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Abstract Over recent decades, many studies have reported that hypocrellin A (HA) can eliminate cancer cells with proper irradiation in several cancer cell lines. However, the precise molecular mechanism underlying its anticancer effect has not been fully defined. HA-mediated cytotoxicity and apoptosis in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells were evaluated after photodynamic therapy (PDT). A temporal quantitative proteomics approach by isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) 2D liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric (LC–MS/MS) was introduced to help clarify molecular cytotoxic mechanisms and identify candidate targets of HA-induced apoptotic cell death. Specific caspase inhibitors were used to further elucidate the molecular pathway underlying apoptosis in PDT-treated A549 cells. Finally, down-stream apoptosis-related protein was evaluated. Apoptosis induced by HA was associated with cell shrinkage, externalization of cell membrane phosphatidylserine, DNA fragmentation, and mitochondrial disruption, which were preceded by increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generations. Further studies showed that PDT treatment with 0.08 µmol/L HA resulted in mitochondrial disruption, pronounced release of cytochrome c , and activation of caspase-3, -9, and -7. Together, HA may be a possible therapeutic agent directed toward mitochondria and a promising photodynamic anticancer candidate for further evaluation. Graphical abstract Hypocrellin A-mediated oxidative injury induced by light emitting diode irradiation triggers mitochondrial membrane potential changes and dysfunction, then mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase activation, which consequently lead to apoptosis. The study demonstrated hypocrellin A may be a possible therapeutic anticancer agent directed toward mitochondria. fx1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has during the last decade become a common practice for tourists to post an account of their travel experience online. This article uses text-mining techniques to investigate the evolution of the content of TripAdvisor online reviews about Macau between 2005 and 2013. In the course of this period, the number of such reviews exploded, starting from almost nothing, at the same time as Macau as a tourist destination metamorphosed itself from a quaint footnote to Hong Kong into the ‘Las Vegas of the East’. Moreover, over the period, a number of new non-gambling attractions became also available to visitors. The article then compares the evolution of the user-generated online content to the one of the image of Macau as projected by the official destination promoter over the period. This comparison reveals that while the latter projects essentially the same image over time, the TripAdvisor reviews exhibit some clear trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An oral nanoparticle (NPs) encapsulated in chitosan/alginate hydrogel (CA-Gel) with dual-sensitive in pH and reactive oxygen species (ROS) was developed to load curcumin (CUR) based on the intracellular-specific characteristics of macrophages. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) wrapped PBAE-SA-PAPE with intracellular pH/ROS dual-sensitive characteristics and CUR via a simple nanoprecipitation method to form NPs (CS-CUR-NPs), and mixed CA-Gel to acquire the final preparation (CS-CUR-NPs-Gel). CS-CUR-NPs displayed an ideal average particle size (179.19 ± 5.61 nm) and high encapsulating efficiency (94.74 ± 1.15%). CS showed a good targeting ability on macrophages and the CA-Gel contribution in protecting NPs from being destroyed in the upper gastrointestinal tract. As expected, CS-CUR-NPs-Gel could significantly alleviate inflammation in DSS-induced UC mice via TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB pathway. This study is the first to attempt to design a novel pH/ROS dual-stimulated release strategy in helping intracellular CUR delivery and anticipated for efficient anti-UC therapy. An oral nanoparticle gel with dual-sensitive in pH and reactive oxygen species (ROS) was developed to load curcumin (CUR) based on the intracellular-specific characteristics of macrophages in ROS-accumulated or acid pH environment. CUR was orally delivered into macrophages in the inflammatory colon and acts directly on the nucleus to enhance the anti-ulcerative colitis (UC) efficacy via TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB pathway. [Display omitted] • CS-CUR-NPs-Gel with pH/ROS dual-sensitivity was prepared for UC treatment. • CS-CUR-NPs have high curcumin encapsulation efficiency. • CS-CUR-NPs exhibited high cell uptake efficiency in macrophage. • CS-CUR-NPs-Gel showed good anti-UC effects in vivo through TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews tourism studies published from 1996 to July 2009 that pertain to methodological approaches to website evaluation. The paper analyzes the initial work and continues up to recent developments in website evaluation. In general, prior research can be divided into five evaluation approaches: counting, automated, numerical computation, user judgment, and combined methods. The strengths and weaknesses