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Background: Iron plays a crucial role in the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). However, the precise regulatory mechanism governing this system requires further elucidation. Additionally, limited studies have examined the impact of gene mutations related to iron on the transmission of M. tuberculosis globally. This research aims to investigate the correlation between mutations in iron-related genes and the worldwide transmission of M. tuberculosis. Results: A total of 13,532 isolates of M. tuberculosis were included in this study. Among them, 6,104 (45.11%) were identified as genomic clustered isolates, while 8,395 (62.04%) were classified as genomic clade isolates. Our results showed that a total of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed a positive correlation with clustering, such as Rv1469 (ctpD, C758T), Rv3703c (etgB, G1122T), and Rv3743c (ctpJ, G676C). Additionally, seven SNPs, including Rv0104 (T167G, T478G), Rv0211 (pckA, A302C), Rv0283 (eccB3, C423T), Rv1436 (gap, G654T), ctpD C758T, and etgB C578A, demonstrated a positive correlation with transmission clades across different countries. Notably, our findings highlighted the positive association of Rv0104 T167G, pckA A302C, eccB3 C423T, ctpD C758T, and etgB C578A with transmission clades across diverse regions. Furthermore, our analysis identified 78 SNPs that exhibited significant associations with clade size. Conclusions: Our study reveals the link between iron-related gene SNPs and M. tuberculosis transmission, offering insights into crucial factors influencing the pathogenicity of the disease. This research holds promise for targeted strategies in prevention and treatment, advancing research and interventions in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The local hemodynamic response after cupping therapy has been considered as a contributing factor for improving muscle tissue health; however, the effects of cupping pressure and duration on the spatial hemodynamic response have not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the hemodynamic response inside and outside the cupping cup under various pressures and durations of cupping therapy. METHODS: A 3-way factorial design with repeated measures was used to investigate the main and interaction effects of the location (areas inside and outside the cup), pressure (- 225 and - 300 mmHg) and duration (5 and 10 min) on the hemodynamic response of the biceps muscle. A functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to assess hemodynamic changes in 18 participants. RESULTS: A significant three-way interaction of the location, pressure, and duration factors was observed in oxyhemoglobin (p = 0.023), deoxy-hemoglobin (p = 0.013), and blood volume (p = 0.013). A significant increase was observed in oxyhemoglobin, blood volume, and oxygenation compared to pre-cupping (p < 0.05) in the area outside the cup. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that an appropriate combination of cupping pressure and duration can effectively affect the spatial hemodynamic response of the biceps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fatty acid metabolism greatly promotes the virulence and pathogenicity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). However, the regulatory mechanism of fatty acid metabolism in M.tb remains to be elucidated, and limited evidence about the effects of gene mutations in fatty acid metabolism on the transmission of M.tb was reported. Results: Overall, a total of 3193 M.tb isolates were included in the study, of which 1596 (50%) were genomic clustered isolates. Most of the tuberculosis isolates belonged to lineage2(n = 2744,85.93%), followed by lineage4(n = 439,13.75%) and lineage3(n = 10,0.31%).Regression results showed that the mutations of gca (136,605, 317G > C, Arg106Pro; OR, 22.144; 95% CI, 2.591-189.272), ogt(1,477,346, 286G > C ,Gly96Arg; OR, 3.893; 95%CI, 1.432–10.583), and rpsA (1,834,776, 1235 C > T, Ala412Val; OR, 3.674; 95% CI, 1.217–11.091) were significantly associated with clustering; mutations in gca and rpsA were also significantly associated with clustering of lineage2. Mutation in arsA(3,001,498, 885 C > G, Thr295Thr; OR, 6.278; 95% CI, 2.508–15.711) was significantly associated with cross-regional clusters. We also found that 20 mutation sites were positively correlated with cluster size, while 11 fatty acid mutation sites were negatively correlated with cluster size. Conclusion: Our research results suggested that mutations in genes related to fatty acid metabolism were related to the transmission of M.tb. This research could help in the future control of the transmission of M.tb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Two-component systems (TCSs) assume a pivotal function in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tuberculosis) growth. However, the exact regulatory mechanism of this system needs to be elucidated, and only a few studies have investigated the effect of gene mutations within TCSs on M.tuberculosis transmission. This research explored the relationship between TCSs gene mutation and the global transmission of (M.tuberculosis). Results: A total of 13531 M.tuberculosis strains were enrolled in the study. Most of the M.tuberculosis strains belonged to lineage4 (n=6497,48.0%), followed by lineage2 (n=5136,38.0%). Our results showed that a total of 36 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were positively correlated with clustering of lineage2, such as Rv0758 (phoR, C820G), Rv1747(T1102C), and Rv1057(C1168T). A total of 30 SNPs showed positive correlation with clustering of lineage4, such as phoR(C182A, C1184G, C662T, T758G), Rv3764c (tcrY, G1151T), and Rv1747 C20T. A total of 19 SNPs were positively correlated with cross-country transmission of lineage2, such as phoR A575C, Rv1028c (kdpD, G383T, G1246C), and Rv1057 G817T. A total of 41 SNPs were positively correlated with cross-country transmission of lineage4, such as phoR(T758G, T327G, C284G), kdpD(G1755A, G625C), Rv1057 C980T, and Rv1747 T373G. Conclusions: Our study identified that SNPs in genes of two-component systems were related to the transmission of M. tuberculosis. This finding adds another layer of complexity to M. tuberculosis virulence and provides insight into future research that will help to elucidate a novel mechanism of M. tuberculosis pathogenicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) can induce apoptosis of cancer cells; however, it is often limited by severe triggering conditions and hypoxic microenvironments of solid tumors. To address these issues, herein, we have designed a MOF-coated upconversion nanoconstruct (UCTSCF, referring to UC@Ce6/TFS@mSiO2@MIL-100(Cu/Fe)) for synergetic photochemodynamic therapy (PCT)/oxygen-elevated photodynamic therapy (PDT). The MOF (MIL-100(Fe)) coating with Cu-doping was designed to catalyze H2O2 overexpression in cancer cells to generate the most cytotoxic ˙OH via chemodynamic therapy (CDT). It is noted that UC, representing 808 nm driven upconversion nanoparticles with high tissue penetration depth/low over-heating effects, was designed to provide intense blue light which can relieve the severe triggering conditions of CDT via PCT. Furthermore, the functional layer of the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) and O2-carrying triethoxy(1H,1H,2H,2H-nonafluorohexyl)silane (TFS) co-doped mesoporous silicon (Ce6/TFS@mSiO2) can cause oxygen-elevated 1O2 production upon 671 nm light irradiation. In such a simple ROS generation nanoplatform, we heighten the antitumor effect via oxygen-elevated synergetic tumor PCT/PDT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Post fire tests of the high strength Q960 steel columns were carried out. • Numerical models were developed to predict post fire response of Q960 steel columns. • A post-fire design method was proposed to evaluate the load capacity of Q960 steel columns after fire exposure. High-strength steel exhibits extensive potential in large-span buildings and bridges. Therefore, it is of great significance to clarify its mechanical properties particularly in the realm of post-fire building repair and reconstruction, making it imperative to elucidate its bearing capacity after exposure to elevated temperatures. To comprehensively investigate the overall stability of high-strength Q960 steel columns under high-temperature conditions, a series of axial compression bearing capacity tests are conducted on eight Q960 steel columns—four of which featured H-shaped sections and the remaining four being box-shaped sections. The design of these members considered the effects of slenderness ratio and temperature. At the same time, the residual