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Abstract The gamut and EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) of a display together determine its color performance. Gamut determines the range of displayable colors, and the EOTF determines the color accuracy and depth. Image reproduction often comprises two parts: the image source and the display terminal. To ensure the universality of different terminals, the image source is generally produced in a standardized gamut standard, while the terminal pursues a wider gamut and more spectacular color performance. As a widely welcomed form of display, WCGDs (Wide Color Gamut Displays) boast stunning color performance. However, certain colors in WCGDs displays are oversaturated, which is unacceptable to the human eye. This paper analyzes the oversaturation problem of WCGDs. Firstly, a display model based on EOTF and gamut parameters is established. Then the color point vector field varies with EOTF is derived and the drift of luminance and chromaticity are analyzed separately. Finally, two strategies are present to optimize the color oversaturation problem of WCGDs based on the analysis conclusions and verify its effectiveness. This paper presents a detailed analysis and possible strategy for color oversaturation in WCGDs, providing a theoretical basis for the accurate color reproduction and efficient color management of WCGDs.

Abstract Efficient catalysis of ammonia borane (AB) holds potential for realizing controlled energy release from hydrogen fuel and addressing cost challenges faced by hydrogen storage. Here, we report that amorphous domains on metallic Fe crystal structures (R-Fe2O3 Foam) can achieve AB catalytic performances and stability (turnover frequency (TOF) of 113.6 min−1, about 771 L H2 in 900 h, and 43.27 mL/(min·cm2) for 10×10 cm2 of Foam) that outperform reported benchmarks (most

Abstract Purpose The study’s objective was to assess the effect of the screw insertion depth into fractured vertebrae in treating thoracolumbar fractures. Materials and methods This was a retrospective analysis of 92 patients with thoracolumbar fractures from December 2018 to February 2020. Patients had AO type A2, A3 thoracolumbar fractures. The patients were divided into two groups according to the screw insertion depth. The vertebral wedge angle (VWA), Cobb angle (CA), anterior vertebral body height (AVBH), middle vertebral body height (MVBH), visual analog scale (VAS) score, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were compared preoperatively and at one week and 12 months postoperatively. The correlation between Vertebral height loss and potential risk factors, such as sex, age, BMD and BMI was evaluated. Results Compared with the preoperative data, the postoperative clinical and radiographic findings were significantly different in both groups, But no significant difference between the two groups at 1 week. At 1 year postoperatively, there was a significant difference in the CA (p

Abstract Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a fatal tuberculosis caused by a large number of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) spread by blood flow, with a case fatality rate of more than 50%. It is one of the most serious complications of miliary tuberculosis (MT), whose incidence is closely related to MT. If doctors can provide early diagnosis and active treatment for TBM, the case fatality rate will be significantly reduced. At present, there is a lack of methods to predict the progression of MT to TBM in clinic. To explore whether MT cases will experience TBM, we propose an early screening model of miliary tuberculosis with tuberculous meningitis (MT-TBM) based on few-shot learning with multiple windows and feature granularities (MWFG). This model aims to screen potential TBM cases through chest computerized tomography (CT) images of MT cases. Chest CT is a routine examination for MT cases. The MWFG module can extract more comprehensive features from a set of CT images of each MT case. The softmax classifier with adaptive regularization is trained on the cooperation of support set and query set, which can effectively prevent overfitting. Experiments on a dataset of 40 MT cases with chest CT images established by the medical records demonstrate that our proposed model achieves state-of-the-art performance in the early screening of MT-TBM. It can establish the connection between MT and MT-TBM through chest CT images of MT cases. The early screening model of MT-TBM based on few-shot learning with MWFG fills the research gap in computer-aided predicting TBM and has certain clinical effects. This research can provide some reference for clinicians in early diagnosis of MT-TBM and help clinicians in the early prevention and treatment of TBM for MT patients.

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a serious threat to human health worldwide. lncRNA dysregulation is frequently observed in various cancers, including HCC. However, the function of LINC01370 in HCC progression and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Methods LINC01370 expression in HCC tissues with cells was analyzed by applying the GEO and GEPIA databases and qRT-PCR. CCK-8 and Transwell assays were used to assess HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The PI3K, AKT, with p-AKT protein expression were analyzed by western blotting. Results Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) showed that LINC01370 expression was significantly lower in HCC tissues than in normal tissues. LINC01370 overexpression markedly repressed HepG2 SMMC-7721 cells proliferation, migration, and invasion. To understand the downstream mechanism of LINC01370 regulation, we further analyzed the genes co-expressed with LINC01370 in GSE136247 and GSE132037 and then performed KEGG analysis. The PA pathway was found to be a downstream pathway regulated by LINC01370 in GSE136247 and GSE132037 via gene co-expression and KEGG analysis. Furthermore, PI3K and p-AKT protein levels decreased after LINC01370 overexpression. Importantly, rescue experiments showed that activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway disrupted the repressive effect of LINC01370 overexpression on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 of SMMC-7721 cells. Conclusions This study verified that LINC01370 suppresses HCC proliferation with metastasis by regulating the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Crowd counting, a crucial computer vision task, aims at estimating the number of individuals in various environments. Each person in crowd counting datasets is typically annotated by a point at the center of the head. However, challenges like dense crowds, diverse scenarios, significant obscuration, and low resolution lead to inevitable label noise, adversely impacting model performance. Driven by the need to enhance model robustness in noisy environments and improve accuracy, we propose the Loss Filtering Factor (LFF) and the corresponding Label Noise Robust Crowd Counting (LNRCC) training scheme. LFF innovatively filters out losses caused by label noise during training, enabling models to focus on accurate data, thereby increasing reliability. Our extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of LNRCC, which consistently improves performance across all models and datasets, with an average enhancement of 3.68% in Mean Absolute Error (MAE), 6.7% in Mean Squared Error (MSE) and 4.68% in Grid Average Mean Absolute Error (GAME). The universal applicability of this approach, coupled with its ease of integration into any neural network model architecture, marks a significant advancement in the field of computer vision, particularly in addressing the pivotal issue of accuracy in crowd counting under challenging conditions.

