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Half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) is regarded as a significant commercial marine fish species in China, and frequent outbreaks of vibriosis has led to substantial economic losses. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the involvement of the extracellular matrix (ECM) signaling pathway in the skin immune response of C. semilaevis infected with Vibrio vulnificus. The results showed that most differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified through iTRAQ proteome analysis, and ten ECM-related proteins were screened at 12 and 36 ​h post-infection (hpi). Notably, several DEPs associated with ECM including HSPG, FN, COCH, LAMB1, LAMC1, TSPN, COL6A1, AMBP, HX and ITGA6 were tested for their expression at the transcriptional level during V. vulnificus infection using qRT-PCR assay. The analysis of protein-protein interaction (PPI) showed that the integrin ITGA6 exhibited obvious interactions among ECM-related DEPs. Furthermore, the spatio-temporal expression of the Csitga6 gene was highest in the skin, gill, muscle, and spleen, but lower in the liver, kidney and intestine. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the involvement of ECM pathway in the skin immune response to V. vulnificus infection, and provides a reference for further study of the ECM mechanism in the mucosal immune response of marine fish.

Due to high proliferative capacity, multipotent differentiation, immunomodulatory abilities, and lack of ethical concerns, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are promising candidates for clinical application. Currently, clinical research on DPSCs is in its early stages. The reason for the failure to obtain clinically effective results may be problems with the production process of DPSCs. Due to the different preparation methods and reagent formulations of DPSCs, cell characteristics may be affected and lead to inconsistent experimental results. Preparation of clinical-grade DPSCs is far from ready. To achieve clinical application, it is essential to transit the manufacturing of stem cells from laboratory grade to clinical grade. This review compares and analyzes experimental data on optimizing the preparation methods of DPSCs from extraction to resuscitation, including research articles, invention patents and clinical trials. The advantages and disadvantages of various methods and potential clinical applications are discussed, and factors that could improve the quality of DPSCs for clinical application are proposed. The aim is to summarize the current manufacture of DPSCs in the establishment of a standardized, reliable, safe, and economic method for future preparation of clinical-grade cell products.

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in California and second among Hispanic/Latinx (H/L) males. Data from the California Cancer Registry were utilized to investigate the differential impact on CRC outcomes from demographic and clinical characteristics among non‐Hispanic white (NHW), non‐Hispanic Black (NHB), U.S. born (USB), and non‐U.S. born (NUSB) H/L patients diagnosed during 1995–2020. Methods We identified 248,238 NHW, 28,433 NHB, and 62,747 H/L cases (32,402 NUSB and 30,345 USB). Disparities across groups were evaluated through case frequencies, odds ratios (OR) from logistic regression, and hazard ratios (HR) from Cox regression models. All statistical tests were two‐sided. Results NHB patients showed a higher proportion of colon tumors (75.8%) than NHW (71.5%), whereas both NUSB (65.9%) and USB (66.9%) H/L cases had less (p

Visible light communication (VLC) and visible light positioning (VLP) systems are usually designed separately to prevent mutual interference, while terminal mobility often introduces challenges that can degrade their performance. In this paper, we propose an integrated visible light communication and positioning (VLCP) scheme designed for mobile scenarios, encompassing both multiple-input–single-output (MISO) and multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) configurations. This scheme integrates both functionalities into a unified system. Utilizing decision feedback channel estimation (DFCE), we effectively estimate the dynamic channel state information (CSI) for both VLC and VLP, thereby potentially enhancing both communication and positioning performance. Simulation results across various routes verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. It is observed that when the terminal moves at 1 m/s, the VLCP scheme with DFCE can maintain reliable transmission quality, ensuring bit error rates (BERs) consistently below 1.3 × 10−2. Additionally, the mean positioning errors remain within the centimeter range in different routes, not exceeding 4.3 cm and 15.5 cm in the MISO and MIMO scenarios, respectively.

