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Accumulated evidence suggested that gut microbial dysbiosis interplayed with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, no available therapy is effective in suppressing progressive CKD. Here, using microbiomics in 480 participants including healthy controls and patients with stage 1-5 CKD, we identified an elongation taxonomic chain Bacilli-Lactobacillales-Lactobacillaceae-Lactobacillus-Lactobacillus johnsonii correlated with patients with CKD progression, whose abundance strongly correlated with clinical kidney markers. L. johnsonii abundance reduced with progressive CKD in rats with adenine-induced CKD. L. johnsonii supplementation ameliorated kidney lesion. Serum indole-3-aldehyde (IAld), whose level strongly negatively correlated with creatinine level in CKD rats, decreased in serum of rats induced using unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and 5/6 nephrectomy (NX) as well as late CKD patients. Treatment with IAld dampened kidney lesion through suppressing aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signal in rats with CKD or UUO, and in cultured 1-hydroxypyrene-induced HK-2 cells. Renoprotective effect of IAld was partially diminished in AHR deficiency mice and HK-2 cells. Our further data showed that treatment with L. johnsonii attenuated kidney lesion by suppressing AHR signal via increasing serum IAld level. Taken together, targeting L. johnsonii might reverse patients with CKD. This study provides a deeper understanding of how microbial-produced tryptophan metabolism affects host disease and discovers potential pathways for prophylactic and therapeutic treatments for CKD patients.

Research on the stereochemistry of natural products, especially that of flexible macrocyclic molecules, has always been a huge challenge. Cembranes diterpenoids are a typical class of flexible macrocyclic molecules, whose configurations are often determined by coupling constant and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE), both of which are nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters with local character. The development of methods such as residual dipolar coupling (RDC) and quantum chemical calculations has further expanded the toolbox for solving stereochemical problems. RDC, as an NMR parameter with non-local character, has not only been reported in the structure construction and function research of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, but has also gradually been applied to the configuration determination of natural products, contributing significantly to the stereochemical research on drug molecules. At present, there are few reports of RDC application in determining the configurations of cembranes diterpenoids. Here, the stereochemical configuration of sinulariol Z is investigated by RDC for the first time and confirmed by X-ray diffraction, further demonstrating the feasibility of RDC in the stereochemical study on cembranes diterpenoids.

Abstract Accumulated evidence suggested that gut microbial dysbiosis interplayed with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, no available therapy is effective in suppressing progressive CKD. Here, using microbiomics in 480 participants including healthy controls and patients with stage 1–5 CKD, we identified an elongation taxonomic chain Bacilli-Lactobacillales-Lactobacillaceae-Lactobacillus-Lactobacillus johnsonii correlated with patients with CKD progression, whose abundance strongly correlated with clinical kidney markers. L. johnsonii abundance reduced with progressive CKD in rats with adenine-induced CKD. L. johnsonii supplementation ameliorated kidney lesion. Serum indole-3-aldehyde (IAld), whose level strongly negatively correlated with creatinine level in CKD rats, decreased in serum of rats induced using unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and 5/6 nephrectomy (NX) as well as late CKD patients. Treatment with IAld dampened kidney lesion through suppressing aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signal in rats with CKD or UUO, and in cultured 1-hydroxypyrene-induced HK-2 cells. Renoprotective effect of IAld was partially diminished in AHR deficiency mice and HK-2 cells. Our further data showed that treatment with L. johnsonii attenuated kidney lesion by suppressing AHR signal via increasing serum IAld level. Taken together, targeting L. johnsonii might reverse patients with CKD. This study provides a deeper understanding of how microbial-produced tryptophan metabolism affects host disease and discovers potential pathways for prophylactic and therapeutic treatments for CKD patients.

Pylephlebitis, which is a type of septic thrombophlebitis of the portal vein, is a rare and life-threatening complication that commonly occurs following appendicitis. However, nonspecific abdominal complaints and fever can impede the diagnosis of pylephlebitis. Timely use of appropriate antibiotics and anticoagulants is paramount for treating this condition. We present a case of pylephlebitis and septic shock caused by acute nonperforated appendicitis. A 32-year-old man presented with migratory right lower abdominal pain. Blood cultures showed the presence of Escherichia coli . Blood test results showed increased bilirubin concentrations and coagulation factor abnormalities. A computed tomographic abdominal scan showed that the portal vein had a widened intrinsic diameter. After intensive care treatment with antibiotics, antishock therapy, anticoagulants, and other supportive treatments, the infection was monitored, the abdominal pain disappeared, and the jaundice subsided. Laparoscopic appendectomy was performed. Histopathology showed acute suppurative appendicitis, and no abnormalities were observed during the follow-up period after discharge. A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory for the decision-making process in the presence of pylephlebitis caused by appendicitis to obtain a correct diagnosis and prompt treatment. Similarly, the timing of appendectomy is important for minimizing intra- and postoperative complications.

