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AIM: To evaluate the vision status and sociodemographic associations of visual acuity (VA) in an urban and rural population in a coastal province of southern China. METHODS: The Fujian Eye Study, a population-based cross-sectional study, was performed from May 2018 to October 2019. Totally 10 044 participants over 50 years old from all nine cities in Fujian Province were enrolled, and underwent a questionnaire and a series of standard physical and ocular examinations. VA was measured by E Standard Logarithmic Visual Acuity Chart (GB 11533-1989). Data was double entered with EpiData v3.1 for data collation and Stata/SE statistical software v15.1 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Totally 8211 (81.8%) participants were finally included and were divided into urban populations (4678 subjects), rural populations (n=3533), coastal residents (n=6434), and inland residents (1777 subjects); 4836 participants were female. The mean age was 64.39±8.87y (median 64y; range 50-98y). The mean presenting VA was 0.61±0.30 (0.23±0.27 logMAR), and the mean best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.82±0.28 (0.08±0.19 logMAR). In the multiple regression analysis, BCVA was significantly correlated with several socioeconomic and biologic factors, including age (P

Introduction: The associations between the clinical characteristics of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and mutations in telomerase reverse transcriptase ( TERT ) gene remain unclear. In this study, we used next-generation sequencing (NGS) to investigate the incidence rate and clinical correlates of TERT mutations in patients with NSCLC. Methods: In total, 283 tumor samples from patients with NSCLC were tested using an NGS panel from September 2017 to May 2020. The genetic testing results and clinical data of all patients were collected. Results: TERT mutations were found in 30 patients, which were significantly associated with age, smoking history, sex, and metastasis ( P

Abstract Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clinical syndrome with multiple metabolic disorders. As the diagnostic criteria for MS still lacking of imaging laboratory method, this study aimed to explore the differences between healthy people and MS patients through infrared thermography (IRT). However, the observation region of the IRT image is uncertain, and the research tried to solve this problem with the help of knowledge mining technology. 43 MS participants were randomly included through a cross-sectional method, and 43 healthy participants were recruited through number matching. The IRT image of each participant was segmented into the region of interest (ROI) through the preprocessing method proposed in this research, and then the ROI features were granulated by the K-means algorithm to generate the formal background, and finally, the two formal background were separately built into a knowledge graph through the knowledge mining method based on the attribute partial order structure. The baseline data shows that there is no difference in age, gender, and height between the two groups (P > 0.05). The image preprocessing method can segment the IRT image into 18 ROI. Through the K-means method, each group of data can be separately established with a 43 × 36 formal background and generated a knowledge graph. It can be found through knowledge mining and independent-samples T test that the average temperature and maximum temperature difference between the chest and face of the two groups are statistically different (P

We present co‐crystallization as an approach to tuning spin crossover (SCO) properties of mononuclear Mn(III) Schiff‐base complexes. Complexes [Mn(5‐F‐sal‐N‐1,5,8,12)]ClO4 ⋅ 0.5carbazole (cocrystal 1 a) and [Mn(5‐F‐sal‐N‐1,5,8,12)]PF6 ⋅ 0.5carbazole (cocrystal 2 b) are synthesized by the co‐crystallization of their parent complexes ([Mn(5‐F‐sal‐N‐1,5,8,12)]Y, Y=ClO4− (1); Y=PF6− (2)) with the carbazole and they both exhibit HS electronic configurations between 2 and 300 K. While, the parent complex 1 shows a nearly complete SCO with T1/2=100 K and complex 2 maintains a high‐spin (HS) state. The introduction of carbazole as the third component has a great influence on cation‐anion crystal packing and finally the cooperative effects of the SCO complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Euonymus fangdingianus, a new species from southwestern China and northern Vietnam, is described and illustrated. This species differs from its congeners mainly in having large and thick leaf blade, abaxially black‐punctate blade, impressed and abaxially prominent veins, cauliflorous inflorescences, 5‐merous dark purple flowers, and obovoid capsules with angles and grooves. A photograph image and conservation assessment for the new species are provided. In addition, the cauliflory in E. fangdingianus, an unusual flowering pattern in Euonymus, is preliminarily described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, experiment results of CH4 hydrate formation pressure in four imidazole ionic liquid solutions have been determined. Hydrogen bond interaction between ionic liquids and water molecules has been simulated by conductor like screening model for