The integration of geographic methods and ecological momentary assessment in public health research: A systematic review of methods and applications.

With the widespread prevalence of mobile devices, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) can be combined with geospatial data acquired through geographic techniques like global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system. This technique enables the consideration of individuals' health and behavior outcomes of momentary exposures in spatial contexts, mostly referred to as "geographic ecological momentary assessment" or "geographically explicit EMA" (GEMA). However, the definition, scope, methods, and applications of GEMA remain unclear and unconsolidated. To fill this research gap, we conducted a systematic review to synthesize the methodological insights, identify common research interests and applications, and furnish recommendations for future GEMA studies. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines to systematically search peer-reviewed studies from six electronic databases in 2022. Screening and eligibility were conducted following inclusion criteria. The risk of bias assessment was performed, and narrative synthesis was presented for all studies. From the initial search of 957 publications, we identified 47 articles included in the review. In public health, GEMA was utilized to measure various outcomes, such as psychological health, physical and physiological health, substance use, social behavior, and physical activity. GEMA serves multiple research purposes: 1) enabling location-based EMA sampling, 2) quantifying participants' mobility patterns, 3) deriving exposure variables, 4) describing spatial patterns of outcome variables, and 5) performing data linkage or triangulation. GEMA has advanced traditional EMA sampling strategies and enabled location-based sampling by detecting location changes and specified geofences. Furthermore, advances in mobile technology have prompted considerations of additional sensor-based data in GEMA. Our results highlight the efficacy and feasibility of GEMA in public health research. Finally, we discuss sampling strategy, data privacy and confidentiality, measurement validity, mobile applications and technologies, and GPS accuracy and missing data in the context of current and future public health research that uses GEMA.

Crosstalk between epitranscriptomic and epigenomic modifications and its implication in human diseases.

Crosstalk between N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and epigenomes is crucial for gene regulation, but its regulatory directionality and disease significance remain unclear. Here, we utilize quantitative trait loci (QTLs) as genetic instruments to delineate directional maps of crosstalk between m6A and two epigenomic traits, DNA methylation (DNAme) and H3K27ac. We identify 47 m6A-to-H3K27ac and 4,733 m6A-to-DNAme and, in the reverse direction, 106 H3K27ac-to-m6A and 61,775 DNAme-to-m6A regulatory loci, with differential genomic location preference observed for different regulatory directions. Integrating these maps with complex diseases, we prioritize 20 genome-wide association study (GWAS) loci for neuroticism, depression, and narcolepsy in brain; 1,767 variants for asthma and expiratory flow traits in lung; and 249 for coronary artery disease, blood pressure, and pulse rate in muscle. This study establishes disease regulatory paths, such as rs3768410-DNAme-m6A-asthma and rs56104944-m6A-DNAme-hypertension, uncovering locus-specific crosstalk between m6A and epigenomic layers and offering insights into regulatory circuits underlying human diseases.

Label-free and ultrasensitive detection of environmental lead ions based on spatially localized DNA nanomachines driven by hyperbranched hybridization chain reaction.

A label-free fluorescent sensing strategy for the rapid and highly sensitive detection of Pb2+ was developed by integrating Pb2+ DNAzyme-specific cleavage activity and a tetrahedral DNA nanostructure (TDN)-enhanced hyperbranched hybridization chain reaction (hHCR). This strategy provides accelerated reaction rates because of the highly effective collision probability and enriched local concentrations from the spatial confinement of the TDN, thus showing a higher detection sensitivity and a more rapid detection process. Moreover, a hairpin probe based on a G-triplex instead of a G-quadruplex or chemical modification makes hybridization chain reaction more controlled and flexible, greatly improving signal amplification capacities and eliminating labeled DNA probes. The enhanced reaction rates and improved signal amplification efficiency endowed the biosensors with high sensitivity and a rapid response. The label-free detection of Pb2+ based on G-triplex combined with thioflavin T can be achieved with a detection limit as low as 1.8 pM in 25 min. The proposed Pb2+-sensing platform was also demonstrated to be applicable for Pb2+ detection in tap water, river water, shrimp, rice, and soil samples, thus showing great potential for food safety and environmental monitoring.

