bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent developments on BMPs and their antagonists in inflammatory bowel diseases
Authors: Xie Zhuo , Zhou Gaoshi , Zhang Mudan , Han Jing , Wang Ying , Li Xiaoling , Wu Qirui , Li Manying , Zhang Shenghong
Published: July 2023

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease, are intestinal disorders characterized by chronic relapsing inflammation. A large proportion of patients with IBD will progress to develop colitis-associated colorectal cancer due to the chronic intestinal inflammation. Biologic agents that target tumour necrosis factor-α, integrin α4β7, and interleukin (IL)12/23p40 have been more successful than conventional therapies in treating IBD. However, drug intolerance and loss of response are serious drawbacks of current biologics, necessitating the development of novel drugs that target specific pathways in IBD pathogenesis. One promising group of candidate molecules are bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), members of the TGF-β family involved in regulating morphogenesis, homeostasis, stemness, and inflammatory responses in the gastrointestinal tract. Also worth examining are BMP antagonists, major regulators of these proteins. Evidence has shown that BMPs (especially BMP4/6/7) and BMP antagonists (especially Gremlin1 and follistatin-like protein 1) play essential roles in IBD pathogenesis. In this review, we provide an updated overview on the involvement of BMPs and BMP antagonists in IBD pathogenesis and in regulating the fate of intestinal stem cells. We also described the expression patterns of BMPs and BMP antagonists along the intestinal crypt-villus axis. Lastly, we synthesized available research on negative regulators of BMP signalling. This review summarizes recent developments on BMPs and BMP antagonists in IBD pathogenesis, which provides novel insights into future therapeutic strategies.
The role of CXCL family members in different diseases
Authors: Zhou Chenjia , Gao Ying , Ding Peilun , Wu Tao , Ji Guang
Published: July 2023

Chemokines are a large family mediating a lot of biological behaviors including chemotaxis, tumor growth, angiogenesis and so on. As one member of this family, CXC subfamily possesses the same ability. CXC chemokines can recruit and migrate different categories of immune cells, regulate tumor’s pathological behaviors like proliferation, invasion and metastasis, activate angiogenesis, etc. Due to these characteristics, CXCL subfamily is extensively and closely associated with tumors and inflammatory diseases. As studies are becoming more and more intensive, CXCLs’ concrete roles are better described, and CXCLs’ therapeutic applications including biomarkers and targets are also deeply explained. In this review, the role of CXCL family members in various diseases is summarized.
Nuclear transport maintenance of USP22-AR by Importin-7 promotes breast cancer progression
Authors: Cai Geng-Xi , Kong Wei-Yao , Liu Yuan , Zhong Shu-Yi , Liu Qing , Deng Yuan-Fei , Ye Guo-Lin
Published: July 2023

The translocation of biological macromolecules between cytoplasm and nucleus is of great significance to maintain various life processes in both normal and cancer cells. Disturbance of transport function likely leads to an unbalanced state between tumor suppressors and tumor-promoting factors. In this study, based on the unbiased analysis of protein expression differences with a mass spectrometer between human breast malignant tumors and benign hyperplastic tissues, we identified that Importin-7, a nuclear transport factor, is highly expressed in breast cancer (BC) and predicts poor outcomes. Further studies showed that Importin-7 promotes cell cycle progression and proliferation. Mechanistically, through co-immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence, and nuclear–cytoplasmic protein separation experiments, we discovered that AR and USP22 can bind to Importin-7 as cargoes to promote BC progression. In addition, this study provides a rationale for a therapeutic strategy to restream the malignant progression of AR-positive BC by inhibiting the high expression state of Importin-7. Moreover, the knockdown of Importin-7 increased the responsiveness of BC cells to the AR signaling inhibitor, enzalutamide, suggesting that targeting Importin-7 may be a potential therapeutic strategy.
Rapid degeneration of iPSC-derived motor neurons lacking Gdap1 engages a mitochondrial-sustained innate immune response
Authors: León Marian , Prieto Javier , Molina-Navarro María Micaela , García-García Francisco , Barneo-Muñoz Manuela , Ponsoda Xavier , Sáez Rosana , Palau Francesc , Dopazo Joaquín , Izpisua Belmonte Juan Carlos , Torres Josema
Published: July 2023

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a chronic hereditary motor and sensory polyneuropathy targeting Schwann cells and/or motor neurons. Its multifactorial and polygenic origin portrays a complex clinical phenotype of the disease with a wide range of genetic inheritance patterns. The disease-associated gene GDAP1 encodes for a mitochondrial outer membrane protein. Mouse and insect models with mutations in Gdap1 have reproduced several traits of the human disease. However, the precise function in the cell types affected by the disease remains unknown. Here, we use induced-pluripotent stem cells derived from a Gdap1 knockout mouse model to better understand the molecular and cellular phenotypes of the disease caused by the loss-of-function of this gene. Gdap1-null motor neurons display a fragile cell phenotype prone to early degeneration showing (1) altered mitochondrial morphology, with an increase in the fragmentation of these organelles, (2) activation of autophagy and mitophagy, (3) abnormal metabolism, characterized by a downregulation of Hexokinase 2 and ATP5b proteins, (4) increased reactive oxygen species and elevated mitochondrial membrane potential, and (5) increased innate immune response and p38 MAP kinase activation. Our data reveals the existence of an underlying Redox-inflammatory axis fueled by altered mitochondrial metabolism in the absence of Gdap1. As this biochemical axis encompasses a wide variety of druggable targets, our results may have implications for developing therapies using combinatorial pharmacological approaches and improving therefore human welfare.
Directional induction of neural stem cells, a new therapy for neurodegenerative diseases and ischemic stroke
Authors: Nie Luwei , Yao Dabao , Chen Shiling , Wang Jingyi , Pan Chao , Wu Dongcheng , Liu Na , Tang Zhouping
Published: July 2023

