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In the face of global warming, energy depletion, and air pollution, controlling greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions has become an urgent task for an emerging economy. Therefore, this study investigates the synergistic relationship between haze decoupling and carbon emission decoupling in China, one representative emerging economy. Effect of synergistic decoupling is explored by decomposition model. Based on Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression, this study also investigates spatiotemporal variation of the synergistic relationship between the two decoupling indices and the synergy effect of various factors. The main results are as follows. (1) Technological progress in CO2 is the main negative driving factor, and the ratio of potential CO2 to potential haze (potential ratio) is the main positive driving factor in the synergistic decoupling. (2) There is a synergy effect between two decoupling indices, and in the later period, the value of synergy effects tends to be flat. (3) The emission factor has the largest synergy effect. In the short term, the synergy effect of the population is greater than the energy intensity, but in the long run, the synergy effect of the energy intensity is greater than the population. These novel findings not only contribute to advancing the existing literature on synergistic emission reduction of environmental pollutions, but also merit particular attention from policy makers in the emerging economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), which exhibits a sensitive response to visible light, was prepared through a simple thermal condensation process. It was then used to investigated its efficiency in degrading aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). The factors affecting the degradation efficiency of AFB1, including precursors of g-C3N4, visible light sources, pH value, and irradiation time were investigated. The porous g-C3N4 prepared using melamine as the precursor, exhibits improved crystallization performance and higher photocatalytic activity. The degradation rate of AFB1 reached 98% under the visible light of a metal halide lamp for 90 min, and the degradation process was fitted with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. In addition, superoxide radicals (·O2−) and holes (h+) play important roles in reducing AFB1. The five degradation products primarily result from damage to the lactone and furan ring structure, which initially demonstrate a decrease in AFB1 toxicity. This study provides an effective, environmentally-friendly, and practical approach for reducing AFB1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the gradual depletion of high-grade uranium resources in southern China, it is necessary to recover uranium from low-grade complex and refractory uranium resources However, the traditional acid mining process has certain drawbacks such as high acid consumption, low uranium recovery, and potential environmental pollution. There is an urgent need to develop new technologies for the extraction of refractory uranium ores. A tonne-scale column bioleaching for low-grade refractory vocanogenic uranium ore containing brannerite and pitchblende was performed. The uranium leaching efficiency reached 85.86% with an acid consumption of only 10.15% after leaching for 130 d. In the bioleaching stage, the Fe3+ concentration had a good correlation with the Eh value; the higher the Fe3+ concentration, the better was the leaching of uranium. The solution pH was kept below 2.5 during the leaching process, which avoided the precipitation of iron and ensured a higher Fe3+ concentration in the solution. Efficient leaching of uranium from UTi2O6 and UO2 was achieved through oxidation of Fe3+ and the action of microorganisms. The results may provide technical support for industrial leaching of low-grade volcanogenic uranium deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural proteins exhibit rich structural diversity based on the folds of an invariably linear chain. Macromolecular catenanes that cooperatively fold into a single domain do not belong to the current protein universe, and their design and synthesis open new territories in chemistry. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and properties of a single-domain green fluorescent protein catenane via rewiring the connectivity of GFP's secondary motifs. The synthesis could be achieved in two steps via a pseudorotaxane intermediate or directly via expression in cellulo. Various proteins-of-interest may be inserted at the loop regions to give fusion protein catenanes where the two subunits exhibit enhanced thermal resilience, thermal stability, and mechanical stability due to strong conformational coupling. The strategy can be applied to other proteins with similar fold, giving rise to a family of single-domain fluorescent proteins. The results imply that there may be multiple protein topological variants with desirable functional traits beyond their corresponding linear protein