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Introduction: The correlation between diabetes and stroke has been studied extensively in epidemiological research. Here, we used bibliometric software to visualize and analyze the literature related to diabetic stroke to provide an overview of the current state of research, hotspots, and future trends in the field. Methods: Based on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, we collected studies related to diabetic stroke from 2007 to December 2022. We used CiteSpace (version 6.1.R5), VOSviewer, and Scimago Graphica to create knowledge maps and conduct visual analyses on authors, countries, institutions, cited references, and keywords, and Origin for statistical analysis. Results: We included a total of 5,171 papers on diabetic stroke from the WoSCC database. Overall, there was a steady increase in the number of publications, with a high number of emerging scientists. The USA was the most productive and influential country, which dominated national collaborations. The most common subject category was "neurology." In total, 12 major clusters were generated from the cited references. Keyword analysis showed that keywords related to poststroke injury and treatment are those with the highest burst intensity and latest burst time. Conclusions: Individual disease treatment remains a hot topic, and how to balance acute stroke treatment and glycemic control is currently a difficult clinical problem. At the same time, the mechanism of their interaction and the prevention and treatment of related causative factors remain a hot topic of current and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a type of reflective coding metasurface (MS) for reconfigurable multi-beams is proposed. The unit cell of MS is composed of a split I-shaped patch loaded with one varactor. By changing the bias voltage, the reflection phase of the unit cell can be adjusted in the range of 0°–180°. At the same time, vias are introduced between adjacent unit cells to restrain the coupling between unit cells and improve the scattering performance of the MS. The whole coding MS is composed of multiple "0" and "1" supercells. First, the supercell in which all the unit cells have same reflection phases of 0° or 180° is coded as "0" or "1." By dynamically changing the coding sequence, reconfigurable dual beams are realized. Then, the unit cells with different reflection phases are employed to code the "0" or "1" supercell innovatively, and reconfigurable three beams are achieved. The results indicate that the regulated ranges of dual and three beams are θ = 5°–42° and 9°–42°, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Less attention was paid to the remediation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contaminated soil treated by thermal conduction heating (TCH) coupled with chemical oxidization. In this study, the lab-scale remediation experiments of trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated soil by TCH and TCH coupled with persulfate (TCH + PS) were performed to explore the influences of PS usage, temperature, reaction time, and the variation of soil properties. TCE was removed from contaminated soils using TCH with a temperature lower than boiling point, and the removal ratio of TCE reached 78.21% with a reaction time of 6h at 60 °C. In the TCH + PS treatments, the removal ratio increased to 87.60~99.50% when the PS dosage was increased from 7.0 mmol/kg to 17.5 mmol/kg at 60 °C. However, the usage efficiency of PS had no positive relationship with oxidant usage and temperature. The treatment with 14 mmol/kg PS after 3h at 50 °C had the highest PS usage ratio of 3.05. In addition, soil pH and soil organic matter (SOM) did not decrease significantly in the TCH-only treatment, while the content of SOM declined by almost 50% after the TCH + PS treatment. Overall, it was concluded that TCH + PS achieved higher removal efficiency, whereas TCH had less disturbance on soil pH and SOM. As such, the applicability of TCH-only or TCH + PS treatments is site-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the serious neurological complications and deaths associated with enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection, there is an urgent need to develop effective antivirals against this viral infection. In this study, we demonstrated that two Cathelicidin-derived peptides, LL-18 and FF-18 were more potent against EV71 infection than the parent peptide LL-37, which is the mature and processed form of Cathelicidin. These peptides could directly bind to the EV71 virus particles, but not to coxsackievirus, indicative of their high specificity. The binding of peptides with the virus surface occupied the viral canyon region in a way that could block virus-receptor interactions and inhibit viral uncoating. In addition, these peptide analogues could also relieve the deleterious effect of EV71 infection in vivo. Therefore, Cathelicidin-derived peptides might be excellent candidates for further development of antivirals to treat EV71 infection. Author summary: Enterovirus 71(EV71) is one of the major pathogens that cause hand, foot, and mouth disease, and in some cases severe neurological symptoms. There is currently no approved antiviral for EV71. Here in this study, we demonstrated that two antimicrobial peptides derived from the Cathelicidin family, namely, LL-18 and FF-18 were effective against EV71 infection in vitro and in vivo. These peptides could bind directly to the viral particle surface and prevent the virus from entering the host cell as well as blocking successful viral genome release. In addition, we also showed that LL-18 has a low propensity to induce virus resistance. Therefore, these peptides represent promising candidates for EV71 antivirals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Coat color and birth weight are important traits in beef cattle and have a significant impact on breed identification and adult body weight. In this study, genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) of Simmental × Holstein (F1) crossbred cattle revealed that calves with lighter coat color had higher birth weight. Further analysis indicated that mutations in the premelanosome protein (PMEL) gene resulted in a lighter coat color, while the birth weights of individuals heterozygous for this gene were significantly higher than those of the pure genotype. Therefore, mutations in PMEL can result in a lighter coat color, and lighter coat color may, thus, have a selective effect on calf birth weight. Coat color and birth weight, as easily selected traits in cattle, play important roles in cattle breeding. Therefore, we carried out a genome-wide association study on birth weight and coat color to identify loci or potential linkage regions in 233 Simmental × Holstein crossbred beef cattle. The results revealed that nine SNPs were significantly associated with coat color (rs137169378, rs110022687, rs136002689, Hypotrichosis_PMel17, PMEL_1, rs134930689, rs383170073, rs109924971, and rs109146332), and these were in RNF41, ZC3H10, ERBB3, PMEL, and OR10A7 on BTA5. Interestingly, rs137169378, rs110022687, rs136002689, Hypotrichosis_PMel17, and PMEL_1 showed strong linkage disequilibrium (r2 > 0.8) and were significantly associated with coat color. Notably, Hypotrichosis_PMel17 and PMEL_1 were located in the gene PMEL (p = 2.22 × 10−18). Among the five significant SNPs associated with coat color, the birth weight of heterozygous individuals (AB) was greater than that of homozygous individuals (AA). Notably, the birth weight of heterozygous individuals with Hypotrichosis_PMel17 and PMEL_1 genotypes was significantly greater than that of homozygous individuals (0.01 < p < 0.05). Interestingly, the two loci were homozygous in black/white individuals and heterozygous in gray/white individuals, and the birth weight of heterozygous brown/white individuals (43.82 ± 5.25 kg) was greater than that of homozygous individuals (42.58 ± 3.09 kg). The birth weight of calves with the parental color (41.95 ± 3.53 kg) was significantly lower than that of calves with a non-parental color (43.54 ± 4.78 kg) (p < 0.05), and the birth weight of gray/white individuals (49.40 ± 7.11 kg) was the highest. Overall, PMEL appears to be a candidate gene affecting coat color in cattle, and coat color may have a selective effect on birth weight. This study provides a foundation for the breeding of beef cattle through GWAS for coat color and birth weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to affecting people's bodily and mental health, the Covid-19 epidemic has also altered the emotional and mental well-being of many workers. Especially in the realm of institutions and privately held enterprises, which encountered a plethora of constraints due to the peculiar circumstances of the epidemic. It was thus anticipated that the present study would use a group method of data handling (GMDH) neural network for analyzing the relationship of demographic factors, Coronavirus, resilience, and the burnout in startups. The test methodology was quantitative. The research examined 384 startup directors and