Due to the limited capacity of the adult mammalian brain to self-repair and regenerate, neurological diseases, especially neurodegenerative disorders and stroke, characterized by irreversible cellular damage are often considered as refractory diseases. Neural stem cells (NSCs) play a unique role in the treatment of neurological diseases for their abilities to self-renew and form different neural lineage cells, such as neurons and glial cells. With the increasing understanding of neurodevelopment and advances in stem cell technology, NSCs can be obtained from different sources and directed to differentiate into a specific neural lineage cell phenotype purposefully, making it possible to replace specific cells lost in some neurological diseases, which provides new approaches to treat neurodegenerative diseases as well as stroke. In this review, we outline the advances in generating several neuronal lineage subtypes from different sources of NSCs. We further summarize the therapeutic effects and possible therapeutic mechanisms of these fated specific NSCs in neurological disease models, with special emphasis on Parkinson’s disease and ischemic stroke. Finally, from the perspective of clinical translation, we compare the strengths and weaknesses of different sources of NSCs and different methods of directed differentiation, and propose future research directions for directed differentiation of NSCs in regenerative medicine.
Hyperbolic polaritonic crystals with configurable low-symmetry Bloch modes
Authors: Lv Jiangtao , Wu Yingjie , Liu Jingying , Gong Youning , Si Guangyuan , Hu Guangwei , Zhang Qing , Zhang Yupeng , Tang Jian-Xin , Fuhrer Michael S. , Chen Hongsheng , Maier Stefan A. , Qiu Cheng-Wei , Ou Qingdong
Published: July 2023

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are a kind of artificial structures that can mold the flow of light at will. Polaritonic crystals (PoCs) made from polaritonic media offer a promising route to controlling nano-light at the subwavelength scale. Conventional bulk PhCs and recent van der Waals PoCs mainly show highly symmetric excitation of Bloch modes that closely rely on lattice orders. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a type of hyperbolic PoCs with configurable and low-symmetry deep-subwavelength Bloch modes that are robust against lattice rearrangement in certain directions. This is achieved by periodically perforating a natural crystal α-MoO3 that hosts in-plane hyperbolic phonon polaritons. The mode excitation and symmetry are controlled by the momentum matching between reciprocal lattice vectors and hyperbolic dispersions. We show that the Bloch modes and Bragg resonances of hyperbolic PoCs can be tuned through lattice scales and orientations while exhibiting robust properties immune to lattice rearrangement in the hyperbolic forbidden directions. Our findings provide insights into the physics of hyperbolic PoCs and expand the categories of PhCs, with potential applications in waveguiding, energy transfer, biosensing and quantum nano-optics.
SUMOylation of Rho-associated protein kinase 2 induces goblet cell metaplasia in allergic airways
Authors: Tan Dan , Lu Meiping , Cai Yuqing , Qi Weibo , Wu Fugen , Bao Hangyang , Qv Meiyu , He Qiangqiang , Xu Yana , Wang Xiangzhi , Shen Tingyu , Luo Jiahao , He Yangxun , Wu Junsong , Tang Lanfang , Barkat Muhammad Qasim , Xu Chengyun , Wu Ximei
Published: July 2023

Allergic asthma is characterized by goblet cell metaplasia and subsequent mucus hypersecretion that contribute to the morbidity and mortality of this disease. Here, we explore the potential role and underlying mechanism of protein SUMOylation-mediated goblet cell metaplasia. The components of SUMOylaion machinery are specifically expressed in healthy human bronchial epithelia and robustly upregulated in bronchial epithelia of patients or mouse models with allergic asthma. Intratracheal suppression of SUMOylation by 2-D08 robustly attenuates not only allergen-induced airway inflammation, goblet cell metaplasia, and hyperreactivity, but IL-13-induced goblet cell metaplasia. Phosphoproteomics and biochemical analyses reveal SUMOylation on K1007 activates ROCK2, a master regulator of goblet cell metaplasia, by facilitating its binding to and activation by RhoA, and an E3 ligase PIAS1 is responsible for SUMOylation on K1007. As a result, knockdown of PIAS1 in bronchial epithelia inactivates ROCK2 to attenuate IL-13-induced goblet cell metaplasia, and bronchial epithelial knock-in of ROCK2(K1007R) consistently inactivates ROCK2 to alleviate not only allergen-induced airway inflammation, goblet cell metaplasia, and hyperreactivity, but IL-13-induced goblet cell metaplasia. Together, SUMOylation-mediated ROCK2 activation is an integral component of Rho/ROCK signaling in regulating the pathological conditions of asthma and thus SUMOylation is an additional target for the therapeutic intervention of this disease.
Lean-water hydrogel electrolyte for zinc ion batteries
Authors: Wang Yanbo , Li Qing , Hong Hu , Yang Shuo , Zhang Rong , Wang Xiaoqi , Jin Xu , Xiong Bo , Bai Shengchi , Zhi Chunyi
Published: July 2023