stress and geometric initial defects of the steel column were measured. Furthermore, the axial compression model for Q960 steel columns, encompassing both room and high-temperature scenarios, was established using the ABAQUS finite element software. This model duly accounted for the influence of residual stress and geometric initial defects. Subsequently, the test outcomes, encompassing horizontal and vertical displacements, ultimate bearing capacity, and failure mode, were compared with the results obtained from finite element analysis. This comparison serves to validate the accuracy of the model while facilitating parameter analysis. The results based on both the finite element analysis and experimental findings, indicate that when employing the Chinese code GB 50,017–2017, the stability coefficient calculation for Q960 steel columns following high-temperature exposure yields satisfactory safety margins. In light of these findings, a calculation method is proposed to accurately predict the stability coefficient of Q960 steel columns in the aftermath of high-temperature conditions, thus offering a reliable approach for assessing the stability bearing capacity of such columns in such scenarios. By comparing with EN 1993–1–12 and ANSI/AISC 360–22, it is found that EN 1993–1–12 has a better prediction effect, while ANSI/AISC 360–22 is conservative when the slenderness ratio is small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correction notice is for an article titled "Association between two-component systems gene mutation and Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission revealed by whole genome sequencing" published in BMC Genomics. The correction addresses an error in affiliation 1 and a revision to the Background section of the Abstract. The corrected version of affiliation 1 is Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China. The corrected background text clarifies that two-component systems (TCSs) play a crucial role in the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), and this study aims to explore the relationship between TCSs gene mutation and the global transmission of M. tuberculosis. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Objective. To explore medications that have a therapeutic effect on idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), the Connectivity Map (CMap) database, and bioinformatics approaches. Methods. IMN patients' glomerular whole-genome sequencing data were retrieved and screened in the GEO database, differentially expressed genes were identified using GEO2R analysis, a PPI network was built in the STRING database, node degree values were calculated, and topological analysis was performed using the degree value to identify core genes. The WebGestalt database was used to perform GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analyses on the core genes. Candidate medications for the therapy of IMN were collected from the CMap database, and the candidate medications were then searched and analyzed. Results. 113 core genes were identified by topological analysis from the 1157 genes that were shown to be differentially expressed. The enrichment analysis identified several important gene functions and signaling pathways related to IMN. Some possible medications for the treatment of IMN have been found using the CMap database. Naringin, with the lowest CMap score, meaningful P value, and specificity score, was predicted as the most likely medication. Conclusion. The GEO and CMap databases can be used to understand the molecular changes of IMN and to provide new ideas for medication research. However, medication candidates must undergo clinical and experimental testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a "multidentate polymer microreactor" method for the creation of secondary structures of colloidal nanocrystals. Using NaYF4:Yb,Er as an example, we demonstrate that the use of sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) as a "multidentate polymer microreactor" allows the controllable growth of primary nanocrystals and induces aggregation of the nanocrystals into well-defined mesoporous clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of high‐efficiency and low‐cost electrocatalysts as the platinum substitute for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of significance for electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices, such as fuel cells and rechargeable batteries. Here we report graphene‐based nitrogen‐coordinated Fe−Co dual‐atom catalysts (referred to as FeCoN6) with markedly enhanced ORR activity by ligand‐modification. By density functional theory calculations, we thoroughly investigated the ORR activity of three preferred FeCoN6 isomers (denoted as FeCoN6‐I, FeCoN6‐II, and FeCoN6‐III) and their complexes with the ligands of ORR intermediates such as *O, *OH, and *O2. Our results reveal that these ligands cause the apparent shift of d‐orbitals of metal atoms toward the Fermi level to modulate the adsorption strength for reaction intermediates, thereby significantly improving the ORR activity of FeCoN6 complexes. Notably, FeCoN6‐I(OH) and FeCoN6‐I(O2) with the lowest overpotential of ∼0.23 V possessed the best ORR activity, which are superior to pristine FeCoN6 and available Pt catalysts. These results not only build on the fundamental understanding of the catalytic mechanism of ligand modified dual‐atom catalysts but also provide a new strategy to develop highly efficient ORR electrocatalysts by ligand‐modification engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single Mn atom on nitrogen‐doped graphene (MnN4‐G) has exhibited good structural stability and high activity for the adsorption and dissociation of an O2 molecule, becoming a promising single‐atom catalyst (SAC) candidate for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the catalytic activity of MnN4‐G for the ORR and the optimal reaction pathway remain obscure. In this work, density‐functional theory calculations were employed to comprehensively investigate all the possible pathways and intermediate reactions of the ORR on MnN4‐G. The feasible active sites and the most stable adsorption configurations of the intermediates and transition states during the ORR were identified. Screened from all the possibilities, three optimal four‐electron O2 hydrogenation pathways with an ultralow energy barrier of 0.13 eV were discovered that are energetically more favorable than direct O2 dissociation pathways. Analysis of the free energy diagram further verified the thermodynamical feasibility of the three pathways. Thus, MnN4‐G possesses superior ORR activity. This study provides a fundamental understanding of the design of highly efficient SACs for the ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cupping therapy is a popular intervention for improving muscle recovery after exercise although clinical evidence is weak. Previous studies demonstrated that cupping therapy may improve microcirculation of the soft tissue to accelerate tissue healing. However, it is unclear whether the cupping size could affect the spatial hemodynamic response of the treated muscle. The objective of this study was to use 8-channel near-infrared spectroscopy to assess this clinical question by assessing the effect of 3 cupping sizes (35, 40, and 45 mm in inner diameter of the circular cup) under −300 mmHg for 5 min on the muscle hemodynamic response from the area inside and outside the cup, including oxyhemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin in 18 healthy adults. Two-way factorial design was used to assess the interaction between the cupping size (35, 40, and 45 mm) and the location (inside and outside the cup) and the main effects of the cupping size and the location. The two-way repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated an interaction between the cupping size and the location in deoxy-hemoglobin (P = 0.039) but no interaction in oxyhemoglobin (P = 0.100), and a main effect of the cup size (P = 0.001) and location (P = 0.023) factors in oxyhemoglobin. For the cupping size factor, the 45-mm cup resulted in a significant increase in oxyhemoglobin (5.738±0.760 μM) compared to the 40-mm (2.095±0.312 μM, P<0.001) and 35-mm (3.134±0.515 μM, P<0.01) cup. Our findings demonstrate that the cupping size and location factors affect the muscle hemodynamic response, and the use of multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy may help understand benefits of cupping therapy on managing musculoskeletal impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, a method to generate and shape the tri‐photon entanglement in the temporal domain via simplified single step of six‐wave mixing processes of hot atomic