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This paper proposes a finite-time adaptive tracking fuzzy control approach for nonlinear nonstrict-feedback systems with unknown disturbances and time-varying full state constraints. The fuzzy logic system is used to approximate the unknown nonlinear function, and the tan-type barrier technique is used to keep all states inside a predetermined region. The adaptive fuzzy controller is formulated utilizing the barrier Lyapunov functions (BLFs) and the backstepping approach. This guarantees that all the signals in the closed loop are bounded, and the system reaches stability in a finite amount of time while complying with the time-varying full state constraints, and the tracking error varies within the predefined compact range around zero. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed method is exemplified via a simulation example.

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii). Due to its atypical symptoms and the absence of specific detection methods, Q fever is underdiagnosed commonly. Herein, we report a case of Q fever confirmed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in March 2024 in Guangdong Province, China. The patient initially experienced fever and was admitted to hospital six days later. Despite a series of laboratory tests conducted at the hospital, the pathogen remained undetermined. Ten days after admission, mNGS revealed that the patient was infected with C. burnetii. The patient subsequently underwent treatment with doxycycline and recovered well. Epidemiological investigation revealed that the patient had been exposed to sheep infected with C. burnetii without any protective measures in Jiangxi Province, China. Based on the comprehensive results of mNGS, exposure history, clinical manifestations and treatment response, the patient was confirmed as a Q fever case. As a neglected and underestimated illness, Q fever necessitates an elevation in awareness among medical staff and the public. The public should be encouraged to take personal protective measures when exposed to livestock. Further research is needed to explore the rational application of mNGS in the diagnosis of uncommon and unknown diseases.

Abstract Modern facial surgical planning and therapeutic strategies rely heavily on the precise segmentation of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses from computed tomography (CT) images for quantitative analysis. Nevertheless, manual segmentation is labor-intensive and prone to inconsistencies, highlighting the need for automatic segmentation methods. A significant challenge in this field is the lack of publicly available clinical datasets for research. To address this issue, we introduce NagalSeg, the first large-scale, publicly available dataset for nasal cavity and paranasal sinus segmentation. In comparison to existing nasal structure segmentation datasets, which are either private or small-scale, NagalSeg stands out as the first publicly accessible dataset. It provides an order of magnitude more labeled data, consisting of 130 3D CT scans with pixel-wise annotations of five anatomical structures: the left nasal cavity, right nasal cavity, nasopharynx, left maxillary sinus, and right maxillary sinus. The NagalSeg dataset serves as an open-access resource to facilitate the development and evaluation of segmentation algorithms and promote future in-depth research towards the clinical application of artificial intelligence methods.

Abstract Suppression of energy disorders in the vertical direction of a photovoltaic device, along which charge carriers are forced to travel, has been extensively studied to reduce unproductive charge recombination and thus achieve high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. In contrast, energy disorders in the lateral direction of the junction for large-area modules are largely overlooked. Herein, we show that the micro-inhomogeneity characteristics in the surface lateral energetics of formamidinium (FA)-based perovskite films also significantly influence the device performance, particularly with accounting for the stability and scale-up aspects of the devices. By using organic amidinium passivators, instead of the most commonly used organic ammonium ones, the micro-inhomogeneity in the lateral energy landscapes can be suppressed, greatly improving device stability and efficiency of FA-based single-junction perovskite solar cells.

The creep properties at 800 °C and 735 MPa were examined in Ni-based single crystal superalloys (SCs) with different microstructure characteristics to systematically investigate the effects of initial microstructure on the creep property at mediate temperature and high stress. The creep life decreased monotonically with the increasing primary aging temperature, which increased both the γ channel width and size of γ′ phase. The creep resistance was mainly determined by the γ channel width and stacking fault energy in γ′ phase. Narrow γ channels and low stacking fault energy in γ′ phase enhanced the creep resistance. Additionally, the fine γ′ particles embedded within the γ channel when aging at higher temperatures could not improve the creep performance significantly. The results provided a reference for the design of heat treatment procedure.

Abstract The intratumoral microbiome (TM) refers to the microorganisms in the tumor tissues, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and so on, and is distinct from the gut microbiome and circulating microbiota. TM is strongly associated with tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, and response to therapy. This paper highlights the current status of TM. Tract sources, adjacent normal tissue, circulatory system, and concomitant tumor co‐metastasis are the main origin of TM. The advanced techniques in TM analysis are comprehensively summarized. Besides, TM is involved in tumor progression through several mechanisms, including DNA damage, activation of oncogenic signaling pathways (phosphoinositide 3‐kinase [PI3K], signal transducer and activator of transcription [STAT], WNT/β‐catenin, and extracellular regulated protein kinases [ERK]), influence of cytokines and induce inflammatory responses, and interaction with the tumor microenvironment (anti‐tumor immunity, pro‐tumor immunity, and microbial‐derived metabolites). Moreover, promising directions of TM in tumor therapy include immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, the application of probiotics/prebiotics/synbiotics, fecal microbiome transplantation, engineered microbiota, phage therapy, and oncolytic virus therapy. The inherent challenges of clinical application are also summarized. This review provides a comprehensive landscape for analyzing TM, especially the TM‐related mechanisms and TM‐based treatment in cancer.

Abstract As a critical parameter, thermal conductivity directly determines the heat transfer and temperature variation within rocks, which can lead to mechanical damage and chemical corrosion. Consequently, understanding the thermal conductivity of stone heritage is vital for assessing their deterioration mechanisms and developing effective conservation strategies. This study obtained sandstone samples from the Yungang Grottoes and subjected them to freeze–thaw cycle experiments to generate weathered sandstone samples. Subsequently, the thermal conductivity of these samples was measured under both dry and water-saturated state using the transient plane source method. To analyze the relationship between air–water saturation, porosity, and thermal conductivity, a saturation influence coefficient was introduced. Thereafter, the effectiveness and applicability of 13 commonly used thermal conductivity mixing law prediction models were evaluated based on experimental data. The results suggested that the influence of water saturation on the thermal conductivity of rocks varies with porosity, and water saturation significantly enhances the thermal conductivity of weathered sandstone. Among the 13 common models, the Geometric mean model was found to be more accurate than other models, with superior performance in both dry (MAE, RMSE, MAPE are 0.148, 0.214, 5.59% respectively) and water-saturated (MAE, RMSE, MAPE are 0.244, 0.170, 8.4% respectively) state. The Albert model demonstrates a good fit in the dry state, whereas the Walsh model (with maximum effect), Ribaud model, and Huang model also exhibit good fitting efficacy in the water-saturated state. This study provides a solid foundation for better predicting the thermal conductivity of weathered stone heritage and developing effective preventive conservation strategies.

