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Tetanus is a rare life-threatening condition often complicated by repetitive spasms, dysautonomia, and neuromuscular respiratory failure contributing to high fatality rates in its severe form. Benzodiazepines used to treat muscle spasms pose a high risk of respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation, which is unaffordable and inaccessible for many. Magnesium sulfate, a cheap and widely available medication in all urban and rural health centers of LMICs for the treatment of eclampsia, can be used to control muscle spasms and dysautonomia. We thus conducted a systematic review of the evidence to assess the safety and efficacy of magnesium sulfate in the treatment of tetanus. Any study published before April 15, 2021, discussing the efficacy and/or safety of MgSO4 infusion in the treatment of tetanus was systemically reviewed using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Our systematic review included data from 13 studies, three were randomized, double-blind, and controlled trials. The remaining ten studies were observational; six prospective and four retrospective studies. Our review showed no mortality benefit associated with the use of magnesium sulfate. However, magnesium sulfate was found to be effective in reducing spasms along with diazepam, leading to better control of dysautonomia, reduced need for mechanical ventilation, and shorter hospital stay by 3-7 days. The incidence of magnesium toxicity was very low in the studies included.

To study the effect of interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene deletion on radiation-induced hematopoietic injury in mice and relative mechanism.Before and after whole bodyIL-6 levels in serum of IL-6IL-6 plays an obvious role in regulating hematopoietic radiation injury, and IL-6 deficiency can inhibit the radiation-induced increase of endogenous G-CSF level in serum, aggravates the damage of mouse hematopoietic stem cells（HSC） and the reduction of mature blood cells in peripheral blood caused by ionizing irradiation, resulting in the shortening of the survival time and significant decrease of the survival rate of mice exposed to lethal dose radiation.白介素-6基因敲除对辐射诱导小鼠造血损伤的影响及相关机制研究.研究白介素-6（IL-6）基因敲除对辐射诱导小鼠造血损伤的影响及其相关机制.观察比较IL-6IL-6对小鼠造血辐射损伤具有明显的调控作用，IL-6基因缺失抑制辐射诱导的内源性G-CSF水平升高，加重电离辐射引起的小鼠造血干细胞损伤和外周血成熟血细胞的减少，导致致死剂量照射小鼠存活时间缩短、存活率明显下降.

Climatic gradients such as latitude and elevation are considered primary drivers of global biogeography. Yet, alongside these macro-gradients, the vertical space and structure generated by terrestrial plants form comparable climatic gradients but at a fraction of the distance. These vertical gradients provide a spectrum of ecological space for species to occur and co-exist, increasing biodiversity. Further, vertical gradients can serve as pathways for evolutionary adaptation of species traits, leading to a range of ecological specialisations. In this review, we explore the ecological evidence supporting the proposition that the vertical gradient serves as an engine driving the ecology and evolution of species and shaping larger biogeographic patterns in space and time akin to elevation and latitude. Focusing on vertebrate and invertebrate taxa, we synthesised how ecological patterns within the vertical dimension shape species composition, distribution, and biotic interactions. We identify three key ecological mechanisms associated with species traits that facilitate persistence within the vertical environment and draw on empirical examples from the literature to explore these processes. Looking forward, we propose that the vertical dimension provides an excellent study template to explore timely ecological and evolutionary questions. We encourage future research to also consider how the vertical dimension will influence the resilience and response of animal taxa to global change.

