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Background: Some recent studies have shown that female subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is associated with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether serum-free thyroxine (fT4) concentrations within the reference range are associated with ovarian reserve in women. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 4933 infertile women with normal-range fT4 concentrations who received assisted reproductive technology treatment in our clinic. The data of women in different fT4 concentration tertiles (namely 12–15.33, 15.34–18.67, and 18.68–22 pmol/L) were compared with ovarian reserve markers, namely the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration, the antral follicle count (AFC), and the number of aspirated oocytes. The primary outcomes were the AMH concentration and the risk of DOR, diagnosed as an AMH concentration < 1.1 ng/mL. Results: The average ages of women in the low-normal, middle-normal, and high-normal fT4 tertiles were 33.20 (standard deviation [SD]: 5.11), 32.33 (SD: 5.13), and 31.61 (SD: 5.10) years, respectively (p < 0.0001). AMH concentrations (adjusted mean: 3.32 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 3.16 to 3.50] vs. 3.51 [3.40 to 3.62] vs. 3.64 [3.50 to 3.80] ng/mL, p = 0.022) were significantly different between the fT4 concentration tertiles. The risk of DOR was significantly increased in the low-normal (adjusted odds ratio: 1.61 [95% CI: 1.01 to 2.58]) and middle-normal (1.47 [95% CI: 1.00 to 2.16]) tertiles compared with the high-normal tertile. Subgroup analysis showed that AMH concentrations were significantly different among the fT4 concentration tertiles in women aged < 35 years (adjusted mean: 3.94 [95% CI: 3.70 to 4.20] vs. 4.25 [4.11 to 4.39] vs. 4.38 [4.18 to 4.58], p = 0.028), whereas this difference was not significant in women aged ≥ 35 years (p = 0.534). The general additive models using fT4 as a continuous variable indicated that a lower fT4 concentration within the normal range was significantly associated with a lower AMH concentration (p = 0.027), a lower AFC (p = 0.018), a lower number of aspirated oocytes (p = 0.001), and a higher risk of DOR (p = 0.007). Conclusion: Low-normal fT4 concentrations are associated with lower ovarian reserve in infertile women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mild hypothermia (MH) is an effective measure to alleviate cerebral ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. This study set out to investigate dynamic changes in urinary proteome due to MH in rats with cerebral I/R injury and explore the neuroprotective mechanisms of MH. A Pulsinelli's four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) rat model was used to mimic global cerebral I/R injury. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was employed to profile the urinary proteome of rats with/without MH (32 °C) treatment after I/R injury. Representative differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) associated with MH were validated by western blotting in hippocampus. A total of 597 urinary proteins were identified, among which 119 demonstrated significant changes associated with MH. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation of the DEPs revealed that MH significantly enriched in endopeptidase activity, inflammatory response, aging, response to oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species, blood coagulation, and cell adhesion. Notably, changes in 12 DEPs were significantly reversed by MH treatment. Among them, 8 differential urinary proteins were previously reported to be closely associated with brain disease, including NP, FZD1, B2M, EPCR, ATRN, MB, CA1and VPS4A. Two representative proteins (FZD1, B2M) were further validated by western blotting in the hippocampus and the results were shown to be consistent with urinary proteomic analysis. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that urinary proteome can sensitively reflect pathophysiological changes in the brain, and appears to be the first study to explore the neuroprotective effects of MH by urinary proteomic analysis. FZD1 and B2M may be involved in the most fundamental molecular biological mechanisms of MH neuroprotection. In a 4-VO rat model, 119 urinary proteins demonstrated significant changes associated with MH. MH is enriched in endopeptidase activity, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, etc, and significantly reversed changes in 12 DEPs. FZD1 and B2M are thought to be involved in the most fundamental molecular biological mechanisms of MH neuroprotection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lanthanum sulfide γ-La 2 S 3 with cubic Th 3 P 4 structure has emerged as a promising long-wave infrared transparent material. However, the γ-La 2 S 3 is only stable at high temperatures (>1300 °C). In this work, a novel method to lower the stabilization temperature is reported. Bivalent Ba ions are incorporated into the La 2 S 3 crystal structure and the stabilization temperature of the γ-La 2 S 3 decreased to less than 850 °C. The Ba2+-doped γ-La 2 S 3 (γ-La 2 S 3 : Ba2+) was successfully developed using the coprecipitation reaction method and sulfidation with CS 2. The high phase purity, good thermal stability, and lowest oxide sulfide impurities were obtained by Ba/La = 0.1 (in mole, abbreviated as n Ba/La = 0.1). The first-principles calculation shows that the theoretical E g of the prepared γ-La 2 S 3 : Ba2+ was 2.94 eV, which matched well with the experimental data. The energy band structure and density of states of the synthesized γ-La 2 S 3 : Ba2+ powder indicated that it was an indirect semiconductor which could be employed as a raw material for preparing infrared transparent optical ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under irrigation with saline wastewater, SO42−, Cl−, and Ca2+ aggregated in the topsoil, and Mg2+ was significantly higher in the deeper soil than in the topsoil and 40 cm soil layers. The abundance of Zoopagomycota, Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Rozellomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Mucoromycota and Olpidiomycota in the surface soil was influenced by Mg2+, whereas Ca2+ affected the abundance of Zoopagomycota and Chytridiomycota. In the 40 cm soil layer, Mg2+ and Cl− promoted Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, Firmicutes, Entotheonellaeota, Myxococcota, Gemmatimonadota and Methylomirabilota, whereas they inhibited Planctomycetota, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Patescibacteria and Bacteroidota. In the 80 cm soil layer, SO42− and Cl− promoted Rozellomycota, Mortierellomycota, Chytridiomycota, Ascomycota, and Mucoromycota, but had a negative effect on Glomeromycota, Blastocladiomycota, Olpidiomycota and Monoblepharomycota. The increase in salinity significantly reduced the abundance of the Actinomycetes phylum and the Amoebozoa phylum. Both saprophytic and symbiotic fungi decreased with increasing salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate online-merge-offline (OMO)-based music therapy (MT) as a complementary option for asthma management in pediatric patients. A total of 86 children diagnosed with mild asthma were enrolled and treated with the same drug therapy. They were assigned into three groups: Music I group (standard medical care plus a single individualized MT session along with singing training and breathing exercise), Music II group (similar as Music I as well as further wind instrument playing), and Control group (standard medical care). Primary endpoints included pulmonary function tests FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, MMEF 75/25, and PEF, c-ACT, PAQLQ, and PACQLQ. After 6 months of continuous intervention of MT, significant differences in FEV1, FVC, MMEF75/25, PEF, c-ACT score, PAQLQ, PACQLQ (p < 0.001), and FEV1/FVC (p < 0.05) were observed among Music I, Music II, and Control groups. Besides, FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, MMEF75/25, and PEF showed positive trends in Music I and Music II groups compared to those in Control group (p < 0.05). The c-ACT score of children was significantly increased in Music I (p < 0.001) and II (p < 0.001) groups in contrast with Control group. Children in Music I and II groups had better quality of life than those in Control group (PAQLQ, p < 0.001), and the parents in Music I and II groups also showed better quality of life than those in Control group (PACQLQ, p < 0.001). Conclusion: As a child-friendly, low-risk, and convenient intervention, the OMO-based MT has a positive impact on pediatric asthma management during the COVID-19 pandemic. What is Known: • A few findings proved the positive effect of MT on pediatric asthma. What is New: • Our study further proving the validation and effectiveness of MT with OMO-based model on pediatric asthma, wind instrument playing has a greater impact on pediatric asthma control via small airways and might be recommended to mix to singing and breathing to improve effectiveness of MT for asthmatic children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-layer lightweight composite structures are widely used in the field of aviation and aerospace during the processes of manufacturing and use, and, as such, they inevitably produce defects, damage, and other quality problems, creating the need for timely non-destructive testing procedures and the convenient repair or replacement of quality problems related to the material. When using terahertz non-destructive testing technology to detect defects in multi-layer lightweight composite materials, due to the complexity of their structure and defect types, there are many signal characteristics of