Abstract Background Patients with malignancy are at a higher risk of developing nosocomial infections. However, limited studies investigated the clinical features and prognostic factors of nosocomial infections due to fungi in cancer patients. Herein, this study aims to investigate the clinical characteristics of in-hospital fungal infections and develop a nomogram to predict the risk of in-hospital death during fungal infection of hospitalized cancer patients. Methods This retrospective observational study enrolled cancer patients who experienced in-hospital fungal infections between September 2013 and September 2021. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. Variables demonstrating significant statistical differences in the multivariate analysis were utilized to construct a nomogram for personalized prediction of in-hospital death risk associated with nosocomial fungal infections. The predictive performance of the nomogram was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis. Results A total of 216 participants were included in the study, of which 57 experienced in-hospital death. C.albicans was identified as the most prevalent fungal species (68.0%). Respiratory infection accounted for the highest proportion of fungal infections (59.0%), followed by intra-abdominal infection (8.8%). The multivariate regression analysis revealed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG-PS) 3–4 (odds ratio [OR] = 6.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.04–18.12), pulmonary metastases (OR = 2.76, 95%CI: 1.11–6.85), thrombocytopenia (OR = 2.58, 95%CI: 1.21–5.47), hypoalbuminemia (OR = 2.44, 95%CI: 1.22–4.90), and mechanical ventilation (OR = 2.64, 95%CI: 1.03–6.73) were independent risk factors of in-hospital death. A nomogram based on the identified risk factors was developed to predict the individual probability of in-hospital mortality. The nomogram demonstrated satisfactory performance in terms of classification ability (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.759), calibration ability, and net clinical benefit. Conclusions Fungi-related nosocomial infections are prevalent among cancer patients and are associated with poor prognosis. The constructed nomogram provides an invaluable tool for oncologists, enabling them to make timely and informed clinical decisions that offer substantial net clinical benefit to patients.

Summary: Autophagy is an essential degradation and recycling process that maintains cellular homeostasis during stress or nutrient deprivation. However, certain types of tumors such as pancreatic cancers can circumvent autophagy inhibition to sustain growth. The mechanism that autophagy-deficient pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) uses to grow under nutrient deprivation is poorly understood. Our data show that nutrient deprivation in PDAC results in UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (UGDH) degradation, which is dependent on autophagic cargo receptor sequestosome 1 (p62). Moreover, we demonstrate that accumulated UGDH is indispensable for autophagy-deficient PDAC cells proliferation by promoting hyaluronic acid (HA) synthesis upon energy deprivation. Using an orthotopic mouse model of PDAC, we find that inhibition of HA synthesis by targeting UGDH in PDAC reduces tumor weight. Thus, the combined inhibition of HA and autophagy might be an attractive strategy for PDAC treatment.

Mn4+-doped red-light-emitting phosphors have become a research hotspot that can effectively enhance photosynthesis and promote morphogenesis in plants. Herein, the red phosphor La3Mg2NbO9:Mn4+ was synthesized through the solid-state reaction method. The effects of adding H3BO3 and a charge compensator R+ (R = Li, Na, K) on the crystal structure, morphology, quantum efficiency, and luminous performance of the La3Mg2NbO9:Mn4+ phosphor were systematically analyzed, respectively. The results showed that adding H3BO3 flux and a charge compensator improved the quantum efficiency and luminescence intensity. The emission intensity of the phosphor was enhanced about 5.9 times when Li+ was used as the charge compensator, while it was enhanced about 240% with the addition of H3BO3 flux. Remarkably, it was also found that the addition of H3BO3 flux and a charge compensator simultaneously improved the thermal stability at 423 K from 47.3% to 68.9%. The prototype red LED fabricated using the La3Mg2NbO9:Mn4+,H3BO3,Li+ phosphor exhibited a perfect overlap with the phytochrome absorption band for plant growth. All of these results indicate that the La3Mg2NbO9:Mn4+,H3BO3,Li+ phosphor has great potential for use in agricultural plant lighting.

