Contrasting Effects Research Articles

Case study of design-driven innovation in Japanese high-end electrical fan market: Focusing on differences in originators

This study aims to clarify the differences in processes, outcomes, and post-launch ripple effects in design-driven innovation (DDI), starting from industrial designers (IDs) and developmental technologists (DTs), and how they differ from the model proposed by Verganti. We examine two instances of DDI in cases within the mature Japanese electrical fan (E-fan) market. In the first case, the originator is an ID, and in the second, the originator is a DT. Our results show that both DDIs created new meanings and established a high-end E-fan market, de-maturing it. By contrast, the processes, outcomes, and post-launch ripple effects of the two DDIs differed significantly. These differences in DDIs can be attributed to the differences in the initiators of each DDI. Additionally, the DDI process in the first case differs from that advocated by Verganti. This difference can be attributed to the use of the Japanese design approach.

Switching and control mechanism between p-type and n-type in SnO2 nanorods using laser with added convex lens to control oxygen concentrations

In a significant advancement, a novel technology has been developed to precisely control the electronic sensitization of SnO2 nanorods. This control is accomplished in a matter of seconds through the external injection of energy via laser and convex lens pairs (LCP). Utilizing LCP, selective redox reactions can be induced on the surface of SnO2 nanorods. The study focused on the contrasting effects of NO2, an oxidizing gas, and H2, a reducing gas. In the presence of NO2, the electronic sensitization caused by LCP outweighs the chemical sensitization due to NO2, thereby resulting in both n-type and p-type behaviors. In contrast, when exposed to H2, the nanorods exhibit only n-type behavior, as the chemical sensitization effect of H2 is more significant than the electronic sensitization effect of LCP. The observed variations in electronic properties can be systematically accounted for by the differential bonding energies between oxidizing and reducing gases.

Stress Markers, Executive Functioning, and Resilience Among Early Adolescents With Complex Congenital Heart Disease

Infants with complex congenital heart disease (cCHD) may experience prolonged and severe stress when undergoing open heart surgery. However, little is known about long-term stress and its role in neurodevelopmental impairments in this population. To investigate potential differences between early adolescents aged 10 to 15 years with cCHD and healthy controls in physiological stress markers by hair analysis, executive function (EF) performance, and resilience. This single-center, population-based case-control study was conducted at the University Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Patients with different types of cCHD who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass surgery during the first year of life and who did not have a genetic disorder were included in a prospective cohort study between 2004 and 2012. A total of 178 patients were eligible for assessment at ages 10 to 15 years. A control group of healthy term-born individuals was cross-sectionally recruited. Data assessment was between 2019 and 2021. Statistical analysis was performed from January to April 2023. Patients with cCHD who underwent infant open heart surgery. Physiological stress markers were quantified by summing cortisol and cortisone concentrations measured with liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry in a 3-centimeter hair strand. EFs were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery to produce an age-adjusted EF summary score. Resilience was assessed with a standardized self-report questionnaire. The study included 100 patients with cCHD and 104 controls between 10 and 15 years of age (mean [SD] age, 13.3 [1.3] years); 110 (53.9%) were male and 94 (46.1%) were female. When adjusting for age, sex, and parental education, patients had significantly higher sums of hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations (β, 0.28 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.43]; P < .001) and lower EF scores (β, -0.36 [95% CI, -0.49 to -0.23]; P < .001) than controls. There was no group difference in self-reported resilience (β, -0.04 [95% CI, -0.23 to 0.12]; P = .63). A significant interaction effect between stress markers and EFs was found, indicating a stronger negative association in patients than controls (β, -0.65 [95% CI, -1.15 to -0.15]; P = .01). The contrast effects were not significant in patients (β, -0.21 [95% CI, -0.43 to -0.00]; P = .06) and controls (β, 0.09 [95% CI, -0.11 to 0.30]; P = .38). This case-control study provides evidence for altered physiological stress levels in adolescents with cCHD and an association with poorer EF. These results suggest that future studies are needed to better understand the neurobiological mechanisms and timing of alterations in the stress system and its role in neurodevelopment.

