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Cancer immunotherapies are preferred over conventional treatments which are highly cytotoxic to normal cells. Focus has been on T cells but natural killer (NK) cells have equal potential. Concepts in cancer control and influence of sex require further investigation to improve successful mobilization of immune cells in cancer patients. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a hematological malignancy mainly of B cell (B-ALL) and T cell (T-ALL) subtypes. Influence of ALL on NK cell is still unclear. Targeted next-generation sequencing was conducted on 62 activating/inhibitory receptors, ligands, effector, and exhaustion molecules on T-ALL (6 males) and normal controls (NC) (4 males and 4 females). Quantitative PCR (q-PCR) further investigated copy number variation (CNV), methylation index (MI), and mRNA expression of significant genes in T-ALL (14 males), NC (12 males and 12 females), and B-ALL samples (N=12 males and 12 females). Bioinformatics revealed unique variants particularly rs2253849 (T>C) in KLRC1 and rs1141715 (A>G) in KLRC2 only among T-ALL (allele frequency 0.8-1.0). Gene amplification was highest in female B-ALL compared to male B-ALL (KLRC2, KLRC4, and NCR3, p

The pathogenesis of myopia is driven by genetic and environmental risk factors. Accommodation not only alters the curvature and shape of the lens but also involves contraction of the ciliary and extraocular muscles, which influences intraocular pressure (IOP). Scleral matrix remodeling has been shown to contribute to the biomechanical susceptibility of the sclera to accommodation-induced IOP fluctuations, resulting in reduced scleral thickness, axial length (AL) elongation, and axial myopia. The rise in IOP can increase the burden of scleral stretching and cause axial lengthening. Although the accommodation and IOP hypotheses were proposed long ago, they have not been validated. This review provides a brief and updated overview on studies investigating the potential role of accommodation and IOP in myopia progression.

Acute inflammation often contributes to the increased arrhythmogenesis in the cardiomyocytes. We investigated the protective effects of pravastatin on calcium disorders induced by acute administration of pro-inflammatory cytokines in isolated ventricular myocytes and its underlying mechanisms. Wild-type mice were intraperitoneally injected for five days with either pravastatin 20 mg/kg per day or an equal volume of normal saline. Cytosol Ca2+ handling was studied in freshly isolated ventricular myocytes after acute exposure of interleukin-6 (IL-6) (1 ng/ml) for 120 min by Ionoptix and confocal microscopy. Acute administration of clinically relevant concentrations of IL-6 disturbed calcium handling in ventricular myocytes, which presented as decreased amplitudes, prolonged decay times of Ca2+ transients, and reduced sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium stores. The frequency of spontaneous Ca2+ release, including calcium sparks and spontaneous calcium waves, was dramatically enhanced in the setting of IL-6. Notably, the pretreatment of pravastatin alleviated disturbed Ca2+ cycling, reduced spontaneous Ca2+ leakage induced by IL-6. Mitochondrial ROS pathway may constitute the underlying mechanism of the protective effects of pravastatin. Pravastatin protected the cardiomyocytes against calcium disorders induced by IL-6 via the mitochondrial ROS pathway, which suggests that pravastatin may represent a promising auxiliary therapeutic strategy for cardiac injury under acute inflammation.

Drug resistance, including adriamycin (ADR)-based therapeutic resistance, is a crucial cause of chemotherapy failure in breast cancer treatment. Acquired chemoresistance has been identified to be closely associated with the overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp/ABCB1). Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5) can be involved in carcinogenesis; however, its roles in ABCB1-mediated ADR resistance are poorly understood. In this study, we identified a panel of differentially expressed lncRNAs, mRNAs, and microRNAs (miRNAs) in MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cell lines through RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technologies. GAS5 level was downregulated whereas ABCB1 level was upregulated in the resistant breast cancer tissues and cells. Overexpression of GAS5 significantly enhanced the ADR sensitivity and apoptosis, and it inhibited the efflux function and expression of ABCB1 in vitro, while knockdown of GAS5 had the opposite effects. Further mechanism-related investigations indicated that GAS5 acted as an endogenous “sponge” by competing for miR-221-3p binding to regulate its target dickkopf 2 (DKK2), and then it inhibited the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Functionally, GAS5 enhanced the anti-tumor effect of ADR in vivo. Collectively, our findings reveal that GAS5 exerted regulatory function in ADR resistance possibly through the miR-221-3p/DKK2 axis, providing a novel approach to develop promising therapeutic strategy for overcoming chemoresistance in breast cancer patients. Keywords: lncRNA GAS5, miR-221-3p, ABCB1, drug resistance, breast cancer

Recently, cellular networks face a huge challenge to satisfy large increment of user demands for higher-speed and lower-latency communication service. One promising solution is to apply the cache technology in edge cache networks to reduce redundant data transmission. The cache technology is effective, but the cache capacity is limited. Researchers have proposed various cache strategies to efficiently utilize the limited cache capacity. However, most existing solutions have not taken into account the service capacity limitation of mobile devices. In this paper, we propose a cache replacement strategy for heterogeneous networks considering the limitation of service capacity and user mobility. In the cache replacement strategy, we utilize the user characteristics, such as user mobility and file popularity, to estimate the user demands, and then define the system cost. We formulate the cache strategy design as a mixed integer linear programming problem to minimize the system cost, and use Lagrangian relaxation and hierarchical primal-dual decomposition method to solve this problem. Numerical results show that the proposed cache strategy can significantly reduce the system cost and increase the cache hit ratio compared to the cache strategy that does not consider the limitation of user service capacity.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a kind of lung disease with acute dyspnea, pulmonary inflammation, respiratory distress, and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, accompanied by the mid- and end-stage characteristics of COVID-19, clinically. It is imperative to find non-toxic natural substances on preventing ALI and its complications. The animal experiments demonstrated that Lentinus edodes polysaccharides (PLE) had a potential role in alleviating ALI by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation, which was manifested by reducing the levels of serum lung injury indicators (C3, hs-CRP, and GGT), reducing the levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), and increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT) in the lung. Furthermore, PLE had the typical characteristics of pyran-type linked by β-type glycosidic linkages. The conclusions indicated that PLE could be used as functional foods and natural drugs in preventing ALI.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma represents 90% of all oral cancers. Recurrence prevention remains an important prognostic factor in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma, and the recovery of the oral epithelium post-surgery is still a challenge. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a smart carrier material to realize the spatiotemporally controlled release of anticancer drugs, instead of multiple oral administrations, for recurrence prevention and promoting the reconstruction of injured epithelial tissues. Here, we developed a multi-layered nanofiber patch capable of the photothermal-triggered release of low-molecular-weight fucoidan (LMWF) from the sandwiched layer, together with electrospun fibers as the backing and top layers. The sandwiched layer was made of phase-change materials loaded with indocyanine green, a photosensitive dye, for the localized release of LMWF in response to near-infrared irradiation. We showed that the on-demand release of LMWF was able to kill oral cancer cells effectively. Furthermore, adding acellular dermal matrix to the top nanofiber layer improved the proliferation of human oral keratinocytes, while the hydrophobic back layer served as a barrier to prevent loss of the drug. Taken together, this study provides a feasible and smart material system for killing oral squamous cancer cells together with the recovery of oral epithelium.

