Search

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is one of the most powerful and versatile super-resolution methods due to its live-cell imaging ability of subcellular structures with high speed. In this paper, we propose an alternative SIM assisted by Bloch surface wave (BSW). Through replacing the conventional laser interference fringes with sub-diffraction BSW counterparts with higher spatial frequency, the imaging resolution of SIM could be enhanced greatly and the super-resolution imaging capability down to 80 nm could be achieved. Compared with traditional wide-field fluorescence microscopy, this BSW SIM demonstrates 2.78 times enhancement in imaging resolution, which surpasses general SIM with only 2 times improvement. Moreover, the structured illumination intensity could be boosted drastically, which is beneficial to nonlinear super-resolution imaging techniques, such as saturated SIM. This BSW SIM would provide a super-resolution, wide field of view approach for surface super-resolution fluorescent imaging while maintaining high imaging speed and good bio-compatibility.

Due to the high penetration of renewable distributed generation (RDG), many issues have become conspicuous during the intentional island operation such as the power mismatch of load shedding during the transition process and the power imbalance during the restoration process. In this paper, a phase measurement unit (PMU) based online load shedding strategy and a conservation voltage reduction (CVR) based multi-period restoration strategy are proposed for the intentional island with RDG. The proposed load shedding strategy, which is driven by the blackout event, consists of the load shedding optimization and correction table. Before the occurrence of the large-scale blackout, the load shedding optimization is solved periodically to obtain the optimal load shedding plan, which meets the dynamic and steady constraints. When the blackout occurs, the correction table updated in real time based on the PMU data is used to modify the load shedding plan to eliminate the power mismatch caused by the fluctuation of RDG. After the system transits to the intentional island seamlessly, multi-period restoration plans are generated to optimize the restoration performance while maintaining power balance until the main grid is repaired. Besides, CVR technology is implemented to restore more loads by regulating load demand. The proposed load shedding optimization and restoration optimization are linearized to mixed-integer quadratic constraint programming (MIQCP) models. The effectiveness of the proposed strategies is verified with the modified IEEE 33-node system on the real-time digital simulation (RTDS) platform.

Breaking the diffraction limit to realize imaging at the nanoscale is challenging in scientific research. Traditional sub-diffraction focusing metalens is obtained by arranging artificially selected unit cells, of which the design process is passive and complex. This paper brings up an inverse design idea of planar sub-diffraction focusing metalens based on super-oscillatory theory to solve these problems, starting from a desired focusing performance. The sub-diffraction focusing metalens is then obtained by iterative topology optimization with different initial structures. We introduce the adjoint-based topology inverse optimization into the structural design of sub-diffraction focusing metalens, which provides another way to design a sub-diffraction metalens for far-field unmarked super-resolution imaging. Based on this idea, we achieve a sub-diffraction focusing characterized by a focal radius of 0.75 times the Rayleigh diffraction limit, optimizing from a diffraction-limited focusing metalens. Moreover, focal radii between 0.63 and 0.73 times the Rayleigh diffraction limit are achieved by optimizing 11 sets of random initial metasurface structures with even no focusing performance. The results indicate that our method is independent of the initial structure distribution, which can be extended to the inverse design of other functional metasurfaces in imaging, lithography, and other fields.

Areca nut (AN) is widely consumed all over the world, bringing great harm to human health and economy. Individuals with AN chewing are at high risk of cardiovascular disease and impaired immune system and metabolic system. Despite a growing number of studies having reported on the adverse effects brought by AN chewing, the exact mechanism of it is limited and the need for additional exploration remains. In recent years, the interaction between microorganisms, especially intestinal microorganism and host, has been extensively studied. AN chewing might disrupt the oral and intestinal microbiota communities through direct connect with the microbes it contains, altering PH, oxygen of oral and intestinal microenvironment, and disturbing the immune homeostasis. These mechanisms provide insights into the interplay between areca nut and host microbiota. Emerging studies have proposed that bidirectional interaction between polyphenols and intestinal microbes might play a potential role in the divergence of polyphenol, extracted from AN, among individuals with or without AN-induced cancer development and progression. Although some AN chewers have been aware of the harmful effects brought by AN, they cannot abolish this habit because of the addiction of AN. Increasing studies have tried to revealed that gut microbiota might influence the onset/development of addictive behaviors. Altogether, this review summarizes the possible reasons for the disturbance of host microbiota caused by areca nut chewing and clarifies the complex interaction between human microbiome and major constituents and the addiction and carcinogenicity of AN, tempting to provide novel insights into the development and utilization of it, and to control the adverse consequences caused by AN chewing.

Promoting sustainable urban development is crucial in light of upcoming environmental change and population expansion. Urban forests play a key role in transporting ecosystem services to urban areas. They not only offer a crucial biological setting for preserving urban biodiversity, but they also give recreation dwellers access to a variety of urban opportunities and ensure their spiritual and cultural needs are met. Maintaining urban biodiversity and offering recreation services have trade-offs and synergies, and both were highly connected with the size of an urban forest patch. Six districts in Beijing’s central urban area were chosen for this study to serve as the research objective. First, the MSPA model was employed to conduct a thorough scientific analysis of the pattern and distribution characteristics of urban forests in Beijing’s central urban area. Second, the recreation services were quantified by merging many sources of big data, the urban forest biodiversity preservation services were assessed using the InVEST model, and the spatial heterogeneity of the two services was examined. In conclusion, the coupling coordination degree model was utilized to calculate the crucial threshold interval between urban biodiversity service and recreation service for urban forest patch area. The findings indicated that the ideal urban forest patch scale for achieving the synergy of the two types of services was an area between 0.5 and 1 hectare. The outcomes can serve as a scientific foundation for urban forest planning and management in the future, assist in realizing the synergistic growth of the two services, as well as support the improvement of ecosystem services and the ecological welfare of people.

