A Dynamics-Learning Multirate Estimation Approach for the Feeding Condition Perception of Complex Industry Processes

In this study, we propose a dynamics-learning multirate estimation approach to perceive the quality-related indices (QRIs) of the feeding solution of a unit process. A quality-related index for estimation is an intermediate technical indicator between a unit process and a proceeding unit process; hence, the estimation problem is formulated as a two-stage estimation problem utilizing the production data of both unit processes. Dynamics-learning bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) with different inputs for the forward and backward layers is proposed to manage the input data from the different unit processes. In the dynamics-learning BiLSTM, a cycle control gate is added in the memory cell to learn the dynamics of the QRIs, thereby enabling a high-rate estimation under multirate conditions. A Bayesian estimation model is then combined with the dynamics-learning BiLSTM model to manage the process delay. Ablation and comparative experiments are conducted to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed estimation approach. The experimental results illustrate the performance and high-rate estimation ability of the proposed approach.

Psilocybin restrains activity-based anorexia in female rats by enhancing cognitive flexibility: contributions from 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor mechanisms

Psilocybin has shown promise for alleviating symptoms of depression and is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN), a condition that is characterised by persistent cognitive inflexibility. Considering that enhanced cognitive flexibility after psilocybin treatment is reported to occur in individuals with depression, it is plausible that psilocybin could improve symptoms of AN by breaking down cognitive inflexibility. A mechanistic understanding of the actions of psilocybin is required to tailor the clinical application of psilocybin to individuals most likely to respond with positive outcomes. This can only be achieved using incisive neurobiological approaches in animal models. Here, we use the activity-based anorexia (ABA) rat model and comprehensively assess aspects of reinforcement learning to show that psilocybin (post-acutely) improves body weight maintenance in female rats and facilitates cognitive flexibility, specifically via improved adaptation to the initial reversal of reward contingencies. Further, we reveal the involvement of signalling through the serotonin (5-HT) 1 A and 5-HT2A receptor subtypes in specific aspects of learning, demonstrating that 5-HT1A antagonism negates the cognitive enhancing effects of psilocybin. Moreover, we show that psilocybin elicits a transient increase and decrease in cortical transcription of these receptors (Htr2a and Htr1a, respectively), and a further reduction in the abundance of Htr2a transcripts in rats exposed to the ABA model. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that psilocybin could ameliorate cognitive inflexibility in the context of AN and highlight a need to better understand the therapeutic mechanisms independent of 5-HT2A receptor binding.

CHMP5 attenuates osteoarthritis via inhibiting chondrocyte apoptosis and extracellular matrix degradation: involvement of NF-κB pathway

BACKGROUND

Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common joint disease, is linked with chondrocyte apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. Charged multivesicular body protein 5 (CHMP5), a member of the multivesicular body, has been reported to serve as an anti-apoptotic protein to participate in leukemia development. However, the effects of CHMP5 on apoptosis and ECM degradation in OA remain unclear.

METHODS

In this study, quantitative proteomics was performed to analyze differential proteins between normal and OA patient articular cartilages. The OA mouse model was constructed by the destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM). In vitro, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) was used to induce OA in human chondrocytes. CHMP5 overexpression and silencing vectors were created using an adenovirus system. The effects of CHMP5 on IL-1β-induced chondrocyte apoptosis were investigated by CCK-8, flow cytometry, and western blot. The effects on ECM degradation were examined by western blot and immunofluorescence. The potential mechanism was explored by western blot and Co-IP assays.

RESULTS

Downregulated CHMP5 was identified by proteomics in OA patient cartilages, which was verified in human and mouse articular cartilages. CHMP5 overexpression repressed cell apoptosis and ECM degradation in OA chondrocytes. However, silencing CHMP5 exacerbated OA chondrocyte apoptosis and ECM degradation. Furthermore, we found that the protective effect of CHMP5 against OA was involved in nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that CHMP5 repressed IL-1β-induced chondrocyte apoptosis and ECM degradation and blocked NF-κB activation. It was shown that CHMP5 might be a novel potential therapeutic target for OA in the future.

MSRB2 Ameliorates H2O2-induced Chondrocyte Oxidative Stress and Suppresses Apoptosis in Osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND

Chondrocyte oxidative stress and apoptosis are critical factors contributing to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Methionine sulfoxide reductase B2 (MSRB2) is a mitochondrial protein that protects cells from oxidative stress and is involved in apoptosis. This study aimed to investigated the expression of MSRB2 in articular cartilage tissues and elucidated its effect on H2O2-stimulated chondrocytes.

METHODS

Human chondrocytes were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM)/F12. MSRB2 overexpression in chondrocytes was achieved by transfecting with an MSRB2 overexpression plasmid. Western blot, quantitative RT-PCR, Immunofluorescence staining, and TUNEL assay were employed in this study.

RESULTS

MSRB2 expression was found to be reduced in OA patients. Furthermore, overexpression of MSRB2 in H2O2-induced chondrocytes mitigated apoptosis and enhanced cell viability. Elevated MSRB2 expression diminished chondrocyte ROS contents, decreased cytochrome C (Cyc) in the cytoplasm, and regulated mitochondrial membrane potential to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis. Interestingly, knockdown of charged multivesicular body protein 5 (CHMP5) led to a decreased inMSRB2 expression in chondrocytes. Additionally, protein levels of CHMP5 and MSRB2 were reduced in H2O2-stimulated chondrocytes, and silencing CHMP5 reduced MSRB2 expression. Knockdown of CHMP5 increased cleaved caspase-3 expression in H2O2-induced chondrocytes and elevated TUNEL-positive chondrocytes.

CONCLUSION

MSRB2 decreased in OA, and overexpression of MSRB2 alleviated oxidative stress and apoptosis of chondrocyte.

Electron Accumulation Induced by Electron Injection-Incomplete Discharge on NiFe LDH for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Optimizing the local electronic structure of electrocatalysts can effectively lower the energy barrier of electrochemical reactions, thus enhancing the electrocatalytic activity. However, the intrinsic contribution of the electronic effect is still experimentally unclear. In this work, the electron injection-incomplete discharge approach to achieve the electron accumulation (EA) degree on the nickel-iron layered double hydroxide (NiFe LDH) is proposed, to reveal the intrinsic contribution of EA toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Such NiFe LDH with EA effect results in only 262 mV overpotential to reach 50 mA cm-2, which is 51 mV-lower compared with pristine NiFe LDH (313 mV), and reduced Tafel slope of 54.8 mV dec-1 than NiFe LDH (107.5 mV dec-1). Spectroscopy characterizations combined with theoretical calculations confirm that the EA near concomitant Vo can induce a narrower energy gap and lower thermodynamic barrier to enhance OER performance. This study clarifies the mechanism of the EA effect on OER activity, providing a direct electronic structure modulation guideline for effective electrocatalyst design.

Antibody Nanotweezer Constructing Bivalent Transistor-Biomolecule Interface with Spatial Tolerance

Establishing a multivalent interface between the biointerface of a living system and electronic device is vital to building intelligent bioelectronic systems. How to achieve multivalent binding with spatial tolerance at the nanoscale remains challenging. Here, we report an antibody nanotweezer that is a self-adaptive bivalent nanobody enabling strong and resilient binding between transistor and envelope proteins at biointerfaces. The antibody nanotweezer is constructed by a DNA framework, where the nanoscale patterning of nanobodies along with their local spatial adaptivity enables simultaneous recognition of target epitopes without binding stress. As such, effective binding affinity increases by 1 order of magnitude compared with monovalent antibody. The antibody nanotweezer operating on transistor offers enhanced signal transduction, which is implemented to detect clinical pathogens, showing ∼100% overall agreement with PCR results. This work provides a perspective of engineering multivalent interfaces between biosystems with solid-state devices, holding great potential for organoid intelligence on a chip.

