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Abstract Wastewater containing methanesulfonic acid (MSA) mainly originates from the production process of metal detergent, which also contributes significantly to environmental pollution. This study investigates the extraction of MSA from wastewater using trioctylamine (TOA). A thorough investigation was carried out into the factors that affect extraction efficiency, such as the type of extractant, phase ratio (O/A), temperature, stirring speed, and extraction time. An extraction efficiency of 96.1% was achieved using TOA at 25 °C, 1400 r·min− 1, and an extraction time of 30 min. Various techniques including FT-IR, XPS, and high-resolution ESI-MS were employed to investigate the extraction mechanism. The results of different techniques revealed that the complexation between TOA and MSA occurred through ionic and hydrogen bonding interactions. Moreover, TOA was successfully regenerated through back-extraction with sodium hydroxide. The proposed extraction system is advantageous for eco-friendly engineering applications.

Background: The genus Opuntia contains a handful of widespread invasive species, posing significant ecological threats worldwide. In China, the first records of two populations from the O. humifusa complex have become invasive and continue to expand recently. The expansion of these populations and the complexities of accurately identifying them within the complex highlight the urgent need for comprehensive study. Accurate species identification, early detection, and potential distribution modeling are considered as crucial and cost-effective measures to prevent plant invasions, significantly reducing the resources required for formulating effective management strategies. Here, we employ phylogeny, plastid genomics, and MaxEnt modeling to address the species identification and spread potential to enhance our understanding of the ecological implications of these new invasive populations and O. humifusa complex in China. Results: Morphological and molecular analyses indicate that both populations are identified as O. humifusa within the complex. ArcGIS and the MaxEnt model predict potential invasion areas of O. humifusa complex within central and eastern China, with climatic change scenarios suggesting an overall increase in suitable habitats. Key environmental factors include precipitation of driest quarter, max temperature of warmest month, and solar radiation, collectively shaping the complex’s potential distribution. Conclusion: This study enhances our understanding of the O. humifusa complex's ecological and invasive dynamics in China, offering invaluable insights for ecological management and biodiversity preservation. Through comprehensive research, we provide a basis for proactive measures against the complex's expansion.

Invasive weed seeds pose a huge threat to local ecosystems, and it is of great significance to accurately classify invasive weed seeds. Leveraging the rapid advancements in deep learning, various methods have become potential solutions to this problem. In this study, we constructed a large dataset of invasive weed seeds in China and proposed a novel approach to address the identification of species caused by the high similarity among species within the same genus, utilizing Hierarchical Bilinear Pooling (HBP) with ResNet50 as the backbone network. To validate the efficacy of our method, we conducted comparative experiments with classic models in the field of fine-grained recognition. Our evaluation encompassed overall benchmark performance, classification for similar species within the genus, and the classification of species of different sizes. The results demonstrated the HBP-ResNet50 model achieved an outstanding overall benchmark performance accuracy of 99.1 %. Even in Amaranthus and Euphorbia which have highly similar seed morphology, it can achieve high accuracy of 97.94 % and 96.19 %, respectively. The model achieved high accuracy across different sizes of seeds, especially reaching an astonishing 99.18 % in the medium size (1–5 mm). These exceptional results establish the superior performance of HBP-ResNet50. This research has greatly improved the detection efficiency and accuracy, helps curtailing the proliferation of invasive weed seeds, and reduces damage to agricultural ecosystems and economic property losses. The success of our work encourages the future application of this method in the classification of plants, insects, and other relevant fields.

Objective To assess the effects of telerehabilitation on clinical symptoms, physical function, psychological function and quality of life (QoL) in patients with post-COVID-19.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Data sources PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched for publications from 1 January 2020 to 17 April 2024.Eligibility criteria RCTs investigating the effects of telerehabilitation in patients with post-COVID-19 were included. The outcomes of interest encompassed clinical symptoms, physical function, psychological function and QoL. Only studies reported in English were included.Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers independently extracted data and evaluated the risk of bias. Statistical analysis was conducted using Review Manager V.5.3, employing mean difference (MD) with a 95% CI, and the corresponding P value was used to ascertain the treatment effect between groups. Heterogeneity was quantified using the I2 statistic. The quality of evidence was assessed by GRADE.Results 16 RCTs (n=1129) were included in this systematic review, 15 of which (n=1095, 16 comparisons) were included in the meta-analysis. The primary pooled analysis demonstrated that, compared with no rehabilitation or usual care, telerehabilitation can improve physical function (measured by 30 s sit-to-stand test [6 RCTs, n=310, MD=1.58 stands, 95% CI 0.50 to 2.66; p=0.004]; 6 min walking distance [6 RCTs, n=324, MD=76.90 m, 95% CI 49.47 to 104.33; p

