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Abstract Background This study aimed to explore the effects of the titanium dioxide (TiO2) concentration and particle size in hydrogen peroxide (HP) on tooth bleaching effectiveness and enamel surface properties. Methods TiO2 at different concentrations and particle sizes was incorporated into 40% HP gel to form an HP/TiO2 gel. The specimens were randomly divided into 8 groups: C1P20: HP + 1% TiO2 (20 nm); C3P20: HP + 3% TiO2 (20 nm); C5P20: HP + 5% TiO2 (20 nm); C1P100: HP + 1% TiO2 (100 nm); C3P100: HP + 3% TiO2 (100 nm); C5P100: HP + 5% TiO2 (100 nm); C0: HP with LED; and C0-woL: HP without LED. Bleaching was conducted over 2 sessions, each lasting 40 min with a 7-day interval. The color differences (ΔE00), whiteness index for dentistry (WID), surface microhardness, roughness, microstructure, and composition were assessed. Results The concentration and particle size of TiO2 significantly affected ΔE00 and ΔWID values, with the C1P100 group showing the greatest ΔE00 values and C1P100, C3P100, and C5P100 groups showing the greatest ΔWID values (p 0.05). Conclusions Incorporating 1% TiO2 with a particle size of 100 nm into HP constitutes an effective bleaching strategy to achieve desirable outcomes.

Abstract Introduction Children and adolescents, after natural and man-made disasters, often exhibit various psychological, emotional, and behavioral issues, showing a range of clinical symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This review used a network meta-analysis (NMA) approach to compare and rank psychological interventions for PTSD and depression in children and adolescents after exposure to natural and man-made disasters. Methods Randomized studies of psychosocial interventions for PTSD and depression in children and adolescents exposed to natural and man-made disasters were identified. PTSD and depression symptoms at postintervention and 1–12 month follow-up are the outcomes. The standardized mean differences (SMDs) between pairs of interventions at postintervention and follow-up were pooled. Mean effect sizes with 95% credible intervals (CI) were calculated, and the ranking probabilities for all interventions were estimated using the surface under the cumulative ranking curve. Study quality was assessed with version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). Results In total, 26 studies with 4331 participants were included in this NMA. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) (SMD = − 0.67; 95% CI − 1.17 to − 0.17), exposure therapy (ET) (SMD = − 0.66; 95% CI − 1.11 to − 0.22), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (SMD = − 0.62; 95% CI − 0.90 to − 0.34) were significantly more effective for PTSD at postintervention than inactive intervention. EMDR (SMD = − 0.72; 95% CI − 1.11 to − 0.33) and ET (SMD = − 0.62; 95% CI − 0.97 to − 0.27) were associated with a higher reduction in PTSD symptoms at follow-up than inactive intervention. EMDR (SMD = − 0.40; 95% CI − 0.78 to − 0.03) and play therapy (PT) (SMD = − 0.37; 95% CI − 0.62 to − 0.12) were significantly more effective for depression at postintervention than inactive intervention. For all psychological interventions in reducing depression symptoms at follow-up compared with inactive intervention, the differences were not significant. Conclusion EMDR appears to be most effective in reducing PTSD and depression in children and adolescents exposed to natural and man-made disasters. In addition, ET and CBT are potentially effective in reducing PTSD symptoms at postintervention, while PT is beneficial in managing depression symptoms at the treatment endpoint.

The major symptoms of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) are low back pain, radiative lower extremity pain, and lower limb movement disorder. Patients with LDH suffer from great distress in their daily life accompanied by severe economic hardship and difficulty in self-care, with an increasing tendency in the aging population. PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for relevant studies of spontaneous resorption or regression in LDH after conservative treatment and for other potential studies, which included those from inception to June 30, 2023. The objective of this narrative review is to summarize previous literatures about spontaneous resorption in LDH and to discuss the mechanisms and influencing factors in order to assess the probability of spontaneous resorption by conservative treatment. Spontaneous resorption without surgical treatment is influenced by the types and sizes of the LDH, inflammatory responses, and therapeutic factors. If the lumbar disc herniated tissue comprises a higher percentage of cartilage or modic changes have been shown on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resorption in LDH is prevented. The bull's eye sign on enhanced MRI, which is a ring enhancement around a protruding disc, is a vital indicator for easy reabsorption. In addition, the type of extrusion and sequestration in LDH could forecast the higher feasibility of natural reabsorption. Moreover, the higher the proportion of protrusion on the intervertebral disc tissue within the spinal canal, the greater the likelihood of reabsorption. Therefore, which illustrates the feasibility of conservative treatments for LDH. Nonsurgical management of LDH with clinical symptoms is recommended by the authors.

Abstract Introduction To determine risk factors associated with postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leaks (CSFLs) after intrathecal drug delivery system (IDDS) and external pump implantation. Methods The clinical data of 248 patients with advanced cancer who underwent IDDS implantation from January 2021 to December 2022 at the Department of Pain Medicine at the Hunan Cancer Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Information regarding age, gender, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), tumour type, albumin levels, haemoglobin levels, history of diabetes and pre- and postoperative anti-tumour therapy was collected and analysed. Results Postoperative CSFLs occurred in 7 of 231 patients (3.30%). Statistical analysis indicated that gender, age, height, weight, BMI, tumour type, albumin levels, haemoglobin levels, history of diabetes, pre- and postoperative chemotherapy, pre- and postoperative radiotherapy, preoperative immunotherapy and postoperative targeted therapy were not independent factors for CSFLs. Preoperative targeted therapy [odds ratio (OR): 16.64; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.42, 195.56; P = 0.01] and postoperative immunotherapy (OR: 13.38; 95% CI: 1.60, 111.65; P = 0.017) were factors associated with an increased postoperative CSFL rate. Of the two locations where CSFLs can occur, the back (puncture site of catheter, n = 4) and the hypochondriac region (location of infusion port implanted, n = 3), back CSFLs occurred earlier than in the hypochondriac region (18.25 ± 6.45 vs 115 ± 62.02 days, P = 0.032). Conclusion Based on the data from our study, the timing of preoperative targeted therapy and postoperative immunotherapy should be considered to prevent the occurrence of CSFLs in cancer pain patients who have an IDDS and external pump.

There is a great amount of coal pressed under buildings in our country, while the discharge of coal-based industrial solid wastes such as coal gangue and fly ash are increasing, which has severely restricted the local economic and social development. Taking Mahuangliang Coal Mine in Yulin as the test mine, aiming at the problems of extra-thick coal seam, coal pressed under buildings and high backfilling cost, the technology of full solid waste continuous mining and filling in extra-thick coal seam is put forward. The four-stage process is adopted and the extra thick coal seam is divided into upper and lower parts for secondary mining to control the ground settlement to the maximum extent. In order to reduce the cost of filling raw materials, the source modification of magnesium slag is carried out with chemical optimizer to restrain the cooling pulverization of magnesium slag and stabilize hydration activity. In collaboration with coal based solid wastes such as fly ash and desulfurized gypsum, modified magnesium-cinder based cementing material is developed. The whole solid waste filling material was prepared by cementing coal gangue and fly ash with modified magnesium cinder based cementing material. According to the requirements of strong and weak filling strength in four stages of Mahuangliang Coal mine, different ratios of modified magnesium slag-based filling materials were designed to optimize the ratio and applied to underground filling. The paste filling system and roof-contact method are introduced. The experimental results show that the average uniaxial compressive strength of the 28-day underground filling body exceeds the designed strength by 27%. The leaching toxicity of the core meets the relevant national standards, which successfully liberates the coal resources under the building and has significant social and economic benefits. The practice of full-solid waste cementation and backfilling in the extra-thick seam of Mahuangliang Coal Mine provides a useful reference for similar mines in China, and provides a new idea for the large-scale resource utilization of “coal-electricity-chemical-metallurgical” solid waste in large coal bases in China.