BackgroundGravity-driven depositional processes play a pivotal role in shaping the geomorphology of subaqueous deltas worldwide, particularly by eroding the seafloor, leading to the formation of rugged submarine channels (SCs) and triggering various subaqueous geohazards. A comprehensive understanding of SCs is crucial for elucidating these depositional mechanisms and mitigating the risks associated with submarine geohazards. Although SCs in the Huanghe delta front have been previously identified, often described as seafloor gullies or subsurface “disturbed strata,” most studies have primarily concentrated on their engineering geological properties. However, there has been limited research on the scale, morphology, and development of these SCs, especially those that are buried within the stratigraphy.MethodsThis study integrates high-resolution sub-bottom data, sediment core analyses, and historical bathymetric data to investigate the morphology, distribution, and formation mechanisms of SCs in the Huanghe subaqueous delta.ResultsThe SCs, both buried and exposed, are widespread along the middle and upper delta front, predominantly located at or near the landward flank of sediment gravity flow (SGF) -related accumulations. The buried SCs are characterized by cut-and-fill structures with transparent to semi-transparent fills, indicating rapid infilling processes as SGF energy dissipates. These buried channels were preserved within different sets of delta front deposits formed during 1855–1964 CE, 1964–1976 CE, and 1976–2007 CE, with the latter two periods separated by a significant lobe-switching event in 1976 CE. This event, combined with prevailing southeastward sediment transport and erosional regimes, appears to have controlled the preservation of SCs along the delta front: SCs in the Diaokou Lobe's delta front (pre-1976) suffered significant erosion, leaving only one set of channel (erosional remnants) preserved, while the SCs in the Qingshuigou Lobe's delta front (post-1976) are characterized by well-preserved, multi-phase channels at different horizons. The cross-section morphology of the SCs reveal three primary types: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and composite, corresponding respectively to (1) idealized SGF incision, (2) uneven incision intensity on either side of the SCs, and (3) the merging of two or more symmetrical/asymmetrical SCs.ConclusionsWe describe in detail the morphology, distribution and development of SCs in the modern Huanghe subaqueous delta. These findings provide insights into the formation and distribution of SCs in other shallow marine settings, particularly in delta front areas, and potentially offer information for disaster prevention and engineering development in such regions.

Background: Hypertension is a global public health concern. A synbiotic preparation containing Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus has been used as adjunct therapy for hypertension. We sought to elucidate the antihypertensive activity of this preparation and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods and results: Blood pressure in rats was measured using the tail-cuff method. Colonization of the gastrointestinal tract by the two probiotics was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Mechanistic studies were performed by proteomic analyses based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and STRING database and metabolomic analyses using the UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS platform and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)β/γ antagonists. Although biochemical analysis of blood samples showed that the synbiotic preparation did not alter the levels of angiotensin II, aldosterone, or cortisol, it significantly lowered the systolic blood pressure in the treatment group. Moreover, the synbiotic preparation contributed to the localization of the two probiotics in the ileum and colon of the treatment group. Proteomics, immunochemistry, and real-time qPCR analyses showed that administration of the synbiotic preparation activated the PPAR signaling pathway in the ileum and significantly upregulated PPARβ and PPARγ. The antagonist studies further confirmed this finding. In addition, metabolomic analyses demonstrated that among the 27 metabolites that showed significant differences between the control and model groups, administration of the synbiotic preparation significantly upregulated lysophosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine in the ileum of the treatment group. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that the novel synbiotic preparation reduces blood pressure by altering the composition of the intestinal microbiota, regulating PPAR signaling pathway, and activating the PPARβ and PPARγ cascade reactions in the ileum.

Abstract Real-world decision-making problems often include multi-polar uncertainties dependent on multi-dimensional attributes. The m-polar fuzzy (mF) sets can efficiently handle such multi-faceted complications with T-norm based weighted aggregation techniques. The Aczel–Alsina T-norms offer comparatively flexible and accurate aggregation than the other well-known T-norm families. Consequently, this work introduced novel mF Aczel–Alsina aggregation operators (AOs), including weighted averaging (mFAAWA, mFAAOWA, mFAAHWA) and weighted geometric (mFAAWG, mFAAOWG, mFAAHWG) AOs. The fundamental properties, including boundedness, idempotency, monotonicity, and commutativity are investigated. Based on the proposed AOs, a decision-making algorithm is developed and implemented to solve two detailed multi-polar site selection problems (for desalination plant and for wind-power plant). Finally, a comparison with mF Dombi and mF Yager AOs reveals that different T-norm based AOs may yeild different solutions for the same problem.

Abstract This work proposes a symbolic method to verify and enforce the current‐state opacity of labelled Petri nets (LPNs). The notion of basis markings of partially observed Petri nets currently dominates the development of opacity verification and enforcement for discrete event systems. However, the related computational efficiency, to a great extent, depends on the number of basis markings in a system, which increases exponentially with respect to the size of its corresponding LPN model. Binary decision diagrams (BDDs) are capable of computing a set of basis markings in a compact shared structure. To mitigate the computational overheads, a BDD‐based method to efficiently model the structure and behaviour of an LPN is proposed. Then, the current‐state opacity of LPNs is verified and enforced in a symbolic manner. Finally, a number of examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) suffers severe quality and yield loss from oomycete diseases caused by Phytophthora capsici. CaSGT1 was previously determined to positively regulate the immune response of pepper plants against P. capsici, but by which mechanism remains elusive. In the present study, the potential interacting proteins of CaSGT1 were isolated from pepper using a yeast two-hybrid system, among which CaARP1 was determined to interact with CaSGT1 via bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and microscale thermophoresis (MST) assays. CaARP1 belongs to the auxin-repressed protein family, which is well-known to function in modulating plant growth. The transcriptional and protein levels of CaARP1 were both significantly induced by infection with P. capsici. Silencing of CaARP1 promotes the vegetative growth of pepper plants and attenuates its disease resistance to P. capsici, as well as compromising the hypersensitive response-like cell death in pepper leaves induced by PcINF1, a well-characterized typical PAMP from P. capsici. Chitin-induced transient expression of CaARP1 in pepper leaves enhanced its disease resistance to P. capsici, which is amplified by CaSGT1 co-expression as a positive regulator. Taken together, our result revealed that CaARP1 plays a dual role in the pepper, negatively regulating the vegetative growth and positively regulating plant immunity against P. capsici in a manner associated with CaSGT1.

Banana wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) is a devastating fungal disease. Biocontrol strategies hold immense potential for inhibiting the spread of Foc TR4. Here, 30 actinobacteria were isolated from soils and screened for their antagonistic activity against Foc TR4. Strain SCA4-21T was selected due to its strongest antagonistic activity against Foc TR4. Strain SCA4-21T also exhibited strong antagonistic activity against the other eight phytopathogenic fungi. The strain was identified as the genus Streptomyces according to its physiological, biochemical, and phenotypic characteristics. The phylogenetic trees of 16S rRNA sequences demonstrated that strain SCA4-21T formed a subclade with S. iranensis HM 35T and/or S. rapamycinicus NRRL B-5491T with low bootstrap values. Considering that 16S rRNAs did not provide sufficient resolution for species-level identification, the whole genome of strain SCA4-21T was sequenced. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on five housekeeping gene alleles (atpD, gyrB, recA, rpoB, and trpB) revealed that strain SCA4-21T clustered into S. hygroscopicus subsp. hygroscopicus NBRC 13472T with 100% of bootstrap value. The analysis of the genome-based phylogeny also approved the results. Average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) were 91.26 and 44.30%, respectively, with values below the respective species level threshold of 95 and 70%. Hence, strain SCA 4–21T represented a novel species within the genus Streptomyces, named Streptomyces luomodiensis sp. nov. The type strain is SCA4-21T (=GDMCC4.340T = JCM36555T). By the CAZymes analysis, 348 carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) were detected, including 15 chitinases and eight β-1,3-glucanases. The fermentation broth of strain SCA4-21T, exhibiting strong antagonistic activity against Foc TR4, demonstrated high activities of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase, which might be involved in antifungal activity. Our results showed an innovative potential biocontrol agent for managing plant fungal diseases, specifically banana fusarium wilt.

