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Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide. Current treatments, including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, are limited by severe side effects and the development of resistance. Objective: Therefore, it is important to find additional therapies to combat the problem. Ginsenoside Rb1 is the main active ingredient of ginseng, which is a well-known herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Ginsenoside is reported to play an important role in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Methods: We established Azoxymethane (AOM)/Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) colon cancer model based on inflammation, observed the beneficial effect of ginsenoside Rb1, and detected the changes in gut microbiota. Results: Our experimental results showed that ginsenoside Rb1 significantly reduced the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL- 17A, IL-33, IL-1β, and IL-22, increased the level of IL-10, and also changed the gut microbiota composition. These results suggested that ginsenoside Rb1 can be used to prevent inflammation-associated CRC development and may provide an effective therapeutic strategy for CRC by relieving chronic inflammation and restoring the gut microenvironment in the AOM/DSS-induced model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer in mice. Conclusion: Ginsenoside Rb1 significantly attenuated AOM/DSS-induced colon carcinogenesis.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common inflammatory disease in otolaryngology, mainly manifested as nasal congestion, nasal discharge, facial pain/pressure, and smell disorder. CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), an important phenotype of CRS, has a high recurrence rate even after receiving corticosteroids and/or functional endoscopic sinus surgery. In recent years, clinicians have focused on the application of biological agents in CRSwNP. However, it has not reached a consensus on the timing and selection of biologics for the treatment of CRS so far. Summary: We reviewed the previous studies of biologics in CRS and summarized the indications, contraindications, efficacy assessment, prognosis, and adverse effects of biologics. Also, we evaluated the treatment response and adverse reactions of dupilumab, omalizumab, and mepolizumab in the management of CRS and made recommendations. Key Messages: Dupilumab, omalizumab, and mepolizumab have been approved for the treatment of CRSwNP by the US Food and Drug Administration. Type 2 and eosinophilic inflammation, need for systemic steroids or contraindication to systemic steroids, significantly impaired quality of life, anosmia, and comorbid asthma are required for the use of biologics. Based on current evidence, dupilumab has the prominent advantage in improving quality of life and reducing the risk of comorbid asthma in CRSwNP among the approved monoclonal antibodies. Most patients tolerate biological agents well in general with few major or severe adverse effects. Biologics have provided more options for severe uncontrolled CRSwNP patients or patients who refuse to have surgery. In the future, more novel biologics will be assessed in high-quality clinical trials and applied clinically.

Rainfall characteristics are changing due to several reasons and change/trend detection is required. Literature survey reveals many relevant studies whose outcomes are divergent, possibly because different data series and different methodologies have been applied. This paper presents a critical appraisal of past studies and methodologies for trend analysis. Results of trend analysis of Indian rainfall data are presented. Data for all of India and for five homogenous regions (North-West, Central North-East, North-East, West Central, and Peninsular India) for 1871–2016 were used. The Pettitt change point test, regression, Mann-Kendall (MK), and Wavelet Decomposition were used to study different aspects of changes. Results of the change point test showed that most rainfall series had change points around 1957–65, possibly due to large-scale land use, cultivation, irrigation, and industrial changes in this period. Generally, rainfall for most homogenous regions and sub-divisions show falling trends; some are statistically significant. Series was also decomposed by the wavelet method. Approximate and detailed components of some decomposed series showed a significant declining trend. This work has focused on the magnitude of rainfalls; trends in rainfall intensities are also important. It is necessary to establish denser observation networks to collect short-term data and analyze.

This study investigates, from the perspective of affordance theory, how the implementation of gamification features and mechanisms in online-shopping platforms enable consumers to enjoy immersive shopping experiences and make subsequent shopping decisions. Importantly, the technique of REBUS-PLS is applied to unveil the nature of heterogeneity in perceived affordances and ensure the robustness of structural-model results. The research model is tested using cross-sectional data. Our results not only confirm the effects of different types of gamification affordances on immersive experience and subsequent behavior but also reveal the existence of different consumer groups within the overall sample with respect to their behavior patterns. Apart from social connectiveness, rewardability, playfulness, and novelty all exert significant effects on the immersive experience. In addition, this study identified three distinct groups, namely, “no novelty” users, “no playfulness” users, and “no connective” users.