of each method are examined. Research gaps and opportunities for future studies are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Ca2+ signals orchestrate spatial-temporal patterns regulating plant growth and stress. • Ca2+ sensors like CaM/CBL decode signatures to actuate divergent programs. • Compartmentalized Ca2+ signaling integrates intra/extracellular cues for stress. • Ca2+ signature dynamics encoded by channels/pumps activate stress genes. • Engineering Ca2+ sensor-effector modules enhances abiotic stress resilience. Calcium ions (Ca2+) serve as ubiquitous signaling molecules and are involved in diverse biological processes, particularly pivotal in plant growth and stress response. When plants sense environmental changes, an initial response involves an intracellular shift in free Ca2+ levels, with the spatiotemporal characteristics influenced by the nature, intensity, and duration of the stimulus. Decoding and relaying these changes into biological processes require the utilization of Ca2+ sensors. Abiotic stresses impact plant physiology and development by causing environmental fluctuations beyond optimal ranges. Abiotic stressors encompass suboptimal temperature, osmotic disturbances, hazardous ions, and nutrient deficiency. Recognizing and transducing signals in response to these stressors involve multiple components and methods due to their complexity. Additionally, plants contend with biotic factors, triggering calcium signaling cascades. However, understanding of gene functions related to managing specific transient calcium signals during particular stresses is limited. This review delves into the emerging conceptual implications of Ca2+ signaling in plant abiotic stress responses at both intracellular and extracellular levels. It also explores the potential influence of Ca2+ signaling on various agricultural stresses in future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edible and medicinal fungi are one of the major sources for extraction and identification of polysaccharides, which are important biological response modifiers with notable antitumor, hepatoprotective effect and other pharmacological activities. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of isolated Phellinus linteus polysaccharide (PL-N1) against acetaminophen (APAP) induced liver injury in mice. Mice were treated intragastrical with PL-N1 (10, 50 and 100 mg/kg) and APAP (300 mg/kg) injection. APAP alone caused increased serum aminotransferase levels and changes in hepatic histopathology, promoted oxidative stress by increasing lipid peroxidation and decreasing anti-oxidant enzyme activities, leading to hepatocellular necrosis and reduced liver function. PL-N1 decreased cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) expression and hepatic release of cytokines to enhance the level of phase II enzymes. Also, PL-N1 obviously accelerates the metabolism of APAP in the rat model. Molecular docking analysis revealed the α- d -glucopyranosyl exhibit maximum interaction (−8.099) against CYP2E1 as comparably less than standard drug silibinin (−13.767). PL-N1 could be a promising natural substance for ameliorating acute APAP-induced oxidative stress and hepatic injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Activated siliceous iron tailings are used as concrete mineral admixtures. • Concrete's impermeability is improved with the tailings replacement amounts of 10–40%. • The concrete has the best frost resistance at the tailings replacement amount of 30%. • Concrete's carbonization is acceptable at the tailings replacement amount of 10–40%. This paper discusses the durability of concrete incorporated with a mineral admixture of siliceous iron tailings that were activated mechanochemically. The mechanochemically activated siliceous iron tailings replaced 10–40% of the cement in the concrete, and tests of the concrete's resistance to permeability, frost, and carbonation were conducted. The test results showed that as 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the cement is replaced, the impermeability of the concrete is superior to that of the control group, and at the cement replacement amounts of 10%, 20%, and 30%, the concrete's impermeability tends to increase with the replacement amount. Furthermore, at the cement replacement amount of 40%, the concrete's impermeability is on a slight decline. As 30% of the cement is replaced, the frost resistance of concrete is better than that of the control concrete, and at the cement replacement amounts of 10%, 20%, and 40%, the frost resistance of the concrete is similar to that of the control group. As 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the cement is replaced, the carbonation resistance of the concrete is inferior to that of the control group, and the carbonation resistance presents a downward trend with the increase in replacement percentage; however, the concrete can still meet the requirements of practical construction works. It follows that when cement is replaced by mechanochemically activated siliceous iron tailings in part, concrete still possesses good durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrazine, a widely used herbicide, is increasing the agricultural production effectively, while also causing