Abstract This case report details a rare thymic basaloid carcinoma initially misinterpreted as a mediastinal teratoma, underscoring the diagnostic challenges posed by such tumors. A 71-year-old female presented with an asymptomatic anterior mediastinal tumor discovered incidentally during a routine health examination. Surgical intervention, followed by pathological and immunohistochemical analysis including CK-pan, p63, p40, and CD117 molecules, led to a definitive diagnosis of basaloid carcinoma of the thymus. This case highlights the critical importance of differential diagnosis in mediastinal lesions, especially those presenting with multilocular thymic cysts on chest CT. The subxiphoid video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery enabled complete tumor resection with minimal trauma and favorable postoperative outcomes. The patient opted against further radiotherapy or chemotherapy and she has survived for over eight months without recurrence. This case report contributes to the growing understanding of thymic basaloid carcinoma, a rare and potentially aggressive thymic carcinoma subtype. It emphasizes the necessity for precise surgical techniques and enhanced diagnostic acumen among cardiothoracic surgeons and oncologists.

Introduction: Due to its unique structural features and bioactivities, the lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC) displays great potential in vast industrial applications. However, the elucidation of how various pretreatment methods affect the structure and bioactivities remains unaddressed.Method: The three pretreatment methods were systematically studied on the variations of structures and bioactivities, and the Gramineae plant, i.e., wheat straw, was adopted in this study. The structures and bioactivities variation caused by different pretreatments were studied in detail.Result and Discussion: The results showed that compared to physical or chemical pretreatments, biological pretreatment was the most effective approach in improving the bioactivities of LCC. The LCC from biological pretreatment (enzymatic hydrolysis, ELCC4) had more functional groups while the lower weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and polydispersity index (PDI) were well-endowed. The highest antioxidant abilities against ABTS and DPPH of ELCC4 were high up to 95% and 84%, respectively. Furthermore, ELCC4 also showed the best ultraviolet (UV)-blocking rate of 96%, which was increased by 6% and 2% compared to LCC8 (physical pretreatment) and LLCC4 (chemical pretreatment). This work prospectively boosts the understanding of pretreatment strategies on the structures and bioactivities variation of LCC and facilitates its utilization as sustainable and biologically active materials in various fields.

BackgroundInfluenza virus is one of the most common pathogens that cause viral pneumonia. During pneumonia, host immune inflammation regulation involves microbiota in the intestine and glycolysis in the lung tissues. In the clinical guidelines for pneumonia treatment in China, Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction (MXSG) is a commonly prescribed traditional Chinese medicine formulation with significant efficacy, however, it remains unclear whether its specific mechanism of action is related to the regulation of intestinal microbiota structure and lung tissue glycolysis.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the mechanism of action of MXSG in an animal model of influenza virus-induced pneumonia. Specifically, we aimed to elucidate how MXSG modulates intestinal microbiota structure and lung tissue glycolysis to exert its therapeutic effects on pneumonia.MethodsWe established a mouse model of influenza virus-induced pneumoni, and treated with MXSG. We observed changes in inflammatory cytokine levels and conducted 16S rRNA gene sequencing to assess the intestinal microbiota structure and function. Additionally, targeted metabolomics was performed to analyze lung tissue glycolytic metabolites, and Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to assess glycolysis-related enzymes, lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), HIF-1a, and macrophage surface markers. Correlation analysis was conducted between the LPS and omics results to elucidate the relationship between intestinal microbiota and lung tissue glycolysis in pneumonia animals under the intervention of Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction.ResultsMXSG reduced the abundance of Gram-negative bacteria in the intestines, such as Proteobacteria and Helicobacter, leading to reduced LPS content in the serum and lungs. This intervention also suppressed HIF-1a activity and lung tissue glycolysis metabolism, decreased the number of M1-type macrophages, and increased the number of M2-type macrophages, effectively alleviating lung damage caused by influenza virus-induced pneumonia.ConclusionMXSG can alleviate glycolysis in lung tissue, suppress M1-type macrophage activation, promote M2-type macrophage activation, and mitigate inflammation in lung tissue. This therapeutic effect appears to be mediated by modulating gut microbiota and reducing endogenous LPS production in the intestines. This study demonstrates the therapeutic effects of MXSG on pneumonia and explores its potential mechanism, thus providing data support for the use of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of respiratory infectious diseases.

Mg-based amorphous alloys exhibit efficient catalytic performance and excellent biocompatibility with a promising application probability, specifically in the field of azo dye wastewater degradation. However, the problems like difficulty in preparation and poor cycling stability need to be solved. At present, Mg-based amorphous alloys applied in wastewater degradation are available in powder and ribbon. The amorphous alloy powder fabricated by ball milling has a high specific surface area, and its reactivity is thousands of times better than that of gas atomized alloy powder. But the development is limited due to the high energy consumption, difficult and costly process of powder recycling. The single roller melt-spinning method is a new manufacturing process of amorphous alloy ribbon. Compared to amorphous powder, the specific surface area of amorphous ribbon is relatively lower, therefore, it is necessary to carry out surface modification to enhance it. Dealloying is a way that can form a pore structure on the surface of the amorphous alloys, increasing the specific surface area and providing more reactive sites, which all contribute to the catalytic performance. Exploring the optimal conditions for Mg-based amorphous alloys in wastewater degradation by adjusting amorphous alloy composition, choosing suitable method to preparation and surface modification, reducing cost, expanding the pH range will advance the steps to put Mg-based amorphous alloys in industrial environments into practice.

Water-soluble lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC) rich in polysaccharides exhibits benign in vitro antioxidant activities and distinguishes high biocompatibility from lignin-rich LCC and lignin. However, the antioxidant activity of water-soluble LCCs remains to be improved and its structure-antioxidant relationship is still uncertain. Herein, structurally diversified water-soluble LCCs were isolated under different ball-milling pretreatment durations (4, 6, 8 h), extraction pathways (homogeneous and heterogeneous), and isolation routines (water extracts and residues after water extraction). Their structures were characterized by wet chemistry, chromatography and spectroscopies. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by ferric reducing antioxidant power and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals scavenging rate (RDPPH). Results show that altering ball-milling duration and isolation procedures cause varied structures and antioxidant activities of the water-soluble LCCs. Specifically, prolonging ball-milling duration to 8 hours and homogeneous extraction can enhance their antioxidant activity through releasing more phenolic structures and promoting the extraction of high-molecular-weight LCCs via reducing mass-transfer resistance, respectively. As a result, the RDPPH of water-soluble LCCs reaches up to 97.35%, which is associated with the arabinan content with statistical significance (P < 0.05). This study provides new insights into the structure-antioxidation relationship of herbaceous LCC as potential antioxidants.

