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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most common metabolic disease of the liver, characterized by hepatic steatosis in more than 5% of hepatocytes. However, despite the recent approval of the first drug, resmetirom, for the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, decades of target exploration and hundreds of clinical trials have failed, highlighting the urgent need to find new druggable targets for the discovery of innovative drug candidates against MASLD. Here, we found that glutathione S-transferase alpha 1 (GSTA1) expression was negatively associated with lipid droplet accumulation in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of GSTA1 significantly attenuated oleic acid-induced steatosis in hepatocytes or high-fat diet-induced steatosis in the mouse liver. The hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory drug bicyclol also attenuated steatosis by upregulating GSTA1 expression. A detailed mechanism showed that GSTA1 directly interacts with fatty acid binding protein 1 (FABP1) and facilitates the degradation of FABP1, thereby inhibiting intracellular triglyceride synthesis by impeding the uptake and transportation of free fatty acids. Conclusion: GSTA1 may be a good target for the discovery of innovative drug candidates as GSTA1 stabilizers or enhancers against MASLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylanase is an essential component used to hydrolyze the xylan in wheat flour to enhance the quality of bread. Presently, cold-activated xylanase is popularly utilized to aid in the development of dough. In this study, ancestral sequence reconstruction and molecular docking of xylanase and wheat xylan were used to enhance the activity and stability of a thermophilic xylanase. The results indicated that the ancestral enzyme TmxN3 exhibited significantly improved activity and thermal stability. The Vmax increased by 2.7 times, and the catalytic efficiency (Kcat/Km) increased by 1.7 times in comparison to TmxB. After being incubated at 100 °C for 120 min, it still retained 87.3% of its activity, and the half-life in 100 °C was 330 min, while the wild type xylanase was only 55 min. This resulted in an improved shelf life of bread, while adding TmxN3 considerably enhanced its quality with excellent volume and reduced hardness, chewiness, and gumminess. The results showed that the hardness was reduced by 55.2%, the chewiness was reduced by 40.11%, and the gumminess was reduced by 53.52%. To facilitate its industrial application, we further optimized the production conditions in a 5L bioreactor, and the xylanase activity reached 1.52 × 106 U/mL culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a type of ultra-high strength steel, AerMet100 steel is used in the aerospace and military industries. Due to the fact that AerMet100 steel is difficult to machine, people have been exploring the process of additive manufacturing to fabricate AerMet100 steel. In this study, AerMet100 steel was produced using an in situ rolling hybrid with wire arc additive manufacturing. Microstructure, tensile properties, and fracture toughness of as-deposited and heat-treated AerMet100 steel were evaluated in different directions. The results reveal that the manufacturing process leads to grain fragmentation and obvious microstructural refinement of the AerMet100 steel, and weakens the anisotropy of the mechanical properties. After heat treatment, the microstructure of the AerMet100 steel is mainly composed of lath martensite and reversed austenite. Alloy carbides are precipitated within the martensitic matrix, and a high density of dislocations is the primary strengthening mechanism. The existence of film-like austenite among the martensite matrix enhances the toughness of AerMet100 steel, which coordinates stress distribution and restrains crack propagation, resulting in an excellent balance between strength and toughness. The AerMet100 steel with in situ rolling is isotropy and achieves the following values: an average ultimate strength of 1747.7 ± 16.3 MPa, yield strength of 1615 ± 40.6 MPa, elongation of 8.3 ± 0.2% in deposition direction, and corresponding values in the building direction are 1821.3 ± 22.1 MPa, 1624 ± 84.5 MPa, and 7.6 ± 1.7%, and the KIC value up to 70.6 MPa/m0.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned aerial vehicle–light detection and ranging (UAV-LiDAR) provides a convenient and economical means of forest data acquisition that can penetrate canopy gaps to obtain abundant ground information, offering huge potential in forest inventory. Individual tree segmentation is a prerequisite to obtain individual tree details but is highly dependent on the accuracy of seed point detection. However, most of the existing methods, such as the local maximum (LM) and CHM-based methods, are strongly dependent on the window size, and, for individual tree segmentation, they can result in over-segmentation and under-segmentation, especially in natural forests. In this paper, we propose an adaptive crown shaped algorithm for individual tree segmentation without consideration of the window size. It was implemented in four plots with different forest types and topographies (i.e., planted coniferous forest with flat terrain, coniferous forest with sloping terrain, mixed forest with flat terrain and broadleaf forest with flat terrain). First, the normalized point clouds were rotated and blocked at multiple angles to extract the surface points of the forest. Then, the crown boundaries were delineated by analyzing the crown profiles to extract the treetops as seed points. Finally, a region growing method based on seed points was applied for individual tree segmentation. Our results showed that the recall, precision and F1-score of seed point detection reached 91.6%, 95.9% and 0.94, respectively, and that the accuracy rates for individual tree segmentation for the four plots were 87.7%, 80.6%, 73.2% and 70.5%, respectively. Our proposed method can effectively detect seed points via the adaptive crown shaped algorithm and reduce the impacts of elongated branches by applying distance thresholds between trees, enhancing the accuracy of seed point detection and subsequently improving the precision of individual tree segmentation. In addition, the proposed algorithm demonstrated superior performance in comparison to LM and CHM-based methods for the calculation of seed points, as well as outperforming PCS in individual tree segmentation. The proposed method demonstrates effectiveness and feasibility in dense forests and natural forests, providing an important reference for future research on seed point detection and individual tree segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aniline compounds, as a class of widely used but highly toxic chemical raw materials, are increasingly being released and accumulated in the environment, posing serious threats to environmental safety and human health. Therefore, developing detection methods for aniline compounds is of particular significance. Herein, we synthesized the fluorescent third monomer cyano-stilbene epoxide M and ternary copolymerized it with carbon dioxide (CO2) and propylene oxide (PO) to synthesize carbon dioxide-based polycarbonate (PPCM) with fluorescence recognition functions, as well as excellent performance, for the first time. The results revealed that the PPCM fluorescent probe exhibited typical aggregation-induced luminescence properties and could be quenched by aniline compounds. The probe presented anti-interference-specific selectivity for aniline compounds, and the detection limit was 1.69 × 10−4 M. Moreover, it was found to be a highly sensitive aniline detection probe. At the same time, the aniline biomarker p-aminophenol in urine could also be detected, which could expand the potential applications of polymers in the fluorescence-sensing field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the mechanisms by which plants adapt to low phosphorus content in ecosystems is crucial for nutrient dynamics division. Our study investigated the growth adaptation strategies of Pinus massoniana seedlings to low phosphorus conditions, including nutrient and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) allocation, nutrient stoichiometry, and changes in nutrient resorption efficiency along a fact-based gradient. Our results showed that the total biomass and aboveground biomass proportion increased with substrate phosphorus content, reaching maximum biomass in the one-time phosphorus treatment. The nutrient concentration of components remained relatively stable, with the allocating preference to roots and needles under low phosphorus conditions. NSC was allocated as starch in fine roots and as soluble sugar in needles. Seedlings did not show signs of phosphorus limitation, even in the non-phosphorus group. The