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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a prevalent inflammatory skin disorder characterized by its chronic, persistent, and recurrent nature. The pathophysiology of this condition is complex, involving various factors including cell-mediated immune responses, compromised skin barrier function, and alterations in hypersensitivity reactions. These components synergistically contribute to the perpetuation of the bothersome "itch-scratch-itch" cycle. Recent research has highlighted the significant role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the development of AD and other inflammatory conditions. Current research indicates that the NLRP3 inflammasome plays a pivotal role in both the acute and chronic phases of AD by modulating the Th2/Th1 immune deviation. Moreover, the pharmacological suppression of NLRP3 has shown promising results in mitigating the pathological aspects of AD. This review outlines potential drug development strategies that target the NLRP3 inflammasome as a therapeutic approach for AD and the challenges faced in this endeavor., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

In this study, an elemental sulfur (S 0 ) autotrophic denitrification reactor (SADR) and a wood chunk and S 0 mixotrophic denitrification reactor (WSMDR) were constructed with dual-layers to effectively remove nitrate from water using two-inlets and internal recirculation. The denitrification rates were 66-114 and 70-104 g-N/(m 3 ·d) for the SADR and WSMDR, respectively. Sulfate production was 5.5-5.9 and 3.2-4.5 mg SO 4 2- /mg reduced N in the SADR and WSMDR, respectively, being lower than theoretical value. In addition, there was no sulfide emission from either reactor. Chlorobium, Chlorobaculum, Ignavibacterium, Sulfuritalea, and Thiobacillus were involved in nitrate reduction in both reactors. Chlorobiaceae had the highest abundance and played an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the co-occurrence pattern. The abundance of functional genes positively correlated with the denitrification performance. This study demonstrates that the operation of two-inlets and internal recirculation can effectively reduce byproduct generation, thereby promoting the practical application of the SADR and WSMDR., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Qiaochong He reports was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China. Qiaochong He reports was provided by Zhengzhou Science and Technology Bureau. Qiaochong He reports was provided by Henan University of Technology. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Injection cosmetics have become popular in recent years. The nasolabial fold is one of the most important and dangerous regions in the midface, and its three-dimensional relationship with the facial artery remains unclear., Methods: Fifty-two cadavers infused with lead oxide contrast medium via the external carotid arteries were scanned by computed tomography (CT). The three-dimensional model was reconstructed using Mimics and Origin software, and the relevant data were calculated using validated algorithms., Results: There were three facial artery types according to its course in relation to the nasolabial fold. In the most common type, accounting for 83.7% of specimens, the facial artery evolves into an angular artery, with a horizontal distance between facial artery and nasolabial fold of - 1.90 ± 2.40, - 3.90 ± 2.95, - 5.18 ± 3.42, - 5.59 ± 3.53, - 5.59 ± 3.83, - 6.07 ± 4.10, - 6.92 ± 3.70, - 6.79 ± 3.37, - 4.52 ± 3.20, and - 2.76 ± 3.60 (mm) from the nasal ala to the oral commissure and a vertical distance of - 4.03 ± 2.56, - 3.27 ± 2.27, - 2.81 ± 2.57, - 2.1 ± 2.64, - 1.5 ± 3.32, - 0.71 ± 3.99, 0.92 ± 4.43, 0.4 ± 5.31, - 4.14 ± 5.14, - 7.05 ± 4.74 (mm)., Conclusions: The facial artery is vulnerable to damage when injecting filler in the nasolabial fold. For the upper 1/3 of the nasolabial fold, the supraperiosteal layer is recommended for injection, while for the lower 2/3 of the nasolabial fold, the dermal layer along the nasolabial fold is recommended., Level of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 ., (© 2024. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.)

Background: Liver cancer (LC) screening, such as AFP test and abdominal ultrasound, is an effective way to prevent LC, one of the most common cancers worldwide. Despite the proven screening benefits, screening participation among high-risk populations for LC remains low. This suggests that targeted, systematic, and effective interventions should be provided to improve knowledge and awareness related to LC screening, enhance screening intentions, and thereby promote screening behaviors. Telephone is people's main medium of daily communication and mHealth-based programs offer a potential and effective solution for promoting health behaviors. The purpose of this study is to develop and implement a mHealth (WeChat app) based intervention guided by Fogg's Behavior Model (FBM) to augment the knowledge of LC prevention among people at risk of LC and enhance their motivation for screening, and to validate its effectiveness in improving LC screening., Methods: We propose a two-arm, single-blind randomized controlled trial with 82 at-risk individuals of LC, delivering a 6-month mHealth-based intervention program with optional health counseling. Recruitment will be through tertiary hospitals and community organizations in 4 districts in Heng Yang. In total, 82 individuals at high risk for HCC will be randomized 1:1 to intervention or control (usual care) groups. The intervention group will receive intervention, whose contents are based on the FBM model, via multiple forms of media including PowerPoint presentation, multimedia video, health information booklet and screening message, which is delivered in the WeChat Applet. Control dyads will be provided with usual health education. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and post-intervention., Discussion: The findings of this study will provide evidence of the benefits of utilizing mHealth-based approaches in intervention development to enhance the effectiveness of screening adherence for high-risk people of LC. Further, the findings would provide reference to the potential incorporation of the targeted intervention in local community organizations., Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2400080530) Date registered: 31/1/2024., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

With full-field imaging and high photon efficiency advantages, structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is one of the most potent super-resolution (SR) modalities in bioscience. Regarding SR reconstruction for SIM, spatial domain reconstruction (SDR) has been proven to be faster than traditional frequency domain reconstruction (FDR), facilitating real-time imaging of live cells. Nevertheless, SDR relies on high-precision parameter estimation for reconstruction, which tends to suffer from low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions and inevitably leads to artifacts that seriously affect the accuracy of SR reconstruction. In this Letter, a physics-enhanced neural network-based parameter-free SDR (PNNP-SDR) is proposed, which can achieve SR reconstruction directly in the spatial domain. As a result, the peak-SNR (PSNR) of PNNP-SDR is improved by about 4 dB compared to the cross-correlation (COR) SR reconstruction; meanwhile, the reconstruction speed of PNNP-SDR is even about five times faster than the fast approach based on principal component analysis (PCA). Given its capability of achieving parameter-free imaging, noise robustness, and high-fidelity and high-speed SR reconstruction over conventional SIM microscope hardware, the proposed PNNP-SDR is expected to be widely adopted in biomedical SR imaging scenarios.

Background:  Infraorbital filler injection is a commonly used minimally invasive cosmetic procedure on the face, which can cause vascular complications., Objective:  In this study, we aimed to explore the anatomical structure of the infraorbital vasculature and to establish an accurate protocol for infraorbital filler injection., Methods:  The vascular structure of the infraorbital region was evaluated in 84 hemifacial specimens using computed tomography. Four segments (P1-P4) and five sections (C1-C5) were considered. We recorded the number of identified arteries in each slice and at each location and the number of deep arteries. Furthermore, we also measured the infraorbital artery (IOA) distribution., Results:  At P1-P4, the lowest number of arteries was detected in segment P4, with a 317/1727 (18.4%) and 65/338 (2.3%) probability of total and deep arterial identification, respectively. The probabilities of encountering an identified artery at the five designated locations (C1-C5) were 277/1727 (16%), 318/1727 (18.4%), 410/1727 (23.7%), 397/1727 (23%), and 325/1727 (18.8%), respectively. The probability of an IOA being identified at C2 was 68/84 (81%)., Conclusion:  We described an effective filler injection technique in the infraorbital region to minimize the associated risks., Level of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 ., (© 2024. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.)

