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Background: Heart failure combined with hypertension is a major contributor for elderly patients (≥ 65 years) to in-hospital mortality. However, there are very few models to predict in-hospital mortality in such elderly patients. We aimed to develop and test an individualized machine learning model to assess risk factors and predict in-hospital mortality in in these patients. Methods: From January 2012 to December 2021, this study collected data on elderly patients with heart failure and hypertension from the Chongqing Medical University Medical Data Platform. Least absolute shrinkage and the selection operator was used for recognizing key clinical variables. The optimal predictive model was chosen among eight machine learning algorithms on the basis of area under curve. SHapley Additive exPlanations and Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations was employed to interpret the outcome of the predictive model. Results: This study ultimately comprised 4647 elderly individuals with hypertension and heart failure. The Random Forest model was chosen with the highest area under curve for 0.850 (95% CI 0.789–0.897), high accuracy for 0.738, recall 0.837, specificity 0.734 and brier score 0.178. According to SHapley Additive exPlanations results, the most related factors for in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with heart failure and hypertension were urea, length of stay, neutrophils, albumin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusions: This study developed eight machine learning models to predict in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with hypertension as well as heart failure. Compared to other algorithms, the Random Forest model performed significantly better. Our study successfully predicted in-hospital mortality and identified the factors most associated with in-hospital mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles of plant-specific transcription factor family YABBY may vary among different members. OsYABBY6 is a rice YABBY gene, whose function is not well elucidated so far. In this paper, we show that OsYABBY6 is a nucleus-localized protein with transcriptional activation activity. OsYABBY6 is predominantly expressed in the palea and lemma, as well as in the sheath, culm and node. OsYABBY6 RNA interference (RNAi) plants exhibited altered plant height and larger grain size. Under cold treatment, OsYABBY6 overexpression (OE) plants had up-regulated expression of cold responsive genes, and accumulated less reactive oxygen species but more proline compared to wild type, resulting in improved cold tolerance. On the other hand, RNAi plants showed enhanced drought tolerance compared to the wild type by slower water loss, less reactive oxygen species but more proline and soluble sugar accumulation. In addition, endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) level was reduced in OsYABBY6 RNAi plants, and RNAi and OE plants were more and less sensitive to ABA treatment, respectively. Accordingly, we deduce that OsYABBY6 positively regulates cold response but negatively regulates drought response through different pathways. Our study reveals the crucial roles of OsYABBY6 in plant architecture and grain development, as well as in abiotic stress response, providing new insights into the functions of YABBYs in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors that influence metastasis and prognosis in patients with nodular melanoma (NM), as well as to develop and validate a prognostic model using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was queried for 4,727 patients with NM based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Their clinicopathological characteristics were retrospectively reviewed, and logistic regression analysis was utilized to identify risk factors for metastasis. This was followed by employing Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Adaptive Boosting (AB), Bagging (BAG), logistic regression (LR), Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) algorithms to develop metastasis models. The performance of the six models was evaluated and compared, leading to the selection and visualization of the optimal model. Through integrating the prognostic factors of Cox regression analysis with the optimal models, the prognostic prediction model was constructed, validated, and assessed. Results: Logistic regression analyses identified that marital status, gender, primary site, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, system management, and N stage were all independent risk factors for NM metastasis. MLP emerged as the optimal model among the six models (AUC = 0.932, F1 = 0.855, Accuracy = 0.856, Sensitivity = 0.878), and the corresponding network calculator (https://shimunana-nm-distant-m-nm-m-distant-8z8k54.streamlit.app/) was developed. The following were examined as independent prognostic factors: MLP, age, marital status, sequence number, laterality, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, system management, T stage, and N stage. System management and surgery emerged as protective factors (HR < 1). To predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS), a nomogram was created. The validation results demonstrated that the model exhibited good discrimination and consistency, as well as high clinical usefulness. Conclusion: The developed prediction model more effectively reflects the prognosis of patients with NM and differentiates between the risk level of patients, serving as a useful supplement to the classical American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system and offering a reference for clinically stratified individualized treatment and prognosis prediction. Furthermore, the model enables clinicians to quantify the risk of metastasis in NM patients, assess patient survival, and administer precise treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, it has been reported that new psychoactive substances disguised as snacks, drinks, and other forms enter and lurk in the daily life of the public.Among them, fentanyl-related substances are typical representatives.Market supervision and public security investigation urgently need the support of on-site rapid screening technology and products.The rapid detection technology based on aptamers has developed rapidly, but the research on specific fentanyl aptamers is relatively lacking.In this study, tailoring aptamers of core structure analogues of fentanyl-related substances were used as recognition elements, Fe3O4 was used as quencher and magnetic separator, and fluorescence quenching technology was used to build an aptamer sensing platform to achieve broad spectrum recognition of the total amount of fentanyl.Results showed that the fluorescence sensor detected fentanyl in the range of 100-500 μg/L, R was 0.997 7, the detection limit was 19.7 μg/L, and the relative standard deviation was 5.91%-7.51%.The standard recoveries of non-residential water and residential water were 81.14%-91.54% and 106.7%-117.4%, respectively.This developed strategy can be used for the rapid screening of water samples of fentanyl and enrich the research on the wide-spectrum rapid detection of fentanyl-related substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Weight-Adjusted Waist Index (WWI) is a new indicator of obesity that is associated with all-cause mortality in Asian populations. Our study aimed to investigate the linear and non-linear associations between WWI and all-cause mortality in non-Asian populations in the United States, and whether WWI was superior to traditional obesity indicators as a predictor of all-cause mortality. Methods: We conducted a cohort study using