The CDK4/6 inhibitor Palbociclib synergizes with ATRA to induce differentiation in AML

Differentiation therapy based on ATRA almost cured acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, it is disappointing that ATRA is not effective against other acute myeloid leukemia (AML) subtypes. Developing new and effective anti-AML therapies that promote leukemia differentiation is necessary. The CDK4/6-cyclin D pathway is a key initiator of the G1/S phase transition, which determines cell fate. Herein, we investigated whether the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib would synergize with ATRA to promote leukemia differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Our findings revealed that CDK4/6-cyclin D pathway genes were aberrantly expressed in AML, and we observed that palbociclib sensitized AML cells to ATRA-induced morphologic, biochemical, and functional changes indicative of myeloid differentiation. The combination of palbociclib and ATRA attenuated AML cell expansion in vivo. These enhanced differentiation effects may be associated with the regulation of transcription factors, including RARα, E2F1, and STAT1. Overall, our findings demonstrate that CDK4/6 inhibition sensitizes AML cells to ATRA and could guide the development of novel therapeutic strategies for AML patients.

Spatially and Temporally Resolved Dynamic Response of Co-Based Composite Interface during the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Interfacial interaction dictates the overall catalytic performance and catalytic behavior rules of the composite catalyst. However, understanding of interfacial active sites at the microscopic scale is still limited. Importantly, identifying the dynamic action mechanism of the "real" active site at the interface necessitates nanoscale, high spatial-time-resolved complementary-operando techniques. In this work, a Co3O4 homojunction with a well-defined interface effect is developed as a model system to explore the spatial-correlation dynamic response of the interface toward oxygen evolution reaction. Quasi in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy-electron energy-loss spectroscopy with high spatial resolution visually confirms the size characteristics of the interface effect in the spatial dimension, showing that the activation of active sites originates from strong interfacial electron interactions at a scale of 3 nm. Multiple time-resolved operando spectroscopy techniques explicitly capture dynamic changes in the adsorption behavior for key reaction intermediates. Combined with density functional theory calculations, we reveal that the dynamic adjustment of multiple adsorption configurations of intermediates by highly activated active sites at the interface facilitates the O-O coupling and *OOH deprotonation processes. The dual dynamic regulation mechanism accelerates the kinetics of oxygen evolution and serves as a pivotal factor in promoting the oxygen evolution activity of the composite structure. The resulting composite catalyst (Co-B@Co3O4/Co3O4 NSs) exhibits an approximately 70-fold turnover frequency and 20-fold mass activity than the monomer structure (Co3O4 NSs) and leads to significant activity (η10 ∼257 mV). The visual complementary analysis of multimodal operando/in situ techniques provides us with a powerful platform to advance our fundamental understanding of interfacial structure-activity relationships in composite structured catalysts.

Prevention and treatment of HPV-related cancer through a mRNA vaccine expressing APC-targeting antigen

Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with multiple malignancies. Developing therapeutic vaccines to eliminate HPV-infected and malignant cells holds significant value. In this study, we introduced a lipid nanoparticle encapsulated mRNA vaccine expressing tHA-mE7-mE6. Mutations were introduced into E6 and E7 of HPV to eliminate their tumourigenicity. A truncated influenza haemagglutinin protein (tHA), which binds to the CD209 receptor on the surface of dendritic cells (DCs), was fused with mE7-mE6 in order to allow efficient uptake of antigen by antigen presenting cells. The tHA-mE7-mE6 (mRNA) showed higher therapeutic efficacy than mE7-mE6 (mRNA) in an E6 and E7+ tumour model. The treatment resulted in complete tumour regression and prevented tumour formation. Strong CD8+ T-cell immune response was induced, contributing to preventing and curing of E6 and E7+ tumour. Antigen-specific CD8+ T were found in spleens, peripheral blood and in tumours. In addition, the tumour infiltration of DC and NK cells were increased post therapy. In conclusion, this study described a therapeutic mRNA vaccine inducing strong anti-tumour immunity in peripheral and in tumour microenvironment, holding promising potential to treat HPV-induced cancer and to prevent cancer recurrence.

Error-Triggered Adaptive Sparse Identification for Predictive Control and Its Application to Multiple Operating Conditions Processes

With the digital transformation of process manufacturing, identifying the system model from process data and then applying to predictive control has become the most dominant approach in process control. However, the controlled plant often operates under changing operating conditions. What is more, there are often unknown operating conditions such as first appearance operating conditions, which make traditional predictive control methods based on identified model difficult to adapt to changing operating conditions. Moreover, the control accuracy is low during operating condition switching. To solve these problems, this article proposes an error-triggered adaptive sparse identification for predictive control (ETASI4PC) method. Specifically, an initial model is established based on sparse identification. Then, a prediction error-triggered mechanism is proposed to monitor operating condition changes in real time. Next, the previously identified model is updated with the fewest modifications by identifying parameter change, structural change, and combination of changes in the dynamical equations, thus achieving precise control to multiple operating conditions. Considering the problem of low control accuracy during the operating condition switching, a novel elastic feedback correction strategy is proposed to significantly improve the control accuracy in the transition period and ensure accurate control under full operating conditions. To verify the superiority of the proposed method, a numerical simulation case and a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) case are designed. Compared with some state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method can rapidly adapt to frequent changes in operating conditions, and it can achieve real-time control effects even for unknown operating conditions such as first appearance operating conditions.

Efficient catalyst-free N2 fixation by water radical cations under ambient conditions

The growth and sustainable development of humanity is heavily dependent upon molecular nitrogen (N2) fixation. Herein we discover ambient catalyst-free disproportionation of N2 by water plasma which occurs via the distinctive HONH-HNOH+• intermediate to yield economically valuable nitroxyl (HNO) and hydroxylamine (NH2OH) products. Calculations suggest that the reaction is prompted by the coordination of electronically excited N2 with water dimer radical cation, (H2O)2+•, in its two-center-three-electron configuration. The reaction products are collected in a 76-needle array discharge reactor with product yields of 1.14 μg cm-2 h-1 for NH2OH and 0.37 μg cm-2 h-1 for HNO. Potential applications of these compounds are demonstrated to make ammonia (for NH2OH), as well as to chemically react and convert cysteine, and serve as a neuroprotective agent (for HNO). The conversion of N2 into HNO and NH2OH by water plasma could offer great profitability and reduction of polluting emissions, thus giving an entirely look and perspectives to the problem of green N2 fixation.

A transdiagnostic and translational framework for delineating the neuronal mechanisms of compulsive exercise in anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE

The development of novel treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN) requires a detailed understanding of the biological underpinnings of specific, commonly occurring symptoms, including compulsive exercise. There is considerable bio-behavioral overlap between AN and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), therefore it is plausible that similar mechanisms underlie compulsive behavior in both populations. While the association between these conditions is widely acknowledged, defining the shared mechanisms for compulsive behavior in AN and OCD requires a novel approach.

METHODS

We present an argument that a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms that underpin compulsive exercise in AN can be achieved in two critical ways. First, by applying a framework of the neuronal control of OCD to exercise behavior in AN, and second, by taking better advantage of the activity-based anorexia (ABA) rodent model to directly test this framework in the context of feeding pathology.

RESULTS

A cross-disciplinary approach that spans preclinical, neuroimaging, and clinical research as well as compulsive neurocircuitry and behavior can advance our understanding of when, why, and how compulsive exercise develops in the context of AN and provide targets for novel treatment strategies.

DISCUSSION

In this article, we (i) link the expression of compulsive behavior in AN and OCD via a transition between goal-directed and habitual behavior, (ii) present disrupted cortico-striatal circuitry as a key substrate for the development of compulsive behavior in both conditions, and (iii) highlight the utility of the ABA rodent model to better understand the mechanisms of compulsive behavior relevant to AN.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Individuals with AN who exercise compulsively are at risk of worse health outcomes and have poorer responses to standard treatments. However, when, why, and how compulsive exercise develops in AN remains inadequately understood. Identifying whether the neural circuitry underlying compulsive behavior in OCD also controls hyperactivity in the activity-based anorexia model will aid in the development of novel eating disorder treatment strategies for this high-risk population.

