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β-type titanium (Ti) alloys have attracted a lot of attention as novel biomedical materials in the past decades due to their low elastic moduli and good biocompatibility. This article provides a broad and extensive review of β-type Ti alloys in terms of alloy design, preparation methods, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, and biocompatibility. After briefly introducing the development of Ti and Ti alloys for biomedical applications, this article reviews the design of β-type Ti alloys from the perspective of the molybdenum equivalency (Moeq) method and DV-Xα molecular orbital method. Based on these methods, a considerable number of β-type Ti alloys are developed. Although β-type Ti alloys have lower elastic moduli compared with other types of Ti alloys, they still possess higher elastic moduli than human bones. Therefore, porous β-type Ti alloys with declined elastic modulus have been developed by some preparation methods, such as powder metallurgy, additive manufacture and so on. As reviewed, β-type Ti alloys have comparable or even better mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, and biocompatibility compared with other types of Ti alloys. Hence, β-type Ti alloys are the more suitable materials used as implant materials. However, there are still some problems with β-type Ti alloys, such as biological inertness. As such, summarizing the findings from the current literature, suggestions forβ-type Ti alloys with bioactive coatings are proposed for the future development.

Evidence regarding the off-hour effect on outcomes in neonates with gastrointestinal disease who received urgent surgical intervention is unknown. Because of the workforce shortage, insufficient experience of surgeons, and delayed radiography examination during off-hours, we hypothesized that emergency surgeries performed during off-hours were associated with worse outcomes. This study aims to analyze the association between the \"off-hour effect\" and adverse events of neonates undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery. We extracted patient data from the electronic medical record system at our institution for all neonates undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery between July 2018 and October 2021. The primary outcomes were 24-hour and in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes were actual postoperative length of stay (PLOS) and the incidence of unplanned re-operation. A total of 275 neonates were identified, and 207 (75.3%) were treated during off-hours. The \"off-hour effect\" was not associated with increased 24-hour mortality, in-hospital mortality, PLOS, and unplanned re-operation. After propensity score matching, 68 off-hours were matched to the nearest 68 on-hours based on their age, weight, gestation weeks, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status. No differences were detected in the primary and secondary outcomes. In this retrospective study with neonates who underwent emergency gastrointestinal surgery, after controlling for age, weight, gestation weeks, and ASA status, surgical and medical outcomes were not different in those undergoing off-hours surgery, which can be considered a surrogate for similar quality of care. However, in the future, a multi-center, prospective study is needed to confirm the results, to overcome the bias related to the presence of only one surgical team.

Since there is a competition between subcarriers because FBMC (Filter Bank Multicarrier) modulation technology does not need subcarriers to be orthogonal to each other, we consider the evolutionary game method to optimize subcarrier allocation. Because the adjacent subcarriers do not need to be orthogonal to each other in FBMC, there is conflict and competition, thus the evolutionary game theory is used to optimize the subcarrier allocation problem. We innovatively introduced the channel state matrix to show the quality of subcarriers. Considering the height of secondary user and base station’s antenna, the total data transmission rate limit, total power consumption constraint and power consumption constraint on a single subcarrier, a nonlinear fractional programming problem is established where maximum energy efficiency is the objective function, total data transmission rate limit, total power consumption constraint and power consumption constraint on a single subcarrier are constraint conditions. The utility function for each secondary user is established when the evolutionary game operator is designed. When the utility function becomes optimal, the evolutionary game reaches Nash equilibrium, and the strategy combination is considered to be the energy efficient resource allocation scheme. Through experimental simulation, EESA-EG proposed in this paper gives the most reasonable subcarrier allocation scheme, allocates more subcarriers for the subcarriers with better channel state and the energy efficiency in EESA-EG is optimal.

The basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factors are involved in several biological processes both in plant development and stress responses. Agarwood, a major active and economical product, is only induced and accumulated when the roots, stems, or branches are wounded in Aquilaria sinensis . Although genome-wide comprehensive analyses of the bHLH family have been identified in many plants, no systematic study of the genes in this family has been conducted in A. sinensis . In this study, 105 bHLH genes were identified in A. sinensis through genome-wide analysis and named according to their chromosomal locations. Based on a phylogenetic tree, AsbHLH family proteins were classified into 18 subfamilies. Most of them were distributed on eight chromosomes, with the exception of two genes. Based on the tissue-specific expression characteristics and expression patterns in response to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment, seven AsbHLH genes were likely involved in wound-induced agarwood formation. The results provide comprehensive information on AsbHLHs that can be used to elucidate the molecular functions and physiological roles of these proteins in A. sinensis .

BRI1-EMS suppressor (BES)/brassinazole-resistant (BZR) family transcription factors are involved in a variety of physiological processes, but the biological functions of some BES/BZR transcription factors remain unknown; moreover, it is not clear if any of these proteins function in the regulation of plant stress responses. Here, wheat (Triticum aestivum) brassinazole-resistant 2 (TaBZR2)-overexpressing plants exhibited drought tolerant phenotypes, whereas down regulation of TaBZR2 in wheat by RNA interference resulted in elevated drought sensitivity. electrophoretic mobility shift assay and luciferase reporter analysis illustrate that TaBZR2 directly interacts with the gene promoter to activate the expression of T. aestivum glutathione s-transferase-1 (TaGST1), which functions positively in scavenging drought-induced superoxide anions (O2 2). Moreover, TaBZR2 acts as a positive regulator in brassinosteroid (BR) signaling. Exogenous BR treatment enhanced TaBZR2-mediated O2 2 scavenging and antioxidant enzyme gene expression. Taken together, we demonstrate that a BES/BZR family transcription factor, TaBZR2, functions positively in drought responses by activating TaGST1 and mediates the crosstalk between BR and drought signaling pathways. Our results thus provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying how BES/BZR family transcription factors contribute to drought tolerance in wheat.

