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The magnetoelectric (ME) response of laminated composites consisting of BaFe12O19 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramics is systematically investigated. A butterfly-shaped curve of a magnetoelectric coefficient emerges in both three-layer and multilayer composites. We show that the appearance of a 7 ppm residual strain in the BaFe12O19 layer after magnetization is the main reason for this special curve. We also observe the self-biasing effect of the composites and a maximum ME response from 0.6 to 5 mV/(Oe cm) in laminated composites with magnetic and ferroelectric layers of different thicknesses that can be measured at a zero-bias magnetic field. The repeatable and stable maximum and minimum values of the magnetoelectric coefficient can be obtained under periodically applied biasing magnetic fields, which is important for a practical device application. An electric-field control of ferromagnetism, evidenced by a 17%–19% enhancement in the magnetization of the BaFe12O19 layer after Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 is polarized, is observed in the composites, implying potential applications in memory devices for the composites. Our work indicates that both magnetic field-controlled polarization and electric-field-controlled magnetization exist in BaFe12O19/Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 laminated composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the functionality of self‐formulated carbon‐based conductive coatings (CBCCs) with incorporation of graphite as the anode in an impressed current cathodic protection system is studied. The anode materials are tested and evaluated for long‐term durability and performance by an accelerated durability test method. The results show that the functional time is highly dependent on the acceleration factor, and thus the charge passed through the material during testing, as well as the material composition. From the results, there are also indications that the addition of graphene into the CBCC matrix has a positive effect on the homogeneity of the material, but without any major influence on the conductivity and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prepare bio-scaffolds with multi-stage pores, excellent mechanical and biological properties to meet the requirements of personalized bone repair, digital light processing using Pickering emulsion as paste has been proposed here firstly for porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds with complex shape and fine microstructure. It is found that dispersant content, solid loading and oil to water ratio of Pickering emulsions play vital roles on the controlling of pore morphology and pore size distribution of final hydroxyapatite ceramic foams. The multi-stage pores consist of millimeter-scale pores designed by 3D models and micro-pores below 10 µm derived from emulsion droplets. Due to the integration of hierarchical pores at different scale levels and micropores, hydroxyapatite ceramic foams possess outstanding compressive strength of 4.46–8.03 MPa at porosity of 76.59-72.96%. In vitro cell experiments illustrate that rat bone mesenchymal stem cells can spread and adhere to bio-scaffolds, promoting cell proliferation effectively and further verifying their good biocompatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The horizontal ground heat exchanger has been extensively employed to collect geothermal energy from mine backfill bodies. A novel method for avoiding thermal interference using the thermal influencing radius coupling pipe spacing was investigated. Thermal interference between adjacent heat-transfer pipes can be neglected when D40°C=2R40°C is used as the pipe spacing. The comprehensive impacts of heat-transfer fluid and backfill body on the heat-transfer efficiency and thermal influencing radius of the horizontal single pipe were investigated. The growth ratio of heat-transfer capacity can be as high as 227.3% when thermal conductivity increases from 0.5 kJ/(kg·°C) to 2 kJ/(kg·°C). The heat-transfer capacity increases by 4% for every 1°C reduction in inlet temperature. The thermal influencing radius is significantly influenced by specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. This study can provide theoretical recommendations for the design and improvement of heat-transfer pipes in the backfill body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysfunction of the Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) has been documented in various neurodegenerative diseases, yet the specific role of NKAα1 in Parkinson's disease (PD) remains incompletely understood. In this investigation, we utilized NKAα1 haploinsufficiency (NKAα1+/−) mice to probe the influence of NKAα1 on dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Our findings reveal that NKAα1+/− mice displayed a heightened loss of DA neurons and more pronounced motor dysfunction compared to the control group when exposed to MPTP. Intriguingly, this phenomenon coincided with the activation of ferroptosis and impaired mitophagy both in vivo and in vitro. To scrutinize the role and underlying mechanism of NKAα1 in PD, we employed DR-Ab, an antibody targeting the DR-region of the NKA α subunit. Our study demonstrates that the administration of DR-Ab effectively reinstated the membrane abundance of NKAα1, thereby mitigating MPTP-induced DA neuron loss and subsequent improvement in behavioral deficit. Mechanistically, DR-Ab heightened the formation of the surface NKAα1/SLC7A11 complex, inhibiting SLC7A11-dependent ferroptosis. Moreover, DR-Ab disrupted the cytosolic interaction between NKAα1 and Parkin, facilitating the translocation of Parkin to mitochondria and enhancing the process of mitophagy. In conclusion, this study establishes NKAα1 as a key regulator of ferroptosis and mitophagy, identifying its DR-region as a promising therapeutic target for PD. [Display omitted] • In PD, NKAα1 haploinsufficiency aggravates MPTP-induced motor problem and dopaminergic neuron loss. • Antibodies targeting the DR-region of the NKAα1 subunit could reverse the above pathological changes. • MPTP-induced ferroptosis activation was dependent on the production of mitochondria-mediated ROS. • DR-Ab administration inhibits MPTP-induced ferroptosis partly through promoting the association of surface NKAα1/SLC7A11 complex. • DR-Ab administration reverses MPTP-induced mitophagy dysfunction through disrupting the association of cytosolic NKAα1/Parkin complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, aiming at the spectrum coexistence scenario between non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) and geostationary satellite orbit (GSO) satellite systems, the NGSO network, a secondary system, reuses the spectrum resources of the GSO primary system through spectrum sensing and sharing technology. Combined with the influence of factors such as the radio wave propagation model and channel characteristics of the sensing links, as well as the difference of channel environment between sensing nodes, a weighted cooperative spectrum sensing strategy named optimal fusion decision for time-invariant channel link (OFD-TIC) method was proposed for NGSO–GSO downlink sensing communication. The OFD-TIC method is designed to minimize the global error detection probability while considering the constraints of spectrum conflict probability and false alarm probability. To achieve this, OFD-TIC method transforms the optimization problem into a Lagrange function and utilizes Newton's iterative method to obtain the weights of sensing node and the parameter thresholds for fusion decision. In the six different spectrum sensing scenarios constructed using satellite network data registered by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the performance evaluation of the proposed OFD-TIC method is carried out and the simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing typical algorithms. Under the same signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and sampling number, the OFD-TIC strategy