gas media is proposed. The effect of dressing fields on shaping the tri‐photon temporal waveform is discussed. Cascade double dressing fields will reduce the width of rectangular profile of tri‐photon waveform when compared to the single dressing field. Conversely, nested double dressing fields will widen the width of rectangular profile of tri‐photon waveform. The double dressing field will affect the coherence time of linear optical response. The relationship between phase matching bandwidth and electromagnetically induced transparency bandwidth will decide the shape of temporal waveform and coherence time in linear optical response. The transition of nonlinear optical response to linear optical response can be completed by regulating the dressing fields. The results of this proposed study have potential impact on long‐distance quantum communication, high‐dimensional entanglement, and photon storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The reaction path and the role of oxygen vacancy in CO-SCR of NO x have been reviewed. • The factors influencing the catalytic performance of spinel oxide-based catalyst have been discussed. • The decomposition of NO and N 2 O over spinel-based catalysts were also summarized. • Future prospects and directions for the catalytic control of NO x and N 2 O have been proposed. NO x is one of the serious air pollutants and N 2 O is a powerful greenhouse gas. The catalytic removal of NO x and N 2 O is very important for the air quality improvement and the sustainable development of the world. Spinel structure, due to its ability to accommodate various 3d transition metals, has received considerable attention as promising catalyst for the catalytic removal of NO x and N 2 O. Recent progress in the selective catalytic reduction of NO x by CO (CO-SCR), and the catalytic decomposition of NO x and N 2 O has been reviewed with the focus on spinel oxide-based catalyst. The reaction path, the role of oxygen vacancy and active metal sites in the CO-SCR of NO x have been described first. Subsequently, the factors influencing the catalytic performance, and the effect of reaction conditions have been discussed. Furthermore, the direct decomposition of NO and N 2 O over spinel oxide-based catalysts were also summarized. Finally, future prospects and directions for the catalytic control of NO x and N 2 O have been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Association between fatty acid metabolism gene mutations and Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission revealed by whole genome sequencing" published in BMC Microbiology. The correction addresses the incorrect affiliations of the first author, Yameng Li, and the corresponding author, Huaichen Li. The correct affiliation for Yameng Li is Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

C23H21NO2, monoclinic, C2/c (no. 15), a = 20.163(3) Å, b = 10.1693(16) Å, c = 8.8032(19) Å, β = 95.992(12)°, V = 1795.2(4) Å3, Z = 4, R gt (F) = 0.0624, wRref(F2) = 0.1411, T = 150 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The titanate was combined with photo fermentative hydrogen production (PFHP). • Adding titanate significantly improved the efficiency of PFHP. • Adding titanate can shorten the hydrogen production delay period. • The addition of titanate can promote the utilization of Volatile fatty acids. • The cumulative hydrogen production by adding MgTiO 3 increased by 48.3%. The effects of three common titanate photocatalysts (TPC) on the photo fermentation biohydrogen production (PFHP) from corn stover were studied in this paper. Compared with CaTiO 3 and BaTiO 3 , the experimental group with the addition of MgTiO 3 showed stronger potential for PFHP, the maximum hydrogen yield of 344 mL (68.8 mL/g TS) was obtained at 3 g/L MgTiO 3 , increased by 48.3%. For CaTiO 3 , BaTiO 3 , the optimal amount of addition was 8 and 7 g/L, respectively, in which, the hydrogen yield was 308 and 288 mL (61.6 and 57.6 mL/g TS). TPC addition could shorten the delay period of hydrogen production lower the Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) of fermentation broth, especially MgTiO 3 addition, the delayed hydrogen production could be shortened by 33.2% compared with control group, and the ORP could reach the lowest value of −371 mV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Plate-type bio-methanol reactor for hydrogen production was established and studied. • It provides data reference for bio-methanol as hydrogen storage raw material. • This research has application value in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In this paper, the plate-heat transfer type bio-methanol steam reforming reactor for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and its operation performance was studied. The structure of the plate-heat transfer type for bio-methanol reforming has been designed and optimized with the application parameters of hydrogen production capacity, hydrogen production rate, bio-methanol conversion rate, volume limitation. Results showed the catalyst particle size has little influence when it less than 0.85 mm; However, when the catalyst loading was 20 g and the feed rate of bio-methanol solution was 1.5 mL/min, the effect of reforming bio-methanol was the best. At this time, the specific hydrogen production was 64.062 mL/g cat.min, the hydrogen production rate was 21.354 mL/s, the bio-methanol conversion rate was 82.25%. This paper can provide scientific reference for further research and development of high-efficiency and low-cost bio-methanol reforming hydrogen production equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen storage behaviors of the nitride-based MXenes Ti2N have been investigated by performing density functional calculations. It is observed that H2-molecules could be adsorbed on and desorbed from Ti2N monolayer with suitable adsorption strength under ambient conditions. Moreover, the stability and hydrogen adsorption behaviors are analyzed by computing adsorption energy, charge population and ab initio molecular dynamic simulations. The Kubas-type interaction of the H2-molecules with Ti2N monolayer is investigated according to the charge transfer and electronic projected density of states. Specifically, it is found that the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of Ti2N reaches up to 8.555 wt%, in which the reversible hydrogen storage capacity is of 3.422 wt%. In addition, OH-group-decorated Ti2N has great advantages on hydrogen storage, and the reversible hydrogen storage capacity is of 2.656 wt%. Therefore, the 2D Ti2N MXenes are expected for a potential candidate as reversible hydrogen storage materials under ambient conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recently demonstrated common oxidants simply coupled with ZVI to continuously drive the accelerated Fe 0 corrosion and hence achieve fast and very efficient removal of heavy metals and metalloids from groundwater. In this study, we aimed first to answer a basic question of the oxidant dosage theoretically required to sequester a certain amount of selenite. The specific ratio of oxidant dosage to Se(IV) removal, which reflected the theoretically minimal oxidant dosage required to sequester one mole of Se(IV), was almost independent of the initial Se(IV) concentration but significantly affected by the difference in oxidant species. To sequester one mole of Se(IV), the minimum dosage of the required oxidant was calculated to be 3.94–4.09 for NaClO, 3.90–4.33 for H 2 O 2 , and 3.29–3.54 for KMnO 4 , respectively. Simultaneous aeration increased the removal efficiency of Se(IV) and substantially reduced the required dosage of oxidants. To form a strong contrast with very limited Se(IV) removal by ZVI alone, the coupling of NaClO and H 2 O 2 into the ZVI system remarkably enhanced the performance of Se(IV) removal during the long term fixed-bed experiments with a real groundwater background. The ZVI columns coupled by NaClO and H 2 O 2 steadily treated 10,000 volumes (BV) of real groundwater. X-ray adsorption near edge structure (XANES) demonstrated that more than 85% of the selenium was reduced to Se 0 and Se 2− , with Se 0 as the dominant selenium species sequestered in the solid phase. Synchrotron-based scanning transmission soft X-ray microscopy (STXM) explicitly revealed the ubiquitous spatial distribution of selenium in the corrosion products and hence demonstrated a high accessibility of these corrosion products to selenite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Simulation models play an increasingly important role in tobacco control. Models examining the impact of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) and smoking tend to be highly specialized and inaccessible. We present