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Waste recycling and industrial wastewater treatment have always been of interest. A green approach was developed for the filtrate of synthetic gypsum production from water treatment coagulation sediments and spent sulfuric acid. Due to the high concentration of iron sulfate, concentrated filtrate showed good coagulation results, which were 5% lower than pure iron sulfate. In addition, a high concentration of iron facilitates its use as a precursor for synthesizing magnetic sorbents and photocatalysts. Such materials were synthesized by the solution combustion synthesis method. Oil sorption capacity reached 1.8 g/g, comparable to some synthetic materials and higher than sorption materials based on natural materials. Photodegradation of acid telon blue dye after 90 min of irradiation time was 82.7% with catalyst derived from filtrate compared to the just dye solution with 17.6% efficiency. The reaction rate constant for the photocatalyst sample was up to 11.4-fold higher compared with only UV treatment. The neutralized filtrate containing sulfur, calcium, magnesium, and sodium has been tested as a complex fertilizer. The results of bioindication for oil radish showed up to a 15% increase in the shoot length. A number of techno-economic indicators show that such an approach is advantageous from a technological, environmental, and economic point of view.

To describe medication adherence, to analyze the relationships among medication adherence, illness perception, and beliefs about medicines, and to determine the mediating effects of beliefs about medicines on the relationship in breast cancer patients with adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) in China.A cross-sectional study was conducted on 202 breast cancer patients with AET from September 2017 to February 2019 in China. The Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5), the Chinese version of the revised illness perception questionnaire for Breast Cancer (CIPQ-R-BC) and the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) were used.The mean MARS-5 score of our participants was 23.72 (SD = 1.62), and 175 (86.6%) patients were adherent to medications. Moreover, medication adherence was negatively correlated with identity, environmental or immune factors, emotional representations, BMQ-specific concerns, BMQ-general overuse, and BMQ-general harm, as well as being positively correlated with coherence and the total BMQ scores. Furthermore, beliefs in the overuse about medicines functioned as mediators for the influencing effects of coherence and emotional representations on medication adherence.Illness perception not only directly affected medication adherence, but also indirectly affected medication adherence through the beliefs about medicines. Necessary interventions that target beliefs in the overuse about medicines in breast cancer patients with AET with low levels of coherence or high levels of emotional representations could be provided to improve the level of their medication adherence.

Soybean is a leguminous crop that provides oil and protein. Exploring the genomic signatures of soybean evolution is crucial for breeding varieties with improved adaptability to environmental extremes. We analyzed the genome sequences of 2,214 soybeans and proposed a soybean evolutionary route, i.e., the expansion of annual wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb.Zucc.) from southern China and its domestication in central China, followed by the expansion and local breeding selection of its landraces (G. max (L.) Merr.). We observed that the genetic introgression in soybean landraces was mostly derived from sympatric rather than allopatric wild populations during the geographic expansion. Soybean expansion and breeding were accompanied by the positive selection of flowering time genes, including GmSPA3c. Our study sheds light on the evolutionary history of soybean and provides valuable genetic resources for its future breeding.

To evaluate the effects of sitagliptin on the metabolic indices and hormone levels in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, WanFang Data, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to March 2022. Eligible studies were identified based on the inclusion criteria. The primary outcomes included the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), body mass index (BMI), and total testosterone level (TT). Other outcomes included levels of sex hormones, glucose, and lipid metabolism. Forty-five studies were initially identified, and 6 RCTs with 394 patients were finally included in this study. The meta-analysis results suggest that sitagliptin improved HOMA-IR (WMD = - 0.35; 95% CI (- 0.62, - 0.08); P = 0.01), BMI (WMD = - 1.27; 95% CI (- 1.76, - 0.77); P 0.00001), TT (SMD = - 0.66; 95% CI (- 1.25, - 0.07); P = 0.03), and HDL-C (SMD = 0.11; 95% CI (0.03, 0.18); P = 0.005). No significant differences were observed between the sitagliptin and control groups in other outcomes and in terms of adverse events. Evidence from meta-analyses suggests that sitagliptin was superior in improving insulin sensitivity, total serum testosterone, high-density lipoprotein, and body mass index. However, due to the limitations of published studies, it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion. Larger, higher-quality studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of sitagliptin in women with PCOS.