achieves a higher global detection probability than others. Furthermore, the proposed method exhibits fast convergence to 1 of the global detection probability even at low SNR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous CeO 2 materials have attracted great attention in solar thermochemical CO 2 splitting due to their superiorities on oxygen ion mobility and fuel production kinetics. Porous CeO 2 ceramics with interconnected pores at micron scale have been firstly prepared via Pickering emulsion. Derived from emulsion template, the conversion from closed pore structure to open pore structure can be realized by regulating solid content, water-oil ratio and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) content due to its competitive adsorption at water/oil interface of Pickering emulsions with modified CeO 2 particles. The obtained porous CeO 2 ceramics present pores with average pore size of 5.56–65.36 µm, bulk density of 0.66–1.03 g/cm3, high porosity of 81.9–90.8%, and compressive strength of 1.91–6.60 MPa. Their CO production for two thermal cycles is 3.226 g/ml and 3.014 g/ml respectively, showing an advantage over counterparts from conventional methods, which are expected to be applied for solar thermochemical CO production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a construction of quantum codes from Hermitian self-orthogonal matrix product codes over the finite fields. This construction is applied to obtain numerous new quantum codes, and all of them have higher rate than current quantum codes available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diosgenin, a natural steroidal sapogenin, has recently attracted a high amount of attention, as an effective anticancer agent in ovarian cancer. However, diosgenin mediated anticancer impacts are still not completely understood. Thus, the present study evaluated the effect of diosgenin on the proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. OVCAR‐3 and SKOV‐3 cells were treated with diosgenin, cellular viability was assessed by MTT assay and apoptosis was measured by ELISA and evaluated the protein expression levels of apoptotic markers through western blotting. Cell migration was examined by measuring the mRNA levels of genes involved in the cell invasion. The protein expression levels of main components of PI3K signaling were evaluated via western blotting. Diosgenin led to significant inhibition of cellular proliferation in a dose‐dependent manner. It also induced apoptosis through upregulating pro‐apoptotic markers and downregulating antiapoptotic mediators. In addition, OVCAR‐3 cells exposure to diosgenin decreased cell migration and invasion. More importantly, diosgenin downregulated the expression levels of main proteins in PI3K signaling including PI3K, Akt, mTOR, and GSK3. Diosgenin inhibited the proliferation and migration of OVCAR‐3 ovarian cancer cells and induced apoptosis, which may be mediated by targeting PI3K signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease on the molecular level. The molecular subtype will be altered during metastasis and affect patient outcomes and treatments. Breast cancer is prone to lymph node metastasis. Our study aimed to investigate whether subtype conversion occurs during lymph node metastasis and its underlying mechanism. We confirmed that hormone receptors were down-regulated, while HER2 was up-regulated during lymph node metastasis, and macrophages played a significant role in the process, probably via MNX1. Targeting macrophages or MNX1 may provide new avenues for endocrine therapy and targeted treatment of breast cancer patients with lymph node metastasis. Background: The progression of tumors from less aggressive subtypes to more aggressive states during metastasis poses challenges for treatment strategies. Previous studies have revealed the molecular subtype conversion between primary and metastatic tumors in breast cancer (BC). However, the subtype conversion during lymph node metastasis (LNM) and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Methods: We compared clinical subtypes in paired primary tumors and positive lymph nodes (PLNs) in BC patients and further validated them in the mouse model. Bioinformatics analysis and macrophage-conditioned medium treatment were performed to investigate the role of macrophages in subtype conversion. Results: During LNM, hormone receptors (HRs) were down-regulated, while HER2 was up-regulated, leading to the transformation of luminal A tumors towards luminal B tumors and from luminal B subtype towards HER2-enriched (HER2-E) subtype. The mouse model demonstrated the elevated levels of HER2 in PLN while retaining luminal characteristics. Among the various cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), macrophages were the most clinically relevant in terms of prognosis. The treatment of a macrophage-conditioned medium further confirmed the downregulation of HR expression and upregulation of HER2 expression, inducing tamoxifen resistance. Through bioinformatics analysis, MNX1 was identified as a potential transcription factor governing the expression of HR and HER2. Conclusion: Our study revealed the HER2-E subtype conversion during LNM in BC. Macrophages were the crucial cell type in TME, inducing the downregulation of HR and upregulation of HER2, probably via MNX1. Targeting macrophages or MNX1 may provide new avenues for endocrine therapy and targeted treatment of BC patients with LNM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on phase-change heat storage backfill, paraffin microcapsules were selected as the phase change material and were directly mixed with backfill materials for preparing backfill specimens. The mechanical and thermal properties of specimens with different paraffin percentages and slurry concentrations were tested and analyzed. The results show that compressive strength gradually decreases with an increasing paraffin percentage while it significantly increases with increasing slurry concentration, thermal conductivity decreases with increasing paraffin percentage and specific heat capacity increases with an increasing paraffin percentage and slurry concentration. For a paraffin percentage from 0% to 10%, compressive strength decreases by an average of 22.5%, thermal conductivity decreases by an average of 43.8% and specific heat capacity increases by an average of 8.7% at a phase-change temperature of 30 °C. For a slurry concentration from 68% to 72%, compressive strength increases by an average of 4.12 times, and specific heat capacity increases by an average of 3.5% at a phase-change temperature of 30 °C. The weakening effect of phase-change materials on compressive strength can be effectively improved by the increase of slurry concentration, and the increases of paraffin percentage and slurry concentration can both improve the sensible heat storage capacity of backfill materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed aging is a complex and irreversible process that occurs during seed development and storage. The quality of Allium mongolicum Regel seeds directly impacts its cultivation and production. However, the mechanism of aging seeds in A. mongolicum Regel is not well understood. Germination and physiological indicators were assessed, and RNA-Seq technique was performed on samples stored for 1, 4, and 8 years. In total, 5723, 7347 and 5293 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in 1 year old (S1) versus 4 year old (S2), S1 versus 8 year old (S4), and S2 versus S4, respectively. The number of DEGs increased as the storage time increased. The analysis revealed that the majority of the these DEGs were involved in a wide range of processes, such as protein synthesis, degradation and targeting; RNA processing and regulation; transport; DNA; signaling; stress; metabolism; amino acid metabolism; secondary metabolism; and hormone metabolism. The germination rate of A. mongolicum seeds remained consistently high, exceeding 80%, even after four years of storage. This observation indicates a potential correlation with the increased expression