Base-resolution m5C profiling across the mammalian transcriptome by bisulfite-free enzyme-assisted chemical labeling approach.

5-methylcytosine (m5C) is a prevalent RNA modification crucial for gene expression regulation. However, accurate and sensitive m5C sites identification remains challenging due to severe RNA degradation and reduced sequence complexity during bisulfite sequencing (BS-seq). Here, we report m5C-TAC-seq, a bisulfite-free approach combining TET-assisted m5C-to-f5C oxidation with selective chemical labeling, therefore enabling direct base-resolution m5C detection through pre-enrichment and C-to-T transitions at m5C sites. With m5C-TAC-seq, we comprehensively profiled the m5C methylomes in human and mouse cells, identifying a substantially larger number of confident m5C sites. Through perturbing potential m5C methyltransferases, we deciphered the responsible enzymes for most m5C sites, including the characterization of NSUN5's involvement in mRNA m5C deposition. Additionally, we characterized m5C dynamics during mESC differentiation. Notably, the mild reaction conditions and preservation of nucleotide composition in m5C-TAC-seq allow m5C detection in chromatin-associated RNAs. The accurate and robust m5C-TAC-seq will advance research into m5C methylation functional investigation.

Large-eddy simulation of aerosol concentrations in a realistic urban environment: Model validation and transport mechanism.

Air pollution in urban environments exhibits large spatial and temporal variations due to high heterogeneous air flow and emissions. To address the complexity of local air pollutant dynamics, a comprehensive large-eddy simulation using the PALM model system v6.0 was conducted. The distribution of flow and vehicle emitted aerosol particles in a realistic urban environment in Malmö, Sweden, was studied and evaluated against on-site measurements made using portable instrumentation on a spring morning in 2021. The canyon transport mechanisms were investigated, and the convective and turbulent mass-transport rates compared to clarify their role in aerosol transport. The horizontal distribution of aerosols showed acceptable evaluation metrics for both mass and number. Flow and pollutant concentrations were more complex than those in idealized street canyon networks. Vertical turbulent mass-transport rate was found to dominate the mass transport process compared with the convective transport rate, contributing more than 70% of the pollutant transport process. Our findings highlight the necessity of examining various aerosol metric due their distinct dispersion behaviour. This study introduces a comprehensive high-resolution modelling framework that accounts for dynamic meteorological and aerosol background boundary conditions, real-time traffic emission, and detailed building features, offering a robust toll for local urban air quality assessment.

Response to Climate Change and GAP Analysis of Thuja koraiensis Nakai.

Due to global warming and increased human activity, the wild population of Thuja koraiensis Nakai (T. koraiensis) has dropped, placing it in danger. An understanding of the response of T. koraiensis to climate change and the determination of priority conservation areas are tremendously critical for proper conservation. Using sixty-nine T. koraiensis distribution points and seven environmental factors, the Maxent model was used to predict potentially suitable areas and spatial variation patterns of T. koraiensis and the Marxan conservation planning model was used to evaluate conservation gap areas. Research shows that the dominant environmental factors affecting the distribution of potentially suitable areas for T. koraiensis included elevation, precipitation of the driest month, isothermality and precipitation of the wettest quarter. Under the current climatic conditions, highly suitable areas for T. koraiensis are mainly distributed in the Changbai Mountains within Samjiyon County and Baishan City, the Hamgyong Mountains within the western part of Hamgyong-Bukto Province, and the T'aeback-Sanmaek Mountains within Gangwon-do, Kumgangsan Special Administrative Region and Kangwon-do. Under future climate conditions, suitable areas for T. koraiensis show a decreasing trend, and the suitable area will be reduced to higher elevations, and the Hamgyong Mountains may become a refuge. Based on GAP analysis, 69.69% of the priority conservation areas of T. koraiensis are located outside of the nature reserve, and these conservation gap areas are primarily in the southern part of the Changbai Mountains and Kangwon-do.