Antioxidation is in demand in living systems, as the excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) in organisms lead to a variety of diseases. The conventional antioxidation strategies are mostly based on the introduction of exogenous antioxidants. However, antioxidants usually have shortcomings of poor stability, non-sustainability, and potential toxicity. Here, we proposed a novel antioxidation strategy based on ultra-small nanobubbles (NBs), in which the gas–liquid interface was employed to enrich and scavenge ROS. It was found that the ultra-small NBs (~ 10 nm) exhibited a strong inhibition on oxidization of extensive substrates by hydroxyl radicals, while the normal NBs (~ 100 nm) worked only for some substrates. Since the gas–water interface of the ultra-small NBs is non-expendable, its antioxidation would be sustainable and its effect be cumulative, which is different to that using reactive nanobubbles to eliminate free radicals as the gases are consumptive and the reaction is unsustainable. Therefore, our antioxidation strategy based on ultra-small NB would provide a new solution for antioxidation in bioscience as well as other fields such as materials, chemical industry, food industry, etc.

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) can be used to resolve subcellular structures and achieve a tenfold improvement in spatial resolution compared to that obtained by conventional fluorescence microscopy. However, the separation of single-molecule fluorescence events that requires thousands of frames dramatically increases the image acquisition time and phototoxicity, impeding the observation of instantaneous intracellular dynamics. Here we develop a deep-learning based single-frame super-resolution microscopy (SFSRM) method which utilizes a subpixel edge map and a multicomponent optimization strategy to guide the neural network to reconstruct a super-resolution image from a single frame of a diffraction-limited image. Under a tolerable signal density and an affordable signal-to-noise ratio, SFSRM enables high-fidelity live-cell imaging with spatiotemporal resolutions of 30 nm and 10 ms, allowing for prolonged monitoring of subcellular dynamics such as interplays between mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, the vesicle transport along microtubules, and the endosome fusion and fission. Moreover, its adaptability to different microscopes and spectra makes it a useful tool for various imaging systems.

Prediction of urban ecological risk, which is increasing with the rapid development of China’s economy, has become more complex and difficult, resulting in great damage to the safety of people’s lives and property and the quality of the ecological environment. Elucidation of the change mechanism of the urban ecological resilience level from the perspective of the resilience characteristics and exploration of the spatiotemporal differences of the urban ability are necessary to prevent and resolve ecological risks. To this end, here, a model for the evaluation of urban ecological resilience was constructed by considering three aspects: resistance, adaptability, and resilience. The spatiotemporal change pattern of urban ecological resilience in Guangzhou from 2000 to 2020 was evaluated. Furthermore, a spatial autocorrelation model was used to explore the management model of Guangzhou’s ecological resilience in 2020. Finally, based on the FLUS model, the spatial pattern of urban land use under the 2035 benchmark and innovation- and entrepreneurship-oriented scenarios was simulated and the spatial distribution of the ecological resilience level under different urban development scenarios was evaluated. We found that from 2000 to 2020, areas with a low ecological resilience expanded to the northeast and southeast, whereas areas with a high ecological resilience significantly decreased; from 2000 to 2010, original high-level regions in the northeast and east of Guangzhou were transformed into medium level regions. Further, in 2020, the southwestern region of the city will show a low level of resilience and high density of pollutant discharge enterprises, indicating that the ability to prevent and resolve environmental and ecological risks in this region is relatively low. Additionally, the overall ecological resilience of Guangzhou under the innovation- and entrepreneurship-oriented “City of Innovation” urban development scenario is higher than that under the benchmark scenario in 2035. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the development of resilient urban ecological environment.