data from the 2011–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), involving 18,592 participants. We utilized Cox proportional hazard models to assess the association between WWI, BMI, WC, and the risk of all-cause mortality, and performed subgroup analyses and interaction tests. We also employed a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve study to evaluate the effectiveness of WWI, BMI, and WC in predicting all-cause mortality. Results: After adjusting for confounders, WWI, BMI, and WC were positively associated with all-cause mortality. The performance of WWI, BMI, and WC in predicting all-cause mortality yielded AUCs of 0.697, 0.524, and 0.562, respectively. The data also revealed a U-shaped relationship between WWI and all-cause mortality. Race and cancer modified the relationship between WWI and all-cause mortality, with the relationship being negatively correlated in African Americans and cancer patients. Conclusions: In non-Asian populations in the United States, there is a U-shaped relationship between WWI and all-cause mortality, and WWI outperforms BMI and WC as a predictor of all-cause mortality. These findings may contribute to a better understanding and prediction of the relationship between obesity and mortality, and provide support for effective obesity management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matrix-associated mycotoxins that bind with macromolecular components through covalent or non-covalent interactions easily occur in various cereals, cereal-based products, and cereal-based feedstuff. They are "masked" by macro-components, causing the underestimation of total exposure risk of mycotoxins. Most of the current reports focus on the free and modified mycotoxins, while the matrix-associated forms are ignored but still can exert toxic effects after ingestion. In this paper, current researches and future prospects of matrix-associated mycotoxins are reviewed. Especially, a focus is set on the transformation of matrix-associated mycotoxins with their free forms during metabolism and food processing. Enzymes, temperature and pH levels during food processing can induce the interconversion of matrix-associated mycotoxins with free mycotoxins. Furthermore, the analytical methods targeted on matrix-associated mycotoxins are discussed. Due to the lack of efficient methods releasing the mycotoxins from matrix, the standard analytical methods has not developed so far. Also, we further analyzed the challenges of matrix-associated mycotoxins about variety, occurrence, toxicity and transformation, exposure assessment, which contributes to establish preventive measures to control their hazards for consumers. Overall, this overview is significant for perfecting risk assessment, as well as developing effective prevention and control actions to matrix-associated mycotoxins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin is one of the main agents used to treat malaria. Artemisinin is produced in the glandular secretory trichomes (GSTs) of Artemisia annua. The plant hormones and metabolic pathways regulate the artemisinin content of A. annua. It was possible to examine the functions of auxin, an important plant hormone, in the development of GSTs in A. annua by enhancing the expression of iaaM, which encodes a tryptophan monooxygenase involved in the biosynthesis of auxin. Additionally, the effects of co-overexpression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1), P450 monooxygenase (CYP71AV1), and iaaM on the density, length, and width of GSTs and the contents of artemisinin were further investigated. Results indicated that overexpression of iaaM might increase the density, length, and width of GSTs by enhancing auxin biosynthesis. This study also proved the key regulatory role of ALDH1 in the biosynthesis of artemisinin. Moreover, co-overexpression of ALDH1, CYP71AV1, and iaaM successfully increased the density, length, and width of GSTs and improved the artemisinin content in A. annua. Therefore, we established a theoretical basis for modifying artemisinin accumulation in this study by regulating the expression of auxin and artemisinin synthesis-related genes using a metabolic engineering method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Red pitaya is rich in nutritional and medicinal ingredients. Oenological yeasts play vital roles in wine fermentation by metabolizing a variety of aromatic compounds that affect the flavor and sensory properties of wine. In this study, we examined the influence of Meyerozyma guilliermondii on the physicochemical parameters, sensory properties, and aroma chemical composition of red pitaya wine co-inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The results showed that mixed inoculation of M. guilliermondii and S. cerevisiae reduced the alcohol content of red pitaya wine. Moreover, using M. guilliermondii and S. cerevisiae as fermentation starters increased the content of volatile alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and other compounds, as well as the types of alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones. In addition, M. guilliermondii did not affect the sensory characteristics of the red pitaya wine. Therefore, co-inoculation of M. guilliermondii and S. cerevisiae was helpful in enhancing the richness and complexity and improving the aromatic flavor properties of red pitaya wine. The results obtained in this study could serve as a reference for the production of red pitaya wine and other fruit wines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black-odorous waters are water bodies that are noticeably abnormal in color or emit unpleasant odors. River water pollution and ecological degradation have gradually emerged with urbanization and rapid economic development, and BOW has become frequent. The black-odorous evolution of urban water bodies is a serious environmental problem in many areas, posing a serious threat to both human health and the ecological environment. Functional microorganisms are closely related to the formation of black-odorous phenomena in water bodies, but the understanding of the mechanisms by which functional microorganisms influence the formation of BOW is very limited. In this study, water samples from the Guangdang River in Yantai, Shandong Province, China, were collected as the bacterial solution in the study, and how environmental factors and functional microorganisms affect the formation of black smelly water was investigated by artificially simulating black smelly water. The results indicated that different environmental factors have different effects on the formation of BOW. Anaerobic conditions accelerated the formation of BOW, and species diversity and species abundance were lowest under this condition. Hydraulic disturbance and nitrate effectively mitigated the BOW phenomenon, in which species diversity and species abundance were higher; controlling either of these variables was effective in mitigating the BOW phenomenon. Desulfobacterota played a key role in the formation of BOW, and reducing the proportion of Desulfobacterota in the microbial community could effectively improve the water quality. Possible directions of electron transfer in the process were hypothesized. This study contributes to identifying the biological driving factors for black-odorous evolution, presents insight for preventing BOW formation, and provides a scientific basis for subsequent BOW management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aimed to develop a machine learning model to predict the potential risk of prolonged length of stay in hospital before operation, which can be used to strengthen patient management. Methods: Patients who underwent posterior spinal deformity