A novel nomogram model to predict in-hospital mortality in patients with acute type A aortic dissection after surgery.

BACKGROUND: Acute type A aortic dissection is a dangerous disease that threatens public health. In recent years, with the progress of medical technology, the mortality rate of patients after surgery has been gradually reduced, leading that previous prediction models may not be suitable for nowadays. Therefore, the present study aims to find new independent risk factors for predicting in-hospital mortality and construct a nomogram prediction model. METHODS: The clinical data of 341 consecutive patients in our center from 2019 to 2023 were collected, and they were divided into two groups according to the death during hospitalization. The independent risk factors were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and the nomogram was constructed and verified based on these factors. RESULTS: age, preoperative lower limb ischemia, preoperative activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), preoperative platelet count, Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) independently predicted in-hospital mortality of patients with acute type A aortic dissection after surgery. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the nomogram was 0.844. The calibration curve and decision curve analysis verified that the model had good quality. CONCLUSION: The new nomogram model has a good ability to predict the in-hospital mortality of patients with acute type A aortic dissection after surgery.

Machine Learning-Powered Ultrahigh Controllable and Wearable Magnetoelectric Piezotronic Touching Device.

Recent advancements in nanomaterials have enabled the application of nanotechnology to the development of cutting-edge sensing and actuating devices. For instance, nanostructures' collective and predictable responses to various stimuli can be monitored to determine the physical environment of the nanomaterial, such as temperature or applied pressure. To achieve optimal sensing and actuation capabilities, the nanostructures should be controllable. However, current applications are limited by inherent challenges in controlling nanostructures that counteract many sensing mechanisms that are reliant on their area or spacing. This work presents a technique utilizing the piezo-magnetoelectric properties of nanoparticles to enable strain sensing and actuation in a flexible and wearable patch. The alignment of nanoparticles has been achieved using demagnetization fields with computational simulations confirming device characteristics under various types of deformation followed by experimental demonstrations. The device exhibits favorable piezoelectric performance, hydrophobicity, and body motion-sensing capabilities, as well as machine learning-powered touch-sensing/actuating features.

Improving Muscat Hamburg Wine Quality with Innovative Fermentation Strategies Using Schizosaccharomyces pombe Derived from Fermented Grains of Sauce-Flavor Baijiu.

This study investigates innovative approaches to improve the quality and aroma characteristics of Muscat Hamburg wine production by substituting the conventional Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast with an efficient fermentation strain of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The typical use of S. cerevisiae in Muscat Hamburg wine often leads to uniformity and prolonged processing times, requiring subsequent malolactic fermentation to degrade excessive malic acid. The study advocates for the replacement of S. cerevisiae with a specific S. pombe strain, Sp-410, isolated from the fermented grains of sauce-flavor Baijiu, a Chinese spirit. Muscat Hamburg wine fermented with the S. pombe strain demonstrates decreased malic acid levels, offering a potential alternative to malolactic fermentation. However, exclusive S. pombe fermentation may result in an overproduction of acetic acid metabolites, leading to a monotonous taste. In response, the study proposes a mixed fermentation approach, combining the S. pombe strain with a Saccharomyces uvarum strain and a non-Saccharomyces yeast, Torulaspora delbrueckii. The optimized mixed fermentation strategies (M:SP+TD and M60SP+TD) involve specific proportions and intervals of inoculation, aiming to enhance the quality and aroma complexity of Muscat Hamburg wine. In conclusion, this research contributes to advancing the production of high-quality Muscat Hamburg wines, utilizing S. pombe as the primary yeast strain and implementing mixed fermentation methodologies.

Elucidating the molecular landscape of tendinitis: the role of inflammasome-related genes and immune interactions.

