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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), as potent reinforcements in composites, have demonstrated excellent strengthening effects when combined with copper in numerous recent studies. Challenges remain in the application of these composites and in fully leveraging the reinforcing capabilities of CNTs to achieve comprehensive performance enhancement. The performance of CNTs/Cu composites can be flexibly regulated owing to the unique structure and properties of CNTs. To achieve the fabrication of high-performance and diverse CNTs/Cu composites, a profound understanding of the reinforcement mechanisms of CNTs in the composites is essential, along with the consideration of key influencing factors on performance. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the reinforcement mechanisms of CNTs on the mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of CNTs/Cu composites. Factors influencing the effectiveness of CNT reinforcement in composites are discussed, including the attributes and dispersion of CNTs, the architectures of composites, and the interface between CNTs and Cu. Furthermore, this study explores the role of CNTs in addressing the trade-off between high strength and high conductivity as well as between high strength and high ductility in the copper matrix.

We proposed a unique wire-production process by rolling up and drawing chemical vapor deposition copper/graphene (Cu/Gr) foils, and a good strength-conductivity trade-off was achieved originating from the dispersed Gr in Cu matrix and the high-quality heterointerfaces. The 1.14 mm cold-drawn composite wire exhibited a tensile strength of 455 ± 5 MPa and a conductivity of 98.18 ± 0.16 % of the International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS), and the tensile strength was 250 ± 2 MPa with a satisfied electrical conductivity of 101.68 ± 0.52 % IACS upon annealing. The microstructure involution during the preparing process was revealed, and the reinforcement mechanisms in the yield strength and conductivity due to the introduced Gr were clarified. The results indicated that the Gr plays a role in pinning dislocations and preventing grain boundary movement during deformation and the subsequent annealing, thereby enhancing the strength of the Cu matrix. Meanwhile, the Cu-Gr coupling interfaces exhibited an electronic doping effect, enhancing the conductive properties. Our work presented a feasible method for preparing Cu/Gr composite wire with comprehensive electrical conductivity and strength optimization.

Failure behavior of epoxy coating/low alloy steel systems applied with cathodic polarization at 0.1 MPa and 15 MPa was investigated based on a deep−sea environment simulation test device. The results showed that the diffusion of water into the coating was significantly accelerated by the high hydrostatic pressure under the same polarization potential, and the time of water uptake of the coating that reached saturation was shortened; the coating's physical structure was significantly affected by the high hydrostatic pressure; the generation of highly conductive Fe3O4 was promoted in the corrosion products, which accelerated the metal corrosion process. Under the same hydrostatic pressure, with the negative shift of the polarization potential, the coating protective performance was significantly reduced and metal corrosion was mitigated to a certain extent; the water transport behavior showed a tendency to shorten the time of water uptake of the coating that reached saturation and lengthen the duration of the saturation state, which may be related to a more severe degree of cathodic delamination and the increase of water consumption for cathodic reactions under the coating. In addition, the increase of the weakly conductive α−Fe2O3 content in the corrosion products may cause a reduction in the cathodic protection current at the same polarization potential, resulting in the reduction of the protection effect on the metal.

Background: Gerberae Piloselloidis Herba (GPH) exhibits notable efficacy in alleviating allergic asthma. Previous studies in our research have identified a mixture of luteolin, arbutin, and marmesin as effective components of GPH in treating allergic asthma. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanism of these active components. Method: Using an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic asthma mouse model, various treatment groups were administered, including GPH, the active component mixture (termed ''Mixture'') containing luteolin, arbutin, and marmesin, and a positive drug (dexamethasone, DEX). Relevant indices were assessed, including behavioral characteristics, inflammatory cell counts, cytokine levels, histopathological examination of lung tissue, apoptosis, and expression of key proteins such as Caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt, and p-Akt. The effect of the Mixture on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was further verified using the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Results: The Mixture significantly alleviated asthma symptoms, decreased IgE levels, cytokine levels (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and TNF-α), and the number of inflammatory cells in serum or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), leading to the alleviation of lung pathological lesions. Additionally, the Mixture reduced the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 while increasing Bcl-2 expression, resulting in mitigated apoptosis in lung tissue. Furthermore, there appeared a decrease in the levels of PI3K and p-PI3K, as well as the ratio of p-Akt to Akt in the Mixture group, indicating the suppression of PI3K and Akt phosphorylation. Interestingly, the effects of the Mixture were comparable to those of GPH, LY294002, or the combination of LY294002 with the Mixture. Conclusion: The study confirms that the Mixture containing luteolin, arbutin, and marmesin indeed alleviates allergic asthma induced by OVA in mice by suppressing the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. These findings highlight the potential of the GPH-derived Mixture as a novel therapeutic for the treatment of allergic asthma.