Copper is an indispensable trace element in metabolism. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between copper and reproductive health, and possibly provide new insights for diagnosis and treatment. This study was based on data extracted from the NHANES database (2013-2014 and 2015-2016). The t -test, ANOVA, Chi-square test, multiple linear regression, and restricted cubic spline analysis were used. Serum copper levels were significantly higher in women with gestational diabetes than in those without gestational diabetes ( P  = 0.0150). Women with higher copper levels and smoking habits tended to deliver overweight babies ( P  = 0.028). Women with diabetes had higher serum copper and were prone to deliver overweight babies ( P  = 0.024). Serum copper levels showed a positive relationship with sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels ( P  < 0.0001). In this study, serum copper levels were found to be associated with reproductive health in women. Further studies are required to draw causal inferences.

As ubiquitous components among fruits, polyphenols, including flavonoids and phenolic acids, are somewhat embarrassed on their health benefits but low bioavailability, triggering a hotspot on their interaction with microbiota. Due to its structural characteristics similar to flavonoids and phenolic acids, dihydrochalcone phlorizin (PHZ) was selected as a reference, to illustrate its step-by-step metabolic fate associated with microbiota. The results confirmed that the metabolic flux of PHZ starts with its conversion to phloretin (PHT), sequentially followed by the formation of 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid (PHA), and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (4-HPAA). Catabolic characteristics was comparatively elucidated by introducing apparent and potential kinetics. Besides, coupling catabolic processes with microbial changes suggested several potential bacteria involving in PHZ metabolism, as well as those regulated by PHZ and its metabolites. In particular, seven strains from Lactobacillus were selectively isolated and confirmed to be essential for deglycosylation of PHZ, implying a potential synergistic effect between PHZ and Lactobacillus., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, an innovative cyclic noise reduction method and an improved CAPON algorithm (also the called minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) algorithm) are proposed to improve the accuracy and reliability of DOA (direction of arrival) estimation. By processing the eigenvalues obtained from the covariance matrix of the received signal, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be increased by up to 5 dB by the cyclic noise reduction method, which will improve the DOA estimation accuracy. The improved CAPON algorithm has a convolution neural network (CNN) structure, whose input is the processed covariance matrix of the received signal, and the CAPON spectral value is used as the training label to obtain the estimated spatial spectrum. It retains the advantages of the CAPON algorithm, which can achieve blind source estimation, and simulations show that the proposed algorithm exhibits a better performance than the traditional algorithm in conditions of various SNRs and snapshot numbers. The simulation results show that, based on a certain SNR, the root mean square error (RMSE) of the improved CAPON algorithm can be reduced from 0.86° to 0.8° compared to traditional algorithms, and the angle estimation error can be decreased by up to about 0.3°. With the help of the cyclic noise reduction method, the angle estimation error decreases from 0.04° to 0.02°.

Background: Knowledge of the anatomy of the infraorbital artery (IOA) is crucial for the rejuvenation of the anterior medial aspect of the midface; however, studies adequately describing the anatomy of the IOA branches are lacking, and their connection with the ophthalmic artery branches remains unclear., Objectives: This study aims to elucidate the anatomical characteristics of the IOA in its deployment within the lower eyelid using three-dimensional (3D) technology, thereby offering an anatomical foundation for clinical surgical procedures., Methods: An analysis was conducted on computed tomography scans of 132 cadaveric head sides post-contrast injection, utilizing the Mimics software for reconstruction. The study focused on examining the anastomosis of the IOA, its principal branches, and the branches emanating from the ophthalmic artery., Results: The prevalence of type I IOA was observed at 38.6% (51/132), while Type II IOA was found in 61.4% (81/132) of cases. A 7.6% incidence (10/132) of IOA directly anastomosing with the angular artery was noted. The presence of palpebral branches (PIOA) was identified in 57.6% (76/132) of instances. In the lower eyelid, four distinct distribution patterns of IOA were discerned: The likelihood of Type I PIOA was 5.3%, whereas for Types IIA, IIB, and IIC PIOA, the probabilities were 8.3%, 32.6%, and 11.4%, respectively. The occurrence of the orbital branch of IOA was recorded at 41.7% (55/132)., Conclusions: 3D technology can map IOA variants and identify the deployment patterns of IOA branches in the lower eyelid vascular vesicles at high resolution as a guide in clinical practice., Level of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 ., (© 2024. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.)

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer mortality. HCC has high morbidity, high mortality, and low survival rates. Screening is one of the most significant methods of lowering incidence and death while also increasing survival., Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the facilitators and barriers to participation in HCC screening among high-risk populations., Methods: A comprehensive and systematic search was undertaken in PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBACE, EBSCOhost and the Cochrane Library. A combination of synonyms of the keywords including HCC, screening, factors and adherence were used for searching. Studies addressing the facilitators and barriers to HCC screening compliance in at-risk individuals were included. Data were synthesized using Review Manager version 5.4. A random/fixed effects model meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled data and expressed with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI)., Results: A total of seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Qualitative (n = 1) and quantitative (n = 6) studies using various types of surgery were conducted. The most commonly mentioned barriers were insufficient knowledge and awareness of HCC screening, unawareness of the necessity for early detection of HCC and lack of physician recommendation. A meta-analysis of seven studies showed that individuals with a family history of HCC increased screening uptake by nearly three times (OR: 2.69, 95% CI: 1.93, 3.75). Other most frequently reported facilitators include age, education level, and perceived risk et al., Conclusions: Many barriers to HCC screening were found. Meanwhile, this review points out that improving the awareness of high-risk populations toward HCC screening is expected to enhance compliance, thereby promoting early diagnosis of liver cancer, reducing mortality, and alleviating the burden of HCC., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

A novel hyperbranched polymer with polyacrylamide side chains (HAPAM) was synthesized by aqueous solution polymerization using acrylic acid, acrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid, hydrophobic monomer of dimethyl octadecyl ammonium chloride, and the homemade skeleton monomer of modified-M 2.0 as raw materials and (NH 4 ) 2 S 2 O 8 -NaHSO 3 as initiator. The molecular structure, functional groups, and surface morphology of HAPAM were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the performance of HAPAM solution was higher than that of ordinary polyacrylamide solution in terms of thickening ability, shearing resistance, thermal endurance, salt-resistance, resistance-coefficient and residual-resistance-coefficient, ability to reduce interfacial tension between polymer solution and crude oil, and oil-displacement-efficiency. In particular, the enhanced oil recovery of the HAPAM solution was 13.03%, and the improvement of shearing resistance and immunity to chromatographic separation were simultaneously achieved by the HAPAM solution. These results indicate that the successful synthesis of the novel HAPAM opens a promising strategy for developing new high-performance oil-displacing polymers.

Background: Colorectal, and gastric cancers have the second, and fourth mortality rates worldwide, respectively. Endoscopic screening is a crucial diagnostic tool for colorectal, and gastric cancers. Effective interventions can improve adherence to endoscopic screening in high-risk populations, which is important for cancer prevention and mortality reduction. This study aimed to identify interventions that could improve adherence to endoscopic screening for cancer in high-risk populations., Methods: Combination keywords including colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, screening adherence, and interventions were used to search for articles in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and MEDLINE Complete. The review methodology was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-SCR)., Results: A total of 12 articles were included in this review: 9 randomized controlled trials(RCT) and 3 quasi-experimental studies(QEDs). Among the extracted studies, 11 were about colorectal cancer, and 1 was about gastric cancer. Most studies used lecture-based or Information Technology-based health education interventions. Narrative interventions have proven to be novel and effective approaches for promoting adherence to endoscopic screening. Health education interventions included cancer epidemiology, cancer risk factors, warning symptoms, and screening methods., Conclusion: All interventions involved were effective in increasing individual knowledge of cancer-related endoscopic screening, willingness to undergo screening, and screening behaviors. These findings provide a reference for designing endoscopy-related cancer screening interventions., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Sun et al.)

