Endothelial Ffar4 protects against diabetic kidney disease by potentiating endogenous retinoic acid metabolism

Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters · 2026-03-14

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) occurs in up to 40% of individuals with diabetes and remains the primary cause of kidney failure worldwide, and a complex interaction of genetic and environmental dietary factors may be involved. Free fatty acid receptor 4 (Ffar4) may serve as a link between the genetic and dietary aspects of DKD progression; however, its role in DKD remains unclear. Ffar4-mediated DKD protection was evaluated using comprehensive genetic models. In addition, the effects of Ffar4 on glomerular inflammation and endothelial injury in mice were evaluated in vivo and in vitro, and the regulation of the Aldh1a1 gene by Ffar4 to maintain endogenous retinoic acid (RA) metabolic balance and related signaling pathways in the glomeruli was investigated. We found that Ffar4 expression was decreased in diabetes and was associated with renal complications. Conventional and endothelial-specific Ffar4 knockout exacerbated DKD, whereas endothelial-specific Ffar4 overexpression improved renal function. Mechanistically, Ffar4 regulated endogenous RA metabolism in the glomeruli through the Atf4–Aldh1a1 pathway. RA supplementation partially reversed DKD progression in endothelial-specific Ffar4 knockout mice. Taken together, these findings revealed a novel role of Ffar4 in potentiating endogenous RA production and delaying the progression of DKD-related multi-dysfunction.

First Detection of Ultrahigh Energy Emission from Gamma-Ray Binary LS I <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>61</mml:mn> <mml:mo>°</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> 303

Physical Review Letters · 2026-03-09 · 1 citations

We report the first detection of gamma-ray emission up to ultrahigh-energy (UHE; >100 TeV) emission from the prototypical gamma-ray binary system LS I +61° 303 using data from the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory. It is detected with significances of 9.2σ in the Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA, 1.4-30.5 TeV) and 6.2σ in the Kilometer Square Array (KM2A, 25-267 TeV); in KM2A alone we identify 16 photonlike events above 100 TeV against an estimated 5.1 background events, corresponding to a 3.8σ detection. These results provide compelling evidence of extreme particle acceleration in LS I +61° 303. Furthermore, we observe orbital modulation at 3.9σ confidence level, between 25 and 100 TeV, with a hint that the orbital modulation is energy dependent. These features can be understood in a composite scenario in which leptonic and hadronic processes jointly contribute.

Dynamic mechanism of electricity consumption in urban agglomerations in China based on a human-climate-spatiality framework

Environment Development and Sustainability · 2026-03-11

Microstructure evolution and fatigue properties of additive friction stir deposited Al-Mg-Si alloy

Journal of Alloys and Compounds · 2025-10-15 · 8 citations

A rollout approach for condition-based maintenance of large multi-unit systems with economic dependence

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part O Journal of Risk and Reliability · 2025-07-19

With advancements in sensor technology, real-time monitoring of machine health conditions allows us to perform condition-based maintenance (CBM) for multi-unit systems. The maintenance decision of a unit is usually dependent on other units in a multi-unit system, inducing an exponentially large state space, which makes CBM of large multi-unit systems a very challenging engineering problem. In this work, we first propose two heuristic decision policies for multi-unit systems, namely the binary action policy and the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> -policy. Then we propose a multi-step lookahead rollout approach using the two heuristic policies to solve the challenging CBM problem. By applying the binary action policy, we can effectively reduce the action space and thus reduce the computational load in the rollout, while the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> -policy can be an excellent base policy for the rollout to improve upon. The theoretical gap between the proposed rollout approach and the optimal policy is also derived. The study further shows extensive experimentation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed lookahead rollout approach for solving the CBM problem for small (3 and 5 units), medium (10 and 15 units), and large (20, 30, 40, and 50 units) scale systems.

