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Cross-species research has advanced human understanding of brain regions, with cross-species comparisons using magnetic resonance imaging technology becoming increasingly common. Currently, cross-species research on human language regions has primarily focused on traditional brain areas such as the Broca region. While some studies have indicated that human language function also involves other language regions, the corresponding relationships between these brain regions in humans and macaques remain unclear. This study calculated the strength of the connections between the high-level language processing regions in human and macaque brains, identified homologous target areas based on the structural connections of white-matter fiber bundles, and compared the connectivity profiles of both species. The results of the experiment demonstrated that macaques possess brain regions which exhibit connectivity patterns resembling those found in human high-level language processing regions. This discovery suggests that while the function of a human brain region is specialized, it still maintains a structural connectivity similar to that seen in macaques.

Among tropical fruit trees, coconut holds significant edible and economic importance. The natural growth of coconuts faces a challenge in the form of low temperatures, which is a crucial factor among adverse environmental stresses impacting their geographical distribution. Hence, it is essential to enhance our comprehension of the molecular mechanisms through which cold stress influences various coconut varieties. We employed analyses of leaf growth morphology and physiological traits to examine how coconuts respond to low temperatures over 2-hour, 8-hour, 2-day, and 7-day intervals. Additionally, we performed transcriptome and metabolome analyses to identify the molecular and physiological shifts in two coconut varieties displaying distinct sensitivities to the cold stress. As the length of cold stress extended, there was a prominent escalation within the soluble protein (SP), proline (Pro) concentrations, the activity of peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the leaves. Contrariwise, the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH) underwent a substantial reduction during this period. The widespread analysis of metabolome and transcriptome disclosed a nexus of genes and metabolites intricately cold stress were chiefly involved in pathways centered around amino acid, flavonoid, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. We perceived several stress-responsive metabolites, such as flavonoids, carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids, which unveiled considerably, lower in the genotype subtle to cold stress. Furthermore, we uncovered pivotal genes in the amino acid biosynthesis, antioxidant system and flavonoid biosynthesis pathway that presented down-regulation in coconut varieties sensitive to cold stress. This study broadly enriches our contemporary perception of the molecular machinery that contributes to altering levels of cold stress tolerance amid coconut genotypes. It also unlocks several unique prospects for exploration in the areas of breeding or engineering, aiming to identifying tolerant and/or sensitive coconut varieties encompassing multi-omics layers in response to cold stress conditions.

MYB transcription factors regulate the growth, development, and secondary metabolism of plant species. To investigate the origin of color variations in coconut pericarp, we identified and analyzed the MYB gene family present in coconut. According to the sequence of MYB genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, homologous MYB gene sequences were found in the whole genome database of coconut, the conserved sequence motifs within MYB proteins were analyzed by Motif Elicitation (MEME) tool, and the sequences without conservative structure were eliminated. Additionally, we employed RNA-seq technology to generate gene expression signatures of the R2R3-MYB genes across distinctive coconut parts exhibiting diverse colors. To validate these profiles, we conducted quantitative PCR (qPCR). Through comprehensive genome-wide screening, we successfully identified a collection of 179 MYB genes in coconut. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis categorized these 179 coconut MYB genes into 4-subfamilies: 124 R2R3-MYB, 4 3R-MYB types, 4 4R-MYB type, and 47 unknown types. Furthermore, these genes were further divided into 34 subgroups, with 28 of these subgroups successfully classified into known subfamilies found in Arabidopsis thaliana. By mapping the CnMYB genes onto the 16 chromosomes of the coconut genome, we unveiled a collinearity association between them. Moreover, a preservation of gene structure and motif distribution was observed across the CnMYB genes. Our research encompassed a thorough investigation of the R2R3-MYB genes present in the coconut genome, including the chromosomal localization, gene assembly, conserved regions, phylogenetic associations, and promoter cis-acting elements of the studied genes. Our findings revealed a collection of 12 R2R3-MYB candidate genes, namely CnMYB8, CnMYB15, CnMYB27, CnMYB28, CnMYB61, CnMYB63, CnMYB68, CnMYB94, CnMYB101, CnMYB150, CnMYB153, and CnMYB164. These genes showed differential expressions in diverse tissues and developmental stages of four coconut species, such as CnMYB68, CnMYB101, and CnMYB28 exhibited high expression in majority of tissues and coconut species, while CnMYB94 and CnMYB164 showed lower expression. These findings shed light on the crucial functional divergence of CnMYB genes across various coconut tissues, suggesting these genes as promising candidate genes for facilitating color development in this important crop.