Subject: Perioperative regulation of coagulation function through heparin in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass is an important part of performing cardiac surgery, and postoperative bleeding due to abnormal coagulation function caused by differences in heparin sensitivity in different individuals is an independent risk factor for postoperative complications and death.Method: Using an online database, 10 miRNAs interacting with AT-III and FX genes were predicted. Patients were divided into three groups according to the difference in activated clotting time (ACT) after the first dose of heparin (2.5 mg kg−1): group A: hyposensitive group (ACT < 480 s); group B: sensitive group (480 s ≤ ACT ≤ 760 s); and group C: hypersensitive group (ACT > 760 s). Perioperative and 24 h postoperative blood loss and other clinical data of patients in the three groups were recorded. Blood samples were collected before surgery, and RT-PCR was used to detect the levels of AT-III and FX gene mRNA and the levels of predicted 10 miRNAs.Result: Heparin sensitivity was positively correlated with AT-III mRNA levels and negatively correlated with FX gene mRNA levels in the three groups, and the blood loss in group B was significantly lower than that in groups A and C, which was statistically significant (p < 0.05). miR-3064-5p and miR-4745-5p expression levels were significantly different among group A, group B, and group C (p < 0.05) and were closely correlated with AT-III and FX gene mRNA expression levels, respectively.Conclusion: Differences in heparin sensitivity in patients undergoing cardiac surgery were associated with the mRNA expression of AT-III and FX genes, and the expression levels of miR-3064-5p and miR-4745-5p were found to be closely related to the AT-III and FX gene mRNA, respectively, indicating that miR-3064-5p and miR-4745-5p affect the differences in heparin sensitivity among different individuals by regulating the mRNA expression levels of AT-III and FX genes.Clinical Trial Registration:http://www.chictr.org.cn/abouten.aspx, identifier registration number: ChiCTR-2100047348

We present a reanalysis of the study by Warne et al. (2020), where authors reported substantial changes through time in a cloud forest ant assemblage in response to climate change after a decade. We show that these changes are due to major differences between the sampling periods in terms of sampling methods and effort. We stress the need for a fully standardized methodology to distinguish true climate change effects on communities from sampling bias.

The learning analytics dashboard (LAD) has been recognised as a useful tool to facilitate teachers’ diagnosis and intervention in collaborative learning. However, little empirical evidence has been...

In this study, air and H2 feed systems optimization for open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) has been evaluated. For air feed system, a spoiler was introduced. The air velocity distribution, polarization curve, single-cell voltage distribution, and temperature distribution of the 11-cell open-cathode fuel cell stack with blowing, blowing-spoiler, and drawing air feed system were assessed. On this basis, the influences of the distance between the fan and stack with different air feed systems were investigated. The results show that the application of the spoiler could solve the problem of low air velocity in the middle of the stack and increase stack performance by 7.3%. And drawing air feed system could enhance the heat dissipation capacity of the stack and the uniformity of temperature distribution, resulting in the 7.9% stack performance increase. Optimization of the distance between the fan and stack enhances the full development of turbulence and the rate of heat transfer. In addition, the effects of four different H2 feed systems and the flow direction between air and hydrogen on the fuel cell performance were also investigated. It is beneficial for open-cathode PEMFC to be operated with the location of the H2 inlet and outlet staggered in two different endplates for better stack performance and single-cell voltage uniformity. Evidence also shows that the higher performance also could be obtained when the flow direction of air and hydrogen is vertical with lower ohmic resistance, charge and mass transfer resistance. The study contributes to the design of the open-cathode fuel cell stack to get better performance and reliability.

The calcium-looping process based on the reversible carbonation/calcination of CaO is an advantageous candidate for thermochemical energy storage (TCES) in concentrated solar power plants. High vol...

Low-temperature and weak-light conditions have major effects on the growth and flower quality of horticultural plants. A greenhouse pot experiment was performed to investigate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (Funneliformis mosseae and Glomus versiforme) on the growth, photosynthesis, and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) under low-temperature and weak-light stress. The growth and biomass of snapdragon were higher following inoculation with F. mosseae and G. versiforme compared with control plants. The percentage of mycorrhizal colonization and root activity were high in A. majus plants with AMF. AMF inoculation enhanced the net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency of plants under low-temperature and weak-light conditions. Furthermore, the chlorophyll content, potential activity of photosystem II (PSII), effective photochemistry quantum efficiency of PSII, actual photochemical quantum efficiency of PSII, and photochemical quenching coefficient were higher in AMF-inoculated plants than in uninoculated plants. The application of AMF reduced the intercellular CO2 concentration and non-photochemical quenching coefficient. Thus, snapdragon plants treated with F. mosseae and G. versiforme are more resistant to low-temperature and weak-light stress than untreated plants.

