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Abstract To address the issue of poor robustness in the model predictive control of grid‐connected inverters due to disturbances in load model parameters, this article developed an ultra‐local model robust predictive controller based on Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI). First, to avoid dependence on model parameters, an ultra‐local model of the system was constructed. Second, in the process of setting the state variable compensation gain, to simplify the complex computational steps of the traditional Lyapunov algorithm, the task of finding the gain that satisfies the Lyapunov stability condition was ingeniously transformed into an optimization problem of solving constrained LMI. Third, the optimized state variables are utilized to design a new cost function predictive model, thereby enhancing the precision of system control. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach has been validated through simulations and experiments.

Abstract Background Antimicrobial resistance and bacterial hypermucoviscosity, associated with escalating production of capsules, constitute major challenges for the clinical management of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) infections. This study investigates the association and underlying mechanism between ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI) resistance and bacterial hypermucoviscosity in Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-Kp). Results The proportion of CAZ-AVI-sensitive clinical isolates exhibiting the hypermucoviscous phenotype was significantly lower than that of the resistant strains (5.6% vs. 46.7%, P

This article elucidates the concept of large model technology, summarizes the research status of large model technology both domestically and internationally, provides an overview of the application status of large models in vertical industries, outlines the challenges and issues confronted in applying large models in the oil and gas sector, and offers prospects for the application of large models in the oil and gas industry. The existing large models can be briefly divided into three categories: large language models, visual large models, and multimodal large models. The application of large models in the oil and gas industry is still in its infancy. Based on open-source large language models, some oil and gas enterprises have released large language model products using methods like fine-tuning and retrieval augmented generation. Scholars have attempted to develop scenario-specific models for oil and gas operations by using visual/multimodal foundation models. A few researchers have constructed pre-trained foundation models for seismic data processing and interpretation, as well as core analysis. The application of large models in the oil and gas industry faces challenges such as current data quantity and quality being difficult to support the training of large models, high research and development costs, and poor algorithm autonomy and control. The application of large models should be guided by the needs of oil and gas business, taking the application of large models as an opportunity to improve data lifecycle management, enhance data governance capabilities, promote the construction of computing power, strengthen the construction of “artificial intelligence + energy” composite teams, and boost the autonomy and control of large model technology.

Abstract Background Pulmonary abscesses resulting from epididymitis caused by extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-hvKp) in a nondiabetic patient are extremely uncommon. The infection caused by this disseminated drug-resistant bacteria, which is generally considered an intractable case, poses a potential challenge in clinical practice. Case presentation In this case report, we present the clinical course of a 71-year-old male patient with epididymitis, who subsequently developed cough and dyspnea following anti-infection treatment. Imaging examinations revealed severe pneumonia and pulmonary abscess. The infection of ESBL-hvKp in the epididymis led to bacteremia and subsequent lung lesions. Due to poor response to anti-infection therapy, the patient required an extended duration of anti-infection treatment and ultimately chosed to discontinue treatment. Conclusions Acute epididymitis caused by ESBL-hvKP infection can result in the spread of the infection through the bloodstream, leading to severe pneumonia and lung abscess. Given the critical condition of the patient, even with active anti-infection treatment, there is a risk of treatment failure or potentially fatal outcomes.

The shear strength deterioration of bedding planes between different rock types induced by cyclic loading is vital to reasonably evaluate the stability of soft and hard interbedded bedding rock slopes under earthquake; however, rare work has been devoted to this subject due to lack of attention. In this study, experimental investigations on shear strength weakening of discontinuities with different joint wall material (DDJM) under cyclic loading were conducted by taking the interface between siltstone and mudstone in the Shaba slope of Yunnan Province, China as research objects. A total of 99 pairs of similar material samples of DDJM (81 pairs) and discontinuities with identical joint wall material (DIJM) (18 pairs) were fabricated by inserting plates, engraved with typical surface morphology obtained by performing three-dimensional laser scanning on natural DDJMs sampled from field, into mold boxes. Cyclic shear tests were conducted on these samples to study their shear strength changes with the cyclic number considering the effects of normal stress, joint surface morphology, shear displacement amplitude and shear rate. The results indicate that the shear stress vs. shear displacement curves under each shear cycle and the peak shear strength vs. cyclic number curves of the studied DDJMs are between those of DIJMs with siltstone and mudstone, while closer to those of DIJMs with mudstone. The peak shear strengths of DDJMs exhibit an initial rapid decline followed by a gradual decrease with the cyclic number and the decrease rate varies from 6% to 55.9% for samples with varied surface morphology under different testing conditions. The normal stress, joint surface morphology, shear displacement amplitude and shear rate collectively influence the shear strength deterioration of DDJM under cyclic shear loading, with the degree of influence being greater for larger normal stress, rougher surface morphology, larger shear displacement amplitude and faster shear rate.

Abstract Background Monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages (Mo_AMs) are increasingly recognised as potential pathogenic factors for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). While scRNAseq analysis has proven valuable in the transcriptome profiling of Mo_AMs, the integration analysis of multi-omics may provide additional dimensions of understanding of these cellular populations. Methods We performed multi-omics analysis on 116 scRNAseq, 119 bulkseq and five scATACseq lung tissue samples from IPF. We built a large-scale IPF scRNAseq atlas and conducted the Monocle 2/3 as well as the Cellchat to explore the developmental path and intercellular communication on Mo_AMs. We also reported the difference in metabolisms, tissue repair and phagocytosis between Mo_AMs and tissue-resident alveolar macrophages (TRMs). To determine whether Mo_AMs affected pulmonary function, we projected clinical phenotypes (FVC%pred) from the bulkseq dataset onto the scRNAseq atlas. Finally, we used scATATCseq to uncover the upstream regulatory mechanisms and determine key drivers in Mo_AMs. Results We identified three Mo_AMs clusters and the trajectory analysis further validated the origin of these clusters. Moreover, via the Cellchat analysis, the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis was found to be involved in the molecular basis of reciprocal interactions between Mo_AMs and fibroblasts through the activation of the ERK pathway in Mo_AMs. SPP1_RecMacs (RecMacs, recruited macrophages) were higher in the low-FVC group than in the high-FVC group. Specifically, compared with TRMs, the functions of lipid and energetic metabolism as well as tissue repair were higher in Mo_AMs than TRMs. But, TRMs may have higher level of phagocytosis than TRMs. SPIB (PU.1), JUNB, JUND, BACH2, FOSL2, and SMARCC1 showed stronger association with open chromatin of Mo_AMs than TRMs. Significant upregulated expression and deep chromatin accessibility of APOE were observed in both SPP1_RecMacs and TRMs. Conclusion Through trajectory analysis, it was confirmed that SPP1_RecMacs derived from Monocytes. Besides, Mo_AMs may influence FVC% pred and aggravate pulmonary fibrosis through the communication with fibroblasts. Furthermore, distinctive transcriptional regulators between Mo_AMs and TRMs implied that they may depend on different upstream regulatory mechanisms. Overall, this work provides a global overview of how Mo_AMs govern IPF and also helps determine better approaches and intervention therapies.

