Faslpr gene dosage tunes the extent of lymphoproliferation and T cell differentiation in lupus.

Sle1 and Faslpr are two lupus susceptibility loci that lead to manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus. To evaluate the dosage effects of Faslpr in determining cellular and serological phenotypes associated with lupus, we developed a new C57BL/6 (B6) congenic lupus strain, B6.Sle1/Sle1.Faslpr/+ (Sle1homo.lprhet) and compared it with B6.Faslpr/lpr (lprhomo), B6.Sle1/Sle1 (Sle1homo), and B6.Sle1/Sle1.Faslpr/lpr (Sle1homo.lprhomo) strains. Whereas Sle1homo.lprhomo mice exhibited profound lymphoproliferation and early mortality, Sle1homo.lprhet mice had a lifespan comparable to B6 mice, with no evidence of splenomegaly or lymphadenopathy. Compared to B6 monogenic lupus strains, Sle1homo.lprhet mice exhibited significantly elevated serum ANA antibodies and increased proteinuria. Additionally, Sle1homo.lprhet T cells had an increased propensity to differentiate into Th1 cells. Gene dose effects of Faslpr were noted in upregulating serum IL-1⍺, IL-2, and IL-27. Taken together, Sle1homo.lprhet strain is a new C57BL/6-based model of lupus, ideal for genetic studies, autoantibody repertoire investigation, and for exploring Th1 effector cell skewing without early-age lymphoproliferative autoimmunity.

Risk stratification and molecular heterogeneity of endometrial cancer and expression profile of TIM-3: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to implement ProMisE classification and risk grouping on a retrospective cohort of 628 patients with endometrial cancer (EC) and determine the molecular heterogeneity across subtypes and subgroups, as well as to investigate the potential beneficiary for TIM-3 checkpoint inhibition in ECs. METHODS: Protein expressions of p53, MMR, TIM-3 and CD8 were measured by immunohistochemistry, and massively parallel sequencing was conducted for 128 cancer-related genes. Patients were categorized into four ProMisE subtypes: MMR-deficient (MMRd), POLE-ultramutated (POLEmut), p53-wild type (p53wt), and p53-abnormal (p53abn), and were subjected to risk classification. RESULTS: 43 (6.9%) patients belonged to POLEmut, 118 (18.8%) to MMRd, 69 (11%) to p53abn, and 398 (63.3%) to p53wt. Compared to the 2016 stratification system, the 2021 ESGO/ESTRO/ESP risk stratification integrated with molecular classification revealed that 11 patients (11/628, 1.8%) were upgraded due to the p53abn signature, whereas 23 patients (23/628, 3.7%) were downgraded due to the POLEmut signature. JAK1 and RAD50 mutations showed higher frequencies in patients with aggressive phenotypes. RAD51B mutation was significantly related to poor RFS of the p53wt subtype but not of the other three molecular subgroups. TIM-3 expression was detected in 30.9% immune cells (ICs) and 29.0% tumor cells (TCs) in ECs, respectively. It was frequently expressed in POLEmut and MMRd ECs as compared to that in the other two molecular subtypes in TCs and ICs. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed the molecular heterogeneity across subtypes and subgroups. The new risk stratification system changed the risk grouping of some patients due to the integration of molecular features. RAD51B mutation can further stratify the recurrence risk in the p53wt subtype. Patients with MMRd or POLEmut may benefit most from immunotherapy against TIM-3.

Truncated total variation in fractional B-spline wavelet transform for micro-CT image denoising.

