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Stem cell maintenance and differentiation can be regulated via the differential activity of transcription factors within stem cells and their progeny. For these factors to be active, they need to be transported from their site of synthesis in the cytoplasm into the nucleus. A tissue-specific requirement for factors involved in nuclear importation is a potential mechanism to regulate stem cell differentiation. We have undertaken a characterization of male sterile importin alpha 1 (Dα1) null alleles in Drosophila and found that Dα1 is required for maintaining germline stem cells (GSCs) in the testis niche. The loss of GSCs can be rescued by ectopic expression of Dα1 within the germline but the animals are still infertile, indicating a second role for Dα1 in spermatogenesis. Expression of a Dα1 dominant negative transgene in GSCs confirmed a functional requirement for Dα1 in GSC maintenance but expression of the transgene in differentiating spermatogonia did not exhibit a phenotype indicating a specific role for Dα1 within GSCs. Our data indicate that Dα1 is utilized as a regulatory protein within GSCs to facilitate nuclear importation of proteins that maintain the stem cell pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vitamin A and retinoic acid (RA, a metabolite of vitamin A), are inextricably involved to the development of skeletal muscle in animals. However, the mechanisms regulating skeletal muscle development by vitamin A remain poorly reported. The current study designed to investigate the underlying mechanism of vitamin A affecting myogenic differentiation of lamb myoblasts through transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) and gene function validation experiments. It provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the regulation of vitamin A on skeletal muscle development as well as for improving the economic benefits of the mutton sheep industry. Results: Newborn lambs were injected with 7,500 IU vitamin A, and longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle tissue was surgically sampled for RNA-Seq analysis and primary myoblasts isolation at 3 weeks of age. The results showed that a total of 14 down-regulated and 3 up-regulated genes, were identified between control and vitamin A groups. Among them, BHLHE40 expression was upregulated in vitamin A group lambs. Furthermore, BHLHE40 expression is significantly increased after initiation of differentiation in myoblasts, and RA addition during differentiation greatly promoted BHLHE40 mRNA expression. In vitro, RA inhibited myoblasts proliferation and promoted myoblasts myogenic differentiation through BHLHE40. Moreover, BHLHE40 was proved to inhibit the expression of the DNA binding inhibitor 3 (ID3), and meanwhile, ID3 could effectively promote myoblasts proliferation and inhibit myoblasts myogenic differentiation. Conclusions: Taken together, our results suggested that vitamin A inhibited myoblasts proliferation and promoted myoblasts myogenic differentiation by inhibiting ID3 expression through BHLHE40. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vitamin A (VA) and its metabolite, retinoic acid (RA), are of great interest for their wide range of physiological functions. However, the regulatory contribution of VA to mitochondrial and muscle fiber composition in sheep has not been reported. Method: Lambs were injected with 0 (control) or 7,500 IU VA palmitate into the biceps femoris muscle on d 2 after birth. At the age of 3 and 32 weeks, longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle samples were obtained to explore the effect of VA on myofiber type composition. In vitro, we investigated the effects of RA on myofiber type composition and intrinsic mechanisms. Results: The proportion of type I myofiber was greatly increased in VA-treated sheep in LD muscle at harvest. VA greatly promoted mitochondrial biogenesis and function in LD muscle of sheep. Further exploration revealed that VA elevated PGC-1α mRNA and protein contents, and enhanced the level of p38 MAPK phosphorylation in LD muscle of sheep. In addition, the number of type I myofibers with RA treatment was significantly increased, and type IIx myofibers was significantly decreased in primary myoblasts. Consistent with in vivo experiment, RA significantly improved mitochondrial biogenesis and function in primary myoblasts of sheep. We then used si-PGC-1α to inhibit PGC-1α expression and found that si-PGC-1α significantly abrogated RA-induced the formation of type I myofibers, mitochondrial biogenesis, MitoTracker staining intensity, UQCRC1 and ATP5A1 expression, SDH activity, and enhanced the level of type IIx muscle fibers. These data suggested that RA improved mitochondrial biogenesis and function by promoting PGC-1α expression, and increased type I myofibers. In order to prove that the effect of RA on the level of PGC-1α is caused by p38 MAPK signaling, we inhibited the p38 MAPK signaling using a p38 MAPK inhibitor, which significantly reduced RA-induced PGC-1α and MyHC I levels. Conclusion: VA promoted PGC-1α expression through the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, improved mitochondrial biogenesis, and altered the composition of muscle fiber type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas‐sensitive materials are capable of dynamic identification and content monitoring of specific gases in the environment, and their applications in the field of gas sensing are promising. However, weak adsorption properties are the main challenge limiting the application of gas‐sensitive materials. A highly adsorbent gas‐sensitive cellulose nanofibril (CNF)‐based triboelectric material with a layered structure is prepared here and it is applied to self‐powered gas sensing. The layered structure of the triethoxy‐1H,1H,2H,2H‐tridecafluoro‐n‐octylsilane cellulose nanofiber (PFOTES‐CNF)‐based gas‐sensitive material further enhances the adsorption of the material due to electrostatic adsorption in the electrostatic field induced by triboelectricity. It is found that the ammonia‐sensitive material obtained by loading Ti3C2Tx in PFOTES‐CNF has a fast response/recovery (12/14 s), high sensitivity response (Vair/Vgas = 2.1), high