Helleborus thibetanus is an endemic species in China with important ornamental and medicinal value. However, the seeds have dormancy, and their germination percentage is low under natural conditions. This research was carried out to determine the seed germination requirements of H. thibetanus and to characterize the type of seed dormancy. The morphological post-ripening process of the seed embryo was studied according to the morphological anatomy, and the effects of temperature and gibberellic acid (GA3) on seed germination were investigated in H. thibetanus. The H. thibetanus seeds had a heart-shaped embryo at maturity. The embryo fully grew within the seed through warm stratification, and the embryo/seed ratio increased from 8.58% to 42.6%. The shortest time for a radicle to emerge (58.33 d) and the highest radicle emergence percentage (84.44%) were obtained at a temperature of 15 °C. The results showed that the H. thibetanus seeds had a morphophysiological dormancy. In addition, 300 mg/L GA3 treatments shortened the time of warm stratification and increased the radicle emergence percentage. Seeds with emerged radicles could not emerge epicotyl–plumule without cold stratification, which showed that the H. thibetanus seeds had epicotyl physiological dormancy. The length of the roots, cold stratification time, and GA3 markedly affected the release of the epicotyl physiological dormancy in H. thibetanus. The seeds with 2.5 cm roots required the shortest time to break their dormancy (50 d), and the epicotyl–plumule emergence percentage was the highest. Additionally, GA3 treatment also shortened the incubation time in cold stratification (5 °C) and successfully broke the epicotyl physiological dormancy. Our study showed that H. thibetanus seeds exhibited deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy. Temperature, GA3, and duration of stratification played vital roles in the seed germination of H. thibetanus. This research will provide valuable data for seed germination and practical dormancy-breaking techniques and will promote the cultivation and conventional crossbreeding of H. thibetanus.

The identification and expression of germ cells are important for studying sex-related mechanisms in fish. The vasa gene, encoding an ATP-dependent RNA helicase, is recognized as a molecular marker of germ cells and plays a crucial role in germ cell development. Silurus asotus, an important freshwater economic fish species in China, shows significant sex dimorphism with the female growing faster than the male. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these sex differences especially involving in the vasa gene in this fish remain poorly understood. In this work, the vasa gene sequence of S. asotus (named as Savasa) was obtained through RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE), and its expression in embryos and tissues was analyzed using qRT-PCR and an in situ hybridization method. Letrozole (LT) treatment on the larvae fish was also conducted to investigate its influence on the gene. The results revealed that the open reading frame (ORF) of Savasa was 1989 bp, encoding 662 amino acids. The SaVasa protein contains 10 conserved domains unique to the DEAD-box protein family, showing the highest sequence identity of 95.92% with that of Silurus meridionalis. In embryos, Savasa is highly expressed from the two-cell stage to the blastula stage in early embryos, with a gradually decreasing trend from the gastrula stage to the heart-beating stage. Furthermore, Savasa was initially detected at the end of the cleavage furrow during the two-cell stage, later condensing into four symmetrical cell clusters with embryonic development. At the gastrula stage, Savasa-positive cells increased and began to migrate towards the dorsal side of the embryo. In tissues, Savasa is predominantly expressed in the ovaries, with almost no or lower expression in other detected tissues. Moreover, Savasa was expressed in phase I–V oocytes in the ovaries, as well as in spermatogonia and spermatocytes in the testis, implying a specific expression pattern of germ cells. In addition, LT significantly upregulated the expression of Savasa in a concentration-dependent manner during the key gonadal differentiation period of the fish. Notably, at 120 dph after LT treatment, Savasa expression was the lowest in the testis and ovary of the high concentration group. Collectively, findings from gene structure, protein sequence, phylogenetic analysis, RNA expression patterns, and response to LT suggest that Savasa is maternally inherited with conserved features, serving as a potential marker gene for germ cells in S.asotus, and might participate in LT-induced early embryonic development and gonadal development processes of the fish. This would provide a basis for further research on the application of germ cell markers and the molecular mechanisms of sex differences in S. asotus.

Chiral succinimides are ubiquitous in bioactive compounds. Here, authors report a stereodivergent method for accessing 3,4-disubstituted succinimides, and the origin of stereoselectivity is elucidated by experimental and theoretical investigations.

Electrochemical hydrogen-participating processes are commonly relevant in multiple clean energy technologies. Here, authors achieve in situ quantification of H sorption kinetics during Pd-catalyzed CO2 reduction, unravelling its key role within the interfacial network of local pH, proton donors and CO2 molecules.

Tinnitus is closely associated with cognition functioning. In order to clarify the central reorganization of tinnitus in patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS), this study explored the aberrant dynamics of electroencephalogram (EEG) microstates and their correlations with tinnitus features in VS patients. Clinical and EEG data were collected from 98 VS patients, including 76 with tinnitus and 22 without tinnitus. Microstates were clustered into four categories. Our EEG microstate analysis revealed that VS patients with tinnitus exhibited an increased frequency of microstate C compared to those without tinnitus. Furthermore, correlation analysis demonstrated that the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) score was negatively associated with the duration of microstate A and positively associated with the frequency of microstate C. These findings suggest that the time series and syntax characteristics of EEG microstates differ significantly between VS patients with and without tinnitus, potentially reflecting abnormal allocation of neural resources and transition of functional brain activity. Our results provide a foundation for developing diverse treatments for tinnitus in VS patients.

A novel composite Chitosan graft poly (acrylic acid-co-N-isopropylacrylamide)/graphite oxide (CTS-g-P(AA-co-NIPAM/GO) is synthesized and used to remove methylene blue (MB) and fuchsin basic (FB) from aqueous solutions by adsorption. Small amount of GO brings about great improvement of the thermostability together with the adsorption amount. Adsorption capacities of MB and FB increase from 842.1 and 633.7 mg/g, respectively, to 1496.3 and 1000.8 mg/g, respectively, with 0.02 g intercalation amount of GO. The interactions between GO and main body of CTS-g-P(AA-co-NIPAM) graft copolymer are hydrogen and amide bonds, whereas that between dye molecules and CTS-g-P(AA-co-NIPAM)/GO composite is hydrogen bond as well as electrostatic interaction. Effect of various conditions on the adsorption capacities is discussed. Adsorption isotherms and thermodynamics are studied. The adsorption of both MB and FB are spontaneous and satisfy the Redlich-Peterson equation. Kinetic study shows that the adsorption of both dyes is in accordance with the Pseudo first-order kinetic model.

