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With the increasing number of financial transactions, financial fraud has become increasingly serious for financial institutions and the public. The core idea of this model is to integrate multiple neural network structures and utilize their respective advantages to improve the performance of fraud detection. Firstly, we employed the convolutional neural network with interpretable blocks (CNNIB) convolutional neural network (CNN) to extract key features from the data to capture patterns and patterns in fraud cases. Secondly, we introduced the autoencoder generative adversarial network (AE-GAN) adversarial network to perform feature analysis on sequence data to capture temporal features in transaction sequences. Finally, we used differential detection for classification to determine whether transactions were fraudulent. An independent detection module was established to accelerate the recognition of financial fraud, and parameter indicators were optimized. Finally, a hybrid neural network model was established. The experimental results indicate that our model has achieved significant results in quickly detecting financial fraud; compared with traditional single neural network models, hybrid neural network models have significant improvements in accuracy and efficiency. In addition, we conducted in-depth analysis of the model and revealed its performance stability under different training set sizes and data distributions. Our research findings provide an effective tool for financial institutions to quickly identify financial fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The efficacy and safety of potassium-competitive acid blockers (P-CABs) in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) remains controversial when compared with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Objectives: The current study set out to compare the differences in the eradication rate and adverse reactions between eradication regimens based on P-CAB or PPI drugs and the differences between the vonoprazan-based and the tegoprazan-based regimens to explore the efficacy and safety of different Hp eradication regimens. Data sources and methods: Databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and WOS were searched from the inception of these databases up to July 2023, and eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The outcome measures were the eradication rate and the incidence of adverse reactions of different regimens in treating Hp. The results were estimated as relative risk (RR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI), and R 4.2.1 software was used to perform the network meta-analysis (NMA). Results: A total of 20 studies were included in the analysis, involving 5815 patients with Hp. In terms of eradication rate, the 2-week vonoprazan-based triple regimen (V-Tri-2w) was the best, which was superior to the 2-week PPI-based quadruple regimen [P-Qua-2w, RR = 0.9, 95% CI: (0.85–0.95)] and the 1-week tegoprazan-based triple regimen [T-Tri-1w, RR = 0.79, 95% CI: (0.64–0.97)]; the 2-week tegoprazan-based quadruple regimen (T-Qua-2w) was superior to the 1-week PPI-based triple regimen [P-Tri-1w, RR = 0.82, 95% CI: (0.67–0.99)], and there was no difference between the remaining tegoprazan-based regimens and the PPI-based or vonoprazan-based regimens. In terms of the incidence of adverse reactions, the 2-week vonoprazan-based binary regimen (V-Bi-2w) was lower than that of the 2-week PPI-based quadruple regimen [P-Qua-2w, RR = 1.98, 95% CI: (1.57–2.52)]; there was no significant difference between 1 and 2 weeks for each regimen, such as the vonoprazan-based triple regimen [RR = 1.11, 95% CI: (0.82–1.52)]. Conclusion: In the eradication treatment of Hp, the efficacy and safety of vonoprazan-based regimens are generally better than those of PPI-based regimens. Among them, the V-Tri-2w regimen has the highest eradication rate and may be the preferred choice for Hp eradication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is malignant cancer known for its high aggressiveness and unfavorable prognosis, particularly in advanced tumors. Anoikis is a specific pattern of programmed cell death associated with tumor regeneration, migration, and metastasis. Nevertheless, limited research has been conducted to investigate the function of anoikis in SKCM. Anoikis-related genes (ARGs) were extracted from Genecards to identify SKCM subtypes and to explore the immune microenvironment between the different subtypes. Prognostic models of SKCM were developed by LASSO COX regression analysis. Subsequently, the predictive value of risk scores in SKCM and the association with immunotherapy were further explored. Finally, the expression of 6 ARGs involved in the model construction was detected by immunohistochemistry and PCR. This study identified 20 ARGs significantly associated with SKCM prognosis and performed disease subtype analysis of samples based on these genes, different subtypes exhibited significantly different clinical features and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) landscapes. The risk score prognostic model was generated by further screening and identification of the six ARGs. The model exhibited a high degree of sensitivity and specificity to predict the prognosis of individuals with SKCM. These high- and low-risk populations showed different immune statuses and drug sensitivity. Further immunohistochemical and PCR experiments identified significant differential expression of the six ARGs in tumor and normal samples. Anoikis-based features may serve as novel prognostic biomarkers for SKCM and may provide important new insights for survival prediction and individualized treatment development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding RNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 5 (SNHG5) is an oncogene found in various human cancers. However, it is unclear what role SNHG5 plays in activating hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and liver fibrosis. In this study, SNHG5 was found to be upregulated in activated HSCs in vitro and in primary HSCs isolated from fibrotic liver in vivo, and inhibition of SNHG5 suppressed HSC activation. Notably, Neurofibromin 2 (NF2), the main activator for Hippo signalling, was involved in the effects of SNHG5 on HSC activation. The interaction between SNHG5 and NF2 protein was further confirmed, and preventing the combination of the two could effectively block the effects of SNHG5 inhibition on EMT process and Hippo signaling. Additionally, higher SNHG5 was found in chronic hepatitis B patients and associated with the fibrosis stage. Altogether, we demonstrate that SNHG5 could serve as an activated HSCs regulator via regulating NF2 and Hippo pathway. LncRNA SNHG5 can regulate the Hippo pathway and EMT process by interacting with NF2 to mediate the activation of hepatic stellate cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical images provide highly complementary ground information. The fusion of SAR and optical data can significantly enhance semantic segmentation inference results. However, the fusion methods for multimodal data remains a challenge for current research due to significant disparities in imaging mechanisms from diverse sources. Our goal was to bridge the significant gaps between optical and SAR images by developing a dual-input model that utilizes image-level fusion. To improve most existing state-of-the-art image fusion methods, which often assign equal weights to multiple modalities, we employed the principal component analysis (PCA) transform approach. Subsequently, we performed feature-level fusion on shallow feature maps, which retain rich geometric information. We also incorporated a channel attention module to highlight channels rich in features and suppress irrelevant information. This step is crucial due to the substantial similarity between SAR and optical images in shallow layers such as geometric features. In summary, we propose a generic multimodal fusion strategy that can be attached to most encoding–decoding structures for feature classification tasks, designed with two inputs. One input is the optical image, and the other is the three-band fusion data obtained by combining the PCA component of the optical image with the SAR. Our feature-level fusion method effectively integrates multimodal data. The efficiency of our approach was validated using various public datasets, and the results showed significant improvements when applied to several land cover classification models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Myopic maculopathy is a sight-threatening disease, which causes irreversible vision faults and central vision loss. The purpose of this study is evaluating the risk factors of the myopic maculopathy progression according to the ATN classification system. Methods: Clinic data of 69 high myopia patients aged older than 40 years with a follow-up time of more than 2 years, who underwent fundus photography and OCT examination were retrospectively collected. Fundus changes were evaluated with ATN classification at the first and last follow-up times. The related factors affecting progress including axial length (AL), spherical equivalence (SE), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), disc-foveal distance (DFD), optic disc tilt, and parapapillary atrophy (PPA) were analyzed. Results: This study included 69 high-myopia patients with mean age 54.29 ± 10.41 years. The progression rate of myopic maculopathy (MM) was approximately 25.56%. Elongated DFD (5.37 ± 0.11 mm vs. 4.86 ± 0.37 mm; p < 0.001) and thinner SFCT (138.52 ± 29.38 μm vs. 184.87 ± 48.72 μm; p = 0.008) at baseline were linked with MM progression. In multiple logistic regression analysis, DFD was a substantial hazard risk factor (adjusted OR = 1.672, 95% CI: 1.135–2.498, p < 0.05) after adjusting for age, AL and SFCT. Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that DFD might serve as a predictor to discriminate the MM progression with a cut-off value of 5.15 mm and a substantial receiver operating characteristic curve area (AUC: 0.794). Compared with the non-progression group, the progression group had older age (p < 0.001), longer AL (p = 0.001), higher optic disc tilt rate (p < 0.001), and higher proportion of pre-existing PPA (p = 0.038) at baseline, the differences were statistically significant. Conclusion: Based on the ATN classification system, we found that the progression of MM was related to older age, longer AL, high disc tilt, pre-existing PPA, thinner SFCT, and longer DFD. The parameter of DFD was an important factor affecting the progression of MM, which is considered to have a higher probability of progression when the length is beyond 5.15 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) have the remarkable capability of producing intracellularly membrane-enveloped magnetic nanocrystals (i.e. magnetosomes) and swimming along geomagnetic field lines. Despite more than 50 years of research, bacterial diversity and magnetosome biomineralization within MTB are relatively less known in the Gammaproteobacteria class than other groups. This is incompatible with the status of Gammaproteobacteria as the most diverse class of gram-negative bacteria with a number of ecologically important bacteria. Here, we identify a novel MTB strain YYHR-1 affiliated with the Gammaproteobacteria class of the Pseudomonadota phylum from a freshwater lake. In YYHR-1, most magnetosome crystals are organized into a long chain aligned along the cell long axis; unusually, a few small superparamagnetic crystals are located at the side of the chain, off the main chain axis. Micromagnetic simulations indicate that magnetostatic interactions among adjacent crystals within a chain reduce the Gibbs energy to enhance chain stability. Genomic analysis suggests that duplication of magnetosome gene clusters may result in off-chain magnetosomes formation. By integrating available genomic data from Gammaproteobacteria , the phylogenetic position of MTB in this class is reassigned here. Our new findings expand knowledge about MTB diversity and magnetosome biomineralization, and deepen understanding of the phylogenetics of the Gammaproteobacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic balance and distribution of sphingolipid metabolites modulate the level of programmed cell death and plant defence. However, current knowledge is still limited regarding the molecular mechanism underlying the relationship between sphingolipid metabolism and plant defence. In this study, we identified a wheat RNA‐binding protein 1 (TaRBP1) and TaRBP1 mRNA accumulation significantly decreased in wheat after infection by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst). Knockdown of TaRBP1 via virus‐induced gene silencing conferred strong resistance to Pst by enhancing host plant reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and cell death, indicating that TaRBP1 may act as a negative regulator in response to Pst. TaRBP1 formed a homopolymer and interacted with TaRBP1 C‐terminus in plants. Additionally, TaRBP1 physically interacted with TaGLTP, a sphingosine transfer protein. Knockdown of TaGLTP enhanced wheat resistance to the virulent Pst CYR31. Sphingolipid metabolites showed a significant accumulation in TaGLTP‐silenced wheat and TaRBP1‐silenced wheat, respectively. In the presence of the TaRBP1 protein, TaGLTP failed to be degraded in a 26S proteasome‐dependent manner in plants. Our results reveal a novel susceptible mechanism by which a plant fine‐tunes its defence responses by stabilizing TaGLTP accumulation to suppress ROS and sphingolipid accumulation during Pst infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomeration (UA) is an advanced spatial economic form formed and developed in the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization, and an important carrier of urbanization and economic development. The economy has developed rapidly in the recent decades of China, and the UAs have also developed rapidly. However, as a large population country, the population distribution and changes of UAs in China has unique characteristics. Using the fifth, sixth and seventh population census data, spatial auto-correlation and spatial econometric models, we analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of population agglomeration in China's UAs. Results revealed that: 1) from 2000 to 2020, the population gradually converged into UAs, and the characteristics of population agglomeration in different development degree of UAs differ. The higher the development degree of UA, the higher the population agglomeration degree. Besides, UAs are the main area with the most significant population agglomeration degree, and the spatial autocorrelation show that the cities with similar degree tend to be concentrated in space. The urban population gathering in UAs has a certain positive spillover effect on population size of neighboring cities. 2) Economic development and social conditions factors are important factors affecting population agglomeration degree in UAs. The main factors of population gather into UAs are similar with the outside UAs, but the positive promotion of urbanization rate and proportion of tertiary industry in GDP on population agglomeration of UAs in China are enhancing from 2000 to 2020. Meanwhile, the other factors, such as high-quality public services, good urban living environment conditions, high-quality medical and educational resources, are also important factors to promote urban population gather into UAs. This study provides a basis for formulating the development planning of UAs in China, and enriches the relevant theoretical research of population evolution and influencing factors of UAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise fertilizer application in agriculture requires accurate and dependable measurements of the soil total nitrogen (TN) concentration. Henan Province is one of the most important grain-producing areas in China. In order to promote the development of precision agriculture in Henan Province, this study took the high-standard basic farmland construction area in central Henan Province as the research area. Using single-phase images acquired from the ZY1-02D satellite hyperspectral sensor on 28 January 2021 (with a spatial resolution of 30 m × 30 m, a spectral range that covered 400–2500 nm, and a revisit period of 3 days) for spectral reflectance transformation and feature spectral band extraction. Based on multiple representation models, such as multiple linear regression, partial least squares regression, and support vector machine (SVM), all bands, feature bands, feature band combinations, and differential evolution (DE) algorithms were used to extract the secondary characteristic variables of the combination of characteristic bands, which were used as model inputs to estimate the content of TN in the study area. It was found that (1) the spectral reflectance transformation could help to improve the accuracy of prediction by reducing the interference from noise in the model, but the optimal spectral transformation method differed between different models and even between the training and test sets of the same model; (2) the estimation accuracy of the TN content model based on the minimum shrinkage and feature selection operator of the feature band was usually better than that of the full band, the feature combination band contained more effective information related to the TN content, and the combination of the DE algorithm and the SVM model achieved a better estimation accuracy for secondary feature extraction and TN content estimation of the feature combination band; and (3) ZY1-02D hyperspectral satellite data have the potential for the dynamic and non-destructive monitoring of regional TN content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetable oils can be used as an alternative to traditional mineral-based lubricants because of their biodegradation and good lubrication. Considering that vegetable oils are mixtures composed of different types and proportions of fatty acids, if the structure–activity relationship between their chemical structures and anti-wear properties can be obtained, those unknown vegetable oils' anti-wear performances can be predicted accurately. The quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) model of the fatty acid structure and the wear scar diameter (WSD) measured by four-ball friction test was established by selecting meaningful molecular descriptors, including the Balaban index, Estate keys and Molecular shadow index. Based on the model with adjusted R2 more than 0.9, the anti-wear properties of fatty acids and vegetable oils were predicted, showing good prediction ability and low deviation. On the basis of 39 different fatty acid composition reported, cluster analysis (CA) and anti-wear property evaluation of vegetable oils were carried out. It was found that fatty acids with carbon length of 18 and short chain fatty acids had adverse effects on the wear resistance of vegetable oils, which provided reference data for the industrial application of vegetable oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteria can be genetically engineered to act as therapeutic delivery vehicles in the treatment of tumors, killing cancer cells or activating the immune system. This is known as bacteria-mediated cancer therapy (BMCT). Tumor invasion, colonization and tumor regression are major biological events, which are directly associated with antitumor effects and are uncontrollable due to the influence of tumor microenvironments during the BMCT process. Here, we developed a