Tissue engineering is a promising method that may be used to treat spinal cord injury (SCI). The underlying repair mechanism of tissue engineering involves the stable secretion of neurotrophins from seed cells, which eventually differentiate into neurons; therefore, the selection of appropriate seed cells, which stably secrete neurotrophins that easily differentiate into neurons requires investigation. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), which are adult SCs, are advantageous due to convenience sampling and easy expansion; therefore, ADSCs are currently the most popular type of seed cell. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) possess superior properties, when compared with other neurotrophic factors, in the maintenance of neuronal survival and promotion of SC differentiation into neurons. The present study used two lentiviruses, which specifically express BDNF and NT-3 [Lenti-BDNF-green fluorescent protein (GFP), Lenti-NT-3-red fluorescent protein (RFP)], to transfect third-generation ADSCs. Three types of seed cell were obtained: i) Seed cells overexpressing BDNF (ADSC/Lenti-BDNF-GFP); ii) seed cells overexpressing NT-3 (ADSC/Lenti-NT-3-RFP); and iii) seed cells overexpressing BDNF and NT-3 (ADSC/Lenti-BDNF-GFP and NT-3-RFP). The transfected cells were then induced to differentiate into neurons and were divided into a further four groups: i) The BDNF and NT-3 co-overexpression group; ii) the BDNF overexpression group; iii) the NT-3 overexpression group; and iv) the control group, which consisted of untransfected ADSCs. The results of the present study demonstrate that BDNF and NT-3 expression was higher 10 days after induction, as detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. Neuron-specific enolase is a neuronal marker, the expression of which was highest in the BDNF and NT-3 co-overexpression group, followed by the BDNF overexpression group and then by the NT-3 overexpression group. The lowest expression levels of NSE were detected in the control group, as determined by RT-qPCR, western blotting and immunofluorescent staining. These results indicate that BDNF and NT-3 exert a synergistic effect, which may promote the neuronal differentiation of ADSCs. The present study provides a solid theoretical foundation for future experiments regarding the use of tissue engineering technology for the treatment of SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density-dependent fecundity is important for the successful recruitment and reproduction of plant populations, especially for plants inhabiting saltmarshes with highly varied environmental gradients. The highest fecundity of plants at intermediate densities is usually correlated with high pollinator visitation rates mediated by floral displays of medium density. However, little data explains the mechanism that floral traits and pollinator visitation optimize at intermediate densities. Here, we investigated how the density of Tamarix chinensis (in the Yellow River Delta) influence soil conditions, floral traits, pollinator visitation rates, and plant fecundity in environments with different soil salinity and moisture. At all sites, soil moisture and floral traits (number and length of racemes, amounts of floral volatiles) increased parabolically with increasing density, whereas soil salinity declined. Soil conditions and floral traits of T. chinensis were optimal at intermediate plant densities, which, in turn, maximized pollinator visitation and seed set. Reduced fecundity at plant densities that were higher than optimal was related with higher soil salinity, shorter raceme length, and lower amounts of floral volatiles in T. chinensis. Regular freshwater restoration showed a positive impact on pollinator visitation and fecundity of T. chinensis. Consequently, positive plant-soil feedback enhanced floral traits and pollinator visitation, which are related with the optimal fecundity of T. chinensis at intermediate densities. Thus, the density of T. chinensis should be managed in restoration projects of the T. chinensis population through artificial transplantation. The transplanting density of T. chinensis should be strictly controlled in harsh environment, while this requirement could be relaxed in mild conditions.

Abstract Background Glioma is a common brain tumor with a high mortality rate. A small population of cells expressing stem-like cell markers in glioma contributes to drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Methods Porous silicon nanoparticles (PSi NPs) as photothermal therapy (PTT) agents loaded with TMZ (TMZ/PSi NPs), was combined with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in vitro and in vivo. To further investigate underlying mechanism, we detected the expression of stem-like cell markers and hypoxia related molecules in vitro and in vivo after treatment of TMZ/PSi NPs in combination with PTT and HBO. Results NCH-421K and C6 cells were more sensitive to the combination treatment. Moreover, the expression of stem-like cell markers and hypoxia related molecules were decreased after combination treatment. The in vivo results were in line with in vitro. The combination treatment presents significant antitumor effects in mice bearing C6 tumor compared with the treatment of TMZ, PTT or TMZ/PSi NPs only. Conclusion These results suggested the TMZ/PSi NPs combined with HBO and PTT could be a potential therapeutic strategy for glioma.

Abstract Silicon carbide (SiC) can be tribo-chemically smoothened during a self-mated sliding procedure in the aqueous environment. As well reported in the point-contact tests, this smoothening process works well due to the abundant water as oxidant. After this smoothening process, the tribo-surface is well polished, a closely mated tribo-gap naturally forms, and an ultra-low friction state is built. However, water in the tribo-gap could be insufficient in industrial applications, e.g., the seal gap in mechanical seals. In this study, the tribo-chemical smoothening behavior in such environment was researched. A surface-contact reciprocating test was used to simulate the aqueous environment where water was insufficient. After tests, compared to the published results from the point-contact tests, the same ultra-low friction state was achieved. A part of the tribo-surface was tribo-chemically smoothened. The obtained smoothened surface microstructure was consistent with the published information. Meanwhile, severe abrasive wear occurred. A porous oxygen-rich layer was found existing beneath the abrasion-induced grooves, in which numerous smashed wear debris adhered on the worn surfaces. We concluded that the shortage of water initiated the severe abrasion, meanwhile the generated wear debris aggravated the wear condition. This understanding is instructive for developing new methods to avoid the severe abrasion in the same water insufficient environment.

The present work was aimed to investigate the protective effects of enzymatic-hydrolyzed Auricularia polytricha polysaccharides (EnAPS) on renal functions. The characterizations were analyzed by physicochemical methods, and the renoprotections were processed in adenine-induced chronic kidney diseases (CKD) models of mice. Animal experiments exhibited that EnAPS showed superior renal-protections contributing to its antioxidant effects of increasing the enzyme activities and decreasing the lipid contents, and anti-inflammatory effects of reducing proinflammatory cytokines than A. polytricha polysaccharides (APS). Besides, the anti-apoptosis effects of EnAPS was proved by down-regulating Bax and Caspase-3 expressions and up-regulating Bcl-2 expressions by molecular biotechnology, and the anti-fibrosis effects was confirmed by histopathological observations of staining. The characterizations indicated that lower molecular weights possibly contributed to the superior renoprotective effects. These results suggested that enzymatic hydrolysis had potential effects in enhancing the bioactivities, and the polysaccharides could be used in the development of functional foods supplement against CKD.

