Search

ObjectiveTo evaluate the risk of cardiac adverse events in patients with malignant tumors after chemotherapy by using a combination of acoustic cardiography and blood indices. MethodsA total of 171 patients with malignant tumor who received chemotherapy were included. They were divided into cardiac adverse event group and non-cardiac adverse event group in accordance with whether cardiac adverse events occurred after chemotherapy. The general data, blood indices before chemotherapy, and acoustic cardiography-related indices in the early stage (1-3 cycles) of chemotherapy of the two groups were analyzed. The possible influencing factors were determined by binary logistic regression analysis, and the nomogram was drawn. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the prediction ability of the nomogram. ResultsCardiac adverse events occurred in 44 of 171 patients with malignant tumors after chemotherapy, and the incidence of cardiac adverse events was 25.73%. Binary logistic regression results showed that age, red blood cell distribution width (RDW) before chemotherapy, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and electromechanical activation time (EMAT) at the early stage of chemotherapy were independent predictors of cardiac adverse events in chemotherapy patients. The area under the ROC curve of the nomogram was 0.768 (95%CI: 0.693-0.843, P

Sensory evaluation, biochemical analysis, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-TOF-MS) were used to detect and analyze different baking degrees of ‘Chungui’ Minbei oolong tea. Partial least squares discriminant analysis model and trend model were established to explore the differences in sensory quality, conventional biochemical components, catechin components, amino acid components and volatile substances. The results showed that the total score of sensory evaluation of light baking degree of ‘Chungui’ (91.3~93.65) was slightly lower than that of medium baking degree (93.6~94.15). Among the biochemical components, the amino acid content of light baking degree was significantly higher than that of medium baking degree (P

Carbendazim (methyl benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate, CBZ) is a systemic benzimidazole carbamate fungicide and can be used to control a wide range of fungal diseases caused by Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes and Deuteromycetes. It is widely used in horticulture, forestry, agriculture, preservation and gardening due to its broad spectrum and leads to its accumulation in soil and water environmental systems, which may eventually pose a potential threat to non-target organisms through the ecological chain. Therefore, the removal of carbendazim residues from the environment is an urgent problem. Currently, a number of physical and chemical treatments are effective in degrading carbendazim. As a green and efficient strategy, microbial technology has the potential to degrade carbendazim into non-toxic and environmentally acceptable metabolites, which in turn can dissipate carbendazim from the contaminated environment. To date, a number of carbendazim-degrading microbes have been isolated and reported, including, but not limited to, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, Sphingomonas, and Aeromonas. Notably, the common degradation property shared by all strains was their ability to hydrolyze carbendazim to 2-aminobenzimidazole (2-AB). The complete mineralization of the degradation products is mainly dependent on the cleavage of the imidazole and benzene rings. Additionally, the currently reported genes for carbendazim degradation are MheI and CbmA, which are responsible for breaking the ester and amide bonds, respectively. This paper reviews the toxicity, microbial degradation of carbendazim, and bioremediation techniques for carbendazim-contaminated environments. This not only summarizes and enriches the theoretical basis of microbial degradation of carbendazim, but also provides practical guidance for bioremediation of carbendazim-contaminated residues in the environment.

Depending on the PV power, load power, and battery status, the system may operate in different modes. The control loop may have to switch between operating modes. In practice, it is difficult to implement control loop switching because the transition and dynamic process are difficult to control. As a result, this paper presents a generalized mode control method that avoids loop switching across modes. First, system structure and topology are introduced. The operating conditions for both grid-connected and off-grid modes are then divided into six sub-cases. Furthermore, the control architecture, control loop, and reference transition for various scenarios are described. Finally, an experimental platform is built, and the results are presented to verify the proposed method.

Abstract Background Exercise is crucial for pulmonary rehabilitation and improving the prognosis of lung transplantation (LTx) patients. However, many LTx patients in China have low exercise tolerance and compliance, and the reasons behind these challenges have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this qualitative research aims to identify the barriers to and facilitators of exercise rehabilitation in LTx patients. Methods From January to July 2023, 15 stable LTx patients were recruited and participated in in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews at Henan Provincial People’s Hospital. The interview transcripts were analyzed using the COM-B model and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Results Six general themes including 19 barriers and 14 facilitators for the exercise rehabilitation of LTx patients were identified based on the COM-B model and TDF. The barriers to exercise included physical limitations, insufficient exercise endurance, lack of knowledge, and lack of motivation. The facilitators of exercise included motivation, self-efficacy, perceived significance of exercise rehabilitation, and social support. Conclusion The study offers detailed insight into the development and implementation of exercise rehabilitation intervention strategies for LTx patients. By combining COM-B model and TDF, the study provides strong evidence that active behavior change strategies are required for LTx patients to promote their participation in exercise rehabilitation. Professional support, pulmonary rehabilitation training, behavior change technology, and digital health tools are essential for strengthening the evidence system for reporting exercise efficacy and effectiveness.

ABSTRACT Some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can provide significant health benefits, which are critically important for the conservation of endangered animals, such as giant pandas. However, little is known about the diversity and culturability of LAB in the giant panda gut microbiota. To understand the roles of LAB in giant panda conservation, it is critical to culture bacterial strains of interest. In this study, we established a pipeline to culture bacterial strains using enrichment of target bacteria with different liquid media and growth conditions. Then, the strains were isolated in solid media to study their functions. Using 210 samples from the culture enrichment method and 138 culture-independent samples, we obtained 1120 amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs) belonging to Lactobacillales. Out of the 1120 ASVs, 812 ASVs from the culture enrichment approach were twofold more diverse than 336 ASVs from the culture-independent approach. Many ASVs of interest were not detected in the culture-independent approach. Using this pipeline, we isolated many relevant bacterial strains and established a giant panda gut bacteria strain collection that included strains with low-abundance in culture-independent samples and included most of the giant panda LAB described by other researchers. The strain collection consisted of 60 strains representing 35 species of 12 genera. Thus, our pipeline is powerful and provides guidance in culturing gut microbiota of interest in hosts such as the giant panda.IMPORTANCECultivation is necessary to screen strains to experimentally investigate microbial traits, and to confirm the activities of novel genes through functional characterization studies. In the long-term, such work can aid in the identification of potential health benefits conferred by bacteria and this could aid in the identification of bacterial candidate strains that can be applied as probiotics. In this study, we developed a pipeline with low-cost and user-friendly culture enrichment to reveal the diversity of LAB in giant pandas. We compared the difference between culture-independent and culture enrichment methods, screened strains of interest that produced high concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and we investigated the catalog of virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, butyrate and lactate synthesis genes of the strains at a genomic level. This study will provide guidance for microbiota cultivation and a foundation for future research aiming to understand the functions of specific strains.

