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This study investigated the association between the decline of the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index and several family-level and individual-level factors among 6- to 18-year-old Taiwanese children from 2012 to 2020.This study used data from the 2012 and 2020 Taiwan National Oral Health Survey of Children and Adolescents. Both surveys used similar methods and were performed in the same study age group. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on parents' sociodemographic background; the number of children in the family; oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours; and children's dietary habits. Dental caries was recorded through standardized oral examinations. Multivariable multilevel zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were used to determine the association between family-level and individual-level factors and the DMFT index from 2012 to 2020.A total of 10 217 and 10 436 schoolchildren completed the oral examinations and questionnaires in the 2012 and 2020 surveys, respectively. The adjusted mean DMFT index of 12-year-old Taiwanese schoolchildren in 2020 was 2.01, denoting a significant decline from 2.50 in 2012 (adjusted mean ratio = 0.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.17, 0.23, p .0001). Furthermore, children who often consumed sugar-rich drinks had a significantly higher risk (mean ratio = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.10) of having DMFT than those who seldom consumed such drinks (p = .017).In the period of 2012-2020, the DMFT index among Taiwanese children significantly declined. Children who often consumed sugar-rich drinks had a higher DMFT index than those who seldom consumed such drinks. Our findings are valuable to paediatricians, dentists, nutritionists, and public health policymakers.

Artemisia annua is the major natural source of artemisinin, an anti-malarial medicine commonly used worldwide. Here, we present chromosome-level haploid maps for two A. annua strains with different artemisinin contents to explore the relationships between genomic organization and artemisinin production. High-fidelity sequencing, optical mapping, and chromatin conformation capture sequencing were used to assemble the heterogeneous and repetitive genome and resolve the haplotypes of A. annua. Approximately 50,000 genes were annotated for each haplotype genome, and a triplication event that occurred approximately 58.12 million years ago was examined for the first time in this species. A total of 3,903,467-5,193,414 variants (SNPs, indels, and structural variants) were identified in the 1.5-Gb genome during pairwise comparison between haplotypes, consistent with the high heterozygosity of this species. Genomic analyses revealed a correlation between artemisinin concents and the copy number of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase genes. This correlation was further confirmed by resequencing of 36 A. annua samples with varied artemisinin contents. Circular consensus sequencing of transcripts facilitated the detection of paralog expression. Collectively, our study provides chromosome-level allele-aware genome assemblies for two A. annua strains and new insights into the biosynthesis of artemisinin and its regulation, which will contribute to conquering malaria worldwide.

Corrosion behavior of 7A52 aluminum alloy plasma arc welding (PAW) joint was investigated in simulation of marine atmosphere environment with salt water spray test. The surface morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the effect of corrosion time on corrosion behavior was discussed. The depth of spot corrosion, the corrosion dynamic characteristics, and the distribution of element of 7A52 aluminum alloy welding joint were analyzed by 3D and XRD Microscope. Results show that pitting corrosion is main morphology in heat effect zone at initial stage, pitting corrosion appears in matrix and welding joint with time. The main component compounds existing in the film include Al and O. The depth of pitting corrosion in the heat effect region is the maximum (3.008μm). The law of power function is followed in both phases of the corrosion weight increasing curve, and the corrosion rate decreases with time.

Directly monitoring the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) process in situ is very important to deeply understand the reaction mechanism and is a critical guideline for the design of high-efficiency catalysts, but there is still lack of definite in situ evidence to clarify the effect between adsorbed intermediates and the strain/electronic effect for enhanced ORR performance. Herein, in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was employed to detect the intermediates during the ORR process on the Au@Pd@Pt core/shell heterogeneous nanoparticles (NPs). Direct spectroscopic evidence of the *OOH intermediate was obtained, and an obvious red shift of the *OOH frequency was identified with the controllable shell thickness of Pd. Detailed experimental characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that such improved ORR activity after inducing Pd into Au@Pt NPs can be attributed to the optimized adsorbate-substrate interaction due to the strain and electronic effect, leading to a higher Pt-O binding energy and a lower O-O binding energy, which was conducive to O-O dissociation and promoted the subsequent reaction. Notably, this work illustrates a relationship between the performance and strain/electronic effect via the intermediate detected by SERS and paves the way for the construction of ORR electrocatalysts with high performance.