counterparts, which are now made accessible and fully open for exploration. Natural proteins exhibit rich structural diversity based on the folds of an invariably linear chain. Here the authors design a single-domain GFP catenane as the counterpart of conventional linear GFP with enhanced thermal resilience and to provide a robust scaffold for making fusion protein catenanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing evidence indicates that radiotherapy (RT) has synergistic inhibitory efficiency with immunotherapy agents in multiple cancers and enhances abscopal effects by regulating the innate immune response, which was further investigated in this study. Neutrophils are recruited in radiated tumors. Therefore, neutrophil membrane-coated nanoparticles potentially deliver R837 (Toll-like receptor 7 agonist) to radiated tumors. Methods: A novel nanoparticle R837@PLGA@Neu was prepared by initially assembling PLGA (poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)) with R837 (TLR7 agonist) into R837@PLGA followed by coating with neutrophil membrane. Characterizations of R837@PLGA@Neu were performed. Tumor targeting efficiency was evaluated by in vivo fluorescent imaging of CT26-bearing mice. Treatments of R837@PLGA@Neu combined with RT were carried out in unilateral and bilateral CRC tumor-bearing mice, followed by validations of immune cells in tumors by flow cytometry. Results: The characteristics of R837@PLGA@Neu were well identified, and it was confirmed to have high uptake ability and low cytotoxicity in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in vitro, as well as its strong tumor-targeting efficiency in vivo in CRC tumor-bearing mice. The exciting findings were that R837@PLGA@Neu combined with RT exerted prominent tumor inhibition not only in radiated tumors, but also in distant tumors without RT, suggesting its enhancement of the efficacy and abscopal effect of RT. The possible underlying mechanisms were remodeling of the tumor microenvironment by triggering mature dendritic cells and CD8+ T cells. Conclusion: In summary, our findings suggested that neutrophil membrane-derived nanoparticle R837@PLGA@Neu with high uptake ability and low cytotoxicity showed strong tumor-targeting efficiency, and combination with RT had a promising effect in CT26-bearing mice via immune cell regulation. Our results provide a probable combination strategy for CRC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium was immobilized with hydroxyapatite and the dissolution stability of the immobilization product was investigated. The immobilization efficiency and capacity of U were respectively almost 100% and 105 mg/g at the optimal conditions that were experimentally determined. Meta-autunite was found in the mineral phases of the immobilization product, and its dissolved concentration of U was below 0.1 mg/L pH of 5–7 and only 34 μg/L from the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test. A thermodynamic model of dissolution was established to reveal the mechanism of high dissolution stability of the immobilization product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the correlation of parameters derived from intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) with Ki-67 labeling index (LI) in soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods: Forty-one patients with STS underwent IVIM and DKI imaging at 3.0 MRI. The standard apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), true diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (f), mean kurtosis (MK), and mean diffusivity (MD) were compared between Ki-67 low- and high-expression groups by two independent observers. A novel method was used to ensure the topographic correlation of histologic sections and magnetic resonance imaging slices. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Spearman's rank correlations were performed for statistical analysis. Results: The high-expression group displayed lower standard ADC, D, and MD values and a higher MK value than the low-expression group. No significant differences were found for D∗ and f values. The areas under the curve for standard ADC, D, MD, and MK when discriminating between low- and high-expression groups were 0.736, 0.745, 0.848, and 0.894, respectively. MK was positively correlated with Ki-67 LI (r = 0.809, p < 0.001). Standard ADC, D, and MD were negatively correlated with Ki-67 LI (r = −0.541, −0.556, −0.702, respectively, p < 0.001). Conclusions: IVIM and DKI parameters are correlated with Ki-67 LI. MK may be the optimal imaging biomarker for assessing the Ki-67 expression of STS. Key Points: • IVIM and DKI parameters are correlated with the expression of Ki-67 in STS. • The MRI-pathology control method ensured a strong correlation between MRI slices and histologic sections, resulting in a robust radiological-pathological correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, various countries have put forward Banning Gasoline Vehicle Sales Policy (BGVSP), and the degree of public support for BGVSP is crucial to its design and implementation. Taking