Browse Articles

Risk assessment of water inrush from coal floor based on enhanced samples with class distribution

Atomic-level Ru-Ir mixing in rutile-type (RuIr)O2 for efficient and durable oxygen evolution catalysis

AbstractThe success of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) depends on active and robust electrocatalysts to facilitate oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Heteroatom-doped-RuOx has emerged as a promising electrocatalysts because heteroatoms suppress lattice oxygen participation in the OER, thereby preventing the destabilization of surface Ru and catalyst degradation. However, identifying suitable heteroatoms and achieving their atomic-scale coupling with Ru atoms are nontrivial tasks. Herein, to steer the reaction pathway away from the involvement of lattice oxygen, we integrate OER-active Ir atoms into the RuO2 matrix, which maximizes the synergy between stable Ru and active Ir centers, by leveraging the changeable growth behavior of Ru/Ir atoms on lattice parameter-modulated templates. In PEMWE, the resulting (RuIr)O2/C electrocatalysts demonstrate notable current density of 4.96 A cm−2 and mass activity of 19.84 A mgRu+Ir−1 at 2.0 V. In situ spectroscopic analysis and computational calculations highlight the importance of the synergistic coexistence of Ru/Ir-dual-OER-active sites for mitigating Ru dissolution via the optimization of the binding energy with oxygen intermediates and stabilization of Ru sites.

A high-throughput ResNet CNN approach for automated grapevine leaf hair quantification

AbstractThe hairiness of the leaves is an essential morphological feature within the genus Vitis that can serve as a physical barrier. A high leaf hair density present on the abaxial surface of the grapevine leaves influences their wettability by repelling forces, thus preventing pathogen attack such as downy mildew and anthracnose. Moreover, leaf hairs as a favorable habitat may considerably affect the abundance of biological control agents. The unavailability of accurate and efficient objective tools for quantifying leaf hair density makes the study intricate and challenging. Therefore, a validated high-throughput phenotyping tool was developed and established in order to detect and quantify leaf hair using images of single grapevine leaf discs and convolution neural networks (CNN). We trained modified ResNet CNNs with a minimalistic number of images to efficiently classify the area covered by leaf hairs. This approach achieved an overall model prediction accuracy of 95.41%. As final validation, 10,120 input images from a segregating F1 biparental population were used to evaluate the algorithm performance. ResNet CNN-based phenotypic results compared to ground truth data received by two experts revealed a strong correlation with R values of 0.98 and 0.92 and root-mean-square error values of 8.20% and 14.18%, indicating that the model performance is consistent with expert evaluations and outperforms the traditional manual rating. Additional validation between expert vs. non-expert on six varieties showed that non-experts contributed to over- and underestimation of the trait, with an absolute error of 0% to 30% and -5% to -60%, respectively. Furthermore, a panel of 16 novice evaluators produced significant bias on set of varieties. Our results provide clear evidence of the need for an objective and accurate tool to quantify leaf hairiness.

Coherent Anti-Stokes Hyper-Raman Spectroscopy

Lightweight YOLOv8 for tongue teeth marks and fissures detection based on C2f_DCNv3

Girolline is a sequence context-selective modulator of eIF5A activity

Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality

Suppression of epileptic seizures by transcranial activation of K+-selective channelrhodopsin

Effect of grain shape elongation in direction and perpendicular to current stream (conductive or insulator) on the electrical characteristics of mixtures

AbstractThe shape elongation of grains, in mixtures, can have an effect on the electrical characteristics. Grain size and structural changes can impact the dielectric, and electrical properties of materials. The electrical properties of natural mixtures are influenced by their arrangement and shape. Insulating grains block potential pathways for electricity between electrodes. One key factor is grain shape elongation and how it aligns with the electric current. If the long part of the conductor grains lines up with the stream of current, then it will show high conductivity and an early critical percolation threshold. The critical percolation threshold decreases when the conductor is extended with the stream of current. Conductor elongated with the current stream increases the current flow. When the conductor is elongated perpendicular to the current stream, from sphere to needle, no perceptible alterations upon the associated critical threshold take effect. When the insulator is elongated with the stream of current the critical percolation threshold does not change significantly. The critical percolation threshold increases when insulator elongation perpendicular to the current direction. The elongated insulator perpendicular to the current’s stream hinders the current’s flow. The EMT offers a simulation to contain the variations in dielectric constant and conductivity across different concentrations. This is the first time to discuss the direction of elongation of conductor or insulator grains, in a mixture, in parallel or perpendicular to the stream of the current.

