Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the synovial membrane, leading to cartilage destruction and bone erosion. Due to the complex pathogenesis of RA and the limitations of current therapies, increasing research attention has been directed towards novel strategies targeting fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), which are key cellular components of the hyperplastic pannus. Recent studies have highlighted the pivotal role of FLS in the initiation and progression of RA, driven by their tumour-like transformation and the secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, chemokines and matrix metalloproteinases. The aggressive phenotype of RA-FLS is marked by excessive proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, and enhanced migratory and invasive capacities. Consequently, FLS-targeted therapies represent a promising avenue for the development of next-generation RA treatments. The efficacy of such strategies – particularly those aimed at modulating FLS signalling pathways – has been demonstrated in both preclinical and clinical settings, underscoring their therapeutic potential. This review provides an updated overview of the pathogenic mechanisms and functional roles of FLS in RA, with a focus on critical signalling pathways under investigation, including Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), Notch and interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 4 (IRAK4). In addition, we discuss the emerging understanding of FLS-subset-specific contributions to immunometabolism and explore how computational biology is shaping novel targeted therapeutic strategies. A deeper understanding of the molecular and functional heterogeneity of FLS may pave the way for more effective and precise therapeutic interventions in RA.

The dissolution kinetics occurring on clay minerals are influenced by various factors, including pH, temperature and mineral lattice structure. However, the influence of the surfactant is rarely studied. In the present work, cationic surfactants were investigated in terms of the dissolution of clay minerals in acidic environments. Kaolinite was selected as the representative clay mineral. The cationic surfactant inhibited the dissolution of clay minerals because it limited the attack of H+ on the kaolinite surface and then inhibited the dissolution of kaolinite by modifying the hydrophilicity of the kaolinite surface towards hydrophobicity. The inhibition ability of the surfactant might be related to its molecular structure and the type of acid used in dissolution experiments.

This study was designed to explore the mediating role of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) in Triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index and hypertension (HTN). Study participants were selected from the 2001 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Firstly, we estimated the association between TyG index and serum 25(OH)D with HTN using a weighted multivariable logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline. Secondly, we used a generalised additive model to investigate the correlation between TyG index and serum 25(OH)D. Lastly, serum 25(OH)D was investigated as a mediator in the association between TyG index and HTN. There were 14 099 subjects in total. TyG index was positively and linearly associated with HTN risk, while serum 25(OH)D had a U-shaped relationship with the prevalence of HTN. When the serum 25(OH)D levels were lower than 57·464 mmol/l, the prevalence of HTN decreased with the increase of serum 25(OH)D levels. When serum 25(OH)D levels rise above 57·464 mmol/l, the risk of HTN increases rapidly. Based on the U-shaped curve, serum 25(OH)D concentrations were divided into two groups: < 57·464 and ≥57·464 mmol/l. According to the mediation analysis, when serum 25(OH)D levels reached < 57·464 mmol/l, the positive association between the TyG index and incident HTN was increased by 25(OH)D. When serum 25(OH)D levels reached ≥ 57·464 mmol/l, the negative association between the TyG index and incident HTN was increased by 25(OH)D. There was a mediation effect between the TyG index and HTN, which was mediated by 25(OH)D. Therefore, we found that the association between serum 25(OH)D levels and TyG index may influence the prevalence of HTN.

Flowering plants depend on some animals for pollination and contribute to nourish the animals in natural environments. We call these animals pollinators and build a plants-pollinators cooperative model with impulsive effect on a periodically evolving domain. Next, we define the ecological reproduction index for single plant model and plants-pollinators system, respectively, whose threshold dynamics, including the extinction, persistence and coexistence, is established by the method of upper and lower solutions. Theoretical analysis shows that a large domain evolution rate has a positive influence on the survival of pollinators whether or not the impulsive effect occurs, and the pulse eliminates the pollinators even when the evolution rate is high. Moreover, some selective numerical simulations are still performed to explain our theoretical results.