levels of aspartic proteases. However, as the storage time surpassed the seed's lifespan, there was a notable decline in the expression levels of genes that encode aspartic proteases, cysteine proteases, and serine proteases. Conducting further research on these candidate genes could enhance our comprehension of the regulatory mechanisms involved in seed aging during storage for varying durations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer nanovaccine is a promising therapeutic strategy; however, the complicated composition and ambiguous structure of cancer nanovaccines hinder their clinical application. Thus, developing minimalist nanovaccine with simple structural molecule and potent immunostimulatory function is with great value. Herein, an organic small molecule with well‐defined molecular structure and strong aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) activity is synthesized. This molecule can self‐assemble into nanoparticle (NM‐7) acting as not only adjuvant but also carrier to capture model antigen ovalbumin to form nanovaccine, which can effectively deliver and chronically release antigens and induce effective antigen cross‐presentation in draining lymph nodes. Additionally, the photophysical property of AIE molecule facilitates the determination of in vivo tissue distribution of NM‐7. Notably, NM‐7/ovalbumin (OVA) nanovaccine induces robust tumor‐specific CD8+ T‐cell responses with greatly reduced cell exhaustion. Accordingly, NM‐7/OVA nanovaccine shows potent efficacy in both prevention and therapeutic tumor models, and produces an impressive synergistic therapeutic effect when combined with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Therefore, AIE nanomaterial NM‐7 with simple synthesis, well‐defined molecular structure and self‐adjuvanted function provides a new reference and general strategy for cancer vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A creative and simple way to overcome the general problem of open-cell ceramic foams with low intensity has been proposed here. By using boehmite as a raw material for particle-stabilized foams without adding any sacrificial phase, as-prepared open alumina foams have remarkable strength and comparable porosity levels to aerogels. That is attributed to the defect-free pore struts and the windows at the distal ends of the pore struts formed by the volumetric self-shrinking of the raw material. The alumina foams have an excellent synergy between porosity and strength, with a compressive strength of 1.54-10.01 MPa at a high porosity of 92.3-96.7%, around 10 times higher than those obtained by other methods at equal porosity. This typical 3D interconnected pore structure makes ceramic foams potentially useful for applications in filtration, catalysis, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The mutated LsTT2 and Ls2OGD genes are responsible for white seeds and yellow seeds in lettuce, respectively. Three LsCHS genes are involved in the biosynthesis of flavonoid in seed coats. Lettuce seeds have several different colors, including black, yellow, and white. The genetic mechanisms underlying color variations of lettuce seeds remain unknown. We used genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and map-based cloning approaches to clone genes controlling the color of lettuce seeds. LsTT2, which encodes an R2R3-MYB transcription factor and is homologous to the TT2 gene in Arabidopsis, was shown to be the causal gene for the variation of black and white seeds in lettuce. A point mutation leads to the lack of stop codon in the LsTT2 transcript, resulting in white seeds. Knockout of the LsTT2 gene converted black seeds to white seeds. The locus controlling yellow seeds was mapped to Chromosome 2. Knockout of two 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases (2OGD) genes from the candidate region converted black seeds to yellow seeds, suggesting that these two 2OGD proteins catalyze the conversion of yellow metabolites to black metabolites. We also showed that three LsCHS genes from the candidate region are associated with flavonoid biosynthesis in seeds. Knockout mutants of the three LsCHS genes decreased color intensity. This study provides new insights into the regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Phase separation has emerged as a fundamental principle for organizing viral and cellular membraneless organelles. Although these subcellular compartments have been recognized for decades, their biogenesis and mechanisms of regulation are poorly understood.Here, we investigate the formation of membraneless inclusion bodies (IBs) induced during the infection of a plant rhabdovirus, tomato yellow mottle‐associated virus (TYMaV). We generated recombinant TYMaV encoding a fluorescently labeled IB constituent protein and employed live‐cell imaging to characterize the intracellular dynamics and maturation of viral IBs in infected Nicotiana benthamiana cells.We show that TYMaV IBs are phase‐separated biomolecular condensates and that viral nucleoprotein and phosphoprotein are minimally required for IB formation in vivo and in vitro. TYMaV IBs move along the microfilaments, likely through the anchoring of viral phosphoprotein to myosin XIs. Furthermore, pharmacological disruption of microfilaments or inhibition of myosin XI functions suppresses IB motility, resulting in arrested IB growth and inefficient virus replication.Our study establishes phase separation as a process driving the formation of liquid viral factories and emphasizes the role of the cytoskeletal system in regulating the dynamics of condensate maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously reported that sodium pentobarbital inhibited the growth of the breast cancer associated with the normalization of microcirculatory hemodynamics and oxygenation. Here, we aimed to screen the key regulatory proteins involved in pentobarbital‐induced normalization of microcirculatory hemodynamics in the breast cancer tissues. A nude mice model of xenograft was established using triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA‐MB‐231. After tumor cell implantation, the mice were subcutaneously injected with 50 mg/kg/day of sodium pentobarbital or an equal volume of solvent adjacent to the tumor for 14 days. Liquid chromatography linked to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was used to analyze the difference in protein expression profile between the two groups. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) was used to perform the canonical pathway analysis, upstream regulators analysis, and protein–protein interaction networks analysis. Screened proteins were confirmed by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT–qPCR) and Western blot analysis. A total of 101 differentially expressed proteins were revealed between groups. Canonical pathway analysis suggested that acute phase response signaling (z = 1, p =.00208), dilated cardiomyopathy signaling pathway (z = −2, p =.00671), and ILK signaling (z = 1, p =.0172) were key pathways with highlight associations. The mRNA and protein expressions of SMTNL1 were found significantly decreased in pentobarbital‐treated tumor tissues compared with those in controls (both p <.01). Nine important protein–protein interaction networks were identified, and of which, two contained multiple downstream regulatory proteins of SMTNL1. In conclusion, SMTNL1 is revealed as a key protein involved in pentobarbital‐induced growth inhibition signaling in breast cancer. SMTNL1 may become a new potential target for tumor microcirculation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sibeprenlimab blocks the cytokine "A Proliferation‐Inducing Ligand" (APRIL), which may play a key role in immunoglobulin A nephropathy pathogenesis. A phase 1 study of subcutaneous (SC) sibeprenlimab evaluated preliminary safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics in healthy participants. This was an open‐label, single‐ascending‐dose study. Twelve participants in each of 4 sequential dosing cohorts received 1 SC dose of sibeprenlimab (200 mg [1×1 mL