representatives, which is a sizable proportion of the limitless community. The BRCS, the MBI-GS, and custom-made assessments of stress due to the Coronavirus were all used to collect data. Cronbach's alpha confirmed the polls' dependability, and an expert panel confirmed the surveys' authenticity. The GMDH neural network's inherent potential for self-organization was used to choose the most useful properties automatically. The trained network has a three-layered topology with 4, 3, and 2 neurons in each of the hidden layers. The GMDH network has significantly reduced the computational load by using just 7 parameters of marital status, stress of covid-19, job experience, professional efficiency, gender, age, and resilience for burnout categorization. After comparing the neural network's output with the acquired data, it was determined that the constructed network accurately classified all of the information. Among the achievements of this research, high accuracy in predicting job burnout, checking the performance of neural network in determining job burnout and introducing effective characteristics in determination of this parameter can be mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to explore the impact of minimum clinically important difference (MCID) of the Functional Living Index‐Emesis (FLIE) in patients with gynecologic malignancies. Method: This post hoc analysis included patients with gynecological malignant tumors in the Department of Oncology of our hospital between October 2020 and October 2021. Results: A total of 149 patients (aged 50.05 ± 12.24 years) were included. Most of the patients were married (75.8%), lived in the city (60.4%), and had a history of motion sickness (75.8%). The degree of nausea (9.00 [0.00, 16.00] vs. 30.00 [16.00, 48.00], P < 0.001) and vomiting (9.00 [0.00, 16.00] vs. 30.00 [16.00, 48.00], P < 0.001) were significantly improved after treatment. Taking the options in the scale as the subjective anchor, the MCID of FLIE for nausea and vomiting were 28.5 and 29 in anchor‐based analysis, respectively. In the distribution‐based analysis, the MCID of FLIE for nausea and vomiting were 2.41, 6.04, and 9.66; and 2.31, 5.78, and 9.24 in effect size of 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8, respectively. Conclusion: The MCID of FLIE for nausea and vomiting in patients with gynecological malignant tumors was 28.5 and 29 in the anchor‐based analysis, with higher specificity, and 6.04 and 5.78 in the distribution‐based analysis, with higher sensitivity. The development of the MCID scale might be used to interpret the clinical significance of chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting in patients with gynecological malignancies and help to calculate the sample size for future clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing a person-centered approach, the present study explored 614 adolescents' reports of self-disclosure, help, conflict, and conflict resolution with a close friend to investigate variability in profiles of friendship quality, whether gender and gender homophily and ethnicity homophily of friends are associated with profile membership, and how the profiles relate to feelings of school belonging. A latent profile analysis revealed three profiles of friendship: an ideal friendship profile (25.57% of the sample), a realistic friendship profile (54.56%), and a somewhat problematic friendship profile (19.87%). Compared to adolescents in the somewhat problematic profile, female adolescents were more likely to have a realistic or ideal friendship profile than males. Adolescents with ideal and realistic friendship profiles reported the highest feelings of school belonging; those in the somewhat problematic profile reported the lowest school belonging. The advantages of attending to profiles that incorporate multiple dimensions of friendship quality to understanding the social and academic experiences of adolescents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: During photoperiodic growth, the light‐dependent nature of chlorophyll synthesis in angiosperms necessitates robust control of the production of 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA), the rate‐limiting step in the initial stage of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis (TBS). We are interested in dissecting the post‐translational control of this process, which suppresses ALA synthesis for chlorophyll synthesis in dark‐grown plants.Using biochemical approaches for analysis of Arabidopsis wild‐type (WT) and mutant lines as well as complementation lines, we show that the heme‐synthesizing ferrochelatase 2 (FC2) interacts with protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase and the regulator FLU which both promote the feedback‐controlled suppression of ALA synthesis by inactivation of glutamyl‐tRNA reductase, thus preventing excessive accumulation of potentially deleterious tetrapyrrole intermediates.Thereby, FC2 stabilizes POR by physical interaction. When the interaction between FC2 and POR is perturbed, suppression of ALA synthesis is attenuated and photoreactive protochlorophyllide accumulates. FC2 is anchored in the thylakoid membrane via its membrane‐spanning CAB (chlorophyll‐a‐binding) domain.FC2 is one of the two isoforms of ferrochelatase catalyzing the last step of heme synthesis. Although FC2 belongs to the heme‐synthesizing branch of TBS, its interaction with POR potentiates the effects of the GluTR‐inactivation complex on the chlorophyll‐synthesizing branch and ensures reciprocal control of chlorophyll and heme synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen tube polar growth is a key physiological activity for angiosperms to complete double fertilization, which is highly dependent on the transport of polar substances mediated by secretory vesicles. The exocyst and Sec1/Munc18 (SM) proteins are involved in the regulation of the tethering and fusion of vesicles and plasma membranes, but the molecular mechanism by which they regulate pollen tube polar growth is still unclear. In this study, we found that loss of function of SEC1A, a member of the SM protein family in Arabidopsis thaliana, resulted in reducing pollen tube growth and a significant increase in pollen tube width. SEC1A was diffusely distributed in the pollen tube cytoplasm, and was more concentrated at the tip of the pollen tube. Through co‐immunoprecipitation‐mass spectrometry screening, protein interaction analysis and in vivo microscopy, we found that SEC1A interacted with the exocyst subunit SEC6, and they mutually affected the distribution and secretion rate at the tip of the pollen tube. Meanwhile, the functional loss of SEC1A and SEC6 significantly affected the distribution of the SNARE (soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) complex member SYP125 at the tip of the pollen tube, and led to the disorder of pollen tube cell wall components. Genetic analysis revealed that the pollen tube‐related phenotype of the sec1a sec6 double mutant was significantly enhanced compared with their respective single mutants. Therefore, we speculated that SEC1A and SEC6 cooperatively regulate the fusion of secretory vesicles and plasma membranes in pollen tubes, thereby affecting the length and the width of pollen tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MYB transcription factors are widely distributed in the plant kingdom and play key roles in regulatory networks governing plant metabolism and biochemical and physiological processes. Results: Here, we first determined the R2R3-MYB genes in five Euphorbiaceae genomes. The three Trp (W) residues from the first MYB domain (R2) were absolutely conserved, whereas the first W residue from the second MYB domain (R3) was preferentially mutated. The R2R3-MYBs were clustered into 48 functional subfamilies, of which 34 had both R2R3-MYBs of Euphorbiaceae species and AtMYBs, and four contained only Euphorbiaceae R2R3-MYBs. The whole-genome duplication (WGD) and/or segmental duplication (SD) played key roles in the expansion of the R2R3-MYB family. Unlike paralogous R2R3-MYB family members, orthologous R2R3-MYB members contained a higher selective pressure and were subject to a constrained evolutionary rate. VfMYB36 was specifically expressed in fruit, and its trend was consistent with the change in oil content, indicating that it might be involved in oil biosynthesis. Overexpression experiments showed that VfMYB36 could significantly provide linolenic acid (C18:3) content, which eventually led to a significant increase in oil content. Conclusion: Our study first provides insight into understanding the evolution and expression of R2R3-MYBs in Euphorbiaceae species, and also provides a target for the production of biomass diesel and a convenient way for breeding germplasm resources with high linolenic acid content in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emergence and rapid development of smart wearable electronics, urgent demands for flexible and stretchable transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) have attracted tremendous attentions to replace the conventional bulky and brittle indium tin oxide. As a novel two-dimensional carbon material with single atomically layer thickness, graphene is considered as an ideal candidate for elastic TCEs due to its distinct properties, such as excellent electrical conductivity, high light transparency, outstanding mechanical flexibility, as well as remarkable chemical/thermal stability. Graphene-based elastic TCEs exhibit promising prospects in wearable electronics such as foldable touch screens, epidermal sensors, soft light-emitting diodes, bendable solar cells, as well as deformable energy conversion/storage devices. This review comprehensively summarizes the state-of-the-art advancements on graphene-based elastic TCEs, including graphene synthesis, electrode fabrication, optoelectronic property, modifications, flexible and stretchable structure design, and smart wearable applications. We focus on advanced graphene-based elastic TCEs which could exhibit excellent electrical conductivity and high light transparency simultaneously while under large mechanical deformations, and discuss the strategies and mechanisms that suitable for fabricating TCEs with high mechanical flexibility and stretchability. Finally, critical consideration on the opportunities and challenges of graphene-based flexible and stretchable TCEs towards practical wearable applications are also presented. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive and solid malignancy with a poor prognosis. Cell division cycle associated 2 (CDCA2) is highly expressed in HCC and is considered to be closely related to the prognosis of patients with HCC. In this research, we aimed to investigate the function and potential mechanism of CDCA2 in HCC cells. Methods. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were conducted to determine the biological function of CDCA2 in HCC cells. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot were utilized to examine the Messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels of CDCA2 in HCC cells. The malignant behaviors of HCC cells were analyzed by several biological experiments including cell viability, cell colony formation, and transwell assays. Western blot was also implemented to examine the expression of : AKT, protein kinase B and mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin (AKT–mTOR) pathway related proteins and Cyclin D1. Results. A significant increase of CDCA2 was observed in HCC cell lines. Upregulation of CDCA2 resulted in the enhancement of the growth, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Inversely, depletion of CDCA2 displayed the opposite results. Furthermore, the protein levels of p-AKT, p-mTOR, and Cyclin D1 were elevated with CDCA2 upregulation and reduced with CDCA2 depletion in HCC cells. Conclusion. Our observations revealed that CDCA2 promoted the malignant development of HCC cells, and AKT–mTOR pathway might involve in the underlying mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The zebrafish model was used to evaluate the antioxidant properties of cyanidin-3- O -glucoside (C 3 G) and its metabolite protocatechuic acid (PCA) against aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1)-induced hepatotoxicity and oxidative stress. In this study, zebrafish larvae were cultured for 3 days post fertilization (dpf) and then induced with AFB 1. After induced 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, and 24 h, 5 μg/mL C 3 G/PCA was added and then co-cultured to 5 dpf, respectively. The experiments showed that C 3 G/PCA suppressed AFB 1 -induced zebrafish liver atrophy and delayed the absorption of the yolk sac. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death were also significantly decreased by 5 μg/mL C 3 G/PCA (P ˂ 0.05). C 3 G/PCA significantly reduced hepatic biomarkers in the serum contents (P ˂ 0.05). Besides, glutathione (GSH) contents were significantly upregulated, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were significantly elevated in zebrafish (P ˂ 0.05). The addition of 5 μg/mL C 3 G/PCA was capable of reducing the apoptotic levels of caspase-9 and caspase-3 after 100 ng/mL AFB 1 intoxication. In conclusion, these results suggested that C 3 G and its metabolite PCA might antagonize the hepatotoxicity of AFB 1 , reduce oxidative damage and inhibit cell death. [Display omitted] • Cyanidin-3- O -glucoside and protocatechuic acid alleviated liver damage induced by aflatoxin B 1 in Danio rerio. • Cyanidin-3- O -glucoside and protocatechuic acid improved the antioxidant ability induced by aflatoxin B 1 in Danio rerio. • Cyanidin-3- O -glucoside and protocatechuic acid alleviated apoptosis levels induced by aflatoxin B 1 in Danio rerio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the connection between adolescent problematic internet use (PIU), mental health, and parents' rules on internet use. From a person-centered approach, this study considered the coexistence of multiple mental health indicators for adolescents, including psychopathological risks (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety, and loneliness) and psychosocial well-being (i.e., social support, meaning, and competence). A latent profile analysis of 4592 U.S. adolescents revealed five distinct mental health profiles, with adolescents having psychopathological risks being most susceptible to PIU. Additionally, parents reported their rules on adolescent internet use. Strict parental rules on time increased PIU for adolescents of psychopathological risks, while restrictions on content viewed online reduced chances of PIU for these adolescents. These findings offer a deeper understanding of the complex mental health experiences of U.S. adolescents and underscore the significance of person-centered associations between mental health and PIU. • A latent profile analysis of 4592 adolescents in the U.S. revealed five distinct mental health profile. • Adolescents who face psychopathological risks are the most susceptible to problematic internet use. • Parental rules on time increased chances of problematic internet use for adolescents with psychopathological risks. • Parental rules on content decreased chances of problematic internet use for adolescents with psychopathological risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formate production from direct CO2 electrolysis is economically appealing yet challenging in activity, selectivity, and stability. Herein, sulfur and silver dual‐decorated indium quasi‐core–shell structures with compressive or tensile strain are rationally designed for efficiently electrocatalyzing CO2 to formate. The introduction of Ag and S increases the current density, Faradaic efficiency, and operational stability of formate both in H‐cell and flow cell systems. As a result, the optimized Ag‐In‐S bimetallic catalysts exhibit the FEHCOO− of ≈94.0% with a JHCOO− of more than −560.0 mA cm−2 at ≈−0.951 VRHE in the flow cell system, which far surpasses the undecorated In catalyst. The experimental and theoretical calculations provide a deeper understanding of the role of the interfacial strain between In or In4Ag9 shell and AgIn2 core in boosting the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction efficiency, in which the formation energy of *OCHO intermediate decreases and the charge transfer rate is accelerated by interface strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the convolutional neural network (CNN) plays a vital role in hyperspectral image classification and performs more competitively than many other methods. However, in order to pursue better performance, most of existing CNN-based methods just simply stack rather deep convolutional layers. Although they improve the classification accuracy to a certain extent, they result in plenty of network parameters. In this paper, a light-weighted directionally separable dilated CNN with hierarchical attention feature fusion (DSD-HAFF) is proposed to solve these problems. First, two global dense dilated CNN branches that focus on two spatial directions separately are constructed to extract and reuse spatial information as much as possible. Second, a hierarchical attention feature fusion branch that consists of several coordinate attention blocks (CABs) is constructed. Hierarchical features from two directionally separable dilated CNN branches are adopted as inputs of CABs. In this way, the structure can not only fully incorporate hierarchical features, but also significantly reduce the network parameters. Meanwhile, the hierarchical attention feature fusion branch incorporates features from high-level to low-level in the kernel-number pyramid strategy. Experimental results on three popular benchmark datasets demonstrate that the DSD-HAFF achieves better performance and has a much smaller number of network parameters than the other state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Isotope-coded UPLC-MS/MS method combined with derivatization strategy was established for gyromitrin detection. • Urinary excretion of gyromitrin was significantly higher than its metabolite. • Urinary gyromitrin was a valuable biomarker for the identification of gyromitrin-induced mushroom poisoning. Gyromitrin is the main toxic