great environmental concern. Efficient atrazine-degrading bacterium is necessary to removal atrazine rapidly to keep a safe environment. In the present study, a new atrazine-degrading strain ZXY-1, identified as Pseudomonas , was isolated. This new isolated strain has a strong ability to biodegrade atrazine with a high efficiency of 9.09 mg/L/hr. Temperature, pH, inoculum size and initial atrazine concentration were examined to further optimize the degradation of atrazine, and the synthetic effect of these factors were investigated by the response surface methodology. With a high quadratic polynomial mathematical model ( R 2 = 0.9821) being obtained, the highest biodegradation efficiency of 19.03 mg/L/hr was reached compared to previous reports under the optimal conditions (30.71°C, pH 7.14, 4.23% ( V/V ) inoculum size and 157.1 mg/L initial atrazine concentration). Overall, this study provided an efficient bacterium and approach that could be potentially useful for the bioremediation of wastewater containing atrazine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To use the advantages of cyclodextrin (CDs) and overcome their limitations for oral colon-targeted delivery, a rhein-loaded oral CDs supramolecular nanosystem was fabricated based on the physical and chemical properties and structural characteristics of CDs to treat ulcerative colitis (UC). The obtained nanotherapeutics with macrophages targeting / ROS response-based accurate on-demand drug release strategy showed good UC treatment efficacy through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pathway. [Display omitted] • A cyclodextrin supramolecular system was fabricated for rhein oral delivery against ulcerative colitis. • Cyclodextrins-based supramolecular structure can avoid premature drug release in harsh stomach environment. • The nanoplatform with macrophages targeting / ROS response-based accurate on-demand drug release strategy could effectively alleviate inflammation. Cyclodextrins (CDs) have been applied widely as an oral micro-nano drug delivery material for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) because of their stability around the stomach. However, the further application of CDs is hindered due to their inherent poor targeting and controlled release properties. In this study, CD-supramolecular nanoparticles (HA-CsT@RH) were developed based on the structural characteristics of CDs (e.g., multi-group modifiability and hydrophobic cavity) to encapsulate rhein (RH) for oral delivery against UC. The HA-CsT@RH showed an average size of 154.70 ± 1.80 nm and exhibited high encapsulation efficiency (95.55 ± 2.37 %). When incubated in simulated gastric fluid for 2 h, HA-CsT@RH only released 20.3 ± 0.47 % RH due to the protection of supramolecular effects of CDs. However, RH was rapidly released from HA-CsT@RH (released 66.3 ± 2.50 %) after H 2 O 2 was treated with the assistance of the ROS-sensitive properties. Moreover, HA-CsT@RH were taken up by macrophages in 1.5 times higher amounts than preparations which did not have CD44-targeted effects. Notably, the results showed that HA-CsT@RH with an accurate on-demand drug release strategy achieved the best anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and they are expected to be a promising carrier in the UC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MPIG6B gene, which encodes G6b-B, regulates platelet production, aggregation, and activation. Loss-of-function of G6b-B can cause thrombocytopenia, myelofibrosis, and anemia in both humans and mice. Several pathogenic MPIG6B mutations have been reported, such as c.324C>A (p.C108*), c.61_61+1dup (p.Ala21GlyfsX159), c.149dup (p.Ala52GlyfsX128), G6b c.469G> A (p.Gly157Arg) c.392delC (p.P134Lfs*10), and c523C>T(p.Arg175Ter). We have added to this database by reporting a new homozygous nonsense mutation (c.420T> A (p.Tyr140Ter)) of MPIG6B in a 14-year-old girl who presented with pallor, scattered cutaneous petechia of the limb, thrombocytopenia, anemia and myelofibrosis. This novel MPIG6B gene mutation encodes a shorter mutated G6b-B that does contain the transmembrane region immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif. The patient was effectively treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with peripheral stem cells from a matched unrelated donor. Her symptoms and the MPIG6B mutation disappeared after treatment, and she was healthy and had returned to school at the last follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We first performed a large-scale investigation of BCoV infection in Northeast China. • BCoV infection was significantly associated with age, farming pattern, cattle type, farm latitude, sample type, and clinical symptom. • BCoV transmission that occurs via the respiratory transmission may have a more important role than fecal-oral transmission. • One of the identified BCoV strains exhibiting N146/I, D148/G, and L154/F mutations that affect the S1-NTD protein structure. • One positively selected site (Asn509) was located inside the putative receptor binding domain (S1-CTD 326-540). In 2020, to trace the prevalence and evolution of bovine coronavirus (BCoV) in China, a total of 1383 samples (1016 fecal samples and 367 nasal swab samples) were collected from 