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) and hydrogel electrolytes were developed as electrolytes for zinc ion batteries (ZIBs). Hydrogels can retain water molecules and provide high ionic conductivities; however, they contain many free water molecules, inevitably causing side reactions on the zinc anode. SPEs can enhance the stability of anodes, but they typically possess low ionic conductivities and result in high impedance. Here, we develop a lean water hydrogel electrolyte, aiming to balance ion transfer, anode stability, electrochemical stability window and resistance. This hydrogel is equipped with a molecular lubrication mechanism to ensure fast ion transportation. Additionally, this design leads to a widened electrochemical stability window and highly reversible zinc plating/ stripping. The full cell shows excellent cycling stability and capacity retentions at high and low current rates, respectively. Moreover, superior adhesion ability can be achieved, meeting the needs of flexible devices.
Swift and extensive Omicron outbreak in China after sudden exit from ‘zero-COVID’ policy
Authors: Goldberg Emma E. , Lin Qianying , Romero-Severson Ethan O. , Ke Ruian
Published: July 2023

In late 2022, China transitioned from a strict ‘zero-COVID’ policy to rapidly abandoning nearly all interventions and data reporting. This raised great concern about the presumably-rapid but unreported spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a very large population of very low pre-existing immunity. By modeling a combination of case count and survey data, we show that Omicron spread extremely rapidly, at a rate of 0.42/day (95% credibility interval: [0.35, 0.51]/day), translating to an epidemic doubling time of 1.6 days ([1.6, 2.0] days) after the full exit from zero-COVID on Dec. 7, 2022. Consequently, we estimate that the vast majority of the population (97% [95%, 99%], sensitivity analysis lower limit of 90%) was infected during December, with the nation-wide epidemic peaking on Dec. 23. Overall, our results highlight the extremely high transmissibility of the variant and the importance of proper design of intervention exit strategies to avoid large infection waves.
Architecture of a complete Bce-type antimicrobial peptide resistance module
Authors: George Natasha L. , Orlando Benjamin J.
Published: July 2023

Gram-positive bacteria synthesize and secrete antimicrobial peptides that target the essential process of peptidoglycan synthesis. These antimicrobial peptides not only regulate the dynamics of microbial communities but are also of clinical importance as exemplified by peptides such as bacitracin, vancomycin, and daptomycin. Many gram-positive species have evolved specialized antimicrobial peptide sensing and resistance machinery known as Bce modules. These modules are membrane protein complexes formed by an unusual Bce-type ABC transporter interacting with a two-component system sensor histidine kinase. In this work, we provide the first structural insight into how the membrane protein components of these modules assemble into a functional complex. A cryo-EM structure of an entire Bce module revealed an unexpected mechanism of complex assembly, and extensive structural flexibility in the sensor histidine kinase. Structures of the complex in the presence of a non-hydrolysable ATP analog reveal how nucleotide binding primes the complex for subsequent activation. Accompanying biochemical data demonstrate how the individual membrane protein components of the complex exert functional control over one another to create a tightly regulated enzymatic system.
GNSS land subsidence observations along the northern coastline of Java, Indonesia
Authors: Susilo Susilo , Salman Rino , Hermawan Wawan , Widyaningrum Risna , Wibowo Sidik Tri , Lumban-Gaol Yustisi Ardhitasari , Meilano Irwan , Yun Sang-Ho
Published: July 2023

Land subsidence in cities along the northern coastline of Java has been at a worrying level. Monitoring efforts using geodetic data reveal that Jakarta, Pekalongan, Semarang, and Demak subside at least ~9x faster than the present-day rate of global sea level rise, which affects the cities’ future urban viability. In this study, we publish a time series of the precise 3D displacements observed by twenty continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations between 2010 and 2021. These are the first open-to-the-public and rigorously processed GNSS datasets that are useful for accurately quantifying land subsidence in the densely populated sinking cities in Java. The data also provides a way to tie other geodetic observations, such as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), to a global reference frame in an attempt to build worldwide observations of coastal land subsidence.
Comparative effectiveness of Cangrelor in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: an observational investigation from the M.O.Ca. registry
Authors: Pepe Martino , Carulli Eugenio , Larosa Claudio , Napoli Gianluigi , Nestola Palma Luisa , Carella Maria Cristina , Giordano Salvatore , Tritto Rocco , Bartolomucci Francesco , Cirillo Plinio , Zoccai Giuseppe Biondi , Giordano Arturo , Ciccone Marco Matteo
Published: July 2023