the Smoking and Vaping Model (SAVM),a user-friendly cohort-based simulation model, adaptable to any country, that projects the public health impact of smokers switching to NVPs. Methods: SAVM compares two scenarios. The No-NVP scenario projects smoking rates in the absence of NVPs using population projections, deaths rates, life expectancy, and smoking prevalence. The NVP scenario models vaping prevalence and its impact on smoking once NVPs became popular. NVP use impact is estimated as the difference in smoking- and vaping-attributable deaths (SVADs) and life-years lost (LYLs) between the No-NVP and NVP scenarios. We illustrate SAVM's adaptation to the German adult ages 18+ population, the Germany-SAVM by adjusting the model using population, mortality, smoking and NVP use data. Results: Assuming that the excess NVP mortality risk is 5% that of smoking, Germany-SAVM projected 4.7 million LYLs and almost 300,000 SVADs averted associated with NVP use from 2012 to 2060. Increasing the excess NVP mortality risk to 40% with other rates constant resulted in averted 2.8 million LYLs and 200,000 SVADs during the same period. Conclusions: SAVM enables non-modelers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to analyze the potential population health effects of NVP use and public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taken common agricultural residues as substrate, dark fermentation bio-hydrogen yield capacity from asynchronous saccharification and fermentation (ASF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was investigated. The highest hydrogen yield of 472.75 mL was achieved with corncob using ASF. Hydrogen yield from corn straw, rice straw, corncob and sorghum stalk by SSF were 20.54%,10.31%,13.99% and 5.92% higher than ASF, respectively. The experimental data fitted well to the modified Gompertz model. SSF offered a distinct advantage over ASF with respect to reducing overall process time (60 h of SSF, 108 h of ASF). Meanwhile, SSF performed better than SSF with respect to shortening the lag-stage. The major metabolites of anaerobic fermentation hydrogen production by ASF and SSF were butyric acid and acetic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effluent of bio-hydrogen production system also can be adopted to produce methane for further fermentation, cogeneration of hydrogen and methane will significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency. Platanus Orientalis leaves were taken as the raw material for photo- and dark-fermentation bio-hydrogen production. The resulting concentrations of acetic, butyric, and propionic acids and ethanol in the photo- and dark-fermentation effluents were 2966 mg/L and 624 mg/L, 422 mg/L and 1624 mg/L, 1365 mg/L and 558 mg/L, and 866 mg/L and 1352 mg/L, respectively. Subsequently, we calculated the energy conversion efficiency according to the organic contents of the effluents and their energy output when used as raw material for methane production. The overall energy conversion efficiencies increased by 15.17% and 22.28%, respectively, when using the effluents of photo and dark fermentation. This two-step bio-hydrogen and methane production system can significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency of anaerobic biological treatment plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report a facile coordination-assisted method to construct a FRET-based probe that shows ratiometric detection of metal ions with improved selectivity. Probe 2 exhibits good sensitivity and selectivity towards the Fe 3+ and Al 3+ over other cations in aqueous acetonitrile solution. Probe 1 can be formed in situ by a convenient addition of Salen-Zn complex, which can further discriminate the Fe 3+ from Al 3+ with different ratiometric fluorescence responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • GM(1.1) was used to predict the crop straw yield of China. • Using the cellulose degradation model to determine the specific biohydrogen yield. • GHGs emission reduction potential of crop straw was assessed. • Hydrogen yield of 1.31 × 1011 m3 could be produced from crop straw in China. • Reduction of 2.42 × 108 t/a CO 2 -eq from crop straw based biohydrogen in China. In order to achieve the carbon neutrality goal set by Chinese government, the potential contribution of hydrogen production from crop residues by microbial fermentation technology and Greenhouse gas (GHGs) reduction have been studied. Firstly, the annual yield of crop straw was estimated according to crop yield and grass grain ratio, and then the grey model GM (1, 1) was applied to predict the crop residues resources available for hydrogen production in various provinces in China in 2021. The results showed that the maximum resource of straw being available for hydrogen production is about 4.54 × 108 t, corresponding to 1.31 × 1011 m3 of hydrogen, the energy carried by the obtained hydrogen was 73 % and 1.15 times than the energy of national civil natural gas consumption and energy of transportation gasoline consumption, respectively. The potential reduction of greenhouse gas emission was 2.42 × 108 t/a CO 2 -eq, representing 2.4 % of GHGs emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Cigarette smoking continues to pose a threat to public health. Identifying individual risk factors for smoking initiation is essential to further mitigate this epidemic. To the best of our knowledge, no study today has used machine learning (ML) techniques to automatically uncover informative predictors of smoking onset among adults using the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study. Aims and Methods In this work, we employed random forest paired with Recursive Feature Elimination to identify relevant PATH variables that predict smoking initiation among adults who have never smoked at baseline between two consecutive PATH waves. We included all potentially informative baseline variables in wave 1 (wave 4) to predict past 30-day smoking status in wave 2 (wave 5). Using the first and most recent pairs of PATH waves was found sufficient to identify the key risk factors of smoking initiation and test their robustness over time. The eXtreme Gradient Boosting method was employed to test the quality of these selected variables. Results As a result, classification models suggested about 60 informative PATH variables among many candidate variables in each baseline wave. With these selected predictors, the resulting models have a high discriminatory power with the area under the specificity-sensitivity curves of around 80%. We examined the chosen variables and discovered important features. Across the considered waves, two factors, (1) BMI, and (2) dental and oral health status, robustly appeared as important predictors of smoking initiation, besides other well-established predictors. Conclusions Our work demonstrates that ML methods are useful to predict smoking initiation with high accuracy, identifying novel smoking initiation predictors, and to enhance our understanding of tobacco use behaviors. Implications Understanding individual risk factors for smoking initiation is essential to prevent smoking initiation. With this methodology, a set of the most informative predictors of smoking onset in the PATH data were identified. Besides reconfirming well-known risk factors, the findings suggested additional predictors of smoking initiation that have been overlooked in previous work. More studies that focus on the newly discovered factors (BMI and dental and oral health status,) are needed to confirm their predictive power against the onset of smoking as well as determine the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is a promising alternative energy, and can be produced from various materials. Platanus orientalis leaves (POL) was utilized to produce hydrogen through simultaneous saccharification fermentative (SSF) method with photosynthetic bacteria HAU-M1. The method was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD). The Plackett–Burman design was first used to screen the factors (initial pH, light intensity, temperature, substrate concentration and initial inoculum) that influence SSF hydrogen production. Results indicated that initial pH, temperature and inoculation amount had a statistically significant effect on SSF hydrogen production. Central composite design was further carried out to evaluate interaction between the selected variables. The optimal conditions were determined to be initial pH of 6.18, temperature of 35.59 °C, and inoculation amount of 26.29% (v/v). The predicted maximum hydrogen yield was 65.03 mL H 2 /g TS, which was very close to the experimental result of 64.10 mL H 2 /g TS obtained under the optimal conditions. The R 2 value was 0.9396, indicating