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Abstract Background Thyroid eye disease (TED) is a vision-threatening autoimmune disorder. Orbital tissue fibrosis leading to intractable complications remains a troublesome issue in TED management. Exploration of novel therapeutic targets and agents to ameliorate tissue fibrosis is crucial for TED. Recent work suggests that Ca2+ signaling participates in tissue fibrosis. However, whether an alteration of Ca2+ signaling has a role in fibrogenesis during TED remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of Ca2+ signaling in the fibrogenesis process during TED and the potential therapeutic effects of a highly selective inhibitor of the L-type calcium channel (LTCC), nimodipine, through a TGF-β1 induced in vitro TED model. Methods Primary culture of orbital fibroblasts (OFs) were established from orbital adipose connective tissues of patients with TED and healthy control donors. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and RNA sequencing were used to assess the genes expression associated with LTCC in OFs. Flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) proliferation assay, wound healing assay and Western blot (WB) were used to assess the intracellular Ca2+ response on TGF-β1 stimulation, and to evaluate the potential therapeutic effects of nimodipine in the TGF-β1 induced in vitro TED model. The roles of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) in fibrogenesis during TED were determined by immunohistochemistry, WB, flow cytometry and co-immunoprecipitation assay. Selective inhibitors were used to explore the downstream signaling pathways. Results LTCC inhibitor nimodipine blocked the TGF-β1 induced intracellular Ca2+ response and further reduced the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen type I alpha 1 (Col1A1) and collagen type I alpha 2 (Col1A2) in OFs. Besides, nimodipine inhibited cell proliferation and migration of OFs. Moreover, our results provided evidence that activation of the CaMKII/STAT1 signaling pathway was involved in fibrogenesis during TED, and nimodipine inhibited the pro-fibrotic functions of OFs by down-regulating the CaMKII/STAT1 signaling pathway. Conclusions TGF-β1 induces an LTCC-mediated Ca2+ response, followed by activation of CaMKII/STAT1 signaling pathway, which promotes the pro-fibrotic functions of OFs and participates in fibrogenesis during TED. Nimodipine exerts potent anti-fibrotic benefits in vitro by suppressing the CaMKII/STAT1 signaling pathway. Our work deepens our understanding of the fibrogenesis process during TED and provides potential therapeutic targets and alternative candidate for TED.

Abstract Visual adaptive devices have potential to simplify circuits and algorithms in machine vision systems to adapt and perceive images with varying brightness levels, which is however limited by sluggish adaptation process. Here, the avalanche tuning as feedforward inhibition in bionic two-dimensional (2D) transistor is proposed for fast and high-frequency visual adaptation behavior with microsecond-level accurate perception, the adaptation speed is over 104 times faster than that of human retina and reported bionic sensors. As light intensity changes, the bionic transistor spontaneously switches between avalanche and photoconductive effect, varying responsivity in both magnitude and sign (from 7.6 × 104 to −1 × 103 A/W), thereby achieving ultra-fast scotopic and photopic adaptation process of 108 and 268 μs, respectively. By further combining convolutional neural networks with avalanche-tuned bionic transistor, an adaptative machine vision is achieved with remarkable microsecond-level rapid adaptation capabilities and robust image recognition with over 98% precision in both dim and bright conditions.

Background: Epidemiological reports indicate a potential association between androgenic alopecia (AGA) and increased prostate cancer (PC) prevalence, but conflicting reports also exist. This study aims to elucidate the causality of AGA on PC risk using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Materials and methods: Two-sample MR analyses utilized public genome-wide association studies summary data for single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with AGA. Four statistical methods were used: inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode, with IVW as the preliminary estimation method. Additionally, sensitivity analyses were conducted to address pleiotropic bias. Results: Genetically proxied AGA did not demonstrate a causal effect on PC risk (IVW P > 0.05). Consistently, complementary methods yielded results aligned with IVW. Conclusions: Our MR analysis indicates no causal relationship between genetically predicted AGA and PC risk, suggesting that observed associations in epidemiological studies may not be causal.