Cangrelor, the first intravenous P2Y12 inhibitor (P2Y12-I), has been approved on the basis of three large RCTs from the CHAMPION program which nevertheless have been criticized for the low bleeding risk of the enrolled patients, the large quote of chronic coronary syndromes, and the use of Clopidogrel as control arm even in the setting of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We sought to investigate, in the setting of ACS, the comparative performance of Cangrelor in terms of in-hospital ischemic and haemorrhagic outcomes compared with the current gold-standard of oral P2Y12-I. The study retrospectively enrolled 686 consecutive patients admitted to the Divisions of Cardiology of Policlinico of Bari and L. Bonomo Hospital of Andria for ACS and treated with percutaneous coronary intervention. The study population was divided according to the P2Y12-I treatment strategy in two groups: patients given an oral P2Y12-I and patients receiving Cangrelor in the cath lab followed by an oral P2Y12-I. Clinical endpoints included death, ischemic and bleeding events occurring during hospital stay. Cangrelor treated patients presented higher clinical risk profile at presentation and faced higher death rate. However, after PS matching, in-hospital mortality resulted comparable between the groups and Cangrelor use was associated with reduced in-hospital definite stent thrombosis (p = 0.03). Data from our real-world registry highlight that, in the setting of ACS, Cangrelor is prevalently used in patients with very challenging clinical presentations. The adjusted analysis provides for the first time promising data on stent thrombosis reduction associated with Cangrelor use.
Spouse’s coping strategies mediate the relationship between women’s coping strategies and their psychological health among infertile couples
Authors: Reisi Marzie , Kazemi Ashraf , Abedi Mohammad Reza , Nazarian Naser
Published: July 2023

Social problems and suffering from the treatment process for infertile couples, especially for women, require the couples to cope with them to balance the infertility crisis. According to the close interactions of the couples with each other, the objective of the present study was to explore a theoretical framework for the relationships between women’s coping strategies, spouses’ coping strategies, and women’s psychological health in infertile couples who were candidates for assisted reproductive technology (ART). This cross-sectional study was carried out on 212 couples undergoing ART. The couples’ coping strategies were evaluated using a validated self-report questionnaire. The women’s psychological health was assessed using a 21-item stress, anxiety, and depression scale (DASS-21). Statistical analysis was performed using the plug-in application PROCESS macro for SPSS. The direct effect of the women’s self-blame and self-focused rumination strategies (p < .0001), and the indirect effect of the women’s self-blame on stress and depression by mediating spouses’ self-blame and self-focused rumination strategies, was significant. The indirect effect of the women’s self-focused rumination on the anxiety and depression levels by mediating spouses’ self-blame strategy was significant. The women’s self-blame and self-focused rumination strategies had a negative effect on the women’s psychological health who were undergoing ART. This negative effect was mediated by the spouse’s coping strategies.
A new model to predict soil thermal conductivity
Authors: Xiong Kun , Feng Yuqing , Jin Hua , Liang Sihai , Yu Kaining , Kuang Xingxing , Wan Li
Published: July 2023

Thermal conductivity is a basic parameter of soil heat transferring, playing an important role in many fields including groundwater withdrawal, ground source heat pump, and heat storage in soils. However, it usually requires a lot of time and efforts to obtain soil thermal conductivity. To conveniently obtain accurate soil thermal conductivity, a new model describes the relationship between soil thermal conductivity (λ) and degree of saturation (Sr) was proposed in this study. Dry soil thermal conductivity (λdry) and saturated soil thermal conductivity (λsat) were described using a linear expression and a geometric mean model, respectively. A quadratic function with one constant was added to calculate λ beyond the lower λdry and upper λsat limit conditions. The proposed model is compared with five other frequently used models and measured data for 51 soil samples ranging from sand to silty clay loam. Results show that the proposed model match the measured data well. The proposed model can be used to determine soil thermal conductivity of a variety of soil textures over a wide range of water content.
Release performance and kinetic behavior of volatile products from controlled pressure pyrolysis of oil shale in nitrogen atmosphere
Authors: Zhao Shuai , Su Jianzheng , Wu Junwen
Published: July 2023

The gas injection parameters such as temperature, pressure and duration during the in-situ pyrolysis of oil shale are important factors that affect the pore evolution and product release characteristics of oil shale. This paper takes Huadian oil shale as a sample, uses pressurized thermogravimetry and pressurized fluidized bed experimental device to explore the influence of temperature, pressure and time on the evolution of pore structure under high-pressure nitrogen injection conditions, and analyzes the influence mechanism of pore structure evolution on the release and kinetic behavior of volatile products. The results show that in the range of 623–673 K, the effective oil recovery of oil shale pyrolysis under high pressure increases from 30.5 to 96.0% with the extension of temperature and pyrolysis time, and the average activation energy is 346.8 kJ/mol, which is higher than the activation energy of 306.6 kJ/mol under normal pressure pyrolysis. Under high pressure, the release process of volatile products is inhibited, resulting in the intensification of the secondary reaction of products and the reduction of olefin content. In addition, the primary pores of kerogen are prone to coking reaction and collapse of plastic structure, so that some large pores become microporous structure, and the average pore size and specific surface area are reduced.
Summer and winter variations of BTEX concentrations in an oil refinery complex and health risk assessment based on Monte-Carlo simulations
Authors: Khoshakhlagh Amir Hossein , Yazdanirad Saeid , Mousavi Mahdi , Gruszecka-Kosowska Agnieszka , Shahriyari Mehran , Rajabi-Vardanjani Hassan
Published: July 2023

