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Cladophora qinghaiensis, an endemic species of Cladophora in saltwater lakes, was scientifically named in 2021 (hereafter referred to as Cladophora). Cladophora exists in different morphologies, including attached submerged Cladophora (AC), grown floating Cladophora (GFC), and death floating Cladophora (DFC). Previous satellite remote sensing has mainly focused on identifying floating algae. In this study, Qinghai Lake served as a case study, and a classification decision tree model (CDTM) was proposed. The model employed the chlorophyll spectral index (CSI) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to differentiate AC, Floating Cladophora (FC), and water. Additionally, the floating Cladophora index (FCI) was introduced to further distinguish GFC and DFC within FC. The method was applicable to Sentinel-2 images from 2016–2023. Visual interpretation methods were used for Landsat series images from the summer months (July to September) to obtain the AC and FC. The results demonstrate that over the past 30 years, the areas inhabited by AC and FC have increased gradually. The three morphologies of Cladophora also exhibited seasonal variations, with growth observed annually in May–June, reaching peaks in August–September, and gradually declining in October. In addition, by combining factors such as water surface area and climatic factors, we analyzed the driving forces influencing the changes in Cladophora. In this research, AC and FC showed significant correlations with the water surface area, with correlation coefficients (r) of approximately 0.9 and 0.7, respectively. These new findings provide valuable insights regarding the spatiotemporal changes and underlying causes for different morphologies of Cladophora in global saline lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unidirectional surface waves in nonreciprocal plasmonic platforms with nonlocal effects have been a topic of significant interest and some controversy. In this study, we present a scheme to achieve unidirectional surface magnetoplasmons (USMPs) with large modal areas at terahertz frequencies. Such large-area USMPs (LUSMPs) exist in a metal-UENZ (uniaxial- ε -near-zero)-Si-InSb structure under external magnetic field, where the effect of nonlocality is included. The field of the LUSMP extends almost uniformly in the UENZ layer with a thickness of wavelength scale, thus its modal size can be represented by the UENZ-layer thickness. Due to the modal energy primarily distributed in the thick UENZ layer, the nonlocality-induced leakage of the LUSMP is significantly reduced by an order of magnitude, compared to previous USMP existing at interface between InSb and opaque isotropic medium. Due to their large modal sizes, such LUSMPs can be efficiently excited by terahertz radiations directly from free space. In addition, LUSMPs offer high degree of freedom for manipulating terahertz waves, such as energy squeezing and trapping. Based on LUSMPs, a terahertz free-space isolator is also developed. Our findings have important implications to the development of innovative plasmonic devices in terahertz regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing biomarkers are insufficient for predicting the prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is a precursor to PDAC; therefore, identifying biomarkers from differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of PDAC and IPMN is a new and reliable strategy for predicting the prognosis of PDAC. In this study, four datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and standardized using the R package 'limma.' A total of 51 IPMN and 81 PDAC samples were analyzed, and 341 DEGs in PDAC and IPMN were identified; DEGs were involved in the extracellular matrix and tumor microenvironment. An acceptable survival prognosis was demonstrated by SDC1 and ITGA2, which were highly expressed during in vitro PDAC cell proliferation, apoptosis, and migration. SDC1high was enriched in interferon alpha (IFN-α) response and ITGA2high was primarily detected in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which was verified using western blotting. We concluded that SDC1 and ITGA2 are potential prognostic biomarkers for PDAC associated with IPMN. Downregulation of SDC1 and ITGA2 expression in PDAC occurs via a mechanism involving possible regulation of IFN-α response, EMT, and immunity, which may act as new targets for PDAC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of information technology, more and more people have become to use online dating apps, and the trend has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in these years. However, there is a phenomenon that most of user reviews of mainstream dating apps are negative. To study this phenomenon, we have used topic model to mine negative reviews of mainstream dating apps, and constructed a two-stage machine learning model using data dimensionality reduction and text classification to classify user reviews of dating apps. The research results show that: firstly, the reasons for the current negative reviews of dating apps are mainly concentrated in the charging mechanism, fake accounts, subscription and advertising push mechanism and matching mechanism in the apps, proposed corresponding improvement suggestions are proposed by us; secondly, using principal component analysis to reduce the dimensionality of the text vector, and then using XGBoost model to learn the low-dimensional data after oversampling, a better classification accuracy of user reviews can be obtained. We hope These findings can help dating apps operators to improve services and achieve sustainable business operations of their apps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To protect and restore this downstream ecosystem, the Tarim River Basin Administration Bureau (TBAB) initiated the Ecological Water Compensation (EWC) project from 2000 to 2018. Revealing the mechanism of vegetation-hydroecological response processes in the lower reaches of the Tarim River before and after EWC work is conducive to water resource planning, utilization and protection. In this paper, the spatiotemporal responses of vegetation and groundwater to EWC were examined at the points, lines, and area (PLA) scale by coupling remote sensing techniques and field station observation data collected between 2000 and 2017. The findings indicated that (1) In general, the regional fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) increased significantly, and the average FVC growth rate was 3.5%/year from 2000 to 2017 (R2 > 0.84, p < 0.01, 2-tailed). (2) The regional vegetation restoration process showed obvious fluctuations and stage characteristics, but the spatial scope of the significantly increased vegetation area was limited. Plants grew rapidly within 10 km of the river, while 10 km away from the water channel, no obvious change was observed. (3) Strong coupling relationships were identified among the FVC growth, EWC volume and groundwater depth variations (p < 0.05, 2-tailed). The response times of the regional vegetation and groundwater depth to EWC indicated one-year lags. The above results imply that the regional ecological environment was significantly improved over the study period, thus confirming that the EWC project made remarkable accomplishments. However, the effect of ecological restoration is not sufficiently stable at present. Vegetation restoration has mainly been centralized around the river channel and is greatly dependent on the annual EWC volume. In addition, the local conditions begin to degrade soon after an EWC project is terminated, and vice versa; when EWC commences, the FVC immediately begins to improve. Therefore, the current EWC achievements need to be further consolidated and strengthened in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compressed ultrafast photography (CUP) is a type of two-dimensional (2D) imaging technique to observe ultrafast processes. Intelligence reconstruction methods that influence the imaging quality are an essential part of a CUP system. However, existing reconstruction algorithms mostly rely on image priors and complex parameter spaces. Therefore, it usually takes a lot of time to obtain acceptable reconstruction results, which limits the practical application of the CUP. In this paper, we proposed a novel reconstruction algorithm named PnP-FFDNet, which can provide a high quality and high efficiency compared to previous methods. First, we built a forward model of the CUP and three sub-optimization problems were obtained using the alternating direction multiplier method (ADMM), and the closed-form solution of the first sub-optimization problem was derived. Secondly, inspired by the PnP-ADMM framework, we used an advanced denoising algorithm based on a neural network named FFDNet to solve the second sub-optimization problem. On the real CUP data, PSNR and SSIM are improved by an average of 3 dB and 0.06, respectively, compared with traditional algorithms. Both on the benchmark dataset and on the real CUP data, the proposed method reduces the running time by an average of about 96% over state-of-the-art algorithms, and show comparable visual results, but in a much shorter running time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To evaluate the role of CKLF-like MARVEL transmembrane domain containing 3 (CMTM3) in tumor microenvironment and cancer immunotherapy and explore its potential mechanism. Method. The cancer genome map was obtained from the UCSC Xena database. RNAseq data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases were utilized for evaluating the expression and prognostic value of CMTM3 through survival data of clinical trials. The enrichment analysis of CMTM3 was performed using the R package "clusterProfiler." The scores of immune cell infiltration in TCGA samples were downloaded from the ImmuCellAI database and TIMER2 database, and the relationship between both immune cell invasion and CMTM3 expression was investigated. Immunological activation and suppression genes, immune checkpoints, chemokines, and their receptors were all investigated in relation to CMTM3. Results. Most tumor types had varied levels of CMTM3 expression and predicted poor survival status. The CMTM3 expression is closely associated with cancer-associated fibroblasts, macrophages, myeloid dendritic cells, endothelial cells, immune activation genes, immune suppressor genes, immune checkpoints, chemokines, and related receptors. Conclusion. Our data reveal that CMTM3 might be used as a cancer biomarker. CMTM3 may work in conjunction with other immunological checkpoints to alter the immune milieu, which could lead to the establishment of new immunotherapy medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To establish a prognostic model based on immune-related microRNA (miRNA) for pancreatic carcinoma. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was performed using the "WGCNA" package to find the key module genes involved in pancreatic carcinoma. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to screen immune-related miRNAs. Uni- and multi-variate COX regression analyses were carried out to identify miRNAs prognostic for overall survival (OS) of pancreatic carcinoma, which were then combined to generate a prognostic model. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, distribution plot of survival status in patients and regression analysis were collectively performed to study the accuracy of the model in prognosis. Target genes of the miRNAs in the model were intersected with the key module genes, and a miRNA–mRNA network was generated and visualized by Cytoscape3.8.0. TIMER analysis was conducted to study the abundance of immune infiltrates in tumor microenvironment of pancreatic carcinoma. Expression levels of immune checkpoint genes in subgroups stratified by the model were compared by Wilcoxon test. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed to analyze the enriched signaling pathways between subgroups. Differential analysis revealed 1826 genes differentially up-regulated in pancreatic carcinoma and 1276 genes differentially down-regulated. A total of 700 immune-related miRNAs were obtained, of which 7 miRNAs were significantly associated with OS of patients and used to establish a prognostic model with accurate predictive performance. There were 99 mRNAs overlapped from the 318 target genes of the 7 miRNAs and the key modules genes analyzed by WGCNA. Patient samples were categorized as high or low risk according to the prognostic model, which were significantly associated with dendritic cell infiltration and expression of immune checkpoint genes (TNFSF9, TNFRSF9, KIR3DL1, HAVCR2, CD276 and CD80). GSEA showed remarkably enriched signaling pathways in the two subgroups. This study identified an immune-related 7-miRNA based prognostic model for pancreatic carcinoma, which could be used as a reliable tool for prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the use of syntactically incomplete turns (henceforth, SITs) to deliver two types of delicate actions, namely negatively assessing non-present third parties and teasing co-participants, in everyday interaction. Based on an examination of approximately 16 h of Mandarin face-to-face conversations, this study identifies the specific sequential environments that house these types of SITs and make the action(s) that these SITs accomplish become recognizable by recipients. Analysis also reveals that by abandoning the turns where the derogatory remarks or comments are due, the speakers orient to the criticism of others behind their back as well as the intentional provocation of the tease directed at co-participants as delicate. We argue that incompletion of a turn is not random, but systematically designed to manage interpersonal relationships between interlocutors. • SITs in our data are deployed to deliver two types of delicate actions in everyday Mandarin face-to-face conversation. • SITs are mobilized to negatively assess non-present third parties and jocularly tease co-participants. • In the first set of cases, the target TCU/turn forms the second pair part of the contrastive assessments. • In the second set of cases, the SITs is triggered by the tease recipient's overdone actions built through extended exchanges. • Not completing a turn is not random but designed to manage interpersonal relationships between the interlocutors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ferrous sulfate induces ferroptosis in Escherichia coli O157:H7. • Droplet size and PDI of CALNO were effectively decreased after US treatment. • FeSO 4 caused ROS eruption and lipid peroxidation in E. coli O157:H7. • FeSO 4 + CALNO had a synergistic effect on the inactivation of E. coli O157:H7. • FeSO 4 + CALNO significantly reduced E. coli on hami melon and cherry tomato. The purpose of this study was to investigate ferroptosis in Escherichia coli O157:H7 caused by ferrous sulfate (FeSO 4) and to examine the synergistic effectiveness of FeSO 4 combined with ultrasound-emulsified cinnamaldehyde nanoemulsion (CALNO) on inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that FeSO 4 could cause ferroptosis in E. coli O157:H7 via generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and exacerbating lipid peroxidation. In addition, the results indicated that FeSO 4 combined with CALNO had synergistic bactericidal effect against E. coli O157:H7 and the combined treatment could lead considerable nucleic acids and protein to release by damaging the cell membrane of E. coli O157:H7. Besides, FeSO 4 combined with CALNO had a strong antibiofilm ability to inhibit E. coli O157:H7 biofilm formation by reducing the expression of genes related on biofilm formation. Finally, FeSO 4 combined with CALNO exhibited the significant antibacterial activity against E. coli O157:H7 in hami melon and cherry tomato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a well-known bioactive substance with multiple biological functions, which can be extracted from animal cartilage or bone. Sturgeon, the largest soft bone animal with ~20% cartilage content, is a great candidate for CS production. Our recent study confirmed the role of sturgeon chondroitin sulfate (SCS) in reducing colorectal cancer cell proliferation and tumor formation. Here, we further studied the effect of SCS on modulating gut microbiome structure in colorectal cancer bearing mice. In this study, the transplanted tumor mice model was constructed to demonstrate that SCS can effectively halt the growth of transplanted colorectal tumor cells. Next, we showed that SCS significantly altered the gut microbiome, such as the abundance of Lactobacillales, Gastranaerophilales, Ruminiclostridiun_5 and Ruminiclostridiun_6. According to linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and abundance map analysis of the microbial metabolic pathways, the changes in microbial abundance led to an increase of certain metabolites (e.g., Phe, Tyr, and Gly). Fecal metabolome results demonstrated that SCS can significantly reduce the amount of certain amino acids such as Phe, Pro, Ala, Tyr and Leu presented in the feces, suggesting that SCS might inhibit colorectal cancer growth by modulating the gut microbiome and altering the production of certain amino acids. Our results revealed the therapeutic potential of SCS to facilitate treatment of colorectal cancer. This study provides insights into the development of novel food-derived therapies for colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant cause of human death in the world. Recently, it is found that midazolam can modulate miRs to participate in HCC progression. This research project was designed to elucidate the impacts of midazolam and miR-217 on HCC cell metastasis and apoptosis. Methods. Human HCC cell strains (Hep3B and SK-HEP-1) were selected and intervened by midazolam at different concentrations in our research. miR-217-inhibitor intervened in the two HCC cell strains to observe the alterations of cell migration, invasiveness, and apoptosis. The miR-217 level in HCC cells was identified by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results. As midazolam concentration was elevated, Hep3B and SK-HEP-1 viabilities were more obviously suppressed. The 10 μg/mL concentration was selected for analysis since Hep3B and SK-HEP-1 had an IC50 of 10.57 μg/mL and 9.35 μg/m, respectively. The qRT-PCR results showed the decreased of miR-217 in HCC cells, which was enhanced notably by midazolam intervention. Compared with the blank group, the invasiveness and migration (Transwell assay) of miR-217-inhibitor-transfected HCC cells were distinctly enhanced and the apoptosis rate (flow cytometry) was noticeably reduced. Conclusion. Midazolam can upregulate miR-217 in HCC cells, thus inhibiting HCC cell metastasis and apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their inherent advantages, silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) have greatly potential applications as bioactive materials in biosensors/biomedicine. However, the long-term and nonspecific accumulation in healthy tissues may give rise to toxicity, thereby impeding their widespread clinical application. Hence, it is imperative and noteworthy to develop biodegradable and clearable SiNPs for biomedical purposes. Recently, the design of multi-stimuli responsive SiNPs to improve degradation efficiency under specific pathological conditions has increased their clinical trial potential as theranostic nanoplatform. This review comprehensively summaries the rational design and recent progress of biodegradable SiNPs under various internal and external stimuli for rapid in vivo degradation and clearance. In addition, the factors that affect the biodegradation of SiNPs are also discussed. We believe that this systematic review will offer profound