Tendinitis, characterized by the inflammation of tendons, poses significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment due to its multifaceted etiology and complex pathophysiology. This study aimed to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying tendinitis, with a particular focus on inflammasome-related genes and their interactions with the immune system. Through comprehensive gene expression analysis and bioinformatics approaches, we identified distinct expression profiles of inflammasome genes, such as NLRP6, NLRP1, and MEFV, which showed significant correlations with immune checkpoint molecules, indicating a pivotal role in the inflammatory cascade of tendinitis. Additionally, MYD88 and CD36 were found to be closely associated with HLA family molecules, underscoring their involvement in immune response modulation. Contrary to expectations, chemokines exhibited minimal correlation with inflammasome genes, suggesting an unconventional inflammatory pathway in tendinitis. Transcription factors like SP110 and CREB5 emerged as key regulators of inflammasome genes, providing insight into the transcriptional control mechanisms in tendinitis. Furthermore, potential therapeutic targets were identified through the DGidb database, highlighting drugs that could modulate the activity of inflammasome genes, offering new avenues for targeted tendinitis therapy. Our findings elucidate the complex molecular landscape of tendinitis, emphasizing the significant role of inflammasomes and immune interactions, and pave the way for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Linearly Polarized Broadband Emission and Multiwavelength Lasing in Solution-Processed Quantum Dots.

A miniature laser with linear polarization is a long sought-after component of photonic integrated circuits. In particular, for multiwavelength polarization lasers, it supports simultaneous access to multiple, widely varying laser wavelengths in a small spatial region, which is of great significance for advancing applications such as optical computing, optical storage, and optical sensing. However, there is a trade-off between the size of small-scale lasers and laser performance, and multiwavelength co-gain of laser media and multicavity micromachining in the process of laser miniaturization remain as significant challenges. Herein, room-temperature linearly polarized multiwavelength lasers in the visible and near-infrared wavelength ranges are demonstrated, by fabricating random cavities scattered with silica in an Er-doped Cs2Ag0.4Na0.6In0.98Bi0.02Cl6 double-perovskite quantum dots gain membrane. By regulating the local symmetry and enabling effective energy transfer in nanocrystals, multiwavelength lasers with ultralow thresholds are achieved at room temperature. The maximum degree of polarization reaches 0.89. With their advantages in terms of miniaturization, ultralow power consumption, and adaptability for integration, these lasers offer a prospective light source for future photonic integrated circuits aimed at high-capacity optical applications.

Identifying optimal surgical approach among T1N2-3M0 non-small cell lung cancer patients: a population-based analysis.

Background: Whether stage T1N2-3M0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients could benefit from surgery and the optimal surgical procedure have remained controversial and unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether stage T1N2-3M0 NSCLC can benefit from different surgery types and develop a tool for survival prediction. Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify patients diagnosed with stage T1N2-3M0 NSCLC between 2000 and 2015. A 1:1 propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis was used to balance the distribution of clinical characteristics. Survival analyses were performed by using the Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves and Cox proportional hazards regression. All patients were randomly split at a ratio of 7:3 into training and validation cohorts. The nomogram was constructed by integrating all independent predictors for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). The model's performance was evaluated by discrimination, calibration ability, and risk stratification ability. Results: A total of 4,671 patients were enrolled. After 1:1 PSM, the distribution proportions of clinical characteristics in 1,146 patients were balanced (all P>0.05). The non-surgical approach was associated with worse survival compared with sublobectomy and lobectomy in the unmatched and matched cohorts. The multivariate Cox analysis showed that sublobectomy and lobectomy were both related to better OS and CSS rates compared with no surgery (P<0.001). Moreover, the results of subgroup analyses based on age, N stage, and radiotherapy or chemotherapy strategy were consistent. A total of 801 patients were included in the training cohort and 345 cases constituted the validation cohort. The nomogram constructed for the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS and CSS prediction showed good discrimination, performance, and calibration both in the training and validation sets. Significant distinctions in survival curves between different risk groups stratified by prognostic scores were also observed (all P<0.001). Conclusions: Stage T1N2-3M0 NSCLC patients could benefit from sublobectomy or lobectomy, and lobectomy provides better survival benefits. We developed and validated nomograms, which could offer clinicians instructions for strategy making.

