A large amount of steel slag (SS) and CO2 are generated in the steelmaking process. The indirect CO2 capture using SS is a promising way for co-treatment of the wastes. Ammonium salt solution is widely used to extract Ca2+ from the SS since it is recyclable. Several works have focus on improving the carbonation rate by adjusting various parameters (e.g., temperature and pH). However, there is little detail information about the associating behaviors and interaction strength between the various ions in the ammonia solution during the carbonation process. In this work, the Ca2+–CO32-–NH4+–Cl-–H2O system was established by using Material studio software. The effects of temperature and concentration of CO32- on CaCO3 growth were explored at the atomic scale by calculating the binding energy, mean square displacement, and diffusion coefficient between particles. Furthermore, the microstructure, bonding characteristics, and occurrence behavior of each particle were studied though molecular dynamics simulation methods. The results showed that with the increase of temperature (20–80 ℃), the binding ability and diffusion coefficients of Ca2+ and CO32- increase in the system, which is beneficial to the formation of CaCO3 clusters. With the increase of the concentration of CO32- (15–25 vol.%), the binding ability and diffusion coefficient of Ca2+ and CO32- in the system are enhanced, which is beneficial to the formation of CaCO3 clusters.

With the rapid development of electronic and communication technology in military radar, the demand for microwave absorbing materials in low-frequency with thin layer is growing increasingly. In this study, flexible Co3O4/CC (carbon cloth) composites derives from Co-MOFs (metal-organic frameworks)/CC are prepared by hydrothermal and thermal treatment processes. The flexible precursors of Co-MOFs/CC are calcined with different calcination temperatures, which the material structure, dielectric properties and microwave absorption performance are changed. With the increase of calcination temperature, the minimum reflection loss of the corresponding Co3O4/CC composites gradually moves to the lower frequency with thinner thickness. In addition, the Co3O4/CC composites with 25 wt% filler loading ratio exhibit the minimum reflection loss (RL) of -46.59 dB at 6.24 GHz with 4.2 mm thickness. When the thickness is 3.70 mm, the effective absorption bandwidth is 3.04 GHz from 5.84 to 8.88 GHz. This study not only proves that the composite Co3O4/CC is a kind of outstanding microwave absorbing material with better flexibility, but also provides a useful inspiration for the low frequency and broadband microwave absorbing material.

This work compared the performance of three methods for constructing a regional ensemble prediction system (EPS) for wind speed forecasts: dynamical downscaling, breeding of growth modes (BGM), and blending method. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to downscale the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) EPS. In addition, as the BGM method needs observation data for generating scaling factors, an alternative method for generating scaling factors was proposed to eliminate dependence on observation data. One-month tests between October 1st and October 30th, 2020, were implemented to evaluate the performance of three methods in the Gansu province of China. The results demonstrate that the blending method outperforms the other two methods. Furthermore, the difference in performance is evident mainly in early forecast lead time and becomes negligible as forecast time increases.

Deep learning has increasingly been employed to identify minerals. However, deep learning can only be used to identify minerals in the distribution of the training set, while any mineral outside the spectrum of the training set is inevitably categorized erroneously within a predetermined class from the training set. To solve this problem, the study introduces the approach that amalgamates One-Class Support Vector Machines (OCSVM) with the ResNet architecture for the out-of-distribution mineral detection. Initially, ResNet undergoes training using a training set comprising well-defined minerals. Subsequently, the earlier layers of the trained ResNet are employed to extract the discriminative features of the mineral under consideration. These extracted mineral features then become the input for OCSVM. When OCSVM discerns the mineral in the training set's distribution, it triggers the subsequent layers within the trained ResNet, facilitating the accurate classification of the mineral into one of the predefined categories encompassing the known minerals. In the event OCSVM identifies the mineral out of the training set's distribution, it is unequivocally categorized as an unclassified or 'unknown' mineral. Empirical results substantiate the method's capability to identify out-of-distribution minerals while concurrently maintaining a commendably high accuracy rate for the classification of the 36 in-distribution minerals.

Based on panel data of 31 provincial-level administrative units (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) in China from 2015 to 2019, using fixed effect model and mediation effect model, this paper makes an empirical analysis on the interaction among digital economy, industrial structure upgrade and high-quality economic development. The results show that, from the overall effect, the digital economy can significantly promote the high-quality development of the economy, and there are regular regional differences, and the relationship between the promotion intensity and the development level of the digital economy is proportional. From the mediation effect, in the relationship between digital economy and high-quality economic development, the upgrade of industrial structure has played a significant part of the mediation effect, the proportion of mediation effect is 25.17% . In addition, the mediation effect of industrial structure upgrade has obvious regional difference, the western area is the strongest, the eastern area is the second, the central area is the weakest. Based on the above research,the concrete policy suggestions are given to promote the development of digital economy and upgrade the level of industrial structure to promote the high-quality development of economy.

Influenced by the quasi-stationary Mei-yu front and the development of mesoscale low vortices on the Mei-yu front, a torrential rain event occurred in Suzhou on July 6, 2020. The 24-hour rainfall recorded by the automatic station exceeded 200 millimeters, with the highest hourly intensity surpassing 70 millimeters, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds. This heavy precipitation process was characterized by suddenness, extremity, long duration, high precipitation efficiency, and backward propagation. Using various data sources such as the European ERA5 reanalysis data, ground-based automatic stations, sounding, Doppler weather radar, and wind profile radar, this paper analyzed in detail the circulation characteristics and radar echo structures of this torrential rain event, and further studied the triggering, feature evolution, and maintenance mechanisms of the heavy precipitation.The results show: (1) The continuously strengthening low-level jet stream propagates downward forming an ultra-low-level jet stream. Heavy precipitation is located on the left front side of the jet exit area, where strong convergence and lifting in the boundary layer overlap with the ascending branch of the secondary circulation above the shear line, resulting in heavy precipitation. (2) A supercell storm with intense precipitation produced this heavy rainfall event, characterized by a low centroid of strong echo; echo-free vault, bounded weak echo region, and other supercell structural features. During this event, the high reflectivity factor areas corresponded to high KDP value areas, indicating a large amount of liquid water content. Vertically, the KDP column can track the rainwater mixing ratio well, and its location corresponds to the vicinity of the short-term heavy precipitation occurrence. The high KDP value area mainly consists of numerous precipitation particles, and the vertical vortex wind field structure causes rapid growth of precipitation particles through continuous rolling. Furthermore, it can be found through correlation coefficients (CC) that there are always high-value areas for CC since they correspond to areas of intense precipitation. (3) Continuous triggering of mesoscale convective cloud clusters on the east-west ground convergence line leads to new development and forms a "train effect." Strong frontogenesis in both horizontal and vertical directions triggers and sustains this heavy precipitation event. The significant increase in liquid water and water vapor density has indicative significance for the occurrence of heavy precipitation.

Glycosidic linkage analysis was conducted on the unfractionated polysaccharides in the alcohol-insoluble residues (AIRs) prepared from six red seaweeds (Gracilariopsis sp., Prionitis sp., Mastocarpus papillatus, Callophyllis sp., Mazzaella splendens, and Palmaria palmata) using GC-MS/FID analysis of partially methylated alditol acetates (PMAAs). The cell walls of P. palmata primarily contained mixed-linkage xylans and small amounts of sulfated galactans and cellulose. In contrast, the unfractionated polysaccharides of the other five species were rich in galactans displaying diverse 3,6-anhydro-galactose and galactose linkages with varied sulfation patterns. Different levels of cellulose were also observed. This glycosidic linkage method offers advantages for cellulose analysis over traditional monosaccharide analysis that is known for underrepresenting glucose in crystalline cellulose. Relative linkage compositions calculated from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements showed that anhydro sugar linkages generated more response in the latter detection method. This improved linkage workflow presents a useful tool for studying polysaccharide structural variations across red seaweed species. Furthermore, for the first time, relative linkage compositions from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements, along with normalized FID and total ion current (TIC) chromatograms without peak assignments, were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technique's potential to differentiate various red seaweed species.

The world is facing an unprecedented socio-economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). It is also spreading through the import and export food supply chains. The Chinese authorities have discovered the COVID-19 virus in various imported frozen meat packages. Traceability plays a vital role in food quality and food safety. The Internet of Things (IoT) provides solutions to keep an eye on environmental conditions, product quality, and product traceability. These solutions are traditionally based on the centralized architecture, which does not guarantee tamper-proof data sharing. The blockchain is an emerging technology that provides tamper-proof data sharing in real-time. This article presents Hyperledger Fabric-based blockchain use case and a quick reference guide to develop the blockchain network for tracking and tracing the supply chain to minimize the risk of COVID-19 in the frozen meat supply chain.

Factory safety inspections are crucial for ensuring safe production. However, manual inspections present issues such as low efficiency and high workload. Inspection robots provide an efficient and reliable solution for completing patrol tasks. The development of robot localization and path planning technologies provides guarantees for factory inspection robots to autonomously complete inspection tasks in complex environments. This paper studies mapping and localization, as well as path planning methods for robots in order to meet the application requirements of factory inspections. Two SLAM application systems based on multiple-line laser radar and vision are designed for different scenarios in consideration of the limitations of cameras and laser sensors in terms of their own characteristics and applicability in different environments. To address the issue of low efficiency in inspection tasks, a hybrid path planning algorithm that integrates the A-star algorithm and time elasticity band algorithm is proposed. This algorithm effectively solves the problem of path planning in complex environments that is prone to falling into local optimal solutions, thereby improving the inspection efficiency of robots. Experimental tests show that the designed SLAM and path planning methods can meet the needs of robot inspection in complex scenes and have good reliability and stability. The code used in this article is open source and can be accessed at https://github.com/Mxiii99/RSPP_CS.git.

Rice is the grain feeds more than half of the world population. It is an important staple food provides twenty percent of the calories consumed worldwide. Food safety affects the health of consumers. Establishing an effective traceability system is one of the primary measures to protect rice quality and food safety. Blockchain-based traceability system has the characteristics of data tamper-proofing, decentralization, and co-governance. This paper proposed a rice traceability scheme based on blockchain technology that selects the critical nodes in the rice industry chain to construct a blockchain network to achieve transparent data sharing. It is meaningful for both enterprises and consumers. It can let enterprises get the real quality information of rice and related raw materials. Consumers can get the true information of rice and rice products to buy safe and healthy food. The scheme is proved feasible by simulating the traceability of the rice supply chain.

A novel physiologically based algorithm (PBA) for fast CFD computation of Flow Fractional Reserve (FFR) in Coronary Artery Trees (CATs) is proposed and developed, which, unlike traditional methods, is based on the extension of the Murray’s law for blood vessels at the outlets and extra inlet conditions prescribed alternatively and iteratively. The PBA is then implemented in both SimVascular and Ansys CFD for testing and validation. For validation purpose, 3D models of CATs are built by using their CT images and computational meshes generated for mesh convergence study. Results obtained are then compared with Invasive Coronary Angiographic (ICA) data for validation and evaluation of its accuracy and computational efficiency. It is found that discrepancies between experimental and calculated values of pressure and flow rate at the inlet were less than 0.1% at the end of the 10^th round of iteration or less. Further validation shows that the difference between estimated and experimental FFR agree with each other with a maximum difference of 1.62% after convergence is achieved. The PBA is found to be a robust patient-specific and physiologically sound method that can be a good alternative to the existing Lumped Parameter Model (LPM) which is based on empirical scaling correlations using limited population-averaged data and requires nonlinear iterative computation for convergence.

Mineral identification is an important part of geological analysis. Traditional identification methods rely on either the experiences of the appraisers or the various measuring instruments and the methods are either easily influenced by the experiences or need too much work. To solve the above problems, there have been studies using image recognition and intelligent algorithms to identify minerals. But the current studies can not identify many minerals, and the accuracy is low. To increase the number of identified mineral categories and the accuracy, we proposed the method that uses both the mineral images and the Mohs hardness in the deep neural networks to identify the minerals. The experimental results showed that the method can reach 94.0% Top-1 accuracy and 99.9% Top-5 accuracy for 28 common minerals. The model that combines image and Mohs hardness together can identify more minerals and increase the accuracy using less training data.

Entanglement is one of the most striking features in quantum systems. Today, quantum entanglement plays a vital role in quantum technology, the non-classical correlation of quantum entanglement is an important resource for quantum communication and quantum computing. Entanglement can be divided into two categories: between multi-particle systems and between various degrees of freedom in a single-particle system (intraparticle entangled states). This work first analogized the distinctions and connections between two kinds of entangled states. Then it designed three types of entanglement-swapping methods based on Bell state joint measurement, cross-Kerr medium, and linear optical elements for intraparticle entangled states by analogizing the entanglement swapping between multiple particles. Intraparticle entanglement swapping can be applied in super quantum dense encoding, quantum information transmission, and quantum teleportation. This work is beneficial for promoting the development of quantum information technologies.