The summer and winter concentrations of BTEX pollutants were investigated in various workplaces of an oil Refinery, Iran. In total 252 air samples from the breathing zones of the following employees were collected: supervisors, safetymen, repairmen, site men, and all workers. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk values were calculated based on the USEPA methodology using Monte Carlo simulations. BTEX concentrations were higher in the summer than in the winter season for all workstations, especially for toluene and ethylbenzene. The mean values of exposure to benzene for repairmen and site men were higher than threshold limit value of 1.60 mg/m3 for both seasons. Non-carcinogenic risk (HQ) values calculated for summer season for benzene, ethylbenzene, and xylene in all workstations, as well as for toluene for repairmen and site men exceeded acceptable level of 1. In winter season the mean HQ values for benzene and xylene in all workstations, for toluene for repairmen and site men, and for ethylbenzene for supervisors, repairmen, and site men were also > 1. For all workstations definite carcinogenic risk was indicated as calculated LCR values for benzene and ethylbenzene exposure were higher than 1 × 10–4 in both summer and winter seasons.
The impact of health policies and the COVID-19 pandemic on exclusive breastfeeding in Chile during 2009–2020
Authors: Navarro-Rosenblatt Deborah , Benmarhnia Tarik , Bedregal Paula , Lopez-Arana Sandra , Rodriguez-Osiac Lorena , Garmendia Maria Luisa
Published: July 2023

In 2011, Chile added 12 mandatory extra weeks of maternity leave (ML). In January 2015, a pay-for-performance (P4P) strategy was included in the primary healthcare system, incorporating exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) promotion actions. The COVID-19 pandemic led to healthcare access difficulties and augmented household workloads. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of a 24-week ML, the P4P strategy, and COVID-19 on EBF prevalence, at 3 and 6 months in Chile. Aggregated EBF prevalence data from public healthcare users nationwide (80% of the Chilean population) was collected by month. Interrupted time series analyses were used to quantify changes in EBF trends from 2009 to 2020. The heterogeneity of EBF changes was assessed by urban/setting and across geographic settings. We found no effect of ML on EBF; the P4P strategy increased EBF at 3 months by 3.1% and 5.7% at 6 months. COVID-19 reduced EBF at 3 months by  − 4.5%. Geographical heterogeneity in the impact of the two policies and COVID-19 on EBF was identified. The null effect of ML on EBF in the public healthcare system could be explained by low access from public healthcare users to ML (20% had access to ML) and by an insufficient ML duration (five and a half months). The negative impact of COVID-19 on EBF should alert policy makers about the crisis's effect on health promotion activities.
Historical information sheds new light on the intensification of flooding in the Central Mediterranean
Authors: Diodato Nazzareno , Ljungqvist Fredrik Charpentier , Bellocchi Gianni
Published: July 2023

Hydrological disasters, such as floods, can have dire consequences for human societies. Historical information plays a key role in detecting whether particular types of hydrological disasters have increased in frequency and/or magnitude and, if so, they are more likely attributable to natural or human-induced climatic and other environmental changes. The identification of regions with similar flood conditions is essential for the analysis of regional flooding regimes. To this end, we here present the longest existing flood reconstruction for the Eastern Liguria Area (ELA) in northwestern Italy, covering 1582 to 2022 CE, which offers a case study representative of the central Mediterranean region. An Annual Flood Intensification Index was developed to transform the historical data into a continuous annual hydrological time-series contained by a homogeneous data structure for the study-area. We found two change-points (trend breaks) in the reconstructed time-series, in 1787 and 1967, with only occasional heavy floods comparable to present-day disasters occurring before the first change-point, and an increasing intensification of floods after the second change-point up to the present day. The recent intensification of flooding in the ELA, associated with changes in land use and land cover, also appears to coincide with phases in which hydrological hazards have become more changeable and extreme in disaster-affected areas. This is evidenced by river basin responses to human-induced disturbances.
System based greenhouse emission analysis of off-site prefabrication: a comparative study of residential projects
Authors: Guo Yuliang , Shi Enhui , Yan Rui , Wei Wenchao
Published: July 2023

High-story residential structures and off-site prefabrication have been dominant choices in the construction industry. There is a substantial quantity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by the construction industry. In fact, the construction industry is responsible for 30 percent of all GHG emissions. In this study, we analyse the differences between the conventional technique of building and the off-site prefabricating construction method. First, we evaluate the emissions emitted from key processes during the off-site prefabricating construction. In addition, we analyse the qualitative and quantitative differences between two prefabrication structural systems, namely concrete and steel, which are the two most common structural systems utilised in residential construction projects in China. We examine and analyse four different case studies in order to exemplify the proposed methodology and offer managerial insights.
Influence of CoFeB layer thickness on elastic parameters in CoFeB/MgO heterostructures
Authors: Shekhar S. , Mielcarek S. , Otani Y. , Rana B. , Trzaskowska A.
Published: July 2023