Most patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are initially at an advanced stage, and radiotherapy resistance impact the effectiveness of treatment. This study aims to investigate the effects of endocrine disruptor Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) on various biological behaviors and the radiotherapy sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells, as well as its potential mechanisms. Our findings indicate that exposure to DEHP promotes the proliferation of various cancer cells, including those from the lung, breast, pancreas, and liver, in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, DEHP exposure could influence several biological behaviors of pancreatic cancer cells in vivo and vitro. These effects include reducing cell apoptosis, causing G0/G1 phase arrest, increasing migration capacity, enhancing tumorigenicity, elevating the proportion of cancer stem cells (CSCs), and upregulating expression levels of CSCs markers such as CD133 and BMI1. DEHP exposure can also increase radiation resistance, which can be reversed by downregulating BMI1 expression. In summary our research suggests that DEHP exposure can lead to pancreatic cancer progression and radiotherapy resistance, and the mechanism may be related to the upregulation of BMI1 expression, which leads to the increase of CSCs properties.

Introduction Patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and concomitant multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) are considered patients with extremely high-risk atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), and current guidelines specify a lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target for this population. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors have been shown to effectively reduce LDL-C levels on a statin background. Additionally, several studies have confirmed the role of PCSK9 inhibitors in plaque regression and reducing residual cardiovascular risk in patients with ACS. However, those studies included coronary lesions with a degree of stenosis

Abstract Metal-nitrogen-carbon catalysts with hierarchically dispersed porosity are deemed as efficient geometry for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, catalytic performance determined by individual and interacting sites originating from structural heterogeneity is particularly elusive and yet remains to be understood. Here, an efficient hierarchically porous Fe single atom catalyst (Fe SAs-HP) is prepared with Fe atoms densely resided at micropores and mesopores. Fe SAs-HP exhibits robust ORR performance with half-wave potential of 0.94 V and turnover frequency of 5.99 e−1s−1site−1 at 0.80 V. Theoretical simulations unravel a structural heterogeneity induced optimization, where mesoporous Fe-N4 acts as real active centers as a result of long-range electron regulation by adjacent microporous sites, facilitating O2 activation and desorption of key intermediate *OH. Multilevel operando characterization results identify active Fe sites undergo a dynamic evolution from basic Fe-N4 to active Fe-N3 under working conditions. Our findings reveal the structural origin of enhanced intrinsic activity for hierarchically porous Fe-N4 sites.

The myostatin (MSTN) gene exhibits significant nucleotide sequence variations in sheep, impacting growth characteristics and muscular traits of the body. However, its influence on specific growth traits in some sheep remains to be further elucidated. This study utilized single nucleotide polymorphism sequence analysis to investigate the role of the MSTN gene in meat production performance across four sheep breeds: Charolais sheep, Australian White sheep, crossbreeds of Australian White and Small-tailed Han, and crossbreeds of Charolais and Small-tailed Han. At a SNP locus of the MSTN gene, the C2361T site was identified, with three genotypes detected: CC, CT, and TT, among which CC predominated. Gene substitution effect analysis revealed that replacing C with T could elevate the phenotypic value. Comparative analysis of data from different genotypes within the same breed highlighted the superiority of CC and TT genotypes in phenotypic values, underscoring the significance of specific genotypes in influencing key traits. Contrasting the performance of different genotypes across breeds, Charolais sheep and Charolais Han hybrids demonstrated superiority across multiple indicators, offering valuable insights for breeding new sheep varieties. Analysis of gender effects on growth characteristics indicated that ewes exhibited significantly wider chest, waist, and hip widths compared to rams, while rams displayed better skeletal growth and muscle development. Additionally, the MSTN gene also exerted certain effects on lamb growth characteristics, with the CC genotype closely associated with weight. These findings not only contribute crucial insights for sheep breeding but also pave the way for future research exploring the interaction of this gene with others.

The milk proteins from samples of 13 different animals were identified utilizing 4D-Label-Free proteomics technology, leading to the identification of a substantial number of proteins. Among the various samples, Chinese people (CHP) milk proteins exhibited the highest count, with 1149 distinct proteins. Simultaneously, we identified common proteins present in these animal milk. It's notable presence in goat milk contributes to enhancing infant infection resistance, showcasing the beneficial role of lactoperoxidase. Galectin-3 binding protein (Gal-3BP) and tetraspanin in human milk are significantly higher than those in other animals, which determine the prominent antiviral effect of human milk and the important processes related to cell transduction. Furthermore, human milk, camel milk, goat milk and sheep milk proved to be rich sources of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) proteins. The insights obtained from this study can serve as a foundational framework for exploring the role of different animal milk proteins in disease treatment and the composition of infant formula.