Copper is a common component of industrial heavy metal waste and a major component of some fish medicines, which can cause oxidative stress and damage the health of farmed fish. The Nrf2 signaling pathway is an important pathway related to the oxidative stress on vertebrates. Exploring the effect of copper on the Nrf2 signaling pathway in fish hepatocytes would help improve the understanding of the molecular mechanism of antioxidants in fish hepatocytes and provide theoretical data for relevant toxicological research. Adult tilapia were cultured under properly controlled conditions for two weeks to adapt to laboratory culture conditions. Primary tilapia hepatocytes were obtained by cell culture. MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay was used to detect the effect of copper ions on the viability of tilapia hepatocytes. The lipid peroxidation level (MDA) and antioxidant ability of tilapia hepatocytes (SOD and CAT activity) were detected. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the differential expression of each gene (Nrf2, Keap1a, Keap1b, CuZnSOD, MnSOD, HO-1, and GSTA) in the Nrf2 signaling pathway. The results suggested that after treatment with 100 μM copper ions for 4 h, 8 h, and 24 h, the viability of hepatocytes significantly decreased (p < 0.05). LDH and MDA after 8 h and 24 h treatment were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). CAT activity significantly decreased after 4 h (p < 0.05), and SOD activity significantly decreased after 8 h and 24 h (p < 0.05). The results of qPCR showed that the expression of MnSOD significantly increased after a treatment with copper ions for 4 h, and the expression of Nrf2, Keap1a, CuZnSOD, HO-1 as well as GSTA significantly increased after a treatment with copper ions for 8 h, compared with the control group (p < 0.05). After being treated with copper ions for 24 h, the expression of Nrf2 and CuZnSOD significantly increased compared with the control group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the expression of Keap1b or CAT at each time point. In conclusion, with copper ions exposure, the viability of tilapia hepatocytes was reduced, causing lipid peroxidation, a reduction in the antioxidant capacity of cells, the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway, and the increase in the expression of most genes in this pathway, which are defensive responses of hepatocytes to oxidative stress caused by copper ions. This study can provide theoretical data for related toxicological research.

Compared to SiC MOSFET, the switching loss of Si IGBT is much higher due to its slow switching speed and tail current. Si IGBT/SiC MOSFET hybrid switch device can reach to optimal performance with low static and dynamic loss, which can improve the current capacity of SiC devices and reduce the power loss of Si IGBT based converters. With the separated gate control signals, the switching moments of the two devices can be controlled independently to ensure Si IGBT under zero-voltage switching (ZVS) conditions. This measurement tends to reduce the switching loss of Si IGBT. However, the switching time delay between these two devices has significant impacts on its power loss. In this paper, the switching time delay optimization method is proposed to minimize the power loss of the hybrid switch. The static and dynamic characteristics of Si IGBT/SiC MOSFET hybrid-paralleled switch are studied, and a generalized power loss model for hybrid switch is developed. The influence of switching time delay on the characteristics of hybrid switch is analyzed and verified through double pulse tests in a phase-leg configuration. The experimental results show that the optimal turn-on delay time is that the two devices turn on at the same time and the turn-on loss can be reduced by about 73% compared with the solely Si IGBT and by about 52% compared with the solely SiC MOSFET. While the optimal turn-off sequence is that the Si IGBT turns off ahead of the SiC MOSFET. Under the proposed optimal turn-off delay time of the hybrid switch, the turn-off loss is reduced by about 61.4%. This optimization strategy is used in a Buck converter to verify the superiority of the SiC/Si hybrid switch and the optimal switching sequence. Simulation results show that the optimal switching sequence is consistent with theoretical analysis, and the efficiency is improved by 2.5% compared with Buck converter using solely Si IGBT.

The synthesis process has a significant influence on the properties of Ca1-xTiO3:Eu3+x phosphors; thus, an optimized process will lead to a better performance of the Ca1-xTiO3:Eu3+x phosphors. In this work, the feasibility of synthesizing the Ca1-xTiO3:Eu3+x phosphor with a good luminescent performance by combining the chemical co-precipitation method and microwave-assisted sintering was studied. The precursor of Ca1-xTiO3:Eu3+x phosphors were prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method. To find an optimized process, we applied both of the traditional (furnace) sintering and the microwave-assisted sintering to synthesize the Ca1-xTiO3:Eu3+x phosphors. We found out that a sintering power of 528 W for 50 min (temperature around 950 °C) by a microwave oven resulted in similar emission intensity results compared to traditional furnace sintering at 900 °C for 2.5 h. The synthesized Ca1-xTiO3:Eu3+x phosphors has an emission peak at 617 nm (5D0→7F2), which corresponds to the red light band. This new synthesized method is an energy efficient, time saving, and environmentally friendly means for the preparation of Ca1-xTiO3:Eu3+x red phosphor with good luminescent performance.