Taste aversion learning during successive negative contrast

Previous experiments found that acceptance of saccharin by rats was reduced if they had prior experience of sucrose or some other highly palatable solution. This study tested whether such successive negative contrast (SNC) effects involve acquisition of an aversion to the new taste. In three experiments, rats were switched from sucrose exposure in Stage 1 to a less palatable solution containing a new taste in Stage 2. In Experiments 1 and 2, a novel flavor was added to a saccharin solution at the start of Stage 2. In Experiment 1, preference tests revealed a weak aversion to the added vanilla flavor in the Suc-Sacch group, while in Experiment 2 an aversion was found in the Suc-Sacch group to the salty flavor that was used, compared with controls given access either saccharin or water in Stage 1. In Experiment 3, the Suc-Quin group, given quinine solution in Stage 2, displayed a greater aversion to quinine than a Water-Quin control group. These results support the suggestion that taste aversion learning plays a role in the initial suppression of intakes in a qualitative consummatory SNC effect. However, in the light of other evidence, it seems that the unusual persistence of successive negative contrast when rats are switched from sucrose to saccharin is not due to a long-lasting reduction in the value of saccharin.

Road Access, Fertility, and Child Health in Rural India

AbstractExpansion in access to public infrastructure can have varied, microlevel impacts. In this paper, we use a discrete and quasi‐random change in the access to paved roads through a large‐scale rural road construction program in India to study how road access impacts fertility decisions and investments in child health. We find that increased access to paved roads at the district level decreases fertility, improves investments in children, and lowers infant mortality. We also provide evidence that highlights the mechanisms that drive this effect. First, we show that local roads improve access to health care facilities and raise immunization rates, which reduces infant mortality. Then, we demonstrate that last‐mile road connectivity has contrasting effects on employment across gender. Overall, the evidence suggests that rural roads can help accelerate demographic transition through their effects on fertility and infant mortality.

Contrasting MEG effects of anodal and cathodal high-definition TDCS on sensorimotor activity during voluntary finger movements.

Protocols for noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) are generally categorized as "excitatory" or "inhibitory" based on their ability to produce short-term modulation of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in peripheral muscles, when applied to motor cortex. Anodal and cathodal stimulation are widely considered excitatory and inhibitory, respectively, on this basis. However, it is poorly understood whether such polarity-dependent changes apply for neural signals generated during task performance, at rest, or in response to sensory stimulation. To characterize such changes, we measured spontaneous and movement-related neural activity with magnetoencephalography (MEG) before and after high-definition transcranial direct-current stimulation (HD-TDCS) of the left motor cortex (M1), while participants performed simple finger movements with the left and right hands. Anodal HD-TDCS (excitatory) decreased the movement-related cortical fields (MRCF) localized to left M1 during contralateral right finger movements while cathodal HD-TDCS (inhibitory), increased them. In contrast, oscillatory signatures of voluntary motor output were not differentially affected by the two stimulation protocols, and tended to decrease in magnitude over the course of the experiment regardless. Spontaneous resting state oscillations were not affected either. MRCFs are thought to reflect reafferent proprioceptive input to motor cortex following movements. Thus, these results suggest that processing of incoming sensory information may be affected by TDCS in a polarity-dependent manner that is opposite that seen for MEPs-increases in cortical excitability as defined by MEPs may correspond to reduced responses to afferent input, and vice-versa.

Ecophysiology of Antarctic Vascular Plants: An Update on the Extreme Environment Resistance Mechanisms and Their Importance in Facing Climate Change

Antarctic flowering plants have become enigmatic because of their unique capability to colonize Antarctica. It has been shown that there is not a single trait that makes Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica so special, but rather a set of morphophysiological traits that coordinately confer resistance to one of the harshest environments on the Earth. However, both their capacity to inhabit Antarctica and their uniqueness remain not fully explained from a biological point of view. These aspects have become more relevant due to the climatic changes already impacting Antarctica. This review aims to compile and update the recent advances in the ecophysiology of Antarctic vascular plants, deepen understanding of the mechanisms behind their notable resistance to abiotic stresses, and contribute to understanding their potential responses to environmental changes. The uniqueness of Antarctic plants has prompted research that emphasizes the role of leaf anatomical traits and cell wall properties in controlling water loss and CO2 exchange, the role of Rubisco kinetics traits in facilitating efficient carbon assimilation, and the relevance of metabolomic pathways in elucidating key processes such as gas exchange, nutrient uptake, and photoprotection. Climate change is anticipated to have significant and contrasting effects on the morphophysiological processes of Antarctic species. However, more studies in different locations outside Antarctica and using the latitudinal gradient as a natural laboratory to predict the effects of climate change are needed. Finally, we raise several questions that should be addressed, both to unravel the uniqueness of Antarctic vascular species and to understand their potential responses to climate change.

