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The adhesion ability of Lactobacillus plantarum affects retention time in the human gastro-intestinal tract, as well as influencing the interaction with their host. In this study, the relationship between the adhesion activity of, and metabolic changes in, L. plantarum ATCC 14917 under initial acid and alkali stress was evaluated by analyzing auto-aggregation, protein adhesion and cell adhesion in vitro. Based on scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis, the morphology of the bacteria became thickset and the thickness of their cell walls decreased under initial alkali stress. The fold changes of auto-aggregation, adhere to mucin and HT-29 cell lines of L. plantarum ATCC 14917 in the acid group were increased by 1.141, 1.125 and 1.156, respectively. But decreased significantly in the alkali group (fold changes with 0.842, 0.728 and 0.667). Adhesion-related protein increased in the acid group but declined in the alkali group at the mRNA expression level according to real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. The changes in the metabolite profiles of L. plantarum ATCC 14917 were characterized using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray ionization-Quadrupole-Time of Flight-mass spectrometry (UPLS-ESI-Q-TOF-MS). In the alkali group, the content of a lot of substances involved in the energy and amino acid metabolism decreased, but the content of some substances involved in the energy metabolism was slightly increased in the acid group. These findings demonstrate that energy metabolism is positively correlated with the adhesion ability of L. plantarum ATCC 14917. The amino-acids metabolism, especially the amino acids related to pH-homeostasis mechanisms (lysine, aspartic acid, arginine, proline and glutamic acid), showed an obvious effect on the adhesion ability of L. plantarum ATCC 14917. This investigation provides a better understanding of L. plantarum's adhesion mechanisms under initial pH stress.

The development of increasingly more accurate computational methods is a primary research focus in ship hydrodynamics and fluid mechanics. However, reliable, robust, efficient, easy-to-apply ‘simple’ computational tools that account for dominant flow physics—but may neglect flow features that only have a relatively minor influence—are of paramount importance for practical applications to design optimization. This general argument is expounded in the first part of the study, and is illustrated in the second part in a review of panel methods related to the classical 3D potential-flow analysis of wave diffraction–radiation by a ship that steadily advances through regular waves or in calm water. Specifically, this review examines basic choices and significant difficulties involved in the development of panel methods that are useful for practical design applications and design optimization.

The classical Neumann–Kelvin (NK) theory of potential flow around a free-surface-piercing ship that steadily advances in calm water or through regular waves is considered. Specifically, this study presents an elementary ‘no-equation interpretation’ of the rigid-waterplane linear flow model and the related modification of the NK theory recently presented by the authors and complements the detailed mathematical analysis given in that earlier study. Specifically, the NN (Neumann–Noblesse) integral equation obtained in that previous study by applying Green’s fundamental identity to an alternative linear flow model called the rigid-waterplane flow model, in which an open free-surface-piercing ship hull is closed by a rigid waterplane slightly submerged under the free surface, is interpreted in light of Saint-Venant’s principle. Briefly, the present study argues that the NK integral equation obtained in the classical NK theory of potential flow around a ship contains a singularity at the ship waterline and that this singularity is removed—in the spirit of the classical Saint-Venant principle—in the rigid-waterplane flow model and the related weakly-singular NN integral equation, which can then be viewed as a ‘regularization’ of the NK integral equation. This study also presents variants of the NN integral equation in which a function defined in terms of the ship hull surface geometry by an integral over the ship waterplane or an integral around the ship waterline is expressed as equivalent integrals over the ship hull surface. Like the NN integral equation given previously, the equivalent variants of the weakly-singular NN integral equation obtained in this study do not involve a waterline integral and hold for a ship that steadily advances in calm water or through regular waves, as well as for an offshore structure or a moored ship in regular waves.

Undergraduate dropout is a multidimensional phenomenon with implications for higher education, economic development, and social and cultural transformation, posing complex challenges for society as a whole. To address this, universities require effective dropout risk assessments for both domestic and international students, enabling the implementation of tailored strategies and support. This study sourced a dataset from multiple faculties, comprising 3544 records for domestic students (Portuguese) and 86 for international students, considering 23 features. To balance the data, Conditional Tabular Generative Adversarial Networks were utilized to generate 487 synthetic samples with comparable statistical characteristics for training (85%) while retaining the original 86 real samples for testing (15%), thus maintaining an identical train–test split for evaluating domestic students. An Automated Machine Learning framework, employing ensemble learning algorithms, achieved outstanding performance, with the Light Gradient Boosting Machine proving the most effective for domestic students and Categorical Boosting for international students, both achieving test accuracies exceeding 0.90. The analysis revealed that improving academic performance during the first and second semesters was key to reducing dropout risks. Once a satisfactory level was reached, further improvements had minimal impact. Therefore, the focus should be on achieving satisfactory grades. Other objective identity factors, such as age and gender, were less influential than academic performance. A web-based application incorporating the developed models was created, offering an open-access tool for forecasting dropout risks, with all code made publicly available for further research into undergraduate performance, which could be extended to other nations.