Background: Although three-dimensional (3D) simulations are becoming more common in preoperative breast augmentation planning, this does not necessarily imply that the simulated results are highly accurate., Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the 3D simulation technique by comparing the differences in breast morphology between the 3D prediction model and the actual results., Methods: The simulation and actual postoperative results of 103 patients who underwent breast augmentation were analyzed retrospectively. Therefore, a 3D model was created, and the parameters of line spacing, nipple position, breast projection, surface area, and volume were evaluated. Furthermore, consider the difference in chest circumferences and breast volume., Results: In comparison with the simulation results, the actual results had a mean increase in the nipple to the inframammary fold (N-IMF) of 0.3 cm (P < 0.05) and a mean increase in basal breast width (BW) of 0.3 cm (P < 0.001), a difference that was not statistically significant in patients with larger breast volumes. There was a significant difference in the mean upper and lower breast volume distribution between simulated and actual breasts (upper pole 52.9% vs. 49.2%, P < 0.05, and lower pole 47.1% vs. 50.8%, P < 0.001). However, it was not statistically significant in patients with larger chest circumferences., Conclusions: Our study shows that 3D simulation has uncertainties related to the patient's chest circumference and breast volume. Therefore, these two critical factors must be considered when using simulation assessment in preoperative planning., Level of Evidence Iii: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 ., (© 2023. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.)

Objective: To investigate the inhibitory mechanisms of ginsenoside F1 on hydrogen peroxide induced cholesterol metabolism disorder and oxidative stress in HepG2 cells., Methods: 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity(ORAC) tests were used to detect the scavenging effect of ginsenoside F1 on nitrogen and oxygen free radicals. HepG2 cells were treated with 400 μmol/L hydrogen peroxide and pretreated with 10, 20 and 40 μmol/L ginsenoside F1. Mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP) and total cholesterol levels were detected by JC-1 method and cholesterol kit, respectively. The protein expression levels of sterol-regulatory element binding proteins(SREBP2)and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase(HMGCR) in cholesterol synthesis pathway were detected by Western blot., Results: The DPPH clearance rate of ginsenoside F1 was much lower than that of 6-hydroxy-2, 5, 7, 8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid(Trolox), but the ORAC capability of ginsenoside F1 was stronger, which was comparable to Trolox. The MMP and protein expression of SREBP2 were significantly decreased in injured group(P&lt;0.05). The cholesterol and protein expression of HMGCR were significantly increased(P&lt;0.05). Whereas, compared with the injured group, the MMP and protein expression of SREBP2 were significantly increased after 10, 20 and 40 μmol/L ginsenoside F1 pretreatment of injured cells(P&lt;0.05). The cholesterol level and protein expression of HMGCR were significantly lower than injured group with concentration-dependent decreases(P&lt;0.05)., Conclusion: Ginsenoside F1 can protect against hydrogen peroxide induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells by inhibiting oxygen free radicals and protecting mitochondria. And its mechanism may be related to the intervention of SREBP2/HMGCR pathway in regulating cellular cholesterol anabolism.

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) plays a crucial role in nutrient dynamics and eutrophication status of the typical estuarine ecosystems, which are hotspots for groundwater-borne nutrient and are sensitive to aquaculture activities. To evaluate the significant role of SGD in regulating nutrient dynamics in an aquaculture estuary, a radium mass balance model combined biological feeding experiment was carried out in the present study. The results demonstrated that SGD fluxes were estimated to be 15.9 ± 9.41 cm d -1 , 18.1 ± 8.51 cm d -1 , and 23.0 ± 13.7 cm d -1 during July 2019, October 2019 and April 2021, and the SGD-driven dissolved inorganic/organic nutrient fluxes were 0.6-3.1-fold, 0.2-0.9-fold and 0.4-29-fold higher than those of riverine input, respectively. Seasonal variabilities of SGD rates indicated that saline SGD is dominated and is primarily modified by the oceanic forcing stimulated by tidal and wave dynamics. The contrasting conditions between bottom-up (groundwater- and river-derived nutrient fluxes) and top-down (nutrient responses in estuarine waters), showed the significance of seasonal differences in the biochemical mechanisms and aquaculture effects of modifying nitrogen dynamics. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium and nitrification were responsible for the contrasting NO x - (NO 2 - and NO 3 - ) and NH 4 + conditions in July and October, respectively, and these factors jointly regulated NO x - and NH 4 + in April. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was the predominant component among the three seasons, except for DON degeneration in October, and it increased due to NH 4 + assimilation by the phytoplankton community. These findings indicated that biochemical transformation has potential ramifications for the dynamics of SGD-driven nutrients and the management in marine aquaculture ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Unhealthy diets rich in fats and/or sugar are considered as the major external cause of the obesity epidemic, which is often accompanied by a significant decrease in gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) levels. Numerous studies have demonstrated notable contributions of the gut microbiota in this process. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism still needs further investigation. The role of epigenetic modifications in gene expression and metabolism has been well demonstrated, with m6A methylation on RNAs being the most prevalent modification throughout their metabolism. In the present study, we found that the expressions of small intestinal Gcg and Pc3 , two key genes regulating GLP1 expression, were significantly downregulated in obese mice, associated with reduced GLP1 level. Immunohistochemistry analysis indicated that a high-fat diet slightly increased the density of enteroendocrine L cells in the small intestine, implying that decreased GLP1 levels were not caused by the changes in L cell intensity. Instead, the small intestinal m6A level as well as the expression of known "writers", mettl3/14 and wtap , were found to be positively correlated with the expression of Gcg and Pc3 . Fecal microbiota transplantation with feces from normal and obese mice daily to antibiotic-treated mice revealed that dysbiosis in diet-induced obesity was sufficient to reduce serum GLP1, small intestinal m6A level, and intestinal expressions of Gcg , Pc3 , and writer genes ( mettl3/14 , wtap ). However, as the most direct and universal methyl donor, the production of fecal S-adenosylmethionine was neither affected by the different dietary patterns nor their shaped microbiota. These results suggested that microbial modulation of the epitranscriptome may be involved in regulating GLP1 expression, and highlighted epitranscriptomic modifications as an additional level of interaction between diet and individual health.

The optical angular memory effect (AME) is a basic feature of turbid media and defines the correlation of speckles when the incident light is tilted. AME based imaging through solid scattering media such as ground glass and biomedical tissue has been recently developed. However, in the case of liquid media such as turbid water or blood, the speckle pattern exhibits dynamic time-varying characteristics, which introduces several challenges. The AME of the thick volume dynamic media is particularly different from the layer scatterers. In practice, there are more parameters, e.g., scattering particle size, shape, density, or even the illuminating beam aperture that can influence the AME range. Experimental demonstration of AME phenomenon in liquid dynamic media and confirm the distinctions will contribution to complete the AME theory. In this paper, a dual-polarization speckle detection setup was developed to characterize the AME of dynamic turbid media, where two orthogonal polarized beams were employed for simultaneous detection by a single CCD. The AME of turbid water, milk and blood were measured. The influence of thickness, concentration, particle size and shape, and beam diameter were analyzed. The AME increasement of upon the decrease of beam diameter was tested and verified. The results demonstrate the feasibility of this method for investigating the AME phenomenon and provide guidance for AME based imaging through scattering media.