Abstract The digital economy provides new impetus for the high-quality development of manufacturing industry. Through the DEA-Malmquist model and panel regression model, this paper confirmed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the development of digital economy and the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of manufacturing industry. The research result is as follows: (1) the development of digital economy can enhance the overall GTFP of manufacturing industry. (2) The green technology progress brought by the development of digital economy is the main path to promote the GTFP of manufacturing industry. (3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of digital economy on GTFP of high pollution manufacturing industry is significantly positive, the impact of labor-intensive manufacturing industry is significantly negative, and the impact of technology intensive manufacturing industry is not obvious. The contributions of this study are as follow. In terms of theory, this study theoretically continues Solow’s classical theory, demonstrating the scientific nature of digital technology progress in promoting GTFP growth. In empirical analysis, this study build a new digital economy development level evaluation index system based on the perspective of manufacturing industry. In addition, this study also add a labor-technology-pollution perspective for the development of relevant policies.

BackgroundThe cochineal cactus (Opuntia cochenillifera), notable for its substantial agricultural and industrial applications, predominantly undergoes clonal reproduction, which presents significant challenges in breeding and germplasm innovation. Recent developments in mitochondrial genome engineering offer promising avenues for introducing heritable mutations, potentially facilitating selective sexual reproduction through the creation of cytoplasmic male sterile genotypes. However, the lack of comprehensive mitochondrial genome information for Opuntia species hinders these efforts. Here, we intended to sequence and characterize its mitochondrial genome to maximize the potential of its genomes for evolutionary studies, molecular breeding, and molecular marker developments.ResultsWe sequenced the total DNA of the O. cochenillifera using DNBSEQ and Nanopore platforms. The mitochondrial genome was then assembled using a hybrid assembly strategy using Unicycler software. We found that the mitochondrial genome of O. cochenillifera has a length of 1,156,235 bp, a GC content of 43.06%, and contains 54 unique protein-coding genes and 346 simple repeats. Comparative genomic analysis revealed 48 homologous fragments shared between mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes, with a total length of 47,935 bp. Additionally, the comparison of mitochondrial genomes from four Cactaceae species highlighted their dynamic nature and frequent mitogenomic reorganizations.ConclusionOur study provides a new perspective on the evolution of the organelle genome and its potential application in genetic breeding. These findings offer valuable insights into the mitochondrial genetics of Cactaceae, potentially facilitating future research and breeding programs aimed at enhancing the genetic diversity and adaptability of O. cochenillifera by leveraging its unique mitochondrial genome characteristics.

Platinum-based chemotherapy resistance is a key factor of poor prognosis and recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, RNAseq analysis revealed that elevated tubulin folding cofactor E (TBCE) expression is associated with platinum-based chemotherapy resistance. High expression of TBCE contributes to worse prognoses and earlier recurrence among liver cancer patients. Mechanistically, TBCE silencing significantly affects cytoskeleton rearrangement, which in turn increases cisplatin-induced cycle arrest and apoptosis. To develop these findings into potential therapeutic drugs, endosomal pH-responsive nanoparticles (NPs) were developed to simultaneously encapsulate TBCE siRNA and cisplatin (DDP) to reverse this phenomena. NPs (siTBCE + DDP) concurrently silenced TBCE expression, increased cell sensitivity to platinum treatment, and subsequently resulted in superior anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in vivo in orthotopic and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Taken together, NP-mediated delivery and the co-treatment of siTBCE + DDP proved to be effective in reversing chemotherapy resistance of DDP in multiple tumor models.

Influenza viruses pose a significant and ongoing threat to human health. Many host factors have been identified to be associated with influenza virus infection. However, there is currently a lack of an integrated resource for these host factors. This study integrated human genes and proteins associated with influenza virus infections for 14 subtypes of influenza A viruses, as well as influenza B and C viruses, and built a database named H2Flu to store and organize these genes or proteins. The database includes 28,639 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 1,850 differentially expressed proteins, and 442 proteins with differential posttranslational modifications after influenza virus infection, as well as 3,040 human proteins that interact with influenza virus proteins and 57 human susceptibility genes. Further analysis showed that the dynamic response of human cells to virus infection, cell type and strain specificity contribute significantly to the diversity of DEGs. Additionally, large heterogeneity was also observed in protein-protein interactions between humans and different types or subtypes of influenza viruses. Overall, the study deepens our understanding of the diversity and complexity of interactions between influenza viruses and humans, and provides a valuable resource for further studies on such interactions.