stimulus and timely guide for further research in the field of SiNP-based nanosensors/nanomedicine. In this review, we will comprehensively discuss the rational design of stimuli-responsive biodegradable SiNPs based on doping strategy in native structures. The latest biological application of biodegradable SiNPs that incorporate endogenous and exogenous stimuli are aslo thoroughly summarized. We finally tried to provide the encountered challenges that need to be solved on the way of SiNPs to the clinic. We comprehensively discuss stimuli-responsive silica nanoparticles from native structure designs, summarize the biological applications of biodegradable SiNPs, and provide the challenges that need to be solved in the future. [Display omitted] • We comprehensively discussed stimuli-responsive biodegradable SiNPs based on doping strategy in native structures. • The latest biological application of biodegradable SiNPs that incorporate endogenous and exogenous stimuli were summarized. • We finally tried to provide the encountered challenges that need to be solved on the way of SiNPs to the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fabry disease (FD) remains poorly recognized, especially in children in China. Considering the diversity and nonspecific clinical manifestations accompanying with life-threatening aspect of this disease, methods to improve effective screening and management of the suspects are needed. This study aims to explore how it can be done effectively from a multidisciplinary perspective for children with FD at a tertiary children's hospital in China.Methods: A multidisciplinary team (MDT) of pediatric FD experts was launched at Children's Hospital of Fudan University. Children with high-risk characteristics were referred by the MDT screening team using the dried blood spot (DBS) triple-test (α-galactosidase A, globotriaosylsphingosine, GLA gene). For newborns who were undergoing genetic testing in the hospital, the GLA gene was listed as a routine analysis gene. Evaluation, family screening, and genetic counselling were implemented after screening by the MDT management team.Results: Before the establishment of the MDT, no case was diagnosed with FD in the hospital. However, twelve months following the MDT program's implementation, thirty-five children with high-risk profiles were referred for screening by DBS triple-test, with a yield of diagnosis of 14.3% (5/35). These 5 diagnosed children were referred due to a high-risk profile of pain accompanied by dermatological angiokeratoma and hypohidrosis (n = 2), pain accompanied by abnormal liver function (n = 1), pain only (n = 1), and unexplained renal tubular dysfunction (n = 1). Two neonates were detected early with GLA mutations in the hospital, with a yield of detection of 0.14% (2/1420). Furthermore, another 3 children diagnosed with FD were referred from other hospitals. Family screening of these 10 diagnosed children indicated that 9 boys inherited it from their mothers and 1 girl inherited it from her father. Four of them started to receive enzyme replacement therapy.Conclusion: Screening and management of children with FD is effective based on a defined screening protocol and a multidisciplinary approach. We should pay more attention to the high-risk profiles of pain, angiokeratoma, decreased sweating, and unexplained chronic kidney disease in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identification of genomic biomarkers to predict the anticancer effects of indicated drugs is considered a promising strategy for the development of precision medicine. DNA endonuclease MUS81 plays a pivotal role in various biological processes during malignant diseases, mainly in DNA damage repair and replication fork stability. Our previous study reported that MUS81 was highly expressed and linked to tumor metastasis in gastric cancer; however, its therapeutic value has not been fully elucidated. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was used to define MUS81-related differential genes, which were further validated in clinical tissue samples. Gain or loss of function MUS81 cell models were constructed to elucidate the effect and mechanism of MUS81 on WEE1 expression. Moreover, the antitumor effect of targeting MUS81 combined with WEE1 inhibitors was verified using in vivo and in vitro assays. Thereafter, the cGAS/STING pathway was evaluated, and the therapeutic value of MUS81 for immunotherapy of gastric cancer was determined. Results: In this study, MUS81 negatively correlated with the expression of cell cycle checkpoint kinase WEE1. Furthermore, we identified that MUS81 regulated the ubiquitination of WEE1 via E-3 ligase β-TRCP in an enzymatic manner. In addition, MUS81 inhibition could sensitize the anticancer effect of the WEE1 inhibitor MK1775 in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, when MUS81 was targeted, it increased the accumulation of cytosolic DNA induced by MK1775 treatment and activated the DNA sensor STING-mediated innate immunity in the gastric cancer cells. Thus, the WEE1 inhibitor MK1775 specifically enhanced the anticancer effect of immune checkpoint blockade therapy in MUS81 deficient gastric cancer cells. Conclusions: Our data provide rational evidence that targeting MUS81 could elevate the expression of WEE1 by regulating its ubiquitination and could activate the innate immune response, thereby enhancing the anticancer efficacy of WEE1 inhibitor and immune checkpoint blockade combination therapy in gastric cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triptolide (TP) has shown potential in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, but the narrow therapeutic window limits its clinical application. In clinical practice, the compatibility of Tripterygium wilfordii and Paeonia lactiflora is often used to attenuate the toxicity of TP, but its compatibility mechanism has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of a combined regimen of TP and paeoniflorin (PF) after transdermal administration in male and female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats via a rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. The results showed that after percutaneous administration of TP and PF, there was no significant difference in AUC (0-t) (area under the curve) of TP, the peak concentration decreased by 58.17%, and the peak time was delayed. The AUC (0-t) of PF increased significantly (P < 0.01), the peak-reaching concentration and AUC (0-∞) increased, and the half-life and average retention time were shortened, indicating that TP absorption in rats may be delayed. After percutaneous administration of TP and PF, the content of TP in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys of male rats significantly decreased at 2 h (P < 0.05) and the drug concentration in the liver tissues significantly decreased at 2 h, 4 h, and 8 h (P < 0.05). The TP content in the spleen of female rats significantly decreased at 2 h and 4 h (P < 0.05) and also decreased in other tissues, but not significantly. After percutaneous administration of TP and PF, the PF content in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys of male and female rats had no significant difference. However, after percutaneous administration of TP and PF, the TP concentration in the skin increased, suggesting that the amount of TP retained in the skin increased, thereby reducing its content in blood and tissues, producing a reduction in toxicity effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Chinese Children Genetic Kidney Disease Database (CCGKDD), we established a pediatric Gitelman syndrome (GS) cohort to explore the phenotype and genotype characteristics. Thirty‐two patients with SLC12A3 gene variants were collected. Five cases (16%) were homozygous, 16 (50%) were compound heterozygous, 10 (31%) carried only a single variant, and the other one harbored two de novo variants beyond classification. p.(T60M) was found in eight patients. The average diagnosis age was 7.79 ± 3.54 years. A total of 31% of the patients were asymptomatic. Muscle weakness was the most common symptom, accounting for 50%. Earlier age of onset (4.06 ± 1.17 yr vs. 8.10 ± 3.46 yr vs. 8.61 ± 3.56 yr, p< 0.05) and lower urinary calcium‐creatinine ratio (p = 0.024) were found in the homozygous group than those in the heterozygous and compound heterozygous group. Patients with p.(T60M) variant had an earlier age of onset (4.01 ± 2.83 yr vs. 6.92 ± 3.07 yr, p = 0.025) and lower urinary calcium‐creatinine ratio (p = 0.056). Thus, more than 30% of GS children have no clinical symptoms. Homozygous variant and the p.