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Hydrogeochemical and stable isotope analyses and geochemical modeling were carried out to identify the major geochemical processes controlling the groundwater chemistry and fluoride contamination in the aquifers of the Yuncheng Basin, China, an area with complex hydrogeochemical conditions and severe fluoride contamination of the groundwater. The major findings of this case study include the following: 1) Cation exchange and salt effects are vital controls on the enrichment of fluoride in groundwater in the area by reducing the activity of Ca2+/F- in groundwater via ion complexation. Cation exchange increased the fluoride concentration by 2.7 mg/L when the Na/Ca molar ratio increased from 0.24 to 9.0, while the salt effect led to a ca. 5-10% increase in complex F- in groundwater due to the further dissolution of fluoride-bearing minerals in the aquifers, as suggested by a model calculation. 2) Anthropogenic contamination from pesticide and fertilizer use and industrial waste discharge is also a main source of fluoride in the groundwater. 3) Evaporation and ion effects favor the enrichment of fluoride in groundwater by encouraging the removal of Ca via precipitation. 4) The desorption of fluoride from mineral/organic matter surfaces is enhanced under alkaline conditions and a high HCO3 content in groundwater.

This research delves into the influence exerted by BTS and BLACKPINK, prominent K-pop idol groups, on Chinese K-pop fans’ perceptions of gender, gender equality, and inclusivity. Employing data collected through a comprehensive survey distributed among a diverse cohort of fans (35 young Chinese K- pop fans), the study examines the impact of these musical phenomena’s image and temperament on their Chinese followers’ conceptualization of gender constructs and roles. A transformation from traditional binary notions of gender is revealed, that is, most respondents ascribe gender to a complex interplay of biological sex and social constructs. Besides, Fans’ enthusiasm for gender temperaments, in particular, exhibits subtle patterns that resonate with K-pop’s acceptance of a variety of gender presentations. Overall, this study substantiates the pivotal role of popular music acts in shaping Chinese K-pop fans’ contemporary conceptions of gender and fostering a climate of inclusivity, as well as underscoring the vital importance of taking cultural context into account when interpreting gender representations in K-pop.

The image of expressway asphalt pavement crack disease obtained by a three-dimensional line scan laser is easily affected by external factors such as uneven illumination distribution, environmental noise, occlusion shadow, and foreign bodies on the pavement. To locate and extract cracks accurately and efficiently, this article proposes a three-stage asphalt pavement crack location and segmentation method based on traditional digital image processing technology and deep learning methods. In the first stage of this method, the guided filtering and Retinex methods are used to preprocess the asphalt pavement crack image. The processed image removes redundant noise information and improves the brightness. At the information entropy level, it is 63% higher than the unpreprocessed image. In the second stage, the newly proposed YOLO-SAMT target detection model is used to locate the crack diseases in asphalt pavement. The model is 5.42 percentage points higher than the original YOLOv7 model on mAP@0.5, which enhances the recognition and location ability of crack diseases and reduces the calculation amount for the extraction of crack contour in the next stage. In the third stage, the improved k-means clustering algorithm is used to extract cracks. Compared with the traditional k-means clustering algorithm, this method improves the accuracy by 7.34 percentage points, the true rate by 6.57 percentage points, and the false positive rate by 18.32 percentage points to better extract the crack contour. To sum up, the method proposed in this article improves the quality of the pavement disease image, enhances the ability to identify and locate cracks, reduces the amount of calculation, improves the accuracy of crack contour extraction, and provides a new solution for highway crack inspection.

The 3′ region extraction and deep sequencing (3′READS) method accurately identifies cleavage and polyadenylation sites, avoiding common artifacts and detecting sites in A-rich contexts. It was used to greatly expand the number of characterized sites in the mouse genome, including those in long noncoding RNAs. Alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) generates diverse mRNA isoforms. We developed 3′ region extraction and deep sequencing (3′READS) to address mispriming issues that commonly plague poly(A) site (pA) identification, and we used the method to comprehensively map pAs in the mouse genome. Thorough annotation of gene 3′ ends revealed over 5,000 previously overlooked pAs (∼8% of total) flanked by A-rich sequences, underscoring the necessity of using an accurate tool for pA mapping. About 79% of mRNA genes and 66% of long noncoding RNA genes undergo APA, but these two gene types have distinct usage patterns for pAs in introns and upstream exons. Quantitative analysis of APA isoforms by 3′READS indicated that promoter-distal pAs, regardless of intron or exon locations, become more abundant during embryonic development and cell differentiation and that upregulated isoforms have stronger pAs, suggesting global modulation of the 3′ end–processing activity in development and differentiation.