selectivity response (37.6%), and low detection limit (10 ppm) for 100 ppm of ammonia gas. In addition, the ammonia‐sensitive CNF‐based triboelectric material can accurately identify NH3 concentration changes in the range of 10–120 ppm and transmit the signal wirelessly to the user interface, facilitating real‐time online monitoring of NH3 in the environment. A novel strategy is provided here for designing and preparing high‐performance gas‐sensitive composites and the analysis of self‐powered gas sensing is guided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider an important feature of satellite synchronization in the practical scenario of using unmanned vehicles (UVs) carried by trucks for "last-meter" delivery and introduce the truck and UV routing problem with time windows (TUVRP-TW) for optimizing the routes of a homogeneous fleet of truck-UV combinations. A UV that has been dispatched from its truck must be picked up by the same truck or must return by itself to the depot. Customers with time windows are classified into two types: truck-UV customers (TUCs) and UV customers (UCs). The TUCs where trucks dispatch or pick up the carried UVs are regarded as satellites. Fleet coordination and satellite synchronization are essential for modelling the TUVRP-TW. We classify satellite synchronization into inner-satellite synchronization and intersatellite synchronization. The inner-satellite synchronization generally considered in the literature focuses on synchronization operations at the same satellite. Intersatellite synchronization, which focuses on synchronization operations at various satellites, allows UVs to not return to the dispatched locations, if necessary. In the mixed-integer linear programming model of the TUVRP-TW, both binary variables for identifying the appointed satellites and continuous variables for time continuity constraints are introduced to ensure the interaction between truck routes and UV routes. A hybrid algorithm based on a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) and a variable neighborhood search (VNS) is provided. Based on generated instances and benchmark instances, computational experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the intersatellite synchronization, the performance of the developed formulation, and the applicability of the hybrid algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial sludge is characterized by high moisture content, complex composition, and significant organic toxicity. This research aimed to improve the performance of Chlorococcum humicola in removing hydroquinone-domesticated sludge toxicity through the addition of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The maximum cell density and dry weight of C. humicola were attained when the IAA concentration was 5.0 × 10−6 mol/L, at 6.79 × 107 cells/mL and 2.60 g/L, respectively. The toxicity of the sludge degradation rate reached its peak level of 59.70% on the 20th day. The toxicity reduction was consistent with the decrease of RNA degradation-related proteins such as A5FN12, which can be hydrolyzed and absorbed by C. humicola via active transport. In the presence of IAA, C. humicola increased its energy production processes, such as glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, to facilitate active transport. Moreover, the efficiency of signal transduction was improved, leading to enhanced cellular metabolism. The suppression of biosynthesis of glutathione and arginine at the molecular level may contribute to this observed trend. Overall, this study provides new insights into the mechanism by which IAA promotes the degradation of sludge toxicity by C. humicola , offering a novel method and theoretical basis for the safe and resource-based utilization of industrial sludge. [Display omitted] • IAA can promote the growth of C. humicola. • Sludge toxicity correlates with RNA degradation proteins. • C. humicola enhanced ATP production processes with the addition of IAA. • Signaling pathway enhanced and the biosynthesis of glutathione and arginine declined. Minimal research exists on biological detoxifying treatment of industrial residual sludge. This research reveals the mechanism on the removal of sludge toxicity by algae with exogenous IAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the activity phases and reaction mechanisms at the atomic level is essential for the design of electrocatalysts. Herein we investigate the origin of the facet-dependent activity of model Cu 2 O catalyst for C-N coupling toward electrocatalytic urea synthesis. It was found that the activity of urea synthesis depends on the crystalline facets of Cu 2 O. The Cu 2 O (100) facet exhibits higher urea activity and selectivity than the (110) facet, with an average urea yield of 62.4 mmol·g−1·h−1 at –1.5 V (RHE). By using Raman, UV–vis and XPS techniques, it was observed that Cu+ serves as active sites at (100) face of Cu 2 O, which promotes C-N coupling through synergistic interaction with Cu0. Furthermore, the combined results of operando ATR-SEIRAS and DFT calculations demonstrate that the Cu-Cu 2 O (100) facet facilitates electrocatalytic C-N coupling between *CO and *NH intermediates due to the reduced energy barriers of hydrogenated *NO on the Cu-Cu 2 O (100) facet. [Display omitted] • The origin of the facet-dependent active sites of Cu 2 O for selective C-N coupling was revealed. • Cu+ is the main active site in the Cu 2 O (100), promoting C-N coupling through synergistic interaction with Cu0. • The Cu-Cu 2 O (100) facet reduced the energy barriers for the hydrogenation *NO, and thus facilitates the electrocatalytic C-N coupling between *CO and *NH intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer patients commonly experience high levels of psychological stress, which poses significant risks to their well-being. Radiotherapy is a primary treatment modality for cancer; however, it often leads to intestinal injuries in these patients. Nevertheless, the impact of mental stress on radiotherapy-intertwined complications remains unclear. To induce intestinal injury, we employed total abdominal irradiation in our experimental model. We conducted high-throughput sequencing to analyze the expression profile of miRNAs in the hippocampus. We observed that mice with depression exhibited more severe intestinal injuries following total abdominal irradiation. Remarkably, oral administration of Marasmius androsaceus not only alleviated the depressive phenotype but also mitigated radiation-induced intestinal toxicity. Notably, this radioprotective effect was not observed in mice without depression. Depression disrupted the hippocampal miRNA expression profile in mice subjected to local irradiation of the abdomen, leading to the accumulation of miR-139–5p and miR-184–3p in the hippocampus, serum, and small intestine tissues. However, treatment with Marasmius androsaceus reprogrammed the miRNA expression signature in mice with depression. Furthermore, intravenous injection of antagomirs targeting miR-139–5p and miR-184–3p ameliorated depression, up-regulated Spn expression, reduced radiation enteritis, and improved the integrity of the small intestine in irradiated mice. Our findings demonstrate the efficacy of Marasmius androsaceus , a small mushroom, in alleviating depression-aggravated intestinal toxicity following radiotherapy by reprogramming hippocampal miRNA expression. [Display omitted] • Depression aggravates intestinal radiation injury in mouse models. • Marasmius androsaceus mitigates intestinal toxicity in depression-afflicted mice. • Marasmius androsaceus reprograms the hippocampal miRNA expression. • Marasmius androsaceus mitigates radiation injury in a miRNA-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of early enteral nutrition (EEN) or total parenteral nutrition (TPN) support on nutritional status and blood glucose in patients with gastric cancer complicated with diabetes mellitus after radical gastrectomy were investigated. One hundred and twenty-nine patients with gastric cancer complicated with diabetes mellitus type 2 admitted to the First People's Hospital of Jinan (Jinan, China), from June 2012 to June 2016 were selected into the study. According to different nutrition support pathways, these patients were randomly divided into the EEN group and the TPN group. The improvement of nutritional indexes, postoperative complications, gastrointestinal function recovery and perioperative blood glucose fluctuation were compared between the two groups. On the 4th day after operation, the improvement levels of total bilirubin (TBL), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), total protein (TP), prealbumin (PAB), hemoglobin (HGB) and weight (Wt) in the EEN group were significantly higher than those in the conventional group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups on the 8th day after operation (P>0.05). No patients had complications in the EEN group, while a total of 29 patients in the TPN group suffered adverse reactions, indicating that the incidence rate of complications in the EEN group was significantly lower than that in the TPN group (P<0.05). The postoperative evacuation time was earlier, hospitalization time was shorter and cost of postoperative hospitalization was less in the EEN group than those in the TPN group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The blood glucose fluctuation values at fasting and 2 h after a meal in the TPN group were higher than those in the EEN group within 8 days after operation, and the differences were statistically significant (χ2=13.219, P=0.002; χ2=20.527, P<0.001). EEN support provides nutrition for patients with gastric cancer complicated with diabetes mellitus after radical gastrectomy, which is worthy of clinical promotion as it maintains good nutritional status, produces few postoperative complications and keeps the blood glucose level stable, by which the postoperative evacuation time is early, the hospitalization time is short and the cost is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently study shows that melatonin can protect embryos from the culture environment oxidative stress. However, the protective effect of melatonin on the mouse development of preimplantation embryos under sodium fluoride (NaF) induced oxidative stress is still unclear. Here, we showed that exposure to NaF significantly increased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, decreased the blastocyst formation rates, and increased the fragmentation, apoptosis and retardation of blastocysts in the development of mouse preimplantation embryos. However, the protective of melatonin remarkable increased the of blastocyst formation rates, maintained mitochondrial function and total antioxidant capacity by clearing ROS. Importantly the data showed that melatonin improved the activity of enzymatic antioxidants, including glutathione(GSH), superoxide dismutase(SOD), and malonaldehyde (MDA), and increased the expression levels of antioxidative genes. Taken together, our results indicate that melatonin prevent NaF-induced oxidative damage to mouse preimplantation embryo through down regulation of ROS level, stabilization of mitochondrial function and modulation of the activity of antioxidases and antioxidant genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Glucosidase (β-Glu) is a ubiquitous enzyme which has multiple roles in medical diagnosis, food production, agriculture, etc. Existing β-Glu assays have limitations such as complex operation, long running time, and high background noise. Here we report a red-emissive probe TBPG for measuring the activity of β-Glu. The probe was synthesized through conjugating a β-Glu targeting glucoside to an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) fluorophore. In the presence of β-Glu, TBPG was hydrolyzed and exhibited a fluorescence turn-on process. The detection conditions including time, temperature, pH value, buffer, and probe concentration were optimized systematically. Afterwards, fluorescence titration was conducted showing an excellent linearity (R2 = 0.998), a wide linear dynamic range (0–5.0 U/mL), and a limit of detection as low as 0.6 U/L. The detection specificity and ion interference were evaluated by adding various biological species and ions to probe without or with β-Glu. Next, we demonstrate the applicability of probe TBPG in determining the β-Glu activity in living cells using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Finally, this