terahertz waves propagating in the structures, and there is no obvious rule behind them, resulting in a large gap between the recognition results and the actual ones. In this study, we introduced a U-Net-BiLSTM network that combines the strengths of the U-Net and BiLSTM networks. The U-Net network extracts the spatial features of THz signals, while the BiLSTM network captures their temporal features. By optimizing the network structure and various parameters, we obtained a model tailored to THz spectroscopy data. This model was subsequently employed for the identification and quantitative analysis of defects in multi-layer lightweight composite structures using THz non-destructive testing. The proposed U-Net-BiLSTM network achieved an accuracy of 99.45% in typical defect identification, with a comprehensive F1 score of 99.43%, outperforming the CNN, ResNet, U-Net, and BiLSTM networks. By leveraging defect classification and thickness recognition, this study successfully reconstructed three-dimensional THz defect images, thereby realizing quantitative defect detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible pressure sensors have recently attracted increasing attention. Piezoresistive sensors are widely used in wearable devices, human health monitoring, electronic skin, human-computer interactions, and other fields owing to their good sensitivity and rapid response. The assembly of a pressure sensor using SnO 2 –ZnO hybrid nanofibers is proposed in this study to improve its performance. The heterojunction at the interface between ZnO and SnO 2 facilitates electron transfer from SnO 2 to ZnO by suppressing electron-hole recombination and accelerating electron motion in ZnO. The scaffold sensor, as compared to other reported pressure sensors, exhibits better flexibility, optimized sensitivity, and pressure sensing range, and can detect dynamic pressure over a wide range (0–60 kPa). The sensor exhibits strong sensitivity (11.5 kPa−1), fast response and recovery times of 42 and 28 ms, respectively, and durable cyclic stability (600 cycles). This sensor can quickly detect human motion from subtle deformations, including weak changes in the joints of the fingers, wrists, and elbows, with a bending degree of approximately 20°. Owing to its excellent performance, breathability, and washability, it can be directly attached to skin or clothing for long-term use and has broad application prospects in wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing practical quantum technologies will require the exquisite manipulation of fragile systems in a robust and repeatable way. As quantum technologies move toward real world applications, from biological sensing to communication in space, increasing experimental complexity introduces constraints that can be alleviated by the introduction of new technologies. Robotics has shown tremendous progress in realizing increasingly smart, autonomous, and highly dexterous machines. Here, a robotic arm equipped with a magnet is demonstrated to sensitize an NV center quantum magnetometer in challenging conditions unachievable with standard techniques. Vector magnetic fields are generated with 1° angular and 0.1 mT amplitude accuracy and determine the orientation of a single stochastically‐aligned spin‐based sensor in a constrained physical environment. This work opens up the prospect of integrating robotics across many quantum degrees of freedom in constrained settings, allowing for increased prototyping speed, control, and robustness in quantum technology applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm, the initial position and the number of iterations are needed in registration. At the same time, the ICP algorithm is easy to fall into local convergence and convergence speed is slow. By constructing K-D tree to search neighborhood points and artificially set threshold, plane fitting is carried out, the on-time point cloud to be deployed is separated from the complex background, and statistical analysis is used to calculate the distance between the point cloud and the neighborhood point to quickly remove the invalid point cloud. The surface equation is set to calculate the tangent plane of point cloud normal vector and each normal vector, and the local coordinate system is constructed. The angle between adjacent vectors and the local coordinate system is calculated to determine the feature point set of edge contour. According to the covariance matrix of the feature points set, the principal feature component is obtained, the principal axis direction of the two sets of point clouds is found, and the rotation matrix and the displacement vector are obtained. Finally, GICP precise registration of point cloud is carried out according to initial pose parameters and rigid body transformation matrix obtained by maximum likelihood estimation method. The results show that the optimized algorithm can effectively avoid local convergence. Compared with the traditional ICP algorithm, when the algorithm achieves the same registration accuracy in the public dataset experiment, the registration speed is on average 44.82% faster and the overlap rate is on average 15.26% higher. In the real dataset experiment, the registration speed is on average 59.04% faster, the registration accuracy is on average 30.24% higher and the overlap rate is on average 10.61% higher. This shows that the optimization algorithm is superior to the traditional ICP algorithm in registration accuracy and convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new dipyrroloquinones, namely talaroterreusinones A (1) and B (2), together with four known secondary metabolites, terreusinone A (3), penicillixanthone A (4), isorhodoptilometrin (5), and chrysomutanin (6), were isolated from the solid culture of the endophytic fungus Talaromyces sp. by integrating mass spectrometry-based metabolic profiling and a bioassay-guided method. Their planar structures and stereochemistry were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis including NMR and MS. The absolute configuration at C-1″ of terreusinone A (1) was established by applying the modified Mosher's method. Compounds 1–6 were evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity. As a result, 1–3 inhibited the LPS-stimulated NO production in macrophage RAW264.7 cells, with IC50 values of 20.3, 30.7, and 20.6 µM, respectively. Penicillixanthone A (4) exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against Hep G2 and A549 cell lines, with IC50 values of 117 nM and 212 nM, respectively, and displayed significant antitumour effects in A549 cells by inhibiting the PI3K-Akt-mTOR signalling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legume–rhizobial symbiosis initiates the formation of root nodules, within which rhizobia reside and differentiate into bacteroids to convert nitrogen into ammonium, facilitating plant growth. This process raises a fundamental question: how is plant immunity modulated within nodules when exposed to a substantial number of foreign bacteria? In Medicago truncatula, a mutation in the NAD1 (Nodules with Activated Defense 1) gene exclusively results in the formation of necrotic nodules combined with activated immunity, underscoring the critical role of NAD1 in suppressing immunity within nodules. In this study, we employed a dual RNA-seq transcriptomic technology to comprehensively analyze gene expression from both hosts and symbionts in the nad1-1 mutant nodules at different developmental stages (6 dpi and 10 dpi). We identified 89 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to symbiotic nitrogen fixation and 89 DEGs from M. truncatula associated with immunity in the nad1-1 nodules. Concurrently, we identified 27 rhizobial DEGs in the fix and nif genes of Sinorhizobium meliloti. Furthermore, we identified 56 DEGs from S. meliloti that are related to stress responses to ROS and NO. Our analyses of nitrogen fixation-defective plant nad1-1 mutants with overactivated defenses suggest that the host employs plant immunity to regulate the substantial bacterial colonization in nodules. These findings shed light on the role of NAD1 in inhibiting the plant's immune response to maintain numerous rhizobial endosymbiosis in nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a fluorescent aptasensor for label-free detection of ochratoxin A (OTA) based on TdT- and DNA polymerase-assisted multisite strand displacement amplification. This aptasensor exhibits good specificity and high sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.18 ng mL−1, and it can be further applied for the accurate quantification of OTA in complex real samples, holding promising applications in the field of food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's economy transitions, environmental issues have become a major concern. This study examines the impact of Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) on urban air quality using panel data from 284 cities in China from 2006 to 2019. The study utilizes DID (Difference-in-Difference) models to analyze the regulatory effects of AAQS and its spatial spillover. Additionally, the serial multiple mediation models are constructed to investigate the role of green innovation. The findings reveal that the AAQS positively affects urban air quality, albeit with a notable "hysteresis effect." Local implementation of AAQS worsens air quality in neighboring cities within a distance of 400 km, but beyond 400 km, the effect is reversed. Heterogeneity analysis shows that AAQS improves air quality in central cities, large-sized and medium-sized cities, cities with weak environmental governance, and resource-based cities. Mechanism tests suggest that AAQS may enhance urban air quality by promoting green innovation and