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Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by splitting water is a key technology toward a clean energy society, where Pt-based catalysts were long known to have the highest activity under acidic electrochemical conditions but suffer from high cost and poor stability. Here, we overview the current status of Pt-catalyzed HER from a theoretical perspective, focusing on the methodology development of electrochemistry simulation, catalytic mechanism, and catalyst stability. Recent developments in theoretical methods for studying electrochemistry are introduced, elaborating on how they describe solid–liquid interface reactions under electrochemical potentials. The HER mechanism, the reaction kinetics, and the reaction sites on Pt are then summarized, which provides an atomic-level picture of Pt catalyst surface dynamics under reaction conditions. Finally, state-of-the-art experimental solutions to improve catalyst stability are also introduced, which illustrates the significance of fundamental understandings in the new catalyst design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, single-cell analyses have revealed the heterogeneity of the tumour microenvironment (TME) at the genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic levels, further improving our understanding of the mechanisms of tumour development. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology allow analysis of the transcriptome at the single-cell level and have unprecedented potential for exploration of the characteristics involved in tumour development and progression. These techniques allow analysis of transcript sequences at higher resolution, thereby increasing our understanding of the diversity of cells found in the tumour microenvironment and how these cells interact in complex tumour tissue. Although scRNA-seq has emerged as an important tool for studying the tumour microenvironment in recent years, it cannot be used to analyse spatial information for cells. In this regard, spatial transcriptomics (ST) approaches allow researchers to understand the functions of individual cells in complex multicellular organisms by understanding their physical location in tissue sections. In particular, in related research on tumour heterogeneity, ST is an excellent complementary approach to scRNA-seq, constituting a new method for further exploration of tumour heterogeneity, and this approach can also provide unprecedented insight into the development of treatments for pancreatic cancer (PC). In this review, based on the methods of scRNA-seq and ST analyses, research progress on the tumour microenvironment and treatment of pancreatic cancer is further explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Factor XI (FXI) deficiency is an autosomal hemorrhagic disorder characterized by reduced plasma FXI levels. Multiple ancestral variants in the F11 gene have been identified in Ashkenazi Jews and other selected European populations. However, there are few reports of predominant variants in Chinese and/or East Asian populations. The aim of this study is to characterize the genotypes and phenotypes of FXI deficiency and identify the predominant variants. Results: Of the 41 FXI-deficient patients, 39 exhibited severe FXI defects, considerably more than those with partial defects. The APTT levels showed a negative correlation with FXI activity levels (coefficient=-0.584, P <.001). Only nine patients experienced mild bleeding, including one partially defective patient and eight severely defective patients. The majority of patients were referred for preoperative screenings (n = 22) and checkups (n = 14). Genetic analysis revealed that 90% of the patients had genetic defects, with 2, 16, and 19 cases of heterozygous, homozygous, and compound heterozygous patients, respectively. Seventeen variants were detected in the F11 gene (6 novel), including eleven missense variants, four nonsense variants, and two small deletions scattered throughout the F11. Of the 11 missense variants, six have not yet been studied for in vitro expression. Protein modeling analyses indicated that all of these variants disrupted local structural stability by altering side-chain orientation and hydrogen bonds. Nine variants, consisting of three missense and six null variants, were detected with a frequency of two or more. The highest allele frequency was observed in p.Q281* (21.25%), p.W246* (17.50%), p.Y369* (12.50%), and p.L442Cfs*8 (12.50%). The former two were variants specific to East Asia, while the remaining two were southeast China-specific variants. Conclusion: Our population-based cohort demonstrated that no correlation between the level of FXI activity and the bleeding severity in FXI deficiency. Additionally, the prevalence of FXI deficiency may have been underestimated. The nonsense p.Q281* was the most common variant in southeast China, suggesting a possible founder effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth (Bi)‐doped glass and fiber materials exhibit excellent optical performance and have potential in fields such as fiber communication and tunable lasers. However, the preparation of Bi‐doped glass and fiber with high optical activity is still confronted with huge challenges. This study proposes a germanium oxide hybridization strategy to enhance near‐infrared emission in Bi‐doped glass. In addition, by the systematical optimization of the optical response and processability of the glass system, Bi‐doped glass fibers are successfully constructed. The constructed glass fibers have excellent optical performance, and the enhanced amplified spontaneous emission is realized. They show potentials for applications in broadband fiber amplifiers and tunable lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of acoustic emission criterion system is crucial for monitoring and providing early warning of geological hazards. In the current soil acoustic emission monitoring methods, the signal generated by soil deformation and failure is weak and experiences high attenuation, resulting in a low level of the monitored signal. One approach to enhance the quality of monitoring data is by utilizing the active waveguide model. However, the current research on the active waveguide model system is not extensive. To address these issues, a set of active waveguide system was designed to improve the data quality of acoustic emission monitoring and early warning. The deformation and failure process of loess monitored by acoustic emission was divided into stages, and the precursor information of acoustic emission for geological disasters in loess areas was comprehensively deconstructed. The data quality advantage of the active waveguide model was verified through comparative experiments of with the passive waveguide model. This study investigates the AE signal characteristics of the active waveguide model. It explores various aspects such as the AE waveform parameter characteristics, the discrimination method for failure mode based on RA–AF value, the AE r-value characteristics, the AE b-value characteristics, and the frequency-amplitude characteristics. The study reveals the evolution law of AE signals in the active waveguide model, including early warning signs and failure morphological characteristics. Furthermore, it constructs a warning criterion for the active waveguide system. The development of this criterion system is of great importance in guiding the monitoring and early warning of geological disasters in loess areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impact craters serve as recorders of lunar evolutionary history, and determining the stratigraphic ages of craters is crucial. However, the age of many craters on the Moon remains undetermined. The morphology of craters is closely related to their stratigraphic ages. In the study, we systematically and quantitatively analyzed seven morphological parameters of 432 impact craters with known stratigraphic ages (Copernican, Eratosthenian, Imbrian), including crater depth, wall width, wall height, rim height, irregularity, volume, and roughness, as well as rock abundance. The study provided a range of morphological parameters for craters from the Copernican, Eratosthenian, and Imbrian. Additionally, we derived power law relationships between five morphological parameters and crater diameter, excluding irregularity and roughness. Furthermore, the transitional crater diameters from simple to complex crater morphology were determined for the Copernican and Eratosthenian, approximately 13 km and 15 km, respectively. These results suggest systematic differences in the lunar regolith in different stratigraphic ages. For impact craters of the same diameter, as crater age increases, irregularity tends to be greater, while crater depth, wall width, wall height, rim height, volume, roughness, and rock abundance tend to be smaller. Therefore, in cases where the diameter is determined, the actual values of morphological parameters and rock abundance