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Abstract Background Midlife obesity is a modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. However, the association between childhood obesity and Alzheimer’s disease remains largely unknown. Therefore, we conducted a mendelian randomization analysis (MR) to assess the causal link between childhood obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Methods Using summary statistics from publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWAS) database, we explored the genetic link between childhood obesity and Alzheimer’s disease through a two-sample MR. The primary analysis employed the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method. To complement our findings, we also employed MR-Egger, weighted median, simple model, and weighted model methods for MR estimates. Furthermore, we conducted Cochrane’s Q-statistic test, Egger intercept test, and a leave-one-out sensitivity test to ensure the robustness and reliability of our results. Results The IVW analysis yielded non-significant results, indicating no significant genetic association between childhood obesity and Alzheimer’s disease (OR = 0.958, 95% CI = 0.910–1.008, p = 0.095). Consistent with this, the results from MR-Egger, the weighted median, simple model, and weighted model approaches all supported these findings. Furthermore, we did not detect any signs of heterogeneity or pleiotropy, and our leave-one-out analysis confirmed that no single nucleotide polymorphisms had a substantial impact on the reliability of our results. Conclusions The evidence from our MR analyses suggests that there is no causal effect of childhood obesity on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Prompting a pretrained language model with natural language patterns has been proved effective for natural language understanding (NLU). However, our preliminary study reveals that manual discrete prompts often lead to unstable performance—e.g., changing a single word in the prompt might result in substantial performance drop. We propose a novel method P-Tuning that employs trainable continuous prompt embeddings in concatenation with discrete prompts. Empirically, P-Tuning not only stabilizes training by minimizing the gap between various discrete prompts, but also improves performance by a sizeable margin on a wide range of NLU tasks including LAMA and SuperGLUE. P-Tuning is generally effective for both frozen and tuned language models, under both the fully-supervised and few-shot settings.

BackgroundTo investigated the link between the systemic immunity-inflammation index (SII), a new inflammatory biomarker, and the risk of abnormal glucose regulation in non-diabetic population.MethodsUsing data from the 2005-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we conducted a cross-sectional study on non-diabetic adults with data on SII and glucose regulation markers. We analyzed the relationship between SII and indicators of glucose regulation, including fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1c, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and states of abnormal glucose regulation like impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), insulin resistance, and prediabetes.ResultsAdjusting for confounders, higher SII levels were significantly associated with a higher OGTT and a greater likelihood of IGT (OR = 2.673, 95% CI: 1.845, 3.873). In subgroup analysis, participants without hyperlipidemia in the highest SII quartile had a 240% higher odds of IGT compared to those in the lowest quartile (OR = 3.407, 95%CI: 1.995, 5.820), an association not observed in those with hyperlipidemia (p for interaction < 0.05).ConclusionsSII emerges as a useful biomarker for identifying IGT in non-diabetic individuals, specifically in those without hyperlipidemia.

As a crucial component, the vapor cell serves as the fundamental sensing element in various atomic sensors, and electric heating is typically required to enhance the density of alkali metal atoms. Due to the presence of driving current, electric heating can unavoidably introduce interfering magnetic fields, which affect the performance of atomic sensors. To suppress this magnetic field interference, the electric heater trace configuration must be designed to achieve the magnetic field self-suppression effect. However, previous studies have solely focused on the optimization design of a single-sided heater, which leads to the spatial magnetic field gradient and limited improvement of the self-suppression effect. Therefore, this study proposes an optimization design method for the bi-planar heater, and uses the combination optimization of two heater pieces with spatial symmetrical distribution. Using the multi-objective optimization algorithm, the structure parameters and current directions of the heater are optimized to achieve superior magnetic field suppression and reduce the vapor cell magnetic field gradient. Both finite element simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed bi-planar heating configuration generates an average magnetic field of 0.06 nT/mA in the central region of the vapor cell, which is more than three times less than the previous single-sided optimal configuration and more than five times less than the bi-planar symmetrical use of the single-sided optimal configuration. The proposed approach is expected to enhance the performance of atomic magnetometers and other atomic sensors that are sensitive to magnetic fields.