real solvents model (COSMO‐RS). Hydrogen bond energy has been calculated. Variation of hydrogen bond energy between ionic liquid and water molecules was obtained by COSMO‐RS simulation. The inhibition effect of four ionic liquids on water activity was listed from strong to weak in order: [BMIm]Br > [BMIm]BF4 > [BMIm]PF6 > [OMIm]BF4. Compared with experimental results of CH4 hydrate formation pressure in ionic liquid aqueous solution, hydrogen bond interaction between ionic liquid and water molecules obtained by COSMO‐RS is basically consistent with experimental results of hydrate formation pressure in ionic liquid. The study could provide better theoretical basis for ionic liquid selection on gas hydrate study. The simulation would be better as one method to chose admirable ionic liquid in the area of hydrate additives usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geopolymer concrete is more low-carbon and environmentally friendly than Portland cement concrete. Nanoparticle modification can help to improve the mechanical and durability performance of concrete, but due to its large specific surface area and high activity, it may deteriorate its workability. However, there is currently limited research on the effect of nanomodification on the workability of freshly mixed self-compacting geopolymer concrete (SCGC). This article conducted SCGC workability experiments using the response surface methodology, which included 29 different mixtures. The effects of nano-silica (NS), nano-calcium carbonate (NC), alkali content (N/B), and water cement ratio (W/B) on the workability of SCGC were studied. The experimental results show that the addition of NS and NC can reduce the slump expansion of SCGC, and the combination of the two significantly increases the amplitude of slump expansion with the change in nanomaterial content. An increase in N/B will reduce the expansion time and clearance value of SCGC. As N/B increases from 4% to 4.4%, the slump extension of SCGC decreases, and with a further increase in N/B, the slump extension increases significantly to 68.1 cm, which means that the slump extension of SCGC increases by 9.5% as N/B increases from 4.4 to 5. This study can provide a reference for optimizing the fresh performance of geopolymer concrete and improving the mechanism of nanomaterial-modified geopolymer concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change can significantly impact the ecological suitability and diversity of species. Pyrethrum tatsienense, a critically endangered species in China, requires a thorough understanding of its habitat distribution and the environmental factors that affect it in the context of climate change. The Maxent algorithm was used to examine the key factors influencing the distribution of P. tatsienense in China, using data from 127 species occurrences and environmental variables from the Last Interglacial (LIG), Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Mid‐Holocene (MH), current, and future scenarios. The Maxent model was optimized utilizing the R package ENMeval, providing the most accurate predictions for suitable habitats across various scenarios. Results show that suitable regions for P. tatsienense encompass approximately 15.02% (14.42 × 105 km2) of China, predominantly on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. The mean UV‐B of the highest month (UVB3: 39.7%), elevation (elev: 28.7%), and the warmest season of precipitation (Bio18: 17.4%) are the major limiting factors for suitable habitat. The optimal species distribution ranges are identified as > 7500 J m−2 day−1 for UVB3, 2700–5600 m for elev, and 150–480 mm for Bio18. Predictions for the historical climate indicate the presence of refugia at the junction of Sichuan, Tibet, and Qinghai. The MH predictions show an increase in climatic suitability for P. tatsienense compared to the LIG and LGM, with an expansion of suitable areas westward. Future climate change scenarios indicate that the potential suitable habitat for P. tatsienense is expected to increase with increasing radiative forcing, with higher latitude regions becoming new marginally suitable habitats. However, predicted environmental changes in western Tibet may drive the loss of highly suitable habitats in the future. These findings enhance our understanding of how environmental factors impact the habitat suitability of P. tatsienense and provide valuable insights for developing effective management and conservation strategies for this important species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elsholtzia zhongyangii (Lamiaceae), a new species from Sichuan Province, China, is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically similar to E. feddei f. feddei, but it can be easily distinguished from E. feddei f. feddei by smaller corolla (3.2–3.5 mm vs. 4.5–5.3 mm), bract indumentum (glabrous, except margin ciliate vs. villous, especially on veins abaxially, glabrous adaxially) and bract stalked (ca. 1.2 mm vs. sessile). Phylogenetic analyses, based on two nuclear ribosomal (ETS, ITS) and five plastid (rbcL, matK, trnL-F, ycf1, ycf1-rps15) regions, confirmed that the new species formed a monophyletic clade with robust support. The new species is currently known from western Sichuan.