The tricarboxylic acid cycle is an important metabolic route in almost all living bodies, yet current analytical methods for the detection of the relevant tricarboxylic acids (TCAs) in biological samples are still unsatisfactory due to their complex matrix and physicochemical properties. In this work, a sample method based on solid phase extraction (SPE) in conjunction with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 7 TCAs, including α-ketoglutaric acid, malic acid, malonic acid, aconitic acid, citric acid, succinic acid and fumaric acid, in mice faeces. By treatment with macroporous styrene chelate resin and solid phase extraction, the matrix in mice feces was selectively and efficiently removed. Under optimized parameters, the limit of quantitation for the TCAs was in the range of 1-50 ng/mL, and the content of the TCAs in mice feces was determined with a recovery range of 76.2 % to 128.4 %. Interestingly, the content of malic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid and fumaric acid in the normal mice's feces was found to be 2-10 times higher than that of obese mice, indicating a new potential method for the diagnosis of obesity.

Severe pollution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and their brominated analogues (PBDD/Fs) was frequently reported for the waters located near unregulated e-waste recycling areas. However, the migrations of these high-level dioxins via waterways and their potential threats to the lower reaches were seldom investigated. In this study, we analyzed PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs in 27 surficial sediments collected from the Lian River encompassing the Guiyu, China e-waste recycling zone, and investigated their distributions, sources, migration behaviors and risks. Both PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs in these sediments exhibited a spatial trend of Guiyu > Guiyu downriver > Guiyu upriver, illustrating that the Guiyu e-waste recycling activities were the uppermost dioxin contributors in this watershed. Sediments from different Guiyu villages demonstrated big gaps in PCDD/F concentrations and congener compositions, and the reason was attributed to the diverse e-waste recycling activities practiced in these villages. Sediments near the e-waste open-burning areas demonstrated extremely high PCDD/F concentrations and unique PCDD/F profiles featured by low-chlorinated PCDFs (tetra- to hexa-), which is quite different from the OCDD-dominant PCDD/F profile found in most of the Lian River sediments. The geographical distributions of PCDD/F concentrations and profiles illustrate that the substantial amount of PCDD/Fs in Guiyu sediments were mainly retained in local and vicinal water bodies. The principal component analysis (PCA) results further confirm that the high-level PCDD/Fs in Guiyu sediments exhibited quite limited translocations downstream and therefore exerted little influences on the lower reaches. Pentachlorophenol use in history, ceramic industry and vehicle exhaust were diagnosed as the major PCDD/F sources for most sediments of the Lian River. Total toxicity equivalent quantities (TEQs) of 70% of the Lian River sediments surpassed the high-risk limit specified for mammalian life by the U.S.EPA (25 pg TEQ g−1), and most of these sediments were from Guiyu and its near downstream, which merit continuous attention and necessary remediation measures.

As concerns about ocean acidification continue to grow, the importance of macroalgal communities in buffering coastal seawater biogeochemistry through their metabolisms is gaining more attention. However, studies on diel and seasonal fluctuations in seawater chemistry within these communities are still rare. Here, we characterized the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in diel and seasonal dynamics of seawater carbonate chemistry and dissolved oxygen (DO) in three types of macroalgal habitats (UAM: ulvoid algal mat dominated, TAM: turf algal mat dominated, and SC: Sargassum horneri and coralline algae dominated). Our results show that diel fluctuations in carbonate parameters and DO varied significantly among habitat types and seasons due to differences in their biological metabolisms (photosynthesis and calcification) and each site’s hydrological characteristics. Specifically, carbonate parameters were most affected by biological metabolisms at the SC site, and by environmental variables at the UAM site. Also, we demonstrate that macroalgal communities reduced ocean acidification conditions when ocean temperatures supported photosynthesis and thereby the absorption of dissolved inorganic carbon. However, once temperatures exceeded the optimum ranges for macroalgae, respiration within these communities exceeded photosynthesis and increased CO2 concentrations, thereby exacerbating ocean acidification conditions. We conclude that the seawater carbonate chemistry is strongly influenced by the metabolisms of the dominant macroalgae within these different habitat types, which may, in turn, alter their buffering capacity against ocean acidification.