EaLDL: Element-Aware Lifelong Dictionary Learning for Multimode Process Monitoring

With the rapid development of modern industry and the increasing prominence of artificial intelligence, data-driven process monitoring methods have gained significant popularity in industrial systems. Traditional static monitoring models struggle to represent the new modes that arise in industrial production processes due to changes in production environments and operating conditions. Retraining these models to address the changes often leads to high computational complexity. To address this issue, we propose a multimode process monitoring method based on element-aware lifelong dictionary learning (EaLDL). This method initially treats dictionary elements as fundamental units and measures the global importance of dictionary elements from the perspective of the multimode global learning process. Subsequently, to ensure that the dictionary can represent new modes without losing the representation capability of historical modes during the updating process, we construct a novel surrogate loss to impose constraints on the update of dictionary elements. This constraint enables the continuous updating of the dictionary learning (DL) method to accommodate new modes without compromising the representation of previous modes. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we perform comprehensive experiments on numerical simulations as well as an industrial process. A comparison is made with several advanced process monitoring methods to assess its performance. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method achieves a favorable balance between learning new modes and retaining the memory of historical modes. Moreover, the proposed method exhibits insensitivity to initial points, delivering satisfactory results under various initial conditions.

Strongly-Interacted NiSe2 /NiFe2 O4 Architectures Built Through Selective Atomic Migration as Catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The interactions between the catalyst and support are widely used in many important catalytic reactions but the construction of strong interaction with definite microenvironments to understand the structure-activity relationship is still challenging. Here, strongly-interacted composites are prepared via selective exsolution of active NiSe2 from the host matrix of NiFe2 O4 (S-NiSe2 /NiFe2 O4 ) taking advantage of the differences of migration energy, in which the NiSe2 possessed both high dispersion and small size. The characteristics of spatially resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) coupled with analytical Mössbauer spectra for the surface and bulk electronic structures unveiled that this strongly interacted composite triggered more charge transfers from the NiSe2 to the host of NiFe2 O4 while stabilizing the inherent atomic coordination of NiFe2 O4 . The obtained S-NiSe2 /NiFe2 O4 exhibits overpotentials of 290 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This strategy is general and can be extended to other supported catalysts, providing a powerful tool for modulating the catalytic performance of strongly-interacted composites.

[Overview of design and construction of hypertensive disorders of a pregnancy-cohort in Shenzhen]

Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP) involves two major public health issues: mother-infant safety and prevention and controlling major chronic disease. HDP poses a serious threat to maternal and neonatal safety, and it is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, as well as an important risk factor for long-term cardiovascular disease (CVD). In order to explore effective strategies to prevent and control the source of CVD and reduce its risk, we have established a cohort of HDPs in Shenzhen for the primordial prevention of CVD. The construction of the HDP cohort has already achieved preliminary progress till now. A total of 2 239 HDP women have been recruited in the HDP cohort. We have established a cohort data management platform and Biobank. The follow-up and assessment of postpartum cardiovascular metabolic risk in this cohort has also been launched. Our efforts will help explore the pathophysiological mechanism of HDP, especially the pathogenesis and precision phenotyping, prediction, and prevention of pre-eclampsia, which, therefore, may reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and provide a bridge to linking HDP and maternal-neonatal cardiovascular, metabolic risk to promote the cardiovascular health of mothers and their infants.

π Bridge Engineering-Boosted Dual Enhancement of Type-I Photodynamic and Photothermal Performance for Mitochondria-Targeting Multimodal Phototheranostics of Tumor

Designing mitochondria-targeting phototheranostic agents (PTAs), which can simultaneously possess exceptional and balanced type-I photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) performance, still remains challenging. Herein, benzene, furan, and thiophene were utilized as π bridges to develop multifunctional PTAs. STB with thiophene as a π bridge, in particular, benefiting from stronger donor-accepter (D-A) interactions, reduced the singlet-triplet energy gap (ΔES1-T1), allowed more free intramolecular rotation, and exhibited outstanding near-infrared (NIR) emission, effective type-I reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and relatively high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of 51.9%. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that positive-charged STB not only can actively target the mitochondria of tumor cells but also displayed strong antitumor effects and excellent in vivo imaging ability. This work subtly established a win-win strategy by π bridge engineering, breaking the barrier of making a balance between ROS generation and photothermal conversion, boosting a dual enhancement of PDT and PTT performance, and stimulating the development of multimodal imaging-guided precise cancer phototherapy.

Tensile Strain-Mediated Spinel Ferrites Enable Superior Oxygen Evolution Activity

Exploring efficient strategies to overcome the performance constraints of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is vital for electrocatalytic applications such as H2O splitting, CO2 reduction, N2 reduction, etc. Herein, tunable, wide-range strain engineering of spinel oxides, such as NiFe2O4, is proposed to enhance the OER activity. The lattice strain is regulated by interfacial thermal mismatch during the bonding process between thermally expanding NiFe2O4 nanoparticles and the nonexpanding carbon fiber substrate. The tensile lattice strain causes energy bands to flatten near the Fermi level, lowering eg orbital occupancy, effectively increasing the number of electronic states near the Fermi level, and reducing the pseudoenergy gap. Consequently, the energy barrier of the rate-determining step for strained NiFe2O4 is reduced, achieving a low overpotential of 180 mV at 10 mA/cm2. A total water decomposition voltage range of 1.52-1.56 V at 10 mA/cm2 (without iR correction) was achieved in an asymmetric alkaline electrolytic cell with strained NiFe2O4 nanoparticles, and its robust stability was verified with a voltage retention of approximately 99.4% after 100 h. Furthermore, the current work demonstrates the universality of tuning OER performance with other spinel ferrite systems, including cobalt, manganese, and zinc ferrites.

[Clinical observation on the efficacy and safety of dupilumab in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis]

To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of dupilumab in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in China. A small sample self-controlled study before and after treatment was conducted to retrospective analysis patients with moderate to severe AD treated with dupilumab in the department of dermatology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from July 2020 to March 2022. Dupilumab 600 mg was injected subcutaneously at week 0, and then 300 mg was injected subcutaneously every 2 weeks. The condition was evaluated by SCORAD(severity scoring of atopic dermatitis), NRS(numerical rating scale), DLQI(dermatology life quality index) and POEM(patient-oriented eczema measure). The improvement of SCORAD, NRS, DLQI and POEM was analyzed by paired t test and non-parametric paired Wilcoxon. The results showed that a total of 67 patients with moderate to severe AD received dupilumab treatment, of which 41 patients (the course of treatment was more than 6 weeks) had reduced the severity of skin lesions, improved quality of life and reduced pruritus. A total of 23 patients completed 16 weeks of treatment. At 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks, SCORAD, NRS, DLQI and POEM decreased compared with the baseline, and the differences were statistically significant. SCORAD (50.13±15.19) at baseline, SCORAD (36.08±11.96)(t=6.049,P<0.001) at week 4,SCORAD (28.04±11.10)(t=10.471,P<0.001) at week 8, SCORAD (22.93±9.72)(t=12.428,P<0.001) at week 12, SCORAD (16.84±7.82)(t=14.609,P<0.001) at week 16, NRS 7(6,8) at baseline, NRS 4(3,5)(Z=-3.861,P<0.001) at week 4, NRS 2(1,4)(Z=-4.088,P<0.001) at week 8, NRS 1(0,2)(Z=-4.206,P<0.001) at week 12, NRS 2(0,2)(Z=-4.222,P<0.001) at week 16, DLQI (13.83±5.71) at baseline, DLQI (8.00±4.02)(t=6.325,P<0.001) at week 4, DLQI (5.61±3.50)(t=8.060,P<0.001) at week 8, DLQI (3.96±1.99)(t=8.717,P<0.001) at week 12, DLQI (2.70±1.89)(t=10.355,P<0.001) at week 16, POEM (18.04±6.41) at baseline, POEM (9.70±4.70)(t=7.031,P<0.001) at week 4, POEM (7.74±3.48)(t=8.806,P<0.001) at week 8, POEM (6.35±3.33)(t=10.474,P<0.001) at week 12, POEM (4.26±2.51)(t=11.996,P<0.001) at week 16. In the 16th week, 100%(23 patients), 91.3%(21 patients), 34.8%(8 patients) and 8.7%(2 patients) of 23 patients reached SCORAD30, SCORAD50, SCORAD70, and SCORAD90 statuses, respectively. There were 82.6%(19 patients), 95.7%(22 patients) and 95.7%(22 patients) of 23 patients with NRS, DLQI and POEM improved by≥4 points compared with baseline. Twelve patients with AD who continued to receive dupilumab after 16 weeks showed further improvement in skin lesions. The adverse events were conjunctivitis and injection site reaction. In conclusion, dupilumab is an effective and safe treatment for moderate and severe AD. However, the longer-term efficacy and safety require further studies involving larger sample sizes and a longer follow-up time.