Background Precipitation influences the vulnerability of grassland ecosystems, especially upland grasslands, and soil respiration is critical for carbon cycling in arid grassland ecosystems which typically experience more droughty conditions. Methods We used three precipitation treatments to understand the effect of precipitation on soil respiration of a typical arid steppe in the Loess Plateau in north-western China. Precipitation was captured and relocated to simulate precipitation rates of 50%, 100%, and 150% of ambient precipitation. Results and Discussion Soil moisture was influenced by all precipitation treatments. Shoot biomass was greater, though non-significantly, as precipitation increased. However, both increase and decrease of precipitation significantly reduced root biomass. There was a positive linear relationship between soil moisture and soil respiration in the study area during the summer (July and August), when most precipitation fell. Soil moisture, soil root biomass, pH, and fungal diversity were predictors of soil respiration based on partial least squares regression, and soil moisture was the best of these. Conclusion Our study highlights the importance of increased precipitation on soil respiration in drylands. Precipitation changes can cause significant alterations in soil properties, microbial fungi, and root biomass, and any surplus or transpired moisture is fed back into the climate, thereby affecting the rate of soil respiration in the future.

Urgent repair and construction of airstrips is a research hotspot in global airport engineering. Selecting the proper structural materials is a key component of the airstrip repair process. First, with unconfined compressive strength and splitting tensile strength, the fiber length and content of polypropylene (PP) fiber-reinforced solidified soil were optimized. Then, using a scanning electron microscope, the reinforcing mechanism of PP fiber on soil and the influence mechanism of fiber parameters on fiber-reinforced soil were discussed and analyzed. Lastly, a full-scale test section was paved, on which static and dynamic loading tests were performed to verify the carrying capacity and deformation characteristics of the full-scale test section. The above research provides a theoretical foundation and data support for the urgent repair and construction of airstrip. Results indicate that PP fiber with length of 12 mm and fiber content of 0.3% has optimal performance and economic cost. The reinforcing mechanism of fiber-reinforced soil can be summarized to be the effect of a one-dimensional lacing wire and the effect of a three-dimensional network structure. Fibers show two failure modes of pull-out and tensile failure. After 20000 dynamic loading cycles, the stress at the bottom of each structural section varies less, the graded plastic deformation is stable, and the cumulative plastic deformations of the fiber-reinforced soil base, solidified soil base, and cemented soil base pavement structures are 0.83 mm, 0.93 mm, and 1.2 mm, respectively. Pavement structure composed of fiber-reinforced solidified soil can meet the load capacity requirements for use in airstrips under the characteristics of time-sensitive application.

High-cost data collection and processing are challenges for UAV LiDAR (light detection and ranging) mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles in crop monitoring. Reducing the point density can lower data collection costs and increase efficiency but may lead to a loss in mapping accuracy. It is necessary to determine the appropriate point cloud density for tea plucking area identification to maximize the cost–benefits. This study evaluated the performance of different LiDAR and photogrammetric point density data when mapping the tea plucking area in the Huashan Tea Garden, Wuhan City, China. The object-based metrics derived from UAV point clouds were used to classify tea plantations with the extreme learning machine (ELM) and random forest (RF) algorithms. The results indicated that the performance of different LiDAR point density data, from 0.25 (1%) to 25.44 pts/m2 (100%), changed obviously (overall classification accuracies: 90.65–94.39% for RF and 89.78–93.44% for ELM). For photogrammetric data, the point density was found to have little effect on the classification accuracy, with 10% of the initial point density (2.46 pts/m2), a similar accuracy level was obtained (difference of approximately 1%). LiDAR point cloud density had a significant influence on the DTM accuracy, with the RMSE for DTMs ranging from 0.060 to 2.253 m, while the photogrammetric point cloud density had a limited effect on the DTM accuracy, with the RMSE ranging from 0.256 to 0.477 m due to the high proportion of ground points in the photogrammetric point clouds. Moreover, important features for identifying the tea plucking area were summarized for the first time using a recursive feature elimination method and a novel hierarchical clustering-correlation method. The resultant architecture diagram can indicate the specific role of each feature/group in identifying the tea plucking area and could be used in other studies to prepare candidate features. This study demonstrates that low UAV point density data, such as 2.55 pts/m2 (10%), as used in this study, might be suitable for conducting finer-scale tea plucking area mapping without compromising the accuracy.

In the original publication [...]

The specific pathogenesis of steroid.induced osteonecrosis (ON) is yet to be elucidated and until recently effective prophylactic therapies have not been available. The local renin.angiotensin system (RAS) exists in the bone and has an important role in local bone regulation. However, to the best of our knowledge, the interrelation between local bone RAS and steroid.induced ON is yet to be investigated. In the present study, 45 rabbits were injected with a single intramuscular dose of 20 mg/kg methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) and were sacrificed 1 (group A), 2 (group B) and 3 (group C) weeks subsequent to MPA administration (n=15 per group). Ten rabbits were used as a control group (group N). The presence or absence of ON in the bilateral femoral heads was examined histopathologically. The mRNA and protein expression of components of the RAS, including angiotensin II (Ang II), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and Ang II type 1 (AT1) and Ang II type 2 (AT2) receptors, were detected in the bone. Significant changes in Ang II, ACE, and AT1 and AT2 receptor expression were observed in the bone of the rabbits in the different groups. Moreover, the expression of Ang II and ACE was highest one week subsequent to administration of the glucocorticoid methylprednisolone and the expression of the AT1 and AT2 receptors was highest two weeks following methylprednisolone administration. ON occurs most significantly at three weeks following the administration of MPA in this animal model, thus the changes in Ang II, ACE and AT1 and AT2 receptor expression preceded this. The present study found that ON was strongly associated with the activation of the local bone RAS in rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Our study evaluated how soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) recovered over time in deep loessial soil as overgrazed grassland was fenced and restored. Methods The study was conducted in the Yunwu Mountain Nature Reserve in the Ningxia Autonomous Region of China. In it we compared soil data from three grazed grassland (G) sites, three sites that were fenced for 15 years (F15), and three sites that were fenced for 30 years (F30) as a so-called ‘space for time series’. Results and Discussion We compared SOC accumulation in soil up to 200 cm below the surface in G, F15, and F30 plots. An increase in SOC correlated with a decrease in soil pH, and decreased soil bulk density. However, SOC sequestration in fenced plots was largely offset by a decrease in SIC, which was closely correlated (r = 0.713, p = 0.001) with SOC-driven soil pH decline. We observed no significant increase in soil total carbon in the F15 or F30 sites after comparing them to G. Conclusions Our data indicate that fencing causes the slow diffusion processes to intensify the soil property changes from increased litter return, and this slow diffusion process is still active 30 years after fencing at 100–200 cm soil depths in the studied deep loessial soil. These findings are likely applicable to similar sites.

