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The heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation overcome the shortage of traditional Fenton system, which got the high catalytic efficiency, good stability, wide pH working range, and so on. However, it is still challenging to develop highly efficient and recyclable solid catalysts in wastewater treatment. Herein, we employed melamine sponge (MS) as a base material to fabricate heterogeneous Fe/Cu-tannic acid (TA) coated MS (MS-Fe/Cu-TA) through the dip-coating method. The porous 3D structure of MS can enhance the catalyst loading, and expose more active catalytic sites to absorb dyes from solution. The loaded Fe/Cu weight ratio, pH value, H2O2 dosage, and initial MB concentration on the catalytic activity were optimized to get highest methylene blue (MB) degradation efficiency. The MS survived five times of cyclic MB degradation, and degradation efficiency for other dyes (methyl orange, rhodamine B, malachite green) kept above 65%. This work brings potential insights for development of enhanced heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation for wastewater treatment. Herein, we employed melamine sponge (MS) as a base material to fabricate heterogeneous Fe/Cu-tannic acid (TA) coated MS (MS-Fe/Cu-TA) through the dip-coating method. The porous 3D structure of MS can enhance the catalyst loading, and expose more active catalytic sites to absorb dyes from solution. This work brings potential insights for development of enhanced heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation for wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand infection is a rare complication in patients with diabetes. Its clinical outcomes depend on the severity of hand infection caused by bacteria, but the difference in bacterial species in the regional disparity is unknown. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of tropical and nontropical regions on bacterial species and clinical outcomes for diabetic hand. A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Moreover, the bacterial species and clinical outcomes were analyzed with respect to multicenter wound care in China (nontropical regions). Both mixed bacteria (31.2% vs. 16.6%, p = 0.014) and fungi (7.5% vs. 0.8%, p = 0.017) in the nontropical region were significantly more prevalent than those in the tropical region. Staphylococcus and Streptococcus spp. were dominant in gram-positive bacteria, and Klebsiella, Escherichia coli, Proteus and Pseudomonas in gram-negative bacteria occupied the next majority in the two regions. The rate of surgical treatment in the patients was 31.2% in the nontropical region, which was significantly higher than the 11.4% in the tropical region (p = 0.001). Although the overall mortality was not significantly different, there was a tendency to be increased in tropical regions (6.3%) compared with nontropical regions (0.9%). However, amputation (32.9% vs. 31.3%, p = 0.762) and disability (6.3% vs. 12.2%, p = 0.138) were not significantly different between the two regions. Similar numbers of cases were reported, and the most common bacteria were similar in tropical and nontropical regions in patients with diabetic hand. There were more species of bacteria in the nontropical region, and their distribution was basically similar, except for fungi, which had differences between the two regions. The present study also showed that surgical treatment and mortality were inversely correlated because delays in debridement and surgery can deteriorate deep infections, eventually leading to amputation and even death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar activity, such as sunspots and flares, has a great impact on humans, living beings, and technologies in the whole world. Changes in sunspots will influence high-frequency and space-navigation radio communications. Based on the full-disk, southern and northern hemispheres sunspot areas (SAs) data in 1874–2023 from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA, extreme value theory (EVT) is applied to predict the trend of the 25th and 26th solar cycles (SCs) in this work. Two methods with EVT, the block maxima (BM) approach and the peaks-over-threshold (POT) approach, are employed to research solar extreme events. The former method focuses on each block's maximum sunspot areas value and is applied for the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution. The latter method aims to select the extreme values exceeding a threshold value and is used to obtain the generalized Pareto (GP) distribution. It is the first time that the EVT is applied on the sunspot areas data from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA. The analysis indicates that the estimated 8-year return levels for sunspot areas are 5701 and 6258 using the two methods, while the estimated 19-year return levels are all 7165. This suggests that the trends of the 25th and 26th solar cycles will be stronger than that of the 24th solar cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the identification of tumor deposits (TDs) and the prognostic significance of an MRI tumor regression grade for TDs in patients with rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). Methods: Ninety-one patients with cT3 or cT4 rectal cancer who underwent surgery following nCRT between August 2014 and June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Changes in pre-nCRT MRI-detected TDs (mrTDs) were described as mrTD regression grade. The diagnostic performance of post-nCRT MRI-detected TDs (ymrTDs) was compared with histopathological reference standard. The correlation between ymrTDs, mrTD regression grade, and disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of ymrTDs were 88.00% and 89.39%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.887 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.803–0.944). The 3-year DFS of patients with positive ymrTDs was significantly lower than of the negative group (44.83% vs 82.73%, p < 0.001). The 3-year DFS was 33.33% for patients with poor regression of mrTDs following nCRT and 55.56% for those with moderate regression, compared to 69.23% in good responders and 83.97% in patients without mrTDs (p < 0.001). On multivariable Cox regression, mrTD regression grade was the only independent MRI factor associated with DFS (p = 0.042). Conclusions: Diagnostic performance of ymrTDs was moderate. The mrTD regression grade was independently correlated with DFS, which may have a prognostic implication for treatment and follow-up. Clinical relevance statement: Patients with poor regression of MRI-detected tumor deposits may benefit from more aggressive treatments, such as chemoradiation therapy plus induction or consolidation chemotherapy. Key Points: • MRI provides a preoperative and noninvasive way to visualize tumor deposits (TDs) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). • Post-nCRT MRI-detected TDs are a poor prognostic marker in cT3 and cT4 rectal cancer patients. • The regression of MRI-detected TDs after nCRT is associated with an improved disease-free survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel electrochemical immunosensor for detecting potential depression biomarker Apolipoprotein A4 (Apo-A4) was developed using a multi-signal amplification approach. Firstly, the sensor utilized a modified electrode material, NG-PEI-COF, combining bipyridine-functionalized covalent organic framework (COF) and polyethyleneimine-functionalized nitrogen-doped graphene (NG-PEI), providing high surface area and excellent electron transfer capability for the first-stage amplification in electrical signal conduction. Subsequently, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were further electrodeposited onto the electrode, providing good biocompatibility and abundant binding sites for immobilizing the target antigen, thus achieving the second-stage amplification in target recognition and binding. To address the lack of redox properties of the antigen, a tracer probe was formed by loading AuNPs, anti-Apo-A4, and toluidine blue (TB) successively onto COF, leading to the third-stage amplification in signal conversion. The constructed electrochemical immunosensor TB/Ab/AuNPs/COF-Apo-A4/AuNPs/NG-PEI-COF/GCE exhibited excellent detection performance against Apo-A4 with a linear range of 0.01 to 300 ng mL−1 and had a low detection limit of 2.16 pg mL−1 (S/N = 3). In addition, the biosensor had good reproducibility (RSD = 2.31%), stability, and significant anti-interference performance toward other depression biomarkers. The sensor has been successfully used for the quantitative detection of Apo-A4 in serum, providing potential applications for detecting Apo-A4 in the clinic and serving as a reference for constructing sensing methods based on COF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benign airway stenosis (BAS) means airway stenosis or obstruction that results from a variety of non-malignant factors, including tuberculosis, trauma, benign tumors, etc. In consideration of the currently limited research on microRNAs in BAS, this study aimed to explore the role and mechanism of miR-34c-5p in BAS. The expression of miR-34c-5p in BAS granulation tissues showed a significant down-regulation compared with the normal control group. Moreover, miR-34c-5p mimics suppressed the proliferation and differentiation of human bronchial fibroblasts (HBFs) and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human bronchial epithelial cells (HBE). Conversely, miR-34c-5p inhibitors aggravated those effects. A dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-34c-5p can target MDMX rather than Notch1. The over-expression of MDMX can reverse the inhibiting effect of miR-34c-5p on HBFs proliferation, differentiation and EMT. Furthermore, the expressions of tumor protein (p53) and PTEN were down-regulated following the over-expression of MDMX. In addition, the expressions of PI3K and AKT showed an up-regulation. In conclusion, miR-34c-5p was down-regulated in BAS and may inhibit fibroblast proliferation differentiation and EMT in BAS via the MDMX/p53 signaling axis. These findings expand the understanding of the role of miR-34c-5p and will help develop new treatment strategies for BAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The impact of immunosuppression on prognosis of carbapenem-resistant organism (CRO) bloodstream infection (BSI) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between immunosuppression and mortality of CRO-BSI and to identify the risk factors associated with mortality in immunosuppressed patients. Methods: This retrospective study included 279 patients with CRO-BSI from January 2018 to March 2023. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between the immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patients. The relationship between immunosuppression and 30-day mortality after BSI onset was assessed through logistic-regression analysis, propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Factors associated with mortality in immunosuppressed patients were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 88 immunocompetent and 191 immunosuppressed patients were included, with 30-day all-cause mortality of 58.8%. Although the 30-day mortality in immunosuppressed patients was significantly higher than in immunocompetent patients (46.6% vs. 64.4%, P = 0.007), immunosuppression was not an independent risk factor for mortality in multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio [OR] 3.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74–18.89; P = 0.123), PSM (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.60–3.18; P = 0.449,) or IPTW (OR 1.40, 95% CI 0.58–3.36; P = 0.447). For patients with CRO-BSI, regardless of immune status, appropriate antibiotic therapy was associated with decreased 30-day mortality, while Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infection and thrombocytopenia at CRO-BSI onset were associated with increased mortality. Conclusion: Despite the high mortality rate of CRO-BSI, immunosuppression did not affect the mortality. Appropriate antibiotic therapy is crucial for improving the prognosis of CRO-BSI, regardless of the immune status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper addresses the challenge of generalized zero-shot learning, where the label of a target image may belong to either a seen or an unseen category. Previous methods for this task typically learn a joint embedding space where image features and their corresponding class prototypes are directly aligned. However, this can be difficult due to the inherent gap between the visual and semantic space. To overcome this challenge, we propose a novel learning framework that relaxes the alignment requirement. Our approach employs a metric learning-based loss function to optimize the visual embedding model, allowing for different penalty strengths on within-class and between-class similarities. By avoiding pair-wise comparisons between image and class embeddings, our approach achieves more flexibility in learning discriminative and generalized visual features. Our extensive experiments demonstrate the superiority of our method with performance on par with the state-of-the-art on five benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rescaling digital images for display on various devices, while simultaneously removing noise, has increasingly become a focus of attention. However, limited research has been done on a unified framework that can efficiently perform both tasks. In response, we propose INDIRECT (INvertible and Discrete noisy Image Rescaling with Enhancement from Case-dependent Textures), a novel method designed to address image denoising and rescaling jointly. INDIRECT leverages a jointly optimized framework to produce clean and visually appealing images using a lightweight model. It employs a discrete invertible network, DDR-Net, to perform rescaling and denoising through its reversible operations, efficiently mitigating the quantization errors typically encountered during downscaling. Subsequently, the Case-dependent Texture Module (CTM) is introduced to estimate missing high-frequency information, thereby recovering a clean and high-resolution image. Experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves competitive performance across three tasks: noisy image rescaling, image rescaling, and denoising, all while maintaining a relatively small model size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-source domain generalization for person re-identification, named Domain Generalizable Person Re-Identification (DG-ReID), refers to training on multiple source domains and testing on unseen target domains. However, the performance of the current methods is rather unsatisfactory. In this paper, we propose the Multi-Source Adaptive Meta-Learning (MAM) framework to push the limit of DG-ReID. First, MAM is built on the novel Multi-Source Adaptive Feature Refinement (MAFR) block, which simultaneously acquires domain-generalized features and domain-unique features on different domains. MAFR consists of three key components: the fine-grained feature extraction (FGFE) branch, the refined feature supplementation (RFS) branch, and the feature fusion (FF) module. Through these blocks, the interrelationships between different domains are explored, facilitating the extraction of features that are both generalized and discriminative. To capture domain-adaptive information, MAFR incorporates a meta-weight generator to effectively capture domain-adaptive information. Second, MAM leverages the principles of meta-learning during training to acquire more powerful generalization features. A total of three novel loss functions are proposed to train the proposed MAM including the clustering loss, the unknown domain identification loss, and the non-parametric identification loss. Last, we further design a novel meta-feature sampling method to diversify features used in the meta-testing stage for better generalization capability. The effectiveness of the proposed method is extensively evaluated on multiple benchmarks, and the results provide comprehensive validation. For instance, our MAM framework presents a promising solution to the challenge of domain generalization in person re-identification. Specifically, under evaluation protocol-2, the MAM framework exhibits improvements of 1.0% and 0.9% in mAP and rank-1 metrics, respectively, compared to the previous state-of-the-art method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children obesity is a serious public health problem drawing much attention around the world. Recent research indicated that gut microbiota plays a vital role in children obesity, and disturbed gut microbiota is a prominent characteristic of obese children. Diet and exercise are efficient intervention for weight loss in obesity children, however, how the gut microbiota is modulated which remains largely unknown. To characterize the feature of gut microbiota in obese children and explore the effect of dietary and exercise on gut microbiota in simple obese children, 107 healthy children and 86 obese children were recruited, and among of the obese children 39 received the dietary-exercise combined weight loss intervention (DEI). The gut microbiota composition was detected by the 16S amplicon sequencing method. The gut microbiota composition was significantly different between obese children and the healthy cohort, and DEI significantly reduced the body weight and ameliorated the gut microbiota dysbiosis. After DEI, the abundance of the Akkermansia muciniphila was increased, while the abundance of the Sutterella genus was decreased in simple obese children. Our results may provide theoretical reference for future personalized obesity interventions based on gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) have played an important role in the treatment of renal anemia in children, but cannot improve hemoglobin to target level in some cases. Roxadustat, a hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, can stimulate endogenous erythropoietin production and regulate iron metabolism even in patients with kidney failure. However, roxadustat has not yet been approved for use in children. Case–diagnosis/Treatment: We report a case of refractory renal anemia in an 80-day-old boy, who was hyporesponsive to ESAs even in combination with iron supplementation and transfusion. Compassionate use of roxadustat successfully corrected the intractable anemia. Hyperkalemia is a manageable adverse event of concern during follow-up. Conclusion: The successful experience in this case may inform the clinical utility of roxadustat for refractory renal anemia in children, which should be further confirmed by well-designed prospective clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the potential of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) quantitative parameters in predicting severe acute radiation-induced rectal injury (RRI) in rectal cancer. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 49 patients with rectal cancer who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and rectal MRI including a DCE-MRI sequence from November 2014 to March 2021. Two radiologists independently measured DCE-MRI quantitative parameters, including the forward volume transfer constant (Ktrans), rate constant (kep), fractional extravascular extracellular space volume (ve), and the thickness of the rectal wall farthest away from the tumor. These parameters were compared between mild and severe acute RRI groups based on histopathological assessment. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to analyze statistically significant parameters. Results: Forty-nine patients (mean age, 54 years ± 12 [standard deviation]; 37 men) were enrolled, including 25 patients with severe acute RRI. Ktrans was lower in severe acute RRI group than mild acute RRI group (0.032 min−1 vs 0.054 min−1; p = 0.008), but difference of other parameters (kep, ve and rectal wall thickness) was not significant between these two groups (all p > 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of Ktrans was 0.72 (95% confidence interval: 0.57, 0.84). With a Ktrans cutoff value of 0.047 min−1, the sensitivity and specificity for severe acute RRI prediction were 80% and 54%, respectively. Conclusion: Ktrans demonstrated moderate diagnostic performance in predicting severe acute RRI. Clinical relevance statement: Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI can provide non-invasive and objective evidence for perioperative management and treatment strategies in rectal cancer patients with acute radiation-induced rectal injury. Key Points: • To our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the predictive value of contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) quantitative parameters for severe acute radiation-induced rectal injury (RRI) in patients with rectal cancer. • Forward volume transfer constant (Ktrans), derived from DCE-MRI, exhibited moderate diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.72) in predicting severe acute RRI of rectal cancer, with a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 54%. • DCE-MRI is a promising imaging marker for distinguishing the severity of acute RRI in patients with rectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

mRNA vaccines are becoming a feasible alternative for treating cancer. To develop mRNA vaccines against LUAD, potential antigens were identified and LUAD ferroptosis subtypes distinguished for selecting appropriate patients. The genome expression omnibus, cancer genome atlas (TCGA) and FerrDB were used to collect gene expression profiles, clinical information, and the genes involved in ferroptosis, respectively. cBioPortal was used to visualize and compare genetic alterations, GEPIA2 to calculate prognostic factors of the selected antigens, and TIMER to visualize the relationship between potential antigens and tumor immune cell infiltration. Consensus clustering analysis was utilized to identify ferroptosis subtypes and their prognostic value assessed by Log-rank and cox regression tests. The modules of ferroptosis-related gene screening were conducted by weight gene co-expression network analysis. The LUAD ferroptosis landscape was visualized through dimensionality reduction and graph learning. Six tumor antigens had obvious LUAD-mutations, positively correlated with different antigen-presenting cells, and might induce tumor cell ferroptosis. LUAD patients were stratified into three ferroptosis subtypes (FS1, FS2, and FS3) according to diverse molecular, cellular, and clinical characteristics. FS3 showed the highest tumor mutation burden and the most somatic mutations, deemed potential indicators of mRNA vaccine effectiveness. Moreover, different ferroptosis subtypes expressed distinct immune checkpoints and immunogenic cell death modulators. AGPS, NRAS, MTDH, PANX1, NOX4, and PPARD are potentially suitable for mRNA vaccinations against LUAD, specifically in patients with FS3 tumors. This study defines vaccination candidates and establishes a theoretical basis for LUAD mRNA vaccinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the ship multi-scale phenomenon is very common in visible video, it is an important factor affecting the performance of visible video ship detection. Based on YOLOv5s, this paper proposes a real-time multi-scale ship detection algorithm. First, reparameterized convolution is adopted to increase the network width, thereby enhancing the network’s ability to express multi-scale ship features. Second, the depth of SPPF (Spatial Pyramid Pooling Fast) is adjusted to enhance the scale invariance of ship features extracted from the network. Third, the attention module is combined with feature pyramid network to enhance the network’s ability to focus on multi-scale ship features. Finally, confidence propagation cluster is used for post-processing to make the network generation more confident and closer to the boundary box of the real box. The experiment shows that our method can achieve state-of-the-art visible video ship detection performance on multiple evaluation indicators, such as mAP-IOU@0.5, mAP-IOU@[0.5:0.95], APS, APM, APL and so on. And it can meet the requirements of real-time detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Resistance to FGFR1-targeted therapy leads to autophagy via TAK1/AMPK activation in gastric cancer" published in the journal Gastric Cancer. The correction addresses an error in the representative western blot images of mTOR and β-actin in Figures 4a and 5a of the article. The correct images are provided in the correction notice. The publisher, Springer Nature, maintains a neutral stance on jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. The authors of the article are Rui Peng, Yan Chen, Liangnian Wei, Gang Li, Dongju Feng, Siru Liu, Runqiu Jiang, Shaojiang Zheng, and Yun Chen. [Extracted from the article]

Searching for life is one of the most important targets of Mars exploration missions. It has been considered that the Martian subsurface, away from the extreme surface environment, is a potentially habitable region for microbial growth. However, the distribution pattern of potential microbial habitats in the Martian subsurface has yet to be evaluated. Here, we investigate the subsurface habitats to depths of 20–60 cm from various landscapes, including slopes, gullies, channels, playas, and alluvial fans across the Mars-analog Qaidam Basin, NW China. We characterize subsurface niches by measuring microbial biomass and radiocarbon ages, and correlate them with soil properties including depth, moisture content, total organic carbon content, electric conductivity, pH, evaporite and clay mineral contents. We find more habitable niches for microbial colonization at depths of 5–25 cm as compared with the surface and deep subsurface across the hyperarid Qaidam Basin. Maximum biomass and biotic activity could be correlated with physical stability, limited radiation, and short-term moderate water availability in the shallow subsurface in hyperarid deserts. The findings of this study provide new perspectives on subsurface microbial habitats in Mars-analog hyperarid deserts and ongoing biosignature detection on Mars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To further evaluate the causal relationships between inflammatory cytokines and migraine, we conducted a bidirectional, two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using genetic data from publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We used several MR methods, including random-effect inverse-variance weighting (IVW), weighted median, MR-Egger, to test the causal relationships. