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Guoran Peng,1 Beibei Cheng,2 Rongzhen Ding,3 Aiguo Dai2– 4 1College of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiratory Diseases, Medical School, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Vascular Biology and Translational Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Respiratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Aiguo Dai, Department of Respiratory Diseases, Medical School, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, 300 Xueshi Road, Hanpu Science & Education Park, Yuelu District, Changsha, Hunan, 410208, People’s Republic of China, Email daiaiguo@hnucm.edu.cnPurpose: Asthma and depression are prevalent conditions with significant comorbidity, impacting patients’ quality of life. This bibliometric study aims to analyze research trends and hotspots in the field from 2000 to 2023, identifying key contributions and predicting future directions.Methods: We conducted a systematic search in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) for articles on asthma and depression, published between 2000 and 2023. Bibliometrics, which involves the application of mathematical and statistical methods to analyze scholarly literature, was employed in this study to systematically assess the research trends and hotspots in the field of asthma and depression. VOSviewer and CiteSpace software were utilized for visual analysis and data visualization, enabling us to map collaboration networks and identify research hotspots and trends within the asthma and depression literature.Results: Our analysis retrieved 3067 papers from 937 journals, involving 14,631 authors and 4006 institutions across 106 countries. The United States, Columbia University, the Journal of Asthma, and Christer Janson were the most prolific contributors. Six primary research themes emerged: quality of life, childhood asthma, primary care, substance P, intervention, and emotion. Additionally, Burst detection analysis identified emerging topics, including severe asthma, other respiratory diseases, and oxidative stress.Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis has revealed significant insights into the research trends and hotspots in the field of asthma and depression. The primary findings indicate a growing body of research highlighting the impact of depression on asthma control and patients’ quality of life, the need for psychological interventions in treating comorbid asthma and depression, and the emerging focus on severe asthma and oxidative stress mechanisms. These findings underscore the importance of continued research in these areas to advance our understanding and improve clinical outcomes for patients with these comorbid conditions.Keywords: asthma, depression, bibliometric analysis, hotspots, research trends

Shuping Zhang,1,* Yamei Ma,1,* Xiu Zang,2 Hao Heng,2 Xuekui Liu,2 Gangshan Peng,3 Ran Liu,3 Jun Liang,1,2,* Houfa Geng1,2,* 1Graduate School, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Endocrinology, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 3The Affiliated Xuzhou Clinical College, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Houfa Geng; Jun Liang, Email genghoufa@xzhmu.edu.cn; liangjun@xzhmu.edu.cnAbstract: Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder prevalent among adolescents. Typically, it manifests with hyperglycemia before the age of 25. MODY5 is attributed to a mutation in the Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor-1β (HNF-1β) gene. A complete absence of HNF-1β is observed in 50% of those with MODY5. The 17q12 microdeletion syndrome closely linked with MODY5. Its incidence in the general population is around 1 in 14,500 and is linked with facial deformities, diabetes, polycystic kidneys, pancreatic hypertrophy, liver anomalies, and neuropsychological impairments. The most primary clinical signs are predominantly associated with the HNF-1β gene deletion. We chronicle the case of a male of 19 years of age diagnosed with diabetes, who, alongside persistent liver damage and polycystic kidneys, was referred from a community hospital to the Xuzhou Central Hospital. His clinical presentation included diabetes, liver dysfunction, polycystic kidneys, lipid irregularities, insulin resistance, and fatty atrophy. Subsequent genetic screening unveiled a 17q12 chromosomal deletion and an absence of the Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor-1β (HNF-1β) gene. Hence, for adolescent patients lacking a familial diabetes history but exhibiting symptoms like polycystic kidneys, liver damage, lipid irregularities, and fatty atrophy, a thorough assessment for the 17q12 microdeletion syndrome becomes imperative.Keywords: 17q12 microdeletion syndrome, HNF-1β gene, special-type diabetes, MODY5, polycystic kidneys, liver damage

Wei Jia,1 Lei Liu,1 Gang Peng2 1School of Politics and Public Administration, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Statistics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Lei Liu, School of Politics and Public Administration, Qingdao University, 308 Ningxia Road, Laoshan District, Qingdao, Shandong, 266071, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-15110224681, Email ll15450176@163.comPurpose: The integration of social media into all areas of society has become a typical phenomenon of the Internet era. This study’s core objective is to dissect the relationship between social media, self-efficacy and loneliness, especially emphasizing the mediating function of social support.Patients and Methods: The research data is derived from the pooled cross-sectional data combined from the four-period data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). The study employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression as the basic research method, and utilizes Instrumental Variables (IV) and other methods to conduct robustness checks.Results: Social media usage frequency (SMUF) enhances self-efficacy and loneliness through social support. Social support promotes self-efficacy and alleviates users’ loneliness. In self-efficacy, social support plays a fully mediating role. Moreover, education (human capital) has a significant moderating effect. There are noticeable differences in the response of different characteristics groups to SMUF.Conclusion: This study reveals how social media impacts self-efficacy and loneliness through social support. Based on the research results, avoiding prolonged usage of social media and improving digital literacy are the crucial means to exert the positive benefits of social media.Keywords: social media, self-efficacy, loneliness, social support, mediation analysis

Recent studies of two-phase non-coaxial analogue experiments and natural rifts suggest that the pre-existing faults that form in the first-phase rift could strongly influence the fault development during a subsequent phase of extension. However, related models from natural examples are still lacking. Here we compare the fault geometry and evolution with different pre-existing fault arrays in two adjacent areas (Xijiang and Lufeng sags) from the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea. This basin has experienced two-phase rifting including the middle Eocene rift phase 1 (NW–SE extension) and a late Eocene–early Oligocene rift phase 2 (N–S extension). The Xijiang Sag developed an approximately NE-striking listric fault system, while the Lufeng Sag formed complex structure is composed of six major faults with various orientations. We demonstrate that the first-phase fault network in the Xijiang Sag is a colinear listric fault system, while that in the Lufeng Sag comprises two sets of (non-colinear) faults. In the Xijiang Sag, the second-phase fault network consists of the reactivated first-phase faults, newly formed faults abutting against or cross-cutting the pre-existing reactivated faults or occurring between the pre-existing faults. In contrast, in the Lufeng Sag, the second-phase faults include partially reactivated first-phase non-colinear faults and new non-colinear faults. The influence of first-phase faults on second-phase faults is manifested in several distinctive ways. Two sets of major non-colinear faults led to the development of more complicated oblique faults in the Lufeng Sag. The development of the second-phase faults is the result of a combination of geometry and heterogeneity of pre-existing fabrics, variation of extension direction and local perturbations set up by the geometry of pre-existing faults. The Xijiang Sag is controlled by a NE-striking listric fault system, the Lufeng Sag formed complex structure composed of six major faults with various orientations. The heterogeneous intra-basement fabrics led to a faulting viariablity between the Xijiang and Lufeng sags. The influence of first-phase faults on second-phase faults is manifested in several distinctive ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) are key components in immune checkpoint studies across various tumors, including those in the urinary tract. The utilization of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in urinary tract tumors is on the rise. This study provides a comprehensive overview of PD-1/PD-L1 research in urinary tract tumors through bibliometric analysis. A search was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database for academic papers on PD-1/PD-L1 in urinary tract tumors published between January 1, 1999, and September 3, 2022. Tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and an online bibliometric platform, were used for an in-depth analysis covering countries, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords. A total of 1,711 articles on PD-1/PD-L1 in urinary tract tumors were analyzed. The United States led in article contributions, followed by China and Japan. Harvard University was the top institution in this research area. With notable conctributions from Choueiri TK, who authored 48 related articles. The Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer was the top publisher, and Topalian SL's 2012 publication in The New England Journal of Medicine was the most cited article. Key author keywords included "immunotherapy," "PD-L1," "renal cell carcinoma," "bladder cancer," and "immune checkpoint inhibitors." Notably, research on the role of PD-1/PD-L1 in kidney and bladder cancer has garnered significant attention.