BACKGROUND: In medical applications, computed tomography (CT) is widely used to evaluate various sample characteristics. However, image quality of CT reconstruction can be degraded due to artifacts. OBJECTIVE: To propose and test a truncated total variation (truncation TV) model to solve the problem of large penalties for the total variation (TV) model. METHODS: In this study, a truncated TV image denoising model in the fractional B-spline wavelet domain is developed to obtain the best solution. The method is validated by the analysis of CT reconstructed images of actual biological Pigeons samples. For this purpose, several indices including the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM) and mean square error (MSE) are used to evaluate the quality of images. RESULTS: Comparing to the conventional truncated TV model that yields 22.55, 0.688 and 361.17 in PSNR, SSIM and MSE, respectively, using the proposed fractional B-spline-truncated TV model, the computed values of these evaluation indices change to 24.24, 0.898 and 244.98, respectively, indicating substantial reduction of image noise with higher PSNR and SSIM, and lower MSE. CONCLUSIONS: Study results demonstrate that compared with many classic image denoising methods, the new denoising algorithm proposed in this study can more effectively suppresses the reconstructed CT image artifacts while maintaining the detailed image structure.

Online Science Instruction Can Promote Adolescents' Autonomy Need Satisfaction: a Latent Growth Curve Analysis.

This research examined the differential motivational effects of a pre-college science enrichment program delivered in both online and in-person learning formats. Using self-determination theory as a guiding framework, we hypothesized that (a) students would exhibit growth in their perceived satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, (b) online learning would be associated with greater growth in autonomy, and (c) in-person learning would be associated with greater growth in both competence and relatedness. Using a sample of 598 adolescent participants, results of latent growth curve modeling indicated that satisfaction of the three needs grew unconditionally over the course of the program. However, format type was unrelated to growth in need satisfaction. Rather, this effect was found to be conditional upon the type of science project undertaken by students: astrophysics students exhibited significantly greater autonomy growth when receiving online instruction than did biochemistry students. Our findings suggest that online science learning can be just as effective in motivating students as in-person learning provided that the learning tasks are conducive to remote instruction.

Smart Ternary Strategy in Promoting the Performance of Polymer Solar Cells Based on Bulk-Heterojunction or Layer-By-Layer Structure.

Although the rapid development of polymer solar cells (PSCs) has been achieved, it is still a great challenge to explore efficient ways for improving power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs from materials and device engineering. Ternary strategy has been confirmed as an efficient way to improve PCE of PSCs by employing three kinds of materials. In this work, one polymer donor PM6, and two non-fullerene materials N3 and MF1 are selected to prepare ternary PSCs with layer-by-layer (LbL) or bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) structure. The LbL and BHJ-PSCs exhibit PCEs of 16.75% and 16.76% with 15 wt% MF1 content in acceptors, corresponding to over 5% or 4% PCE improvement compared with N3-based binary PSCs with LbL or BHJ structure. The PCE improvement is mainly attributed to the fill factor enhancement from 73.29% to 76.95% for LbL-PSCs or from 74.13% to 77.51% for BHJ-PSCs by employing the ternary strategy. This work indicates that ternary strategy has great potential in preparing highly efficient LbL-PSCs via simultaneously optimizing molecular arrangement and the thickness of each layer.

Boosted Efficiency Over 18.1% of Polymer Solar Cells by Employing Large Extinction Coefficients Material as the Third Component.

A series of binary and ternary polymer solar cells (PSCs) is successfully fabricated. The optimal ternary PSCs achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.14%, benefiting from the increased short circuit current density (JSC ) of 26.53 mA cm-2 and fill factor (FF) of 78.51% in comparison with the JSC s (25.05 mA cm-2 and 25.65 mA cm-2 ) and the FFs (77.13% and 76.55%) of the corresponding binary PSCs. The photon harvesting ability of ternary active layers can be enhanced, which can be confirmed from the EQE spectral difference of the optimized ternary and binary PSCs, especially in the wavelength range from 680 nm to 800 nm. The refractive index and extinction coefficients of binary and ternary blend films are measured, which can well support the enhanced photon harvesting ability in different wavelength ranges. Photogenerated exciton distribution in active layers is simulated by the transmission matrix method based on the Beer-Lambert law. The photogenerated exciton density can be enhanced in the middle of the active layers by incorporating a third component in acceptors, which is conducive to charge collection by individual electrodes, resulting in the simultaneously enhanced JSC and FF of the optimal ternary PSCs.