AU-GSB e-Journal, 16, 1, 90-99

Additional file 1.

A tremendous amount of proteomic and phosphoproteomic data has been produced over the years with the development of mass spectrometry techniques, providing us with new opportunities to explore and understand the proteome and phosphoproteome as well as the function of proteins and protein phosphorylation sites. However, a lack of powerful tools that we can utilize to explore these valuable data limits our understanding of the proteome and phosphoproteome, particularly in diseases such as cancer. To address these unmet needs, we established CPPA (Cancer Proteome and Phosphoproteome Atlas), a web tool to mine abnormalities of the proteome and phosphoproteome in cancer based on published data sets. All analysis results are presented in CPPA with a flexible web interface to provide key customization utilities, including general analysis, differential expression profiling, statistical analysis of protein phosphorylation sites, correlation analysis, similarity analysis, survival analysis, pathological stage analysis, etc. CPPA greatly facilitates the process of data mining and therapeutic target discovery by providing a comprehensive analysis of proteomic and phosphoproteomic data in normal and tumor tissues with a simple click, which helps to unlock the precious value of mass spectrometry data by bridging the gap between raw data and experimental biologists. CPPA is currently available at https://cppa.site/cppa.

BackgroundSending a patient to the operating room is the first step in surgery. Delayed patient transport causes the patient to go hungry for a longer time, aggravating the patient’s physical discomfort and psychological stress. The issue of delays in transporting inpatients to the operating room has rarely been discussed in the literature. The Toyota production system is a famous and excellent scientific method of reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Our goal is to use the Toyota method to decrease the time required to transport the inpatient to the operating room and to review the concepts underlying lean thinking.MethodsWe employed an A3 8-step problem-solving process. A current value stream map featuring numerical data (concerning 46 patients) measured in the workplace was developed. The total time spent on transport was 53 min, but we expected patients to be transported within 30 min. We hoped to reduce the time wasted by half, i.e., by 23*50% = 12 min. These 12 min were saved by reducing the time spent on “waiting for an attendant at the ward” by 9 min and the time spent on “elevator transport” by 3 min. According to the value stream map featuring the time measurements, the root causes of delayed transportation can be divided into process-related, attendant-related, and elevator-related factors. We formulated 5 countermeasures. The ECRS (Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simplify) technique was used to rearrange, combine, and simplify the existing process. Hospital executives established norms for attendant prioritization of work and rules for elevator use.ResultsAccording to the original indicators, all goals were attained. “Total time spent” decreased by 62.3%. The time required for attendants to report to the nursing station decreased by 56.5%. The time spent on elevator transport decreased by 44.4%. We developed a process for future use based on information-assisted patient and staff identification. Finally, we standardized successful processes.ConclusionThe seemingly trivial factors that delay patient transport are associated with seven types of waste. The A3 8-step problem-solving process is useful in this context. In proposing this improvement process, we believe that we are following the spirit of the Toyota production system.