Abstract A sandwich lateral flow strip assay (LFSA) using a couple of aptamers functionalized with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was designed to assess the presence of rongalite in agrifood products. More specifically, a biotin-labeled primary A09 aptamer immobilized on a streptavidin-coated membrane and a secondary B09 aptamer conjugated with AuNPs were developed as capturing and signaling probes, respectively. This system allows the successful and direct detection of rongalite in food samples with concentrations as low as 1 μg/mL, simply by observing the color change of LFSA control and test line.

Abstract The development of virtual e-business cluster is an effective way to cultivate new industries and realize the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Based on computer simulation, in this paper, the conduction of entrepreneurial behavior of enterprises in the virtual e-business cluster on their network is studied, and simulation on conductive process and effect is conducted. The research finds that for the two business models of virtual e-business cluster C2C and B2B, if the number of start-ups in the virtual e-business cluster is increased, the business start-ups in the virtual e-business cluster will achieve stable results earlier; and the conduction effect of virtual e-business cluster is more balanced and obvious in the passive impact mode. For B2B, with the impact mode changing from active to passive, entrepreneurial behavior tends to be more balanced from centralization, and the process of entrepreneurial conduction is significantly accelerated, and the conduction reaches the stabilizing effect earlier.

Our study, which was conducted in the desert grassland of Ningxia in China (E 107.285, N 37.763), involved an experiment with five levels of annual precipitation 33% (R33), 66% (R66), 100% (CK), 133% (R133), 166% (R166) and two temperature levels (inside Open-Top Chamber (OTC) and outside OTC). Our objective was to determine how plant, soil bacteria, and fungi diversity respond to climate change. Our study suggested that plant α-diversity in CK and TCK were significantly higher than that of other treatments. Increased precipitation promoted root biomass (RB) growth more than aboveground living biomass (ALB). R166 promoted the biomass of Agropyron mongolicum the most. In the fungi communities, temperature and precipitation interaction promoted α-diversity. In the fungi communities, the combination of increased temperature and natural precipitation (TCK) promoted β-diversity the most, whose distance was determined to be 25,124 according to PCA. In the bacteria communities, β-diversity in CK was significantly higher than in other treatments, and the distance was determined to be 3010 according to PCA. Soil bacteria and fungi α- and β-diversity, and ALB promoted plant diversity the most. The interactive effects of temperature and precipitation on C, N, and P contents of plants were larger than their independent effects.

The relief degree of land surface (RDLS) was often calculated to describe the topographic features of a region. It is a significant factor in designing urban street networks. However, existing studies do not clarify how RDLS affects the distribution of urban street networks. We used a Python package named OSMnx to extract the street networks of different cities in China. The street complexity metrics information (i.e., street grain, connectedness, circuity, and street network orientation entropy) were obtained and analyzed statistically. The results indicate that street network exhibits more complexity in regions with high RDLS. Further analysis of the correlation between RDLS and street network complexity metrics indicates that RDLS presents the highest correlation with street network circuity; that is, when RDLS is higher, the routes of an urban street network is more tortuous, and the additional travel costs for urban residents is higher. This study enriches and expands research on street networks in China, providing a reference value for urban street network planning.

The nanocrystalline surface was produced on 3Cr13 martensite stainless steel surface using high-current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) technique. The structures of the nanocrystallized surface were characterized by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. Two nanostructures consisting of fine austenite grains (50-150 nm) and very fine carbides precipitates are formed in melted surface layer after multiple bombardments via dissolution of carbides and crater eruption. It is demonstrated that the dissolution of the carbides and the formation of the supersaturated Fe (C) solid solution play a determining role on the microstructure evolution. Additionally, the formation of fine austenite structure is closely related to the thermal stresses induced by the HCPEB irradiation. The effects of both high carbon content and high value of stresses increase the stability of the austenite, which leads to the complete suppression of martensitic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Hyperlipidaemia is the major risk factor contributing to the development and progression of atherosclerosis, fatty liver and cerebrovascular disease. Pleurotus eryngii (P. eryngii) is rich in biologically active components, especially polysaccharides that exhibit various biological activities, including reducing blood lipids. In the present study, three novel polysaccharide types, including exopolysaccharides (EPS), enzymatic EPS (EEPS) and acidic EPS (AEPS) were isolated, and the hypolipidaemic and hepatoprotective effects were investigated to better understand possible hypolipidaemic mechanisms and their hepatoprotective effects. Methods The EPS was hydrolysed by snailase (dissolved in 1% acetic acid, pH = 6) and H2SO4 (1 M) to obtain EEPS and AEPS, respectively. The in vitro antioxidant activities were measured by investigating the reducing power and the scavenging effects on radicals of hydroxyl, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide anion. The hyperlipidaemic mice were induced by perfusing a high-fat emulsion. In addition to the hepatic histopathology, the following biochemical analyses were performed to investigate the antioxidative effects, including the activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels were also measured in serum and liver homogenate. Results Supplementation of EPS, EEPS and AEPS could significantly improve blood lipid levels (TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C), hepatic lipid levels (TC and TG), hepatic enzyme activities (ALP, ALT, and AST) and antioxidant status (GSH-Px, SOD, T-AOC, MDA, and LPO). In addition, histopathological observations indicated that these polysaccharides had potential effects in attenuating hepatocyte damage. Conclusion These results demonstrated that both EPS and its hydrolysates EEPS and AEPS might effectively reduce serum lipid levels and protect against high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidaemia, indicating that they could be used as functional foods and natural hepatoprotectants.

Abstract In this study, native depolymerised-exopolysaccharides (DEPS) were successfully derived from the exopolysaccharides (EPS) of Termitomyces albuminosus, and its hepatoprotective effects against a high-fat emulsion and in vitro antioxidant activities were investigated. Based on the results of in vitro assays, DEPS showed superior antioxidant activities compared with EPS dose-dependently. According to the in vivo assays both EPS and DEPS significantly decreased the lipid levels, improved the enzymatic activities, and reduced lipid peroxidation in both serum and hepatic homogenates. Furthermore, EPS and DEPS attenuated the high-fat emulsion-induced histopathological injury to the liver. Both EPS and DEPS might be used as natural drugs to treat and protect against hyperlipidaemia and liver injury induced by a high-fat emulsion. In addition, based on the results of GC and HPLC analyses, rhamnose and low molecular weight compounds may play an important role in contributing to the antioxidant activities of EPS and DEPS.

Although previous studies indicate that loss of p53-mediated cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and senescence does not completely abrogate its tumor suppression function, it is unclear how the remaining activities of p53 are regulated. Here, we have identified an acetylation site at lysine K98 in mouse p53 (or K101 for human p53). Whereas the loss of K98 acetylation (p53K98R) alone has very modest effects on p53-mediated transactivation, simultaneous mutations at all four acetylation sites (p534KR: K98R+ 3KR[K117R+K161R+K162R]) completely abolish its ability to regulate metabolic targets, such as TIGAR and SLC7A11. Notably, in contrast to p533KR, p534KR is severely defective in suppressing tumor growth in mouse xenograft models. Moreover, p534KR is still capable of inducing the p53-Mdm2 feedback loop, but p53-dependent ferroptotic responses are markedly abrogated. Together, these data indicate the critical role of p53 acetylation in ferroptotic responses and its remaining tumor suppression activity.