Abstract In this work, four mainstream machine learning (ML) techniques are used to evaluate the bulk porosity and static elastic modulus of weathered Yungang Grottoes sandstone. Datasets are gathered from the experiments, which includes 432 groups effective experimental data including 8 inputs features. bulk porosity and static elastic modulus were considered as outputs to determine the weathering degrees of Yungang Grottoes sandstone. The 4 performance criteria were used to evaluate the ML models. Results demonstrate that the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is the best-fitted models for estimating the bulk porosity and static elastic modulus compared to Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Support Vector Regression (SVR), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR). The accuracy of the trained model for static elastic modulus is slightly higher than that of bulk porosity. The GPR and ANN model can accurately predict the bulk porosity and static elastic modulus in training stages. The ANN with multi-hidden layers developed is competent with high degree of precision and generalization ability for bulk porosity and static elastic modulus compared to other selected regression-based ML models (MLR, SVR, and GPR). The coefficient of determinations of ANN in the range of (0.9537–0.9641) during the testing stages is more stable and higher than that of (0.8883–0.9453) other built ML models. The prediction efficiency of pretrained ANN model was well adjusted for the actual and forecast datasets at the training and testing stages, and the error range was no more than 0.7% and 0.15 GPa at both stages of prediction for bulk porosity and static elastic modulus respectively. And the ANN based static elastic modulus prediction model’s error proportions significantly decreased and were confined to a modest range between + 10% and − 10%. The proposed surrogate models are valid for the bulk porosity ranging from 7 to 14% and the static elastic modulus ranging from 0.7 to 1.4 Gpa, which can be utilized for the accurate and fast prediction of the weathering degrees of Yungang Grottoes sandstone.

Abstract Background Immunosuppressive therapy plays a crucial role in treating membranous nephropathy, with previous studies highlighting its benefits for patients with primary membranous nephropathy (PMN). Guidelines suggest that the management of membranous nephropathy should be tailored to individual risk levels. However, there is a lack of real-world studies examining the effects of immunosuppressive therapy on renal outcomes in PMN patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between immunosuppressive therapy and renal prognosis in PMN patients. Methods This was a real-world retrospective study including patients diagnosed with PMN in Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital and Hechi People’s Hospital. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used. Results After propensity score-matching, 464 PMN patients were included and they were assigned to conservative and immunosuppressive group in a 1:1 ratio. Immunosuppressive therapy was the protective factor of renal composite outcome (HR = 0.65, p

Abstract Weathering features of sandstone heritage can be recognized by using artificial intelligence (AI) based surrogate models, and most models perform classification tasks for types based on precise labels. But there are lack of prior validated knowledge of the weathering or untagged historical data for complex weathering conditions in many cases. To this aim, a unsupervised graph neural network (GNN) based on the statistical features of the acoustic emission (AE) signals is constructed. Firstly, taking unweathered sandstone as a reference, we define 4 weathering levels of sandstone ranging from I to IV based on pore indicators. We selected 11 statistical features that are high correlated with pore of sandstone. Then, this GNN is constructed and trained by 2880 sets of statistical measured AE signals. Compared with AEs, LOF and IF models, GNN achieves the best identification performance among the four evaluation criteria. Each iteration of the GNN network is fitting the feature information of the signals and their neighbors. By data dimensionality reduction techniques, when the GNN stops iterating, it will be easy to distinguish unweathered AE signals from weathered one by comparing the reconstruction error of each signal. Furthermore, when the nearest neighbor’s k gradually increases, the AUC of GNN also gradually increases and then tend to stable when k equals to 50–100. While the hidden layers of the network aggregates less information about the neighborhood features of the signals and cannot distinguish significantly between unweathered and weathered signals when the value of k is small. As the depth of the network deepens, the feature values between signals become more and more similar, their reconstruction errors in the output layer of the network to become more similar, making it difficult to distinguish unweathered AE signals from weathered AE signals via GNN. Meanwhile, GNN adopts more AE features and considers the similarity between each features. This can greatly eliminate various errors caused by wave velocity measurement, greatly improving the robustness of AE detection. Hence, the GNN model presented addresses the limitations of relying solely on P-wave velocity measurements to assess the degree of sandstone weathering at stone cultural heritage.

Phytochromes are essential photoreceptors in plants that sense red and far-red light, playing a vital role in regulating plant growth and development through light signal transduction. Despite extensive research on phytochromes in model plants like Arabidopsis and rice, they have received relatively little attention in wheat. In this study, we employed bioinformatics methods to identify eight TaAkPHY genes in the Aikang58 wheat variety. Based on gene structure, conserved domains, and phylogenetic relationships, the TaAkPHY gene family exhibits a high degree of conservation. Synteny analysis revealed the evolutionary history of the PHY genes in Aikang58 and Chinese Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), maize (Zea mays L.), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and Arabidopsis [Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.]. Among these species, wheat is most closely related to barley, followed by rice and maize. The cis-acting element analysis indicates that the promoter regions of TaAkPHY genes contain a large number of CAT-box, CGTCA-motif, GC-motif, etc., which are mainly involved in plant development, hormone response, and stress response. Gene expression profiling demonstrated that TaAkPHY genes exhibit varying expression levels across different tissues and are induced by various stress conditions and plant hormone treatments. Co-expression network analysis suggested that TaAkPHY genes may specifically regulate downstream genes associated with stress responses, chloroplast development, and circadian rhythms. Additionally, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression algorithm in machine learning was used to screen transcription factors such as bHLH, WRKY, and MYB that influenced the expression of TaAkPHY genes. This method helps to quickly extract key influencing factors from a large amount of complex data. Overall, these findings provide new insights into the role of phytochromes in wheat growth, development, and stress responses, laying a foundation for future research on phytochromes in wheat.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a metabolic bone disease driven by estrogen deficiency, primarily manifesting as reduced bone mass and heightened fracture risk. Its development is intricately linked to the balance between Th17 and Treg cells. Recent studies have highlighted the significant role of gut homeostasis in PMOP. The gut microbiota profoundly impacts bone health by modulating the host’s immune system, metabolic pathways, and endocrine functions. In particular, the regulation of Th17 and Treg cell balance by gut homeostasis plays a pivotal role in the onset and progression of PMOP. Th17 cells secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines that stimulate osteoclast activity, accelerating bone resorption, while Treg cells counteract this process through anti-inflammatory mechanisms, preserving bone mass. The gut microbiota and its metabolites can influence Th17/Treg equilibrium, thereby modulating bone metabolism. Furthermore, the integrity of the gut barrier is critical for systemic immune stability, and its disruption can lead to immune dysregulation and metabolic imbalances. Thus, targeting gut homeostasis to restore Th17/Treg balance offers a novel therapeutic avenue for the prevention and treatment of PMOP.

Summary: Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3)+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) resolve acute inflammation and repair the injured lung after viral pneumonia. Vimentin is a critical protein in the distal pole complex (DPC) of Tregs. This study reveals the inhibitory effect of vimentin on the suppressive and reparative capacity of Tregs. Treg-specific deletion of vimentin increases Helios+interleukin-18 receptor (IL-18R)+ Tregs, suppresses inflammatory immune cells, and enhances tissue repair, protecting Vimfl/flFoxp3YFP-cre mice from influenza-induced lung injury and mortality. Mechanistically, vimentin suppresses the induction of amphiregulin, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligand necessary for tissue repair, by sequestering IL-18R to the DPC and restricting receptor-ligand interactions. We propose that vimentin in the DPC of Tregs functions as a molecular switch, which could be targeted to regulate the immune response and enhance tissue repair in patients with severe viral pneumonia.