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted to evaluate the robustness of the results. The results showed that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was positively associated with the risk of migraine (odds ratio [OR], 1.004; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001–1.008; P = 0.022). In addition, Interleukin-2 (IL-2) was considered a downstream consequence of migraine (OR, 0.012; 95% CI, 0.000–0.0929; P = 0.046). These findings suggest that HGF may be a factor associated with the etiology of migraine, while IL-2 is more likely to be involved in the downstream development of migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Continuous-wave green vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers based on self-formed quantum dots were realized with the lowest threshold current density of 51.97 A cm−2. A short cavity (~4.0 λ, where λ is the wavelength in the media) was adopted to enhance the interaction between spontaneous emission and lasing mode, with a big coupling factor up to 0.094. AlN current confinement layer and the electroplated supporting copper plate were utilized to improve heat dissipation, with a low thermal resistance of 842 K W−1. Room temperature low threshold lasing of green GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) was demonstrated under continuous wave (CW) operation. By using self-formed InGaN quantum dots (QDs) as the active region, the VCSEL emitting at 524.0 nm has a threshold current density of 51.97 A cm−2, the lowest ever reported. The QD epitaxial wafer featured with a high IQE of 69.94% and the δ-function-like density of states plays an important role in achieving low threshold current. Besides, a short cavity of the device (~ 4.0 λ) is vital to enhance the spontaneous emission coupling factor to 0.094, increase the gain coefficient factor, and decrease the optical loss. To improve heat dissipation, AlN layer was used as the current confinement layer and electroplated copper plate was used to replace metal bonding. The results provide important guidance to achieving high performance GaN-based VCSELs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous studies have found that living arrangements and religiosity can influence the subjective well-being (SWB) of older adults, they have tended to investigate each of these aspects separately. Engaging with this gap, the current study examines the relationship between living arrangements, religious attendance, and the SWB of older adults, as well as the mediating effect of religious attendance on the relationship between the other two factors. A total of 875 older adults from 40 villages or communities in a Tibetan area in China (Gannan) were surveyed. An ordinary least square regression was used to evaluate the relationship between SWB and living arrangements and/or religious attendance. A structural equation model was then used to test the mediating role played by religious attendance in the association between living arrangements and SWB. The results showed that older adults in the selected study areas who were co-residing with their children and/or spouse had a higher level of SWB compared to those living alone. While religious attendance was positively associated with older adults' SWB, the findings showed that living with their spouse or children decreased their frequency of attendance at religious activities. In contrast, it was found that living alone directly decreased older adults' SWB, but increased the frequency of their participation in religious events, thus indirectly promoting their SWB. A key implication of this study is its confirmation that religious attendance plays an important mediating role in the relationship between living arrangements and SWB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forkhead box G1 (FOXG1) is a transcriptional repressor with high expression in the nervous system. Most research focused on the biological function of FOXG1, however, the transcriptional regulation of the Foxg1 gene was rarely studied. Herein, we analyzed and cloned 2.3 kb of the 5'-upstream sequences of the Foxg1 gene to better understand the regulation of the Foxg1 gene expression. The CpG islands and putative transcription factor binding sites were analyzed by bioinformatics methods. Then we defined a small region in the upstream 350 bp area which was required for the promoter activity by constructing truncated mutants. FOXG1 is a transcriptional repressor that is highly expressed in the nervous system. While previous research has focused on the biological function of FOXG1, little attention has been paid to the transcriptional regulation of the Foxg1 gene. In this study, we analyzed and cloned 2.3 kb of the 5'-upstream sequences of the Foxg1 gene to gain a better understanding of the regulation of its expression. Using bioinformatics methods, we analyzed the CpG islands and putative transcription factor binding sites. Through constructing truncated mutants, we identified a small 350 bp region in the upstream area that was required for promoter activity. These findings shed new light on the transcriptional regulation of Foxg1 and provide a basis for further exploration of its biological function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver (Ag) nanocrystals are appealing due to their excellent antimicrobial properties. Synthesis of harmless Ag nanocrystals by low toxic reagents remains significant. Herein, an environmentally benign solvothermal process was applied to synthesize Ag nanocrystals in ethylene glycol (EG) dissolving silver nitrate and sodium oleate. Silver ions were reduced by EG to zero-valent Ag atoms that underwent nucleation and growth to form oleate-stabilized Ag nanocrystals. Multiple experimental parameters including the reaction time, temperature, concentration of Ag precursor, and the molar ratio of sodium oleate and silver nitrate were investigated to probe their effects on morphological structures and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties of resulting Ag nanocrystals. Results from UV–Vis absorption spectra and TEM images show that structural and SPR features of Ag nanocrystals are extremely sensitive to the reaction temperature as well as the molar ratio of sodium oleate and silver nitrate. Especially, two absorption bands appeared. The short wavelength (~ 450 nm) represents the characteristic SPR of Ag nanospheres. While, the plasmon absorption at long wavelength (500–700 nm depending on reaction conditions) indicates the anisotropic or heterogeneous structures of Ag nanocrystals that maybe pave their potential applications in asymmetric catalysis, selective growth of coating materials, nanomedicine and optoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discrete element method is used to study the dissipation behavior of the granular balls in a rotating closed cylinder under the Earth gravity environment, and five kinds of particle motion forms with different dissipation characteristics are obtained. These phases are slumping, rolling, cascading, cataracting and centrifuging. Combined with the simulation of the dissipation behavior of the granular system under the Mars and Moon environment, the universality and the mechanism of the high dissipation effect of the cataracting phase is studied. In addition, based on the dissipation behavior of the granular balls in the rotating closed cylinder, the optimization design of the autogenous mill lifter is studied, and finally a design method of the structure parameters of the autogenous mill based on the material dissipation behavior is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dissipation behavior of granular balls in a quasi-2D vertically oscillating closed container is studied by the discrete element method with varying excitation frequencies in this work. Combining the dynamic behavior with dissipation effect of vibrated granular balls, the optimal damping effect of the phase transition critical stage between granular density inversion and granular Leidenfrost effect that involves four high damping granular phases (HDGPs) is revealed. Moreover, the high damping granular phases near and away from this phase transition critical stage are compared and analyzed further, which indicates the universal dynamic behavior of dense granular clusters playing the optimal damping effect. Finally, the optimal damping mechanism of granular balls in the quasi-2D closed container is clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serotonin, as a monoamine neurotransmitter, modulates the activity of the nervous system. Due to its importance in the coordination of movement and regulation of mood, impairments in the synthesis and homeostasis of serotonin are involved in numerous disorders, including depression, Parkinson's disease, and anxiety. Currently, serotonin is primarily obtained via natural extraction. But this method is time-consuming and low yield, as well as unstable supply of raw materials. With the development of synthetic biology, researchers have established the method of microbial synthesis of serotonin. Compared with natural extraction, microbial synthesis has the advantages of short production cycle, continuous production, not limited by season and source, and environment-friendly; hence, it has garnered considerable research attention. However, the yield of serotonin is still too low to industrialization. Therefore, this review provides the latest progress and examples that illustrate the synthesis pathways of serotonin as well as proposes strategies for increasing the production of serotonin. Key points: • Two biosynthesis pathways of serotonin are introduced. • L-tryptophan hydroxylation is the rate-limiting step in serotonin biosynthesis. • Effective strategies are proposed to improve serotonin production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To introduce novel parameters in determining directions of os odontoideum (OO) with atlantoaxial displacement (AAD) and compensations of cervical sagittal alignment after displacement. Methods: Analysis was performed on 96 cases receiving surgeries for upper cervical myelopathy caused by OO with AAD from 2011 to 2021. Twenty-four patients were included in the OO group and divided into the OO-anterior displacement (AD) group and the OO-posterior displacement (PD) group by displacement. Seventy-two patients were included as the control (Ctrl) group and divided into Ctrl-positive (Ctrl-P) group and Ctrl-negative (Ctrl-N) group by axial superior facet