Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of CDPK Gene Family in Cultivated Peanut (<i>Arachis hypogaea</i> L.) Reveal Their Potential Roles in Response to Ca Deficiency

This study identified 45 calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) genes in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), which are integral in plant growth, development, and stress responses. These genes, classified into four subgroups based on phylogenetic relationships, are unevenly distributed across all twenty peanut chromosomes. The analysis of the genetic structure of AhCDPKs revealed significant similarity within subgroups, with their expansion primarily driven by whole-genome duplications. The upstream promoter sequences of AhCDPK genes contained 46 cis-acting regulatory elements, associated with various plant responses. Additionally, 13 microRNAs were identified that target 21 AhCDPK genes, suggesting potential post-transcriptional regulation. AhCDPK proteins interacted with respiratory burst oxidase homologs, suggesting their involvement in redox signaling. Gene ontology and KEGG enrichment analyses affirmed AhCDPK genes’ roles in calcium ion binding, protein kinase activity, and environmental adaptation. RNA-seq data revealed diverse expression patterns under different stress conditions. Importantly, 26 AhCDPK genes were significantly induced when exposed to Ca deficiency during the pod stage. During the seedling stage, four AhCDPKs (AhCDPK2/-25/-28/-45) in roots peaked after three hours, suggesting early signaling roles in pod Ca nutrition. These findings provide insights into the roles of CDPK genes in plant development and stress responses, offering potential candidates for predicting calcium levels in peanut seeds

Effect of grain structure on the mechanical properties of a Monel alloy fabricated by laser-based directed energy deposition

Monel K-500 is a Ni–Cu alloy widely used in the marine and offshore industry due to their superior resistance to corrosion in seawater and hence easily degraded. To address this problem, laser-based directed energy deposition (LDED) is used to repair or refabricate these high-value worn parts. To optimize the mechanical properties of repaired parts, the commonly applied solution and aging is not ideal because it also changes the properties of the base materials. Consequently, in situ control of the grain structures during the LDED process becomes an effective approach for high-performance repair. In this study, we fabricated a duplex grain structure with small grain size and low texture intensity using low laser power and scanning velocity. The duplex microstructure consists of short columnar grains and zigzag-distributed fine equiaxed grains. The formation of this grain structure is dependent on both the solidification and recrystallization mechanisms. The strength of this grain structure is improved to 523.5 MPa without the sacrifice of ductility, which is instead 20% higher than that of the counterpart consisting of typical columnar grains due to the grain refinement and crack toughening. The mechanical properties of the alloy with the duplex grain structure are even comparable to heat-treated Monel K-500 fabricated by wire arc additive manufacturing. This work provides valuable insights into the in situ optimization of the microstructure and mechanical properties of LDED-fabricated parts.Economic Development Board (EDB)National Research Foundation (NRF)This work was supported by Economic Development Board, Singapore and DNV Singapore Pte. Ltd. through Industrial Postgraduate Programme with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Medium-Sized Centre funding scheme through the Marine and Offshore Program

In vitro bench testing using patient-specific 3D models for percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation with Venus P-valve

Background: Due to the wide variety of morphology, size, and dynamics, selecting an optimal valve size and location poses great difficulty in percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI). This study aimed to report our experience with in vitro bench testing using patient-specific three-dimensional (3D)-printed models for planning PPVI with the Venus P-valve. Methods: Patient-specific 3D soft models were generated using PolyJet printing with a compliant synthetic material in 15 patients scheduled to undergo PPVI between July 2018 and July 2020 in Central China Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University. Results: 3D model bench testing altered treatment strategy in all patients (100%). One patient was referred for surgery because testing revealed that even the largest Venus P-valve would not anchor properly. In the remaining 14 patients, valve size and/or implantation location was altered to avoid valve migration and/or compression coronary artery. In four patients, it was decided to change the point anchoring because of inverted cone-shaped right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) (n = 2) or risk of compression coronary artery (n = 2). Concerning sizing, we found that an oversize of 2-5 mm suffices. Anchoring of the valve was dictated by the flaring of the in- and outflow portion in the pulmonary artery. PPVI was successful in all 14 patients (absence of valve migration, no coronary compression, and none-to-mild residual pulmonary regurgitation [PR]). The diameter of the Venus P-valve in the 3D simulation group was significantly smaller than that of the conventional planning group (36 [2] vs. 32 [4], Z = -3.77, P &lt;0.001). Conclusions: In vitro testing indicated no need to oversize the Venus P-valve to the degree recommended by the balloon-sizing technique, as 2-5 mm sufficed.</p