(T60M) variant may be associated with earlier onset and lower urinary calcium excretion in Chinese pediatric GS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stance markers are critical linguistic devices for writers to convey their personal attitudes, judgments or assessments about the proposition of certain messages. Following Hyland's framework of stance, this study investigated the distribution of stance markers in two different genres: medical research articles (medical RA) and newspaper opinion columns (newspaper OC). The corpus constructed for the investigation includes 52 medical research articles and 175 newspaper opinion articles, which were both written in English and published from January to April in 2020 with the topic focusing on COVID-19. The findings of this study demonstrated that the occurrences of stance markers in newspaper OC were far more frequent than those in medical RA, indicating the different conventions of these two genres. Despite the significant difference in the occurrences of stance markers between the two sub-corpora, similarities of the most frequent stance markers in two genres were also highlighted. The study indicated that the topic content seems to play an important role in shaping the way of how writers construct their stance. The lack of information or evidence on the topic of COVID-19 could restrain writers from making high degree of commitment to their claims, which make them adopt a more tentative stance to qualify their statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous improvement of encryption algorithms, some applications based on the architecture of wireless visual sensor networks have gradually shifted their attention to the imperceptibility and antijamming performance of secret images. To reduce the probability of secret images being detected, the current research focuses on hiding secret data in the least-significant bit of the cover image in the spatial domain or embedding data into the coefficients of the high-frequency band in the transformational domain, which usually leads to poor performance in a hostile environment. Therefore, some researchers proposed to substitute the coefficients of the medium-frequency band in the transformational domain with secret information to enhance the anti-interference performance. However, this idea would severely affect the imperceptibility of secret images. As a result, an improved version based on the partial preservation embedding algorithm was designed in this paper. Theory analysis and simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme performs better than the existing methods by directly substituting the coefficients of the medium-frequency band in the transformational domain, especially in the case of strong noise interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth-based compounds have been identified as a class of promising candidates for the realization of high-performance thermoelectrics, derived from their exceptional electrical conductivity and intrinsic low lattice thermal conductivity κ L. Here, we employed first-principles calculations, self-consistent phonon theory, and compressive sensing technique in conjunction with the Boltzmann transport equation to investigate the anharmonic thermoelectric properties of full-heusler bismuth compounds Cs x Rb 3 − x Bi. As the Cs content increases, the κ L of Cs x Rb 3 − x Bi decreases due to impurity scattering effects, and then increases. Among them, at 300 K, Rb 3 Bi has the largest κ L of 0.69 Wm−1K−1, while Cs 2 RbBi has the smallest κ L of 0.45 Wm−1K−1, both of which are lower than the κ L of traditional bismuth-based thermoelectric materials. The ultralow κ L originates from the strong lattice anharmonicity. In addition, the coexistence of high dispersion and flat band edges leads to high thermoelectric power factor at optimal doping concentration. As a result, the largest thermoelectric figure of merit ZT values of 2.59 (4.19) at 300 (500) K were obtained for CsRb 2 Bi at optimal hole doping level. These findings suggest that Cs x Rb 3 − x Bi compounds are superior for thermal management and thermoelectric applications. • At finite temperatures, Cs x Rb 3 − x Bi compounds are not only mechanically stable but also dynamically stable. • The κ L of Rb 3 Bi, CsRb 2 Bi, Cs 2 RbBi, and Cs 3 Bi are 0.69, 0.47, 0.45, and 0.56 Wm−1K−1, respectively, at 300 K. • The p-type doped CsRb 2 Bi exhibits a ZT value of 2.59, while at 500K, the ZT value reaches 4.19. • The ultra-low κ L of CsRb 2 Bi originates from the rattling vibration of Bi atoms, which manifests as an 'avoided crossing' phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine benthic dinoflagellate toxins, potent bioactive compounds with wide-ranging presence in marine ecosystems, have surged in response to global climate change and human activities, prompting an urgent and imperative inquiry. This study conducts an in-depth review of contemporary research concerning these toxins, employing meticulous bibliometric analysis. Leveraging a dataset of 736 relevant literatures sourced from the Web of Science (spanning from 2000 to May 2023), our analysis delves comprehensively into the scientific discourse surrounding these toxic compounds. Employing tools such as VOSviewer, co-citation analysis, co-occurrence analysis, and cluster analysis, our study yields nuanced insights into the intricate characteristics and trajectories of the field. The co-citation analysis underscores the pivotal role played by benthic and epiphytic dinoflagellates like Ostreopsis and Gambierdiscus in shaping prevailing research trends. Our study identifies four distinct research directions, encompassing the domains of ecology, toxicology, toxin production, and taxonomy. Moreover, it traces the evolutionary journey of research stages, marking the transition from a focus on taxonomy to an emphasis on unraveling molecular mechanisms. The culmination of our comprehensive analysis yields three pertinent research recommendations: a call for widescale global studies, the advancement of rapid toxin monitoring techniques, and a deeper exploration of the factors influencing toxin synthesis and toxicity. These findings provide invaluable insights to researchers grappling with the complex realm of harmful algal blooms and substantially enrich the understanding of this pivotal and pressing field. • Comprehensive bibliometric analysis of marine benthic dinoflagellate toxins research. • Co-citation analysis spotlights Ostreopsis , Gambierdiscus , and toxicity ecology. • Cluster analysis reveals four research avenues, including ciguatera fish poisoning. • Evolution of research stages from taxonomy to toxicology and molecular mechanisms. • Urgent imperative for global-scale studies and rapid toxin monitoring methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic vegetation is an important component of aquatic ecosystems; therefore, the classification and mapping of aquatic vegetation is an important aspect of lake management. Currently, the decision tree (DT) classification method based on spectral indices has been widely used in the extraction of aquatic vegetation data, but the disadvantage of this method is that it is difficult to fix the threshold value, which, in turn, affects the automatic classification effect. In this study, Sentinel-2 MSI data were used to produce a sample set (about 930 samples) of aquatic vegetation in four inland lakes (Lake Taihu, Lake Caohai, Lake Honghu, and Lake Dongtinghu) using the visual interpretation method, including emergent, floating-leaved, and submerged vegetation. Based on this sample set, a DL model (Res-U-Net) was used to train an automatic aquatic vegetation extraction model. The DL model achieved a higher overall accuracy, relevant error, and kappa coefficient (90%, 8.18%, and 0.86, respectively) compared to the DT method (79%, 23.07%, and 0.77) and random forest (78%,10.62% and 0.77) when utilizing visual interpretation results as the ground truth. When utilizing measured point data as the ground truth, the DL model exhibited accuracies of 59%, 78%, and 91% for submerged, floating-leaved, and emergent vegetation, respectively. In addition, the model still maintains good recognition in the presence of clouds with the influence of water bloom. When applying the model to Lake Honghu from January 2017 to October 2023, the obtained temporal variation patterns in the aquatic vegetation were consistent with other studies. The study in this paper shows that the proposed DL model has good application potential for extracting aquatic vegetation data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visuospatial working memory impairments are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), yet the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. The present study investigated abnormalities in context‐dependent functional connectivity of working memory hubs in PD. Cognitively normal PD and control participants underwent fMRI while performing a visuospatial working memory task. To identify sources of dysfunction, distraction, and load‐modulated connectivity were disentangled for encoding and retrieval phases of the task. Despite normal working memory performance in PD, two features of abnormal connectivity were observed, one due to a loss in normal context‐related connectivity and another related to upregulated connectivity of hubs for which the controls did not exhibit context‐dependent connectivity. During encoding, striatal‐prefrontal coupling was lost in PD, both during distraction and high memory loads. However, long‐range connectivity of prefrontal, medial temporal and occipital hubs was upregulated in a context‐specific manner. Memory retrieval was characterized by different aberrant connectivity patterns, wherein precuneus connectivity was upregulated during distraction, whereas prefrontal couplings were lost as memory load approached capacity limits. Features of abnormal functional connectivity in PD had pathological and compensatory influences as they correlated with poorer working memory or better visuospatial skills. The results offer new insights into working memory‐related signatures of aberrant cortico–cortical and corticostriatal functional connections, which may portend future declines in different facets of working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dent disease is a rare X‐linked recessive inherited tubular disease. In this multicenter study, the clinical presentation and genetic background of Chinese children with Dent disease are studied to improve the cognition and diagnostic ability of pediatricians. In this prospective cohort, we described the genotype and phenotype of a national cohort composed of 45 pediatric probands with Dent disease belonging to 45 families from 12 different regions of China recruited from 2014 to 2018 by building up the multicenter registration system. The CLCN5 gene from 32 affected families revealed 28 different mutations. The OCRL gene from 13 affected families revealed 13 different mutations. The incidence of low‐molecular‐weight proteinuria (LMWP) in both Dent disease type 1 populations and Dent disease type 2 populations was 100.0%; however, the incidence of other manifestations was not high, which was similar to previously