In conventional sequence stratigraphy research, owing to the limitation of the resolution of seismic data, strata can only be divided into third order sequences at most on the seismic profile. In this study, the vertical fourth order sequence is divided using the high vertical resolutions of gamma ray (GR), uranium (U), thorium (Th), and potassium (K) curves in the logging curves, and the sequence divided in the depth system is then accurately superimposed on the seismic profile through one dimensional forward modelling. Subsequently, through three dimensional Fourier transform technology, the dip angle and azimuth information of the seismic data in the entire region are scanned to obtain the horizons. Through the progradation and retrogradation characteristics of sediments in the Wheeler system, guided by the sequence framework, the horizontal interpretation of the fourth order sequence system tract is conducted in the entire region. Finally, through attribute optimisation, the root mean square amplitude attribute, with the highest degree of coincidence with well data, is selected to study the evolution characteristics of sedimentary microfacies in different periods in the four system tracts. Notably, the strata of Qixia Formation in the study area can be divided into two-fourth order sequences, wherein SQ1 comprised transgressive systems tract 1 (TST1) and high stand systems tract 1 (HST1), and SQ2 comprised TST2 and HST2. With the change in the relative sea level cycle, the strata of Qixia Formation in the study area are developed by overlapping the sedimentary microfacies of the interbank depression, interbank sea, and intraplatform shoal from bottom to top.

The second member of Triassic Feixianguan Formation in Jiulongshan area of northwestern Sichuan Basin has made breakthroughs in natural gas exploration and has great exploration potential. Drilling data show that the second section of Feixianguan Formation has developed multiple sets of reservoirs, which are mainly concentrated in the upper sub-member of the second member of Feixianguan Formation. The overall heterogeneity is strong, the lithology and physical properties are complex and changeable, the reservoir thickness is thin, and drilling is less, so it is difficult to determine the spatial distribution characteristics of oolitic beach reservoir, which restricts the natural gas exploration process in this area. For the oolitic beach reservoir in the upper sub-member of the second member of Feixianguan Formation of Jiulongshan area, using downhole reservoir characteristics and 3D seismic data, the reflection characteristics of oolitic beach reservoir are analyzed, and then the seismic response model of oolitic beach reservoir is established by forward modeling. It is clear that the seismic response characteristics of the reservoir in this area are weak amplitude-continuous reflection; through the use of layer flattening impression method to restore the ancient landscape of the second section of Feixianguan Formation, combined with seismic facies analysis and seismic amplitude attribute characteristics, The distribution characteristics of favorable facies belt for oolitic beach development are determined. Based on the distribution of favorable facies belt, this paper uses the relative impedance-based tuning amplitude inversion and waveform difference inversion method to make a fine prediction of the spatial distribution of the reservoir, defines the spatial distribution characteristics of the reservoir, and predicts the thickness and fracture development of oolitic beach reservoir. The prediction results of the reservoir thickness are in good agreement with the actual drilling results, which confirms the application of this prediction method in this area. According to the fracture development, wave impedance value less than 1.6×106 g/(cm2·s), reservoir thickness, and other indicators, the favorable development area of oolitic beach reservoir is further delineated, which provides a favorable basis for the next exploration and development.

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a leading cause of viral myocarditis, but no effective treatment strategy against CVB3 is available. Viruses lack an inherent metabolic system and thus depend on host cellular metabolism for their benefit. In this study, we observed that CVB3 enhanced glycolysis in H9c2 rat cardiomyocytes and HL-1 mouse cardiomyocytes. Therefore, three key glycolytic enzymes, namely, hexokinase 2 (HK2), muscle phosphofructokinase (PFKM), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), were measured in CVB3-infected H9c2 and HL-1 cells. Expression levels of HK2 and PFKM, but not PKM2, were increased in CVB3-infected H9c2 cells. All three key glycolytic enzymes showed elevated expression in CVB3-infected HL-1 cells. To further investigate this, we used 2 deoxyglucose, sodium citrate, and shikonin as glycolysis inhibitors for HK2, PFKM, and PKM2, respectively. Glycolysis inhibitors significantly reduced CVB3 replication, while the glycolysis enhancer dramatically promoted it. In addition, glycolysis inhibitors decreased autophagy and accelerated autophagosome degradation. The autophagy inducer eliminated partial inhibition effects of glycolysis inhibitors on CVB3 replication. These results demonstrate that CVB3 infection enhances glycolysis and thus benefits viral replication.