As a medicine-food homology herb, Dendrobium spp. has versatile applications in modern medicine and food industry. Herein, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) based method was established for simultaneous quantification of six active components, including gigantol, erianin, naringenin, quercetin, rutin, and p-coumaric acid in Dendrobium spp., on the basis of optimized sample preparation, mass spectrometry conditions, and chromatography conditions. Sample extraction was carried out using methanol at a temperature of 60 °C, followed by separation on a T3 C18 column utilizing a gradient eluting program. The results demonstrated excellent linearity (r > 0.999) for the six active components within a specified concentration range. The average recovery rates ranged from 84.7 % to 106.9 %, and the precision (RSD) was within 7.4 %. The detection and quantification limits of this method ranged from 0.34 to 4.17 ng mL−1 and 1.12–13.91 ng mL−1, respectively. The established method demonstrates high accuracy and reliability and is applicable in practical sample detection. Different Dendrobium spp. exhibit specific variations in compound composition, with D. fimbriatum Hook. having a higher content of benzyl compounds and D. crystallinum. Rchb. f. having a higher content of flavonoids. This study provides experimental evidence for the quality and safety regulation of Dendrobium spp.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the clinical manifestations and prognosis of lung transplant (LTx) recipients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsThe research participants were LTx recipients who underwent surgery and were regularly followed up at our center. From 1 December 2022 to 28 February 2023, during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, research participants were interviewed either online or in person. SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid or self-tested antigens were detected according to accessibility. Diagnosis and treatment were performed according to the Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for COVID-19 (10th edition) issued by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. Hospitalized patients underwent chest imaging examinations, routine blood tests, biomarkers for infection and inflammation, and biochemical tests, all of which were taken and recorded. Data were analyzed to describe the features of COVID-19 in LTx recipients.ResultsIn total, 52 patients were enrolled in this study, comprising 48 men and 4 women, with a mean age of 51.71 ± 11.67 years. By 1 December 2022, the mean survival period was 33.87 ± 25.97 months, of which 84.61% of the patients (44/52) had a survival period longer than 12 months. The SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in these LTx recipients was 82.69% (43/52), with 3.85% (2/52) of the infected recipients being asymptomatic, 50.00% (26/52) of the infected recipients experiencing mild COVID-19, 11.54% (6/52) having moderate COVID-19, and 17.31% (9/52) having severe or critical COVID-19. The mortality rate among severe and critical patients was 66.67% (6/9).ConclusionLTx recipients in this cohort exhibited a notable susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, with 82.69% of individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. Moreover, the mortality rate among critically ill patients was high.

Compared with the exploration and development of medium-shallow shale gas, deep shale gas is deeply buried, with complex structures and variable pressure systems, making it difficult to increase drilling speed. The reservoirs are of poor compressibility and it is difficult to transform the volume. How to improve drilling and completion efficiency and reduce drilling and completion costs is the largest challenge in achieving the economic benefits of deep shale gas development. In order to clarify the current technical level and existing problems of deep normal pressure shale gas drilling and completion, the technical indicators and progress of deep shale gas in drilling and completion engineering at home and abroad are summarized and analyzed in this paper and it points out the existing problems and puts forward suggestions. SINOPEC has realized the economic benefit development of deep normal pressure shale gas in blocks such as Weirong and Yongchuan and has basically formed a high-efficiency drilling technology system for long horizontal wells with low-cost high-performance oil-based drilling fluid, enhanced drilling parameters, high-torque positive displacement motor, personalized drill bit, precise guidance and efficient control of long horizontal wells, real-time drilling monitoring and intelligent optimization technology as the core. The maximum horizontal section length and one-trip footage have been extended to 4 386 m and 4 225 m respectively. However, compared with the advanced records in North America, there is still a certain gap between the life of positive displacement motor, stability and reliability of rotary steering tools, super one-trip drilling technology and ratio, and near-bit push tools. Therefore, it is necessary to research and develop the core tools to further improve the drilling efficiency. Due to the limitation of economic development benefits, the deve-lopment of deep shale gas in North America is less than 4 200 m. In China, we have broken through the 4 700 m deep shale gas fracturing technology and formed an independent 4 700 m deep shale gas fracturing technology system with fracturing technology, segmented tools, main materials, and monitoring technology as the core. However, for deep and ultra-deep shale in complex structural areas, it is difficult to form complex fracture nets. It is extremely necessary to further improve the fracture propagation mechanism, develop a fracturing fluid system with better drag reduction and 175 MPa fracturing equipment to break through the bottleneck of efficient fracturing technology for 4 700-6 000 m shale gas.

Potential induced degradation (PID) is regarded as one of leading causes of photovoltaic (PV) module degradation. A PID suppression method is proposed in this paper, in which a PID suppression unit is added between DC negative bus and ground. The idea is to regulate the output voltage of the added power supply, and then correspondingly raise the voltage of the PV module to the ground to suppress the PID effect. A high-value resistor is added in the proposed PID suppression unit for the safety of preventing electric shock. To determine the value of the high-value resistor, detailed analysis for PV module positive or negative terminals shorted to the ground is performed. The design of the added power supply is investigated, including topology selection, voltage setting, and close-loop control. Furthermore, detailed voltage analysis for the added power supply is implemented for the systems with front-end boost DC/DC converters and 3-level boost DC/DC converters, respectively. Additionally, in the proposed solution, a switch is used to control whether the PID suppression unit is connected to the system. Three requirements are explained, as well as the corresponding control for the switch. Finally, experimental results are presented to validate the proposed theory.

Rubisco small subunit (RbcS), a core component with crucial effects on the structure and kinetic properties of the Rubisco enzyme, plays an important role in response to plant growth, development, and various stresses. Although Rbcs genes have been characterized in many plants, their muti-functions in soybeans remain elusive. In this study, a total of 11 GmRbcS genes were identified and subsequently divided into three subgroups based on a phylogenetic relationship. The evolutionary analysis revealed that whole-genome duplication has a profound effect on GmRbcSs. The cis-acting elements responsive to plant hormones, development, and stress-related were widely found in the promoter region. Expression patterns based on the RT-qPCR assay exhibited that GmRbcS genes are expressed in multiple tissues, and notably Glyma.19G046600 (GmRbcS8) exhibited the highest expression level compared to other members, especially in leaves. Moreover, differential expressions of GmRbcS genes were found to be significantly regulated by exogenous plant hormones, demonstrating their potential functions in diverse biology processes. Finally, the function of GmRbcS8 in enhancing soybean resistance to soybean mosaic virus (SMV) was further determined through the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assay. All these findings establish a strong basis for further elucidating the biological functions of RbcS genes in soybeans.

As the driving source, highly efficient silicon-based light emission is urgently needed for the realization of optoelectronic integrated chips. Here, we report that enhanced green electroluminescence (EL) can be obtained from oxygen-doped silicon nitride (SiNx:O) films based on an ordered and tunable Ag nanocavity array with a high density by nanosphere lithography and laser irradiation. Compared with that of a pure SiNxO device, the green electroluminescence (EL) from the SiNx:O/Ag nanocavity array device can be increased by 7.1-fold. Moreover, the external quantum efficiency of the green electroluminescence (EL) is enhanced 3-fold for SiNx:O/Ag nanocavity arrays with diameters of 300 nm. The analysis of absorption spectra and the FDTD calculation reveal that the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance of size-controllable Ag nanocavity arrays and SiNx:O films play a key role in the strong green EL. Our discovery demonstrates that SiNx:O films coupled with tunable Ag nanocavity arrays are promising for silicon-based light-emitting diode devices of the AI period in the future.

ObjectiveProbiotics are beneficial to the intestinal barrier, but few studies have investigated probiotics from giant pandas. This study aims to explore the preventive effects of giant panda-derived Clostridium butyricum on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice.MethodsClostridium butyricum was administered to mice 14 days before administering DSS treatment to induce enteritis.ResultsClostridium butyricum B14 could more effectively prevent colitis in mice than C. butyricum B13. C. butyricum B14 protected the mouse colon by decreasing the histology index and serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels, which improved intestinal inflammation-related symptoms. In addition, the treatment led to the regulation of the expression of Tifa, Igkv12-89, and Nr1d1, which in turn inhibited immune pathways. The expression of Muc4, Lama3, Cldn4, Cldn3, Ocln, Zo1, Zo2, and Snai is related the intestinal mucosal barrier. 16S sequencing shows that the C. butyricum B14 significantly increased the abundance of certain intestinal probiotics. Overall, C. butyricum B14 exerted a preventive effect on colitis in mice by inhibiting immune responses, enhancing the intestinal barrier and increasing the abundance of probiotic species. Thus, C. butyricum B14 administration helps regulate the balance of the intestinal microecology. It can suppress immune pathways and enhance barrier-protective proteins.