reported data. Therefore, LMWP is a key clinical feature that should alert clinicians to the possibility of Dent disease. A high amount of LMWP combined with positive gene test results can be used as the diagnostic criteria for this disease. The diagnostic criteria are helpful in reducing the missed diagnosis of this disease and are beneficial for protecting the renal function of these patients through early diagnosis and early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban black and odorous water (BOW) is a serious global environmental problem. Since these waters are often narrow rivers or small ponds, the detection of BOW waters using traditional satellite data and algorithms is limited both by a lack of spatial resolution and by imperfect retrieval algorithms. In this paper, we used the Chinese high-resolution remote sensing satellite Gaofen-2 (GF-2, 0.8 m). The atmospheric correction showed that the mean absolute percentage error of the derived remote sensing reflectance ($R_{\mathrm {rs}}$) in visible bands is 25.19%. We first measured $R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ spectra of two classes of BOW [BOW with high concentrations of iron (II) sulfide, i.e., BOW1 and BOW with high concentrations of total suspended matter, i.e., BOW2] and ordinary water in Shenyang. Then, in situ $R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ data were converted into $R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ corresponding to the wide GF-2 bands using the spectral response functions. We used the converted $R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ data to calculate several band combinations, including the baseline height, [ $R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ (green) $- R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ (red))/($R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ (green) $+ R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ (red)], and the color purity on a Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity diagram. The color purity was found to be the best index to extract BOW from ordinary water. Then, $R_{\mathrm {rs}}$ (645) was applied to categorize BOW into BOW1 and BOW2. We applied the algorithm to two synchronous GF-2 images. The recognition accuracy of BOW2 and ordinary water are both 100%. The extracted river water type near Weishanhu Road was BOW1, which agreed well with ground truth. The algorithm was further applied to other GF-2 data for Shenyang and Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper toxicity and copper limitation can both be effective host defense mechanisms against pathogens. Tolerance of high copper by fungi makes toxicity as a defense mechanism largely ineffective against fungal pathogens. A forward genetic screen for Histoplasma capsulatum mutant yeasts unable to replicate within macrophages showed the Ctr3 copper transporter is required for intramacrophage proliferation. Ctr3 mediates copper uptake and is required for growth in low copper. Transcription of the CTR3 gene is induced by differentiation of H. capsulatum into pathogenic yeasts and by low available copper, but not decreased iron. Low expression of a CTR3 transcriptional reporter by intracellular yeasts implies that phagosomes of non-activated macrophages have moderate copper levels. This is further supported by the replication of Ctr3-deficient yeasts within the phagosome of non-activated macrophages. However, IFN-γ activation of phagocytes causes restriction of phagosomal copper as shown by upregulation of the CTR3 transcriptional reporter and by the failure of Ctr3-deficient yeasts, but not Ctr3 expressing yeasts, to proliferate within these macrophages. Accordingly, in a respiratory model of histoplasmosis, Ctr3-deficient yeasts are fully virulent during phases of the innate immune response but are attenuated after the onset of adaptive immunity. Thus, while technical limitations prevent direct measurement of phagosomal copper concentrations and copper-independent factors can influence gene expression, both the CTR3 promoter induction and the attenuation of Ctr3-deficient yeasts indicate activation of macrophages switches the phagosome from a copper-replete to a copper-depleted environment, forcing H. capsulatum reliance on Ctr3 for copper acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Primary distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) is a rare genetic disease characterized by distal tubular dysfunction leading to metabolic acidosis and alkaline urine. Growth retardation is a major concern in these children. The disease is caused by defects in at least three genes (SLC4A1, ATP6V0A4, and ATP6V1B1) involved in urinary distal acidification. Several series of dRTA patients from different ethnic backgrounds have been genetically studied, but genetic studies regarding Chinese population is rare. Our aim was to investigate the clinical features and genetic basis of primary dRTA in Chinese children. Methods: Three unrelated patients with dRTA participated in our study. Next-generation sequencing was performed, and the findings were validated using the Sanger sequencing method. Results: All patients exhibited hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis, abnormally high urine pH, hypokalemia, and nephrocalcinosis. Growth retardation was observed in all patients. During the follow-up (range 1-4 years), alkali replacement therapy corrected the systemic metabolic acidosis, and two patients demonstrated normal growth. rhGH therapy was administered to patient-3 at the age of 6 years, and his growth rate was significantly improved (growth velocity 9.6 cm/yr). In total, 5 mutations were identified in our cohort of three patients, and four mutations were novel. Conclusions: We report the clinical and molecular characteristics of dRTA patients from China. The four novel mutations detected in our study extend the spectrum of gene mutations associated with primary dRTA. Furthermore, our study confirms the effect of early treatment in improving growth for dRTA patient and provides insight into the effects of rhGH on dRTA patients who were diagnosed late and exhibiting a persistent growth delay despite appropriate therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Space Agency (ESA) developed the Sentinel-2 Multispectral Imager (MSI), which offers a higher spatial resolution and shorter repeat coverage, making it an important source for the remote-sensing monitoring of water bodies. Atmospheric correction is crucial for the monitoring of water quality. To compare the applicability of seven publicly available atmospheric correction processors (ACOLITE, C2RCC, C2XC, iCOR, POLYMER, SeaDAS, and Sen2Cor), we chose complex and diverse lakes in Qinghai Province, China, as the research area. The lakes were divided into three types based on the waveform characteristics of Rrs: turbid water bodies (class I lakes) represented by the Dabusun Lake (DBX), clean water bodies (class II lakes) represented by the Qinghai Lake (QHH), and relatively clean water bodies (class III lakes) represented by the Longyangxia Reservoir (LYX). Compared with the in situ Rrs, it was found that for the DBX, the Sen2Cor processor performed best. The POLYMER processor exhibited a good performance in the QHH. The C2XC processor performed well with the LYX. Using the Sen2Cor, POLYMER, and C2XC processors for classes I, II, and III, respectively, compared with the Sentinel-3 OLCI Level-2 Water Full Resolution (L2-WFR) products, it was found that the estimated Rrs from the POLYMER had the highest consistency. Slight deviations were observed in the estimation results for both the Sen2Cor and C2XC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artemisia annua , commonly known as sweet wormwood or Qinghao, is a shrub native to China and has long been used for medicinal purposes. A . annua is now cultivated globally as the only natural source of a potent anti-malarial compound, artemisinin. Here, we report a high-quality draft assembly of the 1.74-gigabase genome of A . annua , which is highly heterozygous, rich in repetitive sequences, and contains 63 226 protein-coding genes, one of the largest numbers among the sequenced plant species. We found that, as one of a few sequenced genomes in the Asteraceae, the A . annua genome contains a large number of genes specific to this large angiosperm clade. Notably, the expansion and functional diversification of genes encoding enzymes involved in terpene biosynthesis are consistent with the evolution of the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway. We further revealed by transcriptome profiling that A . annua has evolved the sophisticated transcriptional regulatory networks underlying artemisinin biosynthesis. Based on comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic analyses we generated transgenic A . annua lines producing high levels of artemisinin, which are now ready for large-scale production and thereby will help meet the challenge of increasing global demand of artemisinin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chaotic systems have been widely used in digital image encryption algorithms because of their characteristics of deterministic randomness, extreme sensitivity to initial values, etc. Although these chaos-based algorithms are good at performance in general, most of them are ineffective when confronting attacks such as the chosen plain image attack. So, this paper proposes a new digital image encryption algorithm based on orbit variation of phase diagram (AOVPD), which modifies the iterative sequence of chaotic system with the pixel values of plain image. Theoretical analysis proves that the proposed AOVPD has the ability to resist chosen plain image attack within two rounds of operation, while the existing algorithms could be cracked in the same situation. To be specific, AOVPD is effective when confronting various attacks including chosen plain image attack. Also, simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has an outstanding safety performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exopolysaccharide fraction (EPSa) produced byBifidobacterium animalisRH was purified to dissect its chemical structure and to investigate its ability to modulate the mucosal immunity. Our results showed that EPSa had a backbone of (1→6)-linked glucose, (1→3)-linked galactose, (1→4, 6)-linked mannose, (1→3, 4)-linked mannose and (1→4)-linked glucose, branched with glucose and arabinose, and terminated with glucose residues. Scanning electron microscopy identified spherical particle to be the basic structural component of EPSa. The Congo red test indicated that EPSa was not in triple-helical conformation. Ourin vitroresults showed that EPSa was able to stimulate the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and intestinal Peyer’s patch lymphocytes in the presence of concanavalin A. Ourin vivoresults demonstrated that EPSa can enhance the mucosal immunity by maintaining the Peyer’s patch number in small intestine and the IFN-γ level in serum, and balancing the Th1/Th2 responses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

