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Novel exohedral metalloborospherenes Al12Li20&B60 and Al20Li12&B60 with the classical fullerene-like borospherene B60 were theoretically predicted and their structures and properties were studied. Incredibly, the B60 cage (pull electron oxidizer) pulls 50 and 60e− from exohedral metal atoms, forming two super-reduced polyanionic states B6050− and B6060−, respectively. Next, the two super-reduced polyanionic states (push electron oxidizers) owing to their negative electric fields push out the remaining valence electrons of exohedral metal atoms. Accordingly, the metalloborospherenes convert to electride salt molecules 6e−&[(Al3+)12(Li+)20]&B6050− and 12e−&[(Al3+)20(Li+)12]&B6060− due to the pull–push electron oxidation relay. It is known that the loss of electrons by the reducing agent results in an oxidation effect. The mechanism of losing electrons involves not only the pull electron but also the push electron, which results in push electron oxidation. As long as there is enough reducing agents in oxidation–reduction electride systems, the unusual pull–push electron oxidation relay will occur, showing new physical insights. More interestingly, the B60x− (x = 50 or 60) polyanions can also display push electron oxidation for embedded calcium atoms, forming endohedral spherical electride molecules 14e−&[(Al3+)12(Li+)20]&[(Ca6)8+@B6050−] and 22e−&[(Al3+)20(Li+)12]&[(Ca6)10+@B6060−], in which the supernormal pull–push–push electron oxidizing ability of the B60 cage is reflected in the total number of pull–push electrons up to 64 and 82, respectively. Remarkably, these spherical electride molecules have extraordinarily small multiple ionization potential (VIPn, n = 1–22) values, demonstrating a nuclear large-scale effect of the superatomic model on VIPn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The predominant immune cells in solid tumors are M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (M2-like TAMs), which significantly impact the promotion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumors, enhancing stemness and facilitating tumor invasion and metastasis. However, the contribution of M2-like TAMs to tumor progression in gallbladder cancer (GBC) is partially known. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of M2-like TAMs and cancer stem cell (CSC) markers in 24 pairs of GBC and adjacent noncancerous tissues from patients with GBC. Subsequently, GBC cells and M2-like TAMs were co-cultured to examine the expression of CSC markers, EMT markers, and migratory behavior. Proteomics was performed on the culture supernatant of M2-like TAMs. The mechanisms underlying the induction of EMT, stemness, and metastasis in GBC by M2-like TAMs were elucidated using proteomics and transcriptomics. GBC cells were co-cultured with undifferentiated macrophages (M0) and analyzed. The therapeutic effect of gemcitabine combined with a chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2) antagonist on GBC was observed in vivo. Results: The expression levels of CD68 and CD163 in M2-like TAMs and CD44 and CD133 in gallbladder cancer stem cells (GBCSCs) were increased and positively correlated in GBC tissues compared with those in neighboring noncancerous tissues. M2-like TAMs secreted a significant amount of chemotactic cytokine ligand 2 (CCL2), which activated the MEK/extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathway and enhanced SNAIL expression after binding to the receptor CCR2 on GBC cells. Activation of the ERK pathway caused nuclear translocation of ELK1, which subsequently led to increased SNAIL expression. GBCSCs mediated the recruitment and polarization of M0 into M2-like TAMs within the GBC microenvironment via CCL2 secretion. In the murine models, the combination of a CCR2 antagonist and gemcitabine efficiently inhibited the growth of subcutaneous tumors in GBC. Conclusions: The interaction between M2-like TAMs and GBC cells is mediated by the chemokine CCL2, which activates the MEK/ERK/ELK1/SNAIL pathway in GBC cells, promoting EMT, stemness, and metastasis. A combination of a CCR2 inhibitor and gemcitabine effectively suppressed the growth of subcutaneous tumors. Consequently, our study identified promising therapeutic targets and strategies for treating GBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of sustained loading on the cumulative damage of a newly developed smart cement-based self-healing composite material (SMA-ECC). SMA-ECC is composed of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) and shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers. A uniaxial compressive test with five predefined loading levels (0%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% of compressive strength) was conducted on SMA-ECC hollow-cylindrical specimens and ECC control hollow-cylindrical specimens. The cumulative damage was mainly determined by changes in the total water absorption of different groups of specimens during three different periods (not loaded, at a predefined loading level, and after unloading). A normalized water content index was proposed to couple the effects of self-healing, sustained loading, and cumulative damage. The test results indicate that the cumulative water absorption of SMA-ECC was 35% lower than that of ECC, which may indicate less irreparable damage. In addition, the self-healing ability of SMA-ECC specimens under different compression load levels was evaluated through normalized water content analysis. SMA-ECC exhibited a 100% repair rate at load levels of 30% and 40%. At a higher load level of 60%, the repair rate of SMA-ECC was 76%. These results collectively emphasize the significant impermeability and self-healing performance of SMA-ECC after unloading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a new challenge of stabilizing a classical fullerene-like borospherene composed of five- and six-membered rings, we take the lead to theoretically present a novel exohedral metalloborospherene Mg12Li8&B36 molecule (D6h). It features 12 η5(pentahapto)-Mg atoms and 8 η6-Li atoms capping 12 pentagonal faces and 8 hexagonal faces of classical fullerene-like borospherene D6h B36, respectively. Due to the pull-push electron transfer relay, the molecule is converted to an electride molecule (Mg2+)12(Li+)8&B3630− + 2e− with two excess electrons and an extraordinary high-valent B3630− polyanion with a full-shell electronic configuration, performing the stabilization of the classical fullerene-like B36 cage. As further findings emerge from this study, both the (Mg12Li8&B36)2+ cation (D6h) and the Mg12Li6&B36 salt (D6h) have higher stability than electride Mg12Li8&B36. Furthermore, embedding a metal atom pair in the boron cage of Mg12Li8&B36 leads to new endohedral electride molecules (Mg2+)12(Li+)8&(Mn+2@B3630−) + (2 + 2n) e− (M = Li, n = 1 and Be, n = 2). The embedded metal atom pair plays a prominent role in adding excess electrons. Notably, the Mg12Li8&B36 electride molecule can serve as both electron donor and electron acceptor and consequently acts as an electron reservoir. Encouragingly, Mg12Li8&B36 and its endohedral derivatives can be used as efficient external electric field manipulated second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) switches with high sensitivity and reversibility. In this sense, embedding a metal atom pair in the B36 cage provides a new strategy to manipulate NLO switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in air pollution has posed numerous new challenges for human society, making the exploration of an effective method for predicting air pollutant concentrations highly significant. The current research faces several primary challenges: the neglect of non-Euclidean characteristics of site distribution on data and the strong spatiotemporal dependencies in the dispersion process of pollutants. To address these issues, this paper constructs a spatiotemporal hybrid prediction model – the MGAtt-LSTM method – for predicting PM 2.5 concentrations, which employs the dynamic multi-graph attention module (MGAtt) to tackle spatial dependencies and Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTM) to address temporal dependencies. Additionally, extensive experiments are conducted by using historical air pollutant monitoring data and meteorological data from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The results demonstrate that the proposed MGAtt-LSTM model achieved superior performance in concentration prediction compared to existing benchmark models. • The neural network consists of multi-graph attention network and LSTM network. • Air pollution data in North China and meteorological data are used to forecast. • The uneven distribution of pollutant sites is considered to predict PM 2.5 concentrations precisely. • The use of multi-graph attention networks addresses the issue of traditional GCN methods relying on fixed graph structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stiff delay differential equations are frequently utilized in practice, but their numerical simulations are difficult due to the