Epidemiological evidence on the health effects of pesticide exposure among greenhouse workers is limited, and the mechanisms are lacking. Building upon our team’s previous population study, we selected two pesticides, CPF and EB, with high detection rates, based on the theoretical foundation that the liver serves as a detoxifying organ, we constructed a toxicity model using HepG2 cells to investigate the impact of individual or combined pesticide exposure on the hepatic metabolism profile, attempting to identify targeted biomarkers. Our results showed that CPF and EB could significantly affect the survival rate of HepG2 cells and disrupt their metabolic profile. There were 117 metabolites interfered by CPF exposure, which mainly affected ABC transporter, biosynthesis of amino acids, center carbon metabolism in cancer, fatty acid biosynthesis and other pathways, 95 metabolites interfered by EB exposure, which mainly affected center carbon metabolism in cancer, HIF-1 signaling pathway, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis and other pathways. The cross analysis and further biological experiments confirmed that CPF and EB pesticide exposure may affect the HIF-1 signaling pathway and valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis in HepG2 cells, providing reliable experimental evidence for the prevention and treatment of liver damage in greenhouse workers.

PV arc-faults can cause fires, damage property, and endanger people's lives. This paper proposes a method for detecting DC arcs using artificial intelligence (AI). The four steps for arc detection are thoroughly described. After removing the low-frequency range (41 kHz) and high-frequency range (>102.5 kHz) components, the middle frequency range is left for arc analysis. For AI analysis, eight inputs are used. The time sequence for the tasks is also explained, where the parallel task configuration is adopted to save the time. Furthermore, AI model training for arc detection is described, including both offline and online training. In addition, three different types of arc detection system architectures are depicted. There are three layers in the architectures: the PV-end layer, the inverter-level layer, and the cloud layer. Depending on the architecture, the algorithm is located in different layers. Furthermore, the hardware of the arc detection system is explained, as is the self-testing circuit. Finally, an experimental platform is built, and experimental results are presented to validate the proposed method.

The pile-up processing has a great impact on the flavor of white tea. To investigate the effects of the volatile accumulation of white tea with different piling thickness treatments, tea leaves from different thickness treatments were subjected to sensory quantitative description analysis and ATD-GC–MS detection in this study. As a result, 122 volatile components were identified from white tea with different treatments. A total of 8 key compounds, including isovaleraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, 2-methyl-butanal, 1-octene-3-ol, linalool, pentanoic acid, hexanal and 1-hexanol were screened out using multivariate statistical analysis, which were characteristic components of grassy, floral-fruity, pekoe aroma and sweet flavors. The results of the selected key characteristic volatile compounds were consistent with the sensory quantitative description. The aroma of mid-pile dried tea (MD) was exhibited a harmonious and pleasant overall flavor. This study provides a novel insight into the accumulation of volatile during the withering step of white tea production.

Electrolytic capacitors are considered a vulnerable link in PV systems. In order to enhance the system reliability and lifespan, this paper investigates a PV system without electrolytic capacitors. First, the system structure is introduced. Then, the system control architecture based on the system structure of a bidirectional-DC/DC connecting to the dc-bus is proposed. Five control loops are illustrated for current ripple absorbing. Furthermore, an alternative control solution is proposed to eliminate four current sensors for reducing system costs. Meanwhile, a DC-bus voltage over-limit control block is added. Additionally, another alternative solution is proposed where a blocking unit is added. The blocking unit is activated only when the dc-bus voltage is over the limits to increase system efficiency. Finally, experimental results are provided to verify the theory.

This paper investigates the dc-bus voltage balancing for 3-level DC/DC converters. First, the system control diagram is introduced. Then, based on duty cycle and operating modes, four different cases are illustrated. The output voltages under four cases are detailed, and the dc-bus voltage balancing actions for different cases are summarized. The dc-bus voltage balancing situation becomes worse when the system is in the condition of D > 0.5 and DCM. Therefore, three methods are proposed to solve the issue raised. The first method is to limit D≤0.5. The second method applies an opposite control when D > 0.5 and DCM. The third solution adopts an intelligent control.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is a dioecious, diploid, wind-pollinated crop cultivated worldwide. Sex determination plays an important role in spinach breeding. Hence, this study aimed to understand the differences in sexual differentiation and floral organ development of dioecious flowers, as well as the differences in the regulatory mechanisms of floral organ development of dioecious and monoecious flowers. We compared transcriptional-level differences between different genders and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to spinach floral development, as well as sex-biased genes to investigate the flower development mechanisms in spinach. In this study, 9189 DEGs were identified among the different genders. DEG analysis showed the participation of four main transcription factor families, MIKC_MADS, MYB, NAC, and bHLH, in spinach flower development. In our key findings, abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA) signal transduction pathways play major roles in male flower development, while auxin regulates both male and female flower development. By constructing a gene regulatory network (GRN) for floral organ development, core transcription factors (TFs) controlling organ initiation and growth were discovered. This analysis of the development of female, male, and monoecious flowers in spinach provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of floral organ development and sexual differentiation in dioecious and monoecious plants in spinach.

Owing to the rising demand for vegetable soybean products, there is an increasing need for high-yield soybean varieties. However, the complex correlation patterns among quantitative traits with genetic architecture pose a challenge for improving vegetable soybean through breeding. Herein, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was applied to 6 yield-related traits in 188 vegetable soybean accessions. Using a BLINK model, a total of 116 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified for plant height, pod length, pod number, pod thickness, pod width, and fresh pod weight. Furthermore, a total of 220 genes were found in the 200 kb upstream and downstream regions of significant SNPs, including 11 genes encoding functional proteins. Among them, four candidate genes, Glyma.13G109100, Glyma.03G183200, Glyma.09G102200, and Glyma.09G102300 were analyzed for significant haplotype variations and to be in LD block, which encode MYB-related transcription factor, auxin-responsive protein, F-box protein, and CYP450, respectively. The relative expression of candidate genes in V030 and V071 vegetable soybean (for the plant height, pod number, and fresh pod weight of V030 were lower than those of the V071 strains) was significantly different, and these genes could be involved in plant growth and development via various pathways. Altogether, we identified four candidate genes for pod yield and plant height from vegetable soybean germplasm. This study provides insights into the genomic basis for improving soybean and crucial genomic resources that can facilitate genome-assisted high-yielding vegetable soybean breeding.