In this paper, a hybrid fuel cell system integrated with methanol steam reformer and methanation reactor is demonstrated. Methanol steam reformer employed in this system is to produce hydrogen-rich reformate in connection with a methanation reactor to reduce the carbon monoxide content effectively, and the reformate gas is sent into a low-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell for direct electric power generation. The optimum conditions (temperature, water to methanol ratio, and space velocity) for methanol steam reforming (MSR) reaction and methanation (MET) reaction are verified by experiments. A comparison between pure hydrogen, reformate surrogate, and actual reformate is performed. The results show that the power density of this hybrid system achieves 245.2 mW/cm2 while it achieves 268.8 mW/cm2 when employing pure hydrogen as the fuel. An alternative novel method to solve the problem of hydrogen storage and transportation is provided and the in-situ hydrogen production and utilizing through low-temperature fuel cell system is realized, which is helpful to accelerate the commercialization process of the fuel cell.

Air-cooled open-cathode LTPEMFC (AO-LTPEMFC) has been developed as a new power source for the portable power supply. The effect of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) on AO-LTPEMFC operation in challenging ambient air conditions was investigated in the present study. The effect of the content of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on the substrate layer and microporous layer (MPL), the thickness of GDL and the pulse width modulation (PWM) of the fan on cell performance as well as the cathode outlet surface temperature distribution were investigated. The polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and dynamic voltage test were used to correlate the structural characteristics of GDL with heat dissipation, oxygen transport and water management in AO-LTPEMFC. The results showed that GDL with appropriate PTFE content in the substrate layer and MPL could significantly optimize cell performance. In addition, the thickness of GDL also had a certain impact on the mass and heat transfer of the fuel cell, while the water management in GDL was affected by PWM of the fan, simultaneously. Combined with the practice process, the optimum values of the substrate layer PTFE content, MPL layer PTFE content and thickness of GDL were identified to be 10%, 40%, and 200 μm, respectively.

Abiotic and biotic factors structure species assembly in ecosystems both horizontally and vertically. However, the way community composition changes along comparable horizontal and vertical distances in complex three-dimensional habitats, and the factors driving these patterns, remain poorly understood. By sampling ant assemblages at comparable vertical and horizontal spatial scales in a tropical rain forest, we compared observed patterns with those predicted according to environmental filtering by microclimate and microhabitat structure. We found that although dissimilarity between ant assemblages increased with vertical distance, the dissimilarity was higher horizontally but was independent of distance. The pronounced horizontal and vertical structuring of ant assemblages across short distances is likely explained by a combination of microclimate and microhabitat connectivity. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering three-dimensional spatial variation in local assemblages and reveal how highly diverse communities can be supported by complex habitats.

Differentiation therapies with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) have been successful in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia, a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, their efficacy is limited in the case of other AML subtypes. Here, we show that the combination of ATRA with salt-inducible kinase (SIK) inhibition significantly enhances ATRA-mediated AML differentiation. SIK inhibition augmented the ability of ATRA to induce growth inhibition and G1 cell cycle arrest of AML cells. Moreover, combining ATRA and SIK inhibition synergistically activated the Akt signaling pathway but not the MAPK pathway. Pharmacological blockade of Akt activity suppressed the combination-induced differentiation, indicating an essential role for Akt in the action of the combination treatment. Taken together, our study reveals a novel role for SIK in the regulation of ATRA-mediated AML differentiation, implicating the combination of ATRA and SIK inhibition as a promising approach for future differentiation therapy.