genetic circuit for dynamically programming bacterial lifestyles (planktonic, biofilm or lysis), to precisely manipulate the process of bacterial adhesion, colonization and drug release in the BMCT process, via hierarchical modulation of the lighting power density of near-infrared (NIR) light. The deep tissue penetration of NIR offers us a modality for spatio-temporal and non-invasive control of bacterial genetic circuits in vivo. By combining computational modeling with a high-throughput characterization device, we optimized the genetic circuits in engineered bacteria to program the process of bacterial lifestyle transitions by altering the illumination scheme of NIR. Our results showed that programming intratumoral bacterial lifestyle transitions allows precise control of multiple key steps throughout the BMCT process and therapeutic efficacy can be greatly improved by controlling the localization and dosage of therapeutic agents via optimizing the illumination scheme. Programming intratumoral bacterial life style transitions allow precise control of multiple key steps throughout the bacteria-mediated cancer therapy process and therapeutic efficacy can be greatly improved by controlling the localization and dosage of therapeutic agents via optimizing the illumination scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to investigate the severity of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency (AADCd) as reported in the published literature and to collate evidence of the clinical manifestations of AADCd, and the impact of the disease on patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems. Published articles reporting severity of disease or disease impact were eligible for inclusion in this review. Articles were searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, TRIP medical, and CRD databases in October 2021. The quality of the included studies was investigated using a modified version of the grading system of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM). Descriptive data of the literature was extracted and a narrative synthesis of the results across studies was conducted. This review is reported according to the PRISMA reporting guidelines for systematic reviews. The search identified 970 unique reports, of which 59 met eligibility criteria to be included in the review. Of these, 48 included reports provided details on the clinical manifestations of AADCd. Two reports explored the disease impact on patients, while four described the impact on caregivers. Five reports assessed the impact on healthcare systems. Individuals with AADCd experience very severe clinical manifestations regardless of motor milestones achieved, and present with a spectrum of other complications. Individuals with AADCd present with very limited function, which, in combination with additional complications, substantially impact the quality-of-life of individuals and their caregivers. The five studies which explore the impact on the healthcare system reported that adequate care of individuals with AADCd requires a vast array of medical services and supportive therapies. Irrespective of the ambulatory status of individuals, AADCd is a debilitating disease that significantly impacts quality-of-life for individuals and caregivers. It impacts the healthcare system due to the need for complex coordinated activities of a multidisciplinary specialist team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Friedreich ataxia (FA) is a rare, inherited neuromuscular disease characterized by an early onset and progressive limb and gait ataxia. Currently, there are no approved treatments for FA. It is important to understand the burden of FA, including its extent and the most salient elements. The objective of this study is therefore to systematically review the literature regarding the aspects of prevalence, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and economic outcomes that are associated with FA, and to subsequently identify relevant knowledge gaps.Methods: Three systematic literature reviews were conducted to assess publications regarding FA prevalence, HRQoL, and economic outcomes. Search strategies were implemented in MEDLINE (Ovid) and EMBASE databases; study selection and quality assessment were conducted using current best practices. For each review, study characteristics and findings were summarized.Results: A total of 36 studies were included. Review of prevalence studies (n = 22) indicated variation in the number of cases by region, and many regions not represented at all. Regarding HRQoL (n = 12 studies), physical domains were consistently impacted, although findings regarding other domains and overall HRQoL were less clear. Cost studies (n = 2) encompassed 4 regions and revealed that costs related to the provision of care, including non-medical direct costs and indirect costs, accounted for the majority of FA-related costs.Discussion: Findings from this systematic review revealed several knowledge gaps that would preclude the conduct of a robust assessment of the benefits and outcomes associated with a disease-modifying FA therapy. Additional understanding regarding patient and caregiver HRQoL and costs is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-cell behaviors are essential during early-stage biofilm formation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether single-cell behaviors could be precisely and continuously manipulated by optogenetics. We thus established adaptive tracking illumination (ATI), a novel illumination method to precisely manipulate the gene expression and bacterial behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the surface at the single-cell level by using the combination of a high-throughput bacterial tracking algorithm, optogenetic manipulation, and adaptive microscopy. ATI enables precise gene expression control by manipulating the optogenetic module gene expression and type IV pili (TFP)–mediated motility and microcolony formation during biofilm formation through bis-(3′-5′)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) level modifications in single cells. Moreover, we showed that the spatial organization of single cells in mature biofilms could be controlled using ATI. Therefore, this novel method we established might markedly answer various questions or resolve problems in microbiology. Key points: • High-resolution spatial and continuous optogenetic control of individual bacteria. • Phenotype-specific optogenetic control of individual bacteria. • Capacity to control biologically relevant processes in engineered single cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Two drought indices (SPEI and VPD) were used to characterize the degree of dryness/wetness. The water deficit represented by two drought indices was mostly negatively correlated with vegetation GPP, especially in summer and autumn. The negative impact of water deficit/drought as measured by SPEI on vegetation GPP was more severe than that revealed by VPD. During drought, both SPEI and VPD showed that drought had a negative impact on vegetation GPP in North China, Southwest China, and the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Climate change has exacerbated the frequency and severity of droughts worldwide. Evaluating the response of gross primary productivity (GPP) to drought is thus beneficial to improving our understanding of the impact of drought on the carbon cycle balance. Although many studies have investigated the relationship between vegetation productivity and dry/wet conditions, the capability of different drought indices of assessing the influence of water deficit is not well understood. Moreover, few studies consider the effects of drought on vegetation with a focus on periods of drought. Here, we investigated the spatial-temporal patterns of GPP, the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), and the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in China from 2001 to 2020 and examined the relationship between GPP and water deficit/drought for different vegetation types. The results revealed that SPEI and GPP were positively correlated over approximately 70.7% of the total area, and VPD was negatively correlated with GPP over about 66.2% of the domain. Furthermore, vegetation productivity was more negatively affected by water deficit in summer and autumn. During periods of drought, the greatest negative impact was on deciduous forests and croplands, and woody savannas were the least impacted. This research provides a scientific reference for developing mitigation and adaptation measures to lessen the impact of drought disasters under a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although depression is commonly accompanied by cognitive deficits, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. One possibility is that such deficits are related to abnormal brain network connections. The purpose of this study was thus to investigate changes in brain functional connectivity (FC) in depression and its relationship with cognitive deficits.Methods: We enrolled 37 first-episode MDD patients and 53 matched healthy controls (HC). All participants completed clinical and neurocognitive assessments and underwent resting-state functional MRI. Seed-based analysis was used to define the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and FC analysis was then performed. We used bias correlation to analyze the correlation between FC and clinical and neurocognitive scores.Results: MDD patients showed increased FC of the right DLPFC with the left inferior temporal gyrus, left cuneus, right inferior frontal gyrus, right anterior cingulate cortex, left BA39, right angular gyrus, right precuneus, left middle frontal gyrus, and right precentral gyrus. MDD patients also showed stronger FC in the left thalamus and reduced FC between the left superior