optimizing industrial structure. Especially, either the energy-use effect or industrial-structure effect triggered by green innovation can contribute to the improvement of urban air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neptunea cumingii is an economically important marine shellfish found in the Yellow and Bohai Seas areas of China. In this study, samples of Neptunea cumingii were collected in Zhangzidao and Yantai during spring, summer, autumn, and winter to clarify the gene expression patterns and regulatory mechanisms in their gills in different seasons. Transcriptome analysis was conducted using Neptunea cumingii gill tissues, and genes with significantly different expression levels were extracted for functional verification. The most genes with differences in expression (DEGs) were found in comparisons of the winter and summer samples. Gene enrichment analysis based on Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes terms showed that these DEGs were mainly involved in immune and metabolic pathways, and they had significant effects on oxidative stress, body metabolism, and protein synthesis in Neptunea cumingii. Further screening of DEGs identified thirty-four genes related to temperature regulation, comprising thirteen genes with roles in innate immunity in shellfish, twelve genes related to oxidative stress, and nine genes related to protein synthesis and energy metabolism. Eleven DEGs were randomly selected for qPCR verification, and the results were consistent with the transcriptome analysis results. In summary, the transcriptome results differed significantly between seasons in the gill tissues of Neptunea cumingii. The expression levels of immune regulatory genes could be promoted in Neptunea cumingii during the high temperature season, whereas the expression of these genes may be inhibited in the low temperature season. The results obtained in this study provide insights into the molecular defense mechanisms that might allow Neptunea cumingii to adapt to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies have more and more concerns for impurities in pharmaceuticals and their toxicity. In this work, heart-cutting two-dimensional ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (2D-UHPLC) in combination with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was used, setting HRMS as positive mode of electrospray ionization to identify five impurities in pioglitazone hydrochloride preparations. With the heart-cutting 2D-UHPLC and online desalting technique, the structures of five impurities were deduced in an analysis of MSn data. And three of them, Impurity-2, Impurity-3, and Impurity-5, have never been reported before. The fragmentation patterns of five impurities were proposed on a basis of accurate mass and fragment ions in this study. Since the toxicity of impurities is relevant to their structures, toxicology of all five impurities was predicted by three software tools, and the result showed that these compounds have good safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the thermal stability of Cu 1.8 S materials. During the ball milling process, metal powder is added to the milled Cu 1.8 S powder, and then the obtained powder is sintered using current assisted sintering to obtain dense blocks. The aim is to enable the added metal elements to spontaneously grow an oxide film on the surface of the material block at high temperature, achieving protection of the material matrix. The thermal stability of materials is evaluated by utilizing changes in room temperature phase composition before and after high-temperature heat treatment, changes in material electrical conductivity during high-temperature processes, and cyclic electrical transmission performance testing. By observing the surface oxide film state of the material after high-temperature treatment, the commonalities and differences in the effects of different element additions on the thermal stability of the material were analyzed. The effects of different metal elements on material hardness and electrical transmission performance were evaluated. It is found that adding metal powder can effectively improve the thermal stability of Cu 1.8 S, improve material hardness, and regulate the electrical transmission performance of the material. The characteristics of the oxide film formed by the spontaneous growth of metal elements and oxygen on the surface of the material substrate determine the effectiveness of the oxide film in protecting the material from high temperatures. The pure Cu 1.8 S bulk can only maintain stability at 300 oC, and the addition of Cr, Al, 316L, Fe, and Mn powder respectively increased the stable temperature of the material to 400, 400, 450, 450, 500 oC. Adding metal elements to the material matrix to grow an oxide film on the surface of the material to prevent high-temperature oxidation or decomposition is an effective way to improve the thermal stability of S/Se compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain adaptation (DA) aims to reduce knowledge gap between domains and improve the prediction ability of models in the target domain. However, the representations learned from feature extraction network often contain redundant information, which is harmful to domain alignment. In addition, many methods only focus on either single-source DA task or multi-source DA task, which limits their real-world applications. In this paper, we propose a simple but effective method called Category and Domain Features Augmentation (CDFA), which consists of two components: Contrastive Classifier Network (CCN) and Domain-specific Learning Network (DSLN). CDFA can remove the specific representation at the feature extraction stage to alleviate transfer difficulty, where CCN is used to increase the probabilistic output of samples and avoid misclassification, and DSLN facilitates the separation of redundant information from all representations by learning domain-specific representations. Empirical evaluations on several cross-domain benchmarks under single-source and multi-source DA scenarios illustrate the competitive performance of CDFA with respect to the state-of-the-art. [Display omitted] • The effects of the classification layer on the sample of decision boundaries is emphasized. • The correlation and independence of all representations with domain-specific representations is investigated. • Removal of redundant information by separating domain-specific representations. • A novel method based on domain separation category and domain feature alignment is proposed. • Successful application in single-source and multi-source domain adaptation scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence, severity, and factors associated with multidimensional fatigue in Chinese patients with newly diagnosed meningiomas. This cross-sectional study included 120 Chinese meningioma patients. Data were collected before surgery, including demographic, clinical, psychological, and sleep characteristics, as well as fatigue scores based on completion of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20). Mann–Whitney U tests, Kruskal–Wallis H tests, Spearman correlation and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. The results showed there was a high prevalence of severe fatigue for each dimension: general fatigue (33.3%), physical fatigue (27.5%), reduced activity (28.3%), reduced motivation (12.5%), mental fatigue (11.7%), and total fatigue (23.3%). Headache and anxiety were found to be associated with general fatigue. Depression was related with physical fatigue. The Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score and depression were associated with reduced activity. Depression and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score were correlated with reduced motivation, while the KPS score and anxiety were associated with mental fatigue. Importantly, comorbidity, the KPS score, headache, depression, sleep disturbances, and the ESS score remained strong correlates of total fatigue. Our findings indicate that newly diagnosed meningioma patients are affected by multidimensional fatigue. For patients with risk factors of fatigue, targeted interventions are advised to decrease fatigue and improve HRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: EP300 is considered to be a cancer suppressor gene that plays a role in tumor development, but some studies have reported that it is not an oral squamous cell carcinoma suppressor gene, because there was neither epigenetic inactivation of the gene nor a mutation resulting in functional impairment. However, there is no relevant study on whether EP300 is the exact carcinogenic effect and its mechanisms of carcinogenic effects in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: Western blot analysis and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction experiments verified the protein and mRNA expression of EP300 in oral squamous cell carcinoma; The effects of EP300 knockout on glucose consumption and lactic acid production were detected by glycolysis experiments; The relationship between pathway‐related proteins and EP300 was verified by bioinformatics analysis and co‐immunoprecipitation experiment. Results: Our experimental results confirm that the protein and mRNA of EP300 are highly expressed in oral squamous cell carcinoma, and after knocking out the EP300, the glycolysis ability, invasion, migration, and other biological functions of oral squamous cell carcinoma, are inhibited at the same time. Pathway‐related experiments have confirmed that EP300 plays a role in promoting cancer through the transforming growth factor‐beta receptor II (TGF‐βRII)/EP300/Smad4 cascade pathway. Conclusion: EP300 plays a carcinogenic role in OSCC showed that the