Contrasting salinity effects of artificial seawater and sodium chloride on Carica papaya L. cultivar Red Lady physiology and growth

BackgroundMany coastal areas of the world will be impacted by seawater intrusion inland exposing crops to increasing levels of soil salinity. Studies of salinity stress in horticultural crops, including papaya, invariably use NaCl as the salt source, which may not be indicative of seawater.MethodsThis study compared plant growth, physiological, and nutritional responses, including leaf gas exchange, maximal potential quantum efficiency of photosystem II (the ratio of variable to maximum chlorophyll fluorescence; Fv/Fm), the leaf chlorophyll index (LCI), electrolyte leakage (EL), leaf relative water content (RWC), leaf water potential (Ψw), leaf osmotic potential (Ψo), leaf and root N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na and Cl contents, and growth of potted ‘Red Lady’ papaya plants, in a calcined clay substrate, irrigated with NaCl or artificial seawater (Instant Ocean®) at six soil electrical conductivity (EC) levels (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 dS m−1).ResultsThere were slight significant reductions in Ψw, Ψo, net CO2 assimilation (A), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration (Tr) with increasing EC regardless of the salt source. Leaf Ca, Mg, Na and Cl contents and root Mg, Na, and Cl increased significantly with increasing EC levels. For both salt sources, there was an indication of osmotic adjustment and tolerance of papaya up to an EC level of 6 dS m−1. A significant difference between the response to NaCl and artificial seawater was observed for plant height, leaf Mg and Cl contents, and root Mg and Na contents.ConclusionThe use artificial seawater may be a better source than NaCl for studying papaya responses to increasing soil salinity.

Abstract WP242: Acute Ischemic Stroke With Atrial Fibrillation: Relation Between ω3/ω6 Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Background &amp; Aims: Some poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are said to be associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF). Our aim is to elucidate the relation between PUFA and AF in acute ischemic stroke. Methods: Consecutive patients with ischemic stroke admitted between October 2012 and February 2022 were retrospectively screened. The inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) onset to door time within 7 days; and 2) availability of PUFA measurements from the day of the hospital visit or the next day. Plasma levels of PUFA, including eicosapentaenoic acid (ω3: EPA) docosahexaenoic acid (ω3: DHA), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (ω6: DGLA), and arachidonic acids (ω6: AA), were assayed by gas chromatography. We investigated the association between each of PUFA levels and AF among the acute ischemic stroke patients. Results: We screened 2,122 consecutive ischemic stroke patients. Of them, 1,574 were identified (1,119 [71%] males, median age 69 years). In Poisson regression analysis with a robust variance estimator, factors associated with AF were lower DGLA level (prevalence ration (PR) 0.885, 95% CI 0.811 to 0.966, p = 0.006), lower AA level (PR 0.797, 95% CI 0.649 to 0.978, p = 0.029), and higher EPA/AA ratio (PR 1.353, 95% CI 1.036 to 1.766, p = 0.026). In Poisson regression analysis with a robust variance estimator for AF using PUFA quartile as indicator variables, negative linear trends were observed between the quartile of DGLA (Quartile 1: PR 1.884, Quartile 2: PR 1.530, Quartile 3: PR 1.429, Quartile 4: reference) and AA (Quartile 1: PR 1.499, Quartile 2: PR 1.199, Quartile 3: PR 1.137, Quartile 4: reference), and a positive linear trend between the quartile of EPA/AA ratio (Quartile 1: reference, Quartile 2: PR 1.544, Quartile 3: PR 1.629, Quartile 4: PR 1.781, Figure). Conclusions: In acute ischemic stroke, lower ω6 level and higher ω3/ω6 ratio were associated with the presence of AF. ω3/ω6 PUFA may have contrasting effects on the incidence of AF in acute ischemic stroke.