Exponential increase in photovoltaic installations arouses concerns regarding the impacts of large-scale solar power plants on dryland ecosystems. While the effects of photovoltaic panels on soil moisture content and plant biomass in arid ecosystems have been recognized, little is known about their influence on soil microbial communities. Here, we employed a combination of quantitative PCR, high-throughput sequencing, and soil property analysis to investigate the responses of soil microbial communities to solar panel installation. We also report on the responses of plant communities within the same solar farm. Our findings showed that soil microbial communities responded differently to the shading and precipitation-alternation effects of the photovoltaic panels in an arid ecosystem. By redirecting rainwater to the lower side, photovoltaic panels stimulated vegetation biomass and soil total organic carbon content in the middle and in front of the panels, positively contributing to carbon storage. The shade provided by the panels promoted the co-occurrence of soil microbes but inhibited the abundance of 16S rRNA gene in the soil. Increase in precipitation reduced 18S rRNA gene abundance, whereas decrease in precipitation led to decline in plant aboveground biomass, soil prokaryotic community alpha diversity, and dehydrogenase activity under the panels. These findings highlight the crucial role of precipitation in maintaining plant and soil microbial diversities in dryland ecosystems and are essential for estimating the potential risks of large-scale solar power plants on local and global climate change in the long term., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Liu, Peng, Ma, Qi, Song, Zhang, Li, Gao, Pu, Wang, Bi and Na.)

Background: Hyaluronic acid is the most popular dermal filler in the treatment of nasolabial folds. Injection methods vary among physicians., Methods: A randomized, two-center, double-blind, intraindividual trial was designed to compare a new method of injecting ART FILLER® UNIVERSAL using the retaining ligament with the traditional method (linear threading and bolus injection) in moderate to severe nasolabial folds. Forty patients with moderate to severe nasolabial folds were randomized into groups A and B. Group A received injections via the traditional method on the left side and the ligament method on the right side, while group B received the reverse. Clinical efficacy and patient safety were independently assessed by a blinded evaluator, the injector, using the Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS), the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS), and the Medicis Midface Volume Scale (MMVS) at 4 weeks (before and after the touch-up injection), 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks after the baseline injection., Results: From the perspective of the blinded evaluator, the improvements in WSRS scores from baseline did not differ significantly between the ligament method (0.73  ±  0.61) and the traditional method (0.89 ± 0.61) at week 24 (p > 0.05). The mean GAIS score at week 24 was 1.41 ± 0.49 for the traditional method and 1.32 ± 0.47 for the ligament method (p > 0.05)., Conclusions: The efficacy and safety of the ligament method for the management of nasolabial folds are comparable to those of the traditional method in terms of WSRS and GAIS score improvement in the long run. The ligament method is superior to the traditional method in that it improves midface deficits with fewer adverse events., Level of Evidence Ii: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 ., Clinical Trial Registration: This study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry under the registration number ChiCTR2100041702., (© 2023. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.)

Backgrounds: Urethrocutaneous fistula is one of the most common complications after urethroplasty. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the superiority of double dartos flap to single dartos flap in preventing fistula during tubularized incised plate urethroplasty (TIPU), which is one of the most frequently used operations for hypospadias., Methods: We extracted clinical trials under the following included criteria: (1) children with TIPU; (2) a comparison of single and double flap layer; and (3) record of complications with the following excluded criteria: (1) non-comparison and (2) lack of data. Finally, 13 studies from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Embase have been investigated, with a total of 1,185 patients from 2005 to 2022. The quality assessment was conducted according to the Cochrane handbook and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A mixed-effect model was utilized to weigh the risk of fistula, phallic rotation, meatal stenosis, and wound dehiscence by the Review Manager V.5.4 software., Results: The double dartos flap layer group excels in descending the risk of postoperative fistula [odds ratio (OR) = 9.56; 95% confidence interval (CI) (4.76, 19.22); P  < 0.00001] and phallic rotation [OR = 31.26; 95% CI (9.60, 101.84); P  < 0.00001], while there are no differences in the rate of meatal stenosis [OR = 1.49; 95% CI (0.73, 2.70); P  = 0.31] and wound dehiscence [OR = 2.30; 95% CI (0.80, 6.63); P  = 0.12]., Conclusions: The routine utility of a double dartos flap layer is recommended as a potential treatment during the tubularized incised plate urethroplasty., Systematic Review Registration: identifier PROSPERO CRD42022366294., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Yuan, Wang, Liang, Wang, Ho, Peng, Zhao, and Deng.)

Endometriosis (EMs) is a life-long endocrine disorder and a common cause for female infertility and pelvic pain. The key characteristics of eutopic endometrium of EMs patients are high proliferative and migratory potentials. Cuproptosis is a recently identified copper- and-mitochondrial-dependent regulated cell death. Regretfully, its role in EMs remains unclear. In this study, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) indicated strong activation of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway and biological process analysis reported positive regulation of kinase activity. Next, we screened 11 cuproptosis-related DEGs and found all of them were downregulated in the EMs group, which indicated the suppression of cuproptosis in EMs. One key cuproptosis-related gene, PDHA1, was selected via support vector machine, random forest algorithm and lasso regularization to build a risk-scoring model, which was tested in both internal and external validations. In conclusion, the downregulation and kinase activity of PDHA1 may function with the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway in some way, which could suppress the cuproptosis level and account for the cancer-like pathology in EMs., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The microbiota plays important roles for polyphenols exerting bioactivity, which needs support to calculate the accumulated polyphenols in the gastrointestinal tract. Taking phlorizin as an example, fecal excretion kinetics was suggested to be ingenious for achieving it. No phlorizin was excreted with feces, implying almost 100 % total availability. Combined with its 0-5 % bioavailability, more than 95 % of phlorizin quantitatively accumulated in the gastrointestinal tract. Instead, trace phloretin was excreted, and the acquired kinetic parameters were influenced by physical conditions and dietary patterns. Dosage-total-availability curves indicated different relationships among normal-diet and obese mice, resulting in critical dosages of ∼ 159 and ∼ 196 mg/kg when taking 95 % total availability by phloretin. The dietary matrix affects the intake, digestion, metabolism and absorption of polyphenols, and may alter its total availability, and fecal excretion kinetics can provide further support for polyphenol dietary supplements targeting microbiota., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of oocyte thawing cycles in the clinical application of assisted reproductive technology (ART)., Study Design: The clinical data of 78 cases who underwent oocyte thawing cycles in our center were retrospectively analyzed. All patients in this study received oocyte cryopreservation for the husband reason. According to patient age at egg freezing, patients were divided into three observation groups (Group A, <30 years old; Group B, 30-34 years old; Group C, ≥35 years old), and the control groups were selected by propensity score matching with fresh cycles. The clinical outcomes of each group were compared, and the clinical efficacy of oocyte thawing cycles was analyzed., Results: Clinical pregnancy outcomes of oocyte thawing cycles were not significantly different from that of fresh oocytes, but vitrification affected the number of two pronuclei zygotes developing to cleavage stage and the number of high-quality embryos, and the normal fertilization rate after thawing. The cycle cumulative live birth rate in Group C was significantly lower than those in Groups A and B. The live birth rates per egg of Groups A, B, C were 5.03%, 5.61%, and 3.57%, respectively, and the numbers of eggs per live birth were 13.72, 14.43, and 21.0, respectively., Conclusions: The overall clinical outcomes of oocyte vitrification were similar to that of fresh oocytes, but the cleavage rate and embryo quality of frozen oocytes were slightly reduced. Freezing of oocytes in women over 35 years of age affects the clinical efficacy of ART., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.)