Occupant behavior largely influence the energy use within buildings. In the multi-occupant office, occupant behavior is affected by individual preference as well as the interaction among occupants, and yet no suitable model is available to precisely reflect the behavior characteristics. This paper proposed and introduced a method for innovative multi-occupant air-conditioning (AC) usage behavior modelling in a multi-occupant office, which used intuitionistic fuzzy preference relationship to describe individual behavior intention and a hierarchical structure to reflect the social relationship among multiple occupants through subjective evaluation method. The group decision-making process combined the individual behavior intention and the weights of occupants using the analytic hierarchy process. Then, the AC usage behavior of a multi-occupant office was simulated by integrating the multi-occupant model into designer's simulation toolkit (DeST) building performance simulation software. The results of conducted analysis of a single office with multi-occupant showed that the proposed multi-occupant modelling method could quantitatively characterize the group relationships and AC usage behavior patterns. The absolute errors for the total AC operation time and frequency of the start-up periods of AC between the simulation and measurement results were only 2.7% and 2.0%, respectively. Thus, the proposed multi-occupant modelling method could realize a relatively accurate simulation of the multi-occupant behavior.

Concrete crack identification methods based on machine learning can greatly improve extraction efficiency and precision. However, in many cases, model training requires a large amount of sample data, and insufficient data makes it difficult to effectively obtain model parameters. This study introduces a deep learning framework that integrates filters, principal component analysis, and attention mechanisms suitable for small sample sizes. Firstly, the histogram equalization method is used for the raw images, which can effectively enhance image contrast. Then, to acquire effective images of the crack, different methods are employed for crack detection, which are subsequently handled by principal component analysis (PCA) for optimal feature choice. Att-Unet and Att-Mask R-cnn segmentation models are used to design the detection for concrete cracks. To raise the learning ability of the segmentation models, an attention mechanism is applied to each feature layer of the decoder, and the loss function is evaluated using a combination of the Focal function and Cross Entropy. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, Deep Crack datasets and 76 sets of concrete crack data were collected for testing. Experimental results have shown that the method proposed can significantly reduce the model’s demand for data volume and improve training speed, which provides a new direction for small-sample crack extraction.

ObjectiveTo explore the construction and application in the practice of green channel in No. 971 Naval Hospital of PLA (No. 971 Hospital mode) for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS).MethodsThis retrospective study involved a cohort of 694 suspected stroke patients from December 2022 to November 2023 undergoing emergency treatment for stroke at our institution. Among them, 483 patients were treated with standard green channel (the control group), and 211 patients adopted the No. 971 Hospital mode for treatment (the study group). The biggest difference between the two groups was that the treatment process started before admission. We compared the effectiveness of the emergency treatment between the two groups and the thrombolysis treatment.ResultsCompared with control group, the accuracy rate of determining stroke and the rate of thrombolysis were significantly higher (p = 0.002, 0.039) and the door to doctor arrival time (DAT) and the door to CT scan time (DCT) of the study group was significantly shorter (all p

Ecosystem services, such as crop provision, carbon storage, water retention, and nutrient retention, are crucial for sustainable agriculture and local participation. Assessing and mapping these services is crucial for promoting sustainable agriculture and ensuring the active involvement of local communities. However, accurately estimating the values of agricultural ecosystem services is challenging due to the lack of accurate data and an effective economic decision-making system. To address these issues, this study combines field data and modeling approaches to quantify the physical and monetary values of cropland ecosystem services in Yunlin County, Taiwan. The results indicated that the service of crop provision (rice) ranges from 7.96 to 9.70 tonnes ha−1 yr−1, valued at approximately US$7,710 to US$10,650 ha−1 yr−1. The service of soil carbon storage exhibits a carbon stock ranging from 38.2 to 51.9 tonnes of carbon ha−1 yr−1, valued at approximately US$13,150 to US$17,890 ha−1 yr−1. Water retention services retain around 5,380 m3 ha−1 yr−1, valued at approximately US$5,530 ha−1 yr−1. Nutrient retention services retain 1.65 kg ha−1 yr−1 of phosphorus and 30.5 kg ha−1 yr−1 of nitrogen per year, valued at approximately US$60 ha−1 yr−1. We also found that employing the field data approach unveils a higher total ecosystem service value of US$34,105 per hectare per year, which is 28.5 % greater than the value derived from the modeling approach. The results provide insights into enhancing local participation in sustainable soil and agricultural resource management. The quantification of physical and monetary values of ecosystem services can support informed decision-making and promote local participation in sustainable soil and agricultural resource management.

Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang is a traditional herb. Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are the main pharmacological active ingredients that play an important role in sedation, relieving pain, promoting blood circulation, and inhibiting cancer cells. However, there are few studies on the biosynthetic pathway of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in Corydalis yanhusuo, especially on some specific components, such as tetrahydropalmatine. We carried out widely targeted metabolome and transcriptomic analyses to construct the biosynthetic pathway of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids and identified candidate genes. In this study, 702 metabolites were detected, including 216 alkaloids. Protoberberine-type and aporphine-type alkaloids are the main chemical components in C. yanhusuo bulbs. Key genes for benzylisoquinoline alkaloids biosynthesis, including 6-OMT, CNMT, NMCH, BBE, SOMT1, CFS, SPS, STOX, MSH, TNMT and P6H, were successfully identified. There was no significant difference in the content of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids and the expression level of genes between the two suborgans (mother-bulb and son-bulb). The expression levels of BIA genes in the expansion stage (MB-A and SB-A) were significantly higher than those in the maturity stage (MB-C and SB-C), and the content of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids was consistent with the pattern of gene regulation. Five complete single genes were likely to encode the functional enzyme of CoOMT, which participated in tetrahydropalmatine biosynthesis in C. yanhusuo bulbs. These studies provide a strong theoretical basis for the subsequent development of metabolic engineering of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (especially tetrahydropalmatine) of C. yanhusuo.

In this study, the effects of storage at 4 ℃ for 0, 30 and 60 d on the phenolic content and browning key enzyme activities of fresh-cut yam during shelf life were investigated using 'Changshan fine hair yam' vegetable yam and 'Henan Wenxian' iron stick yam as test materials. The results showed that the browning index of both fresh-cut yams increased with the extension of shelf life, but with the extension of storage period, the browning index of vegetable yam was lower, while the browning index of iron stick yam was higher. At the 8th day of shelf period, the browning index of fresh-cut vegetable yam stored for 30 d was only 4.6% lower than that stored for 60 days, with no significant difference, while the browning index of fresh-cut iron stick yam for the same period was 8.4% lower than that stored for 60 days, and the difference was significant (P

Abstract Different agricultural practices can pose significant threats to environmental quality and human health. This study aimed to assess the emissions of reactive nitrogen (NH3, NOx, and N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) induced by fertilization in spinach and cabbage farmlands. Field and pot experiments were conducted to analyze the emission fluxes and intensities of reactive nitrogen gases and CO2. The findings revealed that the total emissions of reactive nitrogen for cabbage and spinach ranged from 21 to 798 kg-N ha−1 and 1.1 to 489 kg-N ha−1, respectively. Generally, organic fertilizers exhibited higher emission intensities of NH3 compared to N2O. While slow-release fertilizers effectively reduced NH3 emissions, they resulted in increased soil N2O emissions. Furthermore, the total emissions of reactive nitrogen from the soil showed a positive correlation with soil CO2 emissions. Particularly, organic farming practices, especially in the case of cabbage, led to increased CO2 emissions from farmlands. Based on the experimental findings, three priority directions were suggested to achieve sustainable soil carbon and nitrogen management in order to minimize emissions from farmlands. This study provides valuable insights for future soil carbon and nitrogen management in subtropical regions.

Abstract Tokamaks are the most promising way for nuclear fusion reactors. Disruption in tokamaks is a violent event that terminates a confined plasma and causes unacceptable damage to the device. Machine learning models have been widely used to predict incoming disruptions. However, future reactors, with much higher stored energy, cannot provide enough unmitigated disruption data at high performance to train the predictor before damaging themselves. Here we apply a deep parameter-based transfer learning method in disruption prediction. We train a model on the J-TEXT tokamak and transfer it, with only 20 discharges, to EAST, which has a large difference in size, operation regime, and configuration with respect to J-TEXT. Results demonstrate that the transfer learning method reaches a similar performance to the model trained directly with EAST using about 1900 discharge. Our results suggest that the proposed method can tackle the challenge in predicting disruptions for future tokamaks like ITER with knowledge learned from existing tokamaks.