occipital gyrus and left DLPFC seed region. Interestingly, increased FC was related to disease severity (with the right precentral gyrus) and social cognitive dysfunction (with the right angular gyrus) in MDD patients.Limitations: The sample size was relatively small and it is unclear how age may influence FC changes in patients with depression.Conclusions: These findings support changes in FC of the DLPFC in early MDD patients related to cognitive function. FC is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of MDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil organic matter (SOM) is an essential nutrient for crop growth and development. Hyperspectral satellite images with comprehensive spectral band coverage and high spectral resolution can be used to estimate and draw a spatial distribution map of SOM content in the region, which can provide a scientific management basis for precision agriculture. This study takes Xinzheng City, Henan Province's agricultural area, as the research object. Based on ZY1-02D hyperspectral satellite image data, the first derivative of reflectance (FDR) was processed on the original reflectance (OR). The SOM characteristic spectral bands were extracted using the correlation coefficient (CC) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) methods. The prediction model of SOM content was established by multiple linear regression (MLR), partial least squares regression (PLSR), and random forest (RF) algorithms. The results showed that: (1) FDR processing can enhance SOM spectral features and reduce noise; (2) the Lasso feature band extraction method can reduce the model's input variables and raise the estimation precision; (3) the SOM content prediction ability of the RF model was significantly better than that of the MLR and PLSR models. The FDR-Lasso-RF model was the best SOM content prediction model, and the validation set R2 = 0.921, MAEV = 0.512 g/kg, RMSEV = 0.645 g/kg; (4) compared with laboratory hyperspectral data-SOM prediction methods, hyperspectral satellite data can achieve accurate, rapid, and large-scale SOM content prediction and mapping. This study provides an efficient, accurate, and feasible method for predicting and mapping SOM content in an agricultural region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the three primary challenges faced by transparent conductive coatings, namely poor conductivity, elevated the active substance content, and insufficient visible light transmittance, net-like conductive agents due to the unique morphology and structure have been developed to address these concerns simultaneously. A straightforward synthesis of antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) nanonets was accomplished through a simple two-step coprecipitation and hydrothermal methods. Firstly, an antimony-doped stannic hydroxide hydrogel precursor was generated through coprecipitation. Secondly, by adjusting the pH value in the hydrothermal reaction, ATO nanocrystals network were obtained without the need for additional materials. The synthesized ATO, with a net-like morphology, comprises particles of approximately 3–5 nm in diameter. Throughout the reaction, ammonium hydroxide, used as a pH regulator, played a vital role as a reducing agent in forming ATO nanonets without the need for further post-treatment. Moreover, net-like ATO compounded with SiO 2 transparent conductive coatings exhibited exceptional transparent conductive properties, with a visible-light transmittance of approximately 84.7 % at the wavelength of 550 nm and a square resistance of 0.5 kΩ/sq upon spin-coating deposition on glass. This remarkable performance can be attributed to the generation of a continuous conductive network. In comparison to granular ATO, the network structure ATO nanocrystal showcases a significant improvement in resistivity, demonstrating its exemplary transparent conductivity. The approach for the preparation of ATO nanonets was simple and easy to scale up to provide an enormous potential and broad prospect for the application of net-like ATO in transparent conductive coating. The morphology and structure of antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) nanocrystalline can be effectively controlled by adjusting the pH value of the hydrothermal reaction using antimony-doped stannic hydroxide as a precursor, which affected the grain size and the crystallinity of the ATO production. The one-dimensional chain-structured ATO nanocrystalline with a diameter of approximately 3–5 nm exhibited advantages such as less addition, better electrical conductivity, and higher visible light transmittance, compared with the granular ATO. [Display omitted] • ATO was synthesized by a two-step coprecipitation and hydrothermal techniques. • The ATO/SiO 2 coatings exhibited exceptional transparent conductive properties. • ATO nanonets possesses superior conductivity and tensile properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A custom CT cell that is suitable for space limitation requirements was designed to develop a multi-parameter-combustion diagnosis. • The corrected CO and NO absorption databases were established for CT reconstruction. • The accuracy of the CT algorithm and the rationality of the custom CT cell structure design were verified by optical path evaluation simultaneously through CFD simulation results reconstruction. • The multi-combustion-parameter diagnosis system was tested by methane-premixed flame and standard NO gas, and the results showed high accuracy. Fossil fuel combustion is the main source of mechanical power and will be accompanied by the production of a large number of toxic and harmful substances, such as NO and CO. In this study, Computed Tomography-Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (CT-TDLAS) and Computed Tomography-Ultraviolet Absorption Spectroscopy (CT-UVAS) were used to establish a multi-combustion-parameter diagnosis system. A corrected H 2 O absorption database was applied by the wavelength at 1388 nm and 1343 nm. The spectra at 2325 nm were used to establish the CO absorption database. NO absorption database at 214 nm/226 nm was established by UVAS. The nonlinear least squares with the polynomial fitting method was applied to CT reconstruction. A custom CT cell was designed to fix the fiber and probes of the CT-TDLAS and CT-UVAS, and its rationality was evaluated by the Sum of squared difference (SSD) and Zero-mean normalization cross-correlation (ZNCC) through the comparison between CFD simulation and CT reconstruction. In the experiment, the CT reconstruction of the temperature, H 2 O, and CO showed significant distribution profile differences between two premixed flames. The NO detection function was demonstrated by standard NO gas, and the maximum average relative error was 4.99 %. The results show that the multi-combustion-parameter diagnosis system can measure the temperature, H 2 O, CO, and NO distribution of the combustion flow field at high frequency. The multi-combustion-parameter diagnosis system will assist with research and diagnosis on controlling NO generation and promoting combustion efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is one of the promising candidates for pseudocapacitance materials, Ni(OH)2 is confronted with poor specific capacitance and inferior cycling stability. The design and construction of three-dimensional (3D) nanosphere structures turns out to be a valid strategy to combat these disadvantages and has attracted tremendous attention. In this paper, a 3D α-Ni(OH)2 nanosphere is prepared via a facile and template-free dynamic refluxing approach. Significantly, the α-Ni(OH)2 nanosphere possesses a high specific surface area (119.4 m2/g) and an abundant porous structure. In addition, the as-obtained α-Ni(OH)2 electrodes are investigated by electrochemical measurements, which exhibit a high specific capacitance of 1243 F/g at 1 A/g in 6 M KOH electrolyte and an acceptable capacitive retention of 40.0% after 1500 charge/discharge cycles at 10 A/g, which can be attributed to the sphere's unique nanostructure. Furthermore, the as-assembled Ni(OH)2-36//AC asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) yields a remarkable energy density of 26.50 Wh/kg, with a power density of 0.82 kW/kg. Notably, two ASCs in series can light a 2.5 V red lamp sustainably for more than 60 min, as well as power an LED band with a rated power of 25 W. Hence, this 3D α-Ni(OH)2 nanosphere may raise great potential applications for next-generation energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complex coupling between phenology and climatic factors, the influence mechanism of climate, especially preseason temperature and preseason precipitation, on vegetation phenology is still unclear. In the present study, we explored the long-term trends of phenological parameters of different vegetation types in China north of 30°N from 1982 to 2014 and their comprehensive responses to preseason temperature and precipitation. Simultaneously, annual double-season phenological stages were considered. Results show that the satellite-based phenological data were corresponding with the ground-based phenological data. Our analyses confirmed that the preseason temperature has a strong controlling effect on vegetation phenology. The start date of the growing season (SOS) had a significant advanced trend for 13.5% of the study area, and the end date of the growing season (EOS) showed a significant delayed trend for 23.1% of the study area. The impact of preseason precipitation on EOS was overall stronger than that on SOS, and different vegetation types had different responses. Compared with other vegetation types, SOS and EOS of crops were greatly affected by human activities while the preseason precipitation had less impact. This study will help us to make a scientific decision to tackle global