Abstract Integrinβ-1 (ITGB1) is a crucial member of the transmembrane glycoprotein signaling receptor family and is also central to the integrin family. It forms heterodimers with other ligands, participates in intracellular signaling and controls a variety of cellular processes, such as angiogenesis and the growth of neurons; because of its role in bidirectional signaling regulation both inside and outside the membrane, ITGB1 must interact with a multitude of substances, so a variety of interfering factors can affect ITGB1 and lead to changes in its function. Over the past 20 years, many studies have confirmed a clear causal relationship between ITGB1 dysregulation and cancer development and progression in a wide range of benign diseases and solid tumor types, which may imply that ITGB1 is a prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target for cancer treatment that warrants further investigation. This review summarizes the biological roles of ITGB1 in benign diseases and cancers, and compiles the current status of ITGB1 function and therapy in various aspects of tumorigenesis and progression. Finally, future research directions and application prospects of ITGB1 are suggested. Video Abstract

The structures of lipids determine their biological functions, and the identification of C=C double bond isomers in unsaturated lipids faces challenges. The direct nitrogen-methyl (N-Me) aziridination reaction allows for the derivatization of unsaturated lipid double bonds, which can combine with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to enable the resolving for positions of unsaturated lipid double bonds. However, current studies about the mechanism of the N-Me aziridination reaction lack direct evidence of intermediate processes. Here, a nano-electrostatic-spray ionization-mass spectrometry (nESTASI-MS) device based on a θ capillary was used to separate the reactants through the channels on both sides of the θ capillary, allowing the solutions to be mixed and react on-line during the electrospray process. This on-line mixing greatly shortened the residence time of the two reactants, providing for the successful capture and identification of short-lived intermediates during the reaction process. The device was used to study the reaction process of aziridination of unsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC). N-Methyl-O-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydroxylamine (N-Me-DPH) was used as the amination reagent, PC 36:2 as a representative substrate, and Rh2(esp)2 as a catalyst to study the reactions of these three substances in different mixing modes. The results showed that N-Me-DPH pre-mixed with Rh2(esp)2 may deactivate the catalyst and the relevant intermediates and products could not be observed. In the other two mixing modes, the key rhodium-nitrene intermediate and the ternary biradical intermediate containing the first C-N bond during the reaction were successfully captured and characterized, as well as the product containing 1-methyl aziridine structure, which provided key evidence for the mechanistic study of the direct aziridination reaction of N-Me. Derivatization of N-Me aziridination could generate the 1-methyl aziridine structure at the double bond position, which was susceptible to break during mass spectrometric collision-induced dissociation (CID) to generate fragment ions providing indicative information about the position of the double bond. The dissociation behavior of the protonated peak of its aziridination product in CID mode was examined using PC 36:2 as an example. The results showed that the abundance of fragment ions breaking at the 1-methylaziridine structure was very low. Compared to the derived aziridine structure, the choline phosphate head group of PC was more likely to be lost during CID. Further collision-induced dissociation of the ion fragmentation peaks after the loss of the head group produced significant fragmentation of the aziridine structural unit, yielding fragment ions with C-N bond breaking near the acyl end and near the methyl end, respectively. The position of the double bond on the aliphatic chain could be easily determined from the mass of the fragment ions. This study provides a new in situ MS tool for the study of short-lived chemical reaction intermediates, which is expected to play an important role in the study of transient intermediate processes of chemical reactions.

Abstract Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is characterized by rapid onset and high chance of metastasis. Therefore, identification of novel therapeutic targets is imperative. E26 transformation‐specific homologous factor (EHF), a member of the E26 transformation‐specific transcription factor family, plays a pivotal role in epithelial cell differentiation and cancer progression. However, its precise role in CCA remains unclear. In this study, through in vitro and in vivo experiments, we demonstrated that EHF plays a profound role in promoting CCA by transcriptional activation of glioma‐associated oncogene homolog 1 (GLI1). Moreover, EHF significantly recruited and activated tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs) through the C‐C motif chemokine 2/C‐C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCL2/CCR2) axis, thereby remodeling the tumor microenvironment. In human CCA tissues, EHF expression was positively correlated with GLI1 and CCL2 expression, and patients with co‐expression of EHF/GLI1 or EHF/CCL2 had the most adverse prognosis. Furthermore, the combination of the GLI1 inhibitor, GANT58, and CCR2 inhibitor, INCB3344, substantially reduced the occurrence of EHF‐mediated CCA. In summary, our findings suggest that EHF is a potential prognostic biomarker for patients with CCA, while also advocating the therapeutic approach of combined targeting of GLI1 and CCL2/CCR2‐TAMs to inhibit EHF‐driven CCA development.

Accurate extraction of three-dimensional (3D) vegetation is essential for monitoring urban ecological environments and carbon sinks. Two-dimensional vegetation data in cities has been widely researched. However, large-scale urban vegetation height inventories are lacking. This study proposes a novel framework for 3D extraction of urban vegetation, which can be widely applied based on remote sensing approaches. A multi-task convolutional neural network is established to extract the urban vegetation cover and estimate the vegetation height at the pixel level. The results indicate that this method can derive the complete urban vegetation cover and height from stereo satellite data. Compared with the traditional stereo-photogrammetry method, this method enables rapid inference of vegetation height in urban areas with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.16 m. This model is capable of accurately separating vegetation in complex urban environments and performs well despite shadow effects. Furthermore, in this study, the first vegetation height map with 1-m spatial resolution has been produced, covering six urban districts in Beijing (approximately 1,378 km2). It only takes 2–3 min to process the imagery of the whole study area. The high-resolution map can display more urban vegetation details over the existing 10 m/30 m resolution vegetation height maps. Furthermore, the established framework and benchmark for urban vegetation 3D information offer unique insights and provide a basis for further research.

The largest Precambrian gas field (Anyue Gasfield) in China has been discovered in the central Sichuan Basin. However, the deep ancient Ediacaran dolomite presents a substantial challenge due to their tightness and heterogeneity, rather than assumed large-area stratified reservoirs controlled by mound-shoal microfacies. This complicates the characterization of “sweet spot” reservoirs crucial for efficient gas exploitation. By analyzing compiled geological, geophysical and production data, this study investigates the impact of strike-slip fault on the development and distribution of high-quality “sweet spot” (fracture-vuggy) reservoirs in the Ediacaran dolomite of the Anyue Gasfield. The dolomite matrix reservoir exhibits low porosity (less than 4%) and low permeability (less than 0.5×10–3 μm2). Contrarily, fractures and their dissolution processes along strike-slip fault zone significantly enhance matrix permeability by more than one order of magnitude and matrix porosity by more than one time. Widespread “sweet spot” fracture-vuggy reservoirs are found along the strike-slip fault zone, formed at the end of the Ediacaran. These fractured reservoirs are controlled by the coupling mechanisms of sedimentary microfacies, fracturing and karstification. Karstification prevails at the platform margin, while both fracturing and karstification control high-quality reservoirs in the intraplatform, resulting in reservoir diversity in terms of scale, assemblage and type. The architecture of the strike-slip fault zone governed the differential distribution of fracture zones and the fault-controlled “sweet spot” reservoirs, leading to wide fractured-vuggy reservoirs across the strike-slip fault zone. In conclusion, the intracratonic weak strike-slip fault can play a crucial role in improving tight carbonate reservoir, and the strike-slip fault-related “sweet spot” reservoir emerges as a unique and promising target for the efficient development of deep hydrocarbon resources. Tailored development strategies need to be implemented for these reservoirs, considering the diverse and differential impacts exerted by strike-slip faults on the reservoirs.