Unveiling the Multifaceted Roles of ISG15: From Immunomodulation to Therapeutic Frontiers.

The Interferon Stimulated Gene 15 (ISG15), a unique Ubiquitin-like (Ubl) modifier exclusive to vertebrates, plays a crucial role in the immune system. Primarily induced by interferon (IFN) type I, ISG15 functions through diverse mechanisms: (i) covalent protein modification (ISGylation); (ii) non-covalent intracellular action; and (iii) exerting extracellular cytokine activity. These various roles highlight its versatility in influencing numerous cellular pathways, encompassing DNA damage response, autophagy, antiviral response, and cancer-related processes, among others. The well-established antiviral effects of ISGylation contrast with its intriguing dual role in cancer, exhibiting both suppressive and promoting effects depending on the tumour type. The multifaceted functions of ISG15 extend beyond intracellular processes to extracellular cytokine signalling, influencing immune response, chemotaxis, and anti-tumour effects. Moreover, ISG15 emerges as a promising adjuvant in vaccine development, enhancing immune responses against viral antigens and demonstrating efficacy in cancer models. As a therapeutic target in cancer treatment, ISG15 exhibits a double-edged nature, promoting or suppressing oncogenesis depending on the tumour context. This review aims to contribute to future studies exploring the role of ISG15 in immune modulation and cancer therapy, potentially paving the way for the development of novel therapeutic interventions, vaccine development, and precision medicine.

Material perception across different media-comparing perceived attributes in oil paintings and engravings.

We investigated the influence of the medium on the perception of depicted objects and materials. Oil paintings and their reproductions in engravings were chosen because they are vastly distinctive media while having completely identical content. A total of 15 pairs were collected, consisting of 88 fragments depicting different materials, including fabric, skin, wood and metal. Besides the original condition, we created three manipulations to understand the effect of colour (a greyscale version) and contrast (equalised histograms towards both painting and engraving). We performed rating experiments on five attributes: three-dimensionality, glossiness, convincingness, smoothness and softness. An average of 25 participants finished each of the 20 online experimental sessions (five attributes X four conditions). Besides clear correlations between the two media, the differences mainly show in their means (different levels of perceived attributes) and standard deviations (perceived range). In most sessions, paintings depict a wider range than engravings. In addition, it was the histogram equalisation (global contrast) that made the most impact on perceived attributes, rather than colour removal. This suggests that engravers compensated for the lack of colour by exploiting the possibilities of local contrast.

Humorous Responses to Gender Injustice: The Contrasting Effects of Efficacy and Emotions on Women’s Collective Action Intentions

Research has shown that subversive humor may be used to challenge existing societal hierarchies by confronting people with prejudice. Expanding on this literature, we hypothesized that humor would create two simultaneous and offsetting psychological mechanisms: increasing collective action motivation by signaling speaker power and inspiring efficacy and decreasing collective action motivation by reducing negative emotions towards men as the powerful group. We tested our hypotheses in two experiments, conducted among self-identified women. Study 1 (N = 374) compared videos featuring a comedian (subversive humor vs. non-humor vs. unrelated humor) and Study 2 (N = 224) utilized vignettes depicting a woman’s response to a sexist workplace interaction (subversive humor vs. non-humor vs. amenable response). Subversive humor (vs. unrelated humor/amenable response) increased group efficacy and subsequently collective action intentions. Simultaneously, and as an offsetting mechanism, subversive humor (compared to non-humor) reduced negative emotions toward men and subsequently lowered collective action intentions. Our results call into question the efficaciousness of humor responses to inspire women observers toward collective action for gender equality and emphasize the need for a deeper understanding of humor as a tool to promote action for equality.