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is a widely cultivated legume and an enriched source of edible oil and protein. Membrane Attack Complex/Perforin Domain-Containing Proteins (MACPFs) played significant roles in plant growth and biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we performed a genome-wide scanning for the putative GmMACPFs and a total of 20 GmMACPFs were identified in soybean. The conserved domain and phylogenetic analysis of MACPF showed the evolutionary diversification of MACPF genes family among legumes. The GmMACPFs protein characteristics were predicted, including theoretical molecular weight (38.06 to 68.38 kDa), protein isoelectric point (6.61 to 9.41), subcellular localization (nucleus, cytoplasm or mitochondria) and various TFs binding sites. GmMACPFs are located on 12 chromosomes out of a total 20 chromosomes in soybean. The 2 kb promoter analysis revealed that GmMACPFs contains a large number of phytohormones and stress responsive cis-acting elements (CAE) and transcription factor binding sites. We explored the 3D protein structure of GmMACPFs, their posttranscriptional regulators especially abiotic stress responsive miRNAs, and the evolutionary relationship among different legumes and Arabidopsis. GmMACPFs expression pattern was retrieved from RNA-seq libraries for tissue specific and under various abiotic stresses in soybean. According to the results, GmMACPF genes exhibited spatiotemporal, tissue, development stage and abiotic stress specific expression patterns in soybean. Our RT-qPCR analysis indicates the antagonistic expression pattern between GmmiRNA-GmMACPF modules under cold, salt, drought and heat stresses. Transient over expression of GmmiRNA169o-GmMACPF-9 module in soybean hairy root and biochemical analysis showed that GmmiRNA169o-OE plants accumulated less reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and accumulated higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) to enhance cold stress tolerance. These results enriched our knowledge of the functions of GmmiRNA169o and GmMACPF-9 and provided candidate miRNAs-GmMACPFs modules especially GmmiRNA169o for environmental stress resilient soybean breeding through genetic engineering.

BackgroundImidacloprid is a neonicotinoid insecticide that is widely used in agricultural production, with a high detection rate in human biological samples. Previous studies have shown a high correlation between imidacloprid exposure and liver injury, but the specific mechanism is still unknown. ObjectiveTo observe potential toxic effects of HepG2 cells and its perturbation of non-targeted metabolic profile after imidacloprid exposure, and to explore possible molecular mechanisms of hepatotoxicity of imidacloprid by analyzing invovlved biological processes and signaling pathways. MethodsHepG2 cell suspension was prepared and seeded in a 96-well plate, which was divided into blank control group, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent control group and imidacloprid exposure groups with multiple concentrations. Each group was set with 5 parallel samples. The viability of HepG2 cells viability were determined after 8 h of exposure to different concentrationsof imidacloprid (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 mmol·L−1), and the dose-effect relationship was analyzed. A proper concentration (3 mmol·L−1 with 80% viability) was chosen for imidacloprid exposure, non-targeted metabolomic analysis was applied to the cultivated HepG2 cells using UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS technology, the differential metabolites between groups were screened, and the bioprocess and related signaling pathways of their enrichment were annotated using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. ResultsCompared to the other two groups, the survival rates of HepG2 cells in the imidacloprid exposure groups decreased. A survival rate of about 86% of HepG2 cells was found in HepG2 cells exposed to 2.5 mmol·L−1 imidacloprid exposure. The non-targeted metabolomics studies showed that 61 metabolites were significantly affected in HepG2 cells after 3 mmol·L−1 imidacloprid exposure, including creatine (variable importance in projection VIP=1.11, P

Objective: The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prophylactic effect of alpha blockers against postoperative urinary retention (POUR) in orthopaedic patients.Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were searched between 1 January 1990 and 1 March 2023. The studies reporting the preventive efficacy of alpha blockers on POUR after orthopaedic procedures were identified. The pooled rates of POUR in the Intervention group (patients receiving alpha blockers) and the Control group (patients not receiving alpha blockers) were estimated and compared. The risk ratios (RRs) were calculated using the random-effects model. Subgroup analysis was performed based on surgical type. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was conducted to confirm the robustness of pooled results.Results: Seven studies containing 1,607 patients were identified. The rates of POUR were similar between the two groups (Intervention group: 126/748 [16.8%] VS. Control group: 168/859 [19.6%]; RR = 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51 to 1.09; p = 0.130; Heterogeneity: I2 = 67.1%; p = 0.006). No significant difference in the incidence of POUR was observed in either the Arthroplasty subgroup or Spine surgery subgroup. The result of TSA suggested that the total sample size of the existing evidence might be insufficient to draw conclusive results. Administrating alpha blockers was associated with a higher risk of complications (88/651 [13.5%] VS. 56/766 [7.3%]; RR = 1.73; 95% CI 1.27 to 2.37; p = 0.0005; Heterogeneity: I2 = 0%; p = 0.69).Conclusion: Prophylactic alpha blockers do not reduce the risk of POUR in orthopaedic procedures, and administrating these drugs was associated with a higher risk of complications.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=409388.

The gonadal soma-derived factor (gsdf) gene was previously identified in a variety of fish and was found to be closely related to sexual differentiation and gonad development. In this study, gsdf was identified in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) using a series of bioinformatics methods. Additionally, artificial compound feed containing 17β-estradiol (60 μg/g) was used to induce the sexual reversal of male catfish, and then gsdf expression was compared among XX females, XY females, and XY males at the age of 90 and 540 days after hatching. Synteny analysis revealed that gsdf genes were relatively conserved in bony fish. Tissue distribution analysis showed that this gene was highly expressed mainly in the testis (P

In order to effectively solve the technical problem of the prediction of coal floor water inrush, according to the spatial distribution differences of geological conditions, combined with the typical coal mine, a partition calculation map of the development depth of the mineral pressure failure zone was made, and the mining process under different geological conditions has been numerically simulated and analyzed. And the empirical formula is modified by the numerical simulation calculation results, the calculation formula of the development depth of the mineral pressure failure zone of a typical coal mine was established, which effectively improves the accuracy of the calculation of the depth of the mineral pressure failure zone and lays the foundation for the quantification of evaluation indicators related to the aquifuge. According to the hydrogeological characteristics of southwest mines in China, 12 evaluation indicators determined from the three aspects of aquifer, aquifuge and geological structure, and an evaluation index system of water inrush risk of the karst aquifer in the coal floor has been constructed. On this basis, further using GIS technology and entropy weight theory, a multi-source information evaluation method for the risk of water inrush from coal floor was proposed, and verified the evaluation results.

Objectives: Mycobacterium paragordonae (MPG) is an emerging and less common type of Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and we know little about its characteristics and prognosis, hence we constructed this retrospective cohort study. Methods: MPG was identified using MALD-TOF MS, multi-target combined gene sequencing and WGS. Clinical information was collected, antimicrobial susceptibility testing was measured using the SLOMYCO panel, and optimal growth temperature testing was measured using Lowenstein-Jensen medium. Results: Eight MPGs were isolated from 1730 NTMs (0.46%); the mean age of MPG pulmonary disease (MPG-PD) patients was 42.38 ± 9.92 years, 37.5% were male, and the average BMI was 18.4 ± 0.51 kg/m2. All patients had the symptoms of cough and sputum and CT images mainly presented in patchy or streaky shadows, MPG grew at 25°C, 30°C and 37°C, and the optimal growth temperature is 37°C. MPGs were sensitive to clarithromycin, rifabutin, amikacin, linezolid, moxifloxacin, cotrimoxazole and ciprofloxacin, two isolates were resistant to rifampicin. Two patients had follow up information, their imaging remained stable during the follow-up. Conclusions: MPG-PD is a rare NTM disease and is more likely to develop in middle-aged, female, and low BMI patients. The patients present with no specific features within the symptoms as well as the CT imaging. The optimal growth temperature of MPG is at 37°C, MPG-PD has excellent sensitivity to drugs recommended by CLSI and presents with a stable disease.