Luminescent thermochromic materials with a dramatic shift of emission band under different temperatures are highly desirable in temperature sensing fields. However, the design of the synthesis of such compounds remains a great challenge. In this work, two new luminescent thermochromic silver iodides, (emIm)Ag3I4 (1) and (emIm)Ag2I3 (2) (emIm = 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazole), have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions. Compound 1 features a [Ag3I4]- anionic layer, while compound 2 possesses an infinite [Ag2I3]- chain structure, both of which are charge balanced by emIm+ cations. Particularly, they display luminescent thermochromism with a significant wavelength shift of emission maximum with temperature change. They represent rare examples of infinite layered or chain silver iodides that show luminescent thermochromism. Furthermore, the results indicate that compounds 1 and 2 are promising wavelength-dependent luminescent thermometers.

Respiratory tract diseases are closely related to atmosphere pollution. Ammonia is one of the harmful pollutants in the atmosphere environment, which has a great threat to human and animal respiratory tract health, but the mechanism of causing diseases is not clear. In this study, broiler lung tissue was used as a model to study the effect of high ammonia on respiratory tract diseases through the relationship between respiratory microflora, NLRP3 inflammasome, and inflammatory factors. For this, we validated the occurrence of lung tissue inflammation under ammonia exposure and detected the lung tissue microbial constituent by 16S rDNA sequencing. Moreover, the relative expression levels of NLRP3 and caspase-1 mRNA and the content of IL-1β and IL-6 were measured. After 7-D ammonia exposure, the proportion of the phylum Proteobacteria and the genus Escherichia/Shigella in lung tissue was significantly increased, the expression levels of NLRP3 and caspase-1 mRNA were significantly increased, and the content of IL-1β in lung tissue and serum was higher than that in the control group. In conclusion, high ammonia induced lung tissue inflammation via increasing the proportion of Escherichia/Shigella, activating NLRP3 inflammasome, and promoting IL-1β release. These findings provided a reference for the prevention and control of respiratory tract diseases in humans and animals caused by ammonia pollution.

The end-plate structure design of air-cooled open-cathode low temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (AO-LTPEMFC) has significant effects on the performance and mass control of stack. In this work, different screws distribution, clamping forces on end-plate and thicknesses of end-plate were investigated by evaluating the indentation and cell performance in experiments, the carbon paper was used to qualitative analysis the contact pressure distribution over membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Because the materials of end-plate have the different properties, which subject to a different deformation, an optimal compression ratio which is about 75% was obtained on the GDL as a function of the clamping force and thickness of end-plate. After that, an optimal end-plate structure was designed and verified to be a function of the mechanical properties of materials. On the whole, the thinner the end-plate, the greater the torque moment, and the value linearly prevents correlating the density of the material. The results reveal that optimizing parameters leads to design end-plate with proper performance.

Air-cooled open-cathode low temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (AO-LTPEMFC) with low weight, small volume and compact system has become the new potential power source in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). However, the desirable parameters of the cathode channel are a very important factor to influence the cell performance and the compact of the stack, which have the higher requirements put forward to the structural designs of the cathode channel of AO-LTPEMFC. Thus, some single AO-LTPEMFC fabricated with different width:0.9–1.5 mm, depth:1.1–1.5 mm, ratio (width/landing):1:0.7–1:1.3 and bending:0–10° of the cathode channel was investigated to optimize the cell performance and temperature distribution in the 2 mm plate and determine desirable design parameters. The results show that the different design parameters of the cathode channel affect the contact resistance, oxygen mass transfer of cathode and pressure drop in air flow. For AO-LTPEMFC, to keep the best performance, the cathode channel design parameters should be operated at appropriate width, as deep as possible, small ratio and bending. Through the comparison of various designs, combined with practice process, the optimum design size with width (1.1 mm) × depth (1.3 mm) × width/landing (1:0.7) × bending angel (θ) (5°) was obtained based on the 2 mm thickness of the bipolar plate, which could get the maximum performance and improve the compactness of system. Moreover, analysis in this study will provide a new guideline for the development of cathode flow field plate design in application.