KIF20A Promotes CRC Progression and the Warburg Effect through the C-Myc/HIF-1α Axis.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent form of cancer globally, characterized by a high mortality rate. Therefore, discovering effective therapeutic approaches for CRC treatment is critical. The levels of KIF20A in CRC clinical samples were determined using Western Blot and immunofluorescence assay. SW480 cells were transfected with siRNA targeting KIF20A, while HT-29 cells were transfected with a KIF20A overexpression vector. Cell viability and apoptosis of CRC cells were assessed using CCK-8 and TUNEL analysis. Migration ability was investigated using Transwell. The levels of pyruvate, lactate and ATP were determined through corresponding assay kits. Western Blot was applied to confirm the level of proteins associated with glycolysis, c- Myc, HIF-1α, PKM2 and LDHA. Subsequently, functional rescue experiments were conducted to investigate further the regulatory relationship between KIF20A, c-Myc, and HIF-1α in colorectal cancer (CRC), employing the c-Myc inhibitor 10058-F4 and c-Myc overexpression plasmids. KIF20A was up-regulated in vivo and in vitro in CRC. KIF20A knockdown inhibited cell viability and migration while promoting cell apoptosis in SW480 cells. Conversely, overexpression of KIF20A yielded contrasting effects in HT-29 cells. Moreover, inhibition of KIF20A restrained the pyruvate, lactate production and ATP level, whereas overexpression of KIF20A enhanced the Warburg effect. Western Blot indicated that knockdown KIF20A attenuated the levels of c-Myc, HIF-1α, PKM2 and LDHA. In addition, rescue experiments further verified that KIF20A enhanced the Warburg effect by the KIF20A/c-Myc/HIF-1α axis in CRC. KIF20A, being a crucial regulator in the progression of CRC, has the potential to be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of CRC.

Spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of carbon emissions from road transportation in the mainland of China from 2006 to 2021

The leaping forward of the economy has promoted the rapid growth of road traffic demand, resulting in the carbon emissions of road traffic increasing significantly. It is well known that a one-size-fits-all emission reduction policy is not feasible. Therefore, conducting an investigation on the carbon emissions of all provincial-level regions within a country can assist the government in formulating carbon emission policies at a macro level tailored to different regions. In this study, the whole provincial-level administrative regions in the mainland of China were selected to quantify the carbon emissions of road traffic, and the carbon emissions from 2006 to 2021 were obtained by employing the top-down model. What's more, spatiotemporal characteristics of road transportation carbon emissions in those regions were explored based on Moran's I spatial autocorrelation method. In addition, the LMDI model was constructed based on five driving factors, namely energy intensity, energy consumption intensity, industrial scale, economic development, and population size, and the decomposition analysis of driving factors is carried out. The results show that carbon emissions from road traffic in all provincial regions showed an overall rising trend in the research period, with an average annual growth rate of 11.83 %. The distribution of road transportation carbon emissions exhibited an east-high, west-low distribution, with significantly higher emissions in the eastern and coastal regions compared to inland areas, additionally, China's seven geographical regions showed an initial rapid increase in carbon emissions followed by a stable growth trend. Secondly, five types of spatial clustering were identified of carbon emissions within provincial regions. Thirdly, the impacts of energy intensity and industrial scale were detrimental to road transportation carbon emissions, whereas economic development, energy consumption intensity, and population size had contrasting effects. Implications according to the above conclusions were put forward, aiming to provide guidance for the sustainable development of road transportation and expediting the achievement of the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” objective.

Does perceptual disfluency affect the illusion of causality?

When a subjective experience of difficulty is associated with a mental task, people tend to engage in systematic and deliberative reasoning, which can reduce the usage of intuitive and effortless thinking that gives rise to cognitive biases. One such bias is the illusion of causality, where people perceive a causal link between two unrelated events. In 2019, Díaz-Lago and Matute found that a superficial perceptual feature of the task could modulate the magnitude of the illusion (i.e., a hard-to-read font led to a decrease in the magnitude of the illusion). The present study explored the generalisability of the idea that perceptual disfluency can lead to a decrease in the magnitude of the illusion. In the first experiment, we tested whether a physical-perceptual manipulation of the stimuli, specifically the contrast between the written text and the background, could modulate the illusion in a contingency learning task. The results of the online experiment (N = 200) showed no effect of contrast on the magnitude of the illusion, despite our manipulation having successfully induced task fluency or disfluency. Building upon this null result, our second experiment (N = 100) focused on manipulating the font type, in an attempt to replicate the results obtained by Díaz-Lago and Matute. In contrast to their findings, we found no discernible effect of font type on the magnitude of the illusion, even though this manipulation also effectively induced variations in task fluency or disfluency. These results underscore the notion that not all categories of (dis)fluency in cognitive processing wield a modulatory influence on cognitive biases, and they call for a re-evaluation and a more precise delineation of the (dis)fluency construct.