Influences of piezoelectric positive-negative junction on the multi-field coupled waves propagation in the piezoelectric semiconductor.

The influences of the piezoelectric positive-negative junction (PN junction) between two semiconductors with different doping types on the multi-field coupled wave propagation are studied in the present work. The layered structures of semiconductors are often used in intelligent devices, and the PN junction plays an important role for performance improvement. Due to the migration and diffusion of carriers, the electric potential and concentration of the carrier are graded distribution in the PN junction. This inhomogeneity results in the reflection and transmission of coupled waves, which are the complex of multiple physical fields including the mechanical, electric, and carrier fields. The state transfer equation method is used to obtain the transfer matrix of the PN junction, and the reflection and transmission waves under the plane strain situation are evaluated numerically. The energy fluxes of the reflection and transmission waves are estimated and used to validate the numerical results by the check of energy conservation. It is found that PN junction effects hinder the wave propagation and drastically enhance the reflection ability of the interface, especially, on the coupled carrier waves, and thus are very important and cannot be ignored for the wave propagation problem. The influences of external applied stress and bias electric field are also discussed.

Aurora kinase inhibition sensitizes melanoma cells to T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

Although immunotherapy has achieved impressive durable clinical responses, many cancers respond only temporarily or not at all to immunotherapy. To find novel, targetable mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy, patient-derived melanoma cell lines were transduced with 576 open reading frames, or exposed to arrayed libraries of 850 bioactive compounds, prior to co-culture with autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). The synergy between the targets and TILs to induce apoptosis, and the mechanisms of inhibiting resistance to TILs were interrogated. Gene expression analyses were performed on tumor samples from patients undergoing immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma. Finally, the effect of inhibiting the top targets on the efficacy of immunotherapy was investigated in multiple preclinical models. Aurora kinase was identified as a mediator of melanoma cell resistance to T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity in both complementary screens. Aurora kinase inhibitors were validated to synergize with T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. The Aurora kinase inhibition-mediated sensitivity to T-cell cytotoxicity was shown to be partially driven by p21-mediated induction of cellular senescence. The expression levels of Aurora kinase and related proteins were inversely correlated with immune infiltration, response to immunotherapy and survival in melanoma patients. Aurora kinase inhibition showed variable responses in combination with immunotherapy in vivo, suggesting its activity is modified by other factors in the tumor microenvironment. These data suggest that Aurora kinase inhibition enhances T-cell cytotoxicity in vitro and can potentiate antitumor immunity in vivo in some but not all settings. Further studies are required to determine the mechanism of primary resistance to this therapeutic intervention.

[Risk assessment of excess mortality attribute to PM_(2.5) exposure in 5 cities in China in 2018].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of excess mortality caused by exposure to PM_(2.5) in 5 cities in China. METHODS: Surveillance data on daily concentration of PM_(2.5), meteorology and death-causes were collected from 2015 to 2018 in Harbin, Xi& apos; an, Nanjing, Chengdu and Guangzhou cities. Generalized additive model(GAM) was used to analyze acute exposure-response coefficients of PM_(2.5) exposure on the mortality. Using daily 24-hour average concentration of PM_(2.5) in 2018 to estimate the exposure levels of the population, with PM_(2.5) 24-hour average concentration limit of the ambient air quality standard(GB 3095-2012) for reference concentration(75 µg/m~3), and applicating the health risk assessment model, the excess deaths attribute to PM_(2.5) exposure in the 5 cities in 2018 was estimated. RESULTS: Attribute to PM_(2.5) exposure, the excess cases of death caused by circulatory system diseases in Harbin and Guangzhou were 35 and 92, the excess cases caused by respiratory diseases in Xi& apos; an was 70, the excess cases of caused by non-accident in Nanjing was 69, and the excess cases caused by non-accidental, respiratory and circulatory diseases in Chengdu were 588, 210 and 134 in 2018. CONCLUSION: PM_(2.5) exposure could increase the excess mortality risk, which varies among different cities.