High dietary phosphate intake and poor adherence to phosphate-binding-therapy elevate the risk of hyperphosphatemia in maintenance hemodialysis (HD; MHD) patients. Therefore, chronic kidney disease-related mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) indicators increase; consequently, risks of CKD-MBDs and inflammation are elevated. This double-blind, randomized control trial intervention study was designed to investigate the possibility of reducing blood CKD-MBD indicators and modulating inflammatory indicators by consuming low-phosphate (LP) meals accompanied by a minimum dose of a calcium-based phosphate binder (CaCO3). MHD patients were recruited and randomly assigned to an LP meal group (LP group) or a control group. After initial data collection, blood collection, and dietary counseling, subjects were asked to consume a washout diet for 1 week. During the washout diet period, subjects consumed their usual diet but took 1 tablet of calcium carbonate (1CaCO3) as a phosphate binder with each meal. After the washout diet period, subjects in the LP group and control group respectively consumed LP meals and regular meals twice a day for 1 week. Meat in the LP meals was boiled before the regular cooking process, but meat in control meals was not. All meals were supplied by a central kitchen so that the contents of phosphate and other nutrients could be identified. In total, 40 MHD patients completed the study program. After 1 week of the dietary intervention, the blood Ca x P product and dietary phosphate had significantly decreased in the LP group compared to the control group (p<0.05). The LP group had significantly lower variations in dietary phosphate intake, blood calcium, Ca x P product, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α than the control group by comparing differences between after the dietary intervention and the baseline (△after intervention - baseline, p<0.05). The increase in dietary phosphate intake (△3rd - 2nd dietary phosphate intake) augmented the increase in the TNF-α level by 6.24-fold (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 6.24 [1.12~34.92], p<0.05). These results highlighted the conclusion that LP meals accompanied by a minimum dose of CaCO3 downregulated pro-inflammation by reducing CKD-MBD indicators which was triggered by decreasing dietary phosphate intake.

The cause-effect relationship between iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and osteoporosis has not been established in the general population. Thus, the current longitudinal study determined the role of IDA as a risk factor for osteoporosis by analyzing a large nationwide population-based sample. In a sample of 1,000,000 randomly sampled individuals from the 1998-2012 Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, patients with IDA (case group [n=35,751]) and individuals without IDA (control group [n=178,755]) were compared. Patients who were <20 years of age and who had pre-existing osteoporosis prior to the diagnosis of IDA were excluded. Each patient with IDA was age- and gender-matched to 5 individuals without IDA. The diagnoses of IDA and osteoporosis (coded using ICD-9CM) were further confirmed with blood test results and X-ray bone densitometry to ensure the accuracy of the diagnoses. Osteoporosis occurred more often among patients with IDA compared to individuals without IDA (2.27% vs. 1.32%, p<0.001). Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that the risk for osteoporosis was significantly higher in the case than the control group (hazard ratio [HR]=1.74; 95% CI=1.61-1.88) and remained similar after adjustment for covariates (adjusted HR=1.81; 95% CI=1.67-1.97). Compared with individuals without IDA, the risk for osteoporosis was even higher for patients with IDA who received intravenous ferrum therapy (adjusted HR=2.21; 95% CI=1.85-2.63). In contrast, the risk for osteoporosis was reduced for patients with IDA who received a blood transfusion (adjusted HR=1.47; 95% CI=1.20-1.80). As a predictor, prior IDA is a significant and independent risk factor for development of osteoporosis. In contrast to blood transfusion treatment, the use of intravenous ferrum may further increase the risk for future osteoporosis.

With the breakthroughs and innovative developments in nanotechnology, research on the application of nanomedicine in cancer therapy has so far seen tremendous expansion and success. Intelligent stimulus-responsive nanocarriers are an emerging field of research and have great interest in cancer therapy owing to the fascinating properties such as excellent targeting function, high drug loading capacity, and targeted on-demand release properties. Responsive nanomaterials can be designed and constructed according to the dosing context and therapeutic needs, at the same time, activated by internal bio-stimuli (pH, redox, and enzymes) and/or external stimuli (ultrasound, light, temperature, and magnetic), respectively. What’s more, smart nanocarriers are also utilized for the precise and controllable release of antitumor drugs from cancer tissues and cells to achieve efficient diagnosis and treatment of tumors. Deeply investigated, responsive nanocarriers have attracted considerable attention due to their ability to release precisely at tumor-specific sites. Herein, we review the recent advances of novel stimuli-responsive nanocarriers in the field of cancer therapy. Finally, the challenges and application prospects of smart nanocarriers are further elaborately discussed.

Due to various industrial developments and artificial inputs, there are emerging environmental contaminats(ECs) of serious concern in a wide range of environmental media. With recent advancements in scientific knowledge and industrial technology, the definition of emerging environmental contaminats has expanded. Among them, emerging contaminants are typically present in trace amounts and pose serious ecological risks and potential hazards to human health, animals and plants, with cumulative effects on organisms. However, Traditional treatment techniques have proven ineffective in eliminating and preventing subsequent environmental problems from new pollutants such as microplastics, antibiotics and fluorocarbons. Consequently, extensive research has been conducted to address these issues. Effective removal methods prioritize not only removal efficiency, but also environmental friendliness and regenerative capacity. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the sources, forms of presence, environmental and human health hazards, and removal technologies of ECs, and to provide various examples of different sources.

Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 (CPPV-1) is a DNA virus causing gastrointestinal disease and immunosuppression in various terrestrial carnivores. Domestic dogs and cats are considered the primary CPPV-1 reservoirs. The habitat overlaps of wild carnivores and free-roaming dogs increases the threat of CPPV-1 transmission between them. This study explored the CPPV-1 distribution among wild carnivores through PCR screening and compared the DNA sequences of the partial capsid protein (VP2) between wild and domestic carnivores. In total, 181 samples were screened for the CPPV-1 VP2 gene, including 32 masked palm civets (Paguma larvata), 63 Chinese ferret badgers (Melogale moschata), and 86 crab-eating mongooses (Herpestes urva), from 2015 to 2019 in Taiwan. The average prevalence of CPPV-1 was 17.7% (32/181), with the highest prevalence in masked palm civets (37.5%). In addition, a masked palm civet was coinfected with two CPPV-1 strains. Among the 33 partial VP2 gene sequences, 23 were identical to sequences amplified from domestic dogs and cats in Asia and the remaining 10 were identified for the first time. This study demonstrated that CPPV-1 has circulated between domestic and wild carnivores in rural Taiwan. Therefore, further population control and health management of free-roaming domestic carnivores are recommended.

The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of brain activity. Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology formed by the EEG signal has become one of the hotspots at present. How to extract the feature signal of EEG is the most basic research of BCI technology. In this paper, A new method of recognizing fatigue, conscious, concentrated state of human brain is proposed by the combination of discrete wavelet transform and the neural network based on EEG signal. First of all, the law signal is preprocessed by the wavelet denoising method because the law EEG signal contains a large number of high frequency noise, which is decomposed into multi-layer high frequency signal and low frequency signal. thus, δ wave, θ wave, α wave, β wave are obtained by the wavelet transform. And then, frequency band energy of the different wave is regards as the feature signal of EEG. In the experiment, the feature signal is classified by radial basic function (RBF) and annealed chaotic competitive learning network (ACCLN). RBF and ACCLN networks are trained with 500 sets of sample data and are tested by 100 sets of samples in different mental states. The experimental results show that the average accuracy of RBF network under three conditions are 88.75%, 88.25%, 88.5%, respectively, and the correct rate of ACCLN network is 97%, 98%, 98%, respectively.

A novel physiologically based algorithm (PBA) for the computation of fractional flow reserve (FFR) in coronary artery trees (CATs) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is proposed and developed. The PBA is based on the extension of Murray's law and additional inlet conditions prescribed iteratively, and is implemented in OpenFOAM for testing and validation. 3D models of CATs are created using CT scans and computational meshes, and the results are compared to in-vasive coronary angiographic (ICA) data to validate the accuracy and effectiveness of the PBA. The discrepancy between calculated and experimental FFR is within 2.33-5.26% in steady-state and transient simulations, respectively, when convergence is reached. The PBA is a reliable and physiologically sound technique compared to the current lumped parameter model (LPM), which is based on empirical scaling correlations and requires nonlinear iterative computing for conver-gence. The accuracy of the PBA method is further confirmed using the FDA nozzle, which demonstrates good alignment with CFD-validated values.

While Twitter has been touted to provide up-to-date information about hazard events, the reliability of tweets is still a concern. Our previous publication extracted relevant tweets containing information about the 2013 Colorado flood event and its impacts. Using the relevant tweets, this research further examined the reliability (accuracy and trueness) of the tweets by examining the text and image content and comparing them to other publicly available data sources. Both manual identification of text information and automated (Google Cloud Vision API) extraction of images were implemented to balance accurate information verification and efficient processing time. The results showed that both the text and images contained useful information about damaged/flooded roads/street networks. This information will help emergency response coordination efforts and informed allocation of resources when enough tweets contain geocoordinates or locations/venue names. This research will help identify reliable crowdsourced risk information to enable near-real time emergency response through better use of crowdsourced risk communication platforms.

The quality of healthcare services is a very important indicator of social welfare in developed and emerging countries. Good quality levels are critical to ensuring patient safety, improving health outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, optimizing resource utilization, and meeting regulatory requirements. The stable and sustainable operation of medical institutions urgently requires the establishment of a reliable and effective medical quality performance evaluation platform. However, the complexity of the evaluation process, involving numerous evaluators and the consideration of different subjective and objective criteria, poses significant challenges and essentially constitutes a group multi-criteria decision-making problem. This article uses the overall medical environment of the institution, medical service attitude, medical security, administrative service measures, etc. as measurement standards to deal with this challenge. It proposes a medical service quality measurement model suitable for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. In view of the heterogeneity of information, the two-tuple fuzzy language calculation method is introduced to enable evaluators to skillfully manage diverse information and effectively avoid potential information omission problems in the subjective evaluation integration process. The effectiveness and feasibility of the model were demonstrated by applying it to the operational framework of a medical institution in central Taiwan.

Since the water-borne iodine excessive goiter was firstly found and reported in 19 in Hebei Province, it was confirmed successively. The national water-borne investigation carried out in 2005 demarcated the water-borne iodine excess areas and water-borne iodine excess endemial areas. The high iodine water well was found In 129 counties of 11 provinces, about 30.98 million people of threatened population lived in water-borne iodine excess areas and water borne iodine excess endemial areas. In these areas, the measures of prevention and control was effectively implemented. In 2016, the new standard of iodine excess area was issued, the iodine excess areas redrawed, and in these areas, non-iodized salt should be supplied and the drinking water should be gradually improved of water, and to control the damage of water-borne iodine excess at an early date

Use of antibiotics and other chemicals to combat disease outbreaks have been a bottleneck for the sustainable growth of shrimp industry. Among various replacement proposed, organic acid (OA) and their salts (OS) are commonly used by farmers and feed millers. However, in free forms, their requirement is very high (2-3 kg/MT) as they tend to disassociate before reaching the hindgut. The dosage can be reduced by microencapsulation of the ingredients. In this study, a 63-day trial was conducted to assess the effects of OA and OS (COMP) microencapsulated (ENCAP) with fat (HF), fat + alginate (HA), wax esters – (WE), and HA and WE (HAWE) on performance, digestive enzyme, immune, and resistance to Vibrio parahaemolyticus. A positive control (PC, 200 g/kg fishmeal - FM) and a negative control (NC, 130 g/kg FM) diet were formulated. Eight other diets were formulated supplementing NC diet with microencapsulated OA (OAHF, OAHA, OAWE, OAHAWE) and OS (OSHF, OSHA, OSWE, OSHAWE). Among the ENCAPs, significant difference was observed in serum malondialdehyde (P = 0.026) where HF showed the lowest level (6.4 ±0.3 mmol/L). Significant interactions between COMP and ENCAP were observed in lipid deposition (P = 0.047), serum alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase (P < 0.0001), and hepatopancreatic and serum phenol oxidase (P < 0.0001). Despite no differences, 96-h mortality during pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge in all treatment diets (45% - 56%) was lower compared to the NC diets (63%). In conclusion, use of HF microencapsulated OA diets could provide improved performance and disease resistance that could contribute to the reduction of antibiotic use by the shrimp industry.