Objectives To investigate the relationship between coronary artery calcification and calcium deposition in cardiomyocytes. Methods Patients who underwent valve replacement plus surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation, together with left atrial appendage resection, were included. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) score was evaluated prior to surgery using dual-source computed tomography. Samples of left atrial appendage tissue were collected to analyse the following indicators: calcium deposition, alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium content, protein levels of runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), osteopontin and β-catenin, and mRNA levels of osteopontin, endothelin and ghrelin. Relationships between CAC score and various indicators were analysed by univariate logistic or linear regression. Results Out of tissue from eight patients, CAC score was not correlated with cardiomyocyte calcification (odds ratio [OR] 0.984 and OR 0.983; von Kossa or alizarin red staining, respectively). CAC score showed an inverse linear correlation with Runx2 protein (β = –0.75), but was not correlated with osteopontin (β = –0.52) or β-catenin protein (β = –0.56), mRNA levels of osteopontin, endothelin and ghrelin (β = 0.13, 0.02, and 0.02, respectively), alkaline phosphatase activity (β = 0.56), or calcium content (β = –0.22). Conclusions Coronary artery calcification was not correlated with calcium deposition in cardiomyocytes.

Background: In a remote region of Western Australia, Kimberley, residents have nearly twice the State average per capita consumption of alcohol, four and a half times the level of alcohol-related hospitalizations and nearly three times the level of alcohol-related deaths. This study aimed to evaluate the long term effects of alcohol sale restrictions on health service utilization in two remote towns in Kimberley.Methods: Sale of high strength packaged alcohol was restricted in Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek since October 2007 and May 2009, respectively. Alcohol-related Emergency Department (ED) attendances and hospitalizations utilized by local residents before and after the intervention between 2003 and 2013 was compared by using yearly rates (/1,000 person-years) and interrupted time series analysis with Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) modeling. The Western Australia specific aetiological fractions (AAFs) were applied to hospital inpatient data for estimation of the proportion of hospital separations attributable to alcohol.Results: In Fitzroy Crossing, there was a significant reduction of over 40% on rates (/1,000 person-years) of alcohol-related acute hospitalizations (54.2 [95% CI: 53.8–54.7] vs. 31.7 [31.4–32.1]) and ED attendances (534.1[532.8–535.5] vs. 294.5 [293.5–295.4]). In Halls Creek, there was a significant reduction of over 50% on rates (/1,000 person-years) of alcohol- related acute hospitalizations (17.7 [17.6–17.8] vs. 8.0 [7.9–8.1]) and ED attendance (248.4 [247.9–248.9] vs. 111.1[110.8–111.5]). Domestic violence and injury related hospitalization rates were also reduced by over 20% in both towns.Conclusions: The total restriction of selling high strength alcohol through a community driven process has shown to be effective in reducing alcohol-related health service utilization in post-intervention period. Continue monitoring is required to address new emerging issues. Future research on health service utilization related to alcohol by using interrupted time series analysis incorporating ARIMA modeling and applying AAFs are recommended for evaluating alcohol-related interventions.

Increasing temperature and its impact on population health is an emerging significant public health issue in the context of climate change in Australia. While previous studies have primarily focused on risk assessment, very few studies have evaluated heat-attributable emergency department (ED) visits and associated healthcare costs, or projected future health and economic burdens. This study used a distributed lag non-linear model to estimate heat attributable ED visits and associated healthcare costs from 13 hospitals in Perth, Western Australia, and to project the future healthcare costs in 2030s and 2050s under three climate change scenarios—Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. There were 3697 ED visits attributable to heat (temperatures above 20.5 °C) over the study period 2012–2019, accounting for 4.6% of the total ED visits. This resulted in AU$ 2.9 million in heat-attributable healthcare costs. The number of ED visits projected to occur in the 2030s and 2050s ranges from 5707 to 9421 under different climate change scenarios, which would equate to AU$ 4.6–7.6 million in heat associated healthcare costs. The heat attributable fraction for ED visits and associated healthcare costs would increase from 4.6% and 4.1% in 2010s to 5.0%–6.3% and 4.4%–5.6% in 2030s and 2050s, respectively. Future heat attributable ED visits and associated costs will increase in Perth due to climate change. Excess heat will generate a substantial population health challenge and economic burdens on the healthcare system if there is insufficient heat adaptation. It is vital to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, develop heat-related health interventions and optimize healthcare resources to mitigate the negative impact on the healthcare system and population health in the face of climate change.

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles that carry proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. They are circulated in many body fluids and play an important role in intercellular communications. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as major components of exosomes, are often regulated in many diseases including bacterial and viral infections. Functionally, exosome-carried miRNAs interact with various immune cells and affect their behavior. Little is known whether exosomal miRNAs are regulated during scrub typhus, a potentially lethal infection caused by intracellular bacteria, Orientiatsutsugamushi. In the present study, we utilized a scrub typhus mouse model and collected serum at various time points post infection. A custom quantitative PCR array covering 92 murine miRNAs was used to profile serum exosomal miRNAs. A total of 12 miRNAs were found to be significantly up- or down-regulated at least at one time point post infection when compared to uninfected animals. Further analysis identified multiple miRNAs in the let-7 family that were consistently down-regulated at early and late phase of infection. Functionally, serum exosomes isolated from infected mice displayed strong proinflammatory effect when incubated with bone marrow-derived macrophages. Our data revealed dynamic regulations of serum exosomal miRNA during scrub typhus infection, which could significantly influence host immune responses and disease outcome.

Abstract Objective: To determine which measures of heatwave have the greatest predictive power for increases in health service utilisation in Perth, Western Australia. Methods: Three heatwave formulas were compared, using Poisson or zero‐inflated Poisson regression, against the number of presentations to emergency departments from all causes, and the number of inpatient admissions from heat‐related causes. The period from July 2006 to June 2013 was included. A series of standardised thresholds were calculated to allow comparison between formulas, in the absence of a gold standard definition of heatwaves. Results: Of the three heatwave formulas, Excess Heat Factor (EHF) produced the most clear dose‐response relationship with Emergency Department presentations. The EHF generally predicted periods that resulted in a similar or higher rate of health service utilisation, as compared to the two other formulas, for the thresholds examined. Conclusions: The EHF formula, which considers a period of acclimatisation as well as the maximum and minimum temperature, best predicted periods of greatest health service demand. The strength of the dose‐response relationship reinforces the validity of the measure as a predictor of hazardous heatwave intensity. Implications: The findings suggest that the EHF formula is well suited for use as a means of activating heatwave plans and identifies the required level of response to extreme heatwave events as well as moderate heatwave events that produce excess health service demand.