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated a positive association between the level of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Nevertheless, whether those associations reflect causal links still to be determined. This study intended to research the causal relationship of TIMP3 with CKD and markers of kidney function, such as creatinine‐based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRcrea), cystatin C‐based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRcys), eGFRcrea in diabetics (eGFRcrea (DM)) and eGFRcrea in non diabetics (eGFRcrea (No DM)).Methods: In this study, we investigated the causal relationships between TIMP3 and CKD and kidney function markers using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) technique. We used summary level datasets for TIMP3 and CKD from genome-wide association studies that we were able to access through the study by Suhre K and Pattaro C.Results: We found that TIMP3 had a significant positive causal effect on the risk of CKD (Inverse variance weighted (IVW):odds ratio (OR):0.962, 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.936-0.988),P:0.005). However TIMP3 levels had no significant effect on risk of eGFRcys (PIVW: 0.114),eGFRcrea (PIVW:0.333). After grouping patients based on their diabetes status, we found that genetically higher levels of TIMP3 had a significant impact on eGFRcrea in participants without diabetes (OR:1.003,95%CI (1.001-1.006),P IVW:0.007), but not in participants with diabetes (PIVW = 0.057). Heterogeneity and pleiotropy analyses were carried out to verify the accuracy of the MR findings. Their findings were all not statistically significant.Conclusion: Our study suggests that TIMP3 may be causally associated with CKD and eGFRcrea (No DM)in people of European ancestry. Strategies aimed to increase TIMP3 levels may provide new ways to delay the deterioration of renal function.

In the digital economy age, carbon emission reduction is perhaps the most crucial contribution affecting national activities and international negotiations. In a potential carbon reduction conflict, a rational participant expects to select a suitable strategic opinion to reach another state with improved benefit. Participants’ preferences reflect their priority ranking on multiple possible conflict solutions, directly determining the evolutionary direction and equilibrium solutions. Referring to the potential carbon reduction conflicts, Timed Petri Net for Conflict Analysis (TPNCA) is proposed as a graphical tool to explore participants’ rational preferences, state transformation, and conflict evolutionary equilibrium. The generation rule of TPNCA is designed according to carbon reduction co-operators’ rational preference knowledge. From the long-term perspective, dynamic unilateral improvement is proposed to reflect decision-makers’ strategic initiative willingness to reach end nodes. Dynamic equilibrium conditions are conducted to determine the final stability state for a conflict. This study reveals how participants’ preference knowledge and time constraints influence conflict evolutionary and dynamic equilibria. Climate group should positively engage in carbon reduction negotiations and flexibly adjust national tasks, according to real-time carbon reduction contributions. This study (1) reveals the influence of preference knowledge on conflict evolution, (2) explores the role of time constraints in determining a terminated node, (3) proposes dynamic equilibrium from the long-term perspective, and (4) helps guide participants’ strategic decision-making for mutually solving carbon reduction.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the prognostic significance of microscopic bile duct invasion (MiBDI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following R0 resection. Patients and Methods Patients who underwent R0 resection for HCC at nine medical centers were stratified into five groups: neither bile duct nor vascular invasion (MiBDI−MVI−), microscopic bile duct invasion alone (MiBDI+MVI−), both microscopic bile duct and vascular invasion (MiBDI+MVI+), microscopic vascular invasion alone (MiBDI−MVI+), and macroscopic bile duct invasion (MaBDI). Overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan–Meier analysis, and independent risk factors of OS were determined using Cox proportional hazards models. Results A total of 377 HCC cases were analyzed. The OS for MiBDI+MVI‐ was similar to that of MiBDI−MVI− (p > 0.05) but better than MiBDI+MVI+, MiBDI−MVI+, and MaBDI (all p

Abstract In this paper, a theoretical model is presented for the display process of uniformly-arranged virtual-pixel LED displays with RGBG sub-pixel structure cells. Such displays' modulation transfer function (MTF) is derived theoretically from this model. Experiments were conducted to validate the theoretical model to measure the MTF of virtual-pixel displays and traditional real-pixel displays with a pixel pitch of 0.9 mm. A dual-line spread function measurement method is proposed, which is experimentally shown to be more effective than the conventional single-line LSF measurement method in measuring the MTF of LED displays. The rationality of the theoretical model was analyzed and compared through experiments. Furthermore, a combined subjective and objective evaluation method for the image quality of LED sub-pixel displays is proposed, which analyses the effect of LED sub-pixel multiplexing on the display clarity based on the square root integration method and achieves the subjective goal of quantifying the LED display quality. The research results reveal the theoretical and experimental aspects of virtual-pixel displays and may have practical significance for the design of high-quality LED displays.

The conventional feature point-based image stitching algorithm exhibits inconsistencies in the quality of feature points across diverse scenes. This may result in the deterioration of the alignment effect or even the inability to align two images. To address this issue, this paper presents an unsupervised multigrid image alignment method that integrates the conventional feature point-based image alignment algorithm with deep learning techniques. The method postulates that the feature points are uniformly distributed in the image and employs a deep learning network to predict their displacements, thereby enhancing the robustness of the feature points. Furthermore, the precision of image alignment is enhanced through the parameterization of APAP (As-projective-as-possible image stitching with moving DLT) multigrid deformation. Ultimately, based on the symmetry exhibited by the homography matrix and its inverse matrix throughout the projection process, image chunking inverse warping is introduced to obtain the stitched images for the multigrid deep learning network. Additionally, the mesh shape-preserving loss is introduced to constrain the shape of the multigrid. The experimental results demonstrate that in the real-world UDIS-D dataset, the method achieves notable improvements in feature point matching and homography estimation tasks, and exhibits superior alignment performance on the traditional image stitching dataset.