The adsorption technique has been considered as one of the promising methods to remove arsenic ions in aqueous systems. However, the adsorbents are usually poorly selective and have low capacity. Herein, a kind of porous CeO 2 containing surface hydroxyl group which synthesized facilely possesses the great performance of selective adsorption of As(III) with 98.57% removal against 14 other coexisting metal ions. The results showed that the processes of As(III) and As(V) uptake were heterogeneous monolayer adsorptions and included external and intraparticle diffusions. The adsorption capacities at pH 2.5 reached 111.24 and 56.89 mg/g for As(III) and As(V), respectively. In addition, it also showed that As(III) could be oxidized to As(V) in the adsorption process. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the OH group in H 3 AsO 3 0 and the As atom in H 3 AsO 4 0 have affinity with lattice oxygen (O 2- ) in CeO 2 , while the O atom in H 2 AsO 4 - preferred the Ce atom in CeO 2 . This study provides a novel porous CeO 2 containing hydroxyl groups for selective and efficient removal of arsenic and elucidates the mechanism of As(III) and As(V) adsorptions.

Two pairs of chiral enantiomers D/L-Dy(PMP) 3 ·2H 2 O (D-1/L-1) and D/L-Yb(PMP) 3 ·2H 2 O (D-2/L-2) were synthesized by the introduction of enantiomerically pure D/L-PMP (PMP = (phosphonomethyl)proline) ligands into lanthanide coordination chemistry. The chiral characteristics of these products were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction, second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. These complexes are composed of 1D chains constructed from lanthanide ions with a trigonal prismatic coordination geometry and PMP ligands. The assembly of the 1D chains led to the formation of a lanthanide hydrogen-bonded organic framework with 1D water chains filled in the channels. Zero-field slow relaxation of magnetization was detected in L-1, whereas L-2 showed field-induced single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior. Complexes D-1, L-1 and L-2 show proton conductive ability and their conductivity values reach the order of 10 -5 S cm -1 at 90 °C and 98% relative humidity.

