This paper focus on the modeling and time-domain analyzing method of piecewise-smooth fractional-order circuit systems. Firstly, an analytical framework is constructed based on a generalized piecewise-smooth two-port impedance network model, which takes the topological characteristics of Dickson type switched-capacitor converters (SCCs) as examples, and considers the fractional-order characteristics of class-2 X7R ceramic capacitors, which are widely used in SCCs. Secondly, the time-domain analyzing method for such a piecewise-smooth fractional-order circuit system is developed, numerical solutions are obtained, and the influence of the fractional-order capacitor on the power conversion efficiency of the system are revealed. Finally, in order to validate the analysis, both numerical simulation and experiments are provided in the work, the results of which confirm that, the proposed fractional-order analytical framework can capture the power loss mechanism of piecewise-smooth fractional-order circuit systems more effectively than the traditional integer-order based approach, thus benefiting the design of circuit systems.

The Omicron EG.5 lineage of SARS-CoV-2 is currently on a trajectory to become a dominant strain. This phase 2 study aims to evaluate the immunogenicity of SCTV01E-2, a tetravalent protein vaccine, with a specific emphasis on its effectiveness against Omicron EG.5, comparing it with its progenitor vaccine, SCTV01E (NCT05933512). As of September 12, 2023, 429 participants aged ≥18 years were randomized to SCTV01E (N=215) or SCTV01E-2 (N=214) groups. Both vaccines showed increases in neutralizing antibody (nAb) against Omicron EG.5, with a 5.7-fold increase and a 9.0-fold increase in SCTV01E and SCTV01E-2 groups 14 days post-vaccination, respectively. The predetermined statistical endpoints were achieved, showing that the geometric mean titer (GMT) of nAb and the seroresponse rate (SRR) against Omicron EG.5 were significantly higher in the SCTV01E-2 group compared to SCTV01E. Additionally, SCTV01E and SCTV01E-2 induced a 5.5-fold and a 5.9-fold increase of nAb against XBB.1, respectively. Reactogenicity was generally mild and transient. No vaccine related SAEs, AESIs or deaths were reported. In summary, SCTV01E-2 elicited robust neutralizing responses against Omicron EG.5 and XBB.1 without safety concerns, underlining its potential as a versatile COVID-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Biogeography research is flawed by the poor understanding of microbial distributions due to the lack of a systematic research framework, especially regarding appropriate study units. By combining pure culture and molecular methods, we studied the biogeographic patterns of nematode-trapping fungi by collecting and analysing 2,250 specimens from 228 sites in Yunnan Province, China. We found typical watershed patterns at the species and genetic levels of nematode-trapping fungi. The results showed that microbial biogeography could be better understood by 1) using watersheds as research units, 2) removing the coverup of widespread species, and 3) applying good sampling efforts and strategies. We suggest that watersheds could help unify the understanding of the biogeographic patterns of animals, plants, and microbes and may also help account for the historical and contemporary factors driving species distributions.

Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score is useful for the nutritional screening. We aimed to explore whether the CONUT score may predict a 3-month functional outcome in hemorrhagic stroke (AHS). Totally, 349 patients with incident AHS were consecutively recruited, and their malnutrition risks were determined using a high CONUT score of ≥ 2. Poor functional outcomes were defined as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≥ 3 at 3 months. A total of 328 patients (mean age, 60.4 ± 12.83 years; 66.8% male) were included, 172 (52.40%) patients at malnutrition risk and 104 (31.7%) patients with a poor prognosis. High-CONUT patients had lower total lymphocyte counts and total cholesterol levels than low-CONUT patients (p < 0.001 and p = 0.012). At 3-month post discharge, patients with malnutrition risk had higher hospitalization costs (p = 0.021), lower Barthel Index (p = 0.001), and more infectious complications (p = 0.002) than those without, and there was a greater risk for poor functional outcomes in the high-CONUT compared with the low-CONUT patients at admission (adjusted odds ratio: 2.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.28-4.17). High-CONUT scores predict a 3-month poor prognosis in AHS, which may help identify the AHS patients who need additional nutritional managements.

Surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) is one of the most versatile technique to modify the surface properties of material. Recent developed metal free SI-ATRP makes such technique more widely applicable. Herein photo-induced metal-free SI-ATRP of methacrylates, such as methyl methacrylate, N-isopropanyl acrylamide, and N,N- dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, on the surface of SBA-15 was reported to fabricate organic-inorganic hybrid materials. SBA-15 based polymeric composite with adjustable graft ratio was obtained. The structure evolution during the SI-ATRP modification of SBA-15 was monitored and verified by FT-IR, XPS, TGA, BET, and TEM. The obtained polymeric composite showed enhanced adsorption ability for the model compound toluene in aqueous. This procedure provides a low cost, ready availability, and facile modification way to synthesize the polymeric composites without the contamination of metal.

Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that lead to crop yield reduction worldwide. Melatonin (MT), an endogenous hormone synthesized in plants, plays an important role in responding to abiotic stimuli such as drought, salinity, heat, cold, etc. However, the molecular mechanisms of MT-mediated abiotic stresses remain to be better understood. In order to explore the key genes and pathways of melatonin in alleviating salt stress, physiological and biochemical indicators as well as transcriptomics profile were conducted in alfalfa seedlings. The results showed that the germination rate, bud length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings added with melatonin were higher than those treated with salt alone. In addition, Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Superoxide anion (O2-) contents also displayed a decreasing trend. The activity and content of Superoxide dismutase (SOD)、peroxidase (POD) and Glutathione (GSH) increased to varying degrees. In order to further reveal the molecular mechanism of MT-mediated salt tolerance of alfalfa, transcriptome analysis was performed on alfalfa seedlings. 2,181 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the salt-treated group, including 780 upregulated genes and 1,401 down-regulated genes, while 4,422 DEGs were obtained in the MT group, among which 1,438 were upregulated and 2,984 were downregulated. By using GO functional annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment, we found that DEGs were mainly enriched in the biosynthesis of flavonoids, isoflavones, plant hormones, Glutathione (GSH), soluble sugars and other substances, as well as in the ABC transporter and MAPK signaling pathways. Among them, the DEGs in the MT group was more enriched in these pathways, suggesting that MT can combat salt stress by regulating the expression of genes related to phytohormone and antioxidant capacity, which has important reference value for the breeding of salt-tolerant alfalfa and other crops.

physicochemical methods was effective for the degradation of organics, but was highly hampered by the salt coexist in the complex wastewater matrix, resulting in low degradation dynamics. In this study, ZnO loaded carbon nitride (Zn-CNx) was synthesized and exhibited an excellent performance for 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) degradation (0.63 mg/L/min) in photcatalysis system. The doping of Zn into CNx contributed to the increased light absorption of the catalyst and the optimized electron transport pathways. The quenching experiment results proved that the superoxide radicals (·O2-) played a dominant role and hydroxyl radical (·OH) played a secondary role. Notably, the 2,4-DCP removal increased slightly with increasing salt content. As the initial pH increased from 3 to 11, the first-order degradation kinetic constants increased significantly, and the final pH was equilibrized in the range of 6.01-6.59. This study provided a high performance catalyst for photcatalysis and the mechanism for the effective degradation of 2,4-DCP under high salinity condition.

Utilizing ecological engineering to manage pests by enhancing the biological control function of natural predators through the selection of high-efficiency bank plants and the establishment of bank plant systems within agricultural ecosystems is an optimal strategy. While bank plant systems have found widespread use in greenhouse crop cultivation, their application in rice fields remains limited. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of Leersia sayanuka as a bank plant for controlling planthoppers and to explore the potential of sesame as a complementary plant to enhance the effectiveness of the bank plant system through field trials. The findings revealed that planting a strip of L. sayanuka, at least 50 cm wide and extending over 1 m in length, had a notable impact on planthopper control in paddy fields. Moreover, the incorporation of Sesamum indicum, a nectar plant, into the bank plant system consisting of L. sayanuka, Nilaparvata muiri, and Anagrus nilaparvatae, led to a significant increase in the population of Anagrus spp. in rice fields. This increase was accompanied by a rise in the egg parasitism rate targeting rice planthoppers, resulting in a marked improvement in overall rice planthopper control in paddy fields. Thus, the combined system demonstrated efficiency as an effective bank plant system for managing rice planthoppers.

The swelling behavior of titanium-modified austenitic stainless steel 15-15Ti was investigated by pre-implantation of He at room temperature followed by Ni irradiation at 580 °C to peak doses of 120, 240 and 400 dpa. Relatively smaller cavities were observed in the zone of helium implantation while large cavities appeared in the region near the damage peak. A correction formula of the dpa curve was proposed and applied for samples with large swelling. It is found that the steady-state swelling rate of 15-15Ti keeps at ~1% /dpa even to high doses. By comparing the swelling data of the helium-implanted and helium-free regions at same doses, 70 dpa and 122 dpa, the suppression of excessive helium on swelling can be deduced at such doses.