TGF‐βRII/EP300/Smad4 cascade pathway is involved in oral squamous cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on durability of cementitious materials have focused on harsh environments, but less attention has been paid to low thermal loading situations. In this paper, with the aim of exploring the evolution of internal pore pressure and microcrack extension of cementitious under low thermal environment, cement paste specimens with thermal environment slightly below 100 °C and three water–binder ratios (0.4, 0.45 and 0.5) and four fly ash admixtures (0, 10%, 20% and 30%) were designed. Firstly, the internal pore pressure of the cement paste was tested; secondly, the average effective pore pressure of the cement paste was calculated; and finally, the phase field method was used to explore the expansion of microcracks inside the cement paste when the temperature gradually increased. It was found that the internal pore pressure of the paste showed a decreasing trend as the water–binder ratio and fly ash admixture increased, and the numerical simulation found that the sprouting and development of cracks were delayed when 10% fly ash was added to the cement paste, which was consistent with the experimental results. This work provides a basis for the durability development of concrete under low thermal environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A finite p -group G is called an A t -group if t is the minimal non-negative integer such that all subgroups of index p t of G are abelian. The finite p -groups G with H ′ = G ′ for all A 2 -subgroups H of G are classified completely in this paper. As an application, a problem proposed by Berkovich is solved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of the new type of coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) has caused a huge impact on the world. In this case, only by adhering to the prevention and control methods of early diagnosis, early isolation, and early treatment, can the spread of the virus be prevented to the greatest extent. This article uses artificial intelligence–assisted medical imaging diagnosis as the research object, combines artificial intelligence and CT medical imaging diagnosis, introduces an intelligent COVID-19 detection system, and uses it to achieve COVID-19 disease screening and lesion evaluation. CT examination has the advantages of fast speed and high accuracy, which can provide a favorable basis for clinical diagnosis. This article collected 32 lung CT scan images of patients with confirmed COVID-19. Two professional radiologists analyzed the CT images using traditional imaging diagnostic methods and artificial intelligence–assisted imaging diagnostic methods, and the comparison showed the gap between the two methods. According to experiments, CT imaging diagnosis assisted by artificial intelligence only takes 0.744 min on average, which can save a lot of time and cost compared with the average time of 3.623 min for conventional diagnosis. In terms of comprehensive test accuracy, it can be concluded that the combination of artificial intelligence and imaging diagnosis has extremely high application value in COVID-19 diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rib segmentation based on chest X-ray images is essential in the computer-aided diagnosis systems of lung cancer, which serves as an important step in the quantitative analysis of various types of lung diseases. However, the traditional methods are unable to segment ribs effectively due to the unclear edges and overlapping regions in X-ray images. A novel rib segmentation framework based on Unpaired Sample Augmentation and Multi-Scale Network is presented in this paper, aiming to improve the accuracy of ribs segmentation with limited labeled samples. First, the algorithm learns pneumonia-related texture changes via unpaired chest x-ray images and generates various augmented samples. Then, a multi-scale network attempts to learn hierarchical features using global supervision. Finally, the refined segmentation result of each organ is achieved by using a deep separation module and a comprehensive loss function. Specifically, the hierarchical features can greatly improve the robustness of multi-organ segmentation networks. The complex multi-organ segmentation task with limited labeled data is simplified with the designed deep separation module. We justify the proposed framework through extensive experiments. It achieves good performance with DSC, Precision, Recall, and Jaccard of 88.03, 88.25, 88.36, and 79.02%, respectively. The DSC value increases nearly by 3% compared to other popular methods. The experimental results show that our algorithm presents better segmentation performance for the overlapping region and fuzzy region of multiple organs, which holds research value and prospects for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-power DC relays are widely used in new energy power systems and DC distribution networks, and commonly use transverse magnetic fields to accelerate arc extinguishing. In this paper, the magnetically blown arc characteristics and the resulting contact erosion mechanisms of high-power DC relays are studied by experiments and simulations. The experiments are carried out to analyze the arc motion, contact erosion mass, and contact morphologies, and to verify the simulation model. Considering the energy transfer source term, the establishment of a more perfect magnetohydrodynamic arc model is accomplished, and an erosion model is further established. The results indicate that the magnetically blown arcing process has three stages while the arc shapes and motion characteristics are different, and the heat flux acting on the contact can be accurately obtained by the arc model. The greater external transverse magnetic field is more conducive to extinguishing the arc and reducing the arc erosion time. In contrast, the Archimedes force plays a very small positive role and the self-induced magnetic field of the arc has a negative effect. For contact erosion, the temperature distribution of the molten pool appears trailing effect. Moreover, the advanced mathematical model proposed for erosion mass has good accuracy. The calculation results of erosion rates show that Cr reduces erosion while the current increases erosion nonlinearly. Besides, the flow and deformation characteristics of the molten pool will lead to convex strip-shaped erosion traces and arcing position transfer, and the moving erosion will cause the lateral accretion effect. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the reason for edge droplet sputtering is the pressure difference caused by Plateau–Rayleigh instability, and optimization suggestions for reducing contact erosion are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial relative resource limitations represented by enzyme stoichiometry reflect the relationship between microbial nutrient requirements and nutrient status in soil, but the issue on whether alterations in environments along elevational gradients affect the magnitude of microbial relative resource limitations remains unresolved.Here, we examined seasonal patterns in microbial relative carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) limitations indicated by vector lengths and angles using relative proportional enzymatic activities and key controlling factors along an elevational gradient in the Yulong Snow Mountain. We also analysed the relationships between microbial metabolic processes and microclimates (i.e. soil moisture and temperature), soil properties (i.e. pH and soil texture), and microbial attributes (i.e. microbial biomass and fungal: bacterial ratio).We found that soil microbial relative C limitation decreased with increasing elevations, with lower levels observed in the dry season than in the wet season. In contrast, soil microbial relative P limitation varied significantly with elevations, with linearly increasing trends in wet seasons but unimodal trends in dry seasons. Meanwhile, we found higher relative C limitation in the coniferous forest but higher relative P limitation in the broad‐leaved forest. Notably, soil microbial relative C limitation was primarily affected by the soil microenvironment (i.e. soil temperature) and substrate quantity (i.e. the ratio of soil dissolved organic C to available P), whereas soil microbial relative P limitation could be alleviated by increasing microbial relative C limitation combined with increasing soil pH. Additionally, the significant linear pattern of the C use efficacy with elevations was only observed in the wet seasons, which was directly influenced by soil microclimates and microbial relative C limitation.Overall, our results provided important information for better understanding the essential role of microbial processes in the regulation of C and P cycling in vulnerable subtropical mountain ecosystems. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic (As) exists widely in the environment and its strong toxicity endangers human health, causing widespread concern. Microbial adsorption technology plays an important role in As removal due to its advantages of high safety, low pollution, and low cost. The removal of As by active microorganisms requires not only good accumulation characteristics but also high As tolerance. The effect of salt preincubation on arsenate [As(V)] tolerance and bioaccumulation of Pichia kudriavzevii A16 and the possible mechanisms were studied. Salt preincubation improved the As(V) tolerance and bioaccumulation ability of the yeast. After Na5P3O10 preincubation, the proportion of dead cells and cells with high reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation decreased from 50.88% and 16.54% to 14.60% and 5.24%, respectively. In addition, the As removal rate significantly increased from 26.20% to 57.98%. The preincubated cells showed stronger As(V) tolerance and removal ability. The potential of use in complex environment to remove As(V) as well as the mechanisms involved in As(V) tolerance by yeast will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolution of resistance to Cry proteins in multiple pest insects has been threatening the sustainable use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)‐transgenic crops. Better understanding about the mechanism of resistance to Cry proteins in insects is needed. Our preliminary study reported that the transcription of HaABCC3 was significantly decreased in a near‐isogenic line (LFC2) of a Cry1Ac‐resistant strain (LF60) of the global pest Helicoverpa armigera. However, the causality between HaABCC3 downregulation and resistance to Cry1Ac remains to be verified, and the regulatory mechanism underlying the HaABCC3 downregulation is still unclear. In this study, our data showed that both HaABCC3 and HaABCC3 downregulation were genetically linked to resistance to Cry1Ac in LF60. However, no InDels were observed in the coding sequence of HaABCC3 from LF60. Furthermore, F1 offspring from the cross of LF60 and a HaABCC2/3‐knockout mutant exhibited moderate resistance to Cry1Ac toxin; this indicated that the high resistance to Cry1Ac toxin in LF60 may have resulted from multiple genetic factors, including HaABCC2 mis‐splicing and HaABCC3 downregulation. Results from luciferase reporter assays showed that promoter activity of HaABCC3 in LF60 was significantly lower than that in the susceptible strain, which indicated that HaABCC3 downregulation was likely mediated by promoter variation. Consistently, multiple variations of the GATA‐ or FoxA‐binding sites in the promoter region of HaABCC3 were identified. Collectively, all results in this study suggested that the downregulation of HaABCC3 observed in the H. armigera LF60 strain, which is resistant to Cry1Ac, may be mediated by a cis‐regulatory mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the shield tunnel obliquely penetrates the large-span masonry building, the ground deformation caused by shield construction may cause the risk of deformation and cracking of the existing masonry structure held above. Based on a shield tunnel obliquely penetrating a large-span masonry building in Zhengzhou, a three-dimensional finite element model of building-stratum-shield tunnel interaction was established by MIDAS-GTS, and the laws of settlement, deformation, and damage of the building were studied. Results show that when the first line (left line) of the tunnel is penetrated, the settlement groove along the horizontal direction of the building presents a " V " shape, while after the second line (right line) is penetrated, which changes from " V " shape to " W " shape, and the maximum settlement value of the building caused by the first line can account for about 2/3 of the total settlement value. The maximum tensile strain of both the building's south and north walls occurs at the bottom of the wall within the range of the tunnel, which develops upward and gradually weakens. Influenced by the oblique crossing angle, the maximum positions of settlement and strain for the building's front and rear walls are offset to some extent. With the masonry building's stiffness increasing, the uneven settlement of buildings decreases linearly, and with the tunnel oblique crossing angle increasing, the uneven settlement increases exponentially, while with the tunnel buried depth increasing, the uneven settlement shows an exponential downward trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) are chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases and involve demyelination and axonal degeneration. Microglia rapidly respond to changes in the environment by altering morphotype and function during the progressive disease stage. Although substantial progress has been made in the drug development for MS, treatment of the progressive forms of the disease remains unsatisfactory. There is great interest in identifying novel agents for treating MS. Lentinus edodes is a traditional food, which can improve physiological function. Lentinan (LNT), a type of polysaccharide extracted from mushroom Lentinus edodes, is an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agent. Here, we studied the remyelination effects of LNT and its therapeutic target in regulating the functions of neuroinflammation. We found that LNT enhanced remyelination and rescued motor deficiency by regulating dectin-1 receptor to inhibit neuroinflammation and microglial cell transformation. LNT promoted the conversion of microglial cells from the M1 status induced by LPS to the M2 status, enhanced the anti-inflammatory markers IL-10 and BDNF, inhibited inflammatory markers TNF-α and IL-1β, and downregulated the microglia activation and oligodendrocyte and astrocyte proliferation by modulating dectin-1. If we injected the dectin-1-specific inhibitor laminarin (Lam), the remyelination effects induced by LNT were completely abolished. Thus, these results suggest that LNT is a novel and potential therapeutic agent that can rescue MS neuroimmune imbalance and remyelination through a dectin-1 receptor-dependent mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports the first visible-light mediated cobalt-catalyzed aldehyde allylation with simple alkenes to produce homo-allylic alcohols. This novel strategy directly uses easily available unactivated alkenes as alternative allyl sources instead of pre-synthesized allylic halides/alcohols, thus bypassing the need for exogeneous reductants. Mechanistic studies suggest that the unprecedented combination of allyl radical intermediates and CoI species to generate nucleophilic π-allylcobaltII under photoredox conditions represents the key step in the catalytic cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is a typical representative of the PARP enzyme family and is mainly related to DNA repair, gene transcription regulation, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Studies have found that PARP1 is involved in the pathophysiological processes of a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Chaperone‐mediated autophagy (CMA) is involved in the molecular regulation of various diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, and plays a critical role in maintaining intracellular metabolism balance. However, the link between PARP1 and CMA in cardiomyocytes remains unclear. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate whether CMA is involved in PARP1 regulation and to further clarify the specific molecular mechanisms. Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS)‐induced activation of autophagy reduced PARP1 expression, whereas the autophagy lysosomal inhibitor CQ had the opposite effect. Correspondingly, treatment with the autophagy inhibitor 3‐methyladenine did not abolish the autophagy‐inducing effects of EBSS. Additionally, PARP1 binds to heat shock cognate protein 70 and lysosome‐associated membrane protein 2A (LAMP2A). Moreover, adenovirus‐mediated LAMP2A overexpression to activate the CMA signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes reduces PARP1 (cleaved) expression and further decreases cardiomyocyte apoptosis caused by oxidative stress. In contrast, downregulation of LAMP2A increased PARP1 (cleaved) expression and the degree of apoptosis. More importantly, we report that appropriate concentrations of H2O2 triggered the nuclear translocation of PARP1, which subsequently promoted the degradation of PARP1 through the CMA pathway. In summary, our data are the first to reveal that CMA targeted PARP1 for lysosomal degradation in cardiomyocytes, which ultimately inhibited apoptosis by promoting the degradation of the PARP1 protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accurately pour drinks into various containers is an essential skill for service robots. However, drink pouring is a dynamic process and difficult to model. Traditional deep imitation learning techniques for implementing autonomous robotic pouring have an inherent black-box effect and require a large amount of demonstration data for model training. To address these issues, an Explainable Hierarchical Imitation Learning (EHIL) method is proposed in this paper such that a robot can learn high-level general knowledge and execute low-level actions across multiple drink pouring scenarios. Moreover, with the EHIL method, a logical graph can be constructed for task execution, through which the decision-making process for action generation can be made explainable to users and the causes of failure can be traced out. Based on the logical graph, the framework is manipulable to achieve different targets while the adaptability to unseen scenarios can be achieved in an explainable manner. A series of experiments have been conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results indicate that EHIL outperforms the traditional behavior cloning method in terms of success rate, adaptability, manipulability, and explainability. Note to Practitioners—Pouring liquids is a common activity in people’s daily lives and all wet-lab industries. Drink pouring dynamic control is difficult to model, while the accurate perception of flow is challenging. To enable the robot to learn under unknown dynamics via observing the human demonstration, deep imitation learning can be used. To address the limitations of traditional deep neural networks, an Explainable Hierarchical Imitation Learning (EHIL) method is proposed in this paper. The proposed method enables the robot to learn a sequence of reasonable pouring phases for performing the task rather than simply