Phytoremediation techniques to clean heavy metal pollution soil depend on identifying plant species that can act as phytoremediators. One important approach to screening potential phytoremediators is to evaluate characteristics of heavy metal accumulation. In this study, we performed firsthand analysis of Cd tolerance and accumulation characteristics of three Sansevieria trifasciata cultivars by pot experiment. Plant growth results showed that all three S. trifasciata cultivars can tolerate 50 mg kg−1 soil Cd concentration. After growth under 50 mg kg−1 soil Cd concentration for 4 months, the Cd bioconcentration factors in the shoots of S. ‘Trifasciata’, S. trifasciata ‘Laurentii’, and S. trifasciata ‘Silver Hahnii’ were 1.26, 1.30, and 1.19, while those in the roots were 12.53, 11.43, and 5.45, respectively. This result reveals the considerably low translocation factors of 0.10, 0.12, and 0.22 for S. ‘Trifasciata’, S. trifasciata ‘Laurentii’, and S. trifasciata ‘Silver Hahnii’, respectively. These results suggest that all three S. trifasciata cultivars had high Cd absorption capacities but low Cd translocation capacities. In combination with total Cd accumulation distribution and plant growth characteristics, S. trifasciata can be designed as a phytostabilizer in Cd-contaminated soils in its cultivation regions. Meanwhile, the mechanism of high Cd tolerance and accumulation characteristics in the roots of S. trifasciata should be explored. This study provides new resources for dealing with Cd-contaminated soils and exploring Cd tolerance and accumulation mechanisms in plants.

Objectives: Understanding the nature of Mycobacterium leprae transmission is vital to implement better control strategies for leprosy elimination. The present study expands the knowledge of county-level strain diversity, distribution, and transmission patterns of leprosy in endemic provinces of China. Methods: We genetically characterized 290 clinical isolates of M. leprae from four endemic provinces using variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Attained genetic profiles and cluster consequences were contrasted with geographical and migration features of leprosy at county levels. Results: Considering the allelic variability of 17 VNTR loci by the discriminatory index, (GTA)9, (AT)17, (AT)15, (TA)18, (TTC)21, and (TA)10 are reported to be more highly polymorphic than other loci. The VNTR profile generated the low-density clustering pattern in the counties of Sichuan and Yunnan, whereas clusters have been observed from the isolates from Huayuan (N = 6), Yongding (N = 3), Zixing (N = 3), Chenxi (N = 2) and Zhongfang (N = 2) counties of Hunan, and Zhijin (N = 3), Anlong (N = 2), Zhenning (N = 2), and Xixiu (N = 2) counties of Guizhou. In some clusters, people’s social relations have been observed between villages. From the 290 clinical isolates, the most predominantly reported SNP was 3K (278, 95.8%), followed by SNP 1D (10, 3.4%), which are typically observed to be predominant in China. We also detected the novel SNP 3J (2, 0.8%), which has not yet been reported in China. Conclusion: The clustering pattern of M. leprae indicates the transmission of leprosy still persists at county levels, suggesting that there is a need to implement better approaches for tracing the close contacts of leprosy patients.

Abstract Background Alternanthera philoxeroides (alligator weed) is a highly invasive alien plant that has continuously and successfully expanded from the tropical to the temperate regions of China via asexual reproduction. During this process, the continuous decrease in temperature has been a key limiting environmental factor. Results In this study, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the cold tolerance of alligator weed via transcriptomics. The transcriptomic differences between the southernmost population and the northernmost population of China were compared at different time points of cold treatments. GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analyses showed that the alligator weed transcriptional response to cold stress is associated with genes encoding protein kinases, transcription factors, plant-pathogen interactions, plant hormone signal transduction and metabolic processes. Although members of the same gene family were often expressed in both populations, the levels of gene expression between them varied. Further ChIP experiments indicated that histone epigenetic modification changes at the candidate transcription factor gene loci are accompanied by differences in gene expression in response to cold, without variation in the coding sequences of these genes in these two populations. These results suggest that histone changes may contribute to the cold-responsive gene expression divergence between these two populations to provide the most beneficial response to chilling stimuli. Conclusion We demonstrated that the major alterations in gene expression levels belonging to the main cold-resistance response processes may be responsible for the divergence in the cold resistance of these two populations. During this process, histone modifications in cold-responsive genes have the potential to drive the major alterations in cold adaption necessary for the northward expansion of alligator weed.

Abstract The energy-aware MAC protocol is the basic communication protocol for device-to-device communication in sensor-cloud computing and facilitates data sensing, computing, and sharing for applications. Transmitting high-priority data to control centers quickly to manage emergencies is essential for sensor-cloud applications. In this paper, a Dynamic Wait time-based MAC (DWT-MAC) protocol is proposed for data differentiated services of a sensor-cloud system (SCS). The DWT-MAC protocol is novel in that it changes the receiver wait time, which has been fixed in previous MAC protocols, and it reduces the delay in data transmission by dynamically adjusting the wait time. In the DWT-MAC protocol, the wait time changes according to the number of senders, which can ensure that it always approaches the optimal value. A dynamic time adjustment algorithm, which causes the wait time to always trail the optimal value, is proposed to reduce delays. While the DWT-MAC protocol cannot ensure wait times of the optimal value, it can ensure that it quickly comes close to the optimal value, which is suitable for dynamically changing networks. Extensive experiments show that the DWT-MAC protocol reduces the average delay in the transmission of data of the highest priority by 49.3%.

Viscoelastic materials are widely used in various fields. In order to better use viscoelastic materials in various working conditions, it is necessary to master the material properties of viscoelastic materials. Relaxation modulus is a characterization method of viscoelastic material properties. In this paper, by analyzing that viscoelastic materials are time-domain related parameters, the load-time curves are obtained by using the spherical indentation instrument to carry out the ramp loading indentation test at different speeds. According to the law of ramp strain history loading, the data at different velocities are summarized and a method for judging the linear viscoelastic boundary of viscoelastic materials in spherical indentation tests is obtained. Aggregate the load-time data at different speeds to obtain a set of valid data for a longer period of time. A method of measuring the relaxation modulus using the ramp-constant strain history is proposed. Compared with the ramp loading test method, it is simple and easy to operate, and it can make up for the short time period of the measured data in the ramp loading test. The experiment verifies the feasibility of the method of ramp-constant strain history.

Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spread widely in the world, causing a huge threat to the living environment of people.Objective: Under CT imaging, the structure features of COVID-19 lesions are complicated and varied greatly in different cases. To accurately locate COVID-19 lesions and assist doctors to make the best diagnosis and treatment plan, a deep-supervised ensemble learning network is presented for COVID-19 lesion segmentation in CT images.Methods: Since a large number of COVID-19 CT images and the corresponding lesion annotations are difficult to obtain, a transfer learning strategy is employed to make up for the shortcoming and alleviate the overfitting problem. Based on the reality that traditional single deep learning framework is difficult to extract complicated and varied COVID-19 lesion features effectively that may cause some lesions to be undetected. To overcome the problem, a deep-supervised ensemble learning network is presented to combine with local and global features for COVID-19 lesion segmentation.Results: The performance of the proposed method was validated in experiments with a publicly available dataset. Compared with manual annotations, the proposed method acquired a high intersection over union (IoU) of 0.7279 and a low Hausdorff distance (H) of 92.4604.Conclusion: A deep-supervised ensemble learning network was presented for coronavirus pneumonia lesion segmentation in CT images. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by visual inspection and quantitative evaluation. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method has a good performance in COVID-19 lesion segmentation.