Salt stress is a major limiting factor for alfalfa yield due to its relatively low salt tolerance. High soil salinity adversely impacts alfalfa growth and development, leading to reduced yield. Melatonin (MT) is known to play a significant role in enhancing plant resistance to abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated abiotic stress responses, particularly salt stress, are not well understood. To address this gap, we conducted a study focusing on germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress. Physiological indexes and transcriptomics analyses were carried out on the germinated seeds to investigate the effects of melatonin on alfalfa seedlings under salt stress conditions. Our results revealed that the application of melatonin led to an increase in shoot length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings under salt stress. Moreover, key physiological indexes such as peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were enhanced, while levels of malondialdehyde and superoxide anions decreased. Transcriptomic analysis identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes in the salt-treated group, with 726 up-regulated and 1,405 down-regulated genes, while the MT-treated group showed 2896 differentially expressed genes, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated. Further, KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted the enrichment of differentially expressed genes in pathways including flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolism, and the MAPK signaling pathway, with these pathways more significantly enriched in the MT-treated group. These findings collectively suggest that melatonin plays a crucial role in alfalfa's response to salt stress and offer new insights into the genomic mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated salt tolerance in alfalfa.

Berberine (BBR), as a natural isoquinoline alkaloid, has been demonstrated various pharmacological activities, and widely applied in the treatment of diseases. The quantitative analysis of BBR is important for its pharmacological researches and clinical applications. In the work, utilizing the specific interaction between BBR and triplex DNA, a sensitive and selective fluorescent detecting method was established with DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs). After binding with the triplex structure in the template of DNA-AgNCs, BBR quenched the fluorescence of DNA-AgNCs and formed BBR-triplex complex with yellow-green fluorescence. The ratiometric fluorescence signal showed a linear relationship with BBR concentration in a range between 10 nM to 1000 nM, with a detect limit of 10 nM. Our method exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity, and it was further applied in BBR detection in real samples.

This study aimed to solve the problems of sealing and tearing failure of packer’s rubber cylinders during CO2 downhole injection. Using the simulation software, Comsol, a rubber cylinder model in a supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) environment was established. The thermal analogy method was used to simulate the CO2 diffusion and rubber cylinder swelling process, thus we analyzed the deformation and stress of the rubber cylinder caused by temperature, pressure and CO2 as swelling agent. Results showed that, in the SC-CO2 environment, under the influence of CO2 diffusion and the consequent swelling, the rubber cylinder body is prone to large deformation, and the maximum shear stress is significantly increased, leading to shear failure of the rubber cylinder. The reduction of the initial seating pressure can alleviate the impact of deformation, whereas the reduction of the maximum contact pressure could cause the rubber cylinder to lose its seal. We also analyzed the change rules between various factors and the maximum contact pressure of the rubber cylinder, which provides a theoretical basis and technical support for improving the sealing performance of the packer’s rubber cylinder in the SC-CO2 environment.

High-power laser facilities necessitate predicting incremental damage to final optics to identify evolving damage trends. In this study, we propose a surface damage detection method utilizing image segmentation employing ResNet-18, and a damage area estimation network employing U-Net++. Paired sets of online and offline images of optics obtained from a large laser facility is used to train the network. The trends of varying damage could be identified by incorporating additional experimental parameters. A key advantage of the proposed method is that the network can be trained end-to-end on small samples, eliminating the need for manual labeling or feature extraction. The software developed based on these models can facilitate the daily inspection and maintenance of optics in large laser facilities.

In order to study the adsorption process and adsorption characteristics of shale oil at the macro scale, the isothermal adsorption experiments of illite and kerogen on heptadecane (oil phase) solution were carried out by infrared spectrophotometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The reaction mechanism of alkane solution concentration and temperature in the adsorption process was investigated. The adsorption characteristics of heptadecane on the surface and pores of illite and kerogen were elucidated by adsorption isotherm model and adsorption thermodynamic model. The results show that: The concentration of alkane solution contributes to the adsorption of illite and kerogen. As the concentration of the solution continues to increase, the adsorption rate gradually slows down. However, the temperature hardly affects the adsorption rate. At 25℃, 50℃ and 60℃, the adsorption process of illite on alkane solution is more consistent with Langmuir model and Freundlich model, respectively. The difference is that Langmuir model is suitable for describing the whole adsorption process of kerogen on alkane solution. 3) The adsorption process of illite and kerogen to heptadecane solution is an endothermic reaction. Heating helps to accelerate the migration rate of alkanes, which is conducive to the adsorption reaction. The research results clarify the adsorption characteristics of shale oil heavy components from the macro level, and fill the research gap in the application of solid-liquid isothermal adsorption physical experiments to the adsorption and occurrence of shale oil.

(1) Background: Heart failure (HF) is the final stage of multiple cardiac diseases, which has now become a severe public health problem worldwide. β-Adrenergic receptor (β-AR) overactivation is a major pathological factor associated with multiple cardiac diseases and mediates cardiac fibrosis and inflammation. Previous study has demonstrated that Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) mediated cardiac fibrosis by TGF-β related signal pathways, indicating that BTK was a potential drug target for cardiac fibrosis. Zanubrutinib, a second-generation BTK inhibitor, has shown anti-fibrosis effects in previous research. However, it is unclear whether Zanubrutinib can alleviate cardiac fibrosis induced by β-AR overactivation;(2) Methods: In vivo: Male C57BL/6J mice were treated with or without the β-AR agonist isoproterenol (ISO) to establish cardiac fibrosis animal model. Here, results showed that BTK inhibitor Zanubrutinib (ZB) had a great effect on cardiac fibrosis and inflammation induced by β-AR. In vitro: Results showed that ZB alleviated β-AR-induced cardiac fibroblast activation and macrophage proinflammatory cytokine production. Further mechanism studies demonstrated that ZB inhibited β-AR-induced cardiac fibrosis and inflammation by BTK、STAT3、NF-κB and PI3K/Akt signal pathways both in vivo and in vitro; (4) Conclusions: our research provides evidence that ZB ameliorates β-AR-induced cardiac fibrosis and inflammation.

Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) is a plant virus explored as a nanotechnological platform. The robust self-assembly mechanism of its capsid protein allows for drug encapsulation and targeted delivery. Additionally, the capsid nanoparticle can be used as a programmable platform to display different molecular moieties. In view of future applications, efficient production and purification of plant viruses is a key step. In established protocols, the need for ultracentrifugation is a significant limitation due to cost, difficult scalability, and safety issues. In addition, the purity of the final virus isolate often remains unclear. Here, an advanced protocol for the purification of CCMV from infected plant tissue was developed, focusing on efficiency, economy, and final purity. The protocol involves precipitation with PEG 8000, followed by an affinity extraction using a novel peptide aptamer. The efficiency of the protocol was validated using size exclusion chromatography, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, reversed-phase HPLC, and sandwich immunoassay. It was demonstrated that the final eluate of the affinity column is of exceptional purity (98.4%) determined by HPLC and detection at 220 nm. The scale-up of our proposed method seems to be straightforward, which opens the way to the large-scale production of such nanomaterials. This highly improved protocol may facilitate the use and implementation of plant viruses as nanotechnological platforms for in vitro and in vivo applications.

The study comprehensively evaluated the prognostic roles of PLR, NLR, MLR, BLR, and ELR in patients with acute exacerbation chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). 619 patients with AECOPD and 300 healthy volunteers were retrospectively included into the study. The clinical characteristics containing laboratory findings of the AECOPD patients and the blood cell counts (CBCs) of the healthy volunteers were collected. Compared with the healthy volunteers, PLR, NLR, and MLR were elevated in COPD patients in stable condition, and were further ele-vated during exacerbation. ELR showed the opposite trend. PLR, NLR, and MLR were all posi-tively correlated with hospital LOS as well as CRP. In contrast, ELR was negatively correlated with hospital LOS as well as CRP. Elevated PLR, NLR, and MLR were all associated with more serious airflow limitation in AECOPD. Elevated PLR, NLR, and MLR were all associated with increased in-hospital mortality while Elevated ELR was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality in AECOPD. A nomogram was construct to predict in-hospital mortality in AECOPD. The nomo-gram had a C-index of 0.850 (95% CI: 0.799 – 0.901) with good predictive value and clinical ap-plicability. In summary, PLR, NLR, MLR, and ELR served as predictors for clinical outcomes in patients with AECOPD.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the major intermediate filament III protein of astroglia cells which is upregulated in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Here we reported that GFAP is truncated at both the C- and N-terminals by cytosolic protease calpain to GFAP breakdown products (GBDP) of 46-40K then 38K following pro-necrotic (A23187) and pro-apoptotic (staurosporine) challenges to primary cultured astroglia or neuron-glia mixed cells. In addition, with another pro-apoptotic challenge (EDTA) where caspases are activated but not calpain, GFAP was fragmented internally, generating a C-terminal GBDP of 20 kDa. Following controlled cortical impact in mice, GBDP of 46-40K and 38K were formed from day 3 to 28 post-injury. Purified GFAP protein treated with calpain-1 and -2 generates (i) major N-terminal cleavage sites between A-56 and A-75, and (ii) major C-terminal cleavage sites between T-383 and Q-388, producing a limit fragment of 38K. Caspase-6 treated GFAP was cleaved at D-78, R-79, D-266 and A-267, where GFAP was relatively resistant to caspase-3. We also derived a GBDP-38K N-terminal-specific antibody which only labels injured astroglia cell body in both cultured astroglia and mouse cortex and hippocampus after TBI. As a clinical translation, we observed that CSF samples collected from severe human TBI have elevated levels of GBDP-38K as well as two C-terminally released GFAP peptides (DGEVIKES and DGEVIKE). Thus, in addition to intact GFAP, both the GBDP-38K as well as unique GFAP released C-terminal proteolytic peptides species might have the potential in tracking brain injury progression.