Effect of the structure and volume fraction of nanophase on the mechanical properties of (FeNi)86B14 amorphous nanocrystalline alloys.

The influence of precipitated nanophases on the mechanical properties of Fe-based amorphous nanocrystalline alloys is an urgent issue to be explored. Two amorphous nanocrystalline alloys, i.e., (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 and (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14 containing nanophase of the body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic structures, respectively, were selected to investigate the effect of the structure and volume fraction of nanophase on their mechanical properties. The results of nanoindentation experiments and the calculation of the volume and size of the shear transition zone reveal that the two alloys show different mechanical properties. When the volume fraction of the nanophase in (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 is larger than 50%, the elastic modulus is increased suddenly and the volume and size of the shear transition zone is decreased dramatically, while no dramatic change occurs in (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14. Moreover, it was found by using molecular dynamics simulations that the main reason for these abnormal mechanical properties is the change of cluster type in the system due to the incorporation of nanophases with different structures.

Difference in microbial community structure along a gradient of crater altitude: insights from the Nushan volcano.

The variation in the soil microbial community along the altitude gradient has been widely documented. However, the structure and function of the microbial communities distributed along the altitude gradient in the crater still need to be determined. We gathered soil specimens from different elevations within the Nushan volcano crater to bridge this knowledge gap. We investigated the microbial communities of bacteria and fungi in the soil. It is noteworthy that the microbial alpha diversity peaks in the middle of the crater. However, network analysis shows that bacterial (nodes 760 vs 613 vs 601) and fungal (nodes 328 vs 224 vs 400) communities are most stable at the bottom and top of the crater, respectively. Furthermore, the soil microbial network exhibited a decline, followed by an increase across varying altitudes. The core microorganisms displayed the highest correlation with pH and alkaline phosphatase (AP, as determined through redundancy analysis (RDA) and Mantel tests for correlation analysis. The fungal community has a higher number of core microorganisms, while the bacterial core microorganisms demonstrate greater susceptibility to environmental factors. In conclusion, we utilized Illumina sequencing techniques to assess the disparities in the structure and function of bacteria and fungi in the soil.IMPORTANCEThese findings serve as a foundation for future investigations on microbial communities present in volcanic soil.

Imbalance of mitochondrial quality control regulated by STING and PINK1 affects cyfluthrin-induced neuroinflammation.

Nervous system diseases are a global health problem, and with the increase in the elderly population around the world, their incidence will also increase. Harmful substances in the environment are closely related to the occurrence of nervous system diseases. China is a large agricultural country, and thus the insecticide cyfluthrin has been widely used. Cyfluthrin is neurotoxic, but the mechanism of this injury is not clear. Inflammation is an important mechanism for the occurrence of nervous system diseases. Mitochondria are the main regulators of the inflammatory response, and various cellular responses, including autophagy, directly affect the regulation of inflammatory processes. Mitochondrial damage is related to mitochondrial quality control (MQC) and PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1). As an anti-inflammatory factor, stimulator of interferon genes (STING) participates in the regulation of inflammation. However, the relationship between STING and mitochondria in the process of cyfluthrin-induced nerve injury is unclear. This study established in vivo and in vitro models of cyfluthrin exposure to explore the role of MQC and to clarify the mechanism of action of STING and PINK1. Our results showed that cyfluthrin can increase the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, resulting in mitochondrial damage and inflammation. In this process, an imbalance in MQC leads to the aggravation of mitochondrial damage, and high STING expression drives the occurrence of inflammation. We established a differential expression model of STING and PINK1 to further determine the underlying mechanism and found that the interaction between STING and PINK1 regulates MQC to affect the levels of mitochondrial damage and inflammation. When STING and PINK1 expression are downregulated, mitochondrial damage and STING-induced inflammation are significantly alleviated. In summary, a synergistic effect between STING and PINK1 on cyfluthrin-induced neuroinflammation may exist, which leads to an imbalance in MQC by inhibiting mitochondrial biogenesis and division/fusion, and PINK1 can reduce STING-driven inflammation.