can be used to constrain the stratigraphic age information of craters of an unknown age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epidemic of stripe rust, caused by the pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), would reduce wheat (Triticum aestivum) yields seriously. Traditional experimental methods are difficult to discover the interaction between wheat and Pst. Multi-omics data analysis provides a new idea for efficiently mining the interactions between host and pathogen. We used 140 wheat-Pst RNA-Seq data to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between low susceptibility and high susceptibility samples, and carried out Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. Based on this, we constructed a gene co-expression network, identified the core genes and interacted gene pairs from the conservative modules. Finally, we checked the distribution of Nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat (NLR) genes in the co-expression network and drew the wheat NLR gene co-expression network. In order to provide accessible information for related researchers, we built a web-based visualization platform to display the data. Based on the analysis, we found that resistance-related genes such as TaPR1, TaWRKY18 and HSP70 were highly expressed in the network. They were likely to be involved in the biological processes of Pst infecting wheat. This study can assist scholars in conducting studies on the pathogenesis and help to advance the investigation of wheat-Pst interaction patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To effectively evaluate the homogeneity of aggregate distribution for asphalt pavement, the self-developed texture imaging device was used to collect the texture image of asphalt pavement. The texture structure of pavement surface was reconstructed by 3D image reconstruction technique. The fractal characteristics of three-dimensional texture of asphalt pavement were discussed based on digital image processing (DIP) technology. The evaluation index of texture uniformity (TU) for aggregate distribution homogeneity of asphalt pavement was proposed. Meanwhile, the asphalt mixture with standard segregation degrees was simulated in the laboratory, and the evaluation criteria for aggregate distribution homogeneity of asphalt pavement based on TU value was established. The results show that the three-dimensional texture model reconstructed based on the grayscale image restores the surface morphology of asphalt pavement with high precision in texture characteristics. The fractal dimension calculated from the three-dimensional texture model of asphalt pavement shows a decreasing trend as the segregation degree of coarse aggregate increases. There is a good linear correlation between the multifractal spectral width Δα of texture morphology of asphalt pavement with different segregation degrees and texture depth. The larger the value of Δα, the more heterogeneous the aggregate distribution on asphalt pavement is. Based on the fractal dimension and multifractal spectral width, a novel evaluation index of homogeneity for three-dimensional texture structure can effectively evaluate the homogeneity of construction quality for asphalt pavement. The research results will provide corresponding reference for non-destructive detection of construction homogeneity for asphalt pavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the incidence and characteristics of adult otitis media with effusion (OME) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted. The incidence, age, sex, affected ear side, time of OME onset according to COVID-19 and days of improvement after conservative treatment were determined to assess the clinical features of adult OME in different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The incidence of adult OME during these periods was 3.17%, 2.30%, 6.18%, and 3.68%, respectively. Unilateral ear involvement and male sex were more common. The onset of adult OME occurred 7.80 ± 3.97 days after COVID-19 diagnosis, and improvement was observed after 12.24 ± 5.08 days of conservative treatment. Patients in the post-pandemic period were older than those in the non-pandemic period. Conclusion: The incidence of adult OME in China showed a tendency to decrease, recover, and decrease again following the COVID-19 outbreak. Pandemic prevention and control measures have had a certain impact on reducing the incidence, but the elderly are more prone to this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The just‐in‐time learning‐based partial least squares (JIT‐PLS) has been extensively applied to adaptive soft sensor modeling of complex nonlinear processes. However, it still has the problems of unreasonable relevant samples selection and unsatisfactory local modeling. Aiming at these problems, this paper proposes an improved just‐in‐time learning‐based random mapping partial least squares (IJIT‐RMPLS), including an improved relevant samples selection strategy and a random mapping PLS (RMPLS) model. On the one hand, considering the different correlation degrees between input variables and output variable, this method applies mutual information to evaluate the importance of each input variable and designs a variable‐weighted Euclidean distance to select relevant samples for local modeling. On the other hand, in order to prompt the prediction precision of local soft sensor models, this method combines the idea of nonlinear random mapping in extreme learning machines with PLS and builds a RMPLS with multiple activation functions. Applications on a numerical example and a real chemical process show that the proposed IJIT‐RMPLS has smaller prediction error compared with traditional JIT‐PLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As one of the most famous natural products, salvianolic acid A (SAA) is undergoing clinical trials for the treatments of angina pectoris and coronary heart disorders. However, the in vivo metabolites of SAA have only been tentatively identified, leading to a barrier for precise therapeutical drug monitoring. Methods: Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–Qtof-MS/MS) was firstly employed to acquire high-resolution MS1 and MS2 spectra for all metabolites. Through paying special attention onto the features of ester bond dissociation, metabolism sites were restricted at certain regions. To further determine the metabolism site, such as the monomethylated products (M23, M25, and M26), post collision-induced dissociation energy-resolved mass spectrometry (post-CID ER-MS) was proposed through programming progressive exciting energies to the second collision chamber of hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (Qtrap-MS) device. Results: After SAA oral administration, 29 metabolites (M1–M29), including five, thirteen, and sixteen ones in rat plasma, urine, and feces, respectively, were detected in rats. The metabolism route was initially determined by applying well-defined mass fragmentation pathways to those HR-m/z values of precursor and fragment ions. Metabolism site was limited to SAF- or DSS-unit based on the fragmentation patterns of ester functional group. Through matching the dissociation trajectories of concerned 1st-generation fragment ions with expected decomposition product anions using post-CID ER-MS strategy, M23 and M25 were unequivocally assigned as 3'-methyl-SAA and 3''-methyl-SAA, and M26 was identified as 2-methyl-SAA or 3-methyl-SAA. Hydrolysis, methylation, glucuronidation, sulfation, and oxidation were the primary metabolism channels being responsible for the metabolites' generation. Conclusion: Together, the metabolism regions and sites of SAA metabolites were sequentially identified based on the ester bond dissociation features and post-CID ER-MS strategy. Importantly, the present study provided a promising way to elevate the structural identification confidence of natural products and metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end‐stage renal disease globally. Currently, there are no effective drugs for the treatment of DN. Although several studies have reported the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we report that both human umbilical cord MSCs (UC‐MSCs) and UC‐MSC‐derived exosomes (UC‐MSC‐exo) attenuate kidney damage, and inhibit epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) and renal fibrosis in streptozotocin‐induced DN rats. Strikingly, the Hedgehog receptor, smoothened (SMO), was significantly upregulated in the kidney tissues of DN patients and rats, and positively correlated with EMT and renal fibrosis. UC‐MSC and UC‐MSC‐exo treatment resulted in decrease of SMO expression. In vitro co‐culture experiments revealed that UC‐MSC‐exo reduced EMT of tubular epithelial cells through inhibiting Hedgehog/SMO pathway. Collectively, UC‐MSCs inhibit EMT and renal fibrosis by delivering exosomes and targeting Hedgehog/SMO signaling, suggesting that UC‐MSCs and their exosomes are novel anti‐fibrotic therapeutics for treating DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the issuance of the "Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Developing Sports Tourism" in 2016, the integration of sports and tourism has become a strategy in regional economic development. It creates new economic growth points, enhances local images, and promotes cultural communication. In the context of the "Tourism Makes Xinjiang Thrive" strategy, quantitatively investigating the integration of the sports and tourism industries helps people to better understand their interaction which can serve as the valuable input in policy-making for the comprehensive development of a region. This paper uses entropy weight method, stochastic frontier analysis and coupling coordination model to quantitatively analyze the effect of sports tourism industry integration in Xinjiang from the perspective of integration path. Meanwhile, the Dagum Gini coefficient and nuclear density estimation were used to analyze the regional differences and dynamic evolution of industrial integration quality. The result shows that (1) The sports and tourism integration quality in Xinjiang has not reached the optimal goal of complete integration. In the process of mutual industrial promotion, tourism promotes a higher degree of integration with the sports industry. (2) The industrial integration quality shows a phenomenon of "imbalance and inadequacy" among the regions. The regions with high quality of industrial integration were Urumqi, Ili, Kashgar, Altay and Changji, which have rich sports tourism resources. (3) The overall spatial difference in the quality of industrial integration presented a fluctuation downtrend. The difference between the tourism industrial belts was very significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), a complex and multifaceted illness. COVID‐19 is associated with various ocular manifestations including conjunctivitis, retinal vein occlusion and optic neuritis. However, the case of Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada (VKH) disease associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 is infrequent, and the specific association is still unclear. Case Presentation: In the present study, a 35‐year‐old female patient without any significant medical history presented with 1 week of bilateral blurred vision, occurring 2 weeks after a clinical course of COVID‐19. Upon examination, both eyes exhibited bullous serous retinal detachments. She was diagnosed with incomplete VKH disease. Early diagnosis and treatment of VKH disease are essential for the visual prognosis of this aggressive disease. In this particular patient, ocular inflammatory signs and visual acuity improved via corticosteroid therapy. It is worth noting that the occurrence of VKH disease associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 is uncommon, and the specific connection between the two remains unknown. We review and summarize the clinical characteristics of VKH disease following SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, and discuss the potential mechanisms that may explain this phenomenon, based on similar studies previously reported. Conclusion: Despite the unclear causality, it is important for ophthalmologists and physicians to be recognizant of the possible association between VKH disease and COVID‐19. SARS‐CoV‐2 may play a potential immunological triggering role in VKH disease. However, further in‐depth research is necessary to investigate the clinical and epidemiological features, as well as the underlying mechanisms of this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical and applied research on hypergraph or hypernetwork is one of the hot topics of system science. Spanning hypertree extended from spanning tree is an interesting problem about this topic, but determining the number of spanning hypertrees in general hypergraphs is not suitable for generalizing from graph and more intractable. In this paper, we propose a definition of spanning hypertree which has less constraints than the traditional definition of spanning hypertree, and then find exact analytical expressions for the number of spanning hypertrees in several kinds of non-uniform hypergraphs based on sum operation. In addition, we define the entropy of spanning hypertree and conduct data experiments on the entropies of spanning hypertrees in four special classes of non-uniform hypergraphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Physical functional limitations (PFLs) increase the vulnerability of adults, but their pathogenesis remains unclear. Methods We conducted a nationwide longitudinal study on 62 749 records from 18 878 adults (aged ≥45) from 28 provinces in China. Risk of PFLs was assessed using a validated 9-item questionnaire. Exposure levels of air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, and PM1) and greenness (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) were estimated using a satellite-based spatiotemporal model. We used the cumulative link mixed effects model to estimate the associations between short-term and long-term exposure to air pollutants, greenness, and risk of PFLs. We employed the interaction effect model to evaluate interactions between air pollutants and greenness. Results Participants were 60.9 ± 9.6 years, with an average follow-up of 5.87 (1.65) years. Exposure to air pollution was significantly associated with a higher risk of PFLs. For instance, the odds ratio (OR) associated with each 10 μg/m3 higher in 6-month averaged PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 1.025 (95% CI: 1.015–1.035), 1.035 (95% CI: 1.018–1.054), and 1.029 (95% CI: 1.007–1.050), respectively. Conversely, exposure to greenness was associated with decreased risk of PFLs; the OR associated with each 1-unit higher in 1-year averaged NDVI was 0.724 (95% CI: 0.544–0.962). Furthermore, higher greenness levels were found to mitigate the adverse effects of 1-year, 6-month, 1-month averaged PM10, and 1-year averaged PM2.5 on the risk of PFLs. Conclusions Air pollution raises the risk of PFLs, whereas greenness could mitigate the adverse effects. Reducing air pollution and enhancing greenness could prevent physical functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the relationship between the intake of vegetables and fruits and the composition and diversity of gut microbiota during the first trimester of pregnancy in Chengdu. Methods In total 104 early pregnant women in Chengdu were enrolled in this study. Dietary frequency questionnaire was used to collect the intake of vegetables and fruits. According to the median intake of vegetables and fruits, the early pregnant women were divided into high intake group and low intake group. The intestinal microflora of fecal samples of early pregnant women was detected by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, and the differences of intestinal microflora between groups were compared. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the relationship between vegetable and fruit intake and intestinal flora in early pregnant women. Results The median intake of vegetables and fruits in early pregnant women was 90.0 g/d and 200.0 g/d, respectively. There was no significant difference in intestinal microflora α and β diversity between high and low intake of vegetables and fruits in early pregnancy. LEfSe analysis showed that the relative abundance of multiple intestinal microflorae in early pregnant women was significantly different between the groups with high and low intake of vegetables and fruits. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that after adjusting age, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and energy intake, early pregnant women's vegetable intake was directly proportional to the relative abundance of Eubacterium siraeum group (β=0.007, P=0.012), inversely proportional to the relative abundance of Bacteroides (β=-0.167, P=0.023), and fruit intake was proportional to the relative abundance of Ruminococcus gnavus group (β=0.004, P=0.034), inversely proportional to the relative abundance of Agathobacter (β=0.004, P=0.044). Conclusion The intake of vegetables and fruits in early pregnancy leads to the change of relative abundance of intestinal flora. This study provides a new scientific basis for dietary regulation of gut microbiota during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the application of behavior detection technology in college education, the study proposes a new model built on deep CNN, which is used for student behavior detection and analysis in college labor education courses. The study first analyzed the target detection algorithm, and optimized the selected You Only Look Once version 5 (YOLOv5) algorithm and its network structure with a series of improvements, and based on this, embedded the attention module into the algorithm structure to finally obtain a new model, namely YOLOv5-O. After a series of experiments, YOLOv5-O reached an average accuracy of 90.1% on the test set, while the application