Lignin metabolism plays a pivotal role in plant defense against pathogens and is always positively correlated as a response to pathogen infection. Thus, understanding resistance genes against plant pathogens depends on a genetic analysis of the lignin response. This study used eight Upland cotton lines to construct a multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) population (n=280), which exhibited peculiar characteristics from the convergence of various alleles coding for advantageous traits. In order to measure the lignin response to Verticillium wilt (LRVW), the artificial disease nursery (ADN) and rotation nursery (RN) were prepared for MAGIC population planting in four environments. The stem lignin contents were collected, and the LRVW was measured with the lignin value of ADN/RN in each environment, which showed significant variations. We employed 9 323 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers obtained from the Cotton-SNP63K array for genotyping the MAGIC population. The SNPs were distributed through the whole genome with 4.78 SNP/Mb density, ranging from 1.14 (ChrA06) to 10.08 (ChrD08). In addition, a genome-wide association study was performed using a Mixed Linear Model (MLM) for LRVW. Three stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs), qLRVW-A04, qLRVW-A10, and qLRVW-D05, were identified in more than two environments. Two key candidate genes, Ghi_D05G01046 and Ghi_D05G01221, were selected within the QTLs through the combination of variations in the coding sequence, induced expression patterns, and function annotations. Both genes presented nonsynonymous mutations in coding regions and were strongly induced by Verticillium dahliae. Ghi_D05G01046 encodes a leucine-rich extensin (LRx) protein involved in Arabidopsis cell wall biosynthesis and organization. Ghi_D05G01221 encodes a transcriptional co-repressor novel interactor of novel interactor of jasmonic acid ZIM-domain (JAZ–NINJA), which functions in the jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway. In summary, the study creates valuable genetic resources for breeding and QTL mapping and opens up a new perspective to uncover the genetic basis of VW resistance in Upland cotton.

Lipids are essential organic components in milk and have been associated with various health benefits for newborns. However, a comprehensive analysis of lipid profiles across multiple species and levels has been lacking. In this study, we employed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to accurately determine the absolute content of lipid molecules. It revealed that ruminants exhibit a higher concentration of short-chain fatty acids compared to non-ruminants. Additionally, we identified ALC (camel), MGH (horse), and DZD (donkey) as species that display similarities to components found in human milk fat. Remarkably, it reveals that porcine milk fat is characterized by long chain lengths, low saturation, and a high proportion of essential fatty acids. PS (22:5_18:2) could potentially serve as a biomarker in porcine milk. These unique characteristics present potential opportunities for the utilization of porcine milk. Overall, our findings provide valuable insights into the lipidomics profiles of milk from different species.

In this study, a high-value-added recycled α-hemihydrate gypsum (α-RHG) generated from WGP using the atmospheric pressure hydrothermal method (APHM) was utilized to manufacture a 3D printed material. The univariate and combined effects of affordable and high-performance glidants, including hydrophobic nano-silica (HNS) and soluble starch (SS), on the flowability of α-RHG were evaluated experimentally and modelled. The results revealed that the flowability of α-RHG can be enhanced by the proper univariate addition of HNS (e.g.,

Climate change affects the security of the global water supply. However, only a few studies on the effects of drought on water quality in Asia have been published. In 2021, Taiwan faced its most severe water crisis in the past 56 years. The Te-Chi reservoir, situated at an elevation exceeding 1420 m, stands out as significantly affected by hydrologic variability. Overcoming geographical challenges, we captured an exceptional climatic period to sample and analyze water quality. Subsequently, we investigated multivariate long-term water quality data incorporating climate and hydrological information to evaluate the effect of climate change on the reservoir. The results showed the annual average temperature had risen by about 1.4 °C while total annual rainfall declined over the past 18 years. 30-year water quality data from 1993 to 2022 was analyzed to examined the long-term water quality change. There was an observed upward trend in the electrical conductivity of the reservoir water. The concentration of dissolved oxygen showed a decreasing trend, which may be attributed to the increase of temperature due to climate change. Besides, as the water level dropped during the drought, we found that the concentration of total phosphorus, total nitrogen and electrical conductivity in Te-Chi reservoir tended to increase, while the transparency of the water decreased. Consequently, we further explored the potential pollution sources during extreme drought by multivariate statistical methods, such as Pearson’s correlations, principal component analysis, and factor analysis. We found that four varimax rotated principal components collectively explain 82% of the variation in water quality data of the Te-Chi reservoir with the reservoir water level, signifying their representativeness in interpreting the monitoring data. We also assessed the contribution of each factor to specific water parameters, which can aid in better management of water resources during such challenging conditions. In conclusion, this study provides evidence and raises awareness on the effect of climate change by long-term water quality data with multiple parameters. The water quality components in the reservoir are affected by extreme weather, which is predicted to occur more frequently in the future and thus could affect energy scarcity, public health and food safety for sustainable reservoir operation. The study underscores adaptive management, mitigation strategies and the future research direction.

