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Numerical simulations of the dynamics of explosion bubbles and their interactions with stiffened structures are performed using the three-dimensional boundary integral method (BIM) in conjunction with the finite element method (FEM). The BIM is used to investigate the bubble’s physical characteristics, while the FEM is employed to calculate the structural response. This study aims to develop a procedure that considers multiple factors, such as fluid–structure interactions, non-spherical bubble oscillation, transient dynamic response, and stiffening patterns, to investigate the transient response of a structure subjected to an explosion bubble. Code validation comparisons between the numerical results, the analytically bubble model, and the experimental data are carried out. For the stiffened structure, the results indicate that significant effects of various strengthening strategies on the structural deformation are observed, including modification of the deformation pattern and the bubble loading. The effects of the stiffening schemes on the pressure distributions of the bodies, the bubble dynamics, and the structural response characteristics are investigated, including a higher frequency oscillation superimposed on a lower frequency motion in the vertical direction, during the various bubble evolution phases.

Background and aims Sec62 is a membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum that facilitates protein transport. Its role in cancer is increasingly recognised, but remains largely unknown. We investigated the functional role of Sec62 in gastric cancer (GC) and its underlying mechanism. Methods Bioinformatics, tissue microarray, immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blotting (WB), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and immunofluorescence were used to examine the expression of target genes. Transwell, scratch healing assays, and xenograft models were used to evaluate cell migration and invasion. Transmission electron microscopy and mRFP-GFP-LC3 double-labeled adenoviruses were used to monitor autophagy. Co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP) was performed to evaluate the binding activity between the proteins. Results Sec62 expression was upregulated in GC, and Sec62 upregulation was an independent predictor of poor prognosis. Sec62 overexpression promoted GC cell migration and invasion both in vitro and in vivo. Sec62 promoted migration and invasion by affecting TIMP-1 and MMP2/9 balance. Moreover, Sec62 could activate autophagy by upregulating PERK/ATF4 expression and binding to LC3II with concomitant FIP200/Beclin-1/Atg5 activation. Furthermore, autophagy blockage impaired the promotive effects of Sec62 on GC cell migration and invasion, whereas autophagy activation rescued the inhibitory effect of Sec62 knockdown on GC metastasis. Notably, Sec62 inhibition combined with autophagy blockage exerted a synergetic anti-metastatic effect in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion Sec62 promotes GC metastasis by activating autophagy and subsequently regulating TIMP-1 and MMP2/9 balance. The activation of autophagy by Sec62 may involve the unfolded protein response (UPR)-related PERK/ATF4 pathway and binding of LC3II during UPR recovery involving FIP200/Beclin-1/Atg5 upregulation. Specifically, the dual inhibition of Sec62 and autophagy may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for GC metastasis.

The boundary integral method (BIM) is used to simulate the 3-D gas bubble, generated within the two bubble pulsation periods in proximity to a free surface in an inviscid, incompressible and irrotational flow. The present method is well validated by comparing the calculated shapes of the bubble and the free surface with both the experimental results and the numerical ones obtained by the Axisymmetric BIM code. The expansion, the collapse of the gas bubble and the further evolution of the rebounding non-spherical bubble are simulated. The various variation patterns of the free surface spike and the bubble centroid for different standoff distances, the buoyancy parameters and the strength parameters are obtained to reveal the nonlinear interaction between the bubble and the free surface. The amplitude of the second maximum bubble volume and the four typical patterns of the bubble jet and the free surface spike are examined in the context of the standoff distance. The large buoyancy is used to elevate the spray dome rather than the free surface spike.