test in the actual teaching environment showed that its average accuracy was 86.7%. This result is obviously superior to the existing technology, which proves the validity of the study and provides strong data support for the automatic detection of student behavior. In addition, in the teaching experiment, YOLOv5-O assisted teaching achieved the most significant teaching effect, and students' achievement improved the most. The feasibility of this method is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon cognitive-motivational-relational theory, we offer a framework for understanding the mechanism underlying the effect of negative workplace gossip about supervisors (NWGS) on employees as gossip senders. We propose that NWGS can elicit two negative emotions, namely, anxiety and guilt, which further lead to employee behaviors that reflect avoidance and approach tendencies, respectively. We first tested these proposals in a survey study of graduate students (Study 1) and then replicated our findings among employees in the workplace (Study 2). In both studies, we found that NWGS is positively related to both anxiety and guilt, which in turn are linked to further avoidance-related workplace deviance and impression management directed toward the supervisor, respectively. Our results also show that the effects of NWGS on employees' impression management through guilt are significant only when the employees score high on supervisors' approval contingent self-worth. We discuss the implications of these results for managing workplace gossip in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of flipped learning (FL) is increasing in higher education with enormous educational benefits. But limited research has investigated the relationships of students' transactional distance (TD) perceptions, engagement, and course satisfaction in FL. This correlational study was conducted to explore these important factors and their relationships in FL. 198 undergraduate students participated in this 14-week-long study, including 105 females and 93 males. Three well-established instruments were employed to collect data. The path analyses with the structural equation model showed that students' TD perceptions were significantly related to their engagement and course satisfaction in FL. Furthermore, the study found that each of the five types of interactions, as sub-dimensions of TD perceptions, was positively related to student engagement as well as course satisfaction in FL. The research findings provide strong empirical evidence on the effect of TD perceptions on student engagement and satisfactions, and have rich implications for the design, implementation, and research of FL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of efficient, bright, and stable narrowband light‐emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) has remained a challenge. Here, intrinsically ionic multi‐resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR‐TADF) emitters are reported as guest emitters for narrowband LECs, which are developed by attaching an imidazolium cation onto a typical MR‐TADF emitter. In solution, the emitters show green–blue emission peaked at 486−497 nm with small full widths at half‐maximum (FWHMs) at 24−26 nm. In doped films, they show narrowband green–blue emission with high luminescent efficiencies at ≈90%. LECs using an ionic exciplex host and the ionic MR‐TADF guest emitters show green–blue emission peaked at 494−503 nm with small FWHMs at 31−34 nm, and afford high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) up to 10% under constant‐voltage driving. With ionic TADF small‐molecule hosts, the narrowband LECs show high EQEs up to 13.0% under constant‐voltage driving, which is the highest among all reported narrowband LECs, and afford peak brightness/EQE/half lifetime at 780 cd m−2/5.6%/62.2 h under constant‐current driving. A long half‐lifetime of ≈630 h has further been achieved at 136 cd m−2. The work demonstrates the great potential for the use of intrinsically ionic MR‐TADF guest emitters and ionic TADF hosts to develop efficient, bright, and stable narrowband LECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by using the method of integration within the ordered product of operators and entangled state representation, the degree of second-order coherence of coherent state evolving in a laser channel is derived for the first time, which exhibits its anti-bunching property. The master equation of the laser channel is solved by entangled state representation, and the cumulant for deriving mean and mean-square photon numbers is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: Stem xylem transports water and nutrients, mechanically supports aboveground tissues, and stores water and nonstructural carbohydrates. These three functions are associated with three types of cells—vessel, fiber, and parenchyma, respectively. Methods: We measured stem theoretical hydraulic conductivity (Kt), modulus of elasticity (MOE), tissue water content, starch, soluble sugars, cellulose, and xylem anatomical traits in 15 liana and 16 tree species across three contrasting sites in Southwest China. Results: Lianas had higher hydraulic efficiency and tissue water content, but lower MOE and cellulose than trees. Storage traits (starch and soluble sugars) did not significantly differ between lianas and trees, and trait variation was explained mainly by site, highlighting how environment shapes plant storage strategies. Kt was significantly positively correlated with vessel diameter and vessel area fraction in lianas and all species combined. The MOE was significantly positively correlated with fiber area fraction, wood density, and cellulose in lianas and across all species. The tissue water content was significantly associated with parenchyma area fraction in lianas. Support function was strongly linked with transport and storage functions in lianas. In trees, transport and support functions were not correlated, while storage function was tightly linked with transport and support functions. Conclusions: These findings enhance our understanding of the relationship between stem xylem structure and function in lianas and trees, providing valuable insights into how plants adapt to environmental changes and the distinct ecological strategies employed by lianas and by trees to balance the demands of hydraulic transport, mechanical support, and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To develop the influenza vaccine hesitation scale for the elderly aged 60 and above and evaluate its applicability. Methods Based on the Chinese version of the parents' hesitation scale for children's influenza vaccination, combined with the characteristics of the elderly population, the influenza vaccine hesitation scale for the elderly aged 60 and above was developed, and the reliability and validity of the scale were evaluated. Results The scale finally included 3 dimensions and 14 items, the score of the total scale was 32.82 ±7.99, and the correlation coefficient between each item and the score of the total scale was between 0.20 and 0.87 (all P < 0.05). Exploratory factor analysis showed that the Kaiser -Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of the scale was 0.916 (x²approximation = 14 315.26, P<0.05). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the cumulative variance contribution rate of 14 common factors was 80.6%, GFI=0.909, IFI=0.961, TLI =0.952, and CFI = 0.961, indicating that the overall fitness and structural validity of the model were good. Taking whether the elderly were vaccinated with influenza vaccine or not in the influenza season in 2022, the total vaccine hesitation score and the scores of "confidences", "risk" and "support" were significantly correlated with the school standard (all P < 0.05). The Cronbach's a coefficient of the scale was 0.859, indicating that the internal consistency reliability of the scale was high. Conclusion The influenza vaccine hesitation scale for the elderly developed in this study is good in reliability, validity and applicable stability, which can be used to evaluate the hesitation level of influenza vaccine in people aged 60 and above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (MPWP; 3.0–3.3 Ma), a warm geological period about three million years ago, has been deemed as a good past analog for understanding the current and future climate change. Based on 12 climate model outputs from Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2), we investigate tropical atmospheric circulation (TAC) changes under the warm MPWP and associated underlying mechanisms by diagnosing both atmospheric static stability and diabatic processes. Our findings underscore the advantage of analyzing atmospheric diabatic processes in elucidating seasonal variations of TAC compared to static stability assessments. Specifically, by diagnosing alterations in diabatic processes, we achieve a quantitative understanding and explanation the following TAC changes (incl. Strength and