Colorectal cancer is a common and high-mortality cancer that develops from colorectal adenomas and has a complex process of onset and progression. The CPT1C gene has been found to have a potential oncogenic role in a variety of cancers, but its role in colorectal adenocarcinoma is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression changes of CPT1C gene in colorectal adenocarcinoma and its clinical significance. Gene expression data from the GEO database were analyzed using machine learning to assess CPT1C differential expression between colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenoma patients. CPT1C was knocked down in HT29 and HCT116 colon cancer cells, and effects on proliferation, migration, and apoptosis were examined via CCK8, scratch, and Annexin V assays. CPT1C expression in human tissues was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Additionally, the association between CPT1C expression and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed using the TCGA CRC cohort. Machine learning analysis revealed that CPT1C expression was significantly elevated in colorectal adenocarcinoma patients compared to adenoma patients, and high CPT1C expression was associated with poor patient survival. Cellular experiments demonstrated that CPT1C knockdown led to pronounced inhibition of cell proliferation, reduction in migration capabilities, and increased apoptosis in HT29 and HCT116 cells. Immunohistochemical results further confirmed the upregulated expression of CPT1C in colorectal cancer tissues. TCGA cohort analysis revealed that CPT1C expression was significantly associated with disease progression. CPT1C is significantly upregulated in colorectal adenocarcinoma compared with adenoma, and its high expression correlates with disease progression and poor prognosis. Functional assays demonstrate that CPT1C knockdown suppresses proliferation and migration while inducing apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target.

A large amount of wastes are generated during sintered NdFeB production, and recycling of those wastes shows huge economic and environmental benefits. In this work, grain boundary diffusion process is employed to enhance the coercivity of waste sintered (Nd,Ce,Gd)FeB magnets. Pr 40 Tb 30 Cu 30 alloy is employed as the diffusion source. The coercivity of the waste magnet increased from 763 to 1287 kA/m without a consumption of remanence by optimized diffusion treatment. The maximum energy product and temperature stability of the magnets were also improved. The waste N30 magnet was successfully upgraded to N30M, close to N30H. It is found that that the shell/core structure with a Tb/Pr-rich shell and Nd/Ce/Gd-rich core was formed in the grain boundary diffused magnets, which is the main reason for the enhancement of coercivity and temperature stability. The detailed investigations clarified the distribution preference of different rare earth elements. Tb prefers entering into the main phase, while Pr tends to diffuse along the grain boundaries with large diffusion depth. The Nd, Ce and Gd elements also show different capacities of being replaced. These results suggest that the grain boundary diffusion process can be used as an efficient recycling method for those waste NdFeB magnets which were not seriously oxidized.

Promising thermoelectric materials are usually those of “phonon‐glass electron‐crystal” (PGEC) compounds, with low thermal conductivity and high carrier mobility. In metallic materials, strong electron‐phonon interaction usually causes an increase of Seebeck coefficient (S) at low temperature, due to an extra electrical current driven by heat‐carrying phonons, named phonon drag effect. Here, this study reports that single crystalline metallic Mg3Bi2 has low lattice thermal conductivity of ≈0.49 W m−1 K−1 at 285 K, and corresponding mean free path of phonons (Lph) is ≈0.48 nm, with carrier mobility of ≈54.2 cm2 V−1 s−1 around room temperature. It is found that S exhibits an increase as a “hump” ≈20 K, and phonon drag effect (Sph) contributes to ≈80%, significantly higher than diffusive electrons. Meanwhile, Sph is positively proportional to Lph, where coefficient of Sph/Lph is ≈4.6 × 102 µV K−1 µm−1, twice that of CrSb2 and FeSb2, and relative strength of electron‐phonon interaction is ≈0.12. The Lph‐intercept of Sph/Lph approaches to ≈4.68 nm, where phonons can be strongly scattered before interacting with electrons, leading to a negligible phonon drag effect. The findings shed light on fundamental understanding of thermoelectric transport and exploring novel thermoelectric materials. In this work, low lattice thermal conductivity and high carrier mobility are revealed in single crystalline Mg3Bi2, a promising thermoelectric material. An increase of thermopower as a “hump” ≈20 K is found, where phonon drag effect contributes large portion by replacing diffusive electrons. A high coefficient of phonons driving thermopower is discovered due to its strong electron‐phonon interaction.