China as an example, this study built a policy support index using network crawler technology and natural language processing technology. Then, multi-spatial convergence cross-mapping technology was used to study the interaction between public support and air pollution, electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, EV technology, and use cost. The results showed that air pollution has a significant impact on public support; public support has a significant impact on the construction of the EV infrastructure and the level of EV technological research, and the use cost of traditional gasoline vehicles has a significant impact on public support. This study investigated the correlations between public support and the factors influencing public support, and the results can be used as a reference for the design and implementation of BGVSP in newly industrialized countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to effectively leverage the plentiful existing datasets to train a robust and high-performance model is of great significance for many practical applications. However, a model trained on a naive merge of different datasets tends to obtain poor performance due to annotation conflicts and domain divergence. In this paper, we attempt to train a unified model that is expected to perform well across domains on several popularity segmentation datasets. We conduct a comprehensive analysis to assess the impact of various training schemes and model selection on multi-domain learning with extensive experiments. Based on the analysis, we propose a robust solution that consistently enhances the model performance across different domains. Our solution ranks 2nd on RVC 2022 semantic segmentation task, with a dataset only 1/3 size of the 1st model used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a novel method for pose transfer between two 2D human skeletons. When the bone lengths and proportions between the two skeletons are significantly different, pose transfer becomes a challenging task, which cannot be accomplished by simply copying the joint positions or the bone directions. Our data-driven approach utilizes a deep neural network trained, in a weakly supervised fashion, to encode a skeleton into two separate latent codes, one representing its pose, and another representing the skeleton’s proportions (skeleton-ID). The network is given two skeletons, and learns to combine the pose of one with the skeleton-ID of the other. Lacking supervision on the poses, we develop a novel loss that qualitatively compares poses of different skeletons. We evaluate the performance of our method on a large set of poses. The advantages of avoiding supervision are demonstrated by showing transfer of extreme poses, as well as between uncommon skeleton proportions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban traffic congestion and haze pollution have become the main obstacles to the development of most cities in emerging economies. It is not clear how urban traffic development processes impact on PM2.5 concentration for the cities of emerging economies. Motivated by exploring the relationship between urban traffic development and PM2.5 pollution, 30 provinces in China (a representative emerging economy) from 2007 to 2016 were taken as examples, and threshold regression model and geographically temporally weighted regression model were used to explore the nonlinear relationship and their spatio-temporal heterogeneity. These empirical researches demonstrated that the impact of urban traffic development on PM2.5 pollution has a significant threshold effect. That is, when the road area crosses the threshold, it will significantly aggravate the regional PM2.5 pollution. Meanwhile, regional economic development also shows a significant threshold effect. Moreover, the relationship between urban traffic development and PM2.5 pollution in various Chinese provinces presents significant spatial heterogeneity. Specifically, the Chinese provinces are divided into four categories, and urban planning should be designed for different types for the sustainable development of the economy and environment. Our results not only contribute to advancing the existing literature, but also merit particular attention from urban planners in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to assess the climate effects on fisheries from a bottom-up approach based on fishers' fishing experience, knowledge, and perceptions. To perform this task, a social vulnerability assessment was conducted in two different fishing areas: one in Spain and the other one in Turkey. The vulnerability was measured using the collected data and information through a structured questionnaire, and surveys were carried out among fishers in the Castelló (Spain) and the Aegean Sea (Turkey) between 2018 and 2019. Overall, the results indicated that the two studied regions have a moderate to high vulnerability and that the Aegean Sea was slightly more vulnerable than Castelló. It was also found that storms and temperature are the main climatic stressors that affect