Corydalis yanhusuo is a medicinal herb in China that has been widely used to treat various kinds of pain. The tuber is the main organ of C. yanhusuo used for medicinal purposes, but changes in related genes during the development of the tuber have rarely been reported. To identify the differentially expressed genes during tuber development, C. yanhusuo full-length transcriptomic sequencing was performed using single-molecule real-time technology, and tubers at three development stages were selected for comparative transcriptome analysis. A total of 90,496 full-length non-chimeric transcripts were obtained, and 19,341 transcripts were annotated in at least one public database. A total of 9221 differentially expressed genes were identified during the swelling process of C. yanhusuo tuber. A Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes associated with a “starch and sucrose metabolism pathway”, “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway”, “isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis pathway”, “zeatin biosynthesis pathway”, and “brassinosteroid biosynthesis pathway” were predominantly enriched. In addition, the genes involved in cell wall metabolism were potentially associated with tuber swelling. These processes regulated and were involved in C. yanhusuo tuber development. The results provide a foundation for further research on tuber formation in medicinal plants.

H-section columns with random pitting corrosion exhibit localized damage, making it imperative to conduct a thorough assessment in order to guarantee their long-term structural safety and integrity. This paper presents a method for constructing finite element models of randomly pitted H-section stub columns. The accuracy of the models was first validated against existing experiments. Various scenarios, accounting for different levels of pitting intensities and locations of corrosion occurrence, were considered, to elucidate the mechanisms of the reduction in ultimate strength and stiffness, as well as the failure of columns. Additionally, the influence of the width-to-thickness ratio of the plate on the ultimate strength of stub columns was also taken into account. A method to address the thickness loss resulting from random pitting corrosion was proposed for the ultimate strength assessment of randomly pitted stub columns, and its accuracy was verified based on the Chinese and European Standards. An empirical formula was proposed and verified upon the results of numerous stochastic simulations of randomly pitted H-section columns. The results demonstrated that for axially loaded H-section stub columns, both ultimate strength and stiffness decrease significantly and nonlinearly with the increase in the degree of pitting damage. Corrosion can change the failure mode of a stub column by inducing local buckling in a plate that initially satisfies the buckling criterion before the overall column failure.

Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR) has significant relevance to settle the global energy crisis and abnormal climate problem via mitigating the excess emission of waste CO2 and producing high-value-added chemicals. Currently, eCO2RR to formic acid or formate is one of the most technologically and economically viable approaches to realize high-efficiency CO2 utilization, and the development of efficient electrocatalysts is very urgent to achieve efficient and stable catalytic performance. In this review, the recent advances for two-dimensional bismuth-based nanosheets (2D Bi-based NSs) electrocatalysts are concluded from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. Firstly, the preparation strategies of 2D Bi-based NSs in aspects to precisely control the thickness and uniformity are summarized. In addition, the electronic regulation strategies of 2D Bi-based NSs are highlighted to gain insight into the effects of the structure-property relationship on facilitating CO2 activation, improving product selectivity, and optimizing carrier transport dynamics. Finally, the considerable challenges and opportunities of 2D Bi-based NSs are discussed to lighten new directions for future research of eCO2RR.

Objective To evaluate the treatment effects of the reinforced Ma‐Griffith method combined with a minimally invasive small incision(M‐G/MISI) in the treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture. Methods From January 2012 to January 2020, a retrospective study was carried out on thirty‐one patients with acute Achilles tendon ruptures that were treated using the M‐G/MISI. Patient with acute Achilles tendon rupture was operated on in the prone position. The M‐G/MISI begin with making a small incision to debride the stumps of ruptured tendon. Then M‐G/MISI was used to suture the distal and proximal Achilles tendons with the help of a epidural puncture needle and polydioxanone synthetic absorbable suture (PDS) Ⅱ line. Finally the stumps of ruptured tendon was reattached. After the surgery, the affected limb was fixed with either a plaster slab below the knee brace or a functional brace. Removal of plaster external fixation and partial weight‐bearing with crutches five weeks after the operation; Complete weight‐bearing nine weeks after the operation; jogging permitted 12 weeks after the operation; Patients were allowed to resume normal activities six months after the operation. Results All 31 patients in this study were male. Nineteen of these patients had Achilles tendon rupture on the right lower extremity, while 12 had ruptures on the left lower extremity. The patients had a mean age of 33.35 ± 7.13 years (range, 18‐52 years). The mean operation time was 79.58 ± 22.67 minutes (range, 40‐167 minutes). The mean time from injury to operation was 4.19 ± 2.01 days (range, 1‐8 days), and the mean hospital stay was 9.87 ± 3.88 days (range, 5‐22 days). The new technique had a small incision with a mean length of 3.94 ± 1.82 cm (range, 2‐6 cm). The mean intraoperative blood loss was 16.77 ± 13.76 mL (range, 10‐50 mL) and the mean follow‐up time was 21.35 ± 10.18 months (range, 6‐50 months). No wound infection, fistula, skin necrosis, sural nerve damage, deep venous thrombosis or tendon re‐rupture was found. One year after the surgery, all patients reported 97.00 (range, 93‐100 points) AOFAS ankle‐hindfoot score points and the mean ATRS was 97.39 (range, 91‐100) points. Conclusion The reinforced Ma‐Griffith method, combined with a minimally invasive small incision suture, is a simple, effective, minimally invasive technique and low‐cost surgical method for the treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture.