Introduction: The treatment of peritoneal dialysis in end-stage renal disease is increasing in clinical practice. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of far-infrared radiation therapy on inflammation and the cellular immunity of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Materials and Methods: We recruited 56 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, and we included 32 patients from the experimental group and 24 patients from the control group in the final analysis. The experimental evaluation in our study was as follows: (1) We used abdominal computed tomography to measure the diameter and degree of hardening of the abdominal veins and large blood vessels to explore the changes in abdominal blood vessels. (2) The study compared the effects of peritoneal dialysis using albumin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, white blood cell, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Hs-CRP clearance rate, and HBAlC. (3) We compared the cytokine concentration of blood between the two groups while controlling for GM-CSF, IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-18, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-12p70, TNF-α, and IL-1β. Results and Discussion: (1) There was no significant difference in the abdominal blood vessels of the experimental group relative to the control group according to abdominal CT measured over 6 months. (2) Our study demonstrates the statistically significant effect of FIR therapy on the following parameters: albumin (p = 0.048*), creatinine (p = 0.039*), and Hs-CRP (p < 0.001**) decreased significantly, and glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, p = 0.043*) and glucose (p < 0.001**) increased significantly. Our study found that, in the experimental group, albumin and creatinine decreased significantly due to FIR therapy for 6 months. However, our study also found that, in the experimental group, glucose (p < 0.001**) increased significantly due to FIR therapy for 6 months. Peritoneal dialysis combined with FIR can reduce the side effects of glucose in dialysis buffer, which interferes with peritoneal inflammation and peritoneal mesothelial cell fibrosis. In addition, we also found that, in the experimental group, Hs-CRP (p < 0.001**) decreased significantly due to FIR therapy for 6 months. (3) No statistical significance in the inflammatory cytokines related to FIR therapy differences was observed in our study. IFN-γ (p = 0.124), IL-12p70 (p = 0.093), IL-18 (p = 0.213), and TNF-α (p = 0.254) did not exhibit significant improvements in peritoneal dialysis with FIR treatment over 6 months. IFN-γ and IL-18 in the plasma of patients in the experimental group and the control group were higher in the third month than in the first month. Conclusion: We found that the effect of peritoneal dialysis improved significantly with FIR therapy, and significant improvements in the peritoneal permeability and inflammatory response were observed. end-stage renal disease; peritoneal dialysis; far-infrared therapy (FIR)

Peanut leaf spot is a worldwide disease whose prevalence poses a major threat to peanut yield and quality, and accurate prediction models are urgently needed for timely disease management. In this study, we proposed a novel peanut leaf spot prediction method based on an improved long short-term memory (LSTM) model and multi-year meteorological data combined with disease survey records. Our method employed a combination of convolutional neural network (CNN) and LSTM to capture spatial-temporal patterns from the data and improve the model ability to recognize dynamic features of the disease. In addition, we introduced an attention mechanism module to enhance model performance by focusing on key features. Through several hyper-parameter optimization adjustments, we identified a peanut leaf spot disease condition index prediction model with a learning rate of 0.001, a number of cycles (Epochs) of 800, and an optimizer of Adma. The results showed that the integrated model demonstrated excellent prediction ability, obtaining an RMSE of 0.063 and an R2 of 0.951, which reduced the RMSE by 0.253 and 0.204, and raised the R2 by 0.155 and 0.122, respectively, compared to the single CNN and LSTM. Predicting the incidence and severity of peanut leaf spot disease based on the meteorological conditions and neural networks is feasible and valuable to help growers made accurate management decisions and reduced disease impacts through optimal fungicide application timing.

A novel catechol (CA) biosensor was developed by the immobilization of tyrosinase (Tyr) onto in situ electrochemical reduction graphene (EGR) on choline functionalized gold nanoparticals (AuNPs–Ch) film. The results of UV–visible spectra indicated that Tyr retained its original structure in the film. And electrochemical investigation of the biosensor showed a pair of well–defined, quasi–reversible redox peaks with E_pa= –0.0744V and E_pc= –0.114 V (vs. SCE) in 0.1 M, pH 7.0 sodium phosphate buffered saline at the scan rate of 100 mV/s. The transfer rate constant k_s was 0.66 s^–1. The Tyr–EGR/AuNPs–Ch showed a good electrochemical catalytic response for the reduction of CA, with the linear range from 0.2 to 270 μM and a detection limit of 0.1 μM (S/N= 3). The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant was estimated to be 109 μM.

Rhododendron is well-known for the colorful corolla. Molecular marker systems have the potentials to elucidate genetic diversity as well as to assess the genetic fidelity in rhododendrons. In the present study, the reverse transcription domains of long terminal repeat retrotransposons were cloned from rhododendrons and used to develop inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP) marker system. Subsequently, 198 polymorphic loci were generated from the IRAP and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, of which 119 were derived from the IRAP markers. It was justified that in rhododendrons, IRAP markers were superior to the ISSRs in some polymorphic parameters such as the average number of polymorphic loci (14.88 versus 13.17). In comparison with the single one, the combination of IRAPs and ISSRs systems was more discriminative for detecting 46 rhododendron accessions. Further, IRAP markers demonstrated more efficiency in genetic fidelity detection of in vitro R. bailiens, an endangered species just recorded in Guizhzhou Province, China. The available evidences revealed the distinct properties of IRAP and ISSR markers in the rhododendron-associated applications, and highlighted the availability of highly informative ISSR and IRAP markers in the genetic diversity evaluation and the genetic fidelity assessment of rhododendrons, which may facilitate the preservation and genetic breeding in rhododendron plants.

We consider the inverse function $z=g(w)$ of a (normalized) starlike function $w=f(z)$ of order $\alpha$ on the unit disk of the complex plane with $0<\alpha<1.$ Krzy{\. z}, Libera and Z\l otkiewicz obtained sharp estimates of the second and the third coefficients of $g(w)$ in their 1979 paper. Prokhorov and Szynal gave sharp estimates of the fourth coefficient of $g(w)$ as a consequence of the solution to an extremal problem in 1981. We give a straightforward proof of the estimate of the fourth coefficient of $g(w)$ together with explicit forms of the extremal functions.

This paper reports on the changing dynamics of a small town’s social-ecological system (SES) concerning oil and gas industry boom-bust economic cycles and both the vulnerability and resilience of the town over the past 30 years. With the goal to understand how resource-based single industry impact social-ecological systems, we developed indicators of human and environmental well-being and assessed them. Seven indicators include labor force distribution, education, oil price, household income, water quality, air quality, and land cover land use. Over this period, Drayton Valley, Canada quadrupled in size, with more than 20% of the population working in the oil and gas sector. Median income rose to 42% above the national average despite the population lagging national benchmarks for educational attainment. There have also been dramatic fluctuations in levels of fluoride, phosphorus, and other chemicals in water quality samples, implying a correlation with fossil fuel extractive activities over this period. Land cover land use change analysis shows a decreased area of water bodies, wetland, and forests, and increased built capital and agricultural land. While economic boom cycles have led to cash inflows, an exclusive focus on the benefits of the oil and gas industry may leave those dependent on the industry vulnerable to social and environmental risk factors during bust cycles that are beyond their control in the everchanging global oil economy. This phenomenon which has been referred to as the “resource curse” suggests the need to anticipate cyclical (or more sustained) periods of low levels of oil and gas production. These results suggest that single boom-bust economies impact every aspect of social-ecological systems. Therefore, a sustainable development plan that comprehensively considers not only economic growth, but also diversification, environment protection, and strategic land use planning is indispensable to ensure the long-term development of communities that depend upon extractive industries.

Keywords: mHealth; peritoneal dialysis; functionality; usability

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has greatly improved outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory hematological malignancies. However, challenges such as treatment resistance, relapse, and severe toxicity still hinder its widespread clinical application. Traditional transcriptome analysis has provided limited insights into the complex transcriptional landscape of both leukemia cells and engineered CAR-T cells, as well as their interactions within the tumor microenvironment. However, with the advent of single-cell sequencing techniques, a paradigm shift has occurred, providing robust tools to unravel the complexities of these factors. These techniques enable unbiased analysis of cellular heterogeneity and molecular patterns. These insights are invaluable for precise receptor design, guiding gene-based T cell modification, and optimizing manufacturing conditions. Consequently, this review utilizes modern single-cell sequencing techniques to clarify the transcriptional intricacies of leukemia cells and CAR-Ts. The aim of this manuscript is to discuss the potential mechanisms that contribute to the clinical failures of CAR-T immunotherapy. We will examine the biological characteristics of CAR-Ts, the mechanisms that govern clinical responses, and the intricacies of adverse events. By exploring these aspects, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of CAR-T therapy, which will ultimately lead to improved clinical outcomes and broader therapeutic applications.

Molecular hydrogen (H2) has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities that may reduce the development and progression of many diseases. In this study, Hydrogen-rich water (HRW) was obtained by reacting hybrid magnesium-carbon hydrogen storage materials with water. Then the effects of intake of HRW on the activities of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes, membrane transporters, and oxidative stress in rats were investigated. Rats were given HRW ad libitum for 4 weeks. Results showed that intake of HRW had no significant effect on the activities of various cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP1A1, 1A2, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E1, 3A, 4A), glutathione-S-transferase and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase. Except for a slight lower plasma glucose concentration, intake of HRW had no effect on other plasma biochemical parameters in rats. P-Glycoprotein and multidrug resistance-associated protein (Mrp)2 protein expressions in liver were elevated after intake of HRW. However, HRW had no significant effects on glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, or lipid peroxidation in liver. Results from this study suggest that consumption of HRW may not affect xenobiotic metabolism or oxidative stress in liver. However, intake of HRW may increase the efflux of xenobiotics or toxic substances from the liver into bile by enhancing the expression of p-glycoprotein and Mrp2 protein.

The main objective of this work is to study the effects of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on the strength and electrical properties of cement mortar. Molecular dynamic simulations (MDS) were carried out for the mechanical and electrical properties of the cementitious composite and the associated mechanisms. To model the atomic structure of the Calcium-Silicate-Hydrates (C-S-H) gel, tobermorite 11Å was chosen. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) embedded in tobermorite structure were tested numerically. In particular, the effect of the concentration of CNT in cement paste was studied. An innovative experiment of electrical characterization of a cementitious composite of carbon nanotubes has been developed.

Complex models have received significant interest in recent years and are being increasingly used to explain the stochastic phenomenon with upward and downward fluctuation such as the stock market. Different from existing semi-variance methods in traditional integer dimension construction for two variables, this paper proposes a simplified multi-factorized fractional dimension derivation with the exact Excel tool algorithm involving the fractional center moment extension to covariance, which is a complex parameter average that is a multi-factorized extension to Pearson covariance. By examining the peaks and troughs of gold price averages, the proposed algorithm provides more insight into revealing underlying stock market trends to see who is the financial market leader during good economic times. The calculation results demonstrate that the complex covariance is able to distinguish subtle differences among stock market performances and gold prices for the same field that the two variable covariance may overlook. We take the London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Toronto and Nasdaq as the representative examples.

Trichoderma spp. are widely used in plant disease control as biocontrol agents. Inducing plant disease resistance is an important biocontrol mechanism of Trichoderma. It is of great significance to explore the factors involved in the surface recognition and interaction of Trichoderma with plants. Hydrophobin is a small molecular protein rich in cysteine in higher filamentous fungi and has been found to participate in the morphogenesis and interaction of fungi with other organisms. In this study, the type II hydrophobic protein-coding gene Thfb6 from T. harzianum TH33 was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The purified recombinant protein Thfb6 induced a hypersensitive response in tobacco leaves, a burst of reactive oxygen species, and an accumulation of callose, phenolic substances, and lignin in tobacco, indicating that Thfb6 can induce an early defense reaction in tobacco. Thfb6 also enhanced the systemic resistance of tobacco against tobacco mosaic virus. The rate of lesion number reduction by treatment with Thfb6 could be up to 36.02%. Thfb6 increased the activity of tobacco defense-related enzymes, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase, which were all more than three times the control after 3–5 days post treatment of Thfb6. The transcription of resistance-related genes, including the PAL gene, non-expresser of pathogenesis-related gene1 (NPR1), and basic pathogenesis-related gene 1 (PR1-b), were upregulated after Thfb6 treatment. The relative expression levels of the PAL and NPR1 genes were highest on the third and fourth days after Thfb6 treatment, at 5.5 times and 8.3 times that of the control, respectively. The relative expression level of PR1 on the sixth day after Thfb6 treatment was 5.3 times that of the control. These results indicate that the improvement of defense-related enzyme activity and the induced expression of disease-resistance-related genes were the main mechanisms by which Thfb6 induced systemic resistance in tobacco.

This study presents an exploration into identifying the interactions between ocean waves and the continental margin in the origination of double-frequency (DF, 0.1-0.5 Hz) microseisms recorded at 33 stations across East Coast of USA (ECUSA) during a ten-day period of ordinary ocean wave climate. Daily primary vibration directions are calculated in three frequency bands and projected as great circles passing through each station. In each band, the great circles from all stations exhibit largest spatial density primarily near the continental slope in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Generation mechanisms of three DF microseism events are explored by comparing temporal and spatial variations of the DF microseisms with the migration patterns of ocean wave fronts in Wavewatch III hindcasts. Correlation analyses are conducted by comparing the frequency compositions of and calculating the correlation coefficients between the DF microseisms and the ocean waves recorded at selected buoys. The observations and analyses lead to a hypothesis that the continental slope causes wave reflection, generating low frequency DF energy and that the continental shelf is where high frequency DF energy is mainly generated in ECUSA. The hypothesis is supported by the primary vibration directions being mainly perpendicular to the strike of the continental slope.