complicated interaction between the stiff and delay terms. At the moment, only a few low-order algorithms offer acceptable convergent and stable features. Exponential integrators are a type of efficient numerical approach for stiff problems that can eliminate the influence of stiffness on the scheme by precisely dealing with the stiff term. This study is concerned with two exponential multistep methods of Adams type for stiff delay differential equations. For semilinear delay differential equations, applying the linear multistep method directly to the integral form of the equation yields the exponential multistep method. It is shown that the proposed k-step method is stiffly convergent of order k. On the other hand, we can follow the strategy of the Rosenbrock method to linearize the equation along the numerical solution in each step. The so-called exponential Rosenbrock multistep method is constructed by applying the exponential multistep method to the transformed form of the semilinear delay differential equation. This method can be easily extended to nonlinear delay differential equations. The main contribution of this study is that we show that the k-step exponential Rosenbrock multistep method is stiffly convergent of order k + 1 within the framework of a strongly continuous semigroup on Banach space. As a result, the methods developed in this study may be utilized to solve abstract stiff delay differential equations and can be served as time matching methods for delay partial differential equations. Numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plugging of nanopores in low-permeability coal reservoirs is an important factor that affects productivity reduction. However, the mechanism of plugging of the nanopores in coal reservoirs remains unclear. In this study, the coal samples from the Anze coalbed methane block of the North China Oilfield are used as the research object. Experiments are conducted on the mechanism of nanopore plugging by the variation of nanopore permeability based on the pressure oscillation method and the nanopore (scanning electron microscope) method. The research shows that the foreign working fluid invades a coal sample; the sample changes from being hydrophobic to being water absorbent within a certain period. The instability caused by the expansion of coal clay mineral particles promotes the dispersion and shedding of particles, and the migration of particles is accelerated under the shear stress of the working fluid. In addition, the viscosity and pressure difference of the working fluid are important factors that affect particle plugging. The viscosity of the fluid increased by two times, and permeability decreased by 1.21 times. As the pressure difference increases by two times, permeability can be reduced by up to two orders of magnitude. The findings of this study can help for better understanding of the mechanism of plugging of the nanopores in coal reservoirs and the reasons of production reduction in low-permeability coal reservoirs. Such findings provide theoretical support for the selection of the working fluid, and reasonable production pressure difference can effectively reduce the damage on coal permeability in a low-permeability coal reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of minimizing the execution monetary cost of applications on cloud computing platforms has been studied recently, and satisfying the deadline constraint of an application is one of the most important quality of service requirements. Previous method of minimizing the execution monetary cost of deadline-constrained applications was the "upward" approach (i.e., from exit to entry tasks) rather than combining the "upward" and "downward" approaches. In this study, we propose monetary cost optimization algorithm (DCO/DUCO) by employing "downward" and "upward" approaches together to solve the problem of execution cost minimization. "Downward" cost optimization is implemented by introducing the concept of the variable deadline-span and transferring the deadline of an application to each task. On the basis of DCO, the slack time is utilized to implement "upward" cost optimization without violating the precedence constraints among tasks and the deadline constraint of the application. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed approach is more effective than the existing method under various conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thinnest beryllium nanowires with high strength and uniformity are theoretically constructed of connected Be6 octahedron units. Based on this, Ca- and Mg-doped beryllium nanowires are successfully constructed and researched. They are unusual all-metal charge transfer salts Ca2+(Be6)n4−Mg2+ (n = 1–7), and they surprisingly display considerable second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) responses (β0e = 1.05 × 104–1.12 × 105 au). This is because the effect of doping Ca and Mg atoms brings great increase in β0e. In addition, more notably, the effect of the nanowire length on β0e revealed that the β0e value gradually and rapidly increases with the increase in the number of Be6 octahedron units (n). Thus, these doped beryllium nanowires are a new class of NLO nanowires. Fortunately, these NLO nanowires possess working wavebands in the infrared (IR, >2800 nm) and ultraviolet (UV, <200 nm) regions. Then, these doped beryllium NLO nanowires could also be used as new hot IR and UV NLO materials. Considering the dispersion effect, the frequency-dependent value of the electro-optical Pockels effect (EOPE) βe(−ω; ω, 0) at ω = 0.005 au is slightly larger than the corresponding value of β0e. Significantly, the effect of the nanowire length on βe(−ω; ω, 0) is also displayed. Obviously, a new design strategy of enhancing NLO responses by increasing n was obtained. Noticeably, the nanowires display Janus electronic properties of both stronger electron-donating and electron-withdrawing behaviors. This work predicts that novel metal nanowires may be applied in new hot IR and UV NLO materials as well as molecular electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the challenge of stabilizing a fullerene-like borospherene, a perfect fullerene-like borospherene B20 with Ih symmetry is stabilized theoretically for the first time by selected 12 η5 (pentahapto)-Mg atoms capped on the 12 B5 pentagons, forming an exohedral metalloborospherene Ih Mg12&B20 molecule. Owing to the pull–push electron transfer relay, the molecule is converted to a spherical electride molecule (Mg2+)12&B2018− + 6e− with multiexcess electrons and high-valent B2018− polyanion with a full-shell electronic configuration, performing the stabilization of the fullerene-like B20 cage. Furthermore, we embed the metal M atom in the B20 cage, forming new endohedral electride molecules (Mg2+)12&(Mn+@B2018−) + (6 + n)e− (M = Li, n = 1 and Mg, n = 2). The embedded atom M increases the excess electron number. Notably, these electride molecules possess two different types of superatomic characteristics, exhibiting the behavior of an electron reservoir. Moreover, a compound (Mg12&B20)2O is designed and obtained, so Mg12&B20 might serve as a nano-building block. In addition, the Mg12&B20 and Mg12&(Mg@B20) electride molecules are efficient external electric field-manipulated nonlinear optical (NLO) switches with high sensitivity and reversibility. The embedding metal atom in the B20 cage can also serve as a new strategy to manipulate NLO switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel ratiometric and reversible fluorescent probe, (E)-2-butyl-6-hydroxy-5-(((2-(methylthio)phenyl)imino)methyl)-1H-benzo[de]isoquinoline-1,3(2H)-dione (denoted as probe L), based on naphthalimide and displaying excellent selectivity and hydrophilicity was designed and synthesized in order to be able to quickly identify Al3+. As the concentration of Al3+ was increased, the probe L emission peak gradually shifted to a lower wavelength (i.e., blue shifted) under single-wavelength excitation. And under UV light, a change in the fluorescence from green to blue was detected by the naked eye. The sensing mechanism was indicated to involve intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The binding mode of L-Al3+ was investigated by performing Job-plot and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Probe L also showed a pH-response behavior: when the pH was increased from 8 to 10, the fluorescence intensity of the probe gradually increased, with a particularly good linear relationship. In addition, bioimaging investigations indicated that probe L is membrane permeable and that it can be used to identify Al3+ in zebrafish and HeLa cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The self-healing of SMA-ECC under compression was studied. • Ultrasonic pulse testing explains SMA-ECC self-healing efficiency. • Mechanical properties and damage resistance of SMA-ECC after pre-damage. • Recommend SMA fiber content range based on experiment indicators. A two-stage compressive test was adopted to study the self-healing performance of a smart cementitious composite SMA-ECC under