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[Display omitted] • Niobium species in 30Nb-Beta zeolite were anchored into silanol defects in form of (SiO) 2 Nb(OH)(=O). • High-electrophilic 30Nb-Beta could achieve a cyclohexene conversion of 51.1 % and TOF of 188.2 h−1. • H 2 O 2 activation pathway over (SiO) 2 Nb(OH)(=O) sites contains three steps. Dealuminated Beta zeolite has a large amount of silanol defects on its interface, which provides an ideal place for embedding metal species and creating metal active sites in a confined microenvironment. The confined metal sites as well as their surroundings are closely related to the reactant activation and transient state achievement. Hence, unraveling the confined metal sites is of great significance for the catalytic reaction process. Herein, niobium species were incorporated into the silanol defects over dealuminated Beta zeolite with a facile dry impregnation method, co-grinding the niobium precursor with dealuminated Beta zeolite support. The successful incorporation of niobium into the silanol defects for 30Nb-Beta zeolite was verified by DRIFT, 1H MAS NMR, UV–Vis and UV-Raman characterizations. XAS characterization and DFT calculations further disclosed that the confined Nb species existed as (SiO) 2 Nb(OH)(=O), containing two Si−O−Nb bonds, one Nb=O bond as well as one Nb−OH bond. The synthesized 30Nb-Beta zeolite catalyst displayed a superior cyclohexene conversion of 51.1%, cyclohexene oxide selectivity of 83.1% as well as TOF value of 188.2 h−1 ascribed to the inherent electrophilicity of Nb(V) for confined (SiO) 2 Nb(OH)(=O) species as well as the low oxygen transfer energy barrier for NbV−OOH species. Furthermore, the prepared 30Nb-Beta zeolite can be effectively employed to other cyclic alkene epoxidation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Eu(DBM) 3 DETA is a newly synthesized, unreported lanthanide crystal complex. • Eu(DBM) 3 DETA has both excellent photoluminescence and triboluminescence properties. • Eu(DBM) 3 DETA can recover to its original PL and TL properties after recrystallization. • Piezoelectric effect on crystals during breakage provide excellent TL properties. • Eu(DBM) 3 DETA can display stress visualization differences of handwriting signatures. Investigation of photoluminescence (PL) and fracture-induced triboluminescence (TL) is necessary for the development of both fundamental theories and practical applications in mechanical energy conversion; however, most known PL/TL-emitting materials are confined to inorganic systems. In this study, a novel lanthanide-based crystalline complex (LnCC), Eu(DBM) 3 DETA was synthesized via the synergistic coordination of Eu3+ with DBM (Dibenzoylmethane) and DETA (Diethylenetriamine) units, leading to the formation of brighter LnCC with bright red emission, high PL quantum yields (57.19 %) and unique TL characteristics. The key to success in obtaining Eu(DBM) 3 DETA is the utilization of DETA molecule as synergistic ligand, presenting block crystals with higher coordination number of Eu3+ ions via recrystallization. Due to the dense accumulation of cross-linked three-dimensional frameworks through van der Waals interactions, the fracture-induced piezoelectric effect results in charge separation and excitation through the resultant electric field and discharge, triggering a fast TL response of Eu(DBM) 3 DETA and expanding the possibilities of the quantitative stress sensing. Importantly, amorphous powders can still recover to their original PL and TL emission intensities after recrystallization in cyclic crystal-to-amorphous phase transitions. The unique PL and TL characteristics of Eu(DBM) 3 DETA provide promising opportunities to display stress visualization differences of electronic signatures under different forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) is an organic compound that is widely used in rubber, textile, electronics, plastics and other industries. It has been found that BDE-209 has a destructive effect on the reproductive system of mammals. However, the effect of BDE-209 exposure on oocyte quality and whether there is a viable salvage strategy have not been reported. Here, we report that murine oocytes exposed to BDE-209 produce a series of meiostic defects, including increased fragmentation rates and decreased PBE. Furthermore, exposure of oocytes to BDE-209 hinders mitochondrial function and disrupts mitochondrial integrity. Our observations show that supplementation with NMN successfully alleviated the meiosis impairment caused by BDE-209 and averted oocyte apoptosis by suppressing ROS generation. In conclusion, our findings suggest that NMN supplementation may be able to alleviate the oocyte quality impairment induced by BDE-209 exposure, providing a potential strategy for protecting oocytes from environmental pollutant exposure. • BDE-209 exposure led to the failure of oocyte meiotic maturation. • BDE-209 exposed oocytes involved mitochondrial function disruption and early apoptosis. • NMN supplementation promotes the meiotic progression of oocytes exposed to BDE-209. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • D-π-A fluorescent probes were reasonably designed and developed through systematic changes in electron-donor and-acceptor groups. • Probes M−H−SO 3 with a hydrophilic sulfonate group displayed sufficient selectivity for discrimination of HSA from BSA. • Probe M−H−SO 3 can bind to the IB site of HSA, yielding a substantial fluorescent enhancement. • The probe M−H−SO 3 can be used for detecting human serum albumin in urine samples. HSA (human serum albumin), a most abundant protein in blood serum, plays a key role in maintaining human health. Abnormal HSA level is correlated with many diseases, and thus has been used as an essential biomarker for therapeutic monitoring and biomedical diagnosis. Development of small-molecule fluorescent probes allowing the selective and sensitive recognition of HSA in in vitro and in vivo is of fundamental importance in basic biological research as well as medical diagnosis. Herein, we reported a series of new synthesized fluorescent dyes containing D-π-A constitution, which exhibited different optical properties in solution and solid state. Among them, dye M−H−SO 3 with a hydrophilic sulfonate group at electron-acceptor part displayed selectivity for discrimination of HSA from BSA and other enzymes. Upon binding of dye M−H−SO 3 with HSA, a significant fluorescence enhancement with a turn-on ratio about 96-fold was triggered. The detection limit was estimated to be ∼ 40 nM. Studies on the interaction mechanism revealed that dye M−H−SO 3 could bind to site III of HSA with a 1:1 binding stoichiometry. Furthermore, dye M−H−SO 3 has been applied to determine HSA in real urine samples with good recoveries, which provided a useful method for HSA analysis in biological fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Transition metals with catalytic properties were expected to improve the fire resistance of the polymer. In this work, NiMoO 4 nanorods decorated with Co-Ni layered double hydroxide (LDH) were fabricated and incorporated into polyurea (PUA) to improve the flame retardancy during combustion. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the addition of NiMoO 4 @Co-Ni LDH slightly decreased the initial degradation and the maximum degradation temperature. With increasing loading of NiMoO 4 @Co-Ni LDH, the char residue increased obviously. The combustion performance of PUA with 3.0 wt% NiMoO 4 @Co-Ni LDH investigated by cone calorimeter (CCT) showed that the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR) and smoke factor (SF) decreased by 34.41%, 12.68% and 48.65%, respectively. The existence of well-dispersed NiMoO 4 @Co-Ni LDH effectively enhanced the mechanical properties and flame retardant performances of PUA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CAL and PPy-CAL were prepared using hydrothermal and in situ polymerization methods. • The theoretical adsorption capacity of CAL-PPy for Cr(VI) was nearly twice than that of CAL. • CAL-PPy removed 100 mg/L of aqueous Cr(VI) efficiently and quickly. • Mechanisms included electrostatic attraction, anion exchange, complexation, and reduction. To efficiently remove high concentrations of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), calcium–aluminum-layered double hydroxide (CaAl-LDH, denoted as CAL), and polypyrrole-modified CAL (CAL-PPy) were prepared by hydrothermal and in situ polymerization methods, respectively. The chemical structure, morphology, and elemental results indicated that the chain-like polypyrrole was decorated with hexagonal CAL. The specific surface area of CAL-PPy increased from 8.746 m2/g to 24.24 m2/g. The adsorption performances of CAL and CAL-PPy for aqueous Cr(VI) were investigated using batch equilibrium experiments. The decontamination process of aqueous Cr(VI) (100 mg/L) reached the equilibrium state within 50 min, and the kinetic data met the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. The Langmuir model described the isothermal data properly, and the obtained theoretical adsorption capacity of CAL for Cr(VI) at 318 K was 34.06 mg/g, while that of CAL-PPy was 66.14 mg/g. The