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Change detection in high resolution (HR) remote sensing images faces more challenges than in low resolution images because of the variations of land features, which prompts this research on faster and more accurate change detection methods. We propose a pixel-level semantic change detection method to solve the fine-grained semantic change detection for HR remote sensing image pairs, which takes one lightweight semantic segmentation network (LightNet), using the parameter-sharing SiameseNet, as the architecture to carry out pixel-level semantic segmentations for the dual-temporal image pairs and achieve pixel-level change detection based directly on semantic comparison. LightNet consists of four long–short branches, each including lightweight dilated residual blocks and an information enhancement module. The feature information is transmitted, fused, and enhanced among the four branches, where two large-scale feature maps are fused and then enhanced via the channel information enhancement module. The two small-scale feature maps are fused and then enhanced via a spatial information enhancement module, and the four upsampling feature maps are finally concatenated to form the input of the Softmax. We used high resolution remote sensing images of Lake Erhai in Yunnan Province in China, collected by GF-2, to make one dataset with a fine-grained semantic label and a dual-temporal image-pair label to train our model, and the experiments demonstrate the superiority of our method and the accuracy of LightNet; the pixel-level semantic change detection methods are up to 89% and 86%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and nutrient loss are considered to be critical environmental issues facing rice field ecosystems. Biochars (BCs), as carbon-rich materials with porous structures, large specific surface areas, and enriched surface functional groups, have shown great potential for improving environmental problems in rice fields and increasing rice yields. However, thus far, we still lack an adequate summary and review of the performance characteristics of BCs and their environmental behavior in paddy soils. In this paper, we critically review the positive effects of BC application on the growth and yield of rice, nutrient loss reduction, and GHG reduction. Biomass type, pyrolysis temperature, and modification method are considered to be the key factors that determine the performance characteristics of BCs. The application of BCs could promote rice yield and mitigate CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions by improving soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities, providing nutrient sources, and reducing nutrient losses. Finally, this paper illustrates the potential ecological risks of BC application on paddy fields, including the risks of inconclusive research results and secondary pollution. These shortcomings need to be addressed in future research to ensure the sustainability of BC application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A GC-MS method was investigated for simultaneous determination of TBHQ and its transformation products (TBBQ, MAHQ) in fats and oils. Three substances were determined with good linearity of 0.15–100.00 μg/mL (R2 > 0.9982); low LODs (0.05, 0.17, and 0.10 μg/mL) and the LOQs (0.15, 0.52, and 0.30 μg/mL). The recoveries of the three substances ranged from 93.28 % to 104.64 %. The method is sensitive and reproducible and meets the requirements of the methodology. The initial addition of TBHQ can be assessed with a recovery of > 90 % based on three substances, and the recovery could be closer to the initial addition of TBHQ if more transformation productions of TBHQ were identified with further in-depth study in the future. Compared to reported HPLC methods, the method realizes accurate quantitative detection of TBHQ and its transformation products, which can address the discrepancies between upstream and downstream enterprises in the food industry regarding the amount of TBHQ addition. This method allows downstream companies to precisely control the addition level in order to meet the requirements (maximum of 200 mg/kg based on oil content) regulated by National Standards as well as provide theoretical support for the scientific understanding and application of TBHQ in food industry. • TBHQ in oils is transformed mainly to TBBQ and MAHQ during storage condition. • HPLC and GC cannot simultaneously and accurately detect TBHQ, TBBQ, and MAHQ. • GC-MS method can simultaneously detect TBHQ, TBBQ, and MAHQ. • This method can be used to evaluate the initial addition of TBHQ to fats and oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specific detection of oxytetracycline (OTC) residues is significant for food safety and environmental monitoring. However, rapid specific determination of OTC from various tetracyclines is still challenging due to their similar chemical structures. Here, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs) with excitation and pH-dependent optical properties and a high-fluorescence quantum yield were successfully synthesized, which were directly employed to fabricate a dual-response fluorescence probe by self-assembly with Eu3+ (NCDs/Eu3+) for the ratiometric determination of OTC. The addition of OTC into the probe greatly enhances the characteristic emission of Eu3+ due to the "antenna effect", and the incorporation of NCDs into the probe further improves the Eu3+ fluorescence by remarkably weakening the quenching effect caused by H2O molecules and efficiently shortening the distance of energy transfer from OTC to Eu3+. Meanwhile, the fluorescence of NCDs apparently decreases due to aggregation-caused quenching. The results demonstrate that a ratiometric detection of OTC (0.1–25 µM) with a detection limit of 29 nM based on the double response signals is achieved. Additionally, visual semi-quantitative assay of OTC can be realized with the naked eye under a 365 nm UV lamp according to the fluorescence color change of the as-fabricated probe. This probe exhibits acceptable specificity and anti-interference for OTC assay, holding promise for the fast detection of OTC in real water and milk samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules with multiple chips have wide range of applications, and the correct estimation for the thermal behaviors inside IGBT modules is becoming crucial. Thermal impedance matrix is one of the most adopted approaches to describe the thermal-coupling effect of IGBT module. For simplicity of analysis, the heatsink or ambient temperature is typically chosen as the reference node for the thermal-coupling impedance term, while the case temperature is simplified or ignored. This letter provides a thermal coupling