Summary: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), an oncogenic herpesvirus, is predominantly found in the latent infection form and is highly associated with many human malignancies, which mainly have poor prognoses and no effective treatments. Here, we obtained thirteen compounds from small-molecule libraries for specific inhibition of EBV-latently infected cell growth in vitro by high-throughput screening. Among them, cetrimonium bromide (CetB) was identified to selectively inhibit the growth of different EBV-infected B lymphoma cell lines. Importantly, CetB reduced EBNA1 protein stability, activated G1 arrest and early apoptosis of EBV-latently infected cells without viral lytic reactivation, which leads to dramatically inhibit colony formation and tumor growth of EBV-infected cells in vitro and in vivo, and significantly prolong the survival of tumor-bearing mice. Overall, these findings demonstrate that CetB acts as a highly selective inhibitor of the growth of EBV-infected cells and has the potential for further development of effective therapeutic strategies specific against EBV-associated cancers.

Assembly of AgStBu and PhCOOH ligands with the assistance of soluble silver salt CH3COOAg/CF3SO3Ag in methanol, N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and dichloromethane solution, yielded two Ag20 cage isomers co-constructed by thiol and carboxylate/sulfonate ligands encapsulating a CO32– anion template, [(CO32–)@Ag20(StBu)10(PhCOO)4(CH3COO)4(DMF)4] (1) and [(CO32–)@Ag20(StBu)10(PhCOO)6(CF3SO3)2(DMF)4]·2DMF (2). The CO32– anion template was generated in situ by fixing atmospheric CO2. The precise structures of 1 and 2 were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffractometry (SCXRD). The thermal stability of compounds 1 and 2 was proved by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and their solution stability was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy (1H NMR). The absorption spectra, photocurrent responses, and luminescence of compounds 1 and 2 were investigated. In addition, the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and cyclic voltammetry characteristic curves of 1 and 2 were also studied.

Two silver alkynyl clusters, [(CO32−)@Ag20(tBuC≡C)14(PhCOO)3(CF3COO)] (1) and [(CO32−)@Ag20(tBuC≡C)14(PhCOO)(CF3COO)3] (2), composed of alkynyl Ag20 shell templated by a CO32− anion and supported by carboxyl ligands PhCOO− and CF3COO−, were synthesized successfully by conventional methods. Single crystal X–ray diffractometer (SCXRD) was used to determine the precise structures of 1 and 2. Although compounds 1 and 2 have the [(CO32−)@Ag20(tBuC≡C)14]4+ unit, the numbers of PhCOO− and CF3COO− ligands along with Ag···Ag interactions were affected by the steric hindrance of different carboxyl ligands and their concentrations. That is, compounds 1 and 2 separately contain the [(CO32−)@Ag20(tBuC≡C)14(PhCOO)(CF3COO)]2+ unit, which is involved in the ligand exchange between PhCOO− and CF3COO−. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterized compounds 1 and 2. The photocurrent responses, absorption spectra, as well as luminescence of 1 and 2 have been studied. In addition, the reduction of H2O2 for GCE–1 and GCE–2 showed good electrocatalytic activity, and catalysts 1 and 2 showed good photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB). The results suggest that 1 and 2 can act as new electrocatalysts and photocatalysts to detect and decompose organic pollutants and hazardous materials in wastewater.

The research community has recently been captivated by the atomic-scale short-range order observed in high- and medium-entropy alloys. However, significant challenges persist in improving the mechanical performance through manipulation of the short-range order. Herein, molecular dynamics simulations are employed to establish the correlation between this ordering and the chemical composition for the Cr–Co–Ni medium-entropy alloys. It is demonstrated that atomic-scale clustering can be tailored through adjusting the chemical composition. Particularly, it can be promoted by decreasing the content of elements that do not participate in the clusters. The short-range ordering plays a significant role in affecting the dislocation evolution and tensile properties. Reducing the tendency to form Cr–Co clusters yields enhanced strengthening due to the increased local unstable stacking fault energy. Increasing the tendency to form Ni–Ni clusters instead results in enhanced strain hardening due to the high sessile dislocation density impeding the movement of dislocations. These findings unveil the crucial role of chemical composition on short-range ordering and have significant implications on the design of high-performance high- and medium-entropy alloys.