Cadmium accumulation in rice grain poses a serious threat to people’s health. Understanding the genetic basis on grain cadmium accumulation facilitates efforts to reduce it. Here, we show that OsCd1 is involved in Cd uptake and contributes to grain accumulation in rice. Natural variation in OsCd1 with a missense mutation Val449Asp is responsible for the divergence of rice grain cadmium accumulation between japonica and indica. Notably, near-isogenic line tests confirmed that the indica variety carrying the OsCd1^V449 allele could reduce the grain cadmium accumulation. The favorable allele OsCd1^V449 may be an important genetic resource to reduce grain cadmium accumulation for indica.

(1) Background: Emotional resilience is defined as the capacity of individuals to cultivate positive emotions and effectively navigate through negative emotions in terms of stress or adversity. Recent research has focused on the significant impact of adolescents’ negative emotions, as opposed to positive emotions, on mental health. The examination of positive emotion provides a distinct viewpoint on the relationship between emotional resilience and mental health in adolescents. Consequently, the current research conducted two separate investigations to examine the impact of adolescent emotional resilience on mental health, as well as the mediating influence of positive emotion. (2) Methods: Study 1 comprised a cross-sectional analysis of 3086 Chinese adolescents, while Study 2 involved a longitudinal examination of 266 Chinese adolescents. (3) Results: Results indicated that emotional resilience was associated with enhanced levels of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and overall mental health, while also demonstrating a negative correlation with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Positive emotions were found to have a partial mediating effect on the relationship between emotional resilience and mental health. These results indicate that emotional resilience not only has a direct impact on mental health but also influences mental health indirectly through positive emotions. (4) Conclusions: The findings highlighted the role of emotional resilience in mitigating psychological problems and enhancing mental health in Chinese adolescents. The implications and limitations were discussed.

Agaricus bisporus is one of the most popular mushroom species in the world; however, mushrooms are highly susceptible to browning due to the absence of a protective cuticle layer and high respiration rate. The molecular mechanism underlying the process of mushroom browningneeds to be explored. Here, we analyzed the transcriptomic and metabolomic data from A. bisporusat ambient temperature. Specifically, a total of 263 significantly changed metabolites and 4492 differentially expressed genes were identified. Lipid metabolites associated with cell membrane degradation were predominantly up-regulated during ambient storage. Transcriptomic data further revealed the alterations of the expression of membrane lipid metabolism-related enzymes. Additionally, energy metabolic processes and products such as glycolysis and linoleic acid changed significantly during ambient storage, indicating their potential roles in the quality deterioration of A. bisporus. These findings provide new insights into the underlyingl ipidmetabolic mechanism of A. bisporus during postharvest ambient storage and will provide values for mushroom preservation techniques.

This paper presents an optimized energy management strategy for Li-ion power batteries used on electric vehicles (EVs) at low temperatures. Under low-temperature environments, EVs suffer a sharp driving range loss resulted from the energy and power capability reduction of the battery. Simultaneously, because of Li plating, battery degradation becomes an increasing concern as temperature drops. All these factors could greatly increase the total vehicle operation cost. Prior to battery charging and vehicle operating, preheating battery to a battery-friendly temperature is an approach to promote energy utilization and reduce total cost. Based on the proposed LiFePO4 battery model, the total vehicle operation cost under certain driving cycles is quantified in the present paper. Then given a certain ambient temperature, a target temperature of preheating is optimized under the principle of minimizing total cost. As for the preheating method, a liquid heating system is also implemented on an electric bus. Simulation results show that the preheating process becomes increasingly necessary with a decreasing ambient temperature; however, the preheating demand declines as driving range grows. Vehicle tests verify that the preheating management strategy proposed in this paper is able to save total vehicle operation cost.

Fusarium wilt (FW) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cucumerinum (Foc) of cucumber is a destructive soil-borne disease in cucumber (Cucumis sativus.L). There is limited knowledge on molecular mechanisms to FW resistance-mediated defense responses in cucumber. In this study, metabolome and transcriptome profiling were carried out in two FW, resistant (NR) and susceptible (NS), near isogenic lines (NILs) before and after Foc inoculation. The NILs showed consistent and stable FW resistances in multiple greenhouse and laboratory screening tests. Widely targeted metabolomic analysis identified differentially accumulated metabolites (DMAs) with significantly more accumulation in NR in response to Foc infection including many phenolic acid and flavonoid compounds from the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Transcriptome analysis identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the NILs upon Foc inoculation including genes for secondary metabolite biosynthesis in or transcription factor genes regulating the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Joint analysis of the metabolomic and transcriptomic data identified DAMs and DEGs closely associated with biosynthesis of phenolic acid and flavonoid DAMs. The association of these compounds with NR-conferred FW resistance was exemplified by in vivo assays in which two phenolic acid compounds, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diisooctyl phthalate, and the flavonoid compound gallocatechin 3-O-gallate were shown to have significant inhibitory effect on Foc growth. The antifungal effect of three compounds seems to be a novel finding. We conclude that phenolic acids and flavonoids play an important role in NR mediated FW resistance in cucumber.

In order to improve contrast and restore color for underwater image captured by camera sensors without suffering from insufficient details and color cast, a fusion algorithm for image enhancement in different color spaces based on contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) is proposed in this article. The original color image is first converted from RGB color space to two different special color spaces: YIQ and HSI. The color space conversion from RGB to YIQ is a linear transformation, while the RGB to HSI conversion is nonlinear. Then, the algorithm separately operates CLAHE in YIQ and HSI color spaces to obtain two different enhancement images. The luminance component (Y) in the YIQ color space and the intensity component (I) in the HSI color space are enhanced with CLAHE algorithm. The CLAHE has two key parameters: Block Size and Clip Limit, which mainly control the quality of CLAHE enhancement image. After that, the YIQ and HSI enhancement images are respectively converted backward to RGB color. When the three components of red, green, and blue are not coherent in the YIQ-RGB or HSI-RGB images, the three components will have to be harmonized with the CLAHE algorithm in RGB space. Finally, with 4 direction Sobel edge detector in the bounded general logarithm ratio operation, a self-adaptive weight selection nonlinear image enhancement is carried out to fuse YIQ-RGB and HSI-RGB images together to achieve the final fused image. The enhancement fusion algorithm has two key factors: average of Sobel edge detector and fusion coefficient, and these two factors determine the effects of enhancement fusion algorithm. A series of evaluate metrics such as mean, contrast, entropy, colorfulness metric (CM), mean square error (MSE) and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) are used to assess the proposed enhancement algorithm. The experiments results showed that the proposed algorithm provides more detail enhancement and higher values of colorfulness restoration as compared to other existing image enhancement algorithms. The proposed algorithm can suppress effectively noise interference, improve the image quality for underwater image availably.

The advancement in science and technology has led to luffa sponge (LS) being widely used as a natural material in industrial application as its polyporous structure and light texture. In order to enhance the utility of LS fibers as the reinforcement of lightweight composite materials, this study investigate its water absorption, mechanical properties, anatomical characteristic and thermal performance. Hence, moisture regain, tensile properties of LS fiber bundles were measured in accordance with standards and the structural characteristics were investigated via microscopic observation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology and fracture surface of fiber bundles. Test results shows that the special structure where the phloem tissues degenerate to cavities had a significant influence on the mechanical properties of LS fiber bundles. Additionally, the transverse sectional area occupied by fibers in a fiber bundle (SF), wall thickness and ratio of wall to lumen of fiber cell, and crystallinity of cellulose had an impact on the mechanical properties of LS fiber bundles. Furthermore, the fiber bundles density of LS varies range of 385.46-468.70 kg/m³, much less than that of jute (1360.40 kg/m³) and Arenga engleri (950.20 kg/m³) while LS fiber bundles has superior specific modulus.

The key links of face recognition are digital image preprocessing, facial feature extraction and pattern recognition, this article aimed at the current problem of slow speed and low recognition accuracy of face recognition , from the above three key links, on the basic of analyzing the therories of Fractional Differential Masks Operator (FDMO), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), design a kind of FDMO+PVA+SVM coupling algorithm that applies to face recognition to improve the speed and accuracy of it. To realize FDMO+PCA+SVM coupling algorithm, first, we should apply FDMO to face image processing binary marginalization, the purpose is getting face contour; Then, we apply PCA to get the feature of face image which is disposed by binary marainalization. At last, we can apply One-Against All of the SVM classifier and LibSVM software package to realize face recognition. Beside, the article with nine different coupling algorithm design four groups of experimental reaults on the ORL face database verified by comparative analysic FDMO+PCA+SVM coupling algorithm in the superiority of face recognition accuracy and speed.