the fishing sector, and the economic indicators such as revenue from fishing in both regions showed high degrees of sensitivity. To reduce the vulnerability to climate change, adaptive measures should be implemented while taking into consideration the specific socio-economic and institutional characteristics of each region. In conclusion, the effects of climate change on the fishing sector and their social vulnerability are diverse. Consequently, there is no single climate measure that can minimize the vulnerability of fishing sectors in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the influence of lipid-lowering therapy on coronary plaque volume, and to identify the LDL and HDL targets for plaque regression to provide a comprehensive overview. The databases searched (from inception to 15 July 2020) to identify prospective studies investigating the impact of lipid-lowering therapy on coronary plaque volume and including quantitative measurement of plaque volume by intravascular ultrasound after treatment. Thirty-one studies that included 4997 patients were selected in the final analysis. Patients had significantly lower TAV (SMD: 0.123 mm3; 95% CI 0.059, 0.187; P = 0.000) and PAV (SMD: 0.123%; 95% CI 0.035, 0.212; P = 0.006) at follow-up. According to the subgroup analyses, TAV was significantly reduced in the LDL < 80 mg/dL and HDL > 45 mg/dL group (SMD: 0.163 mm3; 95% CI 0.092, 0.234; P = 0.000), and PAV was significantly reduced in the LDL < 90 mg/dL and HDL > 45 mg/dL group (SMD: 0.186%; 95% CI 0.081, 0.291; P = 0.001).Thirty-one studies that included 4997 patients were selected in the final analysis. Patients had significantly lower TAV (SMD: 0.123 mm3; 95% CI 0.059, 0.187; P = 0.000) and PAV (SMD: 0.123%; 95% CI 0.035, 0.212; P = 0.006) at follow-up. According to the subgroup analyses, TAV was significantly reduced in the LDL < 80 mg/dL and HDL > 45 mg/dL group (SMD: 0.163 mm3; 95% CI 0.092, 0.234; P = 0.000), and PAV was significantly reduced in the LDL < 90 mg/dL and HDL > 45 mg/dL group (SMD: 0.186%; 95% CI 0.081, 0.291; P = 0.001). Our meta-analysis suggests that not only should LDL be reduced to a target level of < 80 mg/dL, but HDL should be increased to a target level of > 45 mg/dL to regress coronary plaques. Trial Registration PROSPERO identifier: CRD42019146170. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of the global haze crisis, exploring the driving force of political factors for controlling minute atmospheric particles has become essential for managing PM2.5 pollution. In this study, the political drivers of haze pollution were examined by combining kernel density estimation, exploratory spatial data analysis, and a geographically temporally weighted regression model. The results showed that global haze pollution was increasing annually, and that differences and similarities in PM2.5 pollution between different countries coexisted. Furthermore, the multi-dimensional driving elements of haze pollution showed obvious spatial and temporal non-stationarity, and different driving factors present multiple distribution trends. In general, the strengthening of anti-corruption measures addressed PM2.5 concentration, but the direction and intensity of political drivers differed due to factors such as economic development, national culture, and natural conditions. Therefore, African countries should endeavor to control corruption, so as to achieve economic development and control haze pollution. However, from the perspective of political factors, it is likely North American countries will not be able to effectively control haze pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haze pollution not only has a huge impact on economic development but also seriously damages the health of residents, which has attracted the attention of many countries and scholars. The geographical detector model and the panel quantile regression model are used in combination to analyze the socio-economic driving factors of haze pollution from 2010 to 2015 for 74 significantly representative countries. The main results are as follows: (1) Industrial structure is the main factor affecting the haze concentration, followed by economic growth and research and development (R&D) intensity. (2) Government influence and industrial structure will significantly aggravate haze pollution, whereas the energy intensity and economic growth have an inhibitory effect on haze concentration. Countries with severe haze pollution should focus on upgrading their industrial structure and avoiding energy rebound. (3) Urbanization, foreign investment, and R&D intensity have different effects on the haze concentration among countries with different pollution levels. Specifically, the relationship between economic growth and pollution is inverted N-shaped in countries with medium haze concentration, whereas in other countries, it is positive N-shaped. Countries should actively leverage the agglomeration effect of high-density urban populations and focus on the introduction of high-quality foreign capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study