TIF1γ and SMAD4 regulation in colorectal cancer: impact on cell proliferation and liver metastasis.

We investigated the effects of transcriptional intermediary factor 1γ (TIF1γ) and SMAD4 on the proliferation and liver metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells through knockdown of TIF1γ and/or SMAD4 and knockdown of TIF1γ and/or restoration of SMAD4 expression. Furthermore, we examined TIF1γ and SMAD4 expression in human primary CRC and corresponding liver metastatic CRC specimens. TIF1γ promoted but SMAD4 inhibited the proliferation of CRC cells by competitively binding to activated SMAD2/SMAD3 complexes and then reversely regulating c-Myc, p21, p27, and cyclinA2 levels. Surprisingly, both TIF1γ and SMAD4 reduced the liver metastasis of all studied CRC cell lines via inhibition of MEK/ERK pathway-mediated COX-2, Nm23, uPA, and MMP9 expression. In patients with advanced CRC, reduced TIF1γ or SMAD4 expression was correlated with increased invasion and liver metastasis and was a significant, independent risk factor for recurrence and survival after radical resection. Patients with advanced CRC with reduced TIF1γ or SAMD4 expression had higher recurrence rates and shorter overall survival. TIF1γ and SMAD4 competitively exert contrasting effects on cell proliferation but act complementarily to suppress the liver metastasis of CRC via MEK/ERK pathway inhibition. Thus, reduced TIF1γ or SMAD4 expression in advanced CRC predicts earlier liver metastasis and poor prognosis.

The HIF-1α/EGF/EGFR Signaling Pathway Facilitates the Proliferation of Yak Alveolar Type II Epithelial Cells in Hypoxic Conditions.

The yak is a unique creature that thrives in low-oxygen environments, showcasing its adaptability to high-altitude settings with limited oxygen availability due to its unique respiratory system. However, the impact of hypoxia on alveolar type II (AT2) epithelial cell proliferation in yaks remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the effects of different altitudes on 6-month-old yaks and found an increase in alveolar septa thickness and AT2 cell count in a high-altitude environment characterized by hypoxia. This was accompanied by elevated levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression. Additionally, we observed a significant rise in Ki67-positive cells and apoptotic lung epithelial cells among yaks inhabiting higher altitudes. Our in vitro experiments demonstrated that exposure to hypoxia activated HIF-1α, EGF, and EGFR expression leading to increased proliferation rates among yak AT2 cells. Under normal oxygen conditions, activation of HIF-1α enhanced EGF/EGFR expressions which subsequently stimulated AT2 cell proliferation. Furthermore, activation of EGFR expression under normoxic conditions further promoted AT2 cell proliferation while simultaneously suppressing apoptosis. Conversely, inhibition of EGFR expression under hypoxic conditions had contrasting effects. In summary, hypoxia triggers the proliferation of yak AT2 cells via activation facilitated by the HIF-1α/EGF/EGFR signaling cascade.

Promoting In Vivo NIR-II Fluorescent Imaging for Lipid in Lipid Metabolism Diseases Diagnosis.

Lipid metabolism diseases have become a tremendous risk worldwide, along with the development of productivity and particular attention to public health. It has been an urgent necessity to exploit reliable imaging strategies for lipids and thus to monitor fatty liver diseases. Herein, by converting the NIR-I signal to the NIR-II signal with IR1061 for the monitoring of lipid, the in vivo imaging of fatty liver disease was promoted on the contrast and visual effect. The main advantages of the imaging promotion in this work included a long emission wavelength, rapid response, and high signal-background-ratio (SBR) value. After promoting the NIR-I signal to NIR-II signal, IR1061 achieved higher SBR value and exhibited a dose-dependent fluorescence intensity at 1100 nm along with the increase of the EtOH proportion as well as steady and selective optical responses toward liposomes. IR1061 was further applied in the in vivo imaging of lipid in fatty liver diseases. In spite of the differences in body weight gain and TC level between healthy mice and fatty liver diseases two models, IR1061 achieved high-resolution imaging in the liver region to monitor the fatty liver disease status. This work might be informatic for the clinical diagnosis and therapeutical treatments of fatty liver diseases.

