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A simple microwave-assisted method for extracting antioxidant phenolic compounds from emblic (Phyllanthus emblica L.) fruits was developed and optimized with response surface methodology (RSM). The influence of process conditions including microwave power, irradiation time, ethanol concentration, and solvent-to-solid ratio on the extraction of total phenolic content was analyzed by using a second-order regression equation. The optimum extraction parameters were as follows: microwave power, 480 W; irradiation time, 29 s; ethanol concentration, 66%; liquid-to-solid ratio, 25 mL/g. Under these conditions, the recovery of total phenolic content was 133.58 ± 15.61 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight (DW). The extracts were also analyzed using HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS to identify eight compounds including hamamelitannin, mucic acid-1,4-lactone-3-O-gallate, ellagic acid, and isocorilagin. To our knowledge, this is the first report of hamamelitannin in emblic fruit. The extracts exhibited strong antioxidant capacities in DPPH and ABTS+ radical scavenging assays and showed an excellent inhibition of lipid peroxidation and reducing property. These findings illustrated that the optimized microwave-assisted extraction method was efficient in extracting phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity from emblic fruits. It was suggested that emblic fruits may be a new potential source as natural antioxidant agents applied in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using photovoltaic (PV) power for hydrogen production presents an alluring prospect under humanity's ongoing pursuit of carbon neutrality by mid of this century. An indispensable initial step in commissioning PV–hydrogen hybrid systems involves analyzing in-depth its capacity configuration, operation strategy, and economic benefits. With the objective of maximizing the annual profit of such systems, this work formulates a capacity optimization model and performs related economic analysis, with pre-determined installed capacity and plant layout. Two aspects distinguish this work from its predecessors: (1) The physical (i.e., model chain) modeling of PV is employed to narrate the behavior of the PV plant in a more refined fashion, and (2) the impact of government support on the configuration and economics of PV–hydrogen hybrid systems is analyzed by incorporating into the objective function environmental benefits subsidized by the government. Besides, sensitivity analysis is conducted for numerous parameters that can affect the configuration outcome. The proposed model is applied under the climate regime of Heilongjiang Province, China, and the veracity and validity of the proposed model are verified via case studies. The results reveal that a 1-MW PV plant requires a transformer of 226.9 kW, electrolyzers of 366.8 kW, and 3 compressors, when the physical modeling of PV is utilized. The exorbitant investment cost of hydrogen tanks and hydrogen fuel cells renders these devices unsuitable for use in PV–hydrogen hybrid systems. The advantages of physical modeling of PV enable an increase of 38.9% in the annual profit of the hybrid systems, compared to the conventional modeling of PV using only surrogate equations. Furthermore, it is found that government subsidy policy, various prices and costs, and the utilization rate of PV power are among the most influencing factors affecting the optimal capacity and economics of the hybrid systems. In solar-rich areas of Heilongjiang, it is preferable to equip electrolyzers with a larger capacity and to install a transformer with a smaller rating power, to achieve a higher annual profit. The levelized cost of electricity of PV–hydrogen hybrid systems is 0.03 $/kWh, the levelized cost of hydrogen is 2.9 $/kg, and the payback time is ∼ 11 years. These results could serve as a benchmark for future PV–hydrogen hybrid system development, and offer information that is of interest to policymakers, operators, and investors, thereby contributing to the realization of zero-carbon energy systems. • Sizing and economic analysis of PV–hydrogen hybrid systems are conducted. • The model involving the physical modeling of PV is verified in Heilongjiang, China. • Refined modeling of PV increases the annual profit by up to 38.9%. • The impact of government policy on equipment specs and economics is substantial. • The payback time of PV–hydrogen hybrid systems is ∼ 11 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a facile method has been developed to synthesize a novel type of porous magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (Fe 3 O 4 -MER-MMIPs) for the selective adsorption and removal of meropenem. The Fe 3 O 4 -MER-MMIPs, with abundant functional groups and sufficient magnetism for easy separation, are prepared in aqueous solutions. The porous carriers reduce the overall mass of the MMIPs, greatly improving their adsorption capacity per unit mass and optimizing the overall value of the adsorbents. The green preparation conditions, adsorption performance, and physical and chemical properties of Fe 3 O 4 -MER-MMIPs have been carefully studied. The developed submicron materials exhibit a homogeneous morphology, satisfactory superparamagnetism (60 emu g−1), large adsorption capacity (11.49 mg g−1), quick adsorption kinetics (40 min), and good practical implementation in human serum and environmental water. Finally, the protocol developed in this work delivers a green and feasible method for synthesizing highly efficient adsorbents for the specific adsorption and removal of other antibiotics as well. [Display omitted] • A novel of porous magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers was prepared. • A green and feasible solvothermal method was first proposed. • Template immobilization strategy and magnetic separation technology were combined. • The imprinted nanomaterials have high adsorption capacity and good reusability. • Specific enrichment and detection of trace meropenem from real samples was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Signal transduction mediated by heterotrimeric G proteins, which comprise the α, β, and γ subunits, is one of the most important signaling pathways in rice plants. RGA1, which encodes the Gα subunit of the G protein, plays an important role in the response to various types of abiotic stress, including salt, drought, and cold stress. However, the role of RGA1 in the response to heat stress remains unclear. Results: The heat-resistant mutant ett1 (enhanced thermo-tolerance 1) with a new allele of the RGA1 gene was derived from an ethane methyl sulfonate-induced Zhonghua11 mutant. After 45 °C heat stress treatment for 36 h and recovery for 7 d, the survival rate of the ett1 mutants was significantly higher than that of wild-type (WT) plants. The malondialdehyde content was lower, and the maximum fluorescence quantum yield of photosystem II, peroxidase activity, and hsp expression were higher in ett1 mutants than in WT plants after 12 h of exposure to 45 °C. The RNA-sequencing results revealed that the expression of genes involved in the metabolism of carbohydrate, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and energy was up-regulated in ett1 under heat stress. The carbohydrate content and the relative expression of genes involved in sucrose metabolism indicated that carbohydrate metabolism was accelerated in ett1 under heat stress. Energy parameters, including the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and the energy charge, were significantly higher in the ett1 mutants than in WT plants under heat stress. Importantly, exogenous glucose can alleviate the damages on rice seedling plants caused by heat stress. Conclusion: RGA1 negatively regulates the thermo-tolerance in rice seedling plants through affecting carbohydrate and energy metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ischemia–reperfusion (IR) environment during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) cardiovascular surgery is a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI), which lacks preventive measure and treatment. It was reported that cold inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) can be induced under hypoxic and hypothermic stress and may have a protective effect on multiple organs. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether CIRP could exert renoprotective effect during hypothermic IR and the potential mechanisms. Methods: Utilizing RNA-sequencing, we compared the differences in gene expression between Cirp knockout rats and wild-type rats after DHCA and screened the possible mechanisms. Then, we established the hypothermic oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) model using HK-2 cells transfected with siRNA to verify the downstream pathways and explore potential pharmacological approach. The effects of CIRP and enarodustat (JTZ-951) on renal IR injury (IRI) were investigated in vivo and in vitro using multiple levels of pathological and molecular biological experiments. Results: We discovered that Cirp knockout significantly upregulated rat Phd3 expression, which is the key regulator of HIF-1α, thereby inhibiting HIF-1α after DHCA. In addition, deletion of Cirp in rat model promoted apoptosis and aggravated renal injury by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and significant activation of the TGF-β1/p38 MAPK inflammatory pathway. Then, based on the HK-2 cell model of hypothermic OGD, we found that CIRP silencing significantly stimulated the expression of the TGF-β1/p38 MAPK inflammatory pathway by activating the PHD3/HIF-1α axis, and induced more severe apoptosis through the mitochondrial cytochrome c-Apaf-1-caspase 9 and FADD-caspase 8 death receptor pathways compared with untransfected cells. However, silencing PHD3 remarkably activated the expression of HIF-1α and alleviated the apoptosis of HK-2 cells in hypothermic OGD. On this basis, by pretreating HK-2 and rats with enarodustat, a novel HIF-1α stabilizer, we found that enarodustat significantly mitigated renal cellular apoptosis under hypothermic IR and reversed the aggravated IRI induced by CIRP defect, both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that CIRP may confer renoprotection against hypothermic IRI by suppressing PHD3/HIF-1α-mediated apoptosis. PHD3 inhibitors and HIF-1α stabilizers may have clinical value in renal IRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning-based intrusion detection systems are an effective way to cope with the increasing security threats faced by industrial control systems. Considering that it is hard and expensive to obtain attack data, it is more reasonable to develop a model trained with only normal data. However, both high-dimensional data and the presence of outliers in the training set result in efficiency degradation. In this research, we present a hybrid intrusion detection method to overcome these two problems. First, we created an improved autoencoder that incorporates the deep support vector data description (Deep SVDD) loss into the training of the autoencoder. Under the combination of Deep SVDD loss and reconstruction loss, the novel autoencoder learns a more compact latent representation from high-dimensional data. The density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise algorithm is then used to remove potential outliers in the training data. Finally, a Bayesian Gaussian mixture model is used to identify anomalies. It learns the distribution of the filtered training data and uses the probabilities to classify normal and anomalous samples. We conducted a series of experiments on two intrusion detection datasets to assess performance. The proposed model performs better than other baseline methods when dealing with high-dimensional and contaminated data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widely use of high-performance concrete, the lower and lower water-to-cement (w/c) ratio is applied in practice. This low w/c ratio can offer high strength and low permeability, however, coming with other drawbacks, such as high self-desiccation and high temperature rise, both of which can increase the early-age cracking potential of concrete. Creep is important to evaluate the early-age cracking resistance of concrete. Although studies on the influence of w/c ratio on the creep of mature concrete have been conducted, investigations on the influence of w/c ratio on the early-age tensile creep remain lacking. Therefore, investigations on the influence of w/c ratio on the tensile creep and cracking resistance of early-age concrete must be conducted. Experimental studies on the influence of w/c ratio (0.33, 0.40, and 0.50) on the temperature change, autogenous shrinkage, restrained stress, tensile creep, and cracking resistance of early-age concrete under adiabatic condition and at full restraint degree were conducted using Temperature Stress Test Machine. The test results indicate that (1) the temperature rise under adiabatic condition increased by 32.6%, and 74.2% when w/c ratio decreased from 0.50 to 0.40, and 0.33, respectively; (2) the restrained tensile stress rate under adiabatic condition and at full restraint degree increased by 16.7%, and 33.3% when w/c ratio decreased from 0.50 to 0.40, and 0.33, respectively; (3) the early-age specific basic tensile creep and basic tensile creep/shrinkage under adiabatic condition and at full restraint degree increased with the decrease of w/c ratio; (4) the early-age cracking potential under adiabatic condition and at full restraint degree increased with the decrease of w/c ratio according to the integrated criterion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, three pairs of cationic cyclometallated palladium (II) complexes with different types of C^N ligands, which is non-phosphorescent in aqueous solution, interestingly, they can be utilized as turn-on blue phosphorescent probes selectively for ClO−, HSO 3 − and CO 3 2−, and turn-on green phosphorescent probe for HSO 3 − in aqueous solution. These different phosphorescent turn-on responses of Pd(II) complexes could be attributed to the degree of coordination and electrostatic interaction between them with specific anion. It suggests that the selectivity towards specific anion of these cyclometallated Pd(II) complexes can be further improved by rationally tuning the structure and enhancing aromaticity of C^N ligand. Our study reveals that these specific species of anions can effectively induce self-assembly of Pd(II) compounds with different C^N ligand based on Pd Pd interaction, the aggregation and morphology of palladium complex with anion in aqueous media was also investigated by various means of 1H NMR, UV / Vis, fluorescence spectra, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that nanowires with increased length of diameters of Pd complexes can form in aqueous solution in presence of anions with different high concentration. Furthermore, the cellular uptake and location of Pd2a was also investigated by confocal imaging for the first time. DFT calculation of monomer and dimer of Pd2a was also performed, which is helpful to explain the turn on phosphorescent effect during self-assembly process. Cyclometalated palladium (II) complexes can be used as turn-on blue and green phosphorescent probes for anions in aqueous solution. Their selectivity towards anions can be improved by tuning the structure of CN ligand. The aggregation of Pd (II) complex with anion in solution was investigated, and DFT calculation was performed. [Display omitted] • A series of Pd (II) complexes can be used as turn on phosphorescent probes for anion. • By tuning the structure of CN ligand, the selectivity of anions can be improved. • The aggregation of Pd (II) complexes with anion in media was investigated by various means. • DFT calculation of monomer and dimer of Pd2a was also performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐light stress compromises photosynthetic and energy efficiency and leads to spikelet sterility; however, the effect of low‐light stress on pollen tube elongation in the pistil remains poorly understood. The gene RGA1, which encodes a Gα‐subunit of the heterotrimeric G‐protein, enhanced low‐light tolerance at anthesis by preventing the cessation of pollen tube elongation in the pistil of rice plants. In this process, marked increases in the activities of acid invertase (INV), sucrose synthase (SUS) and mitochondrial respiratory electron transport chain complexes, as well as the relative expression levels of SUTs (sucrose transporter), SWEETs (sugars will eventually be exported transporters), SUSs, INVs, CINs (cell‐wall INV 1), SnRK1A (sucrose‐nonfermenting 1‐related kinase 1) and SnRK1B, were observed in OE‐1 plants. Accordingly, notable increases in contents of ATP and ATPase were presented in OE‐1 plants under low‐light conditions, while they were decreased in d1 plants. Importantly, INV and ATPase activators (sucrose and Na2SO3, respectively) increased spikelet fertility by improving the energy status in the pistil under low‐light conditions, and the ATPase inhibitor Na2VO4 induced spikelet sterility and decreased ATPase activity. These results suggest that RGA1 could alleviate the low‐light stress‐induced impairment of pollen tube elongation to increase spikelet fertility by promoting sucrose unloading in the pistil and improving the metabolism and allocation of energy. Summary statement: Low‐light results in spikelet sterility and threatens the security of rice production. RGA1 provides sufficient energy for pollen tube growth in the pistil of rice (Oryza sativa) under low‐light stress by promoting sucrose unloading as well as improving energy production, allocation and utilization [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The colour, texture, water‐holding capacity (WHC) and particle properties of gels were examined to assess the impact of starch (cassava, corn and sweet potato starch) on the attributes of alkali‐heat‐induced gels. The results indicated that the whiteness, hardness and WHC of egg white gels were positively affected by starches. The microstructure of the mixed gel showed increasing reticulation and holes as the starch content increased, which contributed to the stiff structure of the gel. Although the gel made with corn starch had the lowest WHC, the gel made with sweet potato starch had the highest WHC. The average size of the gel particles decreased as a result of the inhibition of starch gelatinisation. Starch causes alterations in the protein secondary structure of egg white gels, primarily causing α‐helix and β‐sheet interconversion. The stiffness of the gels was improved by increasing the quantity of β‐sheet structures. According to the electrophoresis findings, a small amount of sweet potato starch can help prevent ovalbumin from degrading, while having no impact on the ability of the protein to cross‐link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Hotspots of biodiversity are often associated with areas that have undergone orogenic activity during recent geological history. Mountain uplifts are known to catalyse species radiation but their impact on evolutionarily stable taxa such as many trees remains little understood. The oak Quercus aquifolioides is endemic to yet widely distributed across the Hengduanshan Biodiversity Hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. Here, we investigate how the region's Neogene and Quaternary history has driven the species' past population dynamics and the resulting extant patterns of intraspecific diversity. Location Hengduanshan Biodiversity Hotspot