Tigecycline (TGC) is currently used to treat carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infections, while eravacycline (ERV), a new-generation tetracycline, holds promise as a novel therapeutic option for these infections. However, differences in resistance mechanism between ERV and TGC against A. baumannii remain unclear. This study sought to compare the characteristics and mechanisms of ERV and TGC resistance among clinical A. baumannii isolates. A total of 492 isolates, including 253 CRAB and 239 carbapenem-sensitive A. baumannii (CSAB) isolates, were collected from hospitalized patients in China. The MICs of ERV and TGC against A. baumannii were determined by broth microdilution. Genetic mutations and expressions of adeB, adeG, adeJ, adeS, adeL, and adeN in resistant strains were examined by PCR and qPCR, respectively. The in vitro recombination experiments were used to verify the resistance mechanism of ERV and TGC in A. baumannii. The MIC90 of ERV in CRAB and CSAB isolates were lower than those of TGC. A total of 24 strains resistant to ERV and/or TGC were categorized into three groups: only ERV-resistant (n = 2), both ERV- and TGC-resistant (n = 7), and only TGC-resistant (n = 15). ST208 (75%, n = 18) was a major clone that has disseminated in all three groups. The ISAba1 insertion in adeS was identified in 66.7% (6/9) of strains in the only ERV-resistant and both ERV- and TGC-resistant groups, while the ISAba1 insertion in adeN was found in 53.3% (8/15) of strains in the only TGC-resistant group. The adeABC and adeRS expressions were significantly increased in the only ERV-resistant and both ERV- and TGC-resistant groups, while the adeABC and adeIJK expressions were significantly increased and adeN was significantly decreased in the only TGC-resistant group. Expression of adeS with the ISAba1 insertion in ERV- and TGC-sensitive strains significantly increased the ERV and TGC MICs and upregulated adeABC and adeRS expressions. Complementation of the wildtype adeN in TGC-resistant strains with the ISAba1 insertion in adeN restored TGC sensitivity and significantly downregulated adeIJK expression. In conclusion, our data illustrates that ERV is more effective against A. baumannii clinical isolates than TGC. ERV resistance is correlated with the ISAba1 insertion in adeS, while TGC resistance is associated with the ISAba1 insertion in adeN or adeS in A. baumannii.

ABSTRACTThe rapid proliferation of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens poses a serious threat to healthcare worldwide. Carbapenem-resistant (CR) Enterobacteriaceae, which have near-universal resistance to available antimicrobials, represent a particularly concerning issue. Herein, we report the identification of AMXT-1501, a polyamine transport system inhibitor with antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and -negative MDR bacteria. We observed minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)50/MIC90 values for AMXT-1501 in the range of 3.13–12.5 μM (2.24–8.93 μg /mL), including for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), CR Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. AMXT-1501 was more effective against MRSA and CR E. coli than vancomycin and tigecycline, respectively. Subinhibitory concentrations of AMXT-1501 reduced the biofilm formation of S. aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. Mechanistically, AMXT-1501 exposure damaged microbial membranes and increased membrane permeability and membrane potential by binding to cardiolipin (CL) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG). Importantly, AMXT-1501 pressure did not induce resistance readily in the tested pathogens.

Abstract Background The rapid emergence and global dissemination of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 have posed formidable challenges in public health. This scenario underscores the urgent need for an enhanced understanding of Omicron's pathophysiological mechanisms to guide clinical management and shape public health strategies. Our study is aimed at deciphering the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying Omicron infections, particularly focusing on the identification of specific biomarkers. Methods This investigation employed a robust and systematic approach, initially encompassing 15 Omicron-infected patients and an equal number of healthy controls, followed by a validation cohort of 20 individuals per group. The study's methodological framework included a comprehensive multi-omics analysis that integrated proteomics and metabolomics, augmented by extensive bioinformatics. Proteomic exploration was conducted via an advanced Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) system linked with mass spectrometry. Concurrently, metabolomic profiling was executed using an Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) system. The bioinformatics component, fundamental to this research, entailed an exhaustive analysis of protein–protein interactions, pathway enrichment, and metabolic network dynamics, utilizing state-of-the-art tools such as the STRING database and Cytoscape software, ensuring a holistic interpretation of the data. Results Our proteomic inquiry identified eight notably dysregulated proteins (THBS1, ACTN1, ACTC1, POTEF, ACTB, TPM4, VCL, ICAM1) in individuals infected with the Omicron variant. These proteins play critical roles in essential physiological processes, especially within the coagulation cascade and hemostatic mechanisms, suggesting their significant involvement in the pathogenesis of Omicron infection. Complementing these proteomic insights, metabolomic analysis discerned 146 differentially expressed metabolites, intricately associated with pivotal metabolic pathways such as tryptophan metabolism, retinol metabolism, and steroid hormone biosynthesis. This comprehensive metabolic profiling sheds light on the systemic implications of Omicron infection, underscoring profound alterations in metabolic equilibrium. Conclusions This study substantially enriches our comprehension of the physiological ramifications induced by the Omicron variant, with a particular emphasis on the pivotal roles of coagulation and platelet pathways in disease pathogenesis. The discovery of these specific biomarkers illuminates their potential as critical targets for diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, providing invaluable insights for the development of tailored treatments and enhancing patient care in the dynamic context of the ongoing pandemic.

China has a 9000-year-long history of cereal-based alcohol production, with the use of molds (filamentous fungi) likely being one of the earliest fermentation techniques. This method later developed into the uniquely East Asian qu (koji) starter compound, containing grains, molds, yeasts, and bacteria. Recent studies have revealed that this method was already widely applied during the Neolithic period. However, much less is known about its development during the early dynastic times, and our knowledge of this innovation has mainly relied on textual materials. Here, we present direct evidence, based on microbotanical, microbial, and chemical analyses, for the fermentation method of a 2300-year-old liquid preserved in a sealed bronze bottle unearthed in a Qin tomb at Yancun, Shaanxi. The results of this research suggest that this liquid is likely a fermented beverage made from wheat/barley, rice, Job’s tears, broomcorn millet, and pulses. The fermentation starter may have been a cereal-based qu, consisting of a wide range of microorganisms, including molds (Aspergillus and Monascus), yeasts, and bacteria. Our findings suggest that the tradition of selecting suitable grains and microbial communities for brewing alcohol, possibly with a maiqu starter (primarily wheat/barley-based qu), may have been well established more than two thousand years ago.

Curcumin is a naturally occurring hydrophobic polyphenolic compound with a rapid metabolism, poor absorption, and low stability, which severely limits its bioavailability. Here, we employed a starch–protein-based nanoparticle approach to improve the curcumin bioavailability. This study focused on synthesizing nanoparticles with a zein “core” and a carboxymethylated short-chain amylose (CSA) “shell” through anti-solvent precipitation for delivering curcumin. The zein@CSA core–shell nanoparticles were extensively characterized for physicochemical properties, structural integrity, ionic stability, in vitro digestibility, and antioxidant activity. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicates nanoparticle formation through hydrogen-bonding, hydrophobic, and electrostatic interactions between zein and CSA. Zein@CSA core–shell nanoparticles exhibited enhanced stability in NaCl solution. At a zein-to-CSA ratio of 1:1.25, only 15.7% curcumin was released after 90 min of gastric digestion, and 66% was released in the intestine after 240 min, demonstrating a notable sustained release effect. Furthermore, these nanoparticles increased the scavenging capacity of the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) free radical compared to those composed solely of zein and were essentially nontoxic to Caco-2 cells. This research offers valuable insights into curcumin encapsulation and delivery using zein@CSA core–shell nanoparticles.