A numerical study of ocean surface‐layer response to atmospheric shallow convection: Impact of cloud shading, rain, and cold pools

AbstractThe response of the oceanic surface layer to atmospheric shallow convection is explored using realistic atmospheric large eddy simulations coupled with an oceanic 1D model with high vertical resolution. The effects of cloud shading, rain, and enhanced heat loss due to gust fronts on the edge of cold pools and their interactions are investigated in a case study of the Cooperative Indian Ocean Experiment on Intraseasonal Variability/Dynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation experiment in the tropical Indian Ocean, during a suppressed phase of the Madden–Julian Oscillation. Conditions of low surface wind and strong solar heating result in diurnal warming of the oceanic surface of 2 °C over a depth of 1 m. Analysis of specific periods covering the diurnal cycle shows the contrasting effects of cloud shading, rain, and turbulent heat fluxes under the cold pools on the sea temperature at the surface and below. On the one hand, decreasing the solar radiation (cloud shading) results in slight cooling extended horizontally and penetrating down to 1–2 m depth, depending on the time of the day. On the other hand, turbulent heat fluxes enhanced up to 300 Wm by gusts and freshwater lenses due to rain act together and more locally. They isolate and strongly cool a thin inner layer at the surface, which eventually destabilizes the surface layer and propagates the cooling downward. The exact relative part and efficiency of these processes depend on the time evolution of the thermal stratification and vertical turbulent mixing in the oceanic upper layer. Surface cooling of up to 0.5 °C may occur in a few tens of minutes and last for several hours, significantly mitigating the effects of diurnal warming over large extents.

Navigating Heart Failure: Unveiling Sex Disparities in Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy Combinations

Major heart failure (HF) trials remain insufficient in terms of assessing the differences in clinical characteristics, biomarkers, treatment efficacy, and safety because of the under-representation of women. The study aimed to present sex-related disparities in HF management, including differences in demographics, co-morbidities, cardiac biomarkers, prescribed medications, and treatment outcomes. The study utilized anonymized data from the Turkish Ministry of Health's National Electronic Database between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2022. The cohort analysis included 2,501,231 adult patients with HF. Specific therapeutic combinations were analyzed using a Cox regression model to obtain relative risk reduction for all-cause death. The primary end point was all-cause mortality. In the cohort, 48.7% (n = 1,218,911) were male, whereas 51.3% (n = 1,282,320) were female. Female patients exhibited a higher median age (71 vs 68 years) and manifested higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, anemia, atrial fibrillation, anxiety, and ischemic stroke. Male patients demonstrated higher rates of previous myocardial infarction, dyslipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic kidney disease. Higher concentrations of natriuretic peptides were observed in female patients. Renin-angiotensin aldosterone inhibitor, β blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i), and ivabradine were more commonly prescribed in male patients, whereas loop diuretics, digoxin, and ferric carboxymaltose were more frequent in female patients. Male patients had higher rates of cardiac resynchronization therapy and implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation rates. All-cause mortality and hospitalization rates were higher in male patients. Compared with monotherapy, all combinations, including SGLT2i, showed a beneficial effect on all-cause mortality in both female and male patients with HF. In hospitalized patients with HF, the addition of digoxin to renin-angiotensin aldosterone inhibitor, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, and β blockers was superior to monotherapy regarding all-cause mortality in female patients with HF compared with male patients with HF. In conclusion, this study highlights that sex-specific responses to HF medication combinations compared with monotherapy and differences in co-morbidities underscore the importance of tailored management strategies. Digoxin showed a contrasting effect on all-cause mortality between both sexes after hospitalization, whereas SGLT2i exhibited a consistent beneficial effect in both sexes when added to all combinations.