in SW China. Methods We sampled 58 populations throughout the species range and genotyped a total of 959 individuals at four chloroplast DNA fragments and 11 nuclear microsatellite loci. Phylogenetic reconstructions, molecular dating techniques and ancestral area reconstructions were used in combination with population genetic statistics to infer the biogeographical history of Q. aquifolioides. The phylogeographical study was complemented by a survey of fossil records and a niche modelling exercise. Results Combined molecular and fossil evidence indicates that Q. aquifolioides descended during the late Miocene from the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into Tibet and the western Sichuan Plateau, and from there, into the area of highest endemism in the Hengduan Mountains sensu lato. Great apparent population stability and a haplotype 'radiation' in this area contrasted with marked extinction-recolonization dynamics and reduced population diversity in Tibet. We found evidence for extremely limited seed gene flow but extensive pollen gene flow (global FST: cp DNA = 0.98, nSSR = 0.07) with signals of asymmetric pollen dispersal from the Hengduan Mountains into Tibet. Main conclusion Our results provide insights of unprecedented detail into the ancient biogeographical history of the Hengduanshan Biodiversity Hotspot, suggesting that past environmental changes in the region may have catalysed radiative diversifications within species much in the same way as among species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For either the equivalence trial or the non-inferiority trial with survivor outcomes from two treatment groups, the most popular testing procedure is the extension (e.g., Wellek, A log-rank test for equivalence of two survivor functions, Biometrics, 1993; 49: 877-881) of log-rank based test under proportional hazards model. We show that the actual type I error rate for the popular procedure of Wellek is higher than the intended nominal rate when survival responses from two treatment arms satisfy the proportional odds survival model. When the true model is proportional odds survival model, we show that the hypothesis of equivalence of two survival functions can be formulated as a statistical hypothesis involving only the survival odds ratio parameter. We further show that our new equivalence test, formulation, and related procedures are applicable even in the presence of additional covariates beyond treatment arms, and the associated equivalence test procedures have correct type I error rates under the proportional hazards model as well as the proportional odds survival model. These results show that use of our test will be a safer statistical practice for equivalence trials of survival responses than the commonly used log-rank based tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Myelosuppression is a common condition during chemotherapy. Bone-associated mesenchymal stem cells (BA-MSCs) play an essential role in the composition of the hematopoietic microenvironment and support hematopoietic activity. However, chemotherapy-induced damage to BA-MSCs is rarely studied. Recent studies have shown that platelets promote the wound-healing capability of MSCs by mitochondrial transfer. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the chemotherapy-induced damage to BA-MSCs and the therapeutic effect of platelet-derived mitochondria. Material/Methods. We established in vivo and in vitro BA-MSC chemotherapy injury models using the chemotherapy agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Changes in the mitochondrial dynamics were detected by transmission electron microscopy, and the expression of mitochondrial fusion and fission genes was analyzed by qRT-PCR. In addition, mitochondrial functions were also explored by flow cytometry and luminometer. Platelet-derived mitochondria were incubated with 5-FU-damaged BA-MSCs to repair the injury, and BA-MSC functional changes were examined to assess the therapy efficacy. The mechanism of treatment was explored by studying the expression of mitochondrial fission and fusion genes and hematopoietic regulatory factor genes in BA-MSCs. Results. Stimulation with 5-FU increased the apoptosis and suppressed cell cycle progression of BA-MSCs both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, 5-FU chemotherapy inhibited the hematopoietic regulatory ability and disrupted the mitochondrial dynamics and functions of BA-MSCs. The mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP content of 5-FU-injured BA-MSCs were decreased. Interestingly, when platelet-derived mitochondria were transferred to BA-MSCs, the 5-FU-induced apoptosis was alleviated, and the hematopoietic regulatory ability of 5-FU-injured BA-MSCs was effectively improved by upregulating the expression of mitochondrial fusion genes and hematopoietic regulatory factor genes. Conclusion. BA-MSCs were severely damaged by 5-FU chemotherapy both in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile, platelet-derived mitochondria could attenuate the 5-FU-induced injury to BA-MSCs, which provides future research directions for exploring the treatment strategies for chemotherapy-injured BA-MSCs and establishes a research basis for related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) is prevalent in modern society, and impaired memory is one of its serious consequences. The pathogenic mechanism is still unclear, and the therapeutic strategies for PSD are limited. Here, we found that quercetin treatment ameliorated memory impairments caused by PSD in a dose-dependent manner in an animal model. Quercetin could restore the dynamic changes of the gamma band while the animals performed novel object recognition (NOR) tasks as determined by electroencephalogram analysis. Morphological analysis showed that quercetin, by targeting the hippocampal CA1 region, strikingly ameliorated the overactivation of microglia induced by PSD. Mechanistically, quercetin inhibited the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), and nuclear factor kappa-b (NF-κB) cascade, which is critical for abnormal microglial activation following PSD stress. Our results provided experimental evidence for the therapeutic effects of quercetin on PSD-related memory impairments by suppressing TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling that mediated abnormal microglia activation in the hippocampus. [Display omitted] • Quercetin ameliorated memory impairment induced by PSD stress in a dose-dependent manner. • Quercetin restored the dynamics of the gamma band in PSD mice while the mice performed novel object recognition. • Quercetin significantly alleviated microglia activation caused by PSD. • Quercetin inhibited the abnormal activation of microglia by suppressing the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disease characterized by social disorder and stereotypical behaviors with an increasing incidence. ASD patients are suffering from varying degrees of mental retardation and language development abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive imaging technology to detect brain structural and functional dysfunction in vivo, playing an important role in the early diagnosisbasic research of ASD. High‐field, small‐animal MRI in basic research of autism model mice has provided a new approach to research the pathogenesis, characteristics, and intervention efficacy in autism. This article reviews MRI studies of mouse models of autism over the past 20 years. Reduced gray matter, abnormal connections of brain networks, and abnormal development of white matter fibers have been demonstrated in these studies, which are present in different proportions in the various mouse models. This provides a more macroscopic view for subsequent research on autism model mice. This article is categorized under:Cognitive Biology > Genes and EnvironmentNeuroscience > ComputationNeuroscience > Genes, Molecules, and CellsNeuroscience > Development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-economic factors could impact how epidemics spread. In this study, we investigated the possible effect of several local socio-economic factors on the case count and time course of confirmed Covid-19 cases and Covid-19-related deaths across the twenty one counties of New Jersey. Socio-economic and geographic factors considered included population, percentage of elders in the population, percentage of low-income households, access to food and health facilities and distance to New York. We found that the counties could be clustered into three groups based on (a) the case totals, (b) the total number of deaths, (c) the time course of the cases and (d) the time course of the deaths. The four groupings were very similar to one another and could all be largely explained by the county population, the percentage of low-income population, and the distance of the county from New York. As for food and health factors, the numbers of local restaurants and pharmacies significantly influenced the total number of cases and deaths as well as the epidemic's evolution. In particular, the number of cases and deaths showed a decrease with the number of McDonald's within the county in contrast to other fast-food or non-fast food restaurants. Overall, our study found that the evolution of the epidemic was influenced by certain socio-economic factors, which could be helpful for the formulation of public health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Karst-adapted plant, Lysionotus pauciflours accumulates special secondary metabolites with a wide range of pharmacological effects for surviving in drought and high salty areas, while researchers focused more on their environmental adaptations and evolutions. Nevadensin (5,7-dihydroxy-6,8,4'-trimethoxyflavone), the main active component in L. pauciflours, has unique