Under the framework of switched system theory, the system states of three-phase voltage source converters (VSCs) can be regulated by subsystems switching according to the switching rule directly. However, because the subsystem selected for the next control cycle may same as that used in the present control cycle and the incorrect subsystem may be activated under system delay conditions, the unfixed switching frequency problem and the unstable subsystem switching problem can be found using the present switching control strategies. In this paper, a current switching predictive control (CSPC) method is proposed to the three-phase VSCs in the framework of switched system theory. The proposed method realizes the fixed switching frequency and avoids the unstable subsystem switching under system delay conditions, where advantages in the present methods, such as the accurate mathematical model, simple control structure, less control parameters, without vector modulation process are remained. The simulation and experiment results verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) is one of the major pathogens responsible for human hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), which has threatened the health of young children, particularly in Asia-Pacific nations. Vaccination is an effective strategy for protecting children from CVA16 infection. However, there is currently no licensed CVA16 vaccine for use in humans. In this study, we isolated a high-growth CVA16 virus strain in MRC-5 cells and developed an MRC-5-adapted vaccine candidate strain termed CVA16-393 via two rounds of plaque purification. The CVA16-393 strain was grouped into the B1b subgenotype and grew to a titre of over 107 TCID50/ml in MRC-5 cells. The VP1 gene region of this strain, which contains the major neutralizing epitopes, displayed high stability during serial passages. The inactivated whole-virus vaccine produced by the CVA16-393 strain induced an effective neutralizing antibody response in Meriones unguiculatus (gerbils) after two doses of intraperitoneal inoculation. One week after the booster immunization, the geometric mean titres of the neutralizing antibodies for the 10246, 40812TXT, 11203SD, TJ-224 and CA16-194 strains from different regions of China were 137.8, 97.8, 113.4, 64.1 and 122.3, respectively. A CVA16 vaccine dose above 25 U was also able to provide 100% cross-protection against lethal challenges with these five clinical strains in gerbils. Immunization at a one-week interval could maintain a high level of neutralizing antibody titres for at least 8 weeks. Thus, the vaccine produced by this CVA16-393 strain might be promising.

Abstract Exercise preconditioning (EP) has a good myocardial protective effect. This study explored whether EP improves electrocardiographic (ECG) signs of myocardial ischemic/hypoxic injury and the occurrence of malignant arrhythmia after exhaustive exercise. A total of 120 male SD rats were randomly divided into the control group (group C), early exercise preconditioning group (group EEP), late exercise preconditioning group (group LEP), exhaustive exercise group (group EE), early exercise preconditioning + exhaustive exercise group (group EEP + EE) and late exercise preconditioning + exhaustive exercise group (group LEP + EE). Changes in heart rate (HR), ST segment, T wave and QT corrected (QTc) intervals on ECG; hematoxylin-basic fuchsin-picric acid (HBFP) staining; and cTnI levels were used to study myocardial injury and the protective effect of EP. Compared with those in group C, the levels of plasma markers of myocardial injury, HBFP staining and ECG in group EE were significantly increased (P

Understanding the slow kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction in neutral media is of fundamental importance for the rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts for hydrogen energy. Here, by studying Ru single atom and RuSe x cluster, the authors report how the rate of hydrogen evolution reaction activity in neutral media is governed by interfacial water.

Abstract The energy-consuming and carbon-intensive wastewater treatment plants could become significant energy producers and recycled organic and metallic material generators, thereby contributing to broad sustainable development goals, the circular economy, and the water-energy-sanitation-food-carbon nexus. This review provides an overview of the waste(water)-based energy-extracting technologies, their engineering performance, techno-economic feasibility, and environmental benefits. Here, we propose four crucial strategies to achieve net-zero carbon along with energy sufficiency in the water sector, including (1) improvement in process energy efficiency; (2) maximizing on-site renewable capacities and biogas upgrading; (3) harvesting energy from treated effluent; (4) a new paradigm for decentralized water-energy supply units.