Over 15.7% Efficiency of Ternary Organic Solar Cells by Employing Two Compatible Acceptors with Similar LUMO Levels.

Efficient organic solar cells (OSCs) are fabricated using polymer PM6 as donor, and IPTBO-4Cl and MF1 as acceptors. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of IPTBO-4Cl based and MF1 based binary OSCs individually arrive to 14.94% and 12.07%, exhibiting markedly different short circuit current density (JSC ) of 23.18 mA cm-2 versus 17.01 mA cm-2 , fill factor (FF) of 72.17% versus 78.18% and similar open circuit voltage (VOC ) of 0.893 V versus 0.908 V. The two acceptors, IPTBO-4Cl and MF1, have similar lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels, which is beneficial for efficient electron transport in the ternary active layer. The PCE of optimized ternary OSCs arrives to 15.74% by incorporating 30 wt% MF1 in acceptors, resulting from the simultaneously increased JSC of 23.20 mA cm-2 , VOC of 0.897 V, and FF of 75.64% in comparison with IPTBO-4Cl based binary OSCs. The gradually increased FFs of ternary OSCs indicate the well-optimized phase separation and molecular arrangement with MF1 as morphology regulator. This work may provide a new viewpoint for selecting an appropriate third component to achieve efficient ternary OSCs from materials and photovoltaic parameters of two binary OSCs.

Induction of antitumor immunity in mice by the combination of nanoparticle-based photothermolysis and anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibition.

Generation of durable tumor-specific immune response without isolation and expansion of dendritic cells or T cells ex vivo remains a challenge. In this study, we investigated the impact of nanoparticle-mediated photothermolysis in combination with checkpoint inhibition on the induction of systemic antitumor immunity. Photothermolysis based on near-infrared light-absorbing copper sulfide nanoparticles and 15-ns laser pulses combined with the immune checkpoint inhibitor anti-PD-1 antibody (αPD-1) increased tumor infiltration by antigen-presenting cells and CD8-positive T lymphocytes in the B16-OVA mouse model. Moreover, combined photothermolysis, polymeric conjugate of the Toll-like receptor 9 agonist CpG, and αPD-1 significantly prolonged mouse survival after re-inoculation of tumor cells at a distant site compared to individual treatments alone in the poorly immunogenic syngeneic ID8-ip1-Luc ovarian tumor model. Thus, photothermolysis is a promising interventional technique that synergizes with Toll-like receptor 9 agonists and immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance the abscopal effect in tumors.

[Method for continuous measurement of personal exposure to fine particulate matter].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new accurate method for continuous measurement of personal exposure to fine particulate matter( PM_(2. 5) ) by integrating the advantage of both light scattering and gravimetric method. METHODS: The PM_(2. 5) concentrations were measured by both light scattering and gravimetric method simultaneously. The ratio of time-weighted average concentrations from gravimetric method to the responding values from light scattering method was calculated as coefficient of correction and used to calibrate the real-time PM_(2. 5) concentrations from light scattering method. RESULTS: The limit of detections( LOD) for 3, 10, 30 and 60 min time-weighted average concentrations of PM_(2. 5) were 4. 6, 4. 0, 3. 9 and 3. 7 µg/m~3, respectively. The precision( relativestandard deviation, RSD) was from 2. 1% to 9. 5%. The 30 min time-weighted average concentrations from this method were highly related to the results from TEOM method which was considered as reference method( Pearson r = 0. 934, P < 0. 001, n = 233), and no significantly bias between these two methods was detected by paired t test( P =0. 957). Zero drift was detected for 3 out of 10 devices with drift values in the range of- 5-- 3 µg/m~3 in the experiment of continuous 24 h monitoring conducted in the lab. And zero shift was also investigated in 7. 5%( 31 /412) field monitoring events, but most of the values shifted were within the range of- 3- 3 µg/m~3. The direction and scale of zero shift were not influenced by PM_(2. 5) concentrations. CONCLUSION: The developed method in this study that combines the advantages of both light-scattering and gravimetric method is validated to measure real-time concentrations of personal exposure to PM_(2. 5) .