Although racial in-group bias in empathy for pain has been reported, empathic responses to others’ pain may be influenced by other characteristics besides race. To explore whether skin color and attractiveness modulate empathy for pain, we recorded 24 participants’ reactions to painful faces from racial in-group members with different skin color (fair, wheatish, or dark) and attractiveness (more or less attractive) using event-related potentials (ERPs). Results showed that, for more attractive painful faces, dark skin faces were judged as less painful and elicited smaller N2 amplitudes than fair- and wheatish-skinned faces. However, for less attractive faces, there were no significant differences among the three skin colors. Our findings suggest that empathy for pain toward racial in-group members may be influenced by skin color and attractiveness.

BackgroundOvarian cancer (OC) is one of the most lethal gynecologic cancers. Growing evidence has proven that CDK4/6 plays a key role in tumor immunity and the prognosis of many cancers. However, the expression and function of CDK4/6 in OC remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the influence of CDK4/6 in OC, especially on immunity.MethodsWe analyzed CDK4/6 expression and prognosis using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) data. Subsequently, we used the cytoHubba plug-in of Cytoscape software and starBase to identify the noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulating CDK4/6. Finally, we verified the effect of CDK4/6 on immunity in OC cell lines and animal models.ResultsCDK4/6 expression was higher in OC tissues than in normal ovarian tissues, and the high expression levels of CDK4/6 contributed to the immunosuppressive state of OC and were thus related to the poor prognosis of OC patients. This was also in general agreement with the results of OC cell line and animal experiments. Mechanistically, the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib increased the secretion of interferon (IFN)-γ and the interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) response, thereby upregulating the expression of antigen-presenting molecules; this effect was partly dependent on the STING pathway and thus activated immunity in OC. Additionally, according to public data, the LRRC75A-AS1-hsa-miR-330-5p axis could inhibit the immune response of OC patients by upregulating CDK4/6, leading to a poor prognosis.ConclusionCDK4/6 affects the immune microenvironment of OC and correlates with the prognosis of OC patients.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a top-incidence malignancy, and the second most common cause of death amongst American men and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in men around the world. Androgen receptor (AR), the key transcription factor, is critical for the progression of PCa by regulating a series of target genes by androgen stimulation. A number of co-regulators of AR, including co-activators or co-repressors, have been implicated in AR-mediated gene transcription and PCa progression. Epigenetic regulators, by modifying chromatin integrity and accessibility for transcription regulation without altering DNA sequences, influence the transcriptional activity of AR and further regulate the gene expression of AR target genes in determining cell fate, PCa progression and therapeutic response. In this review, we summarized the structural interaction of AR and epigenetic regulators including histone or DNA methylation, histone acetylation or non-coding RNA, and functional synergy in PCa progression. Importantly, epigenetic regulators have been validated as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets. A series of epigenetic target drugs have been developed, and have demonstrated the potential to treat PCa alone or in combination with antiandrogens.

This study was aimed to characterize Gracilaria lemaneiformis polysaccharides and evaluate their protective effects on Lipopolysaccharide-induced injury in IEC-6 cells. The G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide was degraded by UV/H2O2 treatment and purified to three fractions named GLP-1.0 M, GLP-1.4 M and GLP-1.6 M. The purified fractions were mainly composed of galactose, glucose and xylose. The structural analysis showed that GLP-1.6 M was a typical sulfated red alga polysaccharide containing the linear backbone of β-(1 → 3)- and α-(1 → 4)-linked galactosyl residues, anhydro-galactose units. In the Lipopolysaccharide-induced IEC-6 cells model, GLP-1.6 M exerted the strongest in vitro anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the release and expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interleukin-1β by 89.93%, 67.82% and 38.06%, respectively. Meanwhile, GLP-1.6 M enhanced the intestinal barrier function via up-regulating the expressions of tight junctions and mucin. Therefore, the purified polysaccharide from G. lemaneiformis could be a promising candidate for maintaining intestinal health in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Modeling influencing factors of battle damage is one of essential works in implementing military industrial logistics simulation to explore battle damage laws knowledge. However, one of key challenges in designing the simulation system could be how to reasonably determine simulation model input and build a bridge to link battle damage model and battle damage laws knowledge. In this paper, we propose a novel knowledge-oriented modeling method for influencing factors of battle damage in military industrial logistics, integrating conceptual analysis, conceptual modeling, quantitative modeling and simulation implementation. We conceptualize influencing factors of battle damage by using the principle of hierarchical decomposition, thus classifying the related battle damage knowledge logically. Then, we construct the conceptual model of influencing factors of battle damage by using Entity-Relationship approach, thus describing their interactions reasonably. Subsequently, we extract the important influencing factors by using social network analysis, thus evaluating their importance quantitatively and further clarifying the elements of simulation. Finally, we develop an agent-based military industry logistics simulation system by taking the modeling results on influencing factors of battle damage as simulation model input, and obtain simulation model output, i.e., new battle damage laws knowledge, thus verifying feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that this method can be used to support human decision-making and action.

Wave plates as important polarization control devices are widely used in the applications of biomedical imaging, fiber optical communication, astronomy, semiconductor industry and aerospace etc. To make the wave plate actively tunable, we propose a rectangular antenna-based metasurface based on the phase-changing material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) with high transmittance and polarization conversion rate. Before the GST phase transition, the metasurface operates as a quarter-wave plate in the wavelength range of 10.0-11.9 μm. After the GST turning into crystalline state, the metasurface operates as a half-wave plate in the wavelength range of 10.3-10.9 μm. The physical mechanism for the high transmittance efficiency and polarization conversion rate attributes to the combination of the electric dipole and magnetic dipole resonances. Moreover, the adjustable wavelength range can be further extended by changing the geometry of antenna-based GST to selectively enhancing or suppressing the electric and magnetic resonances. This work provides a new strategy for tunable wave plate, which would have the potential in the application of multi-functional integrated optical systems.