Part of a gold deposit belongs to altered type gold deposit. The gold bearing alteration zone is composed of sericite, silicification and pyritization caused by hydrothermal alteration of granite. Most of the ore bodies are hosted in pyrite sericite and some in pyrite sericite granite. Using optical microscope, mineral analysis system (BPMA), scanning electron microscope and energy spectrum, the process mineralogical characteristics of minerals were analyzed. It was found that sulfide ore was the main ore and the depth of oxidation zone was very shallow. The gold grade is 5.23 g/t. The main gold minerals are natural gold and silver gold. The main metal minerals are pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and other sulfide minerals and magnetite and other oxide minerals. Gangue minerals mainly include quartz, sericite, feldspar, etc. The size of gold is fine, all of which are below 37 μm. According to the occurrence state of gold minerals, the content of gold bearing minerals existing in monomer form and coexisting with pyrite is 83.18%, which is easy to recover; the content of gold minerals associated with sericite, quartz and magnetite is 16.82%, which is the main reason for the low gold recovery rate in flotation process.

In order to explore the technological mineralogical properties of an iron ore in Inner Mongolia, a more comprehensive technological mineral study was carried out on the ore. The results showed that the iron grade of the ore was 23.52%, and the iron in the ore mainly existed in the form of magnetic iron. 85.60% of the total iron, followed by iron in hematite and limonite, accounting for 7.35% of the total iron, iron in the form of silicate accounting for 6.33% of the total iron, only a trace amount of iron in sulfide minerals, it accounts for 0.72% of the total iron; the main metal mineral of the ore is magnetite, which contains a small amount of hematite and pyrite, and traces of chalcopyrite and sphalerite are visible. Gangue minerals mainly include quartz and feldspar (potassium Feldspar, albite, plagioclase), hornblende (actinolite, chlorite, etc.), mica (biotite, muscovite, etc.), chlorite, calcite, apatite, etc. The ore carries out systematic technological mineralogical research, which provides major basic data support for the comprehensive development and utilization of this type of resource.

This article was aimed at a certain tellurium-bearing gold ore and its samples after alkaline leaching. Through the process mineralogical analysis of two samples, the elemental composition, mineral composition and minerals of the ore in the sampleswere respectively determined. The characteristics of the embedding, the occurrence state of the target element, the particle size distribution of the target mineral, etc. were reported. The research results showed that the presence of tellurium-bearing gold ore in the raw ore affectedthe leaching rate of gold during the leaching process. The alkaline leaching pretreatment process can oxidize the tellurium-bearing gold ore; the fine-grained minerals in the raw ore were oxidized and decomposed into fine particles during the alkaline leaching process. Granular minerals,during the alkaline leaching process, pyrite and tellurium-bearing gold ore were oxidized to release gold minerals. It is shown that the alkaline leaching pretreatment process has obvious effects on the treatment of tellurium-bearing gold ore, and has guiding significance for the formulation of the process flow of tellurium-bearing gold ore.

Understanding the genetic basis for variations in growth-associated traits in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) has important implications for the catfish breeding industry. Rrp44/Dis3, an RNase II family protein, is the exosome catalytic subunit. Through GWAS significant marker-trait associations were found between the rrp44 gene and growth traits.In this study, we investigated the rrp44 gene in channel catfish through molecular cloning and genomics methods, to explore its potential role in growth. We obtained the full-length coding sequence (2853 bp) of the rrp44 gene, encoding 951 amino acids. Multiple sequence alignments and synteny comparisons confirmed that rrp44 paralogs were widespread in fish genomes (Atlantic cod, Japanese medaka, southern platyfish, channel catfish, Atlantic salmon and zebrafish. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the phylogenetic tree of fish can be divided into four clades (Siluriformes, Cypriniformes, Salmoniformes and Perciformes). In fish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Silurus meridionalis and Ictalurus punctatus have close kinship, in agreement with their traditional taxonomic status. Quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated that rrp44 had the highest expression in the kidneys, and the lowest expression in the spleen. A target-seq strategy was used to screen and genotype single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the rrp44 gene. SNP genotypes and diplotypes of the rrp44 gene and their associations with growth traits were also examined. The results revealed 78 SNPs in the rrp44 gene, of which seven (rs2, rs5, rs6, rs13, rs17, rs19 and rs20) were associated with body weight. The masses of fish with the rs2 CC and rs13 GC genotypes were 6.97 % and 5.49 % higher than the group average mass, respectively. Furthermore, rs20 caused a mutation in the RNB domain of Rrp44 (serine to glutamine substitution), and fish carrying one or two copies of the adenine mutant allele of rs20 had significantly higher body mass than GG individuals (P

Karst groundwater resources are rich, and they have important water supply significance. A karst reservoir is a means of exploiting and utilizing groundwater resources, but because of the complex hydrogeological structure and underground river pipeline in a karst area, the seepage problem of the reservoir is extremely serious. Therefore, the Yibasan Karst Reservoir (YKR) was selected as the focus of this study. The hydrogeological structure of the subterranean river system of Yutang (SRSY) was identified and the hydraulic connections between the subterranean river conduits were determined using tracer experiment and groundwater dynamic monitoring. Furthermore, the development location and depth of the karst seepage zone of the YKR were determined using geophysical exploration. The results showed that there were three subterranean river conduits in the SRSY, and there was no hydraulic connection. The northern and southern pressure and torsion faults on the sides constitute the impervious boundary of the SRSY, which provided good catchment conditions for the formation of the YKR. Additionally, the northern and main conduits of the SRSY provide a sufficient groundwater source for the YKR. Moreover, the development width of the karst seepage zone of the YKR ranges between 40 and 60 m, and the elevation ranges between 1275 and 1355 m. The research results not only provide an effective basis for the treatment of the karst seepage problem of the YKR but also provide an important reference for the development and utilization of groundwater resources in similar karst areas.

The increasing sodium salts (NaCl, NaHCO3, NaSO4 etc.) in agricultural soil is a serious global concern for sustainable agricultural production and food security. Soybean is an important food crop, and their cultivation is severely challenged by high salt concentration in soils. Classical transgenic and innovative breeding technologies are immediately needed to engineer salt tolerant soybean plants. Additionally, unfolding the molecular switches and the key components of the soybean salt tolerance network are crucial for soybean salt tolerance improvement. Here we review our understandings of the core salt stress response mechanism in soybean. Recent findings described that salt stress sensing, signalling, ionic homeostasis (Na+/K+) and osmotic stress adjustment might be important in regulating the soybean salinity stress response. We also evaluated the importance of antiporters and transporters such as Arabidopsis K+ Transporter 1 (AKT1) potassium channel and the impact of epigenetic modification on soybean salt tolerance. We also review key phytohormones, and osmo-protectants and their role in salt tolerance in soybean. In addition, we discuss the progress of omics technologies for identifying salt stress responsive molecular switches and their targeted engineering for salt tolerance in soybean. This review summarizes recent progress in soybean salt stress functional genomics and way forward for molecular breeding for developing salt-tolerant soybean plant.

Co-contamination of arsenic and fluoride is widely distributed in groundwater. However, little is known about the interactively influence of arsenic and fluoride, especially the combined mechanism in cardiotoxicity. Cellular and animal models exposure to arsenic and fluoride were established to assess the oxidative stress and autophagy mechanism of cardiotoxic damage using the factorial design, a widely used statistical method for assessing two factor interventions. In vivo, combined exposure to high arsenic (50 mg/L) and high fluoride (100 mg/L) induced myocardial injury. The damage is accompanied by accumulation of myocardial enzyme, mitochondrial disorder, and excessive oxidative stress. Further experiment identified that arsenic and fluoride induced the accumulation of autophagosome and increased expression level of autophagy related genes during the cardiotoxicity process. These findings were further demonstrated through the in vitro model of arsenic and fluoride-treated the H9c2 cells. Additionally, combined of arsenic-fluoride exposure possesses the interactively influence on oxidative stress and autophagy, contributing to the myocardial cell toxicity. In conclusion, our data suggest that oxidative stress and autophagy are involved in the process of cardiotoxic injury, and that these indicators showed interaction effect in response to the combined exposure of arsenic and fluoride.