slope (ASFS) in a neutral position. ASFS, the sum of C2 slope (C2S) and axial superior facet endplate angle (ASFEA), was measured and calculated by combining cervical supine CT with standing X-ray. Cervical sagittal parameters were measured to analyse the atlantoaxial facet and compensations after AAD. Results: Atlas inferior facet angle (AIFA), ASFS, and ASFEA in Ctrl-P significantly differed from OO-AD.C0-C1, C1-C2, C0-C2, C2-C7, C2-C7 SVA, and C2S in Ctrl-P significant differed from the OO-AD group. C2-C7 SVA and C2S in Ctrl-N significantly were smaller than the OO-PD group. C1-C2 correlated with C0-C1 and C2-C7 negatively in the OO group. Slight kyphosis of C1-C2 in OO-AD was compared with lordosis of C1-C2 in Ctrl-P, inducing increased extension of C0-C1 and C2-C7. Mildly increased lordosis of C1-C2 in OO-PD was compared with C1-C2 in Ctrl-N, triggering augmented flexion of C0-C1 and C2-C7. Conclusion: ASFS was vital in determining directions of OO with AAD and explaining compensations. ASFS and ASFEA could provide pre- and intraoperative guidelines. Key Points: • ASFS may determine the directions and compensatory mechanisms of AAD secondary to OO. • ASFS could be achieved by the sum of ASFEA and C2S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the influence of fluid solid coupling erosion on the joints of gas pipelines, the Fluent DPM model was first used to conduct finite element analysis on several commonly used gas pipeline joints through gas-solid coupling numerical simulation. Secondly, the reasons for erosion of four-way joints and fish tail joints were studied, and the effects of fluid velocity, particle mass, and particle diameter on erosion were compared and analyzed. Finally, two optimization schemes were proposed for these two types of joints. The results show that fish tail joint is generally lower than that of the three-way channel structure. The erosion rate of the fish tail pipe is caused by the large angle between the inlet and outlet channels, which causes particles to directly impact the projection direction of the inlet channel. The erosion rate increases with the increase in velocity and increases with the increase in particle diameter. The use of a double lobe guide structure in the four-ways joint and fish tail joint not only effectively optimizes the internal flow channel, but also reduces wall erosion and avoids large flow velocity zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Multiple myeloma acquires resistance to EGFR inhibitor via induction of pentose phosphate pathway" published in Scientific Reports. The correction addresses an error in Figure 2 of the article, where incorrect images were used during the image assembly. The correct Figure 2 and accompanying legend are provided in the correction notice. The authors of the article are Yan Chen, Ruibin Huang, Jianghua Ding, Dexiang Ji, Bing Song, Liya Yuan, Hong Chang, and Guoan Chen. [Extracted from the article]

The disordered expression of ZNF143 is closely related to the malignant progression of tumours. However, the basic control mechanism of ZNF143 in glioma has not yet been clarified. Therefore, we tried to find a new pathway to illustrate the function of ZNF143 in glioma. To explore the function of KPNA2 in the development of glioma, we used survival analysis by the Kaplan‒Meier method to assess the overall survival (OS) of patients with low and high KPNA2 expression in the TCGA and CGGA cohorts. Western blotting assays and RT‒PCR assays were utilized to determine the expression level of KPNA2 in glioma cells. The interaction between ZNF143 and KPNA2 was confirmed by ChIP assays. Proliferation was assessed by CCK-8 assays, and migration was evaluated by wound healing and Transwell assays. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry, and the expression level of YAP/TAZ was visualized using an immunofluorescence assay. The expression levels of LATS1, LATS2, YAP1, and p-YAP1 were determined. Patients with low KPNA2 expression showed a better prognosis than those with high KPNA2 expression. KPNA2 was found to be upregulated in human glioma cells. ZNF143 can bind to the promoter region of KPNA2. Downregulation of ZNF143 and KPNA2 can activate the Hippo signalling pathway and reduce YAP/TAZ expression in human glioma cells, thus inducing apoptosis of human glioma cells and weakening their proliferation, migration and invasion. In conclusion, ZNF143 mediates the Hippo/YAP signalling pathway and inhibits the growth and migration of glioma cells by regulating KPNA2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To establish an in vitro study model of gastric cancer, gastric cancer organoid culture system, by biopsy under gastroscope, and to explore and analyze the related factors affecting the success rate of culture, to provide a better in vitro model for the study of gastric cancer. Methods: Twenty-six patients with advanced gastric cancer were collected. Organoids were cultured by biopsy under gastroscope. Paraffin sections were made and HE staining was used to compare the consistency of gastroscopic pathological morphology and organoids. To explore the influencing factors of cultivating gastric cancer organoids in combination with clinical data. Results: A total of 26 cases were collected by gastroscopy, and 12 cases of gastric cancer organoids were successfully cultured after identification, with a success rate of about 48%. Its histopathological morphology was highly consistent with that of gastric cancer. According to the pathological type, 21 cases were poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and 12 cases were successful. Four cases of signet ring cell carcinoma failed. According to the location of the lesion, the success rate of sampling and culture of gastric antrum was significantly lower, which may be related to antral edema and anatomical characteristics of gastric antrum. Some of the failed cases are related to the quality of sampling, technique and contamination of tissue cells. Conclusions: We have successfully established gastric cancer organoids through endoscopic biopsy, and analyzed the factors affecting the success rate of culture from various angles, to improve and enhance the organoid culture technology and provide a better platform for tumor research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrodin (Gas) has exhibited protective activity in neurological disorders. Here, we investigated the neuroprotective effect and potential mechanisms of Gas against cognitive impairment via regulating gut microbiota. APPswe/PSEN1dE9 transgenic (APP/PS1) mice were treated intragastrically with Gas for 4 weeks, and then cognitive deficits, deposits of amyloid-β (Aβ) and phosphorylation of tau were analyzed. The expression levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) pathway-related proteins, such as cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), were detected. Meanwhile, gut microbiota composition was evaluated. Our results showed that Gas treatment significantly improved cognitive deficits and Aβ deposition in APP/PS1 mice. Moreover, Gas treatment increased the level of Bcl-2 and decreased level of Bax and ultimately inhibited neuronal apoptosis. Gas treatment markedly increased the expression levels of IGF-1 and CREB in APP/PS1 mice. Moreover, Gas treatment improved abnormal composition and structure of gut microbiota in APP/PS1 mice. These findings revealed that Gas actively participated in regulating the IGF-1 pathway to inhibit neuronal apoptosis via the gut–brain axis and that it can be considered a new therapeutic strategy against Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a common infection in intensive care units (ICUs). There are no consensus criteria for defining IPA in the ICU. We aimed to compare the diagnosis and prognosis performances of three criteria (the 2020 EORTC/MSG criteria, the 2021 EORTC/MSG ICU criteria, the modified AspICU criteria (M-AspICU)) for IPA in the ICU. Methods: In this retrospective study from our single center, we applied the three different criteria for IPA in patients with suspected pneumonia and undergoing at least one mycological test between November 10, 2016 and November 10, 2021. We compared the diagnosis agreement and prognosis performances of these three criteria in the ICU. Results: Overall, 2403 patients were included. The rates of IPA according to the 2020 EORTC/MSG, 2021 EORTC/MSG ICU, and M-AspICU were 3.37%, 6.53%, and 23.10%, respectively. Diagnostic agreement among these criteria was poor (Cohen's kappa 0.208–0.666). IPA diagnosed by either the 2020 EORTC/MSG (odds ratio = 2.709, P < 0.001) or the 2021 EORTC/MSG ICU (odds ratio = 2.086, P = 0.001) criteria was independently associated with 28-day mortality. IPA diagnosed by M-AspICU is an independent risk factor of 28-day mortality (odds ratio = 1.431, P = 0.031) when excluding patients who fulfilled neither host criteria nor radiological factors of 2021 EORTC/MSG ICU. Conclusions: Although M-AspICU criteria have the highest "sensitivity", IPA diagnosed by M-AspICU was not an independent risk factor of 28-day mortality. Caution is required when using the M-AspICU criteria in ICU, especially in patients with non-specific infiltration and non-classical host factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers a simple repairable queuing system and proposes an innovative condition-based maintenance (CBM) model for the service facility of the system. The proposed CBM model uses an X/T control chart to simultaneously monitor the frequency and severity of facility failures, and based on the monitoring results, it determines the maintenance action that should be taken when a failure occurs. A continuous-time Markov chains (CTMC) is used to describe the state transition of this repairable queuing system and construct an optimization model. Based on this optimization model, the upper control limit of the X/T control chart and preventive maintenance rate are jointly determined to ensure customer service quality and minimize maintenance costs. The proposed CBM model is compared with the maintenance model without X/T control charts in terms of maintenance cost and service quality. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is performed on the model parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An optimal method for digestive tract reconstruction (DTR) in laparoscopic radical resection of Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG) has not yet been standardized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of a hand-sewn esophagojejunostomy (EJ) technique during transthoracic single-port assisted laparoscopic esophagogastrectomy (TSLE) for Siewert type II AEG with esophageal invasion > 3 cm. Methods: The perioperative clinical data and short-term outcomes for patients who underwent TSLE using hand-sewn EJ for Siewert type II AEG with esophageal invasion > 3 cm between March 2019 and April 2022 have been retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 25 patients were eligible. All 25 patients were successfully operated. None was converted to open surgery or mortality. 84.00% of patients were male and 16.00% were female. The mean age, body mass index (BMI), and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score were 67.88 ± 8.10 years, 21.30 ± 2.80 kg/m2, and 2.08, respectively. The average incorporated operative and hand-sewn EJ procedural times were 274.92 ± 57.46 and 23.36 ± 3.00 min, respectively. The length of extracorporeal esophageal involvement and proximal margin was 3.31 ± 0.26 cm and 3.12 ± 0.12 cm, respectively. The average time for the first oral feeding and hospital stay were 6 (3–14) and 7 (3–18) days, respectively. Two patients (8.00%) developed postoperative grade IIIa complications according to the Clavien–Dindo classification, including 1 case of pleural effusion and 1 case of anastomotic leakage, both of whom were cured by puncture drainage. Conclusion: Hand-sewn EJ in TSLE is safe and feasible for Siewert type II AEG. This method can ensure safe proximal margins and could be a good option with an advanced endoscopic suture technique for type II tumor with esophageal invasion > 3 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Sepsis is a severe inflammatory response to infection that leads to long-lasting cognitive impairment and depression after resolution. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxaemia model is a well-established model of gram-negative bacterial infection and recapitulates the clinical characteristics of sepsis. However, whether LPS-induced endotoxaemia during adolescence can modulate depressive and anxiety-like behaviours in adulthood remains unclear. Objectives: To determine whether LPS-induced endotoxaemia in adolescence can modulate the stress vulnerability to depressive and anxiety-like behaviours in adulthood and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure inflammatory cytokine expression in the brain. A stress vulnerability model was established by exposure to subthreshold social defeat stress (SSDS), and depressive- and anxiety-like behaviours were evaluated by the social interaction test (SIT), sucrose preference test (SPT), tail suspension test (TST), force swimming test (FST), elevated plus-maze (EPM) test, and open field test (OFT). Western blotting was used to measure Nrf2 and BDNF expression levels in the brain. Results: Our results showed that inflammation occurred in the brain 24 h after the induction of LPS-induced endotoxaemia at P21 but resolved in adulthood. Furthermore, LPS-induced endotoxaemia during adolescence promoted the inflammatory response and the stress vulnerability after SSDS during adulthood. Notably, the expression levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and BDNF in the mPFC were decreased after SSDS exposure in mice treated with LPS during adolescence. Activation of the Nrf2-BDNF signalling pathway by sulforaphane (SFN), an Nrf2 activator, ameliorated the effect of LPS-induced endotoxaemia during adolescence on stress vulnerability after SSDS during adulthood. Conclusions: Our study identified adolescence as a critical period during which LPS-induced endotoxaemia can promote stress vulnerability during adulthood and showed that this effect is mediated by impairment of Nrf2-BDNF signalling in the mPFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the mechanism of future predicted increases in carbon dioxide (CO2)-induced gill remolding in early life stages of fish, we evaluated physiological responses and performed transcriptome sequencing analysis of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss fry after 60 days of 1,000 ppm CO2 exposure. The malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased and key antioxidant enzymes were significantly inhibited, indicating that exposure to high CO2 may disrupt cellular redox homeostasis in the gill. The transcriptome sequencing analysis provided a list of possible stress responses of rainbow trout fry exposed to 1,000 ppm CO2. The upregulated uncoupling protein 2 and downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) enriched in oxidative phosphorylation pathway tried to reduce oxidative stress. The upregulated DEGs enriched in ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes pathway together with the induced heat shock proteins (HSPs) and ubiquitin-conjugated proteins occurred in treated fish to prevent the accumulation of aggregated proteins in gill tissue of the rainbow trout fry after the exposure of 1,000 ppm CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the field investigation in five provincial regions of Southwest China between 2001 and 2019, the present paper reports the infestation and distribution of chigger mites on the Confucian white-bellied rat Niviventer confucianus in China for the first time. A total of 11,017 chigger mites were collected from the body surface of 911 N. confucianus rat hosts, and 10,161 of them were identified as 166 species and 16 genera in three subfamilies under two families with high species diversity (S = 166, H' = 3.19, E = 0.62). Of 911 N. confucianus rats, 341 individuals were infested with chiggers with high overall prevalence (PM = 37.43%), mean abundance (MA = 12.09 mites/rat) and mean intensity (MI = 32.31 mites/rat). On the body surface of N. confucianus, Ascoschoengastia sifanga was the most dominant chigger species followed by Walchia ewingi and Leptotrombidium rupestre. All the three dominant chigger species showed an aggregated distribution pattern among different individuals of N. confucianus. Chigger infestations on the same rat host (N. confucianus) showed some heterogeneity under different environmental conditions such as latitudes, longitudes, altitudes and landscapes. Based on Preston's lognormal model, the species abundance distribution of chiggers on N. confucianus conformed to a lognormal distribution pattern, and the predicted total species of chiggers on N. confucianus in Southwest China was estimated to be 228 species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) may induce intense inflammatory response which might be related to the patient's outcomes. Clinical dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been widely used for opioid-sparing anesthesia and satisfactory sedation. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of DEX on inflammatory response and postoperative complications in LPD. Methods: Ninety-nine patients undergoing LPD were randomly assigned to two groups: normal saline (NS) and DEX. The primary outcome was the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) differences postoperatively within 48 h. Secondary outcomes were postoperative complications, the length of postoperative hospital stay and the incidence of ICU admission. Other outcomes included anesthetics consumption and intraoperative vital signs. Results: NLR at postoperative day 2 to baseline ratio decreased significantly in the DEX group (P = 0.032). Less major complications were observed in the DEX group such as pancreatic fistula, delayed gastric emptying and intra-abdominal infection (NS vs. DEX, 21.7% vs. 13.6%, P = 0.315; 10.9% vs. 2.3%, P = 0.226; 17.4% vs. 11.4%, P = 0.416, respectively) though there were no statistical differences. Three patients were transferred to the ICU after surgery in the NS group, while there was none in the DEX group (P = 0.242). The median postoperative hospital stay between groups were similar (P = 0.313). Both intraoperative propofol and opioids were less in the DEX group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Intraoperative DEX reduced the early postoperative inflammatory response in LPD. It also reduced the use of narcotics that may related to reduced major complications, which need additional research further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of urban agglomerations in northwest arid and semiarid regions of China, the scope of the urban heat island (UHI) effect has gradually expanded and gradually connected, and has formed a regional heat island (RHI) with a larger range of impact to the regional environment. However, there are few studies on the heat island effect of urban agglomerations in arid and semiarid regions, so this paper selects the urban agglomeration of Hohhot, Baotou and Ordos (HBO) of Inner Mongolia, China as the study area. Based on the 8-day composite Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface temperature data (156 scenes in all) and land use maps for 2005, 2010, and 2015, we analyze the spatiotemporal distributions of regional heat (cool) islands (RH(C)I) and the responses of surface temperatures to land-use changes in the diurnal and interannual surface cities. The results showed that: 1) from 2005 to 2015, urban areas showed the cold island effect during the day, with the area of the cold island showing a shrinking feature; at night, they showed the heat island effect, with the area of the heat island showing a first decrease and then an increase. 