nitrogen resorption efficiency to phosphorus resorption efficiency ratio (NRE: PRE) of needles significantly varied between the high and low phosphorus treatments. In response to phosphorus deficiency, seedlings demonstrated homeostatic adjustments to maintain the relative stability of nutrient concentration. Fine roots and needles were prioritized to ensure nutrient uptake and photosynthetic product production. Additionally, it was necessary to differentiate the indicative function of nitrogen/phosphorus for various species and components, and NRE: PRE potentially provides a sensitive indicator of nutrient limitation status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The burden of cardiovascular diseases caused by ambient particulate air pollution is universal. An increasing number of studies have investigated the potential effects of exposure to particulate air pollution on endothelial function, which is one of the important mechanisms for the onset and development of cardiovascular disease. However, no previous study has conducted a summary analysis of the potential effects of particulate air pollution on endothelial function. Objectives: To summarize the evidence for the potential effects of short-term exposure to ambient particulate air pollution on endothelial function based on existing studies. Methods: A systematic literature search on the relationship between ambient particulate air pollution and biomarkers of endothelial function including endothelin-1 (ET-1), E-selectin, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Web of Science up to 20 May 2023. Subsequently, a meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model. Results: A total of 18 studies were included in this meta-analysis. A 10 μg/m3 increase in short-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 was associated with a 1.55% (95% CI: 0.89%, 2.22%) increase in ICAM-1 and a 1.97% (95% CI: 0.86%, 3.08%) increase in VCAM-1. The associations of ET-1 (0.22%, 95% CI: −4.94%, 5.65%) and E-selectin (3.21%, 95% CI: −0.90% 7.49%) with short-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 were statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Short-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 pollution may significantly increase the levels of typical markers of endothelial function, including ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, suggesting potential endothelial dysfunction following ambient air pollution exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the enhancement of the sensitivity of gravitational wave (GW) detectors and capabilities of large survey facilities, such as the Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) and the 2.5 m Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST), we now have the potential to detect an increasing number of distant kilonova (KN). However, distinguishing KN from the plethora of detected transients in ongoing and future follow-up surveys presents a significant challenge. In this study, our objective is to establish an efficient classification mechanism tailored for the follow-up survey conducted by WFST, with a specific focus on identifying KN associated with GW. We employ a novel temporal convolutional neural network architecture, trained using simulated multi-band photometry lasting for 3 days by WFST, accompanied by contextual information, i.e., luminosity distance information by GW. By comparison of the choices of contextual information, we can reach 95% precision and 94% recall for our best model. It also performs good validation of photometry data on AT2017gfo and AT2019npv. Furthermore, we investigate the ability of the model to distinguish KN in a GW follow-up survey. We conclude that there is over 80% probability that we can capture true KN in 20 selected candidates among ∼250 detected astrophysical transients that have passed the real–bogus filter and cross-matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial to detect Pb2+ accurately and rapidly. This work proposes an ultra-sensitive optical fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor functionalized with glutathione (GSH) for label-free detection of the ultra-low Pb2+ concentration, in which the refractive index (RI) sensitivity of the multimode-singlemode-multimode (MSM) hetero-core fiber is largely enhanced by the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)/Au film coupling SPR effect. The GSH is modified on the fiber as the sensing probe to capture and identify Pb2+ specifically. Its working principle is that the Pb2+ chemically reacts with deprotonated carboxyl groups in GSH through ligand bonding, resulting in the formation of stable and specific chelates, inducing the variation of the local RI on the sensor surface, which in turn leads to the SPR wavelength shift in the transmission spectrum. Attributing to the AuNPs, both the Au substrates can be fully functionalized with the GSH molecules as the probes, which largely increases the number of active sites for Pb2+ trapping. Combined with the SPR effect, the sensor achieves a sensitivity of 2.32 × 1011 nm/M and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.43 pM. It also demonstrates exceptional specificity, stability, and reproducibility, making it suitable for various applications in water pollution, biomedicine, and food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil hydrological properties play an important role in maintaining ecosystem functions. It is critical to understand how those properties respond to human disturbance especially in semi-arid areas. In the present study, we investigated the effects of different long-term grazing intensities (no grazing, light grazing, moderate grazing, and heavy grazing) on eight parameters that related to soil hydrological properties in different soil depths based on a grazing platform that was established in 2004 on a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia. The relationships among different parameters and between hydrological and chemical properties were also analyzed. The results show that grazing intensity, soil depth, and their interaction all have significant effects on soil moisture content, saturation capacity, field capacity, and bulk density. At different soil depths (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm), soil bulk density was negatively correlated with saturation capacity, capillary capacity, and non-capillary porosity but positively correlated with field capacity. Furthermore, we found that field capacity and soil moisture content were positively correlated but non-capillary soil porosity was negatively correlated with most soil nutrients. Our results indicate that overgrazing has detrimental effects on soil hydrological properties which may further negatively affect soil nutrient content. Light grazing may be an optimal grazing intensity on this semi-arid steppe with respect to soil hydrological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retailers grapple with inventory losses primarily due to missing items, prompting the need for efficient missing tag identification methods in large-scale RFID systems. Among them, few works considered the effect of unexpected unknown tags on the missing tag identification process. With the presence of unknown tags, some missing tags may be falsely identified as present. Thus, the system's reliability is hardly guaranteed. To resolve these challenges, we propose an efficient early-breaking-estimation and tree-splitting-based missing tag identification (ETMTI) protocol for large-scale RFID systems. ETMTI employs innovative early-breaking-estimation and deactivation methods to swiftly handle unknown tags. Subsequently, a tree-splitting-based missing tag identification method is proposed, employing a B-ary splitting tree, to rapidly identify missing tags. Additionally, a bit-tracking response strategy is implemented to reduce processing time. Theoretical analysis is conducted to determine optimal parameters for ETMTI. Simulation results illustrate that our proposed ETMTI protocol significantly outperforms benchmark methods, offering a shorter processing time and a lower false negative rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are no theorems (proven theories) in the biological sciences. We propose that the 3 31 nt minihelix tRNA evolution theorem be universally accepted as one. The 3 31 nt minihelix theorem completely describes the evolution of type I and type II tRNAs from ordered precursors (RNA repeats and inverted repeats). Despite the diversification of tRNAome sequences, statistical tests overwhelmingly support the theorem. Furthermore, the theorem relates the dominant pathway for the origin of life on Earth, specifically, how tRNAomes and the genetic code may have coevolved. Alternate models for tRNA evolution (i.e., 2 minihelix, convergent and accretion models) are falsified. In the context