Polyyne is an sp-hybridized linear carbon chain (LCC) with alternating single and triple carbon–carbon bonds. Polyyne is very reactive; thus, its structure can be easily damaged through a cross-linking reaction between the molecules. The longer the polyyne is, the more unstable it becomes. Therefore, it is difficult to directly synthesize long polyynes in a solvent. The encapsulation of polyynes inside carbon nanotubes not only stabilizes the molecules to avoid cross-linking reactions, but also allows a restriction reaction to occur solely at the ends of the polyynes, resulting in long LCCs. Here, by controlling the diameter of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), polyynes were filled with high yield below room temperature. Subsequent annealing of the filled samples promoted the reaction between the polyynes, leading to the formation of long LCCs. More importantly, single chiral (6,5) SWCNTs with high purity were used for the successful encapsulation of polyynes for the first time, and LCCs were synthesized by coalescing the polyynes in the (6,5) SWCNTs. This method holds promise for further exploration of the synthesis of property-tailored LCCs through encapsulation inside different chiral SWCNTs.

Abstract Leveraging distributed resources to enhance distribution network (DN) resilience is an effective measure in response to natural disasters. However, the willingness and economy of distributed resources are typically ignored. To address this issue, this paper proposes an emergent trading framework that uses parking lots (PLs) as resources to provide power support to critical loads (CLs) in a blackout due to typhoons. In this trading framework, an evolutionary Stackelberg game‐based trading model is established to consider maximizing all stakeholders’ economic benefits, considering possible resources isolation under typical fault scenarios caused by typhoons, and a benefit allocation mechanism is proposed for all stakeholders to motivate all stakeholders to participate in the trading. This framework allows that critical loads could reduce their load loss, parking lots could receive adequate compensation to stimulate them to participate in the trading, and distribution utility could ensure its economic benefits. Furthermore, an iterative evolutionary‐Stackelberg solution set‐up is applied to obtain the equilibria of the proposed framework. Simulation results on the modified IEEE 69‐bus test system and IEEE 123‐bus test system reveal the validity of the proposed method.

In the process of promoting digital transformation of Chinese manufacturing enterprises, block chain technology has attracted extensive attention of researchers.The overall research progress domestically and abroad in the field of block chain technology was concluded.The recent researches on block chain technology in manufacturing process of food and military products, cloud manufacturing and other fields were summarized.The future path of combining block chain technology with intelligent manufacturing was predicted from 4 aspects: storage problem, scalability problem, computational power waste problem, security and privacy problem, aiming to provide valuable research ideas for further researchers.

Objective: Compare the spine’s stability after laminectomy (LN) and laminoplasty (LP) for two posterior surgeries. Simultaneously, design a new vertebral titanium porous mini plate (TPMP) to achieve firm fixation of the open-door vertebral LP fully. The objective is to enhance the fixation stability, effectively prevent the possibility of “re-closure,” and may facilitate bone healing.Methods: TPMP was designed by incorporating a fusion body and porous structures, and a three-dimensional finite element cervical model of C2-T1 was constructed and validated. Load LN and LP finite element models, respectively, and analyze and simulate the detailed processes of the two surgeries. It was simultaneously implanting the TPMP into LP to evaluate its biomechanical properties.Results: We find that the range of motion (ROM) of C4-C5 after LN surgery was greater than that of LP implanted with different plates alone. Furthermore, flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation reflect this change. More noteworthy is that LN has a much larger ROM on C2-C3 in axial rotation. The ROM of LP implanted with two different plates is similar. There is almost no difference in facet joint stress in lateral bending. The facet joint stress of LN is smaller on C2-C3 and C4-C5, and larger more prominent on C5-C6 in the flexion-extension. Regarding intervertebral disc pressure (IDP), there is little difference between different surgeries except for the LN on C2-C3 in axial rotation. The plate displacement specificity does not significantly differ from LP with vertebral titanium mini-plate (TMP) and LP with TPMP after surgery. The stress of LP with TPMP is larger in C4-C5, C5-C6. Moreover, LP with TMP shows greater stress in the C3-C4 during flexion-extension and lateral bending.Conclusion: LP may have better postoperative stability when posterior approach surgery is used to treat CSM; at the same time, the new type of vertebral titanium mini-plate can achieve almost the same effect as the traditional titanium mini-plate after surgery for LP. In addition, it has specific potential due to the porous structure promoting bone fusion.

Based on the triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS), 3D auxetic structures are successfully implemented using a dual-period function. A series of shape-controllable, dual-period deformation functions are obtained by summarising the characteristics of periodic deformation functions and applying Bezier curve fitting methods. Then, with the geometry originating from the Schwarz primitive (P) of TPMS, the periodic shape transformation of TPMS is achieved using the dual-period deformation functions. The property (negative Poisson’s ratio) of the auxetic structure is investigated based on the control parameters (the TPMS c value, periodic function η, and deformation index γ). The auxetic structures can exhibit excellent 3D negative Poisson’s ratio properties, and the Poisson’s ratio can be effectively adjusted. Moreover, a heterostructure with positive and negative Poisson’s ratio structures is obtained and applied to a stem in the hip joint. The simulation proves that the heterostructure can effectively prevent the failure of the bone implant.

Abstract. Background:. Hair follicles are easily accessible and contain stem cells with different developmental origins, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), that consequently reveal the potential of human hair follicle (hHF)-derived MSCs in repair and regeneration. However, the role of hHF-MSCs in Achilles tendinopathy (AT) remains unclear. The present study investigated the effects of hHF-MSCs on Achilles tendon repair in rabbits. Methods:. First, we extracted and characterized hHF-MSCs. Then, a rabbit tendinopathy model was constructed to analyze the ability of hHF-MSCs to promote repair in vivo. Anatomical observation and pathological and biomechanical analyses were performed to determine the effect of hHF-MSCs on AT, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunohistochemical staining were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms through which hHF-MSCs affects AT. Furthermore, statistical analyses were performed using independent sample t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and one-way repeated measures multivariate ANOVA as appropriate. Results:. Flow cytometry, a trilineage-induced differentiation test, confirmed that hHF-derived stem cells were derived from MSCs. The effect of hHF-MSCs on AT revealed that the Achilles tendon was anatomically healthy, as well as the maximum load carried by the Achilles tendon and hydroxyproline proteomic levels were increased. Moreover, collagen I and III were upregulated in rabbit AT treated with hHF-MSCs (compared with AT group; P

To enhance the resistant starch (RS) content of corn starch, in this work, carboxymethyl chitosan/corn starch/sodium alginate microcapsules (CMCS/CS/SA) with varying concentrations of SA in a citric acid (CA) solution were designed. As the SA concentration increased from 0.5% to 2%, the swelling of the CMCS/CS/SA microcapsule decreased from 15.28 ± 0.21 g/g to 3.76 ± 0.66 g/g at 95 °C. Comparatively, the onset, peak, and conclusion temperatures (To, Tp, and Tc) of CMCS/CS/SA microcapsules were higher than those of unencapsulated CS, indicating that the dense network structure of microcapsules reduced the contact area between starch granules and water, thereby improving thermal stability. With increasing SA concentration, the intact and dense network of CMCS/CS/SA microcapsules remained less damaged after 120 min of digestion, suggesting that the microcapsules with a high SA concentration provided better protection to starch, thereby reducing amylase digestibility. Moreover, as the SA concentration increased from 0.5% to 2%, the RS content of the microcapsules during in vitro digestion rose from 42.37 ± 0.07% to 57.65 ± 0.45%, attributed to the blocking effect of the microcapsule shell on amylase activity. This study offers innovative insights and strategies to develop functional starch with glycemic control properties, holding significant scientific and practical value in preventing diseases associated with abnormal glucose metabolism.