surgery (PSDS) from eleven medical institutions in China between 2015 and 2022 were included. Detailed preoperative patient data, including demographics, medical history, comorbidities, preoperative laboratory results, and surgery details, were collected from their electronic medical records. The cohort was randomly divided into a training dataset and a validation dataset with a ratio of 70:30. Based on Boruta algorithm, nine different machine learning algorithms and a stack ensemble model were trained after hyperparameters tuning visualization and evaluated on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), precision-recall curve, calibration, and decision curve analysis. Visualization of Shapley Additive exPlanations method finally contributed to explaining model prediction. Results: Of the 162 included patients, the K Nearest Neighbors algorithm performed the best in the validation group compared with other machine learning models (yielding an AUROC of 0.8191 and PRAUC of 0.6175). The top five contributing variables were the preoperative hemoglobin, height, body mass index, age, and preoperative white blood cells. A web-based calculator was further developed to improve the predictive model's clinical operability. Conclusions: Our study established and validated a clinical predictive model for prolonged postoperative hospitalization duration in patients who underwent PSDS, which offered valuable prognostic information for preoperative planning and postoperative care for clinicians. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT05867732, retrospectively registered May 22, 2023, https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05867732. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between sleep-related disorders and inflammation has been demonstrated in previous studies. The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a novel inflammatory index based on leukocytes, but its relationship with sleep-related disorder is unclear. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep-related disorder and SII in a nationally representative nonhospitalized sample. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2005–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Exposure variables included self-reported sleep-related disorders, such as sleep duration, sleep problems, high risk of OSA, and daytime sleepiness. SII and other traditional markers of inflammation were considered as outcome variables, including platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Multiple linear regression models were employed to examine the correlation between sleep-related disorders and inflammatory markers. Subgroup interactions were analyzed using likelihood ratio tests, and nonlinear relationships were explored by fitting restricted cubic splines. Results: A total of 8,505 participants were enrolled in this study. Overall, sleep-related disorders were found to have a stronger association with SII compared to the PLR and NLR. The results of multiple linear regression analysis revealed that participants who experienced sleep problems (β: 21.421; 95% CI 1.484, 41.358), had symptoms of OSA (β: 23.088; 95% CI 0.441, 45.735), and reported daytime sleepiness (β: 30.320; 95% CI 5.851, 54.789) exhibited a positive association with higher SII. For the analysis of other inflammatory markers, we only found that daytime sleepiness was associated with increased NLR levels (β: 0.081; 95% CI 0.002, 0.159). Conclusion: Sleep problems, symptoms of OSA, and daytime sleepiness were found to have a positive association with the SII in US adults. However, further prospective studies are necessary to establish whether there is a causal relationship between these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Increased ethanol accumulation during ethanol fermentation generates stress in yeast cells, which finally reduces the fermentation performance and efficiency. Trehalose, a potential stress protectant, has been reported to regulate the response of yeast to diverse environmental stresses. This study aimed to explore how exogenous trehalose application affects the survival, transcriptome and antioxidant enzymes of Wickerhamomyces anomalus grown under ethanol stress conditions. Design/methodology/approach: Exogenous trehalose was applied to the growth condition of W. anomalus, and optical densitometric method was used to detect contents of intracellular trehalose and MDA and activities of CAT and SOD. The survival was evaluated using spot analysis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified through transcriptomics analysis. Findings: The results showed that ethanol stress induced the accumulation of intracellular trehalose, with further exogenous trehalose application improving the survival and alleviating oxidative stress in ethanol-stressed W. anomalus. Transcriptomic results showed that trehalose has pleiotropic regulating effects on ethanol-stressed W. anomalus since most DEGs annotated to energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, translation, folding, sorting and transport were affected post trehalose addition. Therefore, it is found that trehalose protected W. anomalus against ethanol stress, and these findings provide interesting insights into the mechanistic role of trehalose in improving ethanol stress tolerance of W. anomalus. Originality/value: (1) Protective effect of exogenous trehalose addition on the survival of ethanol-stressed W. anomalus was proved. (2) Exogenous trehalose addition could partly alleviate oxidative stress induced by ethanol stress and affect transcriptome in W. anomalus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to construct and validate a nomogram to predict the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) in external ear melanoma (EEM) patients in the elderly based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Methods: The information of patients diagnosed with EEM in the elderly between 2010 and 2014 was downloaded from the SEER database. Univariable and multivariable Cox analyses were carried out to identify the independent characteristics, and the independent factors were further included to construct a nomogram. The discriminative ability and calibration of the nomogram to predict OS were tested using C-index value, and calibration plots. Based on the risk score of the nomogram, the patients were divided into high- and low-risk subgroup. Finally, the survival differences of different subgroups were explored by Kaplan–Meier curves. All statistical analyses were performed by R 4.2.0. Results: A total of 710 elderly EMM patients were included and randomly divided into training cohort and validation cohort. Univariable Cox regression were used to identify age, race, sex, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), T, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and tumor size as independent risk factors. Then, multivariable Cox model to determine significant risk factors was used to establish the selected factors. A nomogram for predicting the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS was constructed using the independent variables including age, AJCC, T, surgery and chemotherapy. The C-index values were 0.78 (95% CI 0.75–0.81) in training set and 0.72 (95% CI 0.66–0.78) in validation set. The calibration curves were closer to ideal curves indicated the accurate predictive ability of this nomogram. The elderly patients with EEM in the low-risk group showed a longer OS than patients in the high-risk group in both training and validation cohorts. Conclusions: Our study established and validated a novel model to predict 1-, 3- and 5-year OS for EEM. The individualized nomogram has a good prognostic ability