injection], 400 mg [2×1 mL injections], 400 mg [1×2 mL injection], or 600 mg [1 mL+2 mL injections]) and underwent 16‐week follow‐up for adverse events, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics (serum APRIL, immunoglobulin [Ig] levels). Sibeprenlimab in single SC doses of 200‐600 mg was slowly absorbed into the systemic circulation, with a median time to maximum serum concentration of approximately 6‐10.5 days, and a mean elimination half‐life of approximately 8‐10 days. Serum APRIL, IgA, IgM, and, to a lesser extent, IgG decreased in a dose‐dependent and reversible manner. Maximal reduction in serum IgA was approximately 60% at the 400‐ and 600‐mg doses and 40% at 200 mg. Serum APRIL rapidly decreased to near the lower limit of quantification, and duration of suppression was dose‐dependent, with near complete suppression until weeks 4‐6 at the 400‐mg dose and week 8 at the 600‐mg dose. Adverse events occurred in 30/48 (62.5%) participants; none were serious or led to study discontinuation. Sibeprenlimab rapidly and sustainably reduced target APRIL and Ig biomarkers in a dose‐dependent and reversible manner, with acceptable preliminary safety and pharmacokinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The profound health consequences of loneliness are well-established. However, less is known about the protective factors which may alleviate the effects of loneliness on mental health especially among working-age adults amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We draw on the social ecology of resilience and examine whether resilience factors can buffer the effects of loneliness on mental distress. Methods: Data came from the National Well-being Survey—a national study of a demographically representative sample of U.S. working-age adults (N = 4014). We used (a) structural equation models with latent variables to examine the main effects of loneliness, psychological resilience, and perceived social support on mental distress, and (b) latent moderated structural equations to estimate the latent interaction effects. Results: Results revealed that (a) loneliness was positively associated with mental distress and psychological resilience was negatively related to mental distress, and (b) psychological resilience and perceived social support moderated the strength of the relationship between loneliness and mental distress. Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of psychological resilience and perceived social support as two protective factors in the relationship between loneliness and mental distress. Given that loneliness significantly predicts worse mental and physical health and higher mortality, identifying protective factors that might disrupt these connections is vital. As such, public health efforts to strengthen and expand familial and community social support networks and foster psychological resilience are urgently needed to support mental health among working-age adults during additional waves of the pandemic or future similar stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two one-dimensional nanowires, Fe3O4 and MnO2 nanowires, were modified with polyphosphazene-derived carbon (PZSC) using in situ polymerization and high-temperature calcination methods. PZSC coated with MnO2 nanowire (MnO2/PZSCNW) was designed as the positive electrode, while PZSC coated with Fe3O4 nanowire (Fe3O4/PZSCNW) was designed as the negative electrode. Both MnO2/PZSCNW (+) and Fe3O4/PZSCNW (−) exhibit much larger specific capacities than the corresponding MnO2 and Fe3O4 nanowires, reaching 75.5 mAh g−1 and 75.9 mAh g−1, respectively. The maximum specific capacity, power and energy density of MnO2/PZSCNW (+)//Fe3O4/PZSCNW (−) in alkaline electrolyte are up to 63.2 mAh g−1, 429.6 W kg−1 and 53.7 Wh kg−1, respectively. After 10 000 cycles, the cell maintains 100% capacity. The experimental results indicate that the polyphosphazene-derived carbon coating can significantly improve the electrochemical performance, providing a feasible solution for constructing high-performance supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of worldwide mortality, and exosomes have recently gained attention as key mediators of intercellular communication in these diseases. Exosomes are double-layered lipid vesicles that can carry biomolecules such as miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs, and the content of exosomes is dependent on the cell they originated from. They can be involved in the pathophysiological processes of cardiovascular diseases and hold potential as diagnostic and monitoring tools. Exosomes mediate intercellular communication, stimulate or inhibit the activity of target cells, and affect myocardial hypertrophy, injury and infarction, ventricular remodeling, angiogenesis, and atherosclerosis. Exosomes can be released from various types of cells, including endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, platelets, adipocytes, immune cells, and stem cells. In this review, we highlight the communication between different cell-derived exosomes and cardiovascular cells, with a focus on the roles of RNAs. This provides new insights for further exploring targeted therapies in the clinical management of cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play pivotal roles in response to environmental stresses and bacterial infections. Compared with those in the higher vertebrates, studies of mapk gene family are still limited in teleost. Identification, characterization, classification, and expression profiling of totally 15 mapk genes in black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii) were conducted. Phylogenetic relationships show that these mapk genes could be divided into extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 sub-families. In addition, gene structures, syntenic analysis, and selective pressure analysis are performed to confirm their annotations. Results of selective pressure analysis indicate that mapk1, mapk3, mapk7, mapk10, mapk11, and mapk12 underwent significantly-positive selections, while the others genes such as mapk4, mapk6, mapk15, mapk8a, mapk8b, mapk9, mapk13, mapk14a, and mapk14b were under purifying selections. Moreover, results of qRT-PCR indicate that mapk genes in 8 healthy tissues displayed different expression patterns. The expression patterns of several mapk genes including mapk12, mapk13, mapk14a, mapk14b, and mapk15 were significantly changed in mucosal tissues after Edwardsiella piscicida infection. This study demonstrates that mapk genes in black rockfish play vital prevention roles against bacterial infection, which not only helps us understand the structure and function of mapk genes in black rockfish, but also provides a reference to understand the role of mapk genes in teleost immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing low-cost semiconductor photoanode toward efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is highly desirable for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Herein, nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (TiO 2) electrodes were prepared using Degussa P25 powders by spin-coating method. The effects of annealing conditions on the PEC performance of the nanoparticulate TiO 2 photoanode was systematically investigated including temperature, annealing time and atmosphere. The results demonstrate that the TiO 2 /fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates (FTO/TiO 2) electrode annealed at argon (Ar) atmosphere under 450 °C shows the highest PEC performance. The photocurrent density of FTO/TiO 2 annealed in Ar for only 0.5 h reached to 120 μA/cm2 at 0.3 V vs. Hg/HgO which is about 10 times higher than that of the unannealed one. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show the thermal treatment can produce oxygen vacancies on the surface of TiO 2 which reduce the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and expanding the visible light absorption by introducing defective energy levels. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) approves that appropriate annealing treatment can effectively enhance the electron conductivity resulting in low charge transfer resistance. All these factors contribute to improving the PEC activity of TiO 2 photoanode. [Display omitted] • Photocurrent density of FTO/TiO 2 -450 °C Ar increases 10 times over the unannealed. • Thermal annealing improves transfer path of photogenerated electrons to substrate. • Oxygen vacancies on surface expand light absorption and reduce recombination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dc Josephson current is generated from phase difference between two superconductors separated by a mesoscopic thin film (Josephson junction) without external bias voltage. In the presence of a temperature gradient across the superconductors, a thermal phase is induced under the condition of open circuit. This is very similar to the Seebeck effect in the usual thermoelectric effect, and the thermal phase is thus named as thermophase Seebeck coefficient (TPSC). Here we find obvious enhancement and sign change of the TPSC unique to the Josephson junction composing of two superconductors connected to a semiconductor quantum dot (QD), which is additionally side-coupled to a nanowire hosting Majorana bound states (MBSs), the system denoted by S-MQD-S. These result arise from the newly developed states near the Fermi level of the superconductors due to the QD-MBS hybridization when the dot level is within the superconducting gap. The sign change of the TPSC provides a strong evidence of the existence of MBSs, and is absent if the QD is coupled to regular fermion, such as another QD (system denoted by S-DQD-S). We show that the magnitude and sign of the TPSC are sensitive to the physical quantities including interaction strength between the QD and MBSs, direct overlap between the MBSs, system equilibrium temperature, as well as hopping amplitude between the QD and the superconductors. The obtained results are explained with the help of the current-carrying density of the states (CCDOS), and may be useful in interdisciplinary research areas of Josephson and Majorana physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an immune-response modifier, imiquimod can bind to Toll-like receptors on immune cells and enhance innate and adaptive immune responses, exerting potential antitumor and antiviral effects, which led to its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of actinic keratosis, superficial basal cell carcinomas, and anogenital warts, and to its off-label use in treating many other benign and malignant dermatoses. Although topical administration of imiquimod has been considered well tolerated, an increasing number of cutaneous and noncutaneous side effects are being reported as its clinical applications expand. This review primarily focuses on rare cutaneous side effects. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article to summarize the mechanism, diagnosis, and management of rare cutaneous side effects of imiquimod, which may help to heighten awareness among physicians, especially dermatologists, about potential imiquimod-induced cutaneous side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquitination modulates protein turnover or activity depending on the number and location of attached ubiquitin (Ub) moieties. Proteins marked by a lysine 48 (K48)–linked polyubiquitin chain are usually targeted to the 26S proteasome for degradation; however, other polyubiquitin chains, such as those attached to K63, usually regulate other protein properties. Here, we show that 2 PLANT U-BOX E3 ligases, PUB25 and PUB26, facilitate both K48- and K63-linked ubiquitination of the transcriptional regulator INDUCER OF C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR (CBF) EXPRESSION1 (ICE1) during different periods of cold stress in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), thus dynamically modulating ICE1 stability. Moreover, PUB25 and PUB26 attach both K48- and K63-linked Ub chains to MYB15 in response to cold stress. However, the ubiquitination patterns of ICE1 and MYB15 mediated by PUB25 and PUB26 differ, thus modulating their protein stability and abundance during different stages of cold stress. Furthermore, ICE1 interacts with and inhibits the DNA-binding activity of MYB15, resulting in an upregulation of CBF expression. This study unravels a mechanism by which PUB25 and PUB26 add different polyubiquitin chains to ICE1 and MYB15 to modulate their stability, thereby regulating the timing and degree of cold stress responses in plants. PLANT U-BOX proteins PUB25 and PUB26 add different ubiquitin chains to INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSION1 (ICE1) and MYB15 to modulate their stability and tightly regulate cold responses in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato has a great diversity of cultivars which differ in chemical composition. At present, effects of meteorological factors on dry matter accumulation and yield increase of potato are relatively well known, but there are few studies on variation in internal quality indicators critical for potato postharvest treatment. In this experiment, samples from 9 cultivars were collected during the five growing seasons of 2016 to 2020. Contents of 8 nutritional and physicochemical indicators of potato tubers were determined. The overall stability and sources of variation in quality were evaluated by the multiple comparison method and by the bubble chart analysis. Moreover, in order to evaluate the influence of climate change on potato quality, 16 meteorological factors were analysed by using data measured during the potato growing seasons of 2016 to 2020. Stepwise regression analysis (SRA) was used to establish statistical models of climate impact on different cultivars. The results showed that the internal quality could be quantitatively evaluated by the variation in meteorological factors. The maximum Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) of each model was less than 10. The adjusted R2 values (> 0.7) and probability of F values (≤ 0.05) indicated a high degree of fit and good predicting effect, which can provide guidance for efficient and rational utilization of ecological and environmental resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conceptual design of high-entropy materials is generalized to oxide glasses and a series of LaO3/2-TiO2-NbO5/2-WO3-MOx (M = Mg/Al/Si, and x = 1, 3/2, 2, respectively) glasses were successfully prepared by aerodynamic levitation method. All the transparent glasses are thermally stable, with the glass transition temperature of over 73 °C. The temperature gap ΔT is all larger than 60 °C and reaches the maximum of 107 °C when M = Si. Such high glass-forming ability can be attributed to the nature of the network former SiO2 and the complex interaction between atoms caused by high entropy. The glass M = Al has the highest refractive index (nd = 2.33) and visible transmittance (74%), which is almost the same before and after electron beam irradiation in IR region, indicating good irradiation resistance of electron beam for M = Al glass. These results indicate that entropy engineering is a credible strategy for tailoring material properties and the functionality of glass can be increased by regulating the type of M. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

