using observations and CMIP5/6 multi-model ensembles. However, CMIP6 models are superior to CMIP5 models in simulating the temporal evolution of extreme precipitation and AA. According to 14 optimal CMIP6 models, the maximum latitude of planetary waves and the strength of Northern Hemisphere annular mode (NAM) will increase with increasing AA, contributing to increased extreme precipitation over the Northern Hemisphere. Under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway SSP5-8.5, AA is expected to increase by 0.85 °C per decade while the maximum latitude of planetary waves will increase by 2.82° per decade. Additionally, the amplitude of the NAM will increase by 0.21 hPa per decade, contributing to a rise in extreme precipitation of 1.17% per decade for R95pTOT and 0.86% per decade for R99pTOT by 2100.

Abstract Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death form characterized by reactive oxygen species (ROS) overgeneration and lipid peroxidation. Myricetin, a flavonoid that exists in numerous plants, exhibits potent antioxidant capacity. Given that iron accumulation and ROS-provoked dopaminergic neuron death are the two main pathological hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease (PD), we aimed to investigate whether myricetin decreases neuronal death through suppressing ferroptosis. The PD models were established by intraperitoneally injecting 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) into rats and by treating SH-SY5Y cells with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), respectively. Ferroptosis was identified by assessing the levels of Fe2+, ROS, malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione (GSH). The results demonstrated that myricetin treatment effectively mitigated MPTP-triggered motor impairment, dopamine neuronal death, and α-synuclein (α-Syn) accumulation in PD models. Myricetin also alleviated MPTP-induced ferroptosis, as evidenced by decreased levels of Fe2+, ROS, and MDA and increased levels of GSH in the substantia nigra (SN) and serum in PD models. All these changes were reversed by erastin, a ferroptosis activator. In vitro, myricetin treatment restored SH-SY5Y cell viability and alleviated MPP+-induced SH-SY5Y cell ferroptosis. Mechanistically, myricetin accelerated nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and subsequent glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) expression in MPP+-treated SH-SY5Y cells, two critical inhibitors of ferroptosis. Collectively, these data demonstrate that myricetin may be a potential agent for decreasing dopaminergic neuron death by inhibiting ferroptosis in PD.

IntroductionTo achieve higher levels of development in China, building an environmentally friendly, low-carbon economic system is crucial, and policymaking plays a key role in this. Low-carbon and innovative cities pilot were launched in 2010 and 2008, respectively, with the range of pilot cities continuing to expand to date. This study aimed to calculating carbon emission efficiency and exploration the impact of dual pilot low carbon cities and innovative cities on carbon emission efficiency.MethodsUsing a multi-period DID model, this study analyses data from 284 prefecture-level cities in China between 2006 and 2020. The Super-SBM model with undesired output is applied to calculate urban carbon emission efficiency.ResultsThe study performs a sequence of robustness tests; it is still found that the dual-pilot policy has a positive promotion effect on urban carbon emission efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effect of dual-pilot is more significant in the central and western regions, with notable differences observed regardless of city size. The impact mechanism analysis finds that the dual-pilot policy boosts the rate by enhancing green innovation in general. The synergy analysis found that the efficiency improvement effect of the dual-pilot on carbon emissions would be more significant than that of the single-pilot policy, indicating that the dual-pilot policy has a synergistic effect and is still significant two years after either the single-pilot or the dual-pilot.DiscussionThe findings indicate that the dual-pilot policy has a better capacity to reduce carbon emission and improve its efficiency, which can work to achieve green development. Nevertheless, the limitation is that it fails to reflect spatial differences, and the relevant research will be further strengthened.

Synaptopodin, an actin-associated protein found in a subset of dendritic spines in telencephalic neurons, has been described to influence both functional and morphological plasticity under various plasticity paradigms. Synaptopodin is necessary and sufficient for the formation of the spine apparatus, stacks of smooth endoplasmic reticulum cisternae. The spine apparatus is a calcium store that locally regulates calcium dynamics in response to different patterns of activity and is also thought to be a site for local protein synthesis. Synaptopodin is present in ~30% of telencephalic large dendritic spines in vivo and in vitro highlighting the heterogeneous microanatomy and molecular architecture of dendritic spines, an important but not well understood aspect of neuroplasticity. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that synaptopodin is a formidable regulator of multiple mechanisms essential for learning and memory. In fact, synaptopodin appears to be the decisive factor that determines whether plasticity can occur, acting as a key regulator for synaptic changes. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of synaptopodin’s role in various forms of Hebbian synaptic plasticity.

