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Equine asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lower respiratory tract, primarily associated with inhalation of organic dust, microbial particles and environmental aeroantigens. Although the inflammatory and immunological mechanisms underlying equine asthma have been extensively investigated, the potential contribution of neuroimmune pathways remains poorly understood. In humans and rodent models, asthma is increasingly recognised as a disorder involving complex bidirectional interactions between the nervous and immune systems. Sensory nerve activation, neuropeptide release, autonomic dysregulation and neuronal remodelling contribute to bronchoconstriction, airway hyperresponsiveness, mucus hypersecretion and chronic airway remodelling. This review summarises current knowledge of the neuroimmune mechanisms involved in asthma, with particular emphasis on comparative aspects across humans, rodents and horses. Literature searches were conducted using the PubMed database, focusing on studies investigating neurogenic inflammation, airway innervation, neuropeptides, transient receptor potential channels and neuronal remodelling in asthma and chronic airway disease. Existing equine evidence indicates the presence of substance P- and calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive nerve fibres in the equine airways, increased neurokinin-mediated bronchoconstriction in severe equine asthma, and enhanced airway innervation in affected horses. However, compared with human and rodent studies, horse-specific data remain extremely limited. Current evidence suggests that neuroimmune pathways are unlikely to be the primary initiating mechanism of equine asthma, but may act as important modulators of chronic airway dysfunction and disease progression. The marked scarcity of equine studies investigating neuroimmune signalling represents a major knowledge gap and highlights an important direction for future research in equine respiratory medicine. Full article

In resource-poor sandy habitats, alien plant co-invasion often triggers intense belowground competition mediated by rhizosphere microorganisms. However, the mechanisms by which these plants overcome nutrient limitations remain unclear. Here, we conducted an eight-month in situ monitoring of single- and co-invasion plots of Solanum rostratum and Cenchrus pauciflorus Benth. in the Horqin Sandy Land. By integrating soil enzyme assays with 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon sequencing, we characterized their rhizosphere microbial community assembly. Co-invasion exposed both species to convergent biotic stress, characterized by the significant enrichment of the pathogenic fungi Didymella and Pseudogymnoascus (linear discriminant analysis (LDA) > 4.0). To mitigate these pressures, the dominant competitor, S. rostratum, specifically recruited a cross-kingdom phosphate-solubilizing consortium comprising Bacillus and Penicillium (LDA > 4.0). This targeted recruitment significantly enhanced rhizosphere activities, increasing phosphatase and sucrase to 86.10 U/g and 2.17 U/g, respectively, thereby maintaining available phosphorus at a high level (35.55 mg/kg). Conversely, the subordinate competitor, C. pauciflorus, lost key native stress-resistant bacteria such as Rubrobacter (relative abundance dropping from 5.39% to 3.27%) and failed to recruit effective microbes, leading to the rapid depletion of available phosphorus (dropping to 21.38 mg/kg). Ultimately, under dual nutrient and pathogenic stress, the precise recruitment and functional integration of cross-kingdom phosphate-solubilizing microbes are strongly linked to the divergent belowground competitive outcomes between these co-invading plants. Full article

Background/Objectives: Microtubule-targeting agents represent a pillar of cancer chemotherapy; however, their clinical utility is constrained by significant toxicity, pharmacokinetic instability, and susceptibility to multidrug resistance transporters. This study aimed to explore the impact of replacing substituted phenyl rings with a naphthalene moiety in sulfonamide-based colchicine-site ligands, with the goal of identifying new antiproliferative candidates with improved profiles. Methods: We designed, synthesized, and evaluated a library of 35 naphthalene sulfonamides bearing varied aryl groups and sulfonamide nitrogen substituents. We assessed the antiproliferative activity against multiple cancer cell lines. Mechanistic studies, including fluorescence microscopy, cell cycle analysis, and cell death assays, were performed to evaluate the effect of these compounds on microtubule polymerization dynamics and cell fate. Molecular docking and in silico pharmacokinetic profiling were carried out to support the proposed binding mode at the colchicine site and to assess drug-likeness. Results: Exclusively, compounds bearing a trimethoxyphenyl group showed antiproliferative activity in the submicromolar range, thus identifying it as a structural requirement. The most potent compound (2) reached double-digit nanomolar IC₅₀ values (67–104 nM) across multiple cancer cell lines. Microscopy confirmed intracellular disruption of microtubule polymerization. Unlike colchicine, these compounds did not induce canonical mitotic arrest but instead triggered apoptotic cell death. In silico analyses supported binding at the colchicine site and revealed favorable predicted pharmacokinetic properties. Conclusions: The naphthalene sulfonamides described herein demonstrate potent antiproliferative activity through a distinct mechanism compared to colchicine, and their favorable in silico profiles position them as promising candidates for further development as antitumor agents. Full article

