Epigenome-850K-wide profiling reveals peripheral blood differential methylation in term low birth weight.

Aim: We investigate the genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns of term low birth weight (TLBW) neonates. Methods: In the discovery phase, we assayed 32 samples (TLBW/control:16/16) using the EPIC 850k BeadChip Array. Targeted pyrosequencing of in 60 samples (TLBW/control:28/32) using targeted pyrosequencing during the replication phase. Results: The 850K array identified TLBW-associated 144 differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and 149 DMRs. Nearly 77% DMPs exhibited hypomethylation, located in the opensea and gene body regions. The most significantly enriched pathway in KEGG is sphingolipid metabolism (hsa00600), and the genes GALC and SGMS1 related to this pathway both show hypomethylation. Conclusion: Our analysis provides evidence of genome-wide DNAm alterations in TLBW. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the functional significance of these DNAm changes.

This study looked at the DNA of babies born after 37 weeks of pregnancy but weighing less than 2500 grams. We found that these babies had lower levels of DNA methylation, which might change how their bodies handle fats.

The upregulation of TGM2 is associated with poor prognosis and the shaping of the inflammatory tumor microenvironment in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Tissue transglutaminase (TGM2) is a member of the glutamine transferase superfamily, located within cells and their membranes. When secreted, it catalyzes the cross-linking of extracellular matrix proteins and promotes the formation of extracellular matrix scaffolds. To determine the function of TGM2 in the tumorigenesis of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), we conducted a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of TGM2. Our findings indicate that high expression of TGM2 in LUSC was associated with a poorer prognosis. Additionally, we found that high expression of TGM2 is closely related to tumor-promoting inflammation and may increase sensitivity to immunotherapy. We further confirmed the cancer-promoting effect of TGM2 in LUSC through in vitro overexpression and knockdown experiments and showed that TGM2 primarily affects cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion. In summary, TGM2 promoted the progression of LUSC, and targeting TGM2 is expected to become a new therapeutic approach for LUSC treatment.

Comparison of unilateral versus bilateral central neck dissection for clinically invasive papillary thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The American Thyroid Association guidelines primarily recommend central neck dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma with advanced primary tumors or clinically positive neck nodes. However, the appropriate extent of dissection remains unclear. We aimed to compare the rate of locoregional recurrence between unilateral and bilateral central neck dissection in invasive papillary thyroid carcinoma. METHODS: Among 330 consecutive patients who underwent total thyroidectomy with central neck dissection for advanced papillary thyroid carcinoma, 212 underwent unilateral central neck dissection (UCND group) while 118 underwent bilateral central neck dissection (BCND group). We performed 1:1 propensity score matching, resulting in 99 matched pairs. Surgical outcomes and safety were compared between the two groups. Additionally, the impact of surgery on locoregional recurrence was compared using survival analysis. RESULTS: During a follow-up of 47.8 ± 20.4 months, 29 (8.8%) patients experienced locoregional recurrence within the entire study cohort. Following propensity score matching, no significant difference in recurrence-free survival was observed between the two groups (log-rank p = 0.516). Multivariate analysis revealed that only T4 staging was an independent risk factor for locoregional recurrence (p = 0.006). The mean number of total and metastatic central lymph nodes retrieved were significantly greater in BCND group (14.1 vs. 9.3, p < 0.001 and 6.8 vs. 4.6, p = 0.005, respectively). There was no significant difference in postoperative stimulated thyroglobulin levels between the two groups (0.79 ng/mL vs. 1.44 ng/mL, p = 0.389). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates no prognostic benefit in conducting bilateral central neck dissection. Unilateral central neck dissection may be the preferred choice for clinically invasive papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Estrogen-related receptor, a molecular target against lepidoptera pests.