Background: Metabolic reprogramming caused by SHMT1/2, as key enzymes in one-carbon metabolism, has been considered to play a critical role in occurrence and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SHMT1/2 genes and susceptibility of HCC remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between four candidate SNPs in SHMT1/2 and risk of HCC in Chinese population. Materials and methods: A case-control study including 514 HCC patients and 234 controls was performed to determine associations between SNPs of SHMT1/2 and HCC risk,isolated via mass spectrometry. Results: Our data revealed that SHMT2 rs2229717 was significantly associated with HCC risk when compared to healthy controls under multiple genetic models (Allele T: odds ratio (OR) = 0.73, P=0.023; Dominant Model: OR = 0.72, P=0.044). When our cohort was stratified by sex, male subjects with the T allele and TT genotype for rs2229717 exhibited a decreased risk for HCC risk (OR=0.67, 95%CI=0.50-0.91; OR=0.43, 95%CI=0.18-0.99). In addition, after age stratification was executed, the results showed that both the T allele and the GT genotype for rs2229717 were less common in HCC patients under 50 years old. Conclusion: These data indicate that rs2229717is a predisposing factor for HCC and may affect the occurrence of HCC in various age or sex subgroups, suggesting that SHMT2 rs2229717may be as a useful predictive or diagnostic tool for HCC in some populations.

The motility of macrophages in response to microenvironment stimuli is a hallmark of innate immunity, where macrophages play pro-inflammatory or pro-reparatory roles depending on their activation status during wound healing. Cell size and shape have been informative in defining macrophage subtypes, but their link to motility properties is unknown, despite M1 and M2 macrophages exhibiting distinct migratory behaviors,in vitro, in 3D andin vivo. We apply both morphology and motility-based image processing approaches to analyze live cell images consisting of macrophage phenotypes. Macrophage subtypes are differentiated from primary murine bone marrow derived macrophages using a potent lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4). We show that morphology is tightly linked to motility, which leads to our hypothesis that motility analysis could be used alone or in conjunction with morphological features for improved prediction of macrophage subtypes. We train a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to predict macrophage subtypes based on morphology alone, motility alone, and both morphology and motility combined. We show that motility has comparable predictive capabilities as morphology. However, using both measures can enhance predictive capabilities. While motility and morphological features can be individually ambiguous identifiers, together they provide significantly improved prediction accuracies (>79%) using only phase contrast time-lapse microscopy and a small unique cell count for training (∼250). Thus, the approach combining cell motility and cell morphology information can accurately assess functionally diverse macrophage phenotypes quickly and efficiently. Our approach offers a cost efficient and high through-put method for screening biochemicals targeting macrophage polarization with small datasets.SignificancePrevious work has shown that macrophage phenotypes can be distinguished by their morphological characteristics. We extend this work to show that distinct motility patterns are linked to macrophage morphology. Thus, motility patterns can be used to differentiate phenotypes. This can enable high-throughput classification of cell phenotypes without regard for the high-resolution images needed to back out morphological characteristics. Furthermore, combining motility-based features with morphological information improves prediction of macrophage subtypes by a machine learning based classification model.

Ecofriendly adsorbent materials for the rapid and efficient removal of pollutant dyes are highly desired on account of concerns about environmental pollution and human health. Herein, novel magnetic HC/Fe3O4 spherical materials have been constructed via crosslinking hydroxyethyl cellulose (HC) by poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PGDE) followed by the introduce of magnetic Fe3O4 by a facile and effective strategy developed in this work. The morphology, structure and magnetic behavior of the spherical materials have been systematically investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques. Further, the spherical materials were utilized to remove congo red (CR-SO3Na) from aqueous solution under varying adsorption conditions. Meanwhile, the adsorption kinetics, thermodynamics and isothermics have been achieved to explore the adsorption process and possible adsorption mechanism of CR-SO3Na by the spherical materials. The materials show not only an efficient capacity of CR-SO3Na removal from aqueous solution, but also a sufficient magnetic property of the recovery of the materials from aqueous solution after adsorption. The spherical materials have great potential to be used as efficient adsorbents for the removal of dye-containing effluent.