[The prevalence of asthma in children: a comparison between the year of 2010 and 2000 in urban China].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of asthma in children aged 0-14 years by the epidemiological survey for children in urban China between the year of 2000 and 2010. METHODS: Cities participated in the national survey of asthma prevalence in urban children aged 0-14 years at 2000 and 2010 were selected. The surveyed sample sizes met the study requirements. Stratified multistage random cluster sampling and unified questionnaire screening were adopted in both surveys of 2000 and 2010. For screening-positive children, asthma was diagnosed by physicians through on-site visits, physical examination, medical records review and auxiliary examination results. Double entry and validation was adopted for all data using Epi-Info software, and analysis was carried out by SPSS V19.0. RESULTS: Thirty-three cities were selected for this study. The prevalence of asthma was 1.59% in 2000 and 2.11% in 2010, respectively. The highest prevalence of asthma was seen in Hefei and Shanghai respectively in the two surveys, while the lowest prevalence was seen in Xining and Lhasa. The prevalence rate increased in most of the cities, especially in Wenzhou, Shanghai and Xining. The prevalence of asthma in boys was significantly higher than that in girls in the two surveys, with a ratio of 1.67:1 and 1.58:1, respectively. Preschool age (aged 3-6) had the highest prevalence in both surveys, and nearly 80% of the onset was observed before age 6. Regarding the age of disease onset in the 2000 and 2010 surveys, 54.92% and 43.30% were found in infants, 45.08% and 56.70% in preschool and school-age, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In the recent 10 years, childhood asthma prevalence rate increased significantly in urban China and the prevalence increased 32.70% in children younger than 14 years in 2010 than before. Most cities had a higher prevalence rate than before, but mainly in first-tier cities, provincial capitals and eastern coastal cities. Preschool children showed the highest prevalence of asthma. The age of asthma onset was increasing, with a higher prevalence in preschool and school-age children as compared to 10 years ago.

[Study on the influence factors of exhaled breath condensate pH detection of asthma children].

OBJECTIVE: To explore influence factors of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH detection and establish standard method for EBC pH detection of asthma children. METHODS: EBC samples were collected using Rtube EBC collection system, and pH values were detected by microelectrode method. RESULTS: The temperatures of sampling condenser tube (from - 18 to 4 degrees C) and duration of collection (from 10 to 30 minutes) has no significant effect on EBC pH of asthma children. After degasification with argon for 4 minutes, the EBC pH became stable. The day to day precisions (relative standard deviation) were 0.74% -1.01%, and the relative deviations between theoretical values and detection values were 0.11% - 0.75% in determining different level of pH standard solutions. The EBC samples for pH detection could be store at - 20 degrees C for 6 months. CONCLUSION: The established method by standardizing influence factors is accurate and convenient. It can be used in the detection of EBC pH of asthma children.

Association between triglyceride-glucose index and risk of endometriosis in US population: results from the national health and nutrition examination survey (1999-2006).