Genetic polymorphisms and their correlation with dyslipidemia in Chinese patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia is a common complication in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Genetic polymorphisms have been implicated in the development of dyslipidemia. AIM: To investigate the association between polymorphisms of candidate genes involved in lipid metabolism and dyslipidemia in Chinese patients with DM. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1098 Chinese patients with DM recruited from multiple healthcare centers. Demographic and clinical data were collected, and dyslipidemia was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples and genotyping for selected polymorphisms of candidate genes (APOE, LPL, CETP, and others) was performed using PCR and DNA sequencing techniques. Statistical analyses were performed using logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 578 males (52.6%) and 520 females (47.4%), with a mean age of 58.4 ± 12.2 years. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 64.8%. Significant associations were found between dyslipidemia and the APOE rs7412 T/T, APOE rs429358 C/C, LPL rs328 G/G, and CETP rs708272 G/G genotypes after adjusting for covariates. Subgroup analyses showed generally consistent associations across subgroups, although some variations in effect sizes were observed. CONCLUSION: This study identified significant associations between genetic polymorphisms of APOE, LPL, and CETP genes and dyslipidemia in Chinese patients with DM.

The associations between interparental conflict and adolescent adjustment: a cross-lagged panel network analysis.

Extensively studied in interparental relationship literature suggests interparental conflict is a risk factor for adolescent adjustment, but the specific, dimension level relationships between interparental conflict and adolescent adjustment remain unclear. This study explored the interactions between the various dimensions of interparental conflict and adolescent adjustment in Chinese adolescents. A total of 1870 Chinese adolescents (42.27% males; Mage = 16.18, SD = 0.43, range = 15-18) completed a survey at two time points spaced three months apart. Data was analyzed using both cross-sectional and longitudinal network analysis. The cross-sectional network analysis found that resolution has the greatest connections with the dimensions of adolescent adjustment, suggesting that adolescents reporting high resolution are more prone to experience concurrent poor adjustment and therefore should be a primary focus of attention. The longitudinal network analysis revealed that, in general, previous hyperactivity-inattention is a significant and strong predictor of future interparental conflict, underscoring a child-driven effect. Meanwhile, prosocial behavior contributes to decreases in both interparental conflict and adjustment problems over time. These findings highlight the importance of addressing hyperactivity-inattention and cultivating prosocial behavior in adolescents as key intervention points-these can help resolve conflicts between parents and reduce adjustment problems for adolescents.

Distribution, risk evaluation, and source allocation of cesium and strontium in surface soil in a mining city.

Radioactive nuclides cesium (Cs) and strontium (Sr) possess long half-lives, with 135Cs at approximately 2.3 million years and 87Sr at about 49 billion years. Their persistent accumulation can result in long-lasting radioactive contamination of soil ecosystems. This study employed geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI), potential ecological risk index (PEPI), health risk assessment model (HRA), and Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the pollution and health risks of Cs and Sr in the surface soil of different functional areas in a typical mining city in China. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was used to elucidate the potential sources of Cs and Sr and the respective contribution rates of natural and anthropogenic sources. The findings indicate that soils in the mining area exhibited significantly higher levels of Cs and Sr pollution compared to smelting factory area, agricultural area, and urban residential area. Strontium did not pose a potential ecological risk in any studied functional area. The non-carcinogenic health risk of Sr to the human body in the study area was relatively low. Because of the lack of parameters for Cs, the potential ecological and human health risks of Cs was not calculated. The primary source of Cs in the soil was identified as the parent material from which the soil developed, while Sr mainly originated from associated contamination caused by mining activities. This research provides data for the control of Cs and Sr pollution in the surface soil of mining city.