Various vaccines have been developed in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and the safety of vaccines has become an important issue. COVID-19 vaccines-related central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating diseases (CNS IDDs) have been reported recently. We present one case of AstraZeneca vaccine-related myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease and literature review another 78 patients published from January 2020 to October 2022. Patients were divided into three vaccine groups (viral vector, mRNA and inactivated vaccines) for further analyses. Among 79 patients with COVID-19 vaccines-related CNS IDDs, 49 (62%) cases received viral vector vaccines, 20 (25.3%) received mRNA vaccines and 10 (12.7%) received inactivated vaccines. Twenty-seven cases (34.2%) were confirmed with autoantibodies, including 15 patients (19%) with anti-MOG, 11 (13.9%) with anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4), and one (1.3%) with both antibodies. Significantly, more males developed CNS IDDs post viral vector vaccines compared to mRNA and inactivated vaccines. Patients receiving mRNA vaccines were older than other groups. Furthermore, mRNA and inactivated vaccines correlated more with anti-AQP4 antibodies, while viral vector vaccines showed higher MOG positivity. The research suggests potential associations between COVID-19 vaccines-related CNS IDDs and gender, age, and autoantibodies, contingent on vaccine types. Protein sequence analysis implies similarities between the S protein and AQP4/MOG. Further studies may elucidate the mechanisms of CNS IDDs, aiding vaccine selection for specific groups.

MicroRNA (miRNA) is small non-coding RNAs that play vital roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation by inhibiting mRNA translation or promoting mRNA degradation. Dysregulation of miRNA has been implicated in numerous human diseases, including cancers. The family members of miR-34 (miR-34s), composed of miR-34a, miR-34b, and miR-34c, have emerged as the most extensively studied tumor-suppressive miRNAs. In this comprehensive review, we aim to provide an overview of the major signaling pathways and gene networks regulated by the miR-34s in various cancers and highlight the critical tumor suppressor role of miR-34s. Furthermore, we will discuss the potential of using miR-34 mimics as a novel therapeutic approach against cancer, while also addressing the challenges associated with their development and delivery. It is anticipated that gaining a deeper understanding of the functions and mechanisms of miR-34s in cancer will greatly contribute to the development of effective miR-34-based cancer therapeutics.

incipient fault diagnosis is particularly important in process industrial systems, as its early detection helps to prevent major accidents. Against this background, this study proposes a combined method of Mixed Kernel Principal Components Analysis and Dynamic Canonical Correlation Analysis (MK-DCCA). The robust generalization performance of this approach is demonstrated through experimental validation on a randomly generated dataset. Furthermore, Comparative experiments were conducted on a CSTR Simulink model, comparing the MK-DCCA method with DCCA and DCVA methods, demonstrating its excellent detection performance for incipient fault in nonlinear and dynamic system. Meanwhile, fault identification experiments were conducted, validating the high accuracy of fault identification method based on contribution. The experimental findings demonstrate that the method possesses a certain industrial significance and academic relevance.

This paper presents a numerical algorithm for solving high-order BVPs. We introduce the construction method of multiscale orthonormal basis in W^m[0; 1] by multiscale orthonormal basis in W¹[0; 1]. We de fine approximate solution, and obtain the approximate solution of high-order BVPs by using the approximate theory. Moreover, the convergence and stability of the algorithm are improved. At last, several numerical experiments show the feasibility of the proposed method.

Direct electric curing (EC) is a new green curing method for cement-based materials that improves the early mechanical properties via the uniform high temperature produced by Joule heating. To understand the effects of EC and steam curing (SC) on the mechanical properties and microstructure of cement-based materials, the mortar was cured at different temperature-controlled curing regimes (40°C, 60°C and 80°C). Meanwhile, mechanical properties, hydrate phase and pore structure of specimens were investigated. The energy consumption of two curing methods was compared and analyzed. The results show that the EC specimens have better and more stable growth of mechanical strength. The pore structure of EC specimen is also better than that of SC specimen at different maintenance ages. However, the hydration degree and products of samples cured by EC are similar to that SC samples. The energy consumption of EC is lower than SC. This study provides an important technical support for the EC in the production of energy-saving and high early-strength concrete precast components.

Background: this study aimed to describe the distribution of the genotype and allele frequencies of GJB2 variants in the Chinese population of the Dongfeng Tongji cohort and to analyze the features of the hearing phenotype. Methods: we used data from 9910 participants in the Dongfeng Tongji cohort in 2013 and selected nine GJB2 variants. Pure-tone audiometry was employed to measure hearing. Differences in genotype and allele frequencies were analyzed by chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. Results: of the 9910 participants, 5742 had hearing loss. The genotype frequency of the GJB2 variant p.V37I was statistically significantly distributed between the normal and impaired hearing groups, but not for the variant c.235delC. A higher frequency of the p.V37I homozygous genotype was found in the hearing loss group (0.5%) than in the normal hearing group (0.1%). Patients with p.V37I and c.235delC homozygous mutations exhibited varying degrees of hearing loss, mainly presenting sloping and flat audiogram shapes. Conclusions: a significant difference was found in the genotype frequency of the GJB2 variant p.V37I between the case and control groups, but not for the variant c.235delC. Different degrees of hearing loss and various audiogram shapes were observed in patients with p.V37I and c.235delC homozygous mutations.

Grapes are a globally popular fruit, with grape cultivation worldwide being second only to citrus. This article focuses on the low efficiency and accuracy of traditional manual grading of red grape external appearance and proposes a small-sample red grape external appearance grading model based on transfer learning with convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Initially, the CNN transfer learning method was used to transfer the pre-trained AlexNet, VGG16, GoogleNet, InceptionV3, and ResNet50 network models on the ImageNet image dataset to the red grape image grading task. By comparing the classification performance of the CNN models of these five different network depths with fine-tuning, ResNet50 with a learning rate of 0.001 and a loop number of 10 was determined to be the best feature extractor for red grape images. Moreover, given the small number of red grape image samples in this study, different convolutional layer features output by the ResNet50 feature extractor were analyzed layer by layer to determine the effect of deep features extracted by each convolutional layer on SVM classification performance. This analysis helped to obtain a ResNet50+SVM red grape external appearance grading model based on the optimal ResNet50 feature extraction strategy. Experimental data showed that the classification model constructed using the feature parameters extracted from the 10th node of the ResNet50 network achieved an accuracy rate of 95.08% for red grape grading. These research results provide a reference for the online grading of red grape clusters based on external appearance quality and have certain guiding significance for the quality and efficiency of grape industry circulation and production.

Highly efficient, broadband and distinctively structured electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials exhibit huge exceptions with multi-functions in both military and civilian fields. Searching the relationship between structural and EMW performance is beneficial to develop outstanding microwave absorption materials, and has become an attractive research topic. In this study, we briefly reviewed the different EMW absorption mechanisms and key influence factors, then, present the latest developments in low-dimensional (LD) EMW absorption materials. We provide a comprehensive discussion of remarkable examples and summarize the main information related to the structure-function relationship of dimensional design and structural engineering in order to facilitate the rapid evolution of this fascinating field.

This research aims to explore and analyze the critical success factors (CSFs) that increase the likelihood of successful implementation of tourism PPP projects in China. As an important step toward developing such a protocol, this study identifies and examines 22 critical success factors for tourism PPPs based on a systematic research approach, which includes a rigorous literature review, and semi-structured interviews. A questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate the relative importance of these 22 CSF. The results show that the top three critical success factors for China’s tourism PPPs are: adequate project evaluation and demonstration; political support and stability; clear and stable policy documents on PPP. Factor analysis indicated that the 22 CSFs could be grouped into five principal success factor groups. These insights are expected to profoundly influence the development of policies related to tourism PPPs, providing a structured framework to enhance the efficiency and success of these ventures.

In this research, 117,718 ionospheric perturbations, with a space size (t) of 20–300 s but no limit on amplitude (A) have been automatically searched globally by a software from ion density data measured by the DEMETER satellite for more than 6 years. The influence of the solar activity on the ionosphere has been firstly examined and the results have presented that the solar activities can globally enhance ionospheric irregularities but rarely induce plasma variations more than 100%. A statistical work has been performed on ion PERs to check their dependence on local time and it is shown that there are 24.8% perturbations appeared in daytime (10:30 LT) and 75.2% ones in nighttime (22:30 LT). Ionospheric fluctuations with an absolute amplitude A < 10% tend to be background variations and the percentages of positive perturbations with small A < 20% are 64% in daytime and 26.8% in nighttime, respectively, but this number is revers for mid-large amplitude PERs. There is a demarcation point in space size t = 120 s and occurrence probabilities of day PERs are always higher than that of nighttime ones before this point while this trend is contrary after this point. Distributions of PER according to various amplitudes or space scales have been characterized by typical seasonal variations either in daytime or in nighttime. The EIA only exists in dayside equinox and winter occupying two lowlatitude crests with lower Np. The huge WSA appears in all periods except for dayside summer full of PERs with enhanced amplitude, especially in winter night. The WN-like structure can be obviously figured out in all seasons showing absolutely space large-scales. In the meanwhile, several magnetic anomalous zones of planetary scale non-dipole fields, such as the SAMA, Northern Africa anomaly, and so on, have been also successfully detected by extreme negative ion perturbations in this time.

Objective: To explore the inflammatory markers for the development of obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) after adenovirus infection in children. Methods: In this retrospective study, the medical data of 62 children with adenovirus pneumonia treated in our hospital between February 2020 and November 2021 were collected and assigned to an OB group (n = 30) or non-OB group (n = 32) according to the presence of OB. Clinical characteristics of patients included gender, age, prematurity, underlying disease, length of hospitalization, type of adenovirus infection, ventilator use, length of ventilator use, and laboratory index levels. Results: Children with OB were associated with higher serum ferritin levels versus those without (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the immunoglobulin E (IgE), interleukin-6 (IL-6), partial arterial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂), D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and lymphocyte absolute values between the two groups of children (P > 0.05). Logistic multifactorial regression analysis revealed that the length of ventilator use and serum ferritin level were inflammatory markers for the development of OB in children with adenovirus pneumonia. Conclusion: The length of ventilator use and serum ferritin levels are inflammatory markers for the development of OB after adenovirus infection in children, and timely measurement of the above indicators in children is instrumental in predicting the prognosis of children.

(1)Background: This report was an effective evaluation of using multimedia educational program for self-care and quality of life in patients with a stoma at postoperative and established a simple threshold for enterostomy self-care skills.(2)Methods:108 patients with enterostomy were randomly assigned to receive either the intervention multimedia education program (including information about preparation for enterostomy care, cleaning method, manual bag replacement steps and precautions). The primary outcome was self-care ability and quality of life (defined as overall enterostomy self-care ability and overall quality of life), which was assessed at 2 weeks after intervention via an interview.(3)Results: Compared with those who in the conventional stoma education program, patients received the multimedia education program significantly improved their overall self-care ability and quality of life in statistically. The threshold of the enterostomy self-care skill scale was 20 points, and its corresponding sensitivity was 77.8%, and the specificity was 75.7%.(4)Conclusions: According to our study, the multimedia education program could enhance self-care ability of home care and quality of life in patients with enterostomy.

According to many research groups, high glucose induces over production of superoxide anions, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in general is the link between high glucose levels and the toxicities seen at cellular levels. Respiratory complex anomalies could lead to the production of ROS. Calcium [Ca2+], at physiological levels serves as a second messenger in many physiological functions. Accordingly, mitochondrial calcium [Ca2+]m overload leads to ROS production which could be lethal to the mitochondria through various mechanisms. The F1F0-ATPase (ATP syn-thase or complex V) is the enzyme that is responsible for catalyzing the final step of oxidative phosphorylation. It does so by coupling the translocation of protons in the mitochondrial in-termembrane space and shuttling them to the mitochondrial matrix for ATP synthesis to take place. Mitochondrial complex V T8993G mutation specifically blocks the translocation of protons across the intermembrane space thereby blocking ATP synthesis leading to Neuropathy, Ataxia and Retinitis Pigmentosa Syndromes (NARP). This study seeks to explore the possibility of [Ca2+]m overload mediating the pathological roles of high glucose in defective respiratory chain mediated mitochondrial stress. The NARP cybrids are the in vitro experimental models for the cells with F1FO-ATPase defects, these cells harbor 98% of mtDNA T8993G mutation. Their coun-terparts 143B osteosarcoma cell lines are the parental cell lines used for comparisons. We uncov-ered that, NARP cells mediated and enhanced the death of the cells (apoptosis) when incubated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and high glucose respectively as depicted by the MTT assay of cell viability. Furthermore, using the fluorescence probe-coupled laser scanning confocal imag-ing microscopy, NARP cells significantly enabled mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) formation and enhanced the depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Elucidating the mechanisms of sugar enhanced toxicity on mitochondria would help in the fu-ture to alleviate the symptoms of patients associated with (NARP) syndromes.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is when brain function declines. It is a transition stage between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may be an underlying symptom of AD. Improper use of test instruments or imperfect test methods in clinical practice often leads to variations in test results. In addition, there may be resistance from the subject if he/she has to undergo multiple screening tests simultaneously. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use virtual reality to create an image testing scenario that integrates Mini-Cog, Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), Mini-mental Status Examination (MMSE), Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination (SLUMS), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), and combine fuzzy logic control (FLC) technology to develop an MCI forecasting system. There were 24 middle-aged to older adults aged 50 to 65 years who participated in the evaluation experiment. The results showed that the MCI forecasting system developed in this study is highly correlated with the traditional screening tests, including Mini-Cog, SPMSQ, MMSE, SLUMS, and CASI. The forecasting system can provide an integrated reference score for testers in making judgments. In addition, the distribution of the System Usability Scale (SUS) evaluation scores for the MCI forecasting system revealed that 87.5% were grade C (good to use) or above, and 29.2% were grade B (extremely good to use) or above. The forecasting system receives positive feedback from the subjects.