compression. The ultrasonic pulse and sorptivity tests were used to track self-healing ability and resistance to internal damage, respectively. A total of 32 groups of specimens, including 28 groups of SMA-ECC specimens and 4 groups of ordinary ECC specimens, were tested with various fiber contents and preloading levels. The strength recovery rate, relative dynamic elastic modulus recovery rate before and after self-healing, and cumulative water absorption were measured during the tests. It was found that the strength recovery rate of the SMA-ECC increased by 29.2% to 37.2% compared to the ordinary ECC. The elastic modulus recovery rate after self-healing of the SMA-ECC is approximately 3 to 10 times that of the ordinary ECC, and SMA-ECC with a 0.9% fiber content exhibits the best healing effect, with a remarkable 194% increase in elastic modulus recovery rate compared to ECC. As for internal damage, an increase in fiber content corresponds to a decrease in relative sorptivity coefficient (η) in most cases. Notably, for SMA-ECC specimens featuring a 0.9% fiber content, η reaches its nadir, hovering around 0.7. The situation takes an unexpected turn when fiber content hits 1%, as the relative sorptivity coefficient experiences a 14.9% increment compared to the SMA-ECC with 0.9% fiber content. Based on the test results, it is concluded that the SMA-ECC has excellent compressive recovery performance and the ability to resist internal damage. The optimal SMA fiber content for the self-healing performance of the SMA-ECC is determined to be 0.7% to 0.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers are used in ECC to achieve good self-healing properties. • The efficiency of the healing of cracks reduced with the increase in the width of the initial cracks. • The efficiency of the self-healing of crack increased significantly with increasing SMA fiber content from 0.3% to 0.7%. • The recovery rate decreased significantly with increasing preloading levels. Shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers are used in engineered cementitious composite (ECC) to achieve good self-healing properties in the newly developed smart cementitious material (SMA-ECC). This study focuses on the effect of SMA fiber content and preloading level on the self-healing properties of SMA-ECC through a two-stage four-point bending test. The self-healing effect was evaluated in terms of recovery of cracks, mechanical properties, and internal damage before and after self-healing. The results showed that the efficiency of the healing of cracks reduced with the increase in the width of the initial cracks. Cracks less than 50 µm width can be healed in SMA-ECC, while cracks larger than 200 µm width were the upper limit for the healing. The efficiency of the self-healing in terms of crack closure increased significantly with increasing SMA fiber content from 0.3% to 0.7% but did not change obviously when SMA fiber content increased from 0.7% to 1%. The recovery of flexural properties and damage decreased significantly with increasing preloading level. A high SMA fiber content was required for self-healing behavior at a high preloading level. At the pre-loading ratio of 50% and 70%, the recovery of flexural properties reached the maximum at the SMA fiber content of 0.7%. But at the pre-loading ratio of 90%, the recovery of flexural properties increased with increasing fiber content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cytotoxicity effects of E. adenophorum on cell cycle and apoptosis of renal cells in Saanen goat was evaluated by TUNEL, DAPI, AO/EB staining, DNA fragmentation assay, Caspase activity, Western-blot, qRT-PCR and flow cytometry analysis. 16 saanen goats randomly divided into four groups were fed on 0%, 40%, 60% and 80% E. adenophorum diets. The Results showed that E. adenophorum induced typical apoptotic features of renal cells. E. adenophorum significantly suppressed renal cells viability, caused cell cycle activity arrest and induced typical apoptotic features in a dose-dependent manner. However, the protein levels of Fas/FasL, Bid and caspase-8 did not appear significant changes in the process of E. adenophorum-induced apoptosis. Moreover, E. adenophorum administration slightly decreased Bcl-2 expression, promoted Bax translocation to mitochondria, triggered the release of Cyt c from mitochondria into cytosol and activated caspase-9, -3, and cleaved PARP. The mitochondrial p53 translocation was significantly activated, accompanied by a significant increase in the loss of ΔΨm, Cyt c release and caspase-9 activation. Above all, these data suggest that E. adenophorum induces renal cells apoptosis via the activation of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis pathway in renal cells. These findings may provide new insights to understand the mechanisms involved in E. adenophorum-caused cytotoxicity of renal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the relationship of serum Th1/Th2 cytokine levels with liver function and their clinical significance in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC). Methods: Thirty -four ALC patients, 13 patients with viral liver cirrhosis (VLC), and 17 healthy controls were included in the study. Serum levels of Th1 cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF) a, interferon (IFN)γ, and interleukin ( IL) - 12 ) and Th2 cytokines ( IL - 10, IL - 4, IL - 6, and IL - 13 ) were measured by cytometric bead array, and their correlations with Child - Pugh classification, model of end - stage liver disease ( MELD ) score, and biochemical parameters of liver function were analyzed. Comparison between multiple groups was made by Kruskal - Wallis H test, and comparison between two groups was made by Mann - Whitney U test. Correlation analysis was performed by Spearman rank test. Results: The Th1 (TNFa and IFNγ)/Th2 (IL - 10, IL - 4, and IL - 13) cytokine levels in ALC group were significantly lower than those in healthy control group ( P <0. 05), and these indices decreased nonsignificantly as the Child - Pugh class increased. Compared with VLC patients, ALC patients had significantly increased Th1/ Th2 cytokine levels except Iii - 4 level ( P <0. 05). In ALC patients, TNFa, IL - 10, and IL - 13 levels were positively correlated with prothrombin time activity ( P <0.05) but negatively correlated with total bilirubin and MELD score ( P <0.05); especially, the levels of IL - 10, IL - 13, IL - 4, TNFa, and IFNγ were negatively correlated with daily alcohol consumption ( P < 0. 05 ). Conclusion: The expression of Th1/Th2 cytokines is significantly reduced in ALC patients and is correlated with alcohol intake and liver function damage. Monitoring serum Th1/Th2 cytokine levels in ALC patients is helpful for clinical treatment and prognostic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Histone acetylation/deacetylation is a key mechanism for regulating transcription, which plays an important role in the control of gene expression, tissue growth, and development. In particular, histone deacetylase 7 (HDAC7), a member of class IIa HDACs, is crucial in maintaining vascular integrity. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in angiogenesis. However, whether HDAC7 plays a role in the processes of EPCs angiogenesis remains unclear. Migration and tube formation were the two major components of EPC angiogenesis. In this study, we show for the first time that HDAC7 silencing weakened the migration and tube formation abilities of EPCs. VEGF-A induced an increase of phospho-HDAC7 and its nuclear export in a time-dependent manner, which could be partly inhibited by protein kinase D1 (PKD1) inhibitor, but not by the PI3K inhibitor or the MEK inhibitor. Our results showed that EPCs involved in the angiogenesis might be controlled by VEGF-PKD1-HDAC7 axis, which regulates the EPCs angiogenesis by PKD1, but not the ERK and PI3K pathway. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Many studies have investigated the association between glutathione S-transferase T1 (GSTT1) null genotype and the risk of prostate cancer (PCa), but the impact of GSTT1 null genotype on PCa risk in Caucasians is still unclear owing to the inconsistency of such studies. The present study aimed to quantify the strength of association between GSTT1 null genotype and the risk of PCa in Caucasians. Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases for studies assessing the association between GSTT1 null genotype and the risk of PCa in Caucasians. We estimated the summary odds ratio (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) to assess the association. Results: 16 case-control studies with 11,648 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis of a total of 16 studies showed GSTT1 null genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of PCa in Caucasians (random-effects OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.10-1.53, p = 0.002). After adjustment for heterogeneity, GSTT1 null genotype was still associated with an increased risk of PCa in Caucasians (fixed-effects OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.17-1.52, p < 0.001). The cumulative meta-analyses of all 16 studies showed a trend of more obvious association as information accumulated by year. Conclusions: Meta-analysis of available data suggests the GSTT1 null genotype is significantly associated with an increased risk of PCa in Caucasians. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The development of a theranostic nanoplatform based on rotavirus structural protein VP4-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) for dual modality magnetic resonance/fluorescence cellular imaging and drug delivery is reported. VP4 protein was obtained from Escherichia coli approach, and then chemically conjugated to Fe3O4 NPs premodified with meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinnic acid (DMSA) in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC). Next, the VP4-coated Fe3O4 NPs were loaded with doxorubicin (DOX), a typical anticancer drug, via formation of amide bond through the EDC approach. Prussian blue staining analysis reveals that the VP4-coated Fe3O4 NPs can be internalized efficiently by MA104 and HepG2 cells, thereby significantly improving cellular MRI sensitivity, compared with dextran- and BSA-coated Fe3O4 NPs. In addition, DOX loaded on the VP4-coated Fe3O4 NPs exhibits significant cytotoxicity to the cancer cells (HepG2). The current work provides a general approach toward the rational design and synthesis of a versatile theranostic nanoplatform based on functional protein-coated magnetic NPs with good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and capability of simultaneously performing multimodality imaging and therapy for optimal clinical outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In China, dust samplers were originally designed to collect ‘total dust’ for a short term during production, which is different from the widely adopted sampling strategy for dust. With the aim to provide the conversion factor from Chinese total dust to US and German respirable dust and to look at the influences on conversion factors from environment, production, and instruments, a comparative field study on the dust concentration measurements by different sampling methods was carried out in the same Chinese industries as in the 1989–1990 study and in some other factories. A supplemental experiment was also conducted in a wind tunnel. Dust concentration was measured with a parallel sampling strategy by using the following samplers: 10-mm nylon cyclone for US respirable dust (AR), FSP-Berufsgenossenschaftliches Institut für Arbeitssicherheit (BIA) cyclone for German respirable dust (GR), and samplers for Chinese total dust (CT). Totally, 1434 samples were collected (269 AR, 198 GR, and 967 CT), from which 429 matched sample pairs (249 pairs of AR/CT, 180 GR/CT) were available to calculate conversion ratios. Industry- and job-based conversion factors are presented in this study. The conversion factor of AR/CT was 0.38 for tungsten mines, 0.19 for copper/iron mines, 0.65 for tin mines, and 0.20 for pottery industry, while the factor of GR/CT was 0.69 for tungsten, 0.37 for copper/iron, and 0.52 for pottery. In the job category, AR/CT factors varied from 0.16 to 0.96 and GR/CT from 0.12 to 0.72. For the industries studied in 1988–1989, the AR/CT and GR/CT factors were 0.29 and 0.45, respectively. Both factors were definitely influenced by production, CT dust concentration, sample gain, and variation of dust concentration. Moreover, the respirable dust concentration by FSP-BIA was significantly higher than that by 10-mm cyclones, 63.27–73.10% more as showed also by the wind tunnel experiment. Meanwhile, the GR/CT ratio was significantly larger than the AR/CT in every industry or job with only few exceptions. The GR/CT estimates should be considered as independent ones. Following these results, there is a need to use ‘ideal samplers’ (consistent with the internationally accepted respirable fraction) in practice and to assess the existent samplers in order to homogenize the exposure data situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between substance use and sexual orientation among Asian adolescents in Canada. We analyzed an East- and Southeast-Asian subsample of a province-wide, school-based survey (weighted N = 51,349). Compared to heterosexual adolescents of the same gender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and mostly heterosexual adolescents were more likely to use alcohol, marijuana, or other illicit drugs. Particularly, sexual minority girls were at increased risk for substance use. The findings suggest the need for substance use prevention interventions that are sensitive to gender, sexual orientation, and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respirator fit test panels provide an objective tool for selecting representative human test subjects based upon their facial characteristics for use in research, product development, testing and certification. Fit test panels were typically based upon anthropometric data such as the 1967–1968 survey of American military personnel. In this study, the objectives were to: (i) evaluate the applicability of the recently developed National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) respirator fit test panels for Chinese workers and (ii) develop new respirator fit test panels using the Chinese survey data. Overall, 95% of the workers in the Chinese survey fall within the NIOSH bivariate and principal component analysis (PCA) panels, suggesting that these panels would also be appropriate for the Chinese population. However, distribution of the subject across the panels was not uniform; only 6.3% of survey participants fell into five cells of the bivariate panel and only 7.2% were found within three cells of the PCA panel. Therefore, new respirator fit test panels with subject dimensions and distributions specific to Chinese workers may be beneficial for certain applications. Two new respirator fit test panels were developed with the same techniques used to create the NIOSH panels. All measurements were weighted to match age and gender distributions of the Chinese population from the 2005 census. The bivariate approach used face length and face width measurements, and the PCA panel was developed using the first two principal components obtained from a set of 10 facial dimensions. Respirators designed to fit these Chinese worker-specific panels are also likely to accommodate >95% of Chinese workers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To document the prevalence of susceptibility to smoking among a sample of White/Caucasian and Chinese Canadian adolescent nonsmokers, and to explore the factors that might explain who is susceptible to smoking. Design: This study used a secondary analysis of data from students participating in the British Columbia Youth Survey on Smoking and Health in 2001/2002. Sample: The sample included 1,870 10th and 11th graders who were nonsmokers with either a White or a Chinese ethnic background. Measurements: Questionnaire data consisted of demographic and social factors, previous smoking experience, and susceptibility to smoking. Results: Among the total sample, 27.7% were susceptible to smoking. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that 11th graders were less susceptible than 10th graders (odds ratio [OR]=0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.64–0.99), and girls were more susceptible than boys (OR=1.32, 95% CI 1.05–1.65). Ethnicity did not help to explain susceptibility to smoking in this study. Conclusions: The findings indicated the effects of gender and grade on predicting susceptibility to smoking. Even though the Chinese Canadian adolescents had the same risk of susceptibility to smoking as White/Caucasians, the factors that put them at risk may be different, which suggests the need to further examine the ethnic-specific predictors of susceptibility to smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of silica in the causation of lung cancer is an ongoing debate. In order to explore whether observed association between silica exposure and lung cancer is confounded by exposure to other occupational carcinogens, we updated a previously nested case-control study among a cohort of male workers in 29 Chinese mines and factories on the basis of an extended follow-up. Five hundred and eleven lung cancer cases and 1,879 matched controls were selected. Exposure to respirable silica as well as relevant occupational confounders were quantitatively assessed based on historical industrial hygiene data. The relationship between exposure to silica and lung cancer was analyzed by conditional logistic regression analysis adjusted for exposure to arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), radon, and smoking. In a crude analysis adjusted for smoking only, a significant trend of increasing risk of lung cancer with exposure to silica was found for tin, iron/copper miners, and pottery workers. But after adjustment for relevant occupational confounders, no relationship between silica and lung cancer can be observed. Instead, there is a