Metformin (MET) plays crucial regulatory roles in mammalian oocyte meiosis, yet the concentration-dependent biphasic impacts of MET on porcine oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) and the related molecular mechanisms remain poorly clarified. This study aimed to explore the distinct effects and underlying pathways of low- and high-dose MET in porcine oocytes. Different concentrations of MET (0, 7.5, 15, 30, 150, and 300 μM) were supplemented during oocyte IVM, with phenotypic detection, untargeted metabolomic analysis, and Nrf2 inhibitor (ML385) intervention performed for mechanism exploration. Results showed that 15 μM low-dose MET facilitated oocyte maturation, mitochondrial function and redox balance, while 300 μM high-dose MET caused obvious developmental damage. Mechanistically, low-dose MET triggered noncanonical AMPK activation independent of the AMP/ATP ratio and enhanced AMPK–Nrf2 antioxidant signaling, whereas high-dose MET induced energy stress and oxidative injury via inhibiting mitochondrial complex I. Blockade of Nrf2 further abolished the protective effects of low-dose MET. Collectively, this finding illustrates the biphasic actions of MET on porcine oocytes and provides a theoretical reference for optimizing porcine in vitro embryo production. Full article

Motoneurons are under strong pressure to maintain stable motor output throughout an individual life, through homeostatic regulation of their electrical properties. Dysregulated spinal motoneuron excitability has long been implicated in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Recent work in SOD1^G93A mice suggests that the homeostatic response of motoneurons becomes dysregulated as cellular processes are disrupted by the disease, causing fluctuations in motoneuron electrical properties. Yet, few studies directly test whether ALS motoneurons respond differently than wild-type motoneurons to a common chronic perturbation. Here, we used in vivo electrophysiology to test whether motoneurons from pre-symptomatic SOD1^G93A mice modulate excitability differently than wild-type motoneurons in response to the same homeostatic perturbation: chronic inhibition exerted by the benzodiazepine diazepam. Using linear mixed-effects statistical models, we assessed whether diazepam treatment differentially modulated passive properties, firing behavior, spike properties, and/or synaptic inputs in SOD1^G93A versus wild-type motoneurons. We identified a significant genotype × treatment interaction effect selectively for properties related to passive membrane integration and spike initiation, including membrane time constant, peak input resistance, and recruitment current. In contrast, firing gain, spike waveform characteristics, and synaptic inputs were largely unaffected. These findings indicate that sustained inhibitory perturbation selectively triggered overactive intrinsic compensatory mechanisms in SOD1^G93A motoneurons rather than inducing widespread changes in firing or synaptic transmission. Together, our results provide direct evidence for over-active homeostatic control of motoneuron excitability and support a view of motoneuron dysfunction in ALS as a problem of altered feedback regulation rather than simply hyper- or hypo-excitability. Full article

In lignite open-pit mines, the blasting mining method and large-scale mechanical shovelling processes induce substantial cyclic disturbances in coal seams at the terminal slope during lignite extraction, significantly increasing the risk of slope destabilisation and damage. Consequently, uniaxial cyclic loading and unloading experiments were conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties and energy evolution of lignite. Acoustic emission (AE) characteristics and macroscopic crack evolution of lignite under cyclic loading and unloading conditions were analysed using AE counts and b-values. The energy evolution of lignite was further examined to elucidate the mechanisms of crack propagation and instability failure. The results indicate that initial damage exists within the lignite, and cyclic loading weakens its mechanical properties. Specifically, the irrecoverable damage resulting from the continuous development of internal cracks leads to the continuous deterioration of the mechanical properties of lignite. During the process of damage accumulation, the energy evolution characteristics of the lignite shift from being dominated by plastic energy dissipation to being dominated by elastic energy storage, which triggers higher energy dissipation and release at the cumulative damage stage. Furthermore, as the stress level increases, the cracks in the lignite transition from tensile–shear composite cracks to predominantly tensile cracks. These findings provide critical insights into the mechanisms of instability and failure in open-pit slopes subjected to cyclic loading and unloading, contributing to the advancement of slope stability management in lignite mining operations. Full article