Diffusion is defined as general mechanism for drug release from advanced delivery systems, yet dynamic structure of dosage form intrinsically plays an unknown role. The synchrotron radiation X-ray micro-computed tomography (SR-μCT) three-dimensional (3D) imaging and in-depth analysis of 3D structures were applied to readily differentiate materials and accurately capture internal structure changes of multiple unit pellet system (MUPS) and the constituent pellets, visualizing internal 3D structure of a MUPS of theophylline tablets for their 3 levels hierarchy structures: pellets with rapid drug release characteristics, a protective cushion layer and a matrix layer. Drug release pathways were extracted from SR-μCT images and a 3D maze network was constructed using pore network analysis to quantify the internal structural evolution during drug release. In the initial stage of dissolution about 1 h, theophylline release from the MUPS is dominated by diffusion from the matrix layer, whilst the second phase of 23 h constant release kinetics is dominated by a 3D channel maze architecture with outlets/channels connecting pellets in the remains of the MUPS, which forms the 3D channel maze as pore networks. The random walking of the dissolved theophylline molecules retarded by the tortuous 3D channel maze which led to the observed controlled release profile as a whole. Based on SR-μCT investigations and 3D structure analysis, a new approach to control drug release via a 3D channel maze structure was discovered., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Riverine suspended matter (river-SPM) contains large amounts of natural particles consisting of cellulose and lignin, posing a challenge for microplastic (MPs) analysis. Additionally, organic matter composition under seasonal and discharge-related dynamics varies for each river. Therefore, this study attempted to identify a universally applicable clean-up procedure to remove matrix particles with high organic matter content, mainly plant debris, from the river-SPM samples. This study tested six digestion procedures adapted from existing (ligno)cellulosic digestion/oxidation methods with a river-SPM sample followed by density separation using sodium polytungstate. From these, NaOCl treatment (CL) showed the highest efficiency of organic matter removal, eliminating 96-100 % of the matrix weight. Exposure of tested MPs (in size range of 100-500 μm) in the CL protocol showed no adverse effect on polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Similarly, no detrimental matrix effects were found on 100 μm spherical PS standard particles spiked in the river-SPM. This procedure achieved high recovery rates of tested plastics (92-100 %). In terms of method applicability, the procedure was successfully applied to samples from different seasons containing various matrix concentrations and compositions. Although samples with high amounts of plant debris needed to undergo this procedure twice, only minor alteration of the particle surface and IR spectrum of PS presented and no adverse effect on PP. To further tackle the high and varied concentration of plant-derived matrix in river-SPM samples, a novel sequential oxidation protocol (2DOCL) combining cellulose dissolution, Fenton's oxidation, and NaOCl oxidation was developed, resulting in a more (time) effective and predictable process, demonstrating no severely destructive effect on tested plastics. The sequential digestion protocol can be optimized for certain matrices as applying all steps will not be necessary., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests. Orasai Faikhaw reports financial support was provided by Royal Thai Government. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Spatial multiomics technologies have revolutionized biomedical research by enabling the simultaneous measurement of multiple omics modalities within intact tissue sections. This approach facilitates the reconstruction of 3D molecular architectures, providing unprecedented insights into complex cellular interactions and the intricate organization of biological systems, such as those underlying embryonic development., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests No interests are declared., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Silicon (Si) is considered to be one of the most promising anode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries because of its abundant reserves, low discharge potential, and most importantly, its high theoretical specific capacity. However, the practical application of Si-based anodes is mainly hindered by the low intrinsic conductivity of Si and the large volume change upon lithiation/de-lithiation. In order to improve the electrochemical performance of Si-based anodes, we prepared a composite material consisting of Si nanoparticles (NPs) and coconut silk bio-carbon (CSC) skeleton. The porous carbon skeleton derived from coconut silk with natural through-holes and ample micropores on the wall, which was used as the carrier of Si NPs. The continuous through-holes and well-distributed oxygen-containing functional groups of the CSC provided sufficient space and abundant adsorption active sites for Si NPs, what's more, the good dispersion of Si NPs in the through-holes increased their contact with the surrounding carbon materials, which was conducive to electron transport. Meanwhile, the pore structure also provided buffer space for the volume expansion of Si. The rich oxygen-containing functional groups can form a certain chemical force with silicon particles, and further stabilize the nano silicon particles. Hence, the CSC/Si electrode revealed an excellent capacity retention of 82.8 % at 1 A g -1 after 100 cycles. This study provides a simple universal high-throughput method to obtain anode materials with outstanding electrochemical properties and promotes the further development of Si/C composites., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Kidney transplantation (KT) is the optimal treatment for end-stage renal disease. This paper discusses a case where a donated kidney lacking a fibrous capsule was carefully utilized for transplantation. The organ underwent rigorous evaluation and received approval from the ethics committee, with full informed consent obtained from the recipient and their family. Although surface bleeding of the kidney occurred during the operation and was challenging to control, the recipient was successfully discharged 22 days post-transplantation. In conclusion, kidneys lacking a fibrous capsule can be safely used for transplantation after careful evaluation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Lin Fan reports financial support was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 82200734). If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Exploring plastic bacterial community succession is a crucial step in analyzing and predicting the ecological assembly processes of the plastisphere and its associated environmental impacts. However, microbial biofilm development and niche differentiation during plastic bacterial community succession have rarely scarcely considered. Here, we assessed the differences between three microplastics (MPs) and two natural polymers in terms of biofilm development and niche properties during bacterial community succession, and identified a genus of MPs-degrading bacteria with strong competitive potential in the plastisphere. MPs biofilm development exhibits secondary succession characteristics, whereas natural polymer biofilms persist during the primary succession stage. During succession in plastic bacterial communities, the relationship between nutrient resources and microbial competition was reflected in a positive correlation between species competition and niche breadth, which contradicted the common belief that increased nutrient availability leads to reduced competition. Furthermore, the co-occurrence network revealed that specialists were species with greater competitive potential within the plastisphere. Additionally, the MPs-degrading Exiguobacterium genus represented a key taxon in the plastisphere. Our study provides a reliable pathway for revealing the specificity of plastic bacterial community succession from multiple perspectives and enhances the understanding of ecological assembly processes in the plastisphere., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Considerable amounts of microplastics (MPs) are stocked in plant rhizospheres, yielding adverse effects on rhizospheric microorganisms and threatening plant health. However, the adaptation of the rhizospheric microbiota for MPs remains largely unknown. Here, to evaluate the adaptive strategies of rhizospheric bacterial communities against MPs, we characterized the spatial dissimilarities in MPs properties and bacterial communities from mangrove non-rhizosphere to rhizosphere to root hair sediments. Consequently, two strategies were uncovered: (1) Bacterial communities showed significant niche differentiation induced by the increasingly enriched MPs evaluated by piecewise structural equation modeling (piecewise SEM), as increasing specialization (10.2 % to 19.4 % to 23.0 % of specialists) and decreasing generalization (10.4 % to 10.2 % to 8.7 % of generalists). (2) A self-remediation strategy of enhancing microbial plastic-degrading potentials was determined in bacterial communities, tightly coupled to the increase of specialists (linear regression analysis, R 2 = 0.54, P < 0.001) and increasing MPs weathering degrees visualized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) from non-rhizosphere to rhizosphere to root hair regions. Our study provides a novel insight into the ecological strategies that rhizospheric microbes utilize against MPs, and broadens our knowledge of the interaction between soil microbes and global MPs pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs), located around the dural sinuses, are considered significant participants in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation. Meningeal lymphatic vessels not only drain fluids and metabolic waste from the brain into deep cervical lymph nodes (dCLNs) but also transport immune cells from the brain to dCLNs, thus regulating the interaction between the central and peripheral immune systems. These vessels play a crucial role in maintaining normal physiological functions of the central nervous system (CNS). Meningeal lymphatic vessels are involved in the pathophysiological processes of various CNS diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and brain tumors. In aging and various CNS diseases, damage and dysfunction of mLVs have been observed, leading to the abnormal accumulation of toxic substances and exacerbating neural damage. By transporting antigen-presenting cells that have taken up antigens within the brain to dCLNs, mLVs modulate the activation of peripheral immune cells and their migration and infiltration into brain lesions. Certain drug interventions or physical therapies can modulate the drainage function of mLVs, effectively improving the prognosis of CNS diseases. This review provides a detailed introduction to the anatomic structure, physiological roles, and research advances of mLVs in CNS diseases. In addition, we propose new strategies for targeting mLVs in the treatment of CNS diseases., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.)