Columnar grain width control for SS316L via hatch spacing manipulation in laser powder bed fusion

This study provides a quantitative way to tailor the grain structure in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). Square-bottomed columnar grains (SCGs) were developed with a certain width roughly equal to the hatch spacing. The development of SCGs relied on different distinguishable regions, which were identified based on the differences in microstructural features between the melt-pool side and centreline. High lattice rotation accumulated at the melt-pool centreline, leading to grain boundaries forming at the centreline regions. The ultrasonic attenuation measurements and microhardness tests further validated the controllable properties. The findings indicated a novel approach to customise the material property.Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)Published versionThis work was supported by A∗STAR Science and Engineering Research Council [Grant Number A20F9a0045]; Shun Hing Institute of Advanced Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong [Grant Number RNE-p2-21]

Effects of high current density on the characteristics of zinc films electroplated in ethaline electrolyte

Zinc coatings on Cu substrates were successfully electroplated from choline chloride (ChCl) with ethylene glycol (EG) based deep eutectic solvent with the current density varied from 10 to 40 mA cm(-2) in air atmosphere at a temperature of 343 K. The effects of current density on the microstructure and corrosion performance were investigated in this paper. Smooth zinc coatings were obtained at the current density of 10 mA cm(-2) with a current efficiency of over 90 %. With the increase in current density, there was a declining trend in the current efficiency and the surface quality of zinc coatings. Although there was no diffusion layer between the coating and substrates, all the zinc coatings still bonded well with the copper substrates. Compared with the smooth zinc coating electroplated at 10 mA cm(-2), the zinc coating obtained at 40 mA cm(-2) exhibited a better corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution due to the dense packing of the large number of flake zinc grains

Effects of high current density on the characteristics of zinc films electroplated in ethaline electrolyte

Zinc coatings on Cu substrates were successfully electroplated from choline chloride (ChCl) with ethylene glycol (EG) based deep eutectic solvent with the current density varied from 10 to 40 mA cm(-2) in air atmosphere at a temperature of 343 K. The effects of current density on the microstructure and corrosion performance were investigated in this paper. Smooth zinc coatings were obtained at the current density of 10 mA cm(-2) with a current efficiency of over 90 %. With the increase in current density, there was a declining trend in the current efficiency and the surface quality of zinc coatings. Although there was no diffusion layer between the coating and substrates, all the zinc coatings still bonded well with the copper substrates. Compared with the smooth zinc coating electroplated at 10 mA cm(-2), the zinc coating obtained at 40 mA cm(-2) exhibited a better corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution due to the dense packing of the large number of flake zinc grains

Surgical treatment of pelvic lipomatosis: a systematic review of 231 cases

Background: Pelvic lipomatosis (PL) is a rare condition that is characterized by excessive growth of fat in the pelvic cavity. Studies have yet to systematically review surgical treatments for PL. Objectives: To provide a reference for selecting reasonable surgical treatments for PL patients according to previous literature on the surgical treatment of PL. Design and methods: We conducted this systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) of Individual Participant Data guidelines. Literature on PL published from 1968 to 2022 was retrieved from the PubMed and EMBASE databases. Data were collected and analyzed independently by two independent investigators. Results: A total of 42 studies, involving 231 patients with PL, were included in the analysis. The surgical treatments included transurethral resection (TUR) (48.5%), ureteral stent placement (11.7%), percutaneous nephrostomy (1.3%), ureterocutaneostomy (1.3%), ureteral reimplantation (10.4%), ileal conduit (13%), and allograft kidney transplantation (0.4%). After excluding patients with unclear prognoses, 42.9% of patients showed improvement in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) after TUR. Ureteral stent placement provided relief of hydronephrosis in 62.5% of PL patients. Percutaneous nephrostomy resulted in stable renal function in 33.3% of PL patients, while ureterocutaneostomy led to remission of postoperative hydronephrosis in 33.3% of PL patients. After ureteral reimplantation, 70.8% of patients experienced relief of hydronephrosis or had stable renal function. Ileal conduit led to remission of hydronephrosis, alleviation of symptoms, or maintenance of stable renal function in 83.3% of PL patients. One patient with PL had stable renal function after allograft renal transplantation. Conclusion: The surgical treatments for PL include TUR, ureteral stent placement, urinary diversion, and allograft renal transplantation. However, the choice of surgical method should be determined after comprehensive consideration of the patient’s condition