Purpose Not all patients benefit from transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) due to the heterogeneity of the tumour burden in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To compare the outcomes of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with molecular-targeted agents plus immune checkpoint inhibitors (TACE-MTAs-ICIs) with those of TACE for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) that were beyond the up-to-seven criteria.Patients and methods Between January 2019 and July 2022, 130 patients diagnosed with uHCC beyond the up-to-seven criteria were retrospectively identified, including 47 patients who received TACE-MTAs-ICIs and 83 patients who received TACE alone. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS); the secondary endpoints included tumour response and adverse events (AEs).Results There were 43 matched patients. The median OS and PFS times in the TACE-MTAs-ICIs group were significantly longer than those in the TACE group (OS: 27.2 vs. 15.9 months, p = 0.007; PFS: 15.4 months vs. 4.8 months, p

Abstract Background Depression is a common but often overlooked consequence in individuals with post‐traumatic brain injury (TBI). Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play essential roles in the nervous system, yet their involvement in the cell death mechanism known as cuproptosis and in TBI‐related depression remains unclear. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the role of circRNA, specifically circSpna2, in the regulation of cuproptosis and its association with depression in TBI patients. Methods RNA sequencing (RNA‐Seq) was used to assess the differential expression of circRNAs. Depression was evaluated using subjective and objective rating scales, and circSpna2 expression levels in plasma were measured. Further functional experiments were conducted in TBI mouse models, including knockdown and overexpression of circSpna2, to explore its impact on the Keap1‐Nrf2‐Atp7b pathway and cuproptosis. Results TBI patients exhibited decreased levels of circSpna2, which correlated with depression (p

To bolster ecological conservation efforts and foster human well-being, the Chinese government has implemented the disaster resettlement program. Rural households encounter various environmental and social challenges regarding disaster resettlement. One of the priorities of disaster resettlement in China is to implement reforms to mitigate disaster losses and improve the livelihoods of households. The research on the livelihood adaptive capacity of households and their research framework provides a new perspective for the livelihood survey of the resettlement population. This article assesses Household Livelihood Adaptive Capacity (HLAC) and further explores how it is impacted by disaster resettlement. Taking Ankang Prefecture in Southern Shaanxi Province as a case, this study investigates the endogeneity and selection bias of resettlement. It employs the Propensity Score Matching method to empirically test the effect of disaster resettlement on household awareness, action, and ability to measure HLAC. The results show that: (1) disaster resettlement significantly reduces HLAC, and (2) poverty alleviation relocation, centralized resettlement, and short-distance relocation have a significant negative impact on HLAC. The Chinese government has tried to use disaster resettlement to address ecological protection and social development problems, and it plays a crucial role in China’s development programs. We provide evidence that disaster resettlement leads to a decrease, rather than an increase, in HLAC. Therefore, we suggest that more follow-up assistance policies should be developed to enhance HLAC.

Peptides derived from fermented milk have demonstrated diverse bioactivities. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of Gln-Glu-Pro-Val (QEPV) against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induced oxidative stress in RAW 264.7 cells and further evaluated its potential in Drosophila melanogaster (D. melanogaster). Pre-incubation with QEPV in vitro dose-dependently promoted cell viability, suppressed oxidative damage, and increased antioxidant enzyme activities in a low-level oxidative stress model. QEPV remarkably extended lifespan under the low-level oxidative stress, validating its practical applicability. These effects were attributed to the upregulation of 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) signaling pathways, as revealed by label-free proteomic analysis. To confirm the roles of these two signaling pathways, antagonists of AMPK (Dorsomorphin) and PPARα (GW6471) were applied in vitro and in vivo. The protective effects of QEPV were reversed by both antagonists. Overall, QEPV exhibits protective properties by selectively upregulating the AMPK and PPARα signaling pathways, indicating its potential application as an antioxidant food ingredient.

Abstract To explore the role of bronchoscopy for the assessment of checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis (CIP), a retrospective single-center study was conducted to assess patients diagnosed with CIP at grade 2 or above and also underwent bronchoscopy between January 2020 and December 2022. Clinical data and bronchoscopic findings were recorded. The treatment data and prognosis information were collected. Twenty-one patients who underwent bronchoscopy and were diagnosed with CIP were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) analysis. Of them, T lymphocyte subsets of BALF were tested in 15 cases. Transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB) was performed in 8 patients, and transbronchial lung biopsy was performed in 5 patients. 3 patients developed pneumothorax after TBCB and all recovered without serious compilations.14 patients experienced grade 2 CIP, while 7 patients ≥ grade 3 CIP. Symptoms were improved in 19 (90.5%) patients after standard treatment adhering to CIP guidelines. However, 5 patients relapsed during steroid tapering. Factors related to the severity and recurrence of CIP were analyzed. Patients with previous interstitial lung disease (ILD) were more likely to develop high grade CIP than those without [83.3% (5/6) versus 15.4% (3/15), P = 0.011].The odds ratio (OR) was 32.5 (95% CI 2.284–443.145, P = 0.009). Increased BALF lymphocyte percentage was associated with high grade CIP, OR 1.095 (95% CI 1.001–1.197, P = 0.047), and higher possibility of CIP relapse, OR 1.123 (95% CI, 1.005–1.225, P = 0.040). Lymphocyte subsets were tested in 15 patients. CD4/CD8 > 1 was found in 80% (4/5) of relapsed patients and 20% (2/10) of patients without relapse (P = 0.047). The OR was 16.00 (95% CI 1.093–234.24, P = 0.043). In this retrospective study, patients with previous ILD was more likely to develop high grade CIP. Higher lymphocyte percentage in BALF was associated with high grade CIP and susceptibility to relapse during treatment of CIP. A CD4/CD8 ratio greater than 1 in lymphocyte subsets of BALF was associated with higher possibility of CIP relapse. We found that TBCB is a safe procedure in CIP patients.