HIV-1 molecular surveillance provides a new approach to explore transmission risks and targeted interventions. From January to June 2021, 663 newly reported HIV-1 cases were recruited in Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, China. The distribution characteristics of HIV-1 subtypes and HIV-1 molecular network were analysed. Of 542 successfully subtyped samples, 12 HIV-1 strains were identified. The main strains were CRF08_BC (47.0%, 255/542), CRF01_AE (17.0%, 92/542), CRF07_BC (17.0%, 92/542), URFs (8.7%, 47/542), and CRF85_BC (6.5%, 35/542). CRF08_BC was commonly detected among Zhaotong natives, illiterates, and non-farmers and was mostly detected in Zhaoyang County. CRF01_AE was frequently detected among married and homosexual individuals and mostly detected in Weixin and Zhenxiong counties. Among the 516 pol sequences, 187 (36.2%) were clustered. Zhaotong natives, individuals aged ≥60 years, and illiterate individuals were more likely to be found in the network. Assortativity analysis showed that individuals were more likely to be genetically associated when stratified by age, education level, occupation, and reporting area. The genetic diversity of HIV-1 reflects the complexity of local HIV epidemics. Molecular network analyses revealed the subpopulations to focus on and the characteristics of the risk networks. The results will help optimise local prevention and control strategies.

We document the causal effects of single-name options trading on the absolute level of information content of prices (stock price informativeness) by exploiting the Penny Pilot Program as an exogenous shock to options trading volume. We find that options trading increases underlying stock price informativeness and information acquisition by both option and stock investors, consistent with the framework of Goldstein and Yang (2015). The findings are driven by firms for which options are more important sources of information and firms with more efficiently priced options. Options market introduction in a sample of 25 other economies also leads to higher price informativeness.

Socially responsible (SR) institutions tend to focus more on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and less on quantitative signals of value. Consistent with this difference in focus, we find that SR institutions react less to quantitative mispricing signals. Our evidence suggests that the increased focus on ESG may have influenced stock return patterns. Specifically, abnormal returns associated with these mispricing signals are greater for stocks held more by SR institutions. The link between SR ownership and the efficacy of mispricing signals only emerges in recent years with the rise of ESG investing, and is significant only when there are arbitrage-related funding constraints.

This study investigates how venture capital firms (VCs) choose syndication partners. Exponential random graph models of Chinese VC syndication networks from 2006 to 2013 show that the homophily mechanism does not always determine VCs’ partner selection. In selecting partners, VCs have to strike a balance between reducing uncertainty and mobilizing heterogeneous resources. Therefore, decisions about partners depend on institutional uncertainty and VCs’ investment preferences. While VCs that focus on traditional business in an immature market are more likely to form homogeneous syndications, their peers that prefer to invest in innovative companies and that can rely on a stable market tend to syndicate with heterogeneous partners.

X/γ-rays have many potential applications in laboratory astrophysics and particle physics. Although several methods have been proposed for generating electron, positron, and X/γ-photon beams with angular momentum (AM), the generation of ultra-intense brilliant γ-rays is still challenging. Here, we present an all-optical scheme to generate a high-energy γ-photon beam with large beam angular momentum (BAM), small divergence, and high brilliance. In the first stage, a circularly polarized laser pulse with intensity of 1022 W/cm2 irradiates a micro-channel target, drags out electrons from the channel wall, and accelerates them to high energies via the longitudinal electric fields. During the process, the laser transfers its spin angular momentum (SAM) to the electrons’ orbital angular momentum (OAM). In the second stage, the drive pulse is reflected by the attached fan-foil and a vortex laser pulse is thus formed. In the third stage, the energetic electrons collide head-on with the reflected vortex pulse and transfer their AM to the γ-photons via nonlinear Compton scattering. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that the peak brilliance of the γ-ray beam is $\sim 1{0}^{22}$ photons·s–1·mm–2·mrad–2 per 0.1% bandwidth at 1 MeV with a peak instantaneous power of 25 TW and averaged BAM of $1{0}^6\hslash$/photon. The AM conversion efficiency from laser to the γ-photons is unprecedentedly 0.67%.