and can be used as a new survival prediction tool for the elderly patients with EMM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene is an emerging nanomaterial increasingly being used in electrochemical biosensing applications owing to its high surface area, excellent conductivity, ease of functionalization, and superior electrocatalytic properties compared to other carbon-based electrodes and nanomaterials, enabling faster electron transfer kinetics and higher sensitivity. Graphene electrochemical biosensors may have the potential to enable the rapid, sensitive, and low-cost detection of cancer biomarkers. This paper reviews early-stage research and proof-of-concept studies on the development of graphene electrochemical biosensors for potential future cancer diagnostic applications. Various graphene synthesis methods are outlined along with common functionalization approaches using polymers, biomolecules, nanomaterials, and synthetic chemistry to facilitate the immobilization of recognition elements and improve performance. Major sensor configurations including graphene field-effect transistors, graphene modified electrodes and nanocomposites, and 3D graphene networks are highlighted along with their principles of operation, advantages, and biosensing capabilities. Strategies for the immobilization of biorecognition elements like antibodies, aptamers, peptides, and DNA/RNA probes onto graphene platforms to impart target specificity are summarized. The use of nanomaterial labels, hybrid nanocomposites with graphene, and chemical modification for signal enhancement are also discussed. Examples are provided to illustrate applications for the sensitive electrochemical detection of a broad range of cancer biomarkers including proteins, circulating tumor cells, DNA mutations, non-coding RNAs like miRNA, metabolites, and glycoproteins. Current challenges and future opportunities are elucidated to guide ongoing efforts towards transitioning graphene biosensors from promising research lab tools into mainstream clinical practice. Continued research addressing issues with reproducibility, stability, selectivity, integration, clinical validation, and regulatory approval could enable wider adoption. Overall, graphene electrochemical biosensors present powerful and versatile platforms for cancer diagnosis at the point of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ascomycetous heterothallic yeast Wickerhamomyces anomalus (WA) has received considerable attention and has been widely reported in the winemaking industry for its distinctive physiological traits and metabolic attributes. An increased concentration of ethanol during ethanol fermentation, however, causes ethanol stress (ES) on the yeast cells. Trehalose has been implicated in improving survival under various stress conditions in microorganisms. Herein, we determined the effects of trehalose supplementation on the survival, differentially expressed genes (DEGs), cellular morphology, and oxidative stress tolerance of WA in response to ES. Results: The results indicated that trehalose improved the survival and anomalous surface and ultrastructural morphology of WA. Additionally, trehalose improved redox homeostasis by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inducing the activities of antioxidant enzymes. In addition, DEGs affected by the application of trehalose were enriched in these categories including in gene expression, protein synthesis, energy metabolism, and cell cycle pathways. Additionally, trehalose increased the content of intracellular malondialdehyde (MDA) and adenosine triphosphate. Conclusions: These results reveal the protective role of trehalose in ES mitigation and strengthen the possible uses of WA in the wine fermentation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The weight-adjusted waist circumference index (WWI) is a novel obesity indicator that offers improved accuracy in assessing both muscle and fat mass compared to traditional measures. This study aimed to investigate the association between WWI and bone mineral density (BMD) in adults. Methods: Weighted multivariate logistic regression, subgroup analysis, interaction tests and restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves were used to explore the relationship between WWI and BMD based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Results: This study had 40,568 individuals in total. At all four measurement sites, we detected a negative linear correlation between WWI and BMD. Even when quartile factors for WWI were created, this unfavorable connection maintained. In comparison to those in the lowest quartile, those in the highest percentile of WWI showed declines in lumbar BMD of 0.08 g/cm2 and femoral neck BMD of 0.03 g/cm2, respectively. This adverse correlation, nevertheless, differed among several categories. Conclusions: Our findings suggest an adverse correlation between WWI and BMD among US adults. Employing WWI as a tool for osteoporosis prevention in the general population may enhance interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edge computing based on intelligent techniques provides powerful processing abilities in cyber‐physical systems (CPS), thereby enabling real‐time insights, and analyses for applications. To decrease network redundancy and improve the speed of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) when performing high‐resolution stylization in image style transfer tasks, a resolution enhancement scheme is proposed based on an improved CNN in CPS. A style transfer network (RESTN) model and a two‐stage neural network training method are presented. In the first stage, the resolution enhancement ability of RESTN is trained with high‐resolution and low‐resolution image pairs, and in the second stage, the style transfer ability of RESTN is supplemented. The parameters of the feature extraction phase are shared for learning different styles, and the octave convolution operation is adopted to reduce network redundancy. Experimental results show that compared with the traditional model‐based iterative method, the proposed RESTN model can conduct training three times faster and with half of the memory cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of death and emergency department (ED) admission. We aimed to develop more accurate and straightforward scoring models to optimize the triaging of IHD patients in ED. This was a retrospective study based on the MIMIC-IV database. Scoring models were established by AutoScore formwork based on machine learning algorithm. The predictive power was measured by the area under the curve in the receiver operating characteristic analysis, with the prediction of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, 3d-death, 7d-death, and 30d-death after emergency admission. A total of 8381 IHD patients were included (median patient age, 71 years, 95% CI 62–81; 3035 [36%] female), in which 5867 episodes were randomly assigned to the training set, 838 to validation set, and 1676 to testing set. In total cohort, there were 2551 (30%) patients transferred into ICU; the mortality rates were 1% at 3 days, 3% at 7 days, and 7% at 30 days. In the testing cohort, the areas under the curve of scoring models for shorter and longer term outcomes prediction were 0.7551 (95% CI 0.7297–0.7805) for ICU stay, 0.7856 (95% CI 0.7166–0.8545) for 3d-death, 0.7371 (95% CI 0.6665–0.8077) for 7d-death, and 0.7407 (95% CI 0.6972–0.7842) for 30d-death. This newly accurate and parsimonious scoring models present good discriminative performance for predicting the possibility of transferring to ICU, 3d-death, 7d-death, and 30d-death in IHD patients visiting ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental standards of soil and sludge have been typically referenced for freshwater sediment determination and quality assessment, especially in some areas without sediment standards. The feasibility of determination method and quality standard of soils and sludge for freshwater sediment was investigated in this study. Fractions of heavy metals, nitrogen, phosphorus, and reduced inorganic sulfur (RIS) in different type of samples were determined, including freshwater sediments, dryland and paddy soils, and sludge with air-drying (AD) and freeze-drying (FD) treatment, respectively. Results showed fraction distributions of heavy metals, nitrogen, phosphorus, and RIS in sediments markedly differed from those of soils and sludge. Fraction redistributions of heavy metals, nitrogen, phosphorus, and RIS in sediments were observed with AD compared to those treated by FD. The proportions of heavy metals, nitrogen, and phosphorus associated with organic matter (or sulfide) in FD sediments decreased by 4.8–74.2%, 9.5–37.5%, and 16.1–76.3%, respectively, compared to those in AD sediments, while those associated with Fe/Mn oxides increased by 6.3–39.1%, 50.9–226.9%, and 6.1–31.0%, respectively. The fraction proportions of RIS in sediments with AD also sharply decreased. Determination of standard methods for sludge and soil caused the distortion of pollutant fraction analysis in sediment. Similarly, the quality standard of sludge and soil was inappropriate for sediment quality assessment due to the differences in pollutant fraction pattern between sediment and soils/sludge. Totally, soil and sludge standards are inapplicable for freshwater sediment pollutant determination and quality judgment. This study would greatly advance the establishment of freshwater sediment determination methods and quality standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum class of antibiotics. The use of excessive doses of tetracycline antibiotics can result in their residues in food, posing varying degrees of risk to human health. Therefore, the establishment of a rapid and sensitive field detection method for tetracycline residues is of great practical importance to improve the safety of food-derived animal foods. Electrochemical analysis techniques are widely used in the field of pollutant detection because of the simple detection principle, easy operation of the instrument, and low cost of analysis. In this review, we summarize the electrochemical detection of tetracycline antibiotics by bibliometrics. Unlike the previously published reviews, this article reviews and analyzes the development of this topic. The contributions of different countries and different institutions were analyzed. Keyword analysis was used to explain the development of different research directions. The results of the analysis revealed that developments and innovations in materials science can enhance the performance of electrochemical detection of tetracycline antibiotics. Among them, gold nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes are the most used nanomaterials. Aptamer sensing strategies are the most favored methodologies in electrochemical detection of tetracycline antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hanseniaspora uvarum, a non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae species, has a crucial effect on the aroma characteristics of fruit wines, thus, attracting significant research interest in recent years. In this study, H. uvarum–Saccharomyces cerevisiae mixed fermentation was used to ferment Rosa roxburghii Tratt, blueberry fruit wine, and plum fruit wines using either a co-inoculated or a sequentially inoculated approach. The three fruit wines' volatile aroma characteristics were analyzed by headspace–solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS–SPME–GC–MS). The results showed that the mixed inoculation of H. uvarum and S. cerevisiae reduced the alcoholic content of Kongxinli fruit wine. Moreover, H. uvarum–S. cerevisiae fermented Rosa roxburghii Tratt, blueberry, and plum fruit wines and further enriched their flavor compounds. The overall flavor characteristics of sequentially inoculated fruit wines differed significantly from those fermented with S. cerevisiae alone, although several similarities were also observed. Sequential inoculation of H. uvarum and S. cerevisiae positively affected the mellowness of the wine and achieved a better harmony of the overall wine flavors. Therefore, H. uvarum–Saccharomyces cerevisiae mixed fermentation can improve the complexity of the wines' aromatic composition and empower them with a unique identity. In particular, H. uvarum–Saccharomyces cerevisiae blueberry wine produced by mixed fermentation had the widest variety and content of aroma compounds among the fermented wines. Therefore, H. uvarum–Saccharomyces cerevisiae mixed-fermentation inoculation in the three fermented fruit wines significantly increased the aroma compound variety and content, thus, enriching their aroma richness and complexity. This study is the first comparative evaluation of the aroma characteristics of different fruit wines fermented with a mixed inoculation of H. uvarum and S. cerevisiae and provides a preliminary guide for these fruit wines produced with non-Saccharomyces yeast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wickerhamomyces anomalus (W. anomalus) is a kind of non-Saccharomyces yeast that has a variety of unique physiological characteristics and metabolic features and is widely used in many fields, such as food preservation, biomass energy, and aquaculture feed protein production. However, the mechanism of W. anomalus response to ethanol stress is still unclear, which greatly limits its application in the production of ethanol beverages and ethanol fuels. Therefore, we checked the effects of ethanol stress on the morphology, the growth, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and metabolites (DEMs) of W. anomalus. Results: High concentrations of ethanol (9% ethanol and 12% ethanol) remarkably inhibited the growth of W. anomalus. Energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, fatty acids metabolism, and nucleic acid metabolism were significantly influenced when exposing to 9% ethanol and 12% ethanolstress, which maybe universal for W. anomalus to response to different concentrations of ethanol stressl Furthermore, extracellular addition of aspartate, glutamate, and arginine significantly abated ethanol damage and improved the survival rate of W. anomalus. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study provide insights into the mechanisms involved in W. anomalus response to ethanol stress. Therefore, new strategies can be realized to improve the ethanol tolerance of W. anomalus through metabolic engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22) refers to a group of enzymes that hydrolyze oligosaccharides containing α-galactoside-banded glycosides, such as stachyose, raffinose, and verbascose. These enzymes also possess great potential for application in sugar production, and in the feed and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, a strain of Lactosphaera pasteurii (WHPC005) that produces α-galactosidase was identified from the soil of Western Hunan, China. It was determined that the optimal temperature and pH for this α-galactosidase were 45 °C and 5.5, respectively. The activity of α-galactosidase was inhibited by K+, Al3+, Fe3+, fructose, sucrose, lactose, galactose, SDS, EDTA, NaCl, and (NH4)2SO4, and enhanced by Ca2+, Fe2+, Mn2, Zn2+, glucose, and raffinose. The optimal inducer was raffinose, and the optimal induction concentration was 30 μmol/L. The α-galactosidase gene was cloned using random fragment cloning methods. Sequence analysis demonstrated that the open reading frame of the α-galactosidase gene was 1230 bp, which encodes a putative protein of 409 amino acids in length. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the isoelectric point and molecular weight of this α-galactosidase were 4.84 and 47.40 kD, respectively. Random coils, alpha helixes, and beta turns were observed in its secondary structure, and conserved regions were found in the tertiary structure of this α-galactosidase. Therefore, this α-galactosidase-producing bacterial strain has the potential for application in the feed industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of redox conditions, nitrogen (NH4+–N and NO3−–N) and phosphate in the overlying water on the release of arsenic (As) in coastal sediments were investigated. The results indicated that the release of As under anaerobic conditions presented a release—dynamic equilibrium pattern. The reduction of arsenate (As(V)) to arsenite (As(III)) under anaerobic conditions was the main factor promoting the release of As. The reductive dissolution of Fe(III) oxides contributed very limited to the release; the release–remove–release pattern was observed under aerobic conditions. Although Fe(III) oxides has strong adsorption capacity for As, sulfide oxidation may be a source of As, which may continuously release As under aerobic conditions. In addition, low concentration (< 6 mg L−1) of nitrogen may stimulate anaerobic metabolism of microorganisms, resulting in reduction and dissolution of As. The low pH of high concentration (> 6 mg L−1) of nitrogen may affect the microbial community and thus decreased the concentration of As. Since the reduction of Fe(III) oxides decreased the adsorption sites, the competitive adsorption of phosphate had no significant effect on the release of As under anaerobic conditions. Totally, this study provides a new understanding of the behavior of As in coastal sediments under variable environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-zearalenol (α-ZOL) is a mycotoxin with a strong estrogen effect that affects the synthesis and secretion of sex hormones and is transported to target organs through human serum albumin (HSA). Additionally, it has been reported that curcumin can also bind to HSA with high affinity at the same binding site as α-ZOL. Additionally, several studies reported that reducing the bound fraction of α-ZOL contributes to speeding up the elimination rate of α-ZOL to reduce its hazard to organs. Therefore, to explore the influence of a nutrition intervention with curcumin on α-ZOL effects, the competitive displacement of α-ZOL from HSA by curcumin was investigated using spectroscopic techniques, ultrafiltration techniques and HPLC methods. Results show that curcumin and α-ZOL share the same binding site (subdomain IIA) on HSA, and curcumin binds to HSA with a binding constant of 1.12 × 105 M−1, which is higher than that of α-ZOL (3.98 × 104 M−1). Ultrafiltration studies demonstrated that curcumin could displace α-ZOL from HSA to reduce α-ZOL's binding fraction. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that curcumin could reduce the hydrophobicity of the microenvironment of an HSA–α-ZOL complex. This study is of great significance for applying curcumin and other highly active foodborne components to interfere with the toxicokinetics of α-ZOL and reduce its risk of its exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oenological yeasts play a critical role in the winemaking process. In this study, the biodiversity of the non-Saccharomyces yeast was analyzed and monitored using high-throughput sequencing and culture-dependent approaches. Oenological and fermentation characteristics of these native yeasts were further investigated. A total of 241 fungus species and 5 species of culturable non-Saccharomyces yeasts were detected using high-throughput sequencing and culture-dependent approaches, respectively. Five strains of aroma-producing yeasts (K4, K14, K19, K21, and K26) were isolated, and their growth characteristics, carbon source utilization, hydrogen sulfide production performance, and β-glucosidase activity were different. The oenological condition tolerances of most strains were lower than that of commercial S. cerevisiae X16. The co-inoculum of these strains and S. cerevisiae X16 regulated the volatile aroma characteristics of the fermented Korla fragrant pear (KFP) fruit wine, enriching and complicating the aroma flavor. Thus, the combined inoculation of these indigenous wine yeasts and S. cerevisiae has some application potential in the production of KFP wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosa roxburghii Tratt, a Rosaceae plant endemic to China, produces fruit with high nutritional and medicinal value. The effects of R. roxburghii must on the growth, nutrient composition, and antioxidant activity of Pleurotus ostreatus mycelia was investigated. We measured the mycelial growth rate, proximate composition, amino acid and crude polysaccharide content, and the antioxidant activity of the crude polysaccharides of P. ostreatus mycelia cultivated under different concentrations of R. roxburghii must (2%, 4%, and 8%, v/v). Low concentrations of R. roxburghii must (2% and 4%) promoted mycelial growth, while a high concentration (8%) inhibited mycelial growth. Low concentrations of R. roxburghii must had no significant effects on the soluble substances, fat, ash, and crude fiber in P. ostreatus mycelia, but significantly increased the crude protein and total amino acid contents (p < 0.05). The addition of R. roxburghii must at low concentrations significantly increased the crude polysaccharide content in mycelia (p < 0.05) but had no impact on the scavenging of hydroxyl radicals and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Therefore, R. roxburghii must at low concentration can be used as a substrate for P. ostreatus cultivation to increase the protein and polysaccharide contents in mycelia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: At present, there are few studies on renal pelvic transitional cell carcinoma (RPTCC) in elderly patients in the literature. The study aims to establish a new nomogram of cancer-specific survival (CSS) in elderly patients with T1-T3N0M0 RPTCC and validate its reliability.Methods: This study downloaded the data of 1375 elderly patients with T1-T3N0M0 RPTCC in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Final Results (SEER) database from 2004 to 2018. Patients were randomly divided into training cohort (n = 977) and validation cohort (n = 398). Proportional subdistribution hazard analyse was applied to determine independent prognostic factors. Based on these factors, we constructed a compting risk model nomogram. We use the calibration plots, the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC), concordance index (C-index), and decision curve analysis (DCA) to validate predictive performance and clinical applicability. Patients were divided into low-risk group and high-risk group based on nomogram risk score. Kaplan-Meier curve was applied to analyze the difference in survival curve between the two groups of patients.Results: We found that the risk factors affecting CSS in elderly patients with T1-T3N0M0 RPTCC are surgery, AJCC stage, laterality, tumor size, histological grade, and tumour laterality. Based on these factors, we established a nomogram to predict the CSS of RPTCC patients at 1-, 3-, and 5-year. The calibration plots showed that the predicted value was highly consistent with the observed value. In the training cohort and validation cohort, the C-index of the nomogram were 0.671(95% CI 0.622-0.72) and 0.679(95% CI 0.608-0.750), respectively, the AUC showed