Scandium (Sc) is well recognized as a potent grain refiner, yet optimizing its addition amount in the Al-Cu-Mg-Ni-Fe (A242) system remains a longstanding challenge, critically important for material performance in high-temperature automotive and aerospace applications. The present work, therefore, presents a study of low-Sc modified A242 alloys, demonstrating that 0.2 wt.% Sc microalloying of the system has a pronounced effect on its solidification-driven microstructural evolution, improving the high-temperature formability of the alloy over a 20–200 °C temperature range. The study demonstrates that this addition triggers a dramatic columnar-to-equiaxed grain transition, reducing the average grain size by 90.8% (from 400 ± 100 μm to 37 ± 10 μm) and fragmenting the brittle, continuous intermetallic network into a highly uniform architecture. Uniaxial compression testing revealed that, while the as-cast solid-solution alloy slightly reduces room-temperature strength due to solute trapping, it delivers an exceptional 142% increase in strain-to-failure at 200 °C (exceeding 0.8 mm) compared to the base alloy. This significant enhancement in ductility is driven by thermally stable Al₃Sc dispersoids that exert Zener pinning pressure, halting thermal grain coarsening and activating superplastic deformation mechanisms. These findings support the development of advanced thermoforming applications, with the finite element (FE) model predicting process improvements that enhance manufacturing efficiency. This work presents a validation and simulation-ready material framework that substantiates the viability of low-Sc-modified A242 alloys for such operations. Full article

Achieving a favorable synergy of strength, ductility, and toughness is a critical challenge for expanding the engineering applications of titanium alloys. In this work, a medium-strength and high-toughness novel Ti-Al-Mo-V-Cr-Sn-Zr (named Ti62F) titanium alloy in the form of a Φ400 mm bar was adopted to systematically investigate the regulation behavior of double annealing on its microstructure and mechanical properties, and quantitative correlations between microstructural parameters and macroscopic properties were established. Increasing the cooling rate during the first annealing stage (air cooling, force air cooling and water quenching) significantly refined the secondary α (α_s) phase and reduced the volume fraction and size of the primary α (α_p) phase, leading to an increase in the ultimate tensile strength of the alloy from 1077 MPa to 1229 MPa. However, the impact-absorbed energy decreased from 51.5 J to 23.3 J. When the second annealing temperature was varied within the range of 625–675 °C, the ultimate tensile strength fluctuated slightly and the impact toughness increased moderately. Equiaxed α_p phase and relatively thick α_s can induce multiple crack deflections, prolong the crack propagation path and enhance energy absorption. Dislocations are mainly piled up at α/β phase boundaries, triggering void nucleation and growth, which dominate the ductility and toughness levels. Tensile twinning acts only as an auxiliary deformation mechanism and contributes limitedly to toughness. After heat treatment under the optimized schedule of 880 °C/2 h/AC + 650 °C/4 h/AC, the Ti62F alloy exhibits a superior strength–toughness balance compared with conventional medium-strength titanium alloys such as TA15, TC4, and TC4-DT. The findings can provide a heat treatment basis for microstructural regulation of large-size Ti62F bars and their engineering applications in aerospace structural components. Full article

Micro quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are highly sensitive to external disturbances and model uncertainties because of their small mass, low moment of inertia, and limited onboard computational resources. To improve the disturbance rejection and trajectory tracking performance of micro quadrotor UAVs, this paper proposes an event-triggered extended state observer (ET-ESO)-based prescribed-time funnel control (PTFC) method. First, a control-oriented dynamic model of the micro quadrotor is established, in which wind disturbances, unmodeled aerodynamic effects, damping uncertainties, and parameter perturbations are represented as lumped disturbances in the translational and rotational subsystems. Then, two event-triggered ESOs are designed to estimate the lumped disturbances of the velocity and angular velocity channels. Compared with conventional continuously sampled ESO schemes, the proposed event-triggered mechanism reduces the frequency of sensor-to-controller information transmission while preserving disturbance estimation capability. Furthermore, a prescribed-time funnel control law is developed to constrain the position and attitude tracking errors within predefined performance boundaries and ensure convergence to the desired accuracy region within a user-specified time. Lyapunov-based stability analysis is provided to prove the boundedness of all closed-loop signals and the validity of the prescribed funnel constraints. Finally, MATLAB/Simulink simulations based on the Parrot Mambo mini-drone parameters are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the proposed controller achieves robust trajectory tracking, effective disturbance compensation, improved transient performance, and reduced control update frequency. Full article