Dosimetric Advantages of VMAT TBI Plans: A Direct Comparison to Conventional TBI Plans

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Total body irradiation (TBI) continues to play an integral role in the conditioning of patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation. Historically, conventional TBI (C-TBI) has been delivered based on a clinical plan without CT simulation. However, volumetric modulated arc therapy TBI (V-TBI) is emerging as an alternative method to deliver TBI in a contemporary fashion. We aimed to compare these two methods of TBI delivery.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Patients undergoing treatment with V-TBI were identified. C-TBI plans were created using their existing simulation CT images. Patient thickness was measured on the scan and compensators such as lead sheets to attenuate dose in areas with less separation and lung blocks drawn on digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRR) were added when necessary. A 3D dose distribution was then calculated allowing for the direct comparison between C-TBI and V-TBI on the same patient using the same CT image set. Dosimetric data from each plan including target volume coverage, dose homogeneity, absolute max dose, and dose to lungs were recorded.

RESULTS

V-TBI and C-TBI plans for a total of four patients were preliminarily analyzed. Two patients were prescribed 200 cGy in a single fraction, while the other two were prescribed 1200 cGy in eight fractions. V-TBI resulted in a more favorable dosimetry for all four patients in most evaluated metrics including dose coverage, dose homogeneity, and lung dose (Table 1). V-TBI did result in an increased absolute maximum dose to all four patients compared to c-TBI, but still met the desired constraint of D0.03cc<125%.

CONCLUSION

V-TBI resulted in more favorable dosimetry for all four patients compared to C-TBI. To our knowledge, this is the first direct dosimetric comparison between the two methods. Analysis of 8 more V-TBI cases is currently underway. In the future, we plan to design a prospective study to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing V-TBI vs C-TBI.

Dose Coverage Variation Caused by Setup Uncertainties in VMAT-TBI Treatment

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Total Body Irradiation (VMAT TBI) offers several advantages over conventional TBI techniques, including reduced cost of the treatment room (a normal-sized vault versus a large shielded vault), increased patient comfort during treatment, lung sparing without the need for physical blocks, and a more homogeneous dose distribution. In VMAT-TBI treatment, plans at multiple isocenters are utilized to cover the entire body, and patients are positioned with the aid of image guidance. However, aligning the patient's entire body during setup can be challenging due to its pliability, and the setup time is heavily dependent on the tolerance allowed by the image guidance. Therefore, studying the variation in dose coverage caused by setup uncertainties in VMAT-TBI treatments can help optimize the clinical workflow and determine the optimal tolerance for patient positioning.

MATERIALS/METHODS

New plans were generated to simulate the uncertainties that occur during treatment setup for each patient. These plans were created by shifting the original VMAT TBI plans at the head, chest, abdomen (or pelvis) isocenters by 5mm and 1cm in the left-right (LR), inferior-superior (IS), and anterior-posterior (AP) directions, respectively. Dose DicomRT files were exported, and the dose change due to the shifts was analyzed. The statistical quantification of the percentage of the body that experienced a dose change of over 2%, 5%, and 10% of the prescription due to the shifts from the original plans was calculated for all patients. Histograms were generated, showing the percentage of body getting dose change of 1-2%, 2-3%, 3-5%, 5-7%, 7-10%, 10-15%.

RESULTS

The table below displays the percent volume receiving a dose change of 2%, 5%, and 10% of the prescription for a 5mm shift. Among the shift directions, the dose change is most sensitive in the IS direction, with similar impact observed the in LR and AP directions. Among different sites, the chest experiences the largest dose change, followed by the pelvis. For a 5mm shift in the IS direction, the average percent volume receiving a dose change of 2%, 5%, and 10% in the chest is 9.25%, 2.64%, and 0.27%, respectively. For a 1cm shift, the numbers are 12.23%, 6.75%, and 1.29%. In the pelvis (abdomen), these values are 9.03%, 1.67%, and 0.17% for a 5mm shift and 13.28%, 6.1%, and 0.85% for a 1cm shift. For head plans, the values are 2.72%, 0.9%, and 0.14% for a 5mm shift and 3.77%, 1.66%, and 0.53% for a 1cm shift.

CONCLUSION

Accurate alignment in the chest region is crucial in VMAT TBI treatment. Efforts should be made to minimize shifts over 1cm in the IS direction.

A Randomized Single-Blinded Study Comparing Preoperative with Post-Mastectomy PECS Block for Post-operative Pain Management in Bilateral Mastectomy with Immediate Reconstruction

BACKGROUND

Ultrasound-guided pectoralis muscle blocks (PECS I/II) are well established for postoperative pain control after mastectomy with reconstruction. However, optimal timing is unclear. We conducted a randomized controlled single-blinded single-institution trial comparing outcomes of block performed pre-incision versus post-mastectomy.

METHOD

Patients with breast cancer undergoing bilateral mastectomy with immediate expander/implant reconstruction were randomized to receive ultrasound-guided PECS I/II either pre-incision (PreM, n = 17) or post-mastectomy and before reconstruction (PostM, n = 17). The primary outcome was the average pain score using the Numerical Rating Score during post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and inpatient stay, with the study powered to detect a difference in mean pain score of 2. Secondary outcomes included mean pain scores on postoperative day (POD) 2, 3, 7, 14, 90, and 180; pain catastrophizing scores; narcotic requirements; PACU/inpatient length of stay; block procedure time; and complications.

RESULT

No significant differences between the two groups were noted in average pain score during PACU (p = 0.57) and 24-h inpatient stay (p = 0.33), in the 2 weeks after surgery at rest (p = 0.90) or during movement (p = 0.30), or at POD 90 and 180 at rest (p = 0.42) or during movement (p = 0.31). Median duration of block procedure (PreM 7 min versus PostM 6 min, p = 0.21) did not differ. Median PACU and inpatient length of stay were the same in each group. Inpatient narcotic requirements were similar, as were length of stay and post-surgical complication rates.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative ultrasound-guided PECS I/II block administered by surgeons following mastectomy had similar outcomes to preoperative blocks.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial is registered with Clinical Research Information Service (NCT03653988).

MCTAN: A Novel Multichannel Temporal Attention-Based Network for Industrial Health Indicator Prediction

Health indicator prediction, such as remaining useful life prediction and product quality prediction, is an important aspect of industrial intelligence. It is essential to process the massive multichannel industrial time series collected from the Industrial Internet of Things for the industrial health indicator prediction. At present, there are still three issues that need to be considered for industrial health indicator prediction. First, it is difficult to directly connect the distant positions in the industrial time series to extract the temporal relations, which decreases the efficiency of extracting the potential long-distance temporal relations and training networks. Second, it should be fully considered that data from different channels have different contributions. Equally dealing with the contributions of each channel will weaken the representational ability of prediction networks. Third, the loss function deals with early predictions and delay predictions equally, which will lead to high risks caused by delay predictions. In this article, for these issues, a novel multichannel temporal attention-based network (MCTAN) is proposed for industrial health indicator prediction, which can weigh contributions of different channels through the channel attention while avoiding the loss of the temporal information and directly connect each time series position to the local fields of the sequence through the multi-head local attention mechanism to efficiently extract potential long-distance temporal relations. Then, a weighted mean square error loss function differently dealing with early predictions and delay predictions by setting dynamic weights is presented to reduce delay predictions. Next, to deal with the above-mentioned issues systematically, a framework combining data preprocessing and MCTAN collaboratively is introduced to predict industrial health indicators through multichannel time series. Finally, the experiments are carried out on the commercial modular aero-propulsion system simulation dataset to measure the performances, including the accuracy of industrial health indicator predictions and the inference speed.