Lumbar fusion is a popular surgical procedure for the treatment of degenerative lumbar disc disease; however, it may be accompanied by complications, such as cage loosening, subsidence, and non-union. This study engineered and fabricated a three-dimensional (3D)-printed anisotropic biomimetic trabecular porous Ti-6Al-4V cage for lumbar interbody fusion. The study evaluated the structural design, manufacturability, mechanical properties, and cellular functions of the fabricated structures compared to currently available interbody cages. In vitro tests assessed the biofunctionality of the 3D-printed porous cage, which revealed anisotropic biomimetic trabecular porous Ti-6Al-4V cages with 65%-85% porosity, and 600 μm pore size. The microscopy analysis of surface properties indicated in situ micro- and nano-roughness. The mechanical properties decreased progressively with increasing porosity, and the optimized frame-reinforced porous cage achieved higher compressive strength and stiffness than the fully porous fusion. The 70% 3D-printed porous frame-reinforced cage had suitable mechanical performance compared with the polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) cage. The anisotropic biomimetic trabecular porous structures and the surface micro- and nano-roughness modifications achieved excellent biological functions in vitro. In conclusion, our fabricated 70% 3D-printed porous frame-reinforced Ti-6Al-4V cage with anisotropic biomimetic trabeculae is a promising strategy for lumbar interbody fusion.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to obtain the stress-strain of the cervical spine structure during the simulated manipulation of the oblique pulling manipulation and the cervical rotation-traction manipulation in order to compare the mechanical mechanism of the two manipulations.Methods: A motion capture system was used to record the key kinematic parameters of operating the two manipulations. At the same time, a three-dimensional finite element model of the C0-T1 full healthy cervical spine was established, and the key kinematic parameters were loaded onto the finite element model in steps to analyze and simulate the detailed process of the operation of the two manipulations.Results: A detailed finite element model of the whole cervical spine including spinal nerve roots was established, and the validity of this 3D finite element model was verified. During the stepwise simulation of the two cervical spine rotation manipulations to the right, the disc (including the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus) and facet joints stresses and displacements were greater in the oblique pulling manipulation group than in the cervical rotation-traction manipulation group, while the spinal cord and nerve root stresses were greater in the cervical rotation-traction manipulation group than in the oblique pulling manipulation group. The spinal cord and nerve root stresses in the cervical rotation-traction manipulation group were mainly concentrated in the C4/5 and C5/6 segments.Conclusion: The oblique pulling manipulation may be more appropriate for the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy, while cervical rotation-traction manipulation is more appropriate for the treatment of cervical spondylosis of cervical type. Clinicians should select cervical rotation manipulations for different types of cervical spondylosis according to the patient’s symptoms and needs.

Abstract Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the diseases with high mortality and morbidity with complex pathogenesis. Airway remodeling is an unavoidable pathological characteristic. However, the molecular mechanisms of airway remodeling are incompletely defined. Methods lncRNAs highly correlated with transforming growth factor beta 1(TGF–β1) expression were chosen, the lncRNA ENST00000440406 (named HSP90AB1 Assoicated LncRNA 1, HSALR1) was chosen for further functional experiments. Dual luciferase and ChIP assay were used to detect the upstream of HSALR1, transcriptome sequencing, Cck–8, Edu, cell proliferation, cell cycle assay, and WB detection of pathway levels confirmed the effect of HSALR1 on fibroblast proliferation and phosphorylation levels of related pathways. Mice was infected with adeno–associated virus (AAV) to express HSALR1 by intratracheal instillation under anesthesia and was exposure to cigarette smoke, then mouse lung function was performed and the pathological sections of lung tissues were analyzed. Results Herein, lncRNA HSALR1 was identified as highly correlated with the TGF–β1 and mainly expressed in human lung fibroblasts. HSALR1 was induced by Smad3 and promoted fibroblasts proliferation. Mechanistically, it could directly bind to HSP90AB1 protein, and acted as a scaffold to stabilize the binding between Akt and HSP90AB1 to promote Akt phosphorylation. In vivo, mice expressed HSALR1 by AAV was exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) for COPD modeling. We found that lung function was worse and airway remodeling was more pronounced in HSLAR1 mice compare to wild type (WT) mice. Conclusion Our results suggest that lncRNA HSALR1 binds to HSP90AB1 and Akt complex component, and enhances activity of the TGF–β1 smad3–independent pathway. This finding described here suggest that lncRNA can participate in COPD development, and HSLAR1 is a promising molecular target of COPD therapy.

The incorporation of coconut fiber (CF) into magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) can effectively improve upon its high brittleness and ease of cracking. In practical engineering, coconut fiber-reinforced magnesium phosphate cement (CF-MPC) will likely work in cold environments. Therefore, it is essential to understand the effects of various types of low-temperature curing on CF-MPC performances, but there are very few studies in this area. In this study, the static compression and three-point bending test were utilized to examine the compressive and flexural characteristics of CF-MPC with various CF contents and different negative curing temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted to observe the impact of low-temperature maintenance on the structure and hydration reaction of the specimens. The results indicate that CF-MPC curing at low temperatures was more prone to cracks during compression and bending, while the appropriate amount of CF could enhance its plastic deformation capability. The CF-MPC’s compressive and flexural strength declined as the curing temperature dropped. Moreover, with the rise in CF content, the samples’ compressive strength also tended to fall, and there was a critical point for the change in flexural strength. In addition, MPC’s primary hydration product (MgKPO4·6H2O) decreased with a drop in curing temperature, and more holes and fractures appeared in CF-MPC.

Chemical functionalization of the sidewalls of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is an emerging route to introduce fluorescent quantum defects and tailor the emission properties. Here, authors demonstrate that spin-selective photochemistry diversifies SWCNT emission tunability by controlling the morphology of the emitting sites.