model enabling case temperature as reference node. This proposed model decouples the thermal coupling impedances of IGBT module itself and external cooling condition, so that the modeling of cooling conditions outside device and inside the power module, can be separately considered. The characterization method and advantages of the proposed model are verified by an experimental demonstration, and the potential applications are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound image segmentation is a challenging task due to the complexity of lesion types, fuzzy boundaries, and low-contrast images along with the presence of noises and artifacts. To address these issues, we propose an end-to-end multi-scale feature extraction and fusion network (MEF-UNet) for the automatic segmentation of ultrasound images. Specifically, we first design a selective feature extraction encoder, including detail extraction stage and structure extraction stage, to precisely capture the edge details and overall shape features of the lesions. In order to enhance the representation capacity of contextual information, we develop a context information storage module in the skip-connection section, responsible for integrating information from adjacent two-layer feature maps. In addition, we design a multi-scale feature fusion module in the decoder section to merge feature maps with different scales. Experimental results indicate that our MEF-UNet can significantly improve the segmentation results in both quantitative analysis and visual effects. • Proposing a multi-scale feature extraction and fusion network (MEF-UNet) for ultrasound image segmentation. • MEF-UNet includes selective feature extraction module, context information storage module and multi-scale feature fusion module. • MEF-UNet demonstrates superior performance in both quantitative analysis and visual effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency-domain modeling is a relatively new approach for thermal impedance description of power semiconductor devices, and it has shown promising advantages to analyze the multitimescale thermal dynamics of power semiconductor devices under complex mission profiles. However, parameters in the frequency-domain thermal model are still difficult to be accurately extracted, and sometimes the extraction process would be complicated and ambiguous depending on the construction of power devices and heat sink. This article proposes a new method to identify these key parameters of the frequency-domain thermal model for power semiconductors. The proposed approach utilizes the information of heat flowing out of device and only requires temperature responses of three different locations in the heat path of insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module under a step power-loss. By the proposed approach, the critical frequencies in the frequency-domain thermal model of IGBT module can be extracted more easily and accurately. The effectiveness of the proposed method is also validated by simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Detection of voltage due to spin accumulation induced by anomalous Hall effect. • Observation of field-dependent spin accumulation induced by anomalous Hall effect. • Demonstration of dependence of anomalous Hall voltage on spin polarization of conductivity. Abstract We present an experimental observation of interfacial spin accumulation induced by anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in ferromagnets (FMs) in a multilayer structure of FM/YIG/Pt, where the direction of charge current injection in FM layer is perpendicular to the direction of voltage detection in Pt layer. In this structure, the magnon-mediated drag voltage (V drag) due to the interfacial spin accumulation induced by AHE, can be unambiguously separated from spin Seebeck voltage (V SSE) by sweeping or rotating the applied magnetic field. Field-dependent spin accumulation induced by AHE has been observed by comparison of nonlocal voltages between Ni/Cu/YIG/Pt and Pt/YIG/Pt samples. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the AHE voltage strongly depends on the spin polarization of conductivity and spin Hall angles of electrons with opposite spins in FMs. Our results show a prospect for FMs to be field-control spin generators via AHE, and provide a new viewpoint to realize the AHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different molecular weight distribution (MWD) gelatin was extracted from Yak skin after enzymatic pretreatments and their physicochemical and functional properties (SDS-PAGE, UV–vis absorption spectra, DSC, FT-IR, Amino acid analysis, AFM, emulsibility and foamability) were analyzed. The gelatin was extracted by pepsin and got different MWD of Yak skin gelatin by controlling the enzymolysis time. The SDS-PAGE showed the MWD of the Yak skin gelatin. The UV–vis absorption turned out that the broad MWD of Yak skin gelatin had a higher maximum absorption peaks. The FT-IR and AFM indicated that the gelatin structures and microstructures changed with the change of the MWD. The broad MWD of the Yak skin gelatin had a higher denaturation temperature (T D ), and it was higher than most of the other mammals and marine biological gelatin. The broad MWD gelatin also had higher imino acids (proline and hydroxyproline) contents and lower foamability and emulsibility compared to the narrow MWD gelatin. These findings, obtained for the first time for Yak skin gelatin, showed that it has great potential for application as an alternative to commercial gelatin due to its good thermotolerance, particularly in the applications of the biological materials, stabilizer of thermo-tolerant and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper dealt with the physicochemical, functional and antioxidative properties of Yak skin gelatins with various molecular weights. The gelatin was extracted by alkaline process, and different molecular weight gelatin was achieved by ultrafiltration with different molecular weight cut membrane. The SDS-PAGE showed the molecular weight of the yak skin gelatin. The UV-Vis absorption turned out that the high molecular weight (HMW) of yak skin gelatin had a higher maximum absorption peaks. The FT-IR indicated the change of gelatin structures with the change of the molecular weight. No matter the HMW or the low molecular weight (LMW), the Yak skin gelatin had a high denaturation temperature (Td), and it was higher than most of the other mammals and marine biological gelatin. The HMW gelatin had higher imino acids contents and lower oxidation resistance, foamability and emulsibility compared to the LMW gelatin. These findings showed that a certain molecular weight range of Yak skin gelatin has great potential for application as an alternative to commercial