bioactivity of such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tubercular, and anti-tumor or cancer. Complex decoration of nevadensin, such as hydroxylation and glycosylation of the flavone skeleton determines its diversity and biological activities. The lack of omics data limits the exploration of accumulation mode and biosynthetic pathway. Herein, we integrated transcriptomics, metabolomics, and microbial recombinant protein system to reveal hydroxylation and glycosylation involving nevadensin biosynthesis in L. pauciflours. Results: Up to 275 flavonoids were found to exist in L. pauciflorus by UPLC-MS/MS based on widely targeted metabolome analysis. The special flavone nevadensin (5,7-dihydroxy-6,8,4'-trimethoxyflavone) is enriched in different tissues, as are its related glycosides. The flavonoid biosynthesis pathway was drawn based on differential transcripts analysis, including 9 PAL, 5 C4H, 8 4CL, 6 CHS, 3 CHI, 1 FNSII, and over 20 OMTs. Total 310 LpCYP450s were classified into 9 clans, 36 families, and 35 subfamilies, with 56% being A-type CYP450s by phylogenetic evolutionary analysis. According to the phylogenetic tree with AtUGTs, 187 LpUGTs clustered into 14 evolutionary groups (A-N), with 74% being E, A, D, G, and K groups. Two LpCYP82D members and LpUGT95 were functionally identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli, respectively. CYP82D-8 and CYP82D-1 specially hydroxylate the 6- or 8-position of A ring in vivo and in vitro, dislike the function of F6H or F8H discovered in basil which functioned depending on A-ring substituted methoxy. These results refreshed the starting mode that apigenin can be firstly hydroxylated on A ring in nevadensin biosynthesis. Furthermore, LpUGT95 clustered into the 7-OGT family was verified to catalyze 7-O glucosylation of nevadensin accompanied with weak nevadensin 5-O glucosylation function, firstly revealed glycosylation modification of flavones with completely substituted A-ring. Conclusions: Metabolomic and full-length transcriptomic association analysis unveiled the accumulation mode and biosynthetic pathway of the secondary metabolites in the karst-adapted plant L. pauciflorus. Moreover, functional identification of two LpCYP82D members and one LpUGT in microbe reconstructed the pathway of nevadensin biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat stress that occurs during the flowering stage severely decreases the rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed-setting rate. This damage can be reversed by abscisic acid (ABA), through effects on reactive oxygen species, carbohydrate metabolism, and heat shock proteins, but the exact role of trehalose and ATP in this process remains unclear. Two rice genotypes, namely, Zhefu802 (heat-resistant plant, a recurrent parent) and its near-isogenic line (faded green leaf, Fgl, heat-sensitive plant), were subjected to 38 °C heat stress after being sprayed with ABA or its biosynthetic inhibitor, fluridone (Flu), at the flowering stage. The results showed that exogenous ABA significantly increased the seed-setting rate of rice under heat stress, by 14.31 and 22.40% in Zhefu802 and Fgl, respectively, when compared with the H2O treatment. Similarly, exogenous ABA increased trehalose content, key enzyme activities of trehalose metabolism, ATP content, and F1Fo-ATPase activity. Importantly, the opposite results were observed in plants treated with Flu. Therefore, ABA may improve rice thermo-tolerance by affecting trehalose metabolism and ATP consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective·To analyze the clinical, pathological and molecular genetic characteristics of CIC-rearranged sarcoma (CRS) in children to improve the understanding of small round cell sarcoma newly proposed in the 5th edition of the WHO Classification of Soft Tissue and Bone Tumours. Methods·Data of 54 patients with small round cell undifferentiated sarcoma diagnosed in Shanghai Children's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from January 2019 to April 2021 were collected. Five cases of pediatric CRS with complete clinical, imaging, pathological and follow-up data were selected to analyze their clinicopathological features. Results·There were 3 males and 2 females in the 5 CRS patients aged from 5 months to 10 years. There were 3 asymptomatic children, and chest and back pain and projectile vomiting were the first symptoms in 2 cases respectively. All CT images showed cystic, solid or mixed irregular soft tissue masses of varying sizes. Histopathological examination showed that the average maximum diameter of the tumor was 12.5 cm, and the cut surface was grayish white or grayish brown, with the appearance of rotten fish flesh. The histopathology was mainly distributed in small round diffuse sheets. Immunohistochemistry showed CD99 diffuse membrane positive or focal positive, WT1 diffuse nuclear positive, and BCL2, CD56, FLI1 and ERG expressed to varying degrees. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test showed that EWSR1 (22q12) was negative and CIC (19q13) gene was rearranged. Meanwhile, some children also had CIC fusion gene mutations, including 2 CICDUX4 fusion cases and 1 CIC-NUTM1 fusion case. All patients were treated with surgery and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Follow-up data were available in all the five cases (mean 21.4 months); one patient died of disease, whereas two patients were alive with unresectable recurrent tumour, and the remaining two patients were alive with no evidence of disease. Conclusion·Pediatric CRS is a rare malignant soft tissue tumor with asymptomatic or non-specific symptoms, easy metastasis and poor prognosis. Immunohistochemistry combined with EWSR1 and CIC rearrangement-related molecular examination is helpful for the diagnosis of Ewing's sarcomatoid soft tissue tumors, and further detection of CIC fusion gene may be helpful for prognosis estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a tunable and wideband microwave photonic phase shifter based on polarization-dependence of the LiNbO 3 Mach–Zehender modulator (MZM). In the proposed device, an orthogonal single sideband modulation is implemented by using a MZM and an optical band-pass filter. With the polarizer to synthesize the polarization orthogonal optical carrier and sideband, the phase of the optical microwave signal output from the polarizer can be tuned from 0 to 360° by simply adjusting the polarization direction of the lights whereas the amplitude keeps constant. A full range tunable phase shifting in the frequency range of 10–35 GHz is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphrescent complexes of monodentate imidazole have been reported before, but their dissociation induced by cellular endogenous stimulus have never been explored. In our work, the dissociation of monodentate imidazole ligands from phosphorescent cyclometalated platinum (II) iridium (III) and polypyridyl ruthenium (II) complexes in GSH abundant reductive solution are firstly investigated. The release rate of ligand follows the order: Pt (II) > Ir (III) > > Ru (II) in vitro, while their corresponding bidentate complexes are barely affected. Moreover, the cellular dissociation of ligand can be monitored in time by Confocal imaging and flow cytometry. In brief, cellular penetration and nucleolus targeting ability of GSH active complexes are mainly interfered by the reductive microenvironment. Our work may help to reveal the dynamic process of coordination and release of monodentate ligands of complexes in cellular microenvironment. The dissociation of monodentate imidazole ligands from phosphorescent complexes under endogenous stimulus are firstly investigated. Moreover, the cellular dissociation of ligand can be monitored in time by Confocal imaging and flow cytometry. [Display omitted] • The dissociation of ligand under endogenous stimulus are studied for the first time. • While corresponding bidentate complexes are stable in reductive condition in vitro. • The dissociation of ligands can be monitored in time by Confocal and Flow cytometry. • Glutathione active complexes show a decreased cellular and nucleolus penetration ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue engineering is one of the most effective ways to treat bone defects in recent years. However, current highly active bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffolds are mainly based on the addition of active biological components (such as growth factors) to promote bone repair. High cost, easy inactivation and complex regulatory requirements greatly limit their practical applications. In addition, conventional fabrication methods make it difficult to meet the needs of personalized customization for the macroscopic and internal structure of tissue engineering scaffolds. Herein, this paper proposes to select five natural biominerals (eggshell, pearl, turtle shell, degelatinated deer antler and cuttlebone) with widely available sources, low price and potential osteo-inductive activity as functional particles. Subsequently compounding them into L-polylactic acid (PLLA) biomaterial ink to further explore 3D printing processes of the composite scaffold, and reveal their potential as biomimetic 3D scaffolds for bone tissue repair. The research results of this project provide a new idea for the construction of a 3D scaffold with growth-factor-free biomimetic structure, personalized customization ability and osteo-inductive activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A game-theoretical model is constructed to capture the effect of external constraint on the evolution of cooperation. External constraint describes the case where individuals are forced to cooperate with a given probability in a society. Mathematical analyses are conducted via pair approximation and diffusion approximation methods. The results show that the condition for cooperation to be favored on graphs with constraint is b ¯/c¯>k/A¯( A¯ = 1 + kp / ( 1 - p ) ), where b ¯ and c ¯ represent the altruistic benefit and cost, respectively, k is the average degree of the graph and p is the probability of compulsory cooperation by external enforcement. Moreover, numerical simulations are also performed on a repeated game with three strategies, always defect (ALLD), tit-for-tat (TFT) and always cooperate (ALLC). These simulations demonstrate that a slight enforcement of ALLC can only promote cooperation when there is weak network reciprocity, while the catalyst effect of TFT on cooperation is verified. In addition, the interesting phenomenon of stable coexistence of the three strategies can be observed. Our model can represent evolutionary dynamics on a network structure which is disturbed by a specified external constraint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis is an age-related systemic bone disease that places a heavy burden on patients and society. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of naringin (NAR) on the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs). The results demonstrated that NAR pretreatment effectively abated H2O2-induced cell death and ROS accumulation in ADSCs undergoing osteogenic differentiation (ADSCs-OD). In addition, we also observed that the impaired extracellular matrix mineralization and ALP activity in H2O2-stimulated ADSCs-OD were notably rescued by NAR pretreatment. Moreover, the effects of H2O2 exposure on Wnt/β-catenin signaling in ADSCs-OD were largely reversed by NAR pretreatment. Collectively, our findings indicated that NAR could protect ADSCs-OD against H2O2-inhibited osteogenic differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tobacco 202 was used as experimental material in this study. CDS region of C4H2 gene was cloned from young leaves of tobacco. To investigate the variation trend of flavonoid content in leaves and the expression characteristics in different tissues, the gene was analyzed by the bioinformatics, the prokaryotic expression vector was constructed, and the recombinant plasmid was induced and purified in E. coli. The results showed that NtC4H2 gene was a member of cytochrome P450 superfamily. There was a transmembrane region, which was unstable hydrophilic protein, with high secondary structure of helix and irregular coil. The recombinant proteins NtC4H2 mainly existed as insoluble inclusion body protein in expressing bacteria. The expression levels of NtC4H2 gene expression in different tobacco tissues were lower leaves

• 6 h of acute paradoxical sleep deprivation induced significant anxiety-like behaviors in mice. • key genes from the TNF signaling pathway are involved in acute sleep deprivation. • Microglial cells in the prefrontal cortex were activated through Ptgs2. • Minocycline administration ameliorates anxiety through Ptgs2 -labelled microglia. Acute sleep deprivation is a common condition in modern life and increases anxiety symptoms in healthy individuals. The neuroinflammatory response induced by microglial activation could be an important contributing factor, but its underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear. In the present study, we first found that acute paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) induced by the modified multiple platform method (MMPM) for 6 h led to anxiety-like behavior in mice, as verified by the open field test, elevated plus maze test, light–dark box test, and marble burying test. In addition, bioinformatic analysis suggested an important relationship between acute sleep deprivation and brain inflammatory signaling pathways. Key genes enriched in the TNF signaling pathway were confirmed to be altered during acute PSD by qPCR and Western blot analyses, including the upregulation of the prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (Ptgs2) and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 protein (Socs3) genes and the downregulation of the cysteine-aspartic acid protease 3 (Casp3) gene. Furthermore, we found that microglial cells in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were activated with significant branch structure changes and that the cell body area was increased in the PSD model. Finally, we found that minocycline, a tetracycline with anti-inflammatory properties, may ameliorate the anxiogenic effect and microglial activation. Our study reveals significant correlations of anxiety-like behavior, microglial activation, and inflammation during acute PSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social isolation is a risk factor for multiple mood disorders. Specifically, social isolation can remodel the brain, causing behavioral abnormalities, including sociability impairments. Here, we investigated social behavior impairment in mice following chronic social isolation stress (CSIS) and conducted a screening of susceptible brain regions using functional readouts. CSIS enhanced synaptic inhibition in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), particularly at inhibitory synapses of cholecystokinin (CCK)-expressing interneurons. This enhanced synaptic inhibition in the ACC was characterized by CSIS-induced loss of presynaptic cannabinoid type-1 receptors (CB1Rs), resulting in excessive axonal calcium influx. Activation of CCK-expressing interneurons or conditional knockdown of CB1R expression in CCK-expressing interneurons specifically reproduced social impairment. In contrast, optogenetic activation of CB1R or administration of CB1R agonists restored sociability in CSIS mice. These results suggest that the CB1R may be an effective therapeutic target for preventing CSIS-induced social impairments by restoring synaptic inhibition in the ACC. [Display omitted] • CSIS enhances local inhibition in the ACC via influencing CCK-expressing interneurons • Excessive GABA release causally contributes to CSIS-induced social impairments • Loss of presynaptic CB1R in CCK-expressing interneurons drives inhibitory enhancement • Targeting CB1R corrects CSIS-induced social avoidance Guo et al. uncover cell-specific mechanisms in the anterior cingulate cortex that underlie the social impairments resulting from chronic social isolation and reveal a potential therapeutic strategy targeting the cannabinoid type-1 receptors (CB1Rs) to correct social avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a leading kidney disease, clinically associated with proteinuria and progressive renal failure. The occurrence of this disease is partly related to gene mutations. We describe a single affected family member who presented with FSGS. We used high-throughput sequencing, sanger sequencing to identify the pathogenic mutations, and a systems genetics analysis in the BXD mice was conducted to explore the genetic regulatory mechanisms of pathogenic genes in the development of FSGS. We identified high urinary protein (++++) and creatinine levels (149 μmol/L) in a 29-year-old male diagnosed with a 5-year history of grade 2 hypertension. Histopathology of the kidney biopsy showed stromal hyperplasia at the glomerular segmental sclerosis and endothelial cell vacuolation degeneration. Whole-exome sequencing followed by Sanger sequencing revealed a heterozygous missense mutation (c.643C > T) in exon 2 of TRPC6, leading to the substitution of arginine with tryptophan at position 215 (p.Arg215Trp). Systems genetics analysis of the 53 BXD mice kidney transcriptomes identified Pygm as the upstream regulator of Trpc6. Those two genes are jointly involved in the regulation of FSGS mainly via Wnt and Hippo signaling pathways. We present a novel variant in the TRPC6 gene that causes FSGS. Moreover, our data suggested TRPC6 works with PYGM, as well as Wnt and Hippo signaling pathways to regulate renal function, which could guide future clinical prevention and targeted treatment for FSGS outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and is rapidly becoming one of the most costly, fatal diseases, which is typically discovered in the late stage of molecular pathology, at which point medication intervention is irreversible. As a result, there is an urgent need for a low-cost, least-invasive way of screening cognitive impairment, with the goal of identifying persons at risk of AD. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been described as a transitional state between normal cognitive aging and AD. Early detection and timely tracking of MCI can to some extent prevent the progression towards AD. We found a population in Northwestern China has a comparatively high prevalence of MCI. Continued education, consistent exercise, and a secure financial situation can all help older people maintain cognitive function. Due to the critical role of circulating microRNAs in intercellular signaling and the perturbations thereof, their investigation has assumed paramount significance in elucidating various pathological conditions. Numerous investigations have substantiated the significance of circulating miRNAs specifically in MCI. Here, we evaluated miR-483-5p (Area Under the Curve (AUC) is 0.901, sensitivity 79.2 % and specificity 100 %) and miR-502-5p (AUC is 0.872, sensitivity 79.2 % and specificity 83.3 %), which were derived from plasma exosomes and maintained at high levels in elderly people with MCI, could be employed as promising noninvasive biomarkers. • Northwestern Chinese community shows a high prevalence of MCI. • Learning, exercise, and financial stablility can help preserve cognitive function in the elderly. • Exosome miR-483-5p/-502-5p effectively discriminates MCI in non-hospitalized community elderly without acute disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aetiology detection is crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, the detection