Aplastic anemia (AA) has been reported to be associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but mostly with ulcerative colitis (UC). Little is known about the associations between AA and Crohn’s disease (CD). We aim to determine the portraits of patients with AA-CD. Among a total of 657 patients with CD registered in Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases IBD center from January 2008 to October 2018, the patients diagnosed with concurrent AA were reviewed. Clinical presentation, medical history, endoscopic features, response to treatment, and prognosis in this set of patients were collected. Six male patients confirmed as CD associated with AA were identified. The incidence rate was 0.91% for CD associated with AA in our series. Average age at diagnosis of CD and AA was 41.5 and 39.2 years old, respectively. Abdominal pain and hyperpyrexia were the most common symptoms. Endoscopic findings showed discontinued severe inflammation, and all these patients presented with deformed ileocecal valve. Conventional pharmacotherapy failed to achieve a favorable effect. Four of six patients died from CD progression and its complications. None of these patients received bone marrow transplantation treatment because of poverty. Concurrence of AA and CD is a relatively rare condition. Immunologic impairment may play an important pathogenic role and deserves further attention. Males are more susceptible to this condition. Patients with AA-CD are prone to a severe clinical course and poor prognosis. Conventional therapy achieves no potent effect, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation may be a potentially efficient therapy.

In this work, we perform a systematical investigation about the possible hidden and doubly heavy molecular states with open and hidden strangeness from interactions of D(∗)D¯s(∗)/B(∗)B¯s(∗), Ds(∗)D¯s(∗)/Bs(∗)B¯s(∗), D(∗)Ds(∗)/B(∗)Bs(∗), and Ds(∗)Ds(∗)/Bs(∗)Bs(∗) in a quasipotential Bethe-Salpeter equation approach. The interactions of the systems considered are described within the one-boson-exchange model, which includes exchanges of light mesons and J/ψ/Υ meson. Possible molecular states are searched for as poles of scattering amplitudes of the interactions considered. The results suggest that recently observed Zcs(3985) can be assigned as a molecular state of D∗D¯s+DD¯s∗, which is a partner of Zc(3900) state as a DD¯∗ molecular state. The calculation also favors the existence of hidden heavy states DsD¯s/BsB¯s with spin parity JP=0+, DsD¯s∗/BsB¯s∗ with 1+, and Ds∗D¯s∗/Bs∗B¯s∗ with 0+, 1+, and 2+. In the doubly heavy sector, the bound states can be found from the interactions (D∗Ds+DDs∗)/(B∗Bs+BBs∗) with 1+, DsD¯s∗/BsB¯s∗ with 1+, D∗Ds∗/B∗Bs∗ with 1+ and 2+, and Ds∗Ds∗/Bs∗Bs∗ with 1+ and 2+. Some other interactions are also found attractive, but may be not strong enough to produce a bound state. The results in this work are helpful for understanding the Zcs(3985), and future experimental search for the new molecular states.

In this work, we preform a systematic investigation about hidden heavy and doubly heavy molecular states from the D ( ∗ ) D ¯ ( ∗ ) / B ( ∗ ) B ¯ ( ∗ ) and D ( ∗ ) D ( ∗ ) / B ¯ ( ∗ ) B ¯ ( ∗ ) interactions in the quasipotential Bethe–Salpeter equation (qBSE) approach. With the help of Lagrangians with heavy quark and chiral symmetries, interaction potentials are constructed within the one-boson-exchange model in which we include the π , η , ρ , ω and σ exchanges, as well as J / ψ or Υ exchange. Possible bound states from the interactions considered are searched for as the pole of scattering amplitude. The results suggest that experimentally observed states, Z c ( 3900 ) , Z c ( 4020 ) , Z b ( 10610 ) , and Z b ( 10650 ) , can be related to the D D ¯ ∗ , D ∗ D ¯ ∗ , B B ¯ ∗ , and B ∗ B ¯ ∗ interactions with quantum numbers I G ( J P ) = 1 + ( 1 + ) , respectively. The D D ¯ ∗ interaction is also attractive enough to produce a pole with 0 + ( 0 + ) which is related to the X (3872). Within the same theoretical frame, the existence of D D ¯ and B B ¯ molecular states with 0 ( 0 + ) are predicted. The possible D ∗ D ¯ ∗ molecular states with 0 ( 0 + , 1 + , 2 + ) and 1 ( 0 + ) and their bottom partners are also suggested by the calculation. In the doubly heavy sector, no bound state is produced from the D D / B ¯ B ¯ interaction while a bound state is found with 0 ( 1 + ) from D D ∗ / B ¯ B ¯ ∗ interaction. The D ∗ D ∗ / B ¯ ∗ B ¯ ∗ interaction produces three molecular states with 0 ( 1 + ) , 0 ( 2 + ) and 1 ( 2 + ) .