In this research, enrichment factor (EF) and pollution load index (PLI) were utilized to explore the contamination characteristics of toxic elements (TEs). The results exhibited that the study area was mainly moderately polluted, and the EF values of Cd, Zn, Pb, Cu and Sb were all > 1, which were cumulative. The concentrations of Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb increased with the decrease of dust particle size. The investigation results of chemical speciation and bioavailability of TEs showed that Zn had the highest bioavailability. Three sources of TEs were determined by positive matrix factorization (PMF), Pearson correlation analysis and geostatistical analyst, comprising factor 1 mixed sources of industrial and transportation activities (46.62%), factor 2 natural source (25.56%) and factor 3 mixed source of agricultural activities and the aging of park infrastructures (27.82%). Potential ecological risk (PER) and human health risk (HHR) based on PMF model were exploited to estimate PER and HHR of TEs from different sources. The PER value of TE in the park dust was 114, indicating that ecological risk in the study area was relatively high. Factor 1 contributed the most to PER, and the pollution of Cd was the most serious. There were no significant carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks for children and adults in the study area. And factor 3 was the biggest source of non-carcinogenic risk, As, Cr and Pb were the chief contributor to non-carcinogenic risk. The primary source of carcinogenic risk was factor 2, Cr was the cardinal cancer risk element.

Two-dimensional InSe/MoSi2N4 van der Waals heterostructure is a potential photocatalyst for overall water splitting because of its suitable band gap (1.61 eV) and strong visible-light absorption.

The Qin–Hang suture belt in South China formed during the Neoproterozoic amalgamation between the Cathaysia and Yangtze blocks. There are several Jurassic porphyry–skarn Cu deposits in this region, and the factors controlling the mineralization potential remain unclear. This study reports geochemical data for the Tongshan skarn deposit and zircon trace element data for five porphyry- or skarn-type Cu deposits in this region, in order to identify geochemical indexes for the mineralization potential of the ore-related intrusions. A garnet U–Pb age (170 Ma) for the Tongshan skarn indicates that Cu mineralization occurred in the Middle Jurassic, which is consistent with the zircon U–Pb ages (173 Ma–171 Ma) of the host granodiorite porphyries. Granodiorite porphyry samples from the Tongshan deposit have moderately high SiO2 contents (64.4–65.0 wt%), low MgO contents (1.39–1.47 wt%), and high (La/Yb)N ratios (14.7–16.8), typical of low-Mg adakitic rocks. The whole-rock geochemistry, bulk Earth-like eNd (t) values (–1.5 to –1.6) and positive zircon eHf(t) values (+2.7 to +6.0), corresponding to two-stage Hf model ages of 1014–832 Ma, suggest the porphyries were derived from thickened juvenile lower crust initially generated during Neoproterozoic amalgamation. In addition, the porphyry samples have arc-like geochemical characteristics (Nb–Ta–Ti depletion), low Th/Yb ratios (average = 4.7), high Ba/Th ratios (average = 346), zircon Eu/Eu* values (average = 0.71) and 10000×(Eu/Eu*)/Y values (average = 6.80), and moderate zircon Ce/Ce* values (average = 705) and Ce/Nd ratios (average = 17.1). These features demonstrate that the parental magmas of the porphyries were formed by melting of a mantle wedge. That had been metasomatized by moderately oxidized slab-derived fluid near a Neoproterozoic subduction zone. Previous studies suggest porphyries from large to giant deposit (e.g., Dexing and Yinshan) have similar two-stage Hf model ages and were derived from Neoproterozoic juvenile crust. But these porphyries have higher whole–rock Th/Yb ratios and zircon Ce/Ce* and Ce/Nd values than those of intrusions from medium-sized deposits (e.g., Tongshan, Chuankeng and Jiande). This indicates that the magma source of the former may have been distant from the trench in the Neoproterozoic, and formed by melting of a mantle wedge that had been metasomatized by highly oxidized slab-derived melt. Our results and previously published data indicate that the Neoproterozoic two-stage Hf model ages of the intrusions are positive indicators of Jurassic Cu mineralization, and granitoids with relatively high Th/Yb ratios and zircon Ce/Ce* and Ce/Nd values likely have more potential to form large to giant Cu deposits.

The layered Sn-based perovskite Ba2Br2[Cs2Sn3Br10] with excellent photovoltaic properties is found. It has a bandgap of 1.26 eV and a large optical absorption and carrier mobility. The Ba2Br2[Cs2Sn3Br10]-based solar cell has a high theoretical PCE of 27.7%.