[Display omitted] • Reaction mechanisms of radicals with graphene oxide in water were studied. • Developing effective method of treatment of graphene oxide in wastewater. • Graphene oxide in water can be completely degraded by ∙OH radicals. • Graphene oxide in water can be reduced by ∙H radicals to give recycled materials. Graphene oxide (GO) derivatives have popular applied in new materials and energy areas. Wastewater containing graphene oxide particles has to be treated due to biological hazards of the particles. Experimental investigation of radical reaction of the particles in water would suggest useful information to develop new effective methods for treating the GO wastewater. In this paper, a series of experiments were carried out for investigating effects of hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals on graphene oxide particles in water. Hydrogen radicals reduced soluble GO particles to generate photo-reduction GO, while ∙OH radicals oxidized soluble GO particles to give CO 2 and H 2 O. This paper provides useful information for developing effective methods for treating the GO wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weakening and leveling of the halogen bond (XB) between diiodoperfluoroalkane (DIPFA) and halide anions (X, X = Cl, Br and I) are imposed by solvent polarity. The solvents involved in this system are classified into three groups according to the acceptor number ( AN) and solvent HB acidity (α) and were studied in detail. In non-competitive solvents, the strength of C-I···X XB is strongest, decreasing with electrostatic interaction in the order: C-I···Cl > C-I···Br > C-I···I. However, in weakly competitive solvents, the XB strength is largely weakened. Further, in strongly competitive solvents, the XB strength is leveled with no change occurring with X. This phenomenon can be attributed to the solvent effect. That is, the solvent can destabilize the DIPFA···X XB. This was confirmed by the experiment showing that the XB was destroyed as very small amounts of water was added into the CHCN solution of DIPFA and X. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the long-term effects of the introduction of China's zero-markup drug policy on hospitalisation expenditure and hospitalisation expenditures after reimbursement.Methods: An interrupted time series was used to evaluate the impact of the zero-markup drug policy on hospitalisation expenditure and hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement at primary health institutions in Fufeng County of Shaanxi Province, western China. Two regression models were developed. Monthly average hospitalisation expenditure and monthly average hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement in primary health institutions were analysed covering the period 2009 through to 2013.Results: For the monthly average hospitalisation expenditure, the increasing trend was slowed down after the introduction of the zero-markup drug policy (coefficient = -16.49, P = 0.009). For the monthly average hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement, the increasing trend was slowed down after the introduction of the zero-markup drug policy (coefficient = -10.84, P = 0.064), and a significant decrease in the intercept was noted after the second intervention of changes in reimbursement schemes of the new rural cooperative medical insurance (coefficient = -220.64, P < 0.001).Conclusions: A statistically significant absolute decrease in the level or trend of monthly average hospitalisation expenditure and monthly average hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement was detected after the introduction of the zero-markup drug policy in western China. However, hospitalisation expenditure and hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement were still increasing. More effective policies are needed to prevent these costs from continuing to rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant Artemisia annua is well known due to the production of artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone that is widely used in malaria treatment. Phytohormones play important roles in plant secondary metabolism, such as jasmonic acid ( JA), which can induce artemisinin biosynthesis in A. annua. Nevertheless, the JA-inducing mechanism remains poorly understood., The expression of gene Aa MYC2 was rapidly induced by JA and Aa MYC2 binds the G-box-like motifs within the promoters of gene CYP71 AV1 and DBR2, which are key structural genes in the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway., Overexpression of Aa MYC2 in A. annua significantly activated the transcript levels of CYP71 AV1 and DBR2, which resulted in an increased artemisinin content. By contrast, artemisinin content was reduced in the RNAi transgenic A. annua plants in which the expression of Aa MYC2 was suppressed. Meanwhile, the RNAi transgenic A. annua plants showed lower sensitivity to methyl jasmonate treatment than the wild-type plants., These results demonstrate that Aa MYC2 is a positive regulator of artemisinin biosynthesis and is of great value in genetic engineering of A. annua for increased artemisinin production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lot of humidity sensors cannot accurately measure humidity of air containing NH 3 gas due to reaction of NH 3 gas with sensor materials. A guanidyl group is a strong hydrophilic group, moreover, guanidyl groups do not adsorb NH 3 molecules via hydrogen or chemical bonds. In this paper, moroxydine moieties were grafted on surfaces of graphene oxide (GO) materials to synthesize N-[4-morpholinecarboximidamidoyl]carboximidamidoylated graphene oxide (MCGO) for fabricating humidity sensors. When RH increased from 11% to 95%, impedance value of the sensor decreased from 5.41 × 108 to 2.25 × 104 Ω at testing frequency 100 Hz. The change of impedance was much higher than that fabricated by GO. The sensors also exhibited short response/recovery time (2 s/20 s). Their good humidity sensing properties would be attributed to the fact that those N atoms in guanidyl groups at moroxydine moieties on the surfaces MCGO may strong interact with H atom in H 2 O molecules to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds and generate OH− ions to increase ionic conductivities. The impedance change of the humidity sensor at a low or high relative humidity was due to electronic or ionic conductivities, respectively. [Display omitted] • A high-sensitive humidity sensors used in a NH 3 gas atmosphere • N-[4-morpholinecarboximidamidoyl]carboximidamidoylated graphene oxide • A sensor with four orders of magnitude impedance change under different humidity • The sensor exhibits short response/recovery time (2 s/20s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are associated with complex pathogenic factors and are considered a serious complication of diabetes. The potential mechanisms underlying DFUs have been increasingly investigated. Previous studies have focused on the three aspects of diabetic peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy, and wound infections. With advances in technology, researchers have been gradually conducting studies using immune cells, endothelial cells, keratinocytes, and fibroblasts, as they are involved in wound healing. It has been reported that the upregulation or downregulation of molecular signaling pathways is essential for the healing of DFUs. With a recent increase in the awareness of epigenetics, its regulatory role in wound healing has become a much sought‐after trend in the treatment of DFUs. This review focuses on four aspects involved in the pathogenesis of DFUs: physiological and pathological mechanisms, cellular mechanisms, molecular signaling pathway mechanisms, and epigenetics. Given the challenge in the treatment of DFUs, we are hopeful that our review will provide new ideas for peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals are well-known pollutant in the water body, which can threaten our health in various ways. Since size exclusion and electrostatic repulsion play a significant role in heavy metals removal for membrane technology, hereon, a positively charged nanofiltration membrane with a dense polyamide (PA) layer and a surfactant functionalized layer (SFL) was successfully developed. The optimization of the PA layer was achieved by adjusting the concentration of piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) during interfacial polymerization and the thin film composite (TFC) membrane formed by 0.4% (w/v) PIP and 0.01% (w/v) TMC was selected for further study due to its gratifying performance. Then, the membrane was developed by attaching surfactants in which cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) endowed