This paper investigates the magnetization reversal processes in spring-exchange magnetic composites featuring irregular, dendritic structures. A disorder-based cluster Monte Carlo method combined with a Diffusion-Limited Aggregation (DLA) algorithm was used to model a fractal-like soft magnetic phase (Fe) embedded in a high-coercivity hard matrix (Fe-Nb-B-Dy). A multiparameter analysis was performed by varying the soft phase volume fraction (10–30%), intergrain exchange coupling via contact bridges (25–100%), system scale factors (1–20), surface-to-volume anisotropy ratios (K_S/K_V = 1–20), and the degree of random anisotropy contribution (RAC = 0–100%). The simulations reveal that highly branched fractal structures enhance the interfacial contact area, which accelerates the nucleation of domain reversal driven by the soft phase, paradoxically lowering the overall coercivity compared to compact morphologies. Furthermore, a lack of easy magnetization axis coherent alignment triggers a cascading reversal mechanism through local “weak links”, severely degrading the coercive field from approximately 4.2 T to below 0.4 T in extreme cases (at 30% Fe, 25% coupling and high K_S/K_V ratio). These findings suggest potentially the most important factors and their impact that should be taken into account in the design and optimization of next-generation powder-sintered permanent magnets. Full article

As the development and utilization of underground spaces in coastal cities receive growing emphasis and continue to expand, the secondary disasters of underground flooding triggered by storm surges have become increasingly frequent in recent years. Consequently, the need for emergency evacuation in these spaces has grown more urgent, making the challenge of safe evacuation increasingly critical. However, the classical social force model shows notable limitations in simulating such scenarios, particularly in its lack of characterization of hydrodynamic resistance, heterogeneous pedestrian mobility, and organized guidance mechanisms. Therefore, this paper proposes an improved social force model for more realistically simulating the microscopic dynamics of pedestrians in underground floodwater environments. By extending the classical model, a flood resistance force term is introduced. Furthermore, the model comprehensively considers the varying speeds of pedestrians with heterogeneous attributes—such as age, height, and gender—under different water depths, quantifying the impact of the flood environment on pedestrian mobility. Simultaneously, a leader–follower guidance mechanism is integrated to simulate the influence of organized command behavior on group movement. Simulation experiments in typical underground flood scenarios were conducted to validate the proposed model. Simulation results indicate that flood resistance significantly reduces evacuation efficiency, and heterogeneous pedestrian factors such as age distribution also have a considerable impact. The quantitative findings are as follows: flood resistance increased total evacuation time by 9.3% (from 37.5 to 41.0 s) and decreased the average evacuation rate by 8.6%; similarly, raising the proportion of elderly pedestrians from 20% to 30% prolonged total evacuation time by 9.4% and reduced the average evacuation rate by 8.6%. These outcomes verify the effectiveness of the improved model in characterizing heterogeneous pedestrian behavior in underground flooding scenarios. This study provides a more refined theoretical model and simulation tool to support the development of emergency evacuation plans for underground spaces during floods. Full article