Until recently, chemical pesticides were one of the most effective means of controlling agricultural pests; therefore, the search for insecticide targets for agricultural pests has been an ongoing problem. Estrogen-related receptors (ERRs) are transcription factors that regulate cellular metabolism and energy homeostasis in animals. Silkworms are highly sensitive to chemical pesticides, making them ideal models for pesticide screening and evaluation. In this study, we detected ERR expression in key organs involved in pesticide metabolism in silkworms (Bombyx mori), including the fat body and midgut. Using ChIP-seq technology, many estrogen- related response elements were identified in the 2000-bp promoter region upstream of metabolism-related genes, almost all of which were potential ERR target genes. The ERR inhibitor, XCT-790, and the endocrine disruptor, bisphenol A, significantly inhibited expression of the ERR target genes, BmTreh-1, BmTret-1, BmPK, BmPFK, and BmHK, in the fat bodies of silkworms, resulting in pupation difficulties in silkworm larvae that ultimately lead to death. In addition, based on the clarification that the ERR can bind to XCT-790, as observed through biofilm interferometry, its three-dimensional spatial structure was predicted, and using molecular docking techniques, small-molecule compounds with a stronger affinity for the ERR were identified. In summary, utilizing the powerful metabolic regulatory function of ERR in Lepidoptera pests, the developed small molecule inhibitors of ERR can be used for future control of Lepidoptera pests.

Giant Expanded Porous Metallo-Hexagons.

Molecular self-assembly is a widely recognized approach for fabricating biomimetic functional nanostructures. Here, we report the synthesis of two giant hollow coronoid-like supramolecular hexagons, H1 and H2. These hexagons feature large cavities, showcasing unique inner and outer hexagons fixed by specific connectivities for enhanced stability and high metal center density. H1 exhibits properties that can be transformed through the thermodynamic conversion of the metallopolymer formed by L1 and L2. With an edge length of 6.8 nm, H2 is one of the largest hexagons reported to date. 1D and 2D NMR, TEM, ESI-MS, and TWIM-MS experiments provided conclusive evidence for the composition and structure of the assembled hexagons. This work demonstrates the feasibility of constructing giant supramolecular architectures with precise control over their size and shape, opening up new possibilities for the design and synthesis of sophisticated supramolecules and nonbiological materials.

High-order layered self-assembled multicavity metal--organic capsules and anti-cooperative host-multi-guest chemistry.

The construction and application of metal-organic cages with accessible internal cavities have witnessed rapid development, however, the precise synthesis of complex metal-organic capsules with multiple cavities and achievement of multi-guest encapsulation, and further in-depth comprehension of host-multi-guest recognition remain a great challenge. Just like building LEGO blocks, herein, we have constructed a series of high-order layered metal-organic architectures of generation n (n = 1/2/3/4 is also the number of cavities) by multi-component coordination-driven self-assembly using porphyrin-containing tetrapodal ligands (like plates), multiple parallel-podal ligands (like clamps) and metal ions (like nodes). Importantly, these high-order assembled structures possessed different numbers of rigid and separate cavities formed by overlapped porphyrin planes with specific gaps. The host-guest experiments and convincing characterization proved that these capsules G2-G4 could serve as host structures to achieve multi-guest recognition and unprecedentedly encapsulate up to four C60 molecules. More interestingly, these capsules revealed negative cooperation behavior in the process of multi-guest recognition, which provides a new platform to further study complicated host-multi-guest interaction in the field of supramolecular chemistry.

Durable, multifunctional cotton fabrics with in situ deposited micro/nanomaterials for effective self-cleaning, oil-water separation and antibacterial activity.

The facile modification of cotton fabrics for excellent self-cleaning, oil-water separation, and antibacterial activity is of great interest for multifunctional requirements. Herein, a durable, robust, fluorine-free multifunctional cotton fabric was fabricated via in-situ growing zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) on the cotton surface, followed by depositing hydrophobic SiO2 (H-SiO2) nanoparticles synthesized via an improved Stöber reaction. Meanwhile, the abundant hydroxyls of the cotton fabrics provided the necessary ion interaction sites for the uniform deposition of micro/nanomaterials, confirmed by the visualized Raman imaging technology. The resultant H-SiO2/ZIF-67@cotton fabric exhibited superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 159° and versatile self-cleaning, antifouling, oil-water separation, as well as prominent antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. At the same time, the superhydrophobic cotton fabric possessed excellent durability and stability against harsh environments, including abrasion, washing, acid, base, salt, and organic solvents. This facile technique can be applied for large-scale production of multifunctional superhydrophobic cotton fabrics due to its easy operation, low cost, and environmental friendliness.