Background Peptide immunotherapy (PIT) offers a safe and effective treatment with minimal side effects. This study aims to identify B-cell epitopes of a novel allergen from Blomia tropicalis ( B. tropicalis ), specifically the Chitin-binding domain type 2 (ChtBD2) protein, and evaluate the therapeutic effects of peptide treatment in a murine model. Methods Using Alphafold2, the 3D structure of ChtBD2 was constructed. AI-based and traditional computational tools predicted the predominant B-cell epitopes. Twelve synthesized peptides were assessed for allergenicity and immunogenicity. A murine model of B. tropicalis -induced allergic airway inflammation mimicking human atopic asthma was developed and analyzed. Results Predominant B-cell epitopes of ChtBD2 were identified as promising IgE-binding domains. Peptide 1 (PT1: 1–15) showed significant IgE-binding activity and the highest inhibition rate in competitive IgE-binding assays. PT1 upregulated IL-4, IL-13, and CD63 in B. tropicalis -sensitized patients’ PBMCs and basophils, respectively. Notably, IT groups showed reduced lung cellular infiltration and type 2 cytokine expression in BALF. Specific IgE levels were reduced, with a decline in the IgG 1 /IgG 2a ratio. Conclusions This study represents the first AI-facilitated development of a B-cell epitope-based ChtBD2 PIT, showing promise as an immunotherapy for B. tropicalis -allergic patients with reduced allergenicity and high immunogenicity in inducing IgG-blocking antibodies. Clinical trial Not applicable.

The emerging COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection poses severe challenges to global public health. Serum antibody testing is becoming one of the critical methods for the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. We investigated IgM and IgG responses against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) protein after symptom onset in the intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients. 130 blood samples from 38 COVID-19 patients were collected. The levels of IgM and IgG specific to N and S protein were detected by ELISA. A series of blood samples were collected along the disease course from the same patient, including 11 ICU patients and 27 non-ICU patients for longitudinal analysis. N and S specific IgM and IgG (N-IgM, N-IgG, S-IgM, S-IgG) in non-ICU patients increased after symptom onset. N-IgM and S-IgM in some non-ICU patients reached a peak in the second week, while N-IgG and S-IgG continued to increase in the third week. The combined detection of N and S specific IgM and IgG could identify up to 75% of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in the first week. S-IgG was significantly higher in non-ICU patients than in ICU patients in the third week. In contrast, N-IgG was significantly higher in ICU patients than in non-ICU patients. The increase of S-IgG positively correlated with the decrease of C-reactive protein (CRP) in non-ICU patients. N and S specific IgM and IgG increased gradually after symptom onset and can be used for detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Analysis of the dynamics of S-IgG may help to predict prognosis.

IntroductionHip fractures are a prevalent type of fracture and a leading cause of disability and mortality among older patients, imposing a substantial burden on both families and society. As surgical intervention is considered the primary means of improving patient outcomes, perioperative optimisation management is essential for enhancing prognosis. A key component of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol for hip surgery is the innovation of preoperative fasting concepts, which includes the recommendation of preoperative oral carbohydrates for surgical procedures, particularly hip surgery. While preoperative oral carbohydrates have been shown to alleviate hunger and thirst symptoms in patients and promote postoperative recovery, concerns regarding intraoperative aspiration and gastric content retention persist, rendering the safety and feasibility of this approach for surgery a topic of debate. This study aims to investigate and summarise the clinical outcomes of preoperative oral carbohydrates in patients undergoing hip surgery, providing a comprehensive evaluation of their impact on patient recovery and safety.Methods and analysisA systematic and comprehensive search will be conducted across multiple databases, including CINAHL, PubMed, CNKI, VIP database, Wanfang database, Embase, CBM, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials.gov (https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/), from their inception to November 2024, to identify randomised controlled trials that examine the effect of preoperative oral carbohydrates on patients with hip fractures. The primary outcome of interest will be postoperative insulin sensitivity. The literature search will be screened independently by two researchers to identify eligible articles for inclusion in this meta-analysis. Subsequent data extraction and assessment of risk of bias will be performed. This meta-analysis will provide a comprehensive summary of the available data for each outcome, provided that sufficient data are available. The presence of heterogeneity among the included studies will be evaluated using the χ2 test and the I2 statistic, allowing for the quantification of inconsistency across the studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols are adhered to in this systematic review and meta-analysis.Ethics and disseminationThis study uses previously published data, and as such, does not require additional ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42024611468.