Electrochemical conversion of CO2 and H2O into syngas is an attractive route to utilize green electricity. A competitive system economy demands development of cost‐effective electrocatalyst with dual active sites for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, a single atom electrocatalyst derived from a metal–organic framework is proposed, in which Co single atoms and N functional groups function as atomic CO2RR and HER active sites, respectively. The synthesis method is based on pyrolysis of ZnO@ZIF (zeolitic imidazolate framework). The excess in situ Zn evaporation effectively prevents Co single atoms (≈3.4 wt%) from aggregation and maintains appropriate Co/N ratio. The as‐prepared electrocatalyst is featured with high graphitic degree of carbon support for rapid electron transport and sponge‐like thin carbon shells with hierarchical pore system for facilitating active site exposure and mass transport. Therefore, the electrocatalyst exhibits a nearly 100% Faradic efficiency and a high formation rate of ≈425 mmol g−1 h−1 at 1.0 V with the gaseous product ratio (CO/H2) approximating ideal 1/2. With the assistance of an extensive material characterization and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, it is identified that Co single atoms are uniformly coordinated in the form of Co–C2N2 moieties, and act as the major catalytic sites for CO2 reduction. A bifunctional cobalt single atom electrocatalyst is designed and fabricated with Co–C2N2 and NC functional groups serving as CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) active sites, respectively. Its 3D hollow structure and sponge‐like thin shells facilitate active site exposure and mass transport, thereby achieving high formation rate of gaseous CO and H2.

In this work, we preform a systematic investigation about hidden heavy and doubly heavy molecular states from the$$D^{(*)}{\\bar{D}}^{(*)}/B^{(*)}{\\bar{B}}^{(*)}$$D ( ∗ ) D ¯ ( ∗ ) / B ( ∗ ) B ¯ ( ∗ ) and$$D^{(*)}D^{(*)}/{\\bar{B}}^{(*)}{\\bar{B}}^{(*)}$$D ( ∗ ) D ( ∗ ) / B ¯ ( ∗ ) B ¯ ( ∗ ) interactions in the quasipotential Bethe–Salpeter equation (qBSE) approach. With the help of Lagrangians with heavy quark and chiral symmetries, interaction potentials are constructed within the one-boson-exchange model in which we include the$$\\pi $$π ,$$\\eta $$η ,$$\\rho $$ρ ,$$\\omega $$ω and$$\\sigma $$σ exchanges, as well as$$J/\\psi $$J / ψ or$$\\varUpsilon $$Υ exchange. Possible bound states from the interactions considered are searched for as the pole of scattering amplitude. The results suggest that experimentally observed states,$$Z_c(3900)$$Z c ( 3900 ) ,$$Z_c(4020)$$Z c ( 4020 ) ,$$Z_b(10610)$$Z b ( 10610 ) , and$$Z_b(10650)$$Z b ( 10650 ) , can be related to the$$D{\\bar{D}}^{*}$$D D ¯ ∗ ,$$D^*{\\bar{D}}^{*}$$D ∗ D ¯ ∗ ,$$B{\\bar{B}}^{*}$$B B ¯ ∗ , and$$B^*{\\bar{B}}^{*}$$B ∗ B ¯ ∗ interactions with quantum numbers$$I^G(J^P)=1^+(1^{+})$$I G ( J P ) = 1 + ( 1 + ) , respectively. The$$D{\\bar{D}}^{*}$$D D ¯ ∗ interaction is also attractive enough to produce a pole with$$0^+(0^+)$$0 + ( 0 + ) which is related to the X (3872). Within the same theoretical frame, the existence of$$D{\\bar{D}}$$D D ¯ and$$B{\\bar{B}}$$B B ¯ molecular states with$$0(0^+)$$0 ( 0 + ) are predicted. The possible$$D^*{\\bar{D}}^*$$D ∗ D ¯ ∗ molecular states with$$0(0^+, 1^+, 2^+)$$0 ( 0 + , 1 + , 2 + ) and$$1(0^+)$$1 ( 0 + ) and their bottom partners are also suggested by the calculation. In the doubly heavy sector, no bound state is produced from the$$DD/{\\bar{B}}{\\bar{B}}$$D D / B ¯ B ¯ interaction while a bound state is found with$$0(1^+)$$0 ( 1 + ) from$$DD^*/{\\bar{B}}{\\bar{B}}^*$$D D ∗ / B ¯ B ¯ ∗ interaction. The$$D^*D^*/{\\bar{B}}^*{\\bar{B}}^*$$D ∗ D ∗ / B ¯ ∗ B ¯ ∗ interaction produces three molecular states with$$0(1^+)$$0 ( 1 + ) ,$$0(2^+)$$0 ( 2 + ) and$$1(2^+)$$1 ( 2 + ) .

Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) is an important chassis strain widely used for the development of live biotherapeutic products (LBPs). EcN strain naturally harbors two cryptic plasmids with unknown function. During the development of LBPs using EcN strain, the cryptic plasmids were cured usually to avoid plasmid incompatibility or alleviate metabolic burdens associated with these cryptic plasmids. While the cryptic plasmids curing in EcN may appear to be a routine procedure, the comprehensive impact of cryptic plasmids curing on the EcN strain remains incompletely understood. In the present study, the effects of cryptic plasmids curing on EcN were investigated using transcriptome sequencing. The results revealed that only a small number of genes showed significant changes in mRNA levels after cryptic plasmid curing (4 upregulated and 6 downregulated genes), primarily involved in amino acid metabolism. Furthermore, the flu gene showed the most significant different expression, encoding Antigen 43 (Ag43) protein, a Cah family adhesin. Mass spectrometry analysis further confirmed the significant increase in Ag43 expression. Ag43 is commonly present in Escherichia coli and mediates the bacterial autoaggregation. However, despite the upregulation of Ag43 expression, no Ag43-mediated cell self-sedimentation was observed in the cured EcN strain. These findings contribute to making informed decisions regarding the curing of the cryptic plasmids when Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 is used as the chassis strain. Key pointsThe PCR method was used to identify the EcN mutant strain (EcNc) of cured cryptic plasmids.Compared to the EcN strain, a significant upregulation in the expression of Ag43 was observed in the EcNc strain.The Ag43 protein up-regulated in the EcNc strain is a variant that does not mediate autoaggregation of bacterial cells.

Objective To better understand the molecular biological characteristics and strain types of Brucella in Hulunbuir, Arun Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, through isolation, biochemical identification, AMOS‐PCR, and multiple locus sequence typing (MLST) of Brucella strains from human brucellosis patients, and to provide a reference for the scientific prevention and control of brucellosis in this region. Method The clinical and epidemiological data of patients with human brucellosis in Arun Banner, Inner Mongolia, were collected and analysed. Aseptically collected samples included venous blood, midstream urine and fresh diseased tissues (cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, bone marrow, lymph node aspirates and abscess puncture fluids). Gram staining, serum agglutination, dye inhibition and phage lysis tests were used for the identification of Brucella species and biovars. Molecular identification and typing of Brucella were performed using AMOS polymerase chain reaction and multiple locus sequence typing (MLST). Results Nine Brucella strains were isolated, all being B. melitensis: 2 biovar 1, 4 biovar 2, 2 biovar 3, and 1 variant. All infected individuals (9/9) were herdspersons, with a male‐to‐female ratio of 7:2 and an onset age of 30–63 years (mean 44). Among the cases, 88.89% became ill following contact with sheep, 66.67% were engaged in breeding work and 33.33% had direct contact with cattle and sheep. In MLST typing, seven strains were sequence type (ST) 8, one was a newly identified allele and one was ST12. Phylogenetic analysis using the neighbour‐joining method showed that all nine isolates clustered with B. melitensis reference strains (M5, M28, 16 M, Rev.1), consistent with biochemical and PCR identification results. Conclusion People involved in raising and trafficking sheep constitute a high‐risk group for brucellosis. The strains isolated were B. melitensis, with ST8 as the predominant type identified by MLST typing. Attention should also be given to the discovery of new alleles. Nine Brucella strains from herdspeople in Arun Banner were analysed using MLST typing. All isolates were B. melitensis, with ST8 predominant (7/9), one ST12 (first in China), and one novel allele. Results support targeted brucellosis prevention in pastoral communities.