Abstract Background Endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke with an occlusion of the M1 segment due to intracranial atherosclerotic severe stenosis (ICASS) remains challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of EVT for ICASS-related M1 acute occlusion. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all patients with an ICASS-related M1 acute occlusion who underwent EVT at our institution between January 2015 and December 2020. Clinical presentation, baseline characteristics, angiographic and clinical results, technical feasibility, perioperative complications, and follow-up results were evaluated. Results Twenty-two patients with ICASS-related M1 acute occlusion were included. Eight patients (36.4%) received bridging therapy, and the other 14 patients (63.6%) directly underwent EVT. Fifteen patients (68.2%) treated with balloon dilations and stenting as rescue treatment. Six patients (27.3%) received single balloon angioplasty, and 5 of these patients were treated with staged stenting. One case (4.5%) failed recanalization at the first EVT, and successful revascularization was achieved a month later. The mean procedure time was 67.2 ± 20.8 min. Successful revascularization (mTICI ≥ 2b) was achieved in 95.5% (21/22) of patients. Perioperative complications developed in two patients (9.1%) including one hemorrhagic event and one thromboembolic event. Angiographic follow-up was available in 20 patients (90.9%) at an average of 8.6 ± 3.0 months. The degree of stenosis was worse (10–30%) in 6 cases (30%) compared with the initial outcomes. The favorable outcomes (mRS ≤ 2) at 3-month follow-up was achieved in 19 patients (86.4%). Conclusions ICASS-related occlusion in the M1 segment often required a rescue therapy including balloon angioplasty with/without stenting, and this treatment strategy was safe and effective. But single balloon angioplasty at the first EVT generally cannot achieve satisfactory results and often needed staged stenting treatment.

Objective: To study the efficacy of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program on postoperative recovery and complications in patients with gastric cancer. Methods: Eighty patients in the perioperative period with radical gastrectomy were enrolled and randomly divided into 2 groups, the ERAS group and the non-ERAS group. The differences between the 2 groups in terms of postoperative recoveries and complications rate were determined. According to the body mass index (BMI) level, the ERAS group was divided into 2 subgroups, namely group A (BMI < 28 kg/m2, n = 16) and group B (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2, n = 24). The non-ERAS group was also divided into group C (BMI < 28 kg/m2, n = 18) and group D (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2, n = 22). The recovery and complications of each group were then determined. Results: The postoperative length of stay and visual analogue scale pain score were less in the ERAS group than the non-ERAS group (P < 0.05). Time to first postoperative exhaustion, first postoperative defecation, returning leukocyte count to normal, and stopping intravenous nutrition were significantly shorter in the ERAS group (n = 40), compared to the non-ERAS group (n = 40, all P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative lower extremity intramuscular venous thrombosis was significantly higher in group D than in group B (χ2 = 4.800, P = 0.028). In addition, the incidence of lower extremity intermuscular venous thrombosis and lung infection in group D was higher than those in other groups. Conclusions: The perioperative ERAS program was associated with faster recovery in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy. For patients with higher BMI (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2), the use of the perioperative ERAS program was more advantageous.

Mixotrophic denitrification processes have a great potential in nitrogen removal in biological wastewater treatment processes. However, so far, few studies have focused on the mixotrophic denitrification system using Fe(II) as an exclusively assisted electron donors and the underlying mechanisms in such a process remain unclear. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which microorganisms cover carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and iron in an iron-assisted mixotrophic system remain unrevealed. In this work, we explore the feasibility of using Fe(II) as an assisted electron donor for enhancing simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal via long-term reactor operation and batch tests. The results show that Fe(II) could provide electrons for efficient nitrate reduction and that biological reactions played a predominant role in these systems. In these systems Thermomonas, a strain of nitrate-reduction Fe(II)-oxidation bacterium, was enriched and accounted for a maximum abundance of 60.2%. These findings indicate a great potential of the Fe(II)-assisted mixotrophic denitrification system for practical use as an efficient simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal process.

Abstract Design of supportive atomic sites with a controllably adjusted coordinating environment is essential to advancing the reduction of CO2 to value‐added fuels and chemicals and to achieving carbon neutralization. Herein, atomic Ni (Zn) sites that are uniquely coordinated with ternary Zn (Ni)/N/O ligands were successfully decorated on formamide‐derived porous carbon nanomaterials, possibly forming an atomic structure of Ni(N2O1)‐Zn(N2O1), as studied by combining X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy. With the mediation of additional O coordination, the Ni–Zn dual site induces significantly decreased desorption of molecular CO. The NiZn‐NC decorated with rich Ni(N2O1)‐Zn(N2O1) sites remarkably gained >97% CO Faraday efficiency over a wide potential range of ‒0.8 to ‒1.1 V (relative to reversible hydrogen electrode). Density functional theory computations suggest that the N/O dual coordination effectively modulates the electronic structure of the Ni–Zn duplex and optimizes the adsorption and conversion properties of CO2 and subsequent intermediates. Different from the conventional pathway of using Ni as the active site in the Ni–Zn duplex, it is found that the Ni‐neighboring Zn sites in the Ni(N2O1)‐Zn(N2O1) coordination showed much lower energy barriers of the CO2 protonation step and the subsequent dehydroxylation step.