newly established assay was applied to real soil samples. Comparable results were obtained as the commercial assay, manifesting its great potential in soil enzyme analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate and quantitative analysis of microRNA (miRNA) expression is critical for biomedical research and clinical theranostics. In this study, we report a novel sensor for the sensitive detection of miRNA based on a duplex-specific nuclease (DSN)-assisted dual signal amplification strategy. A chimeric probe (DNA/2-OMe-RNA) that consists of a miRNA recognition DNA sequence and a Taqman probe hybridization RNA sequence (2′-O-methyl RNA) was designed and synthesized. One molecule of target miRNA can trigger cyclical cleavage of the chimeric probes to produce 2′-O-methyl RNA by DSN in the first round of amplification. The 2′-O-methyl RNA molecules can subsequently hybridize with Taqman probes and initiate the second round of cyclical amplification to generate detectable fluorescence by DSN. The proposed strategy exhibits high specificity in discriminating cognate miRNAs, and the dual signal transduction process enables the detection of miRNA concentrations as low as 7.3 fM. We further applied this assay to miRNA quantification in cancer cells to confirm its applicability. The present study provides a sensitive, specific and simple method for miRNA detection and holds great potential for further application in biomedical research and in the clinical laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) and Scenedesmus obliquus (S. obliquus) were compared to remove toxicity under conditions of sludge extract cultivation for 30 days. The toxicity of sludge extract, the growth characteristics, photosynthetic pigment, superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme and catalase (CAT) enzyme activities of the two microalgae were studied by contrast. The results showed that small molecular organic matter (<500 Da) was more easily utilized by microalgae. The toxicity in the toxic group of C. vulgaris and S. obliquus on the 30th day decreased to 56.8 ± 1.2% and 60.7 ± 2.8%, respectively. In the toxic group, the maximal SOD enzyme activity of C. vulgaris and S. obliquus were 2.02 U/mg proteins and 8.21 U/mg proteins, respectively, demonstrating that toxicity caused more oxidative damage to S. obliquus than to C. vulgaris. Proteomics analysis revealed that C. vulgaris mainly regulates energy synthesis and distribution primarily through sugar metabolism, and biomass synthesis primarily through carbon metabolism, whereas S. obliquus mainly regulates energy synthesis and distribution primarily through sugar metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation, resulting in sludge toxicity stress regulation. [Display omitted] • C. vulgaris ' ability to adapt to toxicity was stronger than S. obliquus. • Both C. vulgaris and S. obliquus decreased the toxicity to less than 50%. • Toxicity caused more oxidative damage to S. obliquus than to C. vulgaris. • C. vulgaris regulates energy and biomass through sugar and carbon metabolism. • S. obliquus regulates energy through sugar metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Three-dimensional facial soft tissue landmark prediction is an important tool in dentistry, for which several methods have been developed in recent years, including a deep learning algorithm which relies on converting 3D models into 2D maps, which results in the loss of information and precision. Methods: This study proposes a neural network architecture capable of directly predicting landmarks from a 3D facial soft tissue model. Firstly, the range of each organ is obtained by an object detection network. Secondly, the prediction networks obtain landmarks from the 3D models of different organs. Results: The mean error of this method in local experiments is 2.62 ± 2.39 , which is lower than that in other machine learning algorithms or geometric information algorithms. Additionally, over 72% of the mean error of test data falls within ± 2.5 mm, and 100% falls within 3 mm. Moreover, this method can predict 32 landmarks, which is higher than any other machine learning-based algorithm. Conclusions: According to the results, the proposed method can precisely predict a large number of 3D facial soft tissue landmarks, which gives the feasibility of directly using 3D models for prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raffinose synthetase (RS) is a key enzyme in the process of raffinose (Raf) synthesis and is involved in plant development and stress responses through regulating Raf content. As a sweetener, Raf makes an important contribution to the sweet taste of white tea. However, studies on the identification, analysis and transcriptional regulation of CsRSs (Camellia sinensis RS genes) are still lacking. In this study, nine CsRSs were identified from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) genome database. The CsRSs were classified into five groups in the phylogenetic tree. Expression level analysis showed that the CsRSs varied in different parts of the tea plant. Transcriptome data showed that CsRSs could respond to persistent drought and cold acclimation. Except for CsRS5 and CsRS9, the expression pattern of all CsRSs increased at 12 h and decreased at 30 h during the withering process of white tea, consistent with the change trend of the Raf content. Furthermore, combining yeast one-hybrid assays with expression analysis, we found that CsDBB could potentially regulate the expression of CsRS8. Our results provide a new perspective for further research into the characterization of CsRS genes and the formation of the white tea flavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Biogas recirculation may create multifunctional granule AD system of sewage sludge. • Biogas recirculation accelerates CH 4 recovery rate from sludge by 31–44%. • Simultaneous sludge stabilization and aggregation can be realized in this system. • This system can improve net energy profit by 78–85% for sewage sludge treatment. This study investigated the possibility of biogas recirculation-driven anaerobic granular sludge system for sewage sludge treatment, aiming to develop an energy sufficient and multifunctional anaerobic