Mingjing granule inhibits the subretinal fibrovascular membrane of two-stage laser-induced neovascular age-related macular degeneration in rats.

Objective: The study aims to investigate the protective effect of Mingjing granule (MG) in a fibrovascular membrane rat model of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and explore the underlying mechanism. Methods: The nAMD fibrovascular membrane model was established by two-stage laser photocoagulation. BN rats were randomly divided into four groups: the model group was gavaged with distilled water, the anti-VEGF group was given an intravitreous injection of ranibizumab, the MG + anti-VEGF group was gavaged with MG combined with an intravitreous injection of ranibizumab, and the normal group not modeled only fed conventionally. Lesions were evaluated by color fundus photograph, optical coherence tomography, fundus fluorescein angiography, and retinal pigment epithelial-choroid-sclera flat mount. The changes in the retinal structure were observed by histopathology. The expression of inflammatory cell markers F4/80, Iba-1, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP); the fibrosis-related factors collagen-1, fibronectin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß); and the complement system-related factors C3a and C3aR in the retina were detected by immunofluorescence or qRT-PCR. Results: The current study revealed that MG + anti-VEGF administration more significantly reduced the thickness of fibrovascular lesions, suppressed vascular leakage (exudation area and mean density value), inhibited the area of fibrovascular lesions, and restrained the formation of the fibrovascular membrane than the anti-VEGF agent alone in the two-stage laser-induced rat model. The fluorescence intensities of F4/80, Iba-1, collagen-1, fibronectin, TGF-ß, and C3aR showed more significant inhibition in MG + anti-VEGF-treated rats than the anti-VEGF agent alone. The mRNA expression levels of F4/80, Iba-1, GFAP, collagen-1, fibronectin, α-SMA, TGF-ß, and C3a showed lower levels in rats treated with MG + anti-VEGF than the anti-VEGF agent alone. Conclusion: Combining MG with anti-VEGF treatment inhibits the growth of the fibrovascular membrane more effectively than using anti-VEGF treatment alone. The mechanism underlying this effect may involve limiting inflammatory cell aggregation, controlling complement system activation, and decreasing the expression of the fibrotic protein.

Research of Pulmonary Fibrosis Lesions Based on FLIM and SHG Imaging Microscopy.

Two-photon fluorescence lifetime microscopy (TP-FLIM) is a powerful quantitative imaging technique that characterizes and analyzes the structure and function of biological samples through a combination of intensity and lifetime imaging. Because TP-FLIM is independent of the fluorescence signal intensity and the fluorophore concentration, it is widely used in high-throughput, high-content drug screening and clinical diagnostics. Second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging technology has the advantages of high spatial resolution and imaging depth inherent to nonlinear optical imaging. Second harmonics often appear in noncentrosymmetric structures. Collagen tissue in biological organisms is a good example of these structures, showing strong harmonic effects. Therefore, SHG has been widely used for imaging of specific tissue structure imaging. TP-FLIM technology is highly sensitive for quantitatively detecting changes in microenvironments. The objective of this study is to examine pathological pulmonary fibrosis slices using a combined approach of TP-FLIM and SHG technology. The fluorescence lifetime data of pulmonary collagen fibers are analyzed by using phasor plot analysis methods, and normal collagen fibers and fibrotic collagen fibers are distinguished by calculating the aspect ratio from the SHG images formed by the collagen fibers. Our study provides a new method for a deeper understanding of the pathological mechanisms and clinical diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis and other collagen fiber-related disorders.

The Valence-Dependent Activity of Colloidal Molecules as Ice Recrystallization Inhibitors.