To explore advanced oxidation catalysts, peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation by Co-Ni-Mo/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite catalysts was investigated. A compound of NiCo2S4, MoS2, and CNTs was successfully prepared using a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. The results revealed that the activation of PMS by Co-Ni-Mo/CNT yielded an exceptional Rhodamine B decolorization efficiency of 99% within 20 min for the Rhodamine B solution. The degradation rate of Co-Ni-Mo/CNT was 4.5 times higher than that of Ni-Mo/CNT or Co-Mo/CNT, and 1.9 times as much than that of Co-Ni/CNT. Additionally, radical quenching experiments revealed that the principal active groups were 1O2, surface-bound SO4•−, and •OH radicals. Furthermore, the catalyst exhibited low metal ion leaching and favorable stability. Mechanism studies revealed that Mo4+ on the surface of MoS2 participated in the oxidation of PMS and the transformation of Co3+/Co2+ and Ni3+/Ni2+. The synergism between MoS2 and NiCo2S4 reduces the charge transfer resistance between the catalyst and solution interface, thus accelerating the reaction rate. Interconnected structures composed of metal sulfides and CNTs can also enhance the electron transfer process and afford sufficient active reaction sites. Our work provides a further understanding of the design of multi-metal sulfides for wastewater treatment.

Objective: Our previous studies substantiated that the biological activity of Schisandra chinensis lignans during the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was mediated by neurotransmitter levels, and 15 of its active components were identified. However, the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationship of Schisandra chinensis lignans has been less studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Schisandra chinensis lignans in the treatment of AD, and to establish a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) model.Methods and Results: Herein, we established a microdialysis-ultra performance liquid chromatography-triple quadruple mass spectrometry (MD-LC-TQ-MS) technique that could simultaneously and continuously collect and quantitatively analyze the active compounds and neurotransmitters related to the therapeutic effects of Schisandra chinensis in awake AD rats. Eight lignans were detected in the hippocampus, and a PK-PD model was established. The fitted curves highlighted a temporal lag between the maximum drug concentration and the peak drug effect. Following treatment, the levels of four neurotransmitters tended to converge with those observed in the sham operation group.Conclusion: By establishing a comprehensive concentration-time-effect relationship for Schisandra chinensis lignans in AD treatment, our study provides novel insights into the in vivo effects of these lignans in AD rats.

Thanks to the advancements in bioinformatics, drugs, and other interventions that modulate microbes to treat diseases have been emerging continuously. In recent years, an increasing number of databases related to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) or gut microbes have been established. However, a database combining the two has not yet been developed. To accelerate TCM research and address the traditional medicine and micro ecological system connection between short board, we have developed the most comprehensive micro-ecological database of TCM. This initiative includes the standardization of the following advantages: (1) A repeatable process achieved through the standardization of a retrieval strategy to identify literature. This involved identifying 419 experiment articles from PubMed and six authoritative databases; (2) High-quality data integration achieved through double-entry extraction of literature, mitigating uncertainties associated with natural language extraction; (3) Implementation of a similar strategy aiding in the prediction of mechanisms of action. Leveraging drug similarity, target entity similarity, and known drug-target entity association, our platform enables the prediction of the effects of a new herb or acupoint formulas using the existing data. In total, MicrobeTCM includes 171 diseases, 725 microbes, 1468 herb-formulas, 1032 herbs, 15780 chemical compositions, 35 acupoint-formulas, and 77 acupoints. For further exploration, please visit https://www.microbetcm.com.

Insects can navigate in cluttered spaces and perform challenging functions such as pollination and collective object transport. By exploiting scaling laws and bioinspired designs, insect‐scale micro‐aerial‐vehicles (MAVs) have demonstrated impressive flight capabilities such as in‐flight collision resilience and acrobatic maneuvers. However, existing subgram MAVs are difficult to design, construct, and repair. Coupled with challenges in robot sensing and control, existing subgram MAVs have not achieved insect‐like swarm flight, which limits potential studies of swarm behaviors and future applications such as collective sensing. Herein, a new design and fabrication method is developed to substantially improve the fabrication scalability of subgram MAVs. Based on a small set of design parameters, an automated algorithm generates the laser cut files of microrobotic components. To reduce fabrication and assembly time, stereolithographic 3D printing is used for making static components such as the airframe and connectors. The modular design enables straightforward assembly and repair, which reduces the overall fabrication time by over 2 times. Owing to the ease of fabrication and good reliability, two subgram MAVs demonstrate controlled hovering flight and coordinated lifting of an object. This result lays the foundation for future robotic studies of collective insect flight.

ABSTRACT: IFN-γ plays a crucial role in resisting intracellular parasitic protozoa, such as Eimeria species. In our previous study, we identified 4 molecules derived from Eimeria maxima (E. maxima) that significantly inhibited IFN-γ production. However, the mechanism underlying this inhibitory effect remains unknown. In this study, we first investigated the effects of these 4 IFN-γ inhibitory molecules on the expression levels of chicken Toll-like receptors (chTLRs), IL-12, IL-10, TGF-β, and TNF-α in chicken macrophage HD11 and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). The results demonstrated that these 4 inhibitory molecules significantly downregulated the mRNA levels of chTLR-2, chTLR-4, chTLR-21, and both mRNA and protein levels of IL-12. Subsequently, to clarify the effects of these 4 inhibitory molecules on the IL-12 secretion-related signaling pathways in chicken macrophages, qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the changes of key molecules involved in the signaling pathways of IL-12 secretion (NF-κB, ERK1/2, p38, JNK, STAT3) following coincubation with these inhibitory molecules. Finally, RNAi was employed to verify the function of key molecules in the signaling pathway. The results revealed a significant upregulation in the expression of ERK1/2 phosphorylated protein induced by the 4 inhibitory molecules. Knockdown of the ERK1/2 gene significantly reduced the inhibitory effect of the 4 E. maxima inhibitory molecules on IL-12. These findings indicate that the 4 inhibitory molecules can inhibit the secretion of IL-12 by upregulating the expression of ERK1/2 phosphorylated protein, which is a key molecule in the ERK-MAPK pathway. Our study may contribute to elucidating the mechanisms underlying immune evasion during E. maxima infections, thereby providing new insights for the control of chicken coccidiosis.

This study addresses the problem of attack identification in discrete event systems modeled with Petri nets, focusing specifically on sensor attacks that mislead observers to making incorrect decisions. Insertion attacks are one of the sensor attacks that are considered in this work. First, we formulate a novel observation structure to systematically model insertion attacks within the Petri net framework. Second, by generating an extended reachability graph that incorporates the observation structure, we can find a special class of markings whose components can have negative markings. Third, an observation place is computed by formulating an integer linear programming problem, enabling precise detection of attack occurrences. The occurrence of an attack can be identified by the number of tokens in the designed observation place. Finally, examples are provided to verify the proposed approach. Comparative analysis with existing techniques demonstrates that the reported approach offers enhanced detection accuracy and robustness, making it a significant advancement in the field of secure discrete event systems.

The supervisory control of Petri nets aims to enforce the undesired behavior as unreachable by designing a set of control places. This work presents a set cover approach to design maximally permissive supervisors. For each first-met bad marking, an integer linear programming problem is developed to obtain a control place to prohibit it. An objective function is formulated to make the maximal number of first-met bad markings forbidden. Then, we develop a set covering approach to minimize the number of selected control places. The proposed approach can guarantee the maximal permissiveness of the obtained supervisor and provide a trade-off between structural complexity and computational cost. Several examples are considered to validate the proposed method.