removal mechanisms involved electrostatic attraction, surface complexation, anion exchange, and reduction to low-toxicity Cr(III). Therefore, CAL and CAL-PPy have underlying applications in treating real wastewater containing Cr(VI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating systems encounter challenges due to their subjectivity, time lag, and inconsistent coverage, which present significant obstacles for investors in the stock market. In contrast, news reporting data, characterized by its objectivity, timeliness, publicity, and sociality, has been a crucial source of quality market information for investors. The potential of ESG-related news as a robust complement to the data sources used in existing ESG rating systems merits further exploration. This study investigates the impact of ESG-related news on the Chinese stock market, with the goal of providing compelling evidence for integrating news media into ESG assessments. By analyzing 32,296 ESG-related news articles covering 3643 companies in the Chinese market from 2015 to 2021, we utilize event study methodology to assess the market's abnormal returns in response to ESG-related news. Our findings suggest a significant market impact from ESG-related news, indicating that investors are increasingly attentive to information pertaining to ESG issues. The study also reveals that different attributes of ESG-related news have diverse effects on the market. Specifically, news with negative sentiments has the most significant impact, and investors demonstrate a stronger reaction to ESG-related news disseminated through unofficial media. Furthermore, the study highlights that enterprise heterogeneity affects the impact of ESG-related news, with companies in the secondary and tertiary industries showing higher sensitivity. Privately-owned enterprises are found to be more influenced by such news compared to state-owned enterprises. This study offers a novel perspective in evaluating corporate ESG performance using news media, proposing a more effective and objective method to assess and manage corporate sustainability in a dynamic market landscape. • Significant impact of ESG-related news on Chinese stock market returns. • Diverse market reactions to varying ESG-related news sentiments and sources. • Stock response differs by company industry and ownership type. • Provides a basis for ESG-related news as a complementary tool in ESG ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the green economy efficiency (GEE) is crucial for building a sustainable economy. How can the rapidly advancing digital transformation contribute to this process? The paper empirically examines the direct and spatial spillover effects of digital transformation on cities' GEE in China. This study utilizes the National E-commerce Pilot City (NEPC) policy as a quasi-natural experiment of regional digital transformation and employs the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) method with heterogeneous effects. The findings reveal that (i) implementing the NEPC policy significantly increases urban GEE by 2.6%, corresponding to a 16% increase in the mean of GEE. This effect is particularly pronounced in non-resource-based cities and cities with high Internet penetration. (ii) The mechanism test shows that the pilot policy positively affects GEE by promoting green structural transformation, enhancing green innovation, and strengthening public environmental concerns. (iii) The study highlights a positive spatial spillover effect of the NEPC policy on the GEE of nonpilot cities. (iv) The adoption of the NEPC plays a pivotal role in advancing energy use and carbon emission efficiency. This paper expands the existing knowledge on the green development effects of the digital economy while offering valuable policy insights for building an "Inclusive Green Economy". [Display omitted] • The staggered differences-in-differences method is employed to examine the direct and spatial spillover effects of NEPC on cities' GEE in China. • This paper uses NEPC as a quasi-experiment for digital transformation. • NEPC significantly improves green economic efficiency by 2.6%. • Green structural transformation, innovation, and environmental concerns are main channels. • Positive spillover effect of NEPC on green economy efficiency in non-pilot cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic pollutants are important harmful components in atmospheric fine particulate matters (PM 2.5), health risks of which varied with temporal and spatial distributions. To clarify the characteristics of atmospheric organic pollution, the concentrations, sources, and human health risks of typical organic compositions in PM 2.5 samples from both industrial and urban areas of Nanjing in eastern China were investigated monthly for a year. Results showed that, the concentrations of PM 2.5 -bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes were higher in winter and spring than those in summer and autumn. The organic pollution was slightly higher in industrial than urban area, though the PAHs in autumn and the n-alkanes in warm season (summer and autumn) were higher in urban area. With regards to the pollutant sources, the atmospheric PAHs were dominated by motor vehicle exhaust in the urban area, and combined with coal combustion emission in the industrial area. Airborne n-alkanes were mainly from biological source accompanied by fossil fuel combustion in industrial area. The PM 2.5 -bound PAHs indicated higher risks to adults in industrial area than in urban area with the seasonal patterns: winter > spring > autumn > summer. More attention should be paid to the health risks of exposure to organic pollutants accumulated in PM 2.5 during cold season. Controlling vehicle emissions might be the key measure for alleviating atmospheric PAHs and n-alkanes pollution in megacities, while coal purification can be an effective control method in industrial areas. • Organic pollutants are typical harmful components in PM 2.5 • Concentrations, sources, and health risks of PM 2.5 show spatio-temporal patterns. • PAHs and n-alkanes pollution were serious in cold season and industrial area. • Vehicle emission is a key target for alleviating particulate organic pollution. • Coal purification can be an effective pollution control method in industrial area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new graph-based measure for keyword extraction is proposed, by lever- aging higher-order structural features (e.g. motifs) of word co-occurrence graph. • This method considers the frequency of the words as well as the context information. • Do not need corpus but the document itself. • This method shows superior performance compared to TextRank and TF- IDF based methods. Keyword extraction is a building block of information retrieval. Many techniques have been developed to tackle this problem. However, most of the existing methods suffer from high computational complexity or large corpus dependency, which limits the practical applications. Indeed, given a single document, new visions and strategies are needed for keyword extraction to face the challenges. In this work, we proposed a new graph-based measure for keyword extraction, by leveraging higher-order structural features (e.g. motifs) of word co-occurrence graph. The experiments on real datasets shows superior performance of the proposed method, compared to TF-IDF and PageRank based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) can act as carriers for environmental pollutants; therefore, MPs combined with heavy metal pollution are attracting increasing attention from researchers. In this study, the potential of the plant growth-promoting bacterium Bacillus sp. SL-413 to mitigate the stress caused by exposure to both MPs and cadmium (Cd) in sorghum plants was investigated. The effects of inoculation on sorghum biomass were investigated using hydroponic experiments, and evaluation of Cd accumulation and enzyme activity changes and transcriptomics approaches were used to analyze its effect on sorghum gene expression. The results showed that combined polyethylene (PE) and Cd pollution reduced the length and the fresh and dry weights of sorghum plants and thus exerted a synergistic toxic effect. However, inoculation with the strains alleviated the stress caused by the combined pollution and significantly increased the biomass. Inoculation increased the dry weights of the aboveground and belowground parts by 11.5–44.6% and 14.9–38.4%, respectively. Plant physiological measurements indicated that inoculation reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content of sorghum by 10.5–27.2% and thereby alleviated oxidative stress. Transcriptome sequencing showed that exposure to combined Cd+MP contamination induced downregulation of gene expression, particularly that of genes related to amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction, in sorghum. However, inoculation with Bacillus sp. SL-413 resulted in an increase in the proportion of upregulated genes involved in signal transduction, antioxidant defense, cell wall biology, and other metabolic pathways, which included the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, and MAPK signaling