Citrinin (CTN) is a mycotoxin commonly found in contaminated foods and feed, posing health risks to both humans and animals. However, the mechanism by which CTN damages the intestine remains unclear. In this study, a model of intestinal injury was induced by administering 1.25 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg of CTN via gavage for 28 consecutive days in 6-week-old Kunming mice, aiming to explore the potential mechanisms underlying intestinal injury. The results demonstrate that CTN can cause structural damage to the mouse jejunum. Additionally, CTN reduces the protein expression of Claudin-1, Occludin, ZO-1, and MUC2, thereby disrupting the physical and chemical barriers of the intestine. Furthermore, exposure to CTN alters the structure of the intestinal microbiota in mice, thus compromising the intestinal microbial barrier. Meanwhile, the results showed that CTN exposure could induce excessive apoptosis in intestinal cells by altering the expression of proteins such as CHOP and GRP78 in the endoplasmic reticulum and Bax and Cyt c in mitochondria. The mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum are connected through the mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane (MAM), which regulates the membrane. We found that the expression of bridging proteins Fis1 and BAP31 on the membrane was increased after CTN treatment, which would exacerbate the endoplasmic reticulum dysfunction, and could activate proteins such as Caspase-8 and Bid, thus further inducing apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway. Taken together, these results suggest that CTN exposure can cause intestinal damage by disrupting the intestinal barrier and inducing excessive apoptosis in intestinal cells.

Citrinin (CTN) has been reported to induce renal failure and structural damage, but its nephrotoxic effects and mechanisms are not fully understood. Therefore, we established a model by orally administering CTN (0, 1.25, 5, or 20 mg/kg) to mice for 21 consecutive days. Histological and biochemical analyses revealed that CTN caused structural damage to renal tubules, increased inflammatory cell infiltration, and elevated levels of serum markers of renal function (creatinine, urea, and uric acid). Moreover, mRNA transcript levels of the inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were increased, indicating the occurrence of an inflammatory response. Furthermore, exposure to CTN induced renal oxidative stress by decreasing antioxidant GSH levels, antioxidant enzyme (SOD, CAT) activities, and increasing oxidative products (ROS, MDA). In addition, CTN increased the expression of proteins associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER)stress and apoptotic pathways. ER stress has been shown to be involved in regulating various models of kidney disease, but its role in CTN-induced renal injury has not been reported. We found that pretreatment with the ER stress inhibitor 4-PBA (240 mg/kg, ip) alleviated CTN-induced oxidative stress, NF-κB pathway mediated inflammatory response, and apoptosis. Interestingly, 4-PBA also partially alleviated renal structural damage and dysfunction. Thus, ER stress may be a novel target for the prevention and treatment of CTN-induced renal injury.

Struma ovarii (SO) represents a rare subset of ovarian germ cell tumors, with approximately 5% transforming into malignant SO (MSO). This study retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 23 SO patients treated at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between January 2013 and December 2023, including 17 benign SO (BSO) and 6 MSO cases. Additionally, a systematic review of 164 cases of MSO confined to the ovary, reported in the literature from 1946 to 2024, was conducted. Data on pathological type, treatment, and prognosis were extracted, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for recurrence in stage I MSO. The median age at diagnosis was higher for BSO compared to MSO (58 vs. 42.5 years), with 70.6% of patients being postmenopausal. BSO commonly presented with abdominal distension or mass, with more than half having ascites, while MSO patients were asymptomatic and lacked ascites. Cox regression analyses revealed that ovarian cystectomy was adversely associated with recurrence risk in stage I MSO, likely due to surgically induced capsular rent and potential tumor spillage. Significantly lower recurrence risks were observed in patients who underwent unilateral or bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (HR = 0.36, P = 0.019; HR = 0.19, P = 0.004, respectively). This study highlights the importance of the surgical approach in the management of stage I MSO. A thorough preoperative discussion of the benefits and risks of different surgical approaches is recommended for patients desiring fertility preservation. Postoperative adjuvant therapy has not been shown to have a significant impact on prognosis. For the treatment of recurrent MSO, selecting appropriate surgical and adjuvant therapeutic strategies is essential to improve the long-term prognosis of MSO patients.

ObjectivesThe competency of radiology directly affects the quality and equity of medical services. Due to their different occupational characteristics compared to other specialists, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of lifestyles on competency and burnout in radiology residents in China.Materials and methodsA nationwide, cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021. A total of 12,208 radiology residents during their standardized residency training in China were invited. Multivariate linear regression and logistic regression were conducted to identify perceived competency and burnout associated with lifestyles.ResultsOf the 3,666 participants, 58.02% were female, 82.24% were aged

As underground mining operations gradually extend deeper, the conditions for orebody occurrence become increasingly complex, and various geological disasters occur frequently. Rock masses are prone to different degrees and types of damage, making it impractical to continue using intact rock as a reference. To study the dynamic mechanical properties of damaged rock under actual conditions, this study subjected granite samples to impact and high-temperature damage. Detailed observations were made of the samples' surface morphology and microstructure before and after damage, and the patterns of damage changes were investigated. Subsequently, uniaxial compression tests at different loading rates were conducted on the damaged samples. By calculating the loading rate effect sensitivity, it was found that as the damage increased, the rate effect gradually diminished. In addition, this study also summarized the influence of damage and loading rate on the macroscopic failure characteristics of the samples. The novelty of this study lies in focusing on damaged rock, which more closely resembles the actual rock conditions encountered in most underground mining operations today. This research can provide a reference for stability assessment and safe construction in deep mining rock engineering and offers important insights into the feasibility of non-explosive extraction of damaged rock.

