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Broad cellular components-initiated efficient chemical reactions that occur in malignant cells may contribute to exploring emerging strategies for cancer treatment. Herein, an ozonated oleogel (OG (O)) was developed to achieve cancer ozone therapy (O 3 -T) based on intracellular Criegee's reaction. By integrating the chemo-drug, the ozone-loaded oleogel (Dox@OG (O)) was prepared as a chemotherapeutic agent for local O 3 -T, associated with chemotherapy (CT)/radiotherapy (RT)/immunotherapy and wound healing. The in vitro results showed that, Dox@OG (O) could achieve high ozone loading efficiency and ensure its stability. This Oleogel-mediated O 3 -T could directly destroy tumor cells via intracellular Criegee's reaction occurred on cell membranes, as well as the effects of tumor microenvironment (TME) regulation by the generation of oxygen/reactive oxygen species (ROS) and depletion of glutathione (GSH). Meanwhile, under the stimulation of X-ray, an accelerated free radical's production was observed, further combined with the radio-sensitivity after TME regulation, an effective anti-tumor effect would be achieved. Further on, in vivo results demonstrated that the locally implanted Dox@OG (O) could effectively inhibit the growth of both primary and secondary tumors. Considering these results above, it will serve as inspiration for future studies investigating of O 3 -T, especially for postoperative skin diseases. [Display omitted] • We synthesized ozone loading oleogels for tumor ozone therapy (O 3 -T) in postoperative melanoma model. • The mechanism of tumor O 3 -T was explained by intracellular Criegee's reaction. • Synergistic effect could be determined combined O 3 -T with radio−/chemotherapy. • Synergistic O 3 -T has some effect on immune activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemo‐regulation abilities of chemotherapeutic medications are appealing to address the low immunogenicity, immunosuppressive lactate microenvironment, and adaptive immune resistance of colorectal cancer. In this work, the proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) of BRD4 (dBET57) is found to downregulate colorectal cancer glycolysis through the transcription inhibition of c‐Myc, which also inhibits the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) to reverse immune evasion and avoid adaptive immune resistance. Based on this, self‐delivery nano‐PROTACs (designated as DdLD NPs) are further fabricated by the self‐assembly of doxorubicin (DOX) and dBET57 with the assistance of DSPE‐PEG2000. DdLD NPs can improve the stability, intracellular delivery, and tumor targeting accumulation of DOX and dBET57. Meanwhile, the chemotherapeutic effect of DdLD NPs can efficiently destroy colorectal cancer cells to trigger a robust immunogenic cell death (ICD). More importantly, the chemo‐regulation effects of DdLD NPs can inhibit colorectal cancer glycolysis to reduce the lactate production, and downregulate the PD‐L1 expression through BRD4 degradation. Taking advantages of the chemotherapy and chemo‐regulation ability, DdLD NPs systemically activated the antitumor immunity to suppress the primary and metastatic colorectal cancer progression without inducing any systemic side effects. Such self‐delivery nano‐PROTACs may provide a new insight for chemotherapy‐enabled tumor immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies utilizing voxel-based morphometry (VBM) have documented gray matter (GM) alterations in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) compared to healthy controls. However, the inconsistency in GM abnormalities observed across different studies has hindered their potential application as objective neuroimaging biomarkers or therapeutic targets. To address this issue, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of VBM studies to identify robust GM differences between CLBP patients and healthy controls. The databases including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were systematically searched from January 2000 to September 2022 to identify eligible neuroimaging studies. In this coordinate-based meta-analysis of VBM studies, the Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images method was used to quantitatively assess regional differences in GM between CLBP patients and healthy controls. Thirteen VBM studies, involving a total of 574 CLBP patients and 1239 healthy controls, were included in the meta-analysis. The findings revealed that CLBP patients exhibited increased GM in the left striatum and left postcentral gyrus and decreased GM in the left superior frontal gyrus, left cerebellum, right striatum, left insula, and right middle occipital gyrus compared to healthy controls. The jackknife sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of these neuroimaging findings. This study provides new insights into potential treatment strategies for CLBP and identifies neuroimaging biomarkers for pain chronification. These findings highlight the importance of considering regional GM abnormalities in the development of clinical interventions for CLBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although polyimide films have a low dielectric constant, with the advent of the 5G era, the dielectric properties of the material are required to be further improved. Therein, we prepared controlled hollow mesoporous SiO2 nanomicrospheres by the hard template method to make mesoporous low dielectric polyimide films. The composite membrane exhibits better thermal stability, mechanical properties, and hydrophobicity compared to the pure membrane. Hollow mesoporous SiO2 dispersed in polyimide can reduce the inhomogeneity of charge distribution between molecules and reduce the interaction between polar chemical bonds and aromatic rings, thus improving the dielectric properties of the whole film. The minimum dielectric constant of the composite films was 2.80 when the hollow mesoporous SiO2 was added at 1.0%. These results fully indicate that the addition of hollow mesoporous SiO2 is beneficial to the multifaceted performance of the polyimide films. Highlights: Preparation of hollow mesoporous SiO2 microspheres by using different polystyrene microsphere solutions and TEOS ratios.Synthesis of composite films with different contents of hollow mesoporous SiO2 as functional fillers.The effect of hollow mesoporous SiO2 content on the mechanical properties and thermal stability of PI composite films was investigated.Addition of hollow mesoporous SiO2 reduces the dielectric constant of polyimide composite films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a chronic kidney disease that develops in patients with diabetes mellitus. Cordycepin (CRD), a secondary metabolite produced by Cordyceps militaris, has a variety of bioactive properties. In this study, DN mice and high glucose (HG)-treated HK-2 were used to evaluate the diagnostic value of CRD. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting, immunofluorescence analysis, and immunohistochemical staining were used to assess changes in mRNA and protein expression. Oxidative stress was evaluated by detecting the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Cell apoptosis was detected by the TUNEL and flow cytometric methods. The interaction of miR-193b-5p and myeloid leukemia 1 (MCL-1) was examined by bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay. The protective effects of CRD on DN mice were evaluated by examining DN related biochemical indicators and renal histopathology. Results: In response to HG, the level of miR-193b-5p was elevated, whilst the level of MCL-1 was downregulated, and CRD therapy reversed this behavior. MCL-1 was further identified to be miR-193b-5p target. CRD attenuated HG-induced cell damage, inflammation and abnormal energy metabolism. Mechanistic investigations on in vitro models confirmed that protective effect of CRD against HG challenge to HK-2 cells is mediated through the regulation of expression of miR-193b-5p/MCL-1 axis. By examining DN related biochemical markers and renal histopathology, the protective effects of CRD on DN mice was assessed. Conclusions: In summary, CRD decreased oxidative stress and inflammation by increasing miR-193b-5p and inactivating downstream MCL-1 in DN, hinting the pivotal values of CRD and miR-193b-5p in the management of DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that affects women of childbearing age, resulting in reproductive dysfunction, hyperinsulinemia, and obesity. While several drugs are currently approved for use in these patients, their relative effectiveness remains controversial. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the reproductive efficacy and safety of exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, versus metformin, an insulin sensitizer, in the treatment of patients with PCOS. Nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included, comprising 785 PCOS patients, of whom 385 received exenatide and 400 received metformin. Compared with metformin, exenatide was significantly more effective in treating these patients, as demonstrated by increased pregnancy rate (relative risk (RR) = 1.