Excessive nutrient inputs imperil the stability of forest ecosystems via modifying the interactions among soil properties, microbes, and plants, particularly in forests composed of cash crops that are under intensive disturbances of agricultural activities, such as Torreya grandis. Understanding the potential drivers of soil microbial community helps scientists develop effective strategies for balancing the protection and productivity of the ancient Torreya forest. Here, we assayed the link between plant and soil parameters and prokaryote communities in bulk soil and T. grandis rhizosphere in 900-year-old stands by detecting plant and soil properties in two independent sites in southeastern China. Our results showed no apparent influence of stand age on the compositions of prokaryote communities in bulk soil and T. grandis rhizosphere. In contrast, soil abiotic factors (i.e., soil pH) overwhelm plant characteristics (i.e., height, plant tissue carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content) and contribute most to the shift in prokaryote communities in bulk soil and T. grandis rhizosphere. Soil pH leads to an increase in microbiota alpha diversity in both compartments. With the help of a random forest, we found a critical transition point of pH (pH = 4.9) for the dominance of acidic and near-neutral bacterial groups. Co-occurrence network analysis further revealed a substantially simplified network in plots with a pH of <4.9 versus samples with a pH of ≥4.9, indicating that soil acidification induces biodiversity loss and disrupts potential interactions among soil microbes. Our findings provide empirical evidence that soil abiotic properties nearly completely offset the roles of host plants in the assembly and potential interactions of rhizosphere microorganisms. Hence, reduction in inorganic fertilization and proper liming protocols should be seriously considered by local farmers to protect ancient Torreya forests., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Attapulgite(ATP), as a fertilizer slow-release agent and soil conditioner, has shown remarkable effect in improving the utilization rate of fertilizer and the yield and quality of agricultural products and Chinese medicinal materials. This study aims to explore the effect of ATP on the growth and root quality of Angelica sinensis. To be specific, Mingui 1 was used, and through the pot(soil culture) experiment in the Dao-di producing area, the effects of conventional chemical fertilizer added with ATP on the morphology, photosynthesis, soil respiration, and content of ferulic acid and volatile oil in roots of Mingui 1 were detected. The underlying mechanism was discussed from the perspective of source-sink relationship. The results showed that ATP, via the fertilizer slow-release effect, could meet the needs of A. sinensis for nutrients at the root expansion stage, improve the net photosynthetic rate of leaves and aboveground biomass of plants, and promote the transfer and accumulation of nutrients from the aboveground part(source) to the underground root(sink) in advance during the dry matter accumulation period of roots, so as to improve the root weight per plant. ATP can increase the content of total ferulic acid(the sum of free ferulic acid and coniferyl ferulate), the main effective component of Angelicae Sinensis Radix, by promoting the synthesis of ferulic acid in the roots and the transformation to coniferyl ferulate. However, it had little effect on the content of volatile oil. ATP had certain influence on soil respiration, which needs to be further explored from root activity, rhizosphere microorganisms, and soil microorganisms. This study can lay a basis for soil remediation and improvement and ecological cultivation of A. sinensis.

Immobilization technology with low maintenance is a promising alternative to enhance nitrate removal from water. In this study, washing rice drainage (RWD) was immobilized by poly(vinyl alcohol)/sodium alginate (PVA/SA) to obtain RWD-PVA/SA gel beads as inoculum for denitrification. When initial nitrate concentration was 50 mg N/L, nitrate was effectively removed at rates of 50-600 mg/(L∙d) using acetate as carbon source (C/N = 1.25). Arrhenius activation energy (Ea) of nitrate oxidoreductase was 28.64 kJ/mol for the RWD-PVA/SA gel beads. Temporal and spatial variation in microbial community structures were revealed along with RWD storage and in the reactors by Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. RWD-PVA/SA gel beads has a simple (operational taxonomic units (OTUs) 〈100). Dechloromonas, Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium and Acidovorax were the most four dominant genera in the denitrification reactors inoculated with RWD-PVA/SA gel beads. This study provides an inoculum for denitrification with high nitrate removal performance and simple microbial community structures., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hyaluronic acid (HA) gel is a widely used dermal filler for the correction of facial volume loss. The relationship between the characteristics of HA and clinical efficacy remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of monophasic and biphasic HA in the treatment of nasolabial folds (NLFs)., Methods: Studies were identified by searching the electronic databases PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to May 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected according to the inclusion criteria. Outcomes included the Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS) score, Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale score, and incidence of adverse events., Results: A total of 1190 patients from 14 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The mean WSRS score improvement in the biphasic HA group was much lower than that in the monophasic HA group (MD = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.16-0.20, p < 0.00001). The subject satisfaction percentage was significantly higher for monophasic than biphasic HA (RR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.09-3.48, p = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the adverse event rate between the monophasic and biphasic HA groups (RR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.75-1.24, p = 0.77)., Conclusions: Regardless of whether improvement in NLFs or patient satisfaction is considered, monophasic HA is better than biphasic HA. Regarding the adverse event rate, there is no difference between monophasic and biphasic HA., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Air pollution is a serious threat to ancient sites and cultural relicts. In this study, we collected indoor and outdoor PM 2.5 samples and individual particles at the Exhibition Hall of Jinsha Site Museum in June 2020, and then the chemical components, sources, morphology, and mixing state of the fine particulate matter were analyzed. Our results show that the indoor and outdoor PM 2.5 concentrations at the Exhibition Hall were 33.3±6.6 and 39.4±11.4 μg m -3 , respectively. Although the indoor and outdoor concentrations of OC and EC were close, the proportion of secondary organic carbon in OC outdoor (33%) was higher than that indoor (27%). The PM 2.5 was alkaline both indoors and outdoors, and the outdoor alkalinity was stronger than the indoor alkalinity. SNA (SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , and NH 4 + ) was the dominant component in the water-soluble inorganic ions; Na + , Mg 2+ , and Ca 2+ were well correlated (R 2 > 0.9), and Cl - and K + were also highly correlated (R 2 > 0.8). Enrichment factor analysis showed that Cu (indoor) and Cd were the main anthropogenic elements and that Cd was heavily enriched. Principal components analysis showed that the main sources of PM 2.5 at Jinsha Site Museum were motor vehicles, dust, secondary sources, and combustion sources. The individual particles were classified as organic matter, S-rich, soot, mineral, and fly ash/metal particles, and most of these particles were internally mixed with each other. At last, we proposed pollution control measures to improve the air quality of museums and the preservation of cultural relicts., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, we explored the adaptive mechanism of two varieties of Angelica sinensis exposed to enhanced Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation. The radiation had different effects on the biomass, photosynthetic performance, oxidative damage, antioxidant defense system, and levels of bioactive compounds of Mingui 1 (C1) and Mingui 2 (C2). C2 outperformed C1 under enhanced UV-B radiation, compared to natural light. Using the Illumina RNA-seq, we obtained 6,326 and 2,583 DEGs in C1 and C2, respectively. Under enhanced UV-B radiation, the mRNA levels of genes involved in photosynthesis, antennae protein synthesis, carbon fixation, chlorophyll synthesis, and carotenoid synthesis were decreased in C1 but stable in C2, involving few DEGs. TFs were widely involved in the response of C1 to enhanced UV-B radiation; almost all bHLH and MYB coding genes were downregulated whereas almost all genes encoded WRKY22 , WRKY50 , WRKY72 , NCF , and HSF were upregulated. These results indicate that enhanced UV-B radiation was not conducive to the synthesis of flavonoids, while disease resistance was enhanced. Regarding the ROS scavenging system, upregulated DEGs were mainly found in the AsA-GSH cycle and PrxR/Trx pathways. Remarkably, DEGs that those encoding biosynthetic key enzymes, including ferulic acid ( CHS , CHI , DFR , and ANS ) and flavonoid ( CHS , CHI , DFR , and ANS ), most upregulation in C2, leading to increased accumulation of ferulic acid and flavonoids and adversely affecting C1. Genes encoding key enzymes involved in the synthesis of lactone components ( ACX , PXG ) were mostly up-regulated in C1, increasing the content of lactone components. Our results reveal the DEGs present between C1 and C2 under enhanced UV-B radiation and are consistent with the observed differences in physiological and biochemical indexes. C1 was more sensitive to enhanced UV-B radiation, and C2 was more tolerant to it under moderate enhanced UV-B radiation stress. In addition, the large amount of A. sinensis transcriptome data generated here will serve as a source for finding effective ways to mitigate UV-B enhancement, and also contribute to the well-established lack of genetic information for non-model plant species., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Peng, Wang, Yang, Wang, Luo and Zhang.)