The anode-operating parameters are significantly important to enhance the performance of an air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell (AO-PEMFC) under natural conditions. To determine desirable...

This study investigated the effects of ammonia (NH3) exposure (0, 15, 25, and 35 ppm) on growth performance and cytokines in the serum, trachea, and ileum of broilers. A total of 288 22-day-old male broiler chickens were assigned to 4 treatment groups with 6 replicates of 12 chickens for a 21-D trial period. Growth performance and cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10) concentrations in the serum, trachea, and ileum were measured in response to 3, 7, 14, or 21 D of exposure to NH3. Correlations between cytokines in the serum, trachea, and ileum and growth performance, and between tracheal and ileal cytokines, were also analyzed. Results showed that exposure to 15 ppm NH3 did not influence the growth performance, but exposure to both 25 ppm and 35 ppm NH3 decreased the growth performance compared to that of the control group. Exposure to 15 ppm NH3 for 3 D increased IL-6 concentrations and induced an inflammatory response in the trachea and ileum, whereas exposure to 15 ppm NH3 for 7 D increased IL-10 concentrations and induced an anti-inflammatory response in the ileum. Exposure to 25 ppm NH3 induced an inflammatory response in the serum, trachea, and ileum after 3 D and induced an anti-inflammatory response in the ileum after 7 D. Exposure to 35 ppm NH3 for 3 D induced both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses in the trachea and ileum. Furthermore, increases in cytokines in the serum, trachea, or ileum were accompanied by a decrease in BW, ADFI, ADG, and an increase of feed/gain (F/G) from 7 D to 21 D. In addition, tracheal cytokine, especially IL-1β, was positively correlated with ileal cytokine IL-1β. These results indicated that the low growth performance associated with NH3 exposure may be due in part to an increase in cytokines, and the inflammatory response in the trachea and ileum may be related to cross-talk by cytokines such as IL-6, IL-10, and, in particular, IL-1β.

This work presents the H2 production from methanol steam reforming (MSR) process by thermodynamic equilibrium analysis using the Gibbs free energy minimization method and multi-factor coupling method. To determine desirable procedure parameters with maximum methanol conversion and H2 content and minimum CO content, the impacts of the temperature: 100–400 °C, steam-to-methanol (S/C) molar ratio: 1.0–3.0, and pressure: 0.5–3.0 atm were investigated. The dominant factor under the action of multiple factors and the specific influence of each factor on the MSR process were verified, simultaneously. For proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), to keep the CO content of the reformate within a desired range, and under the premise of complete methanol conversion, the MSR process can be operated at lower temperature, higher S/C ratio and atmospheric pressure. Combined with practice process, the optimum values of the temperature, S/C ratio and pressure to produce reformate were identified to be 200–300 °C,1.6–2.0 and 1.0 atm, respectively.

High-temperature electrostatic capacitors are in urgent demand owing to the rapid development of advanced power electronic applications. However, obtaining polymer films with excellent discharge energy density and efficiency is still a huge challenge under harsh environmental conditions. Here, novel Ag nanodot/polyimide (Ag-ND/PI) nanocomposite films are designed and prepared through an in situ method. The energy storage capability and thermal stability of the PI matrix are significantly improved via loading a small amount of Ag-NDs, owing to the Coulomb-blockade effect and high thermal conductivity. Particularly, a high discharge energy density (Ud) of 5.16 J cm−3 at 600 MV m−1 is achieved for nanocomposite films with an ultralow filler content of 0.1 vol% Ag-NDs at room temperature, which is 260% higher than that of the pristine PI (2.02 J cm−3 at 450 MV m−1). Concurrently, the corresponding nanocomposite films exhibit an excellent high-temperature Ud of 2.56 J cm−3, together with efficiency exceeding 80% at a temperature of 150 °C at 400 MV m−1. Therefore, this research unveils a new method towards high-performance polymer capacitors for high-temperature applications.