Rest-in-Peace: Research on the Architectural Types and Design Ideas to Guide Design of Hospice Care Building.

In the context of an aging population, the concept of peaceful end-of-life care has gained increasing significance as an essential component of individuals' fundamental well-being. This underscores the importance of researching and developing hospice care facilities and service systems dedicated to providing a tranquil resting environment. This study focuses on selected hospice care buildings, examining their service model evolution and architectural design. Through case analyses, it explores contemporary hospice care architecture, identifying various types and spatial design features that cater to the end-of-life needs of individuals. The findings guide the design of hospice care buildings in China, emphasizing patient-living areas, medical care zones, and auxiliary functional spaces. This comprehensive approach aims to enhance terminally ill patients' comfort, serenity, and dignity. Moreover, it aims to provide emotional and post-funeral support to terminally ill patients' families.

Rapid determination of starch and alcohol contents in fermented grains by hyperspectral imaging combined with data fusion techniques.

Starch and alcohol serve as pivotal indicators in assessing the quality of lees fermentation. In this paper, two hyperspectral imaging (HSI) techniques (visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR) and NIR) were utilized to acquire separate HSI data, which were then fused and analyzed toforecast the starch and alcohol contents during the fermentation of lees. Five preprocessing methods were first used to preprocess the Vis-NIR, NIR, and the fused Vis-NIR and NIR data, after which partial least squares regression models were established to determine the best preprocessing method. Following, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, successive projection algorithm, and principal component analysis algorithms were used to extract the characteristic wavelengths to accurately predict the starch and alcohol levels. Finally, support vector machine (SVM)-AdaBoost and XGBoost models were built based on the low-level fusion (LLF) and intermediate-level fusion (ILF) of single Vis-NIR and NIR as well as the fused data. The results showed that the SVM-AdaBoost model built using the LLF data afterpreprocessing by standard normalized variable was most accurate for predicting the starch content, with an R P 2 $\ R_P^2$ of 0.9976 and a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.0992. The XGBoost model built using ILF data was most accurate for predicting the alcohol content, with an R P 2 $R_P^2$ of 0.9969 and an RMSEP of 0.0605. In conclusion, the analysis of fused data from distinct HSI technologies facilitates rapid and precise determination of the starch and alcohol contents in fermented grains.

Rearrangement of Arylsulfamates and Sulfates to Para-Sulfonyl Anilines and Phenols.

The C(sp2)-aryl sulfonate functional group is found in bioactive molecules, but their synthesis can involve extreme temperatures (>190 °C or flash vacuum pyrolysis) and strongly acidic reaction conditions. Inspired by the 1917 Tyrer industrial process for a sulfa dye that involved an aniline N(sp2)-SO3 intermediate en route to a C(sp2)-SO3 rearranged product, we investigated tributylsulfoammonium betaine (TBSAB) as a milder N-sulfamation to C-sulfonate relay reagent. Initial investigations of a stepwise route involving TBSAB on selected anilines at room temperature enabled the isolation of N(sp2)-sulfamate. Subsequent thermal rearrangement demonstrated the intermediary of a sulfamate en route to the sulfonate; however, it was low-yielding. Investigation of the N-sulfamate to C--sulfonate mechanism through control experiments with variation at the heteroatom positions and kinetic isotope experiments (KIEH/D) confirmed the formation of a key N(sp2)-SO3 intermediate and further confirmed an intermolecular mechanism. Furthermore, compounds without an accessible nitrogen (or oxygen) lone pair did not undergo sulfamation- (or sulfation) -to-sulfonation under these conditions. A one-pot sulfamation and thermal sulfonation reaction was ultimately developed and explored on a range of aniline and heterocyclic scaffolds with high conversions, including N(sp2)-sulfamates (O(sp2)-sulfates) and C(sp2)-sulfonates, in up to 99 and 80% (and 88% for a phenolic example) isolated yield, respectively. Encouragingly, the ability to modulate the ortho-para selectivity of the products obtained was observed under thermal control. A sulfonated analog of the intravenous anesthetic propofol was isolated (88% yield), demonstrating a proof-of-concept modification of a licensed drug alongside a range of nitrogen- and sulfur-containing heterocyclic fragments used in drug discovery.