similar results. The DCA suggests that namogram performs better than the AJCC stage system. The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that CSS of patients was significantly higher in the low-risk group.Conclusions: In this study, the SEER database was used for the first time to create and validate a new nomogram prediction model for elderly patients with T1-T3N0M0 RPTCC. Compared with the traditional AJCC stage system, our new nomogram can more accurately predict the CSS of elderly patients with T1-T3N0M0 RPTCC, which is helpful for patient prognosis assessment and treatment strategies selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the access of massive mobile devices, spectrum resources are becoming increasingly scarce. How to effectively and securely utilize the limited spectrum resources has become a fundamental challenge for future mobile communication systems. Focusing on intelligent sensing and sharing, this article proposes a blockchain-based two-stage secure spectrum intelligent sensing and sharing auction mechanism (BISA), which selects appropriate base stations to form a consortium blockchain to guarantee secure and efficient spectrum auction with low complexity. In the first stage, a reverse-auction-based incentive mechanism is presented to provide bidding strategies for the primary users (PUs) and secondary users (SUs) selecting the PU that maximizes the utility. In the second stage, a unit-utility-based auction algorithm is proposed to achieve a stable match between PUs and SUs. PUs will select the SU with the maximum unit utility to complete the auction. Then, the transaction records are formed into blocks and uploaded to guarantee the security of transactions. Simulation results show that, compared with the existing methods, the proposed BISA increases the total utility and throughput of SUs by 216.4% and 189.3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the impacts of dissolved oxygen (DO) on dynamics concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, and Pb) from estuary sediments were investigated in a 49-day laboratory simulation. The exchange flux method, Bureau Communautaire de Référence (BCR) sequential extraction procedure, and risk assessment code (RAC) were used to analyze the behavior of heavy metals. The results indicated that oxic environments promoted the concentrations of Cu and Cd in overlying water compared to the anoxic environments. The exchange fluxes showed that the diffusion of Cu, Cd, Cr, and Pb from sediments was the predominant process in the first 9 days, and a metastable equilibrium state was gradually reached in the later period under anoxic conditions. However, oxic conditions extended the time required to reach metastable equilibrium for Cu over the sediment–water (overlying water) interface (SWI). Although the reducible fractions of Cu, Cd, and Pb accounted for a large proportion of their total levels, the release ability of Cu, Cd, and Pb was limited by the high content of sulfide under anoxic conditions. The RAC values indicated that anoxic environments increased the proportion of acid-soluble fraction. The information obtained from this study highlights the potential risk for re-release of heavy metal from sediments under different redox conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of elderly patients with early renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is on the rise. However, there is still a lack of accurate prediction models for the prognosis of early RCC in elderly patients. It is necessary to establish a new nomogram to predict the prognosis of elderly patients with early RCC.Methods: The data of patients aged above 65 years old with TNM stage I and II RCC were downloaded from the SEER database between 2010 and 2018. The patients from 2010 to 2017 were randomly assigned to the training cohort (n = 7233) and validation cohort (n = 3024). Patient data in 2018(n = 1360) was used for external validation. We used univariable and multivariable Cox regression model to evaluate independent prognostic factors and constructed a nomogram to predict the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of patients with early-stage RCC. Multiple parameters were used to validate the nomogram, including the consistency index (C-index), the calibration plots, the area under the receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve, and the decision curve analysis (DCA).Results: The study included a total of 11,617 elderly patients with early RCC. univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis based on predictive variables such as age, sex, histologic type, Fuhrman grade, T stage, surgery type, tumors number, tumor size, and marriage were included to establish a nomogram. The C-index of the training cohort and validation cohort were 0.748 (95% CI: 0.760-0.736) and 0.744 (95% CI: 0.762-0.726), respectively. In the external validation cohort, C-index was 0.893 (95% CI: 0.928-0.858). The calibration plots basically coincides with the diagonal, indicating that the observed OS was almost equal to the predicted OS. It was shown in DCA that the nomogram has more important clinical significance than the traditional TNM stage.Conclusion: A novel nomogram was developed to assess the prognosis of an elderly patient with early RCC and to predict prognosis and formulate treatment and follow-up strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative dynamic bandwidth allocation (CO-DBA) enables time division multiplexed passive optical network (TDM-PON) to become a possible solution for mobile fronthaul. Meanwhile, status-report DBA (SR-DBA) still retains its advantage on bandwidth efficiency for conventional PON services. The collaboration of CO- and SR-DBA is an enabling approach for fixed-mobile convergence into a single PON infrastructure. However, a resource allocation conflict between CO- and SR-DBA is to arise when using an emerging 5G new radio interface based on the mini-slot. This conflict will cause a large delay that can not meet the time-sensitive fronthaul requirement. In this study, we consider a time and wavelength multiplexed PON (TWDM-PON) for fixed and mobile services accommodation because of its capacity and flexibility. A novel DWBA scheme is proposed by means of wavelength and bandwidth preemption (WBP) mechanism. The basic rule of WBP is that a time-sensitive traffic can preempt the wavelength and bandwidth allocated to the time-tolerent traffic when a conflict happens. We demonstrate that the proposed DWBA can significantly reduce the latency caused by the conflict, when compared to the existing integrated CO- and SR-DWBA approach with 5G NR mini-slot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the fermentative properties of a strain of indigenous Wickerhamomyces anomalus (W. anomalus) from Rosa roxburghii Tratt (R. roxburghii). Design/methodology/approach: Morphological and molecular methods were used to determine the species of the selected strain W. anomalus C11. The physiological tolerances to glucose, ethanol, citric acid and sulphur dioxide (SO2) were further assessed by checking the growth of cells, and the oenological performances were proved to measure the related fermentative properties of R. roxburghii wines. Findings: The W. anomalus C11 strain could be grown faster than commercial S. cerevisiae X16 in its logarithmic growth period and had preferable tolerances to glucose, ethanol, citric acid and SO2. Moreover, this strain of native R. roxburghii yeast W. anomalus C11 produced less sulphuretted hydrogen and had a higher β-glucosidase activity. Furthermore, W. anomalus C11 could reduce the volatile acids, reduce the sourness and enhance volatile aroma richness and complexity of