Urban scene understanding and functional identification are essential for accurately characterizing the spatial structure and optimizing the city layouts during rapid urbanization. Multimodal data is important for recognizing the distribution patterns of urban functions and revealing internal details. Previous studies have focused primarily on remote sensing imagery and points of interest (POIs) data, overlooking the role of building characteristics in determining functions of urban scenes. These studies are also limited in terms of mining and fusing multimodal features. To address these challenges, this study proposes a multimodal fusion framework that integrates remote sensing imagery, POIs, and building footprints for urban scene understanding and functional mapping. The framework employs a dual-branch model that extracts visual semantic features from the remote sensing imagery and socioeconomic features from auxiliary data, such as POIs and building footprints. A branch attention module is designed to assign weights to dual-branch features. Additionally, a multiscale feature fusion module is introduced to extract and combine multiscale features through modal interaction. Experiments in Beijing and Chengdu validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework with overall accuracy of 90.04% and 92.07%, and kappa coefficient of 0.881 and 0.895, respectively. This study provides empirical evidence to support accurate urban planning and further promote urban sustainable development. The source code is at: https://github.com/sssuchen/MMFF.

Introduction: Dental erosion and abrasion pose significant clinical challenges, often leading to exposed dentinal tubules and dentine demineralization. The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of quercetin-encapsulated hollow mesoporous silica nanocomposites (Q@HMSNs) on the prevention of dentine erosion and abrasion.Method: Q@HMSNs were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for their biocompatibility. A total of 130 dentine specimens (2 mm × 2 mm × 2 mm) were prepared and randomly distributed into 5 treatment groups (n = 26): DW (deionized water, negative control), NaF (12.3 mg/mL sodium fluoride, positive control), Q (300 μg/mL quercetin), HMSN (5.0 mg/mL HMSNs), and Q@HMSN (5.0 mg/mL Q@HMSNs). All groups were submitted to in vitro erosive (4 cycles/d) and abrasive (2 cycles/d) challenges for 7 days. The specimens in the DW, NaF, and Q groups were immersed in the respective solutions for 2 min, while treatment was performed for 30 s in the HMSN and Q@HMSN groups. Subsequently, the specimens were subjected to additional daily erosion/abrasion cycles for another 7 days. The effects of the materials on dentinal tubule occlusion and demineralized organic matrix (DOM) preservation were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The penetration depth of rhodamine B fluorescein into the etched dentine was assessed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The erosive dentine loss (EDL) and release of type I collagen telopeptide (ICTP) were measured. The data were analysed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Tukey’s test (α = 0.05).Results: Q@HMSNs were successfully synthesized and showed minimal toxicity to human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSCs) and gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). Q@HMSNs effectively occluded the dentinal tubules, resulting in a thicker DOM in the Q@HMSN group. The CLSM images showed more superficial penetration in the HMSN and Q@HMSN groups than in the quercetin, NaF, and DW groups. The Q@HMSN group exhibited a significantly lower EDL and reduced ICTP levels compared to the other groups (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Q@HMSNs hold promise for inhibiting dentine erosion and abrasion by promoting tubule occlusion and DOM preservation.

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) continues to pose a significant threat to patient survival. Emerging evidence underscores the pivotal involvement of long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the cancer process. Nevertheless, our understanding of the roles and processes of lncRNAs in HCC remains limited. Methods The expression level of USP27X‐AS1 was assessed in an HCC patient cohort through a combination of bioinformatics analysis and qRT‐PCR. Subsequent biological experiments were conducted to delve into the functional aspects of USP27X‐AS1. Additional molecular biology techniques, including RNA pulldown and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), were employed to elucidate the potential mechanisms involving USP27X‐AS1 in HCC. Finally, CUT–RUN assay and other investigations were carried out to determine the factors contributing to the heightened expression of USP27X‐AS1 in HCC. Results High expression of the novel oncogene USP27X‐AS1 predicted poor prognosis in HCC patients. Further investigation confirmed that USP27X‐AS1 promoted the proliferation and metastasis of HCC by enabling USP7 to interact with AKT, which reduced level of AKT poly‐ubiquitylation and enhanced AKT protein stability, which improves protein stabilisation of AKT and promotes the progression of HCC. Moreover, we also revealed that SP1 binds to USP27X‐AS1 promoter to activate its transcription. Conclusions Novel oncogenic lncRNA USP27X‐AS1 promoted HCC progression via recruiting USP7 to deubiquitinate AKT. SP1 transcriptionally activated USP27X‐AS1 expression. These findings shed light on HCC and pointed to USP27X‐AS1 as a potential predictive biomarker and treatment target for the malignancy.

Ewing’s sarcoma, characterized by small round cell morphology, is a rare malignancy, with mediastinal Ewing’s sarcoma being even less common. This case describes a distinctive presentation of primary mediastinal Ewing’s sarcoma in a 32-year-old male presenting with sudden and severe chest pain. Initial evaluation excluded cardiac and pulmonary emergencies, revealing a posterior mediastinal mass through advanced imaging. The patient’s clinical symptoms significantly improved following the complete resection of the tumor via thoracoscopy. Subsequent analysis incorporating imaging, histological, immunohistochemical and genetic findings led to the conclusive diagnosis of primary mediastinal Ewing’s sarcoma.

Abstract Hypertension is characterized by endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness, which contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is an indispensable cofactor in all living cells that is involved in fundamental biological processes. However, in hypertensive patients, alterations in NAD+ levels and their relation with blood pressure (BP) elevation and vascular damage have not yet been studied. Here we reported that hypertensive patients exhibited lower NAD+ levels, as detected by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), in both peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and aortas, which was parallel to vascular dysfunction. NAD+ boosting therapy with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplement reduced BP and ameliorated vascular dysfunction in hypertensive patients (NCT04903210) and AngII-induced hypertensive mice. Upregulation of CD38 in endothelial cells led to endothelial NAD+ exhaustion by reducing NMN bioavailability. Pro-inflammatory macrophages infiltration and increase in IL-1β generation derived from pro-inflammatory macrophages resulted in higher CD38 expression by activating JAK1-STAT1 signaling pathway. CD38 KO, CD38 inhibitors treatment, or adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated endothelial CD38 knockdown lowered BP and improved vascular dysfunction in AngII-induced hypertensive mice. The present study demonstrated for the first time that endothelial CD38 activation and subsequently accelerated NAD+ degradation due to enhanced macrophage-derived IL-1β production was responsible for BP elevation and vascular damage in hypertension. NAD+ boosting therapy can be used as a novel therapeutic strategy for the management of hypertensive patients.

Abstract One important goal of the current Fenton-like catalysts is to develop highly efficient and pH-universal catalysts that can operate with little performance degradation over multiple recycles. Herein, we report a ternary MoCoB metallic glass (MG) microwire catalyst, which shows exceptional Fenton-like activity for degrading various dyes in a wide pH range (5–10). Moreover, the MoCoB MG catalyst with an ultrahigh glass-transition temperature of 1002 K exhibits excellent reusability and can be used for more than 46 times without a decay in efficiency. It is regarded that the excellent catalytic activity and sustainability of the MoCoB MG catalyst originates from the bimetallic effect involving Mo n /Mo n+1 and Co n+1/Co n cycling, which accelerates the electronic transfer kinetics, enabling the generation of multiple reactive oxygen species (•OH and •O2 -). First-Principles Calculations revealed again that MG catalysts provide a large electron base for the whole catalytic process.