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a frequent complication in geriatric patients with hip fractures, which is linked to poorer functional recovery, longer hospital stays, and higher short-and long-term mortality. Patients with increased age, preoperative cognitive impairment, comorbidities, perioperative polypharmacy, and delayed surgery are more prone to develop POD after hip fracture surgery. In this narrative review, we outlined the latest findings on postoperative delirium in geriatric patients with hip fractures, focusing on its pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Perioperative risk prediction, avoidance of certain medications, and orthogeriatric comprehensive care are all examples of effective interventions. Choices of anesthesia technique may not be associated with a significant difference in the incidence of postoperative delirium in geriatric patients with hip fractures. There are few pharmaceutical measures available for POD treatment. Dexmedetomidine and multimodal analgesia may be effective for managing postoperative delirium, and adverse complications should be considered when using antipsychotics. In conclusion, perioperative risk intervention based on orthogeriatric comprehensive care is the most effective strategy for preventing postoperative delirium in geriatric patients with hip fractures.

Abnormal auditory cortex (AC) neuronal activity is thought to be a primary cause of the auditory disturbances perceived by individuals suffering from tinnitus. The present study was designed to test that possibility by evaluating auditory cortical characteristics (volume, curvature, surface area, thickness) and surface-based functional metrics in chronic tinnitus patients. In total, 63 chronic tinnitus patients and 36 age-, sex- and education level-matched healthy control (HC) patients were enrolled in this study. Hearing levels in these two groups were comparable, and following magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of these individuals, the DPABISurf software was used to compute cerebral cortex curvature, thickness, and surface area as well as surface-based functional metrics. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Tinnitus Handicap Questionary (THQ), and Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) were used to gauge participant tinnitus severity, while correlation analyses were conducted to evaluate associations between these different analyzed parameters. A significant increase in the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of the right secondary AC was detected in the tinnitus group relative to the HC group. There were also significant reductions in the cortical volume and surface area of the right secondary AC in the tinnitus group relative to the HC group (all P < 0.05). In addition, significant negative correlations between tinnitus pitch and the cortical area and volume of the right secondary AC were observed in the tinnitus group.

Abstract Background Effector memory T cells are pivotal effectors of adaptive immunity with enhanced migration characteristics and are involved in the pathogenesis of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). The diversity of effector memory T cells in chemokine receptor expression has been well studied in proteinase 3 (PR3)-AAV. However, few studies have been conducted in myeloperoxidase (MPO)-AAV. Here, we characterized chemokine receptor expression on effector memory T cells from patients with active MPO-AAV. Methods Clinical data from newly diagnosed MPO-AAV patients and healthy subjects were collected and analyzed. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from patients with active MPO-AAV were analyzed by flow cytometry. The production of effector memory T cell-related chemokines in serum was assessed by ELISA. Results We observed decreased percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood, accompanied by a significant decrease in CCR6-expressing T cells but an increase in CXCR3+ T cells, in active MPO-AAV. Furthermore, the decrease in CCR6 and increase in CXCR3 expression were mainly limited to effector memory T cells. Consistent with this finding, the serum level of CCL20 was increased. In addition, a decreasing trend in the TEM17 cell frequency, with concomitant increases in the frequencies of CD4+ TEM1 and CD4+ TEM17.1 cells, was observed when T cell functional subsets were defined by chemokine receptor expression. Moreover, the proportions of peripheral CD8+ T cells and CD4+ TEM subsets were correlated with renal prognosis and inflammatory markers. Conclusions Our data indicate that dysregulated chemokine receptor expression on CD4+ and CD8+ effector memory T cells and aberrant distribution of functional CD4+ T cell subsets in patients with active MPO-AAV have critical roles related to kidney survival.

Diquat is used in agricultural contexts to control the growth of broadleaf and grassy weeds in both terrestrial and aquatic areas. Diquat can be readily absorbed by the soil and can remain therein for extended periods of time, altering the local microenvironment. In this study, the Meyerozyma guilliermondii Wyslmt yeast strain, which has the capacity to degrade Diquat, was isolated from soil exposed to long-term Diquat treatment. Over a 7-day incubation period, this strain was able to remove 42.51% of available Diquat (100 mg/L). RNA-Seq was performed to assess changes in gene expression in this yeast strain over the course of Diquat degradation, revealing 63 and 151 upregulated and downregulated genes, respectively. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed these genes to be most highly enriched in the carbohydrate metabolism pathway. Through functional annotation and gene expression analyses, we identified seven genes were predicted to be involved in Diquat biodegradation. Results of qRT-PCR assays indicated that the relative mRNA expression levels of these seven genes were significantly higher relative to the control group. Together these analyses led to the identification of DN676 as a candidate Diquat-degrading gene. When a pET-DN676 vector was expressed in E. coli BL21, this strain was able to remove 12.49% of provided Diquat (100 mg/L) over the course of a 7-day incubation. These results thus confirmed that the DN676 gene can promote Diquat degradation, with these studies having yielded an engineered BL21-pET-DN676 bacterial strain capable of degrading Diquat.