2) From 2005 to 2015, the land development (unutilized land to building land) brings the greatest temperature increase (ΔT = 1.36°C) during the day, while the greatest temperature change at night corresponds to the conversion of cultivated land to building land (ΔT = 0.78°C) exhibited the largest changes at night. From 2010 to 2015, the land development (grassland to building land) bring the greatest temperature increase (ΔT = 0.85°C) during the day, while the great temperature change at night corresponds to the conversion of water areas to building land (ΔT = 1.38°C) exhibited the largest changes at night. Exploring the spatial and temporal evolution of surface urban heat (cool) islands in urban agglomerations in arid and semiarid regions will help to understand the urbanization characteristics of urban agglomerations and provide a reference for the formulation of policies for the coordinated and healthy development of the region and co-governance of regional environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore whether the combined analysis of motor and bulbar region of M1 on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) can be a valid biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Thirty-two non-demented ALS patients and 35 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC) were retrospectively recruited. SWI and 3D-T1-MPRAGE images were obtained from all individuals using a 3.0-T MRI scan. The bilateral posterior band of M1 was manually delineated by three neuroradiologists on phase images and subdivided into the motor and bulbar regions. We compared the phase values in two groups and performed a stratification analysis (ALSFRS-R score, duration, disease progression rate, and onset). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also constructed. Results: ALS group showed significantly increased phase values in M1 and the two subregions than the HC group, on the all and elderly level (p < 0.001, respectively). On all-age level comparison, negative correlations were found between phase values of M1 and clinical score and duration (p < 0.05, respectively). Similar associations were found in the motor region (p < 0.05, respectively). On both the total (p < 0.01) and elderly (p < 0.05) levels, there were positive relationships between disease progression rate and M1 phase values. In comparing ROC curves, the entire M1 showed the best diagnostic performance. Conclusions: Combining motor and bulbar analyses as an integral M1 region on SWI can improve ALS diagnosis performance, especially in the elderly. The phase value could be a valuable biomarker for ALS evaluation. Key Points: • Integrated analysis of the motor and bulbar as an entire M1 region on SWI can improve the diagnosis performance in ALS. • Quantitative analysis of iron deposition by SWI measurement helps the clinical evaluation, especially for the elderly patients. • Phase value, when combined with the disease progression rate, could be a valuable biomarker for ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Imatinib mesylate (IM) is highly effective in the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). However, the most of GISTs patients develop secondary drug resistance after 1–3 years of IM treatment. The aim of this study was to explore the IM-resistance mechanism via the multi-scope combined with plasma concentration of IM, genetic polymorphisms and plasma sensitive metabolites. Methods: This study included a total of 40 GISTs patients who had been regularly treated and not treated with IM. The plasma samples were divided into three experiments, containing therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), OCT1 genetic polymorphisms and non-targeted metabolomics. According to the data of above three experiments, the IM-resistant cell line, GIST-T1/IMR cells, was constructed for verification the IM-resistance mechanism. Results: The results of non-targeted metabolomics analysis suggested that the sphingophospholipid metabolic pathway including the SPK1/S1P axis was inferred in IM-insensitive patients with GISTs. A GIST cell line (GIST-T1) was immediately induced as an IM resistance cell model (GIST-T1/IMR) and we found that blocking the signal pathway of SPK1/S1P in the GIST-T1/IMR could sensitize treatment of IM and reverse the IM-resistance. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that IM secondary resistance is associated with the elevation of S1P, and blockage the signaling pathway of SPK1/S1P warrants evaluation as a potential therapeutic strategy in IM-resistant GISTs. The design of this study from blood management, group information collection, IM plasma concentration with different elements, identification of sphingolipid metabolism and lastly verification the function of SPK1/S1P in the IM-resistance GISTs cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Genetic susceptibility is an important pathogenic mechanism in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the specific gene variant associated with DKD susceptibility remains unclear. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), an important indicator for the process of DKD, has a heritable component. This study aimed to explore whether these GFR-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with DKD. Methods: GFR-related SNPs were collected from the Phenotype–Genotype Integrator (PheGenI) database. SNPs for population cohort analysis were selected following the criteria of complete records of eQTL and MAF > 5% in the Chinese Han population. Totally 498 subjects participated, including166 patients with DKD, 166 patients with T2DM, and 166 controls. The genotypes of SNPs were determined using a Sequenom MassARRAY system. Plink software was employed to analyze the SNP–SNP interactions. Results: By screening the GFR-related SNPs recorded in the PheGenI database, four SNPs (rs1260326, rs17319721, rs35716097, and rs6420094) were finally selected to investigate the association with DKD. It was shown that one of the four SNPs was related to DKD. The G allele of SLC34A1 rs6420094 was associated with a decreased risk of DKD in DKD and T2DM groups (OR 0.716; P = 0.049). Genetic model analysis revealed that rs6420094 was a protective factor for DKD in T2DM in a dominant model and an additive model (P = 0.03; P = 0.032, respectively). Although rs17319721 was not associated with the risk of DKD, the SNP–SNP interactions between rs17319721 and rs6420094 predicted a significantly decreased risk of DKD (OR 0.464; P = 0.047). Conclusion: SLC34A1 rs6420094 was associated with a decreased DKD risk in the Chinese Han population. SNP–SNP interaction between rs17319721 and rs6420094 was associated with a lower risk of DKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The type II toxin-antitoxin (T-A) HicAB system is abundant in several bacteria and archaea, such as Escherichia coli, Burkholderia Pseudomallei, Yersinia pestis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. This system engages in stress response, virulence, and bacterial persistence. This study showed that the biofilm-forming ability of the hicAB deletion mutant was significantly decreased to moderate ability compared to the extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) parent strain and the complemented strain, which are strong biofilm producers. Congo red assay showed that the hicAB mutant maintained the ability to form curli fimbriae. Using RNA-seq and comparative real-time quantitative RT-PCR, we observed the difference in gene expression between the hicAB mutant and the parent strain, which was associated with biofilm formation. Our data indicate that the HicAB type II T-A system has a key role in biofilm formation by ExPEC, which may be associated with outer membrane protein (OMP) gene expression. Collectively, our results indicate that the hicAB type II T-A system is involved in ExPEC biofilm formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional watermarking, which embeds watermark information into images for copyright protection, cannot be effectively used in applications with high integrity requirements such as medical and military images, because watermark embedding will destroy original images. We propose a robust modified Zernike moments (MZMs)-based zero-watermarking algorithm for image copyright protection without changing the original image. In this paper, a new type of radial basis function of Zernike moments (ZMs) is designed, and based on this, MZMs are constructed, which effectively improves the performance of ZMs. Then a robust geometric-attack-resistant zero-watermarking algorithm based on MZMs is proposed for image lossless copyright protection. Experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm can effectively resist common image processing attacks and geometric attacks, with superior robustness to other state-of-the-art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