This study proposes a new method to improve the accuracy of car-following models in predicting the mobility of mixed traffic flow involving trucks and automated vehicles (AVs). A classification is developed to categorize car-following behaviors into eight distinct modes based on vehicle type (passenger car/truck) and autonomy level (human-driven vehicle [HDV]/AV) for parameter calibration and simulation. The car-following model parameters are calibrated based on the HighD dataset, and the models are selected through minimizing statistical error. A cellular-automaton-based simulation platform is implemented in MATLAB (R2023b), and a decision framework is developed for the simulation. Key findings demonstrate that mode-specific parameter calibration improves model accuracy, achieving an average error reduction of 80% compared to empirical methods. The simulation results reveal a positive correlation between the AV penetration rate and traffic flow stability, which consequently enhances capacity. Specifically, a full transition from 0% to 100% AV penetration increases traffic capacity by 50%. Conversely, elevated truck penetration rates degrade traffic flow stability, reducing the average speed by 75.37% under full truck penetration scenarios. Additionally, higher AV penetration helps stabilize traffic flow, leading to reduced speed fluctuations and lower emissions, while higher truck proportions contribute to higher emissions due to increased traffic instability.

Alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) results in mRNA isoforms containing different 3' untranslated regions (3'UTRs) and/or coding sequences. How core cleavage/polyadenylation (C/P) factors regulate APA is not well understood. Using siRNA knockdown coupled with deep sequencing, we found that several C/P factors can play significant roles in 3'UTR-APA. Whereas Pcf11 and Fip1 enhance usage of proximal poly(A) sites (pAs), CFI-25/68, PABPN1 and PABPC1 promote usage of distal pAs. Strong cis element biases were found for pAs regulated by CFI-25/68 or Fip1, and the distance between pAs plays an important role in APA regulation. In addition, intronic pAs are substantially regulated by splicing factors, with U1 mostly inhibiting C/P events in introns near the 5' end of gene and U2 suppressing those in introns with features for efficient splicing. Furthermore, PABPN1 inhibits expression of transcripts with pAs near the transcription start site (TSS), a property possibly related to its role in RNA degradation. Finally, we found that groups of APA events regulated by C/P factors are also modulated in cell differentiation and development with distinct trends. Together, our results support an APA code where an APA event in a given cellular context is regulated by a number of parameters, including relative location to the TSS, splicing context, distance between competing pAs, surrounding cis elements and concentrations of core C/P factors.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer in men worldwide, and understanding its molecular mechanisms is crucial for developing effective treatment strategies. SIRT7, a NAD+‐dependent histone deacetylase, has emerged as a key regulator in PCa progression due to its roles in chromatin remodeling, DNA repair, and transcriptional regulation. Analysis of 492 PCa samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) via cBioPortal revealed that high SIRT7 expression is associated with poor prognosis in PCa patients. Mechanistically, SIRT7 deacetylates histone H3 at lysine 18 (H3K18Ac), a marker associated with aggressive tumors, suppressing tumor suppressor genes and promoting cancer cell proliferation and survival. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a cellular biological process in which epithelial cells undergo specific molecular and morphological changes to transform into cells with characteristics of mesenchymal cells. SIRT7 also regulates EMT, and inhibiting SIRT7 in PCa cell lines reduces cell migration and invasion, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target. In summary, the clinical significance of SIRT7 expression in PCa requires further research to elucidate its mechanisms. Developing specific inhibitors targeting SIRT7's deacetylase activity is a promising therapeutic strategy. SIRT7 plays a crucial role in regulating biological processes such as cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis in PCa through its epigenetic control of gene expression and maintenance of genomic stability. Therefore, SIRT7 may be a potential therapeutic target for PCa, and its expression could have prognostic value for PCa patients, providing important guidance for clinical monitoring and diagnosis by physicians.