The present work investigated the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and lung protection effects of acetylated Pleurotus geesteranus polysaccharides (AcPPS) on acute lung injury (ALI) mice. The acetylation of AcPPS was successfully shown by the peaks of 1737 cm−1 and 1249 cm−1 by FTIR. The animal experiments demonstrated that lung damage can be induced by zymosan. However, the supplementation of AcPPS had potential effects on reducing lung index, remitting inflammatory symptoms (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), inhibiting NF-κB signal pathway based on up-regulating the level of IκBα and down-regulating p-IκBα level by Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay, preventing oxidative stress (ROS, SOD, GSH-Px, CAT, T-AOC, and MDA), reducing lipid accumulation (TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, and VLDL-C), and alleviating lung functions by histopathologic observation. These results demonstrated that AcPPS might be suitable for natural food for prevention or remission in ALI.

Different volume fraction of TiB, TiC and La2O3 multiple-reinforced Ti6Al4V composites were fabricated by casting and followed by forging and hot extrusion. The microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior of (TiB+TiC+La2O3)/Ti6Al4V composites during hot extrusion were investigated. The microstructural observations showed that the TiBw and TiCp agglomeration disappeared and distributed more homogeneously in the Ti matrix after hot extrusion. Besides, TiBw exhibited highly preferred alignment along the extrusion direction and TiCp distributed along the same direction. Besides, two kinds of microstructure bands with distinctive spatial distributions of reinforcements were formed after hot extrusion: equiaxial bands embedded with fairly substantial reinforcements and finer basket-weave bands containing few reinforcements, in which the micron-scale TiBw, TiCp and submicron-scale La2O3 particle stimulating nucleation occurred and resulting dynamic recrystallization were the main mechanisms responsible for grain refinement. The tensile tests revealed that hot extrusion significantly increased elongation of (TiB+TiC+La2O3)/Ti6Al4V composites from 2.71% to 13.2% accompanied by slightly decreasing ultimate tensile strength from 954MPa to 903MPa, compared with that of the as-forged composites, which due to a complex process of reinforcements/matrix interaction during extrusion and dynamic recrystallization.

Anthracyclines are effective agents generally used to treat solid-tumor and hematologic malignancies. The use of anthracyclines for over 40 years has improved cancer survival statistics. Nevertheless, the clinical utility of anthracyclines is limited by its dose-dependent cardiotoxicity that adversely affects 10–30% of patients. Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity may be classified as acute/subacute or chronic/late toxicity and leads to devastating adverse effects resulting in poor quality of life, morbidity, and premature mortality. Traditional Chinese medicine has a history of over 2,000 years, involving both unique theories and substantial experience. Several studies have investigated the potential of natural products to decrease the cardiotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents on healthy cells, without negatively affecting their antineoplastic activity. This article discusses the mechanism of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity, and summarizes traditional Chinese medicine treatment for anthracycline-induced heart failure (HF), cardiac arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, and myocardial ischemia in recent years, in order to provide a reference for the clinical prevention and treatment of cardiac toxicity.

Scrub typhus is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, an obligated intracellular bacterium that affects over one million people per year. Several mouse models have been used to study its pathogenesis, disease immunology, and for testing vaccine candidates. However, due to the intrinsic differences between the immune systems in mouse and human, these mouse models could not faithfully mimic the pathology and immunological responses developed by human patients, limiting their value in both basic and translational studies. In this study, we have tested for the first time, a new humanized mouse model through footpad inoculation of O. tsutsugamushi in DRAGA (HLA-A2.HLA-DR4.Rag1KO.IL2RγcKO.NOD) mice with their human immune system reconstituted by infusion of HLA-matched human hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood. Upon infection, Orientia disseminated into various organs of DRAGA mice resulted in lethality in a dose-dependent manner, while all C3H/HeJ mice infected by the same route survived. Tissue-specific lesions associated with inflammation and/or necroses were observed in multiple organs of infected DRAGA mice. Consistent with the intracellular nature of Orientia, strong Th1, but subdued Th2 responses were elicited as reflected by the human cytokine profiles in sera from infected mice. Interestingly, the percentage of both activated and regulatory (CD4+FOXP3+) human T cells were elevated in spleen tissues of infected mice. After immunization with irradiated whole cell Orientia, humanized DRAGA mice showed a significant activation of human T cells as evidenced by increased number of human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Specific human IgM and IgG antibodies were developed after repetitive immunization. The humanized DRAGA mouse model represents a new pre-clinical model for studying Orientia-human interactions and also for testing vaccines and novel therapeutics for scrub typhus.

The probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs) are powerful to deal with the hesitant linguistic situation in which each provided linguistic term has a probability. The PLTSs contain uncertainties caused by the linguistic terms and their probability information. In order to measure such uncertainties, three entropy measures are proposed: the fuzzy entropy, the hesitant entropy, and the total entropy. The fuzzy entropy measures the fuzziness of the PLTSs, and the hesitant entropy measures the hesitation of the PLTSs. To facilitate the computation of all uncertainties contained in the PLTSs, the total entropy is proposed. Some properties and some formulas of the entropy measures are introduced. A multi-criteria decision making model based on the PLTSs is introduced by using the proposed entropy measures. An illustrative example is provided and the comparison analysis with the existing method is given.

Background and objective The abnormal expression of human long chain non encoding RNA gene is related to many kinds of tumors. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA maternally expressed gene 3 (SPRY4-IT1) in lung cancer (A549) cells, and to observe the effect of SPRY4-IT1 on the invasion and migration of A549 cells. Methods The levels of SPRY4-IT1 in A549 was detected by Real-time PCR. The effects of SPRY4-IT1 on the invasion and migration of A549 cell were analyzed by MTT and Transwell assay. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family proteins was determined by Western blot. Results The invasion and migration of A549 cells were increased after SPRY4-IT1 over-expression. The cell spaces were narrower after SPRY4-IT1 over expression in the wound healing assay. Transwell assays showed that the numbers of transmembrane A549 cells were significantly higher in SPRY4-IT1 over expression group than that in control group (P

Obesity is associated with higher incidence of cancer, but the predisposing mechanisms remain poorly understood. The NAD+-dependent deacetylase SirT1 orchestrates metabolism, cellular survival, and growth. However, there is no unifying mechanism to explain the metabolic and tumor-related effects of SirT1. In this work, we demonstrate that genetic ablation of the endogenous inhibitor of SirT1, Deleted-in-Breast-Cancer-1 (Dbc1), unexpectedly results in obesity and insulin resistance. Dbc1 deficiency promoted SirT1-dependent gain of function of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (Scd1), increasing plasma and tissue levels of unsaturated fatty acids. The metabolic abnormalities in Dbc1–/– mice were reversed by ablation of hepatic SirT1 or by inhibition of Scd1 activity. Furthermore, loss of Dbc1 impaired activation of the master tumor suppressor p53 and treatment with an Scd1 inhibitor extended survival of tumor-prone TP53–/– mice by decreasing tumor-related death. Together, our findings illustrate a shared mechanism of obesity and tumor progression mediated by hepatic SirT1 and resulting in the activation of a key lipid synthetic enzyme, with potential therapeutic implications.