Abstract Background Kelps (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) are brown macroalgae of utmost ecological, and increasingly economic, importance on temperate to polar rocky shores. Omics approaches in brown algae are still scarce and knowledge of their acclimation mechanisms to the changing conditions experienced in coastal environments can benefit from the application of RNA-sequencing. Despite evidence of ecotypic differentiation, transcriptomic responses from distinct geographical locations have, to our knowledge, never been studied in the sugar kelp Saccharina latissima so far. Results In this study we investigated gene expression responses using RNA-sequencing of S. latissima from environments with contrasting temperature and salinity conditions – Roscoff, in temperate eastern Atlantic, and Spitsbergen in the Arctic. Juvenile sporophytes derived from uniparental stock cultures from both locations were pre-cultivated at 8 °C and SA 30. Sporophytes acclimated to 0 °C, 8 °C and 15 °C were exposed to a low salinity treatment (SA 20) for 24 h. Hyposalinity had a greater impact at the transcriptomic level than the temperature alone, and its effects were modulated by temperature. Namely, photosynthesis and pigment synthesis were extensively repressed by low salinity at low temperatures. Although some responses were shared among sporophytes from the different sites, marked differences were revealed by principal component analysis, differential expression and GO enrichment. The interaction between low temperature and low salinity drove the largest changes in gene expression in sporophytes from Roscoff while specimens from Spitsbergen required more metabolic adjustment at higher temperatures. Moreover, genes related to cell wall adjustment were differentially expressed between Spitsbergen and Roscoff control samples. Conclusions Our study reveals interactive effects of temperature and salinity on transcriptomic profiles in S. latissima. Moreover, our data suggest that under identical culture conditions sporophytes from different locations diverge in their transcriptomic responses. This is probably connected to variations in temperature and salinity in their respective environment of origin. The current transcriptomic results support the plastic response pattern in sugar kelp which is a species with several reported ecotypes. Our data provide the baseline for a better understanding of the underlying processes of physiological plasticity and may help in the future to identify strains adapted to specific environments and its genetic control.

Kelps in the Arctic region are facing challenging natural conditions. They experience over 120 days of darkness during the polar night surviving on storage compounds without conducting photosynthesis. Furthermore, the Arctic is experiencing continuous warming as a consequence of climate change. Such temperature increase may enhance the metabolic activity of kelps, using up storage compounds faster. As the survival strategy of kelps during darkness in the warming Arctic is poorly understood, we studied the physiological and transcriptomic responses of Saccharina latissima, one of the most common kelp species in the Arctic, after a 2-week dark exposure at two temperatures (0 and 4°C) versus the same temperatures under low light conditions. Growth rates were decreased in darkness but remained stable at two temperatures. Pigments had higher values in darkness and at 4°C. Darkness had a greater impact on the transcriptomic performance of S. latissima than increased temperature according to the high numbers of differentially expressed genes between dark and light treatments. Darkness generally repressed the expression of genes coding for glycolysis and metabolite biosynthesis, as well as some energy-demanding processes, such as synthesis of photosynthetic components and transporters. Moreover, increased temperature enhanced these repressions, while the expression of some genes encoding components of the lipid and laminaran catabolism, glyoxylate cycle and signaling were enhanced in darkness. Our study helps to understand the survival strategy of kelp in the early polar night and its potential resilience to the warming Arctic.

Seeds of exotic plants transported with imported goods pose a risk of alien species invasion in cross-border transportation and logistics. It is critical to develop stringent inspection and quarantine protocols with active management to control the import and export accompanied by exotic seeds. As a result, a method for promptly identifying exotic plant seeds is urgently needed. In this study, we built a database containing 3000 images of seeds of 12 invasive plants and proposed an improved YOLOv5 target detection algorithm that incorporates a channel attention mechanism. Given that certain seeds in the same family and genus are very similar in appearance and are thus difficult to differentiate, we improved the size model of the initial anchor box to converge better; moreover, we introduce three attention modules, SENet, CBAM, and ECA-Net, to enhance the extraction of globally important features while suppressing the weakening of irrelevant features, thereby effectively solving the problem of automated inspection of similar species. Experiments on an invasive alien plant seed data set reveal that the improved network model fused with ECA-Net requires only a small increase in parameters when compared to the original YOLOv5 network model and achieved greater classification and detection accuracy without affecting detection speed.

Two undescribed ether derivatives of sesquiterpenes, 1-ethoxycaryolane-1, 9β-diol (1) and 2-ethoxyclovane-2β, 9α-diol (3), and one new monoterpene glycoside, p-menthane-1α,2α,8-triol-4-O-β-D-glucoside (5), were obtained, together with eight known compounds from the stems and leaves of I. simonsii. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1–11 were evaluated for their potency against Staphylococcus aureus and clinical methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Among them, compound 3 was weakly active against S. aureus (MIC = 128 μg/mL), and compounds 6 and 7 exhibited good antibacterial activity against S. aureus and MRSA (MICs = 2–8 µg/mL). A primary mechanism study revealed that compounds 6 and 7 could kill bacteria by destroying bacterial cell membranes. Moreover, compounds 6 and 7 were not susceptible to drug resistance development.