Object detection methods are commonly employed in power safety monitoring systems to detect violations in surveillance scenes. However, traditional object detection methods are ineffective for small objects that are similar to the background information in the power monitoring scene, which consequently affects the performance of violation behavior detection. This paper proposed a small object detection algorithm named HS-YOLO, based on High-Resolution Network (HRNet) and sub-pixel convolution. First, to fully extract the microfeature information of the object, a small object feature extraction backbone network is proposed based on the HRNet structure. The feature maps of different scales are processed by multiple parallel branches and fused with each other in the network. Then, to fully retain the effective features of small objects, the sub-pixel convolution module is incorporated as the upsampling operator in the feature fusion network. The low-resolution feature map is upsampled to a higher resolution by reorganizing pixel values and performing padding operations in this module. On our self-constructed power operation dataset, the HS-YOLO algorithm achieved a mAP of 87.2%, which is a 3.5% improvement compared to YOLOv5. Particularly, the dataset’s AP for detecting small objects such as cuffs, necklines, and safety belts is improved by 10.7%, 5.8%, and 4.4%, respectively. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method in detecting small objects in power operation scenarios.

Background. SARS-CoV-2 induces apoptosis and amplifies the immune response by continuously stressing the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) after invading cells. This study aimed to establish a protein-metabolic pathway associated with ER dysfunction based on the invasion mechanism of SARS-CoV-2. Methods. This study included 17 healthy people and 46 COVID-19 patients, including 38 mild patients and 8 severe patients. Proteomics and metabolomics were measured in the patient plasma collected at admission and one week after admission. The patients were further divided into the aggravation and remission groups based on disease progression within one week of admission. Results. Cross-sectional comparison showed that endoplasmic reticulum molecular chaperone-binding immunoglobulin protein (ERC-BiP), angiotensinogen (AGT), ceramide acid (Cer), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were significantly increased in COVID-19 patients, while the sphingomyelin (SM) level was significantly decreased P

BackgroundJAK (Janus kinases) inhibitors have been proposed as a promising treatment option for the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). However, the benefits of JAK inhibitors and the optimum thereof for COVID-19 have not been adequately defined.MethodsDatabases were searched from their inception dates to 17 June 2022. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials and observational studies. Extracted data were analyzed by pairwise and network meta-analysis. The primary outcome was the coefficient of mortality.ResultsTwenty-eight studies of 8,206 patients were included and assessed qualitatively (modified Jadad and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale scores). A pairwise meta-analysis revealed that JAK inhibitors effectively reduced the mortality (OR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.46–0.63; P < 0.00001; I2 = 32%) without increasing the risk of adverse events (OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 0.88–1.18; P = 0.79; I2 = 12%). In a network meta-analysis, clinical efficacy benefits were seen among different types of JAK inhibitors (baricitinib, ruxolitinib, and tofacitinib) without the observation of a declined incidence of adverse events. The assessment of rank probabilities indicated that ruxolitinib presented the greatest likelihood of benefits regarding mortality and adverse events.ConclusionJAK inhibitors appear to be a promising treatment for COVID-19 concerning reducing mortality, and they do not increase the risk of adverse events vs. standard of care. A network meta-analysis suggests that mortality benefits are associated with specific JAK inhibitors, and among these, ruxolitinib presents the greatest likelihood of having benefits for mortality and adverse events.Systematic review registration[www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero], identifier [CRD42022343338].

Background: The global pandemic of COVID-19 is caused by the rapidly evolving severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The clinical presentation of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection varies from asymptomatic to severe disease with diverse symptoms. However, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these symptoms remain incompletely understood. Methods: Transcriptome datasets from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of COVID-19 patients infected with the Omicron variant and healthy volunteers were obtained from public databases. A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify hub genes associated with the Omicron variant. Hub genes were validated using quantitative RT-qPCR and clinical data. DSigDB database predicted potential therapeutic agents. Results: Seven hub genes (IFI44, IFI44L, MX1, OAS3, USP18, IFI27, and ISG15) were potential biomarkers for Omicron infection’s symptomatic diagnosis and treatment. Type I interferon-related hub genes regulated Omicron-induced symptoms, which is supported by independent datasets and RT-qPCR validation. Immune cell analysis showed elevated monocytes and reduced lymphocytes in COVID-19 patients, which is consistent with retrospective clinical data. Additionally, ten potential therapeutic agents were screened for COVID-19 treatment, targeting the hub genes. Conclusions: This study provides insights into the mechanisms underlying type I interferon-related pathways in the development and recovery of COVID-19 symptoms during Omicron infection. Seven hub genes were identified as promising biological biomarkers for diagnosing and treating Omicron infection. The identified biomarkers and potential therapeutic agent offer valuable implications for Omicron’s clinical manifestations and treatment strategies.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent mode of cell death characterized by intracellular lipid peroxide accumulation and a redox reaction imbalance. Compared with other modes of cell death, ferroptosis has specific biological and morphological features. The iron-dependent lipid peroxidation accumulation is manifested explicitly in the abnormal metabolism of intracellular lipid oxides catalyzed by excessive iron ions with the production of many reactive oxygen species and over-oxidization of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Recent studies have shown that various diseases, which include intestinal diseases and cancer, are associated with ferroptosis, but few studies are related to airway inflammatory diseases. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the primary damage mechanisms of ferroptosis and summarizes the relationship between ferroptosis and airway inflammatory diseases. In addition to common acute and chronic airway inflammatory diseases, we also focus on the progress of research on COVID-19 in relation to ferroptosis. New therapeutic approaches and current issues to be addressed in the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases using ferroptosis are further proposed.

It is challenging to accurately detect flexible objects with arbitrary orientation from monitoring images in power grid maintenance and inspection sites. This is because these images exhibit a significant imbalance between the foreground and background, which can lead to low detection accuracy when using a horizontal bounding box (HBB) as the detector in general object detection algorithms. Existing multi-oriented detection algorithms that use irregular polygons as the detector can improve accuracy to some extent, but their accuracy is limited due to boundary problems during the training process. This paper proposes a rotation-adaptive YOLOv5 (R_YOLOv5) with a rotated bounding box (RBB) to detect flexible objects with arbitrary orientation, effectively addressing the above issues and achieving high accuracy. Firstly, a long-side representation method is used to add the degree of freedom (DOF) for bounding boxes, enabling accurate detection of flexible objects with large spans, deformable shapes, and small foreground-to-background ratios. Furthermore, the further boundary problem induced by the proposed bounding box strategy is overcome by using classification discretization and symmetric function mapping methods. Finally, the loss function is optimized to ensure training convergence for the new bounding box. To meet various practical requirements, we propose four models with different scales based on YOLOv5, namely R_YOLOv5s, R_YOLOv5m, R_YOLOv5l, and R_YOLOv5x. Experimental results demonstrate that these four models achieve mean average precision (mAP) values of 0.712, 0.731, 0.736, and 0.745 on the DOTA-v1.5 dataset and 0.579, 0.629, 0.689, and 0.713 on our self-built FO dataset, exhibiting higher recognition accuracy and a stronger generalization ability. Among them, R_YOLOv5x achieves a mAP that is about 6.84% higher than ReDet on the DOTAv-1.5 dataset and at least 2% higher than the original YOLOv5 model on the FO dataset.