Short-Term Load Forecasting Based on Mutual Information and BI-LSTM Considering Fluctuation in Importance Values of Features

In short-term load forecasting, deep learning models with recurrent units are widely used. For Long Short-term Memory (LSTM) models, in terms of the input features at one particular time-step, there is a weight series for each input feature. Hence, an input feature with a larger value of weight can be regarded as more important to the final forecasting result. Since the weights of the features are time-invariant, the model considers the input features as equally important at each time step, thus lack of the capability of reflecting the importance fluctuation through the time span. To tackle this issue, this paper proposes a forecasting scheme, which integrates mutual information (MI) into bi-directional long short-term memory (BILSTM) network. The MI method is used to extract the importance value of input features at different time-steps, and constitute the fluctuation matrix of the importance values for input features, which is used as coefficients to correct the original input feature. The corrected features are substituted into the BILSTM network, which further improves the forecasting accuracy. Numerical experiments have been carried out based on real-world load data. The results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed scheme compared with a series of state-of-the-art methods and thus indicate the importance and effectiveness of capturing the fluctuation of the importance value

Metabolites of cerebellar neurons and hippocampal neurons play opposite roles in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Metabolites of neural cells, is known to have a significant effect on the normal physiology and function of neurons in brain. However, whether they play a role in pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases is unknown. Here, we show that metabolites of neurons play essential role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Firstly, in vivo and in vitro metabolites of cerebellar neurons both significantly induced the expression of Abeta-degrading enzymes in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex and promoted Abeta clearance. Moreover, metabolites of cerebellar neurons significantly reduced brain Abeta levels and reversed cognitive impairments and other AD-like phenotypes of APP/PS1 transgenic mice, in both early and late stages of AD pathology. On the other hand, metabolites of hippocampal neurons reduced the expression of Abeta-degrading enzymes in the cerebellum and caused cerebellar neurodegeneration in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Thus, we report, for the first time, that metabolites of neurons not only are required for maintaining the normal physiology of neurons but also play essential role in the pathogenesis of AD and may be responsible for the regional-specificity of Abeta deposition and AD pathology

Feasibility and Safety of Dual-console Telesurgery with the KangDuo Surgical Robot-01 System Using Fifth-generation and Wired Networks: An Animal Experiment and Clinical Study

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has drawn attention to telesurgery. Important advances in fifth-generation (5G) mobile telecommunication technology have facilitated the rapid evolution of telesurgery. Previously, only a single console was used in telesurgery; thus, there was the possibility of open or laparoscopic conversion. Furthermore, the 5G network has not been available for regional hospitals in China. From October 2021 to April 2022, dual-console telesurgeries with the KangDuo Surgical Robot-01 (KD-SR-01) system were performed using 5G and wired networks in an animal experiment and clinical study. A partial nephrectomy in a porcine model was performed successfully using a wired network. The console time, warm ischemia time, and control swap time were 69 min, 27 min, and 3 s, respectively. The mean latency time was 130 (range, 60–200) ms. A 32-yr-old male patient successfully underwent a remote pyeloplasty using a series connection of 5G wireless and wired networks. The console time and control swap time were 98 min and 3 s, respectively. The mean latency time was 271 (range, 206–307) ms. In the two studies, data pocket loss was <1%. The results demonstrated that dual-console telesurgery with the KD-SR-01 system is feasible and safe using 5G and wired networks. Patient summary: Advances in fifth-generation (5G) mobile telecommunication technology helped in the rapid evolution of telesurgery. Dual-console telesurgery performed with the KD-SR-01 system using 5G and wired networks was shown to be feasible and safe in an animal experiment and clinical study