A series of dehydroabietic acid (DHAA) acyl-thiourea derivatives were designed and synthesized as potent antitumor agents. The in vitro pharmacological screening results revealed that the target compounds exhibited potent cytotoxicity against HeLa, SK-OV-3 and MGC-803 tumor cell lines, while they showed lower cytotoxicity against HL-7702 normal human river cells. Compound 9n (IC50 = 6.58 ± 1.11 μM) exhibited the best antitumor activity against the HeLa cell line and even displayed more potent inhibitory activity than commercial antitumor drug 5-FU (IC50 = 36.58 ± 1.55 μM). The mechanism of representative compound 9n was then studied by acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, Hoechst 33,258 staining, JC-1 mitochondrial membrane potential staining, TUNEL assay and flow cytometry, which illustrated that this compound could induce apoptosis in HeLa cells. Cell cycle analysis indicated that compound 9n mainly arrested HeLa cells in the S phase stage. Further investigation demonstrated that compound 9n induced apoptosis of HeLa cells through a mitochondrial pathway.

As an irreversible and complex degenerative physiological process, the treatment for aging seems strategically necessary, and polysaccharides play important roles against aging owing to their abundant bioactivities. In this paper, the antioxidant and anti-aging activities of Flammulina velutipes polysaccharides (FPS) and its sulfated FPS (SFPS) on d-galactose-induced aging mice were investigated. The in vitro antioxidant activities demonstrated that SFPS had strong reducing power and superior scavenging effects on 2, 2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radicals and the chelating activities of Fe2+. The in vivo animal experiments manifested that the SFPS showed superior antioxidant and protective abilities against the d-galactose-induced aging by increasing the antioxidant enzyme activities, decreasing lipid peroxidation, improving the inflammatory response and ameliorating the anile condition of mice. Furthermore, the structural analysis of SFPS was investigated through FT-IR, NMR, and HPLC analysis, and the results indicated that SFPS was a homogeneous heteropolysaccharide with a weight-average molecular weight of 2.81 × 103 Da. Furthermore, SFPS has also changed in characteristic functional groups and monosaccharide composition compared to FPS. These results suggested that sulfated modification could enhance the anti-oxidation, anti-aging and protective activities of F. velutipes polysaccharides, which may provide references for the development of functional foods and natural medicines.

A major fraction (MPT-W), eluted by deionized water, was extracted from mycelium polysaccharides of Termitomyces albuminosus (MPT), and its antioxidant, anti-fibrosis, and anti-inflammatory activities in CCl4-induced chronic liver injury mice, as well as preliminary characterizations, were evaluated. The results showed that MPT-W was a polysaccharide of α- and β-configurations containing xylose (Xyl), fucose (Fuc), mannose (Man), galactose (Gal), and glucose (Glc) with a molar ratio of 0.29:8.67:37.89:35.98:16.60 by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Its molecular weight (Mw), obtained by high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), was 1.30 × 105 Da. The antioxidant assays in vitro showed that MPT-W displayed scavenging free-radical abilities. Based on the data of in vivo experiments, MPT-W could inhibit TGFβ1/Smad3 and NF-κB pathways; decrease the level and activity of cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1), malonaldehyde (MDA) and serum enzyme; activate the HO-1/Nrf2 pathway; and increase antioxidant enzymes to protect the liver in CCl4-induced chronic liver injury mice. Therefore, MPT-W could be a potentially natural and functional resource contributing to antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory effects with potential health benefits.

Inspired by electrically active tissues, conductive materials have been extensively developed for electrically active tissue engineering scaffolds. In addition to excellent conductivity, nanocomposite conductive materials can also provide nanoscale structure similar to the natural extracellular microenvironment. Recently, the combination of three-dimensional (3D) printing and nanotechnology has opened up a new era of conductive tissue engineering scaffolds exhibiting optimized properties and multifunctionality. Furthermore, in the case of two-dimensional (2D) conductive film scaffolds such as periosteum, nerve membrane, skin repair, etc., the traditional preparation process, such as solvent casting, produces 2D films with defects of unequal bubbles and thickness frequently. In this study, poly-l-lactide (PLLA) conductive scaffolds incorporated with polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles, which have multiscale structure similar to natural tissue, were prepared by combining extrusion-based low-temperature deposition 3D printing with freeze-drying. Furthermore, we creatively integrated the advantages of 3D printing and solvent casting and successfully developed a 2D conductive film scaffold with no bubbles, uniform thickness, and good structural stability. Subsequently, the effects of concentration and morphology of PPy nanoparticles on electrical properties and mechanical properties of 3D conductive scaffolds and 2D conductive films scaffolds have been studied, which provided a new idea for the design of both 2D and 3D electroactive tissue engineering scaffolds.

The present work mainly describes the preparation of acetylated mycelia polysaccharides (AMPS) from Pleurotus djamor and investigates the antioxidant and anti-aging effects in d-galactose-induced aging mice. The optimized procedure indicates the acetyl substitution degree of AMPS is 0.54 ± 0.04 under the conditions of a reaction time of 56 h, a reaction temperature of 37 °C, and 4 mL of added acetic anhydride. The in vitro analysis and in vivo animal experiments indicate that the AMPS could alleviate the aging properties by scavenging the radicals, elevating the enzyme activities, and reducing the lipid contents. As for serum levels, the AMPS can improve the serum biochemical indices and enhance immunological activity. The histopathological observations indicate that the injuries to the liver, kidney, and brain can be remitted by AMPS intervention. The characterization showed that AMPS was one kind of β-pyranose with the weight-average molecular weights of 3.61 × 105 Da and the major monosaccharides of mannose and glucose. The results suggest that AMPS can be used as a dietary supplement and functional food for the prevention of aging and age-related diseases.

Scrub typhus is caused by an obligated intracellular organism, Orientia tsutsugamushi (Orientia). The disease was traditionally thought to be limited in the tsutsugamushi triangle. Recently, scrub typhus has been confirmed in areas outside the triangle. Serological diagnosis of scrub typhus relies on indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Molecular assays such as PCR, qPCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, and recombinase polymerase amplification are often targeting a single copy gene. These assays are sensitive and specific, yet they are not broadly used in clinical settings possibly due to low circulating Orientia in blood. In this study, we compared qPCR results using a multiple copy (traD) gene with those using a single copy (47 kDa) gene to assess the improvement of sensitivity and limit of detection. Our results demonstrate that the qPCR using the traD gene provides superior sensitivity in 15 Orientia strains. The limit of detection is below single Orientia genome equivalent and the assay retains specificity with excessive DNA from mouse, chiggers and human. The clinical utility was evaluated using confirmed scrub typhus positive and negative samples. The results show 100% sensitivity and specificity in these samples suggesting that the traD gene qPCR may be useful for clinical diagnosis of Orientia infection.