considers the behavior of nitrogen compounds in the shallow groundwater–soil system as necessary for the functioning of the nitrogen cycle within agricultural landscapes and one of the first steps of the formation of groundwater chemical composition. Data were collected in 2011–2018 within the Poyang Lake area (Jiangxi Province, China), where agricultural landscapes prevail. The soil and groundwater samples were taken in different periods of an agricultural season at the beginning of the agricultural season (spring) and after harvesting (autumn). The combined geochemical data on the chemical and microbiological composition of the soils and shallow groundwater and isotopic data on dissolved nitrate allowed researchers to resolve that nitrogen enters the system in the form of organic compounds, particularly, due to the soil fertilization at the beginning of the agricultural season. Organic nitrogen compounds transform into nitrate under the influence of nitrifiers in the soil before getting the shallow aquifer, where the occurrence of denitrification is suggested. Within the Ganjiang and Xiushui interfluve, reducing conditions, together with the formation of clay minerals from the aqueous solution, may serve a geochemical barrier for the accumulation of nitrogen compounds preventing the transformation of ammonium to nitrate and providing its sorption. It also should be noted that bacterial diversity in the shallow groundwater has a strong relation with the amount of nitrate in the system, whereas in the soil, it is connected with sampling depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the variability of intravoxel incoherent motion measurements acquired from reduced distributions of b values for breast tumors analysis. Materials and methods: The investigations were carried out on twenty-four patients with diagnosed breast tumors. A conventional unenhanced MRI and various IVIM series preset with different distributions of b values (0–1000 s/mm2) were performed. We assessed the variability in Dslow, Dfast, and PF measurements for different distributions of 9 to 4 b values compared with the IVIM metrics for 10 b values using Wilcoxon-Signed rank test. The data was statistically significant at P < 0.05. Results: The results showed no significant variation in the estimations of IVIM parameters in patients. However, the measurements acquired with the combination of 5 b values Showed some variation in Dfast (P = 0.028) compared with 10 b values. The data showed high wCVs in the measurements acquired using the reduced set of 6 b values for Dslow and PF and with the combination of 7 b values for Dfast. There were inconsistencies noticed in the measurements acquired from malignant tumors using reduced distributions of b values (9 b values–4 b values). However, the set of 4 b values displayed the lowest wCVs for both benign and malignant datasets. We also observed unsystematic correlations among different combinations of b values in the categories of IVIM parameters. Conclusion: There was no relevant variation in the parameters measurements irrespective of the number of b values used. Reduced distributions of b values may find use in estimations of IVIM parameters for breast lesions analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) with the Ki67 proliferation index in a murine model of rhabdomyosarcoma.Methods: The rhabdomyosarcoma model was established by injecting RD cells into the right hind flank of nude mice. The mice underwent 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including DWI and IVIM. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), D, D*, and f were calculated with the ADW4.7 workstation. A specialized method was employed to ensure the pathological sections corresponded to the correct MRI slices. The Ki67 proliferation index was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and any possible correlations were assessed between the DWI and IVIM parameters and Ki67 proliferation index.Results: Twenty-seven rhabdomyosarcoma mice were established successfully. After 46 days, the average tumor volume reached 1094.78 ± 678.77 mm3. The average ADC, D, and D* values were 1.0470 ± 0.2036 × 10-3 mm2/s, 0.7237 ± 0.0971 × 10-3 mm2/s, and 4.8497 ± 1.6293 × 10-3 mm2/s, respectively. The range in f values was 0.102-0.229. The ADC and D values showed a moderate negative correlation with the Ki67 proliferation indexes (r = - 0.543, p = 0.003; r = - 0.491, p = 0.009, respectively). In addition, the f value showed a weak negative correlation with the Ki67 proliferation indexes (r = - 0.151, p = 0.451), while the D* value showed no association with the Ki67 proliferation indexes (r = - 0.037, p = 0.853).Conclusions: The ADC value of DWI, along with the D value of IVIM, may be reflective of Ki67 proliferation indexes in murine models of rhabdomyosarcoma.Key Points: • DWI and IVIM parameters are correlated with Ki67 proliferation indexes in rhabdomyosarcoma mouse models. • A specialized method ensured a strong correlation between pathological sections and MRI slices, resulting in a robust