Synthesis of a Triangle-Fused Six-Pointed Star and Its Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction Activity.

As electrocatalysts, molecular catalysts with large aromatic systems (such as terpyridine, porphyrin, or phthalocyanine) have been widely applied in the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). However, these monomeric catalysts tend to aggregate due to strong π-π interactions, resulting in limited accessibility of the active site. In light of these challenges, we present a novel strategy of active site isolation for enhancing the CO2RR. Six Ru(Tpy)2 were integrated into the skeleton of a metallo-organic supramolecule by stepwise self-assembly in order to form a rhombus-fused six-pointed star R1 with active site isolation. The turnover frequency (TOF) of R1 was as high as 10.73 s-1 at -0.6 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (vs RHE), which is the best reported value so far at the same potential to our knowledge. Furthermore, by increasing the connector density on R1's skeleton, a more stable triangle-fused six-pointed star T1 was successfully synthesized. T1 exhibits exceptional stability up to 126 h at -0.4 V vs RHE and excellent TOF values of CO. The strategy of active site isolation and connector density increment significantly enhanced the catalytic activity by increasing the exposure of the active site. This work provides a starting point for the design of molecular catalysts and facilitates the development of a new generation of catalysts with a high catalytic performance.

Macrolide resistance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in several regions of China from 2013 to 2019.

This paper retrospectively analysed the prevalence of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) in some parts of China. Between January 2013 and December 2019, we collected 4,145 respiratory samples, including pharyngeal swabs and alveolar lavage fluid. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in Beijing, the highest resistance rate was 100% in Shanghai, and Gansu was the lowest with 20%. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in 2013, and the highest MRMP was 97.4% in 2019; the PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae for adults in Beijing was 17.9% and the MRMP was 10.48%. Among the children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), the PCR-positive and macrolide-resistant rates of M. pneumoniae were both higher in the severe ones. A2063G in domain V of 23S rRNA was the major macrolide-resistant mutation, accounting for more than 90%. The MIC values of all MRMP to erythromycin and azithromycin were ≥ 64 µg/ml, and the MICs of tetracycline and levofloxacin were ≤ 0.5 µg/ml and ≤ 1 µg/ml, respectively. The macrolide resistance varied in different regions and years. Among inpatients, the macrolide-resistant rate was higher in severe pneumonia. A2063G was the common mutation, and we found no resistance to tetracycline and levofloxacin.

Outdoor artificial light at night exposure and gestational diabetes mellitus: a case-control study.

Objective: This study aims to explore the association between outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN) exposure and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: This study is a retrospective case-control study. According with quantiles, ALAN has been classified into three categories (Q1-Q3). GDM was diagnosed through oral glucose tolerance tests. Conditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between ALAN exposure and GDM risk. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the association. Restricted cubic spline analysis (RCS) was utilized to investigate the no liner association between ALAN and GDM. Results: A total of 5,720 participants were included, comprising 1,430 individuals with GDM and 4,290 matched controls. Pregnant women exposed to higher levels of ALAN during the first trimester exhibited an elevated risk of GDM compared to those with lower exposure levels (Q2 OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.20-1.63, p < 0.001); (Q3 OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.44-2.00, p < 0.001). Similarly, elevated ALAN exposure during the second trimester also conferred an increased risk of GDM (second trimester: Q2 OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.45-1.98, p < 0.001; Q3 OR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.77-2.44, p < 0.001). RCS showed a nonlinear association between ALAN exposure and GDM risk in second trimester pregnancy, with a threshold value of 4.235. Conclusion: Outdoor ALAN exposure during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of GDM.