Scientific assessment of the relationships and influencing factors between livestock and resource-environmental carrying capacity (LS-RECC) is essential for alleviating environmental pressure. The crop-livestock balance method was used to measure China’s livestock production potential from 2005 to 2020. The improved coupling coordination degree model (I-CCDM) and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) were used to analyze the spatial-temporal coordinated development characteristics of the LS-RECC. Furthermore, geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) was used to identify the factors influencing the coordination development of the LS-RECC. The findings showed that (1) From 2005 to 2020, the nutrient demand for crop cultivation in China increased, and, the crop system nutrient demand exceeded the livestock nutrient supply in 2007 to 190 ×104 tons, reaching a maximum of 925 ×104 tons in 2019. However, the production potential of livestock in Ningxia, Tibet, Guizhou, Gansu, Yunnan, and Qinghai was severely overloaded. (2) The coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the LS-RECC showed a progressively increasing trend, which indicates that the sustainable development ability of China's livestock industry is constantly increasing. However, compared with that in eastern and central China, the coordinated development level of the LS-RECC in western China was lower, further indicating excessive livestock industry development in western China. (3) Environmental regulation had the strongest effect on the regional coordinated development of the LS-RECC, with obvious spatial differences. The economic development level had a positive effect, but urbanization and Engel's coefficients had the opposite effect. These results provide not only references for reducing environmental pressure on the livestock industry in China but also guidance for the sustainable development of the livestock industry in other large livestock production countries.

Myo-inositol and its derivatives play important roles in the tolerance of higher plants to abiotic stresses, and myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase (MIPS) is the rate-limiting enzyme in myo-inositol biosynthesis. In this study, we found that increased myo-inositol biosynthesis enhanced drought tolerance in MdMIPS1-overexpressing apple lines under short-term progressive drought stress. The effect of myo-inositol appeared to be mediated by the increased accumulation of osmoprotectants such as glucose, sucrose, and proline, and by the increased activities of antioxidant enzymes that eliminate reactive oxygen species. Moreover, enhanced water-use efficiency (WUE) was observed in MdMIPS1-overexpressing apple lines under long-term moderate water deficit conditions that mimicked the water availability in the soil of the Loess Plateau. Enhanced WUE may have been associated with the synergistic regulation of osmotic balance and stomatal aperture mediated by increased myo-inositol biosynthesis. Taken together, our findings shed light on the positive effects of MdMIPS1-mediated myo-inositol biosynthesis on drought tolerance and WUE in apple.

Belt grinding is an important method for precision machining of complex curved components own to its elastic contact characteristics. However, the grinding heat is easy to accumulate in workpieces and results in thermal damages when grinding narrow curved surfaces, such as air inlet and exhaust sides of aeroengine blade. This study developed a numerical thermal model during belt grinding based on a moving parabolic heat source method considering elastic contact, grinding zone shape and nonuniformity of heat source. It is revealed that the maximum grinding temperature of 40 HA contact wheel is decreased by 33.1% compared with that of 90 HA contact wheel, and grinding temperature of curved surfaces is unevenly distributed in the elliptic-shape grinding zone. Besides, as the curvature radius of workpiece increases, the grinding temperature is decreased, and the maximum temperature of transverse grinding is decreased by 39% compared with that of longitudinal grinding. Systematic temperature measurements of Inconel 718 belt grinding show that the simulated results agree well with the experimental results, and the average prediction error is 7.68%. The research can provide an important theoretical basis for the high-performance belt grinding of complex curved parts.

Titanium matrix composites reinforced by titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium boride (TiB) were in situ synthesized via laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) using premixed boron nitride (BN) and titanium powders. The optimal BN content was determined as 0.5 wt%, and a near-full density was achieved with optimized process parameters. The microstructure of the printed composite consisted of α-Ti matrix doped with N, as well as nano-sized TiN and TiB precipitates. The ultimate tensile strength of the printed composite sample was enhanced by ∼85% from ∼590 MPa to ∼1100 MPa as compared with the pure Ti counterpart, whereas the elongation was reduced to ∼3%. This research provides insights into the additive manufacturing of metal composites with near-full density and enhanced mechanical strength.