radiological-pathological correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a radiomics model for predicting the Ki-67 proliferation index in patients with invasive ductal breast cancer through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) preoperatively. Materials and methods: A total of 128 patients who were clinicopathologically diagnosed with invasive ductal breast cancer were recruited. This cohort included 32 negative Ki67 expression (Ki67 proliferation index < 14%) and 96 cases with positive Ki67 expression (Ki67 proliferation index ≥ 14%). All patients had undergone diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) MRI before surgery on a 3.0T MRI scanner. Radiomics features were extracted from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps which were obtained by DWI-MRI from patients with invasive ductal breast cancer. 80% of the patients were divided into training set to build radiomics model, and the rest into test set to evaluate its performance. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) was used to select radiomics features, and then, the logistic regression (LR) model was established using fivefold cross-validation to predict the Ki-67 index. The performance was evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Results: Quantitative imaging features (n = 1029) were extracted from ADC maps, and 11 features were selected to construct the LR model. Good identification ability was exhibited by the ADC-based radiomics model, with areas under the ROC (AUC) values of 0.75 ± 0.08, accuracy of 0.71 in training set and 0.72, 0.70 in test set. Conclusions: The ADC-based radiomics model is a feasible predictor for the Ki-67 index in patients with invasive ductal breast cancer. Therefore, we proposed that three-dimensional imaging features from ADC maps could be used as candidate biomarker for preoperative prediction the Ki-67 index noninvasively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) is a commonly used warm-season turfgrass with superior salt tolerance. Low temperature is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting its growth and plantation regions. A protocol for ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) induced mutations from embryogenic callus and selection of seashore paspalum mutant line with enhanced cold tolerance was established in the study. Treatment of embryogenic callus with 5 h of 0.8% EMS resulted in an approximate 50% survival rate of callus, which was used for inducing mutations from embryogenic callus of seashore paspalum. One mutant line (A6) with enhanced cold tolerance was selected and identified from about 10,000 regenerated plantlets. A6 had lower TEL50 (the temperature resulted in 50% electrolyte leakage) and higher survival rate than its wild type (WT) plants after 7 days of cold acclimation. Antioxidant defense system was responsive to low temperature in both genotypes, while higher CAT activity was maintained in A6 than in WT after 3 days of cold treatment. Among four DREB1/CBF genes induced by cold treatment, higher levels of DREB1A, DREB1D, DREB1E transcripts were observed in A6 than in WT. Free amino acids concentrations in response to cold treatment also showed difference between A6 and WT. The results suggest that the response of DREB1/CBFs expression, CAT activity, and free amino acids concentrations to cold is differentially altered in A6 compared with WT, which is associated with the enhanced cold tolerance in A6. Key message: A mutant line with enhanced cold tolerance was selected by EMS mutagenesis in seashore paspalum. It had higher catalase activity and DREB1/CBFs transcripts with altered free amino acids than WT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increased epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been proposed as a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of EAT with NAFLD. Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were systematically reviewed by two independent investigators to identify relevant studies assessing the association of EAT thickness (EAT-t) and volume (EAT-v) with NAFLD. Comparisons between NAFLD subjects and controls were performed with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA). Results: A total of thirteen case–control studies (n = 2260 patients) were included in the final analysis. The EAT was significantly increased in NAFLD patients compared with the controls (EAT, SMD: 0.73, 95% CI 0.51–0.94, p < 0.001; TSA-adjusted 95% CI 0.07–0.18; p < 0.001). When comparing the subgroups of NAFLD, the EAT-t in the severe-hepatic steatosis subgroup was thicker than that in the moderate subgroup (SMD: 1.43, 95% CI 0.15–2.71, p = 0.029). This study indicated that the EAT-t in the F3–4 fibrosis subgroup was thicker than that in the F0–2 fibrosis subgroup (SMD: 0.72, 95% CI 0.30–1.14, p = 0.001). The proportion of hypertension (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.24–2.18, p = 0.001) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.21–2.28, p = 0.002) was higher in the high-EAT-t group compared with the low-EAT-t