Lilium regale Wilson ( L.regale ), originated in the Minjiang River basin in Sichuan, China, has different phenotypic characteristics in different environments. To analyze the correlation between the phenotypes of L.regale and its soil micro-ecological environment, wild habitat soil of L.regale at the two altitudes were selected to analyze the diversity and community structure of microorganisms in soil, and measure the soil physicochemical factors and enzyme activities. The structural composition and diversity of fungal and bacterial communities in hillside and valley soils were significantly different ( p < 0.01). Soil available potassium (AK) and soil enzyme activities such as urease (S&#95;UE), sucrase (S&#95;SC), and catalase (S&#95;CAT) differed significantly different between hillsides and valleys ( p < 0.01), while organic matter (OM), total phosphorus (TP), and polyphenol oxidase (S&#95;PPO) had no great variances. Correlation analysis was conducted between the common and differential microorganisms and the morphological characteristics, soil physicochemical factors and soil enzyme activities of L.regale in both hillside and valley. The results showed that both of the fungal and bacterial could be clustered into two distinct groups by positive and negative correlations, suggesting that the representative microorganism may have structural characteristics that are directly related to soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities, which conversely affect the phenotype of Lily. Therefore, the study on the native species of horticultural plants and the local soil microhabitat environment will benefit the conservation of wild Lily and provide theoretical guidance for the domestication and breeding of horticultural plants.

Sulfur autotrophic denitrification (SAD) is a promising technology due to its low cost and low sludge production. Based on previous studies on SAD materials as well as the denitrification mechanism of SAD technology, this study constructed two biofilters with a sulfur autotrophic denitrification composite filler (SADCF) to investigate the application potential of SAD technology. The feasibility of a SADCF-based biofilter was demonstrated, with a maximum nitrate volume load of 0.75 kg N/(m 3 ·d) and low accumulation of nitrite and ammonium. In addition, an improved backwashing method (air-water backwashing) was obtained by comparing two different backwashing methods. Furthermore, some iron reducing bacteria (0.4% Geothrix) along with a rapid proliferation of the main sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (23.0% Thiobacillus and 27.7% Ferritrophicum) were found under real-world operating conditions. Overall, the results of this study provide a case reference for the operation of SADCF-based biofilters and the application of SAD technology in engineering., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The medicinal plants with roots and rhizomes as the medicinal parts account for about 1/3 of Chinese medicinal herbs. Root and rhizome medicinal materials are widely used in clinical practice, whereas their wild resource reserves are insufficient to meet the market demand. With the expansion of planting areas, the formation of large-scale production areas, and the increase in planting years, diseases and insect pests of these medicinal plants, which are diverse and have broad transmission routes, strong concealment, and heavy damage, have become more and more serious. The prevention and control of these diseases and insect pests is characterized by multiple ways of pesticide application, large consumption of pesticides, susceptibility to soil barrier, difficulty in the control, and unstable control efficiency. Organophosphorus pesticides(OPPs) are widely used in the cultivation of Chinese medicinal plants because of their diverse varieties, broad-spectrum, good efficacy, and low residues, and have a positive effect on the yield and quality of Chinese medicinal materials. However, the abuse of OPPs not only increases the planting cost, but also affects the quality and safety of Chinese medicinal plants, the safety of clinical use of Chinese medicine, and the ecological safety of production areas. This paper reviewed the research and development progress of OPPs, the registration status of OPPs used in root and rhizome medicinal materials, residue limit standards, residue status, and rapid detection technology progress of OPPs. This review aims to provide research ideas and references for standardizing the use of OPPs in root and rhizome medicinal materials, reducing OPP residues, and establishing a fast, efficient, accurate, and reliable method for the detection of OPP residues in Chinese herbal medicine.

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and associated nutrient have long been received insufficient attention in the aquaculture areas of Lianjiang, East China Sea. In this study, we used 224 Ra mass balance model to evaluate the importance of SGD in the aquaculture areas of Lianjiang in different seasons. The results showed that SGD fluxes were 0.14 ± 0.070 m 3 m -2 d -1 in July and 0.077 ± 0.040 m 3 m -2 d -1 in October 2019, which corresponded to approximately 22% and 32% of the river discharge, respectively. Nevertheless, the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) fluxes contributed by SGD over total nutrient inputs were approximately 58% and 73%, respectively in July, 11% and 33%, respectively in October 2019. The ratio of DIN to DIP in seawater was slightly higher than that derived from SGD in July and significantly lower than that derived from the river and SGD in October, which was prone to profound modulated by shellfish (e.g., clam Ruditapes philippinarum and Sinonovacula constricta) and nori (e.g., Pyropia haitanensis) that selectively acquire nitrogen and phosphorous, suggesting that SGD could affect the nutrient structure and aquaculture activities in Lianjiang. Moreover, the new primary production via SGD yielded (2.47 ± 1.32) × 10 3 mg C m -2 d -1 in July and (3.52 ± 1.76) × 10 2 mg C m -2 d -1 in October 2019, which were approximately 8-25% and 10-31% of the production in the entire study area. These meaningful discoveries indicated that SGD and associated nutrient are the predominant regulator of nutrient and aquaculture structure under significant seasonal differences., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

"Lianzhifan solution" (LZF) is produced by the natural fermentation of coptis root and gardenia fruit, and it is a classic prescription for external use in anorectal department. During the fermentation process, the structural evolution of microbial communities led to significant changes in the chemical profile. In this study, we first analyzed the dynamic changes of chemical components as well as the composition and succession of microbial community during the whole fermentation process of LZF, and confirmed the changes of characteristics of nine compounds during the whole fermentation process by metabolic profile. Further analysis found that there was no significant change of alkaloids in all stages of fermentation of LZF, but there were significant changes of iridoids in the middle and late stage of fermentation by deglycosylation. Genipin gentiobioside and geniposide were converted to genipin by biotransformation, showing that deglycosylation was the main event occurring in the fermentation. The community composition and abundance of species in 10 and 19days LZF fermentation broth were analyzed with high-throughput sequencing technology, and 16 dominant bacterial genera and 15 dominant fungal genera involved in the fermentation process were identified. Correlation analysis revealed that Penicillium expansum and Aspergillus niger involved in the fermentation were the dominant genera closely related to the dynamic changes of the deglycosylation of the main chemical components, and P. expansum YY-46 and A. niger YY-9 strains were obtained by the further fractionation. Then the monoculture fermentation process was evaluated, whereby we found that the deglycoside conversion rate of iridoid glycosides was greatly improved and the fermentation cycle was shortened by 3-4 times. This finding combined with equivalence evaluation of chemical component and pharmacodynamics to confirm that P. expansum YY-46 and A. niger YY-9 strains were key strains for fermentation concoction. This study established an efficient and practical screening strategy "Microfauna communities-Chemical component-Pharmacodynamic" axis for key strain, to improve the production process and formulating good manufacturing practice (GMP) work, and it is also applicable to the whole fermentation drugs industry. Graphical AbstractThe figure highly summarizes the research content of this study and shows the screening process of key strains in LZF fermentation., Competing Interests: TP was employed by company Keystonecare Technology (Chengdu) Co. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Xie, Ye, Wu, Gou, Peng, Yuan, Yang, Zhang and Peng.)