This article presents a research on unit commitment(UC), which consider the interaction between conventional power system and district-level integrated energy system(IES). The increasing number and scale of IES projects at distribution network bring incremental effect to the whole energy system. Their influence on power system transmission level unit commitment becomes one of the notable topics. Within these IES projects, gas-power and cooling-heating-power are two main types of `integrated' forms. In this article, a model system is built for UC analysis in which several district-level IESs are connected to a conventional power system. Heating, cooling and electrical forms of energy are integrated in these IESs. The UC problem is modeled and solved by mixed integer linear programming(MILP), the partial load characteristics of these power plants are handled by piecewise linearization. The common piecewise linearization method used in power and gas system is modified to reduce binary variables and constraints. The purpose of this modification is to increase the MILP solving speed. Case studies are carried out to evaluate the influence of IESs on two different time scales. The simulation result shows that the application of IESs can reduce the whole energy system service cost. As the number of applied district-level IESs increases, the cost reduction becomes more significant. The reduction relies on preventing high-cost small capacity plants go into operation, reducing the number of generator startup, and choosing an economical power output level. These benefits are owing to the reinforcement from gas network via CCHPs (Combine cooling, heating and power) and the buffer from multiple forms of energy storage devices (thermal and cooling).

Abstract Background Previous work demonstrated that there are numerous miRNAs in human follicular fluids, some of which are associated with reproductive diseases. In the current study, we sought to determine whether microRNAs (miRNAs) in the follicular fluid (FF) are differentially expressed between women with and without endometriosis and to uncover the association of miRNAs with the oocyte and embryonic development potential. Methods FF was harvested from 30 women with endometriosis and 30 women without who underwent in vitro fertilization treatment at the University Hospital between February and December 2016. The FF samples were subjected to miRNA profiling and validation via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis. Mouse/human metaphase-I (MI) oocytes were harvested and micro-injected with an miR-451 inhibitor, and the effects of miR-451 knockdown on Wnt/WNT signalling genes were investigated. Results Oocyte number, fertilization rate, and number of available embryos were decreased significantly in women with endometriosis relative to those without endometriosis. Hsa-miR-451 in FF was downregulated in endometriosis patients relative to control subjects (P

Summary: Although tremendous efforts have been devoted to investigating the analogy between the surface plasmon polariton and its spoof counterparts, it remains elusive that a single thin spoof plasmonic metalens realizes wide-angle focusing and wide field-of-view (FOV) imaging. Here, we propose a spoof plasmonic metasurface that can impart arbitrary phase with high transmittance, which comprises two-dimensional (2D) gradient spoof-insulator-spoof waveguides. With the developed catenary field and dispersion theory, their intrinsic physics is theoretically analyzed. As a proof of concept, a spoof plasmonic metalens with a thickness of 0.15λ has been elaborately designed and experimentally demonstrated for wide-angle (∼170°) focusing and wide FOV (∼40°) imaging. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first experimental demonstration of wide FOV imaging of a 2D object with single thin and planar metalens in the microwave regime. The proposed method offers a promising solution to compact cameras, integrated imaging, and detection systems. : Optical Imaging; Electromagnetic Waves; Surface Subject Areas: Optical Imaging, Electromagnetic Waves, Surface

Summary: Development of spinel oxides as low-cost and high-efficiency catalysts is highly desirable; however, rational synthesis of efficient and stable spinel systems with precisely controlled structure and components remains challenging. We demonstrate the design of complex nanostructured cobalt-based bimetallic spinel catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation by a simple template-free method. The self-assembled multi-shelled mesoporous spinel nanostructures provide high surface area (203.5 m2/g) and favorable unique surface chemistry for producing abundant active sites and lead to the creation of robust microsphere configured by 16-nm spinel nanosheets, which achieve satisfactory water-resisting property and catalytic activity. Theoretical models show that O vacancies at exposed {110} facets in cubic spinel phase guarantee the strong adsorption of reactive oxygen species on the surface of catalysts and play a key role in the prevention of deactivation under moisture-rich conditions. The design concept with architecture and composition control can be extended to other mixed transition metal oxide compositions. : Chemistry; Catalysis; Environmental Nanotechnology Subject Areas: Chemistry, Catalysis, Environmental Nanotechnology

Abstract Background The deubiquitinase USP7 has been identified as an oncogene with key roles in tumorigenesis and therapeutic resistance for a series of cancer types. Recently small molecular inhibitors have been developed to target USP7. However, the anticancer mechanism of USP7 inhibitors is still elusive. Methods Cell viability or clonogenicity was tested by violet crystal assay. Cell apoptosis or cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, and chromosome misalignment was observed by a fluorescent microscopy. The protein interaction of PLK1 and USP7 was detected by tandem affinity purification and high throughput proteomics, and further confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation, GST pull-down and protein co-localization. The correlation between USP7 level of tumor tissues and taxane-resistance was evaluated. Results Pharmacological USP7 inhibition by P5091 retarded cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Further studies showed that P5091 induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, and particularly induced chromosome misalignment, indicating the key roles of USP7 in mitosis. USP7 protein was detected in the PLK1-interacted protein complex. USP7 interacts with PLK1 protein through its PBD domain by catalytic activity. USP7 as a deubiquitinase sustained PLK1 protein stability via the C223 site, and inversely, USP7 inhibition by P5091 promoted the protein degradation of PLK1 through the ubiquitination-proteasome pathway. By overexpressing PLK1, USP7 that had been depleted by RNAi ceased to induce chromosome misalignment in mitosis and again supported cell proliferation and cell survival. Both USP7 and PLK1 were overexpressed in taxane-resistant cancer cells, and negatively correlated with the MP scores in tumor tissues. Either USP7 or PLK1 knockdown by RNAi significantly sensitized taxane-resistant cells to taxane cell killing. Conclusion This is the first report that PLK1 is a novel substrate of USP7 deubiquitinase, and that USP7 sustained the protein stability of PLK1. USP7 inhibition induces cell apoptosis and cell cycle G2/M arrest, and overcomes taxane resistance by inducing the protein degradation of PLK1, resulting in chromosome misalignment in mitosis.