Ferroptosis is an evolutionarily conserved form of regulated cell death triggered by iron-dependent phospholipid peroxidation. Ferroptosis contributes to the maintenance of tissue homeostasis under physiological conditions while its aberration is tightly connected with lots of pathophysiological processes such as acute tissue injury, chronic degenerative disease, and tumorigenesis. Epigenetic regulation controls chromatin structure and gene expression by writing/reading/erasing the covalent modifications on DNA, histone, and RNA, without altering the DNA sequence. Accumulating evidences suggest that epigenetic regulation is involved in the determination of cellular vulnerability to ferroptosis. Here, we summarize the recent advances on the epigenetic mechanisms that control the expression of ferroptosis-associated genes and thereby the ferroptosis process. Moreover, the potential value of epigenetic drugs in targeting or synergizing ferroptosis during cancer therapy is also discussed.

Accurate reliability estimation for reciprocating seals is of great significance due to their wide use in numerous engineering applications. This work proposes a reliability estimation method for reciprocating seals based on multivariate dependence analysis of different performance indicators. Degradation behavior corresponding to each performance indicator is first described by the Wiener process. Dependence among different performance indicators is then captured using D-vine copula, and a weight-based copula selection method is utilized to determine the optimal bivariate copula for each dependence relationship. A two-stage Bayesian method is used to estimate the parameters in the proposed model. Finally, a reciprocating seal degradation test is conducted, and the proposed reliability estimation approach is validated by test data. Results show that the proposed model is accurate and effective in estimating the reliability of reciprocating seals.

Increased co-channel interference (CCI) in wireless local area networks (WLANs) is bringing serious resource constraints to today’s high-density wireless environments. CCI in IEEE 802.11-based networks is inevitable due to the nature of the carrier sensing mechanism however can be reduced by resource optimization approaches. That means the CCI analysis is basic, but also crucial for an efficient resource management. In this article, we present a novel CCI analysis approach based on the queuing theory, which considers the randomness of end users’ behavior and the irregularity and complexity of network traffic in high-density WLANs that adopts the M/M/c queuing model for CCI analysis. Most of the CCIs occur when multiple networks overlap and trigger channel contentions; therefore, we use the ratio of signal-overlapped areas to signal coverage as a probabilistic factor to the queuing model to analyze the CCI impacts in highly overlapped WLANs. With the queuing model, we perform simulations to see how the CCI influences the quality of service (QoS) in high-density WLANs.

The oxidation of cycloalkanes is important in the combustion of transportation fuels and in atmospheric secondary organic aerosol formation. A transient carbon-centered radical intermediate (•QOOH) in the oxidation of cyclohexane is identified through its infrared fingerprint and time-and energy-resolved unimolecular dissociation dynamics to hydroxyl (OH) radical and bicyclic ether products. Although the cyclohexyl ring structure leads to three nearly degenerate •QOOH isomers (β-, γ-, and δ-QOOH), their transition state (TS) barriers to OH products are predicted to differ considerably. Selective characterization of the β-QOOH isomer is achieved at excitation energies associated with the lowest TS barrier, resulting in rapid unimolecular decay to OH products that are detected. A benchmarking approach is employed for the calculation of high-accuracy stationary point energies, in particular TS barriers, for cyclohexane oxidation (C6H11O2), building on higher-level reference calculations for the smaller ethane oxidation (C2H5O2) system. The isomer-specific characterization of β-QOOH is validated by comparison of experimental OH product appearance rates with computed statistical microcanonical rates, including significant heavy-atom tunneling, at energies in the vicinity of the TS barrier. Master-equation modeling is utilized to extend the results to thermal unimolecular decay rate constants at temperatures and pressures relevant to cyclohexane combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to space limitations during installation, reducing low-frequency noise has always been a challenging area. Sub-wavelength structures are typically favored in such scenarios for noise reduction. This paper explores the potential of micro-slit panels (MSP) for low-frequency sound absorption. To further optimize the panel thickness, coupled MSPs (CMSP) with a distance between two MSPs of less than 1 mm are proposed. Firstly, the low-frequency absorption performances of a single MSP based on two optimized schemes - the cavity-depth optimal scheme (COS) and the panel thickness optimal scheme (TOS) - are examined and compared with those of existing ultrathin metamaterials. The results demonstrate that MSP has significant potential for low frequency sound absorption, and COS allows for a smaller overall structural thickness but a larger panel thickness than TOS. Secondly, to reduce the panel thickness, the CMSP is developed and the theoretical model of its acoustic impedance is established and validated by experiments. Then, based on the theoretical model, the low-frequency absorption potential of CMSP is optimized using COS. The results show that both the overall thickness and the panel thickness of the CMSP absorber are reduced while maintaining better performance. Furthermore, the proposed absorber achieves a subwavelength scale since its total thickness can be as small as 0.138≥. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]