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of stent-assisted coiling (SAC) for the treatment of carotid ophthalmic segment aneurysm segment aneurysms (OSAs) of the internal carotid artery (ICA) through detailed long-term follow-up of a large patient cohort. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 88 consecutive patients with OSAs between January 2009 and January 2020 ​at our center. Angiographic results were evaluated using the modified Raymond grading system and clinical outcomes were evaluated using the mRS scale. The primary endpoints were major aneurysm recurrence and poor clinical outcomes for at least 18 months of follow-up. The patients were asked to attend clinical follow-up assessments and possibly undergo DSA or MR via telephone. Results: We enrolled 88 patients with 99 OSAs treated with coiling, of whom 76 were treated with SAC. The coiling procedures were successful in all 88 patients. Overall, complications occurred in 8 patients (9.1%). No procedure-related mortality was observed. 67 (76.1%) experienced immediate aneurysm occlusion at the end of the procedure. Long-term angiographic follow-up (18 months) was available in 45/88 aneurysms (51%) (average 18.7 ​± ​5.2 months). Four patients continued their follow-up for 5 years after initial aneurysm treatment. After a clinical follow-up time of 28.7 months (range, 12–51 months), 85 patients (95.5%) achieved favorable clinical outcomes (mRS scores of 0–2). Conclusions: This study indicates that SAC treatment is a safe and effective therapeutic alternative for ruptured and unruptured OSAs. The procedural risks are low with relatively long-term effectiveness.

Abstract Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe malaria in humans. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) serves as the first line of humoral defense against infection and potently activates the complement pathway to facilitate P. falciparum clearance. A number of P. falciparum proteins bind IgM, leading to immune evasion and severe disease. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Here, using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, we delineate how P. falciparum proteins VAR2CSA, TM284VAR1, DBLMSP, and DBLMSP2 target IgM. Each protein binds IgM in a different manner, and together they present a variety of Duffy-binding-like domain-IgM interaction modes. We further show that these proteins interfere directly with IgM-mediated complement activation in vitro, with VAR2CSA exhibiting the most potent inhibitory effect. These results underscore the importance of IgM for human adaptation of P. falciparum and provide critical insights into its immune evasion mechanism.

Abstract Background Identification of the motifs bound by a transcription factor (TF) is important to reveal the function of TF. Previously, we built a transcription factor centered yeast one hybrid (TF-Centered Y1H) that could identify the motifs bound by a target TF. However, that method was difficult to comprehensively identify all the motifs bound by a TF. Results Here, we build an improved TF-Centered Y1H to comprehensively determine the motifs bound by a target TF. Recombination-mediated cloning in yeast was performed to construct a saturated prey library that contains 7 random base insertions. After TF-Centered Y1H screening, all the positive clones were pooled together to isolate pHIS2 vector. The insertion regions of pHIS2 were PCR amplified and the PCR product was subjected to high-throughput sequencing. The insertion sequences were then retrieved and analyzed using MEME program to identify the potential motifs bound by the TF. Using this technology, we studied the motifs bound by an ethylene-responsive factor (BpERF2) from birch. In total, 22 conserved motifs were identified, and most of them are novel cis-acting elements. Both the yeast one hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assay verified that the obtained motifs could be bound by BpERF2. In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) study further suggested that the identified motifs can be bound by BpERF2 in cells of birch. These results together suggested that this technology is reliable and has biological significance. Conclusion This method will have wide application in DNA-protein interaction studies.

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), a multifunctional cytokine, plays a pivotal role in synaptic formation, plasticity, and neurovascular unit regulation. This review highlights TGF-β1's potential impact on cognitive function, particularly in the context of neurodegenerative disorders. However, despite the growing body of evidence, a comprehensive understanding of TGF-β1's precise role remains elusive. Further research is essential to unravel the complex mechanisms through which TGF-β1 influences cognitive function and to explore therapeutic avenues for targeting TGF-β1 in neurodegenerative conditions. This investigation sheds light on TGF-β1's contribution to cognitive function and offers prospects for innovative treatments and interventions. This review delves into the intricate relationship between TGF-β1 and cognitive function.

Triploid breeding with large individuals, high yield, and excellent disease resistance is widely used in aquaculture. However, the functional roles of triploid in the Zebra Calm II strain of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum has not been highlighted. In this study, the Zebra Clam II strain of the Manila clams were treated with cytochalasin B (CB) at a final concentration of 0.5 mg/L at 26 °C for 17 min to induce triploidity. The results showed that triploid induction rate of first-hatched D-larvae was 64.73 % and the triploid proportion of 180-day-old larvae was 72.5 %. Furthermore, the hatching rate in triploid (60.54 ± 2.19 %) was significantly lower than that in the control group (92.47 ± 0.58 %) (p 0.05). However, the daily relative growth rate of experimental group was significantly higher than that the control group at all daily ages except 360 days (p

Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a rare and highly invasive malignant tumour. It has similar clinical manifestations and imaging features to ordinary lung cancer. This current case report describes a 65-year-old male patient who had a mass in the apicoposterior segment of the left upper lobe with haemoptysis. Imaging studies revealed a central parenchymal mass surrounded by areas of ground-glass opacity, strongly indicating the presence of a pulmonary malignancy. Intraoperatively, the tumour was discovered to have invaded the chest wall and exhibited a significant propensity for bleeding. Consequently, a left upper lobe resection accompanied by extensive pleural debridement were performed. Subsequent postoperative histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of PSC. Unfortunately, 1 month after the surgery, the patient presented with left-sided haemothorax. Despite employing various haemostatic interventions, the patient eventually succumbed to haemorrhagic shock. This study provides a treatment strategy reference for patients with PSC presenting as haemothorax.

BackgroundRadiation pneumonitis (RP) is the primary dose-limiting toxicity associated with radiotherapy. This study aimed to observe the effects of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors in Chinese patients with lung cancer who received thoracic radiation.MethodsPatients with lung cancer who received thoracic radiation at a total dose of ≥45 Gray between October 2017 and December 2022 were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively evaluated the factors influencing grade 2 or higher RP.ResultsA total of 320 patients were enrolled in this study; 62 patients were identified as angiotensin receptor blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor users. Additionally, 99 patients (30.9%) had grade 2 or higher RP, and the incidence in the renin-angiotensin system inhibitor group was 17.7% (11 out of 62 patients). Patients in the renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) group were older and had a higher percentage of males, lower percentage of ECOG score 0, higher percentage of hypertension, and higher percentage of adenocarcinoma than those in the non-RASi group. ECOG score [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.69, p = 0.009], history of smoking (HR = 1.76, p = 0.049), mean dose (HR = 3.63, p = 0.01), and RASi (HR = 0.3, p = 0.003) were independent predictive factors for RP. All subgroups benefited from RASi.ConclusionThis study showed that oral RASi administration has the potential to mitigate the incidence of grade 2 or higher RP in patients with lung cancer undergoing thoracic radiotherapy. To validate and further substantiate these findings, additional prospective research is warranted.

Coherent Doppler wind lidar (CDWL) uses transmitted laser pulses to measure wind velocity distribution. However, the echo signal of CDWL is easily affected by atmospheric turbulence, which can decrease the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of lidar. To improve the SNR, this paper proposes a pulse accumulation method based on the cross-correlation function to estimate the phase of the signal. Compared with incoherent pulse accumulation, the proposed method significantly enhances the correlation between signals from different periods to obtain high SNR gains that arise from pulse accumulation. Using simulation, the study evaluates the effectiveness of this phase estimation method and its robustness against noise in algorithms which analyze Doppler frequency shifts. Furthermore, a CDWL is developed for measuring the speed of an indoor motor turntable and the outdoor atmospheric wind field. The phase estimation method yielded SNR gains of 28.18 dB and 32.03 dB for accumulation numbers of 500 and 1500, respectively. The implementation of this method in motor turntable speed measurements demonstrated a significant reduction in speed error—averaging 9.18% lower than that of incoherent accumulation lidar systems. In experiments that measure atmospheric wind fields, the linear fit curve slope between the measured wind speed and the wind speed measured via a commercial wind-measuring lidar can be reduced from 1.146 to 1.093.