MMP9-Responsive Graphene Oxide Quantum Dot-Based Nano-in-Micro Drug Delivery System for Combinatorial Therapy of Choroidal Neovascularization

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), especially wet AMD with choroidal neovascularization (CNV), commonly causes blindness in older patients and disruption of the choroid followed by second-wave injuries, including chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and excessive matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) expression. Increased macrophage infiltrate in parallel with microglial activation and MMP9 overexpression on CNV lesions is shown to contribute to the inflammatory process and then enhance pathological ocular angiogenesis. Graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs), as natural antioxidants, exert anti-inflammatory effects and minocycline is a specific macrophage/microglial inhibitor that can suppress both macrophage/microglial activation and MMP9 activity. Herein, an MMP9-responsive GOQD-based minocycline-loaded nano-in-micro drug delivery system (C18PGM) is developed by chemically bonding GOQDs to an octadecyl-modified peptide sequence (C18-GVFHQTVS, C18P) that can be specifically cleaved by MMP9. Using a laser-induced CNV mouse model, the prepared C18PGM shows significant MMP9 inhibitory activity and anti-inflammatory action followed by antiangiogenic effects. Moreover, C18PGM combined with antivascular endothelial growth factor antibody bevacizumab markedly increases the antiangiogenesis effect by interfering with the "inflammation-MMP9-angiogenesis" cascade. The prepared C18PGM shows a good safety profile and no obvious ophthalmic or systemic side effects. The results taken together suggest that C18PGM is an effective and novel strategy for combinatorial therapy of CNV.

A robust sparse identification method for nonlinear dynamic systems affected by non-stationary noise

In the field of science and engineering, identifying the nonlinear dynamics of systems from data is a significant yet challenging task. In practice, the collected data are often contaminated by noise, which often severely reduce the accuracy of the identification results. To address the issue of inaccurate identification induced by non-stationary noise in data, this paper proposes a method called weighted ℓ1-regularized and insensitive loss function-based sparse identification of dynamics. Specifically, the robust identification problem is formulated using a sparse identification mathematical model that takes into account the presence of non-stationary noise in a quantitative manner. Then, a novel weighted ℓ1-regularized and insensitive loss function is proposed to account for the nature of non-stationary noise. Compared to traditional loss functions like least squares and least absolute deviation, the proposed method can mitigate the adverse effects of non-stationary noise and better promote the sparsity of results, thereby enhancing the accuracy of identification. Third, to overcome the non-smooth nature of the objective function induced by the inclusion of loss and regularization terms, a smooth approximation of the non-smooth objective function is presented, and the alternating direction multiplier method is utilized to develop an efficient optimization algorithm. Finally, the robustness of the proposed method is verified by extensive experiments under different types of nonlinear dynamical systems. Compared to some state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method achieves better identification accuracy.

Single Component Organic Photosensitizer with NIR-I Emission Realizing Type-I Photodynamic and GSH-Depletion Caused Ferroptosis Synergistic Theranostics

Phototheranostic agents have thrived as prominent tools for tumor luminescence imaging and therapies. Herein, a series of organic photosensitizers (PSs) with donor-acceptors (D-A) are elaborately designed and synthesized. In particular, PPR-2CN exhibits stable near infrared-I (NIR-I) emission, excellent free radicals generation and phototoxicity. Experimental analysis and calculations imply that a small singlet-triplet energy gap (ΔES1-T1 ) and large spin-orbit coupling (SOC) constant boost the intersystem crossing (ISC), leading to type-I photodynamic therapy (PDT). Additionally, the specific glutamate (Glu) and glutathione (GSH) consumption abilities of PPR-2CN inhibit the intracellular biosynthesis of GSH, resulting in redox dyshomeostasis and GSH-depletion causing ferroptosis. This work first realizes that single component organic PS could be simultaneously used as a type-I photodynamic agent and metal-free ferroptosis inducer for NIR-I imaging-guided multimodal synergistic therapy.

Activating Octahedral Center in Co-Doped NiFe2 O4 via Bridging Amorphous MoSx for Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation: A Case for eg Orbital Regulation in Spinel Oxide

Moderate e_g filling for octahedral metal cations (M_Oh ) is strongly correlated with the electrocatalytic water oxidation performance in the oxides system. Here, the e_g fillings of Ni_Oh and Fe_Oh in NiFe₂ O₄ -based spinel are controllably regulated by introducing an external radical of catalytically inactive MoS_x as an electron acceptor via a novel ultrasonic anchored pyrolysis strategy. The electron occupied in e_g orbit of M_Oh emigrates with the amount of MoS hanging on the apical of octahedral sites, and results in a salutary transition from high to medium e_g occupancy state, as confirmed by the X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, benefiting from the abundant unsaturated S atoms in amorphous MoS_x , the M_Oh at the surface furthest activates and consequently shows a superior water oxidation performance. Density functional theory also reveals that the e_g fillings of Ni and Fe decrease to 1.4 and 1.2 after MoS_x modification, which can effectively reduce the free energy of the OOH* intermediates in the oxygen evolution reaction process. This work opens an avenue for further releasing the electrocatalytic activity of octahedral sites through bridging external phases with rational electron-capturing/donating capability.

Adaptive Multimode Process Monitoring Based on Mode-Matching and Similarity-Preserving Dictionary Learning

In real industrial processes, factors, such as the change in manufacturing strategy and production technology lead to the creation of multimode industrial processes and the continuous emergence of new modes. Although the industrial SCADA system has accumulated a large amount of historical data, which can be used for modeling and monitoring multimode processes to a certain extent, it is difficult for the model learned from historical data to adapt to emerging modes, resulting in the model mismatch. On the other hand, updating the model with data from new modes allows the model to continuously match the new modes, but it may cause the model to lose the ability to represent the historical modes, resulting in "catastrophic forgetting." To address these problems, this article proposed a jointly mode-matching and similarity-preserving dictionary learning (JMSDL) method, which updated the model by learning the data of new modes, so that the model can adaptively match the newly emerged modes. At the same time, a similarity metric was put forward to guarantee the representation ability of the proposed method for historical data. A numerical simulation experiment, the CSTH process experiment, and an industrial roasting process experiment indicated that the proposed JMSDL method can match new modes while maintaining its performance on the historical modes accurately. In addition, the proposed method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of fault detection and false alarm rate.

Controlling the terminal layer atom of InTe for enhanced electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction performance

Herein, we report the method of molecular-beam-epitaxial growth (MBE) for precisely regulating the terminal surface with different exposed atoms on indium telluride (InTe) and studied the electrocatalytic performances toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The improved performances result from the exposed In or Te atoms cluster, which affects the conductivity and active sites. This work provides insights into the comprehensive electrochemical attributes of layered indium chalcogenides and exhibits a new route for catalyst synthesis.

Clinical Relevance of Plaque Distribution for Basilar Artery Stenosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There is no clear association between plaque distribution and postoperative complications in patients with basilar artery atherosclerotic stenosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether plaque distribution and postoperative complications after endovascular treatment for basilar artery stenosis are related.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our study enrolled patients with severe basilar artery stenosis who were scanned with high-resolution MR imaging and followed by DSA before the intervention. According to high-resolution MR imaging, plaques can be classified as ventral, lateral, dorsal, or involved in 2 quadrants. Plaques affecting the proximal, distal, or junctional segments of the basilar artery were classified according to DSA. An experienced independent team assessed ischemic events after the intervention using MR imaging. Further analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between plaque distribution and postoperative complications.

RESULTS

A total of 140 eligible patients were included in the study, with a postoperative complication rate of 11.4%. These patients were an average age of 61.9 (SD, 7.7) years. Dorsal wall plaques accounted for 34.3% of all plaques, and plaques distal to the anterior-inferior cerebellar artery accounted for 60.7%. Postoperative complications of endovascular treatment were associated with plaques located at the lateral wall (OR = 4.00; 95% CI, 1.21-13.23; P = .023), junctional segment (OR = 8.75; 95% CI, 1.16-66.22; P = .036), and plaque burden (OR = 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06; P = .042).

CONCLUSIONS

Plaques with a large burden located at the junctional segment and lateral wall of the basilar artery may increase the likelihood of postoperative complications following endovascular therapy. A larger sample size is needed for future studies.