Segmented Template-Directed Self-Assembly of Giant Truncated Triangular Supramolecules.

The template-directed strategy has been extensively employed for the construction of supramolecular architectures. However, with the increase in the size and complexity of these structures, the synthesis difficulty of the templates escalates exponentially, thereby impeding the widespread application of this strategy. In this study, two truncated triangles T1 and T2 were successfully self-assembled through a novel segmented template strategy by segmenting the core triangular template into portions. Two metallo-organic ligands L2 and L3 were designed and synthesized by dividing the central stable triangle into three separate parts and incorporating them into the precursor ligands, which served as templates to guide the self-assembly process with ligands L1 and L4, respectively. The assembled structures were unambiguously characterized by multidimensional and multinuclear NMR (1H, COSY, NOESY), multidimensional mass spectrometry analysis (ESI-MS and TWIM-MS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Moreover, we observed the formation of fiberlike nanotubes from single-molecule triangles by hierarchical self-assembly.

Mediating role of depressive symptoms in the association between adverse childhood experiences and asthma.

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with asthma, but the role of depressive symptoms (DS) in this is poorly studied. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of DS on ACEs and asthma. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This study was a retrospective cohort study of participants from the China Longitudinal Study of Health and Retirement from 2011 to 2018. A total of 12,277 participants including 5942 males and 6335 females were involved in the study. METHODS: DS were assessed using the 10-item short form of the Center for Epidemiological Research Depression Scale. Logistic regression adjusted for confounders was used to explore the relationship between ACEs with asthma. Mediating effect analysis was used to assess the role of DS in the relationship between ACEs and asthma. RESULTS: The results of logistic regression showed that there were an association between ACEs and asthma. Mediating effect analysis revealed that among the 15 ACEs examined, DS had partial mediating effects on the association between asthma and 5 specific ACEs (feeling alone, peer bullied, self-reported health status, health limitation, and death of parents), and fully mediated the relationship between asthma and another 5 ACEs (death of siblings, childhood neighborhood safety, childhood neighborhood quality, physical abuse, and parents' mental health) (all p < .05). CONCLUSION: ACEs are significantly associated with an increased risk of asthma, and DS play a mediating role in the relationship between ACEs and asthma.

Kawasaki disease in neonates: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that affects infants and young children but is extremely rare in neonates, especially afebrile KD. We present a case of KD without fever in a neonate and review the literature on KD in neonates. CASE PRESENTATION: A newborn female was hospitalized because her peripheral blood leukocytes increased for half a day. The admission diagnosis was considered neonatal sepsis and bacterial meningitis. She had no fever since the admission, but a rash appeared on her face by the 7th day. On day 11 after admission, there was a desquamation on the distal extremities. On day 15 after admission, ultrasound showed non-suppurative cervical lymphadenopathy. Echocardiogram revealed coronary artery aneurysms in both sides. Finally, the patient was diagnosed with incomplete KD (IKD). The follow-up echocardiogram showed that the internal diameter of both coronary arteries returned to normal three months after birth. CONCLUSIONS: Fever, rash, and distal extremity desquamation during the recovery phase are the most common symptoms of IKD. When newborns present with clinical manifestations such as rash, distal extremity desquamation and cervical lymph adenitis and with an increased peripheral blood leukocyte count and progressive increase in platelets simultaneously, the medical staff should be highly alert to the possibility of KD even without fever. The echocardiogram needs to be performed promptly. The incidence of coronary artery lesions is significantly higher if neonatal KD patients miss timely diagnosis and treatment.

Adjusting the Architecture of Heptagonal Metallo-Macrocycles by Embedding Metal Nodes into the Backbone.