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28 to 2.92, P = 0.002), greater ovulation rate (RR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.80, P = 0.004), decreased body mass index (mean difference = − 1.72 kg/m2, 95% CI − 2.27 to − 1.18, P = 0.00001), and improved insulin resistance (standard mean difference = − 0.62, 95% CI − 0.91 to − 0.33, P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of adverse events (gastrointestinal reactions, hypoglycemia, etc.) between the two therapies. However, given the moderate to high quality and possible bias of the included studies, the available evidence is inconclusive. More high-quality studies are needed to assess the effects of exenatide in order to provide stronger evidence for its use in this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Efforts to precisely assess tumor-specific T-cell immune responses still face major challenges, and the potential molecular mechanisms mediating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) microenvironment imbalance after incomplete radiofrequency ablation (iRFA) are unclear. This study aimed to provide further insight into the integrated transcriptomic and proteogenomic landscape and identify a new target involved in HCC progression following iRFA. Methods: Peripheral blood and matched tissue samples were collected from 10 RFA-treated HCC patients. Multiplex immunostaining and flow cytometry were used to assess local and systemic immune responses. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were explored via transcriptomic and proteogenomic analyses. Proteinase-3 (PRTN3) was identified in these analyses. And then, the ability of PRTN3 to predict overall survival (OS) was assessed in 70 HCC patients with early recurrence after RFA. In vitro CCK-8, wound healing and transwell assays were conducted to observe interactions between Kupffer cells (KCs) and HCC cells induced by PRTN3. The protein levels of multiple oncogenic factors and signaling pathway components were detected by western blotting. A xenograft mouse model was built to observe the tumorigenic effect of PRTN3 overexpression on HCC. Results: Multiplex immunostaining revealed no immediate significant change in local immune cell counts in periablational tumor tissues after 30 min of iRFA. Flow cytometry showed significantly increased levels of CD4+ T cells, CD4+CD8+ T cells, and CD4+CD25+CD127− Tregs and significantly decreased the levels of CD16+CD56+ natural killer cells on day 5 after cRFA (p < 0.05). Transcriptomics and proteomics revealed 389 DEGs and 20 DEPs. Pathway analysis showed that the DEP-DEGs were mainly enriched in the immunoinflammatory response, cancer progression and metabolic processes. Among the DEP-DEGs, PRTN3 was persistently upregulated and closely associated with the OS of patients with early recurrent HCC following RFA. PRTN3 expressed in KCs may affect the migration and invasion of heat stress-treated HCC cells. PRTN3 promotes tumor growth via multiple oncogenic factors and the PI3K/AKT and P38/ERK signaling pathways. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the immune response and transcriptomic and proteogenomic landscapes of the HCC milieu induced by iRFA, revealing that PRTN3 promotes HCC progression after iRFA. Trial registration: ChiCTR2200055606, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=32588. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared bikes can help cities achieve carbon neutrality goals. Cleaning and disinfection are vital procedures of the maintenance of shared bikes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic because shared bikes could be a transmission intermediary of viruses. This study proposes an optimization model of the cleaning and disinfection scheme of the dockless shared bikes. The disinfection is assumed to be performed at night, when the usage is lowest. By regarding the disinfection staff as traveling salesmen, the model is formulated as an extension of the Multidepot Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (MDMTSP). The objective function is to minimize the total cost; which consists of the cost associated with the working time and per-capita cost of the disinfection staff. A heuristic algorithm combining k -means clustering and genetic algorithm (K-GA) is adopted to find the lower bound solution. Then, the K-GA-adjustment algorithm has been adopted to find the solutions that satisfy the constraints. To reduce the computing time needed, an approximate function for the lower bound of the optimal number of disinfection staff is obtained by constructing a Continuous Approximation (CA) model. A case study based on real location data of shared bikes in Chengdu, China, is performed to show how the maintenance department could adopt the optimization framework to design an efficient scheme to clean and disinfect the shared bikes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hereditary genetic diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases are affecting global health and become major health issues, but the treatment development remains challenging. Gene therapies using DNA plasmid, RNAi, miRNA, mRNA, and gene editing hold great promise. Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology has been a revolutionary development, which has been granted for clinical applications, including mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infections. Due to the success of LNP systems, understanding the structure, formulation, and function relationship of the lipid components in LNP systems is crucial for design more effective LNP. Here, we highlight the key considerations for developing an LNP system. The evolution of structure and function of lipids as well as their LNP formulation from the early-stage simple formulations to multi-components LNP and multifunctional ionizable lipids have been discussed. The flexibility and platform nature of LNP enable efficient intracellular delivery of a variety of therapeutic nucleic acids and provide many novel treatment options for the diseases that are previously untreatable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though individual categorization or decision processes have been studied separately in many previous investigations, few studies have investigated how they interact by using a two‐stage task of first categorizing and then deciding. To address this issue, we investigated a categorization‐decision task in two experiments. In both, participants were shown six faces varying in width, first asked to categorize the faces, and then decide a course of action for each face. Each experiment was designed to include three groups, and for each group, we manipulated the probabilistic contingencies between stimulus, category assignments, and decision consequences. For each group, each participant received three different sequences of category response, category feedback, decision response, and decision feedback. We found that participants were only partially responsive in the appropriate directions to the contingencies assigned to each group. Comparisons of results from different sequences provided evidence for empirical interference effects of categorization on decisions. The empirical interference effect is defined as the difference between the probability of taking a hostile action in decision‐alone conditions and the total probability of taking a hostile action in categorization‐decision conditions. To test competing accounts for multiple empirical results, including two‐stage choice probabilities and empirical interference effects, we compared a quantum cognition model versus a two‐stage exemplar categorization model at both aggregate and individual levels. Using a Bayesian information criterion, we found that the quantum model provided an overall better model fit than the exemplar model. Although both models predicted empirical interference effects, the exemplar model was able to generate probabilistic deviation by incorporating category information of the first stage into the feature representation of the subsequent decision stage, while the quantum model produced interference effect by superposition, measurement, and quantum entanglement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain, along with comorbid psychiatric disorders, is a common problem worldwide. A growing number of studies have focused on non-opioid-based medicines, and billions of funds have been put into digging new analgesic mechanisms. Peripheral inflammation is one of the critical causes of chronic pain, and drugs with anti-inflammatory effects usually alleviate pain hypersensitivity. Sophoridine (SRI), one of the most abundant alkaloids in Chinese herbs, has been proved to exert antitumor, antivirus and anti-inflammation effects. Here, we evaluated the analgesic effect of SRI in an inflammatory pain mouse model induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) injection. SRI