BackgroundThe increasing prevalence of diabetes and its significant impact on mortality and morbidity rates worldwide has led to a growing interest in understanding its common risk factors, particularly in relation to chronic kidney disease (CKD). This research article aims to investigate the shared risk factors between type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and CKD using a Mendelian randomization (MR) design.MethodsThe study utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets for T1D, T2D, and CKD from the FinnGen research project. GWAS summary statistics datasets for 118 exposure traits were obtained from the IEU OpenGWAS database. MR analyses were conducted to examine the causal relationships between exposure traits and each of the three outcomes. Multiple methods, including inverse-variance weighted, weighted median, and MR-Egger, were employed for the MR studies.ResultsPhenome-wide MR analyses revealed that eosinophil percentage exhibited a significant and suggestive causal association with T1D and CKD, respectively, suggesting its potential as a shared risk factor for T1D and CKD. For T2D, 34 traits demonstrated significant associations. Among these 34 traits, 14 were also significantly associated with CKD, indicating the presence of common risk factors between T2D and CKD, primarily related to obesity, height, blood lipids and sex hormone binding globulin, blood pressure, and walking pace.ConclusionThis research has uncovered the eosinophil percentage as a potential common risk factor for both T1D and CKD, while also identifying several traits, such as obesity and blood lipids, as shared risk factors for T2D and CKD. This study contributes to the understanding of the common risk factors between diabetes and CKD, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to reduce the risk of these diseases.

Macrophage (MΦ) with different surface marker exhibits diversity effect on the development of atherosclerosis (AS). Recently CD93high MΦ was reported tightly related with inflammatory diseases, however, its effect on the development of AS remains unclear. Here, we adoptive transferred with prepared CD93 high and low expressed (CD93hi, CD93lo) MΦ in establishing ApoE-/- mice AS model at the week of 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, respectively. At w12 and 20, pathology change and the expression of CD93, F4/80, CD31, ApoE in related vessels were detected. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and related signal pathway were also analyzed. Finally, CD93 targeting radionuclide imaging in AS model was performed with prepared 125I-anti-CD93 mAb injection. The results showed that all pathological changes in diseased vessels showed much severe in w20 (the time that AS model was established successfully) than w12. In contrast to group with CD93lo MΦ adoptive transferred, much serious inflammatory infiltration, increased pro-inflammatory factors and elevated CD93, F4/80, CD31 expression in clamped carotid artery were detected, and also higher Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in serum were measured in ApoE-/- model with CD93hi MΦ adoptive transferred in w20. Furthermore, obviously high expressed p-STAT3 and p-NF-κB were detected in CD93hi MΦ, compared with CD93lo MΦ. Ex vivo phosphor-autoradiography showed higher radioactivity accumulation in diseased vessels in ApoE-/- model with CD93hi MΦ adoptive transferred after 125I-anti-CD93 mAb injection, compared with CD93lo MΦ adopted group in w20. In conclusion, CD93hi MΦ subset promoted the development of AS and aggravated the disease severity mainly through p-STAT3/p-NF-κB pathways. CD93 on MΦ may be as a novel target for AS modulation.

Abstract As the most important RNA epigenetic regulation in eukaryotic cells, N6-metheyladenosine (m6A) modification has been demonstrated to play significant roles in cancer progression. However, this modification in long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) and the corresponding functions remain elusive. Here, we showed a lincRNA LINC02551 was downregulated by AlkB Homolog 5 (ALKBH5) overexpression in a m6A-dependent manner in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Functionally, LINC02551 was required for the growth and metastasis of HCC. Mechanistically, LINC02551, a bona fide m6A target of ALKBH5, acted as a molecular adaptor that blocked the combination between DDX24 and a E3 ligase TRIM27 to decrease the ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of DDX24, ultimately facilitating HCC growth and metastasis. Thus, ALKBH5-mediated LINC02551 m6A methylation was required for HCC growth and metastasis.

Circadian pace is modulated by light intensity. Here the authors show that CRY2 interacts with PRR9 to mediate blue light input to the circadian clock and is degraded at higher light intensity offering a mechanistic explanation as to how intensity can modify clock place.

Abstract Background The Kingdom of Morocco approved BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm) COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use on 22 January 2021 in a two-dose, three-to-four-week interval schedule. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine real-world BBIBP-CorV vaccine effectiveness (VE) against serious or critical hospitalization of individuals RT-PCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the first five months of BBIBP-CorV use in Morocco. Methods The study was conducted among adults 18–99 years old who were tested by RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1 February and 30 June 2021. RT-PCR results were individually linked with outcomes from the COVID-19 severe or critical hospitalization dataset and with vaccination histories from the national vaccination registration system. Individuals with partial vaccination (

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a type of cancer that affects the liver and has a high mortality rate. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) dysregulation can contribute to cancer occurrence and progression, although the underlying molecular pathways are mostly unclear. HOXC-AS3 was found to be considerably overexpressed in HCC in this investigation. The goal of this work was to look into the involvement of HOXC-AS3 in HCC and the various molecular pathways that underpin it. Methods Normal liver and paired HCC tissues from HCC patients were used to evaluate HOXC-AS3 expression by qRT-PCR. The role of HOXC-AS3 in HCC was assessed both in vitro and in vivo. RNA pulldown, RIP and co-IP were used to demonstrate the potential mechanism by which HOXC-AS3 regulates the progression of HCC. Results Using qRT-PCR, it was discovered that HOXC-AS3 was substantially expressed in HCC. In vitro and in vivo, overexpression of HOXC-AS3 aided proliferation and cell cycle progression. HOXC-AS3 interacted with CDK2 to facilitate CDK2’s decreased binding to p21, resulting in enhanced CDK2 activity, which promoted the phosphorylation of Rb and the progression of HCC. Conclusions HOXC-AS3 is highly expressed in HCC and can promote the progression of HCC by interacting with CDK2. Therefore, targeting HOXC-AS3 is very likely to provide a new strategy for the treatment of HCC and for improving patient prognosis.

Abstract Objective Facial expressions have been served as clinical symptoms to convey mental conditions in psychiatry. This paper proposes to recognize patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) using their facial images based on deep learning algorithm, and to investigate objective differences in facial expressions between SCZ patients and healthy controls using deep learning algorithm and statistical analyses. Methods The study consists of two parts. The first part recruited 106 SCZ patients and 101 healthy controls, and videotaped their facial expressions through a fixed experimental paradigm. The video data were randomly divided into two sets, one for training a convolutional neural network (CNN) with the classification of “healthy control” or “SCZ patient” as output and the other for evaluating the classification result of the trained CNN. In the second part, all facial images of the recruited participants were put into another CNN separately, which was priorly trained with a facial expression database and will output the most likely facial expressions of the recruited participants. Statistical analyses were performed on the obtained facial expressions to find out the objective differences in facial expressions between the two recruited groups. Results The trained CNN achieved an overall accuracy of 95.18% for classifying “healthy control” or “SCZ patient.” Statistical results on the obtained facial expressions demonstrated that the objective differences between the two recruited groups were statistically significant (p

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death globally, with the prevalence projected to keep rising. Risk factors for adult CVD emerge at least as early as the prenatal period. Alterations in stress-responsive hormones in the prenatal period are hypothesized to contribute to CVD in adulthood, but little is known about relations between prenatal stress-responsive hormones and early precursors of CVD, such as cardiometabolic risk and health behaviors. The current review presents a theoretical model of the relation between prenatal stress-responsive hormones and adult CVD through cardiometabolic risk markers (e.g., rapid catch-up growth, high BMI/adiposity, high blood pressure, and altered blood glucose, lipids, and metabolic hormones) and health behaviors (e.g., substance use, poor sleep, poor diet and eating behaviors, and low physical activity levels). Emerging evidence in human and non-human animal literatures suggest that altered stress-responsive hormones during gestation predict higher cardiometabolic risk and poorer health behaviors in offspring. This review additionally highlights limitations of the current literature (e.g., lack of racial/ethnic diversity, lack of examination of sex differences), and discusses future directions for this promising area of research.