group in NAFLD patients. Conclusions: The EAT was increased in the NAFLD subjects compared to the controls. The increase in the EAT was associated with the severity of steatosis, fibrosis and cardiovascular disease in patients with NAFLD. These findings provide new information regarding the development and progression of NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citric acid and oxalic acid, the main metabolites of fungi, have different leaching effects on uranium ore. Herein, uranium leaching from a volcano-litho-type uranium ore using citric acid and oxalic acid was studied by performing soaking experiments in incubator shakers using pure water and H2SO4 as controls. The citric acid is advantageous over oxalic acid in terms of the uranium leaching rate (97% and 67%) and speed for 20 days of leaching. These findings will help optimize the isolation and cultivation conditions of organic acid-producing fungi used for uranium leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high level of fluorine and low sulfur in the ore could significantly undermine the bioleaching effectiveness. Here, a strategy to improve the bioleaching efficiency by introducing fluoride-resistant mesophilic eosinophils coupled with pyrite supplement was investigated in a bioleaching system with such ore. The results of column and heap bioleaching showed that 89.25% and 90.40% of uranium were recovered with the consortium and pyrite addition, which increased the uranium leaching rates by 13.22% and 8.96% as compared with the sulfuric acid leaching. Hence, it provides a method to improve uranium bioleaching efficiency of the high-fluorine and low-sulfur uranium ore by the consortium adding pyrite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum O. Swartz) is an important warm-season turfgrass with great salinity tolerance. Based on establishment of embryogenic callus induction and regeneration from different mature seeds of ‘Sea Spray’, an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation was established and optimized in this study. Three clones of callus were selected for examining transformation conditions using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1 carrying the binary vector pCAMBIA1305.2, containing β-glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter gene and hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT) as a selective marker gene. The results showed that a high transient transformation efficiency was observed by using Agrobacterium concentration of OD600 = 0.6, 5 min of sonication treatment during Agrobacterium infection, and 2 d of co-cultivation. By using the optimized transformation conditions, transgenic seashore paspalum plants were obtained. PCR and Southern blot analysis showed that T-DNA was integrated into the genomes of seashore paspalum. GUS staining experiments showed that the GUS gene was expressed in transgenic plants. Our results suggested that the transformation protocol will provide an effective tool for breeding of seashore paspalum in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the effectiveness of bioleaching uranium from a low-grade carbonaceous-siliceous-argillaceous type uranium ore using an indigenous iron-oxidizing bacteria, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, isolated from local uranium ore. The effects of initial acidity, pulp density and ferrous ion concentration of the feed solution were investigated. The uranium (U3O8) content was 0.036% by weight. Using uranium ore acidified leachate as medium with initial ferrous ion concentrations of 3 g/L, pH 1.7 and pulp density of 20% as optimal conditions, the maximum rate of dissolved uranium recovery was 85.14%. This approach is thus, suitable for recovering uranium from low-grade CSA ore using bacterial leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated uranium bioleaching from low-grade, granite-type uranium ore using mixed acidophilic microbes from uranium mine leachate. A 4854-ton plant-scale heap bioleaching process achieved sustained leaching with a uranium leaching efficiency of 88.3% using a pH of 1.0-2.0 and an Fe dosage of 3.0-5.5 g/L. Acid consumption amounted to 25.8 g HSO kg ore. Uranium bioleaching follows a diffusion-controlled kinetic model with a correlation coefficient of 0.9136. Almost all uranium was dissolved in aqueous solution, except those encapsulated in quartz particles. Therefore, heap bioleaching by mixed acidophilic microbes enables efficient, economical, large-scale recovery of uranium from low-grade ores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technology of flexible blank holder (FBH) in multi-point forming (MPF) is a novel forming process for spherical surface parts, which is proposed based on the flexible method. According to the mechanical characteristics of the forming parts as well as the stress and strain state, the forming parts with good quality are obtained by reasonable distribution of the blank holder block and different blank holder force (BHF) at different locations. An original rigid FBH device is designed. Finite element analysis models of flexible blank holder (FBH) and no blank holder (NBH) are established, spherical surface parts with different BHF are simulated and then acquired the optimal BHF. The results indicate that FBH forming technology can avoid wrinkling defects effectively, the stress and strain are smaller and distribute uniformly, sheet metal flow is more uniform, and thickness distribution is more reasonable. Finally, a series of experiments of 08Al and 1060 with different thickness are completed in MPF dies to confirm the feasibility and versatility of the FBH device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the clinical characteristics, and the prognostic factors of triple-negative breast cancer. 