treatment significantly decreased pro-inflammatory factors release after LPS stimuli in microglia. Three days of SRI treatment relieved CFA-induced mechanical hypersensitivity and anxiety-like behavior, and recovered abnormal neuroplasticity in the anterior cingulate cortex of mice. Therefore, SRI may be a candidate compound for the treatment of chronic inflammatory pain and may serve as a structural basis for the development of new drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retention of crop biomass is widely recommended to improve soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the magnitude of contribution of above‐ground residues and below‐ground roots from C3 and C4 crops to SOC is unclear.Data from a 10‐year field experiment and a 60‐day laboratory incubation were synthesized to identify the respective contribution of C3 (e.g., wheat) and C4 (e.g., maize) residues and roots to SOC, as well as its underlying mechanisms under no‐till (NT) using 13C labelling trace in wheat‐maize rotations.The field experiment showed that residue retention significantly increased SOC accumulation, and SOC derived from wheat was 126.0% higher than that from maize. Conversion to NT promoted SOC derived from wheat and thus accumulated 17.6% higher SOC stock compared with plough tillage (PT) under residue returning at 0–20 cm soil depth (p < 0.05). The data from laboratory incubation revealed the mechanisms that lower priming effects at 0–10 cm depth decreased total mineralization by 91.8% after inputs of wheat residues and roots compared with that of maize residues and roots, especially under NT compared with PT. Priming effects were negatively correlated with enzyme activities associated with the C recycle, SOC, and total nitrogen (TN) contents (p < 0.01). NT increased enzyme activities, SOC, and TN contents and thus reduced priming effects and improved residual carbon.Synthesis and applications. These results suggested that wheat may contribute more to SOC accumulation than maize, and carbon increment efficiency in farmland could be enhanced by considering the crucial roles of C3 crops in SOC accumulation. NT practice sustains the benefits of C3 crops to SOC sequestration in the upper soil depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the fungicidal activity of the lead compound isoliquiritigenin, 33 hydroxychalcones were designed and prepared. Their in vitro antifungal activities against four pathogenic fungi (Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium graminearum, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) were evaluated systematically. We found the most potent agricultural fungicides to be compounds LH-4, LH-5, LH-14 and LH-15 with EC50 values in the range of 5.96 – 10.06 μg mL−1, which are superior to the lead compound isoliquiritigenin and positive control azoxystrobin, with compound LH-4 displaying the best in vitro antifungal activity against R. solani with an EC50 value of 5.96 μg mL−1, approximately 6 times more potent than isoliquiritigenin (EC50 = 36.91 μg mL−1). Moreover, the preliminary antifungal mechanism of compound LH-4 illustrated that it could affect the hyphal morphology and ultrastructure feature of R. solani; its antifungal activity can be associated with the hyphal distortion that results from the disruption of the cell membrane integrity. Besides, SAR studies revealed that the chalcones with few hydroxyls on the A- and B-rings exhibited noticeable antifungal activity. However, chalcones with multi-hydroxyl groups showed unsatisfactory activity. Herein, we report and discuss hydroxychalcones based on isoliquiritigenin as bioactive compounds useful in treating agricultural plant diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA splicing is pivotal in post-transcriptional gene regulation, yet the exponential expansion of intron length in humans poses a challenge for accurate splicing. Here, we identify hnRNPM as an essential RNA-binding protein that suppresses cryptic splicing through binding to deep introns, maintaining human transcriptome integrity. Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) in introns harbor numerous pseudo splice sites. hnRNPM preferentially binds at intronic LINEs to repress pseudo splice site usage for cryptic splicing. Remarkably, cryptic exons can generate long dsRNAs through base-pairing of inverted ALU transposable elements interspersed among LINEs and consequently trigger an interferon response, a well-known antiviral defense mechanism. Significantly, hnRNPM-deficient tumors show upregulated interferon-associated pathways and elevated immune cell infiltration. These findings unveil hnRNPM as a guardian of transcriptome integrity by repressing cryptic splicing and suggest that targeting hnRNPM in tumors may be used to trigger an inflammatory immune response, thereby boosting cancer surveillance. [Display omitted] • hnRNPM is a major RBP that occupies deep introns to repress cryptic splicing • hnRNPM binding is enriched in LINEs, repressing pseudo splice sites • LINE/Alu-containing cryptic exons can form dsRNAs, triggering IFN-I responses • hnRNPMlow tumors show increased cryptic splicing, IFN-I, and immune infiltration Zheng et al. reveal that depletion of hnRNPM results in global cryptic splicing. hnRNPM-repressed cryptic exons are enriched in LINEs and can generate long, stem-like double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), which in turn stimulate antiviral signaling, elevate tumor immune infiltration, and correlate with improved cancer patient survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater docking is a crucial technology for supplementing energy and swapping data of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). A docking platform requires a considerable base to ensure a safe docking height when the original docking mode is utilized in uncharted deep-sea areas. If the AUVs are too close to the seabed, a part of the detection system fails. Therefore, guaranteeing and adjusting the attitude of the docking device is difficult once it is deployed underwater. To solve this problem, a deep-sea single-point mooring levitation docking system with environmental adaptation and no propellers is designed. Analyzing whether the motion state of the docking device aligns with the docking premise is necessary. The mathematical model of the docking system is established according to the Newton–Euler dynamics theory and centralized-mass method and is used for simulation. Finally, a towing test of the docking device is performed to validate the calculation results obtained using the two methods. The results are highly correlated, with an error rate of approximately 10%. In addition, this study analyzes the relationship among the size of the wing, length of the towing cable, position of the hinge point, and its motion state. • The docking device possesses environmental adaptive capabilities.a • The docking device can maintain an ideal steady state under various working conditions. • The research places a distinct emphasis on analyzing the dynamic motion of the docking device as it transitions from diverse positions to achieve a stable state under varying operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boundary faults of the Daxing Uplift and Langgu–Dachang Depression are located in the southeastern region of the Beijing Plain and directly control the sedimentation, tectonic evolution, and strong seismic activity of the plain. The Sanhe–Pinggu earthquake of Ms 8.0 occurred in 1679, but the active tectonic deformation characteristics of the boundary have been rarely discussed. In this study, the active tectonic deformation characteristics of the Daxing Uplift and Langgu–Dachang Depression boundary rupture were investigated by collecting and analyzing the results of previous works, supplementing three shallow-seismic-exploration control lines at locations where the data are lacking, and carrying out borehole combined profile exploration and optically stimulated luminescence dating at local breakpoints. Results show that the Daxing Uplift and Langgu–Dachang Depression boundary faults constitute an active tectonic deformation zone with ∼50 km distance between Mafang and Niubaotun towns and then extends to both ends to form a deep and large fault that cuts through the earth’s crust. The activity of the Daxing Uplift eastern boundary fault may be divided into two sections near Anding town, with the early-to-middle Late Pleistocene gradually weakening in the northwest and the Holocene gradually weakening in the southwest. Moreover, the activity of the Xiadian fault may be divided into two sections near the Chaobai River: the Holocene gradually weakening in the northwest and the early-to-middle Late Pleistocene gradually weakening in the southwest. The boundary fault of the Daxing Uplift and Langgu–Dachang Depression has an ∼43 km seismic gap around Niubaotun town, which has a high risk of Ms 6.0–7.0 earthquakes. This investigation into the active tectonic deformation characteristics