climate change and regulate ecological engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a growing interest in oil–water separation due to the massive economic and energy loss caused by world-wide oil spill. In the past decades, a new type of superhydrophobic surface has been developed for the efficient oil–water separation, but its large-scale use is significantly limited by its expensive, sophisticated, and fragile roughness structure. Meanwhile, to handle complex operating conditions, the transparency of the superhydrophobic surface has been more attractive due to its potential visual oil–water separation and optical application scenarios. Herein, we showed a simple and versatile strategy to fabricate superhydrophobic coating with robustness and high transparency. Subsequently, this multifunctional superhydrophobic coating was utilized for oil–water separation and indicated excellent separation efficiency. In this strategy, candle soot composed of carbon nanoparticles was deposited onto the substrate and used as a rough surface template. Then, a filmy and hard silica shell was modified onto this template via chemical vapor deposition to reinforce the roughness structure. Following, this soot-silica coated substrate was calcined in air to remove the candle soot template. Finally, based on a rational surface design, this robust silica coating achieved excellent superhydrophobicity thereby showing inherently oil–water separation benefits. This reinforced superhydrophobic coating presented robust superhydrophobicity even after 410 s sand impacting with the height of 40 cm and 20 cycles of sandpaper abrasion. Also, it retained excellent oil–water separation efficiency even after reuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the fact that flip chip without front-side bonding wire, a correlated color temperature (CCT) tunable chip on board (COB) light emittin g diodes (LED) light source was fabricated, by screen printing technology before the phosphor was coated on the whole luminous surface. A part of the blue LED chips in the light source excites the fluorescent glue to produce a warm white light (CCT = 2631 K), and the other part produces cool white light (CCT = 6181 K). When changing the driving current ratio of the two parts of the chips, the CCT of COB LED light source can be continuously adjusted between warm and cool white light. According to the measured data, the relationship between the CCT and the current ratio of the two parts is obtained by fitting. Within the tunable range of the CCT (2631 K to 6181 K), the color rendering index (CRI) is about 90. The minimum is 89.3 and the maximum is 93.1. While achieving tunable CCT and high CRI, the LED light source has a luminous flux of 1938.76 lm on a circular surface with a diameter of 11 mm. The overall luminous efficiency is close to 100 lm/W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Particle affects the output laser intensity and absorbance received by detector. • Extinction of particles can be represented by the slope of output laser intensity. • Exact measurement of gas concentration can be realized in the presence of particles. Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) technology is widely used for monitoring the gas pollutants. But in actual measurement environments, there are usually particles, which will affect the TDLAS direct absorption spectroscopy. In this paper, the influence of particles on the direct absorption spectroscopy of TDLAS was analyzed by using TDLAS-DAS technology combined with particle extinction method. According to analysis, it was found that the presence of particles does not affect the gas characteristic absorption spectral line strength and the gas absorption spectroscopy broadening, but it does affect the output laser intensity and absorbance received by the detector. The transmittance of particles can be obtained through the slope of the output laser intensity, which can be used to correct the absorbance to achieve accurate measurement of gas concentration. This paper analyzed the effects of particle size, incident wavelength, and composition on particle extinction coefficient and obtained the extinction coefficient of soot. If the laser wavelength is 1.53 μm and the particle size of soot is 45 μm, the extinction coefficient of soot is 2.1016. The magnitude of laser intensity attenuation at different particle concentrations can be obtained based on the extinction coefficient of particulate matter. When the concentration of soot is greater than 26290 mg/m3 and the optical path is 100 cm, the transmittance is less than 0.1 and the laser intensity attenuation reach over 90 %, which may affect the detection of gas absorption spectroscopy information and the accuracy of measurement. On this basis, this paper established the relationship between gas concentration and corrected absorbance to invert the gas concentration in the presence of particulate matter when the concentration of soot is less than 26290 mg/m3. The inversion gas concentration error obtained by the absorbance peak calibration method is within 3 %, and the inversion gas concentration error obtained by the absorbance integration method is within 1 %. From the inversion results, it can be seen that the accurate measurement of gas concentration in the presence of particulate matter can be achieved by extracting the slope of the output laser intensity to correct absorbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• (1) Based on 119 groups of fatty acid structure information and principal component regression method, a model containing 9 descriptors was construct to predict the anti-wear properties of fatty acids. • (2) According to the model analysis, the main factors affecting the anti-wear properties of fatty acids were the carbon chain length and double bonds number. • (3) The WSDs of common fatty acids in vegetable oils and different vegetable oils were estimated. • (4) Unsaturated fatty acid content (UFA%), polyunsaturated fatty acid content (PUFA%), saturated fatty acid content (SFA%) and U/S (UFA%/ SFA%) values were selected as evaluation indexes for oxidation stability. WSD was a reflection index of anti-wear properties. Finally, factor score and cluster analysis were used to evaluate the quality of different vegetable oils. With the increasing awareness of human environmental protection, it is urgent to find potential bio-lubricants. Vegetable oil has attracted the interest of scientists because of its good lubricity and biodegradability. The external properties of vegetable oils are closely related to their internal chemical composition. Fatty acids are the main chemical components in vegetable oils. The industrial capacity of fatty acids is accurately predicted and evaluated by theory, which is very helpful for the auxiliary design of green lubricants. Combining 9 meaningful molecular descriptors and principal component regression, a calculation scheme for predicting the anti-wear properties of fatty acids and vegetable oils was proposed. The training set and validation set of the model proved that the model had excellent predictive performance. Then, on this basis, through literature retrieval and factor score study, the research group successfully screened out a class of vegetable oils with the broadest industrial application potential, including yuzu, sesame, olive and so on. This project aims to provide new ideas about the design of green bio-based lubricants and to promote the development of vegetable oils in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity and randomness of drought events make its description difficult. Although previous studies have analyzed the characteristics of drought events in different regions, there are few studies to explore the influence of the selection of time intervals on the extraction of drought events. To make up for the deficiency of traditional drought event characteristic analysis, we compared and analyzed the drought event characteristics extracted at different time intervals (1, 5, 10, and all years). Additionally, a new drought event percentage area index was constructed based on the non-divided time method. The Mann–Kendall and Theil-Sen analysis methods were used to investigate its variation trend from 1960 to 2018. The results show that the shorter the time interval, the more significant the change in drought severity, but the more likely it is to separate a drought event, causing accuracy errors. Furthermore, the extraction of drought events with a short time interval tends to underestimate the time change of extreme drought and overestimate the time change of mild drought. Moreover, the non-divided method can more accurately extract the features of drought events. The drought event percentage index can effectively quantify the drought situation in different regions by introducing the spatial dimension's description. The global drought event percentage index rose slightly from 1960 to 2018, with a slope of 0.026% per year. Finally, the drought event characteristic analysis methods adopted in this paper are flexible, effective, and simple, providing possible scientific references for other types of drought research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Moon's natural resources to build infrastructure is the first step toward lunar colonization. Lunar regolith, rich in aluminosilicate, has the potential to prepare geopolymer for construction. In this paper, carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were added to geopolymers based on lunar regolith simulant, aiming at reinforcing mechanical and microstructural properties. A ball-milling method of CNF dispersion into the lunar regolith simulant was evaluated. The mechanical properties of the resulting geopolymer nanocomposites was investigated. X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and mercury