360 ∘ video action recognition is one of the most promising fields with the popularity of omnidirectional cameras. To obtain a more precise action understanding in panoramic scene, in this paper, we propose a deformable patch embedding-based temporal shift module-enhanced vision transformer model (DS-ViT), which aims to simultaneously eliminate the distortion effects caused by equirectangular projection (ERP) and construct temporal relationship among the video sequences. Panoramic action recognition is a practical but challenging domain for the lack of panoramic feature extraction methods. With deformable patch embedding, our scheme can adaptively learn the position offsets between different pixels, which effectively captures the distorted features. The temporal shift module facilitates temporal information exchanging by shifting part of the channels with zero parameters. Thanks to the powerful encoder, DS-ViT can efficiently learn the distorted features from the ERP inputs. Simulation results show that our proposed solution outperforms the state-of-the-art two-stream solution by an action accuracy of 9.29 % and an activity accuracy of 8.18 % , where the recent EgoK360 dataset is employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined children's lies to help others obtain benefits (other-benefiting lying) and its relation to theory of mind (ToM) and empathy among 3–5-year-old preschool children. One hundred nine children were recruited from preschools in China. A modified hide-and-seek paradigm was used to measure children's other-benefiting lying behavior, a ToM scale was used to measure children's ToM abilities, and an empathy scale was used to measure children's empathy abilities. Results showed that children tended to tell more lies to help other to get benefits as age increased, and further analyses showed that this other-benefiting lying was related to children's ToM component of false belief understanding and their cognitive empathy performance. These findings provide evidence that cognitive factors play important roles in children's lying to help others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Searching for a stable and efficient photocatalyst still presents a variety of challenges, when photocatalytic technology is widely used today. In this paper, oxygen-vacancy BiOCl with different masses was loaded on Bi4O5Br2 nanosheets by a simple two-step method. The UV–Dis spectrum showed that the absorption range of the complex to visible light was larger than that of the two pure substances. In addition, the PL, i – t and EIS characterization prove that the formation of heterogeneous interface between the two materials accelerated the charge transfer in the semiconductor, eventually making photocatalytic efficiency significantly increased. The results showed that the 1 wt.% Ov-BOC@BOB has the best degradation performance, which was seven and four times than that of Ov-BOC and BOB within 120 min, respectively. Free radical capture experiment further confirmed that the charge transfer between oxygen-vacancy BiOCl and Bi4O5Br2 conforms to the Z-type transfer mechanism, such a charge-transfer mechanism would leave behind strongly reducing electrons and strongly oxidizing holes, respectively. The degradation rate of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was not significantly reduced after five cycles of experiments, indicating that the compound had good stability. This study provides a feasible idea for exploring stable and efficient photocatalysts. Z-type heterojunction of BiOCl@Bi4O5Br2 with oxygen vacancy was prepared. The construction of heterostructures facilitates the separation and transfer of photogenerated charges. Free radical capture experiment further confirmed that the charge transfer between oxygen-vacancy BiOCl and Bi4O5Br2 conforms to the Z-type transfer mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to uncover the combined effects of a higher-level verb distribution (i.e., the distribution of one-construction only verbs and alternating verbs across English) and verb semantics on Chinese EFL learners’ restriction of generalization of English prenominal past participles (PPPs). Three groups were formed: a lexicalist group, a generalist group, and a mixed group. During the treatment, the lexicalist group were exposed to input involving one-construction only verbs exclusively; the generalist group, alternating verbs only; the mixed group, both one-construction only and alternating verbs. An acceptability judgment task was employed to assess L2 learners’ construction generalization. The study found that, (1) the Lexicalist group exhibited significantly less generalization with the known state-change verbs than either the Generalist or the Mixed group, and significantly less generalization with the known non-state-change verbs than the Generalist group; (2) the Lexicalist group showed less generalization with extensive exposure one-construction only new verbs than the mixed group whereas the generalist and the mixed group did not differ significantly regarding construction preference of extensive exposure alternating new verbs; (3) the Lexicalist group were significantly less likely to generalize the PPP-only minimal exposure new verb than either the Generalist or Mixed group, and significantly less liable to generalize the relative clause (RC)-only minimal exposure new verb as opposed to the Generalist group; (4) moreover, the three groups differed significantly in regularization (operationalized as the number of participants who tended to accept each verb in only one of two competing constructions) of no exposure new verbs, with the lexicalist group producing more regularization than the other two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The contribution of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) microbiota and mycobiota to silicosis has recently been noticed. However, many confounding factors can influence the accuracy of BALF microbiota and mycobiota studies, resulting in inconsistencies in the published results. In this cross-sectional study, we systematically investigated the effects of "sampling in different rounds of BALF" on its microbiota and mycobiota. We further explored the relationship between silicosis fatigue and the microbiota and mycobiota. Methods: After obtaining approval from the ethics board, we collected 100 BALF samples from 10 patients with silicosis. Demographic data, clinical information, and blood test results were also collected from each patient. The characteristics of the microbiota and mycobiota were defined using next-generation sequencing. However, no non-silicosis referent group was examined, which was a major limitation of this study. Results: Our analysis indicated that subsampling from different rounds of BALF did not affect the alpha- and beta-diversities of microbial and fungal communities when the centrifuged BALF sediment was sufficient for DNA extraction. In contrast, fatigue status significantly influenced the beta-diversity of microbes and fungi (Principal Coordinates Analysis, P = 0.001; P = 0.002). The abundance of Vibrio alone could distinguish silicosis patients with fatigue from those without fatigue (area under the curve = 0.938, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.870–1.000). Significant correlations were found between Vibrio and haemoglobin levels (P < 0.001, ρ = -0.64). Conclusions: Sampling in different rounds of BALF showed minimal effect on BALF microbial and fungal diversities; the first round of BALF collection was recommended for microbial and fungal analyses for convenience. In addition, Vibrio may be a potential biomarker for silicosis fatigue screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oyster mushroom spherical virus (OMSV) is a mycovirus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome that infects the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus. OMSV is horizontally transferred from an infected strain to a cured strain via mycelia. The infection results in significant inhibition of mycelial growth, malformation of fruiting bodies, and yield loss in oyster mushrooms. This study successfully transferred OMSV from P. ostreatus to Pleurotus pulmonarius. However, transmission was not successful in other Pleurotus species including P. citrinopileatus, P. eryngii, P. nebrodensis, and P. salmoneostramineus. The successful OMSV infection in P. pulmonarius was further verified with Western blot analysis using a newly prepared polyclonal antiserum against the OMSV coat protein. Furthermore, OMSV infection reduced the mycelial growth rate of P. pulmonarius. The OMSV-infected strain demonstrated abnormal performance including twisted mushrooms or irregular edge of the cap as well as reduced yield of fruiting bodies in P. pulmonarius, compared to the OMSV-free strain. This study is the first report on the infection and pathogenicity