of the boundary fault of the Daxing Uplift and Langgu–Dachang Depression is crucial for analyzing the strong earthquake rupture behavior and the future risk of strong earthquakes in this area. It also contributes greatly to the study of the tectonic pattern evolution of the North China Plain and Beijing Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone tissue engineering (BTE) is a promising method for the repair of difficult-to-heal bone tissue damage by providing three-dimensional structures for cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been introduced as an effective global medical program by the World Health Organization, comprising intricate components, and promoting bone regeneration by regulating multiple mechanisms and targets. This study outlines the potential therapeutic capabilities of TCM combined with BTE in bone regeneration. The effective active components promoting bone regeneration can be generally divided into flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, terpenoids, and polyphenols, among others. The chemical structures of the monomers, their sources, efficacy, and mechanisms are described. We summarize the use of compounds and medicinal parts of TCM to stimulate bone regeneration. Finally, the limitations and prospects of applying TCM in BTE are introduced, providing a direction for further development of novel and potential TCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low wheat grain yield under conservation tillage has been reported, and growth duration could determine the yield. Thus, an 11-year field experiment was conducted to assess the relationship between growth duration and grain yield under different tillage and residue managements. Four treatments were investigated: no-till with residue removal (NT0), conventional tillage with residue removal (CT0), no-till with residue retention (NTR, conservation tillage), and conventional tillage with residue incorporation (CTR). Beginning at 20 days after anthesis (DAA), NTR significantly increased physiological activities, indicating that NTR had a longer growth duration. NTR significantly prolonged growth duration by 2–3 days compared with the other treatments attributed to delayed emergence of seedlings caused by higher soil compaction and moisture under NTR. The CT0 had the highest grain yield on the standard harvest date used in the local area (36 DAA). Whereas the plants in NTR reached physiological maturity (39 DAA), the grain yield in NTR was significantly increased by 7.8–8.8% compared with yield at 36 DAA, and no significant difference was observed between NTR and CT0 due to the increased thousand kernel weight of NTR. Thus, it is practicable for harvesting at physiological maturity in NTR to obtain higher grain yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: We aimed to explore the necessity of the external iliac lymph nodes (EIN) along with inguinal nodes (IN) region in clinical target volume (CTV) for rectal carcinomas covering the anal canal region.Materials and Methods: This research premise enrolled 399 patients who had primary low rectal cancer detected below the peritoneal reflection via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and were treated with neoadjuvant radiotherapy (NRT), without elective EIN along with IN irradiation. We stratified the patients into two groups based on whether the lower edge of the rectal tumor extended to the anal canal (P group, n = 109) or not (Rb group, n = 290). Comparison of overall survival (OS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), disease-free survival (DFS), as well as distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were performed via inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) along with multivariable analyses. We compared the EIN and IN failure rates between the two groups via the Fisher and Gray's test.Results: P group showed a similar adjusted proportion along with five-year cumulative rate of EIN failure compared with the Rb group. The adjusted proportion and five-year cumulative rate of IN failure in the P group was higher in comparison to the Rb group. There were no remarkable differences in the adjusted five-year OS, DFS, DMFS or LRFS between the two groups. Anal canal involvement (ACI) exhibited no effect on OS, LRFS, DFS, or DMFS.Conclusions: During NRT for rectal cancer with ACI, it may be possible to exclude the EIN and IN from the CTV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous Zn‐ion batteries have aroused much attention recently, yet challenges still exist in the lack of low‐cost, highly stable electrolytes to tackle the serious side reactions at Zn anode–electrolyte interface. Herein, a ZnSO4‐based low‐cost aqueous electrolyte is demonstrated with a small amount of eco‐friendly silk peptide as an efficient additive. Compared with silk sericin and fibroin, silk peptide with abundant strong polar groups (COOH and NH2) suppresses the side reactions. Namely, silk peptide regulates the solvation structure of Zn2+ to decrease coordinated active H2O and SO42−, and tends to anchor on Zn anode surface for the isolation of contact H2O/SO42− as well as electrostatic shielding, demonstrating synergistic solvation and interface regulating effect. Consequently, the excellent cycle life (3000 h) and Coulombic efficiency (99.7%) of Zn anodes are revealed in 2 m ZnSO4 electrolyte with only 5 mg mL−1 of silk peptide (≈0.49 USD L−1), promising practical applications of reversible zinc‐ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a three-dimensional (3D) printing process to develop the Ag/AgCl/TiO2 coupled photocatalyst with a specific surface area of 748 mm2/g. We examined the catalytic capability of this photocatalyst in degrading methyl blue (MB) dye and sterilizing Escherichia coli as well as the durability and reliability of its continuous use. A TiO2 module was constructed through fused filament fabrication (FFF), and the adopted 3D printing filament was composed of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles, stearic acid, wax, and a plasticizer. The green compact of the TiO2 module was subjected to solvent debinding, thermal debinding, and sintering to obtain a fundamental structure that was subsequently coupled with AgCl through a precipitation reaction. Ultraviolet radiation was used for the photoreduction to obtain the Ag/AgCl/TiO2 coupled photocatalyst coupling module. This photocatalyst can effectively degrade MB dye and disinfect E. coli. The degradation of MB dye and sterilization of E. coli were conducted under visible and ultraviolet light. The degradation of MB dye by the Ag/AgCl/TiO2 coupled photocatalyst was a first-order reaction. In addition, this coupled photocatalyst could retain its MB dye degradation rate (95%) for five cycles. E. coli was sterilized using the prepared photocatalytic module in a 120-min test, and this sterilization phenomenon could be presented as a hyperbolic reaction. The photocatalytic module manufactured in this study through FFF could efficiently degrade pollutants in water, and its durability and reliability after repeated use have been approved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slime mould algorithm (SMA) is a new metaheuristic algorithm proposed in 2020, which has attracted extensive attention from scholars. Similar to other optimization algorithms, SMA also has the drawbacks of slow convergence rate and being trapped in local optimum at times. Therefore, the enhanced SMA named as ESMA is presented in this paper for solving global optimization problems. Two effective methods composed of multiple mutation strategy (MMS) and restart mechanism (RM) are embedded into the original SMA. MMS is utilized to increase the population diversity, and the RM is used to avoid the local optimum. To verify the ESMA's performance, twenty-three classical benchmark functions are employed, as well as three well-known engineering design problems, including welded beam design, pressure vessel design and speed reducer design. Several famous optimization algorithms are also chosen for comparison. Experimental results show that the ESMA outperforms other optimization algorithms in most of the test functions with faster convergence speed and higher solution accuracy, which indicates the merits of proposed ESMA. The results of Wilcoxon signed-rank test also reveal that ESMA is significant superior to other comparative optimization algorithms. Moreover, the results of three constrained engineering design problems demonstrate that ESMA is better than comparative algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bone formation and loss are the characteristic clinical manifestations of leprosy, but the mechanisms underlying the bone remodeling with Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) infection are unclear. Methodology/Principal findings: Osteocytes may have a role through regulating the differentiation of osteogenic lineages. To investigate osteocyte-related mechanisms in leprosy, we treated osteocyte-like cell with N-glycosylated muramyl dipeptide (N.g MDP). RNA-seq analysis showed 724 differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and 724 differentially expressed circular RNA (circRNAs). Of these, we filtered through eight osteogenic-related differentially expressed genes, according to the characteristic of competing endogenous RNA, PubMed databases, and bioinformatic analysis, including TargetScan, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Based on these results, we built a circRNA–microRNA (miRNA)–mRNA triple network. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blots analyses confirmed decreased Clock expression in osteocyte-like cell, while increased in bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), implicating a crucial factor in osteogenic differentiation. Immunohistochemistry showed obviously increased expression of CLOCK protein in BMSCs and osteoblasts in N.g MDP–treated mice, but decreased expression in osteocytes. Conclusions/Significance: This analytical method provided a basis for the relationship between N.g MDP and remodeling in osteocytes, and the circRNA–miRNA–mRNA triple network may offer a new target for leprosy therapeutics. Author summary: Although the number of leprosy patients is gradually decreasing after the use of rifampin, those who have been cured still have bone damage. The Mycobacterium leprae is difficult to culture in vivo, and the potential biosafe problem should be considered. Thus, the minimal essential structure in Mycobacterium, N-glycosylated muramyl dipeptide, has been used to reveal the mechanism in leprosy. According to the analysis results, various differentially expressed genes have been filtered, and circadian Clock gene might be the key factor. We verified that Clock gene was upregulated in the process of osteogenesis. Osteocytes would maintain the balance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts in bone homeostasis. We noticed that the expression of Clock gene was decreased after treated with N-glycosylated muramyl dipeptide. This might be the reason why bone damage is still maintained in the cured patient, and regulating the expression of target at posttranscriptional level by microRNAs and circular RNAs can be the promising therapeutic method in leprosy bone damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild horse optimizer (WHO) is a recently proposed metaheuristic algorithm that simulates the social behavior of wild horses in nature. Although WHO shows competitive performance compared to some algorithms, it suffers from low exploitation capability and stagnation in local optima. This paper presents an improved wild horse optimizer (IWHO), which incorporates three improvements to enhance optimizing capability. The main innovation of this paper is to put forward the random running strategy (RRS) and the competition for waterhole mechanism (CWHM). The random running strategy is employed to balance exploration and exploitation, and the competition for waterhole mechanism is proposed to boost exploitation behavior. Moreover, the dynamic inertia weight strategy (DIWS) is utilized to optimize the global solution. The proposed IWHO is evaluated using twenty-three classical benchmark functions, ten CEC 2021 test functions, and five real-world optimization problems. High-dimensional cases (D = 200, 500, 1000) are also tested. Comparing nine well-known algorithms, the experimental results of test functions demonstrate that the IWHO is very competitive in terms of convergence speed, precision, accuracy, and stability. Further, the practical capability of the proposed method is verified by the results of engineering design problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an interesting relationship between the orthogonality catastrophe (OC) and the quantum speed limit (QSL) for a spin chain with uniform nearest neighbour couplings perturbed by an impurity spin. We thoroughly study the catastrophic QSL that specifies a bound on the evolution time between the initial and final states and in this respect, link it to the emerging OC effect. It is found that the speed of state evolution subtle but fundamental, and the bound characterized by QSL shows the same behaviours as the OC effect in the thermodynamic limit. It allows us to reveal some universal properties, in particular finite temperature effects. Significantly, the threshold of temperature and system size is clearly demonstrated for the QSL under finite temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of climate change, soil is a major pool of stable carbon on earth, yet knowledge on soil carbon turnover is limited. The difference in 13C/12C content observed between C3 and C4 plant crops has been widely used to distinguish the sources of soil organic carbon under continuous monoculture, but not in C3–C4 rotations. We studied the stability of the δ13CSOC content and the effect of no tillage, conventional tillage, and rotary tillage in 4 soils sampled at 0–5, 5–10, and 10–20 cm depth, in 2018–2019 in a field with long-term history of wheat (C3) and maize (C4) rotations. We also analyzed the results from the literature. The results show that the δ13CSOC is not statistically affected by the sampling date, thus allowing to use this method to distinguish C3 and C4 plant contributions in rotations. Moreover, no-tillage favored the preservation of wheat carbon, and this preservation was accentuated at 10–20 cm depth. δ13CSOC is also affected by fertilization and irrigation. The literature confirmed that wheat-derived carbon is better preserved that maize-derived carbon, on the average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanisms of soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization have been widely studied due to their relevance in the global carbon cycle. No‐till (NT) has been frequently adopted to sequester SOC; however, limited information is available regarding whether sequestered SOC will be stabilized for long term. Thus, we reviewed the mechanisms affecting SOC stability in NT systems, including the priming effects (PE), molecular structure of SOC, aggregate protection, association with soil minerals, microbial properties, and environmental effects. Although a more steady‐state molecular structure of SOC is observed in NT compared with conventional tillage (CT), SOC stability may depend more on physical and chemical protection. On average, NT improves macro‐aggregation by 32.7%, and lowers SOC mineralization in macro‐aggregates compared with CT. Chemical protection is also important due to the direct adsorption of organic molecules and the enhancement of aggregation by soil minerals. Higher microbial activity in NT could also produce binding agents to promote aggregation and the formation of metal‐oxidant organic complexes. Thus, microbial residues could be stabilized in soils over the long term through their attachment to mineral surfaces and entrapment of aggregates under NT. On average, NT reduces SOC mineralization by 18.8% and PE intensities after fresh carbon inputs by 21.0% compared with CT (p <.05). Although higher temperature sensitivity (Q10) is observed in NT due to greater Q10 in macro‐aggregates, an increase of soil moisture regime in NT could potentially constrain the improvement of Q10. This review improves process‐based understanding of the physical and chemical mechanism of protection that can act, independently or interactively, to enhance SOC preservation. It is concluded that SOC sequestered in NT systems is likely to be stabilized over the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A P-doped Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 material with 1D/2D hierarchical structure on carbon cloth is successfully synthesized as the cathode material for high performance supercapacitor. [Display omitted] • A P-doped Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 material with 1D/2D hierarchical structure on carbon cloth is successfully synthesized. • The 9-P-Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 @CC electrode shows the specific capacity of 2872.1F/g. • The doping of P can effectively regulate the electronic structure and effectively improve the electrochemical performance of 9-NCCO@CC. • The supercapacitor delivers a high energy density of 71.57 Wh kg−1 at power density of 800 W kg−1. Multi-component synergy and controlled structural design can effectively tailor the electronic structure and multiply kinetic reactions, substantially enhancing the electrode material's performance. Herein, a novel P-doped Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 with a 1D/2D hierarchical nanostructure is synthesized in situ. The hierarchical architecture significantly improves the exposure of active areas and facilitates the diffusion of electrolyte ions. Theoretical calculations reveal that the P-doping is instrumental in fine-tuning the electronic structure, enhancing conductivity, and increasing the adsorption energy of OH−. These theoretical insights were corroborated by electrochemical measurements. Remarkably, the