of the pre-life world, tRNA was a molecule that, via mutation, could modify anticodon sequences and teach itself to code. Based on the tRNA sequence, we relate the clearest history to date of the chemical evolution of life. From analysis of tRNA evolution, ribozyme-mediated RNA ligation was a primary driving force in the evolution of complexity during the pre-life-to-life transition. TRNA formed the core for the evolution of living systems on Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study experimentally demonstrates two types of ultra-broadband metamaterial absorbers with high performance in the visible-to-near-infrared range by using different anti-reflection coatings (i.e., SiO2 and Si3N4) and a multi-subcell Ti-SiO2-Ti metasurface. Compared to the bare metamaterial nanostructure, the absorption bandwidth of the coated metasurfaces exhibit increases of 594 nm and 1093 nm, respectively. Such improvements benefit from nearly perfect impedance matching to the free space enhanced by the anti-reflection coating, thin film interference, and excitations of different surface plasmon resonances. As a result, the absorber with SiO2 coating exhibits a measured bandwidth with an absorption of 0.9 ranging from 502 nm to 1892 nm, while the absorber with Si3N4 coating further broadens the bandwidth from 561 nm to 2450 nm. The measured average absorptions for both cases remain above 95% and 87%, respectively. Moreover, both nanostructures are robust to large incident angles of up to 60° for both TE and TM modes. Our findings highlight the promising potential of these absorbers for various applications, including solar energy harvesting, thermal emitters, and photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laccases are widely used in industrial production due to their broad substrate availability and environmentally friendly nature. However, the pursuit of laccases with superior stability and increased heterogeneous expression to meet industry demands appears to be an ongoing challenge. To address this challenge, we resurrected five ancestral sequences of laccase BsCotA and their homologues. All five variants were successfully expressed in soluble and functional forms with improved expression levels in Escherichia coli. Among the five variants, three exhibited higher catalytic rates, thermal stabilities, and acidic stabilities. Notably, AncCotA2, the best-performing variant, displayed a kcat/KM of 7.5 × 105 M−1·s−1, 5.2-fold higher than that of the wild-type BsCotA, an improved thermo- and acidic stability, and better dye decolorization ability. This study provides a laccase variant with high application potential and presents a new starting point for future enzyme engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coexistence of temperature changes and air pollution poses a severe global environmental issue, exacerbating health burdens. The aim of this study was to clarify the combined effects of ambient PM2.5 and cold exposure on the development of metabolic disorders. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups: TN-FA, TN-PM, TC-FA and TC-PM. The mice were then exposed to concentrated PM2.5 or filtered air (FA) under normal (22 °C) or cold (4 °C) environment conditions for 4 weeks. Metabolic-disorder-related indicators, blood pressure, serous lipids, fasting blood glucose and insulin, energy metabolism, mitochondria and protein expression in tissues were detected for comprehensively assessing metabolic disorder. The results showed that, compared to being exposed to PM2.5 only, when mice were exposed to both PM2.5 and the cold (non-optimal), they exhibited more significant metabolic disorders regarding glucose tolerance (p < 0.05), insulin resistance (p < 0.05), lipid metabolism, adipocytes (p < 0.01) and mitochondrial function. This study suggested that a cold environment might substantially exacerbate PM2.5-induced metabolic disorder. The interaction between temperature changes and air pollution implied that implementing the necessary environment-related policies is a critical and complex challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold stress is a major environmental factor that adversely affects the growth and productivity of tea plants. Upon cold stress, tea plants accumulate multiple metabolites, including ascorbic acid. However, the role of ascorbic acid in the cold stress response of tea plants is not well understood. Here, we report that exogenous ascorbic acid treatment improves the cold tolerance of tea plants. We show that ascorbic acid treatment reduces lipid peroxidation and increases the Fv/Fm of tea plants under cold stress. Transcriptome analysis indicates that ascorbic acid treatment down-regulates the expression of ascorbic acid biosynthesis genes and ROS-scavenging-related genes, while modulating the expression of cell wall remodeling-related genes. Our findings suggest that ascorbic acid treatment negatively regulates the ROS-scavenging system to maintain ROS homeostasis in the cold stress response of tea plants and that ascorbic acid's protective role in minimizing the harmful effects of cold stress on tea plants may occur through cell wall remodeling. Ascorbic acid can be used as a potential agent to increase the cold tolerance of tea plants with no pesticide residual concerns in tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riparian vegetation is crucial for maintaining terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, but it is threatened by land-use activities. To assess the ecological impacts of riparian vegetation conversion to an oil tea (Camellia oleifera) plantation, we quantified the responses of small mammals in two natural habitats (mature forest and flood-meadow) and in Camellia forests at the community, population, and individual level. We found that the community diversity was similar between Camellia forests and mature forests, but higher than the flood-meadow. Meanwhile, the community composition differed across three habitats, with Camellia forests favoring habitat generalist species. At the population level, Camellia forests and flood-meadow had a similar population density, which were higher than mature forests. At the individual level, Rattus nitidus was less sensitive to this conversion, but the body condition index of Niviventer confucianus was higher in Camellia forests than in mature forests, and Apodemus agrarius in Camellia forests had more ectoparasite load than in the flood-meadow, indicating a species-specific response to the impacts of oil tea plantation. Our study highlights that the occurrence of habitat generalist species and high ectoparasite loads may threaten regional biodiversity and increase the risk of parasite transmission with enlarging the oil tea plantation area within riparian zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection of solar energy in chemical bonds via dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells (DSPECs) is a reliable solution. Herein, atomic layer deposition (ALD) introduced ultrathin blocking layers (BLs) between a mesoporous TiO2 membrane and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), and much improved photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance was well documented. Samples with different BL thicknesses deposited on FTO were obtained by ALD. In the photoanode, polypyridyl Ru(II) complexes were used as photosensitizers, and Ru(bda)-type was used as a catalyst during water oxidation. Under one sun irradiation, the BL (i) increased the photocurrent density; (ii) slowed down the open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) by electrochemical measurement; (iii) increased the photo-generated electron lifetime roughly from 1 s to more than 100 s; and (iv) enhanced the water oxidation efficiency from 25% to 85% with 0.4 V of applied voltage bias. All this pointed out that the ALD technique-prepared layers could greatly hinder the photogenerated electron–hole pair recombination in the TiO2-based photoanode. This study offers critical backing for the building of molecular films by the ALD technique to split water effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric Crohn's disease (CD) presents a distinct phenotype from adult-onset disease. A dysregulated immune response is critical in CD pathogenesis; thus, it is clinically important to describe immune cell alterations and to identify a new molecular classification for pediatric CD. To this end, in this study, a RNA-seq derived dataset GSE101794—which contains the expression profiles of 254 treatment-naïve pediatric CD samples, including CIBERSORTx and weighted gene-co-expression network analysis (WGCNA)—were performed to estimate the ratio of immune cells and to identify modules and genes related to specific immune cell infiltration, respectively. Hub genes derived from WGCNA were further employed to create a molecular classification