Metabolic reprogramming is one of the most prominent features underlying cancer cells progression and metastasis.Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in the clinical treatment of cancer, with the advantages of multi-pathway, multi-target, multi-component anti-tumor pharmacological effects and low risk of adverse effects. However, the mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor effects of TCM are not fully understood, especially on cellular metabolic reprogramming. In this review, we summarize the role of glucose, lipid and amino acid metabolism in cancer metastasis, which is key in cancer cells and tumor micro-environment (TME) cell metabolism. Furthermore, we reviewed the potential mechanisms by which, most bioactive TCM compounds suppress cancer metastasis by regulating metabolic reprogramming and the possibility of sensitizing other anti-tumor drugs. TCM and its bioactive compounds have huge prospects for clinical application in the treatment of cancer metastasis. Unfortunately, little is currently known about the regulatory effects of Chinese herbal medicines and their bioactive compounds on the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells and the combination therapy for cancers. This review provides novel insights into the regulation of metabolic reprogramming by TCM in combination with other anti-tumor drugs against cancer metastasis and the possibility of becoming sensitizers for other anti-tumor drugs.

BackgroundMonocytes are involved in the pathogenesis of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). Monocyte/macrophages are the dominant infiltrating cells in the glomeruli of patients with myeloperoxidase-AAV (MPO-AAV). However, how human monocyte subsets extravasate to the kidney in MPO-AAV with renal damage is unclear.Methods30 MPO-AAV patients with renal damage and 22 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Monocyte subsets and monocyte-related chemokines in the blood and kidneys of MPO-AAV patients were detected. The chemoattractant activity of the CX3CL1-CX3CR1 axis on CD16+ monocytes was observed. The effect of MPO-ANCA on the migration of CD16+ monocytes to human glomerular endothelial cells (HGECs) was detected by flow cytometry and transwell migration assay.ResultsCompared with controls, CD16+ monocytes were significantly decreased in the blood and increased in the glomeruli of MPO-AAV patients with renal damage. The level of CX3CL1, but not CCL2, was significantly increased in the plasma of MPO-AAV patients. CX3CL1 co-localized with glomerular endothelial cells in MPO-AAV patients with renal damage. Moreover, we initially found that MPO-ANCA promotes an increase of the chemokine CX3CL1 on HGECs, imposing recruitment on CD16+ monocytes. Finally, the percentage of CD16+ monocytes in the blood was found to be positively correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and negatively correlated with urinary protein creatinine ratio in MPO-AAV patients with renal damage. Furthermore, the urinary protein creatinine ratio was positively correlated with the infiltrating of CD14+ and CD16+ cells in the kidneys.ConclusionEnhanced extravasation of CD16+ monocytes to the kidney via the CX3CL1-CX3CR1 axis may be involved in renal damage in MPO-AAV.

Abstract Background Tourniquets are widely used in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but the issue of their safety remains controversial. Previous studies have focused on TKA blood loss, duration of surgery, and hemostatic drugs. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to analyze the effect of tourniquet use on postoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Methods PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for randomized clinical trials published before April 17, 2020, that compared the effect of tourniquet use on postoperative DVT, knee circumference, D-dimers, and pain measured using the visual analog scale (VAS). Results Fourteen clinical trials that included 1321 unique participants were included in the meta-analysis. Among the total, 721 and 600 participants were randomized to the tourniquet and non-tourniquet groups, respectively. The incidence of postoperative thrombosis in the tourniquet group was significantly higher than in the non-tourniquet group (RR 2.30, 95% CI 1.51–3.49, P < 0.0001, I 2 = 0%). On the 1st, 3rd, and 5th to 21st days, and 3 to 6 weeks after surgery, the knee circumference difference of the tourniquet group was significantly larger than that of the non-tourniquet group (P < 0.05). However, 4 to 6 months after the surgery, no significant difference in knee circumference was found between the two groups (MD 0.14, 95% CI −0.02–0.31, P = 0.09, I 2 = 0%). The VAS score of the tourniquet group was higher than the non-tourniquet group on the 3rd and 5th days after surgery (P < 0.05). However, this difference was not significant (MD 0.31, 95% CI −0.05–0.66, P = 0.09, I 2 = 89%). Conclusion Results of this meta-analysis indicate that tourniquet application could increase the incidence of postoperative DVT and aggravate postoperative pain and swelling in the short term. Level of evidence Level III

Quinones, redox-active functional groups in soil organic matter, can act as electron shuttles for microbial anaerobic transformation. Here, we used 13CH4 to trace 13C conversion (13C-CO2 + 13C-SOC) to investigate the influence of an artificial electron shuttle (anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate, AQDS) on denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) in paddy soil. The results showed that AQDS could act as the terminal electron acceptor for the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in the paddy field. Moreover, AQDS significantly enhanced nitrate-dependent AOM rates and the amount of 13C-CH4 assimilation to soil organic carbon (SOC), whereas it was remarkably reduced nitrite-dependent AOM rates and 13C assimilation. Ultimately, AQDS notably increased the total DAMO rates and 13C assimilation to SOC. However, the electron shuttle did not change the percentage of 13C-SOC in total 13C-CH4 conversion. These results suggest that electron shuttles in the natural organic matter might be able to offset methane emission by facilitating AOM coupled with the denitrification process.