The orthogonal matrix with cube be symmetric is a common class of matrices with important properties. We pay attention to this kind of matrices. By using the close relationship between the eigenvalues of a matrix and the trace of its power, we obtain the algorithm for its all possible different eigenvalues and multiplicities. The calculation formula is expressed only by the trace of a matrix and its power, avoiding solving the characteristic polynomial. The method is simple and practical. Furthermore, a new essential characterization for the sum of orthogonal matrix pairs being orthogonal is given as well.

A variable speed anti-tangling reel mechanism was designed to address the problems of tangling, hanging and rewinding of the tassel wheel and the high paddling loss in the current Chinese rape combine harvester cutting table. The kinematic equations of the reel mechanism were developed, and the analysis showed that the speed in the entry stage is low and the speed in the exit stage is high, and the attitude of the reel teeth change with the rape plant movement during the whole paddling process. A single-factor test and a multi-factor regression orthogonal combination test were carried out using the cutting table loss rate of rape harvesting as the evaluation index. The main and secondary factors affecting the cutting table loss of the variable speed reel were obtained as the reel speed, the machine travel speed and the ground angle of the frame. A mathematical model of regression of cutter loss and the main influencing factors was established, with the coefficient of determination R2 = 0.9918. The optimal combination of parameters for the variable speed reel was obtained with the lowest cutting table loss rate in rape harvesting as the optimization target: reel speed 25r/min, frame parallel to the ground and implement travel speed 0.7m/s. Field validation tests and comparative tests of cutting table loss of the two reels were carried out. The test results show that the regression mathematical model of the cutting table loss is more accurate, and the cutting table loss is reduced by 13.9% with the variable speed reel compared to the cam-action reel, and there are no problems with the paddle teeth hanging and tangling during the paddling process.

The vibration signal of the engine contains strong background noise and many kinds of modulating components, which is difficult to diagnose. Variational mode decomposition (VMD) is a recently introduced adaptive signal decomposition algorithm with a solid theoretical foundation and good noise robustness compared with empirical mode decomposition (EMD). VMD can effectively avoid endpoint effect and modal aliasing. However, VMD cannot effectively eliminate the random noise in the signal, so the random decrement technique is introduced to solve the problem. Based on the crankshaft bearing fault simulation experiment, the four kinds of wear state vibration signals are decomposed by VMD, and the modal components with smaller permutation entropy are selected as fault components. Then the fault component is processed by the random decrement technique, and the Hilbert envelope spectrum of the fault component is obtained. Compared with the fault feature extraction method based on EMD and EEMD, the feature extraction results of the proposed method are better than those of the above two methods. The simulation analysis and the simulation test of the crankshaft bearing fault verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of propofol combined with psychological intervention on pain and emotional evaluation in painless colonoscopic colonic polypectomy patients undergoing endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR).Methods: A total of 80 patients who underwent painless colonoscopic colonic polypectomy with EMR treatment between June 2020 and June 2022 were selected in order of admission and divided into two groups. The control group received conventional analgesia, while the observation group received propofol combined with psychological intervention. Pain visual analog scale (VAS) and emotional scale were used to evaluate pain and emotions in both groups of patients. Adverse reactions and clinical efficacy were also compared between the two groups.Results: The two groups of patients were generally comparable with no significant differences (P > 0.05). The VAS score in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and the emotional scale score was also improved compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The number of patients with adverse reactions in the observation group was less than that in the control group. The clinical effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Propofol combined with psychological intervention can effectively alleviate pain and improve emotional status in painless colonoscopic colonic polypectomy patients undergoing EMR treatment, thereby increasing the comfort and success rate of the surgery. The number of patients with adverse reactions in the observation group was less than that in the control group, and the clinical effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

In this work, thermo-responsive block copolymer brushes modified graphene oxide (GO) nanohybrid was fabricated successfully via the host-guest interaction between β-cyclodextrin functionalized GO and azobenzene-terminated PNIPAM-b-P(St-co-MQ). The block copolymer was synthesized using reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization based on the monomers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), 5-(2-methacryloyl-ethyloxymethyl) -8-quinolinol (MQ), styrene (St) and an azobenzene functional RAFT agent. The 8-hydroxyquinoline units containing in the block polymer can coordinate with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots(QDs) to form a CdSe/ZnS QDs-block copolymer brushes modified graphene oxide fluorescence nanohybrid (QDs/polymer/GO fluorescence nanohybrid) and the resulting fluorescence nanohybrid had a robust temperature responsive property which result from the change in the PNIPAM conformation in the block copolymer on the surface of GO.

The promotion of plant growth and suppression of plant disease using beneficial microorganisms is considered an alternative to the application of chemical fertilizers or pesticides in the field. In this study, a coconut-scented antagonistic Trichoderma strain LZ42, previously isolated from Genoderma lucidum-cultivated soil, was investigated for biostimulatory and biocontrol functions in tomato seedlings. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses suggested that strain LZ42 is closely related to T. atroviride. Tomato plants showed increased aerial and root dry weights in greenhouse trials after treatment with T. atroviride LZ42 formulated in talc, indicating the biostimulatory function of this fungus. T. atroviride LZ42 effectively suppressed Fusarium wilt disease in tomato seedlings, with an 82.69% control efficiency, which is similar to that of fungicide treatment. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by T. atroviride LZ42 were found to affect the primary root growth direction and promote the root growth of tomato seedlings in root Y-tube olfactometer assays. The fungal VOCs from T. atroviride LZ42 were observed to significantly inhibit F. oxysporum in a sandwiched Petri dish assay. SPME-GC-MS analysis revealed several VOCs emitted by T. atroviride LZ42; the dominant compound was tentatively identified as 6-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one (6-PP). 6-PP exhibited a stronger ability to influence the direction of the primary roots of tomato seedlings but not the length of the primary roots. The inhibitory effect of 6-PP on F. oxysporum was the highest among the tested pure VOCs, showing a 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 5.76 μL mL-1 headspace. In conclusion, T. atroviride LZ42, which emits VOCs with multiple functions, is a promising agent for the biostimulation of vegetable plants and integrated management of Fusarium wilt disease.

Food waste is a common issue arising from grinding of food by experimental animals, leading to excessive food scraps falling into cages. In the wild, animals grind food by gnawing vegetation and seeds, potentially damaging the ecological environment. However, limited ecology studies have focused on food grinding behavior since the last century, with even fewer on rodent food grinding, particularly recently. Although food grinding function is partially understood, biological purposes remain under-investigated and driving factors unclear. This review aims to explain potential causes of animal food grinding, identify influencing factors, and discuss contexts and limitations. Specifically, we emphasize recent progress on gut microbiota significance for food grinding. Moreover, we show abnormal food grinding is determined by degree of excess normal behavior, emphasizing food grinding is not meaningless. Findings from this review promote comprehensive research on the myriad factors, multifaceted roles, and intricate evolution underlying food grinding behavior, benefiting laboratory animal husbandry and ecological environment protection, and identifying potential physiological benefits yet undiscovered.

The migration paths and distribution driving factors of heavy metals in dry and windy area polluted by their production in the North China need a further research. To address this research gap, we collected 675 soil samples, 72 atmospheric deposition samples and 20 water samples around a production area and measured its heavy metal concentrations. Results showed that the Cu, Zn, As and Pb in 0-10 cm soil layer showed a fan-shaped distribution, which was consistent with their atmospheric deposition fluxes. It indicated the distribution patterns of these heavy metals were driven by strong winds in studied area. Although Cr concentrated to the production area in the 0-10 cm soil layer, principal component analysis showed that this migration was through wind as well. The concentration of Cd in the river increased from 0.257 mg/L to 0.460 mg/L along water flowing, and caused the same distribution trend in soil near the river from upstream to downstream. Unlike the above, surface runoff should drive the Cd migration. The concentration of Pb in the river was over threshold of pollution, and also led to an accumulation in the 5-10 cm soil layer. It suggested that the migration of Pb was through both wind and surface runoff. Six studied heavy metals showed different migration behaviors, and specific control strategies for individual heavy metal should be concerned.

Candida albicans is a major fungal pathogen of humans, accounting for 15% of nosocomial infections with an estimated attributable mortality of 47%. C. albicans is usually a benign member of the human microbiome in healthy people. Under constant exposure to highly dynamic environmental cues in diverse host niches, C. albicans has successfully evolved to adapt to both commensal and pathogenic lifestyles. The ability of C. albicans to undergo a reversible morphological transition from yeast to filamentous forms is a well-established virulent trait. Over the past few decades, a significant amount of research has been carried out to understand the underlying regulatory mechanisms, signaling pathways, and transcription factors that govern the C. albicans yeast-to-hyphal transition. This review will summarize our current understanding of well-elucidated signal transduction pathways that activate C. albicans hyphal morphogenesis in response to various environmental cues and the cell cycle machinery involved in the subsequent regulation and maintenance of hyphal morphogenesis.

For older adults, approaching end-of-life (EOL) brings unique transitions related to family relationships. Unfortunately, most families greatly underestimate the need to discuss these difficult issues. For example, parents approaching EOL issues often struggle with receiving assistance from others, avoiding family conflict, and maintaining their sense of personhood. In addition, discussions of EOL issues force family members to face their parents’ mortality, which can be particularly difficult for the adult children to process emotionally. This study explored aging issues identified by aging parents and their families as they traverse these impending EOL changes. Ten focus groups of seniors (n = 65) were conducted. Focus groups were organized according to race (African American/Caucasian), gender, and whether the older adult was living independently or in an assisted care facility. When asked open-ended questions about discussing aging and EOL issues with family members, participants revealed tensions that led us to consider Relational Dialectics Theory as a framework for analysis. The predominant tension highlighted in this report was certainty versus uncertainty, with the two sub-themes of sustained life versus sustained personhood and confronting versus avoiding EOL issues. For these data, there were more similarities than differences as a result of gender, race, or living situation than one might expect, although culture and financial status were found to be influential in the avoidance of EOL discussions. The results of this study help to provide additional insight into relational dialectics related to aging, EOL, and the importance of communication in facilitating family coping.

Image stitching is a crucial aspect of image processing. However, factors like perspective and environment often lead to irregular shapes in stitched images. Cropping or completion methods typically result in substantial loss of information. This paper proposes a method for rectifying irregularly images into rectangles using deformable meshes and residual networks. The method utilizes a convolutional neural network to quantify rigid structures of images. Choosing the most suitable mesh structure based on the extraction results, offering options such as triangular, rectangular, and hexagonal. Subsequently, the irregularly image, predefined mesh structure, and predicted mesh structure are input into a wide residual neural network for regression. The loss function comprises local and global, aimed at minimizing the loss of image information within the mesh and global target. This method not only significantly reduces information loss during rectification but also adapting to different images with various rigid structures. Validation on the DIR-D dataset shows this method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in image rectification.

This paper studies ionospheric vertical total electron content (VTEC) variations before the 2014 Mw8.2 Chile earthquake. VTEC derived from 14 GPS (Global Positioning System) stations and GIM (Global Ionospheric Map) were used to analyze ionospheric variations before the earthquake using the sliding interquartile range method, and results showed that significant positive VTEC anomalies occurred on 28 March. To explore possible causes of these anomalies, effects of solar and geomagnetic activities were examined, and VTEC variations during 17 March to 31 March in 2009-2013 were cross-compared. Also, VTEC for a full year before the earthquake was investigated. Results indicated that these anomalies were weakly associated with high solar activities and geomagnetic storms and that these anomalies were not normal seasonal and diurnal variations. An analysis of the spatial distribution of the observed anomalies was also presented, and it demonstrated that anomalies specifically appeared around the epicenter on 28 March. It suggests that observed anomalies may be associated with the subsequent Chile earthquake. Equatorial anomaly variations were analyzed to discuss the possible physical mechanism, and results showed that the equatorial anomaly unusually increased on 28 March, which indicates that anomalous electric fields generated in the earthquake preparation area and the meridional wind are possible causes of the observed ionospheric anomalies.

Ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is an attractive ornamental plant with a range of leaf colors and shapes. Breeding new varieties of ornamental kale has proven challenging due to its lengthy breeding cycle and the limited availability of genetic markers. Microspore culture is an effective approach to generate new materials and genetic maps are a prerequisite for quantitative trait loci analysis, MAS, fine gene mapping, and genome sequence assembly. In this study, a F1DH ornamental kale population comprising 300 DH lines was constructed using microspore culture. A high-density genetic map was developed by conducting whole-genome sequencing on 150 individuals from the F1DH population. The genetic map contained 1,696 bin-markers with 982,642 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning a total distance of 775.81 cM on all nine chromosomes with an average distance between markers of 0.46 cM. The ornamental kale genetic map contained substantially more SNP markers compared with published genetic maps for other B. oleracea crops. The F1DH progenies provide an excellent resource for germplasm innovation and breeding new varieties of ornamental kale. The high-density genetic map provides crucial insights for gene mapping and unraveling the molecular mechanisms behind important agronomic traits in ornamental kale.

Proper Post-Activation Performance Enhancement helps to improve athletic performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two different velocity loss (VL), 10%VL and 20%VL, on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) in 20m sprint performance among sprint athletes. Twenty-four male sprint athletes (100m sprint time: 10.96±0.15 s) were recruited. A randomized crossover experimental design was used for traditional group (TG), 10%VL, and 20%VL interventions. Sprint tests were conducted at the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th minutes after the intervention. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed an interaction effect between group and time on 20m sprint performance (F=2.817, p=0.037, partial η²=0.585). Simple effect analyses showed significant differences compared to baseline at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (P&lt;0.05). Cohen's d values indicated improvement in 10m sprint times at the 8th minute of the rest interval for all three intervention groups (TG: ES=-0.270, 10%VL: ES=-0.038, 20%VL: ES=-0.279). Improvement in 20m sprint times was observed at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (ES=-0.296) and at the 16th minute for the 10%VL group (ES=-0.276). Compared to traditional PAPE schemes based on 1RM, PAPE schemes based on velocity loss (20%VL) can better induce PAPE effects in sprint athletes.

Existing methods for 3D human pose estimation mainly divide the task into two stages. The first stage identifies the 2D coordinates of the human joints in the input image, namely the 2D human joint coordinates. The second stage uses the results from the first stage as input to recover the depth information of human joints from the 2D human joint coordinates to achieve 3D human pose estimation. However, the recognition accuracy of the two-stage method relies heavily on the results of the first stage and includes too many redundant processing steps, which reduces the inference efficiency of the network. To address these issues, we propose the EDD, a fully End-to-end 3D human pose estimation method based on transformer architecture with Dual Decoders. By learning multiple human poses, the model can directly infer all 3D human poses in the image using a pose decoder, and then further optimize the recognition result using a joint decoder based on the kinematic relations between joints. With the attention mechanism, this method can adaptively focus on the most relevant features to the target joint, effectively overcoming the feature misalignment problem in the human pose estimation task and greatly improving the model performance. Any complex post-processing step, such as non-maximum suppression, is eliminated, further improving the efficiency of the model. The results show that the method achieves an accuracy of 87.4% on the MuPoTS-3D dataset, significantly improving the accuracy of end-to-end 3D human pose estimation methods.

L-Theanine, a unique non-protein amino acid, is an important bioactive component of green tea. Previous studies have shown that L-theanine has many potent health benefits, such as anti-anxiety effect, regulation of immune response, relaxing neural tension, reducing oxidative damage. However, little is known concerning whether L-theanine can improve the clearance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage in organisms. Here, we reported that L-theanine treatment increased ATP production and improved mitochondrial morphology to extend the lifespan of UVC-exposed nematodes. Mechanistic investigations showed that L-theanine treatment enhanced the removal of mtDNA damage and extended lifespan by activating autophagy, mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, and mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) in UVC-exposed nematodes. In addition, L-theanine treatment also up-regulated the expression of genes related to mitochondrial energy metabolism in UVC-exposed nematodes. Our study provided a theoretical basis for the possibility that tea drinking may prevent mitochondrial related diseases.

Adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) contains various phytonutrients for treating many diseases in Asia. To investigate whether orally administered of adlay bran oil (ABO) can cause drug interactions, the effects of ABO on the pharmacokinetics of five cytochrome P450 (CYP) probe drugs were evaluated. Rats were given a single oral dose (2.5 mL/kg BW) of ABO 1 h before administration of a drug cocktail either orally or intravenously, and blood was collected at various time points. A single oral dose of ABO administration did not affect the pharmacokinetics of five probe drugs when given as a drug cocktail intravenously. However, ABO increased plasma theophylline, dextromethorphan, and diltiazem when co-administered an oral drug cocktail. After 7-days of feeding with an ABO-containing diet, plasma concentrations of theophylline and chlorzoxazone were increased after oral administration of drug cocktail. The major CYP enzyme activities in liver and intestinal were not affected by ABO treatment. Results from this study indicate that a single oral dose or short-term administration of ABO may increase plasma drug concentrations when ABO is given concomitantly with drugs. ABO is likely to enhance intestinal drug absorption. Therefore, caution is needed to avoid food-drug interactions between ABO and co-administered drugs.

Limited knowledge is available about the association between autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and precocious puberty. Our study examined the association between the two medical conditions, and the effect modification by sex and neuropsychiatric comorbidities in a nationwide population. To compare the risk of precocious puberty between ASD and non-ASD cases, we conducted Cox regression analysis, using ASD as exposure and time-to-precocious puberty as outcome. We adjusted for sex, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), tics disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorder, intellectual disability, and epilepsy. We performed a moderation analysis to examine the potential moderating effects by sex or comorbidities. Patients with ASD were prone to have precocious puberty, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.80 (95% CI: 1.61-2.01). For the effect modification, sex, specifically females, moderated the association between ASD and precocious puberty, with relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) 7.35 (95% CI 4.90-9.80). No significant effect modification was found for any of the comorbidities within the scope of additive effect modification. We found that patients with ASD were prone to precocious puberty, regardless of sex or comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders. Girls with ASD are at particularly higher risk to develop precocious puberty.

The rapid, sensitive, and selective detection of pathogenic bacteria is of utmost importance in ensuring food safety and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Here, we present a novel, reusable, and cost-effective impedimetric sensor based on a dual bacteria-imprinted polymer (DBIP) for the specific detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus. The DBIP sensor stands out with its remarkably short fabrication time of just 20 minutes, achieved through the efficient electro-polymerization of o-phenylenediamine monomer in the presence of dual bacterial templates, followed by in-situ template removal. The key structural feature of the DBIP sensor lies in the cavity-free imprinting sites, indicative of a thin layer of bacterial surface imprinting. This facilitates rapid rebinding of the target bacteria within a mere 15 minutes, while the sensing interface regenerates in just 10 minutes, enhancing the sensor's overall efficiency. A notable advantage of the DBIP sensor is its exceptional selectivity, capable of distinguishing the target bacteria from closely related bacterial strains, including different serotypes. Moreover, the sensor exhibits high sensitivity, showcasing a low detection limit of approximately 9 CFU mL-1. The sensor's reusability further enhances its cost-effectiveness, reducing the need for frequent sensor replacements. The practicality of the DBIP sensor was demonstrated in the analysis of real apple juice samples, yielding good recoveries. The integration of quick fabrication, high selectivity, rapid response, sensitivity, and reusability makes the DBIP sensor a promising solution for monitoring pathogenic bacteria, playing a crucial role in ensuring food safety and safeguarding public health.

Plants endogenous hormones play an important role in resistance to soil lead (Pb) contamination. In order to explore the response of plant hormones to Pb stress, pot experiment was conducted to analysis the hormones contents, related gene expressions and Pb accumulation of Arabis alpina under Pb treatment and transporter (CAX(cation exchangers), HMA(heavy metal ATPase) and ABC(ATP-binding cassette transporter)) activities under foliage spraying auxin (IAA). The results showed that contents of total Pb and soluble components Pb (vacuoles) in roots and leaves of Arabis alpina increased with increase of Pb treatment concentrations. Compering to 100 mg·kg-1 Pb2+ treatment, Pb contents in soluble components of roots and leaves under 300 mg·kg-1 Pb2+ treatment increased by 896.3% and 238.8%, respectively. The contents of endogenous hormones in leaves and roots increased under Pb treatment concentrations. Comparing to control (0 mg·kg-1 Pb2+ treatment), contents of auxin in roots and leaves under 100 mg∙kg-1 Pb treatment increased by 176.19% and 585.29%, respectively. Auxin contents in xylem saps under 100 and 300 mg∙kg-1 Pb treatments increased by 283.14% and 100.30%, respectively. Gene expression related to auxin transport was up-adjusted. The expressions of three gene related to auxin-repressed 12.5 kDa protein and auxin-responsive GH3 family were down-adjusted. Under foliage spraying IAA, Pb contents in leaves increased by 29.81% and Pb content in symplast sap was higher than that with non spraying IAA treatment. The activities of CAX and HMA in roots of A. alpina increased by 9.62% and 8.79% with foliage spraying IAA treatment, while activity of ABC decreased by 21.94%. In general, contents of auxin and related genes expressions of A. alpina increased under Pb treatment, which enhanced activities of CAX and HMA resulting in Pb translocation through symplast pathway.

A university canteen is a queueing system characterised by non-stationary time of arrival with limited resources where the arrival rate is time dependent and has different pattern of arrival for different time interval. This means at certain time of the day, the arrival rate is much higher than other time and for a university canteen, the arrival rate of customer during the lunchtime is much higher and the food (resources) is limited. Non-stationary time dependent queueing system is not easily modelled mathematically hence such queueing systems are modelled using simulation tools such as ARENA. In order to model a non-stationary time dependent queueing system with limited resources and solve queueing problems using ARENA, researchers have to depend on their knowledge and experience in identifying the appropriate and relevant parameters for the system and make modifications to these parameters of the system to solve queueing problems by means of trial and error. Hence, this research work explores the potentials of applying a systematic problem solving tool, TRIZ to help users to make better decisions in deriving solutions to improve a non-stationary time dependent queueing system with limited resources. A case study was carried out to minimize the waiting time of the customers at the cafeteria of the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), which has queueing problems for years during lunchtime. TRIZ was applied in this case study and the results showed that TRIZ can assist researchers to derive a solution model that lead to shorter waiting time without incurring additional cost and resources.

To decrease privacy risks, consumers may choose to misrepresent when they are asked to offer personal information. This paper examines the impact of consumer misrepresentation on a monopolistic firm and consumers with an economic model. The results show that consumer misrepresentation may benefit the firm but hurt consumers. In addition, consumers misrepresentation may encourage the firm to provide higher personalized service level in certain scenarios, such as, when the unit cost of personalized service is low. Thirdly, when consumers misrepresent, and the firm only covers part of the market, a greater unit value of consumer’s privacy information will reduce the firm’s profit, but a greater unit cost of personalized service increases the firm’s profit.

Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) is a biomarker on the surface of cells that has a role in promoting self-tolerance by suppressing the inflammatory activity of T cells. In this work, one peptide of PD-1 was used as the template in molecular imprinting. The magnetic peptide-imprinted poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) composite nanoparticles (MPIP NPs) were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) analysis. Natural killer-92 (NK-92) cells were added to these composite nanoparticles and then incubated with human hepatoma (HepG2) cells. The viability and apoptosis pathway of HepG2 were then studied using cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) and the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), respectively. These nanoparticles were found significantly enhance the activity of natural killer cells toward HepG2 cells by increasing expression of NK-kB, caspase 8 and especially caspase 3.

Supramolecular solvent (SUPRAS) has received increasing interest as an innovative, efficient, and green solvent for the effective extraction and separation of bioactive compounds from natural resources. However, studies on the use of SUPRAS for the extraction of phenolic components from plants, which are highly valued in food products due to their excellent antioxidant capacity, are still lacking. The present study developed a green ultrasound-assisted and efficient SU-PRAS method to simultaneously determine three phenolic acids in Prunella vulgaris by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the experimental parameters were optimized in detail. The efficiency and antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds obtained by different extraction methods were also compared. Under the optimal conditions, the extraction efficiency of SUPRAS, prepared with octanoic acid reverse micelles dispersed in ethanol-water, was substantially higher than conventional organic reagents. Moreover, this SUPRAS method also showed more significant antioxidant capacities. The confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images presented the spherical droplet structure of SUPRAS (A well-defined circle), which coincided with the position of the fluorescence position of phenolic acids. The phenolic acids were encapsulated in the vesicles by the SUPRAS droplets, which indicated the efficient extraction capacities of SUPRAS for the target compounds. Finally, combined with the CLSM method, the mechanism of the proposed method was further clarified, and the superior extraction performance of SUPRAS was theoretically demonstrated through molecular dynamics simulations. In comparison with conventional methods, the higher extraction efficiency of SUPRAS can be illustrated by the larger solvent contact surface area, more types of hydrogen bonds between extractants and supramolecular solvents, and stronger and more stable interaction forces. The results of the theoretical studies are in rational agreement with the experimental outcome.