Background and Aims: The association of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a promising novel biomarker for insulin resistance, with the risk of endometriosis has not been investigated to date. This nationwide study aimed to explore the association between the TyG index and the endometriosis risk. Methods: Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006). Female participants who provided complete data on the TyG index and endometriosis were enrolled in the analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were utilized to assess the association of the TyG index with endometriosis, adjusted by multiple potential confounders. Meanwhile, in-depth subgroup analyses were conducted. Results: A total of 1,590 eligible participants were included, among whom 135 (8.5%) women were diagnosed with endometriosis. The fully adjusted multivariate logistic model showed TyG index was significantly associated with the endometriosis risk (odds ratio [OR]Q4 versus Q1 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-3.62; P for trend=0.013). In subgroup analyses, the significantly positive association between TyG index and the risk of endometriosis was also found in parous women (ORQ4 versus Q1 2.18, 95% CI: 1.20-3.96), women without diabetes (OR Q4 versus Q1 2.12, 95% CI: 1.19-3.79), women who smoke currently (OR Q4 versus Q1 3.93, 95% CI: 1.33-11.58), women who drink currently (OR Q4 versus Q1 2.54, 95% CI: 1.27-5.07), and in women who use oral contraceptives (OR Q4 versus Q1 1.91, 95% CI: 1.04-3.51). Additionally, significantly increasing trends in the odds of endometriosis across the quartiles of the TyG index were observed in the above-mentioned subgroups (all P for trend<0.05). Conclusions: This population-based study found that a higher TyG index, representing an increased level of insulin resistance, was associated with a higher risk of endometriosis among the US population. Our findings suggested TyG index might be a promising tool for the risk assessment of endometriosis. Prospective studies are warranted to further verify these findings.

Unraveling the microbial puzzle: exploring the intricate role of gut microbiota in endometriosis pathogenesis.

Endometriosis (EMs) is a prevalent gynecological disorder characterized by the growth of uterine tissue outside the uterine cavity, causing debilitating symptoms and infertility. Despite its prevalence, the exact mechanisms behind EMs development remain incompletely understood. This article presents a comprehensive overview of the relationship between gut microbiota imbalance and EMs pathogenesis. Recent research indicates that gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in various aspects of EMs, including immune regulation, generation of inflammatory factors, angiopoietin release, hormonal regulation, and endotoxin production. Dysbiosis of gut microbiota can disrupt immune responses, leading to inflammation and impaired immune clearance of endometrial fragments, resulting in the development of endometriotic lesions. The dysregulated microbiota can contribute to the release of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), triggering chronic inflammation and promoting ectopic endometrial adhesion, invasion, and angiogenesis. Furthermore, gut microbiota involvement in estrogen metabolism affects estrogen levels, which are directly related to EMs development. The review also highlights the potential of gut microbiota as a diagnostic tool and therapeutic target for EMs. Interventions such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and the use of gut microbiota preparations have demonstrated promising effects in reducing EMs symptoms. Despite the progress made, further research is needed to unravel the intricate interactions between gut microbiota and EMs, paving the way for more effective prevention and treatment strategies for this challenging condition.

[Epidemiological survey of children asthma prevalence in Beijing urban area].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence, diagnosis and management of childhood asthma in Beijing urban area. METHODS: Multi-stage, stratified and random cluster sampling was used to recruit children born during November 1, 1995 to October 31, 2010 from Beijing or other provinces but residing in Beijing for over half a year. The same screening questionnaires for the third national epidemiological survey of children's asthma were distributed to parents of children at schools, kindergartens and communities during October 2010 to March 2011. Asthmatic children were picked among the screening-positive children based on on-the-spot inquiries, physical examinations, medical records and supporting test results. Further survey of asthmatics was carried out to investigate the diagnosis and treatment status of childhood asthma and other associated allergic diseases. All data required double entry by Epi-Info 3.5.3 software and were processed by SPSS 19.0. RESULTS: Among a total of 14 085 questionnaires, 13 513 were completed with a response rate of 95.94%. And 497 (3.68%) children were diagnosed with typical (n = 451, 3.34%) and cough variant (n = 46, 0.34%) asthma. Among them, 40.64% (202/497) were newly diagnosed and 59.36% (295/497) had been previously diagnosed with asthma. The prevalence of asthma was higher in boys than in girls (4.80% (345/1790) vs 2.40% (152/6323), χ(2) = 54.446, P < 0.01). The asthma prevalence of preschoolers (3 - < 7 years old) was the highest (5.05% (180/3563)). In the past two years, the symptoms of 69.42% (345/497) children persisted and the current two-year prevalence of asthma was 2.55% (345/13513). Among the 295 children with previous asthma, only 46.44% (137/295) received inhaled corticosteroids according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and 82.37% (243/295) of them used antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of asthma is 3.68% in children under 14 years old in Beijing urban area and it varies in children with different genders and ages. A considerable number of children are not diagnosed or treated properly. And the management of asthma requires further improvement.