The exploration of inexpensive and stable heterogeneous catalysts for C–S coupling reactions remains a challenging issue. Herein, we successfully prepared a new biomass-derived copper catalyst and applied it to the selective C(sp3)–H-directed sulfonylation of ketone hydrazones with commercial sodium sulfinates. The catalyst was characterized using different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Importantly, the prepared biomass-supported Cu catalyst catalyzed the C–S coupling reaction with considerably high activity. A variety of aryl and alkyl sulfinates were converted to the corresponding sulfones with good yields. In particular, the heterogeneous catalyst could be recovered easily after the synthesis and consecutively used at least five times with no appreciable decrease in the catalytic activity. Lastly, the copper catalyst is expected to have further applications in organic reactions catalyzed by Cu/CuO2.

Epoxy resin adhesive for pavement is often insufficient in flexibility and toughness. Therefore, a new type of toughening agent was prepared to overcome this shortcoming. To achieve the best toughening effect of a self-made toughening agent on an epoxy resin adhesive, its ratio to the epoxy resin needs to be optimally selected. A curing agent, a toughening agent, and an accelerator dosage were chosen as independent variables. The epoxy resin’s adhesive tensile strength, elongation at break, flexural strength, and flexural deflection were used as response values to establish a single-objective prediction model of epoxy resin mechanical property indexes. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the single-objective optimal ratio and analyze the effect of factor interaction on epoxy resin adhesive’s performance indexes. Based on principal component analysis (PCA), multi-objective optimization was performed using gray relational analysis (GRA) to construct a second-order regression prediction model between the ratio and gray relational grade (GRG) to determine the optimal ratio and to validate it. The results showed that the multi-objective optimization using response surface methodology and gray relational analysis (RSM-GRA) was more effective than the single-objective optimization model. The optimal ratio of epoxy resin adhesive was 100 parts of epoxy resin, 160.7 parts curing agent, 16.1 parts toughening agent, and 3.0 parts accelerator. The measured tensile strength was 10.75 MPa, elongation at break was 23.54%, the bending strength was 6.16 MPa, and the bending deflection was 7.15 mm. RSM-GRA has excellent accuracy for epoxy resin adhesive ratio optimization and can provide a reference for the epoxy resin system ratio optimization design of complex components.

Background: Panax ginseng, as one of the most widely used herbal medicines worldwide, has been studied comprehensively in terms of the chemical components and pharmacology. The proteins from ginseng are also of great importance for both nutrition value and the mechanism of secondary metabolites. However, the proteomic studies are less reported in the absence of the genome information. With the completion of ginseng genome sequencing, the proteome profiling has become available for the functional study of ginseng protein components. Methods: We optimized the protein extraction process systematically by using SDS-PAGE and one-dimensional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The extracted proteins were then analyzed by two-dimensional chromatography separation and cutting-edge mass spectrometry technique. Results: A total of 2,732 and 3,608 proteins were identified from ginseng root and cauline leaf, respectively, which was the largest data set reported so far. Only around 50% protein overlapped between the cauline leaf and root tissue parts because of the function assignment for plant growing. Further gene ontology and KEGG pathway revealed the distinguish difference between ginseng root and leaf, which accounts for the photosynthesis and metabolic process. With in-deep analysis of functional proteins related to ginsenoside synthesis, we interestingly found the cytochrome P450 and UDP-glycosyltransferase expression extensively in cauline leaf but not in the root, indicating that the post glucoside synthesis of ginsenosides might be carried out when growing and then transported to the root at withering. Conclusion: The systematically proteome analysis of Panax ginseng will provide us comprehensive understanding of ginsenoside synthesis and guidance for artificial cultivation.

Ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI) shows promising activity against carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP), however, CAZ-AVI resistance have emerged recently. Mutations in KPCs, porins OmpK35 and/or OmpK36, and PBPs are known to contribute to the resistance to CAZ-AVI in CRKP. To identify novel CAZ-AVI resistance mechanism, we generated 10 CAZ-AVI-resistant strains from 14 CAZ-AVI susceptible KPC-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) strains through in vitro multipassage resistance selection using low concentrations of CAZ-AVI. Comparative genomic analysis for the original and derived mutants identified CAZ-AVI resistance-associated mutations in KPCs, PBP3 (encoded by ftsI), and LamB, an outer membrane maltoporin. CAZ-AVI susceptible KPC-Kp strains became resistant when complemented with mutated blaKPC genes. Complementation experiments also showed that a plasmid borne copy of wild-type lamB or ftsI gene reduced the MIC value of CAZ-AVI in the induced resistant strains. In addition, blaKPC expression level increased in four of the six CAZ-AVI-resistant strains without KPC mutations, indicating a probable association between increased blaKPC expression and increased resistance in these strains. In conclusion, we here identified a novel mechanism of CAZ-AVI resistance associated with mutations in porin LamB in KPC-Kp.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a severely disabling chronic lung disease characterized by persistent airway inflammation, which leads to limited expiratory airflow that deteriorates over time. Isorhamnetin (Iso) is one of the most important active components in the fruit of Hippophae rhamnoides L. and leaves of Ginkgo biloba L, which is widely used in many pulmonary disease studies because of its anti-inflammatory effects. Here, we investigated the pharmacological action of Iso in CS-induced airway inflammation and dissected the anti-inflammation mechanisms of Iso in COPD mice. A mouse model of COPD was established by exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) and intratracheal inhalation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Our results illustrated that Iso treatment significantly reduced leukocyte recruitment and excessive secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) in BALF of CS-induced COPD mice in a dose-dependent manner. This improved airway collagen deposition and emphysema, and further alleviated the decline in lung functions and systemic symptoms of hypoxia and weight loss. Additionally, Iso treatment obviously improves the T lymphocyte dysregualtion in peripheral blood of COPD mice. Mechanistically, Iso may degrade Keap1 through ubiquitination of p62, thereby activating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) pathway to increase the expression of protective factors, such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), superoxide dismutase (SOD) 1, and SOD2, in lungs of CS-exposed mice, which plays an anti-inflammatory role in COPD. In conclusion, our study indicates that Iso significantly alleviates the inflammatory response in CS-induced COPD mice mainly by affecting the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway. More importantly, Iso exhibited anti-inflammatory effects comparable with Dex in COPD and we did not observe discernible side effects of Iso. The high safety profile of Iso may make it a potential drug candidate for COPD.

Abstract Background Our previous research indicated the excellent in vitro antibacterial activity of Eravacycline (Erava) and its heteroresistance frequency against clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates. In this study, we further aimed to investigate the mechanisms of Erava resistance and heteroresistance in S. aureus. Eight parental S. aureus isolates were induced under Erava pressure in vitro and the Erava-resistant isolates were selected and identified. Then, the genetic mutations of 30S ribosomal subunits were analyzed by PCR and sequence alignment. RT-qPCR analysis were performed to compare the relative expression of eight candidate genes impacting the susceptibility of tetracycline (Tet) between the resistant or heteroresistant and parental isolates. Furthermore, the in vitro overexpression vectors of three selected candidate genes were constructed to test their impact on the heteroresistance and resistance of Erava in S. aureus. Results The MICs elevation in Erava-induced resistant S. aureus isolates were identified and the increasing MICs values of another two Tet class antibiotics, including both omadacycline (Omada) and tigecycline (Tige) were also tested. Genetic mutations in 30S ribosomal protein S10 were found frequently in Erava-derived resistant isolates. RT-qPCR analysis and the in vitro overexpression experiments indicated that USA300HOU_RS00550 (an Na/Pi cotransporter family protein) and USA300HOU_RS01625 (a branched-chain amino acid transport system II carrier protein) contributed to Erava heteroresistance in S. aureus. Conclusion Genetic mutation of 30S ribosome subunits contributed to Erava resistance, and the transcriptional overexpression of USA300HOU_RS01625 and USA300HOU_RS00550 also participated in the occurrence of Erava heteroresistance in S. aureus.