edge) during the MPWP: the weakened (annual, DJF, JJA) Northern Hemisphere and (DJF) Southern Hemisphere Hadley circulation (HC), reduced (annual, DJF) Pacific Walker circulation (PWC) and enhanced (annual, JJA) Southern Hemisphere HC and (JJA) PWC, and westward shifted (annual, DJF, JJA) PWC. We further addressed that the increasing bulk subtropical static stability and/or decreasing vertical shear of subtropical zonal wind - two crucial control factors for changes in subtropical baroclinicity - may promote HC widening, and vice versa. Consequently, our study of spatial diabatic heating and cooling, corresponding to upward and downward motions within the TAC, respectively, provides a new perspective for understanding the processes controlling seasonal TAC changes in response to surface warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imbalance between the radial pressure gradient and centrifugal force in curved pipe flow produces a secondary flow, resulting in a non-uniform distribution of streamwise velocity across the pipe cross section. These phenomena are believed to exhibit higher fluid resistance than straight pipes with similar flow rates, thereby motivating research into the mechanical energy losses in curved pipes. First, to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of the calculations, the results of various turbulence models were compared with direct numerical simulation to select the most appropriate turbulence model. Based on the momentum conservation equation, the mechanical influencing factors of secondary flow and streamwise velocity stratification in toroidal flow field were theoretically studied. Computational fluid dynamics method was employed to explore the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the mechanics and velocity distribution in transient flow fields to explain the formation mechanism of the secondary flow and the coupling relationship between the streamwise and radial directions. Then, the typical energy components of the toroidal flow field were analyzed using the energy equation, and the energy conservation and distribution characteristics were numerically studied. Furthermore, the influence of typical parameters (Reynolds number and curvature ratio) on the velocity distributions and mechanical properties as well as the percentage and distribution of various energy components were analyzed. Finally, the calculation results were statistically presented to quantify the variation of the energy components with typical parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective of this research was to determine the age cut-off for worse prognosis and investigate age-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in patients with advanced ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (AOSC). Methods: In this research, we included a cohort of 20,846 patients diagnosed with AOSC, along with RNA-seq data from 374 patients in publicly available databases. Then we used the X-tile software to determine the age cut-off and stratified the patients into young and old groups. We utilized propensity score matching (PSM) to balance baseline between the young and old groups. Furthermore, we conducted an enrichment analysis of DEGs between the two age groups using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways and gene ontology (GO) to identify dysregulated pathways. To evaluate the potential prognostic value of the DEGs, we performed survival analysis, such as Kaplan-Meier analysis and Log rank test. Results: We stratified the patients into young group (n=16,336) and old group (n=4510) based on the cut-off age of 73 years by X-tile software. Age over 73 years was identified as an independent risk factor for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Next, we identified 436 DEGs and found that the neurotrophin signaling pathway and translation factor activity were associated with prognosis outcomes. Among the top 10 hub genes (RELA, NFKBIA, TRAF6, IRAK2, TAB3, AKT1, TBP, EIF2S2, MAPK10, and SUPT3H), RELA, TAB3, AKT1, TBP, and SUPT3H were found to be significantly associated with poor prognosis in old patients with AOSC. Conclusion: Our study determined 73 years as the cutoff value for age in patients with AOSC. RELA, TAB3, AKT1, TBP, and SUPT3H were identified as age-related DEGs that could contribute to the poor prognosis of older patients with AOSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of cancer immunotherapy, there is a growing interest in vaccine development as a means to activate the cellular immune system against cancer. Despite the promise of DNA vaccines in this regard, their effectiveness is hindered by poor immunogenicity, leading to modest therapeutic outcomes across various cancers. The role of Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1), capable of cross-presenting vaccine antigens to activate CD8+T cells, emerges as crucial for the antitumor function of DNA vaccines. To address the limitations of DNA vaccines, a promising approach involves targeting antigens to cDC1 through the fusion of XCL1, a ligand specific to the receptor XCR1 on the surface of cDC1. Here, female C57BL/6 mice were selected for tumor inoculation and immunotherapy. Additionally, recognizing the complexity of cancer, this study explored the use of combination therapies, particularly the combination of cDC1-targeted DNA vaccine with the chemotherapy drug Gemcitabine (Gem) and the anti-PD1 antibody in a mouse lung cancer model. The study's findings indicate that fusion antigens with XCL1 effectively enhance both the immunogenicity and antitumor effects of DNA vaccines. Moreover, the combination of the cDC1-targeted DNA vaccine with Gemcitabine and anti-PD1 antibody in the mouse lung cancer model demonstrates an improved antitumor effect, leading to the prolonged survival of mice. In conclusion, this research provides important support for the clinical investigation of cDC1-targeting DNA vaccines in combination with other therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a serious inflammatory disease with high morbidity and mortality. Rosavin is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phenylpropanoid and glucoside, which is isolated from Rhodiola rosea L. However, its potential molecular mechanisms and whether it has protective effects against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI remain to be elucidated. To assess the in vitro anti-inflammatory effects and anti-lung injury activity of rosavin, RAW264.7 and A549 cells were stimulated using 1 μg/mL LPS. Rosavin attenuated LPS-induced activation of the TLR-4/NF-κB signaling pathway in RAW264.7 cells and inhibited LPS-induced release of inflammatory factors in A549 cells. A mouse model of acute lung injury was constructed by intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg/kg LPS to observe the therapeutic effect of rosavin. Transcriptomics analysis and Western blot assays were utilized to verify the molecular mechanism, rosavin (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) dose-dependently ameliorated histopathological alterations, reduced the levels of inflammatory factors, and inhibited the TLR-4/NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathway and apoptosis activation. Rosavin is a promising therapeutic candidate for acute lung injury by inhibiting the TLR-4/NF-κB/MAPK pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilised divers' demographic characteristics, diving experience, and attitudes to analyse the association between these factors and divers' responsible underwater behaviour among Chinese scuba divers in Hong Kong. More innovatively, the measurement construct of diving attitude was further employed as a mediator to investigate its influence on the relationship between divers' diving experience and responsible underwater behaviours based on the conceptual framework of previous works in the literature. The questionnaire data for this study were collected at four of the most popular dive sites among the marine protected areas in Hong Kong, with 398 valid samples after eliminating incomplete questionnaires. Regression results demonstrated that divers' demographic characteristics could significantly predict their responsible underwater behaviour, with age (b = 0.10, p < 0.05) and education (b = 0.15, p < 0.05) being found to be positively associated with their diving behaviour. In addition, path analysis demonstrated that divers' diving experience and attitude could explain 13.6% and 22.6% of the variance in predicting their responsible diving behaviour, respectively. However, no mediation effect was found on the relationship between diving experience and responsible underwater behaviour relative to diving attitude, given the absence of statistical effects regarding the positive impact of divers' diving experience on their attitude (β = 0.024, se = 0.022, t = 1.085, p = 0.279). Based on the research findings, theoretical and practical implications were discussed correspondingly, which are believed to be