PurposeIn the context of the digital economy, information technology (IT) investment has become a necessary way for enterprises to transform digitally. However, why and how IT investment can enhance digital transformation is lacking in the literature. Based on the resource-based view (RBV), this study explored the impact mechanism of IT infrastructure on the digital transformation of enterprises from the perspective of the digital transformation strategy. Further, this study examined the moderating role of top management on the relationships between IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategy and between digital transformation strategy and enterprise's digital transformation.Design/methodology/approachThrough a questionnaire survey of Chinese enterprises, 180 sample data were collected, and the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to test the hypothesis.FindingsDigital transformation strategy fully mediates the relationship between IT infrastructure and enterprise digital transformation. Furthermore, top management has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategy, as well as the relationship between digital transformation strategy and digital transformation.Originality/valueThis study explores the moderating role of top management in the relationship between IT and enterprise performance, as well as the mediating role of digital transformation strategy in the relationship between IT infrastructure investment and digital transformation performance. As a result, the study adds significantly to the body of knowledge on IT business value, digital transformation and strategic management. The authors' findings can help update managers' perceptions of IT value and provide theoretical guidance on deriving digital transformation performance from IT infrastructure investments.

Activating long-lived room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in the aqueous environment and thus realizing matrix-free, anti-oxygen, and time-resolved information encryption and cellular imaging remain a great challenge. Here, we fabricated three types of carbon dots (C-dots), i.e., fluorescent C-dots (F-C-dots) and two types of phosphorescent C-dots denoted as Pw-C-dots and Py-C-dots by a one-pot strategy. Their formation was attributed to the difference in the decarboxylation degree at high temperatures using trimesic acid (TMA) as a sole precursor. Unexpectedly, the yield reached as high as ∼92%, and the proportions were ∼27% for F-C-dots, ∼17% for Pw-C-dots, and ∼56% for Py-C-dots. These nanomaterials could help implement carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Both green RTP of the two C-dots resulted from the small energy gap (Δ

The debate over the role of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in China's environmental governance has received increasing attention. Based on China's provincial panel data from 2003 to 2019, this paper investigates the impact of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading on carbon emissions to provide empirical evidence for the above theoretical argument. The results show that fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are negatively correlated with carbon emissions, while the interaction term for fiscal decentralization with industrial structure upgrading presents a facilitating effect on carbon emissions. Besides, fiscal decentralization, industrial structure upgrading, and the interaction term have significant regional heterogeneity on carbon emissions. When fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are taken as threshold variables, the effects of industrial structure upgrading and fiscal decentralization are significantly nonlinear. Moreover, environmental regulation, transportation infrastructure, and carbon emissions are positively correlated. There exists an inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, which proves environmental Kuznets curve theorem. However, FDI and urbanization have no significant effect on carbon emissions. According to the above conclusions, it is necessary to strengthen the positive interaction between fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in mitigating carbon emissions, promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of China's economy, thus realizing the goals of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality."

Polydopamine (PDA) is a good adhesion agent for lots of gels inspired by the mussel, whereas hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) usually exhibit extraordinary optoelectronic performance. Herein, mussel-inspired chemistry has been integrated with two-dimensional HOIPs first, leading to the preparation of new crystal (HDA)

The moving top of a stretching liquid bridge affects the relative breakup position and thus affects the dependence of the remnant volume on stretching velocity.

Chemical gardens formed from two metal salts (MCl2 or MSO4) have been investigated to understand the effects of mixing on the growth of precipitate tubes.