execute the task via traditional behavior cloning. In this way, explainability and safety can be ensured. Manipulability can be achieved by reconstructing the logical graph. The target of this research is to obtain pouring dynamics via the learning method and realize the precise and quick pouring of drink from the source containers to various targeted containers with reliable performance, adaptability, manipulability, and explainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Kashin–Beck disease (KBD) is an endemic osteoarthropathy, in which excessive apoptosis of chondrocytes occurs. O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), a DNA damage repair gene, plays an important role in apoptosis, but the mechanism is unclear in KBD cartilage injury. This study was to investigate the expression and promoter methylation of MGMT in KBD patients and its role in DNA damage and apoptosis of chondrocytes. Methods MGMT mRNA and protein level were detected by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Demethylation of MGMT was carried out using 5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine, and the methylation level of MGMT promoter was measured by quantitative methylation specific PCR. Next, small hairpin RNA was used to knockdown the expression of MGMT. Cell viability, apoptosis and DNA damage were determined by MTT assay, flow cytometry, Hoechst 33342 staining and alkaline comet assay following T-2 toxin and selenium treatment. Results MGMT protein expression and mRNA levels were decreased (P   =  0.02, P   =   0.007) and promoter methylation was increased (P   =  0.008) in KBD patients. Meanwhile, MGMT level was upregulated by 5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine in chondrocytes (P   =  0.0002). DNA damage and apoptosis rates were increased in MGMT -silenced chondrocytes (all P   <  0.0001). Furthermore, DNA damage and apoptosis were increased in chondrocytes treated with T-2 toxin (all P   <  0.0001), but were decreased after selenium treatment (P   <  0.0001, P   =  0.01). Decreased mRNA level and increased methylation of MGMT were found in the T-2 toxin group (P   =  0.005, P   =  0.002), while selenium reversed it (P   =  0.02, P   =  0.004). Conclusions MGMT might play a crucial part in the pathogenesis of KBD cartilage injury, which could provide a therapeutic target for KBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reward dysfunction is a major dimension of depressive symptomatology, but it remains obscure if that dysfunction varies across different reward types. In this study, we focus on the abnormalities in anticipatory/consummatory processing of monetary and social reward associated with depressive symptoms. Methods: Forty participants with depressive symptoms and forty normal controls completed the monetary incentive delay (MID) and social incentive delay (SID) tasks with event-related potential (ERP) recording. Results: In the SID but not the MID task, both the behavioral hit rate and the ERP component contingent negative variation (CNV; indicating reward anticipation) were sensitive to the interaction between the grouping factor and reward magnitude; that is, the depressive group showed a lower hit rate and a smaller CNV to large-magnitude (but not small-magnitude) social reward cues compared to the control group. Further, these two indexes were correlated with each other. Meanwhile, the ERP components feedback-related negativity and P3 (indicating reward consumption) were sensitive to the main effect of depression across the MID and SID tasks, though this effect was more prominent in the SID task. Conclusions: Overall, we suggest that depressive symptoms are associated with deficits in both the reward anticipation and reward consumption stages, particularly for social rewards. These findings have a potential to characterize the profile of functional impairment that comprises and maintains depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To control the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith), a serious threat to maize production in China, the Chinese government has issued biosafety certificates for transgenic insect-resistant maize expressing Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxins including Bt-Cry1Ab maize (crop event DBN9936), Bt-Vip3Aa maize (event DBN9501), Bt-(Cry1Ab+Vip3Aa) maize with superimposed traits (event DBN9936 × DBN9501) and Bt-(Cry1Ab+Vip3Aa) maize with superimposed traits (event Bt11 × MIR162), but the susceptibility baselines of geographically distinct FAW populations to these events, which form the basis for managing resistance development in the pest to these events, are not clear. We used the diet-incorporated bioassays method to detect the susceptibilities of the seven FAW populations collected from Yunnan, Henan and Hubei provinces in China in 2021 to the insecticidal proteins of the four Bt maize events. The result showed that the susceptibilities of different geographical populations to Bt insecticidal proteins were significantly different. In the seven populations, the range in median lethal concentrations (LC50) of Cry1Ab expressed in DBN9936 was 0.87–2.63 μg/g, 0.14–0.30 μg/g for Vip3Aa expressed in DBN9501, 0.78–1.86 μg/g for Cry1Ab+Vip3Aa expressed in DBN9936 × DBN9501, and 0.36–1.42 μg/g for CryAb+Vip3Aa expressed in Bt11 × MIR162. The growth inhibition responses also showed that the susceptibilities varied with the different median growth inhibitory concentration (GIC50) ranges (0.38–1.22, 0.08–0.28, 0.28–0.87, and 0.24–0.78 μg/g, respectively). The variations in the ranges of the susceptibility baselines of the geographical populations of fall armyworm in China to the insecticidal proteins expressed in the four events provide a scientific basis for monitoring FAW population resistance to Bt maize and managing the populations using different Bt maize events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the proportion of reinforcing phases is high and the wettability between the secondary phase and the metal is poor, preparing fully dense particle-reinforced metal matrix composites becomes challenging. This study employs the flash sintering method to prepare fully dense WCu20 composite materials within a few tens of seconds. It is found that during the "thermal runaway' process of flash sintering, the Cu phase undergoes rapid melting and solidification, and the core mechanism of material densification is that pressure causes Cu liquid to quickly fill the gaps between tungsten particles. Pressure not only promotes the contraction of the framework formed by tungsten particles but also facilitates the complete filling of gaps within the tungsten frameworks by the Cu liquid and promotes the rapid expulsion of bubbles from the Cu liquid, thereby achieving rapid densification of WCu20 composite materials. Moreover, an increase in the temperature enhances the fluidity of the Cu liquid, which aids in filling the gaps between tungsten particles and promotes the discharge of bubbles from the Cu liquid. Flash sintering is a common technique for the sintering and densification of metal powders, suitable for the rapid preparation of various metal matrix composites. • Fully dense WCu20 materials were prepared by flash sintering within 20 s. • Pressure has a core impact on the densification of flash sintering process. • The effect of the highest temperature on densification is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ochratoxin A (OTA) can induce a serious danger to human beings, and it is crucial to develop a sensitive and simple strategy for visual detection of OTA. Herein, we construct a fluorescent and colorimetric multi-mode aptasensor for label-free and sensitive detection of OTA on the basis of target-initiated assembly of functional G-quadruplex (G4) DNAzyme nanostructures. When OTA is present, it specifically recognizes the aptamer and disintegrates the aptamer-cDNA duplex structure, resulting in the liberation of intact cDNA and the subsequent initiation of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) assisted-extension reaction. The resultant G4 DNAzyme nanostructures can light up Thioflavin T (ThT) to produce a high fluorescence signal. Meanwhile, the addition of hemin can trigger the self-assembly of hemin/G4 DNAzymes that can catalyze the 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine/hydrogen peroxide (TMB/H 2 O 2) system to generate a distinct colorimetric signal. Consequently, the introduction of G4 DNAzyme/ThT and hemin/G4 DNAzyme can efficiently transduce the OTA signal into both a fluorescence signal and a colorimetric signal. The further utilization of a smartphone facilitates the development of a simple method based on red-green-blue (RGB) digital analysis for OTA assay. The proposed multi-mode aptasensor displays ultrahigh sensitivity with a detection limit of 2 pg/mL for the fluorescent mode, 25 pg/mL for the colorimetric mode, and 6 pg/mL for the RGB mode. Moreover, this multi-mode aptasensor can be applied to accurately detect OTA in real samples, providing a new platform for on-site monitoring of OTA in agricultural products. • We develop a fluorescent and colorimetric multi-mode aptasensor. • This aptasensor enables label-free and sensitive detection of ochratoxin A. • This aptasensor exhibits excellent anti-interference capability. • This aptasensor possesses the feature of multi-signal readout. • This aptasensor can accurately measure ochratoxin A in agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of organic carbon on the proliferation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the soil has been widely documented. However, it is unclear how soil organic carbon (SOC) interacts with the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Here, we