T-2 toxin, a mycotoxin found in foods and feeds, poses a threat to female reproductive health in both humans and animals. LncRNA CUFF.253988.1 (CUFF.253988.1), highly expressed in pigs, has an undisclosed regulatory role. This study aimed to establish a model of T-2 toxin-induced ovarian injury in sows, both in vivo and in vitro, and to explore the regulatory role and potential mechanisms of CUFF.253988.1. The results showed that feeding T-2 toxin-contaminated feed (1 mg/kg) induced ovarian follicle atresia and mitochondrial structural damage, accompanied by a significant upregulation of CUFF.253988.1 expression in the ovaries. Additionally, T-2 toxin inhibited the SIRT3/PGC1-α pathway associated with mitochondrial function. Moreover, T-2 toxin induced cell apoptosis by upregulating the expression of Cyt c, Bax, cleaved-caspase-9, and cleaved-caspase-3 proteins. In T-2 toxin-induced injury to the ovarian granulosa AVG-16 cells at concentrations of 10, 40 and 160 nM, not only were the previously mentioned effects observed, but also a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP content, and an elevation in ROS levels. However, downregulating CUFF.253988.1 reversed T-2 toxin's inhibition of the SIRT3/PGC1-α pathway, alleviating mitochondrial dysfunction and reducing cell apoptosis. Notably, this may be attributed to the inhibition of T-2 toxin-induced enrichment of CUFF.253988.1 in mitochondria. In conclusion, CUFF.253988.1 plays a pivotal role in T-2 toxin-induced ovarian damage, operating through the inhibition of the SIRT3/PGC1-α pathway and promotion of cell apoptosis.

Background: While suboptimal medication adherence remains an obstacle to the management of hypertension and diabetes in China, few studies have investigated associated factors with medication adherence on different dimensions simultaneously. Objective: To systematically examine associated patient, family, and community factors with suboptimal medication adherence among people with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes in China. Methods: The study stratified a random sample of 622 adults aged 45 years or older with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes from three southeast cities in China in 2019. Trained interviewers used the Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale, Self-Efficacy to Manage Chronic Disease (SEMCD) Scale, and the Family Adaptability, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve (APGAR) Scale to assess medication adherence, self-efficacy, and family function, respectively. Participants also reported their perceived satisfaction with community health services (quantity, quality, affordability, and overall acceptance). The study used the multivariable logistic regression to assess the association of patient, family, and community factors with suboptimal medication adherence. Results: Among the participants, 42.9% reported suboptimal medication adherence. In the multivariable logistic regression model, male participants (odds ratio [OR] = 0.55, p = 0.001) had higher medication adherence compared to females. Having a self-efficacy score that was lower than or equal to the sample mean was significantly associated with lower adherence (OR = 1.44, p = 0.039). Participants unsatisfied with the affordability of community health services and medicine had lower adherence (OR = 2.18, p = 0.028) than those neutral or satisfied. There were no significant associations between family function and medication adherence. Conclusions: Sex, self-efficacy, and perceived affordability of community health services were important factors associated with medication adherence. Healthcare professionals are recommended to consider multiple factors and leverage services and resources in community health centers when promoting medication adherence.

Abstract Furin primarily localizes to the trans‐Golgi network (TGN), where it cleaves and activates a broad range of immature proproteins that play critical roles in cellular homeostasis, disease progression, and infection. Furin is retrieved from endosomes to the TGN after being phosphorylated, but it is still unclear how furin exits the TGN to initiate the post‐Golgi trafficking and how its activity is regulated in the TGN. Here three membrane‐associated RING‐CH finger (MARCHF) proteins (2, 8, 9) are identified as furin E3 ubiquitin ligases, which catalyze furin K33‐polyubiquitination. Polyubiquitination prevents furin from maturation by blocking its ectodomain cleavage inside cells but promotes its egress from the TGN and shedding. Further ubiquitin‐specific protease 32 (USP32) is identified as the furin deubiquitinase in the TGN that counteracts the MARCHF inhibitory activity on furin. Thus, the furin post‐Golgi trafficking is regulated by an interplay between polyubiquitination and phosphorylation. Polyubiquitination is required for furin anterograde transport but inhibits its proprotein convertase activity, and phosphorylation is required for furin retrograde transport to produce fully active furin inside cells.