Abstract Objective The aim of this study is to identify risk factors associated with acute complicated appendicitis (CA) in children aged three years or younger, providing a theoretical foundation for the management and treatment of acute appendicitis (AA). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 135 pediatric patients with AA, admitted to the Department of General Surgery at Anhui Children’s Hospital between December 2020 and December 2023, who underwent successful surgical treatment. Based on the intraoperative and postoperative pathological findings, patients were categorized into two groups: complicated appendicitis (CA) (n = 97 cases) and uncomplicated appendicitis (UA) (n = 38 cases). Clinical data including gender, age, weight, disease duration, preoperative white blood cell count (WCC), neutrophil granulocyte (NEUT) count, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, total bilirubin (TBil) levels, procalcitonin (PCT) levels, calprotectin (Cal) levels, preoperative ultrasound results indicating the presence or absence of fecaliths, maximum appendix diameter, and pediatric appendicitis sore (PAS) were collected and analyzed. Comparative analysis was performed to investigate the differences between the groups and identify risk factors of CA. Results The CA group exhibited significantly higher values in disease duration, CRP levels, PCT, Cal, presence of appendiceal fecaliths, maximum appendix diameter, and PAS compared to the UA group (P

Abstract Objective In 2016, the ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO consensus included LVSI (Lymph-vascular space invasion, LVSI) status as a risk stratification factor for stage I endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) patients and as one of the indications for adjuvant therapy. Furthermore, LVSI is included in the new FIGO staging of endometrial cancer (EC) in 2023. However, the data contribution of the Chinese population in this regard is limited. The present study aimed to further comfirm the influence of LVSI on the prognosis of early-stage low-grade EEC in a fifteen-year retrospective Chinese cohort study. Methods This retrospective analysis cohort included 702 EEC patients who underwent TAH/BSO surgery, total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingooophorectomy in Peking University People’s Hospital from 2006 to 2020. Patients were stratified based on LVSI expression status as: LVSI negative group and LVSI positive group. Clinical outcome measures related to LVSI, assessed with a univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results 702 EEC patients with stage I and grade 1–2 were analyzed. 58 patients (8.3%) were LVSI-positive and 14 patients (2.0%) was relapse. Recurrence rates in LVSI-negative and LVSI-positive were 1.6% and 6.9%, respectively. 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate in LVSI-negative and LVSI-positive were 98.4% and 93.1%, respectively. These rates for 5-year overall (OS) survival in LVSI-negative were 98.9% while it was 94.8% in LVSI-positive. Multivariate analysis showed that LVSI is an independent risk factor for 5-year DFS (HR = 4.60, p = 0.010). LVSI has a similar result for 5-year OS(HR = 4.39, p = 0.028). Conclusions LVSI is an independent predictor of relapse and poor prognosis in early-stage low-grade endometrioid endometrial cancer in the Chinese cohort.

Abstract Background Whether there are invasive components in pure ground glass nodules(pGGNs) in the lungs is still a huge challenge to forecast. The objective of our study is to investigate and identify the potential biomarker genes for pure ground glass nodule(pGGN) based on the method of bioinformatics analysis. Methods To investigate differentially expressed genes (DEGs), firstly the data obtained from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database was used.Next Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) investigate the co-expression network of DEGs. The black key module was chosen as the key one in correlation with pGGN. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways analyses were done. Then STRING was uesd to create a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and the chosen module genes were analyzed by Cytoscape software.In addition the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to evaluate the value of these hub genes in pGGN patients’ tumor tissues compared to controls. Results A total of 4475 DEGs were screened out from GSE193725, then 225 DEGs were identified in black key module, which were found to be enriched for various functions and pathways, such as extracellular exosome, vesicle, ribosome and so on. Among these DEGs, 6 overlapped hub genes with high degrees of stress method were selected. These hub genes include RPL4, RPL8, RPLP0, RPS16, RPS2 and CCT3.At last relative expression levels of CCT3 and RPL8 mRNA were both regulated in pGGN patients’ tumor tissues compared to controls. Conclusions To summarize, the determined DEGs, pathways, modules, and overlapped hub genes can throw light on the potential molecular mechanisms of pGGN.

Objective To explore the influencing factors the combination of acute renal tubular injury （ARTI） in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy （IMN） in a multi-ethnic area of Guangxi. Methods From April 2013 to October 2021, 155 patients with IMN diagnosed by renal biopsy and hospitalized at Hechi People's Hospital were recruited. They were assigned into two groups of with ARTI （n = 43） and without （n = 112）. Results Multifactorial Logistic analysis revealed that serum β2 microglobulin （β2-MG） was independently associated with ARTI in IMN patients （OR = 1.06, 95%CI: 1.01 to 1.12, P = 0.014）. AUC value for ROC curve analysis of serum β2 microglobulin for diagnosing ARTI was 0.748. An optimal threshold value of 2.65 mg/L corresponded to a sensitivity of 81.4% and a specificity of 58.04%. According to serum β2 microglobulin level, they were assigned into three groups of low, medium and high. The odds of ARTI spiked 5.01 and 22.89 folds in medium and high groups as compared with low group. And the results of trend test indicated that the odds of ARTI in IMN patients increased with a rising serum β2 microglobulin concentration （P＜0.001）. Stratified interaction test analysis revealed an interaction between serum β2 microglobulin and ARTI in IMN patients among gender, differential degrees of hypoproteinemia and ethnicity （P for interaction ＜0.05）. Conclusion Serum β2 microglobulin is independently associated with ARTI in IMN patients. And an interaction exists between gender, differential levels of hypoproteinemia and ethnicity.

This work conducted tensile experiments from room temperature to 1100 °C on a new fourth-generation single crystal superalloys along [001]. The effect of temperature on the tensile properties and deformation mechanism of the alloy were investigated. Results showed that the yield strength of the alloy reached its peak value (1017 MPa) at 850 °C. From room temperature to 760 °C, the occurrence of stacking faults (SFs) was observed in the γ matrix channel. From the room temperature to 850 °C, the occurrence of stacking faults was observed in the γʹ phase. The interface dislocation networks appeared at 980 °C and above. At room temperature, stacking faults sheared γʹ phase, in which three types of stacking faults occurred, which controlled deformation process. The main deformation mechanism from 650 °C to 850 °C was the shearing of γʹ phase by stacking faults and super dislocations, and at 850 °C, stacking faults in different directions of propagation corresponded to the formation of Lomer-Cottrell locks (L-C locks), which greatly increased the yield strength. At 980 °C and 1100 °C, dislocation climbing and bypassing and anti-phase boundary (APB) coupled dislocation pair shear γʹ phase became the main deformation mechanism.

Abstract Introduction This study aimed to explore influencing factors and clinical significance of ultra-long-term microischemia following intracranial aneurysm (IA) embolization and establish a theoretical foundation for reducing both the incidence of ultra-long-term microischemia and cognitive dysfunction in patients post embolization. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 147 patients who received endovascular treatment for IAs. Patients were categorized into microischemic and control (non-microischemic) groups on the based on the findings of high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (HR-VWI) examinations performed 3 days postoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Risk factors for the occurrence of ultra-long-term microischemia were determined by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Out of 147 patients included in the study, 51 (34.69%) developed microischemia while the remaining 96 (65.31%) did not experience this condition. Analysis revealed that factors such as sex, age, history of underlying diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus), aneurysmal site characteristics, the presence or absence of stenosis in the aneurysm-bearing artery, modified Fisher score at admission, Barthel’s index at discharge, immunoinflammatory index at 3 days postoperatively and at the 6-month follow-up, the presence or absence of aneurysmal wall enhancement, and the presence or absence of aneurysmal lumen showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups (all P > 0.05). By contrast, variables like in operative time, rupture status of the aneurysm before surgery according to World Federation of Neurologic Surgeons (WFNS) grade, aneurysm size, number of stents used, number of guidewires and catheters used, and Evans index between the two groups were found to have statistically significant disparities between those who developed microischemia and those who did not (P 0.3, and the quantity of stents were independent risk factors for the occurrence of ultra-long-term microischemia after aneurysm embolization and provided good predictive performance. Cognitive dysfunction was closely associated with microischemia, with its severity increasing with an increase in the number of ischemic foci.

BackgroundSpontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) is a form of stroke with high mortality rates and significant neurological implications for patients. Abnormalities in lipid metabolism have been implicated in various cardiovascular diseases, yet their relationship with sICH remains insufficiently explored, particularly concerning their association with inflammatory factors.MethodsEmploying a two-sample, two-step Mendelian Randomization approach, combined with data from GWAS datasets, to investigate the causal relationship between plasma lipid levels and sICH. Additionally, the role of inflammatory factors in this relationship was examined, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to ensure the robustness of the results.ResultsThe results indicate a significant causal relationship between 19 plasma lipid metabolites and sICH. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that three distinct lipids, namely Sterol ester (27:1/20:2), Phosphatidylcholine (16:0_20:4), and Sphingomyelin (d34:1), exert their influence on sICH through inflammatory factors. TRAIL (OR: 1.078, 95% CI: 1.016–1.144, p = 0.013) and HGF (OR: 1.131, 95% CI: 1.001–1.279, p = 0.049) were identified as significant mediators.ConclusionThis study provides new evidence linking abnormalities in lipid metabolism with sICH and elucidates the role of inflammatory factors as mediators. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of sICH and offer novel insights and therapeutic strategies for its prevention and treatment.

Abstract Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising interventional treatment approach that contributes to antitumor immunity. It has been reported that PDT can enhance the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), but its mechanism is yet unclear. Herein, we implemented bioinformatics analysis to detect common pathways and potential biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), PDT, and NSCLC immunotherapy to investigate potential links between PDT, immunotherapy and NSCLC, and their clinical impact. Methods Differentially expressed genes in NSCLC- and NSCLC immunotherapy-related data in the GEO database were intersected with PDT-related genes in the GeneCards database to obtain candidate genes and shared pathways. Enrichment analysis and protein–protein interaction were established to identify key genes in functionally enriched pathways. The expression profiles and the prognostic significance of key genes were depicted. Results Bioinformatics analysis showed that HIF-1α was screened as a prognostic gene in hypoxia, HIF-1, and PD-L1-related signaling pathways, which was associated with clinical response in NSCLC patients after PDT and immunotherapy. In vivo experiments showed that PDT could inhibit tumor growth and upregulate HIF-1α and PD-L1 expressions in NSCLC tissues with a positive correlation, which might influence the blocking activity of ICIs on the HIF-1, and PD-L1-related signaling pathways. Conclusions PDT might improve the clinical response of ICIs by upregulating tumor HIF-1α and PD-L1 expressions in NSCLC.

Based on the analysis of the demand of U.S. aviation assets to implement of the long-range air-to-air intervention of the great powers high-end war, and combined with the penetrating counter air fighter, collaborative combat aircraft, AIM-260 air-to-air missiles, Long Shot unmanned aerial vehicles and other projects, as well as the latest concept of operations, such as agile combat employment, this paper researches and analyzes three kinds of long range air-to-air intervention operation scenarios: using the next generation stealthy manned fighter to achieve kill chain self-closing, based on stealth manned aircraft and stealth unmanned aircraft to execute distributed air operations, and using existing non-stealth aircraft under the outer information support to carry out long-range air-to-air strikes. In the end, raise three points of view.

Abstract The hemorrhagic progression of a contusion (HPC) after Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the important causes of death in trauma patients. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the predictive effect of imaging features of Computed tomography (CT) on HPC after TBI. A comprehensive systematic search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and WEB OF SCIENCE databases to identify all relevant literature. A total of 8 studies involving 2543 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that subarachnoid hemorrhage (OR 3.28; 95% CI 2.57–4.20), subdural hemorrhage (OR 4.35; 95% CI 3.29–5.75), epidural hemorrhage (OR 1.47;95% CI 1.15–1.89), contrast extravasation (OR 11.81; 95% CI 4.86–28.71) had a predictive effect on the occurrence of HPC. Skull fracture (OR 1.64; 95% CI 0.84–3.19) showed no statistical significance, and midline displacement > 5 mm (OR 4.66; 95% CI 1.87–11.62) showed high heterogeneity. The results of this meta-analysis showed that some imaging features were effective predictors of HPC after TBI. Well-designed prospective studies are needed to more accurately assess the effective predictors of HPC after TBI.

The isothermal oxidation behavior of fourth-generation nickel-based single crystal superalloys with 2-4 wt% Mo content were studied at 900 °C and 1100 °C.At 1100 °C, the oxide layer can be divided into three layers, the outermost layer is Ni–Co oxide, the intermediate layer is spinel and heavy metal element oxide, and the innermost layer is Al2O3 layer. With the increase of Mo content, the oxide layer accumulates more growth stress, resulting in more severe spallation. At 900 °C, the oxide layer can be divided into three layers, the outermost layer is Ni–Co oxide, the intermediate layer is Cr–Al oxide, and the innermost layer has obvious selective oxidation of Al element. The volatilization of oxide promotes the diffusion of O into the matrix, thus promoting the oxidation of heavy metal elements in the matrix. With the increase of Mo content, this phenomenon is more obvious. The results show that the increase of Mo content of alloy promotes the oxidation of Mo, W and Re elements, which let the volatilization of the oxide and the spalling of the oxide layer more severe, thus decreasing the oxidation resistance of the alloy.

Abstract Brushless direct current motor is widely used in industrial production because of its simple structure, wide speed range and low noise. To improve the operation efficiency of brushless DC motor and reduce the production and application costs, the optimization of brushless DC motor is analyzed by introducing the JAYA algorithm. This method determines the optimal parameters of a brushless DC motor using the theory of electromagnetic structure parameter selection and efficiency calculation. The population diversity of the JAYA algorithm is improved through an empirical learning strategy, and an adaptive strategy is introduced to balance the development ability and search performance of the algorithm. This ensures population diversity and improves convergence speed. The experiment showcases that the improved JAYA algorithm has a lower rank average in unimodal function operations, demonstrating stronger local development ability and better stability. It exhibits strong search ability in many local optima of multimodal functions. Moreover, the motor's average efficiency after optimization is 94.48%. The algorithm reaches the global optimum after approximately 40 iterations and offers faster convergence speed and higher accuracy. The adaptive JAYA algorithm is stable at around 93% when the number of iterations reaches 90, with a maximum efficiency of 95.3%. It is 5–12 percentage points higher than the other three comparison algorithms. The optimal solution of the motor parameters in the adaptive JAYA algorithm is closest to the theoretical parameter optimization value, meeting both the constraints of variables and the constraints of the model. The stator diameter, tooth magnetic induction, winding current density, air gap magnetic induction, and stator yoke magnetic induction values are 201.5 mm, 1.8 T, 2.049 A/mm2, 0.63 T, and 0.91 T, respectively. The research overcomes the problem of parameter optimization in the optimization design of brushless DC motor, improving their economic value of brushless DC motor in industrial production and application.