Inspired by advances in cryopreservation techniques, which are essential for modern biomedical applications, there is a special interest in the ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) of the antifreeze protein (AFPs) mimics. There are in-depth studies on synthetic materials mimicking AFPs, from simple molecular structure levels to complex self-assemblies. Herein, we report the valence-dependent IRI activity of colloidal organic molecules (CMs). The CMs were prepared through polymerization-induced particle-assembly (PIPA) of the ABC-type triblock terpolymer of poly(acryloxyethyl trimethylammonium chloride)-b-poly(benzyl acrylate)-b-poly(diacetone acrylamide) (PATAC-b-PBzA-b-PDAAM) at high monomer conversions. Stabilized by the cationic block of PATAC, the strong intermolecular H-bonding and incompatibility of the PDAAM block with PBzA contributed to the in situ formation of Janus particles (AX1) beyond the initial spherical seed particles (AX0), as well as the high valency clusters of linear AX2 and trigonal AX3. Their distribution was controlled mainly by the polymerization degrees (DPs) of PATAC and PDAAM blocks. IRI activity results of the CMs suggest that the higher fraction of AX1 results in the better IRI activity. Increasing the fraction of AX1 from 27% to 65% led to a decrease of the mean grain size from 39.8% to 10.9% and a depressed growth rate of ice crystals by 58%. Moreover, by replacing the PDAAM block with the temperature-responsive one of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), temperature-adjustable IRI activity was observed, which is well related to the reversible transition of AX0 to AX1, providing a new idea for the molecular design of amphiphilic polymer nanoparticle-based IRI activity materials.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of liver injury induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with malignancies: A real-world retrospective study.

AIMS: Programmed cell death receptor (ligand)-1 inhibitors (PD-(L)1), as the preferred immunotherapy, have been widely used in the Chinese mainland and drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has been reported. The study aimed to investigate the clinical features or risk factors for immunotherapy-related DILI. METHODS: Patients who received PD-(L)1 inhibitors from January 2020 to July 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. The likelihood of DILI was adjudicated by the Roussel-Uclaf causality assessment. RESULTS: A total of 1175 patients were included in the study and 89 patients (7.6%) developed DILI, of which 12 (13.5%) progressed to acute liver failure (ALF) and three (3.4%) died. Among the DILI population, 56 (62.9%) had a cholestatic pattern and exhibited a prolonged treatment course and duration for resolution compared to the hepatocellular and mixed patterns. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and abnormal baseline of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) had increased risks of DILI by 2.1-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.231-3.621), 1.9-fold [95% CI, 1.123-3.325] and 2.1-fold [95% CI, 1.317-3.508], respectively. The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score had a c-statistic of 0.894 (95% CI, 0.778-1.000) with a sensitivity of 67% and a specificity of 95% for poor outcomes. COX analysis showed that the MELD ≥ 18 was predictive of immunotherapy-related ALF or death. CONCLUSIONS: PD-(L)1 inhibitor-related liver injury manifests primarily as a cholestatic pattern, on which corticosteroid treatment has minimal effect compared to hepatocellular and mixed patterns. MELD score ≥ 18 at the time of liver injury performed best in the prediction of ALF or death in immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-related DILI.

A Comparative Review on Enhancing Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping with Deep Semantic Segmentation.

Visual simultaneous localization and mapping (VSLAM) enhances the navigation of autonomous agents in unfamiliar environments by progressively constructing maps and estimating poses. However, conventional VSLAM pipelines often exhibited degraded performance in dynamic environments featuring mobile objects. Recent research in deep learning led to notable progress in semantic segmentation, which involves assigning semantic labels to image pixels. The integration of semantic segmentation into VSLAM can effectively differentiate between static and dynamic elements in intricate scenes. This paper provided a comprehensive comparative review on leveraging semantic segmentation to improve major components of VSLAM, including visual odometry, loop closure detection, and environmental mapping. Key principles and methods for both traditional VSLAM and deep semantic segmentation were introduced. This paper presented an overview and comparative analysis of the technical implementations of semantic integration across various modules of the VSLAM pipeline. Furthermore, it examined the features and potential use cases associated with the fusion of VSLAM and semantics. It was found that the existing VSLAM model continued to face challenges related to computational complexity. Promising future research directions were identified, including efficient model design, multimodal fusion, online adaptation, dynamic scene reconstruction, and end-to-end joint optimization. This review shed light on the emerging paradigm of semantic VSLAM and how deep learning-enabled semantic reasoning could unlock new capabilities for autonomous intelligent systems to operate reliably in the real world.