Tumor immunotherapy, compared with other treatment strategies, has the notable advantage of a long-term therapeutic effect for preventing metastasis and the recurrence of tumors, thus holding great potential for the future of advanced tumor therapy. However, due to the poor water solubility of immune modulators and immune escape properties of tumor cells, the treatment efficiency of immunotherapy is usually significantly reduced. Cyclodextrin (CD) has been repeatedly highlighted to be probably one of the most investigated building units for cancer therapy due to its elegant integration of an internal hydrophobic hollow cavity and an external hydrophilic outer surface. The application of CD for immunotherapy provides new opportunities for overcoming the aforementioned obstacles. However, there are few published reviews, to our knowledge, summarizing the use of CD for cancer immunotherapy. For this purpose, this paper provides a comprehensive summary on the application of CD for immunotherapy with an emphasis on the role, function, and reported strategies of CD in mediating immunotherapy. This review summarizes the research progress made in using CD for tumor immunotherapy, which will facilitate the generation of various CD-based immunotherapeutic delivery systems with superior anticancer efficacy.

Introduction Artificial intelligence technology has a wide range of application prospects in the field of medical education. The aim of the study was to measure the effectiveness of ChatGPT-assisted problem-based learning (PBL) teaching for urology medical interns in comparison with traditional teaching. Methods A cohort of urology interns was randomly assigned to two groups; one underwent ChatGPT-assisted PBL teaching, while the other received traditional teaching over a period of two weeks. Performance was assessed using theoretical knowledge exams and Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises. Students’ acceptance and satisfaction with the AI-assisted method were evaluated through a survey. Results The scores of the two groups of students who took exams three days after the course ended were significantly higher than their scores before the course. The scores of the PBL-ChatGPT assisted group were significantly higher than those of the traditional teaching group three days after the course ended. The PBL-ChatGPT group showed statistically significant improvements in medical interviewing skills, clinical judgment and overall clinical competence compared to the traditional teaching group. The students gave highly positive feedback on the PBL-ChatGPT teaching method. Conclusion The study suggests that ChatGPT-assisted PBL teaching method can improve the results of theoretical knowledge assessment, and play an important role in improving clinical skills. However, further research is needed to examine the validity and reliability of the information provided by different chat AI systems, and its impact on a larger sample size.

The optical appearance of the numerically black hole solutions within the higher derivative gravity illuminated by an accretion disk context is discussed. We obtain solutions for non-Schwarzschild black holes with r 0 = 1 , r 0 = 2 , and r 0 = 3 . Further analysis of spacetime trajectories reveals properties similar to Schwarzschild black holes, while the r 0 = 2 black hole exhibits significant differences. The results reveal the presence of a repulsive potential barrier for the black hole, allowing only particles with energies exceeding a certain threshold to approach it, providing a unique gravitational scenario for non-Schwarzschild black holes. Additionally, the optical images are derived through numerical simulations by discussing the trajectories of photons in the black hole spacetime. The distribution of radiation flux and the effects of gravitational redshift and Doppler shift on the observed radiation flux are considered. Interestingly, previous analyses of the optical appearance of black holes were conducted within the framework of analytic solutions, whereas the analysis of numerical black hole solutions first appears in our analysis.

Background The calcineurin B-like protein (CBL)-interacting protein kinase (CIPK) signaling pathway responds to various abiotic stresses in plants. Results Wheat CIPK23, isolated from wheat drought transcriptome data set, was induced by multiple abiotic stresses, including drought, salt, and abscisic acid (ABA). Compared with wild-type plants, TaCIPK23 -overexpression wheat and Arabidopsis showed an higher survival rate under drought conditions with enhanced germination rate, developed root system, increased accumulation of osmolytes, and reduced water loss rate. Over-expression of TaCIPK23 rendered transgenic plants ABA sensitivity, as evidenced by delayed seed germination and the induction of stomatal closure. Consistent with the ABA-sensitive phenotype, the expression level of drought- and ABA-responsive genes were increased under drought conditions in the transgenic plants. In addition, using yeast two-hybrid system, pull-down and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFc) assays, TaCIPK23 was found to interact with TaCBL1 on the plasma membrane. Conclusions These results suggest that TaCIPK23 plays important roles in ABA and drought stress responses, and mediates crosstalk between the ABA signaling pathway and drought stress responses in wheat.

Transport-derived emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have decreased owing to stricter controls on air pollution. This means that the relative importance of chemicals in pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products has increased. McDonald et al. show that these volatile chemical products now contribute fully one-half of emitted VOCs in 33 industrialized cities (see the Perspective by Lewis). Thus, the focus of efforts to mitigate ozone formation and toxic chemical burdens need to be adjusted. Science , this issue p. 760 ; see also p. 744 Chemical products contribute as much organic air pollution as transportation emissions in many cities. A gap in emission inventories of urban volatile organic compound (VOC) sources, which contribute to regional ozone and aerosol burdens, has increased as transportation emissions in the United States and Europe have declined rapidly. A detailed mass balance demonstrates that the use of volatile chemical products (VCPs)—including pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products—now constitutes half of fossil fuel VOC emissions in industrialized cities. The high fraction of VCP emissions is consistent with observed urban outdoor and indoor air measurements. We show that human exposure to carbonaceous aerosols of fossil origin is transitioning away from transportation-related sources and toward VCPs. Existing U.S. regulations on VCPs emphasize mitigating ozone and air toxics, but they currently exempt many chemicals that lead to secondary organic aerosols.