A novel particle swarm optimization based on hybrid-learning model.

The convergence speed and the diversity of the population plays a critical role in the performance of particle swarm optimization (PSO). In order to balance the trade-off between exploration and exploitation, a novel particle swarm optimization based on the hybrid learning model (PSO-HLM) is proposed. In the early iteration stage, PSO-HLM updates the velocity of the particle based on the hybrid learning model, which can improve the convergence speed. At the end of the iteration, PSO-HLM employs a multi-pools fusion strategy to mutate the newly generated particles, which can expand the population diversity, thus avoid PSO-HLM falling into a local optima. In order to understand the strengths and weaknesses of PSO-HLM, several experiments are carried out on 30 benchmark functions. Experimental results show that the performance of PSO-HLM is better than other the-state-of-the-art algorithms.

Low-temperature electrolytes based on linear carboxylic ester co-solvents for SiO x /graphite composite anodes.

Silicon-based anode materials have been applied in lithium-ion batteries with high energy density. However, developing electrolytes that can meet the specific requirements of these batteries at low temperatures still remains a challenge. Herein, we report the effect of linear carboxylic ester ethyl propionate (EP), as the co-solvent in a carbonate-based electrolyte, on SiO x /graphite (SiOC) composite anodes. Using electrolytes with EP, the anode provides better electrochemical performance at both low temperatures and ambient temperature, showing a capacity of 680.31 mA h g-1 at -50 °C and 0.1C (63.66% retention relative to that at 25 °C), and a capacity retention of 97.02% after 100 cycles at 25 °C and 0.5C. Within the EP-containing electrolyte, SiOC‖LiCoO2 full cells also exhibit superior cycling stability at -20 °C for 200 cycles. These substantial improvements of the EP co-solvent at low temperatures are probably due to its involvement to form a solid electrolyte interphase with high integrity and facile transport kinetics in electrochemical processes.

Association between dietary inflammatory index and risk of endometriosis: A population-based analysis.

Background and aims: Chronic inflammation plays a significant role in the etiology of endometriosis, which might be affected by dietary intake. This study aimed to investigate the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and the risk of endometriosis. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006) was conducted on 3,410 American participants, among whom 265 reported a diagnosis of endometriosis. DII scores were calculated based on the dietary questionnaire. The association of DII scores with endometriosis was evaluated by adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyzes, which were further investigated in the subgroups. Results: In the fully adjusted models, the odds ratio (OR) for endometriosis participants in the highest and middle tertiles of DII scores were 1.57 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14-2.17] and 1.18 (95% CI: 0.84-1.65), compared to the lowest tertile (P trend = 0.007). In subgroup analyzes, the significant positive association between DII scores and the endometriosis risk was also observed in non-obese women (ORtertile3vs1: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.12-2.55; P trend = 0.012), women without diabetes (ORtertile3vs1: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.16-2.27; P trend = 0.005), women with hypertension (ORtertile3vs1: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.31-3.87; P trend = 0.003), parous women (ORtertile3vs1: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.11-2.17; P trend = 0.011), and women using oral contraceptives (ORtertile3vs1: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.15-2.30; P trend = 0.006). Conclusion: This nationally representative study found that increased intake of the pro-inflammatory diet, as a higher DII score, was positively associated with endometriosis risk among American adults. Our results suggested anti-inflammatory dietary interventions may be promising in the prevention of endometriosis. Further prospective studies are necessary to confirm these findings.