intrusion porosimetry were used to characterize the microstructural properties. The results indicated that the mechanical properties were improved by CNFs and that the optimal content was 0.3% by weight. Also, flexural strength, Young's modulus, flexural toughness, peak displacement, and compressive strength were reinforced by 34.8%, 7.5%, 83.9%, 21.4%, and 13.1%, respectively. Microstructural results suggested that the CNFs acted as nucleation, fillers, and bridges in the nanocomposites, leading to lower porosity, higher energy requirement for failure, and higher mechanical properties, which are considerable for lunar-based construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to investigate the profiles of inflammatory cytokines and the macrophage polarization gene in a choroidal neovascularization (CNV) mouse model before and after intravitreal aflibercept treatment. Methods: The CNV mouse model was conducted by laser photocoagulation. A total of 58 cytokines were measured by the multiplex mouse cytokine antibody array. The macrophage polarization genes were tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The relationship between the cytokines and the CNV lesion area was analyzed by correlation. Results: MIP-1a on day 3 after laser photocoagulation, MCP-5 and Fas-L on day 7, and IL-15 and IL-7 on day 14 were significantly upregulated (p < 0.001, fold change >10.0). After the intravitreal aflibercept treatment, GM-CSF and MCP-1 on day 3 and TIMP-1 on days 7 and 14 were the most significantly upregulated cytokines (p < 0.001, fold change >10.0). MIP-1 on day 3, IL-13 and Fas-L on day 7, and Fas-L on day 14 were the most significantly downregulated cytokines after intravitreal aflibercept treatment (p < 0.001, fold change >5.0). M2 polarization and VEGFA genes were significantly increased in the CNV formation, whereas aflibercept suppressed M2 polarization and VEGFA genes. IL-7 was negatively related to the CNV lesion area on day 14 after intravitreal aflibercept treatment (r = −0.938, p = 0.006). Conclusion: The inflammatory cytokines and the M1/M2 macrophage genes significantly changed in the CNV mouse model. This result suggests that inflammatory cytokines and macrophages play a critical role in the physiopathology of CNV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy Harvesting Wireless Body Area Networks (EH-WBANs) where sensor nodes can harvest energy from their ambient environment are of great potential for low-power medical monitoring systems. The availability of energy in EH-WBANs, however, is challenged by uncertainty of harvested energy sources and limited charging efficiency, and thus the energy saving is still of great importance. To improve energy efficiency, this paper studies the sleep scheduling problem in EH-WBANs, which is of fundamental importance for network lifetime and connectivity while being not systematically addressed. Technically, this problem is proved to be NP-Complete, and thus needs non-trivial efforts to deal with. To that end, we present a series of approximation algorithms with proven performance from perspective of constructing minimum dominating set (DS), where energy saving and energy harvesting techniques are combined to prolong the network lifetime while guaranteeing real-time requirement of EH-WBANs. Specifically, we first propose a centralized algorithm that can construct DS with minimum size and discover the maximum number of DSs. We then design two distributed algorithms independent of prior global knowledge to improve network scalability, namely EEU and Improved EEU respectively. Theoretical analysis and extensive simulations are conducted to confirm the superiority of the proposed sleep scheduling algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver fibrosis, which results from chronic liver injury due to factors such as chronic alcohol consumption, hepatitis virus infections, and immune attacks, is marked by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). Resveratrol (Res), a polyphenol phytoalexin, has been demonstrated to show anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiproliferative, and chemopreventive activities. In recent years, Res has been found to inhibit liver fibrosis. Enhanced Hippo pathway activation has also been reported to inhibit tumor progression and liver fibrosis. In the present study, the role of the Hippo pathway in mediating the effects of Res on hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) was examined. We found that Res significantly suppresses HSC proliferation, reducing the cell index. Res induced HSC inactivation, reducing collagen deposition and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression. In addition, Res contributed to HSC apoptosis, upregulating Bax and downregulating Bcl-2 expression. Notably, the Hippo pathway was involved in the Res-mediated suppression of HSC activation. Res enhanced the activation of the Hippo pathway and reduced yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with the PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) expression. Interestingly, the YAP overexpression inhibited Res-induced HSC inactivation and apoptosis. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that Res inhibits HSC activation, at least in part, via the Hippo pathway. The present study indicates a new antifibrotic mechanism of Res and provides novel insights into Hippo-mediated HSC apoptosis and HSC activation in liver fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A kind of chips on board (COB) package of light emitting diode (LED) light source is designed and produced. By reducing the current density and using the mirror aluminum substrate with high reflectivity to improve the luminous efficiency. Meanwhile, three kinds of red phosphors with peak wavelength of 630 nm, 631 nm and 639 nm are added on the basis of yellow‐green phosphors, which increase within the range of red light LED spectrum composition, improve the LED color rendering index. The measurement results show that under 500 mA forward current, the luminous flux density of LED on the luminous surface with an area of 227 mm2 reaches 14.4 lm/mm2, the luminous efficiency reaches 175.5 lm/W, and the color rendering index reaches 89.3. It is found in the process of measuring the LED color temperature changes slightly with the current change, and by calculating that the proportion of blue photons in the LED spectrum is increasing gradually, the cause of this phenomenon is the phosphor excitation efficiency is saturation when the optical power density is high, which is influenced in two aspects: the proportion of photons absorbed by phosphor or the phosphor excitation efficiency decreases, the two factors together or separately cause the phosphor excitation saturation effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that microRNA (miRNA) serves as key regulatory factors in the origin and development of cancers. However, the biological mechanisms of miRNAs in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) are still unknown. It is necessary to construct an effective miRNA‐clinical model to predict the prognosis of KIRC. In this study, 94 differentially expressed miRNAs were found between para‐tumor and tumor tissues based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Seven miRNAs (hsa‐miR‐21‐5p, hsa‐miR‐3613‐5p, hsa‐miR‐144‐5p, hsa‐miR‐376a‐5p, hsa‐miR‐5588‐3p, hsa‐miR‐1269a, and hsa‐miR‐137‐3p) were selected as prognostic indicators. According to their cox coefficient, a risk score formula was constructed. Patients with risk scores were divided into high‐ and low‐risk groups based on the median score. Kaplan–Meier curves analysis showed that the low‐risk group had a better survival probability compared to the high‐risk group. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of the miRNA model was 0.744. In comparison with clinical features, the miRNA model risk score was considered as an independent prognosis factor in multivariate Cox regression analysis. In addition, we built a nomogram including age, metastasis, and miRNA prognostic model based on the results of multivariate Cox regression analysis. The decision curve analysis (DCA) revealed the clinical net benefit of the prognostic model. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) results suggested that several important pathways may be the potential pathways for KIRC. The results of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis for the target genes of 7 miRNAs revealed that miRNAs may participate in KIRC progression via many specific pathways. Additionally, the levels of seven prognostic miRNAs showed a significant difference between KIRC tissues and adjacent non‐tumorous tissues. In conclusion, the miRNA‐clinical model provides an effective and accurate way to predict the prognosis of KIRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first study to clone duck CCCH-type zinc finger antiviral protein (duZAP) from Jingjiang duck (Anas platyrhynchos). Full-length duZAP cDNA was 2154 bp and encoded a 717-amino acid polypeptide containing four highly conserved CCCH-type finger motifs, a WWE domain and a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) domain. duZAP was expressed in multiple duck tissues, with the highest mRNA expression in the spleen. Overexpression of duZAP in duck embryo fibroblast cells (DEFs) led to activation of the transcription factors IRF1 and NF-κB, and induction of IFN-β. Analysis of deletion mutants revealed that both the WWE and PARP domains of duZAP were essential for activating the IFN-β promoter. Knockdown of duZAP in DEFs significantly reduced poly (I:C)- and duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV)-induced IFN-β activation. Our findings further the understanding of the role of duZAP in the duck innate immune response. • DuZAP is expressed in various tissues of ducklings. • DuZAP activated IRF1 and NF-κB, as well as induced IFN-β expression. • The WWE and PARP domains of duZAP are essential for IFN-β promoter activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspergillus cristatus is a crucial edible fungus used in tea fermentation. In the industrial fermentation process, the fungus experiences a low to high osmotic pressure environment. To explore the law of material metabolism changes during osmotic pressure changes, NaCl was used here to construct different osmotic pressure environments. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) combined with multivariate analysis was performed to analyze the distribution and composition of A. cristatus under different salt concentrations. At the same time, the in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated. The LC–MS metabolomics analysis revealed significant differences between three A. cristatus mycelium samples grown on media with and without NaCl concentrations of 8% and 18%. The contents of gibberellin A3, A124, and prostaglandin A2 related to mycelial growth and those of arabitol and fructose-1,6-diphosphate related to osmotic pressure regulation were significantly reduced at high NaCl concentrations. The biosynthesis of energy-related pantothenol and pantothenic acid and antagonism-related fluvastatin, aflatoxin, and alternariol significantly increased at high NaCl concentrations. Several antioxidant capacities of A. cristatus mycelia were directly related to osmotic pressure and exhibited a significant downward trend with an increase in environmental osmotic pressure. The aforementioned results indicate that A. cristatus adapts to changes in salt concentration by adjusting their metabolite synthesis. At the same time, a unique set of strategies was developed to cope with high salt stress, including growth restriction, osmotic pressure balance, oxidative stress response, antioxidant defense, and survival competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The curved planar reformation (CPR) technique is one of the most commonly used methods in clinical practice to locate coronary arteries in medical images. Purpose: The artery centerline is the cornerstone for the generation of the CPR image. Here, we describe the development of a new fully automatic artery centerline tracker with the aim of increasing the efficiency and accuracy of the process. Methods: We propose a COronary artery Centerline Tracker (COACT) framework which consists of an ostium point finder (OPFinder) model, an intersection point detector (IPDetector) model and a set of centerline tracking strategies. The output of OPFinder is the ostium points. The function of the IPDetector is to predict the intersections of a sample sphere and the centerlines. The centerline tracking process starts from two ostium points detected by the OPFinder, and combines the results of the IPDetector with a series of strategies to gradually reconstruct the coronary artery centerline tree. Results: Two coronary CT angiography (CCTA) datasets were used to validate the models. Dataset1 contains 160 cases (32 for test and 128 for training) and dataset2 contains 70 cases (20 for test and 50 for training). The results show that the average distance between the ostium points predicted by the OPFinder and the manually annotated ostium points was 0.88 mm, which is similar to the differences between the results obtained by two observers (0.85 mm). For the IPDetector, the average overlap of the predicted and ground truth intersection points was 97.82% and this is also close to the inter‐observer agreement of 98.50%. For the entire coronary centerline tree, the overlap between the results obtained by COACT and the gold standard was 94.33%, which is slightly lower than the inter‐observer agreement, 98.39%. Conclusions: We have developed a fully automatic centerline tracking method for CCTA scans and achieved a satisfactory result. The proposed algorithms are also incorporated in the medical image analysis platform TIMESlice (https://slice‐doc.netlify.app) for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RMT-150B rock mechanics and split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) devices were adopted to investigate the physical and mechanical properties, energy dissipation, and failure modes of argillaceous sandstone after different high temperatures under air-dried and saturation states. In addition, SEM and EDS tests were conducted to investigate its microstructure characteristics. Results showed that both the P-wave velocity and density of argillaceous sandstone specimen decreased with the increase of high temperature, while its porosity increased. Compared with static stress-strain curves, there was no obvious compaction stage for dynamic stress-strain curves, and the decrease rate of dynamic curves after peak strain was obviously slow compared with static curves. Both the static and dynamic strengths of argillaceous sandstone specimens decreased with increasing temperature, and the critical temperature point for the strength of argillaceous sandstone was 400°C. At the same temperature, the specific energy absorption under air-dried state was generally smaller compared with that under saturated state. Both the strain rate and temperature showed significant effect on the failure mode. After 100∼1000°C heat treatment, the granular crystals of the clastic structure gradually became larger, and both the number and average size of the original pores decreased, resulting in the deterioration of mechanical properties of argillaceous sandstone specimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box RNA helicase 3 (DDX3X) is demonstrated to have crucial functions in the antiviral immune response. To our knowledge, little information focuses on the function of duck DDX3X. In this study, duck DDX3X (duDDX3X) was cloned and its role in the type I interferon (IFN) signaling pathway was investigated using duck embryo fibroblast (DEF) cells. Full-length duDDX3X cDNA encodes 652 amino acid residues and contains a DEADc domain and a HELICc domain. According to tissue distribution analysis, duDDX3X mRNA was widely expressed in different tissues, especially the spleen and the liver. Overexpression of duDDX3X in DEF cells induced IFN-β by activating transcription factors IRF1 and NF-κB. Knockdown of duDDX3X in DEF cells with siRNA significantly reduced IFN-β expression induced by poly(I:C), a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) analog. Our results demonstrated that duck DDX3X was involved in the dsRNA-mediated type I IFN signaling pathway in DEF cells. • DuDDX3X is expressed in various tissues of ducks. • DuDDX3X activated IRF1 and NF-κB, as well as IFN-β expression. • The HELICc and C-terminal domain of duDDX3X is essential for IFN-β promoter activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging studies (rs-fMRI) via the regional homogeneity (ReHo) method have demonstrated inconsistent and conflicting results because of several confounding factors, such as small sample size, medicinal influence, and illness duration. Relationships between ReHo measures and cognitive impairments in patients with drug-naive First-Episode Schizophrenia (dn-FES) are rarely reported. This study was conducted to explore the correlations between ReHo measures and cognitive deficits and clinical symptoms in patients with dn-FES. Methods: A total of 69 patients with dn-FES and 74 healthy controls were recruited. MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), and Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were used to assess cognitive function, Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and clinical symptoms, respectively. The correlations between ReHo maps and cognitive deficits and the severity of symptoms were examined using strict correlation analysis. Results: ReHo values in right Middle Frontal Gyrus (MFG) and Superior Frontal Gyrus (SFG) increased in dn-FES group, whereas ReHo values in right cuneus decreased. Correlation analysis showed that the ReHo values in right MFG positively correlated with attention/vigilance impairments, social cognition deficits, and the severity of clinical manifestations. Conclusions: These findings suggested that abnormal spontaneous activities in right MFG reflect illness severity and cognitive deficits, which also serve as a basis for establishing objective diagnostic markers and might be a clinical intervention target for treating patients with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plastic deformation of a solid generally conserves the local mass/volume of the sample. Here, we show that under elevated temperature and low strain rate, this may not hold for the widely used compression test geometry with self-supported aluminum pillars in the submicron range. Plastic flow can instead proceed with continuous shortening, while the overall diameter and shape remain constant. This apparent non-conservation results from a rarely-reported interface-diffusion-mediated deformation, when interface diffusion between the metal and the native oxide layer is rejuvenated to mediate mass relocation spreading over an interfacial area far exceeding the dimensions of the self-supported pillar, thus providing large continuous plastic strain. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spherical nanomaterials of MnFe-Ac and MnFe-Na can be synthesized with sol-gel method. The adsorption test of Pb (II) was carried out with two kinds of synthesized nanomaterials, and discussed their adsorption effects of Pb (II). The characteristic was analyzed by SEM, XRD, XPS and magnetic measurements. As the results showeed, the particles size of the material became smaller, but the morphology did not change after adsorption. The change of Ms was from 42.7 and 62.0 emu/g to 25.6 and 89.4 emu/g, respectively. By Langmuir and Freundlich models, the maximum adsorption amounts of Pb (II) were 23.40 and 41.56 mg/g, respectively, and analysis demonstrated that the adsorption of Pb (II) on samples was monolayer adsorption. The kinetic analysis showed that the adsorption of Pb (II) on the two materials was more in accordance with the pseudo-second-order model, which indicated that adsorption process of the materials for Pb (II) were primarily limited by the chemical adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Metal-defected spinel Mn x Co 3-x O 4 was fabricated by calcining bimetal glycerolates. • A unique Mn-enriched surface results in abundant surface active sites. • Metal defects lead to enhanced electrical conductivity and O 2 adsorption ability. • Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 exhibits superior performances in ORR and Zn-air battery. Abstract Manganese-cobalt spinel oxides are considered as a class of promising and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), whose performances largely depend on their electronic structures which can be effectively optimized by defect engineering. Herein, metal defects (manganese vacancies and cobalt vacancies, i.e. V Mn and V Co) were in-situ introduced into spinel Mn x Co 3-x O 4 via a simple solvothermal treatment followed by thermal calcination. Mn-Co glycerolate precursors not only enable controllable synthesis of spinel oxides with variable metallic ratios, but also play a key role in constructing metal defected crystals for their lamellated structure. As a result of the formation rate difference between manganese and cobalt glycerolate, a unique Mn-enriched surface is formed, leading to the increase of highly active sites for ORR. Importantly, the presence of metal defects, confirmed by XRD (X-ray diffraction), element analysis and XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy), leads to greatly increased electrical conductivity and O 2 adsorption ability, thus bringing about enhanced ORR activity. Especially, metal-defected Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 , with the optimal Mn/Co ratio, exhibits comparable activity and superior durability to those of the benchmark Pt/C in ORR and displays excellent discharge performance in Zn-air batteries for practical application. This work provides a new way to optimize the electrocatalytic performance of mixed metal spinel oxides via rational defect engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Typical electric vehicle thermal management system with air conditioning and battery cooling is introduced with different refrigerant flow control devices. Electronic expansion valve (EXV) and thermal expansion valve integrated with shut off valve (TXV+SOV) are adopted in such a dual evaporators cooling system as refrigerant flow control valve to investigate the benefits of EXV compared to TXV+SOV by testing. Test result shows the EXV has significant benefits of proper refrigerant distribution with less system fluctuation to avoid the dissatisfaction of customer. With the TXV+SOV control, due to mal-distributed refrigerant flow between air conditioner evaporator and battery chiller, air conditioner blow off temperature variation can reach 8°C which will significantly affect the comfort of passenger cabinet. While with EXV control, air conditioner blow off temperature is very stable. Stable control of EXV also contributes to system efficiency improvement than the TXV+SOV by saving the energy up to 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WBANs offer a variety of medical applications and have received considerable attention in recent years. Due to the limited energy of sensors, prolonging network lifetime is of paramount importance for WBANs. Although duty-cycling techniques can conserve energy consumption and energy harvesting techniques can provide extra energy supply, the former leads to huge data delivery delay and the latter cannot supply energy infinitely and stably. Therefore, how to maximize network lifetime at low latency is still an open and challenging problem. In this article, we introduce a three-level sleep scheduling strategy for EH-WABNs. The first level is sensor node scheduling, which minimizes the number of sensors in an active sensor group. The second level is active sensor group discovery, which finds the maximum number of active sensor groups to enable alternate work in different frames to the greatest extent. The third level is active sensor group scheduling, which assigns an active sensor group in each frame. Importantly, this article provides a novel route to reduce energy consumption in EH-WBNAs, i.e. a combination of sensor sleep scheduling and energy harvesting, and we believe that this design can also be useful for other network scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volcanic ash has several negative impacts on the environment and can be used in massive to synthesize geopolymers, which are considered quasi-brittle. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can reinforce the geopolymers, and the dispersion of CNFs directly determines the reinforcement effect. However, the dispersion of CNFs in alkali solutions is challenging. In this paper, the effect of surfactant type, dosage, and ultrasonic time on CNFs dispersion in aqueous and alkali solutions was investigated by the quantitive method of microscopic image processing to determine the preferred dispersion scheme. Zeta potential tests and visual observation were used to analyze the mechanism and stability. Based on this, volcanic ash-based geopolymer nanocomposites with 0.1 wt% contents of CNFs were synthesized. The mechanical properties were tested, and the microstructure was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry. The results showed that methylcellulose (MC), polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PC), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) could disperse CNFs in aqueous, but evident aggregations can be observed in the alkali solution. PC performed better than MC and PVP in alkali solutions, with 4.83% aggregation area of the whole image, 86% of 0–100 μm2 aggregations, and an average aggregation area of 87 μm2, beneficial from the comb-like structures. Dispersed CNFs can improve the 28-d flexural and compressive strength of the resulting geopolymer nanocomposite by 23% and 16%, respectively, and refine the pore structure through filling, bridging, and nucleation effects, decreasing the average pore size and porosity by 33% and 15%. This paper will contribute to the resourceful use of volcanic ash to reduce pollution and the higher reinforcement of CNFs in alkali-activated geopolymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning policies are important drivers of spatial evolution in Chinese metropolitan areas; however, research on the impact of planning policy implementation on the spatial evolution of metropolitan areas is lacking. This study identifies the spatial evolution process of the Guangzhou metropolitan area, evaluates the results of planning policy implementation, and analyzes the possible spatial interactions between them. The results show that the spatial evolution of the Guangzhou metropolitan area is consistent with the point-axis development theory, and has formed a polycentric network-type spatial structure evolution. Moreover, there is an obvious spatial correlation between the implementation planning policies and the spatial evolution of a metropolitan area; that is, the planning policies have driven the spatial structure of the metropolitan area to develop gradually in different periods. This research enriches the theoretical study of the spatial evolution of metropolitan areas, and provides a point of reference for the development and planning of other metropolitan areas. • We propose a new approach to evaluate the implementation results of planning policy • Planning policy plays an important role in promoting the early formation and development of Guangzhou metropolitan area • Our study enriches the theory of spatial evolution of Chinese metropolitan areas based on the study of Guangzhou metropolitan area [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a breakthrough to the traditional method of dissolving with heat, agarose aqueous solution was successfully obtained in alkali/urea system via freezing/thawing for the first time. The agarose dissolution was a physical process, proved by 13 C NMR. The results of dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy demonstrated that agarose existed as extended chains in the solution and easily aggregated in parallel to form nanofibers. The viscosity and rheology measurements indicated that the agarose solution exhibited higher stability at room temperature than that traditionally dissolved in hot water, favoring the processing of agarose to fabricate various materials. Moreover, the new agarose hydrogels were fabricated directly from the agarose solution, showing more homogenous structure, enhanced thermal stability and mechanical properties than that prepared by hot water. The compression fracture stress of the agarose hydrogels was 3.7 times of that by hot water, as a result of the reinforcement by the nanofibers, leading to greater applicability. Furthermore, the agarose hydrogels displayed excellent biocompatibility, showing potential applications in wider fields. Especially, the agarose hydrogel exhibited effective germination and growth for the use as soilless culture medium, superior to the hydrogel prepared by hot water. This work provided not only new insights of dissolving agarose with cooling temperature and fabricating strength enhanced hydrogels, but also significance for the dissolution and green conversion of biomass which fits sustainable strategy about utilizing the products from agriculture and ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]