Abstract Background Bougainvillea is a popular ornamental plant with brilliant color and long flowering periods. It is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics. The primary ornamental part of the plant is its colorful and unusual bracts, rich in the stable pigment betalain. The developmental mechanism of the bracts is not clear, and the pathway of betalain biosynthesis is well characterized in Bougainvillea. Results At the whole-genome level, we found 23,469 protein-coding genes by assembling the RNA-Seq and Iso-Seq data of floral and leaf tissues. Genome evolution analysis revealed that Bougainvillea is related to spinach; the two diverged approximately 52.7 million years ago (MYA). Transcriptome analysis of floral organs revealed that flower development of Bougainvillea was regulated by the ABCE flower development genes; A-class, B-class, and E-class genes exhibited high expression levels in bracts. Eight key genes of the betalain biosynthetic pathway were identified by homologous alignment, all of which were upregulated concurrently with bract development and betalain accumulation during the bract initiation stage of development. We found 47 genes specifically expressed in stamens, including seven highly expressed genes belonging to the pentose and glucuronate interconversion pathways. BgSEP2b, BgSWEET11, and BgRD22 are hub genes and interacted with many transcription factors and genes in the carpel co-expression network. Conclusions We assembled protein-coding genes of Bougainvilea, identified the floral development genes, and constructed the gene co-expression network of petal, stamens, and carpel. Our results provide fundamental information about the mechanism of flower development and pigment accumulation in Bougainvillea, and will facilitate breeding of cultivars with high ornamental value.

Abstract Peptide drug development has made great progress in the last decade thanks to new production, modification, and analytic technologies. Peptides have been produced and modified using both chemical and biological methods, together with novel design and delivery strategies, which have helped to overcome the inherent drawbacks of peptides and have allowed the continued advancement of this field. A wide variety of natural and modified peptides have been obtained and studied, covering multiple therapeutic areas. This review summarizes the efforts and achievements in peptide drug discovery, production, and modification, and their current applications. We also discuss the value and challenges associated with future developments in therapeutic peptides.

BackgroundAtmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can induce abnormal early embryo development, resulting in adverse pregnancy outcomes such as embryo damage and spontaneous abortion. The vascular remodeling of maternal-fetal interface regulated by hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α)/vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) axis is a key link in early embryo development.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of pre-pregnancy PM2.5 exposure on the uterine state of mice before conception and the vascular remodeling of maternal-fetal interface after conception, and to further explore the regulatory role of the HIF-1α/VEGF axis.MethodsForty eight-week-old C57BL/6J sexually mature female mice and several males (for mating, without any treatment) were adaptive fed for 1 week. The female mice were divided into a PM2.5 exposure group and a control group, 20 mice per group. The PM2.5 exposure group was given 3 mg·kg−1 PM2.5 suspension by nasal instillation, once every other day for four weeks; the control group were treated with the same dose of blank sampling membrane suspension. Body weight of the mice was recorded every week during the experimental period. At the end of the exposure, six mice from each group were sacrificed. Then the uterus was weighted and its organ coefficients were calculated, a histopathological morphology evaluation was conducted by HE staining, and the mRNA expressions of HIF-1α, VEGF and its receptors Flt-1 and Flk-1 in the uterus samples were further examined. The remaining 14 female mice in each group were caged with male mice overnight with a sex ratio of 2:1, then we calculated the pregnancy rate. On gestation day 10 (GD10), the female mice were decapitated and the uterus was dissected, the histopathological morphology of embryo and placenta were observed by HE staining, and the mRNA expressions of HIF-1α, VEGF and its receptors Flt-1 and Flk-1 were detected as well in the uterus samples.ResultsCompared with the control group, the pre-pregnancy PM2.5 exposure had no significant effect on body weight gain of the female mice, but decreased uterine organ coefficient, accompanied by pathological damage such as endometrium thinning as well as decreased mRNA expressions of HIF-1α, VEGF and its receptors Flt-1 and Flk-1 (all Ps

It is simple to implement conventional current control with a proportional integral (PI) controller. However, system stability and dynamic performance are not perfect, particularly when operating under unfavorable conditions. In this paper, an improved control method is proposed by introducing a compensation unit. The compensation unit can effectively compensate the system’s phase around the crossover frequency, greatly enhancing the system’s phase margin and stability. It is also capable of handling weak-grid conditions. In this paper, the concept of the proposed compensation unit is explained first. Then, the corresponding mathematical model for the current control loop is built, and system bode diagrams for the conventional and proposed methods are compared. Furthermore, the effect of the parameters for the compensation unit is investigated, and an optimization method is proposed to determine optimal parameters. In addition, to handle weak-grid conditions, the proposed scheme is expanded by including the compensation unit in the grid’s feed-forward loop. Finally, an experimental platform is constructed, and the experimental results are presented to validate the proposed method.

Macadamia is a recently domesticated nut crop. Here, the authors report the genome assembly of Hawaiian cultivar ‘Kau’ and conduct population genomic analyses to reveal the origin of Hawaiian cultivars and the genomic basis for one-step operation for the clonal crop domestication.

Abstract As one of the most promising formulations for poorly water-soluble drugs, nanocrystals have been attracting increasing attention in recent years. Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) is a flavonoid with a chalcone structure, and possesses many biological activities. However, its clinical application is significantly limited mainly due to its low oral bioavailability caused by poor hydrophilicity. To address this, ISL nanocrystals were developed in this study to improve its oral bioavailability. Three types of nanocrystals with differing particle size; R1, R2, and R3, were prepared by anti- solvent precipitation or anti-solvent precipitation combined with sonication, which was optimized by single-factor experiments. These nanocrystals were characterized based on their physical properties, in vitro release, and in vivo absorption performance. The mean particle size of R1, R2, and R3 was 555.7, 271.0, and 46.2, respectively. The dissolution ratio of ISL in the nanocrystals was significantly improved, with the quickest rate recorded in R2. Peak concentration and area under the concentration-time curve of R2 after oral administration in rats was 5.83- and 2.72-fold higher than that of the ISL solution, respectively. These findings indicate that the dissolution and absorption of ISL can be significantly enhanced by nanocrystals, and the dissolution behavior and pharmacokinetic properties of nanocrystals is significantly influenced by particle size.