Abstract Scalable, high-capacity, and low-power computing architecture is the primary assurance for increasingly manifold and large-scale machine learning tasks. Traditional electronic artificial agents by conventional power-hungry processors have faced the issues of energy and scaling walls, hindering them from the sustainable performance improvement and iterative multi-task learning. Referring to another modality of light, photonic computing has been progressively applied in high-efficient neuromorphic systems. Here, we innovate a reconfigurable lifelong-learning optical neural network (L2ONN), for highly-integrated tens-of-task machine intelligence with elaborated algorithm-hardware co-design. Benefiting from the inherent sparsity and parallelism in massive photonic connections, L2ONN learns each single task by adaptively activating sparse photonic neuron connections in the coherent light field, while incrementally acquiring expertise on various tasks by gradually enlarging the activation. The multi-task optical features are parallelly processed by multi-spectrum representations allocated with different wavelengths. Extensive evaluations on free-space and on-chip architectures confirm that for the first time, L2ONN avoided the catastrophic forgetting issue of photonic computing, owning versatile skills on challenging tens-of-tasks (vision classification, voice recognition, medical diagnosis, etc.) with a single model. Particularly, L2ONN achieves more than an order of magnitude higher efficiency than the representative electronic artificial neural networks, and 14× larger capacity than existing optical neural networks while maintaining competitive performance on each individual task. The proposed photonic neuromorphic architecture points out a new form of lifelong learning scheme, permitting terminal/edge AI systems with light-speed efficiency and unprecedented scalability.

IntroductionMolecular subgroups influence the vascular architecture within medulloblastomas, particularly the wingless (WNT) subgroup, which contributes to its propensity for primary tumor hemorrhage. Whether this mechanism affects intraoperative blood loss remains unknown. This study aimed to assess the association between WNT medulloblastoma and the predisposition for blood loss.MethodsThis was a retrospective observational study using data from a neuro-oncology center comprising molecular data on patients treated between December 31, 2014, and April 30, 2023. Differences between WNT and other subgroups in the risk of primary outcome-intraoperative blood loss were assessed using multivariable-adjusted linear regression.ResultsOf the 148 patients included in the analysis, 18 patients (12.2%) had WNT, 42 (28.4%) had sonic hedgehog (SHH) TP53-wildtype, 7 (4.7%) had SHH TP53-mutant, and 81 (54.7%) were non-WNT/ non-SHH. The WNT subgroup more frequently underwent primary intratumoral hemorrhage (22% vs. 3.8%; p = 0.011). The median intraoperative blood loss was 400.00 (interquartile range [IQR] 250, 500) mL for WNT and 300.00 [200, 400] mL for the other subgroups (p = 0.136), with an adjusted β of 135.264 (95% confidence intervals [CI], 11.701–258.827; p = 0.032). Similar results were observed in both midline and noninfiltrative margin medulloblastoma.DiscussionWNT medulloblastoma is typically associated with primary intratumoral hemorrhage and intraoperative blood loss. The validity of determining the surgical approach based on predicted molecular subtypes from imaging data is questionable. However, attempting to engage in risk communication with patients in a molecular-specific way is worthwhile to validate.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor and has limited treatment options. Hence, innovative approaches are urgently needed. Oncolytic virus therapy is emerging as a promising modality for cancer treatment due to its tumor-specific targeting and immune-stimulatory properties. In this study, we developed a new generation of oncolytic herpes simplex virus C5252 by deletion of a 15-kb internal repeat region and both copies of γ34.5 genes. Additionally, C5252 was armed with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 antibody and interleukin-12 to enhance its therapeutic efficacy for glioblastoma immune-virotherapy. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that C5252 has a remarkable safety profile and potent anti-tumor activity against glioblastoma. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that C5252 specifically induces cell apoptosis by caspase-3/7 activation via downregulating ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor α. Furthermore, the enhanced anti-tumor therapeutic efficacy of C5252 in a subcutaneous glioblastoma model and an orthotopic glioblastoma model was confirmed. Moreover, syngeneic mouse models showed that the murine surrogate of C5252 has superior anti-tumor activity compared to the unarmed backbone virus, with enhanced immune activation. Taken together, our findings support C5252 as a promising therapeutic option for glioblastoma treatment, positioning it as a highly promising candidate for clinical translation.

Abstract Background and Aims Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) across multiple treatment lines have not yet been evaluated comprehensively. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether or not continuous cross‐line ICIs therapy is effective in treating non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods We conducted a retrospective investigation into the medical histories of 47 patients diagnosed with advanced NSCLC and treated with ICIs at the Peking University First Hospital between January 2018 and June 2022. Results Due to the progression of their disease, 14 patients were given the same ICIs, 5 patients were given different ICIs, and 6 patients discontinued taking ICIs altogether. The objective response rates were 7.140% in the ICIs cross‐line treatment group, 0% in the replacement of ICIs treatment group, and 0% in the discontinuation of ICIs treatment group. The disease control rates were 64.260% in the ICIs cross‐line treatment group, 60% in the replacement of ICIs treatment group, and 0% in the discontinuation of ICIs treatment group. The average overall survival durations of the three groups were 24.020 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 17.061–30.979), 31.643 (95% CI: 23.513–39.774), and 7.997 (95% CI: 3.746–12.247) months, respectively (p = 0.003). The median second progression‐free survival (PFS2) durations of the three groups were 4.570 (95% CI: 3.276–5.864), 3.530 (95% CI: 0.674–6.386), and 1.570 (95% CI: 0–4.091) months, respectively (p = 0.091). Conclusions Cross‐line ICIs cannot improve the prognosis and PFS2 of patients with NSCLC, but compared to discontinuing ICIs, OS may be prolonged. A few patients may benefit from prolonged ICIs therapy.

Abstract Background Patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) have a high restenosis rate, which increases the risk of stroke, and there is still a lack of effective treatment for restenosis. The cause of stenosis is related to local inflammatory reactions. Some basic studies have shown that the inflammatory response causing arterial stenosis is closely related to the nerve axons distributed in its outer membrane, and that removal of the nerve is effective in reducing the inflammatory response to prevent arterial stenosis. Therefore, we propose to design a randomized controlled trial to study whether disconnecting the carotid sinus nerve during a CEA operation can reduce carotid arterial restenosis. Method/design This study is a randomized, double-blind, single-center study. We will recruit 276 patients, who will be randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group. Based on the standard CEA operation, the operator will search for the carotid sinus nerve on the surface of the internal carotid artery and will entirely transect it in the experimental group. Both groups will be guided with the same postoperative treatment and will be followed up every 3 months for 3 years after the operation. The main indices observed will be the carotid restenosis rate, incidence and nature of carotid plaque, and carotid blood flow velocity. Other indices will be arrhythmia, blood pressure variability, and biomarkers of atherosclerosis, such as blood lipids, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homocysteine, and total bilirubin. Discussion It is expected that carotid sinus nerve transection will significantly reduce the occurrence of restenosis after CEA, decrease the incidence of ischemic stroke, and realize the effective primary prevention of stroke. Trial registration ChiCTR2300073652. Registered on July 18, 2023.