pathways. The upregulation of these genes promoted the tolerance of sorghum under combined Cd+MP pollution stress and alleviated the stress induced by these conditions. This study provides the first demonstration that plant growth-promoting bacteria can alleviate the stress caused by combined pollution with MPs and Cd by regulating plant gene expression. These findings provide a reference for the combined plant-microbial remediation of MPs and Cd. [Display omitted] • Combined Cd+MP contamination exert a synergistic toxic effect. • The impact of PGPB on sorghum plants exposed to combined Cd+MP pollution was analyzed. • Bacillus sp. SL-413 alleviates the stress caused by combined Cd+MP pollution in sorghum. • Bacillus sp. SL-413 upregulates the expression of genes related to antioxidant defense and cell wall biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A novel gelatin/PVA composite nanofiber band loaded with bayberry tannin (GPNB-BT) was prepared by electrostatic spinning and crosslinking for extraction of uranium (VI) from simulated seawater. The influential factors of tannin loaded on the nanofiber band were investigated in detail. Surface morphology and fiber diameter of GPNB-BT were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Functional groups of GPNB-BT were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR). The adsorption process and mechanism of uranium on GPNB-BT was characterized by Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The results revealed that the BT had been stably solidified on the GPNB. Compared with other tannin-immobilized membranes, the nano-network structure of GPNB-BT with 200–400 nm diameter of fibers can promote solidification of tannins and improve adsorption capacity of GPNB-BT for uranium. The maximum adsorption capacity of the GPNB-BT for uranium is 170 mg/g at the optimal pH of 5.5 in 80 mg/L of initial uranium concentration and 1.4 μg/g even at extremely low initial concentration of 3 μg/L in the simulated seawater for 24 h. The GPNB-BT with good hydraulic properties, floatability and adsorption capacity for uranium is expected to be widely used in separation and enrichment of uranium in seawater and radioactive waste water. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • A composite nanofiber band loaded with tannin by electrospinning was fabricated. • The influential factors on tannin loaded on adsorbent were investigated in detail. • The mechanism of tannin immobilization and uranium removal was investigated. • The properties of adsorbent were determined by SEM, EDX, FTIR and XPS analysis. • GPNB-BT shows a good adsorption capacity for uranium in simulated seawater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The extensive occurrence of antibiotics (such as ciprofloxacin) in aqueous environment had raised severe concerns due to their impacts on humans and the ecosystem. In this study, a novel nickel alginate particles adsorbent had been successfully developed by combining an alginate matrix with nickel ion through immobilization and crosslinking technology and then was applied for the batch adsorption study of ciprofloxacin to evaluate its potential performance. The as-prepared adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption performance at the condition of the pH 7 and 328.15 K, and the results indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity was 135.18 mg g−1. The isotherm and kinetic studies were well fitted to the Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models, respectively. A thermodynamics analysis displayed that the ciprofloxacin adsorption process was endothermic, feasible and spontaneous. The as-prepared adsorbent before and after adsorption was characterized through SEM, EDX and XPS analyses, and the particle size of the as-prepared adsorbent was roughly 914 µm. Hydrogen bond, the cation bonding bridge and n-π electron-donor-acceptor interaction might be the driving force of the ciprofloxacin adsorption process. This study demonstrated that this as-prepared adsorbent was a promising and efficient material for the ciprofloxacin adsorption from the aqueous solution. Graphical abstract A novel nickel alginate particles (NAPs) adsorbent was successfully synthesized for effective CIP removal. The maximum adsorption capacity (135.18 mg g−1) was captured at pH 7, 318.15 K, and the initial CIP concentration of 120 mg L−1. The relevant studies demonstrated that the CIP adsorption onto the NAPs adsorbent might be administrated by the n-π electron-donor-acceptor interaction (n-π EDA interaction), hydrogen bond and the cation bonding bridge. The NAPs adsorbent was of great significance for the treatment of low concentration CIP-contaminated wastewater. fx1 Highlights • Novel nickel alginate particles (NAPs) adsorbent were successfully prepared for effective CIP removal. • The NAPs adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption capacity (135.18 mg·g−1) for CIP. • Kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamic studies of CIP adsorption were performed. • The possible adsorption mechanisms of CIP relied on n-π EDA interaction, hydrogen bond and cation bonding bridge. • The NAPs adsorbent provided a new point for the CIP removal from the contaminated water environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract In this work, the magnetic alginate microsphere of Fe 3 O 4 /MgAl-LDH (Fe 3 O 4 /LDH-AM) was prepared by immobilizing the Fe 3 O 4 /LDH with calcium alginate (CA) and was used to remove Cd2+, Pb2+, and Cu2+ from aqueous solutions. The obtained Fe 3 O 4 /LDH-AM was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area determination. The results indicated that the surface groups of the alginate and LDH were retained and so was the crystal structure in the alginate microsphere. The adsorption performance of the Fe 3 O 4 /LDH-AM for Cd2+, Pb2+, and Cu2+ in aqueous solutions was evaluated by batch and column adsorption experiments. The effects of adsorption conditions, kinetics, isotherms, mechanisms, and potential applications were investigated. The adsorption kinetic data conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation, and the isotherm data fit well with the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The adsorption mechanism of Cd2+, Pb2+, and Cu2+ by the Fe 3 O 4 /LDH-AM entailed complexation and precipitation. The experimental breakthrough curves were correlated with the Thomas model. Moreover, the Fe 3 O 4 /LDH-AM displayed superior regeneration and reusability. These results suggest that the Fe 3 O 4 /LDH-AM is an efficient adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals and can be effectively employed in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Atmospheric fine particulate matters (PM 2.5) induce adverse human health effects through inhalation, and the harmful effects of PM 2.5 are determined not only by its air concentrations, but also by the particle components varied temporally. To investigate seasonal differences of the aerosol toxicity effects including cell viability and membrane damage, cell oxidative stress and responses of inflammatory cytokines, the human lung epithelial cells (A549) were exposed to PM 2.5 samples collected in both summer and winter by the in vitro toxicity bioassays. Toxicological results showed that, the PM 2.5 led to the cell viability decrease, cell membrane injury, oxidative stress level increase and inflammatory responses in a dose-dependent manner. Temporally, the cytotoxicity of winter PM 2.5 was higher than summer of this studied industrial area of Nanjing, China. According to the different contents of heavy metals accumulated in PM 2.5 , the transition metals such as Cu might be an important contributor to the aerosol cell toxicity. Highlights • In vitro toxicity of PM 2.5 showed seasonal differences. • PM 2.5 from different seasons showed varied metal components. • Transition metals in PM 2.5 contribute to the particle cell toxicity. • Health risks of PM 2.5 should consider composition and source effects. • Toxicity of winter PM 2.5 from Nanjing was higher than summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organoarsenic arsanilic acid (ASA) contamination of paddy soil is a serious but less concerned hazard to agriculture and health of people consuming rice as staple food, for rice is one major pathway of arsenic (As) exposure to human food. To date little research has studied the effect of ASA on biochemical process of rice. Silicon (Si) application is able to reduce the toxicities of heavy metals in numerous plants, but little information about ASA. This work investigated whether and how Si influenced alleviation of ASA toxicity in rice at biochemical level to have a better understanding of defense mechanism by Si against ASA stress. Results showed that ASA reduced rice growth, disturbed protein metabolism, increased lipid peroxidation but decreased the efficiencies of antioxidant activities compared to control plants, more severe in roots than in shoots. The addition of Si in ASA-stressed rice plants noticeably increased growth and development as well as soluble protein contents, but decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in ASA-stressed rice