Aiming at the problem of how to enable the mobile robot to navigate and traverse efficiently and safely in the unknown indoor environment and map the environment, an eight-direction scanning detection (eDSD) algorithm is proposed as a new pathfinding algorithm. Firstly, we use a laser-based SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm to perform simultaneous localization and mapping to acquire the environment information around the robot. Then, according to the proposed algorithm, the 8 certain areas around the 8 directions which are developed from the robot’s center point are analyzed in order to calculate the probabilistic path vector of each area. Considering the requirements of efficient traverse and obstacle avoidance in practical applications, the proposal can find the optimal local path in a short time. In addition to local pathfinding, the global pathfinding is also introduced for unknown environments of large-scale and complex structures to reduce the repeated traverse. The field experiments in three typical indoor environments demonstrate that deviation of the planned path from the ideal path can be kept to a low level in terms of the path length and total time consumption. It is confirmed that the proposed algorithm is highly adaptable and practical in various indoor environments.

The extraction parameters of intracellular polysaccharide (IPS) from Hypsizigus marmoreus SK-01 mycelia were optimized, and the antioxidant activities of IPS were investigated. The optimum conditions of IPS extraction were predicted to be: an ultrasonic treatment time of 618.07 s, an extraction temperature of 84.53 °C, a pH of 7.57, and an IPS yield of ca. 6.84%. The in vitro inhibition effects of IPS on hydroxyl, superoxide anion, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals were 52.63 ± 3.19%, 68.21 ± 5.09%, and 63.43 ± 5.27%, respectively, and the EC50 values of IPS were 0.85 ± 0.05 g/L, 0.47 ± 0.03 g/L, and 0.62 ± 0.04 g/L, respectively. The activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in mice blood were 2.52 ± 0.02 U/mL, 453.19 ± 38.43 U/mL, and 118.59 ± 9.64 U/mL, respectively. The results provide a reference for large-scale extraction of IPS by H. marmoreus SK-01 in industrial fermentation, suggesting that IPS can be used as a potential antioxidant that enhances adaptive immune responses.

The aim of the present study was to optimize the purification of mycelia selenium polysaccharides (MSPS) from Agrocybe cylindracea SL-02 and characterize their in vitro antioxidant and in vivo anti-ageing activities. The Box-Behnken experimental design (BBD) was evaluated, which showed that the optimum conditions included an extraction temperature of 94.99°C, a pH of 9 and a precipitation temperature of 12°C, and the predicted yield was 11.036 ± 0.31%. The in vitro antioxidant assay demonstrated that MSPS had potential effects on scavenging and enhanced the reducing power of reactive oxygen species. The in vivo anti-ageing evaluation showed that MSPS significantly reduced the malonaldehyde (MDA) contents and total cholesterol (CHOL) levels, and remarkably improved the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in mice in response to D-galactose-induced ageing. Furthermore, the characteristic analysis of MSPS indicated a selenium content of 1.76 ± 0.10 mg/g at a concentration of 6 μg/mL in liquid media and a monosaccharide composition of rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, glucose and galactose at a molar ratio of 29:3:1:18.8:2.7. These results suggest that MSPS might be suitable for functional foods and natural drugs on preventing the ageing progress induced by toxic chemicals.

This work was to examine the antioxidation in vitro and hepatoprotective effects of enzyme-extracted Oudemansiella radiata polysaccharides (En-OPS) on alcohol-induced liver damage in mice. The antioxidant activities were determined according to the scavenging effects of En-OPS on hydroxyl, superoxide, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, and the level of reducing power. En-OPS showed hepatoprotective activities on decreasing the serum levels of aspertate aminotransferase (AST), alamine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as hepatic lipid levels of total cholesterol (TC) and triacylglycerols (TG). En-OPS treatment reversed the acute impairment induced by alcohol consumption, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, malondialdehyde (MAD), and lipid peroxide (LPO) elevation; and superoxide dismutase (SOD), GSH peroxide (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) impairment. The En-OPS effectively ameliorated alcohol metabolism by activating alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), and reducing cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) levels. Furthermore, the histopathological observations also displayed that En-OPS could alleviate liver damage. These results indicated that En-OPS could be suitable to be an ingredient of preventing alcoholic liver diseases (ALD). In addition, the preliminary structure characteristics of En-OPS were also analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID).

The increasing penetration of distributed generations (DGs) with intermittent and stochastic characteristics into current power distribution networks can lead to increased fault levels and degradation in network protection. As one of the key requirements of active network management (ANM), efficient power supply restoration solution to guarantee network self-healing capability with full consideration of DG uncertainties is demanded. This paper presents a joint power supply restoration through combining the DG local restoration and switcher operation-based restoration to enhance the self-healing capability in active distribution networks considering the availability of distributed generation. The restoration algorithmic solution is designed to be able to carry out power restoration in parallel upon multiple simultaneous faults to maximize the load restoration while additionally minimizing power loss, topology variation and power flow changes due to switcher operations. The performance of the proposed solution is validated based on a 53-bus distribution network with wind power generators through extensive simulation experiments for a range of fault cases and DG scenarios generated based on Heuristic Moment Matching (HMM) method to fully consider the DG randomness. The numerical result in comparison with the existing solutions demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed power supply restoration solution.

Chromium(III) is an essential trace element for humans and animals. Pleutorus cornucopiae SD-01 is a nutritional and functional mushroom containing many kinds of bioactive ingredients. The aims of this work are to optimize the conditions of P. cornucopiae SD-01 cultivation with Cr enrichment in submerged culture by determining the dry cell mass, Cr content in mycelia and the rate of Cr enrichment, and to analyze the amino acid composition of Cr-enriched mycelia. The optimal medium contained (in g/L): potato 200, sucrose 25, yeast extract 4, KH2PO4 1 and MgSO4·7H2O 1. The optimum parameters of liquid culture were temperature 25 °C, cultivation time 6 days, the volume of the medium 100 mL, rotation speed 160 rpm and initial pH=6.5. Under the optimized conditions, the values of the dry cell mass, Cr content in mycelia and the rate of Cr enrichment were (6.63±0.35) g/L, (3670±211) μg/g and (12.15±1.01) % respectively, which were by (23.23±1.22), (18.19±1.06) and (45.68±2.67) % respectively, higher than those in the control. Chromium(III) in Cr-enriched mycelia was mainly combined with protein and polysaccharide. The contents of total amino acids and essential amino acids in Cr-enriched mycelia were increased by (31.25±0.58) and (44.26±0.76) %, respectively.