Clarifying the mechanisms of heavy metal (HM) accumulation and translocation from soil-root-leaf is crucial to coping with soil HM pollution. In this study, we analysed copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) accumulation characteristics in Chinese turnips and the effect of soil physicochemical properties on both HM accumulation and translocation. Our results indicate that Chinese turnips absorb and translocate Mn, Zn, and Cd at much higher levels than they do Cu. When we measured bioconcentration factors in Chinese turnips for different HMs in the same soil, we found Chinese turnip capacities for HM accumulation decrease from Zn > Mn > Cd > Cu. In addition, the translocation factor for these HMs decreases from Mn > Cd > Zn > Cu. Correlation analysis indicates that soil pH and various soil components are either negatively or positively correlated with Mn, Zn, and Cd accumulation; also, soil properties are correlated with Mn translocation from root to leaf. These findings may help evaluate HM accumulation and translocation mechanisms as well as artificially regulate HM uptake levels from soils to turnips. Keywords: Turnip, Heavy metal, Bioconcentration, Phytoremediation, Soil composition

The heavy metal ATPase (HMA) subfamily is mainly involved in heavy metal (HM) tolerance and transport in plants, but an understanding of the definite roles and mechanisms of most HMA members are still limited. In the present study, we identified 14 candidate HMA genes named BrrHMA1–BrrHMA8 from the turnip genome and analyzed the phylogeny, gene structure, chromosome distribution, and conserved domains and motifs of HMAs in turnip (Brassica rapa var. rapa). According to our phylogenetic tree, the BrrHMAs are divided into a Zn/Cd/Co/Pb subclass and Cu/Ag subclass. The BrrHMA members show similar structural characteristics within subclasses. To explore the roles of BrrHMAs in turnip, we compared the gene sequences and expression patterns of the BrrHMA genes between a Cd-tolerant landrace and a Cd-sensitive landrace. Most BrrHMA genes showed similar spatial expression patterns in both Cd-tolerant and Cd-sensitive turnip landraces; some BrrHMA genes, however, were differentially expressed in specific tissue in Cd-tolerant and Cd-sensitive turnip. Specifically, BrrHMA genes in the Zn/Cd/Co/Pb subclass shared the same coding sequence but were differentially expressed in Cd-tolerant and Cd-sensitive turnip landraces under Cd stress. Our findings suggest that the stable expression and up-regulated expression of BrrHMA Zn/Cd/Co/Pb subclass genes under Cd stress may contribute to the higher Cd tolerance of turnip landraces. Keywords: Heavy metal ATPase, Cadmium, Turnip, Transmembrane helix, Differential gene expression

In recent years, with the development of photonic crystals, metamaterials, metasurfaces, and other related disciplines, the relationship between the structures and functionalities of artificial optical/electromagnetic materials and devices has become a research hotspot. This article reviews the optical/electromagnetic properties and performance of typical artificial micro/nanostructures. Based on the analogy of mechanics and optics/electromagnetism, the concept of “Electromagnetic Architectures” is proposed. In particular, we reviewed several typical methods for the study of optical/electromagnetic structural‐functional relationships, including semi‐classical analytical models, heuristic optimization methods, deep neural networks, topological optimization methods, etc. The viewpoint of this paper may push further researches on the structural‐functional relationship of artificially structured materials and devices, and find broad application prospects in imaging, communication, photonic chips, among many others.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of cadmium (Cd) tolerance and accumulation in plants is important to address Cd pollution. In the present study, we performed comparative transcriptome analysis to identify the Cd response processes in the roots of two turnip landraces, KTRG-B14 (high-Cd accumulation) and KTRG-B36 (low-Cd accumulation). Two common enhanced processes, glutathione metabolism and antioxidant system, were identified in both landraces. However, some differential antioxidant processes are likely employed by two landraces, namely, several genes encoding peptide methionine sulfoxide reductases and thioredoxins were up-regulated in B14, whereas flavonoid synthesis was potentially induced to fight against oxidative stress in B36. In addition to the commonly upregulated ZINC INDUCED FACILITATOR 1-like gene in two landraces, different metal transporter-encoding genes identified in B14 (DETOXIFICATION 1) and B36 (PLANT CADMIUM RESISTANCE 2-like, probable zinc transporter 10, and ABC transporter C family member 3) were responsible for Cd accumulation and distribution in cells. Several genes that encode extensins were specifically upregulated in B14, which may improve Cd accumulation in cell walls or regulate root development to absorb more Cd. Meanwhile, the induced high-affinity nitrate transporter 2.1-like gene was also likely to contribute to the higher Cd accumulation in B14. However, Cd also caused some toxic symptoms in both landraces. Cd stress might inhibit iron uptake in both landraces whereas many apoenzyme-encoding genes were influenced in B36, which may be attributed to the interaction between Cd and other metal ions. This study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanism of plant root response to Cd at an early stage. The transporters and key enzymes identified in this study are helpful for the molecular-assisted breeding of low- or high-Cd-accumulating plant resources.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a type of chronic vascular disease, and its etiology is not yet fully understood. AS is characterized by lipid deposition, atherosclerotic plaque formation, vascular stenosis or even complete blockage of the blood vessel wall. Clinical studies have shown that Danlou tablets (DLTs) can improve the heart function, quality of life, and prognosis of patients with coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. However, its mechanism of action remains unknown. Our study revealed that DLTs ameliorated ApoE−/−AS mouse aortic atherosclerotic plaques [hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and small animal ultrasound] and reduced CD68+ macrophage infiltration, the expression of the inflammatory factor interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), vascular smooth muscle α-actin, and serum lipid levels. In vitro, in the macrophage foaming model, DLTs partially restored the activity of RAW264.7 cells, reduced the uptake of lipid droplets, and inhibited lipid droplet accumulation and apoptosis within BMDMs. We also found that Torin1, an autophagy agonist, reduced intracellular lipid deposition in BMDMs, as did DLTs. Moreover, DLTs upregulated the expression of the autophagy-related protein LC3II and decreased p62 accumulation in RAW264.7 cells. DLTs also inhibited the phosphorylation of p-PI3K, p-Akt, and p-mTOR, leading to upregulated autophagy in RAW264.7 cells. In summary, our results suggested that DLTs can promote autophagy in macrophages by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby reducing foam cell formation and improving atherosclerosis.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most frequently prescribed chemotherapy medications. However, its nephrotoxicity which often leads to acute kidney injury (AKI), greatly limits its clinical application. Chrysophanol (CHR), a mainly active anthraquinone ingredient, possesses various biological and pharmacological activities. In this study, we aimed to investigate the underlying protective mechanisms of CHR against CDDP-induced AKI (CDDP-AKI) using C57BL/6 mouse and human proximal tubule epithelial cells. In vivo, we found that pre-treatment with CHR greatly relieved CDDP-AKI and improved the kidney function and morphology. The mechanistic studies indicated that it might alleviate CDDP-AKI by inhibiting oxidative stress, apoptosis, and IKKβ/IκBα/p65/transcription factor nuclear kappa B (NF-κB) inflammation signaling pathway induced by CDDP. Moreover, we found that the cell viability of HK2 cells reduced by CDDP was partially rescued by CHR pre-incubation. Flow cytometry results further indicated that CHR pre-incubation suppressed CDDP induced cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and inhibited cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In summary, our results suggested that CHR might be a novel therapy for CDDP-induced AKI.