A General Method to Access Underexplored Ylideneamino Sulfates as Interrupted Beckmann-Type Rearrangement Intermediates.

The Beckmann rearrangement of ketoximes to their corresponding amides, using a Brønsted acid-mediated fragmentation and migration sequence, has found wide-spread industrial application. We postulated that the development of a methodology to access ylideneamino sulfates using tributylsulfoammonium betaine (TBSAB) would afford isolable Beckmann-type intermediates and competent partners for subsequent rearrangement cascades. The ylideneamino sulfates generated, isolated as their tributylammonium salts, are sufficiently activated to undergo Beckmann rearrangement without additional reagent activation. The generation of sulfuric acid in situ from the ylideneamino sulfate giving rise to a routine Beckmann rearrangement and additional amide bond cleavage to the corresponding aniline was detrimental to reaction success. The screening of bases revealed inexpensive sodium bicarbonate to be an effective additive to prevent classic Brønsted acid-mediated fragmentation and achieve optimal conversions of up to 99%.

Magnetoelectric Sensor Operating in d15 Thickness-Shear Mode for High-Frequency Current Detection.

For the application of high-frequency current detection in power systems, such as very fast transient current, lightning current, partial discharge pulse current, etc., current sensors with a quick response are indispensable. Here, we propose a high-frequency magnetoelectric current sensor, which consists of a PZT piezoelectric ceramic and Metglas amorphous alloy. The proposed sensor is designed to work under d15 thickness-shear mode, with the resonant frequency around 1.029 MHz. Furthermore, the proposed sensor is fabricated as a high-frequency magnetoelectric current sensor. A comparative experiment is carried out between the tunnel magnetoresistance sensor and the magnetoelectric sensor, in the aspect of high-frequency current detection up to 3 MHz. Our experimental results demonstrate that the d15 thickness-shear mode magnetoelectric sensor has great potential for high-frequency current detection in smart grids.

Tissue-specific profiling of age-dependent miRNAomic changes in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Ageing exhibits common and distinct features in various tissues, making it critical to decipher the tissue-specific ageing mechanisms. MiRNAs are essential regulators in ageing and are recently highlighted as a class of intercellular messengers. However, little is known about the tissue-specific transcriptomic changes of miRNAs during ageing. C. elegans is a well-established model organism in ageing research. Here, we profile the age-dependent miRNAomic changes in five isolated worm tissues. Besides the diverse ageing-regulated miRNA expression across tissues, we discover numerous miRNAs in the tissues without their transcription. We further profile miRNAs in the extracellular vesicles and find that worm miRNAs undergo inter-tissue trafficking via these vesicles in an age-dependent manner. Using these datasets, we uncover the interaction between body wall muscle-derived mir-1 and DAF-16/FOXO in the intestine, suggesting mir-1 as a messenger in inter-tissue signalling. Taken together, we systematically investigate worm miRNAs in the somatic tissues and extracellular vesicles during ageing, providing a valuable resource to study tissue-autonomous and nonautonomous functions of miRNAs in ageing.

Synthesis and Reactivity of Ruthenium(BINAP)(PPh3).

Ru(BINAP)(PPh3)HCl cleanly reacts with LiCH2TMS to give Ru(BINAP)(PPh3) (1) that has been fully characterized, including by X-ray diffraction (BINAP and TMS stand for (2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl and trimethylsilyl respectively). In sharp contrast with other carbonyl-free phosphine complexes of Ru(0), 1 demonstrates a strikingly high thermal stability and no propensity for intramolecular C-H activation (cyclometalation). Yet 1 coordinates acetonitrile and readily exchanges its PPh3 ligand with alkenes and dienes, thus behaving like a "masked" 16-e Ru(0) species. Electron-poor alkenes coordinate more readily than electron-rich ones, which testifies for the nucleophilic character of the Ru(0)-BINAP fragment. While being thermally stable, 1 is highly reactive and is capable of activating C-H and N-H bonds, and even of cleaving an inert N-Et bond. The combination of high reactivity and stability originates from the P,arene-chelation by the BINAP ligand, i.e., the coordinated π-arene stabilizes Ru(0) to prevent cyclometalation, yet it can slide upon substrate coordination, thereby enabling a variety of inert bond activation reactions to occur under mild conditions.