Due to its periodic porous structure and high mechanical strength, carbon honeycomb (CHC), a new carbon allotrope, possesses a high energy absorption capability and thus great potential for the design and fabrication of advanced impact-resistant materials. In this work, the propagation and attenuation of shock waves in CHC are investigated for the first time via molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation results indicate that the propagation speed of shock waves in CHC is highly anisotropic and the shock wave energy decays with the propagation distance exponentially regardless of the direction. In addition, the energy decay is accelerated at elevated temperatures. When vacancies are introduced into CHC, the shock wave propagation in it is significantly impeded due to the large deformations of the vacancies in the form of shrinkage and expansion caused by the shock wave. The calculation of the critical shock wave intensity at which structure failure of CHC initiates shows that the cell axis direction of CHC can sustain a high shock wave intensity which is over two times higher than those for the other two directions. The simulation results obtained in this work are helpful for the design, fabrication, and application of CHC-based and other porous impact-resistant materials.

Flexible and electrically conductive carbon nanotube/thermoplastic polyurethane (CNT/TPU) nanocomposites have been herein fabricated by selective laser sintering (SLS) for the applications of wearable electronics and strain sensors. CNT/TPU nanocomposite powders were systematically developed by a latex-based technique. The effects of CNT content on the SLS processability of nanocomposite powders and the mechanical, electrical, and piezoresistive properties of SLS-printed specimens were investigated. It was found that the CNT improved the electrical conductivity and strain sensing performance of the printed parts, but excessively high CNT content led to high melt viscosity, deteriorated sintering behavior, and hence degraded mechanical properties. The 2.0 wt% CNT/TPU nanocomposite fabricated by SLS exhibited enhanced electrical conductivity (seven orders of magnitude higher than the neat TPU), high piezoresistive sensitivity (gauge factor of 60 at a tensile strain of 20%), and a wide sensing range (0‒130% strain). A mathematical model based on the tunneling theory was established to describe and predict the strain sensing performance of the printed nanocomposites. This study provides profound insights into the development of multi-functional nanocomposites by SLS for their applications in flexible strain sensors.

This study aimed to provide a calibration criterion based on the condition number (Cond, Q) of the basis material matrix (BMM) to optimize experimental performance of basis of material decomposition (BMD) results. Cond(Q) was first elaborated theoretically and then phantom studies, including the possible influence of a number of experimental parameters, such as X-ray spectrum, the number of energy bins and the width of the energy bins, were performed to validate the criterion. In the BMD phantom study, the quantitative relationship between the proposed criterion and BMD accuracy was explored. Results showed that the proposed criterion was negatively correlated to BMD accuracy, and each of the experimental parameters influenced the criterion and BMD accuracy in a similar pattern. In conclusion Cond(Q) can be used to optimize experimental configurations of BMD.

A novel absorbent, PVA/SA-CFZ, was developed by jointly enveloping nanostructured hydrated ferric-zirconium binary oxide and clinoptilolite in the cross-linking of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/sodium alginate (SA). As a result, the cation exchange capacity of clinoptilolite and electrostatic attraction capacity of hydrated ferric-zirconium binary oxide can be integrated for the simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater. The adsorption behavior of PVA/SA-CFZ for the co-existing ammonium and phosphate was primarily investigated by batch experiments. Over a wide pH range (4 ~ 11), PVA/SA-CFZ always showed the excellent adsorption performance both for the low-concentration ammonium (