Exposure to malachite green (MG) may pose great health risks to humans, thus it is of prime importance to develop fast and robust methods to quantitatively screen the presence malachite green in environment. Herein application of extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) has been extended to the trace detection of MG within lake water and aquiculture water, due to the intensive use of MG as biocide in fisheries. This method has the advantage of obviating offline liquid-liquid extraction or tedious matrix separation prior to the measurement of malachite green in native aqueous medium. The experimental results indicate that the extrapolated detection limit for MG was ~3.8 ug L-1 (S/N=3) in lake water samples and ~ 0.5 ug L-1 in ultrapure water under optimized experimental conditions. The signal intensity of MG showed good linearity over the concentration range of 10–5000 ug L-1. Measurement of practical water samples fortified with MG at 0.01 and 0.1 mg L-1 gave a good validation of the established calibration curve. The average recoveries of malachite green in lake water and Carassius carassius fish farm effluent water were 114.9% (6.6% RSD) and 85.4% (9.2% RSD), respectively. Overall, the established EESI-MS/MS method has been demonstrated suitable for sensitive and rapid (<2 min per sample) quantitative detection of malachite green in various aqueous media, indicating its potential for online real-time monitoring of real life samples.

Background: Capsaicinoid are a group of compounds and widely used in the food, medical, and pharmaceutical industries. Capsaicinoid are unique synthesized and accumulated in the pepper fruits. MeJA can enhance the capsaicinoid production. Temporal and spatial expression of capsaicinoid biosynthetic genes are helpful to understand the molecular mechnism of capsaicinoid biosynthesis in the fruits of pepper. Although some of the capsaicinoid biosynthetic genes in pepper have been identified, the expression of these genes at different developing stages of fruit has not been systemically investigated, and little is known about the molecular basis of MeJA inducing capsaicinoid biosynthesis. Results: HPLC study revealed that the capsaicinoid accumulation in the developing fruit of pepper initially appeared at 24 DAP (day after pollination), was actively development at 36 DAP and peaked at 48 DAP. 11 genes that encoded enzymes involved in capsaicinoid biosynthesis were isolated and characterized. Gene expression with quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated that the CaCS was unique expressed in placenta and the other 10 genes were expressed in all selected tissues and 9 of 11 genes (except CaCa4H and CaCa3H) were strongly expressed in placenta tissue. Spatial expression analysis demostrated that the 11 gene could be collectively grouped into four categories based on the patterns of relative expression of the genes during fruit development. Category I has 2 and they displayed a bell-shaped expression pattern with the peak expression at 24 DAP, Category II contains 5 genes and expression of the 5 genes was constantly increased from 0 to 36 DAP and peaked at 36 DAP. Category III comprises of 2 genes and both genes reached the peak at 48 DAP. Category IV consists of 2 genes and they showed a high expression at 36 and 48 DAF, but unexpressed from 0 to 12 DAP. The gene expressions of the 11 genes were up-regulated by MeJA. 3 genes showed a high expression at 24 h; 4 genes reached the peak at 12 h; the top expression were observed at 18 h; The last one, CaACYase, achieved the highest level at 8 h. Conclusion: The biosynthesis of capsaicinoid in pepper fruit is developmentally regulated. The expression of the majority of capsaicinoid biosynthetic genes is highly consistent with the development accumulation of capsaicinoid in pepper fruit. These results not only provide the initial information on spatial and temporal expression of capsaicinoid biosynthetic genes in pepper developing fruit, but are also valuable to identify the MeJA-induced genes for capsaicinoid biosynthesis and accumulation during pepper fruit development.

Most of the mid-high permeability sandstone oilfields in China have entered the ultra-high water cut stage, accompanied with the highly-dispersed residual oil, and the control effect of mi-cro-heterogeneity on the residual oil is increasingly prominent. Understanding the microscopic characteristics of pore structural and its evolution during the long-term waterflooding is critical for enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of oil field exploitation. While the previous insights paid more attention to the geometrical and morphological features of pore structure and ignores the relation of pore structure with the fluid flow capacity. In this study, we propose a microscopic pore structure classification method considering pore size and local permeable capacity, which realizes the physical classification and quantitative evaluation of pore structure characteristics for different permeability rocks. The micro-pore structure is classified into 6 types based on the key evaluation parameters of pore diameter and flow flux area. By taking six mid-high permea-bility sandstone core samples from Daqing oilfield in China, a series of long-term waterflooding experiments are carried out and the interior pore structure was captured using high precision CT scanning technique. The results reveals that high-permeability reservoirs exhibit concentrated pores diameters and finer throats, whereas mid-permeability reservoirs exhibit smaller pores and throats in greater quantity. With the increase of water injection volumes, the permeable ca-pacity and connectivity of the high-connectivity pore space in ultra-high- and high-permeability reservoirs are enhanced, and in mid-permeability reservoirs, the micro-heterogeneity intensifies the increase in low-connectivity small pores. These findings provide new insights for the micro-scopic heterogeneity and a solid theoretical basis for investigating the occurrence of microscopic residual oil and optimising enhanced oil recovery strategies at the late stage of ultra-high water cut.

Vaccine antigens must present the correct conformation of viral fusion glycoproteins to elicit effective immune responses. Virus-like particles (VLPs) serve as promising vaccine platforms because they mimic the membrane-embedded conformations of fusion glycoproteins on native viruses. Here, we employed SARS-CoV-2 VLPs (SMEN) presenting ancestral, Beta, or Omicron spikes to identify the variant that elicits potent and cross-protective immune responses in the highly sensitive K18-hACE2 mouse model. A combined intranasal and intramuscular administration regimen of the SMEN vaccine generated effective immune responses and was predominantly mediated by antibodies with minor contributions from T cells. Immunization with SMEN presenting an ancestral spike resulted in 100, 75, or 0% protection against ancestral, Delta or Beta VOC-induced mortality, respectively, whereas SMEN presenting the most divergent Omicron spike provided only limited protection (50%, 0%, and 25%) against ancestral, Delta, and Beta variants, respectively. By contrast, SMEN with a Beta spike offered 100% protection against the variants used in this study. Thus, the Beta variant not only overcame the immunity produced by other variants, but also elicited diverse and effective immune response. Our findings suggest that leveraging the Beta variant spike protein can enhance SARS-CoV-2 immunity, potentially leading to a more comprehensive vaccine against emerging variants.

Inducer of C-Repeat Binding Factor (CBF) expression (ICE), a well-known MYC-type bHLH transcription factor, plays a crucial role in the ICE-CBF-cold regulated (COR) cold signaling pathway. Brassica rapa (B. rapa), an important oilseed and vegetable crop, exhibits strong chilling and freezing tolerance. However, the exact molecular mechanisms by which ICE1 functions in B. rapa remain unclear. Here, 41 ICE1 homologous genes were identified from six widely cultivated Brassica species using a bioinformatics approach. These genes exhibit high conservation but reveal evolutionary complexity between diploid and allotetraploid species. Low-temperature stress induced ICE1 homolog expression, with patterns differing between strong and weak cold-tolerant varieties. Two novel ICE1 paralogs, BrICE1 and BrICE2, were cloned from Longyou 6. They positively regulate cold tolerance in B. rapa via a CBF-dependent pathway, contributing to reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenfging and osmotic adjustment. Immunoblot analysis revealed that low temperatures induce BrICE1 and BrICE2 degradation via the 26S-proteasome pathway. In summary, ICE1 exhibits complex evolutionary relationships in Brassica species. BrICE1 and BrICE2 positively regulate cold tolerance via the CBF-dependent pathway and ROS scavenging mechanism and are also responsible for balancing the development and cold defense of B. rapa.

Advancements in DNA methods and biotechnology have enabled forensic scientists to explore the DNA evidence found as part of a criminal investigation on a much more comprehensive and predictive level. This has led to a rise in research into DNA intelligence tools such as phenotypic prediction (i.e., eye and hair colour) and inference of biogeographical ancestry. Both of which can be applied to gain further insights about a scene or sample in question. Although microorganisms have played a role in forensics for decades, investigations were focused on the pathogenicity aspect, mainly to determine the cause and time of death. Recent progress in studying the human microbiome has implicated the potential use of this data in forensics. Since each individual, place, or item has its own microbial pattern, a new suite of tools are now available to be exploited in criminal investigations. Although there is much interest and potential for these emerging metagenomic and microbial forensic tools, best practices and reference ranges need to be established before they are implemented. Here, we discuss existing DNA intelligence tools applied to forensic science, the application of microbial forensics and metagenomics along with the challenges and concerns that future developments entail.