a good model fit for SSF hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Surfactants aided microwave treatment was a promising pretreatment method. • The highest CHY of 367.87 ± 6.481 mL was obtained after SMIP. • The more energy saved by SMIP was confirmed by the energy assessment. • Significant structural damage of lignocellulose was observed after SMIP. The combination pretreatment strategy is an effective way to intensify photo-fermentative biohydrogen production (PFHP) process. In this study, the synergistic effects of microwave irradiation and surfactants on the hydrogen production performance, energy analysis and structural characteristics was evaluated. Results revealed that hydrogen production performance was improved after microwave irradiation pretreatment (MIP) and surfactants assisted microwave irradiation pretreatment (SMIP). SMIP group had a higher cumulative hydrogen yield (CHY) of 367.87 ± 6.481 mL compared with control group (223.26 ± 4.329 mL) and MIP group (303.66 ± 3.366 mL), which was an increase of 36.01% and 64.77%, respectively. Energy evaluation analysis showed that the energy ratio of SMIP (0.49) was higher than that of MIP (0.37) in the PFHP system, therefore, SMIP can save more energy. After SMIP, the corncob lignocellulose structure was greatly damaged, which was verified by SEM, FTIR, XRD and XPS analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The torrefaction pretreatment was applied in enhancing corn stover degradation. • Torrefaction pretreated corn stover reached highest hydrolysis efficiency at 200℃. • Reducing sugars and hydrogen yield increased by 46.41% and 70.79%. • Torrefaction pretreatment shorten the lag phase time of hydrogen production. The torrefaction pretreatment technology with different temperature varying from 160℃ to 240℃ was utilized to enhance the enzymatic saccharification and hydrogen production potential of corn stover. The composition characteristics, Crystal Intensity (CrI), reducing sugars yield and hydrogen production of the pretreated corn stover were detected to explore the torrefaction pretreatment effectiveness. Results revealed that the reducing sugar yield and hydrogen production from corn stover were improved significantly through torrefaction pretreatment, both the maximum reducing sugar yield of 427.86 ± 19 mg/g Total solid(TS) and hydrogen yield of 123.72 mL/g TS were obtained at 200 ℃, increased by 46.41% and 70.79%, respectively. The kinetic parameters from Gompertz model showed torrefaction pretreatment could shorten the lag phase time of enzymatic saccharification and hydrogen production. The reducing sugar data can be fitted well by fractal-like kinetic model and Gompertz model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new coordination polymers, {[Cd 2 (L) 2 ·H 2 O]·4DMF·14H 2 O} n ( 1 ), {[Cd (L)]·2DMF·6H 2 O} n ( 2 ), {[Zn 2 (L) 2 ]·4DMF·5H 2 O} n ( 3 ) and {[Cu (L)]·2DMF} n ( 4 ) (H 2 L = 2,5-bis((4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)carbamoyl)terephthalic acid), have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. All of them exhibit three-dimensional structures possessing one-dimensional channels filled with solvent molecules. 1 is a 3D framework with large 1D channels (6.60 × 8.56 Å 2 ) filled with free DMF molecules and the 3D structure of 1 is a new (4, 8) network with Schläfli symbol {4 16 .6 12 }{4 4 .6 2 } 2 . 2 and 3 with different metal centers have similar structure except for the numbers of free water molecules. They both feature a (4, 4)-connected 3D network of {6 5 .10} {6 5 .8} topology with left- and right-handed helical chains along b -axis. While 4 is a 3D framework with typical CdSO 4 topology. In addition, 1 – 3 show strong fluorescent emissions at room temperature, which can be assigned to the ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (LLCT) emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ultrafine grinding pretreatment has significant effect on the hydrolysis of corncob. • The GM(1,N) model has high predictability under the condition of scanty data. • The influence degree of each factor on reducing sugar yield can be identified. • The hydrogen yield from corncob was promoted after Ultrafine grinding pretreatment. Pretreatment of biomass helps to enhance reducing sugar yield from biomass during enzyme hydrolysis tests. Ultrafine grinding was applied to pretreat corncob. The effect of affecting factors including milling time, initial particle size and ball to power weight on the reducing sugar yield from corncob was investigated firstly. And then, an GM(1,N) model was constructed to model the ultrafine grinding pretreatment system predicting the reducing sugar yield from corncob based on experimental data, the results demonstrate GM(1,N) could predict the reducing sugar yield accurately and effectively without depending on the number of samples. The initial particle size was the most critical influential factor affecting reducing sugar yield according to the driving coefficient. The cumulative hydrogen yield was significantly affected by ultrafine grinding pretreatment, the hydrogen yield of pretreated corncob was 153.60 ± 5.8 mL/g total solids, which was higher than that of untreated corncob (113.20 ± 3.2 mL/g total solids). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2-foldinterpenetrated microporous MOF [Ni2(C2O4)(L)2]n·6nH2O (HL = 4,2′:4″,2′-terpyridine-4′-carboxylicacid) (1) was synthesized and structurally characterized. 1has obvious 1D channels along the crystallographic aand caxes with a pore size of 5.7 to6.9 Å. Topological analysis shows that the framework of 1can be interpreted as a (3,4)-connected net with point symbol(63)(65·8). 1exhibits highwater and thermal stability, which is demonstrated by TGA, PXRD, andVT-PXRD. Additionally, the high temperature structure of 1′ (433 K) undoubtedly demonstrates the stability of the framework.More importantly, 1shows high selectivities for CO2over N2, H2, and CH4atlow pressure and 273 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Continuous hydrogen production was conducted in a baffled bioreactor. • HRT and dilution ratio have significant impact on the hydrogen production. • The highest average HPR of 4.63 L/(L·d) was detected in the baffled bioreactor. • Long HRT and high dilution ratio resulted in more electrons in substrate loss. • Dilution can improve the hydrogen from DFEs during photo fermentation. This work studied the sequential hydrogen production by dark and photo-fermentation (HPDPF) in continuous baffled bioreactors. Taken enzymatic hydrolysate of corn stover as initial carbon source, the influence of hydraulic retention time (HRT) of dark fermentation (DF) and the dilution ratio (DR) of dark fermentation effluents (DFEs) on the hydrogen production performance of the combined fermentation system and electron distribution were investigated. For DF unit, the highest hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 5.24 L/(L·d) was detected at HRT of 18 h, however, the maximum HPR of 4.60 L/(L·d) was obtained from DFEs with HRT of 12 h and DR of 1:0.5 during photo fermentation unit, meanwhile, the electrons in substrate partitioning to H 2 reached the maximum value of 35.69%. In terms of hydrogen yield, the optimum operating conditions of the combined system were HRT of 12 h (DF) and DR of 1:0.5(DFEs), in which the hydrogen yield reached 12.73 L/d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hydrogen production performance from corncob with surfactant addition was studied. • RLs and TSn addition promote significantly the hydrogen yield from corncob. • RLs had better performance on hydrogen production than TSn. • 0.08 g/L RLs addition achieved the maximum energy conversion efficiency of 5.47%. Surfactant addition can cause a significant change in the interface state of the solution system, which is helpful to avoid agglomeration and sedimentation of solid state, and improve the mass transfer capacity. Hence, the performance of high-solid photo-fermentative bio-hydrogen production system with bio-surfactant addition was evaluated in this work. Corncob was selected as raw material, and cumulative hydrogen yield (CHY) was taken as reference. The effect of Rhamnolipids (RLs) and Tea Saponin (TSn) addition on hydrogen yield capacity was investigated. The results showed that CHY was effectively increased by the addition of RLs and TSn, the highest CHY of 356.42 ± 16.5 mL and 265.38 ± 7.5 mL appeared when the concentrations of surfactant addition were 0.08 g/L RLs and 1.5 g/L TSn, which were 67.85% and 24.97% higher than control group, respectively. The maximum energy conversion efficiency reached 5.47% and 4.08% with an increase of 67.8% and 25.