optimized P-Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 exhibited an ultrahigh capacitance of 2872.1 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, which is 1.58 times that of before phosphating (1810.6 F g−1). In addition, a hybrid supercapacitor based on 9-P-Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 was assembled, delivering an impressive energy density of 71.6 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 800 W kg−1. Furthermore, the device demonstrated outstanding cyclic performance, maintaining 87.73 % of its initial capacitance even after 10,000 cycles. This study not only showcases the superior performance of P-Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 but also provides a promising strategy for developing high-energy storage material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ preparation of carbon nanotubes interpenetrating MOFs-derived Co-Ni-S composite spheres with interconnected architecture showed a superior electrochemical performance in hybrid supercapacitor. [Display omitted] • Carbon nanotubes interpenetrating MOFs-derived Co-Ni-S composite spheres are successfully prepared. • Co-Ni-S/CNTs hybrid electrode displays a high specific capacitance of 504.6C g−1. • The electrode with interconnected architecture shows enhanced conductivity. • The hybrid supercapacitor achieves a high energy density of 63.5 Wh kg−1. Recently, carbon nanotubes (CNT)-based interconnected architectures exhibit promising prospects in supercapacitors due to their flexibility and high electrical conductivity. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) interconnected network structure combined with conductive carbon nanotubes interpenetrating MOFs-derived Co-Ni-S composite spheres (Co-Ni-S/CNTs) was synthesized. Such 3D interconnected architecture significantly leads to a favorable electronic structure, fast charge-transfer capacity, and more pseudocapacitive. The Co-Ni-S/CNTs-based hybrid electrode exhibits an extraordinary specific capacitance of 540.6C g−1 at 1 A g−1 and competitive rate performance (capacity retention rate of 69.9% when the current density increases to 10 times). Subsequently, a hybrid supercapacitor is assembled using Co-Ni-S/CNTs as the positive electrode and commercial activated carbon as negative electrode. The device delivers a high energy density of 63.5 W h kg−1 at 800 W kg−1 and keeps 83.0% initial capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. The encouraging performances demonstrate the significant contribution of the 3D interconnected architecture for the future energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent responsible for the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The main protease of SARS-CoV-2, 3CLpro, is an attractive target for antiviral inhibitors due to its indispensable role in viral replication and gene expression of viral proteins. The search of compounds that can effectively inhibit the crucial activity of 3CLpro, which results to interference of the virus life cycle, is now widely pursued. Here, we report that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), an active ingredient of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), is a potent inhibitor of 3CLpro with half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.874 ± 0.005 μM. In the study, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 123 cases of COVID-19 patients, and found three effective Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) prescriptions. Multiple strategies were performed to screen potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro from the active ingredients of TCMs, including network pharmacology, molecular docking, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) binding assay and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based inhibition assay. The SPR assay showed good interaction between EGCG and 3CLpro with KD ~6.17 μM, suggesting a relatively high affinity of EGCG with SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. Our results provide critical insights into the mechanism of action of EGCG as a potential therapeutic agent against COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fiber sensor based on photonic crystal fiber (PCF) for simultaneous measurement of temperature and humidity is proposed. The PCF is filled with alcohol, which is sensitive to temperature. And it is coated with graphene oxide (GO), which is sensitive to humidity. In the range of 10°C–70°C, the highest temperature sensitivity of the three interference valleys can reach up to 0.182 nm/°C. Similarly, in the range of 30%–70%, the highest humidity sensitivity is 0.109 nm/%RH. This configuration features the advantages of reliable repeatability, strong stability, and it is ideal for environmental detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the orthogonality catastrophe and quantum speed limit in the Creutz model for dynamical quantum phase transitions. We show that exact zeros of the Loschmidt echo can exist in finite-size systems for specific discrete values. We highlight the role of the zero-energy mode when analyzing quench dynamics near the critical point. Additionally, we examine the behaviors of the time for the first exact zeros of the Loschmidt echo and the corresponding quantum speed limit time as the system size increases. While the bound is not tight, it can be attributed to the scaling properties of the band gap and energy variance with respect to system size. As such, we establish a link between the orthogonality catastrophe and quantum speed limit by referencing the full form of the Loschmidt echo. In addition, we reveal the potential that the quantum speed limit holds to detect static quantum phase transition point and a reduced amplitude of the noise induced behaviors of quantum speed limit. • Exact zeros of Loschmidt echo exist in finite-size Creutz model. • Zero-energy mode arises for a commensurate number of sites. • Quantum speed limit connects with orthogonality catastrophe for dynamical phase transition. • Quantum speed limit identifies the static quantum phase transition. • The random classical noise reduces the time to achieve orthogonality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the clinical predictors of pathological good response (PGR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) to clarify the indications for local excision.Methods and Materials: A total of 173 patients with LARC (cT3-4/N +) who were treated with nCRT followed by surgery were enrolled in our retrospective study. Patients were categorized into two groups according to the different tumor responses of surgical pathology. Stage ypT0-1N0 was defined as the group with PGR, and stage ypT2-4N0/ypTanyN + was the defined as the pathological poor response (PPR) group, and the potential predictors were compared.Results: Of 173 patients, PGR was achieved in 57 patients (32.95%). The distance from the inferior margin of the tumor to the anal verge, cT classification, pretreatment carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the interval from the end of radiation to surgery were correlated with pathological response. In the multivariate analysis, the distance from anal verge < 5 cm (OR = 0.443, p = 0.019), pretreatment CEA < 5 ng/mL (OR = 0.412, p = 0.015) and the interval from the end of radiation to surgery ≥ 84 days (OR = 2.652, p = 0.005) were independent predictors of PGR.Conclusions: The distance from the inferior margin of the tumor to the anal verge, pretreatment CEA and the interval from the end of radiation to surgery were significant predictors of PGR in LARC. A prospective study is needed to further validate these results in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using nisin, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and sulfite alone or in combination in reducing Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella enterica, and Pseudomonas fluorescens in broth and native microflora on raw Pacific white shrimp during ice storage. Nisin (50 ppm), EDTA (20 mM), alone or in combination were used to test on the growth of V. parahaemolyticus, S. enterica, and P. fluorescens in broth. Nisin (50 ppm), EDTA (20 mM), sodium metabisulfite (1.25 and 0.625%), ice; alone or in combination were used on shrimps during 1°C storage for 10 days. Microbial and chemical changes were analyzed during shrimp storage. First, the combination of nisin and EDTA exhibited antibacterial effects against V. parahaemolyticus, S. enterica, and P. fluorescens in broth. Second, in shrimp preservation, the combination of nisin, EDTA, and sulfite at a low dose of 0.625% exhibited higher antimicrobial activity than did a high dose of sulfite (1.25%). Based on aerobic bacteria counts, psychrotrophic bacteria, and TVB‐N, shrimp treatment with combination of nisin, EDTA, and low‐dose sulfite were still acceptable within 10 days of storage. Based on our findings, nisin and EDTA can be used to reduce uses of sulfite for shrimp preservation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of