Biomass materials have received attention for energy storagebecaused of the advantage of low-cost, easy-to-prepare, and eco-friendliness. Three-dimensional carbon materialswith abundant pore structure gradually becomeresearch hotspot in high-performance energy storage. In this study, an easy-to-prepare, green, light and elastic activated carbon was present using the biomass Juncus effusus (JCE) via high-temperature pyrolysis, followed by activation in air. Compared with previously reported bio-carbons, the proposed air-activated bio-carbon contributes in the fabrication of pores to preserve the interconnected, reticular and tubular structure. Moreover, the interconnected porous material also inherits the excellent tenacity of the original JCE such as the material can be bended to below 90^o under an external force while maintaining structural integrity. The activated porous carbon material exhibits an enhanced electric double-layer capacitance (~210 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1), with capacitance retention of ~78.62% at 10 A g^-1. The interconnected porous carbon microtubes electrode as a double-layer symmetric capacitor exhibits considerable capacitance retention (84%) after 2000 cycles at 1 A g^-1. The improved energy storage performance was proposed to be attributed to the shortened ionic diffusion distance and sufficient contact between the interface of the carbon electrode and electrolyte, which is resulted from the elastic, undamaged structure and types of pores. These results demonstrated that as-preparedcarbon materials have potentional application in symmetric capacitors.

To screen and validate immunosuppressive factors in luminal- and basal-like breast cancer cell lines and tissue samples associated with malignant phenotypes. The mRNA microarray datasets, GSE40057 and GSE1561, were downloaded and remodelled. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Enrichment analyses performed and the online resources, GOBO and Kaplan-Meier Plotter, were employed to screen for immunosuppressive factors associated with breast cancer malignant phenotypes. qRT-PCR and western blot were used to validate the expression of CD274 and IL8 in cell lines and immunohistochemical detected the MIF and VEGFA on tissue microarrays. The results showed that CD274 and IL8 were both upregulated in basal-like cell lines. That MIF expression was dramatically increased in patients with breast cancer metastases (p<0.05) and that VEGFA expression positively correlates with breast cancer pathologic grade (p<0.05).During the formation and development of breast cancer, immune-related genes are always activated, and immunosuppressive factors CD274, IL8, MIF and VEGFA are upregulated. Such molecules could be used as biomarkers for breast cancer prognosis. However, because individual immune-related factors can play several biological roles, the mechanistic relationship between immunosuppressive factors and breast cancer malignant phenotypes and the feasibility of their application as drug targets require further investigation.

Arabinoxylans (AXs) are non-starch polysaccharides with complex structures naturally occurring in grains (i.e., barley, corn, and others) providing many health benefits, especially as prebiotics. AXs can be classified as water-extractable (WEAX) and water-unextractable (WUAX) based on their solubility, with properties influenced by grain sources and extraction methods. A large body of evidence shows that AXs exert an im-portant health impact, including glucose and lipid metabolism regulation and immune system enhancement, which is induced by the interactions between AXs and the gut microbiota. Recent research underscores the dependence of AX physiological effects on structure, advocating for a deeper understanding of struc-ture-activity relationships. While systematic studies on WEAX are prevalent, knowledge gaps persist re-garding WUAX, despite its higher grain abundance. Thus, this review reports recent data on WUAX struc-tural properties (chemical structure, branching, MW) in cereals under different treatments. It discusses WUAX applications in baking and its benefits deriving from gut fermentation.

The Double U-pipe ground heat exchanger, recognized for its straightforward process, cost-effectiveness, high heat exchange efficiency, and low thermal resistance, stands as the predominant ground heat exchanger type in today's shallow geothermal energy development and utilization. Recent years have seen significant research into the heat transfer influencing factors and heat exchange performance of Double U-pipe ground heat ex-changers via experimental testing methods. Yet, studies integrating numerical simulation with in-situ testing have been less frequent. Drawing on the cylindrical heat source model theory and the outcomes of regional in-situ thermal response tests, this paper develops a Double U-pipe ground heat transfer model by establishing physical, mathematical, and heat transfer geometric models. It assesses the impact of varying inlet temperatures, flow rates, and initial ground temperatures on heat exchange efficiency under heating conditions. The results validate the precision of the double U-pipe ground heat exchanger model based on in-situ testing. They show that enhancing the temperature differential between the inlet and initial temperatures, elevating the initial ground temperature, and moderately increasing the flow rate can boost the system's heat exchange efficiency.

Cloud-induced atmospheric extinction and occlusion have a major effect on the effectiveness and quality of telescope observations. Real-time cloud cover distribution and long-term statistical data are essential for astronomical siting and telescope operations. At ground-based astronomical telescope sites, cloud cover distribution is currently analyzed using manual observation methods. However, the main disadvantages of manual observation methods are human subjective, heavy workloads and poor real-time performance. Therefore, a real-time automatic cloud images classification method is desperately needed. This paper presents a new cloud identification method, which is named PSO+XGBoost model by combining eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The entire cloud image is divided into 37 sub-regions in order to more precisely identify the distribution of the clouds. 19 features are then extracted, including the sky background, star density, lighting conditions, and subregion grayscale values. The experimental results have shown that the overall classification accuracy of 96.91% and our model is able to outperform several state-of-the-art baseline methods. Our approach achieves high accuracy in comparison with the manual observation methods. Moreover, this method meets telescope real-time scheduling requirements.

In order to investigate the size distributions and seasonal variations of carbonaceous aerosols (OC and EC), the carbonaceous species were collected and then analyzed by using a 9-stage Anderson-type aerosol sampler and DRI Model 2001A Thermal/Optical Carbon Analyzer on the typical industrial city Nanjing in Yangtze River Delta, China in the summer, autumn and winter of 2013 and spring of 2014. OC, EC, SOC and POC exhibited obvious seasonal variations, with the highest level in winter (39.1±14.0, 5.7±2.1, 23.6±11.7 and 14.1±5.7 μg•m^-3) and the lowest level in summer (20.6±6.7, 3.3±2.0, 12.2±3.8 and 8.4±4.1 μg•m^-3), and were mainly centralized in PM_1.1 in four seasons. The concentrations of OC in PM_1.1 varied in the order of winter > autumn > spring > summer, while EC ranked in the order of autumn > winter > summer > spring. In the PM_1.1-2.1 and PM_2.1-10, the concentrations of OC and EC decreased in the sequence of winter > spring > autumn > summer. The size spectra of OC, EC and SOC had bimodal distributions in four seasons, except for EC with four peaks in summer. The size spectra of POC varied greatly with seasons, exhibiting bimodal distribution in winter, trimodal distribution in spring and summer, and four peaks in autumn. The OC/EC ratios were 7.0, 6.3, 7.6 and 6.9 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively, which demonstrated the abundance of secondary organic aerosols in Nanjing. The sources of carbonaceous aerosol varied significantly with seasons, and were dominated by vehicle exhaust, coal and biomass burning in PM_2.1, and dominant by dust, coal and biomass burning in PM_2.1-10.

To better understand the shape memory materials and self-healing materials, a new series of liquid-crystalline shape memory polyurethane (LC-SMPU) composites, named SMPU-OOBAm, were successfully prepared by incorporating 4-octyldecyloxybenzoic acid (OOBA) into the PEG-based SMPU. The effect of OOBA on the structure, morphology and properties has been carefully investigated. The results demonstrate that SMPU-OOBAm have liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties. The incorporated OOBA promotes the crystallizability of both soft and hard segments of SMPU, and the crystallization rate of the hard segment of SMPU decreases when the OOBA-content increases. Additionally, the SMPU-OOBAm forms a two-phase separated structure (SMPU phase and OOBA phase), and it shows two-step modulus changes upon heating. Therefore, the SMPU-OOBAm shows triple-shape memory behavior, and the shape recovery ratio decreases with an increase in the OOBA content. Finally, SMPU-OOBAm shows self-healing properties. The new mechanism can be ascribed to the heating-induced “bleeding” of OOBA in the liquid crystalline state and the subsequent re-crystallization upon cooling. This successful combination of liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties make the SMPU-OOBAm composites with many promise applications in smart optical devices, smart electronic devices and smart sensors.

Two new dimacrolide sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids (DMSPAs), dimacroregelines A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the stems of Tripterygium regelii. The structures of both compounds were characterized by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, as well as HRESIMS data. Compounds 1 and 2 are two rare DMSPAs possessing unique 2-(3′-carboxybutyl)-3-furanoic acid units forming the second macrocyclic ring, representing the first example of DMSPAs bearing an extra furan ring in their second macrocyclic ring system. Compound 2 showed inhibitory effects on the proliferation of human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast cell (MH7A) at a concentration of 20 μM.