gelatin due to its good antioxidative, foamability emulsibility and thermotolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic/inorganic perovskite solar cells have dramatically improved in efficiency in recent years and have a trend to be comparable to silicon solar cells, its simple process is expected to become an alternative to silicon solar cells in the future. However, in perovskite solar cells, the ineffective carrier extraction leads to non-radiative recombination of some carriers during the diffusion from the perovskite layer to other transport layers, which is a cause of cell efficiency loss. This paper describes the introduction of solid particles of molybdenum oxide of a certain particle size dispersed between the perovskite layer/hole transport layer to improve the extraction of hole carriers, resulting in an improved device short-circuit current density. We further investigated the dependence of the comprehensive performance of the molybdenum oxide incorporated perovskite solar cell on the amount of molybdenum oxide introduced, and the current density-voltage results showed that the optimal content of molybdenum oxide was 0.5 mg/ml, and the efficiency of the perovskite solar cell at this content was 18.27% with a short-circuit current density of 23.67 m A · c m − 2 , while the efficiency of the device without molybdenum oxide was 16.97% with a short-circuit current density of 21.84 m A · c m − 2 . Therefore, this work provides an effective way to improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells. [Display omitted] • Submicron molybdenum oxide particles were prepared by low energy consumption. • Reduce carrier transport barriers between MAPbI 3 and the hole transport layer. • The short circuit current density of the device increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the increasingly widespread contamination of antibiotics, the preparation of biochar by heteroatom doping to further improve the catalytic degradation efficiency of antibiotics has become a major focus of research. In this study, N-doped (NBC), S-doped (SBC), and NS-doped (NSBC) moso bamboo biochar were obtained at preparation temperatures of 300–700 °C. The concentration of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) in all biochars peaked when the preparation temperature was 500 °C: 2.45 × 1019 spins·g−1 (BC), 9.23 × 1019 spins·g−1 (NBC), 6.10 × 1019 spins·g−1 (SBC), and 4.36 × 1019 spins·g−1 (NSBC). After heteroatom doping, EPFR species were more abundant, and the distribution of three types of EPFRs (oxygen-centered (g > 2.0040), carbon-centered (g < 2.0030), and carbon-centered radicals with oxygen atom free radicals (2.0030 < g < 2.0040) varied with the preparation temperature. In the process of antibiotic degradation, both NBC and SBC increased the degradation rate of antibiotics, whereas NSBC reduced the degradation rate. Compared with the degradation rate of antibiotics of biochar (79.86%), the degradation rate of antibiotics by NBC, SBC, and NSBC via PMS activation was 92.23%, 88.86%, and 70.97% on average in 30 min, respectively. The greatest contributors to the catalytic degradation were SO 4 •-, followed by 1O 2 , •OH, and O 2 •-. EPFRs and 1O 2 might be the main contributors to the free radical and non-free radical pathways. The enhancement of EPFRs following the N doping or S doping of biochar is the key factor underlying PMS activation. Therefore, changes in the structure of biochar can better activate PMS to produce reactive oxygen species-degrading antibiotics. The mineralization rate of antibiotics by BC, NBC, SBC, and NSBC was 42.12%, 47.06%, 44.99%, and 39.01%, respectively. This means that a small portion of the antibiotics was completely decomposed into CO 2 , H 2 O, and inorganic substances after degradation. Cyclic experiments showed that heteroatom-doped biochar had higher reusability, and the degradation rate decreased less than 15%. [Display omitted] • Heteroatom doping affects the concentration of EPFRs in biochar. • NBC and SBC accelerated the degradation rate of antibiotics. • SO 4.•- are the main contributors to degradation of antibiotics • The heteroatom doping increased non-free radical pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• EPFRs reached the highest concentration at 500 °C. • Biochar activated PS was the most effective in degrading antibiotics. • The concentration of EPFRs determined the yield of SO 4 •− and •OH. • Sulfate radical (SO 4 •−) degraded antibiotics effectively. Antibiotic pollution threatens aquatic ecosystems and water supplies, so analysis of ecofriendly remediation approaches like biochars with catalytic degradation abilities is a top priority. In this work, quinolone antibiotics were degraded by activating oxidants to generate transient radicals using the environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) carried by biochar. The physical and chemical characterization confirmed that biochar is suitable for the removal of organic pollutants. By regulating biochar preparation parameters, it was found that EPFR generation peaked at 500 °C. As the temperature increased from 300 °C to 500 °C, the EPFRs changed from oxygen-centered radicals (g > 2.0040) to carbon-centered radicals (g < 2.0030). The catalytic degradation efficiencies of the EPFR activated oxidants from large to small were: peroxydisulfate (PDS), peroxymonosulfate (PMS), H 2 O 2 and flowing O 2. The combined actions of SO 4 •− and •OH effectively degraded antibiotics. The results showed that biochar activating persulfate is a promising technique for the degradation of antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• EPFRs reached the highest concentration at 500 °C. • Biochar activated PS was the most effective in degrading antibiotics. • The concentration of EPFRs determined the yield of SO 4 •− and •OH. • Sulfate radical (SO 4 •−) degraded antibiotics effectively. Antibiotic pollution threatens aquatic ecosystems and water supplies, so analysis of ecofriendly remediation approaches like biochars with catalytic degradation abilities is a top priority. In this work, quinolone antibiotics were degraded by activating oxidants to generate transient radicals using the environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) carried by biochar. The physical and chemical characterization confirmed that biochar is suitable for the removal of organic pollutants. By regulating biochar preparation parameters, it was found that EPFR generation peaked at 500 °C. As the temperature increased from 300 °C to 500 °C, the EPFRs changed from oxygen-centered radicals (g > 2.0040) to carbon-centered radicals (g < 2.0030). The catalytic degradation efficiencies of the EPFR activated oxidants from large to small were: peroxydisulfate (PDS), peroxymonosulfate (PMS), H 2 O 2 and flowing O 2. The combined actions of SO 4 •− and •OH effectively degraded antibiotics. The results showed that biochar activating persulfate is a promising technique for the degradation of antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is known and objective: Since the beginning of the COVID‐19 outbreak in China in December 2019, the epidemic has continued to spread globally. Despite continuous reports of clinical trials being launched, no studies have yet systematically summarized and analysed their characteristics. Our objective is to do this by reviewing trials registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. Methods: We searched the ClinicalTrials.gov database and retrieved all clinical trials on COVID‐19 registered up to and including 3 April 2020. We summarized the characteristics of the trials, presenting the results of all trials, all intervention trials and drug intervention (including vaccines and traditional Chinese medicine) trials. Results and discussion: We identified 306 COVID‐19‐related clinical trials. Seven of the studies had been withdrawn, leaving 299 active trials. Of the trials, 28.8% were planned to be conducted in Asia, 26.8% in Europe and 18.7% in North America. Most (73.0%) proposed trials expected to recruit fewer than 500 people, and only 22.1% of the studies included children (aged <18 years). About two‐thirds (67.2%) of the studies were funded by the own resources of medical or research institutions. Of intervention trials, 73.9% used random allocation, and 73.4% used parallel assignment. Only 36.7% of the intervention trials used blinding. In terms of drug trials, 147 trials were drug intervention studies, covering 80 conventional drugs and seven traditional Chinese medicine drugs. Antiviral drugs and antimalarial drugs were the most commonly studied drugs with 52 and 45 trials registered, respectively. Five registered clinical trials were on vaccines. What is new and conclusion: A large number of COVID‐19‐related trials have been registered within the first 4 months since the first infection was reported. These involve a large number of different drugs, the most common being antiviral drugs and antimalarial drugs. More attention should be paid to adequate blinding in future trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single agent treatment of the γ-secretase inhibitor (GSI-I) or proteasome inhibitor in anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK+ ALCL) shows limited response and considerable toxicity. Here, we examined the effects of the combination of low dose GSI-I and the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (BTZ) in ALK+ ALCL cells in vivo and in vitro. We found that ALK+ ALCL cells treated with the BTZ and GSI-I combination treatment showed elevated apoptosis, consistent with increased caspase activation, compared with BTZ or GSI-I alone. The combination treatment also inhibited AKT and extracellular signal-related kinase pathways, as well as stress-related cascades, including the c-jun N-terminal kinase and stress-activated kinases. Moreover, combined treatment in a murine xenograft model resulted in increased apoptosis in tumor tissues and reduced tumor growth. Our results reveal the synergistic anti-tumor effects of low dose inhibitors against γ-secretase and the proteasome and suggest the potential application of the tolerable BTZ/GSI-I combined agents in treating ALK+ ALCL in future clinical treatment. • Single agent treatment of GSI-I or bortezomibin ALK+ ALCL shows limited response and high toxicity. • Our study shows that GSI-I in combination with BTZ could synergistically inhibit ALK+ ALCL cells in vitro and vivo. • These findings suggest the possibility of the combination treatment as a new therapeutic method for ALK+ ALCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid and accurate reconstruction of the supersonic combustor flow field is of great significance for sensing and predicting the combustion state. Existing deep learning methods pay less attention to the convergence speed of flow field reconstruction, which results in longer training and prediction times for the models. This study proposes a method for reconstructing the flow field in supersonic combustor by combining a reduced-order model based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) with a multi-branch convolutional neural network. This method first analyzes the effectiveness of POD reconstruction. Then, based on the wall pressure data of the supersonic engine combustor, it performs flow field image reconstruction. Finally, through error calculation and gradient updating with low-resolution principal component flow field shadow images obtained from the POD algorithm, the high-precision and efficient prediction of flow field images is achieved. Different equivalence ratio hydrogen fuel combustion experiments were conducted in a pulsed combustion wind tunnel with an incoming flow Mach number of 2.5. The learning model was trained and tested using the dataset obtained from these experiments. Numerous experiments demonstrated that the model can effectively reconstruct the wave structures of complex flow fields. Multiple evaluation indicators indicated that the reconstructed flow field of the combustor shows good agreement with that obtained from ground wind tunnel testing. Furthermore, after introducing the POD dimensionality reduction model, the training time was reduced by 32.03%, effectively improving the training time complexity of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N7‐methylguanosine (m7G) modification is closely related to the occurrence of tumors. However, the m7G modification of circRNAs in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains to be investigated. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP‐seq) was used to measure the methylation levels of m7G and identify m7G sites in circRNAs in human OSCC and normal tissues. The host genes of differentially methylated and differentially expressed circRNAs were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, and circRNA–miRNA–mRNA networks were predicted using the miRanda and miRDB databases. The analysis identified 2348 m7G peaks in 624 circRNAs in OSCC tissues. In addition, the source of m7G‐methylated circRNAs in OSCC was mainly the sense overlap region compared with normal tissues. The most conserved m7G motif in OSCC tissues was CCUGU, whereas the most conserved motif in normal tissues was RCCUG (R = G/A). Importantly, GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the host genes of differentially methylated and differentially expressed circRNAs were involved in many cellular biological functions. Furthermore, the significantly differentially expressed circRNAs were analyzed to predict the circRNA–miRNA–mRNA networks. This study revealed the whole profile of circRNAs of differential m7G methylation in OSCC and suggests that m7G‐modified circRNAs may impact the development of OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient and precise reconstruction of supersonic combustion flow fields enables real-time sensing and control of hypersonic vehicles. However, current flow field reconstruction methodologies often suffer from limited prediction accuracy, poor generalization capabilities, and high model energy consumption. In this research, a robust and efficient multi-source data fusion framework for combustion flow field reconstruction based on a multi-view domain adaptation generative network (MV-DAGN) is developed and evaluated. In order to utilize multivariate flow field data, this study adopts a multi-view learning approach to thoroughly integrate various physical field data. It introduces an MV-DAGN framework for training models on multi-source data from supersonic combustor with a Mach 2.5 low equivalence ratio derived from ground-based pulse combustion wind tunnels. The concept of transfer learning is incorporated, and the fusion of wall pressure and flame field data is utilized to validate the flow field reconstruction by including a limited set of high equivalence ratio data. Subsequently, to diminish the model's training duration and enhance the prediction speed of the combustion flow field, a lightweight MV-DAGN model is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodontitis is a chronic multifactorial inflammatory disease. Porphyromonas gingivalis is a primary periopathogen in the initiation and development of periodontal disease. Evidence has shown that P. gingivalis is associated with systemic diseases, including IBD and fatty liver disease. Inflammatory response is a key feature of diseases related to this species. C57BL/6 mice were administered either PBS, or P. gingivalis. After 9 weeks, the inflammatory response in gut, spleen, and liver was analyzed. The findings revealed significant disturbance of the intestinal microbiota and increased inflammatory factors in the gut of P. gingivalis-administered mice. Administrated P. gingivalis remarkably promoted the secretion of IRF-1 and activated the inflammatory pathway IFN-γ/STAT1 in the spleen. Histologically, mice treated with P. gingivalis exhibited hepatocyte damage and lipid deposition. The inflammatory factors IL-17a, IL-6, and ROR-γt were also upregulated in the liver of mice fed with P. gingivalis. Lee's index, spleen index, and liver index were also increased. These results suggest that administrated P. gingivalis evokes inflammation in gut, spleen, and liver, which might promote the progression of various systemic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Angiogenesis plays a major role in atherosclerotic plaque development and instability. Our study aims to develop a novel optical and magnetic resonance (MR) dual-modality molecular imaging probe to early detect unstable plaques in vivo by targeting biomarkers of angiogenesis in murine models of atherosclerosis (AS). Methods: Immunofluorescence and western blot were used to detect the expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2 (VEGFR2) in activated Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs). After synthesis and identification of novel short peptide VRBP1-targeted VEGFR2, HUVECs were co-cultured with FITC-VRBP1 to test specific affinity of VRBP1. Then VRBP1-UCNPstargeting VEGFR2 were constructed by conjugating VRBP1 to the surface of NaGdF4:Yb,Er@NaGdF4 nanoparticles. The characterization of the nanoparticles was performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), distribution of size, hydrodynamic size, zeta potential, absorption spectra, emission spectra, imaging intensity of different concentrations, binding affinity and cytotoxicity of nanoprobes in vitro. The upconversion luminescence (UCL) and MR imaging were performed to identify unstable atherosclerotic plaque in ApoE−/− mice in vivo and ex vivo. Morphological staining was used to verify AS model and angiogenesis, and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) was used to confirm accumulation of the nanoparticles after imaging. Results: After induced by hypoxia and ox-LDL, the expression of VEGFR2 in activated HUVECs was enhanced. FITC-VRBP1 can specifically bind to the HUVECs. Characterization of the nanoparticles showed that particles size is uniform with a stable structure, specific optical and MR signal, good binding affinity to VEGFR2 and low cytotoxicity. In vivo and ex vivo UCL imaging and quantitative analysis revealed that distinctive optical signal was observed in the regions of left carotid common arteries (LCCAs) of AS group after injection of VRBP1-UCNPs. Higher signal intensity on T1-weighted MR imaging appeared in the LCCA wall of AS group after injection. The results of morphological staining demonstrated angiogenesis in the atherosclerotic plaques, Gd ions in LCCAs, aortic arch and renal arteries bifurcations detected by ICP-AES confirmed accumulation of the nanoparticles in plaque. Conclusions: We successfully design and synthesize a novel UCNPs using peptide VRBP1 targeting to VEGFR2. In vivo imaging demonstrates that VRBP1-UCNPs can be used to perform optical/MR dual-modality imaging targeting angiogenesis in plaques, which is a promising technique to early detect unstable atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells are considered promising due to their strong light absorption capability, long carrier diffusion distance, and rapid increase in energy conversion efficiency in the past decade. However, there is a high concentration of defects between the perovskite layer and the electron transport layer, which can lead to limited carrier extraction and, thus, affect the device efficiency. Black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) have the advantages of tunable bandgap size, high absorption coefficient, and high electron mobility. Therefore, we introduced black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) in aqueous SnO2 colloidal solution by laser liquid-phase ablation to improve the carrier extraction rate and reduce the trap density. By characterizing the prepared complete devices, we found that the device efficiency reached 15.83% after the introduction of BPQDs, which is 12% higher compared to 14.06% for the blank sample. Our work provides a simple and fast method to enhance the efficiency of perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endotoxemia in sepsis remains a problem due to a lack of effective strategies. Our previous studies have demonstrated that melatonin (Mel) protects against ischemic heart injury and arteriosclerosis. However, its role in