Objective To explore the correlation of triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) index with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and metabolic risk factors, and to assess the predictive value of TyG for MetS in women with PCOS.Methods This is a retrospective cross-sectional study that included 819 women diagnosed with PCOS and 3122 women without PCOS from January 2018 to December 2021. The definition of MetS adopted in this study was the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. The TyG index was calculated as the ln (fasting triglyceride level [mg/dL] × fasting glucose level [mg/dL]/2).Results MetS was diagnosed in 266 women (32.5%) among 819 subjects with PCOS, and in 287 women (9.2%) among 3122 subjects without PCOS. Logistic regression analysis showed that women in the highest tertile of TyG index had the highest prevalence of MetS (OR = 3.66, 95%CI: 1.28–10.49) after adjusting for confounding factors. Compared with the lowest tertile, PCOS women in the highest tertile showed the highest odds ratio of hypertension, obesity, central obesity, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. Furthermore, TyG index was able to identify MetS in women with PCOS, and the optimal cutoff values were 8.65 (Youden index = 0.65).Conclusion TyG index was positively and independently correlated with the prevalence of MetS, which also indicated a good predictive ability in women with PCOS.

Banana Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race4 (Foc TR4) is one of the most destructive soil-borne fungal diseases and currently threatens banana production around the world. Until now, there is lack of an effective method to control banana Fusarium wilt. Therefore, it is urgent to find an effective and eco-friendly strategy against the fungal disease. In this study, a strain of Trichoderma sp. N4-3 was isolated newly from the rhizosphere soil of banana plants. The isolate was identified as Trichoderma parareesei through analysis of TEF1 and RPB2 genes as well as morphological characterization. In vitro antagonistic assay demonstrated that strain N4-3 had a broad-spectrum antifungal activity against ten selected phytopathogenic fungi. Especially, it demonstrated a strong antifungal activity against Foc TR4. The results of the dual culture assay indicated that strain N4-3 could grow rapidly during the pre-growth period, occupy the growth space, and secrete a series of cell wall-degrading enzymes upon interaction with Foc TR4. These enzymes contributed to the mycelial and spore destruction of the pathogenic fungus by hyperparasitism. Additionally, the sequenced genome proved that strain N4-3 contained 21 genes encoding chitinase and 26 genes encoding β-1,3-glucanase. The electron microscopy results showed that theses cell wall-degrading enzymes disrupted the mycelial, spore, and cell ultrastructure of Foc TR4. A pot experiment revealed that addition of strain N4-3 significantly reduced the amount of Foc TR4 in the rhizosphere soil of bananas at 60 days post inoculation. The disease index was decreased by 45.00% and the fresh weight was increased by 63.74% in comparison to the control. Hence, Trichoderma parareesei N4-3 will be a promising biological control agents for the management of plant fungal diseases.

Summary: Background: Dysbiosis of the oral mycobiome has been linked to some diseases, including cancers. However, the role of oral fungal communities in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) carcinogenesis has not previously been investigated. Methods: We characterized the oral salivary fungal mycobiome in 476 untreated incident NPC patients and 537 population-based controls using fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 sequencing. The relationship between oral fungal mycobiome and the risk of NPC was assessed through bioinformatic and biostatistical analyses. Findings: We found that lower fungal alpha diversity was associated with an increased odds of NPC [lower vs. higher: observed features (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 5.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.60–9.38); Simpson diversity (1.53, 1.03–2.29); Shannon diversity (2.03, 1.35–3.04)]. We also observed a significant difference in global fungal community patterns between cases and controls based on Bray–Curtis dissimilarity (P

Objective This study aimed to examine the effect of the endplate reduction (EPR) technique combined with bone grafting for treating thoracolumbar burst fractures using posterior short-segmental fixation. Methods Patients with thoracolumbar fractures admitted between January 2018 and October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, and those meeting the criteria were assigned to the EPR group and the intermediate screws (IS) group. The vertebral wedge angle (VWA), Cobb angle (CA), anterior vertebral body height (AVBH), middle vertebral body height (MVBH), upper endplate line (UEPL), upper intervertebral angle (UIVA), and upper intervertebral disc height (UIDH) indices were examined and compared preoperatively, first day postoperatively, as well as at 12 months postoperatively. Results The result indicated that the EPR group achieved better MVBH reduction (p

The advent of 6G networks with their capabilities for massive communication and low latency presents opportunities for a more intelligent way of life. This paper proposes a secure, flexible, and decentralized data sharing approach, tailor-made for the complexities of 6G networks. Building upon a famous data sharing framework called Droplet, the proposed approach furnishes users with fine-grained access to time-series data, while maintaining low communication overhead and minimizing potential data leakage. We spotlight an underlying vulnerability within the Droplet scheme, prompting the development of an advanced scheme that amalgamates segmented dual-key regression technology and binary hash trees. Further, we devise an algorithm for a minimal key set to reduce communication overhead for data owners during the data sharing process, thereby enhancing the operational efficiency of our proposed scheme. Extensive simulations are executed to authenticate the successful realization of our design objectives through the proposed scheme. This research aims to address the pressing issues of data sharing in the context of 6G networks, providing insights and solutions for secure and flexible data management.grammatically correct.

Increased groundwater exploitation can cause severe groundwater depletion and may trigger geological hazards such as wetland degradation. The Xiong’an New Area is an important deployment of the national strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The protection of wetlands will play an important ecological role in the socio-economic development of the Xiong’an New Area. This paper proposes an improved catastrophe theory (ICT) combined it with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the entropy weight method (EWM), labelled AHP-EWM-ICT method. This method was applied to evaluate the evolutionary trend of the wetland degradation risk in Xiong’an New Area from 2000 to 2020. Results showed that, first, the wetlands degradation risk in the Xiong’an New Area was fluctuating upward, with an increase of 80.17% in 2020 compared to 2000. The risk level increased from ‘Very low’ in 2000 to ‘Medium’ in 2020, and most years at ‘Medium’ level during 21 years. Second, Rongcheng County, which has the higher intensity of groundwater extraction as well as the higher per capita GDP compared with Xiong County and Anxin County, contributed most to wetland degradation. The stress degree values progressed from northwest to southeast. Third, due to the implementation of ecological recharge, the degradation risk of Baiyangdian wetland has shown a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Fourth, the risk of wetland degradation in Xiong’an New Area may be more severe than in other wetlands in northern China. In addition to implementing ecological replenishment projects, the government should also pay more attention to the functional restoration of wetlands and the reduction of risk sources in areas surrounding wetlands.