Superior fiber quality is one of the most important objectives in cotton breeding. To detect the genetic basis underlying fiber quality, an F2 population containing 413 plants was constructed by crossing Jifeng 914 and Jifeng 173, both of which have superior fiber quality, with Jifeng 173 being better. Five fiber quality traits were investigated in the F2, F2:3, F2:4, and F2:5 populations. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was conducted based on a high-density genetic map containing 11,488 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and spanning 4,202.12 cM in length. Transgressive segregation patterns and complex correlations in the five tested traits were observed. A total of 108 QTLs were found, including 27 for fiber length (FL), 16 for fiber strength (FS), 24 for micronaire (MC), 17 for fiber uniformity (FU), and 24 for fiber elongation rate (FE). Chromosome A7 contained 12 QTL, ranking the first. No QTL was found on chromosome D1 and D11. Each QTL contributed 1.98%–21.45% to the phenotypic variation (PV), including 13 major effect QTLs that contributed more than 10% toward PV. Two QTLs could be repeatedly detected in three populations, including qFL-D3-2 in F2, F2:4, and F2:5 with 9.18%–21.45% of PV, qFS-A11-1 in F2:3, F2:4 and F2:5 with 6.05%–10.41% of PV. Another seven stable QTLs could be detected in two populations, including four major effect QTLs: qFL-A12-3, qFS-D10-2, qMC-D6-2, and qMC-D8-1. Fourteen QTL-overlapping regions were found, which might explain the complex correlations among the five phenotypic traits. Four regions on chromosome A11, D3, D6, and D10 covered by both stable and major effect QTLs are promising for further fine mapping. The genomic regions of the two QTLs detected in three populations and the four major effect QTLs contain 810 genes. Gene functional analysis revealed that the annotated genes are mainly involved in protein binding and metabolic pathways. Fifteen candidate genes in the qFL-D3-2 region are highly expressed in fiber or ovules during fiber initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall thickening, or maturation stages. qRT-PCR revealed that Ghir_D03G005440.1 and Ghir_D03G011310.1 may play a role in promoting fiber initiation, Ghir_D03G006470.1 may be beneficial for promoting fiber elongation. This study provides more information for revealing the molecular genetic basis underlying cotton fiber quality.

Silver ion (Ag+) are recognized for their potent antibacterial properties; however, their utilization in food preservation is restricted by factors such as inadequate stability, a transient antibacterial impact, and the potential for human absorption. Hydrogel-based antibacterial agents are capable of exerting their antibacterial effects by establishing appropriate microenvironments, which facilitate the efficient delivery of antimicrobial molecules to the contaminated regions of food. In previous studies, we observed that chitosan (CS) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) were able to reduce Ag+ to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with enhanced antibacterial properties. This not only significantly extended the stability of the antibacterial agent but also demonstrated exceptional inhibitory capabilities against pathogenic bacteria, including common grape contaminants such as P. expansum, A. niger, and B. cinerea. Utilizing ultrasound-induced complexation technology, this study has successfully synthesized a chitosan-silver (CS-AgNPs) hydrogel. The efficacy of this hydrogel against the pathogenic fungus responsible for jujube black spot disease has been thoroughly investigated. The morphology structures of CS-AgNPs hydrogels were characterized by TEM, FTIR and UV-vis. The results indicated that AgNPs ranging from 80 to 110 nm were uniformly dispersed within the gel matrix and remained stable for extended periods at room temperature. In vitro antibacterial assays and fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) studies revealed that the pronounced antibacterial efficacy of the CS-AgNPs hydrogel was primarily attributed to the additive antibacterial effect of CS and AgNPs. These insights underscore the significant potential of CS-AgNPs hydrogels in combating fungal diseases of jujube, offering innovative strategies and materials for the management of agricultural pathogens.

Oral cancer represents a significant global public health challenge, contributing substantially to cancer incidence and mortality. Despite established risk factors such as tobacco use and alcohol consumption, early detection remains crucial for effective treatment. This study introduces a novel approach using a transistor-based biosensor system for detecting the P90 (CIP2A) protein. We have tested the presence of CIP2A in human leukoplakia samples that can rise into oral squamous cell carcinoma. The method employs commercially available glucose test strips functionalized with P90 antibodies, providing high sensitivity and a low limit of detection, which is five orders lower than commercial ELISA kits. A specially designed printed circuit board (PCB) facilitates accurate measurements, and the device's performance is optimized through characteristic tests. Human sample testing validates the biosensor's effectiveness in distinguishing samples after cell lysis. This study contributes to advancing accurate and cost-effective diagnostic approaches for oral pre-cancer and cancer tissues.

The invasion of ship domain stands out as a significant factor contributing to the risk of collisions during vessel navigation. However, there is a lack of research on the mechanisms underlying collision risks specifically related to merchant and fishing vessels in coastal waters. This study proposes an assessment method for collision risks between merchant and fishing vessels in coastal waters and validated through a comparative analysis through visualization. First of all, the operational status of fishing vessels is identified. Collaboratively working fishing vessels are treated as a unified entity, expanding their ship domain during operation to assess collision risks. Secondly, to quantify the collision risk between ships, a collision risk index (CRI) is proposed and visualized based on the severity of collision risk. Finally, taking the high risk area of merchant and fishing vessels collision in the Minjiang River Estuary as an example, this paper conduct the analysis involves classifying ship collision scenarios, extracting risk data under different collision scenarios, and visually analyzing areas prone to danger. The results indicate that this method effectively evaluates the severity of collision risk, and the identified high-risk areas resulting from the analysis is verified by accidents occurred in the recent three years.

This study aims to investigate the interfacial tension, emulsion stability, and the impact on oil displacement effectiveness of mixed systems containing nonionic surfactants and amphoteric surfactants at different ratios. To achieve this, three different emulsion stability formulations were prepared by mixing betaine and nonionic surfactants in ratios of 1:1, 3:2, and 3:1 respectively. By adjusting the proportions of betaine and nonionic surfactants, variations in interfacial tension and emulsion formation among the three mixed systems were studied to analyze the mechanism of interaction between betaine and nonionic surfactants and evaluate their effects on crude oil displacement and enhanced oil recovery in reservoirs. Subsequently, microscopic and macroscopic oil displacement experiments were conducted on the three mixed systems, along with experiments on emulsion flow resistance. The aim was to verify the oil displacement effectiveness of different mixed systems and further understand their potential applications in reservoirs. By comprehensively analyzing the experimental results, optimal ratios and conditions for the mixed systems were determined. The experimental results indicate that the emulsification system formed by mixing betaine and nonionic surfactants at a ratio of 3:1 achieves molecular synergies through electrostatic interactions and mixed adsorption with betaine, resulting in a compact arrangement of interface membranes and demonstrating a synergistic effect in reducing interfacial tension to an ultra-low value of 10 -4 mN/m. Additionally, as the proportion of betaine surfactant increases, the viscosity of the aqueous phase liquid film increases, the rate of thinning of the liquid film slows down, the rate of water release slows down, and the stability of the emulsion increases. Microscopic oil displacement experiments verified that the three mixed systems increase oil washing efficiency through low interfacial tension and emulsification stripping action, thereby increasing the oil displacement mechanism's coefficient. Emulsion flow resistance experiments demonstrated that as the proportion of betaine surfactant increases, the system exhibits better plugging ability. However, macroscopic oil displacement experiments revealed differences in compatibility between different emulsion stability solutions and rocks with different permeabilities. The mixed system of betaine and nonionic surfactants at a ratio of 3:1 exhibits the best emulsification plugging ability in rocks with a permeability of 109mD, while the 1:1 mixed system performs best in rocks with a permeability of 12mD. This holds significant theoretical and practical significance for reservoir development and enhanced production.

Abstract: Development of the fast neutron radiography with higher penetration capability in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques is rapidly. The detection efficiency and the imaging spatial resolution are the main problem of the radiography detector for many fast neutron imaging systems. In this paper, a detector composed of pixelated EJ200 scintillator array，an 16 × 16 silicon-photomultipliers (SiPM) array, and a capacitive multiplexing network readout electronics is designed. Using Monte-Carlo simulations，the main parameters of the detector was optimization. Then the detector prototype was fabricated and tested at a 14 MeV D-T neutron source. The preliminary test results showed that the prototype has spatial resolution of 1.26 mm. Using pixelated scintillator structure，the conflict between spatial resolution and detect efficiency could improved. Moreover, SiPMs offer a flexibility for the expansion of application field of the imaging system due to their excellent photon detection performance, relatively low price and joint possibility for large area.

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.

Based on screening in computational biology and biological in vitro assays, five natural products isolated from extracts of the herbal medicine toad skin, such as cinobufagin (CBFi), bufalin (BFi), arenobufagin (ABFi), telocinobufagin (TBFi), bufotalin (BFTi), were subjected to molecular docking calculations with the use of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (PDB 6LU7 and 7BTF) and top-scoring ligand-receptor complexes were obtained. The results showed that the binding energy of ABFi to the 3CL protein was -17.044kcal/mol, which was higher than CBFi and TBFi. However, the binding energy of ABFi to the RdRp protease was -23.250 kcal/mol, which was much lower than that of CBFi and TBFi, EVEN lower than that of ABFi to the 3CL protein. ABFi also has polar interactions with amino acids such as Glu811, Ser814, Ser681 and Thr680 of RdRp enzyme. The results revealed that ABFi had a moderate inhibitory effect on the cell proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, with an inhibition rate of 61.12%, even weaker than Remdesivir. This new discovery provides us with new ideas for in-depth studies on the development of natural products with this class of structural generalizations as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, and provides an experimental basis for the next step of mechanistic studies.

In recent years, cerium dioxide (CeO2) has attracted considerable attention owing to its remarkable performance in various applications, including photocatalysis, fuel cells, and catalysis. This study explores the effect of nickel (Ni) doping on the structural, thermal, and chemical properties of CeO2 nanorods, particularly focusing on oxygen vacancy-related phenomena. Utilizing X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), alterations in crystal structure and peak shifts were observed, indicating successful Ni doping and the formation of Ni2O3 at higher doping levels, likely due to non-equilibrium reactions. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed changes in oxygen release mechanisms, with increasing Ni doping resulting in the release of lattice oxygen at lower temperatures. Raman spectroscopy corroborated these findings by identifying characteristic peaks associated with oxygen vacancies, facilitating the assessment of Ni doping levels. Overall, this study underscores the substantial impact of Ni doping on CeO2 nanorods, shedding light on tailored catalytic applications through modulation of oxygen vacancies while preserving the nanorod morphology.