Background: It has been consistently shown in several meta-analyses that infants born after ART have an excess of birth defects compared with those after spontaneous conception, however, the prevalence of birth defects among ART offspring in China is incompletely studied. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent the risk of birth defects is associated with parental infertility characteristics, specific ART procedures and twinning. Methods: In the prospective cohort study, we included women who participated in the cohort, and had pregnancies of at least 20 gestational weeks between August 2016 and May 2019, and followed them until their children reached 1 year of age. Exposures of interest were ART, as well as infertility-related characteristics, certain ART procedures and specific medication usage. The primary outcome was birth defects including both major and minor defects, which we analysed with logistic generalized estimating equations to investigate the association with ART and certain ART characteristics. Findings: A total of 1,825 women with ART-pregnancy and 3,483 women with spontaneous-pregnancy were included in the analysis. The prevalence of any defects was significantly higher among ART-births than their non-ART counterparts at each follow-up, specifically at prenatal screening (2•2% vs. 1•2%), at delivery (4•9% vs. 2•9%), at 6 months (10•4% vs. 5•3%) and 1 year of age (13•9% vs. 7•0%), and the associations between ART and increased risk of birth defects at each follow-up were similarly robust. Among ART-births, GnRH antagonist regimen for ovulation induction in women was associated with an increased risk of birth defects in their offspring after taking into account potential influencing factors (Multivariable model: adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1•47, 1•04–2•07). Additionally, mediation through twinning accounted for 31•1% of the risk of ART-associated birth defects. Interpretation: The results suggest that ART confers an increased risk for birth defects in offspring. The risk is partly attributable to infertility characteristics, certain ovulation induction regimen, and to some extent mediated by twinning. Our findings highlight the importance of long-term follow-up of children conceived via ART for health conditions. Funding: National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) show excellent electrochemical performances due to their ultrahigh porosity, large specific surface area, and easy functionalization. These characteristics make it fascinating electrode materials with excellent electrochemical performance for the currently dominated lithium-based batteries (e.g., Li-ion batteries, Li-S batteries, Li-O2 batteries). Hence, this review summarizes the recent advances of MOFs-based materials as an electrode for high-performance lithium-ion storage. Firstly, we briefly describe the development history, principle, and mechanism of the lithium-based batteries. Then, the recent advances of MOFs/MOFs composite and MOF-derived materials employed as electrode materials for Lithium-ion batteries, Li-S batteries, and Li-O2 batteries are reviewed with their electrochemical performances. Finally, we conclude and point out the future direction of MOFs-related materials for lithium-based batteries.

Purpose: Golden-angle single-shot PROPLLER (GA-SS-PROP) is proposed to accelerate the PROPELLER acquisition for distortion-free diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging. Acceleration is achieved by acquiring one-shot per b-value and several b-values can be acquired along a diffusion direction, where the DW signal follows a bi-exponential decay (i.e. IVIM). Sparse reconstruction is used to reconstruct full resolution DW images. Consequently, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map and IVIM maps (i.e., perfusion fraction (f) and the perfusion-free diffusion coefficient (D)) are obtained simultaneously. The performance of GA-SS-PROP was demonstrated with simulation and human experiments. Methods: A realistic numerical phantom of high-quality diffusion images of the brain was developed. The error of the reconstructed DW images and quantitative maps were compared to the ground truth. The pulse sequence was developed to acquire human brain data. For comparison, fully sampled PROPELLER and conventional single-shot echo planar imaging (SS-EPI) acquisitions were performed. Results: GA-SS-PROP was 5 times faster than conventional PROPELLER acquisition with comparable image quality. The simulation demonstrated that sparse reconstruction is effective in restoring contrast and resolution. The human experiments demonstrated that GA-SS-PROP achieved superior image fidelity compared to SS-EPI for the same acquisition time and same in-plane resolution (1 × 1 mm2). Conclusion: GA-SS-PROP offers fast, high-resolution and distortion-free DW images. The generated quantitative maps (f, D and ADC) can provide valuable information on tissue perfusion and diffusion properties simultaneously, which are desirable in many applications, especially in oncology. As a turbo spin-echo based technique, it can be applied in most challenging regions where SS-EPI is problematic.

Rhodiola rosea L., a worldwide botanical adaptogen, has been confirmed to possess protective effects of inflammatory injury for many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, sepsis, and cancer. This paper is to review the recent clinical and experimental researches about the anti-inflammatory effects and the related mechanisms of Rhodiola rosea L. extracts, preparations, and the active compounds. From the collected information reviewed, this paper will provide the theoretical basis for its clinical application, and provide the evidences or guidance for future studies and medicinal exploitations of Rhodiola rosea L.