Abstract Microneedles, especially hollow microneedles (HMNs), play an important role in drug delivery, but most of the current HMNs are manufactured based on silicon microfabrication (lithography, etching, etc.), which are slightly conservative due to the lack of low‐cost, batch‐scale and customized preparation approach, especially for the HMNs with flexible substrate. For the first time, we propose the use of a high‐precision 3D printed master mold followed by a dual‐molding process for the preparation of HMNs with different shapes, heights, and inner and outer diameters to satisfy different drug delivery needs. The 3D printed master mold and negative mold can be reused, thereby significantly reducing the cost. HMNs are based on biocompatible materials, such as heat‐curing polymers or light‐curing resins. The thickness and rigidity/flexibility characteristics of the substrate can be customized for different applications. The drug delivery efficiency of the fabricated HMNs was verified by the in situ treatment of psoriasis on the backs of mice, which required only a 0.1‐fold oral dose to achieve similar efficacy, and the associated side effects and drug toxicity were reduced. Thus, this dual‐molding process can reinvigorate HMNs development.

Nitrogen is a crucial element for the growth and development of plants, directly affecting crop growth and yield. To investigate the physiological and molecular mechanism of nitrogen-deficiency stress, we conducted an investigation into the effects of different nitrogen levels on the growth, photosynthetic characteristics, and gene transcription levels of banana seedlings. Compared with the control group with normal nitrogen levels (NN), the height of plants receiving Reduced-N (NR), Low-N (LN), and N-Free (NF) treatments was decreased by 0.45 cm, 2.5 cm, and 3.25 cm, respectively. Their dry weight was reduced by 1.63 g, 2.99 g, and 2.88 g, respectively. Conversely, the dry weight of the underground plant part in the LN and NF treatment groups exhibited an increase of 0.13 g and 0.16 g, respectively. Regarding photosynthetic characteristics, the Specialty Products Agricultural Division (SPAD) values of the NR, LN, and NF treatments showed reductions of 15.5%, 30.4%, and 35.9%, respectively, compared with those of the control treatments. The values of maximum photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), actual photosynthetic efficiency (Y(Ⅱ)), and relative electron transfer (ETR) of the banana seedlings decreased to different degrees after NR, LN, and NF treatment, and their values were positively correlated with N levels. Gene transcription analysis showed that N transport-related proteins, including NRT1.7, NRT2.3a, NRT2.3b, and NRT2.5, were significantly up-regulated to increase the nitrogen absorption capacity of plant roots. On the other hand, various transcription factors including GRAS, MYB, and WRKY were notably up-regulated, facilitating root growth and the expanding root absorption area, thereby enhancing nitrogen uptake. Furthermore, genes associated with endogenous hormone metabolic pathways such as gibberellin (GA), strigolactone (SL), and brassinosteroids (BR) were activated in banana plants subjected to low nitrogen stress, enhancing the plant’s ability to adapt to nitrogen-deficient conditions. These findings offer valuable insights into understanding the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms governing banana responses to low nitrogen stress and breeding new varieties with improved nutrient utilization.

In the above article [1], for the funding information, the wrong information is “the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT), MSAR, under Grant 0012/2019/A3” while the correct information should be “the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT), MSAR, under Grant 0012/2019/A1.” This only affected the correctness of the funding information and did not influence the discussion and conclusions of this article.

Developing wheat that acquires and uses phosphorus (P) more efficiently is a promising and low-cost solution for increasing grain yield and reducing P-related environmental impacts. The present study identified agronomic and physiological traits that contribute to genetic variation in the P acquisition, remobilization, and utilization efficiency of 11 wheat cultivars from southwest China grown in P-deficient purple lithomorphic soil (Olsen P = 4.7) with balanced (75 kg P ha−1) and excess P (120 kg P ha−1) supplies. On average, soil P deficiency (–P) reduced root P uptake (17.0%–60.8%), P remobilization (33.9%–52.8%), dry mass yield (11.5%–39.2%), and grain yield (17.7%–54.4%). Balanced P (+P) increased grain yield via increased plant biomass rather than increased HI. –P increased phosphorus uptake efficiency (PUpE, 4.5-fold), phosphorus utilization efficiency (PUtE, 1.25-fold), and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE, 5.4-fold) compared with those under +P, and PUtE explained most (58.1%–60.8%) of the genetic variation in PUE under both –P and +P. The high root P uptake of P-efficient cultivars under –P was regulated by root surface area and root length density in the 0–10 cm soil layer but not in the 10–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers, suggesting that a topsoil foraging strategy is a more economical approach than deeper root exploration for increasing P uptake. Root P uptake before anthesis and P remobilization after anthesis were critical for increasing the PUtE of wheat, given that P-efficient cultivars showed higher Pn (net photosynthetic rate) and sucrose levels than P-inefficient cultivars. Pn reduction by –P resulted from decreased Gs and Ci, and high evapotranspiration under +P increased shoot P% by increasing root P uptake. Genetic variation in the source-to-sink ratio was observed in consequence of a +P-induced allometric increase in sucrose in leaves and kernels. Owing to these beneficial effects, +P increased the kernel N and P yields of the 11 cultivars by 9.9%–52.4% and 12.3%–48.8%, respectively. The findings of this study could help improve wheat in future breeding efforts and P management by identifying desirable P-efficient phenotypes in P-deficient farming systems.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 into multi-carbon alcohols of high economic merit offers an effective means to close the carbon cycle. Here the authors show the synergy between inorganic and organic phases derived from rationally designed molecular precursors to produce alcohols in high efficiency.

BackgroundStroke survivors often exhibit low motivation for rehabilitation, hindering their ability to effectively complete rehabilitation training task effectively and participate in daily activities actively. Reward strategies have been identified as an effective method for boosting rehabilitation motivation, but their long-term efficacy remains uncertain. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been recognized as a technique that facilitates plastic changes and functional reorganization of cortical areas. Particularly, tDCS can improve the functional connectivity between brain regions associated with goal-directed behavior when applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Combing reward strategies with tDCS (RStDCS) has been shown to motivate healthy individuals to exert more effort in task performance. However, research exploring the combined and sustained effects of these strategies on rehabilitation motivation in stroke survivors is lacking.Methods and designEighty-seven stroke survivors with low motivation and upper extremity dysfunction will be randomized to receive either conventional treatment, RS treatment, or RStDCS treatment. The RStDCS group will receive reward strategies combined with anodal tDCS stimulation of the left dlPFC. The RS group will receive reward strategies combined with sham stimulation. The conventional group will receive conventional treatment combined with sham stimulation. tDCS stimulation is performed over 3 weeks of hospitalization, 20 min/time, five times a week. Reward strategies refers to personalized active exercise programs for patients during hospitalization and at home. Patients can voluntarily choose tasks for active exercise and self-report to the therapist so as to punch a card for points and exchange gifts. The conventional group will receive home rehabilitation instructions prior to discharge. Rehabilitation motivation, measured using RMS. RMS, FMA, FIM, and ICF activity and social engagement scale will be compared at baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months post-enrollment to evaluate patients’ multifaceted health condition based on the ICF framework.DiscussionThis study integrates knowledge from social cognitive science, economic behavioral science, and other relevant fields. We utilize straightforward and feasible reward strategies, combined with neuromodulation technology, to jointly improve patients’ rehabilitation motivation. Behavioral observations and various assessment tools will be used to monitor patients’ rehabilitation motivation and multifaceted health condition according to the ICF framework. The aim is to provide a preliminary exploration path for professionals to develop comprehensive strategies for improving patient rehabilitation motivation and facilitating a complete “hospital—home—society” rehabilitation process.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=182589, ChiCTR2300069068