significant association between lung cancer mortality and cumulative exposure to inorganic arsenic (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.04 for each mg/m3-year increase) and carcinogenic PAHs (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.69 for each 100 μg/m3-year increase). This analysis does not provide any evidence to show that exposure to silica causes lung cancer in the absence of confounding factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposes a smart composite material SMA-ECC. • Experimentally tested 12 specimens under flexural loading. • Evaluates the self-healing ability of SMA-ECC. • Conducted ultrasonic pulse tests. The durability of cementitious materials is affected by the presence of cracks. This paper proposed a novel composite material and evaluated its crack healing ability. This material consisted with engineered cementitious composite (ECC) and shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers. A total of 12 specimens were made and tested under flexural loads. Test parameters included material type and target displacement level. Test results indicated that specimens with SMA-ECC had great increase in strength and ductility compared with specimens with concrete. Specimens with SMA-ECC exhibited promising crack healing ability by effectively reducing the crack number and width. The self-healing ability reduced with increasing target displacement level. The self-healing ability was further investigated through ultrasonic pulse test. Ultrasonic pulse test results were consistent with the mechanical test results, indicating effectiveness of this test method. This composite material SMA-ECC has promising application in infrastructure critical for security to mitigate damage and heal cracks, and increases durability of the structure, and reduces maintenance cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies involving risk–benefit analysis of trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS‐8201) have indicated the benefit of this treatment, although it may increase the risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and/or pneumonitis in certain patients. This study aimed to assess the safety of DS‐8201. Methods: A search was done for relevant articles in four electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov. All reports published up until November 2, 2022, were included, and study types were restricted to clinical trials; the last search was then updated to January 10, 2023. We also assessed the quality of the literature with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Methodological Index for Non‐Randomized Studies tool, and then performed a meta‐analysis with R version 4.2.1. Results: A total of 1428 patients reported in 13 articles were included in this study. The analysis revealed that the most common all‐grade treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were nausea and fatigue. The most common TEAE of grade 3 or above (grade ≥3) was neutropenia. The incidences of ILD and/or pneumonitis for all‐grade and grade ≥3 TEAEs were 12.5% and 2.2%, respectively. Conclusions: This comprehensive summary of the incidence of TEAEs associated with DS‐8201 in clinical trials provides an important guide for clinicians. The most common TEAEs were gastrointestinal reactions and fatigue; meanwhile, the most common grade ≥3 TEAE was hematological toxicity. ILD and/or pneumonitis were specific adverse drug reactions associated with DS‐8201, of which physicians should be particularly aware for their higher morbidity and rates of grade ≥3 TEAEs. This study aimed to assess the safety of trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS‐8201) with a focus on interstitial lung disease and/or pneumonitis via the method of systematic review and single‐arm meta‐analysis. This comprehensive summary of the incidence of treatment‐emergent adverse events associated with DS‐8201 in clinical trials provides an important guide for clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which focused on an algorithm for the computation of discrete Fourier transform (DFT), a tool in studying multivalued logical functions. Algorithm for DFT; Spectral characterization of correlation-immune functions.

β2-Microglobulin (β2m) is an essential subunit of MHC I molecules; it stabilizes the structure of MHC I and plays a pivotal role in coreceptor recognition. To date, structures of β2m have been solved for three different mammals: human, mouse and cattle. In order to illuminate the molecular evolutionary origin of β2m, an understanding of its structure in lower vertebrates becomes important. Here, grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) β2m (Ctid-β2m) was expressed, purified and crystallized. Diffraction data were collected to a resolution of 2.5 Å. The crystal belongs to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 38.72, b = 40.65, c = 71.12 Å. The Matthews coefficient and the solvent content were calculated to be 2.56 Å Da-1 and 52.07%, respectively, for one molecule per asymmetric unit. The structure has been solved by molecular replacement using monomeric human β2m as a model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Whether coal mine dust exposure increases cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risk was rarely explored. Our objective was to examine the association between coal mine dust exposure and cardiovascular risk. Methods: We estimated cumulative coal mine dust exposure (CDE) for 1327 coal miners by combining data on workplace dust concentrations and work history. We used brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV, a representative indicator of arterial stiffness) and ten-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk to assess potential CVD risk, exploring their associations with CDE. Results: Positive dose-response relationships of CDE with baPWV and ten-year ASCVD risk were observed after adjusting for covariates. Specifically, each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in CDE was related to a 0.27 m/s (95% CI: 0.21, 0.34) increase in baPWV and a 1.29 (95% CI: 1.14, 1.46) elevation in OR (odds ratio) of risk of abnormal baPWV. Moreover, each 1 SD increase in CDE was associated with a 0.74% (95% CI: 0.63%, 0.85%) increase in scores of ten-year ASCVD and a 1.91 (95% CI: 1.62, 2.26) increase in OR of risk of ten-year ASCVD. When compared with groups unexposed to coal mine dust, significant increase in the risk of arterial stiffness and ten-year ASCVD in the highest CDE groups were detected. Conclusion: The study suggested that cumulative exposure to coal mine dust was associated with elevated arterial stiffness and ten-year ASCVD risk in a dose-response manner. These findings contribute valuable insights for cardiovascular risk associated with coal mine dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the seismic performance of non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) frames strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), two 1/2-scale, 2-bay, 2-story RC frames were prepared and tested under combined axial load and cyclic lateral load. One of the RC frames served as a control specimen (bare specimen) and the other was strengthened with CFRP sheets (strengthened specimen) at its joint regions. Based on the hysteretic curves, the envelop curves, and several important indexes (e.g., strength, stiffness, ductility, energy dissipation capacity) of the two specimens, the performance of the employed seismic strengthening technique in improving the seismic performance of RC frames was discussed in detail. The experimental results indicated that the externally bonded CFRP reinforcement had little influence on the lateral stiffness of the RC frame. While the lateral strength of the strengthened RC frame increased by about 20% compared to the control RC frame. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the energy dissipation capacity of the strengthened RC frame is as much as 3.01 times that of the control RC frame. The test results of the current study indicate that the employed strengthening method can substantially improve the seismic performance of the strengthened RC frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of the most common malignant tumor types of the circulatory system. Dexamethasone (DEX) acts on the glucocorticoid (GC) receptor (GR) and is a first-line chemotherapy drug for ALL. However, long-term or high-dose applications of the drug can not only cause adverse reactions, such as osteoporosis and high blood pressure, but can also cause downregulation of GR and lead to drug resistance. In the present study, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, western blotting and LysoTracker Red staining were used to observe the effects of DEX and andrographolide (AND; a botanical with antitumorigenic properties) combined treatment. It was found that AND enhanced the sensitivity of CEM-C1 cells, a GC-resistant cell line, to DEX, and synergistically upregulated GR both at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level with DEX. The combination of AND with DEX synergistically alkalized lysosomal lumen and downregulated the expression of autophagy-related genes Beclin1 and microtubule-associated 1 protein light chain 3 (LC3), thereby inhibiting autophagy. Knocking down LC3 expression enhanced GR expression, suggesting that GR was regulated by autophagy. Furthermore, compared with the monotherapy group (AND or DEX in isolation), AND interacted with DEX to activate the autophagy-dependent PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway by enhancing the phosphorylation of PI3K, AKT and mTOR, thereby decreasing GR degradation and increasing the sensitivity of cells to GCs. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that AND exhibited a synergistic anti-ALL effect with DEX via upregulation of GR, which was orchestrated by the autophagy-related PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. The results of the present study therefore provided novel research avenues and strategies for the treatment of ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatigue driving is a serious threat to road safety, which is why accurately identifying fatigue driving behavior and warning drivers in time are of great significance in improving traffic safety. However, accurately recognizing fatigue driving is still challenging due to large intra-class variations in facial expression, continuity of behaviors, and illumination conditions. A fatigue driving recognition method based on feature parameter images and a residual Swin Transformer is proposed in this paper. First, the face region is detected through spatial pyramid pooling and a multi-scale feature output module. Then, a multi-scale facial landmark detector is used to locate 23 key points on the face. The aspect ratios of the eyes and mouth are calculated based on the coordinates of these key points, and a feature parameter matrix for fatigue driving recognition is obtained. Finally, the feature parameter matrix is converted into an image, and the residual Swin Transformer network is presented to recognize fatigue driving. Experimental results on the HNUFD dataset show that the proposed method achieves an accuracy of 96.512%, thus outperforming state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the pooled prevalence, as well as the spatial and temporal distribution, of urolithiasis among subjects in China. Materials and Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of both Chinese and English databases to retrieve literature pertaining to the prevalence of urolithiasis in the indigenous Chinese population. A random‐effects meta‐analysis model was employed to calculate the pooled prevalence of urolithiasis. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on factors such as time, region, gender, and sample size. Prevalence and spatial distribution maps were created based on provinces and latitude/longitude coordinates. Results: A total of 46 studies conducted in 22 provinces across China were included in this meta‐analysis and the pooled prevalence of urolithiasis, kidney stones, ureteric calculi, urethral and bladder stones were 8.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.6–11.1%), 7.8% (95% CI 5.8–10.0%), 3.2% (95% CI 0.6–5.7%), 0.5% (95% CI 0.1–0.9%). Most of the urolithiasis prevalence screening in China was concentrated between 100° E and 120° E, with higher rates observed in low latitude areas. Subgroup analysis of kidney stones revealed that Guangdong (12.7%) and Guangxi (10.3%) had the highest prevalence, with the eastern developed area exhibiting higher rates compared to the west. The prevalence in males was higher than in females (odds ratio 1.67, 95% CI 1.46–1.92), although the gender gap has significantly reduced since 2006. Moreover, a greater sample size is associated with a decreased prevalence of urolithiasis. Conclusions: The prevalence of urolithiasis is increasing in China, and there are noteworthy regional or provincial disparities in occurrence. It is worth noting that the current number of screening studies in some areas is insufficient. Additional investigations with appropriate sample sizes should be supplemented in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeting mobile vehicle communications, Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) wireless technology has been widely used in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs). Though DSRC can provide reliable and low-latency communications for various VANET applications, the multi-channel operations standardized by IEEE 802.11p suffer from high contention on control channel, especially in dense traffic scenarios. Meanwhile, as a conventional wireless technology for VANET communications, WiFi is often underutilized when a vehicle is on road. In this paper, we propose an innovative approach that can effectively offload control frames from DSRC to WiFi when the control traffic is dense, resulting in significantly improved throughput of control traffic (about 28.7% under moderate traffic density in simulation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TGF-β is related to the function of T cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, the characteristics of TGF-β affecting the function of CD8+ T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been clearly resolved. Methods: In this study, flow cytometry, mass cytometry, immunohistochemistry, RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high throughput sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were used to study the regulatory effect and molecular mechanism of TGF-β on HCC infiltrating CD8+ T cells. Results: Here, we demonstrated that the overall effect of TGF-β on CD8+ T cells in HCC was to activate p-p38 to induce exhaustion, but it also initiated cell-intrinsic resistance mechanisms: 1) TGF-β upregulated the levels of p-STAT1 (S727) and promoted LAIR2 secretion; 2) the TGF-β-p-STAT1-LAIR2 axis relieved CD8+ T cells from exhaustion, which we called "self-rescue"; 3) this "self-rescue" behavior showed time and dose limitations on TGF-β stimulation, which was easily masked by stronger inhibitory signals; 4) the function of CD8+ T cells was improved by using TAK-981 to amplify "self-rescue" signal. Conclusion: Our study describes a "self-rescue" mechanism of CD8+ T cells in HCC against exhaustion and the good effects from amplifying this signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Repeated measures were performed in chinese adults with low-moderate arsenic levels. • Arsenic was associated with increased levels of 8-isoPGF2α, 8-OHdG, and PCO. • Arsenic was linked to annual increased rates of 8-isoPGF2α, 8-OHdG, and PCO. • Results remain stable in different models, stratification and sensitivity analyses. Arsenic-related oxidative stress and resultant diseases have attracted global concern, while longitudinal studies are scarce. To assess the relationship between arsenic exposure and systemic oxidative damage, we performed two repeated measures among 5236 observations (4067 participants) in the Wuhan-Zhuhai cohort at the baseline and follow-up after 3 years. Urinary total arsenic, biomarkers of DNA oxidative damage (8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)), lipid peroxidation (8-isoprostaglandin F2alpha (8-isoPGF2α)), and protein oxidative damage (protein carbonyls (PCO)) were detected for all observations. Here we used linear mixed models to estimate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between arsenic exposure and oxidative damage. Exposure-response curves were constructed by utilizing the generalized additive mixed models with thin plate regressions. After adjusting for potential confounders, arsenic level was significantly and positively related to the levels of global oxidative damage and their annual increased rates in dose-response manners. In cross-sectional analyses, each 1% increase in arsenic level was associated with a 0.406% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.379% to 0.433%), 0.360% (0.301% to 0.420%), and 0.079% (0.055% to 0.103%) increase in 8-isoPGF2α, 8-OHdG, and PCO, respectively. More importantly, arsenic was further found to be associated with increased annual change rates of 8-isoPGF2α (β: 0.147; 95% CI: 0.130 to 0.164), 8-OHdG (0.155; 0.118 to 0.192), and PCO (0.050; 0.035 to 0.064) in the longitudinal analyses. Our study suggested that arsenic exposure was not only positively related with global oxidative damage to lipid, DNA, and protein in cross-sectional analyses, but also associated with annual increased rates of these biomarkers in dose-dependent manners. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesized that daily folate consumption may have a beneficial effect on mortality among adults with dysglycemia. This prospective cohort study was conducted on 9266, 12,601, and 16,025 US adults with diabetes, prediabetes, and insulin resistance (IR; homeostasis model assessment of IR >2.6), respectively, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Ⅲ and 1999-2018. Daily folate consumption was obtained from dietary recall. All-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality were obtained by linking to the National Death Index Mortality Data. During 117,746.00, 158,129.30, and 210,896.80 person-years of follow-up, 3356 (1053 CVD and 672 cancer), 3796 (1117 CVD and 854 cancer), and 4340 (1286 CVD and 928 cancer) deaths occurred among participants with diabetes, prediabetes, and IR, respectively. After multivariate adjustment, each 1-unit increase in ln-transformed daily folate consumption was linearly associated with 7.1% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.929; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.914-0.945), 12.4% (HR, 0.886; 95% CI, 0.860-0.912), and 6.4% (HR, 0.936; 95% CI, 0.903-0.972) decreases in risk of all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality, respectively, among participants with diabetes. Among participants with prediabetes, each 1-unit increase in ln-transformed daily folate consumption was linearly associated with 3.6% (HR, 0.964; 95% CI, 0.949-0.980), 7.8% (HR, 0.922; 95% CI, 0.895-0.949), and 3.6% (HR, 0.964; 95% CI, 0.932-0.997) decreases in risk of all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality, respectively. Among participants with IR, each 1-unit increase in ln-transformed daily folate consumption was linearly associated with 5.7% (HR, 0.943; 95% CI, 0.929-0.956) and 9.0% (HR, 0.910; 95% CI, 0.885-0.933) decreases in risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, respectively. Increased daily folate consumption may be beneficial in reducing all-cause and CVD mortality of adults with dysglycemia. More research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxicologic studies have reported propylene oxide (PO) exposure may harm the respiratory system, but the association between PO exposure and lung function and potential mechanism remains unclear. What is the association between PO exposure and lung function and potential mediating mechanism? Urinary PO metabolite [N-Acetyl-S-(2-hydroxypropyl)-L-cysteine (2HPMA)] as PO internal exposure biomarker and lung function were measured for 3,692 community residents at baseline and repeated at 3-year follow up. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between urinary 2HPMA and lung function were assessed by linear mixed model. Urinary 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine, urinary 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α, and plasma protein carbonyls as biomarkers of oxidative DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, and protein carbonylation, respectively, were measured for all participants to explore their potential roles in 2HPMA-associated lung function decline by mediation analysis. After adjustment for potential covariates, each threefold increase in urinary 2HPMA was cross sectionally associated with a 26.18 mL (95% CI, −50.55 to −1.81) and a 21.83 mL (95% CI, −42.71 to −0.95) decrease in FVC and FEV 1 , respectively, at baseline (all P <.05). After 3 years of follow up, 2HPMA was observed to be longitudinally associated with FEV 1 /FVC decline. No significant interaction effect of smoking or passive smoking was observed (P interaction >.05), and the associations between 2HPMA and lung function indexes were persistent among participants who were not smoking and those who were not passive smoking in both baseline and follow-up evaluations. We observed urinary 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine partially mediated the associations of 2HPMA with FVC (mediation proportion, 5.48%) and FEV 1 (mediation proportion, 6.81%), and plasma protein carbonyl partially mediated the association between 2HPMA and FEV 1 (mediation proportion, 3.44%). PO exposure was associated with lung function decline among community residents, and oxidative DNA damage and protein carbonylation partially mediated PO exposure-associated lung function decline. Further attention on respiratory damage caused by PO exposure is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the seismic behavior of a precast concrete frame with buckling-restrained braces (BRBs-PC frame) and analyzes the structural failure mode caused by the horizontal force of BRBs. Two half-scale PC frames, with and without BRBs, were designed and tested using a pseudo-static test. During the test, the BRBs-PC frame exhibited a failure mode of beam-hinge with BRBs. When the BRBs-PC frame yielded, the ratio of the BRB's energy dissipation to total energy dissipation was 65%. Cracks appeared on the column's superimposed surfaces. The ultimate bearing capacity and energy dissipation of the BRBs-PC frame were significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative bolt-connected precast concrete (PC) shear wall structural system has recently been proposed for middle and high-rise buildings in seismic regions. As a further research step, this paper aims to investigate the seismic behavior of PC coupled shear wall with different types of dissipative coupling beams. The quasi-static cyclic tests on two PC coupled shear wall specimens with friction-based coupling beam (FCB) and yielding-based coupling beam (YCB) were conducted. Moreover, nonlinear finite element models of the specimens were established and validated with the experimental results. The results demonstrated that the proposed dissipative coupling beams can effectively couple the wall panels in elastic field, whilst they can sustain large plastic deformation adding to the structural assembly a relevant source of energy dissipation under thresholded actions. Whilst the specimen with YCB exhibited large overstrength in plastic field, the specimen with FCB provided a more stable plateau capacity associated to enhanced deformation capacity, ductility and energy dissipation. Moreover, the FCB resulted practically undamaged and immediately reusable at the end of the test, whilst the YCB was found highly plasticized and locally torn. In addition, the detailed finite element models of the test specimens accurately predicted the experimental behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental exposure to crystalline silica particles can lead to silicosis, which is one of the most serious pulmonary interstitial fibrosis around the world. Unfortunately, the exact mechanism on silicosis is unclear, and the effective treatments are lacking to date. In this study, we aim to explore the molecular mechanism by which interleukin-11 (IL-11) affects silica particles-induced lung inflammation and fibrosis. We observed that IL-11 expressions in mouse lungs were significantly increased after silica exposure, and maintained at high levels across both inflammation and fibrosis phase. Immunofluorescent dual staining further revealed that the overexpression of IL-11 mainly located in mouse lung epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Using neutralizing anti-IL-11 antibody could effectively alleviate the overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α) and fibrotic proteins (i.e., collagen type I and matrix metalloproteinase-2) induced by silica particles. Most importantly, the expressions of IL-11 receptor subunit α (IL-11Rα), Glycoprotein 130 (GP130), and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) were significantly increased in response to silica, whereas blocking of IL-11 markedly reduced their levels. All findings suggested that the overexpression of IL-11 was involved in the pathological of silicosis, while neutralizing IL-11 antibody could effectively alleviate the silica-induced lung inflammation and fibrosis by inhibiting the IL-11Rα/GP130/ERK signaling pathway. IL-11 might be a promising therapeutic target for lung inflammation and fibrosis caused by silica particles exposure. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global DNA methylation levels can be determined by environmental and genetic factors. There are emerging evidences that methylation status can be modified as exposed to environmental factors such as PM 2.5 , but the genetic determinants are still largely unknown. To explore whether genetic variants contribute to global DNA methylation levels with consideration of environmental exposures, we systematically evaluated the association between genetic variants and global DNA methylation levels in 301 subjects from three cities in southern, central and northern China with different PM 2.5 exposure levels (Zhuhai, Wuhan and Tianjin, respectively). Personal 24-h PM 2.5 exposure levels and global DNA methylation levels for each subject were evaluated. Using Illumina Human Exome BeadChip, 241,305 SNVs was genotyped and assessed for their association with global DNA methylation levels. We found that after adjusting for age, gender, PM 2.5 exposure level, pack-years of smoking and BMI, 14 SNVs were consistently associated with global DNA methylation levels with pooled P ≤ 1.00 × 10 −4 after meta-analysis of three cohorts, in which 8 SNVs together with age were independent factors modifying global DNA methylation levels. Joint analysis of these identified SNVs showed a significant allele-dosage association between the number of variants and global DNA methylation levels ( P = 1.82 × 10 −23 ). In particular, we detected a