metabolite produced from the false morel such as Gyromitra esculenta , which has a long history of causing food poisoning. However, how to identify the gyromitrin-induced poisoning is difficult because the biomarker of gyromitrin in vivo is still unclear. In this study, a novel isotope-coded method combined with the derivatization strategy was first developed for the accurate quantification of gyromitrin in urine and plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The major parameters affecting the derivatization efficiency were systematically investigated, and the p-tolualdehyde-d 4 was employed to form the isotope internal standard. The developed method was fully validated with the limit of detection (LOD) of 1 µg/L in urine and plasma. The recoveries were between 88 % and 111 % with the inter-day precision less than 13 %. An exposure study in 12 rats was conducted to determine urinary excretion of gyromitrin and its metabolite monomethylhydrazine (MMH). The mean urinary excretion rates of gyromitrin were 3.45 % (low dose) and 4.93 % (high dose), while the excretion rate of MMH were 0.20 % and 0.36 %. After exposure for 48 h, no gyromitrin and MMH was detected in rat urine. The results suggested that gyromitrin is a valuable biomarker for identification of gyromitrin-induced mushroom poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with prolonged length of stay (LOS) in patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) managed with an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program and develop a prediction model for improving the perioperative management of THA. Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, patients who underwent primary THA in accordance with ERAS from May 2018 to December 2019 were enrolled in this study. The primary outcome was prolonged LOS (> 48 h) beyond the first postoperative day. We collected the clinical patient's clinical characteristics, surgery-related parameters, and laboratory tests. A logistic regression analysis explored the independent risk factors for prolonged LOS. According to published literature and clinical experience, a series of variables were selected to develop a nomogram prediction model to predict the risk of prolonged LOS following primary THA with an ERAS program. Evaluation indicators of the prediction model, including the concordance index (C-index), the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis, were reported to assess the performance of the prediction model. The bootstrap method was conducted to validate the performance of the designed nomogram. Results: A total of 392 patients were included in the study, of whom 189 (48.21%) had prolonged LOS. The logistics regression analysis demonstrated that age, sex, hip deformities, intraoperative blood loss, operation time, postoperative Day 1 (POD) hemoglobin (Hb), POD albumin (ALB), and POD interleukin-6 (IL-6) were independent risk factors for prolonged LOS. The C-index was 0.863 (95% CI 0.808 to 0.918) and 0.845 in the bootstrapping validation, respectively. According to the results of the calibration, ROC curve, and decision curve analyses, we found that the nomogram showed satisfactory performance for prolonged LOS in this study. Conclusions: We explored the risk factors for prolonged LOS following primary THA with an ERAS program and developed a prediction model. The designed nomogram was expected to be a precise and personalized tool for predicting the risk and prognosis for prolonged LOS following primary THA with an ERAS program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to develop and validate an individualized nomogram to predict the risk of positive hidden blood loss (HBL) in patients with single-level thoracolumbar burst fracture (TBF) during the perioperative period. Methods: We conducted a retrospective investigation including 150 consecutive patients with TBL, and the corresponding patient data was extracted from March 2013 to March 2019. The independent risk factors for positive HBL were screened using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. According to published literature and clinical experience, a series of variables were selected to develop a nomogram prediction model for positive HBL. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC), C-index, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the performance of the prediction model. Bootstrapping validation was performed to evaluate the performance of the model. Results: Among the 150 consecutive patients, 62 patients were positive for HBL (38.0%). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the six risk factors of age, length of surgical incision, duration of operation, percentage of vertebral height restoration (P1%), preoperative total cholesterol, and preoperative fibrinogen were independent risk factors of positive HBL. The C-index was 0.831 (95% CI 0.740–0.889) and 0.845 in bootstrapping validation, respectively. The calibration curve showed that the predicted probability of the model was consistent with the actual probability. Decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the nomogram had clinical utility. Conclusion: Overall, we explored the relationship between the positive HBL requirement and predictors. The individualized prediction model for patients with single-level TBF can accurately assess the risk of positive HBL and facilitate clinical decision making. However, external validation will be needed in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel multibeam slot antenna using metasurface is presented in this communication. This antenna is fed by a coupling aperture and its radiating element consists of dual-layer metasurfaces formed by different units. By employing the rectangular loop slot as the coupling aperture, a wide impedance bandwidth is obtained. Meantime, a dual-layer cross-placed checkerboard metasurface is utilized to generate four beams and expand the operation bandwidth. The experimental results demonstrate that the antenna has a bandwidth of 1.37 GHz (2.18–3.55 GHz). Moreover, the four beams point at (φ, θ) = (180°, 23°), (270°, 23°), (0°, 23°), and (90°, 23°) and the maximum gain reaches 7.63 dBi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the anthocyanin cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) and its main gastrointestinal metabolites (PCA and PGA) on the binding of AFB1 and HSA were studied via spectrometry. C3G is relatively stable in the gastric environment, and the intestinal environment promotes its metabolism into PCA and PGA. Binary fluorescence experiments showed that both AFB1 and C3G, including PCA and PGA, can react with HSA. AFB1, C3G and PCA can bind at site I and site II of HSA; PGA binds at site II. The presence of C3G/PCA/PGA inhibits the degree of quenching. C3G/PCA does not change the quenching mechanism; it is still static quenching; however, dynamic quenching occurs in the (AFB1-HSA)-PGA system. In addition, the apparent binding constant and number of binding sites of AFB1-HSA also diminish to different degrees. C3G and its metabolites (PCA and PGA) interfere with the interaction between AFB1 and HSA, and can reduce AFB1 transport at pH 7.4 in vitro. Abbreviations: C3G: cyanidin-3-O-glucoside; M: metabolite; PCA: protocatechuic acid; PGA: phloroglucinol aldehyde; AFB1: aflatoxin B1; HSA: human serum albumin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Y(OTf)3‐catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition of 1,3,5‐triazinanes with donor‐acceptor aziridines has been developed, accessing diversely substituted imidazolidines high efficiency. Mechanistic investigations support the formation of imidazolidines through an SN1‐like pathway. Furthermore, these imidazolidines exhibit promising anti‐tumor activity against a series of human cancer cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1) is a potent hepatotoxic toxin, which can cause hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver immunological damage. It has been involved in the etiology of human hepatocellular carcinoma. AFB 1 can cause oxidative stress in the body's metabolism process, and then cause cytotoxicity, such as apoptosis and DNA damage. Scientific research has discovered that phytochemicals can induce the detoxification pathway of AFB 1 through its biotransformation, thereby reducing the damage of AFB 1 to the human body. In clinical treatment, certain phytochemicals have been effectively used in the treatment of liver injury due to the advantages of multiple targets, multiple pathways, low toxicity and side effects. Therefore, the article summarizes the toxic mechanism of AFB 1 -induced hepatoxicity, and the related research progress of phytochemicals for preventing and treating its cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. We also look forward to the existing problems and application prospects of phytochemicals in the pharmaceutical industry, in order to provide theoretical reference for the prevention and treatment of AFB 1 poisoning in future research work. [Display omitted] • Aflatoxin B 1 can cause hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and liver immune damage. • Aflatoxin B 1 mainly mediates hepatotoxicity through oxidative stress and apoptosis. • Phytochemicals with functional activity can alleviate liver damage caused by aflatoxin B 1. • Phytochemicals can alleviate hepatotoxicity by regulating oxidative stress, apoptosis, or aflatoxin B 1 metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting acute kidney injury (AKI) during the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Methods: A total of 760 patients diagnosed with DKA from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database were included and randomly divided into a training set (70%, n = 532) and a validation set (30%, n = 228). Clinical characteristics of the data set were utilized to establish a nomogram for the prediction of AKI during ICU stay. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was utilized to identified candidate predictors. Meanwhile, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed based on variables derived from LASSO regression, in which variables with P < 0.1 were included in the final model. Then, a nomogram was constructed applying these significant risk predictors based on a multivariate logistic regression model. The discriminatory ability of the model was determined by illustrating a receiver operating curve (ROC) and calculating the area under the curve (AUC). Moreover, the calibration plot and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test (HL test) were conducted to evaluate the performance of our newly bullied nomogram. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate the clinical net benefit. Results: A multivariable model that included type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), microangiopathy, history of congestive heart failure (CHF), history of hypertension, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), urine output, Glasgow coma scale (GCS), and respiratory rate (RR) was represented as the nomogram. The predictive model demonstrated satisfied discrimination with an AUC of 0.747 (95% CI, 0.706–0.789) in the training dataset, and 0.712 (95% CI, 0.642–0.782) in the validation set. The nomogram showed well-calibrated according to the calibration plot and HL test (P > 0.05). DCA showed that our model was clinically useful. Conclusion: The nomogram predicted model for predicting AKI in patients with DKA was constructed. This predicted model can help clinical physicians to identify the patients with high risk earlier and prevent the occurrence of AKI and intervene timely to improve prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurs are increasingly relying on online crowdfunding—the use of online platforms to raise money from a large number of people—to finance their ventures. This research explores the proposition that the amounts contributed by the majority of funders in the early stages of a crowdfunding campaign may have a counterintuitive influence on follow-up contributions and on the campaign's fundraising success. Findings from an analysis of real-world large-scale crowdfunding data and five experiments show that potential funders are more (vs. less) likely to contribute to a newly launched project when early contributions consist mainly of relatively small (vs. large) amounts. The results further show that this Small Predicts Large effect is driven by people's relationship inferences: when contributions made at the early stages of a crowdfunding campaign mainly comprise relatively large amounts, consumers tend to infer that those large contributions were made by the entrepreneur's friends or relatives. Because of this relationship inference, prospective funders perceive larger contributions as being less diagnostic of others' true opinions of the project and this perception negatively affects their willingness to contribute. However, if a crowdfunding campaign provides sufficient justification for the early-stage large contributions, this Small Predicts Large effect will be eliminated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a significant burden on the healthcare system. Recent research has suggested the role of copper in reducing HAI. The purpose of this study was to systematically search literature and pool data from studies evaluating the efficacy of copper-impregnated hospital linen in reducing HAI. Methods: We carried out a systematic electronic search of PubMed, ScienceDirect, BioMed Central, Springer, Embase, and Google Scholar databases for controlled studies evaluating the efficacy of copper-impregnated linen in reducing the incidence of HAI. The last search was carried out on 15th February 2020. Results: Six studies were included. There was no restriction on the type of organism causing HAI in three studies while three trials reported HAI from Clostridioides difficile and multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO). A meta-analysis of six studies indicated the use of copper-impregnated linen did not reduce the risk of HAI [Incidence rate ratio (IRR):0.66, 95% CI:0.28–1.58, p = 0.36, I2 = 100%)]. On subgroup analysis, while pooled data from three studies HAI indicated a statistical significant reduction in all-HAI with copper-impregnated linen (IRR:0.76, 95% CI:0.75–0.77, p<0.00001, I2 = 0%), no such difference was seen when HAI was defined as infection by Clostridioides difficile and MDROs only (IRR:0.57, 95% CI:0.12–2.75, p = 0.48, I2 = 99%). Meta-regression analysis for study duration and number of days of hospitalization did not demonstrate any influence on the overall effect size. On sensitivity analysis, there was no change in the significance of results after the sequential exclusion of every study. Conclusion: Current evidence on the use of copper-impregnated linen to reduce HAI is conflicting. Our results indicate that copper-impregnated linen may reduce HAI, but there is still no evidence of such an effect regarding infections caused by MDRO or Clostridioides difficile. The overall quality of evidence is not high. Homogenous high-quality studies are required to strengthen the evidence on this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Ethyl‐N‐dodecanoyl‐l‐arginate hydrochloride (LAE, ethyl lauroyl arginate HCl) is a cationic surfactant used as a food preservative with broad‐spectrum antibacterial activities. However, its resistance development, influences on gut microbiome and molecular target are unclear. In this study, bacteria were stimulated by LAE for 30 days to test the bacterial resistance. Several infected animal models were used to evaluate the antibacterial effect of LAE in vivo. Mice were orally treated with LAE to test its effect on animal growth. The influence of LAE on mice gut microbiome was analysed by 16S rDNA sequencing. The results indicated that Escherichia coli did not develop resistance to LAE. LAE significantly combats bacterial infection in mice, ducklings and piglets. Moreover, LAE promotes mouse weight gain without changing body composition or reducing animal vitality, and induces lower hepatotoxicity than ampicillin. In the mouse gut microbiome assessment and characterization, LAE modifies host gut microbiota structure. Mechanistically, LAE specifically binds to acidic phospholipids including phosphatidylserine, depolarizes the membrane and disrupts the bacterial membrane followed by bacterial growth inhibition. This study investigates the molecular mechanism of LAE as well as its antibacterial functions in poultry and livestock. Our data suggest LAE is a potential antibacterial agent in animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disease that occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, characterized by an upregulation in autoantibody production and antimicrobial antibody production. The interaction between follicular helper T cells (Tfh) and follicular regulatory T cells (Tfr) is critical to the induction and regulation of antibody production. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of Tfr cells in UC patients. We gated circulating Tfr cells as CD4+CXCR5+CD25+CD127− T cells, of which approximately 73% on average were Foxp3+. The circulating Tfh (CD4+CXCR5+CD25−) cells from control subjects and UC patients presented a comparable capacity to induce IgM production from naive B cells and to mediate class switching to IgG. Tfr cells significantly reduced Tfh-mediated B cell help in both healthy controls and UC patients in a concentration-dependent manner. However, the suppression capacity of Tfr cells was significantly lower in UC patients than in healthy controls. Subsequently, we found that the frequency of CTLA-4-expressing cells was only slightly lower in UC patients, but the MFI of CTLA-4, however, was markedly lower in UC patients. CTLA-4 blockade nearly abrogated Tfr-mediated suppression of IgM, and significantly reduced Tfr-mediated suppression of IgG. Moreover, CTLA-4 blockade removed the relative advantage of Tfr suppression capacity in healthy controls compared to UC patients. Overall, this study demonstrated that CTLA-4 was required for Tfr-mediated suppression of B cell help, but was expressed at lower levels in UC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simpler, more rapid and selective biosensor has been developed for the sensitive detection of circulating miRNAs (c-miRNAs) based on duplex-specific nuclease (DSN)-assisted target recycling coupled with rolling circle amplification (RCA) using SYBR Gold Dye as a signal indicator. This biosensor exhibits a tremendously low detection limit of 0.3 fM of c-miRNAs and shows high selectivity for one-base mismatched c-miRNA. In addition, most importantly, the biosensor could accurately determine the amounts of target c-miRNA in total c-miRNAs isolated from human serums and human cancer cell lines, which confirms that the biosensor could be used to quantify c-miRNAs in complex biological samples and for the clinical early diagnosis of cancers based on c-miRNAs detection. fx1 • The integration of DSN-assisted target recycling with RCA leads to significant signal amplification. • The biosensor could detect c-miRNAs down to 0.3fM and exhibited a wide linear dynamic range of four orders of magnitude. • The newly developed biosensor works well for c-miRNAs detection in real human serums and cancer cell-lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, numerous hyperspectral image classification methods based on convolutional neural network (CNN) have been proposed in recent years. However, the majority of CNN-based classification models fail to take into account the semantic gap between shallow and deep features, and instead, just sum up or splice these two types of features, which leads to subpar feature fusion. To address the above problems, the paper proposes a hyperspectral image classification method based on Narrowing Semantic Gap Convolutional Neural Network (NSGCNN). We developed the feature fusion sub-network, which consists of Feature Semantic Enhancement Module (FSEM), Spatial Detail Supplement Module (SDCM), and Cross-layer Feature Fusion Module (CFFM). FSEM extracts rich global semantic information based on multi-scale dilated convolution. Reverse attention mechanism is introduced in the SDCM to complement deep-layer features with fine spatial features like edges and textures. The fusing of hierarchical features is then achieved using CFFM. Additionally, we can regulate the model's parameter count by regulating the number of output feature maps. Experimental results on three benchmark hyperspectral datasets demonstrate that NSGCNN outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in terms of classification performance and significantly outperforms them in terms of model complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• PPS-SiO 2 hybrid membranes dispalyed the lotus leaf-like micro-nano structure. • PPS-SiO 2 hybrid membranes showed superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity. • The high performance PPS-SiO 2 membranes exhibited excellent oil permeability and water rejection. • PPS-SiO 2 hybrid membranes possessed excellent chemical durability under harsh conditions. • PPS-SiO 2 hybrid membranes exhibited excellent self-cleaning antifouling and cycling performance. The separation of water-in-oil emulsions in harsh environment (strong acid/alkali) is a challenging subject. In this study, we prepared a superhydrophobic-superoleophilic polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) membrane by the mixture of hydrophobic SiO 2 nanoparticles, diphenyl ketone (DPK), benzoin (BZ) and PPS via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) technology. This superhydrophobic membrane displayed a lotus leaf-like micro-nano structure, and it could be used for oil/water separation in strong acidic or alkaline environment. The hydrophobic SiO 2 nanoparticles played a key role in the membrane structure evolution and its performance. When SiO 2 content was 4 wt%, the pure water contact angle of the prepared superhydrophobic-superoleophilic membrane reached 156.9° and the oil contact angle achieved 0°. The fluxes of water-in-oil emulsions (kerosene, toluene and chloroform) reached 1926, 3150 and 3416 L/(m2·h), respectively. However, the fluxes of their surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions declined to 531, 685 and 724 L/(m2·h), respectively, due to the great stability of surfactant-stabilized emulsions. Most importantly, all the water rejection rates exceeded 99.9% when the PPS membranes modified with 4 wt% hydrophobic SiO 2 nanoparticles. In addition, the PPS-SiO 2 hybrid membranes exhibited excellent self-cleaning antifouling performance, cycling performance and superior acid/alkali resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteriochlorophyll and chlorophyll serve as the most abundant and essential tetrapyrroles in photoautotrophs, while heme is indispensable for all organisms. However, some parasites of metazoan are characterized by a reduced genome, in particular for the metabolic pathway of heme synthesis and their blood feeding provide heme from the host organism. Nevertheless, it is sensible to juxtapose the heme metabolism of non-photosynthetic organisms with that of algae and plants, which require a more complex control of the entire tetrapyrrole metabolism to allocate the metabolic intermediates for the production of the chlorophyll and heme-synthesizing branch of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis. This chapter surveys recent biochemical and structural information of the enzymes of the entire heme-synthesizing pathway. A final section of this chapter highlights the functional, structural and regulatory divergences of the plant ferrochelatase in comparison to the common properties of the homologs in bacteria and animals. It is hypothesized that the two naturally occurring genes encoding isoforms of ferrochelatase are evolved to enable an appropriate and balanced heme synthesis for the supply of heme in all organelles of plant cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis is the first etiology of coronary artery aneurysm (CAA). It is, however, challenging to inhibit the development of CAA. The aim of the study is to carry out morphometric and hemodynamic analyses in epicardial coronary arteries of patients with CAAs caused by atherosclerosis. Various morphometric parameters were obtained from the reconstructed epicardial coronary arterial trees of 61 patients and multiple hemodynamic parameters were determined from the computed flow fields. A two-step analysis method was proposed to enhance the risk assessment of CAAs, i.e., coronary artery bifurcation is the major risk factor for CAA followed by high aneurysm shape index (L/W, where L and W refer to the aneurysm length and maximum diameter, respectively). Patients with CAA covering a bifurcation have the higher occurrence (71% and 55% for L/W ≥ 2 and L/W < 2, respectively) of myocardial ischemia relevant to abnormal hemodynamic parameters in comparison with those with CAA in one vessel (43% and 40% for L/W ≥ 2 and L/W < 2, respectively). Patients with CAA of L/W ≥ 2 covering a bifurcation show the worst hemodynamic environment. Morphometric and hemodynamic studies support the two-step analysis method, which provides a clinical rationale for the noninvasive assessment of CAAs. • A two-step analysis method is proposed to improve the risk assessment of CAAs due to atherosclerosis. • Patients with the CAA covering a bifurcation have the higher occurrence of myocardial ischemia. • Patients with the CAA of L/W ≥ 2 covering a bifurcation show the worst hemodynamic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The room temperature deep eutectic solvent (DES) is demonstrated as an ideal precursor to prepare self-hybridized graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4) for the first time, for its special components, randomly reorganized molecules and extensive hydrogen bonds. In this work, by adjusting the proportion of urea and ammonium thiocyanate in the precursor DES, the self-hybridized coralloid g-C 3 N 4 , stacked by a mass of double-layer g-C 3 N 4 /g-C 3 N 4 nanocages, were prepared without any templates. Compared to conventional g-C 3 N 4 prepared using melamine, urea and AT as precursors, the improved charge transfer between the interfaces of the self-hybridized g-C 3 N 4 has been demonstrated, which is attributed to the well-matched electronic band structures of the two g-C 3 N 4 species, the abundant 2D/2D interfacial contact and increased photocatalytic active sites. As expected, it exhibits highly enhanced photocatalytic activity, which is among the best g-C3N4 photocatalysts without doping any other elements. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the interdecadal variations in tropical cyclone (TC) activities over the western North Pacific (WNP) basin during the peak season (July–September) and late season (October–December) of 1955–2014 and explores the possible physical mechanisms behind the variations. Both the peak- and late-season tropical storm (TS) days show distinct interdecadal variations, while the late-season TS days lead the peak-season TS days by approximately 4 years on an interdecadal time scale. The late-season TC activity is related to the east-west sea surface temperature (SST) gradient across the equatorial Pacific. The westerly winds induced by the SST gradient can reduce the vertical wind shear and increase the low-level vorticity, which favors TC genesis over the TC genesis region. The peak-season TC activity appears to relate to the SST gradient between the Indian Ocean and the Central Pacific. The westerly wind induced by the SST gradient can reduce the vertical wind shear and increase the mid-level relative humidity, thereby enhancing the TC activity. The full picture of the interdecadal variation in the WNP TC activity during the peak and late seasons revealed in this study provides a new perspective on the seasonal TC forecasts and future projections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) is a common and serious complication of diabetic patients. The pathogenesis of DNP is largely unclear. The proinflammation proteins, CXCR4, and TNF-α play critical roles in the development of pain, while their relative roles in the development of DNP and especially its progression is unknown. We proposed that establishment of diabetic pain models in rodents and evaluating the stability of behavioral tests are necessary approaches to better understand the mechanism of DNP. In this study, Von Frey and Hargreaves Apparatus was used to analyze the behavioral changes of mechanical allodynia and heat hyperalgesia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats at different phases of diabetes. Moreover, CXCR4 and TNF-α of spinal cord dorsal and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were detected by western blotting and immunostaining over time. The values of paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and paw withdrawal latencies (PWL) were reduced as early as 1 week in diabetic rats and persistently maintained at lower levels during the progression of diabetes as compared to control rats that were concomitant with significant increases of both CXCR4 and TNF-α protein expressions in the DRG at 2 weeks and 5 weeks (the end of the experiments) of diabetes. By contrast, CXCR4 and TNF-α in the spinal cord dorsal horn did not significantly increase at 2 weeks of diabetes while both were significantly upregulated at 5 weeks of diabetes. The results indicate that central sensitization of spinal cord dorsal may result from persistent peripheral sensitization and suggest a potential reference for further treatment of DNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract An isopropanol assisted solvothermal-copolymerization strategy was used to construct a distorted C 3 N 4 with enhanced visible light absorption, stronger redox ability, faster exciton dissociation efficiency, and higher photocatalytic performance. Highlights • An isopropanol assisted solvothermal-copolymerization strategy is first proposed to contruct distorted g-C 3 N 4. • Distorted g-C 3 N 4 shows simultaneous enhancements in π-π* and n-π*electron transitions. • Distorted g-C 3 N 4 possesse enhanced visible light absorption and narrowed bad gap. • Distorted g-C 3 N 4 exhibits faster exciton dissociation efficiency and longer lifetime of charge carriers. • The CNUS exhibits 6.8 times H 2 generation and 9.3 times RhB degradation rate than the pristine CNU. Abstract The graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4) has emerged as one of the most promising candidates to replace the metal oxide-based catalysts for highly efficient photocatalytic materials. However, the intrinsic drawbacks of weak visible-light adsorption and poor charge separation efficiency seriously limit its practical applications. Thus, struggling controls over their structure parameters to optimize the photoelectrical properties on molecular-level for realizing highly active metal-free g-C 3 N 4 photocatalysts have attracted a lot of focuses. Herein, a novel isopropanol assisted solvothermal-copolymerization strategy is rationally designed to synthesize a compact O, S-co-doping g-C 3 N 4 (CNUS) with markedly reinforced π-π* and n-π* electron transitions. The meliorative structure and energy level configuration result in elevated effects for both visible-light (photon) adsorption and photo-induced carries transfer, and the CNUS exhibits outstanding photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and rhodamine B degradation performance under visible light. In addition, after continuously testing, the CNUS still shows superior stability with nearly negligible decay for both photocatalytic reactions. The characterization results indicate that the incorporated oxygen and sulfur engineer the charge, and the layered-stacking distance decreases from 0.328 to 0.322 nm, compared its counterpart (CNU prepared by direct pyrolysis of urea). Importantly, the enriched charge facilitates the rate-limiting separation of photogenerated carriers, and hence improved the visible light photocatalytic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract The perovskite-type lanthanum ferrite, LaFeO 3 , has emerged as one of the most promising candidates for highly efficient photocatalytic materials. However, the intrinsic drawbacks of inferior surface hydrophilicity (related to the absorption and transport of water), weak visible-light adsorption (related to the absorption of photon) and poor charge separation efficiency (related to the active substance that can actually participate in the reaction) seriously limit its photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, LaFeO 3 is encapsulated by conductive polyaniline (PANI) aerogel on the surface to simultaneous moderate these deficiencies. The ameliorative surface properties and interface effect between LaFeO 3 and PANI result in elevated effects for water adsorption and diffusion, visible-light (photon) adsorption and photo-induced carries transfer, and the coated LaFeO 3 exhibits improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance under visible light. In addition, after continuously testing, the coated LaFeO 3 still shows superior stability with nearly negligible decay. Importantly, this model can enrich to other inorganic oxide based semiconductor to modulate the surface properties and charge transport behaviour, and hence improve the visible light photocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferrochelatase (FC) is the final enzyme for haem formation in the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis pathway and encoded by two genes in higher plants. FC2 exists predominantly in green tissue, whereas FC1 is constitutively expressed. We intended to substantiate the specific roles of FC1. The embryo‐lethal fc1–2 mutant was used to express the two genomic FC‐encoding sequences under the FC1 and FC2 promoter and explore the complementation of the FC1 deficiency. Apart from the successful complementation with FC1, expression of FC2 under control of the FC1 promoter (pFC1::FC2) compensates for missing FC1 but not by FC2 promoter expression. The complementing lines pFC1FC2(fc1/fc1) succeeded under standard growth condition but failed under salt stress. The pFC1FC2(fc1/fc1) line exhibited symptoms of leaf senescence, including accelerated loss of haem and chlorophyll and elevated gene expression for chlorophyll catabolism. In contrast, ectopic FC1 expression (p35S::FC1) resulted in increased chlorophyll accumulation. The limited ability of FC2 to complement fc1 is explained by a faster turnover of FC2 mRNA during stress. It is suggested that FC1‐produced haem is essential for embryogenesis and stress response. The pFC1::FC2 expression readily complements the fc1–2 embryo lethality, whereas higher FC1 transcript content contributes essentially to stress tolerance. With the intention to substantiate the specific roles of Arabidopsis FC1, we analysed FC1 overexpressor lines and complementation lines of an fc1 knockout mutant expressing FC2 under the FC1 promoter. It is shown that the activity of the two FC variants are sufficient for embryo morphogenesis, but during salt and osmotic stress, FC1 expression is more appropriate than FC2 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) hydrophobic micro-porous flat sheet membranes were fabricated with diphenyl ketone (DPK) and benzoin (BZ) as mixed diluent via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). It was found that the mass ratio of DPK/BZ had a strong influence on the structure and property of PPS membranes. As DPK content increased, the interaction between PPS and diluents reduced linearly and the membrane micro-structures changed from honeycomb, bi-continuous to spherical particle structure via liquid-liquid (L-L) phase separation process. Herein, the prepared PPS micro-porous membranes were used in vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) for the first time, and they showed the strong hydrophobicity and high salt rejection ratio. Especially, the membrane prepared from the mixed diluent of 15 wt% DPK and 85 wt% BZ with the bi-continuous network structure and Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea Chenault leaf-like structure achieved the maximum permeate flux of 22.8 L/m −2 h −1 and the highest salt rejection of 99.99%. Most importantly, the membrane with Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea Chenault leaf-like leaf structure performed excellent long-term stability in corrosive water membrane distillation (MD) experiment (3.5 wt% NaCl and 10 wt% NaOH as feed solution). Those results show the potential application of this novel type of membrane in the treatment of corrosive sewage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) can be divided into thymus-derived Treg (tTregs) and peripheral induced Tregs (pTregs) in vivo according to their origins and are essential for the maintenance of immune hemostasis and immune tolerance. Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8 like 2 (TIPE2) is expressed primarily by immune cells and is a negative regulator of the innate and adaptive immune response. Previous studies indicate that TIPE2 is required for the expression of Treg signature genes and promotes leading-edge formation in neutrophils through cytoskeleton remodeling. In the current study, we showed that TIPE2 deficient mice accumulate more Treg cells in the thymus. Further studies revealed that TIPE2 deficiency doesn't affect the development and apoptosis of tTregs. Instead, TIPE2 promotes the chemotaxis of tTregs in vitro , which may account for the accumulation of Tregs in the thymus of TIPE2 deficient mice. Mechanistic study revealed that TIPE2 promotes the polarization of pAKT and F-actin in tTregs undergoing directed migration. Taken together, these results demonstrated that TIPE2 enhances the cytoskeleton remodeling and promotes the thymus egress of tTregs, which may play an important role in the maintenance of self-tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Normal human cervical epitheliums infected with HPVs gene in vitro are underlying molecular models to investigate physiological mechanisms of cervical epithelia and cervical disease. The current study aimed to establish a modified culture method for cervical epithelium and explore the feasibility of transfection with HPV-16 E6 gene mediated by lentivirus in primary cervical cells. The cells were dissociated enzymatically using Dispase II combined with 0.25% Trypsin-0.01% ethylenediamine tetracetic acid (EDTA) or Collagenase I. The detached effectiveness of Dispase II at different times was compared. Isolated cells were cultured and subcultured in modified keratinocyte serum-free medium (K-SFM) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or K-SFM alone. Cytokeratin was used as the identification of cervical epitheliums. Proliferative capacity and growth curve of cervical epitheliums were evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). The cells at passages 3 were used to infect with HPV-16 E6 gene by lentivirus. The expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) presented in the infected cells was observed via fluorescence microscopy and the levels of E6mRNAwere detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The results indicate that cervical epithelial cells can be isolated successfully by Dispase II combined with 0.25% Trypsin-0.01% EDTA method for 20 hr and maintained for five or six passages in K-SFM medium with 5% FBS. The present study proposed a brief and highyield protocol for isolation and culture of human cervical epitheliums. Moreover, an infected cell model with HPV-16 E6 gene mediated by lentivirus was established which can do duty for studies in vitro on the carcinogenic mechanism of HR-HPVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired apoptosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)‑fibroblast‑like synoviocytes (FLS) is pivotal in the process of RA. Peptidyl arginine deiminase type IV (PADI4) is associated with autoantibody regulation via histone citrullination in RA. The present study aimed to investigate the role of PADI4 in the apoptosis of RA‑FLS. FLS were isolated from patients with RA and a rat model. The effects of PADI4 on RA‑FLS were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Hypoxia‑induced autophagy was induced by 1% O2 and was detected by immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analysis; in addition, apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. RA‑FLS obtained from RA rat model exhibited significant proliferation under severe hypoxia conditions. Hypoxia also significantly induced autophagy and elevated the expression of PADI4. Subsequently, short hairpin RNA‑mediated PADI4 knockdown was demonstrated to significantly inhibit hypoxia‑induced autophagy and promote apoptosis in RA‑FLS. The results of these in vitro and in vivo studies suggested that PADI4 may be closely associated with hypoxia‑induced autophagy, and the inhibition of hypoxia‑induced autophagy by PADI4 knockdown may contribute to an increase in the apoptosis of RA‑FLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that inflammatory mediators involved in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are regulated by the Rel/nuclear factor-κB (Rel/NF-κB) transcription factor family. c-Rel, a member of the Rel/NF-κB family that is preferentially expressed by immune cells, is a risk factor for several inflammatory diseases including RA. In the current study, we investigated whether targeting c-Rel can be used to treat collagen-induced arthritis, an animal model for RA. c-Rel specific siRNA (siRel) delivered by nanoparticles was used to knockdown the expression of c-Rel. Our results showed that siRel treatment significantly ameliorated collagen-induced arthritis. Further study revealed that c-Rel expression in the dendritic cells and macrophages from mice treated with siRel was significantly down-regulated. Consistent with the phenotypical result, the expression of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-23 by peritoneal macrophages and splenocytes were significantly decreased. In addition, attenuated systemic and collagen-specific Th1 and Th17 immune responses were observed. Furthermore, we found that the expression of inflammatory cytokines was significantly down-regulated and the infiltration of CD3 + T cells and F4/80 + macrophages was markedly reduced in hind paws of mice treated with siRel. Collectively, our study provides strong evidence that siRNA-mediated c-Rel knockdown can suppress the development of collagen-induced arthritis in mice. Therefore, blocking c-Rel may represent an attracting strategy for the treatment of human rheumatoid arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is higher long-term failure of the saphenous vein graft (SVG) compared with the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) graft, which is affected by the hemodynamic environment. A comprehensive analysis of postoperative structure-function changes is important to study the atherogenesis in the SVG. A comparison of morphometric and hemodynamic parameters was carried out between LIMA grafts and SVGs and between different time points postoperatively. Various parameters were obtained from the image reconstruction and flow simulation in patients, who underwent CT exams for ~1 year, 5 and 10 years after revascularization. Morphometric data showed a decrease in lumen size in the entire SVG and anastomosis of different patients in a sequence of ~1 year, 5 and 10 years postoperatively despite negligible changes of LIMA size. Computational results indicated the fourfold increased surface area ratio (SAR) of low time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) in the SVG and anastomosis at postoperative 10 years than that at postoperative ~1 year. The SAR of high TAWSS gradient (TAWSSG) at the distal anastomosis between SVG and coronary arteries was significantly higher (14 ± 9% vs. 6 ± 8%) than that in the LIMA group at postoperative ~1 year. There were strong correlations between morphometric and hemodynamic parameters in the SVG and distal anastomosis at various time points postoperatively, which showed deterioration relevant to persistent diffuse diseases at postoperative ~10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating microRNAs (c-miRNAs) are emerging as new non-invasive biomarkers for human cancers diagnosis and prognosis. Herein, in this study, an ideal biosensing system with highly sensitivity and excellent selectivity for rapid and facile detection of c-miRNAs has been developed. The sensing system mainly consists of two unlabeled hairpin probes (HP1 and HP2) and a circular probe. Upon binding with the target miRNA, HP1 is opened, which serves as a toehold to hybridize with HP2. Since HP1-HP2 duplex is more stable than HP1-miRNA duplex, the target miRNA can be displaced from HP1, and again binds with a new HP1 to initiate another reaction cycle. Moreover, the newly formed HP1-HP2 duplex can be further used as a primer to initiate rolling circle amplification (RCA) with the circular probe, producing extremely long single-stranded DNA molecules with repetitive sequence units which can form into a large number of G-quadruplexes. These G-quadruplexes can bind with ThT, resulting in a significantly enhanced fluorescent signal. This newly developed sensing system has great potential to be applied in biochemical research and clinical diagnosis based on the high-performance of circulating miR-21 detection in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]