Objective: To investigate the biochemical constituents of the fruits of Terminalia bellerica (Gaertn.) Roxb. (hereafter termed T. bellerica) and estimate the anti-cancer activity of different polar extracts. Methods: To rapidly screen and identify the biochemical constituents of ethyl acetate (EA) extracts of T. bellerica, ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MSn) was done. The CellTiter-Blue™ cell-viability assay was used to ascertain the anti-cancer activity of different polar extracts in 10 human cancer cell lines. Results: Forty polyphenols of the EA extract of T. bellerica were characterized tentatively. The EA extract exhibited significant anti-cancer activity against ZR-75-1 cells (half-maximal inhibitory concentration = 27.33 (0.98) μg/mL) and Colo-205 cells (39.65 (2.99) μg/mL) in vitro. Treatment of ZR-75-1 cells with 20 and 60 μg/mL of the EA extract elicited dose-dependent apoptosis percentages at an early stage of 17.58 (0.74) % and at a late stage of 29.20 (1.22) %; Colo-205 cells at the same concentration of EA extract had values of 21.33 (1.03) % and 40.55 (0.34) %, respectively. Western blotting suggested that ZR-75-1 and Colo-205 cells treated with the EA extract showed a similar increasing tendency for expression of cleaved anti-poly adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase I. Conclusion: We identified a total of 40 chemical constituents, of which 11 were first obtained from the Terminalia Linn. genus using UPLC-ESI-MSn. Meanwhile, we observe that the EA extract of T. bellerica possesses anti-cancer activity, especially against breast and colon cancers. Keywords: Terminalia bellerica, Anti-cancer activity, UPLC-ESI-MSn, CellTiter-blue

A thermo-metallurgical-mechanical coupling model is developed to predict temperature, solid-state phase and residual stress fields for the multi-track multi-layer selective laser melting process of Ti6Al4V. The model considers the solid-state phase transformation (SSPT) and powder-liquid-solid transition which includes melting, vaporization, solidification, shrinkage and cooling phenomena. The thermal analysis is based on the transient heat conduction problem with a volumetric heat source describing the laser absorption and scattering in the powder bed. The volume fraction evolution of metallurgical phases is determined by temperature history and used to obtain the volumetric change strain due to the SSPT. An elasto-plastic constitutive law considering the strains that are induced by thermal gradients and the SSPT is proposed to evaluate stress fields. Modelling results reveal that the consideration of the SSPT leads to the decrease of tensile residual stresses and increase of compressive residual stresses, and the residual stress component in the scanning direction is larger than the other two stress components. Keywords: 3D printing, Selective laser melting, Thermo-metallurgical-mechanical model, Residual stress field, Solid-state phase transformation

Two sets of LSGs were identified using BLAST: Caenorhabditis elegans species-specific genes (SSGs, 1423), and Caenorhabditis genus-specific genes (GSGs, 4539). The data contained in this article show SSGs and GSGs have significant differences in evolution and that most of them were formed by gene duplication and integration of transposable elements (TEs). Subsequent observation of temporal expression and protein function presents that many SSGs and GSGs are expressed and that genes involved with sex determination, specific stress, immune response, and morphogenesis are most represented. The data are related to research article “Genome-wide identification of lineage-specific genes within Caenorhabditis elegans” in Journal of Genomics [1].

Aim. The present study aimed to evaluate the changes in the serum N-glycome profiles in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and to assess the role of N-glycome-derived markers in the noninvasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis.Materials and Methods. After liver biopsy for pathological grading and staging, 128 CHB patients underwent serum N-glycomic analysis using DNA sequencer-assisted fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (DSA-FACE) and sensitive markers were screened.Results. Peaks 1, 2, 8 and 10 in the N-glycome profiles could, to some extents, distinguish liver fibrosis at different stages. In addition, the N-glycome-derived marker log(peak2/peak8) possessed the highest diagnostic accuracy. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROCs) curves of the log(peak2/peak8) were 0.675, 0.736 and 0.754 in the diagnosis of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and early cirrhosis, respectively. In combination with some marker panels (SLFG, S index, Fibrometer, Hui, Forns, APRI and Hepascore), it showed the best diagnostic potency in distinguishing significant fibrosis (SLFG + log[peak2/peak8], AUROC = 0.813) from advanced fibrosis (SLFG + log[peak2/peak8], AUROC = 0.899) and a better diagnostic potency in the identification of early cirrhosis (S index + log[peak2/peak8], AUROC = 0.903, lower than Hui model [AUROC = 0.927]) in the validation cohort.Conclusions. N-glycomic changes are present in the serum of CHB patients with liver fibrosis, and N-glycan profiling is a noninvasive and effective tool to assess the liver fibrosis, especially in combination with serum marker panels.