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Abstract Advances in theoretical understanding are frequently unlocked by access to large, diverse experimental datasets. Our understanding of olfactory neuroscience and psychophysics remain years behind the other senses, in part because rich datasets linking olfactory stimuli with their corresponding percepts, behaviors, and neural pathways remain scarce. Here we present a concerted effort to unlock and unify dozens of stimulus-linked olfactory datasets across species and modalities under a unified framework called Pyrfume. We present examples of how researchers might use Pyrfume to conduct novel analyses uncovering new principles, introduce trainees to the field, or construct benchmarks for machine olfaction.

Abstract Direct chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of graphene on dielectric/insulating materials is a promising strategy for subsequent transfer-free applications of graphene. However, graphene growth on noncatalytic substrates is faced with thorny issues, especially the limited growth rate, which severely hinders mass production and practical applications. Herein, graphene glass fiber fabric (GGFF) is developed by graphene CVD growth on glass fiber fabric. Dichloromethane is applied as a carbon precursor to accelerate graphene growth, which has a low decomposition energy barrier, and more importantly, the produced high-electronegativity Cl radical can enhance adsorption of active carbon species by Cl–CH2 coadsorption and facilitate H detachment from graphene edges. Consequently, the growth rate is increased by ~3 orders of magnitude and carbon utilization by ~960-fold, compared with conventional methane precursor. The advantageous hierarchical conductive configuration of lightweight, flexible GGFF makes it an ultrasensitive pressure sensor for human motion and physiological monitoring, such as pulse and vocal signals.

Phytoremediation is acknowledged as a sustainable solution for mitigating heavy metals contamination in soils yet faces challenges in transitioning from laboratory experiments to practical field applications, essential for widespread adoption and commercialization. Phytoremediation techniques employing high biomass plants and hyperaccumulators have demonstrated promise in various contexts, such as extracting heavy metals from tailings using short rotation forestry. However, the disparity between laboratory and field results underscores the need for a framework to bridge this gap. This review screened and reviewed papers published in international peer-reviewed journals indexed in Web of Science Core from 2014 to 2024. The potential of effect and response traits as early plant selection tools and predictors of phytoremediation efficacy, respectively, to assess plant performance and response in heavy metal phytoremediation is outlined. In addition, a comprehensive framework for heavy metal phytoremediation is proposed to enhance the understanding and practical application of phytoremediation technologies.

In order to solve the problems such as overload bending, deformation and tearing caused by the rock bolt bracket which is difficult to adapt to the impact of surrounding rock, a new concept of filling the solid part of the dome with tensile microlattice was proposed. By combining the dome structure with tetrahedral lattice, a new bracket-microlattice dome structure bracket was obtained. Through the numerical simulation software Abaqus, three kinds of 3D-printable materials, namely Q235 steel, ABS plastic and aluminum alloy, were set, and different circular section sizes were given on the basis of different materials, namely the diameters of 1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm, for finite element comparative analysis. The results show that the carrying capacity and energy absorption of the three materials under different profile sizes are in the order of 3 mm Q235 steel > aluminum alloy > ABS plastic. The carrying capacity of Q235 steel is about 4.26×105 N, and the energy absorption is about 2.2×105 J, showing high strength and high energy absorption characteristics. When the material of the new bracket is Q235 steel and the section diameter is 3 mm, the bearing capacity is the highest and the energy absorption effect is the strongest, this is the optimal result of numerical simulation.

Fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely considered as a vital candidate of aerial base station in beyond Fifth Generation (B5G) systems. Accurate knowledge of air-to-ground (A2G) wireless propagation is important for A2G communication system development and testing where, however, there is still a lack of A2G wideband channel models for such a purpose. In this paper, we present a wideband fixed-wing UAV-based A2G channel measurement campaign at 2.7 GHz, and consider typical flight phases, based on which a wide-sense stationary uncorrelated scattering (WSSUS)-based tapped delay line (TDL) wideband channel model is proposed. Parameters of individual channel taps are analyzed in terms of gain, amplitude distribution, Rice factor and delay-Doppler spectrum. It is shown that UAV flight phases significantly influence the channel tap parameters. Particularly, the “Bell”-type spectrum is found to be the most suitable model for the delay-Doppler spectrum under various flight scenarios for A2G propagation. The proposed channel model can provide valuable assistance and guidance for UAV communication system evaluation and network planning.