Dorsoventral hippocampus distinctly modulates visceral sensitivity and anxiety behaviors in male IBS-like rats.

Accumulating evidences suggest dysfunctions in the hippocampus are associated with chronic pain. Nevertheless, the role of hippocampal circuitry in pain memories and emotional responses is not yet fully understood. In this study, we utilized a comprehensive approach that combined electromyography (EMG), photochemical genetic techniques, and anxiety-related behavioral paradigms to investigate the involvement of dorsal hippocampus (DH) and ventral hippocampus (VH) in visceral sensitivity and anxiety behaviors in male rats. Our results demonstrated that IBS-like rats exhibited comorbid visceral hypersensitivity and anxiety, along with the number of activated neurons in the VH was higher than that in the DH. Manipulation of glutamatergic neurons in the hippocampus was identified as a crucial mechanism underlying the mediation of both visceral sensitivity and anxiety behaviors. Specifically, optogenetic activation of the DH induced both visceral hypersensitivity and anxiety, while activation of the VH induced anxiety but did not affect visceral sensitivity. Conversely, chemogenetic inhibition of the DH reduced both visceral hypersensitivity and anxiety, whereas inhibition of the VH alleviated anxiety but did not alleviate visceral hypersensitivity in IBS-like rats. Our study highlights the important role of early life stress in inducing visceral hypersensitivity and anxiety, and further elucidates the distinct functional contributions of the DH and VH to these behavioral changes. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of IBS, and suggest that targeting specific hippocampal neuron subtypes may represent a promising therapeutic approach.

Fisetin suppresses ferroptosis through Nrf2 and attenuates intervertebral disc degeneration in rats.

Low back pain, primarily caused by intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), lacks effective pharmacological treatments. Oxidative stress has been identified as a significant contributor to IVDD. This study aims to establish an in vitro model of IVDD induced by oxidative stress and identify potential therapeutic agents and their underlying mechanisms. By screening the natural product library, fisetin emerged as the most promising compound in suppressing cell death induced by oxidative stress in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs). Furthermore, our investigation revealed that the cell death induced by oxidative stress was predominantly associated with ferroptosis, and fisetin demonstrated the ability to inhibit ferroptosis in NPCs. Mechanistic exploration suggested that the impact of fisetin on ferroptosis may be mediated through the Nrf2/HO-1 (Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1) axis. Notably, the in vivo study demonstrated that fisetin could alleviate IVDD in rats. These findings highlight fisetin as a potential therapeutic option for IVDD and implicate the involvement of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway in its mechanism of action.

TCDM: Transformational Complexity Based Distortion Metric for Perceptual Point Cloud Quality Assessment.

The goal of objective point cloud quality assessment (PCQA) research is to develop quantitative metrics that measure point cloud quality in a perceptually consistent manner. Merging the research of cognitive science and intuition of the human visual system (HVS), in this paper, we evaluate the point cloud quality by measuring the complexity of transforming the distorted point cloud back to its reference, which in practice can be approximated by the code length of one point cloud when the other is given. For this purpose, we first make space segmentation for the reference and distorted point clouds based on a 3D Voronoi diagram to obtain a series of local patch pairs. Next, inspired by the predictive coding theory, we utilize a space-aware vector autoregressive (SA-VAR) model to encode the geometry and color channels of each reference patch with and without the distorted patch, respectively. Assuming that the residual errors follow the multi-variate Gaussian distributions, the self-complexity of the reference and transformational complexity between the reference and distorted samples are computed using covariance matrices. Additionally, the prediction terms generated by SA-VAR are introduced as one auxiliary feature to promote the final quality prediction. The effectiveness of the proposed transformational complexity based distortion metric (TCDM) is evaluated through extensive experiments conducted on five public point cloud quality assessment databases. The results demonstrate that TCDM achieves state-of-the-art (SOTA) performance, and further analysis confirms its robustness in various scenarios. The code will be publicly available at https://github.com/zyj1318053/TCDM.