Gout is a metabolic disease that seriously affects people's health. Polydatin, a stilbene compound isolated from Polygonum cuspidatum, has attracted much attention because of its rich biological activity and high safety. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of polydatin on hyperuricemia (HUA) combined with gouty arthritis (GA). The results showed that polydatin reduced the levels of uric acid and inflammatory cytokines, indicating that polydatin had the effect of reducing uric acid and anti-GA. Then the inhibitors of ABCG2, NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB pathway (Ko143, MCC950 and QNZ) were used to demonstrate that polydatin played a role in reducing uric acid and anti-GA via regulating urate transporters, NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB pathway. Taken together, these results provided evidence that polydatin might be used as a potential functional ingredient for the synchronous treatment of HUA and GA.

This paper aims to study the determinants of location choice of China's direct energy investment in BRI countries. It also attempts to analyze the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on the effect of national distance. For this purpose, the gravity model is applied to the data over the period 2003–2017. The main results show that economic distance, geographical distance, and institutional distance hinder the location choice of China's OFDI in the energy sector, but the effect of cultural distance is uncertain. Second, the Belt and Road Initiative has increased China's direct energy investment in BRI countries but has not changed the influence of national distance on location choice significantly. Furthermore, renewable energy is attracting investment from Chinese firms in developed countries. Finally, the paper makes suggestions on strengthening the institutional quality of the host country, building energy pipelines, strengthening the cooperation of renewable energy, and enhancing the diversity of investment choices.

Highlights Polyimide-based flexible microneedle array (PI-MNA) electrodes realize high electrical/mechanical performance and are compatible with wearable wireless recording systems. The normalized electrode–skin interface impedance (EII) of the PI-MNA electrodes reaches 0.98 kΩ cm2 at 1 kHz and 1.50 kΩ cm2 at 10 Hz, approximately 1/250 of clinical standard electrodes. This is the first report on the clinical study of microneedle electrodes. The PI-MNA electrodes are applied to clinical long-term continuous monitoring for polysomnography. Abstract Microneedle array (MNA) electrodes are an effective solution to achieve high-quality surface biopotential recording without the coordination of conductive gel and are thus very suitable for long-term wearable applications. Existing schemes are limited by flexibility, biosafety, and manufacturing costs, which create large barriers for wider applications. Here, we present a novel flexible MNA electrode that can simultaneously achieve flexibility of the substrate to fit a curved body surface, robustness of microneedles to penetrate the skin without fracture, and a simplified process to allow mass production. The compatibility with wearable wireless systems and the short preparation time of the electrodes significantly improves the comfort and convenience of electrophysiological recording. The normalized electrode–skin contact impedance reaches 0.98 kΩ cm2 at 1 kHz and 1.50 kΩ cm2 at 10 Hz, a record low value compared to previous reports and approximately 1/250 of the standard electrodes. The morphology, biosafety, and electrical/mechanical properties are fully characterized, and wearable recordings with a high signal-to-noise ratio and low motion artifacts are realized. The first reported clinical study of microneedle electrodes for surface electrophysiological monitoring was conducted in tens of healthy and sleep-disordered subjects with 44 nights of recording (over 8 h per night), providing substantial evidence that the electrodes can be leveraged to substitute for clinical standard electrodes.

The high-pure magnetite concentrate (HPMC) was studied for a substitution of iron scale to produce the magnetic powder of strontium hexaferrite via the conventional ceramic process in this work. The magnetic powder obtained under the optimum conditions had a magneto plumbite structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) depicted that ferrite grains were hexagon shaped and evenly distributed with an average particle size of about 1 μm. Furthermore, a comparison of magnetic powders separately produced with HPMC and iron scale was made by detecting the magnetic properties of their sintered magnets using a permanent magnetic measuring system. The results demonstrated that the HPMC magnetic powder had a superiority over iron scale magnetic powder, and it had fully achieved the level of Y30-1 product in China. In the final part, the economic feasibility of using HPMC for magnetic powder production was verified by the cost–benefit analysis.

Abstract In turbofan engine datasets, to address problems, such as noise interference, diverse data types, large data volumes, complex feature extraction, inability to effectively describe degradation trends, and poor remaining useful life (RUL) prognosis effects, a remaining useful life prognosis model combining an improved stack sparse autoencoder (imSSAE) and an improved echo state network (imESN) is proposed in this paper. First, the 3-sigma criterion is adopted to remove the noise and reconstruct the data, and then the deep features of the engine are extracted by using an imSSAE and fused into health indicator (HI) curves describing the engine degradation trend. Finally, an attention mechanism is introduced into an imESN to adaptively process different types of data and obtain the RUL. The experimental results based on the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation (C-MAPSS) dataset show that compared with the other popular RUL prediction models, the combined model proposed in this paper has higher prediction accuracy, and the evaluation indices also show the effectiveness and superiority of the model.

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of mussel polysaccharide (MP) on cyclophosphamide (Cy)-induced intestinal mucosal immunosuppression and microbial dysbiosis in mice. MP was shown to stimulate secretion of cytokines (SIgA, IL-2, IF-γ, IL-4, IL-10) and production of transcription factors (occludin, claudin-1, ZO-1, mucin-2, IL-2, IF-γ, IL-4, IL-10). Key proteins (p-IκB-α, p-p65) of the NF-κB pathway were upregulated after MP administration. SCFAs levels, which were decreased after the Cy treatment, were improved after treatment with MP. Furthermore, 16 S rRNA sequencing data of fecal samples revealed, through α-diversity and β-diversity analysis, that MP improved microbial community diversity and modulate the overall composition of gut microbiota. Taxonomic composition analysis showed that MP increased the abundance of probiotics species (Lactobacillus) and decreased the proportion of pathogenic species (Desulfovibrio). These findings suggested that MP has a potential immunomodulatory activity on the immunosuppressive mice.