of OMSV to the new host P. pulmonarius. The data from this study therefore suggest that OMSV is a potential threat to P. pulmonarius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromyography (EMG) is a form of biological information, which is used in many fields to help people study human muscle movement, especially in the study of bionic hands. EMG signals can be used to explain the activity at a certain moment through the signal changes of human muscles, and it is a very complex signal, so processing it is very important. The process of EMG signals can be divided into acquisition, pre-processing, feature extraction, and classification. Not all signal channels are useful in EMG acquisition, and it is important to select useful signals among them. Therefore, this study proposes a feature extraction method to extract the most representative two-channel signals from the eight-channel signals. In this paper, the traditional principal component analysis method and support vector machine feature elimination are used to extract signal channels. At the same time, a new method, correlation heat map, is proposed to implement feature extraction method by using three methods, and three classification algorithms of K-nearest neighbor, random forest, and support vector machine are used to verify. The results show that the classification accuracy of the proposed method is better than that of the other two traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel optimal control problem is considered for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) stochastic systems with mixed parameter drift, external disturbance and observation noise. The proposed controller can not only track and identify the drift parameters in finite time but, furthermore, drive the system to move towards the desired trajectory. However, there is a conflict between control and estimation, which makes the analytic solution unattainable in most situations. A dual control algorithm based on weight factor and innovation is, therefore, proposed. First, the innovation is added to the control goal by the appropriate weight and the Kalman filter is introduced to estimate and track the transformed drift parameters. The weight factor is used to adjust the degree of drift parameter estimation in order to achieve a balance between control and estimation. Then, the optimal control is derived by solving the modified optimization problem. In this strategy, the analytic solution of the control law can be obtained. The control law obtained in this paper is optimal because the estimation of drift parameters is integrated into the objective function rather than the suboptimal control law, which includes two parts of control and estimation in other studies. The proposed algorithm can achieve the best compromise between optimization and estatimation. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by numerical experiments in two different cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We here propose a simple, facile, and effective method to prepare submicron mullite hollow spheres templated from Pickering emulsions. Dual‐phase sol consisted of boehmite and silica nanoparticles decorated by pentanoate ion could assemble at water/oil interface irreversibly to form photosensitive Pickering emulsions. The droplets of emulsions could be separated by dilution and formed by photopolymerization to gain hybrid microspheres, which could completely transform to mullite hollow microspheres via binder removal and sintering. It is found that the prepared hollow microspheres possess intact morphology, favorable sphericity, large cavity volume, and bulk density of 0.356 g/cm3. Importantly, the average diameter of mullite hollow spheres obtained via this method could be as low as 0.33–2.31 μm. This steady method is efficient and suitable for various types of inorganic particles, providing an innovative perspective for preparing fine hollow spheres applicable for filtration, drug loading as well as energy storage areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactive AlN, heavy metal ions, and salts in secondary aluminum dross make them harmful to the environment and difficult to handle, and therefore categorized as hazardous solid waste. A novel, simple, and versatile technique has been proposed here to prepare hierarchically porous ceramics using secondary aluminum dross as the sole raw material, namely, the hydrolysis‐induced simultaneous foaming and coagulation casting method. As the main component, Al and AlN could be hydrolyzed to generate aluminum hydroxide sol, which can form three‐dimensional network and lead to the outstanding compressive strength of green body (7.03 MPa). Gas release during hydrolysis, high‐temperature oxidation of AlN, and metallic Al based on Kirkendall effect could account for the final multilevel pores. The utilization of harmful components in secondary aluminum dross, supplys an alternative colloidal forming way for porous green body with complex shape when combined with other ceramic powders or inorganic solid waste. Low sintering shrinkage of 1.38%–3.60% for hierarchically porous ceramics offers this highly effective and low‐cost method to be easily promoted for industrial production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud energy storage system (CESS) can effectively improve the utilization rate of the energy storage system (ESS) and reduce the cost. However, there is a lack of a model designed for large‐scale renewable energy power plants (REPPs). Due to the volatility and intermittency of renewable energy power generation, as well as the demand of following scheduling plan and market arbitrage, it is also necessary to configure ESS for REPPs. However, if the REPP builds ESS by itself, the investment is relatively high. Therefore, the application of CESS on the renewable energy generation side can reduce the investment cost and increase the revenue by utilizing the difference between actual output and demand. Considering the uncertainties of renewable energy, this paper proposes a robust optimal configuration model of CESS based on the cooperative game. Firstly, the CESS model on the generation side is developed to describe the formation mechanism of ESS supply and demand. Then, the proposed model aims at maximizing the revenue of REPPs. The participants of the coalition are each REPP. By taking the renewable power uncertainty into consideration, the novel nested column‐and‐constraint generation (nested C&CG) method is utilized to solve the proposed model based on the min–max–min form. Furthermore, the Shapley‐value method is used to distribute the benefits to each member of the grand coalition. Finally, case studies verify the rationality and validity of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little information is available on influences of the conversion of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) to inorganic phosphorus (IP) on algal growth and subsequent behaviors of arsenate (As(V)) in Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa). In this study, the influences factors on the conversion of three typical DOP types including adenosine-5-triphosphate disodium salt (ATP), β-glycerophosphate sodium (βP) and D-glucose-6-phosphate disodium salt (GP) were investigated under different extracellular polymeric secretions (EPS) ratios from M. aeruginosa , and As(V) levels. Thus, algal growth, As(V) biotransformation and microcystins (MCs) release of M. aeruginosa were explored in the different converted DOP conditions compared with IP. Results showed that the three DOP to IP without EPS addition became in favor of algal growth during their conversion. Compared with IP, M. aeruginosa growth was thus facilitated in the three converted DOP conditions, subsequently resulting in potential algal bloom particularly at arsenic (As) contaminated water environment. Additionally, DOP after conversion could inhibit As accumulation in M. aeruginosa , thus intracellular As accumulation was lower in the converted DOP conditions than that in IP condition. As(V) biotransformation and MCs