Land cover change (LCC) significantly changed the local/regional temperature. This paper attempts to reveal the effects of cropland expansion in different ways on temperature change from the 1900s to 2010s in Heilongjiang Province. To reach this goal, we conducted four simulation research schemes with the coupled Weather Research and Forecast (WRF)-Noah model to investigate the warming/cooling effect of cropland expansion. The results show that cropland expansion exerted different effects with different land-use type conversions. In the last century, the areas with grassland-to-cropland and wetland-to-cropland transition show the warming effect, and the average surface temperature in Heilongjiang Province increased by 0.023 ℃ and 0.024 ℃, respectively. The areas with forest-to-cropland transition show the cooling effect, in which the average temperature decreased by 0.103 ℃. The variation of air temperature is mainly caused by the variation of surface reflectance and surface net radiation flux. The results provide evidence that cropland expansion changes to biophysical landscape characteristics, warming/cooling the land surface and thus enhancing/reducing the temperature, and lead to regional climate change eventually.

Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) are present in human umbilical connective tissue and can differentiate into various cell types. Our previous studies have proved that hUC-MSCs do not lead to allergies and tumorigenesis. In the present study, the acute and long-term toxicity of hUC-MSCs in mice and rats was evaluated. The acute toxicity of hUC-MSCs was assessed in 8-week-old mice receiving two caudal intravenous (i.v.) injections of hUC-MSCs at the maximum tolerated dose of 1.5 × 10(7) cells/kg with an interval of 8 h and the observation period sustained for 14 days. For the long-term toxicity evaluation, rats were randomly divided into control, low-dose (3.0 × 10(5) cells/kg), mid-dose (1.5 × 10(6) cells/kg), and high-dose (7.5 × 10(6) cells/kg) groups, which were treated with hUC-MSCs via a caudal i.v. injection every 3 days for 90 days. Weight and food intake evaluation was performed for all rats for 2 weeks after the hUC-MSC administration. The animals were then sacrificed for hematological, blood biochemical, and pathological analyses, as well as organ index determination. We observed no obvious acute toxicity of hUC-MSCs in mice at the maximum tolerated dose. Long-term toxicity tests in rats showed no significant differences between HUC-MSC-treated and control groups in the following parameters: body weight, hematological and blood biochemical parameters, and histopathologic changes in the heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs. This study provides evidence of the safety of i.v. hUC-MSCs infusion for future clinical therapies.

Nutrition education andcounseling is the first-line approach in nutritional support for adult cancer patients; however, it is not well implemented in many clinical settings. This study aims to determine the effect of an evidence-based nutrition education and counseling (NEC) program on nutrition status among cancer patients receiving radiotherapy.This cluster-randomized clinical trial enrolled cancer patients receiving radiotherapy from ten radiotherapy units in three hospitals. Randomization was conducted at the unit level (five units into the NEC group and five units into the usual care group). The primary outcome was nutrition status after radiotherapy measured by the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). Secondary outcomes included nutrition-related blood biomarkers after radiotherapy and the use of artificial nutrition and treatment interruption during radiotherapy.A total of 468 patients were enrolled (241 in the NEC and 227 in the usual care group); 196 patients were female with a mean age (SD) of 59.8 (11.9). No difference was found between the NEC and usual care groups in nutrition status and blood biomarkers at baseline. After radiotherapy, patients in the NEC group had lower PG-SGA scores (5.6 vs 6.9; MD = -1.3, p0.001) and lower malnutrition rate (56.0% vs 70.5%; OR = 0.5; p = 0.004) compared with the usual care group. The usages of artificial nutrition and treatment interruption during radiotherapy and the level of blood biomarkers after radiotherapy did not differ between groups.Nutrition education and counseling is an effective approach in reducing malnutrition and can be generalized to multiple radiotherapy settings. REGISTERED UNDER CLINICALTRAILS.None.