Optical manipulation with nondiffracting beams has been attracting great interest and finding widespread applications in many fields such as chemistry, physics, and biomedicine. Generally, optical manipulation is conducted in an optical microscopy system, which, in general, only allows for imaging motions of particles in the transverse plane, rendering the observation of dynamics processes occurring in the axial plane impractical. We propose and demonstrate an optical manipulation system that incorporates an axial plane imaging module. With this system, the trapping behavior in the transverse plane and the transportation process in the axial plane of a particle immersed in a Bessel beam were acquired simultaneously in real time.

Idesia polycarpa Maxim. leaves are an excellent source of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and have drawn special attention due to their various biological activities. However, the effects of post-harvest treatment on the structure-activity relationships of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives in leaves of I. polycarpa are still unknown. In the current study, we compared the contents of unstable compounds in leaves with four drying methods, namely sun-drying, freeze-drying, shade-drying, and oven-drying. We found that the four hydroxycinnamic acid derivative isomers of leaves were significantly affected after drying processing with four different drying methods. Consequently, the underlying mechanisms responsible for the variation of these compounds during the drying processes have been well elucidated: UV lighting induced the isomerization of 1-[(6'-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl)-β-d-glucopyranosyl]-oxy-2-phenol (1) and 1-[(4'-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl)-β-d-glucopyranosyl]-oxy-2-phenol (3) into 1-[(6'-O-(Z)-p-coumaroyl)-β-d-glucopyranosyl]-oxy-2-phenol (2) and 1-[(4'-O-(Z)-p-coumaroyl)-β-d-glucopyranosyl]-oxy-2-phenol (4). Also, heat (exceeding 20 °C) led to the rearrangement of the (E/Z)-p-coumaric acid moiety of compounds 3 and 4, of which the 4-O-acylglucoses changed into the 6-O-acylglucoses to generate compounds 1 and 2, respectively. Interestingly, the hepatocyte-free fatty acid accumulation in OA-induced steatosis-conditioned HepG2 cells decreased by 65.00%, 10.69%, and 47.00%, respectively, following treatment with compounds 2, 3 and 4, and compound 1 presented no lipid-lowering activity. In addition, the bioactivities of compounds 2 and 4 were substantially enhanced by 58.42% and 25.33% with the sun-drying method compared to the freeze-dying methods. Our study suggests that sun-drying processing is the best method among the four drying processing methods of I. polycarpa Maxim. leaves.

Phlorizin (PHZ) is one of phytonutrients in apples that contributes to the health-promoting effect implicated by the saying, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'. PHZ was firstly identified as a competitive inhibitor of sodium-glucose co-transporters-2 (SGLT2); however, its low bioavailability makes it hard to fully explain its pharmacological mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the ameliorating effect of PHZ on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity via modulating the "gut microbiota-barrier axis". Firstly, C57BL/6 J mice were fed a normal chow diet (NCD) or HFD coadministered with or without PHZ for 12 weeks. Our results showed that PHZ supplementation significantly reduced HFD-induced body weight gain ( P <  .001), alleviated metabolic disorders (MDs) like insulin resistance ( P <  .001) and elevation of serum lipopolysaccharides (LPS) ( P <  .001), attenuated HFD-induced gut microbiota alterations, enhanced short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production ( P <  .001), and inhibited fecal LPS production ( P <  .001). To investigate the role of the fecal microbiota in the observed beneficial effects, a fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment was performed by transplanting the feces of the four groups of mice (as donor mice) daily collected from the fourth week to a new batch of acclimatized HFD-fed mice. Our results confirmed that feeding the gut contents of the PHZ-modulated mice could attenuate HFD-induced MDs, accompanied by enhanced glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) secretion ( P <  .001) and restoration of HFD-induced damage in the gut epithelial barrier. This study has provided evidence that the "gut microbiota-barrier axis" was an alternative target for the anti-obesity effect of PHZ. This work has also provided an explanation for the high efficacy of PHZ despite the low bioavailability, and PHZ holds great potential to be developed as a functional food ingredient.

The photocatalytic reduction of U(VI) is recognized as an economical and effective way for U(VI) removal/recovery from solutions. To improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 under visible light, TiO 2 was hydrogenated by NaBH 4 to generate Ti 3+ self-doped black TiO 2 (BT n ). The self-doped Ti 3+ alongside oxygen vacancies (Ov) could act as interband level to increase visible light capture and reduce the recombination of photogenerated carriers. The obtained BT n samples showed high performance for U(VI) elimination under near neutral conditions, and held an outstanding anti-interference for U(VI) over competing metal cations and anions. Methanol and ethanol could act as sacrificial donors, being favorable for the photocatalytic reduction of U(VI), while the presence of EDTA inhibited the photoreduction of U(VI). The BT n photocatalysts showed relatively high stability and reusability during the photocatalysis and elution processes. The XPS, TEM and XRD results revealed that U(VI) was photo-reduced to form UO 2 on the surface of BT n . This work may serve as an important reference for improving the photocatalytic reactivity of TiO 2 as well as for the efficient removal/recovery of U(VI) from aqueous solutions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The scattering effect occurring when light passes through inhomogeneous-refractive-index media such as atmosphere or biological tissues will scramble the light wavefront into speckles and impede optical imaging. Wavefront shaping is an emerging technique for imaging through scattering media that works by addressing correction of the disturbed wavefront. In addition to the phase and amplitude, the polarization of the output scattered light will also become spatially randomized in some cases. The recovered image quality and fidelity benefit from correcting as much distortion of the scattered light as possible. Liquid-crystal spatial light modulators (LC-SLMs) are widely used in the wavefront shaping technique, since they can provide a great number of controlled modes and thereby high-precision wavefront correction. However, due to the working principle of LC-SLMs, the wavefront correction is restricted to only one certain linear polarization state, resulting in retrieved image information in only the right polarization, while the information in the orthogonal polarization is lost. In this paper, we describe a full-polarization wavefront correction system for shaping the scattered light wavefront in two orthogonal polarizations with a single LC-SLM. The light speckles in both polarizations are corrected for retrieval of the full polarization information and faithful images of objects. As demonstrated in the experiments, the focusing intensity can be increased by full-polarization wavefront correction, images of objects in arbitrary polarization states can be retrieved, and the polarization state of the object's light can also be recognized.