endotoxemia-exposed cardiomyocytes remains poorly understood. This study explored, for the first time, the protective effect of Mel on the pyroptosis of human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Our results showed that treatment with 1 μM or 10 μM Mel for 12 h significantly improved 1 μg/ml LPS-induced hiPSC-CM injuries, as reflected by drastically decreased LDH release and increased cell viability, which was accompanied by the overt induction of autophagy. Specifically, Mel profoundly alleviated LPS-induced cell pyroptosis, as evidenced by decreased propidium iodide (PI) and active caspase-1 double-positive cell rates; suppressed the expression of NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1 (activated form of caspase-1), and GSDMD-NT (functional N-terminal fragment of GSDMD) expression; and inhibited the production of the cleaved IL-1β and cleaved IL-18 cytokines. Additionally, double-membrane autophagosomes were observed in LPS-injured hiPSC-CMs treated with 1 μM or 10 μM Mel. The hiPSC-CMs treated with LPS exhibited considerably fewer acidic vesicles (as revealed by LAMP1 staining) and autophagosomes (as revealed by LC3-II staining); however, Mel reversed this outcome in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, coincubation with rapamycin (an autophagy activator) or 3-MA (an autophagy inhibitor) accentuated and attenuated the antipyroptotic actions of Mel, respectively. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that Mel shields hiPSC-CMs against pyroptosis during endotoxemia by activating autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: Corrigendum to <'The -secretase inhibitor GSI-I interacts synergistically with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib to induce ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma cell apoptosis'> [Cellular Signalling 59 (2019) 76-84] The authors regret that the order of E-mail addresses of corresponding authors was published incorrectly. 1 Co-first author: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Despite the prominent effects of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) therapy in patients with chronic phase-chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) and thus low incidence of blastic transformation, blast phase (BP)-CML remains a major therapeutic challenge in the TKI era. The "gatekeeper" mutation T315I in BCR-ABL1 kinase, which often coupled with a poor prognosis, is quite common and resistant to all TKIs except for ponatinib. The occurrence of T315I mutation in BP-CML makes the situation more complex. Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) technology is a new immunotherapy which has significantly improved the efficacy of B cell hematologic malignances. Here we report a lymphoid BP-CML patient harboring T315I mutation who achieved complete molecular remission and returned to chronic phase by anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy. Our study provides a new therapeutic strategy for patients in BP-CML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kinesin family member 2A (KIF2A), a conserved motor protein, plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and prognosis of several malignant tumors. The aim of the present study was to investigate KIF2A expression in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), evaluate the association between KIF2A expression and the clinical parameters of the disease, and determine its prognostic value. KIF2A expression was evaluated in 134 DLBCL and 57 reactive hyperplasia samples using immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray. The correlations between KIF2A expression with clinical parameters and prognosis were estimated using univariate and multivariate analyses. The expression of KIF2A was significantly higher in DLBCL tissue samples compared with those from subjects with reactive hyperplasia (P=0.002). Furthermore, increased expression of KIF2A protein in DLBCL was related to Ann Arbor stage (P=0.027) and international prognostic index (IPI) score (P=0.01). The survival analysis showed that KIF2A expression (P=0.016), serum LDH level (P=0.049), and IPI score (P<0.001) were independent prognostic markers for DLBCL. Our findings also confirmed that downregulating KIF2A expression decreased tumor cell viability, accompanied by downregulation of pAKT levels. Taken together, these data provide the first evidence that increased KIF2A expression predicts poor prognosis in patients with DLBCL, and a rationale for treatment of DLBCL by targeting KIF2A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crude polysaccharides isolated from Smilax glabra were screened for anti-inflammatory activity using mice ear swelling animal experiments, during which the neutral polysaccharide S1 was identified. The structural characteristics and anti-inflammatory effects of the anti-inflammatory S1 polysaccharide were then investigated. The results showed that S1 was mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, glucose, xylose, and mannose. The structure of the main chain consisted of →6)-α-Galp-(1 → 6)-β-Galp-(1 → 4)-α-Xylp-(1 → 6)-β-Galp-(1→, with branched chains comprising α-Araf-(1 → 4)-α → Manp-(1 → and β-Rhap-(1 → 4)-α-Glcp-(1 → units. Furthermore, S1 did not have a triple helix conformation. S1 could inhibit NO secretion, reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory factors (IL-6 and TNF-α), and significantly reduce LPS-stimulated inflammatory damage in RAW 264.7 cells by inhibiting activation of the NF-κB (p65) pathway. These results shed light on the possibility of S1 to be developed as a novel anti-inflammatory drug for therapeutic purposes. • Polysaccharide with anti-inflammatory activity were separated from Smilax glabra. • The structural features and bioactivities of the S1 were investigated. • The S1 exhibited antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. • The S1 reversed abnormal levels of TNF-α and IL-6 by regulating NF-κB pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Controlled writing of information at the micro/nano scale. • Information or characters are successfully read by SERS technology. • The photocatalytic properties of the 4NBT were systematically investigated. • The plasma distribution propertiese were analysed by FDTD simulations. • High quality gold nanoporous arrays were prepared on the AAO template. The plasma exciton induced photocatalytic reaction has considerable potential in terms of controllability and selectivity. In this paper, with the advantage of Raman fingerprinting, the localized photocatalytic reaction driven by surface plasmons is realized by the writing and reading process of encrypted information at the micro/nano scale. A layer of probe molecules (4-nitrobenzenethiol, 4-NBT) was