The surface acoustic waves, i.e., surface phonons may have huge potential for future spintronic devices, if coupled to other waves (e.g., spin waves) or quasiparticles. In order to understand the coupling of acoustic phonons with the spin degree of freedom, especially in magnetic thin film-based heterostructures, one needs to investigate the properties of phonons in those heterostructures. This also allows us to determine the elastic properties of individual magnetic layers and the effective elastic parameters of the whole stacks. Here, we study frequency versus wavevector dispersion of thermally excited SAWs in CoFeB/MgO heterostructures with varying CoFeB thickness by employing Brillouin light spectroscopy. The experimental results are corroborated by finite element method-based simulations. From the best agreement of simulation results with the experiments, we find out the elastic tensor parameters for CoFeB layer. Additionally, we estimate the effective elastic parameters (elastic tensors, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio) of the whole stacks for varying CoFeB thickness. Interestingly, the simulation results, either considering elastic parameters of individual layers or considering effective elastic parameters of whole stacks, show good agreement with the experimental results. These extracted elastic parameters will be very useful to understand the interaction of phonons with other quasiparticles.
Prevalence and epidemiological investigation of mgrB-dependent colistin resistance in extensively drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in Iran
Authors: Zahedi Bialvaei Abed , Eslami Parisa , Ganji Leila , Dolatyar Dehkharghani Alireza , Asgari Farhad , Koupahi Hossein , Barzegarian Pashacolaei Hamid Reza , Rahbar Mohammad
Published: July 2023

Carbapenemases-producing K. pneumoniae are challenging antimicrobial therapy of hospitalised patients, which is further complicated by colistin resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular epidemiological insights into carbapenemases-producing and colistin-resistant clinical K. pneumoniaeA total of 162 colistin resistant clinical strains of K. pneumoniae were collected during 2017–2019. Antimicrobial susceptibility and the colistin minimum inhibitory concentration were determined. Using PCR assay, the prevalence of resistance-associated genes including blaKPC, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaOXA-48, blaNDM-1 and mcr-1 to -9 was examined. Additionally, a PCR assay was used to examine the mgrB gene in colistin-resistant bacteria. 94.4% of the tested strains were resistant to imipenem and 96.3% were resistant to meropenem. Colistin resistance (MIC > 4 µg/L) was observed in 161 isolates (99.4%) by Colistin Broth Disk Elution method. The KPC enzyme was the most common carbapenemase and was identified in 95 strains (58.6%), followed by the IMP, VIM and OXA-48 detected in 47 (29%), 23 (14.2%) and 12 (7.4%) isolates, respectively. However, no NDM-1 gene was detected. Additionally, none of the studied isolates harbored mcr variants, while mgrB gene was observed in 152 (92.6%) isolates. Colistin resistance of K. pneumoniae isolates may be associated with mgrB gene mutation. To stop the spread of resistant K. pneumoniae, surveillance must be improved, infection prevention protocols must be followed, and antibiotic stewardship must be practised.
Effects of shear stress path and roughness on shear creep behavior of marine clay-concrete interface
Authors: Yao Wangjing , Zhang Tao , Chen Qianshen , Sun Jiuchun , Xu Sifa , Ding Zhouxiang , Wang Zhe
Published: July 2023

Floating piles have been widely employed as foundations in coastal regions abounding with marine clay. A growing concern for these floating piles is their long-term performance of bearing capacity. To better understand the time-dependent mechanisms behind the bearing capacity, in this paper a series of shear creep tests was conducted to study the effects of load paths/steps and roughness on shear strain of the marine clay-concrete interface. Four main empirical features were observed from the experimental results. First, the creep process of the marine clay-concrete interface can be largely decomposed into the instantaneous creep stage, the attenuation creep stage and the uniform creep stage. Second, the creep stability time and the shear creep displacement generally increase as the shear stress level increases. Third, the shear displacement rises as the number of loading steps drops under the same shear stress. The fourth feature is that under the shear stress condition, the rougher the interface is, the smaller the shear displacement is. Besides, the load-unloading shear creep tests suggest that: (a) shear creep displacement typically contains both viscoelastic and viscoplastic deformation; and (b) the proportion of unrecoverable plastic deformation increases with increasing shear stress. These tests confirm that the Nishihara model can provide a well-defined description of the shear creep behavior of marine clay-concrete interfaces.
Increased risk of incident diabetes in patients with MAFLD not meeting the criteria for NAFLD
Authors: Park So Hee , Park Jiyun , Kwon So Yoon , Lee You-Bin , Kim Gyuri , Hur Kyu Yeon , Koh Janghyun , Jee Jae Hwan , Kim Jae Hyeon , Kang Mira , Jin Sang-Man
Published: July 2023

We aimed to compare the risk of incident diabetes according to fatty liver disease (FLD) definition, focusing on the comparison between those who met criteria for either metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) but not the other. This was a 5.0-year (interquartile range, 2.4–8.2) retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 21,178 adults who underwent at least two serial health checkup examinations. The presence of hepatic steatosis was determined by abdominal ultrasonography at the first health examination. Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to compare the risk of incident diabetes among five groups. Incident diabetes cases occurred in 1296 participants (6.1%). When non-FLD without metabolic dysfunction (MD) group was set as a reference, the risk of incident diabetes increased in the order of NAFLD-only, non-FLD with MD, both FLD, and MAFLD-only groups. The presence of excessive alcohol consumption and/or hepatitis B virus (HBV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, FLD, and MD synergistically increased the risk of incident diabetes. MAFLD-only group showed a greater increase in incidence of diabetes than non-FLD with MD and NAFLD-only groups. The interaction among excessive alcohol consumption, HBV/HCV infection, MD, and hepatic steatosis on the development of diabetes should not be overlooked.
Association of visceral and subcutaneous fat with bone mineral density in US adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Lin Yanze , Zhong Xugang , Lu Dongning , Yao Wenchao , Zhou Jinlei , Wu Ruiji , Feng Fabo
Published: July 2023