This paper examined the effects of the social context (media communication, face-to-face communication, and friend and kinship network) on pre decisional processes of individual protective action. A two-stage survey was carried out aimed at residents in Beijing communities in half a year, and then the data were disposed from three aspects: Common Method Variance, non-parametric test, and Exploratory Factor Analysis. Based on the pretest data (N=344) and the posttest data (N=351), analyses were implemented from aspects of competing model analysis, hypothesis path test, and Multiple Group Analysis with the method of Structural Equation Modeling. Results: First, media communication activities can influence individual reception of risk information, which influence is the strongest among social context variables; moreover education attainment and age can influence it significantly. Then media channel should be diverse with respect to the different groups in order to increase the degree of information reception. Second, face-to-face communication activities can influence individual attention behavior; at the same time, it can also influence media communication; in addition, education attainment and income level are can influence it significantly. Then physical activities should be specific with respect to different socioeconomic strata in order to raise the degree of information attention. Third, friendly and kinship network does not influence any pre decisional processes variable, but it can influence face-to-face communication instead. Then it can be seen that the role of social conformity should be emphasized in order to enhance the degree of individual participation. Fourth, no social context variable can exert significant influence on comprehension behavior. Then it can be seen that the literal problem should be emphasized in order to improve the degree of understanding of risk communication. Future research should cover the particular social context as regards demographic characteristics, the facilitating and barriers inside risk information, and the relationship between social conformity and risk communication.

The mechanical simulation instrument of flight simulator can meet the display visual error specified by the new regulations. By studying the working principle of the flight simulator mechanical simulation instrument, it can be seen that the mechanical simulation instrument can be quickly converted into other instruments of the same series by changing the dial. Taking the oxygen pressure indicating instrument of flight simulator as an example, this paper introduces the design principle, design circuit diagram, design angle calculation and software architecture of the instrument. It was installed on the CJ1 flight simulator for transmission delay testing. Test results show that the simulation instrument can fully meet the regulatory requirements

Background; Previous studies have found that kaempferol can relieve pulmonary hypertension (PH).Objective;Explore the protective impact of kaempferol on pulmonary vascular endothelium in rats with high altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH).Materials and methods; In a simulated altitude of 5000 m environment, rats were induced to develop HAPH after continuous intragastric administration of kaempferol (25, 50 and 100 mg·kg−1) and Sildenafil (30 mg·kg−1) for 28 days. Assessment of isolated pulmonary arterial rings in rats and relevant indicators in lung tissue was performed, with the mechanism of action investigated using Western blotting. Results; Kaempferol effectively dilates rat pulmonary arterial rings, with an EC50 of 55.75 μmol/L. L-NAME can effectively counteract the vasodilatory effect of kaempferol. Acetylcholine demonstrated better relaxation of pulmonary arterial rings in HAPH rats after kaempferol intervention. Elastic Van Gieson staining (EVG) and immunohistochemistry (CD31) results indicate that kaempferol can partially protect pulmonary vascular endothelial function in HAPH rats. Western blotting reveals that kaempferol has the ability to regulate the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS). This leads to a compensatory increase in eNOS expression, upregulation of AMPK activity, and downregulation of eNOS monomer/dimer levels. Conclusions; Kaempferol can improve pulmonary vascular endothelial dysfunction caused by chronic hypoxia by upregulating the phosphorylation level of AMPK, regulating the RAS system, and inhibiting eNOS uncoupling, thereby achieving vasodilation and endothelial protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Spin-polarized edge states in two-dimensional materials hold promise for spintronics and quantum computing applications. Constructing stable edge states by tailoring two-dimensional semiconductor materials with bulk-boundary correspondence is a feasible approach. Recently layered NiI2 is suggested as a two-dimensional type-II multiferroic semiconductor with intrinsic spiral spin ordering and chirality-induced electric polarization. However, the one-dimensional spin-polarized edge states of multiferroic materials down to monolayer limit has not yet been studied. We report here that monolayer NiI2 was successfully synthesized on Au(111) by molecular beam epitaxy. Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy experiments visualize orientation-selective spin-polarized edge states in monolayer NiI2 islands. By performing first-principles calculations, we further confirm that spin-polarized edge states are selectively aligning along the Ni-terminated edges rather than the I-terminated edges. Our result will provide the opportunity to tune edge states by selected orientation and to develop spintronic devices in two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors.