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[Objective] The engineering disturbances have triggered soil erosion events in subalpine meadows, intensify regional soil erosion and vegetation destruction. The relationship between physical and chemical properties and disintegration characteristics of subalpine meadow soils in central Yunnan was studied to provide reference for soil and water conservation and control and vegetation protection in sub-alpine meadow ecosystems. [Methods] By X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy scanning, and static water disintegration experiments were conducted to determine the physico-chemical properties, mineral composition, microscopic structure, and disintegration characteristics of subalpine meadow soils in central Yunnan. The correlation between soil disintegration and physico-chemical properties was analyzed to explore the reason of soil disintegration in sub-alpine meadows of central Yunnan. [Results] (1) The subalpine meadow soils in central Yunnan exhibited a high susceptibility to disintegration when encountering water. The resistance to disintegration of different parent materials in the same soil layer were as follows sandstone>limestone≈basalt. The characteristics of different soil layers in the same parent material were as follows leaching horizon>deposition layer>parent material layer. (2) Correlation analysis showed that the average soil disintegration rate was significantly negative correlated with organic matter (r=-0.84) and total nitrogen (r=-0.83), positively correlated with clay content (r=0.88), and positively correlated with montmorillonite (r=0.68) and hematite (r=0.77). (3) The main factors affecting the disintegration of subalpine meadow soils in central Yunnan were biological processes and swelling of hydrophilic clay minerals such as montmorillonite and illite. [Conclusion] The resistance to disintegration of subalpine meadow soils in central Yunnan was ranked as follows: Sandstone>limestone≈basalt for different parent materials, and leaching horizon>deposition layer>parent material layer for different soil layers. The subalpine meadow soil in central Yunnan was easy to disintegrate when exposed to water, the main factors affecting the disintegration of subalpine meadow soils in central Yunnan were biological processes and swelling of hydrophilic clay minerals such as montmorillonite and illite.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of high salt conditions on basophil (KU812) degranulation and the expression of related cytokines and to preliminarily explore its molecular mechanism. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were used to measure the changes of bioactive mediators and pro-inflammatory cytokines released by KU812 cells after degranulation under high salt conditions. The effects of serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) inhibitor and p38 inhibitor on the production of interleukin (IL)-4 by KU812 cells were detected by qPCR. The results showed that high-salt conditions could not promote the degranulation of KU812 cells to rel ease bioactive mediators such as histamine and β-hexaminosidase (β-HEX), but instead enhance the production of pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. High-salt conditions could also promote the production of IL-4 by KU812 cells and led to high expression of the SGK1 gene. It was also found that both SGK1 inhibitor and p38 inhibitor could significantly inhibit the expression of SGK1 and IL-4 in KU812 cells under high salt conditions. These results indicated that high-salt conditions could promote the production of IL-4 by KU812 cells through the p38-SGK1 signaling pathway.

The goal of food allergy (FA) prevention and treatment is to induce oral tolerance (OT). Appropriate nutritional interventions are essential to induce OT to food allergens. This review introduces the mechanism of OT and the importance of early nutritional interventions, and then firstly summarizes specific nutritional factors to induce the development of OT of FA, including proteins, vitamins, fatty acids, saccharides and probiotics. The regulatory mechanism mainly induces the development of tolerance by increasing local or systemic protective regulatory T cells (Tregs) to suppress FA, while the gut microbiota may also be changed to maintain intestinal homeostasis. For allergens-specific OT, the disruption to the structure of proteins and epitopes is critical for the induction of tolerance by hydrolyzed and heated proteins. Vitamins (vitamin A, D), fatty acids, saccharides and probiotics as allergens nonspecific OT also induce the development of OT through immunomodulatory effects. This review contributes to our understanding of OT in FA through nutritional interventions. Nutritional interventions play an important role in the induction of OT, and offer promising approaches to reduce allergy risk and alleviate FA. Moreover, due to the importance and diversity of nutrition, it must be the future trend of induction of OT in FA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting photothermal agents with second‐near‐infrared (NIR‐II, 1000−1700 nm) emission and a