Abstract Bamboo has been identified as a promising solution to the energy crisis and climate change as a source of biomass energy. Due to its rapid growth and high‐value products, bamboo is considered as a potential source of biomass energy. Bamboo contains a significant amount of cellulose and hemicellulose, which can be converted to sugar constituents, making it an ideal raw material for energy production. This article reviews the different processes of producing bioethanol, biogas, biochar, and bio‐oil from bamboo biomass using techniques such as pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, fermentation, and anaerobic digestion, and discusses the opportunities and challenges of these conversion technologies. It also reviews the main types and morphological characteristics of energy bamboo species and proposes an evaluation system for energy bamboo species, which optimizes the utilization efficiency of bamboo biomass energy and maximizes benefits by adopting appropriate methods for producing bioenergy based on the characteristics of different bamboo species.

In recent years, in order to reduce the damage from the blackout accident, the demand of the power system for its basic resistance ability has gradually increased. Therefore, this paper proposes a double-layer optimization method for the prevention of cascading failure of the power system that takes into account the transient stability constraint for cascading trips that directly lead to the accident. In terms of models, the paper reconstructs an outer model for optimizing the safety margin based on the inner model that solves the safety margin of cascading failure prevention. In terms of algorithms, the paper uses the Extended Particle Swarm Optimization (EPSO) algorithm with higher precision and accuracy to solve the inner model and innovatively introduced the Practical Dynamic Security Region (PDSR), which uses PSASP software for offline calculation and online application, as a dynamic analysis method to quickly realize transient stability constraint to solve the outer model. Three evaluation indexes of the preventive optimization effect can be obtained by this method; dispatchers can plan more flexible and reliable optimal dispatching schemes through these indexes, to comprehensively improve the safety margin of cascading failure prevention in the current operating state and enhance the risk resistance ability of the power grid. This paper has used MATLAB and PSASP to perform simulation analysis using the IEEE39 node system as a test example to verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed model and algorithm.

This study examines the issues of privacy protection, data security, and query efficiency in blockchain-based electronic medical record (EMR) sharing. It proposes a secure storage and sharing scheme for EMR based on Hyperledger Fabric and the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). To mitigate the privacy risks of data mining that could reveal patient identities, we establish an attribution channel in Hyperledger Fabric to store EMR ownership information and a data channel to store the storage location, digest, and usage records of medical data. Encrypted medical data are stored in the IPFS. To improve query efficiency in the blockchain, we integrate queryable medical data attributes into a composite key for conditional queries, avoiding complex data filtering processes. Additionally, we use a zero-knowledge proof combined with smart contracts for decentralized identity verification, eliminating reliance on third-party centralized verification services and enhancing system security. We also integrate AES and proxy re-encryption techniques to ensure data security during sharing. This scheme provides a more secure, efficient, and privacy-preserving approach for EMR systems, with significant practical implications and broad application potential.

Summary: CD133 is widely used as a marker to isolate tumor-initiating cells in many types of cancers. The structure of N-glycan on CD133 is altered during the differentiation of tumor-initiating cells. However, the relationship between CD133 N-glycosylation and stem cell characteristics remains elusive. Here, we found that the level of α-1,2-mannosylated CD133 was associated with the level of stemness genes in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) tissues. α-1,2-mannosylated CD133+ cells possessed the characteristics of tumor-initiating cells. The loss of the Golgi α-mannosidase I coding gene MAN1C1 resulted in the formation of α-1,2-mannosylated CD133 in iCCA-initiating cells. Mechanistically, α-1,2-mannosylation promoted the cytoplasmic distribution of CD133 and enhanced the interaction between CD133 and the autophagy gene FIP200, subsequently promoting the tumorigenesis of α-1,2-mannosylated CD133+ cells. Analysis of iCCA samples showed that the level of cytoplasmic CD133 was associated with poor iCCA prognosis. Collectively, α-1,2-mannosylated CD133 is a functional marker of iCCA-initiating cells.

The study of plant phenology is important nowadays since global climate-changing phenomena are impacting the growing patterns and growing periods of plants. Bamboo is of great importance to the agriculture and forestry of temperate, subtropical to tropical regions, especially of Asia. Although some temperate genera can thrive under different climatic conditions, from the Korean Peninsula to South China, it is not known how bamboo will be affected by climate change, so the collection of data related to bamboo phenology could be of interest to research related to climate change. In this review, we describe available data on the phenology of 8 temperate genera, including 79 species, varieties and forms and 4 subtropical–tropical bamboo genera, including 19 species. Primarily, culm shoot physiology is discussed with some reference to leaf phenology data, where available, as well as their interaction. Since the data available in Western literature is often limited to the definition of season rather than exact dates and periods of given months, there is still a great need to explore more about the exact phenology of individual bamboo species to be able to determine the impact of periodic changes in weather patterns or climate change on bamboo phenology in the future.