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human blood metabolites have demonstrated close associations with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in observational studies. Nonetheless, the causal relationship between metabolites and CKD is still unclear. This study aimed to assess the associations between metabolites and CKD risk. Methods: We applied a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to evaluate relationships between 1400 blood metabolites and eight phenotypes (outcomes) (CKD, estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR), urine albumin to creatinine ratio, rapid progress to CKD, rapid decline of eGFR, membranous nephropathy, immunoglobulin A nephropathy, and diabetic nephropathy). The inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, and weighted median were used to investigate the causal relationship. Sensitivity analyses were performed with Cochran's Q, MR-Egger intercept, MR-PRESSO Global test, and leave-one-out analysis. Bonferroni correction was used to test the strength of the causal relationship. Results: Through the MR analysis of 1400 metabolites and eight clinical phenotypes, a total of 48 metabolites were found to be associated with various outcomes. Among them, N-acetylleucine (OR = 0.923, 95%CI: 0.89–0.957, PIVW = 1.450 × 10–5) has a strong causal relationship with lower risk of CKD after the Bonferroni-corrected test, whereas Glycine to alanine ratio has a strong causal relationship with higher risk of CKD (OR = 1.106, 95%CI: 1.063–1.151, PIVW = 5.850 × 10–7). No horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity were detected. Conclusion: Our study offers groundbreaking insights into the integration of metabolomics and genomics to reveal the pathogenesis of and therapeutic strategies for CKD. It underscores 48 metabolites as potential causal candidates, meriting further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• H 2 yield can be promoted by the addition of Zn2+. • Excessive Zn2+ resulted in more substrate electrons transferring to substrate residue. • 26.42% substrates electrons were diverted towards hydrogen at 2 mg/L Zn2+. • The critical Zn2+ concentration was 40.83 mg/L. The aim of this work was to study the characteristics, kinetics and electronic distribution of photo-fermentation hydrogen production (PFHP) with Zn2+ addition then gave the main results that the addition of Zn2+ can effectively improve hydrogen production with an increasing of 1–5 mg/L Zn2+ concentration. The maximum hydrogen yield of 592 ± 13 mL and shortest lag time of 4.67 h were obtained at 2 mg/L Zn2+. 26.42% of the substrate energy was diverted to H 2. Modified Gompertz and Hane-Levenspiel models were applied to evaluate the effect of Zn2+ on PFHP by mixed bacteria HAU-M1, the constants n and m obtained by fitting models were 14.97 and 58.79, respectively, indicating the fermentation system was noncompetitive inhibition, the predicted critical Zn2+ concentration was 40.83 mg/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• T156 exhibited high temperature and pH tolerances and short incubation latent period. No virulence and antibiotic resistance-associated genes were identified in the T156 genome. • Effectiveness of microencapsulated phage T156 was determined on spiked milk and lettuce. • Testing the antibacterial efficacy of microencapsulated phage in food matrix, a significant decrease in bacterial cell counts and an increase in phage titers were observed. Salmonella is one of the most common causes of foodborne diseases and can cause severe economic loss. Increased antibiotic resistance, particularly of multidrug-resistant strains, has led to the use of phages as substitute agents. However, bacteriophages are usually sensitive to harsh environments. At present, microencapsulation is one of the methods to solve this problem. But there are few studies on the application of microencapsulated bacteriophages in food matrix. In this study, a novel Salmonella phage T156 was firstly studied for its biological characteristics. T156 belongs to the T5-like Siphoviridae family, with broad host spectrum and potent lytic ability against tested Salmonella strains, including multiple antibiotic-resistant Salmonella. It also showed valuable characteristics such as high pH (3.0–12.0), thermal tolerances (30–50 °C) and a short latent period (10 min). Genome analysis indicated T156 genome comprised a 123,849 bp DNA with 176 putative open reading frames, of which 56 ORFs were annotated to known functions. No genes associated with antibiotic resistance, virulence factor and lysogeny were found in T156 genome. Then, orifice-coagulation bath method was used to microencapsulate bacteriophage T156. Microencapsulated bacteriophage can effectively inhibit the growth of Salmonella in artificially contaminated milk and lettuce at 4 °C and 25 °C. At 25 °C, the maximum antibacterial efficacy of phage in milk and lettuce were 57.93% and 55.47%, respectively. This is the first report about microencapsulated bacteriophage infecting Salmonella in food matrix. It can provide insights into fundamental researches on microencapsulated bacteriophage for future utilization in food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dark fermentation effluent is a potential substrate for hydrogen production by photosynthetic bacteria(PSB). Influences of adding L-cysteine and Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (NPs) on hydrogen production performance and electronic distribution from dark fermentation effluents (DFEs) during photo fermentation hydrogen production(PFHP) process were experimentally studied, as well as the critical kinetic analysis. L-cysteine addition can promote flocculability and cell growth rates of PSB HAU-M1 while addition of 300 mg/L L-cysteine and 100 mg/L Fe 3 O 4 NPs can peak H 2 yield from the DFEs, resulting in 29.94% and 29.23% substrate electrons were diverted to H 2, respectively. Controlling the adding time interval of L-cysteine and Fe 3 O 4 NPs can improve the activity of nitrogenase without weakening flocculation and increase the hydrogen production, the maximum hydrogen yield of 234.55 ± 7.5 mL was obtained at 12 h interval time, 35.94% substrate electrons diverted towards bio-hydrogen generation, and the corresponding nitrogenase activity increased by 2.12 times as comparing to the control. The modified Gompertz and Han-Levenspiel models were employed to model the effect of the L-cysteine and Fe 3 O 4 NPs on hydrogen production, the predicted critical L-cysteine and Fe 3 O 4 NPs concentrations were 4630.87 and 1969.18 mg/L, respectively. Image 1 • H 2 yield can be promoted by decreasing the production of SMPs. • Excessive L-cysteine led to more substrate electrons were diverted to cell growth. • Longer interval time resulted in more intracellular substance loss 'during synthesis'. • 35.96% substrates electrons were diverted towards hydrogen at 12 h interval time. • The critical L-cysteine and Fe 3 O 4 NPs concentrations were 4630.87 and 1969.18 mg/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hydrogen production from DFEs with different operation modes was investigated. • Longer cell retention resulted in more intracellular substance loss 'during synthesis'. • The semi-continuous fermentation mode was a promising way to promote H 2 from DFEs. • 37.71% substrates electrons were diverted towards hydrogen at semi-continuous mode. In this work, the influence of batch, semi-continuous and continuous mode on biohydrogen production from dark fermentation effluents (DFEs) as substrate and electron distribution was investigated. Results indicated a better H 2 production performance was obtained in semi-continuous mode. 50% decanting volume ratio (DVR) and 24 h feeding interval time (FIT) were found to be the best condition. Maximum average H 2 production rate (HPR) and H 2 yield were obtained of 8.44 mL/h and 1386.22 ± 44.23 mL H 2 /g TOC, respectively. 