130 triple-negative breast cancer patients were reviewed on clinical characteristics and prognosis. All cases were lack of expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2/neu determined by immunohistochemistry. 17.1% of all breast cancer patients (774 cases) were triple-negative breast cancer, and 68.9% of triple-negative breast cancer patients (91 cases) were premenopausal. 53.8% of patients (71 cases) had the tumors with T2 size, and 39.4% of them (52 patients) had lymph node metastasis. The rate of relapse in patients with lymph node metastasis was obviously higher than that in patients without lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.001). The median time of follow-up was 63 months. 33 cases relapsed and 20 patients died. 23 patients had at least two organs metastasis. The 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates were 73.8% and 85.7%. Triple-negative breast cancer patients commonly have high rate of multiple distant metastasis in 2–3 years after treatment. The status of lymph node is the most important prognostic factor. The triple-negative breast caner patients with lymph node metastasis have poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor metastasis has become a key obstacle to cancer treatment, which causes high mortality. Nowadays, it involves multiple complex pathways, and conventional treatments are not effective due to fewer targets. The aims of the present study were to construct a novel liposome delivery system co-loading a specific PLD inhibitor 5-fluoro-2-indolyldes-chlorohalopemide (FIPI) in combination with antitumor drug doxorubicin (DOX) and functional excipient D-alpha tocopheryl acid succinate (α-TOS) for anti-metastasis. In this study, the liposomes containing three components (DFT-Lip) with different physicochemical properties were successfully prepared by film dispersion method combined with pH-gradient method. Physicochemical parameters such as particles size, potential, encapsulation efficiency, stability, and release profiles were investigated. In vitro and in vivo anti-metastasis effectiveness against highly metastatic breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line was evaluated. The liposomes showed uniform particle size (approximately 119 nm), high drug encapsulation efficiency (> 90%), slow release characteristics and stability. In vitro anti-tumor cell metastasis study demonstrated DFT-Lip could greatly inhibit motility, migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells compared to other liposomes, predicting a synergistic anti-tumor metastasis effect between FIPI with α-TOS in liposomes. In vivo anti-metastasis study showed that DFT-Lip prevented the initiation and the progression of metastasis of high metastatic breast cancer. These results suggested that the liposomes containing DOX, FIPI, and α-TOS might be a promising strategy for metastatic tumor therapy in clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth-abundant potassium is a promising alternative to lithium in rechargeable batteries, but a pivotal limitation of potassium-ion batteries is their relatively low capacity and poor cycling stability. Here, a high-performance potassium-ion battery is achieved by employing few-layered antimony sulfide/carbon sheet composite anode fabricated via one-step high-shear exfoliation in ethanol/water solvent. Antimony sulfide with few-layered structure minimizes the volume expansion during potassiation and shortens the ion transport pathways, thus enhancing the rate capability; while carbon sheets in the composite provide electrical conductivity and maintain the electrode cycling stability by trapping the inevitable by-product, elemental sulfur. Meanwhile, the effect of the exfoliation solvent on the fabrication of two-dimensional antimony sulfide/carbon is also investigated. It is found that water facilitates the exfoliation by lower diffusion barrier along the [010] direction of antimony sulfide, while ethanol in the solvent acts as the carbon source for in situ carbonization. Developing high-performance potassium-ion batteries remains a challenge. Here, the authors show that few-layered Sb2S3/carbon composite anode synthesized via simple exfoliation minimizes the volume changes during (de)intercalation of K+ ions with boosted rate performance and cyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]