Abstract This review investigates the recent developments of heterogeneous objects modeling in additive manufacturing (AM), as well as general problems and widespread solutions to the modeling methods of heterogeneous objects. Prevalent heterogeneous object representations are generally categorized based on the different expression or data structure employed therein, and the state-of-the-art of process planning procedures for AM is reviewed via different vigorous solutions for part orientation, slicing methods, and path planning strategies. Finally, some evident problems and possible future directions of investigation are discussed.

Abstract Background ClpP is important for bacterial growth and plays an indispensable role in cellular protein quality control systems by refolding or degrading damaged proteins, but the physiological significance of ClpP in Enterococcus faecalis remains obscure. A clpP deletion mutant (△clpP) was constructed using the E. faecalis OG1RF strain to clarify the effect of ClpP on E. faecalis. The global abundance of proteins was determined by a mass spectrometer with tandem mass tag labeling. Results The ΔclpP mutant strain showed impaired growth at 20 °C or 45 °C at 5% NaCl or 2 mM H2O2. The number of surviving ΔclpP mutants decreased after exposure to the high concentration (50× minimal inhibitory concentration) of linezolid or minocycline for 96 h. The ΔclpP mutant strain also demonstrated decreased biofilm formation but increased virulence in a Galleria mellonella model. The mass spectrometry proteomics data indicated that the abundances of 135 proteins changed (111 increased, 24 decreased) in the ΔclpP mutant strain. Among those, the abundances of stress response or virulence relating proteins: FsrA response regulator, gelatinase GelE, regulatory protein Spx (spxA), heat-inducible transcription repressor HrcA, transcriptional regulator CtsR, ATPase/chaperone ClpC, acetyl esterase/lipase, and chaperonin GroEL increased in the ΔclpP mutant strain; however, the abundances of ribosomal protein L4/L1 family protein (rplD), ribosomal protein L7/L12 (rplL2), 50S ribosomal protein L13 (rplM), L18 (rplR), L20 (rplT), 30S ribosomal protein S14 (rpsN2) and S18 (rpsR) all decreased. The abundances of biofilm formation-related adapter protein MecA increased, while the abundances of dihydroorotase (pyrC), orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (pyrE), and orotidine-5′-phosphate decarboxylase (pyrF) all decreased in the ΔclpP mutant strain. Conclusion The present study demonstrates that ClpP participates in stress tolerance, biofilm formation, antimicrobial tolerance, and virulence of E. faecalis.

Applying model-based learning for the optimal decision of the multi-agent system is not trivial due to the expensive price or even the impossibility of obtaining the ground truth for training the model of the complex environment. Such as learning the optimal action of hydraulic supports in the top-coal caving, the optimal action could not accessible as the ground truth of the corresponding state in the intricate processes. Regarding the latent ground truth as the hidden variable is an effective method in the hidden Markov model. This paper extends the hidden variable of ground truth to the multi-agent system and proposes the hidden Markov random field (HMRF) model with reinforcement learning for optimizing the action decision of the multi-agent. In the HMRF model, the input states and the output actions of the multi-agent are considered as an observable random field and a latent Markov random field, respectively. Based on the HMRF model, the optimal decision is inferred by the maximum posterior probability with the prior probability obtained by Q-learning. Meanwhile, the parameters of the HMRF model are estimated by the expectation maximum algorithm. In the experiment, the top-coal caving demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method that the recall of top-coal is improved prominently with a very small price of increasing the rock-rate. Furthermore, the proposed method is employed to deal with the predator-preys problem in the gym. The experiment result shows that the communication between agents by the HMRF increases the reward of the preys.

The integrated energy system (IES) plays a key role in energy conservation and emission reduction. In order to realize the low-carbon economic dispatch of the IES, current studies usually utilize the fixed and the ladder-type pricing mechanism-based carbon emission unit cost (CEUC) in the optimal dispatch model. However, those mechanisms fail to take carbon emissions levels of the system into account, and the relevant parameters, such as the interval length, are hard to set. In order to tackle this challenge, a CEUC model with a dynamic reward and penalty pricing mechanism (DRPPM) is constructed. And then an optimal dispatch model to minimize the comprehensive operation cost, including the carbon emission cost, the energy purchasing cost, and the equipment operation cost, is proposed. At last, an actual electricity–heat–cooling–gas IES is employed to analyze the impact of parameters of the CEUC model on the dispatch.

Summary: There are no anti-virulence and anti-biofilm treatments for Staphylococcus aureus infection. We found that 25 μM loratadine inhibits S. aureus biofilm formation under static or flow-based conditions. Testing of loratadine effects on 255 clinical S. aureus strains with varying biofilm robustness showed inhibition of biofilm formation in medium and strong, but not weak, biofilm-producing strains. At 25 μM, loratadine reduced pigmentation and hemolysis of the bacteria without affecting growth. Loratadine (5 mg/kg) reduced mortality in S. aureus pulmonary infection model mice and acted synergistically with vancomycin to reduce pulmonary bacterial load and levels of inflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Loratadine analogues (side-chain carbamate moiety changed) inhibited biofilm formation, pigmentation, and hemolysis of S. aureus. Regarding mechanism, loratadine exposure reduced RNA levels of virulence-related S. aureus genes, and loratadine-induced mutations in MgrA reduced loratadine-MgrA binding. Overexpression of mutated mgrA in wild-type S. aureus decreased the biofilm formation inhibition effect of loratadine.

Objectives: To determine the efficacy of serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in predicting critical pulmonary stenosis (CPS) in neonates.Methods: All neonates with pulmonary stenosis (PS) admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Xinhua Hospital from October 2014 to December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Infants with serum NT-proBNP levels measured within 48 h after birth were enrolled and divided into CPS and non-CPS groups. Serum NT-proBNP levels and cardiac Doppler indices were compared between the two groups. Correlations were determined using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis was used to explore the predictive value of NT-proBNP for identifying neonatal CPS.Results: Among 96 infants diagnosed with PS by echocardiography, 46 were enrolled (21 and 25 in the non-CPS and CPS groups, respectively). Serum NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher in the CPS group than in the non-CPS group [3,600 (2,040–8,251) vs. 1,280 (953–2,386) pg/ml, P = 0.003]. Spearman's analysis suggested a positive correlation between Ln(NT-proBNP) levels and the transvalvular pulmonary gradient (r = 0.311, P = 0.038), as well as between Ln(NT-proBNP) levels and pulmonary artery velocity (r = 0.308, P = 0.040). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that a cutoff serum NT-proBNP level of 2,395 pg/ml yielded a 66.7 and 78.9% sensitivity and specificity for identifying CPS, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.784 (95% CI, 0.637–0.931). A positive correlation was found between Ln(NT-proBNP) and length of hospital stay (r = 0.312, P < 0.05).Conclusion: Serum NT-proBNP level was positively correlated with PS severity and could be used as a biomarker to identify CPS in neonates.