plants, suggesting that Si did have critical roles in ASA detoxification in rice. Furthermore, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities along with elevated glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AsA) contents implied the active involvement of ROS scavenging and played, at least in part, to Si-mediated alleviation of ASA toxicity in rice, and these changes were related to rice genotypes and tissues. The study provided physio-chemical mechanistic evidence on the beneficial effect of Si on organoarsenic ASA toxicity in rice seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Bisphenol S (BPS) has increasingly been used as an alternative to Bisphenol A (BPA) in food, paper, and personal care products. It is imperative to clarify the relationship between BPS and tumors in order to treat and prevent diseases. This study discovered a new method for predicting tumor correlations between BPS interactive genes. According to analyses conducted by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, interactive genes were primarily found in gastric cancer. Based on gene-targeted prediction and molecular docking, BPS appears to exert potential gastric cancer-causing effects through estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1). In addition, gastric cancer patients' prognosis could be accurately predicted by a bisphenol-based prognostic prediction model. Subsequently, the proliferation and migration abilities of gastric cancer cells were further demonstrated to be significantly enhanced by BPS. Similarly, molecular docking analysis revealed that melatonin is also highly correlated with gastric cancer and BPS. In cell proliferation and migration assays, melatonin and BPS exposure inhibited the invasion abilities of gastric cancer cells compared to BPS-exposure. Our research provided a new direction for the exploration the correlation between cancer and environmental toxicity. • We successfully combined the toxicology database and tumor database. • Multiple bisphenol were involved in the analysis. • We demonstrated a new direction for BPS and gastric cancer. • Molecular docking was applied in the research of toxicology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In previous research, we have demonstrated for a number of ontologies that structurally complex concepts (for different definitions of "complex") in an ontology are more likely to exhibit errors than other concepts. Thus, such complex concepts often become fertile ground for quality assurance (QA) in ontologies. They should be audited first. One example of complex concepts is given by "overlapping concepts" (to be defined below.) Historically, a different auditing methodology had to be developed for every single ontology. For better scalability and efficiency, it is desirable to identify family-wide QA methodologies. Each such methodology would be applicable to a whole family of similar ontologies. In past research, we had divided the 685 ontologies of BioPortal into families of structurally similar ontologies. We showed for four ontologies of the same large family in BioPortal that "overlapping concepts" are indeed statistically significantly more likely to exhibit errors. In order to make an authoritative statement concerning the success of "overlapping concepts" as a methodology for a whole family of similar ontologies (or of large subhierarchies of ontologies), it is necessary to show that "overlapping concepts" have a higher likelihood of errors for six out of six ontologies of the family. In this paper, we are demonstrating for two more ontologies that "overlapping concepts" can successfully predict groups of concepts with a higher error rate than concepts from a control group. The fifth ontology is the Neoplasm subhierarchy of the National Cancer Institute thesaurus (NCIt). The sixth ontology is the Infectious Disease subhierarchy of SNOMED CT. We demonstrate quality assurance results for both of them. Furthermore, in this paper we observe two novel, important, and useful phenomena during quality assurance of "overlapping concepts." First, an erroneous "overlapping concept" can help with discovering other erroneous "non-overlapping concepts" in its vicinity. Secondly, correcting erroneous "overlapping concepts" may turn them into "non-overlapping concepts." We demonstrate that this may reduce the complexity of parts of the ontology, which in turn makes the ontology more comprehensible, simplifying maintenance and use of the ontology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrazine is widely used in agriculture. In this study, dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soils under four types of land use (forest (F), meadow (M), cropland (C) and wetland (W)) was used to investigate the binding characteristics of atrazine. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix-parallel factor (EEM-PARAFAC) analysis, two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) and Stern-Volmer model were combined to explore the complexation between DOM and atrazine. The EEM-PARAFAC indicated that DOM from different sources had different structures, and humic-like components had more obvious quenching effects than protein-like components. The Stern-Volmer model combined with correlation analysis showed that log K values of PARAFAC components had a significant correlation with the humification of DOM, especially for C3 component, and they were all in the same order as follows: meadow soil (5.68)>wetland soil (5.44)>cropland soil (5.35)>forest soil (5.04). The 2D-COS further confirmed that humic-like components firstly combined with atrazine followed by protein-like components. These findings suggest that DOM components can significantly influence the bioavailability, mobility and migration of atrazine in different land uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fengdan ( Paeonia ostii ) is one of Chinese 34 famous medicinal materials. This study investigated the concentrations of Arsenic (As), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), and Zinc (Zn) in rhizosphere soils, cortex mouton and seeds of Fengdan planted in a metal mining area, China. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, and Zn in the rhizosphere soils were above the limits set by the Chinese Soil Environmental Quality Standard (GB 15618-1995). The contamination factor (CF) of Cd was >5, while it was >2for As, Cu, Pb, and Zn in all the soils. The integrated pollution index for all the soils was >3 and ˂ 5. Metal concentrations in the edible parts of Fengdan were in the following decreasing order: Mn>Fe>Zn>Cu>Pb>As>Cr≥Cd. The transfer factor mean values for As, Cu, Cd and Fe in the cortex moutan of old Fengdan (over 6 years) were significantly higher than in young Fengdan. Available metal concentrations, pH and soil organic matter content influenced the metal concentrations of the cortex moutan. The results indicated that mining and smelting operations have led to heavy metals contamination of soils and medicinal parts of Fengdan. The major metal pollutants were elemental Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Heavy metals mainly accumulated in the cortex moutan of Fengdan. The mean concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Pb in the old cortex moutan (over 6 years) were above those of the Chinese Green Trade Standards for Medicinal Plants and Preparations in Foreign Trade (WM/T2-2004). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P-arsanilic acid (AsA) is a emerging but less concerned contaminant used in animal feeding operations, for it can be degraded to more toxic metabolites after being excreted by animals. Rice is the staple food in many parts of the world, and also more efficient in accumulating arsenic (As) compared to other cereals. However, the uptake and transformation of AsA by rice is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the potential risk of using AsA as a feed additive and using the AsA contaminated animal manure as a fertilizer. Five rice cultivars were grown in soil containing 100 mg AsA/kg soil, after harvest, As species and their concentrations in different tissues were determined. Total As concentration of the hybrid rice cultivar was more than conventional rice cultivars for whole rice plant. For rice organs, the highest As concentration was found in roots. AsA could be absorbed by rice, partly degraded and converted to arsenite, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenate. The number of As species and their concentrations in each cultivar were related to their genotypes. The soil containing 100 mg AsA/kg or more is unsuitable for growing rice. The use of AsA and the disposal of animal manure requires detailed attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a diffusive predator–prey model of Lotka–Volterra type functional response in which both species obey the logistic growth such that the carrying capacity of the predator is proportional to the prey population and the one for prey is a constant. Both continuous and discrete diffusion are addressed. Our aim is to see whether both species can survive eventually, if an alien invading predator is introduced to the habitat of an existing prey. The answer to this question