The accurate delineation of the spatial extent of cold regions provides the basis for the study of global environmental change. However, attention has been lacking on the temperature-sensitive spatial changes in the cold regions of the Earth in the context of climate warming. In this study, the mean temperature in the coldest month lower than − 3 °C, no more than 5 months over 10 °C, and an annual mean temperature no higher than 5 °C were selected to define cold regions. Based on the Climate Research Unit land surface air temperature (CRUTEM) of monthly mean surface climate elements, the spatiotemporal distribution and variation characteristics of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) continental cold regions from 1901 to 2019 are analyzed in this study, by adopting time trend and correlation analyses. The results show: (1) In the past 119 years, the cold regions of the NH covered on average about 4.074 × 107 km2, accounting for 37.82% of the total land area of the NH. The cold regions can be divided into the Mid-to-High latitude cold regions and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau cold regions, with spatial extents of 3.755 × 107 km2 and 3.127 × 106 km2, respectively. The Mid-to-High latitude cold regions in the NH are mainly distributed in northern North America, most of Iceland, the Alps, northern Eurasia, and the Great Caucasus with a mean southern boundary of 49.48° N. Except for the southwest, the entire region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, northern Pakistan, and most of Kyrgyzstan are cold regions. (2) In the past 119 years, the rates of change in the spatial extent of the cold regions in the NH, the Mid-to-High latitude, and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were − 0.030 × 107 km2/10 a, − 0.028 × 107 km2/10 a, and − 0.013 × 106 km2/10 a, respectively, showing an extremely significant decreasing trend. In the past 119 years, the mean southern boundary of the Mid-to-High latitude cold regions has been retreating northward at all longitudes. For instance, the mean southern boundary of the Eurasian cold regions moved 1.82° to the north and that of North America moved 0.98° to the north. The main contribution of the study lies in the accurate definition of the cold regions and documentation of the spatial variation of the cold regions in the NH, revealing the response trends of the cold regions to climate warming, and deepening the study of global change from a new perspective.

The poor stability of Ru-based acidic oxygen evolution (OER) electrocatalysts has greatly hampered their application in polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzers (PEMWEs). Traditional understanding of performance degradation centered on influence of bias fails in describing the stability trend, calling for deep dive into the essential origin of inactivation. Here we uncover the decisive role of reaction route (including catalytic mechanism and intermediates binding strength) on operational stability of Ru-based catalysts. Using MRuOx (M = Ce4+, Sn4+, Ru4+, Cr4+) solid solution as structure model, we find the reaction route, thereby stability, can be customized by controlling the Ru charge. The screened SnRuOx thus exhibits orders of magnitude lifespan extension. A scalable PEMWE single cell using SnRuOx anode conveys an ever-smallest degradation rate of 53 μV h−1 during a 1300 h operation at 1 A cm−2.

Background Oligoasthenospermia (OAT) is the most common cause of male infertility, and the annual incidence of the disease continues to increase due to changing lifestyle habits, increased work pressure and increased environmental pollution. A variety of nonpharmacological therapies have been reported to be effective for treating OAT; however, there is a lack of direct evidence comparing these different nonpharmacological therapies. Therefore, the optimal strategy has yet to be identified. Objectives A network meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nonpharmacological treatments for OAT, thus providing an evidence-based medical reference for the clinical treatment of oligoasthenospermia. Methods The Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Weipu (VIP), Wan Fang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and China Biomedical Literature (CBM) databases were searched from inception to April 2022 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined nonpharmacological treatments for oligozoospermia. Grey literature was also searched. Studies that met the quality criteria were analysed using Stata 16.0 and Review Manager 5.4 software. Results A total of 4629 publications were initially retrieved; ultimately, 38 RCTs were analysed, including 8 nonpharmacological therapies and 3080 patients. Each intervention outperformed the sham intervention and no treatment approaches in terms of improved efficacy. In terms of improved total effective rate and sperm concentration, warming acupuncture may be the most effective treatment (SUCRA = 80.1% and 93.4%, respectively). Electroacupuncture perhaps resulted in the best improvement in sperm motility a% and a + b% (SUCRA = 96.6% and 82.0%, respectively). In terms of the incidence of adverse reactions, the three safest interventions probably were no treatment, warming acupuncture, and sham intervention (SUCRA = 88.0%, 68.8% and 62.9%, respectively). In terms of improving the reproductive hormones FSH, LH, and T, the best interventions perhaps were hyperbaric oxygen, 2 Hz TEAS, and electroacupuncture (SUCRA = 85.1%, 96.8% and 99.4%, respectively). Conclusions Nonpharmacological treatments for oligoasthenospermia have good clinical efficacy. Warm acupuncture and electroacupuncture have better overall efficacy and safety. These treatment approaches can be recommended based on the actual situation. If a patient is complicated with varicoceles, they should be removed before symptomatic treatment. Due to the limitations of the quality of the included studies, the findings need to be further validated.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene films on Cu foils, exhibiting fine scalability and high quality, are still suffering from the adverse impact of surface contamination, i.e., amorphous carbon. Despite the recent successful preparation of superclean graphene through Cu-vapor-assisted reactions, the formation mechanism of amorphous carbon remains unclear, especially with regard to the functions of substrates. Herein, we have found that the crystallographic orientations of underlying metal substrates would determine the cleanness of graphene in such a way that slower diffusion of active carbon species on as-formed graphene-Cu(100) surface is the key factor that suppresses the formation of contamination. The facile synthesis of clean graphene is achieved on the meter-sized Cu(100) that is transformed from the polycrystalline Cu foils. Furthermore, a clean surface of graphene on Cu(100) ensures the reduction of transfer-related polymer residues, and enhanced optical and electrical performance, which allows for versatile applications of graphene in biosensors, functioning as flexible transparent electrodes. This work would offer a promising material platform for the fundamental investigation and create new opportunities for the advanced applications of high-quality graphene films.