The mechanism underlying chronic hypoxia (CH)-induced pulmonary venous remodeling remains unclear. Cell proliferation is key in vascular remodeling, and the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) protein contributes to CH-induced pulmonary venous smooth muscle cell (PVSMC) proliferation. In pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, CaSR and transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) proteins interact, contributing to CH-induced cell proliferation via CaSR-TRPC1/6 signaling. We investigated whether a similar pathway exists in PVSMCs. Rat PVSMCs were isolated and subjected to CH. Cell proliferation was assessed by cell counting, CCK-8, and BrdU incorporation assays. Expression of CaSR and TRPC was analyzed by qPCR and western blotting, while interactions between CaSR and TRPC were detected by co-immunoprecipitation assay. Extracellular Ca 2+ restoration was evaluated, to assess store- and receptor-operated Ca 2+ entry (SOCE and ROCE, respectively). CH enhanced PVSMC numbers, viability, and DNA synthesis, and upregulated CaSR and TRPC6 expression. Further, CaSR and TRPC6 interacted with one another. CaSR inhibitors (NPS2143, NPS2390) reduced, whereas activators (spermine, R568) enhanced, CH-induced increases in PVSMC numbers, viability, DNA synthesis, and TRPC6 expression. CaSR knockdown using siRNA inhibited CH-induced TRPC6 upregulation and attenuated CH-induced increases in PVSMC numbers, viability, and DNA synthesis. TRPC6 knockdown had no significant effect on CH-induced CaSR upregulation, but significantly attenuated CH-induced increases in PVSMC number, viability, and DNA synthesis. CaSR knockdown reduced ROCE, but not SOCE, enhancement. Overall, CH promotes PVSMC proliferation through the CaSR-TRPC6/ROCE pathway., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In clinical practice, cardiovascular and renal safety profiles of sacubitril/valsartan, compared with those of valsartan alone, remain controversial. Therefore, we aimed to compare the pharmacovigilance signals related to cardiovascular and renal adverse events between sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan alone using the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database., Research Design and Methods: Raw report data on cardiac and renal adverse events associated with sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan alone were retrieved from the FAERS database using preferred terms from the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities. Preferred terms were mapped to System Organ Classes, and the time to onset of adverse events associated with sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan alone was calculated., Results: Most adverse events associated with sacubitril/valsartan occurred within the first month, whereas adverse events were more prevalent 6 months to 1 year after administration of valsartan alone. Adverse events reported for sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan alone included cardiac failure, cardiogenic shock, and ventricular fibrillation. Considering sacubitril/valsartan only, adverse events reported were renal impairment, renal failure, and acute kidney injury. For valsartan alone, adverse events reported included arrhythmia and angina pectoris., Conclusions: Sacubitril/valsartan carries a higher renal safety risk and lower cardiac safety risk than valsartan alone.

Introduction: Monitoring the heart rate (HR) of pets is challenging when contact with a conscious pet is inconvenient, difficult, injurious, distressing, or dangerous for veterinarians or pet owners. However, few established, simple, and non-invasive techniques for HR measurement in pets exist., Methods: To address this gap, we propose a novel, contactless approach for HR monitoring in pet dogs and cats, utilizing facial videos and imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG). This method involves recording a video of the pet's face and extracting the iPPG signal from the video data, offering a simple, non-invasive, and stress-free alternative to conventional HR monitoring techniques. We validated the accuracy of the proposed method by comparing it to electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings in a controlled laboratory setting., Results: Experimental results indicated that the average absolute errors between the reference ECG monitor and iPPG estimates were 2.94 beats per minute (BPM) for dogs and 3.33 BPM for cats under natural light, and 2.94 BPM for dogs and 2.33 BPM for cats under artificial light. These findings confirm the reliability and accuracy of our iPPG-based method for HR measurement in pets., Discussion: This approach can be applied to resting animals for real-time monitoring of their health and welfare status, which is of significant interest to both veterinarians and families seeking to improve care for their pets., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Hu, Gao, Peng, Yang and Zhang.)

Background: Probiotics, which are beneficial to the host, have been shown to benefit the health of cats. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are commonly used probiotics, but most strains used for cats are not derived from cats, leading to reduced efficacy and poor adaptation to cats. The objective was to identify LAB with promising probiotic potential specific to cats., Method: LABs were isolated from fecal samples of 20 healthy cats. Gram staining and the survival rate in the simulated gastrointestinal tract were used for preliminary screening. Candidate strains were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing, and further evaluated for adhesion ability, growth characteristics, antibacterial activity, antioxidant capacity, and safety., Results: 24 Gram-positive isolates were identified, with 10 (F1-F10) showing robust viability in the simulated gastroenteric fluid. These 10 strains exhibited excellent adhesion to Caco-2 cells and strong auto-agglutination properties. They also possessed the capacity to antagonize and aggregate pathogens ( Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Salmonella Braenderup H9812, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1), Moreover, all strains demonstrated tolerance to H 2 O 2 concentrations ranging from 0.5-2 mmol/L and the ability to scavenge 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals, indicating a certain level of antioxidant activity. Safety tests showed no hemolytic activity, and all but F6 were highly sensitive to antibiotics, with over 62.5% sensitivity to 16 antibiotics. Remarkably, F4 ( Lactobacillus reuteri ) and F10 ( Lactobacillus brevis ) exhibited exceptional viability in the simulated gastrointestinal tract, coupled with robust growth potential, enhanced adhesion efficiency, significant antibacterial and antioxidant properties., Conclusion: Our findings revealed that F4 ( Lactobacillus reuteri ) and F10 ( Lactobacillus brevis ) hold promising potential as probiotics. This research lays a solid scientific foundation for the selection and application of probiotics tailored specifically for cats., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Yang, Peng, Zhang, Huang, Zhong, Liu, Fu, Zhou and Peng.)