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is susceptible to low temperatures. Increasing lines of evidence indicate that abiotic stress-responsive genes are involved in plant low-temperature stress response. However, the involvement of photosynthesis, antioxidants and metabolites genes in low temperature response is largely unexplored in Soybean. In the current study, a genetic panel of diverse soybean varieties was analyzed for photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf injury parameters under cold stress and control conditions. This helps us to identify cold tolerant (V100) and cold sensitive (V45) varieties. The V100 variety outperformed for antioxidant enzymes activities and relative expression of photosynthesis (Glyma.08G204800.1, Glyma.12G232000.1), GmSOD (GmSOD01, GmSOD08), GmPOD (GmPOD29, GmPOD47), trehalose (GmTPS01, GmTPS13) and cold marker genes (DREB1E, DREB1D, SCOF1) than V45 under cold stress. Upon cold stress, the V100 variety showed reduced accumulation of H2O2 and MDA levels and subsequently showed lower leaf injury compared to V45. Together, our results uncovered new avenues for identifying cold tolerant soybean varieties from a large panel. Additionally, we identified the role of antioxidants, osmo-protectants and their posttranscriptional regulators miRNAs such as miR319, miR394, miR397, and miR398 in Soybean cold stress tolerance.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is associated with depression, cognitive dysfunction, and other neurological disorders. Increasing evidence has suggested that the gut microbiota plays a vital role in regulating the development of depression. However, it is unknown whether gut microbiota is associated with CPF-related depression. This study aimed to explore the effect of CPF on depressive-like behavior in mice and investigated the role of gut microbiota in this behavior. In our study, we selected fifty male C57BL/6 J mice for the model and subjected them to CPF poisoning by gavage for 14 days. The depressive-like behaviors of mice were assessed by the open field test (OFT), sucrose preference test (SPT), and forced swimming test (FST). Furthermore, we selected the high-dose group (CPF10) with obvious changes in depressive-like behaviors for the hippocampus and colon histopathological analysis, examined the changes in the gut microbiota by 16 S rRNA sequencing, screened the different microbiota among groups by linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe), analyzed the correlation between intestinal bacteria and depression-like behavior indicators by Spearman analysis, and evaluated the predictive ability of different bacteria to CPF-induced depressive-like behavior using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. The results showed that CPF caused depressive-like behaviors with pathological changes in the hippocampus and colon. CPF induced changes in gut microbiota, including 49 differential bacteria. Among the top 10 abundant bacteria, Actinobacteria and Deferribacteres were increased, and Cyanobacteria, Patescibacteria and Verrucomicrobia were decreased at the phylum level. Muribaculum, Ruminococcaceae.UCG.014 and uncultured Bacteroides bacterium were decreased at the genus level. Correlation analysis demonstrated that 18 differentially abundant bacteria were correlated with CPF-induced depression. ROC curves revealed that Deferribacteres, Mucispirillum, Rikenella and GCA900066575 are potential biomarkers for depression caused by CPF. These findings will provide an experimental basis for the neurological health of the pesticide-exposed population.

To contribute to the conservation of endangered animals, the utilization of model systems is critical to analyze the function of their gut microbiota. In this study, the results of a fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) experiment with germ-free (GF) mice receiving giant panda or horse fecal microbiota showed a clear clustering by donor microbial communities in GF mice, which was consistent with the results of blood metabolites from these mice. At the genus level, FMT re-established approximately 9% of the giant panda donor microbiota in GF mice compared to about 32% for the horse donor microbiota. In line with this, the difference between the panda donor microbiota and panda-mice microbiota on whole-community level was significantly larger than that between the horse donor microbiota and the horse-mice microbiota. These results were consistent with source tracking analysis that found a significantly higher retention rate of the horse donor microbiota (30.9%) than the giant panda donor microbiota (4.0%) in GF mice where the microbiota remained stable after FMT. Further analyzes indicated that the possible reason for the low retention rate of the panda donor microbiota in GF mice was a low relative abundance of Clostridiaceae in the panda donor microbiota. Our results indicate that the donor microbiota has a large effect on GF mice microbiota after FMT.

It is urgently needed to update the comprehensive analysis about the efficacy or effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines especially during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants. In general, the current COVID-19 vaccines showed a cumulative efficacy of 66.4%, 79.7%, and 93.6% to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic COVID-19, and severe COVID-19, respectively, but could not prevent the asymptomatic infection of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, the current COVID-19 vaccines could effectively prevent COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant although the incidence of breakthrough infection of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant increased when the intervals post full vaccination extended, suggesting the waning effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, one-dose booster immunization showed an effectiveness of 74.5% to prevent COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant. However, current COVID-19 vaccines could not prevent the infection of Omicron sub-lineage BA.1.1.529 and had about 50% effectiveness to prevent COVID-19 caused by Omicron sub-lineage BA.1.1.529. Furthermore, the effectiveness was 87.6% and 90.1% to prevent severe COVID-19 and COVID-19-related death caused by Omicron sub-lineage BA.2, respectively, while one-dose booster immunization could enhance the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent the infection and COVID-19 caused by Omicron sub-lineage BA.1.1.529 and sub-lineage BA.2. Two-dose booster immunization showed an increased effectiveness of 81.8% against severe COVID-19 caused by the Omicron sub-lineage BA.1.1.529 variant compared with one-dose booster immunization. The effectiveness of the booster immunization with RNA-based vaccine BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 was over 75% against severe COVID-19 more than 17 weeks after booster immunization whereas the heterogenous booster immunization showed better effectiveness than homologous booster immunization. In summary, the current COVID-19 vaccines could effectively protect COVID-19 caused by Delta and Omicron variants but was less effective against Omicron variant infection. One-dose booster immunization could enhance protection capability, and two-dose booster immunization could provide additional protection against severe COVID-19.

The use of electric vehicles (EVs) for household uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), particularly in rural areas, can greatly improve household power reliability. However, because EVs are mobile, the evaluation of backup capacity for EV-UPS systems is completely different when compared to traditional UPSs. As a result, the focus of this paper is on the evaluation and improvement of backup capacity for EV-UPS systems. The architectures for EV-UPS systems are presented first. The methodology for calculating backup capacity for EV-UPS systems is then presented, followed by four detailed cases based on different grid failure times. Furthermore, the impact of system operating parameters on backup capacity, such as different load power, EV mobility pattern parameters, and grid outage durations, is investigated. The results of backup capacity in cases of different operating parameters are detailed using an EV mobility model. An improved strategy for increasing backup capacity is proposed, in which more backup energy can be released during a power outage. Meanwhile, the next trip requirement is unaffected. The backup capacity with the improved strategy is then calculated and compared to the results with the traditional strategy. Finally, a 5 kW EV-UPS experimental platform is constructed, and the experimental results are presented to validate the proposed method.

Abstract Objective C-erbB-2 has been confirmed to be an oncogene that participates in cell growth, differentiation and division of tumors. We are wondered if its silenced expression can exert an anti-tumor effect. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the mechanism of C-erbB-2 silencing and IGF-1 pathway on esophageal carcinoma (EC) cell biological behaviors. Methods The objects of study were 84 EC patients from Heping Hospital Affiliated to Changzhi Medical College, with the collection of EC tissue and adjacent normal tissue (> 5 cm away from cancer tissue). C-erbB-2 protein expression in EC tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. Human EC cell line Eca-109 was purchased from Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Based on different transfection protocols, EC cells with logarithmic growth phase of 3–5 passages were divided into blank control group, oe-C-erbB-2 NC group, siRNA C-erbB-2 NC group, oe-C-erbB-2 group, siRNA C-erbB-2 group, OSI-906 group, Rg5 group, Rg5 + siRNA C-erbB-2 NC group and Rg5 + siRNA C-erbB-2 group. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay; cell cycle distribution and apoptosis by flow cytometry; C-erbB-2, IGF-1, IGF-1R and Akt mRNA and protein expressions by qRT-PCR and western blot; and cell invasion and migration by Transwell assay and scratch test. Tumor growth was observed in male BALB/c nude mice (Shanghai Experimental Animal Center) based on Eca109 cell implantation, raising, and measurement. Results C-erbB-2, IGF-1, IGF-1R and Akt expression were higher in EC tissues than those in adjacent tissues (all P 0.05). Conclusion Silencing C-erbB-2 expression may inhibit EC cell proliferation, promote cell apoptosis and block cell cycle progression by inhibiting IGF-1 pathway activation. The beneficial effect of silencing C-erbB-2 expression can be reversed by promoting the activation of IGF-1 pathway. Findings in our study may provide potential reference for understanding the molecular mechanism of EC and supply possible axis for preventing the development of EC from the perspective of molecular biology.