examined the variations in ARGs abundance during SOC mineralization and explored the microbiological mechanisms and key metabolic pathways involved in their coevolution. The results showed that the SOC mineralization rate was closely correlated with ARGs abundance (p < 0.05). High organic carbon (OC) mineralization was conducive to the occurrence of multidrug resistance genes. For example, multidrug_transporter and mex B increased 2.26 and 7.83 times from the initial level. The competitor (stress) evolutionary strategy model revealed that higher OC inputs drive environmental microorganisms to evolve from stress tolerant to high resistance and strong adaptation. Meta-genomic and transcriptomic analyses revealed that the conversion process of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA to acetate was the critical metabolic pathway for the co-regulation of antibiotic resistance. Gene deletion validation trials have demonstrated that the key functional genes (ack A and pta) involved in this process can modulate the development of vancomycin and multidrug resistance. This outcome provides a preliminary framework for microbial mechanisms that target the co-regulation of microbial OC conversion and the evolution of antibiotic resistance. [Display omitted] • SOC mineralization was closely related to antibiotic resistance evolution. • High OC drives microbial evolution from stress tolerance (S) to resistance (R). • Vancomycin and multidrug resistance are mainly implicated in microbial C metabolism. • Microbial pyruvate conversion pathway co-regulates antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Overview of classification, catalytic mechanisms of transition metal-based nanozymes. • Overview of regulation of nanozymes activity of transition metal-based nanozymes. • Discussion on these nanozymes based emerging biomedical application. • Future challenges and directions in biomedicine. Transition metal-based nanozymes, which exhibit intrinsic enzyme-like capacities, have several advantages over natural enzymes, including excellent stability, abundant metal sources, controllable activity, and inexpensive preparation processes. Nanozymes are characterized by interesting physicochemical properties, including photoluminescence, superparamagnetism, and special optical properties. Recently, various transition metal-based nanozyme platforms have been developed to target single or multiple substrates. The catalytic properties of nanozymes can be regulated by microenvironmental factors such as pH, oxygenation level, and concentration of H 2 O 2 , and also by a magnetic field, light, ultrasound, and heat. Thus, nanozyme signals can be maximized and tailored for disease diagnosis and treatment. Prompted by these inherent advantages, new approaches for diagnosis, treatment, and theranostics are emerging and gaining momentum. In this review, we summarize the preparation, catalytic mechanisms, and properties of transition metal-based nanozymes and highlight their emerging biomedical applications, including disease diagnosis, cancer therapy, imaging, and antibacterial infections. We anticipate that this review will be significant for improving our understanding of the capacities of metal-based nanozymes and motivating broader applications in several biomedical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galloping of twin bundled overhead conductors accreted by ice is a frequent phenomenon during freezing weather, which may damage the operation of transmission lines. To analyze the galloping behavior of iced conductors, their aerodynamic characteristics must be studied. In this study, models with two different outlines were designed and tested to determine a more suitable ice-accreted conductor testing model. Subsequently, the influences of the conductor type, ice thickness, wind turbulence intensity, and wake effect of the windward conductor on the aerodynamic coefficients of the conductors with crescent-shape ice are investigated. The results show that the strand outline of overhead conductors must be considered to improve the accuracy of aerodynamic tests. With increasing ice thickness, the aerodynamic stability becomes rapidly deteriorated. Under the wind turbulence intensity of 4%, the aerodynamic stability gets the most enhancement. Moreover, different conductor types have little impact on the aerodynamic coefficients. The wake caused by the windward conductor is the leading cause for the twin bundled iced conductors to have weaker aerodynamic stability than a single conductor. The aerodynamic coefficients determined in this study are essential for predicting the galloping amplitudes of ice-accreted twin bundled overhead conductors under different weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) pose estimation of micro/nano-objects is essential for the implementation of automatic manipulation in micro/nano-robotic systems. However, out-of-plane pose estimation of a micro/nano-object is challenging, since the images are typically obtained in 2D using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or an optical microscope (OM). Traditional deep learning based methods require the collection of a large amount of labeled data for model training to estimate the 3D pose of an object from a monocular image. Here we present a sim-to-real learning-to-match approach for 3D pose estimation of micro/nano-objects. Instead of collecting large training datasets, simulated data is generated to enlarge the limited experimental data obtained in practice, while the domain gap between the generated and experimental data is minimized via image translation based on a generative adversarial network (GAN) model. A learning-to-match approach is used to map the generated data and the experimental data to a low-dimensional space with the same data distribution for different pose labels, which ensures effective feature embedding. Combining the labeled data obtained from experiments and simulations, a new training dataset is constructed for robust pose estimation. The proposed method is validated with images from both SEM and OM, facilitating the development of closed-loop control of micro/nano-objects with complex shapes in micro/nano-robotic systems. High-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy is a state-of-the-art imaging technique at the nanometer scale. This work presents a novel deep learning approach for 3D pose estimation of micro/nano-objects, particularly useful in regimes of limited experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dense ceramic membranes with mixed protonic-electronic conduction (MPEC) had received considerable attention due to their unique advantages for continuous hydrogen separation with high selectivity and good thermal stability. Herein, we reported a novel perovskite structure BaCo 0 · 4 Fe 0 · 4 Zr 0 · 1 Y 0 · 1 O 3-δ (BCFZY) ceramic membrane, which displayed a very high H 2 permeation flux and excellent stability at high temperatures. The electrical conductivity behavior and reduction characteristics of BCFZY under a H 2 -containing atmosphere were also evaluated. Furthermore, the BaCe 0 · 9 Y 0 · 1 O 3-δ -BCFZY composite catalytic layer was coated on the surface of BCFZY membrane to further improve its chemical stability and hydrogen permeability. The influence of the catalytic layer on the hydrogen permeation flux of BCFZY membrane was investigated. Surprisingly, the BaCe 0 · 9 Y 0 · 1 O 3-δ -BCFZY/BCFZY membrane presented a remarkable hydrogen flux of 1.02 mL min−1·cm−2 at 950 °C using 10% H 2 –90% N 2 as the feed gas, which was enhanced by 50% in comparison with the uncoated membrane with 0.65 mm thickness. The BCFZY and BaCe 0 · 9 Y 0 · 1 O 3-δ -BCFZY/BCFZY membranes exhibited sufficient stability during the continuous hydrogen separation operation at 900 °C for 100 h. The present work suggests that the multifunctional BCFZY-based membranes would be a promising candidate for highly efficient hydrogen separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and modular genome editing technologies that manipulate the genome of bacterial pathogens will facilitate the study of pathogenesis mechanisms. However, such methods are yet to be established for Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of rice bacterial blight. We identified a single type I‐C CRISPR‐Cas system in the Xoo genome and leveraged this endogenous defence system for high‐efficiency genome editing in Xoo. Specifically, we developed plasmid components carrying a mini‐CRISPR array, donor DNA, and a phage‐derived recombination system to enable the efficient and programmable genome editing of precise deletions, insertions, base substitutions, and gene replacements. Furthermore, the type I‐C CRISPR‐Cas system of Xoo cleaves target DNA unidirectionally, and this can be harnessed to generate large genomic deletions up to 212 kb efficiently. Therefore, the genome‐editing strategy we have developed can serve as an excellent tool for functional genomics of Xoo, and should also be applicable to other CRISPR‐harbouring bacterial plant pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic cutaneous ulcers (DCU) are a chronic and refractory complication of diabetes mellitus, which can lead to amputation or even death in extreme cases. Promoting the early healing of DCU and reducing the disability rate and treatment cost are important research topics in treating with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Centella asiatica total glycosides are extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Centella asiatica and have angiogenic, anticancer, antioxidant, and wound healing effects. Nitric oxide (NO) is a critical component of wound healing. During the development of DCU, endogenous NO secretion