digestion (AD) system for sewage sludge with biogas upgrading, sludge stabilization and self-aggregation. Results show that biogas recirculation could enhance the CH 4 production rate by 31–44% and shorten the lag-phase duration to 0.08–0.2 day with simultaneous increment of CH 4 content (> 83% in this study). The reason is mainly associated with the stronger interspecies electron transfer under the biogas recirculation condition. In addition, 37–40% better dewaterability of the digested sludge was achieved, implying the occurrence of self-aggregation of microbial cells induced by biogas recirculation. Energy balance analysis reflects that this sewage sludge treatment system could enhance the net energy recovery by 78–85%. Moreover, almost no obvious influence was noticed on the seed granules' composition and properties. These findings suggest that the biogas recirculation-driven anaerobic granular sludge system could be a promising alternative for sewage sludge treatment, which can improve biogas quality and sludge dewaterability simultaneously towards sludge self-aggregation with no addition of other chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most previous studies have focused on the effects of salt on anaerobic digestion (AD) for hydrogen or methane production. However, the effects of salt on two-stage AD and the related approaches to mitigate the adverse effects of high salinity on hydrogen and/or methane production were seldom addressed. In this study, addition of Air-nanobubble water (Air-NBW) was adopted to mitigate the inhibition of high salinity on co-production of hydrogen and methane from two-stage AD of food waste (FW). In the Air-NBW added reactors with 0–30 g NaCl/L, hydrogen yield was increased by 21–65% with the subsequent methane yield elevated by 14–43% when compared to the corresponding deionized water (DW) group. This study for the first time confirmed that when two-stage AD of FW was exposed to the same salinity level, addition of Air-NBW could enhance enzymatic activities at the individual stage. Results of electron transport system (ETS) activity further demonstrate that addition of Air-NBW may promote the electron transfer associated with the synthesis of hydrogen and methane. Therefore, an efficient approach for hydrogen and methane recovery from the two-stage AD of FW under high salinity was proposed through improving microbial electron transfer and corresponding enzymatic activities at each stage via Air-NBW addition. [Display omitted] • Air-nanobubble water (NBW) reduced salt inhibition on H 2 and CH 4 production. • Air-NBW addition shortened lag phase of the first stage AD at 0–30 g NaCl/L. • Enzyme activities were enhanced by Air-NBW even at high salinity of 20–30 g NaCl/L. • Air-NBW may promote the electron transfer linking the synthesis of H 2 and CH 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insight of the activity phase and reaction mechanism is vital for developing high-performance ammonia synthesis electrocatalysts. In this study, the origin of the electronic-dependent activity for the model Cu2O catalyst toward ammonia electrosynthesis with nitrate was probed. The modulation of the electronic state and oxygen vacancy content of Cu2O was realized by doping with halogen elements (Cl, Br, I). The electrocatalytic experiments showed that the activity of the ammonia production depends strongly on the electronic states in Cu2O. With increased electronic state defects in Cu2O, the ammonia synthesis performance increased first and then decreased. The Cu2O/Br with electronic defects in the middle showed the highest ammonia yield of 11.4 g h−1 g−1 at −1.0 V (vs. RHE), indicating that the pattern of change in optimal ammonia activity is consistent with the phenomenon of volcano curves in reaction chemistry. This work highlights a promising route for designing NO3−RR to NH3 catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding precipitation chemistry is highlighted as important worldwide due to its close relationship with air quality and impacts on ecosystems. However, the chemical composition of precipitation is limited in Tibet, where alpine ecosystems are sensitive to global change. Here, rainwater samples were collected in Nyingchi city from January 2021 to December 2021, and a total of 44 samples were obtained. Major ions (NO3−, NH4+, Cl−, SO42−, Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) were analyzed. Results showed that the predominant ions in the precipitation were Ca2+, Na+, SO42−, and Cl−. Precipitation was mainly concentrated in summer, accounting for 65.2% of all samples collected during the monitoring period. As a result, ion deposition fluxes were mainly concentrated in summer, accounting for 55%, 53%, 84%, 82%, 61%, 63%, 75.8%, and 37.8% of the annual Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Na+, NH4+, Cl−, SO42−, and NO3−, respectively. Backward trajectory analysis revealed that airmasses were mainly from the southern direction, but the sources varied widely. In addition, Na+ and Cl− ions were dominated by the sea source fraction; the ions of Ca2+ and K+ were dominated by crustal fraction sources. The NH4+ and NO3− ions were mainly influenced by local pollution. However, SO42− was mainly from long distance transports. Our results suggest that ions abundance was varied largely in different direction airmasses in southeast Tibet. Considering that ion deposition fluxes were mainly concentrated in the summer and the airmasses were mainly from the southern direction in this season, the pollutants from the southern direction the environmental effects of those ions should be given more attention in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Mathematical modelling of surface electromyographic (EMG) signals has been proven a valuable tool to interpret experimental data and to validate signal processing techniques. Most analytical EMG models only consider muscle fibers with specific arrangements. However, the fiber orientation may change along the fiber paths and differ from fiber to fiber. Here we propose a subject-specific EMG model that simulates the fiber trajectories in muscles of the upper arm and analytically derives the action potentials assuming an approximate conductivity