The development of lead-free bulk ceramics with high recoverable energy density (Wrec) and high efficiency plays a major role in meeting the requirements for miniaturization and integration of advanced pulsed power capacitors. In this study, composition-dependent phase structures and ferroelectric properties of lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramics (1 − x)(0.84Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–0.16K0.5Bi0.5TiO3)–x(Bi0.2Sr0.7TiO3) [(1 − x)(BNT–KBT)–xSBT, x = 0–0.45] are investigated. The introduction of SBT into the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) BNT–BKT system constructs the relaxor ferroelectrics according to the order–disorder theory, leading to an improved energy storage performance. Results show that an ultrahigh recoverable energy density of 4.06 J cm−3 and a high energy-storage efficiency of 87.3% under an electric field of 350 kV cm−1 are achieved concomitantly, together with a superior high temperature stability (30–160 °C) and strong fatigue endurance (104 cycles). In particular, the corresponding ceramic exhibits an ultrafast discharge rate (τ0.9 = 127 ns) and a high level of discharge energy density (Udis = 1.29 J cm−3). Our study provides the groundwork for an effective way to design high-performance ceramics for application in next generation energy storage capacitors.

Stocking density is an important environment factor that affects the development of poultry farming, which has caused widespread concern. This study was carried out to determine the effects of stocking density on growth performance, growth regulatory factors, and endocrine hormones in broilers under appropriate environments. A total of 144 Arbor Acres male broilers (BW 1000 ± 70 g) were randomly divided into low stocking density (LSD; 6.25 birds/m2), medium stocking density (MSD; 12.50 birds/m2), and high stocking density (HSD; 18.75 birds/m2) groups, with 6 replicates in each group, and raised in 3 environmental chambers (same size) from 29-day-old to 42-day-old, respectively. The trial period lasted for 14 D with 21 ± 1°C and 60 ± 7% relative humidity, wind speed0.5 m/s, ammonia level5 ppm. The results indicated that average daily food intake and average daily gain in HSD group showed significantly lower than other 2 groups (P0.05). Besides, the HSD group significantly reduced breast muscle yield, tibial length, tibial width, and tibial weight of broilers (P0.05). The HSD group increased the mRNA expression level of myostatin, and reduced the mRNA expression levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and myogenic determination factor 1 (P0.05). The HSD group significantly reduced the expression of parathyroid hormone-related protein in tibial growth plate (P0.05). The HSD group increased the serum corticosterone levels of broilers (P0.05), and decreased the serum IGF-1 and thyroxine (T4) levels of broiler chickens (P0.05) than other stocking density groups. Moreover, the serum alkaline phosphatase levels were decreased (P0.05) with increasing stocking density, whereas there were no significant effects on the serum 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations in 3 groups (P0.05). In conclusion, under appropriate environments HSD reduced the growth performance of broilers and this negative effect was likely associated with decreased growth of muscle and bone.

Pangolins have recently received significant media attention globally as the trade for their scales and meat is driving many species closer to extinction. As a result of this, there have been increased legal regulations placed on pangolin trade in recent years. The suggestion that pangolins may have been involved in the transmission of COVID-19 further brought the issues of pangolin consumption to the fore in 2020. However, we have little understanding of the attitudes of the general public towards pangolin consumption pre- or post the outbreak of COVID-19. We conducted surveys in Hong Kong, a critical transit hub in the trafficking routes for pangolins, in 2015 (n = 1037) and 2020 (n = 1028) to determine general attitudes towards pangolin consumption in the city, and whether these attitudes changed since the onset of COVID-19. We found low reported rates of pangolin consumption (1% of respondents) in both surveys, and most of the respondents who professed to eating pangolins were aged above 50. Perceptions of how trends in pangolin consumption are changing were consistent between 2015 and 2020, with 55% of the public in 2015 and 57% in 2020 believing that consumption has declined over time. In 2020, respondents cited conservation (endangered status of pangolins) and health concerns (risk of disease transmission) as the two primary reasons (50%) for declining attitudes toward consumption. Overall, COVID-19 does not, specifically, appear to be associated with changed perceptions of pangolin consumption in Hong Kong: 75% of respondents stated that there is no relationship between pangolins and COVID-19, or were unsure about any such connection. Only 1% mentioned an awareness of the illegality of pangolin consumption as a reason for not consuming them. As such, our results challenge simple narratives regarding the impact of COVID-19 on pangolin consumption. We suggest that future demand reduction efforts could emphasize the conservation impact and health risks of consuming pangolins, and specifically focus on the older generations. As pangolins continue to be trafficked and threatened with extinction, further research into the perceptions and attitudes of consumers of these products is needed to inform targeted and effective interventions.