The first case of 2019-nCoV pneumonia infection occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, South China Seafood Market in December 2019. As a group with a high probability of infection, health workers are faced with a certain degree of psychological challenges in the process of facing the epidemic. This study attempts to evaluate the impact of 2019-nCoV outbreak on the psychological state of Chinese health workers and to explore the influencing factors. During the period from 31 January 2020 to 4 February 2020, the ‘Questionnaire Star’ electronic questionnaire system was used to collect data. The 2019-nCoV impact questionnaire and The Impact of Event Scale (IES) were used to check the psychological status of health workers in China. A total of 442 valid data were collected in this study. Seventy-four (16.7%) male and 368 (83.3%) female individuals participated in this study. The average score of high arousal dimension was 5.15 (s.d. = 4.71), and the median score was 4.0 (IQR 2.0, 7.0). The average score of IES was 15.26 (s.d. = 11.23), and the median score was 13.5 (IQR 7.0, 21.0). Multiple regression analysis showed that there were critical statistical differences in high arousal scores among different gender groups (male 3.0 vs. female 5.0, P = 0.075). Whether being quarantined had significant statistical differences of IES scores (being quarantined 16.0 vs. not being quarantined 13.0, P = 0.021). The overall impact of the 2019-nCoV outbreak on health workers is at a mild level. Chinese health workers have good psychological coping ability in the face of public health emergencies.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials hosting dislocations have attracted considerable research attention in recent years. In particular, screw dislocations can result in a spiral topology and an interlayer twist in the layered materials, significantly impacting the stacking order and symmetry of the layers. Moreover, the dislocations with large strain and heavily distorted atomic registry can result in a local modification of the structures around the dislocation. The dislocations thus provide a useful route to engineering optical, electrical, thermal, mechanical and catalytic properties of the 2D layered materials, which show great potential to bring new functionalities. This article presents a comprehensive review of the experimental and theoretical progress on the growth and properties of the dislocated 2D layered materials. It also offers an outlook on the future works in this promising research field.

We recently reported Cambrowania ovata Tang and Xiao in Tang et al., 2019, from the early Cambrian Hetang Formation in South China and interpreted it as a problematic animal fossil, possibly related to either sponges or bivalved arthropods (Tang et al., 2019). Slater and Budd (2019) contested our taxonomic identification and phylogenetic interpretation; instead, they claimed that Cambrowania ovata is a large acritarch referable to morphotaxon Leiosphaeridia Eisenack, 1958, and thus is not an animal. Here we refute their criticisms, clarify the differences between Cambrowania and Leiosphaeridia and other acritarchs, and reiterate why an animal affinity for Cambrowania cannot be ruled out.

The lower-middle Hetang Formation (Cambrian Stage 2–3) deposited in slope-basinal facies in South China is well known for its preservation of the earliest articulated sponge fossils, providing an important taphonomic window into the Cambrian Explosion. However, the Hetang Formation also hosts a number of problematic animal fossils that have not been systematically described. This omission results in an incomplete picture of the Hetang biota and limits its contribution to the understanding of the early evolution of animals. Here we describe a new animal taxon, Cambrowania ovata Tang and Xiao, new genus new species, from the middle Hetang Formation in the Lantian area of southern Anhui Province, South China. Specimens are preserved as carbonaceous compressions, although some are secondarily mineralized. A comprehensive analysis using reflected light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and micro-CT reveals that the new species is characterized by a spheroidal to fusoidal truss-like structure consisting of rafter-like crossbars, some of which are secondarily baritized and may have been internally hollow. Some specimens have aperture-like structures that are broadly similar to oscula of sponges, whereas others show evidence of a medial split reminiscent of gaping carapaces. While the phylogenetic affinity of Cambrowania ovata Tang and Xiao, n. gen. n. sp. remains problematic, we propose that it may represent carapaces of bivalved arthropods or more likely sponges in early life stages. Along with other problematic metazoan fossils such as hyolithids and sphenothallids, Cambrowania ovata Tang and Xiao, n. gen. n. sp. adds to the diversity of the sponge-dominated Hetang biota in an early Cambrian deepwater slope-basinal environment.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/44de9472-7e3f-42d1-9554-7b3434df91d9

The accelerated retreat of glaciers and the reduction of glacier ice reserves caused by climate change can significantly affect regional water resources and hydrological cycles. Changes in glacier thickness are among the key indicators that reflect this process. We analyzed changes observed in the elevation of glacier surfaces in the Gongga Mountains (GGM) using multi-temporal Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) derived from topographic maps, SRTM, ICESat and ZY-3 data. The results showed that the mean rate of change in glacier surface altitude in the GGM was ~−26.7 ± 2.03 m (0.54 ± 0.04 m a−1) between 1966 and 2015. The mean melt rates differed over different time periods, latterly showing an accelerating trend. As a general rule, glaciers appear to be losing more volume at lower than at higher elevations. Further analysis of these results suggests that supraglacial debris coverage in the GGM promotes higher rates of mass loss.