The aboveground biomass (AGB) of a forest is an important indicator of the forest’s terrestrial carbon storage and its relation to climate change. Due to the advantage of extensive spatial coverage and low cost, coarse-resolution remote sensing data is the main data source for wall-to-wall mapping of forest AGB at the regional scale. Despite this, improving the accuracy and efficiency of forest AGB estimation is a major challenge. In this study, two optical imageries, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 500 m imagery and Fengyun-3C Visible and Infrared Radiometer (FY-3C VIRR) 1000 m imagery, were used and compared for forest AGB estimation in Yunnan Province, southwest China. One parametric approach, multiple linear regression (MLR), and two nonparametric approaches, k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and random forest (RF), were applied for the two imagery datasets, respectively. We evaluated the performance of the combination of remote sensing data and modeling approaches by comparing the accuracies and also explored the potential of FY-3C imagery data in forest AGB estimation at the regional scale as it was used for this purpose for the first time. We found that the machine learning models KNN and RF provided better results than MLR. From the three approaches for both MODIS and FY-3C imagery, RF performed best with R2 values of 0.84 and 0.81 and RMSE of 23.18 and 23.43, respectively. Estimation of forest AGB based on MODIS was marginally better than the estimation based on FY-3C. FY-3C imagery could therefore be an additional optical remote sensing data source of coarse spatial resolution, comparable to MODIS data which has been widely used for regional forest AGB estimation. Indices related to forest canopy moisture levels from both types of imagery were sensitive to forest AGB. The RF model and MODIS imagery were then applied to map the spatial variation of forest AGB of Yunnan Province. As a result of our study, we determined that Yunnan Province has a total forest AGB of 2123.22 Mt, with a mean value of 58.05 t/ha for forestland in 2016.

The control and adjustment of in-flight attitudes are critical to enlarging the flight distance of ski jumping. As one of the most important gears, the skis provide sufficient lift and drag forces for the athletes, and thus their in-flight attitudes should be optimized to improve flight performance. Here, the lift-to-drag ratio of a ski jumping ski is optimized with/without a constraint of lift capacity. The ski attitude is defined by three Eulerian angles and the resulting aerodynamic characteristics are predicted by Kriging models, which are established based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data. The surrogated models are dynamically updated in the optimization process to ensure their accuracy. Our results find that the optimization of the lift-to-drag ratio should be constrained by a certain lift capacity to be more practical. The angle of attack of the ski dominates the optimal lift-to-drag ratio at different lift levels while the yaw and roll angles are almost independent of the constraint once the required lift coefficient surpasses 0.6. This thus suggests that the athletes should focus on the angle of attack when modifying the ski attitude in the flight, which may reduce the difficulties in their in-flight decision makings.

Monolithic integrated mode converters with high integration are essential to photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and they are widely used in next-generation optical communications and complex quantum systems. It is expected that PICs will become more miniaturized, multifunctional, and intelligent with the development of micro/nano-technology. The increase in design space makes it difficult to realize high-performance device design based on traditional parameter sweeping or heuristic design, especially in the optimal design of reconfigurable PIC devices. Combining the mode coupling theory and adjoint calculation method, we proposed a design method for a switchable mode converter. The device could realize the transmission of TE0 mode and the conversion from TE0 to TE1 mode with a footprint of 0.9 × 7.5 μm2 based on the phase change materials (PCMs). We also found that the mode purity could reach 78.2% in both states at the working wavelength of 1.55 μm. The designed method will provide a new impetus for programmable photonic integrated devices and find broad application prospects in communication, optical neural networks, and sensing.

As smart devices and mobile positioning technologies improve, location-based services (LBS) have grown in popularity. The LBS environment provides considerable convenience to users, but it also poses a significant threat to their privacy. A large number of research works have emerged to protect users’ privacy. Dummy-based location privacy protection solutions have been widely adopted for their simplicity and enhanced privacy protection results, but there are few reviews on dummy-based location privacy protection. Or, for existing works, some focus on aspects of cryptography, anonymity, or other comprehensive reviews that do not provide enough reviews on dummy-based privacy protection. In this paper, the authors provide a review of dummy-based location privacy protection techniques for location-based services. More specifically, the connection between the level of privacy protection, the quality of service, and the system overhead is summarized. The difference and connection between various location privacy protection techniques are also described. The dummy-based attack models are presented. Then, the algorithms for dummy location selection are analyzed and evaluated. Finally, we thoroughly evaluate different dummy location selection methods and arrive at a highly useful evaluation result. This result is valuable both to users and researchers who are studying this field.

Xerophyta retinervis has great ornamental value and numerous traditional uses. This study reported its first complete chloroplast genome sequence, which was 155,109 bp in length, including a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs) (27,093 bp), a small single-copy (SSC) region (17,385 bp), and a large single-copy (LSC) region (83,538bp). The chloroplast genome encoded 133 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The total GC content of the chloroplast genome was 37.55%. The phylogenetic tree showed that X. retinervis was closely related to X. spekei.