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) function as crucial regulators in multiple cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the roles of circRNAs in HCC remains largely unknown. Methods circTOLLIP was identified in HCC by screening of two public circRNA microarray datasets and detected in HCC cells and tissues through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT–PCR) and in situ hybridization (ISH). Gain- and loss-of-function assays were performed to confirm the biological effects of circTOLLIP on HCC in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, bioinformatics analysis of online databases, MS2-RNA pulldown, biotin-labeled circTOLLIP/miR-516a-5p RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), luciferase reporter assay, fluorescence in situ hybridization assay (FISH) and RNA sequencing were used to confirm the regulation of Eukaryotic initiation factor 4A3 (EIF4A3) on circTOLLIP and the interaction among circTOLLIP, miR-516a-5p and PBX homeobox 3 (PBX3). Results circTOLLIP was significantly upregulated in HCC cells and tissues. High circTOLLIP expression was correlated with poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients. circTOLLIP promoted the proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, EIF4A3 promoted the biogenesis of circTOLLIP without affecting its stability. Moreover, circTOLLIP sponged miR-516a-5p to elevate the expression of PBX3, thereby activating the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway and facilitating tumor progression in HCC. Conclusions Our findings indicate that EIF4A3-induced circTOLLIP promotes the progression of HCC through the circTOLLIP/miR-516a-5p/PBX3/EMT axis.

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is defined as liver tissue damage and cell death caused by reperfusion during liver transplantation or hepatectomy. Oxidative stress is one of the important mechanisms of HIRI. Studies have shown that the incidence of HIRI is very high, however, the number of patients who can get timely and efficient treatment is small. The reason is not hard to explain that invasive ways of detection and lack of timely of diagnostic methods. Hence, a new detection method is urgently needed in clinic application. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are markers of oxidative stress in the liver, could be detected by optical imaging and offer timely and effective non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring. Optical imaging could become the most potential tool of diagnosis of HIRI in the future. In addition, optical technology can also be used in disease treatment. It found that optical therapy has the function of anti-oxidative stress. Consequently, it has possibility to treat HIRI caused by oxidative stress. In this review, we mainly summarized the application and prospect of optical techniques in oxidative stress-induced by HIRI.

Electronic noses, or e-noses, refer to systems powered by chemical gas sensors, signal processing, and machine learning algorithms for realizing artificial olfaction. They play a crucial role in various applications for decoding chemical environmental information. Despite decades of advances in gas-sensing technology and artificial intelligence, the reliability and stability of e-nose systems remain challenging, which is also one of the major obstacles that prevent e-noses from large-scale deployment. This paper presents a wide-ranging and structured review of the methods and algorithms developed in the e-nose literature over the past few decades. The review adopts a problem-oriented taxonomy aimed at clarifying the motivations and challenges of different methods and algorithms and their pros and cons. Moreover, several promising research directions in this field have been presented.

Plasma arc welding (PAW) is an important technique in the manufacturing industry. To improve the welding efficiency, the special keyhole mode has attracted considerable attention because it has the potential to achieve full penetration without a groove. However, rigorous process conditions are required to maintain a stable keyhole mode. For better and more widespread application in industry, a multiphase and multi-physical model is established to reveal the complicated electro-magneto-thermo-hydro-mechanical phenomena and gas-liquid-solid interactions in the keyhole PAW process. Arc backward reflection and deviation of the heating center occur because of the relative movement in the system, and molten liquid metal is pushed backward and upward to form a salient metal layer at the rear. The maximum height reaches 1.45 mm. Outflow phenomenon occurs through the open keyhole, and the outflow temperature and velocity are approximately 6000 K and 60 m/s by the calculation, respectively. The predicted weld pool and keyhole basically coincide with measured results. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the multiphase and multi-physical interactions in the PAW process, which may help improve the associated techniques.

Shelter identification is the fundamental issue for the shelter-transporting automated guided vehicle to detect and transport shelter effectively. Actively identifying shelter faces the challenge of high accuracy but slow speed using a complex model, and fast speed but low accuracy using a simple model. However, all kinds of target detection algorithms available has difficulty in achieving both high detection accuracy and speed. In this paper, the model YOLOv5n6* is developed based on the modified YOLOv5 model by selecting different model structures, introducing an attention mechanism, and improving loss function and non-maximum suppression. Then, the experiments for shelter recognition were carried out using the model YOLOv5n6*. The experimental results show that the box_loss is reduced by 1.2%, the mAP_0.5:0.95 is improved by 2%, and the detection accuracy is improved by 0.87% for the improved model YOLOv5n6* compared with the YOLOv5n6. However, the YOLOv5n6* size is only 7.2M, and the detection time is increased by 0.2ms. So it is proved that the modified model YOLOv5n6* not only has a significant improvement in the shelter detection ability but also has strong robustness, which meets both the requirements of the recognition accuracy and the detection speed.

The traditional Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) with constant weight values of the evaluation function leads to the inability of obstacle avoidance for the Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) to perform obstacle avoidance and path planning in the complex environment. Effective avoidance of complex obstacles requires adaptive weight adjustment to address the evaluation function’s challenges. This paper proposes an adaptive DWA (ADWA), which introduces neural network training on the basis of the Mamdani DWA (MDWA). Firstly, the Mamdani type fuzzy controller is designed, and then the adaptive neuro-fuzzy controller is obtained by neural network training. Then, experiments are carried out through the MATLAB simulation environment. The simulation experiment results show that the improved DWA compared to traditional DWA can make the AGV pass the obstacle environment with a better trajectory and reduce the time. The improved DWA improves the autonomous obstacle avoidance capability of AGVs, which not only perfectly fits our task requirements, but also has apparent scientific and practical significance in developing AGV autonomous obstacle avoidance technology.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth leading cause of tumor-related mortality globally and one of the most prevalent malignant tumors. To better understand the role of tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIBs) in GC, this work used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) and bulk RNA sequencing (bulk RNA-Seq) data to identify candidate hub genes. Both scRNA-Seq and bulk RNA-Seq data for stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) were obtained from the GEO and TCGA databases, respectively. Using scRNA-seq data, the FindNeighbors and FindClusters tools were used to group the cells into distinct groups. Immune cell clusters were sought in the massive RNA-seq expression matrix using the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). The expression profiles were used in Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to build TCGA’s gene coexpression networks. Next, univariate Cox regression, LASSO regression, and Kaplan–Meier analyses were used to identify hub genes in scRNA-seq data from sequential B-cell analyses. Finally, we examined the correlation between the hub genes and TIBs utilizing the TISIDB database. We confirmed the immune-related markers in clinical validation samples using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). 15 cell clusters were classified in the scRNA-seq database. According to the WGCNA findings, the green module is most associated with cancer and B cells. The intersection of 12 genes in two separate datasets (scRNA and bulk) was attained for further analysis. However, survival studies revealed that increased C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) expression was linked to worse overall survival. CXCR4 expression is correlated with active, immature, and memory B cells in STAD were identified. Finally, RT-PCR and IHC assays verified that in GC, CXCR4 is overexpressed, and its expression level correlates with TIBs. We used scRNA-Seq and bulk RNA-Seq to study STAD’s cellular composition. We found that CXCR4 is highly expressed by TIBs in GC, suggesting that it may serve as a hub gene for these cells and a starting point for future research into the molecular mechanisms by which these immune cells gain access to tumors and potentially identify therapeutic targets.