new iridium(III) complexes were rationally designed and synthesized with 2‐phenylbenzo[d]oxazole (bo), 2‐phenylbenzo[d]thiazole (bt), 2‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)benzo[d]thiazole (thbt), and 2‐(selenophen‐2‐yl)benzo[d]thiazole (sebt) as C^N ligands and bis(diphenylthiophosphoryl)amide (S‐tpip) as ancillary ligand. They are phosphorescent in a wide region of green to red with short lifetimes around 0.31–0.98 μs and quantum yields up to 64.7%. The detailed photophysical properties were investigated by experiment and further supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. These research results show that the spectroscopic properties are tuned by the replacement between oxygen, sulfur, and selenium or the change in aromatic ring. It has been demonstrated that the lowest energy‐level absorption and emission are dominated apparently by C^N ligands, and are ascribed to metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (MLCT) and intra‐ligand charge transfer (ILCT) characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of radiotherapy (RT) delivery has been reported to affect both cancer survival and treatment toxicity. However, the association among the timing of RT delivery, survival, and toxicity in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) has not been investigated. We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with LA-NPC who received definitive RT at multiple institutions. The median RT delivery daytime was categorized as morning (DAY) and night (NIGHT). Seasonal variations were classified into the darker half of the year (WINTER) and brighter half (SUMMER) according to the sunshine duration. Cohorts were balanced according to baseline characteristics using propensity score matching (PSM). Survival and toxicity outcomes were evaluated using Cox regression models. A total of 355 patients were included, with 194/161 in DAY/NIGHT and 187/168 in WINTER/SUMMER groups. RT delivered during the daytime prolonged the 5-year overall survival (OS) (90.6% vs. 80.0%, p = 0.009). However, the significance of the trend was lost after PSM (p = 0.068). After PSM analysis, the DAY cohort derived a greater benefit in 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) (85.6% vs. 73.4%, p = 0.021) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) (89.2% vs. 80.8%, p = 0.051) in comparison with the NIGHT subgroup. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that daytime RT was an independent prognostic factor for OS, PFS, and DMFS. Furthermore, daytime RT delivery was associated with an increase in the incidence of leukopenia and radiation dermatitis. RT delivery in SUMMER influenced only the OS significantly (before PSM: p = 0.051; after PSM: p = 0.034). There was no association between toxicity and the timing of RT delivery by season. In LA-NPC, the daytime of radical RT served as an independent prognostic factor. Furthermore, RT administered in the morning resulted in more severe toxic side effects than that at night, which needs to be confirmed in a future study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the definition of a new class of fractional integral operators, recently introduced by Ahmad et al. in [J. Comput. Appl. Math. 353:120–129, 2019], to establish a fractional-type integral identity with one parameter. We derive some parameterized integral inequalities for convex mappings based on this identity, and provide two examples to illustrate the investigated results as well. Moreover, we present applications of our findings to special means of real numbers, and error estimations for the quadrature formula in numerical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the theory of the "interior-exterior relationship between the lung and large intestine" in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and drawing on the research progress in mucosal immunology of modern medicine, the present paper summarizes the pathophysiological relationship between simultaneous lung and large intestine pattern and the function of lung and intestine as well as mucosal immunity. As lung qi disperses and descends, it makes defensive qi flow around the body surface. As large intestine transports and transforms waste substances from the body, the five zang-organs are in peace and stability. While the normal physiological function of the lung and large intestine is the foundation for body defenses against external pathogenic factors, their abnormal functioning will lead to the lung and large intestine pattern. According to modern medicine, such disease is closely related to mucosal immunity. It is believed that immunoglobulins and cytokines in the mucosal immune system might play a role in affecting both the lung and large intestine at the same time, and the selective homing mechanism could explain the transmission of the disease between the two. The present research hopes to shed some light on the clinical treatment of the lung and large intestine pattern by exploring the relationship between the disease and mucosal immunity from the perspective of the TCM theory of the "interior-exterior relationship between the lung and large intestine". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podocyte infolding glomerulopathy (PIG) is a special type of glomerular disease that has been proposed in recent years and has attracted considerable attention. PIG is characterized by the formation of microspheres and microtubules in thickened glomerular basement membrane (GBM) on electron microscopy (EM), which is recognized as podocyte cytoplasmic infolding to the GBM. However, to date, only a few cases of PIG have been reported. Herein, we report a case of a 33-year-old female with PIG with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) in China and review the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the risk factors associated with osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH) after internal fixation of femoral neck fracture (IFFNF) have been frequently reported, the results remain controversial. Therefore, its related risk factors were systematically evaluated and meta-classified in this study.Methods: Literature on risk factors of ONFH caused by IFFNF was retrieved in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library due June 2019. Review Manager 5.3 software was applied to data synthesis, and Stata 13.0 software was adopted for analyses of publication bias and sensitivity.Results: A total of 17 case-control studies with 2065 patients were included. The risk of ONFH after IF was 0.40-fold higher in patients with Garden III-IV FNF than that in patients with Garden I-II (OR: 0.40, 95%CI: 0.29-0.55). The risk of OFNH with retained IF was uplifted by 0.04 times (OR: 0.04, 95%CI: 0.02-0.07). There was nonsignificant relationship between gender and ONFH after IFFNF (OR: 1.27, 95%CI: 0.84-1.94). Moreover, ONFH after IFFNF presented no association with age (OR:1.66, 95%CI: 0.89-3.11), injury-operation interval (OR:1.29, 95%CI: 0.82-2.04), fracture reduction mode (OR:1.98, 95%CI: 0.92-4.26), preoperative traction (OR:1.69, 95%CI: 0.29-9.98) and mechanism of injury (OR:0.53, 95%CI: 0.06-4.83). Egger's and Begg's tests indicated a publication bias (P = 0.001).Conclusion: It was demonstrated that Garden classification and retained IF were important influencing factors of ONFH after IFFNF. Gender, age, injury-operation interval, fracture reduction mode, preoperative traction and the mechanism of ONFH were irrelevant to the complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve problems in small-scale and complex structural traps, the inverse Gaussian-beam stack-imaging method is commonly used to process crosswell seismic wave reflection data. Owing to limited coverage, the imaging quality of conventional ray-based crosswell seismic stack imaging is poor in complex areas; moreover, the imaging range is small and with sever interference because of the arc phenomenon in seismic migration. Thus, we propose the inverse Gaussian-beam stack imaging, in which Gaussian weight functions of rays contributing to the geophones energy are calculated and used to decompose the seismic wavefield. This effectively enlarges the coverage of the reflection points and improves the transverse resolution. Compared with the traditional VSP-CDP stack imaging, the proposed methods extends the imaging range, yields higher horizontal resolution, and is more adaptable to complex geological structures. The method is applied to model a complex structure in the K-area. The results suggest that the wave group of the target layer is clearer, the resolution is higher, and the main frequency of the crosswell seismic section is higher than that in surface seismic exploration The effectiveness and robustness of the method are verified by theoretical model and practical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical smoke detectors are very prone to produce false alarms and cause a great economic loss when exposed to interference