1016 cattle exhibiting diarrhea symptoms on dairy farms and beef cattle farms in Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China. All samples were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detection of the BCoV N gene, followed by an analysis of its epidemiology and genetic evolution. The results indicated that of the 1016 diarrhea-affected cattle, 15.45% (157/1016) were positive for BCoV, in which positive rates of the fecal and nasal swab samples were 12.20% (124/1016) and 21.53% (79/367), respectively. Of the 367 cattle whose nasal swab samples were collected, the BCoV positive rate of the corresponding fecal samples was 15.26% (56/367). BCoV infection was significantly associated with age, farming pattern, cattle type, farm latitude, sample type, and clinical symptom (p < 0.05). Of the 203 BCoV-positive samples, 20 spike (S) genes were successfully sequenced. The 20 identified BCoV strains shared nucleotide homologies of 97.7−100.0%, and their N-terminal domain of S1 subunit (S1-NTD: residues 15–298) differed genetically from the reference strains of South Korea and Europe. The 20 identified BCoV strains were clustered in the Asia-North America group (GII group) in the global strain-based phylogenetic tree and formed three clades in the Chinese strain-based phylogenetic tree. The HLJ/HH-10/2020 strain was clustered into the Europe group (GI group) in the S1-NTD-based phylogenetic tree, exhibiting N146/I, D148/G, and L154/F mutations that affect the S protein structure. Of the identified BCoV strains, one potential recombination event occurred between the HLJ/HH-20/2020 and HLJ/HH-10/2020 strains, which led to the generation of the recombinant BCV-AKS-01 strain. A selective pressure analysis on the S protein revealed one positively selected site (Asn509) among the 20 identified BCoV strains located inside the putative receptor binding domain (residues 326–540). These data provide a greater understanding of the epidemiology and evolution of BCoV in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a β-1,3- d -glucan based microcarrier, yeast cell wall microparticles (YPs), was used to develop a food-source-based nano-in-micro oral delivery system for ulcerative colitis (UC) treatment. Briefly, lactoferrin (Lf), which targets intestinal epithelial cells, was used to encapsulate emodin (EMO) to form nanoparticles (EMO-NPs), and then loaded into YPs with the natural macrophages targeting ability, forming a final formula with two outer–inner targeting layers (EMO-NYPs). These dual-targeting strategy could enhance the dual-effects of EMO in anti-inflammatory and mucosal repair effects respectively. As expected, cell uptake assessment confirmed that EMO-NPs and EMO-NYPs could target on the Lf and dection-1 receptors on the membranes of Caco-2 cells and macrophages, respectively. Importantly, EMO-NYPs showed the best anti-UC effects compared to EMO-NPs and free EMO, by inhibiting NF-κB pathway to anti-inflammation and promoting intestinal mucosa repair via MLCK/pMLC2 pathway. The results show that EMO-NYPs are a promising food-based oral delivery system in anti-UC. • A yeast cell wall based oral delivery system with dual-targeting layers was developed. • Dual-targeting layers target intestinal epithelial cell and macrophages, respectively. • EMO-NYPs could be anti-UC by anti-inflammation and promote intestinal mucosa repair. • EMO can play a role in intestinal mucosa repair via the MLC2 signaling pathway [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have been conducted on the distribution of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in plant, however, there has been rare data linking Ecological Stoichiometry to plant invasion success, especially in a low-N environment. Accordingly, an experiment in this study was performed to explore the nutrition distribution and stoichiometry among various organs in plant, contributing to plant invasion. According to the results of this study, both invasive and native species exhibited a higher C, N concentration and lower C/N ratio in their leaf compared with stem and root overall (p < 0.05), the stem exhibited the lower N concentration, higher C concentration and C/N ratio compared with leaf and root overall (p < 0.05). In addition, C and N concentrations of invasive Solidago canadensis were significantly lower, while the C/N and Relative Growth Rate (RGR) were significantly higher than those of the native Artemisia argyi (p < 0.05). As revealed from the mentioned results, plant invasion success in low-N environmental conditions was dependent on the following: 1) Invasive used more conservative nutrients strategy (higher C/N ratio), instead of the high capacity to retain or resorb nutrients compared with natives; 2) Invasive species (higher RGR) had less N-limited growth as compared with natives. Furthermore, this study presented baseline information to describe the internal mechanism of plant invasion, thereby helping predict and control invasive species. • Resource conservation strategy helps biological invasion in a low-N environment. • The less N-limited growth in invasive species as compared with natives. • The higher growth rates in invasive species than those of natives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]