tensor. Methods: Magnetic Resonance (MR) images were acquired to generate muscle fiber paths and to build the volume conductor. While the action potentials propagated along the identified curvilinear fibers, the conductivity tensor was approximated to be cylindrically anisotropic. Single fiber action potentials (SFAPs) were computed by simulating the generation, propagation, and extinction of membrane current sources. To validate the assumption of the approximate conductivity tensor, two numerical models with approximate or exact conductivity tensors were implemented. Results: The motor unit action potentials generated by the proposed analytical model and the two numerical models were highly similar (cross-correlation $>$ 0.98, normalized root mean square error, nRMSE $\leq$ 0.04, relative error in the median frequency of the simulated waveforms of approximately 3%). The proposed analytical model was also evaluated by comparing simulated and experimentally recorded compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs). Finally, the proposed model was used to test the accuracy of an EMG decomposition algorithm, providing a realistic benchmark. Conclusions and Significance: The proposed analytical model generates action potentials that reflect the spatial distributions of muscle fibers with curvilinear paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algae have great application prospects in excess sludge reclamation and recovery of high-value biomass. Chlorococcum humicola was cultivated in this research, using sludge extract (mixed with SE medium) with additions of 10%, 20%, and 30% CO 2 (v/v). Results showed that under 20% CO 2 , the dry weight and polysaccharide yield reached 1.389 ± 0.070 g/L and 313.49 ± 10.77 mg/L, respectively. 10% and 20% CO 2 promoted the production of cellular antioxidant molecules to resist the toxic stress and the toxicity of 20% CO 2 group decreased from 62.16 ± 3.11% to 33.02 ± 3.76%. 10% and 20% CO 2 accelerated the electron transfer, enhanced carbon assimilation, and promoted the photosynthetic efficiency, while 30% CO 2 led to photosystem damage and disorder of antioxidant system. Proteomic analysis showed that 20% CO 2 mainly affected energy metabolism and the oxidative stress level on the early stage (10 d), while affected photosynthesis and organic substance metabolism on the stable stage (30 d). The up-regulation of PSII photosynthetic protein subunit 8 (PsbA, PsbO), A0A383W1S5 and A0A383VRI4 promoted the efficiency of PSII and chlorophyll synthesis, and the up-regulation of A0A383WH74 and A0A2Z4THB7 led to the accumulation of polysaccharides. The up-regulation of A0A383VDH1, A0A383VX37 and A0A383VA86 promoted respiration. Collectively, this work discloses the regulatory mechanism of high-concentration CO 2 on Chlorococcum humicola to overcome toxicity and accumulate polysaccharides. • The optimal CO 2 was 20% (v/v) for Chlorococcum humicola cultured in sludge extract. • The toxicity of 20% CO 2 group decreased from 62.16 ± 3.11% to 33.02 ± 3.76%. • Up-regulation of PsbA, PsbO, A0A383W1S5 and A0A383VRI4 enhanced photosynthesis. • Up-regulation of A0A2Z4THB7 and A0A383WH74 promoted polysaccharide accumulation. • Up-regulation of A0A383VDH1, A0A383VX37 and A0A383VA86 enhanced respiration. Synopsis statementThis research is of great significance in wastewater treatment, excess sludge reclamation, CO 2 biological fixation and resource cultivation of algae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous and proportional control (SPC) using surface electromyography (sEMG) signals has become a prevailing solution for the intuitive control of prosthesis and human–robot interaction. However, only time and frequency domain features are generally involved in conventional SPC algorithms, ignoring the globally spatial information across channels. In this article, we presented an instantaneous sEMG-image-based model for continuous estimation on multiple degrees of freedom wrist torques. Specifically, a convolutional neural network was used to extract features from sEMG-images, and then to estimate wrist torques. The results demonstrated that the sEMG-image-based model outperformed three conventional regression methods and a deep-learning-based method with superior performance on estimation accuracy and smoothness. Furthermore, we found a strong linear correlation between the first two principal components of extracted features and the recorded wrist torques, validating the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The outcomes open up a new perspective for SPC and potentially enhance the performance of myoelectric control in practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The caffeoyl-CoA-O methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) family plays a crucial role in the oxidative methylation of phenolic substances and is involved in various plant processes, including growth, development, and stress response. However, there is a limited understanding of the interactions among CCoAOMT protein members in tea plants. Results: In this study, we identified 10 members of the CsCCoAOMT family in the genome of Camellia sinensis (cultivar 'HuangDan'), characterized by conserved gene structures and motifs. These CsCCoAOMT members were located on six different chromosomes (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 14). Based on phylogenetic analysis, CsCCoAOMT can be divided into two groups: I and II. Notably, the CsCCoAOMT members of group Ia are likely to be candidate genes involved in lignin biosynthesis. Moreover, through the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay, we established protein interaction networks for the CsCCoAOMT family, revealing 9 pairs of members with interaction relationships. Conclusions: We identified the CCoAOMT gene family in Camellia sinensis and conducted a comprehensive analysis of their classifications, phylogenetic and synteny relationships, gene structures, protein interactions, tissue-specific expression patterns, and responses to various stresses. Our findings shed light on the evolution and composition of CsCCoAOMT. Notably, the observed interaction among CCoAOMT proteins suggests the potential formation of the O-methyltransferase (OMT) complex