method needs improvement. In this study, we used Nanopore sequencing to build a quick detection protocol and compared the efficiency of different methods for detecting 7 VAP pathogens.Methods: The endotracheal aspirate (ETA) of 83 patients with suspected VAP from Peking University Third Hospital (PUTH) was collected, saponins were used to deplete host genomes, and PCR- or non-PCR-amplified library construction methods were used and compared. Sequence was performed with MinION equipment and local data analysis methods were used for sequencing and data analysis.Results: Saponin depletion effectively removed 11 of 12 human genomes, while most pathogenic bacterial genome results showed no significant difference except for S. pneumoniae. Moreover, the average sequence time decreased from 19.6 h to 3.62 h. The non-PCR amplification method and PCR amplification method for library build has a similar average sensitivity (85.8% vs. 86.35%), but the non-PCR amplification method has a better average specificity (100% VS 91.15%), and required less time. The whole method takes 5-6 h from ETA extraction to pathogen classification. After analysing the 7 pathogens enrolled in our study, the average sensitivity of metagenomic sequencing was approximately 2.4 times higher than that of clinical culture (89.15% vs. 37.77%), and the average specificity was 98.8%.Conclusions: Using saponins to remove the human genome and a non-PCR amplification method to build libraries can be used for the identification of pathogens in the ETA of VAP patients within 6 h by MinION, which provides a new approach for the rapid identification of pathogens in clinical departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The jump is one of the common stereotyped behavior in rodents which can be found in certain types of disease models, such as addiction. It can be easily identified by the human eye. However, it is difficult to be tagged in real-time by manual operation, which limits the detailed exploration of its neural mechanisms with the new techniques, such as fiber photometry recording. Here we introduced an auto real-time jump tagging system (Art-JT system) to record the jump based on online monitoring the pressure changes of the floor in which the mouse is free exploring. Meanwhile, the Art-JT system can send the digital signal of the jump timing to the external device for tagging the events in the fiber photometry system. We tested it with the mice induced by Naloxone precipitated withdrawal jumping and found that it could accurately record the jump events and provide several detailed parameters of the jump. We also confirmed that the jump was correlated with the medial prefrontal cortex and primary motor cortex neuronal activities by combining the Art-JT system, GCaMP6 mice, and fiber photometry system. Our results suggested that the Art-JT system may be a powerful tool for recording and analyzing jumps efficiently and helping us to understand stereotyped behavior. • Art-JT system can capture jump events accurately in rodents. • Art-JT system can provide the detailed parameters of the jump. • Art-JT system can trigger hardwares by the real-time events of the jump. • Art-JT system is low cost and easily available device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Photoinduced electron transfer with the electron donor–acceptor linked system of zinc-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) as donor and benzoquinone (BQ) as acceptor was designed to mimic the electron transfer process in photosynthetic reaction center. Within the framework of the bimolecular electron transfer mechanisms of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), the fundamental features of photoinduced electron transfer were demonstrated by recording the feedback approach curves under different light wavelength, intensity, and concentration of BQ. Meanwhile, relevant theoretical study was employed to support our proposal. It demonstrated that SECM as a new platform could also provide crucial information for simple simulation of the electron transfer process in photosynthetic reaction center. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: The ability to chronically monitor neuronal activity in the living brain is essential for understanding the organization and function of the nervous system. The genetically encoded green fluorescent protein-based calcium sensor GCaMP provides a powerful tool for detecting calcium transients in neuronal somata, processes, and synapses that are triggered by neuronal activities. Here we report the generation and characterization of transgenic mice that express improved GCaMPs in various neuronal subpopulations under the control of the Thy1 promoter. In vitro and in vivo studies show that calcium transients induced by spontaneous and stimulus-evoked neuronal activities can be readily detected at the level of individual cells and synapses in acute brain slices, as well as chronically in awake, behaving animals. These GCaMP transgenic mice allow investigation of activity patterns in defined neuronal populations in the living brain and will greatly facilitate dissecting complex structural and functional relationships of neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A stage-structured predator-prey system incorporating a class of functional responses is presented in this article. By analyzing the system and using the standard comparison theorem, the sufficient conditions are derived for permanence of the system and non-permanence of predators. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Greenhouse gas predominantly emission from the burning of fossil fuels lead to a series of environmental problems, the capture and storage of greenhouse gas have become the key to addressing this issue. Herein, we present the facile synthesis of a series of porous carbon materials derived from porous aromatic frameworks constructed from commercially available and cheap building units via chemical activation. In contrast with the precursor porous aromatic frameworks, the porosity of such activated porous carbon materials is greatly boosted and the resulting porous carbon materials feature excellent surface areas up to 2863 m2 g−1 and total pore volumes as high as 1.348 cm3 g−1. The abundant microporous properties endow the materials with considerable greenhouse gases of CO 2 and CH 4 adsorption ability at ambient conditions, exhibiting that at 273 K and 1 bar the CO 2 capture capacity is as high as 6.09 mmol g−1, comparable to those reported porous carbon materials synthesized for this key adsorption. Ideal adsorption solution theory predicts that the prepared porous aromatic frameworks and their derived porous carbon materials display decent CO 2 /N 2 and CH 4 /N 2 selectivities, and thus their construction and properties may pave a new avenue for greenhouse gas capture and separation. A series of porous carbon materials derived from porous aromatic frameworks were synthesized. The boosted porosity and abundant microporous textures of such materials endow them with considerable greenhouse gases of CO 2 and CH 4 adsorption and separation ability. [Display omitted] • A series of porous carbon materials derived from porous aromatic frameworks were synthesized. • These porous carbon materials feature abundant microporous textures and significant BET surface areas up to 2863 m2 g−1. • PCM-D700 exhibits a CO 2 capacity of 6.09 mmol g−1 and a CH 4 capacity of 2.46 at 273 K and 1 bar. • These porous carbon materials are capable of selective adsorption of CO 2 over N 2 and CH 4 over N 2. • This study provides further insight into greenhouse gas capture and separation using porous carbon materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Quercetin is a well‐known plant flavonoid with neuroprotective properties. Earlier work suggested it may relieve psychiatric disorders, cognition deficits and memory dysfunction through anti‐oxidant and/or radical scavenging mechanisms. In addition, quercetin modulated the physiological function of some ion channels. However, the detailed ionic mechanisms of the bioeffects of quercetin remain unknown. Experimental Approach Effects of quercetin on neuronal activities in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its ionic mechanisms were analysed by calcium imaging using mice bearing a green fluorescent protein, calmodulin, and M13 fusion protein and patch clamp in acute brain slices from C57BL/6 J mice and in HEK 293 cells. The possible ionic mechanism of action of quercetin on D‐amphetamine‐induced manic‐like effects in mice was explored with c‐fos staining and the open field behaviour test. Key Results: Quercetin reduced calcium influx triggered by PFC pyramidal neuronal activity. This effect involved increasing the rheobase of neuronal firing through decreasing membrane resistance following quercetin treatment. Spadin, a blocker of TREK‐1 potassium channels, also blocked the effect of quercetin on the membrane resistance and neuronal firing. Further, spadin blocked the neuroprotective effects of quercetin. The effects of quercetin on TREK‐1 channels could be mimicked by GF109203X, a protein kinase C inhibitor. In vivo, injection of quercetin relieved the manic hyperlocomotion in mice, induced by D‐amphetamine. This action was partly alleviated by spadin. Conclusion and Implications: TREK‐1 channels are a novel target for quercetin, by inhibiting PKC. This action could contribute to both the neuroprotective and anti‐manic‐like effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To integrate the complete degradation information of machinery, deep learning-based prognostics approaches usually use monitoring data acquired by different sensors as the inputs of networks. These approaches, however, lack an explicit learning mechanism to effectively identify the distinctions of different sensor data and highlight the important degradation information, thereby affecting the accuracy of deep prognostics networks and limiting their generalization. To overcome the aforementioned weaknesses, a new deep prognostics framework named multiscale convolutional attention network (MSCAN) is proposed in this article for predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) of machinery. In the proposed MSCAN, self-attention modules are first constructed to effectively fuse the input multisensor data. Then, a multiscale learning strategy is developed to automatically learn representations from different temporal scales. Finally, the learned high-level representations are fed into dynamic dense layers to perform regression analysis and RUL estimation. The proposed MSCAN is evaluated using multisensor monitoring data from life testing of milling cutters, and also compared with some state-of-the-art prognostics approaches. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed MSCAN in fusing multisensor information and improving RUL prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a proliferative disease characterized by pulmonary arterial remodeling (PAR). SAM and SH3 domain containing 1 (SASH1) is a novel tumor suppressor gene whose biological function in PH is unclear. In this study, a hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH) rat model was constructed to explore the role of SASH1 in PAR. Histopathological changes in the lung tissue and hemodynamic alteration were detected in SASH1-knockdown rats through adeno-associated virus type-1 (AAV1) infection. In vitro, primary human pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs) were transfected with SASH1siRNA to investigate the effects of SASH1 on hypoxia-induced proliferation and migration. The molecular mechanisms associated with SASH1 were explored through knockdown and overexpression approaches. We found that SASH1 expression was significantly increased in rat pulmonary arteries and HPASMCs after hypoxia exposure. In vivo, silencing the SASH1 gene expression improved HPH in rats. The SASH1 downregulation inhibited proliferation and migration of hypoxia-induced HPASMCs. The protein expression of phospho-AKT (known as protein kinase B), proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) in HPASMCs were increased after SASH1 overexpression, whereas these effects were inhibited by SASH1 knockdown. In conclusion, SASH1 downregulation improved hypoxia-induced PAR and PH. SASH1 may be a novel target for PH gene therapy in the era of precision medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Decrease of the conductivity of MDP micellar solution via increasing ethanol concentrations retard the etching progress. • Prime-and-rinse approach using MDP/EtOH 75 greatly improve dentin bond performance. • MDP/EtOH 75 pretreated dentin preserved mostly intrafibrillar minerals. This study investigated the effects of prime-and-rinse approach using 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP) micellar solutions on extrafibrillar demineralization and dentin bond performance of etch-and-rinse adhesive. The micellar solutions were prepared by adding 15% MDP in two ethanol-aqueous (75:25, 55:45 V/V%) solutions, referring to MDP/EtOH 75 and MDP/EtOH 55. After mid-coronal dentin surfaces were either etched (control) or conditioned with MDP/EtOH 75 and MDP/EtOH 55 and rinsed, they were applied with adhesive (Adpter Single Bond 2) in dry- or wet-bonding mode and placed with composite resin (Filtek Z350 XT). They were prepared into multiple micro-beams for micro-tensile bond strengths (MTBS) testing after storage in water for 24 h or subjecting to thermocycling. The other pretreated dentin surfaces were analyzed by TF-XRD, ATR-FTIR, HRTEM, FE-SEM, contact angle measurement and nanoindentation testing. The MTBS data was analyzed with two-way ANOVA followed by LSD post-hoc test. MDP/EtOH 75 produced significantly greater MTBS values than MDP/EtOH 55 and control after thermocycling aging in dry- or wet-bonding mode (P < 0.05). The ATR-FTIR spectrums shows that ratios of phosphate/monomer (1,034 cm−1/1,716 cm−1) on MDP/EtOH 75 -, MDP/EtOH 55 -treated dentin surfaces are 0.51 and 0.23, respectively. This is confirmed by HRTEM images and SAED pattern that intrafibrillar minerals were mostly preserved after treatment with MDP/EtOH 75. MDP/EtOH 75 produced significantly higher elastic modulus and nanohardness on pretreated dentin surface than MDP/EtOH 55 (P < 0.05). TF-XRD pattern shows some MDP-Ca salts remained on the primed dentin surface. Prime-and-rinse approach using MDP/EtOH 75 micellar solution could produce mostly extrafibrillar demineralization, and greatly increase dentin bond durability in dry- or wet-bonding mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The versatile role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in plant growth and development has been established, but a systematic identification and analysis of lncRNAs in the pear has not been reported. Bud dormancy is a crucial and complicated protective mechanism for plants in winter. The roles of lncRNAs in the dormancy process remain largely unclear. In this study, we induced pear floral buds to enter into different dormant statuses by simulating four different chilling accumulation conditions. Then, a time series of RNA-seq analysis was performed and we identified 7594 lncRNAs in Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm. F.) Nakai that have not been identified. The sequence and expression of the lncRNAs were confirmed by PCR analysis. In total, 6253 lncRNAs were predicted to target protein-coding genes including 692 cis -regulated pairs (596 lncRNAs) and 13,158 trans -regulated pairs (6181 lncRNAs). Gene Ontology analysis revealed that most of lncRNAs' target genes were involved in catalytic activity, metabolic processes and cellular processes. In the trend analysis, 124 long-term cold response lncRNAs and 80 short-term cold response lncRNAs were predicted. Regarding the lncRNA-miRNA regulatory networks, 59 lncRNAs were identified as potential precursors for miRNA members of 20 families, 586 lncRNAs were targets of 261 pear miRNAs and 53 lncRNAs were endogenous target mimics for 26 miRNAs. In addition, three cold response lncRNAs, two miRNAs and their target genes were selected for expression confirmed. The trend of their expression was consistent with the predicted relationships among them and suggested possible roles of lncRNAs in ABA metabolic pathway. Our findings not only suggest the potential roles of lncRNAs in regulating the dormancy of pear floral buds but also provide new insights into the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of neurological disorders which affect approximately 1% of children around the world. Social dysfunction is one of the two core syndromes of ASD, and still lacks effective treatment. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive and safe procedure that uses magnetic fields to modulate neural activity. Whether it were effective in modulating social function remains unclear. By using 3-chamber test, ultrasonic vocalization recording and Western-blotting, we demonstrated that FMR1 (fragile X mental retardation protein) mutant mice, a model of ASD, exhibited obvious defects in social preference and ultrasonic communication. In addition, we detected increase of p-Akt (S473) and p-GSK-3β (S9), and decrease of p-PSD-95 (T19) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of FMR1 −/− mice. Treating FMR1 −/− mice with 1 Hz repetitive TMS (rTMS) exerted a long lasting effect in improving both the ultrasonic communication and social preference, as well as restoring the levels of Akt/GSK-3β activity and spine density in the FMR1 −/− ACC. Our data, for the first time, demonstrated a beneficial effect of low frequency rTMS (LF-rTMS) on the social function of FMR1 −/− mice and an involvement of Akt/GSK-3β signaling in this process, indicating LF-rTMS as a potential therapeutic strategy for ASD patients. [Display omitted] • FMR1 mutation impairs ultrasonic communication and Akt/GSK-3β signaling in ACC. • Low frequency rTMS restores Akt/GSK-3β activity and spine density in FMR1 −/− ACC. • Low frequency rTMS exerts long improvement of the social function of FMR1 −/− mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since directly measuring beam and diffuse irradiance is not feasible on many occasions, one often has to resort to estimating the beam and diffuse irradiance components from the global irradiance, which is known as separation modeling. Separation modeling is essentially a nonlinear regression problem, with the clearness index being the main input and the diffuse fraction being the output. Hundreds of separation models with various complexities have been proposed, among which the Yang4 model was recently validated using worldwide data as the quasi-universal choice for 1-min data. In this work, Yang4 is further improved by regime-dependent fitting, i.e., fitting a separate set of model coefficients for each climatological regime. Different regimes are determined through clustering of cloud cover frequency, aerosol optical depth, and surface albedo climatology maps. The new Yang5 model is able to outperform its predecessor at the 126 stations tested, covering a wide range of climate types. Overall, the normalized root mean square errors for beam normal irradiance (BNI) and diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) of Yang5 are 17.55% and 32.92% on average, as compared to 19.13% and 34.94% for the next best model, namely, Yang4. Furthermore, through conducting pairwise Diebold–Mariano tests, Yang5 is shown superior to Yang4 at 110/126 sites for BNI prediction and 93/126 for DHI. [Display omitted] • A concise summary of recent advances in separation modeling is given. • A regime-dependent