PurposeTo evaluate the value of C1QC+ and SPP1+ TAMs gene signatures in patients with cervical cancer.MethodsWe compare the C1QC+ and SPP1+ TAMs gene signatures with the M1/M2 gene signatures at single cell level and bulk RNA-seq level and evaluate which gene signature can clearly divide TAMs and patients with cervical cancer into distinct clinical subclusters better.ResultsAt single-cell level, C1QC+ and SPP1+ TAMs gene signatures, but not M1 and M2 gene signatures, could clearly divided TAMs into two subclusters in a colon cancer data set and an advanced basal cell data set. For cervical cancer data from TCGA, patients with C1QChigh and SPP1low TAMs gene signatures have the best prognosis, lowest proportion (34.21%) of locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC), and highest immune cell infiltration, whereas patients with C1QClow and SPP1high TAMs gene signatures have the worst prognosis, highest proportion (71.79%) of LACC and lowest immune cell infiltration. Patients with C1QChigh and SPP1low TAMs gene signature have higher expression of most of the Immune checkpoint molecules (ICMs) than patients with C1QClow and SPP1high TAMs gene signatures. The GSEA results suggested that subgroups of patients divided by C1QC+ and SPP1+ TAMs gene signatures showed different anti- or pro-tumor state.ConclusionC1QC+ and SPP1+ TAMs gene signatures, but not M1/M2 gene signatures, can divide cervical patients into subgroups with different prognosis, tumor stage, different immune cell infiltration, and ICMs expression. Our findings may help to find suitable treatment strategy for cervical cancer patients with different TAMs gene signatures.

Energy conservation and emission reduction have drawn more and more attention in the world. Loaders are widely used in various earthworks. However, traditional loaders with high energy consumption and poor emission cannot meet the needs of sustainable development. Electric loaders can achieve zero emission by replacing the engine with the electric motor, which is considered to be one of the main trends in future development. However, the existing electric loader only uses the electric motor to simulate the operation of the engine without fully considering the characteristics of the hydraulic system, resulting in the inability to optimize the energy efficiency and control performance of the system. In this paper, an electric motor with excellent speed regulation was employed. A positive flow system based on variable speed for constant displacement pump was studied. The efficiency of the power train system was analyzed. The relationships of the opening area of the main valve core, the system demand flow, and the pilot pressure were studied. A variable speed control strategy based on the pilot pressure control was put forward. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed system and control strategy, simulation and experiments were carried out. The results showed that the proposed system has better energy saving and maneuverability than the traditional constant flow system.

Protein post-translational modification (PTM) is an efficient biological mechanism to regulate protein structure and function, but its role in plant responses to heavy metal stress is poorly understood. The present study performed quantitative succinyl-proteome profiling using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis to explore the potential roles of lysine succinylation modification in turnip seedlings in response to cadmium (Cd) stress (20 μM) under hydroponic conditions over a short time period (0–8 h). A total of 547 succinylated sites on 256 proteins were identified in the shoots of turnip seedlings. These succinylated proteins participated in various biological processes (e.g., photosynthesis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid metabolism, and response to stimulation) that occurred in diverse cellular compartments according to the functional classification, subcellular localization, and protein interaction network analysis. Quantitative analysis showed that the intensities of nine succinylation sites on eight proteins were significantly altered (p < 0.05) in turnip shoots after 8 h of Cd stress. These differentially succinylated sites were highly conserved in Brassicaceae species and mostly located in the conserved domains of the proteins. Among them, a downregulated succinylation site (K150) in the glycolate oxidase protein (Gene0282600.1), an upregulated succinylation site (K396) in the catalase 3 protein (Gene0163880.1), and a downregulated succinylation site (K197) in the glutathione S-transferase protein (Gene0315380.1) may have contributed to the altered activity of the corresponding enzymes, which suggests that lysine succinylation affects the Cd detoxification process in turnip by regulating the H2O2 accumulation and glutathione metabolism. These results provide novel insights into understanding Cd response mechanisms in plants and important protein modification information for the molecular-assisted breeding of Brassica varieties with distinct Cd tolerance and accumulation capacities.

To explore the impact of artificial shelterbelt construction with saline irrigation on the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) of shifting sandy soil in extreme arid desert areas, three treatments including under the shelterbelt (US), bare land in the shelterbelt (BL) and shifting sandy land (CK) in the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert were selected. The age of the shelterbelt is 16, and the vegetation cover is mainly Calligonum mongolicum. The soils from different depths of 0–30 cm were taken keeping in view the objective of the study. The SWCCs were determined by the centrifugal method and fitting was performed using various models such as the Gardner (G) model, Brooks–Corey (BC) model and Van Genuchten (VG) model. Then, the most suitable SWCC model was selected. The results showed that electrical conductivity (EC) and organic matter content of BL and US decreased with the increasing soil depth, while the EC and organic matter content of CK increased with the soil depth. The changes in soil bulk density, EC and organic matter of 0–5 cm soil were mostly significant (p < 0.05) for different treatments, and the differences in SWCCs were also significant among different treatments. Moreover, the construction of an artificial shelterbelt improved soil water-holding capacity and had the most significant impacts on the surface soil. The increase in soil water-holding capacity decreased with increasing soil depth, and the available soil water existed in the form of readily available water. The BC model and VG model were found to be better than the G model in fitting results, and the BC model had the best fitting result on CK, while the VG Model had the best fitting result on BL with higher organic matter and salt contents. Comparing the fitting results of the three models, we concluded that although the fitting accuracy of the VG model tended to decrease with increasing organic matter and salinity, the VG model had the highest fitting accuracy when comparing with BC and G models for the BL treatment with high organic matter and salinity. Therefore, the influence of organic matter and salinity should be considered when establishing soil water transfer function.

Since the 21st century, large cities around the world have experienced the transition from economically destructive development to a harmonious eco-environment. Understanding the dynamic relationships between human activities and urban eco-environment in this transition is a challenging and essential topic. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) can reflect the urban vegetation cover status well. Socio-economic indexes can present the intensity and spatiality of human activities quantitatively. This work aims to use traditional regression models and machine learning algorithms to analyze the impact of socio-economic factors on NDVI accurately. Random forest regression (RFR) was performed to initially assess the contributions of all factors on NDVI, which was the numerical basis for feature selection. Subsequently, detailed dynamic relationship simulations were implemented using geographically weighted regression. In the case of Wuhan in China, the results showed that the goodness-of-fit of NDVI with socio-economic factors generally exceeded 50%. The influence coefficients changed from negative to positive, and 2010 was the turning point, indicating that human activities gradually played a favorable role in protecting vegetation during this transition period. The urban–rural interface, which was located between urban centers and marginal urban suburbs, was the area where human activities contributed most to vegetation. Thus, policy makers should focus on planning and managing housing construction and vegetation planting in urban–rural interface to relieve the population burden of the central area and improve the environmental conditions of the urban eco-environment subconsciously.

Radiation-induced intestinal injury is one of the major side effects in patients receiving radiation therapy. There is no specific treatment for radiation-induced enteritis in the clinic. We synthesized a compound, named JAC4, which is an agonist and can increase JWA protein expression. JWA has been shown to reduce oxidative stress, DNA damage, anti-apoptosis, and anti-inflammatory; in addition, the small intestine epithelium showed dysplasia in JWA knockout mice. We hypothesized that JAC4 might exert a protective effect against radiation-induced intestinal damage. Herein, X-ray radiation models were built both in mice and in intestinal crypt epithelial cells (IEC-6). C57BL/6J mice were treated with JAC4 by gavage before abdominal irradiation (ABI); the data showed that JAC4 significantly reduced radiation-induced intestinal mucosal damage and increased the survival rate. In addition, radiation-induced oxidative stress damage and systemic inflammatory response were also mitigated by JAC4 treatment. Moreover, JAC4 treatment alleviated DNA damage, decreased cell apoptosis, and maintained intestinal epithelial cell proliferation in mice. In vitro data showed that JAC4 treatment significantly inhibited ROS formation and cell apoptosis. Importantly, all the above protective effects of JAC4 on X-ray radiation-triggered intestinal injury were no longer determined in the intestinal epithelium of JWA knockout mice. Therefore, our results provide the first evidence that JAC4 protects the intestine from radiation-induced enteritis through JWA-mediated anti-oxidation/inflammation signaling.

Summary: Recently, metasurface-based multichannel optical vortex arrays have attracted considerable interests due to its promising applications in high-dimensional information storage and high-secure information encryption. In addition to the well-known wavelength and polarization multiplexing technologies, the diffraction angle of light is an alternative typical physical dimension for multichannel optical vortex arrays. In this paper, based on angular multiplexing, we propose and demonstrate multichannel optical vortex arrays by using ultrathin geometric metasurface. For a circularly polarized incident light, the desired optical vortex arrays are successfully constructed in different diffraction regions. Moreover, the diffraction angle of the optical vortex array can be regulated by changing the illumination angle of incident light. Capitalizing on this advantage, the angular-multiplexed recombination of optical vortex array is further investigated. The combination of the diffraction angle of light and optical vortex array may have significant potential in applications of optical display, free-space optical communication, and optical manipulation.

Abstract Data collection is the basic functions of the Internet of Things (IoT), in which the sensed data are concentrations from sensor nodes to the sink, with a timely style, so the smart response can be done for emergency. The goal of multi-modal sensor data fusion is to obtain simple and accurate data to enhance system reliability and fault tolerance. Energy efficiency and small delay are the most important indicators which govern the performance of IoT. Convergecast is a low-latency data collection strategy based on effective time division multiple access (TDMA), in which each sensor node generates a packet, and m packets can aggregate to a packet. However, in most practical networks, sensor nodes do not necessarily generate packets during each data collection cycle, but instead generate packets from time to time. In the previous convergecast strategy, each node was fixedly allocated a slot, which increased the delay and wasted energy. A delay and energy-efficient data collection (DEEDC) scheme-based matrix filling theory is proposed to collect data in a randomly generated WSNs with minimum delay and energy consumption. The DEEDC scheme uses a clustering approach. For each cluster, the number of slots required for transmission is calculated by matrix filling theory, not the number of nodes that actually generate data. This ensures that data can be collected in a network with randomly generated data (number of slots ≤ number of nodes), thereby avoiding the allocation of slots for each node and the acquisition of redundant data to lead to the wastage of time and energy. Based on the above, a mixed slot scheduling strategy is proposed to construct energy and delay-efficient, collision-free schedule scheme. After extensive theoretical analysis, by using the DEEDC scheme, the delay is reduced by about 50~80%, and the energy consumed is reduced by about 40~57%.

In this paper, we propose and analyze a two-species Lotka-Volterra competition model with random perturbations that relate to the inter-specific competition rates and the coexistence equilibrium of the corresponding deterministic system. The stochasticity in inter-specific competition (between species) is more important than that in intra-specific competition (within species). We pose two assumptions and then obtain su cient conditions for coexistence and for competitive exclusion respectively, and find that small random perturbations will not destroy the dynamic behaviors of the corresponding deterministic system. Moreover, if one species goes extinct, the convergence rate to zero is obtained by investigating the Lyapunov exponent. Finally, we provide several numerical examples to illustrate our mathematical results.

The IL-17-producing CD4+ T cell and γδT cells play critical roles in the pathogenesis of psoriasis (PS). PSORI-CM02 is a representative herbal formula for the treatment for PS in South China. It was confirmed to improve PS without obvious side effects in the clinic. Here we sought to clarify whether and how PSORI-CM02 regulates T cell differentiation and functions in IMQ-induced psoriasis-like BALB/c mouse model. Mice pre-treated 3 days with PSORI-CM02 significantly alleviated skin inflammation, as reduced in PASI score and classic psoriatic characteristics in pathological sections. CD3 and CD4 positive T cells were also fewer in the skin lesions of PSORI-CM02 groups, comparing to control group. PSORI-CM02 also decreased pro-inflammatory IFNγ mRNA and IL-17 A mRNA, while increased IL-4 mRNA in mouse skin lesions. In skin draining lymph nodes (DLN), PSORI-CM02 reduced the ratio of γδT cells and inhibited their function of producing IL-17 A. Nevertheless PSORI-CM02 had no effects on the ratio of total TCRβ+T cells and CD4 + T cells. But it regulated CD4 + T helper cells differentiation, and resulted in the decreasing percentage of IFNγ producing Th1 cells and IL-17 A producing Th17 cells, while increasing the ratio of IL-4 producing Th2 cells in DLN. Further data showed that PSORI-CM02 promote expression of Th2 specific transcript factor GATA3, but had no effects on T-bet and RORγ. Thus, we tentatively interpret that PSORI-CM02 impairs IMQ-induced psoriasis by promoting Th2 cell response targeting of GATA3.

Spiradiclis karstana, a new species of Spiradiclis (Rubiaceae) collected from Yunnan, China, is described for the first time. It is morphologically close to S. jingxiensis, but differs from the latter mainly by its inflorescences with 5–9 flowers, its 1.5–2.4 mm long peduncles, its stipules shorter than 1 mm and the 5–12 pairs of secondary veins. The conservation status is assessed as “Vulnerable” (VU) according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.