However, in the statement of Lemma 3 insufficient care was given to the support of the random variable I Y i with distribution HT ht appearing in (22) of [[2]]. It is known that HT ht , as stated in (34) of [[2]]. Let HT ht and HT ht be random variables with the extremal two-point cdf's HT ht and HT ht , respectively. [Extracted from the article]

To compare the effects of aminosalicylic acid, glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants on the expression levels of multidrug resistance genes in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), with the aim of providing a theoretical and therapeutic basis for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of UC. Fresh colonic mucosal tissues or postoperative pathological biopsies from 148 UC patients were collected, and the distribution sites and morphology of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) were detected using immunohistochemical staining. RT-PCR was used to quantify the expression levels of multidrug resistance gene (MDR1) mRNA before and after the corresponding treatment, and the effects of aminosalicylic acid, glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive drugs on P-gp were compared. In addition, the effects of the three drugs on MDR1 mRNA were analyzed. Administration of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) drugs did not correlate with MDR1 expression in UC, whereas administration of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive drugs was positively correlated with MDR1 expression profile. The expression levels of MDR1 mRNA and its product P-gp were significantly upregulated in patients who did not respond to glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive drugs. 5-ASA had no effect on the expression levels of MDR1 and its product P-gp in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of UC. However, the use of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants can increase the expression level of MDR1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the risk from environmental pollution caused by chloramphenicol (CAP) has emerged as a serious concern worldwide, especially for the co-selection of antibiotic resistance microorganisms simultaneously exposed to CAP and salts. In this study, the multistage contact oxidation reactor (MCOR) was employed for the first time to treat the CAP wastewater under the co-existence of CAP (10–80 mg/L) and salinity (0–30 g/L NaCl). The CAP removal efficiency reached 91.7% under the co-existence of 30 mg/L CAP and 10 g/L NaCl in the influent, but it fluctuated around 60% with the increase of CAP concentration and salinity. Trichococcus and Lactococcus were the major contributors to the CAP and salinity shock loads. Furthermore, the elevated CAP and salinity selection pressures inhibited the spread of CAP efflux pump genes, including cmlA, tetC, and floR, and significantly affected the composition and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). As the potential hosts of CAP resistance genes, Acinetobacter, Enterococcus, and unclassified_d_Bacteria developed resistance against high osmotic pressure and antibiotic environment using the efflux pump mechanism. The results also revealed that shifting of potential host bacteria significantly contributed to the change in ARGs. Overall, the co-existence of CAP and salinity promoted the enrichment of core genera Trichococcus and Lactococcus; however, they inhibited the proliferation of ARGs. Key points: • Trichococcus and Lactococcus were the core bacteria related to CAP biodegradation • Co-existence of CAP and salinity inhibited proliferation of cmlA, tetC, and floR • The microorganism resisted the CAP using the efflux pump mechanism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acceleration, displacement, stress response, and other dynamic response topics are currently the key topics of research. Because uranium tailings reservoirs are radioactive, earthquakes can also cause radon to be released. In order to monitor the acceleration response, displacement (both surface and interior), and radon exhalation rate of the dam body of the uranium tailings reservoir under various seismic peak accelerations, the shaker model test is used. When the peak acceleration is 0.7 g, the displacement swings even more visibly, and when the peak acceleration is 1.0 g, the surface of the dam shows clear fissures. However, the radon response will be quicker and stronger, and as the acceleration of the seismic peak keeps rising, the response gets stronger and stronger. As a result, the dynamic reaction can also be determined from the radon response. The findings of the tests can be used as a guide for the safe and stable operation of uranium tailings reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The enduring presence of COVID-19 and subsequent increasing incidence of COVID-19 reinfection has prompted evaluation of associated risk factors, particularly the role of immunosuppression. Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize cases indicative of COVID-19 reinfection with respect to their reported use of immunosuppressant/immunomodulating agents. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study leveraged the Pfizer global safety database (SDB) containing adverse event data collected in association with use of Pfizer products between 1 October 2019, and 30 June 2022. Selected Medical Dictionary for Drug Regulatory Activities (MedDRA®) Preferred Terms were used to identify COVID-19 cases; the search was further refined to comprise cases that subsequently reported events potentially indicative of COVID-19 reinfection. Results: Of the cumulative total of 218,242 COVID-19 cases reported into the SDB, 4590 cases (2.1%) involving potential COVID-19 reinfection were identified. Of these 4590 cases of potential Covid-19 reinfection, a total of 134 cases reported COVID-19 specifically during treatment with pharmaceutical products, of which approximately 16% (21/134) of cases reported use of immunosuppressant/immunomodulating agents. Likewise, in the overall dataset (213,652 cases; excluding the 4590 cases involving potential COVID-19 recurrence), the percentage of reported immunosuppressant/immunomodulating agents was low (12%). In applying similar parameters to a dataset that excludes COVID-19 vaccine cases, 18% of cases reported use of immunosuppressant/immunomodulating agents (similar to the aforementioned 16% of cases reported from the overall total dataset that was inclusive of vaccine cases). Conclusion: This pharmacovigilance study provides a characterization of cases indicative of COVID-19 reinfection with respect to reported use of immunosuppressant/immunomodulating agents. The observations generated from this cross-sectional observational analysis may prompt further research into the role of immunosuppression in COVID-19 reinfection, in an effort to better inform clinical practice and patient management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vδ2+ γδ T cell, one of promising strategies for tumor immunotherapy, recognizes and kills cancer cells in a non-MHC dependent manner. Previously, we pioneeringly proved the clinical safety and efficacy of allogeneic Vδ2+ γδ T cells, in vitro expanded from healthy donors, in the treatment of late-stage cancer patients. Nevertheless, how to profoundly potentiate cytotoxic function of expanded Vδ2+ γδ T cells remains to be further explored. Here, we proposed that 40 °C-Shock could be a simple and reliable approach to in vitro boost the effector function. We found that 40 °C-shock could phosphorylate two MAPK proteins ERK and p38 through HSP70, which facilitated actyl-α-tubulin and actin augments and reorganization, elevated Ki-67 expression and cell surface adhesion, and promoted releases of cytokines IFN-γ, perforin and granzyme B, as well as downregulated LAG3 expression. We also observed 40 °C-shock induced elevations of mitochondrial metabolism. These altogether led to potentiated cytotoxic responses against cancer cells. This proof-of-concept work demonstrated that 40 °C-shock would be probably developed into an effective method to in vitro boost the cytotoxicity of Vδ2+ γδ T cell before applying it in immunotherapy, and provided scientific evidences for the view that fever can activate immune responses of innate immune cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]