37.71% substrate electrons partitioning to hydrogen were detected. For continuous mode, more substrate electrons were diverted toward SMPs with the increasing of HRT due to the fact that longer cell retention, more chances were provided for cell lysis. The bad performance in batch mode ascribed to 56.39% substrate electrons were transferred to cell growth and soluble microbial products (SMPs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil examination can provide useful forensic information about the spatial location and suspect's activities. Many techniques have been applied for soil comparison and provenance determination in criminal investigations. Pollen and diatom identification, which has the potential to provide an independent ecological assessment of soil evidence, is currently underused in forensic soil analysis. This work presents a case study of application of these methods to help criminal investigation in a murder case, which happened in an irrigation ditch in Hunan Province, southern China. Soils from the suspect's clothes, the exact crime scene spot in the irrigation ditch, along the ditch and the reference ditches were collected and analyzed. In addition to the element and mineral analysis, pollen and diatom assemblages were analyzed for further comparison. The statistical methods of hierarchical cluster and cosine similarity analysis were carried out to assist in soil comparison and provenance determination. The results showed that soil on the suspect's clothes had a high probability to share the same source with the soil from the crime scene in the irrigation ditch. The suspect confessed to murder based largely on the soil examination result even without other evidences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight novel T shaped phenothiazine/carbazole based organic dyes with naphthalimide as π-spacer were designed, and the geometries, electronic structures, and optical features of these isolated dyes and dye-(TiO 2) 9 systems were investigated with density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. Some quantify factors influencing the energy conversion efficiency (PCE) such as the light harvesting efficiency (LHE), electron injection driving force (Δ G inject) and dye regeneration driving force (Δ G reg) were also calculated for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) applications. It is found that these dyes show a good performance of electron injection and dye regeneration owing to the proper value of Δ G inject and Δ G reg. The optimized geometries of the non-planar molecular configuration of donor and the planar structure of the naphthalimide conjugated bridge are beneficial to efficient intramolecular charge transfer and the suppression of molecular aggregation. The properties about the electronic structure and absorption spectra indicate that replacement of benzene with thiophene unit near to cyanoacetic acid acceptor can generate more efficient conjugation effect and achieve red shift of absorption spectra, resulting a higher J sc and V oc in DSSCs device. The theoretical results reveal that DTPH2, DTPH4, DTCA2 and DTCA4 would be used as potential sensitizers for DSSCs applications. Unlabelled Image • Eight novel phenothiazine/carbazole based T shaped dyes with naphthalimide as π-spacer were designed. • The non-planar donor part and the planar conjugated bridges are beneficial for DSSCs applications. • The studied dyes show a good performance of intramolecular charge transfer, electron injection and dye regeneration. • Replacement of benzene with thiophene unit near to cyanoacetic acid can generate red shift of absorption spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Photo-fermentation bio-H 2 production from starch agricultural waste was analyzed. • Higher initial pH led to more substrates electrons were diverted to cell growth. • The optimal initial pH was 7 for HAU-M1 to produce H 2 from starch food waste. • 37.65% substrates electrons were diverted towards hydrogen at pH 7. Starch agricultural leftover is a potential substrate for photosynthetic bacteria to produce hydrogen. In this work, the effect of initial pH on photo-fermentation biohydrogen production process and electron balance were investigated. The modified Gompertz model was adopted, and hydrogen yield, sugar consumption and metabolite evolution were monitored with initial pH varying from 5 to 9. Results showed that hydrogen was produced mainly through acetic acid and butyric acid metabolism pathways when starch taken as carbon source. It was found that the maximum hydrogen yield (642 ± 22 mL) and highest hydrogen production rate (77.78 mL/(L·h)) were obtained at initial pH of 7. 37.65% substrates electrons diverted towards hydrogen. Lower hydrogen yield, hydrogen production rate and lower electrons diversion were obtained at other initial pH levels. Also, the lag phase time was 0.04 h when pH was 7, which was significantly lower than other levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hydrogen yield potential of DFEs can be improved by adding enzymatic hydrolysate. • DFEs can replace part sodium citrate buffer to maintain pH stability in PFHP. • Using DFEs as buffer can cut down 2.17 g CO 2 -eq GHG in the life cycle of PFHP. • Cumulative hydrogen yield of all experiments can be fitted well by Gompertz model. The photo fermentation hydrogen yield from dark fermentation effluents (DFEs) can be promoted by adding corn straw enzymatic hydrolysate adjusts the nutritional composition of DFEs. As compared with the control group (without enzymatic hydrolysate addition), the effect of adding enzymatic hydrolysate make H 2 yield increase from 312.54 to 1287.06 mL H 2 /g TOC, and maximum hydrogen production rate increase 2.14 to 10.23 mL/h. On the other hand, buffer reagents remained in DFEs make which can replace part sodium citrate buffer to maintain pH stability in synchronized saccharification and photosynthetic fermentation process with corn straw as substrate, the best result was observed at the ration of 1:2 (33 mL DFEs, 67 mL sodium citrate buffer) with the hydrogen yield of 436.30 ± 10 mL, and which can cut down the GHG in the life cycle of hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature selection plays a key role in target recognition especially for multiple combined sensors' applications. This study presents an improved relief feature selection (Relief‐F) model to rank features for multi‐target recognition. Besides, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the method is conducted based on the following three measuring indices: feature redundancy, class separability and overall accuracy. The simulated data acquired by radar infrared combined sensors are used to verify the metrics of the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that the Relief‐F method reveals the best results compared to other feature selection methods, including principal component analysis and Fisher linear discriminant analysis. It indicates that Relief‐F can be an effective option for feature selection with high‐class separability and a low feature redundancy rate. Furthermore, high overall accuracy can be obtained using a relatively small amount of features selected by the Relief‐F method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drug resistance is a major clinical drawback behind the failure of chemotherapy in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we undertook to identify the precise role of circular RNA (circRNA) circ_0058357 in the functional properties of DDP‐resistant NSCLC cells. Methods: Circ_0058357, miR‐361‐3p and ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) subfamily C member 1 (ABCC1) were quantified by qRT‐PCR and western blot. Cell survival and viability were gauged by MTT assay. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration were measured by EdU, flow cytometry, transwell and wound‐healing assays, respectively. The direct relationship between miR‐361‐3p and circ_0058357 or ABCC1 was validated by dual‐luciferase reporter assay. Results: Our data showed that circ_0058357 was highly expressed in DDP‐resistant NSCLC tissues and cells. Inhibition of circ_0058357 repressed cell growth, invasion, migration, and promoted DDP sensitivity and cell apoptosis of H1299/DDP and A549/DDP cells in vitro. Moreover, inhibition of circ_0058357 diminished the growth of A549/DDP cells and sensitized them to the cytotoxic effect of DDP in vivo. Mechanistically, circ_0058357 contained a miR‐361‐3p binding site and miR‐361‐3p was identified as a molecular mediator of circ_0058357 regulation. MiR‐361‐3p suppressed ABCC1 expression by binding to ABCC1 3′UTR, and miR‐361‐3p‐mediated inhibition of ABCC1 affected the growth, invasion, migration, apoptosis and DDP sensitivity of H1299/DDP and A549/DDP cells. Furthermore, circ_0058357 regulated ABCC1 expression by competitively binding to shared miR‐361‐3p. Conclusions: Our findings identified that inhibition of circ_0058357 suppresses the growth and metastasis of H1299/DDP and A549/DDP cells and sensitizes them to DDP therapy partially by targeting the miR‐361‐3p/ABCC1 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Whereas the use of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) is widespread, their impact on smoking prevalence is controversial. This study considered the potential impact of NVPs on smoking prevalence in England. Design Indirect simulation model. The England SimSmoke model is validated through 2012, before NVP use became more widely used by smokers. Because information on NVP‐related transitions is limited, an indirect