In order to solve the difficulties in the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections, a novel enrofloxacin-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complexes (IC) containing hyaluronic acid/chitosan (HA/CS) self-assemble composite nanosystems covered by poloxamer 188 was designed in our previous study. In this study, the sustained release peforemance, targeting delivery, and therapy effects of the enrofloxacin-composite nanosystems were evaluated in vivo. The enrofloxacin-composite nanosystems had uniform size and smooth surface with drug loading capacity (LC) of 9.92 ± 0.3%. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the material used for the preparation of the enrofloxacin-composite nanosystems did not affect the thermal stability of enrofloxacin. Compared with enrofloxacin injection and enrofloxacin polymeric nanoparticles, the enrofloxacin-composite nanosystems had excellent sustained-release performance in vivo. The enrofloxacin-composite nanosystems have specific targeting to the infection site of Staphylococcus aureus. The excellent sustained release and targeting delivery properties ensure that the anti-infective treatment effect of the enrofloxacin-composite nanosystems in vivo was higher than that of enrofloxacin injection and enrofloxacin polymeric nanoparticles. It can more effectively promote the wound healing. These results suggest that our previous designed enrofloxacin-composite nanosystems will be a promising formulation for effective targeting therapy of Staphylococcus aureus infections.

With the wide application of mobile robots, mobile robot path planning (MRPP) has attracted the attention of scholars, and many metaheuristic algorithms have been used to solve MRPP. Swarm-based algorithms are suitable for solving MRPP due to their population-based computational approach. Hence, this paper utilizes the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) to address the problem, aiming to improve the solution accuracy. Whale optimization algorithm (WOA) is an algorithm that imitates whale foraging behavior, and the firefly algorithm (FA) is an algorithm that imitates firefly behavior. This paper proposes a hybrid firefly-whale optimization algorithm (FWOA) based on multi-population and opposite-based learning using the above algorithms. This algorithm can quickly find the optimal path in the complex mobile robot working environment and can balance exploitation and exploration. In order to verify the FWOA’s performance, 23 benchmark functions have been used to test the FWOA, and they are used to optimize the MRPP. The FWOA is compared with ten other classical metaheuristic algorithms. The results clearly highlight the remarkable performance of the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) in terms of convergence speed and exploration capability, surpassing other algorithms. Consequently, when compared to the most advanced metaheuristic algorithm, FWOA proves to be a strong competitor.

Abstract Background Coinfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is common in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients due to shared routes of transmission. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of HCV subgenotypes among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients in Guangdong and explore the molecular transmission networks and related risk factors for HCV strains. Methods Plasma samples were obtained from 356 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients for HCV NS5B region sequencing. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed to affirm HCV subgenotypes. The transmission networks based on maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree were determined by Cluster Picker, and visualized using Cytoscape 3.2.1. Results A total of 302 HCV NS5B sequences were successfully amplified and sequenced from the 356 plasma samples. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree based on the 302 NS5B sequences revealed the profile of HCV subgenotypes circulating among HIV/HCV coinfection patients in Guangdong. Two predominant strains were found to be 6a (58.28%, 176/302) and 1b (18.54%, 56/302), followed by 3a (10.93%, 33/302), 3b (6.95%, 21/302), 1a (3.64%, 11/302), 2a (0.99%, 3/302) and 6n (0.66%, 2/302). A molecular transmission network of five major HCV genotypes was constructed, with a clustering rate of 44.04%. The clustering rates of subgenotypes 1a, 3a, 3b, 1b, and 6a were 18.18% (2/11), 42.42%, 52.38%, 48.21%, and 44.89%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed no significant effects from sex, age, transmission route, geographical region, baseline CD4 + T cell count or subgenotype (P > 0.05), except marital status. Married or cohabiting people (compared with unmarried people) had more difficulty forming transmission networks. Conclusions In summary, this study, based on HCV NS5B subgenotypes, revealed the HCV subtype diversity and distribution among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients in Guangdong. Marital status inclined to be the factor influencing HCV transmission networks formation.