high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) is an appealing and challenging task. Herein, by simultaneously tailoring the D−A interaction and planarity in fluorophores, two donor‐acceptor (D−A) −type semiconducting polymers (SPs), T‐BTP and B‐BTP, are constructed. Compared with T‐BTP, B‐BTP shows increased intramolecular interactions and improved molecular planarity, leading to bathochromic‐shift absorption, NIR‐II emission, and high PCE. Notably, the B‐BTP NPs achieve a remarkable PCE of 84.7%, which is among the highest PCEs of SPs in NIR‐II fluorescence imaging‐guided photothermal therapy (PTT). Because of these promising features, B‐BTP NPs are successfully used in NIR‐II vascular imaging and cancer therapy. This study provides valuable guidelines for the development of high‐performance NIR‐II SPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen content of M2 high-speed steel has not been intentionally controlled in industrial production through secondary refinement in vacuum furnaces. However, a lower oxygen content has a significant effect on the cleanliness, toughness, and addition of rare-earth elements to M2 high-speed steel. The changes in total oxygen content controlled by vacuum carbon deoxidation (VCD) treatment and inclusion evolution were investigated in M2 high-speed steel to understand the effects of carbon on dissolved oxygen and oxides in the carbon–oxygen (C-O) reaction process. Furthermore, the microstructure and properties of M2 high-speed steel caused by vacuum insulation and the role of reducing oxygen content in rare-earth alloying were briefly demonstrated. The results showed that the [O%] decreased from 30 ppm to 3 ppm in a vacuum at holding times above 25 min through the C-O reaction, leading to an inclusion reduction of approximately 70%. In the case of [O%] = 3 ppm in M2 high-speed steel, the addition of rare-earth elements has a greater effect on the inclusion characteristics. Lowering the oxygen content of M2 high-speed steel improves cleanliness and plays a significant role in rare-earth alloying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ cancer vaccination is an attractive strategy that stimulates protective antitumor immunity. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are major mediators of the adaptive immune defenses, with critical roles in antitumor immune response and establishing immune memory, and are consequently extremely important for in situ vaccines to generate systemic and lasting antitumor efficacy. However, the dense extracellular matrix and hypoxia in solid tumors severely impede the infiltration and function of CTLs, ultimately compromising the efficacy of in situ cancer vaccines. To address this issue, a robust in situ cancer vaccine, Au@MnO2 nanoparticles (AMOPs), based on a gold nanoparticle core coated with a manganese dioxide shell is developed. The AMOPs modulated the unfavorable tumor microenvironment (TME) to restore CTLs infiltration and function and efficiently induced immunogenic cell death. The Mn2+‐mediated stimulator of the interferon genes pathway can be activated to further augment the therapeutic efficacy of the AMOPs. Thus, the AMOPs vaccine successfully elicited long‐lasting antitumor immunity to considerably inhibit primary, recurrent, and metastatic tumors. This study not only highlights the importance of revitalizing CTLs efficacy against solid tumors but also makes progress toward overcoming TME barriers for sustained antitumor immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red-soil sloping farmland in southern China plays a crucial role in the local economy and food production. However, improper tillage practices have resulted in topsoil degradation and deteriorating soil quality. This study investigated changes in soil physico-chemical properties under four tillage methods—cross-slope ridge tillage (RT), down-slope ridge tillage (DT), plastic mulching (PM), and conventional tillage (CT)—on red-soil sloping farmland. The study applied the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) to assess the influence of these tillage practices on soil quality. Results indicated that PM can increase the total porosity of the soil, reduce soil bulk density, and simultaneously decrease soil surface-water evaporation, significantly improving the soil's water-retention capacity. RT improved soil aggregate formation and stability, leading to increased macro-aggregate content, mean weight diameter, and soil water-stable aggregate stability rates. PM and RT effectively preserved soil nutrients like total nitrogen and organic matter, although PM lowered soil pH, potentially causing acidification. RT demonstrated the highest soil quality, with PM following. Crop growth positively impacted soil macro-aggregate content and stability, showing continuous improvement in soil structure and quality (p < 0.05). Priority should be given to RT in red-soil sloping farmland, followed by PM and CT, while avoiding DT if possible. This research furnishes valuable scientific substantiation for the selection of optimal tillage practices in the preservation of soil quality on red-soil slopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]