To identify the key genes associated with the pathogenesis of PCa using the bioinformatics approach for a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of PCa.The microarray datasets GSE70770, GSE32571 and GSE46602 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and differentially expressed genes (DEG) in the normal prostate tissue and PCa were identified with the GEO2R tool, followed by functional enrichment analysis. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was constructed by STRING and visualized with the Cytoscape software.A total of 235 DEGs were identified, including 61 up-regulated and 174 down-regulated genes, which were mainly enriched in focal adhesion kinase (FAK), ECM-receptor interaction, and other signaling pathways. From the PPI network were screened out 12 highly connected hub genes, including MYH11, TPM1, TPM2, SMTN, MYL9, VCL, ACTG1, CNN1, CALD1, ACTC1, MYLK and SORBS1, which were shown by hierarchical cluster analysis to be capable of distinguishing prostate cancer from non-cancer tissue.A total of 235 DEGs and 12 hub genes were identified in this study, which may contribute to a further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the development and progression of PCa, and provide new candidate targets for the diagnosis and treatment of the malignancy.

Abiotic and biotic factors structure species assembly in ecosystems both horizontally and vertically. However, the way community composition changes along comparable horizontal and vertical distances in complex three-dimensional habitats, and the factors driving these patterns, remain poorly understood. By sampling ant assemblages at comparable vertical and horizontal spatial scales in a tropical rain forest, we compared observed patterns with those predicted according to decreased resource availability in the upper canopy, environmental filtering by microclimate and microhabitat structure, presence of competition in the form of ant mosaics, and structural connectivity. We found although dissimilarity between ant assemblages increased with vertical distance, the dissimilarity was higher horizontally but was independent of distance in this dimension. Moreover, there was not a more rapid increase in horizontal distance-dissimilarity at greater heights in the canopy, as would be predicted if large competitive ant colonies drove these patterns. The pronounced horizontal and vertical structuring of ant assemblages across short distances is likely explained by a combination of microclimate and microhabitat connectivity. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering three-dimensional spatial variation in local assemblages and reveal how highly diverse communities can be supported by complex habitats.

Dirac semimetal PdTe2 single-crystal temperature-dependent ultrafast carrier and phonon dynamics were studied using ultrafast optical pump-probe spectroscopy. Quantitative analysis revealed a fast relaxation process (τf) occurring at a subpicosecond time scale originating from electron–phonon thermalization. This rapid relaxation was followed by a slower relaxation process (τs) on a time scale of ∼ 7-9.5 ps which originated from phonon-assisted electron–hole recombination. Two significant vibrational modes resolved at all measured temperatures. These modes corresponded to in-plane (Eg), and out-of-plane (A1g), Te atoms motion. Test results suggested that pure dephasing played an important role in the relaxation processes. Analysis of the electron–phonon coupling constant suggested that the A1gmode contributes greatly to the superconductivity, and high-frequency phonons are also involved forming of Cooper pairs. Our observations should improve the understanding of complex superconductivity of PdTe2.