The crucial intermediates and mechanism of the CO2RR were revealed on well-defined Cu(hkl) single crystal surfaces by the in situ SHINERS technique.

Anti-perovskite carbides Ca6CSe4 and Sr6CSe4 with PCE of 31% comparable with MAPbI3.

White matter injury is a critical pathological characteristic during ischemic stroke. Oligodendrocyte precursor cells participate in white matter repairing and remodeling during ischemic brain injury. Since oligodendrocyte precursor cells could promote Wnt-dependent angiogenesis and migrate along vasculature for the myelination during the development in the central nervous system, we explore whether exogenous oligodendrocyte precursor cell transplantation promotes angiogenesis and remyelination after middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice. Here, oligodendrocyte precursor cell transplantation improved motor and cognitive function, and alleviated brain atrophy. Furthermore, oligodendrocyte precursor cell transplantation promoted functional angiogenesis, and increased myelin basic protein expression after ischemic stroke. The further study suggested that white matter repairing after oligodendrocyte precursor cell transplantation depended on angiogenesis induced by Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway. Our results demonstrated a novel pathway that Wnt7a from oligodendrocyte precursor cells acting on endothelial β-catenin promoted angiogenesis and improved neurobehavioral outcomes, which facilitated white matter repair and remodeling during ischemic stroke.

Understanding the structure and dynamic process of water at the solid–liquid interface is an extremely important topic in surface science, energy science and catalysis1–3. As model catalysts, atomically flat single-crystal electrodes exhibit well-defined surface and electric field properties, and therefore may be used to elucidate the relationship between structure and electrocatalytic activity at the atomic level4,5. Hence, studying interfacial water behaviour on single-crystal surfaces provides a framework for understanding electrocatalysis6,7. However, interfacial water is notoriously difficult to probe owing to interference from bulk water and the complexity of interfacial environments8. Here, we use electrochemical, in situ Raman spectroscopic and computational techniques to investigate the interfacial water on atomically flat Pd single-crystal surfaces. Direct spectral evidence reveals that interfacial water consists of hydrogen-bonded and hydrated Na+ ion water. At hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) potentials, dynamic changes in the structure of interfacial water were observed from a random distribution to an ordered structure due to bias potential and Na+ ion cooperation. Structurally ordered interfacial water facilitated high-efficiency electron transfer across the interface, resulting in higher HER rates. The electrolytes and electrode surface effects on interfacial water were also probed and found to affect water structure. Therefore, through local cation tuning strategies, we anticipate that these results may be generalized to enable ordered interfacial water to improve electrocatalytic reaction rates. Interfacial water consists of hydrogen-bonded water and Na·H2O, its structure changes at hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) potentials, and when structurally ordered it aids interfacial electron transfer, resulting in higher HER rates.

Bariatric surgery for patients with severe obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 50kg/m2) is technically challenging. Intragastric balloon (IGB) has been proposed for weight loss before bariatric surgery to reduce surgical risks but its efficacy remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of IGB as bridging therapy and assess potential complications. Amongst 2419 citations, 13 studies were included. IGB resulted in a BMI reduction of 6.60 kg/m2 (MD=6.60, 95% CI: 5.06-8.15; I2=72%). The total post-procedural complication rate was 8.13% (95% CI: 4.04-13.17%), with majority being balloon intolerance. Overall, IGB is effective as a bridging therapy with adequate procedural safety profile, but further study is needed to evaluate the risk reduction for bariatric surgery and long-term weight-loss outcomes.