The abnormal expression of transgelin-2 (TAGLN2) is related to tumor occurrence and progression. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of TAGLN2 in human colorectal cancer (CRC) is still poorly understood. Compared with adjacent tissues, TAGLN2 is overexpressed in CRC tissues. Its expression level is negatively correlated with the overall survival rate of patients with CRC. In addition, knockdown of TAGLN2 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of CRC cells. We also showed that TAGLN2 could interact with CD44 to regulate the Notch-1 signaling pathway. Our findings indicate there is increased TAGLN2 expression in CRC and that it may serve as a promising potential therapeutic target for CRC.

Photogating and electrical gating are key physical mechanisms in organic phototransistors (OPTs). However, most OPTs are based on thick and polycrystalline films, which leads to substantially low efficiency of both photogating and electrical gating and thus reduced photoresponse. Herein, high-performance OPTs based on few-layered organic single-crystalline heterojunctions are proposed and the obstacle of thick and polycrystalline films for photodetection is overcome. Because of the molecular scale thickness of the type I organic single-crystalline heterojunctions in OPTs, both photogating and electrical gating are highly efficient. By synergy of efficient photogating and electrical gating, key figures of merit of OPTs reach the highest among those based on planar heterojunctions so far as we know. The production of few-layered organic single-crystalline heterojunctions will provide a new type of advanced materials for various applications.

Gene feoA plays an important role in cell growth because of its function of transport Fe2+ which is a necessary element for cells. In this study, the recombinant plasmid pUC19-feoA-Tet was successfully constructed using the inserted gene inactivation method. Using the homologous recombination technique, the tet gene was used as a resistance screening marker to knock out the feoA gene of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 34.5 (strain 34.5). Comparative analysis of growth curves revealed the growth changes in the absence of feoA gene in strain 34.5. The results showed that the growth of the bacteria was prolonged by 2 h and could be restored in the stationary phase. To further study whether feoA is related to the cell division of strain 34.5, the qPCR experiment was carried out. The results showed that, compared with the wild-type strain, the expression of genes related to cell division in the mutant strain was up-regulated in the pre-log phase, down-regulated in the late-log phase, and returned to the original level in the stationary phase. These findings provide ideas for Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus to control division and cell cycle.