Coordination-driven self-assembly has been extensively employed for the bottom-up construction of discrete metallo-macrocycles. However, the prevalent use of benzene rings as the backbone limits the formation of large metallo-macrocycles with more than six edges. Herein, by embedding metal nodes into the ligand backbone, we successfully regulated the ligand arm angle and assembled two giant heptagonal metallo-macrocycles with precise control. The angle between two arms at position 4 of the central terpyridine (tpy) extended after complexation with metal ions, leading to ring expansion of the metallo-macrocycle. The assembled structures were straightforwardly identified through multi-dimensional NMR spectroscopy (1 H, COSY, NOESY), multidimensional mass spectrometry analysis (ESI-MS and TWIM-MS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), as well as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In addition, the catalytic performances of metallo-macrocycles in the oxidation of thioanisole were studied, with both supramolecules exhibiting good conversion rates. Furthermore, fiber-like nanostructures were observed from single-molecule heptagons by hierarchical self-assembly.

Strain-Induced Heteromorphosis Multi-Cavity Cages: Tension-Driven Self-Expansion Strategy for Controllable Enhancement of Complexity in Supramolecular Assembly.

Coordinative supramolecular cages with adjustable cavities have found extensive applications in various fields, but the cavity modification strategies for multi-functional structures are still challenging. Here, we present a tension-driven self-expansion strategy for construction of multi-cavity cages with high structural complexity. Under the regulation of strain-induced capping ligands, unprecedented heteromorphosis triple-cavity cages S2 /S4 were obtained based on a metallo-organic ligand (MOL) scaffold. The heteromorphosis cages exhibited significant higher cavity diversity than the homomorphous double-cavity cages S1 /S3 ; all of the cages were thoroughly characterized through various analytical techniques including (1D and 2D) NMR, ESI-MS, TWIM-MS, AFM, and SAXS analyses. Furthermore, the encapsulation of porphyrin in the cavities of these multi-cavity cages were investigated. This research opens up new possibilities for the architecture of heteromorphosis supramolecular cages via precisely controlled "scaffold-capping" assembly with preorganized ligands, which could have potential applications in the development of multifunctional structures with higher complexity.

Association of residential land cover and wheezing among children and adolescents: A cross-sectional study in five provinces of China.

The association between residential land cover (RLC) and wheezing remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the association between RLC and wheezing in childhood and adolescence. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among children and adolescents in five provinces of China. Land cover data were obtained from the Cross-Resolution Land-Cover mapping framework based on noisy label learning, classifying land cover into five categories: cropland, forest, grass/shrubland, wetland, and impervious. Generalized linear mixed models were employed to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of wheezing. Mediation analysis was employed to investigate whether ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) acts as a mediator in the association between RLC and wheezing. A total of 12,875 participants were included in the study, comprising 318 patients and 12,557 controls. Cropland500m was significantly associated with decreased odds of wheezing (OR: 0.929, 95% CI: 0.879-0.982), while impervious surfaces500m significantly was associated with increased odds of wheezing (OR: 1.056, 95% CI: 1.019-1.096) in all participants. In the stratified analysis, significant differences were found in the main outcomes between the adolescence group (age ≥10 years) and the childhood group (age <10 years) (Pinteraction < 0.05), while no significant differences were observed between the southern and northern regions, or between male and female respondents. Mediation analysis revealed that PM2.5 partially mediated the association between cropland500m and impervious surfaces500m with wheezing. RLC plays a significant role in wheezing during childhood and adolescence, with cropland offering protection and impervious surfaces posing a heightened risk.

A Lightweight and Efficient Method of Structural Damage Detection Using Stochastic Configuration Network.

With the advancement of neural networks, more and more neural networks are being applied to structural health monitoring systems (SHMSs). When an SHMS requires the integration of numerous neural networks, high-performance and low-latency networks are favored. This paper focuses on damage detection based on vibration signals. In contrast to traditional neural network approaches, this study utilizes a stochastic configuration network (SCN). An SCN is an incrementally learning network that randomly configures appropriate neurons based on data and errors. It is an emerging neural network that does not require predefined network structures and is not based on gradient descent. While SCNs dynamically define the network structure, they essentially function as fully connected neural networks that fail to capture the temporal properties of monitoring data effectively. Moreover, they suffer from inference time and computational cost issues. To enable faster and more accurate operation within the monitoring system, this paper introduces a stochastic convolutional feature extraction approach that does not rely on backpropagation. Additionally, a random node deletion algorithm is proposed to automatically prune redundant neurons in SCNs, addressing the issue of network node redundancy. Experimental results demonstrate that the feature extraction method improves accuracy by 30% compared to the original SCN, and the random node deletion algorithm removes approximately 10% of neurons.