White-emitting SrSc1-xLiTeO6:xDy3+ phosphors were conveniently synthesized by a conventional high-temperature solid-state synthesis process. The crystal structure, photoluminescence spectrum characteristics, fluorescence quenching phenomenon, fluorescence lifetime analysis and the thermal stability of SrSc1-xLiTeO6:xDy3+ phosphors were comprehensively illustrated. The Egap of the SrScLiTeO6 host was approximately 4.65 eV based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis. Moreover, the SrSc0.94LiTeO6:0.06Dy3+ phosphor exhibits two principal emission bands: the narrow-band emission at 481 nm (4F9/2→6H15/2, magnetic dipole transition, blue light area) and 573 nm (4F9/2→6H13/2, electric dipole transition, yellow light area) under the excitation of 366 nm ultraviolet light, respectively. The values of τ are determined to be 0.558, 0.380, 0.307 and 0.254 ms for SrSc1-xLiTeO6:xDy3+ (x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.04, 0.08) samples, respectively. The value of ΔE for SrSc0.94LiTeO6:0.06Dy3+ phosphor is deduced to be 0.1969 eV, which indicates excellent thermal stability. In addition, the CIE coordinates are located in the white light-emitting area. The abovementioned results show that the SrSc1-xLiTeO6:xDy3+ can serve as a phosphor with potential application value for outdoor illumination.

Dephosphorization slag is primarily composed of CaO–SiO2–FeO–P2O5 slag system. As it contains abundant valuable components, dephosphorization slag is considered a potential material to restore the degraded acid soil. To efficiently supply Ca, Si, Fe, and P elements for acid soil, the dissolution behavior of dephosphorization slag with high P2O5 content in the weakly acidic solution was investigated. It was found that the existence of citric acid could significantly promote the dissolution of slag in the aqueous solution. Most of the Ca, Si, and P was dissolved from slag at pH 5, and the Fe dissolution ratio reached 36.9%. In this case, the precipitation of Fe3(PO4)2∙8H2O was suppressed, and the majority of C2S–C3P solid phase and matrix phase was dissolved while wustite remained in the residue. The dissolution ratios of main elements from slag decreased dramatically as the pH increased. Only in the weakly acidic solution, it could make full use of dephosphorization slag, and large amounts of nutrient elements were simultaneously supplied. The dissolution ratios of nutrient elements decreased with the increase in particle size. The dissolution kinetics of slag in the citric acid solution followed the shrinking core model.

Perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells have bright prospects to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) beyond the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit of single-junction solar cells. The star lead-based halide perovskites are well-recognized as suitable candidates for the front cell, thanks to their suitable band gap (∼1.8 eV), strong optical absorption, and high certified PCE. However, the toxicity of lead for the front cell and the lack of a narrow band gap (∼1.1 eV) for the rear cell seriously restrict the development of the two-junction tandem cell. To break through this bottleneck, a novel Dion-Jacobson (DJ)-type (n = 2) chalcogenide perovskite CsLaM2X7 (M = Ta, Nb; X = S, Se) has been found based on the powerful first-principles and advanced many-body perturbation GW calculations. Their excellent electronic, transport, and optical properties can be summarized as follows. (1) They are stable and environmentally friendly lead-free materials. (2) The direct band gap of CsLaTa2Se7 (0.96-1.10 eV) is much smaller than those of lead-based halide perovskites and very suitable for the rear cell in the two-junction tandem cell. (3) The carrier mobility in CsLaTa2Se7 reaches 1.6 × 103 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature. (4) The absorption coefficients (3-5 × 105 cm-1) are 1 order higher than that of Si (104 cm-1). (5) The estimated PCEs of the Cs2Sb2Br8-CsLaTa2Se7 tandem cell (33.3%) and the concentrator solar cell (35.8% in 100 suns) are higher than those of the best recorded GaAs-Si tandem cell (32.8%) and the perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cell (24.8%). These energetic results strongly demonstrate that the novel lead-free chalcogenide perovskites CsLaM2X7 are good candidates for the rear cell of tandem cells.

An all-dielectric metamaterial absorber based on water resonator encapsulated in resin container is proposed. The absorber can afford the maximum absorption up to 98% at 190 GHz, as well as the wid...