Abstract Background Refugia is considered to be critical for maintaining biodiversity; while discerning the type and pattern of refugia is pivotal for our understanding of evolutionary processes in the context of conservation. Interglacial and glacial refugia have been studied throughout subtropical China. However, studies on refugia along the oceanic–continental gradient have largely been ignored. We used a liana Actinidia eriantha, which occurs across the eastern moist evergreen broad-leaved forests of subtropical China, as a case study to test hypotheses of refugia along the oceanic–continental gradient and ‘oceanic’ adaptation. Results The phylogeographic pattern of A. eriantha was explored using a combination of three cpDNA markers and 38 nuclear microsatellite loci, Species distribution modelling and dispersal corridors analysis. Our data showed intermediate levels of genetic diversity [haplotype diversity (h T) = 0.498; unbiased expected heterozygosity (UH E) = 0.510] both at the species and population level. Microsatellite loci revealed five clusters largely corresponding to geographic regions. Coalescent time of cpDNA lineages was dated to the middle Pliocene (ca. 4.03 Ma). Both geographic distance and climate difference have important roles for intraspecific divergence of the species. The Zhejiang-Fujian Hilly Region was demonstrated to be a refugium along the oceanic–continental gradient of the species and fit the ‘refugia in refugia’ pattern. Species distribution modelling analysis indicated that Precipitation of Coldest Quarter (importance of 44%), Temperature Seasonality (29%) and Mean Temperature of Wettest Quarter (25%) contributed the most to model development. By checking the isolines in the three climate layers, we found that A. eriantha prefer higher precipitation during the coldest quarter, lower seasonal temperature difference and lower mean temperature during the wettest quarter, which correspond to ‘oceanic’ adaptation. Actinidia eriantha expanded to its western distribution range along the dispersal corridor repeatedly during the glacial periods. Conclusions Overall, our results provide integrated evidence demonstrating that the Zhejiang-Fujian Hilly Region is a refugium along the oceanic–continental gradient of Actinidia eriantha in subtropical China and that speciation is attributed to ‘oceanic’ adaptation. This study gives a deeper understanding of the refugia in subtropical China and will contribute to the conservation and utilization of kiwifruit wild resources in the context of climate change.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has emerged as a signaling molecule that plays a crucial role in the postharvest preservation of fruits and vegetables. This review summarizes the various functions of H2S such as delaying ripening and senescence, enhancing the resistance to cold and disease, and emphasizes the underlying mechanisms. Appropriate concentrations of H2S primarily operate through stimulating the antioxidant system, while showing positive effects on physiological metabolism relevant to storage quality and shelf life including energy, sugar, proline, phenolic, membrane lipid and cell wall metabolism. Moreover, H2S may reduce storage loss by modulating the expression patterns of senescence-related genes, like those linked to ethylene. The coordination of H2S and nitric oxide (NO) combats ethylene-derived negative effects during ripening and senescence. High concentrations of H2S not only act as a regulator to induce disease resistance, but also as a fungicide to inhibit the growth and pathogenicity of fungi. The intricate crosstalk between H2S and other molecules exists via synergistic and antagonistic roles based on protein persulfidation, which is the major signaling process of H2S and appears to compete with other post-translational modifications (PTMs) for the same cysteine residues. This review summarizes H2S synthesis pathways and also discusses the correlation between the signals of H2S, Ca2+ and ABA, while highlighting the intrinsic mechanisms of H2S performing its functions in postharvest preservation.