The photoreduction for hazardous Cr(VI) in industrial wastewater has been considered a “green” approach with low-cost and easy-to-go operation. SnS2 is a promising narrow bandgap photocatalyst, but its low charge carrier separation efficiency should be solved first. In this work, N-doped carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were prepared and loaded onto SnS2 nanoparticles via an in situ method. The resulting composite samples (NC@SnS2) were characterized, and their photocatalytic performance was discussed. SnS2 nanoparticles were obtained as hexagonal ones with a bandgap of 2.19 eV. The optimal doping level for NC@SnS2 was citric acid: urea:SnS2 = 1.2 mmol:1.8 mmol:3.0 mmol. It showed an average diameter of 40 nm and improved photocatalytic performance, compared to pure SnS2, following a pseudo-first-order reaction with a kinetic rate constant of 0.1144 min−1. Over 97% of Cr(VI) was photo-reduced after 30 min. It was confirmed that modification of SnS2 with CQDs can not only improve the light-harvesting ability but also stimulate the charge separation, which therefore can enhance the photoreactivity of SnS2 toward Cr(VI) reduction. The excellent stability of NC@SnS2 indicates that it is promising to be practically used in industrial wastewater purification.

Tinnitus is an unpleasant symptom characterized by detective hearing without the actual sound input. Despite numerous studies elucidating a variety of pathomechanisms inducing tinnitus, the pathophysiology of tinnitus is not fully understood. The genes that are closely associated with this subtype of the auditory hallucination that could be utilized as potential treatment targets are still unknown. In this study, we explored the transcriptional profile changes of the auditory cortex after noise-induced tinnitus in rats using high throughput sequencing and verification of the detected genes using quantitative PCR (qPCR). Tinnitus models were established by analyzing startle behaviors through gap pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle. Two hundred and fifty-nine differential genes were identified, of which 162 genes were up-regulated and 97 genes were down-regulated. Analysis of the pathway enrichment indicated that the tinnitus group exhibited increased gene expression related to neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington’s disease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Based on the identified genes, networks of protein–protein interaction were established and five hub genes were identified through degree rank, including Fos, Nr4a1, Nr4a3, Egr2, and Egr3. Therein, the Fos gene ranked first with the highest degree after noise exposure, and may be a potential target for the modulation of noise-induced tinnitus.

Neurofeedback (NFB) is a relatively novel approach to the treatment of tinnitus, and prior studies have demonstrated that the increases in alpha activity rather than reduced delta power seem to drive these NFB-related improvements in tinnitus symptoms. The present study was therefore designed to explore whether the implementation of an alpha training protocol with a portable neurofeedback apparatus would achieve improvements in tinnitus patient symptoms. In this study, 38 tinnitus patients underwent NFB training while 18 were enrolled in a control group. The study was single-blinded such that only participants were not aware of their group assignments. Those in the NFB group underwent 15 NFB training sessions over 5 weeks, in addition to pre- and posttraining tests including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire (THQ), visual analog scales (VAS), electroencephalography (EEG), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Our result find that when the THI, THQ, and VAS scores of patients in the two groups were assessed after a 5-week training period, these scores were unchanged in control patients whereas they had significantly improved in the NFB group patients. EEG analyses revealed that the alpha band was increased in the occipital lobe following NFB treatment, while fMRI indicated an increase in regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the right frontal lobe of patients in the NFB group after treatment that was negatively correlated with THI and VAS scores. The results of this analysis indicate that alpha NFB training can be effectively used to reduce tinnitus-related distress and sound perception in patients.

Sinomenine (SIN) is an anti-inflammatory alkaloid derived from Sinomenium acutum, and the products sinomenine hydrochloride (SH) tablets and injections have been marketed in China to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Oral administration of SH has shortcomings of gastrointestinal irritation and low bioavailability. The injection may require professional training and higher cost. It is of interest to develop an alternative form that is easier to administer and avoids the first-pass metabolism. In this study, SH-loaded dissolving microneedles (SH-MN) were fabricated using polyvinyl pyrrolidone and chondroitin sulfate with a casting method. In percutaneous permeation studies of In vitro, the cumulative permeation and permeation rate of SH-MN were 5.31 and 5.06 times higher than that of SH-gel (SH-G). In percutaneous pharmacokinetic studies, the values of the area under the curve after administration of SH-MN in the skin and blood were 1.43- and 1.63-fold higher than that of SH-G, respectively. In percutaneous absorption studies, SH-MN could absorb into tissue fluid; and dissolve after skin penetration. The drug was released along the channel and spread to surrounding skin tissue. After 4 h, the needle tip was almost completely dissolved, and the drug could penetrate to a depth of 200 μm under the skin. These results demonstrate that the SH-MN is an effective, safe, and simple strategy for transdermal SH delivery.