particles, i.e. non-fire aerosols. This paper aims to study the discrimination between fire smokes and two common nuisance particles (i.e. dusts and water particles) based on the asymmetry ratio (AR, the ratio of forward to backward scattered light signals). The experiments were conducted using a home-made detector model and the forward- and backward-scattering angle are 45° and 135° respectively. The test process refers to the Society of Automotive Engineers Aerospace Standard 8036A. Fire smokes, standard dusts and water steam/mists were tested in this study. The effect of particles pollution was firstly studied. Due to the pollution of dust particles on the detector model, the forward signal increases significantly, leading to obvious deviation on the asymmetry ratio. Experiments of fire smokes show that a balance response between the soot and smoldering particles can be achieved based on the asymmetry ratio. By comparing the asymmetry ratios of fire smokes and nuisance aerosols, it is found that we can use the short wavelength (i.e. 405 nm) to distinguish the smoldering particles (the ARs range is 6.8–7.6) from nuisance aerosols, and long wavelength (i.e. 870 nm) to separate the soot particles (the ARs range is 2.2–3.5) and as well the cotton smoldering particles (the ARs range is 10.1–10.6) from nuisance aerosols. Moreover, results also show that nuisance aerosols cover wide ranges of asymmetry ratios, i.e. about 3.4–6.1 at 405 nm and 4.2–8.2 at 870 nm. This suggests that further work is needed to help the differentiation of aerosols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity is viewed as the top global risk for the next decade. One way to resolve water shortage is desalination which expends energy to derive fresh water from the vast amount of saline water. While the current desalination technologies are matured and reliable, desalinating seawater is still an energy intensive process, necessitating research for new generation desalination technology with lower energy consumption. Previously, our group proposed an innovative hydrate based desalination utilizing LNG cold energy (ColdEn-HyDesal) which reported a low specific energy consumption of 0.84 kWh/m3. In this work, we further evaluate the economic feasibility of ColdEn-HyDesal in Singapore. With a regasification rate of 200 t/h, the ColdEn-HyDesal facility simulated in this study produces 260 m3 water per hour. Through a comprehensive evaluation of the capital and operating costs, we observed significant reduction in the levelized cost of water (LCOW) from $9.31/m3 to $1.11/m3 with cold energy integration. The effect of water recovery rate, plant capacity and geological locations were analysed. Finally, the costs of water via the ColdEn-HyDesal process at various scales were benchmarked with matured desalination technologies, revealing that ColdEn-HyDesal technology is economically favourable at larger scale. • The economic feasibility of hydrate-based desalination (HyDesal) process with LNG cold energy utilization is evaluated • The FCI for HyDesal process with and without LNG cold integration are $42.4 million and $9.6 million, respectively • The levelized cost of water for HyDesal process decreased from $9.31/m3 to $1.11/m3 through LNG cold utilization. • The coupling of HyDesal with LNG cold utilization is economically favourable at higher plant capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Velocity imaging technique combined with (2+1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) is used to detect primary photodissociation of propionyl chloride. In one-color experiments at 235 nm, the Cl and Cl* fragments are produced rapidly, leading to a fraction of translational energy release of 0.37 and 0.35, anisotropy parameters of 1.1 and 0.8, and quantum yield of 0.67 and 0.33, respectively, when initial excitation of the 1(n, π*)CO band is coupled to the 1(nCl, σC–Cl*) repulsive configuration. The resulting propionyl radical with sufficient internal energy may undergo secondary dissociation to yield CO that is characteristic of an isotropic distribution. The REMPI spectra of the CO (0,0) and (1,1) bands are measured, giving rise to a Boltzmann rotational temperature of 1200 and 770 K, respectively, and a Boltzmann vibrational temperature of 2800 K. A minor channel of HCl elimination is not detected, probably because of predissociation in two-photon absorption at 235 nm. In two-color experiments comprising an additional 248 nm photolyzing laser, Cl and Cl* are produced with a fraction of translational energy release of 0.43 and 0.40 and anisotropy parameters of 1.0 and 0.6, respectively. The secondary production of CO is not observed although the internal energy partitioned in the propionyl radical is in the proximity of the dissociation barrier. In either experimental scheme, a small component appearing in the center of the Cl and Cl* images is proposed to stem from ground state dissociation via internal conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • P-doped ternary metal oxide with hollow structure is reasonably designed. • The unique electrode depicts a high pseudocapacitance of 1570.2 F g−1. • P doping can effectively improve the conductivity of Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4. • The hollow structure can improve the kinetics of the electrochemical reaction. P-doped multi-metal oxide is an effective method to improve its electrochemical energy storage performance. Herein, a novel P-doped ternary metal oxide (P-Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4) with a yolk-shell hollow structure is reasonably prepared and used as electrode material for supercapacitors. The as-prepared electrode has significantly improved conductivity and capacity, with a high specific capacitance of 1570.2F g−1 in a three-electrode system. Furthermore, the as-assembled P-Ni 0.5 Cu 0.5 Co 2 O 4 //activated carbon supercapacitor possesses an ultra-high energy density of 118.6 W h kg−1 and stable cyclic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthworms are important for soil processes in arable cropping systems, and affect the development of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) which may combinely play a crucial role in soil nitrogen (N) cycling. However, the information is limited about their interaction on N 2 O emissions. A two-factorial microcosm field experiment was established to identify the interactive effects of earthworms and AMF on N 2 O emissions from a rice-rotated wheat field and explore its underlying mechanisms about nitrification and denitrification processes. The results showed that earthworm addition (+E) increased cumulative N 2 O emissions during the whole growth stage by 236.7 % compared with no earthworms (−E). Cumulative N 2 O emissions during the jointing and booting stages contributed to 58.7 % of that during the whole growth stage. Higher N 2 O emissions under +E were attributed to changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and NH 4 + concentration. SOC was positively correlated to gene abundances associated with N 2 O reduction (e.g., nosZ), and earthworm activity enhanced SOC mineralization and reduced SOC concentration, thus increasing N 2 O emissions. A negative correlation between NH 4 + and N 2 O emissions, and lower NH 4 + under +E indicated that earthworms enhanced nitrification intensity using NH 4 + as substrates. Interestingly, AMF normal (+A) significantly decreased cumulative N 2 O emissions by 37.3 % compared with mycorrhizal suppression (−A) and the interaction with earthworms can further decreased N 2 O emissions by 37.0 % compared with -E-A (P < 0.05). This can be explained by higher NH 4 +, lower NO 3 − concentrations, and lower abundance of nitrification-associated genes (e.g., AOA and AOB) at the booting stage under +A, suggesting that AMF reduced N 2 O emissions mainly through lowering nitrification intensity. The results highlight that earthworms increase N 2 O emissions while AMF can mitigate earthworm-induced N 2 O emissions, and enhance our understanding on the soil N cycle in terms of N 2 O production in the presence of AMF and earthworms. • Earthworms increased N 2 O emissions due to decreased SOC and nosZ abundances. • AMF reduced N 2 O emissions due to lower abundance of nitrification-associated genes. • Interaction between earthworms and AMF mitigated N 2 O emissions. • AMF can mitigate earthworm-induced N 2 O emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral delivery is a convenient route of administration with superior patient compliance compared to other invasive delivery approaches, such as intravenous, intramuscular or intrathecal delivery, which are often used for nucleic acid delivery. Development of novel safe and effective delivery systems for nucleic acids will certainly facilitate clinical translation and application of various nucleic acid based therapeutics. There has been a significant progress in the clinical applications of nucleic acids, including RNA and DNA, for treating human diseases. [Extracted from the article]