Introduction: DPP4 is thought to be involved in certain immune processes and plays an important role in allergic reactions in the lungs. The effect of the DPP4 inhibitor sitagliptin on the effector phase of allergic rhinitis (AR) in ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice and on mast cell degranulation in vitro was assessed. Methods: The AR mouse model was established by intraperitoneal injection combined with OVA intranasal method. OVA was injected intraperitoneally 3 times for the first 2 weeks, and the mice were subsequently given DPP4 inhibitors by oral gavage, accompanied by an OVA intranasal challenge. The impacts of DPP4 inhibitors on DPP4 levels in mouse model were determined. Nasal mucosa tissue was collected for H&E staining and toluidine blue staining. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and histamine levels were analyzed, and IL-4, IL-5, and IL-12 as well as IFN-γ levels were assessed. Following the treatment of dinitrophenol (DNP)-IgE or DNP-IgE plus sitagliptin in RBL-2H3 cells, β-hexosaminidase activity was analyzed and toluidine blue staining was performed. Results: DPP4 level was reduced in AR patients, as well as in AR mouse models. Nasal allergic symptoms such as sneezing and nose-scratching showed high frequency in OVA-induced mice. Sitagliptin treatment during the intranasal challenge of OVA decreased DPP4 levels, suppressed allergic symptoms, eosinophil infiltration, IgE levels, mast cell infiltration, as well as the levels of inflammatory cytokines. We further found that sitagliptin inhibited mast cell activation and histamine levels in vitro. Conclusion: Sitagliptin suppresses the effector phase of AR, and this mechanism is partly attributed to the suppression of inflammatory response and mast cell degranulation.

A luminescent microtube with a tunable cavity was prepared using a chemical etching strategy. The crystal growth, microtube formation, and further applications were studied.

Identify flavonoids and red wines via a machine learning-assisted simple array.

Background: Education, intelligence, and cognition are associated with hypertension, but which one plays the most prominent role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and which modifiable risk factors mediate the causal effects remains unknown. Methods: Using summary statistics of genome-wide association studies of predominantly European ancestry, we conducted 2-sample multivariable Mendelian randomization to estimate the independent effects of education, intelligence, or cognition on hypertension (FinnGen study, 70 651 cases/223 663 controls; UK Biobank, 77 723 cases/330 366 controls) and blood pressure (International Consortium of Blood Pressure, 757 601 participants), and used 2-step Mendelian randomization to evaluate 25 potential mediators of the association and calculate the mediated proportions. Results: Meta-analysis of inverse variance weighted Mendelian randomization results from FinnGen and UK Biobank showed that genetically predicted 1-SD (4.2 years) higher education was associated with 44% (95% CI: 0.40–0.79) decreased hypertension risk and 1.682 mm Hg lower systolic and 0.898 mm Hg lower diastolic blood pressure, independently of intelligence and cognition. While the causal effects of intelligence and cognition on hypertension were not independent of education; 6 out of 25 cardiometabolic risk factors were identified as mediators of the association between education and hypertension, ranked by mediated proportions, including body mass index (mediated proportion: 30.1%), waist-to-hip ratio (22.8%), body fat percentage (14.1%), major depression (7.0%), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (4.7%), and triglycerides (3.4%). These results were robust to sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Our findings illustrated the causal, independent impact of education on hypertension and blood pressure and outlined cardiometabolic mediators as priority targets for prevention of hypertension attributable to low education.

We reveal an excited-state photochemical reaction mechanism for monolayer WSe2 under the Mott density condition, which could be used as an electronic state criterion for femtosecond-laser modified monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides.

To obtain atomic-level insights into the decomposition of 1,3,5-trinitro-2,4,6-trinitroaminobenzene (TNTNB) under different stimulations, this study applied reactive molecular dynamics simulations to illustrate the effects of thermal and shock stimuli on the TNTNB crystal.

Climate change and anthropogenic interventions have obviously altered the eco-hydrological regimes. A quantitative evaluation and attribution of the eco-hydrological alterations are urgently required. In this study, we evaluated the various attributions of eco-hydrological regimes in the Weihe River Basin (WRB). Firstly, the trends and change-point analysis of hydrological elements were examined, and the natural streamflow was reproduced based on the variable infiltration capacity model. Then, the most ecologically relevant hydrological indicators (ERHIs) were selected and combined with the eco-deficit and eco-surplus indicators to assess the degree of eco-hydrological regime alterations. Finally, the relative contributions to eco-hydrological alterations were quantified using the ‘simulated–observed comparison’ method. The results showed that (1) the streamflow of the WRB exhibited significant decreasing trends (p < 0.01), and a significant change point (p < 0.01) of the streamflow series was identified in 1990. (2) Seven representative indicators of hydrological alteration were selected as ERHIs. (3) During the human-induced period (1991–2017), human activities were the dominant factors in the eco-hydrological alterations as well as the variations of the ERHI indexes and the eco-deficit and eco-surplus metrics. Overall, the proposed framework may improve the understanding of the driving forces of eco-hydrological regime alterations under a changing environment.