Background/Objectives: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is a prevalent sexually transmitted pathogen associated with pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and has been proposed as a potential contributor to carcinogenesis through chronic inflammation and tissue remodeling. The molecular mechanisms triggered by CT infection in fallopian tube cellular contexts and their relevance to ovarian cancer transcriptomes remain incompletely understood. Methods: We analyzed GSE109428, profiling primary human fallopian tube mesenchymal cells infected with CT, to identify differentially expressed genes and characterize affected pathways using g:Profiler and STRING protein–protein association networks (confidence ≥ 0.7). To provide translational context, we computed ssGSEA scores in TCGA-OV for four signatures capturing IFN/ISG, TNF/NF-κB, NOD/innate immunity, and ECM programs, and evaluated inter-signature correlations and exploratory associations with overall survival (OS) and progression-free interval (PFI). Results: CT infection induced sustained inflammatory and interferon-associated transcriptional programs, with STRING networks highlighting cytokine hubs and a densely connected ISG module. Genes downregulated at 48 h post-infection (48-hpi) showed coherent enrichment for ECM organization and adhesion pathways. In TCGA-OV (n = 307), inflammatory and innate immune signatures co-occurred across tumors, with moderate correlations between TNF/NF-κB and NOD/innate (ρ = 0.591) and IFN/ISG and NOD/innate (ρ = 0.534). Exploratory survival analyses showed no significant associations with OS or PFI in Kaplan–Meier analyses or multivariable Cox models, including clinically adjusted and tumor microenvironment-adjusted specifications. Conclusions: CT infection induces sustained inflammatory and interferon-linked programs and coordinated repression of ECM networks in fallopian tube mesenchymal cells. Analogous immune transcriptional states co-occur in ovarian tumors, though the signatures evaluated did not yield robust prognostic signals in TCGA-OV. As this is an entirely in silico study without experimental validation, these findings should be treated as hypothesis-generating; thus, further mechanistic and experimental studies are warranted to clarify how CT infection-associated pathways may intersect with female tumorigenesis. Full article

The thermo-mechanical degradation of the base–subgrade interface in airport pavements was investigated using a three-dimensional sequentially coupled finite element framework in ABAQUS 2023, in which progressive interfacial debonding was described by a bilinear cohesive-zone model through the damage variable CSDMG. The results show that thermal loading markedly accelerates interface degradation when combined with moving wheel loads. Compared with the wheel-loading-only condition, thermo-mechanical coupling advances the first damage initiation from 0.04993 h to 0.00254 h and shortens the severe-degradation stage from 1.000 h to 0.00927 h. This acceleration is attributed to a thermal stress pre-weakening effect, whereby constrained thermal deformation partially consumes the available cohesive resistance and shifts the interface closer to the softening threshold before external loading is applied. A decomposition of the mixed-mode initiation criterion further indicates that the first damage event is governed by synergistic normal–shear interaction, with the normalized contribution ratio (t_n/t_n⁰)²:(t_s/t_s⁰)² = 0.38:0.62, showing that wheel-induced shear is the dominant trigger while tensile opening induced by thermal curling provides substantial preconditioning assistance. In addition, a representative normalized comparison between simulated average CSDMG and cumulative AE hit count demonstrates a consistent stage evolution from distributed deformation to accelerated localization and residual stabilization. These findings indicate that the base–subgrade interface should be treated as a temperature-sensitive weak layer in airport pavement assessment, particularly near joints and other discontinuity-controlled regions. Full article

Inductive pulsed power remains attractive for demanding electromagnetic acceleration systems because of its high-current capability and rapid discharge capability. Within this class, XRAM is especially appealing because it combines series charging with parallel discharging of storage inductors. Under high-energy conditions, however, the conventional all-parallel XRAM topology suffers from concentrated blocking-voltage stress on the total output switch and limited effectiveness in transferring stored current to the representative railgun load considered in this work. To address these issues, this paper proposes a three-module grouped XRAM topology and examines its output behavior, parameter dependence, and commutation mechanism. Baseline comparison results show that the grouped arrangement establishes the load-driving path earlier and redistributes device stress more favorably. Its advantage is retained when both topologies are individually optimized with respect to the triggering threshold, indicating that the grouped topology offers a more effective route for high-current electromagnetic acceleration drive through earlier commutation establishment and more effective current transfer. Full article

This study applied density functional theory (DFT) to investigate gas-sensitive devices based on Pt- and Pd-doped SnS₂ monolayers, exploring their adsorption and sensing performance on four characteristic gases generated under normal operating or fault conditions of transformer oil. The adsorption behaviors and underlying sensing mechanisms of four gases on pristine and modified SnS₂ were systematically elucidated. The results reveal that Pt/Pd incorporation triggers a transition from weak physisorption to robust chemisorption. Compared to intrinsic SnS₂, the decorated monolayers exhibit dramatically augmented adsorption energies and accelerated interfacial charge transfer for all target molecules. Crucially, noble metal modification fundamentally modulates the electronic structure of the SnS₂ lattice, endowing the material with exceptional recognition specificity for distinguishing different gas species. These theoretical insights establish Pt- and Pd-SnS₂ as highly promising candidates for advanced DGA sensors, providing a robust materials design strategy for the condition monitoring of critical electrical infrastructure. Full article