Astringency is an important sensory characteristic of food and beverages containing polyphenols. However, astringency perception in elderly people has not been documented. The aim of the present work was to evaluate sensitivity to astringency as a function of age and salivary flow. Fifty-four panellists, including 30 elderly people (age=75±4.2 years) and 24 young people (age=29.4±3.8 years), participated in this study. Astringency sensitivity was evaluated by the 2-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) procedure using tannic acid solutions. Whole saliva was collected for 5 min before and after sensory tests. The results showed that the astringency threshold was significantly higher in the elderly group than in the young group. Moreover, a negative correlation between salivary flow and threshold was observed in the young group only. These results showed a difference in oral astringency perception as a function of age for the first time. This difference can be linked to salivary properties that differ as a function of age.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, dementia severity, age, and ANS regulation. This cross-sectional pilot study included 27 older patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease, hospitalized at a psychiatric center. We measured heart rate variability to assess ANS regulation at night, evaluated dementia severity using the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, and obtained sleep duration data from sleep diaries maintained by psychiatric nurses. The data were analyzed using repeated-measures generalized linear models with age, sex, dementia severity, and medication (antipsychotics) as covariates. A sleep duration of 7–8 h per night was associated with better ANS regulation than other sleep durations, as indicated by sympathovagal balance (p = 0.005). ANS dysregulation was characterized by a 20.7% increase in sympathetic nervous system activity and a 14.8% decrease in parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) activity. We found a significant correlation between dementia severity and PSNS activity (p = 0.04) and observed an inverted U-shaped association between sleep duration and ANS regulation. This pilot study demonstrated that a sleep duration of 7–8 h per night may be critical in maintaining optimal ANS regulation. Bidirectional associations between sleep duration, inadequate sleep duration, aging, and ANS regulation warrant further investigation.

The environmental policy is compelling industries to treat their wastewater to a level that can be released into the domestic sewer system or even for reuse. However, many industrial branches are lacking space for traditional wastewater plant. Hence, electrokinetics wastewater treatment is a viable alternative as it is fast and does not require large space. However, the electrokinetics wastewater treatment is still mostly tested in the laboratory. In the current study, a prototype of electrokinetics wastewater treatment industrial-size device has been designed, constructed and tested under real conditions. In this paper the device is described and the results obtained from the operation of the device are presented and discussed.

Image stitching is a crucial aspect of image processing. However, factors like perspective and environment often lead to irregular shapes in stitched images. Cropping or completion methods typically result in substantial loss of information. This paper proposes a method for rectifying irregularly images into rectangles using deformable meshes and residual networks. The method utilizes a convolutional neural network to quantify rigid structures of images. Choosing the most suitable mesh structure based on the extraction results, offering options such as triangular, rectangular, and hexagonal. Subsequently, the irregularly image, predefined mesh structure, and predicted mesh structure are input into a wide residual neural network for regression. The loss function comprises local and global, aimed at minimizing the loss of image information within the mesh and global target. This method not only significantly reduces information loss during rectification but also adapting to different images with various rigid structures. Validation on the DIR-D dataset shows this method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in image rectification.

Although oncolytic viruses are currently being evaluated for cancer treatment in clinical trials, systemic administration is hindered by many factors that prevent them from reaching the tumor cells. When administered systemically, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) target tumors, and therefore constitute good cell carriers for oncolytic viruses. Methods: MSCs were primed with trichostatin A under hypoxia, which upregulated the expression of CXCR4, a chemokine receptor involved in tumor tropism, and coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor that plays an important role in adenoviral infection. After priming, MSCs were loaded with conditionally replicative adenovirus that exhibits limited proliferation in cells with a functional p53 pathway and encodes Escherichia coli nitroreductase (NTR) enzymes (CRAdNTR) for targeting tumor cells. Results: Primed MSCs increased tumor tropism and susceptibility to adenoviral infection, and successfully protected CRAdNTR from neutralization by anti-Adenovirus antibodies both in vitro and in vivo, and specifically targeted p53-deficient colorectal tumors when infused intravenously. Analyses of deproteinized tissues by UPLC-MS/QTOF revealed that these MSCs converted the co-administered prodrug CB1954 into cytotoxic metabolites, such as 4-hydroxylamine and 2-amine, inducing oncolysis and tumor growth inhibition without being toxic for the host vital organs. Conclusion: This study shows that the combination of oncolytic viruses delivered by MSCs with the activation of prodrugs is a new cancer treatment strategy that provides a new approach for the development of oncolytic viral therapy for various cancers.

The shape of the knee is a chain-like structure of an ellipsoid. This suggests that, in the latest study, in addition to rolling, there is slippage in the motion of the knee. This paper selects a mechanical braking model for cattle based on two mechanical structures in different directions at the joints. The experimental results show that the modified dynamical system has strong chaotic properties. This can be one of the basis for judging various health states.

This paper introduces a fusion convolutional architecture for efficient learning of spatio-temporal features in video action recognition. Unlike 2D CNNs, 3D CNNs can be applied directly on consecutive frames to extract spatio-temporal features. The aim of this work is to fuse the convolution layers from 2D and 3D CNNs to allow temporal encoding with fewer parameters than 3D CNNs. We adopt transfer learning from pre-trained 2D CNNs for spatial extraction, followed by temporal encoding, before connecting to 3D convolution layers at the top of the architecture. We construct our fusion architecture, semi-CNN, based on three popular models: VGG-16, ResNets and DenseNets, and compare the performance with their corresponding 3D models. Our empirical results evaluated on the action recognition dataset UCF-101 demonstrate that our fusion of 1D, 2D and 3D convolutions outperforms its 3D model of the same depth, with fewer parameters and reduces overfitting. Our semi-CNN architecture achieved an average of 16 – 30% boost in the top-1 accuracy when evaluated on an input video of 16 frames.

Aflatoxin biosynthesis is correlated with oxidative stress and is proposed to function as a secondary defense mechanism to redundant intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). We find that the antioxidant gallic acid inhibits aflatoxin formation and growth in A. flavus in a dose-dependent manner. Global expression analysis (RNA-Seq) of gallic acid treated A. flavus showed that 0.8% (w/v) gallic acid revealed two possible routes of aflatoxin inhibition. Gallic acid significantly inhibited the expression of farB, encoding a transcription factor that participates in peroxisomal fatty acid β oxidation, a fundamental contributor to aflatoxin production. Secondly, the carbon repression regulator encoding gene creA was significantly down regulated by gallic acid treatment. CreA is necessary for aflatoxin synthesis and aflatoxin biosynthesis genes were significantly downregulated in DcreA mutants. In addition, the results of antioxidant enzyme activities and the lipid oxidation levels coupled with RNA-Seq data of antioxidant genes indicated that gallic acid may reduce oxidative stress through the glutathione- and thioredoxin-dependent systems in A. flavus.

The solar heat pump system based on photovoltaic photothermal (PV/T) modules is a new technology that integrates photovoltaics and heat reutilization. It can improve the efficiency of photovoltaic conversion and recovery the remaining heat generated during the photoelectric conversion process, thereby improving the comprehensive efficiency of the whole system. Simulink software is a visual simulation tool, which has the advantages of strong applicability, clear simulation structure and calculation process. The design of its graphical programming greatly simplifies the user modeling process and allows for direct viewing of results, therefore improving the simulation efficiency. At present, there is little research on simulation of solar heat pump systems with PV/T modules based on Simulink software. In this paper, the mathematical models of each component contained in the PV/T solar heat pump system were established based on the system working principle, energy conservation equations and some empirical formulas, and then the operation of the system was simulated by the Simulink software. Due to the operation characteristic of PV/T modules is the key influencing factor for the whole system performance, the model and simulation process for PV/T modules were introduced in detail. The results showed that the surface temperature of PV/T modules under different operating conditions was significantly lower than that of ordinary photovoltaic panels, and the temperature change amplitude was lower. As results, the power generation and photovoltaic conversion efficiency were significantly improved.

Different studies corroborate a role for ceramide synthases and their downstream products, ceramides, in modulation of apoptosis and autophagy in the context of cancer. These mechanisms of regulation, however, appear to be context dependent in terms of ceramides’ fatty acid chain length, subcellular localization, and the presence or absence of their downstream targets. Our current understanding of the role of ceramide synthases and ceramides in regulation of apoptosis and autophagy could be harnessed to pioneer the development of new treatments to activate or inhibit a single type of ceramide synthase, thereby regulating the apoptosis induction or cross talk of apoptosis and autophagy in cancer cells. Moreover, the apoptotic function of ceramide suggests that ceramide analogues can pave the way for the development of novel cancer treatments. Therefore, in the current review paper we discuss the impact of ceramide synthases and ceramides in regulation of apoptosis and autophagy in context of different types of cancers. We also briefly introduce the latest methods to analyze the lipids in biological samples. Finally, we discuss the drug development strategies focusing on the ceramide synthases and ceramides as future therapeutic approaches in cancer therapy.

The formation of rock fractures in nature has a certain relationship with water seepage. In order to analyze the shape of rock fracture, we propose a rock deformation theoretical model in three-dimensional space considering with the condition of seepage water pressure, and establish the mass conservation equation, seepage equation, surrounding rock displacement equation, so as to deduce the rock deformation control equation under seepage pressure action. The numerical analysis of the nonlinear quadratic partial differential equation obtains the fracture deformation distribution in the example, and verifies with the calculated fracture morphology. And we further use this principle to analyze the fracture morphology in nature and prove the rationality of the theory.

Magnetomotive ultrasound (MMUS) is a promising imaging modality for detecting magnetic nanoparticles. In MMUS, an external oscillating magnetic field induces motion of the injected magnetic nanoparticles within tissue, and phase-based tracking algorithms are used to detect the motion. However, the subwavelength scale of theses displacements (often a few micrometers) makes direct visualization on conventional ultrasound B-mode images impossible. In this work, we adapt the Eulerian motion magnification technique to create a novel ultrasound display mode for identifying the nanoparticle locations, eliminating the need for displacement tracking algorithms. Phantom and in-vivo experiments demonstrate that our technique successfully magnifies magnetomotion and the associated shear wave propagation in ultrasound B-mode imaging and pinpoints the nanoparticle vibration source, even in low-concentration scenarios. Additionally, motion magnification magnified the displacement of nanoparticles, having the potential to improve the localization accuracy of displacement tracking algorithms in MMUS.

To circumvent the thermodynamic limitation of the synthesis of oxazolidinones starting from 2-aminoethanols and CO2 and realize incorporation CO2 under atmospheric pressure, a protic ionic liquid-facilitated three-component reaction of propargyl alcohols, CO2 and 2-aminoethanols was developed to produce 2-oxazolidinones along with equal amount of α-hydroxyl ketones. The ionic liquid structure, reaction temperature and reaction time were in detail investigated. And 15 mol% [TBDH][TFE] (1,5,7-triazabicylo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene trifluoroethanol) was found to be able to synergistically activate the substrate and CO2, thus catalyzing this cascade reaction under atmospheric CO2 pressure. By employing this task-specific ionic liquid as sustainable catalyst, 2-aminoethanols with different substituents were successfully transformed to 2-oxazolidinones with moderate to excellent yield after 12 h at 80 oC. This three-component reaction running under atmospheric pressure proves to be a clever detour to avoid the thermodynamic issue in the synthesis of 2-oxazolidinones starting from 2-aminoethanols and CO2.

Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) strain P3 and mutant strain P3-M2 with antioxidant properties on fermented sausage flavour via lipid and protein oxidation inhibition were investigated. The commerical strain was used to as positive control (control group). Results showed that P3 and P3-M2 had the ability of reducing lipid and protein oxidantion during fermentation. The increase of lipoxygenase activity and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values were retarded. Metmyoglobin(MetMb) content relatively decreased significantly(p < 0.05), while sulfhydryl group contents were significantly higher than those in the control((p < 0.05). Futhermore, changes in protein bands were confrimed with the less protein oxidation with P3-M2 than P3 and the control. Additionally, strain P3 and P3-M2 significantly enhanced the type and relative content of esters after fermented (p < 0.05), indicating that strain P3 and P3-M2 contributed to the production of flavor substances. These results revealed that L. plantarum strains with antioxidant properties were a promising approach in inhibiting lipid and protein oxidation of chinese sausage, maintaining the stable natural structure of protein, simultaneously improve the quality of sausage and promote the sausage to form a better flavor.

Single photon ionization (SPI) based on vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) lamps has been extensively investigated and applied due to its clean mass spectra as a soft ionization method. However, the photon energy of 10.6 eV and photons flux of 106 photons/s of commercial VUV lamp limits its range of ionizable analytes as well as sensitivity. This work designs a chemical ionization focusing integrated (CIFI) ionization source time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) based on VUV lamp for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs). The photoelectrons obtained from the VUV lamp through the photoelectric effect ionized the oxygen in the air to obtain the reagent ions O2+, and segmented quadrupole constituted the ion-molecule-reaction region (IMR) and radially focused the ions using a radio-frequency electric field, which improved the yield and transport efficiency of the sample ions and the sensitivity of mass spectrometry, resulting in 44-fold and 1154-fold increase in signal response to benzene and pentanal, respectively. To verify the reliability of the ionization source, the linear correspondence and repeatability of benzene and pentanal were investigated. Satisfactory dynamic linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 5-50 ppbv, and daytime RSD reached 3.91% and 6.26%, respectively. Finally, the CIFI ionization source TOFMS was applied to the determination of OVOCs, and the LOD of 12 types of OVOCs can reach the pptv level, indicating that the ionization source has the potential for accurate and sensitive online monitoring of atmospheric OVOCs.