using unsupervised K-means clustering. In the pediatric CD samples, it was found that M2 macrophages, CD4+ memory resting T cells, CD8+ T cells, and resting mast cells were the most prominent immune cells in intestinal tissues. Then, 985 up-regulated genes and 860 down-regulated genes were identified in samples with high immune cell infiltration. Of these differential genes, 10 hub genes (APOA1, CYB5A, XPNPEP2, SLC1A7, SLC4A6, LIPE, G6PC, AGXT2, SLC13A1, and SOAT2) were associated with CD8+T cell infiltration. Clinically, the higher expression of these 10 hub genes was strongly associated with an earlier age of CD onset and colonic-type CD. Furthermore, based on these key genes, pediatric CD could be classified into three molecular subtypes, displaying a different immune landscape. Altogether, this in silico analysis provides a novel insight into the immune signature of pediatric CD, and a new classification of pediatric CD is presented, which may help us develop more personalized disease management and treatments for pediatric CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium is an essential trace element for health that can only be obtained through food. However, the pathological processes of selenium deficiency in cattle have received little attention. This study investigated the effects of selenium deficiency on oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammation, and necroptosis in the lungs of weaning calves compared with healthy calves as controls. The lung selenium content and the expression of 11 selenoproteins mRNA in selenium-deficient calves were substantially reduced compared with the controls. Pathological results showed engorged alveolar capillaries, thickened alveolar septa, and diffuse interstitial inflammation throughout the alveolar septa. The levels of GSH and T-AOC, as well as the CAT, SOD, and TrxR activities, were significantly decreased compared with healthy calves. MDA and H2O2 were significantly elevated. Meanwhile, the apoptosis activation in the Se-D group was validated. Next, in the Se-D group, several pro-inflammatory cytokines showed higher expression. Further research revealed that the lungs in the Se-D group experienced inflammation via hyperactive NF-κB and MAPK pathways. The high level of expression of c-FLIP, MLKL, RIPK1, and RIPK3 indicated that necroptosis also causes lung damage during selenium deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: A retrospective study was performed on 955 eligible patients with stage I lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) after surgery. The systematic oxidative stress score (SOS) was established based on three biochemical indicators, including serum creatinine (CRE), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and uric acid (UA). SOS is an independent prognostic indicator for stage I LUAD. In addition, the constructed nomogram based on SOS could accurately predict the survival of those patients. This study aimed to construct an effective nomogram based on the clinical and oxidative stress-related characteristics to predict the prognosis of stage I lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). A retrospective study was performed on 955 eligible patients with stage I LUAD after surgery at our hospital. The relationship between systematic-oxidative-stress biomarkers and the prognosis was analyzed. The systematic oxidative stress score (SOS) was established based on three biochemical indicators, including serum creatinine (CRE), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and uric acid (UA). SOS was an independent prognostic factor for stage I LUADs, and the nomogram based on SOS and clinical characteristics could accurately predict the prognosis of these patients. The nomogram had a high concordance index (C-index) (0.684, 95% CI, 0.656–0.712), and the calibration curves for recurrence-free survival (RFS) probabilities showed a strong agreement between the nomogram prediction and actual observation. Additionally, the patients were divided into two groups according to the cut-off value of risk points based on the nomogram, and a significant difference in RFS was observed between the high-risk and low-risk groups (p < 0.0001). SOS is an independent prognostic indicator for stage I LUAD. These things considered, the constructed nomogram based on SOS could accurately predict the survival of those patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of brassica yellow virus (BrYV) has increasingly damaged crucifer crops in China in recent years. In 2020, a large number of oilseed rape in Jiangsu showed aberrant leaf color. A combined RNA-seq and RT-PCR analysis identified BrYV as the major viral pathogen. A subsequent field survey showed that the average incidence of BrYV was 32.04%. In addition to BrYV, turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) was also frequently detected. As a result, two near full-length BrYV isolates, BrYV-814NJLH and BrYV-NJ13, were cloned. Based on the newly obtained sequences and the reported BrYV and turnip yellow virus (TuYV) isolates, a phylogenetic analysis was performed, and it was found that all BrYV isolates share a common root with TuYV. Pairwise amino acid identity analysis revealed that both P2 and P3 were conserved in BrYV. Additionally, recombination analysis revealed seven recombinant events in BrYV as TuYV. We also attempted to determine BrYV infection by quantitative leaf color index, but no significant correlation was found between the two. Systemic observations indicated that BrYV-infected plants had different symptoms, such as no symptom, purple stem base and red old leaves. Overall, our work proves that BrYV is closely related to TuYV and could be considered as an epidemic strain for oilseed rape in Jiangsu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the key techniques used in the perception layer of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), radio frequency identification (RFID) has been widely applied for object tracing, smart warehouse management, product line monitoring, etc. In most applications, conveyor belts are prevalently implemented to accelerate the sorting efficiency for goods management. However, in such a system, tags quickly go through the reader's reading range resulting in constant changing of the tag set and limited participating time of moving tags. As a result, it poses more challenges to the tag identification problem in mobile systems than in traditional static applications. In this work, a novel admission-control-based dynamic query tree (ACDQT) protocol is proposed for fast-moving tag identification. In ACDQT, two main strategies are developed, i.e., multi-round admission control (MRAC) and dynamic query tree recognition (DQTR). In MRAC, the reading process of multiple rounds is analyzed, and the number of admitted tags in each round is optimized. Thus, the tag lost ratio is guaranteed, and the identification process can be effectively accelerated. In DQTR, colliding tags are grouped into multiple subsets with the help of consecutive colliding bits in tag responses. By constructing a dynamic query tree, the number of collision slots is greatly reduced, and the identification efficiency in a single round is improved significantly. With MRAC and DQTR, ACDQT can support higher tag flow rate in mobile systems than existing works. Both theoretical analyses and simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of ACDQT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coaxial optical fiber interferometer (COFI) is proposed here for ammonia sensing, which comprises two light-carrying single-mode fibers (SMF) fused to a section of no-core fiber (NCF), thus forming an optical interferometer. The outer surface of the COFI is coated with a layer of polyacrylic acid (PAA)/polyaniline (PAni) film. The refractive index (RI) of the sensitive layer varies when PAA/PAni interacts with ammonia, which leads to the resonance wavelength shift. The surface morphology and structure of the PAA/PAni composites were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. When the sensor was exposed to an ammonia atmosphere of different concentrations at room temperature, the sensing performance of the PAA/PAni composite film was superior to that of a sensitive film formed by single-component PAA or PAni. According to the experimental results, the composite film formed by 5 wt% PAA mixed with 2 wt% PAni shows better performance when used for ammonia sensing. A maximum sensitivity of 9.8 pm/ppm was obtained under the ammonia concentration of 50 ppm. In addition, the sensor shows good performance in response time (100 s) and recovery time (180 s) and has good stability and selectivity. The proposed optical fiber ammonia sensor is adapted to monitor leakage in its production, storage, transportation, and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ear height (EH) and ear–plant height ratio (ER) are important agronomic traits in maize that directly affect nutrient utilization efficiency and lodging resistance and ultimately relate to maize yield. However, challenges in executing large-scale EH and ER measurements severely limit maize breeding programs. In this paper, we propose a novel, simple method for field monitoring of EH and ER based on the relationship between ear position and vertical leaf area profile. The vertical leaf area profile was estimated from Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and Drone Laser Scanner (DLS) data by applying the voxel-based point cloud method. The method was validated using two years of data collected from 128 field plots. The main factors affecting the accuracy were investigated, including the LiDAR platform, voxel size, and point cloud density. The EH using TLS data yielded R2 = 0.59 and RMSE = 16.90 cm for 2019, R2 = 0.39 and RMSE = 18.40 cm for 2021. In contrast, the EH using DLS data had an R2 = 0.54 and RMSE = 18.00 cm for 2019, R2 = 0.46 and RMSE = 26.50 cm for 2021 when the planting density was 67,500 plants/ha and below. The ER estimated using 2019 TLS data has R2 = 0.45 and RMSE = 0.06. In summary, this paper proposed a simple method for measuring maize EH and ER in the field, the results will also offer insights into the structure-related traits of maize cultivars, further aiding selection in molecular breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is a Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic bacterium that is highly adaptable to its environment. In humans, it can cause serious infections with biofilm formation. With increasing attention on its health threat, prevention and control of biofilm formation in E. faecalis have been observed. Many factors including polysaccharides as well as autolysis, proteases, and eDNA regulate biofilm formation. Those contributors are regulated by several important regulatory systems involving the two-component signal transduction system (TCS) for its adaptation to the environment. Highly conserved WalRK as one of 17 TCSs is the only essential TCS in E. faecalis. In addition to biofilm formation, various metabolisms, including cell wall construction, drug resistance, as well as interactions among regulatory systems and resistance to the host immune system, can be modulated by the WalRK system. Therefore, WalRK has been identified as a key target for E. faecalis infection control. In the present review, the regulation of WalRK on E. faecalis pathogenesis and associated therapeutic strategies are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eighth TNM staging system proposal classifies lung cancer with partial or complete atelectasis/obstructive pneumonia into the T2 category. We aimed to develop nomograms to predict the possibility of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and the prognosis for NSCLC based on atelectasis and obstructive pneumonitis. Methods: NSCLC patients over 20 years old diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The nomograms were based on risk factors that were identified by Logistic regression. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was performed to confirm the predictive values of our nomograms. Cox proportional hazards analysis and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis were also used in this study. Results: A total of 470,283 patients were enrolled. Atelectasis/obstructive pneumonitis, age, gender, race, histologic types, grade, and tumor size were defined as independent predictive factors; then, these seven factors were integrated to establish nomograms of LNM. The AUC is 0.70 (95% CI: 0.694–0.704). Moreover, the Cox proportional hazards analysis and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that the scores derived from the nomograms were significantly correlated with the survival of pathological N0 classification. Conclusion: Nomograms based on atelectasis/obstructive pneumonitis were developed and validated to predict LNM and the postoperative prognosis of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium (Se) is essential for human and animal health, but there have been few studies on the mechanisms of injury in dairy cows with Se deficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Se deficiency on myocardial injury in weaned calves. The Se-D group had significantly lower myocardial Se concentrations than the Se-C group. Histological analysis indicated that Se deficiency induced a large area of necrosis in the myocardium, accompanied by inflammatory changes. Se deficiency significantly decreased the expression of 10 of the 21 selenoprotein genes and increased the expression of SEPHS2. Furthermore, we found that oxidative stress occurred in the Se-D group by detection of redox-related indicators. Additionally, TUNEL staining showed that Se deficiency causes severe apoptosis in the myocardium, which was characterized by activating the exogenous apoptotic pathway and the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Se deficiency also induced necroptosis in the myocardium by upregulating MLKL, RIPK1, and RIPK3. Moreover, Se-deficient calves have severe inflammation in the myocardium. Se deficiency significantly reduced anti-inflammatory factor levels while increasing pro-inflammatory factor levels. We also found that the NF-κB pathway and MAPK pathway were activated in Se-deficient conditions. Our findings suggest that Se deficiency causes myocardial injury in weaned calves by regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and necroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic scintillators are of great significance in the fields of medical CT, high-energy physics and industrial nondestructive testing. In this work, we confirm that the Pb4Lu3F17: Re (Re = Tb, Eu, Sm, Dy, Ho) crystals are promising candidates for a new kind of scintillator. Detailed crystal structure information is obtained by the Rietveld refinement analysis. Upon X-ray irradiation, all these scintillators exhibited characteristic 4f-4f transitions. The Ce and Gd ions were verified to be useful for enhancing the scintillation intensity via introducing energy transfer processes. The integrated scintillation intensity of the Pb4Lu3F17: Tb/Ce is about 16.8% of the commercial CsI (Tl) single crystal. Our results manifested that Pb4Lu3F17: Re has potential application in X-ray detection and imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3-hydroxybutyrate (3OHB) has been proved to act as a neuroprotective molecule in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we employed a quantitative proteomics approach to assess the changes of the global protein expression pattern of neural cells upon 3OHB administration. In combination with a disease-related, protein-protein interaction network we pinpointed a hub marker, histone lysine 27 trimethylation, which is one of the key epigenetic markers in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Integrative analysis of transcriptomic and epigenomic datasets highlighted the involvement of bivalent transcription factors in 3OHB-mediated disease protection and its alteration of neuronal development processes. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that 3OHB impaired the fate decision process of neural precursor cells by repressing differentiation and promoting proliferation. Our study provides a new mechanism of 3OHB's neuroprotective effect, in which chromatin bivalency is sensitive to 3OHB alteration and drives its neuroprotective function both in neurodegenerative diseases and in neural development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a multi-band ultra-low power (ULP) receiver with N-Path Switched-Capacitor (NPSC) networks in 90 nm CMOS process. The NPSC is integrated into the feedback loop of the low noise amplifier (LNA) to flexibly provide narrowband input matching at multiple sub-GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) bands by adjusting the switching frequency. Moreover, the LNA with an NPSC network is utilized to suppress the out-of-band signal at the input and output of the LNA, simultaneously. In order to achieve an ultra-low power consumption, a sub-threshold LNA and four passive NPSC mixers are implemented in this receiver. The ULP receiver achieves a measured gain of 40 ± 2 dB in ISM bands (430/860/915/960 MHz). The measured noise figure and out-of-band IIP3 are 10 ± 0.5 dB and − 0.3 ± 2 dBm, respectively. The ULP receiver chip consumes 320 μ W at 0.4 V power supply and occupies a chip area of 0.31 mm 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voglibose is an α-glycosidase inhibitor that improves postprandial hyperglycemia and increases glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the anti-inflammatory effects of voglibose on the intestine, but the underlying mechanism is not clear. This study evaluated