Ecdysteroid UDP-Glucosyltransferase Expression in Beauveria bassiana Increases Its Pathogenicity against Early Instar Silkworm Larvae.

Beauveria bassiana (B. bassiana) is a broad-spectrum entomopathogenic fungus that can control pests in agriculture and forestry. In this study, encoding ecdysteroid uridine diphosphate glucosyltransferase gene (egt) was successfully screened in B. bassiana on the medium containing 500µg/mL G418 sulfate solution through the protoplast transformation method. This enzyme has the function of 20E (20-hydroxyecdysone) inactivation, thus increasing the mortality of the early instar larvae infected with B. bassiana. In this study, we transformed B. bassiana with the egt gene, which deactivates 20-hydroxyecdysone, a key hormone in insect development. The results showed that transgenic B. bassiana killed more silkworms of the 2nd instar larvae than the wild-type with a shorter LT50 time, which was reduced by approximately 20% (day 1 of the 2nd instar silkworm infection of B. bassiana) and 26.4% (day 2 of the 2nd instar silkworm infection of B. bassiana) compared to the wild-type, and also showed a higher mortality number before molting. The transgenic B. bassiana had a higher coverage of the body surface of silkworms compared to the wild type on the 3rd instar. In summary, improving entomopathogenic fungi using biological methods such as genetic engineering is feasible.

A Study on the Effect of Energy on the Development of Silkworm Embryos Using an Estrogen-Related Receptor.

Energy metabolism is a fundamental process in all organisms. During silkworm (Bombyx mori) embryonic development, there is a high demand for energy due to continuous cell proliferation and differentiation. Estrogen-related receptors (ERRs) are transcriptional regulatory factors that play crucial roles in mammalian energy storage and expenditure. Although most insects have one ERR gene, it also participates in the regulation of energy metabolism, including carbohydrate metabolism in Drosophila, Aphid, and Silkworm. However, no study has reported the direct impact of energy metabolism on embryonic development in silkworms. In this study, we used transgenic technology to increase silkworm (B. mori; Bm) BmERR expression during embryonic development and explored the impact of energy on embryonic development. We found no significant change in the quality of silkworm eggs compared to that of wild-type silkworms. However, there was an increase in the consumption of vitellin, a major nutrient in embryos. This resulted in a decrease in glucose content and a significant increase in ATP content. These findings provide evidence that the acceleration of energy metabolism promotes embryonic development and enhances the motility of hatched silkworms. In addition, these results provide a novel perspective on the relationship between energy metabolism and embryonic development in other insects.

Simulation analysis of the three-party evolutionary game of green building market players under carbon trading policy.

Previous studies mainly focus on the game analysis of green building development under carbon tax policy, while carbon trading, as one of the important means to promote low-carbon development, is rarely mentioned in promoting the development of the green building market. Based on this, to study the impact of carbon trading policy on the development of the green building market, this study combines prospect theory for carbon trading to build a three-way evolutionary game model of developer-government-consumer. It studies the influencing causes of green building market development under the carbon trading mechanism from the whole perspective. The study shows the existence of a carbon trading policy helps the development of the green building market. In the presence of a carbon trading market, the government's punishment, subsidies, and the setting of carbon prices influence the development of the green building market. In addition, the percentage of carbon emissions bought, the potential benefits, and the selling price also affect the chance of consumers buying green buildings to a greater or lesser extent. This study introduces prospect theory into the developer-government-consumer three-way evolutionary game model, which enriches the research perspective of each subject's behavior in the green building market. It provides theoretical support for developers, governments, and consumers to collaborate to promote the coordination and development of the green building market. It has policy implications for promoting the green and high-quality development of the construction industry.