Targeting ZDHHC9 potentiates anti-programmed death-ligand 1 immunotherapy of pancreatic cancer by modifying the tumor microenvironment

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy targeting the programmed death 1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) axis has achieved considerable success in treating a wide range of cancers. However, most patients with pancreatic cancer remain resistant to ICB. Moreover, there is a lack of optimal biomarkers for the prediction of response to this therapy. Palmitoylation is mediated by a family of 23 S-acyltransferases, termed zinc finger Asp-His-His-Cys-type palmitoyltransferases (ZDHHC), which precisely control various cancer-related protein functions and represent promising drug targets for cancer therapy. Here, we revealed that tumor cell-intrinsic ZDHHC9 was overexpressed in pancreatic cancer tissues and associated with impaired anti-tumor immunity. In syngeneic pancreatic tumor models, the knockdown of ZDHHC9 expression suppressed tumor progression and prolonged survival time of mice by modifying the immunosuppressive ('cold') to proinflammatory ('hot') tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, ZDHHC9 deficiency sensitized anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy mainly in a CD8+ T cell dependent manner. Lastly, we employed the ZDHHC9-siRNA nanoparticle system to efficiently silence ZDHHC9 in pancreatic tumors. Collectively, our findings indicate that ZDHHC9 overexpression in pancreatic tumors is a mechanism involved in the inhibition of host anti-tumor immunity and highlight the importance of inactivating ZDHHC9 as an effective immunotherapeutic strategy and booster for anti-PD-L1 therapy against pancreatic cancer.

A comprehensive assessment of runoff dynamics in response to climate change and human activities in a typical karst watershed, southwest China

The Chengbi River Basin is a typical karst watershed in Southwest China. Understanding the effects of climate change (CC) and human activities (HAs) on hydrological process is important for regional water resources management and water security. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effects of CC and HAs on runoff dynamics at different time scales in the Chengbi River Basin is still lacking. To address these needs, we used Budyko Mezentsev-Choudhurdy-Yang and Slope change ratio of accumulative quantity methods to assess the contribution of the changing environment to annual and intra-annual runoff changes in the Chengbi River Basin. The results indicated that annual runoff time series was divided into the base phase Ta (1980-1996) and the change phase Tb (1997-2019). Compared to the natural status in Ta, the relative contributions of CC and HAs to the runoff increase in Tb were 154.86% and -54.86%. In addition, the shift in intra-annual runoff occurred in 2007 and was mainly caused by HAs, with a contribution rate of 76.22%. The increase in annual runoff in Tb could be attributed to the positive contribution of rainfall. Changes in rainfall and reservoir construction altered the original state of intra-annual runoff. Furthermore, the high degree of heterogeneity in the surface karst zone increased the runoff coefficient. The spatial unsaturation of the subsurface water-bearing media and rainfall patterns caused a significant lag effect in the response of surface runoff to rainfall. This study can help researchers and policy makers to better understand the response of karst runoff to changing environment and provide insights for future water resources management and flood control measures.

A new strategy for searching determinants in colorectal cancer progression through whole-part relationship combined with multi-omics

The high incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) and the lack of adequate diagnostic molecules have led to poor treatment outcomes for colorectal cancer, making it particularly important to develop methods to obtain molecular with significant diagnostic effects. Here, we proposed a whole and part study strategy (early-stage colorectal cancer as "part" and colorectal cancer as "whole") to identify specific and co-pathways of change in early-stage and colorectal cancers and to discover the determinants of colorectal cancer development. Metabolite biomarkers discovered in plasma may not necessarily reflect the pathological status of tumor tissue. To explore the determinant biomarkers associated with plasma and tumor tissue in the CRC progression, multi-omics were performed on three phases of biomarker discovery studies (discovery, identification and validation) including 128 plasma metabolomes and 84 tissue transcriptomes. Importantly, we observe that the metabolic levels of oleic acid and FA (18:2) in patients with colorectal cancer were much higher than in healthy people. Finally, biofunctional verification confirmed that oleic acid and FA (18:2) can promote the growth of colorectal cancer tumor cells and be used as plasma biomarkers for early-stage colorectal cancer. We propose a novel research strategy to discover co-pathways and important biomarkers that may be targeted for a potential role in early colorectal cancer, and our work provides a promising tool for the clinical diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Palmitoyl transferases act as novel drug targets for pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is one of the most leading causes of cancer-related death across the world with the limited efficiency and response rate of immunotherapy. Protein S-palmitoylation, a powerful post-translational lipid modification, is well-known to regulate the stability and cellular distribution of cancer-related proteins, which is mediated by a family of 23 palmitoyl transferases, namely zinc finger Asp-His-His-Cys-type (ZDHHC). However, whether palmitoyl transferases can determine tumor progression and the efficacy of immunotherapy in PAAD remains unknown.

METHODS

Bioinformatics methods were used to identify differential ZDHHCs expression in PAAD. A systematic pan-cancer analysis was conducted to assess the immunological role of ZDHHC3 using RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. In vivo Panc 02 subcutaneous tumor model validated the anti-tumor effect of knockdown of ZDHHC3 or intraperitoneal injection of 2-bromopalmitate (2-BP), a typical broad-spectrum palmitoyl transferases inhibitor. Furthermore, we explored therapeutic strategies with combinations of 2-BP with PD-1/PD-L1-targeted immunotherapy in C57BL/6 mice bearing syngeneic Panc 02 pancreatic tumors.

RESULTS

ZDHHC enzymes were associated with distinct prognostic values of pancreatic cancer. We identified that ZDHHC3 expression promotes an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in PAAD. 2-BP suppressed pancreatic-tumor cell viability and tumor sphere-forming activities, as well as increased cell apoptosis in vitro, without affecting normal human pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Furthermore, genetic inactivation of ZDHHC3 or intraperitoneal injection of 2-BP impeded tumor progression in Panc 02 pancreatic tumors with enhanced anti-tumor immunity. 2-BP treatment significantly enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in Panc 02 pancreatic tumors.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed some ZDHHC enzyme genes for predicting the prognosis of pancreatic cancer, and demonstrated that ZDHHC3 plays a critical oncogenic role in pancreatic cancer progression, highlighting its potential as an immunotherapeutic target of pancreatic cancer. In addition, combination therapy of 2-BP and PD-1/PD-L1 achieved synergic therapy effects in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.

[Analysis of the clinical features and the risk factors of severe human metapneu movirus-associated community acquired pneumonia in children]