Off-time pubertal timing has been linked to an increased risk of adolescent depressive symptoms, but the mechanisms underlying these associations are not well understood, particularly in a Chinese context. This three-wave longitudinal study investigated whether the relations between pubertal timing and depressive symptoms were through sadness rumination, and conditional on parental solicitation, for both Chinese girls and boys. Surveys were administered to adolescents and their parents across three measurement occasions, one year apart. Nine-hundred and fifty Chinese adolescents (56.63% boys; Mage = 13.18, SD = 0.66 at baseline) reported their depressive symptoms and sadness rumination, and one of their parents (61.70% mothers) reported their children’s pubertal timing and parental solicitation. Results indicated that early pubertal timing at baseline would increase girls’ (but not boys’) depressive symptoms two years later via elevated sadness rumination. Furthermore, it was found that when parental solicitation was higher, this indirect effect was no longer significant. These findings suggest that early maturation is a potential risk factor for adolescent girls’ depressive symptoms, while high parental solicitation appears to buffer this pubertal risk through attenuating sadness rumination. Thus, early maturing girls would benefit from developing healthier cognitive strategies, parental initiative communications with them, or adequate sex education.

The redox field generated by electrically conductive minerals is one of the main constituents of self-potentials. It can be explained by electrochemical reactions in which conductors participate. The location and outline of seafloor hydrothermal ore deposits can be detected using marine self-potential anomalies that can be approximated through a marine geobattery model. The numerical modeling of marine self-potentials could be the foundation of corresponding data inversion and interpretation and improving the application effect of the self-potential method in detecting seafloor hydrothermal ore deposits. In this study, the inert electrode model and the on-land geobattery model are introduced to build the marine geobattery model, and the finite-infinite element coupling method is derived to deal with the truncated boundary problem effectively. Also, two tests are conducted to study the effect of model parameters on ground self-potential anomalies. A seafloor sulfide deposit model is built to study the self-potential characteristics. The numerical modeling results suggest that the precision and efficiency of the coupled method are superior to that of the traditional finite element method. Self-potential anomalies are greatly affected by medium resistivity, complex terrain, and amplitudes of embedded redox fields. Gradient changes in embedded redox fields do not cause significant self-potential anomalies but lead to mutations of current sources. The self-potential anomaly from the sulfide deposit model shows that the self-potential method can be effectively used to explore seafloor hydrothermal deposits that accompany negative self-potential anomalies above the ore bodies. The coupled method is quite suitable for multi-source models such as self-potential models.

Knowing the normal values of left ventricular (LV) systolic synchronicity in the early neonatal period is very important for understanding myocardial function. This retrospective study analyzed data of 105 newborns who were examined using real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE). The time to the point of minimal regional systolic volume (Tmsv) was measured from volume–time curves in each segment. Standard deviation (SD) and maximal difference (Dif) of Tmsv were calculated from 16 (6 basal/6 mid/4 apical), 12 (6 basal/6 mid), and 6 (basal) LV segments with the corresponding parameters adjusted for the R–R interval. Influences of age, sex, gestational age, birth weight, and heart rate on parameters were explored. Data showed no significant difference among Tmsv-16-SD, Tmsv-12-SD, and Tmsv-6-SD. A strong correlation was found between Tmsv-6-SD and Tmsv-6-Dif (r = 0.83, P

Studies have reported that miR-195-5p plays a role in the Hirschsprung disease (HSCR). Our previous work found GDNF family receptor alpha 4 (GFRA4) is also associated with HSCR. In this study, we focused on whether miR-195-5p induces the absence of enteric neurons and enteric neural crest in HSCR by regulating GFRA4. The expression levels of GFRA4 and miR-195-5p in colon tissues were evaluated by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assay. We overexpressed GFRA4 or miR-195-5p in SH-SY5Y cells, the cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and invasion were subsequently investigated by CCK-8 assay, EdU staining, Flow cytometry analysis and Transwell assay, respectively. We also established the xenograft model to detect the effect of miR-195-5p on tumor growth and GFRA4 and p-RET expressions. GFRA4 expression was significantly downregulated in the HSCR colon tissues when compared with that in the control tissues. Overexpression of GFRA4 significantly promoted proliferation, invasion and cell cycle arrest, and inhibited apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells. We also proved that GFRA4 is a direct target of miR-195-5p, and miR-195-5p inhibited proliferation, invasion, cell cycle arrest and differentiation, and accelerated apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells which can be reversed by GFRA4 overexpression. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-195-5p suppressed tumor growth, and observably decreased GFRA4 and p-RET expressions. Our findings suggest that miR-195-5p plays an important role in the pathogenesis of HSCR. MiR-195-5p inhibited proliferation, invasion and cell cycle arrest, and accelerated apoptosis of nerve cells by targeting GFRA4.