is positive under certain restriction on the parameter. Applying Schauder's fixed point theory with the help of suitable upper and lower solutions, the existence of traveling wave solutions for this model is proven. Furthermore, by deriving the non-existence of traveling wave solutions, we also determine the minimal speed of traveling waves for this model. This provides an estimation of the invasion speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of intensifying human activities have caused dramatic changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in the ecologically fragile areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which have led to significant changes in ecosystem service value (ESV). Taking the ecologically fragile Sanjiangyuan region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as the research object, we focused on understanding the impact of LULC changes on the Sanjiangyuan's landscape pattern and its corresponding ESV, which was combined with a Markov-Plus model to predict LULC changes in 2030. The results showed: (1) from 2000 to 2020, the LULC of Sanjiangyuan has changed to varying degrees, respectively. In the central and southern regions where animal husbandry is the mainstay activity, the area of grass land converted to bareland had expanded; (2) from 2000 to 2010, the total regional ESV increased sharply. However, the total amount of ESV decreased from 2010 to 2020; (3) the overall ESV in the study area was observed to be trending down and is expected to decrease by approximately 4.25 billion CNY by 2030; (4) the fragmentation and complexity of regional landscape patterns will negatively affect local ecosystem stability and biodiversity. Overall, there is a strong temporal and spatial correlation between LULC and ESV. This study will provide a reference for the local government to provide targeted and sustainable land management policies, thereby promoting the improvement of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau regional ecology value. • ESV in ecologically fragile areas was affected by human activities. • ESV had strong spatial and temporal differences in Sanjiangyuan region. • Bareland and artificial surface had expanded in Sanjiangyuan region in the past few decades. • LULC combined with landscape index can explain ESV spatiotemporal changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-resolution nutrient emission inventory can provide reliable and accurate identification of priority control areas, which is crucial for efficient decisions on water quality restoration. However, the inventories widely used in large-scale modeling are usually based on provincial inputs, which induce the challenges of lacking localized parameters and missing localized characteristic when provincial scale inputs are converted to finer scales with the down-scale methods. Based on elaborate investigations and statistical data at the county scale with multi-scale data conversion, the China Emission Inventory of Nutrients (CEIN) was developed with a spatial resolution of a 0.1° grid and sub-basin scales. The Yangtze River Basin was used as a case study to illustrate the potential applications of CEIN. The emissions of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) of Yangtze River Basin is 0.43 Mt and 0.04 Mt for point sources, 11.09 Mt and 4.64 Mt for diffuse sources in 2017. The hotspot analysis for 2606 sub-basins indicated that cropland is the key source of nutrient emissions, accounting for 58.88% and 79.15% of TN and TP, respectively. Industrial sewage and freshwater aquaculture accounted for 27.39% (TN) and 21.98% (TP) of the point sources, which is substantial due to their direct discharge into surface waters. The current results also reveal that, in contrast to CEIN, the previously used common emission factors based on GDP per capita produced considerable overestimations of 2.37 and 2.65 times the actual TN and TP emissions, respectively. Additional advantages of the CEIN have been demonstrated in identifying priority control areas more accurately with reduced bias and quantifying the effects of policies at much smaller scales. For example, the CEIN helps to distinguish hotspots, which was neglected when identifying sources at the level-III sub-basin scale, and indicates that the management of fractional areas (TN: 16.97%; TP: 13.44%) provides the highest nutrient emissions control (TN: 44.34%; TP: 48.65%) for the entire basin. The evaluation of China's toilet revolution policy demonstrates that achieving equitable access to safe sanitation has resulted in a reduction of 7240 t of TN and 833 t of TP, which is extremely critical for rural water quality and health. [Display omitted] • High-resolution China Emission Inventory of Nutrients (CEIN) is developed with 0.1° grid. • Priority control areas were identified for 2606 sub-basins in the Yangtze River Basin. • Previous emission factors with GDP per capita produced considerable overestimations. • CEIN can quantify effects of policies at much smaller scales with reduced bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a common chronic lung disease in premature infants, and its pathogenesis has not been clarified. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have important functions in cell bioactivity. However, their role in developmental lung disease remains unclear. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the role of lncRNA SNHG6 (SNHG6) in BPD and its underlying mechanisms. The blood of patients with BPD were collected, and BPD model of BEAS-2B cells was established by hyperoxia method. SNHG6, miR-335 and KLF5 mRNA expression were detected by RT-qPCR. Western blot was conducted to measure the levels of apoptosis-related proteins' expression and NF-κB pathway related proteins. BEAS-2B cell viability and apoptosis were assessed by CCK-8 and flow cytometry, respectively. Assay Kit was applied to detect ROS, MDA and SOD levels, respectively. ELISA was performed to assess the levels of inflammatory factors. The binding site of miR-335 with SNHG6 or KLF5 were predicted by using DIANA or TargetScan, and which was verified by double luciferase reporter assay. Firstly, SNHG6 was highly expressed and miR-335 was lowly expressed in BPD model, SNHG6 knockdown and miR-335 mimics both alleviated hyperoxia-induced lung cell injury, and SNHG6 targeted miR-335. Subsequently, KLF5 was targeted by miR-335, and KLF5 promoted lung cell injury via activating NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, SNHG6 mediated lung cell injury via regulating the miR-335/KLF5/NF-κB pathway. Our research confirmed that SNHG6 mediated hyperoxia-induced lung cell injury via regulating the miR-335/KLF5/NF-κB pathway. These findings suggest that SNHG6 serves as promising targets for the treatment of newborns with BPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the fractional Nirenberg problem on the standard sphere S n with n ≥ 4 . Using the theory of critical points at infinity, we establish an Euler–Hopf type formula and obtain some existence results for curvature satisfying assumptions of Bahri–Coron type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two three-dimensional (3-D) MOFs, [(C 2 H 5 ) 4 N)] 3 [H 3 O] 2 [Cd 6 Br(H 2 -DHBDC) 8 (DMF) 4 ] ( 1 ; H 4 -DHBDC=2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide) and [(CH 3 ) 2 NH 2 ] 2 [Cd 3 (H2-DHBDC) 4 (DMF) 2 ]·2DMF( 2 ), are prepared from the self-assembly reactions between Cd(CH 3 COO) 2 and H 4 -DHBDC, respectively. Both anionic frameworks consist of linear trinuclear Cd units (e.g., 1 : [Cd 3 BrO 2 (CO 2 ) 7 ] and [Cd 3 O 2 (CO 2 ) 8 ]; 2 : [Cd 3 O 2 (CO 2 ) 8 ]) linked by the H 2 -DHBDC ligands. The photoluminescent properties of compound 1 are tunable through cation-exchange with different metal ions. The results demonstrated an effective ion-exchange approach toward the functional modification of MOF materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) is an extensive reference terminology with an attendant amount of complexity. It has been updated continuously and revisions have been released semi-annually to meet users' needs and to reflect the results of quality assurance (QA) activities. Two measures based on structural features are proposed to track the effects of both natural terminology growth and QA activities based on aspects of the complexity of SNOMED CT. These two measures, called the structural density measure and accumulated structural measure, are derived based on two abstraction networks, the area taxonomy and the partial-area taxonomy. The measures derive from attribute relationship distributions and various concept groupings that are associated with the abstraction networks. They are used to track the trends in the complexity of structures as SNOMED CT changes over time. The measures were calculated for consecutive releases of five SNOMED CT hierarchies, including the Specimen hierarchy. The structural density measure shows that natural growth tends to move a hierarchy's structure toward a more complex state, whereas the accumulated structural measure shows that QA processes tend to move a hierarchy's structure toward a less complex state. It is also observed that both the structural density