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) is the main cause of death in clinical respiratory virus infection. Liang-Ge-San (LGS), a famous traditional Chinese formula, has been proved to be effective in treating ALI caused by lipopolysaccharide. However, the effects of LGS on ALI induced by viral infections remain uncertain., Purpose: To investigate the effect and mechanism of action of LGS on viral infection-induced ALI., Methods: The inhibitory effects of LGS on virus-induced inflammation in vitro were evaluated by qRT-PCR and ELISA. The protein expression of α7nAChR was examined by Western blotting. α7nAChR was inhibited by the transfection of siRNA or methyllycaconitine citrate (MLA, an α7nAChR inhibitor) to investigate the role of α7nAChR in the anti-inflammatory effect of LGS. Adoptive culture and co-culture systems of macrophages RAW264.7 and alveolar epithelial cells MLE-12 were established to mimic their interaction. Western blotting, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy were used to examine the effects of LGS on mitophagy inhibition. In vivo, ALI mouse models induced by SARS-CoV-2, H1N1 or Poly(I:C) infection were established to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of LGS., Results: LGS reduced the release of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β and increased the expression of α7nAChR in virus-infected RAW264.7 cells. The blockage of α7nAChR counteracted the anti-inflammatory effect of LGS. Moreover, LGS significantly inhibited autophagy in MLE-12 cells induced by Poly(I:C) in adoptive culture and co-culture systems of RAW264.7 and MLE-12 cells, which could be attenuated after the inhibition of α7nAChR in RAW264.7 cells by decreasing the secretion of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β. Further study showed that LGS suppressed TNF-α-induced mitochondrial damage and mitophagy by inhibiting the generation of ROS in MLE-12 cells. In vivo, LGS significantly prolonged the survival time, alleviated pathological injury and acute inflammation of ALI mice induced by SARS-CoV-2, H1N1 or Poly(I:C) infection which were associated with the inhibition of α7nAChR-mediated mitophagy., Conclusion: This study first demonstrates that LGS inhibits virus infection-induced inflammation in RAW246.7 cells by increasing the expression of α7nAChR, thereby inhibiting mitophagy induction in MLE-12 cells to alleviate ALI. This work indicates that LGS may serve as a candidate drug for treating ALI/ARDS caused by viral infection., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a life-threatening bone marrow failure disease. The addition of eltrombopag to immunosuppressive therapy (IST) improves the response rate, but its hepatotoxicity is concerning. Avatrombopag (AVA), a small-molecule thrombopoietin-receptor agonist without hepatotoxicity, has unknown efficacy in SAA treatment. This retrospective study assessed the efficacy and safety of AVA added to IST 42 SAA patients compared to a historical cohort of 84 patients receiving IST alone, using propensity score matching. The median age was 31.5 (6.0-67.0 years) years old in group A and 26 (16.0-45.0 years) years old in group B. At 3 months, group A showed higher complete response (CR) and overall response (OR) rates than group B (CR: 19.0% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.024; OR: 54.8% vs. 39.3%, p = 0.145). Higher CR and OR rates were also found at 6 months in group A than in group B (CR: 31.0% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.145; OR 71.4% vs. 51.2%, p = 0.048). In multivariate analysis of group A, a shorter interval from disease onset to antithymocyte globulin (ATG) treatment (≤6 months) (p = 0.005) predicted better responses rate at 6 months. Event-free survival was also improved in group A (60.7% vs. 49.6%). AVA was well-tolerated, with no hepatic injury observed during treatment, even in those with pre-existing hepatic impairment. The addition of AVA to IST improves both the response rate and response quality in patients with SAA while ensuring safety., Competing Interests: Conflicts Of Interest Disclosure This study was supported by Grant 2023NCRCA0119 of Clinical Research Funding of National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases; Grant 2022-PUMCH-C-026 of National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding; Grant 2022YFA1103300 of National Key R&D Program of China. The authors have no competing financial interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 International Society for Experimental Hematology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: This study investigates the relationship between plasma exosomal miRNAs and nonunion risk following open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of clavicle fractures, aiming to identify predictive molecule to enhance patient management and personalized orthopedic care., Methods: Conducted as a prospective cohort study at Taian City Central Hospital, participants included individuals with unilateral, closed clavicle fractures who underwent ORIF (n = 763, 546 males and 217 females). Plasma samples were collected preoperatively for exosome isolation and miRNA extraction, specifically analyzing miR-100, miR-124, miR-125b, and miR-21 using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Patients were classified into union and nonunion groups based on follow-up outcomes at a minimum of three months post-surgery., Results: Out of 763 patients, 720 achieved union while 43 developed nonunion. Notably, the nonunion group exhibited significantly elevated exosomal miR-21 expression levels. Univariate analysis demonstrated a significant association between high miR-21 expression and nonunion occurrence (Relative Risk [RR] = 1.82, P = 0.0004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis corroborated this association (RR > 1.8, P < 0.05), adjusting for covariates. High miR-21 levels (3.12 to 7.89) were robustly associated with nonunion outcomes (RR > 4), independent of other factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated certain clinical diagnostic value of miR-21 for predicting nonunion (Area Under the Curve [AUC] = 0.7885)., Conclusions: The elevated preoperative levels of exosomal miR-21 were significantly associated with an increased risk of bone nonunion at three months ORIF in patients with clavicle fractures, indicating that miR-21 holds potential as a non-specific predictive molecule., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors, their immediate families, and any research foundation with which they are affiliated have not received any financial payments or other benefits from any commercial entity related to the subject of this article., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ferryl ions (Fe(IV)) are often thought to play an important role in iron-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), and their presence is typically inferred through the unique pathway of methyl phenyl sulfoxide (PMSO) conversion to methyl phenyl sulfone (PMSO 2 ). Here, we first employed probe method by degrading the mixed system containing PMSO, benzoic acid (BA), nitrobenzene (NB) to analyze the steady-state concentration of Fe (IV) in the iron-based heterogeneous persulfate reaction system. In addition, studies were conducted on the direct oxidation of PMSO by different oxidants under different pH conditions, and the results showed that peroxymonosulfate (PMS), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and sodium periodate (PI) can directly oxidize PMSO and convert it into PMSO 2 . Furthermore, the influence of different types of iron salts and biomass on the prepared iron-biochar (Fe-BC) for the activation of persulfate on degradation of PMSO and the formation of PMSO 2 was also investigated. This study may provide new insights into the use of PMSO as a probe for the analysis of Fe(IV) in heterogeneous reaction systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of pulsed gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) micropump replacement therapy in the treatment of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) caused by primary empty sella (PES).The efficacy of pulsed GnRH replacement therapy using the micropump was evaluated in a middle-aged male patient with HH who had experienced the loss of his only child. Relevant literature was also consulted to compare the differences between pulse GnRH treatment and conventional treatment in terms of the development of secondary sexual characteristics, sex hormone levels, sperm production rate, and sperm activity rate in male patient with HH.In this report, a 45-year-old male diagnosed with HH and PES presented with fatigue and decreased libido. The main characteristics included decreased follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels of 0.03 mIU/mL, luteinizing hormone (LH) levels of 0.02 mIU/mL, and testosterone (T) levels of 0.72 nmol/L. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an empty sella. Semen analysis showed a small number of normal sperm with reduced motility. During treatment with the micropump pulse GnRH, the patient experienced no side effects and showed improvements in fatigue, reduced libido, sexual urge, anxiety, and feelings of inferiority. LH, FSH, and T levels returned to normal, while sperm activity rate increased to 79.9%. Ultimately, the patient's spouse achieved a natural pregnancy.Pulsed gonadotropin delivery using the micropump demonstrates good efficacy and tolerability, and aligns more closely with the physiological rhythm of GnRH secretion in the human body., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: Informed consent was obtained from the patients in the study. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University. Consent for Publication: Written informed consent for the publication of his clinical details and clinical images was obtained from the patient. A copy of the consent form is available for review by the Editor of this journal. Competing Interests: There were no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The computational complexity of video models increases linearly with the square number of frames. Thus, constrained bycomputational resources, training video models to learn long-term temporal semantics end-to-end is quite a challenge. Currently, the main-stream method is to split a raw video into clips, leading to incomplete fragmentary temporal information flow and failure of modeling long-term semantics. In this paper, we design the Markov Progressive framework (MaPro), a theoretical framework consisting of the progressive modeling method and a paradigm model tailored for it. Thecore idea of MaPro is to find a paradigm model consisting of proposed Markov operators which can be trained in multiple sequential steps and ensure that the multi-step progressive modeling is equivalent to the conventional end-to-endmodeling. By training the paradigm model under the progressive method, we are able to model long videos end-to-endwith limited resources and ensure the effective transmission of long-term temporal information. We provide implementations of this theoretical system on the mainstream CNN- and Transformer-based models, where they are modified to conform to the Markov paradigm. As a general and robust training method, we experimentally demonstrate that it yields significant performance improvements on different backbones and datasets. As an illustrative example, the proposed method improves the SlowOnly network by 4.1 mAP on Charades and 2.5 top-1 accuracy on Kinetics. And for TimeSformer, MaPro improves its performance on Kinetics by 2.0 top-1 accuracy. Importantly, all these improvements areachieved with a little parameter and computation overhead.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, icosahedral, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family and the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). ASFV causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic and wild pigs. ASFV contains an open reading frame named EP152R, previous research has shown that EP152R is an essential gene for virus rescue in swine macrophages. However, the detailed functions of ASFV EP152R remain elusive. Herein, we demonstrate that EP152R, a membrane protein located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), induces ER stress and swelling, triggering the PERK/eIF2α pathway, and broadly inhibiting host protein synthesis in vitro. Additionally, EP152R strongly promotes immune evasion, reduces cell proliferation, and alters cellular metabolism. These results suggest that ASFV EP152R plays a critical role in the intracellular environment, facilitating viral replication. Furthermore, virus-level experiments have shown that the knockdown of EP152R or PERK inhibitors efficiently affects viral replication by decreasing viral gene expression. In summary, these findings reveal a series of novel functions of ASFV EP152R and have important implications for understanding host-pathogen interactions., (© 2024 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.)