To establish a leukemia mouse model induced by transplantation of hematopoietic cells from mixed lineage leukemia (MLL)-AF9 transgenic mice so as to provide the basis for the mechanism research and drug screening of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).MLL-AF9 knock-in mice were bred and identified. When the mice developed leukemia, white blood cell (WBC) count in peripheral blood, flow cytometry and morphology method were analyzed to identify the disease. When the WBC count in peripheral blood was more than 100×10The natural onset times of leukemia on MLL-AF9 knock-in mice were 22-28 weeks. The spleens of the transgenic mice enlarged and the bone marrow showed the immature forms of myeloid leukemia cells. Both the bone marrow and spleen cells highly expressed myeloid markers, CD11b and Gr-1. At least 0.5×10The leukemia model of hematopoietic cell transplantation based on MLL-AF9 transgenic mice is successfully established, which can be used for the study of the pathogenesis and evaluation of therapeutic effect of AML.采用MLL-AF9转基因小鼠造血细胞移植的方法建立白血病小鼠模型.采用混合谱系白血病（MLL）-AF9转基因小鼠造血细胞移植的方法建立白血病小鼠模型，为急性髓系白血病的机制研究和治疗药物筛选提供基础。.繁育和鉴定MLL-AF9转基因小鼠，当小鼠自然发病后，经外周血白细胞计数检测、流式细胞术和形态学方法鉴定。待外周血白细胞数100×10本实验繁育的MLL-AF9转基因小鼠的自然发病时间为22-28周，发病后的转基因小鼠脾脏增大，骨髓呈髓系白血病细胞的幼稚形态，骨髓和脾细胞均高表达CD11b和Gr-1髓系标志。最低0.5×10成功建立基于MLL-AF9转基因小鼠造血细胞移植的小鼠白血病发病模型，有望用于MLL相关白血病的发病机制研究和疗效评价。.

Investigating ecological networks can help us to understand how ecosystems respond to environmental changes. The increasing number of ecological network studies has facilitated the emergence of a body of meta-analyses that aims to generalize geographical patterns of ecological interactions. Here we summarize the status, potential shortcomings, and challenges in meta-analyses of ecological networks. We emphasize the importance of this approach and how it can be developed in the future. This ongoing ecological network meta-analytical approach will continue to generate important insights into existing patterns in global ecological networks and enhance our knowledge of future global change impacts on ecosystems.

The structure and dynamics of ecological interactions are nowadays recognized as a crucial challenge to comprehend the assembly, functioning and maintenance of ecological communities, their processes and the services they provide. Nevertheless, while standards and databases for information on species occurrences, traits and phylogenies have been established, interaction networks have lagged behind on the development of these standards. Here, we discuss the challenges and our experiences in developing a global database of bipartite interaction networks. LifeWebs*1 is an effort to compile community-level interaction networks from both published and unpublished sources. We focus on bipartite networks that comprise one specific type of interaction between two groups of species (e.g., plants and herbivores, hosts and parasites, mammals and their microbiota), which are usually presented in a co-occurrence matrix format. However, with LifeWebs, we attempt to go beyond simple matrices by integrating relevant metadata from the studies, especially sampling effort, explicit species information (traits and taxonomy/phylogeny), and environmental/geographic information on the communities. Specifically, we explore 1) the unique aspects of community-level interaction networks when compared to data on single inter-specific interactions, occurrence data, and other biodiversity data and how to integrate these different data types. 2) The trade-off between user friendliness in data input/output vs. machine-readable formats, especially important when data contributors need to provide large amounts of data usually compiled in a non-machine-readable format. 3) How to have a single framework that is general enough to include disparate interaction types while retaining all the meaningful information. We envision LifeWebs to be in a good position to test a general standard for interaction network data, with a large variety of already compiled networks that encompass different types of interactions. We provide a framework for integration with other types of data, and formalization of the data necessary to represent networks into established biodiversity standards.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of increasing stocking density under suitable environmental conditions on the performance and ileal microbiota of broilers. A total of 108 Arbor Acres male broilers (28 days old) were allocated to a normal stocking density (NSD, normal stocking density; 31 kg/m