The relationship between the accumulation of fat in visceral or subcutaneous tissue and bone mineral density (BMD) remains unclear. Our primary objective in this study was to illuminate this relationship by conducting an investigation on a vast scale, encompassing a nationally representative population in the United States. A weighted multiple linear regression model was established to evaluate the relationship between visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, and BMD. Additionally, the exploration of the potential nonlinear relationship was conducted employing the methodology of smooth curve fitting. In order to determine potential inflection points, a two-stage linear regression model was utilized. A total of 10,455 participants between the ages of 20 and 59 were included in this study. Various weighted multiple linear regression models revealed a negative correlation between lumbar BMD and visceral mass index (VMI) and subcutaneous mass index (SMI). However, the association between VMI and lumbar BMD displayed a U-shaped pattern upon employing the smooth curve fitting, and the inflection point of 0.304 kg/m2was determined using a two-stage linear regression model. Our findings indicated a negative association between subcutaneous fat and BMD. A U-shaped relationship was observed between visceral fat and BMD.
Feasibility of orbital friction stir welding on clad pipes of API X65 steel and Inconel 625
Authors: Amavisca C. V. , Bergmann L. , Lessa C. R. de L. , Schroeder J. G. , Ramos F. D. , Lemos G. V. B. , Reguly A. , Klusemann B.
Published: July 2023

Orbital friction stir welding (FSW) has been applied to clad pipes, which is certainly of interest to the oil and gas industry. In this context, an FSW system capable of performing sound joints in one pass with full tool penetration was developed. Orbital FSW was executed in 6 mm thick API X65 PSL2 steel clad pipes with 3 mm thick Inconel 625 using a polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (pcBN) tool. The metallurgical and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated. Sound joints with axial forces of 45–50 kN, tool rotational speeds of 400–500 rpm, and a welding speed of 2 mm/s were obtained, illustrating that the developed system can perform FSW joints without volumetric defects.
An injectable supramolecular hydrogel as a self-drug-delivery system for local chemoimmunotherapy against melanoma
Authors: Bera Sourabh , Datta Hemanta Kumar , Dastidar Parthasarathi
Published: July 2023

A unique self-drug-delivery approach providing chemoimmunotherapy in combating deadly melanoma has been developed from a Zn(ii)-coordination complex-based hydrogel; M1-macrophages for activating T cells triggering apoptosis was confirmed in in vivo.
Recent progress of dual-site catalysts in emerging electrocatalysis: a review
Authors: Zhou Min , Kong Weijie , Xue Mengyun , Li Hangfei , Khan Muhammad Afsar , Liu Bitao , Lu Fei , Zeng Xianghua
Published: July 2023

This review summarized the progress of the dual-site catalysts and their applications in emergent reactions. This review is aiming to shed lights on the synergistic effect within dual site, thus offering guidelines to the catalyst design.
Carbon doping of ceria-supported palladium for the low-temperature oxidation of methane
Authors: Hihara Takashi , Banno Yasuyuki , Nagata Makoto , Fujita Takeshi , Abe Hideki
Published: July 2023

Cerium oxide-supported palladium nanoparticles (Pd/CeO2) are carburized to form PdCx nanoparticles, which act as a precursor to develop a highly active catalyst toward the remediation of lean-burn exhausts at a “cold start” (operation temperature <300 °C).
Recent advances in the self-referencing embedded strings (SELFIES) library
Authors: Lo Alston , Pollice Robert , Nigam AkshatKumar , White Andrew D. , Krenn Mario , Aspuru-Guzik Alán
Published: July 2023

We describe the current state of the SELFIES library (version 2.1.1), and, in particular, the advances and improvements we have made in its underlying algorithms, design, and API.
Achieving reinforcement learning in a three-active-terminal neuromorphic device based on a 2D vdW ferroelectric material
Authors: Guo Feng , Io Weng Fu , Dang Zhaoying , Ding Ran , Pang Sin-Yi , Zhao Yuqian , Hao Jianhua
Published: July 2023

For integrating complex behaviors and brain-like thinking strategy in hardware systems, a neuromorphic transistor based on 2D vdW ferroelectric α-In2Se3 has been designed. Our work provides AI with flexible strategy when faced with real-world tasks.
An efficient deep learning model for brain tumour detection with privacy preservation
Authors: Rehman Mujeeb Ur , Shafique Arslan , Khan Imdad Ullah , Ghadi Yazeed Yasin , Ahmad Jawad , Alshehri Mohammed S. , Al Qathrady Mimonah , Alhaisoni Majed , Zayyan Muhammad H.
Published: July 2023