beneficial in promoting marine conservation and the sustainable development of marine-based nature tourism in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to understand the precursors, catalysts, and dimensions of the spiritual transformation of Chinese travelers on the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage-tourist route in Spain. This research has adopted the theoretical framework of spiritual transformation by Pargament and his colleagues in collecting the transformative experience of Chinese Camino travelers reported in 139 blogs and stories. Thematic analysis is employed in analyzing the data. The study results show that Chinese travelers underwent spiritually transformative experiences, as observed in the changes in their relationship to themselves, others, nature, and the transcendent. These four dimensions are interconnected and experienced as something integrated with Chinese cultural and spiritual traditions. This study also explores the transculturality of spiritual experience, the important role of embodied engagement, and the critical and essential qualities of liminality in the transformative process on the Camino de Santiago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, limited information is available in the literature regarding the relationships between PROC mutations and clinical features in Chinese individuals. We aimed to characterize severe congenital Protein C deficiency in 22 unrelated Chinese families in a tertiary hospital by analyzing its clinical manifestation, associated risk factors, and gene mutations. We measured protein C activity and antigen levels for all participants, screened them for mutations in the PROC gene, and analyzed the clinical features of each family to identify commonalities and differences. The analysis revealed a total of 75 individuals with PCD and 16 different PROC mutations, including 12 missense mutations and 4 deletion mutations. Among them, 11 who were compound heterozygotes or homozygotes for mutations tended to develop symptoms at a younger age without any clear triggers. In contrast, the remaining 64 individuals who were heterozygotes for mutations often had clear triggers for their symptoms and experienced a milder course of the disease. It is worth noting that the mutation c.565C > T occurred most frequently, being identified in 8 out of 22 families (36%). Our team also reported five novel mutations, including c.742-744delAAG, c.383G > A, c.997G > A, c.1318C > T, and c.833T > C mutations. The identification of five novel mutations adds to the richness of the Human Genome Database. Asymptomatic heterozygotes are not uncommon, and they are prone to develop symptoms with obvious triggers. The evidence presented strongly suggest that asymptomatic individuals with family history of protein C deficiency can benefit from mutational analysis of PROC gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterization of pore systems is a key to better understand the heterogeneity of reservoir quality. However, the complicated pore types and pore facies of carbonates in the Hartha Formation of X Oilfield remain poorly understood. In this study, we recognized pore types and explored the impact of depositional environment and diagenetic alterations on pore facies and reservoir heterogeneity. Six types and nine subtypes of pore facies displaying various physical properties and fossils are classified based on the proportion of depositional pores, fabric‐ and non‐fabric‐selective pores. The distribution of pore facies are controlled by the interaction between depositional environment and diagenesis: (i) the depositional environment has an impact on the primary pore types mainly through different lithology and fossils. Micro‐interparticle pores and intraparticle pores of foraminifera are dominated in lagoon, middle ramp and outer ramp, while interparticle pores between grains are dominated in rudist shoal. Rocks deposited in medium‐ to low‐energy shoal contain interparticle pores between grains, micro‐interparticle pores and intraparticle pores of foraminifera. (ii) Major diagenetic events that modify pore types include micritization, fabric‐selective dissolution, cementation, compaction and non‐fabric‐selective dissolution. Micritization facilitates the development of micro‐interparticle pores, while compaction can cause the loss of interparticle pores between grains and micro‐interparticle pores. Cementation destroys not only interparticle pores between grains but also intraparticle pores of foraminifera. Fabric‐ and non‐fabric‐selective dissolution are the main causes for increasing the volume of pores. (iii) The intensity of the diagenetic event is linked to rock composition, rock fabric and palaeotopography that are controlled by depositional environment. Thus, the distribution of pore facies related to the environment is established, which can provide insights for areas lacking cores and adjacent fields with similar settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To apply multi-shot high-resolution multi inversion spin and gradient echo (MI-SAGE) acquisition for simultaneous liver T 1 , T 2 and T 2 * mapping. Inversion prepared spin- and gradient-echo EPI was developed with ascending slice order across measurements for efficient acquisition with T 1 , T 2 , and T 2 ⁎ weighting. Multi-shot EPI was also implemented to minimize distortion and blurring while enabling high in-plane resolution. A dictionary-matching approach was used to fit the images to quantitative parameter maps, which were compared to T 1 measured by modified Look-Locker (MOLLI), T 1 measured by variable flip angle (VFA), T 2 measured by multiple echo time-based Half Fourier Single-shot Turbo spin-Echo (HASTE), T 2 measured by radial turbo-spin-echo (rTSE) and T 2 ⁎ measured by multiple gradient echo (MGRE) sequences. The multi-shot variant of the sequence achieved higher in-plane resolution of 1.7 × 1.7 mm2 with good image quality in 28 s. Derived quantitative maps showed comparable values to conventional mapping methods. As measured in phantom and in vivo , MOLLI, MESE and MGRE give closest values to MISAGE. VFA, HASTE and rTSE show obvious overestimation. The proposed multi-shot inversion prepared spin- and gradient-echo EPI sequence allows for high-resolution quantitative T 1 , T 2 and T 2 liver tissue characterization in a single breath-hold scan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness of Network Security Situation (abbreviated as NSS for short) technology is in a period of vigorous development recently. NSS technology means network security situational awareness technology. It refers to the technology of collecting, processing, and analyzing various real-time information in the network to understand and evaluate the current network security status. It can not only find network security threats, but also reflect the NSS in the system security metrics, and provide users with targeted security protection measures. Based on data mining methods, this paper analyzed and models perceived threats and security events with data mining algorithms, and improved information security measurement methods based on association analysis. This paper proposed network security information analysis and NSS based on data mining, and analyzed the experimental results of network awareness of NSS information security measurement. The experimental results showed that when the Timer was 8, the accuracy of the awareness of NSS information security measurement method based on data mining can reach 92.89%. The data mining model had the highest accuracy of 93.14% in situation understanding and evaluation of KDDCup-99 dataset. The results showed that the model can accurately predict the NSS. When Timer was 6, the highest accuracy of the model was 92.71%. In general, the NSS prediction mining model based on KDDCup-99 can better understand, evaluate and predict the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study published in the journal Brain Pathology by Liu et al. explores the adverse prognostic role of MET fusions and splicing variants in astrocytoma, specifically those with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation. The researchers suggest that MET fusions and splicing variants could serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis of high-grade astrocytoma. The study analyzes a large cohort of IDH-mutant astrocytomas and confirms the association between MET fusions and splicing variants and poor survival outcomes. The findings highlight the need for additional molecular prognostic biomarkers to complement the current grading system for astrocytomas. [Extracted from the article]