The Eastern Kunlun Fault Zone (EKFZ) is located in a seismic blank area. This study investigates the hydrogeochemical characteristics of varied-temperature springs in the EKFZ to understand the relationship between fractures, fluids and earthquakes. It aids in establishing their induction mechanisms and assists in monitoring the earthquake precursors of the EKFZ. In this study, the main elements, trace elements, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes and strontium isotopes of 23 varied-temperature springs in the EKFZ were analyzed. The results reveal the source of groundwater recharge, hydrochemical types, mineral saturation, and for a select few springs indicative of geothermal activity, collected geothermal reservoir temperatures. The study also explores the relationship between earthquakes and springs, identifying sensitive chemical indicators. Based on continuous monitoring at Maqu Station, we found that before the occurrence of the Maerkang Ms 6.0 earthquake, the concentration of Cl− rose by 2.9 times, and 46 days before the Gande earthquake (Ms = 4.7), the concentrations of Na+ and SO42− significantly increased. Finally, a conceptual model of the hydrogeochemistry of springs is presented to describe the groundwater circulation in the study area. This research is of great significance for the analysis of fluid geochemistry in this area and for assessing the seismic hazards of the EKFZ.

Our previous study has found the anti-tumor activity of oleandrin in osteosarcoma cells in vitro, but the signal transduction process of cell apoptosis induced by oleandrin is uncertain, which is explored in this study. Fluorescence staining and flow cytometry (FCM) was performed to detect the cell apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Caspase-3 activity was detected using a commercial kit. The protein expression of cytoplasmic cytochrome c, mitochondrial cytochrome c, bcl-2, bax, caspase-9, Fas, FasL, caspase-8 and caspase-3 was detected using western blot. A pan-caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk, was applied to block the apoptotic pathway and the apoptosis status were re-tested. We found that oleandrin significantly induced the increased apoptosis of U2OS cells. Meanwhile, the intracellular ROS was elevated, but the MMP decreased. The cytochrome c in mitochondria was notably decreased but increased in cytoplasm. The caspase-3 activity was also enhanced with the increase of drug concentration and treatment time. Oleandrin also down-regulated the level of bcl-2, but remarkably up-regulated the expression of bax, cleaved caspase-9, Fas, FasL, cleaved caspase-8 and cleaved caspase-3. Furthermore, the pre-treatment with z-VAD-fmk almost completely reverted the oleandrin-induced apoptosis. The results suggested that oleandrin induces the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells via mitochondrial- and death receptor-dependent pathways.

Background: This study aimed to identify the association between occupational stress and depression-well-being by proposing a comprehensive and flexible job burden-capital model with its corresponding hypotheses. Methods: For this research, 1618 valid samples were gathered from the electronic manufacturing service industry in Hunan Province, China; self-rated questionnaires were administered to participants for data collection after obtaining their written consent. The proposed model was fitted and tested through structural equation model analysis. Results: Single-factor correlation analysis results indicated that coefficients between all items and dimensions had statistical significance. The final model demonstrated satisfactory global goodness of fit (CMIN/DF=5.37, AGFI=0.915, NNFI=0.945, IFI=0.952, RMSEA=0.052). Both the measurement and structural models showed acceptable path loadings. Job burden and capital were directly associated with depression and well-being or indirectly related to them through personality. Multi-group structural equation model analyses indicated general applicability of the proposed model to basic features of such a population. Gender, marriage and education led to differences in the relation between occupational stress and health outcomes. Conclusions: The job burden-capital model of occupational stress-depression and well-being was found to be more systematic and comprehensive than previous models.

Dolichandrone spathacea is a rare and endangered semi-mangrove plant species with an extremely small population, naturally distributed only in Zhanjiang City and the east coast of Hainan Island, China. Regrettably, the present situation of the D. spathacea population in China has not yet been carefully investigated. In this study, we aim to evaluate the current resource status and population dynamic characteristics of D. spathacea on Hainan Island, China, in order to propose sustainable conservation and management strategies for future ecological restoration of its natural population. Our results show that D. spathacea on Hainan Island can be divided into four populations. All the D. spathacea populations present a state of overall dispersion, local concentration, and occasionally sporadic existence, and they exist in geographical isolation. The young, middle, and old D. spathacea plants account for 20.42%, 66.20%, and 13.38%, respectively, indicating that the overall age class of the D. spathacea population on Hainan Island belongs to a declining type. Furthermore, instead of temporal structure, we chose diameter at breast height (DBH) to establish a static life table, draw a population survival curve, and quantify the future development trend through population dynamic analysis and time-series prediction. These results directly point out that the D. spathacea population on Hainan Island is sensitive to external disturbances and possesses two main increases in mortality rate—namely, in its juvenile and mature stages—due to weak vitality, competition, and anthropogenic interferences, which are the most important reasons for its endangered status. Depending on the current conditions of the D. spathacea population, we should conserve and expand mature trees in situ, preserve their germplasm resources, rehabilitate their habitats to promote provenance restoration, and conduct artificial cultivation and spreading planting in order to realize the sustainable conservation and management of D. spathacea.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy has been a cornerstone treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer for decades and still faces challenges, such as severe immune adverse reactions, which reduce its use as a first-line treatment. This review examines BCG therapy’s history, mechanisms, and current status, highlighting how nanotechnology and bioengineering are revitalizing its application. We discuss novel nanocarrier systems aimed at enhancing BCG's efficacy while mitigating specific side effects. These approaches promise improved tumor targeting, better drug loading, and enhanced stimulation of anti-tumor immune responses. Key strategies involve using functional BCG cell wall components and co-delivering BCG with chemotherapeutics to achieve synergistic effects. While most studies remain experimental, this research direction offers hope for overcoming BCG's limitations and advancing bladder cancer immunotherapy. Further elucidation of BCG's mechanisms and rigorous safety evaluations of new delivery systems will be crucial for translating these innovations into clinical practice.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-associated neurodegenerative disorder. A wealth of evidence indicates that the amyloid β (Aβ) aggregates result from dyshomeostasis between Aβ production and clearance, which plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD. Consequently, therapies targeting Aβ reduction represent a promising strategy of AD intervention. Tetramethylpyrazine nitrone (TBN) is a novel tetramethylpyrazine derivative with the potential for the treatment of AD. Previously, we demonstrated that TBN markedly improved cognitive functions and reduced Aβ, APP, BACE 1 and hyperphosphorylated tau levels in 3 × Tg-AD mice. However, the mechanism by which TBN inhibits Aβ deposition still unclear. In this study, we employed the APP/PS1 mice treated with TBN (60 mg/kg, ig, bid) for six months and N2a/APP695swe cells treated with TBN (300 μM) to explore the mechanism of TBN on the Aβ reduction. Our results indicated that TBN significantly alleviated cognitive impairment and reduced Aβ depositions in APP/PS1 mice. Further investigation of the underlying mechanisms revealed that TBN decreased the expression of APP and BACE1, activated the AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 autophagy pathway and inhibited the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/ULK1 autophagy pathway, as well as decreased the phosphorylation levels of JNK and ERK in APP/PS1 mice. Moreover, TBN was found to significantly reduce the mRNA levels of APP and BACE1, as well as those of SP1, CTCF, TGF-β, and NF-κB, transcription factors involved in regulating gene expression. Additionally, TBN was observed to decrease the level of miR-346 and increase the levels of miR-147 and miR-106a in the N2a/APP695swe cells. These findings indicate that TBN may reduce Aβ levels likely via reducing APP expression by regulating APP gene transcriptional factors and miRNAs, reducing BACE1 expression, and promoting autophagy activities.

The accuracy of cosmic ray observation by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory Wide Field-of-view Cherenkov/fluorescence Telescope Array (LHAASO-WFCTA) is influenced by variations in aerosols in the atmosphere. The solar photometer (CE318-T) is extensively utilized within the Aerosol Robotic Network as a highly precise and reliable instrument for aerosol measurements. With this CE318-T 23, 254 sets of valid data samples in 394 days from October 2020 to October 2022 at the LHAASO site were obtained. Data analysis revealed that the baseline Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and A˚ngstro¨m Exponent (AE) at 440-870 nm (AE440−870nm) of the aerosols were calculated to be 0.03 and 1.07, respectively, suggesting that the LHAASO site is among the most pristine regions on Earth. The seasonality of the mean AOD are the order of spring &gt; summer &gt; autumn = winter. The monthly average maximum of AOD440nm occurred in April (0.11 ± 0.05) and the minimum was in December (0.03 ± 0.01). The monthly average of AE440−870nm exhibited slight variations. The seasonal characterization of aerosol types indicated that clean continental background aerosol predominated in autumn and winter, which is the optimal period for the absolute calibration of the WFCTA. Additionally, the diurnal daytime variations of AOD and AE across the four seasons are presented. Our analysis also indicates that the potential origins of aerosol over the LHAASO in four seasons were different and the atmospheric aerosols with higher AOD probably originate mainly from Northern Myanmar and Northeast India region. These results provide a baseline for comparison to the future on-site measurement of extinction coefficient profile and aerosol phase function by LHAASO-WFCTA, also enrich the valuable materials on aerosol observation in the Hengduan Mountains and Tibetan Plateau.