Global climate change is causing widespread glacier retreat, with many small glaciers disappearing from the world's mountain ranges. We obtained the annual mass balance of a small glacier (the Ningchan No.1 Glacier) located on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, from the years 2010 to 2015 using glaciological and geodetic methods. We also measured the glacier's thickness in 2014 using ground-penetrating radar. Employing topographical maps and ZY-3 images, we obtained Digital Elevation Models for 1972 and 2014. Our results showed that the mean annual mass balance from 2010 to 2015 was ~−0.9 ± 0.5 m w.e. The mean equilibrium line altitude was ~4680 m in the period 2010–15, which exceeds the maximum elevation of the glacier. The glacier has lost area and mass across its elevation range. The mean ice thickness was 24.0 ± 2.5 m in 2014. From 1972 to 2014, the glacier's area shrank from 0.77 ± 0.05 to 0.39 ± 0.04 km2, and the ice volume decreased by (14.96 ± 0.97) × 106 m3, equivalent to (12.72 ± 0.82) × 106 t w.e. over the same period.

Global warming is causing widespread glacier retreat, with small glaciers disappearing. We investigate changes in glaciers over the western Lenglongling mountains, located in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Glacier extent over the western Lenglongling mountains is estimated by comparing digitized glacier outlines obtained from aerial photographs and satellite imagery. These results suggest that all 179 glaciers in the western Lenglongling mountains shrunk between 1972 and 2007. The total area loss was ~24.4 km2, accounting for ~28.3% (0.81% a-1) of the glacierized area in 1972. The average area retreat rates differ over different time intervals: they are approximately 0.68, 0.90, 0.77 and 0.56 km2 a-1 over the periods 1972-95,1995-99,1999-2002 and 2002-07, respectively. Based on analysis of meteorological data, glacier shrinkage in the study area can probably be attributed to the increase in air temperature. Furthermore, the smaller glaciers display a higher shrinkage rate than larger glaciers, and glaciers on southwest-facing slopes appear to retreat faster than those on northeast- facing slopes.

We test the hypothesis that investment constraints in delegated portfolio management may distort demand for stocks, leading to price underreaction to news and stock return predictability. We find that institutions tend not to buy more of a stock with good news that they already overweight; they are reluctant to sell a stock with bad news that they already underweight. Stocks with good news overweighted by institutions subsequently significantly outperform stocks with bad news underweighted by institutions. The impact of institutional investment constraints sheds new light on asset pricing anomalies such as stock price momentum and post–earnings announcement drift.

We investigate the changes at nine glaciers in the Ningchan and Shuiguan river source, eastern Qilian Mountains, between 1972 and 2010. According to analysis of topographic maps and multispectral satellite data, all nine glaciers in the study area have retreated, by a maximum of 250 ± 57.4 m and a minimum of 91 ± 57.4 m. The total glacier area decreased by 1.20 km2, corresponding to 9.9% of the glacierized area in 1972. Comparing the two DEMs generated from the topographic maps and Real-Time Kinematic GPS data, the mean glacier thinning rate was 0.64 m yr− 1 between 1972 and 2010. The most significant thinning generally occurred on the termini. The ice-volume loss was about 106.8 ± 46.7 × 10− 3 km3 (equal to 90.8 ± 39.7 × 10− 3 km3 w.e.), which suggested a mean water discharge of 0.1 ± 0.05 m3/s during 1972–2010. Based on analysis of meteorological data, the summer temperature (June–August) tends to increase over a similar time period. The consistency of temperature increase and glacier shrinkage allows us to suggest that air temperature plays an important role in glacier changes in this region.