Abstract Macular edema is considered as a major cause of visual loss and blindness in patients with ocular fundus diseases. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique, which has been widely applied for diagnosing macular edema due to its non-invasive and high resolution properties. However, the practical applications remain challenges due to the distorted retinal morphology and blurred boundaries near macular edema. Herein, we developed a novel deep learning model for the segmentation of macular edema in OCT images based on DeepLab framework (OCT-DeepLab). In this model, we used atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) to detect macular edema at multiple features and used the fully connected conditional random field (CRF) to refine the boundary of macular edema. OCT-DeepLab model was compared against the traditional hand-crafted methods (C-V and SBG) and the end-to-end methods (FCN, PSPnet, and U-net) to estimate the segmentation performance. OCT-DeepLab showed great advantage over the hand-crafted methods (C-V and SBG) and end-to-end methods (FCN, PSPnet, and U-net) as shown by higher precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1-score. The segmentation performance of OCT-DeepLab was comparable to that of manual label, with an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.963, which was superior to other end-to-end methods (FCN, PSPnet, and U-net). Collectively, OCT-DeepLab model is suitable for the segmentation of macular edema and assist ophthalmologists in the management of ocular disease.

A high-carbohydrate diet lowers the rearing cost and decreases the ammonia emission into the environment, whereas it can induce liver injury, which can reduce harvest yields and generate economic losses in reared fish species. Macroalgae Saccharina japonica (SJ) has been reported to improve anti-diabetic, but the protective mechanism of dietary SJ against liver injury in fish fed a high-carbohydrate diet has not been studied. Therefore, a 56-day nutritional trial was designed for swamp eel Monopterus albus, which was fed with the normal diet [20% carbohydrate, normal carbohydrate (NC)], a high carbohydrate diet (32% carbohydrate, HC), and a HC diet supplemented with 2.5% SJ (HC-S). The HC diet promoted growth and lowered feed coefficient (FC), whereas it increased hepatosomatic index (HSI) when compared with the NC diet in this study. However, SJ supplementation increased iodine contents in muscle, reduced HSI, and improved liver injury, such as the decrease of glucose (GLU), total bile acid (TBA), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in serum, and glycogen and TBA in the liver. Consistently, histological analysis showed that SJ reduced the area of lipid droplet, glycogen, and collagen fiber in the liver (p < 0.05). Thoroughly, the underlying protective mechanisms of SJ supplementation against HC-induced liver injury were studied by liver transcriptome sequencing coupled with pathway analysis. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), such as the acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase (acss1), alcohol dehydrogenase (adh), interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 1 (ifit1), aldo-keto reductase family 1 member D1 (akr1d1), cholesterol 7-alpha-monooxygenase (cyp7a1), and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (ugt), indicated that the pathway of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis was the main metabolic pathway altered in the HC group compared with the NC group. Meanwhile, hepatitis C, primary BA biosynthesis, and drug metabolism-cytochrome P450 were the three main metabolic pathways altered by SJ supplementation when compared with the HC group. Moreover, the BA-targeted metabolomic analysis of the serum BA found that SJ supplementation decreased the contents of taurohyocholic acid (THCA), taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA), taurolithocholic acid (TLCA), nordeoxycholic acid (NorDCA), and increased the contents of ursocholic acid (UCA), allocholic acid (ACA), and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA). In particular, the higher contents of UCA, ACA, and CDCA regulated by SJ were associated with lower liver injury. Overall, these results indicate that the 2.5% supplementation of SJ can be recommended as a functional feed additive for the alleviation of liver injury in swamp eel-fed high-carbohydrate diets.

In the 1970s, Eucommia leaf tea, known as Tochu-cha in Japanese, was developed from roasted Eucommia leaves in Japan and is considered as a healthy tea. The antihypertensive, diuretic, anti-stress, insulin resistance improving, and anti-obesity effects of Eucommia leaf extract have been reported. However, the identification and properties of the active components as well as the underlying mechanism of action are largely unknown. In this review, we summarize studies involving the oral administration of geniposidic acid, a major iridoid component of Eucommia leaf extract which increases plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on the atria of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) by activating the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R). To achieve the antihypertensive effects of the Eucommia leaf extract through ANP secretion in humans, combining a potent cyclic adenosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase (cAMP-PDE) inhibitor, such as pinoresinol di-β-d-glucoside, with geniposidic acid may be necessary. Changes in the gut microbiota are an important aspect involved in the efficacy of asperuloside, another component of the Eucommia leaf extract, which improves obesity and related sequelae, such as insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. There are species differences of mechanisms associated with the antihypertensive and anti-obesity effects between rodents and humans, and not all animal test results are consistent with that of human studies. This review is focused on the mechanisms in antihypertensive and anti-obesity effects of the Eucommia leaf extract and summarizes the differences of mechanisms in their effects on rodents and humans based on our studies and those of others.

The Dmrt (Doublesex and Mab-3 related transcription factor) gene family is a class of crucial transcription factors characterized by a conserved DM domain related to sex determination and differentiation, which has been systematically described in various teleost fish, but less in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), an important global aquaculture species in the US and China. In this study, seven Dmrt genes from channel catfish genome were identified and analyzed using bioinformatics methods. Seven IpDmrt genes were distributed unevenly across five chromosomes. Synteny analysis revealed that Dmrt1, Dmrt2a, Dmrt2b, Dmrt3, Dmrt4, and Dmrt5 were relatively conserved in teleost fish. Tissue distribution analysis showed that IpDmrt1, IpDmrt2b, IpDmrt5, and IpDmrt6 exhibited sexually dimorphic expression patterns and, among them, IpDmrt1 and IpDmrt6 had high expression levels in the testes, while IpDmrt2b and IpDmrt5 had more significant expression levels in the ovaries than in other tissues. After 17β-estradiol treatment, IpDmrt2b and IpDmrt5 were significantly up regulated, while the expression of IpDmrt1 and IpDmrt6 was significantly repressed in XY channel catfish ovaries compared with XX channel catfish ovaries. The present study provides a comprehensive insight into the Dmrt gene family of channel catfish. The results suggest that IpDmrt1 and IpDmrt6 may play an important role in testis differentiation/development, while IpDmrt2b and IpDmrt5 are critical in ovary development in this species.

Several difficult-to-measure production qualities or environment pollution indices of industrial process must be measured using offline laboratory instruments. Soft measurement method is often used to perform online prediction of such parameters. Only small-sample modeling data with high-dimensional input features can be obtained due to the limitations and complex characteristics of the measurement device and process, respectively. Therefore, a new multisource latent feature selective ensemble (SEN) modeling approach is proposed in this study. First, input features are divided into different subgroups according to the characteristics of the modeling data. Second, the extracted multisource latent features evolve from the multi-layered selection algorithms, which are specified by feature reduction ratio, feature contribution ratio and mutual information value orderly for each subgroup. Finally, in order to construct candidate sub-models, an adaptive hyper-parameter selection algorithm based on the multi-step grid search is employed in terms of the reduced features. Sequentially, the optimized ensemble submodels with their weighting strategies are adaptively determined to build the final SEN model. The proposed method is verified by using benchmark near-infrared data, high dimensional mechanical frequency spectrum data and industrial dioxin emission concentration data.