Explainable Machine Learning Financial Econometrics for Digital Inclusive Finance Impact on Rural Labor Market

Mathematics · 2025-11-19 · 1 citations

The research examines how digital inclusive finance reshapes the rural labor market using an auditable index system and an interpretable learning pipeline. We construct a four-pillar framework for the rural labor market covering labor behavior, labor structure, security and fairness, and sustainability, and compute county-level scores with an Attribute Hierarchy Model plus Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (AHM–FCE). Using data for 58 counties in Jiangsu from 2014 to 2023, we estimate nonlinear links from overall and sub-dimensional digital finance to labor market outcomes with a random forest optimized by Particle Swarm Optimization plus Genetic Algorithm (PSO-GA-RF). Theoretical contribution: we provide a measurement-based bridge from digital inclusive finance to rural labor markets by aligning access, usage, and service quality with the four pillars of the rural labor market index, which yields testable county level predictions on participation, job quality, equity, and persistence of gains. Maps show heterogeneity, with higher behavior scores, lagging sustainability, and a north–south gradient. Empirically, stronger digital finance is associated with higher non-agricultural employment, better job quality, narrower urban–rural gaps, and stronger protection mechanisms, with larger effects where rural population shares and policy support are higher. Findings are robust to variable transforms, bandwidth choices, and tuning.

Effect of <scp>HPC</scp> Incorporation on Structures and Properties of <scp>PVA</scp> Electrospun Fiber Membrane

Polymer Engineering and Science · 2025-08-12

ABSTRACT The selection of appropriate materials for adjusting the properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospun fiber membrane is an essential objective. In this study, a novel PVA/hydroxypropyl cellulose (PVA/HPC) composite fiber membrane was fabricated through electrospinning technology. The water‐soluble HPC served as an additive to modify the structures and properties of the PVA electrospun fiber membrane. The electrospinning process was optimized with an 8% PVA solution containing different contents of HPC additive, achieving continuous fiber formation at 20 kV applied voltage with a 16 cm collector distance, which significantly improved the spinnability of PVA solutions. The addition of HPC can improve the mechanical properties of the PVA fiber membrane. The PVA/HPC fiber membrane displayed an ideal capacity for sustained drug release and exhibited significant antibacterial activity. The P8H1.5 (PVA/HPC was 8%/1.5%) fibers, which were uniform and defect‐free, demonstrated the best release effect and antibacterial activity. These results suggested that HPC is an ideal material for improving the properties of the PVA electrospun fiber membrane and that the PVA/HPC fiber membrane could be a potential antibacterial and anti‐inflammatory material for medical applications.

Mn doping effects of Zn7-xMnxSb2O12 ceramics: a comprehensive analysis of structural, varistor, and dielectric properties

Journal of Materials Science Materials in Electronics · 2025-08-01 · 1 citations

Approximation algorithms for non-sequential star packing problems

Information and Computation · 2025-12-08

Research on temperature rise characteristics of built in permanent magnet synchronous motor coupled with magnetic thermal flow field

Case Studies in Thermal Engineering · 2025-09-10 · 1 citations

Frequency converters serving as power sources for integrated permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSMs) introduce significant time-harmonic distortions in current waveforms, leading to harmonic contamination of electromagnetic fields during variable-frequency operation. These harmonics induce parasitic eddy currents and energy dissipation in stator cores, rotor assemblies, and permanent magnets, causing localized overheating that threatens operational reliability through accelerated insulation aging and demagnetization risks. This study addresses transient thermal accumulation in a 12-pole/36-slot high-torque-density IPMSM prototype by developing a multi-physics numerical framework correlating harmonic frequencies, loss distribution, and temperature evolution. Through first-principles analysis, we quantify rated operational losses including volumetric heat generation, hysteresis losses, eddy currents, and ohmic dissipation. The proposed electromagnetic-thermal coupling model, validated with a deviation of less than 5% from thermometric system, demonstrates thermally-induced electromagnetic performance degradation:a 12.7% reduction in radial force harmonics and 9.2% airgap flux density attenuation across 20-120°C, attributed to permanent magnets negatives’ temperature coefficient altering the magnetomotive force distribution. These finding provide critical insights for improving lifespan of IPMSM systems.