Capturing and separating carbon dioxide, particularly using porous carbon adsorption separation technology, has received considerable research attention due to its advantages such as low cost and ease of regeneration. In this study, we successfully developed a one-step carbonization activation method using freeze-thaw pre-mix treatment to prepare high-nitrogen-content microporous nitrogen-doped carbon materials. These materials hold promise for capturing and separating CO2 from complex gas mixtures, such as biogas. The nitrogen content of the prepared carbon adsorbents reaches as high as 13.08 wt%, and they exhibit excellent CO2 adsorption performance under standard conditions (1 bar, 273 K/298 K), achieving 6.97mmol/g and 3.77mmol/g, respectively. Furthermore, according to Ideal Adsorption Solution Theory (IAST) analysis, these materials demonstrate material selectivity for CO2/CH4 (10 v:90 v) and CO2/CH4 (50 v:50 v) of 33.3 and 21.8, respectively, at 1 bar and 298 K. This study provides a promising CO2 adsorption and separation adsorbent that can be used in the efficient purification process for carbon dioxide, potentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions in industrial and energy production, thus offering robust support for addressing climate change and achieving more environmentally friendly energy production and carbon capture goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since November 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused the worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the impact of which is huge to the lives of world populations. Many studies suggested that such situation will continue due to the endless mutations in SARS-CoV-2 genome that result in complexity of the efforts for the control of SARS-CoV-2, since the special enrichment of nucleotide substitution C>U in SARS-CoV-2 sequences were discovered mainly due to the editing by human host factors APOBEC3 genes. The observation of SARS-CoV-2 variants Beta (B.1.351) and Omicron (B.1.1.529) firstly spreading in South Africa promoted us to hypothesize that genetic variants of APOBEC3 special in African populations may be attributed to the higher mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Africa. Current study was conducted to search for functional variants of APOBEC3 genes associate with COVID-19 hospitalization in African population. By integrating data from the 1000 Genomes Project, Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and Host Genetics Initiative (HGI) of COVID-19, we identified potential functional SNPs close to APOBEC3 genes that are associated with COVID-19 hospitalization in African but not with other populations. Our study provides new insights on the potential contribution of APOBEC3 genes on the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 mutations in African population, but further replication is needed to confirm our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we propose a refined hydrodynamic lubrication model that incorporates a high-accuracy numerical algorithm for starved lubrication involving free surfaces. The performance of the proposed method is compared against that of the conventional model and numerical scheme. The results indicate that the Elrod-Adams model underestimates the hydrodynamic pressure due to unrealistic assumptions regarding the mass transport velocity of the lubricant beyond the contact region. Furthermore, the conventional numerical scheme fails to correctly predict the location of the rupture point and loses accuracy under conditions of severe starvation or high sliding speeds. In contrast, our proposed model ensures the conservation of mass flow between the outlet and inlet, while the new numerical algorithm restores the accuracy of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We synthesize a kind of UCNPs@PVP-GOx-PpIX-Fe3+ nanoreactors with rare earth upconversion nanoparticles as the substrate, which can absorb NIR light at 980 nm and convert low-energy photons into high-energy photons, so as to cleverly generating UV radiation induction in vivo , and finally enhance ferroptosis effect through the synergistic starvation/photodynamic therapies. [Display omitted] The limitations of light source limit the clinical application of optical therapy technology. How to improve the application efficiency of radiant light has become the focus of researchers. Here, we synthesize a kind of UCNPs@PVP-GOx-PpIX-Fe3+ (UPGPF) nanoreactors with rare earth upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) as the substrate for the enhancement of ferroptosis effect by the synergistic starvation/photodynamic therapies. Firstly, glucose oxidase (GOx) and Fe3+ loaded in UPGPF nanoreactors are used to directly face the problems of insufficient H 2 O 2 level in tumor tissue and low Fenton reaction efficiency. Further, UCNPs can absorb NIR light at 980 nm and convert low-energy photons into high-energy photons, thereby cleverly generating ultraviolet (UV) radiation induction in vivo , which can produce a synergistic effect of enhancing iron death. The in vivo experimental results of breast cancer model mice show that the UPGPF nanoreactors have significant anticancer effect and good biosafety. With the help of the optical conversion characteristics of UCNPs, this kind of treatment idea of building a UV radiation-induced microplatform in the tumor microenvironment, which leads to the synergistic enhancement of iron death effect, provides a promising innovative design strategy for tumor research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste management is the bridge to balance resource conservation and climate change protection, and source separation is the pre-requirement to improve the recycling rate and normal human behavior. In this work, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission patterns were investigated from waste sectors from 2016 to 2021 in Shanghai, where force MSW source separation was first implemented in China since 2019. The GHG emission in the waste sector increased from 3.06 (2016) to 9.28 (2021) Mt CO 2 -eq due to the increase of waste disposal amounts from 7.35 (2016) to 11.83 Mt (2021). With the implementation of forced source separation in Shanghai on July 1st, 2019, the proportion of kitchen waste and water content decreased by 37.31% and 20.74% in dry waste, resulting in the increase of low heating value (LHV) by 99.39% (13,160 kJ/kg). The waste disposal system was optimized by employing resource recycling and anaerobic digestion of wet waste, and the corresponding GHG emission intensity decreased from 0.29 to 0.24 t CO 2 -eq per ton MSW. Three scenario analyses, including the Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, New Policy (NP) scenario, and Low-carbon (LC) scenario, were conducted to study the influence of the grid emission factor, wet waste disposal capacity, incineration power generation efficiency, and lower waste plastic proportion on the GHG emissions. The results showed that the GHG emission intensity would reach 0.28, 0.21, and 0.12 t CO 2 -eq per ton MSW in the BAU, NP, and LC scenarios. Optimizing waste disposal mode and reducing waste plastic from sourced separation was critical to reduce GHG emissions more effectively from the waste sector. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotropic magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) with hybrid-size particles are proposed to tailor the zero-field elastic modulus and the relative magnetorheological rate. The hyperelastic magneto–mechanical property of MREs with hybrid-size CIPs (carbonyl iron particles) was experimentally investigated under large strain, which showed differential hyperelastic mechanical behavior with different hybrid-size ratios. Quasi-static magneto–mechanical compression tests corresponding to MREs with different hybrid size ratios and mass fractions were performed to analyze the effects of hybrid size ratio, magnetic flux density, and CIP mass fraction on the magneto–mechanical properties. An extended Knowles magneto–mechanical hyperelastic model based on magnetic energy, coupling the magnetic interaction, is proposed to predict the influence of mass fraction, hybrid size ratio, and magnetic flux density on the magneto–mechanical properties of isotropic MRE. Comparing the experimental and predicted results, the proposed model can accurately evaluate the quasi-static compressive magneto–mechanical properties, which show that the predicted mean square deviations of the magneto–mechanical constitutive curves for different mass fractions are all in the range of 0.9–1. The results demonstrate that the proposed hyperelastic magneto–mechanical model, evaluating the magneto–mechanical properties of isotropic MREs with hybrid-size CIPs, has a significant stress–strain relationship. The proposed model is important for the characterization of magneto–mechanical properties of MRE-based smart devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer management plays a crucial role in high-yield rice production. To choose a well-performing rice N nutrient diagnosis indicator for developing rice production management strategies, this research conducted five field experiments under various N treatments. The results showed that machine learning and stepwise multiple linear regression suggested a strong relationship between vegetation