during the methylation modification process, expanding our understanding of the functional roles of this gene family in diverse biological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly efficient liquid-phase hydrogenation reaction using a recyclable palladium on carbon (Pd/C) catalyst has been used for the transformation of naringin to its corresponding dihydrochalcone. The effects of various solvents on the hydrogenation process were studied, with water being identified as the optimal solvent. The analysis also revealed that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) can accumulate on the surface of the Pd/C catalyst in alcoholic solvents, leading to its inactivation. The higher solubility of NaOH in water implies that it remains in solution and does not accumulate on the Pd/C catalyst surface, ensuring the catalytic activity and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intronic polymorphic TOMM40 variants increasing TOMM40 mRNA expression are strongly correlated to late onset Alzheimer's Disease. The gene product, hTomm40, encoded in the APOE gene cluster, is a core component of TOM, the translocase that imports nascent proteins across the mitochondrial outer membrane. We used Drosophila melanogaster eyes as an in vivo model to investigate the relationship between elevated Tom40 (the Drosophila homologue of hTomm40) expression and neurodegeneration. Here we provide evidence that an overabundance of Tom40 in mitochondria invokes caspase-dependent cell death in a dose-dependent manner, leading to degeneration of the primarily neuronal eye tissue. Degeneration is contingent on the availability of co-assembling TOM components, indicating that an increase in assembled TOM is the factor that triggers apoptosis and degeneration in a neural setting. Eye death is not contingent on inner membrane translocase components, suggesting it is unlikely to be a direct consequence of impaired import. Another effect of heightened Tom40 expression is upregulation and co-association of a mitochondrial oxidative stress biomarker, DmHsp22, implicated in extension of lifespan, providing new insight into the balance between cell survival and death. Activation of regulated death pathways, culminating in eye degeneration, suggests a possible causal route from TOMM40 polymorphisms to neurodegenerative disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social hierarchy governs the physiological and biochemical behaviors of animals. Intestinal radiation injuries are common complications connected with radiotherapy. However, it remains unclear whether social hierarchy impacts the development of radiation-induced intestinal toxicity. Dominant mice exhibited more serious intestinal toxicity following total abdominal irradiation compared with their subordinate counterparts, as judged by higher inflammatory status and lower epithelial integrity. Radiation-elicited changes in gut microbiota varied between dominant and subordinate mice, being more overt in mice of higher status. Deletion of gut microbes by using an antibiotic cocktail or restructuring of the gut microecology of dominant mice by using fecal microbiome from their subordinate companions erased the difference in radiogenic intestinal injuries. Lactobacillus murinus and Akkermansia muciniphila were both found to be potential probiotics for use against radiation toxicity in mouse models without social hierarchy. However, only Akkermansia muciniphila showed stable colonization in the digestive tracts of dominant mice, and significantly mitigated their intestinal radiation injuries. Our findings demonstrate that social hierarchy impacts the development of radiation-induced intestinal injuries, in a manner dependent on gut microbiota. The results also suggest that the gut microhabitats of hosts determine the colonization and efficacy of foreign probiotics. Thus, screening suitable microbial preparations based on the gut microecology of patients might be necessary in clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a simple analytical model for fracture toughness to bridge the length scales from grain size to bulk thickness by assembling a virtual crack path from the angles recorded on an unfractured microstructure, which is a great challenge in fracture mechanics due to the high geometrical complexity. Good agreement is found between a crack deflection angle distribution measured from 5764 crack segments and the prediction by the model and the possible influence of residual stress is quasi quantitatively discussed. A total of 7.4% of the crack segments observed acted as crack bridges, while 7.3% was predicted by the model. A quantification of how high an angle needs to be to turn crack deflection into crack bridging is given. The ratio of fracture toughness from grain boundary to grain, G1c(gb)/G1c(g), was measured indirectly from all samples to be between 0.3 and 0.35. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activated sludge method is widely used for the treatment of phenol-containing wastewater, which gives rise to the problem of toxic residual sludge accumulation. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a typical phytohormone, facilitates the microalgal resistance to toxic inhibition while promoting biomass accumulation. In this study, Chlorococcum humicola (C. humicola) was cultured in toxic sludge extract and different concentrations of IAA were used to regulate its physiological properties and enrichment of high value-added products. Ultimately, proteomics analysis was used to reveal the response mechanism of C. humicola to exogenous IAA. The results showed that the IAA concentration of 5 × 10−6 mol/L (M) was most beneficial for C. humicola to cope with the toxic stress in the sludge extract medium, to promote the activity of rubisco enzyme, to enhance the efficiency of photosynthesis, and, finally, to accumulate protein as a percentage of specific dry weight 1.57 times more than that of the control group. Exogenous IAA altered the relative abundance of various amino acids in C. humicola cells, and proteomic analyses showed that exogenous IAA stimulated the algal cells to produce more indole-3-glycerol phosphate (IGP), indole, and serine by up-regulating the enzymes. These precursors