Dye/salt separation has gained increasing attention in recent years, prompting the quest for cost-effective and environmentally-friendly raw materials for synthesis high performance nanofiltration (NF) membrane for effective dye/salt separation. Herein, a high-performance loose structured NF membrane was fabricated by via a simple vacuum filtration method using a green nanomaterial, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxide radical (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (TOCNF), by sequentially filtrating larger-size and finer-size TOCNFs on a microporous substrate, followed by cross-linked with trimesoyl chloride. The resultant TCM membrane possesses a separating layer composed entirely of pure TOCNF, eliminating the need for other polymer or nanomaterials additives. TCM membranes exhibits high performance and effective dye/salt selectivity. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis shows that the TCM membrane with Fine-TOCNF layer has a tight layered structure. Further characterizations via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirm the presence of functional groups and chemical bonds of the crosslinked membrane. Notably, the optimized TCM-5 membrane exhibits a rejection rate of over 99% for various dyes (Congo red, orange yellow) and 14.2% for NaCl, showcasing a potential candidate for efficient dye wastewater treatment.

This study evaluated the effects of fluoride on subsurface enamel demineralization induced by two commonly used chemical models. Forty-eight enamel blocks were demineralized at pH = 5.0 by an acetate buffer (Group 1), a lactate buffer (Group 2), an acetate buffer with 0.02 ppm fluoride (Group 3) and a lactate buffer with 0.02 ppm fluoride (Group 4) at 25 °C for 3 weeks. The surface destruction percentage (SDP), mineral loss and lesion depth of the blocks were studied using micro-computed tomography. An elemental analysis of the enamel surface was evaluated using an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Surface micro-hardness was determined by the Knoop Hardness Test. The mean lesion depth of Groups 1 through 4 were 134.1 ± 27.2 µm, 96.1 ± 16.5 µm, 97.5 ± 22.4 µm and 91.1 ± 16.2 µm, respectively (p < 0.05; group 1 > 2, 3 > 4). The SDPs of groups 1 through 4 were 7.8 ± 8.93%, 0.71 ± 1.6%, 0.36 ± 1.70% and 1.36 ± 2.94% (p < 0.01; group 1 > 2, 3, 4). The fluoride in mean weight percentages of groups 1 through 4 were 1.12 ± 0.24%, 1.10 ± 0.20%, 1.45 ± 0.40% and 1.51 ± 0.51%, respectively (p < 0.01; group 3,4 > 1,2). The mean Knoop hardness values of groups 1 through 4 were 27.5 ± 13.3, 39.7 ± 19.3, 73.6 ± 44.2 and 91.0 ± 57.2, respectively (p < 0.01; group 4 > 3 > 2 > 1). The chemical model using an acetate buffer solution created significantly deeper zones of subsurface demineralization on enamel than the lactate buffer solution. An acetate buffer may damage the enamel surface, but the surface damage can be prevented by adding fluoride.

Due to the low content, few studies are focused on the essential oils (EOs) of Phlomoides rotata (Benth. ex Hook. f.) Mathiesen (syn. Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudô. This plant has been used to treat rheumatic arthritis and grasserie in China. However, such EOs may have important pharmacological activities such as anti-cancer. To identify the chemical markers (CM) in the EOs and evaluate their antioxidant activities (AAs), we firstly conduct a thoroughly investigation on their chemicals and AAs, to the best of our knowledge. Light yellow EOs with fresh and elegant smell are obtained by hydro-distillation with average yield 0.11% (volume mL/weight g). The crystals are separated from the EOs through cryoprecipitation, respectively. A total of 81 components are qualified and quantified in the EOs, crystals and EOs removed crystals, in which 44 ones are first reported. As for content, the main compounds are long-chain fatty acids (FAs) and their esters. The most abundant one n-hexadecanoic acid (palmitic acid, PA) accounting for 43.15-54.8%, 58.49-64.57% and 15.9-41.1%, in the EOs, crystals and EOs removed crystals, respectively. Seven compounds including PA, tetradecanoic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, methyl hexadecanoate, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone and phytol can be chosen a the CMs in these EOs. The AAs are evaluated through in vitro assays. PA presents pro-oxidant activities in a concentration dependence manner. Usually, the EOs removed crystals demonstrate stronger AAs, and the crystals demonstrate weaker AAs compared with that of the corresponding EOs, which is related to the different content of PA in these samples. This study can give some hints for the utilization of such EOs which are abundant in FAs such as PA.

A variety of myricetin derivatives bearing ferulic acid amide scaffolds were designed and synthesized. The structures of all title compounds were determined by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, 19 F NMR and HRMS. Preliminary bioassays suggested that some of the target compounds exhibited remarkable antiviral activities. In particular, compound 4l possessed significant protection activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), with an half maximal effective concentration (EC50) value of 196.11 μg/mL, which was better than commercial agent ningnamycin (447.92 μg/mL). Meanwhile, microscale thermophoresis (MST) indicated that compound 4l have strong binding capability to tobacco mosaic virus coat protein (TMV-CP) with dissociation constant (Kd) values of 0.34 μmol/L, which was better than ningnamycin (0.52 μmol/L). These results suggest that novel myricetin derivatives bearing ferulic acid amide scaffolds may be considered as an activator for antiviral agents.

Glycoside Hydrolase 3 (GH3) is a phytohormone-responsive family of genes that has been found in many plant species. It is implicated in the biological activity of indolacetic (IAA) and jasmonic acids (JA), and also affects plant growth and developmental processes and some stresses. In this study, GH3 genes were identified in 48 plants, which belong to algae, moss, fern, gymnosperm and angiosperm. No GH3 representative gene has been found in algae, and our research identified 4 genes in mosses, 19 in ferns, 7 in gymnosperms, and numerous in Angiosperms. The results showed that GH3 genes mainly occur in seed plants. Phylogenetic analysis of all GH3 genes showed three separate clades. Group I was related to JA adenylation, group II was related to IAA adenylation, and group III was separated from group II but the function was not clear. The structure of GH3 protein indicated highly conserved sequence in the plant kingdom. The analysis of JA-adenylation related to gene expression of GH3 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) showed that StGH3.12 highly responded to Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. Expression levels of StGH3.1, StGH3.11, and StGH3.12 were high in flower and StGH3.11 expression was also high in stolon. Our research revealed the evolution of the GH3 family, which is useful for studying the precise function about JA-adenylation GH3 genes in S. tuberosum under development and biotic stresses.

Nowadays, the study of preparing silica/rubber composites, which can be used in “green tire”, in energy saving method is fast-growing. In our work, silica modified by using alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (AEO) and 3-Mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane (K-MEPTS) together were investigated. Thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) result indicated that both AEO and K-MEPTS could be grafted on the silica surface. Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the AEO could generate a certain steric hindrance for the mercaptopropyl group on K-MEPTS. Silica modified by using AEO and K-MEPTS together can be completely co-coagulated with the rubber in preparing silica/natural rubber (NR) composites by latex compounding method. AEO can form a physical interface between silica and rubber; meanwhile, K-MEPTS can form a chemical interface between silica and rubber. The effects of chemical and physical interface between silica and rubber on dynamic and mechanical performances of silica/NR composites were also given in this research. A proper combination of physical and chemical interface between silica and NR can improve performances of silica/NR composites.

As major natural disasters in grassland areas, fires and dust events seriously threaten human safety, property, and animal husbandry. Furthermore, these phenomena may be mutually reinforcing, which can lead to more severe cascading disasters. However, few studies have been on the mechanisms of grassland fire and dust events disaster chain. Therefore, we selected Dornod aimag (province), a typical temperate grassland, as the study area and analyzed the spatiotemporal variation patterns of grassland fires and dust weather, as well as the effect of grassland fires on dust weather based on MCD64A1 Burnt Area data and SYNOP dust data. The mechanism of grassland fires on dust weather was further investigated using the MOD13A3 vegetation index product and ERA5 wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation data. The results revealed that grassland fires and dust weather varied spatially across the study area. Furthermore, grassland fires occurred mainly in spring (April to May), summer (June), and autumn (October), while dust weather mainly occurred in spring (March to May). Moreover, autumn, winter, and spring cumulative grassland fires (both days and area) substantially affected the spring total dust weather days and dust storm days, particularly the spring cumulative dust storm days. Additionally, higher precipitation in the summer of 2014 resulted in higher vegetation coverage and more fuel in the autumn and winter of 2014, and even in the spring of 2015. As a result, the cumulative grassland fire days was higher, and the area was larger from September 2014 to April 2015, leading to a considerable increase in the cumulative dust storm days in May 2015. This study has important implications for disaster prevention and mitigation, ecological and environmental protection, and sustainable development in grasslands.

The land subsidence occurring in goafs after coal mining is a protracted process. The accurate prediction of long-term land subsidence in goafs relies heavily on the availability of long-term monitoring data. However, the scarcity of continuous long-term land subsidence monitoring data subsequent to the cessation of mining significantly hinders the accurate prediction of long-term land subsidence in goafs. To address this challenge, this study proposes an innovative method based on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) for predicting long-term land subsidence of goafs following coal mining. The proposed method employs a concatenation approach that integrates multiple short-term monitoring data from different coal faces, each with distinct cessation times, into a cohesive and uniform long-term sequence by normalizing the subsidence rates. The method was verified using actual monitoring data from the Yangquan No.2 mine in Shanxi Province, China. Initially, coal faces with same shapes but varying cessation times were selected for analysis. Using InSAR monitoring data collected between June and December of 2016, the average subsidence rate corresponding to the duration after coal mining cessation of each coal face was back-calculated. Subsequently, a function relating subsidence rate to the duration after coal mining cessation was fitted to the data. Finally, the relationship between cumulative subsidence and the duration after coal mining cessation was derived by integrating the function. The results indicated that the relationship between subsidence rate and duration after coal mining cessation followed an exponential function for a given coal face, whereas the relationship between cumulative subsidence and duration after coal mining cessation conformed to the Knothe time function. Notably, after the cessation of coal mining, significant land subsidence persisted in the goaf of the Yangquan No.2 mine for a duration ranging from 5 to 10 years. The cumulative subsidence curve along the long axis of the coal face ultimately exhibited an inclined W-shape. The proposed method enables the quantitative prediction of residual land subsidence in goafs, even in cases where continuous long-term monitoring data are insufficient, thus providing valuable guidance for construction decisions above the goaf.

The impact of drought stress on plant growth in arid regions is a critical concern, necessitating the exploration of strategies to enhance plant drought resistance, particularly during the early stages of drought stress. This study focuses on the ectomycorrhizal fungus Cenococcum geophilum, renowned for its extensive genetic diversity and broad host compatibility, making it a crucial ally for host plants facing external stresses. We utilized approximately 5-month-old Pinus massoniana seedlings inoculated with different ecotypic strains of C. geophilum for 7 days of drought stress. The results showed that the inoculation of most strains of C. geophilum enhanced the drought resistance of P. massoniana seedlings under the early stages of drought stress, by influencing the water content, photosynthesis, accumulation of osmotic adjustment substances, and antioxidant enzyme activities in both shoots and roots of seedlings. These responses were further validated through transcriptome analysis. Notably, the level of drought resistance observed in mycorrhizal seedlings was irrespective of the level of drought tolerance of C. geophilum strains. This study contributes essential data for understanding the drought response mechanisms of mycorrhizal P. massoniana seedlings inoculated by distinct C. geophilum ecotypes, and guidance on selecting candidate species of ectomycorrhizal fungi for mycorrhizal afforestation in drought areas.

We propose a silviculture with a purely biological logic that takes soil into account. The article is divided into three parts: 1) presentation of the issue in the context of biodiversity and forest pro-tection; 2) impact of the soil functioning on forestry; 3) possible implementation of soil functioning in forestry practice, to support and protect a non-or minimally anthropized evolution of the forest. The first chapter illustrates the importance of the forest for the future of the planet and our human species, referring to recently published works on the topic of climate warming and biodiversity. The second illustrates the aspects that link soil dynamics to the silvogenetic cycle, focusing on the humipedon (organic and organo-mineral surface horizons, approximately the first 30 cm of forest soil), and more significant carbon storage in old forests since up to 2/3 is found in the soil. In the third chapter we consider the possibility of lengthening the forestry cycle, to allow the return of nutrients to the soil. Theoretical graphs and distribution models of the number of trees as a func-tion of diameter and age are reported, with examples of logging in uneven Alpine forests, with reference to Swiss fir-beech forests published on the Pro-Silva website.