The long-term and extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the cultivation of Chinese materia medica has resulted in serious soil ecological and environmental problems such as secondary salinization, soil consolidation, soil acidification, continuous cropping obstacles, micro-ecological imbalance, and serious soil pests and diseases in the production areas of Chinese materia medica. Therefore, promoting the ecological planting of Chinese materia medica is the only way for the production of Chinese materia medica. Attapulgite(ATP) is a kind of water-rich magnesium-rich aluminosilicate clay mineral with layered and chain structure. It has abundant reserves in China, possesses nano-material properties, strong adsorption and ion exchange properties, and has huge high value utilization space. ATP and its functional products have the potential of water and fertilizer conservation, regulating soil structure and micro-ecology, and are widely used in ecological planting of Chinese materia medica. This paper reviews the resource distribution, structural characteristics, the research and application progress in soil ecological effects of ATP, and prospects the application prospects of it in the ecological planting of Chinese materia medica.

Iodine-doped polyvinyl alcohol (IDPVA) film has been widely used as a plastic polarizer due to its great linear dichroism. We found that the anisotropic character of the plastic polarizer can be permanently damaged upon exposure of high intensity femtosecond laser pulses. This process is a two-photon-induced chemical reaction and denominated as two-photon-induced isotropy (TPII). The TPII effect can form a high polarization contrast on the base of the original IDPVA films. With this property, polarization-sensitive diffractive optical elements are fabricated in IDPVA films. The low cost of the IDPVA film and the high polarization contrast of TPII make it a promising new candidate for femtosecond laser fabrication of polarization-selective optical elements.

Wide-field microscopy (WFM) is broadly used in experimental studies of biological specimens. However, combining the out-of-focus signals with the in-focus plane reduces the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and axial resolution of the image. Therefore, structured illumination microscopy (SIM) with white light illumination has been used to obtain full-color 3D images, which can capture high SNR optically-sectioned images with improved axial resolution and natural specimen colors. Nevertheless, this full-color SIM (FC-SIM) has a data acquisition burden for 3D-image reconstruction with a shortened depth-of-field, especially for thick samples such as insects and large-scale 3D imaging using stitching techniques. In this paper, we propose a deep-learning-based method for full-color WFM, i.e. , FC-WFM-Deep, which can reconstruct high-quality full-color 3D images with an extended optical sectioning capability directly from the FC-WFM z -stack data. Case studies of different specimens with a specific imaging system are used to illustrate this method. Consequently, the image quality achievable with this FC-WFM-Deep method is comparable to the FC-SIM method in terms of 3D information and spatial resolution, while the reconstruction data size is 21-fold smaller and the in-focus depth is doubled. This technique significantly reduces the 3D data acquisition requirements without losing detail and improves the 3D imaging speed by extracting the optical sectioning in the depth-of-field. This cost-effective and convenient method offers a promising tool to observe high-precision color 3D spatial distributions of biological samples., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

We established an efficient method using high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) combined with preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) for isolating and purifying phenolic glycoside isomers. The method involves a rapid and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-under voltage(UPLC-UV) technique using a sub-2 μm core-shell particle column for qualitative and quantitative analysis of four phenolic glycoside isomers from Idesia polycarpa Maxim. leaves. The partially purified samples from ethyl acetate extraction of ethanol extracts of I. polycarpa Maxim. leaves were obtained by HSCCC with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water solution (3:5:3:5, v/v/v/v) to obtain fractions I and II, which contain two phenolic glycoside isomers. The two fractions were further isolated by prep-HPLC to yield compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 with purities of 98.29%, 98.71%, 98.49% and 98.52%, and total recoveries of 93.5%, 72.2%, 75.5% and 88.3%, respectively. Compound 1 was first isolated from I. polycarpa Maxim., while compound 2 was reported to be a new phenolic glycoside, which is 1-[(6'-O-(Z)-p-coumaroyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-oxy-2-phenol. The chemical structures of the four phenolic glycoside isomers were analyzed and confirmed by UPLC, UV, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR) and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) spectra. This study opens prospects for broad industrial applications of HSCCC/prep-HPLC for the isolation and purification of isomers., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

This publisher's note contains corrections to Opt. Lett.44, 5141 (2019)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.44.005141.

By exploiting the total variation (TV) regularization scheme and the contrast transfer function (CTF), a phase map can be retrieved from single-distance coherent diffraction images via the sparsity of the investigated object. However, the CTF-TV phase retrieval algorithm often struggles in the presence of strong noise, since it is based on the traditional compressive sensing optimization problem. Here, convolutional neural networks, a powerful tool from machine learning, are used to regularize the CTF-based phase retrieval problems and improve the recovery performance. This proposed method, the CTF-Deep phase retrieval algorithm, was tested both via simulations and experiments. The results show that it is robust to noise and fast enough for high-resolution applications, such as in optical, x-ray, or terahertz imaging.

Phytochemical investigation on the ethyl acetate extract of Idesia polycarpa Maxim. Leaves led to the isolation of four phenolic glycoside isomers ( 1-4 ). Compound 2 appeared to be new reported phenolic glycoside, while compound 1 was the first time isolated from the titled species. Their structures were established by IR, UV, HRESI-MS and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopies analysis and comparison of spectral data with previously reported data. The compounds 3 and 4 showed stronger activity of scavenging the DPPH free radical than the other two compounds, while the compounds 1 and 2 showed a significant activity of scavenging the ABTS free radical. Compounds 2 and 4 exhibited stronger cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell lines compared to compounds 1 and 3 . Moreover, compound 3 presented the highest cytotoxicity against MCF cell lines with IC 50 value of 37.17 ± 0.26 μg/mL than compounds 1 , 2 and 4 .

Objective: The side-lobes of a Bessel beam (BB) create a severe out-of-focus background in scanning light-sheet fluorescence microscopy, thereby extremely limiting the axial resolution. The complementary beam subtraction (CBS) method can significantly reduce the out-of-focus background by double scanning a BB and its complementary beam. However, the blurring and noise caused by the system instability during the double scanning and subtraction operations degrade the image quality significantly. Therefore, we propose a compressed blind deconvolution and denoising (CBDD) method that solves this problem., Methods: We use a unified formulation that comprehensively takes advantage of multiple compressed sensing reconstructions and blind sparse representation., Results: The simulations and experiments were performed using the microbeads and model organisms to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with the CBS light-sheet method, the proposed CBDD algorithm achieved the gain improvement in the axial and lateral resolution of about 1.81 and 2.22 times, respectively, while the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was increased by about 3 dB., Conclusion: Accordingly, the proposed method can suppress the noise level, enhance the SNR, and recover the degraded resolution simultaneously., Significance: The obtained results demonstrate the proposed CBDD algorithm is well suited to improve the imaging performance of the CBS light-sheet fluorescence microscopy.

Imaging through scattering media has been a long standing challenge in many disciplines. One of the promising solutions to address the challenge is the wavefront shaping technique, in which the phase distortion due to a scattering medium is corrected by a phase modulation device such as a spatial light modulator (SLM). However, the wide-field imaging speed is limited either by the feedback-based optimization to search the correction phase or by the update rate of SLMs. In this report, we introduce a new method called digital holographic wavefront correction, in which the correction phase is determined by a single-shot off-axis holography. The correction phase establishes the so-called "scattering lens", which allows any objects to be imaged through scattering media; in our case, the "scattering lens" is a digital one established through computational methods. As no SLM is involved in the imaging process, the imaging speed is significantly improved. We have demonstrated that moving objects behind scattering media can be recorded at the speed of 2.8 fps with each frame corrected by the updated correction phase while the image contrast is maintained as high as 0.9. The image speed can potentially reach the video rate if the computing power is sufficiently high. We have also demonstrated that the digital wavefront correction method also works when the light intensity is low, which implicates its potential usefulness in imaging dynamic processes in biological tissues.