are converted to tryptophan under the regulation of tryptophan synthase (A0A383V983), and tryptophan can be metabolized to endogenous IAA to promote the growth of C. humicola. These findings have important implications for the treatment of toxic residual sludge while enriching for high-value amino acids. [Display omitted] • Appropriate IAA addition allowed C. humicola to thrive in the sludge extract medium. • Appropriate concentrations of IAA promote protein accumulation in algal cell. • Exogenous IAA can change the proportion of various amino acids in algal cell. • Up-regulation of A0A383V983 promoted tryptophan enrichment. • Exogenous IAA stimulated endogenous IAA synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is the most prevalent modification in eukaryotic RNAs while accumulating studies suggest that m6A aberrant expression plays an important role in cancer. HNRNPA2B1 is a m6A reader which binds to nascent RNA and thus affects a perplexing array of RNA metabolism exquisitely. Despite unveiled facets that HNRNPA2B1 is deregulated in several tumors and facilitates tumor growth, a clear role of HNRNPA2B1 in multiple myeloma (MM) remains elusive. Herein, we analyzed the function and the regulatory mechanism of HNRNPA2B1 in MM. We found that HNRNPA2B1 was elevated in MM patients and negatively correlated with favorable prognosis. The depletion of HNRNPA2B1 in MM cells inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. On the contrary, the overexpression of HNRNPA2B1 promoted cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic studies revealed that HNRNPA2B1 recognized the m6A sites of ILF3 and enhanced the stability of ILF3 mRNA transcripts, while AKT3 downregulation by siRNA abrogated the cellular proliferation induced by HNRNPA2B1 overexpression. Additionally, the expression of HNRNPA2B1, ILF3 and AKT3 was positively associated with each other in MM tissues tested by immunohistochemistry. In summary, our study highlights that HNRNPA2B1 potentially acts as a therapeutic target of MM through regulating AKT3 expression mediated by ILF3-dependent pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbe inhibition produces intermediate metabolites and toxic substances that accumulate significantly in residual sludge toxicity after continuous treatment of coal gasification wastewater with activated sludge. To address this issue, Chlorococcum humicola was cultured with sludge extract. Proteomics analysis was used to investigate the mechanism of stress response in microalgae to sludge toxicity. Upon completion of growth, microalgae treated with sludge extract produced 0.725 ± 0.036 g/L of biomass. The total organic carbon concentration and toxicity removal rates on microalgae were 75.1 ± 3.8% and 47.4 ± 2.1%, respectively. The proteomics analysis revealed that under stress conditions, microalgae altered cellular components such as the nucleus and plasma membranes, affecting the photosynthetic and respiratory processes. The logarithmic phase was characterized by a down-regulation of oxidative phosphorylation and an increase in energy synthesis regulated by the isopropyl phosphate isomerase. The results demonstrate a proteomic basis for the reduction and utilization of waste sludge, as well as provide a molecular mechanism reference for optimizing the model of cultivating microalgae using sludge. [Display omitted] • Sludge extract from hydroquinone treatment was utilized to cultivate microalgae. • The optimal cultivation ratio would increase biomass production and TOC disposal. • Oxidative phosphorylation was controlled downwards in the logarithmic phase. • Energy synthesis and biosynthesis have been adjusted under toxic stress. Synopsis Sludge extract was used to reduce sludge toxicity and increase biomass accumulation in Chlorococcum humicola. Stress altered the nucleus and plasma membranes of microalgae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Liquid fraction (Add L) from crushed granules initialed microalgae aggregation. • 0.5–2 mm stable granules formed with harvesting > 90% in 30 min by Add L addition. • Add L addition shortened the start-up of microalgae granulation from 150 d to 1–2 d. • Enhanced tightly bound extracellular polymers (EPS) favor aggregate integrity. • Aromatic proteins in EPS play a crucial role in granulation of microalgae. Biomass harvesting is the bottleneck for microalgae-based technologies in practical application for simultaneous wastewater remediation and resource recovery. Biogranulation has been proven to possess high potentials for cost-effective microalgae cultivation and harvesting, while the long start-up duration (about several months) is challenging its application in real wastewater treatment. This study examined the contribution of intact and crushed microalgae granules, and the solid and liquid (Add L) fractions from crushed microalgae granules to the rapid granulation of single-cell microalgae (Ankistrodesmus falcatus var. acicularis) suspension. In addition to > 90% organics and 70–80% total N removal, microalgae aggregates were obtained with excellent settleability when Add L was used as additives, achieving harvesting efficiency of 90.75 ± 1.23% during the 24-h aggregation tests in comparison to 17.74 ± 0.29% by the control. The continuous increase of polysaccharides in soluble extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) might be responsible for cells capture and adhesion at the early stage of aggregation, while the enhanced secretion of bound EPS (mainly tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS)) from 41.86 ± 5.08 to 264.05 ± 6.41 mg/g-volatile suspended solids (VSS) favored the formation of stable microalgae aggregates with better integrity. The fluorescence intensity of aromatic proteins in loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) and TB-EPS was dramatically strengthened in response to the Add L addition, most probably due to its crucial role in microalgae granulation and stable structure. Results from this study may propose a novel approach for rapid and high-efficiency harvesting of microalgae via biogranulation, which can promote the practical application of microalgae-based wastewater treatment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]