assembled on a gold nanoporous array grown on porous anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membranes. The focused Raman spot is manipulated in a two-dimensional micro/nano manipulation technique to control the movement of the spot at an excitation wavelength of 633 nm. Probe molecules within the spot trajectory will undergo a photocatalytic reaction to produce p,p'-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) molecules, thereby writing the specific information required. The use of Raman mapping to image the characteristic peaks of formed DMAB under excitation light with a longer wavelength of 785 nm enables the readout of 2D micro/nano cryptograms. Combined with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, it was found that the presence of a large number of regularly arranged hot spots on the surface of the array is the key to achieving the efficient photocatalytic reaction. This study enables real-time, lossless recording/reading of encrypted information with the aid of 2D Raman technology. This would be a very interesting research area with broad application in confidential information storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The gold micro-nano arrays can be served as the substrate for photocatalytic reaction research. • Gold arrays structure with a diameter of 500 nm has a more efficient photocatalytic reaction. • Combining simulation to explain the mechanism of plasma-driven photocatalysis. Plasma-driven photocatalytic reactions have great research value in the fields of energy utilization, environmental pollution treatment and micro-nano information encryption. In most cases, the substrates used to study photocatalytic reactions are dispersed and disordered, which leads to poor signal reproducibility and makes it difficult to realize applications in the field of quantitative analysis. In this paper, two different sizes of polystyrene (PS) microspheres were used as templates to prepare gold microsphere arrays (Au MA) with homogeneous particle size and regular arrangement. The p-Aminothiophenol (PATP) was selected as the probe molecule to systematically investigate the photocatalytic reaction on Au MA, and the dependence of the photocatalytic reaction on the particle size of the spheres was discussed. It was found that the smaller size of Au MA has higher catalytic activity. In addition, using conventional gold films as a comparison, no significant photocatalytic reaction was found under the same experimental conditions. The reason is the existence of strong surface plasma "hot spots" in the interstices of the particles on the surface of the Au MA, which promotes the reaction. The above experimental results are of theoretical and practical significance for the in-depth study of the photocatalytic effect of micro-nano array catalytic substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A dual-emission fluorescent probe for visual and ratiometric detection of phosphate is fabricated. • A new strategy for fluorescence ratiometric detection of phosphate based on phosphate-induced Eu3+ fluorescence enhancement. • Excellent sensitivity, selectivity and anti-interference for phosphate detection in biological and environmental samples. • Smartphone-based visual analysis method for semi-quantitative detection of phosphate in real samples. Phosphate (Pi) plays an essential role in aquatic ecosystems as well as in physiological processes. Here, a dual-emission probe for the sensitive, specific and visual analysis of Pi is fabricated by coordinating Eu3+ with luminol and 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (DPA). Pi can significantly enhance the characteristic fluorescence of Eu3+ at 615 nm by promoting energy transfer from DPA to Eu3+ and reducing the quenching effect of water molecule, luminol with inherent emission at 423 nm further enhances the Eu3+ fluorescence. Accordingly, ratiometric detection of Pi can be achieved with the fluorescence ratio F 615 /F 423 as a function of Pi concentration. Linearity between F 615 /F 423 and Pi concentration in the range of 0.1–25 μM is shown, and the limit of detection (LOD, 3σ/K) for Pi is 0.027 µM. In addition, a continuous change in the fluorescence color of the probe from blue to red is observed with increasing Pi concentration under a UV lamp, and a smartphone-based visual method is used for the convenient and effective semi-quantitative determination of Pi. The dual-emission probe has been successfully applied to ratiometric and visual analysis of Pi in human urine and environmental water samples, and adequate results are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Soil-P fractions were closely related to the soils of canopy than interspace area. • Soil depths and plant species significantly affected soil labile-P beneath canopy. • Soil ALP, β-glucosidase, MBC and MBN were main factors for soil labile-P of canopy. • T. ramosissima with larger fertile island effect is recommended for re-vegetation. Desertification poses a perpetual threat to the security of desert ecosystems. Perennial desert vegetation plays a crucial role in maintaining the structure and function of a desert ecosystem and slowing down its desertification process by creating "fertile islands" beneath their canopy. Yet, how these fertile islands affect the transformation of soil phosphorus (P) fractions and the relationship between soil P fractions and enzymatic activities or microbial biomass beneath differing plant species and across soil depths still remains uncertain. Here we collected and analyzed soil P fractions (Hedley P pools), enzymatic activities (alkaline phosphatase [ALP] and β-glucosidase), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nitrogen (MBN), and phosphorus, in addition to other soil properties, beneath three typical perennial species (Alhagi sparsifolia , Karelinia caspia , Tamarix ramosissima) and in interspace area soils over a 0–100 cm soil profile, under the desert-oasis transition zone of hyper-arid and soil P-impoverished. We found that soil P fractions, especially soil labile-P, soil enzymatic activities, soil water content (SWC), NH 4 +-N and NO 3 −-N concentration were closely related to the soils beneath canopy than interspace area. Soil depth and plant species also significantly affected soil labile-P and other soil properties, with the highest being topsoil beneath the canopy. Soil labile-P increased substantially beneath the canopy and was positively related to the activities of ALP and β-glucosidase and the concentrations of soil MBC and MBN, while negatively related to SWC and electrical conductivity. We also observed that the fertile island effect was generally consistent with canopy size and ranked as follows: T. ramosissima > K. caspia > A. sparsifolia. This comprehensive