Internet of medical things (IoMT) is becoming more prevalent in healthcare applications as a result of current AI advancements, helping to improve our quality of life and ensure a sustainable health system. IoMT systems with cutting‐edge scientific capabilities are capable of detecting, transmitting, learning and reasoning. As a result, these systems proved tremendously useful in a range of healthcare applications, including brain tumour detection. A deep learning‐based approach for identifying MRI images of brain tumour patients and normal patients is suggested. The morphological‐based segmentation method is applied in this approach to separate tumour areas in MRI images. Convolutional neural networks, such as LeNET, MobileNetV2, Densenet and ResNet, are tested to be the most efficient ones in terms of detection performance. The suggested approach is applied to a dataset gathered from several hospitals. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is assessed using a variety of metrics, including accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, recall and F‐score. According to the performance evaluation, the accuracy of LeNET, MobileNetV2, Densenet, ResNet and EfficientNet is 98.7%, 93.6%, 92.8%, 91.6% and 91.9%, respectively. When compared to the existing approaches, LeNET has the best performance, with an average of 98.7% accuracy.
Judgement of error frames using frozen bits and its applications in decoding of polar codes
Authors: Yang Dong , Mao Yinyou , Liu Xingcheng
Published: July 2023

Polar codes have received widespread attention because of their excellent performance. However, although successive cancellation (SC)‐based decoding algorithms have achieved excellent error correction performance, they still encounter large time delays in decoding because a serial decoding structure is employed. At present, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is used to judge whether the decoding result of a frame is erroneous. To obtain such a result, the decoder has to wait until the end of decoding. In this work, a judgement strategy for error frames using frozen bits is proposed. With the proposed strategy, the recognition of erroneously decoded frames can be achieved based on the error state of the frozen bits in this frame. Accordingly, early termination of decoding can be realized. By using this mechanism, the strategy can also be applied in the SC List algorithm to prune the path. In addition, the SC Flip decoding algorithm can also use the proposed strategy to help find the first error message bit. The experimental results show that at least 85% of the frames decoded erroneously can be recognized by the proposed strategy so that decoding can be terminated in advance and computational resources can be saved.
ELM‐based timing synchronization for OFDM systems by exploiting computer‐aided training strategy
Authors: Zhang Mintao , Tang Shuhai , Qing Chaojin , Yang Na , Cai Xi , Wang Jiafan
Published: July 2023

Due to the implementation bottleneck of training data collection in realistic wireless communications systems, supervised learning‐based timing synchronization (TS) is challenged by the incompleteness of training data. To tackle this bottleneck, the computer‐aided approach is extended, with which the local device can generate the training data instead of generating learning labels from the received samples collected in realistic systems, and then construct an extreme learning machine (ELM)‐based TS network in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Specifically, by leveraging the rough information of channel impulse responses (CIRs), i.e. root‐mean‐square (r.m.s) delay, the loose constraint‐based and flexible constraint‐based training strategies are proposed for the learning‐label design against the maximum multi‐path delay. The underlying mechanism is to improve the completeness of multi‐path delays that may appear in the realistic wireless channels and thus increase the statistical efficiency of the designed TS learner. By this means, the proposed ELM‐based TS network can alleviate the degradation of generalization performance. Numerical results reveal the robustness and generalization of the proposed scheme against varying parameters.
Observer‐based sliding mode H∞$H_\infty$ control for offshore structures with nonlinear energy sink mechanisms
Authors: Chen Wei , Du Xing‐Yu , Zhang Bao‐Lin , Zheng Zhongqiang , Cai Zhihui
Published: July 2023

It is significant to reduce the wave‐induced vibration and ensure the safety of the offshore structure. This paper deals with the observer‐based sliding mode vibration control problem of offshore structures with nonlinear energy sink (NES) mechanisms. By considering the coupled nonlinear characteristics of unmodelled dynamics, system uncertainty, and external wave force, a more general nonlinear system model of the offshore structure equipped with an NES mechanism is presented. Then, an observer‐based sliding mode control scheme for the nonlinear structure‐NES system is developed. The existence condition and the design algorithm of the observer‐based sliding mode controller are provided. Simulation results show that the observer‐based sliding mode controller is capable of reducing the wave‐induced vibration amplitude of offshore structures effectively. Compared with the NES‐based passive control, the observer‐based sliding mode controller can further reduce the response amplitudes of the offshore structure remarkably. In addition, the designed observer‐based sliding mode controller is robust the variations of structure parameters and the external wave loads, thereby presenting potential advantages of the active damping control of the offshore structure.
Research on the strategies for collision avoidance of multi‐UAV with three dimensional formation in combination of consensus algorithm and uniform flow
Authors: Xu Wei , Cao Ning
Published: July 2023

The paper proposes the method of uniform flow loading the improved consensus algorithm to achieve obstacle avoidance for multi‐UAV with 3‐D formation. In view of that the flow function is generally only applicable to two dimensional flow field, dimension reduction is to treat multi‐UAV formation as each UAV flows around along the circular surface of the projected cylinder of spherical obstacle at its different heights. To formation guaranteeing the smooth realization of obstacle avoidance of multi‐UAV formation centered on the leader, it is used the tactics of virtually expanding the radius of these static or moving equivalent cylindrical obstacles to reserve a certain space. The innovation of this strategy is to further reduce the possibility of collision between UAV formation and the edge of obstacles, meanwhile the problem of multi‐UAV formation avoiding obstacles is transformed into the problem of collision avoidance navigation for the leader treated as a particle. It is considered collision avoidance for multi‐UAV formation under three scenarios assumed are the most common situations, and the simulation experimental results of these scenarios are demonstrated on the validity of the designed experiments based on these algorithms.