and accumulated structural measures are useful tools to track the evolution of an entire SNOMED CT hierarchy and reveal internal concept migration within it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we prove some inequalities involving the generalized trigonometric and hyperbolic functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA), classified as a "plant hormone", is an important ingredient in production of "toxic bean sprouts". Although there is no direct evidence of adverse effects, its hazardous effects have received some attention and aroused furious debate between proponents and environmental regulators. In this study, potential adverse effects of 6-BA were investigated by exposing zebrafish in vivo to 0.2 – 25 mg 6-BA/L. Results indicated that, when exposure was limited to early-life stage (4–36 hpf), 20 mg 6-BA/L caused early hatching, abnormal spontaneous movement, and precocious hyperactivity in zebrafish embryos/larvae. While under a continuous exposure regime, 6-BA at 0.2 mg/L was able to cause hyperactive locomotion and transcription of genes related to neurogenesis (gnrh3 and nestin) and endocrine systems (cyp19a and fshb) in 5 dpf larvae. Quantification by use of LC/MS indicated bioaccumulation of 6-BA in zebrafish increased when exposed to 0.2 or 20 mg 6-BA/L. These results suggested that 6-BA could accumulate in aquatic organisms and disrupt neuro-endocrine systems. Accordingly, exposure to 0.2 mg 6-BA/L increased production of estradiol (E2) and consequently E2/T ratio in zebrafish larvae, which directly indicated 6-BA is estrogenic. In silico simulations demonstrated potential for binding of 6-BA to estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) and cytochrome P450 aromatase (CYP19A). Therefore, induction of estrogenic effects, via potential interactions with hormone receptors or disturbance of downstream transcription signaling, was possible mechanism underlying the toxicity of 6-BA. Taken together, these findings demonstrate endocrine disrupting properties of 6-BA, which suggest concerns about risks posed to endocrine systems. [Display omitted] • 6-BA caused earlier hatching and precocious hyperactivity in zebrafish. • 6-BA elicited expression of endocrine disrupting and neurogenesis genes in zebrafish. • 6-BA is estrogenic in zebrafish larvae through increased production of estradiol (E2). • In vivo exposure of zebrafish to 6-BA might be hazardous via endocrine disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the limit cycle of the two-dimensional aeroelastic system with hysteresis nonlinearity was obtained by the time-domain minimum residual method. Compared with the existing semi-analytical methods, the proposed approach does not need to extend the hysteresis nonlinearity into smooth functions, so the approximate solutions obtained by this approach have higher accuracy. The method is mainly three-fold. Firstly, the approximate analytical solution of the aeroelastic system is expanded as a trigonometric series with N terms and the unknown coefficients. Then, substituting the approximate solutions into the original aeroelastic system, and the problem of solving the analytical solution is transformed into a nonlinear least-square optimization problem, which is to find a set of trigonometric coefficients to minimize the residual vector over a period. Finally, the unknown coefficients are iteratively solved by the enhanced response sensitivity approach. Moreover, the Tikhonov regularization and the trust-region constraint are called to tackle ill-position and enhance the convergences. Numerical examples show that the approximate analytical solutions obtained by the proposed approach are in good agreement with numerical results, and their accuracy is much higher than that of the IHB method. • The proposed approach can converge to the optimal solution quickly. • The proposed approach does not need multiple integration operations. • TMRM can deal with hysteresis nonlinearity without introducing smoothing procedure. • The accuracy of the approximate analytical solution obtained by TMRM is much higher than that of IHB method. • The symmetry breaking phenomenon can be capture quickly by the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a pollutant, Cd causes severe impact to the environment and damages living organisms. It can be uptaken from the environment by the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp) in plants. However, the ion absorption function of Nramp transporter genes in Spirodela polyrhiza has not been reported. In this study, SpNramp1 , SpNramp2 , and SpNramp3 from S. polyrhiza were cloned and their functions were analyzed in S. polyrhiza and yeast. Growth parameters and physicochemical indices of wild-type and transgenic lines were measured under Cd stress. Results revealed that SpNramp1 , SpNramp2 , and SpNramp3 were identified as plasma membrane-localized transporters, and their roles in transporting Cd were verified in yeast. In S. polyrhiza , SpNramp1 overexpression significantly increased the content of Cd, Fe, Mn, and fresh weight. SpNramp2 overexpression increased Mn and Cd. SpNramp3 overexpression increased Fe and Mn concentrations. These results indicate that SpNramp1 , SpNramp2 , and SpNramp3 had a different preference for ion absorption. Two S. polyrhiza transgenic lines (OE1 and OE3) were obtained. One of them (OE1) showed a stronger accumulation ability, and the other one (OE3) exhibited tolerance capacity to Cd. This study provides new insight into the functions of SpNramp1 , SpNramp2 , and SpNramp3 and obtains important enrichment lines (OE1) for manipulating Cd accumulation, phytoremediation, and ecological safety. [Display omitted] • SpNramp transporter genes were identified as plasma membrane-localized transporters. • SpNramp transporter genes showed a Cd transport activity in yeast. • SpNramp1 overexpression significantly increased Cd, Fe, and Mn contents in S. polyrhiza. • SpNramp2 and SpNramp3 overexpression significantly increased Mn content in S. polyrhiza. • The enrichment line for phytoremediation and manipulating Cd accumulation was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auditing healthcare terminologies for errors requires human experts. In this paper, we present a study of the performance of auditors looking for errors in the semantic type assignments of complex UMLS concepts. In this study, concepts are considered complex whenever they are assigned combinations of semantic types. Past research has shown that complex concepts have a higher likelihood of errors. The results of this study indicate that individual auditors are not reliable when auditing such concepts and their performance is low, according to various metrics. These results confirm the outcomes of an earlier pilot study. They imply that to achieve an acceptable level of reliability and performance, when auditing such concepts of the UMLS, several auditors need to be assigned the same task. A mechanism is then needed to combine the possibly differing opinions of the different auditors into a final determination. In the current study, in contrast to our previous work, we used a majority mechanism for this purpose. For a sample of 232 complex UMLS concepts, the majority opinion was found reliable and its performance for accuracy, recall, precision and the F-measure was found statistically significantly higher than the average performance of individual auditors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this report, classical swine fever virus (CSFV) NS5A inhibit viral RNA replication when its concentration reached and surpassed the level of NS5B. Three amino acid fragments of CSFV NS5A, 137–172, 224–268 and 390–414 individually were shown to be essential to NS5B binding. The former two fragments were independently necessary for regulation of viral RNA replication and correlated with NS5B and 3′UTR binding activity. We also found that amino acids W143, V145, P227, T246, P257, K399, T401, E406 and L413 of CSFV NS5A were essential to NS5B binding activity. Furthermore, these amino acids were shown to be necessary for viral RNA replication and infection and conserved in NS5A proteins of CSFV, BDV, BVDV and HCV. These results indicated that NS5A may regulate viral RNA replication by binding to NS5B and 3′UTR. NS5A can still regulate viral RNA synthesis through binding to 3′UTR when binding to NS5B is not available. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper strives to overcome a major problem encountered by a previous expansion methodology for discovering concepts highly likely to be missing a specific semantic type assignment in the UMLS. This methodology is the basis for an algorithm that presents the discovered concepts to a human auditor for review and possible correction. We analyzed the problem of the previous expansion methodology and discovered that it was due to an obstacle constituted by one or more concepts assigned the UMLS Semantic Network semantic type Classification. A new methodology was designed that bypasses such an obstacle without a combinatorial explosion in the number of concepts presented to the human auditor for review. The new expansion methodology with obstacle avoidance was tested with the semantic type Experimental Model of Disease and found over 500 concepts missed by the previous methodology that are in need of this semantic type assignment. Furthermore, other semantic types suffering from the same major problem were discovered, indicating that the methodology is of more general applicability. The algorithmic discovery of concepts that are likely missing a semantic type assignment is possible even in the face of obstacles, without an explosion in the number of processed concepts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Auditors of a large terminology, such as SNOMED CT, face a daunting challenge. To aid them in their efforts, it is essential to devise techniques that can automatically identify concepts warranting special attention. “Complex” concepts, which by their very nature are more difficult to model, fall neatly into this category. A special kind of grouping, called a partial-area, is utilized in the characterization of complex concepts. In particular, the complex concepts that are the focus of this work are those appearing in intersections of multiple partial-areas and are thus referred to as overlapping concepts. In a companion paper, an automatic methodology for identifying and partitioning the entire collection of overlapping concepts into disjoint, singly-rooted groups, that are more manageable to work with and comprehend, has been presented. The partitioning methodology formed the foundation for the development of an abstraction network for the overlapping concepts called a disjoint partial-area taxonomy. This new disjoint partial-area taxonomy offers a collection of semantically uniform partial-areas and is exploited herein as the basis for a novel auditing methodology. The review of the overlapping concepts is done in a top-down order within semantically uniform groups. These groups are themselves reviewed in a top-down order, which proceeds from the less complex to the more complex overlapping concepts. The results of applying the methodology to SNOMED’s Specimen hierarchy are presented. Hypotheses regarding error ratios for overlapping concepts and between different kinds of overlapping concepts are formulated. Two phases of auditing the Specimen hierarchy for two releases of SNOMED are reported on. With the use of the double bootstrap and Fisher’s exact test (two-tailed), the auditing of concepts and especially roots of overlapping partial-areas is shown to yield a statistically significant higher proportion of errors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With advances in microarray technology, many biomarkers selection approaches have been proposed for cancer diagnosis. Marker sets are selected by scoring genes for how well they can discriminate between different classes of diseases or are ranked by significance analysis without reference to classification tasks. However there is a pressing need for methods integrating biological priori knowledge in the gene selection process. In this study, we proposed to identify genes primarily in terms of diagnostic outcome relevance. As gene expression is a combination effect, with the help of SVD, the microarray data is decomposed, the eigenvectors correspond to the biological effect of clinical outcomes are identified. Genes which play important roles in determining this biological effect are detected. Therefore, genes are essentially identified in terms of the strength of association with clinical outcomes and the relationship of genes and clinical outcomes is analyzed. Monte Carlo simulations are then used to fine tune the selected gene set in terms of classification accuracy. The approach was tested on four public data sets. Comparative studies show that the selected genes achieved higher classification accuracies. Graphical analysis visualizes that they have close relationship with the cancer class. Statistical simulation shows that the gene set found by the proposed method is also less variable and comparatively invariant to external influences. The biological relevance of the selected genes is further discussed and validated with the literature study and analysis of biological databases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hydrothermal synthesis, characterization and magnetic properties of a series of ABO3-perovskites LaFe1−x Cr x O3 (0≤x≤1) are reported. The alkalinity in initial reaction mixtures plays a critical role in controlling the designed stoichiometry of the final compositions. Their magnetic properties are strongly dependent on the compositions and a maximum magnetic moment is found for the sample at x=0.5. Weak ferromagnetic interaction observed for the samples from x=0 to 0.9 arises from the presence of Fe–O–Fe antisymmetric exchange and Fe–O–Cr superexchange interaction. The weak ferromagnetism as well as the linear variation of the lattice parameters implies the possible random distribution of Fe and Cr ions in B sites of the perovskites. The evolution of magnetic ordering transition temperatures has a close relationship with substituent ratios, for the competition of antiferromagnetism and ferromagnetism. The saturated magnetic moment shows a great improvement compared with that for the samples synthesized by solid state method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present the necessary conditions for the existence of the Kolwankar–Gangal local fractional derivatives (KG-LFD) and introduce more general but weaker notions of LFDs by using limits of certain integral averages of the difference-quotient. By applying classical results due to Stein and Zygmund (1965) we show that the KG-LFD is almost everywhere zero in any given intervals. We generalize some of our results to higher dimensional cases and use integral approximation formulas obtained to design numerical schemes for detecting fractional dimensional edges in signal processing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two new supramolecular compounds based on tungsten–vanadium polyoxoanions formulated as [Cu(2,2′-bipy)3]2H14[PW2.2V9.8O40(VO)2[Cu(2,2′-bipy)2H2O]2][PW2.2V9.8O40(VO)2]·10H2O (1) and [Cu4(2,2′-bipy)4(H2O)2(PO4)2]H6.5[PW8.4V3.6O40]·2H2O (2) (2,2′-bipy=2,2′-bipyridine) have been synthesized hydrothermally and characterized by IR, TG, XPS and X-ray diffraction analyses. Crystal structure analyses reveal that compounds 1 and 2 exhibit novel 2D supramolecular layer structures constructed from tungsten–vanadium polyoxoanions and different types of secondary building units (SBUs), respectively, the different SBUs are formed by [Cu(2,2′-bipy)2H2O]2+ and [Cu(2,2′-bipy)3]2+ cations in compound 1 and [Cu4(2,2′-bipy)4(H2O)2(PO4)2]2+ cations in 2, respectively. Study of magnetic properties indicated the presence of antiferromagnetic behaviors for both compound 1 and 2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Metathesaurus of the UMLS was created by integrating various source terminologies. The inter-concept relationships were either integrated into the UMLS from the source terminologies or specially generated. Due to the extensive size and inherent complexity of the Metathesaurus, the accidental omission of some hierarchical relationships was inevitable. We present a recursive procedure which allows a human expert, with the support of an algorithm, to locate missing hierarchical relationships. The procedure starts with a group of concepts with exactly the same (correct) semantic type assignments. It then partitions the concepts, based on child-of hierarchical relationships, into smaller, singly rooted, hierarchically connected subgroups. The auditor only needs to focus on the subgroups with very few concepts and their concepts with semantic type reassignments. The procedure was evaluated by comparing it with a comprehensive manual audit and it exhibits a perfect error recall. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Each UMLS concept is assigned one or more of the semantic types (STs) from the Semantic Network. Due to the size and complexity of the UMLS, errors are unavoidable. We present two auditing methodologies for groups of semantically similar concepts. The straightforward procedure starts with the extent of an ST, which is the group of all concepts assigned this ST. We divide the extent into groups of concepts that have been assigned exactly the same set of STs. An algorithm finds subgroups of suspicious concepts. The human auditor is presented with these subgroups, which purportedly exhibit the same semantics, and thus she will notice different concepts with wrong or missing ST assignments. The dynamic procedure detects concepts which become suspicious in the course of the auditing process. Both procedures are applied to two semantic types. The results are compared with a comprehensive manual audit and show a very high error recall with a much higher precision. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The 17 spent fluid catalytic cracking refinery catalysts (SFCCCs) from different petroleum refineries were collected and the leachates of SFCCCs were prepared. The ecotoxicity of SFCCC leachates to Raphidocelis subcapitata was assayed. The results showed that the toxicity of the 17 SFCCCs differ greatly. Ji SFCCC was the most toxic to R. subcapitata with a 96 h EC 50 value of 1.38%, while Ha SFCCC was the least toxic, with the EC 50 value was >100%. The relationships between the toxicity of SFCCCs and the metal concentrations in leachates were analyzed. The concentration of Ni (p = 0.001), La (p = 0.001), Mn (p = 0.014), Ce (p = 0.017), Co (p = 0.018), and Ca (p = 0.031) in leachates showed significant correlation with EC 50 values. The predictive model for the ecotoxicity of SFCCCs were established with the concentrations of Ni and La in leachates as: ln(EC 50) = 0.817 + exp(1.356 – 1.736 × C Ni - 0.262 × C La) (R2 = 0.926). The main toxic ingredients of SFCCC to microalgae were identified for the first time in this work. The results and predictive model of this study are significance for toxicity determination and management of SFCCCs. [Display omitted] • Toxicity of spent fluid catalytic cracking refinery catalysts was first evaluated. • Nickel and Lanthanum showed significant correlation with toxicity. • Models for the prediction of ecotoxicity of SFCCCs were established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A metaschema is an Abstraction Network of the UMLS’s Semantic Network (SN) obtained from a connected partition into its collections of semantic types. A metaschema can support comprehension, visualization and navigation of the SN. In this paper, a methodology is presented to evaluate and compare two given metaschemas, based on their structural properties. This methodology was applied to the top-down metaschema and the bottom-up metaschema, derived from two studies involving two groups of UMLS experts. By the Cronbach alpha estimate, the bottom-up metaschema is reliable, while the top-down metaschema is not. An algorithm was designed to yield a consolidated metaschema enjoying the best and avoiding the worst of the two given metaschemas. The consolidation algorithm was applied to the above two metaschemas, The resulting consolidated metaschema has better structural properties than either of the two metaschemas and better supports user orientation visualization, and navigation of the Semantic Network. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: SNOMED is one of the leading health care terminologies being used worldwide. As such, quality assurance is an important part of its maintenance cycle. Methodologies for auditing SNOMED based on structural aspects of its organization are presented. In particular, automated techniques for partitioning SNOMED into smaller groups of concepts based primarily on relationships patterns are defined. Two abstraction networks, the area taxonomy and p-area taxonomy, are derived from the partitions. The high-level views afforded by these abstraction networks form the basis for systematic auditing. The networks tend to highlight errors that manifest themselves as irregularities at the abstract level. They also support group-based auditing, where sets of purportedly similar concepts are focused on for review. The auditing methodologies are demonstrated on one of SNOMED’s top-level hierarchies. Errors discovered during the auditing process are reported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Let be two idempotents on a Hilbert space. Z.V. Kovarik (Z.V. Kovarik, Similarity and interpolation between projectors, Acta Sci. Math. (Szeged) 39 (1977) 341–351) showed that when is invertible, the formula gives the only idempotent such that , , where and denote the nullspace and the range of a bounded linear operator T on a Hilbert space, respectively. This formula was later extended to the context of Banach algebras and used in 1983 by J. Esterle to show that two homotopic idempotents may always be connected by a polynomial idempotent valued path. In the present paper, we give a simplification of Kovarik''s original formula and one natural generalization of it. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: RMn2O5 (R=La, Pr, Nd, Tb, Bi) crystallites were prepared by a mild hydrothermal method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and magnetic measurement. The formation of manganates was sensitive to the alkalinities and Mn-containing precursors of the reaction mixtures. This family of manganates is isostructural and has a space group of Pbam. The magnetic measurements for RMn2O5 showed an antiferromagnetic transition. The strong irreversibility between the ZFC and FC curves indicated a helicoidally magnetic structure below 40K. The max d.c. susceptibilities of LaMn2O5+ δ (δ=0.01, 0.06, 0.08, 0.16, 0.17) were found to be variable and the excess oxygen (δ) in the compounds was influenced by the alkalinity used in the hydrothermal synthesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The calcium-doped manganates, Pr1− x Ca x MnO3 (x=0.39, 0.46, 0.70, 0.76), were synthesized as cube-shaped crystalline phases under mild hydrothermal conditions for the first time. The crystals could be grown in one step from solutions of metal salts and potassium hydroxide at temperatures ∼240°C, and found to adopt perovskite-like structure (space group Pbnm). Samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma analysis and variable temperature dc/ac magnetic susceptibility. The studies indicate that formation of the materials is dependent on the alkalinity and composition of the initial reaction mixtures. The magnetic properties show spin-glass-like behavior due to competing ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchange interactions in Pr1− x Ca x MnO3 with , 0.46. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] Generally, electrospun membranes have high mechanical strength, high porosity and low permeation resistance. Although covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have attracted great interest as advanced membrane materials, few works disclosed that the COFs composite membranes were synthesized on electrospun substrates. In this work, the electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were used as substrates for the preparation of COF composite membranes with graphene oxide and oxidized carbon nanotubes (GO-OCNTs) as an intermediate layer. The COF/GO-OCNTs/PVDF composite membranes were prepared by suction filtering the GO-OCNTs intermediate layer on the electrospun substrate, and then interfacial polymerization of COF layer. After adding the intermediate layer, the water permeance and dye retention rate of the composite COF membrane are both improved. By exploring the reaction parameters in the interfacial polymerization process, the optimized membrane shows that the rejection rate of Coomassle brilliant blue G250 (BBG-250) is about 97.1%, and the water permeability achieves 96.7 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. In addition, the COF/GO-OCNTs/PVDF composite membrane exhibits excellent chemical and mechanical stability. The long-term filtration experiment of the composite membrane shows good water permeation stability. This work provides a method to prepare dense and defect-free COF films on electrospun substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study offers an insightful and detailed examination of microplastic pollution in the Huixian karst wetland's groundwater, providing novel insights into the complex interplay of microplastic characteristics and their seasonal dynamics. We meticulously quantified microplastic concentrations, observing significant seasonal variation with values ranging from 4.9 to 13.4 n·L−1 in the wet season and 0.53–49.4 n·L−1 in the dry season. Our analysis pinpoints human activities and atmospheric deposition as key contributors to this contamination. A critical finding of our research is the pronounced disparity in microplastic levels between open wells and covered artesian wells, highlighting the vulnerability of open wells to higher pollution levels. Through correlation analysis, we unearthed the crucial influence of the karst region's unique hydrogeological characteristics on microplastic migration, distinctively different from non-karst areas. The karst terrain, characterized by its caves and subterranean rivers, facilitates the downward movement of microplastics from surface to groundwater, exacerbating pollution levels. Our investigation identifies agricultural runoff and domestic wastewater as primary pollution sources. These findings not only underscore the urgent need for environmental stewardship in karst regions but also provide a crucial foundation for formulating effective strategies to mitigate microplastic pollution in karst groundwater. The implications of this study extend beyond the Huixian karst wetland, offering a template for addressing microplastic pollution in similar ecosystems globally. [Display omitted] • Provides detailed analysis of microplastic types and properties in the groundwater environment of a karst wetland protection area. • Uncovers distinct seasonal patterns in microplastic concentrations in karst underground waters. • Reveals a close link between surface and underground water microplastics in karst ecosystems. • Highlights the need for targeted strategies to mitigate microplastic pollution's environmental and health impacts. • Local residents may be exposed to 27 microplastic particles daily via drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]