indexes and agronomic indicators (0.70 > R2 > 0.51). A strong correlation was obtained between red-edge based vegetation indexes and agronomic indicators (R2 > 0.40). Additionally, the all-subset regression method results demonstrated that the red-edge basis vegetation indexes were generally applied during different vegetation index combinations. The red-edge basis vegetation indexes reached an approximately 40% contribution in nitrogen nutrient index prediction and an approximately 48% contribution in leaf area index monitoring. Furthermore, this study combined the normalized difference red-edge (NDRE) basis dynamic model to calculate the N dose, which ranged from 106 to 134 kg per hectare in large-scale N management according to the NDRE from Sentinel-2B images, a decrease of approximately 46 kg N ha−1 fertilizer compared with farmers' practices. Nevertheless, more refinements are needed to ensure that this strategy can be applied to farmers' yield- and income-enhancing production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signal control, as an integral component of traffic management, plays a pivotal role in enhancing the efficiency of traffic and reducing environmental pollution. However, the majority of signal control research based on game theory primarily focuses on vehicular perspectives, often neglecting pedestrians, who are significant participants at intersections. This paper introduces a game theory-based signal control approach designed to minimize and equalize the queued vehicles and pedestrians across the different phases. The Nash bargaining solution is employed to determine the optimal green duration for each phase within a fixed cycle length. Several simulation tests were carried out by SUMO software to assess the effectiveness of this proposed approach. We select the actuated signal control approach as the baseline to demonstrate the superiority and stability of the proposed control strategy. The simulation results reveal that the proposed approach is able to reduce pedestrian and vehicle delay, vehicle queue length, fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions under different demand levels and demand patterns. Furthermore, the proposed approach consistently achieves more equalized queue length for each lane compared to the actuated control strategy, indicating a higher degree of fairness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest disease, Scots pine blister rust, is caused by the rust fungus Cronartium pini. This pathogen was previously known as the host‐alternating type C. flaccidum and non‐host‐alternating type Peridermium pini. Recent epidemics of this disease in Northern European forests, especially young Scots pine forests in Sweden, caused significant economic and ecological losses. Cronartium pini can be identified based on the typical orange blister‐like aecia in Scots pine in summer, but any molecular identification and quantification method has not been available for Cronartium spp. This study developed qPCR primers that are specific to Cronartium spp. and evaluated DNA extraction protocols from pine bark and wood to enable robust qPCR assays. As little as three Cronartium ITS copies can be detected with the protocol. Since only C. pini is known to infect Scots pine in Northern Europe, the protocols were applied to detect C. pini from Scots pine samples without typical symptoms and investigate the C. pini colonization in Scots pine branches from the forest. These results will aid the detection and quantification of C. pini in asymptomatic or symptomatic samples and monitoring Scots pine blister rust in the forest in northern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) plays a vital role in the control of various pests in agriculture and household life, even though some studies have indicated that CPF residues pose a significant risk to human health. Baicalin (BA) is a flavonoid drug with an obvious effect on the prevention and treatment of liver diseases. In this study, the protective effect of BA in vitro and in vivo was investigated by establishing a CPF-induced AML12 cell damage model and a CPF-induced Kunming female mouse liver injury model. The AML12 cell damage model indicated that BA had a good positive regulatory effect on various inflammatory factors, redox indexes, and abnormal apoptosis factors induced by CPF. The liver injury model of female mice in Kunming showed that BA significantly improved the liver function indexes, inflammatory response, and fibrosis of mice. In addition, BA alleviated CPF-induced AML12 cell damage and Kunming female mouse liver injury by enhancing autophagy and regulating apoptosis pathways through Western blotting. Collectively, these data suggest that the potential mechanism of BA is a multi-target and multi-channel treatment for chlorpyrifos-induced liver injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw is an agricultural byproduct that results from the production of many crops, such as cereals, yet it is often considered a waste product. However, straw has both historical precedent and future potential as an agricultural resource. In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of returning straw to the soil on rice cultivation. To this end, we used the hybrid rice variety Luliangyou Jingling as the test material to study the effect of straw return under four different nitrogen application levels (0 kg N (N1), 120 kg N/hm2 (N2), 150 kg N/hm2 (N3), and 180 kg N/hm2 (N4)) on rice tillering dynamics, leaf area index (LAI), dry matter accumulation, and yield. We found that rice under straw return had a higher number of effective panicles, along with a higher number of grains per panicle, compared to those without straw return. Additionally, the tiller number, LAI, total dry matter, and yield of rice in each main growth period under straw return were higher than those without straw return, and these values increased with an increase in nitrogen application rate. The yield was the highest at 9520.63 kg/hm2 without straw return, while the highest yield with straw return was achieved at 10,738.26 kg/hm2. Our results revealed the optimal nitrogen application level for high yield of two-line direct-seeded rice under straw return, which provides a theoretical reference for the precise reduction of fertilizer application in rice cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram‐negative, microaerobic bacterium that colonizes the gastric mucosa in about half of the world's population. H. pylori infection can lead to various diseases. Chronic infection by H. pylori exposes the gastric mucosa to bacterial components such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), and several toxic proteins. Infected with H. pylori activates the release of pro‐inflammatory factors and triggers inflammatory responses that damage the gastric mucosa. As the only microorganism that permanently colonizes the human stomach, H. pylori can suppress host immunity to achieve long‐term colonization. Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) play a crucial role in T‐cell activation, promoting innate immune responses and immune tolerance during H. pylori infection. Among the 10 TLRs found in humans, TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, and TLR9 have been thoroughly investigated in relation to H. pylori‐linked immune regulation. In the present review, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the various mechanisms employed by different TLRs in the induction of immune tolerance upon H. pylori infection, which will contribute to the research of pathogenic mechanism of H. pylori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadband near‐infrared (NIR) photonic materials have wide applications. Although extensive studies on rare‐earth, transition‐metal, and even semiconductor‐activated materials have enabled the development of a rich NIR material pool, developing broadband and efficient photonic candidates covering the NIR I and II regions from 750 to 1500 nm has been met with limited success. Here, it is reported that a subnano Te cluster with a characteristic configuration different from that of the ion state may fill the aforementioned gap. Further, a strategy is proposed for the in situ generation and stabilization of Te clusters by tuning the cluster evolution in glass. A novel active photonic glass embedded with a Te cluster is fabricated; it exhibits intense and broadband short‐wave NIR luminescence with a central wavelength at 1030 nm and a bandwidth exceeding 330 nm. Interestingly, the glass exhibited a full visible‐spectrum conversion ability from 300 to 800 nm. The application of this unique broadband excitation feature for night vision and tissue penetration is demonstrated using a smartphone as the excitation source. These findings demonstrate a fundamental principle of cluster design in glass for creating new properties and provide a new direction for developing novel cluster‐derived functional composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]