R. roxburghii wines including types of aroma and content thereof. Taken together, the R. roxburghii native yeast W. anomalus C11 may have potential for use in R. roxburghii winemaking. Originality/value: (1) The fermentative properties of a strain of indigenous W. anomalus (named as C11) from R. roxburghii was evaluated. (2) The strain of W. anomalus C11 had preferable tolerances to glucose, ethanol, citric acid and SO2. (3) This strain of native R. roxburghii yeast W. anomalus C11 produced less sulphuretted hydrogen and had a higher ß-glucosidase activity. (4) W. anomalus C11 could reduce the volatile acids, reduce the sourness and enhance volatile aroma richness and complexity of R. roxburghii wines including types of aroma and content thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oenological yeasts play a crucial role in the winemaking process by converting sugar into ethanol, carbon dioxide and flavor substances that contribute to the wine aroma profile. Eighty strains of yeast were isolated from Rosa roxburghii Tratt. Three of the indigenous yeast strains (numbered as C26, C31 and F110) were selected based on having the strongest fruity-aroma producing ability to further evaluate theirs oenological properties, and they were identified as Hanseniaspora uvarum based on morphological and molecular analyses. Strains tolerance results showed that the selected strains have glucose, citric acid and sulfur dioxide tolerances that are comparable to commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae X16, but they are ethanol sensitive. Additionally, the H. uvarum strains had similar β-glucosidase production abilities to the control, but they do not produce hydrogen sulfide. Moreover, the selected H. uvarum strains reduced the acidity and increased the volatile aroma richness and complexity of R. roxburghii wine during laboratory-scale fermentation. Thus, the selected H. uvarum strains (C26, C31 and F110) show potential in the production of unique R. roxburghii wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The β-glucosidase properties from one yeast isolate identified as Wickerhamomyces anomalus C4 were characterised. The β-glucosidase activity of W. anomalus C4 was 41.83 ± 0.25 mU/mL, and the optimum temperature and pH were 40 °C and 5.0, respectively. The glucose, 10% v/v of ethanol and 10 mmol/L of Cu2+ inhibited the β-glycosidases activities. The isolate W. anomalus C4 had a stronger alcohol metabolism capacity than commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae X16. Besides, fermentation with W. anomalus C4 alone and co-fermentations with S. cerevisiae X16 and W. anomalus C4 reduced the volatile acids content and the sourness value compared to S. cerevisiae X16 control. Moreover, inoculation with W. anomalus C4 could enhance volatile aroma richness and complexity of Rosa roxburghii wines, regardless of type or amount thereof. Therefore, the R. roxburghii native yeast isolate W. anomalus C4 may have some application potentials for R. roxburghii wine-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

micro RNAs play key roles during various crucial cell processes such as proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Also, micro RNAs have been shown to possess oncogenic and tumor-suppressive functions in human cancers. Here, we describe the regulation and function of miR-149 in colorectal cancer cell lines. miR-149 expression patterns were detected in human colorectal cell lines and tissue samples, and then focused on its role in regulation of cell growth, migration, invasion, and its target gene identification. Furthermore, the function of the target gene of miR-149 was analyzed in vitro and in vivo. miR-149 expression was downregulated in human colorectal cancer HCT116 and SW620 cell lines compared to the normal colon epithelial NCM460 cell line using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction methods. Further studies indicated that introduction of miR-149 was able to suppress cell migration and invasion. Then, EphB3 was identified as a direct target gene of miR-149 in colorectal cancer cells. Moreover, experiments in vitro showed that knockdown expression of EphB3 could suppress cell proliferation and invasion, and ectopic expression of EphB3 restored the phenotypes of CRC cell lines transfected with miR149. In addition, silencing of EphB3 significantly affected cycle progression distribution and increased apoptosis in CRC cell lines. Finally, in vivo results demonstrated that knockdown of EphB3 by si RNA inhibited tumor growth. In conclusion,the important role of miR-149 in colorectal cancer progression suggesting that miR-149 may serve as a therapeutic target for colorectal cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an enabling technology for dynamic spectrum access (DSA), cognitive radio (CR) is widely regarded as one of the most promising technologies for future the fifth generation (5G) wireless communications. Although there have been significant prior researches to combat interference on primary users (PUs), the problem of mitigating mutual interference between secondary users (SUs), -which is tightly coupled with SU's spectrum leasing- is still not understood well. This paper proposes a DSA algorithm based on game theory, which jointly performs spectrum leasing and interference mitigation among SUs. The problem is modeled as an oligopolistic competition using Stackelberg model. We have carefully studied the SU's spectrum utilization behavior with respect to various criteria of the proposed game theoretic model. Simulation results shows that, Compared with Cournot game model, the proposed scheme enables SUs to efficiently utilize the licensed spectrum shared with PUs in a dynamic environment while maximizing the spectrum utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an electrochemical biosensor was established for the high-sensitivity detection of Tenuazonic acid (TeA) in fruits based on the enrichment of flower-shaped nano-ZnO and the specific recognition of immune response. Herein flower-shaped nano-ZnO (ZnO NFs) with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and diameter of 700–800 nm were demonstrated to have the optimal specific surface area and outstanding conductivity, compared with different morphology, sizes, and crystal structures of nano-ZnO. Second, the ZnO NFs were used as carriers for efficiently immobilizing monoclonal antibodies to obtain antibody bioconjugates, which were anchored on the 2-mercaptobenzoic acid-modified gold electrode by amide reaction. In the presence of TeA, the monoclonal antibody could specifically recognize and bind to it, resulting in a decrease in electron transfer ability on the gold electrode surface. Finally, the electrochemical biosensor showed a range from 5 × 10−5 μg/mL to 5 × 10−1 μg/mL with a detection limit of 1.14 × 10−5 μg/mL. Furthermore, it exhibited high selectivity for TeA among other analogs, such as Altenuene (ALT) and Alternariol (AOH). Notably, the proposed strategy could be employed to monitor TeA in tomato and citrus, showing potential application prospects in practical application and commercial value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crude enzyme (PH- 1) isolated from Pseudostellaria heterophylla by our group has catalyzed enzymatic cyclization of linear peptide NH2-Gly1-Gly2-Leu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Ile-Phe-COOH ( 4) into cyclopeptide heterophyllin B (HB) from plant for the first time. To ensure this reaction, some analytical methods including TLC, HPLC, MS, NMR, and 3C labeling were used to prove that the reaction of substrate 4 sharing residue of NH-Phe-Gly-CO was successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]