the effects and mechanisms of voglibose on glycemic control and intestinal inflammation. Type 2 diabetic KKAy mice were treated with voglibose (1 mg/kg) by oral gavage once daily. After 8 weeks, glucose metabolism, levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), systematic inflammatory factors, intestinal integrity and inflammation were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. Voglibose ameliorated glucose metabolism by enhancing basal- and glucose-dependent GLP-1 secretion. Several beneficial SCFAs, such as acetic acid and propionic acid, were increased by voglibose in the fecal sample. Additionally, voglibose notably decreased the proportion of pro-inflammatory macrophages and the expression of nuclear factor kappa B but increased the expression of tight junction proteins in the ileum, thus markedly improving intestinal inflammatory damage and reducing the systematic inflammatory factors. Ileal genomics and protein validation suggested that voglibose attenuated inositol-requiring protein 1α-X-box binding protein 1-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). Together, these results showed that voglibose enhanced the secretion of GLP-1, which contributed to the glycemic control in KKAy mice at least in part by regulating intestinal inflammation and the expression of ERS factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With high penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs), advanced microgrid distribution networks are considered to be promising for covering uncertainties from the generation side with demand response (DR). This paper analyzes the effectiveness of multi-objective optimization in the optimal resource scheduling with consumer fairness under renewable generation uncertainty. The concept of consumer fairness is considered to provide optimal conditions for power gaps and time gaps. At the same time, it is used to mitigate system peak conditions and prevent creating new peaks with the optimal solution. Multi-objective gray wolf optimization (MOGWO) is applied to solve the complexity of three objective functions. Moreover, the best compromise solution (BCS) approach is used to determine the best solution from the Pareto-optimal front. The simulation results show the effectiveness of renewable power uncertainty on the aggregate load profile and operation cost minimization. The results also provide the performance of the proposed optimal scheduling with a DR program in reducing the uncertainty effect of renewable generation and preventing new peaks due to over-demand response. The proposed DR is meant to adjust the peak-to-average ratio (PAR) and generation costs without compromising the end-user's comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlation between cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and the outcomes of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients after endovascular therapy (EVT) remains elusive. We aimed to investigate the effect of combined white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS) as detected in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline on clinical outcomes in patients with AIS who underwent EVT. AIS patients that experienced EVT were retrospectively analyzed in this single-center study. Using MRIs taken prior to EVT, we rated WMH and EPVS as the burden of CSVD and dichotomized the population into two groups: absent-to-moderate and severe. Neurological outcome was assessed at day 90 with a modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), early neurological deterioration (END), malignant cerebral edema (MCE), and hospital death were secondary outcomes. Of the 100 patients (64.0% male; mean age 63.71 ± 11.79 years), periventricular WMHs (28%), deep WMHs (41%), EPVS in basal ganglia (53%), and EPVS in centrum semiovale (73%) were observed. In addition, 69% had an absent-to-moderate total CSVD burden and 31.0% had a severe burden. The severe CSVD was not substantially linked to either the primary or secondary outcomes. Patients with AIS who underwent EVT had an elevated risk (OR: 7.89, 95% CI: 1.0, 62.53) of END if they also had EPVS. When considering WMH and EPVS together as a CSVD burden, there seemed to be no correlation between severe CSVD burden and sICH, END, or MCE following EVT for AIS patients. Further studies are warranted to clarify the relationship between CSVD burden and the occurrence, progression, and prognosis of AIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The granite buried hill gas reservoir in YL area of Qiongdongnan basin faces a serious problem of solid production, which seriously affects gas well production and reduces economic benefits; however, the solid production mechanism of fractured granite reservoirs is still unclear. In this study, the reasons for solid production were revealed and the mechanism was clarified based on the analysis of geological and mechanical characteristics of the granite buried hill reservoir. The solid production of fractured granite reservoirs can be divided into three modes, those being shedding of fracture filling and solid particles on the fracture wall, shear slip failure along the fracture, and shear failure of granite matrix. Take the YL area in the Qiongdongnan Basin as an example, the solid production of fractured granite reservoirs is mainly based on shedding of fracture filling and solid particles on the fracture wall and shear slip failure along the fracture, the possibility of shear failure of granite matrix is less. In addition, the closer the wellbore, the greater the risk of shedding of fracture filling and solid particles on the fracture wall. The high-angle fractures have a greater risk of shear slip failure. In addition, the direction of the minimum horizontal principal stress is higher risk of solid production. The research provides the basis and foundation for safe and efficient development of fractured granite reservoirs and for later measure selection and optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between folic acid and iron nutrition during pregnancy and congenital heart disease (CHD) in the offspring. Methods: Conditional logistic regression models and nonlinear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the effects of folic acid and iron nutrition during pregnancy on CHD in offspring. Results: After adjusting for confounders, folic acid or iron supplementation during pregnancy reduced the risk for fetal CHD (OR = 0.60 (0.45, 0.82) or 0.36 (0.27, 0.48)). Similarly, dietary iron intake during pregnancy (≥29 mg/d) was associated with a reduced risk of fetal CHD (OR = 0.64 (0.46, 0.88)). Additionally, compared with women who only supplemented folic acid (OR = 0.59 (0.41, 0.84)) or iron (OR = 0.32 (0.16, 0.60)), women who supplemented both folic acid and iron had lower risk for newborns with CHD (OR = 0.22 (0.15, 0.34)). Similarly, compared with women who only supplemented folic acid (OR = 0.59 (0.41, 0.84)) or higher dietary iron intake (≥29 mg/d) (OR = 0.60 (0.33, 1.09)), women who supplemented both folic acid and higher dietary iron intake (≥29 mg/d) had lower risk for the newborn with CHD (OR = 0.41 (0.28, 0.62)). The combined effects were significant in the multiplication model (OR = 0.35 (0.26, 0.48) or 0.66 (0.50, 0.85)) but not in the additive model. Conclusions: Our study found that folic acid and iron nutrition during pregnancy were associated with a reduced risk of CHD in the offspring and confirmed a statistically significant multiplicative interaction between folic acid and iron nutrition on the reduced risk of CHD in offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Data analysis and processing system, Neural network system, Accelerator and Coprocessor. In this paper, we propose an optimized method for nonlinear function approximation based on multiplierless piecewise linear approximation computation (ML-PLAC), which we call OML-PLAC. OML-PLAC finds the minimum number of segments with the predefined fractional bit width of input/output, maximum number of shift-and-add operations, user-defined widths of intermediate data, and maximum absolute error (MAE). In addition, OML-PLAC minimizes the actual MAE as much as possible by iterating. As a result, under the condition of satisfying the maximum number of segments, the MAE can be minimized. Tree-cascaded 2-input and 3-input multiplexers are used to replace multi-input multiplexers in hardware architecture as well, reducing the depth of the critical path. The optimized method is applied to logarithmic, antilogarithmic, hyperbolic tangent, sigmoid and softsign functions. The results of the implementation prove that OML-PLAC has better performance than the current state-of-the-art method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: According to reports from more than a decade ago, the proportion of primary salivary gland-type carcinoma (SGC) among all lung cancers is only 0.1–1.0% and the 5-year overall survival rate is more than 60%. However, previous reported studies mostly had small sample sizes due to the low proportion of primary SGC in lung cancer. The characteristics of SGC proportion and prognosis have not yet been elucidated. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical and prognostic characteristics of primary SGC. This study found that lung SGC has the best prognosis among adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and SGC. In addition, lobectomy can further improve the prognosis of SGCs. This study aimed to explore the clinical and prognostic characteristics of primary salivary gland-type carcinoma (SGC). The entire cohort from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to calculate the SGC proportion. In total, 253,096 eligible patients, including 165,715 adenocarcinomas (ADCs), 87,062 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), and 319 SGCs, were selected to perform survival analyses. The data of 42 SGC patients from our hospital showed postoperative survival. Overall survival (OS) curves for different histological and surgical types were presented. The proportion of primary SGCs was 0.8 per 1000 patients. Patients with age ≤ 64 years old had a much higher proportion of SGC than those patients with age >64 years old. After adjusting for other confounders, among ADCs, SCCs, and SGC, SGCs had the best prognosis (HR 0.361, p < 0.001). Moreover, the 5-year OS rates of SGC patients were 55% and 7% in the group with surgery or without surgery, respectively (p < 0.001). The data of 42 patients from our hospital also showed a good survival of SGCs. Lobectomy improved the survival of SGCs significantly (adjusted HR 0.439, p = 0.016). In conclusion, pulmonary SGCs had the best prognosis among ADCs, SCCs, and SGCs. In addition, lobectomy could further improve the prognostic outcomes of SGCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A precise air pollution forecast is the basis for targeted pollution control and sustained improvements in air quality. It is desirable and crucial to select the most suitable model for air pollution forecasting (APF). To achieve this goal, this paper provides a comprehensive evaluation of performances of different models in simulating the most common air pollutants (e.g., PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and CO) in Guangzhou (23.13° N, 113.26° E), China. To simulate temporal variations of the above-mentioned air pollutant concentrations in Guangzhou in September and October 2020, we use a numerical forecasting model (i.e., the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem)) and two artificial intelligence models (i.e., the back propagation neural network (BPNN) model and the long short-term memory (LSTM) model). WRF-Chem is also used to simulate the meteorological elements (e.g., the 2 m temperature (T2), 2 m relative humidity (RH), and 10 m wind speed and direction (WS, WD)). In order to investigate the simulation accuracies of classical APF models, we simultaneously compare the simulations of the WRF-Chem, BPNN, and LSTM models to ground truth observations. Comparative assessment results show that WRF-Chem simulated air pollutant (i.e., PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and CO) concentrations have the best correlations with ground measurements (i.e., Pearson correlation coefficient R = 0.88, 0.73, 0.61, and 0.61, respectively). Furthermore, to evaluate model performance in terms of accuracy and stability, the normalized mean bias (NMB, %) and mean fractional bias (MFB, %) are adopted as the standard performance metrics (SPMs) proposed by Boylan et al. The comparison results indicate that when simulating PM2.5, WRF-Chem was more effective than the BPNN but less effective than the LSTM. While simulating concentrations of NO2, SO2, and CO, the WRF-Chem model performed better than the BPNN and LSTM models. With regards to WRF-Chem, the NMBs and MFBs for the PM2.5 simulations are, respectively, 6.49% and 0.02%, –11.96% and –0.031% for NO2, 7.93% and 0.019% for CO, and 5.04% and 0.012% for SO2. Our results suggest that WRF-Chem has superior performance and better accuracy than the NN-based prediction models, making it a promising and useful tool to accurately predict and forecast regional air pollutant concentrations on a city scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to satisfy the basic requirements of sustainable agricultural development, it is important to understand the spatial distribution characteristics of soil total nitrogen (TN) content to better guide accurate fertilization to increase grain yield. To this end, this paper constructs three inversion models of partial least squares regression (PLSR), back propagation neural network (BPNN) and support vector machines (SVM) with remote sensing data to predict the TN content in Datong County, Xining City, Qinghai Province, China. The results showed that the average TN content was 1.864 g/kg, and the coefficient of variation (CV) was 30.596%. The prediction accuracy of the SVM model (R2 = 0.676, RMSE = 0.296) among the three inversion models was higher than that of the BPNN model (R2 = 0.560, RMSE = 0.305) and the PLSR model (R2 = 0.374, RMSE = 0.334). The model with the highest accuracy predicted the spatial distribution of TN, and TN content showed a spatial distribution trend which was high in the northwest and low in the southeast, and gradually decreased from north to south. This study provides reference basis and support for soil fertility evaluations and sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation play key roles in the onset and development of diabetic complications such as diabetic nephropathy (DN). Diphenyl diselenide (DPDS) is a stable and simple organic selenium compound with anti-hyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative activities. Nevertheless, in vitro, the role and molecular mechanism of DPDS on DN remains unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effects of DPDS on tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative stress and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in rat glomerular mesangial (HBZY-1) cells and explored the underlying mechanisms. DPDS attenuated t-BHP-induced cytotoxicity, concurrent with decreased intracellular ROS and MDA contents and increased SOD activity and GSH content. Moreover, DPDS augmented the protein and mRNA expression of Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1, and GCLC in t-BHP-stimulated HBZY-1 cells. In addition, DPDS suppressed LPS-induced elevations of intracellular content and mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and TNF-α. Furthermore, LPS-induced NFκB activation and high phosphorylation of JNK and ERK1/2 were markedly suppressed by DPDS in HBZY-1 cells. In summary, these data demonstrated that DPDS improves t-BHP-induced oxidative stress by activating the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway, and also improves LPS-induced inflammation via inhibition of the NFκB/MAPK pathways in HBZY-1 cells, suggesting that DPDS has the potential to be developed as a candidate for the prevention and treatment of DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this study, we aimed to establish a visual, rapid, low-cost, sensitive, specific, and portable nucleic acid detection method for PCV2 through coupling LAMP with CRISPR/Cas12a. All the results of LAMP-CRISPR detection, including a low detectable limit of 1 copy/μL, no cross-reaction with main porcine DNA or RNA viruses, and a 100% coincidence rate with qPCR detection, demonstrated that this method was reliable. It has laid the foundation for developing a PCV2 detection kit based on this LAMP-CRISPR method. Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) is the main pathogen of porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD), which can cause considerable economic loss to the pig industry. The diagnosis of PCVAD is complicated and requires a series of clinical, pathological, and virological methods. Therefore, a rapid, highly sensitive, on-site, and visual diagnostic approach would facilitate dealing with the spread of PCV2. In this study, we intended to establish a new and effective PCV2 detection method through combining the no specific equipment requirement advantage of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with the property of clustered regular interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas12a system possessing the huLbCas12a collateral cleavage activity able to cleave single-stranded DNA fluorophore quencher probe sensor (designed as LAPM-CRISPR). Following a series of optimizations of its reaction conditions, this LAMP-CRISPR-based PCV2 detection could be conducted in constant temperature equipment, with the result reflected in a direct visual readout way. This established PCV2 detection approach presented fine sensitivity, rapidity, specificity, and reliability, as demonstrated by a low detectable limit of 1 copy/μL, completed within an hour, no cross-reaction with main porcine DNA or RNA viruses like PCV1, PCV3, and PEDV, and a 100% coincidence rate with that of the quantitative PCR (qPCR) method in the evaluation of 30 clinical blood samples, respectively. Therefore, this novel method makes rapid, on-site, visual, highly sensitive, and specific detection of PCV2 possible, facilitating the prevention of this pathogen in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the requirements of modern portable electronics for high accuracy and low power consumption of bandgap reference circuits, a new low-voltage bandgap reference with a second-order compensated circuit at 1.8 V is proposed. It features a new self-biased fully symmetric differential operational amplifier circuit with the help of split transistors for achieving low power consumption and high accuracy; by adding a new sub-threshold compensated circuit. The results of simulation show that the temperature coefficient of the second-order circuit is 3.95 ppm/°C in the temperature range of −40 to 125 °C, and the power consumption is only 7.5 μW; this meets both the requirements of high precision and low power consumption. At the same time, the output noise voltage of the design is less than 30 μV/sqrt (Hz) at a frequency of 100 Hz, and the low-frequency supply voltage rejection ratio is −103 dB@100 Hz; these are acceptable for bandgap reference circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The therapeutic effect of postoperative radiotherapy for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients with limited stage remained unclear. The aim of this retrospective study was to construct and validate a nomogram to assess the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer patients followed surgery in a large cohort (882 patients) which involved patients from Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. The nomogram derived from the training cohort achieved good predictive ability and could discriminate low- and high-risk subgroups in four cohorts. Postoperative radiotherapy promoted survival for high-risk patients but had little effect on low-risk patients. Moreover, by subgroup analysis based on the N stage, we suggested that N2 patients in the high-risk subgroup could benefit more from postoperative radiotherapy. Therefore, our nomogram might help with clinical decisions on the strategy of postoperative radiotherapy for SCLC patients. This study constructed and validated a prognostic model to evaluate the survival of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients following surgery, and shed light on the strategy of postoperative radiotherapy. A total of 882 patients from Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database after lung resection were selected. Multivariable Cox analysis was used to identify the indicators affecting long-term survival in patients. A nomogram was constructed to predict the prognosis of eligible patients. Indices of concordance (C-index) was used to access the predictive ability of cancer-specific survival (CSS) for the prognostic model. CSS discrimination in the prognostic model was comparable in the training and validation cohorts (C-index = 0.637[NORAD-T], 0.660[NORAD-V], 0.656[RAD] and 0.627[our hospital], respectively. Stratification based on the cutoff value of the nomogram yielded low- and high-risk subgroups in four cohorts. For patients in the high-risk group, postoperative radiotherapy was considered a survival-promoting strategy (unadjusted HR 0.641, 95% CI 0.469–0.876, p = 0.0046). In the low-risk group, however, the implementation of radiotherapy barely had an influence on CSS. In conclusion, the nomogram we constructed and validated could predict the prognosis of SCLC patients followed surgery and identify high-risk patients who were likely to benefit from postoperative radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared bikes as a public transport provide convenience for short-distance travel. Whilst they also act as a potential vector for antimicrobial resistant (AR) bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). However, the understanding of the whole genome sequence of AR strains and ARGs-carrying plasmids collected from shared bikes is still lacking. Here, we used the HiSeq platform to sequence and analyze 24 Escherichia coli isolated from shared bikes around Metro Stations in Beijing. The isolates from shared bikes showed 14 STs and various genotypes. Two blaNDM-5 and blaCTX-M-199-producing ST167 E. coli have 16 resistance genes, four plasmid types and show >95% of similarities in core genomes compared with the ST167 E. coli strains from different origins. The blaNDM-5- or blaCTX-M-199-carrying plasmids sequencing by Nanopore were compared to plasmids with blaNDM-5- or blaCTX-M-199 originated from humans and animals. These two ST167 E. coli show high similarities in core genomes and the plasmid profiles with strains from hospital inpatients and farm animals. Our study indicated that ST167 E. coli is retained in diverse environments and carried with various plasmids. The analysis of strains such as ST167 can provide useful information for preventing or controlling the spread of AR bacteria between animals, humans and environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low light and drought often limit the growth and performance of Masson pines (Pinus massoniana) in the subtropical forest ecosystem of China. We speculated that stress-induced defensive secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids and terpenoids, might influence the growth of Masson pines, considering the existence of tradeoffs between growth and defense. However, the mechanisms of Masson pines responsive to low light and drought at the levels of these two metabolites remain unclear. In the present work, the compositions of flavonoids and terpenoids, as well as their biosynthetic pathways, were revealed through metabolome and transcriptome analyses, respectively, coupled with a study on carbon allocation using a 13CO2-pulse-labeling experiment in two-year-old seedlings under low light (LL), drought (DR), and their combined stress (DL) compared to a control (CK). A total of 35 flavonoids and derivatives (LL vs. CK: 18; DR vs. CK: 20; and DL vs. CK: 18), as well as 29 terpenoids and derivatives (LL vs. CK: 23; DR vs. CK: 13; and DL vs. CK: 7), were differentially identified in the leaves. Surprisingly, most of them were decreased under all three stress regimes. At the transcriptomic level, most or all of the detected DEGs (differentially expressed genes) involved in the biosynthetic pathways of flavonoids and terpenoids were downregulated in phloem and xylem under stress treatments. This indicated that stress treatments limited the production of flavonoids and terpenoids. The reduction in the 13C allocation to stems might suggest that it is necessary for maintaining the growth of Masson pine seedlings at the whole-plant level by attenuating energetic resources to the biosynthetic pathways of flavonoids and terpenoids when facing the occurrence of adverse environments. Our results provide new insight into understanding the acclimation strategy of Masson pines or other conifers in adverse environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poleroviruses are positive-sense, single-stranded viruses. In this study, we describe the identification of a novel polerovirus isolated from soybean displaying curled leaves. The complete viral genome sequence was identified using high-throughput sequencing and confirmed using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. Its genome organization is typical of the members of genus Polerovirus, containing seven putative open reading frames (ORFs). The full genome is composed of single-stranded RNA of 5822 nucleotides in length, with the highest nucleotide sequence identity (79.07% with 63% coverage) for cowpea polerovirus 2 (CPPV2). Amino acid sequence identities of the protein products between the virus and its relatives are below the threshold determined by the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) for species demarcation, and this strongly supports this virus' status as a novel species, for which the name soybean chlorotic leafroll virus (SbCLRV) is proposed. Recombination analysis identified a recombination event in the ORF5 of the 3' portion in the genome. Phylogenetic analyses of the genome and encoded protein sequences revealed that the new virus is closely related to phasey bean mild yellows virus, CPPV2 and siratro latent polerovirus. Subsequently, we demonstrated the infectivity of SbCLRV in Nicotiana benthamiana via infectious cDNA clone generation and agroinoculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]