GRD-1/PTR-11, the C. elegans hedgehog/patched-like morphogen-receptor pair, modulates developmental rate.

Both hedgehog (Hh) and target of rapamycin complex 2 (TORC2) are central, evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways that regulate development and metabolism. In C. elegans, loss of the essential TORC2 component RICTOR (rict-1) causes delayed development, shortened lifespan, reduced brood, small size and increased fat. Here, we report that knockdown of both the hedgehog-related morphogen grd-1 and its patched-related receptor ptr-11 rescues delayed development in TORC2 loss-of-function mutants, and grd-1 and ptr-11 overexpression delays wild-type development to a similar level to that in TORC2 loss-of-function animals. These findings potentially indicate an unexpected role for grd-1 and ptr-11 in slowing developmental rate downstream of a nutrient-sensing pathway. Furthermore, we implicate the chronic stress transcription factor pqm-1 as a key transcriptional effector in this slowing of whole-organism growth by grd-1 and ptr-11. We propose that TORC2, grd-1 and ptr-11 may act linearly or converge on pqm-1 to delay organismal development.

20-Deoxyingenol alleviates intervertebral disc degeneration by activating TFEB in nucleus pulposus cells.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a prevalent degenerative disease with significant adverse implications for patients' quality of life and socioeconomic status. Although the precise etiology of IVDD remains elusive, the senescence of nucleus pulposus cells is recognized as the primary pathogenic factor of IVDD; however, drugs that may targetedly inhibit senescence are still lacking. In the current study, we evaluated the small-molecule active drug 20-Deoxyingenol(20-DOI) for its effects on combating senescence and delaying the progression of IVDD. In vitro experiments revealed that the administration of 20-DOI displayed inhibitory effects on senescence and the senescence-related cGAS-STING pathway of nucleus pulposus cells. Additionally, it exhibited the ability to enhance lysosome activity and promote autophagy flux within nucleus pulposus cells. Subsequent investigations elucidated that the inhibitory impact of 20-DOI on nucleus pulposus cell senescence was mediated through the autophagy-lysosome pathway. This effect was diminished in the presence of transcription factor EB (TFEB) small hairpin RNA (shRNA), thereby confirming the regulatory role of 20-DOI on the autophagy-lysosome pathway and senescence through TFEB. In vivo experiments demonstrated that 20-DOI effectively impeded the progression ofIVDD in rats. These findings collectively illustrate that 20-DOI may facilitate the autophagy-lysosomal pathway by activating TFEB, thereby suppressing the senescence in nucleus pulposus cells, thus suggesting 20-DOI as a promising therapeutic approach for IVDD.

Photo-caged 2-butene-1,4-dial as an efficient, target-specific photo-crosslinker for covalent trapping of DNA-binding proteins.

Covalent trapping of DNA-binding proteins via photo-crosslinking is an advantageous method for studying DNA-protein interactions. However, traditional photo-crosslinkers generate highly reactive intermediates that rapidly and non-selectively react with nearby functional groups, resulting in low target-capture yields and high non-target background capture. Herein, we report that photo-caged 2-butene-1,4-dial (PBDA) is an efficient photo-crosslinker for trapping DNA-binding proteins. Photo-irradiation (360 nm) of PBDA-modified DNA generates 2-butene-1,4-dial (BDA), a small, long-lived intermediate that reacts selectively with Lys residues of DNA-binding proteins, leading in minutes to stable DNA-protein crosslinks in up to 70% yield. In addition, BDA exhibits high specificity for target proteins, leading to low non-target background capture. The high photo-crosslinking yield and target specificity make PBDA a powerful tool for studying DNA-protein interactions.