Abstract: Endoglin (ENG) is a causative gene of type 1 hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT1). HHT1 patients have arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in multiple organs, including the brain. In mice, Eng deletion induced by R26RCreER or SM22aCre leads to AVM development in the brain and other organs. We have reported that the severity of brain AVM in mice with activin receptor-like kinase 1 (Alk1, an HHT2 causative gene) mutation is correlated with the number of Alk1 negative endothelial cells (ECs). We hypothesized that increase of Eng negative ECs will enhance AVM severity. To increase EC Eng deletion, we used a codon improved cre (icre), which is more potent in recombination of floxed alleles than the wild type (WT) cre. R26RCreER;Eng^f/f mice that have Rosa promoter driving and tamoxifen (TM) inducible WT cre expression globally and PdgfbiCreER;Eng^f/f that have Pdgfb promoter driving and TM inducible icre expression in ECs were treated with 3 intra-peritoneal injections of TM (2.5 mg/25g of body weight) to delete Eng globally or in the ECs. AAV-VEGF was stereotactically injected into the brain to induce brain focal angiogenesis and brain AVM. We found that iCre caused more Eng deletion in the brain indicated by lower level of Eng proteins (p<0.001) and fewer Eng positive ECs (p=0.01) than mice with WT cre. Mice with iCre mediated Eng deletion have more abnormal vessels (p=0.02), CD68⁺ macrophages (p=0.002), and hemorrhage (p=0.04), and less vascular pericyte and smooth muscle coverage than mice with WT cre. In addition, arteriovenous shunts were detected in the intestines of icre mice, a phenotype that have not been detected in WT cre mice before. RNAseq analysis showed that 8 out of the 10 top upregulated pathways identified by Gene Ontology (GO) analysis are related to the inflammation. Therefore, increase of Eng deletion in ECs exacerbates AVM severity, which is associated with enhanced inflammation. Strategies that can reduce Eng negative ECs could be used to develop new therapies to reduce AVM severity for HHT1 patients.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold enormous potential in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, benefit from their roles in intercellular signaling, as well as their plentiful presence and stability in body fluids. However, conventional EV isolation methods are labor-intensive, and harvest EVs with low purity and compromised recovery. In addition, the drawbacks, such as limited sensitivity and specificity of traditional EV analysis methods hinder the application of EVs in clinical use. Therefore, it is urgent to develop effective and standardized methods for isolating and detecting EVs. Microfluidics technology is a powerful and rapidly developing technology that has been introduced as a potential solution for the above bottlenecks. It holds the advantages of high integration, short analysis time, low consumption of samples and reagents. In this review, we summarize the traditional techniques alongside microfluidic-based methodologies for the isolation and detection of EVs. We emphasize the separation advantages of microfluidic technology in enhancing EV capture efficiency and precise targeting, while summarizing its analytical role in targeted detection and discussing the significance of EV detection in the tumor microenvironment, providing a direction for achieving automated and high-throughput EV detection in clinical samples.

Predictive biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), such as PD-L1 expression (TPS), remain limited in clinical applications. Improved novel ICI predictive biomarkers are urgently needed. We evaluated a live single-cell functional liquid biopsy cytokine profiling platform to track immunotherapy treatment response and outcomes. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples of healthy donors and NSCLC patients undergoing ICI-based therapies were collected longitudinally pre-/post-treatment under IRB-approved protocols. Samples were enriched for CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes and analyzed on the IsoLight platform. The single T-cells were captured in microchambers on IsoCode chips for cytokines profiling. Functional polyfunctionality data from 55,775 single cells were analyzed using the IsoSpeak software, kappa coefficient, and Kaplan-Meier survival plots. We found a significant difference between responders and non-responders in CD8+ T-cells’ changes in overall polyfunctionality and polyfunctional strength index (ΔPSI). ΔPSI score in CD8+ T-cells performed better than PD-L1 TPS and, when combined with PD-L1 TPS, strongly correlated with early ICI treatment response with a kappa coefficient of 1.0 (p=0.003). High CD4+ T-cells ΔPSI predicted a strong trend of improved PFS (3.9-fold) and OS (3-fold). In conclusion, single peripheral T-cell polyfunctionality dynamics analysis is a promising liquid biopsy profiling platform as NSCLC ICI predictive biomarker regardless of oncogene-addiction status.

Background and Objectives: Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a clinical condition with high mortality rates, particularly in patients over 65. Current guidelines recommend assessing the Probability of Pulmonary Hypertension (PHP) using advanced echocardiography, before pro-ceeding to right heart catheterization. This study proposes using the common femoral vein (CFV), an accessible vein that reflects right atrial pressure, as an alternative method to assess the like-lihood of severe PHP. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study included 175 emergency patients from three hospitals. Ultrasound assessed the Pulsed Wave Doppler (PW-Doppler) morphology of the CFV. This diagnostic yield for high PHP was evaluated along-side traditional ultrasound parameters (right-to-left ventricular basal diameter ratio greater than 1 (RV>LV), septal flattening, right ventricular outflow acceleration time of less than 105 ms and/or mesosystolic notching, pulmonary artery diameter greater than the aortic root diameter or over 25 mm, early pulmonary regurgitation maximum velocity >2.2 m/s, TAPSE/PASP less than 0.55, in-ferior vena cava (IVC) diameter over 21 mm with decreased inspiratory collapse, and right atrial (RA) area over 18 cm²). Results: The CFV's PW-Doppler cardiac pattern correlated strongly with high PHP, showing a sensitivity (Sn) of 72% and a specificity (Sp) of 96%. RA dilation and TAPSE/PASP < 0.55 also played significant diagnostic roles. Conclusions: The CFV's PW-Doppler cardiac pattern is an effective indicator of high PHP, allowing reliable exclusion of this condition when absent. This approach could simplify initial PHP evaluation in emergency settings or where echocardiographic resources are limited.

In order to study the feasibility of copper-nickel smelting slag（CNSS） and palygorskite for large-scale consumption and utilization in the field of mine filling, gellable composite materials were prepared from copper-nickel smelting slag ,cement and palygorskite. The effects of palygorskite addition and curing time on the mechanical properties and microstructure of copper-nickel smelting slag-based cementitious materials were studied in detail. The results showed that the addition of palygorskite had a positive effect on the curing of the cemented filler of the non-ferrous smelting slag by promoting the early hydration reaction. palygorskite also affected the mechanical properties of the cementitious materials with different maintenance times and the ability to cure heavy metals. The strength of gellable composite materials reaches 23.05MPa when 1% palygorskite, 50% of copper-nickel smelting slag and 48% cement were used, which meet the standards requirements of filling materials for mine goaf. The addition of 1% palygorskite can improve the ability of cementitious materials to solidify heavy metals to realize the economic utilization of solid waste in mining areas.

Recent interest in preventing the development of osteoporosis has focused on the regulation of redox homeostasis. However, the action of lycopene (LYC), a strong natural antioxidant com-pound, on osteoporotic bone loss remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the administra-tion of LYC to OVX rats reduces body weight gain, improves lipid metabolism and preserves bone quality. In addition, LYC treatment inhibits ROS overgeneration in serum and bone marrow in OVX rats, and in BMSCs upon H2O2 stimulation, leading to inhibiting adipogenesis and pro-moting osteogenesis during bone remodeling. Mechanically, LYC may improve bone quality via an increase in the expressions of FoxO1 and Runx2, and a decrease in the expressions of PPARγ and C/EBPα in OVX rats and BMSCs. Collectively, these findings suggest that LYC attenuates osteoporotic bone loss through promoting osteogenesis and inhibiting adipogenesis via regula-tion of the FoxO1/PPARγ pathway driven by oxidative stress, presenting a novel strategy for os-teoporosis management.

The successful 2020 launch and 2021 landing of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance Mars rover initiated the first phase of the NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The goal of the MSR campaign is to collect scientifically interesting samples from the Martian surface and return them to Earth for further study in terrestrial laboratories. The MSR campaign consists of three major spacecraft components to accomplish this objective: the Perseverance Mars rover, the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) and the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO). Onboard the ERO spacecraft is the Capture, Containment and Return System (CCRS). CCRS will capture, process and return to Earth the samples that have been collected after they are launched into Mars orbit by the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which is delivered to Mars onboard the SRL. To facilitate the processing of the orbiting sample (OS) by CCRS we have designed and developed a vision system to determine the OS capture orientation. The vision system is comprised of two cameras sensitive to the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and two illumination modules constructed from broadband light emitting diodes (LED). Vision system laboratory tests and physics-based optical simulations predict CCRS ground processing will be able to correctly identify the OS post-capture orientation using only a single vision system image that is transmitted to Earth from Mars orbit.