Abstract With a worldwide distribution, Eimeria spp. could result in serious economic losses to the poultry industry. Due to drug resistance and residues, there are no ideal drugs and vaccines against Eimeria spp. in food animals. In the current study, a bioinformatics approach was employed to design a multiepitope antigen, named NSLC protein, encoding antigenic epitopes of E. necatrix NA4, E. tenella SAG1, E. acervulina LDH, and E. maxima CDPK. Thereafter, the protective immunity of NSLC protein along with five adjuvants and two nanospheres in laying chickens was evaluated. Based on the humoral immunity, cellular immunity, oocyst burden, and the coefficient of growth, the optimum adjuvant was evaluated. Furthermore, the optimum immune route and dosage were also investigated according to the oocyst burden and coefficient of growth. Accompanied by promoted secretion of antibodies and enhanced CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte proportions, NSLC proteins entrapped in PLGA nanospheres were more effective in stimulating protective immunity than other adjuvants or nanospheres, indicating that PLGA nanospheres were the optimum adjuvant for NSLC protein. In addition, a significantly inhibited oocyst burden and growth coefficient promotion were also observed in animals vaccinated with NSLC proteins entrapped in PLGA nanospheres, indicating that the optimum adjuvant for NSLC proteins was PLGA nanospheres. The results also suggested that the intramucosal route with PLGA nanospheres containing 300 μg of NSLC protein was the most efficient approach to induce protective immunity against the four Eimeria species. Collectively, PLGA nanospheres loaded with NSLC antigens are potential vaccine candidates against avian coccidiosis.

The relative content of chlorophyll, assessed through the soil and plant analyzer development (SPAD), serves as a reliable indicator reflecting crop photosynthesis and the nutritional status during crop growth and development. In this study, we employed machine learning methods utilizing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multi-spectrum remote sensing to predict the SPAD value of litchi fruit. Input features consisted of various vegetation indices and texture features during distinct growth periods, and to streamline the feature set, the full subset regression algorithm was applied for dimensionality reduction. Our findings revealed the superiority of stacking models over individual models. During the litchi fruit development period, the stacking model, incorporating vegetation indices and texture features, demonstrated a validation set coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.94, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.4, and a relative percent deviation (RPD) of 3.0. Similarly, in the combined litchi growing period and autumn shoot period, the optimal model for estimating litchi SPAD was the stacking model based on vegetation indices and texture features, yielding a validation set R2, RMSE, and RPD of 0.84, 3.9, and 1.9, respectively. This study furnishes data support for the precise estimation of litchi SPAD across different periods through varied combinations of independent variables.

The pursuit of environmental sustainability, energy conservation, and emissions reduction has become a global focal point. Electricity is the primary source of energy in our daily lives. Through the analysis of smart power systems, we can efficiently and sustainably harness electrical energy. However, electric power system data inherently contain a wealth of sensitive user information. Therefore, our primary concern is protecting these sensitive user data while performing precise and effective analysis. To address this issue, we have innovatively proposed three granular information models based on differential privacy. In consideration of the characteristics of enterprise electricity consumption data and the imperative need for privacy protection, we implement a reasonable modeling process through data processing, information granulation expression, and the optimization analysis of information granularity. Our datasets encompass enterprise electricity consumption data and related attributes from Hitachi Building Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd’s cloud computing center. Simultaneously, we have conducted experiments using publicly available datasets to underscore the model’s versatility. Our experimental results affirm that granular computation can improve the utility of differential privacy in safeguarding data privacy.

Objective: Jue tone is a kind of sound, using 3-mi as the main tone, and is melodious, profound, makes people feel comfortable and pleasant. This study aimed to explore the probable mechanism of Jue tone to reduce blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive rats with a liver-fire hyperactivity pattern by observing changes in BP as well as physiochemical indexes in plasma. Methods: Sixteen male spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) with a liver-fire hyperactivity pattern were randomly divided into a control group and a Jue tone group. The rats in the Jue tone group were treated with Jue tone (55–65 dB, played by the five elements of music rhythm instrument, a kind of physiotherapy regimen music played by Shen Wu) once a day for 4 weeks. The BP levels in each group were measured twice a week, on Monday and Friday. The levels of angiotensin II (Ang- II), thromboxane B2 (TXB2), endothelin-1 (ET-1), calcitonin gene-related peptide (cGRP), norepinephrine (NE), cortisol (CORT), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). in plasma were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after 4 weeks of intervention. Results: BP and the levels of TXB2 and ET-1 in the plasma of the treatment group were significantly lower than those of the control group, while the level of cGRP was significantly higher. Conclusion: Jue tone can reduce the BP of hypertensive rats with a liver-fire hyperactivity pattern. The mechanism may correlate with a reduction in TXB2 and ET-1 and an increase in cGRP with the reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Heat assisted interlaced magnetic recording (HIMR) is a promising candidate for the next-generation of magnetic recording technology to further increase the area density beyond 1Tb/in2. Specifically, the high temperature and low temperature tracks are written in an interlaced order to improve the recording performance. However, the inter-track interference (ITI), inter-symbol interference (ISI) and thermal jitters brought by the increased recording density and Curie temperature variations are severe in HIMR, which degrade the bit error rate (BER) performance obviously. In this study, we propose a multitrack detection scheme with joint intertrack interference and media noise mitigations. Here a multi-task neural network (MTNN) is designed to simultaneously predict ITI pattern and residual media noise, then the 2D variable equalizers corresponding to different ITI patterns are implemented and predicted residual media noises are embedded into the branch metrics of modified Bahl-Cocke-Jelinek-Raviv (BCJR) detector to mitigate ITI and whiten media noise. The simulation demonstrates that the proposed MTNN with variable equalizer and modified BCJR detector (MTNN+VE+MB) algorithm mitigates the ITI and media noise effectively. At the channel bit density of 3.10 Tb/in2, it provides 2.6 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain compared to that of conventional 2D fixed equalizer with pattern dependent noise prediction detector (FE+PDNP) for the low temperature (LT) tracks with 4% Curie temperature variance.

Energy is essential for economic growth; however, energy consumption also negatively influences long-term economic progress by adversely affecting environmental quality and human welfare in the developing world. Developing nations strive to accomplish more development, which increases their energy consumption. Therefore, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of energy consumption in the context of developing economies using data from 1990 to 2019. By utilizing a host of second-generation econometric methods, the study has empirically analyzed the impact of personal remittances and education on energy consumption, while considering the possible effect of economic growth, energy prices, and trade to avoid omitted variable bias. A 1% increase in remittances leads to a −0.06735% reduction in energy consumption. A 1% increase in education causes a 0.496353% increase in energy consumption. A 1% increase in energy prices leads to a −0.008472% decline in energy consumption. The long-run results indicate that remittances and energy prices reduce energy consumption while education and economic growth increase energy consumption. Trade openness also stimulates energy consumption in these countries. The results imply that remittances and energy prices can be utilized as a tool to reduce energy consumption. We also used panel quantile regression for robustness check and the outcomes validated these findings. İnterestingly, the impact of remittances on energy consumption is more pronounced at upper quantiles. Lastly, the study is concluded by discussing policy directions.