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and the risk factors of severe human metapneumovirus (hMPV)-associated community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. Methods: A retrospective case summary was conducted. From December 2020 to March 2022, 721 children who were diagnosed with CAP and tested positive for hMPV nucleic acid by PCR-capillary electrophoresis fragment analysis of nasopharyngeal secretions at the Yuying Children's Hospital, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were selected as the research objects. The clinical characteristics, epidemiological characteristics and mixed pathogens of the two groups were analyzed. According to CAP diagnostic criteria, the children were divided into the severe group and the mild group. Chi-square test or Mann-Whitney rank and contrast analysis was used for comparison between groups, while multivariate Logistic regression was applied to analyze the risk factors of the severe hMPV-associated CAP. Results: A total of 721 children who were diagnosed with hMPV-associated CAP were included in this study, with 397 males and 324 females. There were 154 cases in the severe group. The age of onset was 1.0 (0.9, 3.0) years, <3 years old 104 cases (67.5%), and the length of hospital stay was 7 (6, 9) days. In the severe group, 67 children (43.5%) were complicated with underlying diseases. In the severe group, 154 cases (100.0%) had cough, 148 cases (96.1%) had shortness of breath and pulmonary moist rales, and 132 cases (85.7%) had fever, 23 cases (14.9%) were complicated with respiratory failure. C-reactive protein (CRP) was elevated in 86 children (55.8%), including CRP≥50 mg/L in 33 children (21.4%). Co-infection was detected in 77 cases (50.0%) and 102 strains of pathogen were detected, 25 strains of rhinovirus, 17 strains of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, 15 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, 12 strains of Haemophilus influenzae and 10 strains of respiratory syncytial virus were detected. Six cases (3.9%) received heated and humidified high flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy, 15 cases (9.7%) were admitted to intensive care unit, and 2 cases (1.3%) received mechanical ventilation. In the severe group, 108 children were cured, 42 children were improved, 4 chlidren were discharged automatically without recovery and no death occurred. There were 567 cases in the mild group. The age of onset was 2.7 (1.0, 4.0) years, and the length of hospital stay was 4 (4, 6) days.Compared with the mild group, the proportion of children who age of disease onset <6 months, CRP≥50 mg/L, the proportions of preterm birth, congenital heart disease, malnutrition, congenital airway malformation, neuromuscular disease, mixed respiratory syncytial viruses infection were higher (20 cases (13.0%) vs. 31 cases (5.5%), 32 cases (20.8%) vs. 64 cases (11.3%), 23 cases (14.9%) vs. 44 cases (7.8%), 11 cases (7.1%) vs. 18 cases (3.2%), 9 cases (5.8%) vs. 6 cases (1.1%), 11 cases (7.1%) vs. 12 cases (2.1%), 8 cases (5.2%) vs. 4 cases (0.7%), 10 cases (6.5%) vs. 13 cases (2.3%), χ²=0.42, 9.45, 7.40, 4.94, 11.40, 8.35, 3.52, 6.92, all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age<6 months (OR=2.51, 95%CI 1.29-4.89), CRP≥50 mg/L (OR=2.20, 95%CI 1.36-3.57), prematurity (OR=2.19, 95%CI 1.26-3.81), malnutrition (OR=6.05, 95%CI 1.89-19.39) were the independent risk factors for severe hMPV-associated CAP. Conclusions: Severe hMPV-associated CAP is most likely to occur in infants under 3 years old and has a higher proportion of underlying diseases and co-infection. The main clinical manifestations are cough, shortness of breath and pulmonary moist rales, fever. The overall prognosis is good. Age<6 months, CRP≥50 mg/L, preterm birth, malnutrition are the independent risk factors for severe hMPV-associated CAP.

pH-dependent water permeability switching and its memory in MoS2 membranes

Intelligent transport of molecular species across different barriers is critical for various biological functions and is achieved through the unique properties of biological membranes1-4. Two essential features of intelligent transport are the ability to (1) adapt to different external and internal conditions and (2) memorize the previous state5. In biological systems, the most common form of such intelligence is expressed as hysteresis6. Despite numerous advances made over previous decades on smart membranes, it remains a challenge to create a synthetic membrane with stable hysteretic behaviour for molecular transport7-11. Here we demonstrate the memory effects and stimuli-regulated transport of molecules through an intelligent, phase-changing MoS2 membrane in response to external pH. We show that water and ion permeation through 1T' MoS2 membranes follows a pH-dependent hysteresis with a permeation rate that switches by a few orders of magnitude. We establish that this phenomenon is unique to the 1T' phase of MoS2, due to the presence of surface charge and exchangeable ions on the surface. We further demonstrate the potential application of this phenomenon in autonomous wound infection monitoring and pH-dependent nanofiltration. Our work deepens understanding of the mechanism of water transport at the nanoscale and opens an avenue for the development of intelligent membranes.

A transfer predictive control method based on inter-domain mapping learning with application to industrial roasting process

As a critical variable in the roasting process, the roasting temperature has a significant influence on operating conditions. Model predictive control (MPC) provides a path to stabilize the roasting temperature. However, process data collected at different periods usually follow different distributions due to the fluctuation of feed composition for the roasting process, result in a model mismatch on online control. For this reason, a transfer predictive control method based on inter-domain mapping learning (IDML-MPC) is proposed. The proposed method first treat historical and online data as two domains. Then, a distribution mapping function from one domain to another domain is learned to make the distribution of the historical data follow that of the online data. Finally, an accurate online prediction model is built, roasting temperature control is achieved by minimizing the cost function with respect to the predicted value and the control input. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparative experiments based on a numerical example and a simulation platform of the roasting process. Experimental results compared with some state-of-the-art methods show that it is necessary to take into account the distribution differences between historical data and online data when production conditions change. The IDML-MPC improved the control performance for the roasting temperature with an average 56.98% reduction in the root mean square error.

Characterization of the microenvironment in different immune-metabolism subtypes of cervical cancer with prognostic significance

Introduction: Immune cell infiltration and metabolic reprogramming may have great impact on the tumorigenesis and progression of malignancies. The interaction between these two factors in cervical cancer remains to be clarified. Here we constructed a gene set containing immune and metabolism related genes and we applied this gene set to molecular subtyping of cervical cancer. Methods: Bulk sequencing and single-cell sequencing data were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database respectively. Immune and metabolism related genes were collected from Immport and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database respectively. Unsupervised consensus clustering was performed to identify the molecular subtypes. Cibersort was applied to evaluate the immune cells infiltration status. Differential expression analysis and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were performed to characterize the molecular pattern of different subtypes. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used for prognosis prediction model construction and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used for performance evaluation. The hub genes in the model were verified in single-cell sequencing dataset and clinical specimens. In vitro experiments were performed to validate the findings in our research. Results: Three subtypes were identified with prognostic implications. C1 subgroup was in an immunosuppressive state with activation of mitochondrial cytochrome P450 metabolism, C2 had poor immune cells infiltration and was characterized by tRNA anabolism, and the C3 subgroup was in an inflammatory state with activation of aromatic amino acid synthesis. The area under the ROC curve of the constructed model was 0.8, which showed better performance than clinical features. IMPDH1 was found to be significantly upregulated in tumor tissue and it was demonstrated that IMPDH1 could be a novel therapeutic target in vitro. Discussion: In summary, our findings suggested novel molecular subtypes of cervical cancer with distinct immunometabolic profiles and uncovered a novel therapeutic target.

Development of a laser-based angle-resolved-photoemission spectrometer with sub-micrometer spatial resolution and high-efficiency spin detection

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with sub-micrometer spatial resolution (μ-ARPES), has become a powerful tool for studying quantum materials. To achieve sub-micrometer or even nanometer-scale spatial resolution, it is important to focus the incident light beam (usually from synchrotron radiation) using x-ray optics, such as the zone plate or ellipsoidal capillary mirrors. Recently, we developed a laser-based μ-ARPES with spin-resolution (LMS-ARPES). The 177 nm laser beam is achieved by frequency-doubling a 355 nm beam using a KBBF crystal and subsequently focused using an optical lens with a focal length of about 16 mm. By characterizing the focused spot size using different methods and performing spatial-scanning photoemission measurement, we confirm the sub-micron spatial resolution of the system. Compared with the μ-ARPES facilities based on the synchrotron radiation, our LMS-ARPES system is not only more economical and convenient, but also with higher photon flux (>5 × 10¹³ photons/s), thus enabling the high-resolution and high-statistics measurements. Moreover, the system is equipped with a two-dimensional spin detector based on exchange scattering at a surface-passivated iron film grown on a W(100) substrate. We investigate the spin structure of the prototype topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ and reveal a high spin-polarization rate, confirming its spin-momentum locking property. This lab-based LMS-ARPES will be a powerful research tool for studying the local fine electronic structures of different condensed matter systems, including topological quantum materials, mesoscopic materials and structures, and phase-separated materials.

Formation and Stabilization of NiOOH by Introducing α-FeOOH in LDH: Composite Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution and Urea Oxidation Reactions

NiOOH is considered as the most active intermediate during electrochemical oxidation reaction, however, it is hard to directly synthesize due to high oxidation energy. Herein, theoretical calculations predict that α-FeOOH enables a decline in formation energy and an improvement in stabilization of NiOOH in NiFe-based layered double hydroxide (LDH). Inspiringly, a composite composed of α-FeOOH and LDH is well-designed and successfully fabricated in hydrothermal treatment by adding extra Fe³⁺ resource, and stable NiOOH is obtained by the following electro-oxidation method. Benefiting from strong electron-capturing capability of α-FeOOH, it efficiently promotes charge redistribution around the Ni/Fe sites and activates Ni atoms of LDH, verified by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and X-ray absorption spectra (XAS). The d-band center is optimized that balances the absorption and desorption energy, and thus Gibbs free energy barrier is lowered dramatically toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR), and finally showing an outstanding overpotential of 195 mV and a potential of 1.35 V at 10 mA cm^-2 , respectively. This study provides a novel strategy to construct highly efficient catalysts via the introduction of a new phase for complex multiple-electron reactions.