Chemical investigation of soft coral the Sarcophyton elegans collected from the South China Sea led to the identification of four new cembranes, namely sarcoeleganolides H–K (1–4). Their structures and absolute configurations were established by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, quantum chemical calculations of NMR chemical shifts and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data analysis. Moreover, compound 2 exhibited moderate anti-thrombotic activity in zebrafish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the contribution of the building sector to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, it is important to improve the building performance through retrofits from the perspective of carbon emission reductions. Data-driven methods are now widely used in building retrofit research. To better apply data-driven techniques in low-carbon building retrofits, a better understanding is needed of the connections and interactions in optimization objectives and parameters, as well as optimization methods and tools. This paper provides a bibliometric analysis of selected 45 studies, summarizes current research hotspots in the field, discusses gaps to be filled, and proposes potential directions for future work. The results show that (1) the building-performance optimization (BPO) process established through physical simulation methods combines the site, retrofit variables, and carbon-related objectives, and the generated datasets are either directly processed using multi-objective optimization (MOO) algorithms or trained as a surrogate model and iteratively optimized using MOO methods. When a sufficient amount of data is available, data-driven methods can be used to develop mathematical models and use MOO methods for performance optimization from the perspective of building carbon emission reductions. (2) The benefits of retrofits are maximized by holistically taking environmental, economic, and social factors into account; from the perspectives of carbon emissions, costs, thermal comfort, and more, widely adopted strategies include improving the thermal performance of building envelopes, regulating HVAC systems, and utilizing renewable energy. (3) The optimization process based on data-driven methods, such as optimization algorithms and machine learning, apply mathematical models and methods for automatic iterative calculations and screen out the optimal solutions with computer assistance with high efficiency while ensuring accuracy. (4) Only 2.2% and 6.7% of the literature focus on the impacts of human behavior and climate change on building retrofits, respectively. In the future, it is necessary to give further consideration to user behaviors and long-term climate change in the retrofit process, in addition to improving the accuracy of optimization models and exploring the generalization and migration capabilities of surrogate models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban-Building Energy Modelling (UBEM) tools play a crucial role in analysing and optimizing energy use within cities. Among the available approaches, the bottom-up physics-based one is the most versatile for urban development and management applications. However, their accuracy is often limited by the inability to capture the dynamic impact of occupants' presence and actions (i.e., Occupant Behaviour) on building energy use patterns. While recent research has explored advanced Occupant Behaviour (OB) modelling techniques that incorporate stochasticity and contextual influences, current UBEM practices primarily rely on static occupant profiles, due to limitations in the software itself. This paper addresses this topic by conducting a thorough literature review to examine existing OB modelling techniques, data sources, key features and detailed information that could enhance UBEM simulations. Furthermore, the flexibility of available UBEM tools for integrating advanced OB models will be assessed, along with the identification of areas for improvement. The findings of this review are intended to guide researchers and tool developers towards creating more robust and occupant-centric urban energy simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the main reason governments offer subsidies is to guide production activities and enhance the competencies of individual firms, its economic effectiveness and influential mechanism remain unclear. In this study, based on dynamic capability perspective, we introduce knowledge flows (i.e. inflows and outflows) and examine their mediation roles in the relationship between government subsidies and total factor productivity (TFP) growth. Empirical analysis is conducted using panel data from 4,335 Chinese public listed firms during the period from 2007 to 2020. The regression results show that government subsidies have a positive influence on firms' TFP growth. Further analysis confirms that government subsidies can positively affect TFP growth by influencing both knowledge inflows and outflows. This paper enriches the current literature by involving dynamic capability theory, providing novel insights into the influential mechanisms of government subsidies. Additionally, we introduce TFP as a more comprehensive measurement to avoid bias resulting from a one-sided assessment of performance. This study also provides practical inspiration for firms to design appropriate knowledge management systems and leverage the effectiveness of government subsidies in terms of firm growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On schematic metro maps, high-quality label placement is helpful to passengers performing route planning and orientation tasks. It has been reported that the artificial neural network (ANN) has the potential to place labels with learned labeling knowledge. However, the previous ANN-based method only considered the effects of station points and their connected edges. Indeed, unconnected but surrounding features (points, edges, and labels) also significantly affect the quality of label placement. To address this, we have proposed an improved method. The relations between label positions and both connected and surrounding features are first modeled based on labeling natural intelligence (i.e., the experience, knowledge, and rules of labeling established by cartographers). Then, ANN is employed to learn such relations. Quantitative evaluations show that our method reaches lower percentages of label–point overlap (0.00%), label–edge overlap (4.12%), and label–label overlap (20.58%) compared to the benchmark (4.17%, 14.29%, and 35.11%, respectively). On the other hand, our method effectively avoids ambiguous labels and ensures labels from the same line are placed on the same side. Qualitative evaluations show that approximately 75% of users prefer our results. This novel method has the potential to advance the automated generation of schematic metro maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic molecular crystal films, particularly α-Sb2O3, have emerged as promising van der Waals (vdW) dielectrics for the large-scale integration of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors in field-effect transistors (FETs) [K. L. Liu, B. Fin, W. Han, X. Chen, P. L. Gong and L. Huang, et al., Nat. Electron., 2021, 4, 906.]. Nevertheless, a notable gap exists in understanding the electronic and dielectric characteristics of few-layer α-Sb2O3 and the underlying physics governing its interaction with common 2D semiconductors. Herein, we address such issues through first-principles calculations. As the layer number increases, the electronic properties (e.g., band gap and band edges) of α-Sb2O3 exhibit minimal variations, resembling the electronic decoupling behavior, while the out-of-plane high dielectric constant significantly rises, indicating significant surface ionic behavior. These features stem from the weak interlayer quasi-bonding interaction, small atomic Born effective charge at the surface, and the influence of surface-to-volume ratio. Furthermore, exploring device physics, with a focus on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor FETs, demonstrates that the leakage currents between the N-layer α-Sb2O3 (N ≥ 4) and all our studied 2D semiconducting channels adhere to international standards and the dielectrics with 4 and 5 layers meet the criteria for small equivalent oxide thickness. Unlike other layered vdW dielectrics, few-layer α-Sb2O3 emerges as a novel high-k vdW dielectric with exceptional dielectric performance and distinctive electronic characteristics, inspiring further exploration of inorganic molecular crystals for vdW dielectrics in integrated 2D semiconductor devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]