FAR1-RELATED SEQUENCE (FRS) transcription factors are generated by transposases and play vital roles in plant growth and development, light signaling transduction, phytohormone response, and stress resistance. FRSs have been described in various plant species. However, FRS family members and their functions remain poorly understood in vegetative crops such as potato (Solanum tuberosum, St). In the present study, 20 putative StFRS proteins were identified in potato via genome-wide analysis. They were non-randomly localized to eight chromosomes and phylogenetic analysis classified them into six subgroups along with FRS proteins from Arabidopsis and tomato. Conserved protein motif, protein domain, and gene structure analyses supported the evolutionary relationships among the FRS proteins. Analysis of the cis-acting elements in the promoters and the expression profiles of StFRSs in various plant tissues and under different stress treatments revealed the spatiotemporal expression patterns and the potential roles of StFRSs in phytohormonal and stress responses. StFRSs were differentially expressed in the cultivar “Xisen 6”, which is exposed to a variety of stresses. Hence, these genes may be critical in regulating abiotic stress. Elucidating the StFRS functions will lay theoretical and empirical foundations for the molecular breeding of potato varieties with high light use efficiency and stress resistance.

Abstract Identification of transcriptional regulatory mechanisms and signaling networks involved in the response of host cells to infection by SARS-CoV-2 is a powerful approach that provides a systems biology view of gene expression programs involved in COVID-19 and may enable the identification of novel therapeutic targets and strategies to mitigate the impact of this disease. In this study, our goal was to identify a transcriptional regulatory network that is associated with gene expression changes between samples infected by SARS-CoV-2 and those that are infected by other respiratory viruses to narrow the results on those enriched or specific to SARS-CoV-2. We combined a series of recently developed computational tools to identify transcriptional regulatory mechanisms involved in the response of epithelial cells to infection by SARS-CoV-2, and particularly regulatory mechanisms that are specific to this virus when compared to other viruses. In addition, using network-guided analyses, we identified kinases associated with this network. The results identified pathways associated with regulation of inflammation (MAPK14) and immunity (BTK, MBX) that may contribute to exacerbate organ damage linked with complications of COVID-19. The regulatory network identified herein reflects a combination of known hits and novel candidate pathways supporting the novel computational pipeline presented herein to quickly narrow down promising avenues of investigation when facing an emerging and novel disease such as COVID-19.

Background: Robert’s uterus is a rare müllerian duct anomaly described as an asymmetric septate uterus with a noncommunicating cavity. Its main presentation is recurrent cyclical abdominal pain. However, patients with Robert’s uterus may present with recurrent pregnancy loss and infertility. Case: We herein report a rare presentation of Robert’s uterus in a 23-year-old woman who suffered from primary infertility without a history of dysmenorrhea. Preoperative two-dimensional ultrasound (2D-US) suggested that the patient only had a partial septate uterus. A hysteroscopy found only the right side of the uterine cavity with a narrow channel while the left uterine cornua and left tubal ostium were not visualized. Intraoperative transabdominal 2D-US confirmed that there were two uterine cavities, a blind hemi-cavity, and a contralateral communicating hemi-cavity. Subsequently, the asymmetric septum was successfully removed by ultrasound-guided hysteroscopy. Conclusion: For patients diagnosed with septate uterus by 2D-US, three-dimensional ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging is required to make a definitive diagnosis and to help with surgical planning. If results are inconclusive, intraoperative ultrasound-guided hysteroscopic metroplasty may be a reliable pathway for the definitive diagnosis and treatment of Robert’s uterus.

Rivers are the main supply sources in inland areas for human activities, but they are also regarded as the most susceptible water bodies to pollutants. Understanding the key factors influencing the chemical characteristic is the basis for water supply and public health concern. And it is helpful for the protection of surface water under the influence of human activities. To reveal the hydrochemical process of river water and the key factors affecting the chemical compositions, a total of 33 samples from rivers in Muling-Xingkai Plain are collected for principal component analysis and hydrochemical analysis. Results indicate that river water is characterized by the type of HCO3-Ca and mixed HCO3-Ca·Na. But some samples with relative high nitrate content have Cl− as the dominant anion. The natural sources of chemical ions in river water are silicate and carbonate minerals. The chemical fertilizers only slightly influence the chemical compositions of river water due to the retardation of black soil with weak permeability. The chemical compositions of river water in Muling river are significantly influenced by domestic sewage compared with that in Abuqin river and Qihulin river. The widespread thick black soils play a key roles in protecting the river quality and groundwater quality, and human activities only play a limited roles in determining the river quality in the Muling-Xingkai Plain. At present, the contents of major chemical ions in river water meet the irrigation standard. Although the irrigation with river water do not lead to the food safety issue, the government agencies should adopt adequate measures to control the indiscriminate discharge of domestic sewage and application of fertilizers for preventing the accumulation of pollutants in rivers. This study is beneficial to the efficient management of surface water resources in agricultural areas with similar geological conditions and hydrogeological conditions.

Abstract Wheat straw was rapidly fractionated using maleic acid (MA) as an acid hydrotrope at atmospheric pressure under a range of conditions. MA hydrotropic fractionation (MAHF) was very selective in dissolving lignin and hemicelluloses resulting in a cellulose‐rich water insoluble solids (WIS), which was evaluated for producing fibers through bleaching and cellulosic nanofibrils by fibrillation, as well as glucose through enzymatic saccharification. The residual lignin (RL) within the WIS has a low degree of condensation, which eased bleaching. The RL was also carboxylated through MAHF, which facilitated nanofibrillation to produce lignin‐containing cellulose nanofibrils. The carboxylation also aided enzymatic saccharification of WIS by decreasing nonproductive cellulase binding to RL through electrostatic repulsion between carboxylated (charged) RL and the cellulase at elevated pH (>cellulase isoelectric point). The dissolved lignin (DL) from MAHF also has a low degree of condensation, making it favorable for further catalytic conversion. Carboxylation improved DL antioxidant capability. MA is an FDA‐approved indirect food additive (21CFR175‐177) and is much less corrosive than other acids typically used for cellulosic fractionation. It is also less soluble which is a distinct and very promising advantage for acid recovery. Therefore, MAHF has notable advantages and significant potential for sustainable biorefinery.

Abstract A good method of synthesizing Ti3C2Tx (MXene) is critical for ensuring its success in practical applications, e.g., electromagnetic interference shielding, electrochemical energy storage, catalysis, sensors, and biomedicine. The main concerns focus on the moderation of the approach, yield, and product quality. Herein, a modified approach, organic solvent-assisted intercalation and collection, was developed to prepare Ti3C2Tx flakes. The new approach simultaneously solves all the concerns, featuring a low requirement for facility (centrifugation speed