method is used; the difference in observed smoking prevalence (reflecting NVPs) is compared with a 2012–2019 counterfactual No‐NVP scenario (without NVPs) to estimate the impact of NVPs on smoking and smoking‐attributable deaths. Setting: England, 2000–2019. Participants: Nationally representative sample of population. Measurements England's population, mortality rates and smoking prevalence estimates from three national surveys and tobacco control policies. Findings Between 2000 and 2012, SimSmoke projected a decline in age 18+ smoking prevalence of 23.5% in men and 27.0% in women. These projections, as well as those by specific age groups, were generally consistent with findings from the three national surveys. Comparing 2012–2019 relative reduction in age 18+ prevalence from the Annual Population Survey (males, 27.5%) with the model‐predicted No‐NVP reduction (males, 7.3%), the implied NVP‐attributable relative reduction in adult smoking prevalence was 20.2% (95% CI, 18.8%–22.0%) for males and 20.4% (18.7%–22.2%) for females. The NVP‐attributable reduction was 27.2% (22.8%–31.6%) for males and 31.7% (27.4%–36.5%) for females ages 18–24 and 18.6% (15.2%–21.8%) for males and 15.0% (11.1%–18.8%) for females ages 25–34, with similar reductions for ages 35+. The implied reduction in smoking prevalence between 2012 and 2019 equates to 165 660 (132 453–199 501) averted deaths by 2052. Other surveys yielded smaller, but relatively consistent results. Conclusions: An indirect method of simulation modelling indicates that substantial reductions in smoking prevalence occurred in England from 2012–2019 coinciding with the growth in nicotine vaping product use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A previous Minnesota SimSmoke tobacco control policy model is extended to more recent years and to include smokeless tobacco use.Methods: Using data from the 1993 Tobacco Use Supplement and information on state policies, the Minnesota SimSmoke model was updated and extended to incorporate smokeless tobacco (both exclusive and dual use) and smokeless tobacco-attributable deaths. The model was then validated against the 2002, 2006/2007, and 2014/2015 Tobacco Use Supplement and the 1999, 2007, 2014, and 2018 Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey and used to estimate the impact of policies implemented between 1993 and 2018. Analysis was conducted in April 2019.Results: The model validated well for cigarette and earlier smokeless tobacco use, but it predicted smokeless tobacco use less well in recent years. The model projected that male (female) smoking prevalence was 35% (36%) lower in relative terms by 2018 and 43% (44%) lower by 2040 owing to policies, with lesser reductions projected for male smokeless tobacco use. Tobacco-attributable deaths were reduced by 7,800 by 2018 and 46,900 by 2040. Price increases, primarily through taxes, were projected to have had the greatest impact on cigarette use followed by smoke-free air laws, cessation treatment policies, tobacco control campaign expenditures, and youth access enforcement. Similar effects were projected for smokeless tobacco use, except that smoke-free air laws had smaller effects.Conclusions: As cigarettes remain the dominant form of nicotine delivery product, cigarette-oriented policies may be an effective means of reducing the use of all nicotine delivery products. However, noncigarette-oriented policies may also play an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The long‐term population health impact of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) use among smokers is unknown, and subject to a range of plausible assumptions about the use and health consequences of NVPs. While NVPs use may substitute for cigarette smoking and thereby aid in quitting cigarette use, it is also possible that smokers who would have otherwise quit would instead delay quitting cigarettes. We aimed to develop a cohort‐specific simulation model of the impact of NVPs on smoking cessation by adult smokers and resulting premature deaths (PD) and life years lost (LYL). Design A cohort‐specific simulation model of the impact of NVPs on smoking cessation by adult smokers and resulting premature deaths (PD) and life years lost (LYL) was developed by gender for two birth cohorts, aged 30 and 50 years in 2012. Extensive sensitivity analyses were conducted. Setting: United States. Participants: Smokers in two birth cohorts, aged 30 and 50 years in 2012. Measurements Data were from the 1965–2012 National Health Interview Surveys and the 2014/15 Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey. The model incorporated a range of plausible assumptions from published literature about transition rates from regular smoking to exclusive NVP and dual use, from dual use to exclusive NVP use and from exclusive NVP use to no use. Findings Compared with the no‐NVP scenario, the male (female) model projected 17.8% (19.3%) fewer PDs and 22.9% (26.6%) fewer LYL for the 1982 cohort and 5.4% (7.3%) fewer PDs and 7.9% (11.4%) fewer LYL for the 1962 cohort. These gains were sensitive to NVP use over time, age of initial NVP use, transitions from smoking to dual, exclusive NVP and no use and relative NVP mortality risks. Conclusions: Nicotine vaping product (NVP) use in the United States is projected to have a net positive impact on population health over a wide range of plausible levels of NVP use, transitions to dual, exclusive NVP and no use and NVP risks. However, net impact is sensitive to parameter estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymatic fermentation of lignocellulose biomass has shown great potential of hydrogen production but the yield is limited due to the complex structure of cellulose and hemi-celluloses. For the bio-hydrogen production from biomass, the pretreatment of biomass plays a vital role to increase the hydrogen yield. In the present work highly efficient pretreatment by mall milling of corncob biomass has been employed to optimize the thermo-physical and optical properties of corncob powder by employing state of art techniques including scanning electron microscope, x-rays diffractometer, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphological observations from microscopic images are consisted with x-ray diffraction results where the broadening in the peaks suggests the smaller particle size (large surface area) after pretreatment. From the decomposition kinetic parameters and apparent activation energy calculation by FWO and DAEM methods, the sample S2 with lowest activation energy, can have highest hydrogen production yield which is consistent with our previous findings. The broadening in the absorption peak near 1046 cm−1 suggests that C O stretching vibration (cellulose and hemicellulose)mode has been changed after different ball milling. By tailoring their activation energies through ball milling one can optimize thermo-dynamic characteristics for enhancement of biohydrogen production. • Tailoring of complex structure can be effective to enhance biohydrogen production. • The SEM and XRD results confirm the smaller particle size after pretreatment. • Absorption peak near 1046 cm−1 suggests that C O stretching vibration. • Sample with lowest activation energy, can have highest hydrogen production yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An experimental pressure control device for photo-fermentation was designed. • Lowering the hydrogen pressure by headspace decompression enhanced hydrogen yield. • The optimized phased decompression schemes were provided to improve hydrogen yield. • Cumulative hydrogen yield of experiments could be fitted well by Gompertz model. In this project, it was verified that properly reducing the bioreactor hydrogen partial pressure (HPP) could significantly enhance the photo-fermentative hydrogen production (PFHP) by corn stalk. The maximal cumulative hydrogen yield (CHY) of 82.37 mL/g was obtained under full decompression to 0.4 bar, which was 35% higher than that without decompression. To increase CHY and save the pressure control cost, 12-hour, 24-hour and 36-hour decompression schemes were provided, and the optimal decompression phase in fermentation under each scheme was investigated. The 12-hour decompression scheme was suitable for 24–36 h of fermentation; the 24-hour decompression scheme implemented within 12–36 h of fermentation had a more desirable CHY; when adopting the 36-hour decompression scheme, operation during 12–48 h yielded a CHY of 81.70 mL/g that approximated whole process decompression. The strategies of decompression at the appropriate phase of fermentation were innovative, which offered a new option for optimizing PFHP economically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]