Introduction: Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are Gram-positive bacteria that produce lactic acid during fermentation, with some strains enhancing host health by modulating the gut microbiota, boosting immune responses, and reducing inflammation., Methods: In this study, 6 LAB strains were isolated from two dog milk samples, and their probiotic properties were comprehensively evaluated. The evaluation included growth properties, stress resistance, antipathogen activity, adhesion activity, safety assessment, antioxidant capacity, and prebiotic metabolites assessment., Results: In comparison to the control strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG, all 6 LAB isolates exhibited favorable probiotic properties. Additionally, the results of the antioxidant tests indicated that these strains demonstrated high tolerance to 0.5 mmol/L H 2 O 2 and exhibited significant scavenging abilities for the free radicals 1,1-diphenyl-2-trinitrophenylhydrazine (DPPH) and hydroxyl (OH - ). Furthermore, the 6 LAB isolates were found to produce elevated concentrations of prebiotic metabolites, including exopolysaccharides (EPS), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and bile salt hydrolase (BSH)., Discussion: This study presents a comprehensive analysis of LAB isolates derived from canine milk. These isolates exhibited multifunctional properties, with strain L221 performing the best overall, making it a promising candidate for probiotic use in dogs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liu, Zeng, Chen, Xin, Zhong, Liu, Fu, Zhou and Peng.)

The Na 0.44 MnO 2 cathode has attracted enormous interest owing to its low cost, low toxicity, and stable structure, but its practical application is still hindered by the limited sodium storage sites. Element doping is widely used to improve its capacity. However, cation and anion substitution could barely reach a satisfactory compromise between the structural stability and reversible capacity. Herein, we show that the above issue could be overcome via the synergetic effect of W and Al substitution. Combining the electrochemical and in situ X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) measurements, we reveal that the substitution of W effectively facilitates the tunnel-to-layered phase transformation, while the further substitution of Al eliminates the Na + /vacancy ordering during the extraction/insertion of Na + ions, resulting in a layered Na 0.44 Mn 0.94 W 0.01 Al 0.05 O 2 (NMO-1W5Al) with negligible Na + /vacancy ordering upon cycling. In addition, NMO-1W5Al represents a wider Na + interlayer spacing to accelerate the diffusion of Na + , which improves the rate performance. The high specific capacity, remarkable rate performance, and high cycling stability of NMO-1W5Al are promising for large-scale energy storage systems.

Astragalus adsurgens, a significant forage plant cultivated in arid regions of northwest China, remains underexplored for its triterpenoid saponins and medicinal properties compared to the extensively studied Astragalus membranaceus. To explore the phytochemical profile of A. adsurgens for its potential application in the medical field, we employed ultra-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry-based method to identify cycloartane-type triterpenes. Eventually, five new cycloartane-type triterpenoids, adsurgosides A‒D (1‒4) and 3-methyl-3,4-seco-cyclostellanol (5), together with two known analogues cycloastragenol (6) and cyclopycanthogenin (7), were isolated from the roots of A. adsurgens. Their structures were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR analyses in combination with HRESIMS data. Additionally, a comparative study on the distribution patterns of these compounds revealed qualitative and quantitative variations between A. adsurgens and A. membranaceus. Our findings not only identified an alternative plant for isolating cycloartane-type triterpenoids but also offer new insights into the chemical properties of A. adsurgens., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To develop and validate a multi-index nomogram prediction model for clinically significant prostate cancer(CSPCa) by combining the PI-RADS V2.1, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters and clinical indicators., Methods: A total of 1740 patients (75% in the derivation cohort and 25% in the internal validation cohort) and 342 patients (the external validation cohort) were retrospectively included in the MRI follow-up database of the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University between January 2015 and April 2021,and Gejiu People's Hospital between January 2020 and December 2022.Important predictors of CSPCa in MRI-related quantitative parameters, PSA-derived indicators, and clinical indicators, such as age, were screened. The Net Reclassification Improvement Index(NRI),Integrated Discrimination Improvement Index(IDI), and clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) were calculated to compare the performances of the different models. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves and clinical calibration curves were used to analyze and compare diagnostic effects., Results: The AUC value, best cut-off value, specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of model 1(PI-RADS + PSAD) derivation cohort were 0.935, 0.304, 0.861, 0.895 and 0.872, respectively. The AUC values of the internal and external validation cohorts for model 1 were 0.956 and 0.955, respectively. The AUC value, best cut-off value, specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of model 2(PI-RADS +PSAD + ADCmean) derivation cohort were 0.939, 0.401, 0.895, 0.853 and 0.882, respectively. The AUC values of the internal and external validation cohorts for model 2 were 0.940 and 0.960,respectively. After adding the ADCmean to the model, the NRI(categorical), NRI(continuous) and IDI values were 0.0154, 0.3498 and 0.0222, respectively. There was no significant difference between the predicted probability and actual probability (p> 0.05)., Conclusion: Models 1 and 2 had reliable, efficient and visual predictive value for CSPCa. The ADCmean is an important predictive indicator., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Yan, Xianmei, Heyi, Wei, Chao, Yanwen, Shicun, Chao, Cui, Peng, Xiaodong, xiaoyu, Bingbing, Wenqing, Kexian, Qingqing, Linglin, Yun, Lei, Jihong, Wei, Yaying and Juan.)

Introduction: Guided endodontics represents an effective method for achieving safe and reliable endodontic surgery in human medicine. However, it is rarely employed in small animal dentistry. This study employed finite element analysis and three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques to explore the feasibility of guided endodontics in Beagle mandibular teeth., Methods: The methodology included the processing of Computed Tomography (CT) data, the creation of mathematical and 3D printing templates of the root canal pathways, and the evaluation of dog 3D printing guided endodontics compared with classic root canal method using radiograph., Results: In this experiment, the coordinates of the central point of pulp crown and apex point for each tooth were recorded. Based on the extension line of the central point of dental root canal orifice and the apex point, guided endodontic templates were designed on each root canal of 20 teeth in the Beagle mandible. Among them, the average relative deviation of guided endodontics and classic root canal method was 4.28%  ±  2.75%, and the mean angular deviation was 1.90  ±  0.25°., Discussion: Our research indicated that dog 3D printing guided endodontics has accurate position, direction, and length, which may assist veterinary dentistry in root canal treatment in small animals., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Peng, Yang, Liu, Liu, Zhong, Peng, Zhang, Zheng, Zhang and Zhou.)

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) has caused serious economic losses to the swine livestock industry. Due to the rapid variation in the PEDV) genome, especially the spike (S) protein, the cross-protection ability of antibodies between different vaccine strains is weakened. Hence, the rapid development of safe, broad-spectrum and highly effective attenuated PEDV vaccine still needs further research. Here, we found that the replacement of the S2 subunit had little effect on S protein immunogenicity. Moreover, the chimeric virus (YN-S2 DR13 ), the S protein of the YN strain was replaced by the DR13 S2 subunit, which lost its trypsin tropism and increased its propagation ability (approximately 1 titer) in Vero cells. Then, the pathogenesis of YN-S2 DR13 was evaluated in neonatal piglets. Importantly, quantitative real-time PCR, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry confirmed that the virulence of YN-S2 DR13 was significantly reduced compared with that of YN. Immunization with YN-S2 DR13 induced neutralizing antibodies against both YN and DR13 in weaned piglets. In vitro passaging data also showed that YN-S2 DR13 had good genetic stability. Collectively, these results suggest that YN-S2 DR13 has significant advantages as a novel vaccine candidate, including a capacity for viral propagation to high titers with no trypsin requirement and the potential to provide protection against both PEDV G1 and G2 strains infections. Our results also suggests that S2 subunit replacement using reverse genetics can be a rapid strategy for the rational design of live attenuated vaccines for PEDV., Importance: Emerging highly virulent porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) G2 strains has caused substantial economic losses worldwide. Vaccination with a live attenuated vaccine is a promising method to prevent and control PED because it can induce a strong immune response (including T- and B-cell immunity). Previous studies have demonstrated that the S2 subunit of the PEDV spike (S) protein is the determinant of PEDV trypsin independence. Here, we evaluated the pathogenicity, tissue tropism, and immunogenicity of the chimeric virus (YN-S2 DR13 ) via animal experiments. We demonstrated that YN-S2 DR13 strain, as a trypsin independent strain, increased intracellular proliferation capacity, significantly reduced virulence, and induced broad-spectrum neutralization protection against PEDV G1 and G2 strains. In vitro passaging data also validated the stability of YN-S2 DR13 . Our results showed that generating a chimeric PEDV strain that is trypsin-independent by replacing the S2 subunit is a promising approach for designing a live attenuated vaccine for PEDV in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Noncentrosymmetric (NCS) pnictides are indispensable for nonlinear optics, ferroelectrics, magnetic Weyl electronics, etc., areas, yet their structure design remains a substantial challenge. By using asymmetric ionic unit-driven covalent groups orienting and rigidity-flexibility coupling dual strategy, we successfully design and synthesize four NCS pnictides: [Sr 4 Br] 2 [M II 3 Si 25 P 40 ] (M II = Mg, Cd) and [Ba 3 Br][M III Si 10 P 16 ] (M III = Ga, In), which exhibit strong second harmonic generation effects (5.2 to 7.5 × AgGaS 2 ), wide bandgaps (1.81 to 1.90 electron volts), and moderate birefringence (0.030 to 0.051). An unprecedented NCS structure-inducing mechanism analysis revealed that the (Sr 4 Br) and (Ba 4 Br) ionic units featuring the diamond-like electrostatic force field effectively break inversion symmetry and trigger uniform arrangement of the covalent tetrahedron groups. Furthermore, the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties and birefringence can be remarkably tuned by the secondary covalent building blocks (M II/III P 4 tetrahedra) with distinct bond flexibility providing a broader space for regulating the key parameters. This work might expand chemical space for exploiting high-performance pnictide NLO materials.

Due to the combined influences of marine and terrestrial disturbances, the sources of microplastics (MPs) in mangrove ecosystems are complex and diverse. Previous studies have inferred the possible involvement of mariculture activities as a potential source of mangrove MPs based on the characteristics of MPs. However, the direct contributions of mariculture-derived MPs to mangrove MPs remain largely unknown. In this study, we systematically investigated the fate of MPs in the discharge of mariculture wastewater by quantifying the source contributions of mariculture-derived MPs to rivers and mangroves. The majority of detected MPs were transparent fibers, with their composition primarily comprising materials commonly used in mariculture activities such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and nylon. The partial least squares path model elucidated the relationships among the composition of MPs in ponds, rivers, and mangroves, indicating that ponds exert a substantial direct effect on mangroves, particularly significant in the sediments (63.68%). Water turbidity, sediment carbon content, and sediment particle size are key ecological factors influencing the abundance of mariculture-derived MPs. This study provides compelling evidence regarding the sources of mangrove MPs and novel insights into mitigating the dissemination of MPs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Heat stress significantly impacts dairy cows, primarily through oxidative stress, which undermines their health. The problem is exacerbated by the ongoing global warming trend. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are safe, economical, and readily accessible options for enhancing the host's antioxidant defenses and preventing oxidative damage. They have been proven effective in alleviating heat stress-related damage, making them an excellent choice for protecting dairy cows from the adverse effects of heat stress., Method: In this study, five strains of LAB from Holstein cow milk ( Lactobacillus plantarum L5, L14, L17, L19, L20) were evaluated for their heat resistance and antioxidant capacity by evaluating the growth characteristics and tolerance of the strains under high-temperature conditions, as well as their H 2 O 2 tolerance, free radical scavenging ability (DPPH, OH - , ABTS), reducing ability, and EPS production ability. Furthermore, we employed Caco-2 cells to assess the adhesion rate of the strain, thereby confirming its ability to successfully colonize the host's intestinal tract and ensuring the effective execution of its probiotic functions. The strain with excellent heat resistance and antioxidant capacity was then subjected to genomic analysis to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms behind their heat resistance, antioxidant capacity, and safety., Results: Among the two strains, Lactobacillus plantarum L19 emerges as a highly promising candidate. The strain exhibits robust growth even at high temperatures at 40°C and maintains a survival rate of 16.42% at the extreme temperature of 65°C. Furthermore, it demonstrates superior tolerance to hydrogen peroxide (27.3%), and possesses a notably higher free radical scavenging capacity with a high adhesion rate to Caco-2 cell (22.19%) compared to the other four strains tested. Genomic analysis revealed its' genome has 17 genes related to antioxidants and three genes related to heat resistance. Importantly, L19 lacks any resistance genes, ensuring its safety as a probiotic., Conclusion: The results imply that Lactobacillus plantarum L19 has the potential to serve as an effective food additive in mitigating damages associated with heat stress. This research offers a valuable reference for the prevention and management of heat stress in dairy cows, while also expanding the scope of applications for LAB derived from cow milk., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Liu, Zheng, Xin, Zhong, Liu, Huang, Fu, Zhou and Peng.)