version of the Yang4 model is proposed. • Regimes are defined by clustering cloud, aerosol, and albedo climatology. • The new Yang5 model outperforms the quasi-universal Yang4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synergistic imprinting strategy of covalent and non-covalent interactions is proposed to prepare magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (DI-MMIPs) for highly selective separation of procyanidin B2 (PC) from grape seed samples. Dopamine and 3-amino-phenylboronic acid as cooperative functional monomers endow the imprinted sites with synergistic tailoring. Benefiting from the synergistic effect, the DI-MMIPs exhibit enhanced imprinting performance with high adsorption capacity (27.71 mg g−1), fast kinetic equilibrium time (within 30 min), outstanding selectivity (IF = 5.8, SC > 3.2), and satisfactory regeneration ability. In addition, the DI-MMIPs possess good magnetism, uniform morphology with typical core-shell structure, and stable crystallization. Furthermore, the established DI-MMIPs coupled with HPLC-UV (~ 280 nm) method has a wide linearity range of 0.05–200 μg mL−1 with correlation coefficient of 0.9997, high recoveries (> 93.1%) with RSDs from 2.9 to 5.5%, and low LOD (0.0008 μg mL−1). Consequently, this work provides an effective and easily tailored way to fabricate magnetic imprinted nanomaterials with both rapid recognition rate and high selectivity and thus holds great promise to realize the extraction and detection of PC from real samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this study was to assess neurofilament light chain as a Parkinson's disease biomarker. Methods: We quantified neurofilament light chain in 2 independent cohorts: (1) longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid samples from the longitudinal de novo Parkinson's disease cohort and (2) a large longitudinal cohort with serum samples from Parkinson's disease, other cognate/neurodegenerative disorders, healthy controls, prodromal conditions, and mutation carriers. Results: In the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative cohort, mean baseline serum neurofilament light chain was higher in Parkinson's disease patients (13 ± 7.2 pg/mL) than in controls (12 ± 6.7 pg/mL), P = 0.0336. Serum neurofilament light chain increased longitudinally in Parkinson's disease patients versus controls (P < 0.01). Motor scores were positively associated with neurofilament light chain, whereas some cognitive scores showed a negative association. Conclusions: Neurofilament light chain in serum samples is increased in Parkinson's disease patients versus healthy controls, increases over time and with age, and correlates with clinical measures of Parkinson's disease severity. Although the specificity of neurofilament light chain for Parkinson's disease is low, it is the first blood‐based biomarker candidate that could support disease stratification of Parkinson's disease versus other cognate/neurodegenerative disorders, track clinical progression, and possibly assess responsiveness to neuroprotective treatments. However, use of neurofilament light chain as a biomarker of response to neuroprotective interventions remains to be assessed. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-derived exosome therapy has emerged as an effective therapy strategy for the pathological scar formation. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been completely understood. In the current study, we investigate the therapeutic effect of TSG-6 modified MSC-derived exosomes on a mouse full-thickness wound model and provide evidence of a possible mechanism for MSC-derived exosomes to prevent from scar formation. Overexpression and knockdown of TSG-6 were conducted by lentivirus infection into hBMSCs. Exosomes were isolated from cell culture and identified by transmission electron microscopy and Western blot. C57BL/6J mice were performed of full-thickness skin wounds and treated with exosomal suspension or TSG-6-neutralizing antibody. H&E staining was subjected to observe the pathological changes of scar tissues. Immunohistochemistry, ELISA, real time-PCR and Western blot were applied to detect the expressions of relevant molecules. The results showed that subcutaneous injection of TSG-6 overexpressed MSC-derived exosomes effectively ameliorated scar pathological injury, decreased inflammatory molecular secretion and attenuated collagen deposition in a mouse skin wound model. Reversely, knockdown of TSG-6 abrogated the therapeutic effect of MSC-derived exosomes on scarring. Moreover, TSG-6-neutralizing antibody counteracted the effect of TSG-6 overexpressed MSC-derived exosomes in preventing scar formation. In conclusion, we demonstrated that exosomes derived from TSG-6 modified MSCs suppressed scar formation via reducing inflammation and inhibiting collagen deposition. • TSG-6 modified MSC-derived exosomes attenuate pathological scar injury. • TSG-6 modified MSC-derived exosomes inhibited inflammation. • TSG-6 modified MSC-derived exosomes reduced collagen deposition. • TSG-6--neutralizing antibody counteracted the effect of TSG-6 modified MSC-derived exosomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts: ZnFe2O4 nanofibers have been reproducibly synthesized by the thermal treatment of the fiber-like precursor that was fabricated by the oxidation of a coprecipitation product obtained by Zn2+ and Fe2+ in a NaOH solution. The phase, morphology, and particle diameter were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The magnetic properties of the samples were studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It indicated that the diameters of obtained ZnFe2O4 nanofibers were found to range between 10 and 15nm; the length ranged between 2 and 3μm. With the increase in the calcination temperature, the length of ZnFe2O4 nanofibers reduced and the diameter increased appreciably; the coercivity of the ZnFe2O4 samples reduced and the saturation magnetization increased. When the calcination temperature was 600°C, the coercivity, saturation magnetization and remanent magnetization of the samples were 93.1Oe, 23.5emug−1 and 4.3emug−1, respectively, evidently far higher than those of the spherical ZnFe2O4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the genome sequence of the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , a phosphopantetheinyl transferase gene homolog Ss-Ppt1 (Accession XM_ 001596461.1) with 1 SCOP and 1 ACPS module was identified. And the transcription of Ss-Ppt1 was increased significantly at the sclerotial maturation stage. Silenced mutant strains of Ss-Ppt1 were generated by RNA interference method. The mutant strains were screened and characterized. Compared to the wild-type strain, the hyphal growth of the mutant strains was significantly decreased and the branching pattern was altered. Aberrant sclerotia were produced by the mutant strains with larger volume but reduced number. Moreover, the virulence of the mutant strains was attenuated, and the mutant strains failed to generate necrotic disease symptoms as the wide-type strain. These results indicated that Ss-Ppt1 protein plays an important role in hyphal growth, sclerotial development and pathogenicity of S. sclerotiorum. • Ss-Ppt1 is a phosphopantetheinyl transferase protein in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. • Ss-Ppt1 plays an important role in hyphal growth, sclerotial development and in the pathogenicity of S. sclerotiorum. • Ss-Ppt1 could be used as a potential drug target in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A binary coding scheme of AFM cantilever was proposed to tune dynamic characteristics. • Optimizations were carried out to satisfy multi-objectives by combining genetic algorithms and finite element analysis. • Spectroscopy characterization and harmonic imaging were performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. • The binary coding method can help to design cantilevers for enhanced performances in various sensing and imaging applications. Harmonic atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been widely applied to characterize local mechanical properties of the specimens under imaging. However, the harmonic amplitude is commonly quite weak owing to the fast decay at an off-resonance state for a conventional cantilever and the internal resonance between eigenfrequencies and higher harmonics can amplify the harmonic response. Therefore, specific dynamic characteristics of AFM cantilevers are frequently required. Here, we proposed a coding scheme of a cantilever where the structure is described by a two-dimensional binary matrix to tailor its dynamic characteristics. Genetic algorithms combined with finite element analysis were used to optimize the code configuration. Cantilever properties including eigenfrequencies, stiffness and quality factor can be conveniently tuned to satisfy multiple requirements. AFM cantilevers were then re-designed with the second and the third resonance frequencies being moved to integer multiples of the fundamental one for higher harmonic enhancement, yet with minor stiffness alteration. Harmonic AFM imaging on a polymer mixture demonstrated that the amplitude difference between two material phases was increased up to at least 2.7 times for the 6th harmonic and 1.6 folds for the 18th harmonic using the optimized cantilevers. The enhancement of harmonic contrast can benefit the discrimination of different materials. The proposed binary coding method has advantages such as flexible tailoring of dynamic characteristics, multiple outputs of optimal structures, and automatic optimization. Consequently, it could be a promising way to design cantilevers for enhanced performances in various dynamic AFM imaging applications and also cantilever-based sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]