field study advances our current understanding of the transformation of soil P fractions vis-à-vis the fertile island effect in desert ecosystems, which could be useful for mitigating desertification by improving soil protection and greening the desert landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To improve the recovery rate of high-risk patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), we used all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)/arsenic trioxide (ATO)/daunorubicin combination in remission induction, daunorubicin and cytarabine in consolidation, and ATRA/ATO/methotrexate±6-mercaptopurine in maintenance treatment of APL patients with various risks for relapse. Our results showed a high complete remission rate of 95.3%. Excluding the cases of early-death, no significant differences in event-free survival were observed between the intermediate-risk and high-risk group (p =0.393) and the low-risk and high-risk group (p =0.162). In addition, there were no significant differences between the groups in cumulative incidence of central nervous system relapse. In conclusion, our results suggest that APL patients benefit from combination ATO/ATRA/chemotherapy, and that this regimen is especially beneficial for patients with high-risk prognostic factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• 20 hydrophobic DESs with low density and melting point were newly prepared. • A SFHDES-based VA-DLLME method was developed for green analysis of EDCs in sewage. • K OW values for 20 DESs were measured. • Vortexing was adopted to disperse DES instead of toxic dispersant. • CCD was adopted to screen and optimize the key variables. Herein, we newly synthesized twenty kinds of hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (HDESs) using long-chain fatty alcohols, fatty acids, quaternary ammonium salts and menthol as hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) and hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs). Based on their physicochemical properties, six of HDESs with low density and melting point were selected for further investigation. After screening, one kind of HDES composed of 1-dodecanol (HBD) and octanoic acid (HBA) was chosen as the extraction solvent. Using vortexing instead of traditional dispersive solvent, a newly dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method based on solidification of floating hydrophobic DES (DLLME-SFHDES) was developed to enrich endocrine disrupting chemicals in sewage and analyzed by HPLC with fluorescence detector. Single-factor optimization was performed, and three key factors were selected with a Plackett-Burman design. The optimal factors were further evaluated and verified by a central composite design. Under the optimal extraction conditions, the proposed method showed a good linear relationship in the ranges of 4.39–5000 ng L−1 (r2 > 0.9994) for estradiol, estriol, bisphenol A and bisphenol F. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) and quantification (S/N = 10) were 1.33–2.92 and 4.39–9.64 ng L−1, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precision (n = 6) were less than 6.2%, and the obtained enrichment factors were in the range of 96–111. Four endocrine disrupting chemicals within 59–11,000 ng L−1 were detected in sewage samples from three local wastewater treatment plants with good recoveries (85.3–112%). In general, the vortex assisted DLLME-SFHDES method was proved to be a green alternative for the determination of endocrine disrupting chemicals in environmental waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pro-inflammatory M1 macrophage is identified as a prominent component initializing the progress of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. Here, we constructed anti -MARCO NaGdF 4 :Yb,Er@NaGdF 4 upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) by conjugating polyclonal MARCO antibody to the surface of NaGdF 4 :Yb,Er@NaGdF 4 via condensation reaction. UCNPs displayed highly mono-dispersion with average sizes of 26.7 ± 0.8 nm and favorable biocompatibility. In vivo upconversion optical imaging revealed that distinctive fluorescence signal could be observed in the regions of carotid artery 10 min post-injection, reached peak value at 1 h and decreased back to baseline at 24 h post-injection. The carotid artery wall demonstrated high signal intensity on T1-weighted MR images after anti -MARCO UCNPs injection, as determined by 7.0T MRI. Immunofluorescence staining of tissue section of carotid artery revealed that MARCO was highly abundant in shoulder regions of plaque. Anti -MARCO UCNPs is a promising optical/MRI dual-modality imaging probe which can non-invasively reflect M1 phenotype macrophages behavior in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulated pieces of evidence have proved the beneficial effects of melatonin on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury, and these effects were largely dependent on melatonin membrane receptor activation. In humans and other mammals, there are two types of melatonin receptors, including the melatonin receptor 1 (MT1, melatonin receptor 1a or MTNR1A) and melatonin receptor 1 (MT2, melatonin receptor 1b or MTNR1B) receptor subtypes. However, which receptor mediates melatonin‐conferred cardioprotection remains unclear. In this study, we employed both loss‐of‐function and gain‐of‐function approaches to reveal the answer. Mice (wild‐type; MT1 or MT2 silencing by in vivo minicircle vector; and those overexpressing MT1 or MT2 by in vivo AAV9 vector) were exposed to MI/R injury. Both MT1 and MT2 were present in wild‐type myocardium. MT2, but not MT1, was essentially upregulated after MI/R Melatonin administration significantly reduced myocardial injury and improved cardiac function after MI/R Mechanistically, melatonin treatment suppressed MI/R‐initiated myocardial oxidative stress and nitrative stress, alleviated endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial injury, and inhibited myocardial apoptosis. These beneficial actions of melatonin were absent in MT2‐silenced heart, but not the MT1 subtype. Furthermore, AAV9‐mediated cardiomyocyte‐specific overexpression of MT2, but not MT1, mitigated MI/R injury and improved cardiac dysfunction, which was accompanied by significant amelioration of oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Mechanistically, MT2 protected primary cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury via MT2/Notch1/Hes1/RORα signaling. Our study presents the first direct evidence that the MT2 subtype, but not MT1, is a novel endogenous cardiac protective receptor against MI/R injury. Medications specifically targeting MT2 may hold promise in fighting ischemic heart disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]