NeuroHIV has emerged as a significant unmet challenge, manifesting as impairments in learning, memory, sensorimotor, and language in people living with HIV (PLWH). Despite the widespread use of antiretroviral therapy, the incidence of NeuroHIV remains high among PLWH. Microglial cells, as the main targets and reservoirs for HIV-1 infection, play crucial roles in sustaining HIV-1 persistence and contributing to neuroinflammation and neuroHIV pathogenesis. This review summarizes recent molecular studies that elucidate the role of HIV-1-related factors—such as the viral proteins trans-activator of transcription (Tat), gp120, and Vpr, HIV-1 RNAs, and associated microRNA and long non-coding RNAs and extracellular vesicles—in microglial activation through mechanisms including cellular senescence, ferroptosis, defective mitophagy, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 activation, and NF-κB pathway modulation. These processes collectively lead to neuroinflammation and the development of NeuroHIV. This review presents the current understanding of non-replicative mechanisms in NeuroHIV, outlining challenges, shortcomings, and the current treatment status. Further, it identifies potential therapeutic targets linked to microglial activation. The overall goal is to stimulate further research into novel strategies for mitigating the neuroinflammatory processes driving cognitive decline.

Background Clinical data on oral fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a promising therapy for Crohn’s disease (CD), are limited. Herein, we determined the short-term safety and feasibility of FMT for pediatric patients with active CD. Methods In this open-label, parallel-group, single-center prospective trial, patients with active CD were treated with oral FMT capsules combined with partial enteral nutrition (PEN) (80%). The control group comprised pediatric patients with active CD treated with PEN (80%) and immunosuppressants. Thirty-three patients (11.6 ± 1.82 years)—17 in the capsule and 16 in the control groups—were analyzed. Data regarding the adverse events, clinical reactions, intestinal microbiome composition, and biomarker parameters were collected and compared post-treatment. Results At week 10, the clinical and endoscopic remission rates did not differ between the two groups. By week 10, the mean fecal calprotectin level, C-reactive protein level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, simple endoscopic score for CD, and pediatric CD activity index decreased significantly in the capsule group (all P < 0.05). The main adverse event was mild-to-moderate constipation. Core functional genera, Agathobacter , Akkermansia , Roseburia ,  Blautia , Subdoligranulum , and Faecalibacterium , were lacking pre-treatment. Post-treatment, the implantation rates of these core functional genera increased significantly, which positively correlated with the anti-inflammatory factor, interleukin (IL)-10, and negatively correlated with the pro-inflammatory factor, IL-6. The combination of these six functional genera distinguished healthy children from those with CD (area under the curve = 0.96). Conclusions Oral FMT capsules combined with PEN (80%) could be an effective therapy for children with active CD. The six core functional genera identified here may be candidate biomarkers for identifying children with CD. Trial registration : ClinicalTrials.gov, retrospectively registered, ID# NCT05321758, NCT05321745, date of registration: 2022-04-04.

Liver metastasis is a major cause of colorectal cancer‐related death. Although DNase I displays antimetastatic activity by inhibition of NETs, its clinical use is limited due to its short biologic half‐life. AAV‐mediated gene expression of DNase I is a novel therapeutic strategy that could reduce the development of liver metastases through modulation of innate and adaptive tumor immunity. Liver metastasis is the main cause of colorectal cancer (CRC)‐related death. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play important roles in CRC progression. Deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) has been shown to alter NET function by cleaving DNA strands comprising the NET backbone. Moreover, DNase I displays high antimetastatic activity in multiple tumor models. To circumvent long‐term daily administrations of recombinant DNase I, we have developed an adeno‐associated virus (AAV) gene therapy vector to specifically express DNase I in the liver. In this study, we demonstrate AAV‐mediated DNase I liver gene transfer following a single intravenous injection suppresses the development of liver metastases in a mouse model of CRC liver metastasis. Increased levels of neutrophils and NET formation in tumors are associated with poor prognosis in many patients with advanced cancers. Neutrophil infiltration and NET formation were inhibited in tumor tissues with AAV‐DNase I treatment. This approach restored local immune responses at the tumor site by increasing the percentage of CD8+ T cells while keeping CD4+ T cells similar between AAV‐DNase I and AAV‐null treatments. Our data suggest that AAV‐mediated DNase I liver gene transfer is a safe and effective modality to inhibit metastasis and represents a novel therapeutic strategy for CRC.