The purpose of this study is to confirm whether the 'cold-hot properties' of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have modern scientific connotations on the molecular level of compounds using machine learning (ML).In this study, 393 Chinese herbs were selected, modeling was based on three ML algorithms, and the voting fusion algorithm was used to construct the fusion model. According to the ROC area under the curve (AUC), the cold-hot herb property classification model was screened. The a priori and K-means algorithms were used to mine key molecules related to cold-hot properties.The AUC of the ML models and fusion models under the ROC curve after 10 rounds of folding cross-verification was above 0.75. Mining obtained 15 cold key compounds (CKCs), 26 hot key compounds (HKCs), a CKC structure similarity of 0.75 on average, and an HKC structure similarity of 0.69 on average. The average similarity between the molecular structures of CKCs compounds and HKCs compounds was 0.18, lower than 0.5. Twelve physical and chemical indices, such as molecular weight (MW) and molecular hydrophobicity (Alogp), had a statistically significant difference in molecular characteristics (P

Abstract We examined the safety and efficacy of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hUC-MSC) infusion for immune non-responder (INR) patients with chronic HIV-1 infection, who represent an unmet medical need even in the era of efficient antiretroviral therapy (ART). Seventy-two INR patients with HIV were enrolled in this phase II randomized, double-blinded, multicenter, placebo-controlled, dose-determination trial (NCT01213186) from May 2013 to March 2016. They were assigned to receive high-dose (1.5 × 106/kg body weight) or low-dose (0.5 × 106/kg body weight) hUC-MSC, or placebo. Their clinical and immunological parameters were monitored during the 96-week follow-up study. We found that hUC-MSC treatment was safe and well-tolerated. Compared with baseline, there was a statistical increase in CD4+ T counts in the high-dose (P

Background and Aim. Hepatic macrophage is a heterogenetic population in origin and function. It is known to participate in the coordination of all phases of liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PHx). However, as yet, there is no research focused on the dynamics of macrophage subsets of different origins and functions after PHx. Methods. In the present study, we investigated hepatic macrophage heterogeneity in murine liver regeneration after 2/3 PHx through immunofluorescence staining, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results. Our research showed that Kupffer cells reduced rapidly in the early PHx and restored gradually depending on local proliferation and replenishment from infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages. The ratio of ly6Chi to ly6Clo subset of macrophages in the liver changed dynamically, and hepatic macrophage function exhibits a significant difference in different stages of liver regeneration. Moreover, blocking infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophage recruitment augmented Kupffer cell proliferation but impaired the restoration of the hepatic macrophage pool, which led to delayed hepatocyte mitosis and liver regeneration. Conclusions. Our data suggest that hepatic macrophage changes dynamically in origin and function during liver regeneration following PHx and macrophage-targeted liver regeneration should consider macrophage heterogeneity.

Albendazole (ABZ), an effective benzimidazole antiparasitic drug is limited by its poor solubility and oral bioavailability. In order to overcome its disadvantages, ABZ nanocrystals were prepared using a novel bottom-up method based on acid-base neutralization recrystallization with high-speed mixing and dispersing. The cosolvent, stabilizer and preparation temperature were optimized using single factor tests. The physicochemical properties, solubility and pharmacokinetics of the optimal ABZ nanocrystals were evaluated. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) showed that ABZ had no structural and crystal phase change after nanocrystallization. The saturated solubility of ABZ nanocrystals in different solvents was increased by 2.2–118 fold. The oral bioavailability of the total active ingredients (ABZ and its metabolites of albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO) and albendazole sulfone (ABZSO2)) of the nanocrystals in rats was enhanced by 1.40 times compared to the native ABZ. These results suggest that nanocrystals might be a promising way to enhance the solubility and oral bioavailability of ABZ and other insoluble drugs.

Bioremediation of sites co-contaminated with organohalides and metal pollutants may have unsatisfactory performance, since metal ions can potentially inhibit organohalide respiration. To understand the detailed impact of metals on organohalide respiration, we tested the effects of four metal ions (i.e., Cu2+, Cd2+, Cr3+ and Pb2+), as well as their mixtures, on reductive dechlorination of perchloroethene (PCE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in three different cultures, including a pure culture of Dehalococcoides mccartyi CG1, a Dehalococcoides-containing microcosm and a Dehalococcoides-Geobacter coculture. Results showed that the inhibitive impact on organohalide respiration depended on both the type and concentration of metal ions. Interestingly, the metal ions might indirectly inhibit organohalide respiration through affecting non-dechlorinating populations in the Dehalococcoides-containing microcosm. Nonetheless, compared to the CG1 pure culture, the Dehalococcoides-containing microcosm had higher tolerance to the individual metal ions. In addition, no synergistic inhibition was observed for reductive dechlorination of PCE and PCBs in cultures amended with metal ion mixtures. These results provide insights into the impact of metal ions on organohalide respiration, which may be helpful for future in situ bioremediation of organohalide-metal co-contaminated sites. Keywords: Organohalides, Metal ions, Organohalide respiration, Reductive dechlorination, Dehalococcoides, Geobacter