Comparison of first-line treatments for elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Background

The incidence of DLBCL in elderly patients has been gradually increased. Considering their comorbidities and performance status, the first-line standard treatment hasn't been determined for the elderly.

Methods

We performed a systemic review and network meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of all eligible regimens as first line treatment for elderly patients with DLBCL. We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase Library proceedings up to March 2022.

Results

Our search yielded thirteen trials including 1839 patients. R2CHOP21 showed the best PFS with a statistical difference and the most favorable OS without a statistical difference. RCOMP showed the most clinical benefits in EFS, CR and OR with no significant difference. The point estimate was in favored improved DFS with RCHOP14 than RCHOP21, although this was not statistically significant. In a subgroup analysis concerning 3-4 grade AEs revealed R-COMP was associated with a decrease in grade III/IV neutropenia and cardiac toxic events; RminiCEOP was associated with the lower rates of 3-4 grade anemia, thrombocytopenia and infection; RCHOP21 had the lowest rate of 3-4 grade AE of neurotoxicity.

Conclusion

The findings of our meta-analysis indicated that R2CHOP21 provided the best disease control in PFS and represented an optimal first-line treatment option in the elderly with DLBCL. Furthermore, RCOMP, RminiCEOP and RCHOP21 exhibited lower rates in different 3-4 grade AEs and might be reasonable treatment options in the elderly with poor general conditions.

Fullerene-Derived Porous and Defective N-Doped Carbon Nanosheets as Advanced Trifunctional Metal-Free Electrocatalysts

Dopants and defects are crucial for multifunctional carbon-based metal-free electrocatalysts, but the rational design and facile production remain as a big challenge. Herein, we report a novel strategy using salt-assisted pyrolysis of derivatized fullerenes to fabricate defect-rich and N-doped carbon nanosheets. Molecular level modification of C₆₀ via amination and hydroxylation gives rise to well-defined fullerol molecules bearing N-containing groups (FNG). Subsequent calcination of FNG and NaCl at 750 °C generates porous carbon nanosheets (FNCNs-750) and turns the N-containing groups into high-level N dopants (12.43 at.%). Further pyrolysis of FNCNs-750 at 900 °C (FNCNs-900) leads to a reduced N content populated by graphitic-N. Meanwhile, abundant intrinsic defects (e. g., topological defects and edges) are created due to the breakdown of fullerene cages and partial removal of edged N atoms. These structural features endow FNCNs-900 with outstanding trifunctional catalytic performance, better than or close to the noble metal-based benchmark catalysts.

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Comparison of Tau Imaging with 18F-MK6240 and 18F-Flortaucipir in Populations Matched for Age, MMSE and Brain Beta-Amyloid Burden

OBJECTIVES

Longitudinal tau quantification may provide a useful marker of drug efficacy in clinical trials. Different tau PET tracers may have different sensitivity to longitudinal changes, but without a head-to-head dataset or a carefully designed case-matching procedure, comparing results in different cohorts can be biased. In this study, we compared the tau PET tracers, 18F-MK6240 and 18F-flortaucipir (FTP), both cross-sectionally and longitudinally by case-matching subjects in the AIBL and ADNI longitudinal cohort studies.

METHODS

A subset of 113 participants from AIBL and 113 from ADNI imaged using 18F-MK6240 and 18F-FTP respectively, with baseline and follow-up, were matched based on baseline clinical diagnosis, MMSE, age and amyloid (Aβ) PET centiloid value. Subjects were grouped as 64 Aβ- cognitively unimpaired (CU), 22 Aβ+ CU, 14 Aβ+ mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 13 Aβ+ Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tracer retention was measured in the mesial, temporoparietal, rest of the cortex, and a meta-temporal region composed of entorhinal, inferior/middle temporal, fusiform, parahippocampus and amygdala. T-tests were employed to assess group separation at baseline using SUVR Z-scores and longitudinally using SUVR%/Yr.

RESULTS

Both tracers detected statistically significant differences at baseline in most regions between all clinical groups. Only 18F-MK6240 showed statistically significant higher rate of SUVR increase in Aβ+ CU compared to Aβ- CU in the mesial, meta-temporal and temporoparietal regions.

CONCLUSION

18F-MK6240 appears to be a more sensitive tracer for change in tau level at the preclinical stage of AD.

Two-Year Prognostic Utility of Plasma p217+tau across the Alzheimer's Continuum

BACKGROUND

Plasma p217+tau has shown high concordance with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and positron emission tomography (PET) measures of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, its association with longitudinal cognition and comparative performance to PET Aβ and tau in predicting cognitive decline are unknown.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether p217+tau can predict the rate of cognitive decline observed over two-year average follow-up and compare this to prediction based on Aβ (18F-NAV4694) and tau (18F-MK6240) PET. We also explored the sample size required to detect a 30% slowing in cognitive decline in a 2-year trial and selection test cost using p217+tau (pT+) as compared to PET Aβ (A+) and tau (T+) with and without p217+tau pre-screening.

DESIGN

A prospective observational cohort study.

SETTING

Participants of the Australian Imaging, Biomarker and Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL) and Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT).

PARTICIPANTS

153 cognitively unimpaired (CU) and 50 cognitively impaired (CI) individuals.

MEASUREMENTS

Baseline p217+tau Simoa® assay, 18F-MK6240 tau-PET and 18F-NAV4694 Aβ-PET with neuropsychological follow-up (MMSE, CDR-SB, AIBL-PACC) over 2.4 ± 0.8 years.

RESULTS

In CI, p217+tau was a significant predictor of change in MMSE (β = -0.55, p < 0.001) and CDR-SB (β =0.61, p < 0.001) with an effect size similar to Aβ Centiloid (MMSE β = -0.48, p = 0.002; CDR-SB β = 0.43, p = 0.004) and meta-temporal (MetaT) tau SUVR (MMSE: β = -0.62, p < 0.001; CDR-SB: β = 0.65, p < 0.001). In CU, only MetaT tau SUVR was significantly associated with change in AIBL-PACC (β = -0.22, p = 0.008). Screening pT+ CI participants into a trial could lead to 24% reduction in sample size compared to screening with PET for A+ and 6-13% compared to screening with PET for T+ (different regions). This would translate to an 81-83% biomarker test cost-saving assuming the p217+tau test cost one-fifth of a PET scan. In a trial requiring PET A+ or T+, p217+tau pre-screening followed by PET in those who were pT+ would cost more in the CI group, compared to 26-38% biomarker test cost-saving in the CU.

CONCLUSIONS

Substantial cost reduction can be achieved using p217+tau alone to select participants with MCI or mild dementia for a clinical trial designed to slow cognitive decline over two years, compared to participant selection by PET. In pre-clinical AD trials, p217+tau provides significant cost-saving if used as a pre-screening measure for PET A+ or T+ but in MCI/mild dementia trials this may add to cost both in testing and in the increased number of participants needed for testing.

The influence of health information attention and app usage frequency of older adults on persuasive strategies in mHealth education apps

With the development of mobile communication technology, persuasive technology is widely used in mobile health. Using personalized persuasive strategies in mobile health education (MHE) apps can effectively improve users’ health literacy and health behaviors. The transtheoretical model explains the process of user behavior change. Different usage frequency of the app reflects changes in user behavior. However, few studies have examined how the perceived importance of persuasive strategies among older adults changes with increasing use frequency. In this study, we analyzed the sensitivity of 111 older adults in China to persuasive strategies in MHE apps. Thirteen persuasive strategies were selected for this study. A repeated measure analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) was used to demonstrate the influence of gender, health information attention and frequency of use on the sensitivity of perceived persuasive strategies among older adults. The results revealed older adults with a high usage frequency of health apps were more receptive to persuasive strategies, especially in social comparison strategy. This result may help developers consider factors such as the frequency of use by older users when designing personalized persuasive strategies for MHE apps.