Abstract Background Pure uterine serous carcinoma (p-USC) and mixed tumors with serous component (m-USC) are aggressive subtypes of endometrial cancer associated with high mortality rates. This retrospective study aimed to compare clinicopathologic features and outcomes of p-USC and m-USC in a single center. Methods This study retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with USC at Peking University People’s Hospital between 2008 and 2022. T-tests and chi-square tests were used to compare clinicopathological characteristics between p-USC and m-USC. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox regression analysis were used to analyze the impact of clinical and pathological variables on OS and PFS. Results Among the 91 patients who underwent surgery, 65.9% (n = 60) were p-USC, and 34.1% (n = 31) were m-USC. Patients with p-USC had earlier menopause (P = 0.0217), a lower rate of progesterone receptor(PR) expression (P

It is important in production to achieve accurate counting and density estimation of high-density culture fry under the environmental conditions of aquaculture scenarios in an efficient and accurate manner. However, none of the current methods for fry counting works well under the high-density and high-overlap conditions of real aquaculture scenarios. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a high-density farming fry monitoring network model, Super-Resolution GAN Density Estimate Attention Network (SGDAN), which incorporating an image enhancement algorithm and an attention mechanism, and we create a high-density farming fry dataset (HD-FryDataset) based on the environmental conditions of real aquaculture scenarios. The network model is designed to improve and optimize the targeted subnetworks for several key aspects of high-density fish fry monitoring work. Four subnetworks are included for image optimization, feature extraction, attention, and density map estimation. The experimental results show that the SGDAN network model achieved an average counting accuracy of 97.57% on the high-density culture fry dataset, which was 8.23% and 2.06% higher than those of MCNN and CSRNet, respectively. Additionally, the MAE and RMSE of the model were reduced by 71.9% and 67.3% and by 34.3% and 33.2% compared with those of MCNN and CSRNet, respectively. The model proposed in this paper also has a better ability to generate predictive density maps. The density maps generated by SGDAN have values of the evaluation metrics PSNR and SSIM of 20.33 and 0.933, respectively, which are 3.31 and 0.037 and 2.63 and 0.031 higher than those of MCNN and CSRNet. In general, the network model proposed in this paper outperforms existing network models in two applications: accurate counting of fry and generation of density maps for high-density culture in aquaculture. It also provides a good solution for digitizing the number of fry and visualizing the density of high-density culture in intelligent aquaculture systems.

Abstract Background The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) continues to rise and 70% of diabetic individuals have dry eye disease (DED) that leads to subsequent abnormalities of the corneal epithelium, corneal nerves, tear film, or corneal endothelium. In addition, persons with diabetes produce fewer tear secretions than healthy individuals. While several anti-inflammatory drug-based therapies for dry eye in diabetic individuals are currently being administered, their efficacy has not been studied in detail. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 3% diquafosol (DQS) vs 0.1% hyaluronic acid (HA) eye drops in diabetic dry eye patients. Methods This triple-blind randomized, control trial will include 202 diabetic-related DED and will be assigned to DQS (n = 101) and HA (n = 101) one drop, six times per day for 8 weeks. Tear film lipid layer, non-invasive breakup time, conjunctivocorneal staining score, corneal sensitivity, tear MMP-9 levels, meibomian gland expression and quality, tear meniscus height, corneal nerves, immune/inflammatory cell change, conjunctival hyperemia, and ocular surface disease index questionnaire score will be assessed and compared at baseline, week 4, and week 8. Discussion This study will be a standardized, scientific, clinical trial designed to evaluate the therapeutic effects and safety of DQS and HA for diabetic dry eye treatment. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.govNCT05682547. Registered on December 05, 2022.

Here we investigated the nucleation of the Re, Ru-rich δ phase affected by stacking faults in the γ phase in a 4th generation Ni-based single crystal superalloy during the service at 800°C. The stacking faults in the γ phase were rich in Re and Ru, similar to the observed δ phase. And the stacking fault regions possessed a similar structure to the δ phase, promoting the transformation from γ phase to δ phase. Furthermore, the calculation results indicated that Ru had more significant promoting effects on the δ phase precipitation than Re, providing a reference for the alloy design.

Abstract Over the past few years, the rapid development of machine learning (ML) models for weather forecasting has led to state-of-the-art ML models that have superior performance compared to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)’s high-resolution forecast (HRES), which is widely considered as the world’s best physics-based weather forecasting system. Specifically, ML models have outperformed HRES in 10-day forecasts with a spatial resolution of 0.25∘. However, the challenge remains in mitigating the accumulation of forecast errors for longer effective forecasts, such as achieving comparable performance to the ECMWF ensemble in 15-day forecasts. Despite various efforts to reduce accumulation errors, such as implementing autoregressive multi-time step loss, relying on a single model has been found to be insufficient for achieving optimal performance in both short and long lead times. Therefore, we present FuXi, a cascaded ML weather forecasting system that provides 15-day global forecasts at a temporal resolution of 6 hours and a spatial resolution of 0.25∘. FuXi is developed using 39 years of the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis dataset. The performance evaluation demonstrates that FuXi has forecast performance comparable to ECMWF ensemble mean (EM) in 15-day forecasts. FuXi surpasses the skillful forecast lead time achieved by ECMWF HRES by extending the lead time for Z500 from 9.25 to 10.5 days and for T2M from 10 to 14.5 days. Moreover, the FuXi ensemble is created by perturbing initial conditions and model parameters, enabling it to provide forecast uncertainty and demonstrating promising results when compared to the ECMWF ensemble.

In this paper, a high-yield Hf-modified SiHfBOC ceramic precursor was developed, and a high-pressure assisted impregnation pyrolysis method was proposed to achieve the preparation of 3D PyC–Cf/SiHfBOC composites. This high-pressure assisted impregnation method significantly improves impregnation filling effect of the precursor in and between fiber bundles compared to dozens of traditional impregnation cycles. After undergoing just 9 precursor infiltration pyrolysis (PIP) cycles, the composites achieved relative density of approximately 90% and density of 1.64 g/cm3. The critical temperature difference of the 3D PyC–Cf/SiHfBOC composites after the shock of room temperature (RT)–1000 ℃ is as high as 650 ℃, which is twice that of traditional ceramic materials, showing good thermal shock resistance. Under the effect of Hf modification, a dense HfO2–SiO2 oxide layer (thickness of 93 μm) was formed in situ on the surface of the 3D PyC–Cf/SiHfBOC composites, effectively preventing further erosion of the composite matrix by high-temperature oxidation gas. Even in the ultra-high-temperature oxygen-containing environment at 1800 ℃, it still exhibits an excellent non-ablative result (with a linear ablation rate of 0.83×10−4 mm/s). This work not only enriches the basic research on lightweight ultra-high-temperature ceramic composites converted from Hf ceramic precursors, but also provides strong technical support for their applications in ultra-high-temperature non-ablative thermal protection materials for high-speed aircraft.