The contribution of cutaneous thermal signals to bodily self-awareness

COVID-19’s gendered effect on subjective wellbeing in MENA countries

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of great intensity that exposed many existing inequities in facing this global threat. Building on Galtung’s conceptualization of positive peace as the absence of structural violence and institutionalized inequality, we study the gendered effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on reported subjective wellbeing (SWB) in four countries in the Middle East. Data from mobile phone panel surveys, with a total sample of 12,614 observations collected during this critical juncture, show that women consistently reported a lower level of SWB than men in all four countries. Women experienced higher increases in unemployment rates than men in all four countries, despite their already higher rates prior to the pandemic. Controlling for individual characteristics and geographic-time fixed effects, the main factor associated with lower SWB was the decline in household income, reflecting the intersectionality of poverty and gender. In addition, the reported increase in the time spent on housework negatively affected women’s SWB, particularly in urban areas. The pandemic has further accentuated gender inequality in all four countries and exposed the inherent structural violence experienced by women in these contexts.

Small-molecule-induced ERBB4 activation to treat heart failure

Abstract Heart failure is a common and deadly disease requiring new treatments. The neuregulin-1/ERBB4 pathway offers cardioprotective benefits, but using recombinant neuregulin-1 as therapy has limitations due to the need for intravenous delivery and lack of receptor specificity. We hypothesize that small-molecule activation of ERBB4 could protect against heart damage and fibrosis. To test this, we conduct a screening of 10,240 compounds and identify eight structurally similar ones (EF-1 to EF-8) that induce ERBB4 dimerization, with EF-1 being the most effective. EF-1 reduces cell death and hypertrophy in cardiomyocytes and decreases collagen production in cardiac fibroblasts in an ERBB4-dependent manner. In wild-type mice, EF-1 inhibits angiotensin-II-induced fibrosis in males and females and reduces heart damage caused by doxorubicin and myocardial infarction in females, but not in Erbb4-null mice. This study shows that small-molecule ERBB4 activation is feasible and may lead to a novel class of drugs for treating heart failure.

Prediction of mortality risk in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia in the intensive care unit using machine learning

Aptamer-conjugated gold nanoparticles enable oligonucleotide delivery into muscle stem cells to promote regeneration of dystrophic muscles

Efficacy and safety of LiWei capsule in chronic non-atrophic gastritis with erosions: a randomized controlled trial

Publisher Correction: High-throughput fluorescence lifetime imaging flow cytometry

Analysis of the therapeutic efficacy of arthroscopic repair of the subscapularis tendon combined with coracoplasty

Increased local DNA methylation disorder in AMLs with DNMT3A-destabilizing variants and its clinical implication

Determinants of perceived patient benefit in a longitudinal cohort study of patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis

AbstractThe Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) should be used to assess treatment success in psoriasis (PSO). However, the DLQI does not assess the importance and achievement of treatment goals. The Patient Benefit Index (PBI) is a questionnaire that takes both into account. Currently, there is insufficient knowledge about the modulating variables of the PBI and whether it can complement the assessment of the DLQI. In a longitudinal cohort study, 82 patients with PSO were assessed before and up to sixteen weeks after a new treatment episode. The PBI was compared with patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) (n = 61). The effects of gender, age, type of therapy, improvement in body surface area (BSA), anxiety/depression, DLQI and individual coping were assessed. “Getting better skin quickly” was most important in PSO. Improved BSA, anxiety/depression, DLQI, male gender and initiation of biological therapy had the most positive effects. Partial mediation was found for the reduction of anxiety/depression and improved coping. The PBI may be considered an appropriate outcome measure of treatment success in PSO, complementing the DLQI. Patients with clinically relevant anxiety/depression and inadequate coping should be offered adjuvant psychosomatic treatment.

Accessing ultrastable glass via a bulk transformation

AbstractAs a medium to understand the nature of glass transition, ultrastable glasses have garnered increasing attention for their significance in fundamental science and technological applications. Most studies have produced ultrastable glasses through a surface-controlled process using physical vapor deposition. Here, we demonstrate an approach to accessing ultrastable glasses via the glass-to-glass transition, a bulk transformation that is inherently free from size constraints and anisotropy. The resulting ultrastable glass exhibits a significantly enhanced density (improved by 2.3%), along with high thermodynamic, kinetic, and mechanical stability. Furthermore, we propose that this method of accessing ultrastable glasses is general for metallic glasses, based on the examination of the competitive relationship between the glass-to-glass transition and crystallization. This strategy is expected to facilitate the proliferation of the ultrastable glass family, helping to resolve the instability issues of glass materials and devices and deepen our understanding of glasses and the glass transition.