Compressive strength of alkali-activated slag (AAS) concrete is influenced by multi-factors in a nonlinear way. Both artificial neural network (ANN) and alternating conditional expectation (ACE) models of 3-day (3 d) and 28-day (28 d) compressive strength of AAS were established in this study by using the data reported in related literature, where alkali concentration of activator (Na2O%), modulus of activator (Ms), water/binder ratio (W/B), surface area of slag (SA), and basicity index of slag (Kb) were taken as input parameters. The models were employed later to predict 3 d and 28 d compressive strength of AAS concretes, respectively, and the results were validated by experimental work. The results show that both the ANN and the ACE models had adequate accuracy, no matter 3 d or 28 d compressive strength was considered. Compared to the 3 d compressive strength, due to data scattering that increased with the increase of data size, both the models did not yield a higher accuracy in the case of 28 d strength. However, also due to the increase in data size, both the models were more feasible to implement 28 d strength prediction as a result of sufficient learning and training during modeling. In addition, based on ACE analysis, the weight-influencing compressive strength of AAS decreased in a sequence of Na2O% > Ms > W/B > Kb > SA. If data size was sufficiently large, it was more suitable to establish an ANN model for compressive strength prediction of AAS concretes. Otherwise, ACE could be considered as an alternative to yield an acceptable result.

Recently, triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) is emerging as an ideal tool to generate porous structures. Yet, most of the current work only focuses on controlling the elastic modulus by the relative density. For special engineering applications, such as porous bone implants or energy absorbers, the generated porous TPMS may still be broken due to anisotropy. In this work, two strategies are proposed to design isotropic TPMS structures. The numerical homogenization theory and finite element analysis methods are utilized to study the relationship between TPMS parameters and the elastic modulus or anisotropy properties. Based on that, a Curvature-Wall thickness (CW) adjustment method is proposed for sheet TPMS structures whose performances are close to isotropy properties. In virtue of the constructed design map, both elastic modulus and anisotropy properties can be controlled. For sheet TPMS structures whose performances are far from the isotropy properties, the TPMS units can be combined to generate composite TPMS, which can be further designed by the proposed Curvature-Wall thickness adjustment method. Experimental results verify the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approaches. Appropriate elastic modulus and ideal isotropy properties can be acquired at the same time.

Acrylic manufacturing wastewater is characterized by high toxicity, poor biodegradability, high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen. Herein, we exploited traditional Fenton technology to treat acrylic fiber manufacturing wastewater. The impacts of key operating variables including the initial concentration of H2O2 (CH2O2), the initial concentration of Fe2+ (DFe2+), and solution pH (pH) on the COD removal rate (RCOD) were explored and the treatment process was optimized by Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The results indicated that the optimum parameters are determined as pH 3.0, 7.44 mmol/L of Fe2+ and 60.90 mmol/L of H2O2 during Fenton process. For the actual acrylic manufacturing wastewater treatment shows that the removal rates for COD, TOC, NH4+-N and TN are 61.45%~66.51%, 67.82%~70.99%, 55.67%~60.97% and 56.45%~61.03%, respectively. It can meet the textile dyeing and finishing industry water pollutant discharge standard (GB4287-2012). During the Fenton reaction, the effective degradation and removal of organic matter is mainly achieved by HO• oxidation, supplemented by flocculation and sedimentation of Fe3+ complexes. This study will provide useful implications in the process parameters for the practical application of Fenton method in acrylic acid production wastewater.

Due to the low content of silicon and aluminum in red mud and the low reaction activity of red mud, when it was used to prepare composite cementitious materials, it was necessary to assist other aluminosilicates and improve their activity by certain methods. In this study, it was proposed to add slag to increase the percentage of silicon and aluminum in the system, and to improve the reactivity of the system through the activation effect of sulfate in phosphogypsum. The effects of slag and phosphogypsum contents on the mechanical properties and microstructures of composite cementitious materials were studied. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTG), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the effects of slag and phosphogypsum contents on the hydration products, microstructure, and strength formation mechanism of composite cementitious materials. The results show that with the increase of slag, the strength of the composite cementitious material increases gradually. When the slag content is 50%, the 28-day compressive strength reaches a maximum of about 14 MPa. Compared with the composite material without phosphogypsum, the composite cementitious material with 10–20% phosphogypsum showed higher strength properties, in which the 28-day compressive strength exceeds 24 MPa. The main reason for this is that the sulfate in phosphogypsum can cause the composite cementitious material to generate a large amount of ettringite and accelerate the dissolution of red mud and slag, increasing the release of aluminates, silicates, and Ca2+ to form more C-(A)-S-H and ettringite. In addition, a large amount of C-(A)-S-H makes ettringite and unreacted particles combine into a uniform and compact structure, thus improving the strength. When the content of phosphogypsum exceeds 40%, the 28-day compressive strength of the composite cementitious material drops below 12 MPa due to the presence of fewer hydration products and the expansion of ettringite.

Abstract Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a complex condition with multiple etiologies, including inflammation. We identified a novel long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), interleukin 6 antisense RNA 1 (IL6‐AS1), which is upregulated in this disease and is associated with airway inflammation. We found that IL6‐AS1 promotes the expression of inflammatory factors, especially interleukin (IL) 6. Mechanistically, cytoplasmic IL6‐AS1 acts as an endogenous sponge by competitively binding to the microRNA miR‐149‐5p to stabilize IL‐6 mRNA. Nuclear IL6‐AS1 promotes IL‐6 transcription by recruiting early B‐cell factor 1 to the IL‐6 promoter, which increases the methylation of the H3K4 histone and acetylation of the H3K27 histone. We propose a model of lncRNA expression in both the nucleus and cytoplasm that exerts similar effects through differing mechanisms, and IL6‐AS1 probably increases inflammation via multiple pathways.

Abstract Powder to bulk processes, such as additive manufacturing and metal injection molding (MIM), have enabled great potential for complex metal designing and manufacturing. However, additive manufacturing process normally introduces a high residue stress and textures due to the locally intense temperature. MIM is an excellent batch manufacturing process; nevertheless, it is not suitable for rapid screening and development of new metal compositions and structures due to the slow sintering process. Herein, an ultrafast high‐temperature sintering (UHS) process is reported that enables the rapid synthesis and sintering of bulk metals/alloys and intermetallic compounds. In this process, elemental powders are mixed and pressed into pellets, followed by UHS sintering in just seconds at a temperature between 1000 and 3000 °C. Three representative compositions, including pure metals, intermetallics, and multielement alloys, are demonstrated with a broad range of melting points. The UHS process for metal sintering is nonmaterials specific, in addition to being extremely rapid, which make it suitable for materials discovery. Furthermore, the sintering method does not apply pressure to the samples, making it compatible with 3D printing and other additive manufacturing processes of complex structures. This rapid sintering technique will greatly facilitate the development and manufacturing of metals and alloys.