Six nonlinear, optical chromophores, Z1–Z6, based on the bis(N,N-diethyl)aniline-derived donor and thiolated isophorone bridge, were designed and synthesized. The bis(N,N-diethyl)aniline-derived donor was applied in a chromophore with thiolated isophorone as an electron bridge for the first time. In particular, the bridge parts of chromophores Z2–Z6 were modified with different functional groups, including tert-butyltrimethylsilane and tert-butyl(methyl)diphenylsilane derivative: 1,3-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzene and alkylaniline cyanoacetate, respectively. Density functional theory calculations suggested this series of chromophores show much greater hyperpolarizability than traditional, nonlinear, optical chromophores due to strong electron donor ability. These chromophores, Z1–Z6, showed very high poling efficiencies due to the large steric hindrance and hyperpolarizability of the chromophores. A large poling efficiency (2.04 ± 0.08 nm2/V2) and r33 value (193 pm/V) were achieved for polymeric thin films doped with 25 wt% chromophore Z6 at 1310 nm.

The massive production and improper disposal of organohalides resulted in worldwide contamination in soil and water. However, their environmental survey based on chromatographic methods was hindered by challenges in testing the extremely wide variety of organohalides. Dehalococcoides as obligate organohalide-respiring bacteria exclusively use organohalides as electron acceptors to support their growth, of which the presence could be coupled with organohalides and, therefore, could be employed as a biomarker of the organohalide pollution. In this study, Dehalococcoides was screened in various samples of bioreactors and subsurface environments, showing the wide distribution of Dehalococcoides in sludge and sediment. Further laboratory cultivation confirmed the dechlorination activities of those Dehalococcoides. Among those samples, Dehalococcoides accounting for 1.8% of the total microbial community was found in an anaerobic granular sludge sample collected from a full-scale bioreactor treating petroleum wastewater. Experimental evidence suggested that the influent wastewater in the bioreactor contained bromomethane which support the growth of Dehalococcoides. This study demonstrated that Dehalococcoides could be employed as a promising biomarker to test the present of organohalides in wastestreams or other environmental samples.

BackgroundThe advent of direct-acting agents (DAAs) has improved treatment of HCV in HIV co-infection, but may be limited by primary drug resistance. This study reports the prevalence of natural polymorphisms conferring resistance to NS3/4A protease inhibitors and NS5B polymerase inhibitors in treatment-naïve HIV/HCV co-infected individuals in China.MethodsPopulation based NS3/4A sequencing was completed for 778 treatment-naïve HIV/HCV co-infected patients from twelve provinces. NS3 sequences were amplified by nested PCR using in-house primers for genotypes 1-6. NS5B sequencing was completed for genotyping in 350 sequences. Resistance-associated variants (RAVs) were identified in positions associated with HCV resistance.ResultsOverall, 72.8% (566/778) of all HCV sequences had at least one RAV associated with HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor resistance. Variants were found in 3.6% (7/193) of genotype 1, 100% (23/23) of genotype 2, 100% (237/237) of genotype 3 and 92% (299/325) of genotype 6 sequences. The Q80K variant was present in 98.4% of genotype 6a sequences. High-level RAVs were rare, occurring in only 0.8% of patients. 93% (64/69) patients with genotype 1b also carried the C316N variant associated with NS5B low-level resistance.ConclusionsThe low frequency of high-level RAVs associated with primary HCV DAA resistance among all genotypes in HIV/HCV co-infected patients is encouraging. Further phenotypic studies and clinical research are needed.

Muscle strength training for stroke patients is of vital importance for helping survivors to progressively restore muscle strength and improve the performance of their activities in daily living (ADL). An adaptive hierarchical therapy control framework which integrates the patient's real biomechanical state estimation with task-performance quantitative evaluation is proposed. Firstly, a high-level progressive resistive supervisory controller is designed to determine the resistive force base for each training session based on the patient's online task-performance evaluation. Then, a low-level adaptive resistive force triggered controller is presented to further regulate the interactive resistive force corresponding to the patient's real-time biomechanical state – characterized by the patient's bio-damping and bio-stiffness in the course of one training session, so that the patient is challenged in a moderate but engaging and motivating way. Finally, a therapeutic robot system using a Barrett WAM™ compliant manipulator is set up. We recruited eighteen inpatient and outpatient stroke participants who were randomly allocated in experimental (robot-aided) and control (conventional physical therapy) groups and enrolled for sixteen weeks of progressive resistance training. The preliminary results show that the proposed therapy control strategies can enhance the recovery of strength and motor control ability.