release in M. aeruginosa was impacted by different converted DOP with their different types. Specifically, DMA concentrations in media and As(III) ratios in algal cells were promoted in converted βP condition, indicating that the observed dissolved organic compositions from βP conversion could enhance As(V) reduction in M. aeruginosa and then accelerate DMA release. The obtained findings can provide better understanding of cyanobacteria blooms and As biotransformation in different DOP as the main phosphorus source. Graphical Abstract [Display omitted]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consider a branching random walk in Z d , where both the offspring distribution and the displacement law vary with generation time. For each x ∈ Z d , let Z n (x) denote the number of particles of n-th generation located at x. We derive exact convergence rate of the local limit theorem for the counting measure Z n (x). This generalizes the result obtained in Gao (2017, SPA) by adding the random environment affects, and improves it by weakening the moment condition required for the offspring distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparsest cut problems are very important graph partitions, which have been widely applied in expander graphs, Markov chains, and image segmentation. In this paper, we study the edge-weighted version of the Sparse Cut Problem, which minimizes the ratio of the total weight of edges between blocks and the total weight of edges incident to vertices in one block. We first prove that the problem is even NP-hard for an edge-weighted graph with bridges. Then, we combine and generalize submodular functions and principal partition to design a graph algorithm to improve the initial bipartition, which runs in polynomial time by using network flow as its subroutines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head-worn displays (HWDs) as timely condition monitoring are increasingly used in aviation. However, interface design characteristics that mainly affect HWD use have not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of several important interface design characteristics (i.e., the distance between calibration lines and the layouts of vertical and horizontal scale belts) on task performance and user preference between different conditions of display, i.e., HWD or head-up display (HUD). Thirty participants joined an experiment in which they performed flight tasks. In the experiment, the calibration lines' distance was set to three different levels (7, 9 and 11 mrad), and the scale belt layouts included horizontal and vertical scale belt layouts. The scale belts were set as follows: the original vertical scale belt width was set as L, and the horizontal scale belt height as H. The three layouts of the vertical calibration scale belt used were 3/4H, H and 3H/2. Three layouts of horizontal calibration scale belts were selected as 3L/4, L and 3L/2. The results indicated that participants did better with the HWD compared to the HUD. Both layouts of vertical and horizontal scale belts yielded significant effects on the users' task performance and preference. Users showed the best task performance while the vertical calibration scale belts were set as H and horizontal calibration scale belts were set as L, and users generally preferred interface design characteristics that could yield an optimal performance. These findings could facilitate the optimal design of usable head-worn-display technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes a facile and effective method for fabricating alumina-zirconia composites with innovative lamellar structure as well as outstanding mechanical strength/toughness. To this end, the particle-stabilized foam method has been utilized to synthesize alumina ceramic foams built by single-layer pore wall firstly, providing the basic lamellar structure for the subsequently mixing with zirconia particles and hot-press sintering to achieve robust alumina-zirconia ceramics. The unique lamellar microstructure is composed of alumina sheets and zirconia grain layers alternated consistently, resulting in superior fracture toughness of 9.38 MPa m1/2, high flexural strength of 1.01 GPa and Vickers hardness of 17.04 GPa at the relative density of 99.63%. This approach opens up new possibilities for creating alumina-zirconia ceramics with exceptional mechanical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we establish three methods of constructing quantum error-correcting codes (QECCs) via quantum construction X of the Euclidean dual over finite fields. Then, we construct six classes of new QECCs. In addition, our obtained QECCs have the rate better than the ones available in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuing degradation of ecosystem functioning, particularly in areas of fast-growing economies, is a common challenge facing humanity today and a focus of global research on sustainable development. A typical fast-developing economic region in Southeastern China, namely Sunan Canal Basin of Jiangsu Province (SCBJ), was selected for this study. Based on remote sensing monitoring data of land use for five periods of 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019, the ecosystem service value (ESV) of SCBJ was measured using the equivalent factor method, and the spatial and temporal evolution of the ESV was analyzed using contribution and spatial statistical methods. Panel quantile regression was employed to explore in depth the segmental effects of the ecosystem service influencing factors and to increase the understanding of ecosystem service influencing mechanisms. Our results showed the following: (1) From 2000 to 2019, the land use structure was stable, and the comprehensive land use dynamic degree was continuously reduced. There were significant differences in the single land use dynamic degree of each land type, especially for built-up land. (2) During the study period, the total ESV increased first and then decreased, with the decreasing regions mainly distributed in the southeast of SCBJ and the urban rapid expansion areas on both sides of the canal. (3) In areas with different levels of ESV, the influencing factors had different impact effects. The mean proximity index (MPI), i.e., land use integrity, had a significant enhancement effect at the low ESV region and a significant dampening effect at the high ESV region. As the quantile points increase, the positive effects of the annual mean temperature (ATE), annual mean precipitation (APR), and net primary productivity (NPP) on ecosystem services gradually increase, which increased the gap between high and low ESV areas, creating a "natural Matthew effect", while the negative effects of economic density (GDP) and population density (POP) on ecosystem services gradually decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA), a large transmembrane protein, is expressed in the plasma membrane of most eukaryotic cells. It maintains resting membrane potential, cell volume and secondary transcellular transport of other ions and neurotransmitters. NKA consumes about half of the ATP molecules in the brain, which makes NKA highly sensitive to energy deficiency. Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are a group of diseases characterized by chronic, progressive and irreversible neuronal loss in specific brain areas. The pathogenesis of NDDs is sophisticated, involving protein misfolding and aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. The protective effect of NKA against NDDs has been emerging gradually in the past few decades. Hence, understanding the role of NKA in NDDs is critical for elucidating the underlying pathophysiology of NDDs and identifying new therapeutic targets. The present review focuses on the recent progress involving different aspects of NKA in cellular homeostasis to present in-depth understanding of this unique protein. Moreover, the essential roles of NKA in NDDs are discussed to provide a platform and bright future for the improvement of clinical research in NDDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]