Multi-class pest detection is one of the crucial components in pest management involving localization in addition to classification which is much more difficult than generic object detection because of the apparent differences among pest species. This paper proposes a region-based end-to-end approach named PestNet for large-scale multi-class pest detection and classification based on deep learning. PestNet consists of three major parts. First, a novel module channel-spatial attention (CSA) is proposed to be fused into the convolutional neural network (CNN) backbone for feature extraction and enhancement. The second one is called region proposal network (RPN) that is adopted for providing region proposals as potential pest positions based on extracted feature maps from images. Position-sensitive score map (PSSM), the third component, is used to replace fully connected (FC) layers for pest classification and bounding box regression. Furthermore, we apply contextual regions of interest (RoIs) as contextual information of pest features to improve detection accuracy. We evaluate PestNet on our newly collected large-scale pests' image dataset, Multi-class Pests Dataset 2018 (MPD2018) captured by our designed task-specific image acquisition equipment, covering more than 80k images with over 580k pests labeled by agricultural experts and categorized in 16 classes. The experimental results show that the proposed PestNet performs well on multi-class pest detection with 75.46% mean average precision (mAP), which outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

In agriculture, pest always causes the major damage in fields and results in significant crop yield losses. Currently, manual pest classification and counting are very time-consuming and many subjective factors can affect the population counting accuracy. In addition, the existing pest localization and recognition methods based on Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) are not satisfactory for practical pest prevention in fields because of pests' different scales and attitudes. In order to address these problems, an effective data augmentation strategy for CNN-based method is proposed in this paper. In training phase, we adopt data augmentation through rotating images by various degrees followed by cropping into different grids. In this way, we could obtain a large number of extra multi-scale examples that could be adopted to train a multi-scale pest detection model. In terms of test phase, we utilize the test time augmentation (TTA) strategy that separately inferences input images with various resolutions using the trained multi-scale model. Finally, we fuse these detection results from different image scales by non-maximum suppression (NMS) for the final result. Experimental results on wheat sawfly, wheat aphid, wheat mite and rice planthopper in our domain specific dataset, show that our proposed data augmentation strategy achieves the pest detection performance of 81.4% mean Average Precision (mAP), which improves 11.63%, 7.93%,4.73% compared to three state-of-the-art approaches.

Abstract Background Limited research has focused on the effect of Lactobacillus on the intestinal toxicity of deoxynivalenol (DON). The present study was conducted to investigate the role of Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) JM113 in protecting against the intestinal toxicity caused by DON. Methods A total of 144 one-day-old healthy Arbor Acres broilers were randomly distributed into 3 treatments, including the CON (basal diet), the DON (extra 10 mg/kg deoxynivalenol), and the DL (extra 1 × 109 CFU/ kg L. plantarum JM113 based on DON group) treatments. The growth performance, organ indexes, intestinal morphology, pancreatic digestive enzymes, intestinal secreted immunoglobulin A (sIgA), jejunal transcriptome, and intestinal microbiota were evaluated. Results Compared with the CON and DL groups, the DON supplementation altered intestinal morphology, especially in duodenum and jejunum, where villi were shorter and crypts were deeper (P

With global warming and ban on antibiotics, it occurs occasionally that deoxynivalenol (DON) together with Clostridium perfringens impairs the gut health of broiler chickens. However, the interactive effect of DON and C. perfringens on intestinal health is still unknown. A total of 120 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly distributed to 4 groups. Birds were gavaged with C. perfringens (8 × 108 CFU/d per bird) or sterile medium and fed a DON diet (0 or 5 mg of DON per kg diet) to investigate the interactive effects. The main effect analysis showed that DON diet significantly downregulated (P

Background. Waardenburg syndrome is an uncommon genetic condition characterized by at least some degree of congenital hearing loss and pigmentation deficiencies. However, the genetic pathway affecting the development of stria vascularis is not fully illustrated. Methods. The transcript profile of stria vascularis of Waardenburg syndrome was studied using Mitf-M mutant pig and mice models. Therefore, GO analysis was performed to identify the differential gene expression caused by Mitf-M mutation. Results. There were 113 genes in tyrosine metabolism, melanin formation, and ion transportations showed significant changes in pig models and 191 genes in mice models. In addition, there were some spice’s specific gene changes in the stria vascularis in the mouse and porcine models. The expression of tight junction-associated genes, including Cadm1, Cldn11, Pcdh1, Pcdh19, and Cdh24 genes, were significantly higher in porcine models compared to mouse models. Vascular-related and ion channel-related genes in the stria vascularis were also shown significantly difference between the two species. The expression of Col2a1, Col3a1, Col11a1, and Col11a2 genes were higher, and the expression of Col8a2, Cd34, and Ncam genes were lower in the porcine models compared to mouse models. Conclusions. Our data suggests that there is a significant difference on the gene expression and function between these two models.

Laccases can catalyze the remediation of hazardous synthetic dyes in an eco-friendly manner, and thermostable laccases are advantageous to treat high-temperature dyeing wastewater. A novel laccase from Geothermobacter hydrogeniphilus (Ghlac) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Ghlac containing 263 residues was characterized as a functional laccase of the DUF152 family. By structural and biochemical analyses, the conserved residues H78, C119, and H136 were identified to bind with one copper atom to fulfill the laccase activity. In order to make it more suitable for industrial use, Ghlac variant Mut2 with enhanced thermostability was designed. The half-lives of Mut2 at 50 °C and 60 °C were 80.6 h and 9.8 h, respectively. Mut2 was stable at pH values ranging from 4.0 to 8.0 and showed a high tolerance for organic solvents such as ethanol, acetone, and dimethyl sulfoxide. In addition, Mut2 decolorized approximately 100% of 100 mg/L of malachite green dye in 3 h at 70 °C. Furthermore, Mut2 eliminated the toxicity of malachite green to bacteria and Zea mays. In summary, the thermostable laccase Ghlac Mut2 could effectively decolorize and detoxify malachite green at high temperatures, showing great potential to remediate the dyeing wastewater.