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is commonly used to dispose of laying hen manure. However, veterinary antibiotic residues present in chicken manure may affect the AD process. Here, the effects of three types of veterinary antibiotics commonly used in laying hen breeding on AD were explored. Manures containing antibiotics at two different concentrations were continuously added during AD for 5 days: amoxicillin (H AMX : 145.06 mg/kg, L AMX : 57.88 mg/kg), doxycycline (H DOC : 183.61 mg/kg, L DOC : 98.00 mg/kg), and ciprofloxacin (H CIP : 96.34 mg/kg, L CIP : 40.43 mg/kg). Compared with a control with no veterinary antibiotics, the amoxicillin and doxycycline groups presented no significant effects on biogas production, methane production, VFA concentration, acetic acid concentration or the pH of the AD system (P > 0.05). However, compared with the control, the ciprofloxacin groups presented significantly inhibited biogas and methane production during AD (P < 0.05), and the H CIP and L CIP groups presented significantly decreased biogas (47.82% and 45.37%, respectively) and methane (58.24% and 52.55%, respectively) production (P < 0.05). Moreover, the VFA and acetic acid concentrations of the ciprofloxacin groups were significantly higher than those of control during the entire AD period (P < 0.05), and the pH value at the withdrawal stage was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.01), with no significant difference between the H CIP and L CIP groups (P > 0.05). Our results suggest that ciprofloxacin causes VFA and acetic acid accumulation in AD systems, thereby reducing the pH of the systems and inhibiting methanogen growth, ultimately reducing methane production in the AD systems. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the impact of ciprofloxacin on methane production in AD systems and offer some considerations for the application of AD systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Cleavage stimulation factor subunit 2 (CSTF2) is a fundamental factor in the regulation of 3'-end cleavage and alternative polyadenylation of pre-mRNAs. Previous work has identified a tumor-promoting role of CSTF2, suggesting that it may represent a potential therapeutic target. Here, we aimed to elucidate the mechanistic function of CSTF2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). CSTF2 upregulation was frequent in HCC, and elevated levels of CSTF2 correlated with poor patient prognosis. While CSTF2 inhibition did not suppress HCC growth under non-stress conditions, it supported tolerance and survival of HCC cells under hypoxic conditions. Mechanistically, CSTF2 increased PGK1 protein production to enhance glycolysis, thereby sustaining the energy supply under hypoxic conditions. CSTF2 shortened the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) pre-mRNA by binding near the proximal polyadenylation site (pPAS). This shortening led to a loss of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification sites that are bound by YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA-binding protein F2 (YTHDF2) and increase degradation of PGK1 mRNA. Concurrently, hypoxia increased m6A modification of PGK1 mRNA near the pPAS that was recognized by the YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA-binding protein C1 (YTHDC1), which recruited CSTF2 to enhance the shortening of the PGK1 3'-UTR. A small molecule screen identified masitinib as an inhibitor of CSTF2. Masitinib counteracted PGK1 upregulation by CSTF2 and suppressed the growth of HCC xenograft and patient-derived organoid models. In conclusion, this study revealed a function of CSTF2 in supporting HCC survival under hypoxia conditions through m6A modification evasion and metabolic reprogramming, indicating inhibiting CSTF2 may overcome hypoxia tolerance in HCC.

In recent years, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has developed rapidly, and low precision inertial devices have achieved small volume, light weight, and mass production. Under this background, array technology has emerged to achieve high precision inertial measurement under the premise of low cost. This paper reviews the development of MEMS inertial measurement unit (IMU) array technology. First, the different types of common inertial measurement unit arrays are introduced and the basic principles are explained. Secondly, IMU array's development status is summarized by analyzing the research results over the years. Then, the key technologies and corresponding development status of IMU array are described, respectively, including error analysis modeling and calibration, data fusion technology, fault detection, and isolation technology. Finally, the characteristics and shortcomings of the past research results are summarized, the future research direction is discussed, and some thoughts are put forward to further improve the accuracy of the IMU array.

The potential health implications of environmental micro/nanoplastics (MNPLs) are increasingly concerning. Beyond environmental exposure, other sources such as food packaging, including herbal/teabags, may also be significant. This study investigates the release of MNPLs from three commercially available teabags. By simulating tea preparation, MNPL samples were extracted and characterized using a range of analytical techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), attenuated total reflectance/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV), and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). The results confirmed that the teabags were made of nylon-6 (NY6), polypropylene (PP), and cellulose (CL) and that microfibers and nano-range particles (NPLs) were present in the leachates. NTA data revealed that the number of released NPLs was 1.20 × 10 9 /mL (PP; 136.7 nm), 1.35 × 10 8 /mL (CL; 244 nm), and 8.18 × 10 6 /mL (NY6; 138.4). The leachate particles were then stained with iDye Poly-Pink and used to expose three human intestine-derived cell types (Caco-2, HT29, and HT29-MTX) to assess their biointeractions and the role of the mucosubstances in vitro. The results demonstrated that after 24 h of exposure to 100 μg/mL NPLs, there was significant uptake of PP-NPLs in HT29-MTX cells, as a model of cells segregating high amount of mucus. A similar uptake was observed for CL-NPLs in HT29 and HT29-MTX cells, while NY6-NPLs were internalized preferentially in Caco-2 cells. These findings underscore the importance of identifying new environmentally relevant MNPL exposure sources, for developing realistic MNPLs samples, and further investigating their potential human health effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)