To investigate the effects of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) combined with IL-10 mediated by adenovirus on the regeneration of pancreatic β cells in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. Serum IL-10, TGF-β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, C-peptide, and insulin were determined using commercial ELISA. Western blot assay and real-time PCR were performed to determine the expression of mRNA and protein expression, respectively. Besides, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were performed. Immunohistochemisty assay indicated Ngn3 expression showed decrease in the anti-CD20+IL-10 group compared with the other groups (p

This paper considers the blind detection of spatial modulation systems multiple-input multiple-output systems. In this system, we propose a clustering detection framework with graph theory that conducts signal detection without the training of channel state information. In detail, firstly, by dynamically controlling the size of each cluster, we transform the original optimization problem of the traditional K-means clustering detector into a new optimization problem. In addition, the cluster assignment subproblem of the iterative clustering algorithm for solving the new optimization problem makes it equivalent to a minimum cost flow linear network optimization problem of graph theory, which can be addressed by the breadth-first algorithm. Moreover, a novel clustering detector with the breadth-first algorithm is presented correspondingly. Numerical results show that the proposed detector is efficient in avoiding the undesired local optima and can closely approach the performance of the optimal detector.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous non-coding small single-stranded RNAs that are 21-25 nucleotides (NTs) in length and participate in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Studies have shown that miRNA dysfunction plays a critical role in the occurrence and development of a variety of nervous system diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with an unclear etiology and is characterized by the selective invasion of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms can range from mild spasms in the limbs or medulla oblongata muscles to paralysis in almost all skeletal muscles. The role of miRNAs in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of ALS has become of greater importance to those studying ALS. In this review, we reviewed experimentally confirmed miRNAs shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of ALS and that are used as diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic ALS agents. At present, there are at least 20-30 genes clearly related to the pathogenesis of ALS. Multiple miRNAs have been reported in different pathogenic gene models. MiRNAs could be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis of ALS; the differential expression of some miRNAs could be related to ALS prognosis. As therapeutic agents, miRNAs are still in the exploratory stage. Although encouraging results have been achieved using animal models, much research is still needed before clinical trials can ensue. However, with additional miRNA studies in ALS patients and animal models, the pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and therapy of ALS should be elucidated.

To improve the high-value application of corn stalk, phosphorus-containing stalk cellulose (PFC) was prepared, characterized, and utilized for the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and sulfadiazine (SD), with maximum adsorption capacities of 1.385 and 2.527 mg/g at pH 7. As expected, the adsorption efficiency of PFC was strongly affected by pH, and the preferential adsorption order of SMZ− (SD0) > SMZ0 (SD−) > SMZ+ (SD+) was obtained from the experimental results and due to the charges of PFC and the SMZ and SD species. Furthermore, these results were qualitatively linked to the adsorption mechanism, e.g., π+-π electron donor-acceptor (EDA), anion-π bond electrostatic, and hydrophobic interactions. In particular, the adsorption mechanism was further characterized in terms of structure and analyzed systematically using density functional theory (DFT), frontier orbital theory (FOT), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, with the aim to explain the theoretical calculation and experimental results. As a result, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) orbitals revealed the key role of the rings and functional groups of PFC and SMZ (or SD) and validated the optimized structures of PFC+ sulfonamides (SAs)+, PFC− SAs0, and PFC− SAs−, in which their binding energy values, energy gaps, and relevant molecular lengths determined their stability. Additionally, the van der Waals (vdW) energy confirmed the effect of various interactions on adsorption.

Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) is considered as a promising alternative to the widely used lithium ion batteries in view of the abundant resources and uniform distribution of sodium on the earth. However, due to the lack of suitable anode and cathode materials, especially the anode materials with excellent performance, its practical application is trapped. In recent years, lots of attentions are devoted to developing new electrode materials with high sodium storage capacity and long life. In a large number of anode material libraries, tin-based materials with alloying reaction mechanism show great potential for application in high-energy SIBs due to their high theoretical specific capacity. In this paper, detailed and comprehensive research progress on tin-based anodes (including tin metal, tin alloy as well as its compounds) in recent years is summarized. Specific efforts to improve the electrochemical properties of tin-based anode materials are discussed. Moreover, the challenges and prospects of these anode materials are also proposed in this review.

To investigate the transport characteristics of chloride ions in cement-based materials, the Mori-Tanaka (M-T) prediction scheme of the effective diffusion coefficient in composites containing single-phase and multi-phase inclusions is systematically deduced based on the theory of composite mechanics and porous medium. The volume fraction, morphology and distribution of aggregates, as well as the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) are fully taken into consideration in this proposed model. The results show that the algorithm of M-T prediction scheme with high accuracy is relatively simple.

Polystyrene crosslinked microspheres were prepared by soap-free emulsion polymerization using styrene (St) and divinylbenzene (DVB) as monomers; then, the microporous structure was knitted by the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction, and the Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were loaded into the pores through thermal reduction, to obtain AuNPs/hyper-crosslinked microporous polymer composite microspheres. SEM and particle-size test results show that the microspheres show good monodispersity. The micropore analysis indicates that the specific surface area and the pore volume of the microporous polymer microspheres decrease with increasing DVB content, and when the DVB content is 0.1%, the specific surface area reaches a maximum of 1 174.6 m2/g. After loading AuNPs, the specific surface area and the amount of micropores of the composite microspheres decrease obviously. The results of XRD and XPS analyses suggest that HAuCl4 is reduced to AuNPs. The composite microspheres show a good catalytic performance for the reduction catalyst of 4-nitrophenol.

The effects of human activities on climate change are a significant area of research in the field of global environmental change. Land use and land cover change (LUCC) has a greater effect on climate than greenhouse gases, and the effect of farmland expansion on regional drought is particularly important. From the 1910s to the 2010s, cultivated land in Songnen Plain increased by 2.67 times, the area of cultivated land increased from 4.92×104 km2 to 13.14·104 km2, and its percentage of all land increased from 25% to 70%. This provides an opportunity to study the effects of the conversion of natural grassland to farmland on climate. In this study, the drought indices in Songnen Plain were evaluated from the 1910s to the 2010s, and the effect of farmland expansion on drought was investigated using statistical methods and the Weather Research and Forecasting Model based on UK’s Climatic Research Unit data. The resulting dryness index, Palmer drought severity index, and standardized precipitation index values indicated a significant drying trend in the study area from 1981 to 2010. This trend can be attributed to increases in maximum temperature and diurnal temperature range, which increased the degree of drought. Based on statistical analysis and simulation, the maximum temperature, diurnal temperature range, and sensible heat flux increased during the growing season in Songnen Plain over the past 100 years, while the minimum temperature and latent heat flux decreased. The findings indicate that farmland expansion caused a drying trend in Songnen Plain during the study period.

Using household level and plot level survey data spanning over 10 years, this study examines the effects of climatic factors on the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation at the farm level in the North China Plain. Data show that for the past few decades, farmers have experienced a decline in the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation, which is measured by the proportion of the number of groundwater irrigations whose delivery timing matched the requests of farmers. Econometric estimation results show that both long-term climate conditions (mean temperature and total precipitation) and short-term weather conditions during the growing seasons have statistically significant effects on the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation. However, these effects can show opposite results. The frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation is negatively associated with an increase in the long-term average temperature but is positively associated with a short-term temperature rise. The effects, moreover, may also differ in magnitude. Although the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation is positively associated with higher precipitation levels in both the short-term and the long-term, the latter exerts a larger influence.