significant multiplicative interaction between rs4344916 on chromosome 2p22.3 and PM 2.5 exposure on global DNA methylation level ( P = 0.0095). Our findings indicate that genetic variants alone or in combination with PM 2.5 play an important role in modifying individual global DNA methylation levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A minimized and concise drug alerting rule set can be effective in reducing alert fatigue. Objectives: This study aims to develop and evaluate a concise drug alerting rule set for Chinese hospitals. The rule set covers not only western medicine, but also Chinese patent medicine that is widely used in Chinese hospitals. Setting: A 2600-bed general hospital in China. Methods: In order to implement the drug rule set in clinical information settings, an information model for drug rules was designed and a rule authoring tool was developed accordingly. With this authoring tool, clinical pharmacists built a computerized rule set that contains 150 most widely used and error-prone drugs. Based on this rule set, a medication-related clinical decision support application was built in CPOE. Drug alert data between 2013/12/25 and 2015/07/01 were used to evaluate the effect of the rule set. Main outcome measure: Number of alerts, number of corrected/overridden alerts, accept/override rate. Results: Totally 18,666 alerts were fired and 2803 alerts were overridden. Overall override rate is 15.0% (2803/18666) and accept rate is 85.0%. Conclusions: The rule set has been well received by physicians and can be used as a preliminary medical order screening tool to reduce pharmacists' workload. For Chinese hospitals, this rule set can serve as a starter kit for building their own pharmaceutical systems or as a reference to tier commercial rule set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short-term impacts of urban air pollution on the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) remain obscure. In this study, we included 3487 urban adults from the Wuhan-Zhuhai cohort. Individual inhalation exposure to air pollutants was estimated by combining participants' daily breath volume and ambient concentrations of six air pollutants (including fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), inhalable particulate matter (PM 10), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), sulfur dioxide (SO 2), carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O 3)). The cumulative impacts were assessed by applying lag structures of up to 7 days before the survey date. Associations of air pollutants with PLR and NLR were assessed using a linear mixed model and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) model. We found that PLR was negatively related to PM 2.5 (lag02-lag06), PM 10 (lag02-lag07), NO 2 (lag02-lag07), and SO 2 (lag03-lag05) and NLR was negatively related to PM 10 (lag05 and lag07). In the BKMR model, a negative joint association between the six-air-pollutant mixture and PLR and NLR was observed, whereas PM 10 and NO 2 appeared to be more important than the other pollutants in the mixture. The negative impact of air pollutants was stronger in males, participants with lower body mass index (< 24 kg/m2), those cooking meals at home, drinkers, and non-exercisers. In conclusion, short-term exposure to air pollutants is significantly related to PLR and NLR in peripheral blood. PLR and NLR may provide new insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the adverse health impact of air pollutants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective * To study the prevalence of mouth opening restriction in oral cancer patients by meta-analysis. Methods * China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Data (Wanfang), Chinese BioMedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Ovid, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science/SciSearch, and ClinicalTrials. gov were searched for observational studies about the prevalence rate of restricted mouth opening in oral cancer patients (including prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies). The time limit for retrieval was from the database establishment to April 30th, 2022. The obtained documents were independently screened and extracted according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the literature quality evaluation was performed by using methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS). The data were combined with the mouth-opening-restricted prevalence rate as the outcome indicator, the meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 15.0 software, and the subgroup analysis was performed based on the detection time, tumor site, and tumor stage. The evidence quality of outcome indicators was evaluated by using GRADE profiler 3.6 software according to GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) system. Results * A total of 3 719 documents were obtained during the initial examination, and 18 documents were finally included, including 2 701 objects. The meta-analysis results showed that the total prevalence rate of mouth opening restriction in oral cancer patients was 42.7% (95%CI 27.0%-59.1%). The results of subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence rates of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer before surgery, and 3 months, 6 months and 1 year or more after surgery were 29.6% (95%CI 9.0%- 55.8%), 75.2% (95%CI 68.3%-81.5%), 59.1% (95%CI 38.8%-77.9%) and 22.3% (95%CI 2.0%-54.3%), respectively. The prevalence rates of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer at T1-T2 stage and T3-T4 stage were 38.6% (95%CI 26.0%-52.0%) and 99.6% (95%CI 93.9%- 100.0%) respectively. The prevalence rates of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer in the retromolar triangle, the gingiva, the tongue, the salivary gland, the floor of mouth and the lip were 93.1% (95%CI 68.5%-100.0%), 68.1% (95%CI 52.9%-81.7%), 46.1% (95%CI 11.6%-82.7%), 26.1% (95%CI 15.9%-37.5%), 21.9% (95%CI 0.7%-54.0%), and 3.1% (95%CI 0-9.3%), respectively. The GRADE system for evidence quality grading indicated that the quality of evidence for outcome indicator was extremely low. Conclusion * The total prevalence rate of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer is high, nearly 50%; the patients at 3 months after surgery, at 6 months after surgery, at T3 - T4 stage or whose tumor located in the retromolar triangle have higher prevalence rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicosis is one of the most severe occupational diseases worldwide and is characterized by silicon nodules and diffuse pulmonary fibrosis. However, specific treatments for silicosis are still lacking at present. Therefore, elucidating the pathogenesis of silicosis plays a significant guiding role for its treatment and prevention. The occurrence and development of silicosis are accompanied by many regulatory mechanisms, including epigenetic regulation. The main epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of silicosis include DNA methylation, non-coding RNA (ncRNA), and histone modifications. In recent years, the expression and regulation of genes related to silicosis have been explored at epigenetic level to reveal its pathogenesis further, and the identification of aberrant epigenetic markers provides new biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of silicosis. Here, we summarize the studies on the role of epigenetic changes in the pathogenesis of silicosis to give some clues for finding specific therapeutic targets for silicosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) and ARS-interacting multi-functional proteins (AIMPs) form a multisynthetase complex (MSC) and play an important role in the process of DNA damage repair. We hypothesized that genetic variants in key ARSs and AIMPs might regulate the DNA damage response. Therefore, we systematically screened 23 potentially functional polymorphisms in MSC genes and evaluated the association between the genetic variants and DNA damage levels in 307 subjects from three cities in southern, central and northern China (Zhuhai, Wuhan and Tianjin, respectively). We examined personal 24-h PM 2.5 exposure levels and DNA damage levels in peripheral blood lymphocytes for each subject. We found that the variant allele of rs12199241 in AIMP3 was significantly associated with DNA damage levels ( β = 0.343, 95%CI: 0.133–0.554, P = 0.001). Meanwhile, the results of rs5030754 in EPRS and rs3784929 in KARS indicated their suggestive roles in DNA damage processes ( β = 0.331, 95%CI: 0.062–0.599, P = 0.016 for rs5030754; β = 0.192, 95%CI: 0.016–0.368, P = 0.033 for rs3784929, respectively). After multiple testing, rs12199241 was still significantly associated with DNA damage levels. Combined analysis of these three polymorphisms showed a significant allele-dosage association between the number of risk alleles and higher DNA damage levels ( P trend < 0.001). These findings indicate that genetic variants in MSC genes may account for PM 2.5 -modulated DNA damage levels in Chinese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]