Owing to the widespread availability of multiple remote sensing methods, regions are often covered by satellite observation from multiple sources. However, the geometric positioning accuracy of optical satellites, which is the most common data source, is generally insufficient. An intuitive idea to improve accuracy is to integrate the dominant accuracy of multisource information. Previous articles have used synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and geoscience laser altimetry system (GLAS) data with improved geopositioning accuracy. However, the accuracy and applicability of existing combination methods are unsatisfactory because of various restrictions. In this article, a pipeline with automatic extraction of tie points and combined adjustment was designed based on nonstereo SAR images and GLAS data, considering both the high precision and wide distribution of multisource data. Experiments using real satellite data (ZY-3, GF-7, GF-3, and ICESat-2) and test areas covering complex landforms demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed pipeline. The geopositioning accuracy in three experimental areas reached 3.16, 3.36, and 3.17 m in the horizontal direction and 1.45, 1.25, and 1.28 m in the vertical direction. Our pipeline not only permits high accuracy close to the nominal accuracy of heterogeneous reference data but can also be extended to global high-precision geopositioning without ground control.

Abstract Harvesting hot carriers (HCs) before thermalizing to the perovskite crystal lattice is very promising for advancing the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) towards the Shockley–Queisser limit. Thus, it is very crucial to slow down the HCs cooling process in lead halide perovskites. Herein, we investigated the HCs cooling dynamics of perovskite films in the presence of an organic small molecule, 2,5‐thiophenedicarboxylic acid (TDCA). We found that adding TDCA into perovskite films can efficiently retard HCs cooling process, which favors extracting the excess energies of HCs through carrier transport layers and reducing electron–hole recombination, resulting in enhanced performance in TDCA modified device. Moreover, TDCA can effectively passivate unsaturated Pb2+ defects of perovskite films while promoting a preferential crystal orientation. Consequently, the PSCs efficiency is enhanced to 22.85% (TDCA) from 19.96% (control). These findings provide important insight for understanding HCs transfer dynamics and developing next‐generation perovskite‐based HCs optoelectronic devices.

The coexistence of heavy metal-polluted soils and global warming poses serious threats to plants. Many studies indicate that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance the resistance of plants to adverse environments such as heavy metals and high temperature. However, few studies are carried out to explore the regulation of AMF on the adaptability of plants to the coexistence of heavy metals and elevated temperature (ET). Here, we investigated the regulation of Glomus mosseae on the adaptability of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to the coexistence of cadmium (Cd)-polluted soils and ET. G. mosseae significantly enhanced total chlorophyll and carbon (C) content in the shoots by 15.6% and 3.0%, respectively, and Cd, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) uptake by the roots by 63.3%, 28.9%, and 85.2%, respectively, under Cd + ET. G. mosseae significantly increased ascorbate peroxidase activity, peroxidase (POD) gene expression, and soluble proteins content in the shoots by 13.4%, 130.3%, and 33.8%, respectively, and significantly decreased ascorbic acid (AsA), phytochelatins (PCs), and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents by 7.4%, 23.2%, and 6.5%, respectively, under ET + Cd. Additionally, G. mosseae colonization led to significant increases in POD (13.0%) and catalase (46.5%) activities, Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase gene expression (33.5%), and MDA (6.6%), glutathione (22.2%), AsA (10.3%), cysteine (101.0%), PCs (13.8%), soluble sugars (17.5%), and proteins (43.4%) contents in the roots and carotenoids (23.2%) under ET + Cd. Cadmium, C, N, G. mosseae colonization rate, and chlorophyll significantly influenced shoots defenses and Cd, C, N, P, G. mosseae colonization rate, and sulfur significantly affected root defenses. In conclusion, G. mosseae obviously improved the defense capacity of alfalfa under ET + Cd. The results could improve our understanding of the regulation of AMF on the adaptability of plants to the coexistence of heavy metals and global warming and phytoremediation of heavy metal-polluted sites under global warming scenarios.