is insufficient. It has been reported that exogenous nitric oxide can promote wound healing, but it is difficult to adhere to the skin because of its short half-life. Therefore, in this study, we used the polymer excipient hydroxyethyl cellulose as the matrix, combined with Centella asiatica total glycosides and NO, and developed a new type of topical gel that can promote wound healing. At the same time, we made a comprehensive research and evaluation on the preparation technology, quality standard, skin toxicity, reproductive toxicity, and pharmacodynamics against diabetic skin ulcers of the gel. According to our research results, the combination of Centella asiatica total glycosides and nitric oxide can accelerate the healing speed of DCU wounds, and 8% Centella asiatica total glycosides nitric oxide gel (CATGNOG) has the best effect in ulcer wound healing. CATGNOG has the advantages of feasible preparation method, controllable quality, good stability at low temperature, and no apparent skin toxicity and reproductive toxicity. It can effectively inhibit the growth of bacteria on the wound surface, relieve the inflammatory reaction of the wound surface, and promote the healing of ulcer wound, which provides a basis for further research of the preparation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic nanoparticle-coated graphene oxide (GO) can be oriented in polymers under magnetic field due to the anisotropy of GO and excellent magnetism of magnetic nanoparticles. In this study, ferroferric oxide nanoparticles coated GO (Fe3O4-GO) was synthesized successfully using oxidation-coprecipitation method. The synthesized Fe3O4-GO was then added to epoxy and oriented by applying magnetic field using (1) the electromagnetic coil and (2) permanent magnets to toughen the epoxy matrix. Non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests were performed to determine the curing process of Fe3O4-GO/E-51/3a-methyl-5,6-dihydro-4H-isobenzofuran-1,3-dione (MeTHPA)/2,4,6 Tris(dimethyl aminomethyl)phenol (DMP-30) system (Fe3O4-GO/E-51/MeTHPA/DMP-30). Transmission electron microscope images show that Fe3O4 nanoparticles were coated on the GO surface homogenously and Fe3O4-GO were highly oriented in E-51/MeTHPA/DMP-30 epoxy system under different magnetic field conditions. The maximum impact strength of Fe3O4-GO/E-51/MeTHPA/DMP-30 composite was observed at 0.2 wt% Fe3O4-GO loading, with values of 28.64 and 30.54 kJ/m2 in case of the magnetic field applied through permanent magnets and electromagnetic coil respectively, which is an increase by 39.6 and 48.8% respectively when compared with the pure E-51/MeTHPA/DMP-30 system (20.52 kJ/m2). In addition, at 0.4 wt% Fe3O4-GO loading and application of magnetic field through electromagnetic coil, the maximum increase in flexural modulus was observed, which was increased by 41.8% and 17.23% compared with the pure epoxy system and the one without application of magnetic field at same Fe3O4-GO loading respectively. The fracture morphologies from the scanning electron microscope also indicated that the oriented Fe3O4-GO under magnetic field improved the toughness of the E-51/MeTHPA/DMP-30 resin system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to determine the methylation profile of four CpGs and the genotypes of two CpG-SNPs located in promoter region of DIO2 in patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). We also analyzed the interaction between the CpGs methylations and CpG-SNPs. Whole blood specimens were collected from 16 KBD patients and 16 healthy subjects. Four CpGs and two CpG-SNPs in the promoter regions of DIO2 were detected using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The CpGs methylation levels were compared between samples from KBD patients and healthy subjects. The methylation levels were also analyzed in KBD patients with different CpG-SNP genotypes. The mRNA expression of DIO2 in whole blood of KBD patients was significnatly lower than in healthy controls (P "0.05). The methylation levels of DIO2 -1_CpG_3 in KBD patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (P <0.05). The methylation levels of four CpGs were not significantly different between KBD patients and healthy controls. The methylation level of DIO2 -1_CpG_3 in the promoter region of DIO2 in KBD patients with GA/AA genotype was significantly higher than that of KBD patients with GG genotype (P <0.05). The methylation level of DIO2 increases in KBD patients. Similar trends exist in KBD carriers of variant genotypes of CpG-SNPs DIO2 rs955849187. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: In recent years, white tea has become increasingly popular. Some merchants confuse the age of white tea and sell poor‐quality products for profit. Therefore, it is necessary to provide technical support for product authentication and valorization in white tea of different marked ages. Methods: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected by proton transfer reaction time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (PTR‐TOF‐MS) and identified as volatile fingerprints. PTR‐TOF‐MS combined with multivariate analysis was found to identify white tea of four different marked ages (1, 3, 5, and 8 years) for authentication. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least‐squares discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA) were used as classification models to identify key volatile metabolites. Results: The OPLS‐DA model achieved the best results (96.67%, 96.67%, 96.67%, and 96.67% in the training set and 96.00%, 96.00%, 100%, and 100% in the prediction set for 1‐year, 3‐year, 5‐year, and 8‐year tea samples, respectively), showing that PTR‐TOF‐MS with the OPLS‐DA model could successfully be used in the identification of white tea with different marked ages. Out of the 60 identified VOCs, 26 volatile materials were closely correlated with tea age and were used as markers to discriminate white tea of different ages. Conclusions: PTR‐TOF‐MS coupled with multivariate analysis could be applied for quality evaluation of tea products of different ages and provided a feasible technical support for product authentication and valorization in white tea of different marked ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sleep disturbance is common in meningioma patients and may lead to disease aggravation and decreases health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the sleep quality of meningioma patients newly diagnosed and ready for surgery has not been well clarified in China. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence, correlates, and impact of sleep disturbance among Chinese meningioma patients.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, meningioma patients were recruited from the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from January 2020 to November 2020. A series of questionnaires were applied: the 0-10 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Short-Form 36 (SF-36), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Independent samples t test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square analysis, Pearson/Spearman correlation, and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data.Results: One hundred meningioma patients completed the questionnaires. Sleep disturbance affected 43% of the meningioma patients and was linked to many concomitant symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Binary logistic regression indicated that fatigue and headache were independently associated with sleep disturbance of meningioma patients. Meanwhile, severe sleep disturbance led to lower quality of life.Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that a considerable number of meningioma patients newly diagnosed and ready for surgery suffered from sleep disturbance, potentially contributing to impair HRQoL. Medical personnel should pay more attention to meningioma patients with sleep disturbance and take effective measures to improve sleep quality, with the ultimate goal to improve their HRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The high-pressure crystal structures of Sr(B,C) x (x = 7,8) systems are explored. • SrB 5 C 2 , SrB 6 C and SrB 5 C 3 exhibit significant mechanical strength. • SrB 5 C 2 is a superconductor with t c of 10.5 K at ambient pressure. Boron-carbon-based compounds have attracted considerable attention due to their exceptional properties and increasing applications in industry. In this study, we conducted a systematic structural prediction of the SrB x C 7- x and SrB x C 8- x systems under ambient and high pressures up to 20 GPa using an unbiased global structure search. Through the calculations of formation enthalpy and phonon dispersion curves, we identified three new compounds, namely SrB 5 C 2 , SrB 6 C and SrB 5 C 3 , as thermodynamically and dynamically stable under ambient pressure and high pressures up to 20 GPa. Calculations of mechanical properties reveal that these three compounds have significant mechanical strength, with estimated theoretical Vickers hardness values ranging from 23.2 to 39.8 GPa. Electronic structure calculations suggest that both SrB 5 C 2 and SrB 5 C 3 are hole conductors, with the bands crossing the Fermi level, and SrB 6 C is a semiconductor with an indirect bandgap of 2.4 eV. The electron-phonon coupling calculations using the Migdal-Eliashberg theory indicate that SrB 5 C 2 exhibits superconductivity at 10.5 K under ambient pressure, while SrB 5 C 3 shows superconductivity at a much lower temperature of 0.4 K. This finding adds to our knowledge of boron-carbide materials and provides valuable insights for the development of similar materials with good mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]