Bearing-Fault-Feature Enhancement and Diagnosis Based on Coarse-Grained Lattice Features.

In view of the frequent failures occurring in rolling bearings, the strong background noise present in signals, weak features, and difficulties associated with extracting fault characteristics, a method of enhancing and diagnosing rolling bearing faults based on coarse-grained lattice features (CGLFs) is proposed. First, the vibrational signals of bearings are subjected to adaptive filtering to eliminate background noise. Second, frequency-domain transformation is performed, and a coarse-grained approach is used to continuously segment the spectrum. Within each segment, amplitude-enhancement operations are executed, transforming the data into a CGLF graph that enhances fault characteristics. This graph is then fed into a Swin Transformer-based pattern-recognition network. Third and finally, a high-precision fault diagnosis model is constructed using fully connected layers and Softmax, enabling the diagnosis of bearing faults. The fault recognition accuracy reaches 98.30% and 98.50% with public datasets and laboratory data, respectively, thereby validating the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. This research offers an efficient and feasible fault diagnosis approach for rolling bearings.

Development of prognostic signatures and risk index related to lipid metabolism in ccRCC.

Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormal lipid accumulation in the cytoplasm. Lipid metabolism-related genes may have important clinical significance for prognosis prediction and individualized treatment. Methods: We collected bulk and single-cell transcriptomic data of ccRCC and normal samples to identify key lipid metabolism-related prognostic signatures. qPCR was used to confirm the expression of signatures in cancer cell lines. Based on the identified signatures, we developed a lipid metabolism risk score (LMRS) as a risk index. We explored the potential application value of prognostic signatures and LMRS in precise treatment from multiple perspectives. Results: Through comprehensive analysis, we identified five lipid metabolism-related prognostic signatures (ACADM, ACAT1, ECHS1, HPGD, DGKZ). We developed a risk index LMRS, which was significantly associated with poor prognosis in patients. There was a significant correlation between LMRS and the infiltration levels of multiple immune cells. Patients with high LMRS may be more likely to respond to immunotherapy. The different LMRS groups were suitable for different anticancer drug treatment regimens. Conclusion: Prognostic signatures and LMRS we developed may be applied to the risk assessment of ccRCC patients, which may have potential guiding significance in the diagnosis and precise treatment of ccRCC patients.

The maize sugar transporters ZmSWEET15a and ZmSWEET15b positively regulate salt tolerance in plants.

The SWEETs (sugars will eventually be exported transporter) family comprises a class of recently identified sugar transporters that play diverse roles in regulating plant development. Beyond those fundamental functions, emerging evidence suggests that SWEETs may also be involved in plant stress responses, such as salt tolerance. However, the specific role of maize SWEETs in regulating salt tolerance remains unexplored. In this study, we demonstrate that two maize SWEET family members, ZmSWEET15a and ZmSWEET15b, are typical sugar transporters with seven transmembrane helices localized in the cell membrane. The heterologous expression of ZmSWEET15a and ZmSWEET15b in the yeast mutant strain confirms their role as sucrose transporters. Overexpression of ZmSWEET15a and ZmSWEET15b in Arabidopsis resulted in improved NaCl resistance and significant increase in seed germination rate compared to the wild type. Furthermore, by generating maize knockout mutants, we observe that the absence of ZmSWEET15a and ZmSWEET15b affects both plant growth and grain development. The salt treatment results indicate that the knockout mutants of these two genes are more sensitive to salt stress. Comparative analyses revealed that wild-type maize plants outperformed the knockout mutants in terms of growth parameters and physiological indices. Our findings unravel a novel function of ZmSWEET15a and ZmSWEET15b in the salt stress response, offering a theoretical foundation for enhancing maize salt resistance.