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factors (TRAFs) play vital roles in tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF-R) and interleukin-1 receptor/Toll-like receptor (IL-1R/TLR) mediated signaling pathway. However, the role that TRAF7 plays in the host immune responses is largely unknown in comparison to the extensive and in-depth research that has been conducted on other members of the TRAF family. Notably, Lc-TRAF7, a cloned TRAF7 ortholog, was discovered in the large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) in the current study, which has an open reading frame (ORF) of 1,962 base pairs and encodes a protein of 653 amino acids (aa). Lc-TRAF7 is consisted of a RING finger domain, a coiled-coil domain, and seven WD40 domains, with the genomic organization consisted of 20 exons and 19 introns. According to the expression analysis, Lc-TRAF7 was presented in a wide range of detected organs and tissues of the healthy fish, and was able to significantly induced by stimulations of poly I:C, LPS, PGN, and Pseudomonas plecoglossicida infection. Subcellular distribution analysis revealed that Lc-TRAF7 was a cytoplasmic protein, with the RING finger and coiled-coil domain function importantly in its subcellular localization. Luciferase assays demonstrated that Lc-TRAF7 overexpression significantly induced the activation of NF-κB, IRF3, IRF7, and IFN1 promoters. In addition, the WD40 domains play a pivotal role in the NF-κB promoter activation, whereas the RING finger and coiled-coil domain were essential in the IRF3, IRF7, and IFN1 promoter activation. Notably, Lc-TRAF7 overexpression could suppress SVCV proliferation in EPC cells, and the expression levels of IRF3, IRF7, ISG15, ISG56, RSAD2, and TNF-α were up-regulated under Lc-TRAF7 overexpression in LYCMS cells. These findings collectively implied that Lc-TRAF7 may function as an important regulator in the host antiviral responses via the NF-κB as well as IRF3/7 involved signaling pathways.

As a TIR domain-containing molecular, sterile α-and armadillo motif-containing protein (SARM) acts as an adaptor in Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, and also plays important roles in mediating apoptosis and neuronal injury. In the present study, the ortholog of SARM, named as Lc-SARM, was cloned and identified in large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea). The full-length ORF of Lc-SARM consists of 2,154 bp, encoding a protein of 717 amino acids (aa), which is comprised of an N-terminal ARM domain, two SAM domains, and a C-terminal TIR domain. Confocal microscopy revealed that Lc-SARM was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm, and the mRNA expression level of Lc-SARM was broadly distributed in all the detected organs/tissues, with the highest expression level found in the brain. The expression patterns of Lc-SARM could be induced in response to poly I:C, LPS, PGN stimulations, and Pseudomonas plecoglossicida infection. Notably, although the overexpression of Lc-SARM could significantly induce NF-κB, IRF3, IRF7, and type I IFN promoter activation, whereas the co-expression of Lc-SARM with Lc-TRIF, Lc-TRAF3, Lc-IRF3, or Lc-IRF7 significantly down-regulated the induction of NF-κB, IRF3, IRF7, or type I IFN promoter activation, and suppressed the antiviral effects as well as the downstream antiviral-related genes expression compared to the only overexpression of Lc-TRIF, Lc-TRAF3, Lc-IRF3, or Lc-IRF7. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assays also demonstrated that Lc-SARM interacts separately with Lc-TRIF, Lc-TRAF3, Lc-IRF3, and Lc-IRF7. It is thus collectively suggested that Lc-SARM functions as a negative regulator in Lc-TRIF, Lc-TRAF3, and Lc-IRF3/7 involved antiviral signaling.