a superior positively charged surface whereas sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) intensified negative charge compared to the original membranes. Furthermore, the SFL attached membrane was successfully obtained by attaching CTAB with various concentration and grafting time. The feed concentration of all metal ions and salts adopted for evaluating NF performances were 500 mg‧L−1. The best performance showed a high water permeability of 21.5 ± 0.6 L‧m−2‧h−1‧bar−1 and 96.6 ± 1.4% rejection for MgCl 2. Overall, the as-developed SFL attached membrane has found its potential application in heavy metal removal in which the separation efficiency was over 98% against Zn2+, Ni2+, 96%–98% against Cu2+, >94% against Ca2+ and >85% against Pb2+ with a high efficiency of water reclamation simultaneously. [Display omitted] • Positively charged NF membrane was developed through surfactant post-treatment. • IP built dense PA layer was optimized by monomers concentration adjustment. • CTAB and SDS endowed superior positively and negatively charged surfaces. • The surfactant layer offers a superior NF performance. • CTAB attached TFC membrane owns excellent heavy metals removal ability and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals are well-known pollutant in the water body, which can threaten our health in various ways. Since size exclusion and electrostatic repulsion play a significant role in heavy metals removal for membrane technology, hereon, a positively charged nanofiltration membrane with a dense polyamide (PA) layer and a surfactant functionalized layer (SFL) was successfully developed. The optimization of the PA layer was achieved by adjusting the concentration of piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) during interfacial polymerization and the thin film composite (TFC) membrane formed by 0.4% (w/v) PIP and 0.01% (w/v) TMC was selected for further study due to its gratifying performance. Then, the membrane was developed by attaching surfactants in which cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) endowed a superior positively charged surface whereas sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) intensified negative charge compared to the original membranes. Furthermore, the SFL attached membrane was successfully obtained by attaching CTAB with various concentration and grafting time. The feed concentration of all metal ions and salts adopted for evaluating NF performances were 500 mg‧L−1. The best performance showed a high water permeability of 21.5 ± 0.6 L‧m−2‧h−1‧bar−1 and 96.6 ± 1.4% rejection for MgCl 2. Overall, the as-developed SFL attached membrane has found its potential application in heavy metal removal in which the separation efficiency was over 98% against Zn2+, Ni2+, 96%–98% against Cu2+, >94% against Ca2+ and >85% against Pb2+ with a high efficiency of water reclamation simultaneously. [Display omitted] • Positively charged NF membrane was developed through surfactant post-treatment. • IP built dense PA layer was optimized by monomers concentration adjustment. • CTAB and SDS endowed superior positively and negatively charged surfaces. • The surfactant layer offers a superior NF performance. • CTAB attached TFC membrane owns excellent heavy metals removal ability and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorophyll-a concentrations in water bodies are one of the most important environmental evaluation indicators in monitoring the water environment. Small water bodies include headwater streams, springs, ditches, flushes, small lakes, and ponds, which represent important freshwater resources. However, the relatively narrow and fragmented nature of small water bodies makes it difficult to monitor chlorophyll-a via medium-resolution remote sensing. In the present study, we first fused Gaofen-6 (a new Chinese satellite) images to obtain 2 m resolution images with 8 bands, which was approved as a good data source for Chlorophyll-a monitoring in small water bodies as Sentinel-2. Further, we compared five semi-empirical and four machine learning models to estimate chlorophyll-a concentrations via simulated reflectance using fused Gaofen-6 and Sentinel-2 spectral response function. The results showed that the extreme gradient boosting tree model (one of the machine learning models) is the most accurate. The mean relative error (MRE) was 9.03%, and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was 4.5 mg/m3 for the Sentinel-2 sensor, while for the fused Gaofen-6 image, MRE was 6.73%, and RMSE was 3.26 mg/m3. Thus, both fused Gaofen-6 and Sentinel-2 could estimate the chlorophyll-a concentrations in small water bodies. Since the fused Gaofen-6 exhibited a higher spatial resolution and Sentinel-2 exhibited a higher temporal resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of total suspended matter (TSM) is an important parameter for evaluating lake water quality. We determined in situ hyperspectral data and TSM concentration data for Changdang Lake, China, to establish a TSM concentration inversion model. The model was applied using 60 Sentinel-2 images acquired from 2016 to 2021 to determine the temporal and spatial distribution of TSM concentration. Remote sensing images were also utilized to monitor the effect of ecological dredging in Changdang Lake. The following results were obtained: (1) Compared with four existing models, the TSM concentration inversion model established in this study exhibited higher accuracy and was suitable for Changdang Lake. (2) TSM concentrations obtained for the period 2016–2021 were higher in spring and summer, and lower in autumn and winter. (3) The dredging process influenced a small area of the surrounding water body, resulting in higher TSM concentrations. However, a subsequent reduction in TSM concentrations indicated that the ecological dredging project might improve the water quality of Changdang Lake to a considerable extent. Therefore, it was inferred that the use of Sentinel-2 images was effective for the long-term monitoring of water quality changes in small and medium-sized lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early branching eukaryote Trypanosoma brucei contains functional autophagy machinery that allows regulated degradation of its own cellular components. In this study, we examined the function of two Atg8 genes, TbAtg8.1 and TbAtg8.2, in starvation-induced autophagosome formation and cell death in procyclic T. brucei. Upon starvation, both TbAtg8.1 and TbAtg8.2 localize to punctate structures characteristic of autophagosomes as shown by fluorescence and electron microscopy, and wortmannin and chloroquine treatments. While TbAtg8.1 depletion has no detectable effects on TbAtg8.2 recruitment to autophagosomes, TbAtg8.2 depletion greatly reduced the autophagosome relocation of TbAtg8.1. Depletion of TbAtg8.1 and 8.2, individually or together, promote cell survival under starvation conditions. Taken together, these observations confirm the presence of an autophagy-related cell death pathway in T. brucei, where TbAtg8.1 and TbAtg8.2 play essential but distinct roles in autophagosome formation and cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major exopolysaccharide fraction (EPSa) of Bifidobacterium animalis RH was purified to illustrate the chemical characterization and the antioxidant activity in vitro. The molecular weight of EPSa was 2.31 × 10 Da determined by the gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) and the monosaccharide analysis of high-pH anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) showed that it was a heteropolysaccharide mainly composed of d-glucose, d-mannose, d-galactose, l-arabinose, d-fructose, and l-rhamnose in molar ratios of 43:34:18:4:1:1. In antioxidant assays, the EPSa had a higher activity for antilipid peroxidation and a stronger scavenging activity of hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical than ascorbic acid. It also had a similar α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity with ascorbic acid at low concentration and had concentration-dependent inhibitory ability on erythrocyte hemolysis. These results indicated that the EPSa fraction had strong antioxidant activities and could be explored as novel potential antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a food-derived bioactive substance with multiple biological functions, which exists in animal cartilage and/or bone. Sturgeon, a type of cartilaginous fish, is rich in CS. Our recent study demonstrated the effect of sturgeon chondroitin sulfate (SCS) on reducing colorectal cancer cell proliferation and tumor formation. However, the molecular mechanisms of its anticancer activity remain unknown. In this study, the cell proliferation assay and flow cytometric analysis were used to examine the cell viability and apoptosis of colon cancer cell HT-29 cells and normal colonic epithelial cell NCM460 cells. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies were used to identify the main targets of SCS. SCS showed little effect on the genes/proteins expression profile of NCM460 cells but more sensitive to HT-29, in which 188 genes and 10 proteins were differentially expressed after SCS treatment. Enrichment analysis of those genes/proteins showed that the majority of them are involved in DNA replication, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot were used to determine essential genes/proteins and networks targeted by SCS to exert inhibiting the development of colorectal cancer function. This study provided great insights into developing food-derived novel therapeutics for colorectal cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells have been reported to regulate tumor immunity. However, the immune characteristics of MAIT cells in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their correlation with the treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remain unclear. Patients and methods: In this study, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), flow cytometry, and multiplex immunofluorescence assays to determine the proportion and characteristics of CD8+MAIT cells in patients with metastatic NSCLC who did and did not respond to anti-PD-1 therapy. Survival analyses were employed to determine the effects of MAIT proportion and C-X-C chemokine receptor 6 (CXCR6) expression on the prognosis of patients with advanced NSCLC. Results: The proportion of activated and proliferating CD8+MAIT cells were significantly higher in responders-derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and lung tissues before anti-PD-1 therapy, with enhanced expression of cytotoxicity-related genes including CCL4, KLRG1, PRF1, NCR3, NKG7, GZMB, and KLRK1. The responders' peripheral and tumor-infiltrating CD8+MAIT cells showed an upregulated CXCR6 expression. Similarly, CXCR6+CD8+MAIT cells from responders showed higher expression of cytotoxicity-related genes, such as CST7, GNLY, KLRG1, NKG7, and PRF1. Patients with ≥15.1% CD8+MAIT cells to CD8+T cells ratio and ≥35.9% CXCR6+CD8+MAIT cells to CD8+MAIT cells ratio in peripheral blood showed better progression-free survival (PFS) after immunotherapy. The role of CD8+MAIT cells in lung cancer immunotherapy was potentially mediated by classical/non-classical monocytes through the CXCL16-CXCR6 axis. Conclusion: CD8+MAIT cells are a potential predictive biomarker for patients with NSCLC responding to anti-PD-1 therapy. The correlation between CD8+MAIT cells and immunotherapy sensitivity may be ascribed to high CXCR6 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A line of double-transgenic mice that develop neoplasms arising primarily in the pancreas was established. In these mice, the oncogene SV40 T antigen (Tag) was detected in the pancreas with and without the control of Tet-on system. The transgenic mice that developed pancreatic tumors as early as 20 weeks of age showed hypoglycemia on a blood glucose test. Pathological and immunohistochemical characterizations demonstrated that the tumors belonged to neuroendocrine neoplasms arising from pancreatic islets. A change in IGFs/IGF-1R signaling pathway was detected using real-time PCR analysis. A potential association between the IGFs/IGF-1R system and SV40Tag was studied to further explain the cancerogenesis of the double-transgenic mice by Western blot analysis and immunoprecipitation experiments. The results suggest that a Tag transgenic mice model could be used to study the molecular mechanism of the tumorigenesis of islets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background. Most patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have extensive-stage (ES) disease with a poor prognosis. Immunotherapy has shown good therapeutic effects in the treatment of ES-SCLC. We performed a real-world retrospective study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PD-L1 inhibitors plus chemotherapy in patients with ES-SCLC. Method. A total of 224 patients diagnosed with ES-SCLC between March 2017 and April 2021 were included, of which 115 received only etoposide-platinum (EP) chemotherapy,and 109 received programmed cell-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors and EP. Results. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) plus platinum were associated with a significant improvement in overall survival (OS), with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.60 (95% CI, 0.42–0.85; P = 0.0054); median OS was 19 months in the ICIs plus EP group vs. 12 months in the EP group. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.5 and 5.0 months, respectively (HR for disease progression or death, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.31–0.57; P < 0.0001). Male patients <65 years old, Stage IV, PS 0-1, without liver and brain metastasis had a better OS in the ICIs plus EP group than the EP group. The PFS and OS in the durvalumab plus chemotherapy group were insignificantly longer than that of the atezolizumab plus chemotherapy group. Any adverse effects (AEs) of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 50 patients (45.9%) in the ICIs plus EP group and 48 patients (41.7%) in the EP alone group. The most common immune-related AEs (irAEs) were immune hypothyroidism events (17.1%, 7/41), immune dermatitis (9.8%, 4/41), and immune pneumonia (9.8%, 4/41) in the durvalumab plus platinum-etoposide group. Immune liver insufficiency (10.3%, 7/68) and immune hypothyroidism (8.8%, 6/68) were the most common irAEs in the atezolizumab plus platinum-etoposide group. Conclusion. This study shows that adding PD-L1 inhibitors to chemotherapy can significantly improve PFS and OS in patients with ES-SCLC and demonstrates its safety without additional AEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with traditional methods for elaborately tailoring the active layer of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, this study focused on building novel substrates for potential applications in developing organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes. One kind of "three-parts" hierarchically structured interface with nanospheres and macro surface pores was successfully prepared via Michael addition and Schiff's base (M&S) reactions between N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (NAE-A) and glycerite (a natural polyphenol) in the aramid substrate. The thickness was reduced to sub10 μ m with the aid of the high-speed spin coating process coupling nonsolvent-induced phase separation (HSSC-co-NIPS) method. The composition characterization results demonstrated the introduction of glycerite, and the reactions occurred in/on the substrate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images clearly showed that the sub10 μ m substrate contained a "three-level" hierarchically structured interface that included: (1) a "stalk-like" structure; (2) glycerite-NAE-A silane (GNAS) nanospheres; and (3) the substrate surface. These phenomena also resulted in better surface hydrophilicity. All types of organic solvents, including harsh solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), had stable permeability within the substrate, as did apolar n -hexane and isopar™ G. Therefore, the as-prepared TFC OSN membrane, which had an extremely short polymerization time, retained broad-spectrum solvent stability and had the highest solvent permeance in acetonitrile (24.5 ± 0.4 L m−2 h−1·bar−1). In addition, the resultant TFC membrane almost completely rejected the popular macrolide antibiotic azithromycin (AZM, 748.98 g mol−1) in ethanol, which is used to treat COVID-19. Image 1 • Sub10 μm macroporous substrates were prepared via the HSSC-co-NIPS method. • The natural polyphenol glycerite and NAE-A were adopted first in membrane development. • The "three-parts" hierarchically structured interface could be distinctly observed. • Short polymerization (20 s) time offered excellent performance. • AZM could be almost completely purified and concentrated in EtOH with the membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early life substance use, including cannabis and nicotine, may result in deleterious effects on the maturation of brain tissue and gray matter cortical development. The current study employed linear regression models to investigate the main and interactive effects of past-year nicotine and cannabis use on gray matter cortical thickness estimates in 11 bilateral independent frontal cortical regions in 223 16–22-year-olds. As the frontal cortex develops throughout late adolescence and young adulthood, this period becomes crucial for studying the impact of substance use on brain structure. The distinct effects of nicotine and cannabis use status on cortical thickness were found bilaterally, as cannabis and nicotine users both had thinner cortices than non-users. Interactions between nicotine and cannabis were also observed, in which cannabis use was associated with thicker cortices for those with a history of nicotine and tobacco product (NTP) use in three left frontal regions. This study sheds light on the intricate relationship between substance use and brain structure, suggesting a potential modulation of cannabis' impact on cortical thickness by nicotine exposure, and emphasizing the need for further longitudinal research to characterize these interactions and their implications for brain health and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming and economic development have intensified the evaporation and exploitation of river waters, resulting in reduced global river runoff. In minimum ecological flux management, objective determination of the minimum ecological flux and evaluation of whether a river complies with standards are urgently required. Satellite remote sensing allows for rapid, large-scale, and dynamic monitoring. Herein, the Tangmazhai cross-section of the Taizi River was analyzed using the Chinese Gaofen (GF) series satellite that comprises panchromatic multi-spectral sensors and the Sentinel-2 multi-spectral images to automatically extract the water surface width. We applied the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI)-Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique Algorithm (ISODATA) to 225 cloudless scenes from January 2015 to November 2019. We proposed a method to evaluate the minimum ecological flux using water surface width. The river surface width at this location increased from January 2015 to November 2019, and all widths exceeded the minimum river surface water width for the month. The degree of the minimum ecological flux guarantee was determined to be satisfactory. Because there are less clouds and rain in the North China than South China, our results may be used for evaluating the degree of minimum ecological flux guarantee of many river sections in the north China through monthly monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]