PurposeOur purpose was to assess job stress and burnout among anesthesiologists in the tertiary class A hospitals in Northwest China, analyze the possible causes and adverse consequences of increased job stress and burnout of anesthesiologists in this region, and put forward suggestions in combination with the current national policies.MethodsWe sent 500 electronic questionnaires to all anesthesiologists practicing in the tertiary class A hospitals in Northwest China from 1960 to 2017 on April 2020. A total of 336 (67.2%) questionnaires were returned and could be used for analysis. Burnout and job stress were assessed by using the modified Maslach Burnout Inventory—Human Services Survey and Chinese Perceived Stress Scale, respectively.ResultsFirst, as for emotional exhaustion, the situations of anesthesiologists with different working years and workloads are different with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Second, as for depersonalization, the situations of anesthesiologists with different ages, professional titles, working years, physical health status, and workload are different (P < 0.05). Third, as for personal accomplishment, the situations of anesthesiologists with different physical health status are different (P < 0.05). Finally, the regression results showed that the longer the fatigue working years and the worse the physical health of anesthesiologists in Northwest China, the more likely these two factors were to cause burnout (P < 0.05), as for job stress, there was a negative correlation between job stress and physical health status (P < 0.05).ConclusionBurnout and high job pressure are common among anesthesiologists in tertiary class A hospitals in Northwest China. We should focus on the allocation of labor intensity, pay attention to the physical and mental health of employees, establish targeted incentive mechanism, and improve the system of promotion and income rises for grassroots doctors. This may be not only conducive to the quality of medical care for patients but also conducive to the development of anesthesiology in China.Trial registrationIdentifier: ChiCTR2000031316.

Optic pathway glioma (OPG) is one of the causes of pediatric visual impairment. Unfortunately, there is as yet no cure for such a disease. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and the potential therapeutic strategies may help to delay the progression of OPG and rescue the visual morbidities. Here, we provide an overview of preclinical OPG studies and the regulatory pathways controlling OPG pathophysiology. We next discuss the role of microenvironmental cells (neurons, T cells, and tumor-associated microglia and macrophages) in OPG development. Last, we provide insight into potential therapeutic strategies for treating OPG and promoting axon regeneration.

Abstract The use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture produces significant quantities of nitrogenous gases including ammonia, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide. Through better farmland management practices, the emission of nitrogenous gases can be reduced while realizing clean water environment and climate-smart agriculture. In this article, we first provided an overview of the international movements on reducing nitrogenous gas emissions from farmlands. Then, we summarized the effect of agricultural management practices on nitrogen use efficiency for various crops, and evaluated their effect on nitrogenous gas emissions. The results indicated the importance of implementing site-specific sustainable management practices to enhance nitrogen use efficiency, and thus mitigate nitrogenous gas emissions. We also addressed the impact of agricultural activities on cropland nitrogen cycles, and highlighted the need to perform systematic trade-off evaluations with a well-defined scope to maximize environmental benefits and maintain ecosystem services. Lastly, we proposed three priority directions by moving toward a low-emission agriculture.

Neuronal activity is emerging as a driver of nervous system tumors. Here, the authors show in mouse models of Neurofibromatosis-1 (NF1) that Nf1 mutations differentially drive both central and peripheral nervous system tumor growth in mice through reduced hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel function.

Summary: Hydroformylation is one of the most significant homogeneous reactions. Compared with homogeneous catalysts, heterogeneous catalysts are easy to be separated from the system. However, heterogeneous catalysis faces the problems of low activity and poor chemical/regional selectivity. Therefore, there are theoretical and practical significance to develop efficient heterogeneous catalysts. SACs can be widely applied in hydroformylation in the future, due to the high atom utilization efficiency, stable active sites, easy separation, and recovery. In this review, the recent advances of SACs for hydroformylation are summarized. The regulation of microstructure affected on the reactivity, stability of SACs, and chem/regioselectivity of SACs for hydroformylation are discussed. The support effect, ligand effect, and electron effect on the performance of SACs are proposed, and the catalytic mechanism of SACs is elaborated. Finally, we summarize the current challenges in this field, and propose the design and research ideas of SACs for hydroformylation of olefins.