In this paper spectral Galerkin approximation of optimal control problem governed by fractional advection diffusion reaction equation with integral state constraint is investigated. First order optimal condition of the control problem is discussed. Weighted Jacobi polynomials are used to approximate the state and adjoint state. A priori error estimates for control, state, adjoint state and Lagrangian multiplier are derived. Numerical experiment is carried out to illustrate the theoretical findings.

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is eliciting considerable attention in relation to the carbon cycle and carbon neutrality. As for the practical application of CO2RR, the electrocatalyst is a crucial factor, but, even so, designing and synthesizing an excellent catalyst remains a significant challenge. In this paper, the coordination compound of Ni ions and dimethylglyoxime (DMG) was employed as a precursor to modify reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for CO2RR. The textural properties and chemical bonds of as-obtained rGO, N–C–rGO, Ni–rGO, Ni–N–C, and Ni–N–C–rGO materials were investigated in detail, and the role of Ni, N–C, and rGO in the CO2RR were researched and confirmed. Among all the catalysts, the Ni–N–C–rGO showed the optimal catalytic activity and selectivity with a high current density of 10 mA cm−2 and FE(CO)% of 85% at −0.87 V vs. RHE. In addition, there was no obvious decrease in activity for 10 h. Therefore, the Ni–N–C–rGO is a promising catalyst for CO2RR to CO.

Euphorbia lathyris is a biennial herb plant in China. The seed is commonly used in well-known traditional Chinese medicine, and it has anti-tumor, p-glycoprotein and tyrosinase inhibitory activities. The length of circular chloroplast genome was 162,571 bp, containing a large single-copy region of 91,946 bp, a small single-copy region of 17,301 bp and two inverted repeat regions of 26,662 bp. The chloroplast genome contained 128 genes, including 85 protein-coding, 8 rRNA, and 35 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that E. lathyris, E. kansui and E. esulaare are closely related to each other.

Senna bicapsularis is an important flowering, ornamental plant. The extracts showed antioxidant activity and antibacterial properties. In addition, S. bicapsularis can be used as a model woody plants. In the present study, the complete chloroplast genome was sequenced. The result showed that the length of circular chloroplast genome was 162,744 bp, containing a large single-copy region of 91,176 bp, a small single-copy region of 18,264 bp, and two inverted repeat regions of 26,652 bp. The chloroplast genome contained 128 genes, including 83 protein-coding, eight rRNA, and 37 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that S. bicapsularis has closely relationship with Senna occidentalis, Senna tora and Senna siamea.

Increasing grain production is essential to those areas where food is scarce. Increasing grain production by controlling crop diseases and pests in time should be effective. To construct video detection system for plant diseases and pests, and to build a real-time crop diseases and pests video detection system in the future, a deep learning-based video detection architecture with a custom backbone was proposed for detecting plant diseases and pests in videos. We first transformed the video into still frame, then sent the frame to the still-image detector for detection, and finally synthesized the frames into video. In the still-image detector, we used faster-RCNN as the framework. We used image-training models to detect relatively blurry videos. Additionally, a set of video-based evaluation metrics based on a machine learning classifier was proposed, which reflected the quality of video detection effectively in the experiments. Experiments showed that our system with the custom backbone was more suitable for detection of the untrained rice videos than VGG16, ResNet-50, ResNet-101 backbone system and YOLOv3 with our experimental environment.

Skin-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) can differentiate into the three embryonic germ layers. For this reason, they are considered a powerful tool for therapeutic cloning and offer new possibilities for tissue therapy. Recent studies showed that skin-derived stem cells can differentiate into cells expressing germ-cell specific markers in vitro and form oocytes in vivo. The idea that SMSCs may be suitable for the treatment of intractable diseases or traumatic tissue damage has attracted attention. To determine the ability of SMSCs to reactivate injured ovaries, a mouse model with ovaries damaged by busulfan and cyclophosphamide was developed and is described here. Female skin-derived mesenchymal stem cells (F-SMSCs) and male skin-derived mesenchymal stem cells (M-SMSCs) from red fluorescence protein (RFP) transgenic adult mice were used to investigate the restorative effects of SMSCs on ovarian function. Significant increases in total body weight and the weight of reproductive organs were observed in the treated animals. Both F-SMSCs and M-SMSCs were shown to be capable of partially restoring fertility in chemotherapy-treated females. Immunostaining with RFP and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) antibodies demonstrated that the grafted SMSCs survived, migrated to the recipient ovaries. After SMSCs were administered to the treated mice, real-time PCR showed that the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, TGF-β, IL-8, IL-6, IL-1β, and IFNγ were significantly lower in the ovaries than in the untreated controls. Consistent with this observation, expression of oogenesis marker genes Nobox, Nanos3, and Lhx8 increased in ovaries of SMSCs-treated mice. These findings suggest that SMSCs may play a role within the ovarian follicle microenvironment in restoring the function of damaged ovaries and could be useful in reproductive health.