Pepper is a globally cultivated vegetable known for its distinct pungent flavor, which is derived from the presence of capsaicinoids, a class of unique secondary metabolites that accumulate specifically in pepper fruits. Since the accumulation of capsaicinoids is influenced by various factors, it is imperative to comprehend the metabolic regulatory mechanisms governing capsaicinoids production. This review offers a thorough examination of the factors that govern the metabolism of capsaicinoids in pepper fruit, with a specific focus on three primary facets: (1) the impact of genotype and developmental stage on capsaicinoids metabolism, (2) the influence of environmental factors on capsaicinoids metabolism, and (3) exogenous substances like methyl jasmonate, chlorophenoxyacetic acid, gibberellic acid, and salicylic acid regulate capsaicinoid metabolism. The findings of this study are expected to enhance comprehension of capsaicinoids metabolism and aid in the improvement of breeding and cultivation practices for high-quality pepper in the future.

Purpose: In the present study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of immune-targeted therapy (IT) with or without transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT). Patients and methods: This was a multicenter retrospective study that included 265 HCC patients with PVTT (IT + TACE: 82, IT: 183). Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), as well as tumor responses and adverse events, were evaluated. Results: Patients in the IT + TACE group experienced significantly longer overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) periods, compared with those in the IT group (OS 19.0 vs. 13.0 months, p < 0.001; PFS 12.0 vs. 7.3 months, p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis confirmed IT + TACE as an independent predictor for improved OS and PFS. Subgroup analysis demonstrated the benefits of IT + TACE in patients with rich PVTT blood supply. Preoperative imaging and DSA offered predictive value. Conclusions: TACE combined with IT provides a safe and effective treatment option for advanced-HCC patients with PVTT, particularly those with abundant PVTT blood supply.

To measure the long-range transport of PCDD/Fs, a background sampling site at Mt. Lulin station (Taiwan) was selected based on meteorological information and its location relative to burning events in Southeast Asia. During regular sampling periods, a higher concentration of PCDD/Fs was recorded in 2008 at Mt. Lulin station during La Niña events, with levels reaching 390 fg I-TEQ/m3. In contrast, a higher concentration of 483 fg I-TEQ/m3 was observed in 2013 during biomass burning events. This indicates that La Niña affects the ambient PCDD/F concentrations. The ratio of ΣPCDD/ΣPCDF was 0.59, suggesting significant long-range transport contributions from 2007 to 2023. From 2007 to 2015, the predominant species was 2,3,4,7,8-PCDF, accounting for 25.3 to 39.6% of the total PCDD/Fs. From 2018 onward, 1,2,3,7,8-PCDD became more dominant, accounting for 15.0 to 27.1%. According to the results from the receptor model PMF (n = 150), the sources of PCDD/Fs were identified as dust storms and monsoon events (19.3%), anthropogenic activity (28.5%), and biomass burning events (52.2%). The PSCF values higher than 0.7 highlighted potential PCDD/F emission source regions for Mt. Lulin during biomass burning events, indicating high PSCF values in southern Thailand, Cambodia, and southern Vietnam.

The propagation of antibiotic resistance in environments, particularly aquatic environments that serve as primary pathways for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), poses significant health risks. The impact of nutrients, as key determinants of bacterial growth and metabolism, on the propagation of ARGs, particularly extracellular ARGs (eARGs), remains poorly understood. In this study, we collected microorganisms from the Yangtze River and established a series of microcosms to investigate how variations in nutrient levels and delivery frequency affect the relative abundance of intracellular ARGs (iARGs) and eARGs in bacterial communities. Our results show that the relative abundance of 7 out of 11 representative eARGs in water exceeds that of iARGs, while 8 iARGs dominate in biofilms. Notably, iARGs and eARGs consistently exhibited opposite responses to nutrient variation. When nutrient levels increased, iARGs in the water also increased, with the polluted group (COD = 333.3 mg/L, COD:N:P = 100:3:0.6, m/m) and the eutrophic group (COD = 100 mg/L, COD:N:P = 100:25:5, m/m) showing 1.2 and 3.2 times higher levels than the normal group (COD = 100 mg/L, COD:N:P = 100:10:2, m/m), respectively. In contrast, eARGs decreased by 6.7% and 8.4% in these groups. On the other hand, in biofilms, higher nutrient levels led to an increase in eARGs by 1.5 and 1.7 times, while iARGs decreased by 17.5% and 50.1% in the polluted and eutrophic groups compared to the normal group. Moreover, while increasing the frequency of nutrient delivery (from 1 time/10 d to 20 times/10 d) generally did not favor iARGs in either water or biofilm, it selectively enhanced eARGs in both. To further understand these dynamics, we developed an ARGs-nutrient model by integrating the Lotka–Volterra and Monod equations. The results highlight the complex interplay of bacterial growth, nutrient availability, and mechanisms such as horizontal gene transfer and secretion influencing ARGs’ propagation, driving the opposite trend between these two forms of ARGs. This contrasting response between iARGs and eARGs contributes to a dynamic balance that stabilizes bacterial resistance levels amid nutrient fluctuations. This study offers helpful implications regarding the persistence of bacterial resistance in the environment.

the clinical effectiveness of unilateral/bilateral percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) was assessed to provide guidance for clinical treatment.Through retrospective analysis of data from 107 patients, including preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale scores, bone cement leakage, adjacent vertebral fractures, vertebral height, and infection.There was no significant difference in preoperative and postoperative scores, Cobb angle, anterior height, and bone cement leakage rate, but the vertebral body height in the bilateral percutaneous vertebral fusion surgery group was significantly higher than that in the unilateral group(P

The flexible interconnection AC/DC hybrid system with modular multilevel converter (MMC) as the core interface can comprehend the centralized get right of entry to of different and decentralized resources, decorate the reliability of strength supply, and enhance new energy consumption. However, the intermittence and fluctuation of distributed generations affect the safety and stability of flexible interconnected AC/DC hybrid systems. MMC based on battery energy storage system (MMC-BESS) can stabilize power fluctuations on the AC and DC sides of the system and improve the stability of the system. In order to improve the rapidity and immunity of MMC-BESS, this paper presents an active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) strategy for the bidirectional DC–DC converter of MMC-BESS. The voltage fluctuations of the interface capacitor in the energy storage and the current fluctuations of the inductor in the bidirectional DC–DC converter are discussed. Moreover, ADRC controller is designed for the bidirectional DC–DC converter of MMC-BESS. At last, simulations under different load mutations on the DC side and unbalanced three-phase grid voltage are carried out for verification of the performance of the ADRC control strategy in MMC-BESS. The results show that MMC-BESS based on ADRC strategy has more favorable rapidity and immunity than PI strategy, and is helpful to practical application in flexible interconnected AC/DC hybrid system in the future.